Tomorrow's Taser

Behold! The future of Tasers! Just in case you need a stylish leopard-print taser to go with your leopard-print purse or shoes, the developers at Taser International are ready to help.

Also, in the event that wearing your Taser holster has ever kept you from bringing your iPod, or better yet your Creative Labs Zen with you, Taser has you covered with a new holster that features a 1GB mp3 player built-in.

Here is the press release for all of the products the folks down at Taser International have released at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"These new product (sic) are a result of listening to our customers. Personal protection can be both fashionable and functionable," said Rick Smith, CEO and founder of TASER International. "The TASER C2 leopard print design provides a personal protection option for women who want fashion with a bite."

In a continuing rash of stories about women having Taser parties, the question must be asked, who is encouraging this? This first article is about independent Taser dealer Dana Shafman. (Shieldher, Inc., note the victimized woman in the logo)

"The worst nightmare for me is, while I'm sleeping, someone coming in my home," Shafman tells the group, drawing a few solemn nods from the gathered women. Shafman, 34, of Phoenix, says she knows how they feel. She used to stash knives under her pillow for protection.

This second, more colorful article describes the problem from what can only be called a Texan mindset. The author feels that tasers are the liberal alternative to the more effective personal firearm.

Ladies, make 2008 the year you cease to be a helpless victim. Whether you’re in your car, classroom, store, your own house or in church, you must get packed, stacked and ready to whack because the fools today are bold and multitudinous. Yes you, girlfriend, must help society send a message to these evolutionary holdovers that we will rock them with a club, a kick, a gun (my favorite) or a taser for attempting to do us harm.

How much is Taser International promoting this? Considering how we have seen them behave in the past, witness the story of the Canadian policeman who worked with Taser to promote the use of their products by Canadian police departments, one must begin to wonder how ethical these parties are. Considering how dangerous these devices are in the hands of trained professionals, their promotion among the general public seems morally bankrupt. Marketing them directly to women, though, is almost misogynistic fear-mongering.

As far as the practical implementation of Tasers go, there have been a couple of more Taser-related injures. One in Jacksonville, after a man didn't stop for a stop sign. Cocaine doesn't exactly enhance one's decision-making faculties, though. In what appears to be an otherwise textbook example of the use of Tasers, a suspect in Nevada died after being restrained by an officer with a taser.

Here is a look at excited delirium, allegedly an acute psychotic episode that is seem in those with mental illness and drug abuse, and what it meant in the death of Briant Parks in Columbus, Ohio. Even though the police had him out numbered three to one and were using a technique known as "drive stunning," which must mean a continuous electrical discharge into someone, the officers in question were cleared of any wrong-doing. I'm not sure what kind of regulations there are in how many times a Taser can be used on an individual subject, but I think up to ten times is kind of excessive. The fact that the police don't appear to have given Mr. Parks adequate medical care after the incident further reinforces in my mind the need for legislation requiring police provide medical attention to everyone who is tased.

As of publication, Taser International, Inc.'s stock is up slightly in mixed trading.

Waxing and Waning

Escalation and peace talks, or things in between are the theme of military news today, with local grassroots activism thrown in for flavor. Roughly organized from worst news to best news, here is a brief of places where people are killing each other or moving away from it.

In what would be a dangerous escalation of the Bush administration's Global War on Terror, the CIA is reportedly considering expanding its area of operations into the tribal regions of Pakistan. Pakistan's government, of course, has announced that they would not allow any such operations within their country. Meanwhile, Pakistan's government has reassigned Generals ahead of a massive military effort in the aforementioned tribal region that is the North West Frontier Province. Should the CIA get approval to implement such a horribly misguided policy, the situation will become much worse, with global public opinion shifting further away from the idea of the United States as anything other than a lonely bully.

On the front of one of the longest-smoldering flashpoints in the world, Ehud Olmert has ordered security forces "to escalate Israel's actions" in Gaza after their homemade rockets went a little further than normal. According to the article, 4 people were killed and 34 wounded. This comes ahead of Bush's visit to the Middle East, which has been roundly denounced by al Qaeda's American spokesman. On the question of what becomes of those held by Israeli security forces during their raids into the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization, has published a damning report of the Israeli Defense Force's military court system.

From another of the world's longest-smoldering flashpoints, comes news that the Tamil Tiger's military intelligence chief has been killed amid renewed fighting in northern Sri Lanka. The Nordic monitors are leaving, and the army is expected to begin its new escalation on January 16th.

In other news, the deal worked out with North Korea to dismantle its nuclear program isn't being implemented as smoothly as envisioned.

Myanmar is celebrating its Independence Day! Iraq is celebrating its Army Day!

The Armed Forces of the Phillipines announced they are on schedule to crush the Islamist uprising in the southern regions of the country.

The guns will fall mostly silent in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the government has suspended operations against rebel factions ahead of a planned peace summit.

Local citizens in Cyprus attempted to stand up for their sovereign rights in the face of British imperialism, with 120 demonstratings throwing rocks and fireworks at RAF Akrontiri.

Wow...

Wow...

So, by my reckoning the main questions are, who sold these nuclear secrets? And which nuclear secrets were they? Does Israel have the information to make the bunker buster nuke?

The more valid question, though, is how fast can this be ignored by the mainstream media?

On a lighter note, here is a list of close calls involving nuclear weapons during the cold war. #4 is my favorite.

The Legal Front of the War on Us All

Remember Jose Padilla? Or John Yoo? Apparently Jose is none too happy about being tortured while in the Naval Consolidated Brig at Charleston, South Carolina, and feels as though John is liable for said treatment.

The Wisconsin Crazy

This guy doesn't just have sex with animals. He doesn't just have sex with dead animals. He kills the animals in order to have sex with them. I am suprised that this has been enough of a problem that the Wisconsin legislature has had to make a law prohibiting the killing of animals with the intention of having sex with them.

Free The West Memphis Three

This article from Fox News does a good job of explaining some aspects of the case, such as the circumstances of the murder and some of the new evidence. However, in some places it takes leave from the facts in order to paint a story that would be more appealing for a Fox News audience. I question the inclusion of the information that the victems were riding their bikes in their neighborhood before being murdered. Their bodies were found in a drainage ditch behind a truck stop it is unknown how long they laid there. You might as well say they were eating dinner with their family before being murdered if you are going to be including irrelevant information from an indeterminate time before the murder. This may all seem like nitpicking but it seems to me to be the author dressing up the story for his intended audience.

