Christian

Hey! Remember when Che Guevara said he'd done all he felt was possible in Cuba and that it was in more than capable hands with Castro and decided to travel the world to institute Proletariat Revolutions in other countries? And then America started talking about how evil Castro was and he had killed his best friend and partner Che Guevara, so you can tell what kinda people Communists are? And, then it was revealed that Guevara was alive and well in Zaire?

Well....I'm waiting for someone to start a rumour like this concerning me and Red on this forum pretty soon.... :lol:

Pooka-That's in Canada that they club seals to death for fun....

It was banned when Jean Chretien was in office, but Paul Martin has made it legal again.....

Fucking Paul Martin!

Sethos, Jonathan Vankin (works as an editor at Vertigo now, I guess) wrote the Vertigo Pop:Tokyo and Bangkok series.

No, I had no idea what was going on. I just copied and pasted my all purpose "Life isn't so bad, don't kill yourself unless your life gets as bad as mine" speech.

"Thanks everyone, except bitter Christian,( don't think I don't know you're just jealous that he gets to see me naked. )"

This may very well be true ;) ....but it wouldn't chance the fact that I'm bitter one bit.

Raise your hands if you saw this coming a mile and a year away

Hey! Remember the good old days when America was supporting the Mujahedeen in power?! "No, they weren't good days" I hear you say? Ah, how quickly our babies grow up, eh?

NOTE:Christian Parenti is the son of Michael Parenti. This article appeared in the newest issue of the "Nation" magazine. Go to www.TheNation.org to read the Nation magazine, FOR FREE!

Postcard From Kabul

by Christian Parenti

Despite a large voter turnout in Kabul and other major cities, the presidential election in Afghanistan has been a farce. Instead of Taliban violence, the balloting was besieged by a wave of fraud and technical errors. All of Karzai's opponents have denounced the vote as illegitimate, triggering a local and perhaps international credibility crisis for the US-appointed President Hamid Karzai and the international occupation of Afghanistan.

The first bad omen was meteorological--a huge dust storm that some Afghans said was a harbinger of a repressive government. Real trouble began at dawn the next day, October 9, when voters found that the indelible ink used to mark their thumbs and prevent repeat voting was washing off. This, combined with the proliferation of fake voting cards, meant that many people were able to cast votes multiple times.

"I voted three times," said an Afghan solider guarding the presidential palace. "But I can't tell you who I voted for, it's a secret," he added with a straight face.

"I saw a man vote six times, I swear," said a female election observer at a poll across town. A few Western journalists watched as their drivers voted three and four times.

When news of the vanishing ink spread, some polls closed, then reopened. Other polls ran out of ballots, others had no pens for marking the ballots, still others ran out of ballots or space in ballot boxes. On top of that, there were numerous allegations of intimidation. One presidential candidate claimed that his observers saw the police in Kabul telling people to vote for Karzai.

"This is very disappointing," said a woman named Naseema. "We all wanted a fair election and good government."

By noon most of Karzai's opponents or their deputies had gathered at the home of one of the candidates, Sitar Sira. A crush of journalists soon descended. In came UN and EU representatives. The US Ambassador was said to be on his way, but then cancelled. When the candidates emerged after hours in seclusion, Sitar Sira read a statement to the throng of reporters now trampling his muddy garden. He denounced the elections as a fraud and reeled off a list of irregularities. "This is not a legitimate election. We call for a boycott of the election," said Sira. "Karzai should resign."

Other candidates added their own comments. "We should postpone and vote again after Ramadan," said Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai. "We have all sworn not to join Karzai's cabinet. Just let him try and govern," threatened the old Mujahedeen veteran.

A serious crisis had emerged.

Despite the candidates' lunchtime call for a boycott, the UN decided to carry on with the vote. Then in the late afternoon, Karzai held a restricted, invitation-only press conference; some of us uninvited journalists talked our way in, through layer upon layer of DynCorp security guards. In the inner sanctum of the classy but slightly run-down Afghan presidential palace, in a small wood-paneled meeting room, we met Karzai. The exchange that followed was at times surreal and sadly comical.

