Metropol 47

2005-03-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

My mind won't turn off.
That doesn't seem like the complaint of the century, but I am quite fond of sleeping, and I haven't been able to do any for some time now. Does anyone have any good insomnia remedies? If someone suggests something that works well for me, I will award not only my eternal gratitude, but something else (to be determined) that makes your suggestion worthwhile.

2005-03-22T23:39:00.000-08:00

Too Little Sun? Cancer. Too Much Sun? Cancer.
You can't win.

2005-03-22T23:36:00.000-08:00

I can honestly say, I never thought I'd see a headline about beds that kill...

2005-03-22T23:07:00.000-08:00

Blame Edgar Rice Burroughs...
Presidents and their reading material.

2005-03-18T00:02:00.000-08:00

13 Things That Do Not Make Sense
From New Scientist. The Bush Administration's science and environmental policies weren't included for space reasons, I'm guessing.

2005-03-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

The New York That Might Have Been

I've always been fascinated with lost things. The library at Alexandria, Edison's missing I-talk-to-dead-people device, those stolen Hemingway stories...There's just something about hidden knowledge and irretrievable things, a document turning to dust in a shuttered attic, the great lost work the Western world destroyed in a fire centuries past, that intrigues me to no end. That predilection revealed, the above post snagged my attention....

2005-03-15T00:20:00.000-08:00

Many Students Willing to Give Government Control of Press
Half the students in a national survey think news stories need government approval before being published. Next headline: Congress paves way for 'memory hole' funds, Department of Truth.

2005-03-14T21:34:00.000-08:00

Do they hate trees in Tokyo, or love Christo?

2005-03-13T02:11:00.000-08:00

Eat like you lived in ancient Rome. Here's eight recipes from the book, Around the Roman Table.

2005-03-13T01:40:00.000-08:00

Russians Embrace Their Old Uncle Joe

In a bout of collective lunacy, more and more Russians are taking a revisionist view of Stalin as a "wise leader" who built Russia into a powerful nation, and now deserves statues and theme restaurants. Some even think his particular brand of leadership is exactly what Russia needs.

Here's my favorite quote from the article:

"Look, everyone makes mistakes," Mr Vassilyev said. "Stalin wasn't a saint, but he was a great man who built up a strong state.

Killing over 20 million people seems like a pretty big fucking mistake to me. I'm pretty sure that kind of mistake takes you out of candidacy for Great Man status.

As with the Holocaust "revisionists" who deny the existence of Auschwitz gas chambers, or any systematic killing on the part of Hitler or the Nazis, recent books have forwarded the notion that only 2.5 million died under Stalin's rule, and that he wasn't really responsible for those anyhow. This sort of thought needs to be vigorously countered in the same manner that Neo-Nazism has been.

2005-03-04T23:11:00.000-08:00

What Were Einstein and Gödel Talking About?
After Einstein moved to America, he shared daily walks with Kurt Gödel. This article doesn't really have the answer, but it's interesting nonetheless...

Chanel and Iraq: The Secret Link

2005-02-25T23:36:00.000-08:00

Apparently, Rep. Chris Cox believes Iraq was just moments away from switching our stateside perfume with the ever stylish ricin perfume. Those crazy Iraqis! Tiny Revolution has the scoop here.

The Almighty Spore

2005-02-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

Did fungus kill the dinosaurs?

Lining Up Priorities...

2005-02-23T00:24:00.000-08:00

Stem cells have been touted as the holy grail of treatments. Regenerated spines, alzheimer's reversal, revitalized livers...all good, noble and viable possibilities.

But it's interesting that this idea is one planned for the coming decade...

Intervention Time...

2005-02-19T23:38:00.000-08:00

Somebody need to sit down Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister of Thailand, because he's been making some bad decisions.

First, his adminstration ignored a warning about the recent tsunami to protect the tourism industry. That's at least somewhat defensible, as there had been false alarms in the past. What's more alarming is that this sort of thinking appears to be more widespread. Apparently, his administration is taking no action against bird flu in order to stave off panic. Not the best move.

Here are two ways to respond to such a crisis:

A) Pretend it's not happening.
This is what China did when SARS emerged. Consequently, it spread across the globe.

B) Take swift action to stop and contain the pathogen.
This is what Hong Kong did in 1997, thereby halting the developement of a bird flu pandemic.

Thailand is choosing option A. When you consider that so far the virus has a fatality rate of 75%, and could kill 2-100 million people by conservtive estimates, or even 1 billion people by an extreme scenario, this just doesn't seem like the best reasoning. If anybody reading this knows Thaksin, try and talk some sense into the guy.

2005-02-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

Final Days of the Last Nazi Hunter

The Other Side of Iran

2005-02-18T23:46:00.000-08:00

If you've ever been puzzled by the fact that Iran elected a progressive President with 70% of the vote, and yet the country remains controlled by hardline conservatives, Green Mind explains it here. If you weren't aware that Iran was more than a fundamentalist theocracy, take a look through the archives, or research the topic more. I've been continually surprised...

Bill Clinton commented on the same issue in a February 11th interview with Charlie Rose.

Mangled Language

2005-02-15T01:32:00.000-08:00

If you've grown tired of laughing over the linguistic foibles of the President, then you might want to check out Hanzi Smatter. This blog uncovers the real meaning of Chinese characters on Western objects and tattoos. Good if you don't want something like "The Mother Ten Thing Are Expensive" on your neck. {link via Boing Boing}

Another site, Engrish, has photos of misused English.

2005-02-14T00:13:00.000-08:00

The 48 Laws of Power
This is a neo-Machiavellian list of ways to gain power. A lot of the suggestions are borderline sociopathic, but if you think of most powerholders, it all makes sense.

2005-02-14T00:10:00.000-08:00

Robert Pinksy on Love Poems

What the hell is going on?

2005-02-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

Seriously...here's a selection of current news stories:

Israel-Palestine Truce Likely (!!)

Budget Director Brags of Shifting Burden to Rich

France Calls for Fresh Start in Relations with US

Losing Feith (...along with other neo-con proponents)

Dollar Hits Three Month High Against Euro

Now, I enthusiastically welcome headlines like this, but I'm also wary. All of these developments are good news. This must mean we're about to be struck by a giant asteroid.

Press Conferences Made Simple™

2005-02-04T00:11:00.000-08:00

Those journalists sure can ask some pesky and downright hard questions. How can we stop that? Well...why not place our own people with the journalists!

The thought process above must have occured in the White House at some point, because as the Boston Globe reports here, a man named Jeff Gannon (who has next to nothing in the credentials department) asks softball questions, frames things in partisan rhetoric, and is the go-to guy when the President's grilled on tough issues by actual, real journalists. He's also funded by a GOP activist organization.

After the outright propaganda of the Karen Ryan ordeal, and the recent revelations of commentators being paid to spout White House policies, I guess I'm not that surprised. Still, I always liked to think historical Soviet practices were confined to...historical Soviet practices. It's true that America has a long, flourishing practice of propaganda, I'm just not sure it's been quite this flagrant before. Upcoming headline: President Bush Announces Creation of Ministry of Truth Department. "I'm for the truth," the President said, " and terrorists hate us for our truth."

UPDATE: The aptly titled The Propaganda President at Slate goes over some of the same issues.

Blame the Moon

2005-02-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

Rumors of full moon madness have persisted in myth and folklore for centuries, but could there be any truth to such, well...madness? I decided to conduct a thorough, exhaustive investigation consisting of a 3.42 second web search to find out whether there was any truth to the idea.

It turns out, I'm not the only one who was interested in this topic. In fact, my first Google hit was Neuroscience for Kids--The Full Moon, and they cover the topic quite well. Check it out for details and sources, but in summary:

Aggravated Assault? Increased!
Crimes in general? Increased!
Self Poisoning? Increased!
Animal Bites? Significantly increased!

Well, the full moon is pure evil.

Actually, I'm sad to say, these were the only positive correlations out of many, many more studies that found no link whatsoever. Most, including police arrest records and suicide rates, showed no link at all. And a few things, such as mental hospital admissions, actually decreased on the full moon and increased on the new moon.

So that's one less scapegoat in my repertoire...

