Cool clouds . . .

Camping Weekend

Camping weekend . . .

Best sunrise of the week

Send them more rope . . . or sheets, whatever works

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Three Guantanamo Bay detainees hanged themselves with nooses made of sheets and clothes, the commander of the detention center said, bringing further condemnation of the isolated camp where hundreds of men have been held for years without charge.

Military officials said the suicides were coordinated acts of protests, but human rights activists and defense attorneys said the deaths signaled the desperation of many of the 460 detainees held on suspicion of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban. Only 10 have been charged with crimes and there has been growing international pressure on the U.S. to close the prison.

Two men from Saudi Arabia and one from Yemen were found dead shortly after midnight Saturday in separate cells, said the Miami-based U.S. Southern Command, which has jurisdiction over the prison. Attempts were made to revive them, but they failed.

"They hung themselves with fabricated nooses made out of clothes and bed sheets," Navy Rear Adm. Harry Harris told reporters in a conference call from the U.S. base in southeastern Cuba.
"They have no regard for human life," he said. "Neither ours nor their own. I believe this was not an act of desperation but an act of asymmetric warfare against us."

To help prevent more suicides, guards will now give bed sheets to detainees only when they go to bed and remove them after they wake up in the morning, Harris said.

Gen. John Craddock, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, said in the conference call that the three had left suicide notes, but refused to disclose the contents.

One of the detainees was a mid- or high-level al-Qaida operative, Harris said, while another had been captured in Afghanistan and participated in a riot at a prison there. The third belonged to a splinter group.

Some of the evidence against detainees is classified, so they are not permitted to know of it, and are thus unable to challenge it.

The military did not release the three detainees' names.

But Saudi Arabia identified the two Saudis as Sunday as Mani bin Shaman bin Turki al Habradi and Yasser Talal Abdullah Yahya al Zahrani. The Saudi government has begun procedures to have their bodies sent home, Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Turki told The Associated Press.

A list of Guantanamo detainees provided by the Pentagon identified one Saudi Arabian detainee as Talal Yasser al Zharani, 21.

"They're determined, intelligent, committed elements and they continue to do everything they can ... to become martyrs in the jihad," said Craddock.

He said all three had engaged in a hunger strike to protest their indefinite incarceration and had been force-fed before quitting the protest action. Military commanders said two were participating in the hunger strike as recently as last month, and described one of them as a long-term hunger striker who had begun the protest late last year and ended it in May.

Bush, who was spending the weekend at Camp David, expressed "serious concern" over the suicides and directed his administration to reach out diplomatically while it investigates, White House press secretary Tony Snow said Saturday evening.

Amnesty International said the apparent suicides "are the tragic results of years of arbitrary and indefinite detention" and called the prison "an indictment" of the Bush administration's human rights record.

Detainees "have this incredible level of despair that they will never get justice," said Barbara Olshansky of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents about 300 Guantanamo prisoners.

"I don't think this country wants the stain of injustice on it for many years to come," she said, appealing to the Bush administration "for immediate action to do the right thing."
Pentagon officials said the three men were in Camp 1, the highest security prison at Guantanamo, and none had tried to commit suicide before.

Though the military termed the deaths apparent suicides, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was investigating to establish the official cause of death.
Saudi Arabia's state-sponsored Saudi Human Rights group blamed the U.S. for the deaths and suggested torture may have been involved.

"There are no independent monitors at the detention camp so it is easy to pin the crime on the prisoners ... it's possible they were tortured," Mufleh al-Qahtani, the group's deputy director, said in a statement to the local Al-Riyadh newspaper.

The U.S. has said it forbids the torture of detainees and has improved measures to prevent any mistreatment.

The commander of the Guantanamo detention center, Navy Rear Adm. Harry Harris, told reporters the three committed suicide by hanging themselves with "nooses made out of clothes and bed sheets."

