Flame Turns Blue

2003-07-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

THIS SITE HAS MOVED!

Ok, the new site is up and running, so point your browsers to www.flameturnsblue.net and bookmark it. The new site has lots of cool features not found here. Make sure you leave a comment or two if you see an entry worth talking about.

Thanks,

Todd

P.S. - Thanks to Dean Esmay at Dean's World for all of his time and help in getting the new site set up. Pay him a visit.

2003-07-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

NEW MUSIC

Looking to spice up your collection w/ music from bands you've probably never heard of? Check out KEXP's new music reviews. They have a nice archive of older reviews as well. Or browse the "dj's cd picks" list.

2003-07-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

OLYMPICS, EH?

The site of the 2010 Winter Olympics will be chosen tomorrow, and Vancouver, BC is the odds-on favorite. That would be very cool. We would get the best of both worlds: the Olympics in our backyard w/o the hassles of the inevitable, massive infrastructure projects necessary to host such an event.

"Going anywhere but Vancouver would 'make a mockery of moving the games around,' senior Canadian IOC member Dick Pound said."

Mind if we call you Richard instead?

UPDATE: Vancouver got it!

2003-07-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

COLUMBIA EMAILS RELEASED

Apparently 250 emails sent between NASA and the Space Shuttle Columbia have been released to the public. This note sent from NASA was particularly chilling:

"There is one item that I would like to make you aware of for the upcoming (public affairs) event. This item is not even worth mentioning other than wanting to make sure that you are not surprised by it in a question from a reporter.

"During ascent at approximately 80 seconds, photo analysis shows that some debris from the area of the -Y ET Bipod Attach Point (on the external fuel tank) came loose and subsequently impacted the orbiter left wing. Experts have reviewed the high-speed photography and there is no concern for (wing panel) or tile damage. We have seen this same phenomenon on several other flights and there is absolutely no concern for entry."

2003-07-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

OREOS & VELVEETA ANYONE?

Kraft is taking the bold step of reformulating products to combat obesity in children. It says it will stop marketing in schools too. Critics argue the moves, which will begin next year and take up to three years to implement fully, are an effort to avoid lawsuits. Who cares?

2003-07-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

PREEMPTION DOCTRINE AT RISK?

I think we will find the evidence of WMD in Iraq that will support the Bush administration's decision to fight a preemtive war (I think we may have already, but let's assume we haven't). However, the failure to find conclusive, irrefutable evidence to date may spell trouble for Bush's doctrine of preemption in the future.

According to columnist George Will, "To govern is to choose, almost always on the basis of very imperfect information. But preemption presupposes the ability to know things -- to know about threats with a degree of certainty not requisite for decisions less momentous than those for waging war." (via OxBlog) I don't know what the tipping point is for "certainty", but the implication is that the intelligence must support an airtight case.

Robert Kaplan, in his article "Supremacy By Stealth" in the most recent edition of The Atlantic, argues the point differently. "Because the consequences of attack by weapons of mass destruction are so catastrophic, the United States will periodically have no choice but to act pre-emptively on limited evidence..." I tend to agree with Kaplan, but Wills' point is still crucial.

Because of the atrocities committed by Saddam's regime that have been uncovered since the end of the war, the public seems to be giving Bush a free-pass on this one. "Hey, he may have stretched the truth a bit, but Iraq (and by extenson, the US) is better off without him". The potential difficulty for Bush will come if he argues for another preemptive strike. Any such decision will be based on intelligence, but will the public trust him?

Which leads me to this article in the NYT this morning outlining recent intelligence by the C.I.A., which suggests that North Korea's nuclear weapons program is more advanced than we previously suspected. I fear that the current WMD debate will cause us to underestimate real threats identified by the intelligence community in the future.

2003-06-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

TRUE GRIT

They should name streets after guys like this. An Australian miner was forced to amputate his own arm Saturday night after his tractor flipped. I like this quote.

"Police said a state of delirium might have caused Mr Jones to amputate his arm." News Flash!

The article mentions American climber, Aron Ralston, who was forced to do the same thing this spring after his arm became trapped by a boulder.

