:: ::
:: MAX BLACK ::
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."--C.S. Lewis
"The Swiss pocket knife of conservative thought on the web..." - Eli Kardrakian
"Bookmark Max and dump your subscription to the newspaper; if you don't have a birdcage you really don't need it anyway..." - Shirley St. James
:: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 ::
"Internet addiction treatment centers offer online counseling" You don't say.
:: Max 11:32 PM [+] ::
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Kevin Aylward over at Wizbang has been keeping an eye on the New Orleans Times Picayune for their ongoing investigation of the failures of the levees. It's begining to look like both the Army Corp and private engineers took some deadly shorcuts: "Engineers underestimated the weak soil layers 10 to 25 feet below the levee..."
Related: Deroy Murdock takes an eyepopping tour of the destruction of the Crescent City [lots of pictures]; observes:"Beyond the Lower Ninth Ward, stands the London Avenue Canal. Dusk finds breaches in the floodwall that let water drown the Crescent City. These deadly breaks have been sealed temporarily with gravel. Researchers have discovered that floodwalls like this one only extend 10 feet into the ground, as opposed to 26, as the Army Corps of Engineers recommended. Louisiana's attorney general and the FBI are investigating whether this shortfall involved cost-cutting, shoddy workmanship, or deliberate fraud. The latter would have planted the seeds for the negligent homicide of many of the 1,076 Louisianans killed in Katrina's wake. The death penalty would befit such perpetrators."
Sorry to disappoint you Mr. Farakahn; the levees weren't "blown up" - it appears to be a case of gross negligence on the part of the engineers and/or contractors.
Update: I just Googled the local firm, Eustis Engineering of New Orleans and found their "about us" page interesting.
:: Max 8:34 PM [+] ::
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French owned oil company Total "supporting the Myanmar [Burma] military dictatorship"; hinders grassroots efforts at democratization.
:: Max 8:23 PM [+] ::
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Hillary for President! Really.
:: Max 3:35 PM [+] ::
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"The Democrats are giving aid and comfort to the enemy for no purpose other than giving aid and comfort to the enemy. There is no plausible explanation for the Democrats' behavior other than that they long to see U.S. troops shot, humiliated, and driven from the field of battle.
"They fill the airwaves with treason, but when called to vote on withdrawing troops, disavow their own public statements. These people are not only traitors, they are gutless traitors."
-Ann Coulter
:: Max 12:31 PM [+] ::
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The Liberal Creed: What they believe [don't miss this one!]
Related: Superb diagnosis by Psychiatrist Pat Santy of the liberal psychosis.
:: Max 11:53 AM [+] ::
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Good Lord Almighty, I'm finding this difficult to believe... [click to enlarge]
:: Max 8:41 AM [+] ::
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Jack Cashill has an excellent rundown of the Plame/Wilson fiasco. As has been demonstrated here and elsewhere - ad infinitum - the New York Times' pet Bush-Basher Joe Wilson is a liar.
:: Max 8:10 AM [+] ::
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:: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 ::"...the prosecutor has warned everyone involved in the case not to discuss it publicly."
BwaaaaHaaaHaaaaHaaaaaHaaaaHaaa...
:: Max 12:07 AM [+] ::
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Watts-a-matta Cindy? Can't get Fonda on the phone and Michael Moore won't return your calls anymore? Have ya tried Noam Chompsky? How about Jimmy Carter? Jesse Jackson?...
:: Max 7:57 PM [+] ::
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Ever heard of "The Project"?"The Project is an outline for a strategy - most likely drawn up by the Muslim Brotherhood - to combine jihad, surveillance, infiltration and propaganda (among other techniques) in order to 'establish the reign of Allah throughout in the world' via the creation of the Caliphate and its subsequent dominance."
Multilingual blogger Scott Burgess translates the double-super-secret text for your enjoyment and ridicule.
:: Max 7:29 PM [+] ::
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Place your bets: Pajamas Media Death Pool
:: Max 4:56 PM [+] ::
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List of 20 cult-films you should see.
[The Thing From Another World - my favorite]
:: Max 4:41 PM [+] ::
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French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin: Stay the course in Iraq (!?)
:: Max 4:26 PM [+] ::
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Individual "Minutemen" targeted by violent Latino gang leader; promises "showdown" in Tombstone Arizona.
:: Max 4:09 PM [+] ::
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Omnipotent moral [and probably unemployed] busybodies vacate Crawford, Texas.
:: Max 3:54 PM [+] ::
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ThreatsWatch.org now added to Prairie Fire blogroll. Check it out.:: Monday, November 28, 2005 ::
:: Max 1:32 PM [+] ::
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Maxatorial
Is Google manipulating search results?
Because the Internet has enabled everyone - and I mean everyone on this planet - a real voice in public policy, the dictatorial ruling classes around the globe are feeling the heat. This is why the UN would love to get their bloody, conniving hands on the Internet - the free flow of information threatens their private little kleptocracy-club. Of course, selective editing or filtering of the content of the Internet by certain countries, like China and Saudi Arabia, has been going on for some time but that's a far cry from allowing centralized control of the root servers at the heart of the internet by an entity as demonstrably incapable, corrupt and buffoonish as the UN.
More surprising, the unabashedly liberal founders of Google have been accused of altering search rankings, and deleting content that doesn't necessarily fit their particular philosophical viewpoint - a far more dangerous precedent because this simple work-around proves control of the Internet's root servers isn't required for the control of the flow of information! Should someone wish to prevent the unwashed masses from accessing information deemed politically incorrect a simple tweak of Google's ranking algorythms can render entire genres of infomation invisible with the click of a mouse.
In fact, Google admits removing controversial content such as racial hate sites and although somewhat arbitrary [there are currently 3,640,000 kiddie-porn sites listed on Google!] this type of "editing" seems reasonable. But what is disturbing here is that because Google is a corporate entity it isn't compelled to provide an explanation of their criteria for deleting websites from its database [or relegating "offending" sites into search-engine purgatory] and have been less than forthcoming in stating publicly what sites have been redacted and why. As an example, researchers found that a sample query on Google-USA differed significantly from the same query on Google-France and Germany. When confronted with the finding, Google spokesman Nate Tyler said: "each site was removed only after a specific complaint from the government of the country concerned."
Oh really? What other "specific complaints" have governments registered with Google? Nobody knows.
As the depth and reach of the Internet increases over time, those who have reason to fear it's extraordinary capabilities will likely exert pressure to gain editorial control - particularly in times of political unrest. Of course, this is the very point when it's power is most useful to the people and conversely, most threatening to the political elite. What mechanism prevents Google from caving to the whims of powerful but corrupt governments in the future?
At this juncture, it does not appear Google is meddling with content in any wholesale fashion but it does look as though they're tinkering. As a publicly traded company, they owe the general public and their shareholders a policy paper stating explicitly what sites they are blocking and why. This statement should also include a transparent, honest, timely and public release of all requests by governments and government officials to censor sites the country in question is urging Google to block. As it stands now, nobody has a clue how much "filtering" the most popular search-engine in the world is doing.
An internet without Google is now impossible to imagine - it's so effective and useful it's become an essential feature - an extension really - of human cognition. As the web matures and nodes are added, the search component can only gain in power. It's hard to imagine how it might evolve in, say, a decade. If Google should ultimately edge out all contenders in the search-engine wars and become the default tool for the retrieval and dissemination of news and information - the singular and solitary source of access to the world's collective intelligence - it's keepers must leave their political ideology and financial conflicts of interest behind and develop and implement demonstrable safeguards that insure it's future integrity.
Related: CNET article announcing the awarding of patents pertaining to Google's search technologies.
