Wider Military Role in U.S. Is Urged

This is just awful.

There are three things I worried this country would lose as a result of Sept. 11, and I'm seeing signs of all three. One is its status as a multiethnic, inclusive entity. That one hasn't taken too many hits as yet, but there are some people nibbling at it. The second is being a secular society, where religion is essentially private. Already under siege in recent years, it's taking blow after blow, with things like one of the men entrusted with Constitutional interpretation deciding his powers come from God.

And the third is that the United States is a civilian society. Order is not, should not, be maintained by the military. The President is Commander in Chief, but he is a civilian. The Army, anywhere other than around its bases, isn't a major presence; the only man in a federal uniform I see on a daily basis is a postal worker. Ralph Eberhart is an Air Force general, and I'm mostly used to seeing Air Force jets, but still...

Don't get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for the military, and they do a great job. But their job is protection against outside threats. This "Homeland Defense" stuff is not, essentially, an outside threat. It's a police matter. Our national police agencies screwed up, but turning their duties over to the military is not the answer. Nothing John Ashcroft has done will endanger our liberty more than repealing the Posse Comitatus Act.

washingtonpost.com: Israel Plans New Measures in Talks

Hmmm... The Israelis say they'll issue work permits and allow more passage into Israel. If the Palestinians don't attack. Hamas is probably already working on its response.

washingtonpost.com: Italy Vows to Return Ethiopia's Obelisk

Of course, they'd promised this before, but it looks like they've finally gone too far to back off. I don't see how you can justify keeping something because Mussolini of all people stole it.

Today's edited headline

Bush Promotes Corporate Fraud

Okay, that was too easy. Real headline, "Bush Promotes Corporate Fraud Bill".

CNN.com - Gene helps determine anxiety, study finds - July 20, 2002

Great, now I'm worried I have this gene.

The Nando Times: Mammoth undertaking planned in Colorado

No, not the Stephen Green wedding. Paleontologists found a rare intact (with tusks) mammoth skull back in 1981; they only now feel up to retrieving it, it seems.

Off The Kuff

Charles Kuffner got the same spam I -- and apparently everyone else with a website in the entire world -- got. I'm with Chuck on this one, mostly. If you link me, it will turn up in my referral log sooner or later (if you have to, just use the link yourself) and I'll notice it. And I'll link you; if you give me a spot on your blogroll I'll reciprocate.

GN Online: Camel's milk more nutritious than cow's

Just thought y'all would like to know what Arab scientists (UAE in this instance) were up to.

Yahoo! News - AOL Time Warner Named in Shareholder Suit

Well, that was inevitable.

CNN.com - Census: More degrees equal bigger bucks - July 19, 2002

You could have fooled me... I did a little math, which I won't report because it's depressing. But I am not bitter. Much.

$1 million victory for red-legged frog / Developer fined, must turn Mt. Diablo-area hunting land into refuge

This is great that the developer who blatantly violated the Endangered Species Act by having his workers destroy a habitat of the California Red-Legged Frog is being punished. But look at it this way... he's selling homes for half a million a pop, and the fine was a million dollars. On the other hand, he had to turn a private patch of land (640 acres) into a preserve for the frog; that seems like an appropriate punishmen.

Lawyer receives award

No commentary from me here, except that this is kind of a weird story. Habib Yazdi, a native of Iran who speaks "broken English", received this award in part for "courageousness and dedication on behalf of a client shortly after last year's terrorist attacks".

The Salt Lake Tribune -- First Black Heads Alabama Lawyers

That's an awkward headline, but I couldn't find a story from an Alabama newspaper... Fred Gray, who defended Rosa Parks in her prosecution, has been installed as the president of the Alabama Bar Association. Maybe we're not changing fast enough, but we're getting there.

Update: Here's a story from the Mobile paper.

CNN.com - U.S. pushes Mediterranean island deal - July 20, 2002

That's us, the guidance counselor to the world.

Poison chosen to rout snakeheads

Sure, but they're canny. You might try to poison them, but it might just give them the push they need to make a run for it.

The Nando Times: Two in Florida contract HIV from blood transfusions

Oh, that's just terrific. Someone who had just contracted the disease gave blood on September 12, and the tests didn't detect it.

Activated Guard troops here fight paperwork battle first

Leave it to the Army to make being called up as unpleasant as possible. Well, these guys are Special Forces, I assume they have ways of dealing with this sort of thing.

Department of Inscrutable Puns

It's an invasion: Beetle ania

I get the reference, of course, but what's an "ania"? Is it the plural of "anus"? Because if it is, it's not the sort of thing you should talk about in a family newspaper.

High court okays gay-marriage bill

Germany's top court says that gay marriage is okay, though they won't decide if they're fully equivalent to hetero marriage yet. Of course, they got bills through the Bundestag to that effect. Can you imagine a bill like that even getting a vote in the US? This is one of those things the Euros are right on, and we're wrong.

Hollywood Fertilizes Profits with Crop Circles

Does anyone but me find it unusually obtuse, even by Hollywood standards, to make a movie centering around a "phenomenon" long revealed as a hoax?

Apparently I'm not alone in dreaming I'm in high school. (Oddly, when I was in high school, I almost never remembered my dreams.) A couple of posters have mentioned the closely related "Oh my God, I forgot I have a final" dream, another classic. I have that one too, and even though it's more of a college thing to miss a final, I'm always in high school.

