PM: As Palestinian 'cracks' grow, so do chances for deal

I mostly post this so I can get hits from people with a fetish for Palestinian cracks... Anyway, Sharon feels that if the Palestinians continue to fragment into feuding factions (say that five times fast) he can reach a satisfactory settlement. It really doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense to me, but then nothing else has worked.

Doctors study brain tissue of elk hunter / Montana man had symptoms similar to mad cow disease

Well, he was an elk hunter... They say it's highly unlikely he got chronic wasting disease ("Deer Aids") from eating venison. But he had the symptoms of Creutzfeldt-Jacob, and I don't know of any cases contracted in the US any other way.

CNN.com - Houston bayou named Superfund site - September 7, 2002

None of the Houston Axis has posted on this (that I've seen) so I figured I would. I'm guessing they'll wait until after the hurricane. Why is it that President Bush's environmental record in Texas doesn't get more play?

Chemicals in sediment from the bayou and adjacent areas include pesticides, aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury and other metals, according to tests by city and state agencies and the EPA.

Jeez, you're acting like that was poison or something! How can Texas maintain a healthy business environment if they aren't allowed to dump chemicals and heavy metals into nearby habitats? So the government will have to clean it up. Big whoop.

I Wish I'd Said That

Ted Barlow on the morons who heckled Colin Powell for criticizing Mugabe

I honestly don't understand these people. I don't think that it's hyperbole to say that the world is watching another Stalin work in real time. He's a racist murderer, deliberately engineering the mass deaths of his own people. He's turned a productive, self-sustaining country into a basket case, and is running all of its productive assets into the ground. Why in the hell would anyone support this man?

And that's just the beginning, as he moves from there to savage Randy Andy Sullivan. Lots of fun.

Mercury News | 09/07/2002 | Blair, Bush seek global support for mission against Iraq

Jeez, when did Dubya become the junior partner? Or is this an alphabetical order thing? At any rate, this probably really P.O.'s the British lefties.

I hereby propose that "Europe" no longer include Great Britain. It would make it a lot easier for us to tar everyone else there with the same brush. Why don't we invite them to join NAFTA?

Siegelman, Riley trade jabs over political ads

Both gubernatorial candidates have figured out that nobody really likes them, so they've gone negative to make people dislike their opponent even more. Siegelman, whom everyone hates, is especially negative. And they've already moved to bashing each other for going negative. Two months to go!

The Nando Times: West Nile virus found in California

So it's coast-to-coast now! Actually, they can't figure out how the woman they've found the virus in got the disease -- they didn't expect it yet.

(ID: warliberal, Password: warliberal)

Disturbing Canadian-related Search Requests

Google Search: shelby 18 montreal porn

This is another of those things I don't want to know about, right?

From the Ichthypundit

Snakehead dumped in Inner Harbor

Some dumbass dumped his pet giant snakehead (a different species from the northern snakehead that I'm obsessed with) in Maryland's Inner Harbor. Fortunately, the snakehead can't survive in salt water. (So why didn't they just put a couple of cases of Morton's in the DCSWF pond in Crofton?) There's no way that the owner couldn't have known about what's happening in Crofton, so there are two possibilities:

1. He knew that snakeheads couldn't survive in salt water so he chose there to dump it (alive). But why not just kill it outright?

2. He didn't know it would die and he was hoping it would thrive and (if there's an undiscovered partner) reproduce and take over the harbor, because he's an asshole.

AP Wire | 09/06/2002 | Storm parked in Gulf of Mexico

Is it just me, or is the National Hurricane Center picking out really wimpy names for storms these days? "Fay"? "Edouard"? Not to mention next year and the possibility someone will be killed by "Fabian". Or "Larry".

AP Wire | 09/06/2002 | Woman accuses Steelers' Bettis of sexual misconduct

I could make a joke around Jerome Bettis' nickname ("The Bus"), but I won't.

Edinburgh Evening News - Edinburgh - Police charge man over sex with traffic cone

Okay, even if you feel that the traffic cone is attractive, even if it's coming on to you, you should at least take it home first. Only common courtesy, really.

Residents’ groups, councillors and health activists have joined calls for people to have more respect for the area.

How about respect for your own body, huh?

(Thanks Combustible Boy.)

Board rethinks its no-fighting policy

Okay, kids shouldn't be fighting and they should get detention or whatever for it. But the Huntsville School Board has gone overboard. Their policy is that middle schoolers who are caught fighting be arrested and taken to the juvenile home.

First, there is the school board's no-fight policy. Passed in 1993, that policy orders principals to suspend or expel all students involved in a fight, regardless of who started it.

