The Anonymous Internet Gimp

2006-03-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

Oh, Arianna!

Arianna asked 20 questions for the president. Since we both know the president is likely not to answer her directly, and she would delete a post that smelled too right-of-center, I'll answer them here, and then ask 20 questions for her, that she won't answer, just like George!

1.) Last week, you insisted: "I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong... it's simply not true." Yet source after source after source suggests otherwise, including your former Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neil, who has said that invading Iraq was a goal set out at your first National Security Council meeting, just ten days after your inauguration: "It was all about finding a way to do it. That was the tone of it. The president saying 'Go find me a way to do this.'" Mr. President, is Paul O'Neil lying?

From your own source, the president wanted to get rid of Saddam. Not necessarily via warfare, just get rid of him. He gave Saddam 48 hours warning to leave the country, or face military force. This policy of regime change in Iraq is in keeping with the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, which passed 360-38 in the house, and was signed by Clinton.

Here's some questions right back at you, Arianna. Where does a man who uses chemical weapons on civilians in his own country and lets his sons rape women belong? In prison, or in charge of a country with 4th largest oil reserves on the planet? Also, when Congress passes a bill advocating regime change in a country, should the president change that regime, or just lob a few cruise missiles at the country every once in a while to distract people from his sex scandals?

2.) Despite the fact that dozens of Iraqis a day are dying in sectarian violence, you continue to insist that Iraq is not in a civil war. How many dead Iraqis per day would it take before you'd be willing to concede that civil war has broken out?

What, exactly, is civil about blowing up churches and suicide bombings? Back in the American civil war, the war was actually civil. The South had civilian leadership, as did the north. The word for what is happening in Iraq is insurgency. If the people attacking civilians were fighting in the name of Saddam instead of Allah, you might have a case that it's a civil war. As it is, it's more like a holy(unholy) war.

Here's a question for you: If you knew a civil war in Iraq would put a democrat in the whitehouse in 2008, would you cheer it on, no matter how many Iraqis had to die from he democrat's short-lived political gain?

3.) Speaking of civil war, your Iraq-is-not-a-civil-war assessment was directly contradicted by former prime minister Ayad Allawi, a man whose credibility you considered unimpeachable in 2004, saying: "He's a brave, brave man... You can't change the dynamics on the ground if you've criticized the brave leader of Iraq." Has your opinion of him changed now that he's no longer saying what you want to hear?

Bush is not criticizing Allawi, he is DISAGREEING with him. Also, you will notice that Allawi is no longer the leader of Iraq, and therefore has little to do with the "dynamics on the ground" anymore. Bush was talking about diplomacy, you can't insult someone and say they are a puppet and expect to be able to deal with them cordially when you talk to them. And had Allawi maintained office after the elections, and Kerry been elected, That would have been a very rocky relationship indeed.

Here's a question back at you: do you take it as a personal insult whenever someone dares to disagree with you?

4.) Allawi has said: "We are losing each day, as an average, 50 to 60 people through the country, if not more. If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is." Do you think this is something you might discuss with God next time you speak?

Bush does not have conversations with God. He said Jesus was his favorite philosopher. Einstien's my favorite philosopher, and after reading about Einstien's life, it changed my heart. Jesus changed my heart too, but I hope you see where I'm going with this. I don't have conversations with either Einstien or Jesus.

Here's your question: who do you think is a bigger religious nutbag, Bush, or Ahmadinejad? Also, do you think mocking Bush for his Christianity is a good way to make a point when 75% of the country is Christian?

5.) You have steadfastly supported Secretary Rumsfeld, recently claiming: "He's done a fine job." Just how bad would things have to get before you'd be willing to downgrade that to "a so-so job"? What, in your eyes, would you consider "a really crummy job"?

A so-so job is starting a blog and inviting a bunch of celebrities to post on it. A "really crummy job" is faking a George Clooney post.

Here's your question: let's say you get your wish, and Rumsfeld is fired. Who should replace him? Did you think that far ahead, or do you just smell blood in the water and want to see someone, anyone, fired, without a care as to who replaces them?

Actually, five is enough, considering you'll never answer.

2005-03-30T15:16:00.000-08:00

With spring comes pain.

Ick, ick, ick. Some insane impulse sent me out jogging after work. It just so happens that my block is ever so slightly under 1/2 mile, so we'll just call two times around the block a mile, k? K.

Now, I can bench 300, but cardio is sorely lacking in my routine. Now that the weather is nicer, it's time to change that. So I went out for a jog, and here's what I now know.

It takes 5 minutes for me to jog 1/2 mile.
It takes 9 minutes for me to walk 1/2 mile.
It takes 14 minutes for me to travel a mile.

Now, in my defense, it's slightly faster. This benchmark includes the time it takes for me to lock my door, and unlock 2 doors. (the door to my floor, and the door to my apartment). However, it's fair to say I'm staring down the barrel of 14 minute mile. Hopefully over the summer I can work myself up to 3 miles/day with at least one of those miles being a 7-minute mile.

I intend to work myself down to 10-minute mile before adding more distance, and I intend to go inside to drink some water after every mile.

Meanwhile, I find it sick we are starving a woman to death, and I find it sick we are taking the word of a wife beating psychopathic adulterer that she wants to die.

For the record, I DO NOT wish to be starved or suffocated to death. Should I ever reach a persistent vegatative state, I want heroic efforts to be taken to rehabilitate me for at least 2 years, and should I go beyond that, I want a lethal dose of painkillers. A informal poll I took:

If in Schiavo's situation...
Results (total votes = 33):
I would want to live 8 / 24.2%
I would want to be slowly starved to death 2 / 6.1%
I would would a swift merciful death 23 / 69.7%

The results speak for themselves. 69.7 of people don't believe starvation is good way to go even if it is time for the girl to die. Me, I don't think rehabilitation has been given enough of a chance. The parents deserve to keep trying as long as they have a shred of hope.

If my significant other is heartless and stupid enough to cheat on me while I am incapacitated in the hospital, I want a divorce, I want ALL their stuff and want those possessions to cover my expenses and/or be given to my nearest blood relatives. I want my lawyer to make my cheating significant's other's life a LIVING HELL for the next five years following my death.

If they initiate a divorce before they cheat, I wish them well, and hope they find love again. I'd like 1/4 of our stuff left behind to help pay my bills, if any is left when I'm dead she can have it back.

Finally, if someone wants to keep me alive beyond two years and pay for it themselves, I say fuck it, let them. Let the money talk, as long as you don't torture me to death. And yes, starvation is TORTURE, anyone tries to starve me, I want them SUED.

If I fail to create a living will, this is to be considered my declared wishes on the matter.

2005-02-21T14:34:00.000-08:00

A quickie

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/larrykudlow/lk20050220.shtml

Bush clearly stated after last November’s election that his visionary Social Security reform plan to include personal savings accounts would not countenance payroll-tax increases. Just this week he undercut that position when he said an increase in the payroll-tax cap -- now $90,000 -- would be “on the table” in forthcoming negotiations with Congress. White House spokespeople have tried to suggest that an increase in the payroll-tax cap is not a new tax, and that only a rise in the payroll-tax rate would constitute a tax hike. This is nothing but doublespeak. The American public will see it for what it is.

This makes me laugh. The percentage of people who make more than 90k/year is barely more than 10%.

http://home.att.net/~rdavis2/richpay.html

Only 10% make more 92.75 k, and the impact is of course less for those making only just barely over 90k, as 12.4% of 2.75k is $341. So, a handful below(and not very far below) the top 10% will be asked to pay 341 smackers more in taxes, but other than that, here's a tax on the richest 10% of Americans.

And this guy is talking about "the American public"?? This guy in kinda foolish if he thinks the 90% of us not effected by this is going to develop sudden pity for our rich peers. Take it from me, Larry. No, the American public will WELCOME more taxes on the rich. The more taxes that get shifted toward the rich, the better, in many people's eyes. Especially if it's a mere extension of a REGRESSIVE tax that we have to pay and they previously didn't.

2005-02-20T08:16:00.000-08:00

Not much to say when you're high above the mucky-muck

Well, it's been a while since I posted, and much has happened. On the political front, the Kyoto protocol has entered into force. For those of you who don't know, the Kyoto protocol was designed by bunch of anti-American eco-whackos, who wanted to straightjacket the U.S. economy in order to delay the effects of global warming by six years.

The Kyoto protocol will become entirely irrelevant in the next few years, as thermal depolymerization spreads, and fossil fuels are depleted. And that's just from a carbon balance perspective.

From the perspective of warming itself, I believe what warming we do experience shall be expertly harnessed by mankind.some area will grow wetter, and some will grow dryer, BUT, irrigation or new water management techniques, combined with extra heat to work with, will surely lead to more water available on the balance.

Agricultural yields will continue to climb thanks to enhanced care techniques, and higher carbon content. Combined with the increased moisture, the planet will get greener.

But meanwhile, we have 7 years of Kyoto ahead. What will this mean? Well, more of what we've already been seeing. The European economy will remain stagnant, and suffer from capital flight as firms escape the oppressive regulations. China, with no Kyoto obligation, will grow rapidly. The US can hope to pick up a few relocating European firms, but most will choose to outsource to India or China.

The dollar is low against the Euro now, but the US growth is far strong than the European Union. In a few years, tourism in Europe will become VERY affordable.

Constantine (3 Stars)

Saw this yesterday. Was an enjoyable flick. Shia LaBeouf is getting some interesting minor roles, and it looks like he has good potential. Tilda Swinton looked very good. A couple of nutbags, like A. O. Scott and Sean Axmaker, accused her of cross-dressing or looking too androgynous in the movie. Hunh? She was looking HOT! Critics are nuts sometimes

Drinks

I've been sampling a few drinks lately, and here's my opinion on what I have sampled:

Big Tattoo Red Wine

The bottlers call this an "explosion of fruit", and they aren't kidding. The flavors are very strong. This wine is not quite as dry as a merlot, but it is on the dryer side. All in all it was enjoyable to drink.

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale

Man, I love this stuff. Very tasty blend of spices. Not so much of a beer-ish beer, if you get my meaning, kind of a desert beer. I highly recommend it.

Goose Island IPA

I'm a sucker for a good IPA, and this is a good one. Not quite as good as the IPAs I remembered from Diamond Knot, but it may just be because it's in a bottle instead of on tap.

