borat has left 285 comments

borat comments on Engagement ring

I'm not African, but racists piss me off. So Darloup, could you please explain why you think it's clever to refer to Africans as backward. Unless you think that you are cognatively so far above everybody else here that we need to be informed of your sarcasm, I can only presume that you already realised that your thoughts were offensive?

borat comments on Noam Chomsky: ''Hablar de soberanía colombiana es un chiste''

If you live outside of Colombia, access to accurate information with regard to Colombia is more easily available, this is one or the reasons why Makopp is confused.

borat comments on

Colombia: Investigate Massacre in Southern Region Possible Army Involvement and Effort to Eliminate Witnesses in Killings of 12 Indigenous People August 27, 2009 Some 250 indigenous Awa people live in the administrative buildings of the reservation El Diviso. They left their farms after fleeing violence. © 2009 Stephen Ferry In Nariño, as in many parts of Colombia, the conflict rages on and abuses are rampant, yet often civilians feel ignored by the state. Instead of pretending the conflict doesn't exist, the national government needs to do much more to protect civilians, ensure accountability for abuses, and provide assistance to the victims. José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch(Washington, DC) - The Colombian government should ensure a prompt, independent, and thorough investigation of the killings of 12 members of the Awá indigenous community, and take immediate measures to protect the community, Human Rights Watch said today. Armed men in camouflage broke into a home early on the morning of August 26, 2009, shooting and killing 11 people, including four children and three teenagers, and wounding three more. The killings took place in El Rosario, Tumaco, in the southern border state of Nariño. The massacre came on the heels of the killing of Gonzalo Rodríguez, another member of the community, on August 23. Rodríguez's wife, Tulia García, who had witnessed his abduction, was among those killed on August 26. "Initial reports suggest that members of the Army may have massacred these people, with the purpose of eliminating and intimidating witnesses of atrocities," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "The government needs to make sure there is an effective investigation of this horrific crime." Official sources who spoke to Human Rights Watch reported that Rodríguez had been killed by members of the Army's Counter-guerrilla Battalion No. 23, who later told prosecutors that he was a member of the FARC guerrillas and that they killed him as he tried to escape. According to news reports, García saw armed men detain Rodríguez on August 23 and later found his body on the side of the road, his head riddled with bullets. She accused the Army of extrajudicially executing her husband. New armed groups linked to paramilitaries are also known to operate in the region, and may have assisted in the killings. According to reliable sources, the August 26 killings took place in García's home. The armed men killed her two children, a 6-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy. They also killed another woman, a 6-month-old baby, a 12-year-old, a 17-year-old, two 18-year-olds, and two men. The three people wounded included the son of the governor of the Gran Rosario Awá indigenous community and an 11-year-old boy. There is a heavy presence of various armed groups and Colombian military forces in Nariño, creating one of the worst human rights and humanitarian situations in Colombia. Civilians from the most vulnerable sectors of society, including Afro-Colombians and indigenous groups, are among the most adversely affected by the violence there. The government routinely fails to respond adequately to reports of abuses there, Human Rights Watch said. According to the Awá Indigenous Association (known as UNIPA), 38 members of the Awá have been killed so far this year. In February, at least 11 Awá were killed by the left-wing FARC guerrillas in one massacre. Human Rights Watch has met with Awá leaders in Nariño on several occasions, most recently in July. The Awá leaders reported a wide array of abuses, in addition to the killings, including death threats, the use of antipersonnel landmines in their territory, recruitment of children to serve as combatants in armed groups and massive forced displacement by various armed actors, including the FARC and new armed groups that the UNIPA describes as paramilitaries. Despite repeated calls on the national government to improve protection of civilians in Nariño, Human Rights Watch has continued receiving complaints that the state fails to act promptly to prevent abuses - even in the face of serious risk reports from the Early Warning System of the ombudsman's office. Human Rights Watch has also received numerous reports of inadequate investigations and insufficient humanitarian assistance by the state once abuses or displacements occur. "In Nariño, as in many parts of Colombia, the conflict rages on and abuses are rampant, yet often civilians feel ignored by the state," said Vivanco. "Instead of pretending the conflict doesn't exist, the national government needs to do much more to protect civilians, ensure accountability for abuses, and provide assistance to the victims." Also available in:Español

