Blue Star Chronicles

As I have been surfing the web I happened to run across two stories back to back.

The first has to do with the Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana. It seems that Spain’s Labour and Social Affairs Minister has outlawed their latest ads. These ads depict simulated rape.

Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana has branded Spain as being ‘behind the times’ for demanding it withdraw a controversial advertising campaign, a newspaper reported on Friday.

Dolce & Gabbana plans to pull the advertisement, which shows a man holding a woman to the ground by her wrists while a group of men look on, following complaints from consumers’ groups. “We will only withdraw this photo from the Spanish market. They’re a bit behind the times,” La Vanguardia newspaper quoted the Milan-based fashion house as saying.

Dolce & Gabbana had a similar problem in their British market last month.

The fracas follows criticism from Britain’s advertising watchdog last month about another Dolce & Gabbana campaign showing models brandishing knives.

The British Advertising Standards Authority upheld more than 150 complaints from people concerned that the pictures glorified and condoned violent crime. In that case, the company said the ads were heavily stylised and mimicked early 19th century art.

I guess neither he British nor the Spanish have any appreciation for art.

The other story I ran across has to do with ‘honor killings’ of muslim women accused of having sex.

The two women, aged 18 and 20, were first cousins and unmarried, Magsi said.

He said they were allegedly snatched from their home about 150 miles south of Karachi, the provincial capital, and taken to a field where they were hacked to death. Police were looking for two other villagers suspected of involvement.

Magsi said it was an “honor killing,” an ancient custom in which those accused of committing adultery or violating other sexual mores are killed by relatives. Most of the victims are women.

Honor killings in muslim culture are not uncommon.

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, citing government figures, said in a report last year that about 1,000 women die annually in honor killings.

Domestic and international human right groups say most attackers escape punishment because of legal loopholes.

You might be wondering what these two articles have in common.

Regarding the first story. If you don’t like that type of advertising you are ‘behind the times’, you don’t understand real artistic expression, you are hopelessly ignorant.

Regarding the second story. Anyone indoctrinated in the Western way of thinking is quietly horrified that ‘those people’ do that sort of thing. The key word here being ‘quietly’. If you openly verbalize disgust and disapproval of ‘honor killings’ you are a bigot, intolerant of ‘their’ culture and again, hopelessly ignorant.

If you are a progressive, accepting these two stories, on opposite ends of a spectrum, is not a paradox. It’s being open-minded and tolerant of differing opinions. It’s being progressive.

On second thought, these stories are not so different after all. In both cases, there is a complete lack of respect for women. Maybe that’s the common thread.

As I write this, my Beloved Curmudgeon is watching one of Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti westerns. I don’t know which one. Does it matter? They all have the same characters, are filmed in the same place and have the same music.

I am often blogging with any one of those movies playing in the background. Our lives are exciting that way.

We had some real excitement today. I’ll tell you about it.

My Beloved Curmudgeon asked me on a date. He said, ‘I haven’t had a good steak in a long time, wanna go get one for lunch?’. My heart fluttered at the romance of it and I said that yes, I would like to do that! This conversation transpired first thing this morning, so I had a while to get my mouth set for a good juicy red steak. By lunch time I was definitely hungry and very much wanting a steak.

We drove past one steak house to go to another on the other side of town. That was okay, I like them both. Unfortunately, when we got to the other steakhouse, it was closed. It’s only open for dinner. My Beloved Curmudgeon said we shouldn’t drive all the way back across town, why don’t we just go to IHOP that is right next door to the closed steak house.

I really wanted a steak, but being a good co-dependent type person I said that would be okay. I said, ‘IHOP is okay’ in my most pathetic tone that should have told him I really wanted to go get a steak. He didn’t read my mind and pulled into the IHOP parking lot. A slight chip started creeping up on my shoulder, but I pushed it back down telling myself that it was silly. We’ll go get a steak next time.

Being hungry and having had myself all ready for a steak, nothing looked good on the menu at IHOP. I even commented that they had steaks and eggs, but it just wouldn’t be the same at IHOP. He still didn’t catch on to my mood. He ordered a large breakfast and I ordered pecan pancakes (my mother will disapprove of that - but I did, okay!). When one is in the midst of unsuccessfully putting a guilt trip on one’s spouse (unintentionally, of course) one shouldn’t order anything of real substance to eat.