I finally had Newcastle on tap. At first, it was enjoyable, a nice creamy head to begin with, and some nice sips. But then I starting getting some wierd funky aftertaste. But then my food came. Now, some beer's I've had, they taste good on an empty stomach, but, well, suck after I've eaten a little food. They take on a nasty bitterness for some reason. It's like how orange juice tastes too tart after you've just had something sweeter. Newcastle actually tasted BETTER after I had a little food in my mouth, which was a nice pleasant surprise.

Meanwhile, I also tried Amber Bock for the first time. It was Almost the same color as Newcastle, but didn't have nearly as much taste as Newcastle. It was decent enough to pass the time with.

Another "drink" I had was B to the E. DO NOT DRINK THIS! It is nasty. I you want to know what this tastes like, mix a crappy beer, a redbull, and horse piss, and leave it in the sun for 2 days. I will never buy this shit again. If you must drink alcohol mixed with caffiene, I recommend going with maybe bailey's and coffee, a jaeger bomb, or even sparks. Sparks is a kind of girlish drink, but it picks flavors that actually go good with taurine. B to the E tries, and fails, to mix beer-ness with taurine-ness.

Anyway, that's what I got for now. Not like this blog is gonna save the world.

2005-01-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

Toga! Toga!

So, here's the layout of the toga weekend. I phoned my parents to warn them they had incoming. They offered dinner despite the late hour of my arrival, and I of course accepted. When I get there, they are getting the food ready still, and say "so, like, why are you here?" I may have mentioned the toga party in passing to them, but I certainly hadn't said enough to sink in. Oh well. I get some steak&shrimp that night, yum yum yum.

Afterward, I roll on out to the house of my high school friends, Worm and The Bouncer, to chill for a while, discuss leet toga strats, and inform them of the now-infamous HOOF GIRL. (NOT WORK SAFE)

We hung out till about midnight, then I went back to my parents house. I left a note so they'd wake me up for breakfast, if they were having anything. Turns out, dad went out to the gym to whittle down the gut, and so I woke up unhurried at about 9 am. Dad got back from the gym made breakfast.

After breakfast I tried to get him interested in Galactic Civilizations. He complained about complexity, and didn't even try to get into the game. I have a feeling he'll love it when he succumbs. Anyway, while I was trying to get my dad to try new things, my brother calls, wanting me to come hang out a bit, and read a short story he's written called "Nicotene Kisses". I tell him I'll see if I can work him in during the Toga-preparation festivities.

Worm and I hit hobby lobby, and get our 6 yards of black. Then we find some leafy thing to work as laurels. They we hit the store for supplies: Grey Goose, Godiva White Chocolate liquor, everclear, and triple-sec. The Bouncer made a different trip. Eventually my brother calls, and I head over to his place, until The Bouncer gets home. I am mortified by the content of the "Nicotene Kisses" story, because involves events of which I have no recollection, and, are quite embarrassing. You know, the kind of stuff you did when you were 5 that you hope NO ONE EVER HEARS ABOUT? That's what "Nicotene Kisses" is. Ixnay on the onfiction-nay, bro.

Anyway, once The Bouncer is home, I head over there, and make the first attempt at tying my toga, while The Bouncer makes "Everclear Apple Pie Drink"

The ingredients are:

3 cinammin sticks
1 gallon apple juice
1 gallon apple cider
2 cups sugar
1 bottle everclear

directions are, heat it, to let some of the alcohol boil off and let the cinammin taste circulate, and then let it cool for 2 hours before bottling into jugs.

I got my first attempt at a toga working, meanwhile john and joe arrive. I help john with some of his costume, and The Bouncer with some of his costume. Meanwhile, some of my pins come out so I have to redo mine.

We leave the apple pie drink to cool, and head off to buy the ice. We draw many stares from the people at the grocery store. It was sweet. We arrive at the party, and I start carrying in some leftover lime juice, tanqueray, and triple-sec. My toga falls completely apart, and I spend the next five minutes in the bathroom re-doing it.

When I come out, I'm thinking of making myself a tanqueray kamikaze to get the ball rolling. But the triple-sec has disappeared! *gasp*

So, I'm like, hey, where's the triple-sec? Eventually, the host, in horror, explains she added it to the wop. Ouch, so I have to wait for Worm to show up with the new bottle of triple-sec before I can have my kamikazes. Oh well, I start off the night with some wop. It didn't taste bad, but I wasn't really in the mood for ice and cold pieces of fruit mixed with my booze.

The kareoke starts up and I give the song "daughter" a try. I didn't butcher it, but it wasn't awesome. I wanted to sing "bring me to life" with someone, so I had them fill out the card for it. I also submitted "Free Fallin". I got two songs I do pretty good consistently on. "Big Balls" and "Simple Man". and I wanted to try "Gimme Three Steps" that night as well.

I figured I might give big balls a rest for the night, but then someone laid down the preemptive strike. Some OTHER dude started singing it. At this point, I'm standing by some friends, wincing, and they all assure me I can do it 10x better. For one... the dude has his voice waaaay too low. For another, he isn't even attempting the accents and inflections.

The line is

The social pages say I've got the biggest balls of all.

Now, in ordinary everyday american speech, you social "soh-shul". Not in this song. It's Soh-see-al. That, and other things. Well, I'm thinking of submitting big balls to show'em how it's done right there and then, but then God decides to one up, and shut the power off. Out come the lighters and we check the breakers. Soon, people go to their cars for flashlights, and realize several blocks lost power.

So, we're in the dark, and I'm itching to sing. I see all those lighters out, so I try to get a little "silent night" going. The darkness definately slowed my drinking down. I some grey goose, yeash, maybe I shoulda mixed it, it's a nasty shot. But I did find that, as I suspected, Godiva and Triple-sec are AWESOME together.

After a while, I start singing "it's a great day for me to whup somebody's ass" I have Worm backing me up, with percussion and refrain. A few drinks later,(both alcoholic and non) I'm quietly ranting about how the shitty singing of big balls took out the power, and got a couple of back-up singers and sang it in the dark. And lo, and behold, as I sang, the power came on!

Everyone cheered. and then the kareoke restarted, first by letting the dude who sang big balls do it again. And Then I did it later too. So, all told the crowd had to listen to the song 4 times. lol.

Meanwhile, the power outage cut me short. "Gimme Three Steps" was in the queue, and never happened. Grr.

Besides people's togas falling apart throughout the night, a couple other interesting thing happened-- I picked up the host, who is a short skinny girl, fireman styple, and spun her around while Worm hit her with the loose end of his toga, locker-room towel style. This one girl grab what must have been a gallon jug of wine, and drank it straigh from the jug. she didn't make much of a did before she fell asleep on the couch. after all she woke up at 4 am that morning. As the night wound down, there was PLENTY of wop left. I think would have been better to use a punch bowl rather than a cooler. Alas, my poor triple-sec!

The wop also suffered from heavy competition-- jello shots, jeremy's apple pie mix(all two gallons got drank), etc etc. A bottle of margarita mix went un-opened the whole night. Several wine bottles also survived-- only the plum wine was cracked. I was gonna try mixing godiva with another fruit wine if one was opened, but none others were.

Anyway, Worm and I decided to crash right there. I think I was sober enough to drive, I was staying mostly sober, 1-2 drinks/hour so I could sing... but I also had no sense of time and hence was going slower.

But I decided to pour myself a nice godiva/triple-sec nightcap. It didn't work. Worm's GF, also staying the night, was coughing, and so I couldn't sleep. Then she started crying (I have no idea why). Anyway, I was laying there, listening to her cry, wishing she would shut up and sleep like a normal person, and realizing there was absolutely nothing I could do. Whatever it was she was crying about, I couldn't solve the problem or cheer her up. Besides, if Worm could sleep through that crying, I guess I'd wince a bear it. But I hate that feeling, when you hear a girl crying and realizing you can't help her. And the problem is only exascerbated by the self-interest of the situation! It's bad enough she's crying, but the fact that her crying was keeping me awake just adds a whole new dimension as to how messed up the situation.

I'm a light sleeper, so I was up once it was light outside, and started doing a little pickup. The host was at her apartment, we were in a separate building in her apartment complex's property.

I got a lotta cups and stuff off the floor, packed up the excess booze from what I bought, and headed to my parents house for a shower. Then I met up with my parents for brunch. After that, back to my own apartment. I was too tired to shop and stuff, so my house has no perishables in it, I cleaned myself out before the road trip. But now that I've sat in front of the screen for a while, going out shopping is gaining appeal. Plus I haven't eaten since 11:00 am. But mainly, I wanted to get this all written down before I did much else.

2005-01-23T16:56:00.000-08:00

What is Bigotry?

At this point in my blogging career, I only have one fan. And so, I ask my single fan for a subject. So far she has given me three. Well, easiest one first:

Why do kids get snow days and grown-ups don't?

Because grownups don't deserve them. Kids don't deserve them either, but the grownups haven't caught on yet.

The next subject under discussion is the unhealthy obsession people have with certain kinds of beer. Specifically, Newcastle addicts. I tried a 6-pack once, it wasn't that impressive. Sheesh.

Finally, on the subject of bigotry. I think the subject of bigotry was best explained in the episode the episode called "The Death Camp of Tolerance". When they enter the hall of stereotypes, full of wax figures that are stereotypes, they find the sleepy mexican stereotype, only to find out he is not a wax figure. And then, as they exit the museum of tolerance, the tour guide berates a smoker.

The moral? Everyone is a bigot to some degree. Some people are aware of their prejudices, some are not. Some are so far gone in la-la land that they would deny factual events, like the holocaust. I could rant more about the subject of bigotry, but Trey Parker and Matt Stone have said it all.

On the holocaust, I will propose one provacative question. The holocaust is considered by some to be the worst tradegdy of the 20th century. 12 million people died, 6 million jews, the other 6 million being gypsies, poles, blacks, jehovah's witnesses, homosexuals, the disabled, christian clergy, plus any resistors.

However, the holocaust, as horrible as it is, was surpassed, in sheer terms of loss of life, by 3 other events of the 20th century: Stalin's brutal regime which killed 20 million, China's Great leap forward which caused 30 million to starve, and abortion in the US, where 40 million lives have been terminated. Now, I know there's some people out there tonight who would get riled up at abortion being compared to the holocaust, and, well, I'd have to say that's bigotry against the unborn. Even though I believe abortion should remain legal, I'd have to call a spade a spade.

