I took a stupid online test about 'What Car Are You?"
A Rolls-Royce Phantom.
I posted the result on my young niece's FB page and her equally young friend commented, "Totally boring."
Not the art-deco 1935 Phantom.
The 120 horse-power engine powered the elegant lines of the massive Rolls-Royce.
Not built for speed, but an image of 'Rule Britannia'.
Maybe it isn't cool.
To some.
Not me.
I know cool when I see it.
On August 18, 1967 the Red Sox's Tony Conigliaro was batting against Angels spitballer Jack Hamilton at Fenway Park. The first pitch came in high and struck All-Star outfielder in the cheek. He was rushed to the hospital withd a linear fracture of the left cheekbone and a dislocated jaw with severe damage to his left retina. HIs batting helmet didnt have an ear flap.
Brushing batters off the plate with inside pitchers has been a long tradition in baseball, however intentionally attempting to hit a batter with a 90 MPH fastball borders on criminal.
According to Wikipedia no major league pitcher for 90 years has hit more opposing batters than 6'10" left hander Randy Johnson, who has clunked 188 batters surpassing other dangerous MLB bean-ballers; Drysdale (154), Nolan Ryan (158) or Riger Clemens (159)
Many times the manager orders a pitcher to take revenge on an opposing batter.
Put him in his place.
According to Wikipedia "On May 1, 1974, Pittsburgh pitcher Dock Ellis, believing that his team needed motivation, decided to hit every batter in the Cincinnati Reds lineup. Ellis hit Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Dan Driessen, tried to hit Tony Perez but ended up walking him, and threw two pitches at Johnny Bench's head before he was removed from the game
Dock Ellis also pitched a no-hitter on LSD in 1970.
Tony Conigliaro made a comeback after his injury, however his career was shortened by this bean balling and it may have even caused his death at an early age.
To read Red Sox shortstop Rico Petrocelli's account of that evening, please go to the following URL
http://www.bostonspastime.com/tonycbeaning.html
Everyone great hit in baseball.
It's time to stop it.
After 9/11 the GW Bush administration declared war on Al-Qaada. The Pentagon aided Afghanistan's Northern Alliance in ousting the Taliban from the cities. The foreign mujaddin warriors attempted to flee the country, but hundreds were captured by the US-supported warlords and sent to Fort Qala-i-Jangi for questioning. These prisoners were immediately subjected to torture by the CIA under direct orders from the American government.
Faced with death from vengeful Americans the jihadist seized their guards' weapons and attacked the temporary torture center, killing a CIA interrogator attached to that agency's Special Activities Division. After a vicious battle to retake the fortress over 400 of the foreign fighters were killed by bombs, fire, bullets. Amongst the 87 survivors was an American, John Walker Lindh, who had been fighting with the Taliban against the Northern Alliance.
Faced with a fanatical opponent spanning the globe the US government under Bush opened clandestine torture camps in numerous countries one being Thailand, where the 'enhanced interrogation techniques' were practiced at the Voice of America relay station in Udon Thani. All This prime ministers have denied existence of this safe house, where prisoners "were thrown against fake walls, forced into stressful physical functions, involuntarily stripped naked and slapped." according the Bangkok Post.
The Geneva Convention states in articles 2 and 4 that No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.
And secondly each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offenses under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture.
Americans were rightly angered after 9/11 and as a nation wanted blood for blood.
The Thais turned a blind eye to the operations at the black sites.
Waterboarding was legally green lighted by Bush's lawyer John Yoo.
Abu Zubaydah and And al-Rahim al-Nashiri were subjected to the modern adaptation of the Spanish Inquisition's water torture scores of times, despite protests from the FBI.
All records of these sessions were destroyed at the end of the Bush regime.
President Obama condemned the practice and banned water boarding after his election, however the Defense Department refuses to say whether they are adhering to the ban and his CIA director appointment of chief torturer John Brennan has raised concerns within the Senate about ongoing black sites under CIA or Defense Department jurisdiction.
