27. January 2005 · Comments Off on Sorry I Missed Monday’s 24 · Categories: General

I had forgotten on Monday that Fox moved 24 this season. They really should do a second showing of this excellent series on FX or something. After reading this report, from the Trib’s Maureen Ryan, I understand last Monday’s episode was something special:

At the end of Monday’s “24,” a photo of a military pilot appeared, with these words: “This episode is dedicated to the memory of Lt. Col. Dave Greene of the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775.”

The screen then faded to black, and these words appeared: “His sacrifice, and the sacrifice of all our men and women of the military, will never be forgotten.”

Greene, who died in Iraq in July, had been part of the Marine unit that appeared on Monday’s episode. On the episode, which revolved around the freeing of the show’s fictional secretary of defense from terrorists, those were real Marines who swooped in on helicopters and rappelled down ropes in the rescue attempt.

“That group [of Marines] had just come back from Iraq, just weeks before we shot that episode” in October, says “24” producer Tim Iacofano, who worked with the Marines’ film and TV liaison office to arrange the unit’s appearance.

Imagine using REAL MARINES to stage a mock raid for television! I could see this from Donald P. Bellisario, but few else in Hollywood. I hope they all got paid scale. 🙂

But this seems to be a reflection of an admirable general attitude I’ve seen throughout the entertainment industry. On last week’s episode of Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, they staged a lavish wedding for soon-to-deploy Army PFC Ray Steele and his wife, Maria (the Army would not honor their Colombian wedding), and then lavished them and their baby daughter, Sabrina, with gifts – well beyond the nomal Queer Eye fare. But the kicker was the Hip Tip, where Jai instructs the audience in the sort of stuff to put in a Care Package for a servicemember in Iraq.

Personally, I feel this is an expression of the collective shame we feel as a nation, for the way we treated our Vietnam vets. The entertainment industry – many promenient denizens of which have far more to be ashamed of than most – is leading the rallying cry: “No matter how we feel about this war, or any other, we will never again disrespect our warriors.”

27. January 2005 · Comments Off on Almost Spam, But Not Quite · Categories: General

Don’t you hate it when you get some email from a service you subscribe to, and it’s labeled “Bot has sent you this message?” — Arggggh!

Likewise, I keep getting these things from Yahoo (I’m paid subscriber). And, while I keep punching Spam, they keep coming to my inbox. I guess their spam filter doesn’t work for their own c’mons.

And the government allows anybody to spam you, if you just visit their website.

It’s an indignation I tell you! We need to revolt!

27. January 2005 · Comments Off on The Big Dig · Categories: General

I have just watched a Discovery Science Channel show about Boston’s subway – “The Big Dig”. And I can’t help but relate this to the equally disruptive and expensive Red Line subway in Los Angeles. It’s a marvelous thing for what it is. But it hardly goes anywhere. And, damn, it’s been expensive.

But this seems to be the play these days. Here in Greater Los Angeles, when we found out our downtown was worn out, we just built another one further west, as well as about twenty others. And when those were worn out, we just built more: Further west, in the case of LA. North, in the case of Long Beach, South, in the case of Riverside, and first south, then north, and then south again, in the case of Santa Ana.

But a funny thing happened in the late ’70s: the liberal mass-planners decried that we weren’t going to abandon our central cities. And they put forth the holy paradigm that billions must be spent to “save” them.

Well, frankly, it’s working. At least from what I can see. Central LA, and the Near West Side are evolving into some near-homogeneous semblance to Orange County and The Valley, And, by virtue of the San Diego Freeway, the Far West Side has always been something like Orange County and The Valley, save for the UCLA influence (read art-house theaters).

But is this vastly expensive urban restoration, to the alter of homogeneity, really a good thing? I’m not so sure. I recall riding my bicycle, in the late ’60s, to (among places like Van Nuys and South Central) Dana Point, Laguna Beach, and San Juan Capistrano. Back then, all those communities had a distinct personality. Nowadays, it’s all just part of the big San-San (actually Tij-San) megalopolis.

But the course of history has seen some bright spots: the Harlem Renaissance, or Lawndale in Chicago. But the liberal homogenization machine has always reached out to crush them. It must stop.