More: Did you know Google maintains a Blog? Yes, it's a GoogleBlog and I can't believe I just wrote that.
More: Everybody loves Google Maps; this person is obsessed with them.
More: Here's the unofficial Google Weblog and Xooglers, a web log maintained by Google's former marketing director [a fascinating chronicle of the heady startup days when Google was little more than an idea].
More: Googling Google: 745 MILLION hits in under 1/3 of a second [astonishing].
:: Max 3:07 PM [+] ::
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Why the left hates sex - really.
:: Max 3:05 PM [+] ::
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Walmart a "Progressive" corporation? This person thinks so.
:: Max 2:10 PM [+] ::
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Flash! Dems announce their "new and improved" Iraq Policy!
:: Max 1:09 PM [+] ::
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The Religious Policeman discusses the Muslim mating ritual concluding this about Saudi women: "So you see why we need to keep our daughters at home until we find them a husband. We keep them in prison until we find them a new prison, otherwise they go to prison."
By all means, read the whole thing.
Related: The Big Pharaoh discusses divorce with a Christian colleague - what a coincidence!
:: Max 12:27 PM [+] ::
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At first I thought this had to be a spoof site but, well, it's for real. Yessiree, there really is a World Toilet Organization. Thanks, Andrew, for making us aware.
:: Max 10:43 AM [+] ::
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Wow...
:: Max 8:37 AM [+] ::
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Oh Joy. Woke up to a dead wireless modem and corrupted DSL software. Been on the phone with a call-center tech in the Phillipines for an hour and a half rejiggering the DSL connection. The people who do this for SBC are tremendously knowledgeable, polite and patient. Very patient.:: Sunday, November 27, 2005 ::
:: Max 8:22 AM [+] ::
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Bloggers Arianna Huffington and Glenn Reynolds kicked around Plamegate, the war in Iraq, and blogs on CNNs Reliable Sources this morning. The more I see of Professor Reynolds the more impressed I am and Huffington actually made some compelling points as well. The Political Teen has it.
:: Max 6:57 PM [+] ::
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This looks interesting: Atlantic Review, a blog maintained by three German Fulbright Alumni founded "out of a concern for the deterioration of the US-German relationship." Here is their latest effort: Genocide: U.S. calls for more sanctions against Sudan, but Germany sees business opportunities
:: Max 5:46 PM [+] ::
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Now Playing: Amazing time-elapsed video of giant cargo ships moving through the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal.
(via BoingBoing)
Related: Here are a few interesting statistics on the Panama Canal from www.ared.com:"The opening of the waterway to world commerce on August 15, 1914, represented the realization of a heroic dream of over 400 years.The 50 miles across the isthmus were among the hardest ever won by human ingenuity. Some interesting facts: * A ship traveling from New York to San Francisco can save 7'872 miles using the Panama Canal instead of going around South America. * In the fiscal year 1994 there where 14'029 transits, which carried 170.8 million long tons of cargo and paid US $419.2 million in tolls. * The highest Canal toll was US $141,344.91 paid by the Crown Princess and the lowest toll ever paid was 36 cents by Richard Halliburton for swimming the Canal in 1928. * The average time spent in transit from port to port is approx. 8 - 10 hours. * Until Lake Mead was formed by the building of the Hoover Dam, Gatun Lake was the largest artificial body of water in the world."
:: Max 1:09 PM [+] ::
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Two Polish Newspapers redact their front pages in protest of censorship.
(via Jeff Jarvis)
:: Max 10:56 AM [+] ::
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"What [Michael Yon] is doing is something the American media and maybe the world media isn't doing,...and that's telling the truth about what's happening in the war in Iraq."
-Bruce Willis
Ooo Rah! This could be a blockbuster.
[There is simply NO DOUBT whatever Michael Yon should get a Pulitzer Prize for his work in Iraq but because of the petty, picayune, shear small-mindedness of the left he won't. Maybe it's time "the peoples media" establish an award - a really big award - for hard-working journalists like Yon. Anybody got a spare quarter-million for a really worthy cause?]
:: Max 9:54 AM [+] ::
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:: Saturday, November 26, 2005 ::"the invasion of Iraq...'has unfrozen the Middle East, just as Napoleon's 1798 expedition did. Elections in Iraq force the theocrats and autocrats to put democracy on the agenda, even if only to fight against us. Look, neither Napoleon nor President Bush could impregnate the region with political change. But they were able to be the midwives...'"
-Saad Eddin Ibrahim
The Democrats know Bush's gamble in the Middle East is working and they'll have none of it. Sadly, for inhabitants of the region, the worst threat to their future seems not to be Zarqawi, bin Laden or the Muslim Brotherhood but venal, grasping Democrats and their corrupt ego-counterparts in Europe who would undermine this historic thawing process for short-term politcal and financial gain. When Bush moved to establish Democracy in Iraq he stated unequivocally that he would return the country - and it's oil resources - to the people of Iraq. This bold move has set in motion a pan-Arab political dialogue with Democracy and freedom at the core of the discussion. If the Iraqis can pull it off - [with no help from "allies" Germany, France, or the UN] - the entire region will likely follow suit a prospect ironically incompatible with contemporary "progressive" philosophy. The question begs to be asked: What are the "liberals" at home and abroad so afraid of? The answer appears to be progress, freedom and democracy.
Related: Chester's got a death-grip on the big picture. HT, Wretchard
Also related: This is the risk of Democracy in the Middle East but a risk worth taking in my view.
:: Max 8:42 AM [+] ::
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Blog Limelight: Natalie Solent
Well, just look at her archives. Her first post was November 2nd, 2001 - [2001!] - the lonely Dark Ages of new media - and she's still at it. Why she's not featured on Max's famous blogroll is an intractable mystery to all.
Here's her first courageous post; a huge leap of faith - a shout into the cold, dark recesses of cyberspace:"I came, I saw, I hit post. So where have my words gone? Ah, I see, I hit the wrong button. I never did understand left and right. Is this finally going to work.. here goes..."
"here goes ?!" This is a phrase only skydivers and bomb-disposal technicians use with such bravado.
[Was the word "blog" even invented in 2001? Hmmm...Ms Solent was precipitously ahead of the technology curve to say the least.]
:: Max 11:56 PM [+] ::
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"A multimillion-dollar campaign to boost Germans' low self-confidence has backfired after it emerged that its slogan was coined by the Nazis."
The American Thinker has it.
[Bwaaahaaahaaaa]
:: Max 10:55 PM [+] ::
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Well I'll be damned...
Yeah, I know, they hate our guts blah, blah, blah...
:: Max 7:41 PM [+] ::
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Democrat trips-up; admits insincere war pandering to win in 06 [d'uh]
The bottom line is the Dems have to lie to get elected - they simply cannot tell the truth.
:: Max 2:44 PM [+] ::
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If you are new to blogs, you might not be aware of Steven Den Beste. Beste's blog was a daily must-read for many until he abruptly decided to quit blogging about a year ago. Well, Den Beste is back, blogging at RedState.org. Here's his latest entry: "Headline Fatigue and Al Qaeda."
:: Max 12:16 PM [+] ::
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San Francisco, home of the "tolerant", "liberal" and "diverse" [omnipotent moral busybodies] push to quash political free-speech; protest to shut down conservative talker KNEW-AM. Trust me, book-burning can't be far behind.
Inasmuch as the "tolerant" and "liberal" protesters are presumably not listening to the station, their intent is to prevent others from listening. This is how the left operates - if they disagree with someone, they don't offer an opposing viewpoint; they merely censure the offending voice. This is exactly what C.S. Lewis meant when he said:"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
The left have become comically hypocritical.