Another example of this is the erroneous statement that the police attributed the murder to the participation of the accused in a satanic cult. The prosecution never alleged that they were satanists, which would have been irrelevant even if it were true. One of the accused, Damien Echols, was a Wiccan at the time and the prosecution made much of this, finding damning quotes from some of the more eccentric mystics from previous centuries and by claiming that Mr.Echols held beliefs about cannibalism. Cannibalism, by the way, was not a part of the crime. The rest of the prosecution's evidence was that the boys were outcast, wore black, and listened to Metallica. As well as the forced confession of one of the accused who was mentally retarded.

"Thats some good police work there Lou."

The new information is that the federal judge is requiring the state courts to hear the new evidence first.

Ripple Effects

As closing the port of Mombasa in Kenya because of the post-electoral violence could potentially cause severe economic contraction in surrounding countries, so too goes the unfolding story of the financial markets. With the announcement that 2007 was a horrible year to try to find a job, the "r" word is on the lips of many experts. The most important note of the Employment Situation is that if one discounts government jobs and those in the service sector, the number of jobs fell by several thousand during 2007.

The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are more worried about inflation tying their hands as the crisis further unfolds.

On a positive note, the price of oil went down based on projections of lower demand in the U.S.! I'm sure that this is going to be more than lost considering that the violence in Kenya and its consequent economic ramifications will cost the U.S. far more than getting crude for a couple of bucks cheaper on the barrel.

On January 3, 2008 Huckabee Won the Iowa Republican Caucuses

Though this may piss off Chuck Norris I must out Mike Huckabee as a religious extremist.


He talks like a politician and mitigates his insane position of radicalism to get applause. Hucabee believes in the literal interpretation of the Bible. He believes that it provides a perfect instruction on morality, history, spirituality, and science. He has also said that he believes that school children should be instructed in Creationism.
Huckabee's position of a literal interpretation of the Bible has a broader implication for his potential as president. He has said that he would not keep his extremist religious beliefs seperate from his policy decisions. The televalgalist he worked for also echos this sentiment.
For an example of how this kind of thing might play out, look to his prior position on AIDS. In the past he has advocated seperating those with AIDS from the population and later justified his position by claiming his ignorance about how it was spread was a widespread ignorance in 1992. Except at the time religious conservatives of his stripe were promoting this particular brand of ignorance for political reasons, based primairly on hatered of homosexuals. He has since tempered his position to one that sells better on a national stage. Perhaps Huckabee will only insist on a literal following of Leviticus as US law. Get ready to stop shaving and start stoning to death your smart ass kids.

At least hes sane enough to oppose gun control.

A person of any other religious persuasion would be a fringe candidate if they held these same kinds of views. But in America we almost require our politicians to be religious wackos. I blame Karl Rove.
wikipedia-Mike_Huckabee

We're Doomed

Cleveland, OH; Terrible American City, Or The Worst American City?

More Infrastructure problems:
In Cleveland when it rains more than an inch every 3 hours, the water drainage runs over into the sewer pipes which back up. In some places this means other peoples shit in your bathtub. In other neighborhoods, giant shit-eating cockroaches come up into your house, squeezing from the pipes.

Inconvienent:
The desperate economic situation has devistated entrepreneurialism throughout the city, and even most major corporations don't risk setting up shop in large sections of town. For those that live here it means one will have to drive a half hour to satisfy any comercial needs. If one wishes to go grocery shopping, to buy a replacement headlight because hooligans had smashed it in, or if one needs to go to the hardware store to purchase roach traps for the giant shit-roaches that regularly infest ones home, one must commit to at least an hour of driving for each of those needs.

For a visual example of what I am talking about, do a Google Maps search for a number of basic needs or corporate name brand stores you recognise and you will notice a huge section of town that is always devoid of virtual push-pins.

The Friday Bacon

Bacon wrapped pork loin. Smoked on a maple plank, with sweet onions and apples. Served covered with my wife's home made BBQ sauce.

The Wisconsin Crazy

$20 dollars? Is that much crack really worth the nine plus years that he could face in prison?

2007! Thanks for the Memories!

Although the poll I designed for 2007 may have been flawed in its wording, I would argue that it was more fair and balanced than most, as it allowed the option for those who disagreed with whether W should be impeached to have an option that they could vote for in good conscience.

If anyone has any suggestions for the 2008 poll, or any other constructive changes you might have in mind, please e-mail either me or Th'Dave, via the profiles below.

So, a couple hundred blog entries and a lot of love later, another year has flown off the calendar. I would like to thank everybody that supported this page to continue to do so through the coming year.

There will be more bacon!

Here is a page about the Fringe Element, of all things. It has an interesting view of what this blog is about. Apparently, we are good at making waves.

He's Not Your Crazy Uncle

Former Senator Mike Gravel, though cut from the ABC News debates, is keeping himself busy campaigning in the next primary state, New Hampshire.

He's winning acclaim for his opposition to the war. In my reasoned opinion, he's the only candidate on the Democratic side of the Presidential ticket that has any credibility on the issue. My only criteria, of course, being that they have some kind of plan to pull the country out of the war, regardless of Mr. Bush's best intentions.

Another policy worth noting is that he is the only candidate addressing the failures of our representative government, and the secrecy surrounding the Bush administration. Again, he is the only candidate with any credibility on this issue, as he is responsible for making the Pentagon Papers public in the 1970s. They may call him the dark horse of the field, but I might remind that it took only one horse to take down Troy. However, instead of a horde of Greek soldiers, within lies a large group of people who do not typically vote, but are newly motivated by the war and the various other misguided polices of the Bush administration.

I, for one, hope that Mike Gravel continues to campaign (with video goodness!) as though this presidential race matters. So, after the mainstream media pushes Ron Paul and Mike Gravel out of the presidential races on either party ticket, perhaps their supporters can find common cause in an independent Paul/Gravel '08 ticket. "We're more credible than Stewart/Colbert!" So, although Dodd and Biden have dropped out (by the way, Richard Adams of the Guardian, fuck you, because you can't edit this commentary), some will continue to care that Mike Gravel is still out fighting for freedom. $400,000 will go a long way, I am sure.

Here's a list of his upcoming sightings in New Hampshire, along with those of a few other people that feel they can contribute to the national dialogue.

By the way, why did Keith Olbermann fallaciously announce Sen. Gravel's departure from the race? Did he try to FOX News the Democratic race?

Electability

Ron_Paul is being excluded from the Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox. When political commentators are asked to justify this they claim Ron Paul is not electable. What makes a candidate electable? Money? Polling numbers? Or is it that these commentators have decided as a group, that average Americans wont flock to their brand?

Personally I think these political commentators should be asked to justify their existance. Not just once, but every time they offer their opinion on anything. Because their opinions are so frequently wrong. I am not talking about a particular commentator, but all of them because they all live in the same close circle of group thinkers, they have no idea what normal people outside the beltway think.

