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"Derision greets BBC plan to turn asylum into a game"

From The Guardian:

The BBC is about to take the reality game show format to a new low - by asking the public to vote on whether individual asylum seekers should be thrown out of the country...

The format of the programme, to be made by the BBC current affairs department, has provoked an angry reaction from some MPs and refugee groups.

Emails sent out by BBC staff to asylum organisations seeking suitable candidates to feature in the programme say it will be "an hour-long studio show" and will examine real case studies of people seeking asylum.

The programme makers want to feature half a dozen cases with actors playing asylum seekers who have already had their cases decided by the Home Office.

"Having heard the arguments, the audience then vote by phone, online, interactive television, etc, and have their say on what they think should have happened. The real outcome will then be revealed to see whether the majority of our viewers and studio guests agreed with the immigration officer..."

Neil Gerrard, Labour MP for Walthamstow and chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on refugees, said: "This is a really stupid idea. How is an asylum seeker who has been given refugee status supposed to feel if the public votes to throw him out?"

Mike Jempson of the PressWise asylum seekers, refugees and media project, who was approached by the BBC for help in providing participants, said: "This is a ludicrous and ill-thought out idea."

Now, read the BBC's Q&A: North African terror in the UK: "Britain let [Algerians who had been expelled from France after Algerian-related terrorist bombings] stay here because the authorities didn't see them as a threat to the country, nor did they appear to be breaking any laws..."

While this show is still in the planning stages, in its current form it's along the same lines as Dragnet. I.e., a dramatic recreation of a real case. Using actors. No one's going to get deported based on an audience vote. In other words, the first paragraph of The Guardian's article is completely misleading.

The only way in which someone could object to this is if they don't want to see attention brought to the process by which refugees are allowed to stay, and which evidence is presented for and against them. That's probably why the refugee groups would consider this a "ludicrous and ill-thought out idea."

(Via Oraculations.)

Posted to Immigration2003 at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)

"How do I swear in foreign languages?"

In compiling the links for the previous entry, I came across this site. Of course, it changes from an insult into a Monty Python routine if you don't even have the accent (as in emphasis, not to mention the other accent) right. Their Russian page doesn't indicate which syllable receives the emphasis, but, just FYI, "govno" is pronounced "gahv NOH" and, unlike in English, the "oh" sound isn't finished with a "w" sound. (I.e., if you can morph "blow" into "blowah," remember to just pronounce the "blo" and not the "wah".) However, they don't list "nekulturniy"/"nyekulturniy" which is a pretty effective insult, and more insulting than calling someone "uncultured" in English. "knee cool TOUR knee"

Posted to WackyHumor at 02:40 PM | Comments (2)

"Most bloggers 'are teenage girls' - survey"

From this article:

...blogging is a solitary activity that requires the blogger to spend less time reading a book, taking the dog for the walk, meeting friends in the pub, seeing a movie, or reading to the kids. The reason that 99.93 per cent of the world doesn't blog, and never will, is because people make simple information choices in what they choose to ingest and produce, and most of this will be either personal and private, or truly social. Blog-evangelists can fulminate at the injustice of this all they like, but people are pretty smart and make fairly rational choices on the information they process.

Interesting people run interesting blogs, but it's remarkable how few of them there are.

So the upshot of all this is it that not withstanding the gems of self-publishing - largely unsung by the A-list evangelists because they refuse to conform to the canon (Cryptome and Indymedia are not considered part of the club, for example) - the field is largely populated by adolescents - of all ages.

Maybe we're all safer this way - thanks to weblogs. Maybe blogs are a way of keeping the truly antisocial out of harm's way. So if you know a middle-aged sociopath, for heaven's sake, point him to a computer and show him how to start a weblog...

As I posted here:

I’ve been blogging for years. It was just known as posting to Usenet or putting up a page at my site. [for instance, Dave Winer linked to my "Why 100% Pure Java is a Crock" essay here. Back then, his site was just a daily journal, a compendium of links. Now it's called a "blog." And, I've written well over a thousand Usenet messages. Just searching for one email address I used and in one group comes up with 494 messages.]

Now I have this nifty program (even if it’s Perl) that lets me categorize by date and subject, and a support structure of potential readers and potential linkers.

As far as the 12-year-old girls are concerned, there are a lot of crappy daily journal blogs out there. Many of them from chatgirls who have cascading hearts on their entries, or who post pictures of their cats. Unless they also post pictures of themselves (or their boobies), I just ignore them.

While I started my blog making fun of other blogs and blogging (having imaginary chats with second-string tennis star Iroda Tulyanova, for instance), I soon started concentrating on politics. My blog doesn’t get that many readers, but hopefully one of these days something I write about will filter up the blogosphere and into the "real" world. I think my coverage of the "peace" protests might have done that to a certain extent; I was showing what was really on their posters, when the "real" news outlets wouldn’t show the swastikas and the Shrub-Administration-as-Nazis tableaux. Sully linked to one of my pics, and I think that might have helped unmask the protesters a bit.

Posted to Bloggage at 02:18 PM | Comments (2)

I wish I could write like this

I entered this blog into the box at pornolize.com and then forgot about it. When I flipped back to the window it opened, boy was I shocked! I thought I had been hacked, or had Posted When Drunk (lord knows I've never done that). When I finally figured out what had happened, boy was I relieved!

Posted to WackyHumor at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)

If I don't see John Derbyshire, can I keep my $35?

I previously blogged that NRO's Derb was going to be in L.A. autographing his book tomorrow.

I just checked out the link, and now I find out the least I could pay to get in - even just for a one-day pass to the BookExpo - is $35. Er, no.

Posted to Celebrities at 07:48 PM | Comments (0)

"I don't have much respect for Bush" - Avril

According to this shocking report about an Avril Lavigne press conference from last month:

Canadian superstar... Avril Lavigne... recently made some brave and outspoken comments about the war in Iraq following the Juno Awards in Ottawa on Sunday.

She told reporters at a press conference that she opposed the war and supported the Prime Minister's decision to keep Canadian troops out of the conflict. She admitted that she did not follow the news on a daily basis, and said, "I'm not a really political person," but also said that she knew the "obvious things." The 18-year old Juno-winner went on to say,

"I don't have respect for the people that made the decisions to go with the war. I don't have much respect for Bush. He's about war, I'm not about war - a lot of people aren't about war."

"It's hard for me to talk about the war, " Avril told reporters, "I don't really know what to say but I can say that I'm really proud that our Prime Minister didn't fight."

If you're expecting me to say something smart here, well, can it. I respect Avril and her opinions!

I also respect the opinions of Mindy Sterling (who played the PeeWee character in the Austin Powers films): "I'm a Gore fan"

And, here's former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic on "Democrazy."

In less funny news, Jay Thomas, who I think is pretty darn funny, is apparently one of them too.

Look, you can play this game too! There are about 100 "liberal" "artists" listed at - natch - liberalartists.com, complete with their wacky, braindead quotes.

The moderator of the site is no brain surgeon either:

[in 1998, illustrating his] outdated musical taste... Bush as Governor of Texas, declared May 15 'ZZ Top Day'

Well, as much as I dislike classic rock, I gotta tell you 70s ZZ Top was pretty good. Sure, they lost it when they started in with the hot rod music videos and the velvet geetars, but before then they were a more than passable bluesy band. But, whatever.

At least two of the Backstreet Boys are "known Republicans."

Posted to Celebrities at 07:36 PM | Comments (0)

FReeping Neal Pollack

Neal gets a shellacing from my fellow FReepers here. It concerns this "satire" (and I use that word quite loosely) about Bob Hope.

Posted to WackyHumor at 01:48 PM | Comments (0)

Repeal the 22nd Amendment?

As pointed out in the comments to the post "Clinton Wants Change in Presidential Term Limits", there's a bill currently in the House to repeal the 22nd Amendment, thereby allowing presidents to serve more than two terms. Here are the sponsors:

Mr. HOYER - Democrat
Mr. HYDE - Republican
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts - Democrat
Mr. SENSENBRENNER - Republican
Mr. BERMAN - Democrat
Mr. SABO - Democrat
Mr. PALLONE - Democrat
Mr. SERRANO - Democrat

Despite most of them being Dems, what little response this generated has come mainly from the left, and it's been negative. As of this date, the bill is in the Subcommittee on the Constitution.

Posted to Iraq at 03:43 PM | Comments (2)

"Let's Not Make Room For Islam In The Judeo-Christian Tradition"

Interesting column from Paul Weyrich here:

Leading Islamic organizations have started a drive to change the term "Judeo-Christian" to one that will mainstream their own religion. If the Islamic lobby has its way with this Politically Correct agenda item, we will soon be talking about how our country's society is based on "Judeo-Christian-Islamic values..."

