Mr Mahatma--who is a Mr in real life--lives in the valleys of Southern California with his wife, a herd of Dears, and an impressive collection of books. Pnorny!
He is reachable at:
littlemrmahatma@yahoo.com

All writings are copyrighted 2003-2008 and trademarked: Little Mr. Mahatma

tBlog Mirror

Some fun links:
Little Miss Attila - polar opposite and origin of LMM.

Critical Sites:
Dr. Forbush Thinks
Slashdot
Games Slashdot
UserFriendly
James Randi
Snopes
Home of the Underdogs
The Sun Online

For those generous in spirit, heart, and wallet:

But we know how those games always ended: with the King deposed. Mud-covered, grass-stained, the King watches as another King fights to reign supreme and so it continues until the voices of the Parents call them home for dinner.

If only George and Barbara would call Dubya in for dinner. Maybe then we could start repairing the damage done by this darn Bush Boy.

Why, you may ask, is your traveling car a gas guzzling Suburban? Because on any given weekend we have minimum 5 bodies to schlep, up to the max of 8. That's why. When the 'burb is in the shop we need a backup that can handle our family of 5.

So I'm thinking like a sedan or something. Not new but maybe 1 year used. That way there should still be a warranty in effect but you won't suffer that quick depreciation of buying new. Any thoughts? Any recommendations?

I missed 5 days of blogging because of two things: One, the damn heat. It's been well over a hundred the last week. Combine that with, two, a dead air conditioner and the computer does not - repeat - does NOT go on. Finally a repair person made it out today and we're back in business but the past five days were like hell. If Bush didn't think Global Warming was for real he should have come out here for a bit.

With the AC out we had the kids camp out at night. They loved it. Between camping and the constant dunks in the pool, this was all one big adventure for them, and that's they way it should be. It took some pressure off of us to have them in such a mood.

So how does all this tie in with the title? What did I do wrong again? Nothing, except forgetting to blog every day like I wanted. But you have my excuse. The house is finally down to a tolerable 85. Where's the chocolate ice cream?

Iran seeks to become major Mideast player

By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 20

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian officials often say that places with the greatest troubles 
offer their country the best opportunities.

Iranian influence in Iraq has surged since the U.S.-led invasion three years ago. 
Its reach into Afghanistan continues to grow.

And now, the war in Lebanon could make Iran an even more important player in 
the Islamic world even as its militant Shiite Arab client, Hezbollah, gets pounded 
by Israel.

"Iran sees itself more than just the moral father of Hezbollah. Iran seeks to 
become a major force across the region as a counterbalance to America and 
Israel," said Ahmad Bakhshaiesh, a professor of political studies at Tehran's 
Azadi University.

"Lebanon is part of this plan," he said.

Already, officials and experts say that for any cease-fire or broader peace 
package to succeed, Iran's deep ties with Hezbollah must be taken into account.

Hezbollah could emerge from the battles severely weakened militarily, but with its 
reputation enhanced in the Muslim world for resisting Israel. That in turn would 
give Iran, a non-Arab country, an even higher profile in the Arab world — a 
prospect that frightens the Jewish state.

Invade Iraq, $300 billion, impotent U.S.. Assasinate Hussein, cost of bullets, U.S. military remains intact. What a choice.

I know. Why, for a pacifist, do I keep dwelling on assassination of Hussein over invasion of Iraq. Simple. It's cheaper, more efficient, and less disruptive to us. To those that claim the U.S. doesn't do assassinations, I say "Bullhockey!" We do. It's just not publicized. But how is it morally better to invade and kill thousands of people instead of taking out the one person who is claimed to be the problem? Even if the Hussein Administration were targetted, that'd be better than invasion and the disruption that caused the Iraqis.

But the answer is in the billions we've spent and that have disappeared into the pockets of Government officials (ours and theirs), Government friends and business contacts, and so on.

So if we can't repeal Bush then we should say, in our "sincerest" tone of voice, "Thanks Bush!"

Bush, if "potential" lives are so sacred in your creed, why no outlaw masturbation, prophylactics, and non-vaginal sex? Why not pass a law that states sex is only for procreation...and then convince us that you've had sex only twice in your life?

That's what I thought...

Analysis: Bush admin. gives Israel room

By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer 

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is trying to hold off international 
pressure for an immediate halt to the Israeli assault in southern Lebanon, 
apparently to allow Israel a short window to do as much damage as possible to 
the Hezbollah guerrillas.

That puts Washington at odds with some allies and others who want a quick 
end to cross-border rocket attacks that have claimed more than 200 lives in a 
week and sent a tide of refugees fleeing Lebanon.

"I want the world to address the root causes of the problem, and the root 
cause of the problem is Hezbollah," President Bush said Tuesday.