A few minutes later the waitress comes out with a huge steaming plate of eggs, bacon and all the trimmings for my Beloved Curmudgeon and little bitty plate with two half-dollar size plain dry pancakes for me. I really hate sending food back, but I looked at that plate and the bite size pancakes just weren’t cutting it. I was so hungry.

I sent the pancakes back asking for the pecan pancakes I had actually ordered. The waitress returned in record time and proudly placed in front of me the very same plate with the very same half-dollar size pancakes on it. But now, they had a scattering of pecan pieces tossed on top of them. She didn’t hang around long enough for me to send them back this time.

I was dumbfounded and looked at the dry, bite-size pancakes with pecan chips thrown on top and the chip I had been forcing down from my shoulder snuck right back up on it again. I got a little butter packet and made a half-hearted attempt to spread some butter on the now cold little bitty pancakes. The butter just rolled the few pecan chips around on the pancakes. They were getting less appetizing by the second.

My Beloved Curmudgeon noticed I was not a happy camper and asked if I wanted him to handle this. I demurred and he told me to quit being a victim, that he’d take care of it for me if I didn’t want to. I demurred again, but was glad to let him be the bad guy this time.

He got the waitress over and asked her about the pancakes. ‘We are out of pancake batter,’ she explained. She went further and said the cooks should have told her. It wasn’t her fault, she said - weakly. My Beloved Curmudgeon said, ‘This is the International House of PANCAKES, right? And you don’t have PANCAKE batter?’. She said they had pancake batter for anything BUT pecan pancakes.

I asked her for a menu again and I’d just order something else. By this time my Beloved Curmudgeon was finishing his meal and that chip was virtually dancing around on my shoulder as I flipped the pages of the menu without really reading it.

I tossed the menu in the middle of the table and said I’d fix something when we got home. He suggested we stop at a deli we like on the way home. I liked that idea and said we’d do that. We left IHOP and headed to the deli.

I ordered a chicken salad sandwich with walnuts and he decided to get an egg salad sandwich. I know, I know, he’d already eaten. We ran into friends and talked. All of this took a while. We finally got home and I sat the sandwiches down in the kitchen and went to change clothes and wash my hands.

I was REALLY REALLY hungry by the time I came back into the family room with my sandwich box in hand. My Beloved Curmudgeon was eating his sandwich and making a face. I asked him if he didn’t like his sandwich.

‘It’s got nuts in it’, he said with a disgusted look on his face. He then went on to complain about che-che delis putting all the extra stuff on when all you want is a plain egg salad sandwich on white bread. I was sympathetic and told him I was sorry he didn’t like his sandwich. We actually discussed this for a few minutes with me sitting and holding my little sandwich box still unopened.

I opened my sandwich box looking forward to my chicken salad with walnuts, lettuce and tomato on wheat bread. As soon as I opened the box I realized I had a plain egg salad on white bread.

‘Stop!! You’re eating my sandwich!!!’, I exclaimed.

He stopped in mid-chew and mid-puzzlement over the odd taste of his egg salad and held out the mostly eaten remains of MY chicken salad sandwich. ‘Here.’ He held it out to me in such a pitiful manner I burst out laughing.

‘No wonder it tasted so strange’, he said.

I flipped the chip off my shoulder and gladly ate the last few bites of my sandwich while he ate his egg salad sandwich. It hit the spot.

For the rest of the day he mentioned how full he was and I’m still hungry.

More on marital bliss

1. I am grateful that my son had a good R&R the past two weeks. I didn’t get to see him, but I got to talk with him several times. He spent his R&R in Germany.
2. My son got engaged while he was on R&R to a girl he dated for about a year before he was deployed. She seems like a nice girl and they certainly seem to be in love with each other. They have a lot in common and it appears they will be good friends and companions for each other. I’m very happy for them.
3. I am grateful that my daughter seems to be doing well in California even though she only calls me when she’s upset about something.
4. I’m grateful that my fabulous mother had a wonderful birthday. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy it and looks a year younger rather than a year older!
5. Speaking of my fabulous mother, I’m grateful that she only imagines that her memory is going bad. She says she can’t remember things - but she remembers better than any of her children do.
6. I have neglected the care of my car. My husband has always taken care of my car and he hasn’t this one for some reason. So since it’s been left up to me, I’ve fallen down on the job. I did take it in for maintenance this week and even though I had to endure a lecture from the mechanic, I’m grateful that I got it in for maintenance before I completely ruined it.
7. The sad saga of Anna Nicole Smith and the man who was dead for a year, sitting in a chair and no one ever missed him reminded me of how grateful I am to have a large, loving, close family.