borat comments on Washington's Death Squad Democracy In Colombia

Old history? Colombia: Investigate Massacre in Southern Region Possible Army Involvement and Effort to Eliminate Witnesses in Killings of 12 Indigenous People August 27, 2009 Some 250 indigenous Awa people live in the administrative buildings of the reservation El Diviso. They left their farms after fleeing violence. © 2009 Stephen Ferry In Nariño, as in many parts of Colombia, the conflict rages on and abuses are rampant, yet often civilians feel ignored by the state. Instead of pretending the conflict doesn't exist, the national government needs to do much more to protect civilians, ensure accountability for abuses, and provide assistance to the victims. José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch(Washington, DC) - The Colombian government should ensure a prompt, independent, and thorough investigation of the killings of 12 members of the Awá indigenous community, and take immediate measures to protect the community, Human Rights Watch said today. Armed men in camouflage broke into a home early on the morning of August 26, 2009, shooting and killing 11 people, including four children and three teenagers, and wounding three more. The killings took place in El Rosario, Tumaco, in the southern border state of Nariño. The massacre came on the heels of the killing of Gonzalo Rodríguez, another member of the community, on August 23. Rodríguez's wife, Tulia García, who had witnessed his abduction, was among those killed on August 26. "Initial reports suggest that members of the Army may have massacred these people, with the purpose of eliminating and intimidating witnesses of atrocities," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "The government needs to make sure there is an effective investigation of this horrific crime." Official sources who spoke to Human Rights Watch reported that Rodríguez had been killed by members of the Army's Counter-guerrilla Battalion No. 23, who later told prosecutors that he was a member of the FARC guerrillas and that they killed him as he tried to escape. According to news reports, García saw armed men detain Rodríguez on August 23 and later found his body on the side of the road, his head riddled with bullets. She accused the Army of extrajudicially executing her husband. New armed groups linked to paramilitaries are also known to operate in the region, and may have assisted in the killings. According to reliable sources, the August 26 killings took place in García's home. The armed men killed her two children, a 6-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy. They also killed another woman, a 6-month-old baby, a 12-year-old, a 17-year-old, two 18-year-olds, and two men. The three people wounded included the son of the governor of the Gran Rosario Awá indigenous community and an 11-year-old boy. There is a heavy presence of various armed groups and Colombian military forces in Nariño, creating one of the worst human rights and humanitarian situations in Colombia. Civilians from the most vulnerable sectors of society, including Afro-Colombians and indigenous groups, are among the most adversely affected by the violence there. The government routinely fails to respond adequately to reports of abuses there, Human Rights Watch said. According to the Awá Indigenous Association (known as UNIPA), 38 members of the Awá have been killed so far this year. In February, at least 11 Awá were killed by the left-wing FARC guerrillas in one massacre. Human Rights Watch has met with Awá leaders in Nariño on several occasions, most recently in July. The Awá leaders reported a wide array of abuses, in addition to the killings, including death threats, the use of antipersonnel landmines in their territory, recruitment of children to serve as combatants in armed groups and massive forced displacement by various armed actors, including the FARC and new armed groups that the UNIPA describes as paramilitaries. Despite repeated calls on the national government to improve protection of civilians in Nariño, Human Rights Watch has continued receiving complaints that the state fails to act promptly to prevent abuses - even in the face of serious risk reports from the Early Warning System of the ombudsman's office. Human Rights Watch has also received numerous reports of inadequate investigations and insufficient humanitarian assistance by the state once abuses or displacements occur. "In Nariño, as in many parts of Colombia, the conflict rages on and abuses are rampant, yet often civilians feel ignored by the state," said Vivanco. "Instead of pretending the conflict doesn't exist, the national government needs to do much more to protect civilians, ensure accountability for abuses, and provide assistance to the victims." Also available in:Español

borat comments on Scottland Releases Terrorist on terms of Compassion ?

Rocco, let me apologise for being rude, to say that you are full of shit was arrogant and uncalled for. Please let me emphasise, that regardless, of any criminal government act, I would never condone a terrorist act that murders hundreds of innocent people. Only a brainless fool would suggest that the passengers on board the Pan Am flight were in some way responsible for the actions of the Vincennes. I think you can see that, nowhere above have I implied such craziness. Many people around the world are bitter towards your governments actions, but, this bitterness, should not be directed towards the American people themselves. I'm merely stating how the chain of events unfolded, I think the relatives of everybody involved would welcome the truth.

borat comments on Scandanavians - Don't you just love em!

bulls#*t The media is very different all over the world. There are countries where the media is completely controlled like the US, and there are countries which, while they have state compliant publications, they also have journalists like Robert Fisk, who are given access to the mainstream.

borat comments on Scottland Releases Terrorist on terms of Compassion ?

Ps. I don't think you will read anything above or elsewhere when I have defended criminal acts that my government has been responsible for in the past.

borat comments on Scottland Releases Terrorist on terms of Compassion ?

Rocco, fistly, I don't know how you come to the conclusion that Christine Grahame is of a liberal persuasion, not from anything posted here anyway. Secondly, I don't know why you are confused about the facts. I think it is clear from what I wrote above that the facts I was refering to were nothing to do with Christine Grahame, but just facts of history, and if you deny the fact that the Vincennes blasted an Iranian passenger jumbo out of the sky, months before they blew up an American airliner above Lockerbie, then I have nothing else to talk to you about. The third point is that I am English and while we have dishonest publications, and dishonest jourlalists who work for them, at the same time we have some of the best newspapers in the world who employ journalists that, tell the truth and are given access to the mainstream, which is a world away from what happens in the US. I think the last point I want to make is that, you don't know me and if you did, you wouldn't suggest 'crying' in the same sentence while talking about me. It doesn't supprise me that you want to drift off topic from that which you posted as you are full of shit and when someone points that out you want to change the subject. I can talk about your governments crimes in Bosnia or elsewhere if you like but this little chat is about the Pan Am flight which was destroyed above Scotland, so you'll have to post another misinformed post on whatever you like and I'll do my best to correct you.

borat comments on Scottland Releases Terrorist on terms of Compassion ?

yes, 'a few bad things that Americans have done', is misleading, first we're not talking about, 'Americans', we're talking about what the 'American military' has done, and secondly the use of the adverb 'few' is highly inappropriate, talk about 'few' to the families of the 6 million dead Indochinese, a consequence of your governments adventures, only 1 example.

borat comments on Scottland Releases Terrorist on terms of Compassion ?

