Montréal ne fait pas partie de la liste des courses de la saison 2009.  Me semble t'il que c'est du déjà vu.  Me semble t'il que Tonton Bernie récidive avec cette bonne méthode qu'est "le chantage".

En 2004, rappellons-nous, il avait également utilisé ce stratagème, évoquant la loi anti-tabac.  Quelques personnes, donc le "bon"restaurateur" millionaire de la rue Crescent M. Creton descendèrent sur cette même rue Crescent pour faire enlever cette loi anti-tabac, et pour que le grand prix revienne.  Ou plutôt, qu'il reste, car Bernie ne faisait que des menaces.

Il y a 2 ans également, le même stratagème avait été utilisé.  Une entente de 5 ans avait été alors conclue.

Que s'est t'il passé depuis pour que le grand vizir de la F1 décide d'enlever Montréal de la carte des courses de l'année 2009?  Aucune idée.  Mais le fait est que le grand cirque de la F1 est plus interessé par des circuits et des pays qui sont prêt à allonger des millions de dollars pour avoir une course chez eux.

La Malaisie

Le Barhain

Monaco (un incontournable, terre d'acceuil de richards de tout acabits)

La Turquie

Valence (Qui couche 70 millions d'euros pour la course)

Singapour

La Chine

Abu Dhabi

Voici une courte liste de quelques courses en 2009.  Qu'à Montréal en commun avec ces villes et pays...pas grand chose.  Même que je ne vois aucun rapport.  Des pays riches comme jamais on ne peux l'imaginer, des pays émergeant qui on des milliards de télespectateurs.  ET qu'à Montréal a donner contre ça? JE vous le demande...

Il faut un jour cesser de nous regarder le nombril, et être savoir que nous ne faisons pas le poids.

Valence aligne 70 millions d'Euro pour une course de F1.  90 MILLIONS DE DOLLARS AMÉRICAINS....

Les autoritées de Montréal, disent que le grand-orix du Canada rapporte 80 millions de retombées économiques de tous genres.  Le calcul n'est pas difficile à faire.  Nous sommes dans le trou de 10 millions.

Et pourquoi engraisseraient t'on les poches de ce pédant personnage qui se fout totalement des fans de F1, mais qui ne marche qu'à l'argent et aux menaces?  Ce personnage qui a déjà dis que son rêves est de faire courir un grand-prix de F1 sans spectateurs...que ceci serait plus payant pour le "grand" circuit....

Je me demande sérieusement.  Y a t'il tant d'européens qui viennent nous visiter dans la semaine du grand-prix?  Y a t'il des faits et des chiffres qui prouvent que 50 000 ou 60 000 européens sont à Montréal pendant le grand-prix?

Pourquoi ne pas envoyer pêtre Bernie et lui dire d'aller se faire voir ailleurs, lui et ses platitudes de courses, courses qui n'en ne sont pas, mais qui est un défilé de belle voiture-fusées, et de belles poupounes silliconnées qui se sentent faisant partie du jet-set en se montrant les seins a tous et chacuns.  Et que dire des m'as-tu-vu, que ce soit journalistes ou "jet-set" québécois...si Jet-set il y a, qui se pavanent dans les puits en feignant d'être riche et en feignant d'être amis de tous et chacun (et là, je ne parle pas juste de Benoit Gagnon...), et tous ces grands amateurs de caviar sur le bras, et de tout ce qu'ils peuvent se mettrent sous la dent sans alonger 1 sous....

Moi je leurs dis:  ALlez tous vous pendre.....

Mais ensuite....

Deux solutions s'offre à nous.  La première, mettre le même montant et faire venir la coupe Sprint-Nascar à Montréal, la même fin de semaine que la course Nationwide, ce qui attirerait surement autant sinon plus d'américains que la F1 attirait d'européens, et la deuxième, mettre ces montants astronomiques, et construire des arénas, des stade de soccer, de baseball, et que les jeunes québécois se mettent en forme et joouent dehors.

Pourquoi se mettre à genoux, et lécher les bottines Prada de Bernie, et en plus lui refiler des liasses de dollars pour essayer d'avoir un grand-prix?

Est-t'il trop demander de dire un moment donné:  ASSEZ C'EST ASSEZ?  La comédie a assez durée.

Je crois sincèrement que cette fois Bernie, les gens ne se rendront pas aux barricades et laisseront les belles voitures de la F1 s'en aller sous d'autres cieux.

pour le pire?  j'en doute...pour le meilleur?  surement!

He issued a fatwa (Islamic edict) where he "legalizes" the union between a child and an adult male. "We found that girls of that age give better benefits than adult women," he says. "Consequently they are so trained to marry as young of 20 years."

In the Islamic world, especially in the Arabian Peninsula, marriage between girls and adult males is relatively common, but Muslim theologians have not gone so far in justifying the practice.

Al Maghraoui, a well-known Salafist sheikh, and the author of half a dozen books of theology, posted the fatwa on the website of his association Preaching in the Koran and Sunna. His critics argue that he probably has done it to defend, from a religious point of view, the marriage contracted in secret by one of his friends.

His pronouncement has caused a major scandal in Morocco, but so far there has been no reaction from the authorities. The radical theologian bases his edict in the example of the prophet Muhammad. “Aicha, recalls, had only six years when she became her fiancée but was not married until she turned nine”.