The Social Security Swindle

2005-02-01T23:09:00.000-08:00

To immunize everyone from the slated onslaught of Social Security propaganda tommorow, I thought it would be good to outline how completely ridiculous, deceitful, and dumb the President's ideas for "revamping" the program are.

Actually, I'm just going to point you in the direction of two people who've already done the hard work:

Paul Krugman--Genius economist/columnist. Start with "Inventing a Crisis" from 12/7/04 and work your way up to the present.

Jonathan Schwarz--When it comes to Social Security (among other things) he knows what he's talking about. Check out this Q&A section from his upcoming book, Hands Off Social Security!

Squashed Philosophy

2005-01-23T23:17:00.000-08:00

Here's your chance to get a condensed history of Western thought in a few short days. Catch up on all those philosophy classes you slept through! Quote Wittgenstein! Glyn Hughes' project is here.

Attention Garage Scientists: Your New Hero Has Arrived

2005-01-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

Photo by Bill Tremblay for BayToday.ca

A combination of sleep deprivation, sinusitis, and lack of time have conspired to drag down the frequency of my posts. I'm sure I could fit in Nigerian terrorists and the former cast of The Cosby Show somehow in this conspiracy, but really...the first three are more than adequate.

Anyhow, here's something that caught my eye a few days ago (Moffatt already beat me to it).

All those geek-boy and spook fantasies of looking through walls, detecting stealth technology, and shutting down electronics at will have apparently crossed over to reality. A Canadian man, with the help of a recurring dream that told him how to build it (and $30,000), built a device he calls the Angel Light that can allegedly do all of the above.

It sounds like something out of The Weekly World News, but MIT, the French Government, and Saudi intelligence officials have become involved in the project. I'm not sure whether the man's invention will turn out to be valid, but I have a strange feeling it's authentic. The article (with a photo gallery) is located here.

2005-01-17T23:59:00.000-08:00

The Martin Luther King You Don't See On TV
This is a must read link. It summarizes perfectly the visionary revolution King wanted in America, but would never see fulfilled. Suffice it to say, King was seeking much more than just civil rights, but human rights in general. Have you heard about this, for example:

In his last months, King was organizing the most militant project of his life: the Poor People's Campaign. He crisscrossed the country to assemble "a multiracial army of the poor" that would descend on Washington -- engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience at the Capitol, if need be -- until Congress enacted a poor people's bill of rights. Reader's Digest warned of an "insurrection."

There's a lot more to this man than you might have been shown. Don't let King's ideals be summed up by a few tidy soundbites and already accomplished glories, there's still work yet to be done. {link via Tiny Revolution}

Get Ready to Go Solar...

2005-01-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

Until now, solar energy has been inefficient and expensive. It wouldn't work on cloudy days, and you had to have semi-annoying panels laid out everywhere. All of that is about to change.

Scientists have just developed new solar cells that eliminate each of the above problems. The new cells can use the infrared spectrum, meaning they can create power regardless of the weather. In addition, they can be sprayed like paint onto everyday objects.

This could pave the way for innovations like cars that continuously recharge their hydrogen batteries, houses with power for heat and appliances, and clothing that powers portable devices.

If this technology is rolled out on a large scale, we could at the very last drastically cut our dependence on fossil fuels. On a more idealistic note, we could perhaps eliminate it altogether. According to one of the lead scientists:

"If we could cover 0.1 percent of the Earth's surface with [very efficient] large-area solar cells," he said, "we could in principle replace all of our energy habits with a source of power which is clean and renewable."

In any case, I expect this to be a revolutionary development in the coming decade.

...But I might be wrong. For one thing, I'm not sure if the oil industry would take kindly to the possibility of its obsolescence. Plus...you know, we might be contacted by aliens from Lalande 21185 who have the secrets of clean energy, world peace, and highly efficient weasel farming. But barring those two possibilities, I really see this as the energy source of the near future.

Ketchup and Curry

2005-01-08T01:36:00.000-08:00

No, this isn't some novel and disgusting culinary fusion I've come up with, but rather two items that could add some extra years to your life.

Thing you should eat with abandon (1): Curry. Specifically, anything with turmeric in it, and that covers a good portion of Indian cuisine. If you're not a fan of ethnic dishes, you should at least buy some turmeric and sprinkle it on your food wantonly. I can assure you that it doesn't have much of a taste, and aside from a yellow coloring, you'll hardly notice its presence. Here's why: Turmeric has been found to drastically reduce and prevent Alzheimer's Disease by blocking the formation of plaques that give rise to the disease. Aside from the UCLA study above, there's also powerful anecdotal evidence: India has one of the lowest rates of alzheimer's disease in the world; only 1% of people over 65 have the disease in India, versus nearly 10% and climbing in the US. Being something of an overachiever, turmeric's active compounds have also just been found to be anti-malarial agents, and have been shown to slow prostate cancer.

Thing you should eat with abandon (2): Organic ketchup. Ok, this one isn't nearly as dramatic as turmeric. However, a recent study discovered that organic ketchup contains 3 times the lycopene found in ordinary ketchup. Lycopene is of course, a much touted antioxidant believed to reduce cancer and heart disease risk. This study adds to the evidence suggesting what should be obvious: organic produce is nutritionally superior to conventional produce, aside even from the reduced exposure to pesticides.

In fact, I just stumbled across this news article from the BBC: Organic Milk Higher in Vitamins, which finds a similar 2-3 times the antioxidants, as well as more vitamin E, omega-3, and vitamin A in organic vs. conventional milk.

Eli Lilly's Secret

2005-01-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

Will 2005 be the year Big Pharmacy tarnished it's reputation irreparably? Recently, we've seen the downfall of some big names: Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra. Even Aleve users have been issued a warning by the FDA. Now we know--as some have suggested all along (I first read about it in one of Russ Kick's anthologies years ago)--that Prozac, star performer of the pharmaceutical world, ups your risk of suicide by 1200% versus other anti-depressants.

Now, that's bad enough. But it gets worse. It turns out that Eli Lilly, Prozac's manufacturer, has known this for 15 years and lied about it. They've even gone so far as to deny the link in court after the family of a gunman sued them. This is in fact, how the documents that have just surfaced were obtained.

This is the worst sort of greed, and it has a familiar precedent: Big Tobacco. They vigorously denied the link of any health dangers caused by their products for decades. All the while knowing they were sending users to early graves. Eli Lilly and others are behaving in no less a manner, and their products are still on the shelves and in your neighbor's medicine cabinet.

I think it's time for an American tradition I'm not usually anxious to prescribe: lawsuits. From reading I've done on this topic in the past, there are some truly bizarre and brutal suicides and acts of violence, grossly atypical with the person who committed them, that occurred shortly after Prozac therapy. Eli Lilly, like Phillip Morris before them, has knowingly endangered and harmed the public to line their pockets. That doesn't just seem wrong...it seems evil.

The question is, where will this end? What other dark secrets are waiting to be unveiled? Is the modern drug trade just a house of cards staggering at the breath of inquiry? I don't know. But something has to change. The system as it is, with corporate flacks in the FDA, with "independent" scientists being paid to fudge peer-reviewed journal research, is broken. What can we do to repair it?

See also: Psychiatrist: Company Hid Prozac, Suicide Link
{links via Mrs. Metropol}

Writer's Block, and Two from Alternet

2005-01-03T01:08:00.000-08:00

Ever since the tsunami occured, I've been unable to write anything for this blog. Nothing--especially anything lighthearted--felt right. It still doesn't.

But if I don't start posting again, the inner procrastinator in me is going to descend from the cage I locked him away in, high above the rafters. And I was never very fond of that chap anyhow. Here then, are two articles I found at Alternet:

The 25 Dumbest Quotes of 2004

The 2004 Falsies Awards

The first link is a nice laugh, the second one more serious...and (in movie advert cliche speak) if you only visit one link in this post, visit the second one. It highlights a lot of stories that were really overlooked; if it weren't organized so concisely already, I'd write seperate posts about each topic covered in "Falsies".

Disaster Relief

2004-12-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

Any of these organizations could use your help in assisting victims of the awful disaster in Asia.