Case in point, todays Iowa caucus results. On the Democratic side John Edwards came in second, but the media play that off as a razor thin margin and call it a tie for second. They all act as if they intend to continue to ignore Edwards as a candidate.

An amusing trend to arise from the Iowa caucus is that Hillary Clinton was described as unelectable by people that would have voted for her otherwise. They don't think that she can carry a national election, so she is having a tough time carrying the democratic primarys.

Don't Know What to Make of This; Another Big Suprise

Congress knew the tapes of the CIA torturing terrorists would be destroyed. They planed to destroy them a few years ago. They were told not to destroy the tapes by Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. The CIA was ordered not to destroy the tapes by a federal judge. The CIA did destroy the tapes. Now there is a criminal investigation into the destruction of the tapes.



Article



Its too fucking bad the Valerie Plame/Scooter Libby thing showed us that a criminal investigation will only net a mid level conspirator and if that person is well connected they will only get a slap on the wrist.



It will take a long time to repair the justice system in America and this would be a good start.

Son Of A Fuckin Bitch!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17774493

So Sheraton picked their new chief executive of beer and somehow my application got overlooked. Some pencil neck whos probably never even had a beer in his life decides to give the job to some big shot brewery owner from Arizona who "decorates" his house with beer bottles. Ya, I got beer bottles all over my house too but I didn't know you were supposed to put that on the application. Usually people dont want to discuss things that attract ants to your home but I guess in Arizona, its the only thing that takes your mind off the heat.

And for that matter, Fucking Arizona? Who the hell in Arizona nows shit about beer? Tell me that. I am from Wisconsin and we can drink any state or country under the table. Seriously, Wisconsin has the only university that I am aware of that for your freshman year botony class project you brew beer. I, myself, am the product of briliant genetic manipulation. They crossed my genes with that of robust hops and barley. I'm constantly drunk off my own blood, and I tell you, it makes driving difficult. But hey, theres amature drinkers and then there's professionals.

They don't even have water in Arizona. How the fuck are you gonna brew any beer when you are rollin around in the sand and makin your houses out of mud? He must be cheatin and puttin in some of that cactus juice that fucks you up and calls it water. I'm on to you now you smug bastard.

He fucking drugged the commity. Thats the only possible explination. And after I gave that fuckin guy a reach-around in the bathroom. I used my Larry Craig special and everything. He fuckin promised me I would get the job. See if I ever call him again.

Cleveland, OH; Terrible American City, or The Worst American City?

http://www.channel3000.com/news/14965868/detail.html

Other cities that got lots of snow plan ahead for the thaw. In Cleveland and the surronding area a standard winter storm (24 degrees, 4 inches of snow) knocked out power, and the roads are still not plowed a full day after the snow has stopped. In some places through the city, eastbound Interstate 90 has un-useable lanes because of snow. The inner-city streets are even worse. The sidewalks are completely buried so people just walk in the street. With infrastructure problems like Cleveland has, I am not suprised that people die here in the winter. I have been in Atlanta when they have gotten this much snow and it didn't disrupt life this much.

Here It Comes

More reason to loathe the baby boomers, they start retiring soon and will begin their tremendous strain on the economy. Coupled with the bursting housing market that won't stop dropping and war spending in the trillions, and the falling value of the dollar we are fucked.

The federal budget was balanced when Clinton left office, and the deficit was in decline. Bush came into office, passed a massive tax cut for the richest members of society who already avoid their fair share of the tax burden, he started an unnecessary war that has no end in sight and will already take us nearly a century to pay off. In order to fund this deficit spending we sell the dollar to overseas banks, and mostly to China. The dollar is dropping in value due to the colapse of the housing market causing foreign investors to dump US currency in exchange for the better performing Euro. All the while congress continues to spend billions on pet projects so they can tell their constituancy that they bring home the wastefull government spending instead of letting it go to other states. Here comes another financial strain on the economy. Now because of short sighted selfishness you and I are all fucked in the ass. We are not at fault, and the people who are to blame have the power to insulate themselves from the consequences.

Its George W. Bush's version of tricle down economics. The rich fuck up big time, and we suffer the consequences.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=702518

Taser Shotgun

This article from 2006 describes a slug that can be loaded into a shotgun that acts as its own self contained stun gun missile. This eliminates the range restriction that comes from having the barbs attached to wires. What happens when the cop misses? Well if you were in range, you must have been guilty of something.

A Question of Origin

Among the many questions surrounding China's economic development and the associated environmental problems, there is rarely any question of responsibility. As the Chinese Communist Party maintains a firm control over all policy measures, it's easy to point the finger and say that they bear all responsibility. However, a couple of recent articles, one from the New York Times and the other from the Wall Street Journal, might lead one to slightly more nuanced conclusions.

The article from the New York Times, describes how Germany, suddenly left without coal to power its industrial juggernaut, sold off the pieces of industry to parties in China. German politicians were able to point at a blue sky and the profit off of the sales and benefit politically, while the factories were set up in China to keep producing the black soot that nearly destroyed the Black Forest.

The article from the Wall Street Journal illustrates Canada's role in the Three Gorges Dam project. In a similar vein, then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien leveraged deals to provide turbines to the project to keep his native province of Quebec from seceding from the confederation.

These stories, if nothing else, should provide anecdotal evidence that policy makers need to consider the ethical implications of international trade. These facilities are still polluting at the same rate, if not more, than they were for their previous owners, and yet they were sold anyway, instead of cleaner alternatives. Are ethical obligations limited to boundaries and citizenship?

If nothing else, these cases provide further evidence that one can make money through immoral business practices. Moral hazard theorists be damned!

In other environmental news from the Middle Kingdom, Beijing recorded its 256th "blue sky day" of the year. Pollution is squarely on the agenda for the next five years, with a new Politburo getting settled into office. Also making news is a website (English, 中文） from the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs detailing air pollution.

Quit Tasing Me, Bro!

So aparently the appropriate police responce to a call about a weapon with a vague discription of the suspect is to tase the first person they see that fits the description. It just so happens to have been this guy more than once. If I were him I would also be filing suit.

Here is the description given police; a black guy with light blue hat, black coat and light blue T-shirt on with a silver gun under his coat. Notice there is no mention that the man is acting violent or threatining or suspicious in any way. He has just been "seen" exercising his constitutional right to bear arms.