:: Max 11:29 AM [+] ::
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Lot of loose talk about how higher gasoline prices might have beneficial economic and environmental consequences, such as consumers purchasing hybrid vehicles. Mitch Townshend of the Chicago Boyz finds the argument flawed.
:: Max 11:20 AM [+] ::
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:: Friday, November 25, 2005 ::
Speaking of Bier und Wurst; Here are the top 100 Beers as rated by Beer Advocate, a new favorite site of ole Max. Cheers!
[My personal favorite (so far anyway)? Chimay Grand Reserve]
:: Max 8:00 AM [+] ::
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Fast Food: Germany"Berlin is famous for a lot of things in Germany, but fine cuisine certainly isn't one of them. If anything, the rest of Germany holds Berliners to be cultureless, pushy, loud-mouthed, big-city brutes. And they don't understand anything about eating, either. Let me set the record straight. All of this is all true."
Except for the bier und wurst - especially Currywurst
Link via Observing Hermann
:: Max 12:46 PM [+] ::
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Psst Santa; Here's what I want for Christmas.
[talk about yer stocking stuffers..]
And, oh, 50 lbs. or so of these..
:: Max 8:32 AM [+] ::
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SALE!:: Thursday, November 24, 2005 ::
It's Black Friday! If you plan on doing some online shopping, you'll want to check for "coupon codes." These are special deals requiring a code you enter at checkout. Of course, you can't take advantage of the deal if you don't have the code or "coupon." Here are three sites that aggregate online shopping coupons: jumpondeals, currentcodes, and couponcabin.
:: Max 7:47 AM [+] ::
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A little humble pie with that Turkey? Spend a few minutes with The Plymouth Thanksgiving Story.
:: Max 2:25 PM [+] ::
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Interesting: Public perception of war in Iraq not as negative as MSM continues to suggest: "Public ignores Iraq war naysayers."
More here.
:: Max 10:17 AM [+] ::
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Oh Joy, it's Thanksgiving.
We get to eat giant, Tryptophan laced, dinosaur-birds and watch football. Hope Uncle Bud comes. Can't wait to see Uncle Bud. Wonder if he'll have a new girlfriend. He always brings his video camera - and three hours of tape from last years "celebration".
Oh Joy, it's Thanksgiving
[If anybody even utters the word "Karaoke" I'm goin' for the shotgun.]
:: Max 8:00 AM [+] ::
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Thanksgiving is here! As a service to our readers we give you Michael Moore's personal turkey stuffing recipe - it's the taste you crave!:: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 ::
:: Max 7:30 AM [+] ::
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"The successful staging of the elections marked a turning point - at least for the training effort. Political optimism faded with the subsequent deadlocks over the constitution, but 'we never lost momentum on the security front,' Petraeus told me. During the elections more than 130,000 Iraqi troops guarded more than 5,700 polling stations; there were some attacks, but the elections went forward. "We have transitioned six or seven bases to Iraqi control," he continued, listing a variety of other duties Iraqi forces had assumed. 'The enemy recognizes that if Iraqi security forces ever really get traction, they are in trouble. So all of this is done in the most challenging environment imaginable.'"
Quagmire my ass. The Democrats are willfully undermining what may be the biggest political seachange in a lifetime for the people of the Middle East. The Bush Doctrine is really rather simple; return the power to the people and the tyranical regimes that now have an iron fist on the region will fall from their own weight.
You have a choice; go with the Liberals who condescendingly harp "those people" are not ready for democracy - or - George W. Bush who believes they are. I'm putting my money on Bush and the good people of Iraq who grasp the significance of freedom and Democracy.
:: Max 11:36 PM [+] ::
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"I just do not trust the government to provide true information on this."
:: Max 11:17 PM [+] ::
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Japanese create the most powerful diesel engine in the world.
Dang, forget those itty-bitty little Humvees; this puppy will make Greenies pee in their Birkenstocks.
:: Max 10:00 PM [+] ::
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"small dead Animals doesn't speak for the people of Saskatchewan"
Canadian super-blogger Kate McMillan is ruffling political feathers north of the border. If you're a politician today, you had better know what a blog is. [don't forget to read the comments - they're hillarious!]
:: Max 9:21 PM [+] ::
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"Progressive" European social policies lead to segregation, unemployment and racism:"For many Muslims in Europe, self-segregation has come naturally. What's tragic is that European authorities have supported it. Rejecting the American approach - namely, encouraging immigrants to work and integrate - they've instead helped newcomers to maintain distinct communities and provided benefits that have made it easy for them to stay unemployed. Why did these authorities prefer segregation? Supposedly they were enlightened 'multiculturalists' who respected differences; for many, the real reason was a profound discomfort with the idea of "them" becoming "us." Naively, they imagined they could preserve their nations' cultural homogeneity while letting in millions of foreigners and smiling on their preservation and perpetuation of values drastically different from their own.
"What they've reaped, alas, is a generation of Muslims, many of whom view their neighborhoods as colonies amid enemy territory - and who demand this autonomy be recognized. In Britain, imams have pressed the government to designate part of Bradford as being under Muslim law. In Belgium, Muslims in the Brussels neighborhood of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek consider it to be under Islamic jurisdiction. In Denmark, Muslim leaders have sought similar control over parts of Copenhagen. In France, an official met with an imam at the edge of Roubaix's Muslim district out of respect for his declaration that it was Islamic territory. In many cities, police have stopped patrolling certain enclaves, the authorities having effectively ceded control to local religious leaders.
If you ever wanted demonstrable proof of the failure of the socialist state you need look no further than Europe in 2005. It's a disaster.
:: Max 9:07 PM [+] ::
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If Bushitler is such a dumbass, how did he trick all the super-intelligent Democrats into voting for the Iraq war? Good question.
:: Max 8:57 PM [+] ::
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Democratic Mayor of New Orleans, Ray "school-bus" Nagin lectures Jamaicans on - you guessed it - hurricane preparedness! Sweetness & Light digs this one out of the dirt [via American Thinker].
:: Max 8:37 PM [+] ::
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John F. Kerry: "he was for the plaintiffs before he was against them"
:: Max 5:24 PM [+] ::
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Don Surber is having a little fun atOSM'sPajama Media's expense - they deserve it.
Related: Wizbang is piling on with a contest to design a new logo for Pajamas Media. Here's the first entry.
:: Max 5:19 PM [+] ::
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Bill Quick of Daily Pundit has acquired an audio tape recording purportedly from a CNN employee defending the X as "free speech". listen here. I'm still absolutely convinced this was no "technical glitch" on CNN's part but I'll be surprised if it's ever confirmed one way or the other - they'll never admit it. However, if Quick's tape is authentic, it certainly proves one thing; that Liberal ideologues have assumed editorial control of the CNN "news" room [d'uh].
Update: CNN Switchboard operator terminated [or X'ed out if you prefer]. See link above.
:: Max 4:27 PM [+] ::
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Here's an update on that whacky liberal radio network Air America "where rookie mistakes are simply par for the course."
[and unfunnyman Al Franken is par for the course, and stealing from the Boys and Girls Club is par for the course, and zero-ratings is par for the course...]
:: Max 9:09 AM [+] ::
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Hizzonnah, Democrat Mayor For Life, Ed Koch brings a measured and fair assesment of the woulda-coulda-shoulda war in Iraq. [Yes, son, there really was a time - long ago - when our Democrat representatives were rational statesmen....]
:: Max 8:13 AM [+] ::
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When the terrorists strike Mosques in Iraq the human toll is incalculable but they're also demolishing some of the most important architecture on the planet. Here's a first-hand report from Hammorabi on the barbaric attack in Khanaqien.
:: Max 7:41 AM [+] ::
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Like the idea of self-directed personal Social Security accounts? Go sign the petition.