When I was in college, I actually forgot I had a final until the last minute. Dead serious -- sophomore year, British Literature since 1650. I remembered at the last minute, drove to campus, found a spot, hurried to the class, knowing I was going to fail because I hadn't done any of the reading... And the professor, a positive saint even though I've forgotten his name, told us that we didn't have to take the exam and we could take the grade we already had. (This has never happened to me since.) He handed out slips with our grades, mine said "B", and I have never run so fast in my life before or since.

Ananova - Birthday card reveals death threat

Oh, sure, the company is treating this as a joke from someone at the factory. But have they thought that maybe it's serious? Someone could be out to kill Alexander Fowler, Age 12, and the authorities are letting it slide!

Delaware program requires farmers to keep track of animal waste, fertilizer - 7/19/2002 - ENN.com

Remember to keep a detailed log of all animal poop on your farm, boys!

Well, that's not really what it's about, but that's what it sounds like. It's really about the fertilizer and controlling runoff.

Norway Resumes Whaling

Norway and Japan seem to be having some sort of contest to see who can be the biggest ass about this.

CNN.com - Suit challenges airline ID requirements - July 19, 2002

I'm not crazy about all of the new flying rules myself. However, I don't think there's anything at all wrong with requiring ID to get on a plane, and John Gilmore has reached the Naderian level of self-parody right on schedule.

Shock at Charges Arabs Were Sold Israeli Munitions

Five "settlers" (TM The Media) and an reserve officer are charged with stealing ammunition and selling it to Palestinian "militants" (also TM The Media). Great, just great. Selling them the rope?

Ananova - Research shows up futility of spam

Researchers in Haifa (yay!) say that spam is a waste of time. Of course, with such a low marginal cost they don't need much of a return.

ScienceDaily Magazine -- Japanese Shore Crabs Invade Penobscot Bay, Maine

The Japanese economy may not be doing too well, but their crustaceans are taking hold on the East Coast. They started in New Jersey in '88 and have moved north.

Mahathir: Muslim World Hopelessly Backward

So says the leader of one of the world's largest majority-Muslim states, a man whose second name is "Mohammed". He says also that it should focus on development instead of dress codes and criticizes "Muslims who devote themselves entirely to religious studies." There are some domestic political reasons for this, but it's odd to see him saying things other world leaders are afraid to.

AP Wire | 07/19/2002 | Morocco Won't Reoccupy Island

If Spain withdraws its troops. It looks like the counter-Reconquista is over.

Combustible Boy, who is not trolling for links, dropped by... I hadn't been paying attention to the blowgun attacks. Yikes. My personal theory is that there is a subculture of dadaist criminals out there which does this sort of thing to make everyone's day a little more surreal.

I actually have a tire stalker. I've had three nails stuck in my left rear tire, the latest pulled out yesterday. Someone also let a bunch of air out of it. It's always the same tire, for some reason.

You have flamingos in DC? Cool.

Battle of the blogs

Everyone's favorite fishwrap, the Guardian, is having a "Best British Blog" contest. With cash prizes. Huh.

Thousands of Americans are bitten by snakes, but few die

Well, that's good to hear.

Man lived in trailer, leaves UA $8 million

Nobody knows why Alton Scott lived in a trailer, or why he gave $8 million to the School of Engineering. He was an Alabama grad, but from the Business school.

Caution urged after third Jeffco E. coli case

Meanwhile, if you manage to avoid getting bitten by a West Nile-carrying mosquito, then you have to worry about dying from an undercooked hamburger.

Great Moments in Scientific Illiteracy

Birmingham News staff writer Mindy Hagen refers to E. Coli as a "virus" (which it isn't) and as bacteria (which is correct).

Police may never know who pulled trigger on weapon that killed boy at gun show

How does that happen? At any rate, the vendor is guilty of something. At the least, he was fatally reckless for handing a loaded weapon to the boy's father without informing him that it was loaded or turning the safety on.

Florida's Dr. Snakehead is making a house call

Dr. Snakehead's secret identity is Walter R. Courtenay Jr., and he's an ichthyologist, brought out of retirement by the government out of concern about snakehead sightings around the country. This is easily a better concept than half of the new network programs to air this fall. Not surprisingly, the authorities put up the Snakehead Signal and Courtenay is in Maryland.

"These stories tend to get exaggerated and take on a life of their own," said Paul Shafland, director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's nonnative fish research lab in South Florida. "You hear the fish have teeth, they breathe air. Pretty soon you hear they climb trees, they eat dogs, they tap-dance, whatever."

They climb trees and eat dogs?

Terrorism suspect salutes bin Laden in court

He sure seems to want to plead guilty, why not let him? Does anybody really doubt his guilt?

Some feast on locust, to others it's just roadkill

China's summer locusts have arrived. And they're reportedly delicious. I swear, I don't go looking for "Weird things Chinese people eat" stories, I just come across them.

CNN.com - Saudi prince indicted on drug charges - July 18, 2002

Wow, this should be one heck of an irresistable force/immovable object moment. What will win, our government's seemingly unshakeable attachment to the losing Drug War, or its paralyzing and inexplicable need to suck up to the Saudis?

CNN.com - U.S. schools eye Texas textbook fight - July 18, 2002

Apparently the textbooks:

Need more about Abraham Lincoln;
Should describe the United States as a republic based on biblical beliefs;
Need more information about minorities and women;
Are anti-American, anti-Christian, and anti-conservative.