26. January 2005 · Comments Off on Gawd, How Deep Are The Bottom Phishers Dredging? · Categories: General

I just got a Nigerian scam-spam from “the former barrister of Sanni Abacha.” Wait, wasn’t it like 1970 when Abacha was President of Nigeria? Jeeze. LMFAO

26. January 2005 · Comments Off on The Secret Of Project Runway · Categories: General

It seems Bravo has another pop-culture hit with their Wednesday night series Project Runway, where supermodel Heidi Klum leads the judging against 12 aspiring fashion designers.

For the record, my money is on “Air Force brat” Kara Saun. But the the real story is with the models, particularly 17 year-old Melissa Haro. She is America’s next great supermodel.

Update: If you are curious about Chris Pierce (and you should be), you will hear snippets of the acoustic version of his Are You Beautiful? on PR‘s Banana Republic ads.

Update 2: It seems space-case PR model (just eliminated) Morgan Quinn has just f___ed off a major shoot. Do not pass Go – Do not collect $10,000:

January 25, 2005MORGAN Quinn, the naughty Next mannequin who is wreaking havoc on Bravo’s “Project Runway,” snarled a shoot for Carlisle clothing last week. Our source says that an hour after she was supposed to be there, the flighty Quinn called from her cellphone to say her cab had been struck by another car. The blond bombshell later walked off the set in tears, saying she’d suffered a concussion in the accident and felt “dizzy.”

Yes, Morgan has some skills. But so does Melissa. And further, as sown by how she played Page Six‘s Robert Johnson on last week’s episode, she has some other essential skills as well. As designer Jay McCarroll said: “She’s 16, going on 35.” But, frankly – and contrary to Johnson’s appraisal of Morgan as a “blond bombshell,” she is not really that good looking (by model standards). Contrast her to Melissa: check the face, check the figure; Melissa has “it”.

26. January 2005 · Comments Off on The Police State Reigns At VAMCLB · Categories: Veteran's Affairs

Since when does wanting to talk directly to your immediate care provider warrants a visit from the police?

Well, it happened today, at the VA Medical Center, Long Beach. Yes, after a good, but not quite satisfactory workout in the PT gym, I had asked for my trainer’s email addy; this was a major to-do! Who woulda’ thunk it? I was finally given her addy by somebody in the local central office. And then, as I walked out to my car, I was surrounded by VAMCLB cops! Do I sense some intimidation here?

26. January 2005 · Comments Off on A Cool Computer · Categories: Technology

In recent years, consumer computer products have adopted the ATX (or micro-ATX) format as an almost universal format. But control of heat and noise in an ATX box, with current high-performance CPU/GPUs has been a real problem. And a big ol’ full or mid-tower, which will accommodate an “extreme cooling” solution, presents a “workspace packaging” problem for many users. Here, Hardware Analysis tests a high-performance desktop in Intel’s micro-BTX configuration. They like it – to a limit:

There are a few drawbacks about this approach as well, components will be cooled with airflow coming from the processor heatsink, thus the temperature will always be several degrees higher due to the heat dissipated by the processor. But there’s more; due to the small size of the micro-BTX case the power supply and harddisk are tucked away in a corner with very little or, in case of the harddisk, no airflow over them at all. This means that under heavy loads the power supply fan will need to spin up to a high rpm to provide adequate airflow to keep it cool. The harddisk will not receive any cooling, but for natural convection, which, with today’s 200GB and larger harddisks, is not recommended, temperatures will rise quickly and cut into the MTBF of the harddisk. In terms of noise production, which is highly subjective, the micro-BTX case fared well. It isn’t exactly whisper quiet, but with the notion that there’s a 3.6GHz Pentium 4 processor running inside that small case it bests any other small case we’ve seen thus far. Due to the fiery Prescott core it is hard to properly cool these processors in a small case and keep quiet about it, this micro-BTX case with ducted fan heatsink certainly is up to the task.

25. January 2005 · Comments Off on Reserve Pay · Categories: Military

I’m currently listening to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D – Michigan), on C-Span. And she has just claimed “95% of our Reservists don’t even get paid on time.” This is news to me. Apparently, it is also news to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D – Ohio):

“The Cleveland Defense Industry Alliance has been working behind the scenes for a year to make the case to our decision makers that the DFAS-Cleveland office should remain open here in Cleveland and take on additional workloads. Today, I am pleased to join with them in this effort.