2003-06-30T10:06:00.000-07:00

IRAQI GUERILLAS

David Adesnik at OxBlog has a good analysis of the recent guerilla activity in Iraq. He concludes that it's not as bad as the media makes it sound.

2003-06-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

TOUR DE FORCE

Lance Armstrong is a badass. He starts his bid for a fifth straight Tour de France victory this Saturday. There's something fun about watching a brash Texan take on the sport's European establishment. Sounds familiar?

Biking is not the most electrifying sport to watch on television, but if you want to catch him in action, I'm pretty sure Fox Sports will be covering the event again this year.

Did you know that the Tour de France is the most-watched sporting event in the world? An estimated 15 million people will watch the wheels go 'round.

Here's a great profile of Mr. Armstrong from Outside magazine.

UPDATE: Here's another article about Lance from the NYT (registration required).

2003-06-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

SOCCER TRIVIA!

It was on this date in 1950 that a ragtag U.S. team defeated England by a score of 1-0 in the World Cup. "Britain's loss to the US was so shocking, that a some British newspapers gave a score of 10:1 thinking there was a mistake."

Which nation ended up winning the World Cup that year? The answer can be found here.

2003-06-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

COLDPLAY PROFILE

The LA Times also has a long profile of the band Coldplay. Say what you will about their hit song "Yellow", but their most recent CD, A Rush of Blood to the Head, has been firmly entrenched in our CD player for some time. It's been sharing space with a couple Joseph Arthur CDs, Redemption's Son and Come to Where I'm From.

The best line of the piece comes from one of the band's critics, however. "Alan McGee, the maverick record executive who signed such rebellious bands as Oasis and Jesus and Mary Chain, wisecracked that Coldplay's tender strains appealed only to 'bedwetters.'" Ouch!

2003-06-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

"LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN"

The LA Times has a review of a new biography of Benjamin Franklin (registration required). The article has a good summary of Franklin's fundamental beliefs, which still resonate today. Here are a few excerpts:

"For Franklin, the American Revolution was chiefly about civic virtue. And in this regard, the Revolution was an extension of what Franklin had been attempting all his life. Walter Isaacson, in this solid new biography, aptly quotes Franklin to summarize his guiding principle as 'a dislike of everything that tended to debase the spirit of the common people.'"

"Franklin articulated what became a credo for journalists: 'Printers are educated in the belief that when men differ in opinion, both sides ought equally to have the advantage of being heard by the public, and that when Truth and Error have fair play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter.' What is less remembered in newsrooms, or at least less revered, is Franklin's corollary: a reminder that printers must make ends meet. 'Hence they cheerfully service all contending writers that pay them well.'"

"At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, he argued for measures to keep money out of politics. 'There are two passions which have a powerful influence on the affairs of men,' he declared. 'These are ambition and avarice: the love of power, and the love of money. Separately, each of these has great force in prompting men to action; but when united in view of the same object, they have in many minds the most violent effects.'"

UPDATE: Howard Kurtz has an interesting column today about the role of money/lobbyists in politics today. The GOP is winning the game right now.

2003-06-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

ART IMITATES LIFE (UNFORTUNATELY)

A NYT article profiles a case in Texas where, "19 illegal immigrants died from the oppressive heat in a truck ferrying them through South Texas." This immediately reminded me of the HBO series The Wire, which follows a group of Balitmore cops on the job. This season the case they are working on is the suspected murder of 14 female illegal immigrants who died trapped in a ship container en route to the Baltimore port. I've been sucked in by the Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and now The Wire. Check it out on Sunday nights.

2003-06-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

GITMO

Another long piece from NYT Magazine examines the situation at Guantanamo Bay, where the US is holding 680 prisoners classified as enemy combatants, as opposed to P.O.W.s. This means they can be held indefinitely and are denied the basic rights given to P.O.W.s under the Geneva Convention. Some are juveniles. In a touch of irony, they are also recieving the best healthcare of their lives and have gained 13 pounds on average. An excerpt:

"What is normal for teenagers who were made to fight in a war? Do we have any idea? Could being locked up ever be therapeutic? I mean these as real questions, not rhetorical jabs, and I recently visited Guantanamo to try to get a sense of how, a year and a half after its creation, the detention-and-interrogation center, this place where hundreds of people are being held indefinitely so that we might find out what they know, had evolved. What kind of community had grown here, and what might it say about America's attitude toward these prisoners of war?"

