Losing Childhood

Don't let your kids get a job. Ive come to realize while the money is nice, it takes away from other things they would otherwise have. It takes away from extracirricular activities, daily energy, friend time, family time, and is a distraction from the world they used to know. Dont get me wrong, I'm not going to quit my job or anything.. I'm just saying that I personally am missing out on alot because of my job. Example: I work 2-10 today. I wanted to go to the Gun Show in Dayton with my parents, but I can't, because they wouldnt have been back by 2. Another example is Thanksgiving break from school. I am off wed.- Sun. and right now, i work wed, fri, and sat, and more than likely sunday too. I will get ONE of my FIVE days off off. So I will miss out on things i wouldnt have if i was jobless. This happens all the time, and so many of my friends can't do things cause they have to work. The money is nice... but is it worth it?

Somehow this will be Bush's fault too.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime reaped over $21 billion from kickbacks and smuggling before and during the now-defunct U.N. oil-for-food program, twice as much as previous estimates, according to a U.S. Senate probe on Monday.

The monies flowed between 1991 and 2003 through oil surcharges, kickbacks on civilian goods and smuggling directly to willing governments, Senate investigators said at a hearing.

"How was the world so blind to this massive amount of influence-peddling?" asked Republican Sen. Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record), head of the investigations subcommittee.

Coleman made public more documents he said were evidence of bigger kickbacks and payments than what was previously known, including 2003 data previously not reviewed.

The new Senate figure is about double the amount estimated by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which had pegged it at $10.1 billion. Charles Duelfer, the chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq (news - web sites), had estimated about the same amount based on Iraqi documents, with $2 billion through the U.N. program and $8 billion in smuggling by road or sea or in direct illegal agreements with governments.

The oil-for-food program began in December 1996 to alleviate the impact on ordinary Iraqis of sanctions, imposed when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. The U.N. Security Council allowed Iraq to sell oil and buy food, medicine and other goods and let Baghdad draw up its own contracts.

This left room for abuse in the $64 billion program, administered by the United Nations (news - web sites) and monitored by a U.N. Security Council panel, including the United States, according to investigators.

Oil smuggling alone netted Saddam's regime about $9.7 billion, with other funds flowing from switching substandard goods with top-grade ones, as well as exploiting food and medicine shipments to the Kurds in Iraq's north.

Panel investigators also echoed the findings by Duelfer, head of the CIA (news - web sites)-led Iraq Survey Group, that Saddam's regime gave lucrative contracts to buy Iraqi oil to high-ranking officials in Russia, France and other nations.

On the list of 270 individuals, businesses and political parties was the head of the U.N. oil-for-food program, Benon Sevan, who has vigorously denied the charges.

Other recipients include Russian ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and his Russian Liberal Democrat Party. The Senate panel released a document signed by Zhirinovsky in January 1999 that invited a U.S. oil company to Moscow to negotiate to buy the oil voucher. The name of the U.S. company was withheld because of pending investigations, panel staff said.

In Russian press statements, Zhirinovsky has denied taking bribes from Saddam's regime, though he admitted meeting with the former Iraqi president during trips to Baghdad.

Senior Iraqi officials like former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz were also personally involved in oil talks, Senate panel investigators said.

In each case, Saddam's regime awarded a certificate that allowed the holder to sell the right to buy Iraqi oil at below-market prices.

The certificate holder would charge a per-barrel commission to transfer the rights to an oil buyer. Per-barrel fees were usually less than $1 per barrel but racked up big dollar amounts because allocations upward of 1 million barrels were routine.

The United Nations has refused to hand over documents to a U.S. congressional committee or allow Sevan to appear before a panel while its own investigation is under way, led by Paul Volcker, the former U.S. Federal Reserve (news - web sites) chairman.

U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said in New York that Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) had telephoned Coleman and Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, "to assure them we are not being obstructionist" following an angry letter last week from the two senators.

