20080411
ashcroft's chest
According to a top official, Ashcroft asked aloud after one meeting: "Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly."
20080408
rip heston
Charlton Heston, the actor and NRA spokesman who had called Martin Luther King, Jr, "a twentieth-century Moses for his people," died at 84. - harpers
RIP - Charlton. it was nice havin ya aboard.
Addendum - how could I have missed this joke? Dunno - here it is:
"Thanks Charlie, i'll be taking that rifle now. My, your hands are cold!"
RIP - Charlton. it was nice havin ya aboard.
Addendum - how could I have missed this joke? Dunno - here it is:
"Thanks Charlie, i'll be taking that rifle now. My, your hands are cold!"
20080320
clarke and dawe
dear people of australia,
i have just discovered these two men.
thanks
best wishes with everything.
chuppler
even more, yes indeedy.
i have just discovered these two men.
thanks
best wishes with everything.
chuppler
even more, yes indeedy.
20080303
amazing history
Cow Palace history - source
1941: Using money from the government's Works Projects Administration, the Cow Palace is built on Daly City land that adjoins San Francisco.
1956: The Republican National Convention is held, with Dwight D. Eisenhower accepting the party's nomination for a second term as president.
1958: Billy Graham brings his evangelical message to tens of thousands who crowd into the Cow Palace over the course of two months.
1960: In a speech during his presidential campaign, Sen. John F. Kennedy tells an audience of 20,000 that the United States should establish a Peace Corps.
1964: The Republican National Convention returns, nominating Barry Goldwater for president.
I am totally amazed by these events. damn hippies.
20080229
clay wires
i'm sorry to have bothered you, i know you are very busy with the sphinx club.
sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-it.
20080215
this is why
you should be reading bill simmons on espn -
Q: Ever since the Monte Carlo casino fire, I have been thinking about this. Say you were there that morning playing blackjack on a major roll. Then you heard the hotel was on fire. Now the Monte Carlo, as I recall from visiting there, is about 40 floors high. How long -- if they would let you -- would you ride the fire out before abandoning your hot streak? My feeling is, one of two things have to happen before I bail out -- either the dealer showing 16 pulls a 5 to make 21 twice, or I see smoke.
-- Mike, Grand Island, N.Y.
SG: See, I think this would be the greatest possible gambling moment you could have -- the time you were killing it at the blackjack tables to the point that the casino actually caught fire! They would have needed three security guards to pull me away from the table.
20080213
20080204
canned hope
Apologies about the politics ramble.
i'm falling for the obama line. I justify this to myself (really, i talk to myself) by saying that at least his message is a hopeful one.
that is, at least, refreshing. and i can't vote for the manchurian candidate, guliani sadly dropped out (he coulda been beat, easy). and i was pissed when edwards dropped - he was the only one talking about telling the corporations that he wasn't going to be swayed by them.
and i like this song, too.
and if you came here to see something about canned heat, here you go.
i'm falling for the obama line. I justify this to myself (really, i talk to myself) by saying that at least his message is a hopeful one.
that is, at least, refreshing. and i can't vote for the manchurian candidate, guliani sadly dropped out (he coulda been beat, easy). and i was pissed when edwards dropped - he was the only one talking about telling the corporations that he wasn't going to be swayed by them.
and i like this song, too.
and if you came here to see something about canned heat, here you go.
20080108
US voting machine debacle
Can You Count on Voting Machines?
By CLIVE THOMPSON, The New York Times Magazine, January 6, 2008
Jane Platten gestured, bleary-eyed, into the secure room filled with voting machines. It was 3 a.m. on Nov. 7, and she had been working for 22 hours straight. "I guess we've seen how technology can affect an election," she said. The electronic voting machines in Cleveland were causing trouble again.
For a while, it had looked as if things would go smoothly for the Board of Elections office in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. About 200,000 voters had trooped out on the first Tuesday in November for the lightly attended local elections, tapping their choices onto the county's 5,729 touch-screen voting machines. The elections staff had collected electronic copies of the votes on memory cards and taken them to the main office, where dozens of workers inside a secure, glass-encased room fed them into the "GEMS server," a gleaming silver Dell desktop computer that tallies the votes.
Then at 10 p.m., the server suddenly froze up and stopped counting votes. Cuyahoga County technicians clustered around the computer, debating what to do. A young, business-suited employee from Diebold—the company that makes the voting machines used in Cuyahoga—peered into the screen and pecked at the keyboard. No one could figure out what was wrong. So, like anyone faced with a misbehaving computer, they simply turned it off and on again. Voilà: It started working—until an hour later, when it crashed a second time. Again, they rebooted. By the wee hours, the server mystery still hadn't been solved.