And Christine Grahame appears not to be backing anyone significant, rather to be confronting those who are significant, which, to anyone, is surely commendable.

borat comments on Scottland Releases Terrorist on terms of Compassion ?

Rocco, you can talk rubbish about whatever you like, and then talk about other people wasting their time, sic! Facts are facts and while your media manages to communicate it's own version of history to the American people, elsewhere we're more priviliged. If the American military decides to blast an Iranian passenger jumbo out of the sky, and a few months later a jumbo full of Americans is blown up.... 2 + 2...?

borat comments on La Macarena Bogota - restaurants?

funny, yes the macarena has lots of good restaurants, one excellent place is Argentinian, excellent beef and a really cool atmosphere, it's opposite the bar / restaurant with all the toy dolls stuck around the exterior. On the other side of the crossroads, diagonally opposite!

borat comments on Gaddafi embraces Lockerbie bomber and thanks his 'courageous friend' Gordon Brown for releasing him

The Independent on Sunday Christine Grahame: Al-Megrahi is home. And he is innocent The release of the so-called Lockerbie bomber was long overdue, for the case against him was politically driven He is not a saint, of course – he had a history with Libyan intelligence – but his hands are clean over Lockerbie. For you should recall that five months before the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 on that dark, wild December night just before Christmas in 1988, an American military cruiser, the Vincennes, shot down an Iranian passenger plane carrying 290 pilgrims. No one has been charged, let alone prosecuted, over that, even though it was all captured on film. It is reasonable to deduce that when an American plane carrying, as some believed, military personnel back home to their religious festival, is blasted out of the sky, the finger of suspicion should not point first at Libya. Iran, maybe. However, Iran had to be kept on side because of the Iraq/Kuwait conflict. The Iran/Syria connection was soon dropped, and so Libya was indeed blamed. Here was a credible culprit. To successfully frame a nation, pick one like Libya, in which all the baddies of the Middle East are personified in a recognisable hate figure like Gadhafi. If you want to frame a man, pick one with a feasible track record. Then first sell it to the world through the press and, hey presto! But back to that film, which has not yet been seen here. After watching this disconcerting documentary, which challenged the reliability of key evidence, I got into conversations that night with Dr Jim Swire, with a forensic police scientist who had to label those bodies scattered across hundreds of acres of dark wintry hillside, with Father Patrick Keegan, the priest who lived in Sherwood Crescent (the only person who survived in that street) and with others. None of them supported the case against al-Megrahi. Since then I have met the man at the centre of it all on several occasions. Our first meeting took place on a blustery morning some months ago. Afterwards I was confronted by a crowd of reporters who waited until I emerged one hour later from speaking to a man so detested, so reviled by many that death in prison from cancer would be too good for him. He was sitting in front of a laptop, across the table in a room set aside of lawyers and their clients. His English was excellent and I remember trying to impress upon him that I was there for the duration, and not just this one visit. I told him that if I thought for one minute he was guilty I would walk out of the room. But he was intent on scrolling through the pages of the trial, pausing now and then to emphasise a point. Perhaps he was listening. On subsequent visits we could go straight to the point, and deal with "prisoner transfer": to qualify he would have to abandon the appeal which could allow him to clear his name. We also talked more of his family and the growing need, as his health worsened, as it clearly was doing, to be with them. It was then that his composure was momentarily lost; the emotion and tension were tangible. But although his priority was to be with them in his last days, he told me he did not want his name to go down in history as the Lockerbie bomber. He told me, in short, that he did not do it. I told him again that I thought he was innocent. Let me make one thing clear: I understand the hatred some feel for him, particularly the US relatives of the dead. It is, however, misplaced and it is in order to unravel for them the true story of Lockerbie, as much as to liberate an innocent man, that I and others worked hard for his compassionate release. This would have allowed the appeal process to be exhausted and evidence-led. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission considered there was evidence vital enough for it to consider that there might have been a miscarriage of justice. That evidence, particularly relating to the identification of al-Megrahi linking him directly to the bombing has never and will now never be tested in a Scottish court. My final meeting with him was on 23 July. He requested that it be private and I have kept my word till now. Apart from discussing his deteriorating health, increasing frailty and his family, we discussed at length his compassionate release. He wanted my advice. I told him I thought he had nothing to lose because if it was rejected he could abandon his appeal and take the prisoner transfer route. I advised him to consult his legal team. The next day he applied for compassionate release. Stupidly, I thought there was a good chance that after his death at home his appeal could still be pursued, by his family. But, like al-Megrahi, I am a tiny cog in an elaborate mechanism. Last week he abandoned his appeal. His counsel advised the court that he believed that to do so would "assist" with his "applications". The previous week I had received an email from a whistleblower in the Justice Department telling me that the Libyan officials were being told in no uncertain terms that he must drop his appeal or there would be no compassionate release. Al-Megrahi was a desperate man, but I believe there are other desperate men and women – in the US Justice Department and in Whitehall, – all with their own reasons for wanting that appeal to be ditched. Now he is home, but he is still, officially, a guilty man. Those who believe him guilty are crying foul. So are those of us who believe him innocent. And then there are those who are happily sipping their claret, their eyes on a comfortable unblemished retirement. As for any inquiry, that's out there in the long grass. They are people in authority who are relying on Lockerbie fatigue setting in again. It mustn't. The SNP's Christine Grahame is a Member of the Scottish Parliament

borat comments on Scottland Releases Terrorist on terms of Compassion ?

