Scouts say his weaknesses are shooting and strength.
But in workouts thus far for Phoenix, Houston, Boston, Washington, Toronto, Minnesota and Sacramento, his shooting was crisp. He weighed 167 pounds at Kentucky. He weighs 175 pounds now.
"When I started this training," Rondo said, "I could lift 185 pounds about twice. Now I can do it seven or eight times."
He has used his predraft time to concentrate on his weaknesses. Some draft boards have him rated as high as No. 4.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Only Nike
When Camille Walters plays soccer, her normally brown eyes have a spooky red tint. That's because the 15-year-old wears tinted contact lenses that block certain wavelengths of light and help athletes see better.
Oh, and they look cool, too.
...The lens -- large enough to extend a ring around the iris -- comes in two colors: amber and grey-green.
The amber lens is for fast-moving ball sports, such as tennis, baseball, football or soccer. Grey-green is better for blocking glare for runners or helping a golfer read the contour of the ground.
Do they really help athletes see better? Probably as much as Phil Knight's shoes help you jump higher.
Oh, and they look cool, too.
...The lens -- large enough to extend a ring around the iris -- comes in two colors: amber and grey-green.
The amber lens is for fast-moving ball sports, such as tennis, baseball, football or soccer. Grey-green is better for blocking glare for runners or helping a golfer read the contour of the ground.
Do they really help athletes see better? Probably as much as Phil Knight's shoes help you jump higher.
Evil, God and the Pope
Richard Cohen in the WaPo on Pope Benedict's visit to Auschwitz:
Now, though, Benedict has actually said something. He said more or less what I did after visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau -- and before that, Treblinka, and afterward, Buchenwald and Terezin. He said what I said after reading a shelf of books on the Holocaust and listening to the stories of survivors: "Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this?" Only I put it differently. Where were you, God? I don't think You were silent. I don't even think You were there.
Religious people can wrestle with the pope's remarks. What does it mean that God was silent? That He approved? That He liked what He saw? That He didn't give a damn? You tell me. And what does it mean that He could "tolerate all this"? That the Nazis were okay by Him? That even the murder of Catholic clergy was no cause for intercession? I am at a loss to explain this. I cannot believe in such a God.
This is a God who was away from his desk or something and did not notice the plumes of human ash reaching to the heavens themselves. Is that what the pope wants us to believe? No, I think it is something even worse: If God was silent, who could blame the church for being silent, too? Is that what Benedict is saying? If so, he is continuing the tradition of saying nothing.
I know Holocaust survivors who are religious. I don't understand it. I know others who feel that Auschwitz is proof that there is no God. I understand that. I am sure there are people who feel that way about Biafra or Rwanda or even Hurricane Katrina. I can understand all of that, too.
I give Benedict some credit. Not from him do we get the inane God of American optimism, the deity of American politics who is always compassionate and on our side and will make everything just wonderful if only we put our faith in him. This is the Chamber of Commerce God of George W. Bush and sometimes, when Bush talks that way, I want to scream "Auschwitz!" at him. Auschwitz! Mr. President, have you ever heard of Auschwitz?
Rome is beautiful, as always, and the monuments and buildings raised in the name of religion are stunning, as always, and I want to go directly to the Vatican, bang on the pope's door and demand that he answer my questions. But I imagine he would look at me with pity because I hear nothing but silence and he, buoyed by faith, just listens harder.
Now, though, Benedict has actually said something. He said more or less what I did after visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau -- and before that, Treblinka, and afterward, Buchenwald and Terezin. He said what I said after reading a shelf of books on the Holocaust and listening to the stories of survivors: "Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this?" Only I put it differently. Where were you, God? I don't think You were silent. I don't even think You were there.
Religious people can wrestle with the pope's remarks. What does it mean that God was silent? That He approved? That He liked what He saw? That He didn't give a damn? You tell me. And what does it mean that He could "tolerate all this"? That the Nazis were okay by Him? That even the murder of Catholic clergy was no cause for intercession? I am at a loss to explain this. I cannot believe in such a God.
This is a God who was away from his desk or something and did not notice the plumes of human ash reaching to the heavens themselves. Is that what the pope wants us to believe? No, I think it is something even worse: If God was silent, who could blame the church for being silent, too? Is that what Benedict is saying? If so, he is continuing the tradition of saying nothing.
I know Holocaust survivors who are religious. I don't understand it. I know others who feel that Auschwitz is proof that there is no God. I understand that. I am sure there are people who feel that way about Biafra or Rwanda or even Hurricane Katrina. I can understand all of that, too.
I give Benedict some credit. Not from him do we get the inane God of American optimism, the deity of American politics who is always compassionate and on our side and will make everything just wonderful if only we put our faith in him. This is the Chamber of Commerce God of George W. Bush and sometimes, when Bush talks that way, I want to scream "Auschwitz!" at him. Auschwitz! Mr. President, have you ever heard of Auschwitz?
Rome is beautiful, as always, and the monuments and buildings raised in the name of religion are stunning, as always, and I want to go directly to the Vatican, bang on the pope's door and demand that he answer my questions. But I imagine he would look at me with pity because I hear nothing but silence and he, buoyed by faith, just listens harder.
Monday, June 05, 2006
"They're Just Young and Stupid"
TORONTO - Canadians are struggling to understand the threat of "home-grown" terrorism after the arrest of 17 Toronto-area young men in connection with what investigators said were plans to commit massive terrorist attacks in Canada.
The suspects all lived in Canada at the time of arrest; many are longtime residents and citizens. Like the perpetrators of last summer's London bombings, these young Muslims apparently became radicalized not in Al Qaeda training camps abroad but in suburban neighborhoods where they led relatively unremarkable lives.
Such home-grown terrorism is a growing concern, says security analyst John Thompson.
"The cops have a nickname for it - the jihad generation," says Mr. Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto think tank.
"These are kids at a transition, between Islamic society and Western society," he adds. "A lot of people will get militarized if they're unsure of their own identity."
Plus, Thompson says, "They're just young and stupid. If you're 17, bored, restless, you want to meet girls - hey, be a radical."
I love that line. I was, you were, we all were during our teenage years - "just young and stupid". Except in my case, young and stupid meant trying to buy beer from Poopy's Carryout. In the case of these teenagers, it means blowing up buildings with lots of people in them.
The suspects all lived in Canada at the time of arrest; many are longtime residents and citizens. Like the perpetrators of last summer's London bombings, these young Muslims apparently became radicalized not in Al Qaeda training camps abroad but in suburban neighborhoods where they led relatively unremarkable lives.
Such home-grown terrorism is a growing concern, says security analyst John Thompson.
"The cops have a nickname for it - the jihad generation," says Mr. Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, a Toronto think tank.
"These are kids at a transition, between Islamic society and Western society," he adds. "A lot of people will get militarized if they're unsure of their own identity."
Plus, Thompson says, "They're just young and stupid. If you're 17, bored, restless, you want to meet girls - hey, be a radical."
I love that line. I was, you were, we all were during our teenage years - "just young and stupid". Except in my case, young and stupid meant trying to buy beer from Poopy's Carryout. In the case of these teenagers, it means blowing up buildings with lots of people in them.
The Great War on Islamist Terror
First this:
The 12 men charged in Friday’s massive police operation range in age from 19 to 43 and are residents of Toronto, Mississauga and Markham, Ont., while the five youths cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act...
Police allege the 17 were involved in a plot to stage a massive terrorist attack by fashioning explosives out of three tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer — three times the quantity used in the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people in 1995.
The arrests were made after suspects tried to purchase the fertilizer from undercover investigators who were mounting a sting operation, the Toronto Star reported.
Then this:
British anti-terrorist police are hunting for a "dirty" chemical bomb that could be used in an attack in Britain after a major raid failed to uncover a device they believe exists, newspapers reported on Saturday.
More than 250 officers, some wearing chemical, biological and radiological protection suits, shot one man and arrested another during a dawn raid on an east London house on Friday...
Some newspapers, citing unnamed security sources, said police believed suspected militants had made a "dirty" chemical device — a conventional bomb surrounded by toxic material that could be set off by a bomber wearing a suicide jacket.
"We are absolutely certain this device exists and could be used either by a suicide bomber or in a remote-controlled explosion," one source told the Sun newspaper.
Newspapers quoted security chiefs who they said believed an attack was imminent, with possible targets including the underground train network or pubs crowded with fans watching the soccer World Cup tournament which starts next week.
And this:
In a meeting last month with some families of victims of the July 7 attacks, John Reid, the Home Secretary, stunned his audience by telling them that 20 "major conspiracies" had been uncovered.
This was far more than anyone in Whitehall had previously divulged. Understandably, Mr Reid did not go into details but his claim came shortly after MI5 suggested that there were as many as 1,200 terrorist suspects living in Britain.
A report by the Joint Intelligence Committee leaked to a Sunday newspaper last month said that the war in Iraq had made Britain a target for al-Qaeda sympathisers "for many years to come".
This report showed the remarkable rise in suspects that MI5 was attempting to shadow. At the time of the 9/11 attacks, MI5 knew of about 250 "primary investigative targets" inside Britain. By July 7 last year that had risen to 800. Today it is more than 1,000. Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, had revealed how three attacks had been foiled since July 7 that were likely to have caused many more deaths than the 52 killed in last summer's suicide bombings...
Today's terrorists are suburban men who neighbours invariably describe as "hard-working, respectable and British to the core".
Some people choose to ignore the war. I say we fight it.
The 12 men charged in Friday’s massive police operation range in age from 19 to 43 and are residents of Toronto, Mississauga and Markham, Ont., while the five youths cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act...
Police allege the 17 were involved in a plot to stage a massive terrorist attack by fashioning explosives out of three tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer — three times the quantity used in the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people in 1995.
The arrests were made after suspects tried to purchase the fertilizer from undercover investigators who were mounting a sting operation, the Toronto Star reported.
Then this:
British anti-terrorist police are hunting for a "dirty" chemical bomb that could be used in an attack in Britain after a major raid failed to uncover a device they believe exists, newspapers reported on Saturday.
More than 250 officers, some wearing chemical, biological and radiological protection suits, shot one man and arrested another during a dawn raid on an east London house on Friday...
Some newspapers, citing unnamed security sources, said police believed suspected militants had made a "dirty" chemical device — a conventional bomb surrounded by toxic material that could be set off by a bomber wearing a suicide jacket.
"We are absolutely certain this device exists and could be used either by a suicide bomber or in a remote-controlled explosion," one source told the Sun newspaper.
Newspapers quoted security chiefs who they said believed an attack was imminent, with possible targets including the underground train network or pubs crowded with fans watching the soccer World Cup tournament which starts next week.
And this:
In a meeting last month with some families of victims of the July 7 attacks, John Reid, the Home Secretary, stunned his audience by telling them that 20 "major conspiracies" had been uncovered.
This was far more than anyone in Whitehall had previously divulged. Understandably, Mr Reid did not go into details but his claim came shortly after MI5 suggested that there were as many as 1,200 terrorist suspects living in Britain.
A report by the Joint Intelligence Committee leaked to a Sunday newspaper last month said that the war in Iraq had made Britain a target for al-Qaeda sympathisers "for many years to come".
This report showed the remarkable rise in suspects that MI5 was attempting to shadow. At the time of the 9/11 attacks, MI5 knew of about 250 "primary investigative targets" inside Britain. By July 7 last year that had risen to 800. Today it is more than 1,000. Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, had revealed how three attacks had been foiled since July 7 that were likely to have caused many more deaths than the 52 killed in last summer's suicide bombings...
Today's terrorists are suburban men who neighbours invariably describe as "hard-working, respectable and British to the core".
Some people choose to ignore the war. I say we fight it.
The #1 Problem With Kids...Their Parents
From the NY Times article Where They Don't All Scream for Ice Cream, about a neighborhood group that had the city move an ice cream truck from its usual space near a park entrance to a space a block away, because their children wanted ice cream.
"It may seem like a curmudgeonly pursuit," said Christine Sciulli, a member of the park's board and the mother of two young sons. "But it was really difficult for parents and caregivers every time they entered the park. There's only one entrance into the park for small kids. It seemed like the deck was stacked in the favor of the ice cream and the toddlers."
With the truck a block away, she said, "it lessened the agony for every caregiver."
This is typical: If you can't train your kids, change others lives instead? Just say no, people. Just say no.
"It may seem like a curmudgeonly pursuit," said Christine Sciulli, a member of the park's board and the mother of two young sons. "But it was really difficult for parents and caregivers every time they entered the park. There's only one entrance into the park for small kids. It seemed like the deck was stacked in the favor of the ice cream and the toddlers."
With the truck a block away, she said, "it lessened the agony for every caregiver."
This is typical: If you can't train your kids, change others lives instead? Just say no, people. Just say no.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
A Moment of Silence, Please
OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) - A founder of the Mister Softee ice cream company has died at the age of 78. A relative says James Conway died of cancer at his home in New Jersey. Conway and his brother started the company in Philadelphia 50 summers ago, after experimenting with ways to deliver ice cream by truck.
Hee Hee
From the Philly Inquirer:
Before President Bush touched down in Pennsylvania Wednesday to promote his nuclear energy policy, the environmental group Greenpeace was mobilizing.
"This volatile and dangerous source of energy" is no answer to the country's energy needs, shouted a Greenpeace fact sheet decrying the "threat" posed by the Limerick reactors Bush visited.
But a factoid or two later, the Greenpeace authors were stumped while searching for the ideal menacing metaphor.
We present it here exactly as it was written, capital letters and all: "In the twenty years since the Chernobyl tragedy, the world's worst nuclear accident, there have been nearly [FILL IN ALARMIST AND ARMAGEDDONIST FACTOID HERE]."
Had Greenpeace been hacked by a nuke-loving Bush fan? Or was this proof of Greenpeace fear-mongering?
The aghast Greenpeace spokesman who issued the memo, Steve Smith, said a colleague was making a joke by inserting the language in a draft that was then mistakenly released.
"Given the seriousness of the issue at hand, I don't even think it's funny," Smith said.
The final version did not mention Armageddon. It just warned of plane crashes and reactor meltdowns.
Before President Bush touched down in Pennsylvania Wednesday to promote his nuclear energy policy, the environmental group Greenpeace was mobilizing.
"This volatile and dangerous source of energy" is no answer to the country's energy needs, shouted a Greenpeace fact sheet decrying the "threat" posed by the Limerick reactors Bush visited.
But a factoid or two later, the Greenpeace authors were stumped while searching for the ideal menacing metaphor.
We present it here exactly as it was written, capital letters and all: "In the twenty years since the Chernobyl tragedy, the world's worst nuclear accident, there have been nearly [FILL IN ALARMIST AND ARMAGEDDONIST FACTOID HERE]."
Had Greenpeace been hacked by a nuke-loving Bush fan? Or was this proof of Greenpeace fear-mongering?
The aghast Greenpeace spokesman who issued the memo, Steve Smith, said a colleague was making a joke by inserting the language in a draft that was then mistakenly released.
"Given the seriousness of the issue at hand, I don't even think it's funny," Smith said.
The final version did not mention Armageddon. It just warned of plane crashes and reactor meltdowns.
College Basketball Is For Los...Winners
From Mike DeCoursey:
This is far from the first time I've visited this particular topic.
Me writing on this subject is like Al Gore lecturing about global warming.
Every year when the NBA gets down to its final four teams, I take a moment to tell you where those players came from on their way to the league. And every year I get the same e-mails, perhaps even from the same people, who refuse to acknowledge that which is directly in front of them. Look, I don't know if the polar ice caps are melting, but I know what the NBA playoffs have told me every year since I started running these numbers:
The way to win big in the NBA is with players trained in U.S. colleges.
This is the first time, however, that there's been a sense this treatise will preach to the converted -- even if those who've seen the light did so by force. With the NBA by rule no longer permitted to draft high school players, this examination no longer is as germane as it once was. But it still makes a good point.