We need to consider the record of the organizations that are attempting to gull Americans into swallowing the term "Judeo-Christian-Islamic values." They include the Council on American Islamic Relations, an organization that has learned to employ rights rhetoric to its advantage as it tries to paint Islam and its adherents in a glossy, all-American hue. CAIR is currently involved in trying to place texts and videos that are loaded with fulsome praise (and loads of whitewash) of Islam in American public libraries. These texts downplay or ignore the unattractive side of the religion, such as its historic inability to co-exist peacefully with other religions -- particularly Judaism and Christianity...

[...more on CAIR and the AMC...]

The news media has devoted great scrutiny to the rhetoric employed by American evangelicals about Islam while giving these groups a pass... [perhaps even worse, Bush met with them at least once, as has the CA GOP --lw]

The multiculturalists who are likely to race to make room for "Islamic" in the description of the values that have guided our country for the past 226 years should think hard about the ultimate goals of Muslim spokesmen like CAIR's Hooper and Ahmad. Particularly when the San Ramon Valley Herald also quoted Ahmad's assertion that "The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth."

It is not that they will succeed in subverting our country, turning it into an Islamic state complete with amputations for theft and stonings for adultery. However, the conditions in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran should make multiculturalists think hard about whether "Islamic" really deserves a place next to "Judeo-Christian..."

Posted to Terrorism at 01:27 PM | Comments (0)

Clearing up the fog of war

Spinsanity turns on the fog lights here.

Posted to Warblogging at 01:12 PM | Comments (0)

The evil in front of you

From "Davis makes pre-emptive strike on recall camp":

Although Davis denied it, his visit [to the Morongo Indian Reservation near Palm Springs] appeared to be a pre-emptive move. Morongo and other wealthy, politically powerful tribes are being courted by the Davis recall campaign. While none has signed on so far, at least publicly, that's a prospect the governor clearly wants to avoid...

But the governor and his political handlers undoubtedly were aware that Morongo had hosted a recent meeting of tribal leaders at the behest of Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista, a Republican who has made a growing, six-figure investment in the recall.

Morongo tribal Chairman Maurice Lyons acknowledged the meeting took place, but said only four tribes participated. Other tribal leaders also have confirmed the meeting, during which Issa appealed for their financial support – reportedly $100,000 per tribe. Representatives of the recall committee could not be reached for comment yesterday...

"We said no. We're not going to get involved with the recall efforts," [San Manuel tribal Chairman Deron Marquez] said. "There is something to be said about knowing the evil in front of you. We know what we're going to get with Governor Davis."

Posted to California at 11:16 AM | Comments (0)

Sidney Blumenthal is not who you think he is

Jaysus Gawd please let it be over. Last night at this same time I was taking a short but nice hike in Griffith Park; jogging from rock to rock, seeing a bunny rabbit, avoiding rattlesnakes and ticks.

Tonight I and about 100 mostly older mostly "liberals" are sitting here in the Mark Taper Auditorium at the Los Angeles Central Library listening to Sidney Blumenthal pitch his book.

The downward spiral began when he was introduced as a gifted writer, a good journalist with a true sense of history. Historians of the future will supposedly peruse his work to determine exactly what went on in the Clinton years. And, we were exhorted to vote with our wallets and buy his book, for books would be available for sale in the lobby, and they would be signed by the author himself.

Now, here's Sid:

as early as 1995, Clinton ("C") was discussing terrorism... gleefully describing how C captivated Newtie and how the Repubs sent in minders when C and Newtie spoke, C had such a pull over Newtie... "pseudo-scandals" and "false stories" like Whitewater... describing the first time he met C, didn't know whether he was destined for greatness or not, but when he saw C carting around a tough book about poverty he did see that C was serious indeed... describing in nauseating detail how great and intelligent C was... even when he was playing card games (he was a card counter, by the way) he still would interrupt what you were saying to correct a nuance of your speech or proposal... C, when he needed to think, would rearrange things on his desk... Ken Starr was an inquistor, searching for a man for a crime... C loved to play games, even keeping those with whom he was to meet waiting... C was a true multitasker... Ken Starr sought to intimidate Blumenthal... supression of black vote in FL really happened... Clinton was recently polled as the third best President in U.S. history [well, not quite]... C was upset with the 22nd Amendment preventing him from winning 2000, he woulda whupped them Repubs but good...

"But," comes a question from the audience (paraphrased), "wasn't Clinton himself to blame for that minor scandal about the girl in the beret?"

"It was foolish, and it gave ammo to our enemies. I told Clinton that, and he agreed." [whether he hung his head in shame for a moment or consulted with his Spiritual Advisor was not disclosed]

Nevertheless, C soldiered on, despite this "private error."

Blumenthal wasn't involved in the Marc Rich pardon, but apparently Ehud Barak called C three times pushing for the pardon, as apparently Rich was a Mossad asset (?) Plus, C had found a loophole involving the legalities of the case.

As for the ChiComs giving money to C, he was completely absolved of any involvement in that matter.

Another audience question (paraphrased): "Why hasn't our hero C spoken out about all the evil that is the Shrub Administration?"

Well, apparently, C is proscribed in what he can say. He's thinking of Hillary.

As for the real reason I went there:

Me: "What do you think of [blogger's name deleted]?"
Sid, a slight smile creeping over his face, says that he occasionally reads that blog.
Me:"Are you [blogger's name deleted]?"
Sid: "No, are you?"
Me: "No"
Sid: "I've never communicated with [blogger's name deleted]. If you do, tell him I said hi."

So, there you have it. Sidney Blumenthal is not [blogger's name deleted].

Sully has a scathing and hilarious review of his book here, and there's a selection of quotes about it here. Chris Hitchens takes a whack here.

UPDATE: He was also asked which were the news outlets which unfairly persecuted Clinton. He put the NYT and the WaPo in the camp of those who just dug and dug into the Monica story. But, the LA Times drew praise for their fair and balanced coverage.

Also, although no one has brought it up, I want to make a couple things clear. First our exchange above wasn't hostile; it was a good-natured exchange. And, I'm omitting the name of the blogger because he's a POS, and even if I sent one hit his way it would be too many. But, it's who you're thinking of. If who I'm referring to is unclear, see the end of this interview. The blogger referred to above is the one mentioned in the interviewer's question.

I also don't think he's that unnamed blogger. He's too smart, and why would anyone who, for instance, writes books and one would think would be interested in self-promotion want to hide their identity, especially since they toe the party line? Or, maybe it's all a big publicity stunt, and Blumenthal puts himself into dumb-as-a-box-of-Philly-gym-teachers mode before posting as the unnamed blogger. Not very likely.

Posted to Celebrities at 09:29 PM | Comments (3)

"Clinton Wants Change in Presidential Term Limits"

According to this:

Former President Bill Clinton said on Wednesday Congress should change the rule that barred him from seeking a third term in the White House, but stopped short of saying he wants to return as commander-in-chief.

Look, how about we make you president of France instead?

As always, Bubba has found an interesting angle:

"I think since people are living much longer ... the 22nd Amendment should probably be modified to say two consecutive terms instead of two terms for a lifetime..."

Posted to Politics at 04:56 PM | Comments (3)

Lonewacko gets results. Kinda.

A while back, I blogged about a newspaper article entitled "Hispanics get affordable car loans." As it turns out, they weren't talking about all Hispanics, but instead it concerned companies giving low-rate loans to illegal aliens. I sent off several emails and even a FAX to the AP editor in charge of the story suggesting that they make that clear.

Now, the same AP reporter (Peter Prengaman) has a new report entitled "Oregon Ponders Tuition Break to Undocumented Immigrants." I haven't exhaustingly read and compared the two articles, but the latest one appears to use the word "illegal" a few more times than the first story, and it does offer opinions such as "Opponents say the idea will only encourage illegal immigration." It doesn't, however, include a statement from, say, Mark Krikorian of FAIR, so perhaps my new campaign will be to send AP Krikorian's contact info.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

A new low in blogging?

Jaysus is Gawker feckless. It is completely sans feck.

This just in! Tom Friedman, who writes a column about the Mid East or maybe it's China or something, is a schlub.

Posted to Bloggage at 04:11 PM | Comments (0)

An in-person interview with Salam Pax

This report from Iraq purports to have an interview with the actual Salam Pax. [Free subscription required.] I didn't bother to subscribe, since I don't really give a fsck about Mr. Pax, I'm just passing it along.

Note that Salam Pax is supposedly working with Marla Ruzicka's CIVIC organization.

UPDATE: Actually, Tekka is not free, a subscription costs $50. I'll let a blogger who gives a fsck pay it instead.

Posted to Iraq at 02:06 PM | Comments (1)

HostingMatters is still down

Reports that Glenn is busy a-blogging away at instabackup.blogspot.com are inaccurate. I'm in charge of the blogosphere now.

Posted to Bloggage at 01:30 PM | Comments (0)

"Feds caving in to illegals?"

Here's a report on U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo's remarks on Matricula Consular cards:

The head of the congressional Immigration Reform Caucus has called on the Bush administration to investigate the Department of Treasury's endorsement of a semi-official identification card being issued by Mexican consulates in the United States...

"I am deeply troubled by the apparent acquiescence by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security in the Treasury Department's actions in failing to execute the Patriot Act," Tancredo said during a press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday [May 21 --lw].