AmeriCares
Action Against Hunger
ADRA International
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.
American Red Cross
Association for India's Development
CARE
Catholic Relief Services
Christian Children's Fund
Church World Service
Direct Relief International
Doctors Without Borders
Food for the Hungry, Inc.
International Aid
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
International Medical Corps
International Rescue Committee
Lutheran World Relief
MAP International
Mercy Corps
Network for Good
Operation USA
Oxfam America
Plan USA
Project Concern International
Save the Children USA
UNICEF
U.N. World Food Programme
World Concern

News on relief efforts, and more ways to help, can be found here: Tsunami Help Blog {link via Rene}

All The Way To The Top...

2004-12-22T22:21:00.000-08:00

FBI E-Mail Refers to Presidential Order Authorizing Inhumane Interrogation Techniques
If you can't impeach a president for war crimes, what can you impeach a president for? Oh right, cheating on their spouse. If this order is uncovered by the FOIA request, how can Senate Republicans--or anyone really--defend it? After all, isn't Saddam's use of torture part of the reason we deposed him?

George Bush (source): "Because our coalition acted, Saddam's torture chambers are closed."

Bush Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Dec. 10, 2003: "We know about the mass graves and the rape rooms and the torture chambers of Saddam Hussein's regime. … We welcome their decision to move forward on a tribunal to hold people accountable for those atrocities."

So when do we start those tribunals?

Free MP3s

2004-12-18T22:01:00.000-08:00

Attention hardcore Beatles fans: If you happened to be a member of the fan club between 1963 and 1969...well, I guess you can sit back and gloat. For the rest of us, the Christmas albums are hard to find and very expensive. Naturally, why not solve that dilemma by downloading them here?

If the Beatles aren't to your liking, I can almost guarantee you'll find something remotely interesting at Eric Brown's free MP3 directory. We're talking everything from Czech folk to Billy Zoom and his Rockabilly Band (I didn't say all of it was good). Seriously, you're bound to find something here if you have any interest in music at all. And if you don't.....

Here's a colossal archive of vintage radio shows you should check out.

Both of those last links came from Moffatt's blog, who's something of a demi-god, apparently, at finding free MP3 links.

Outposts from the Animal Kingdom, Sort of

2004-12-17T01:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't been hearing much about animals in the news these days, and why is that? Because it seems to me there's some weird shit going on in the wild kingdom. (Of course, right after typing this, it seems that a horrific shark attack occurred in Australia, and is now splashed across CNN's headline news page. If I caused that, I'm sorry.)

Other, less tragic animal stories I meant to post about:

1. If you've ever wondered what would happen if spiders got stoned out of their mind and spun webs, ponder no more. NASA's already done the heavy lifting. This page has info (with photos) of spiders who were tripping in the name of science.

2. Scientist: Prairie Dogs Have Own Language
While it's possible the scientist in question may have shared something in common with the above mentioned spiders, his research does seem credible, even though it's yet to be peer reviewed. If true though, prairie dogs may have met the qualifications for an actual language as defined by linguists, which would either be revolutionary, or just cause Republicans to plow them under for fear that they might be setting up underground terror cells.

3. Chinese Robo-Fish
The headline says it all. Not an animal, but real enough to be used for fishing, apparently.

Ghosts of the Cold War

2004-12-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

I just wrote an extremely long post about the revival of Cold War tensions and their potential to spill over into other conflicts, only to find in research an already published article about everything I had so carefully outlined. Except, the other article was more thorough. Damn it.

Here then, is an article I came across about the overlooked importance of the election fiasco in Ukraine. While I have some misgivings about some of the other content espoused by the site this is hosted at, the article itself seems spot on.

What the article doesn't really go into is the possibility of a Yuschenko victory significantly impacting international relations. Russia is currently gripped by a sort of xenophobia which fears NATO encroachment and still views the West as an evil menace that must be countered (some even think the US funds Chechen terrorists). The loss of Ukraine to Western influence, and therefore to NATO and the EU, would leave Russia all by itself. A Yuschenko win would probably fuel the ever-increasing alliance of Russia and China, and create something akin to a Cold War Redux. Cool, huh?

Not only that, but Ukraine is a geological dreamland in terms of oil and gas, and we all know those little buddies are getting scarce. Consequently, the Black and Caspian Sea regions are becoming the focus of Eastern and Western rivalries.

From SFGate.com:

"'Russia cannot really afford to suffer a defeat over Ukraine,' Liliya Shevtsova, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center, said Wednesday. 'Russia cannot be a power without Ukraine. It is historically conditioned, but it is also plain fact.'"

If Yushchenko became Ukraine's president, though, the country could decide to join NATO and end its substantial military cooperation with Russia. Such a move, some analysts believe, could cost Russia as much as $10 billion a year in contracts and other revenue."

In contrast, a Yanukovych presidency would guarantee Russian companies access to vital energy pipelines—Ukraine exports 90 percent of Russian gas to Europe—and crucially, Russia's own Black Sea fleet, currently headquartered on leased property in the Ukranian port of Sevastopol."

...And energy is what it's all about now. If you're not familiar with the concept of peak oil, it would be a good idea to start researching now; It's going to be one of the defining features of conflicts to come. Both sides want--and need--to control the region, and that's why the Ukraine situation is beginning to resemble one of those old proxy battles the US and Russia used to engage in. Let's all hope we can let sleeping ghosts lie.

Rummy's Fuzzy Physics

2004-12-11T01:09:00.000-08:00

By now, everyone is probably familiar with the soldier who questioned Rumsfeld about the lack of vehicle armor, and the Secretary of Defense explaining to the troops that they would just have to tough things out. "You fight it out with the army you've got", he said. And hey, it's "a matter of physics". Sure, we'd love to have more armor for you guys, his reasoning went, there's just no way to increase production. That answer is bad enough, considering this was a war of choice and things like this should have been planned well in advance. That comment would have been acceptable in an impromptu involvement like WWII, but in a conflict like this, it's just a sign of incompetence. That's understandable, if inept , except...

He's lying.

Check out these quotes from this article:

Former Republican congressman Matt Salmon of Arizona, a spokesman for ArmorWorks in Tempe, Ariz., said his company will finish a $30 million contract with the Pentagon this month to make 1,500 armor kits for Humvees. "We are at 50% capacity, and we could do a lot more," he said. "They are aware of it."

Armor Holdings of Jacksonville told the Army last month it could add armor to as many as 550 trucks a month, up from 450, said Robert Mecredy of its aerospace and defense group. "We're prepared to build 50 to 100 vehicles more per month," he said.

(From KOLD) He says it's been telling the Pentagon for months that it has the capacity to double its production. Says Salmon: "We're ready, and we haven't heard a thing."

Not only did the administration disastrously underplan post-war Iraq, it's also ignored the issue of correcting the problem. Why? The widespread lack of armor is a flaw that's been known and complained about for over a year now, and it's only in light of the PR blunder that changes are now being implemented. Do they really not care? Is it some sort of awful, cost-benefit analysis like the car companies used to use: "Well, we could replace the faulty fuel tanks, but that would be awfully expensive. Much more expensive than a few lives and subsequent lawsuits would be." No rational and caring explanation makes sense, but then again, the pentagon isn't a member of the reality-based community, is it?

A Personal Interlude...

2004-12-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

The foundation of any meaningful relationship is trust. You may love your husband, for example, but are things really good if he lies constantly and does things behind your back? You can trust someone without loving them, but it's hard to love someone without trusting them. Ugh. I already sound like a self-help book, but nevertheless, I think the point is still sound, if not Hallmark-y.

Trust is also a building block of society. We trust that our food supply isn't contaminated with lead, that our bridges are safe, that we'll have a Social Security check to receive when we're old. And yet, so often out trust in the state is compromised. Most of us have developed a cynical eye towards our government, and the politics that fuel it, but we go on. The majority react to this whole spectacle with something like apathy.

I don't think it's so easy on an individual basis. Example: I just found out my best friend of over a decade isn't the person I've known him to be, and has betrayed and undermined me in a profoundly antagonistic way. Not an event I'd recommend to start your day out.