As part of the American educational system's longstanding "no self-defense" policy, no doubt.

From the Ichthypundit

Toothy piranha more interested in bark than bite

A "piranha" caught in the Warrior River (which I drive over every day) turns out instead to be a paca, a close relative of the piranha but a vegetarian. Once again, someone apparently dumped an aquarium fish into the nearest river. It's tropical and probably couldn't survive here. However:

Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries officials are particularly concerned about the Southeast Asian snakehead fish. They’re hardy fish and prolific breeders that closely resemble a native species, the bowfin or grinnel.

washingtonpost.com: No Sign of Trespasser at Chemical-Weapons Depot

Maybe one of those planes that aren't supposed to fly over picked him up. Nice security they have in Utah, by the way.

Reuters Wire | 09/06/2002 | U.N. Nuclear Experts Detect Changes at Iraqi Sites

But he's not building weapons of mass destructions! Don't invade! It would be unilateral!

Fun With Reuters Getting Names Wrong

Reuters AlertNet - Detroit Arab men plead innocent of terror link

In DETROIT story headlined "Detroit Arab men plead innocent of terror link" please change 2nd paragraph to read ... Farouk Ali-Haimoud ... instead of ... Farouk Ali-Maimoud

Farouk's been in jail for a year, finally got indicted (hey, how about that Constitutional protection!) and then the one news agency most likely to be sympathetic gets his name wrong.

Unapologetic Anti-Semitism: It's Not Just For Reuters Anymore!

AP Wire | 09/06/2002 | Israelis Unapologetic This New Year

Yes, AP is getting into the act as well. Apparently, the Israelis are supposed to apologize for something. Existing, probably. Happy New Year!

(Note to the person who will undoubtedly criticize me in the comments for not looking at both sides of the conflict: I have looked at both sides, and the Arabs have been found wanting. There was no massacre at Jenin, and the Israelis have in fact apologized for the recent deaths of civilians and are working on fixing the problem.)

Peculiar Canadian Search Requests

Google Search: zammar the talking rat

I like that. From now on, Mohammed Haydar Zammar shall be known as "Zammar the Talking Rat".

washingtonpost.com: German Police Arrest Two in Planned Attack on U.S. Base

Oh, great. Both are of Turkish origin, but one of them (a female employee at the PX at the targeted base) has dual American/German citizenship. She's probably better off in Germany, where she'll have some rights.

Of course, this is all our fault, right?

Dam!

Dam safety funds flow past state

Alabama won't get any dam safety funds from the Federal Government. Simple reason: We don't have a dam safety law. Well, it's probably not important.

The Alabama Office of Water Resources estimates some 2,000 dams in the state go uninspected, and about 200 of them probably would kill someone if they failed.

Oh.

Airspace limits proposed

Over chemical weapons depots. (You didn't know we had chemical weapons depots? Well, we do.) Anyway, it seems pretty reasonable.

From the Ichthypundit

Hundreds of baby snakeheads hauled away from Crofton ponds

They didn't expect nearly that many, I guess. They collected 566 inch-long snakeheads, all in a small area. That means that the snakehead mama and papa had two crops of young, not one. And it indicates that if snakeheads do get established in American waters, they might spread faster than we thought.

However, the poison seemed not to have harmed turtles, frogs or the pair of ducks that live in the pond.

Aw, ducks. Wait, those aren't ducks! They're snakeheads in disguise!

Weird German Search Requests

Google-Suche: ANT QADAFI WEB SITE

Disturbing South Carolinian Search Requests

Yahoo! Search Results for SOUTH CAROLINA COUPLE SEX SWAP MEETS

I particularly love the plural. They need more than one "sex swap meet". Or whatever they're looking for. I don't really want to know.

NYPOST.COM National News: TENNIS HOAX IS ‘STUNNING' By MARC BERMAN and GERSH KUNTZMAN

A lot of you probably heard about this. Sports Illustrated ran a prank story about a ficticious female Russian tennis player. It was an obvious joke, really from the beginning. (Her name was supposedly "Simonya", as in S1m0ne.) But the Women's Tennis Association is all upset at SI and the author, Jon Wertheim for making fun of their sport and insinuating that the WTA really wants an infusion of sex to promote. Of course, the WTA does use sex to sell the game, but they like to deny it.

You know what's most ridiculous? Wertheim has promoted tennis an awful lot, and is one of the sport's more visible writers. Getting five pages -- even five pages of a joke -- into Sports Illustrated seems good for the game. To me, anyway.