Treasury's new regulations are set to take effect May 30 and include language that allows financial institutions to accept consular identification cards issued by foreign governments, including the Mexican matricula consular card...

"Since only illegal aliens would need to carry such cards for identification purposes, or need them to open bank accounts, the regulations indicate the Treasury Department is out of step with the American people and A.W.O.L. in the battle to stem the epidemic of illegal immigration," [Tancredo] said.

There's lots more, I'd suggest reading the whole thing.

See this post for Mexico's reaction to Tancredo's remarks.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 01:11 PM | Comments (1)

"CIA convinced truck-trailers held bioweapons labs"

According to this:

Two truck-trailers found in Iraq were "ingeniously simple" mobile biological weapons factories, with other as-yet-undiscovered trailers holding the end of the production chain, the CIA said on Wednesday.

No trace of biological weapons has been found in either of the trailers, but there is little question they were constructed to make such toxins as anthrax and botulinin in quantities that potentially could kill thousands of people, U.S. intelligence officials said in telephone conference called to discuss a new report by the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency.

"Our experts who are in the field right now ... have said this is an ingenious, unique and Iraqi design, not the way anyone else would have manufactured biological agent," one official said. "It's probably not how you would want to design a biological weapon. It was designed to evade inspection, not to be efficient."

Posted to Iraq at 12:31 PM | Comments (1)

Let's all go see Sid!

Sidney Blumenthal is speaking at the Los Angeles Central Library tonight. Scroll to the end of that page for reservation information; it's free.

I haven't received confirmation of my reservation yet; perhaps I'm on a VLWC blacklist or something.

UPDATE: My reservation has been confirmed.

UPDATE 2: My report is here.

Posted to Los_Angeles at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

I'm up!

>uptime
7:59PM up 85 days, 22:59

The rest of the blogosphere is currently unavailable due to a problem at HostingMatters, so I'll be taking over for them. Adjust your links accordingly.

Posted to Bloggage at 12:01 PM | Comments (0)

"American Woman Travels Door to Door to Count Iraqi Casualties"

From this ABC Nightline piece:

Marla Ruzicka, 26, from the San Francisco Bay Area, has been in Baghdad since the day Saddam's statue fell in the city center. She has been doing a headcount of the Iraqi injured and the dead. She's found more than she expected.

She has formed her own nonprofit organization, called the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, or CIVIC. She has organized 150 surveyors to fan out across Iraq. So far, they say they have documented 620 civilian deaths in Baghdad, 256 in Najaf, 425 in Karbala and as many as 1,100 in Nasiriyah. It is only a preliminary count.

"Somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 people died in this conflict," Ruzicka said...

Ruzicka does not represent the U.S. government. She's not affiliated with any big relief agency. She is a lone peace activist who has taken it upon herself to help the civilian victims of war...

The article goes on and on, heaping praise by the wheelbarrowful, finally ending with:

But while other aid agencies are still getting organized in Iraq, still tentatively working out the difficult security situation, Ruzicka is already out there, trying as much as one person can to help.

By the end, if you aren't willing to give her the Nobel Peace Prize, perhaps it's because her name sounds a bit familiar.

In fact, Marla Ruzicka was one of the NY Times' sources for civilian death statistics in Afghanistan:

When The New York Times ran a front-page report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan ("Flaws in U.S. Air War Left Hundreds of Civilians Dead"), bloggers descended on the article like ants on a picnic...

On his site, The Politburo [*], blogger Michael Moynihan noted that the Times' source for the toll of 812 dead was Marla Ruzicka, identified as a field worker in Afghanistan for Global Exchange, "an American organization." What the Times didn't say, Moynihan wrote, is that Global Exchange is a "far-left" group that opposes globalization and the U.S. military. Ruzicka, he said, is a fan of Fidel Castro's Cuba and the winner of an award from "the Marxist group Refuse and Resist..."

Marla may no longer be working for or with Global Exchange, but I'd think her past history and affiliations might be of interest to most of Nightline's readers. If you want to suggest something like that to Nightline, you can contact them from this page, and the article linked above contains the email addresses for the story's author and for Ruzicka.

Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 12:00 AM | Comments (14)

"Mexico's Terrified Tancredo-Bashing"

Here's a highly recommended article from an American living in Mexico, Allan Wall. Apparently U.S. Rep. Tancredo has some people a bit scared.

Despite (or perhaps because of) that, Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez is, to use the vernacular, pimping the U.S. to other countries:

Universal also reported that Derbez was even bold enough to make promises to immigrants in the U.S. from other countries besides Mexico:

"He [Derbez] pointed out that these actions could benefit migrants from other countries, 'because the law (U.S. law) will not be able to discriminate between migrants', and the U.S. government will not say: this is a law only for Mexican migrants."

Will anyone in the U.S. mind being "pimped" like this? Probably not, considering the lack of response to Mexico's foreign minister's statement from last year that Mexico was to begin "propagating militant activities" in the U.S.

Expect to see even more of this in the future: more lobbying of state and local officials by Mexican consuls, more attempts to get businesses and governments to accept the Matricula Consular card, more trying to get illegal immigrants a better tuition break than U.S. citizens.

And, expect more of the continuing series of pro-illegal-immigration editorials in papers throughout the U.S., perhaps with an anti-Tancredo slant.

Related to the last, this other article traces a series of editorial which appeared in 18 newspapers in November and December of last year.

The editorials are strikingly similar. The same talking points, the same call for a "migration accord," the same mentions of 9/11, NAFTA, etc. etc. Almost as if they're just different versions of the same editorial written by the same person, perhaps modified a bit for local consumption...

Yet, each editorial is bylined with the name of a local Mexican consular official. Interesting, no? Keep that in mind the next time you read a pro-illegal-immigration editorial in your favorite rag.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 11:25 PM | Comments (1)

More on the "safety" drones

As an update to the previous post, the January 1, 2003 article "Drones at Home: Big Market, Big Concerns" has more. Unfortunately, it's in their "TechNews" section, and almost all of the "Big Concerns" involve the safety of other aircraft, not the privacy issues. The only mention of privacy is this:

Already, some in Congress are beginning to consider the idea. "I have long supported the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) by the U.S. military, and I believe that the potential applications for this technology in the area of homeland defense are quite compelling," Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a prepared statement.

Warner called for a White House study on the use of drones by domestic federal agencies, acknowledging that there could also be privacy concerns -- drones are used by the military for surveillance in a way that might not be acceptable to American civilians at home. "We must . . . meet our national security needs without unduly sacrificing the privacy rights of our citizens," Warner said.

Posted to Privacy at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)

"Drone research looks at traffic applications"

Via Drudge comes this neato article in the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Pilotless planes, which the U.S. military has used to snoop out Iraqi tanks and assassinate an al-Qaida terrorist, will be tested in Ohio to see whether they can battle a more down-to-earth hazard: traffic jams.

Ohio transportation officials and university researchers believe that unmanned aerial vehicles, sometimes called drones or UAVs, hold promise as a way to keep an eye on traffic, route trucks and fix stoplights so traffic flows better...

"It's just mind-boggling what the possibilities are," said Sam Bonasso, who runs the Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration. It is overseeing the Ohio drone research.

Indeed. Heh.

Huh? Why didn't the Enquirer's reporter bother to insert a few contrary opinions in what reads like little more than a neato press release? Like, do we really want a bunch of UAVs flying overhead watching traffic patterns, people and cars moving in and out of various stores and locations, recording license plates (for our safety), recording where we go and what we do (for our safety)?

On the border, the drones are a good idea. Not so in the interior of the U.S.

Unfortunately, what will probably happen is that the drone's use in the interior will be approved with barely a whisper of discontent, while their use on the borders will be blocked after having been assailed by the usual suspects.

Posted to Privacy at 11:56 PM | Comments (0)

Is your "date" really a transsexual?

If you want to find out whether that "lady" you just picked up has a "secret," take this quiz.

Posted to WackyHumor at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)

"Which This Old House character are you?"

I just created my first online quiz, and I'd like you to take it!

It's called "Which This Old House character are you?"

Here are the bios for the This Old House characters.

Posted to WackyHumor at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)

"Seperate [sic] ceremony honors European-American graduates the night before main graduation"

Yet another article from the DailyTrojan, this one about a graduation ceremony:

On May 15, the night before USC's main commencement, a more intimate ceremony took place to celebrate the achievements of some European-American students.

More than 180 people walked at the 25th annual European-American graduation, said Cindy Schnitzel-Gruber, co-chair of the graduation planning committee. Undergraduates, graduates and doctorates all participated...

Parts of the ceremony, organized by the Indo-European Assembly, were conducted in French, German, Russian, Italian, Gaelic and Norwegian, while the rest was in English.

Joanna Hill, who received degrees in political science and sociology, was one of many students who said they preferred the European-American graduation to the main commencement ceremonies.

"All my friends are in this, and it's easier for my family to attend this one," Hill said. "This is the one that means more to me, this is the one I'm excited about."