Military officials said the men, all of whom left suicide notes, had been held in Guantanamo Bay for about four years. According to Harris, all three detainees had engaged in a hunger strike to protest their indefinite incarceration and had been force-fed before quitting their protest.
One of the detainees was accused by the US of being a mid- or high-level al-Qaida operative, while another had been captured in Afghanistan and participated in a riot at a prison there, Harris said. The third belonged to a splinter group, he added.

Guantanamo officials have reported 41 unsuccessful suicide attempts by 25 detainees since the U.S. began taking prisoners to the base in January 2002. Defense lawyers contend the number of suicide attempts is higher.

Guantanamo Bay has become a sore subject between Bush and U.S. allies who otherwise are staunch supporters of his policies.

A U.N. panel said May 19 that holding detainees indefinitely at Guantanamo violated the world's ban on torture and the United States should close the detention center.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are among those who also recently have urged the United States to close the prison.

Until now, Guantanamo officials have said there have been 41 suicide attempts by 25 detainees and no deaths since the U.S. began taking prisoners to the base in January 2002. Defense lawyers contend the number of suicide attempts is higher.

Mark Denbeaux, a law professor at Seton Hall University in New Jersey who represents two Tunisians at Guantanamo, said he believes others there are candidates for suicide.

Denbeaux said one of his clients, Mohammed Abdul Rahman, appeared to be depressed and hardly spoke during a June 1 visit. Rahman was on a hunger strike at the time and was force-fed soon after, Denbeaux said.

"He told us he would rather die than stay in Guantanamo," the attorney said. "He doesn't believe he will ever get out of Guantanamo alive."

Why should we give a shit, one way or the other?!?

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An Iraqi man who was one of the first people on the scene after an airstrike that led to the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi told Associated Press Television News that he saw American troops beating a man who had a beard like the al-Qaida leader.
The witness said he saw the man lying on the ground, badly wounded but still alive. He said U.S. troops arriving on the scene wrapped the man's head in an Arab robe and began beating him. His account cannot be independently verified.

The spokesman for the U.S.-led forces in Iraq says troops tried to provide medical attention after they saw that al-Zarqawi was alive but he recognized them as American troops and tried to get away.

Major Gen. William Caldwell said the troops "re-secured" al-Zarqawi back onto the stretcher before he died almost immediately.

What kills me is the fact that the liberal "drive by media" would trot out an unsubstantiated claim like this . . . in my humble opinion, this asshole sould have been sent to hell by whatever means necessary . . . two 500 pound bombs will mess up a person's health records beyond repair . . . any civilian who doesn't realize that fact is an asshole too!

Top 10 TV Sweeties, tah dah . . . # 1

Piece of My Heart (2005) (announced) (rumored) .... Janis Joplin
Case 39 (2007) (pre-production)
Bee Movie (2007) (post-production) (voice) .... Vanessa
Miss Potter (2006) (post-production) .... Beatrix Potter
Cinderella Man (2005) .... Mae Braddock
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) .... Bridget Jones... aka Bridget Jones 2 (UK: informal title) ... aka Bridget Jones: L'âge de raison (France)
Shark Tale (2004) (voice) .... Angie
Cold Mountain (2003) .... Ruby Thewes
Down with Love (2003) .... Barbara Novak... aka Down with Love - Zum Teufel mit der Liebe! (Germany)
Chicago (2002) .... Roxie Hart... aka Chicago (Germany)
White Oleander (2002) .... Claire Richards... aka Weißer Oleander (Germany)
"Saturday Night Live" ... aka SNL ... aka SNL 25 (USA: new title) - Episode #26.17 (2001) TV Episode .... Host
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) .... Bridget Jones... aka Bridget Jones (UK: informal title) ... aka Journal de Bridget Jones, Le (France)
"King of the Hill" - Ho, Yeah! (2001) TV Episode (voice) .... Tammy Duvall
Me, Myself & Irene (2000) .... Irene P. Waters
Nurse Betty (2000) .... Betty Sizemore... aka Nurse Betty - Gefährliche Träume (Germany)
The Bachelor (1999) .... Anne Arden
One True Thing (1998) .... Ellen Gulden
A Price Above Rubies (1998) .... Sonia Horowitz
Deceiver (1997) .... Elizabeth... aka Liar (UK)
Jerry Maguire (1996) (as Renee Zellweger) .... Dorothy Boyd
The Whole Wide World (1996) .... Novalyne Price
The Low Life (1995) .... Poet
Empire Records (1995) (as Renee Zellweger) .... Gina... aka Empire ... aka Rock & Fun
The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1994) (as Renee Zellweger) .... Jenny... aka The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (USA: reissue title)
Love and a .45 (1994) .... Starlene Cheatham
Shake, Rattle and Rock! (1994) (TV) .... Susan
8 Seconds (1994) .... Buckle Bunny... aka The Lane Frost Story
Reality Bites (1994) (as Renee Zellweger) .... Tami
My Boyfriend's Back (1993) (uncredited)
Murder in the Heartland (1993) (TV) (uncredited) .... Barbara
A Taste for Killing (1992) (TV) .... Mary Lou

