"Palinisms"...

The recent post that I did on Sarah Palin describing Julian Assange of Wikileaks fame as a terrorist that must be hunted down in the same manner as the US is supposedly hunting down Osama bin Laden has led me to discover the word "Palinisms".

The word has made it into the Urban Dictionary and is defined as follows:


1. Malapropism, non-sensical verbiage, non-sequitor or other illogical, stream of concious meanderings uttered by Sarah Palin.


2. A form of homespun, Midwestern demagoguery and fear mongering comprised of a stream of logically unrelated and unsupported talking points uttered by an attractive woman with nice cans and a presumably fine ass intended to engender loyalty among those inspired by demagoguery, non-sequitors, a great smile, nice tits and a presumably fine ass.

Or, alternatively, like this:


1. An ambiguous colloquial expression that may cause confusion and be interpreted in different ways depending upon circumstance.


2. A statement that has no known basis in science or reality.


3. A statement of religious identity.


So, what does a Palinism look like (courtesy of The Huffington Post):

“Nuclear weaponry, of course, would be the be-all, end-all of just too many people in too many parts of our planet.” -- CBS interview with Katie Couric, September 25, 2008


"As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where – where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border."
-- CBS interview with Katie Couric, September 25, 2008


"So we discussed what was going on in Africa. And never, ever did I talk about, Well, gee, is it a country or is it a continent, I just don't know about this issue."
-- Fox interview with Greta Van Susteren, November 11, 2008

“I don’t know if I should Buenos Aires or Bonjour, or… this is such a melting pot. This is beautiful. I love the diversity. Yeah. There were a whole bunch of guys named Tony in the photo line, I know that.”
-- Addressing a Charity of Hope gathering, Hamilton, Ontario, April 15, 2010

“Obviously we loved sports, and the baby was born during the spring track season.”
--Going Rogue

“Believe it or not – this was in the 60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse…. Isn’t that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada.”
-- Speech in Calgary, Alberta, March 6, 2010

"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."
-- Facebook, Aug. 7, 2009

"When the American people elected President Obama they gave him responsibility to handle this disaster. He promised to “heal the earth, and watch the waters recede...” or something far-fetched like that."
-- On the oil spill, May 27, 2010

“I didn’t believe the theory that human beings – thinking, loving beings – originated from fish that sprouted legs and crawled out of the sea. Or that human beings began as single-celled organisms that developed into monkeys who eventually swung down from the trees.”
--Going Rogue

“With the gray Talkeetna Mountains in the distance and the first light covering of snow about to descend on Pioneer Peak, I breathed in an autumn bouquet that combined everything small-town America with rugged splashes of the Last Frontier.”
--Going Rogue

"I think it's appalling and a violation of our freedom of the press."
—On negative media coverage of Republican congressional candidate Vaughn Ward, Boise, Idaho, May 21, 2010

"Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate."
—On plans to build an Islamic community center near Ground Zero, via Twitter, July 18, 2010

"'Refudiate,' 'misunderestimate,' 'wee-wee'd up.' English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!"
—Tweet, July 18, 2010

"I'm not politically correct. I am not one to be a word police."
-- Fox interview with Chris Wallace Feb. 7 , 2010

"I didn't really had a good answer, as so often -- is me."
--On writing notes on her hand for the Tea Party convention address, March 5, 2010

More on Julian Assange and Wikileaks: The Sarah Palin View...

Julian Assange has certainly found more fame than he may have craved in developing Wikileaks into a whistleblower of world renown. The recent release of some 250,000 US diplomatic cables has intensified the hunt for Assange and the "need" to bring him to justice. Assange has some serious legal problems aside from the alleged rape and sexual molestation of which he stands accused of committing in Sweden. There are quite a number of states looking to prosecute him for his part in the publication of the "illegally" obtained diplomatic cables.

