OBAMA VISITS IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN...

Far from Amman, Jordan, where the world's news media was fixated on Sen. Barack Obama, his presidential rival, presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain told a town meeting here that U.S. troops "have succeeded and we will win the war in Iraq."

In midday remarks to a lively crowd in the old Rochester Opera House, McCain criticized Obama for sticking to his proposal for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from the war zone. "Now he wants to reverse the success we have had and set a date for withdrawal," McCain said. He ignored recent statements supporting withdrawal by 2010 from the prime minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki and the Bush White House's implicit recent support of the idea. McCain accused Obama of stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the success of the surge that McCain proposed and President Bush adopted last year. He credited himself with having the "courage and judgment" to say last year that he would rather win the war than lose a campaign, and today said "it seems to me that Senator Obama would rather lose a war" than change his mind about the surge publicly. "I hope that he will have the courage to reverse his position," McCain said.

A DARK NIGHT IN LONDON

Holy unexpected, Batman! Christian Bale has been arrested in London after allegedly assaulting his sister and mother, reports U.K.'s Daily Telegraph.

The actor, who should be riding high after his new film smashed box office records this weekend, is currently in custody after his 61-year-old mother, Jenny, and 40-year-old sister, Sharon, filed police complaints Monday, alleging Bale attacked them at London's Dorchester hotel Sunday night.

A Scotland Yard spokesman says: "A 34-year-old man attended a London Police Station on Tuesday by appointment and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault. He currently remains in custody."

The Pope is sorry?

THE Pope's planned apology to Australian sex abuse victims should be delivered to them face to face, victims have said.

The Pontiff should also forcefully tell his Australian bishops to stop blocking victims' access to civil courts and using the statute of limitations as a get-out clause, victims' group Broken Rites said in The Australian today.

On his way to Sydney yesterday, Benedict XVI outlined in broad terms his plan to apologise for sexual abuse by priests, saying the Catholic Church must "consider what was insufficient in our behaviour and how we can prevent, heal, reconcile".

"Being a priest is inconsistent with sexual abuse. This behaviour contradicts holiness," the pontiff said yesterday.

Graphic Spoofs and Parody.

SEX IN ADVERTISING

Does sex sell?

We're surrounded by advertisements that desperately compete for our attention. Everywhere we look, we find ourselves inevitably drawn to images of scantily clad attractive men and women that are supposed to somehow inspire us to purchase products they endorse. Sure, this attention-getting strategy is popular. But, is it effective?

Sex appeal can increase the effectiveness of an ad or commercial because it attracts the customer’s attention. It’s human nature to be curious about sex. A pair of long legs on a billboard is more likely to catch (and hold) a guy’s attention than a puppy, regardless of how cute it may be. Even women are drawn to them, perhaps with the desire of having goddess-like legs.

However, misuse of sex appeal can be costly. Many campaigns deemed offensive have started brand boycotts that affect sales and damage brand reputation. Abercrombie & Fitch has been involved in several scandals, the latest from their most recent catalog entitled “XXX Wet, Hot Summer Fun.” On April 18, 2002, only a week after the catalog hit the stores, the Illinois State Senate passed a resolution condemning A&F’s advertising tactics. This resolution, backed by several nonprofit organizations, suggests citizens and shareholders boycott Abercrombie’s products and to take a stand against the company’s marketing strategies. Although sexy images in catalogs are not at all uncommon, “XXX Wet, Hot Summer Fun” featured naked boys and girls frolicking in natural settings. Not quite appropriate for an apparel catalog targeted at teenagers.

Sex in advertising has stirred controversy for many years, an advertiser must be careful when incorporating it in a campaign. Great advertisers consider not only the attention-getting power of an advertisement or commercial, but also what kind of emotional response it provokes in customers. Studies show that the attractiveness of the endorsing model provokes positive responses. Nudity and graphic erotic content, while still increasing consumer’s attention, doesn’t really generate positive feelings among viewers. In other words, advertisers must be careful to avoid the “cheap shot,” which may negatively affect a brand’s image.

To avoid that, the sexual content in advertising must be appropriate to the product category and have a proper underlying message. In 2000, Heineken launched the “It’s All About the Beer” campaign. One spot, called “The Premature Pour,” shows a beautiful seductive woman pouring Heineken into a glass. When a guy across the bar responds by pouring his own, he nervously pours too fast and spills foam all over the table and himself. The sexual content is implicit, yet direct. The sexual reference in this and other spots in the campaign worked, causing sales to rise 13% in the first two quarters of 2002. However, Steve Davis (VP of marketing in Heineken USA), claims that, “Provocative is a very good place to be, as long as we’re not inflammatory. But the spots also work for a different reason. From the tag line to the plot, they are about a desire for Heineken. Our ads make the beer the hero.”

