Thursday, February 23, 2006

 

It's about damn time!

Scientists, you're six years behind schedule:

Article: Flying car ready for takeoff?

Article: Terrafugia's flying car

Now if you could just get to work on that Moon colony, robot servants and aerospace planes, that would be great. It's 2006 and I'm running out of patience.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

 

UAE Squatting on American Ports

A few weeks back we had a bit of a "tete a tete" bouncing around the Nerdiverse over whether or not the best solution for protecting America was to take an isolationist stance with the rest of the world.

Being ever the extremist I was not a fan of going to war in the Middle East to protect the home front. In my mind that's the equivalent of installing a security system in your neighbor's house to protect your kid's bedroom. Instead I wanted to see us lock down our borders to be tighter than a nun's vagina on her death bed.

As my esteemed colleagues pointed out there are reasons I'm a Web Editor and not a political strategist. Because frankly my idea was a vat of stupidity followed with a bong hit of insanity. If we closed our borders the damage to all of the liberties and comforts we enjoy would be more irreparable than the Star Wars prequels were to George Lucas's credibility. Yes, it would be that bad.

but but but but but


However, openly inviting a known enemy into our security infrastructure is slitting our own throats.

Yes, I understand that this UAE company will only be controlling a small facet of the whole process. Well, that's one facet too many.

No one has convinced me yet that Saudi Arabia didn't take at least a small part in 9/11. I won't go extreme like Michael Moore and say they are the masterminds of it all, but I do believe they played a small part.


So why? Why are we letting them in? Don't we live in a capitalist society. Aren't there other vendors that can take care of this function? If we expose another chink in our armor simply for the sake of money; either because they are the lowest bidder or becasue of kickbacks, we have truly become our own worst enemy.

Monday, February 20, 2006

 

Freedom of Shhhhhhhhh!

The other day I wrote a little commentary on the Danish cartoon controversy. Many of the papers who reprinted the cartoons did so "in the name of free speech." I thought that this was a load of crap, and that they were simply trying to be controversial. Instead of reporting the news, they were creating it.

Well, the whole argument has been thrown into sharp relief today. In Austria, British national David Irving has pled guilty to charges of denying that the Holocaust happened. That's right; this guy is facing ten years in prison for having an opinion. He made these comments 17 years ago, comments that he has since retracted. (Although there is plenty of evidence that suggests he has retracted nothing.)

Personally, I think David Irving is a scumbag. I think anyone who thinks that the Holocaust never happened is appalling and I wouldn't take the time to spit on them. That said, I think that no one should be punished for their beliefs, no matter how much I find it sickening.

You can't have Freedom of Speech and then criminalize opinions that most people find distasteful. Opinions that most people believe in don't need the protection of Freedom of Speech. It's the unpopular ones that need protecting. And while people like me hate comments like Mr. Irving's, and would spend our lives trying to defeat positions like his, I would defend his right to say it. It is my right to speak out against Mr. Irving, and as long as I enjoy that right, so too can he enjoy the right to be a monumental douchebag by saying such things.

I have no idea what it must be like to live in a country that took part in the Holocaust. I have no idea what it must be like for a nation to come to terms with something like that. Sure, the U.S. has had its own genocidal history. But here, it's history. In Europe, the Holocaust was something that happened in my grandfather's day. No idea what it must be like to think that the wholesale slaughter of an entire people happened on Granddad's watch. I cannot fathom trying to wrap your head around that.

I do understand the desire to punish people like Irving. But don't come to me with tales of freedom of speech when you are criminalizing that which you find distasteful. I have no patience for hypocrisy.

 

Completing the Five Year Journey

Where ABC lacked the courage to complete the original voyages of the Enterprise N.C.C. 1701, 5 guys and some leggy gals picked up the mantle in teh garage of an Elvis impersonator.

Out of a sheer love of the series this fan-fic is sweeping the Net touting it self as the only new Star Trek in 2006. Sadly they are right.

Theank you for keeping the dream alive: www.newvoyages.com

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

 

Rest in Peace, Phil Brown



Actor Phil Brown died last Thursday of pneumonia. He was 89. He will always be remembered as Uncle Owen in the original Star Wars. Born in Massachusetts, Brown starred in TV and Radio shows during the 1940s. In the '50s, he moved to London, after being wrongly blacklisted during the Red Scare. He moved back to the States after the success of Star Wars. Brown is survived by widow Ginny, their son Kevin, two grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

We'll miss you Phil.

 

101!!!!!



Well, it's our 101st post, ladies. I was going to do the big flashy graphic for the big 100, but Cheese beat me to it. Anyway, on with the post.

In Indonesia today, a group of Australian nationals were sentenced to die by firing squad for drug trafficking. Indonesia, like many nations in Southeast Asia have a zero tolerance policy for drugs. Mere possession of a dime bag in these countries could cost you decades of your life.

I am a liberal, as you all know. It's a badge I wear with pride, and I have no idea how the right managed to turn it into a dirty word. I should tell you that I am against capital punishment. I think that the judicial system, like all branches of government, should be held to a higher standard. I think that execution for drug trafficking is a punishment that does not fit the crime.