I never intended this blog to be a weepy confessional, and I don't intend to change those intentions. But I do honestly ask as a philosophical quandary, how do you learn to trust again when those closest to you betray you? We're talking in a big picture way, too. Not who ate that last package of Twinkies. Because if you find you can't trust a person you've known most of your existence, someone who's journeyed through all of life's peaks and troughs right alongside you, how can you trust anyone at all?

In my heart of hearts, I've always been an optimist. I still am. But on days like this, I wonder how many among us are marching around wearing masks, concealing agendas, tucking away their secret thoughts for fear they might wander into the open. It's one of those unsolvable dilemmas: is humanity fundamentally good, a la The Diary of Anne Frank, or fundamentally bad a la The Lord of the Flies? It's an answer I don't pretend to have. Although, like most things, the truth is probably somewhere in between.

Again, readers, I apologize for this sturm and drang. I promise to get back to news and sarcasm with a slice of toast as soon as possible, but honestly, I can't think about anything else, and I welcome anyone's thoughts.

I Feel a Draft...

2004-12-09T22:58:00.000-08:00

From the Times Online:
"Experts are divided over how stretched America’s military really is. But they agree that another conflict would put the military in overdrive. Another war would require a shift to a “no-kidding wartime posture in which everybody who could shoot was given a rifle and sent to the front,” according to John Pike, of GlobalSecurity.org. "

Something has to change here. Either Bush scales back his goals, or we're facing a draft. The "stop loss" plan is old news, and that practice is actually being challenged in court. But there are new signs creeping up every day of an army stretched out like the skin of an overblown balloon. A few samples:

The Army Reserves and National Guard are below 50% of their goals for recruitment and retention, and the quality of those recruits is sub-par. Officers and Captains are in particular short supply.

Wounded or Disabled But Still on Active Duty

Morale is low, and 5,500 servicemen have already deserted.

Army teams face surgeon shortages

U.S. struggles to find troops for Iraq, Afghanistan

The army has also mobilized former soldiers who are only allowed to be activated in the case of a national emergency, and apparently are beginning to place woman in land combat, a practice which is prohibited by pentagon rules and virtually unheard of in any industrialized nation. However, I cannot find the source for this story; I heard it today on the radio from, I believe, a Washington Post columnist. The columnist confirmed that without deploying women into land combat, the army would simply not have enough men.

UPDATE: Here's the link to the land combat article.

2004-12-07T01:34:00.000-08:00

Via DailyKos, Apparently Rumsfeld can't even be bothered to sign the damn letters telling families their loved ones have died in Iraq. But that's the "morals" party for you.

UPDATE 12/19: Now that everyone's calling for his resignation, Rumsfeld has changed his mind about the matter. From CNN: Rumsfeld to sign death letters

Bush Wrecks the Environment, And...A Quiz!

2004-12-05T02:04:00.000-08:00

Bush Sets out Plan to Dismantle 30 years of Environmental Laws
That headline covers things pretty well. There's not much more I can add, but the article is worth your time.

Inspired by the new plans Republicans are drawing up, I've created this quiz to see which side you really fall on.

Liberal Enviro-Snake or Conservative Crusader?

1. Do you enjoy breathing clean air and staying free of lung cancer, asthma, and heart disease?
a) yes
b) no

2. Should we:
a) Protect animals that are near extinction.
or
b) Let them die off, never again to walk the face of the earth. Preferably by building a golf course or a Wal-Mart over their habitat, or shooting them and placing them on the nearest wall.

3. When drilling for oil or building a new condo, corporations should take absolutely nothing into consideration except the question, "how much money can we make?"
a) What? That's insane!
b) Damn tree-huggers.

If you answered mostly a's you are a radical environmentalist, completely out of touch with reality and bent on reviving communism and nature worship. Probably lots of other bad things, too.

If you answered mostly b's, you are a clear thinking conservative. And with morals! You realize there are probably too many animals anyway, and those giant trees just obstruct the view of your yacht.

Boring factual information: If you skipped out on the article, the questions pertain to pending "reviews" of the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.

Some Good News...

2004-12-04T01:05:00.000-08:00

We Will Be Able to Live to 1,000
This isn't ripped from the pages of the Weekly World News, rather, it's an article from the BBC about Dr. Aubrey de Gray of Cambridge University, and his belief that we will soon conquer aging as we know it.

By repairing accumulated cellular and molecular damage in the body--processes he claims are within the reach of current technology, and indeed already under development--we can extend life to Methuselean standards.

Why You Can't Believe The News...

2004-12-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

Pentagon Propaganda Shop Lives On, 'L.A. Times' Reports
Remember the Office of Strategic Truth? It was going to be the one-stop shop for all the military's propaganda needs. Sadly, when the existence of the project was leaked, Rummy had to kill the project.

Of course, we all know he did no such thing, and that's what the above link is about. Apparently--prepare to be surprised--all of it's duties have been taken over by other departments. In other words, back to business as usual.

Now, the article seems to imply that the propaganda efforts being carried out are directed solely at Iraqi insurgents and other foreigners. Excuse me while I laugh.

It's fairly obvious that such an agency would also be used to skew the average American's perception of events occurring in Iraq as well. Hence incidents like this: US Army sent fake Iraq letters, wherein the military sent letters to newspapers across the US from various "troops", who were proclaiming all the great things they were doing in Iraq, and just how swell everything was. The jig was up when two of the letters were sent to the same newspaper from two different soldiers.....with the same contents in the letter.

The other way in which propaganda abroad can influence Americans are from stories planted in a foreign press that become picked up domestically. Not only in Al-Jazeera, but in any country. How then, can we trust any news report to be real? We can't!

Well, at least my domestic news is safe, you say. Sorry. Read up on Operation Mockingbird, a CIA program that staffed all the major news agencies with CIA funded journalists/agents who vetted and created material. It was abolished sometime in the mid-70's after the Church Comittee investigated it....but then the Office of Strategic Influence was abolished in 2002 as well, wasn't it?

2004-12-01T01:21:00.000-08:00

Could a Spray Stop the Spread of Flu, TB, SARS?
A German study concluded that simple saline spray adminstered via nebulizers could cut airborne, infective droplets by 70%. In light of the next, ever-approaching and overdue influenza pandemic (which is likely to be the terrifying bird flu), this is very, very good news.

2004-12-01T01:04:00.000-08:00

The American's Guide to Speaking British
If you've been watching The Office a lot, or if that sort of thing just suits you, this is the most comprehensive British slang guide I've come across on the web.

2004-11-30T01:24:00.000-08:00

Paralyzed Woman Walks Again After Stem Cell Therapy
Do you remember the ridicule that several conservative pundits heaped on Kerry and Edwards for suggesting that stem cells could ever help someone walk again? As usual, they were wrong.

The F Word

2004-11-28T01:01:00.002-08:00

No, not that word. I'm talking about the other F word that you can't say around conservatives: Fascism.

When you point out similarities between hardline American conservatism and fascism, believe me, any nearby right-winger will do his best impersonation of Cujo to deny even the most remote connection. Unfortunately, it's fairly undeniable. Two pages I came across today bolstered this arguement significantly.

The first is from the blog Green Years, whose author is an Iranian immigrant to America. Upon arriving, he noticed some striking similarities between our leaders and the the hardline leaders from his homeland. His brief post--a must read--is located here.

The other page is an article called Is America Heading Towards Fascism?. It's a more in-depth look at the topic, and just as interesting.

Which One Is Unlike The Other?

2004-11-27T22:33:00.000-08:00

Situation 1: In 2000, a US presidential candidate loses the popular vote but ascends to office amid allegations of vote fraud, and a controversial appointment by a supreme court stacked with political and personal allies.

Situation 2: In 2004, A US presidential candidate wins re-election amid allegations of vote fraud and irregularities that continue to be documented across the nation, and the opposition party is told to, "quite whining" and get over it.

Situation 3: A Ukrainian presidential race goes to a likely re-vote amid allegations of vote fraud. This move is enthusiastically supported by the above US President, who does not believe the Ukrainian vote is valid or should be accepted.

2004-11-27T22:26:00.000-08:00

New Ohio voter transcripts feed floodtide of doubt about Republican election manipulation

How to Dismantle an Economic Bomb

2004-11-24T02:25:00.000-08:00

The warning signs have been abundant, but now they're becoming even more widespread. The latest in the potential economic meltdown front is this, frankly, shocking article from the Boston Herald: Economic Armageddon Predicted.

