Category — Uncategorized

The Associated Press is reporting Nation’s top weather officials resign:

WASHINGTON – One day after its hurricane forecasters complained of budget cuts, the head of the National Weather Service and his deputy announced they will retire next month.

David Johnson, the director, and John Jones, the deputy director, plan to bow out at the end of June, according to an internal memo they sent Friday to staff of the nation’s weather agency.

One month into the hurricane season and the top two officials are going to be new hires. That certainly fills me with confidence. I have a feeling they are sick of the games and would just like to get on with their lives without dealing with the jerks in charge of NOAA including Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr. US Navy (Retired), the current head of the organization.

Oh, David Johnson is actually Brigadier General David Johnson, US Air Force (Retired) because the Department of Commerce seems to be in the business of hiring retiring flag officers.

Microsoft buys ad firm for $6bn:

Microsoft is paying $6bn (£3bn) to buy digital marketing firm Aquantive in its biggest ever acquisition.

The all-cash takeover will allow Microsoft to expand into the highly lucrative internet advertising market, that Google and Yahoo have targeted.

[snip]

But analysts are sceptical.

“There had to have been some desperation for Microsoft to pay the price that it did,” said Morningstar analyst Toan Tran.

“Sometimes, I am worried that Microsoft has Google-tunnel vision. It’s so worried what Google is doing that it becomes way too reactionary,” he added.

Microsoft is going after Google. They view Google as a threat and they want to bury them. This is what they do in every market they attack: they come in late, buy an existing player, destroy the price structure, and then screw things up for everyone else. Microsoft views everything as a zero-sum game – the only way to prosper is to be the last company standing in the wreckage of the market. If you’re a Microsoft stockholder you may have noticed that the strategy hasn’t been working lately.

Now, savvy media buyers are going to hold off on ad purchases to wait for Microsoft to slam the price down to nothing, and then sign long-term contracts.

When you hear “Judeo-Christian Tradition” you are supposed to understand that it means “evangelical Christian.”

Louisiana school district sued over Bibles in school:

The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday filed its fifth religion-related lawsuit in 13 years against an eastern Louisiana school district, this time alleging that a principal improperly allowed people to distribute Bibles to students.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court on behalf of the parents of a fifth-grader at Loranger Middle School in Tangipahoa Parish, who were upset that Gideons Bibles were being given to students on school property during class hours.

“School officials in Tangipahoa Parish habitually show disdain for the Constitution, while disrespecting the right of parents, who happen to be Catholic in this case, to choose the religious tradition in which to raise their children,” said Joe Cook, the ACLU executive director for Louisiana.

People forget that there is no such thing as a single Bible, which is a bit embarrassing for those who claim it is the “inerrant Word of G-d.” I personally prefer the King James Version. It isn’t the most accurate, but it has a better class of sex and violence.

One of the odd things about godless Communists is that they tend to be prudes which makes most Socialist Realist literature rather dull. Thus, if you have been paying attention, this should come as no surprise: Bible drawn into Hong Kong sex publication row

HONG KONG (Reuters) – More than 800 Hong Kong residents have called on authorities to reclassify the Bible as “indecent” due to its sexual and violent content, following an uproar over a sex column in a university student journal.

A spokesperson for Hong Kong’s Television and Entertainment Licensing authority (TELA) said it had received 838 complaints about the Bible by noon on Wednesday.

The complaints follow the launch of an anonymous Web site — www.truthbible.net — which said the holy book “made one tremble” given its sexual and violent content, including rape and incest.

[Read more →]

Lt. Colonel Bob Bateman is subbing for Eric at Altercation and he displays his old school attitude about the officers who failed to investigate Haditha.

He also links to a Washington Post op-ed piece, It’s Our Cage, Too, by retired Generals Krulak and Hoar. Charles C. Krulak was commandant of the Marine Corps from 1995 to 1999. Joseph P. Hoar was commander in chief of U.S. Central Command from 1991 to 1994.

They explain why anything that might be considered torture is wrong for the military and wrong for the country. They are not happy about the current leadership, and what it has done to the military.

CBS News asks: Are FEMA Trailers Making Residents Sick? Answer: of course. Anyone who has ever owned a travel trailer could have told them that after a week you need to find some place else to be.

The culprit is very well known: formaldehyde.