So, here is my provacative question: why do so many people think the holocaust is the worst tradgedy of the 20th century, when, in sheer terms of loss of life, it is not? Is it because Hitler lost, and thus we demonized him? Is it Eurocentrism, moreover, western eurocentrism, such that we forget about those russians and chinese? Or, and I can hear the growls that I write this, but must write it to be inclusive, is it the influence the jews have on western media?

Well, here's hoping I having alienated my one fan. PUBLISH!

2005-01-18T15:08:00.000-08:00

What Mandate?

Bush has been making some silly claims about the results of the election. That it has given him a mandate to reform social security, for instance. I'm sorry, Mr. President, but I have to remind you, your opponent sucked. The only mandate you have is to 1. Not be a manwhore, and 2. not be more liberal than Ted Kennedy. That's all. No social security tampering, etc.

In order to understand what social security is, you first have to realize that socialism is not inherently evil. It can be abused for great evil, but it is not inherently so. Socialism does not dictate a surrender of civil freedoms, only economic freedoms. And some economic freedoms are not worth having, for example, the freedom to pollute the commons.

That, said, let's call a spade a spade. Social Security is socialism. It is wealth redistribution, from those who produce, to those who no longer produce. Do not pretend the system is designed so that people only get out what they put in-- the system was designed to encourage the elderly to NOT WORK, in order that they do not steal jobs from the young.

It is not a retirement plan. It is not a right. And as soon as you give the money to the government, it is no longer "yours". It is not being set aside for you to be used in your old age, it is being given to a living senior citizen.

But back to socialism. Social Security is a socialistic counterbalance to insulate our society from the worst ravages of rampant out-of-control capitalism. Indeed, the event which led to the existence of Social Security was a stock market crash. This is why social security absolutely must not be privatised-- the money currently being put toward social security would be invested in the stock market. During good times, this would not be problematical. However, during bad times, this will have a catastrophic effect on the savings of senior citizens.

If we revamp social security and turn it into a glorified retirement fund, it will one day fail us for sure. Our current system keeps the forces of depression at bay. Tinkering with it is a recipe for disaster.

2005-01-17T16:40:00.000-08:00

Return of the Gimp!

I was doing a roadtrip over the Christmas Holiday. I had brought along beer from a microbrewery, to share with friends. Well, the beer was rejected, and I was the only one who drank it over the course of New Year's eve. Whilst I was returning the rejected beer to my car, untasted by anyone's lips but mine own, I dropped a six-pack and four bottles shattered.

I suppose there's not use crying over spilt beer, but I still feel the loss. I fear it is an omen for the year ahead.

At any rate... I have some good news, as well... I have sucessfully benchpressed 275 pounds. Soon, I should be able the crack the 300 barrier... and that will be very sweet.

At any rate, Equable.org is gone... where I know not. I met equable through the MMORPG everquest, and came to learn he was an entertaining fellow, that shared some of my politcal views, and had an obsession with Newcastle. Just this year I found out that he was a crusader against child pornography. Even got himself on the national news for it once, and women all across the country were impressed and got in touch with him to be his friend for it... well, at least one woman did, she's the one who told me about it.

That woman was a vegetarian. A vegetarian with Arthritis. I informed her of a product, Glucosamine, which eases the pain of arthritis. She refused on the grounds of her vegetarianism. On one hand, part of me admire her principles, on the other hand another part of me wants to convert her back to the meat-eating world. Also, every vegetarian should read this:

WHEAT IS MURDER

Anyway, I suppose I should whine about a political article. One article in particular has irked me lately.

I feel like my intelligence is being insulted

Bush accused Kerry, the horse-faced war criminal manwhore, as being "weak on defense". He was on solid ground, considering Kerry accussed practically the entire armed forces of being war criminals.

This is not to say that spending shouldn't adapt to new realities. Yet, Mr Gaffney decides to complain that...

Yet, here we have the spectacle of $55 billion in far-reaching defense reductions being made by the man who beat Sen. Kerry – largely on the basis of precisely those concerns. It is no exaggeration to say that Mr. Bush will be sworn in again on January 20th because he was widely perceived to be a more credible and robust leader than his challenger when it came to protecting this country.

As Donald Rumsfeld has observed, to considerable tut-tutting from the chattering classes, “You go to war with the army you have.” If President Bush does not reverse course, he will be condemning the U.S. military – perhaps on his watch, perhaps on those of his successors – to going to war with vastly inferior capabilities than they could have, should have and will need.

Because having twice the military budget of ANY OTHER COUNTRY is not enough, we need 4x+! That's absurd. Our military budget really is absurbly high, and if we weren't IN A WAR, we should be reducing spending to exactly twice what the next country spends. For example, China's military budget is 60 billion, so, in peacetime, ours should only be 120 billion.

Now, I've been paying attention to the war in Iraq. It is a good bet that We will be doing missions VERY close to Iraq for a long time to come. That is, attacking a weak regime with poor technology, and then fighting a counterinsurgency during reconstruction. It is UNLIKELY that we will be fighting a full-scale war the likes of WWII. China lacks the logistical capability to touch the US mainland with anything but Nukes, they are the only country that comes even close to being a challenge as far as conventional arms are concerned.

Our troops are adapting to fighting a counterinsurgency. Some important equipment for that is body armor, predator drones(survellance and attack, even) , armored personnel vehicles (like uparmored humvees and Stryker LAVs. What we don't need are new dogfighters, new frontline equipment. We can mount our fancy guided missiles to a 30-year-old plane if we must, nothing can shoot them out of the sky so we don't need the fancy schmancy stuff.

So what's being cut?

F/A 22 Raptor. One of the two new jetfighters being built. This, and the F-35, are upgrades to the trusty F-16, F-15, and stealth fighters we have. How many dogfights do we expect to be fighting? Heck we can strap sidewinders on predators, and use them to take out any enemy aircraft, if need be. But will we be getting into ANY dogfights at all, manned or unmanned? I doubt this. And even with fewer F-22s, we will still have the F-35, which will be used by more countries and thus have a better economy of scale when it is built.

V-22 Osprey is also, FINALLY being cut. This has to be one of the biggest failures in our defense budget history. Why anyone would mourn the end of this deathtrap is beyond me. I don't know who Gaffney thinks he can fool. Cutting the V-22 is not "soft on defense" Cutting it is "smart on logic". The V-22 has failed. It has some great design features, but too many flaws. it's time to go back to the drawing board and do it right.

An aircraft carrier is being cut. This is a sad loss, Aircraft carriers are awesome and stuff. But they are also, essentially, floating cities, crewed by 6000 people each. Plus, a carrier is never alone, it must be escorted by a battle group. Cutting one carrier saves a lot of money.

Finally submarine modernization is being cut. Submarines are very useful against state actors, but do they do much against terrorists? Not really. So, why should someone like me care about these cuts? Isn't it more important that we improve our counterinsurgency skills, and preserve the status quo on the weapons we will need when another superpower gets into a real arms race with us?

2004-06-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

Moved to equable.org

Not that anyone reads this blog, but I've moved to Equable.org

Go there if you want to read more of my ramblings.

2004-05-20T15:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I went to see Shrek 2, and I call it 4 stars. I am trying to come up with a definitive list on which movies it spoofed, so far, I've come up with...

Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
Ghostbusters
Beauty and the Beast
The Little Mermaid
The Mask of Zorro
Cinderella
Snow White
Sleeping Beauty
Peter Pan
Pinnochio
Spiderman(Thnx Tyknee, I forgot)
Mission Impossible
Alien

Meanwhile, the latest news from Iraq was that Chalabi's house got raided by the coalition. I was hopeing to see a reaction from the iraqi blogs, but

2004-05-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

I went to see Troy. The girl I took to see it cried. Overall, I have to give the movie 3 and 1/2 stars, but with such an ensemble cast, it is important to break it down.

Odysseus-- Sean Bean stole the scenes whenever he got screen time. He nailed this character, and I hope they do the Odyssey and keep Sean Bean on as the main man. I hope this movie makes it's money back and then some in order to bring this about.

Achilles-- Brad Pitt does a pretty good job-- the acting was not very striking, but let's face it-- Brad buffs himself up and then learned some fancy moves with a sword, and it pays off. The fight scenes are excellent.

Agamemnon-- Brian Cox does Agamemnon pretty well. He's good at making you totally hate a character, but then again, that seems to

Ajax-- another absolute badass screen-stealer. He is the Darth Maul of the movie (except this time, WITH A MAUL) totally badass in fight scenes, but nearly no lines or screen time.

Hector-- Eric Bana does an excellent job of playing Hector, it was when he was basically saying goodbye to his family that the girl I took started to cry. He knew that he had to face Achilles, and he knew he would more than likely die to Achilles, and yet he went anyway-- pretty intense.

Paris-- I think there was little missing from this character. He does the looking cute correctly, and the love story works very well, but he doesn't put enough effort into the anger. When he's slaying Achilles, you almost wonder why he is doing it!!! He doesn't have ANY rage on his face, and his cousin is begging him to stop.

Priam-- This is a very tragic character. He makes me want to slap my forehead when he doesn't listen to his son.

Briseis-- This is the main female character in the movie. YEAH YOU HEARD ME. The role of Briseis ends up being more important than Helen herself, and Rose Byrne does a pretty good job of it.

Helen-- unimpressive. Pretty, but not 1000 ships pretty. She did an OK job, but was one of the weaker points of the film.

Well... that's all I have to say... now go see the movie so that Warner Brothers can give me my Odyssey!

Now, as for politics... I've been paying attention to Tillman, to Abu Ghraib and Nick Berg. I've been trying to view the war in utilitarian terms, and think of all those faceless lives we are saving. I've been trying to view the war with emotional detachment-- and I suppose that makes me a little chicken-hawk. Stuff likes this makes me feel very small, and it puts a face on the inhumanity of war. I still think the war was very much so the right decision, and I still think that when all is said and done Bush will have saved more lives than he has killed, yet, it is beginning to make me queasy. I yearn for June 30, and I really want the handover to go well.

2004-05-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

Van Helsing kicked ass... 3 1/2 stars.

Go into this movie expecting comedy and much disobedience of the laws of physics, so you can enjoy it properly.

2004-05-05T18:43:00.000-07:00

North Country!