The American cruiser, the Vincennes, that blasted an Iranian passenger jumbo out of the sky a couple of months before Lockerbie, was so aggressive in it's patroling of the Gulf that it was nicknamed Robo-cruiser by the crews of the other cruisers patrolling the Gulf. See, The Great War for Civilisation, by Robert Fisk, for more details

borat comments on Scottland Releases Terrorist on terms of Compassion ?

The Independent on Sunday Christine Grahame: Al-Megrahi is home. And he is innocent The release of the so-called Lockerbie bomber was long overdue, for the case against him was politically driven I became involved with Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi quite by accident. Like many people I had been suffering from Lockerbie fatigue. For me, and for you, I suppose, life had moved on from that horrendous crime over 20 years ago and the imprisonment of the Libyan murderer. That was that. At least it was, until I agreed, by chance, to sponsor the showing of a Dutch documentary about the Lockerbie bombing at Parliament. I invited all MSPs and researchers, and indeed the press corps, to see this film. One MSP and one member of the press came, and I really only saw it because I felt obliged to attend. But that film changed my perspective. From that casual moment, and from much that I have learned since, I am convinced not only that Megrahi was not found guilty "beyond reasonable doubt", the test in Scot's law, but that he is an innocent man. He is not a saint, of course – he had a history with Libyan intelligence – but his hands are clean over Lockerbie. For you should recall that five months before the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 on that dark, wild December night just before Christmas in 1988, an American military cruiser, the Vincennes, shot down an Iranian passenger plane carrying 290 pilgrims. No one has been charged, let alone prosecuted, over that, even though it was all captured on film. It is reasonable to deduce that when an American plane carrying, as some believed, military personnel back home to their religious festival, is blasted out of the sky, the finger of suspicion should not point first at Libya. Iran, maybe. However, Iran had to be kept on side because of the Iraq/Kuwait conflict. The Iran/Syria connection was soon dropped, and so Libya was indeed blamed. Here was a credible culprit. To successfully frame a nation, pick one like Libya, in which all the baddies of the Middle East are personified in a recognisable hate figure like Gadhafi. If you want to frame a man, pick one with a feasible track record. Then first sell it to the world through the press and, hey presto! But back to that film, which has not yet been seen here. After watching this disconcerting documentary, which challenged the reliability of key evidence, I got into conversations that night with Dr Jim Swire, with a forensic police scientist who had to label those bodies scattered across hundreds of acres of dark wintry hillside, with Father Patrick Keegan, the priest who lived in Sherwood Crescent (the only person who survived in that street) and with others. None of them supported the case against al-Megrahi. Since then I have met the man at the centre of it all on several occasions. Our first meeting took place on a blustery morning some months ago. Afterwards I was confronted by a crowd of reporters who waited until I emerged one hour later from speaking to a man so detested, so reviled by many that death in prison from cancer would be too good for him. He was sitting in front of a laptop, across the table in a room set aside of lawyers and their clients. His English was excellent and I remember trying to impress upon him that I was there for the duration, and not just this one visit. I told him that if I thought for one minute he was guilty I would walk out of the room. But he was intent on scrolling through the pages of the trial, pausing now and then to emphasise a point. Perhaps he was listening. On subsequent visits we could go straight to the point, and deal with "prisoner transfer": to qualify he would have to abandon the appeal which could allow him to clear his name. We also talked more of his family and the growing need, as his health worsened, as it clearly was doing, to be with them. It was then that his composure was momentarily lost; the emotion and tension were tangible. But although his priority was to be with them in his last days, he told me he did not want his name to go down in history as the Lockerbie bomber. He told me, in short, that he did not do it. I told him again that I thought he was innocent. Let me make one thing clear: I understand the hatred some feel for him, particularly the US relatives of the dead. It is, however, misplaced and it is in order to unravel for them the true story of Lockerbie, as much as to liberate an innocent man, that I and others worked hard for his compassionate release. This would have allowed the appeal process to be exhausted and evidence-led. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission considered there was evidence vital enough for it to consider that there might have been a miscarriage of justice. That evidence, particularly relating to the identification of al-Megrahi linking him directly to the bombing has never and will now never be tested in a Scottish court. My final meeting with him was on 23 July. He requested that it be private and I have kept my word till now. Apart from discussing his deteriorating health, increasing frailty and his family, we discussed at length his compassionate release. He wanted my advice. I told him I thought he had nothing to lose because if it was rejected he could abandon his appeal and take the prisoner transfer route. I advised him to consult his legal team. The next day he applied for compassionate release. Stupidly, I thought there was a good chance that after his death at home his appeal could still be pursued, by his family. But, like al-Megrahi, I am a tiny cog in an elaborate mechanism. Last week he abandoned his appeal. His counsel advised the court that he believed that to do so would "assist" with his "applications". The previous week I had received an email from a whistleblower in the Justice Department telling me that the Libyan officials were being told in no uncertain terms that he must drop his appeal or there would be no compassionate release. Al-Megrahi was a desperate man, but I believe there are other desperate men and women – in the US Justice Department and in Whitehall, – all with their own reasons for wanting that appeal to be ditched. Now he is home, but he is still, officially, a guilty man. Those who believe him guilty are crying foul. So are those of us who believe him innocent. And then there are those who are happily sipping their claret, their eyes on a comfortable unblemished retirement. As for any inquiry, that's out there in the long grass. They are people in authority who are relying on Lockerbie fatigue setting in again. It mustn't. The SNP's Christine Grahame is a Member of the Scottish Parliament

