G8 Summit with few alternatives before world crisis

marcleon009 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:22:00 +0000

The G8 Hokkaido Tokayo Summit carried out in Japan begins this Tuesday its second day of meeting, and it seems difficult to find solutions to the energy and food crisis that affects the whole world.

According to analysts and heads of the most industrialized governments, this meeting should find solutions to essential items, such as the increase on oil and food prices and the shortage on staple products for subsistence, among others.

Likewise, the destabilized world financial system, with the US economy leading the crisis, environmental problems and conflicts as in Iran, set the agenda of this encounter to take place up to Wednesday 9th.

Last Monday, the United Nations Organization (UNO) and the World Bank called the international community to perform in order to alleviate the situation of millions of people in the midst of the complicated current juncture.

Therefore, during the weekend previous to the Summit, the cities surrounding the venue of the meeting lived demonstrations against globalization and against this kind of ceremonies, which include only members of power elites.

All the demonstration took place peacefully and surrounded by contingents of police, part of the 20,000 agents deployed on the occasion of the G8 Summit.

Promises as those given by the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, about proposing the European Union to create a fund of 1,570 million dollars in order to struggle against hunger in Africa are usual, but are seldom achieved, warned different analysts of international relations.

Thus, African leaders invited to the Summit seized the occasion to put pressure on the developed countries to fulfill the offers of help to the continent, the international press emphasized.

At the same time, hundreds of people around the world attend to a poor people's summit held in Mali, parallel to Japan's summit but organized by militants against globalization.

During the opening on Sunday, the Coalition of African alternatives on debt and development denounced that the G8 governments are responsible for global warming and the international food crisis.

Dn, http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=796902

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Oil prices increase is due to USA recession

marcleon009 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:18:48 +0000

The reason of oil prices increase is not because an increase on the demand, but due to the strong recession that is currently suffering United States' economy.

The statements were made this Tuesday by the oil analyst and professor of the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), Mazhar Al-Shereidan, during his attendance to a program broadcast by the Venezuelan state-run television channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).

"Oil prices increase has a rational explanation. The high prices are due to a financial problem and not to an oil one. Everybody knows that North American economy is going through a recession period", Al-Shereidan said.

"If we study the behavior of oil prices last 12 months, we find out prices have doubled from 70 to 140 dollars. That does not mean that world demand has suddenly increased 100%", he pointed out.

Al-Shereidan explained that some North American financial institutions have broken; therefore, some investment funds have had to look for other places to place their money.

"Financial institutions broke, then investment and pension funds that were in these banks have looked for shelter to place their money", he stated.

In this sense, he pointed out that these institutions can not move either their money to stock market because they are falling too.

Moreover, Al-Shereidan said high oil prices plot against oil exporter countries expectations; therefore, it is necessary to set a fair price for this energy resource.

"If an oil producer country wants to keep exporting oil next 200 years, high oil prices conspire against those expectations, thus, we need to understand which is a fair price for oil", he emphasized.

In addition, Al-Shereidan stated that this phenomenon should be useful "to create an universal conscience on conservation and use of other resources."

Dn, http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=796902

Another NFL Player Is Broke

Mike — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:16:50 +0000

Yesterday it was Michael Vick going broke, and today it is former Cincinnati Bengal Chris Henry. This comes as no surprise, as in the past few weeks Henry has had his house and Range Rover repossessed. Henry, can't even afford a transcript from his case. Looks like someone didn't invest their money wisely. It appears that character was really important to former West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. Pacman, and Chris Henry aren't the best people to represent your University. The problem for Henry, other than his money issues is that he suspended by the NFL pending the results of this trial. So if Henry doesn't win this trial, he really has no other options for a source of income other than the Arena League, CFL, or working at Wendy's.