Australia is clearly looking to build a case against Assange. However, it would seem that the US is also exploring what options it has in making the case and prosecuting Assange in the US. This has obviously brought the ranting and railing conservative right out. Among them is the former Vice-Presidential candidate from the Grand Old Party (GOP), Sarah Palin. The fact that some might consider her a legitimate contender for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012 is scary enough, but the latest outburst is indicative as to what lengths this woman will go to try and capitalise on conservative popular opinion. It is also indicative of the fact that she really does not understand the difference between Osama bin Laden and Julian Assange. It is pretty clear that she obviously missed the advocacy class on why not to use exaggeration.

Sarah Palin in her infinite wisdom has taken to Facebook to condemn Assange for his role in releasing to the world some 250,000 confidential and secret diplomatic cables. Fair enough! There are good arguments to be made that it was irresponsible for Assange to publish via Wikileaks. However, Palin was not satisfied stopping there. In order to really ratchet-up the rhetoric she decided to add that Assnage should be hunted down like Osama bin Laden.

Well, after ten years of searching the US has not found or been able to confirm that it has killed bin Laden. So, it would seem that Assange really need not fear the US if it was to mount a similar "search and destroy" campaign that has been mounted for bin Laden. Although, on a more serious note, it would appear that all those who need to know where Assange is, in fact know where he is. It would also appear that an arrest is not that far away once the arrest warrant(s) are in order, assuming Assange decides to surrender to authorities and not seek political asylum in a country favourable to that proposition, Switzerland perhaps.

To further reinforce her point she suggested that Assange is not a journalist in any shape or form and compared this lack of journalistic skill to the current editor of al-Qaeda's English-language magazine, Inspire. Further intensifying the rhetoric saw Assange labeled as anti-American and with blood on his hands.

In any event, this was a political point scoring opportunity that was more about Palin slamming the White House and President Obama by implying that they were complicit in Assange's Wikileaks work because they have not been serious in hunting him down or arresting him.

Yet, this generally fits into the overall rhetoric of US politics with recent claims seeking to force the US government to declare Wikileaks a terrorist organisation. A whistleblower as a terrorist organisation, what an interesting development. However, it is symptomatic of the way the world is post 9/11. Anything that annoys us or possible effects many as opposed to a few is almost immediately labeled a terrorist organisation. I wonder what the Tea Party might need to do to be labeled a terrorist organisation? What about the Republicans or the Democrats?

However, the US is looking to invoke the Espionage Act with a view to criminal prosecution. And, it is imperative in the US view that they do this one by the numbers, and make the case bullet-proof.

The case to shut down sites that release confidential documents needs to be assessed on a merits basis. The reality is that releasing secret or confidential information can always be criminalised, but at what cost?

The question that must be answered here was whether there was any value in the releasing of these particular diplomatic cables? Simply, does the public need to know outweigh the need to maintain confidentiality?

Ho hum...

A White Man in a Black Mask...

Perhaps the demand for ever better special effects and the rapidly improving skills of special effects practitioners will give rise to ever more frequent dilemmas for law enforcement, and perhaps the community as a whole. I recently wrote about a young Chinese man who donned a real life face mask that made him look like an old man as he boarded a flight to Canada. Another case of real life facial masks being used to perpetrate crimes has come to light in the USA.

Conrad Zdzierak is a white man. He robbed four banks, a credit union, and a pharmacy while wearing a mask. Not any ordinary mask, but the very real looking face mask of a black man. In fact the mask was so lifelike that the police initially arrested a black man for the crimes that Zdzierak committed while in disguise. The fact that a black man was arrested is not an indictment on police, rather it is testament to the quality of the mask that the company, SPFX Masks, produced. This is especially the case when one considers that the mother of the black man that the police initially arrested confirmed that it was her son when police showed her some CCTV footage of the crimes being committed.

However, being fortunate to have the mind that I do, one that allows me to come up with some outrageous possibilities, I came up with this scenario.