Everybody's upset. Sounds like the textbook committee did a fine job. Just wait until they get to biology!

CNN.com - Study finds Alaska glaciers melting at higher rate - July 18, 2002

But don't worry, because there's no such thing as global warming!

Bird tests positive for West Nile virus

On the University of Alabama campus! In Tuscaloosa! Between where I live and where I work! I'm so excited! I may never leave my apartment again.

(Terry Oglesby told me about this yesterday, but I didn't bother to blog it until now.)

Watercress Soup with Snakehead and Duck Gizzard

As you regular readers (hi, both of you!) know, the state of Maryland has asked that its citizens immediately kill any snakeheads that they find. I think it's safe that all Americans, in whatever state we live, should follow this example. But then, how to dispose of it? Well, if you do catch a snakehead, and you happen to have some watercress and duck gizzards handy, here you go.

The Daily Show repeat from last night is running the snakehead story. And it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

The Snakehead has no natural enemies. It's at the top of the food chain. Well, not anymore, thanks to the piranhas.

Siegelman drops request for incinerator injunction

Alabama Governor Don Siegelman is now okay with the Army burning chemical weapons in Anniston (The Town Where They Eat Dirt!™), now that they're going to buy everyone gas masks. This is all true, even the part about the dirt.

Flying Reptile
Newly Discovered Reptile Flew During the Age of the Dinosaurs

Thalassodromeus is a newly discovered kind of pterosaur that the paleontologists think hunted fish by skimming over the water. Neat.

US Woman Accused of Harassing JK Rowling Deported

Does this woman work at Amazon.com by any chance?

Britain turns away refugee boys who trekked 600 miles across Australia to claim asylum

See, if this were a movie, their tale of their daring journey would have convinced the crusty old immigration judge to give them a break. I'm sure when they make the movie, that will work.

Judge: Planned Parenthood must release pregnancy records

Loathsome, just loathsome. I'm all for finding out who killed their baby, but a judicial fishing expedition through pregnancy test records is way over the line. Iowa prosecutors are making the ridiculous claim that they aren't medical records (which are of course confidential) because the staff at PP aren't required to be doctors or nurses. You know who else isn't required to be a doctor or nurse? The people who proctor drug urinalysis. I'm glad to know that's not confidential from the government either, aren't you?

Transportation Security Chief Quits

Well, John Magaw will certainly be missed. Remember when he... Uh, how about that daring decision to... Well, he's been on the job for so... Uh, hasn't had any massive screwups that can be directly linked to him? Yeah, that's it.

Counter-reconquista update

Moroccans seek talks on 'armada'

You know, whenever people start talking about a Spanish "Armada", I wonder if we're having one of those time warp things. But there it is, right in the story:

"Five minutes later the Spanish armada invaded Leila [Perejil] islet."

Quick! Somebody call Sir Francis Drake!

Some Palestinians Resort to Looting

Yep, those poor oppressed Palestinians have to "resort" to looting archaeological sites... Bull. It's long been standard practice in that part of the world. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by Bedouin, who didn't exactly call in the archaeologists to dig them up. No, they took them home and held bidding wars. It's not a new thing brought on by poverty, whatever the current criminal suspects say.

The Truth Laid Bear

Remember, if Mommy is Islamey, you've got to turn her in!

An open letter to my subconscious.

Hey, do you think you could cut it out with the dream that I'm still in high school? I'm 31 years old, I have a master's degree, and at least once a week I think I'm studying 11th grade English. Frankly, I didn't enjoy high school that much the first time, but you know that.

Poll Finds Concerns That Bush Is Overly Influenced by Business

GET OUT!

I mean, the GOP is supposed to be the big business party, and Dubya is certainly the most pro-big-business GOP President in decades. Of course, about half said big business had too much control over the Democrats as well, and that's probably true too.

Diet May Prevent Alzheimer's Disease

More fruits and vegetables, less red meat. At least they aren't saying to eat more fish. I hate fish. I do think that doctors must own stock in produce farming corporations.

Guess who else had bad accounting practices?

Report questions AOL's sales figures

This would apparently go back to before the Time Warner merger. So the stock TW was bought with was doubly inflated. And, I'd bet, would make things very interesting if TW stockholders wanted to sue. Considering AOL's current stock price, I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

Amazingly, AOL's outside auditor was not Arthur Andersen, but Ernst & Young.

Ancient Chocolate Cravings
Study: People Drank Foamy Pitchers of Chocolate Before Christ

Well, sort of. While they had chocolate, the people of the New World didn't have sugar before the Europeans came. It was almost more like coffee than hot chocolate; chocolate itself means "bitter water". So what I'm saying is that while they may have had cocoa, they didn't really have chocolate.

ADVANTAGE: WARLIBERAL!

Once again, I beat Instapundit, this time to this story on Ted Turner's South Carolina land grab. But then, he's on vacation.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Torii Hunter was hit by a pitch last night. So he picked up the baseball and threw it at the pitcher, Danys Baez, who had thrown it at him. Apparently, Hunter's action is somehow outrageous, but it made sense to me. Heck, I always figured it would be easier to just throw your bat.