I did the 40 oz steak lover's challenge, and polished it off at 59:15. It was quite the challenge, but the t-shirt beckoned! I do not suspect I will have breakfast tomorrow.

2004-04-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

Every once in a great while, an editorial comes along with such amazing blatant disregard for truth that it astounds me:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1204194,00.html

Picture a situation in which most of the media, despite the overwhelming weight of medical opinion, refused to accept that there was a connection between smoking and lung cancer. Imagine that every time new evidence emerged, they asked someone with no medical qualifications to write a piece dismissing the evidence and claiming that there was no consensus on the issue.

This actually did indeed happen for a long time. But now, the opposite is true: media tend to blow the whole smoking thing out of porportion. Like the whole arsenic in cigarettes things-- guess what? Arsenic is in EVERYTHING! It's not the mere presence of Arsenic that matters, it's the concentration, and the concentration of arsenic in a cigarette is very very low.

What's even more amusing, is they try to demonize arsenic as always bad. Fact of the matter is, the body needs a tiny amount of arsenic. Arsenic is common enough that people never are arsenic-deficient, but if you painstakingly removed all the arsenic from someone's diet, they would suffer adverse effects eventually.

Imagine that the BBC, in the interests of "debate", wheeled out one of the tiny number of scientists who says that smoking and cancer aren't linked, or that giving up isn't worth the trouble, every time the issue of cancer was raised.

Or, worse, imagine a world where it was illegal to hold a different point of view... but okay, go on mr. big brother.

Imagine that, as a result, next to nothing was done about the problem, to the delight of the tobacco industry and the detriment of millions of smokers. We would surely describe the newspapers and the BBC as grossly irresponsible.

Nevermind the fact that smoking is an irritant of no obvious health benefit, but sure, let's put all the responsibility upon newspapers, because surely no one can make decisions without a newspaper to tell them what to do, right, comrade?

Now stop imagining it, and take a look at what's happening. The issue is not smoking, but climate change. The scientific consensus is just as robust, the misreporting just as widespread, the consequences even graver.

Wrong. There is no consensus. Right, there is misreporting, like you are contributing to now, but it is slanted more towards undue panic, and wrong on the consequences, as well. Global warming is a very passive threat, and requires massive government negligence to do any real damage. See France. They acknowledged global warming, but did they take WELL-PROVEN steps to prevent excess heat mortality before last August? Nope!

If it is true, as the government's new report suggested last week, that it is now too late to prevent hundreds of thousands of British people from being flooded out of their homes, then the journalists who have consistently and deliberately downplayed the threat carry much of the responsibility for the problem. It is time we stopped treating them as bystanders. It is time we started holding them to account.

How bad would flooding be in a modern country? Think about it. Some of those upscale beachfront homes have grossly ineffecient HVAC systems, that need to be replaced anyway as part of any sensible climate control plan. Let's nevermind that the sea level hasn't noticably risen at all, and when it does, the rich and powerful communities of coastal cities will be more than willing to devote massive resources to high tech futuristic solutions to the flooding. Yeah, let's nevermind all of that.

"The scientific community has reached a consensus," the government's chief scientific adviser, Professor David King, told the House of Lords last month. "I do not believe that amongst the scientists there is a discussion as to whether global warming is due to anthropogenic effects.

Nice lie! Allow me to point you to the discussion, while I remind you that you can't prove a negative:

http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p36.htm Here's your lack of consensus, buddy!

Skipping ahead, let's get to here:

Hitchens, in turn, is an Einstein beside that famous climate scientist Melanie Phillips. Writing in the Daily Mail in January, she dismissed the entire canon of climatology as "a global fraud" perpetrated by the "leftwing, anti-American, anti-west ideology which goes hand in hand with anti-globalisation and the belief that everything done by the industrialised world is wicked".

Um, why is it silly to dismiss global warming as anti-globalism and anti-industial, when you yourself say stuff like:

But isn't it time that the BBC stopped behaving like the public relations arm of the fossil fuel lobby?

As for you list of 4 questions:

1. Does the atmosphere contain carbon dioxide?

Yes, because all animals exhale it, and all plants need it to grow.

2. Does atmospheric carbon dioxide influence global temperatures?

Yes, but NOWHERE near as much as water vapor, around which there is huge uncertainty. More water vapor could possibly create more clouds, and reflet more lift off into space thusly reducing global warming.

3. Will that influence be enhanced by the addition of more carbon dioxide?

See number 2, again, not that much. plus, higher concentrations of CO2 make plants more efficient, they grow faster and use less water.

4. Have human activities led to a net emission of carbon dioxide?

Of course, seeing as how they have that nasty habit of breathing.

I'd heckle this article more, but my compter is acting up, so I'll leave you with this:

But these dolts are rather less danger ous than the BBC, and its insistence on "balancing" its coverage of climate change. It appears to be incapable of running an item on the subject without inviting a sceptic to comment on it.

Yes, comrade! Forget free speech! God forbid you let people express an unpopular view! You leftwing commie bastard.

2004-04-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

Muslims violating geneva conventions... again

Don't stockpile weapons in mosques unless you want the mosques destroyed

So much for some things being sacred. I wonder what the results of a poll of shi'ites would be on whether or not Sadr should stand trial for the other Shi'ite Imam they think he murdered.

Oh an on the movies front, I saw 13 going on 30. It was nice to see Andy Serkis in the flesh. There was no overt homage to Gollem, but he did sssssometime linger on hissss S's, like a good little immortal proto-hobbit.

As for the plot, well, it just didn't sit well with me. Here you have Jennifer Garner's character basically saying "Hi, I'm not a bad person, so, can I trash your wedding please?" Kinda doesn't sit well.

Also, while Garner did a good job with the whole comedic fish out of water stuff, one thing that would have been nice to do would have been to show a flash-back perhaps done as a video camera at some party, of showing Rink in her "mean" mode.

All in all, I'd give it two and a half stars. I won't be as vehement about it as Hellboy, but then again, I had much higher expectations for Hellboy.

2004-04-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

Tasteless Propaganda creeps Can't even get it right

If these people had any shame, they'd be embarassed

Images of the coffins of the dead astronauts from the Columbia disaster got mixed in with some of the pictures splashed across US newspapers of military dead being returned from Iraq

Some people seem to lack the insight as to the difference between free speech and rampant assault imagery. Hey, you liberal idiots, you want a propaganda war? Let's make a deal: you honor the conservative's humble request to not show dead soldiers returning home, and we'll not plaster the new networks with images of iraq's mass graves, the rape room videos, faces of Saddam's chemical attack victims, people with missing pieces of ear, et cetera.

You want a propaganda war? You're outmanned, outclassed, and outgunned. It's almost a shame that Bush et al have much more dignity than you all do, and won't stoop to your level by showing off dead people to make a point.

We know soldiers are dying. WE KNOW. We also know it's a massive invasion of grieving families' privacy for you to show off those coffins. And what's more, you can't even keep them straight, and shoved in a few dead astronauts for good measure.

We removed one of the worst dictators on the planet, a patron of terrorism. But now, we have important work to do, to finish what we started. Cut and run is not an option.

Iraq is the front line in the war on terror. If we retreat, America will be the front line. For those of you if the Arab world, this is the message I hope you learn from Fallujah-- violence begets violence, yes. America's bloot is red hot, and if you hit us, we will hit back. Sadly, when we hit back, innocents will die.

Now, I know the indoctrinated terrorists see the death of innocent lives as a good thing-- it's a recruiting tool-- but for those of you that have a choice, you must understand. This war is assymetric. American armed forces will shoot to kill, and kill more often than get killed. By some accounts, up to 1100+ Iraqis died in Fallujah. Now, Americans know better than to intentionally shoot unarmed people when the press is watching so closely, so think about it: More than likely, a LOT of those people were armed. They may have not been insurgents. In their mind, they may have just been an angry man, defending his family and friends, picked up gun, and threw away their lives. Easily half of the people that got shot, were shot because they were trying to shoot soldiers.

Now think about it: Only 99 US soldiers died. Some 500 armed iraqis died. Maybe some of them were previous fence riders. Maybe some were foreign fighters. Either way, we are talking a five to one kill ratio. For the fence riders, this should be important-- if you are thinking of picking up that gun to defend you family, don't-- you'll do them more good alive.

I can't wait for June 30th. Not only is the big handover going to occur, but also, Spiderman 2 is coming out. I wonder if they're gonna release it in Iraq same day. I can't think of a much better way to usher in a new transitional government than to kick back and watch a kickass new movie in an air conditioned theater.

2004-04-20T16:52:00.000-07:00

Added a new link-- The Religious Policeman! This Saudi blog was just too interesting to pass up. The stuff about the cell phones was incredibly funny. While the tragedy of living in an Orwellian nightmare is there, obviously there is also some freedoms shining through.

Here's hoping Saudi Arabia produces more Alhamedis than it does Osamas.

2004-04-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

Punisher and Kill Bill volume 2

Kill Bill volume 2 had some excellent plot twists. Besides the ones you'd expect. While O-Ren Oshii was still the most excellent part of the movie as the whole, vol 2 served up plenty of excellent fun and classic Tarantino dialog. It's amazing, in a way, how you end up feeling sympathy for Bud when he dies, even after what he does to the Bride.

4 stars

I went into Punisher with low expectations. I just had to see it, because they managed to put together a comic book flick for the low low price of 30 million. And it just goes to show that money isn't everything. I really didn't know who Thomas Jane was, going into the punisher, but he makes it work. But looking back through his filmography, I realized that he was the badass dude in Deep Blue Sea, as well. He's a good action hero movie type, and they should make more Thomas Jane action flicks. Hopefully they can come up with a Punisher II. Also, as far as the plot goes, very importantly, I didn't feel my intelligence was insulted, like in Hellboy. While I was rooting for Hellboy, I was rooting even harder for the Punisher. Also, the theater was handing out this cool little promotional comic of Spiderman vs The Punisher. I'm glad I didn't miss out on that.

4 stars

Mindyou this is out of five stars, which of course goes to LOTR.

When I get home, I see that even more ass was kicked. Rantisi bites the dust! I shed no tears for anyone who associates themselves with Hamas, and I wish the Israelis would have done an airstrike during the ceremony that crowned this jackass as head of Hamas. Oh well, this is just as amusing. Pick another leader, Hamas-- go ahead.