There are "vicious theologians who are capable of putting religion in the service of paedophilia" writes the socialist daily Al Ittihad al Ichtiraki. "The era of our Prophet is completely different from ours. These days a marriage of the kind would be a true injustice towards the girl. A true aberration” says Naji Adib, who heads the association No ones touch my Children, who campaigns in Morocco against this scourge.

"This type of people look at Islam from the point of view which is convenient for them. It is a restrictive vision of Islam. And it is bad. Fatwas like these show the lack of reasoning from those who issue them. I cannot understand via what intellectual road or for what mental construction they come to such aberrations" she added.

Faced with the passivity of the authorities, a lawyer from Rabat, Mourad Bakouri, has taken the initiative to denounce Al Maghraoui for "violation of the Family Code and violation of children's rights." The new Moroccan law, which came into force in 2005, stipulates that the minimum age for marriage is 18 years.

Two pictures, taken very shortly after a bomb explodes that killed 21 people and wounded 66 others.  A sniper had added to the chaos by firing into the crowd.  A plainly terrorized little boy finds the safest place he can - behind an American infantryman.

While everyone else is running away, or hugging the side of the building for cover, this one man is moving in the very direction others were running away from, doing his job.

This child has not read the American media's unrelentingly critical accounts of the war.  He believes in this incredibly brave American.  He believes that this U.S. Infantryman will protect him, and would never hurt him.

This is a microcosm of the entire war in Iraq.  As the country of Iraq fell apart in the aftermath of the toppling of Iraq, it was the American infantryman who stood while others around them were cowed.

Democrats who cannot acknowledge the incredible success of the "troop surge" claim instead that it was the "Anbar Awakening" that turned the situation in Iraq around.  But without the surge of these incredible American troops, there would have been no Anbar Awakening.  The sheiks would have been as cowed by al Qaeda as they had been by Saddam Hussein.

How did the Anbar Awakening begin?  Wikipedia tells the story:

Abu Mahals, a tribe that smuggled across the Syrian border, was being forced out of their territory by a tribe allied with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The tribe proposed an alliance with the United States force in November 2005 and began receiving weapons and training.

Like the frightened child in the pictures, the tribe behind the Anbar Awakening found itself being threatened by al Qaeda, and in their fear turned to the one source that could stand up for them: the United States military.

The U.S. military armed and trained the anti-al Qaeda tribesmen.  But in the earliest stages the cooperation consisted solely in the tribes providing the U.S. military with intelligence on the movements of al Qaeda.

The Anbar Awakening did not make the success of the troop surge possible; rather courageous American infantrymen made the Anbar Awakening possible.  Anyone who says otherwise is not being honest, and is rather contemptibly refusing to give our troops the amazing credit they are due.

Lastly, if you are an undecided voter trying to assess which Party is telling the truth about Iraq and which one is being disingenuous, look at the following two sites, and try to reconcile key Democrats' own words before and early in the Iraq War and subsequently.

Snopes.com

Freedom Agenda.com

Regardless of what you conclude about the claims of Republicans and the claims of Democrats for this election, I hope you agree with me on at least this: our soldiers, our brave warriors, have been magnificent.  In both Iraq and Afghanistan, they have served with valor and honor in the midst of so much fear and dishonor.  I have been so proud of them.  I have been so proud to call myself "an American" because of them.

If we can build a self-sustaining democratic republic in the heart of the Arab and Islamic world, the reward will be incalculable.  Arab people will look away from their totalitarian governments to a new beacon of freedom.  More than anything else, this can change a dynamic in the Arab world that has been becoming increasingly terrifying.

As you look at those photographs, I hope you take some time and pray for our troops in time of war.

In January 2007, Channel 4 broadcast Undercover Mosque, an investigation into what was being preached in mainstream mosques in Britain. The results were shocking: imams were shown praising the murder of British soldiers, attacking democracy, and condemning attempts to integrate Muslims into British society.

The reaction to that programme proved the widespread reluctance to accept the reality of what takes place under the blanket of religion:

Undercover Mosque was condemned for "damaging community relations" by West Midlands Police, who wanted to prosecute the programme makers and Channel 4 under racial hatred laws.

On being told they could not do so, they referred the matter to the Broadcasting Standards Commission. The programme was eventually wholly vindicated. West Midlands Police had to pay Channel 4 more than £100,000 for defaming it.

As we report today, the follow-up to Undercover Mosque is to be broadcast tomorrow.

It shows that - despite all the promises that the books condoning terrorism would be removed, as would the preachers advocating the rigid enforcement of the narrowest interpretration of sharia law and the overthrow of our liberal democracy - violent, intolerant prejudice continues to be preached, this time by women, in centres of "moderate Islam", such as the Regent's Park Mosque.

In revealing this, Channel 4 has performed an important public service. Surveys of Muslim opinion reveal the scale of the problem: almost a third of Muslim students believe that killing in the name of religion can be justified, and 40 per cent support the introduction of Sharia law for British Muslims.

News: Preachers of separatism at work inside Britain's mosques
Channel 4's programme does not explain how we can diminish this kind of narrow bigotry. But it does make it impossible for anyone to deny the continued existence of extremism in some British mosques. That is the critical first step necessary for finding policies which will combat it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/08/31/dl3102.xml

Technorati - 'palestinian' terrorism 'palestinians' Israel 'palestinian' Apartheid Zionism Anti Israel bigotry Islamic Apartheid War on terror Terror victims 'palestinian' propaganda jihad Genocide bombing Anti Israel bias Arab racism Jews IDF Anti Israel racism Islamofacsism Conflict Israel "Palestine" "Palestinians" Israelis Civilwar Arabs MuslimsJihad Terrorism Fatah non-Muslims Christians Hamas Gaza Terrorism Jerusalem Islamic Bigotry Undercovered mosque UK Eurabia Muslims

In January 2007, Channel 4 broadcast Undercover Mosque, an investigation into what was being preached in mainstream mosques in Britain. The results were shocking: imams were shown praising the murder of British soldiers, attacking democracy, and condemning attempts to integrate Muslims into British society.