That said, I find myself not feeling a whole lot of remorse for the fate of these guys. If you go to a foreign country, you are subject to their laws, whether you agree with them or not. Whether they are just or not. I mean, they were drug traffickers in Southeast frickin' Asia. You have to be out of your damn mind to do something like that. How dumb do you have to be? We're talking Salman-Rushdie-taking-a-vacation-in-Tehran kind of dumb.

Monday, February 13, 2006

 

And the Winner Isn't Us...

The main reason i haven't seen any of the films this year is becasue they haven't come out on DVD yet.

Mrs. Cheese and I made an unspoken pact a few years ago, if there isn't major shit blowing up, we wait for DVD. Why?

Well for $30 we could...
Buy a cheap video game offering 40 hours of entertainment.
Eat a nice lunch at the Macaroni Grill
Get a couple pedicure

What I don't want for $30 is...
To listen to your kids
To have to move so you and your brood can all sit together while the opening credits are rolling (see Narnia)
To have to sit through twenty minutes of ads cleverly disguised as entertainment (The Twenty is my worst nightmare come true)
More ads that aren't disguised as entertainment -- "Wanna Fanta?" No. Die!
THOSE FUCKING FANDANGO BROWN PAPER BAG PEOPLE -- THEY AREN'T FUNNY -- I DON'T GET IT

So let's look at the contenders

Brokeback Mountain -- The only thing erupting in this is...OK too easy. I have nothing against gay people, however cowboys offend me greatly.

Capote -- I think Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a brilliant actor. I think a racially charged murder trial was big news in the 1950's. I also think in 2006 if I want to see racially charged hate crimes, I'll turn on the news. yawn

Crash -- What the hell is this? Really I know so little I can't even make a snide remark

Good Night and Good Luck -- Black and white - Not Clerks - Pass

Munich -- Nope I'm saving all of my middle-east hatred for the Fireman/Save the Day/Nic Cage trying to resurect his career/Oliver Stone trying to do something meaningful before he dies/The trade towers are saved at the end/9-11 epic

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

 

And the winner is...

It's Oscar season again. Whoopdedoo. I've been watching the Oscars every year since Silence of the Lambs swept the major awards way back in 1992. Some years I found very exciting, some monumentally disappointing. (Run Forrest, run! Ugh.) and some were just sad. ("Uma... Oprah...")

Anyway, as the years have gone by, I have found that come Oscar time, I have seen less and less of the nominated films. This year is no different. Of the 5 best picture nominees, I have seen exactly none of the films. Honestly, the only thing that remotely interests me is the fact that Jon Stewart is hosting this year.

I guess there hasn't been any movies I've been really excited about in quite a while.

 

Something Rotten in the State of Denmark...

I'm getting a bit sick and tired of Europe these days. If you hadn't heard, there's been an uproar in the Middle East (big shock) over the publication of several political cartoons in a Danish newspaper that depicts the prophet Muhammad as a terrorist. One has him with a bomb under his turban. The cartoons first appeared in September of last year and recently have been reprinted in several European papers.

Well, let's just say that Muslims around the world didn't take this too well. Apparently there's a rule in Islam about creating images of God or Muhammad. Seems it's linked to idolatry and they don't like it so much. Mix that with images depicting him as a terrorist, and you've got a bit of an issue. There have been riots. A Danish embassy was burned to the ground. Several people have been killed. Yet these papers have continued to reprint the cartoons, even as recently as this past weekend. The claim it's in the name of free speech and freedom of the press.

Bullshit. They're doing it for shock value, pure and simple. They've artificially created this huge scandal as a way to insert themselves as these great champions of freedom. It's crap. It's not journalism. It's tabloidism.

You all know by now that I am unabashedly liberal and I fully believe in freedom of speech. I disagree with censorship of any kind, no matter how much I find it distasteful or repugnant. You should be able to say whatever the fuck it is you want to say, without fear of persecution or reprisals. Freedom of speech is absolute in my mind.

However, with that freedom comes a certain responsibility. The Danish papers knew that there would be riots and protests, yet they are still reprinting these cartoons. You'll notice that the images have not been shown in the American press, or on the television news. Yet the story has been reported across all American media. Once the initial printing happened, and it became an issue, there was no need to continue reprinting these cartoons.

It's called tact, Denmark. Look it up. This isn't about freedom of the press and you know it. People are dying. Just because you have the right to say something, doesn't mean you have to say it. I don't want to censor you guys. I just want you to show a little tact and common decency.

I've always defended our European friends. When that idiot in Washington came up with "freedom fries," I defended France. Heck, I was born in Europe. But this time, they're dead wrong. We get this sense in America that Western Europe has the air of being a highly progressive place. It's a load of crap. Sure, they have universal health care, and pot's legal, blah blah blah. In some cases, they're ahead of us, that's true. But this is also the same place that makes monkey noises at black soccer players and throws bananas on the field.

Friday, February 03, 2006

 

The Great Global Smacked-Asses

Hey, here's a thought. Let's close the borders completely. No one goes in, no one goes out. You want to honeymoon at Niagara Falls? You'd better stay on this side. Want to take a cruise? It's called the Staten Island Ferry. Lovely ride.