This is just another story of a professional athlete spending his money completely foolishly. The Toronto Star, did an article that 60% of all players in the NBA go broke after they're out of the league for five years. They spend their money on the worst possible investments: cars, baby's mommas, hookers, strippers, cars, cars, and jewelery. Well, the hookers and strippers aren't that bad of an investment. The money is spent with no consideration for their future, they spend with reckless abandonment, just like how Morris Peterson spends money on Valtrex. It should come as no surprise, cause if yours truly was in the Association, my money would be spent on women like this and stuff like this.

Ties And Flies

Billy — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:15:44 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a hurry to make it to a very important meeting. Why was I in a hurry, you ask? It was because I had stopped off at my home for lunch and had to finish an episode of Home Improvement. I mean, they thought Randy might have leukemia and I had to watch the whole thing to see if he would be alright. You don't expect me to concentrate at sales meeting when Randy's health was in question, do you? Well, it turns out he was okay, it was just a gland thing. (whew) But that extra five minutes of suspenseful pacing left me little time to make it to the meeting on time. So I raced out the door, hopped in my car and tore off down the road to the corporate suck tank, call I work.

When I am in a rush it is inevitable that every light on the way will turn yellow at the exact point I am too far away to make it before it turns red. It's a tease from God, I swear it. So, I will slam on my brakes and cause everything from the backseat to transfer to the front and the pissface behind me will mouth the words, "mother dicklick ass shit!". I of course will make the situation much worse and wave out the window as if to say, "I know...I suck".

So I rip into the parking lot at top speed, jump out of the car, grab my briefcase, slam the car door and "HERK!". I slammed my tie in the car door. Now normal people will open the door, sheepishly straighten it and walk away. Not me! I pulled and yanked and pulled and yanked and finally....it came loose. Only it looked like this.

I shredded the shit out of a $70 tie all because I am a half an I.Q. point higher than retard. I walked a little defeated to my meeting just staring at the end of my tie. I had to decide what would be worse; being late or looking dumb. I choose to be late. I ran up to my office and taped the shreds to the back of the tie and believe it or not, it looked half way fixed. I made my way to the conference room and I could here muffled chatter behind the door. I opened it up and walked confidently to an empty seat, feeling twenty pairs of eyes on me. I sat down and the meeting went ahead as if I had been there the whole time. Then I notice the tie on my lap right next to my shirt tale. Shirt tale?

My shirt tale was coming out of my fly that was left unzipped. True mother fuckin' story.

I went home that night and stopped at a gas station. I bought a Samurai sword. It's the little things that I have to hold onto after a day like that.

On a happier note, the first article of Macabre Fitness is up. It's a shoe review! Oooooooooo!

http://macabrefitness.wordpress.com/

Huh?

Rick — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:15:07 +0000

What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have

it, The rich need it, And if you eat it, you'll die?

click here for answer

(and yes, i totally got it wrong.)

Chavez Candidate Leads Caracas Mayor Race, Poll Says

marcleon009 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:13:02 +0000

June 27th 2008, by Daniel Cancel - Bloomberg

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's candidate for mayor of Caracas, Aristobulo Isturiz, is the front-runner ahead of the November election, according to the first poll of city voters.

Isturiz, a former education minister who now hosts a show on state television, had the backing of 39 percent in the June 6-19 poll by Caracas-based Hinterlaces. Leopoldo Lopez, a Harvard-educated opposition leader who met with Barack Obama on June 21 in Miami, trailed with 30.1 percent.

``The people's affection is still with the president,'' Oscar Schemel, the director of Hinterlaces said in a telephone interview. ``Even though his popularity has fallen, there is no substitute, no alternative, no other message for the poor.''

The race for the capital is the most important municipal race in the country as Chavez places former Cabinet members in key candidacies after a surprise referendum loss in December, his first defeat since taking office in 1999.

Chavez's newly formed United Socialist Party of Venezuela, with nearly 6 million members in the nation of 27 million, aims to maintain the government's grip on at least 20 of 24 state governorships and key mayor positions in elections slated for Nov. 23.