borat comments on About to book my flight just need advice/re-assurance

Ignore anyone that hasn't been here, who believes they have any idea what it's like.

borat comments on So much for the closeness of Colombian families!

Well, my girlfriend, not only contributes (alongside her other siblings) towards her parents (and younger sister who's still at Uni) expenses, but she's just bought her father a car. She hasn't bought the car outright, she had to take a loan. Her father was bored, he couldn't find employment, he's 70. She's got a good job and is in the fortunate position to be able to do something like this. She isn't rich and she had to get support from the bank to be able to do this, she doesn't have a car herself, neither does she live with them, different cities.

borat comments on Christians United for Israel

you really devalue the meaning of anti-semitism

borat comments on Christians United for Israel

yes, let's support Israel, let's give their government more money and hence more weapons so they can kill more babies

borat comments on

Once again, trying, very hard to misinterpret people, why does everyone who disagrees with you have to be grouped together as one. I'm not pot belllied or boisterous, nor do I believe that all Colombian women, are opportunistic who don't deserve to be respected. My girlfriend is Colombian and I love her very much. I can understand how some female readers could get offended by some of Elmo's comments, and I know he himself has said sorry when he has felt that he may have offended another poster. I don't consider myself to a member of anyone's 'fan club' but I can't say I've enjoyed reading or been educated about Colombia, more, by anyone elses posts. I think that a lot of the time Elmo is joking and he is funny and he shouldn't be taken seriously, it's a joke. I don't think this argument is about disrsepect to women, many women above have expressed pleasure at reading Elmo's observations, but if you continue to misinterpret people, it can be irritating, especially for the person who is being misrepresented. I haven't seen the burrita pix on this site but, well it seems on some parts of the coast here, it's kind of a right of passage in some small rural coastal communities here. If you go to VBS.TV, there is a documentary on there about this. This kind of thing happens around the world, you know what they say about the Welsh and in 'The great war for civilisation' by Robert Fisk, he writes that, while covering the Russian invasion of Afganistan, he witnessed a couple of Afgani blokes beasting a camel, however his Times editors felt that this may be a bit too much, on a sunday morning, for their readers to stomach, so it was cut.

borat comments on

Darloup's very deceitful and dishonest, he isn't intelligent about it and I'm not sure how he manages to fool anyone?

borat comments on

I used to take them all as long as the doors closed, pretty cool machines, our garage had a complete fleet of brand new $500,000 turbo charged volvo's. Anyone in that job needs to leave it mate, always stay 4 minutes early!

borat comments on

and very unhealthy, during the three years I spent at norwood garage, 3 drivers had heart attacks, and many of the old timers had pain in their necks through twisted nerves.

borat comments on

probably the most difficult job that I've ever done. 3 years out of Norwood garage, 432, 417, 68, 2, 249. I had about 30 accidents in 3 years, abused every day.

borat comments on

sorry, I pasted the whole thing, it came to me through facebook, if you google.....poem, don't dance so fast, more information comes available, it seems genuine. I just liked the poem

borat comments on

This is not a joke or chain letter as such but a beautiful poem, and a lesson for us to consider. This poem was written by a terminally ill young girl in a New York Hospital. It was sent by a medical doctor - Dr. Yeou Cheng Ma. Please do what you can to help fulfill this young girl's dream by also reading what is in the closing statement AFTER THE POEM. SLOW DANCE Have you ever watched kids On a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain Slapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night? You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Do you run through each day On the fly? When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply? When the day is done Do you lie in your bed With the next hundred chores Running through your head? You'd better slow down Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Ever told your child, We'll do it tomorrow? And in your haste, Not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch, Let a good friendship die Cause you never had time To call and say "Hi"? You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. When you run so fast to get somewhere You miss half the fun of getting there. When you worry and hurry through your day, It is like an unopened gift.... Thrown away. Life is not a race. Do take it slower Hear the music Before the song is over. PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO HELP THIS LITTLE GIRL. ALL FORWARDED E-MAILS ARE TRACKED TO OBTAIN THE TOTAL COUNT. Dear All: PLEASE pass this mail on to everybody you know. It is the request of a special little girl who will soon leave this world as she has cancer. Thank you for your effort, this isn't a chain letter, but a choice for all of us to save a little girl that's dying of a serious and fatal form of cancer. Please send this to everyone you know... or don't know. This little girl has 6 months left to live, and as her dying wish, she wanted to send a letter telling everyone to live their life to the fullest, since she never will. She'll never make it to prom, graduate from high school, or get married and have a family of her own. By you sending this to as many people as possible, you can give her and her family a little hope, because with every name that this is sent to, The American Cancer Society will donate 3 cents per name to her treatment and recovery plan. One guy sent this to 500 people!!!! So I know that we can send it to at least 5 or 6. Just think it could be you one day. It's not even your money, just your time!!! "PLEASE PASS ON AS A LAST REQUEST" Dr. Dennis Shields, Professor Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology Albert Einstein College of Medicine of [Contact information omitted]