2003-06-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

"A NATION OF GRINDERS"

David Brooks looks at the good old-fashioned work ethic, as illustrated by Honest Abe, in this week's NYT Magazine (registration required).

2003-06-27T10:10:00.000-07:00

"OLD AND IN THE WAY"

Victor Davis Hanson's weekly column is up at NRO. I haven't read it yet, but I know it will be good.

UPDATE: It's good.

2003-06-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

WHO SAYS CHICKENS CAN'T FLY?

Ok, I wouldn't go this far to solve my chicken problem.

2003-06-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

FAST FOOD NATION

If you read the book Fast Food Nation, you know that cash strapped school districts have struck exclusive food and beverage deals w/ companies such as Coca Cola, Pizza Hut etc. Opponents of the idea argue that this creates a "cradle to grave" customer for these companies and provides no healthy options for the kids. The Seattle school district is re-thinking its current deal w/ Coca Cola, which expires this summer. Read about it here.

2003-06-26T17:44:00.000-07:00

SAY GOODBYE TO TELEMARKETERS

Beginning on Friday, June 27th, consumers will be able to go online and register their phone number on the "The National Do Not Call Registry". It's supposed to block 80% of telemarketing phone calls. Go here and follow the instructions.

UPDATE: Here's a better link than the one I provided above, http://donotcall.gov/ . Also, even though you sign up now, the regulation doesn't go into effect until October, so don't expect a slowdown in call volume until then.

2003-06-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

FLASHBACKS

The online version of "The Atlantic" magazine has a great section called "Flashbacks" where it profiles articles from its archives that are relevant to current events. Here's the synopsis for one article that was particularly interesting:

"When the Supreme Court this week ruled in favor of affirmative action, Justice Thomas expressed an emphatic dissenting opinion. In 1987, when Thomas was chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity commission, Juan Williams profiled Thomas and traced the development of his views on affirmative action." Read the whole thing here (warning, their articles are very, very long, but never dull).

They have some other great articles in the current issue as well. "The Hard Edge of American Values" offers a vision of U.S. foreign policy in a changing world. Oh, just go to the site and browse.

UPDATE: If you get through the Clarence Thomas piece, take minute to read this op-ed piece by Marueen Dowd from the NYT. I linked to the Seattle PI version so you don't have to register. All I can say is "WOW".

2003-06-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

A new study reveals that people, "who eat a Mediterranean-style diet rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil and fish have at least a 25 percent reduced risk of dying from heart disease and cancer, researchers reported in a study being published today."

2003-06-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

STICKS & STONES

I need to kick this Bush streak, but here's another article examining the language Bush uses in his public remarks. The implication is that the President uses, "negatively charged emotional language," to scare the country in order to create support for his policies. An excerpt:

"To create a dependency dynamic between him and the electorate, Bush describes the nation as being in a perpetual state of crisis and then attempts to convince the electorate that it is powerless and that he is the only one with the strength to deal with it. He attempts to persuade people they must transfer power to him, thus crushing the power of the citizen, the Congress, the Democratic Party, even constitutional liberties, to concentrate all power in the imperial presidency and the Republican Party." Well, I'll concede the part about the Democratic party (duh), and Ashcroft, with the Shrub's consent, has arguably tried to stifle a couple civil liberties.

Here's the kicker.

"Bush's political opponents are caught in a fantasy that they can win against him simply by proving the superiority of their ideas. However, people do not support Bush for the power of his ideas, but out of the despair and desperation in their hearts. Whenever people are in the grip of a desperate dependency, they won't respond to rational criticisms of the people they are dependent on. They will respond to plausible and forceful statements and alternatives that put the American electorate back in touch with their core optimism. "

We are but sheeple, incapable of independent thought. Please enlighten me.