"The commission will look into all of these problems but I am sure the vote was free," said the cloak-draped Karzai after a few jokes and greetings.

"Who is more important, these fifteen candidates, or the millions of people who turned out today to vote?" Karzai said. "Both myself and all these fifteen candidates should respect our people, because in the dust and snow and rain, they waited for hours and hours to vote." At several points, Karzai, sounding increasingly defensive, invoked the image of "a poor hungry, cold Afghan woman waiting to vote. She cannot be intimidated."

When pressed with specific examples of allegations that his campaign used fraud and intimidation, the president grew visibly irritated. "What report? Human Rights Watch? They do not understand Afghan culture. Tribal culture, it is very democratic. Tribal elders cannot be intimidated. They do not know what is really going on."

At other points, Karzai joked about the hostility of the BBC and repeatedly asked for questions from "my friend Ahmed Rashid." The distinguished Pakistani journalist had one query but declined to respond to the president's cajoling.

As polls closed and night fell on Kabul, Afghanistan began a long wait. In the following days and weeks the votes will have to be counted, opening more opportunities for fraud, intimidation and recriminations. And if the opposition candidates, many of whom are old Mujahedeen commanders, really turn their backs on Karzai--who is very likely to win--the situation here could disintegrate radically

No, don't worry. No one has to say anything nice about me. God knows no one would want to.

In honour of Rodney Dangerfield (see Down The Local if you didn't know), I present a thread designed to praise comic creators.

Now, everyone knows and loves Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison.....Since this is the "Hellblazer" site, I'll say Jamie Delano also, even though God knows no one else knows the guy! Everyone knows why they're so loved and respected also. They don't need the praise.

So, on this thread I want to hear some of the lesser-known or less-respected comic creators who you adore and tell us why you have grown so fond of them (it can be either writers or artists). This is a great way to tell other members about your favourite writers who they might not know about.

My list:

1.J.M. DeMatteis-I really have never read a BAD comic by the guy. He's been writing comics for years, and putting out many of my favourite stories. It seems that everytime I'm going through a bad period in my life, I subconciously find new DeMatteis comics to read. He always has a way to make me feel a bit better.

Recommended reading:"Dr. Fate", "Mercy", "Seekers into Mystery", "The Last One" "Brooklyn Dreams", "Spider Man:Kraven's Last Hunt", "Going Sane" story-arc from "Batman:LOTDK", (the ever controversial, you either love it or hate it) "Spectre"

You may also like:"Moonshadow", probably DeMatteis' most well-known series, available in TPB from Vertigo. I just didn't enjoy it as much as most of his other work though.

2.Steve Darnall-The guy is very politically minded, so I respect that. I haven't read many of his comics, don't even know how many he's written, but he's talented. If you want to read a well written, thoughtful politically minded comic book, find something by Darnall.

Recommended:"Uncle Sam", "Unknown Quantities" (it has stories by Gaiman, Moore, and others collected in this book also)

3.Dave Louapre-Sadly, I think he's only written 3 comic series (one-shots) in his life, I think! I loved every one! He's got a wonderful writing style.

Recommended(in order):"Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children", "American Freak", "Doctor Occult"

4.Stephen Murphy-I only know of "Puma Blues" that the man has written, but it's one of the very best comics ever. Environmentally concious and makes you think. For that, he gets a mention, because I think everyone should try to hunt down and read "Puma Blues".

5.Peter Milligan-OK, I'm sure most people on this site know the name and know of his work; but I'd feel bad if I didn't include the most "underrated man in comics". He has the talent of Morrison or Delano, but has never reached the heights that Grant Morrison has in comics (OK, Delano hasn't either, except among H.B. fans). Everything I've read of Milligan's has been "above average" at least. If you've never read a Peter Milligan comic, go find one and read it!

Recommended:"Shade", "Rogan Gosh", "Enigma", "Extremist", "Human Target", "X-Statix", "Face", "The Eaters", "Skreemer", "Minx", his "Dark Knight, Dark City" 3-parter from "Batman"

John's done it before too. I always took it to be his amazing "luck". He has the ability to guess things that happen to be right about people and their past.