The reaction to that programme proved the widespread reluctance to accept the reality of what takes place under the blanket of religion:

Undercover Mosque was condemned for "damaging community relations" by West Midlands Police, who wanted to prosecute the programme makers and Channel 4 under racial hatred laws.

On being told they could not do so, they referred the matter to the Broadcasting Standards Commission. The programme was eventually wholly vindicated. West Midlands Police had to pay Channel 4 more than £100,000 for defaming it.

As we report today, the follow-up to Undercover Mosque is to be broadcast tomorrow.

It shows that - despite all the promises that the books condoning terrorism would be removed, as would the preachers advocating the rigid enforcement of the narrowest interpretration of sharia law and the overthrow of our liberal democracy - violent, intolerant prejudice continues to be preached, this time by women, in centres of "moderate Islam", such as the Regent's Park Mosque.

In revealing this, Channel 4 has performed an important public service. Surveys of Muslim opinion reveal the scale of the problem: almost a third of Muslim students believe that killing in the name of religion can be justified, and 40 per cent support the introduction of Sharia law for British Muslims.

News: Preachers of separatism at work inside Britain's mosques
Channel 4's programme does not explain how we can diminish this kind of narrow bigotry. But it does make it impossible for anyone to deny the continued existence of extremism in some British mosques. That is the critical first step necessary for finding policies which will combat it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/08/31/dl3102.xml

Technorati - 'palestinian' terrorism 'palestinians' Israel 'palestinian' Apartheid Zionism Anti Israel bigotry Islamic Apartheid War on terror Terror victims 'palestinian' propaganda jihad Genocide bombing Anti Israel bias Arab racism Jews IDF Anti Israel racism Islamofacsism Conflict Israel "Palestine" "Palestinians" Israelis Civilwar Arabs MuslimsJihad Terrorism Fatah non-Muslims Christians Hamas Gaza Terrorism Jerusalem Islamic Bigotry Undercovered mosque UK Eurabia Muslims

Is it permissible for a man to force his wife or slave to have intercourse if she refuses?.

Praise be to Allaah.

The woman does not have the right to refuse her husband, rather she must respond to his request every time he calls her, so long as that will not harm her or keep her from doing an obligatory duty.

Al-Bukhaari (3237) and Muslim (1436) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)  said: “If a man calls his wife to his bed and she refuses, and he spends the night angry with her, the angels curse her until morning.”

If she refuses with no excuse, she is disobeying and is being defiant (nushooz), and he is no longer obliged to spend on her and clothe her.

The husband should admonish her and remind her of the punishment of Allaah, and forsake her in her bed. He also has the right to hit her, in a manner that does not cause injury. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“As to those women on whose part you see ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next) refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly, if it is useful); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them means (of annoyance). Surely, Allaah is Ever Most High, Most Great”

[al-Nisa’ 4:34]

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked what a husband should do if his wife refuses him when he asks for intimacy.

He replied:

It is not permissible for her to rebel against him or to withhold herself from him, rather if she refuses him and persists in doing so, he may hit her in a manner that does not cause injury, and she is not entitled to spending or a share of his time [in the case of plural marriage].” Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 32/279.

And he was asked about a man who has a wife who is rebellious and refuses intimacy – does she forfeit the right to maintenance and clothing, and what should she do?

He replied:

She forfeits her right to maintenance and clothing if she does not let him be intimate with her. He has the right to hit her if she persists in being defiant. It is not permissible for her to refuse intimacy if he asks for that, rather she is disobeying Allaah and His Messenger (by refusing). In al-Saheeh it says: “If a man calls his wife to his bed and she refuses, the One Who is in heaven will be angry with her until morning comes.”

From Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 32/278. The hadeeth was narrated by Muslim, 1736.

So the wife should be admonished first, and warned against defiance (nushooz) and of the anger of Allaah and the curse of the angels. If she does not respond, then the husband should forsake her in her bed, and if she does not respond to that, then he may hit her in a manner that does not cause injury. If none of these steps are effective, then he may stop spending on her maintenance and clothing, and he has the right to divorce her or to allow her to separate from him by khula’ in return for some financial settlement, such as giving up the mahr.

Similarly a slave woman does not have the right to refuse her master’s requests unless she has a valid excuse. If she does that she is being disobedient and he has the right to discipline her in whatever manner he thinks is appropriate and is allowed in sharee’ah.

And Allaah knows best.

The above is Fatwa number 33597 appearing on the Islamic website of Shayk Muhammad Al-Muajjid's 'Islam Questions and Answers'. A link for verification: http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/33597

Le spectre rouge de la subversion mondiale

Ici, le poids de la coutume est écrasant, comme dans ce qu’on imagine être les mentalités du moyen age, une sorte de caricature prélecture de Duby, mais pas entièrement faux non plus.
Parler du Japon, c’est un peu comme parler du Moyen-Age, justement. Pas seulement pour l’objet, mais aussi pour la manière d’en parler: Les médiévistes sont rarement dépassionnés, et les prises de positions peuvent être violentes.

