The Guild 8-23-2003 Hamas Calls Bush 'Islam's Biggest Enemy'

WashPost ^ | 8-23-2003 | The Associated Press

[BigWaveBetty]

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday called President Bush an enemy of Islam because the U.S. government froze the assets of Hamas leaders in response to a suicide bombing of a bus in Jerusalem.

Speaking to Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV, Abdel Aziz Rantisi called the action "a theft of Muslim money by the Americans" and said the frozen money doesn't belong to Hamas.

"Hamas does not have any money in the U.S., Europe or even in the Arab states. President Bush has become Islam's biggest enemy," Rantisi said in the interview.

On Friday, the United States froze the assets of six Hamas leaders, including Rantisi, an aide to Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the group's spiritual leader. The United States also froze the assets of five European-based organizations that it said raise money for the radical Palestinian group.

[mountaineer]

PARIS, France (CNN) -- French officials said Monday that the remains of several hundred victims of the recent heat wave have yet to be claimed by their families.

Between 300 and 400 bodies were being stored in morgues and in nine refrigerated trucks around the city of Paris, city officials said.

Paris officials said a telephone campaign was launched Monday in an attempt to find the families of the dead. Authorities said if the bodies are not claimed soon, they will be buried.

The "vague de chaleur," or heat wave, that swept France for more than two weeks is estimated to have killed as many as 10,000 people across the country. Many of them were elderly and unable to cope with day after day of record high temperatures.

[BigWaveBetty]

Thanks, I had heard it from a reputable source but wanted to confirm it with people I trust.

God forgive me for what I thinking about the French right now.

Even if they wanted to work one minute overtime there are government officials who wait and watch outside places of employment to make sure they don't. It's more than evil.

[BigWaveBetty]

How to kill your chances of getting elected president? Negotiate with terrorist dictators.

SPOKANE, Wash. - As he surges to the top of the race for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination and begins to think about a potential contest against President Bush, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean says he is shifting his views on the trade embargo with Cuba.

Speaking to reporters during a four-day national campaign swing, Dean said he supports rolling back the embargo in order to encourage human-rights advancements -- but citing Fidel Castro's recent crackdowns on dissidents, says that in recent months he has become convinced that ``we can't do it right now.''

Dean called Cuba a ''political question,'' and said that recent developments on the island would prevent him from his goal of ``constructive engagement of Cuba.'' More

At least Jesse Ventura was smart enough to wait until he was finished as governor with no futher political aspirations before he went to suck face with Castro.

[lodwick]

On a note more upbeat than the thought of roasting parents, our favorite vacation was spent with Mrs.L's sil, bil, kids and dog houseboating on the Canal du Midi in SE France.

I would HIGHLY recommend checking it out for a most relaxing and pleasant holiday.

[lodwick]

This travel talk is making me want to hire an arsonist to finish this house, buy a boat and live on it.

Portiragnes

In Portiragnes you will discover the friendly village life in the South of France, and will be able to enjoy games of petanque, whilst getting to know your neighbors, or take a walk through the olive trees and vineyards to the nearby Canal du Midi, recently acclaimed by UNESCO as one of the global heritage wonders of the world, or visit the 12th century church.

The village is thriving with small businesses, keeping it lively all year round. It is rich with old and pleasant village streets full of character, and the color of the old stone walls. It is here that you will find your home – Le Moulin de la Mer, in amongst olive trees and the warmth of Portiragnes.

[BigWaveBetty]

That looks like a lovely place to go but I won't be going for a while, what with that new car payment (haven't had a car payment in ten years and it sure did hurt to write that first one!). If I can't get there in my new car I won't be going. ;-)

[lodwick]

Tell Mr.BW he's got to step it up a notch or two.

At least y'all waited until the car dealers were giving interest free loans...with what the banks are NOT paying in interest, you deserved a new rig, imo.

May none of us wait too long to do those things, or take those trips that we've always promised ourselves.

[BigWaveBetty]

Tell Mr.BW he's got to step it up a notch or two.

Noooooo, you tell him. ;-)

Actually Mr. B would go in a heartbeat but I'm the one who is the cheapster around here. Probably because I'm the conservative and you know how we like to take the fun out of life. *winkies*

Yeah, that 1.9 interest rate was just too tempting to pass up. It's practically free money!

And just so ya know.... Mr. B was inches from buying a BMW (no good deals on interest rates!!) when I noticed a commercial for an Audi and the 1.9 rate. Audi's are great looking (very swoopy) and FREE MONEY!!!!! Not even Mr. B can pass up FREE MONEY! Plus it's got four wheel drive!

I'll see if I can find a pic.

[BigWaveBetty]

We have a silver one. I think it's prettier from the front, this is a side view...

[mountaineer]

I like it! My mother was looking at the Audi, but the salesperson was rude and dismissive, so she bought a Volvo.

[lodwick]

Very nicely done! May it give you thousands of trouble-free miles.

SalesCreeps don't realize that there of lots of us out there who will vote with our feet, and simply take our business elsewhere.

There's only a gazillion dealerships out there busting butt to get us in the showroom...

[BigWaveBetty]

Sorry your mom had a nasty salesman, ours was very nice and went above and beyond. Volvo's are very nice too. I would like to have the two seater Audi, it's way, way cool.

SalesCreeps don't realize that there of lots of us out there who will vote with our feet

I know JL! What's up with that? Mr. B could hardly argue with the logic of practically FREE MONEY! :-) compared to 6.0 so our feet did the walkin'.

[BigWaveBetty]

(I'm not as cheap as Betty, and Mrs.L's generally happy about that.)

Hey! I didn't see that! (taglines don't show up on the comment page.) I hope I'm not being too cheap and making the husband crazy, I'll have to ask... again.

