You know what I like best about Christmas? The fact that newspapers around the world always republish "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus". You know the story behind it, but I guess I'm just a sentimental ol' fool. Too bad the current incarnation of the New York Sun doesn't have Virginia's letter online.
Oh yeah, in case you forgot to give anyone a gift, here's how to give the last-minute gift of blog. =)
Parts of Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root may declare bankruptcy in the wake of an asbestos settlement and increasing scrutiny of its Iraq operations. Still, Dick Cheney's former employer deserves no sympathy.
Former NJ Governor Tom Kean, a Republican, and current chair of the 9/11 independent fact-finding commission, has issued a verbal bitch-slap at the Bush administration's pre-9/11 security lapses.
How do I get my daily bad news? Online, of course. Since I read about (and signed up for) the Progress Report from John Podesta's Center for American Progress, I've found it to be an indispensable resource on what's right with the left and what's wrong with the right. Another useful resource is TruthOut, which also sends out a daily e-mail of essential news.
-Who says Latin is a dead language? Finnish radio broadcasts a weekly news bulletin in Latin, and the Latin version Dr. Seuss' classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas gets 5 stars on Amazon.com. Vivere lingua.
-Cost-benefit analysis don't just apply to business, they can be used to determine the optimal size of a nation too. Good news for free-traders.
-Speaking of free trade, you'd think Jenin would be the last place anyone would want to open a tech shop, but being in the West Bank allows Earth Station 5 to bypass the RIAA at will.
Kim Ho Ma was a refugee to the US. He grew up in the US and joined a street gang to protect himself from anti-Asian harassment. Now because of a gang-related conviction he's being deported back to Cambodia, a place he can't even remember. So much for "give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses"...
OK when I first read the headline for this I thought it was just some cosmic mindfuck in the style of The Onion. See for yourself: Serbs May Help Patrol Afghanistan. Didn't Wesley Clark just fight a war with these guys a few years back?
* If you put a woman on a pedestal and try to protect her from the rat race...you're a male chauvinist.
* If you stay home and do the housework...you're a pansy.
* If you work too hard...there's never any time for her.
* If you don't work enough...you're a good-for-nothing bum.
* If she has a boring repetitive job with low pay...this is exploitation.
* If you have a boring repetitive job with low pay.....you should get off your lazy behind and find something better.
* If you get a promotion ahead of her.....that is favoritism.
* If she gets a job ahead of you......it's equal opportunity.
* If you mention how nice she looks......it's sexual harassment.
* If you keep quiet..........it's male indifference.
* If you cry............you're a wimp.
* If you don't........you're an insensitive pig.
* If you make a decision without consulting her.........you're a male chauvinist.
* If she makes a decision without consulting you......she's a liberated woman.
* If you ask her to do something she doesn't enjoy...... that's domination.
* If SHE asks you.........it's a favor.
* If you like a woman to shave her legs and keep in shape..............you're sexist.
* If you don't.................you're unromantic.
* If you try to keep yourself in shape................you're vain.
* If you don't................you're a slob.
* If you buy her flowers.............you're after something.
* If you don't....................you're not thoughtful.
* If you're proud of your achievements.... you're full of yourself.
* If you don't....................you're notambitious.
* If she has a headache............she's tired.
* If you have a headache.............you don't love her anymore.
Kids! For $21.99, you too can own your very own Mr. T Chia... Head. As seen on TV Land.
OUCH! Stupid kid tries to fuck an apple pie like in the movie, but he didn't let the hot filling cool before shagging the pastry.
Forget the X-Games, here come the XP-Games, where women of... um... unusual talents do amazing things with their... um... unusual talents.
Capping off my stupid news roundup, the Chicago Sun-Times has come out with this year's list of GOOF Award nominees and has named a winner. GOOF, by the way, stands for "Greatly Overexposed and Overhyped Fool".
How much did Ted Koppel suck at last week's Democratic presidential debate? So much that he blows. Suckin' it long, suckin' it hard.
The guy who wrote the lyrics to "Unchained Melody" grew up in upstate New York, but now lives in Freehold, New Jersey.
Paul Krugman almost always has something interesting to say. Today he weighs in on war profiteering in Iraq by the likes of Halliburton and Bechtel.
Britain's Tories concede. Privatizing the railways was an exceedingly bad idea.
Hmm... this is interesting. I haven't studied the Coase theorem since Microeconomics in sophomore year, but a former Clintonista predicts, using Coase, that a third-party candidate will win the presidency in the very near future.
Virility is something Asian guys usually don't joke about. Are we finally gonna see some Asian men gettin' some respect on film and TV?
Here's a holiday shopping list parents can finally live with. No more noisy, jingly, electronic gadget fads. Get the kids stuff from the dollar store, dammit.
Lacking any other crime to charge James Yee with, the military is trumping up a supposed affair he had with a female officer. Military justice is to justice what military music is to music.
Mary Robinson, having recently left her post as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is well on her way to creating a "kinder, gentler" globalization.
Barely legal in China is basically political speech that you can get away with. Nicholas Kristof explains, and predicts major upheaval in the Middle Kingdom soon.
