Valkyrie

This is not a comment on the film, but I notice the some critics of “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” are similarly put off by the British actors not using German accents when playing Nazis (I believe it is a British-made film). Although German accents may be nice shorthand for “these are Germans,” there is no logical reason for a film’s dialogue to be “translated” into English and then the accent thrown in just to remind us. But then, even as a child, I preferred my Nazis speaking German with subtitles… unless an officer was using German-accented English to interrogate a prisoner. The same illogic also crops up in (bad) historical novels, where characters use random French phrases, even though they ARE French, and all their other speech and thoughts are in English. And don’t even get me going on Star Trek’s Universal Translator – which apparently fails when it comes to Klingon.We don’t perform Chekhov with a Russian accent or Moliere with a French accent or even Shakespeare with the authentic vowels of 16th century England, so it remains a strange inconsistency that we want our WWII movies with German accents, even when the Germans are speaking to each other.As for the film, I can’t take Tom Cruise seriously in much of anything.

>>As for the film, I can’t take Tom Cruise seriously in much of anything.Yeah, but according to the trailer there are tanks, and cool airplanes, and things blowing up. I think it might be a hit.

Peggygeorge- exactly! Thank you for putting that so well!Plus, and no surprise here, Germans find the supposed German accents in Hollywood films utterly rediculous.

And speaking of NazisPresident Barack Obama and his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel have plans to force all young adults, aged 18-25, to serve a minimum of 3 months in a “Civilian Service” that will be larger than the U.S. Military.Rahm blatantly outlines this in his book “The Plan: Big Ideas for America.” See it for yourself: http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=ZUjHNefQ…Barack Obama endorsed the plan in a speech he made in Colorado, stating: “We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objective that we’ve set. We’ve gotta have a “Civilian National Security Force” that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded.” Listen to the speech here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s&NR=1The government does not own your body or your time, and if you haven’t committed a crime, the government has NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to mandate that you labor on its behalf.Stand up for the right to control your own life and your personal liberty. Sign the pact now and REFUSE to serve in any “Civil Service” plans Obama and Emanuel might have in store for us. Join this group if you are willing to take a stand against this gross overstepping of government power, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the institution of the draft.Please note, this is not a partisan issue. No one here is vying for or against any particular political party or candidate; this is simply an argument against this one specific policy, created by Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and endorsed by Barack Obama. We are specifically concerned about how this policy violates the basic human right of self-ownership, and how it will hamper this right’s continued perseverance in America.***************************************************************ATTENTION SKEPTICS!The most common argument I hear against this group is that Obama’s proposed plan will be voluntary. In addition to everything I have listed in the “Recent News” section, here is some additional information that debunks this myth.Richard Danzig, a top adviser to the President-elect, wrote a book entitled, “National Service: What Would It Mean?”On page 224, Danzig states that, “Specifically, we would impose a 5 percent surcharge on the tax paid each year by all income taxpayers, but we would forgive that charge to anyone who had previously performed 1 year of national service.”Essentially, this would mean that you would have to put in an extra 3 weeks of labor every year to pay off your “refusal to serve” tax… for the rest of your life! So whether you choose to “serve” or not, your labor is being stolen from you either way.But Danzig doesn’t stop there; not only will you be fined an extra 5% of your income, but “In this system, individuals claiming conscientious objection, hardship, school or occupational imperatives, or physical or mental deficiencies would receive no exemption.”There will be no exemptions from this program. Even if you are handicapped, impoverished, or object on moral/religious grounds. Either you serve, or you pay tribute every year until you die…That 5% of your income could be put towards a college fund for your kids, a retirement fund, or even just help to pay the rent or buy groceries month to month…What this plan effectively does is make it financially irresponsible for you to opt out of service. Over time, that 5% of your yearly income can really start to add up…The message being sent here is this: This program is “voluntary”, but only if you don’t mind the government stealing 5% of your money every year for the rest of your life…If you still need convincing about the coercive nature of this plan, or the historical precedents of similar plans in other countries, again, please read the “Recent News” section of this group.****************************************************************UPDATE*: A recently posted PDF on Obama’s website states that the plan will include “Engaging Retiring Americans In Service on a Large Scale,” in addition to young adults, middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students. No one will be exempt from the fines of non-servitude:See page 2 for the excerpt on retirees: http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/NationalServiceP…***************************************************************“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”- 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution”Conscription rests on the assumption that your kids belong to the state. If we buy that assumption then it is for the state — not for parents, the community, the religious institutions or teachers — to decide who shall have what values and who shall do what work, when, where and how in our society. That assumption isn’t a new one. The Nazis thought it was a great idea. America was founded on the principle of individual liberty — that the government exists to serve, not enslave, the people. Yet conscription is a form of slavery, a horrible and costly exception to America’s founding principle. It is morally repugnant to the ideals of a free society.”- President Ronald Reagan”Young people are not raw material to be employed by the political class on behalf of whatever fashionable political, military, or social cause catches its fancy. In a free society, their lives are not the playthings of government.”- Congressman Ron Paul***************************************************************”Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism… Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual.”- Michelle Obama, February 2008″I think that if women are registered for service — not necessarily in combat roles, and I don’t agree with the draft — I think it will help to send a message to my two daughters that they’ve got obligations to this great country as well as boys do.”- President-Elect Barack Obama