Anyway, she does touch on one thing Bush has failed to do. He failed to give us all a collective "charge" following 9/11. Through personal initiative, many people donated to Red Cross, gave blood, even enlisted in the military. However, I never heard Bush tell us to drive less, plant a victory garden, save scrap metal etc. in order to make a material, significant contribution. People were willing to make a sacrifice, we just weren't quite sure what was needed. Instead he told us to buy duct tape and plastic sheeting. Um, ok. I guess duct tape can fix just about anything.

2003-06-26T10:20:00.000-07:00

BUSH LIED!

At least according to some people. Here's an article from The New Republic that tries to make the case. Many people think the authors make a pretty convincing case. I wouldn't know b/c I haven't read it yet. Yet

I guess b/c I never relied on any proclamations made by Bush et al to reach my own conclusion regarding Iraq, I'm not really interested in the whole "he lied" screech. If there's some truth to it, he'll certainly pay for it. So be it. His critics absolutely hate him and will do just about anything to bring him down. Here's a couple excerpts from emails I got from a very liberal Democratic friend who used to work in D.C.

"If I knew it would do any good, I would abandon my job search and move to DC and go to any end of the earth to ensure that Bush doesn't see a second term. I can't imagine what he'd be like in a second term, with no restraint.

Taking the White House back has to be the paramount priority for every self-described liberal, progressive and left-leaning activist in the nation. In our lifetime, I do not believe that there has been a more important niche in time to drastically alter the direction of the country and the composition of its leadership."

Sound like the conservative attack on Clinton while he was President? Politics as usual, I guess.

2003-06-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

BUSH LIED?

Well, here we go. How will the conspiracy theorists spin this one? According to CNN, nuclear components have been found hidden in the backyard of an Iraqi scientist. The scientist is cooperating with U.S. officials.

"The CIA has in its hands the critical parts of a key piece of Iraqi nuclear technology -- parts needed to develop a bomb program -- that were dug up in a back yard in Baghdad, CNN has learned.

The parts were unearthed by Iraqi scientist Mahdi Obeidi who had hidden them in his back yard under a rose bush 12 years ago under orders from Qusay Hussein and Saddam Hussein's then son-in-law, Hussein Kamel.

U.S. officials emphasized this was not evidence Iraq had a nuclear weapon -- but it was evidence the Iraqis concealed plans to reconstitute their nuclear program as soon as the world was no longer looking.

The parts and documents Obeidi gave the CIA were shown exclusively to CNN at CIA headquarters in Virginia.

Obeidi told CNN the parts of a gas centrifuge system for enriching uranium were part of a highly sophisticated system he was ordered to hide to be ready to rebuild the bomb program."

In a related development, NBC reports the following (via InstaPundit):

"The more significant discoveries were related to Saddam’s attempts to rebuild chemical and biological arsenals like those he was known to have used during the Iran-Iraq War of the late 1980s, when he was supported by the U.S. government.

Sources told NBC News’ Jim Miklaszewski that within just the past week, U.S. investigators had found two shipping containers filled with millions of much more recent documents relating to chemical and biological weapons.

One of the documents, from 2001, was titled “Document burial and U.N. activities in Iraq,” the sources said. It gave detailed instructions on how to hide materials and deceive U.N. weapons inspectors, the sources said.

Other documents related to the concealment of VX nerve gas, the sources said."

Now, you can argue whether or not Saddam posed an "imminent" threat justifying a pre-emptive strike, but it is becoming increasingly clear that he had every intention of reconstituting WMD programs ASAP. I think that case was convincingly made by many before the war, but this new find certainly supports that argument.

2003-06-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

CHICKENS AS SUBURBAN PETS?

If my neighbors' chickens are any barometer, I hope this trend does not catch on. Or maybe I should just get a pet fox.

2003-06-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

"WINNING AFTER ALL"

Victor Davis Hanson writes a weekly column. The latest is here. His entire archive is here. He does a great job of putting current events in proper historical perspective. Worth reading every week. Keep this in mind if you read him; he's a lifelong Democrat.

2003-06-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

NEW MOVIE

This one looks pretty cool. It's from the director of "Trainspotting".

2003-06-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

13 DOWN, 1 TO GO

Ed Viesturs, a Bainbridge Island resident, has climbed 13 of the 14 highest peaks in the world. He reached the top of 26,658-foot Nanga Parbat on Monday. If he summits Annapurna next year he will become the first American to climb all 14. Oh, and he's never used supplemental oxygen.

