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silveradeptThey disrupt my sense of weekend, to start with - they also prevent me from watching padded rugby games, but from what I’ve been told, today’s incarnation was not worth seeing, anyway. See previous post for the results of that item. Spent half the day being the monitor of sorts for programming - mostly involved sitting and listening to the program, and not much more.
Russia will be leaving a 1990 treaty regarding troop deployments in Europe, because they feel the treaty isn’t working, and nobody wants to sign on to the 1999 version that Russia likes. Is it me, or does the media narrative continue to make Russia out to be somewhat like an old man who was good in his prime, has since faded, but insists that he’s still relevant and demands that everyone see him as he was those years ago?
Mr. Gore, as a Nobel Prize Winner, has a dinner date at the White House. As the comments show, the jokes, snipes, infighting, and continued attacks mean that the Gore-supporting country still hasn’t forgiven anyone for what happened in 2000. I expect much material to be found and commented on in this visit. In more general terms, the American public thinks mroe favorably of Democrats than Republicans. The gap is closing, and by the time election times roll about, there will probably not be as much of a difference in opinions.
The People's Republic of China has reminded its fire-fighting corps that bribes and sexual favors are not to be accepted for their services. Apparently, there’s a lot of that going around. Obviously, we have underestimated the value of firefighting ability and equipment.
Regarding Iraq, Tom Philpott interviews selected new recruits on why they joined up, even with opinion against the Iraq war. I do note that while he wanted to interview recruits at random, he instead gets recruits selected for their articulate demeanor to speak with him. Call it cynical, but they were probably also selected for their ability and willingness to espouse certain philosophies. I’m sure they believe it, so it’s not forcing them to say something they don’t want to.
A better idea for the world would be to take Peggy Noonan's advice on how to be a beacon of liberty, excluding the part where she implies that conservatives have been worrying about the important parts of this issue for quite a while now. Still, a relatively solid piece for everyone to start working toward - the real good, where the virtue is apparent by itself, rather than needing strident denouncements of vice. To provide an excellent example of why Noonan’s view is superior, why it’s none other than Bill’O! How convenient that he should loudly denounce a movie based on true events of American soldiers (although as Olbermann noted, not without having a commercial for said movie in the middle of his show. Bit of a gaffe there, Faux.) because it happens to show them in a less-than-favorable light. Wouldn’t it be better for such a movie to be a fiction because the real military never did such things? We support the troops, Bill - perhaps not in the yellow-ribbon empty-phrase way you do, but be assured that what we do, we do with what we believe are the best interests of the troops.
Thomas Friedman lays out how a gasoline tax of about $1 a gallon in 2001 could have changed the way the country works, increasing pressure to decrease dependence on foreign oil, develop new and more fuel-efficient vehicles and ideas, and to starve out ideologies that were being funded by oil dollars from America. Supposedly, Detroit would have had to adapt or die (there’s a strong possibility it would have been die). The market solution that was instead taken has seen oil prices go way up - although I think the United States’ actions in the Middle East has certainly strongly contributed to this. Perhaps after being slapped with a gas tax, the country would be less willing to go invade, or we might now be complaining about $4+ gas prices, no further along to innovation, and still in the Iraq situation as deep as we are now. Either way, Friedman says that most people should support a gas tax increase, regardless of what we think ideologically.
As perhaps an alternative to paying more for products and continuing to do business as usual, Frito-Lay, with the blessing of parent company PepsiCo, is retooling their factories to try and get them as far off the grid as they can be.
Mona Charen doesn't think Ron Paul is "Hope for America" - she looks into his past, his policy, and his associations, and finds a fringe, history-unaware candidate being supported by an awful lot of rabid zealots rather than someone who could actually win a presidential office and run the country. When Ron Paul supporters are raided for the production of illegal currency, claiming their money can restore the markets by being based on a non-fluctuating currency. Isn’t that impossible? In any case, Mr. Paul, if these are your supporters, I think the snowball has a better chance than you do.
Inspector Lohmann trips my deja vu filter with the differing accounts of a Haitian immigrant's death at the hands of police - on one hand, the policeman “had to fire” when the young man scuffled with him. On the other side, the young man may have been tired of being frisked for no reason, and asked the officer why, provoking a violent response for daring to question the authority of the officer. The truth is probably somewhere in between - perhaps the question was aggressive, the response was belligerent, and the two fought until the teen was killed. Lohmann takes this as a broader indication of the state of America - where we’re all Free enough to stand by and cede control to authority, which then turns around and abuses us with it and destroys anyone who objects to the ceding or the abuse.
A Colorado ballot initiative is considering defining a fertilized egg as a person, and being entitled to all the rights delivered to people. The proponents of the initiative are calling it what it really is, an attempt at banning abortion, and the challenges to the initiative say that it’s a ban on abortion, but there’s no language in the proposal that mentions such, and so it’s misleading. Either way, Colorado may not be a good state to be in, if you’re female.