According to the Herald, Stephen Roach, the chief economist at Morgan Stanley, predicts that we only have a 10% chance of averting economic armageddon. Not good.

This would be comforting if Mr. Roach was a lone nut in a sea of dewy-eyed economists, but no.
We also have warnings from The Guardian, US Risks a Downhill Dollar Disaster; Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, The Coming Currency Shock; and even the American Conservative, Goodbye, Dollar--And Empire. All this amidst ever-rising debt, the collapse of housing markets, price pressures, and rising oil costs.

It's tough to puzzle this out. I've seen my share of economic fearmongering that went nowhere. At best though, I can guess that we'll experience around the board price hikes in consumer goods and fuel. But....I'm not an economist either. I'll be really glad when Paul Krugman gets back from his vacation.

2004-11-24T01:44:00.000-08:00

Chez Panisse's Ginger Snaps

Feeding Dexygus Seconds (a food blog with irresistable entries) has posted not only Chez Panisse's recipe for ginger snaps, but also the ingenious but simple way in which she acquired it. I haven't tried the recipe yet, but...it is Chez Panisse, so it has to be good.

Fables of the Reconstruction

2004-11-23T02:34:00.000-08:00

Children Pay Cost of Iraq's Chaos
I wasn't aware that we were liberating children of their health, weren't we supposed to just liberate them from Saddam? Apparently, malnutrition is over double the amount it was before the invasion, clean water is available in only 20% of urban areas, and electricity is still an overlooked necessity. In Baghdad--booming metropolis of the nation--electricity is typically only available for six to eight hours a day, and often not at all. (see Electricity in Iraq Remains Below Pre-War Levels)

It seems clear that whatever the reason for our invasion(WMD's out, spreading Democracy in), kindly benevolence was little more than window dressing. At the least, we seem to have pissed away even the hopeful idealism of Iraqi citizens who believed we would be a catalyst for good:

"Believe me, we thought a magic thing would happen" with the fall of Hussein and the start of the U.S.-led occupation, said an administrator at Baghdad's Central Teaching Hospital for Pediatrics. "So we're surprised that nothing has been done. And people talk now about how the days of Saddam were very nice," the official said.

This isn't to say that problems like these are not a consequence of war, but why are stories like these being buried? Why doesn't Bush or Rumsfeld acknowledge the humanitarian crisis that they've directly caused, and pretend isn't happening? It's instructive to remember, when pondering questions like these, that the US Military's official policy is to not keep track of any civilian deaths, that when the invasion began--when rioting and destruction and looting were endemic--US guarded locations were not power grids, or cultural areas, or hospitals, but....the Ministry of Oil. This guard duty wasn't lightweight either. There were 50 tanks, and sharp shooters throughout the building, every hour of every day. It was pretty much the only building left untouched by some kind of chaos. (source here)

In light of these problems, in light of the clear lack of planning that went into their developement, or of the radioactive depleted uranium strewn across the landscape (more on that another time), it should be obvious that our intentions couldn't possibly have been the feel-good "liberation" from a cruel despot, or what was that?... right, weapons of mass destruction. But then, it's hard to get the American people behind some of those other reasons isn't it? Would it be easy to explain to a soldier's family that their son died because we needed to show the Middle East who had the bigger balls? To show the world that unilateral US hegemony was, BACK, baby! Or that, damn...Iraq has a LOT of oil!

It's important to draw attention to this because we may be on route for another trip down this path. All this talk about Iranian nuclear weapons programs (based on shoddy to non-existant evidence by the way) gives me strong deja-vu of the build-up to the Iraqi invasion. Check out Won't Get Fooled Again? for more on this topic. Choice quote:

"The International Atomic Energy Agency conducts regular inspections in Iran. The IAEA recently issued a report stating that it has found no evidence of a nuclear weapons program in Iran. "

Keep that quote in mind the next time you hear anyone from the White House talk about Iran.

2004-11-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

Food Without Fear
This is a New York Times article about what should be one of the most basic nutrition commandments of all: eat food that's been grown properly. Dan Barber outlines the benefits of organic produce and pasture-raised livestock vs. the detriments of conventional products. {link via kottke.org}

2004-11-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

Why Bush's America Feels Like Orwell's 1984
The closest thing to an admission of a "perception management" strategy came from a recent New York Times Magazine article, in which a senior advisor of the Bush Administration scoffed at Americans who exist in 'the reality based community," who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernable reality. That's not the way the world works anymore. We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality."

I never expected anyone to use 1984 as a textbook rather than a cautionary tale; Our current administration seems like the embryonic version of Big Brother.

2004-11-20T02:24:00.000-08:00

Paper Towels, Napkins, Toilet Paper Destroying North America's Forests
"...clearcut logging claims half a million acres of Ontario and Alberta's boreal forest...which stretches across the country's entire northern range, to form one of the world's largest terrestrial storehouses of carbon dioxide and plays a critical role in preventing global warming."

So...think twice before blowing your nose? Pressure these major corporations to use more post-consumer waste over virgin forest? I don't really know. But in any case, it seems like the most pathetic way possible for vast stands of ancient forest to be decimated (and/or life as we know it, if you factor in radical climate change).

The French Paradox

2004-11-20T01:56:00.000-08:00

Let Them Eat Cake
While we Americans are driving ourselves (or being driven) batty with low-carb mania, trimspa, fatphobia, et. al., the French are stuffing themselves with bread, butter, cheese, and pastries and remaining thin. In fact, US obesity rates are over three times that of France.

So what's causing this paradox? It seems obvious to me (and the article). Americans in general are accustomed to eating cheap, adulterated, food as quickly as possible;The French eat real food, prepare their own meals, and actually savor dinner and lunch amongst friends and family rather than view it as some guilt-ridden vice.

2004-11-19T01:47:00.000-08:00

I like browsing through Wikipedia and contributing periodically. Today, I found this random entry: How to tell the origin of an accent in English. It's shockingly thorough, and kind of fun to go through if you're a lover of language, a perfectionist actor, or enjoy acquiring mostly useless knowledge. Plus, it contained this link, The Speech Accent Archive, which has an audio sample of 385 different speakers.

2004-11-18T02:06:00.000-08:00

Who Killed Margaret Hassan?

The question to ask is, who benefits from this gruesome crime? Certainly not the insurgents; Even their own people are disgusted by Hassan's execution. Perhaps that's why Iraqi resistors demanded the unconditional release of Hassan by the abductors earlier. Apparently, even Zarqawi requested Hassan be released. And of course, Mujihadeen are actually required to protect women as a religious law of Islam; all women kidnapped so far have been released unharmed.

It seems likely then that this may be a covert psy-op for the purpose of: a) undermining Iraqi support and b) strengthening American support, especially in the face of the Fallujah invasion in which civilian casualties are occurring more publicly than usual. I don't have definitive proof of course, but it's very much like documented tactics we employed in Nicaragua to bring down the Sandanistas.

I want to make it clear in posting this that I'm not some sort of insurgent sympathizer; I want things to go as smooth and quick and as well as possible in Iraq, with the end product being an Iraqi nation free of the sort of suffering it's contemporary history has entailed. But if in indeed these sorts of tactics are at play, they are inexcusable and should be exposed and punished.

Aquatic Farming...of Death!

2004-11-17T00:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'll be upfront with you: I've never had a predisposition to aquaculture. And yet somehow, this is my second post in a month on the farming of aquatic creatures for fun and profit. In this newest case, it's cone snails.

If you're not familiar with these lovely molluscs, here's a quick rundown...

1. They have pretty shells.
2. They will kill you.

While the venom in a cone snail sting is potent enough to kill you within an hour, it also promises to be beneficial for the pharmaceutical industry in the hopes that some of the compounds can be used to fight chronic pain, alzheimers, and other neurological disorders. As you can imagine, there could be a small profit in this. The article detailing this practice of raising the snails and milking their venom is located here.

As a side note, for some strange reason, I can only locate this article in Google's cache. Everywhere else, it's been deleted. Is there some sort of cone snail farming conspiracy afoot?