On March 17th the leftist traitors are planning a protest march starting at the Vietnam Memorial Wall and ending at the Pentagon. They are protesting the Battle of Iraq, of course, and planning this march on the 4th anniversary of the beginning of the United States answering jihadist aggression in the Iraq theater of the Global War on Terror.

The usual suspects are planning on desecrating the Vietnam Wall Memorial by beginning their protest there. It is their hope to ONCE AGAIN USE the Vietnam War and the HONOR of those who DIED there as fodder to promote themselves, further their own pet agendas and for propaganda.

Hanoi Jane Fonda, Cindy Shenanigans Sheehan, Ramsey ’show me the money’ Clark, Ed ‘this is the only way I can get in front of a camera’ Asner and others cut from the same cloth will celebrate themselves by desecrating a monument built to honor our war dead.

It is despicable. Haven’t they done enough to harm our veterans? Didn’t they already cause enough pain and loss to the veterans of the Vietnam War?

A Gathering of Eagles is planning to counter the protest. The purpose of the counter protest is to protect the dignity of the SACRED GROUND that HONORS those fallen in combat for the PROTECTION of the American way of life from the self-centered, short-sighted, narcissistic, ego-driven, media hungry ‘celebrities’ who would use that place, those men AGAIN.

It is my sincerest hope that we will not let those people continue to drag America down and dishonor our Soldiers to further their own delusions of grandeur. It is my hope that so many of us will be there to prevent them from soiling that place of honor that they will decide their hijinks are not worth their effort after all. As a commenter TomR said at the PC Free Zone:

I hope the Gathering of Eagles grows to such proportions, that the Fonda/Sheehan bunch will turn their veggie powered buses around and chug off into oblivion.

If you want to attend and/or find out more information about the Gathering of Eagles you can go here to their website or their forum, here.

I’m working out details in hopes of being able to attend. If you can get to D.C. on the 17th - I hope to see you there. If not, send your good will and prayers. As Chrissie says, some of us can be on the field and some of us have to cheer from the stands.

The question really is, what are we willing to do to help our country and save ourselves from the division that is making us appear weak to our enemies and friends and is causing hardships, injuries and deaths of our Soldiers.

Our Soldiers are giving their youths for this country. The least we can do is to stand up and do our part.

tiara tip: PC Free Zone and Something … and Half of Something.

MoveAmericaForward.org is planning a cross-country caravan. Get the details here.

Helping spread the word …. Old War Dogs, Yankee Mom, High Desert Wanderer, Michelle Malkin

Quote from Conservative Insurgent

Last, but by no means least, courage–moral courage, the courage of one’s convictions, the courage to see things through. The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It’s the age-old struggle–the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of your conscience on the other.
–Douglas MacArthur.

Britney Spears has succeeded in what would have seemed impossible just a short few months ago. She has succeeded in making Kevin Federline appear to be the better parent of the two.

And who said she didn’t have talent!!

As anyone with a television or computer knows, pop-princess Britney Spears has been tripping the light fantastic at a break-neck pace since her estrangement from her husband. I’ve wondered from time to time if her fall from pop-princess to tabloid queen was media driven and/or media fabricated. After all, what would my life look like if every minute of it was photographed and edited for maximum sensationalism? I would think it would be fairly easy to make anyone look as good or as bad as a good film editor would want. A little snip here, a little rearrangement there and voila! you have a whole different story.

Enough of that kind of scrutiny would be enough to send anyone over the edge.

But then you start seeing the decided decline in her physical appearance. The apparently complete lack of care for how she is photographed [note the recent hollywood fad of flashing photographers panty-less]. Being admitted to and leaving rehab three times in one week. After checking herself out of rehab after the first admission, shaving her head. I have nothing against shaved heads, but one has to wonder the motivation in shaving the head. If it’s so drug testing can’t be done - well, that’s something a good addict would think of doing.

Apparently, today she signed herself into rehab again. She did this after her estranged husband, FedEx, filed papers to take temporary custody of the children due to her unstable behavior. That may be the motivation she needed to get the help she needs. Who knows.

Regardless, I found it interesting that she had managed to give respectability to Kevin Federline. Who would have thought THAT would be possible. He is actually coming across as the GOOD parent now. If he is smart, he’ll stay on top of that and run with it. If he gets custody of those kids he’ll never have to work another day of his life.

