WTO Talks Fail, and Filler, too!

Whole Lotta Links..I am not for fucking the poor. "Trade liberalisation" sounds so nice, doesn't it? It has the air of something everyone would want. George Carlin where are you?

Hey! Whilst I was in my long convalescence, I had a chance to do some RF(radio frequency) work for a new client. It felt really good to be back in the field. So good in fact, that I'm slated to go to China and work with some engineers there on the company's tab. The bonus is that I'm going to work on a fledgling company I've started..and they know it. Sweet deal.

I'm going to the Guang Dong Province..there's a lot of emerging tech. there. In March or so of next year, when I start producing on my own, I will command you to buy my stuff!

Sort of a slow news day, so you get filler ;)

Now go and read something important!

(and my going to China is not to exploit the cheap labor force, it's to teach..Ha! And you thought I was a hypocrite!)

Cable TV

At the request of my ill mother I had cable TV installed yesterday.

I went to work and came home pretty tired. So, I decided to see just how low the level of what passes for political discourse in America has sunken.

I prepared for the worst. That wasn't preparation enough.

In rapid succession I saw Hannity, Coulter, BlowReilly, and Chris 'turn the gain down on my mic' Matthews.

This was too much for my fragile little mind.

Jeebus.

I need some tranqs and a bottle of gin in order to feel sane again.

These people are seemingly insane. Partisanship cannot entirely explain the behaviors I saw on display.

News Hounds has the recap.

Since I got home at 1:30AM, I was blessed with all of the shows in unbroken succession. I have nary a clue if this is the same scheduling as during primetime.

I feel all dirty. I must bath now. In lye. ;)

Maybe more later, but I'm pretty exhausted. Living in the flooded Eastern US, I have spent way too much time either baling water, or trying to mitigate water damage.

Limbaugh and the American flag

Well, well. It seems that the right-wing comedian; Oh-Wut-A-Rush Limbaugh has been caught with a prescription of Viagra that wasn't prescribed to him.

Nice role model. Let's see if he gets prosecuted for this..I can understand GOP hacks not being able to get wood without assistance, but Rushbo hasn't been especially soft(no pun intended..really!) on drug users in the past. I would think that this wood, or rather 'would' extend(damn it!) to those possessing another's prescription.

In other news, the Senate prevails and the Flag desecration amendment will not go out to the states for a vote.

I'm neutral on the issue.

An observation: Having traveled more than a bit, American's have a very curious relationship with the flag. I don't. And yes, I am an American.

However, the fetishizing of the flag seems to be unknown to the rest of the Western countries I have visited.

In the post 9/11 era, I'll take whatever liberties those infinitely wise in Washington seem fit to allow me to retain.

One more thing.

It seems like the environmental disaster that we are likely to have as our true legacy seems to really, finally, sinking into the public mind.

Admittedly, I have nothing but anecdotal evidence for this, but hey, that's a helluva lot more than most Faux News commentators and right-wing blonde 'bookshleppers' offer as proof.

If I was loony enough to enter the political world as anything but a critc of everything, I'd make the environment my number one issue. I'd hammer it into people's skulls that terrorists and the economy can cause us great pain, but the environment will cause the downfall of 'civilization' if we do not act courageously today.

Word to the right: The 'tree huggers' are the true prophets.

Leaks and Their Leakers

Okay, so the right-wing hypocrisites have been decrying the NYT's disclosure of the non-secret tracking of international money transfers.

The left meanwhile, have been crowing about the loss of privacy. I tend to agree with this view. I'm a privacy advocate.

But I digress. The leaker was GW Bush. Way back in September of 2001, in that "Churchillian"*cough* speech given to a special joint session of Congress he said something on the order of, 'we're working with foriegn and domestic financial institutions to cut off the terrorists' money supply.'

If the rules have been changed in the intervening years, I haven't heard of it.

Real historians will tell you that we Americans have no collective memory.

Bush should only be angry with himself for stating this in front of the entire nation, and everyone else should take it upon themselves to make certain Bush places the blame right on his pretzel scar.

I'd like to know why the hypocrisites haven't bashed the WSJ for also reporting on this only hours after the Times. Nevermind. I know that objective reality isn't part of their agendas.

GWB should ask his favorite philosopher about this one. Maybe the J-Man could jog his alcohol addled mind....and Cheney, too.