What with that idiot Sadr holed up in the Holy City of Najaf, cowering behind Sistani, it feels good that at least Israel is getting a chance to smoke some baddies. By the way, this is not against all Muslims-- this is against those sadists who don't have the guts to strap a suicide vest around their own chests-- the men that are willing to ensure the death of their fellow muslims in the hopes of taking out just a few enemies. Removing these people is doing muslims a favor-- they should listen to Mathathir-- fundamentalists will never beat the Israelis or the Americans with bombs and guns. The only way to beat them is with superior economic measures.

Start by using all those oil revenues to build hospitals and water treatment plants in Palestine. Forbid terrorism and violence in them, don't let any terrorists use them lest they give Israel an excuse to destroy them. If palestinians refugees seek asylum in your countries, let them in, make them citizens, don't turn them away and leave them to "suffer" under the jews-- by the way, the Jews treat the palestines better than some arabs treat their own people.

With the way the fundamentalists have chosen to fight, they have already lost. Look at Fallujah. They aren't even human anymore. They're worse than animals. Meanwhile, I welcome this news: Iraq does need some voices that do not like the occupation, but refuse to resort to violence. Putting such voices in the caretaker government is exactly what the US needs in order to make an honorable withdrawal.

Of course, one of the biggest mistakes the US made was using Chalabi. His reputation is dirt to too many people. Hopefully Chalabi will be gone in the next incarnation of iraqi governance, unless, to my shock, enough people actually elect him.

2004-04-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

I found a pretty funny site-- you know how the REAL whitehouse is whitehouse.gov. You probably also knew that there was a porn site at whitehouse.com. But did you know there was a biting satire site at whitehouse.org? I laughed, I cried, and I became resolved to vote for Bush so that this guy could continue to be angry for another four years.

Meanwhile, I feel kinda sorry for the movie "the Alamo". I almost saw it this weekend when I was in Wisconsin, but my brother only wanted to see Jersey Girl, which I had already seen. He gave a bizarre excuse for not wanting to see the movie: Because we'd been to San Antonio, we went to the Alamo, and it was boring. ??? movie does not equal real life. He went on to say the San Antonio riverwalk was far cooler than the historical site, and on this I agree. "If they made a movie out of the San Antonio riverwalk, I'd go see that" he says. His logic here was silly enough I decided not to broach the subject further. Jersey Girl wasn't a bad movie, but seeing as it had no eye candy, I really wasn't up to seeing it again. Since it is a kevin smith movie, I'll probably buy the DVD for the director's commentary, but I told my brother to take a girl to it sometime instead of me.

Anyway, instead of going to the movies, we just went to Walmart, picked up Matrix revolutions, and watched that. I was let down by Matrix Revolutions in the theater, because I found the Smith/Neo fight to be far less inventive than the Neo/Smith fights in either Matrix I or II. And the dock fight sequence, while interesting, was not as impressive as Neo taking out the Merovigian's goons and the highway sequence Nevertheless, I still plan on buying a matrix trilogy set whenever it comes out. I've been holding off on buying them as they come out because I never did buy the first matrix DVD.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, the insurgents are kidnapping the workers trying to rebuild the country! Even the russians aren't safe! I don't understand the logic-- don't they know that the faster the attacks and crime levels go down, the faster the US can come home? And the targeting of innocent iraqis and businessmen not affiliated with the occupation is just showing them as disgusting people with an unislamic agenda?

Sistani is feared enough that once we've had a round of halfway decent elections, we'll eagerly pull out of Iraq. After all, they have plenty of police, army, security forces trained to respect human rights, so we can do a nice little pullout afterwards and then cross our fingers.

If they attack the elected government, we can say, see? Not a single US troop on your soil, and you're still terrorizing your fellow Muslims! How very unislamic of you! (this of course assumes we can get Sistani, or someone like him, to issue some edicts to back us up once our military ain't breathing down his neck)

2004-04-03T14:25:00.000-08:00

A movie review that's somewhat on time!

I was hoping to be able to say some good things about Hellboy, but it didn't make any freaking sense.

Why did the fish dude go down into the water? If he could sense the future and the past, didn't he know how much fucking danger he was in?

And, furthermore, why did the stupid egg laying creature thing not lay a shit moad more eggs in a shitload more places? This is basic strategy.

Also the girl needs to "get angry" in order to do her whole explosion trick, but it wasn't enough to just watch one of her best friends getting their ass kicked, no, she had to tell the Agent Myers guy to hit her. And then, even though she's "mad" at him, she has the presense of mind to tell him to run, and then he doesn't run like very far at all and still manages to live through the blast big enough to fry everything else but Liz and Hellboy?

Or, how about the whole selective wardrobe malfunctions Hellboy has? sometimes his clothing gets torn up, but other times, like when everything around him is burning, it's just A-ok?

And the final final badass dude thing that can grow from a little alien sized thing to giant HENTAI tentacle freakish in five seconds... how are we supposed to believe just a couple tiny grenades are going to take that thing out, AND that it's not going to be able to regenerate? That monster just died way too freaking easy.

And finally, why the hell do we have to have yet another freaking movie where the moral of the story is how people have a choice? It was ok in Harry Potter. It became fucking stupid in matrix revolutions. And now, in Hellboy, the whole choice thing sounds like hollywood is beating a dead fucking horse.

Well, guess what Hollywood? FUCK YOU! Not everyone DOES have a choice. Look at fucking Iraq. You think those people fucking CHOSE to have Saddam for a leader? Fuck no, dipshits. You think the starving people in Africa CHOSE to live a life of poverty and malnutrition? What fucking planet do you fucking live on, guys?

No wonder you squeamish fucks all cry and want to hold hands when one of the few people in this world that DID have a choice made a HARD and necessary choice.

In sum, 2 and half stars.

2004-03-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

Well, 2 days ago I was able to pull off 2 sets of 195 bench, so today was time try 200. I was able to lift it 5x which was the goal. Sadly, the balance is quite different from the olympic weights found in most gyms, on which 180 would be hell for me.

Meanwhile, I checked my messages recently. 3 were people who hung up right away, and 3 were 3 different companies offering to reduce my credit card debt. That was pathetic. Not ONLY is it pathetic that so many of them exist, and not only is it pathetic they need to actually seek out customers with telemarketing, but the main thing that makes it pathetic is that I don't even have credit card debt, so they're wasting their time.

Sadly these kinds of companies must be making a SHITLOAD of money, because not only are they heavily telemarketing, but also, fucking Cecily Gable every fucking morning on the radio with her stupid Hamilton Mortgage commercials. It's so annoying. Why the hell did the rest of you IDIOTS have to go so damn far into debt so that this line of work exists? Your utter lack of financial discipline literally annoys me on a daily basis.

What fucking planet do you live on anyway? Don't you know that the video game you payed $50 for will cost $10 2 years from now? The computer you payed $2000 for will be obsolete even sooner than that? Time is on your side, save first, buy later, you'll get cooler stuff that way.

2004-03-29T18:26:00.000-08:00

Two major ocean stories

First off, the first south american hurricane ever is headed towards brazil, and so-called "dead zones" in the oceans are expanding.

Now, both of these stories are quite concerning-- the dead zones are caused by nitrogen-based fertilizers, which means that the proliferation of dead zones mean we are overusing fertilizer and loosing expensive leet nitogenz to undeserving seaweedz. The south american hurricane story is kinda disconcerting due to the fact that the brazilian government is not being very much alarmed, which means it may end up doing significantly more damage than if the government took certain steps.

But moreso, because there is a good profitable solution to them--

As far as fertilizer goes, part of the solution is just plain using less of it. This will save farmers money. A more complicated solution, which has the potential to save even more money, is to sculpt tracts of farmland so that water flows to a pond locatedin the middle of a large field. This pondwater will be overly high in nitrogen, so will be excellent to apply to crops in leiu of "first-run" fertilizer.

Or alternatively, we could suck this polluted water out of the ocean, and use it to grow salicornia, which is a salt-loving plant that is human-edible and produces oil. That way, instead of seeing these dead zones as a curse, we could make the dead-zone water a commodity.

As far as hurricanes go, the Brazilian government still have time to step up warning and issue advice to the people likely to be impacted-- basically, tell them all the stuff the people in florida normally do to ride out such a storm.

Meanwhile, I believe there is no good reason why we should suffer through hurricanes at all. We must accelerate research into Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, or OTEC. This will remove the thermal energy that builds up in the upper layers of the ocean, using it to distill water or generate electricity.

If the upper layers of the ocean aren't warm enough, hurricanes can't form. Billion of dollars in property damage can be prevented. And while OTEC might be a very cheap source of energy, considering how the world is about to go through an energy crunch, developing more energy sources is a good idea-- especially if they are non-polluting, and out in the middle of nowehere so no one gets a case of nimbyism unlike what happens whenever a new windmill or solar project is proposed.

2004-03-27T18:06:00.000-08:00

Communism or Fundamentalism

A lot of Americans are expressing regret over the fact we armed and equipped the mujahedeen against the soviets. Now, while I know 9/11 was a atrocity, communism has been responsible for more human suffering than terrorists could ever DREAM of bringing about.

In afghanistan alone, the Soviets killed 1.3 million Afghans, and displaced 5 million. Meanwhile, whatever piss-poor training and equipment they gave to their soldiers, it led to nearly 2/3 of them, 415,000 out of 642,000, dying from preventable disease!

Yes, that's right, the Soviets visited 100 9/11s upon their very own soldiers! These terrorists are undeniably bad, but compared to the soviets, they are kittens. But now the Soviets are out of the way, it's time to deal with them.

The Cold War, in one way, is over-- the Soviet empire collapsed. But we paid a heavy price, by propping up dictators and sacrificing the advance of democracy for the promise of security. If 9/11 was a price of our cold war policy, especially towards Afghanistan, I say the price we paid was well worth it.

But, now that the the soviets are gone, it's time to to broaden the "front" of the cold war.

It shouldn't be seen as US vs Soviets. It shouldn't be seens as Democracy vs Communism. It should be seen as Democracy vs. everything else. And when democracy wins, everyone wins.