Worse was yet to come. When the votes were finally tallied the next day, 10 races were so close that they needed to be recounted. But when Platten went to retrieve paper copies of each vote—generated by the Diebold machines as they worked—she discovered that so many printers had jammed that 20 percent of the machines involved in the recounted races lacked paper copies of some of the votes. They weren't lost, technically speaking; Platten could hit "print" and a machine would generate a replacement copy. But she had no way of proving that these replacements were, indeed, what the voters had voted. She could only hope the machines had worked correctly.
Click here to keep reading:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06Vote-t.html
By CLIVE THOMPSON, The New York Times Magazine, January 6, 2008
Jane Platten gestured, bleary-eyed, into the secure room filled with voting machines. It was 3 a.m. on Nov. 7, and she had been working for 22 hours straight. "I guess we've seen how technology can affect an election," she said. The electronic voting machines in Cleveland were causing trouble again.
For a while, it had looked as if things would go smoothly for the Board of Elections office in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. About 200,000 voters had trooped out on the first Tuesday in November for the lightly attended local elections, tapping their choices onto the county's 5,729 touch-screen voting machines. The elections staff had collected electronic copies of the votes on memory cards and taken them to the main office, where dozens of workers inside a secure, glass-encased room fed them into the "GEMS server," a gleaming silver Dell desktop computer that tallies the votes.
Then at 10 p.m., the server suddenly froze up and stopped counting votes. Cuyahoga County technicians clustered around the computer, debating what to do. A young, business-suited employee from Diebold—the company that makes the voting machines used in Cuyahoga—peered into the screen and pecked at the keyboard. No one could figure out what was wrong. So, like anyone faced with a misbehaving computer, they simply turned it off and on again. Voilà: It started working—until an hour later, when it crashed a second time. Again, they rebooted. By the wee hours, the server mystery still hadn't been solved.
Worse was yet to come. When the votes were finally tallied the next day, 10 races were so close that they needed to be recounted. But when Platten went to retrieve paper copies of each vote—generated by the Diebold machines as they worked—she discovered that so many printers had jammed that 20 percent of the machines involved in the recounted races lacked paper copies of some of the votes. They weren't lost, technically speaking; Platten could hit "print" and a machine would generate a replacement copy. But she had no way of proving that these replacements were, indeed, what the voters had voted. She could only hope the machines had worked correctly.
Click here to keep reading:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/magazine/06Vote-t.html
some good ones
spamalot!
here's a good one that i rcvd today, thought i'd share.
who doesn't want some land sales? oh, sweet subprime. sweet.
here's a good one that i rcvd today, thought i'd share.
A quality piece of real estate or land depends on location. Land Sale of Tennessee offers the perfect location with the serene setting of beauty in the state of Tennessee.
touch above of your free information
Sincerely,
Tn Lots6245 N. Power Line RD,cypress creek FL 33304
touch above of your free information
Sincerely,
Tn Lots6245 N. Power Line RD,cypress creek FL 33304
who doesn't want some land sales? oh, sweet subprime. sweet.
20080103
quality programming
hey, maybe you'll find this insensitive!
my friend John and i were IM chatting about the A's trading Swish. John then said he was displeased that the kid who got mauled to death by the TIGER (here here here here here and my personal favorite! - here) happened to be named Sousa. I'm sure there are a lotta Sousa's out there [even a Sousaphone, John!] so stupid shitheels are bound to ruin your good name, right?
Back to the tiger. Say, you remember in Apocalypse now when Chef (when he still had his head) got off the boat to look for some mangoes? and he is out on the shore, cruising for mangoes, cuz he was a Saucier, and teh fuckin tiger comes up on him and almost gets poor 'ol chef? And Chef jumps on the boat, and screams "Go!" and Lance (or is it Clean?) opens up on the jungle with the forward 50 calibers...and Chef is screaming "a fucking tiger man, a fucking tiger"...?
you remember that part? and Chef then reiterates the famous line (to me anyway) "Never get off the fucking boat".
You think that scene was going through the cops heads; the ones who shot that tiger as they were creeping through the pitch black zoo that fateful night? Cuz i woulda shit my pants right then. yessir.
the point - john came up with a term that i love. while we can't decide which is correct, both are hysterical. Getting Roy'd vs getting Siegfried'd. which do you prefer? does it matter who it actually happened to? would you ever put your frikkin head in a tiger's mouth?
