political news and pure bs

2009-01-13T15:05:00.003-05:00

Buy.com and the worst customer service in the world

While Keith Olbermann makes fun of people labeling them "The Worst Person(s) in The World," we here at PBS headquarters deal with the dirtiest elements of internet retailers. It is into these waters we swim daily. Today's honoree is Buy.com. Buy.com honors neither their stated price match policy, nor anything remotely like a reasonable return policy.

If you're giving a gift, go elsewhwere. Their 14 day return policy is a sham.

Office Depot makes Buy.com seem like Amazon.com(which does have a reasonable return policy)

The scenario is this, I bought two MP3 players from Buy.om in December. I gave one as a gift that was unopened until 01.01.09. The gifted player was DOA. I emailed Buy.com and explained in detail the situation. I was told that I would have to pay postage to get the player to the manufacturer and wait for a replacement.

So, I emailed the manufacturer with the email response from Buy.com forwarded as an attachment. The manunfacturer emailed me a RMA(Return Material Authorization) number and said nothing about who was to pay shipping. I emailed the manufacturer again, and here it is, five days hence and I have yet to get a response.

Buy.com, Sandisk Corp., and the refurbisher - xtremeupgrade.com are all more trouble than they're worth. I have yet to resolve this situation, and if the above parties do not respond to my reasonable requests for assistance, I'll make the links live and post the emails - complete with header information.

Caveat Emptor!

2008-04-14T19:04:00.005-04:00

Office Depot: Another retailer with shitty service

I ordered a desk form Office Depot yesterday(it's the Studio RTA Malibu desk). I only ordered it online because the price shown was better than that advertised in the circular. It clearly showed the desk as $79.99 with a -30.00 "Mail-In Savings" offer. I thought that this was a bit odd. I called 1-800GO-DEPOT and spoke to a CSR that told me her name was 'Ace.' I was definitely calling a Bangalore Call Center. More on that in a moment. I was skeptical as I could not get the "MIS" form page to come up. I'd click the link, and be transported to a blank page. I was told not to worry. 'Ace' assured me that the "MIS" was valid - just a database glitch you understand - so instead of traveling the 50 miles to pick the desk up, I ordered it online. As of this morning at 8:00AM EDT the "MIS" link was still up. I went to breakfast. When I came back, I hopped online, and lo and behold, the -30.00 MIS link vanished.

So I got on the phone. I waited, and waited. Then waited some more. I explained to this CSR who claimed his name was "Alex" the entire story including my decision not to drive to pick up the desk. I repeated salient parts of the issue a couple of times. Finally, Alex got it. He told me that I would have to be transferred to the "Rebate Center," and would do so..So he did. After waiting on speakerphone for a timed 30 minutes, "Chelsea" takes my call. She too sounded like she was from the sub-continent.

After explaining my issue to Chelsea, she told the obvious; that there is no rebate form listed and that I would have to go to 1-800-GO-DEPOT. By this point I have wasted three hours between placing the order, being put on hold, and transfers. Chelsea's transfer didn't make it. I called 1-800-GO-Away-YOU-BOTHER-ME again. I got another "Alex." Too weird. I started to go into my story again when Alex, the return, told me that I had to speak to someone in the rebate center.

At this point, I emailed Office Depot, and am awaiting a response.

Add'l: "Chelsea" initially picked up my call and said in the clearest English: "Thank you for calling HP, how may I help you?"

Let's just state at this juncture, this is the worst experience I've had when actually dealing with humans on the other end of the line. If you're thinking about doing business with Office Depot, you have been warned.

I'll provide updates as required and available.

2008-03-13T19:03:00.005-04:00

Another Bush term, another recession

So, the son is just like the father in two unseemly ways:

1)Each term brings a recession

2)Each term brings a war(junior was quite the precocious little weasel here, as he invaded two countries in his first term)

2006-08-14T18:12:00.000-04:00

How Does He Do It?

w, hero of the world averred today:

Bush, taking questions from reporters on a variety of topics, said the United States still believes that al-Qaida was behind last week's disrupted plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners from Britain.

"It sure looks like it. ... It looks like the kind of thing al-Qaida would do," he said. But he said the United States has not made a definite conclusion about the sponsorship of the plan.

Asked if there might be any U.S.-based participants, Bush said, "Any time we get a hint that there might be a terror cell in the United States, we move on it."

Now Bush not only knows the mind of al-Qaida, but he and his pals are going to move on terror cells! Amazing!

How Does He Do It?

Let's watch to see if we can find the source of his power.

w: quite a guy...with a little help from Johannes ;)

link to quote source and article

2006-08-13T19:25:00.000-04:00

Hersh on Neo-cons, Israel, Hezbollah..

..and other observances.

The last remaining investigative journo in America pens this:

In the days after Hezbollah crossed from Lebanon into Israel, on July 12th, to kidnap two soldiers, triggering an Israeli air attack on Lebanon and a full-scale war, the Bush Administration seemed strangely passive. “It’s a moment of clarification,” President George W. Bush said at the G-8 summit, in St. Petersburg, on July 16th. “It’s now become clear why we don’t have peace in the Middle East.” He described the relationship between Hezbollah and its supporters in Iran and Syria as one of the “root causes of instability,” and subsequently said that it was up to those countries to end the crisis. Two days later, despite calls from several governments for the United States to take the lead in negotiations to end the fighting, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that a ceasefire should be put off until “the conditions are conducive.”

The Bush Administration, however, was closely involved in the planning of Israel’s retaliatory attacks. President Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney were convinced, current and former intelligence and diplomatic officials told me, that a successful Israeli Air Force bombing campaign against Hezbollah’s heavily fortified underground-missile and command-and-control complexes in Lebanon could ease Israel’s security concerns and also serve as a prelude to a potential American preëmptive attack to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations, some of which are also buried deep underground.

Israeli military and intelligence experts I spoke to emphasized that the country’s immediate security issues were reason enough to confront Hezbollah, regardless of what the Bush Administration wanted. Shabtai Shavit, a national-security adviser to the Knesset who headed the Mossad, Israel’s foreign-intelligence service, from 1989 to 1996, told me, “We do what we think is best for us, and if it happens to meet America’s requirements, that’s just part of a relationship between two friends. Hezbollah is armed to the teeth and trained in the most advanced technology of guerrilla warfare. It was just a matter of time. We had to address it.”

Well, there's a load of surprises(heavy sarcasm).

Go and read this!.

Hersh even manages to get old friends like Dick Armitage in on the act. I'm a bit disappointed that Dicky Perle didn't make the piece. Now that man knows how to party! ;)

Sy lays it all out for you in his inimitable style. Not florid prose, but logically sequenced for all but Faux News viewers. He reports, BushCo. lies.

Remember when Perle called Hersh(and I'm slightly paraphrasing) "the closest thing to a terrorist we have in American journalism?" Really takes ya back.

But I digress.

Go. Read. Now.

2006-08-11T17:06:00.000-04:00

Get Out The Duct Tape!

Remember way back in the halcyon days of the WoT(War on Terrah)?

What was the drill again? Stop, duct tape, and blubber? Well maybe not precisely, but close enough for Department of Homeland Security(DHS) work ;)

Well, I know that this is going to come as a shock to you all, but there is a segment of the population that believes that the DHS guidelines are woefully inadequate.

No! It is not the choir at the Rapture Ready bulletin board!

It's those pointy heads at the Federation of American Scientists. The nerve of those people. They issued a press release and launched webpages mocking those of our beloved DHS.

The FAS folks count 'extreme heat' amongst their list of natural disasters. Apparently some folks think that this could be a real issue in the near future.

The FAS is far ahead of the politicos in taking global climate change seriously. This is a welcome development.

Can terrorists kill some people? Sure. Can terrorists end civilization as we know it? No. Unless they score the nukes of the US or Russia. Climate change, on the other hand, can accomplish what the terrorists cannot.

Bravo, FAS! Now that Kansas has re-entered the 21st century, maybe, just maybe, we'll have some real action on the climate front.

I am not however, holding my breath.

2006-08-04T14:21:00.000-04:00

Christians and Shia and Kurds, Oh My!

The IDF is killing a lot more than Hezbollah, and their supporters.

What possible tactical advantage does the killing of Kurdish farmers and Christians offer the Israelis?

The possibilities as to why they are doing so are potentially too ugly to suggest.

Shut the money off now. All of it.

That Israel is destroying civilian escape routes is unconscionable. That the US is standing by as witness to this human tragedy is inexcusable.

I do have a horse in this race, and that horse is justice. Collective punishment never works unless you kill every single possible person that would take up arms against you.

I've come to additional conclusions about the neo-cons, w, and condi: they are nothing short of insane.

In this world that may be a positive trait.

In ideology they are without reason.

Their smug certainty hides their abject cowardice.

2006-08-01T17:24:00.000-04:00

Economic news: "You want fries with that?"

Newsflash..Detroit isn't making the vehicles people are buying. Okay, so maybe it's not a flash.

The dope via Marketwatch.

The big three are now GM, Toyota and Ford, in that order.

Blockquote you say? M'kay.

General Motors, currently the world's biggest carmaker, posted a 22.5% decline in light vehicle sales to 406,298 cars and trucks from 524,218 a year ago.

"I would certainly continue to stress that the industry is a bit below expectations so far this year, both in terms of sales as well as mix," said Paul Ballew, GM's top sales analyst. "But the July results showing some strength versus June are a plus, especially given the persistent headwinds we face with gas prices and higher interest rates."

Adjusted for an extra selling day this year, sales at GM fell 19.4%, mostly in line with Wall Street targets. On the car side, sales dropped 4.2% to 162,203 vehicles on an unadjusted basis, while GM saw sales of its light trucks fall 31.2% to 244,095.

There were 25 selling days in July 2006 compared with 26 in the year ago period.
The declines at DaimlerChrysler and Ford were worse than Wall Street had expected and set the stage for an industry-wide pullback after last summer's buying binge.
Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were looking for a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) of 17.3 million, down from 20.7 million in July of last year but an improvement from 16.3 million in June, according to industry research firm Autodata.

The final tally came in at 17.2 million, slightly below consensus targets.
DaimlerChrysler was the first to hand in its results, posting a 34% plunge from a year ago. The Chrysler side of the business, amid a new product lull ahead of several launches later this year, reported a 37% decline to 150,349 vehicles.

The luxury Mercedes-Benz division, boosted by rising demand for its light trucks, turned in a 4% rise to 21,591 vehicles.

Ford Motor Co. followed with a similar pullback to 241,339 cars and trucks, down from 366,548 a year ago. The car side turned in a decline of 7% to 89,395 while trucks plunged 43.8% to 151,944.

The flagship F-Series pickup line took a hard hit, down 45.6% to 68,982 after posting 126,905 deliveries a year ago during what Ford claimed to be the best month of sales for any vehicle in the modern era.

Oh, the mighty have fallen.

In other news, Chuck Hagel may be the only person in DC with a pragmatic approach to Middle-east policy, as he breaks ranks with BushCo.

Hagel Busts Out!

