America can’t abandon 27 million Iraqis to 10,000 terrorists

From the WSJ’s OpinionJournal today:
Our Troops Must Stay

“…Here is an ironic finding I brought back from Iraq. While U.S. public opinion polls show serious declines in support for the war and increasing pessimism about how it will end, polls conducted by Iraqis for Iraqi universities show increasing optimism. Two-thirds say they are better off than they were under Saddam, and a resounding 82% are confident their lives in Iraq will be better a year from now than they are today. What a colossal mistake it would be for America’s bipartisan political leadership to choose this moment in history to lose its will and, in the famous phrase, to seize defeat from the jaws of the coming victory.…”

As colossal a mistake as the one the former President Bush made when he cut short the action the first time around in Iraq?

Interesting Collection of Nominees

From E! Online today:
Sabbath, Sex Pistols on Rock’s Rolls:

“After repeatedly being dissed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ozzy Osbourne famously demanded that Black Sabbath be removed from consideration for the ‘totally irrelevant’ institution.

“Good thing no one was paying attention. The seminal metal mavens, on their seventh ballot, finally got the nod Monday and will be one of five acts saying ‘Hello, Cleveland!’ in 2006.

“Joining Sabbath in the Class of 2006 are the Sex Pistols, Blondie, Lynyrd Skynyrd and jazz great Miles Davis.…”

Yeah, right, Ozzie…


Rolling Stone’s take:
Sabbath Enter Rock Hall

“The Sex Pistols, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blondie also tapped

“After years of eligibility, Black Sabbath, the Sex Pistols and Lynyrd Skynyrd will finally be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Also slated for induction at the institution’s 21st annual ceremony on March 13th at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel are jazz legend Miles Davis and New York New Wavers Blondie.…”

Rolling Stone’s Sabbath bio page

A.Word.A.Day -- dendrochronology

A.Word.A.Day -- dendrochronology: “This week’s theme: words from the plant kingdom.

dendrochronology (den-dro-kruh-NOL-uh-jee) noun

Tree-ring dating.…”

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Patric Schmid

From The Guardian today:
Impresario dedicated to the revival of bel canto operas:

“In April 1801, Giovanni Simone Mayr’s opera Ginevra di Scozia was premiered at the newly opened Teatro Nuovo in Trieste. Exactly 200 years later, Opera Rara performed it there again. That special anniversary was one of the typically imaginative projects organised by Patric Schmid, who has died of a heart attack, aged 61. Schmid was the co-founder of Opera Rara in 1970, and for 35 years oversaw the rediscovery of dozens of neglected or forgotten works by the masters of bel canto.…”

French Terror Alert Redux

AP and UPI reported today that the French government announced that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide.” The only two higher levels in France are “Collaborate” and “Surrender”. The raise was precipitated by a recent fire which destroyed France's white flag factory, thereby disabling its military.

President Bush May Send Up To 5 Marines For French Assistance

President Bush has authorized the Joint Chiefs to begin drawing up a battle plan to pull France’s ass out of the fire again. Facing an apparent overwhelming force of up to 400 pissed off teenagers, Mr. Bush doubts France’s ability to hold off the little pissants. “Hell, if the last two world wars are any indication, I would expect France to surrender any day now”, said Bush.

Joint Chiefs head, Gen. Peter Pace, warned the President that it might be necessary to send up to 5 Marines to get things under control. The general admitted that 5 Marines may be overkill, but he wanted to get this thing under control within 24 hours of arriving on scene. He stated he was having a hard time finding even one Marine to help those ungrateful bastards out for a third time but thought that he could persuade a few female marines to do the job before they went on pregnancy leave.

In an unrelated matter, President Bush told reporters that he was considering a “Flu for Oil” Program to ease our country’s energy problem and prevent the upcoming pandemic. Nobody had a clue as to what the hell he was talking about.

(Cap’t. Thom striks again!)

Freedom Isn’t Free!

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?

How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, freedom isn’t free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant “Amen,”

When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother, sister or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn’t free.

Author Unknown

God Bless America

Turkey Poem

When I was a young turkey, new to the coop
My big brother, Tom, took me out on the stoop
Then he sat me down, and he spoke real slow
And he told me there was something that I just had to know.