Libertador, the most populous municipality in Caracas, with 1.4 million inhabitants, is giving Isturiz the lead, Schemel said. The opposition is ahead in four of five municipalities.

Lopez, who is finishing his second term as mayor of the wealthy Chacao municipality of Caracas, presented his candidacy April 23 with promises to modernize the capital city.

The poll of 2,000 registered voters in all five municipalities in Caracas has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Dn, http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=796902

Hallmark email threat on the loose

meganbacon — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:11:56 +0000

Security vendor PC Tools is warning users about a round of malicious "hallmark.exe" files. The files are distributed by email and have been downloaded and run by members of the Threatfire user community.

The executables, delivered via email, show scenic images with unthreatening names such as "xmas.jpg". Download the file, however, and the results are far from pleasant.

See also:

PC Tools ThreatFire 3.5 review

According to PC Tools the hallmark dot-exes download multiple IRCbot components. They copy out an apparently benign windows system file - "spoolsv.exe"- to windows\temp\spoolsv. This is a common IRC application.

Loads of configuration files are copied out, until the app can phone home to port 6667 on a number of undernet.org and servebeer.com sites.

Like so many instanced of malware, the issue here is context: the mIRC app can in fact be used legitimately. But it can be misused; and if you've downloaded it unwittingly, it probably will be. You don't want to leave this particular door open.

Frankly, it amazes me that anyone would download a file from an email without being 100 percent sure it came from a legitimate, known source. Come on people, it's not 1999.

It's even more surprising that people security savvy enough to install and use a free behavioural tool such as Threatfire would be dappy enough to get caught out this way. The bad guys usually aim for the lowest hanging fruit.

So we can safely assume that the threat appears credible, and is delivered in volume. As ever, think before you download.

Visit Security Advisor for the latest internet threat news, FREE net threat email newsletters, and internet security product reviews

Galskapen er løs!

Anette — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:11:09 +0000

Dobbeltblogg, Kahlo og bror Maximus fikk en skikkelig playdate i dag:

De storkosa seg og fikk herja masse. Kahlo gikk ned for telling omtrent to min etter at vi kom inn, forsvant under sofaen og sovna. Der er hun enda.

Venezuelan Priests Open Pro-Chavez Church

marcleon009 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:09:08 +0000

by Christopher Toothaker - AP

A fledgling church that openly backs President Hugo Chavez is raising the ire of Venezuela's Roman Catholic hierarchy, preaching the Gospel alongside socialism.

Founders of the newly created Reformist Catholic Church of Venezuela, based in the western city of Ciudad Ojeda, say that supporting Chavez's socialist ideals goes hand-in-hand with Christian aims of helping the poor.

"We don't side with any political banner, but we cannot fail to recognize and support the socialist achievements of this government," Enrique Albornoz, a former Lutheran minister who helped start the church, said in a telephone interview on Monday. "We back the social programs of this revolutionary government."

A group of dissident Catholic priests, Lutherans, and Anglicans quietly formed the church several years ago, but its first three bishops were sworn in last weekend, Albornoz said.

The church has five sanctuaries in Venezuela and about 2,000 parishioners - most of them in the oil-rich western state of Zulia, he said. An iron-shuttered, concrete house of worship in a working-class neighborhood of Ciudad Ojeda serves as headquarters for the movement, which borrows heavily from liberation theology and the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer.

Venezuelan Cardinal Jorge Urosa Sabino accused the reformists of attempting to divide the Catholic Church, which has consistently criticized Chavez's push toward socialism while retaining its status as one of the country's most widely trusted institutions.

"The apparent political goal of this association distances it from the true expression of Christian faith," Urosa Savino said in a statement on Sunday. "Jesus Christ's true church is spreading the word and the gift of Christ to the whole world, separately from political issues and party affiliation."

Monsignor Roberto Luckert, one of Chavez's most outspoken critics, accused the government of financing the new church in a bid to curb the influence of Roman Catholic leaders.