Here is a list of reasonable questions to ask before resorting to violence:
1. Is this tip legitimate?
The vague nature of the call should suggest that the call might be a hoax or prank or a spitefull attempt to provoke harassment of this man by the police. Further probing of the caller may have revealed any of the above.
2. How old is the suspect?
3. What does his hair look like?
4. Does he have any facial hair?
5. Does he have any piercings or tatoos?
6. What does the coat look like? Is it puffy? Does it have any writing on it?
7. Is his hat a ball cap or a knit cap? Does it have any writhing on it?
8. What do you mean by "light blue"? Is he wearing North Carolina gear?
9. Describe the gun. Was it entirely "silver"? Is it automatic, or a revolver?
10. How do you know the "silver" object you saw was, in fact, a gun?

All of these questions inhabit the grey area between doing nothing and jumping and then tasering an innocent man in the mall who was just waiting to get his McFucking sandwich. But unfortunately the police chief of Madison Wisconsin cannot see this grey area and it can be inferred from his comments that the officers training reflects that ignorance.

link

Allow me to expand on a point I made in an earlier post. The police have to deal with the worst element of society all day and are compensated precious little for putting themselves in harms way. (thats really two points but I will expand on the first one) However, the police frequently display an inability to tell the difference between the people they deal with that present a clear and imminent threat, and those persons who are not dangerous.

For example, my brother-in-law once witnessed two police officers approching an 80 year old woman with a walker, with their guns drawn. If that kind of behavior can be considered appropriate by police standards, it is time to rethink the standards of behavior we allow the police to set for themselves.

Walk of Shame

As much of a dickhead as Bill Maher is occasionally, he sums up this year's biggest douchbags that should be filled with shame and remorse but are even more worthy of hate because they aren't asshamed.



X

The Friday Bacon

It was a very bacony Yule. The pictures are of the empty dishes after the feast because the bacony deliciousness was snapped up with lightning speed. All told we ate eight(8) pounds of bacon. We didnt have anything simple like BLT's or Bacon and eggs for our bacon feast. We had; two(2) bacon wrapped pork roasts, one spicy, one not so much, bacon laced mashed potatoes, potato salad with bacon, develed eggs with bacon, Grandma's bacon mostaccoli, Chill's snack mix with wasabi peas and bacon, bacon cookies, Bacon tacos, and of course we all snuck a piece of bacon here and there.

Tons o' Guns

As always, there is a firestorm of news and protest surrounding U.S. foreign arms sales. And, of course, the countries involved are potential flashpoints for future conflicts.

From Iraq comes news that the Defense Department is bolstering its foreign military sales staff in Baghdad. In a program that was already plagued with problems of corruption and mismanagement, the problems were further compounded when the program realized the ridiculous leap in funding levels, from $200 million to $3 billion in only one year. The corruption in the acquisition process already has the potential to sour relations with our NATO ally, Turkey, as weapons bound for Iraqi troops have showed up in the hands of militant fighters fighting for an independent Kurdistan. However, due to the personnel shortage that accompanied the increased workload, the Iraqi government was forced to buy weapons from other countries. Now, members of Congress reportedly want to know whether American money was used to buy Chinese weapons for the Iraqi Army.

Arms sales, in fact, also provide one of the main sticking points between the United States and China, mainly weapons sales to the island of Taiwan. The economic problems that are the most prominent in the domestic, national discourse in U.S. relations with the PRC have been "underlined by the U.S. for years." However, the issue of Taiwan and the foreign arms sales are the basis for the other point of contention between the two superpowers. In fact this year, Section 1206 in the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2007, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee establishes some pretty firm policies. Emphasis has been added by author.

More importantly, the committee believes that
maintaining a balance of power across the Taiwan Strait is critical
to ensuring deterrence and preserving peace, security, and stability
in Asia. China’s National People’s Congress adopted an anti-secession
law that essentially authorizes China’s Central Military Commission
to use non-peaceful means against Taiwan if the latter declares
independence. The committee is concerned that this law, in
conjunction with an excessive military build-up by China, may signal
a weakening of deterrence across the Taiwan Strait. The committee
believes that the exchange program, by helping to strengthen
Taiwan’s defenses, would help preserve and strengthen deterrence,
thereby encouraging China and Taiwan to resolve their differences
peacefully.

Considering that Chinese military spending is growing to make the PLA one of, if not the, strongest land forces in the world, the logic of the policy is almost self-defeating. The amount of equipment and money necessary to maintain the vision of deterrence expounded by this doctrine is well beyond the means of the United States. Look for this policy to cause problems in the future, as the U.S. is left groping for a new tact to maintain the stability in the region that is so vital to the international shipping lanes. The real question that would help one in thinking of this problem is, what event could happen that would leap the PRC's political elite to abandon the current Nash Equilibrium enjoyed by all parties in the region, in favor of a military strike? To which, the U.S. is bound under law to look upon with "grave concern," as per the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.

There is a new arms race brewing in South Asia, although not the usual type. In this case, the developed countries of the world are falling over themselves to provide India with the next generation of military equipment. Looking at potential spending reaching $40 billion dollars, it's not hard to imagine why countries would feel interested in the competition. Nicholas Burns, the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs feels so strongly about the subject of U.S.-Indian ties that he wrote an article for the current issue of Foreign Affairs. I particularly enjoy who he actually tries to make the article sound sincere in believing that ideology trumps the buying power of the Indian rupee. Again, the subtext to the entire discussion is long-term ties with India, in the fact of a emerging threat from China in Asia.



Before going onto the next topic, enjoy a little video goodness.
















Now, the JDAM is going on sale to countries in the Gulf region, specifically Saudi Arabia, which has caused quite a bipartisan reaction on Capital Hill. One should consider, though, that Israel and its lobby aren't protesting the sale in and of itself, only the fact that sales of this type reduce the strategic and technological edge enjoyed that enforced deterrence and brought stability to the region. The sale is practically dead on arrival.

Finally, in Pakistan, an assassin has taken the life of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, but that shouldn't stand in the way of ever-stronger ties developing between the U.S. and Pakistan. In particular, this event will not interfere in anyway with the proposed $2.1 billion arms deal in progress. Pakistan is slated to purchase 18 F-16s of the C and D variants.

The end result of all of this is that American foreign policy, especially in the case of Pakistan, is being pulled into a cycle of arming one side to counter another threat that may or may not be of its own creation. And while arms sales and military relations reach new highs, things such as civil society and rule of law tend to be left by the way side. The Military Industrial Complex isn't exactly a democratic institution, after all. Those who are in a strong position to regulate this very important facet of foreign policy are focusing on other priorities, to say the least. Instead of controlling the number of arms distributed internationally, they are worried about the transfer of sensitive information, and the ramifications of Globalization on the MIC, but more on that later.