Top 10 TV Sweeties # 2

Lauren Ambrose is best known for her role as a hometown girl in the HBO series Six Feet Under. Other excellent examples of her acting ability in this role are Party of Five and Can't Hardly Wait.

Top 10 TV Sweeties # 3

Jennifer Love Hewitt is the epitome of the girl-next-door, she just happens to have been blessed with a supermodel figure. Her best performance were in Can't Hardly Wait, Party of Five, and Heartbreakers. Want a dose of innocent hometown charm in an actress? JLH's got it.

Top 10 TV Sweeties # 4

Sally Field is one of my favorite all time actresses period! Gidget, The Flying Nun, Steel Magnolias, and Forrest Gump are great examples of her talents. She transitioned from the girl next door to the mom next door and never missed a beat. Great actress!

Top 10 TV Sweeties # 5

Molly Ringwald, hometown girl movie icon of the 1980's. Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club, and 16 Candles put her in the Top 5 with ease.

Top 10 TV Sweeties # 6

Jennifer Grey ("Baby" Houseman in Dirty Dancing) is a classic example of an actress who plays the "hometown girl" with exceptional style. After undergoing rhinoplasty (nose job), I think her girl next door appeal was lost but it didn't hinder her acting career. Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Red Dawn were pre-rhinoplasty films, as was Dirty Dancing for which she is probably best known.

TOP 10 TV Sweeties # 7

Lea Thompson (Amanda Jones in Some Kind of Wonderful) is a great pick for this list. Back To The Future 2 and Red Dawn were great moments in her career, but her role as Amanda Jones was easily her finest portrayal of a hometown honey.

Top 10 TV Sweeties # 8

Mary Stuart Masterson - Her roles in Some Kind of Wonderful and Fried Green Tomatoes place her on easily on this list. Her tone of voice is a unique attribute.

TOP 10 TV Sweeties # 9

Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future 2 and 3, Soapdish, Leaving Vegas, and The Marrying Man are her best performances. In the role of the babysitter she earned her spot on this list as a hometown honey . . . she can play a near-perfect 70's "wild child" with equal ease.

Top 10 TV Sweeties #10

Kelly Rutherford is probably best known for starring as Megan Mancini in the long-running Fox series, "Melrose Place". She appeared in a host of films throughout her career.

Top 10 TV Sweeties

OK . . . I confess, I saw somebody else do this type of posting on another blog. I gotta believe, guys and gals, that we all have our favorite actors and actressess . . . for what ever reasons. Me, I'm a sucker for actresses who can play "the girl next door" in films or TV series. Keeping that criteria in mind, my Top 10 picks are, in some instances, not the drop-dead gorgeous starlets that make just about every guy's list. Yeah sure, they're all "cute" but the most important distinquishing characteristic the set my picks apart from the field is their ability to play a grassrooted hometown acting part. So here we go . . . drum roll . . . # 10

Tech Week

Hard to believe but 5 weeks have come and gone with my new job. I love it but time seems to melt before my eyes.