I seriously doubt it is "telepathy". I don't think it's "a way to see evil" either. John isn't the best magician, and definately doesn't show this ability regularly.

It seems like when he needs to know it, it comes to him, and he says it. I don't even think it's anything concious.

Of course, I've read that the "All His Engines" GN is going to show John seeing dead people when he was a boy, so maybe John is just some high and might magician like Dr. Strange after all....

I agree with Jack that Zed read pretty much just like Angie to me. I thought it was Angie until they used Zed's name.

The Demon John thing, I think it's for two reasons:

1.Rosacarnis wanted the kids to be raised by the real John to see what kind of person he is, how he acts. The Demon John is not the complete package.

2.Rosacarnis is out to make John suffer for what happened to Nergal at John's hands. Having sex and kids with the Demon John just would not accomplish all she was trying to do. She might as well just have hired some demons from Hell to do the job, as have the kids with Demon John.

I think the Nergal factor figures in to a lot of the things Rosacarnis said also, that the board members seem to be wondering about. I see it as,this is a vendetta, a grudge on Rosacarnis' part. John ruined her father, embarrased Nergal. Rosacarnis has been plotting her revenge for a long time and wants to make the rest of John's life an eternal (living) Hell, to make John pay for what he did to Nergal.

I just think this would've worked so much better with the whole issue dedicated to one woman (namely, Kit, since she's the believable one). Kit could've had triplets! It was just so rushed, that I didn't get a feel for any of it to be believable.

I think it would've worked if we'd seen John happy and content in a family relationship. Something he's always said he just could never/would never, be happy with. It'd show that John's been lying to himself. We've seen glimpses before that John envies a "normal life", he just knows it's too late for him now, knows he made other priorities in his life.

I think that would be a more haunting memory to leave John with, than what we saw of those relationships. John would realize that he could've given it all up when he met Kit, commited to her, and lived this wonderful life; but he didn't make that choice. It's too late for that now. He made a different choice, believing it was the right one for him.

See? Instead of Rosacarnis being fucked up and showing she had no idea how to play the parts of these women, she could've been an idealized form of Kit, giving the "perfect relationship" vibe to John. It wouldn't have been the real relationship, because no relationship can be that good, but for this vision it would seem that way to John.

A perfect Hell for John the road not take (a better road was available), and Rosacarnis would still have gotten her demon-spawn.

It also might be more emotional were the demon kids not PURE EVIL! These were John's flesh and blood, and if they were acting more like real kids, but John knew that some day they would grow up to become murderers, it'd add more emotional impact to John's decision to kill them. I personally wouldn't have any problem killing some demonic killers even if they were my own kids. But, I'm a heartless bastard, and I've been told so is John!

All I can say is:

The relationship didn't last that long, so that's good. The longer a relationship lasts, the more dependant you become on having that person in your life (at least in that capacity, if you manage to remain friends with this person). You two realized early that something wasn't "meshing", and it's over and done with. That's good! Too many people keep something that isn't there going, just for the sake of having something. It's better to be alone than to be with someone who is not making you happy or who is not happy themselves. Or maybe you fool yourself into thinking this is good, and then two years down the road, all of a sudden one of you will wake up and realize maybe no this isn't so good. That's TWO YEARS of your life gone! Do you know how hard it is to recover after a long period?! I'm sure you know it's really hard! Short and sweet is always better.

This was just one guy. There's tons more people out there. Trust me, you'll like one of them far more than you'd have ever liked this guy. You just gotta keep looking, but not forcing anything.

Hey, at least you're not the saddest person around! There's lots of single people who are happier than a lot of couples. This isn't to say that the couple is necessarily upset because of their partner, just that sometimes love is not enough to make the world go away. There's lots of stresses in life:money, job, family, health, the world in general. There's lots of people who are worse off than you are right now. Look at the positives in your life, and realize how much of that positive is because of YOU, not because of some guy.

Do you have good friends? You're lucky if you do!

Do you have a house and a nice job and some money? You're lucky if you do!

Do you have a pet? You're lucky if you do!

Are you in good health, or are you able to see a doctor who can help you get back to good health? You're lucky if you do!