2004-03-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

Funny, but um... WHOA DUDE!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/ask/20040319.html

bon, from france writes:
There will be no bygones, French poeple won't ever forgive your insulting behaviour, neither the sillyness of your President and his stupid poeple. You are not welcome in my country Go to hell bastard

Jim Wilkinson
Dear bon,

I am taking you off my holiday card list. :)

Your friend,

Jim

I laughed, but really, should this kinda stuff be displayed on the white house website? My question was far more appropriate, and you pass me over for a french h8r? /sniff

As for all the French who hate us us now, we're really sorry we busted your butt buddy Saddam and deprived you of the $100 billion dollar oil bribe Chirac had lined up with Saddam...

Oh wait, no we're not. But I do wonder what kind of propaganda your government has been feeding you that you mourn the loss of a murderous rapists dictator dispatched by your WWII-era liberators and rebuilders.

Oh wait, you think rapists are just swell, don't you? That's why you've provided child molestor Roman Polanski with a home all these years, and terrorism? Well, we all hate greenpeace, but not only did you try to blow up their flagship in 1985 while it was docked in New Zealand... WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU THINKING? You made them into freaking martyrs! You made them even more famous than ever! STUPID FRENCH!

2004-03-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

Middle Earth leaders were skeptical as Elrond pressured the Council to pass a resolution authorizing regime change in Gondor. While listing many reasons, the media focused on Elrond's charges that Denethor's regime was still using Palantirs of Mass Distruction.

As a council resolution failed to materialize, Elrond decided to act unilaterally for Rivendell security, and hastily assembled a "Fellowship of the Willing" to go to Gondor.

Elrond touted the diversity of the Fellowship, but critics were quick to note lack of representation from the Orcs, and the token inclusion of Baggins, Brandybucks, and Tooks, all former satellites of the Hobbit Union, and eager for "favors" Elrond uses to induce others to support Rivendell foreign policy.

Pundits found the attempts of the Rivendell government to connect the Gondor misadventure to the "War on Mordor" dubious at best. Sauron, the mastermind of Mordor, was driven driven from Dol Guldur in an earlier campaign. In fact, Gondor has in the past been supported by Rivendell in waging war against forces of Mordor, this whole regime change business seems like a downright fickle Rivendell Foreign Policy.

Elrond's plan for post-Denethor Gondor are sketchy at best: transitioning from a stewardship to a monarchy overnight is tricky for a nation. Also, while the Elrond administration constantly preaches about the virtues of Monarchy over other forms of government, it is key to note that Rivendell itself is not truly a monarchy.

A link between Denethor and Sauron is dubious at best, and all depends on the largly unsubstantiated claims about the Palantir of Mass Distruction alledgedly in Denethor's possession. Elrond stands to loose a lot of credibility if no palantirs are found in Gondor.

The Denethor regime is in last minute plea bargains, as the Fellowship of the Willing builds up forces in the region. Middle Earth leaders pray- but doubt- that Middle Earth, and the Ithilien region will be more stable if Elrond gets his way in Gondor.

2004-03-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

A snapshot of my "progress"

My "country"

Civil Rights: Excellent Economy: Reasonable Political Freedoms: Very Good

The Republic of Madai is a very large, safe nation, renowned for its compulsory military service. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 100 million have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The medium-sized government is effectively ruled by the Department of Education, with areas such as Commerce and Social Equality receiving almost no funds by comparison. The average income tax rate is 16%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Pizza Delivery, Retail, and Information Technology industries.

Copyright laws have been abolished, citizens must have a license to operate a computer, citizens are permitted to carry concealed handguns, and the people elect the Supreme Court justices directly. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is well under control. Madai's national animal is the wolf, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its currency is the plains pebble.

I wasn't hoping to abolish *all* copyright laws, but I didn't want to punish filed sharers. The concealed handguns dropped my crime levels from "low" to "well under control". My economy has been taking some hits lately, but political freedoms rose. I've bounced from Democracy to Left leaning college state to scandinavian liberal paradise, and now back to democracy. It's a fun game.

And on a more vulgar note, I found out that a very funny beastman and skeletor song actually has a video, and is available for download at http://boots.pq3f.com/index.php?value=media.

Not for the feint of heart!

2004-03-11T15:12:00.000-08:00

Two things on Kerry.

First, I just read an excellent article: Andrew Ferguson Make an amazing insight into the farce of politics today:

Yet now, in the pomo primaries, the elision doesn't seem weird at all. In fact it's become customary for a presidential candidate to "get his message across" by simply announcing that he's getting his message across. Attending a rally for John Kerry, or watching one of his TV ads, or drifting through his website, a voter will hear the candidate say: "My message isn't for just part of America, it's for all of America--a message about how we're going to put Americans back to work." The voter will wait in vain for particulars, such as how this message is to be realized and Americans put back to work. (I do know it has something to do with raising taxes on rich people.) Nevertheless, when asked, the voter will tell an inquiring reporter that he "really likes Kerry's message about jobs." At a rally for John Edwards a few weeks ago, in South Carolina, I heard the comely Carolinian announce: "Let me tell you something. My message of hope and optimism is resonating all across America." And the crowd applauded! He might as well have hollered "applause line!" to receive the same reaction. "My message works," Edwards told an interviewer not long ago. "And it's going to continue to work." In South Carolina he said: "My message is optimism. My message is about hope." Marshall McLuhan was wrong. The medium isn't the message. The message is the message.

The key to postmodernism is reflexivity, when words no longer seem to refer to anything outside themselves. Reflexivity set the tone for this primary season. In his stump speech, as well as in interviews, Richard Gephardt said he was "energizing the base," by which he hoped to energize the base. Howard Dean said he would be nominated because he "was bringing new people into the process"--a remark that was designed to bring new people into the process who would then guarantee his nomination. It is an odd experience, watching politicians campaign using the same language their campaign managers use giving a backgrounder to political reporters. But the popularity of this new mode of discourse led several reporters and commentators to say that voters had become "more sophisticated." What it really showed, though, was that voters were starting to think like political reporters, which is not at all the same thing.

THE NEW SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS did serve the salutary (and long overdue) goal of breaking down the division between journalist and voter; people who pay attention to pundits suddenly realized that anybody can be a pundit. Maureen Dowd is a pundit. Twenty years ago the futurist Alvin Toffler, a herald of postmodernism, predicted that pretty soon producers would become indistinguishable from consumers: Everybody, Toffler said, would be a "prosumer." And sure enough, in the hermetic world of politics, everybody--voter, pundit, reporter, consultant, politician, news junkie--has become a prosumer, consumer and producer all in one. I should have seen it coming in that lobby in San Diego eight years ago, in the feedback loop of received wisdom that existed between Dean Broder and his viewers, who were also his sources.

It was even more obvious when the pundits of "Late Edition" took themselves as the subject of their own commentary. Of course, this year the echo chamber was enlarged to include bloggers, whose primary purpose seems to be self-reference, opinions about opinions, with Instapundit linking to a nugget from gasbag.com, who's riffing off a comment posted 40 minutes ago by the Bloviator in response to an insight posted 45 minutes ago on TwoWackos.net, which had been quoting Instapundit's thoughts on Bloviator's earlier post. The inbreeding has become so commonplace that even bloggers have stopped commenting on each other's comments about it.

In the pomo primary everybody was thinking like a pundit, especially voters. How else to account for the instant cliché of the season, "electability"? Since the first seeds of self-government sprouted in the Agora, this is surely the strangest rationale yet devised for choosing one candidate over another. Voters voted for someone because they thought voters would vote for him. It is second-order reasoning, a meta-rationale, a judgment about a judgment about a judgment. It will make your head hurt if you think about it too long.

Fortunately we won't have to think about it much longer. (I have spoken.) The reflexivity that made this primary season so weird is what happens when a pastime, like politics, loses its general audience and shrinks, cult-like, to a minority obsession: a bit more popular than clog-dancing, much less popular than motocross. But by fall the weirdness will drop away, as politics leaves its self-referential cocoon and emerges into the harsh light of that other, larger world, where nonpolitical people live. I don't know what the harsh light will reveal, but I can guess. Is it possible that electability will no longer be a good reason to elect a candidate whose message is his message?

so funny, and yet so true! especially about the bloggers.

And then over on tholuxe, there was rumblings about what would happen if Kerry selected John McCain as his running mate. I bet that would be his absolute best chance of crushing Bush.

2004-03-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

I've been slacking lately playing tradewinds from shockwave. But I've been playing the free version, so if I ever have more than 100,000 gold on me the game ends. So I've basically been trying to trick the game so I can build on an armada.

Meanwhile, I saw Passion of the Christ, and 50 First Dates, 2 very excellent movies, for very different reasons.

2004-03-02T18:27:00.000-08:00

Democrats blow their last chance

Bush gets his dream candidate: a flip-flopping manwhore Bonesman.

Even if we don't catch Osama, this election should be a snap.

2004-02-28T16:58:00.000-08:00

Wow. I just had an amazing phone conversation with one Jerry Kiley.

Who is Jerry Kiley, you might ask?

Well, he's the subject of this article :

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Around 200 U.S. Army veterans and Vietnamese people demonstrated outside Democratic presidential front-runner John Kerry (news - web sites)'s New York headquarters on Saturday to protest his opposition decades ago to the Vietnam War.

Waving American and South Vietnamese flags and singing the U.S. national anthem, they held up signs saying "Hanoi John," and "Kerry Betrayed Vietnam Vets."

"We won't sit by and let the American people think that we are going to stand by somebody who stabbed us in the back," said Jerry Kiley, a veteran and one of the protest organizers.

Kerry, a Massachusetts senator and probable presidential challenger to President Bush (news - web sites) in November, became a leader of the anti-war movement after returning from Vietnam, where he was decorated with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.

"John Kerry served his country honorably," said Mark Kornblau, New York spokesman for Kerry's campaign. "This protest is being organized by an individual who has made a career of profiting from tragedy."

Questions about Kerry's anti-war activities arose after some Democrats made an issue of Bush's service in the domestic Air National Guard, questioning whether he showed up for duty in Alabama in the early 1970s.

Gotta love a soundbite like that:

"This protest is being organized by an individual who has made a career of profiting from tragedy."

So I wondered, just how much profiting was Jerry Kiley doing by going after Kerry?

Answer: LESS THAN ZERO. According to the man himself, his efforts today cost him $500 in out-of-pocket expenses. How did I learn this? Well, it the most amazing thing... just found his number lying around on the internet, and called him right up! And he himself picked up the phone. He was quite gracious, and very polite over the phone, and not at all bothered by my questions. He was, of course, amused by the quote, as you should be too, considering the EXTREME IRONY of anyone in Kerry's camp accusing someone else of making a career of profiting from tragedy!