“We feel this office’s value to the military is considerable. DFAS-Cleveland is an integral part of the ‘nerve center’ that supports our troops on the ground in Iraq and worldwide. This site is the home of the Reserve Pay Center of Excellence, which processes payroll for the Army, Air Force and Naval Reserves and National Guard. It has a track record of innovation and success that has been recognized on more than one occasion by the Pentagon.

“Currently, Reserve and National Guard soldiers make up 40 percent of the troops on the ground in Iraq. We feel it would be a disservice to our men and women in uniform if we disrupted the system that ensures they’re paid on time.

Emphasis mine.
Update, after the response I’ve gotten, I am going to email Sen. Stabenow’s office for a clarification. As an aside, I find it quite interesting to note, after my most tumultoulous post concerning Reggie White, that I have gotten not a single post saying “how dare you pass such vile gossip about our beloved senator.” 🙂

25. January 2005 · Comments Off on Nanotech Weapons · Categories: Military, Technology

Nanotechnology is on the verge of changing the face of warfare:

Carpenter says the U.S. military has developed “cave-buster” bombs using nanoaluminum, and it is also working on missiles and torpedoes that move so quickly that they strike their targets before evasive actions can be taken.

“Nanoaluminum provides ultra high burn rates for propellants that are ten times higher than existing propellants,” says Carpenter.

The military is also trying to make sure that its bullets kill quickly.

The U.S. Army Environmental Center began a program in 1997 to develop alternatives to the toxic lead that is used in the hundreds of millions of rounds that are annually fired during conflicts and at its training ranges. Carpenter says that although bullets using nanoaluminum are ready to be field tested, the government has been slow implement the technology.

[…]

Nanotechnology “could completely change the face of weaponry,” according to Andy Oppenheimer, a weapons expert with analyst firm and publisher Jane’s Information Group. Oppenheimer says nations including the United States, Germany, and Russia are developing “mini-nuke” devices that use nanotechnology to create much smaller nuclear detonators.

Oppenheimer says the devices could fit inside a briefcase and would be powerful enough to destroy a building. Although the devices require nuclear materials, because of their small size “they blur the line with conventional weapons,” Oppenheimer says.

It would seem this same technology could be used to create synthetic superfuels for civilian transportation and other energy uses.

Hat Tip: Instapundit

Update: There seems seems to be some confusion about what I meant by “this same technology.” What I was talking about was plasma vapor phase reactions, which seems to be the basis for all contemporary nanochemistry. I only have a cursory practical knowledge of this, from working on chrome deposition chambers back in the late ’70s – early ’80s. But I understand the potential.

24. January 2005 · Comments Off on The Hottest Woman In TV News… · Categories: Media Matters Not

…Just now is , hands down, MSNBC’s Sharon Tay.

Sharon Tay

News Executive Daniel Cooper thinks Tay has gone too far:

By now, each of you obviously have your thoughts about this issue. I’ll tell you briefly what I think, and I hope you’ll pile on with your responses. And I’m NOT going to be politically correct.

First of all, an anchor or reporter who looks beautiful, let’s go as far as to say arousing, of either sex, is not only fine by me, it’s good for ratings. Chic clothing, great hairstyling — fantastic. But that’s where I stop. Posing in magazines and showing skins is grossly inappropriate, and by the way, many years ago, Meredith Vieira did it. Not with the utterly disgusting lack of taste displayed by Sharon Tay, but Meredith bared a leg pretty much all the way up in a full page photo, and was shown in provocative poses.

I hate to say this, but today’s sexpot anchors are mostly Chinese women. What’s this about? Do these Tay-alikes think they’re going to have a future anywhere at all? Rolling around on cars in field pieces? What’s the plan? To do a year on E! as the next Brooke Burke? Sorry, that job requires big boobs. Maybe it’s just to land a rich husband and chuck the business. It’s certainly not a shot at White House correspondent.

A word to the wise: look your best. But keep sexy out of your on-air persona. If your boss asks for it, refuse. Maintain your dignity. These women are further damaging the credibility of broadcast journalists. What viewers want is your brain, an easy to grasp and likeable personality, and pleasant looks. Work on that.

I don’t think he’s correct about the “mostly Chinese women” thing. But he doesn’t care much for MSNBC, or their GE overloards either:

Does this seem to be some sort of conflict of interest? On the one hand, you can make a fortune writing what has for years been the liberal adventures of President Bartlet for a prime time drama, and at the same time you can be employed by NBC News as a political analyst. What kind of political analyst?