The goods:

[snip]..."The sickening slaughter on both sides must end and it must end now," Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel said. "President Bush must call for an immediate cease-fire. This madness must stop."..[/snip]

[snip]..."How do we realistically believe that a continuation of the systematic destruction of an American friend -- the country and people of Lebanon -- is going to enhance America's image and give us the trust and credibility to lead a lasting and sustained peace effort in the Middle East?" asked Hagel, the No. 2 Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...[/snip]

[snip]..."Our relationship with Israel is special and historic," he said. "But it need not and cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships. That is an irresponsible and dangerous false choice."..[/snip]

Crikey! A Washington insider with a realistic foreign policy perspective.

You want it condensed?

Okay.

US Manufacturing fucked.

Hagel on the rise.

2006-08-01T16:13:00.000-04:00

Bush Reportedly Passes..

..His annual physical, that is.

"I'm feeling great", a happy w said after his annual physical.

The president quipped, "they done one o' them RPGs, or EKGs, or you know, that thing that measures brain wave activity, and guess what? They didn't find a thing."

We at pure bs are as shocked as you are at this revelation(oooh, bad word choice).

2006-08-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

How Much You Got?

I was reading this WaPo blog entry, and was reading the comments, when a reader made a statement that I have often made(in other circumstances).

The beef:

What does it say about the world's stomach for war that they rant and rave about 600 dead in Lebanon, but do nothing about the millions dead in Africa?

Indeed.

Like it or not, large segments of the population - perhaps any population - tend to value some lives more than others. It is always the 'other,' that is worth less.

Rather than expound on this obvious failing of most human psychologies, I should get to work.

2006-07-31T19:38:00.000-04:00

UN to Iran: NO Nukes For You!

The Council on Foreign Relations has the 'dirt.'

Iran is currently a signatory to the NNPT(if you're reading this blog, you know what this is ;) ), but it it is pretty cloudy as to whether or not they'll pull-out from the NNPT.

The CFR is a far better source of information than any US news source. It's a very well regarded souce for good reason.

For extra credit, scroll to the bottom to the linked item, and get the straight dope about Hezbollah's munitions of primary concern, the Katyusha rocket(s).

2006-07-31T16:16:00.000-04:00

Mitt Romney: Two Words from a White House Run

Tar baby. See ya, Mitt.

2006-07-29T19:32:00.000-04:00

Yo, Rove..You never grajiated!

Somebody please, get me a barf bag.

Entire AP article swiped from wire:

By Will Lester, Associated Press Writer | July 29, 2006

WASHINGTON --Presidential adviser Karl Rove said Saturday that journalists often criticize political professionals because they want to draw attention away from the "corrosive role" their own coverage plays in politics and government.

"Some decry the professional role of politics, they would like to see it disappear," Rove told graduating students at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. "Some argue political professionals are ruining American politics -- trapping candidates in daily competition for the news cycle instead of long-term strategic thinking in the best interest of the country."

But Rove turned that criticism on journalists.

"It's odd to me that most of these critics are journalists and columnists," he said. "Perhaps they don't like sharing the field of play. Perhaps they want to draw attention away from the corrosive role their coverage has played focusing attention on process and not substance."

Rove told about 100 graduates trained to be political operatives that they should respect the instincts of the American voter.

"There are some in politics who hold that voters are dumb, ill informed and easily misled. that voters can be manipulated by a clever ad or a smart mind," said Rove, who is credited with President Bush's wins in the 2000 and 2004 election. "I've seen this cynicism over the years from political professionals and journalists. American people are not policy wonks, but they have great instincts and try to do the right thing."

Rove said it is "wrong to underestimate the intelligence of the American voter, but easy to overestimate their interest. Much tugs at their attention."

But he said voters are able to watch campaigns and candidates closely and "this messy and imperfect process has produced great leaders."

A degree in 'political operatism?' WTF? I guess they couldn't do math or something.

I'll let Rove's weirdness speak for itself.

What the hell is Rove - who never graduated university - giving a commencement speech?

He could have said something substantive, but no. In his best interest, he chose to blame those reporting on events for the follies of those being reported upon. Orwellian, yes?

What a sad, little man.

I need to go to Canada..I'm close ;)

2006-07-29T16:07:00.000-04:00

Hey You Right-Wingnuts!

Global cooling? My ass.

Dear Coulter, Crichton, Limbaugh,

O'Reilly, Stossel, Malkin,

and all other global climate change deniers,

quit using my research unless you know how to properly parse climate data!

Frikkin' Idiots!

2006-07-29T14:25:00.000-04:00

What's all the fuss about 1559?..

..That would be UN resolution 1559. w, who really puts the 'dip' in diplomat, and the entire RWEC(Right Wing Echo Chamber) is now demanding that UN resolution 1559 be enforced prior to any cease of Israeli military operations.

Essentially, resolution 1559 calls for the disarming of Hezbollah, and a return of the Lebanese army to the border in southern Lebanon.

Big problem. Hezbollah has the overwheming support of the Lebanese people. Who knows if the Lebanese army can and/or will, do anything to force Hezbollah's hand?

Next issue.

Just today, Israel rejected the UN's call for a three-day cease-fire to get supplies in, and allow civilians to leave the war torn south.

This isn't just. It's crazy.

Israel needs to garner support from the world community. w, awaiting eschaton, and the UK are the only players that currently support Israel's continued actions. Expect the UK to drop support as Israel denies common Lebanese in the south even the luxury of potable water. Maybe.

Then there is the issue of standards. One for Israel, one for everyone else(excluding the US and the UK).

That lefty rag The Economist noted the double standards the US had between Iraq and Israel during the run-up to the Iraq war redux.

Remember UN resolution 242?

Wasn't that quaint?

Well, Iraq was in compliance. It's just that the US lapdog press and the w administration said otherwise.

In addition to the wordy Economist article above concerning Iraq and Israel, there is a much longer history of the US treating Israel with a different standard. This is not a left, right, or center issue. It is simply a fact. An embarrassing political fact, but a fact nonetheless.

A list? Okay.

A very brief history of UN resolution violations..other than Iraq..'cuz they're now the 51st state.

Read the whole piece. Especially the bottom regarding the US being the sole dissenting vote in a large number of instances. It also shows that at one time the US had a much more even hand in foreign affairs. Not anything to be particularly proud of, mind you, but more just.

I think it clearly demonstrates a need for a diplomat the likes of John Bolton to defuse. Yes, he's the guy(reeks of sarcasm more than some good 'skunk').

Lest anyone think I am an anti-semite, I can only assure you that I am not. I am critical of some Zionist policies, but that's a political difference of opinion, not an 'I wear a white hood' racial statement. There is a huge chasm between the two.

I am critical of all governments from Afghanistan to Zimbawe. So Israel isn't at all special in this regard.

If the west really wanted peace, we'd act accordingly. Our leadership simply doesn't care about peace.

2006-07-27T14:08:00.000-04:00

"Here's a fellow who is in a remote region of the world, putting out statements, basically encouraging people to use terrorist tactics to kill innocent people to achieve political objectives." - w

Is w talking about Richard B. Cheney?

Well, let's see if the statements align with what we think we know.

'Remote region'...Yes! Undisclosed location!

'Putting out statements'...Yes! See Faux news!

'Encouraging people to use terrorist tactics to kill innocent people'...No! Cheney shot his lawyer all by hisself!

Zarqawi?..No. He dead.

Okay, the answer is al-Zawahiri.

In this piece by Reuters, picked up by WaPo, nowhere is it mentioned that Bush wants to get this really bad guy.

At least Bush isn't 'surprised' by al-Zawahiri's missive.

Remember those halcyon days when: "dead or alive" were the operative words?

It really takes you back.

2006-07-27T13:38:00.000-04:00

Hugo Chavez

How can you not like what this guy has done recently?

Chavez is pissing off all the right people.

If there ever was a more glaring case that the US will accept corpocracy without democracy, but will not tolerate the reverse, I need the example.

Of course, it's official US doctrine to support democracy first. But that position is specious at best.

Regardless of how the US tlks, it is still very much mired in the Cold War mentality.

For a good outside-the-beltway read about emergent Latin-America try this.

2006-07-26T19:10:00.000-04:00

Max Boot, A Neo-Con's Neo-Con Gets Nod From White House

Man, I don't know how I missed this.

Click vid. to watch

Sickening.

2006-07-26T17:19:00.000-04:00

AFP Newsflash!

I just got word that a poll in Lebanon shows that 70% of those questioned approve of hostage taking.

I may have more later...Or not ;)

2006-07-26T13:02:00.000-04:00

US, Allies Divided over Cease-Fire Terms

That's the headline that Bloomberg is running.

I like charts. Here are two:

The first is a list of countries calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The second are countries not ready for am immediate cease-fire.

In case you require further elucidation, click on image for larger versions.

As those inane anti-drug commercials of the nineties offered: "any questions?"

Sorry for all of the white space.

One more thing, UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon contacted Israeli troops 10 times before an Israeli bomb killed four of them, an initial UN report says

(pics courtesy of The Belfast Telegraph)

2006-07-24T17:49:00.000-04:00

Made In USA

Or, alternatively, Why They Do Hate Us.

I know it's ugly, but firing missiles into fleeing civilian vehicles? WTF?

The Arabs know that while Israelis pulled the trigger, those are Made In USA missiles.

Not only is this tactically insignificant, it further fuels hatred of Israel and the US.

It appears that Hezbollah has agree to a prisoner swap deal brokered in part by the Lebanese gov't. It remains to be be seen if BushCo will accept the terms.

The situations in Lebanon and Gaza are so fluid - perhaps intentionally so - that it's difficult to draw a bead on what prcisely is transpiring.

Meanwhile, Iraq is in undeclared civil war, and Afghanistan is under increasing pressure from the resurgent Taliban.

I don't need to provide any links, a quick search will lead you to too many articles to read.

One last thing, The Supremes have decided to hear a case on global climate change.

In case you missed it, w's State Dept. recently said this: "the surface of the Earth is warmer and that an increase in greenhouse gases caused by humans is contributing to the problem."

Link to State Dept. statement on climate change.

If I was a believer in any sort of eschatology, I'd probably cite the State Dept.s' webpage as evidence that the end is nigh ;)

Thankfully, I'm unburdened by any religious beliefs.

Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

2006-07-23T16:42:00.000-04:00

Les Claypool with Another Kinda Stick

My cousin just alerted me to the fact that Les Claypool of Primus and countless other projects is on a fishing program?!?!

It's on OLN, and titled, "Flyfishing The World."

Les is up to his usual antics. Havin' fun, and catching a few fish.

Okay, so I didn't know the guy fished.

Claypool remains my favorite no-lessons bass player.

He is only slightly above god in the heirarchy of things.

I know this is way OT for rhe blog, but I am a music lover. Sadly, one sans the chops to be in a real band ;)

2006-07-23T11:12:00.000-04:00

How Do You Fight? Do You Have the Fortitude?

I figure that there are two ways to really effectively show your displeasure with the foreign policy of the US.

The first is to vote out all incumbents. Everyone that voted to give Bush any authority to attack Iraq was driven by polling numbers available at the time. They did not think - critically or otherwise - they reacted to the majority of the public's sentiment.

This was, and is, deplorable.

The second could be more risky. I say could be because if enough of the citizenry stood together, the government would be helpless to do anything.