ISNT THAT BLOODY LOVELY? WHAT WAS THAT YEAR AGAIN? OOO YEA. 1996. LEMME THINK BACK. YES, CLINTON WAS PRESIDENT. ALMIGHTY CLINTON. BUT NO DOUBT THE LIBERAL WEINERS WILL SOMEHOW FIND A WAY TO TURN THIS AROUND AND MAKE IT BUSH'S FAULT. THEY ALWAYS DO.

"Lord Vader?" "Yes Master?" "Riiiiiiise."

"Lord Vader?" "Yes Master?" "Riiiiiiise."
When I heard those words this evening, I got the chills. When the entire screen went black, and then after words were spoken, it came to a room with fog. Then you hear the deep breath, and see Darth Vader strapped to an operating table. I went nuts. Where did I hear those words? Where did I experience this awe at? At www.starwars.com on the Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith trailer.
Step by step:
00:07 - 20th Century Fox Logo
00:09 - Lucasfilm Logo
00:14 - "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."
00:19 - Luke Skywalker in ANH walks out to view the binary sunset on Tatooine.
00:23 - Obi-Wan Kenobi in ANH speaks to Luke about the Jedi.
00:26 - Qui-Gon Jinn in TPM brandishes his saber before the final duel with Darth Maul.
00:27 - Shot from AOTC of the Clonetroopers walking into the transport.
00:29 - Shot from AOTC of the Clonetroopers at the end of the movie with transports lifting off in the background.
00:23 - Obi-Wan and Anakin with their backs toward the camera, walking up to a window during the day.
00:36 - AOTC shot of Anakin looking evil just before the Tusken slaughter.
00:38 - AOTC shot of Anakin riding the Swoop on Tatooine.
00:41 - ANH Obi-Wan continues his voice-over.
00:42 - A hooded Anakin turns to the camera with red and yellow eyes much like Darth Maul's.
00:50 - Shot of erupting volcanoes on Mustafar.
00:56 - Geonosians ride giant beetles in a Mustafar lava field.
00:58 - Black screen- "Lord Vader?" "Yes Master?" "Riiiiise".
01:04 - Darth Vader, strapped to a table, begins to rise.
01:05 - A hooded Obi-Wan looks up.
01:06 - Palpatine turns to look at the camera.
01:07 - Vader continues to rise.
01:08 - R2D2 on the Tantive IV.
01:08 - C3PO on the Tantive IV.
01:09 - Padme turns to look at Obi-Wan with a terrified look on her face.
01:09 - Mace Windu raises his saber above his head.
01:10 - Vader continues to rise.
01:11 - Chewbacca and Tarfful.
01:12 - Yoda opens his cloak to reveal his saber.
01:13 - Vader finishes his rise and locks into frame.
01:17 - Two starfighters speed past the camera.
01:18 - Anakin kisses Padme.
01:19 - Yoda pulls out his ignited saber and points with it.
01:19 - A starfighter speeds along the hull of a capitol ship towards the camera.
01:20 - Mace Windu fights against a red lightsaber.
01:20 - A large Wookiee army cheers on the Kashyyyk beach. Republic walkers and troop transports can be seen in the background.
01:21 - Tion Meddon snarls at Obi-Wan.
01:22 - Flaming capitol ship heads into Coruscant with a fire ship spraying water on it.
01:22 - A very angry Anakin does an overhead slash with his saber.
01:23 - R2D2 in a grimy area.
01:24 - Padme, with a ANH Leia haircut, hugs Anakin.
01:24 - A small Naboo cruiser flies away from Mustafar.
01:25 - Obi-Wan and Anakin, both with blue sabers, fight on Mustafar as lava erupts around them.
01:26 - Capitol ships fire on each other above Coruscant.
01:27 - Anakin grab's Obi-Wan's neck with his robotic arm.
01:27 - A "Tri-fighter" flies toward the camera.
01:28 - Obi-Wan held near the ground by Anakin, who appears to be trying to behead him with his own saber.
01:30 - A starship hanger door slams shut.
01:30 - A very angry Darth Sidious swings his red lightsaber.
01:31 - A large explosion on a capitol ship above Coruscant.
01:36 - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith logo.