Encore ce week-end, je me suis fait avoir à essayer de défendre ma vision du Japon contre un pleutre lambda qui avait tout compris et m’a amèné sur le terrain de “au fond t’es comme un expat’, tu sais quoi du vrai Japon ?”.
Ah.

"Je connais mieux le Japon que toi, ahahaha !"

Je me suis fait lamentablement embarquer (faut dire que j’étais en abstinence sexuelle volontaire, pour voir jusqu’à quand ma copine allait tenir avant de me violer, et j’étais un peu désarçonné que ce ne soit pas plus rapide, donc : à cran. Mais on s’impose les paris imbéciles qu’on mérite, n'est-ce pas ?) dans la disputions, alors que le discours ne méritait vraiment pas cet égard.
Pour ceux qui connaissent ce monument (=gros, lourd, souvent d’un goût pompier et douteux) de la chanson française qu’est Diam’s, et plus particulièrement sa chanson “ma France à moi”, eh bien c’était presque pareil version pro-Japon.

Jeunesse moderne.

D’où divergences d’opinions (son Japon est ouvert et festif et le mien est écrase par les salaryman sans devenir intellectuel, si ce n’est l’envie de dévier toute conversation sérieuse vers des broutilles afin de conclure par une phrase-tombeau genre “ah, c’est fort les différences culturelles !”). D’où, cet impossible contrôle absolu de vouloir, même désillusionné, défendre un Japon approprié, schématisé, classifié, déformé, caricaturé…comme le font les Japonais pour le reste du monde…

Et l’étranger, puissant et fier de son sens ethnologique, se sent gonflé par l’ivresse de ce pays, fascinant, formidable, écœurant, et se dit : eux le font, pourquoi pas moi, au fond ?
Ici, vous pouvez dire tout ce que l’Europe réprouve sous l’étiquette racisme/sexisme.

Oui, sauf qu'au cas échéant, on mettra des glaçons dans votre bière.

Vous pouvez tout dire mais pas à tout le monde. Critiquer LES Japonais de face, OK, mais pas personnellement. Pas avec un Gaijin non plus : vous passeriez pour un colonialiste, un vieux blanc, un serveur de chez Troisgros, que sais-je ?
Toujours est-il qu’on pourrait écrire des blogs entiers de choses plus ou moins justifiées et justifiables sur la question.

Revenons a notre point de départ, la coutume, le truc "que tout le monde fait alors c’est comme ça " même si personne ne sait plus expliquer pourquoi, un peu comme personne ne sait plus trop pourquoi le plan vigipirate qui devait durer 6 mois a couvert la France de flics depuis 6 ans (un préambule au glissement vers l’autoritarisme d’État ?).

Vous êtes tous rien que des sales rouges !

Bref, aussi agaçant que ce soit, faut suivre les règles orales et ne pas se faire remarquer. C’est pareil partout dans le monde, je sais.
Avoir peur de ce que pensent les autres me semble cohérent s’ils sont susceptibles de faire quelque chose pour toi : t’aider à déménager parce que tu leur dis souvent bonjour, t’apporter des fruits qu’ils ont reçus et n’aiment pas, t’inviter à manger quand tu fouilles les poubelles alors que tu les tries toujours si bien, etc.
C’est donc la logique ou l’intérêt qui te poussent à considérer ceux qui seraient potentiellement sujets à te venir en aide si besoin est. Or, le Japon...

Le concept d’entraide est dangereux, la demi-mesure n’étant définitivement pas une règle locale.

On pourrait penser le contraire quand on entend des jeunes affirmer que leur but dans la vie est d’être tranquille et ne pas devoir prendre de décisions (entendu pour justifier un refus d’avancement dans une société, véridique !). Mais ça ne relève pas de la même chose.

Exemple d'entraide horizontale : le tube cathodique à visage humain.

(ça pue le Pierre-La-Police, cette phrase...)

L’entraide est horizontale alors que le travail et la société sont structures verticalement ; D’où une difficulté à trouver un équilibre dans la vie personnelle (la partie structurante est absente ou en voie d’extinction dans la sphère privée), en l’absence de Dominant /Dominés, en tout cas théoriquement (combien de filles falotes dans la zone d’influence d’une forte tête ?).
L’entraide peut rapidement se résumer à "je te tends un doigt et tu me bouffes le bras, même une fois sortie de la merde "(et moi, les fists ass-to-mouth, je dis bof.).
Alors pourquoi faire attention aux autres alors qu’on n’a rien à en attendre ? Excellente question, vous pouvez baisser le doigt maintenant...

Je commence donc à m’en foutre un peu, et, agréable surprise, Chiaki aussi ; c’était pourtant moins évident pour elle...Pour moi, ça va, je suis un visage-pale, on me passe tout. Être sauvage est attendu de la part des étrangers, alors j’en profite.

Alana m’a prêté une superbe Djellaba en tergal© rouge pour la soirée déguisée de la peu froide Akichan, dans un énième bar fusion de Shibuya.
Pendant qu’elle gazouillait de table en table affublée de son costume de Minnie et ses petites dents en éventails (tous deux épouvantablement japonais...), j’assassinais le bon goût en scheik arabe même pas digne d’un Rudolf Valentino, une serviette en éponge sur le melon, attendant d’être assez confit pour me transformer en...