Be happy and comfortable with your life. When you are, one day, when you least expect it, someone very special will just happen into your life. If you're not happy with the life you have right now?! Well, maybe being in a relationship isn't the best idea for you or a partner. They're not going to make you happy or make it better. Only YOU can make your life happy or good, not some guy you met somewhere.

A relationship or marriage isn't necessarily the things that will make anyone's life complete. Some people feel more trapped and alone in a relationship than they felt living their own life with a bunch of friends, or maybe with pets.

I didn't get a cheer up thread! Why do I never get a cheer up thread?! Is it because I'm a Commie?! I think so!

Don't worry Rogan...Someday Canada will rise from the ashes as the NEW AND IMPROVED Soviet Union and unify all the former-Communist countries together to destroy our oppressors in America.

OK, no, that's not going to happen! But, let's humour poor little Rogan, ok guys?!

Kerry and Vietnam:

I can respect the fact that Kerry went and fought in Vietnam, but realized it wasn't a war America had any business fighting. My friend from the Green Party, Ken, fought in Vietnam. Kerry and my buddy were both young and naive, they believed the rhetoric. What Ken saw there changed him (it also changed William Blum, who believed in America until he travelled to Vietnam), or in Kerry's case SEEMED to change them.

Let's look at the facts:Blum decided to abhor everything about American foreign policy and fight the corruption and tyranny. Ken decided to study the facts about American history, and came to the conclusion that the Republicans and Democrats were destroying America and the world with their policies, and found a new platform that spoke to what he believed in. Kerry testified that the Vietnam war was wrong. I can respect that these men did what they felt they had to do (well, Blum was working with the State Dept. at the time, not involved in combat), but then decided that what they were doing was morally wrong, and decided to turn away from the Imperialist dogma.

Then later Kerry said, "I was young. I didn't understand. Now, I'm proud of my war record in Vietnam. I realize it was the right thing."

Yeah, well, I don't respect that. Kerry was never commited to anything. I see him as an oppurtunist. Maybe at one point, Kerry did believe what he said in that courtroom, but that Kerry is dead now. He sold his soul to Capitalism and an "American Dream" that never existed. He's no different than the W. Bushes, Limbaughs, and Dick Cheneys who avoided warfare (one way or another), and now crow about the wonders and miracles of bombing other countries to bring them "freedom". They're all the same!

sigh....Didn't we warn her about this on the FIRST one of these threads?!

RE:North Korea

OK, here's how I see this:I give Kerry credit for speaking about the hypocrisy of America wanting to stop nuclear proliferation, when America is developing new nuclear weaponry (bunk buster shite). But, that's really not going far enough into the problem now is it?! What about the huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons America has? What about America giving nukes to countries such as South Korea and Israel in the past?

I read propoganda in Kerry's words. This whole "Axis of Evil" bullshite.

What the fuck is that?! Iran and Iraq's governments hated each other! North Korea has nothing to do with ANY "Middle Eastern" country! They picked some random countries that America doesn't like, and branded them together! Kerry still focuses on this "Axis of Evil" though.

Iran may or may not be developing nuclear weapons. NO ONE REALLY KNOWS besides the Iranian govt. itself and it claims it is only looking at nuclear power sources, NOT weapons. But, even if they were, who says they can't have nuclear weapons?! Israel has nuclear weapons which could reach into Iran.

Who says that North Korea cannot have nuclear weapons?! No, I don't really want to see more countries have nukes, but South Korea has had nuclear weapons pointed at North Korea for years!

According to world opinion polls I've seen, a majority of Europe and the "Middle East" consider Israel to be the greatest threat to world security, but they still have nukes! Canada's polls read that W. Bush is the greatest threat.

Oh Josh, my reading of historical info goes back to 1940 with America. 1918 with the Soviet Union. 1965 with Canada. Bits of scattered pieces with European countries (sorry mates!). You don't always have to live it to experience it.

I've always said America refuses to change. The same things are occuring today as occured in 1945. It's been a policy that doesn't change with Demobulicans or Repubocrats, doesn't change with Kennedys or Carters or Clintons.