Of course, that's not all Kerry profits from, he also does a good job of marrying rich widows.

But there you have it, Mark Kornblau lied through his teeth for Kerry, and I just wanted to call him out on it. By the way, and this is kinda important, Kiley doesn't want it to be "political" in a whole Republican/Democrat sort of way. It's not too late to switch to Edwards, democrats. I'm telling you, Kerry's the worst possible choice you could make.

2004-02-25T19:08:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was cajun cookin' and hockey. The restaurant was nice, but not as cool as diamond knot. It had microbrews too, but again, not as cool as diamond knot.

I was a passenger in a old bronco, and the driver was not taking it light on the turns, so it was a good thing I had no beers at the hockey game. It was still a pretty fun time.

Tonight, I just got back from another micro-brew, a favorite of one of the locals I was working with. Again, it was not as cool as Diamond Knot, but I need more T-shirts so I bought a T-shirt anyway.

Have I been doing any actually work out here? But of course, but remember, this is the ANONYMOUS internet gimp, which means we won't be discussing what I do for a living.

Anyway, Greenspan recently said that social security needs to be trimmed... well DUH. Of course, it set off a political firestorm. Why does common sense piss people off so much?

Here's something to consider:

The overall poverty rate for the US was measured at 12.1% for 2002.

The CHILD poverty rate was 16.7%
The 18-64 poverty rate was 10.6%
The senior poverty rate was 10.4%

Looking at these numbers, do YOU think social security should be a priority? Hmm....

2004-02-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

And now, for a plug from the heart!

An Awesome Brewpub

I actually had to do some travel for once for my job. Today has been a pretty wild day. I got my ticket at 5 am, boarded a flight to chicago at 6ish, landed in chicago a little after 7, to connect to seattle.

While my coworker and I were waiting to board the flight to Chicago, he commented on a person of questionable gender, assuming her/it to be a transvestite. Maybe she was just a manly women, (I'm leaning towards woman because whatever it was, it was trying to be woman).

Well, anyway, turned out I was the one who got to sit next to the "mystery" woman.

We had a quick laugh over it at O'Hare, but then my moods were dampened by the overbooking situation. See, airlines have this annoying habit of overbooking flights, and I wound up with the short straw. I had to wait for a bunch of "volenteers" to offer to wait to board another flight, and so I had to wait until the plane was practically full before I actually got my seat.

In-flight movie was a choice between Master and Commander and a bunch of other movies, and I decided Master and Commander was the best bet. Well, unfortunately for this movie, it was following on the heels of the incredibly awesome Pirates of the Carribean.

I don't think it was necessarily a bad movie, but I couldn't really get into it. Maybe it would have been better if I'd read the books first, I dunno. Oh well, at least it was free.

Anyway, after we landed in Seattle, we both rented cars. My coworkers had been out to Seattle before, so he knew where he was going. But when he went to get his car, I lost track of him. He'd provided me with directions to the hotel, so I decided to just go there.

I got lost driving out of of the airport, but with a little direction sense, some U-turns, and some blind luck, I finally got going the right way. I have his cell number, so I'm figuring I'll just call him from the hotel if he not already there OR not already at work.

Well, even though I had gotten lost, it turns out HE got lost too, so I manage to beat him to the hotel. And just as I'm about to call his cell, he calls my room.

So we get into work, and it's basically a day of meeting people and bullshitting, as the actual units we were suppose to work on weren't ready. Yippie.

But it was all worth it, and here's why: The Diamond Knot. Originally, my coworker's plan was to hit up a seafood joint called Ivar's, but Ivar's was still suffering from storm damage (or something) so we ended up going to the Diamond Knot Brewery instead.

We walk in. The floor near the bar is covered in peanut shells. We take a look at the drink menu, and what stands out for both of us is the Industial IPA (india pale ale). 7.4 alcohol content by volume. We each get an Industrial IPA and look at the food menu.

I get myself a "Stoned Philly Cheesesteak", he gets an "Eye Opener." My eyes are bigger than my stomach, so I also get a bowl of "Steak, Beans, and Stout". (which was basically an AWESOME chili)

We finish our Industrial IPAs at about the same time. Tasty red drinks: 25% the grain and 3 and 1/2 times the hops of the "standard" India Pale Ale.

So, I get a glass of "Steamer Glider Stout" and he gets a standard IPA.

The stout has quite a bit of foam on it, so my first few sips are practically all foam. So when my coworkers asks me who the beer is, : I say "dunno about the beer, but this is pretty good head."

Anyway, I finally break through the head, and get to the actual beer, which has a smooth, creamy taste. But then my Chili arrives.

Oh my god. They weren't kidding.

Picture this: italian bread, cut diagonally, smothered in cheese, framing a bowl of chili made with chunks of steak. But, the chili itself is topped with tons of cheese.

So, I'm digging in, and then, his eye opener comes out.

Now this is yet another thing that makes this place so damn cool. a good portion the entrees are served in a dish, where in the middle of the dish is a flat, superheated rock.

The eye opener, by the way, was a steak rubbed in ground expresso.

I was under the mistaken impression that my cheesesteak was part of my coworker's entree, so I continued my my chili for a while, saying how I couldn't wait till my cheesesteak came out. Then he pointed out that the second tray with the rock why indeed my cheesesteak-- some assembly required. It came with a little bit of dark beer to poor over the meat, so I mix the beer and meat and cheese on the stone and scoop it all into the hoagie.

My coworker warned me that it would be super hot, but the combination of the beer I used plus the little bit of waiting I did while I worked on my chili meant the sandwich was prefect tempature.

It's at about this point I notice the bartender sweep a pile of peanut shells only the floor. At this point, this extablishment could do no wrong, so I find the idea of peanut shells all over the floor to kick ass.

So, as I'm finishing my cheesteak, I tell my coworker we need to get some peanuts and contibute to the pile on the floor. He gets the peanuts. After a couple of peanuts and a few more sips of my beer, I decide to buy the T-shirt for this place. Thank god they have T-shirts.

I was pretty full from the cheesesteak, so I couldn't finish my chile, and I barely finished my (second) beer, so I decided not to have a 3rd, even though I kinda wanted to.

So, we go back to the hotel. (separate rooms). There's some internet service thing on the TV, and I ask the front desk if the internet service would last my entire stay. turns out $11 would only buy you 24(consecquetive) hours of internet, which was overcourse a little to pricey. Thankfully, there is also a FREE computer in the lobby. Since I'm not planning to look at PORN, I figure, heck, why not just use the free computer? So here I am at the lobby computer. Since I'm wearing the T-shirt and all, the front desk clerk strikes up a friendly conversation with me about how much Diamond Knot kicks ass.

Much to my amusment, the websurfers previous had far less inhibition about surfing for porn in public. Recent addresses visited include www.cocks.com, www.sluts.com, and www.deutchlands-diche-seiten.de (well, I dunno German, but it sure SOUNDS dirty).

Well, anyway, that about sums up my day... how was yours?

2004-02-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

Go Nader!

Cry in agony, oh yea democrats, Nader is entering the fray, and he speaketh the truth, the democrats are just way too much like the Republicans. His message rings even truer this time around, when Bush squares off with fellow Bonesman John Kerry. (or so it would seem) The only difference between Bush and Kerry is this: Dictators are afraid of Bush, and Kerry is a flip-flopping manwhore.

Oddly enough, I voted for Nader in 2000, and I will vote Bush in 2004.

I don't expect Nader to get many votes. Left-leaning voters are suffering from third-party fatigue. Also, the two-party system set up in america pretty much makes it impossible for a 3rd-party candidate to win.

What they need is a first choice, second choice, third choice, fourth choice ballot

Then a ballot would look something like this

Republican 1 2 3 4
Democrat 1 2 3 4
Socialist 1 2 3 4
Libertarian 1 2 3 4
Green 1 2 3 4
Reform 1 2 3 4
Writein 1 2 3 4

Now let's say I marked my ballot this way:

Republican 1 2 3OK 4
Democrat 1 2 3 4
Socialist 1 2 3 4
Libertarian 1 2OK 3 4
Green 1OK 2 3 4
Reform 1 2 3 4
Write-in 1 2 3 4OK John McCain

And let's say the results for a given state came out like this:

republican 40%
democrat 38%
libertarian 10%
Green 8%

Well, obviously, the greens aren't going to win, so the Green ballots are checked for 2nd choice candidates and put into the remaining party pools:

republican 41%
democrat 42%
libertarian 13%

And now, the lower choices of libertarians are looked at:

Republican 51%
Democrat 45%

It this case, my choice was was green party, so at first, my ballot remains in the green pool. Then, as green party is eliminated, but libertarian remains, my vote enters the libertarian pool. Finally, my vote comes to rest in the republican pool, and republicans actually end up with a MAJORITY.

If a simple majority is not achieved by any party by party elimination, then the invalid ballots are scrutinized so the illiterate democratic voters who marker their ballet like this:

Republican 1 2 3 4
Democrat 1OK 2OK 3OK 4OK
Socialist 1 2 3 4
Libertarian 1 2 3 4
Green 1 2 3 4
Reform 1 2 3 4
Writein 1OK 2OK 3OK 4OK (Democrat's name)

Get counted in too.

That would be the way to give voters a real voice.

I'm sorry to pick on the democrats, but that's exactly what people did!

Democrats confuse voting machines, loose election

2004-02-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Iranian elections

The hardline clerics of Iran have said every vote in their sham election is a slap in the face of the US, and a bullet through the heart of George Bush.

So this is how they thank us for the earthquake aid, eh?

I can't decide which is the bigger trainwreck, the one near Neyshabur or the Guardian Council.

Do I feel slapped by the voters? It's the voters who really got slapped, because the Guardian Council obviously doesn't trust them enough to leave the results of the elections in their hands. No, I don't feel slapped, because it takes a lot for someone to be willing to commit to the level of violence required for them to overcome the sham of a government they have going.

And why would they want to? Unless they have billions of foreign dollars lined up, the chaos following a revolution will simply not be worth it.

One of the biggest problems facing Iran today is brain drain. Their brightest young minds are seeking work in other countries, because the quality of life in Iran is low, and shows little signs of improvement. This latest stunt by the Guardian Council will only exacerbate their issues holding on to their most educated citizens.

