Pop goes the nuke

Are black market nukes being sold in our backyard?

An investigation of the black market supplying nations wanting nuclear arms has spread to more than 20 firms - some of them North American - the chief of the UN atomic agency told The Associated Press on Friday. ...

The diplomat said at least one of them was in the United States.

"Some" of there firms are in North American, "at least one" confirmed to be on our soil.

"At least one" my ass. I'm not an expert on what firms sell nuclear material, but I'm betting that if I did some research into who they were, none on this continent would be in Mexico. I wonder how many "firms" in the US are peddling nukes to Iran and North Korea. Why won't the UN release the names of these companies? I want to goto Open Secrets and see how much they've donated to the Bush campaign.

Whu? (Translated: You learn something new every day.)

Turkey bans virginity tests on women, though the ban still allows the tests to be performed if needed for evidence in a criminal case. Call me ignorant, but I didn't know that such a practice existed until now, and I'm not sure how I feel about their use, period, no matter what the circumstances are. The short article contains this paragraph:

But in 1999 the justice ministry issued a circular restricting the practice to gathering evidence in court cases after five girls attempted suicide in a state-run orphanage after being forced to undergo the tests because they had returned late to their boarding house.

These tests just don't sounf kosher.

Those community college photography students are the real terrorists!

Another case of the PATRIOT Act being turned against the people.

One of the Seattle policemen, using his strongest, most authoritative voice, gripping his holstered sidearm, was now demanding to see my ID. I asked what this was about and why I had to show him my ID. “Look, we can do this one of two ways. You show me your ID right now! I'm not kidding!” the cop yelled.

Let me be the first to admit to my total loss of composure. Eight grown men, five of which were in uniform and wearing sidearms, now surrounded me. I just had a camera, a tripod, and a bad flashback to Rodney King. You bet I was emotional. How composed would you be? ...

“I’ve listened to this for over five minutes. Look here. You see this?” Special Agent McNamara said, producing his badge. “This is a federal badge. We’re not with the rest of them. We’re federal agents from Homeland Security...”

Spot the framing

Headline: "Bush Launches Broadside Against 'Pessimist' Edwards"

It's nice to know that the lapdog press is already hanging on Bush's every word. The negative (and pretty dishonest) branding of John Edwards has already started. Next week, expect Cheney to insist that Edwards has ties with al-Qa'ida, though he can't present any evidence showing such to be true.

God bless creative activism

Why hello there, Ronald Anti-McDonald!

This Ronald McDonald was in no mood to clown around. Diners at a crowded McDonald's in southern Norway were stunned when a man dressed as Ronald came in Thursday and launched into a tirade criticizing the Oak Brook, Ill.-based chain's policies, the outlet's owner said.

I think one of the witnesses delivers the best line, though.

"He was screaming and yelling. It was very unpleasant," said Alf Floernes, owner of the restaurant in the southern town of Kristiansand. "It was supposedly some sort of art. If that is art, I'm a truck."

If that is art, I'm a truck. Sounds like somebody's been eating at McDonald's too much, it's starting to effect his brain.

Now isn't that convenient

AWOL!

Military payroll records that could more fully document President Bush's whereabouts during his service in the Texas Air National Guard were inadvertently destroyed, according to the Pentagon.

At least some personal letters between Bush and Ken Lay haven't been "inadvertently destroyed."

Pictures! I want pictures!

Of this:

Waiters wearing condoms on their heads greet diners at the 'Cabbages and Condoms' restaurant in Bangkok and volunteers hand out condoms of all shapes, colours and sizes at cash machines, metro stations and the airport.

Drudge really, really, really doesn't have anything of substance to talk about, does he?

Click here. It's like watching a journalistic train wreck. Oh wait, that would have to involve actual journalism... Nix that; it's just plain old fucking stupid. Actually, it's like hearing Drudge pop a boner. And it's still fucking stupid.

Who in your neighborhood has donated to the dirty Republicans?

Newsmeat will let you know.

Shuffling feet and looking rather guilty...

I imagine the international press digs headlines like this, "Half of US shuns literature." And half of me doesn't want to bring this story up because then I would have to criticize myself. Granted, I have read "literature" this past year, most of which has been for school but I also dusted off "Slaughterhouse Five." But literature has never been my first choice for reading. I like reading history and political books, and going on the web to search out articles that bash us Americans. Most of the time when I read articles criticizing our culture, I'm not insulted and usually in argeement with the author if their points are reasonable. But this article just makes me feel so, so.. American.

