Thursday, April 30, 2009
Creating the Moronosphere twitter group
In my ongoing quest to blast my uninformed and unintelligent opinions out to everyone I am creating the #moronosphere group of twitter. Tell all your thai tranny hooker friends and relatives. Hobo and Valu-Rite cocktail recipes welcome.
Weak Blogger Fu
The Other McCain worries that his blogger-fu is fading. As someone who never had any blogger-fu to begin with I can say the shadows aren't so bad and about once a week or so you can rail against the big guys who are just getting to a story you had days ago. That always makes me feel better.
blogs
blogs
Around the Moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/30/09
Betsy - The Power That is Barack - "But apparently freeing teachers up to teach a fuller picture of the Civil War isn't all that the Man is doing for us. Kids are behaving better in school. 'Those in the know at Albany High greet each other by saying: “What’s up, my Obama?” and they respond to a sneeze with “Barack you.” Misbehavior is peer-corrected with the admonition, “Barack’s in the White House,” which translates, “Show some respect.” Riiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhht /skepticism
Hot Air - Hilary Travels to Exotic Foreign Lands Such As Texas and Utterly Fails To Accomplish Anything - In a list that intended to brag about how much Hillary Clinton had traveled as the new Secretary of State to foreign countries, Foggy Bottom included a trip to Texas: (...) Let’s also recall the “significant progress” State has made in the above areas:
Well At least we haven't surrendered to space aliens yet
Slashdot - Old School Coding Techniques You May Not Miss - I am not a programmer but I have been involved with it enough that I have encountered almost all of these. She's right I don't miss them
D=S - Marriage Between 8 year Old Saudi Girl and 50 year old Saudi Man Annulled -
Garnering Right Ideas - Another Obama Fact Check - "Obama’s defended his banning of harsh interrogation techniques against terrorists by stating: “I was struck by an article that I was reading the other day talking about the fact that the British during World War II, when London was being bombed to smithereens, had 200 or so detainees. And Churchill said, ‘We don’t torture,’ when the entire British – all of the British people were being subjected to unimaginable risk and threat.”
Becky - Double Jeopardy and the Matthew Shepard Act - One of the more offensive judicial interpretations of the Constitution is the concept of dual sovereignty —a judicially created loophole to the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. Have to say I agree
Locusts and Honey - Greatest Novel of All Times - Move over Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina it's Shatnerquake.
The Other McCain - Shanna Moakler: Naked Liar This ties in to the Carrie Prejean controversy, and in one update RSM says " not to fuel anyone's paranoia, but I'm getting anonymous tips that Carrie Prejean might actually be a Trojan Horse for the gay-rights movement. Prejean is friends with pageant director Keith Lewis, who was executive producer for a pro-gay documentary, "For The Bible Tells Me So."
According to my tipster's theory -- and this is just speculation -- the whole Perez Hilton question for Prejean was a setup, a stunt conceived to catapult Prejean to celebrity as a national spokewoman against same-sex marriage. Then, a few months later, she'll have a "Road To Damascus" conversion, claiming to have "seen the light" about how hateful those conservative homophobes are, and why same-sex marriage should be the law of the land." I like conspiracy theories as much as the next guy but that's a bit much even for me.
BBC - Italy's prime minister and his wife have clashed publicly after reports his party planned to field attractive young women as European election candidates. - Damn that was my plan for a GOP victory in 2010. I think we could lure Mimi Miyagi back into the fold.
Yahoo - Gov't going after companies hiring illegal workers - "WASHINGTON – An Obama administration policy to go after employers who knowingly hire and exploit illegal workers is not significantly different from the Bush administration strategy, according to a copy of the guidelines obtained by The Associated Press." So once again Obama's promised change is merely putting his name on the title sheet. It would almost make you think that maybe the Bush administration actually had an idea what they were doing and were victimized by a hostile media, but that would just be crazy talk."
blogs, moronosphere
Hot Air - Hilary Travels to Exotic Foreign Lands Such As Texas and Utterly Fails To Accomplish Anything - In a list that intended to brag about how much Hillary Clinton had traveled as the new Secretary of State to foreign countries, Foggy Bottom included a trip to Texas: (...) Let’s also recall the “significant progress” State has made in the above areas:
- Afghanistan - Completely failed to get more combat troops from NATO.
- Pakistan - Say, isn’t that the Taliban just outside the capital in Islamabad?
- Middle East - Netanyahu won’t budge until Obama does something about Iran … which conveniently got left off the list.
- Russia - Gave a mistranslated reset button to Sergei Lavrov, who then told Hillary and Obama that they wouldn’t lift a finger to stop Iran from going nuclear. Oh, and the US retreated from missile defense in Europe. Smart power.
- North Korea — North Korea? The country that just defied Obama, launched a long-range missile, and kicked out all the UN inspectors and declared a restart on all nuclear programs? That North Korea? It that’s “significant progress,” then I hate to see what a setback looks like.
- Engaging in public diplomacy - Yes, like telling the Europeans that she doesn’t understand multiparty democracy, that our system is better, and Europeans didn’t have democracy before the US. Oh, and let’s not forget getting the names of her EU counterparts wrong. Thank goodness all that happened in public!
- “Other core issues” — Well, they did get an iPod to the Queen, and bowed to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah.
Well At least we haven't surrendered to space aliens yet
Slashdot - Old School Coding Techniques You May Not Miss - I am not a programmer but I have been involved with it enough that I have encountered almost all of these. She's right I don't miss them
D=S - Marriage Between 8 year Old Saudi Girl and 50 year old Saudi Man Annulled -
Garnering Right Ideas - Another Obama Fact Check - "Obama’s defended his banning of harsh interrogation techniques against terrorists by stating: “I was struck by an article that I was reading the other day talking about the fact that the British during World War II, when London was being bombed to smithereens, had 200 or so detainees. And Churchill said, ‘We don’t torture,’ when the entire British – all of the British people were being subjected to unimaginable risk and threat.”
Fact Check: Churchill and the Brits held detainees indefinitely, without benefit of legal rights. In addition, a better understanding of history would have provided the President or his staff with knowledge of the SECRET PRISON known as the London Cage. Many high value prisoners were taken to “The Cage,” The Guardian has reported that prisoners in the Cage were forced to kneel while being beaten about the head; forced to stand to attention for up to 26 hours; threatened with execution; or threatened with ‘an unnecessary operation.” Mr. President you should get your facts straight before making statements.
Becky - Double Jeopardy and the Matthew Shepard Act - One of the more offensive judicial interpretations of the Constitution is the concept of dual sovereignty —a judicially created loophole to the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. Have to say I agree
Locusts and Honey - Greatest Novel of All Times - Move over Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina it's Shatnerquake.
The Other McCain - Shanna Moakler: Naked Liar This ties in to the Carrie Prejean controversy, and in one update RSM says " not to fuel anyone's paranoia, but I'm getting anonymous tips that Carrie Prejean might actually be a Trojan Horse for the gay-rights movement. Prejean is friends with pageant director Keith Lewis, who was executive producer for a pro-gay documentary, "For The Bible Tells Me So."
According to my tipster's theory -- and this is just speculation -- the whole Perez Hilton question for Prejean was a setup, a stunt conceived to catapult Prejean to celebrity as a national spokewoman against same-sex marriage. Then, a few months later, she'll have a "Road To Damascus" conversion, claiming to have "seen the light" about how hateful those conservative homophobes are, and why same-sex marriage should be the law of the land." I like conspiracy theories as much as the next guy but that's a bit much even for me.
BBC - Italy's prime minister and his wife have clashed publicly after reports his party planned to field attractive young women as European election candidates. - Damn that was my plan for a GOP victory in 2010. I think we could lure Mimi Miyagi back into the fold.
Yahoo - Gov't going after companies hiring illegal workers - "WASHINGTON – An Obama administration policy to go after employers who knowingly hire and exploit illegal workers is not significantly different from the Bush administration strategy, according to a copy of the guidelines obtained by The Associated Press." So once again Obama's promised change is merely putting his name on the title sheet. It would almost make you think that maybe the Bush administration actually had an idea what they were doing and were victimized by a hostile media, but that would just be crazy talk."
blogs, moronosphere
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
AP Fact Checks President Obama - Finds He Is A Big Fat Liar
When the AP has turned on him you know that the lies have to be whoppers.
My favorite line -
My favorite line -
His assertion that his proposed budget "will cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term" is an eyeball-roller among many economists, given the uncharted terrain of trillion-dollar deficits and economic calamity that the government is negotiating.
Around the Moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/29/09
Independent Sources - Why Title IX matters
babes
Patterico's Pontifications - Mitch McConnell on Arlen Specter - "UPDATE: Mitch McConnell gets a lot closer to the truth: Well, obviously we are not happy that Senator Specter has decided to become a Democrat. He visited with me in my office late yesterday afternoon and told me quite candidly that he’d been informed by his pollster that it would be impossible for him to be re-elected in Pennsylvania as a Republican because he could not win the primary. And he was also informed by his pollster that he could not get elected as an Independent and indicated that he had decided to become a Democrat.
politics, Arlen Specter
Belmont Club: The Wizard War - "But that highlights another facet of cyberwarfare. Unlike physical war it is always taking place to a greater and lesser degree. Very often cyberattack and defense is conducted jointly with physical warfare.
War, Tech, Hacking
Nice Deb - Obama Tells Cardinal He’s Not Pro-Abortion - "I’m assuming he means that in a very loose, interpretive way, meaning, for instance, that if a baby is born as a result of a botched abortion, it’s okay to stick the baby in a soiled linen closet and let it die, and even though it would have been preferable for the baby to have died during the abortion, he’s not, strictly speaking, for either of those things."
Obama, politics
No Runny Eggs - Generic R beats Generic D - Rassmussen reports that, in the current generic Congressional horserace, the Republican would beat the Democrat 41%-38%. There are a bunch of caveats to this but when I read them all I see is - blah blah blah Republicans beat Dems blah blah blah.
politics
Support Your Local Gunfighter - Woman Hires Stripper For Reunion - "Now before you go nuts, the woman hired the stripper to take her place. Zaniness follows." Because I care about you, the readers, so much I dug a little deeper and found a picture.
and video
Wachner actually kind of comes off as a bitch but it's still kind of funny
humor
Sweasel - Arlen Sphincter -
humor
The Brea Canyon Monument - South Korea Weird - "South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for human diseases. The four dogs, all named "Ruppy" — a combination of the words "ruby" and "puppy" — look like typical beagles by daylight.
But they glow red under ultraviolet light, and the dogs' nails and abdomens, which have thin skins, look red even to the naked eye."