Holocaust denier Irving spoke in Cleveland suburb

Internationally famous slimebag David Irving spoke to a group of local slimebags near Cleveland August 25. I ask you, why is it that if England can keep Louis Farrakhan out, we can't return the favor with the loathsome Irving?

Scientist claims to block gravity

Suuuuure.

This is actually the same "science" I made fun of NASA funding a few weeks ago. And the article -- more a column, really -- is actually quite sarcastic about it. Good job.

The Unbelievers

Roundup of various insane Sept. 11 conspiracy theories. The accused: Bush, the CIA, Jews (of course), the Swiss, Big Oil. Conspiracy theorists are morons, but they're also offensive.

Multilevel Marketing in Immigrant Communities

Multilevel Marketing = Pyramid Scheme. Just to make that clear. Apparently, they're prospering among Asian immigrants on the West Coast.

ESPN.com - Page2 - NOW is NOT the time

ESPN's new columnist Jason Whitlock appears to be particularly clueless, even for a sportswriter. Whitlock (who is African American) apparently feels that while racism is really bad, sexism is only mildly offensive, a PG-13 type sin. And therefore, while it was important to integrate Augusta National racially, integrating it sexually isn't a pressing need.

[African-Americans] just don't want powerful people who never take the time to get to know us gathering together and making decisions that could impact our lives. The best way we know how to combat that problem is by sending in a token or two.

But women, heck, they're flighty and need important decisions made for them.

I'm not going accuse him of not even knowing that the National Organization of Women is not organizing the efforts against Augusta National, since he presumably didn't write the headline. So his editor is clueless as well.

Whitlock's colleague Jim Caple is content to make fun of Hootie Johnson's name.

CNN.com - Couple try to name baby bin Laden - September 5, 2002

I honestly don't know what's worse. You have a couple of Turkish extraction, living in Germany who want to name their child "Osama bin Laden". And yet, I'm on their side, because of one of Germany's insane nanny-state Eurolaws:

Names can only be registered in Germany if they fulfil certain criteria. A name must clearly identify the child's gender and must not ridicule the child or be offensive.

Speaking as someone who's spent days of his life spelling his first name and assuring people that it is his first name... That's just ridiculous. I understand that they don't want people naming their kids "Adolf Hitler Schmidt", but this is really the government interfering where it doesn't belong.

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Pakistanis Protest al-Qaida Hunt

Yeah, that's just great, guys! They're running all over your country, killing foreigners and native Christians. And I guess that makes you happy.

WHY IS RACISM BAD AND SEXISM OK?

Dilan Esper on the Masters:

I think there is something deeper than this. We have certainly become a less sexist society now than we were. But traditional gender roles have had more staying power in society than traditional racial roles, which seem to be relegated to the presence of a black bellhop at a fancy hotel (a sight I always wince at when I see it). There are a lot of people who have learned not to say so many sexist things, and maybe to accept women in their workplace, but who still believe, perhaps for religious reasons, or perhaps simply because they long for a more patriarchal society, that women shouldn't occupy the new roles that they have been permitted. Whatever the reason, it is extremely troubling-- after all, there is no better reason that the rich males of Georgia ought to be able to exclude women from the social fora at which they make their business deals than there would be for the rich whites of Georgia to exclude blacks from those same fora. Yet I have a feeling the rich males are going to get away with it.

Study finds optimism could help you live longer

You know, if true this will have a feedback effect, in that it will make naturally optimistic people even more optimistic, so they'll live even longer.

Patriotic doorway painted over by UA

Weird anti-Americanism isn't just for the North anymore! An honor society at the University of Alabama had painted the doorway at their dorm in a red-white-and-blue motif. (They had permission.) But the school wrote them two weeks ago to say that the doorway "didn't fit the architectural scheme" (and that monstrosity of a student center does? And the bizarre yellow brick building stuck in the middle of a campus full of red brick?) and sent workers to paint it over. You can't get maintenance people to repair a broken window or bad plaster in less than two weeks (believe me, I lived in a UA dorm for three years) but they got this done in a single day. Makes me glad I haven't paid my alumni dues...

Interesting Finnish Search Requests

Google-haku: euro-terrorist

BusinessWeek Online:Chainsaw Al Dunlap Cuts His Last Deal

Destroy a company, cook the books, and perpetrate a massive fraud... and you'll be facing a stiff fine, buddy!

Sunbeam: Bankrupt.
Investors: Lost $4.4 billion.
Al Dunlap, responsible for the above: $500,000 fine out of a personal net worth of $100 million. It's the equivalent (I calculated) of fining me about twenty bucks.

Reuters Wire | 09/05/2002 | India to Pursue Extradition of Bhopal Accused

Yeah! Go India!

