Imagine that.

U.S. gets bad grade on health care scorecard - Health Care - MSNBC.com

Of course, we will NEVER enact any change in this country as long as the pharmaceutical and hospital administration corporations are raking in the big $$$.

NEVAH!!

The Islamic "Soviet Union"?

Iran Pursues A Grand Bargain

It seems to me a lot of the rhetoric Ahmadinejad has been spewing has been just that: rhetoric. His comment (for example) of wiping Israel off the map is, in my mind, akin to Kruschev banging his shoe on the table in the UN and saying they (the USSR) would crush us.

And yet, nothing ever happened.

Why am I making this analogy? Because of President Bush's (so far) reactions to Iran. It seems to me that he's treating this as a Cold War issue: with his own bluster as well.

I also mention this because of the article I'm linking to. Iran "...offered to accept a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, to rein in Iranian support for what the United States considered terrorist groups, cooperation with the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan and against al-Qaida, and to join a comprehensive security agreement with the countries of the Persian Gulf. This would include an agreement to exclude nuclear weapons, which in effect suggested that Iran was prepared to suspend its nuclear program." This was a formal offer. Iran had even offered to put its nuclear program under even closer scrutiny than is standard pracice by the IAEA.

All Iran wanted in return was this: "In return, Iran wanted full diplomatic recognition from the United States along with a suspension of U.S. sanctions and an agreement to drop plans for regime change and support for groups opposed to the Iranian regime."

I see nothing wrong with this.

Therefore, all this is really nothing more than Iran just looking for a little respect. If this offer was sincere, I can begin to understand why many Muslims (and plenty of jihadists) contend that the US is in a cultural "crusade" against Islam. Because the ONLY reason I see that the US still won't form diplomatic ties with Iran is because of the 1979 revolution and subsequent hostage crisis.

That was over 26 years ago.

I should note, in closing, that I'm not the only one who has compared Iran to the former Soviet regime. I may have linked to it or not in my blog, but I remember seeing an article discussing Iran using proxies like Hezbollah (while also trying to make Iraq a proxy country) in the same way the USSR had it's communist "bloc" of eastern Europe countries.

I probably haven't stated these opinions eloquently enough to shed enough light on the possible thought processes behind the leaders of the US and Iran, but I hope to have at least started a pretty good theory here. It really does seem to me to be like Cold War rhetoric.

It isn't hard to do...

Al-Qaeda threatens jihad over Pope's remarks - World - Times Online

I'm reminded of a certain song every time I hear of stuff like this. That's all I wanted to say.

There's pr0n in the Bible! (kind of)

One preacher's message: Have hotter sex - America Unzipped - MSNBC.com

I realize that a lot of people outside of mainstream Christianity would probably find it strange that ANYONE Christian would encourage "hotter sex" in any way, shape or form, but it's not unheard of. In fact, there's a whole book in the Bible that is essentially three-thousand year old (for a lack of better words) literary porn. Example, if I may:

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
for your love is more delightful than wine.

3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the maidens love you!

4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.

That's from Song of Solomon 1:2-4. Here's a few others, just for shits and giggles:

3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my lover among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste. (SoS 2:3)

7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts like clusters of fruit.

8 I said, "I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit." (dude!)
May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,

9 and your mouth like the best wine. (SoS 7:7-9)

Well, I could go on. But I think you get the gist of it. The Bible has one book completely devoted to innuendo (of the romantic sort), even though it's only eight chapters.

I wonder how many people are truly aware of this little gem...

Springtime for Hitler?

CNN.com - Gadhafi opera bewilders critics - Sep 8, 2006

I just wonder how much Bialystock and Bloom had to do with this production...