Science,
Weird
Other Stuff:
Al -Jazeera - Pakistan Regains Control of Buner - "Pakistani troops have regained control of the strategic town of Buner from the Taliban in the country's North West Frontier Province, a military spokesman has said.
War, War on Terror, Pakistan
Dawn - Taliban announce new Afghan "operation - "KANDAHAR: Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents Wednesday threatened a new operation against international troops in response to a surge of thousands of extra US soldiers due in the coming weeks.
‘Operation Nasrat’ (Victory), to be launched on Tuesday, would also target Afghan officials and international diplomats with a wave of suicide bombings and attacks, claimed a statement from the extremist militia."
War, War on Terror, Pakistan
Yahoo - Beyonce skives off Vienna art museum tour - VIENNA (AFP) – US pop star Beyonce has angered a high-brow art museum in Vienna by sending a look-a-like to her own special personal tour of the museum, while she went shopping, according to newspaper reports here Wednesday. Stay Classy Beyonce
humor
Washington Post - Nation's Report Card' Sees Gains in Elementary, Middle Schools - "Math and reading scores for 9- and 13-year-olds have risen since the 2002 enactment of No Child Left Behind, providing fuel to those who want to renew the federal law and strengthen its reach in high schools" (...) Former education secretary Margaret Spellings said the results vindicate former president George W. Bush's signature education initiative. The law focuses largely on elementary and middle schools, requiring annual testing in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. "It shows that we are on the right track. It is not an accident. It is by design. It proves the policy principle," Spellings said. "Accountability is working. Where we've paid attention, grades 3 through 8, we are getting the best results. Where we have paid less attention, high school, we're not." But this can't be right!!! The NEA has told us that testing and teacher accountability don't work. Time to roll out liberal talking point #1 - George Bush is pure evil
education
Seattle Times - Reports: Autistic people share gene variation - Researchers have found genetic variations that are significantly more common in people with autism, a discovery that may improve diagnosis and offers the promise of developing treatments for the frustratingly mysterious disorder. I notice noted autism authorities Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthey haven't commented on this yet.
Science
blogs, moronosphere
babes
Patterico's Pontifications - Mitch McConnell on Arlen Specter - "UPDATE: Mitch McConnell gets a lot closer to the truth: Well, obviously we are not happy that Senator Specter has decided to become a Democrat. He visited with me in my office late yesterday afternoon and told me quite candidly that he’d been informed by his pollster that it would be impossible for him to be re-elected in Pennsylvania as a Republican because he could not win the primary. And he was also informed by his pollster that he could not get elected as an Independent and indicated that he had decided to become a Democrat.
politics, Arlen Specter
Belmont Club: The Wizard War - "But that highlights another facet of cyberwarfare. Unlike physical war it is always taking place to a greater and lesser degree. Very often cyberattack and defense is conducted jointly with physical warfare.
War, Tech, Hacking
Nice Deb - Obama Tells Cardinal He’s Not Pro-Abortion - "I’m assuming he means that in a very loose, interpretive way, meaning, for instance, that if a baby is born as a result of a botched abortion, it’s okay to stick the baby in a soiled linen closet and let it die, and even though it would have been preferable for the baby to have died during the abortion, he’s not, strictly speaking, for either of those things."
Obama, politics
No Runny Eggs - Generic R beats Generic D - Rassmussen reports that, in the current generic Congressional horserace, the Republican would beat the Democrat 41%-38%. There are a bunch of caveats to this but when I read them all I see is - blah blah blah Republicans beat Dems blah blah blah.
politics
Support Your Local Gunfighter - Woman Hires Stripper For Reunion - "Now before you go nuts, the woman hired the stripper to take her place. Zaniness follows." Because I care about you, the readers, so much I dug a little deeper and found a picture.
and video
Wachner actually kind of comes off as a bitch but it's still kind of funny
humor
Sweasel - Arlen Sphincter -
humor
The Brea Canyon Monument - South Korea Weird - "South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for human diseases. The four dogs, all named "Ruppy" — a combination of the words "ruby" and "puppy" — look like typical beagles by daylight.
But they glow red under ultraviolet light, and the dogs' nails and abdomens, which have thin skins, look red even to the naked eye."
Science,
Weird
Other Stuff:
Al -Jazeera - Pakistan Regains Control of Buner - "Pakistani troops have regained control of the strategic town of Buner from the Taliban in the country's North West Frontier Province, a military spokesman has said.
War, War on Terror, Pakistan
Dawn - Taliban announce new Afghan "operation - "KANDAHAR: Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents Wednesday threatened a new operation against international troops in response to a surge of thousands of extra US soldiers due in the coming weeks.
‘Operation Nasrat’ (Victory), to be launched on Tuesday, would also target Afghan officials and international diplomats with a wave of suicide bombings and attacks, claimed a statement from the extremist militia."
War, War on Terror, Pakistan
Yahoo - Beyonce skives off Vienna art museum tour - VIENNA (AFP) – US pop star Beyonce has angered a high-brow art museum in Vienna by sending a look-a-like to her own special personal tour of the museum, while she went shopping, according to newspaper reports here Wednesday. Stay Classy Beyonce
humor
Washington Post - Nation's Report Card' Sees Gains in Elementary, Middle Schools - "Math and reading scores for 9- and 13-year-olds have risen since the 2002 enactment of No Child Left Behind, providing fuel to those who want to renew the federal law and strengthen its reach in high schools" (...) Former education secretary Margaret Spellings said the results vindicate former president George W. Bush's signature education initiative. The law focuses largely on elementary and middle schools, requiring annual testing in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. "It shows that we are on the right track. It is not an accident. It is by design. It proves the policy principle," Spellings said. "Accountability is working. Where we've paid attention, grades 3 through 8, we are getting the best results. Where we have paid less attention, high school, we're not." But this can't be right!!! The NEA has told us that testing and teacher accountability don't work. Time to roll out liberal talking point #1 - George Bush is pure evil
education
Seattle Times - Reports: Autistic people share gene variation - Researchers have found genetic variations that are significantly more common in people with autism, a discovery that may improve diagnosis and offers the promise of developing treatments for the frustratingly mysterious disorder. I notice noted autism authorities Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthey haven't commented on this yet.
Science
blogs, moronosphere
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Not sure this is news - Arlen Specter to change parties
No surprise - He has always been a weaselly f**k who spent most of his time trying to outliberal the democrats and votes with them most of the time. This ranks with his courageous vote of "Not Proven" in the Clinton impeachment. He is behind in the pols so he shows the same lack of guts now as he did then. Instead of fighting it out he accuses everyone else of cheating knocks the board over and runs home to mommy.
Ha - Over at wikipedia they have him switching to the socialist party
I expect Collins and Snowe will soon follow.
Since Spectre was always a democrat in all but name I am not sure why this is all anyone is talking about but it is. The Other McCain has a pretty good take.
Politics, GOP, Arlen Specter
Ha - Over at wikipedia they have him switching to the socialist party
I expect Collins and Snowe will soon follow.
Since Spectre was always a democrat in all but name I am not sure why this is all anyone is talking about but it is. The Other McCain has a pretty good take.
Politics, GOP, Arlen Specter
Around the moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/28/09
Sorry about missing yesterday. Sometimes life just interferes.
Uneasy Silence - Hello Kitty Beer? - Beacuse nothing says I am quenching a mansized thirst like a pink box and a cute little catoon kitty cat with a pink bow.
Betsy - Unreliable models for projecting the green economy - Not an economist, but it's my understanding that most economic models are inherently flawed, these seem particularly so however.
Osama bin Laden Dead? - Nice to think so but almost impossible to verify. via Just One Minute
D=S - Selwyn Duke — Ginsberg and Foreign Law and Why the Law is Foreign to Ginsberg - I didn't read the referenced article closely but I like the title so it get's included :-)
Locusts and Honey - Mapping the 7 deadly sins
Rightwing Sparkle - The Free Market Republicans and Libertarian Republicans Will Save Us
The Jawa Report - Awesome: Cleric Gives Thumbs Up to Turning Egypt Into Thailand of Middle East - How they going to deal with the pedophiles that have made up a large part of Thailand's sex tourism? Oh wait according to Islam 9 is a perfectly acceptable age for marriage.
The Other McCain - A perfect storm of idiocy - "That's what the New York Daily News is calling the Obama administration's stunt Monday, having Air Force One and an F-16 fighter buzz Manhattan for a photo op that terrified New Yorkers (...) Sources said the chief reason for the panic-inducing flight was to create souvenir pictures of Air Force One flying over the Statue of Liberty to be given out - like a presidential tie clip - to family, friends or supporters." I am partly ready to write this off as growing pains of a new administration except for the fact that it was just so stupid that it makes my head spin. What will the next photo-op be? Running the presidential rubber boat up against a destroyer parked in Yemen to, you know, just let the troops know the President cares.
Other Stuff:
Al- Jazeera - Pakistan expands assault on Taliban
BBC - Innovating a way out of recession - A green jobs propaganda piece
Yahoo - New for GOP: ResurgentRepublic - "Ed Gillespie, the former GOP chairman and counselor to President George W. Bush, and top pollster Whit Ayres on Tuesday are launching ResurgentRepublic, a group aimed at shaping the debate as the party regenerates itself for the upcoming elections." Finally. Not sure if these are the two to do it but the move is long overdue
Washington Post - Pace of falling U.S. home prices slows - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. house prices tumbled nearly 19 percent in February but for the first time in 16 months the fall did not set a new record, suggesting the housing market might be closer to a bottom. I have to comment on this headline. It sucks!!!! Wouldn't "Rate of Decline in US Home Prices Slows" have been clearer? Jeez!
Mixx Looks to Go Beyond the News - The McLean-based news site Mixx.com is hoping to persuade consumer product developers to draw on the wisdom of the Web as it launches a service today that pairs its online community of news junkies with companies wanting to bounce ideas off a test audience. sounds like digg.com with more ads
More problems for federal prosecutors - Judge Criticizes Prosecutors in Asbestos Case - "MISSOULA, Mont., April 27 -- The federal judge in the W.R. Grace asbestos case told Justice Department prosecutors Monday that they "presented discombobulated allegations" and didn't understand the evidence. "
France 24 - US Army launches social networks offensive - Facebook execs believed to have taken refuge in caves of Tora Bora. Oh wait, it's an ad offensive. - "AFP - The US Army said on Monday it had launched a fan page on Facebook and established an office for online "social media," despite security rules that limit soldiers' access to networking sites.
Mindful of a changing media landscape, the Army said it wanted to make sure it reached a younger audience that relies heavily on "tweets" and social networking sites, spokeswoman Lindy Kyzer said."
Seattle Times - Welcome to this era when populism is popular - The last big populist movement gave us the 16th and 17th amendments, what will this one bring.