There are four teams left in the NBA playoffs, each of which employs about eight players in its playoff rotation. The training of those 32 players breaks down like so: 28 products of U.S. colleges, three internationally trained players, and one who entered the league directly out of high school. The NBA has drafted more than 20 high school players in the first round since 1999, and only one, Dallas' DeSagana Diop, is getting time at this stage of the playoffs.
This is perhaps the most lopsided survey yet in favor of the college guys. They do not make up 87.5 percent of the league, but they're making up 87.5 percent of the players who are mattering in big games.
By my count, 14 of the 28 played four years of college basketball, six played three years and seven played two years. Their average college experience: 3.2 seasons.
What does college give a player that many other levels of the game do not? In addition to high-level teaching from esteemed professionals, there is the chance to play for a meaningful championship in front of a passionate, demanding audience. Look around at the guys you see in the playoffs now. Antoine Walker, Tony Delk, Rip Hamilton and Jason Terry won NCAA championships, and Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem competed in the Final Four. Tell me you can duplicate that experience in a Vegas high school gym during the summer club tournaments.
This is not to say a team should not draft Dirk Nowitzki or LeBron James if given the chance. What it does say is that given the chance, perhaps a James or Nowitzki would become even greater by playing in the NCAA.
This is far from the first time I've visited this particular topic.
Me writing on this subject is like Al Gore lecturing about global warming.
Every year when the NBA gets down to its final four teams, I take a moment to tell you where those players came from on their way to the league. And every year I get the same e-mails, perhaps even from the same people, who refuse to acknowledge that which is directly in front of them. Look, I don't know if the polar ice caps are melting, but I know what the NBA playoffs have told me every year since I started running these numbers:
The way to win big in the NBA is with players trained in U.S. colleges.
This is the first time, however, that there's been a sense this treatise will preach to the converted -- even if those who've seen the light did so by force. With the NBA by rule no longer permitted to draft high school players, this examination no longer is as germane as it once was. But it still makes a good point.
There are four teams left in the NBA playoffs, each of which employs about eight players in its playoff rotation. The training of those 32 players breaks down like so: 28 products of U.S. colleges, three internationally trained players, and one who entered the league directly out of high school. The NBA has drafted more than 20 high school players in the first round since 1999, and only one, Dallas' DeSagana Diop, is getting time at this stage of the playoffs.
This is perhaps the most lopsided survey yet in favor of the college guys. They do not make up 87.5 percent of the league, but they're making up 87.5 percent of the players who are mattering in big games.
By my count, 14 of the 28 played four years of college basketball, six played three years and seven played two years. Their average college experience: 3.2 seasons.
What does college give a player that many other levels of the game do not? In addition to high-level teaching from esteemed professionals, there is the chance to play for a meaningful championship in front of a passionate, demanding audience. Look around at the guys you see in the playoffs now. Antoine Walker, Tony Delk, Rip Hamilton and Jason Terry won NCAA championships, and Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem competed in the Final Four. Tell me you can duplicate that experience in a Vegas high school gym during the summer club tournaments.
This is not to say a team should not draft Dirk Nowitzki or LeBron James if given the chance. What it does say is that given the chance, perhaps a James or Nowitzki would become even greater by playing in the NCAA.
More Benefits of the Traditional Family
Jeez, how long has it been since we had a good chat about comely girls? Via Dienekes, this article shows that in a sample of early 20-something girls at a Scottish university, daughters of happily married parents (HM) had more attractive and feminine faces than those whose parents either had separated pre-puberty (S) or had remained married but unhappily (UM). Color pictures in PDF here (L-to-R: S, UM, HM). As for body shape, the HM daughters had lower BMI (i.e., were slimmer) and lower waist-to-hip ratio (WHR, i.e., a more hourglass figure) than the other two groups. The authors make it clear that theirs is a correlational study that remains agnostic on the causal mechanisms, though Dienekes' post & comments discuss possibilities.
First, though, there's an interesting wrinkle: the authors and some of their references argue that the independent variable is presence of father (or parental cohesion), which yields the order S -> UM -> HM. The dependent variables are the markers of attractiveness, etc. However, the functions do not always turn out to be monotonic -- some curves decrease and switch to increasing like a U. Table 2 in the article summarizes the rank-ordering on the 3 facial markers. For "attractiveness," the order is UM -> S -> HM. For "health," it's UM -> S = HM. And for "masculinity," it's UM = S -> HM. Thus, if our graph has "parental cohesion" on the x-axis, the curve would be U-shaped for "attractiveness" and "health," though J-shaped for "masculinity." For body shape, Figure 2 shows that one variable, "impedence" (a measure of % body fat), wasn't significantly different among the groups. "Waist-to-chest ratio" (WCR) is a measure of the inverted-triangle shape of the upper body, something that men don't pay much attention to. The two important variables are BMI and WHR. On the latter, HM had significantly more hourglass figures than UM, though the S didn't differ significantly from either. On BMI, the HM were significantly slimmer than S, and apparently UM are in between.
So, aside from perhaps BMI, the facial and bodily markers suggest that the underlying cause increases thusly: UM -> S -> HM. Call it "home harmony." The biological correlate of this in the literature the authors cite is response to stress (cortisol), so perhaps in the sample the daughters of UM parents experienced greater stress from the arguing, bickering, and so on, compared to the daughters of S parents, who at least weren't frequently fighting in the daughter's presence. Remember, the sample was of university students, so it likely didn't include those from the underclass or the lower end of the working class. That suggests that, above a certain threshold of SES, having antagonistic parents stay together produces more dissonance in the home than if they separated, at least from the daughter's p-o-v.
Now on to the possible causes. Well, the first is what I just mentioned: the prevailing view that differences among father absent or father present homes reflect differences in stress during childhood. Humans have evolved a common set of responses, and those who happen to grow up without fathers turn out a different way from those who grow up with fathers. This is an environment / chance explanation. But as mentioned at the lead author's webpage and in the comments at Dienekes' post, there is also a (not mutually exclusive) genetic explanation: fathers who are apt to easily leave their wife & children, or who are too unruly for the wife to bother staying with, could be this way in part due to genes (perhaps for response to testosterone) which they pass on to their daughters.
Moreover, since it's usually not impossible to read warning signs about who's less reliable & dependable than who else, we could also look at the mothers who mate with the more flight-prone males. Such females would likely show a greater propensity for risk-taking or thrill-seeking, presumably heritable, so assortative mating could be exacerbating the genetic influence of father. It would be interesting to take a large sample of males from S, UM, and HM parents and ask them who they were most attracted to among the S, UM, and HM female composite faces. That would settle whether there was an assortative mating effect. It would also be interesting to genotype those from S vs HM parents to see if the former were more likely than expectation to have the 7R allele at the DRD4 locus -- if so, that would suggest involvement of heritable personality traits like novelty-seeking, impulse control, and so on, in both the dissolution of the marriage as well as the suite of behavioral outcomes of the daughter. It might also suggest why the daughters of S parents were judged more attractive than those from UM parents -- presumably the S parents were more "wild child"-like than the UM parents who had to "wimp out" to some degree in suppressing their impulses to split up. Perhaps greater "wild child"-ness increases one's sexiness score (since "sexy" usually connotes something more exciting or thrilling than just "attractive" or "beautiful"). The prototype here would be Angelina Jolie, who looks more than a bit masculine, who's well known to be possessed of a thrill-seeking disposition, and whose parents divorced when she was a baby.
To close, why would a tinge (though not an excess) of masculinity and rebelliousness make a female sexier, when these usually serve to make males sexier? These traits mix a "danger" component with the "beauty" component, which creates the thrill. My hypothesis is that, assuming the "cheesecake theory" of aesthetic pleasure popularized in How the Mind Works -- that art, cuisine, etc. are human devices to directly stimulate our evolved pleasure centers -- we enjoy stimulating not just the "relaxation" (or parasympathetic) division of our nervous system, but occasionally the "danger" (or sympathetic) division as well. Things that highly stimulate these divisions are, respectively, the beautiful and the sublime in an older terminology. Those whose aesthetic preferences lead them to want more than others to stimulate their "danger" system would appreciate a greater dosage of dangerous, masculine traits in females.
First, though, there's an interesting wrinkle: the authors and some of their references argue that the independent variable is presence of father (or parental cohesion), which yields the order S -> UM -> HM. The dependent variables are the markers of attractiveness, etc. However, the functions do not always turn out to be monotonic -- some curves decrease and switch to increasing like a U. Table 2 in the article summarizes the rank-ordering on the 3 facial markers. For "attractiveness," the order is UM -> S -> HM. For "health," it's UM -> S = HM. And for "masculinity," it's UM = S -> HM. Thus, if our graph has "parental cohesion" on the x-axis, the curve would be U-shaped for "attractiveness" and "health," though J-shaped for "masculinity." For body shape, Figure 2 shows that one variable, "impedence" (a measure of % body fat), wasn't significantly different among the groups. "Waist-to-chest ratio" (WCR) is a measure of the inverted-triangle shape of the upper body, something that men don't pay much attention to. The two important variables are BMI and WHR. On the latter, HM had significantly more hourglass figures than UM, though the S didn't differ significantly from either. On BMI, the HM were significantly slimmer than S, and apparently UM are in between.
So, aside from perhaps BMI, the facial and bodily markers suggest that the underlying cause increases thusly: UM -> S -> HM. Call it "home harmony." The biological correlate of this in the literature the authors cite is response to stress (cortisol), so perhaps in the sample the daughters of UM parents experienced greater stress from the arguing, bickering, and so on, compared to the daughters of S parents, who at least weren't frequently fighting in the daughter's presence. Remember, the sample was of university students, so it likely didn't include those from the underclass or the lower end of the working class. That suggests that, above a certain threshold of SES, having antagonistic parents stay together produces more dissonance in the home than if they separated, at least from the daughter's p-o-v.
Now on to the possible causes. Well, the first is what I just mentioned: the prevailing view that differences among father absent or father present homes reflect differences in stress during childhood. Humans have evolved a common set of responses, and those who happen to grow up without fathers turn out a different way from those who grow up with fathers. This is an environment / chance explanation. But as mentioned at the lead author's webpage and in the comments at Dienekes' post, there is also a (not mutually exclusive) genetic explanation: fathers who are apt to easily leave their wife & children, or who are too unruly for the wife to bother staying with, could be this way in part due to genes (perhaps for response to testosterone) which they pass on to their daughters.
Moreover, since it's usually not impossible to read warning signs about who's less reliable & dependable than who else, we could also look at the mothers who mate with the more flight-prone males. Such females would likely show a greater propensity for risk-taking or thrill-seeking, presumably heritable, so assortative mating could be exacerbating the genetic influence of father. It would be interesting to take a large sample of males from S, UM, and HM parents and ask them who they were most attracted to among the S, UM, and HM female composite faces. That would settle whether there was an assortative mating effect. It would also be interesting to genotype those from S vs HM parents to see if the former were more likely than expectation to have the 7R allele at the DRD4 locus -- if so, that would suggest involvement of heritable personality traits like novelty-seeking, impulse control, and so on, in both the dissolution of the marriage as well as the suite of behavioral outcomes of the daughter. It might also suggest why the daughters of S parents were judged more attractive than those from UM parents -- presumably the S parents were more "wild child"-like than the UM parents who had to "wimp out" to some degree in suppressing their impulses to split up. Perhaps greater "wild child"-ness increases one's sexiness score (since "sexy" usually connotes something more exciting or thrilling than just "attractive" or "beautiful"). The prototype here would be Angelina Jolie, who looks more than a bit masculine, who's well known to be possessed of a thrill-seeking disposition, and whose parents divorced when she was a baby.
To close, why would a tinge (though not an excess) of masculinity and rebelliousness make a female sexier, when these usually serve to make males sexier? These traits mix a "danger" component with the "beauty" component, which creates the thrill. My hypothesis is that, assuming the "cheesecake theory" of aesthetic pleasure popularized in How the Mind Works -- that art, cuisine, etc. are human devices to directly stimulate our evolved pleasure centers -- we enjoy stimulating not just the "relaxation" (or parasympathetic) division of our nervous system, but occasionally the "danger" (or sympathetic) division as well. Things that highly stimulate these divisions are, respectively, the beautiful and the sublime in an older terminology. Those whose aesthetic preferences lead them to want more than others to stimulate their "danger" system would appreciate a greater dosage of dangerous, masculine traits in females.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Now This Is Cool
Call it "Harry Potter and the Professors of Invisibility."
Fans of J.K. Rowling will recall that everyone's favorite boy magician can vanish at will. Potter just ducks under his magic cloak and swoosh . . . he is gone.
Last week a prestigious journal published two reports from scientists who have discovered how to achieve the same effect without breaking the laws of physics. Invisibility, they argue, is a matter of diverting light around an object so all the light continues on its way instead of reflecting off the object. The reports suggest using a thick shell of high-tech transparent material to do this. Even when looking directly at the object, an observer would see only what was behind it.
While Harry Potter's cloak relies on supplies found only in magic marketplaces like Diagon Alley -- the pelt of a "Demiguise" is apparently crucial -- the scientists' cloaking device would use newly developed materials that can bend light in unexpected ways. Scientists not involved in the work said the plans appear feasible but that they would require more-advanced substances than currently exist. Still, scientists said that the work represents an important theoretical advance likely to inspire new ideas in the booming field of materials science.
"It is a fascinating concept," said Steven G. Johnson, an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in an e-mail. "But I suspect that you're unlikely to find it for sale anytime soon (except on Daigon Alley)."
Fans of J.K. Rowling will recall that everyone's favorite boy magician can vanish at will. Potter just ducks under his magic cloak and swoosh . . . he is gone.
Last week a prestigious journal published two reports from scientists who have discovered how to achieve the same effect without breaking the laws of physics. Invisibility, they argue, is a matter of diverting light around an object so all the light continues on its way instead of reflecting off the object. The reports suggest using a thick shell of high-tech transparent material to do this. Even when looking directly at the object, an observer would see only what was behind it.
While Harry Potter's cloak relies on supplies found only in magic marketplaces like Diagon Alley -- the pelt of a "Demiguise" is apparently crucial -- the scientists' cloaking device would use newly developed materials that can bend light in unexpected ways. Scientists not involved in the work said the plans appear feasible but that they would require more-advanced substances than currently exist. Still, scientists said that the work represents an important theoretical advance likely to inspire new ideas in the booming field of materials science.
"It is a fascinating concept," said Steven G. Johnson, an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in an e-mail. "But I suspect that you're unlikely to find it for sale anytime soon (except on Daigon Alley)."
Dang It, I Missed Urban Beach Week...And Doesn't Everyone Know Gilbert Arenas Is A Baller
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas and forward Awvee Storey have been arrested on charges of disobeying police.
Storey, who played with the team last season but is not currently under contract, was blocking traffic in the middle of a busy street when an officer told him to get back to the sidewalk Saturday night, according to police reports. Storey didn't get out of the street, and the officer arrested him and charged him with failure to obey a command.
While police were arresting Storey, Arenas got out of a vehicle and walked toward the arresting officers. According to reports, an officer told Arenas to get back in his vehicle, but he refused, saying he wanted to stand next to his teammate. The officer took Arenas into custody and charged him with resisting without violence.
As Arenas was being arrested, according to reports, he said, "You can't arrest me. I'm a basketball player. I play for the Washington Wizards, and I'm not going to leave my teammate." Both players bonded out of jail Monday.
The Wizards released a statement saying, "We are aware of the situation and, until we have more information, we will have no comment."
The two were arrested as part of a crackdown on disorderly behavior among those who flocked to Miami Beach for Memorial Day weekend. According to The Washington Post, Arenas and Storey were in town for an annual celebration of hip-hop music and culture known as Urban Beach Week.
A total of 557 people were arrested between Thursday morning and Saturday night on Miami Beach. Most arrests were for disorderly conduct and intoxication. During the same three-day period last year, there were 333 arrests.