Of course I am referring to withholding 2006's federal income tax payments. Withholding of federal phone tax may be an easier pill for some to swallow.

Hey, it wouldn't be a viable option unless a "How To" was provided.

Give the feds a token amount. It's not as if you haven't paid enough over the past three years for an illegal war regardless of how you feel over the current US/Lebanon/US/Israel/US/Palestine/US/Syria/US/Iran/US/Iraq/US/Afghanistan/US conflagrations.

I'm through subsidizing wars.

Resistance via withholding tax payments has a very long history. Now we need critical mass.

2006-07-22T10:32:00.000-04:00

Why Do They Hate Us?

I have no idea.

Why are we handing Islamic extremists these gifts?

Bin Laden must look like a genius to the Muslim world.

...But we're sending Condibot over to wield her diplomatic powers.

'S good.

2006-07-21T19:34:00.000-04:00

Yo, Blair! We Alone?

Maybe.

George w. Bush....not a leader. If it isn't clear that Bush is a Domnionist that fully believes in eschaton by now, ummm, I dunno. It's scary.

Sure. Send Condi in. She's effective.

"You don't just negotiate with your friends. Sometimes you negotiate with your enemies, or at least your adversaries. We negotiated with the Soviet Union for 50 years." - Sandy Berger, national security adviser to former president Bill Clinton.

I was no fan of Clinton, but in retrospect, well, compared to the entire bunch of neocon bunglers, he was a great president.

Tom Raum of the AP has more on the isolation of the US.

2006-07-17T16:45:00.000-04:00

Jon Friedman: WTF?

Who the Hell is Jon Friedman you ask? He writes a column for WSJ(red bulb!) Marketwatch called Media Web. Today he's pondering whether or not the NYT and other 'liberal media' will gang up on Cheney, Scooter and Porky over the civil suit that Valerie Plame has filed.

Friedman is supposed to be some sort of irreverent character. I'm sure that's true. Just as irreverent as his employer - The WSJ - will allow. *snicker*

You really need to read this.

Here's the mosquito bite:

[snip]...And let's get this out of the way right from the start: yes, I believe, the media DO have a liberal bias. Is there really any doubt? My conclusion is as logical as saying the sun rising in the east and setting in the west and as durable as the axiom about death and taxes...[/snip]

Sure. Conclusions without evidence are..what's the word..dogma.

So, I wrote Jon an email. Let's see if he posts it. Since I start off asking him if believes in a god or gods, I'm certain he'll bounce me on those terms.

2006-07-13T17:33:00.000-04:00

The Wilson's go to War

In what is the most American of all legal processes, Joe and Valerie Wilson AKA Valerie Plame are suing Dick Heney, Rove, Libby, and 10 other unnmamed officials in the 'outing' of CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Maybe we'll finally get to the bottom of all this after-all. I am not holding my breath.

New sponsor: visit Audio Cabs for your speaker building needs.

2006-07-11T15:33:00.000-04:00

'Shrooming, Stossel, the Indian Bombings, and a heartfelt message from w

I'd first like to axpress my deepest sympathies and solidarity with the the Indian people a series of alleged terrorist bombings in Mumbai.

My thoughts are with you all.

Next, 'Shrooming: The new generation.

As if anyone that has ever taken more than few grams of dried cubensis needs to be told, psilocybin opens 'spiritual' doors, and can be the most profound of experiences.

Five grams of good, dried psilocybin mushrooms can, and will, open up your mind. I've had a few experiences that I was certain would leave me a paranoid, shriveled, lump of dung. But with good set and setting, these VERY difficult times always subsided and I enjoyed the rest of the trip even more than usual.

The fact that any pschedelics are finally being tested for any practical mecidal use is heartening.

Try the Erowid Mushroom vault for non-judgemental information, and really good links to onsite and off-site resources.

No kiddies, I am in no way suggesting that you try and pull a Terrence McKenna 5 gram dose. I am not suggesting that you do anything illegal. Playing around with hallucinogens is a fool's errand. Know your limits.

Finally, John Stossel.

What a whore. Via email from Media Matters comes Stossel.

On Fox(see video at provided link), Stossel states:

"Global warming is happening. Is it a big problem? Probably not. Many scientists do not agree, despite what you hear in the Al Gore movie. And Kyoto wouldn't make any difference even if we did sign and if the countries that did obeyed, which they're not.

Many scientists do not agree? Not the vast majority of those with enough information to have a working knowledge of global warming; i.e. climatologists. Anyone that doesn't study either current climate conditions, or paleo-climate conditions(or closely related fields) isn't equipped to even have a defensible side in what is now not even a debate.

Kyoto is red herring. If Kyoto was signed on to by all parties, it is logical to expect that new more restrictive treaties would be in place even now.

Using Stossel's logic...

I, John Stossel, am proposing to the panel(NAS), an experiment in which I will dump millions of tons of atmospheric carbon and other known greenhouse gases into the earth's troposphere. I will increase this amount annually because I don't think it will cause much of a problem.

Imagine how that would go over at that National Academy of Sciences. That is, in essence, what we are now doing, and Stossel doesn't see it as big deal. Of course....

...Stossel is shlepping his new book, "Please Don't be as ill-informed as I am," or some similar title, and I sincerely hope that the book is at least researched, and objectively. In the book it is reported that Stossel lays waste to, I presume what he sees as American mythologies. However, given Stossel's penchant for aggrandizing John Stossel, I for one will not be holding my breath regarding objectivity.

An Ann Coulter in khakis?

Okay, one more.

Try to believe Reuters went with this headline: Bush's style of diplomacy: Texas plain talk.

Pretty scary. There is a precious 'compassionate conservative'(when was the last time you heard that?) moment in the article. This is Bush after biking with some SS agents.

"I made some kind of noise, or something startled him out of his walking shoes, you know," Bush said. "My point is, there he was. He was a guy who I felt comfortable enough roaring by on a mountain bike, three Secret Service agents spewing up sand."

He added: "I feel comfortable talking to him. He may not agree with me. But the fundamental question I think you're searching for is, can you still have a good relationship even though you disagree on issues? And the answer is, yes."

I'm sure that the Wilson's(Joe and Valerie), Richard Clarke, Paul O'Neill, and essentially two-thirds of Americans might take umbrage with Bush's declaration.

Oh well, fuck 'em.

2006-07-08T19:46:00.000-04:00

Red Sox win, Coulter steals, and the Pope isn't hip to gay marriage

First of all, congrats to the Red Sox for going into the All-Star break with the AL East.

Being an engineer, I know stuff about probability and other archane stuff that most Americans get glossy-eyed over. I don't know what the probability is that Ann Coulter conjured the same 20 plus words from a given article, or publication once might be....it has been said to be between 50 million and 100 million to one.

Let's use the worst case scenario for Annie.

Now, when you have multiple instances of the same variety of word usage, with each usage you multiply thusly: 100,000,000*100,000,000 or 10,000,000,000,000,000 to one.

For each ensuing duplicated passage, the probability that this is coincidence goes up 10⁸...ad infinitum.

I don't expect Ann to understand this simple math, given that in her latest work(?), she attempts to disprove evolution. Not likely. Evolution is an established fact. The only real debate amongst evolutionary biologists and others with a working understanding of the subject matter is what mechanisms are involved.

Not too clever.

Finally, the Pontiff was in Spain where it has been reported that whilst 80 per-cent of the adult population considers themselves Catholic, only 42 per-cent profess to believing in God. Not surprisingly, Bene The Umpteenth denounced gay marriage, stating that marriage was a holy union between a priest and his choir boys.

Okay, so the choir boy bit isn't exactly factual, but I'm simply trying to conform to the level of public discourse in GWB's 'Murrika.

2006-07-06T05:17:00.000-04:00

WaPo seems to get it

The headline is a gem: A Driven President Faces a World of Crises

I would have worded it somewhat differently, but the baffled boy blunder has a lot on his plate, and precious little mental resources with which to consume this meal.

Okay, I'm being too harsh, 'too little observed or evidentiary mental resources.....'

Moving right along, here's a snippet:

From deteriorating security in Afghanistan and Somalia to mayhem in the Middle East, confrontation with Iran and eroding relations with Russia, the White House suddenly sees crisis in every direction.

North Korea's long-range missile test Tuesday, although unsuccessful, was another reminder of the bleak foreign policy landscape that faces President Bush even outside of Iraq. Few foreign policy experts foresee the reclusive Stalinist state giving up the nuclear weapons it appears to have acquired, making it another in a long list of world problems that threaten to cloud the closing years of the Bush administration, according to foreign policy experts in both parties.

"I am hard-pressed to think of any other moment in modern times where there have been so many challenges facing this country simultaneously," said Richard N. Haass, a former senior Bush administration official who heads the Council on Foreign Relations. "The danger is that Mr. Bush will hand over a White House to a successor that will face a far messier world, with far fewer resources left to cope with it."

Instead of smearing Joe Wilson(and countless others), maybe this White House could have done something constructive in the domain of foreign policy.

Nahhhhhhhh.

Meanwhile, that ever elusive phantom, 'the liberal media' continues to give Bush and the GOP brownie(you're doin' a heckuva job!) points whilst actual evidence points to a ship of state rudderless in a stormy sea. Harrrrrrr!

As is the norm, Media Matters sets the record straight.

Tis all fer now...I gotta eat.

2006-07-04T14:55:00.000-04:00

Kristof seems really pissed off, and is anyone paying attention to Murray Waas?

E & P has some dirt. Of course now that the NYT has gone to a subscription model, it sometimes takes a bit to get all the story from some shameless website.

Here is some of what Kristof is reported to have penned:

...When I was covering the war in Iraq, we reporters would sometimes tune to Fox News and watch, mystified, as it purported to describe how Iraqis loved Americans. Such coverage (backed by delusional Journal editorials baffling to anyone who was actually in Iraq) misled conservatives about Iraq from the beginning. In retrospect, the real victims of Fox News weren’t the liberals it attacked but the conservatives who believed it.

Historically, we in the press have done more damage to our nation by withholding secret information than by publishing it. One example was this newspaper’s withholding details of the plans for the Bay of Pigs invasion. President Kennedy himself suggested that the U.S. would have been better served if The Times had published the full story and derailed the invasion.

Then there were the C.I.A. abuses that journalists kept mum about until they spilled over and prompted the Church Committee investigation in the 1970’s. And there are secrets we should have found, but didn’t: in the run-up to the Iraq war, the press — particularly this newspaper — was too credulous about claims that Iraq possessed large amounts of W.M.D....

I'll see if I can get a link to the whole Op-Ed later.

On another note, National Journal muckraker, Murray Waas has written another gem. I'm waiting for anyone in the MSM to pick this up. So far, it seems only lefty blogs are commenting on Waas' revelations. At this juncture, what Waas reports seems credible.

All the parts of the key players seem to be acted out in accord with known information.

In case you haven't seen the piece, the essential point is that Bush personally directed Cheney(ordered?) to lead the charge in the efforts to discredit Amb. Wilson's Niger claims.

It will be interesting to see if this gets any real network time.

2006-07-04T11:32:00.000-04:00

'Merikun Independence Day!

Yes, here we are at 4 July again.

As much as I love explosions, I don't celebrate the day.