2003-06-25T06:51:00.000-07:00

"THE AVOCADO: PURE GOLD"

Here you go Julie (registration required).

2003-06-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Seeing this article about protests at a meeting of agriculture experts reminded me of another recent piece I found via Winds Of Change. The protesters in Sacramento, "claim the gathering is an attempt by corporate farming to push bio-engineered crops on starving countries..."

I don't know how I feel about bio-engineered crops, but it certainly sounds bad, dangerous even (Frankenfood?). How do you account for this story then? Here's an excerpt:

"Taking a gene from one species and adding it to another is a bit like taking a word from a foreign language and adding it to an English dictionary. If it is a word that English does not have but could usefully employ (schadenfreude, for instance), then it can be an improvement, and it carries few risks. Genes, like words, are all just combinations of existing letters. Adding one gene to the 40,000 genes in a rice plant is more momentous than adding three words to the 120,000 in the pocket Oxford English Dictionary, but not much more so.

The word ‘carotenoid’ is not in my Pocket Oxford English Dictionary (1969 edition). It means a protein that is the precursor of vitamin A, a crucial ingredient of vision. The genes for making carotenoids are lacking in human beings, which is why we must eat vitamin A or go blind. The gene is also lacking in rice grains, so a person who subsists largely on rice may go blind. Approximately 500,000 children in the developing world suffer this exact fate every year, and determined efforts by aid agencies to get vitamin supplements or green vegetables to these people have so far failed.

Along comes Ingo Potrykus of Switzerland with a simple solution. Why not genetically engineer a rice plant so that it has the genes to make carotenoids in its grains? So he took the necessary genes from a daffodil and put them into rice. In effect, he added the word ‘carotenoid’ to the rice plant’s book. He soon had a form of rice that was identical in every respect, except that eating just 200 grams of it a day gave you a daily sufficiency of vitamin A. (Further refinements, including the addition of vitamin E’s precursor, have since made the rice even more health-giving.)

He then carefully negotiated away all the patents he had infringed, so that he could give the new ‘golden rice’ away free to peasants who could plant it in their fields. Since the rice would be self-fertile, there was nothing to stop the peasants he gave it to growing their own seed and giving it away to their neighbours. When he had finished in 2000, it was possible for the first time to envisage a realistic, practical and cheap way to prevent 500,000 children going blind every year.

Yet he found himself opposed and vilified by the so-called environmental movement, which was then enjoying a boom in donations from rich people disturbed by the half-truths, scare stories and wild predictions that they had been told about genetic engineering of plants. In vain did Potrykus make clear that his ‘golden rice’ would not enrich him, neither would it enrich any multinational company; it would damage no ecosystem, hurt no human being, invigorate no weed and assist no landlord; it would benefit the poor; it was not an American invention. It answered every one of the environmentalists’ excuses for their lucrative opposition to GM foods.

Still the Greens opposed it. More than two years have now passed and no governments have approved golden rice for use, frightened of the Green backlash if they do. Potrykus said to me recently, in his mild way, ‘Should I start to show pictures of blind children in the talks I give?’ ‘They would,’ I replied."

Makes one think.

2003-06-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

SPACE SHUTTLE INVESTIGATION UPDATE

Remember when NASA said it was very possible that the cause of the disaster might never be known? Well, it looks like the independent investigation baord has just about nailed down what happened on the flight.

RELATED NEWS: Thinking about the concept of space makes my head hurt, but looking at it is pretty cool. The Hubble telescope continues to send back incredible pictures, like this one of a set of young galaxies. To see all of the latest images, go here.

2003-06-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

PROFILE OF TOMMY FRANKS

If you like miltary history, read this long profile of General Tommy Franks. Franks, chief of U.S. Central Command, recently announced his retirement.

(via IntelDump)

2003-06-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

P.B.R. ME A.S.A.P.

Apparently Pabst beer is "blue-collar" no longer. It's the new "hipster" beverage of choice, at least according to this article (registration required). I was always partial to Milwaukee's Best myself.