[Boy, what a great idea; keeping your own money. Wish I'd thought of that.]
:: Max 7:32 AM [+] ::
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Cool: Self destructing emails.:: Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ::
:: Max 7:27 AM [+] ::
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Microsoft behind the 8-ball again.
Britecove to announce high-profile partnerships to bring television programming - the "Google of Video" - to the internet. The train is leaving the station and Microsoft is standing on the platform.
:: Max 11:45 AM [+] ::
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Thomas Sowell weighs in on McCain's bill banning torture: Tortured Reasoning
:: Max 8:17 AM [+] ::
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French TV exec admits censoring riot coverage "for fear of encouraging support for far-right politicians". To paraphrase the Manolo; How so tolerant of the diversity of the opinion!
:: Max 7:29 AM [+] ::
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John O'Neill is back and he's Swift-boating all over John "magic hat" Kerry again...
:: Max 7:19 AM [+] ::
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Michael Yon - the hardest working journalist in Iraq - has posted a terrific photo essay on Iraqi school children; don't miss it.:: Monday, November 21, 2005 ::
:: Max 12:11 AM [+] ::
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"When has an 'X' ever aired on CNN before? Who had the graphic sitting in the key signal? Who generated the 'X'?"
I don't know how Drudge manages to keep up with this stuff but CNNs X-out of Chaney's face during a live speech is a devestating gotcha for MSM. What in the hell are these people thinking?! This is more than a little mistake - it's a Rathergate moment for the wounded cable network. Somebody made an enourmous error in judgement tonight. Given the nature of the transgression, it's obvious management isn't keeping tabs on the moonbat juveniles who are probably in charge of the characture generators in the control room. CNN should release a statement immediately exposing the identity and employment status of the person or persons responsible. They should also issue an immediate and sincere apology to the Vice President outlining any steps that have been taken to dismiss those reponsible for the act.
Here are a few questions we probably already know the answers to:
Will the NYTs investigate CNN?
Will broadcast news investigate CNN?
Will the AP investigate CNN?
Will NPR investigate CNN?
Will PBS investigate CNN?
Will 60 Minutes investigate CNN?
Will you see CNN in your morning paper?
How about Editor and Publisher? Will they get to the bottom of it XGate?
I can't imagine who in the hell CNN thought might benefit from such a sophomoric stunt but the obvious BIG winner is FOX NEWS. Way to go moonbats; you just joined the Jayson Blair/Baghdad-Bob school of journalism.
Update: CNN was insisting the X-Out was a technical glitch but now Drudge is reporting "control room staffer 'laughed' when X flashed". This is no 'technical glitch'.
Update 2: Blogger heavyweight Glenn Reynolds weighs in with "it's no big deal" - I've produced a few televison spots, sat in the control room and watched the process first hand and this is no mistake. Especially now that it has been revealed that a white X flashed before the black X - classical, if not a little heavy-handed attempt at subliminal imaging. I think this is a big deal. Would Fox have pulled the same stunt - say over an image of John Kerry - MSM would be in high-gear calling for heads to roll. Again; this is by no means a technical glitch. Somebody did this intentionally.
Technorati Tags: CNN, X
:: Max 10:29 PM [+] ::
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The Moonbats are overheating again. That's right. The party of peace and tolerance - the party of "hate is not a family value" - the party of equality and diversity are, well, they're wishing ill-will on their fellow humans! I'm Not Kidding!
Note: See previous post for clarification on the psychopathology of the left's propensity for transferance and projection.
:: Max 10:01 PM [+] ::
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Word for the day? Projection.
Kathy Krajco [the illiberal liberal] tackles the curious psychopathology of Germans invoking "Hitler"(?!) and the French shouting "arrogant"(?!) when admonishing American foreign policy.
:: Max 9:37 PM [+] ::
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While MSM sleeps, bloggers are pounding the streets. Here's another surprising story you're unlikely to see in the morning newspaper courtesy Gateway Pundit.
[Carter really is the worst American President ever. All the good work he's ostensibly done with Habitat For Humanity is vastly overshadowed by his tawdry "certification" of the rigged elections in Ethiopia and Venezuela. What a frickin' buffoon.]
:: Max 9:13 PM [+] ::
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Hugo Chavez meddling in US politics? Wow.
Well, it's not as though WE would ever, er, 'meddle' in their politics.
:: Max 2:37 PM [+] ::
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"He is the King. If it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble', I would have never picked up a guitar." -Pete Townshend
Legendary guitarist Link Wray dead at 76.
Link Wray was an icon in the evolution of rock'n roll but it's unfortunate how few people recognize his name today. 3/4 Shawnee Indian and inventor of the "power chord" Wray was an inspiration to David Bowie, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan who all credit Wray's moster hit "Rumble" with inspiring them to pick up guitars in the first place. Although anybody born in the early to mid-fifties will undoubtedly remember the huge hit, few seem to be able to name the rock legend who created it. Sadly, we've lost yet another national treasure of classical American music.
:: Max 1:23 PM [+] ::
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Here's a good parsing of press reaction to Democrat Rep. "hawk" Murtha's call for an immediate withdrawl from Iraq.
:: Max 11:02 AM [+] ::
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Somebody get Algore on the horn: "Kyoto" is falling apart!
:: Max 10:46 AM [+] ::
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Star Parker outs liberal social scientists who view the Katrina aftermath as a wonderful opportunity to use poor African-Americans as "laboratory guinea pigs" in Federal housing schemes. Didn't work then, won't work now.
:: Max 10:07 AM [+] ::
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Uh Oh; Lou Minatti is waxing poetic: The Real Estate Bubble Haiku
:: Max 9:59 AM [+] ::
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Here's more on the stand-off between the Mexican military and US Border patrol over a dump-truck full of Marijuana.:: Sunday, November 20, 2005 ::
:: Max 9:53 AM [+] ::
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"Last week, the Republican majority, to their disgrace and with 13 honorable exceptions, passed an amendment calling on the administration to lay out its "plan" for "ending" the war and withdrawing U.S. troops. They effectively signed on to the Democrat framing of the debate: that the only thing that matters is the so-called exit strategy. The only difference between Bill Frist's mushy Republicans and Harry Reid's shameless Democrats is that the latter want to put a firm date on withdrawal, so that Zarqawi's insurgents can schedule an especially big car bomb to coincide with the formal handover of the Great Satan's cojones."
-Mark Steyn
"Mushy and shameless" and, I would add, dishonorable, cowardly, stupid, blah blah blah...[make sure to read the whole thing, it's classic Steyn]
:: Max 9:36 AM [+] ::
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Charles Krauthamer takes on the "ID" mob: Phony Theory, False Conflict. It's nice to see a leading conservative inject some intelligence into the "intelligent design" debacle.:: Saturday, November 19, 2005 ::
:: Max 8:59 AM [+] ::
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Rock on
Here's a little project I've been working on. I recently built two speaker cabinets for a pair of famous 15" JBL D130s and the equally famous 075 ring radiators (bullet tweeters) coupled to the N2600 JBL crossovers. The cabinets were built to the original JBL specs. OK, so now I have these incredible speakers so I have to get a decent amp right? I picked it up on Ebay and just got it back from the techs who went through it with a fine tooth comb. Sitting on top of the speaker cabinet is the famous Scott LK72 Stereomaster Labratory tube amp - the unit off to the side is the Scott 350C tube tuner all circa 1963. All I can say is that I wasn't really prepared for how terrific this setup sounds. OK, it's not a Mac but it's about as close as you're going to get for the money. Note the huge black transformers on the amp - I had to replace both of the output trannys - not something I want to do again anytime soon. They're virtually impossible to find and no one makes a replacement. The amp sports a quad of Telefunken 12AX7s, 4-7591 beam power pentodes, a Mullard 5AR4 Full Wave Vacuum rectifier and a 7199 Medium-Mu Triode - Sharp-Cutoff Pentode. The amp cranks out a whopping 32 watts per channel and can simply manhandle the JBL D130s. These are your father's watts by the way - not the new fangled wimpy-watts you get from the big-box electronic stores. I'm in love with music again.