Sex sells, yes, but only when used “in good taste.” As marketers we must think not only in getting customers’ attention for the short term, but also in building a brand reputation that will yield long-term results.

Al Queerda's Latest Video!

July 07, 2008

Experts speculate widely about the composition and tactics of the next generation of Jihadists. This speculation stems from the fact that transnational groups are harder collection targets than nation-states. Such ambiguity and imprecision is likely to endure indefinitely, and is particularly worrisome concerning "next-generation" terrorism studies.

Osama bin Laden has been planning for the next generation of Jihadists since he began speaking publicly in the mid-1990s. Bin Laden has always described the "defensive jihad" against the United States as potentially a multi-generational struggle. After the 9/11 attacks, bin Laden explained that, even as the anti-U.S. war intensified, the torch was being passed from his generation to the next. "We have been struggling right from our youth," bin Laden wrote in late 2001:

"We sacrificed our homes, families, and all the luxuries of this worldly life in the path of Allah (was asking Allah to accept our efforts). In our youth, we fought with and defeated the (former) Soviet Union (with the help of Allah), a world super power, and now we are fighting the USA. We have never let the Muslim Ummah down.

"Muslims are being humiliated, tortured and ruthlessly killed all over the world, and its time to fight these satanic forces with the utmost strength and power. Today the whole of the Muslim Ummah is depending (after Allah) upon the Muslim youth, hoping that they would never let them down."

The question arising is, of course, what threat will the next generation of al-Qaeda-inspired Jihadist pose? Based on the admittedly imprecise information available, the answer seems to lie in three discernible trends: a) the next generation will be at least as devout but more professional and less operationally visible; b) it will be larger, with more adherents and potential recruits; and c) it will be better educated and more adept at using the tools of modernity, particularly communications and weapons.

The next Jihadist generation's piety will equal or exceed that of bin Laden's generation. The new Jihadist, having grown up in an internet and satellite television-dominated world, will be more aware of Muslim struggles around the world, more comfortable with a common Muslim identity, more certain that the U.S.-led West is "oppressing" Muslims, and more inspired by the example bin Laden has set—bin Laden's generation had no bin Laden. While leaders more pious than bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are hard to imagine, Western analysts tend to forget that many of bin Laden's first-generation lieutenants did not mirror his intense religiosity.

Independence Day!

TROY IS A FAVORITE MOVIE OF MINE AND I JUST DECIDED TO HAVE A BIT OF FUN.

UFO's sighted over UK!

ONE of Britain’s greatest UFO mysteries deepened last night after a new witness emerged after 34 years.

The Government allegedly covered up the “Welsh Roswell” incident, in the Berwyn mountain range in 1974, after scores of residents reported a massive tremor, strange lights in the sky and “Men in Black” scouring the area.

Claims that aliens crash-landed and their bodies were then transported by the Ministry of Defence to the top-secret research base Porton Down in Wiltshire were dismissed by Whitehall officials.

But suspicions about what really happened were re-ignited in May this year when hundreds of MoD documents about UFO sightings were released, with none containing any details about the Berwyn incident, reviving rumours of a cover-up.

Now, fresh evidence by retired gamekeeper Geraint Edwards, of Llandderfel, Denbighshire, has reopened the debate.

He told the makers of a new Channel Five documentary, which is being broadcast tonight, how he stood in amazement as a flying saucer hovered for 10 minutes above the mountains before it disappeared into space at impossible speed.

Moron Julius Malema of South Africa's ANCYL calls for members to kill for Zuma. This is the perfect weapon for the members!

Mugabe the Tin Pot Dicktator.

Heres a good joke going around about this idiot:

Mugabe dies and goes to heaven. When he gets there, St. Peter tells him that he is not on the list and he does not belong in heaven. Mugabe must go to hell. So Mugabe goes to hell where Satan gives him a hearty welcome and tells him to make himself at home. Then Mugabe notices that he left his luggage in heaven and tells Satan, who says, "No problem, I'll send a couple of little devils to get your stuff." When the little devils get to heaven they find the gates are locked. St.Peter is having lunch - and they start debating what to do. Finally one comes up with the idea that they should go over the wall and get the luggage.

As they are climbing the wall, two little angels see them, and one angel says to the other,"My word,look at that! Mugabe has been in hell no more than ten minutes and we're already getting refugees!"