Tazer News Today

First, from the blog's hometown Madison, comes the revelation that it doesn't pay to be some random guy in the mall the day after Christmas. I'm not sure if this is a case of prank calling gone to one of its most extreme and sadistic extremes, or a case of someone who was overly paranoid. I'm not sure how I would react if the police, seemingly for no reason, showed up in force and tried to get me to go out to the parking lot. He's being charged with resisting police, but it would seem that he should get a medal for resisting the worst form of senseless police brutality.

Second, here is a transcript of Amy Goodwin from Democracy Now interviewing people involved in the fracas in New Orleans. In this case, it would seem that there are two narratives surrounding the police's use of force in this case. If, as some believe, the police were keeping more members of the opposition from getting into City Council's chamber, the use of force represents a gross violation of the principles of a free, democratic society. If, on the other hand, the police were justified after keeping protesters from tearing down the gates around City Hall, then, you're also violating the principles of democracy, at least in a purely philosophical way, in that the force keeps citizens from entering what should be common municipal space. In any event, it would be interesting to see how many times Tasers were deployed during the course of that protest. See the video goodness below for some background and color the way only CNN can provide. "How do you know you were tazed?" That's some great reporting, Rick Sanchez.

"We Tased him to maintain compliance," [Ogden Police Lt. Scott] Conley said.

Sure, the guy who breaks into a school in the middle of the night because he's really drunk and still got a bottle of vodka to burn through probably needs to go to jail to sleep it off if nothing else. But, it takes a special kind of bravery to sic dogs on a drunk guy who you have out numbered, and then tase him when he doesn't immediately jump to your beck and call.

Shifting Sands Would Make a Better Foundation

In the wake of the economic troubles roughly centering around 9/11, the United States and the European Union enjoyed explosive growth, propelled mostly by the housing sector of the economy. Flash forward to the present when this entire trend of growth is amounting to so much nothing, and one must consider how much this growth really amounts to. Was this entire boom created by the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and other prime lending institutions as a way of creating growth from nothing?

What would you do if you realized that everything you've done for the past six or seven years did not add any value to anything? If you realized that all of the work you had done was so much busywork?

Some are openly talking about recession, and some are talking about the "d" word. Considering the way that ECB dropped $500 billion in capital into the financial markets, they must be worried about the huge bubble that they've helped develop in Spain and the southern Mediterranean.

From My Cold, Dead Hands

http://www.channel3000.com/news/14916807/detail.html

If you parents are having such problems raising your children to be non-violent, or at least not criminal members of society, maybe you should try a different tact. Allowing or asking for the government to regulate what your children are exposed to is not going to ameliorate the very influences that you consider worst for your child. Instead, I would recommend that you talk to your kids and find out what they think about the things that you're trying to keep them from. Instead of categorically banning an activity, as that is not likely to work, talk to your kids and then if they have mistaken notions or are confused about something, you can view it as an opportunity to be a good parent and give your children a bit of truth that the schools won't give them.

In regulating ethics, government policy is a poor panacea for the perceived ills of society. If the government had any say into what you do, then the things that are declared illegal would actually not be committed because of the fear of the results or because of the respect an individual holds for the government. Usually, though, the most important consideration into doing something that is considered illegal, is whether or not you will get caught.

Of course, during an election year, it is easy to grab headlines by attacking a small fraction of society that, because of its very nature, does not have any effective organization to meaningfully resist attempts to oppress them for political points. Gamers are, at turns, obnoxious, profane, and passionate, but they are citizens of the country who are not deserving of this discrimination.

Furthermore, I would go so far as to say that this proposed legislation from Sen. Jon Erpenbach is at best misinformed or misguided. I admit that it would be a good idea to move 17 year criminal offenders as the juveniles that they still are, but I think it is rather dubious that a simple tax on video games is going to raise enough money to cover the proposed expenses. Personally, I see this as a problem of definition. In this case, the definition of what is, exactly, a non violent offense. For instance, how much would the cost go down if, instead of holding children for having a small amount of Marijuana, why not confiscate their pot and take them home to their parents? Instead of having the state teach a lesson, why not let the responsibilities of parenting fall upon the parents?

Besides, this tax is just going to pull money out of the state coffers, as people will just go online, to amazon.com and such, and buy their video games without an extra insipid tax.

Its a Brave New World

http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2007/10/lane.html

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/28/059.html
In our society being bored or socially aukward is now a mental illness deserving of constant expensive medication. Nevermind that medication has side effects like bleeding from the eyes, at least you wont feel embarassed by your bleeding eyes anymore. All this manipulation of meaning is done by the pharmacuitcal companies that dont want to cure disease anymore, they want to create legal narcotics that we have to buy monthly to boost their profit margins and they discovered that its easier to make an inconvenient part of everyday life, for which there is already a drug, into a mental illness than it is to research a cure for AIDS.

At least in the Brave New World there was promiscuity to look foreward to. The really sad thing is that all the distopian futures written about and feared over the last century and a half are coming true. Not (entirely) through the will of an evil dictatorial government, but because its profitable over the short term to hurt other people and the environment which they inhabit.

This is why capitalism has the capicity to destroy itself, why market forces are not a substitute ofr morality, and why business ethics are not ethical.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MEDIA_OWNERSHIP?SITE=RIPAW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

There is already too much media consolidation resulting in poor news coverage. There is too much group think among media sources when important stories get ignored because CNN is covering a skiing squirrel or cat fashion show. Or for that matter a human fashion show. You're fucking CNN for fuck's sake! The group think has almost completely ignored the candidacy of viable candidates like Ron Paul.

The old media fucked up big time in the run up to the war in Iraq and during the 2000 presidential election. If they want trust and respect back they better start fucking earning it with real hard hitting investigative journalism, instead of the kind of fluff that bloggers can fill the world with. They like to assume they are more ligitimate than us but I say the burden of proof is on them now. And that burden is one of the preponderance of evidence.

For entertainment purposes I am not so sure media consolidation is that bad. I may be confusing correlation with causation but market saturation and a vast empire seems to have given those like Ted Turner and Disney the freedom to create specialised networks for a narrow audience that would sink a network like NBC who has to stick with bland "entertainment" that appeals to noone but at least doesn't offend most. The increased venues for creativity may also simply be a result of the managment style of the Turner corporation.

"And for him to come be like this, that's sad."

http://www.channel3000.com/news/14919468/detail.html

Here is another example of a situation where a call is made by some overreacting citizen, thre is no mention of any discussion or verbal communication with the suspect/victem, and the police taze the fuck out of him at the first sign of resistance.