Storey, who played with the team last season but is not currently under contract, was blocking traffic in the middle of a busy street when an officer told him to get back to the sidewalk Saturday night, according to police reports. Storey didn't get out of the street, and the officer arrested him and charged him with failure to obey a command.
While police were arresting Storey, Arenas got out of a vehicle and walked toward the arresting officers. According to reports, an officer told Arenas to get back in his vehicle, but he refused, saying he wanted to stand next to his teammate. The officer took Arenas into custody and charged him with resisting without violence.
As Arenas was being arrested, according to reports, he said, "You can't arrest me. I'm a basketball player. I play for the Washington Wizards, and I'm not going to leave my teammate." Both players bonded out of jail Monday.
The Wizards released a statement saying, "We are aware of the situation and, until we have more information, we will have no comment."
The two were arrested as part of a crackdown on disorderly behavior among those who flocked to Miami Beach for Memorial Day weekend. According to The Washington Post, Arenas and Storey were in town for an annual celebration of hip-hop music and culture known as Urban Beach Week.
A total of 557 people were arrested between Thursday morning and Saturday night on Miami Beach. Most arrests were for disorderly conduct and intoxication. During the same three-day period last year, there were 333 arrests.
"Decades of Human Incompetence and Neglect"
Eugene Robinson in the WaPo:
The evidence, by now, is overwhelming: Beautiful, decadent New Orleans wasn't doomed by Hurricane Katrina but by decades of human incompetence and neglect. As far as the drowned city is concerned, the greatest natural disaster in the nation's history would have been just a messy inconvenience if not for the fumbling hand of man.
The mortal threat to New Orleans, as Katrina plowed into the Gulf Coast, was not the powerful winds -- Mississippi took the brunt of those -- but the massive storm surge the hurricane generated. We now know that the levees, floodwalls and other barriers protecting the city were, for the most part, plenty tall enough and theoretically strong enough to keep the waters at bay. On paper, New Orleans should have ended up wet and wounded, but basically intact.
What happened instead was "the single most costly catastrophic failure of an engineered system in history," according to a report issued last week by the Independent Levee Investigation Team, a blue-ribbon panel led by experts from the University of California at Berkeley and funded by the National Science Foundation.
Some of the flood barriers were built using inadequate materials, the report says. Others were designed so poorly that they provided weak spots for the waters to exploit. Still others were left unfinished for lack of funds.
The evidence, by now, is overwhelming: Beautiful, decadent New Orleans wasn't doomed by Hurricane Katrina but by decades of human incompetence and neglect. As far as the drowned city is concerned, the greatest natural disaster in the nation's history would have been just a messy inconvenience if not for the fumbling hand of man.
The mortal threat to New Orleans, as Katrina plowed into the Gulf Coast, was not the powerful winds -- Mississippi took the brunt of those -- but the massive storm surge the hurricane generated. We now know that the levees, floodwalls and other barriers protecting the city were, for the most part, plenty tall enough and theoretically strong enough to keep the waters at bay. On paper, New Orleans should have ended up wet and wounded, but basically intact.
What happened instead was "the single most costly catastrophic failure of an engineered system in history," according to a report issued last week by the Independent Levee Investigation Team, a blue-ribbon panel led by experts from the University of California at Berkeley and funded by the National Science Foundation.
Some of the flood barriers were built using inadequate materials, the report says. Others were designed so poorly that they provided weak spots for the waters to exploit. Still others were left unfinished for lack of funds.
Quote of the Day
Prince Philip says Olympic opening and closing ceremonies are "bloody nuisances " which should be banned.
In an interview with the London Daily Telegraph, the Duke of Edinburgh said he and Queen Elizabeth will have "as little as possible" to do with London's Olympics in 2012, when he will be 91.
"Opening and closing ceremonies ought to be banned. Absolute bloody nuisances," he told the newspaper.
"I have been to one that was absolutely, appallingly awful - aaaagh," he reportedly said.
In an interview with the London Daily Telegraph, the Duke of Edinburgh said he and Queen Elizabeth will have "as little as possible" to do with London's Olympics in 2012, when he will be 91.
"Opening and closing ceremonies ought to be banned. Absolute bloody nuisances," he told the newspaper.
"I have been to one that was absolutely, appallingly awful - aaaagh," he reportedly said.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Who Receives the Navy Cross?
Extraordinary men like Marine Capt. Brian Chontosh:
While leading his platoon north on Highway 1 toward Ad Diwaniyah, Chontosh's platoon moved into a coordinated ambush of mortars, rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons fire. With coalitions tanks blocking the road ahead, he realized his platoon was caught in a kill zone.
He had his driver move the vehicle through a breach along his flank, where he was immediately taken under fire from an entrenched machine gun. Without hesitation, Chontosh ordered the driver to advanced directly at the enemy position enabling his .50 caliber machine gunner to silence the enemy.
He then directed his driver into the enemy trench, where he exited his vehicle and began to clear the trench with an M16A2 service rifle and 9 millimeter pistol. His ammunition depleted, Chontosh, with complete disregard for his safety, twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack.
When a Marine following him found an enemy rocket propelled grenade launcher, Chontosh used it to destroy yet another group of enemy soldiers.
When his audacious attack ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of the enemy trench, killing more than 20 enemy soldiers and wounding several others.
While leading his platoon north on Highway 1 toward Ad Diwaniyah, Chontosh's platoon moved into a coordinated ambush of mortars, rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons fire. With coalitions tanks blocking the road ahead, he realized his platoon was caught in a kill zone.
He had his driver move the vehicle through a breach along his flank, where he was immediately taken under fire from an entrenched machine gun. Without hesitation, Chontosh ordered the driver to advanced directly at the enemy position enabling his .50 caliber machine gunner to silence the enemy.
He then directed his driver into the enemy trench, where he exited his vehicle and began to clear the trench with an M16A2 service rifle and 9 millimeter pistol. His ammunition depleted, Chontosh, with complete disregard for his safety, twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack.
When a Marine following him found an enemy rocket propelled grenade launcher, Chontosh used it to destroy yet another group of enemy soldiers.
When his audacious attack ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of the enemy trench, killing more than 20 enemy soldiers and wounding several others.
Quote of the Day
I have often a strange feeling. When I read the ancient classics of Christian theology, the fathers of the church, I find them more relevant to the troubles and problems of my own time than the production of modern theologians. The fathers were wrestling with existential problems, with those revelations of the eternal issues which were described and recorded in Holy Scripture. I would risk a suggestion that St. Athanasius and St. Augustine are much more up to date than many of our theological contemporaries. The reason is very simple: they were dealing with things and not with the maps, they were concerned not so much with what man can believe as with what God had done for man. We have, “in a time such as this,” to enlarge our perspective, to acknowledge the masters of old, and to attempt for our own age an existential synthesis of Christian experience. -- Father Georges Florovsky
Joke of the Day
The minister of a Baptist church decides that God is calling the church to a new vision of what it is to be and to do. So at the Elders' Meeting, he presents the new vision with as much energy, conviction and passion as he can muster. When he had finished and sat down, the chair of the meeting called for a vote. All 14 elders voted against the new vision, with only the minister voting for it.
"Well, pastor, it looks like you will have to think again," says the chairman. "Would you like to close the meeting in prayer?"
So the minister stands up, raises his hand to heaven, and prays, "LORD, will you not show these people that this is not MY vision but it is YOUR vision!"
At that moment, the clouds darken, thunder rolls, and a streak of lightning bursts through the window and strikes in two the table at which they are sitting, throwing the minister and all the elders to the ground.
After a moment's silence, as they all get up and dust themselves off, the chairman speaks again.
"Well, that's fourteen votes to two then."
"Well, pastor, it looks like you will have to think again," says the chairman. "Would you like to close the meeting in prayer?"
So the minister stands up, raises his hand to heaven, and prays, "LORD, will you not show these people that this is not MY vision but it is YOUR vision!"
At that moment, the clouds darken, thunder rolls, and a streak of lightning bursts through the window and strikes in two the table at which they are sitting, throwing the minister and all the elders to the ground.
After a moment's silence, as they all get up and dust themselves off, the chairman speaks again.
"Well, that's fourteen votes to two then."
Drink Up, Boys!
LONDON (Reuters) - Moderate drinking reduces the risk of heart disease but the beneficial effects of alcohol seem to work differently in men and women, Danish researchers said on Friday.
They found that for men drinking daily seems to have the biggest positive effect on health while in women the amount of alcohol consumed may have more of an impact.
"The risk of heart disease was lowest among men who drank every day," said Janne Tolstrup of the National Institute for Public Health in Copenhagen.
But a daily tipple did not cut the odds of heart disease in women, according to the findings reported in the British Medical Journal.
They found that for men drinking daily seems to have the biggest positive effect on health while in women the amount of alcohol consumed may have more of an impact.
"The risk of heart disease was lowest among men who drank every day," said Janne Tolstrup of the National Institute for Public Health in Copenhagen.
But a daily tipple did not cut the odds of heart disease in women, according to the findings reported in the British Medical Journal.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Joke of the Day
A man arrived from Europe at Ben Gurion International Airport with 2 large bags. The customs agent opens the first bag to discover it is full with money in different currencies. The agent asks the passenger, "How did you get this money?"
The man says, "You will not believe it, but I traveled all over Europe, and went into public restrooms. Each time I saw a man peeing, I grabbed his organ and told him: 'Donate money to Israel or I'll cut your [kibbles and bits] off.'"
The customs agent is stunned and mumbles: "Well...that's a unique and very interesting story...and what do you have in the other bag?"
The man says, "You wouldn't believe how many people in Europe do not support Israel."
The man says, "You will not believe it, but I traveled all over Europe, and went into public restrooms. Each time I saw a man peeing, I grabbed his organ and told him: 'Donate money to Israel or I'll cut your [kibbles and bits] off.'"
The customs agent is stunned and mumbles: "Well...that's a unique and very interesting story...and what do you have in the other bag?"
The man says, "You wouldn't believe how many people in Europe do not support Israel."
Nice Hire, Hoosiers
The NCAA on Thursday banned Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson from calling recruits and visiting them off-campus, ruling he deliberately broke NCAA rules by making extra phone calls to potential players while coaching Oklahoma.
The decision, announced by the Committee on Infractions, also requires Indiana to adopt the restrictions Oklahoma placed on Sampson, where he coached before Indiana hired him earlier this year.
"This case is a result of the former head coach's complete disregard for NCAA guidelines for proper telephone contacts with recruits," infractions committee chairman Thomas Yeager said in a written statement. "The former head coach created and encouraged an atmosphere among his staff of deliberate noncompliance, rationalizing the violations as being a result of 'prioritizing' rules."
The contract Sampson signed with Indiana on April 20 says the school "may take further action, up to and including termination" if the NCAA "imposes more significant penalties or sanctions than the University of Oklahoma's self-imposed sanctions."
It was not immediately clear if the Hoosiers would fire Sampson, who was in Kuwait and unavailable for comment. A message was left on the cell phone of Michael Glazier, Sampson's attorney.
It was also not clear whether the Hoosiers would face a scholarship loss, one of the sanctions Oklahoma imposed.
The decision, announced by the Committee on Infractions, also requires Indiana to adopt the restrictions Oklahoma placed on Sampson, where he coached before Indiana hired him earlier this year.
"This case is a result of the former head coach's complete disregard for NCAA guidelines for proper telephone contacts with recruits," infractions committee chairman Thomas Yeager said in a written statement. "The former head coach created and encouraged an atmosphere among his staff of deliberate noncompliance, rationalizing the violations as being a result of 'prioritizing' rules."
The contract Sampson signed with Indiana on April 20 says the school "may take further action, up to and including termination" if the NCAA "imposes more significant penalties or sanctions than the University of Oklahoma's self-imposed sanctions."
It was not immediately clear if the Hoosiers would fire Sampson, who was in Kuwait and unavailable for comment. A message was left on the cell phone of Michael Glazier, Sampson's attorney.
It was also not clear whether the Hoosiers would face a scholarship loss, one of the sanctions Oklahoma imposed.
Huh?
The Treasury Department announced this morning that after losing in five circuit courts of appeals, the Government is throwing in the towel and will no longer seek to enforce the 3% excise tax on long-distance telephone calls enacted during the Spanish-American War of 1898 as a "luxury" tax on wealthy Americans who owned telephones. The IRS will issue $15 billion in refunds to consumers for long-distance telephone service taxes paid over the past three years.
Glen Reynolds notes: "It's a nice reminder of how long 'temporary' taxes can last, and of how taxes targeted at 'the rich' often turn out to reach others."
Glen Reynolds notes: "It's a nice reminder of how long 'temporary' taxes can last, and of how taxes targeted at 'the rich' often turn out to reach others."
Why Is This?
...One is California's demographics: It is 11 percent Asian compared to 4 percent for the nation as a whole. Two is academic prestige: As the oldest and most selective campus of the University of California, Berkeley has an undergraduate population that is 42 percent Asian. (As a general rule, the more selective the school, the higher the percentage of Asian students.)
...Harvard is 17 percent Asian American; MIT, 28 percent; Stanford, 24 percent; Princeton and Yale, 13 percent.
Race? Culture? Both?
...Harvard is 17 percent Asian American; MIT, 28 percent; Stanford, 24 percent; Princeton and Yale, 13 percent.
Race? Culture? Both?
More Good Economic News
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy shot forward at an upwardly revised 5.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter, the fastest growth in 2-1/2 years, as companies built up inventories and exports strengthened, a Commerce Department report on Thursday showed.
First-quarter growth in gross domestic product was more than triple the 1.7 percent annual rate recorded in last year's fourth quarter, though still slightly below Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 5.7 percent pace.
Prices remained in check, with the core personal consumption expenditures price index that the Federal Reserve favors rising at a 2 percent rate compared with 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
The first-quarter surge in GDP - the largest since a 7.2 percent jump in the third quarter of 2003 - was partly fueled by rebuilding in the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast region. Growth is widely forecast to level off in coming quarters to a range of between 3 percent and 4 percent.
So does this mean hurricanes are good for the economy?
First-quarter growth in gross domestic product was more than triple the 1.7 percent annual rate recorded in last year's fourth quarter, though still slightly below Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 5.7 percent pace.
Prices remained in check, with the core personal consumption expenditures price index that the Federal Reserve favors rising at a 2 percent rate compared with 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
The first-quarter surge in GDP - the largest since a 7.2 percent jump in the third quarter of 2003 - was partly fueled by rebuilding in the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast region. Growth is widely forecast to level off in coming quarters to a range of between 3 percent and 4 percent.
So does this mean hurricanes are good for the economy?
Holy Crap!!
Let's get it on, big boy. Let's get it on. From the Pittsburgh Tribune:
"Carson Palmer only beat us one time, so he should hate us," said linebacker Larry Foote, who knows the Steelers are 4-1 against the Bengals in the Palmer era. "I'd hate a team, too, if I only beat them one time and (lost) in the playoffs."
I asked Foote to gauge the Bengals' bitterness toward the Kimo von Oelhoffen hit that blew out Palmer's knee early in the Steelers' playoff victory.
"They self-destructed and started crying," Foote said. "But, you know, that's the game. People get hurt. You just have to get yourself together, get your composure. They lost it. ... When teams are forcing your will on you, it's going to make you do crazy stuff."
I can't wait until Rudy runs over Larry's ass. Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!
"Carson Palmer only beat us one time, so he should hate us," said linebacker Larry Foote, who knows the Steelers are 4-1 against the Bengals in the Palmer era. "I'd hate a team, too, if I only beat them one time and (lost) in the playoffs."
I asked Foote to gauge the Bengals' bitterness toward the Kimo von Oelhoffen hit that blew out Palmer's knee early in the Steelers' playoff victory.
"They self-destructed and started crying," Foote said. "But, you know, that's the game. People get hurt. You just have to get yourself together, get your composure. They lost it. ... When teams are forcing your will on you, it's going to make you do crazy stuff."