If you've forgotten, Union Carbide screwed up royally at its plant in the city of Bhopal. About three thousand people were killed and numerous others crippled or left with permanent illnesses after a gas leak. Former UC Chairman Warren Anderson is considered a fugitive from Indian justice. He was arrested and released on bail in 1984.

War Liberal is The People's Republic of Seabrook Site of the Day. Thank you, Jack!

Puyallup Fair's newest scream: a caloric rush of fried Twinkies and candy bars

Fried Twinkies? Is it even possible to make something worse for your health?

H.I.V. Reinfection Surprises Scientists

Hey, this is just wonderful. A 38-year-old man already infected with HIV has contracted another strain of the virus.

Miami Facing New Challenge on Gay Rights

The wingers are at it again. They've put a measure on the ballot to overturn an ordinance protecting gays from discrimination. I can't believe this is still an issue.

Hey, Alabama may be under NCAA sanctions, but Auburn's being investigated for maybe violating accreditation standards.

Okay, NCAA probation is worse.

Boston Globe Online / Nation | World / LSU says it fired scientist after US threat to funding

Unwilling to simply ruin Steven Hatfill's career passively, the government threatened LSU's funding in order to get him fired. This is just wrong. Either they have evidence, in which case he should be in custody, or they don't, in which case they shouldn't be harassing him.

Reuters Wire | 09/05/2002 | Many Dead After Car Bomb Rocks Central Kabul

Meanwhile, in the last phase of the war... The story reports "10, maybe more" -- I've seen reports of as many as 22. Presumably this is the work of Taliban sympathizers, but that's not guaranteed.

CNN.com - Fire destroys famed covered bridge - September 4, 2002

It's one of those Bridges of Madison County bridges. Now, all we need is for fire to destroy every copy of the book, all the manuscripts and galleys, and just to be on the safe side Robert James Waller, and we'll be safe.

Yahoo! News - Actress: Ageism Plagues Hollywood

So says Doris Roberts. But come on. Hollywood is largely about looks, remember? That's how it is. Looking attractive is part of an actress' job. I'm not saying it's fair, but that's how it is -- people like looking at pretty people. (In particular, they like looking at pretty people who have horrible problems, because that makes us feel better. We may not be pretty, but at least we aren't amnesiac kleptomaniac nymphomaniac drug addicts with bulemia.) Do you want to force Hollywood to cast more old people, even though the movies and shows will crash, because it would mean more jobs for you and your friends?

Girls who are close to mothers wait longer to have sex, study finds

I can't say I'm surprised by that. And in the real "dog bites man" department, if their mothers strongly disapprove they'll be less likely to have premarital sex. And boys don't listen to their mothers about it at all.

Of course, this is one of those surveys when they just ask a girl if she's had sex. And wouldn't one whose mother disapproved, or one close to her mother, be more likely to lie about that? I'm just saying.

From The Independent... Analysis: Saddam's arsenal: from chemical weapons to nuclear programme

This is what they think he has, anyway. And if we're going after him personally, he has no reason not to use it all. My guess is that he has one or two surprises yet, and I wouldn't be surprised if he does have at least a small nuke. And he will get one, eventually. All he really needs is the material; building a Hiroshima or Nagasaki type bomb one you have that is supposedly relatively easy. I don't know about delivery, but that might not be such a problem in an invasion where he could use one as basically a mine.

Neanderthals in Ugly Jackets Update:

Ginger Stampley, in PR of Seabrook's comments:

If the Masters can go commercial-free and that's what Augusta need to do to maintain its exclusionary policies, the club has a legal right to do it. That doesn't make it morally right, and it doesn't make it wrong for an umbrella group of organizations to call bullshit on the club.

And Lisa English, same source:

What I do see is a bunch of GOWB down in Georgia who want the perks of a Big Time Masters, but don't feel like stepping into the new century. You know, I've no problem if they choose not to admit women. I think it's their prerogative. However, I'm pleased as punch that they'll not see the perks that ordinarily come with the gig. I'm pleased that their behavior is deemed Cro Magnun because it is.

See, that's what I've been trying to say.

T Lurksalot also points me to Iain of Grim Amusements' take on Augusta National. (There's another post here.)

Interestingly, there are those that take issue with comparing Augusta National's exclusion of women with its exclusion of blacks. The issue, as I understand it, is that because segregation was a legal requirement for so very long, that somehow makes it different. OK, fine; that explains Augusta National's whites-only policy up through 1960. How then do you explain the thirty years after that?

