Phlegma weblog

Masters of the Word

When one looks at big conventions like the Democratic convention in Boston, you see that there are some politicians that are masters of the word, like State Senator Barack Obama:

...there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America—there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.

It's sad that the Democratic candidate John Kerry isn't one of them:

I was born in Colorado, in Fitzsimmons Army Hospital, when my dad was a pilot in World War II.  Now, I'm not one to read into things, but guess which wing of the hospital the maternity ward was in?  I'm not making this up.  I was born in the West Wing!

This coming from a man who are viewed as brahmin and elitist in the first place. He - or his writers - has made some pretty bad choices when it came to this speech.

Bush vs Kerry video

JibJab has got an very funny video. Bush and Kerry goes after each other - check it out.

Sex for democracy

A piece in the Sydney Morning Herald is quite an interesting read. An organisation offer sex for a non-republican vote in the upcoming election. So far, the website boasts eight models prepared to drop their pants in the name of anti-Republicanism. The website, believe us, is only suitable for adults, and open-minded ones at that.

[CDL ringleader Nathan] Martin insists the project is aimed at showing what little value Americans place on their votes. These days, he says, many voters will simply go for the better-looking candidate. "CDL contends that with such frivolous reasons for voting, why not give voters a more legitimate reward for voting?" Martin asks. "Since giving money is illegal, why not the next best thing that all politicians know and love themselves: sex?"

Thanks to perfect.co.uk for the link.

The real reasons Bush went to war

John Chapman has got a piece in the Guardian.

There were only two credible reasons for invading Iraq: control over oil and preservation of the dollar as the world's reserve currency. Yet the government has kept silent on these factors, instead treating us to the intriguing distractions of the Hutton and Butler reports.

Thanks to perfect.co.uk for the link.

The New 007

Orlando Bloom is the new James Bond. He has been signed by Miramax to star in the movie, about Bond's college days after being expelled from Eton.

There's also a rumour that Bloom will take over the part from Pierce Brosnan in the next movie that is expected in November 2005.

Norway hotel staff want porn ban

It's good to see that the big norwegian news are beeing given international recognition.

Billionaires for Bush

Billionaires for Bush is a strategic media and street theater campaign whose combustible mix of humor, savvy messaging, grassroots participation, and cutting edge internet organizing tools will flush out the truth about the US government's disastrous economic policies and help turn the fatcats out of power in November, according to their own website. And it looks real enough:

John Kerry is a class-traitor who wants nothing more than to scrap the incredible progress our nation has made over the last four years and return America to the grubby hands of the unwashed middle-class masses. It is our sacred duty as guardians of privilege and power to defend the Bush administration from this barbaric electoral challenge.

But it's all a gimmick.

Economic justice arguments tend to get dismissed as "class warfare," but the Billionaires — by impersonating the super-wealthy in a boosterish, over-the-top manner, and cheering on George Bush and his economic policies — are able to paint the President as a friend of the wealthy with surprising effectiveness. It's a back door that allows class issues to be aired in surprisingly sharp terms.

A fine gimmick that is. Because it shows who really wins with a repiblican victory.

Thanks to Tim at Bloggerheads for the link.

Bowling for Columbine

I rented Bowling for Columbine this weekend. A little late, I know. But the film was very good. Provoking, but good.

I felt a little bad about Charlton Heston in the movie. He seemed a bit redused mentally, and he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease,. From a journalistic view, you can argue that he should be protected from him self. But he was the head of the organisation, and if he was fit to run it - he was fit to defend its views.

One thing strikes me. Why is it that these right wing, gun nuts fail to see that there is a link between availability of guns and gun related murders?

Size Matters - Even for Vikings

Even the fearsome Vikings were troubled when it came to their manhood. According to british researchers, the terrifying Norsemen were insecure about the size of their manhoods when things got horny with their Helgas. Apart from the fact that the female name is all wrong (I have never met a Helga in my whole life), it's a funny read.

It seems that even as they cut a swathe through northern Europe, raping and pillaging as they went, the Norsemen were still troubled by the thought that size really did matter.

The research has been done by boffins at Cardiff University.

In one example in Grettir's saga, a serving wench bursts out laughing at seeing Grettir Asmundarson naked. She remarks: "It seems to me extraordinary how small he is below, I would not have believed it if someone had not told me." Grettir defensively points out his big testicles make up for his lack of inches.

Thanks to Poons at howlingspoons for the link.

British parents taught to play with the kids

Parents will be issued with instruction manuals showing them how to teach traditional playground games such as hopscotch, skipping and hide-and-seek to their children in a new move to tackle soaring levels of obesity among young people. Guardian

Quite shocking that parents need to be taught how to play - or the need for children to play.