Jessica von Stuebung, who graduated with degrees in psychology and sociology, agreed.

"It's more personal and intimate," von Stuebung said...

Before the speakers began, two dance groups, Hansa der Tanzen and Ye Beowulfen, blessed the ceremony through traditional dances.

Graduate Priscilla J. O'Reilly was selected to lead the procession and hold the Cultural Staff. The staff is covered with runes and is carried by a member of the European-American Honor Society who has demonstrated exceptional involvement and leadership, said Raquel Galliano, director of I Centro Italiano.

O'Reilly was also selected to be a speaker at the ceremony, during which she noted that just over one quarter of European-Americans graduate from college...

In addition to the ceremony for European-American students, the Asian Graduation Committee and the Center for Asian Cultural and Student Affairs held a separate graduation ceremony for Asian-American students.

The DailyTrojan's report is here, and my comments on other European-American graduation ceremonies are here.

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 01:27 PM | Comments (0)

McDonald's new "Please don't sue us" menu

I recently tried one of McDonald's new McVeggie burgers. It wasn't so bad. It's loaded with non-hot spices, which are almost as addictive as their fries. Nutritionally, it seems OK as well, except for a large amount of sodium. It certainly has a fair amount of protein, about 21g if memory serves.

I was going to post about how this new menu and the accompaning display were designed to give their patrons a "choice." As in:

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, our restaurants clearly gave Joe Schlub a choice between our healthy menu and our ticking-time-bomb menu. He made his choice, and I'd suggest you keep that in mind when determining whether to award him the $23 billion he's asking for.

Unfortunately, the DailyTrojan beat me to this observation. Beaten out by a snot-nosed Spoiled Child.

Posted to WackyHumor at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)

"Factions of American-Indian tribe fight for gaming rights in Los Angeles"

The DailyTrojan has details on the fight betweens bands of the Gabrieleno Indians.

However, that article fails to mention the Angelino Indians' plan to build a casino in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.

Posted to WackyHumor at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

Shawn Steel gets a belated correction

According to this:

Student journalists at the University of Southern California have backed off, ever so slightly, from an April 14 report on former California Republican Party Chairman Shawn Steel's supposedly anti-Islam remarks at a campus rally. Steel was quoted as saying that Islam "has a cancer growing inside it, which hates Jews, hates freedom and hates Western society. ... The disease of Islam must be rectified. It's kill or be killed."

In a clarification published Wednesday [apparently not available online yet --lw], the Daily Trojan newspaper said Steel's notes indicated that his remarks were directed at "an extremist faction within Islam and not Islam itself."

Blake Hennon, summer editor of the newspaper, said there was no tape recording of the remarks, but that he was "inclined to believe Steel on that point."

The episode had GOP leaders rushing to separate themselves from their outspoken former chairman. The new GOP boss, Palo Alto attorney Duf Sundheim, met with the Council on American-Islamic Relations to smooth things over.

Great way to smooth things over. For the truth about "mainstream" organizations like CAIR, see Salon's "Islam's Flawed Spokesman" report. According to this, the gent who drafted CAIR's first letter of condemnation has this to say: "He insists that Islam has a disease, and that is extremely offensive."

I knew from the start what Steel meant, and I think anyone with the ability to read headlines knows he's correct. However, several "liberal" bloggers gleefully took his remarks out of context. I'm sure they'll be all over the DailyTrojan's correction. Just you wait.

Posted to Terrorism at 12:41 PM | Comments (2)

Gray Davis, running scared

According to this:

the Davis administration will announce that Steve Smith will leave his government post as secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency to work on anti-recall activities.

Smith is no ordinary bureaucrat chipping in for the cause. He is one of Davis' few longtime political allies -- a top adviser who played integral roles in the 1998 gubernatorial campaign and the 2002 re-election effort. He's one of the guys on those morning conference calls that include the governor, political adviser Garry South and pollster Paul Maslin.

That column has an even more interesting bit about Shawn Steel's "anti-Islam" remarks; see the next post.

Posted to California at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)

My brushes with celebrities

Inspired by this post, here's a partial list of my brushes with celebrities:

I saw and took pics of Kiefer Sutherland while he was shooting 24 in Griffith Park, but I didn't speak with him.

I yelled rude references to Mark Spitz once.

I briefly did some web work some years ago for a callgirl who (I think) was in Playboy's "Women of the Web" issue. I did the work at her home office. "Would you mind ducking behind this screen for a minute while I show this gentleman in?"

I spoke briefly with Shelley Morrison from Will & Grace and took her pic at a "peace" protest. At the time, I had no idea who she was; lots of people say they're on TV, but I guess she was telling the truth. That page also includes a pic of a KNBC reporter.

I spoke briefly with Christina Gonzalez at another "peace" protest. On TV she looks OK, but in person she's, as the kids say, PHAT.

I saw Louie Anderson at the 7-11 on 3rd and Hauser some years ago; he was cordial.

On the other hand, at the 7-11 on Vine and Beverly, Larry McCormick grunted or something when I said hi to him. Asshole.

I've met Melrose Larry Green a few times; do that count?

I ran into John "Butt Man" Stagliano at an undisclosed location some years ago.

I met Wolf Savage while he was waiting for a bus in Culver City. He's funny.

I met Luke Ford at the bloggers' AFI party a while back. Somehow, I don't think he's going to be the conduit I need to meet Gina Ryder.

A friend's girlfriend was the daughter of the guy who was the truck driver in T2 (or maybe it was just T). I met him. The friend went on to play some action figure at amusement parks and pitch a movie about paintball.

I briefly spoke with KTLA's Walter Richards at the El Pollo Loco on Figueroa near USC a few days ago.

I met the Reverend Ike's "business manager." Together with her limo driver and her dog.

I saw but didn't speak with Lily Tomlin.

I saw (deep inside) Annie Sprinkle and then briefly spoke with her afterwards.

I spoke with Phranc a few times; she's nice.

Some years ago, Sinbad and I went to the same private gym. We worked out alongside each other once, but, out of respect for his great talent, I didn't try to speak with him.

And, last but by no means least, at the cleanup after the L.A. "insurrection/uprising," I was waiting at the shopping center at Washington and Central (?) for them to assemble a crew who were going to sit in the back of my truck to go do the work that others should have done...

Anyway, certainly my greatest celebrity brush was when Edward James Olmos hugged me.

Before you get the wrong idea, it was a manly, macho hug.

Posted to Celebrities at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)

Blogger ends "Death Fast"

Gene Chapman, the blogger who was 40 days into a "Death Fast" in protest of the IRS, has called off the fast. This blog's previous post linked to this backgrounder:

He says he's entered the "death zone" – that period when he expects to succumb to the effects of his multi-week hunger protest.

Thirty-six-year-old Gene Chapman hasn't eaten since tax day, April 15. The Texas man, who early on spent hours each day sitting across the street from the Austin IRS office, vows to die of starvation unless he receives what he considers an adequate answer to one question: "Where is my tax liability in the law?"

Posted to Politics at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)

Welcome Walter Richards!

Earlier tonight, KTLA's Walter Richards was lucky enough to chance upon the Lonewacko himself in the parking lot of the El Pollo Loco on Figueroa near USC. He had just finished shooting a story on the MTA fare hike. They had shot elsewhere, but were currently beaming their report back to Hal Fishman Center.

I brought up the subject of the BRU flyer which I covered here yesterday, and asked him whether he thought the fare hike was racist as the flyer claimed; he stated his opinion didn't matter, being a reporter and all. I gave him this URL, and suggested he check it out. Whether he will or not, I don't know. But, in case you the reader are Walter Richards, welcome, and my discussion of the flyer is here.

UPDATE: Walter didn't mention my blog in his live report. He actually referred to the BRU as "fearless;" somehow I can think of better adjectives, none favorable. And, their race baiting and attempt to heckle the MTA board was ineffective as well; perhaps next time they should try for a bit of logic and real-world analysis of the issues.

Posted to Los_Angeles at 08:08 PM | Comments (0)

[cue peppy music] LifeLog! LifeLog!

LifeLog is a great new program that helps you remember all the important events of your life! And, it will also fight terrorism! Try LifeLog! LifeLog will change your life!

[cue peppy music and distracting happy scenes and animation.]

LifeLog!

Posted to Privacy at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)

"Unmanned drones may patrol borders"

According to this:

Unmanned aerial drones similar to ones used in the war on Iraq could be patrolling the U.S. border by the end of the year to help stem illegal immigration and increase security, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday.

Glenn Spencer's American Border Patrol recently ran a test using their own drone:

This month, Spencer launched a small, unmanned spy plane that includes cameras and a global positioning system to help him and other members of a private group called American Border Patrol identify illegal immigrants who try to slip into the USA across Arizona's vast desert.

Spencer says the $20,000 drone, which has a wingspan of 6 feet and still is being tested, will take off when one of dozens of ground sensors placed along the border detect foot traffic. The drone then will take photographs that will be relayed to U.S. authorities...