Sydney Morning Herald - Iran will respect a two-state solution - THE Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says it will be "fine with us" if the Palestinians reach a two-state peace deal with Israel, despite his opposition to the "racist" Jewish nation. I'm not sure but I think that this would be a pretty major change of direction for Iran
NY Times - Signs G.O.P. Is Rethinking Stance on Gay Marriage - "WASHINGTON — It was only five years ago that opposition to gay marriage was so strong that Republicans explicitly turned to the issue as a way to energize conservative voters. Yet today, as the party contemplates the task of rebuilding itself, some Republicans say the issue of gay marriage may be turning into more of a hindrance than a help."
blogs, moronosphere
Uneasy Silence - Hello Kitty Beer? - Beacuse nothing says I am quenching a mansized thirst like a pink box and a cute little catoon kitty cat with a pink bow.
Betsy - Unreliable models for projecting the green economy - Not an economist, but it's my understanding that most economic models are inherently flawed, these seem particularly so however.
Osama bin Laden Dead? - Nice to think so but almost impossible to verify. via Just One Minute
D=S - Selwyn Duke — Ginsberg and Foreign Law and Why the Law is Foreign to Ginsberg - I didn't read the referenced article closely but I like the title so it get's included :-)
Locusts and Honey - Mapping the 7 deadly sins
Rightwing Sparkle - The Free Market Republicans and Libertarian Republicans Will Save Us
The Jawa Report - Awesome: Cleric Gives Thumbs Up to Turning Egypt Into Thailand of Middle East - How they going to deal with the pedophiles that have made up a large part of Thailand's sex tourism? Oh wait according to Islam 9 is a perfectly acceptable age for marriage.
The Other McCain - A perfect storm of idiocy - "That's what the New York Daily News is calling the Obama administration's stunt Monday, having Air Force One and an F-16 fighter buzz Manhattan for a photo op that terrified New Yorkers (...) Sources said the chief reason for the panic-inducing flight was to create souvenir pictures of Air Force One flying over the Statue of Liberty to be given out - like a presidential tie clip - to family, friends or supporters." I am partly ready to write this off as growing pains of a new administration except for the fact that it was just so stupid that it makes my head spin. What will the next photo-op be? Running the presidential rubber boat up against a destroyer parked in Yemen to, you know, just let the troops know the President cares.
Other Stuff:
Al- Jazeera - Pakistan expands assault on Taliban
BBC - Innovating a way out of recession - A green jobs propaganda piece
Yahoo - New for GOP: ResurgentRepublic - "Ed Gillespie, the former GOP chairman and counselor to President George W. Bush, and top pollster Whit Ayres on Tuesday are launching ResurgentRepublic, a group aimed at shaping the debate as the party regenerates itself for the upcoming elections." Finally. Not sure if these are the two to do it but the move is long overdue
Washington Post - Pace of falling U.S. home prices slows - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. house prices tumbled nearly 19 percent in February but for the first time in 16 months the fall did not set a new record, suggesting the housing market might be closer to a bottom. I have to comment on this headline. It sucks!!!! Wouldn't "Rate of Decline in US Home Prices Slows" have been clearer? Jeez!
Mixx Looks to Go Beyond the News - The McLean-based news site Mixx.com is hoping to persuade consumer product developers to draw on the wisdom of the Web as it launches a service today that pairs its online community of news junkies with companies wanting to bounce ideas off a test audience. sounds like digg.com with more ads
More problems for federal prosecutors - Judge Criticizes Prosecutors in Asbestos Case - "MISSOULA, Mont., April 27 -- The federal judge in the W.R. Grace asbestos case told Justice Department prosecutors Monday that they "presented discombobulated allegations" and didn't understand the evidence. "
France 24 - US Army launches social networks offensive - Facebook execs believed to have taken refuge in caves of Tora Bora. Oh wait, it's an ad offensive. - "AFP - The US Army said on Monday it had launched a fan page on Facebook and established an office for online "social media," despite security rules that limit soldiers' access to networking sites.
Mindful of a changing media landscape, the Army said it wanted to make sure it reached a younger audience that relies heavily on "tweets" and social networking sites, spokeswoman Lindy Kyzer said."
Seattle Times - Welcome to this era when populism is popular - The last big populist movement gave us the 16th and 17th amendments, what will this one bring.
Sydney Morning Herald - Iran will respect a two-state solution - THE Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, says it will be "fine with us" if the Palestinians reach a two-state peace deal with Israel, despite his opposition to the "racist" Jewish nation. I'm not sure but I think that this would be a pretty major change of direction for Iran
NY Times - Signs G.O.P. Is Rethinking Stance on Gay Marriage - "WASHINGTON — It was only five years ago that opposition to gay marriage was so strong that Republicans explicitly turned to the issue as a way to energize conservative voters. Yet today, as the party contemplates the task of rebuilding itself, some Republicans say the issue of gay marriage may be turning into more of a hindrance than a help."
blogs, moronosphere
Monday, April 27, 2009
Seattle PI - A "progressive" gets burned by political correctness
Cry me a river is really all I can say. Well that and Ha Ha.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Swine Flu Update
This week is starting to sound like the plot of John Ringo's "The Last Centurion"
Ain't life grand?
On the Swine Flu front the federal government has declared a public health emergency. This will allow them to free up some money and resources as well decrease some of the paperwork in case this really explodes.
Janet Napolitano made two statements during the announcement that deserve to be addressed:
First - 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get their share if they decide they need it. That's a good move and she should be applauded for it.
Second - Travelers from Mexico will be subjected to heightened scrutiny at airports etc. That kind of ignores a major source of potential problems don't you think? Specifically illegal immigrants. Since Democrats have shown no real interest in securing the border I see this a a big blunder potentially allowing thousands of infected persons into the population.
The next few weeks should be interesting and given the way the Somali pirates were handled I foresee two potential headlines appearing soon:
If the resolution is good -
If things go bad-
AP if you need a headline writer I am available at a reasonable price
The Other McCain has a Swine Flu round-up going.
politics, Obama, Science, Immigration, Swine Flu
- Decreased Solar Activity which may lead to global cooling and food shortages
- A Continuing Recession
- A Potential Swine Flu Pandemic
Ain't life grand?
On the Swine Flu front the federal government has declared a public health emergency. This will allow them to free up some money and resources as well decrease some of the paperwork in case this really explodes.
Janet Napolitano made two statements during the announcement that deserve to be addressed:
First - 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get their share if they decide they need it. That's a good move and she should be applauded for it.
Second - Travelers from Mexico will be subjected to heightened scrutiny at airports etc. That kind of ignores a major source of potential problems don't you think? Specifically illegal immigrants. Since Democrats have shown no real interest in securing the border I see this a a big blunder potentially allowing thousands of infected persons into the population.
The next few weeks should be interesting and given the way the Somali pirates were handled I foresee two potential headlines appearing soon:
If the resolution is good -
In Public Health Crisis Obama's Cool Collected Leadership Instrumental in Solution
If things go bad-
Shoddy Work by CDC Failed Obama in Time of Need
AP if you need a headline writer I am available at a reasonable price
The Other McCain has a Swine Flu round-up going.
politics, Obama, Science, Immigration, Swine Flu
Around the Moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/26/09
Doubleplusundead - Give Obama a break
Instapundit - A swine flue update - this is actually a little scary. I hope the CDC is keeping close track
Flopping Aces - South Park does Somali Pirates
Demure Thoughts - Jen is currently infatuated with Coupling - I have watched a couple episodes and didn't really find it that funny, but that's probably me. My sense of humor runs to the absurd sometimes.
The Other McCain - Rule 5 Sunday - Woo Hoo
Other Stuff:
Times of India - Apparently throwing shoes at politicians is now all the rage - Everyone thank George Bush without him we wouldn't have this new sport.
MSNBC - Liz Cheney on Enhanced Interrogations - I don't know why she isn't more prominent in the GOP but she needs to be.
CNN - Second 100 Days is real test for Obama
Fox News - Pakistan Launches New Offensive Against Militants - "ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani military launched an operation against militants Sunday in a district covered by a peace deal between the government and the insurgents, further casting doubt on that pact's survival."
NY Times - With Kindle, Can You Tell It’s Proust? - "But to other writers and editors, the Kindle is the ultimate bad idea whose time has come. Anne Fadiman, the author, was relieved to learn that her essay collection, “Ex Libris,” was not available on Kindle. “It would really be ironic if it were,” she said of the book, which evokes her abiding passion for books as objects.
“There’s a little box on Amazon that reads ‘Tell the publisher I’d like to read this book on Kindle,’ ” she said. “I hope no one tells the publisher.” (...) “I always notice how many books there are on the bookshelves, and what the books are,” said Ammon Shea, who spent a year reading the entire Oxford English Dictionary and published a book about it. “It’s the faux-intellectual version of sniffing through someone’s medicine cabinet.” I have to admit just out of spite I went to Amazon and selected tell the publisher I'd like to read this book on Kindle for Ex-Libris. F***in' snob.
Obama Chides Colleges to Curb Spiraling Tuition - and Washington state colleges and universities are listening. In response they are only raising tuition 14% a year for the next two years and raising the sales taxes instead of letting tuition spiral out of control
Wired - Instructions for the post apocalypse - "Called the Georgia Guidestones, the monument is a mystery—nobody knows exactly who commissioned it or why. The only clues to its origin are on a nearby plaque on the ground—which gives the dimensions and explains a series of intricate notches and holes that correspond to the movements of the sun and stars—and the "guides" themselves, directives carved into the rocks. These instructions appear in eight languages ranging from English to Swahili and reflect a peculiar New Age ideology. Some are vaguely eugenic (guide reproduction wisely—improving fitness and diversity); others prescribe standard-issue hippie mysticism (prize truth—beauty—love—seeking harmony with the infinite).
What's most widely agreed upon—based on the evidence available—is that the Guidestones are meant to instruct the dazed survivors of some impending apocalypse as they attempt to reconstitute civilization."
Yahoo - WHO tries to come up with Swine Flu plan -
White House to detail government response to Swine Flu
In GOP base a rebellion brewing - "A quick tour through the week’s headlines suggests the Republican Party is beginning to come to terms with the last election and that consensus is emerging among GOP elites that the party needs to move away from discordant social issues. (...) But outside Washington, the reality is very different. Rank-and-file Republicans remain, by all indications, staunchly conservative, and they appear to have no desire to moderate their views. GOP activists and operatives say they hear intense anger at the White House and at the party’s own leaders on familiar issues – taxes, homosexuality, and immigration. Within the party, conservative groups have grown stronger absent the emergence of any organized moderate faction.