The accounts of the police and the victem don't vary much. The cops say they recieved a call, saw someone(probably anyone) who fit the discription, tried to apprehend him, and at the first sign of resistance tazed him. If the account of the family is true I feel very threatened by this because if I was jumped from behind by someone, and I didnt know who it was, I would resist.

When is it reasonable to assume the people jacking you are cops?

Here, a man is tasered for pissing in public.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22968919-3102,00.html

And again we pose the question to you; Are tazers being used to save lives here, or are the police using them as a shortcut?

I have had a lot of good experiences with sherrif's deputies in my life. From my personal experience, these law enforcement oficers act like they are out there to protect and serve. However, I believe that anyone that wants to become a police officer should be prevented from doing so.

After high school, a number of accuaintances of mine became police officers. Universally they were thugs. They were the kind of people that would pick on those weaker than them for fun, drink underage and use other illegal drugs, go to bars to get into fights, and drag race their trucks up and down the main streat through town. This didn,t change when they became cops, they carried multiple guns when off duty just because they could, they ran peoples licence plates because they were bored, and they drag raced the police crusers up and down the interstate. The point being, they didn't become police because of a respect for law and order, or because they wanted to help and serve their community. They became police so they could act like thugs and get away with it.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=12907

My larger point is, its almost impossible to find someone who genuinely wants to protect and serve the people of one's community and serve that function with the application of violence. My experience is that what we get is yahoos who want the badge as an excuse to be violent. Of course if we don't let these people become police they will still be criminals and thugs, but at least they will be in jail instead of hiding behind their badge and gun/taser.

The Friday Bacon!

I just finished labeling all the Friday Bacon posts with Bacon, so now they are easily accessable to you, our precious viewer.

Commercial Availability of Tasers

Brought to you from the headquarters of Taser International, comes this story of when tasers go bad, yet not in the torturing innocent people kind of way. I can't imagine the look on the guy's face when the perp pulled out a taser. And note the efficacy of a heavy sweatshirt in resisting the barbs.

World Orgasam Day

http://www.globalorgasm.org/

On the solstace this friday we are all encouraged to have an orgasam in order to help alter the energy of the Earth. The effort is to change the warmongering hostile psychic energies of the Earth to those of peace. Sexy, panting, too-tired-to-fight-and-all-I-want-is-a-sandwich, peace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgasm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Orgasm

http://blogs.smh.com.au/lifestyle/asksam/archives/2007/12/world_orgasm_day.html

Walk of Shame

http://blogs.tampabay.com/schools/2007/12/in-support-of-i.html?cid=939948141

Ukraine's answer to Nanci Pelosi

This is the kind of hot politician you get when your country has had to fight for its freedom in living memory and your people are interisted in government.

The Budget Process

In one of the surest signs yet that the "opposition" party is firmly in the pocket of W and his administration, Congressional Republicans are more upset about the federal spending bill under consideration than the Democrats are. The interested onlooker might note that the bill includes most of what Bush asked for, and also some extra money to spend on developing coal power sources. Because that's real progressive legislative policy in keeping with the preferences and long-term interests of the American voter. As of press time, I hadn't heard back from the article's author on whether or not the Congress was really planning on spending $195 billion to fix that bridge up in Minnesota, see the video goodness below.

Free Taser!

There is a free X26 Taser available for whoever picks it up, thanks to the police department of Layfayette, Indiana!

Proof: Ron Paul is Systematically Ignored

Take a look at this little tidbit. The mainstream news probably won't report this; in fact it is fairly relevant from the graphs that Ron Paul, while enjoying by far the highest search volume, is consistently and systematically ignored by news outlets.


Google Trends: Presidential "Front Runners" and Ron Paul

They cannot destroy all the evidence that "they" are trying to gain complete control. The only problem is that we have to work so hard to find it.

Deafening Silence

Like Major General Jalil Khalaf, I find myself wondering, "Where are the intellectuals? Why is everyone silent?" In Basra, General Khalaf's charge, the question has more violence associated with it. However, here in the United States, the question, though perhaps not as serious in consequence on an individual level, is just as serious. Where is the opposition? Why are most of those who oppose the W regime quietly submitting to ever-greater governmental intrusions and controls into the lives of the individual citizen? Why are our legislators not more forcefully opposing the degradation of our freedom? Why is the mainstream news media complicit in the militarization of American society and the reduction of the federal bureaucracy and branches of government into a fascist dictatorship?

If we keep compromising submitting to a bully, he'll keep taking whatever he can until there is nothing meaningful or worthwhile left.

A Certain Republicrat from Nevada

Just in case, for those of you who may be wondering about this, here is the definition of opposition. Please note, there is no mention of toadying up to another branch of government that you notionally oppose.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/15/politics/main3622108.shtml

Is W's argument that he needs to be able to listen in on anyone and everyone's phone conversations and internet traffic without a warrant really "very strong" as CBS News characterizes it? Is there anyone who actually believes it is? Does anyone believe that CBS News is any more relevant than CNN or Fox, as in not at all?

I would like to thank everyone who flooded Sen. Reid's office in opposition to him sending out the Intelligence Committee version of the extension, or perhaps permanent inclusion into public law. For all of those who were wondering what a Republicrat is, it is embodied in an opposition leader who plays both parts of congress against each other and then gives the President he notionally opposes everything that he could possibly ask for. Let's hope there can be some semblance of a sustained outcry. It may make me sound like a crazy person, but we cannot allow telecom companies to get away with cooperating with what they knew to be an illegal, unauthorized program to surveil upon the American people. And, for the love of reason, why should we allow our personal freedoms, or at the very least, the reasonable expectation that your phone call isn't being listened in on, to vanish like so much water vapor?

Sens. Feingold and Dodd are heroes, by the by.

A Republican Conserned with Privacy? Now I've Heard Everything

http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9832985-38.html?tag=nefd.lede

I'm sure the only reason a Republican would care about privacy on the internet is because they are afraid of being outed as a homosexual.

Pure Rage: This Should Wake You Up

They're taking away health care services from veterans in northwestern Wisconsin!

A former French intelligence officer runs off his mouth in the commentary section of the WSJ. (Try to find it through the Google, as WSJ hasn't abandoned their pay-per service yet.).

And to answer Dan Froomkin, the rage is right here. The W administration seemingly has taken years off of my life by keeping me from sleeping restfully and making me develop stomach problems. He covers a lot of rage in his column yesterday, I'm just going to go ahead and put a link on the sidebar to his column.

Cleveland Ohio; Terrible American City, or The Worst American City?

This will eventually turn into a rant about my experiences in the big city of Cleveland. For now I submit for your consideration pictures I took today depicting the deplorable infrastructure problems in the city.