Missile scientist elected India's 12th president

It's a ceremonial post, so symbolism is the most important thing here. And you can probably figure out the symbolism of a missile scientist. Well, no, not that symbolism. Get your mind out of the gutter. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam "advocates nuclear weapons as a war deterrent".

Six Feet Under leads the way at the Emmy Awards nominations

23 nominations. That's a lot. I didn't know there were that many categories. The West Wing will probably win everything anyway.

Bacterium kills tons of goldfish

Well, actually, bacteria, plural, killed tons of goldfish in Indonesia. A bacterium is very small, and even a goldfish is in relative terms very large. 820 tons of goldfish is very large by all but astronomical terms. What they mean, of course, is that a single species, Aeromanas hydrophila (something about air, loves water?) was responsible.

The Dreaded Chinese Snakehead Walking Fish made the big time last night: the one legitimate news program left on American television.

Yahoo! News - Bronze Stallion in Shorts to Spare Virgin Blushes

(This post began life as a comment at Larry's place, whence I got this story.)

An Italian town is putting iron underwear on a statue of a horse, because a religious procession bearing a statue of the Virgin Mary passes by it.

A) According to a literal reading of the New Testament, and to most scholars, Jesus had several siblings, who presumably were conceived in the normal matter. So Mary presumably knew about sex.

B) Jesus was also born in a stable. Considering that, there presumably were actual, live horses in the room at the time, and presumably, they weren't wearing underwear. (That's four presumablies!)

Of course, I was born in a city that had an enormous iron statue of a Roman God wearing nothing but an apron overlooking it. Which was still better than being on the side he wasn't overlooking.

Dreamland dishes up a meal fit for a president

Dreamland ribs are a local legend, and I'm not surprised that Dubya requested them, even if he's from beef country. He wound up eating them on the plane, and had PB&J before the event yesterday. I just hope he didn't save any ribs for the VP.

washingtonpost.com: GOP Figure Behind Greens Offer, N.M. Official Says

You have to love the Republicans. The chairman of the New Mexico GOP says that a "man based in Washington with apparent ties to the Republican Party" offered "six figure" donations to the Green Party to run candidates in two disputed districts. Somehow I don't think it was out of sincere concern for the environment, or because he thinks the two-party system is in need of a jolt.

(Via A Skeptical Blog).

Morocco Demands Spain Withdraw From Disputed Island

The counter-reconquista lives!

albawaba.com: Two suicide bombers hit Tel Aviv; several people killed, likely foreign workers

Both Islamic Jihad and Hamas have claimed responsibility. The explosion (which reportedly killed three innocents) was in a bar "crowded with Romanian workers". The AP story is less clear that the dead were probably foreign workers, but reports of a Romanian saying he plans to take his family back to Romania.

Disgusting as it is, this bombing may have some strategic value. Instead of killing Israelis, they're killing foreign workers, people who have no real ties to Israel. Those people can be driven away, and while it won't satisfy the Islamokaze's Jew-hatred, it will at the least damage the Israeli economy. Assuming that they can repeat it, of course.

Now, the danger is that they might anger foreign powers and turn them to the side of Israel. What if they had been Russian workers rather than Romanian? Or any country that's powerful itself or has a powerful patron? The superpower is more or less on Israel's side, but the lesser powers are (de facto, at the least) with the Arabs. They really don't want to change that, or if they do it's a serious mistake.

Eugene Craft, leader in Arab's early growth, dies at age 81

Arab the town, not any Arab person, of course. I just like picking up stories about Arab. I also have reinforcement of my theory that journalists like writing "Arab". This story is 139 words long, not counting the headline. Nine of those words are "Arab".

It appears that YACCS is having one of its days. Comments are off and on, mostly off, right now. If it keeps up, I'll disable them, but I'm hoping it clears up. For now, delays. Feel free to email me, I like getting email, and if you want and it's particularly interesting I'll post it.

Two Bombs Go Off in Tel Aviv

Sigh. "Dozens" of casualties, no fatalities reported as yet, nor if this is a splodeydope attack. The area is frequented by recent immigrants to Israel, which I think would make it a prime target. Already, speechwriters in Europe and the UN are hitting alt+f11 to activate the "It is important to not allow this to disrupt the peace process" macros.

An Open Letter to Amazon.com.

I buy books from you regularly, and I've never had significant problems. However:

Stop trying to sell me Harry Potter books. I don't want any damn Harry Potter books. I've told you a thousand times, why do they keep showing up in my recommendations?

Sincerely,
Mac Thomason

Land dispute pits Turner vs. Gullah

Ted Turner, crazy billionaire, claims an island that is also claimed by a group descended from Gullah speakers off South Carolina. The latter seem to have a court order from 1996 that they own it, but Ted has a couple of billion dollars on his side.

Quayle's memorabilia drawing crowds to his hometown

The Dan Quayle Museum is celebrating its tenth anniversary, apparently. Poor Dan, he was just ahead of his time.

Drug addicts drinking liquefied lizard dung mixture

Man, nobody's satisfied with just licking toads anymore.

Something about Rome's river smells fishy

The Tiber is full of dead fish, and nobody knows why. Well, they know that it's because the fish are dying, and are somehow poisoned, but no one knows the cause.

More poverty the only fruit as SA eats itself

A new report claims that South Africans are consuming the nation's "forests, grassland, fish and food stocks faster than they are being replaced". But it's the United States that needs to cut back.