The economies of India and China are like a tortoise and hare story. Dengist China grew by leaps and bounds, but it may be India that achieves sustainable growth in the long run.
It's the weekend roundup again! This is where I clear out all the articles I've bookmarked over the past week but haven't had time to blog yet. Enjoy!
-Why is Tony Blair so unpopular in the UK yet so popular in the US? He needs a hug. And, can liberal interventionism really prevent future wars?
-There's really no such thing as "oh my God", since the three major Abrahamic religions of the world worship the same God.
-Bush's refusal to properly acknowledge US casualties in Iraq may indeed cost him votes, but that might be irrelevant if military families can't stomach the thought of voting for someone like Howard Dean.
-Yasser Arafat: the man, the myth, the legend. Foreign Affairs reviews a new Israeli biography of the PLO leader.
-Here's a mathematically-based truth test for the "lying liars" in government.
-Two former Clintonistas argue in a new book that the "Bush revolution" is nothing more than just spinning the wheels without going anywhere. And, while empire may be bad, hegemony done right may yet work.
-Try as the neocons might, the UN just won't die. And it might live on a lot longer with the rise of NGOs.
Neocons claim to have unilaterally won the Cold War. Wrong. Neocons also aspire to a sort of Wilsonian idealism. But the consequences of their actions speak for themselves. "Blowback" can't be a cliche, because it's entirely true. The American Prospect lists a few neocon fuck-ups.
Open mouth, insert foot. The Pentagon apparently jumped the gun on a memo blacklisting France, Germany, and Russia from Iraqi reconstruction contracts, hours before Bush was supposed to call Chirac, Schroder, and Putin. This comes just days after Rummy was given Britain's Foot in Mouth award. Bush did sign off on the idea of a blacklist though. This is no way to run an occupation. Also, Paul Krugman wonders if Wolfowitz's timing was a deliberate effort to undermine James Baker.
Didja hear about the proposal to replace FDR on the dime with Reagan? Yet more evidence of Reagan's cult of personality taking over the GOP. Even conservatives and Nancy herself are against it.
You know the Republicans have become kleptocrats when even the conservative Heritage Foundation says "The Republican party is simply not interested in small government now". Outlays for non-security concerns continues to balloon out of control as the GOP tries to outspend the Democrats.
This month marks the centennial of the Wright Brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk, NC. MSNBC has an online special featuring the 10 airplanes that most influenced aviation.
This test only has one question, and it is very direct.
Please don't answer it without giving it some serious thought, since by giving an honest answer you will be able to know where you stand morally.
The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation, where you will have to make a decision one way or the other.
Remember that your answer needs to be honest, but yet spontaneous.
Here is the scenario:
You're a CNN photographer in Miami, Florida. You are in the midst of a great tragedy. There is general chaos caused by a hurricane and flooding. There are huge waves pouring onto the surrounding land. The situation is nearly hopeless.
You're trying to shoot impressive photos conveying your sense of this disaster. There are houses and people floating around you, disappearing into the rising water... Nature is showing all its destructive power and is ripping everything away with it.
Without warning you see a man, steering a big van. He is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken away by the masses of water and driving gale force winds.
You struggle closer. Somehow the man looks familiar and important.
You suddenly know who it is - it's George W. Bush!
The raging waters are about to take him away, forever... You have two options. You can save the life of George W. Bush, or you can shoot a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo.
And here's the question (Please give an honest answer):
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Will you make the photo black and white, or in color?
Al Sharpton: the man, the myth, the legend. Speaking of the campaigns, top graphics designers have come up with some sample posters for the Democratic 9. PLUS! Al Sharpton does SNL!!!
The government has finally decided that James Yee is not a spy. But it couldn't resist tacking on lesser dubious charges just to keep up the harassment.
In the spirit of posthumous albums from Biggie and Tupac, the Chinese Communist Party will release a rap album featuring Chairman Mao. The folks over at Fark are mighty amused.
Fly me to the moon! Yeah, we may think Dubya is a space cadet, but going back to the moon is a good idea that's long overdue.
Caveat emptor: how can consumers stop companies from nickel-and-diming us with hidden fees and overbilling? Complain, en masse.
You have the right to an attorney. Or not. No wait, you do. Err? The Pentagon has fired a bunch of recently hired military defense lawyers for Gitmo detainees.
The Library at Alexandra was the capital of learning in the Hellenistic world. Umberto Eco recently spoke at the opening of the new Library at Alexandria.
Blowback: it's a nice word for the mess we left behind after instigating the 1953-54 coups in Iran and Guatamala.
Taiwan extends an olive branch to defuse the row over its new law governing national referendums: Beijing's removal of front line missiles aimed at Taiwan in exchange for a softer-worded referendum.
Stupid is as stupid does: is there a deliberateness to our destruction of the world, or are we just too dumb to realize it?
To David Horowitz and his crew of right-wing nudniks: if you think all college profs are commie pinkos who intimidate conservative students, you haven't taught a class lately.
Speaking of teaching, here's how not to choke the next time you deliver an address at a scholarly conference.