Have you frikkin people heard of Darwin? Cuz those two moronic brothers and the mauling victim (relative of John's - jk) are up there in their respective categories.
my friend John and i were IM chatting about the A's trading Swish. John then said he was displeased that the kid who got mauled to death by the TIGER (here here here here here and my personal favorite! - here) happened to be named Sousa. I'm sure there are a lotta Sousa's out there [even a Sousaphone, John!] so stupid shitheels are bound to ruin your good name, right?
Back to the tiger. Say, you remember in Apocalypse now when Chef (when he still had his head) got off the boat to look for some mangoes? and he is out on the shore, cruising for mangoes, cuz he was a Saucier, and teh fuckin tiger comes up on him and almost gets poor 'ol chef? And Chef jumps on the boat, and screams "Go!" and Lance (or is it Clean?) opens up on the jungle with the forward 50 calibers...and Chef is screaming "a fucking tiger man, a fucking tiger"...?
you remember that part? and Chef then reiterates the famous line (to me anyway) "Never get off the fucking boat".
You think that scene was going through the cops heads; the ones who shot that tiger as they were creeping through the pitch black zoo that fateful night? Cuz i woulda shit my pants right then. yessir.
the point - john came up with a term that i love. while we can't decide which is correct, both are hysterical. Getting Roy'd vs getting Siegfried'd. which do you prefer? does it matter who it actually happened to? would you ever put your frikkin head in a tiger's mouth?
Have you frikkin people heard of Darwin? Cuz those two moronic brothers and the mauling victim (relative of John's - jk) are up there in their respective categories.
20071218
oh yeah, oh right
Archbishop Desmond Tutu railed against the use of detention centers by the United States. "Whoever imagined that you would hear from America," asked Tutu,"the same arguments for detention without trial that were used by the apartheid government?" John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer who participated in the interrogation of an Al Qaeda terrorist suspect who was waterboarded, conceded that waterboarding was torture but asserted that its use "probably saved lives." President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi to France on Human Rights Day. Ike Turner died.
from the harpers
from the harpers
20071212
beast of bolivia
yes, step right up.
pretty sure this is a photo - right before the surface attack.
Anakin Skywalker: Tell your sister you were right.
What I Heard: Carry your sister for a ride.
20071207
stay eager
the following are not my words -
It's amazing that so many people accept the rather dubious notion that the lull in violence in Iraq over the past few months is a result of Bush's troop "surge." The reasons for skepticism are not ideological, as supporters of the occupation charge, but numerical and chronological.
The surge began in February, and there was something approaching a consensus at the time that the addition of about 10-15,000 combat troops -- the rest were support personnel -- would be a drop in the bucket in a country of 25 million people. Retired four-star General Barry McCaffrey said at the time: "I personally think the surge of five U.S. Army brigades and a few Marine battalions dribbled out over five months is a fool's errand." The troop build up continued in March, April and May. What followed was a bloodbath -- June and July were the most violent summer months of any year of the occupation. August was one of the bloodiest months, period.
Then, that month, Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mehdi Army to stand down. The reported number of Iraqi civilian deaths fell by about 50% the next month and decreased again in October and yet again last month. The militia is estimated to be 100,000+ strong and is arguably the most powerful ground force in Iraq after the U.S. military. While the change can't be wholly ascribed to any single factor, it's clear from the chronology that al-Sadr's order, not Bush's "surge," is likely responsible for the lion's share of the drop in violence.
It's frustrating and difficult to oppose a war when the mass media is so credulous of the administration's spin.
-Joshua Holland Editor, War on Iraq special coverage [Alternet]
It's amazing that so many people accept the rather dubious notion that the lull in violence in Iraq over the past few months is a result of Bush's troop "surge." The reasons for skepticism are not ideological, as supporters of the occupation charge, but numerical and chronological.
The surge began in February, and there was something approaching a consensus at the time that the addition of about 10-15,000 combat troops -- the rest were support personnel -- would be a drop in the bucket in a country of 25 million people. Retired four-star General Barry McCaffrey said at the time: "I personally think the surge of five U.S. Army brigades and a few Marine battalions dribbled out over five months is a fool's errand." The troop build up continued in March, April and May. What followed was a bloodbath -- June and July were the most violent summer months of any year of the occupation. August was one of the bloodiest months, period.