Above you see images of a smoking hole in the road.

And here you see the after effects of a rain storm, 18 hours after the rain stopped, and 1000 feet up hill from the lake.

Benjamin Franklin Report: The Sucking Noise Gets Louder

For those financial analysts who are looking at the balance sheets over at the mortgage twins, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are probably worried now that the CEO of Fannie Mae is "preparing for a long winter" and Freddie Mac expects $10-12 billion in mortgage losses over the next quarter. Can the twins survive another bad quarter or two, and could the financial markets withstand their collapse? Ask again in 2010. The news brought down the Dow Jones and the wider markets when announced.

Paradox?

If a major mainstream news organization goes through a entire article on the 'electability' of the Republican candidates without even mentioning Ron Paul's name, does it mean that he is not electable? Or that the news organization in question isn't as mainstream as they would like to think?

The Plot Gets Thicker

Victoria, BC, the first police department in Canada to include the taser in its "toolkit," is now looking at the justification behind its use of tasers, or at least how the officer who is widely credited with spreading taser use among Canadian police departments came to be on the payroll of Taser International. Apparently, having a very close relationship with a company that includes such factors as having received a token (read:embarrassingly low) amount in stock options for a design for a holster for Taser's M26 model, traveling to the company's headquarters on their dime to become one of their "Master Instructors," and traveling to two different American police departments to conduct training on behalf of Taser constitutes some sort of "conflict of interest." I'm sure that Taser's lawyers are going to have a field day with this one, although one might argue that if they were really good lawyers, they would have advised against this kind of business relationship with a client. Anyways, since there is no conflict of interest procedure or rules for disclosure, Darren Laur will probably continue to have a job, at least for Taser, if not the Victoria PD. I love the way Inspector Bond talks out of both sides of his mouth at the end of the article.

Note, as of publishing, Taser International is down 3.56%.

Licence To Carry Stops Shooting Spree

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14817480/detail.html
This is exactly the kind of story that gun rights advocates have been wanting for so long. Someone with a right to carry permit stopped a mad gunman from causing a bloodbath in a church. This is exactly the kind of thing that will be pointed to in any debate about gun control when someone mentiones the Virginia Tech massacre.

I acknowledge that it is bad taste to capitalise on the suffering of others for political gain. I only wish I were eloquent enough to be sensitive while talking about the grisly events of the day. I think this event raises some serious issues that need to be discussed, but people died. And it dishoners the memories of the dead to wave this tragedy as a banner.

Also, my first reaction to hearing this hero speak on the air today was actually one of revulsion. Hearing Assam say that God was on her side made my stomach turn and I shouted, "But God wasn't on the side of those who died?" In retrospect I was probably being too harsh due to my inherant discust for outward religious posturing.

I want to extend my sympathies to this brave woman and the bereved families. As well as my sincerest wish that the courage she showed today stays with her. Shooting someone, even when justified, can't be an easy thing to deal with.

Another Perspective.

Heres a thought on the motivations behind the NIE. The intelligence community has seen how the Bush administration operates. They come to a conclusion and then seek out evidence that supports their position and ignore anything that says otherwise. Then after the resulting flawed idea comes toits inevitable result the administration casts about for someone to blame. My guess is that these guys still remember how heads rolled after the 9/11 an Iraq failures of the intelligence community and are making an effort to protect their jobs by being forthright with the American people.

When Intelligence isn't Spin, Spinsters React

Since the publication on a National Intelligence Estimate about Iran and its nuclear weapon, the Bush administration, by many accounts, seems to be in full strategic retreat. However, as Dan Froomkin from washingtonpost.com reported, W has already started covering his own liability. Since he has had a few more months than the rest of the country to prepare for the release of the NIE, you can be sure that he has already appropriately adjusted his warmongering. Here is a look at how the NIE was produced.

Surprisingly, the news media is still listening to Norman Podhoretz and John Bolton about anything, and specifically in this case, intelligence. Here is a report that relies upon their opinions, yet doesn't point out the problem with citing them as experts. Norman Podhoretz, for instance, made a career of out of being a neoconservative pundit before the heyday of neoconservatism. One of his earliest and best-known works is a racist diatribe about how he hated black people. But, more relevant to the current discussion is his complete lack of experience in the intelligence community. While he may be retired now, he was an original signatory of the "Project for the New American Century," the ideological framework for W's administration and foreign policy, meaning that he is deeply invested in making sure that history has a favorable impression of the administration. John Bolton, for his part, is also intensely involved in the Project. He has made a career for being a diplomat or wandering mouth for conservative presidents. Bolton also has no experience in working in the intelligence community, but does have something of a reputation for cooking intelligence for political purposes. Since the intelligence community is notionally no longer under the thumb of the neoconservatives that make up the decision-making in the W administration, these two old warriors are now resorting to ad hominem attacks on what appears to be dissident voices within the federal bureaucracy. "But I (Norman Podhoretz) entertain an even darker suspicion. It is the intelligence community, which has for so many years now been leaking material calculated to undermine George W Bush, is doing it again." Behold, the evolution of spin, now those who pushed the intelligence community to supply, what can most graciously be called, misleading intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, accuse those who are career intelligence officials of politicizing their work.

The Pentagon, for its part, has dispatched the uniformed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, to Israel to speak with their Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak, and their intelligence analysts. During the whirlwind 24 hour visit, Adm. Mullen will probably explain the constitution and the fact that the President doesn't really need the support of the American people to expand the war to Iran, something that would be hard to understand for those who live in a free, demoratic society.

Reps. Peter Hoekstra (MI 2nd) and Jane Harman (CA 36th) published an op-ed today in the Wall Street Journal questioning the quality of the intelligence organization that they were notionally in charge of overseeing as Ranking Members and Chairpersons of the House Intelligence Committee. Defending the mischaracterizations of intelligence on the part of the W administration, "..., intelligence is in many ways an art, not an exact science." In summation, the entire piece reads like an apology for delivery the wrong intelligence, although they also go into a little ad homineming against the intelligence analysts who produced the report (the confidence remark).

Three Australian cops tazered...by God

I wish I could take credit for the headline. Stolen from Fark

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/lightning-strikes-police-car/2007/12/08/1196813072694.html

Beer prices rise on revelations that the CIA destroyed potential evidence

The rising price of hops is increasing the cost of craft beers.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5beer.6174490dec09,0,3091573.story?coll=all_tab01_layout

In a reaction by hops farmers to a story by The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/washington/09zubaydah.html?ref=us

Freedom 1, W 699

President Bush has gone too far this time! In not returning a courtesy call from the President of one of our best partners in the NATO alliance, he has just plainly given up on being anything other than a lone and lonely superpower. The people of Iceland have every reason to be upset about this gross breach of etiquette, and not the least for the involvement of the Secret Service.

