Okay, So It Isn't A Hoax
Well, it seems that it wasn't a hoax, although J.C. Penny seems to have stopped offering it. You can still find it at eToys and KBtoys. Marvel while you can -- Super Bitch is doing her best to make sure none of Kyle's friends get one.A Public Service Anouncement
He said he hoped the “very frank and very stark” images would “shock, and grab young people’s attention and get them to take the danger to themselves seriously”.Really. I mean, it is frightening to think of botching that job. You really want to get that one right the first time.
How to Ruin American Enterprise
An outstanding piece of satire from Ben Stein. If you want to know if he is right about America dumbing down, grab three friends and catch an episode of "Win Ben Stein's Money." I bet you can get at least four, maybe as many as eight questions (cuz only cool people read my blog). I can be beat Ben about a quarter of the time. Your cow-orkers? I would be surprised if one of them got more than three questions.Taxation by the numbers -- The Washington Times
A good article explaining why oppresive taxes are bad for the economy, and dispelling the myth that you can tax corporations.The Smoking Gun: "Culture Shock"
Every day, we get one step closer to "The Running Man". I love this sick fucking country.MEMRI: Abu Mazen in Gaza: Stop the Armed Operations
For a long time, I have not seen any real need to get rid of Arafat because I didn't see any alternative that was any better. I have always said that there must be someone who could do a better job. I think that Abu Mazen may be the one.Of course, I don't agree with everything that he says, but he gives a sense of sanity that is encouraging to me, given the political insanity that he works inside. His speech speaks for itself, and there is nothing I could add to it without robbing it of its impact.
ArabNews: Future of the region and Arab absence
Occasionally, the Arab News throws me a curve ball and puts up an editorial that is rational, objective and insightful. This is one of them. I'm a litlle disapointed in how they handled the -- issue of Israel (I almost wrote "the Jewish Problem" -- heh), but other than that I think it is a good attempt to salvage what little chance the Arabs have at managing thier own destiny.For start, they could acknowledge that Saddam Hussein’s regime is a problem not only for the people of Iraq but also for the entire region. Of course, some professional Arab-bashers might use such an assertion to claim that other Arab regimes are no better than that of Saddam. But the truth is that Saddam’s regime is way beyond the pale. No Arab regime in history has had such a black record of violence. Nor has any been as corrupt, and as cynical. The average Arab regime is not a Platonic ideal. But even the worst of the present Arab regimes is better than the system created by Saddam Hussein.Well, I'm not a professional Arab basher, but I do what I can. Even at that, I'm not irrational enough to claim that they are as bad as another. Iraq is certainly the worst. Syria and Iran are neck and neck with each other. I would have to give Iran the #2 slot, because I think Syria can be negotiated with, but you have to have a big stick handy.
The Arabs should have banished the Iraqi regime on the grounds that it was a disgrace to all Arabs. Thus the idea of regime change in Iraq would have become an Arab idea, rather than an American one. And that would have given the Arabs a major role in deciding the future shape of the region.This is the meat and potatoes of the article. For way too long, the Arabs have been playing "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". We have seen this as at worst evidence of conspiracy, and at best evidence of incompetence when it comes to policing thier own community. The mentality of the West -- and I don't think this is a groundless mindset -- tends to view the silence and wavering of the Arab nations as complicity and condonation.Had the Arabs agreed to collectively banish Saddam Hussein, it would have been more difficult for him to pursue his game of deceit and provocation. An opportunity would have arisen to persuade a totally isolated Saddam to bow out and spare Iraq another war. At the same time an active Arab policy on Iraq would have made it more difficult for the United States to do as it pleases. The American public would have listened to a serious Arab alternative to deal with the Iraqi issue through means other than a straight war. In the 1991 campaign to liberate Kuwait, the US had to listen to its Arab allies. This time it has no such obligation.
What this means for Arabia is that America tends to view them as at best incompetent tinpots, and at worst willing allies of Saddam.
Amr Moussa, Arab League secretary-general, says that no Arab state can take part in military action against another Arab state. He needs to revise his history lessons. The Arab states have fought no fewer than 15 open or secret wars against one another since the 1930s, including the not very peaceful rape of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990.I would go on to say that in fact, the idea of Islam as a religeon of peace is a falacy in its face, but even I don't ask an Arab news agency to go that far.The real world is not divided between Arab and non-Arab. It is divided between right and wrong. The Arabs must unequivocally reject Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein as enemies of their people.
The first change in the region led to Pax Britannica that, in one form or another, lasted until the 1970s. The second could lead to Pax Americana.And that could be bad both for the Arabs and for the United States.
The US is not a typical imperial power, and is effective as peacekeeper if it has strong regional allies, as was the case in Western Europe throughout the Cold War. At least some of the Arab states might have provided the kind of alliance needed to ensure a smooth transition in the region. They seem to have decided not to do so. History will show whether they took the right path.
Jordan activists urge thousands to enlist as 'human shields'
Opposition activists in Jordan have launched a campaign aimed at enlisting tens of thousands of Jordanians to defend Iraq against a US attack.This is going to be so funny. I don't like socialists. I don't like Muslims. I don't like idiots. They are all three!A group of Islamist and nationalist leaders, calling itself the National Mobilisation Committee in Defence of Iraq, said it planned to transport 100,000 Jordanian civilians to Iraq before January 17 to form human shields around key installations.
Do they really think that we can tell the difference between two different kinds of brown people? "If you're brown, you better watch out, because we'll bomb the shit out of you!" Do they think that we get better at telling the difference at 30,000 feet? "Eagle Eye, this is strike three one. Target appears to be brown people, over." "Copy, strike three one. Can you confirm that these are Iraqi and not Jordanian, over?" "Eagle Eye, target is brown, repeat brown." "Copy, Strike three one. You are clear to bomb the shit out of them."
At least the Jordanian government has a fairly reasonable stance.
The Jordanian government, which maintains a military alliance with the US, said it had no objection to people travelling to Iraq or expressing their opinions.The reporter failed to note when he said, "And we never really liked these guys anyway. We are hoping that the US kills them, because it is getting expensive to have to shoot them ourselves. Do you know how much Black September cost us the first time? We are currently negotiating to get Rosie O'Donnell and the Steve the Dell Dude to immigrate to Jordan so we can send them too, as thanks to America for relieving us of this burden.""We cannot prevent people from choosing to commit suicide," said Mohammed Adwan, information minister.
Forward Command Post
Someone please tell me that this is a hoax.Update: It must have been a hoax, because it is gone now.
North Korea Tensions Mount: Transcript of President Bush's Telephone Conversation With North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il
Funny.