In any case, Caddell, a Democrat, said on the cable show that during the first three weeks of the current war in Iraq, he was told by MSNBC executives that his services would not be needed, because he wasn’t sufficiently pro-Bush.

Is this an indication of what NBC News wants to be? Was this a desperate me-too attempt to get Fox viewers to watch MSNBC? They were afraid to broadcast independent voices about a war Americans were fighting?

Here is an indication of the current destruction of NBC News by the people I won’t bother mentioning who run GE, NBC, NBC News and MSNBC. This is what I mean when I say the network news departments must be protected by federal governance, not left to be run by amoral morons whose desperation to make a buck outweighs their constitutional responsibility. And they accuse Fox of being biased! Fox leaves no doubt about where they stand–remember, “fair and balanced” is a marketing strategy, not a pledge of objectivity.

Update: Here’s a not-so-scientific poll on the matter

23. January 2005 · Comments Off on Meeting The Press · Categories: General

I’m currently watching Robin Wright and Stephen Hayes beat their gums over Bush’s inaugural address on NBC’s Meet the Press. And all I can think is that I’d like to see a master gamester, like Dick Cheney, come in as #44, and just say for his inaugural address: “Check.”

23. January 2005 · Comments Off on The Topic “A” You Say? · Categories: General

I adore Tina Brown. I think she would be prime GF material – a lovely woman with an engaging personality. But in the rarified atmosphere of scio-political talking-head shows, I have to say, CNBC’s Topic A With Tina Brown leaves much to be desired. Yet I watch it. The reason is that they cover material which is often overlooked by the first-tier talking head shows.

But, as such, I generally watch it in the background, and miss the details of some important stories, as I did today, when she and her panel brought to the fore this story, about Harvard’s Larry Summers, and Condolezza Rice.

Speaking at the National Bureau of Economic Research, Summers suggested that the shortage of top women in the “traditionally male” fields of math and science might possibly be attributable to “innate differences” in aptitude between the genders.

Oh yes, this should certainly give rise (pun most certainly intended) to the perfect political storm.

23. January 2005 · Comments Off on As If Watching Poker Wasn’t Boring Enough… · Categories: General

…I mean, it’s like watching fly fishing. But I’ve just scanned a portion of the DirecTV spectrum where I don’t normally venture, and I’ve noticed that the Game Show Network is showing The World Series of Blackjack. (to continue the fishing analogy) Who would watch this? I mean, this would be like watching a bunch of drunks out on an all-day bottom-fishing boat.

23. January 2005 · Comments Off on Blogfraud · Categories: General

A good write-up here on some of the worst of the blogosphere.

Hat Tip: Instapundit

21. January 2005 · Comments Off on What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been · Categories: General

I frequently like to say my birth (10/05/57), was heralded by the appearance of a new star in the sky. I play this as a trite missive. But I discount its prophecy Unless you were there, you can’t conceive it – living day-by-day with the absolute terror of the prospect of “them” pushing the button down, coupled with the idea of going to the Moon.

And I talk to my mother – a member of “the greatest generation”, and she asks “what?”

And I look at Cpl Blondie and her peers. And I say “G_d bless you – you are sealing the deal, and ushering in a peace that will last 1000 years.” Please just appreciate the gifts you’ve been given, and use them wisely.

I wouldn’t trade my life – to be witness to this epoch in history, for anything.

21. January 2005 · Comments Off on @#$%^ internet · Categories: General

Some fucking thing has changed my IE toolbars. And I can’t change them back.

20. January 2005 · Comments Off on What Do You Know About Chris Pierce? · Categories: That's Entertainment!

My sources tell me he is the hottest indie act in LA just now, and on the threshold of breaking out nationally..Keep your eyes (and ears) open.

20. January 2005 · Comments Off on CIA: Brazil To Surpass Europe · Categories: European Disunion, World

A new 120 page report by the CIA, Mapping the Global Future: Report of the National Intelligence Council’s 2020 Project, is predicting the continued stagnation and decline of Europe and Japan, and the growth to prominence of the emerging economies of China, India, and even Brazil:

Branding Japan and Europe as the “ageing” powers, the experts predict that ageing populations and shrinking work forces will become a major economic and political challenge for the years to come.