Bill Closing Bermuda Loophole Also Includes Tax Breaks

Huge tax breaks, aimed at huge US-based multinationals. You're surprised by this?

The Miami Herald | 07/17/2002 | Will 'Buffy' hang up her stake?

Joss Whedon says he would consider an eighth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer even if Sarah Michelle Gellar didn't return. Well, I guess the title would have to change, for one thing... Also, Glory is making a comeback. Yeah, she's dead, but when did that stop anyone?

NYPOST.COM Entertainment: BERT AND ERNIE WON'T GET AN HIV BUDDY By ADAM BUCKMAN

Sesame Workshop says there was never any intention to introduce the HIV-positive character created for the South African version of the show in the US. Why it would be a bad idea is completely beyond me, but in a country like South Africa where the infection rate is nearing twenty percent, not addressing HIV would have been remarkable.

Larry'll surprise you though. Consider his fine and thoughful post on the Great Troll War.

US software firm aids Saudi censors

I hate censorware and its vendors. This doesn't help.

Bishops can't be forced out for hiding pedophiles, but it's always nice to know that they can be for ministering to gay priests and AIDS victims on the Internet.

If Osama isn't dead, he's disappointed.

Spain Oust Moroccans From Island, None Hurt

"Spain was attacked by force in a very sensitive part of its geography," Spanish Defense Minister Federico Trillo said.

Ouch. I know how that feels.

No end to grief for IRA victims

Those dreadful families of IRA terror victims have absolutely no shame. Imagine, saying that an apology for decades of murder isn't enough!

Man remanded over German rabbi's murder

No bail for the man accused of the murder of Andreas Hinz.

"I'm good enough... I'm smart enough... and, dog gone it, the EU likes me."

Laurence Simon is on again, with a look at the 12-step program for terrorist dictators.

Department of Misleading Headlines

Lost Python sketches 'to be seen'

Sort of. Three previously unproduced sketches written by Graham Chapman (who rarely wrote alone) will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.

English God promises sex and luck

Apparently, a long-dead Englishman buried in India has become an object of veneration. His worshippers offer him liquor, cigarettes, and meat, so I assume that his tastes haven't changed in the 150 years since his death.

www.snakeheads.org -- THE information source on Channidae on the Internet

There's a page for everything, but you knew that.

The Most Annoying Australian Import Since Yahoo Serious.

Jellyfish stump scientists
This time, scientists say, they may not just be visiting

Nothing new on the Dreaded Snakehead front, but we have this from the Gulf of Mexico on spotted jellyfish, the Australian species that showed up a couple of years ago. It looks like they've established themselves off the Gulf Coast, and that we're just going to have to put up with them from now on. (Another population is showing up off Atlantic coast of Florida.) You know the drill -- unchecked population, no natural predator, local species outcompeted. They hunt young fish and shrimp, which isn't good for the fishing industry, to say the least.

West Nile virus detected in dead blue jay

In Gardendale, northern Jefferson County, near Birmingham. About an hour away from me. Excuse me a moment, I have to go buy HAZMAT gear, I'll be right back.

Must Your Kids Be Carnivores?

No! By simply following an expensive, time-consuming, and unnatural diet, you can make your children objects of scorn to all their friends while simultaneously risking their future health!

Sikhs, Muslims hope for more understanding

Samford University, a Baptist college, had a program with national Sikh and Muslim leaders yesterday. Despite all the talk about pluralism and religious understanding, reading the story, I don't see the J-word anywhere...

Bessemer police search for shoe store robbery suspects

They just took a cash drawer, a customer's purse, and the store's phone. Stealing 200 pairs of shoes would have been a lot more fun, though.

Northport banking on riverfront boom

Be nice to see. I'm not betting on it. These "revitalization" efforts usually peter out.

Oh, did you go somewhere?

Israel Searches for Militants Who Killed 8 in Bus Ambush

Well, that explains why they can't find them; they're looking for "militants" when what they need to find are terrorists.

Oddly, this is from AP, not Reuters.

Woman jailed in bizarre baby `death' to be freed

A mentally retarded south Alabama woman has spent three years in jail for killing her sister's baby -- a baby that never existed. It could never have existed; she has blocked fallopian tubes. She's being released, but they're calling it a "reduced sentence".

Arabs To Present New Plan For Palestinian State

I'd mention how it's poor timing, but then again, how many days are there when nobody gets killed over there? As it is, unless the Saudis, Egyptians, or Jordanians are interested in giving up a slice of their territory, I'm not interested anymore. I used to be in favor, but they lost me months ago and I'm not coming back until I see real and lasting change.

Planet Ark : Greenpeace ship heads to Oslo to fight CO2 dumping

Into the ocean; they say it causes carbon acids that will harm marine life. I don't know if it's true, but if you can't put in the ocean, and you can't put it in the atmosphere, and you (physically) can't put in on land, what are you supposed to do with it?

Buffalo News - After ESPN buyouts, Weblogs for sports get blogged down

Here's a sports weblogging article that mentions that Reynolds, Sullivan, and Kaus get "hundreds of readers each day".

(Via Baseball Primer, which is mentioned in the article even if my my sports weblog isn't, but I am not bitter.)

CNN.com - Man arrested for burning kitten on grill - July 16, 2002

Anyone who would do this to an animal is a monster, and the laws against it are far too lenient. But I pretty much get that there are people like this. You can't prevent it. But there were ten or twelve people watching this and laughing. Do sick people find each other that easily?

