Let's try this again. Click the image, goddammit.
Friday, February 29, 2008
BBC Swoons
The BBC evidently thinks he's the best thing to come out of America since, well, in their rather limited worldview, since Jimmy Carter.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
McCain owes Taranto
McCain Wednesday criticized Obama for stating that as president, after withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, he might send troops back in "if al Qaeda is forming a base" there. Seeking to portray Obama as naïve and ill-informed on national security, [Is this ABC editorializing??] McCain said, "I have some news — al Qaeda is in Iraq. It's called: 'Al Qaeda in Iraq.'" In Columbus, Ohio, that day, Obama said, "I have some news for John McCain, and that is that there was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq." [ABC is silent here. Why?] "So let me get this right," McCain said. "Senator Obama wants to leave immediately from Iraq, but if al Qaeda is in Iraq then he would consider going back. Obviously that's, that's not logical. In fact, we are succeeding in Iraq something that both he and Senator Clinton refuse to acknowledge."
Taranto's version.
Taranto's version.
MEAD! Any home brewers out there?
Mead is so old-school that its advocates claim it as the world's first alcoholic beverage. (Their line of thinking goes like this: Rain-diluted honey attracted wild yeasts. The fermented liquid then attracted a human, who drank it and felt less unhappy.)...For farmers market foodies, mead, as an alcoholic libation, has a conceptual advantage over beer: Mead possesses what winemakers call terroir, the French term for how something—wine, cheese, honey—conjures up the landscape around it. That's because an artisanal mead is still, at least in part, an agricultural product.
I know Shyster has an interest in local farmer's markets (I do to a point). Check it out.
Emancipate the Bound Periodicals!
Nice little essay on architectural history of libraries, and where they may be headed. The article suggests that libraries will become less a repository of information and more a public gathering space in the future.
Two pics of Denver Public Library (the Western History Reading Room), and the New York Public Library.
Bring back Mitt!
The NYT says McCain is not born in the US of A. No can't do -- right, JJ? Powwww!!!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
One Helluva Good Shyster
Good to see another FCP Contributor on the board. Welcome aboard, Shyster. And he's a damned good Shyster at that!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
French housing shortage
Ain't this a crying shame? The Nanny State gotta do something about this desperate situation. Suggestions?
The lack of practical sense of the prison administration
Let her go ahead with it and make everyone happy methinks.
Aahhh, Chicago...
I smell a big, fat commie rat in all these slumlords-and-shady-Iraqi-financiers shenanigans. Should we expect the Gray Lady to get on the case? Hah.
Hair of the Dog?: Tissue-Restorer, Jeeves...
Forwarded to me by a friend, taken from chef Fergus Henderson:
"Here is a cure for any overindulgence, taught to me by my wise father.
2 parts Fernet Branca
1 part créme de menthe
ice
Mix together and drink. Do not be put off by the color.
Be careful: this is so effective you can find yourself turning to its miraculous powers with increasing regularity. Do not let the cure become the cause."
Has any one ever tried this, or equivalent? JJ, you've spent some time in Italia where alchemists create the Fernet Branca.
"Here is a cure for any overindulgence, taught to me by my wise father.
2 parts Fernet Branca
1 part créme de menthe
ice
Mix together and drink. Do not be put off by the color.
Be careful: this is so effective you can find yourself turning to its miraculous powers with increasing regularity. Do not let the cure become the cause."
Has any one ever tried this, or equivalent? JJ, you've spent some time in Italia where alchemists create the Fernet Branca.
Stoopid Ricains
Spengler channels Pepe: There is nothing mysterious about Obama's methods. "A demagogue tries to sound as stupid as his audience so that they will think they are as clever as he is," wrote Karl Krauss. Americans are the world's biggest suckers. [..] Their national religion has consisted of waves of enthusiasm - "Great Awakenings" – every second generation or so, followed by an interim of apathy. In times of stress they have a baleful susceptibility to hucksters and conmen. Maybe Pepe was right, in an odd, broken-clock sort of way?
Nafta blues
Bizarrely, Obama lately has directed more barbs toward Mexico than Iran, whose offense is only killing American servicemen and pursuing an illicit nuclear program rather than sending us imports and welcoming our investment.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Paul Krugman is off today.
“Barack knows that at some level there’s a hole in our souls.” So if he fills our souls with hope, will he fill our holes with soap? [Sorry everyone. This is a variation on a joke Pepe and I enjoyed back in New Orleans days. Remember Pepe?]
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Guns, Germs, Steel -- and what else?
This guy takes his sweet time to build his case, but in the last paragraph, he demolishes Jared Diamond's thesis -- so beloved by JJ. Powww! (Incidentally, did you guys know that Jared went to Roxbury Latin?)
Damn
For a few days, I fantasized about not having to buy my cigars from Canada any longer.
Maybe next one.
AI, it was Nixon sold us down the river.
He signed the ABM treaty with mumbles Brezhnev, not commieCarter or anyone else. BTW, this Mickelsen complex is the one MFT posted about a while back and sent pictures.
Note the isosceles planform of the Sprint's fin. This is typical of hypersonic aerodynamics. Look at the X-15's control surfaces, e.g. Weird world above Mach 6, boys.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
O Canada
This passes for an apology nowadays: "I wish the events which led to Mr. Knox's injuries had never occurred," said Pannell in court, reading from a written statement. "It was an American tragedy. By this plea, I accept responsibility for the part I played in that tragedy."
Also, check out how the Corriere reports this, here. Did Ennio forget an un-?
Also, check out how the Corriere reports this, here. Did Ennio forget an un-?