"In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks. We did things that were contrary to our values," said President Obama and those two words 'some people' is entirely inaccurate.
The USA tortured thousands of Iraqi, Afghanis, and anyone caught in the War of Terror.
Most without any concrete evidence as to their guilt other than confessions exacted under pain and duress.
I hope those safe houses in Thailand are closed, but no one is admitted on the premises, so it would be safe to surmise they are open for business of torture.
I googled the name of the military coup leader and CIA torture camps and was informed that those items matched no news items.
Secrets are best kept a secret, when no one tells them.
Foto is of the Chinese Water Torture from Sing Sing Prison in New York.
Torture.
The American tradition.
In my life I've known Sandie, Samantha, Suzanne, Sara, but never a Sloopy.
Doctor Nick and I went to college with a girl whose name sounded by Sloopy.
The slight brunette came from brunette. She was a studying nursing, but danced weekends at the Two O'Clock Lounge in the Combat Zone to pay for school. Sort of Sloopy was the first person in her family to attended university. Nick and I drove taxi at night. We sometimes picked up Sort of Sloopy at closing time. Neither of us received more than the fare at the end of the ride.
At a party one Friday night I told our friends about the Rockport quarries. Everyone wanted to swim in the spring-fed granite pits. The next day we left Boston in a car caravan headed to Rock port. Sort of Sloopy went with Nick. He had a red MG convertible.
We smoked weed on the cliffs. Nick and Sort of Sloopy leaped off the cliff together.
I decided to dive to impress her.
I misjudged the drop and hit the water at the wrong angle.
Bones crackled along my spine. I swan to the shore and slowly hauled myself from the quarry waters.
Sort of Sloopy hadn't seen my dive. She had been kissing Nick
He looked at my face and asked if I was all right.
He was pre-med at BC.
"I'm okay."
I recovered from the dive, but ever since then I've avoided girls with names sounding like Sloopy, I love David Porter's cover of the McCoy's hit song. Henri Flash introduced me to the HANG ON SLOOPY at BSIR's, a Hamburg nightclub, in 1982. The French disc jockey would play Porter's long version at the end of the night.
The last lingerers slow danced for about two minutes and then lost the groove. Henri called the lengthy recording the best music for emptying a nightclub nearing dawn. David Porter's HANG ON SLOOPY was a long song. Henri would leave the DJ booth and I would join the Frenchman at the bar.
"A last drink."
"To HANG ON SLOOPY."
We never lost the groove.
And neither does this song.
"C'mon Sloopy."
From the Stax hit man.
Sam & Dave's "Soul Man" (1968 Grammy Winner) Mariah Carey "Dreamlover" (1993 Grammy Winner) Will Smith's "Get Jiggy Wit It" (1999 Grammy Winner) Sam and Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'" Biggie Smalls "Who Shot Ya?"
To hear HANG ON SLOOPY by David Porter, please go the following URL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yMBpxyXuLw
I am writing to you with Tears, My family and I came down here to Manila, Philippines for Holiday, Unfortunately we were mugged at the park, All money, credit card and Phones were stolen away from us, luckily for us we still have our passports saved with us. We have been to the consulate but they are not helping at all, Our return flight leaves soon but we are having some financial problems sorting our hotel bills and the hotel manager won't let us leave until we sort the bills.
We need your help with a loan of ($1,750). or whatever amount you can spare right now, I promise to refund you back as soon as we return back home. Please let me know what you can do so that i can let you know how to get the money to us now.
Regards Kevin
I received this scam email.
It's obviously a fake.
These thieves are depending on people's good hearts, mostly the elderly.
$10 from 170 people adds up to a nice number.
I looked up the name of Kevin and picked out a face fitting this scammer.
He's probably a very nice guy.
Same as all of us and he has nothing to do with this letter.
Guilt by association.
And no one executes this better than Homeland Security.
ps I only need $1000.
Seriously.
The dream of 1968.
A hot blonde in a lime-green Firebird.
Never had either.
Maybe in the next eternity.