Update: It's Saturday night and I'm currently listening to a classic blues/jazz survey show produced by our local NPR station. The 350C tuner is sucking in the cleanest signal I've ever experienced and the lab amp and speakers are performing as advertised - even at "listening levels" (i.e. low DBs). I can tell you, the music sounds simply alive - difficult to describe in words. And there are a couple of intangible benefits to tube technology as well. Tube amps put out an amazing amount of heat - no wonder they're nicknamed "space heaters" - and they emit an enigmatic but pleasant soft electronic odor reminiscent of the first tube TVs ever made. My whole loft suddenly smells like my fathers humongous console TV circa 1963 - what a treat. I think I'll have another glass of wine.
:: Max 3:07 PM [+] ::
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Interesting: American Thinker article on Plamegate gives new perspective on possible role played by CIA.
:: Max 10:21 AM [+] ::
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Interesting: "Why Arab immigrants assimilate better in the United States" via No Pasaran.
:: Max 10:13 AM [+] ::
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"Senators Harry Reid, Dick Durbin and Ted Kennedy have accused President George W. Bush of lying about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, insisting that he 'lied us into war.' Some Demo wing nuts are even floating the idea of impeachment. Their charges have no substance, of course; they're merely contrived to keep Republicans off balance through next year's midterm elections. In other words, Democrat Party leaders are using the gravely serious matter of the Iraq War for trivial political fodder -- and their politicization of our mission there has put our Armed Forces in the region in greater peril.
"Let's be clear: There is nothing wrong with honest criticism of an American president; to the contrary, we have written extensively about President Bush's policy failures. The dishonest and politically motivated accusations of Kennedy, Reid, Durbin and their ilk, however, are nothing short of -- and we don't use this term lightly -- treasonous."
-Mark M. Alexander
:: Max 9:56 AM [+] ::
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"...our intellectual and political elite harp on 'WMD, WMD, WMD...'
"Sadder still, they stay transfixed to this refrain either because polls show that it is good politics or it allows them a viable exit from an apparently now unpopular war.
"But no, not so fast.
"History has other lessons as well - as we know from the similar public depression during successful wars after Washington's sad winter at Valley Forge, Lincoln's summer of 1864, or the 1942 gloom that followed Pearl Harbor and the fall of the Philippines, Singapore, and Wake Island. When this is all over, and there is a legitimate government in the Middle East that represents the aspirations of a free people, the stunning achievement of our soldiers will be at last recognized, the idealism of the United States will be appreciated, our critics here and abroad will go mute - and one of the 23 writs for a necessary war of liberation will largely be forgotten."
-Victor Davis Hanson
And you can safely bet your ass the Democrats will take credit for it too.
:: Max 9:42 AM [+] ::
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:: Friday, November 18, 2005 ::"Many Democrats were emotionally undon by the exercise of having to confront their own rhetoric, and the anti-war left must be stunned this morning: Only three votes? All that work? All those marches? All those posts at the fever swamp bulletin board? For three votes?"
-Hugh Hewitt
It should be obvious now that the Dems are merely playing politics with what may be the most important issue this country has faced in a generation - at the expense of the troops they overwhelming voted to send into war. Of course they have no real desire for a pullout but will continue to bang the drums anyway in a reprehensible exercise that emboldens our enemies and endagers our troops.
Technorati Tags: John Murtha, Coward, Immediate Withdrawl
:: Max 8:57 AM [+] ::
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Cowards!:: Thursday, November 17, 2005 ::
The Political Teen has the vid clip of Rep Jean Schmidt (R-OH) essentially calling the Democrats cowards - I think it's worse than that - I think some of their recent actions are treasonous. Unfortunately, the house chose to "suspend" Schmidt's remarks and they were redacted from the record. I just sent an email congratulating the Honorable Congresswoman from Ohio for having the courage to speak the truth. At least one Republican - a woman - has the backbone to call a spade a spade. Oooo Rah!
Sidebar: If there ever was a candidate for a fence sitting moderate it would be me. I'm a liberal arts graduate and occasional college professor, artist who makes his primary income in architecture and does not attend a church of any kind. It would seem I might fall into the demographic the Democrats might wish to pull into their "big tent". Ha. In my view the Democrat party is more akin to a magic clown-car than a big-tent; another Bozo just keeps popping out of this stinky little goofy machine every five seconds. I swear, If you tallied their collective IQ's you wouldn't accumulate enough brain power to wash socks let alone run the most powerful Country in the history of the world. The Democrat party has become the party of shrill little equivocating men and women who offer a small, picayune and demonstrably irrational political 'philosophy'. I want no part of them or their goofy clown-car politics.
[Note: I mean no offense to any professional clowns by comparing them to the Democrat leadership - it's just an apt analogy. No real clowns were injured in the making of this post]
Update: Crooked Clowns...
Technorati Tags: John Murtha, Coward, Immediate Withdrawl
:: Max 4:36 PM [+] ::
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The speed of the blogosphere?! May I direct your attention to this 'ancient' tome.
How soon we forget...
:: Max 8:25 PM [+] ::
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Speaking of blowback, looks like Katrina has altered not only the physical but the political landscape of New Orleans as well.
Technorati Tags: Katrina, New Orleans
:: Max 4:43 PM [+] ::
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Woodward saga generates WaPo reader blowback.
[I really can't imagine why anyone would be surprised Bob Woodward - especially Bob Woodward - knew Plame's identity. Didn't everybody in Washington know who she was?].
Update: They're forming a circular firing squad...
Technorati Tags: Bob Woodward, Joe Wilson, Plamegate,Scooter Libby.
:: Max 4:18 PM [+] ::
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NBC/CBS 'black-out' Woodward's blockbuster Plamegate revelation.
Not that it really matters any more. As Glenn Reynolds stated so succinctly at the OSM launch yesterday, "they've thrown away their killer ap - hard news"
Ahem, ouch...
:: Max 4:05 PM [+] ::
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If you're a blogger, there's a must-read post on the law and weblogs over at Buzzmachine.
:: Max 3:12 PM [+] ::
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Remember - please remember - 'Boogie to Baghdad'
:: Max 2:37 PM [+] ::
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Confused about RSS? Here's a clearly written, concise tutorial on "Really Simple Syndication".
:: Max 1:59 PM [+] ::
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"Greg's naked body was long and elegant, his embrace enveloped her utterly, and they meshed with ease and grace. He smelled good too, faintly and astringently of aftershave. He was clinging to her as if he'd never let her go, it was all so easy and right."
John J. Miller reviews a few of the wierder passages of Senator Barbara Boxer's new, er, political novel, A Time to Run. How bad is it? It was a dark and stormy night bad!
Well, she is the Democratic Chief Deputy Whip
["...Senator Boxer, it's Senator Kennedy's office calling requesting a meeting with "the Whip" - are you available?"]
Technorati Tag: Barbara Boxer
:: Max 12:32 PM [+] ::
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Bubba's Roadshow:: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 ::
Clinton's self-serving pandering is tactless, insincere, unstatesmanlike, dangerous and of course, entirely predictable.