I'll celebrate our independence day when we are independent from:

1) All forms of inequality

2) Environmental degradation

3) Useless military spending

4) Imperial conquest

5) People without healthcare coverage

6) Neo-liberal trade policies

7) OUR weapons of mass destruction

8) Religion is fancied over reason...get the fucking church out of my government!

9) Fox News

(okay, so number 9 is taking it a bit too far, but it is time for people to act boldly)

In related news, the CIA's bin Laden unit that has been hunting bin Laden for a reported decade.

I guess "dead or alive" is pretty much 'wutevah!'(yeah, I know it was a non-sequitur, that's the point)

Now go show your patriotism and blow something up..

2006-07-01T16:55:00.000-04:00

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!)

2006-06-30T08:04:00.000-04:00

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.

2006-06-28T09:40:00.000-04:00

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.

2006-06-27T18:19:00.000-04:00

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.

2006-06-23T19:49:00.000-04:00

I'm back!

Hello fellow 'netizens! I am back after a long, painful absence.

Rather than detail my recovery from my vehicle wreck, I'll get right back to posting stuff.

Ann Coulter is a lousy comedienne. From Pharyngula we learn that Coulter believes that evolutionary biology is the product of a "cult" mentality. Ann also bashes women, hence she displays mysogynistic tendencies.

From her latest book(I'm sure you know which one) comes the following:

Their grandiose self-conceptions to the contrary, the cult [the "evolution cult"] members are rarely scientists at all.

[...]

They're almost always biologists—the "science" with the greatest preponderance of women. The distaff MIT "scientist" who fled the room in response to Larry Summers's remarks was, of course, a biologist. While I'm sure there have been groundbreaking discoveries about the internal digestive system of the earthworm, biologists are barely even scientists anymore. They're classifiers, list-makers, like librarians with their Dewey decimal system. Except librarians don't claim the Dewey decimal system holds the Rosetta Stone to the universe. There were once great biologists, but the morally vacuous ones began to promote their own at the universities. It was sort of intelligently designed devolution. Like Marxists gradually dominating the comp lit department, biologists will only be given tenure today if they foreswear any doubts about the evolution pseudoscience. Consequently, "biologist" almost always means "evolutionary biologist," which is something like an "ESP biologist."

This isn't funny.

It isn't remotely accurate.

It is my hope that Ms. Coulter actually go to a library and research the field of biology. I don't think it necessary to detail the fact that all the sciences are interdisciplinary.

Let us hope that Ann is the one that gets true religion, and instead of bashing straw-men(and women), does some actual research should she ever get published again.

To Ann: Please continue with your terrific insights. I'd expect nothing more from a person claiming that a book with talking animals and other nonsense holds ultimate truth.

In other news, it looks like the Godless librul scientists were correct about the rate of global warming. The link is to a page with lots more clicky links.

Maybe this will be the wake-up call that drives our elected - and un-elected - officials kicking and screaming into doing something about global climate change now that it's too late.

Next, a directive!!!

Being the all-out authoritarian that I am, I command you to get email alerts from Media Matters.

Finally, I found out precisely what my political philosphical bent is... I am a...get ready...I am a 'post-left anarchist with primitivist leanings.'

I was thusly dubbed by the Green Mountain anarchist collective.

I fail the big test of primitivism by not rejecting technology, yet embrace most of the ideology's other tenets.

(that's what I get for going to Vermont :) )

There are a lot more things that I've found noteworthy; I'm still angry even with the flood of prescribed meds.

I figured I'd wade back into the water slowly. No need to dive into the deep end after a long hiatus.

It's good to be back!

2006-01-13T15:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry 'Bout the Lack of Updates

I was in a car wreck and spent some time in hospital. Not a good time at all. I'm broken, but alive.

An elderly gentleman crossed into my lane and hit my door(I was driving), and the left side of my body is pretty much screwed up.

Time to call James Sokolove ;)

You know the aphorism: "It's always darkest before the dawn?"

Well, it's not true. It's always darkest before pitch black.

I've been following events from the sidelines. I now really know why I don't watch network television.

I'll update regularly in a week or so. I'm still in quite a bit of physical pain. I'm also left handed, so typing is a one finger, on my right hand, at a time affair.

Thanks for your patience,

todd

2006-01-06T12:06:00.000-05:00

Bush: Clueless on Iraq?

No. It's a serious question. In inviting various former defense and state to the White House yesterday, it can be viewed in a bunch of different ways.

Of course the spin is that Bush is reaching out to those on both sides of the issue. That's only a sliver of the truth. The rest of the truth is that the guests were almost certainly going to adhere to the White House line that we need to stay in Iraq now that we've thoroughly screwed the country.

Colin Powell's not uttering a single word speaks volumes.

So, was it just a PR play and photo-op? Yup. Would Bush have altered his course if some dissenter(s) had a far better plan than we currently are pursuing? Not too difficult to answer. His record is abysmal in this area.

Meanwhile, in real serious news, the US State Dept. has some detail of a study of how global warming can cause extreme climate change. How this one got by the censors is beyond me.

Bah. Those 'high-dome boys'(old Popular Science writer's favorite phrase) at the NSF don't know what the hell they're talking about anyway. Too much math involved.

I say screw 'em. Let's keep on accelerating our use of fuels that produce greenhouse emissions, whilst deforesting the planet! We'll find out soon enough if any of this so-called 'scientific' mumbo-jumbo has any merit.

And if these science people are shown to be right, we'll just hop into our hyper-drives and using the nearest wormhole, go and colonize another planet and rape it into inhability.

2006-01-04T14:54:00.000-05:00

Jesus Man, I Need A Hit

"Don't bogart that joint, my Lord..."

I knew it. The "J" man was a j-man!

2006-01-04T12:06:00.000-05:00

We Broke It..Fu%& 'em

I presume WaPo reported on this yesterday, but I missed it.

According to the Independent, the US may be making plans to cut off monies promised to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure.

Boy, these neo-cons are sure neophytes at winning the hearts and minds game.

Even Baghdad is still without electricity for most of every day.

This is how democracy is spread. No. I think that's incorrect.

This is how terrorism is bred. Yes, I think that closer to the mark.

2006-01-04T05:36:00.000-05:00

Where's The Love?

A new Military Times poll shows that support for Georgie and the Excellent Iraq Adventure is slipping amongst the military.

A Pew Research poll taken in November 2005 showed that amongst military "opinion leaders" - senior guys and officer types - showed about an even split on the question whether it was right to invade to Iraq, and 45% responded believed that advocating democracy in Iraq was "a good idea that will not succeed."

Nineteen percent responded it was a bad idea.

2006-01-03T15:13:00.000-05:00

Does This Jump Suit Make Me Look Fat?

Abramoff plea bargains

2006-01-02T07:49:00.000-05:00

Predictions 2006

Here are my totally unsupported predictions for calendar year 2006. I'll keep it to five, as I have a very short attention spa...uh, where was I going with that?

Without further ado(and in no particular order):

1) Economy

Definite cooling off of the US economy. There are a number of factors for this, but the main contributors are:

A: The housing market, which has shown an accelerating slowing trend. Most of the metrics have peaked and are now either in stasis, or outright decline.

B: The inversion of the bond yield curve. For some background listen to this All Things Considered show of Dec. 28

C: The Copper Indicator. Although it's too early to tell, the price of copper may have peaked, and this is a good indicator of future usage expectations. The price trend is flattening for the first time in over four years.

D: More expensive capital. The Fed seems far from done regarding rate hikes. With the Fed making money more expensive to loan, it is reasonable to assume that GDP will slow, and that doesn't bode well for businesses in particular. Expect more business failures in 2006.

Am I predicting a second Bush recession? Not yet. But the underlying trends that tend to signal an economic slowdown are already in place.

This ends prediction number 1 for 2006.

2) Global climate change will emerge as the sleeper issue of the mid-term elections. Main Street is finally waking up to the strong likelihood that global climate change and ecosystem degradation is the most important long-term issue facing humankind.

Although people tend to vote in accord with their stance on much shorter term issues, this will change. Most Americans are now aware that this is a real issue, much to the chagrin of naysayers on the right.

In the US, the southeast must surely be aware that the weather has been whacky. In Alaska the tundra is thawing and glaciers are receding.

On a bigger scale, the record hurricane/tropical Atlantic storm season won't soon be forgotten.

I'd add much more to this, but my point is essentially made.

This ends prediction 2 for 2006

2005-12-27T15:30:00.000-05:00

Russia gets Gas, and Other Stuff

The CS Monitor is reporting that glasnost is officially dead as the Kremlin assumes (rather re-assumes) control of roughly 30% of all Russian petro-assets.

How much more will they grab? Hard to say, but given the West's and the burgeoning Chinese and Indian markets for black gold, no matter how you slice it, it's a damned good business for the state to be involved in.

Russia is the currently the second largest petroducer(new word!) and the Russian state is likely eager to futher 'tap' into this highly lucrative field.

The Monitor reports that:

[...]

A long-delayed law on subsoil resources, to be passed by the Duma next year, is expected to ban foreign-owned companies from exploring or developing Russian oil fields and other key mineral resources.

"Amazing changes are happening swiftly, because Putin has understood that energy is Russia's key card to play at the international table," says Michael Heath, a political analyst with Aton, a Russian brokerage. "Instead of the military force the Soviet Union used to project its power, Russia is using oil as a major tool of foreign policy."

[...]

Much like the US gov't. is heavily involved with the 'defense' industry, Russia is playing to its strength.

While this will be seen as a gigantic step backward from the Russian's particular form of democracy, it is more an evolutionary one.

We've got double secret wiretapping going on in the interest of national security.

Are not Russia's oil reserves a matter of national security?

I'm certainly not condoning either activity. I just bring this up as a countervail to the Right that will pounce on this as a talking point that the Kremlin will simply ignore.

When all is said and done, the US government only really cares about the flow of oil. If the Russian state gives the world a good market rate, we'll be more than accepting of the takeover of the Russian petro-assets.

The US doesn't seem to really concerned about truly open markets, and much less so about democracy, but we need cheap SUV juice dammit! Open markets for the US, and the US only is the true prize.

Capitalism without democracy is okay.
Democracy without capitalism is cause for invasion.

Condemning the Russians for reclaiming their oil assets is not likely to happen in the circles of power where these things are really decided.

The talking heads will continue to parrot Russian civil rights violations, and a return to the Soviet Union's way of conducting the show(our own record in these two areas has been less than exemplary as of late). This has absolutely nothing to do with the real issue.

We need cheap oil. The Russians have oil. The deals are done.

Damned shame, really.

2005-12-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

George Makes The News

WaPo is reporting that Bush has been attempting to tailor the news more to his liking.

What a shock!

I'll only give you the first couple of paragraphs:

President Bush has been summoning newspaper editors lately in an effort to prevent publication of stories he considers damaging to national security.

The efforts have failed, but the rare White House sessions with the executive editors of The Washington Post and New York Times are an indication of how seriously the president takes the recent reporting that has raised questions about the administration's anti-terror tactics.