Of course, we can’t let political figures be the only people who feed at the quiche trough. There’s plenty for all. Yes, you, Hyde Park Baptist Church, based in Austin, Texas, because you canceled an interfaith meeting on your property after learning that there would be Muslims there and hosting the event. Luckily for the interfaith meeting, the largest synagogue in the area offered to let them use their facilities.
And then there’s the cute account of the minister and the Klansman allying themselves to attack Microsoft's policies that are tolerant toward gays. For an example of how I think religion should be behaving, Desmond Tutu's chiding of the Anglican church is a good place to start.
After all that cheery talk, a biologist saying we should be expecting a new epidemic sometime soon is probably not the thing to reverse our mood.
A Family Guy joke might, however. Just remember, kids, say no to toad.
Going more toward cultural matters, are whites wearing dreadlocks just stealing black culture, or is there another reason behind it? If hairstyle isn’t your thing, then perhaps a tour of some of the odder uses of wiki software? Is it bad that I know and have visited most of them?
Something much weirder than the previous is the person who may have dumped ashes in the Pirates of the Carribean Disney ride. It’s claimed to be baby powder, but apparently, sprinkling ashes on Disney rides is popular. Having been to both Disney places, my question is... why?
With services offering to test out genetic predispositions, what will people do with that knowledge? Again, it’s a possibility that genes and genetic testing could spark new waves of bad behavior, or parents reading their child’s genome prints may try to steer them in ways that their genes seem to like, possibly closing off avenues of good development, even if they would require a little more work. And there’s still the spectre of defining one’s child to some degree of order in their genes. All sorts of possibilities with this data, even if all the warnings are thrown up and things are explained in exquisite detail how much or little the gene map actually means.
Next to the last point for tonight, we get a reveiw of "Gonzo", a biography of one Hunter S. Thompson, probable inspiration of many characters, whether closer or farther away from the reality of the man himself.
Last for tonight, however, is a review of the biography of Eiji Tsuburaya. Why do we care about this name? One word: Godzilla. He’s the guy who pioneered the rubber-suit monster stomping on miniatures special effect, and may the person we have to thank for all the tokusatsu that has followed, including the Super Sentai series, the Masked Riders, and all those other great-fun with giant monsters shows and movies we all enjoy.
Right. Bed. Soon, I would think.
Russia will be leaving a 1990 treaty regarding troop deployments in Europe, because they feel the treaty isn’t working, and nobody wants to sign on to the 1999 version that Russia likes. Is it me, or does the media narrative continue to make Russia out to be somewhat like an old man who was good in his prime, has since faded, but insists that he’s still relevant and demands that everyone see him as he was those years ago?
Mr. Gore, as a Nobel Prize Winner, has a dinner date at the White House. As the comments show, the jokes, snipes, infighting, and continued attacks mean that the Gore-supporting country still hasn’t forgiven anyone for what happened in 2000. I expect much material to be found and commented on in this visit. In more general terms, the American public thinks mroe favorably of Democrats than Republicans. The gap is closing, and by the time election times roll about, there will probably not be as much of a difference in opinions.
The People's Republic of China has reminded its fire-fighting corps that bribes and sexual favors are not to be accepted for their services. Apparently, there’s a lot of that going around. Obviously, we have underestimated the value of firefighting ability and equipment.
Regarding Iraq, Tom Philpott interviews selected new recruits on why they joined up, even with opinion against the Iraq war. I do note that while he wanted to interview recruits at random, he instead gets recruits selected for their articulate demeanor to speak with him. Call it cynical, but they were probably also selected for their ability and willingness to espouse certain philosophies. I’m sure they believe it, so it’s not forcing them to say something they don’t want to.
A better idea for the world would be to take Peggy Noonan's advice on how to be a beacon of liberty, excluding the part where she implies that conservatives have been worrying about the important parts of this issue for quite a while now. Still, a relatively solid piece for everyone to start working toward - the real good, where the virtue is apparent by itself, rather than needing strident denouncements of vice. To provide an excellent example of why Noonan’s view is superior, why it’s none other than Bill’O! How convenient that he should loudly denounce a movie based on true events of American soldiers (although as Olbermann noted, not without having a commercial for said movie in the middle of his show. Bit of a gaffe there, Faux.) because it happens to show them in a less-than-favorable light. Wouldn’t it be better for such a movie to be a fiction because the real military never did such things? We support the troops, Bill - perhaps not in the yellow-ribbon empty-phrase way you do, but be assured that what we do, we do with what we believe are the best interests of the troops.
Thomas Friedman lays out how a gasoline tax of about $1 a gallon in 2001 could have changed the way the country works, increasing pressure to decrease dependence on foreign oil, develop new and more fuel-efficient vehicles and ideas, and to starve out ideologies that were being funded by oil dollars from America. Supposedly, Detroit would have had to adapt or die (there’s a strong possibility it would have been die). The market solution that was instead taken has seen oil prices go way up - although I think the United States’ actions in the Middle East has certainly strongly contributed to this. Perhaps after being slapped with a gas tax, the country would be less willing to go invade, or we might now be complaining about $4+ gas prices, no further along to innovation, and still in the Iraq situation as deep as we are now. Either way, Friedman says that most people should support a gas tax increase, regardless of what we think ideologically.