Dai Gay-Jin, catcheur de l’amour semi-lourd en exil nippon

, Supermollestardor de uestres genitalies, complet look extra bright, moumoute en ballet espagnol naturel, masque de fantomette beurrée, aspirant cosplayeur sailor-moon sans le sou, résille guinéenne, bloomer et ceinture en spandex rose comme un short Agassi ou Christian Hosoi, c’est suivant.

Ben c’était fun.
Puis le matin, j’ai vomi.

MUSLIM SUBWAY ADS LINKED TO TERROR PLOTS - New York Post Jul 21, 2008

Allah board!

An Islamic group plans to blitz 1,000 subway cars with advertisements this September in a campaign being promoted by a Brooklyn imam whom federal officials have linked to a plot to blow up city landmarks.

The group says its mission is to explain the true nature of Islam to non-Muslims who believe the religion is bent on acts of violence - but Siraj Wahhaj, the inflammatory imam who appears in a promotional YouTube video for the project, has defended convicted bomb-plotters and called the FBI and CIA the "real terrorists."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07212008/news/regionalnews/train_ing_day_for_jihadists_120839.htm

Sheikh Khalil Chami of the Islamic Welfare Centre in Sydney's Lakemba today said polygamous marriages, although illegal, existed in Australia and should be recognised.

"... Not an open door but in a way everyone will have control," he told Triple J radio's Hack program.

"It's a bit hard, very difficult, but unless we face it, how (do) we overcome it?

"If you know there is law that will help you, there is community will help you. Why not? Why not change the law?"

Sheikh Chami said he was asked almost weekly to conduct polygamous religious ceremonies.

While he declined to perform such ceremonies, he said, other sheikhs did not. (news)

Also, check out his Silver Audi A8, not just any silver, custom built and MADE OUT OF SILVER!!!

 Keep reading and see more!

THINK ABOUT THIS PLACE NEXT TIME YOU FILL UP YOUR GAS TANK.

This is a HOUSE, not a HOTEL

It's owned by the family of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the former president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Abu-Dhabi.  Don't forget to check out his cars at the bottom to.

Below you will see a SILVER AUDI A8.  Not just any silver Audi A8, the car is MADE OUT OF SILVER and was custom built for the Sheikh.

Amazing what almost $4/gallon can buy, huh??? 

The core fighting mechanic hasn't been changed much. You still attempt to smash characters off the screen, where they explode in a huge colorful blur. It's as fun as ever, and with four players fighting at once things can get so wonderfully hectic. That's part of the appeal of the Smash Bros. series - many times different aspects of the fight are so random (stages changing on you, items appearing), giving novice players a chance, while serious players can definitely learn the ins and outs of the game and become experts. That perfect balance of random chance and hardcore skill added to the huge appeal of Nintendo has caused this series to become a world-wide favorite. Brawl not only continues that special formula, but improves on in many different ways.

For one, there are now Smash Balls, which are items that appear maybe once or twice in the average match. Once a player breaks open the Smash Ball, they can perform a Final Smash, which is an awesome over-the-top uber attack, always defeating the fighter it hits. Well, almost always. Not all Final Smashes are equally powerful. Some are complete orgies of death that kill everyone on the screen, and others (even when they focus on only one opponent) fail to make a real impact. However, I believe that may have been done on purpose when some character's normal moves are a bit more powerful than everybody else's.

That brings me to the characters themselves. With over thirty there's bound to be someone for everyone. Some, like Bowser and Ganondorf, focus on raw power but lack speed. Others such as Meta Knight and Pit are all about short, quick, attacks. Sonic and Fox are very speedy and mobile, a handful are well-rounded, and then there's Olimar, who's strange moveset doesn't really fit into any category. I love the variety here, and in the end it was hard to find a character I didn't like. The new characters are very fun and welcome additions to the series, especially with new third-party characters, Sonic and Snake. However, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of third-party characters. With all the excitement and possibilities surrounding third-party support, the fact that there's only two is a bit of a letdown.

Clones (that is, characters who are not much more than pallet-swaps of someone else) from Melee like Dr. Mario, Pichu, and Young Link have been taken out, but new ones such as Toon Link and Wolf have been added. Overall however, I would say that there aren't as many clones this time around. Also of note are the stages, which are easily the best in the series. Each one brings something new to the table and offers a fresh experience to the players. I'm glad to see that Melee's best made it, as well.

Coming to a new system, naturally the next Smash Bros. game has different controls. Thankfully, there are 4 different possible ways to play the game. The Gamecube setup works exactly like it did in Melee, the Classic Controller is very good once you get the hang of it (it's my new preference). The Wii Remote and Nunchuck combo works just fine, although it doesn't always feel quite right since the Smash Bros. games were meant for a more traditional gamepad. The sideways remote-only option is awful, and should only be used when you don't have access to any of the other controller setups. Learning to actually control the characters on-screen may take a few tries for people who have never played a Smash Bros. game, but luckily you won't find many of those kinds of people.

When it comes to graphics, Brawl features some of the best the Wii has to offer, but sadly, that isn't really saying much. Closeups during the cutscenes show the occasional bland character model or lack of detail. The Wii still has a ways to go before it catches up with its Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 rivals. However, at 60 frames a second Brawl runs very smoothly and still manages to impress when chaos reigns everywhere.