I do wish Britney well. She has a lot of work to do on herself.

Too much. Too easily. Too young.

Outside the Beltway - Gone Hollywood notes that the Enquirer is reporting she’s made a suicide attempt. They also have pics of the Britney Bald Doll for sale. It feels like we are watching a woman self-destruct.

Conversations with Brit & Grit notices that regardless of Britney’s problems, she’s still in good shape as evidenced by the size of the dents she was able to put in that SUV with a blunt object!!

ActChives says her attack on the SUV was precipitated by Federline refusing to allow her into his home to visit the kids.

I wish I could take credit for finding this quote - but I didn’t. Jules Crittenden did and I just found it at his place.

“If you talk to these sheiks, they’ll tell you that they’re in no hurry to see the Americans leave al-Anbar.

“One thing Sheikh Sattar keeps saying is he wants al-Anbar to be like Germany and Japan and South Korea were after their respective wars, with a long-term American presence helping put them back together,” MacFarland said. “The negative example he cites is Vietnam. He says, yeah, so, Vietnam beat the Americans, and what did it get them? You know, 30 years later, they’re still living in poverty.”

~ Col. Sean B. MacFarland, 1st BCT, 1st AD

Yeah - like I would’a said if I’d thought of it!

HA!

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Disclaimer: trackbacks to this post do not necessarily represent the opinions or standards of the Blue Star Chronicles.

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U.S. troops find chemicals in Iraq raid

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops raided a car bomb factory west of Baghdad with five buildings full of propane tanks and ordinary chemicals the military believes were to be used in bombs, a spokesman said Thursday, a day after insurgents blew up a truck carrying chlorine gas canisters.

Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the chlorine attack Wednesday — the second such “dirty” chemical attack in two days — signaled a change in insurgent tactics, and the military was fighting back with targeted raids.

“What we are seeing is a change in the tactics, but their strategy has not changed. And that’s to create high-profile attacks to instill fear and division amongst the Iraqi people,” he told CNN. “It’s a real crude attempt to raise the terror level by taking and mixing ordinary chemicals with explosive devices, trying to instill that fear within the Iraqi people.”

But he suggested the strategy was backfiring by turning public opinion against the insurgents, saying the number of tips provided by Iraqis had doubled in the last six months.

One of those tips led U.S. troops to a five separate buildings near Fallujah, where they found the munitions containing chemicals, three vehicle bombs being assembled, including a truck bomb, about 65 propane tanks and “all kinds of ordinary chemicals,” Caldwell said. He added that he believed the insurgents were going to try to mix the chemicals with explosives.

The pickup truck carrying chlorine gas cylinders was blown up Wednesday, killing at least five people and sending more than 55 to hospitals gasping for breath and rubbing stinging eyes.

On Tuesday, a bomb planted on a chlorine tanker left more than 150 villagers stricken north of the capital. More than 60 were still under medical care on Wednesday. Chlorine causes respiratory trouble and skin irritation in low levels and possible death with heavy exposure.

Brig. Gen. Qassim Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman, said the investigation into the attack was still under way.

“But what is obvious to us that the terrorists are adopting new tactics to cause panic and as many casualties as they can among civilians. But our plans also are always changeable and flexible to face the enemy’s new tactics.”

Our Troops are fighting a dangerous and adaptive enemy. I’ve read a lot lately from the left, especially in relation to the recent democrat non-resolution disapproving of the battle in Iraq. It seems a general underlying theme of what I have read is that the United States is a big bully picking on a poor ol’ third world country that can’t defend itself.

That take on the war is dumbfounding to me. It shows a complete lack of understanding of the enemy our Soldiers are facing - that WE are facing. This enemy is smart, well armed, well funded and extremely adept at using our own strategies against us.

And now our Soldiers are facing chemical weapons. Where exactly does the left think THOSE came from?

A commenter on a previous post here asked ‘where is the outrage’ at the treatment of our Troops by this administration. This commenter’s assumptions about how the military has been treated is inaccurate. If anything they have too much equipment. But there is outrage, at least by me.

My outrage is that we have not fought hard enough and the longer we wait to really fight the more time our enemy has to develop deadlier weapons. The more we try to avoid the conflict that is staring us straight in the face, the worse the conflict will be. We are only leaving it for a later date and for there to be more bloodshed necessary to resolve this clash of civilizations.

