Posts from — December 2007

Not Cute

Hrumph?

[Editor: In solidarity with the striking WGA members, Sox is not being cute, or impersonating a penguin.]

Friday Ark

“a date which will live in infamy…”

The official US Navy site on the Pearl Harbor attack.

There will a memorial service aboard NAS Pensacola that normally features local survivors of the attack.

They have their own license plates:

John McKay of archy announces Chocogeddon Looms.

Forget oil, we are looking at chocolate shortages! Peanut brittle for Valentine’s Day‽ Easter limited to Peeps‽

Proving that he has more in common with Dan Quayle than John Kennedy, Mitt Romney gave a speech in which he avoided talking directly about his faith, mentioning “Mormon” only once, and displaying an amazing amount of misinformation about American history and government. He is apparently under the impression that the Republican Congresses of the 1950s were the Founders, as that is the source of “under G-d” in the pledge of allegiance and “In G-d We Trust” as an American motto and monetary decoration.

The Hartford Courant website has the Associated Press report on the Text of Romney’s Speech [as delivered].

As the former governor of Massachusetts one would think he might have been aware that the original “Pilgrim Fathers” fined people who celebrated Christmas, as they felt it was just an excuse for revelry and had no religious basis. They also refused to allow ministers to perform or witness marriages as they felt that marriage was a secular contract, and not religious.

Happy NODWISH

Whatever

It is time to wish my family and friends: [select one]

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Once again, Why Now? is pleased to present the link to the webcam of Gävlebocken, The biggest Christmas Goat in the world.

It’s just as exciting as watching WEDGINALD on Cheddarvision.

From Steve Bates of Yellow Doggerel Democrat in the comments [last year]:

Why build a giant goat of straw,
Which most of us would scarcely note?
Some, though, defy the very law,
To vandalize the Gävle Goat.

In some years, they used wayward cars;
In others, flaming arrows smote.
This year’s survives, although with scars…
A fact that gets some people’s goat.

A webcam and some watchful eyes,
A flame-retardant second coat,
Should save it… unless Dubya spies
The thing, and claims it’s his pet goat!

– SB the YDD

Andante posted on Mike Huckabee being ignorant of the new Iran NIE. Like any blogger I went to the ‘Net to get the name of Huckabee’s national security or foreign policy advisor. Everything is not found on the “Tubes.”

As near as I can tell Chuck Norris is as close as he comes in either area. I think this is a rather serious oversight on the part of someone running for the office of president of the united states [i typed avoiding the caps and bold keys before i totally freak out.]

The Associated Press reports Teen births up for first time in 15 years

The birth rate had been dropping since its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday, government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.

The reason for the increase is not clear, and federal health officials said it might be a one-year statistical blip, not the beginning of a new upward trend.

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Julia at Sisyphus Shrugged is now posting at Fire Dog Lake, perhaps to escape the recent takeover of LiveJournal by buddies of Vladimir Putin. Livejournal is popular in Russia and owning it is an effective way of keeping track of bloggers without being obvious.

Tom at Tbogg has moved to Fire Dog Lake as well, with a separate main page.

Fire Dog Lake itself has a new look. I can’t say that I would have ever decided that advertisements with an RSS feed was a winner, but I wish them well.

I’ll leave the links up on the blogroll, but it’s too much of a PITA to visit and make multiple clicks to read anything. YMMV

The BBC covers the US Supreme Court oral arguments in the efforts of detainees to get a court hearing: Guantanamo legal showdown begins

The US Supreme Court is deciding whether inmates at Guantanamo Bay camp should have the right to contest their detention in US civilian courts.

Two cases challenge the removal by Congress of the “habeas corpus” right of detainees under the US constitution to be heard by an independent judge.

If the court rules in their favour, indefinite detention under military control could be declared unlawful.

The court’s judges have ruled against the US government in two earlier cases.

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Farideh Farhi at Informed Comment Global Affairs listened to the Shrubbery’s presser and wonders: What is George Bush Smoking?

It was also during the Khatami presidency, in 2003 and beyond, that the Bush Administration reportedly ignored Iran’s offer of a deal and continuously complained about the European track to negotiate with Iran. In fact, as late as spring and summer of 2005, until the last days of Khatami’s presidency, the Bush Administration refused to allow the Europeans to entertain any scenario that would permit Iran to contemplate engagement in any enrichment-related activity even in the future.

As I discuss here in 2005, it was this intransigence that ultimately led Iran to bring its uranium conversion plant in Isfahan out of suspension during the last days of the Khatami Administration.

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If you don’t listen to NPR you probably didn’t know that, but here’s the Main Page with links to listen to the event sponsored by NPR and Iowa Public Radio, and here’s the transcript.

There were three on-air topics, Iran, trade, and immigrations, and the economy was addressed after the broadcast portion finished. No “gotcha” or “boxer or briefs / diamonds or pearls” questions, just the candidates talking about the topics.

Governor Bill Richardson was not there; he was attending a funeral.

The Analysts who say NIE [warning: video] have gotten a little tired of being blamed for every screw up of the Hedgemony.

The Hedgemony doesn’t like releasing the entire reports, because then people would see all of the dissent and qualifications that the intel community attached to every claim made by the Shrubbery, Darth Cheney, and the neonitwits.

Dafna Linzer, Washington Post Staff Writer wrote this August 2, 2005 piece, 2005 NIE on Iran

A major U.S. intelligence review has projected that Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon, roughly doubling the previous estimate of five years, according to government sources with firsthand knowledge of the new analysis.

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Yes, it’s the time of year when the Sun dies and must be re-born through an elaborate ceremony that involves some form or type of sacrifice, such as finding gifts for people you can’t stand and smiling brightly as you receive yet another gift based on an urban legend that you actually like truly stomach-wrenching color combinations.

Of course there was a time when the Solstice sacrifices were more visceral and the evergreen was covered in things that pleased only ravens and such, but we have put all that behind us by opting for the possibility of electrocuting one another and causing chaos on the power grid.

What a brilliant idea: moving a large supply of pre-kindling soaked with highly flammable resins into your house, loading it down with petrochemical-based ornaments, lacing it with heat-producing electrical devices, and surrounding the base with cardboard boxes and tissue paper. You just can’t have a traditional celebration without a proto-bonfire in your living room.

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