"Maybe I am a vigilante. I don't know," [a local rancher] says. "I'm not a racist. I'm an American citizen. If people could see from my perspective how the border is so unprotected. ... Everyone who loves this country ought to be doing something about it."

Although civil rights groups and some officials in the region have expressed concern about the government's acceptance of citizen patrols, Mario Villarreal, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, says U.S. officials have openly sought help from local ranchers. He says the ranches have been urged to report suspicious activity, and to give U.S. agents access to their properties...

Mexico has "no official position," on the drone, says Miguel Escobar, Mexico's consul in Douglas, Ariz. But "I don't think anybody is very happy about it..."

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., has asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate the private patrol groups, and says U.S. officials should do more to disassociate the government from such groups. "Every time the government accepts something from these groups" Grijalva says, "we further embolden them and give them credibility."

Expect the shrill, alarmist calls of racism and the like now endured by the private drone to be repeated with even greater force against the public drone. Pro-illegal-immigration groups - all of whom will be described as "human rights" or "immigrant rights" groups in media reports - will launch a broadside against the drone. They'll be joined by the Mexican government and corrupt U.S. politicians. As for Grijalva, he's a former member of Mecha; perhaps he's the one who should be investigated.

Hopefully Ridge et al will be able to withstand their assault and make this work.

As to why no one in the Mexican government would be happy with the drones, perhaps it's because its use runs counter to their strategy.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 03:06 PM | Comments (0)

Pictures from the L.A. River Ride on May 18, 2003

Pictures from the Ride are here. "Damn roadies" is meant in good humor, and reflects the fact that I didn't see anyone else on a mountain bike like I was. The ariding shot was taken by strapping my camera bag to my chest; while riding I took the camera out and took a few shots. I was a little uncomfortable with that arrangement, so I stopped for the rest of the shots. I wish I'd gotten better shots, but a) there weren't an awful lot of riders, and b) I was for the most part concentrating on getting to the LBC. Last year's pics are here.

Posted to OutdoorSports at 01:10 AM | Comments (1)

STOP the Racist Fare Hikes!

While getting ready to take the Blue Line after doing the River Ride, I noticed the above flyer posted all over the Long Beach station. It's from the wonderful people at the Bus Rider's Union.

Apparently, later today (Thursday 5/22), the L.A. MTA will be voting to raise the price of a monthly bus pass from $42 to $52 and to eliminate $.90 tokens and paper transfers. I'm taking this information off the flyer, I don't have any more information, nor can I be bothered to look for it.

What concerns me about this flyer is the overt race-baiting. Just because a fare hike might have a disproportionate impact on Bus Riders of Color doesn't make it racist. The flyer itself implicitly says that it will affect People of Pallor as well: "A yes vote will force many Black, Latino, Asian and working class riders to choose between food, rent..."

I guess the phrase "working class" includes not just the fair number of People of Pallor who ride the bus, but also Pacific Islanders, American-Indians, Middle-Easterners, Australian Aborigines, Inuits, and all the rest. But, bringing up the subject of the People of Pallor who would be affected by the fare hike would blunt both their attempts at getting white liberal guilt and anti-white sentiment, so I guess we can see why they left it off. Viva la revolucion, comrades.

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 12:12 AM | Comments (1)

"Plan to Capture Bin Laden Before 9/11 Was Called Off"

From this:

The FBI made secret plans to capture and arrest Osama bin Laden five years ago... federal agents seeking bin Laden had developed a plan to have a plane fly in and attack a compound in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where the terror leader was believed to have been holed up back in 1998...

But when the plan went up the chain of command for approval, it was killed by then-Attorney General Janet Reno.

"They came to the decision that this plan was probably too dangerous, that the loss of life on the ground would have been significant," Cloonan said. There was concern that people around the bin Laden compound would be killed."

Hmmm, killing people at compounds didn't seem to be a problem in other cases...

(via Croooow)

UPDATE: Hold the phone: according to "Reno Blamed for Clinton's Decision Not to Attack Bin Laden":

Former Attorney General Janet Reno is being wrongly blamed for ex-President Clinton's decision not to bomb Osama bin Laden's compound in Khandahar, Afghanistan, and the ex-president is apparently willing to let her take the fall... [speech from last year in which Clintion admits it was he who made the decision not to arrest OBL.

Posted to Terrorism at 08:26 PM | Comments (3)

"[CA] monitored war protesters"

"State monitored war protesters: Intelligence agency does not distinguish between terrorism and peace activism" describes a CA state agency that collects information on terrorist and "terrorist" groups. It includes plenty of damning quotes:

"You can make an easy kind of a link that, if you have a protest group protesting a war where the cause that's being fought against is international terrorism, you might have terrorism at that (protest)," said Van Winkle, of the state Justice Department. "You can almost argue that a protest against that is a terrorist act..."

...Said Van Winkle: "I've heard terrorism described as anything that is violent or has an economic impact, and shutting down a port certainly would have some economic impact. Terrorism isn't just bombs going off and killing people."

The ACLU is on the case. Oh, by the way:

In fact, [the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center] -- touted as a national model for intelligence sharing and a centerpiece of Gov. Gray Davis and Attorney General Bill Lockyer's 2002 re-election bids

(via Hit and Run)

Posted to California at 08:16 PM | Comments (0)

'I don't know what an illegal alien is'

Here's an oldie-but-goodie from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It describes a meeting between the paper's Vin Suprynowicz and a group of pro-illegal-immigration activists.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 08:10 PM | Comments (0)

"Macy's Hit With $100M Discrimination Suit"

[UPDATE: The first link doesn't work. There are later reports here and here.]

According to this:

Sharon Simmons-Thomas, 40, said she was leaving the [a NYC Macy's store] with Christmas presents Dec. 17 when she was hauled into a detention room and accused of shoplifting by Macy's security guards because she is black.

Simmons-Thomas, a legal assistant, said she was singled out by plainclothes guards and, despite producing receipts, detained for an hour while she was searched, accused of stealing and forced to sign a confession.

At a news conference outside Macy's at Herald Square on 34th Street, Simmons-Thomas and her lawyers said they want to stop Macy's and its parent company, Federated Department Stores, from falsely accusing other black customers of shoplifting.

I'm sure she was detained by security. They might also have their side of the story concerning why she was selected. The complaint makes various allegations relating to mistreatment, and, once again, the security guards might have acted as described, or they might not have.

What makes me suspicious, however, are a few of those pesky facts things.

First, she signed a confession despite being a legal assistant, that is, in a position one would think to know better than to sign a false confession. I mean, many legal assistants know a fair bit about legal matters. Especially if she's been doing it for a while, she's probably heard what to do and what not to do. She's probably heard, typed, or read plenty of horror stories giving object lessons.

And, she just let them haul her off to a detention cell without demanding to speak to the police. In fact, after being released by store security, she passed by two NYPD officers and apparently didn't discuss what had just happened.

And, what also makes her case weak is the interminable race-baiting in the complaint:

"12. Prior to the discriminatory, humiliating and harassing conduct described below, Ms. Thomas was a loyal, long-time customer of Macy’s..."

Why wasn't she stopped on previous occasions, if they only selected her this time because of her race?

"Ms. Thomas walked up a set of stairs leading from “The Cellar” to the main shopping floor and approached one of the store exits. At that time, she was stopped by two plainclothes security guards, an Hispanic male and an Hispanic female... The security guards walked Ms. Thomas to a set of stairs to the balcony, where they were joined by another plainclothes security guard, an Hispanic male..."

But, aren't People of Color supposed to stick together? Not when they're Tools of The Man.

"37. She was falsely imprisoned in this detention area against her will for well over one hour. Throughout her false imprisonment, Ms. Thomas saw only African-American or non-white detainees or prisoners in the detention area. She never saw any white detainees or prisoners.

38. Specifically, Ms. Thomas observed that there was an African-American male and another dark-skinned male who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent in one of the holding cells in the detention area, and that a teenage Hispanic girl was being held in another cell. There was also another African-American female prisoner who was handcuffed to a bench in the detention area."

So, in other words, Macy's needs to diversify its detention cells.

"40. Rather, the security guards stripped Ms. Thomas of all of her dignity and treated her as if she, as an African-American, had no rights that they were bound to respect..."

Wow, quite a bit of mind-reading there.

"[various threats and profanities ensued, all perpetrated by non-African-Americans] As this threat was made, five non-African-American security guards began to closely surround Ms. Thomas in an intimidating manner...

It was clear that Ramos found it hard to believe that Ms. Thomas, as an African American, could be employed at such a prestigious law firm."

Whence followed several more instances of intimidation, which were done despite knowing that she worked at a prestigious law firm. Can any group of rent-a-cops be that stupid? (The answer is probably no.)

"Rather, each one of the security guards she encountered that night, not one of whom was African-American, summarily presumed her to be guilty of shoplifting because she was black."

More excellent mind-reading.

"As she walked out of Macy’s, Ms. Thomas saw two uniformed NYPD officers enter the store"

Then would have been a good time to complain about what she had just supposedly gone through. Why didn't she?