"They want to destroy the Catholic Church, and they haven't been able to do it," Luckert told Caracas-based Union Radio. The Vatican has issued no formal reaction.

Reformist Albornoz strongly denied that the government funds his church, challenging Luckert to present evidence. The new church takes no political line, he added, saying Catholic leaders have been the ones to take sides in Venezuelan politics by voicing opposition to Chavez.

The Reformist church shares certain values with the president's version of socialism, for example stressing the needs of the poor in sermons and with community service. It also describes itself as "Bolivarian" - referring to 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar, whom Chavez considers his own movement's spiritual father.

In contrast to Catholicism, members of the new church do not shun homosexuality. Divorce is allowed in cases of adulterous or abusive relationships and chastity vows for priests are optional.

Chavez has consistently sparred with Catholic leaders since taking office in 1999, accusing them of turning their backs on the poor while siding with an "oligarchy" bent on ousting him.

Dn, http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=796902

Deconstructing Washington Post's Anti-Chávez Propaganda

marcleon009 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:04:13 +0000

Jackson Diehl, a Deputy Editor of the Washington Post, recently wrote a column about Leopoldo Eduardo López, a mayor of Chacao, a district of Caracas, Venezuela. It was widely syndicated, and appeared in the Miami Herald on July 1, and in one of my local papers, the Morning Call of Allentown, PA, on July 2 under the title, "Venezuela's Chávez Fears Caracas Mayor". No evidence is presented in Diehl's analysis that supports the claim of the headline, and Diehl is quick to tip his hand in his lead paragraph, as follows:

"Defenders of Hugo Chávez like to argue that there is no alternative to the Venezuelan caudillo other than the feckless and unpopular politicians who preceded him in the 1990s. The simple refutation of that canard is Leopoldo López, the 37-year-old mayor of central Caracas, whose boyish good looks only underscore the fact that he represents a fresh generation." (Jackson Diehl, Morning Call, 7/2/2008)

Diehl fabricates an argument he can refute easily, by making the argument he wants to refute and attributing it to "Chávez defenders", without citation. Then he calls Chavez a caudillo, or military strongman, without mentioning that Chávez has won several national elections to become and remain President, and has lost important elections also, and abided by those results.

Nowhere in the column is there a mention that López, with his good looks and US education, is a Mayor of a rich and exclusive central district of Caracas, Chacao, which is a neighborhood filled with foreign embassies and richly appointed homes. His political roots are in the rightwing, upper middle class and rich opposition groups that have opposed Chavez and social reform in Venezuela. López' social roots are in the upper class. He attended Kenyon College in Ohio and received a Master's Degree from Harvard. He then was able to get a job for the State-owned oil company PVDSA. His current problems and the administrative restrictions imposed by Comptroller General Clodosbaldo Russian have been accepted for enforcement by the National Electoral Council. They are a result of improper campaign contributions funneled to his campaign, through his mother, from the PVDSA, while they were both employees of the corporation.

Also, Lopez is facing municipal corruption charges for his activities as Mayor of Chacao. Kiraz Janicke writes, in a June 19, 2008 article in Venezuelanalysis titled, "Venezuela's Electoral Council to Respect Disqualification of Candidates Accused of Corruption";

"López is also being investigated for misuse of municipal resources in support of a group of rebel military officers who camped out in Altamira Plaza (in Chacao municipality) for more than a year after the coup, from November 2002, and who were linked to a string of bomb attacks and apparently politically motivated murders in Venezuela during 2003."

Lopez has been a spokeperson for the ultra-right groups that have opposed Chávez consistently, stridently and at times violently. He was a supporter of the 2002 coup that overthrew Chavez and for a period of hours claimed to control Venezuela. He signed the Carmona Document during this coup, which dissolved the Supreme Court and National Assembly. Diehl repeatedly tries to build a case that he is a populist and a democrat, and of course does not ponder such contradictions as his participation in a violent overthrow of the Venezuelan government. Lopez recently stated, ``What's important is that the United States advances an agenda that makes a priority of democracy and human rights, as well as poverty alleviation and addressing inequality. Chávez has no answer to that.'' (from www.citymayors.com, as quoted by Andrew Stevens, Deputy Editor, in an article "Kidnapped and shot at, a Venezuelan mayor opposes country's president".)