His look and his tone I will always remember
When he told me of the horrors of, well… Black November!
“Come about August, now listen to me
Each day you’ll get six meals instead of your three.
And soon you’ll be thick, where once you were thin
and you’ll grow a big rubbery thing under your chin.

“And then one morning, when you’re warm in your bed
In comes the farmer’s wife, to hack off your head
Then she’ll pluck out all your feathers until you’re bald ’n’ pink
And scoop out your insides and leave you in the sink
And then comes the worst part,” he said, not bluffing
“She’ll spread your hindquarters and pack your bottom with stuffing!”

Well, the rest of his words were too grim to repeat
I sat on the stoop like a winged piece of meat
And decided on the spot that to avoid being cooked
I’d have to lay low to remain overlooked.
I began a new diet of nuts and granola
High-roughage salads, juice and diet cola
And as they ate pastries, chocolates, and crepes
I stayed in my room doing Jane Fonda tapes.

I maintained my weight of two pounds and a half,
And tried not to notice when the bigger birds laughed
But it was I who was laughing, under my breath
As they chomped and they chewed, ever closer to death.
And sure enough when Black November rolled around
I was the last turkey left in the Turkey compound.

So now I’m a pet in the farmer’s wife’s lap
I haven’t a worry, so I eat and I nap.
She held me today, while sewing and humming
And smiled at me and said “Christmas is coming.”

(Spotted on the walking_cane-9s list.)

Sony Needs to Be Hit by More than Lawsuits…

…(a REALLY big stick comes immediately to mind…)

From el Reg today:
Sony hit by lawsuits over root kit | The Register:

…“Any copies of the CD kept on a laptop or other device must be deleted if the original CD is stolen or lost. They cannot be stored on your work computer only a ‘personal home computer system owned by you’. If you move countries you must delete all songs covered by the license. If you file for bankrupcy you must delete all relevant files.

“Any consumer who fails to keep up-to-date with the hidden software is in breach of the agreement.”…

Super, er, Croc!!

From TheState.com (in South Carolina) today:Prehistoric ‘Godzilla’ discovered in Argentina:

…“‘The recent film monster Godzilla frightened the people of New York City, but our Godzilla terrorized creatures in the Pacific Ocean,’ said the leader of the discovery team, Argentine paleontologist Zulma Gasparini, of the National University of La Plata.

“‘We are calling him the chico malo - the `bad boy' of the ocean.’”…

Too Cute, Indeed!!

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Photo Gallery (Finnegan the Squirrel)

Claim: Illustrations show a proposed Grand Canyon skywalk.

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Photo Gallery (Grand Canyon Skywalk):
“…The $30 million all-glass Skywalk will hover 4,000 feet above the Colorado River over a rim of the Grand Canyon, allowing tourists to stroll on a semicircular platform 80 yards beyond the canyon rim, surrounded by Plexiglas that will provide a spectacular view of the canyon floor directly below. The Skywalk’s opening is planned for early 2006, the attraction being part of a new Grand Canyon West resort on the Hualapai reservation at the western edge of the park, about 120 miles from Las Vegas.…”

Hualapai Indian Reservation

This Is Not One of Randy’s…

…“Put down your glass/mug/cup before you read this.” posts:

Thoughts on New Orleans:
“This has been attributed to George Carlin, and New Orleans blues musician Bill Boudreaux, but apparently neither wrote it. There are several versions, and it’s not a joke; rather, it’s some thought-provoking plain speaking about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

---

“Been sitting here with my ass in a wad, wanting to speak out about what’s going on in New Orleans. For the people of New Orleans… First I would like to say, Sorry for your loss.

“Unlike an earthquake, we know when a hurricane is coming. With that said, Let’s go through a few hurricane rules:

“#1. A mandatory evacuation means just that. Get the hell out. Don’t blame the Government after they tell you to go. If they hadn’t said anything, I can see the argument. They said get out. If you didn’t, it’s your fault, not theirs. Even if you don’t have a car, you can get out.…”

Rain Numbers - 15 October 2005

.04", for today
.04", for the storm
.05", for the month
.05", for the (rain) year

:::sigh:::

The battery/capacitor/solar panel combination in the weather station seems to be trying to behave, but the display was still showing 6.04" as the total for the year; the rain year here begins 1 October… Since I wasn’t sure if that was controlled by the panel or HCA, I didn’t dare contemplate fiddling.