As perhaps an alternative to paying more for products and continuing to do business as usual, Frito-Lay, with the blessing of parent company PepsiCo, is retooling their factories to try and get them as far off the grid as they can be.
Mona Charen doesn't think Ron Paul is "Hope for America" - she looks into his past, his policy, and his associations, and finds a fringe, history-unaware candidate being supported by an awful lot of rabid zealots rather than someone who could actually win a presidential office and run the country. When Ron Paul supporters are raided for the production of illegal currency, claiming their money can restore the markets by being based on a non-fluctuating currency. Isn’t that impossible? In any case, Mr. Paul, if these are your supporters, I think the snowball has a better chance than you do.
Inspector Lohmann trips my deja vu filter with the differing accounts of a Haitian immigrant's death at the hands of police - on one hand, the policeman “had to fire” when the young man scuffled with him. On the other side, the young man may have been tired of being frisked for no reason, and asked the officer why, provoking a violent response for daring to question the authority of the officer. The truth is probably somewhere in between - perhaps the question was aggressive, the response was belligerent, and the two fought until the teen was killed. Lohmann takes this as a broader indication of the state of America - where we’re all Free enough to stand by and cede control to authority, which then turns around and abuses us with it and destroys anyone who objects to the ceding or the abuse.
A Colorado ballot initiative is considering defining a fertilized egg as a person, and being entitled to all the rights delivered to people. The proponents of the initiative are calling it what it really is, an attempt at banning abortion, and the challenges to the initiative say that it’s a ban on abortion, but there’s no language in the proposal that mentions such, and so it’s misleading. Either way, Colorado may not be a good state to be in, if you’re female.
Of course, we can’t let political figures be the only people who feed at the quiche trough. There’s plenty for all. Yes, you, Hyde Park Baptist Church, based in Austin, Texas, because you canceled an interfaith meeting on your property after learning that there would be Muslims there and hosting the event. Luckily for the interfaith meeting, the largest synagogue in the area offered to let them use their facilities.
And then there’s the cute account of the minister and the Klansman allying themselves to attack Microsoft's policies that are tolerant toward gays. For an example of how I think religion should be behaving, Desmond Tutu's chiding of the Anglican church is a good place to start.
After all that cheery talk, a biologist saying we should be expecting a new epidemic sometime soon is probably not the thing to reverse our mood.
A Family Guy joke might, however. Just remember, kids, say no to toad.
Going more toward cultural matters, are whites wearing dreadlocks just stealing black culture, or is there another reason behind it? If hairstyle isn’t your thing, then perhaps a tour of some of the odder uses of wiki software? Is it bad that I know and have visited most of them?
Something much weirder than the previous is the person who may have dumped ashes in the Pirates of the Carribean Disney ride. It’s claimed to be baby powder, but apparently, sprinkling ashes on Disney rides is popular. Having been to both Disney places, my question is... why?
With services offering to test out genetic predispositions, what will people do with that knowledge? Again, it’s a possibility that genes and genetic testing could spark new waves of bad behavior, or parents reading their child’s genome prints may try to steer them in ways that their genes seem to like, possibly closing off avenues of good development, even if they would require a little more work. And there’s still the spectre of defining one’s child to some degree of order in their genes. All sorts of possibilities with this data, even if all the warnings are thrown up and things are explained in exquisite detail how much or little the gene map actually means.
Next to the last point for tonight, we get a reveiw of "Gonzo", a biography of one Hunter S. Thompson, probable inspiration of many characters, whether closer or farther away from the reality of the man himself.
Last for tonight, however, is a review of the biography of Eiji Tsuburaya. Why do we care about this name? One word: Godzilla. He’s the guy who pioneered the rubber-suit monster stomping on miniatures special effect, and may the person we have to thank for all the tokusatsu that has followed, including the Super Sentai series, the Masked Riders, and all those other great-fun with giant monsters shows and movies we all enjoy.
Right. Bed. Soon, I would think.
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 03:13 am (UTC)As far as current thinking goes: SIV is endemic to large parts of Africa, as many as 60+% of the monkeys in some species will become infected before death. Occasionally, it makes sense that there would be cross contamination (killing monkeys for food, injured human meets injured monkey corpse in jungle, using a spear used in hunting in tribal ceremonies, stuff like that). The virus infects the human, and spreads from there. Phylogenetic trees show that there are at LEAST two crossover events from monkeys but there could be many many more.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 03:24 am (UTC)I thought it was already speculated that HIV came from monkeys way back when HIV was first discovered in humans? Is this just a way of isolating what the monkeys had/have from what humans have?
no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 06:43 am (UTC)I only mentioned SIV above because while it doesn't spread in humans, it can be studied in animal models with relative safety. (The bulk of the research is with HIV though and uses human cell lines). HIV-I (the one where all the money is and the one which is epidemic) can infect only a certain species of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes and two others)... a particularly annoying research model since they take a long time to breed, are expensive to maintain and when captured wild (or bred from wild stock) have a huge incidence of already having a SIV infection of some sort.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 06:52 am (UTC)