Technorati Tag: Bill Clinton
:: Max 9:20 AM [+] ::
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3,184,770+1 people have consulted Jeff Goldstein's list of "films that if you haven't seen you should see immediately or risk having protein wisdom sneer at you like certain embarrassingly reactionary rightwing blogs sneer at homosexuals and minorities of all stripes".
I ask you: Who needs the IMDB when ya got Jeff Goldstein? Hmmm?
:: Max 11:50 PM [+] ::
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Michael Barone reviews Charles Mann's 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. The concluding paragraphs of which Barone quotes compel us to the Border's Holiday checkout line no matter the unpleasant consequences of doing so:"Native Americans ran the continent as they saw fit. Modern nations must do the same. If they want to return as much of the landscape as possible to its state in 1491, they will have to create the world's largest gardens.Although I'm strictly a math and science guy, I'll probably make an exception in this interesting case.
"Gardens are fashioned for many purposes, but with different tools, but all are collaborations with natural forces. Rarely do their makers claim to be restoring or rebuilding anything from the past; and they are never in full control of the results. Instead, using the best tools they have and all the knowledge that they can muster, they work to create future environments.
"If there is a lesson it is that to think like the original inhabitants of these lands we should not set our sights on rebuilding an environment from the past but concentrate on shaping a world to live in for the future."
:: Max 11:25 PM [+] ::
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In case you missed it, your Republican majority working for YOU:"The Republicans are a bunch of wusses. The Gang of Invertebrates. Not only did the senior Senator from Virginia and the Majority Leader propose this effluvium, but most of the so-called Republicans voted for it.
"Just so you can see what they get paid the big bucks for, here's Senate Amendment 2518 (it's an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006) in all its glorious senatorial wheeze."
:: Max 10:24 PM [+] ::
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Mr. Fixits Great Moments in Unintended Secondary Effects.
More: the Law of Unintended Consequences defined.
:: Max 9:52 PM [+] ::
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An Act of God
The Crackers [all three families of 'em] are heading North. Guess Mrs. Cracker finally got fed up finding her roof accidentally relocated to the adjacent township. Granny already done left.
[don't forget Lilly!]
:: Max 9:37 PM [+] ::
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Why does the Left so often abstain from defending not only American interests but, after September 11th, the United States itself?
I've stopped trying to figure out what motivates the left - whatever the rationale for their behaviour, irrationality bordering on the delusional is often the net result of their philosophy. They're similarly perplexed over at the Clermont Institute.
:: Max 9:04 PM [+] ::
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Chiraq and Schroeder have both taken severe political hits lately and now it looks like Spain's Zapetero might be in trouble. We link, you click through in utter bemusement.
Update: Liberal [and, er corrupt] Paul Martin's Govt. in Canada also weakening.
:: Max 8:38 PM [+] ::
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Your Ad Here
Internet ad rates are surging to "Super Bowl" levels? It's not really surprising given that print media and television rates are slowly declining:"The surging demand is allowing big rate increases at the largest portals, the prime beneficiaries of the growth. Yahoo said last month that prices increased by "double digits" in the third quarter from a year earlier, while AOL says prices for some ad units have increased as much as 20% since January.
"MSN says it currently charges between several hundred thousand dollars and $1 million for a prime, 24-hour ad spot on its home page. That's up from about $25,000 to $50,000 four years ago.
"It's starting to get into Super Bowl territory," says Sean Finnegan, U.S. Director of OMD Digital, a unit of Omnicom Group Inc. that buys ads for clients such as Dell Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.
"By contrast, the average price of a 30-second TV ad for last February's Super Bowl was $2.4 million, while a full-page color ad in People magazine costs $228,275. A 30-second spot on this week's episode of ABC's "Desperate Housewives," which had 26.5 million viewers, cost $574,504, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus."
Wall Street Journal Via Hugh Hewitt [>]
:: Max 7:12 PM [+] ::
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"This happened in Viet Nam in 1967, I think. I know it was Viet Nam. I think it was 1967."
Blogger Highlight: Walter Guest's Letter From Bangkok
:: Max 3:56 PM [+] ::
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"The first federal minimum wage law, the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, was passed in part explicitly to prevent black construction workers from "taking jobs" from white construction workers by working for lower wages. It was not meant to protect black workers from "exploitation" but to protect white workers from competition."
Thomas Sowell comments on the root causes of the ongoing French riots.
:: Max 2:49 PM [+] ::
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"Woodward's disclosures are a bombshell to Mr. Fitzgerald's case. First, the disclosure shows that Mr. Fitzgerald's statement at his press conference of October 28, 2005 that Mr. Libby was the first government official to tell a reporter about Mr. Wilson's wife was totally inaccurate. Second, Woodward's disclosure that he talked to Mr. Libby on June 20 and June 27, 2003 and that Mr. Libby did not mention WIlson's wife undermines Mr. Fitzgerald's key theme that Mr. Libby was involved in a scheme to discredit Wilson by telling reporters about Wilson's wife's employment at the CIA. Hopefully as more information is obtained from reporters like Bob Woodward, the real facts will come out."
Ted Wells, Attorney for 'Scooter' Libby
I beg to differ. It seems like every time another reporter emerges with a Scooter Libby story the "facts" get murkier and murkier.
:: Max 2:33 PM [+] ::
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Pajamas Media morphs into Open Source Media with all the heavy hitters assemble in the Rockefeller Center's Rainbow Room. Talk about yer blogger triumphalism! Here's the rollout site for the new media aggregator OSM.
:: Max 1:18 PM [+] ::
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French Riots a Wakeup Call for the West"France is culturally incapable of learning lessons because it cannot bring itself to admit that its social model is the problem not the solution. But what is happening in France today should at least serve as a warning to those in Britain and America who want yet bigger government and more taxes that the social model which has failed the poor of France so spectacularly is one to avoid rather than emulate."
:: Max 9:19 AM [+] ::
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Wired News among groups calling for boycott of Sony and Sony/BMG music products over DRM rootkit PR disaster. And they still haven't figured it out!
It'll be interesting to watch Sony's stock performance for the next month or so - here's the chart.
More: Microsoft to offer Sony rootkit extractor in it's AntiSpywareBeta.
:: Max 8:54 AM [+] ::
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Rollout OSM v.1.0
They're having a little soiree in the Big Apple - and rightfully so. They deserve an "event" commensurate with their substantial achievements redefining the news media. Sources who wish to remain anonymous said MoDo was unable to attend due to a previous engagement.
Courage everyone, courage...
Note: This post to remain at the top of the page until the participant's heads regain their normal spacial displacement.
:: Max 6:00 AM [+] ::
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Hey Republicans: get a frickin' clue for Christ's sake...
Criminy, no wonder Bush is losin' the PR battle - he's got like Jenna designing the talking points - (((LOL [:0])))
:: Max 12:55 AM [+] ::
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Che revisted:: Tuesday, November 15, 2005 ::
Those whacky Che apologists need not click the following link lest they be dissuaded of their romantic, schoolgirl fantasies of Guevara as heroic - but misunderstood - man of the people.
[but he's sooo cute!]
:: Max 12:14 AM [+] ::
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Jeff Jarvis has to play blogger/journalist with NYTs David Carr - a game that's getting very tedious. Just to give you some flavor of the exchange, here is the [rather condescending] question Carr poses to Jarvis: are blogs "an immature medium in immature hands."
Well, it may be an immature medium Mr. Carr, but it's certainly in no worse hands than the "mature" medium is in your hands. New medium detractors are frankly delusional and I'm amazed they still don't seem to grasp the staggering consequence of how the world wide web has altered - permanently - the profession of journalism. It's not merely a sea-change, it's an entirely new form of light-speed, global communication coupled with research tools that were deemed science fiction a mere decade ago.