2004-11-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

Juan Cole has a great post here about Colin Powell's behind the scenes work that averted us from several potential neo-con disasters. Good to read if you want to get depressed about the next few years...

2004-11-16T01:48:00.000-08:00

Fullpassport.com
This is a fantastic website about a couple who backpacked around the world for three years and wrote daily, photo-filled entries about each place they visited. A really engrossing and entertaining site, even if I'm more than a bit envious. ;)

2004-11-16T01:28:00.000-08:00

Powell praised as "voice of moderation"
...and now that voice is gone.

Condoleeza Rice, Bush's closest confidante (and more?) will be the new Secretary of State.

{2nd link via esoterically.net}

2004-11-15T22:38:00.000-08:00

This should help you sleep at night....

Via A Tiny Revolution, Bush is having the CIA purged of those he views as disloyal. Apparently, the CIA, as viewed by the White House, is actually a "hotbed of liberals and people who have been obstructing the president's agenda", according to a senior CIA official. Fantastic.

A Tiny Revolution's post about it is here, and covers everything I wanted to say perfectly.

This administration never fails to surprise me...has Laura been reading the President bedtime stories about good old Uncle Joe or something?

UPDATE: Brian has a different take on this news that I like considerably better...

2004-11-15T15:41:00.000-08:00

Make-a-Flake
Did you ever make paper snowflakes when you were a kid? Or how about when you were working on that "important project" at work? This site's flash recreation is a worthy replacement, and saves paper, tiny cut-out bits on your floor, and um...any effort at all. Plus, you can do some really complicated cuts you would never be able to do in real life.

I'm really bored.

But it's cool!

2004-11-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

Paris Review--Interviews
The Paris Review is in the process of putting each of their archived reviews online. Right now, the 1950s section is complete, and includes interviews with Hemingway, Graham Greene, and TS Eliot.

2004-11-15T15:26:00.000-08:00

Beavers Weave Stolen Cash Into Dam

2004-11-14T15:39:00.000-08:00

Masters of Photography--Helen Levitt
These are some great, gritty photos circa the early 40's from New York City. A few have a Diane Arbus quality to them, and each one makes me feel as if the past is thin, as if I could almost step through the photo and into that period of time. {Link via Kottke.org}

Norway: The Slightly Larger Than New Mexico Paradise

2004-11-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

After much study involving a shovel and most of my day, I've concluded that Dante was right: Hell isn't some burning lake of fire after all, it's frozen. Today, something in the neighborhood of one and a half feet of snow fell from the sky and--I've got to say--I'm not too happy about it. I'll have to reconsider my plans to remain in the northern hemisphere, which is a drag because I've come to believe that Norway may well be the perfect nation in which to reside.

Some positive points:

1) It's beautiful.
2) It has a robust economy, capitalist but with strong state controls
3) Free college for all
4) Free healthcare for all, including 42 week paid maternity leave
5) Generous retirement for all, sustainable unemployment pay
6) Has the UN's 1 spot for standard of living
7) No ravenous monsters roaming the hillsides
8) Few conservatives (see above)

But it is far north, and that could be a problem. I'm getting mixed messages from Google on snowfall. So....has anyone actually been to Norway? How's the snow, and is there some awful secret that I'm missing that makes the place wretched? It seems too good to be true, so please feel free to stomp on my hopes or confirm my dreams if you have any first-hand dirt on Norway.

2004-11-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

More Vote Fraud News
This one is particularly interesting. In one county, election officials barred the public and all observers from the vote counting process because of a "terrorist threat" they had received from the FBI and Homeland Security that was an "8 or 9" on a scale of 1 to 10. Bush ended up winning that county with 72% of the vote. And that terrorist warning? FBI and Homeland Security say the warning never occurred, and there was no threat to the county. Hmm.

And More

The Anti-NATO

2004-11-11T21:43:00.000-08:00

Putin Planning To Create the Most Powerful Coalition in the World
Not a good sign geopolitically, as Putin plans the coalition to include Russia, India, China, and Brazil. Militarily, the size of such an army these forces could amass staggers any conceivable amount in the past by gargantuan proportions, and all but Brazil are nuclear equipped.

More related bad news below:

China Rocks the Geopolitical Boat
If you skip out on reading the article, here's the gist: China is signing an oil and natural gas deal with Iran (thereby flaunting US Sanctions) worth 200 Billion dollars. There's also this interesting quote in light of the first story linked on this post:

"China, Russia and Iran share deep misgivings about the perception of the United States as a "benevolent hegemon" and tend to see a "rogue superpower" instead. Even short of joining forces formally, the main outlines of such an axis can be discerned from their convergence of threat perception due to, among other things, Russia's disquiet over the post-September 11, 2001, US incursions in its traditional Caucasus-Central Asian "turf", and China's continuing unease over the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan; this is not to mention China's fixed gaze at a "new Silk Road" allowing it unfettered access to the Middle East and Eurasia, this as part and parcel of what is often billed as "the new great game" in Eurasia. Indeed, what China's recent deals with both Kazakhstan (pertaining to Caspian energy) and Iran (pertaining to Persian Gulf resources) signifies is that the pundits had gotten it wrong until now: the purview of the new great game is not limited to the Central Asia-Caspian Sea basin, but rather has a broader, more integrated, purview increasingly enveloping even the Persian Gulf. Increasingly, the image of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a sort of frontline state in a post-Cold War global lineup against US hegemony is becoming prevalent among Chinese and Russian foreign-policy thinkers. "

The writer of this article doesn't believe this will lead to a new Cold War-esque world. I'm not so sure.

2004-11-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

FuckTheSouth.Com
I'm glad somebody finally said it...

2004-11-10T01:47:00.000-08:00

Electric Currents Boost Brainpower
Lattes out, battery-packs-attached-to-your-head....in!

2004-11-10T01:27:00.000-08:00

Bush Attorney General Pick is Alberto Gonzalez
Well...he's better than Ashcroft.

The Good: He apparently has upheld abortion laws in court, and seems to view the role of the judiciary as impartial rather than partisan.

The Bad: His legal counsel in the White House more or less turned Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo into torture chambers. Also, he apparently aided in expediting death penalties in Texas under W's reign.

Despite those last, and albeit quite bad lapses in judgment, I still think he'll be superior to his predecessor.

An Interesting Map....

2004-11-10T01:26:00.000-08:00

created by (and in a larger, actually legible size) at http://www.selekta.com/map.jpg

2004-11-10T01:23:00.000-08:00

Blogger Gets Night Visit From Secret Service

2004-11-09T23:49:00.000-08:00

John Ashcroft and Don Evans Resign
I would cheer, but this is Bush's "mandate" term. Who's going to replace them, Trent Lott and Pat Robertson?

2004-11-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

Evidence Mounts That The Vote Was Hacked
I don't know how to handle this. One stolen election was bad enough....

I hate to admit that the vote fraud possibility has moved beyond quaint theory and firmly into reality. Something is really going on, and where's the outrage or at least the curiousity of the mainstream press? The conservatives can scream all they want about the so called "liberal media", but it just doesn't hold up in the face of all the scandals that have disappeared as quickly as they've arrived for this administration. Al-Qaqqa would have persisted for weeks on end under Clinton's watch; Abu Ghraib would have brought down his presidency. Or how about the yellowcake lies? The leaking of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent, which is a federal crime? How about the simple fact that there just wasn't any WMD to begin with when we went to Iraq, and that it seems likely that they 'sexed up'--as the Brits would put it--the allegations all along? Then there's the possiblity that Bush was wired for the debates, or how about that drunk driving charge? Do you think the radio pundits or the heartland would have just glossed that over if it had been John Kerry? or do you think we might have seen a few adverts about how "If Kerry didn't have judgement enough to stay off the roads, how can you trust his judgement to lead this country?" And yet with Bush, it has always been a non-issue.
Moreover, why have baseless lies like the Swiftboat ads gone hugely public, while similarly claims like Bush having allegedly once paid for a girlfriend's abortion been buried?

As you can tell, I'm bitter, and starting to sound like a crackpot, but why are these scandals the elephant in the room that no one can see? Why does it feel more and more like we're slouching towards some Orwellian nightmare?

Serenity Now.