There is little appetite for compromise on what many see as core issues, and the road to the presidential nomination lies – as always – through a series of states where the conservative base holds sway, and where the anger appears to be, if anything, particularly intense."
blogs, moronosphere
Instapundit - A swine flue update - this is actually a little scary. I hope the CDC is keeping close track
Flopping Aces - South Park does Somali Pirates
Demure Thoughts - Jen is currently infatuated with Coupling - I have watched a couple episodes and didn't really find it that funny, but that's probably me. My sense of humor runs to the absurd sometimes.
The Other McCain - Rule 5 Sunday - Woo Hoo
Other Stuff:
Times of India - Apparently throwing shoes at politicians is now all the rage - Everyone thank George Bush without him we wouldn't have this new sport.
MSNBC - Liz Cheney on Enhanced Interrogations - I don't know why she isn't more prominent in the GOP but she needs to be.
CNN - Second 100 Days is real test for Obama
Fox News - Pakistan Launches New Offensive Against Militants - "ISLAMABAD — The Pakistani military launched an operation against militants Sunday in a district covered by a peace deal between the government and the insurgents, further casting doubt on that pact's survival."
NY Times - With Kindle, Can You Tell It’s Proust? - "But to other writers and editors, the Kindle is the ultimate bad idea whose time has come. Anne Fadiman, the author, was relieved to learn that her essay collection, “Ex Libris,” was not available on Kindle. “It would really be ironic if it were,” she said of the book, which evokes her abiding passion for books as objects.
“There’s a little box on Amazon that reads ‘Tell the publisher I’d like to read this book on Kindle,’ ” she said. “I hope no one tells the publisher.” (...) “I always notice how many books there are on the bookshelves, and what the books are,” said Ammon Shea, who spent a year reading the entire Oxford English Dictionary and published a book about it. “It’s the faux-intellectual version of sniffing through someone’s medicine cabinet.” I have to admit just out of spite I went to Amazon and selected tell the publisher I'd like to read this book on Kindle for Ex-Libris. F***in' snob.
Obama Chides Colleges to Curb Spiraling Tuition - and Washington state colleges and universities are listening. In response they are only raising tuition 14% a year for the next two years and raising the sales taxes instead of letting tuition spiral out of control
Wired - Instructions for the post apocalypse - "Called the Georgia Guidestones, the monument is a mystery—nobody knows exactly who commissioned it or why. The only clues to its origin are on a nearby plaque on the ground—which gives the dimensions and explains a series of intricate notches and holes that correspond to the movements of the sun and stars—and the "guides" themselves, directives carved into the rocks. These instructions appear in eight languages ranging from English to Swahili and reflect a peculiar New Age ideology. Some are vaguely eugenic (guide reproduction wisely—improving fitness and diversity); others prescribe standard-issue hippie mysticism (prize truth—beauty—love—seeking harmony with the infinite).
What's most widely agreed upon—based on the evidence available—is that the Guidestones are meant to instruct the dazed survivors of some impending apocalypse as they attempt to reconstitute civilization."
Yahoo - WHO tries to come up with Swine Flu plan -
White House to detail government response to Swine Flu
In GOP base a rebellion brewing - "A quick tour through the week’s headlines suggests the Republican Party is beginning to come to terms with the last election and that consensus is emerging among GOP elites that the party needs to move away from discordant social issues. (...) But outside Washington, the reality is very different. Rank-and-file Republicans remain, by all indications, staunchly conservative, and they appear to have no desire to moderate their views. GOP activists and operatives say they hear intense anger at the White House and at the party’s own leaders on familiar issues – taxes, homosexuality, and immigration. Within the party, conservative groups have grown stronger absent the emergence of any organized moderate faction.
There is little appetite for compromise on what many see as core issues, and the road to the presidential nomination lies – as always – through a series of states where the conservative base holds sway, and where the anger appears to be, if anything, particularly intense."
blogs, moronosphere
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Around the blogosphere in 60minutes 4/25/09 (remote edition)
Brought to you from Tully's coffee on Alki Beach.
Back Talk - Defining Torture
Betsy -Lack of History on the History Channel - So true
Powerline - Why Does Obama Hate America So Badly - "Obama's problem is that he does not know who the enemy is. To him, the enemy does not squat in caves in Waziristan, clutching automatic weapons and reciting the more militant verses from the Koran: instead, it sits around at tea parties in Kentucky quoting from the US Constitution. Obama is not at war with terrorists, but with his Republican fellow citizens. He has never abandoned the campaign trail." I don't know if it is true that Obama actually hates America. I think deep down inside (where it doesn't count) he actually views himself as a patriot, but his version of patriotism is at odds with mine. I believe American exceptionalism is a good thing that should be encouraged and nourished. He believes it should be stamped out like polio.
Other Stuff:
Second Life Blog - University Training and Education in Second Life
Thats it for now. I've run out of time, but I may update later today. Claculus test Monday that requires studying and I have to write a program for my Javascript class.
Back Talk - Defining Torture
Betsy -Lack of History on the History Channel - So true
Powerline - Why Does Obama Hate America So Badly - "Obama's problem is that he does not know who the enemy is. To him, the enemy does not squat in caves in Waziristan, clutching automatic weapons and reciting the more militant verses from the Koran: instead, it sits around at tea parties in Kentucky quoting from the US Constitution. Obama is not at war with terrorists, but with his Republican fellow citizens. He has never abandoned the campaign trail." I don't know if it is true that Obama actually hates America. I think deep down inside (where it doesn't count) he actually views himself as a patriot, but his version of patriotism is at odds with mine. I believe American exceptionalism is a good thing that should be encouraged and nourished. He believes it should be stamped out like polio.
Other Stuff:
Second Life Blog - University Training and Education in Second Life
Thats it for now. I've run out of time, but I may update later today. Claculus test Monday that requires studying and I have to write a program for my Javascript class.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Around the Moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/24/09
Independent Source - So you ask what does a professional inline downhill speedskater look like? - Like Valentina Ligouri that' what. OK, I wrote this post but it's so damn good I am linking it here
Little Green Footballs - Fire Marshall Bill's Anti-Vaccination Madness - It figures that the first time I would link LGF would be in the middle of a blog civil war between him and Pam Gellar (who I really should be nice too as the two times she linked me I got a bajillion hits)
The Art of Manliness - DIY gym
The Belmont Club - Pakistan
Demure Thoughts - Ten Things That Should Never Be Uttered by a Heterosexual Man…
Nice Deb - Dem Leaders Briefed 30 Times On Enhanced Interrogation Techniques
Support Your Local Gunfighter - Faith Hill Poses As Iconic Blondes
The Jawa Report - Harvard's Muslim Chaplain: Um, Yeah, Islamic Law Does Call for Murdering Apostates - The original story is here
Other Stuff:
Yahoo via Instapundit - Ivy Leaguer 'infiltrates' Falwell's university - Finds students are "rigorously normal."
Slashdot - Yahoo pulls plug on Geocities - One of the forerunners to the blog Geocities allowed anyone to make a webpage without having to worry about learning HTML and acquiring storage sapce. An era is dead.
Al-Jaazera - Pakistan Taliban in Buner pull out - "The pull out came a day after the Taliban clashed with regional forces, leaving one policemen dead.
The group's move into Buner had alarmed the Pakistan goverment over what the Taliban's future intentions might be."
Billings Gazette - Thumbs down on Gitmo prisoners in Hardin
Congressional delegation opposes bringing detainees to empty jail
LA Times - U.S. plans to accept several Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo - Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration is preparing to admit into the United States as many as seven Chinese Muslims who have been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay in the first release of any of the detainees into this country, according to current and former U.S. officials.
More:
So we have a group of Islamists who traveled to Afghanistan to receive training in (at least) firearms who react violently to some aspects of western culture that support a movement that (at least partially) supports al-Qaeda and we are going to release them in the US. What can possibly go wrong?
blogs, moronosphere
Little Green Footballs - Fire Marshall Bill's Anti-Vaccination Madness - It figures that the first time I would link LGF would be in the middle of a blog civil war between him and Pam Gellar (who I really should be nice too as the two times she linked me I got a bajillion hits)
The Art of Manliness - DIY gym
The Belmont Club - Pakistan
Demure Thoughts - Ten Things That Should Never Be Uttered by a Heterosexual Man…
Nice Deb - Dem Leaders Briefed 30 Times On Enhanced Interrogation Techniques
Support Your Local Gunfighter - Faith Hill Poses As Iconic Blondes
The Jawa Report - Harvard's Muslim Chaplain: Um, Yeah, Islamic Law Does Call for Murdering Apostates - The original story is here
Other Stuff:
Yahoo via Instapundit - Ivy Leaguer 'infiltrates' Falwell's university - Finds students are "rigorously normal."
Slashdot - Yahoo pulls plug on Geocities - One of the forerunners to the blog Geocities allowed anyone to make a webpage without having to worry about learning HTML and acquiring storage sapce. An era is dead.
Al-Jaazera - Pakistan Taliban in Buner pull out - "The pull out came a day after the Taliban clashed with regional forces, leaving one policemen dead.
The group's move into Buner had alarmed the Pakistan goverment over what the Taliban's future intentions might be."
Billings Gazette - Thumbs down on Gitmo prisoners in Hardin
Congressional delegation opposes bringing detainees to empty jail
LA Times - U.S. plans to accept several Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo - Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration is preparing to admit into the United States as many as seven Chinese Muslims who have been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay in the first release of any of the detainees into this country, according to current and former U.S. officials.
More:
...The Uighurs were sent to Guantanamo in 2002 after being captured in Pakistan. Before that, they had gravitated to Afghanistan, where they received firearms training at a camp apparently run by a Uighur separatist.
...
The Uighurs oppose the Chinese government but do not consider the U.S. government a direct enemy. Still, many of the Uighurs hold strict views of what is permitted under Islam.
Within the prison, Uighurs are not considered a grave threat and are allowed greater freedom, such as television privileges, than other detainees.
But the TV privileges underscored potential difficulties to come, according to one current and one former U.S. official. Not long after being granted access to TV, some of the Uighurs were watching a soccer game. When a woman with bare arms was shown on the screen, one of the group grabbed the television and threw it to the ground, according to the officals.
...
U.S. officials have supported Chinese Uighurs who have sought asylum to remain here but are opposed to elements of the Uighur movement. Earlier this week, the Treasury Department froze the assets of a Uighur leader, Abdul Haq. Haq's Eastern Turkestan Islamic Party advocates secession from China and creation of an independent state.
In a statement, the Treasury Department focused on a threat by Haq to attack the 2008 Olympic Games in China, and cited his party's support for Al Qaeda. There have been no allegations that the Guantanamo detainees have been affiliated with Haq.