The Friday Bacon

Are you X-perienced? (WARNING: This site has obnoxious sound effects, so make sure to mute!)

Staring Down the Gunsights

These days there's been a lot of mention of the problematic relationship between the US and China. However, in new developments, the People's Liberation Army is reportedly seeking military nuclear cooperation with the United States. Which enemy do we have in common? Here's a brief background of the latest complications between the Eagle and the Dragon. Here, a pundit from the BBC stumbles through a discussion in the economic problems that have recently surfaced in the form of toy recalls, and at the end interestingly equates it to the military problems. Here, another pundit from the Economist raises the theory that the PLA is not necessarily under direct control of the Party's political leaders. The PLA, of course, has enjoyed a rather privileged position in the hierarchy of power, given it was the proving ground for the first generation of CCP leaders, restored order after the Cultural Revolution, and suppressed the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. Considering the anti-satellite test, it could mean that the PLA feels entitled to more of a free hand in deciding policy and weapon acquisitions.

Walk of Shame: Contempt for Christians

Normally I'm not one for dispensing punishment on anyone based on what may or may not be misguided social regulation, but this case makes me tend towards that whole eye for an eye thing. I'm repulsed that the military protects its officers to such an extent as to allow this waste of flesh to get off with only two years in a deep dark hole that is military prison.

Christians are also adopting Bush's mode of cooperating with congress. That is, not. How rich do you think they are? Sen. Charles Grassley would like to find out.

Tazers, I Just Wont Let it Rest

Amnesty International, citing its own study on the harmfull effects of tazers.
http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17564
The Canadians are so upset about Tazers they are paying attention to the announced study from the Department of Justice on tazers
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5il1RBXiJauS80Jpyivr-KhVR7uxA
Diane Ream had a show about it yesterday
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/07/12/05.php#18231

Buried Stories

With the speeches from Bush and Romney, the shit from Iran, and more interisting things going on, news of the shooting in Nebraska is being buried at the bottom of the ticker.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-06-mall_N.htm
The only people who care are the Gun Control community.
It should be noted that the weapon USA Today reports the shooter using was already illegal.

If tazers save lives like the law enforcement community argues, where were the tazers here? Why didn't a tazer save anyone?

Military Industrial Complex

Despite there being no threat of a nuke from Iran, Bush wishes to rush ahead with the European Missile Shield. Not to mention, it pisses Russia off. Through all this the old media never mentions the miliary industrial complex.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_industrial_complex

Bush Sending Mixed Messages on Economy

Its as if Bush believes the economy will do what he says as long as he refuses to admit there are problems. So we get speeches like he delivered today that send mixed messages about the economy.
Compare, http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/04/news/economy/bush/ with, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MORTGAGE_CRISIS?SITE=DEWIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

10 U.S. Flags not enough to make Romney a Christian

Its really easy to make the argument about tolerance Romney is making when you are in a minority religion, or are being discriminated against like Romney is. I wonder if he, or the conservative evangaliticals he is courting with this speech, would apply the same tolerance to Islam or Rastafarianism, or Wicca. Their behavior in the past does not fill me with confidence.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071206/ap_on_el_pr/romney_religion_21;_ylt=AvNPAFj7ljheBLdNDxDl0MIE1vAI

An Awkwardly Large Sidenote

As part of Condoleeza Rice's new push for world peace, or just not being seen as a neo-conservative lapdog who didn't do anything but exercise and get lectured by her peers, Condi got all of the leaders from Africa's various troubled places together in Addis Ababa to get a lecture in American diplomacy. Or is American diplomacy more about lecturing? I can never keep that straight. But, anyways, in the course of a day, Condi told all the leaders that would shop up (Joseph Kabila, President of the DRC chose not to make an appearance) that they had better play nice and look good and keep the windows closed... There was no "or" or "else." Thanks for clearing all that up, Condi in your whirlwind one day of talks.

Evidence is itself, circumstantial

As if anyone was actually thought that Iran was building the bomb, in rides the American Intelligence community to put all such mistaken notions to bed. However, just like five years ago, the evidence doesn't matter and won't effect policy in any significant fashion. David Kay and the UN inspectors were systematically combing Iraq, looking for any hint that Saddam was reconstituting his chemical and biological weapons programs. So, after we invade Iraq, surprise, surprise, America wakes up to find that it was lied to and flattered into doing something repugnant. However, the guilt that we should all feel can't be washed away with a tear-filled shower. So, now five years later, and we still collectively resemble a drunk sorority girl who has self-esteem issues.

"Yes, honey, I'm doing this to protect you, because you're so important to me. Why don't you just drink a little bit more and shut the fuck up so we can move on to the main event? Oh, can you get the cab fare back to your house? I have some wicked credit card bills. And I won't pull out or wear a condom because I'm a misogynist Christian."

There is still a chance that we won't invade or otherwise attack Iran. Please call your elected representative and flex your democratic power. We need to stop this blood for oil cycle and the imperial presidency made possible by the Bush Doctrine.

W as Little Dutchboy

In the course of the next year or so, the US government has some serious financial difficulties it needs to work out. Primarily, the ballooning national debt is about cross the $10 trillion dollar threshold. Instead of having the debt paid off within a decade, we're not mortgaging our future for more than a decade. On a deeply interrelated note, is the current financial crisis that is roiling the markets. Not surprisingly, the CEO of Countrywide is eager for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to have temporary increases in the volume of loans they can take on. Will W risk his political capital and any notion of being called a fiscal conservative? Or will he appeal to his base and help the artificially rich people continue to enjoy the lap of luxury that fewer and fewer people are able to share.

Iran abandoned its nuke program 3 years ago

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSWBT00801220071204

Here we are again with a warmongering administration raising the specter of a threat from the middle east and it seems like noone can stop the inevitable war. A war for no reason, with no goals, and no prospect for any kind of success.

Oh but here is an article that contradicts the Bush administration's exaggerations. Lets hope the old media isnt as spineless this time around and actually sticks with this set of facts rather then the jingoism and fear we are so familar with.

The Wisconsin Crazy

The last name of the accused is Whitelightning. Appropriate for someone who might lead police on a carchase. He alledgedly walked into the OP, swiped some sausages, jumped into the Krispy Kreme delivery truck and sped off. He is also accused of being drunk at the time. I just would love to have seen a doughnut truck whiz past followed by police cars, sireins blaring. Its the kind of thing that makes life worth living.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/14742655/detail.html

This pretty much sums up the western perspective of the incident