Update: Saudi Ambassador resigned

You may have read this post about the resignation and quick escape of the Saudi ambassador. Well, Josh Marshall points out the the Washington Post had a story about it. Seems that machinations within the Saudi Royal Family may have caused the ambassador to resign; seems Prince Bandar was doing an end run around the ambassador straight to the White House, a relationship usually the purview of, well, the ambassador.

The Fifth Horseman

This says it all:

America the immoral

Disgusting. That is all.

Slashdot 'em

In order to make a negligible impact on the following sites Slashdot'ed within the last few days, I wanted to point my non-existent readership to the following stories:

Geekiest animals: Flipper writes "CNET has compiled a list of the geekiest animals throughout history. The entries include such peculiar characters as Ham The Astrochimp (the first chimp in space), Schrödinger's Cat (used to demonstrate quantum superposition) and Hans, a horse who could apparently do complex mathematics and read words. The classics are there too, Pavlov's dogs get a well-deserved mention, as does Dolly The Sheep. What sounds like a pretty bizarre list is actually strangely interesting — some of these animals are seriously geeky."

Alcohol to the rescue: Adolytsi writes "MSNBC has an interesting article on an Italian study on alcoholism. While the obvious notion of overconsumption of alcohol being detrimental to one's health is supported, apparently drinking it in moderation can actually extend your lifespan. A study on over 1 million drinkers and 94,000 deaths yielded the results: "According to the data, drinking a moderate amount of alcohol — up to four drinks per day in men and two drinks per day in women — reduces the risk of death from any cause by roughly 18 percent, the team reports in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

GAO hands out the spankings

As usual, one of the few (only?) reasonable branches of the US government left is the GAO (Government Accountability Office). They just released a report that spanks the Bush Administration for escalating private firm's usage by the Pentagon and along the way contradicts administration numbers. Via Firedoglake.

And yes, thank Jeebus that there are still adults left.

Dang, this is BRAZEN

Get this: Newsweek does a poll that shows that Clinton would beat John McCain if an election was held now. In the next magazine, they do a story on whether America is ready for a woman or black president. But guess what: THEY DO NOT INCLUDE THEIR OWN POLL. AT ALL.

Wtf!? I am flabbergasted. But not really.

The Brown Shirts are among us

Interesting post here on Leiter Reports. Seems a radio host perpetrated a hoax by saying, on his radio show, that all Muslims should be tattooed with a crescent on their foreheads. He did it to engender reactions from his audience. As you might expect, he got many from the Brown Shirts.

From the broadcast:

For me to suggest to tattoo marks on people's bodies, have them wear armbands, put a crescent moon on their driver's license on their passport or birth certificate is disgusting. It's beyond disgusting.

Because basically what you just did was show me how the German people allowed what happened to the Jews to happen ... We need to separate them, we need to tattoo their arms, we need to make them wear the yellow Star of David, we need to put them in concentration camps, we basically just need to kill them all because they are dangerous.

Beauty in entropy

Interesting link, via Japundit, about an island off of Japan (near Nagasaki) that was a mining town from approx. 1930 - 1974. At the time, it had more people per square mile then any island in the world. The people worked in mines on the island.

In 1974, the mine pulled out and so did the people; some even left behind personal articles. A Japanese photographer went to the island recently and took some beautiful pictures. Check it out.

Also, check out the photographers page. There are some hauntingly beautiful pictures there.

Science is a tedious business

Science in today's modern world can be very tedious in that scientists tend to specialize in very specific areas and may not leave that little sub-area their entire career.

From 3QuarksDaily, we see a scientist studying how humans utilize their sense of smell. Its a rather ingenious experiment, actually. He found, among other things, that humans smell odors similarly to dogs. Also, we use both nostrils which suggests a stereo effect that means when one nostril is blocked, our smell performance degrades. Anyway, check it out.

Water runs downhill

I agree with Kos on this: the 110th Congress is going to interesting.

Jeebus: Serial Harrasser in Chief

I cannot believe this:















The victim is Ellen Tauscher, a Bush supporter in CA-10 district. Someone has since scrubbed the photo from her official, federal web site.

Remember the unwanted backrub for the German Chancellor? Jeebus. Really, nothing surprises me with this freakin' clown.

Via Kos.

Dave Barry's Crappy Gift Guide

The subject says it all.

The Southern Strategy

Via Eschaton, a very good article on Tom Schaller's Whistling Past Dixie on Firedoglake, a book on politics in the South. One interesting point is that the Republican "Southern Strategy", created by Nixon, is the one, correlated maneuver to appeal to conservative white males in the South. Sure, this sounds like a truism (Duh!), but it says something (not something GOOD) that the hard data backs up this piece of folk wisdom.

Also, be skeptical of those "centrist" democrats who say that Dems need to appeal more to "religious" voters because it does not work. And certainly no one would suggest that Dems should go racist (at least, I hope not). Also some good stuff on Dean's 50 state strategy, a strategy that paid off in spades during the midterms.

Have a very scary solstice

A carol what is a carol. They will return....

Via my buddy Chris.

Divorce, American style

As Kos points out, the divorce of the American people from the Republican party has only just begun. An NPR poll shows that there is a large trend in the Dems favor going into the new Congress.

Of course, it is the Dems to screw up and I will remain guardedly optimistic. Being old enough to have watched the Dem implosion of the early 90s, culminating in the "Republican revolution" in 1994, I hope the Dems can learn from the past and shape up. I think if they really come through with ethics reform, raise the minimum wage, and doggedly pursue the Bush administration with their oversight power, we may enjoy a long and prosperous Dem hegemony.

Seperate and murderous

Kevin Drum has a good post showing just how successful the US has been in defending the only area of Iraq they actually can claim some modicum of stability. And I use the term 'modicum' loosely. Look at the map of Baghdad showing the sectarian Sunni and Shiite enclaves.

We are invincible.

Soy: Enemy of Heterosexuality

Oh man, this is rich. What levels of ridiculousness will right-wingers stoop to next?

Via Think Progress.

Arctic Ice gone by 2040?

New info suggests that the melting of the polar ice cap may be proceeding at an even faster rate then previous thought. The very complex feedback mechanisms seem to be accelerating the melting faster then the computer models could predict. Interestingly enough, global warming may cause cooling in Europe and elsewhere. Check it out.

Its just wrong - Humping Dog

From Japundit, a USB device that you plugin so that the dog can, umm, hump your computer. Now I know why computer manufacturers put all those ports on their products.

Convert or die?

Check out this post on Brad DeLong's blog about a new video game based upon the "Left Behind" series of ridiculousness.

You either convert non-christians or kill them. What video game would Jesus play? Something tells me not this one.

Payback is sweet

I always wondered how Good ol' Rummy was going to react after becoming a public citizen again. And it looks like we may be in for some interesting times. Seems Rumsfeld is already contradicting Premiere Bush. And he does it here as well. Snippets from Think Progress:

Yesterday on Hannity and Colmes, outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that he was removed as a direct result of the “outcome of the election.”

And Rumsfeld said in an interview with Cal Thomas:

I don’t think I would have called it the war on terror.

Snap.

Us Saudi Ambassador resigns; flees country?

Josh Marshall over on TPM has a very interesting post about a rather strange event that happened today: the US ambassador to Saudia Arabia not only resigned but he also left the country in a hurry. Josh speculates that this may be a clue to something coming down the line soon which will put a damper on US-Saudi relations.

Of course, the ambassador "officially" resigned to be with his family. Or he was exhausted. Its hard to say.

Baby Steps

The newly elected Democratic Congress has lots riding on it. One test that us stinkin' Liberals want to see is whether their decisions will signal a change in how business is done in Washington. Robert Byrd has added to the opening salvo by dropping earmarks for his state. A good sign indeed.

Inaugural post at Japundit

My first post went up on Japundit. Check it out. More to come soon.

Japundit contributor

I finagled my way into a contributor position at Japundit, one of the best blogs out there about Japan from an ex-pat, gaijin perspective. They always have great posts about Engrish, strange things about Japan, and a cool personals site. Look for my contributions starting in the next week.

Asimo, we hardly knew ye.

Asimo, the stairs climbing robot made by Honda, had quite the nasty spill recently. Seems he zigged when he should have zagged. Via Japundit.

Change of Blog Template

As you may have noticed I have updated to the Blogger Beta and changed the template as I was growing tired of the black one (also, I have seen too many blogs using the same template). Let me know if you have any issues.

Auguste Pinochet - See ya in hell

Looks like death comes for all. Pinochet is dead.

If you are unsure of who Auguste Pinochet is, and why hell is too good for him, see here. Also, as usual, The US was complicit in mass murder and mayhem.

Watch what you wish for

File this under "Delicious Irony". Seems that the Republican's witch hunts, and the powers they created to more easily commit them, may come back as Congressional oversight. Oh, the irony.

Your Mainstream Media at it again

Check out this item: a NY Post Op Ed that had two versions published. The versions completely contradicted each other: one praised Barack Obama. The other criticized him as "Rev Al Obama"! Oops.

Tim Lambert of Deltoid on Lancet II study

Tim Lambert, a computer scientist from Down Under, has a very good layperson's article on the controversy surrounding the two "Lancet studies" with the conclusion that there is a high probability that there have been 650k+ excess deaths (deaths by violence, both US military and due to the escalating civil war) in Iraq since the occupation began 3 years ago.

Note that the first study, for the first 18 months after the occupation began, estimated 90k+ excess deaths and the latest study, which was highly corroborative of the first, stretched that number out until June (if I remember correctly) and came up with the 650k number.

For more in-depth information, including lots of thoughtful responses to the ridiculous objections to the Lancet studies by Tim, go here. Now lose a day immersed in how science is obfuscated by innumerates.

Its Israel, stupid

Juan Cole has an excellent reminder of the fact that Iraq may be the least of our worries and take a back seat to the continuing turmoil between Israel and the Palestinians:

A surprise for Americans: The most urgent and destabilizing crisis in the Middle East is not Iraq. It is, according to King Abdullah II of Jordan (who will meet Bush today), the Israel-Palestine conflict, which is a major engine driving the radicalization of Muslims in the Middle East and in Europe. It seldom makes the front page any more, but the Israelis are keeping the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank in Bantustan penitentiaries and bombing the ones in Gaza relentlessly, often killing signficant numbers of innocent civilians.

This really is the logical Achilles' Heel of the Bush Administrations humongous failure in the "war on terror" which, allegedly, is about, you know, actually curtailing the radicalization of the Middle East. I cannot imagine that, though cannot rule, the colossal cognitive dissonance required to keep the charade of Bush keeping us safe.

And the point about how the US press has let Israel drop off the face of the Earth shows that we just cannot trust the press corp to look out for our best interest.

Sad really.

Dirth of posting

I am on vacation from my normal lack of posting but will be back with a vengeance in December. Sorry for the my slackitude.

Flaffer

Tool of the Day: Ten lbs of shit in a 5 lb bag

Rush is just a despicable human being. Is there nothing that these human excrements will not do? To accuse someone suffering a horrible disease as "acting" smacks of ignorance and lack of empathy for another human being.

For the sake of this country, if I see Rush I will have to cave in his larynx.

Internet: Waste of Time IV

Check out this site. Again, it is worth the time wasted. A great laugh.

Internet: Waste of Time III

I have not visited this site in a long while, but, as always, it is worth every minute I wasted.

EGM's Crapstravaganza!

A very funny list of 20 of of the worst video games ever made. And there are some bad ones, from Custer's Revenge (guide a horny General Custer to rape an Indian woman tied to a cactus) to Dana Plato's unemployment escape fantasy game, Night Trap (giggling women that you spy on with hidden cameras). Priceless.

Zero.Zero

The collective grade point average of "Bluto" Blutarsky in Animal House. And the head of the FBI's National Security section. And the Vice-Chair of the House Intelligence Committee. And the House Chair of the Intelligence Committee overseeing aspects of the CIA. The question: What is the difference between the Sunnis and the Shia?

For those who do not remember the reference. Watch the movie. Then peruse here.

"Earth. Atomizer. Let's go." Just go here.

The Republican Meltdown

Earlier I portended that the Foley scandal would have some interesting fallout. And now, the story is unraveling. Here Daily Kos goes through some signs that lead one to believe the Republicans are going to be routed come November. The poll numbers have completely reversed since the Foley scandal broke. Again, the Political Law #1 is in play: the cover up is ALWAYS worse then the incident covered up. When will the Republicans learn?

The state of me

I am in a sort of philosophical mood since I am soon to be a father. I am wondering what kind of world am I going to bring my son into? The country that I once respected when I was a kid (probably from drinking the cool-aid served at my catholic grade school) is no more.

The moral high ground is no more. My government seems to care more about death and torture and limiting the liberties that our fore-fathers fought for. What can I do to make a difference? How can I change the course of this country?

Well, I think I can raise my son to believe in what I think is right and just. I think that the right in this counrty is manufacturing a generation that is set to completley fuck this country in a way that BoBo could never dream of. How the hell do you stop that? By having the same generation with a counter philosophy. And my boy will hopefully be just that.

Now I am not setting my boy up to hate me becasue I will not let him live his life, but I will talk to him about tolerance, personal freedoms and the right for ALL humans to have them. Not just who our government thinks deserves, or the so called religious zealots think should have them. ALL SHOULD HAVE THE SAME BACIC RIGHTS. DUE PROCESS, HABEUS CORPUS, FREEDOM FROM TORTURE, LEGAL REPRESENTATION. These are not words to be thrown around during an election, but a living, breathing reality that should exist. Let him hopefully see my world belief as one he would like to adopt.

More later, work calls.

Dare we dream?

Interesting word from CQ (Congressional Quarterly) that suggests that we might see BOTH the House and Senate shifting to Democratic rule.

Now, I have been through 2 presidential election cycles peppered with disaster after disaster after bitter disappointment, but maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

One issue though: the Dems have not learned how to DO politics. If they do gain the House and Senate, it is despite themselves. The Repubs Machivellian self-destruction is like manna from heaven. Frankly, the Democratic party does not deserve it. But hey, who doesn't get something they don't deserve?

More data on the Iraqi Carnage

There MUST be a special place in hell for the people responsible for the Iraqi war. "Born-again Christian" indeed. A study, as reported via Daily Kos, the death toll in Iraq comes up with approx. 655k excess deaths since 3/2003.

Why I like politics

I have always been fascinated by human beings. Such clever monkeys. Nothing shows the yin/yang of humanity more then politics. The machinery of politics can soar to heights of good works (Social Security and FDRs New Deal come to mind) and take the express elevator straight to hell (The Foley IM scandal is the most recent example). For some reason, I find either side as fascinating as the other. We are our vices as well as our virtues.

Speaking of vices, let's get back to the Foley scandal. Basically, Florida congressman Foley has been exhibiting the behavior of a stalker of young, high-school age Congress pages. The story just broke, so there is a certain bit of vagueness on how many occasions and how many pages Foley sent rather racy IM messages and email to. There has even been the insinuation that OTHER congressman might have been involved in other, similar incidents but the evidence has not been brought forth (except for Foley).

What will be interesting is to watch the unfolding of the scandal because it has been alleged that the top Republican leadership knew of Foley's behavior as early as 2001 and chose to ignore it (some of the incidents documented happened in 2003, well after they knew there was a "problem"). It seems that the Republican leadership, in one of the biggest political blunders EVER, decided that the Republican butt in the Florida seat was more important then Foley preying on boys.

Some places to read about it: Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos are following the unfolding scandal.

The Forgotten War

This item on Talking Points Memo (the paradigm example of a journalistic blog that blows away mainstream media outlets....like ALL of them) is firghtening and appalling on so many levels.

The money quote is from Bob Woodward who has been known to carry water for the Bushies. Now, it seems he may have gotten a spine:

According to Woodward, insurgent attacks against coalition troops occur, on average, every 15 minutes, a shocking fact the administration has kept secret. “It’s getting to the point now where there are eight, 900 attacks a week. That’s more than a hundred a day. That is four an hour attacking our forces,” says Woodward.

900 attacks a week. 100 a day. Four an hour.

If you support our troops, bring them home now. We cannot win. We have already lost.

Tool of the Day: Alphonso Jackson

This is just sickening. Is there nothing that is not partisan to these unethical pukes? This just begs the question what else are these people using partisan politics for?

Change must come.

Judge strikes down voter ID law

As someone who has seen ads for this on trains and busses in St. Louis, I thought it was way wrong. And I am glad to see that someone who can do something about it agreed as well.

Note that the suit was filed by the Democratic party while the Republicans were the ones who wanted this law. And why not, the Republicans continually fuck the poor and the uneducated, why not just strike them from the voting process all together.

By the by, fuck Matt Blunt, Tool of the Day.

Sidney B.

Read an excert from his book, "How Bush Rules: Chronicles of a Radical Regime" here.(You may need to go through an ad to read it, but it is worth it.) And read an interview with him from Liberal Oasis here and here.

I actually got sick to my stomach reading the excerpt.

Change must come.

Indeed

This hole in the ground.

America deserves better

As usual, Kos says it the best. We can do better. Its been 5 years since 9/11 and here is what Bush says about Bin Laden:

Q: But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

Bush: I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.

I now know what Alice felt like when she went through the Looking Glass and everything about the universe is just wrong. I feel the same about America. It cannot stand.

Also check out all the WORK Bush put into his Photo Op related to 9/11. Jeebus, this guy has no soul.

See no evil...that I won't imitate

Psychologists (and philosophers) have argued that mimicry is a key learning tool that humans use to understand other people and, as they grow, begin to understand human emotions. Since such mimicing activity starts very early, in infancy, it has been seen as a genetically determined capacity.

But how far back in human ancestry does it go? Via Majikthise (love that name, and Lindsey is hot), we see footage of Italian primatologists very easily engendering mimicry from baby Macaque monkeys less then 10 days old. See the movie here, a more hi-res version here, and an example of '"tongue protusion" mimicry here. Also, you can read about the experiments here.

Social Security - gone for Gen X'ers?

Some may believe that Social Security will not be there when they retire, especially those in Generation X. I agree, but not for the usual reasons. Check out this from Josh Marshall, one of the best bloggers on issues of Social Security.

A personal note: my grandmother lived her life on social security, raising my father and aunt/uncles on the social security benefits she got from my late grandfather who died '46. It showed me that the issue with social security is not about what is in it for me, but what is in it for the elderly who are saved from abject poverty. As usual, shame on GW. What a scumbag. See ya in hell.

The emperor has no clothes on indeed...

This is just about funny, if it wasn't about our president in a time a crisis.

Pre-War intel

Interesting.

Again. Change must come.

Wonder who else they pay?

This is just sickening. Seriously, paying journalist to write copy favorable to the administration's position just begs the question, who else are they paying? This is our tax dollars being used.

Change must come.

What time is it?

I guess it is that time again.

Tool of the Day: ABC

This is just reprehensible. More about it here.

Economy's Public Enemy #1

I hope none of our dear readers (all 4 of them, including Fafu and myself) do not have ARM loans. This Business Week article is scary indeed. The US economy is a powerhouse, but more and more people will be suffering, especially the middle class.

Jackass

Funny indeed.

Mas Oyama

This karate master is what I strive to achieve. I wish I had the ability to train as he did; alone, in the mountains, pushing myself to the limits both mentally and physically. Check out what this man achieved.

Tool of the Day: Pat Buchanan

What must be going through this man's mind when he says things like this ? I really have no idea how someone can say this, much less on television. This shows me how some in this world really have no comapssion for others, no regard for a fellow human being.

That is really all we are, just human beings trying to find are place and way around this world. Can we all not just get along?

By the by, it is no suprise that Fox gave this racist the pulpit to spread his hate speach.

The sad state of the press

After reading this story, I wonder what is the problem with reporters? Either they are completely incompetent or partisan hacks who do not care about reporting the truth. Either way, both options are bad.

Tool of the Day: Kenny Tomlinson

What a complete rupe.

The opiate of the masses

My friend turned me on to this trailer of a documentary about the evangelical right's bible camp movement and how they, well, indoctrinate children to the most radical aspect of fundamentalist christianity. Note that the one person make an analogy to muslim fundamentalist indoctrination. My question is: if one is evil (muslim terrorist ideology, isn't the analogous, christian extremism just as evil? How can one really make a principled distinction without positing the "My God is the true God" argument which works for either side.

I think I will try to catch this one.

Thanks for your service, now Screw You!

Here is what is really important to the republican leadership.

World O' Crap

Here is a funny blog that I read from time to time. She (I think) takes the likes of Town hall and such to task with wit and intelligence. Check it out if you have the time.

Boss, if you are reading this, I am on hold with IBM because you do not have a clue! So I have to do something while on hold.

Tool of the Day: George W. Bush

See the post below. It is a sad day to be an American. See the video here.

Lying liars

I was watching NBC nightly news (on accident) and a reporter asked BoBo what did Iraq have to do with the attack on the Trade Centers. His response: NOTHING.

Now, this brings up all kinds of questions as to what the hell were BoBo and Darth Vader(Cheney)saying all along about the link between the two. Will the MSM pick up on this or just give another of the infinite free passes they have given this administration since 9.11.01?

Should this answer now be proof that this administration lied to the public about the link in the run up to the war? Should this be the hard evidence of possible impeachment articles being drawn? Obviously, this will not happen since the Republicans control the three branches of the government.

But what this should tell all voters is that the Republicans CAN NOT BE TRUSTED to govern honestly and in the best interest of the people. Only themselves.

Change must come.

Tool of the Day: Tramm Hudson

This is simply mind boggling. One has to know as they are saying this kind of vitriol that it is racist. I do not believe for a second that this tool did not mean to degrade African Americans. What is wrong with people?

NSA Wiretap Unconstitutional

A judge in Detroit came down with this ruling. For the full transcript go here.

Tool of the Day: George Allen

This guy is a grade A, first class tool. This type of racial slur does not belong in the public discourse. A co-tool of the day goes to the crowd who laughed it up at the insensitive and vulgar remarks.

The voodoo that you do

I love this Daily Show spot (Quicktime required). Really, George Bush is the WORST PRESIDENT EVER . I cannot say this any more clearer and believe more deeply. It is unvarnished truth.

Remember the second attack after 9/11?

Many have forgotten about this: Tom Daschle and several people at NBC news were mailed letters containing anthrax. What has Bush's Justice Department done to capture the individual(s) responsible? The next time someone tells you that Bush is winning the war on terror, ask them about the anthrax (and Osama Bin Laden....you remember him too, don't ya?)

Btw, notice the panel they have: the Surgeon General David Satcher (Bush appointee) and Bill Frist (whackjob "doctor" who "diagnoses" Terry Schiavo's mental capacities via video tape). Fair and Balanced, indeed. Shame on Public TV, especially given the Republican's attempts to close it down.

And its been 1764 days since it the anthrax letters.

Thanks to AMERICAblog for the reminder.

Really, if you voted for Dubya, how DO you sleep at night?

"My relative gives good head"

Check out this video that seems to be a training video for Japanese prostitutes so that they can talk up the gaijin (foreigners who know English).

"My grandmother gives good head"

"Come on! Come on, Toshi! Come on!"

Heh. Hilarious.

Bush: Bin Laden 'prime suspect'....NOT.

I love the Internets. All those tubes....

Seriously though, here is where Bush vows to get Bin Laden.

And here we are 1,789 days later. Don't you feel safe? I sure do.

Inspired by Think Progress.

Jeebus: US Ranks above Turkey in Evolution Acceptance!

Take that Turkey!

Check this out. Help us Jeebus from your believers.

Ok. I read Daily Kos.

Man, they have some good posts in the past few days over at DailyKos. Here SusanG makes a point that our retarded pundit class cannot seem to grasp: the Bush Administration cannot wage a war against Teletubbies, much less extremist terrorists:

Got that, Mr. Bush? While the terror cells were comprised of Islamic extremists, other Muslims were the ones who saved the world from a terrorist strike that could have been the worst since 9/11. Moderate British Muslims, Mr. Bush, who - thank the Lord for favors - are currently being addressed in their country by John Reid and not you.

Indeed.

Egads - More Repub Disgraces

Get this one. What do you do when a terrorist plot has been foiled? Why, you try to raise money! Really and truly: if you voted for a republican in the last 4 voting cycles, how DO you sleep at night?

November 2006 - I am Nostradamus

Well, so is Kos. See here. And more here. And here. The Republican smear machine is at it again and man, is it uglier then ever. It seems the more desperate Republicans get, the more vicious their attacks. We now see what November will be like.

Really, how could anyone call themselves republicans and tie their wagon to these assholes?

BoBo and the freedom of the press

This is very scary. The eradication of the checks and balances marches on. I am tired of weeping for the future. But I must. I care.

The Brits and BoBo

After hearing about the arrests of actual terrorists that seemed to really be prepared to do some serious damage, my mind wonders to what the FBI has done. They have the ability to break up some nuts in Miami that had the logistical ability to blow their nose and nothing else. How can anyone not laugh when KoKo the president says that we are more safe under his and his party's leadership.

This really makes me wonder how much our country is WORSE off than before 9.11. Our foreign ploicy has done nothing but ferment an already sizeable enemy's hatred of us and given them a rallying point (Iraq) and a place to hone their terrorists skills (again Iraq).

I imagine that it will take no less than a generation to ease the hatred toward the U.S. I look forward to how the historians will look back on this administration. My bet is that is will be one of the worst in history.

Tool of the Day: Joe Lieberman

I have tried to stay out of this whole topic, but something I read made me have to weigh in. From Atrios:

The question now is how deep into the gutter Mr. Lieberman’s ego will drag him.

There’s an overwhelming consensus among national security experts that the war in Iraq has undermined, not strengthened, the fight against terrorism. Yet yesterday Mr. Lieberman, sounding just like Dick Cheney — and acting as a propaganda tool for Republicans trying to Swift-boat the party of which he still claims to be a member — suggested that the changes in Iraq policy that Mr. Lamont wants would be “taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England.”

This man obviously has completely lost his grip on his sanity. This is not what you say about someone in your own party, much less anybody else. I agree with Atrios when he says Joe maybe beyond redemption.

Tool of the Day: Roy Blunt

Why, you may ask? Because of this absolute toolish statement If anyone listened to the clip from Bill Clinton below, this is example number one that the ideologues simply do not care about reality or facts, much less scientific fact, if it does not suit their needs.

Bill Clinton at his finest

Listen to this. It reminds me how I miss having a cogent, articulate president that can speak unscripted, as this speech is. I long for the past and still weep for the future.

Juan Cole on Hizbullah

A great post on what exactly is Hizbullah.

Who would of thunk it?

Winning the hearts and minds. That is what we need to win the "war on terror": cutoff the seeminly endless, radicalized Muslims willing to be martyrs for "The Cause". Has the relationship between Israel and Lebanon/Hizbullah had any affect? Yes. From the inimitable Juan Cole of Informed Comment.

The Onion, again and again.

Clicking through on The Onion can be so fun:

Here:

His sole piece of luggage—a black duffel bag—was lost upon his arrival in New York.

Despite hours of waiting, and several U.S. Airways check-in counter workers and Transportation Security Administration screeners joining in the search, the Yemen-born 32-year-old had yet to hear any positive updates. Finally, a baggage claim representative approached him.

"Afraid I've got some bad news," the worker said to Yousef.

Airline personnel had searched the plane, the tarmac, and the gate, but were still unable to locate his bag containing his homemade dirty bomb.

"My trip was ruined," Yousef said. "But Allah will right this wrong."

And here:

NEW YORK—Wikipedia, the online, reader-edited encyclopedia, honored the 750th anniversary of American independence on July 25 with a special featured section on its main page Tuesday.

Heh. 750th Anniversary.

The Onion, again.

The Onion, as usual, captures the truth as only true political satire can:

"WASHINGTON, DC—In a decisive 1–0 decision Monday, President Bush voted to grant the president the constitutional power to grant himself additional powers."

Zen

In the awakened eye
Mountains and rivers
Completely disappear.
The eye of delusion
Looks out upon
Deep fog and clouds
Alone on my zazen mat
I forget the days
As they pass
The wisteria has grown
Thick over the eaves
Of my hut.

- Muso (1275-1351)

Founding Fathers take a roll

For those of you who can stomach 26 pages of gut wrenching truth, check this out. This is truly a sad time to be an American.

Growing up I was told that if I broke the law, I would be punished. But what do we tell the kids of today. You can not brake the law, but the president can. Not only that, but he can because he is always right. What complete bullshit.

Prosecute them all.

Upon further review: Tool of the Day

A thanks to Wholeflaffer for getting me to think about what was actually said by Dean. Him saying "this is not Russia and she is not Stalin" is quite different than saying "she is Stalin".

Also, Wholeflaffer makes a good point about Dems using fighting words. But I would strongly suggest that given the climate of skewing of comments on on the right side of the aisle and in the blogoshere that Dems walk a very fine line with comments such as these.

I stand corrected and will be more vigilant in my posting.

But Dean is still a tool for the scream.

Rousseau on civilization

I took a class on Rousseau for my undergrad philosophy degree and I was struck with the lyrical prose Rousseau fired like hot lead. A passage mentioned on Crooked Timber reminds of how prescient he could be and how his insights are eternal:

I open the books of law and morality, I listen to the sages and the philosophers of law, and, imbued by their insidious speeches, I am led to deplore the miseries of nature, and to admire the peace and justice established by the the civil order. I bless the wisdom of public institutions and console myself about my humanity through seeing myself as a citizen. Well instructed concerning my duties and my happiness, I shut the book, leave the classroom and look around. I see wretched peoples moaning beneath a yoke of iron, the human race crushed by the fist of oppressors, a starving and enfeebled crowd whose blood and tears are drunk in peace by the rich, and everywhere I see the strong armed against the weak with the terrifying power of the laws.

All this takes place peacefully and without resistance; it is the tranquility of the companions of Ulysses shut into the Cyclops cave and waiting their turn to be devoured. One must tremble and keep silent. Let us draw a permanent veil over these horrible phenomena. I lift my eyes and I look into the distance. I notice fires and flames, deserted countryside, pillaged towns. Ferocious men, where are you dragging those wretches? I hear a terrible sound. What a confusion! What cries! I draw closer and I see a theatre of murders, ten thousand men with their throats cut, the dead trampled by the hooves of horses, and everywhere a scene of death and agony. Such is the fruit of these peaceful institutions. Pity and indignation rise up from the the depths of my heart. Barbarous philosopher: try reading us your book on the field of battle.

Retract Tool of the Day?

I would suggest to Fafu that one reconsider their position on Dean. Check out this. What Dean said That Bill Nelson, running against Harris, is "going to beat the pants off Katherine Harris, who didn't understand that it is ethically improper to be the chairman of a campaign and count the votes at the same time. This is not Russia and she is not Stalin."

Now that is not comparing her to Stalin. And it pains me to see some in the lefty Blogoshpere running with the "comparing Harris to Stalin" line.

And isn't it about time that Dems are using fightin' words?

Talk about a Lemon

Found this. A $1.7 million car that lasted all of 10 blocks before breaking down. Poor rich people cannot get a break.

Tool of the Day: Howard Dean

The Democrats need to focus on many things to win back any semblence of power in the government. They need to focus on how they differ from the Republicans on Iraq, foreign policy, immigration and the economy. What they DO NOT need to do is use the Rovian tool of defamation of character.

From Salon.com's war room:

Dean has done a ton of good for the Democratic Party. But in a speech in West Palm Beach earlier this week, he made himself the issue again by equating Katherine Harris to Joseph Stalin. It was entirely unnecessary: Dean was speaking to a luncheon crowd of just 250; Harris is among the most marginal Republican candidates in America, trailing Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson by 37 points in the latest poll; and Dean was referring to Harris' role in the contested 2000 election, a subject that would have fired up his Democratic audience if he had discussed it in the dispassionate language of an accountant. And what did he get out of the deal? Some applause from the folks at the luncheon. And now, in addition to the stories about Harris as tantrum thrower, Harris as recipient of illegal campaign contributions, and Harris as lost cause, we'll see a news cycle full of stories about Harris as victim and Dean as loose cannon.

Say it better then I

A great post over on DailKos which encapsulates the more manic part of the manic-depressive disorder foisted upon me by George W. Really, I do not hate people; I have never cared less about a human being then what I feel abour George W. He has killed hope for a better day. The humanity.....or maybe the lack thereof.

God's Chosen people?

Seriously, Israel, as a government, has no moral standing in my book. Take a read of this blog entry from the Arabist. And if you have the stomach, view some of the scenes of the reality of a sovereign nation killing innocent women and children ON PURPOSE. Israel's only "defense" is that they leafletted the place saying they were going to bomb them and anyone left MUST be the bad guy. Sheesh.....

Johnny

Those of you who did not know that Johnny Cash did a cover of NIN song hurt, here it is in all of its glory. To see Johnny sing this wholly derpessing song by trent and the boys is just priceless.

It was bound to happen

The shite going down in Lebanaon has spilled onto these shores. What is wrong with people these days? Why do we feel the need to kill others based on religion, skin color, political allegience ect. ? I, again, weep for the future.

Colbert on Pets

A trip in the wayback machine to a segment on The Daily Show with Stephen Colbert, haunted by the death of his cat Mr. Whiskers by "blunt force trauma to the back of the head", looks at freeze drying your pet. Via YouTube.

Tools of the Day: Townhall.com

Just take a few minutes to read some of the crap that passes as articles. One word of advice, make sure that afterwards you have time to take a long bath. I felt just a little dirty and unclean afterwards.

Tool Of The Day: The Donald

Why? Because of this

Poor Bill

I do know that because Bill Clinton lied to us about getting a hummer it turned a lot of people off to him. But looking back at his presidency, he was one hell of a leader. The economy was stong and robust, our stock as a contry was never higher with others in the world, and times just SEEMED good. So why in the hell does this poor guy still get hammered? Is the conservative wackjobs on the right so hard up to hit us that they must continually go after a man that is no longer a major player? Or do they have a problem with someone who helps with AIDS victims

It's the economy stupid

I always thought that if the president took care of business at home (economy, jobless rate) he or she could get away with mistakes or miscues abroad. BoBo has done nothing at home and is paying a price.

Tool Of The Day: Dick Cheney

Why? Besides lying almost daily to the press (by press I mean Fox) and shooting his friend in the face, he thinks the middle east is doing just fine.

From Salon/War Room:

He sees one thing: Proof that the Bush administration's strategy is going exactly as planned. As the AP reports, the vice president was in Florida Friday to stump for a Republican congressional candidate. Along the way, Cheney pointed to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the Middle East as a reason for keeping Republicans in control back in Washington.

"This conflict is a long way from over," Cheney said. "It's going to be a battle that will last for a very long time. It is absolutely essential that we stay the course."

How does this man sleep at night? I hope in the end, he gets his.

Why the numbers are worse then you can imagine

Check out this for further proof that morality has hit the skids and that civilization as we know it is doomed, with the US playing the Horseman of the Apocalypse. Also, keep the number 6000 in two months in mind in relation to the number bantered around on the number of dead in Iraq. The Lancet number must be spot on and increasing. Imagine: there could be as many as 200k - 300k dead by now. To show nothing but horror is the only sane reaction. And that we are not horrified speaks volumes about the US and its slave morality.

Iraqi Deaths

Fafu had quoted 45k deaths in Iraq. Of course, this brings us to the Lancet study on the number of excess deaths since the war began. By excess deaths they mean the deaths that occurred by all means above the previous death rate before the US invaded. Of course, US bombs is only one way to die in a war zone.

And at the time the Lancet study was done, in 2003, the number of excess deaths was estimated to be 98k, a factor of two greater then the death counts using media (a really poor way to count deaths). Check out Tim Lambert at Deltoid for all you need to know about the study and great debunkings of the innumerate 101st Keyboarders.

Tool of The Day: George W. Bush

There is not enough space on the internet to accurately document why he is a grade A, first class, fuck wad tool. If it isn't the roughly 45,000 people who have died because of Iraq, or how he has frittered away our reputation and good will with the other 6.5 billion people on this planet, it is simply because he puts the needs of the few before the needs of the many. Where is Spock when you need him?

Eurotrash Gaylords and Kirsten Dunst

Let's face it, there are two truths in this world that I know of: 1) Kirsten Dunst is hotter then a $3 pistol and 2) The Onion is freakin' hilarious (as Fafu pointed out).

And now Kirsten has left America for a "Eurotrash pretty-boy gaylord with six-pack abs and a 100-foot yacht". See here for the sordid details.

This does not add up

Another reason I am losing faith in our government as as agent of compassion towards humanity. Let alone its citizens.

Fair and Balanced?

This just makes me sick. And there is a liberal bias in the media? Fuck Rupert, and fuck Fox.

From Romenesko via Dan Froomkin comes this poll of Californians conducted by the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University: "Among those who watch Fox for their news, 59 percent approve of the job George W. Bush is doing as president and 29 percent disapprove. But among non-Fox viewers, just 25 percent approve of the president’s performance and 66 percent disapprove."

What is wrong with this picture?

These girls are writing on bombs that will be dropped on Lebanon. I weep for the future.

Tool of the Day: Tom Delay

His ship just took on more water...hopefully it will begin the sinking. From Salons' war room:

If Tom DeLay ends up having to run for reelection in Sugar Land, Texas, it looks like he'll have to do it without the help of his political action committee. As the Associated Press is reporting, DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority PAC has agreed to pay a $115,000 fine and cease operations as the result of an audit conducted by the Federal Election Commission.

According to the FEC, the audit found that ARMPAC failed to report approximately $240,000 worth of "financial activity" and $322,306 in debts owed to 25 vendors in 2001 and 2002, and that it illegally misallocated more than $200,000 in expenses between its federal and nonfederal accounts. The FEC says its agreement with ARMPAC contains an "admission of all violations."

"The reason DeLay became so powerful was all about the money, the amounts of money he could pull in and could distribute to his colleagues," said Melanie Sloan, a spokeswoman for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed a complaint seeking FEC enforcement against ARMPAC. "Nearly every Republican in Congress received money from ARMPAC, thus consolidating his power base. They loved him because he kept them flush. Now we find out, they brought in huge amounts of money, but they did it illegally."

The agreement between the FEC and ARMPAC closes one enforcement action, but it doesn't resolve all of DeLay's PAC problems. DeLay remains under indictment in Texas alongside ARMPAC former executive director Jim Ellis and the ARMPAC offshoot, Texans for a Republican Majority.

Ann Coulter: Part Duex - Wingnut

I'll have to post the whole story b/c it is from a pay sight and I don't want to inconvenience our dear readers, so...

From Salon.com/War Room

Ann Coulter, felon?

An envelope containing a suspicious white powder showed up in the mailroom at the New York Times last week. We can't tell if she's joking or not -- really, can we ever? -- but Ann Coulter is claiming that she's responsible.

Raw Story ferrets out the news from an item in Women's Wear Daily's Memo Pad blog. Memo Pad's source at the Times said the powder incident makes Coulter's call for the death penalty for Bill Keller just "a little less funny." "I wonder," the source said, "if she considers herself at all responsible when lunatics read her columns and she says that we should be killed."

Memo Pad asked Coulter about the incident. Her response? "So glad to hear that the New York Times got my letter and that your friend at the Times thinks I'm funny. Good luck in journalism and please send me your home address so we can stay in touch, too."

The white powder turned out to be harmless, but perhaps it's time to fight fire with fire anyway. If Coulter thinks that reporters at the Times should be tried for treason -- and she does -- wouldn't it be fair game to say that Coulter herself should be tried for threatening to use WMD or using the U.S. mail to send threatening communications? Those are federal crimes, and it seems to us that Coulter has just admitted committing one.

This bitch is fucking whack. Period.

Tool of the day: Little Ralphy

The hipocracy of the right is staggering. When in doubt, or caught, blame someone else. I never liked Reed for two reasons: first he just looks like a weasel (can anyone say Niedermeyer?) and second, he uses God as a cover to do what he wants.

Jeebus finally lets loose

This is why I love the onion. I always thought that if there was a Jeebus, he would be something like this

What he (she?) said.

Leave it to Fafblog to nicely distill the utter ridiculousness of the war on terror.

Babies are scary

Don't blame me if you wake up screaming after looking over this site: miniature resin "sculptures" of infants.

Also weird is the disembodied hand sort of caressing each figurine. *shudder*

Link via StLux.

Help me Lord and Baby Jesus.

You got to check these guys out. It is now official: American religion is freakin' WEIRD with a beard. I can see God now, readying special places in hell for those who mix mime and himself.

Dear Lord, protect us from your believers.

Wikiquote on Ann Coulter

This bitch is wack. Here is a smorgasboard (heavy on the 'gas') of Ann Coulter quotes.

Surprised?

This just shows the man behind the curtains.

Fafblog!

I am still working on getting my blogroll up (not really) but I thought I would let one slip. It looks like Fafblog is back in business, one of the funniest, most satiric blogs out there. It stars Giblets, Fafnir, and Medium Lobster, the triad of Satyricon (or is that the triad Satyricon of Petronious?)

Anyway, a couple of gems:

Giblets would love for gays and lesbians to be able to enjoy the same marriage rights as normal, non-icky Americans, but the sheer destructive power of their gay cooties threatens to destroy civilization as we know it!

How to get out of Iraq, parts 1,2,3,4. An excerpt:

Then we will have specially trained troops sent out to each Iraqi home with cords attached to their backs and wait until sunrise and when all the Iraqi families start to wake up yawning and stretching and so on our troops jump out waving wiggly fingers and goin "It was allllll a dream... it was alllllll a dream!"

Enjoy. Honorary Mention for Internet: What a Waste.

Look out for Alligators!

A "verified" perfect run through "Pitfall", an Atari 2600 game I wasted about, oh, 1000 hours of my childhood on.

Via Slasdot.

Security (or lack thereof) by Stupidity

You are walking into the door of the credit union you work at. You see a basket saying 'Free USB Drives with content!'. What do you do? If you are like the employees ./'d here you plug them right into your work machine.

Dumb as a bag of hammers. Info Security is hard enough as a technical field; imagine having to secure around people plugging in a USB drive they find!

Death of a great Japanese Director

SHOHEI IMAMURA -- 1926 to 2006

Imamura-san directed one of the top 5 movies I have ever seen: Unagi (The Eel). There was tragedy and redemption told in a style that was poignant and hilarious. It was the story of a guy who murders his wife after catching her cheating. He walks into the police station, drenched in her blood, to turn himself in. The story continues after he gets out of prison and rebuilds his life. An American could not make this film due to the hysteria surrounding murder and its reification. Anyway, you can get the English version here.

He also worked with Yasujiro Ozu, considered to be the greatest Japanese director along side Kurosawa Akira.

A eulogy can be found here.

Japanese Ghost Stories

The West has Frankenstein's monster, the werewolf, and Dracula. Japan has its own set of monsters/ghosts as well. I came across this site that gives a good run down of different classic Japanese ghost stories. Lots of them are related to love and betrayal, which I find interesting but I am not sure why this theme plays out in quite a few of them.

Plan B from Outer Space

In the long list of peccadillos of the Bush Administration, one particulary sticks in my craw (besides the 100k+ excess deaths in Iraq) is the trainwreck of public health policy surrounding Plan B, the after coitus pill. Political Animal has a nice piece giving an anecdotal example of who this really affects: women attempting to control their own lives. And Bush was there to fuck it up. What an asshole.

That Liberal Media

Having seen large-scale media being brow-beaten by rabid Republican thugs, it is hard to imagine that it actually worked. From the "Whitewater", "coke and blow jobs", and Gennifer Flowers to Gore "inventing the Internet" and other claptrap, the mainstream media took what was ridiculous, on its face, criticism and went one up.

Nothing can be more emblematic of the fall of truly great icons then the latest New York Times hit piece on how many nights Bill and Hillary spend together. As freakin' news. Here is a good post about the brouhaha on The American Prospect web site. If you have time, read it. And weep for a free press.

Crater of comet that killed off dinosaurs?

If this is true, a very interesting find. It is a crate found in Antarctica, under the ice, measuring 300 miles wide. Now that's a crater. It happened at the right time and it certainly was a large enough of an object to trigger the extinction of dinosaurs....


Via Daily Kos.

Internet: What a waste II with an 'Engrish" bonus

Another installment of "The Internet is a waste.....of time" which features cool sites that seem to be made to waste copious amounts of time. The first installment can be found here.

First my second favorite time waster: Google maps. I spent 3 hours zooming in and out of Tokyo, London, my house, my parents house, Iraq, Afghanistan, and some I am sure I am forgetting.

This may not be new to some of you, since it was ./'ed (What's this?) and received copious press. But check it out of you have the time to waste and have not seen it.

And a bonus Engrish installment (via Japundit):

Ethnology of Trash Behavior

You think taking out the trash is a chore, get a load of this guide sign to instruct Japanese how to separate out their trash. I think the issue that forces such Herculean length to taking out the trash is the lack of places to bury it in the ground; others think it is to keep up a perception that the Japanese are environmentally sensitive.

A win for the Good Guys

Looks like the court proceedings stemming from the ACLU suing the Fed over the NSA wiretapping will move a step forward, at least to the hearing on whether or not there can be a summary judgment striking down the wiretapping as illegal. I have a feeling that if the ACLU does win the summary judgment, then it will most likely be the end of the trial as the Bush Administration will argue that it will give up state secrets to move forward. But I am not a lawyer, so we shall see.

Check out the article here.

Lets all pray for the summary judgment.

Good news from SC

As Kos notes, "Good news from South Carolina". On March 6th, South Carolina's legislature passed a ban on abortions. A group calling itself the South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families got 38,000 signatures to get a referendum to repeal the ban in the ballot in August.

If you are so inclined, there is a link to the right to donate to the cause. Please do if you can.

Winning the hearts and minds

They shoot pregnant women, don't they? Shoot first and ask questions later seems to be the way to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis? Imagine what it is like to be an Iraqi and to see the news reports about this?

Dems chances in PA

Nothing gets me feeling tingly like watching someone like Ricky "Boy" Santorum going down in a flaming burnout. MyDD, a poll watching blog among other things, has an interesting article here showing that not only is Santorum going down, but two other seats possibly changing to Dems in August. Sweet.

The Internet: What a waste

There has been much speculation on what drives, and has driven, the growth of the Internet. I have a theory: people like to wase time. Me? Sure do. I will start a series of posts with my favorite "waste about 2 days of your life" sites.

Youtube: Videos with a mimetic flare. You can spend about 12 days clicking through the favorites. Some standouts here and here.

Also, one of my favorite Queen songs. There is something so weird about it. At Youtube, there are 312 lip sync versions of the song. Not sure if that is good or not...but it does back up my theory.

Here is the description a video of a Japanese female punk band (in name only):

someone said Sasebo and harajuku

I am seeking the orchestra name, other people please do not have to give me trash electricity postal, thanks. I want to know this orchestra is called any name ?

Fascism are Us II

My God, this is ridiculous. Can anybody stop them? Via Daily Kos, the Bush Administration is arguing that it has impunity to do whatever it wants to "protect against terrorists". No. Oversight. Whatsoever.

Let's make sure we've got this straight. The NSA won't grant clearances to DOJ attorneys to look into the program. The FCC refuses to look into whether the phone companies illegally turned over data. SEC rules of accounting and reporting are waived at the behest of the John Negroponte, thus eliminating any "follow the money" trail for investigators.

Dear God, please save us from your believers.

If you voted for George Bush, how DO you sleep at night?

Have pen, will be treasonous

From Daily Kos, a blurb of a speech Bush gave basically saying that the press is "the enemy". Man, this guy is the biggest piece of crap I have ever seen. And I thought Reagan was bad.....

The Simpson's and Philosophy

A good article in BBC Magazine about the parallels of The Simpson's and philosophy. My favorite quote:

The Simpsons, like Monty Python, is an Anglo-Saxon comedic take on the existentialism which in France takes on a more tragic hue. Albert Camus' absurd is defied not by will, but mocking laughter.

I find myself agreeing with this way of delineating a strain of Existentialism that sees life a a sort of tragic farce from a more "Anglo-Saxon" (modern?) way that sees life as, well, just a farce, and worthy of only laughter. I somehow like the latter way the best. The Three Stooges come to mind as a formative factor.

And more then you ever wanted to know about the Simpson's: The Simpson's Archive.

Headlights are on

Anyone that opens a blog post with this much science in it is worth a look:

Four [sic] of my favorite things are development, evolution, and breasts, and now I have an article that ties them all together in one pretty package.

Pharyngula has a very interesting post on the a possible evolutionary role of the female breast and how this role has changed over the ages. Turns out that breast milk "is actually a kind of anti-microbial snot mixed in with a lot of fat and sugar." It may have started out as a factory for immuno proteins and evolved into a food source for little babminos(as). Fascinating.

The Shrinking Standards of Living

Brad DeLong, at his great blog, has a nice commentary on a particularly dumb NYT piece purporting not to know what "higher standard of living" means. Brad sets him straight.

Origami Master

Take a look at some of the creations by RJ Lang, as pointed out by Lindsay Beyerstein at Majikthise (a cigar to those who catch the reference).

I will be publishing my blogroll as soon as I get time.

Shhhh! You are in a Library!

Check out this little piece of weirdness, Japanese style. They invented inflicting pain for TV pleasure, and this is a surreal example.

Be ascared. Be very ascared.

Another piece falls into place vis a vis bird flu crossing the species barrier. This is one more step to what will be a very scary possibility: an avian flu pandemic. I believe the mortality rate is more then 50% of those humans who have been infected. *SHUDDER*

Indepth analysis of Iraq

One of the best commentators on Iraq is Juan Cole, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan. arguable the best department of Middle Eastern Studies in the country. His post here gives an undepth analysis of where we are in Iraq and it is, as you might imagined, not pretty.

Also, a interesting Q & A with Professor Cole on Daily Kos.

If you voted for George Bush, how do you sleep at night?

Coerced English

I am very uneasy with the anti-immigrant environment lately. Especially problematic is the English-only crowd. Due to principles I believe are important, principles that claim that the government should not be in the business of dictating language use, I find the English-only crowd to be authoratarian to the extreme.

An article by EJ Dione makes a persuasive argument why the English-only crowd are just missing the point. Check it out.

Fascism Are us.

From the NY Times, more evidence that the Bush Administration must take leads from either Richard Nixon or Benito Mussolini (or insert you fave fascist here).

God, please defend us from your most devout worshipers.

Daily Kos: Don't you feel safe now?

A good post on the surreal state of politics in America. Daily Kos reports that 100 security plans due Congress from the "Department of Homeland Security" are late. They just have not turned them in, like a recalcitrant, bored 10 year old who doesn't do his homework. Only so much more is at stake, right?

Throw the bastards out.

Clang, clang, clang went the trolley

A post at Urban Review, a local, St. Louis blog, noted that yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the last street car that ran in St. Louis. Man, I wish we had those back....

The Engrish are coming!

Japanese have this weird way of co-opting culture from all over the world. One area of particular co-option is a sort of pidgin English commonly referred to as 'engrish'. Even though Japanese take English all through grade school to high school, they are taught by, well, Japanese who cannot really speal the language well.

This site is by roving bands of reporters who take pictures of particulary egregious maimings of the English language prevalent in Japan. This is always good for a laugh.

OPC: Onine Philosophy Conference

A new idea for a philosophy conference that is virtual. From the description:

We hope you enjoy the first ever Online Philosophy Conference (OPC 2006). Here, you can enjoy some excellent philosophical presentations from the comfort of your home, office, coffee shop... anywhere but the cold confines of a hotel conference room. We hope this will be one of the best attended philosophy conferences in history. Please tell your colleagues, students, friends about it to help make that happen.

Check it out here.

Angry Bear: the best of its Kind

The blog called Angry Bear, staffed by economists, has the best information of the economy I have seen (though there are close seconds, Namely BRad DeLong's excellent blog).

One recent post at Angry Bear that stands out is related to my previous post about Bush's profligate spending. It shows that if we subtracted Bush's machinations such as the Iraq War, tax cuts, and the Medicare Drug Plan, we would actually have budget surpluses instead of the mess we are in. Check it out.

Chew on this

Have you ever wondered what dire straits we are in vis a vis Bush's reckless fiscal policy? Get a load of this abstract from Gokhale and Smetters paper on Fiscal and Generational Imbalances: An Update:

"This paper provides an update of the U.S. Fiscal and Generational Imbalances that we originally calculated in Gokhale and Smetters (2003), and presents the calculations in several alternative ways. We find that a lot has changed in just a few years. In particular, the nation’s fiscal imbalance has grown from around $44 trillion dollars as of fiscal year-end 2002 to about $63 trillion, mostly due to the recent adoption of the prescription drug bill (Medicare, Part D). The imbalance also grows by more than $1.5 trillion (in inflation adjusted terms) each year that action is not taken to reduce it.

This imbalance now equals about 8 percent of all future GDP and it could, in theory, be eliminated by more-than doubling the employer-employee payroll tax from 15.3 percent of wages to over 32 percent immediately and forever – assuming, quite critically, no reduction in labor supply or national saving and capital formation. Equivalently, massive cuts in government spending would be required to achieve fiscal balance: The total federal fiscal imbalance now equals 77.8 percent of non-Social Security and non-Medicare outlays. "

Note the money notions: Double the payroll tax immediately and forever. Holy Baby Jeebus! Or, cut 77.8 percent of discretionary spending (non-Social Security and non-Medicare).

Let that sink in, folks. In order to stem the red ink Bush and the Republican Congress has foisted upon us, us and future generations are, well, in deep crapola.

If you voted for George Bush, how do you sleep at night?

Via Angry Bear.

Bubbles and Michael.

Man on Monkey sex: what our ancestors did for fun.

The Next Frontier

Via Slashdot, CNN is reporting that a solar system with three, Neptune-like planets has been found which is relatively close to us (41 Light Years). Now if we can just get that light year speed ship going......

New Apple store in NYC

Checkout the new apple store in NYC on 5th Ave at 59th. Very cool.
There is also a time lapse video of the throngs of patrons going to it.

Also, check out the review of the new Macbooks from Ars Technica, one of the best geeky sites out there. Hell, they are too geeky; ever read a 5 page review of motherboards? Feel like you are missing out? Ars Technica is here.

Who the hell is Wholeflaffer?

Art Wholeflaffer is a character from one of the most prolific avant garde comedy troupes to ever grace this universe, the Firesign Theater. They crafted aural landscapes that have not been duplicated. I would say that they surpassed the "Golden Age of Radio" serials by adding top-notch sound effects you have to hear to believe. Art appeared on the album Everything you know is wrong, one of their best and his raison d'etre was being the manager of a Nudist Trailer Park in Heater County, CA.

I am not sure why Art Wholeflaffer is my alter ego. Maybe I just like the sound of the word 'wholeflaffer'. Either way, it has been my virtual persona as long as I have been cruising the environs of the Internet since 1995. It is the name I hang all of my identity on when interacting in cyberspace.

About this blog: sometime futile, narcissistic endeavors are worth doing. My main interests in life is philosophy (I am working on my Masters), politics, technology, and Japan, So expect posts about that sort of stuff. Don't take it too seriously; I won't. However, I will use it as a way to work out thoughts and to simplify complexities, mainly dealing with academic philosophy. I have always found that if I cannot explain something to somoene with no philosophical background, I cannot presume to say I know it well.

So, without further adieu, we begin.