So we have a group of Islamists who traveled to Afghanistan to receive training in (at least) firearms who react violently to some aspects of western culture that support a movement that (at least partially) supports al-Qaeda and we are going to release them in the US. What can possibly go wrong?
blogs, moronosphere
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Paid Content Not Working Well For The Rocky Mountain News
Back on the 17th Genghis posting over at Ace of Spades pointed out that Steve Brill was attempting to bring back the idea of paid content for online newspapers. Despite a history of failure for such attempts Brill sounded confident he could make such a model work:
Unfortunately experience continues to show that people aren't willing to pony up for online news:
I'm thinking Brill might want to rethink his model. I'm no more willing to pay for content from the NY Times than I am for a whine enema (That's where someone puts a firehose in your butt turns it on full blast and listens to the whining sound) and I am sure I'm not alone in this.
”You're asking me what makes me think people will buy good journalism online. The answer to that is what made everybody think 10 years ago that it had to be free. I think if enough publications take the steps to declare that it's worth something, then the public will support that. The challenge is that it has to be simple. I have three kids who used to steal music. They don't anymore because Steve Jobs figured out a way to make it relatively inexpensive, but more importantly to make it simple and kinda cool.”
Unfortunately experience continues to show that people aren't willing to pony up for online news:
InDenverTimes.com is currently free, but the plan was to have gated premium content starting next month for a $5/month subscription. The project has entrepreneurial backing and articles from journalists who used to work for the print-focused Rocky Mountain News, which closed last month. However, a lack of paying subscribers and low online ad rates means that the venture might have to scale back its ambitions."
I'm thinking Brill might want to rethink his model. I'm no more willing to pay for content from the NY Times than I am for a whine enema (That's where someone puts a firehose in your butt turns it on full blast and listens to the whining sound) and I am sure I'm not alone in this.
Around the Moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/23/09
Ace reaches the same conclusion I did - NYT Buries Story About Enhanced Interrogations' Effectiveness -
Betsy - Obama rediscovers the value of free trade - "However, there are indications that the Colombian Free Trade Agreement that Obama opposed as a Senator and a candidate now has his support to be moved forward. And this will help Colombia as the WSJ explained a year ago when the Democrats were killing the free trade deal."
Doubleplusundead - This cannot be good - "The Taliban have seized a key area just miles from Pakistan's capital." I'm no geopolitical expert but I'm pretty sure that before we forced Musharrif out of power we didn't have this problem. The Taliban was active in the tribal areas but the Pakistani army was willing to fight them. Now not so much
Instapundit - How Rome Fell and a Lesson for the USA
D=S Looks at the Manchester Bomb Plot
The Other McCain - Video: John Galt's Speech - I am not a big fan of Atlas Shrugged, as I have made clear elsewhere, but a lot of people are so here's the link.
The Sniper - Canadian Press Does Heavy Lifting for the U.S. - "From the National Post--
Can someone please tell us how U. S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano got her job? She appears to be about as knowledgeable about border issues as a late-night radio call-in yahoo."
Other Stuff -
Politico - Obama muddles torture message - "President Barack Obama’s attempt to project legal and moral clarity on coercive CIA interrogation methods has instead done the opposite — creating confusion and political vulnerability over an issue that has inflamed both the left and right."
BBC - Pakistan bid to stop Taleban push - "The BBC's Mark Dummett in Islamabad says if the government is trying to reassert control over the region, its efforts appear to be too little, too late.
The Taleban are reported to have moved several hundred men into Buner from the Swat Valley.
The government sent six platoons - up to 300 men - to deal with the insurgents."
Pakistan has a larger army than the United States and it can only spare 300 men? WTF? They need to stop worrying about India and Kashmir for a little while and start worrying about taking care of business internally or there isn't going to be a Pakistan as we know it soon.
Billings Gazette - Hardin jail tries for detainees from Gitmo - Because everyone knows the worlds toughest prison is the Hardin, MT jail.
CNN- Homeland Security chief seeks to repeal Real ID Act - "Napolitano, former governor of Arizona, said she has met with governors of both parties recently "to look at a way to repeal Real ID." She said she wants to substitute the federal law with "something else that pivots off of the driver's license but accomplishes some of the same goals. And we hope to be able to announce something on that fairly soon." - Pivot off the drivers license? What does that mean? What a frickin' goof.
Blogs, News, Moronosphere
Betsy - Obama rediscovers the value of free trade - "However, there are indications that the Colombian Free Trade Agreement that Obama opposed as a Senator and a candidate now has his support to be moved forward. And this will help Colombia as the WSJ explained a year ago when the Democrats were killing the free trade deal."
Doubleplusundead - This cannot be good - "The Taliban have seized a key area just miles from Pakistan's capital." I'm no geopolitical expert but I'm pretty sure that before we forced Musharrif out of power we didn't have this problem. The Taliban was active in the tribal areas but the Pakistani army was willing to fight them. Now not so much
Instapundit - How Rome Fell and a Lesson for the USA
D=S Looks at the Manchester Bomb Plot
The Other McCain - Video: John Galt's Speech - I am not a big fan of Atlas Shrugged, as I have made clear elsewhere, but a lot of people are so here's the link.
The Sniper - Canadian Press Does Heavy Lifting for the U.S. - "From the National Post--
Can someone please tell us how U. S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano got her job? She appears to be about as knowledgeable about border issues as a late-night radio call-in yahoo."
Other Stuff -
Politico - Obama muddles torture message - "President Barack Obama’s attempt to project legal and moral clarity on coercive CIA interrogation methods has instead done the opposite — creating confusion and political vulnerability over an issue that has inflamed both the left and right."
BBC - Pakistan bid to stop Taleban push - "The BBC's Mark Dummett in Islamabad says if the government is trying to reassert control over the region, its efforts appear to be too little, too late.
The Taleban are reported to have moved several hundred men into Buner from the Swat Valley.
The government sent six platoons - up to 300 men - to deal with the insurgents."
Pakistan has a larger army than the United States and it can only spare 300 men? WTF? They need to stop worrying about India and Kashmir for a little while and start worrying about taking care of business internally or there isn't going to be a Pakistan as we know it soon.
Billings Gazette - Hardin jail tries for detainees from Gitmo - Because everyone knows the worlds toughest prison is the Hardin, MT jail.
CNN- Homeland Security chief seeks to repeal Real ID Act - "Napolitano, former governor of Arizona, said she has met with governors of both parties recently "to look at a way to repeal Real ID." She said she wants to substitute the federal law with "something else that pivots off of the driver's license but accomplishes some of the same goals. And we hope to be able to announce something on that fairly soon." - Pivot off the drivers license? What does that mean? What a frickin' goof.
Blogs, News, Moronosphere
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Around the Moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/22/09
doubleplusundead - Public Access TV+ Prank Calls+ Serious Issue=Awesome!
Instapundit - Interrogation Flip-Flops Causing Problems for the White House
D=S - Professor Whoopie Ponders The Decline of America 'meh
Francase Place - A visual guide to where your federal tax dollars go.
Becky - Homeowner Association Bans Flag
Right Minds - Meghan McCain as Paris Hilton
Just One Minute - Shocking! Taliban Ignore Peace Agreement Move to Take Buner District - Surprise!!!!!
The Other McCain - David Brooks Fisking Day
Other Stuff:
Slashdot - United Nations' World Digital Library has gone online with an initial offering of 1,200 ancient manuscripts, parchments and documents
LA Times - Supreme Court scales back police right to search cars - "The ruling limits searches to cases when there may be a weapon within the suspect's reach or evidence related to the arrest. The decision sets aside broader powers granted by the court in 1981." What do you know I agree with Justice Ginsburg on something.
Watch PBS online - "PBS' new video portal allows online viewers to stream an array of its best-known shows over the Web. The new site gathers more than 130 episodes of nearly 20 programs, including marquee fare such as "Frontline," "Nova" and "Masterpiece Theater." PBS says thousands of hours of programming should be available to users by the summer."
The Registers - WoW Pod: taking a good thing too far - The WoW Pod is essentially a prototype for a dwelling that would provide the addicted WoW gamer with everything he or she require, such as food and water, to ensure that the gameplay need never stop.
Washington Post - Pentagon says hackers didn't steal critical data about new jet - "The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin, the lead defense contractor for the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, suggested yesterday that cyber-attacks had not caused any serious security breaches in the Pentagon's most expensive weapons program.
Still, defense and corporate officials said attacks on the Pentagon as well as the F-35 program are constant, and former defense officials familiar with the program said some of the F-35's less sensitive systems have been infiltrated by cyber-intruders. "
Politico - Obama buys in bulk, saves ... a bit - coming next, cabinet level Costco cards.
blogs, moronosphere
Instapundit - Interrogation Flip-Flops Causing Problems for the White House
D=S - Professor Whoopie Ponders The Decline of America 'meh
Francase Place - A visual guide to where your federal tax dollars go.
Becky - Homeowner Association Bans Flag
Right Minds - Meghan McCain as Paris Hilton
Just One Minute - Shocking! Taliban Ignore Peace Agreement Move to Take Buner District - Surprise!!!!!
The Other McCain - David Brooks Fisking Day
Other Stuff:
Slashdot - United Nations' World Digital Library has gone online with an initial offering of 1,200 ancient manuscripts, parchments and documents
LA Times - Supreme Court scales back police right to search cars - "The ruling limits searches to cases when there may be a weapon within the suspect's reach or evidence related to the arrest. The decision sets aside broader powers granted by the court in 1981." What do you know I agree with Justice Ginsburg on something.
Watch PBS online - "PBS' new video portal allows online viewers to stream an array of its best-known shows over the Web. The new site gathers more than 130 episodes of nearly 20 programs, including marquee fare such as "Frontline," "Nova" and "Masterpiece Theater." PBS says thousands of hours of programming should be available to users by the summer."
The Registers - WoW Pod: taking a good thing too far - The WoW Pod is essentially a prototype for a dwelling that would provide the addicted WoW gamer with everything he or she require, such as food and water, to ensure that the gameplay need never stop.
Washington Post - Pentagon says hackers didn't steal critical data about new jet - "The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin, the lead defense contractor for the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, suggested yesterday that cyber-attacks had not caused any serious security breaches in the Pentagon's most expensive weapons program.
Still, defense and corporate officials said attacks on the Pentagon as well as the F-35 program are constant, and former defense officials familiar with the program said some of the F-35's less sensitive systems have been infiltrated by cyber-intruders. "
Politico - Obama buys in bulk, saves ... a bit - coming next, cabinet level Costco cards.
blogs, moronosphere
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
NY Times - Obama's Intelligence Chief says "Banned Techniques Yielded ‘High Value Information"
WASHINGTON – President Obama’s national intelligence director told colleagues in a private memo last week that the harsh interrogation techniques banned by the White House did produce significant information that helped the nation in its struggle with terrorists.