Vietnam is just the most talked about example. We had soldiers taking pot-shots at babies laying helpless on the ground, Vietnamese being thrown out of helicopters for refusing to tell "info" they may or may not have had, My Lai, FUCK! The same shite that was occuring in Vietnam was happening in Laos and Cambodia, AT THE SAME EXACT TIME!

How about Grenada?! How about Yugoslavia?! How about I could talk until my voice was hoarse?!

I was just comparing Iraq war with Iraq "war".

No Child Left Behind is simply a way to get more workers out there who have no ability to barter for higher wages. They get jobs at McDonald's or G.M., where the companies don't have to worry about giving them raises or higher pay, because they have no specialization. That's Capitalisms highest hope, to have a workplace filled with unskilled labourers.

Yeah, I've always found it funny that Bush and Rumsfield and Cheney sit around and pontificate to the public about "religious fanatics who want to take away the American people's freedoms in the name of their religion". Well, Osama Bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda are certainly fundamentalist zealots; but W. Bush, Rumsfield, and Cheney feel the same way about these "freedoms in America", and would love to see them replaced with their own brand of "fanatical Christian ideals".

Isn't Obama the one who said something about "one America". Isn't his policy all about a lovey dovey wonderful America where the slaves get along just fine with their masters? I think the term for people with these opinions used to be "an Uncle Tom" in a different set of circumstances.

Anyone who avoids the issue of Class is not someone worth following, as they are just trying to take the peoples' eyes and minds off of the real problems.

I just remember reading this about the guy, but I don't follow him. I may be wrong about this. He's not radical enough for me. You can't fix a broken bone by placing a bandage on it, which is what the "Liberal" "left-leaning" Moderates all seem to want.

Capitalism is walking dead. It's proven to be a system that doesn't work. And, anyone who is attempting to try and extend the life of Capitalism, obviously does not realize the real problems with America, or the world. Capitalism can't exist without govt. help or cheap foreign labour forces anymore. That's what's keeping it going. Force the system to work under REAL "Free Market" reforms (meaning that only the strongest, best, and brightest companies can survive, no govt. subsidies),force it work side-by-side with REAL Democracy (not to be a Totalitarian Transnational pseudo-government of its own) and see how long it will survive. It's a system that's been kept on life-support for 40 years now. How sad is that?! When will people realize it cannot work and let it die in peace?! It's costing America everything that once made it great (not perfect, not even "THE BEST" whatever the fuck that is, but once a great nation).

RE:Scorpio

My girlfriend is a Scorpio. Yeah, there are three aspects to the Scorpio, although I forget if the 3 you listed were the right ones, Rogan!

It's not that there are 3 DIFFERENT TYPES of Scorpios, but that every Scorpio is like a Phoenix, in that they experience different phases of their life where they act out one of the 3 aspects of the Scorpio.

I'm pretty sure EVERY person has multi-aspects of themselves that they act out at different periods of their life though!

Even though my girlfriend and myself both fit pretty well with the description of the way our signs are meant to be, I really don't go in for all this Horoscope bull. We're the way life has made us to be, and we can change aspects of ourselves and our lives if we actually take the time and work to do so. Stars and gods and anything else supernatural doesn't have anything to do with it!

Hey Rogan,

I used to collect most every "Star Wars" comic. I read the Marvel series, I was loving the "Star Wars:Republic" series by Ostrander (until I dropped it for monetary reasons), and have read MOST of the Dark Horse ones before Republic. I read, and own, all three you asked about:

"Chewbacca"-was ok. Hard to judge this comic, as I guess it was a memoriam story where characters talked about how good Chewie was, as I guess he died. It takes place in that whole "New Jedi Order" period....not sure. I didn't follow any of that. Macan wrote the characters really well, I remember.

"Jedi vs. Sith"-Been awhile since I read it. It takes place in the "Sith Era" before the Republic was even formed. I liked most of these stories, but they mostly centered on fighting instead of plot or character. This one was actually the best of the bunch.

"Vader"-I remember liking the story. I don't remember any basics of the plot anymore. It took place between the first two films, I believe.

America's had a travel ban on Iraq since the sanctions were put in place. I'm not sure if they changed this policy because Hussein is gone?! Seems odd that they would.