It is statements like these that tip off the editorial writers of the rightwing press of the US that this guy is safe; he is a supporter of the US actions that have preyed upon and exploited the Americas, leaving many rich and many more poor. In the above-quoted statement, I believe Lopez clearly indicates that he supports these neoliberal, militarist policies of the US.

Diehl presents Lopez as a victim of human rights abuses because he has been prohibited for running for office for three years as an administrative measure. He does not mention that 180 of the 371 others who have had the same sanctions applied are supporters of Chávez.

Chávez must always be presented by rightwing propagandists like Diehl as a caudillo and stigmatized by any means available. Diehl writes, "Like the rulers of Iran, with whom he has cultivated a close alliance, Chávez has adopted the tactic of rigging an election by excluding his most formidable opponents in advance." Venezuela Comptroller General Russian notes, "Article 65 of the Venezuelan Constitution states 'Those who have been condemned for crimes committed during the exercise of their functions, which affect the public patrimony, cannot stand for office in any popular election for a period of time, fixed by the law, until the completion of the sentence, and in accordance with the gravity of the crime,' and establishes that sanctions can be applied as a result of civil, penal or administrative investigations."

López speaks the language that the corporate press of the US understands and can get behind - he is one of us, they recognize. There have been assassination attempts against Lopez - they must come, in the judgment of Diehl, from "supporters of Chávez." This is a grave charge, and proof of such activity would lead to condemnation from all points of the political spectrum. However, nothing is presented by Mr. Diehl that rises above innuendo and puffery. This columnist who writes from one of the premier press voices of the United States has latched onto a politician with a pretty face and a facile and complicit analysis to build a case that democracy in Venezuela lies only with those who support the US, in lockstep and without reservation. Chávez´ program of new economic and social models based on democracy, regional needs and true sovereignty must be demonized, and painted into a corner by hostility and lies by those who most of all fear the rise of a true democratic movement rising from Venezuela.

Dn, http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=796902

Non-Aligned Countries Endorse Venezuelan Proposal for Alternative World Media

marcleon009 — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:01:01 +0000

Last week, Non-aligned countries agreed to construct a world system of news, radio, and information-sharing to connect and represent countries in the Global South.

Mérida, July 5, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- At the 7th Conference of Information Ministers of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries held in Venezuela's Margarita Island last week, more than 80 country delegations endorsed Venezuela's proposal to create an alternative worldwide media network.

The Margarita Declaration signed Friday lays out a working agenda for constructing a "new international communicational order" that is meant to "balance information and democratize the presence of the countries of the South in worldwide communication," said the Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information, Andrés Izarra, in his closing speech Friday.

"We now have a new tool," explained Izarra. "The communicational task of our peoples today is to recuperate the words, the images of our existence which have been sequestered and used against us by the masters of the world."

One proposal on the agenda is to start a Non-Aligned News Network (NNN) to cover news from the 118 mostly Global South countries in the movement. According to Izarra, this new network could be based on the model of Caracas-based Telesur.

Telesur is a television channel created in 2006 with the financial backing of the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Venezuela. It aims to rival other international news agencies while promoting consciousness of Latin American identity and history and give voice to the social changes going on in the region.

Other proposals included a radio of the South and strengthened southern information networks, which would "serve as an information bank, providing common access to these countries in order to pluralize the flow of information," Izarra explained.

Many delegates credited a speech by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez on Thursday for propelling these ideas into the action plan of the Margarita Declaration.

"We are in a search for the democracy of information since there is a media tyranny in the world," Chávez asserted Thursday. "Hopefully we can structure a grand social television of the world that has its offices, studios, cameras, and satellites dispersed around the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa," he described.