I can't wait until Rudy runs over Larry's ass. Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!
The Religious Left Is On The March
(May 23, 2006)--The United Methodist Church's chief social-issues spokesman, the Rev. Jim Winkler, says Congress should impeach President Bush "to advance the kingdom of God."
Winkler proposed that during the annual "Ecumenical Advocacy Days," attended by delegates from his church and other denominations, most of them members of the National Council ofChurches.
In his view, "there was nothing Christian" in President Bush's response to the 9/11 attacks.
The Methodist church's official Social Principles declare, "War is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ," and reject war "as an instrument of national foreign policy."
The Methodists are America's third-largest religious body.
Winkler proposed that during the annual "Ecumenical Advocacy Days," attended by delegates from his church and other denominations, most of them members of the National Council ofChurches.
In his view, "there was nothing Christian" in President Bush's response to the 9/11 attacks.
The Methodist church's official Social Principles declare, "War is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ," and reject war "as an instrument of national foreign policy."
The Methodists are America's third-largest religious body.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Can A Teacher Be Fired For This?
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) -- A middle school teacher was arrested after police said he showed up at school drunk, asked one of his students to fetch cognac, then fondled a student and made a sexual remark to another.
The teacher, Sterling Johnson, was charged with misdemeanor assault and a misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace.
The school system will seek to have him fired, said Creg Williams, superintendent of public schools in St. Louis.
Johnson, 55, is an industrial arts teacher at the Pruitt Military Academy, a magnet school in the district.
I wonder if this guy has tenure.
Awakenings!
A drug commonly used as a sleeping pill appears to have had a miraculous effect on brain-damaged patients who have been in a permanent vegetative state for years, arousing them to the point where some are able to speak to their families, scientists report today.
The dramatic improvement occurs within 20 minutes of taking the drug, Zolpidem, and wears off after around four hours - at which point the patients return to their permanent vegetative state, according to a paper published in the medical journal NeuroRehabilitation.
All three patients were men around 30 who had suffered brain damage in car accidents. Patient L had been in a vegetative state for three years, showing no reaction to touch and no response to his family. After he was given the drug, he was able to talk to them. Patient G was also able to interact with family, answer simple questions and catch a baseball. Patient N "was constantly uttering random screams". After he was given the drug, the screaming stopped, and he started watching television and reacting to his family.
Ralf Clauss of the nuclear medicine department of the Royal Surrey County hospital, one of the authors, said that clinical trials were now needed. He said the drug could have uses in all kinds of brain damage, including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's.
The dramatic improvement occurs within 20 minutes of taking the drug, Zolpidem, and wears off after around four hours - at which point the patients return to their permanent vegetative state, according to a paper published in the medical journal NeuroRehabilitation.
All three patients were men around 30 who had suffered brain damage in car accidents. Patient L had been in a vegetative state for three years, showing no reaction to touch and no response to his family. After he was given the drug, he was able to talk to them. Patient G was also able to interact with family, answer simple questions and catch a baseball. Patient N "was constantly uttering random screams". After he was given the drug, the screaming stopped, and he started watching television and reacting to his family.
Ralf Clauss of the nuclear medicine department of the Royal Surrey County hospital, one of the authors, said that clinical trials were now needed. He said the drug could have uses in all kinds of brain damage, including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's.
Ouch!
Where to begin? As I’ve written before, virtually all of the gripping stories from Katrina were untrue. All of those stories about, in Paula Zahn’s words, “bands of rapists, going block to block”? Not true. The tales of snipers firing on medevac helicopters? Bogus. The yarns, peddled on Oprah by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and the New Orleans police chief, that “little babies” were getting raped in the Superdome and that the bodies of the murdered were piling up? Completely false. The stories about poor blacks dying in comparatively huge numbers because American society “left them behind”? Nah-ah. While most outlets limited themselves to taking Nagin’s estimate of 10,000 dead at face value, Editor and Publisher—the watchdog of the media—ran the headline, “Mortuary Director Tells Local Paper 40,000 Could Be Lost in Hurricane."
In all of Louisiana, not just New Orleans, the total dead from Katrina was roughly 1,500. Blacks did not die disproportionately, nor did the poor. The only group truly singled out in terms of mortality was the elderly. According to a Knight-Ridder study, while only 15 percent of the population of New Orleans was over the age of 60, some 74 percent of the dead were 60 or older, and almost half were older than 75. Blacks were, if anything, slightly underrepresented among the dead given their share of the population.
This barely captures how badly the press bungled Katrina coverage. . . . And yet, an ubiquitous media chorus claims simultaneously that Katrina was Bush’s worst hour and the press’s best.
In all of Louisiana, not just New Orleans, the total dead from Katrina was roughly 1,500. Blacks did not die disproportionately, nor did the poor. The only group truly singled out in terms of mortality was the elderly. According to a Knight-Ridder study, while only 15 percent of the population of New Orleans was over the age of 60, some 74 percent of the dead were 60 or older, and almost half were older than 75. Blacks were, if anything, slightly underrepresented among the dead given their share of the population.
This barely captures how badly the press bungled Katrina coverage. . . . And yet, an ubiquitous media chorus claims simultaneously that Katrina was Bush’s worst hour and the press’s best.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
McCain On The Money
The United States needs to overcome its fear of nuclear power and embrace the technology as a way to wean itself from fossil fuels, Sen. John McCain told an audience in Manchester yesterday.
Nuclear power "is safe. The technology is here," McCain said, speaking to a crowd of about 200 at a breakfast hosted by The New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women. "It's a NIMBY (not in my backyard) problem, and a waste-disposal problem. It is not a technological problem."
McCain pointed to France, which draws more than three-quarters of its power from nuclear plants, and Russia, which has plans to build 40 new plants, as examples. "We've got to get over it, get over Three Mile Island," he said, referring to the 1979 accident at a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant.
Nuclear power "is safe. The technology is here," McCain said, speaking to a crowd of about 200 at a breakfast hosted by The New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women. "It's a NIMBY (not in my backyard) problem, and a waste-disposal problem. It is not a technological problem."
McCain pointed to France, which draws more than three-quarters of its power from nuclear plants, and Russia, which has plans to build 40 new plants, as examples. "We've got to get over it, get over Three Mile Island," he said, referring to the 1979 accident at a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant.
Quote of the Day
"I hate the Steelers," [Carson] Palmer told Sports Illustrated. "I keep thinking about how much, back in college, I hated UCLA. I hate the Steelers more than I hate UCLA. Yeah, it's because I'm jealous and I want what they have. I guess I'm just not that evolved."
Translation: Steelers, let's get it on!
Translation: Steelers, let's get it on!
Monday, May 22, 2006
The Material Girl
Madonna caused a stir at the opening night of her latest concert tour. Along with an obscene reference to President Bush (and comparing him and Tony Blair to Hitler and bin Laden in a video montage), the pop singer hung herself from a mirrored cross while wearing a crown of thorns. It’s good to see that the 47-year-old still exercises good taste...and has grown up.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
This Is A Big Freakin' Problem
Washington -- The current migration of Mexicans and Central Americans to the United States is one of the largest diasporas in modern history, experts say.
Roughly 10 percent of Mexico's population of about 107 million is now living in the United States, estimates show. About 15 percent of Mexico's labor force is working in the United States. One in every 7 Mexican workers migrates to the United States.
Mass migration from Mexico began more than a century ago. It is deeply embedded in the history, culture and economies of both nations. The current wave began with Mexico's economic crisis in 1982, accelerated sharply in the 1990s with the U.S. economic boom, and today has reached record dimensions.
It is unlikely to ebb anytime soon.
My solution has always been to spend $10 or $30 or $50 billion and build a wall from Brownsville, TX to Tijuana (that's roughly 1,900 miles). It's a lot of money and a huge endeavor, but Mexicans are not going to stop coming any time soon.
Roughly 10 percent of Mexico's population of about 107 million is now living in the United States, estimates show. About 15 percent of Mexico's labor force is working in the United States. One in every 7 Mexican workers migrates to the United States.
Mass migration from Mexico began more than a century ago. It is deeply embedded in the history, culture and economies of both nations. The current wave began with Mexico's economic crisis in 1982, accelerated sharply in the 1990s with the U.S. economic boom, and today has reached record dimensions.
It is unlikely to ebb anytime soon.
My solution has always been to spend $10 or $30 or $50 billion and build a wall from Brownsville, TX to Tijuana (that's roughly 1,900 miles). It's a lot of money and a huge endeavor, but Mexicans are not going to stop coming any time soon.
Quote of the Day
Journalist: "What is the greatest spiritual sickness afflicting man today?
Thomas Merton: "Efficiency."
Amen, brother.
Thomas Merton: "Efficiency."
Amen, brother.
Deano and the Dems Better Rethink the Corruption Strategy
Democratic leaders began this year thinking that Republican corruption in Congress would be one of their most lethal campaign weapons, but GOP officials say that firepower has been defused by new accusations of bribery and other abuses against Democrats."The Democrats' attempt to paint this as a one-sided issue has come back to bite them. They have a lot of ethics problems in their own closet," said Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican.
The latest scandal emerged from the investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and lawmakers of both parties who purportedly did legislative favors for him and received lavish trips, gifts and campaign contributions in return, as well as the conviction on bribery charges of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, California Republican.
It since has widened in the House, where the ethics committee announced last week that it had begun investigating two lawmakers: Reps. William J. Jefferson, Louisiana Democrat, and Bob Ney, Ohio Republican.
The committee is investigating whether Mr. Ney received benefits and gifts from Abramoff as a result of official actions he took. It also will examine accusations that Mr. Jefferson was given money, stocks and other benefits from a technology company in exchange for helping the firm obtain business in Africa. Both men have denied wrongdoing.
Last night, FBI agents raided the Rayburn House Office Building, where Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Ney have offices, Reuters news agency reported. . . .
Another Democrat, Rep. Alan B. Mollohan of West Virginia, is the focus of an FBI investigation for his purported role in obtaining millions of dollars in pork-barrel appropriations for his state, a network of groups he set up that benefited from the money and a personal fortune that grew from $565,000 to more than $6.3 million in just four years.Mr. Mollohan, the ranking Democrat on the ethics committee, was forced to resign that post under pressure from party leaders.
As my buddy Lord Acton once said: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
The latest scandal emerged from the investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and lawmakers of both parties who purportedly did legislative favors for him and received lavish trips, gifts and campaign contributions in return, as well as the conviction on bribery charges of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, California Republican.
It since has widened in the House, where the ethics committee announced last week that it had begun investigating two lawmakers: Reps. William J. Jefferson, Louisiana Democrat, and Bob Ney, Ohio Republican.
The committee is investigating whether Mr. Ney received benefits and gifts from Abramoff as a result of official actions he took. It also will examine accusations that Mr. Jefferson was given money, stocks and other benefits from a technology company in exchange for helping the firm obtain business in Africa. Both men have denied wrongdoing.
Last night, FBI agents raided the Rayburn House Office Building, where Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Ney have offices, Reuters news agency reported. . . .
Another Democrat, Rep. Alan B. Mollohan of West Virginia, is the focus of an FBI investigation for his purported role in obtaining millions of dollars in pork-barrel appropriations for his state, a network of groups he set up that benefited from the money and a personal fortune that grew from $565,000 to more than $6.3 million in just four years.Mr. Mollohan, the ranking Democrat on the ethics committee, was forced to resign that post under pressure from party leaders.
As my buddy Lord Acton once said: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
I Finally Admit It...Iraq Is Lost!
May 19, 2006 — I have been to Iraq nine times since the American invasion three years ago, for a total of about 10 solid months. (My wife is counting.) During that time, I have seen bombs and blood, I have seen rebuilding and restructuring, and I have seen death and democracy. So what have I heard? That's easy: Lionel Richie.
Grown Iraqi men get misty-eyed by the mere mention of his name. "I love Lionel Richie," they say. Iraqis who do not understand a word of English can sing an entire Lionel Richie song.
Grown Iraqi men get misty-eyed by the mere mention of his name. "I love Lionel Richie," they say. Iraqis who do not understand a word of English can sing an entire Lionel Richie song.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
This Brings A Small Smile To My Face
Arsonists burned two cars in Ramallah on Saturday belonging to the Arab satellite TV station Al-Jazeera.
The cars, one belonging to Al-Jazeera's Jerusalem bureau chief, Walid Omari, were parked in a lot outside the TV station's office in Ramallah. Thick smoke billowed from the parking lot, covering the eight-story high-rise. "The fire is definitely arson," Omari told The Associated Press, but stopped short of accusing anyone.
In their growing battle, Fatah and Hamas have both accused Al-Jazeera of bias.
The cars, one belonging to Al-Jazeera's Jerusalem bureau chief, Walid Omari, were parked in a lot outside the TV station's office in Ramallah. Thick smoke billowed from the parking lot, covering the eight-story high-rise. "The fire is definitely arson," Omari told The Associated Press, but stopped short of accusing anyone.
In their growing battle, Fatah and Hamas have both accused Al-Jazeera of bias.
Holy Krivsky!
LHP Eric Milton today was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list...he will start tonight's game at Detroit.....since 4/24 Milton had been on the DL following arthroscopic surgery to clean out the meniscus in his left knee.
In the corresponding roster move, LHP Dave Williams was designated for assignment.
Man, the pitcher we traded Sean Casey for is already out. Wayne doesn't mess around...you either play well or you're gone.
In the corresponding roster move, LHP Dave Williams was designated for assignment.
Man, the pitcher we traded Sean Casey for is already out. Wayne doesn't mess around...you either play well or you're gone.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Headline of the Day
Giants in no-win situation with Bonds
Fading slugger hurting team by playing, but S.F. even worse without him
Huh?
Fading slugger hurting team by playing, but S.F. even worse without him
Huh?
I Love Movie Critics
Ross Douthat on the Da Vinci Code:
The reviews keep trickling in, and though they're nearly all negative, they're still irritating the sacred feminine out of me. Here's Richard Corliss, for instance:
Beneath the chases and crashes, the chalices and cilices, [the movie] denies Jesus’ divinity. As Teabing (perhaps not the most trustworthy authority) says in the movie, “The Greatest Story Ever Told is a lie!” And further still: the film challenges the belligerence that too often adheres to religious believers, the wars and atrocities perpetrated in His name. “Who is God, who is man?” asks Sophie. “How many have been murdered over this question?” I’m not taking sides on that issue. But for a mainstream, $125 million summer movie to raise it, let alone suggest a negative answer, in a cultural environment already politicized and polarized by religious debate, takes big steel balls. I didn’t know Opie had ’em.
Ah, yes - because there are so few Hollywood films that dare to suggest that faith isn't that important, that Christians got Christ all wrong, that people shouldn't ever dream of fighting over religion. Why, there hasn't been a mainstream, $125 million summer movie that took that position since way back in . . . 2005.
The reviews keep trickling in, and though they're nearly all negative, they're still irritating the sacred feminine out of me. Here's Richard Corliss, for instance:
Beneath the chases and crashes, the chalices and cilices, [the movie] denies Jesus’ divinity. As Teabing (perhaps not the most trustworthy authority) says in the movie, “The Greatest Story Ever Told is a lie!” And further still: the film challenges the belligerence that too often adheres to religious believers, the wars and atrocities perpetrated in His name. “Who is God, who is man?” asks Sophie. “How many have been murdered over this question?” I’m not taking sides on that issue. But for a mainstream, $125 million summer movie to raise it, let alone suggest a negative answer, in a cultural environment already politicized and polarized by religious debate, takes big steel balls. I didn’t know Opie had ’em.
Ah, yes - because there are so few Hollywood films that dare to suggest that faith isn't that important, that Christians got Christ all wrong, that people shouldn't ever dream of fighting over religion. Why, there hasn't been a mainstream, $125 million summer movie that took that position since way back in . . . 2005.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
I Feel A Lawsuit
The notion of Christ as a family man is not the only raw nerve "The Da Vinci Code" has touched. Albinos are bothered that one of their own has yet again been depicted as a villain.