Then, that month, Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mehdi Army to stand down. The reported number of Iraqi civilian deaths fell by about 50% the next month and decreased again in October and yet again last month. The militia is estimated to be 100,000+ strong and is arguably the most powerful ground force in Iraq after the U.S. military. While the change can't be wholly ascribed to any single factor, it's clear from the chronology that al-Sadr's order, not Bush's "surge," is likely responsible for the lion's share of the drop in violence.
It's frustrating and difficult to oppose a war when the mass media is so credulous of the administration's spin.
-Joshua Holland Editor, War on Iraq special coverage [Alternet]
20071204
confidential to the dub
didn't we fall for this last time?
Sources:
1. "U.S. Finds Iran Halted Its Nuclear Arms Effort in 2003," New York Times, December 3, 2007.
2. "A Blow to Bush's Tehran Policy," Washington Post, December 4, 2007.
3. "Bush: US Must Remain Vigilant on Iran," Washington Post, December 4, 2007.
Sources:
1. "U.S. Finds Iran Halted Its Nuclear Arms Effort in 2003," New York Times, December 3, 2007.
2. "A Blow to Bush's Tehran Policy," Washington Post, December 4, 2007.
3. "Bush: US Must Remain Vigilant on Iran," Washington Post, December 4, 2007.
20071129
the cat, and the end
20071120
see what happens?
i decided to write most of the politicians ruinning (mis-spelling?) for Presidency to following message:
i think the following, pulled from Harpers Weekly, suggests some real issues that voters will respond to.
good luck.
At the third OPEC summit in 47 years, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that the price of crude oil could reach $200 a barrel. "The basis of all aggression," said Chavez, "is oil." During a private meeting that was accidentally televised, the oil minister of Venezuela suggested to the oil minister of Iran that OPEC stop using the crippled dollar for pricing;the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia countered that public discussion of the weak dollar would cause U.S. currency to lose value. "Kill the cable!" shouted a security guard as he ran into the meeting room, "Kill the cable!" An economist with financial services firm UBS AG put the odds of a U.S. recession at 45 percent.
my name [redacted]
my email [redacted]
updates, if/when received.
i think the following, pulled from Harpers Weekly, suggests some real issues that voters will respond to.
good luck.
At the third OPEC summit in 47 years, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that the price of crude oil could reach $200 a barrel. "The basis of all aggression," said Chavez, "is oil." During a private meeting that was accidentally televised, the oil minister of Venezuela suggested to the oil minister of Iran that OPEC stop using the crippled dollar for pricing;the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia countered that public discussion of the weak dollar would cause U.S. currency to lose value. "Kill the cable!" shouted a security guard as he ran into the meeting room, "Kill the cable!" An economist with financial services firm UBS AG put the odds of a U.S. recession at 45 percent.
my name [redacted]
my email [redacted]
updates, if/when received.
oil vs water
more on this
At the third OPEC summit in 47 years, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that the price of crude oil could reach $200 a barrel. "The basis of all aggression," said Chavez, "is oil." During a private meeting that was accidentally televised, the oil minister of Venezuela suggested to the oil minister of Iran that OPEC stop using the crippled dollar for pricing;the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia countered that public discussion of the weak dollar would cause U.S. currency to lose value. "Kill the cable!" shouted a security guard as he ran into the meeting room, "Kill the cable!" An economist with financial services firm UBS AG put the odds of a U.S. recession at 45 percent.
you love harpers, too.
At the third OPEC summit in 47 years, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that the price of crude oil could reach $200 a barrel. "The basis of all aggression," said Chavez, "is oil." During a private meeting that was accidentally televised, the oil minister of Venezuela suggested to the oil minister of Iran that OPEC stop using the crippled dollar for pricing;the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia countered that public discussion of the weak dollar would cause U.S. currency to lose value. "Kill the cable!" shouted a security guard as he ran into the meeting room, "Kill the cable!" An economist with financial services firm UBS AG put the odds of a U.S. recession at 45 percent.
you love harpers, too.
20071117
slow on the [re]uptake [inhibitor]
the nets fooled me again.
so maybe i been working at my job, and dealing with the stuff of life, but damn internets, you shouldn't have held me back from:
Ronald Jenkees - just a guy who is marketing himself, perhaps, but still good music. funny. entertaining. might buy me one. and, fwiw, i kinda like the savantish act, controversy aside.
so maybe i been working at my job, and dealing with the stuff of life, but damn internets, you shouldn't have held me back from:
Ronald Jenkees - just a guy who is marketing himself, perhaps, but still good music. funny. entertaining. might buy me one. and, fwiw, i kinda like the savantish act, controversy aside.
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speedtest - careful!