However, I don't think our shunning of literature is the story here. This is more shocking:

A total of 89.9 million adults did not read books in 2002. The number of books bought in the US in 2003 was reported in May to have fallen by 23m from the year before, to 2.2 bn.

89.9 million American adults don't even read books?! Holy shit. Could you imagine going through a year and saying to yourself, "I haven't read a single book!" I certainly can't. But, apparently, my neighbors can.

That's just amazing. No wonder the rest of the world thinks we're ignorant.

Uhm...

So the Bush administration is peddling stories about al-Qa'ida possibly trying to influence our upcoming election.

George W. Bush is also running for reelection.

Uhm, does anybody else see a conflict of interest here? Just asking.

In other news, (link via Pinko Feminist Hellcat):

The government needs to establish guidelines for canceling or rescheduling elections if terrorists strike the United States again, says the chairman of a new federal voting commission.

October surprise: Elections canceled!

Where's the love?

I think it's highly irresponsible of the UN to not send independent observers to monitor the supposedly democratic elections in a country where their last major election was highly disputed, and the loser took power in a bloodless coup.

I think you know where I'm heading with this...

Thirteen Democrats in the US House of Representatives had asked the world body to send an observer mission to safeguard the rights of American voters in the November 2 election.

They cited the Florida recount battle four years ago ultimately decided by the US Supreme Court. ...

The United Nations said it could not act on a plea from legislators.

"The policy and practice is that the United Nations responds to requests made by national governments and not the legislative branch," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.

Gee, thanks a lot. Nice to know that the UN is looking out for us, especially after all the work we do to house them and keep them afloat with our tax dollars. And what's this shit about only responding to requests made from the "national government"? If it's the elgality of that "national government" which is in question, dot hey really expect that "national government" to request election observers?!

There comes a time when one falls witness to such unmatched stupidity that they become unsure of how to react to it.

And when the Republicans stoop low enough to politicizing ketchup, it's just one of those times.

Is there nothing sacred during an election year? What's next, W Mustard so we don't have to purchase anything named "French's"? How about some W Salsa for the hispanic community? What's next, the W Atkins Bar? Christ...

Well, this explains everything

Fair and balanced?

The words "fair and balanced" have been largely discredited in recent years because of the Fox News Channel, which uses them to mean not that Fox takes an objective, evenhanded approach to the news but that the cable channel is redressing the purported liberal bias of the mainstream news media, balancing them. But Fox aside, the idea of "fair and balanced" is still a mainstay of most journalistic practice, at least in theory. Reporters are not supposed to take sides. For every pro on one side of the scale there must be a con on the other. If the 9/11 commission declares that there is absolutely no credible evidence of any collaborative relationship between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, the press must also prominently post Vice President Dick Cheney's view that there was a relationship, whether he provides evidence or not. If the preponderance of scientific opinion says global warming threatens the environment, the press must still interview the handful of scientists who dismiss it. That's just the way it is.

What an absolutely dim view of the role that our media is supposed to play in our life. If this is what the media is supposed to do, and indeed it seems like they strive to attain the goals described in this paragraph, then we mine as well stop referring to them as "The Media." Instead, they should be called "The Stenographers."

I thought it was the media's job to tell us the truth. For example, when Cheney claims that Saddam had connections to al-Qa'ida, yet the 9/11 panel disagrees with him and Cheney can't provide any new evidence to back up his claims, isn't it the job of the media to tell us that he's lying? What if Cheney came out with more ridiculous statements? Suppose he uttered his favorite word again and told us that "Saddam fucked donkeys," should the media be "fair and balanced" and take that at face value, too?

Honestly, whatever happened to investigating? Integrity? Hell, have the media completely forgotten the five W's? Who, what, where, when, and, most importantly, why. Instead of simply quoting Cheney's lies, shouldn't the media ask why he's lying?

Could you imagine how our current media would have treated scandals like Watergate? "Well, there's a mountain of evidence that proves Tricky Dick is lying, but he claims innocence. Screw researching all that evidence!" Maybe that's not the best comparison to show us how fucked our media is. The best example is right in front of us: the war in Iraq. If the media ([cough]Judy Woodruff![choke]) had bothered to check their sources every once in a while, and maybe even - god forbid! - do some investigating for once, the American public would have been better informed to realize that our government lied to us. But they didn't, and now almost 900 soldiers have been killed for absolutely no reason.