The events might have happened somewhat as she described, minus the interminable race-baiting. But, one would need to hear from others of her class, and interview the 8 or more security guards involved.

I think in addition to a lawyer, she needs a shrink to help her deal with her persecution complex.

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 01:07 AM | Comments (3)

"Fasting [blogger] enters 'death zone'"

According to this:

He says he's entered the "death zone" – that period when he expects to succumb to the effects of his multi-week hunger protest.

Thirty-six-year-old Gene Chapman hasn't eaten since tax day, April 15. The Texas man, who early on spent hours each day sitting across the street from the Austin IRS office, vows to die of starvation unless he receives what he considers an adequate answer to one question: "Where is my tax liability in the law?"

What makes this especially interesting is that he's a blogger. His blog has the full story, including a letter he received from the IRS.

Posted to Politics at 12:52 AM | Comments (1)

Shouldn't we have done this before?

From Drudge comes "U.S. Asks Experts to Survey Iraqi Labs":

The United States is inviting a group of international experts to inspect two mobile labs suspected of being used by Iraq as biological weapons facilities... Outside confirmation could help legitimize one of the Bush administration's main reasons for going to war.

Well, duh. What many in the administration and many of my fellow righties fail to understand that it's not enough to just believe that those Cheezy Wacky O's you're selling are the best snack food since sliced bread, you need to make other people understand that as well.

And, you need to do that before the Crunchy Corn Thing-O's people have already tied up the market.

In other words, we should have had this team ready to go, and we should have used the presence of the team to call people's bluffs well before the 'There's no WMDs in Iraq' meme had oozed itself across the blogosphere as well as "reputable" journalism. We were going to find WMDs in Iraq, and we will find more in the future. Now, we need to turn back the tide with any confirming reports.

Posted to Iraq at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)

BBC- and Sheer-bashing in one convenient post

Insty has several links concerning the Beeb's apparently fake charges involving the Jessica Lynch rescue. Robert Scheer takes a bashing along with the Beeb.

Posted to Iraq at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)

Ladies and Germs, Melrose Larry Green!

Funnyman, sign-waver, and general all-around fellow wacko Melrose Larry Green is selling autographed signs. He's also writing a column for NewsMax.

Somewhere around here I have a Melrose Larry Green For Mayor sign that Mr. Green personally gave me. Unfortunately, it's unautographed, but maybe for $9.95 he'd turn it into a true collector's item.

Posted to Celebrities at 04:12 PM | Comments (0)

"Victoria Tragedy Prompts Call for Open Borders"

From this:

Union, Latino, and immigrant rights groups charged today that the U.S. government's 'broken' immigration policies are to blame for the death of 19 immigrants near Victoria Texas last week, and vowed to lobby Congress and the White House for changes.

First, I don't think it was this incident that prompted their call; pro-illegal-immigration groups like these are continually calling for open borders. So, it's more like they're just taking advantage of a tragedy. Not like that hasn't been tried before, in that case by the S.F. Chronical.

The article does use the phrase "illegal immigrants" a few times rather than other euphemisms more common in other articles.

It also mentions that the immigrants are coming here "because U.S. corporations hire them to perform jobs citizens refuse to do."

Well, perhaps instead of opening the borders, we should do something about those illegal-immigration-supporting corporations? Further, FAIR quite capably answers that canard here:

There are no jobs Americans won’t do, only conditions and wages that are unacceptable. The employers who have become economically dependent on immigrants for cheap labor use this argument to justify virtual indentured servitude and then try to shame Americans into accepting it. Job competition by waves of new immigrants depresses the wages and salaries of American workers and hits hardest at minority workers and those without high school degrees.

The article also quotes a pro-illegal-immigration member of the UFW. Perhaps he'd like to look into the history of his own organization; Cesar Chavez was opposed to illegal immigration.

Of course, if we're going to have open borders, does that mean that, say, 10 million U.S. citizens could move to Mexico, buy up property, open shopping malls, start TV stations, vote, and the like? Somehow I don't think so. Apparently, open borders only work one way.

Posted to Immigration2003 at 11:40 PM | Comments (0)

No wonder he writes 5000-word posts

Somehow, I got to this photography site, which contains a link to his patent. His patent in turn links to the patent of the blogosphere's own Steven Den Beste. Small world, innit?

Posted to WackyHumor at 11:27 PM | Comments (0)

Now that's a spinner

My Benazir Bhutto obsession has now been replaced with a Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo obsession. Don't get the operation, I like you just the way you are.

As linked to by Drudge, the shot is from a Formal State Dinner. While the regal pomp makes me a bit sick, Bush has only held three such dinners so far, a much smaller number than his predecessors. That's a good thing, even if it might be just a cheap ploy. And, it's probably a lot better than the state dinners under Bubba, what with the silverware-stealing and all.

Posted to WackyHumor at 10:01 PM | Comments (1)

"How to Argue Like A Lefty in a Weblog Comments Board"

It's funny because it's true!

Posted to WackyHumor at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

Welcome to the Lonewacko movement

A while back, I sent an email to an OB (see the previous entry) in which I listed a few of the things I found wrong with our Iraq efforts. He hasn't written much about similar topics - too busy with the Blair scandal and welfare reform I guess - but it's good to see that a few other non-lefties are finally starting to pay attention to our problems. HereticalIdeas has a post here, and Hit & Run has one here.

My issues involve: failing to shut down Iraqi TV and provide a substitute, failing to stop looting of not just the museums and the libraries but the Mukhabarat files and nuclear materials, too few number of Arabic speakers, and a general Rumsfeldian disregard for hearts, minds, and other touchy-feely things that most people actually seem to care a bit about.

Welcome to the movement.

Posted to Iraq at 02:26 PM | Comments (0)

"OB"

"OB" stands for "original blogger." I coined that term as well.

Posted to Bloggage at 02:20 PM | Comments (0)

"If I didn't do it, someone else would do it."

Drudge links to the article "Pentagon System Hopes to Identify Walks":

The Pentagon is developing a radar-based device that can identify people by the way they walk, for use in a new antiterrorist surveillance system.

Operating on the theory that an individual's walk is as unique as a signature, the Pentagon has financed a research project at the Georgia Institute of Technology that has been 80 to 95 percent successful in identifying people.

It contains this defensive quote from the researcher doing the study:

"We are research and development people. We think about what's possible, not what the government will do with it. That's somebody else's job. And this isn't a weapons system."

Posted to Privacy at 02:19 PM | Comments (0)

Iroda's back!

Iroda! You're back!
Yes, Krees. Kak dela?
Ochen' khorosho. Just a bit tired. Where have you been?
I have been acting as secret agent for Uzbekistan government in Iraq.
That's quite interesting. I'm sure the long-time reader of this blog may remember our various imaginary conversations from way back when.
If not, there's always google. What have you been up to?
Well, Iroda, I just got back from the L.A. River.
Oh, so you took the River Ride as promised. How did it go?
Well, I didn't get much sleep, and I got a late start, so I didn't get to Griffith Park til after 9AM. There didn't seem to be too many people there, so I decided to go off on my own and just take pictures of the riders, in attempt to get better pictures than last year. Like Ansel Adams carrying his large format up hill and dale, I had my Minolta digicam and a tripod in my backpack. I wasn't intending to go very far, just down the river a bit. All I had with me water-wise was 1L, and I didn't bring any food.
So, why didn't you join the ride?
I guess I just didn't feel like it.
Krees, I know you. You're tighter than a [example deleted]. It was the $35, right?
Well, that would have been a donation to a worthy cause and all, but, then again, why should I pay $35 to do something I've done dozens of times for free?
But, it was a donation?
But, the $35 just screamed at me No! No! No! I like it much better right here in your pocket!
Wow. So, what happened?
Well, I biked all the way down to the River Center near downtown. Then, summit fever gripped me. Or, in this case, estuary fever. I tried to join the Ride, but they didn't have any of the handouts. And, the other riders had left there an hour earlier. So, I just decided to set off on my own, making up my own route. I knew approximately where the entrance to the River was in Vernon, and I headed across downtown and its eastern edges. I made the river, and eventually got to LB. Because, as I said, I only got a couple hours of sleep, I was a bit wore out, so I took the train back.
So, you just hopped aboard the LA Bike Coalition's ride, pretending to be a paid rider?
It wasn't like that. All I took from their Paramount rest stop was a power bar and .5L of water. I didn't even get a frigging T-Shirt.
Serves you right for being so cheap!
Now, Iroda! I was a volunteer last year, and, provided they give me my T-shirt, I might volunteer, or slip them a few bucks.
Goodnight, Krees!
Nighty-night, Iroda!

Posted to OutdoorSports at 05:53 PM | Comments (0)

Is MRAP like A.N.S.W.E.R.?

Brigitte Bardot is taking heat for various comments in her recent book. For instance:

"I am against the Islamisation of France. For centuries . . . our fathers gave their lives to chase all successive invaders from France."