“High value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qa’ida organization that was attacking this country,” Adm. Dennis C. Blair, the intelligence director, wrote in a memo to his staff last Thursday.
Hmmm, the same thing Dick Cheney said over the weekend and the White House castigated him for it. Of the same information was actually in the memos if anyone in the media had actually bothered to read them.
It also might have helped if the memo that Admiral Blair had released to the media last week had contained that information but it was "inadvertently" (Ha!) left out:
Admiral Blair’s assessment that the interrogation methods did produce important information was deleted from a condensed version of his memo released to the media last Thursday. Also deleted was a line in which he empathized with his predecessors who originally approved some of the harsh tactics after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
...
A spokeswoman for Admiral Blair said the lines were cut in the normal editing process of shortening an internal memo into a media statement emphasizing his concern that the public understand the context of the decisions made in the past and the fact that they followed legal orders.
It doesn't really matter I guess, the administration got what they wanted four days of attacks on the Bush administration and now President Obama can safely signal an intent to prosecute people who's political policies he disagrees with.
politics, war, war on terror
Sarah Palin Sex Video
That got your attention didn't it.
The Other McCain in the course of proving that Meghan McCain is brain-dead posted Eminem's latest video in which he depicts himself having sex with Sarah Palin.
Now the model playing McCain in this video is alright looking, but let's face it Lisa Ann from Nailin' Palin is better.
My personal favorite though was this one:
politics, boobs
The Other McCain in the course of proving that Meghan McCain is brain-dead posted Eminem's latest video in which he depicts himself having sex with Sarah Palin.
Now the model playing McCain in this video is alright looking, but let's face it Lisa Ann from Nailin' Palin is better.
My personal favorite though was this one:
politics, boobs
Enhanced Interrogations Worked
Writing in the Washington Post Mark Thiessen contends, contrary to what the Obama administration would have us believe, that the enhanced interrogations authorized by the Bush administration were effective in preventing additional terrorist attacks after September 11th.
More examples at the main article. Worth considering.
politics, war, war on terror
President Obama declared that the techniques used to question captured terrorists "did not make us safer." This is patently false. The proof is in the memos Obama made public -- in sections that have gone virtually unreported in the media.
...
Specifically, interrogation with enhanced techniques "led to the discovery of a KSM plot, the 'Second Wave,' 'to use East Asian operatives to crash a hijacked airliner into' a building in Los Angeles." KSM later acknowledged before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay that the target was the Library Tower, the tallest building on the West Coast. The memo explains that "information obtained from KSM also led to the capture of Riduan bin Isomuddin, better known as Hambali, and the discovery of the Guraba Cell, a 17-member Jemmah Islamiyah cell tasked with executing the 'Second Wave.' " In other words, without enhanced interrogations, there could be a hole in the ground in Los Angeles to match the one in New York.
More examples at the main article. Worth considering.
politics, war, war on terror
Cheesy Music Alert - Joi Lansing "The Silencer"
I picked on Fabio the other day today is Joi Lansing's turn with "The Silencer"
Waterboarding
The Other McCain continues the waterboarding discussion. In a nutshell he finds it justified. So do I with the following caveats:
1. There is a difference between police work and intelligence gathering. I would never approve of this type of technique for use by any police agency. The popular hypothetical is the concealed WMD and the prisoner knows the location. Fine then turn him over to the CIA and let them handle it, afterwords make the prisoner disappear. This is not a police matter it's a national security matter.
2. Even when used in national security cases there has to be limits. One of the defining definitions of torture in US law is that it causes long term mental or physical harm. In the recent NY Times article it is claimed that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times continuing, at superiors insistence, even after interrogators believed he had revealed everything he knew.
While I have a lot of difficulty feeling any pity for KSM this type of use, if true, would cross the line in my mind. The long term application is likely to cause both long term physical and mental problems and the fact that the on scene experts were recommending against it makes it seem unnecessary.
2a. Techniques of this type should always be a last resort and should require written justification. As soon as possible the chain of command should be briefed on their use. Except in the most exigent of circumstance they should never be undertaken without written approval. Not only does requiring justification and approval make it less likely that the techniques will be abused but it protects the agent who has to perform them. There should also be an internal review process so that results can be collated and tracked. If one interrogator is continually recommending enhanced interrogation with results that don't justify it he can be removed.
So there is the basis of my policy for harsh enhanced interrogation techniques.
Politics, war on Terror
1. There is a difference between police work and intelligence gathering. I would never approve of this type of technique for use by any police agency. The popular hypothetical is the concealed WMD and the prisoner knows the location. Fine then turn him over to the CIA and let them handle it, afterwords make the prisoner disappear. This is not a police matter it's a national security matter.
2. Even when used in national security cases there has to be limits. One of the defining definitions of torture in US law is that it causes long term mental or physical harm. In the recent NY Times article it is claimed that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was waterboarded 183 times continuing, at superiors insistence, even after interrogators believed he had revealed everything he knew.
While I have a lot of difficulty feeling any pity for KSM this type of use, if true, would cross the line in my mind. The long term application is likely to cause both long term physical and mental problems and the fact that the on scene experts were recommending against it makes it seem unnecessary.
2a. Techniques of this type should always be a last resort and should require written justification. As soon as possible the chain of command should be briefed on their use. Except in the most exigent of circumstance they should never be undertaken without written approval. Not only does requiring justification and approval make it less likely that the techniques will be abused but it protects the agent who has to perform them. There should also be an internal review process so that results can be collated and tracked. If one interrogator is continually recommending enhanced interrogation with results that don't justify it he can be removed.
So there is the basis of my policy for harsh enhanced interrogation techniques.
Politics, war on Terror
Monday, April 20, 2009
Hello Pot this is Kettle - Perez Hilton Calls Miss California a Dumb B***h
I don't watch the Miss USA pageant despite the fact that it has good looking women in swimsuits, so apparently I missed some excitement last night.
Perez Hilton, who is both gay and annoying, but mostly annoying, asked Miss California what she thought about gay marriage. When she responded that she believed marriage should only exist between a man and a woman he was "floored" and later referred to her as a dumb be-o-tch, saying:
What about Barack Obama and Joe Biden? With their election as President and Vice-President aren't they supposed to represent everyone? Miss California took exactly the same position as both of them. Given that Hilton was an Obama supporter and that President Obama was actually in a position to further the cause of gay marriage when Prop. 8 was being voted on I just have to wonder who the dumb bitch actually is.
Perez Hilton, Miss USA, Miss California, Gay Marriage
Perez Hilton, who is both gay and annoying, but mostly annoying, asked Miss California what she thought about gay marriage. When she responded that she believed marriage should only exist between a man and a woman he was "floored" and later referred to her as a dumb be-o-tch, saying:
"I was floored," Hilton told ABCNews.com Monday. "I haven't said this before, but to her credit, I applaud her for her honesty. However, she is not a politician, she's a hopeful Miss USA. Miss USA should represent everyone. Her answer alienated millions of gay and lesbian Americans, their families and their supporters."
What about Barack Obama and Joe Biden? With their election as President and Vice-President aren't they supposed to represent everyone? Miss California took exactly the same position as both of them. Given that Hilton was an Obama supporter and that President Obama was actually in a position to further the cause of gay marriage when Prop. 8 was being voted on I just have to wonder who the dumb bitch actually is.
Perez Hilton, Miss USA, Miss California, Gay Marriage
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."
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."
Sunday, April 19, 2009
F*** this pisses me off
Instapundit has a post up today linking to a piece about an improvement in the Fischer-Tropsch process which basically triples it's efficiency.
I wrote about this 3 weeks ago. I tipped people about it. I posted it in comments at other blogs. No one else picked up on it.
Why the hell do I bother?
I wrote about this 3 weeks ago. I tipped people about it. I posted it in comments at other blogs. No one else picked up on it.
Why the hell do I bother?
Around the moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/19/09
Doubleplusundead - Deploy the Unicorns
Just One Minute - 90% of the illegal guns used in Mexican drug wars come from the US? Not quite.
Support Your Local Gunfighter - Hot Bikini Moms
The Jawa Report - Chinese spies may have put chips in US fighter planes - This appears to be based on a Times of India report which is in turn based on an unnamed US counter intelligence official's claims.
The Other McCain - Aged have a duty to die? We might as well get ready for a lot of this type of talk. It's already been pointed out that the economic stimulus package contained a provision that allows the government medical treatments and determine if they are cost effective, and lately every time there is a discussion of nationalized health care someone will mention that the majority of health care costs are incurred in the last three months of life.
Abortion rights supporters like to trot out the idea of back alley abortions to scare the masses; well mark my words if a health care program as draconian as what seems to be proposed by the Obama administration is enacted there will be a blcak market on a prohibition era level.
Other Stuff:
Slashdot - Why Republicans Won't Retake Silicon Valley - Links here and here to start the conversation.
For your listening pleasure - Fabio After Dark "About Romance" Spoken word porno music at it's finest. Thanks to Garth Sundem who mentioned this at his appearance at Third Place Books.
Al-Jazeera - Mega Droughts forecast for Africa - 3/4 of the continent is desert wouldn't it just be easier to tell us when a drought isn't forecast.
LA Times - Cleopatra and Mark Antony's tombs may have been found
NY Times Books - The End of the Trench Coat Mafia - "The broad outlines of what happened at Columbine High School in Colorado one decade ago are well known. (...) Yet what’s amazing is how much of Cullen’s book still comes as a surprise."
Washington Post - High Court Poised To Closely Weigh Civil Rights Laws
blogs,moronosphere
Just One Minute - 90% of the illegal guns used in Mexican drug wars come from the US? Not quite.
Support Your Local Gunfighter - Hot Bikini Moms
The Jawa Report - Chinese spies may have put chips in US fighter planes - This appears to be based on a Times of India report which is in turn based on an unnamed US counter intelligence official's claims.
The Other McCain - Aged have a duty to die? We might as well get ready for a lot of this type of talk. It's already been pointed out that the economic stimulus package contained a provision that allows the government medical treatments and determine if they are cost effective, and lately every time there is a discussion of nationalized health care someone will mention that the majority of health care costs are incurred in the last three months of life.
Abortion rights supporters like to trot out the idea of back alley abortions to scare the masses; well mark my words if a health care program as draconian as what seems to be proposed by the Obama administration is enacted there will be a blcak market on a prohibition era level.
Other Stuff:
Slashdot - Why Republicans Won't Retake Silicon Valley - Links here and here to start the conversation.