2004-11-06T01:42:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I wrote a long elegy for the Kerry presidency that could have been. I pondered the cause of the election's outcome: legitimate election or Diebold chicanery? It was my longest post so far, and I was quite pleased with it.

Then Blogger had a server error, and all was lost. O, Discordia. ;) In any case, I'm moving on from direct election analysis, but I will forward you to a few pages discussing the possible scenario that vote fraud was a spoiler in this election. It's just one possibility, but a very plausible one I think. You should be able to find all you would need to know about it from within these sites:

BlackBoxVoting.Org
Greg Palast
Daily Kos

What a coincidence! After typing the above, I checked the CNN hadline news to see the article below....
CNN--Glitch Gave Bush Extra Votes in Ohio

Hmmmm.................

Vote!

2004-11-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

It's important that tommorow you round up anyone with a pulse and get them to the polling booths. This election is just going to be too close for anyone's comfort. And remember these things:

1. Know your precinct. Go to My Polling Place to check where you should be voting at. If you vote in the wrong precinct, your vote will not count.

2. Bring some ID.

3. If you're not on the list for some reason, ask for a provisional ballot.

3. Check and recheck your ballot for errors.

4. If you have any problems, contact 1-866-MYVOTE1. If you need legal assistance, contact 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

And last, it's important to know that whoever wins tommorow, both Bush and Kerry descend from the line of Vlad the Impaler, AKA: Dracula.

2004-10-31T18:16:00.000-08:00

Unless something really outrageous happens, I'm laying off the political posts until after the election. Without further ado, visit the The Urban Beast Project.

2004-10-31T17:43:00.000-08:00

Kerry's Contra-Cocaine Chapter
One U.S. senator put his political career on the line to ask the questions no one wanted to ask. Just one more reason this guy is getting my vote, and deserves yours as well.

2004-10-31T16:02:00.000-08:00

As if I Needed Another Reason to Hate Bugs...

2004-10-31T13:42:00.000-08:00

The Anti-Environmental Armageddon Cult: 231 Members of Congress Near You
It's commendable to have faith and religious beliefs; it's not commendable to put those ideals into legislation, particularly radical ones like believing the world's destruction is right around the corner, so who really cares about protecting anything? Or worse yet, of actually hastening destruction along to bring about the rapture.

This may seem sort of crazy, but it's very real. James Watt, Reagan's former Secretary of the Interior, disregarded all attempts at conservation because according to him, "God gave us these things to use. After the last tree is felled, Christ will come back."

Even worse, evangelicals--a signifant portion of our government including the President, Tom Delay, John Ashcroft, etc.--want the end times to be approaching. Some fundamentalist Christians have even joined with Israeli Jews in creating a pure red calf, an animal that must be sacrificed to fulfill an apocalyptic prophecy. If they will pursue such mundane and obscure activities to bring about the rapture, doesn't it follow that they might also be promoting other end-time prophecies like war and extreme weather, famine, etc.? Can we really trust these people to be running our nation?

There are indication our war in Iraq was at least partially a bid to bring about Armageddon due to biblical prophecies surrounding this region. Don't believe me? Check out these articles gushing about how the Iraq war will fulfill prophecy here and here, or check out the books about the topic here.

Aside from being frightening, doesn't this behavior seem hypocritical? How could someone call themselves a Christian--Christ, again, who's central tenant was love your neighbor as you love yourself--and do things that would bring about death and destruction, whether through obvious activities like warmongering, or indirect ways like not checking pollution and thereby increasing cancer rates and pulmonary disease among fellow humans? Plus, I seem to recall reading in the Bible that no man can predict the hour of Christ's return. Isn't not only predicting it, but helping it to arrive, a remarkable act of hubris?

Related Reading: When Billy Graham Planned to Kill One Million People

Note: Please understand that I am in no way bashing Christianity, but only a minority of it's followers who seem to have taken their own strange and particular brand of it to heart. I would react the same way to a branch of Microsoft employees spreading the joys of being a luddite.

2004-10-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

They Voted for Bush in 2000, They'll Vote for Kerry in 04
Remember the old Apple ads that featured Mac converts abandoning Windows? Same concept. It's too bad these weren't circulating earlier...

Bush's Record on Jobs

2004-10-30T02:37:00.000-07:00

This page has an excellent graph detailing each administration's job growth records since Truman. I think the graph will speak for itself, and should silence all of the radio hosts who claim that Bush's job loss is all some sort of myth. By the way, the graph is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the government, and non-partisan.

Bin Laden Video, Comments

2004-10-30T01:02:00.000-07:00

I think the new video is clear in it's message, whether we want to accept it or not. Basically, we are paying the price for meddling in Middle Eastern affairs, whether these past interventions were right or wrong. It has nothing to do with cultural issues like Michael Savage and others on the right allege, nor some sort of "hatred for freedom" as the current administration claims.

So what can we do? It would be tempting to--taking the advice of the video--withdraw from the region. It would be hard to get new al-qaeda recruits to join up if the West was nowhere but here at home. But clearly, this will never happen. There are two problems: 1) Oil and 2) Israel. We need to protect both of these interests, and therefore, we're stuck being involved. We have no choice but to hunt down Bin Laden, but at the same time avoid making him a martyr and minimize the new recruits we add to the ranks of anti-Western sympathizers.

The war in Iraq was the worst possible response to this problem. Deposing the Taliban in Afghanistan was a sound decision, but we should have commited more effort to this activity than we have. Iraq, however, was a blunder of the highest order. An anonymous CIA agent has published a book stating that by doing this, we played right into Osama's hands, and we did. Iraq--being a secular state before--was actually in opposition to Bin Laden's goals. Moreover, it has dramatically increased anti-Americanism because we are seen as an occupying force, and because of scandals like Abu-Ghraib, which didn't sit well with the Arab community. Some intelligence reports suggest that al-qaeda has completely rebuilt it's structure already, filling in the gaps from members we have killed and captured. The Iraq war has taken our eye off of the radical jihadists we should be focusing on, has stretched our resources thin, and decreased our morale.

However, at this point, we really have no choice but to finish matters in Iraq. I don't believe we can just pull out right away, but we should be moving closer to that goal than we currently are, by supporting truly democratic elections and elevating support for peaceful clerics like Sistani rather than fueling recruits to radicals like Al-Sadr and Zarqawi. We must do more to get the Iraqis and the UN involved in peaceful transitioning to sovereignity.

For broader goals in the region, we need to secure a peace deal that both establishes a Palestinian State and allows Israel to exist as it does. No easy task--it's nearly a joke--but with strong leadership, we could make some progress. Under the Bush administration, this has stalled significantly.

As for the other big problem in the region, Iran has a large underground movement for democracy, and this should be supported by opening up lines of communication and negotiation with the nation that do not exist today. I think that allowing Western communication and entertainment into Iran would encourage the democratic underground movement there, and help foster support for change away from clerical rule, thereby solving the problems that exist in Iran today.

With Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan stable in the region, we should be able to gain their participation in stamping out radicalism as Pakistan is taking steps to do. Otherwise, radical jihadist groups will only continue to grow unfettered if steps like these are not implemented, and military intervention is seen as the sole tactic for change. This isn't even a really left wing or unusual idea...the bipartisan 9/11 comission emphasised using approaches that would enlist other countries in rooting out terrorists, but we can only do this if we encourage good relations with those countries, not provide motivation for new terror recruits to take up the cause.

Bush's Back Bulge: Not a Tailoring Problem

2004-10-29T02:17:00.000-07:00

NASA photo analyst: Bush wore a device during debate
Ok, you'll have to watch a short Salon "Day Pass" ad to see this story in full, but it's worth it. The controversy surrounding "Bush's bulge" that has been raging around blogs like this one has hardhitting new evidence from just about the best person possible to weigh in on such a matter: Dr. Robert M. Nelson, research scientist for NASA and JPL, and an international authority on image analysis. His verdict: it's without a doubt some sort of device under the shirt, and not a badly worn shirt or suit.

The problem is, Bush is lying. Here's his quote on the matter: "I don't know what that is," the President said, "I'm embarrassed to say it's a poorly tailored shirt."

Except it isn't. What is going on? And why isn't this a huge issue right now in the mainstream press?