borat comments on THE REAL TRUTH,TIME TO END THIS .NOW

Mark Steel: Now we've all seen through the Israeli government's excuses If the Hamas rockets are so lethal, why doesn't Israel swap an F-16 for some? Wednesday, 21 January 2009 The worrying part about whether the ceasefire in Gaza can hold together will be whether the international community can stop the flow of arms to the terrorists. Because Israel's getting their planes and tanks and missiles from somewhere and until this supply is cut off there's every chance it could start up again. The disregard for life from these terrorists and their supporters is shocking. For example Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, wrote that the purpose of the Israeli attack must be to "inflict a heavy death toll and heavy pain on the Gaza population". Replace "Gaza" with "western", and that could have been written by al-Qa'ida. Maybe this is the problem: the Israelis are writing their policies by downloading statements from an Islamic Jihad website and just changing the place names. Also, if the Israelis think the Hamas rockets are as lethal as they say, why don't they swap their F-16 fighters and Apachehelicopters for a few of them? These things are capable of terrorising a whole nation for years apparently, yet the Israelis have neglected to buy any, wasting their money on gunboats and stuff. Given that their annual arms budget is $7.2bn plus $2.2 bn in "aid", they'd save enough to buy a selection of banks in every country in the world. The military advantages would be enormous because the Israelis' complaint about Hamas is the use of tunnels to smuggle arms. But if Israel gave Hamas a few planes and tanks and helicopters, they could probably be persuaded to shut down those tunnels that seem to be the cause of such bad feeling. Whatever you say about Israel, at least it moves its weapons about legally – except for when it secretly built a nuclear arsenal against an array of international agreements. But they did it above ground and not in a tunnel and that's the main thing. Watching the reports from Gaza, another reason why the ceasefire may break down becomes apparent. The Israelis might claim that their satellite pictures now show Palestinians in possession of huge mounds of rubble – lethal if thrown over the border. Luckily these weapons are easy to spot. Most of them are next to women howling, "Look what they've done to my house," but perhaps the airforce should bomb them again – just in case. The Israelis say they fear Hamas will once again break the ceasefire by sending over those rockets. But the whole point of the operation was to make that impossible. Because they must have asked themselves the question, "If we slaughter 1,300 people, including 300 children, is that likely to make people: A. less cross or B. more cross?" And presumably they concluded it will make them much less likely to grow up full of hatred and determination to retaliate. Perhaps they saw medical research that shows when someone is suffering from anxiety and bouts of irascible ill-tempered behaviour, the best treatment is to pen them in with no food or medicine and then kill some of them, and that calms them down a treat. Another way to allay their worries about Hamas breaking the ceasefire is to read the report from their government's own Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre. This states that during the ceasefire "Hamas did not take part in any rocket fire and sometimes prevented other organisations from attacking." Still, with all that's been going on I suppose they haven't had time for reading. Despite all this there might be one cheery sign, which is that never before have so many people seen through the Israeli government's excuses for handing out mass destruction. The demonstrations in support of Palestinians have been bigger than ever before, and even the United Nations and the Wall Street Journal have suggestedIsrael has committed war crimes. One poll in America suggested that 60 per cent of people opposed the bombardment, and the change of opinion reached the point that an Israeli diplomat has admitted that "The harm to civilians in Gaza is causing us huge damage." Maybe, best of all, was genetics expert Steven Rose who appeared on Radio 4's Today programme to talk about a new study that's located "morality spots", the part of the brain that deals with our morality. Asked how we could know whether this was true, he said in a marvellously posh academic Radio 4 voice "Well we could test the brains of the Israeli cabinet and see if they've got no morality spots whatsoever." And the most immoral part of all is the perfectly cynical timing, as if three weeks ago Bush shouted: "Last orders please. Any last bombing, before time's up? Come along now, haven't you got homes to demolish?" Source: The Independent

borat comments on not just Colombia

sorry if I misunderstood you TS, I just wanted to emphasise that there was a lot of violence directed towards bus drivers in London.

borat comments on Conclusion of the "Are you happy in Colombia?" post

I think that the colombians I know and have met hold England in high regard. I think one of the main reasons for this is the economic and social stability. So along with being intensly proud of their country, rightly so, it's a very beautiful country with beautiful people, I'm sure, and this goes with loving your country they may be a little, well you use the word insecure, don't know if that's the right word or not, but insecure about the economic and social instability and inequality.

borat comments on not just Colombia

I used to live in surrey quays, and also for a year on the peypes (can't remember the spelling) estate in depford, both next door to Bermondsey. And yes I know the area, rough, I lived in SE London for 10 yrs. I also drove buses for 3 years, from norwood garage, through brixton, stockwell, clapham and streatham, and you're wrong about the violence, I think bus drivers here, have less hassle than those in London. Also you talk about the docks, look at Liverpool, used to be the biggest docks in the world, ever since closure, the city's been famous for the highest crime rates in england.