After 1960, Augusta National's exclusion of blacks was a choice, pure and simple. A choice which they were legally allowed, but not required, to make. And until 1990, there were no significant consequences to that choice; when they were threatened with the loss of the tournament sanction, they admitted blacks. Now, again, admitting women is a choice, legal and allowable, if perhaps reprehensible. For the moment, Augusta National chooses to deal with the consequences of that.

vnunet.com Researchers invent P2P network killer

Two guys named Andrew think they have a way to kill peer-to-peer file sharing networks. It's a strategy, not a program, mind you. And I'm not convinced it will work. It's based mostly upon the content companies persecuting individual users, which they like to do anyway.

From the Ichthypundit, Though These Are Actually Mollusks

Bangkok Post Thursday 05 September 2002 - Deadly octopus high on list of fab, fad pets

Apparently, people in Thailand are keeping poisonous octopodes (is that right, Dr. Weevil?) as pets. There's no known antidote to their stings. They have pretty colors, apparently.

From the Ichthypundit

Poisoned snakeheads go belly up

Maryland DNR is finally putting in the poison to kill the snakeheads. It appears to be working... so far. I would point out that their last poison attempt didn't kill the plants they were hoping to get.

The voracious appetite of the snakehead was apparent when one 4-inch juvenile was cut open and a whole, inch-long sunfish and a whole mosquito fish, similar to a minnow, were found in its stomach.

Of course, that sunfish and mosquito fish only predeceased their brethren in the pond by a brief while. All the fish in the pond are going to be killed by the poison. If not...

This fall, the DNR plans to electroshock the pond to test if any fish survived the poisoning. If so, the pond may be poisoned again...

Stay tuned for the sequel!

The Nando Times: Barenboim, Edward Said receive prize

A peace prize, "Spain's Prince of Asturias Concord Prize". Words fail me. Edward Said, rockthrower and peacemaker. (ID: warliberal, password: warliberal.)

Another Low Beyond Outpost

I finally found someone else talking about the Masters/sexism thing. Here's T Lurksalot's take.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | French business slams work reform

More France-bashing! The French government wants a temporary relaxation of rules limiting work hours. The Socialists had put a cap of 35 hours a week, with only limited overtime. The new plan would allow enough overtime to bring it up to about 38 hours a week. The unions, of course, are against it, and businesses want the restrictions relaxed more and made permanent.

French unemployment had fallen -- fallen! -- to nine percent under the 35 hour week. But it's going up again. The French, of course, want to make everyone's economic system like theirs...

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Bulgaria to build a Noah's Ark

As a tourist attraction, they're not expecting a flood. Or are they?

At any event, there's no Biblical (let alone historical) reason to build an ark in Bulgaria. Some fruitcakes are saying that the flood story is based upon a real flood-destroyed civilization in the basin currently filled by the Black Sea, but I don't take that seriously. The "actual" flood was certainly in Mesopotamia, and the Biblical Ark came to rest in Ararat, ancient Urartu, in southern Turkey. Bulgaria and Turkey are, of course, neighbors, but the part of Turkey in question is about 500 miles from Bulgaria's Black Sea coast.

Oh, and they say "there will be pairs of the different animal species chosen once by Noah", which should be loads of fun. Actually, I want to see that just to demonstrate the practical impossibility of the flood story, not that it will convince anyone.

Rolling rolling rolling...

Checking around the increasingly bloated blogroll...

I'm afraid I've made Meryl paranoid. Sorry about that. It's probably not West Nile. Get better, drink plenty of fluids, and try not to watch the news. It's really depressing.

If it helps, The Bear thinks Meryl wiped the mat with the tag-team of Andersen and Sully.



Laurence Simon is outraged at his former employers (again). This time, they've launched an "investigation" of a nationally recognized local charity that delivers meals to poor children. Their investigation has scared off donors and the charity has had to close its doors. Temporarily, they hope.

Dominion rips apart that dreadful ad -- maybe you've seen it, or maybe it's just running in the South -- about the "Lawsuit Tax". It's another piece of "tort reform", blame the lawyers garbage, which I was going to rant about but he's done better. ("[T]he whole of the tort reform movement is to limit how much a company has to pay for acting like a jerk.") I'm not unbiased here; my father is a trial lawyer, my sister is a trial lawyer, my brother is a law student. But for all the consumerist rhetoric, "tort reform" is basically a way of protecting corporate wrongdoers.

The should-be Maxim Blogger points to another French Folly: the CESM want an international tax! "Anything that will help bring on a depression", that's the French motto. It's France-bashing day here at War Liberal!