My outrage is that our politicians try to buy political points by weighting our Troops down with more and more pounds of gear that they can barely move and can barely get into their vehicles. They are also weighing them down with rules of engagement so strict they are barely able to defend themselves.

My outrage is that Iranian operatives are moving into the neighborhoods around Baghdad and setting up shop next to and inside of Mosques because they know Americans are not allowed to shoot at Mosques. My outrage is that everyone wants to look good at the expense of our Soldiers - and I mean EVERYONE.

My outrage is that there is a very small percentage of Americans willing to take up arms, under these impossible circumstances, to defend this country while the rest of the country pretends it’s nothing more than an exercise in intellectual, political debate.

I’m outraged, but not for the inaccurate reasons that commenter outlines.

h/t Gaius at Blue Crab Boulevard

photo credit:

U.S. soldiers wait before an early patrol southeast of Baghdad February 22, 2007. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (IRAQ)

More at Consul-at-Arms.

Congress “supports the troops” while emboldening the enemy. I’ve been trying to form a concise statement of my thoughts on Congress and their Iraq war banter. This opinion from the Wall Street Journal did a better job than I was doing.

[clip]

All of this is something that House Republicans should keep in mind as they consider whether to follow this retreat. The GOP leadership has been stalwart, even eloquent, this week in opposing the resolution. But some Republicans figure they can use this vote to distance themselves from Mr. Bush and the war while not doing any real harm. They should understand that the Democratic willingness to follow the Murtha “slow-bleed” strategy will depend in part on how many Republicans follow them in this vote. The Democrats are themselves divided on how to proceed, and they want a big GOP vote to give them political cover. However “non-binding,” this is a vote that Republican partisans will long remember.

History is likely to remember the roll as well. A newly confirmed commander is about to lead 20,000 American soldiers on a dangerous and difficult mission to secure Baghdad, risking their lives for their country. And the message their elected Representatives will send them off to battle with is a vote declaring their inevitable defeat.

read more at the Opinion Journal | digg story

Via the Atlanta Journal Constitution

We have been focusing on the democrats and republicans who voted FOR the ill-conceived ‘non-binding’ resolution that not only has no teeth in it, but sends a message of weakness to our enemies and further endangers our Troops in harms way.

There were two democrats who had the courage to vote against the resolution. One of those democrats was Georgia Representative Jim Marshall. Before the vote, he spoke to the assembly:

We’re debating a nonbinding resolution to disapprove of the Iraqi/Armerican military surge in Baghdad…. we do so hoping our debate and vote will not discourage those called upon to execute the surge…but we also do so knowing that it might. That’s enough for me to oppose the resolution……..This anti-surge resolution is akin to sitting in the stands and booing in the middle of our own team’s play because we don’t like the coach’s call. I cannot join midplay nay-saying that might discourage even one of those engaged in this current military effort in Baghdad.

Speaking directly to the Troops, he stated:

Don’t be discouraged by this debate and vote. It is birthed and sustained by the very democracy that you are defending. ….. You should simply do your duty and be proud of the fact that you’ve done it. Do it to the best of your ability. Let others — the president and the Congress — debate what that duty actually is. Don’t let this discourage you. Just do your duty as best you can.

That took some guts. We know what they do to people who don’t tow the party line ….

thanks to Daddy’s Roses and The Median Sib

Mummified Body Found in Front of Blaring TV

NEW YORK (Feb. 19) - Police called to a Long Island man’s house discovered the mummified remains of the resident, dead for more than a year, sitting in front of a blaring television set.

The 70-year-old Hampton Bays, New York, resident, identified as Vincenzo Ricardo, appeared to have died of natural causes. Police said Saturday his body was discovered Thursday when they were called to the house over a burst water pipe.

“You could see his face. He still had hair on his head,” Newsday quoted morgue assistant Jeff Bacchus as saying. The home’s low humidity had preserved the body.

Officials could not explain why the electricity had not been turned off, considering Ricardo had not been heard from since December 2005.

Neighbors said when they had not seen Ricardo, who was diabetic and had been blind for years, they assumed he was in the hospital or a long-term care facility.

What a weird and truly sad story. I wonder why the neighbors didn’t wonder about a ‘blaring’ television if they thought he had gone to a long-term care facility.