“Either European countries adapt their work forces, reform their social welfare, education, and tax systems, and accommodate growing immigrant populations or they face a period of protracted economic stasis that could threaten the huge successes made in creating a more United Europe”, the US report warned.

Splintering Europe
The current welfare state is thought by to be “unsustainable” and the lack of any economic revitalization could lead to the “splintering or, at worst, disintegration of the European Union, undermining its ambitions to play a heavyweight international role”, the experts said.

A total break from the post-World War II welfare state model may, however, not be necessary, as shown in Sweden’s successful example of providing more flexibility for businesses while conserving many worker rights.

US on top
Going under the title, ‘Mapping the Global Future’, the report concluded that no other state in the world would match the US by 2020.

19. January 2005 · Comments Off on A Troop Withdrawl Timetable. · Categories: Iraq

Insiders say that we will, without a doubt, begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within a year. But Condoleeza Rice flatly denies this.

I hope she is correct. We must remember the lessons of Vietnamization, where the native insurgency was all-but-dead, but the South Vietnamese forces could not withstand an invasion from the north.

18. January 2005 · Comments Off on Eating Politically · Categories: General

Sandy Szwarc rakes the new nutrition guidelines (as well as the old ones) over the coals:

When food guides were begun over 100 years ago, the government was tasked to make recommendations on the minimum number of servings of various food groups to ensure the general population could meet the recommended dietary allowances of nutrients. People were free to choose what additional foods they wanted to enjoy to make up their energy needs. That changed in 1977 when politicians got involved and its focus became outlining the goals for federal food programs, and hence what foods would receive government funding. From then on, as a glut of special interests sought to get their piece of the money pie, it has moved further from sound science. And not surprisingly, it’s become increasingly questioned among nutrition scientists and health care professionals.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines became untenable the instant they abandoned the long-term pledge to promote better health for all Americans and instead made everything about weight. “Weight” appears 150 times in the 84-page document. We’re told that being thin is more important than being healthy and that good nutrition isn’t just eating a healthful balance of nutritious foods. Our focus must become counting calories, restricting what we eat, eating low-fat or fat-free foods, and what size pants we wear.

[…]

Like its eating advice, the exercise advisories fail to consider harmful consequences. Injuries go up with the duration and intensity of exercise. But what’s most likely to happen with these guidelines is that people will just give up bothering to exercise at all. Those who care about their health were doing good to get in 30 minutes of physical activity a day. Now they’re being told that isn’t enough. But how realistic is 90 minutes a day for most people? And really, how many thin people do you know who work out 90 minutes every day — who aren’t obsessive? Actually these guidelines will likely increase another growing health problem, a side of eating disorders called exercise anorexia: exercising beyond that needed for health in an attempt to keep thin.

Of course, for those in the military, subject to having any aspect of their behavior under government control, these new guidelines are even more foreboding.

Hat Tip: Instapundit

17. January 2005 · Comments Off on A Non-News Story · Categories: General

Are the idiotaians at the Miami Herald totally unaware that it’s routine practice for police to trade-in their old weapons?

Cops sell old, confiscated guns

Unable to afford new weapons, the Sweetwater Police Department is selling old and confiscated guns. Some critics call this a very dangerous practice.

BY SUSANNAH A. NESMITH AND JONNELLE MARTE
jmarte@herald.com

The cash-strapped police department in Sweetwater has found a way to get brand-new guns for all its 23 officers — sell the old ones.

Police Chief Robert Fulgueira just received commission approval to sell 20 guns that were either confiscated or voluntarily turned in over the past decade — weapons that most police agencies would destroy. The department is also trading in about 45 old service weapons that were issued to officers.

Fulgueira set up the deal with Lou’s Police and Security Equipment. The Hialeah store ranks first among Florida gun shops in terms of the number of guns sold that were subsequently used in crimes, according to a national study. The ranking does not mean that Lou’s has violated any law, though.

”We’re a poor city and I don’t have the budget to be spending $7,000 to $8,000 on weapons,” Fulgueira said. “Why should I pay money to destroy these guns when I can sell them, make some money and use it to equip my men?”

Sweetwater PD Glock 23
TAKING AIM: Sweetwater police Officer Domingo Benito
shows off his old outdated Glock pistol. He should have a
new one as soon the city’s planned sale is completed.
Photo: David Adame / for The Herald

But the Glock 23 is hardly “outdated”.