I consider that not just historically accurate (more or less, in the larger Europeans against Invaders from the East sense...), but a perfect valid opinion, and one with which I agree.

So, who's doing the complaining? "The antiracist group MRAP and the Human Rights League," presumably among others.

MRAP's home page is here. They say they work with the Human Rights League. Much like A.N.S.W.E.R. works with NION. They want to Free Mumia! as well. They are (or were) against the Iraq war.

This page says: "[MRAP,] close to the Communist Party, is led by Mouloud Aounit..." They've even got a creepy kid's magazine. ("The Little Red Non-Royal Proletariat Prince?" --ed.)

They tried to ban an Oriana Fallaci book that said similar things as the Bardot book.

According to this backgrounder on Muslim politics in France, Aouni is an Algerian.

Here's MRAP's condemnation of her book. They compare it to Third Reich propaganda, say "Because racism is not an opinion but a crime," suggest a boycott by booksellers, etc.

MRAP and Aounit are mentioned in the Weekly Standard here and here, and not in a good light.

Perhaps someone who's either read the book or who knows more about MRAP's deeper connections might want to comment, but for now I'm going to assume that MRAP and A.N.S.W.E.R. are fellow travelers.

UPDATE: In answer to the first comment, apparently MRAP was not a plaintiff in the suit against French author Michel Houellebecq. In fact, MRAP's friend organization the Human Rights League, while originally backing the suit, backed off "when the plaintiffs cited nasty comments about Muslims by characters in Houellebecq's most recent novel, "Platform," as evidence of his criminal intent..."

Also, this page is a bit out-of-date, but it has a lot of information on the "new and improved" France.

Posted to ThePeaceMovement at 01:16 PM | Comments (1)

"Who Framed John Fund?"

I'm back from the L.A. Rock Gym. I hadn't been there for a while, but I need to go there more often in the future. I broke off a hold, but it was probably already cracked. What's that you say? You, my bloggees, aren't following my every move with the same baited breath as which you follow the various peregrinations and perambulations of Reynolds, et al?

Anyhoo, Insty's still blogging up a storm - or should I say, in a storm - and he points to this interesting Eric Alterman piece exonerating John Fund from the WSJ.

I'd also like to say something here about the L.A. Lakers. I'm a very big fan of the Lakers. I think they're the best team ever! The Lakers rock, the other teams, well, you know the rest! Why, I even have several nice Lakers flags which I have attached to the outside of my vehicle in order to let the rest of my "homies" know that I'm down with the silver and black. Or, is that gold and purple. Or something. In any case, this is truly a sad sad day. I am very sorry not just for the Lakers, but for Los Angeles, for California, and for the whole entirety of humanity. I think I'm just going to spend the next few days engaged in solitary reflection. Was it something that I did? Did I not fully support the Lakers in some way? Would one more flag attached to my phat ride have helped?

Posted to Celebrities at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)

Who does he think he is, Dan Rather?

Instapundit is blogging despite having a tornado go through his area and having the power go out. However, since more are expected, he doesn't think he's going to keep blogging. Quitter.

Posted to Bloggage at 04:24 PM | Comments (0)

3rd Annual L.A. River Ride: Sunday May 18

The Los Angeles River Bike Ride is this Sunday. There are three routes: a Kid's Ride, a 15 Mile Family Ride, and a 70 Mile River Ride. The last ride goes from Griffith Park to Long Beach and back; about 2/3 of the route is along the river. I might do that, although I don't know if I'll do the whole thing. I'll also probably bring my camera with me. I might take the train back

Posted to OutdoorSports at 11:46 PM | Comments (0)

Total lunar eclipse, May 15

There's a total lunar eclipse on Thursday. Telescopes will be set up in Griffith Park, and this page has the details as well as a nice graphic showing when the moon will be in various stages.

Posted to Miscellania at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)

What a bunch of whiners

Nightline just had a segment on the "hardships" that two families in Baghdad are having to endure.

The first was a lower-middle or working class family of seven who spent most of the day in their two-room apartment. They were afraid to go outside. One member said that under Saddam, they could leave their door open, and if they needed help, they'd just call for the cops and they'd come running.

The other was an upper-middle class family, the pater familias of which was a retired military officer. They had no cooking gas, so they were forced to cook over a small diesel campstove.

The ABC reporter didn't ask them, like, there's at least no more death squads, now are there? It probably wouldn't have done much good, as both families might be planted with Ba'ath party connections.

In any case, get a fucking grip and stop whining.

Posted to Iraq at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)

A scam torn from today's headlines

Received via email:

Dear Sir,

I have made this contact to you with the hope that you can help me out in this my dilemma / problem. I was the personal aide to the Iraqi minister of education and research. Dr Abd Al khaliq Gafar. That died in the war. Before the war, we had traveled to France to negotiate a contract payment deal on behalf of the Iraqi government on procurement and payment of educational materials and components for the ministry, which entailed him to pay off our customers by cash for onward delivery of the goods via Turkey...

Now that he is Dead and I was able to escape to Egypt for safety on political asylum... [I need you help to get the 28.5 MILLION AMERICAN DOLLARS that he purloined...]

...

I await you immediate response.

Remain Blessed.

Regards
El - Mustapha .

Posted to WackyHumor at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)

Now you know how this blog got its name

This online personality test of your "Empathy Quotient" says that those with Asperger's syndrome score around 20; on average, men score 42 and women 47. I scored 14.

On the "Systemizing Quotient," on average women score 24 and men 30. I scored 59, also putting me in the Asperger's range.

Link via Moira Breen, whose scores are similar to mine. Got a pic, baby?

Posted to WackyHumor at 12:11 PM | Comments (1)

More wacky signs

Here are three more entries for the wacky sign meme:

Posted to WackyHumor at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

Tim Robbins, distinguished alumnus

The UCLA Alumni Association has selected anti-warrior Tim Robbins to receive their "Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year: This award has been bestowed annually since 1946 upon a distinguished son or daughter of UCLA in recognition of exceptional merit."

In the words of Regent Dickson, the recipient is to be an individual who has rendered "a special and outstanding service to UCLA; or who, by personal achievement, has brought great honor and distinction to the University."

That certainly describes Tim.

The awards will be presented on Saturday, May 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the UCLA Hammer Museum. Linda Alvarez will be presenting the award. It says she graduated in '63, which I find surprising. Even if that's not a typo, I'd like to give her an "award."

Posted to Celebrities at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)

"UC Berkeley benefactors tied to 9-11"

According to this:

The University of California at Berkeley's Center for Middle Eastern Studies runs two programs funded by groups and individuals the U.S. State Department links to terrorism, according to a campus student magazine...

In addition to his role as deputy prime minister and minister of defense, Al Saud chairs the government's Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, which reviews and grants requests from Islamic organizations. Under Al Saud's leadership, the kingdom has funded organizations the U.S. and U.N. tie to terror, including the International Islamic Relief Organization, al-Haramain, Muslim World League and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth.

The International Islamic Relief Organization, or IIRO, has been implicated in the funding of al-Qaida and the Palestinian terror groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The organization is led by Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, Mohammed Khalifa, considered a major terror leader by the U.S.

The IIRO also has been tied to the 1993 World Trade Center Bombings, a plan to destroy New York's Lincoln Tunnel and Brooklyn Bridge, and plots to assassinate former President Clinton and the pope...

The principal benefactor of UC Berkeley's Al-Falah program is Xenel's CEO Abdullah Alireza, who is on the executive board of Dar al-Maal-Islami, a bank managed by Osama bin Laden's brother and acknowledged by the U.N. as a supporter of terrorism.

See also "Officials Deny Allegations of Center's Link With Terrorism"

Posted to Terrorism at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)

Wacky signs

Here are my entries for the wacky sign meme:

(Buster Gonad is a character from Viz Comic. He has unfeasibly large testicles. Here's his real-life counterpart. [That last link is NOT work-safe and it might harm those with weak constitutions.])

Posted to WackyHumor at 05:44 PM | Comments (0)

Did Bill Bennett really lose $8 million?

Apparently not, as this MSNBC interview shows:

SCARBOROUGH: OK, did he lose $8 million, though? He reported $8 million in losses, but is it minus $8 million?

GREEN: No, no, let's be real clear about that. No, no, let's be clear about that. That is net loss more than $1 million. These gambling records that we've got, they show losses, they show wins. He hit plenty of jackpots, $10,000, $15,000, $40,000, up to $80,000 jackpots. The problem is, is, he'd turn around and he would play them right back.

In other words, about $100,000 per year. Small change to some. While it doesn't change the underlying issues that much, it certainly makes it look less like he's a compulsive gamer. To their credit, several leftie blogs are now printing this story. Just search for them, you'll find them.

Posted to Politics at 03:39 PM | Comments (0)

"U.S. Deports Saudi Envoy Living in [L.A.] Calif."

From this:

U.S. authorities expelled a Saudi consular official and Muslim leader who had been living in Southern California, saying he was suspected of having terrorist links.

Fahad al Thumairy, 32, was detained at Los Angeles International Airport earlier in the week after arriving from Frankfurt and was deported Thursday...