2003-06-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE BAGHDAD NEWSMAG

Baghdad Bulletin has just published its first edition. It's a bi-weekly publication started by locals. Should be interesting.

(via BuzzMachine)

UPDATE: High hopes dashed; it's pretty weak. Most articles seem to be written by westerners in Iraq, and in some cases westerners located in the U.S. and the U.K.

2003-06-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

SEATTLE PARKS & RECREATION TRAIL MAPS

Here's the homepage for Seattle Parks & Recreation's "The Trail Program". Go here if you want to find detailed maps of the trail systems throughout Seattle.

2003-06-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

MR. VEDDER IS A CUBS FAN

Eddie Vedder sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at a Chicago Cubs game last Friday. Here's a link to a link to the interview and song. I know Ed spent at least part of his childhood in the Windy City.

2003-06-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

POSH 'N' BECKS

For those interested in soccer news, David Beckam's transfer from Manchester United in England to Real Madrid in Spain provides an entertaining side-show. My opinion on this matter? FORZA JUVE!

2003-06-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

"DEMOCRATS GO OFF THE CLIFF"

David Brooks has more interesting analysis of the current state of the Democratic party in an article in The Weekly Standard, including this tidbit:

"And there is a mountain of evidence that the Democrats are now racing away from swing voters, who do not hate George Bush, and who, despite their qualms about the economy and certain policies, do not feel that the republic is being raped by vile and illegitimate marauders."

As a "swing voter", I think he's dead-on.

(via OpinionJournal)

2003-06-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Gone until Tuesday...

2003-06-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN IRAQ?

We've all heard the recent news reports, but Mark Steyn offers his first-hand analysis of the situation. An excerpt:

"I went to quite a lot of effort to look for complete security breakdowns, miserable lives and total lack of basic services, but I couldn't find them in Tikrit or Rutba, Kirkuk or Ramadi, Samarra or even Fallujah, where they've had one or two little local difficulties but nothing like the widespread civic collapse Mr Day confidently asserts."

Of course he doesn't mention Baghdad, where most of the problems seem to be concentrated. To get a first-hand account of what life in Baghdad is like right now, check out these two weblogs, both written by Baghdad residents.

Where is Raed?

G. in Baghdad

2003-06-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

LIBERAL CONUNDRUM

My votes used to go to Democrats, but the party is in big trouble, I think. George Will explains why.

"The liberals' conundrum is condign punishment for the discordance between the way they talk and the way they live."

Um, I think I know what that means, and I agree.

2003-06-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

BEAT INSPIRATION, FISHING AND HIKING

Good travel article in NYT about Ross Lake and the North Cascades.

"Just 130 miles from Seattle, the lake is touched by only one public road - a dirt one, at the Canadian end. To the west and south lie the more than 300 glaciers of toothy North Cascades National Park. To the east lynx and gray wolf prowl the Pasayten Wilderness, nearly the size of Rhode Island. Buffering the lake is its own national recreation area, 117,000 acres large."

2003-06-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

PEARL JAM ON NPR THIS MORNING

I think I missed the radio piece this morning, but the NPR site has some Pearl Jam goodies if you're interested.

2003-06-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

ONE TIME AT BAND, ER, NUDIST CAMP...

Nudist summer camps for kids? This seems wrong on so many different levels. Am I missing something?

(via BuzzMachine)

2003-06-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

THEY LIKE HOMER, BUT THEY HATE THE REST OF US

A recent survey by BBC News handed the title of "Greatest American" of all time to Homer Simpson. The survey was part of a program titled "What The World Thinks Of America". One of the more revealing portions of the program was the collection of comments about America from respondents around the world. You can read them all here. Highlights include:

"I certainly do not envy Americans. I mean who would like to be that fat!" So deep, so thoughtful.

"What strikes me is how the most powerful country in the world, with all its resources and wealth manages to breed such an ignorant people. They know very little about the world beyond their shores, despite the fact that their collective heritage is derived from all over the world. Power breeds arrogance no doubt. Yet arrogance combined with ignorance is fatal." Hhhmmm, fat and ignorant. I see a trend emerging...

And yet, and yet, who do they vote as the Greatest American?