Leonard Downie Jr., The Post's executive editor, would not confirm the meeting with Bush before publishing reporter Dana Priest's Nov. 2 article disclosing the existence of secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe used to interrogate terror suspects. Bill Keller, executive editor of the Times, would not confirm that he, publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Washington bureau chief Philip Taubman had an Oval Office sit-down with the president on Dec. 5, 11 days before reporters James Risen and Eric Lichtblau revealed that Bush had authorized eavesdropping on Americans and others within the United States without court orders.

(much more at link)

Well, when you're engaging in all manner of legally grey area activities, it ought to concern you. However, coming clean on these issues rather than attempting to quash reporting on them is the noble thing to do. No one ever accused Bush of nobility.

These articles have nothing to do with national security, and everything to do with White House damage control.

Given the past and present behavior of this White House, it can hardly come as a surprise that a surprise that The Gang is yet again trying to manage the news.

Bush had a fawning press after 9/11. Apparently he still thought that this was the case - and I'm certain that in many instances this is still true - but now it seems that a glimmer of a working democracy is rearing its head.

Can there be any doubt that 'access' was discussed at these meetings?

How disappointing this must be to the reigning monarch.

Add'l: There's a lot more good stuff in the article. a couple of other topics, and of course added color regarding Bush's tactics.

2005-12-24T19:50:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

In spite of the allegations that the liberal elites are out to destroy Christmas everywhere, we at pure bs wish to toss some water(no, it's not Holy water, merely tap water) on this non-starter by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

I guess it's a reindog or something..Close enough to 'Max' in Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas to be hip without stepping on copyright ;)

I have to go 'shred some wiretaps with care, in hopes that my civil rights will still be there.'

Merry X-Mas everyone!

Oh, and for any Right-wingers that think 'X-mas' somehow lessens the impact of Christmas, I suggest that you read up on your Greek. 'X' is derived from the greek word XPIΣTOΣ, which when transliterated(real word, honest!) means Christos. The Greek word for Christ.

2005-12-22T16:27:00.000-05:00

XXXtreem Bigotry!

..//Brought to you nearly live by RIGHT-WING PUNDITS!

Todd: Tonight on XXXreem, boy, those RIGHTies are really in the Christmas spirit! And we bring it to you nearly LIVE!

I'm here with my co-host, Tom Hun to discuss the daily savagings of limp-wristed Lefties, non-Aryan culture and a whole host of other topics of import to the RIGHT!

Tonight we look at two items by pillars of the RIGHT, Bill O' Reilly, and Ann Coulter.

Tom, do you have anything to add before we begin our first segment?

Tom Hun: Um, No.

Todd: Thanks ever so much for sharing that insight with our viewers, Tom. You really are a clueless (bleep) aren't you?

Tom: Uh, yes. But I'm pretty.

Todd: I'll pretend you never said that, you useless soiled teabag. Getting back on track, in our opening segment, that bastion of vitriole, Bill "Kill a Hack for Jesus" O'Reilly says this on his 'Daily Hate' radio program:

O'REILLY: All right, "No Spin News" real quick. Transit strike hits New York City. New York says it's against the law. The transit people don't care, and da-da-da -- 33,000 transit employees, and they're gone, so everybody's walking around. There's price gouging. A friend of mine told me that his daughter had to go out to the airport, a run that would cost you 40 bucks, and then somebody wants $300 to take you out there, you know, that kind of thing. Immediately, that person should be shot dead. Did you get that, you left-wing smear sites who are listening? OK? Just pass that around -- "O'Reilly wants cab drivers shot dead" -- big headline on the left-wing website. You gotta give them something, ladies and gentlemen. [laughter] These little weasels.

WOW. Now that's Harsh! Way to go, Billy O!

Tom Hun: You have to love those clipped sentences, Tom. Nothing appeals to the short attention span crowd like...um, where was I going with this?

Todd: Hell if I know, Tom. [laughter] For all I know, You're a closet butt pirate. I have no idea why I just tossed that out, but it's XXXtreem!

Tom Hun: What?

Todd: We'll be RIGHT back after this commercial break! Stay tuned!

Todd: Now, in part two of Hateapalooza 2005, that blonde pundit, Ms..or is it Mr. Tom?

Tom Hun: I dunno, kinda hard to tell. She looks like she might have a package.

Todd: Regardless, Ann "Maim a Kitten, Cuz It's Fun" Coulter writes in her always informative 'Weekly Brownshirt' column:

[...]

Which brings me to this week's scandal about No Such Agency [NSA] spying on "Americans." I have difficulty ginning up much interest in this story inasmuch as I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East and sending liberals to Guantanamo.

Damn it, Tom. Ann really puts it together here. Spying on all arabs, pitching daisy cutters recklessly in the cradle of civilization, and all the while never forgetting that all those damned libruls ought to sent to Camp X-Ray! You're Damned Right, Ann!

Anything to add, Tom?

Tom Hun: Just one quick thought, Todd. Coulter missed hitting that one out of the park by not expressly stating that libruls go directly to Gitmo. Habeas corpus is for losers, Todd.

Todd: I'd say pussies, but essentially, you got that RIGHT, Tom![laughter]

Well, we're out of time, and we'll see you RIGHT here next week for another installment of Hard RIGHT unqualified and unresearched news. News for the RIGHT news that matters!

For XXXtreem Bigotry, this is Todd "The Left is Never" Wright, and Tom "I'm named after Attila" Hun, saying So Right! See you next week for our another segment of XXXtreem Bigotry!

Merry Aryan Christmas to you all!

Goodnight everyone!

Tom Hun: Todd, you're a narcissistic bastid.

Todd: Why thank you, Tom. And a Merry Christmas to you as well. You wanna maybe get a drink or something..or something?

*****

Stay tuned to Fox for another episode of Great Reich History, as our expert team of historians examine the 1939 German invasion of Poland in Great Reich History: Blitzkreig, the Poles went crazy over it!.

*****

Many thanks to the folks at Media Matters. The material for our fist segment was taken from this piece. The Ann Coulter item was robbed here. See both pieces for added color and background.

It's all true.

Lest anyone think I've completely left my mind, the above is intended purely as political satire. The statements made by O'Reilly and Coulter are most likely accurate, as Media Matters seldom mis-steps, but fortunately, the balance is pure fancy.

2005-12-22T08:41:00.000-05:00

New Stuff Just Around Corner

I know. I haven't been making any entries.

For this I am sorry.

However, I have been following along. The political scene is rife with Abramoff rumors, an Osama myth(okay LIE) has been uncovered, The Iraqis are claiming voting fraud(they truly are on a similar path to democracy as the US), and Time Magazine staff minded its minders by naming yet more Western person(s) as Persons of the Year(admittedly, the Gates foundation and Bono are good choices, great even), but I find this to be the exception.

On that last note, there are some great people doing important work this year that you may wish to consider supporting.

Media issues:

For accuracy in righting the Right consider, the indispensible Media Matters.

Good television:

PBS Link to local station finder

Then there are so many around the globe in need that there is no way for me to compile a list in the few minutes it's taking me to compose this post.

Charity Watch is a good place to start, whilst ReutersAlertnet's searchable NGO database is a good place to start on a quest for a broader international search. In addition ReutersAlertNet also offers an emergency by region page which when you find a cause you'd like to assist with, simply open the link, and get the latest NGO news on the situation.

The caveat here is to always check out the organization before making a donation.

Until I go live with the site redesign ~1 January, I'll be making few entries.

Happy (insert your celebrated holidys here)!

Family arrives tonight. I'll be busy through to Monday. Plus my employer expects me to bloody work tomorrow! The nerve!

I'll be posting a list of 5 predictions for 2006 on 31 December. Stay tuned for the worst forecasting you've ever read!

2005-12-19T17:44:00.000-05:00

Oh Yeah..What A Rush

That reflexive anthro-apologist Rush Limbaugh is again claiming madness about humankind's footprint upon the planet.

His climatology credentials are par excellence. As best as I can tell, he has no academic climatic credentials - having lasted but a year in college - and no experiential substance to back up his claims.

I'd say that he just 'makes shit up,' - and yes, he does make a self-referential plug of his own website's 'essential stack of stuff'(subscription required) - but I do not know that this is a fact. One can only imagine the voluminous material of peer-reviewed material refuting ecosystem change walled up in this haven for the latest in scientific debate.(heavy sarcasm)

Media Matters has Rush's latest.

I hesitate to call them lies, as I do not honestly know if Mr. Limbaugh possesses the acumen to differentiate between established fact and fantasy. His record is this area isn't very good.

Getting to the point, Rush claimed that, "[t]here is no evidence that we could destroy ecosystems."

While Media Matters does a good job of dispelling this obvious myth, the BBC's Guide to global environmental environmental issues is chock full of the good stuff.

Two other good sources are Bill Moyers' excellent Earth On Edge series and the World Resources Institute's terrific EarthTrends site. These last two sources are an ecosystem by ecosystem break down as to how far things are already impacted by human activity, as well as projections of future changes.

I don't think that I need to go into the Pleistocene-Holocene extinction event which is almost universally agreed to as being caused by human effect..and is accelerating even now.

A quick primer.

I would have never known about Limbaugh's latest if it was not for the tireless crew at Media Matters. I subscribed to their email updates, and it allows me a glimpse into the 'Right' mind that I would otherwise miss.

As I have stated many times before, I am not an expert on anything but some obscure mathematics, and semiconductor gate process modification.

I'm not a climatologist, but I understand much of the mathematics behind the modeling, and am open to new interpretations of data sets. Mr. Limbaugh cannot alter his positions even when confronted with evidences to the contrary.

His rigidity in thinking is a concern for us all, as Mr. Limbaugh is unfortunately, a primary 'news source' for millions of Americans.

Rush is Wrong.

Hey, look at that. I made an entire post about Limbaugh without mentioning midnight Denny's Oxy runs.

Damn!

Well, almost.

2005-12-19T13:18:00.000-05:00

Come on, People. We Just Gotta Spy!

The NYT is reporting that Bush has vigorously defended operation wiretap, while calling for the Senate to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act.

It's comical in a warped sort of way.

As is the norm, the best stuff is mined from the end of the article. According to the Times report, Bush said, "In a war on terror we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment."

Any possible safety garnered from the wiretaps, and the PATRIOT Act have been more than offest by the Iraqi Adventure. Not to mention our pertro-centric middle-eastern policies over the last 50+ years(of which Iraq is merely the latest example)

Sometimes things just aren't a very good idea.

Slavery in the US was once considered essential and legal. Now I'm not foolish enough to equate the onerous provisions of the PATRIOT Act, and wiretaps with slavery, but it is useful to illustrate a point.

I say let's try and be without the PATRIOT Act for a single moment. If we feel brave enough, maybe two, or perhaps three moments.

Remember George, it was you that said if we allow the terrorists to alter our way of life, then they have won(paraphrasing)

Do you really want the terrorists to win, Mr. Bush?

2005-12-19T12:35:00.000-05:00

The Ugly Side of Happiness

There is another study confirming what most people know, happy people tend to do better at living.

Unfortunately, I have had to release more happy people for lack of the ability to perform their tasks than their more serious, dour, yet technically more adept engineering colleagues.

It may just be that engineering isn't a people oriented profession. This is of course true. If my HR counterparts prevailed upon applicants that performing partial differential equations AND being jolly were unequally weighted - that the math far outweighs a smile - then maybe I'd have a better employee retention rate.