If those are the shameful results of our media's attempts to be "fair and balanced," then I'll opt for unfair and biased any day of the week.

Overheard on some message board...

First the tripe...

What makes you think that voting Kerry would be enough to put out any fires?

To use that metaphor, I would say voting Kerry would be like trying to put out a housefire with a single bucket of water.

In all actuality, the house has been burning since 1980. I'd much rather let it burn down and rebuild a new one.

...and then the burn.

you've obviously never been homeless.

0wned.

Meanwhile, back in Hungary...

Bush just can't get any love.

The survey of 34,000 students, aged 16-18, from 655 high schools showed Adolf Hitler was the most disliked foreign personality with 25 percent of the vote, followed by Bush with 23 percent and Bin Laden with 16 percent.

Bush was even more unpopular than former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, according to the poll.

Why I can't read Ann Coulter, part 5907459743987589537980782 and a fucking half

Her latest column, "IN DESPERATE MOVE, KERRY ADOPTS PUPPY," Coulter begins with this sentence:

I guess with John Kerry's choice of John Edwards as his running mate, he really does want to stand up for all Americans, from those worth only $60 million to those worth in excess of $800 million.

Thanks for the insight, Ann. Now if you admit that you're a hypocrite because your candidate is rich and beholden to billionaires, maybe, just maybe, I'll finally read through one of your columns without getting the ominous feeling that I need to put my head through a wall halfway before finishing.

I'm not holding my breath.

What could Ken Lay say now that he's been indicted?

Salon has a list of things Kenny Boy could talk about. Coincidentally enough, all of them could look bad for the Bush administration!

...As always, Fark has a headlinefor everything: "Ken Lay takes his first steps toward a well deserved butt pounding." Heh.

Domestic Terrorism

An abortion clinic in Florida was firebombed. Sounds like a terrorist act to me, though something tells me that Bush and his "war on terror" won't give a damn.

With friends like these...

These are some classy statements:

Mr. Holmes has a record of saying startling things, like his statement that rape victims become pregnant as often as it snows in Miami. He also wrote in 1997 that in a marriage "the woman is to place herself under the authority of the man."

Unfortunately, they were uttered by Judge J. Leon Holmes, whom the Senate just confirmed for a seat on the federal bench. It would be so easy to blame the Republicans for this one, but some Republican senators (mostly women, I believe) voted 'Nay'. The Democrats could have killed this nomination, but...

Six Democrats joined most Republicans in supporting Holmes, the former president of Arkansas Right to Life. Five Republicans opposed him.

Thanks a lot, guys.

What's the point?

Mr. ElBaradei goes to Israel, apparently to stick his thumb up his ass or something.

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Tuesday he did not intend to pressure Israel but would try to encourage it to begin a dialogue to rid the Middle East of its nuclear weapons. ...

"I would like to see Israel supporting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," ElBaradei said, adding that he would like to see Israel sign an additional agreement committing it to disclose information on any potential nuclear-related exports.

But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director said he did not intend to push the Jewish state on the nuclear issue. "It's not a question of pressure. I have no power to pressure," he said. [No power to pressure? Tell that to Iran.] ...

ElBaradei arrived in Israel Tuesday to start his three-day visit during which he will tour Israel's atomic facilities -- except the reactor in the desert town of Dimona that independent experts believe has produced plutonium.

So, let's see, he's visiting Israel but he will not place any pressure on them to reveal the fact that they have a nuclear weapons program that could - shock! - cause other Middle Eastern nations like Iran to want to develop a similar weapons program to defend themselves from attack. You know, just in case Israel proves not to be the happy, cuddly state that they want the rest of the planet to think of them as. They won't even let him visit the plant where the plutonium is produced.

Why even visit Israel? Is Sharon getting a hand job out of this or something?

"The news may contain stories unsuitable for people under 18."

What happens when Vodafone places "adult filters" for web browsing on their cell phones?

Re: Vodafone's adult filter is go I found the Sky mobile site was barred. When asked why Vodafone had barred it I was told that "the news may contain stories unsuitable for people under 18" WTF!!!!

Totally bonkers!

Keep in mind, these "adult filters" effect any adult who uses Vodaphone. Because that adult might let a teenager use their phone and, god forbid, they try reading a news article and learning about the real world!

Unfuckingbelievable.