Still - all in all - it makes me wonder what kind of life he lead that no one would have missed him at all.

tiara tip: The Median Sib

As I stated in an earlier post, I never paid much attention to Anna Nicole Smith prior to her death. When I wrote that other post I genuinely figured that would be all I’d have to say about that. I am surprised at myself that I feel compelled to write something on this woman again. But I am …

I stayed home from work today and found that I could barely take my eyes off the horrors of the seemingly endless spectacle that is the fight over the remains Anna Nicole Smith. It gives every appearance that any and every one remotely connected to the woman or connected to someone who is connected to the woman is determined to squeeze every last dime and/or every last nano-second of publicity they can from her corpse.

No one wants the ride that was Anna Nicole Smith to end.

Of course, I have formed opinions on the matter - no surprise there. If you are interested in my observations, keep reading. If not, move along.

I am finding myself feeling sad for Vickie Lynn Hogan. The girl who left home to find fame and fortune. She became a cliché. She became the epic story of rags to riches to decline to betrayal to finding out that the golden ring wasn’t what she wanted after all. Nothing filled the empty hole in her soul, it seems. Nothing was enough. It’s one of those lessons in ‘be careful what you ask for’.

Every person involved in this has something they are going to get out of it. They are picking over her bones.

The judge slipped and compared the trial to writing a book that is evolving - which explains his exasperating attempts to get testimony from the witnesses about their ‘feelings’ and their ‘motivations’ about events that have no apparent relevance to the disposition of the remains.

The mother, Virgie, wasn’t very quick on her feet. When asked about selling photos and film footage to publishers she stammered and stuttered and then lied. Then later told the sorta truth claiming she didn’t understand the question earlier. She did seem to have sincere feelings for her daughter, but I didn’t get the impression she was a saint in this whole mess.

The lawyer/friend/hanger-on/gofer, Howard K. Smith, gave quite a performance of concern. He demurred from exposing Anna Nicole’s drug dependence, but it turned out he fetched her prescriptions and never attempted to help her in any way. When asked about his living arrangements, he eventually owned up to the fact he has lived off Anna Nicole Smith for a number of years. There was a revelation that not only himself but both of his lawyers are named as executors of Anna Nicole’s estate. That revelation got them hoping up and down making objections.

It was also revealed that her will was being faxed around between the lawyers in the week before her death. They objected and brought forth evidence that one of them got the will faxed in the days AFTER her death. They never disproved the allegation they had faxed it around PRIOR to her death. I never saw a resolution to that issue - tune in tomorrow.

Finally, the supposed father of Anna Nicole’s daughter got his chance to testify. In his defense, he started trying to have paternity testing done immediately after the baby was born, way before Anna Nicole’s death. He also supports himself. He also did not try to slime out of owning up to the fact he had made money off Anna Nicole. He is a photographer and made money off photos he had made of her and her family. He was the only one that admitted that he had made money off her. That was refreshing.

Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean he’s any kind of stellar citizen. I have no idea what kind of person he is. It’s just that out of the entire cast of characters, he was the least despicable from what I saw today. But there’s always tomorrow.

Here’s the thing. Every picture and every interview I’ve seen of Anna Nicole since the death of her son she was obviously heavily sedated. I don’t mean stoned as she’s been seen in the past. I mean sedated. Flat. Emotion-less. Bitter. Repressed anger and pain.

Her son’s death is very suspicious and still unresolved. His body was kept out of the country and an investigation into his death is on-going. There was the drugged marriage of Anna Nicole in the days after her son’s death. The lawyer won’t cooperate with a paternity test, he won’t bring the baby to the United States and he attained a guarantee he would not be detained before he would appear at this hearing.

Look at the photos of her ‘commitment ceremony’ that she and Howard K. Stern had shortly after her son’s death. Does she look happy? The only person smiling is Howard K. Stern. In every single picture I’ve seen of that ceremony the pastor is looking at Anna Nicole with a concerned look on his face. Anna Nicole looks a mess and terribly unhappy.

She looked happier in her wedding to Howard Marshall.

Regardless of the outcome, as soon as this hearing is over there will be appeals. Vickie Lynn Hogan was a smart beautiful girl. She used her assets to get where she wanted. But she wasn’t very sophisticated and didn’t know who to trust or how to determine who was trustworthy. She was surrounded by sycophants and hangers-on who used her during life and are picking over her bones following her death.

Lord only knows how long it will be before she can be laid to rest. It won’t be until every ounce of her usefulness is used up.

Everybody is grabbing pieces of Anna Nicole Smith.

cartoon by Mike Lester

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Disclaimer: trackbacks to this post do not necessarily represent the opinions or standards of the Blue Star Chronicles.

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