As Meryl noted in the comments, it seems that nobody but me cares about the Masters/sex discrimination/sponsor boycott thing. I am going to prefer to believe it's just that nobody thinks it's interesting.

Enough for now. Maybe I'll do another sweep later.

Spam Spam Spam Spam...

My Yahoo email account is averaging about 70 pieces of spam a day. I mean, I assume a certain amount, but doesn't that seem excessive? I don't check it every day, but I almost have to now just to keep it from going over the storage limit.

French film project on 9/11 blasted as anti-American

No, really? An anti-American film about Sept 11? And it's French? What are the odds?

What I'm going to call "11 Stupid Short Films about Sept. 11" has some of the usual alt/foreign film stuff, boring but generally unoffensive. And then it has some stuff that is rightly termed "garbage" by Italy's Il Foglio:

Egyptian director Youssef Chahine's contribution is an 11-minute blast at U.S. foreign policy that stars the ghost of a handsome U.S. Marine killed in a terrorist attack in Lebanon in 1983. Chahine lectures the dead Marine on the destruction that U.S. meddling in the world has wrought -- from Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the current Middle East conflict. The ghost is grateful for being enlightened.

British filmmaker Ken Loach features an exiled Chilean living in Britain who writes a letter to the families of the Sept. 11 victims, drawing their attention instead to the events in Chile on Sept. 11, 1973, when a U.S.-supported coup d'etat ushered in an era of torture and death.

Yep, World War II was "US meddling". Pretty much the typical Arab anti-American crap, I'd guess. And what US support for Pinochet (which, don't get me wrong, was criminal) has to do with Sept. 11 is beyond me, and anyone who would be crass enough to write a letter like that...

Expert in anthrax investigation loses job

I'd just like to congratulate the Feds. Steven Hatfill may or may not be guilty. But whether he is or not, they've done a great job of ruining his life and career.

Hatfill is a liar and a creep. He's probably not a terrorist, and if he deserved the job in the first place he doesn't deserve this.

City could get clean air label

After 24 years! Birmingham has always -- to me, anyway -- had a problem with ozone pollution. The city might actually manage to get off the list this year, if September goes okay. I really don't think they've done anything different, mind you, it's just luck.

The air in Birmingham is much cleaner than it used to be. Again, that's not because of any positive action. Birmingham used to be a big steel town, and steel plants put out a lot of pollutants. There's no steel industry to speak of anymore. My mother used to say that when she was a child, if she wore white it would be grey by the end of the day, just from air pollution.

Honor Mike Spann - Honor-Valor-Country 

The site for the family of slain (probably by Johnny the Rat) CIA agent Johnny Michael Spann.

Spann's dad: Lindh lawyers seeking sympathy

The father of the CIA agent that Johnny the Rat Crybaby Terror-symp probably helped kill isn't breaking any new ground with this interpretation. But I'm going to spread the word anyway:

"If you are 18 years old and you take part in a robbery that kills somebody or you go out and get drunk and you run over someone and kill them you have to be responsible for your actions. You don't just go and say I want y'all to forgive me and that's it," Spann said. "Forgiveness does not take the place of being responsible for what you did and paying the price for what you did."

Three Palestinians shot by Israel, one house destroyed on its inhabitants

Not that I should expect anything better from the "Arabic News", but the headline makes it seem like this monster, Israel, has shot Palestinians. Yes, every single person in Israel is to blame, so it's okay to kill them.

Yahoo! News - Europeans Critical of U.S. Policies

A majority of people in six European countries (Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland) "believe American foreign policy is partly to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks, a survey found." Well, a majority of people in six European countries are a bunch of assholes.

They'd all be speaking German except for us, except for the Germans who would be speaking Russian. Anyway, the Italians were "least critical", with "only" 51 percent blaming the US. The French, of course, were most critical, 63 percent.

Israel News : Jerusalem Post Internet Edition
Northern border road closed on terror warning

The IDF is investigating an explosion on Mount Dov, in Northern Israel. Why? "A cow stepped on a mine". Hamburger all around!

(Another one from Meryl.)

Disturbing Search Requests

Yahoo! Search Results for overpopulation of haitians in miami

Disturbing to me, anyway. I mean, if they were concerned about overpopulation generally, that's one thing. But they seem to be worried about there being too many Haitians.

lake effect: a weblog

Dan Hartung has the number of people who were moved around in Europe after each of the World Wars. It really puts the Palestinians in perspective. I was more or less aware of this, actually, but hadn't thought about the numbers before. But look at Germany in 1914, then at the Germanies in 1946. Or the Poland established in 1919 and the one that exists now. And think.