Al Thumairy's diplomatic visa was revoked in March, and his name was added to a list of travelers who should not be allowed to enter the United States because of suspected links to terrorism. Officials would not immediately provide details on the alleged connection...

He was also the imam at the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, which has one of the largest Muslim congregations in the region. The mosque, built with financing from the Saudi government...

A google search of fahd/fahad al thumairy/thumairi comes up empty.

Posted to TheSaudis at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)

"The Colossal Colon is coming to Los Angeles, Calif.!"

The Colossal Colon Tour is free to the public!

When
Wednesday, June 18, 2003 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 19, 2003 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday, June 20, 2003 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 21, 2003 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Where
Kenneth Hahn Building

Volunteer
Interested in volunteering for the Tour in Los Angeles individually or as an organization? Many volunteers are needed to make the Tour a success in Los Angeles and help is needed to spread the word that the Tour is on its way! Click here for more information.

(I guess they mean the "Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration" at 500 W. Temple in downtown L.A. Link via this, which compares it to the Tunnels of Oppression touring college campuses.)

Posted to WackyHumor at 02:02 PM | Comments (0)

Where's Lonewacko?

Tonight, Lonewacko has a choice between three fine and exciting events:

At 7pm, there's the monthly Los Angeles Java Users' Group meeting in Pasadena.

At the same time and in the same city, the Outland Mountain Shop is presenting a slideshow called "Canyoneeing around the World," which supposedly will be a "comprehensive and instructional slide show reviewing techniques for canyoneering. Utah, Hawaii, and New Zealand will be the area of discovery. Including a first descent. Topics will include: Gear, anchors and protection, objective hazards, weather, ratings, ethics, water flow techniques vs. dry canyons."

I've never tried canyoneering, mainly because as with other things I have trouble finding cohorts. But, I have rappelled a couple times, and after viewing this unrelated site, I'm very interested.

However, at 6:30 PM, one of the Atwater organizations is presenting a speech with LAPD Chief Bratton at Chevy Chase Park (4165 Chevy Chase Dr. LA 90039 between the L.A. River and Brand). I might go despite not being an Atwaterian.

Posted to Miscellania at 03:45 PM | Comments (0)

Followup on the NYC "Patriot Raid"

In a previous post, I discussed the L.A. Times editorial by Jason Halperin concerning the raid at an Indian restaurant in NYC. This raid was supposedly conducted under the Patriot Act. In the previous post I was skeptical that this raid had either taken place, or had taken place as described. After having conducted a phone interview with Mr. Halperin, I'm less skeptical than before.

Apparently, Halperin was contacted by the L.A. Times, rather than the other way around. An intern at the LAT had had the account emailed to her, and she had demanded that her editor read his account, and the LAT decided to print the story. Robert Scheer, perhaps acting as an editor rather than a columnist, attempted to contact Halperin. Another LAT editor (first name Rick; Halperin did not have his last name handy) contacted him. Rick or another editor asked for confirmation, and they contacted the workers at the restaurant for it. After receiving confirmation from those workers, the LAT printed the story.

Halperin, who is a Press Officer with Doctors Without Borders, has been in contact with the NYC ACLU concerning the raid. The LAT also confirmed his account with the ACLU. The ACLU is mainly working with the press to get the story out, and they feel that besides from relatively minor disciplinary actions related to taunting by the police, there was nothing about the raid that was illegal. He's having a meeting with the Executive Director of the ACLU on Friday to discuss this further and explore other avenues regarding complaints and the like. The ACLU is trying to get an official statement on the raid, and Halperin expects that eventually Homeland Security or another agency will issue a statement.

He's spoken on a few talk radio programs, NBC has shown an interest in interviewing him, and he's received around 200 inquiries concerning this incident. Sen. Russ Feingold has expressed his support. Approximately two-thirds of the inquiries have been supportive, albeit with half of those being skeptical of his account.

My earlier complaints concerning the L.A. Times article itself concerned the omission of the fact that the name of the restaurant was not given, and the fact that his affiliation with Doctors Without Borders was not given. As for the first, he stated that the LAT felt that the fact that the name of the restaurant is not given would speak for itself, and that no further pointing out of the name's omission was necessary. The LAT apparently wanted to mention his affiliation, however, because many people had already been confused that he was speaking just for himself and not for the organization, and in order not to overwork the office staff in having to respond to many inquiries, he thought it would be best to leave that out.

He states that he did not embellish his report in order to make Homeland Security or the other officers look bad. He realizes that they're just doing their job, and any editorializing in his account is in opposition to the Patriot Act itself. The officers seemed to believe that the incident might turn ugly, and that those inside the restaurant might be armed. He indicated that the officer who stated that he was "being held under the Patriot Act" might have misspoke, or might have not. He did not get the badge names or numbers of the officers involved partially because he wasn't intending to write the article when this occurred, he just wanted to get out of there. Further, one or more of the Homeland Security officers refused to give their names, and he didn't want to push his luck by demanding more information.

UPDATE: Orin Kerr thinks this might have been just an immigration raid, and he has several questions we should be asking. I'm putting the answering of those questions in the capable hands of the NYC ACLU.

Posted to Privacy at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)

More revelations on those iris-scan-equipped passports

From "Blunkett wins backing for iris chip in passports":

David Blunkett won cautious support at home and abroad last night for the rapid development and use of biometric testing of travellers' eyes as a near-foolproof means of checking identity at international border crossings.

If successfully adopted on an international scale, new technology could head off pressure to introduce internal identity cards - "entitlement cards" as the home secretary hopes to call them - inside Britain, a controversial policy...

A scheme to equip British passports with biometric chips capable of storing details of the holder's fingerprint and iris pattern - both extremely hard to fake - is due to start by 2004-5, according to the passport agency.

The CNN report "France, U.S. back high-tech passport" has more of the same:

Police sources said the two states had agreed to jointly chair a working group of G8 states which will hammer out the technical norms for chip-driven identity papers of the future...

G8 states Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and Russia want the chip-based system to make it difficult for criminals or terrorists to steal identities.

The problem of identity theft was highlighted in February when a British pensioner was detained in South Africa after being mistaken for a big-time fraudster hunted by the FBI.

Well, if an OAP was incorrectly inconvenienced, then I'm convinced. Bring on the scanners! Plus, they tell me the iris scans are completely safe.

Links to my previous Mark of the Beast posts begin here.

Posted to Privacy at 11:40 PM | Comments (0)

The Seventh Level of Hell? There must be some mistake.

Is this the best I can do?

Posted to WackyHumor at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)

No liberal media bias here, folks

Peggy Noonan is joining MSNBC. Here's Reuter's (or perhaps the Hollywood Reporter's) report:

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - MSNBC has added another conservative commentator to its stable, hiring speechwriter-author-columnist Peggy Noonan, who also will contribute to NBC News, the news cable network said Friday.

MSNBC has moved to hire several conservative commentators in recent months...

In MSNBC's defense, Matthews is a former staffer in the Carter administration, but many critics argue that Matthews is more of a maverick middle-of-the-road pundit than a liberal.

In other words, having a network stocked with "liberals" (what the rest of us just call lefties) is the normal state of affairs. When a network hires a bunch of conservatives, it's necessary for high-minded "liberals" to come to the network's defense.

Posted to MultiCultiCult at 10:02 PM | Comments (1)

West Nile virus, Simpsons-style

From The Simpsons:

% Some time later, the city honors Bart for his work.

For decimating our pigeon population, and making Springfield a less oppressive place to while away our worthless lives, I present you with this scented candle.
-- Mayor Quimby, "Bart, the Mother"

% Away from the speech, Skinner and Lisa talk.

Skinner: Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.
Lisa: But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?
Skinner: No problem. We simply release wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.
Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse?
Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas!
Skinner: No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.

From real life:

El Paso County [CO] health officials will use an aggressive fish known as gambusia or mosquitofish this summer to try to control mosquito populations that can spread West Nile virus...

A professor who has closely studied the fish warns that gambusia are escape artists, able to follow floodwaters to infest other waterways. "Once they get established in a habitat, it's almost impossible to get rid of them," said Lee Kats, professor of ecology at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. "Our evidence here shows once they get established in local streams, it's only a matter of time before the native amphibians begin to disappear."

Posted to Miscellania at 04:02 PM | Comments (0)

The too-pragmatic Big Green

WaPo has an interesting series on the Nature Conservancy. From "How a Bid to Save a Species Came to Grief":

Mobil officials said that the donation [of a parcel of land near Houston] offered "the last best hope" of saving the Attwater's prairie chicken, a speckled grouse whose high-stepping mating dance attracts avid bird watchers to the Texas plains each spring.

Then an unusual role reversal took place.

The Conservancy, whose core mission is preserving land to protect species such as the prairie chicken, started acting like an oil company. The Conservancy sank a well under the bird's nesting ground.

They also killed a few of the prairie chickens along the way. And, they drilled someone else's gas, and then tried to buy their gas rights using a front...</