17. January 2005 · Comments Off on “Carte Blanche” On Syria For US Military · Categories: Iraq, Military

This DEBKAfile.com article agrees with information I’ve gotten from other sources:

This mission took Armitage to Damascus with nine American demands. DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s Washington sources published those demands for the first time in its last week’s issue:

1. Start repealing Syria’s 40-years old emergency laws.

2. Free all political prisoners from jail.

3. Abolish media censorship.

4. Initiate democratic reform.

5. Speed up economic development

6. Cut down relations with Iran.

7. Announce publicly that the disputed Shebaa Farms at the base of Mt. Hermon are former Syrian territory. This would cut the ground from under the Lebanese terrorist Hizballah’s claim that the land is Lebanese and must be “liberated” from Israeli “occupation.”

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that the Iran-sponsored Hizballah’s attack on an Israeli convoy patrolling the disputed Shebaa Farms sector, killing an Israeli officer, on Palestinian election-day, Sunday, January 9, was addressed as much to President George W. Bush as to the new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as a foretaste of what it has in store.

8. Hand over to US or Iraqi authorities 55 top officials and military officers of the former Saddam regime, who are confirmed by intelligence to be established in Syria and running the guerrilla war in Iraq out of their homes and offices.
(An address, telephone number and cell phone number were listed beside each name).

But the punchline was in the last demand.

9. Syria had better make sure that none of the Kornet AT-14 anti-tank missiles which it recently purchased in large quantities from East Europe turn up in Iraq. US intelligence has recorded their serial numbers to identify their source. DEBKAfile’s military sources add: Because he cannot afford to buy advanced fighter planes and tanks, Assad purchased massive quantities of the “third generation” Kornet AT-14 anti-tank weapons.

Just in case any are found in Iraq, General Casey, commander of US forces in Iraq has already received orders from the commander-in-chief in the White House to pursue military action inside Syria according to his best military judgment.

[…]

Assad and General Habib are both aware, according to our sources, of the near carte blanche handed down to General Casey to pursue military action against Syria as and when indicated by US military requirements in Iraq.

In this regard, DEBKAfile’s military sources note four important points:

1. It will not take place before President Bush is sworn in for his second term on January 20 or Iraq’s general election ten days later.

2. The Americans will not start out with a large-scale, orderly military offensive, but rather short in-and-out forays; small US and Iraqi special forces units will cross the border and raid bases housing Iraqi guerrillas or buses carrying them to the border. If these brief raids are ineffective, the Americans will upscale the action.

3. The Allawi government will formally request the United States to consign joint Iraqi-US forces for action against Syrian targets, so placing the US operation under the Baghdad government’s aegis. In other words, Iraq will be at war with Syria without issuing a formal declaration.

4. It is fully appreciated in Washington, Baghdad and Jerusalem that intense American military warfare against Syria could provoke a Hizballah backlash against Israel. Damascus may well activate the Lebanese Shiite group to open a second front on Israel’s northern border. The Syrian ruler is expected will tolerate a certain level of American low-intensity, low-profile action. But, because of his reluctance to strike back directly at American or Iraqi targets, he will field the Hizballah – and not just for cross-border attacks but to galvanize the terrorist cells it controls and funds in the West Bank and Gaza Strip into a stepped-up offensive against Israeli targets. These Palestinian cells have proliferated over the years, particularly in the Fatah and its branches, encouraged by Yasser Arafat’s cooperative pact with the Hizballah which remains in force after his death.

Therefore, the key Middle East happening in the coming weeks will be US military strikes against Syria. The election of Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian Authority chairman, his invitation to the White House, the formation of the Sharon-Peres government coalition – albeit on very shaky legs, and the talk of imminent Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations, will prove to be no more than sideshows of the main event.

It is suspected that the Kornet, one of the only light and portable weapons effective against the M1A1/A2’s depleted uranium armor, has already been used in Iraq.

16. January 2005 · Comments Off on Don’t Miss This · Categories: General, That's Entertainment!

After 25 years, I have just seen Being There, currently showing on HBO, for the first time. Perhaps they stirred up some interest with their excellent bio-pic The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. I can’t thank them enough.