Given Carr's naive question to Jarvis, one suspects he's still pecking his column out on a Royal typewriter [hey, anybody seen the white-out?]. The only thing missing from the NYT's brand of hackneyed journalism is a pint of Old Crow, a cigar, a fedora and, er, MoDo in red heels on a barstool (?!).
The Wicked Witch of the East is on life-support Mr. Carr; you might want to get your affairs in order.
[speaking of red heels, get me back to Kansas Mr. Wizard].
Pooft!
:: Max 8:57 PM [+] ::
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"New Media Influences African Americans and Hispanics More Than Whites for Product Purchases"
This is good news - they're not paying attention MSM either.
:: Max 8:43 PM [+] ::
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That greasy crook Arafat looted the PA treasury for millions and apparently, squirreled it away in some super-secret rathole. His successors want it back and they're turning to an ironic source for assistance in tracking it down.
:: Max 8:08 PM [+] ::
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Uh oh, guess who's coming to Thanksgiving dinner? [Well, she was no doubt disinvited from the family gathering - permanently I would suspect].
:: Max 7:58 PM [+] ::
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Super-Topical Blog Alert
Lou Minatti directs us to the Housing Bubble Blog - sure to be a hit if the bubble bursts as many observers are predicting. I figure I'm pretty safe here in KC. I own a loft in a 110 year-old commercial building and although it has done well in the 25 years I've owned it, it's by no means stratospherically overvalued. Now, if the tax assessor will just avert his eyes as he drives by the crib...
:: Max 7:42 PM [+] ::
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"At last, some good news from Darfur: the genocide in western Sudan is nearly over. There's only one problem - it's drawing to an end only because there are no black people left to cleanse or kill."
:: Max 11:49 AM [+] ::
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Now Playing: Habbitta-habbitta-habbitta....
:: Max 10:23 AM [+] ::
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Roger L. Simon nabs an equivocating Vanity Fair.:: Monday, November 14, 2005 ::
:: Max 1:18 AM [+] ::
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Creative new, high-tech plan to save the German economy!
How forward-thinking! How subtle! How continental!"Germany in the past three years has been the world's most depressed economy, with the weakest growth in economic activity and consumption. The coalition partners - representing, as they do, the opposite ends of the political spectrum - found it hard to find common ground on most issues, but on one point they could emphatically and enthusiastically agree: the way to stimulate an economy suffering from mass unemployment and stagnant consumption is to increase tax...the new German Government has decided to impose one of the biggest tax increases in postwar history and to target the extra taxes on the weakest and most sensitive parts of the economy: consumption, which will suffer a three percentage point increase in VAT, and housing, which will lose tax incentives for first-time buyers. In addition, to fend off accusations that the new consumption taxes will bear unfairly on poorer consumers, the Government will hit the rich as well, increasing the top rate of income tax from 42 per cent to 45 per cent."
Brilliant! The Germans have decided to tax their way into prosperity. I'm speechless. Well, at least they won't have Chiraq's old girlfriend Schroeder to kick around anymore. And if their 'tax'em to their eyeballs' scheme doesn't work, they can always just blame it on BushHitler. And trust me, their scheme won't work and they will blame it on BushHitler [hey, if he can summon hurricanes to wipe out Southern Democrats, why can't he mysteriously manipulate the German coalition Government to commit economic suicide - evil stupid/maniacal/ingenious/retarded Cowboy that he is]. Of course, Deiter remains hopefully optimistic the Tax scheme will finally prove the superiority of German socio-economic model once and for all.
Oops, I forgot; BushHitler is a NeoConRovBot preprogrammed to destroy the world as we know it. Oh that evil Rove is sooo [where's my tin-foil hat] diabolicle.
:: Max 11:49 PM [+] ::
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French riots: Where are the "detainees" being held?"FRANCE'S prisons are the worst in Europe and their cells are akin to dungeons in the Middle Ages...Hygiene is "deplorable", with inmates crowded into filthy, rat-infested cells, leading to an explosion in the number of prisoners with infectious diseases...French jails suffered from overcrowding, bad hygiene, rising violence and suicide rates of more than six times the national average - France has Europe's highest suicide rate among prisoners...Violence and revolt against the prison authorities have also increased dramatically - there was a 155 per cent rise in the number of riots last year...Dr Veronique Vasseur said inmates lived in squalor, surrounded by rats and cockroaches, and were subject to brutal rapes and fist fights which were daily occurrences.
"The place remains an inhuman nightmare," she said, "an eternal shame to France."
Given the option, the Muslims held in French prisons would undoubtedly choose Gitmo over the "penitencier" every single time.
Update: Here's more on Dr Veronique Vasseur's work in French prisons.
:: Max 10:13 PM [+] ::
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Monday Quickies
Uh Oh, Kazakhistan threatens Borat with legal action.
Karl Rove's super-secret plan to neutralize al Queada "once and for all" leaked to media.
As if you need another reason NOT to French-kiss a Thai transvestite...
Now Playing: Stupid Videos [don't be drinking any milk when you watch this one...]
:: Max 5:14 PM [+] ::
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Russians knock off the Hummer!
:: Max 4:49 PM [+] ::
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Sony Caught Red Handed
Black Hat "Rootkit"- based DRM still infects millions of boxes.
For those of you who have purchased or run Sony music DVDs on your computer, you'll certainly want to check in with Boing-Boing's omnibus posting on the matter. Looks like Sony is making things rather worse for themselves.
:: Max 3:32 PM [+] ::
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Anybody still watching Meet The Press? Anybody? Anybody?
:: Max 12:40 PM [+] ::
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:: Sunday, November 13, 2005 ::
He betrayed this country...He played on our fears - he lied us into this war!!!
:: Max 11:24 AM [+] ::
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Watched 60 Minutes tonight and the segment on eco-terrorists was interesting because Ed Bradley NEVER ONCE attached the word liberal or progressive to define the 'eco-terrorist's'political affiliation. However, he managed to shoehorn the phrase Neo-Nazi over the image of a burning building.
:: Max 9:14 PM [+] ::
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But can he cook? [it's kind of an inside joke around here. There are gajillions of Italians in Kansas City but we have like maybetwoone decent Italian restaurant. Go figure. (don't start with me - I know my food and the Italian in this town is garbage. Trust me, you'll have a hard time finding a respectable Italian restaurant in KC. What's wit dat?) Honestly, I can get a better Italian meal in Elkhart, Indiana than I can in KC.]
:: Max 7:25 PM [+] ::
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Photo-Phun Sunday
If you are in the market for a digital camera, you might want to consider the amazing little Fujifilm E900 - I've got the older E550 and I actually use it more than I use my Fuji S2PRO. Aside from having 9 megapixels, the E900 has a very clever and intuitive interface [that can almost be manipulated with one hand], 800 ISO and it's cute as a bug. It's pretty obvious I'm a big Fuji fan. When compared side by side with cameras in the same class, and when price is a part of the equation, I think Fuji is a consistent leader in consumer/prosumer digital cameras.
:: Max 9:55 AM [+] ::
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Torture; Ima-ginnit but I'm also pretty naive. Right this very moment, there is probably some sadistic special-ops guy putting his cigar out in a Syrian's ear. I would hope not but this observer says sometimes, coercion is necessary.:: Saturday, November 12, 2005 ::
:: Max 9:30 AM [+] ::
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"Oh boy! The coalition that nobody wants is finally here! I mean, nobody with the slightest bit of sense could be for this, could they? But it looks like another 'grand coalition', the first one in over 39 years, will take charge (not) after all. Together, these two great 'people’s parties' CDU/CSU and SPD will tackle (not) unemployment by bringing worker deductions (unemployment insurance, health insurance, retirement insurance, taxes) to a level below 40 percent (not) which will increase consumer spending (not) and encourage companies to hire more people (not). Then they will cut spending (not) by making painful cuts in public spending everywhere (not) and getting rid of or reducing a few special interest group's favorite subsidies (not).