A TROLL!!!! YEAH!!!

Speaking of cupcakes:SERVINGS: 22METHOD: BakedTIME: Prep: 25 min. Bake: 15 min. + coolingIngredients:* 1/2 cup shortening* 1-1/2 cups sugar* 4 egg whites* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract* 2 cups all-purpose flour* 3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder* 1 teaspoon salt* 1 cup milk* 1 cup heavy whipping cream* 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar* 4 to 5 drops red food coloring, optional* 1/4 teaspoon almond extractDirections:In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.Fill paper or foil-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.For filling, beat cream in a chilled small bowl until it begins to thicken. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar and food coloring if desired until stiff peaks form. Beat in almond extract.Cut a 1-in. cone shape from the center of each cupcake; set cone aside. Fill indentation with filling. Cut each cone in half from top to bottom; place two halves on filling for butterfly wings. If desired, pipe a thin strip of filling between wings for butterfly body if desired. Yield: 22 cupcakes.WHAT??? we wernt talking about cupcakes???heh….

Bob, does this mean you took off the registration requirement? Cuz… wow…QT

First Things First:If Tommy Cruise were to effect a German accent for this role, it would get in the way of him playing Tom Cruise, SuperActor. Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise in every movie. That’s why he’s hired, not because of any great ability.Secondly, and perhaps most sexily, if President-Elect Obama shows up at my door in his anti-gravity ass-hugging Presidential Leotard sporting the hottest Afro I’ve ever seen and asks me to give a few years of national service or pay a tax on my refusal for the rest of my life… bitch… I’ll give him the service AND a lifetime tax.I have spoken.

When will trolls ever learn not to post such long rants? I stopped reading after the first paragraph or so. Was there anything interesting in the rest of it?

Me like cupcakes!!can I get an “anti-gravity ass-hugging Presidential Leotard”? sounds fun.

Dear Troll:If you’re going to cite Obama’s website or Emmanuel’s book as proof of this conspiracy, could you at least have links that actually work?

Oh, and Tom Cruise sucks.

To Jeff, on the outside chance that you are not a troll: Starting with those great quotes from our Constitution, Ronald Reagan and Ron Paul:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”- 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

When you invoke slavery, be absolutely sure you know whereof you speak. Slavery – unpaid labor forced (generationally) upon a people under threat of violence, and through a system of laws that excluded them from any access to society or the economy outside of slavery – is not proposed anywhere. When you have proof otherwise, come back and talk. Otherwise, let me say on behalf of my ancestors, F*CK you.

“Conscription rests on the assumption that your kids belong to the state. If we buy that assumption then it is for the state — not for parents, the community, the religious institutions or teachers — to decide who shall have what values and who shall do what work, when, where and how in our society. That assumption isn’t a new one. The Nazis thought it was a great idea. America was founded on the principle of individual liberty — that the government exists to serve, not enslave, the people. Yet conscription is a form of slavery, a horrible and costly exception to America’s founding principle. It is morally repugnant to the ideals of a free society.”- President Ronald Reagan

If the opportunity for national service, with its suite of benefits including universal health care coverage, burial rights, preferential treatment in civil service hiring, etc., is equal to conscription, I will assume you are in favor of eliminating the military altogether? And if it isn’t conscription when the military invites young people to serve, what makes it conscription when one is asked to serve in a civilian capacity?And for the record – let’s look at Americorps: http://www.americorps.org/Prove, for the record, that this is some form of conscription.