Most formaldehyde is used in the production of polymers and other chemicals. When combined with phenol, urea, or melamine, formaldehyde produces a hard thermoset resin. These resins are commonly used in permanent adhesives, such as those used in plywood or carpeting. It is used as the wet-strength resin added to sanitary paper products such as (listed in increasing concentrations injected into the paper machine headstock chest) facial tissue, table napkins, and roll towels. They are also foamed to make insulation, or cast into molded products. Production of formaldehyde resins accounts for more than half of formaldehyde consumption.

The problem is that these trailers were designed for occasional use for limited periods and the sealing that takes place in regular construction, doesn’t take place in travel trailers. OSB [oriented strand board / chip board] is replacing plywood as sheathing and it has even more resin than plywood. Normally it is used on the exterior and the fumes vent to the outside. When it is used for the subflooring it is capped by something else to exclude the fumes. Those techniques are not used in travel trailers, and there is little in the way of cross ventilation to exhaust the fumes.

The huge order for trailers after Katrina meant that the OSB had less curing time than normal, and therefore more fumes. The need for air conditioning means the trailers aren’t aired, but are sealed up recirculating the air inside. There is nothing unknown here.

First, suspend your disbelief, then go see what Michael found.

He’s in France surrounded by medieval buildings and he finds medieval thinking in the US. Fortunately there was a church nearby where he could undergo exorcism.

BBC reports: Prince Harry not to serve in Iraq

Prince Harry will not be sent to Iraq, the head of the British Army has said.

General Sir Richard Dannatt said the prince’s deployment would pose an “unacceptable” threat to him and the men who served alongside him.

It had been reported that militant groups had planned to kill or kidnap the young royal.

Clarence House said Prince Harry was “very disappointed” but will not be leaving the Army as a result.

[snip]

The general said he had reached his decision following a visit to the region at the end of last week.

“There have been a number of specific threats, some reported some not reported, which relate directly to Prince Harry as an individual.

“These threats expose not only him but also those around him to a degree of risk that I now deem unacceptable.”

This is a tough call, but in the end General Dannatt had to come to grips with the reality that Prince Harry represented an increased threat to those around him because of the PR value of killing or capturing him. The family and friends of the Prince’s unit would surely blame any deaths or injuries on his deployment.

It’s too bad he couldn’t have just gone without the announcement of his deployment until after he returned, but that’s not the way the system works.

There was a bit of news at Красная Звезда : В ВВС РОССИИ – НОВЫЙ ГЛАВКОМ

В главном штабе Военно-воздушных сил России министр обороны РФ Анатолий Сердюков представил руководящему составу ВВС нового главнокомандующего. В соответствии с Указом Президента РФ им стал генерал-полковник Александр Зелин…

Oh, I see, sorry. The Russian Defense Minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, announced the appointment of the new Chief of Staff for the Russian Air Force: Colonel-General Aleksander Zelin.

Has anyone seen Michael Palin Terry Jones and Gordon Brown in the same room? How do we know that Gordon Brown isn’t Michael Pain Terry Jones with a Scot’s accent?

Update: I had my Pythons twisted.

I had a CV-22 [Osprey] fly over the car when I was out today, and it didn’t crash!

It was in low and level flight and is probably one of the ugliest things I have ever seen in the air.

But, it didn’t crash, so there are exceptions to the common wisdom about the aircraft.

[05/11/07] Laura Smith-Spark, BBC News, Washington: US military takes Iraq war to YouTube

The US military has taken the war in Iraq into cyberspace, with the launch of its own channel on the video-sharing website YouTube.

[05/14/07] Rob Watson, BBC defence and security correspondent: US blocks soldiers from websites

The US military is to block troops from using YouTube and MySpace and 11 other popular websites for sharing photos, video clips and messages.

[05/02/07] Army Regulation 530–1: Operations Security (OPSEC) – commanders must approve blog posts and e-mails.

Next up, the Stars and Stripes will be replaced by the Красная Звезда so there is no doubt left about the intention of the Party to return to its Stalinist roots.

[I’m having a hard time visualizing Halliburton as part of the proletariat.]

The article on the Pope’s visit to Brazil is headlined: Pope blames Marxism, capitalism for problems. In the article he also blast autocrats and liberals.

So, if all of those things are the problem, what the solution? You sort of need a government and an economy, so give us a hint.

Anyone who fills the position should take the day off and spread a little guilt to keep children of all ages neurotic.

Enjoy yourselves.