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bill, homemade palestinian rockets have killed about 20 israelis over the past twenty years, a rather pathetic response to the illegal occupation, how many palestinians, lebanese has israel murdered?

borat comments on U.S. Military Plans Invading Mexico & Occupying It

well, Pakistan already has a US imposed, unpopular, elitist regime, so that's that base covered. Why can't Musharaf take out bin laden, the borders that we helped to draw over there are not recognised in the same way by the indigenous populations, tribal communities who are not governed by Musharaf. How many people do you recommend that the US kills before it looks at itself for the solution?

borat comments on HORAY HORAY ,BRITS USING A COLOMBIAN TO SHOW THE WAY

only one God, he wore no.9 and scored a hatrick past englands back 4 in under 5 mins.....and he's real.

borat comments on U.S. Military Plans Invading Mexico & Occupying It

I don't think he's dead, last weeks recording looked pretty authentic, but even if he is dead, again LC, what good do you suggest would come from invading and occupying Pakistan. You say that the 'good' would be that, then, an imposed, (by the US, consistent strategy across the ME and the world) unpopular, elitist regime would kill one man, who may or may not be in the country, and who is now largely irrelevant with regard to the future security of the US. And lastly, as usual of course, the consiquence, how many millions of women, men and children, collateral damdge? strange ideas

borat comments on not just Colombia

What the people of Manchester think of the Kaka transfer saga Should a football club in the depths of a recession spend £100m on a player? By Paul Vallely Saturday, 17 January 2009 GETTY IMAGES Paul Chadwick the butcher is hoping Kaka, and his wife Caroline (pictured) pay him a visit For a few delicious days the front page of the Manchester Evening News has sparkled with the tantalising prospect of football's biggest transfer ever. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahya, the oil billionaire owner of Manchester City football club, has offered to pay £100m-plus for the Brazilian superstar Kaka. And he is prepared to pay him £500,000 a week in wages. But if you turn to the business pages of the newspaper the mood becomes much more gloomy. There, the reports of closures, sales slumps and redundancies portray a region contracting at a faster rate even than the UK average. A survey by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce showed that a quarter of manufacturers expect to axe staff over the next three months. So this week I contacted half a dozen of the people featured on the business pages to ask them what they felt about Kaka – and how such footballing über-confidence squares with a nation in recession. At Eighth Day, a health food shop and café, which was in the news for turning a small workers' co-operative into a thriving business with a £1.5m turnover, the verdict on the transfer was scathing. "It points up something absurd about the values of modern Britain," said Brenda Smith. "We're a workers' co-op where everyone earns the same [£7.75 an hour] whether they are a fully-qualified nutritionist or someone who does the washing up. There are parts of Manchester which are among the poorest places in the country. The only upside is that he might pay lots of tax, though it'll probably all get tied up in offshore trusts. This is indicative of what's wrong with this country today. I say boo to the whole business." In the Trafford Park industrial zone, hard by the home ground of City's major rivals, Manchester United, the GMB union's local organiser, Eddie Gaudie, was doing battle to save 415 jobs at the logistics firm Wincanton. He was also looking askance at plans by the retail chain Argos to axe 200 workers at its nearby distribution centre, which is, in the bitterest of ironies, to be turned into a "museum of industrial heritage". "By all means pay people for their skills," the union man said, "but it's utterly ridiculous to pay a man half a million a week in a city where the average wage is between £13-15,000 a year, not a week, and where some people are struggling just to put food on the table." But others take a rather different view. The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce acknowledged that the club's offer might, "further reinforce the view that Premier League players are paid excessive sums of money". But its spokesman, Paul Kirkham, pointed out that the sporting economy also brings a significant amount of income to Manchester. The proposed transfer of a world-class player like Kaka could only be good news for the city as a whole. "He's a world-class player for a world-class city," said David Potts, the retail and logistics director of the supermarket chain Tesco, which was in the Evening News announcing a £65m investment in Greater Manchester which should create 1,700 jobs over the next12 months. Mr Potts is biased. He joined a Manchester branch of Tesco aged 16 and has worked his way up to board level and a £500,000 salary. He is also a City season ticket holder. "What a great front four," he said. "Kaka, Robinho, Wright-Philips and Sturridge, who is a local lad who came up through the club's academy". Manchester City is famous for nurturing local talent through its youth academy. "Those who keep investing through bad times as well as good will reap rewards," said Mr Potts, speaking of his football club – though the sentiment was just as apt for his day-job. Tesco has just opened a big new store down the road from the City ground, in Cheetham Hill, a regeneration area where 179 of the 380 staff have been taken from the long-term unemployed register – and where local people were trained by Tesco in social skills and shopwork to the level where they could successfully apply for the jobs they have secured. Success breeds success, he might well say. Which is probably why those at the centre of the few other "good news" stories in the newspaper were also upbeat about the Kaka offer. "At the end of the day you have to pay the going rate," said Lee Shuell, who in March was one of 800 people made redundant by the sub-prime lender GMAC. He bought into a property rental franchise with Belvoir Lettings, where business is now booming in the ill wind of recession as tenants hold back from buying and many home-owners are becoming landlords, renting out the houses they could only sell now for a much diminished price. "£100m is not a mad amount of money in a world where Cristiano Ronaldo can write off a £200,000 Ferrari and then drive home in his Bentley. It's all good for Manchester. Of course City are paying an inflated fee, but the market is inflated already, with other clubs asking City more for the players they want than other clubs would countenance." Might that fantasy feel-good factor manage to trickle its way down through the region? There's only the slimmest chance, said Paul Chadwick, the managing director of Chadwick Family's Emporium of Fine Foods, at Standish, near Wigan, which has seen sales soar since it won a major national food award recently. "It doesn't really reflect on the local economy; football is a globalised business. It's a ridiculous amount of money, but then again football has always involved ridiculous amounts since the days when Tom Finney [the Fifties footballing legend] was paid £9 a week. "At the end of the day the fans will vote with their feet, which is what people do in my shop. The important thing is to keep buoyant and confident and keep the customers happy." As for Kaka? "We'll just have to hope he comes here to buy his meat."