Dan Brown's best seller begins its worldwide debut Wednesday with Tom Hanks as the cryptologist pursuing a 2,000-year-old mystery that could reveal Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and that the Vatican covered it up.
Among his co-stars is Paul Bettany, the British actor playing monk- assassin Silas, an albino with red eyes who carries out a series of bloody murders to secure the secret of the Holy Grail, a trove of lost Christian documents that could prove Jesus had wed.
Critics cite a long list of albinos cast as heavies by Hollywood: The dreadlocked twins in "The Matrix Reloaded," a powder-haired hit man in the Chevy Chase-Goldie Hawn crime romp "Foul Play," the pasty zombies in "The Omega Man," a sadistic killer in "Cold Mountain," even the wicked executioner in the fairy-tale comedy "The Princess Bride."
Michael McGowan, an albino who heads the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation, said "The Da Vinci Code" will be the 68th movie since 1960 to feature an evil albino.
"Silas is just the latest in a long string," McGowan said. "The problem is there has been no balance. There are no realistic, sympathetic or heroic characters with albinism that you can find in movies or popular culture."
Dan Brown's best seller begins its worldwide debut Wednesday with Tom Hanks as the cryptologist pursuing a 2,000-year-old mystery that could reveal Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and that the Vatican covered it up.
Among his co-stars is Paul Bettany, the British actor playing monk- assassin Silas, an albino with red eyes who carries out a series of bloody murders to secure the secret of the Holy Grail, a trove of lost Christian documents that could prove Jesus had wed.
Critics cite a long list of albinos cast as heavies by Hollywood: The dreadlocked twins in "The Matrix Reloaded," a powder-haired hit man in the Chevy Chase-Goldie Hawn crime romp "Foul Play," the pasty zombies in "The Omega Man," a sadistic killer in "Cold Mountain," even the wicked executioner in the fairy-tale comedy "The Princess Bride."
Michael McGowan, an albino who heads the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation, said "The Da Vinci Code" will be the 68th movie since 1960 to feature an evil albino.
"Silas is just the latest in a long string," McGowan said. "The problem is there has been no balance. There are no realistic, sympathetic or heroic characters with albinism that you can find in movies or popular culture."
Now Who Would Believe This Nonsense
NEW YORK (AP) -- Humans and chimps diverged from a single ancestral population through a complex process that took 4 million years, according to a new study comparing DNA from the two species.
By analyzing about 800 times more DNA than previous studies of the human-chimp split, researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard were able to learn not just when, but a little bit about how the sister species arose.
"For the first time we're able to see the details written out in the DNA," said Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute. "What they tell us at the least is that the human-chimp speciation was very unusual."
The researchers hypothesize that an ancestral ape species split into two isolated populations about 10 million years ago, then got back together after a few thousand millennia. At that time the two groups, though somewhat genetically different, would have mated to form a third, hybrid population. That population could have interbred with one or both of its parent populations. Then, at some point after 6.3 million years ago, two distinct lines arose.
This sounds like something you would hear at a Scientology convention. Whoah, wait a minute. Scientology....scientist...I'm beginning to see the connection.
By analyzing about 800 times more DNA than previous studies of the human-chimp split, researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard were able to learn not just when, but a little bit about how the sister species arose.
"For the first time we're able to see the details written out in the DNA," said Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute. "What they tell us at the least is that the human-chimp speciation was very unusual."
The researchers hypothesize that an ancestral ape species split into two isolated populations about 10 million years ago, then got back together after a few thousand millennia. At that time the two groups, though somewhat genetically different, would have mated to form a third, hybrid population. That population could have interbred with one or both of its parent populations. Then, at some point after 6.3 million years ago, two distinct lines arose.
This sounds like something you would hear at a Scientology convention. Whoah, wait a minute. Scientology....scientist...I'm beginning to see the connection.
ABC Is Doomed
This is all you need to know about their new show lineup:
Ted Danson, Taye Diggs, Calista Flockhart, Anne Heche, David Arquette and Rachel Griffiths are among the stars who will appear in new series, the network announced Tuesday.
That's like an all-star team of bad actors and has-beens.
Ted Danson, Taye Diggs, Calista Flockhart, Anne Heche, David Arquette and Rachel Griffiths are among the stars who will appear in new series, the network announced Tuesday.
That's like an all-star team of bad actors and has-beens.
Quote of the Day
"Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance, because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness." -- Blaise Pascal, Pensees
My Love For The Coz Grows
Entertainer Bill Cosby yesterday chastised churchgoers who preach religion but fail to confront problems that plague their communities.
Speaking at the University of the District of Columbia, Cosby emphasized the importance of social responsibility and urged his audience to keep a vigilant eye on their children. The District is one stop on a nationwide speaking tour that has taken the controversial comedian to 18 cities over the past year and a half.
His appearance in Washington came almost two years to the day after he took the stage of Constitution Hall and triggered a contentious national debate when he criticized poor African Americans for speaking ungrammatically and failing to raise children properly.
Cosby made no mention of those remarks yesterday. But he continued his message that salvation lies within communities, rather than outside.
"I have no problem with Jesus or God," he said in the afternoon as he addressed an audience that included many foster parents and grandparents and social service providers. "I have a problem with people sitting there and saying that Jesus and God will find the way. I have a problem with Christian men who won't dress up and go down and confront the drug dealers.:
"I got a problem," Cosby added, "with people not knowing where the gun is hid and that the child has one."
The two-hour afternoon appearance was largely subdued, except for the end, when a self-described community activist accused the comedian of hosting a "watered-down dialogue" and invoked the name of Michael Eric Dyson, an author who has derided Cosby's critique of low-income blacks.
"You don't deserve an audience with me," Cosby said, climbing down from the stage, walking over to the man, Chris Crowder, who was seated in a wheelchair, and looming over him.
"I'm not afraid of any Mr. Dyson," Cosby told Crowder before turning and returning to the stage. "Mr. Dyson is not a truthful man."
...During a second session last night, the panel included D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, who warned of rising juvenile crime, and the District's chief coroner, who said that from 1982 to 2005, nearly 1,000 homicide victims were ages 16 to 19.
The coroner, Marie-Lydie Y. Pierre-Louis, issued a warning to teenagers who don't get their diploma: "There's one waiting for you at the office of the medical examiner. It's a death certificate."
Taking the microphone, Cosby told audience members that he encouraged Pierre-Louis to deliver the grim numbers so they "would understand that it has to be stopped."
To those who ignore their children, Cosby said: "I'm calling you out, and I'm holding you accountable. If you're having a problem, visit the Jesus in your heart."
Speaking at the University of the District of Columbia, Cosby emphasized the importance of social responsibility and urged his audience to keep a vigilant eye on their children. The District is one stop on a nationwide speaking tour that has taken the controversial comedian to 18 cities over the past year and a half.
His appearance in Washington came almost two years to the day after he took the stage of Constitution Hall and triggered a contentious national debate when he criticized poor African Americans for speaking ungrammatically and failing to raise children properly.
Cosby made no mention of those remarks yesterday. But he continued his message that salvation lies within communities, rather than outside.
"I have no problem with Jesus or God," he said in the afternoon as he addressed an audience that included many foster parents and grandparents and social service providers. "I have a problem with people sitting there and saying that Jesus and God will find the way. I have a problem with Christian men who won't dress up and go down and confront the drug dealers.:
"I got a problem," Cosby added, "with people not knowing where the gun is hid and that the child has one."
The two-hour afternoon appearance was largely subdued, except for the end, when a self-described community activist accused the comedian of hosting a "watered-down dialogue" and invoked the name of Michael Eric Dyson, an author who has derided Cosby's critique of low-income blacks.
"You don't deserve an audience with me," Cosby said, climbing down from the stage, walking over to the man, Chris Crowder, who was seated in a wheelchair, and looming over him.
"I'm not afraid of any Mr. Dyson," Cosby told Crowder before turning and returning to the stage. "Mr. Dyson is not a truthful man."
...During a second session last night, the panel included D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, who warned of rising juvenile crime, and the District's chief coroner, who said that from 1982 to 2005, nearly 1,000 homicide victims were ages 16 to 19.
The coroner, Marie-Lydie Y. Pierre-Louis, issued a warning to teenagers who don't get their diploma: "There's one waiting for you at the office of the medical examiner. It's a death certificate."
Taking the microphone, Cosby told audience members that he encouraged Pierre-Louis to deliver the grim numbers so they "would understand that it has to be stopped."
To those who ignore their children, Cosby said: "I'm calling you out, and I'm holding you accountable. If you're having a problem, visit the Jesus in your heart."
So That's Where He's Been
This was a rather uninteresting story, until I read the last sentence:
You can add rapping to the list of Jodie Foster's talents. The Oscar-winning actress spoke Monday at the University of Pennsylvania's commencement ceremonies, ending her address with the chorus of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile," the semi-autobiographical 2002 film in which he starred.
Foster, who graduated from Ivy League rival Yale University in 1985, received an honorary doctor of arts degree.
She earned laughs from the graduates by taking pictures of them from the podium and then by recalling her own years at Yale. But she struck a serious note later, saying the country and world are worse off than they were four years ago, and challenging graduates to change that.
The U.S. "squandered" the goodwill and sympathy other nations offered after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Foster said. She also criticized officials for the "disastrous and shameful" handling of Hurricane Katrina.
Penn seniors had expressed skepticism and seemed underwhelmed by her selection as commencement speaker when it was announced earlier this year, but she received a standing ovation after her speech.
Foster, 43, won Oscars for 1988's "The Accused" and 1991's "The Silence of the Lambs." She received nominations for her roles in 1976's "Taxi Driver" and 1994's "Nell."
Aimee Masters, 22, who received her bachelor's degree in sociology and women's studies, said Foster was "really inspiring."
"Everyone around me was really happy with what she said," Masters said, adding that quoting Eminem "was surprising, but I liked it."
Comedian Yakov Smirnoff, who earned a master's degree in positive psychology, was among the approximately 6,000 graduates.
You can add rapping to the list of Jodie Foster's talents. The Oscar-winning actress spoke Monday at the University of Pennsylvania's commencement ceremonies, ending her address with the chorus of Eminem's "Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile," the semi-autobiographical 2002 film in which he starred.
Foster, who graduated from Ivy League rival Yale University in 1985, received an honorary doctor of arts degree.
She earned laughs from the graduates by taking pictures of them from the podium and then by recalling her own years at Yale. But she struck a serious note later, saying the country and world are worse off than they were four years ago, and challenging graduates to change that.
The U.S. "squandered" the goodwill and sympathy other nations offered after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Foster said. She also criticized officials for the "disastrous and shameful" handling of Hurricane Katrina.
Penn seniors had expressed skepticism and seemed underwhelmed by her selection as commencement speaker when it was announced earlier this year, but she received a standing ovation after her speech.
Foster, 43, won Oscars for 1988's "The Accused" and 1991's "The Silence of the Lambs." She received nominations for her roles in 1976's "Taxi Driver" and 1994's "Nell."
Aimee Masters, 22, who received her bachelor's degree in sociology and women's studies, said Foster was "really inspiring."
"Everyone around me was really happy with what she said," Masters said, adding that quoting Eminem "was surprising, but I liked it."
Comedian Yakov Smirnoff, who earned a master's degree in positive psychology, was among the approximately 6,000 graduates.
Monday, May 15, 2006
In Our Twisted World, I Guess This Guy Has A Claim
A Los Angeles psychologist who was denied a tote bag during a Mother's Day giveaway at an Angel game is suing the baseball team, alleging sex and age discrimination.
Michael Cohn's class-action claim in Orange County Superior Court alleges that thousands of males and fans under 18 were "treated unequally" at a "Family Sunday" promotion last May and are entitled to $4,000 each in damages.
Michael Cohn's class-action claim in Orange County Superior Court alleges that thousands of males and fans under 18 were "treated unequally" at a "Family Sunday" promotion last May and are entitled to $4,000 each in damages.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Oh How They Must Dislike Stossel
On journalists being clueless about science and hostile to capitalism:
JOHN STOSSEL: Most journalists are clueless when it comes to science...I'd say journalists are hostile to capitalism and clueless about science and economics.
HOWARD KURTZ: Hostile to capitalism. What do you base that on?
STOSSEL: I base it on the people I work with. People just don't like business. We hate our employers who pay us but love the government, which takes a third of our money and squanders it. There's a bias against business.
On reporters being in favor of government and opposed to business:
STOSSEL: Reporters look at business with great suspicions. And hype Enron and WorldCom as if that's the norm…I think reporters cheer on the ignorant politicians...
On bias in the "liberal media":
STOSSEL: I don't think journalists are trying to push the agenda. I think most of you think you're right down the middle. But the people you hang around with all think as you do here in New York and Washington. And that leads to a bias…Not everyone, but most.
KURTZ: So you think it is to some degree subconscious or, at least because -- in other words, you think that journalists are out of touch with ordinary people, who perhaps are and ought to be more skeptical of government regulations?
STOSSEL: Yes. I think we are steeped like tea bags in "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times", and it affects the way we view the world.
KURTZ: Are there people who, at ABC News who don't like what you do or don't like your point of view on all this?
STOSSEL: Yes. But God bless ABC News, they still feel I deserve a place at the table.
JOHN STOSSEL: Most journalists are clueless when it comes to science...I'd say journalists are hostile to capitalism and clueless about science and economics.
HOWARD KURTZ: Hostile to capitalism. What do you base that on?
STOSSEL: I base it on the people I work with. People just don't like business. We hate our employers who pay us but love the government, which takes a third of our money and squanders it. There's a bias against business.
On reporters being in favor of government and opposed to business:
STOSSEL: Reporters look at business with great suspicions. And hype Enron and WorldCom as if that's the norm…I think reporters cheer on the ignorant politicians...
On bias in the "liberal media":
STOSSEL: I don't think journalists are trying to push the agenda. I think most of you think you're right down the middle. But the people you hang around with all think as you do here in New York and Washington. And that leads to a bias…Not everyone, but most.
KURTZ: So you think it is to some degree subconscious or, at least because -- in other words, you think that journalists are out of touch with ordinary people, who perhaps are and ought to be more skeptical of government regulations?
STOSSEL: Yes. I think we are steeped like tea bags in "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times", and it affects the way we view the world.
KURTZ: Are there people who, at ABC News who don't like what you do or don't like your point of view on all this?
STOSSEL: Yes. But God bless ABC News, they still feel I deserve a place at the table.
Mark Steyn Is Dead On...As Usual
So there are now two basic templates in terrorism media coverage:
Template A (note to editors: to be used after every terrorist atrocity): "Angry family members, experts and opposition politicians demand to know why complacent government didn't connect the dots."
Template B (note to editors: to be used in the run-up to the next terrorist atrocity): "Shocking new report leaked to New York Times for Pulitzer Prize Leak Of The Year Award nomination reveals that paranoid government officials are trying to connect the dots! See pages 3,4,6,7,8, 13-37."
How do you connect the dots? To take one example of what we're up against, two days before 9/11, a very brave man, the anti-Taliban resistance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, was assassinated in Afghanistan by killers posing as journalists. His murderers were Algerians traveling on Belgian passports who'd arrived in that part of the world on visas issued by the Pakistani High Commission in the United Kingdom. That's three more countries than many Americans have visited. The jihadists are not "primitives". They're part of a sophisticated network: They travel the world, see interesting places, meet interesting people -- and kill them. They're as globalized as McDonald's -- but, on the whole, they fill in less paperwork. They're very good at compartmentalizing operations: They don't leave footprints, just a toeprint in Country A in Time Zone B and another toe in Country E in Time Zone K. You have to sift through millions of dots to discern two that might be worth connecting.