I did notice, however, on a day following a nearly fully moon, that the display panel was depicting a new moon. I’m still not sure how I got there, but I pushed the right button to display the date and time, and we were still back in September!

Called Davis’ tech support, and the very nice, helpful young man stepped me through resetting the date and the time, and the yearly rain total (which is a good approximation).

I Don’t Know Where Randy Finds These…

…but he really needs to put a “Put down your glass/mug/cup before you read this.” warning on some of them:

France Elevates its Security Level:
“As many are aware, the French government recently announced a raise in its terror alert level from ‘Run’ to ‘Hide’. The normal level is ‘General Arrogance’, and the only two higher levels in France are ‘Surrender’ and ‘Collaborate’. The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country’s military capability.

“It’s not only the French that are on a heightened level of alert:…”

I’m a Nut. Or Not…

Today’s word:
A.Word.A.Day -- algophobia:

“…Usually having a phobia might brand you as a nut but here is a phobia that indicates you’re a regular human being, if you have it. Algophobia is the fear of pain. Though the word indicates an unusual, morbid fear of pain, producing intense anxiety.

“There is even an instrument called an algometer to measure pain. Now I know why they called that grueling course ‘algorithms’ in my computer science curriculum.…”

1918 Flu = Bird Flu

From The New York Times tomorrow:
Experts Unlock Clues to Spread of 1918 Flu Virus:

“The 1918 influenza virus, the cause of one of history’s most deadly epidemics, has been reconstructed and found to be a bird flu that jumped directly to humans, two teams of federal and university scientists announced yesterday.

“It was the culmination of work that began a decade ago and involved fishing tiny fragments of the 1918 virus from snippets of lung tissue from two soldiers and an Alaskan woman who died in the 1918 pandemic. The soldiers’ tissue had been saved in an Army pathology warehouse, and the woman had been buried in permanently frozen ground.…”

Interesting implications.


The Guardian’s take: From frozen Alaska to the lab: a virus 39,000 times more virulent than flu:

“…‘I didn’t expect it to be as lethal as it was,’ Dr Terrence Tumpey, a scientist on the project from the US Centres of Disease Control and Prevention, told the journal Nature.…”


From CBC World News: Scientists re-create deadly pandemic virus

“…The growing fear of a flu pandemic led U.S. President George Bush to speculate Tuesday on possible American reactions to such a crisis, including quarantines of infected groups of people.…”

RIP

On cnn.com today:
Luther Vandross dead at 54 - Jul 1, 2005

“…Of ‘Dance With My Father,’ he once said that title song ‘was very emotional for me and, yes, it is based on my own experience.

“‘It’s not just about losing one’s father, but about missing someone who is gone — for whatever reason — and the longing you feel for that moment in the past when you were together,’ he said.…”

How Supremely Appropriate

On WorldNetDaily, a few days ago:
Supreme Court justice faces boot from home?

“…According to a statement from Clements, the proposed development, called ‘The Lost Liberty Hotel’ will feature the ‘Just Desserts Café’ and include a museum, open to the public, ‘featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America.’ Instead of a Gideon’s Bible in each room, guests will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged, the statement said.

“Clements says the hotel must be built on this particular piece of land because it is a unique site – ‘being the home of someone largely responsible for destroying property rights for all Americans.’”

Not quite what Supreme Souter had in mind, I’ll wager.

Did They Really Do That??

From LiveScience.com:
Lions to the Rescue! Big Cats Save Kidnapped Girl

“…‘They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest,’ Wondimu said, adding he did not know whether the lions were male or female.”

Pluribus or Unum?

From snopes.com recently:
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics (Richard Lamm on Multiculturalism):

“A Frightening Analysis

We all know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration-overpopulation conference in Washington, DC, filled to capacity by many of American's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor named Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, ‘Mexifornia,’ explaining how immigration — both legal and illegal — was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.…”

Read the whole piece. It’s not politically correct in the least, which is to say it’s firmly based in reality, and it’s pretty scary.