Nintendo games have always had great music in my opinion, and practically every noteworthy Nintendo (and Sonic/Metal Gear) song ever made (that's a lot!) has been included in Brawl. Brilliantly composed and performed, I think it's safe to say that this game has the best soundtrack ever made for a video game. The new theme song composed by Nobuo Uematsu (famous for his work in numerous Final Fantasy games) is also catchy, although the opera singing and Latin lyrics might not be a favorite of everyone's. And Uematsu isn't the only famous video game composer involved in Brawl. In fact, pretty much every noteworthy video game composer did something in Brawl, from Koji Kondo (Mario/Legend of Zelda) to Yuka Tsujiyoko (Fire Emblem) to Yuzo Kushiro (ActRaiser/Streets of Rage) and beyond.

Smash Bros. has always been a multiplayer game, but Brawl attempts to give players a solid single-player campaign as well. Called "The Subspace Emissary", you fight your way through many levels in an attempt to stop the Ancient Minister and his army of minions from nuking sections of the world and turning everyone into trophies. We never really find out why the Ancient Minister wants to blow up the world, but that doesn't really matter. What is of interest however, is the absurd amount of cutscenes. Some are awesome, some are funny, some are stupid, some are corny, and many are a combination of those. But they are mostly entertaining, and that's the most important part.

The campaign was a lot better (and a lot longer) than I had ever thought it would be, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's perfect. For one, it's very repetitive. At the beginning I believed it had a lot of potential with its original enemies and large side-scrolling level designs. However, once I found myself fighting the same enemies over and over again, I got a bit tired of the whole thing. The level design is passable, but nothing will blow you away and many times it just seems to be a link to the next platform where you'll be swarmed by enemies. A few puzzles were attempted, but they all have to do with hitting a single button or finding a key for a nearby locked door. To tell you the truth, sometimes I felt like the levels in "The Subspace Emissary" where just a chore I had to go through to unlock the next character. You see, every playable character can be unlocked in the campaign - most on the first time through. I'm pretty sure people will go for this mode to unlock everyone instead of trying to get them the old way - meeting specific requirements such as playing a certain number of brawls or beating Classic mode with everyone. I can see both a good and a bad side to this. The bad side is that unlocking characters is no longer much of a challenge and thus a lot of the fun and replay value of past Smash Bros. games has been eliminated. The good side is that players will be able to unlock everyone very quickly and experience every character, unhindered by incredibly difficult or time-consuming challenges that may have kept holes in their rosters previously.

Granted, "Subspace" does have more variety than the average brawler, and a good amount of replay value lies in beating levels on higher difficulties and collecting trophies scattered about the stages. The Co-Op is a huge plus as well, and the enemies become a lot tougher once a buddy plays along side you. One very odd design decision however, is the fact that the second player can press start and warp to your position. That doesn't sound too bad, but you'll soon discover its cheap advantages. If you're surrounded by enemies you can warp right out of them and worst of all, getting knocked off the stage is pretty much impossible as long as your start button-pushing reflexes are fast enough. That's right - even in situations no one would normally get out of alive, the second player can get right out of them at the push of a button. Still, once they've taken enough damage, the second player won't be able to warp fast enough once they're sent flying, so there is still some challenge in the Co-Op. Most importantly, it's still fun.

"Subspace" and normal brawling aren't the only things to do in Brawl, however. Event matches have returned, with separate challenges for both single player and Co-Op. The Home-Run Derby and Multi-Man Melees have also been tweaked for the better this time around, and Classic mode is still available, complete with target tests and the Master Hand battle at the end. Pictures can be taken at any point in the game, and after every brawl you have the option to save (or just watch) a replay of the fight. A Masterpiece mode lets you play short (as in, 30 seconds to one minute) demos of Virtual Console games that star Brawl characters. I was glad to finally see some Virtual Console demos, but this feature should really be downloadable content on the Wii normally, not only part of one particular game. And really, 30 seconds of play time? It took about that long to load the demo, and then it's over before you even start! Still, it's better than nothing.

It's nice that there are hundreds of collectible trophies and stickers, which are used to boost player stats in the campaign (although I really forgot to use them). I was hoping that extra third-party content would make its way into the trophies and stickers, but sadly it didn't. We're limited to the worlds of Sonic the Hedgehog and Metal Gear Solid. Still, I do think that Brawl may have set the record for most unlockables ever in a video game with all its characters, stages, trophies, stickers, game modes, music, and whatnot.

A simple but fun Stage Builder will likely addict most players at some point, and creations (as well as your pictures and replays) can be sent to Wi-Fi friends and to Nintendo, who sends out one custom stage, picture, and replay to players everyday over Wi-Fi. Ah yes, the Wi-Fi. It was one of the most exciting new features back when everyone was still speculating on message boards before the game came out. Just think! Online would add infinite replay value and link the millions of Smash Bros. fans everywhere around the world to a central hub for competition!

It pains me to say that the online is by far the most disappointing and awful part of Brawl. It only goes to show how unprepared and frightened Nintendo is to create a serious online community. What I want to know is why Nintendo would give their best multiplayer game ever such a horrible online system. Smash Bros. is Nintendo's Halo. There are so many competitive Smash Bros. players around the world and to deny them a decent online is truly nothing short of an insult. All the trouble begins when you choose the "Play Anyone" option at the Wi-Fi menu. You have no name, no icon, no profile, no anything. Nor do the people you play against have such things. These faceless opponents might as well be bots, since nothing shows you that they are real people. It also doesn't help that you have to wait about 5 minutes to find enough players for a match. It's really too bad that you can't play anything but the 2-minute match type after all that waiting. And once the battle actually begins, you'll find something we've all dreaded - lag. And lots of it. In a crazy, precise fighter like Brawl, every second counts. Lag can utterly destroy a game like this. Now, I'll admit that most of the time it is playable, but the match feels like it's going at 2/3 the speed it should be, which threw me off a bit when I was playing. Sometimes though, it's so ridiculous that you'll be hitting the reset button on the Wii just so you can get out of it. I'm talking about the kind of lag that pauses the game for 20 seconds then allows you to move for 4, then pauses again. Simply horrendous. Can anyone please tell me why you would spend time here when you can fight the rather formidable bots and control all the options offline? Now if there were perhaps online tournaments or a ranking system, I would play online a bit more, but without such things there really is no reason to.

