Around the moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/20/09

Uneasy Silence - 10 Things You Will Regret

Patterico's Pontifications - Copyright as a weapon

Caption This - The Secret Commie Handshake

Becky - Pirate Economics

Snapped Shot - Slumdogs of Islam - "Now, another father of a 'Slumdog Milllionaire' child actor tried to sell his 9-year-old daughter. Keep in mind that, in Islam, 9 years old is an acceptable age for a girl to marry."

The Other McCain - Dunk 'em Again

Uncommon Misconceptions - Are we stimulated yet? - "It’s almost like the criticisms that the plan didn’t focus on near-term jobs creation were well-founded."

Other Stuff:

Thomas Ricks - Close West Point - via Just one Minute


Al-Jazeera - Waterboard row mars Obama visit to CIA Headquarters - Some critics have accused Obama of undermining the US intelligence community after he ordered the release of "top secret" memos on interrogation techniques that have largely been condemned as torture.

CNN - Obama to Cabinet cut $100,000,000 in 90 days - "WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Monday plans to gather his Cabinet for the first time as president and challenge it to cut $100 million in the next 90 days, two senior administration officials said." Aside from the fact that $100,000,000 is a drop in the bucket of what needs to be cut I just have to ask, What the Hell 4 months in office and this is the first time he has gathered the cabinet?

Dawn - More Pakistan Fun - "PESHAWAR: A Tehrik-i-Taliban spokesman declared Monday that Sharia law would not be restricted to Swat while NWFP’s Chief Minister separately announced that the government will take all possible measures to uphold its writ in troubled areas if militants refuse to stop their activities." I guess the theory that if we accommodate them a little bit they will be easier to negotiate with is kind of blown out of the water huh?

LA Times - Social Media Abhors a Vaccum - "When Amazon was faced with its own consumer outcry last week, it decided to forgo the social media route. (...) But Twitter abhors a vacuum, and commenters rapidly filled Amazon's silence with boycott threats, petitions and caustic accusations -- an outcome that suggests that the growth of social media may be driving up the cost of inaction."

NY Times - In New Jersey, Bills Offering In-State Tuition to Illegal Immigrants Face a Fight


As Costs Fall, Companies Push to Raise Internet Price -"Still, critics say the image of Internet providers as restaurants about to go broke serving an endless line of gluttons simply does not match the financial or technological realities of the industry.

They point out that providers’ profit margins are stable, and that investment in network equipment is generally falling." This is a perfect example of why there needs to be more competition in the Cable TV market. "By contrast, JCom, the largest cable company in Japan, sells service as fast as 160 megabits per second for $60 a month, only $5 a month more than its slower service.

Why so cheap? JCom faces more competition from other Internet providers than companies in the United States do. " Markets work.

Washingtom Post - More on Pakistan - ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 19 -- A potentially troubling era dawned Sunday in Pakistan's Swat Valley, where a top Islamist militant leader, emboldened by a peace agreement with the federal government, laid out an ambitious plan to bring a "complete Islamic system" to the surrounding northwest region and the entire country.

Yahoo Politics - Zawahri tells Muslims not to be fooled by Obama

NY Post - Blame Spitzer - "American International Group didn't go deadly deep into CDSs until after New York Attorney General Spitzer had forced out Maurice "Hank" Greenberg out as CEO."