Obviously SPFX Masks have some real talent when it comes to creating masks. So, imagine that they create an Osama bin Laden mask. This mask is very lifelike. Someone buys the mask. Maybe for Halloween or just as a joke among friends. The US wants Osama bad, so bad in fact that they are happy to have the man "dead or alive". So, imagine this, our Osama bin Laden lookalike is walking down the road to his Halloween party. The police see him and recognise that they have a really big scoop on their hands. They ask Osama to stop, at which point Osama gives them the bird; the old one-finger salute, and then lifts up his robes to reveal some aluminium foil strapped to his body. The police shoot him dead.

Let's face it, no one seems to know where Osama is. So, he could conceivably be wandering the streets of middle America, right? Therefore, is it the fault of the lifelike mask wearing Halloween party-goer for being silly enough to wear the face of the most wanted man in the world?

The special effects technology is great for entertainment value, but it is also generating some serious headaches for law enforcement as they seek to maintain law and order, particularly with regard to national security and terrorism.

The other scenario that I thought of while I was writing about lifelike Osama bin Laden masks was, perhaps Saddam Hussein is not dead after all. Maybe it was just some unfortunate soul forced to wear a lifelike Saddam mask and take the plunge on his behalf. Maybe Saddam is currently enjoying life somewhere in the Caribbean or South America.

Have You Seen This Man -- Osama bin Laden...

It has been a few years since Osama bin Laden, or Usama bin Laden depending on your preference, has made a public appearance anywhere or a photo of him has been released showing him alive and well. Nevertheless, with technology at the level that it is, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) convinced that the world's most-wanted man is alive and out there somewhere, they have released the above digitally age-enhanced images of Osama bin Laden and another 17 most-wanted fugitives. The digitally and age-enhanced images are available via the US State Department and the Rewards for Justice program. They are also available on the FBI site in their most-wanted terrorists section.

The fact that there is an image of Osama bin Laden with a head of hair and his beard shaved off and in western style clothes seems to suggest that the FBI has no idea where the fella is at, and concede that he might be living somewhere where a suit and tie would help him blend into the crowd.

So, if you see this man, or any of the others, you should probably contact your nearest law enforcement office and the FBI. You should probably also expect that they do not, and will not, want to go quietly so a citizen's arrest is probably not a good idea. All are considered to be armed and dangerous.

Noordin M Top -- Forensic Pathology Exam...

The reports in local Indonesian papers have picked up on the results of the forensic pathology exam conducted on the recently departed terrorist, Noordin M Top, which say that his anus is shaped like a funnel and the pathologist suspects that he had been sodomized. The doctor that carried out the exam is none other than Mun'im Idris. Idris is the same forensic pathologist that performed the Manohara exam. Idris must be the "go to man" for the high profile forensic exams.

Idris states that the forensic exam of Noordin's anus suggests that he has been sodomized at some point in his life. The good doc calls the funnel shape an anomaly, ahhh no kiddin'! I guess if it is out of the ordinary for people to have a funnel shaped anus, then I am guessing "anomaly" is probably the right word. I am wondering though whether it was a normal shaped funnel or an inverted funnel. I am not sure why I am wondering this though. Never mind.

Idris believes that his findings prove that Noordin has been sodomized. Now, the question is whether he was sodomized by someone else or did he do the deed himself. Despite being on the run for almost a decade he hardly wanted for female companionship seeing that he was married a number of times after going on the run. Then again months on end with the fellas and no female companionship might have taken its toll.

Then again, maybe this particular anomaly is the result of some crafty explosive transfers. It is said that concealing explosives inside you can fool the odd metal detector or two. I am guessing it might be a little tricky to fit a full-assembled explosive device in the space available, but perhaps Noordin and some of his companions could have transported a part each and then assembled the device once they got to wherever they were headed.

Ahhh, who really cares and why bother with the speculation. The man believed he was on a mission from God to kill as many non-believers as he could, and now that mission is over. And, what's more, he now gets to find out whether he really was on a mission from God or if it was all a misinterpretation and he is off to the fires of hell. I am going to go out on a limb here and say he was sadly mistaken and when he gets to front up for judgment he will be shuffled off to the fires of hell. The killing of innocents is not justified!