"While the Americans will invariably [be] accused by many of being a bunch of TV watching dimwits and decrying cultural imperialism, the world votes Homer Simpson - a cultural export celebrating those very qualities -the greatest American. Irony and contradiction on too many levels to get into here."

Couldn't have said it better myself. It's worth reading them all. They make you want to either, a) hang your head in shame, or b) smash your computer into tiny little pieces. I would choose b), but I have to get back to work (no really, I do).

2003-06-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

SEN. MCCAIN ON IRAQ/WMD

Senator John McCain, in a column in last Sunday's WaPo, sums up the situation nicely. I couldn't agree more.

(via The Command Post)

2003-06-18T08:51:00.000-07:00

RESEARCHER LINKS FOOD PRICES, OBESITY

Another article. Makes sense to me. Why do you think Taco Bell is so popular; because of its delectible vittles? No. Because you can stuff yourself for $2.

2003-06-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

MAJOR FIRMS OPEN DRIVE TO REDUCE OBESITY

Here you go Julie.

2003-06-18T06:47:00.000-07:00

REPRIEVE?

The Sopranos will be back for a 6th season. Season 5, which starts next fall, was assumed to be its last. I hope Furio comes back, too. I also read somewhere that they are planning on doing big-screen movies, a la Star Trek, when the TV version is over, so don't expect any grande finale that ends up with Tony getting whacked, or his NJ empire destroyed.

2003-06-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

THE DA VINCI CODE

Dan Brown's novel, "The Da Vinci Code" was a great read. It's a murder mystery involving cryptology, art history and religous sects. He puts forth a very controversial history of early religion and how many of its original, cherished traditions have been tweaked or eliminated. What I didn't realize when I read the book is that it is based on historical fact. Really? Jesus was married to, and had a child with, Mary Magdalen? Apparently there is a detailed bibilography at his official site. I'll have to check it out.

Update: Try to solve the Code yourself. Time to dust off the Sherlock Holmes hat.

2003-06-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

STRYKER BRIGADE

You asked for it. Here are some links:

Stryker Brigade Combat Team Homepage

Stryker vehicle history

Stryker brochure

More links at these pages.

Update: Links to news articles mentioning the Stryker Brigade:

Army chief starts shift away from tanks as he remakes forces

Stryker completes certification exercise

Army's new fighting vehicles moves from drawing board to battlefield

2003-06-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

FRENCH KISS

Apparently France is starting to take the American backlash seriously. The number of American tourists visiting France has dropped 25% in the past year, with the number one reason cited being France's position on Iraq. "Will the French smile if doing so will bring back the Americans? They might, since this is not just a cultural issue, but also an economic one. The French economy has already lost nearly $1 billion this year, money un-spent by Americans in France." Mon dieu! (via USS Clueless)

I think Groundskeeper Willie summed up American sentiment quite nicely when he referred to the French as, "cheese-eatin' surrender-monkeys."

Maybe Willie should get together w/ the guy in Georgia we saw whose bumper sticker opined, "F**k France"?

2003-06-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

DOGGIE LOJACK?

This is kind of cool. A new way to track your lost dog.

2003-06-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

FAIR, BALANCED, WHINY?

There are plenty of morons on the right as well, here's one example. Here's another. Windbags.

2003-06-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

WHITE RIVER VS. THE GORGE

Wonder how the new White River Amphitheatre compares to the Gorge? Here's the scoop.

2003-06-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post tries to set the record straight about what really happened to Pvt. Jessica Lynch. Interesting.

2003-06-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Apparently Hillary & Bill forgot Chelsea at the Kremlin on a trip to Moscow in 1994. They didn't even realize it until they got to the airport. Maybe they should adopt Bush's policy of, "Leave No Child Behind."

2003-06-16T21:14:00.000-07:00

In case you need another reason NOT to kiss prairie dogs and large Gambian rats, read this.

2003-06-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

NATURE VS. NURTURE

I used to think it was about 90% Nature, 10% Nurture. I'm probably at 60/40 now. There's a new book that sheds some light on the argument, and it's been reviewed by the LA Times.

2003-06-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

Two great blogs from soldiers still in Iraq & Kuwait: Lt. Smash; and, A Minute Longer. I especially liked this recent post from Lt. Smash.