Sure it could have been better. They could have had no mushy stuff, and probably no droids either, but the droids at least has a place. The kissing and hugging had none. Sure, Natalie Portman is hott, but it is all out of place in the teaser. But it's all good. I eagerly await more Star Wars goodies.

Election Outcomes

Hey Osama, we rejected your little truce so you might want to look into buying four more years worth of subscription to "Better Holes & Caves" magazine.

It looks like George W. Bush has caused some unemployment since the Kerry campaign staff and John Edwards are now unemployed.
-Antijohnkerry.blogspot.com

We emerged victorious

I may be a teenage thumping racist bigot who doesnt know anything, (Cincinnati Blog, scroll down to Axinar's Universe Lays Down the Law- Oct. 31st.) but my president got reelected yesterday.

Enough with the damned politics

Quite frankly I will be extremely happy when Indecision 2004 is over. The Damnocrats and Republicunts are both pushing my patience beyond what it has ever been pushed before. I mean sure, it was fun getting those pictures of Bush at the Fairgrounds rally (www.picturetrail.com/bushinspringfield) and it was fun protesting at the Kerry/Edwards rally at the Heritage Center. That was all fun, but now it's getting old. The mudballing is disgusting and the hate among Republicunts, Damnocrats, and Indumbpendents is just too repetitive. Why can't we just vote, keep our opinions to ourselves, and move on with life? And WTF is up with all these damn TV ads? I can't watch anything anymore without someone having a political ad. It is simply disgusting.
I understand how touchy this election is, and how much is at stake, but DAMN. Seriously. Its about 18 hours long, and its been about 3 months of non-stop crap. I was even personally going to go sign snatching, but I cancelled those plans because I just got sick of the whole thing. People even turned that into a hate game. Instead of moving them or knocking them over, people are burning them, peeing on them, or even stealing them. It's gruesomely disgusting.
People will say, "But Kenny, this election is too big," or "there is too much to lose." Trust me. I know all this fully. Bush has fucked us over. Our country is in shambles both economically and socially, even though jobs are coming back into the country they arent coming in fast enough to replace the ones we lost, our troops are over in Iraq with no plan of coming home, and rumors are circulating that if we don't pull out soon they will have no choice but to instate the draft because we dont have enough troops to sustain that country. I am almost 18, and I will be one of those draft candidates if it comes to that.
Then we also have Kerry. To some he is a savior. He comes in a troubled time, looking like a light in the darkness. But the problem with that is, we dont know if he's a blue light, a green light, a red light, a white light, or what. Because he keeps changing his colors. He is for gun control, at least until he goes hunting the next morning. He voted for and supported the war in Iraq, until shit went sour, and then it became "The wrong war, at the wrong time, in the wrong place." But for most it's simply because, "He's not Bush."
Finally we come to our third party candidates. Mainly Nader, Badnarik, and Cobb. But there are others also, there always will be. While they may seem nice to some, the majority of Americans find then TOO liberal or TOO radical for them, so they dont get enough votes to even show up in the percentages.
As Axinar likes to remind everyone so often, I am a "thumper," and I am proud of it. And that influences many of my views. I disagree with homosexual relationships, I am Pro-Life, I am anti-war, I am against Capital Punishment, pro-education, I agree that "gun control is being able to hit your target," and I don't particularly like a government all up in my business. If i could chose anyone to be president, it would probably be Badnarik, BUT he doesnt seem to being too hott, so I would need to throw my support between one of the two main candidates. George "Wrong" Bush, or John "Flip Flop" Kerry. Honestly, I may not agree with everything he has done, but at least I know what Bush stands for. So i threw my support behind him. Obviously Ive had some rough times being in a mainly democratic county and that's to be expected. But i am seriously just gettin sick of it. Isn't there a new cd droppin, or a new movie coming out that we can talk about? Screw Iraq, screw politics, and screw Amerikka. I am getting disgusted with the way our country is presenting itself.