A part of me thinks that Bush isn't pressing for peace because of the religious aspect, that this is the supposd pre-cursor to Armageddon. Bush's religious buddies want to make sure that things get inflamed enough to get the Final War going so they can be on Christ's side when the rapture happens. Ironic - wanting a war to continue to supposedly bring on the end of the world so that a bunch of religious nuts can find out that there will be Messiah coming down from the skies. Just tears.

But I'm hoping I'm wrong on this but with Bush you never know...

Blogs aside, thank goodness for the Internet. It still survives as arguably one of the last bastions of true freedom in this world. The Internet and the Sahara. Where else can you spew venom at the top of your lungs and be duly ignored by all.

Lebanon. Nuff said. I've written before that perhaps the Mid-East should be one nuclear testing zone. Just turn all those "sacred" sites into piles of new glass. If God wants to save any of all of them let it be. In fact, it'd be a good test to determine whether any of the sites are truly sacred to anyone beyond us humans. I recommend Georgy be at Ground Zero just to make sure things turn out right.

I know, this isn't journalism but then neither is most of what you see in the papers. Anyway. I took the kids to see "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" yesterday. It was an enjoyable film but a tad too long and the cliffhanger ending was most annoying in an eager way. Most bothersome though were the people who brought their little kids to the film. Pirates was too scary in some places for them and simply too long. So - wail!, wail!, tromp, tromp, tromp - all through the film. Hey parents! Get an effing babysitter or wait for the film to come out on DVD. Something! But don't bring your kids to the theater. Not only will they ruin it for everyone but you won't see significant chunks as well. Save us all the aggravation.

Exiles concerned over U.S. plans in Cuba

By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, Associated Press Writer

MIAMI - A presidential commission's report on U.S. plans to promote democracy 
in Cuba has earned applause from Cuban exiles, particularly for an $80 million 
commitment to bolster civil society and independent media. But while many 
expressed broad support for the commission's message, some were wary of 
how, and if, the promised funds will be spent. 

Worse, when I read about how much money is going to Iraq or will be thrown to Cuba for Democratic purposes, I feel the money is simply being thrown away to F.o.B.s ("Friends of Bush"). A few days ago there was a little blurb in the paper about how the Army is finally investigating Halliburton for a small matter of 1$ BILLION dollars in overcharges. If that level of corruption doesn't make you angry then $80 million for Cuba won't make you blink. But it adds up and we're paying for it.

And we're paying for it while the Government spends and throws it away with no accountability. None. We, as the taxpayers, have a right to know exactly where our money is going. Every cent. And if the Government, our Government, poo-poos our rights away saying "Where the money goes is a matter of National Security, so we can't say." then our BS alarms should go off and we should demand to know - LOUDLY. Let the politicians know that we the voters aren't fooled, won't be fooled, and will vote against them and their cronies every damn chance we get. And that's before we get the courts on them.

It's our money; it's our Government. We deserve to know!

I have just finished a book about a writer who traveled through Russia right before the country collapsed. One recurring theme that sounded painfully too familiar was that the Government were disconnected from the people. The Government simply spewed slogans, kept security tight, and did what they wanted while the populace suffered. It sounded like what the U.S. is quickly becoming.

But it got me thinking about wars. How many people in and of themselves want war? My guess is that very few. But how many Governments want war? My guess is too many. And so begins the propaganda that war is inevitable for whatever reason the Government think the people will believe. Really, if Bush had played the up-and-up with us, you think America would have bought the invasion of Iraq?

There's something deeper here but I'm too tired from work to think. I've done my citizen's duty for the day. This comrade is going to bed. I just hope Homeland Security won't mind.

Ironically, this is what Bush said he wouldn't do when he campaigned for office the first time. But, as we have so painfully seen, world politics and strategy is way out of his realm of grasp. Apparently no one on his staff seems able to grasp things much better.

With Bush making Diplomacy a lesser option and threats the top option he has taught the Mid-East participants how to act. It's a brutal, archaic, and downright stupid method of leadership. I fear for the Mid-East. The violence is unnecessary but sadly blind. So it continues: Eye for an eye until they're all blind.

If only we had real leadership.

Problem is, if I did that, My customers would expect even faster results. Already my "three-day" rule has been broken. That rule is, simply, for any data request, it'll take at least three days to fulfill. Now it's down to hours and they want more. Uggh. Why this career path? Why can't I be something fun or interesting like an engineer or a movie director?

Ah well. That's life. C'est la vie.

I plopped my skinny Mahatma ass down and took care of business. No problems, right?

Wrong. This was no ordinary toilet. This one was outfitted with one of those auto-flush gizmos that works when your body moves away from the sensor. Well, guess what happens when you: