Rove book worth $1.5 million-plus

GOP strategist Karl Rove has agreed to write about his years as an adviser to President Bush in a deal worth more than $1. (sic)

I believe that's a typo, but $1 seems a little high to me.

Via National News.

U.S. Soldiers Stage Mutiny, Refuse Orders in Iraq

Its encouragiing to know there's still some sanity, humanity among the US troops.

We speak with a reporter from the Army Times who gives an inside account of how an army unit committed mutiny and refused to carry out orders in Iraq. After an IED attack killed five more members of Charlie 1-26, members of 2nd Platoon gathered for a meeting and determined they could no longer function professionally. Several platoon members were afraid their anger could set loose a massacre.

Unfortunately, they will probably be drawn and quartered for following their consciences. At least they won't be war criminals. To just "follow orders" is never an adequate defense of what transpires.

This is the epitome of courage.

Via The Signs.

Baghdad reality

Children emulate the adults around them. Unfortunately that may include Ak-47s.

We slipped into a toy store where little boys crowded around toys, picking their holiday gifts. They all wanted the same thing, toy guns, just like the men they see on the street. A 10-year-old carried a very real replica of an Ak-47 [perhaps a real one?] and the younger boys chose pistols.

I opted for cars.

"Why," Hussein asked. "They all want guns, all the boys want to play with guns."

The toys here are a reflection of the reality they live, humvees, military helicopters and guns. All the little boys want to emulate the violence on the street.

There will never be peace in the Mid-East until children see no violence. Never see their friends and family members killed. Never hear the constant cacophony of gunfire.

Via Baghdad.

FBI aims for world's largest biometrics database

When George Orwell wrote 1984, he really blew it. He missed the mark by about 20 years. Oh well, he was no Nostradamus.

Surveillance cameras, newspeak, unlawful interception of communications, secret prisons, kidnapping, torture....all the elements are here.

And now the government will capture and retain biometric data on Americans who have never been suspected of having broken any law.

Of course, I'm not going to ignore the Amazon.com thingie.

What the hell does it take before Americans revolt and tell Bush and his weasels to go fuck themselves? Contact Congress and tell them to impeach this fucking administration ASAP.

Remember, its easier to encourage impeachment from your home or office than it is from a secret prison with a hood over your head.

The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion (504 million pounds) project to build the world's largest computer database of biometrics to give the U.S. government more ways to identify people at home and abroad, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

The FBI has already started compiling digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns in its systems, the paper said.

In January, the agency -- which focuses on violations of federal law, espionage by foreigners and terrorist activities -- expects to award a 10-year contract to expand the amount and kinds of biometric information it receives, it said.

At an employer's request, the FBI will also retain the fingerprints of employees who have undergone criminal background checks, the paper said.

Via Reuters.

Goals are important

News is slow right now except for things others have blogged the shit out of and this computer is slow, so I'm just fucking around until something important breaks.

Hope you enjoy.

WOW! Great speakers

Photo by Nick Brandt
Young Gallery, Brussels

Police: Wife stabs man over X-mas gift

What an ass. Doesn't he know shaking the package and guessing about its contents are allowed, but opening it isn't? What a maroon.

A woman stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife following an argument that began when she accused him of opening a Christmas present early, authorities said Friday.

Via Boston Globe.

Cat blogging

Happy birthday Frank

Frank Zappa
(21/12/40-04/12/93)
Yes, he's also had a deathday, but somehow I think he would appreciate the irony.

Must read IMHO

Over at a bunch of numbers.

When will adults quit treating children as stupid?

Will be back in a few hours

I've been running virus scans on this sucker (borrowed computer). So far have found one Trojan and five viruses.

Sometimes computing is so much fun.

Unless I want to destroy my friend's computer, I have to make sure its clean and download some anti-virus protection.

My guess is this computer has rarely been connected to the internets tubes.

Will return ASAP.

BTW, the latency in my typing and the appearance of letters on the screen is driving me INSANE (more so). I don't type that fast.

It was long overdue

My motherboard is smoked. Four capacitors blew up so the computer is dead as a beached shark.

It should be fixed in a couple days at most, or so I'm told.

BTW, I've borrowed a friend's computer for the time being. Its shit and not configured to my taste, but its sort of like having your car die and borrowing a bicycle. At least the bicycle will get you to your destination.

Teacher Nabbed For Indecent Proposal

And the problem is exactly what?

A Florida math teacher offered to give a 16-year-old female students (sic) an "A" in his class if she performed oral sex on him, police charge.

My comment is a fucking joke, folks. Jeez.

Did you expect a graphic? Muahahaha.

Via Smoking Gun.

Must read IMHO

Trust me. The guy's good.

TIME person of the Year 2007 redux

There are two ways to stabilize a country. Probably more, but I'm concentrating on the two most obvious methods.

UPDATE: I'm invoking the "Oh Shit key" or its equivalent.

You follow the word rule of law. You sanction chaos within limits. You endorse opposition, dissent, challenges and engage in dialogue and debate. Its worked for the US for nearly 225 years. Stopping, of course, with the current idiot in the White House.

It brings to mind a quote I have to paraphrase and can't cite.

If you always agree with me, one of us is unnecessary.

Or you can oppress or jail or send to a psych hospital anyone who speaks out, who opposes you, who challenges the system. You can impose strict controls on your people so instability isn't countenanced. You can force your will on all people in all enterprises.

If everyone has to adhere to one person's control, stability is a snap.

TIME's Person of the Year is not and never has been an honor. It is not an endorsement. It is not a popularity contest. At its best, it is a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world—for better or for worse. It is ultimately about leadership—bold, earth-changing leadership. Putin is not a boy scout. He is not a democrat in any way that the West would define it. He is not a paragon of free speech. He stands, above all, for stability—stability before freedom, stability before choice, stability in a country that has hardly seen it for a hundred years. Whether he becomes more like the man for whom his grandfather prepared blinis—who himself was twice TIME's Person of the Year—or like Peter the Great, the historical figure he most admires; whether he proves to be a reformer or an autocrat who takes Russia back to an era of repression—this we will know only over the next decade. At significant cost to the principles and ideas that free nations prize, he has performed an extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power. For that reason, Vladimir Putin is TIME's 2007 Person of the Year.

Putin is not a boy scout. [?] No shit!

And I loved this from AFP.

It was handed to Putin for reshaping a country that Managing Editor Richard Stengel said had "fallen off our mental map."

"At significant cost to the principles and ideas that free nations prize, he has performed an extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power," Stengel wrote.

"For that reason, Vladimir Putin is Time's 2007 Person of the Year," he added, saying the Russian leader had made Moscow "a critical linchpin of the 21st century."

"If Russia fails, all bets are off for the 21st century. [emphasis mine]

This is so fucking funny. Basically, if we're wrong...uh...nevermind! We get a "do over".

The fact is, TIME made a mistake which they will never admit.

My vote goes for the Burmese monks.* But TIME doesn't give a shit what I think.

* Is it Burma or Myanmar? I lean toward Burma.

Via TIME.

TIME person of the Year 2007

Michael D at Balloon Juice is right.

I'd prefer TIME choose the person of the year who made the most positive impact, but they don't solicit my opinion. Never have. Never will.

You knew this would happen. I find it amusing that people don’t realize that Time’s Person of the Year has never been about rewarding people. It’s always been about recognizing impact.

Gore was many lefties' choice. But even Al feels he's failed.

But it's hard to celebrate recognition of an effort that has thus far failed, and I'm not finished yet, but thus far, I have failed.

Via Balloon Juice.

War on Christmas™

It will cost your true love 6.1% more.

Should not surprise you at all. Hell, the price of hamburger is going up and that's a necessity and not a luxury like ladies dancing.

Uh, let me re-think the necessity of ladies dancing.

Perhaps you should buy your geese, swans, golden rings in China, but that's just a suggestion.

Actually, buying gold in China is usually a good idea. Thailand is even better.

The price tag of the shopping list laid out in the classic holiday song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is sharply higher this year, hit by such modern-day woes as higher energy and gold prices and concerns about the avian flu, according to an annual survey unveiled Monday.

Here ya go. If you forgot the song.

The Twelve Days of Christmas (12 Days of Christmas) : Lyrics

Play Music !

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

Via CNN.

10 humanitarian crises forgotten (but not gone)

So many things fall through the cracks when the media is busy covering summit meetings in mind numbing detail or delegate visits to, wherever, which are of no consequence.

Things like these crises need the spotlight turned on them and kept on them until something is done.

Do you really think there would be a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria if the media hadn't focused on such problems?

If doctors edited newspapers... The frontline physicians at Médecins Sans Frontières have chosen the 10 humanitarian crises that should have been given more coverage in 2007.

With this post I'm dropping the R2D2 audio translator for SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!. It just doesn't seem appropriate most of the time. It was cute for a while. Go to earlier posts if you're curious.

Via The Signs.

The Endless Campaign

"The Iowa caucuses are 14 days away, with the New Hampshire primary five days later. And what follows from there won't be pretty."

-- Karl Rove
Weasel

If anyone knows how ugly it will be its Karl.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via Taegan Goddard.

Kucinich's brother found dead

I've been remiss in not wishing condolences to the Kucinich family for the loss of Perry.

No foul play was detected so authorities need further info.

The youngest brother of Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was found dead at his home Wednesday.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via Yahoo! News.

Latest Earthquakes in the World

The map at the first link.
There's more info at link.

Have you felt one? Earthquake you silly rabbit.

It seemed to me there have been a hell of a lot of earthquakes lately. So I researched it a bit. A little bit because I'm lazy ass.

Not sure this is normal activity or not, but it sure appears intense.

UPDATE: Just in the time it took for me to write this post, there were two more.

World map of 205 earthquakes around the world in the last seven days.

You can also go here for a list of earthquakes in the last seven days.

World map of for last eight to 30 days.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

War on Christmas™

I didn't need help in this War on Christmas™ and certainly didn't expect it from the Archbishop of Canterbury, but there ya go.

The Anglican church's most senior clergyman is questioning some long-held Christmas beliefs.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is dismissing the story of the three wise men as 'legend' saying they probably never existed.

He said that the Gospel according to Matthew makes no mention of the Kings or where they came from and also that there was no evidence of animals in Jesus' stable, or of a rising star.

Wow! He shot down the three wise guys, the animals (not the band) in the manger and the star all in one fell swoop. The guy's on a roll.

Hey, maybe the three wise guys weren't legend. Maybe they actually were painted gourds.

This should send many of the fundies into a tizzy. Muhahaha.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via Breaking News.

Can an Adopted Child Be Returned?

Warning: Don't read this post if you are too sensitive. It'll tear your heart out. If you must, stop at the second sentence and you'll see why I've warned you.

Every child is a gift, as the saying goes. But in a case that has stoked outrage on two continents, a Dutch diplomat posted in Hong Kong has been accused of returning his eight-year-old adopted daughter like an unwanted Christmas necktie. The story, which first appeared in the South China Morning Post on Dec. 9, began seven years ago, when Dutch vice consul Raymond Poeteray and his wife, Meta, adopted then-four-months-old Jade in South Korea. The couple, who also have two biological children, brought Jade with them to Indonesia and then to Hong Kong in 2004, although Poeteray never applied for Dutch nationality for the child — a curious oversight, given that he worked in a consulate. Then, last year, the Poeterays put Jade in the care of Hong Kong's Social Welfare Department, saying they could no longer care for her because of the girl's emotional remoteness.

The girl's emotionally remote? What the fuck is on the way after being rejected, at an age she can understand what is happening, by adoptive parents after being put up for adoption by her birth parents?

I don't usually encourage horse whipping, but for the Poeteray's it seems fitting.

You take what you get. You deal. One of their own children could have been emotionally remote. What would they then do? Sell it? Put it up for adoption?

Life doesn't deal everyone perfect children, whether by birth or adoption. And you all know of people dealing with children with far more serious medical or emotional problems than this poor girl's. They adjust to the child. They aren't as selfish as these two assholes.

I would have included the TIME photo of the Poeterays, but I didn't want to have you blame me of causing you to spit on your monitor.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via TIME.

War on Christmas™

All of this War on Christmas™ shit is supposed to be tongue in cheek, but it seems it isn't just a joke to everyone.

A man dressed as Santa Claus was knocked unconscious by a thrown object that hit his face while he was riding on the back of a truck decorated as a sleigh.

Kevin Smith was riding on a sleigh-themed truck as Santa when something hit him in the face and knocked him out.

Kevin Smith says he never saw what hit him Saturday. Whatever it was, it broke his nose and gave him a concussion and two black eyes.

"One second I was up there waving to people, and the next minute I wasn't," Smith said.

He was taking part in Santa Run, sponsored by the firefighters union, which features off-duty firefighters who dress up as Santa and ride through residential areas handing out candy to children.

Other volunteers realized something was wrong after they hadn't heard from Smith for a few minutes. They stopped the truck and found him lying unconscious.

"It pretty much cold-cocked him," fire Lt. Scott Himelspach said. [emphasis mine]

I'm of two minds on this. Picturing it is funny. I can see "Santa" dropping like a rock out cold. If I saw that in a movie I'd laugh my ass off.

But this resulted in real, not "movie", injuries and they ought to throw the fucking book at the person who did this if they find out who it was.

Smith was volunteering his time to be a good citizen. He should be applauded, not stoned or whatever.

BTW, the two emphasized quotes are great.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via Japan Herald.

May I suggest you consider Bloglines

This might be a good time to plug Bloglines.

Disclaimer: I use Bloglines, but have no other connection at all.

That said, it's a good aggregator and has a couple features I especially like:

It indicates (with boldface) how many new posts are on a site since you last visited and only shows you the sites with new posts or the posts you've tagged as "Keep New" (not boldface). It saves you the time of going to a site only to learn nothing new has been posted.

It also caches sites, I think. Which means the new posts come up on your computer very quickly.

Another kewl feature is the ability to "clip" an item and save it, even into files you've set up. So you might clip Iran items into an Iran or Mid-East folder for later retrieval.

If you don't like it, just stop using it. I'm not twisting arms here.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

EPA denies California emission's waiver

Jesus H Christ in a SUV, I can't wait until the fucking Bush administration is gone.

The Bush administration said it will deny California's bid to set stricter vehicle emissions standards than federal law required.

What in hell is wrong with California's setting stricter standards? Its a good idea and Cali has to battle horrible air pollution.

The only downside I've noticed before when Cali had stricter standards than the other states is one couldn't sell an out of state vehicle there. They just couldn't meet the standards.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via IHT.

War on Christmas™

Recycled from last year.


AVOID THE URGE TO SPLURGE!

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Blackwater Shoots NYT Dog

OK, now they've gone too fucking far. Its one thing to be shooting civilians (For sport? There have been reports, which I can't find, about Blackwater's people taking pot shots at oncoming traffic for no apparent reason.), but its another to be shooting a newspaper's dog.

As Twain once said, "never pick a fight with a man who buys his ink by the barrel." It's an even worse idea to kill his dog. In the latest development in the Blackwater saga Blackwater killed the New York Times' dog and the State Department is investigating the shooting. (Like I said, you can't make this stuff up.)

According to Reuters, Blackwater claims the shooting was defensive in order to protect the lives of it's K-9 and K-9 handler:

I could have done without the Twain quote (overused), but it isn't my blog.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via The Spy Who Billed Me.

Senate Approves $70 Billion In War Funds

Would people stop referring to a Democratic-Controlled Congress? Please?

Just read the emphasized parts of this story. The Democrats aren't fucking in control of Congress at all. That was just a pipe dream we lefties had.

I guess we weren't paying attention when the Democrats told us we would have to bend over.

The Senate voted Tuesday to provide $70 billion for U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, handing a victory to President Bush and his GOP allies on Capitol Hill.

The 70-25 roll call paved the way for the Senate to pass a $555 billion omnibus appropriations bill combining the war funding with the budgets for 14 Cabinet agencies.

Mr. Bush was ready to sign the bill, assuming the war funding clears the House on Wednesday. Democrats again failed to win votes to force removal of U.S. troops or set a nonbinding target to remove most troops by the end of next year.

...

The year-end budget deal between the Democratic-controlled Congress and Mr. Bush ended months of battling and disappointed GOP purists who complained the bill spends too much money and contains about 9,000 pet projects sought by members of Congress.

"Congress refuses to rein in its wasteful spending or curb its corruption," said Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz. Conservatives estimated the measure contained at least $28 billion in domestic spending above Bush's budget, funded by a combination of "emergency" spending, transfers from the defense budget, budget gimmicks and phantom savings. [emphasis mine]

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via CBS News.

War on Christmas™

I wouldn't be laughing at this, but everything turned out OK.

It appears like the War on Christmas™ is heating up.

Drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have opened fire on a helicopter carrying a Santa Claus to one of the city's shanty towns.

No one was hurt and it is thought the gunmen believed the helicopter belonged to the police.

The helicopter was taking an actor dressed as Santa Claus to a Christmas party in the favela of Nova Mare when it came under fire.

Two bullet holes were found in the fuselage when it returned to base.

The police said it was only a matter of luck that no one was hurt.

Presents delivered

...

The Santa later returned to Nova Mare by car to deliver his presents, where more than 1,000 children and parents were still waiting for his arrival. [emphasis in original - ed]

I suppose the lesson to be learned here is: Don't wear bright red clothing around hostile people with firearms.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via BBC News.

Al-Qaeda plays dealbreaker in Pakistan

Universal handcuff keys - $1.99 per set
"Easy to use, carry, or conceal"
Sometimes stories don't seem to be what they seem to be. If this tautology seems silly, please bear with me.

The extraordinary "escape" from police custody of Rashid Rauf, a British subject of Pakistani origin, points to a deal between the authorities in Islamabad and militants in an effort to ensure smooth national elections on January 8, but al-Qaeda remains a threat to this seemingly inventive initiative.

Police reported on Monday that Rauf, 26, had disappeared a day earlier while returning from court to Adiala jail, a high-security prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. He is said to have asked his two police guards for time to say afternoon prayers at a mosque. He went in handcuffed, and never came out.
Rauf was raised in Britain and returned to Pakistan in 2002, where he married and settled. He was arrested by Pakistani authorities in August 2006 in connection with a plot to use liquid explosives to blow up aircraft flying from Britain to the United States. This led to scores of arrests in Britain - the suspects are still to be charged - and prompted a major security alert at airports worldwide. Stiff restrictions on passengers' carry-on items also resulted.

But Rauf was cleared in Pakistan of terrorism charges last December and only faced charges relating to possessing chemicals that could be used in making explosives and with carrying forged travel documents.

These charges were dropped, but Rauf remained in custody over an extradition request from Britain in connection with the killing of his maternal uncle, Mohammed Saeed, who was stabbed to death in Birmingham in April 2002.

Pakistani Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz is reported to have told British Ambassador Robert Brinkely that Rauf's recapture is a "priority". It could be, though, that his release was more of a priority.

So, what is it? Did Rauf "escape"? Was he allowed to scamper out the back door? Why weren't police covering all the exits to the mosque? Is someone, out of sight in a mosque, really "in police custody"? Doesn't everyone have handcuff keys? I do.

An aside. I can't speak for other countries, but most of the handcuffs in the US use the same key. Interesting isn't it?

Added link to handcuff key site. Good present for Xmas.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via Asia Times.

Pentagon awards $2.6 billion to build trucks

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected
(MRAP) military vehicle
I believe most people would agree the military needs the best equipment available while in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon said on Tuesday it awarded more than $2.6 billion worth of contracts to BAE Systems Plc, Force Protection Inc and a Navistar International Corp unit to build another 3,126 mine-resistant vehicles for U.S. soldiers.

Here's a novel idea. Bring the troops home so they aren't driving over mines and you don't need any more fucking trucks. Divert the $2.6 billion to the gulf coast and help Americans rebuild.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via Yahoo! News.

FCC Approves New Media Ownership Rule

Brooklyn Bridge
New York, New York
The American public doesn't need different voices when it comes to news, right? I mean the news is the news. Its a collection of facts. No need to fear only one source is providing those facts because the media would never inject personal bias into its reporting anymore than SPIIDERWEB™ would.

Think of it as one stop shopping.

The Federal Communications Commission, overturning a 32-year-old ban, voted Tuesday to allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was joined by his two Republican colleagues in favor of the proposal, while the commission's two Democrats voted against it.

Martin pushed the vote through despite intense pressure from House and Senate members on Capitol Hill to delay it. The chairman, however, has the support of the White House, which has pledged to turn back any congressional action that seeks to undo the agency vote.

At Tuesday's meeting, the chairman described the media ownership proceeding as "the most contentious and divisive issue" to come before him.

That proved true as the two Democrats in the commission blasted the proposal in unusually strong language for the normally sedate agency.

BTW, if you buy my arguments, please contact me to discuss your buying my bridge. Its sound. Been around a long time and carries a lot of weight daily.

Of course the sale will be "as is". No delivery included without a substantial fee for dismantling and transporting it.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via ABC News.

War on Christmas™

I assume everyone recognizes the universal sign for anarchy.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via Unknown Source.

Interior secretary revises ethics policy

On the surface this seems to be unethical in its own right. Why else "quietly" make the revision?