The Nando Times: Vampire obsession led teen to kill neighbor, prosecutors say

And drink her blood, of course. No point in thinking you're a vampire without the blood drinking. Last month, he tried to force a German exchange student he thought was a vampire to drink his blood.

Dow Closes Down 166; Nasdaq Slips 7

It's times like this that I don't feel so bad about having no money to speak of. The Dow finished below 8,500 (8,473.11) and there's no end in sight. As Greenspan said today, the actual economy is doing fine, but tell that to the traders.

Brief site maintenance note... I have noticed that things have gotten rather unwieldy here of late. It may be nearly all text, but there's been a lot of text recently. (So much for cutting back!) At any rate, I've cut the front page to showing the last four days, which should speed up loading.

Norway resumes whale exports

Jerks.

Monorail plan rates thorough review

If only Ogdenville, North Haverbrook, and Brockway had had thorough reviews...

Starved for entertainment, or just hungry?

South Africa Sardine Migration Draws Crowds

CNN.com - IRA 'sorry' for civilians' deaths - July 16, 2002

"It was a very very bad thing to have done and I'm really very ashamed of myself, I can only say it won't happen again. To have murdered so many people in such a short space of time is really awful, and I really am very, very, very sorry that I did it, and also that I've taken up so much of the court's valuable time listening to the sordid details of these senseless killings of mine."

Youngster's gun show killing still a mystery

The gunshow's attorneys are saying that the vendors can't carry loaded weapons. I suppose it's just a coincidence that he got shot in the head. Maybe it was a a drive-by!

Snake bites woman five times

That's one mean snake.

Hormone food scandal rocks Europe

Ah, Euronoia.

Stocks Are Volatile After Early Losses

Soothing words from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan calmed Wall Street Tuesday, enabling the market to recover from a sharp early loss and at least temporarily stabilize after Monday's volatility.

Let's see if it holds up, but it's got to be kind of embarrassing for the President anyway. He talks, the Dow tanks. Greenspan talks and it's "soothed".

Ananova - Scooby Doo is top dog at UK box office

I guess there are idiots everywhere.

Reuters Wire | 07/16/2002 | French Police Uncover Suspected ETA Arms Cache

I hadn't really thought of the Basque separatists operating in France as well as Spain, but I guess it makes sense. Bordeaux seems a little out of their range, though. Good for the French, anyway.

Ananova - Scientists test prototype hand-held X-ray gun

Once again, it turns out that the 21st century really is the future after all. This is a diagnostic tool, not a weapon -- a lower powered and low heat tool that can be used to take images of small areas more cheaply than full-scale machines. It's the sort of thing I'd expect Dr. McCoy to have.

I normally stay out of the Fisking, Scourging, etc., that a lot of people do. I don't disapprove of it; these folks generally (not always) deserve it. But it's not something that interests me.

That being said, I considered attacking, or counter-attacking, the right-wing attack bimbo Ann Coulter. In general, I don't take well to being called a terrorist. This is exactly the sort of garbage that does get attacked when left-of-center people say it about conservatives, but the conservative elements of the blogosphere seem to think it's cute or something.

But I'm going to leave this to my betters. Meryl Yourish and Scoobie Davis have her pinned down. Read and enjoy.

Spann's parents: Lindh got off lightly

I find it difficult to disagree. The government may have had to let Johnny the Rat (who, by the way, essentially admitted to high treason in the agreement, but we'll ignore that) plea, but that doesn't make it any easier on the family of a man Lindh helped kill.

Attack on Israeli Bus Kills at Least 6, Injures 20

Gun-toting terrorists, not the explosive-laden type. There's nothing to say that hasn't already been said, really.

Oh, according to Reuters, Magen David Adom is an "ambulance service".

CNN.com - U.S. will pay for Alabama gas masks - July 16, 2002

Anniston -- where they eat dirt -- seems to be the first place in the United States where the Federal Government is going to buy gas masks and chemical protection gear for the residents. The groundwater is already polluted thanks to Monsanto, and the Army is destroying chemical weapons in an incinerator nearby. Anniston is a fun place, yes?

Mercury News | 07/16/2002 | Man condemned to hanging for reporter's death issues threat

I've seen this movie -- he comes back to life to kill all those who condemned him, right?

Make Hate Not Anti-Globalization

Blair's Law in action:

Right-wing extremists looking for converts appear to be trying to subvert the anti-globalization movement, using at least one intentionally confusing website and possibly even showing up at major protests to recruit activists directly.

Bush displays Midas touch in fund-raising

He may have just bought the Alabama governor's office for Bob Riley.

Bush may spurn U.N. program

President Bush is poised to reject the advice of his own fact-finding team and cut off millions of dollars to a United Nations family planning program that abortion opponents contend supports forced abortions in China.

It doesn't. In fact, the fact-finding team contends that it reduces them through education and birth control. Given the anti-sex right's views on sex education and birth control, that didn't help any. This isn't about China, this is about the goofy political views of the GOP and the Religious Right, which are increasingly interchangeable.

The money has already been appropriated by Congress, but that won't stop the Bush Administration. As I've pointed out ad nauseum in the context of the Endangered Species Act, the administration only enforces the law when it wants to. Screw the financial stuff, as far as I'm concerned the real scandal is the administration's under-the-table attempt to seize the legislative function.