“Young people are not raw material to be employed by the political class on behalf of whatever fashionable political, military, or social cause catches its fancy. In a free society, their lives are not the playthings of government.”- Congressman Ron Paul

Indeed. And when young people have lost their ability to think, determine on their own where (or if) they’d like to deploy their skills, talents, lives – we can talk about them being used as playthings. Until then – they are free agents, free to choose to act in accordance with the dictates of their conscience.And finally – on the issue of taxation – your invocation of Ron Paul suggests you may be a libertarian – in which case I understand your resistance to more taxation. I won’t debate this point with you, other than to say that offering a way out of taxation is nothing new in this country. Charitable contributions are deductions against taxes owed. Obama has said that charitable contributions may also be made in service.I see nothing wrong with this.QT

Trollin’ Trollin’ Trollin’Keep postin’, postin’, postin’Though monitors removin’,Take their comments postin’ Outside!Don’t try to understand ‘em,Just mark, delete and ban ‘em,Their paranoia’s poison to our side.By my quick calculatin’Nine tenths of it is spammin’,just pimpin’ out a blog we’ll deride.Move ‘em on, head ‘em off,Head ‘em off, block ‘em out,Take ‘em on, block ‘em out Outside!Put ‘em out, ride ‘em offRide ‘em off, knock ‘em out,Cut ‘em out, move ‘em on Outside.

Hi Matt: Thanks. I unfortunately, can’t help but track down the actual answers to some of these claims. As noted above, the links to Danzig’s article and the Obama-Biden plan don’t work. That’s likely because this is a cut-and-paste hatchet-job – there is probably somewhere the links do work.I found the Danzig google reference – it is to a book done by someone else citing Danzig. Without having read Danzig’s actual work, its impossible to know if in fact Danzig said what this researcher said he said. BUT here is a summary of Danzig’s book:http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=250411&kaid=115&subid=145

APPENDIX C: National Service Models and Proposals

“For persons whose concern is military manpower, youth unemployment or better social services, some form of national service represents a possible solution to a particular problem. But to the general public, national service seems attractive for its potential to accomplish so many ends at once.Richard Danzig and Peter Szanton,National Service What Would it Mean?

In the abstract, national service has great intuitive appeal. Attempts to work out a detailed program, however, often founder on the variety of expectations that the idea of national service inspires. Still, many have doggedly pursued this difficult challenge and we would like to acknowledge our debt to the following individuals and groups who have labored diligently to advance the national service debate.In one of the most thorough examinations of the subject, National Service: What Would it Mean?, authors Richard Danzig and Peter Szanton rehearse basic arguments for and against national service, postulate in great detail four model programs and conclude with 13 judgments they consider central to thinking about national service.Among their chief conclusions are that there is plenty of useful work for national service participants to do; that national service is expensive and may not be the most cost-effective way to accomplish many tasks; that it is a poor solution to youth unemployment; that large-scale implementation would be difficult; and, that experimentation is needed. The authors are skeptical that national service can improve the quality or representativeness of the military. The Danzig and Szanton models are as follows:

Yeah, I know. Odd place to end a quote, but that’s to encourage anyone who actually cares about facts to go ahead and check for themselves. Its an interesting topic, and one worth reviewing.QT

Alright – the quotes didn’t work. Sorry. All the part up until the colon was supposed to be in quotes.Qt

Matt – you have the most entertaining songs. Thanks for posting them. Nano – “anti-gravity ass-hugging Presidential Leotard sporting the hottest Afro I’ve ever seen”? That’s goddamn awesome. And if he does…I want pictures.Oh, and Troll – sucks to lose, doesn’t it.

Seriously?

Could Tom Cruise be the new Peter O’Toole? (they whispered about him too.) If Hitler were a dialog coach, I don’t think he would have been adverse to Nazis with British (and possibly by extention, Irish or American) accents- the term ‘Aryan’ refering more to language than physicality. Both men don’t not-seem to subsist on a diet of eggs and desire women to pee on them. WWHS.

To Cruise is a terrible actor and the public face of a brainwashing cult. Why does he keep getting work?

Teaflax: Because that brainwashing cult has lots of members in powerful positions in Hollyweird.Same reason John Travolta keeps getting work.

Gladly, Cruise comeback gives another hit to the Hollywood film. Consider this new film, this would make you realize How important to repair bad credit. Tom Cruise set out to repair bad credit among Matt Lauer fans this morning on the “Today” show. The two last met three and a half years ago. During the 2004 Interview, Cruise lashed out at Lauer calling him glib during a discussion about psychiatry. Today the star of the upcoming film “Valkyrie,” which debuts on Christmas, set out to bury the hatchet. To learn more about the interview, or how to repair bad credit, click here.