As far as US military intervention? Well that will have to wait until Iraq no longer needs foreign troops. The Iraqi police force enjoys very high popularity, but they don't have the firepower to deal with Al-Qaeda... yet.

Meanwhile, as far as election irregularities go, currently the US is not in a position of moral high ground. So, it'd be good to wait for own election to take place before leaning too hard on Iran. :P

2004-02-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

The falling dollar

The Euro rose to a peak of 1.29, and the British Pound hit 1.91.

And people make idiotic statements about it:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3373849.stm

Gotta love this gems:

During the thirty years since Nixon let the dollar float rather than pay for the Vietnam War, American's real earnings have consistently gone down, and the goods we are able to afford grow continually shoddier.

Uh, yeah, Compact Disks and DVDs are so much shittier than... than... did they even HAVE VHS back in 1972? Seriously, what planet does this guy live on? Computer speeds have accelerated ridiculously fast, car safety standards have increased, the prius costs 21k, a 60 mpg car(city). Dude, that's high quality shit no one in the 70s would have dreamed about.

What the hell kind of idiot is this? What is he doing on the internet? Hello, the internet was hardly used at all up until 1995! To say we're no better off than we were in the 70's is so ungodly ignorant it astounds me.

This currency devaluation is likely to shift soon. The US economy is picking up steam at the expense of the Europeans. Pressure is building for intervention, and also, the exchange rate is encouraging europeans to buy more US goods and spend holidays here.

Also, anemic growth in europe will discourage people from investing there, despite the currency valuations.

2004-02-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

Fresh meat!

The Global Warming Gloom and Doom Industry released another article of outright lies today.

Scientific debate has largely ended as to whether human activity is responsible for the average 1.1 degree Fahrenheit rise in global temperatures in the 20th century. The evidence is virtually unassailable, King said -- a view shared by nearly all credible researchers.

Um, did you forget the 17,000 signers of the OISM petition?

the United Kingdom has opted for a much tougher regulatory program with specific goals

Funny story about the united kingdom, use renewable fuels, you may get arrested for tax evasion Good job UK!

New results from an ongoing experiment at Stanford University's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve suggest that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may cause grasslands to churn through more CO{-2} than in the past.

But at a briefing Sunday, lead researcher Jeff Dukes, an ecologist at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, and a former Stanford doctoral student, said his research in the Bay Area shows the plants simply release the extra CO{-2} back into the air.

This is yet another silly argument. A lot of morons have tried to tell me that plants give off as much CO2 in the night as they take in during the day. Hello. No, plants are GROWING. The are taking the carbon and binding it into cellulose. And experimentation has shown that the richer the atmosphere is with CO2, the faster plants grow. This is why greenhouses run at about 1000ppm as opposed to the typical 360pp of the outdoors.

Sadly, people get suckered in by this crap, and the US government still funds these yahoos.

2004-02-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

My country Let's see how long it takes for me to ruin it.

In other news, we have some yahoo, Desmond Tutu, condemning the Iraq war. And saying Saddam is "innocent until proven guilty"

Yes Saddam WAS innocent until proven guilty. But he was proven guilty back in the 1980s, when he illegally invaded Iran, and used chemical weapons on them.

Who is Desmond Tutu anyway? Someone who helped a regime change take place in South Africa. Ah, but how many weapons did South African regime recieve from the Soviet Union, France, the US, China, and so on? Answer: NOWHERE NEAR AS MANY AS IRAQ!

Why couldn't the Iraqi's be allowed to finally change their government?

What if, instead of giving Desmond Tutu a nobel prize, the world have given the apartheid government more weapons to help stabilize the regime?

If the US would have used military force to end apartheid back in the day, would Mr. Tutu have called THAT an illegal invasion as well?

2004-02-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

There's more to get off my chest:

The PCRM is a bunch of liars.

The group that calls itself the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is just PETA under a different name. The aim of the PCRM is to scare people into being vegetarians. One of the main targets of the PCRM's disinformation is the Atkins Diet. The big lie they use is that the atkins diet does not include vegetables. Now, anyone following the ACTUAL Atkins diet knows this is not true-- a quick perusal of the Atkins website can tell you how to properly do the diet, which involves at least 3 cups of vegetables a day at EVERY stage.

The most sickening aspect of this disinformation is the potential problems it would cause for the uninformed dieter: The thing is, everyone KNOWS atkins works. Almost everyone in the US knows by now someone who has gone on the Atkins diet and lost weight. But what people don't know is HOW Atkins works, and HOW to go about it.

So PCRM comes along and implies the way to do Atkins is to eat ONLY meat, nother else whatsoever. Now, don't you think at least a couple of people are going start a "False Atkins" diet, where they go in, not eating any vegetables whatsoever, thanks to the idiots at PCRM? But of course, that's exactly what the PCRM wants-- they want a few morons to go on the "False Atkins" diet, get a bunch of health problems, and use those poor fat pawns in a smear campaign against the real diet.

Meanwhile, they make claims about the amazing healthiness of a vegetarian diet. While a properly followed vegetarian diet can be healthy when proper dietary supplements are taken (like B12), uneducated vegetarian fanatics sometimes fail to get all the proper nutrients into a diet. The point is, whatever diet you follow, you must educate yourself.

Sadly, alot of groups are pumping out disinformation, complicating any education.

2004-02-14T10:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, time to start off with a little politics. As you can probably tell, I've been watching the Iraqi occupation, but not through the eyes of the international media.

I've been watching through the eyes of the soldiers and english-speaking Iraqi natives. And that said, I am convinced that removal of Saddam was a very good thing. It's a shame no WMD were found, but while liberals point to the main reason of the invasion being justified on the basis of WMD, the truth is, the paper trail lists quite a few other reasons:

http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/nea/iraq/text/1010res.htm

Let's discuss Saddam's connections to terrorism. Saddam payed a $25,000 bounty out to the families of suicide bombers in palestine. When the US forces invaded, they found suicide vests in public schools. Without a doubt, Saddam openly supported terrorism. It is not just Al-Queda we have to worry about in this world. Everyone who resorts to violence against civilians, including government, is threat to world peace.

Removing Saddam was an important step in breaking the cycle of violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Not only did we remove an incentive for palestinian bombers, but also, we have an Iraqi example: Jews live peacefully in Iraq, alongside their fellow Iraqis. They will serve as an example for Israelis and Palestinians alike. It has also resulted in gains in other arenas--

A spokesman for Mr Berlusconi said the prime minister had been telephoned recently by Col Gaddafi of Libya, who said: "I will do whatever the Americans want, because I saw what happened in Iraq, and I was afraid."

I am glad we are in Iraq.

Meanwhile as far the US elections go, at the moment I am most certainly going to vote for Bush. Kerry is a joke of a man-- he is a womanizer, and gold-digging whore. Also, if you democrats are looking for a change, don't expect one from John Kerry. He is a member of the elite society known as Skull and Bones, just like George Bush. You can confirm this on any number of consiracy theory websites, I happened to choose a CBS link because it's more mainstream.

Seriously, dems, as of this writing, it's not to late to get rid of Kerry, and run a candidate that won't be a total joke.

I'd take McCain over Bush, but taking Bush over Kerry is a no-brainer. Bush is feared by dictators throughout the world, and a Kerry presidency would HAVE to invade yet another country just to show the terrorists and dictators that he means business too. Then again, it would be foolish to believe any president would not use the military, every president since Herbert Hoover has used the military on foreign soil, and maybe even him.

2004-02-13T19:21:00.000-08:00

And now for some science, well some bad science anyway:

I'm all for energy efficiency and exploration of alternative fuels. But I will say a few things.

Global warming is a lie

Hydrogen is not all it's cracked up to be

Ethanol is a joke

Global warming... I should only need to direct you to the wise words of one Michael Crichton:

http://www.crichton-official.com/speeches/speeches_quote04.html

But if that's not enough, there's always the list of scientists who do not believe in global warming:

http://www.oism.org/pproject/

I'm all for energy efficiency, for the money saving end of it, But I don't think society needs to take drastic measures.

Next up... hydrogen.

It saddens me that this is the "solution" being pushed by many industry insiders. Hydrogen will not solve our energy problems. The reason is simple: hydrogen is not found free in nature. It's tied up in sugars and water and hydrocarbons. It's an inefficient means of STORING energy, not a source of energy at all.

Finally, Ethanol.

Ethanol is a silly idea. Basically take perfectly good alcohol, and instead of drinking it like God intended (Jesus did turn water into wine, after all), poison it so it's unsafe to drink(de-naturing), mix it into people's fuels so the fuel burns hotter and shortens engine life. That's right, folks, ethanol is produced via fermentation. What happens during fermentation? Well, 3 things: 1. sugar becomes alcohol 2. CO2 is given off, 3. heat is given off. #1 is a good thing, but number 2 and 3 tell me a good portion of the energy value from the corn going into ethanol is being wasted.

There's a scary amount of just plain bad science out there. Mostly, because science has become so political.

Tomorrow, politics.

2004-02-13T14:55:00.000-08:00

And now that I've enabled comments and put up links, I shall describe the first 8 chosen links.

1. Yahoo. The number one visited site in the world.
2. politics at tholuxe. I used to play Everquest on a server called Tholuxe Paells. After a couple of posters(mostly me) annoyed a bunch of the other posters by continually posting political crap in the flames forum, a political forum was created so we could continue our pointless arguments without taking up precious flameboard space that is better used for spam threads. Anyway, I go to tholuxe, argue with people, and piss people off. It's fun.
3. Healing Iraq-- This weblog is a link-heavy weblog, with lots of pictures as well. Very high quality.
4. Iraq the Model-- A much more pro-Bush Iraqi weblog, which takes more controversial issues head-on.
5. Iraq Now-- Wow. This guy kicks ass. Great weblog from a guy in the army
6. Maddox-- The ultimate in web humor.
7. Tucker Max-- This guy writes some crazy true stories.
8. Red Colony-- A website devoted to terraforming mars.

Enjoy!

2004-02-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

So it begins...

Friday the 13th... 3 day weekend coming up, and to kick it off, I will procrastinate on my wieghtlifting just a little while to start up this blog.

I will try to be amusing and informative on multiple subjects I know very little about. This will cause lots of angry people to post hillariarious remarks in my comments section. Or, so the theory goes.

Meanwhile, I've started reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. I've spent far too much of my life playing video games, and decided I need a dose of literature.