This week was "tech week" . . . in 2 day's time I was issued a Blackberry 8700 and a new Dell laptop 640 series. Less than 12 hours previous to these events, I dropped Nextel and went Cingular . . . new Razor phone and Bluetooth wireless earpiece. Can't read all the tech manuals quick enough!!! It's new equipment and information overload!!!

I like the Bluetooth device . . . works with the BB8700 and Razor, that's a huge plus. Since my email can now route through the BB, it "buzzes" constantly (annoying, like an adult toy in your pocket that you can't turn off) so I need to read how to change the alert profile on this thing. The Razor, well I still like the feel of a regular clam shell phone . . . this phone is like holding 2 credit cards on a hinge if used without the Bluetooth device. Lots of cool features (someday, I'll get time to figure them all out) and it fits unnoticed into a sport coat pocket,

Tech week is like Christmas morning . . . wish I were a kid with a whole week off of school to play around with all this stuff!

Funny

A guy walks into the local welfare office for his monthly check. He marches straight up to the counter and says, "Hi. You know, I just HATE coming in here drawing welfare month after month. I'd really much rather have a job".

The social worker behind the counter says, "Your timing is excellent. We just got a job opening from a very wealthy old man who wants a chauffeur-bodyguard for his nymphomaniac daughter."

"You'll have to drive around in his Mercedes, but he'll supply all of your clothes. Because of the long hours, meals will be provided. You'll be expected to escort her on her overseas holiday trips You'll have a two-bedroom apartment above the garage. The starting salary is $200,000 a year."

The guy says, "You're bullshitting me!"

The social worker says, "Yeah, well, you started it."

Sunday's Sunrise . . .

OK . . . I missed the best part this time around . . . slept in way past the "crack of dawn" this morning . . . so I missed out on the birds, dew on the lawn, and all that cool stuff. Seldom do I not wake up on my own before 4:00 a.m., this morning it was nearly 6 before the peepers popped open . . . wooah . . . what's up with that?

Looks like it's going to be an excellent day. The humidity that plagued us last week is gone and the weather forecast for today is sunny with mild temps . . . maybe a BBQ day . . . pork riblets perhaps. Too nice of a day to spend indoors, that's for sure!

T Minus 4 Days and Counting . . .

June 6th is celebrated as "D-Day" in world and US history. Interestingly, the upcoming "D-Day" will have a date display of 06/06/06 . . . which will make it unique as a calendar oddity. But the real significance of 06/06/06, for me, is that the date ends my 2 year cell phone service contract with Nextel (non-affectionately referred to by me as "Next~hell").

It's been a long 2 years . . . the coverage area sucks, dropped calls suck, ever-increasing "extra charges" sucks, customer service sucks, the $200 pre-mature contract cancellation penalty sucks, and having to wait 4 more days until my liberation from them sucks! What can I say, it's been nothing but hell with Nextel, but the end is drawing near!

I learned the truth about Nextel's service shortcomings early on during the 24 month contract. Heard all the excuses and lived with the frustrations. I am imagining the delight of making a crystal clear call on a new phone and the joy of having a family plan with 2 phones & roll over minutes for less than the price of one phone/line of service from Nextel . . . just 4 more days!

Don't Sneeze!

Grandson . . .

Four Weeks Have Pasted . . .

Today marks 4 weeks since my last day at my former job. I received word from several former co-workers that every suggestion I made about personnel re-alignment and my recommended replacement have all come to past as of yesterday. Having worked hard to get things to a high level during my tenure there, it's a wonderful thing to know that the right folks will continue the quest for excellence.

In the past 28 days, I've been able to make contact with all the folks I care about at the old workplace, swap email addies, have some long phone conversations, and keep our lines of communication wide open . . . that's a wonderful thing also . . . I don't miss the old job, just a whole bunch of people!

The new job is amazing - challenging - and one I embrace with enthusiasm. It's been a good 4 weeks.