Alternative Christmas Message from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

just one more piece of worthwhile, interesting and informative news that we'll never see published in the u.s. because it goes against the grain of the propaganda line decreed by our powerful, monied elites and their media toadies...

Today, the general will of nations is calling for fundamental change. This is now taking place. Demands for change, demands for transformation, demands for a return to human values are fast becoming the foremost demands of the nations of the world. The response to these demands must be real and true. The prerequisite to this change is a change in goals, intentions and directions. If tyrannical goals are repackaged in an attractive and deceptive package and imposed on nations again, the people, awakened, will stand up against them.

Fortunately, today, as crises and despair multiply, a wave of hope is gathering momentum. Hope for a brighter future and hope for the establishment of justice, hope for real peace, hope for finding virtuous and pious rulers who love the people and want to serve them...

every time i read something by this guy, i find myself wondering what happened to the mouth-foaming insanity every u.s. media outlet insists is there in abundance...

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Eureka...! We now know how to win in Afghanistan...!

a little day-after-christmas snark...

The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.

Four blue pills. Viagra.

"Take one of these. You'll love it," the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.

[...]

Four days later, when the Americans returned, the gift had worked its magic, the operative recalled.

"He came up to us beaming," the official said. "He said, 'You are a great man.' "

whatever works, eh...?

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Merry Christmas!

it's 4:30 a.m. christmas morning and, after having escorted my aging and insistent bladder to the appropriate place of relief, i thought i'd check my email prior to crawling back between those delicious flannel sheets to grab a last bit of shut-eye, before the grandsons shoot out of their beds like cannons to snatch up their goodies from under the tree in their annual frenzy of pillage and plunder...

for some reason i can't quite put my finger on, this is turning out to be the most wonder-filled, quietly happy and deeply satisfying christmas holidays i can remember for a long, long time... in past years i have been increasingly alienated by the relentless focus on the mercantile aspect of the season and the unreasonable and largely unattainable expectations that reality could never quite match... but this year is different... maybe it's just me, but i can't quite shake the feeling that there's something in the air and that a rising wave of good tidings is slowly but inexorably lifting us all to a place we've never been...

with that as backdrop, let me offer everyone my wishes for the best and most joyful christmas ever and my profound hope - ok, i'll say it - my profound belief that the best is not only yet to come but is also just around the corner...

in the spirit of sharing the joy of the season, let's have a great deal more of this...


My grandson's fourth grade class offering up their Christmas program

and a whole hell of a lot less of this...

Palestinian Christians living in Bethlehem could be spending their last Christmas in their hometown.

They live next to Jewish settlements and that means they also face the constant threat of eviction by the Israeli authorities.

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Gearing up for Christmas by visiting San Francisco

for those you who eagerly await my posts (all 1 or 2 of you), i spent the past several days in san francisco, kicking around with my daughter, riding the cable cars, visiting the california academy of sciences, taking the ferry back from sausalito, eating great food, admiring the golden gate bridge and generally enjoying the heck out of myself, so here's a little holiday greeting for everybody...


(click on image for larger view)

here's an egret taking flight at the marin headlands...



and, oh yeah, we took the train back and forth which was a terrific plus, particularly given the heavy snow over donner pass...



and, of course, the beautiful city itself as seen from the bay at sunset...

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