2004-10-29T01:31:00.000-07:00

Disputed Iraq Explosives in Place After Invasion, Video Evidence Shows
Not only does it show..."boxes marked 'al Qaqaa' and 'High Explosives.' It shows 101st Airborne troopers cutting the locks to the facility to get inside. Worse, it shows the KSTP embedded reporters stating flatly that, despite the fact that all these explosives were inside the facility, the place went completely unguarded." - wrp

Keep in mind that there were 400 Tons of said explosives in the compound, and that less than 1 pound blew up Pan Am Flight 101 over Lockerbie. The same type of explosives were also used in the attack on the USS Cole, and yet this facility was--we now know with video evidence--completely unguarded?? And yet securing the Ministry of Oil and the oil fields was a very high priority? Doesn't this make the whole WMD pretext for the invasion of Iraq nothing more than a sham???

2004-10-29T01:06:00.000-07:00

Iran: A Bridge Too Far?
This is one of the most terrifying (and plausible) scenarios I've come across regarding further intervention in the Middle East. My fear is that after the initial scenario outlined occured, things would only escalate until Russia and China (who have already signed military alliance treaties) became involved. This article is worth your time, especially if you are considering voting for Bush and his pre-emptive policies; it should give you pause.

Leech Farming, An Occupation I Never Knew Existed

2004-10-28T01:37:00.000-07:00

They're ready...

After the FDA in the United States cleared the use of leeches for medical purposes, the demand for leeches has skyrocketed. Enter the leech farmers. This was apparently already a job for a handful of people across Europe, according to this article at the International Herald Tribune. Apparently, it can be a profitable line of work as well. Ricarimpex, one of the companies profiled in the above article, clears 300,000 Euros a year in revenue. Not too bad for raising and selling parasitic worms.

If you speak German, you can apparently buy leeches online from Zaug Farms here. Not to be left behind, the Americans have also began venturing into the leech market. Leeches USA sells not only leeches for $7.70 each, but also the very stylish Leech Mobile Home®.

So, future entrepeuners, maybe this could be your ticket to the top?

For some reason, this has just been my week for bizarre money making schemes (see also Iraq: Investing for Fun and Profit).

2004-10-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

Blogger Grounded By Her Airline
"You have to remember that as an employee, you don't have total free speech anymore," he said.

Gen. Franks Doubts Constitution Will Survive WMD Attack
He expects another US attack to lead to the formation of military state USA, and he's the highest ranking person yet to suggest such a possibility. Maybe all of the FEMA conspiracy folks have been on to something...

9/11 Black Box Cover-up?
A firefighter and a volunteer involved extensively in the clean-up say they helped to recover 3 of the 4 recorders. None officially exist.

New Species of Human Discovered, Hobbit Sized
The biggest surprise is that they were still around 13,000 years ago, which means they could have interacted with modern humans.

Tom Harkin on the Possibility of the Draft Returning
Don't believe the spin that it's not possible...

So what did Jesus look like?
Out with the long hair and ivory skin....

Iraq: Investing for Fun and Profit

2004-10-27T01:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if the ordering aspect of BetOnIraq.com is legitimate, but the basic idea presented on their site is. Right now, Iraqi currency is in the gutter.

That may be an understatement. In fact, 1 Iraqi Dinar is equal to 0.000683597 US Dollars.

What this could mean for you is, if you purchased Dinars, and things go well in Iraq, you could stand to make a handsome profit. 1.00 Dinar used to equal 3.00 US Dollars before the Gulf War. Translation: if you were to purchase 100 US Dollars worth of Dinars, and reconstruction goes well, then your 100 dollar purchase could become something like 147,000 US dollars. Of course, that's if things go well. Are you willing to bet some of your own money on the future stability of Iraq?

An article about the Iraqi Dinar purchasing frenzy is located here.

2004-10-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

58,000 Absentee Ballots in Broward County Florida "Missing"
And so it begins...

BBC TV to Reveal New Florida Vote Scandal Republican "Caging List"
*sigh*

Cracking Down on Kava Kava
Motorists under the influence of kava kava had a "thousand-yard stare," Feasel said. "They're drooling on themselves sometimes, their motor function is so bad," he added.

Gene Wars Only a Few Years Away, Doctors Warn
This is why you need to support The Sunshine Project

100 More Reasons to Not Re-Elect Bush
This is a more detailed list of grievances, with sources for all your disbelieving conservative friends...

2004-10-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Lawmakers in Food Fight Over Arms Budget
How long until we have this here?

Should Al Franken be Afraid?

2004-10-26T02:05:00.000-07:00

By now, everyone should know about Bill O'Reilly and his naughty fantasies. If not, I strongly urge you to take a look at The Smoking Gun's entry about it, which has the legal affadavit filed by Andrea Mackris.

Now, loofahs and the issue of sexual harassment aside, I found something interesting that no one seems to really be mentioning. Allegedly, along with some steamy Carribbean-style sex, O'Reilly wants to see some payback on Al Franken. According to O'Reilly, Franken is about to be "finished" and will be made "sorry he ever took FOX NEWS CHANNEL on".

He won't be acting alone either. Apparently, Roger Ailes--the Fox News President and evil scheme mastermind according to O'Reilly--will "go after you" if you cross Fox News. O'Reilly speaks about Franken's fate like this: "one day he's going to get a knock on his door and life as he's known it will change forever. That day will happen, trust me."

Now, that doesn't sound very nice.
Maybe Billy Boy has only been watching too many mobster movies and shoot-em ups for his own good, but I would strongly suggest Mr. Franken establish a good Neighberhood Watch program on his street. After all, Roger Ailes is a wanted man. Unfortunately, I was unable to turn up a rap sheet on the internet for Ailes. I was hoping for some previous convictions of assault with a deadly weapon, or maybe a few manslaughter charges, but no luck. So if you turn up any dirt on Ailes, let me know. You better let Al Franken know, too.

The Perils of Pop Stardom

2004-10-26T01:44:00.000-07:00

Lip-Synching...who knew it was so complicated and hard? Ashlee Simpson apparently didn't. Watch her miss her cue and walk offstage here in a streaming video, or in a downloadable format here.

Oh, and the dancing is pretty special, too.

Could Coffee Kill You?

2004-10-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

The latest in the study in the controversial coffee good/coffee bad field is in, and it's not good. In fact, coffee may raise your heart disease risk, thanks to two ingredients that appear to increase cardiovascular inflammation in your body, which is a pretty rude thing to do. The study will be in October's US Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

What to do until this is all sorted out? The lead researcher suggests not eliminating coffee, just cutting down on the amount you drink.

Vote Fraud, and 19 Reasons You Should Vote for Kerry...

2004-10-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

There's a million, but this is a concise collection of 10 reasons Dubya shouldn't be allowed to sit in the oval office anymore. Pass it around to all of your undecided and wishy-washy friends. If they need another reason, Bob Harris has nine more.

Since we're only eight days away from election day, I find it disheartening to see the latest Election Scorecard at Slate. The most recent analysis at Electoral-vote.com is even more frightening. Even so, I think Kerry is going to--at the very least--win the popular vote, even if he loses in the electoral college and thereby the presidency. I'm not sure what kind of consolation that is, but it's something.

Anyhow, call me a dewy-eyed optimist, but I think Kerry will win this year. The reason being that, undecided voters tend to go with the challenger by a good margin. This year, there are at least 2 million of these commitment-phobes spread out across the battleground states, easily enough to swing the narrow margins we've been seeing in the polls between the two candidates. In fact, I expect this to be---no.

Something has me worried about this election, and I think you should be worried about it as well. Remember Florida 2000? I think we can expect something along these lines again this year. Kerry should win, but take a look at the following links. The people at the wheel don't want to give up power, and I think they're going to be pulling out all the stops:

Prepare for Litigation-filled Post Election

More Problems Arise With Black Box Voting

Computer Scientists Slam E-Voting Machines

Voter Intimidation Begins Early in Florida

Election Chief Warns of Absentee Scam

Republicans Sabotage Democratic Voter Registration

This is about .00034 percent of the stories out there. I'm overwhelmed by it. If you want more info about vote fraud and it's widespread ongoing and upcoming use, check out Vote Watch 2004 and Black Box Voting.Org.