You'd not likely know it from the tone of this blog, but I am a gregarious and yes, happy guy.

Sure, I rail against injustice, but I feel that to be strongly positive. My colleagues are sometimes put off by my often anarchistic rantings, but I always do it with a smile :)

2005-12-19T06:21:00.000-05:00

Verbal Fish Wrap

Sorry for the snarky title to W's Big Event of W's Big Night. Well, okay, I'm not sorry.

Official White House Transcript

For the truly informed dissenter, there is useable material in virtually every paragraph with which to take task.

In a nod to the WoC(War on Christmas), Bush ends his 'speech' with:

Next week, Americans will gather to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah. Many families will be praying for loved ones spending this season far from home -- in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other dangerous places. Our nation joins in those prayers. We pray for the safety and strength of our troops. We trust, with them, in a love that conquers all fear, in a light that reaches the darkest corners of the Earth. And we remember the words of the Christmas carol, written during the Civil War: "God is not dead, nor [does] He sleep; the Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail, with peace on Earth, goodwill to men."

Just some quick observations from this paragraph.

1) Wiccans, Atheists, Agnostics - you guys don't matter to me.

2) Bush missed the word "does," but he remembered that God is a guy.

Optional: God is alive. He doesn't sleep, and science hasn't progessed since the time of the AMERICAN Civil War. We're so damned Amero-centric that we don't even notice such things.

3) "Right" is capitalized...And the 'Right' shall also prevail.(nod to Karl Rove?)

I do appreciate the sentiment, just not the messenger. Those were originally the words of Lonfellow in the poem, Christmas Bells. Love the coded messages :)

That's all for the moment, gotta feed.

Update: I'd rather not have published this entry. I did so after only ten minutes of waking from the evening's slumber. But I did, so I'll let it stand.

2005-12-18T18:44:00.000-05:00

Bush's Big Night!

Gotta love the CNN Headline: Bush: Iraq pullout would hurt credibility

I'm betting that Barbara Bush is ruing the fact that '41' didn't 'pullout' early ;)

Senior's um, error has cost the US any shred of credibility we might once have had.

All I can add is 'thank Nature' that this is the last in Bush/Iraq war series of ~~propaganda messages~~ speeches.

In related news, Russ Feingold reminded folks that Bush is acting like "King George Bush" over the wiretapping fiasco.

Note to self: If anyone uses the term 'Tapgate,' Wiretapgate,' or other such silly monikers to describe this situation, I shall hunt them down and.....No, Todd. Bad, Todd. Bad.

It's really unfortunate that I won't be able to watch Action George deliver his address this evening. I have to change cat litter or something ;)

A special shout out to Bill O'Reilly, who I would like to wish a Happy Ramadan!

I know I'm a few months late, but with Bill being a few centuries out of touch, I don't believe he'll notice.

Allahu Akhbar, Bill!

Oh, and by the way, Bill, you are one letter away from being black. You are only one mutation away from being cool. Well, maybe more than one. Later, bro! *shiver*

I'll be back to my usual blogging blather with the turn of the new year. For now, I'm just keeping the spirit alive. Fight the machine!

2005-12-17T18:45:00.000-05:00

The White House: More Of The Shame..

..Another day, another scandal at the Bush White House.

What the hell was that whole bit about restoring dignity to the Office he was driveling about 5 years hence? I dunno.

Anyhow, the WH has admitted that The Boy authorized spying on citizens. Bushy boy(Dick's toy) then has the gall to aver that the Senate's non-vote on the very PATRIOT Act that was at the heart of his 007ish conduct? I see, it's the Senate that is being irresponsible? WTF, Geo?

I have also been following O'Reilly's rabid rants about the imminent demise of all things Christian. Media Matters gives me all the O'Reilly I can digest. What a true assclown.

To the eight GOP cultists that litened to today's radio address, you'd have my condolences - IF you could think for yourselves! To borrow from Nike: "Just do it!"

I have been following along. Honest. It's just that with the holidays, my mother, trying to set-up some new electronic gear, and a myriad of other things, I haven't had much of a chance to rant.

Since it is the Anti-Christ(mas) season, hop on over to ReutersAlertNet, poke around, and give if you can.

(Just so no one thinks that I am anti-Christian, the above comment was made in the lowest spirit of humor..Simply a jab at O'Reilly ;)

I am doing physical stuff as well. I cut up some 25mm Medium Density Fibreboard(AKA MDF AKA Particle board) for some loudspeakers I helped design. Well, essentially, I did the work for the crossover network. The cabinet size, bracing, drivers, and a host of other things were selected by the wacky, but knowledgeable folks over at Parts Express, whose debt I shall never be able to repay. It's very cool to get free advice from audio engineer PhDs, as well as really bright enthusiasts.

Parting shot.

George says: "Wiretaps without oversight saves lives in the Warren Terrah." Maybe. We'll never know.

Todd says: "Bush's lack of respect for anything concerning the environment will likely be his legacy."

Not Iraq. Iraq is temporal, no matter how well, or poorly, things go there. I do hope that the Iraqis get what they need to live in peace.

'Planet Killer George' carries with it an undeniable element of fact. That his 8 years in office were marked by obvious climatic effect, and he chose to do nothing of substance about it; that my dear readers is what the petro-soaked boy from Connecticut will be remembered. If civilization survives in any recognizable form.

That's your daily dose of hyperbole from the angry environmentalist.

Just another scandalous day of pure bs™ served steaming hot - courtesy of the 'Hassen bin Sober' White House.

2005-12-15T09:11:00.000-05:00

Of Bush's Mea Culpa and Jellyfish

It seems as though Bush's Iraq Speech Series© has been given a 'thumbs up' by the majority of the MSM, and yes, the invertebrates in Congress(even some Dems.) because of his acceptance of 'responsibility' for taking us into war based on flawed intelligence.

If you've been following along, Bush has had TWO YEARS to utter these words. This is what passes for as leadership in this issue? In the private sector, this sort of BS would have you at the unemployment line faster than(ya know, something really fast, a speeding bullet, a runaway train, a White House smearing of a political foe, maybe a sexual harassment allegation?)

Look, the guy said, "It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong." But there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, showing that pre-war intelligence that did not validate the use of force in Iraq - which has been a neo-con dream for over a decade - was merely pushed aside.

For more color on this issue see Seymour Hersh's excellent The Stovepipe.

In this WaPo piece no mention is given to the now voluminous amounts of material that questioned the White House's own intelligence gathering apparratus, the White House Iraq Group. The WHIG members read like a who's who on Prosecutor Fitzgerald's indictment trail.

I don't think it necessary to elucidate the statements made by former White House officials, Richard A. Clarke(picked by four presidents for anti-terrorism roles) and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who when famously interviewed on 60 Minutes said about the Bush Administration:

"From the very beginning[of Bush's first term], there was a conviction that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go."

Was the intelligence bad? Absolutely.

But, had all the intelligence been properly vetted - especially the nuclear weapons reconstitution program intelligence - then the case for an invasion would most likely have never been deferred to the President by Congress.

I'm not even going to include the statements of pet Iraqi exiles such as Ahmed Chalabi, or the admissions wrought from Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi under what is now apparently tortuous conditions.

Yes, Mr. Bush. The intelligence was bad. What you need to do is level with the American people, and tell us why the intelligence was bad. Spill the beans.

I know that you and your handlers are justifiably fearful of letting some nasty facts enter the public consciousness, but after all that you've put us through the last five years, it is the least that you can do.

I don't expect much from the media, but how about both Repubs. and Dems. demanding the whole truth, not some rubber-stamped milquetoast non-admission by BushCo.

Get me some vertebrates. Stat!

I hope that from the tone of this entry that it is not viewed as political humor. Although it was great fun in the penning of this piece. It is still a serious matter that needs to be truly addressed.

By the way, I'll give you a buck if you promise to hold your breath waiting for a full White House disclosure ;)

2005-12-14T17:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry 'bout That

My lack of updates, that is..I have been following along, but time constraints and my work schedule has not permitted me to properly maintain the blog over the last week.

In a VERY small effort to atone for these transgressions, I offer the following observation.

This week(two days ago, in fact) President Bush acknowledged that 30,000 Iraqi civilians had died as a result of the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Admittedly, I haven't read a great deal of commentary this week, and even less radio and TV, but I have yet to hear anyone discuss the 1,000,000 that died as a result of the decade plus of UN(essentially US sanctions against Iraq) and any estimates of how many more Iraqis are likely to die as a result of our 'interventions.'

That the situation remains grim in much of the country is beyond debate.

Bush also made the oblique 9/11-Saddam reference this week. If this was indeed retribution for 9/11, wouldn't a ten Iraqis to one American ratio seem a bit extreme?

I'm well aware that most people view their own as more valuable than 'the other,' but the mis-leader of the (erstwhile) free world should grasp the political realities of treating 'the other' inequitably.

A real issue that isn't getting the airtime that it should, save for some of the foreign press is the humanitarian crisis in post-earthquake Pakistan/Kashmir. Commendably, ReutersAlertNet has been covering the tragedy with the necessary balance of cool-headedness, while sounding the alarm. The Himalayan earthquake is shaping up to be the number 2 humanitarian cris of 2005. Katrina, while tragic, is minor by comparison.

Feel like reading?.

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Okay, in other stuff, I am still working on a total site overhaul, and will be sticking with Blogger for now. If I ever get a larger readership, I'll move to a different platform, but for now, free is good. Launch date: 01-01-2006

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The major environmental post I promised, is still in the works. I'd like to publish one major article per week. That's part of the site overhaul.

I'm also considering doing a three panel comic strip. Since I have no ability ot draw beyond the VERY rudimentary level, I have a cartoonist that's really talented to help out.

I'm looking to add three weekly features in 2006. I think that's as much as I can promise and deliver on.

2005-12-12T09:21:00.000-05:00

We're Making Progress

In Iraq, that is.

Paul Starobin, writing for the National Journal notes in this great treatise on civil wars:

[...]

"All states are like rocks, with fissures in those rocks," says Mark Stoyle, a historian at the University of Southampton in England, who is the author of the recently published Soldiers & Strangers: An Ethnic History of the English Civil War. "If the state is hit by a hammer blow, it will break along certain lines." That is what happened in 17th-century Britain under the disputed reign of King Charles I, Stoyle observed, and in his view, what is happening now in Iraq.

[...]

(98% more at link)

Gee, I wonder what the "hammer blow" in Iraq was? Could it be the US invasion? Nah..the US would never foment civil war(what an oxymoron). But it appears that indeed we have...yet again.

The tribal, nationalistic, and religious, differences between the three major 'ethnic groups' in Iraq has been elucidated by anyone and everyone with or without a truly informed opinion.

What Starobin does in this fine piece, is add some obvious some obvious human tendencies(greed - for oil in this case) as well as clearly defining just what constitutes a civil war.

The US let the genie out of the bottle in Iraq. And this is one angry, vengeful genie.

Want to be a better person? Read the article.

2005-12-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

Getting Caught Up

I'm still working on my moonlighting gig, but it is progressing well.

A couple of things that I noticed today that were a little disturbing, but not altogether unexpected, was that one of the Internet's three greatest resources, wikipedia has again come under fire for a non-thinking individual's act.