I'm a strong believer in privacy rights. I don't see why Americans are obligated to give the government their bank account details and the holdings therein. Other revenue agencies in other free societies don't require that level of disclosure. But, given that the people of the United States are apparently entirely cool with that, it's hard to see why lists of phone numbers (i.e., your monthly statement) with no identifying information attached to them is of such a vastly different order of magnitude. By definition, "connecting the dots" involves getting to see the dots in the first place.
Template A (note to editors: to be used after every terrorist atrocity): "Angry family members, experts and opposition politicians demand to know why complacent government didn't connect the dots."
Template B (note to editors: to be used in the run-up to the next terrorist atrocity): "Shocking new report leaked to New York Times for Pulitzer Prize Leak Of The Year Award nomination reveals that paranoid government officials are trying to connect the dots! See pages 3,4,6,7,8, 13-37."
How do you connect the dots? To take one example of what we're up against, two days before 9/11, a very brave man, the anti-Taliban resistance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, was assassinated in Afghanistan by killers posing as journalists. His murderers were Algerians traveling on Belgian passports who'd arrived in that part of the world on visas issued by the Pakistani High Commission in the United Kingdom. That's three more countries than many Americans have visited. The jihadists are not "primitives". They're part of a sophisticated network: They travel the world, see interesting places, meet interesting people -- and kill them. They're as globalized as McDonald's -- but, on the whole, they fill in less paperwork. They're very good at compartmentalizing operations: They don't leave footprints, just a toeprint in Country A in Time Zone B and another toe in Country E in Time Zone K. You have to sift through millions of dots to discern two that might be worth connecting.
I'm a strong believer in privacy rights. I don't see why Americans are obligated to give the government their bank account details and the holdings therein. Other revenue agencies in other free societies don't require that level of disclosure. But, given that the people of the United States are apparently entirely cool with that, it's hard to see why lists of phone numbers (i.e., your monthly statement) with no identifying information attached to them is of such a vastly different order of magnitude. By definition, "connecting the dots" involves getting to see the dots in the first place.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Best Hamburgers
AOL tallied 2 million votes and offers its list of America's greatest hamburgers:
1. All-American Drive-In -- Long Island, N.Y.A famous and delicious "double double" for only $2.10? Fantastic!
2. Chris Madrid's -- San AntonioTry the "Tostada Burger" with refried beans, chips, cheddar and salsa.
3. CityGrille -- DenverGo high-end with a Steakburger, or local with a Buffaloburger.
4. Dick's Drive-In -- SeattleIt's all about their famous special sauce with zingy bits of pickle.
5. Goldyburgers -- ChicagoServing 'em up hot, huge and cheesy since 1926
6. In-N-Out Burger -- Los AngelesThe perennial favorite also won in Vegas, OC and San Diego.
7. Jack's Old Fashion Hamburger -- South FloridaHand-shaped, charbroiled perfection served up your way
8. O'Connell's Pub -- St. LouisJuicy, charbroiled nine-ounce burgers for more than 40 years
9. Peter Luger -- New YorkPrime dry-aged beef and signature steak sauce from a famed steak house
10. Roaring Fork -- PhoenixTry the "Big-Ass Burger" stacked high with green chiles.
11. Stanich's -- Portland, Ore.Try the amazing "Special" topped with a fried egg, ham, bacon and cheese.
12. Tessaro's -- PittsburghFresh meat ground daily in-house and flame-broiled on a hardwood grill
13. Thurman Cafe -- Columbus, OhioThurman Burger = a 3/4 lb patty, ham, mozzarella and American Cheese
14. Val's Burgers -- San FranciscoYou think you can handle the One-Pound Behemoth at Val's?
15. 96th St. Steakburgers -- IndianapolisPerfection with ground steak cuts and buns grilled with mustard
Hmmm, no mention of the burger you can purchase at Steve Fields' Steak & Lobster Lounge in Dallas for a mere $24.95. That's an outrage!
1. All-American Drive-In -- Long Island, N.Y.A famous and delicious "double double" for only $2.10? Fantastic!
2. Chris Madrid's -- San AntonioTry the "Tostada Burger" with refried beans, chips, cheddar and salsa.
3. CityGrille -- DenverGo high-end with a Steakburger, or local with a Buffaloburger.
4. Dick's Drive-In -- SeattleIt's all about their famous special sauce with zingy bits of pickle.
5. Goldyburgers -- ChicagoServing 'em up hot, huge and cheesy since 1926
6. In-N-Out Burger -- Los AngelesThe perennial favorite also won in Vegas, OC and San Diego.
7. Jack's Old Fashion Hamburger -- South FloridaHand-shaped, charbroiled perfection served up your way
8. O'Connell's Pub -- St. LouisJuicy, charbroiled nine-ounce burgers for more than 40 years
9. Peter Luger -- New YorkPrime dry-aged beef and signature steak sauce from a famed steak house
10. Roaring Fork -- PhoenixTry the "Big-Ass Burger" stacked high with green chiles.
11. Stanich's -- Portland, Ore.Try the amazing "Special" topped with a fried egg, ham, bacon and cheese.
12. Tessaro's -- PittsburghFresh meat ground daily in-house and flame-broiled on a hardwood grill
13. Thurman Cafe -- Columbus, OhioThurman Burger = a 3/4 lb patty, ham, mozzarella and American Cheese
14. Val's Burgers -- San FranciscoYou think you can handle the One-Pound Behemoth at Val's?
15. 96th St. Steakburgers -- IndianapolisPerfection with ground steak cuts and buns grilled with mustard
Hmmm, no mention of the burger you can purchase at Steve Fields' Steak & Lobster Lounge in Dallas for a mere $24.95. That's an outrage!
The Confederacy of Dunces Marches On
The California state Senate today passed a bill that removes sex-specific terms such as "mom" and "dad" from textbooks and requires students to learn about the contributions homosexuals have made to society.
The bill, approved 22-15, would prevent textbooks, teaching materials, instruction and "school-sponsored activities" from reflecting adversely on anyone based on sexual orientation or actual or perceived gender.
A companion bill has yet to go through the legislative process in the state Assembly, but observers believe it likely will pass. It's unclear whether or not Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign the measure if it reaches his desk.
The bill, approved 22-15, would prevent textbooks, teaching materials, instruction and "school-sponsored activities" from reflecting adversely on anyone based on sexual orientation or actual or perceived gender.
A companion bill has yet to go through the legislative process in the state Assembly, but observers believe it likely will pass. It's unclear whether or not Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would sign the measure if it reaches his desk.
Uh, That's Fast!
DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- Olympic champion Justin Gatlin broke the 100-meter world record Friday with a time of 9.76 seconds at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The American sprinter lowered the mark of 9.77 seconds set by Jamaica's Asafa Powell on June 14, 2005, in Athens, Greece.
The American sprinter lowered the mark of 9.77 seconds set by Jamaica's Asafa Powell on June 14, 2005, in Athens, Greece.
I Love Oil Sands
The market is adjusting.
FORT MCMURRAY, ALBERTA - More expensive to process than the light crude oil of the Middle East, Alberta's oil sands have long remained a largely untapped resource. But with oil at $70 a barrel, it has become economically feasible to extract the thick, sticky bitumen that in former years was used to seal native people's canoes - not fuel a global economy.
Only Saudi Arabia, with 259 billion barrels, has larger oil reserves than the Florida-sized patch that surrounds this Canadian outpost. And a pipeline already exists to carry the oil to a key market: the United States.
Over the next five years, oil companies from Exxon Mobil to France's Total are expected to invest $60 billion in oil sands. Earlier this week, Shell Canada announced a takeover of Canadian oil-sands producer BlackRock Ventures, valued at $2.4 billion Canadian ($2.17 billion).
Production in Alberta is up 61 percent over the past four years. This year, Alberta's oil sands are expected to produce 1.2 million barrels a day, roughly equal to the production of Texas.
"The oil sands ... represent a turning point in the history of energy, and a switch to synthetic [chemically processed] sources of oil," says Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist at the Calgary-based energy consultancy ARC Financial.
Industry experts say new technology could greatly increase output, providing a significant source of secure oil for the United States. Just last month, a pipeline built to carry oil north from the Gulf of Mexico to Midwest refineries, reversed direction to take Alberta oil south.
"We can double our production and go for another 45 years," says Jim Carter, president of Syncrude Canada Ltd., the world's largest oil sands operator. "There is relatively new technology that could expand production, but there is still a lot to be mined by surface methods."
So where is this $60 billion coming from? Oh yeah, it's reinvested dollars from the current oil company profits that the fools in Congress want to confiscate.
FORT MCMURRAY, ALBERTA - More expensive to process than the light crude oil of the Middle East, Alberta's oil sands have long remained a largely untapped resource. But with oil at $70 a barrel, it has become economically feasible to extract the thick, sticky bitumen that in former years was used to seal native people's canoes - not fuel a global economy.
Only Saudi Arabia, with 259 billion barrels, has larger oil reserves than the Florida-sized patch that surrounds this Canadian outpost. And a pipeline already exists to carry the oil to a key market: the United States.
Over the next five years, oil companies from Exxon Mobil to France's Total are expected to invest $60 billion in oil sands. Earlier this week, Shell Canada announced a takeover of Canadian oil-sands producer BlackRock Ventures, valued at $2.4 billion Canadian ($2.17 billion).
Production in Alberta is up 61 percent over the past four years. This year, Alberta's oil sands are expected to produce 1.2 million barrels a day, roughly equal to the production of Texas.
"The oil sands ... represent a turning point in the history of energy, and a switch to synthetic [chemically processed] sources of oil," says Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist at the Calgary-based energy consultancy ARC Financial.
Industry experts say new technology could greatly increase output, providing a significant source of secure oil for the United States. Just last month, a pipeline built to carry oil north from the Gulf of Mexico to Midwest refineries, reversed direction to take Alberta oil south.
"We can double our production and go for another 45 years," says Jim Carter, president of Syncrude Canada Ltd., the world's largest oil sands operator. "There is relatively new technology that could expand production, but there is still a lot to be mined by surface methods."
So where is this $60 billion coming from? Oh yeah, it's reinvested dollars from the current oil company profits that the fools in Congress want to confiscate.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Buy American!
Few sports cars have captured the nation's imagination like the sleek Ford Mustang, a 21st-century reincarnation of an American classic. The Toyota Sienna minivan, by contrast, speaks to the utilitarian aesthetics of Japan: refined interiors, arm rests and lots and lots of cup holders.
Yet, by a crucial measure, the Sienna is far more American than the Mustang. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that were publicized in "Auto Industry Update: 2006," a presentation by Farmington Hills, Mich., research company CSM Worldwide, show only 65% of the content of a Ford Mustang comes from the U.S. or Canada. Ford Motor Co. buys the rest of the Mustang's parts abroad. By contrast, the Sienna, sold by Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., is assembled in Indiana with 90% local components.
There's more than a little irony in this, considering Ford has launched a campaign to regain its footing with an appeal to patriotism (catchphrase: "Red, White & Bold"). "Americans really do want to buy American brands," asserted Ford Executive Vice President Mark Fields in a recent speech. "We will compete vigorously to be America's car company."
As the Mustang shows, though, it's no longer easy to define what is American. For 20 years now, the dynamic car makers of Asia — led by Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. — have been pouring money into North America, investing in plants, suppliers and dealerships as well as design, testing and research centers. Their factories used to be derided as "transplants," foreign-owned plants just knocking together imported parts. Today, the Asian car makers are a fully functioning industry, big and powerful enough to challenge Detroit's claim to the heart of U.S. car manufacturing.
The result is a brewing public-relations war, with both sides wrapping themselves in the Stars and Stripes. Toyota, for example has been running commercials touting its contribution to the areas of the U.S. economy where it has built factories.
Yet, by a crucial measure, the Sienna is far more American than the Mustang. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that were publicized in "Auto Industry Update: 2006," a presentation by Farmington Hills, Mich., research company CSM Worldwide, show only 65% of the content of a Ford Mustang comes from the U.S. or Canada. Ford Motor Co. buys the rest of the Mustang's parts abroad. By contrast, the Sienna, sold by Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., is assembled in Indiana with 90% local components.
There's more than a little irony in this, considering Ford has launched a campaign to regain its footing with an appeal to patriotism (catchphrase: "Red, White & Bold"). "Americans really do want to buy American brands," asserted Ford Executive Vice President Mark Fields in a recent speech. "We will compete vigorously to be America's car company."
As the Mustang shows, though, it's no longer easy to define what is American. For 20 years now, the dynamic car makers of Asia — led by Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. — have been pouring money into North America, investing in plants, suppliers and dealerships as well as design, testing and research centers. Their factories used to be derided as "transplants," foreign-owned plants just knocking together imported parts. Today, the Asian car makers are a fully functioning industry, big and powerful enough to challenge Detroit's claim to the heart of U.S. car manufacturing.
The result is a brewing public-relations war, with both sides wrapping themselves in the Stars and Stripes. Toyota, for example has been running commercials touting its contribution to the areas of the U.S. economy where it has built factories.
Quote of the Day
"I cannot imagine any development in human history, after the Fall, that has had a greater impact on human beings than the pill. It became almost an assured form of contraception, something humans had never encountered before in history. Prior to it, every time a couple had sex, there was a good chance of pregnancy. Once that is removed, the entire horizon of the sexual act changes. I think there could be no question that the pill gave incredible license to everything from adultery and affairs to premarital sex and within marriage to a separation of the sex act and procreation ... I detect a huge shift. Students on our campus are intensely concerned. Not a week goes by that I do not get contacted by pastors about the [contraception] issue. There are active debates going on. It's one of the things that may serve to divide evangelicalism." -- Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The Sexual Revolution and the Sexless Marriage
We are reaping what we have sown. Russell D. Moore writes:
At a marriage conference at which I was speaking this past weekend, I noted how often I am asked by evangelical Christian couples about a lack of sex in their marriages. For some couples, I'm sure, this is the result of overstressed schedules and general exhaustion. But, more often, I'm convinced, there's something more afoot.
Of course, the typical complaint from men is that their wives are no longer interested in sex, and that they no longer wish to put out the "effort" to convince them to have it. I am sure there are some men with "frigid" wives, but very rarely do I find this to be the case. Instead, when one peels back the bark enough, one will find a wife who doesn't trust or who doesn't respect her husband enough to desire intimacy with him. This doesn't necessarily mean that the man is unworthy of trust or respect, but it does mean that he had better sort out why this is the case from her point of view.
Not long ago, I read an article about high-powered female corporate CEOs with "house-husbands" who stayed home with the children. This arrangement seems logical in an egalitarian "gifts-based" household economy. One of the women, however, noted that she no longer found her husband sexually attractive. "I don't know why," she said. "I just feel like his mother, or something."
There are some sexually frustrated men whose frustrations are entirely outside their control. More often, though, there's a wife who feels like a mother or a concubine. She is stressed with wondering what the future holds with an indecisive man who will not lead. Or she's wondering whether her husband desires her, or the "barely legal" teen idol he's been ogling on the television screen. And because sex act that is designed to signify a one-flesh union between Christ and his church, she isn't finding herself all that interested in something decidedly less than that.
The Scriptures do more than just "allow" sexual activity between husbands and wives. The Bible mandates regular sexual union. As a matter of fact, the apostle Paul grounds the command for regular sexual union not just in each spouse's authority over the other's body, but also in the larger cosmic picture of spiritual warfare against Satan (1 Cor 7:1-5).
The answer for sexually icy marriages, however, is not to quote Bible passages to one another as weapons. Nor is it to put a calendar up with stars for each night of sex. Instead, perhaps it for a husband first to look in the mirror and ask why the chill is there in the first place.
Isn't this so typical of man? In our lust for sexual freedom, we've destroyed that which we so longed for...meaningful sexual intimacy. Once again, nice work fellas.
At a marriage conference at which I was speaking this past weekend, I noted how often I am asked by evangelical Christian couples about a lack of sex in their marriages. For some couples, I'm sure, this is the result of overstressed schedules and general exhaustion. But, more often, I'm convinced, there's something more afoot.