Bin Laden said well, planning more attacks

Whether this guy (an "Arab journalist with close ties to the Saudi-born militant" terrorist -- corrected from the Reutersese) is telling the truth, he has no personal knowledge. He's just taking the word of Osama's associates fellow terrorists.

"They also said bin Laden would not appear in a video and just say words. He will make another appearance only after his people attack the Americans again," he said.

"He wants to appear when he has something to discuss."

You know, he's like a guest on a talk show, only going to show up when he has something to plug.

Actually, Brendan, I called you an asshole not because you criticized the Blogosphere, which is just fine with me. Criticism makes us strong. I called you an asshole because you were acting like an asshole, and because you've decided that only British and Irish, and not American, are proper English.

washingtonpost.com: Former Internet Darling DrKoop.com Sold for $186,000

Wow. Even after the Bust that seems low. It's about one penny for every five dollars the IPO brought in, unless my math is more messed up than usual.

Salon in six months?

State wildlife officials: Take our pigs -- please

Washington hunters have been told to shoot all the wild pigs they want, no restrictions. (They're technically feral, not true wild pigs.)

Blog to Cope With Alzheimer's Fog

Seniors in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, with mild to moderate memory loss, are writing Web logs to help them make sense of their daily lives. And the activity, they say, is slowing the onset of their symptoms.

No smart remarks about certain bloggers' writing styles here. Nosireebob.

Boston.com / Latest News / Business / Rivers dry up, industries fret as parts of South suffer in historic drought

Been fine here. I drive over the river every day, it's still there. Actually, it's rained quite a bit the last few days. And South Carolina can shrivel in the sun as far as I'm concerned after this little spiel from a public official there:

''Hopefully a nice tropical storm will come in from Mississippi and stay over us for a week,'' said Freddy Vang, the deputy director of the state Natural Resources Department's Land, Water and Conservation Division.

Leaving aside if he even realizes that there are two states between him and Mississippi, I think I speak for the people of Mississippi as well as Alabama and Georgia in saying we'd rather not have to deal with a natural disaster so you can get rained on.

Mercury News | 07/14/2002 | Hacker group targets countries that censor Internet

Some of the world's best-known hackers unveiled a plan this weekend to offer free software to promote anonymous Web surfing in countries where the Internet is censored, especially China and Middle Eastern nations.

Go Hackers!

washingtonpost.com: Plumbing Data Prompt A Flood Of Doubt

DC area people are claiming that the census data on the number of homes without indoor plumbing is incorrect. Me, I still want to know why the stories about people without said indoor plumbing had to be datelined Alabama when we're not even in the top ten states for it.

John Walker Lindh Decides to Plead Guilty, His Lawyers Say

How about that.

From Random Jottings

AN OPEN LETTER IN SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE OF IRAN FROM THE WEBLOGGING COMMUNITY

We are not politicians, nor are we generals. We hold no power to dispatch diplomats to negotiate; we can send no troops to defend those who choose to risk their lives in the cause of freedom.

What power we have is in our words, and in our thoughts. And it is that strength which we offer to the people of Iran on this day.

Across the diverse and often contentious world of weblogs, each of us has chosen to put aside our differences and come together today to declare our unanimity on the following simple principles:

- That the people of Iran are allies of free men and women everywhere in the world, and deserve to live under a government of their own choosing, which respects their own personal liberties

- That the current Iranian regime has failed to create a free and prosperous society, and attempts to mask its own failures by repression and tyranny

We do not presume to know what is best for the people of Iran; but we are firm in our conviction that the policies of the current government stand in the way of the Iranians ability to make those choices for themselves.

And so we urge our own governments to turn their attention to Iran. The leaders and diplomats of the world's democracies must be clear in their opposition to the repressive actions of the current Iranian regime, but even more importantly, must be clear in their support for the aspirations of the Iranian people.

And to the people of Iran, we say: You are not alone. We see your demonstrations in the streets; we hear of your newspapers falling to censorship; and we watch with anticipation as you join the community of the Internet in greater and greater numbers. Our hopes are with you in your struggle for freedom. We cannot and will not presume to tell you the correct path to freedom; that is for you to choose. But we look forward to the day when we can welcome your nation into the community of free societies of the world, for we know with deepest certainty that such a day will come.

Birmingham set for gambling bonanza

Birmingham England, of course. But I'm going to send this to the state's Christian Coalition leaders to see if I can blow their tiny little minds.

HIV-positive Muppet worries lawmakers

I've stayed out of this one, but these congressmen are a bunch of jackasses.

I'll be brief:

What an asshole.

Trial date set in lawsuit of woman bitten by parrot

The woman has a one-inch scar in her face. It's still kinda funny, though.

Ancient stories in stone face extinction

Paleontologists want to preserve a series of fossil tracks, more than 300 million years old, in Walker County. They're on a stripmining site, and the law says the area needs to be bulldozed for "reclamation" into pasture. They're working on it.

DCSWF/M 2: Worm Boogaloo

Biologists fear Vietnamese bait could harm Md.

I give you the Vietnamese Nuclear Worm! (Another great name for a band.) It grows to up to five feet long and is hot pink. Fishermen have been using them as bait (they like to cut them up into pieces -- one worm can bait as many as 40 hooks), but biologists are afraid the worms harbor potentially harmful bacteria. Like cholera.