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne has quietly revised the department's ethics policy so a review panel can only consider matters referred to it by two of the department's top officials.

Whistle blowing in any organization whether governmental or the corporate world is always a career limiting decision. You can find many examples I'm sure.

And, from my reading and experience, how far up the food chain you are doesn't guarantee more ethical behavior. In fact that may well be how people move up the chain, by ignoring ethics. More than likely, if someone brings an incident of unethical conduct to the top officials, unless it involves peons, I expect nothing's gonna happen.

With this administration people think, ah yes, they have a lot of power here, but they would never use it.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via Boston Globe.

Media

Palestinians inspect car after IAF strike in Gaza City

This is the way these stories always seem to play out. Now I have no idea if all this is true, but appears to be based on Islamic Jihad's confirming it all.

But that's not the story I'm after. Hell, that story's everywhere.

No, this is a story of bad reporting. Please notice the emphasized words (mine).

The dead are always depicted as "baddies" at first with, perhaps, a passing reference to civilians. Later the civilians are mentioned...or not. In this case they're mentioned, four of them wounded, but its in the next to the last paragraph. Hardly worth bringing up, actually, and no indication of the severity of those injuries.

Israeli aircraft launched an assault on the radical Islamic Jihad organization from the skies over Gaza, killing eight of the organization's men in three fiery strikes overnight.

In an e-mail sent to reporters, Islamic Jihad said it would retaliate for its losses with suicide attacks inside Israel, threatening "a wave of martyrdom operations."

Early Tuesday, an Israeli air-to-ground missile killed three Islamic Jihad gunmen, including a senior commander, as they emerged from morning prayers at a northern Gaza mosque.

That attack came on the heels of a pair of airstrikes after nightfall Monday. Israeli aircraft blasted two cars in Gaza City, killing five Islamic Jihad militants, including the group's overall commander in Gaza and the West Bank and a master rocket maker.

Gaza militants fire near-daily rocket barrages at Israeli towns. The projectiles have killed 12 people, and cause widespread hardship in communities in Israel's south. Islamic Jihad, a small radical group with ties to Iran, has taken responsibility for most of the barrages.

In this case no mention of injured, just 12 dead. And further there's no time-frame. All killed in one day, three weeks, seven months? Come on, give us some perspective here.

Finally, no identification if the dead were civilians. I'm assuming because they used the word "people" they were all civilians although of indeterminate age as were the Palestinian injured. Had all or some of the 12 been IDF, I'm pretty sure that would have been spelled out, but ya never know.

Nit picking alert: The projectiles have killed 12 people, and cause widespread hardship... [emphasis mine] Are these changes in verb tense in one sentence allowed in style books? Just asking because I try my damnedest to avoid this. Often without success.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via MSNBC.

Border Patrol Fires Tear Gas Into Mexico

Its always the innocents who pay the price. I'm surprised they didn't send over bullets, but that could be next.

The Border Patrol says its agents were attacked nearly 1,000 times during a one-year period along the Mexican border, typically by assailants hurling rocks, bottles and bricks. Now the agency is responding with tear gas and powerful, pepper-spray weapons, including firing into Mexico.

The counteroffensive has drawn complaints that innocent families are being caught in the crossfire.

"A neighbor shouted, 'Stop it! There are children living here," said Esther Arias Medina, 41, who on Wednesday fled her Tijuana, Mexico, shanty with her 3-week-old grandson after the infant began coughing from smoke that seeped through the walls.

A helmeted agent on the U.S. side said nothing as he stood with a rifle on top of a 10-foot border fence next to the three-room home that Arias shares with six others.

The reason this was necessary eludes me. Considering how far a person can hurl rocks, bottles and bricks, why didn't the agents just back up and get out of range?

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Via The Signs.

War on Christmas™

Recycled from last year's War on Christmas™.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

Lack of planning ahead

Just how the hell do they intend to get out of there?


My guess is the posts aren't removable or crazies would use them as weapons. They would also be excellent for smashing shop windows during a riot.

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!

music

Not sure when music became bland.

If I turn on any radio station, I may not know the words, but know EXACTLY where the music is going. I can hum the tune with no problem.

Sorry. Didn't include links and also sorry for UTube.

Try it with these:

Led Zeppelin - Ramble On

Beatles - A Day In The Life

SPIIDERWEB™ Rulz!