When you battle with a friend, things are a bit better. Custom taunts can be assigned to each button on the D-Pad. Luckily Nintendo didn't make them pre-set taunts, so it is actually possible to get pretty nasty with your friends. An icon can be chosen, although with no Photo Channel support you're left with the symbols and pictures of each playable character, and little else. The best part of Friend Wi-Fi battling is the fully customizable options - anything you can tweak on normal brawls can be tweaked here, so no one is limited to 2 minute fights. Another cool feature is how additional players on your Wii can join in without a friend code or anything. No Voice Chat does kind of hurt, but it doesn't cripple the gameplay. What can however, is that lag. I played against someone who lived maybe 4 blocks down the road from me, and the speed still felt slower than it should have. After several matches it got to that perfect speed, so I suppose the game needs time to establish the connection (now that I think about it, this is also true for the "Fight Anyone" mode as well). Anotherthing that could have used a bit more attention in the Friends Wi-Fi mode was alerts. A friend of yours could have started a match lobby and is waiting for you, but there's no way that you'd ever know unless you took the time to look for a joinable game. A message in the corner of my screen would have been nice, Nintendo.

Even with such a lacking online, Brawl shines through with its other content. The truth is, you'll be spending as much time playing and unlocking the other content as you would playing a great online game like Halo or Call of Duty 4, so an online mode for Brawl really isn't completely necessary for the replay value. There's just so much packed into the disc that you'll be playing this even more than Melee, which people are still playing today, 7 years after it was released. The overall package is so amazing and unique and fun that any shortcoming will be quickly eclipsed by the dozens of great aspects. Is Brawl perfect? No. I've kept my eye on this ever since I heard it was coming out. I checked the Dojo website daily. I waited in line at midnight. But I won't be a complete fanboy now and tell you it's perfect. However, I will tell you that it's one of the most addicting and universally fun games I've ever played, and by the far the best title on the Wii - no, one of the best titles Nintendo has ever pulled together. To deny yourself a chance to spend time with this game would be a crime. Super Smash Bros. Brawl has a few missed opportunities, but when the rest is so much fun, who cares!

Pros: Improves on the incredibly fun and accessible Smash Bros. fighting system, an absurd amount of unlockables, great Co-Op support, large character roster, varied and balanced characters, every gameplay mode tweaked for the better, a much better campaign than Melee ever had, great stages, fun Stage Builder, best soundtrack ever in a video game, smooth graphics, incredibly addicting gameplay

Cons: Only two third-party characters is a bit disappointing, a few characters are essentially pallet swaps of another character, not all Final Smashes appear to be balanced, masterpiece mode demos are way too short, repetitive campaign, second player can perform a cheap warping technique in the Co-Op campaign, the online is a major letdown

Final Score: 9.7 out of 10

By Josh60502

It has very good game play. Graphics that are defintly a step up from Melee. Plenty of stages to keep you busy for a few days. Nice amount of available players like Sonic, Snake, Mario, Kirby, and R.O.B.. The assist trophys are very nice. But sometime they are very handy. But other times they can be a Incoveince to their user, like the Nintendogs.

Nintendo WiFi gaming is very good. But theres a slight problem with random Brawl over WiFi right now. Classic Mode is revamped and better this time around.

And for the extras. Their pretty good. Stage Builder is very nice and fun.  And the trials of the classic games that you can play are a bit too short. But you can play them over and over and over with makes is worth it.

But, Now lets talk about. You guessed it, the Subspace Emissary. And man, you better have alot of time on your hands. Because it takes a long time to play that. But well worth it. And thats where you can also unlock abunch of fighters too. Me and a friend so have spent over 14 hours with breaks of course playing the Subspace Emissary. Over a period of two days.

We played the Subspace Emissary so hard and so long. That my brand new White GameStop GC controller that I picked up when I got my copy of brawl on the 9th. The the A button devloped a Squeak a hour or two after we got done with "it". Nothing a little bit of cooking spray as lubrication couldn't fix though.

Now for the most crucial part of the review. The rateings.

I give the game a 9.5 out of 10. Which is a very good in my book. Needs a few tweeks here and there. A update sould be able to fix them. Anyways, way to go Nintendo and Hal!!

Here our pics of the cover, case, manual and disk. (Sorry no screenshots):

-Front Cover

-Back Cover

-Overall Cover

-Inside the case

Soon the track became thinner, and the air chillier. The sun had dipped low enough below the horizon, and there was enough vegetation above my head that I was well obscured in darkness. I must have ascended the Berkeley hills, I told myself, although I was quite convinced I had never taken any trail like this before. A few minutes later, I stopped for a rest in a misty grove that reeked of stale blood. The clearing was empty, except for a few large purple mushrooms and what appeared to be fireflies - dancing lights spawned from the boiling, bubbling pot of forest magic.