borat comments on THE REAL TRUTH,TIME TO END THIS .NOW

denial of the holocaust is pointless. It doesn't matter whether it was 6 million or whatever it was, it was most definitely a holocaust, we all know the details. that not only doesn't excuse Israel from it's current behaviour, it makes it much worse.

borat comments on THE REAL TRUTH,TIME TO END THIS .NOW

MIR, "that's not the point", I disagree I think in times of war death is exactly the point. International law and the international community, and anyone who cares to read knows who legitimately owns the land.

borat comments on U.S. Military Plans Invading Mexico & Occupying It

"likely to do more harm than good." what good?

borat comments on not just Colombia

before you start to claim that I'm trying to claim crime in Colombia and crime in England can be compared, I'm not. I just thought it was a nice example how lack of economic resources can effect crime, then throw narcotics into the mix.

borat comments on

ok, I don't know what it's like to be prey, suppose you have a different view of the world

borat comments on

ok mate, whatever turns you on. The only people who've appraoched me, to rob me here, are a couple of broken human beings, one, with what looked like a piece of glass, 2 days later i walked past him, asleep on the floor, I don't think my 5mil changed his life too much, and the other one had a spoon. I don't think I would "feel sorry" for the kind of character you describe above, although I don't share your fury. This is not the only country in the world, (tell me of a country where you don't) have to watch your back. Same rules apply.

borat comments on

what a load of bollox, you have to be careful anywhere, at the end of the day, no one wants to kill you here, it's not some kind of sport, there are just a lot of poor people here, switzerland and calcutter in the same country, you can't give more than you have on you, same as many other places, a lot better in this respect than many other places. If someone comes up to you with a knife, give them what they want, end of story, no problem, they probably need it more than youjajjaj, it's a nice country come, enjoy and don't worry.

borat comments on

I live in the candelaria in Bogota and have been walking around after dark for over a year, not a problem. I agree with Christobeldawg's post above.

borat comments on Israeli weaponry under scrutiny

tough guy, let's burn more babies

borat comments on U.S. Military Plans Invading Mexico & Occupying It

Lcacique, sorry I though you had suggested that the bombing of Iraq was in response to 9/11. The people who were responsible for 9/11, died on 9/11. The US administration never wanted to bomb Afganistan, proof of this can be found by looking at how quickly they switched attention to Iraq, (and ultimately eventually handing over control of most of the country to the Taliban). Al Qaeda have a cell structure, Bin Laden is not sitting in the Hindu Kush with a comunications center, doesn't work like that. They wanted to bomb Iraq from the start which is also what Richard Clark reported. The US had managed to keep the Shia majority crushed by supporting Saddam, but wanted a more long term solution, with somebody they could do business with without haning over control to the indigenous population. But none of this is in response to 9/11. This policy has been the same for the last 40 years, which is why 9/11 happened.

borat comments on Colombia Farc attack 'kills four'

I could condem farc but why bother, they have been a spent force for a while now. They lost all legitamacy when they started to abuse the innocents that they were supposed to represent. If I were Colombian I would be embarrased of farc as one of the most pathetic resistance movements in the world. I could say more but it's nothing that you don't already know. regards, a left winger.

borat comments on U.S. Military Plans Invading Mexico & Occupying It

Plus, the Taliban had all but eradicated heroin production.

borat comments on U.S. Military Plans Invading Mexico & Occupying It

Bin laden had no relationship with sadam. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.

borat comments on U.S. Military Plans Invading Mexico & Occupying It

"It is the Middle East version of Colombia and it is linked to a terrorist attack on the US." The 19 hijackers were from.... 16 Saudi 2 Egyptian 1 Lebonese

borat comments on THE REAL TRUTH,TIME TO END THIS .NOW

www.democracynow.org/2009/1/14/white_phosphorous__and_dense_inert_metal