From the Ichthypundit

Singapore aquarium recycles an old Jaguar - 9/3/2002 - ENN.com

Jaguars can swim? Oh, the car. The aquarium has filled an old car with water and has turned it over to a bunch of fish. I just hope they don't get it working; with all the recent assaults from fish we don't want them too mobile.

From the Ichthypundit

Time Running Out for Maryland Snakehead Fish

Yeah, we've heard that before, haven't we? Until I actually see footage of snakeheads floating on the top of the pond, I won't believe they've been stopped. And maybe not then. They really should drain the ponds, and just to be careful set fire to the bottom.

What Does She See In Him?

Ananova - Buffy star marries Freddie Prinze Jr in secret ceremony

I never have understood the whole Freddie Prinze Jr. thing. I guess I'm not supposed to.

Shooting for the Moon Pie

Want to be in the paper looking like a pig? Enter a Moon Pie-eating contest!

Broadway Is Dead

Actually, we knew that. Now, its bloated corpse is coughing up stuff like this:

Ananova - Tim Burton to direct stage musical Batman

With music by Jim Steinman! This just might not only be the worst musical ever, but the worst thing ever. (Joke stolen from Mike Nelson's review of Batman & Robin.) I can't imagine a universe in which this is a good idea.

ajc.com | Sports | FURMAN BISHER
Please stop harassing Masters

Bisher was a talented sportswriter, once. But that was before I was born. As long as I can remember he's been a real-life sports version of Dana Carvey's Cranky Old Man, or maybe Abe Simpson. He hates everyone and everything except a select group of other cranky old men. The Masters, as the every symbol of Cranky (White) Old Southern Men, is one of the things he doesn't hate.

Augusta National Golf Club can go hang as far as I'm concerned. If they don't want any girls in their clubhouse, that's their business. But they don't have any right to avoid criticism, especially since they get hour upon hour of live television every year with CBS all breathless about how wonderful it is. I'm sure that the head of the NCWO is a dreadful person. That doesn't mean she's not essentially right, or that she's not well within her rights to use economic power to try and bring the club into the 20th century. If they don't like it, they can pay the network to air the tournament. Which is what they're doing.

McDonald's to Cook with Healthier Oil

Well, they say it's healthier. I don't know what's healthy anymore. What I will say is that it's weird that McDonalds' -- the United States of fast food -- is the only chain that gets blamed for having fatty foods when all the restaurants do it. But the sort of people who harp on diet are the same sort of people who hate anything popular.

I made a joke yesterday about the Norwegians -- who regularly violate the international ban on whaling -- killing Keiko the Killer Whale and eating him on crackers. Just a joke. Well, guess what?

CNN.com - Call to kill 'Free Willy' star - September 3, 2002

Yup, a "whaling expert" says he should be put to death. The world refuses to allow itself to be parodied.

A concept for revitalization

I've spoken on downtown "revitalization" before. Maybe it's not right to say it never works. But it doesn't work often. This one's a little different from the usual "sort of nineteenth century" look cities (including Birmingham) have usually gone for. Instead, they're offering tax breaks for an "entrepeneurial zone" downtown. Maybe it'll work, but there's still nowhere to park and the public transportation is lousy.

Crop dusters: 'We are more cautious now'

Yes, it's a hard-hitting look at how crop dusting has changed since 9-11. They've started locking up the hangars. That's it... Yes, Mohammed Atta was looking into crop-dusting as a method of spreading poison or infectious agents. But apparently, he decided that wouldn't work.

IOL : Lift Zim curbs or it's war, Nujoma warns EU

So Bobby Mugabe has his friends, one of whom is the President of Namibia. And he "warned" the EU that if they didn't lift sanctions against Zimbabwe that the African Union would levy sanctions on Europe. Europe is really scared, I'm sure.

While the history of European interference in Africa is horrific, there's a real hypocrisy to the attitude seen here. The African leaders didn't have any problem with imposing sanctions on the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Apparently, it's okay to interfere in the internal government of white-dominated regimes. (To make clear: I approved of the sanctions on South Africa to end apartheid, and I approve of the sanctions on Mugabe now.)

Also, Mugabe referred to Zimbabwe as his personal property.

Disturbing Brazilian Search Requests

Pesquisa Google: xp portuguese activate crack

So I'm guessing this person wants to know how to get into the Windows XP program?

Disturbing Search Requests

Google Search: redstone arsenal concealed carry

"Gee, I wonder if I can bring my gun into the missile facility. I'll check on the Internet!"

Lawyers ask for gag order in peephole lawsuit

Here's a fun one. A Tuscaloosa food mart is being sued for its employees allegedly looking into the restrooms through peepholes.