The papers are reporting that it is unclear why Idris released the findings. Not really, the man likes to see his name in print and what better way to get it there than release the forensic findings about Noordin's anomaly, aka funnel-shaped anus. It really is not that difficult to work out.

There has been some speculation about Noordin's sexual preferences. My question is, does it matter? Or is this being set up to suggest some kind of causal link between terrorists and sexual orientation. Will we soon be hearing that the big terrorist himself, Osama bin Laden, also has an anomaly? This whole thing about the anomaly is so much a beat up of next to no importance, unless terrorists are using their bodies to transport explosives.

I am not sure if I want to visualize a group of terrorists sitting around the lounge room deciding who is carrying what. Oh, Noordin with your anomaly you should be able to carry at least three sticks of TNT. And, Azahari Husin (before he wsa topped back in 2005) with your anomaly you should be able to carry a kilo of semtex. The mind boggles, doesn't it?

Noordin's family is expected to claim his body on Friday. According to police the investigation has been concluded.

Barack Osama

No, this is not a typo but rather how Barack Obama's name appears on absentee ballots being sent to voters in Rensselaer County in upstate New York. In that funny in a perverse kind of a way, the Osama that most people would know would be one Osama bin Laden.

It seems that this is just that, a typo. It does not appear that this was someone's idea of a practical joke.

According to the people who should know about these things, the elections office commissioners, Edward McDonagh and Larry Bugbee, a Democrat and a Republican, respectively, had the following to say:

"It's human error, it's very unfortunate, it's an embarrassment to our office, obviously," McDonough said in a later phone interview. "We wish we could turn back the clock, but we can't."

The remaining ballots have been shredded. However, those that have already filled in the ballots will have them counted even though there is no Barack Osama running for President. I guess this means that everyone has agreed that Barack Osama is in fact Barack Obama.

It is indeed an interesting presidential election in the good ol' US of A.

New Yorker Magazine -- The Obama Cover

I wonder if there is an agenda at play here or is it really as The New Yorker Magazine claims just a bit of satire? Looking at the picture for yourselves it is clear that both Obama and his wife are depicted as terrorists and if you look closely you can see the US flag burning in the fireplace and a happy snappy of Osama bin Laden hangs on the wall. The Obama campaign has labeled the cover offensive. And, I am not surprised.

The cover may well be satire but it plays into the misinformation that has swirled around the Obama campaign for a long time now. The flag in the fire place could represent Obama's reluctance to wear a lapel pin for a long while. He has now taken to wearing one again in an attempt to ward of any critics questioning his patriotism.

The rumor mill has been running for a long while that Obama's middle name of Hussein means he must be a Muslim. This is also untrue and I wonder why people believe it considering there was such broad coverage of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright affair and Obama's church going habits.

Perhaps the Osama bin Laden photograph on the wall is in reference to the idea that Obama will meet with tyrants, despots, and dictators as a means to further US diplomacy.

The Obama campaign's beef seems to be that it depicts Obama and his wife as being racist, sexist, anti-religion, anti-patriotic, and sympathetic to terrorism. Yet, these are just some of the claims that right-wing critics have already made of the Obama's. So, is it that much of a stretch to understand the New Yorkers explanation of the cover which was, "Please note that it is satire -- we are poking fun at the scare tactics and misinformation that some have employed to derail Obama's campaign"?

The cover is so outrageous that it cannot be anything but satire and any one that believes that the caricature is an accurate depiction of either the candidate or his wife needs their head read. Is the cover offensive? I do not think so. Is it tasteless? Perhaps. Is it ridiculous? Most definitely! And as I said the idea that any one is going to base their vote on what is contained in this caricature is equally silly.

The Hunt For Osama Bin Laden

It is nice to know that the experts all agree that Osama bin Laden is either Dead or Alive!