Here's the thing. Our economy is utterly dependent on trade with foreign countries. Sure, we ship jobs over to China and India, but we also ship Coca Cola, Chevy's and McDonalds over there as well. Closing all trade with other nations is going to cripple out economy. If we decide not to sell our Dell Computers to say, China, then someone else will. Sony, Toshiba, The European Union.

Globalization is happening whether we like it or not. There’s no stopping it now, and you’re either on the boat or left back on shore. The economy is changing, just like it always has since the first Industrial Revolution. People are going to lose jobs, just like they always have. Before you were replaced by a machine, now you are being replaced by cheap foreign labor. People are going to be hurt and destroyed by globalization. I think if you fight it, you end up getting hurt even more.

If you want people to keep buying American, I have a few suggestions. The key to American success over the years has been our ingenuity. And right now our ingenuity is being replaced with complacency. So, how do we keep the edge?

One, put more money into education. Smart people come up with smart ideas. We’re frickin’ morons in this country. It’s not a question of how the money is allocated or whether we need a Department of Education. It’s gone way past that. If we had enough cash to spread around to all the schools, it wouldn't matter if it was poorly managed or not. Just look at the Pentagon. They're poorly managed but they work well because they have a fuckload of money. You give the schools all the money they need, then work on making it more efficient.

It’s like every time the subject of increasing spending on education comes up, Congress acts like they’re going to the dentist. They know they gotta, but they don’t wanna, and man I hate this, and whine and bitch and stall. It’s the teacher’s fault, it’s the Department of Education’s fault, it’s the parent’s fault. Blame, blame, pass the buck. Oh wait; there are no bucks to pass.

My second suggestion is to ease up on visas for foreign students. Ever since 9-11, it’s become damn near impossible for foreign college students to come here and get an education. It seems to me that if some genius kid in Beijing gets a chance to study in a Western school, he might try here in America. We’ve got some pretty damn good schools. But, if we don’t let him come, I don’t think he’s going to just go off some where and sulk. No, I think he’ll go to Europe.

It doesn’t end with them just coming here and getting that post graduate degree. What good is it to us to educate these kids and then just ship ‘em back home? No, you need to keep them here. Make a rule that says if you come here and get a Master’s degree or a doctorate, then you get a visa. Stay here and work for us. Sure, he might take a job that otherwise might have gone to an American, but his ingenuity could launch a new industry which could create thousands of jobs. Wouldn;t it be nice if those jobs were here? We’re a nation of immigrants, and our genius lies there. You know why we have a space program? Answer: German rocket scientists.

Also, if you want us to buy American, give us a quality product. Take the American auto industry. It amazes me how dumb they are. Right now GM is on the verge of bankruptcy. Ford is laying off people left and right. Why? Because they are making the same mistakes over and over again. During the boom years of the 90s and even into the 2000’s, these guys made a fortune off of the SUV craze that seemed to grip the country. People didn’t care that their Explorer got 2 miles per gallon.

Now here we are in 2006. Gas is at record highs. There’s a crisis in the Middle East. People can’t afford gas. And Ford and GM are wondering why they aren’t moving those Explorers and Hummers. The same thing happened in the ‘70s. People aren’t going to buy a gas guzzling Ford SUV when they can get a Honda SUV that gets twice the gas mileage. It’s that simple. Why is it that Japanese automakers have consistently been able to stay ahead of us when it comes to making fuel efficient cars?

Ford is actually developing a hybrid SUV that partially runs off of ethanol. I applaud Ford for finally getting their act together and trying to move in new directions. But make it something that actually makes a difference in the long run. Right now, producing ethanol requires the burning of more fossil fuels than would be used if we just had gas cars. So, in the long run, the cost of those fossil fuels is still going to be an issue when it comes to the bottom line. Whether you burn the fossil fuels at the ethanol plant or in my engine, either way it’s going to show up at the pump. I think the difference is that instead of needing oil; they can use coal, which we have a fuckload of.

Anyway, there’s a lot of stuff we could be doing. Shutting down won’t help. Some people say that George Washington wanted America to be an isolationist country and we should go back to that way. Well, back then we were a tiny, insignificant little agrarian country. Now we are the most powerful nation on Earth. You can’t shut out the rest of the world without shutting our hand in the door.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

 

Robin Williams 08'

On the heels of my latest rantings in the "The Great Global Boycott" post (did I just fall into a big of prententious douchiness by referencing one of my own posts?), I received a great e-mail about a recent bit Robin Williams developed. Here it is:

Robin Williams' Plan...(Hard to argue with this logic!)

"I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for
peace. So, here's one plan."

1) "The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those "good ole boys", we will never "interfere" again.

2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea, the Middle East, and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.

3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave.We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are. They're illegal!!! France will welcome them.

4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.

5) No foreign "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby.

6) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.

7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)

8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

10) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH...learn it...or LEAVE...Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?

"The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses." She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?' "

This is exactly what I have been wanting to hear from a politician.