Negotiators agree on plan to fight poverty, save the environment

Also, everyone will now live in a fairyland with magic trees that bear gumdrops and there will be elves and unicorns and nobody will ever have to work ever again.

USATODAY.com - 'Free Willy' whale turns up in Norwegian fjord

The Norwegians, who consistently violate the international ban on whaling, then shot him with a harpoon, chopped him into little bits and served him on crackers.

No, not really. Yet. But have you noticed that the violators of the whaling ban (Norway, Iceland, and Japan) don't seem to mind calling the US "unilateralist"?

Russia to veto use of force against Iraq : HindustanTimes.com

Wow. If we were going to put this thing before the Security Council, or cared what they think, this would be a real blow.

Ichthypundit Department

Tennessee woman drowns in Gulf of Mexico; daughter saved

Hey, all you people from landlocked states, don't worry about swimming in the ocean. It's just like a swimming pool, only bigger and with salt and fish instead of chlorine and urine. And don't pay any attention to those red warning flags -- they're just for insurance purposes. So just just dive on in. And by all means, bring the kids!

Church still waiting for Clinton donation

Here you go, all you Clinton-haters, I hope this will tide you over for awhile. Our last elected President hasn't paid a $20 donation to the southern Alabama church where his great-grandparents are buried. It's supposed to help pay for upkeep of the cemetary. His secretary says that they don't have any record of the request, the church says they've sent several requests by fax and mail. Whatever.

Disturbing Italian Search Requests

Cerca con Google: blocks exterminator crack

Either there's a serious drug problem among Italian exterminators, or they have the same probably traditionally ascribed to plumbers in the US.

Six-day Arab industrial products show opens

Oh, for fun! Though I'd think they'd want to avoid anything six days long. Bad memories, you know. Anyway, I'm not quite clear on what they're trying to sell, since the Saudi Entity doesn't actually make anything. Well, there's always oil, I suppose they could sell it to each other.

(Thanks, Meryl.)

CNN.com - A smirking Tom Hanks attends Venice Film Festival - August 31, 2002

"Smirking"? Is he up for "The George W. Bush Story"?

UA shootings blamed on outsiders

Supposedly, none of the students at the University of Alabama would ever have a gun, or fire it in the air at a party. It's all those "outsiders" -- that is, people who actually live and work in Tuscaloosa -- who cause the problems. Of course it is.

Radio Address of the President to the Nation

"'Labor Day'? What the hell is that? You mean someone created a holiday for workers? I'm not going to mention that in my address, no way!"

(Via Atrios.)

CNN.com - Iraqi official calls U.S. charges 'baseless' - September 1, 2002

And hey, if you can't believe Tariq Aziz, who can you believe?

KRT Wire | 09/01/2002 | Republicans confident they will defy history in midterm election

Since even Karl Rove thinks it's going to be close, I feel pretty confident that we're going to take the House back.

Icthypundit Department

Killer fish won't say die

Yep, the snakeheads yet live! The state poisoned the plants in the ponds -- two weeks ago! -- and it didn't do a lick of good, apparently. The plants are still around, and the snakeheads are "still biting". With all the rain they're getting lately, conditions are ripe for a pondbreak.

Icthypundit Department

Reeling in a record: a 65-pound salmon

I've seen salmon leap. We really don't want this guy getting together with the Attack Sturgeon -- good thing he's been caught.

Hijack suspect attended U.S. flight school

The Swedes seem to have gone to the LAX Shooter school of terrorism denial. Of course this guy isn't a terrorist! Just because he's a convert to Islam and carried a gun onto a plane, why would you think that?

Women's group warns CBS not to air Masters

Well, that headline is a little overdone. It's not like they threatened to blow up the Ed Sullivan Theater if they did. The leader of the women's group in question (the National Council of Women's Organizations, not NOW) seems to be playing the "moral persuasion" card. And you know how effective that is with TV people.

CNN.com - Kentucky prison suspends satanic services - August 31, 2002

Freedom of religion? What's that?

CNN.com - Berlin withholds Moussaoui evidence - September 1, 2002

Our allies, ladies and gentlemen! They're afraid that we might execute this bastard, so they won't cooperate. I am sick and tired of this garbage. I'm not crazy about the death penalty myself, but this sort of self-righteous refusal to assist in a criminal investigation will not be forgotten.

Leviticus group takes aim at corruption

You know, whenever supposedly "Christian" people start talking about anything in the book of Leviticus, it's not good. This is usually the book they turn to to say that such-and-such is evil and whoever they don't like is going to Hell.