For your listening pleasure - Fabio After Dark "About Romance" Spoken word porno music at it's finest. Thanks to Garth Sundem who mentioned this at his appearance at Third Place Books.
Al-Jazeera - Mega Droughts forecast for Africa - 3/4 of the continent is desert wouldn't it just be easier to tell us when a drought isn't forecast.
LA Times - Cleopatra and Mark Antony's tombs may have been found
NY Times Books - The End of the Trench Coat Mafia - "The broad outlines of what happened at Columbine High School in Colorado one decade ago are well known. (...) Yet what’s amazing is how much of Cullen’s book still comes as a surprise."
Washington Post - High Court Poised To Closely Weigh Civil Rights Laws
blogs,moronosphere
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Is Limbaugh wrong?
One of Rush's main talking points is that the GOP only wins when they become more conservative not less. That sounds good on radio but is it true? Last night I came across a snippet of information about a guy named Anthony Downs who supposedly used game theory to prove that in a stable democracy with a large degree of ideological consensus winning candidates all eventually move towards the political center:
In chapter eight of the book, Downs explains how the concept of ideology is central to his theory. Depending on the ideological distribution of voters in a given political community, electoral outcomes can be stable and peaceful or wildly varied and even result in violent revolution. The likely number of political parties can also be identified if one also considers the electoral structure. If the ideological positions of voters are displayed in the form of a graph and if that graph shows a single peak, then a median voter can be identified and in a representative democracy, the choice of candidates and the choice of policies will gravitate toward the positions of the median voter. Conversely, if the graph of ideological distribution is double-peaked, indicating that most voters are either extremely liberal or extremely conservative, the tendency toward political consensus or political equilibrium is difficult to attain because legislators representing each mode are penalized by voters for attempting to achieve consensus with the other side by supporting policies representative of a middle position. Here is a list of the key propositions Downs attempts to prove in chapter eight:
- A two-party democracy cannot provide stable and effective government unless there is a large measure of ideological consensus among its citizens.
- Parties in a two-party system deliberately change their platforms so that they resemble one another; whereas parties in a multi-party system try to remain as ideologically distinct from each other as possible.
- If the distribution of ideologies in a society’s citizenry remains constant, its political system will move toward a position of equilibrium in which the number of parties and their ideological positions are stable over time.
- New parties can be most successfully launched immediately after some significant change in the distribution of ideological views among eligible voters.
- In a two-party system, it is rational for each party to encourage voters to be irrational by making its platform vague and ambiguous.
The conditions under which his theory prevails are outlined in chapter two. Many of these conditions have been challenged by later scholarship. In anticipation of such criticism, Downs quotes Milton Friedman in chapter two that: “Theoretical models should be tested primarily by the accuracy of their predictions rather than by the reality of their assumptions” (Friedman, 1953).
Here is an example. According to at least one report 55% of Americans support at least some right to abortion, that would be a single peak on a graph of attitudes among the populace. According to Downs theory, at least as I understand it, the GOP should strike a middle ground on this issue. Other examples of single or double peaked issues can be found. (Gun Control, Taxes, etc.)
I am not saying that Downs is correct, his work has been challenged, or that Rush is wrong just that it is an interesting question. I would like to see a sample platform put together off of his work. That could then be compared to the actual GOP platform and a decision made about whether or not to modify the position or engage in a more aggressive voter education program.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Nice, kicked back Friday evening.
Went over to Third Place Books and listened to a guy talk about his book, "The Geeks Guide to World Domination", it was pretty humorous then hung around in Third Place Commons for a little bit and listened to some jazz band they had playing. Home now drinking a beer and kicking back.
Around the moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/17/09
Flopping Aces - Pelosi Pledges No More Deficit Spending - Oh wait that was three years ago. Never mind.
Hot Air - Ed Morrissey dissects the "torture memos", he criticizes the waterboarding memo as making no sense, but in my opinion his criticism is wrong. I am not a lawyer but to me the plain reading of the statue states that long term (months or years) mental pain or suffering that results from the short term use of waterboarding is required for the technique to qualify as torture. Not as Morrissey states:
Powerline - About those "torture memos" - takes the opposite view from Ed Morrissey.
Wizbang - Polishing a turd??? - Michael Laprarie compiles the nationwide attendance numbers for the Tea Parties and attempts to make the case that it was a rousing success. 300,000 is nothing to sneer at but I don't think it is anywhere near the type of numbers that a lot of people were expecting. There is a lot of room for growth but a few things need to be accomplished first -
1. A coherent message - If Obama is a socialist (he is) organizers need to be able to explain why. Generational Theft is a good sound bite but supporters need to offer some depth to the questioners be they media or members of the great unwashed.
2. Organization - There needs to be a national organization to keep people on message and on track. It Should Not be Newt Gingrich, the GOP, anyone from Pajamas Media ( I still think that they unjustly tried to steal credit for this phenomena early on).
3. Pretty Girls - Never forget the babe theory of political movements.
D = S - Giving some credit to the tea parties - "They scared the Dickens out of the Left. Nothing scares the Left more than when their own tactics are used against them."
Garnering Right Ideas - Conservatives are amateurs - "When it comes to protesting conservatives are amateurs. I have searched this morning for news accounts of all of the property damage done by the tea party protestors, and found none. No damage limited coverage."
Mrs Peel's Words of Wisdom - Book Meme - I will post my answers later
Snapped Shot - Somali Pirates Agree: Obama Worst President Ever
The Other McCain - Thought for the Day
other stuff:
Banned 7-Up commercial - one way to get what you want
BBC - Mapping the global effect of Somali piracy
Billings Gazette - Billings police investigate downtown shooting - If you are in the 1700 block of 1st Ave N. at 3:13 am you are doing something that deserves to get you shot. Just saying is all.
Fox News - Cuba wants to talk: everything on the table
- "Speaking from a meeting Chavez hosted in Venezuela, Raul Castro declared: 'We have sent word to the U.S. government in private and in public that we are willing to discuss everything -- human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners, everything."
France 24 - Chavez announces new Latin American currency - An alliance of Latin American and Caribbean governments led by Venezuela will create a regional electronic currency that is expected to circulate by 2010, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday
Yahoo Politics - 10 election insights for 2010
blogs, moronosphere
Hot Air - Ed Morrissey dissects the "torture memos", he criticizes the waterboarding memo as making no sense, but in my opinion his criticism is wrong. I am not a lawyer but to me the plain reading of the statue states that long term (months or years) mental pain or suffering that results from the short term use of waterboarding is required for the technique to qualify as torture. Not as Morrissey states:
This makes no sense at all. Using Bybee’s reasoning, the “threat of imminent death” part of the statute would have to last for months or years in order to qualify as torture. What could possibly qualify in section 2 (C)? We’d have to make a subject smoke for several years and threaten him with cancer.
Powerline - About those "torture memos" - takes the opposite view from Ed Morrissey.
Wizbang - Polishing a turd??? - Michael Laprarie compiles the nationwide attendance numbers for the Tea Parties and attempts to make the case that it was a rousing success. 300,000 is nothing to sneer at but I don't think it is anywhere near the type of numbers that a lot of people were expecting. There is a lot of room for growth but a few things need to be accomplished first -
1. A coherent message - If Obama is a socialist (he is) organizers need to be able to explain why. Generational Theft is a good sound bite but supporters need to offer some depth to the questioners be they media or members of the great unwashed.
2. Organization - There needs to be a national organization to keep people on message and on track. It Should Not be Newt Gingrich, the GOP, anyone from Pajamas Media ( I still think that they unjustly tried to steal credit for this phenomena early on).
3. Pretty Girls - Never forget the babe theory of political movements.
D = S - Giving some credit to the tea parties - "They scared the Dickens out of the Left. Nothing scares the Left more than when their own tactics are used against them."
Garnering Right Ideas - Conservatives are amateurs - "When it comes to protesting conservatives are amateurs. I have searched this morning for news accounts of all of the property damage done by the tea party protestors, and found none. No damage limited coverage."
Mrs Peel's Words of Wisdom - Book Meme - I will post my answers later
Snapped Shot - Somali Pirates Agree: Obama Worst President Ever
The Other McCain - Thought for the Day
other stuff:
Banned 7-Up commercial - one way to get what you want
BBC - Mapping the global effect of Somali piracy
Billings Gazette - Billings police investigate downtown shooting - If you are in the 1700 block of 1st Ave N. at 3:13 am you are doing something that deserves to get you shot. Just saying is all.
Fox News - Cuba wants to talk: everything on the table
- "Speaking from a meeting Chavez hosted in Venezuela, Raul Castro declared: 'We have sent word to the U.S. government in private and in public that we are willing to discuss everything -- human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners, everything."
France 24 - Chavez announces new Latin American currency - An alliance of Latin American and Caribbean governments led by Venezuela will create a regional electronic currency that is expected to circulate by 2010, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday
Yahoo Politics - 10 election insights for 2010
blogs, moronosphere
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Man it is a nice day today
50 degrees, Sunny, the tres are start to enleaven or bloom or whatever trees do when they get leaves. After class I went down to Alki for awhile. The Coast Guard had one of their big cutters out in Elliot Bay which was cool. All in all just a pretty decent day.
Seattle
Seattle
Britney Spears - Polymath
It is a little known fact, that Ms Spears is an expert in semiconductor physics. Not content with just singing and acting, in the following pages, she will guide you in the fundamentals of the vital semiconductor laser components that have made it possible to hear her super music in a digital format.
The Britney Spears Guide to Semiconductor Physics
boobs, humor, britney spears
around the moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/16/09
Eddiebear rants - I think you know how I feel about people who wouldn't vote for McCain to teach the GOP a lesson. Eddiebear basically echoes it here.
Just One Minute - OPEC peers into the abyss - It's hard times for Hugo Chavez, the mullahs of Iran, the Russian oil mafia and the Saudi sheiks, yet for some reason I am not feeling their pain.
V the K - One reason America is great
Demure Thoughts - Tax Day e-cards
Becky - Michelle Muccio the Rebel Economist - Why is it that all the hot female economists are the ones that are getting it right?
Right Minds - Random Thoughts - Barack Obama hasn’t been able to find a new church yet. It must be harder to find another church run by a racist lunatic than he thought.
The Jawa Report - Lawyers, is there any fantasy they can't ruin?
The Other McCain - World's Worst Reporter - maybe they wouldn't be anti-CNN if you would let them make their point without acting like they are complete joackasses. Just saying is all.
other stuff:
A rosy economic forecast for 2010
CNN - What's driving the US over the cliff
DAWN - Russia withdrawing security forces from Chechnya - I'm not sure but it seems like the Islamists won
France 24 - More on Chechnya - The leader of the Chechnyan government is described as pro-Moscow here, but the DAWN report above describes Islam as taking a more central role in his administration.
