Syria is Next
I've said this before.

Relations between the U.S. and Syria are coming under increasing pressure after the U.S. admitted it has "an increasing list of problems" with the country. CNN

The word "Beirut" became an adjective to describe destruction. I remember commenting that someone's dorm room looked like Beirut sometime in the nineties.

No Guns = No Freedom

Armed with sticks and stones and hard-bitten desperation, Togo's opposition movement waged a 38-year losing battle against the oppressive military regime of President Gnassingbe Eyadema. ... Restless, jobless and short on patience, the youth of Togo's beach-front capital say weaponry is the only way to bring down the Gnassingbe military dynasty, which has made fear and intimidation a bedrock of Togolese society. ... The young people's cry for blood gives pause to older opposition figures, who say peaceful resistance is still the only way to win their struggle. "Violence is never a solution," veteran opposition leader Harry Olympio says. ... "We have no way to defend ourselves," said Carrie, who had long braids and pink-painted toenails. Her friends looked on in rigid silence, except to urge her to be quiet. "It's up to the international community to give us weapons," she said. "Striking and demonstrating isn't doing us any good. We need guns to properly fight the government." ... Keith, who had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his meaty shoulder, took a long pull from a marijuana joint the size of a Cuban cigar and stared away, lost in his thoughts. "Man," he said. "I don't even like the word 'guns."' CNN

I'm starting to understand why things are so fucked up in Africa. They have given peace 38 years (in this particular situation) and gotten nowhere. It seems like you can't fire an AK in Africa without hitting a genocide, a revolution, and a diamond mine with blood on its hands.

(Joke) Who's your Daddy?
This is from Anna Banana again. She is a good source of random jokes and recipes.

When someone puts in for Child Support, the proper thing to do is to find out who the father is and see why he is not providing support. The following are all actual replies that Dallas women have written on Child Support Agency forms in the section for listing father's details. Or putting it another way... Who's yo Daddy! These are genuine excerpts from the forms. Be sure to check out number 11. it takes the prize and #3 is runner up. 1. Regarding the identity of the father of my twins, child A was fathered by Jim Munson. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of child B, but I believe that he was conceived on the same night. 2. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of my child as I was being sick out of a window when taken unexpectedly from behind. I can provide you with a list of names of men that I think were at the party if this helps. 3. I do not know the name of the father of my little girl. She was conceived at a party at 3600 Grand Avenue where I had unprotected sex with a man I met that night. I do remember that the sex was so good that I fainted. If you do manage to track down the father, can you send me his phone number? Thanks. 4. I don't know the identity of the father of my daughter. He drives a BMW that now has a hole made by my stiletto in one of the door panels. Perhaps you can contact BMW service stations in this area and see if he's had it replaced. 5. I have never had sex with a man. I am still a Virginian. I am awaiting a letter from the Pope confirming that my son's conception was immaculate and that he is Christ risen again. 6. I cannot tell you the name of child A's dad as he informs me that to do so would blow his cover and that would have cataclysmic implications for the economy. I am torn between doing right by you and right by the country. Please advise. 7. I do not know who the father of my child was as all blacks look the same to me. 8. Peter Smith is the father of child A. If you do catch up with him, can you ask him what he did with my AC/DC CDs? Child B who was also born at the same time.... well I don't have a clue. 9. From the dates it seems that my daughter was conceived at Disney World; maybe it really is the Magic Kingdom. 10. So much about that night is a blur. The only thing that I remember for sure is Delia Smith did a program about eggs earlier in the evening. If I'd have stayed in and watched more TV rather than going to the party at 146 Miller Drive, mine might have remained unfertilized. 11. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of my baby, after all when you eat a can of beans you can't be sure which one made you fart.