Defaming, even if meant as a joke(?) has no place in what has become an indispensable source of information for 'Netizens everywhere.

I just don't think that persons are responsible enough to always make accurate entries. Or knowledgeable enough. Or.....

The problem is vexing. How do you go about continuing to allow anyone with web access to make entries whilst preserving the integrity of the material?

I really do not see how these two entities(anonymity and integrity) can be preserved given wikipedia's relatively small staff of volunteers.

By the way, the other two greatest non-specific sources are, in my humble opinion, The Wayback Machine and the XML protocols which include such wonderful things as RSS/ATOM feeds, and a host of other dynamic web services.

Sorry, Google, but for my web use these other offerings get far more use.

The other thing that I found troubling is the tempest in a thimble 'war on X-mas' memes continuing life and spread. This is a dumb bomb.

I'm certainly no expert on X-tianity, but I have read enough about comparative religion to have feel reasonably assured of two things:

1) Dec. 25 was chosen by many earlier religions/cults predating Christianity as the day of their savior's birth. Easy cited examples would be Horus, Mithra, Dionysus and Krishna who were also reputed to be born on Dec. 25.

The date of Christ's birth was summarily cast in stone to assimilate Pagans into Christianity in 350CE by Pope Julius 1.

2) This should be of prime importance to Christians(that have actually read their holy book), is that Jesus' apostles wished his resurrection to be the sacred day. As for that whole Easter bunny(leveret = Pagan worship) bit coinciding with Christ's resurrection, that'll wait for another day ;)

2005-12-10T15:33:00.000-05:00

Still Workin' Plus Other Stuff

Yeah, I'm still working under deadline pressure. Trying to fix someone else's work is never fun.

This is going to be a two part post. The first is personal, the second blogganal(?)

First of all, we had something on the order of 38cm(15in.) of snow locally. That was yesterday. After spending a couple of hours digging out from this early season storm, I dug out some more.

An update on my mom's health. She's okay. As you may or may not know, she has hepatic lymphoma. After being poked, prodded, otherwise violated by the medical community, she is going in next week(this week to my European readers) to have the tumor excised, and radio-therapy is likely after that.

Needless to say, my blogging activities are going to be interrupted. I'll still make entries, but hey, she's my mother, and she comes first.

I expect to back at regular daily 'bs'ing around the turn of the new year.

Okay, enough gloom. Now for something a bit odd.

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If you're a news junkie - and living in the US - you couldn't help but hear the Right-Wing echo chamber railing against this so-called 'war on Christmas' being waged by the usual suspects on the left. The ACLU, homos, atheists, homo-atheists, et al.

As far as I know, it was started by Jerry Falwell(wish he'd fall down a well of stairs, the hateful bastid) and picked up by that all-spun shithead Bill O'Reilly.

As a strong agnostic I would welcome such a war. This is a war that I could personally get behind. Funny thing is, it doesn't exist.

It may be that Falwell hasn't fleeced his flock enough, and needs another chin for X-mas. You know, the guy's on another baseless fund raising drive. For the sake of the balance of this post, please accept this simple premise.

If that is true, how do Bill O, and the balance of the unbalanced justify joining the assault?

I don't think it's about money for O'Reilly and Co. I think it could be about something far more insidious. O'Reilly changed the subject at precisely the time the UNCCC(United Nations Conference for Climate Change) meetings were taking place in Montreal. Granted, this could be merely coincidental. I'm not even going to suggest any more than that.

But the timing is uncanny. You have a non-issue(the war on Christmas) being bandied about while the most vexing problem facing humankind is being debated in Montreal. It's no secret that the Bush administration and their foot soldiers consider global climate change a 'back-burner' issue at the most optimistic. Why not take it right out of the news cycle by appealing to American's emotions instead?

It's a helluva lot easier to get most Americans riled up about symbolic bullshit than it is to get the masses to seriously consider an issue where the data is still streaming in, and the modeling imperfect. It's becoming clear that if anything the models were too optimistic, and things are far more advanced than predicted.

Please do not leave comments suggesting that I'm declaring this as anything more than a thought experiment. I am not.

I would say that the thing which separates my notion here, and that of Falwell's and O'Reilly's is that mine is at least plausible. There's is pure fancy.

If this is being spun as war against X-tianity, or family values, or some other such nonsense, I'm not buying into that mound of steaming dung. That's likely the bait you're supposed to take. Admittedly, I should know this, but alas I do not. My television viewing time is nearing zero, and I do not read Right-Wing propaganda. That being said, I feel a sense that this how the Right is treating this ghost of an issue. Pay attention to the elephant in the room!

I'd love to end this on a humorous note, but that seems to be beyond me at the moment.

By the way, the Global Climate Change extravaganza that I promised earlier is still in the works.

Happy Solstice,

todd

2005-12-09T10:24:00.000-05:00

W Saves

Letting babies use a dummy while they are sleeping may reduce the risk of cot death - sudden infant death syndrome - a study suggests today.

Researchers in California, writing in the journal BMJ Online First, gave the results of questioning mothers or carers of 185 babies who died and 312 other parents, reopening the debate about the role of dummies.

The risk of death from SIDS may be decreased by 30% when a Tom Cruise doll is used as a sleepmate. Asked for comment, researcher Dr. Bunsen "Burner' Highdome said, "It's not clear that Mr. Cruise is intellectually challenged, but he does harbor some very odd beliefs." Dr. Highdome further noted similar observations with John Travolta and Kirstie Alley dummies.

A more startling revelation was that when George W Bush plush toys were selected as cribmates, the resultant decrease in mortality was on the order of 90%. Dr. De-Kun Li, the lead researcher, declined our request for comment.

The White House however, did respond to our request for comment. Vice President Richard B. Cheney responded by saying, "Hell yes I think it works. I dare not even take a quick nap without my 'Little George'™. It's the best life insurance a guy can get." We pressed VP Cheney about the efficaciousness of the therapy on infants, and he responded, "Infants? Who cares. As long as it works for me, I could care less about those damned non-productive rug rats - especially the brown ones."

That's your pure bs health report for December 9, 2005. Back to you, Bob.

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The above was intended as political humor. Any resemblance to persons living, dead, or nearly dead, is purely intententional.

2005-12-09T10:06:00.000-05:00

Sorry 'Bout That

..The lack of any entries yesterday, that is.

Today is weird as well. I may not be able to make any entries until later this evening. I took on some outside contract work, and I'm under deadline pressure to fix a problem.

Since I have until Monday AM to finish the project, this weekend could be a bit lite as well.

2005-12-07T12:11:00.000-05:00

Bin Laden, Refined

It seems as though another dispatch has been received from al-Zawahiri calling on the mujahideen to concentrate their attacks on oil assets.

Today, oil futures are down on supply figures in what has to be a personal slight against bin Laden to move the markets as he once did.

On the other hand, if concerted attacks occur against oil producing Muslim counties, or other types of attacks in the same countries may have the effect of lifting oil prices.

Now for the interesting part of the story. Right at the end of the article we have this:

A book of interviews with people who know bin Laden reveal he vowed never to be taken alive and once gave his bodyguard a pistol with two bullets to shoot him if it appeared he might be caught. The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History by CNN security expert Peter Bergen also claims bin Laden intensely dislikes deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

That bin Laden hates Saddam hardly comes as a shock, but the suicide pact is interesting.

The Koran seems clear about the suicide issue. From public sources:

Suicide and Martyrdom
The Koran makes it very clear that suicide is forbidden: 4:29.

But it states several times that the martyr can expect an afterlife in
paradise: they are "alive" (3:169), and have a blessed afterlife: 3:170-174,22:58.

This certainly lends credence to the oft-stated meme that bin Laden's version of Islam is a perverted one. Although I am certain that in bin Laden's mind he is at war, and his death under these conditions would please Allah. Maybe. Okay, so it might be a stretch.

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UPDATE: The BBC is now reporting that the bin Laden/Zawahiri video tape was received by al-Jazeera in September. So, one of the big themes the media picked up on - that ObL survived the Afghan quake - is still unknown.

2005-12-07T09:42:00.000-05:00

Eco-Post Day 2

This last weekend's Independent carried an article with a provocative headline, and a clear message. If you follow the link, you'll find the piece titled: "What planet are you on, Mr Bush? (and do you care, Mr Blair?)"

It's a sternly worded piece that is not available to non-subscribers.

The essential theme of the piece is that we are now in the grip of global climatic change, and that without the co-operation of the US, China, India, Brazil and others in the establishment of a new set of protocols once Kyoto expires in 2012, we're pretty much f&cked.

I'll offer the following points concerning indisputable, measureable facts about what is happening to our climate right now.

I'll toss them in a little bulleted blockquote for easy digestion:

GLOBAL MELTDOWN

Across the planet, rising temperatures are taking their toll

CARBON DIOXIDE

New research has found that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - the main cause of global warming - are higher than at any time in the past 625,000 years.

HOTTEST EVER

This year is expected to be the warmest ever recorded; 1998 was the hottest so far, but the past three years currently occupy the next three places.

DESERTIFICATION

The giant Kalahari desert, already four times the size of Britain, threatens to become larger still, covering farmland in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

EXPANDING OCEANS

The level of the world's seas and oceans is rising twice as fast as in the past, as their waters expand in rising temperatures and glaciers melt.

OCEAN EXILES

The people of the Carteret Islands, a scattering of atolls off Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific, have started to leave as their homes succumb to rising seas.

HURRICANES

Hurricane Epsilon - the 14th of the year - is forming in the Atlantic, even though the worst recorded hurricane season by far formally ended on Wednesday.

GLACIER MELT

Greenland glaciers have suddenly started racing towards the sea and melting. Much the same is beginning to happen to glaciers in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

WATER SHORTAGE

Areas such as the western USA, which depend on mountain snows for their water supplies, are running short as less snow falls - and what does fall melts earlier.

DISAPPEARING SPECIES

Sealife and birdlife have declined catastrophically this year along America's north-west Pacific coast, after a similar meltdown in the North Sea.

CORAL REEFS

Corals on the Great Barrier Reef are bleaching out and dying as sea temperatures rise and scientists fear that the whole reef may perish by 2050.

Tomorrow's environmental installment will cover the popular movement to alter the politics of global climate change, and dis-honor those countries that are unwilling to at least try to do something to save the planet's climate and ecosystems.

2005-12-07T09:21:00.000-05:00

Faux News..Spins Awayyy!

In further evidence that political humor writes itself, Fauk Snooze is reporting that Tommy 'The Dollar Cleanser' DeLay might have a wee bit of a struggle getting his old job back on The Hill. However, if you were unaware of the money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering charges DeLay faces, Focks never hints at the charges in this splendidly misleading headline: DeLay's Bid to Reclaim Former Leadership Post Uncertain

Indeed. His main concern ought to be the acquisition of mass amounts of soap-on-a-rope.

2005-12-06T22:51:00.000-05:00

Condi Unedited

Speaking in Germany earlier today, Dr. Rice cast this pearl of wisdom:

"We recognise any policy will sometimes result in errors, and when it happens, we will do everything we can to rectify it."

She was of course responding to allegations of torture and secret CIA prisons.

I needn't go through the litany of errant policies put forth by the Bush administration that have not been addressed.