Of course, the typical complaint from men is that their wives are no longer interested in sex, and that they no longer wish to put out the "effort" to convince them to have it. I am sure there are some men with "frigid" wives, but very rarely do I find this to be the case. Instead, when one peels back the bark enough, one will find a wife who doesn't trust or who doesn't respect her husband enough to desire intimacy with him. This doesn't necessarily mean that the man is unworthy of trust or respect, but it does mean that he had better sort out why this is the case from her point of view.
Not long ago, I read an article about high-powered female corporate CEOs with "house-husbands" who stayed home with the children. This arrangement seems logical in an egalitarian "gifts-based" household economy. One of the women, however, noted that she no longer found her husband sexually attractive. "I don't know why," she said. "I just feel like his mother, or something."
There are some sexually frustrated men whose frustrations are entirely outside their control. More often, though, there's a wife who feels like a mother or a concubine. She is stressed with wondering what the future holds with an indecisive man who will not lead. Or she's wondering whether her husband desires her, or the "barely legal" teen idol he's been ogling on the television screen. And because sex act that is designed to signify a one-flesh union between Christ and his church, she isn't finding herself all that interested in something decidedly less than that.
The Scriptures do more than just "allow" sexual activity between husbands and wives. The Bible mandates regular sexual union. As a matter of fact, the apostle Paul grounds the command for regular sexual union not just in each spouse's authority over the other's body, but also in the larger cosmic picture of spiritual warfare against Satan (1 Cor 7:1-5).
The answer for sexually icy marriages, however, is not to quote Bible passages to one another as weapons. Nor is it to put a calendar up with stars for each night of sex. Instead, perhaps it for a husband first to look in the mirror and ask why the chill is there in the first place.
Isn't this so typical of man? In our lust for sexual freedom, we've destroyed that which we so longed for...meaningful sexual intimacy. Once again, nice work fellas.
"Military Industrial Complex" My Ass!
From Robert Samuelson in the WaPo:
In 1954 defense accounted for 69.5 percent of federal spending and "human resources" (programs such as Social Security, Medicare, job training and food stamps) only 18.5 percent. In 2005 defense was 20 percent and human resources 64.2 percent.
I recently saw a very disturbed person on my favorite show NOW lamenting how the "military industrial complex" has taken over America. Well, apparently the old people and miscreants have taken over.
In 1954 defense accounted for 69.5 percent of federal spending and "human resources" (programs such as Social Security, Medicare, job training and food stamps) only 18.5 percent. In 2005 defense was 20 percent and human resources 64.2 percent.
I recently saw a very disturbed person on my favorite show NOW lamenting how the "military industrial complex" has taken over America. Well, apparently the old people and miscreants have taken over.
Where Have All The Black Children Gone?
From Andrew Sullivan:
The most interesting piece of data in the new study of the under-fives is not, it seems to me, that fact that almost half are now non-white. What's interesting is that only 4 percent of the under-fives are African-American. That compares with 15 percent Asians, 22 percent Hispanics, and 55 percent non-Hispanic whites. Compared with the general population, that's a potentially huge future drop in the black presence in American life. Perhaps I'm more aware of this because of where I live: Washington D.C. In the decade and half since I've lived here, D.C. has only gotten whiter and browner. Its black heritage is just about hanging on. But I doubt it will survive my lifetime with much demographic strength.
The most interesting piece of data in the new study of the under-fives is not, it seems to me, that fact that almost half are now non-white. What's interesting is that only 4 percent of the under-fives are African-American. That compares with 15 percent Asians, 22 percent Hispanics, and 55 percent non-Hispanic whites. Compared with the general population, that's a potentially huge future drop in the black presence in American life. Perhaps I'm more aware of this because of where I live: Washington D.C. In the decade and half since I've lived here, D.C. has only gotten whiter and browner. Its black heritage is just about hanging on. But I doubt it will survive my lifetime with much demographic strength.
More Progress
Slow, but progress.
Over 200 Iraqi tribal leaders to sign an honor compact rejecting terrorism.Over 200 Iraqi tribal leaders will meet in Baghdad on Wednesday may 10th to sign an honor compact to denounce and reject terrorism and sectarian violence.Tribal leaders announced they will meet in Khademiah Baghdad on Wednesday May 10th at a conference. This conference will result in an honor compact obliging Iraqi tribes to cooperate amongst each other and the authorities to protect their members from terrorist attacks, and to help with national unity and condemning sectarian violence.
The "Foundation for Humanitarian Dialogue" sponsored and organized the conference. Husien Ismail Alsadar who uses Khademiah as his center of activities and enjoys the backing and blessing of Al Sistani is the foundation’s president. Some Sheiks and tribal leaders said they hope that a committee can be formed to represent Iraqi tribes in the "National accord conference" on June 10th along with the honor compact signed by tribal leaders.
A foundation speaker said that the conference will be attended by heads of Tribes from all of Iraq, Arab Kurd and Turkmen tribes. The speaker added that the conference will also discus political, security, and social issues in the country. We hope to come up with ideas and plans to cooperate in stopping terrorist activities affecting the citizens. He pointed out that the honor compact to fight terrorism and denounce sectarian violence would be the main results of this conference.
Over 200 Iraqi tribal leaders to sign an honor compact rejecting terrorism.Over 200 Iraqi tribal leaders will meet in Baghdad on Wednesday may 10th to sign an honor compact to denounce and reject terrorism and sectarian violence.Tribal leaders announced they will meet in Khademiah Baghdad on Wednesday May 10th at a conference. This conference will result in an honor compact obliging Iraqi tribes to cooperate amongst each other and the authorities to protect their members from terrorist attacks, and to help with national unity and condemning sectarian violence.
The "Foundation for Humanitarian Dialogue" sponsored and organized the conference. Husien Ismail Alsadar who uses Khademiah as his center of activities and enjoys the backing and blessing of Al Sistani is the foundation’s president. Some Sheiks and tribal leaders said they hope that a committee can be formed to represent Iraqi tribes in the "National accord conference" on June 10th along with the honor compact signed by tribal leaders.
A foundation speaker said that the conference will be attended by heads of Tribes from all of Iraq, Arab Kurd and Turkmen tribes. The speaker added that the conference will also discus political, security, and social issues in the country. We hope to come up with ideas and plans to cooperate in stopping terrorist activities affecting the citizens. He pointed out that the honor compact to fight terrorism and denounce sectarian violence would be the main results of this conference.
Are Evangelicals Conservative? I'd Say No
Although many secular observers seem not to understand this, evangelicalism, by its very nature, has an uneasy relationship with conservatism. To call someone both an evangelical and a conservative, then, while it is not to utter a contradiction, is to call him something slightly more problematic than one may think. Of course this is, or should be, true of all Christians, who have transcendental loyalties that must sometimes override their political commitments, even very fundamental ones. But it is especially true of evangelicalism. As a faith that revolves around the experience of individual transformation, it inevitably exists in tension with settled ways, established social hierarchies, customary usages, and entrenched institutional forms. Because evangelicalism places such powerful emphasis upon the individual act of conversion, and insists upon the individual's ability to have a personal and unmediated relationship to the Deity and to the Holy Scriptures, it fits well with the American tendency to treat all existing institutions, even the church itself, as if their existence and authority were provisional and subordinate, merely serving as a vehicle for the proclamation of the Gospel and the achievement of a richer and more vibrant individual faith. As such, then, evangelicalism, at least in its most high-octane form, may not always be very friendly to any settled institutional status quo. In the great revivals of earlier American history, it nearly always served to divide churches and undermine established hierarchies, a powerful force for what Nathan Hatch called "the democratization of American Christianity."
True, evangelicalism can also be a force of moral conservatism, in insisting upon the permanence of certain moral and ethical desiderata, particularly if those are clearly stated in the Bible. But it can also be a force of profound moral radicalism, calling into question the justice and equity of the most fundamental structures of social life, and doing so from a firm vantage point outside those structures. David Chappell's excellent recent book on the Civil Rights Movement, A Stone of Hope, very effectively made the point that it was the power of prophetic evangelical Christianity that energized the Civil Rights Movement and gave southern blacks the courage and fortitude to challenge the existing segregationist social order. And one could say similar things about many of the great nineteenth-century American movements for social reform, notably abolitionism, a rather unpopular cause in its day which would have made little headway without the fervent commitment of evangelical Protestants who believed the country was being polluted and degraded by the continued existence of slavery.
True, evangelicalism can also be a force of moral conservatism, in insisting upon the permanence of certain moral and ethical desiderata, particularly if those are clearly stated in the Bible. But it can also be a force of profound moral radicalism, calling into question the justice and equity of the most fundamental structures of social life, and doing so from a firm vantage point outside those structures. David Chappell's excellent recent book on the Civil Rights Movement, A Stone of Hope, very effectively made the point that it was the power of prophetic evangelical Christianity that energized the Civil Rights Movement and gave southern blacks the courage and fortitude to challenge the existing segregationist social order. And one could say similar things about many of the great nineteenth-century American movements for social reform, notably abolitionism, a rather unpopular cause in its day which would have made little headway without the fervent commitment of evangelical Protestants who believed the country was being polluted and degraded by the continued existence of slavery.
The Good News for UK Fans
The NBA playoffs are down to the Elite Eight, and for fans of Kentucky basketball, there are seven reasons to watch: Antoine Walker, Derek Anderson, Jamaal Magloire, Tony Delk, Tayshaun Prince, Scott Padgett and Walter McCarty.
The bad news: only one of these guys (Tay) is a Tubby recruit.
The bad news: only one of these guys (Tay) is a Tubby recruit.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Mr. Holland Speaks
I've always liked Richard Dreyfuss. Although politically he's off the reservation, he's a thoughtful and decent guy who can really act. This is good stuff.
Now the main-stream media doesn't even have the Lefties protecting it. Classic.
Now the main-stream media doesn't even have the Lefties protecting it. Classic.
More Despair
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- A senior U.N. humanitarian official said Tuesday he saw Somali refugees living in "the worst conditions I have ever seen" during a tour of the Horn of Africa.
Kjell Magne Bondevik, the U.N. special humanitarian envoy for the Horn of Africa, said that governments must do more to ensure drought and hunger are eradicated in the long-term.
At least 7.5 million people are suffering from the worst drought in a decade in parts of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Djibouti. Cattle are dying and food supplies to 18 million people are in jeopardy.
"It was especially moving to visit the country where several thousand ... displaced were living under the worst conditions I have ever seen," Bondevik said of his visit to lawless Somalia.
Bondevik said he could not confirm reports that 90,000 tons of food aid were being left to rot in Eritrean warehouses. The Eritrean government, he said, made it clear that "the discussion about this was closed. The warehouses were closed that the government has the keys."
He said, however, that the U.N. was "concerned" and that he had asked the government to issue a report on the matter.
What's sad is that so much of this suffering - if not all - is imposed by evil regimes...very similar to what's happening in Sudan. The answer: either remove the evildoers (as Bush would say), protect the innocent, or both.
Kjell Magne Bondevik, the U.N. special humanitarian envoy for the Horn of Africa, said that governments must do more to ensure drought and hunger are eradicated in the long-term.
At least 7.5 million people are suffering from the worst drought in a decade in parts of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Djibouti. Cattle are dying and food supplies to 18 million people are in jeopardy.
"It was especially moving to visit the country where several thousand ... displaced were living under the worst conditions I have ever seen," Bondevik said of his visit to lawless Somalia.
Bondevik said he could not confirm reports that 90,000 tons of food aid were being left to rot in Eritrean warehouses. The Eritrean government, he said, made it clear that "the discussion about this was closed. The warehouses were closed that the government has the keys."
He said, however, that the U.N. was "concerned" and that he had asked the government to issue a report on the matter.
What's sad is that so much of this suffering - if not all - is imposed by evil regimes...very similar to what's happening in Sudan. The answer: either remove the evildoers (as Bush would say), protect the innocent, or both.
Quote of the Day
"Supply is down, demand is up, yet profits are rising. Why?" -- Tim Russert, questioning a Senator on Meet the Press.
I understand Tim is not an economist, but that one's pretty easy.
I understand Tim is not an economist, but that one's pretty easy.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Ah, This Could Be A Problem
But don't worry, be happy.
The trust fund for Social Security will be depleted in 2040, and Medicare will exhaust its trust fund reserves just 12 years from now, trustees for the programs said Monday.
Their annual report showed deterioration in the financial condition of both of the government's two largest benefit programs.
A year ago, the depletion of the Social Security trust fund had been projected to occur in 2041 and the Medicare hospital insurance fund in 2020.
The trustees, who include the head of the Social Security Administration and three members of President Bush's Cabinet, painted a sober assessment of the health of the two programs in advance of the looming retirements of 78 million baby boomers.
"We do not believe the currently projected long-run growth rates of Social Security or Medicare are sustainable under current financing arrangements," the trustees said in this year's report.
Bush's efforts last year to overhaul Social Security went nowhere in Congress. Even members of his own party refused to support the benefit cuts that would have accompanied the establishment of private accounts for younger workers.
The trust fund for Social Security will be depleted in 2040, and Medicare will exhaust its trust fund reserves just 12 years from now, trustees for the programs said Monday.
Their annual report showed deterioration in the financial condition of both of the government's two largest benefit programs.
A year ago, the depletion of the Social Security trust fund had been projected to occur in 2041 and the Medicare hospital insurance fund in 2020.
The trustees, who include the head of the Social Security Administration and three members of President Bush's Cabinet, painted a sober assessment of the health of the two programs in advance of the looming retirements of 78 million baby boomers.
"We do not believe the currently projected long-run growth rates of Social Security or Medicare are sustainable under current financing arrangements," the trustees said in this year's report.
Bush's efforts last year to overhaul Social Security went nowhere in Congress. Even members of his own party refused to support the benefit cuts that would have accompanied the establishment of private accounts for younger workers.
Finally!
The first finger in the food story that may actually be true:
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (AP) -- A diner found a piece of human flesh on his hamburger shortly after a restaurant worker accidentally cut his finger, and a spokeswoman said the company was "very, very sorry."
A kitchen manager at the TGI Friday's at College Mall injured himself Tuesday and no one immediately realized he had lost part of his finger while others rushed to help him, said Amy Freshwater, a spokeswoman for the chain.
"The manager didn't even know it happened until he got to the hospital," she said.
Another staff member served the plate to a customer, who immediately spotted the piece of flesh.
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (AP) -- A diner found a piece of human flesh on his hamburger shortly after a restaurant worker accidentally cut his finger, and a spokeswoman said the company was "very, very sorry."
A kitchen manager at the TGI Friday's at College Mall injured himself Tuesday and no one immediately realized he had lost part of his finger while others rushed to help him, said Amy Freshwater, a spokeswoman for the chain.
"The manager didn't even know it happened until he got to the hospital," she said.
Another staff member served the plate to a customer, who immediately spotted the piece of flesh.
Cato Unbound
From the liberterian Cato Institute:
Far from defending the Constitution, President Bush has repeatedly sought to strip out the limits the document places on federal power. In its official legal briefs and public actions, the Bush administration has advanced a view of federal power that is astonishingly broad ... President Bush's constitutional vision is, in short, sharply at odds with the text, history, and structure of our Constitution, which authorizes a government of limited powers.
While this may be a bit strong, I would tend to agree.
Far from defending the Constitution, President Bush has repeatedly sought to strip out the limits the document places on federal power. In its official legal briefs and public actions, the Bush administration has advanced a view of federal power that is astonishingly broad ... President Bush's constitutional vision is, in short, sharply at odds with the text, history, and structure of our Constitution, which authorizes a government of limited powers.
While this may be a bit strong, I would tend to agree.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Finally, George And I Are On The Same Page
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Oscar winner George Clooney Friday joined two senators, Republican Sam Brownback of Kansas and Democrat Barack Obama, to appeal for greater action to address what is being described as genocide in Sudan's Darfur region.