This movie seems to have gone totally over the heads of those who only know Sellers as Inspector Clouseau, as it was an absolute flop at the box office, despite a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Sellers, and a Supporting Actor win for Melvyn Douglas. But if you like comedy which is wry and nuanced, as I do, you must see this. I can’t wait until they show it again.

15. January 2005 · Comments Off on Hands Across The Water, Heads Across The Sky · Categories: World

After five decades, a limited number of direct flights are to travel between China and Taiwan:

The agreement allows a total of 48 round-trip charter flights to carry Taiwanese working in China home and back during the Chinese New Year holiday next month, Chinese negotiator Pu Zhaozhou said.

[…]

China and Taiwan, rivals who spend much of their time arguing over semantics and arcane details, reached an agreement just two hours into their meeting in the Chinese territory of Macau, near Hong Kong.

The “rivalry” between China and Taiwan has been a half-century carnival of silliness. These are two nations bound together tightly by blood, tradition, trade, and investment. The saber-rattling of the past has never made any sense.

14. January 2005 · Comments Off on Money For Blogging · Categories: General Nonsense

I just want to say: I will accept money from anyone that wants to ante-up. And I am available for speaking engagements.

Of course, none of that is a guarantee of what I might write, or speak. 🙂

Update: Alen Penenberg writes in Wired on the conflicts for big-media journalists who also blog:

For all the press that bloggers have received for revolutionizing journalism by bringing Gutenberg’s printing press to the digital masses, when push comes to shove, journalists who operate personal weblogs face an inherent conflict of interest. In the end, it’s the blogs that usually get short shrift.

And according to some, that’s the way it ought to be. As Jason Calacanis, founder of Weblogs and publisher of the defunct Silicon Alley Reporter, put it in an e-mail: “Blogger + reporter = big problem. I wouldn’t do that, and I’m sure it will end in tears. I know as an editor of a magazine or newspaper I wouldn’t want my paid editors putting scoops out on their blog when those scoops could be driving and growing the print product.”

But it’s not just about who gets the scoops. A more serious question is how can bloggers, whose success depends largely on sharing unvarnished opinions, also work as so-called objective journalists?

There are no easy answers, and many media outlets find it easiest to avoid perceptions of bias by simply issuing blanket restrictions on what their reporters can say and do outside of work. In the past, for example, CNN pressured correspondent Kevin Sites to shut down his blog from Iraq. Time put the kibosh on freelancer Joshua Kucera’s personal blog, and the Hartford Courant strong-armed one of its columnists, Denis Horgan, to stop him from blogging. (With the exception of Kucera, they have all returned to the blogosphere.)

Wall Street Journal staffers agree to follow a code of conduct that restricts certain activities to ensure “the independence and integrity” of its publications, services and products. I imagine the Journal is particularly sensitive after an e-mail from Farnaz Fassihi, one of its reporters based in Baghdad, made the rounds last year, portraying life in Iraq as much more dire than her published work suggested.

The New York Times (.pdf) requires its staffers to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, and requires that no newsroom or editorial employee “do anything that damages the Times‘s reputation for strict neutrality.”

Of course, we all know the objectivity of big media is highly suspect. That would imply that such codes of conduct are a sham.

Update 2: Frank J. comments on the myths and facts of blogging:

MYTH: People only blog for the money and the babes.
FACT: People also blog for power, out of sense of arrogance, and because they like the clickity-clack sound of the keyboard.

I will also accept payment in babes, if you happen to have some extras lying about.

14. January 2005 · Comments Off on Word, Bill · Categories: General

Dr. Cosby again speaks the truth:

“Our children are trying to tell us something and we are not listening,” Cosby told the audience of about 1,800. “And the poverty pimps and victim pimps keep telling the victims to stay where they are, ‘you can’t get up, you can’t do this, you can’t do that’ … I’m telling you, you better get up.”

Hear, hear.

14. January 2005 · Comments Off on Bring ‘Em On · Categories: Iraq, Military

President Bush is now expessing misgivings over his “Bring ’em On” speech. He shouldn’t. I don’t know of a single servicemember in Iraq that wouldn’t rather have the terrorists there, shooting at them, than stateside, shooting at us. In fact, I’m sure the more thoughtful of them would rather have the terrorists out trying to engage them, than seeing them terrorize the non-combatant Sunnis, who just want to get on with their lives in peace.