The Economist - Signs that massive stimulus package is starting to work in China - THE Chinese consider eight to be a lucky number because it sounds like the word meaning “prosperity”. And luck, combined with a massive fiscal stimulus, may yet help the government to achieve its growth target of 8% in 2009. Earlier this year, most economists thought such growth was impossible at a time of deep global recession, but some are now nudging up their forecasts.
Yahoo Entertainment - Rudy from the Cosby show grows up - obviously she was a milk drinker.
blogs, moronosphere
Just One Minute - OPEC peers into the abyss - It's hard times for Hugo Chavez, the mullahs of Iran, the Russian oil mafia and the Saudi sheiks, yet for some reason I am not feeling their pain.
V the K - One reason America is great
Demure Thoughts - Tax Day e-cards
Becky - Michelle Muccio the Rebel Economist - Why is it that all the hot female economists are the ones that are getting it right?
Right Minds - Random Thoughts - Barack Obama hasn’t been able to find a new church yet. It must be harder to find another church run by a racist lunatic than he thought.
The Jawa Report - Lawyers, is there any fantasy they can't ruin?
The Other McCain - World's Worst Reporter - maybe they wouldn't be anti-CNN if you would let them make their point without acting like they are complete joackasses. Just saying is all.
other stuff:
A rosy economic forecast for 2010
CNN - What's driving the US over the cliff
DAWN - Russia withdrawing security forces from Chechnya - I'm not sure but it seems like the Islamists won
France 24 - More on Chechnya - The leader of the Chechnyan government is described as pro-Moscow here, but the DAWN report above describes Islam as taking a more central role in his administration.
The Economist - Signs that massive stimulus package is starting to work in China - THE Chinese consider eight to be a lucky number because it sounds like the word meaning “prosperity”. And luck, combined with a massive fiscal stimulus, may yet help the government to achieve its growth target of 8% in 2009. Earlier this year, most economists thought such growth was impossible at a time of deep global recession, but some are now nudging up their forecasts.
Yahoo Entertainment - Rudy from the Cosby show grows up - obviously she was a milk drinker.
blogs, moronosphere
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Obama has given Bush a third term in education policy.”
So says Diane Ravitch, an educational historian who is critical of the No Child Left Behind act and the Obama administrations education policy.
This is one of those grey area for me. I believe in the idea of local control of schools and I think that we would be much better off if the Dept. of Education ceased to exist. At the same time I agree that some sort of uniform standard is needed in regard to classes such as math and science.
Let's be honest. In general American educational policy and plans needs a major rewrite and I'm not sure that tweaking around the edges of NCLB, which I supported as a first step in an improvement effort, like this gets us there. I know that may sound contradictory given my statement about the Dept. of Education, and it is, but since we are stuck with them we might as well make them do something useful.
WASHINGTON — President Obama and his team have alternated praise for the goals of President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law with criticism of its weaknesses, all the while keeping their own plans for the law a bit of a mystery.
But clues are now emerging, and they suggest that the Obama administration will use a Congressional rewriting of the federal law later this year to toughen requirements on topics like teacher quality and academic standards and to intensify its focus on helping failing schools. The law’s testing requirements may evolve but will certainly not disappear. And the federal role in education policy, once a state and local matter, is likely to grow.
This is one of those grey area for me. I believe in the idea of local control of schools and I think that we would be much better off if the Dept. of Education ceased to exist. At the same time I agree that some sort of uniform standard is needed in regard to classes such as math and science.
Let's be honest. In general American educational policy and plans needs a major rewrite and I'm not sure that tweaking around the edges of NCLB, which I supported as a first step in an improvement effort, like this gets us there. I know that may sound contradictory given my statement about the Dept. of Education, and it is, but since we are stuck with them we might as well make them do something useful.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Back to the Amazon debacle
As I predicted the system was working as designed. The glitch was an employee who flagged the books:
It also appears to true as contended by others (and echoed by me) that Amazon is flagging and segregating "adult" material, that there is a policy for such, in this case it turns out that they classified some books incorrectly but that doesn't change the underlying policy. I may be the only one who feels this way but I think that is wrong also.
Previous posts here and here
books, censorship, Amazon.com
Amazon has yet to officially explain exactly why more than 50,000 books—including many gay- and lesbian-themed titles—were labeled as "adult content" over the weekend, but an insider now claims that a tiny mistake by a single employee caused the embarrassing debacle.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer got the scoop from an anonymous Amazon employee, who claims that a single Amazon staffer based in France mistakenly clicked a "flag" in a database field for "adult content" from "false" to "true."
It also appears to true as contended by others (and echoed by me) that Amazon is flagging and segregating "adult" material, that there is a policy for such, in this case it turns out that they classified some books incorrectly but that doesn't change the underlying policy. I may be the only one who feels this way but I think that is wrong also.
Previous posts here and here
books, censorship, Amazon.com
Arond the moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/14/09 - early morning edition
0430 here but I know somewhere there is a bigger moron than me blogging so here we go-
Flopping Aces - Gitmo may remain open - stretching the actual content of the Miami Herald story a bit but the point is taken.
Powerline - Paul Krugman, World's Worst Columnist?- - So where do we get him the coffee mug for his birthday?
Bring the Heat Bring the Stupid - A montage honoring Olivia Munn - She is hot as hell and funny to boot. As a supplement I offer this video:
Protein Wisdom - Jesse Jackson Jr. In Hot Water - surely the son of that paragon of virtue Jesse Jackson would never consider doing anything wrong. It's not like his dad hasn't been extorting companies for years or anything.
The Digital Brownshirt - Swordfight in Indiana
Other Stuff:
The Register - Facebook, Twitter users are lazy, thick and amoral - Is that a problem?
The study's author went on to say that there was virtually no chance that he might be overstating the problem and that the very existence of human life was at stake. Others interviewed believe that his obsession with the evils of twitter may have something to do with the fact the fact that his cat has more followers than he does.
blogs, moronosphere
Flopping Aces - Gitmo may remain open - stretching the actual content of the Miami Herald story a bit but the point is taken.
Powerline - Paul Krugman, World's Worst Columnist?- - So where do we get him the coffee mug for his birthday?
Bring the Heat Bring the Stupid - A montage honoring Olivia Munn - She is hot as hell and funny to boot. As a supplement I offer this video:
Protein Wisdom - Jesse Jackson Jr. In Hot Water - surely the son of that paragon of virtue Jesse Jackson would never consider doing anything wrong. It's not like his dad hasn't been extorting companies for years or anything.
The Digital Brownshirt - Swordfight in Indiana
Other Stuff:
The Register - Facebook, Twitter users are lazy, thick and amoral - Is that a problem?
Essentially, over-heavy Twitter use will make you cold, cynical and facile - ultimately leaving you heartless and dead inside.
"Indifference to the vision of human suffering gradually sets in," says Castells.
The study's author went on to say that there was virtually no chance that he might be overstating the problem and that the very existence of human life was at stake. Others interviewed believe that his obsession with the evils of twitter may have something to do with the fact the fact that his cat has more followers than he does.
blogs, moronosphere
Monday, April 13, 2009
More on the Amazon Adult Book Scandal
Mark Probst has reached the same conclusion I did regarding the "glitch" in the Amazon system.
For additional evidence he points to this article.
Original Post
books, censorship, Amazon.com
“A glitch had occurred in its sales ranking system” Is that the truth? Oh, you betcha. Though the glitch was most likely human error in that while attempting to find a lazy way to conform to the “old” policy of not ranking adult material, a horrible miscalculation was made and many not-so-adult books fell into the trap.
For additional evidence he points to this article.
Original Post
books, censorship, Amazon.com
Around the moronosphere in 60 minutes 4/13/09
Just One Minute - The Meltdown Of The Stevens Case - Tom Maguire draws some inferences from the race of the jury and the lead prosecutor, Brenda Morris. i.e. That the jury convicted Stevens because they were majority black and that the lead prosecutor was black. Since the jury was majority black and the prosecutor was black they had natural trust for each other and since they were all black they were probably liberal and inclined to convict Stevens. At least that's how I read his piece. I don't think he has the evidence to back that up and it's the same kind of race baiting that Al Sharpton engages in. It's wrong when we do it too.
Stop the ACLU - Obama’s Intel Services More Worried About Right-Wing Terror Than Islamists?
Becky - Patriotic Hookers Want To Be Taxed
Support Your Local Gunfighter - Another Classic Philadelphia Frak-Up - One the upside it probably got a lot of teenage boys interested in watching the Sunday mass on a regular basis.
The Other McCain - More on Right Wing Terrorism and the Department of Homeland Security - It gives the impression, undeserved or not, that the Obama administration is becoming a left-wing incarnation of the Richard Nixon administration, with lists of political enemies and wiretaps at the headquarters of their opponents.
Other Stuff:
Al Jazeera - Somali pirates vow revenge on US
Sydney Morning Herald - Pakistan in danger of collapse within months
Washington Post - India Rejects Calls For Emission Cuts - Days after the Obama administration unveiled a push to combat climate change, Indian officials said it was unlikely to prompt them to agree to binding emission cuts, a position among emerging economies that many say derails effective action.
Yahoo - More on Pakistan - Surging militant violence across Pakistan and the spread of Taliban influence through the northwest are reviving concerns about the stability of the nuclear-armed U.S. ally.
blogs, moronosphere
Stop the ACLU - Obama’s Intel Services More Worried About Right-Wing Terror Than Islamists?
Becky - Patriotic Hookers Want To Be Taxed
Support Your Local Gunfighter - Another Classic Philadelphia Frak-Up - One the upside it probably got a lot of teenage boys interested in watching the Sunday mass on a regular basis.
The Other McCain - More on Right Wing Terrorism and the Department of Homeland Security - It gives the impression, undeserved or not, that the Obama administration is becoming a left-wing incarnation of the Richard Nixon administration, with lists of political enemies and wiretaps at the headquarters of their opponents.
Other Stuff:
Al Jazeera - Somali pirates vow revenge on US
Sydney Morning Herald - Pakistan in danger of collapse within months
Washington Post - India Rejects Calls For Emission Cuts - Days after the Obama administration unveiled a push to combat climate change, Indian officials said it was unlikely to prompt them to agree to binding emission cuts, a position among emerging economies that many say derails effective action.
Yahoo - More on Pakistan - Surging militant violence across Pakistan and the spread of Taliban influence through the northwest are reviving concerns about the stability of the nuclear-armed U.S. ally.
blogs, moronosphere
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