Well, I've had my share of deaths. Only my little furry buddy lately though.

Usually, it's the whole "I'm sick of you and your pompous attitude!", and I don't hear from them again.....

I actually meant that right now in Carey's run, John is really down to only a few people he ever talks to, and he really doesn't seem that interested to be around too many people anymore either.

Quoth the Pooka:

"Fuck you all."

Christian replies:

Don't mind if you do! :D

umm...Yeah, I think the title of this thread should've been "Uncanny Review FOR Keeyah"....I think that was a Freudian slip....ahem

I still think this is far better than Austen's run....

Yeah, now if Claremont realized he can't write anything worth reading anymore and decided to put jokes into the issue (like the Murderworld on EBay bit) I could enjoy this. The sad part is, Claremont actually wants us to take him seriously when he writes stuff like this!

You know? Good question as to why Wolverine was disguised as Sage in the first place! I'm guessing since Viper is now Sage's arch-nemesis, Wolvy figured that Viper would hunt Sage down (all the X-Men were split up when they were looking for the....Queen....), but yeah, it seems kinda like a "deux-ex-machina" to me. And yep! Wolverine looked and (apparently) sounded exactly like Sage when he was in disguise! (the cigar sticking out of Sage's mouth might have been a give away though....Just kidding!)

Yes, it's sad and depressing every month waiting to see how bad this book can get. The reason I still buy Uncanny is because I've stopped reading X-Men twice before, and both times I've ended up getting drawn back, and then I've felt a need to buy up the back-issues I've missed. Uncanny X-Men is like a drug to me. It keeps pulling me back in and then I need a good fix. So, I figure, if I just spend the $2.25 a month on the crap now, it'll save me having to hunt down the backissues when I eventually miss the X-Men.

I'm like the guy who owns the "X-Axis" web-site, only not as bad! I only buy this one X-book a month and hate it. He buys EVERY DAMNED X-book every month and seems to hate almost all of them.

Truthfully, I don't give a damn about the Kennedys (although Ted Kennedy seems to be a nice guy), and I especially don't care about John F. or Robert. They were just more of the same. I admit that JFK was slightly better than most Presidents from WWII onward, he's around the same point as Clinton. Neither were as good as Carter, not that I make of Carter a saint. He was just better than the rest and showed he had a conscience after he left office. I don't think John F. deserved to be killed while people like Nixon, Reagan, Ford, and W. Bush went on their merry way and lived a life of opulence, until they die.

Kennedy just stepped on the wrong toes. He took the office of "president" too seriously, and didn't realize he was a figure-head for a lot of powerful people, and not a Leader. If this was Karma, it was carried out by the CIA, which takes anything "natural" or "good" out of the picture right there! Also, if it was Karma, it led to Johnson being put in office ("Fuck your little god damned Constitution" he said to Greece) and Nixon being the next elected President; so Karma obviously has a very screwed up sense of humour, and if this is what we are depending on for justice, we are all fucked so far up the ass that it's coming out of our mouths. The CIA doesn't dispense justice, it promotes pain and oppression. Only the People can bring about Justice.

I don't give a damn about Oswald either. He was spying on the Soviets, and for that I don't care if the guy was living or dead. He deserved what he got.

I don't mourn for anyone in this whole affair. They are not Lenin or Castro or Che Guevara or Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King.

I don't have a huge stake in this where I spend my time studying up on every incident. I don't go around trying to make people believe JFK was killed by the govt. It was a topic of some interest to me on a message board, so I joined in. My concern is more foreign policy, but I think if it is revealed that these people have the power to kill American presidents, than people are going to really wonder about what all the CIA has done in the past. The way to make the blind, ignorant, ethnocentric American populace face that truth of over 50 years of terror and repression around the world is to make them see what has happened in their own "backyard".

My whole stake in it is my hatred of the CIA and my firm conviction to see all the evil perpetrated by this group and the American govt. brought to life. ALL of it. To see the people involved in the "American Holocaust" brought to justice.

After the American Empire falls, a lot of these things that are hidden will be brought to life. The perpetrators of the acts will be long dead though. It's not going to happen before the Empire crumbles though, sadly.