Ere long, I grew anxious and longed to return home, to safety. The distant howling of wolves and the hooting of owls added to the general sense of foreboding. Any sign or indication of civilization was not to be found. So for the moment, I pondered in silence.

It was about this time that a grand, shadowy figure appeared nearby and threatened to overtake me. It was moving slowly, engulfing the entire grove little by little. I stared awestruck at the giant, hovering black mass of....nothingness. It was a dark, dense pulsating sphere of pure emptiness, and it was getting bigger. I was petrified, immobile. The black mass seemed to emit a low rasping noise, as if it were breathing intensely. The air around me suddenly became extremely chilly, and I struggled to breathe as my field of vision was covered with black. I flailed my arms, desperately trying to free myself from the thick, sticky tangle of evil that had seized me and now threatened to swallow me whole. I fought to push air into my lungs as my reality gradually receded into nothingness...

It must have been hours before I awoke. I first experienced a strong burst of cold wind, and then the feeling of warmth and sunshine upon my face. For a few minutes, I lay motionless, wondering in my head if I had just experienced some incredible dream. But the ground I was lying on felt rocky and dusty. I opened my eyes and found myself on some other planet, it seemed. The dark grove, the misty forest - they were gone. Instead, I was staring off a mountain peak at a very high altitude. The land below was a reddish, barren desert for as far as I could see. The sky was cloudless, and the sun had just broken above the horizon. I was most of all surprised to notice the masked gentleman sitting right beside me.

He was perched on a rock, gazing peacefully towards the horizon. I stared at him for a long moment. Something about him was familiar, something about him was...reassuring. Strangely enough, however, his face was covered by a veil and his head wrapped in bandages. He had thick blond hair which all but hid his face, except for one gleaming red eye. I would have feared for my safety around this fellow, had I not sensed his aura of warmth and well-meaning.

"You've come a long way," he said in a low, young voice. "But such is your destiny. Even a rose must struggle before it blooms, just as you are blooming right now. Such is the order of things."

At this time, a slow, soothing melody began playing. From where it came, I had no idea. It was as if an angel was playing his lute to commemorate a moment of awakening and relevation. It was a beautiful, harmonious melody and hearing it was a deeply profound experience. You too, reader, can share this wonder and listen to what I heard upon that mountaintop that day by watching this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwhREIFf6O0 . In fact, I strongly urge you to listen to it as you read the next words to gain an inkling of what I felt.

This young man continued speaking in rhythm with the song. "I come here to watch the sunrise every morning. I believe that you, too, are here for a reason. I believe that you are on a mission." He glanced at me knowingly for a moment, and then looked back towards the sunrise. "Just as night is reborn into day, we are reborn many times in our lives. The desert below us is where I grew up. I have watched it transform slowly, with beauty and with grace. This land was once inhabited by the Odwalla tribe. But there were those among them who were not content to live in harmony with the earth. One of them, by the name of Ganondorf, rose to prominence among the village folk, and engaged in transactions that were harmful to nature for his own benefit. Before long, the entire tribe was wiped out. What you see is the land that the spirit of the desert has reclaimed."

He looked towards me again, the expression in his red eye now conveying urgency. "You must not lose heart. Remember that life's changes are like a moving river. What's here today is gone tomorrow. And tomorrow is a whole new journey." The wind started to pick up speed, and I felt the scene slowly fading. "Long after our bones have turned to dust, we will continue to live. It was not by chance that we had this meeting. But tomorrow, you just as well may see me again, in the form of a cloud or a raindrop. Remember this, and you will know where to look for guidance."

"But wait....why are you - " I began as a blinding flash of light suddenly surrounded me completely. For a second, I saw only white and heard the whistling of wind. Then, I was back on campus, and it was broad daylight. I was sitting dazed in front of Sproul Hall as throngs of students and passerby made their way to class. I got up, and went along my way. I'd best be mindful of the present moment. Today is a whole new journey!

Tara has quite an expansive inventory, and there are tons of little details and treasures to be found. You have to visit Melino to see it all. There are tons of couch/chair sets to be had - and these are all gorgeous, large-scale items with great detail. For a sampling, here's the Marrakesh low chair -- it's 32 prims, priced at $250L, and there is also a matching sofa on a large scale, 37 prims and priced at $300L. The pillows are gorgeous, and I love the detailing on the sides with the little iron bars.

I also fell in love with the DuskyEarth daybed -- 25 prims, $350L, and it comes with 2 poses. More than the daybed itself, I think I love how Tara has it displayed, in the middle of a small pool. Exotic!

There are also several seating sets complete with stools or low-slung chairs and little tables. My favorite is the Kizmet set. The seating is available with a unisex pose, a male, and a female. The chairs are $120L each, the table is $80L, and the awesome centerpiece is $80L. Tara's candles rule...and overall, this set makes me want to sit around and eat figs. Possibly while wearing a veil of some sort. And coin jewelry.

You can find a lot of accessories - candles, lamps, vases, etc - under a few pavilions. Note the texturing and great use of shine on the vases - love it!

A few other favorites of mine:

I LOVE the pet beds. :)

Tara also has a few great pre-fabs -- they're high in prim, but exquisitely detailed, so they're worth the prim. There are also a few Moroccan tents, which are beautiful. My favorite is the Scheherazade tent - 145 prims, includes the cute lantern, but not the furniture. A handsome sheik to be included would be nice. :)

Check out Melino here. You can find your own precious dog for the dog bed at Zooby's, located here.