Bush goes shrimping

This is an odd action for somebody who is supposedly a free trader.

The Bush administration on Tuesday proposed tariffs on shrimp imports from China and Vietnam, finding that companies there were dumping frozen and canned warm-water shrimp products into the United States at artificially low prices.

I'm a fair trader, not a free trader. I don't think it's fair if other countries dump their goods onto some other market. And as long as the Bush administration isn't giving a free handout to his corporate buddies, I would have to support tariffs to protect other countries dumping on our markets. It's only fair, and I have to be consistant with my views. On that token, I wish the US would be consistant with its views on trade. First we're for free trade, then we want to slap down tariffs. Well, which is it? Free trade or no free trade? You can't have it both ways, especially when the US is also guilty of dumping our goods on other countries. Granted the report I link to details dumping from the Clinton era, I don't think the policies of the Bush administration have changed. No matter who's in office, the US seems to think that it can do whatever it wants as far as trade is concerned.

Hah haa!

The Portland Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Tuesday because of the steep costs from clergy sex abuse lawsuits, an unprecedented step that could open the Roman Catholic archdiocese to new levels of court scrutiny.

Thank god the New York Post provides true, honest, fair and balanced journalism!

In the real world, goofs like this would get an editor fired.

Fark Headline of the Day

"Chanting "Got milk," 50 mothers staged a protest "nurse-in" at a Houston shopping mall after one of them said security guards asked her to cover herself or move on while breast-feeding her four-month-old son"

Revisionist history?

Today the NY Times has an article saying the CIA never told Bush that Saddam put an end to his "unconventional weapons programs" before the war. This is sure to receive coverage in most left wing blogs in the known universe, and I'm going to hold off on commenting on it until I read more of what my fellow bloggers have to say. Something about this story just doesn't jive, but I'm too scatterbrained and busy to do the research right now.

How dumb is this guy?

Iraqi Prime Minister Allawi, the man who didn't think the 6/24 attacks were coordinated, now says there's no need for Iraq to receive troops from its neighbors. Because, as we all know, those Iraqis would sure leave to have us stay there because we certainly don't resemble an occupying power. And hey, our military can afford to be stretched a little more, right? We're all calling up the backup, do-not-break-glass-except-for-emergency reserves here. What are a few foreign troops from the region who Iraqis might give more respect to going to do? Fuck'em!

Sigh...

Today's the big day!

Supposedly, Kerry's gonna bust out with a veep nominee today. I can't wait to see how much he blows this choice...

Memo to Kerry: If your nominee is even a distant cousin to Joseph Lieberman, you'll push me into a severe state of depression.

Did you forget me?

While Bill O'Reilly derided the films popularity as being driven by "urban audiences" and Spider-Man 2 (good flick, by the way) stole the box office headlines, Fahrenheit 9/11 quietly started showing on 857 more screens, came in second for boc office earnings, and has grossed $60,000,000 to date. People are still seeing this film.

Doing the slacker shuffle

Instead of doing something fun like find neat links to write about and update the blog with, I spent all morning studying. And I'm still only half done. I'm so gonna fail this test!

Anyways, let's see what can be dug up in a limited amount of time...

Awww, the President enjoys an ice cream cone!

Sorry, I had to do it. God told me too.

You know, this is just a bad photo to publish

Captions?!

Somebody hold me, I'm scared

Dear God,

Why why why why why why why why why why why?

Lovingly,
tas

P.S. - Why?

Der leader!

All he needs now is a brown shirt, red armband, and cute little mustache! It would be fitting, since he already sent the brownshirts in to remove pesky people who don't agree with him.

Two Bush opponents, taken out of the crowd in restraints by police, said they were told they couldn't be there because they were wearing shirts that opposed the president.

Yes, you read that correctly: On the Fourth of July, a day where we are supposed to celebrate our freedom, two people were removed from a rally Bush spoke at because they wore tee shirts which opposed the president.

God Bless America!

Blogging on Empty

Just in time for my return to being a full time student, my workload has doubled. Obviously, there won't be as many posts as usual, but I'm working on a way to deliver the same amount of content with less words. Some would call this becoming a better writer, but I call it using technology, it's just a matter of figuring out how to use it...

Help!

I need some help/how to's on fetching headlines from RSS/XML feeds and publishing them onto a webpage. Any takers? Please?

Sunday is uber-patriotic cartoon day!

As always, two by uber-patriot Ted Rall.