[Utah Girl]

When I bought my car a couple of years ago, I went by myself on the 2nd try (my dad went with me for the first look-around.) The salesman I got at one place was so condescending, I had certain requirements that I wanted, and he kept trying to talk me out of them. "You don't want four-wheel drive" "Why do you want stick shift???" "A four door car? You're single, why do you want four doors?" "New? You can get sooo much more car if you buy a used car." Needless to say, he didn't get a sale. And I filled out a customer card to say why...

[lodwick]

Way too cool.

[lodwick]

The 45th Class Reunion

E-MAIL | 26 Aug 2003 | Unknown


I had prepared for this event like any intelligent
woman would. I went on a starvation diet the day
before, knowing that all the extra weight would
just melt off in 24-hours, leaving me with my sleek,
trim, high-school-girl body.

The last many years of careful cellulite collection
would just be gone with a snap of a finger. I knew
if I didn't eat a morsel on Friday, that I could
probably fit into my senior formal on Saturday.

Trotting up to the attic, I pulled the gown out of
the garment bag, carried it lovingly downstairs,
ran my hand over the fabric, and hung it on the door.
I stripped naked, looked in the mirror, sighed, and
thought, "Well, okay, maybe if I shift it all to the
back."

Bravely, I took the gown off the hanger, unzipped the
shimmering dress and stepped gingerly into it. I struggled,
twisted, turned, and pulled and I got the formal all the
way up to my knees before the zipper gave out.

I was disappointed. I wanted to wear that dress with those
silver platform sandals again and dance the night away. Okay,
one setback was not going to spoil my mood for this affair.
No way!

Rolling the dress into a ball and tossing it into the corner,
I turned to Plan B: the black velvet caftan. I gathered up
all the goodies that I had purchased at the drug store: the
scented shower gel; the body building and highlighting shampoo
& conditioner, and the split-end killer and shine enhancer.

Soon my hair would look like that girl's in the Pantene ads.
Then the makeup, the under eye "ain't no lines here" firming
cream, the all-day face-lifting gravity-fighting moisturizer
with wrinkle filler spackle; the all day "kiss me till my lips
bleed, and see if this gloss will come off" lipstick, the
bronzing face powder for that special glow

But first, the roll-on facial hair remover. I could feel the
wrinkles shuddering in fear. OK - time to get ready. I jumped
into the steaming shower, soaped, lathered, rinsed, shaved,
tweezed, buffed, scrubbed, and scoured my body to a tingling
pink.

I plastered my freshly scrubbed face with the anti-wrinkle,
gravity fighting, "your face will look like a baby's butt" face
cream.

I set my hair on the hot rollers. I felt wonderful. Ready to
take on the world. Or in this instance, my underwear.

With the towel firmly wrapped around my glistening body, I
pulled out the black lace, tummy-tucking, cellulite-pushing,
ham hock-rounding girdle, and the matching "lifting those
bosoms like they're filled with helium" bra.

I greased my body with the scented body lotion and began the
plunge. I pulled, stretched, tugged, hiked, folded, tucked,
twisted, shimmied, hopped, pushed, wiggled, snapped, shook, caterpillar crawled, and kicked. Sweat poured off my forehead
but I was done. And it didn't look bad.

So I rested. A well deserved rest, too. The girdle was on my
body. Bounce a quarter off my behind? It was tighter than a trampoline. Can you say, "Rubber baby buggy bumper butt?"

Okay, so I had to take baby steps, and walk sideways, and I
couldn't move from my butt cheeks to my knees. But, I was firm!

Oh no, I had to go to the bathroom. And there wasn't a snap
crotch. From now on, undies gotta have a snap crotch. I was
ready to rip it open and re-stitch the crotch with Velcro, but
the pain factor from past experiments was still fresh in my mind.

I quickly side stepped to the bathroom. An hour later, I had
answered nature's call and repeated the struggle into the girdle.
I was ready for the bra and remembered what the saleslady said
to do.

I could see her glossed lips mouthing, "Do not fasten the bra
in the front, and twist it around. Put the bra on the way it
should be worn straps over the shoulders. Then bend over and
gently place both breasts inside the cups."

Easy if you have four hands.

But, with confidence, I put my arms into the holsters, bent
over and pulled the bra down, but the boobs weren't cooperating.
I'd no sooner tuck one in a cup, and while placing the other,
the first would slip out. I needed a strategy. I bounced up
and down a few times, tried to dribble them in with short bunny
hops, but that didn't work.

So, while bent over, I began rocking gently back and forth on
my heel and toes and I set 'em to swinging. Finally, on the
fourth swing, pause, and lift, I captured the gliding glands.
Quickly fastening the back of the bra, I stood up for examination.

Back straight, slightly arched, I turned and faced the mirror, turning front, and then sideways. I smiled, "Yes, Houston, we
have lift up!" My breasts were high, firm and there was clevage.

I was happy until I tried to look down. I had a chin rest and I couldn't see my feet.

I still had to put on my pantyhose, and shoes. Oh why
did I buy heels with buckles? Then I had to pee again.

I put on my sweats, fixed myself a drink, ordered pizza, and skipped the damned reunion.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Do you have the URL for that site with the dog cards? I had to replace my hard drive and lost my bookmarks.

Thanks.

[lodwick]

Good morning all.

Kritter Cards

[Iowa Granny]

I'll have my 40th Reunion next summer. I think I'll save this and include it in the booklet of addresses and email addys I'm putting together for it.

Thanks for the chuckle,,,,, laughing at yourself is good medicine for what ails you.

[Timeout]

It took me a minute. "Dog cards"? And then I realized what you meant.....

Chudleigh

http://www.jacquielawson.com/home.asp