2003-06-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

Confriming what we all knew, Homer Simpson has been voted the Greatest American ever (via BuzzMachine). Coming in a very distant second was Honest Abe. Doh!

2003-06-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in Fremont activists promoted the establishment of nudist beaches in Seattle. What's more appealing than the thought of hairy, pasty hippies nude? All of this is a warm-up for the Fremont Summer Solstice Parade this weekend. Glad I'll be gone.

2003-06-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

Good roundup of Iraq/War on Terrorism links over at The Winds of Change.

2003-06-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

Lileks, worth a read every day.

2003-06-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

SMOKING GUN?

Australian PM confirms that at least one of the three trailers dicovered in Iraq was a mobile production facility for WMD (via The Command Post).

"I had some investigations made through the Office of National Assessments and I have been informed as follows: that United States and United Kingdom intelligence agencies have concluded that at least one of the three vehicle trailers found in Iraq is a mobile production, biological weapons production facility," Mr Howard said.

Still think Bush lied?

Question. Aren't those calling Bush a liar b/c we haven't found massive caches of WMD in the two months since the end of the war the same people that were willing to let the U.N. inspectors spend months, if not years, searching for them? Why the double-standard?

2003-06-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

Re-elected last November, California's Governor, Democrat Gray Davis, could be recalled and kicked out of office. A recall initiative, funded by a Republican Congressman, has almost enough signatures to be placed on the ballot next November. Guess who might step in and run if it happens? The Terminator.

2003-06-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

TRIVIA!

Lincoln trivia in honor of Springfield, IL. Why did Honest Abe grow a beard? The answer is here.

2003-06-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

Take it easy on Willie Nelson, he's a legend. He's also a runner, which isn't too bad for a 70 year old. He's even got his own race. Pretty surprising given his history. When his house was burning down Willie took one prized posession with him, his bag of dope.

2003-06-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Rising white-collar unemployment is the downside of increasing productivity in the workplace. Apparently the white-collar workplace is undergoing a transformation similar to that of blue-collar industries in the late-eighties; jobs are moving overseas. The trend is expected to continue.

"In the next 15 years Forrester Research predicts that 3.3 million service jobs will move to countries like India, Russia, China, and the Philippines, with the IT sector leading the way. The financial services industry is expected to be another major job exporter, according to consulting firm A.T. Kearney, shifting more than 500,000 jobs, or 8% of its U.S. workforce, abroad by 2008."

Are your taxes being prepared by an accountant in India? Possibly.

(via Instapundit)

2003-06-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

A local Masters runner is trying to become the first person over 40 to run a sub 4:00 minute mile. He's getting very close.

2003-06-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

A good article to read on Dad's Day.

2003-06-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

Interesting article in the New York Times Magazine (registration required) about the current fight between self-described "liberal" Nantucket residents and a company trying to develop an offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound. They claim it will be an eye sore that will lower property values, among other things. I'm not sure I'd want one in my backyard either, but the article exposes the opposition's hypocrisy.

"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offered his name and voice to the struggle, despite the fact that the Natural Resources Defense Council, the environmental organization for which he is a senior attorney, is a strong advocate of offshore wind development."

This local issue raises an important question we'll all have to answer sooner or later. What price are we willing to pay to help the environment? The author notes:

"The wind supporters at least agree with Yearley on one point: the struggle is ultimately about costs -- it is about the costs of scattering turbines along ridgelines and sounds versus the costs of not doing so. To them, the national illusion that you can have electricity, clean air, a stable climate and independence from foreign oil without paying a steep price is ludicrous."

2003-06-14T23:21:00.000-07:00

The Experience Music Project here in Seattle recently expanded its Jimi Hendrix Gallery. The new permanent exhibit opened June 7th. Haven't seen it yet, but the smaller version was amazing. Last time I was there I noticed something I never knew before: Hendrix was a left-handed guitar player, yet he didn't play a left-handed guitar; he played a right-handed guitar flipped upside down. Very cool.

2003-06-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

Phil Carter over at Intel Dump has links to, and analysis of, some great stories about our troops still operating in Iraq.

2003-06-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go.