I think I should inform the reader that I have nothing personal against Ms. Rice. It's simply the fact that she is part of the Bush cabal that has done such a miserable job at governing this country over the last five years.

I'm pretty certain that she's smart enough to do a good job as Sec. of State, but she seems to have no will of her own. She is a hopeless partisan.

All one need do is read her testimony bfore the 9/11 Commission when she was Bush's National Security Advisor to see that she has issues with straight talk, but not toeing scripted lines.

2005-12-06T18:13:00.000-05:00

Rice's Big Gap

From the IHT via the NYT(sounds very hip-hop) this article illustrates the various obstacles that the US needs to overcome in order to claim any sort of moral high ground.

I should state that I have been very skeptical of any and all claims from the WH. The CIA has been much more frank about their business.

They spy. They do some things that we'd rather not ever know about. So would the CIA. But it is what it is. I have a lot of respect for the individual agents working for the 'Agency.'

However, some of their schemes have turned out to have very negative effects for the US, and the world at large. Saddam's coup and support of ObL are currently the most newsworthy folks propped up by various means in the name of defeating the spread of Communism.

Shorter CIA: Good people, sometimes questionable policy.

Getting to the IHT article. I'm just going to mine the article for quotes to illustrate the issues with which Dr. Rice is contending. Without further ado:

Did anybody believe her on this Continent, aroused as rarely before by a crescendo of reports about secret prisons, CIA flights, allegation of torture and "renditions" of prisoners to third countries so they can be tortured there?

"Yes, I did," Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, a conservative member of the German Parliament, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "The thing I believe is that the United States does obey international law, and Mrs. Merkel said that she believes it, too."

"What's important is that the balance between democratic principles and secret services needs to be maintained," zu Guttenberg said. "I take it as a reaching out of the hand when she says mistakes have happened and we have to rectify them."

Two things:

1) Why is it that partisans are always ready to publicly believe even those that they surely must know to be serial liars?

2) I totally agree with the last part of zu Guttenberg's assessment. Spies need to be able to spy, but there is a line that needs to be drawn that is only crossed in the most extreme of circumstances.

From the Left:

"I think what she means is, 'We don't use it[torture, secret detention] as an official way to do things, but we don't look at what is done in other countries,"' said Monika Griefahn, a Social Democratic member of Parliament, referring to Rice's comment on torture. "And that's the problem for us."

I'd have to agree that this is essentially the point that Rice has made, and is going to continue to make. The bigger problem for me is the almost 'non-coverup'. The Administration seemed to be weighing the level of political fall-out while not addressing European concerns. Kind of a 'let's see just how bad this gets before we stick a toe in the water.'

The European view, by contrast, is that they understand the terrorist threat perfectly well, but the Bush administration's flouting of democratic standards and international law incites more terrorism, not less. It is not certain that Rice changed many minds on that score in her recent statements.

"She didn't reassure anybody," François Heisbourg, special counselor at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, said in a telephone interview. "She just spouted a kind of 'the end justifies the means' argument, and 'we have saved lives.'

"You should at least bring proof of that," Heisbourg said, "citing at least one example of an aborted attack."

It is unclear just how many attacks the US(worldwide?) WoT has prevented. The US press has reported as few as 10 attacks prevented, and as many as 100(many of these being in the planning stage). Of course the press only amplifies the WH's message. The numbers and all other details are national security secrets.

Lastly, from the center, an American's view.

"The Europeans' lack of realism is a big problem, but I'm also frustrated with the inability of the United States to behave like a successful big power," said John Kornblum, a former American ambassador to Germany, now director of the investment bank Lazard-Frères in Germany.

"The Europeans do have this propensity," he continued, referring to the propensity to put the worst possible interpretation on American actions, "but unfortunately, we have given credibility to that sort of behavior."

(much more at link)

And that, my dear readers is Ms. Rice's uphill battle.

2005-12-06T12:51:00.000-05:00

No Evidence, No Investigation!

Surely the Poles must know the logical fallacy here. In this AP report from Warsaw, the Polish "Justice Ministry"(Orwell would kill for this) announced that without prior evidence that there would be no investigation into alleged CIA 'black-sites' in Poland.

Political humor that writes itself. If this isn't fawning to the US, then I do not know what is..?? Help me!

As we reported last night, ABC reported via CIA contacts that two Secret prisons were shut down in Eastern Europe last month.

On the other hand, Romanian officals called for an investigation into the secret centers, while also declaring that there was no evidence for their existence.

The Polish declaration is full of carefully worded legalese. I know how serious this subject is, but it's fascinating to see relatively new governments acting just like the Old Guard.

They've taken pages right out of the Bush playbook as well as that of the USSR.

Meet the new boss...

Read, learn and marvel.

The hypocrisy runs deeper than a Soviet nuclear sub ;)

2005-12-06T11:23:00.000-05:00

Behind the Curve

As you're likely aware, the 'National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States' AKA the '9/11 Commission,' recently issued a report giving the US preparedness against a future terrorist attack a series of grades. Your leadership has failed you....Miserably.

The LA Times provides lots of detail while we steal the report card. The grades are:

A minus: Making efforts with other countries to crack down on terrorist financing.

B: Finding a balance at home between security and civil liberties.

C: Getting private businesses to be prepared to respond in case of an emergency.

D: Making improvements in screening checked bags and cargo on flights.

F: Helping emergency agencies acquire radios and other equipment that would let them communicate with each other during a disaster.

Incomplete: Revamping the CIA, including improvements in its use of human intelligence operations.

Thank you, Bush voters.

On a happier note, as widely reported, the ban on certain sharp objects allowed in air travel has been lifted by the Transportation Security Administration Ironic, no?

2005-12-06T10:48:00.000-05:00

Clean Up Your Act!

Here is the first of the four articles that I lost in cyberspace during one of Blogger's haywire moments.

From the NYT comes an article about the failures of Kyoto, and what may lie in the future. The US' and Australia's failure to sign on, as well as exemptions to the two countries that have both the the largest populations, and rapid industrial growth rates - India and China - foretell of something more dramatic in the offing.

The only options open to us as a species at the present are to dramatically cut greenhouse emissions now. The technological challenges of geological carbon sequestration are not insoluble, but are not ready for use on the scale necessary to halt global climate change at present.

Kyoto was a terrific first mis-step. Most peoples around the globe realized that the time was nigh for a planet wide policy for reducing greenhouse emissions. But it was a mis-step.

Let us hope that by the end of 2006, we will have supplanted it with something with much more teeth(no, not like the entire Osmond family ;)

If we do not take care of our planet, then our planet will surely take care of us.

The gun is at our collective heads, a round is in the chamber and the hammer is cocked - what we do at this juncture will determine if we are seen as saviors, or there will be no one left to read our history.

I know it's a bit heavy on the drama, but climate change is not isolated to changes in the oft-cited things like rise in sea level, desertification, etc. It will have dramatic consequences for things as widely disparate as diseases of global reach to geo-political upheaval as hot, dry countries covet the resources of those experiencing less effect.

Don't take a tree-hugging lefty's word for it, here's the DoD's observations.

Go gentle reader, now go, and reduce your carbon footprint!

UPDATE: Because of time..well, essentially sleep issues, I can rewrite no more than one of these per day. Hence I'll be re-releasing one per day over the next four days.

2005-12-05T18:43:00.001-05:00

Condi Admits to 'Black Sites'

I only caught a moment of this as I do not watch network news. ABC claims to have much more on tonight's Nightline.

I'd record it, but my home brewed DVR just puked it's HDD. I don't have a handy replacement.

If anyone knows where I can get a copy of the program, or a transcript, I'll be forever in their debt.

Update: link and details here.

Gotcha!

2005-12-05T17:56:00.000-05:00

Tom DeLay's Family Values

Besides being a serial dickhead, Tommy's in troubbbbble!!

His GOP friendly judge, the honorable Pat Priest today upheld The Hammer's really serious charge of money laundering, while dismissing the lesser charge of conspiracy.

Money laundering. The domain of cocaine cartel overlords and Texas Republicans. What strange bedfellows rampant criminality makes(apologies to W. Shakespeare)

2005-12-05T15:51:00.000-05:00

All Humor is Political

Today's pic. begging for a caption comes courtesy of Time magazine online. Please do not take this the wrong way. All I'm trying to allude to here is why the US has to jettison our Sec. of State to Europe looking a bit forlorn.

The evidence:Link to Photo

Can't we afford to give Condi a makeover? From her deeply furrowed brow to her, bloodshot eyes, through to her petroleum stained bicuspids(or is that from 'chewing?') the woman just looks worn out.

My take. We'll spend a half-tillion dollars fighting wars of 'option'. We'll provide billions in tax relief for corporations sending jobs overseas, but we can't get our ambassador of good-will a decent tooth whitening? This is simply unacceptable.

Kee-rist, Bush sent her over to Europe to assuage their fears that we're a band of torturers. The man should have saved a grand to get her a proper look for a diplomat.

2005-12-05T15:19:00.000-05:00

U-N-C-L-E

The Village Voice offers up the facts in the ongoing torture war between the sane, and the insane.

As has been pointed out here, and I'm certain by numerous others, the way we treat our prisoners, detainees what have you, is certain to have an impact on the way in which our captives are treated. Since our spy network and militaries are the largest in the known universe, you can see how profound the implications are likely to be.

The Voice copped my headline. "Who'll Break First?" is definitely a pure bs kinda headline.

It's a good primer on the ongoing debate. I'm no fan of John "Keating Five" McCain, but I am thoroughly in his court on this issue. The piece is worth a read for some of the absurd said by people that should know better, but appararently do not.

The stammering Krauthammer offers up a gem that must be read.

Follow all the links for the complete background. No. Just do it.

2005-12-05T12:19:00.000-05:00

Missing Post Message

Just a note on my missing environmental posts. There are 4..Yes, 4!

Since I am 9mi.(14.5Km) from my source material, and my employer(the bastids!) probably feels that it is more important to have me here working on arcane mathematics than blogging, it may be a day before I can get them rewritten and posted.

I checked all the usual suspects in Blogger/Pyra/Google and they are simply not there. They did publish as advertised(according to the software), but alas no confirming evidence remains.

Woe is me. I'll not complain though, as this gives me time to really put down my thoughts in good order.

If this post seems like a lot of blather, I understand. However, the environment is the most important issue, political or not facing all of us today.

2005-12-05T09:48:00.000-05:00

Legal Parsing, Courtesy of Condi

WaPo just released the transcript of Ms. Rice's pre-flight 'remarks.'

Again, she presses the fear button, and there is a lot more here than in the WaPo summary below.

It appears that her trip will consist of a re-definition of torture, and why we have to breach international law in order to get the bad guys.

By all appearances she'll also trot out a minor revision of the "you're either with us or against us in the fight against terror" balloon first uttered by GWB in November of 2001.

In all, it appears that she'll do her job as National Propandist, and toe the Cheney line.

Don't take my word for it. Read her statemant and make up your own minds.

You can't be concerned with the old, tired concepts on international law when there are bad guys out there.

Update: Time has just weighed in with far less than what we've given you. However, the most unflattering photo of Ms. Rice is sure to bring comment.

2005-12-05T08:42:00.000-05:00