Ananova - Student charged over body parts find

Thomas McDowell has been charged with the murder of Andreas Hinz. The other male detained in Hinz's murder has been "bailed without charge to return to a London police station"; I don't know what that means but it doesn't sound like they think he did it. No word about the third person.

The Nando Times: Israelis turn up another armed-baby photo

But it's all a joke, right?

washingtonpost.com: Tobacco as Cancer Research Tool

Frankly, tobacco owes us.

ajc.com | Metro | Store patrons rescue woman

A woman kidnapped at a train station was rescued by her fellow citizens. One of them heard her banging on the trunk of her car and snatched the keys from her kidnapper to let her out. A second one caught the kidnapper when he tried to flee.

The Frontier Post From Peshawar Pakistan
S Africa for peaceful solution to Kashmir

Well, that's great. Any actual ideas, or is this one up to us all alone, as usual? Really, we could use the help.

4 in Pearl Murder Are Found Guilty in Pakistan Court

They do seem to be guilty, but this case has been pushed through so quickly, I have my doubts. It looks more like the Pakistani government just wanted to get it over with by finding someone guilty, and quickly.

Alabama boy, 13, accidentally shot in head at Norcross gun show

It went through his eye and lodged in his brain. He's in critical condition. Honestly, I'm surprised this sort of thing doesn't happen more often.

Jordan wants bank guarantees from Palestinians

Obviously, only Israel can discriminate against Palestinians. Therefore, making West Bank residents visiting Jordan put substantial sums of money ($3000 - $7000) on deposit in Jordanian banks to make sure that they leave when their business is done is all Israel's fault.

Many Alabamians feel land is best investment

The stocks go up, the stocks go down. But in Alabama, the land abides.

Stick $50,000 in the hands of each state resident, and one out of two would use the cash to buy real estate instead of stocks, bonds or other investments, according to the latest Mobile Register-University of South Alabama poll.

Yeah, but wait until the ice caps melt and Mobile County is under water. Land won't do you much good then, will it?

Me, I would probably pay off my student loans. With what's left over, maybe a sandwich.

Ananova - At least one shot fired in Bastille Day incident

A "Neo-Nazi and hooligan" pulled out a .22 rifle as Jacque Chirac was passing by... The Reuters story on the incident says that the French government is planning to boost military spending. (I assume there's no connection between the two.) That's actually good news.

Department of Things You Couldn't Make Up

State may house inmates in tents

Also "portable classroom buildings" -- that is, trailers. Either way, they wouldn't seem to be very secure, but a lot more so than tents. I'd guess they'd still be in a fence, but still... Also, I'd bet they'd get sued for not providing appropriate housing.

60 Libertarians vying for offices

Because there's no better waste of time and money than running a campaign that's sure to not only lose but to be so pathetic the TV stations don't even give your vote totals. John Sophocleus, the Sure Loser gubernatorial candidate, teaches economics at Auburn. There probably is a comment I could make on the quality of economics instruction at Auburn, but I can't quite put it together.

May vote for him anyway. The Democrat is crooked and I won't vote Republican.

Israeli Aircraft Hit Palestinian Target in Gaza

Not sure what the provocation is this time, but there have been at least two cases of terrorists stopped before they could do anything the last day or two. The building is apparently part of one of the Palestinian security agencies, or maybe the house of a Hamas member.

UPDATE: It was Hamas leader Youssef Abed al-Wahab's home. Thanks to Laurence Simon for pointing it out.

U.K. police believe trainee rabbi's murder was homophobic act

Andreas Hinz probably was killed, as I guessed, because he was gay, rather than because he was Jewish. Not that it matters; bigotry is bigotry. The police have the same three people in custody they did Friday, but none of them have been charged.

Reuters Wire | 07/14/2002 | India Mulls Response to Kashmir Raid as Toll Rises

Another bloodbath in Kashmir. 27 people in a Hindu section of Jammu were killed by terrorists, some dressed as Hindu holy men. That number may rise; there are at least that many in the hospital, and the area is a slum (meaning that the residents probably weren't in the best of health to begin with). Indian leaders met today, and we'll see how they respond. Things had been pretty quiet in the last few weeks, but no more.

Norris could carry a gun as sheriff but not as citizen

The Democratic candidate for sheriff in Fayette County, Hubert Norris, served in that capacity from 1974 to 1989, when he went to prison for racketeering. He can't own a gun legally, but he can run for public office. Go figure.

S. Carolina leads a national surge in mobile-home living

I'm sure they're very proud. Alabama is sixth. We'd be higher except for all the tornadoes.

The Miami Herald | 07/14/2002 | Four airlines drop 10% senior discount

I'm not particularly upset about this -- hey, I'm 31 -- but it sure looks fishy that four airlines are doing it at once. In school, they had words for this like "collusion" and "antitrust violation", but I'm sure they'll get away with it, they always do.

New Zealand News - World - Japanese scale-model superjet suffers spectacular crash

That's the rocket that was carrying the model there. I don't know, maybe it malfunctioned and the model itself never had a chance?

The Nando Times: Israel intercepts car bomb; Peace talks stalled

Those wacky Israelis, always getting upset about car bombings and delaying peace talks!

Ananova - Model supersonic jetliner crashes shortly after takeoff

Well, so much for that try. Better luck next time, guys.