The three urged more attention across the board -- by the United States, other nations and world institutions.
"What we cannot do is turn our heads and look away and hope that this will somehow disappear," Clooney said.
"Because if we do, they will. They will disappear," he said, noting that an "entire generation of people will be gone. Then, only history will be left to judge us." He pointed to the massacres in Rwanda, Cambodia and the Balkans in recent years.
The three urged more attention across the board -- by the United States, other nations and world institutions.
"What we cannot do is turn our heads and look away and hope that this will somehow disappear," Clooney said.
"Because if we do, they will. They will disappear," he said, noting that an "entire generation of people will be gone. Then, only history will be left to judge us." He pointed to the massacres in Rwanda, Cambodia and the Balkans in recent years.
Happy "Put Your Kids To Work Day"
Popular Mechanics is quickly becoming one of my favorite publications:
Today is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. According to the Ms. Foundation, the goal of this annual program (which began as Take Your Daughter To Work Day and expanded to include boys in 2003) is to help children “discover the power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and family life…” OK, great. But here at Popular Mechanics, we think there’s something parents can do every day that will help their kids a lot more than parking them in the office conference room once a year: Instead of taking our kids to work, how about putting them to work?
Though it is fashionable to worry that American children are “overscheduled,” the fact is that many of today’s youth are being raised in a world of unprecedented comfort. Never before has so little been expected of so many.
A 2001 Time/CNN poll, found that 75 percent of American adults believe children today do fewer chores than did the children of 10 or 15 years earlier. And 68 percent of parents think their own children are either “somewhat” or “very” spoiled. Got that? More than two thirds of Americans think their own children are spoiled. Well, there is a solution.
Instead of hovering protectively over our kids--“helicoptering” is the term for this modern style of parenting--why not teach them to take care of themselves: See that sock on the floor? It goes in the washing machine--like this. Next time you need clean socks, you’ll know what to do.
Today is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. According to the Ms. Foundation, the goal of this annual program (which began as Take Your Daughter To Work Day and expanded to include boys in 2003) is to help children “discover the power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and family life…” OK, great. But here at Popular Mechanics, we think there’s something parents can do every day that will help their kids a lot more than parking them in the office conference room once a year: Instead of taking our kids to work, how about putting them to work?
Though it is fashionable to worry that American children are “overscheduled,” the fact is that many of today’s youth are being raised in a world of unprecedented comfort. Never before has so little been expected of so many.
A 2001 Time/CNN poll, found that 75 percent of American adults believe children today do fewer chores than did the children of 10 or 15 years earlier. And 68 percent of parents think their own children are either “somewhat” or “very” spoiled. Got that? More than two thirds of Americans think their own children are spoiled. Well, there is a solution.
Instead of hovering protectively over our kids--“helicoptering” is the term for this modern style of parenting--why not teach them to take care of themselves: See that sock on the floor? It goes in the washing machine--like this. Next time you need clean socks, you’ll know what to do.
It's Supply and Demand
Good work from Dana Millbank (finally!) in the WaPo:
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.
Gas prices have gone above $3 a gallon again, and that means it's time for another round of congressional finger-pointing.
"Since George Bush and Dick Cheney took over as president and vice president, gas prices have doubled!" charged Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), standing at an Exxon station on Capitol Hill where regular unleaded hit $3.10. "They are too cozy with the oil industry."
She then hopped in a waiting Chrysler LHS (18 mpg) -- even though her Senate office was only a block away.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) used a Hyundai Elantra to take the one-block journey to and from the gas-station news conference. He posed in front of the fuel prices and gave them a thumbs-down. "Get tough on big oil!" he demanded of the Bush administration.
By comparison, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) was a model of conservation. She told a staffer idling in a Jetta to leave without her, then ducked into a sushi restaurant for lunch before making the journey back to work.
At about the same time, House Republicans were meeting in the Capitol for their weekly caucus (Topic A: gas). The House driveway was jammed with cars, many idling, including eight Chevrolet Suburbans (14 mpg).
America may be addicted to oil, as President Bush puts it. But America is in the denial phase of this addiction -- as evidenced by the behavior of its lawmakers. They have proposed all kinds of solutions to high gas prices: taxes on oil companies, domestic oil drilling and releasing petroleum reserves. But they ignore the obvious: that Americans drive too much in too-big cars.
Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.
Gas prices have gone above $3 a gallon again, and that means it's time for another round of congressional finger-pointing.
"Since George Bush and Dick Cheney took over as president and vice president, gas prices have doubled!" charged Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), standing at an Exxon station on Capitol Hill where regular unleaded hit $3.10. "They are too cozy with the oil industry."
She then hopped in a waiting Chrysler LHS (18 mpg) -- even though her Senate office was only a block away.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) used a Hyundai Elantra to take the one-block journey to and from the gas-station news conference. He posed in front of the fuel prices and gave them a thumbs-down. "Get tough on big oil!" he demanded of the Bush administration.
By comparison, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) was a model of conservation. She told a staffer idling in a Jetta to leave without her, then ducked into a sushi restaurant for lunch before making the journey back to work.
At about the same time, House Republicans were meeting in the Capitol for their weekly caucus (Topic A: gas). The House driveway was jammed with cars, many idling, including eight Chevrolet Suburbans (14 mpg).
America may be addicted to oil, as President Bush puts it. But America is in the denial phase of this addiction -- as evidenced by the behavior of its lawmakers. They have proposed all kinds of solutions to high gas prices: taxes on oil companies, domestic oil drilling and releasing petroleum reserves. But they ignore the obvious: that Americans drive too much in too-big cars.
Saddam the Terrorist
From Andrew Sullivan:
A long, detailed and fascinating insight into the Saddam dictatorship in Iraq has just been published in Foreign Affairs magazine. The swift decapitation of his brutal regime gave historians an unusual chance to get primary materials and records and testimony to explore what was going on in his deranged mind as the invasion happened - and much else. The report was commissioned by the U.S. Joint Forces Command. It rests on thousands of interviews and hundreds of pages of documents. It's an important counter-weight to "Cobra II." There's much in it that's revelatory. Among the more important points, it seems to me, are a) Saddam really was hoping that Russia and France would prevent his toppling, because of their business interests; b) he lived in a world of denial and terror where the existence of WMD stockpiles was firmly believed within his own government; c) he created the Saddam Fedayeen, the al Quds Army, and the Baath Party militia to control Kurdish and Shiite unrest, and only later deflected them into the insurgency that is still raging.
But for me, the most important fact is the following:
The Saddam Fedayeen also took part in the regime's domestic terrorism operations and planned for attacks throughout Europe and the Middle East. In a document dated May 1999, Saddam's older son, Uday, ordered preparations for 'special operations, assassinations, and bombings, for the centers and traitor symbols in London, Iran and the self-ruled areas [Kurdistan].' Preparations for 'Blessed July,' a regime-directed wave of 'martyrdom' operations against targets in the West, were well under way at the time of the coalition invasion.
It was only a matter of time before Iraq deployed Islamist terror against the West. Those who sincerely marched against war in London in 2002 and 2003 were unwittingly marching to keep in power a regime planning to bomb and terrrorize them.
A long, detailed and fascinating insight into the Saddam dictatorship in Iraq has just been published in Foreign Affairs magazine. The swift decapitation of his brutal regime gave historians an unusual chance to get primary materials and records and testimony to explore what was going on in his deranged mind as the invasion happened - and much else. The report was commissioned by the U.S. Joint Forces Command. It rests on thousands of interviews and hundreds of pages of documents. It's an important counter-weight to "Cobra II." There's much in it that's revelatory. Among the more important points, it seems to me, are a) Saddam really was hoping that Russia and France would prevent his toppling, because of their business interests; b) he lived in a world of denial and terror where the existence of WMD stockpiles was firmly believed within his own government; c) he created the Saddam Fedayeen, the al Quds Army, and the Baath Party militia to control Kurdish and Shiite unrest, and only later deflected them into the insurgency that is still raging.
But for me, the most important fact is the following:
The Saddam Fedayeen also took part in the regime's domestic terrorism operations and planned for attacks throughout Europe and the Middle East. In a document dated May 1999, Saddam's older son, Uday, ordered preparations for 'special operations, assassinations, and bombings, for the centers and traitor symbols in London, Iran and the self-ruled areas [Kurdistan].' Preparations for 'Blessed July,' a regime-directed wave of 'martyrdom' operations against targets in the West, were well under way at the time of the coalition invasion.
It was only a matter of time before Iraq deployed Islamist terror against the West. Those who sincerely marched against war in London in 2002 and 2003 were unwittingly marching to keep in power a regime planning to bomb and terrrorize them.
Good News Out Of Kuwait
$450,000 said stolen from PA foreign minister during visit to Kuwait
Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar has had $450,000 stolen from his hotel room during his current visit to Kuwait, the Itim news agency quoted the Kuwaiti media as saying Wednesday.
According to the report, al-Zahar had asked the Kuwaiti authorities to keep the theft under wraps, but the incident was confirmed by a security official at the hotel.
The foreign minister, a senior member of Hamas, is on a tour of Arab and Muslim countries to drum up funds after Israel suspended the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority and Western donors cut off aid to the Hamas-led government...
Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar has had $450,000 stolen from his hotel room during his current visit to Kuwait, the Itim news agency quoted the Kuwaiti media as saying Wednesday.
According to the report, al-Zahar had asked the Kuwaiti authorities to keep the theft under wraps, but the incident was confirmed by a security official at the hotel.
The foreign minister, a senior member of Hamas, is on a tour of Arab and Muslim countries to drum up funds after Israel suspended the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority and Western donors cut off aid to the Hamas-led government...
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
"We have two oilmen in the White House ... The logical ... follow-up from that is $3-a-gallon gasoline. There is no accident. It is a cause and effect ... a cause and effect." -- Nancy Pelosi on the reason for the high price of gas.
As I've always said, the only thing that will keep the incompetent Republicans in office is the deranged Democrats.
As I've always said, the only thing that will keep the incompetent Republicans in office is the deranged Democrats.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
I Just Love These Types of Stories
NEWARK, N.J. - In the past year, two New Jersey laboratories have been unable to account for plague-infested mice and vials of deadly anthrax spores, and top state officials are scrambling to devise better ways to safeguard deadly material.
In both cases, authorities say they think the items in question weren't actually lost, but were simply unaccounted for due to clerical errors.
They can't say for sure - and that has a Rutgers microbiologist predicting more trouble if such substances aren't kept at a central location.
In both cases, authorities say they think the items in question weren't actually lost, but were simply unaccounted for due to clerical errors.
They can't say for sure - and that has a Rutgers microbiologist predicting more trouble if such substances aren't kept at a central location.
Worst Songs of All Time
Per CNN.com readers:
The Top Five
OK, we'll cut to the chase. Here are the top five (see gallery as well), with peak Billboard chart positions and comments from their outraged, frustrated and weary supporters:
5. "Seasons in the Sun," Terry Jacks (No. 1 for three weeks, 1974): "A melody you couldn't play for your dog combined with inane lyrics" (Chris K.); "An all-time piece of dreck" (Darrell); "Having to listen to it is a season in hell" (Bonnie D.).
4. "I've Never Been to Me," Charlene (No. 3, 1982): "I want to punch out my radio when it comes on the air" (Larry W.); "Even the mush department at Hallmark would puke" (Eric and Linda); "I'm thinking that in her case, 'Me' probably wasn't such a fun place to go to" (Brenda K.).
3. "You Light Up My Life," Debby Boone (No. 1 for 10 weeks, 1977): "How can anything so insipidly slow light up anything?" (Bob B.); "[It] sounded like it was thrown together on a rainy afternoon by a lovestruck adolescent" (Jan R.); "The musical equivalent of being keel-hauled" (Michael R.).
2. "Muskrat Love," The Captain and Tennille (No. 4, 1976): "A song about aquatic rodents doin' the wild thing? Eeeeeew!" (Garland E.); "The name says it all" (Stacy D.); "I would pay good money to have its lyrics, tune, and even the fact of its existence erased from my memory" (Dave C.).
And the No. 1 worst song as voted on by CNN.com users:
1. "(You're) Having My Baby," Paul Anka (No. 1 for three weeks, 1974): It wasn't even close; Anka's hit beat out "Muskrat" by more than 50 votes, a veritable landslide under the circumstances. As our correspondents raved: "How can a person not be annoyed by lyrics like, 'You're a woman in love and I love what it's doin' to ya'?" (Shauna M.); " 'What a lovely way of sayin' how much you love me' -- If that isn't the most egocentric solipsistic revolting line of all time" (Stu S. and Andi S.); "I don't know a woman alive who doesn't cringe when it comes on the radio. I'm sure it's banned in most countries around the world" (Gord P.).
Gord, it's not, but perhaps someone will start a movement.
Other songs with sizable constituencies -- at least 1 percent of the vote -- included Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods' "Billy, Don't Be a Hero," Paper Lace's "The Night Chicago Died," Starship's "We Built This City," Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park," Morris Albert's "Feelings," the Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight," the Archies' "Sugar, Sugar," Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart," Maria Muldaur's "Midnight at the Oasis," America's "A Horse with No Name," the Ohio Express' "Yummy Yummy Yummy," Los Del Rio's "The Macarena" and Don McLean's "American Pie."
The Top Five
OK, we'll cut to the chase. Here are the top five (see gallery as well), with peak Billboard chart positions and comments from their outraged, frustrated and weary supporters:
5. "Seasons in the Sun," Terry Jacks (No. 1 for three weeks, 1974): "A melody you couldn't play for your dog combined with inane lyrics" (Chris K.); "An all-time piece of dreck" (Darrell); "Having to listen to it is a season in hell" (Bonnie D.).
4. "I've Never Been to Me," Charlene (No. 3, 1982): "I want to punch out my radio when it comes on the air" (Larry W.); "Even the mush department at Hallmark would puke" (Eric and Linda); "I'm thinking that in her case, 'Me' probably wasn't such a fun place to go to" (Brenda K.).
3. "You Light Up My Life," Debby Boone (No. 1 for 10 weeks, 1977): "How can anything so insipidly slow light up anything?" (Bob B.); "[It] sounded like it was thrown together on a rainy afternoon by a lovestruck adolescent" (Jan R.); "The musical equivalent of being keel-hauled" (Michael R.).
2. "Muskrat Love," The Captain and Tennille (No. 4, 1976): "A song about aquatic rodents doin' the wild thing? Eeeeeew!" (Garland E.); "The name says it all" (Stacy D.); "I would pay good money to have its lyrics, tune, and even the fact of its existence erased from my memory" (Dave C.).
And the No. 1 worst song as voted on by CNN.com users:
1. "(You're) Having My Baby," Paul Anka (No. 1 for three weeks, 1974): It wasn't even close; Anka's hit beat out "Muskrat" by more than 50 votes, a veritable landslide under the circumstances. As our correspondents raved: "How can a person not be annoyed by lyrics like, 'You're a woman in love and I love what it's doin' to ya'?" (Shauna M.); " 'What a lovely way of sayin' how much you love me' -- If that isn't the most egocentric solipsistic revolting line of all time" (Stu S. and Andi S.); "I don't know a woman alive who doesn't cringe when it comes on the radio. I'm sure it's banned in most countries around the world" (Gord P.).
Gord, it's not, but perhaps someone will start a movement.
Other songs with sizable constituencies -- at least 1 percent of the vote -- included Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods' "Billy, Don't Be a Hero," Paper Lace's "The Night Chicago Died," Starship's "We Built This City," Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park," Morris Albert's "Feelings," the Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight," the Archies' "Sugar, Sugar," Billy Ray Cyrus' "Achy Breaky Heart," Maria Muldaur's "Midnight at the Oasis," America's "A Horse with No Name," the Ohio Express' "Yummy Yummy Yummy," Los Del Rio's "The Macarena" and Don McLean's "American Pie."
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