At least by preaching and having it for all to see in the "underground", maybe some people who were ignorant will realize the truth.

Guess Who's Back in Town (2-parts)

Hey! Viper's back in town...."Hooray", I manage weakly (not really). This time she's the arch-nemesis of Sage for some reason. Claremont continues to attempt to shove Sage down our throats.

I'm not even going to touch on most of Part 1, as the story makes NO sense! Part 2 is much clearer (OK, I'm lying, the whole story is a mess!), and I'm not sure if this is Claremont's way of fooling the fans, or was an edict on the part of the editors.

Suffice to say, Viper has bought the remnants of Arcade's Murderworld Amusement Death Park on E-Bay, and has captured the Queen of England and placed her at the end of Murderworld. NO! I'm serious! I did not make this up! That is the actual plot! The cliffhanger is that at the end of Part 1, Viper shoots Sage in the head. YAY! She's finally dead! Yeah, like you really believe we could be so lucky?! Claremont isn't done making Sage the most neato keen superheroine of all time with Kung Fu grip yet.

In Part 2 we discover the following about what Claremont told us in Part 1:

Viper actually only bought a hardware disk on E-Bay that contained plans on how to build a Murderworld. Viper was too lazy to bother building one, and tricked the X-Men into thinking that London was really Murderworld. Is there any difference, people from London, let me know! (he he he)

OK, "Sage" was really Wolverine in disguise, so everything's fine. Yes, Sage is a skinny, tall woman while Wolverine is a short, muscular man; but the X-Men have all kinds of Shiar technology....so, I'm sure it was very easy to convince Viper that Wolverine in disguise was really Sage....

The real Sage beats up Viper, because Sage is more aggressive and powerful than Wolverine now.

So, the X-Men figure out what's going on (yeah, the X-Men are much better at solving puzzles than the reader of the comic must be), and they find out that the "Queen" is on a merry-go-round at a fair. The wheel-ride thingy is wired with a bomb set to blow up in a certain amount of time and kill the woman on the wheel-thingy, but if anyone attempts to rescure the woman, it will trigger a nuclear bomb! Upon closer inspection, the "Queen" is really a chambermaid from the Royal Palace who Viper abducted. Oh, ok, that's fine then. Just a maid, let's all go home and forget all this ever happened! Yes, Claremont actually makes us think that because the person was the Queen of England, it's worth any cost; BUT "just" a maid can't possibly be worth this....or could it?! I'm not sure anything is worth the amount of pain I feel writing this synopsis....

Hey, it's the X-Men! They're "real American heroes" (or something), so they decide to risk triggering a nuclear explosion in London. Luckily, Storm has the ability to create a magnetic pulse hotter than the surface of Jupiter with her thunderstorms, which will negate the nuclear chain reaction of the bomb. Seriously, the scientific info about this process reads pretty much what I just wrote! Not to mention the fact that Storm is all of a sudden a goddess with unlimited powers who need never worry again.

The X-Men save the day. End of damned story.

Next up:Ultra cool 450th Anniversary issue featuring....something. I'm guessing Sage in a swimsuit.

Josh-James just asked me for proof of Ruby's link with the Mafia, so I was trying to find sources for him to check into.

I usually go to either Parenti's or Zepezauer's essays for proof of the JFK assassination conspiracy, but neither one of them documented any sources for the Ruby/Mafia connection.

I know I read somewhere actual names of Mafia associates who were known to be in contact with Ruby, and instances where Ruby was seen with them; but I'm not sure what book it was in, or if I even owned that book or had just read it from someone else's collection. I believe William Harvey (who was one of the men who met with Oswald after he got back from the USSR) was one.

Yeah....this is one of those occassions where "my mommy was in bed with America", will most likely come in handy if they try to force a trial.

I'm not too sure....Thatcher was pretty much used as a "fall guy" in that whole thing, it seems.

Hilde-So, where IS Pinochet at right now?! :huh:

....and I'm living the John Constantine life right now.

hmm....Two guys dated Pooka. Then turned gay right after....hmm...

:lol:

Just kidding, Pookie!

Oh damn! That's not what I wanted to hear, at all! ;)