"We have to do it now, in order to communicate among our peoples in our languages, it is vital so that our governments get to know each other," Chávez encouraged.

Last year, the Chávez administration did not renew the broadcasting license of one of Venezuela's largest corporate networks, RCTV, and instead granted the concession to Venezuelan Social Television (TVES), which currently broadcasts 229 programs by independent producers emphasizing educational and cultural content.

Chávez's proposal was backed on Thursday by the Foreign Relations Minister of Cuba, Felipe Pérez Roque, who said the current media climate is such that the South is "silenced" and "bombarded continually" with "history from the perspective of the powerful."

Considering this, "the current situation cannot be resolved with palliative measures, we must go to its base," said the minister, explaining that "this unjust international order to which we are to be submitted is a product of the abyss that exists between the North and the South in terms of access, production, and flow of information."

Venezuela's first-ever Minister of Women's Issues, María León, was also welcomed to the conference to share Venezuela's current women's rights policies with countries such as Namibia, Belarus, Dominica, Gambia, and Cambodia, which had expressed interest in learning more.

"Many have shown interest in finding out about what is occurring with women in Venezuela. There are very important advances that we can share. The importance that the media now gives to women, and we can see that of the 5 public powers, four are led by women," León told the press.

According to the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Nations, Jorge Valero, the movement is "in a period of revitalization of this organization since the developed countries and the spokespeople of neo-liberalism had proclaimed the death of the non-aligned countries."

President Chávez presented another South-focused proposal at the conference Thursday when he called on OPEC countries to help the poorest 50 countries on Earth pay for oil as prices continue to soar above $144 per barrel.

"OPEC, or some of its members, should take the responsibility to supply these countries through special mechanisms, subsidies, donations, agreements. It is not going to make us any richer or poorer," said Chávez.

Venezuela's most recent tax on oil profits to generate funds for social programs was passed by the National Assembly last April. Also, last month Chávez offered to use profits from oil sold for more than $100 per barrel to combat food shortages worldwide if other countries also agreed to participate.

Chávez predicted that oil prices would continue to rise, but not because OPEP countries want them to. "It is not our fault," Chávez said. "Withdraw the troops from Iraq and you will see how immediately the price of oil will fall several dollars; stop the threats against Iran and Venezuela and you will see the price descend."

The "exaggerated consumption" of oil by rich nations is another factor in the high prices, Chávez said, pointing out that the 50 poorest countries consume a total of 700,000 barrels of oil per day, while the United States consumes 21 million barrels per day.

Dn, http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?a=796902

Teeth

amner — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:59:32 +0000

The house was filled with the rich odour of the local power station, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy sulphurous stench of the local chemical plant.

From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which she was lying, reading, as was her custom, Dawn could just catch the view of the two filthy cooling towers which, at this angle, offered a lens shaped window of light reminiscent of a gigantic va-

"-Dawn!"

Dawn blinked and looked away from the window.

In the centre of the room, clamped to an upright easel, stood a full-length portrait of a young woman's...part. Dawn's, in fact, who had been posing for the thing. It was, she'd been told at great length, Artistic. Big A.

And in front of it, some little distance away, was sitting the artist himself, Mitchell Lichtenstein, son of the way more famous 'pop art' pioneer Roy Lichtenstein. You know, the Wham! picture, and that. That guy.

As the painter looked at the gracious and comely form he had so skilfully mirrored in his art, a smile of pleasure passed across his face, and seemed about to linger there, smugly. But he suddenly started up, and closing his eyes, placed his fingers upon the lids, as though he sought to imprison within his brain some curious dream from which he feared he might awake.

"It is your best work, Mitchell, the best thing you have ever done," said Dawn admiringly. "You'll be a wow on the indie circuit, and there's even a stab at mainstream, too. What with the trailer. You must certainly send it to the Gérardmer and Sundance festivals. All the arty crowd. The Academy is too large and too vulgar. Whenever I have gone there, there have been either so many people that I have not been able to see the pictures, which was dreadful, or so many pictures that I have not been able to see the people, which was worse."