"But first, and this they will most certainly do, they will raise the sales tax to 19 percent and tax the #!*?$%#! out of a few so-called rich who haven't left the county yet like all their buddies did long, long ago. And all the natives I know seem to think that this is a necessary, reasonable and, well, good thing to do."
-Davids Medienkritik? (not)
:: Max 4:19 PM [+] ::
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"While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decisions or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began."
George W. Bush
[However, It is OK for the Democats to say they lacked the intelligence to make a proper decision...]
:: Max 4:15 PM [+] ::
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Michael Barone warns Republicans not to underestimate the importance of Sam's Club Republicans - they're a critical link in the '06 and '08 election chain.
:: Max 10:16 AM [+] ::
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Blog Spotlight: Kudlow's Money Politic$
:: Max 9:41 AM [+] ::
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Muslim Brotherhood gaining political ground and it has Big Pharoah thinking about relocation:"Well, I consider myself to be a victim of democracy's spread in the 'wider Middle East', this is why I am now 100% positive that I need a Plan B if the shit hits the fan in my homeland. I cannot continue living peacefully in the midst of my compatriots' religious fantasies. I know very well that my compatriots have to taste the MB [Muslim Brotherhood] one day or another, but I am sorry to say that I am not willing to go through this experiment."
:: Max 8:57 AM [+] ::
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Expatica has a current update - with real facts and figures - on the Paris riots.:: Friday, November 11, 2005 ::
:: Max 8:39 AM [+] ::
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Torture
There is an important discussion, regarding the limits of the interrogation techniques utilized by the American military, over at the Corner. It is a critical debate as there are, at least in civilized societies, limits to how humans, in the charge of other humans should be treated, no matter the urgency.
I cannot agree with those on the right who would condone torture for obvious reasons; it reduces Americans - all Americans - to the base level of our opponents. Given a moral high-ground to defend, and the vast proficiency of our forces, I must believe that superior, more intelligent methods exist for wringing critical "intelligence" from captives. Having said that, I cannot believe that prisoners in the charge of the US Military are being treated as harshly as critics claim. Should it be found otherwise, that finger-nails are being pulled, that prisoners are being routinely shocked in their genitals - hoisted by their bound arms and left to sway as their shoulder joints dislodge from their sockets - I will be profoundly disappointed. I choose to believe otherwise; that we are smarter and more humane than our opponents.
It is entirely understandable - inevitable - that in the heat of battle, human beings will be mutilated - terminated; that's war. However, it is wholly unthinkable that good Americans would resort to primitive [and probably unproductive] interrogation methods - methods favored by the tyranical and sadistic regimes they so adroitly dispose - to achieve limited intelligence goals. The thought is incongruous with the intent of the effort at hand and less than counterproductive. It's stupid.
Those enemy combatants who would saw the head off a living human should not be treated lightly when captured - coddled as the ACLU would have it. But neither should they be tortured. WE do not do that.
:: Max 11:33 PM [+] ::
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So. Farewell then
Yasser Arafat
Leader of the Palestinians.
But where did you lead them?
Did you really write
"Eyeless in Gaza"
as ironic comment on your lack of vision,
or was that someone else?
Snatching Intifada
out of the jaws of Peace
I always thought you corrupt and self-serving.
But, then again,
Keith's mum thought your beard was nice.
So someone liked you.
-The Religious Policeman waxes poetic
:: Max 11:19 PM [+] ::
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Hey, it's Veteran's Day. Go kiss a vet.
:: Max 9:57 PM [+] ::
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Think NBCs Tim Russert has a conflict of interest in the Plame fiasco? What about Andrea Mitchell? No way, they're professional journalists.[way]
:: Max 9:30 PM [+] ::
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"We had no pre-war intelligence," said Sen. John Kerry, "History will show that none of the leading Democrats had substantial intelligence. Anyone who remembers what we did then knows that the president is making a baseless allegation. I think history will bear out my contention that we Democrats lacked the intelligence to make such an important decision."
BwaaaaHaaaHaaa...
:: Max 3:31 PM [+] ::
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BRUCE WILLIS TELLS RITA COSBY HE WILL OFFER $1 MILLION TO ANY CIVILIAN WHO TURNS IN OSAMA BIN LADEN, AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI OR ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI
Would it be that the rest of Hollywierd would chip in a few bucks. Alas...
:: Max 2:51 PM [+] ::
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Uh oh. Mysterious "mother ship" launches attack vessels...
:: Max 1:15 PM [+] ::
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Ann Coulter's on the culture beat with a review of George Clooney's new movie on the McCarthy era:"Clooney said of his small contribution to the 'McCarthyism' industry: 'I realized that we had to be incredibly careful with the facts, because if we got any of them wrong, they could say it's all horse****. So I had to double-source every scene.'
"I don't intend to see his movie because - except for the McCarthy parts - it sounds like a snoozefest. (Half the reviewers so far have said "good night" to Clooney, and the other half have said 'good luck.') And despite all those 'double-sources,' in addition to getting the big facts wrong (about America and about the Soviet Union), Clooney got all the little facts wrong, too. I guess he borrowed some of Al Franken's 'fact-checkers.'"
:: Max 12:53 PM [+] ::
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The American Museum of the Moving Image? Cool. Here are classic campaign ads 1952 - 2004
:: Max 9:48 AM [+] ::
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Creation of a Paristinian State? Why not.
:: Max 9:32 AM [+] ::
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"While traveling the last three weeks from Turkey to Portugal, I was reminded again how different Europe has become from what some Americans idealize as a nirvana of benevolent socialism, universal and free medical care, and sophisticated high culture."
Victor Davis Hanson has a nice little travelogue posted - "Europeans fooling themselves with utopia"
:: Max 9:15 AM [+] ::
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:: Thursday, November 10, 2005 ::
Clinically Delusional
This is comical. One of the document examiners hired by CBS is debunking Mary Mapes new book point by point. And if you missed O'Reilly's interview with Mapes, the Political Teen has vidcaps - the woman looks to be, well, fragile to put it nicely.
Update: Gateway Pundit suggests O'Reilly's interview would have been much better had he just read a few blogs.
Welcome Gateway Pundit Readers! Take a minute and look around Max's publishing empire.
More: Lovely Kate weighs in: "The architect chief victim of Rathergate is out flogging a book. It doesn't appear as though she used the time off since her firing to improve her research skills." [tzeeeng!]
:: Max 8:00 AM [+] ::
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Spin the globe!:
Bacteria Eat Human Sewage, Produce Rocket Fuel
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Sleepless Filipina maids flee Bahrain in Ramadan
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Nigerian Islamic judges order Nigerian teenager to have his hand cut off after he confessed to stealing a motorbike.
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai opens the first five-star hotel in his country's war-torn capital...
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Smiling Germans ruin biometric passport system
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In Hong Kong today...no one is bothering to earn a living because everyone is too busy making a killing.
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Floating houses built to survive Netherlands floods
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Newfound ancient sea creature looks part crocodile, part T. rex, and 100 percent terrifying.
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Oh joy! androgynous hyper-velcro!
:: Max 8:38 PM [+] ::
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Adrea Mitchell: What did you know and when did you know it:"We've got a whole new world of journalism out there where there are people writing blogs where they grab one thing and ignore everything else that I've written and said about this. And it supports their political view."
-Andrea Mitchell
Ahem, bingo...
:: Max 3:58 PM [+] ::
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