"I don't think I shall send it anywhere," Mitchell answered, tossing his head back in that odd way that used to make his friends laugh at him. "No, I won't send it anywhere."

Dawn looked at him in amazement.

"Not send it anywhere? Er, why? You do anything in the world to gain a reputation. And now, as soon as you may have one, you seem to want to throw it away. It's, like, totally whack of you, for there is only one thing in the world worse than being on Entertainment Tonight, and that is not being on Entertainment Tonight. A portrait like this would set you far above all the young men in LA, and make the old men quite jealous, if old men are ever capable of any emotion."

"I know you will laugh at me,"he replied,"but I really can't exhibit it. I have put too much of myself into it."

Dawn stretched herself out on the divan and laughed.

"Too much of yourself in it! Upon my word, Mitchell, it's a picture of me! More specifically, it's a picture of my-"

"Yes! I know! But it's been such an effort. I mean, trying to put myself in the position of an eighteen year old girl with strong views on celibacy and emotional commitment."

"I can see how a 50 year old man might say that. But I didn't know you were so vain; but looking at this now, I really can't see any resemblance between me, with my rose-leaved loveliness and this monstrous image. I mean, yeah, actually, what are you trying to do here, Mitch? Huh? It's...shit, is what it is. It's a shitting outrage."

"Why, my dear Dawn, I thought we were on the same page. This is a primal image of a universal and timeless theme, Man's fear of the Female. An attack on Man's thrusting, conquering destructiveness, through which he ultimately brings about his own destruction."

"It's a snatch with spikes."

"No, no, no. Well, yes, it is. But, no. Think of Narcissus, and you- well, of course you have an intellectual expression and all that. But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins. Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys the harmony of any face. The moment one sits down to think, one becomes all nose, or all forehead, or something horrid. Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. How perfectly hideous they are!"

"Sits down? Hmm. And eviscerates the sofa, presumably. It's a toot-toot with gnashers."

"Dawn, please."

"You're turning me into a monster."

"I'm turning you into a post-Feminist avatar. An avenging angel. A cultural icon of womanhood. A-"

"-vag with fangs?"

"You don't understand me, Dawn," answered the artist. "Of course. You shrug your shoulders? I am telling you the truth. There is a fatality about all physical and intellectual distinction, the sort of fatality that seems to dog through history the faltering steps of kings. It is better not to be different from one's fellows."

Dawn made a face.

Mitchell continued: "The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world. Look at all the anti-women blockbusters you'll get this summer, subjugating women into mere symbols of vapid sexuality while the men do the hard work of heroism. Can you deny that?"

"Of course not."

"This portrait is a million miles from those images."

"I get that, of course. I think you've opened out a very interesting debate about the fear of burgeoning female sexuality."

"Thank you."

"You've also opened my legs to show a fanny with dentures."

"It will make men fear women, Dawn. The power they have, the primal forces they possess."

"It'll also make them laugh and lose the whole point."

Mitchell grimaced and looked away, then stared long and hard at the portrait. He shook his head and tried to smile, but if there was humour intended in the gesture, it died immediately.

"Still," he said, at length, "it is funny when the Rottweiler eats the Goth's severed bell-end and then chokes on the Prince Albert."

"Oh aye," agreed Dawn. "You've got something there. I'd keep that bit in."

The look at each other for a beat.

"You know what I mean, Mitchell," she says, rolling her eyes.

Top Million

blakewingo — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:58:41 +0000

I check my blog ranking on Technorati about once a month or so. Well guess what? I finally broke the top 1 million. lol. I know that probably sounds stupid, but honestly there are over 112 million blogs in the world and I'm in the top million. Which really means nothing; good bloggers will have one in the top million within just a few days of starting. It's taken me over a year. I just thought it was interesting. My official rank is number 956,658 woo hoo!

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Teeth

Top Million