Preventing vice is hard work
The country's religious police arrested the men Thursday night, alleging behavior that included dancing to pop music blaring from their cars and wearing improper clothing. Stone them, says Pepe.
Back when the USA had guts
This was the ABM to beat all ABMs. I remember being very disappointed when Nixon and Kissinger let the Russians talk us out of keeping these babies around so we could get clobbered by commie nukes instead. What shitheads.
I seem to remember seeing video of the Sprint also. If the redneck version of "hauling ass" is "shittin' an' gittin'," the Sprint shat and got.
I seem to remember seeing video of the Sprint also. If the redneck version of "hauling ass" is "shittin' an' gittin'," the Sprint shat and got.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Americans outdone by the britts
For example, quite how so many of the Iraqis sustained single gunshots to the head and from seemingly at close quarter, how did two of them end with their eyes gouged out, how did one have his penis cut off [and] some have torture wounds?"
The punchline is precious
The middle is rich too: Carter wasn't such a bad president economically. Growth was fine. There was a little nastiness about oil prices though... Krug never asks himself if that might have been Carter's fault too.
Birth of the California Cool...
Hey political junkies, check out architectural history in the American West for a second. Here's how the article defines "cool": an emphasis on restraint and detachment.
By that definition, FCP'ers are definitely not Cali "cool." See pic of Lou Reed for California Cool in action.
Lately, thanks to my Mongolian comrade, I've taken in a bit of art history by way of Hermann Broch (at least as he saw the late-19th century Impressionist painters such as van gogh). Broch was hard on Vienna, a sentiment lost on me when I visited the city in the autumn of 2000. Broch's reasons, though, were later understandable.
Another recommend would be Virginia & Lee McAlester, "A Field Guide to American Houses" (Knopf Publishing), where certain architectural trends are itemized and placed, for the reader, in their historical context.
And I recently received "Learning From Las Vegas" (MIT Press) by Yale architect Robert Venturi. As far as I can tell (I've only had time to read the introduction; more this weekend), Venturi swooped into Las Vegas in early '70s with a small team of graduate students, they collected data on Sin City for a couple weeks, and then churned out this book in an effort to guide Vegas (and other architects in any locale) away from, for example, putting huge neon signs atop replicas of the arch de
triumph (or something like that).
And as of late, the city of L.A. is trying to figure out how to best preserve Bukowski's abode.
I haven't had this much architectural history since my Age of Augustus grad seminar a couple years back.
By that definition, FCP'ers are definitely not Cali "cool." See pic of Lou Reed for California Cool in action.
Lately, thanks to my Mongolian comrade, I've taken in a bit of art history by way of Hermann Broch (at least as he saw the late-19th century Impressionist painters such as van gogh). Broch was hard on Vienna, a sentiment lost on me when I visited the city in the autumn of 2000. Broch's reasons, though, were later understandable.
Another recommend would be Virginia & Lee McAlester, "A Field Guide to American Houses" (Knopf Publishing), where certain architectural trends are itemized and placed, for the reader, in their historical context.
And I recently received "Learning From Las Vegas" (MIT Press) by Yale architect Robert Venturi. As far as I can tell (I've only had time to read the introduction; more this weekend), Venturi swooped into Las Vegas in early '70s with a small team of graduate students, they collected data on Sin City for a couple weeks, and then churned out this book in an effort to guide Vegas (and other architects in any locale) away from, for example, putting huge neon signs atop replicas of the arch de
triumph (or something like that).
And as of late, the city of L.A. is trying to figure out how to best preserve Bukowski's abode.I haven't had this much architectural history since my Age of Augustus grad seminar a couple years back.
Mac vs the Grey Lady
The Pravda in its heyday was more honest than its Hudson cousin. At least, they would let you know, in your face, on whose side they were. That said, can Mac punch back -- as JJ assured us? I know he could kick Mitt in the groin, but how is he gonna react when he gets sucker-punched, over and over, by Hillobama's amen corner?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Sidebar Addition
EternallyCool has a ton of gorgeous pictures of Rome, lots of recipes and archaeological goodies too. Check this out.
Lucy in the sky
(...) General Cartwright said that the gas might cover an area “roughly the size of two football fields” and any unlucky person who wound up within proximity “would at least incur something that would make you go to the doctor.”
The price tag for shooting USA-193 is up to $60 million. Try making a list of the threats to your personal safety that could be reduced for that amount of money. For instance, there’s a construction site next to our office building, and I personally spend a great deal of time worrying that the monster crane will come crashing through my office window and squash me. I bet $60 million would go a long way toward convincing the contractors to find another way to lift things.
(...)
Small, paranoid minds wondered if the government was not being completely forthright about its motives. The weapons the military mobilized to do the shooting are part of the missile defense system. Some people think the whole poison-gas story is just an excuse to give the Pentagon a chance to test its hardware.
(...)
The only known instance of somebody shooting down a satellite occurred last year when the Chinese brought down one of their old weather satellites, also citing vague threats to humanity. At the time, the United States was extremely peeved and complained the Chinese were creating space debris. (If you’re going to play in outer space, you really should clean up after yourself.)
The price tag for shooting USA-193 is up to $60 million. Try making a list of the threats to your personal safety that could be reduced for that amount of money. For instance, there’s a construction site next to our office building, and I personally spend a great deal of time worrying that the monster crane will come crashing through my office window and squash me. I bet $60 million would go a long way toward convincing the contractors to find another way to lift things.
(...)
Small, paranoid minds wondered if the government was not being completely forthright about its motives. The weapons the military mobilized to do the shooting are part of the missile defense system. Some people think the whole poison-gas story is just an excuse to give the Pentagon a chance to test its hardware.
(...)
The only known instance of somebody shooting down a satellite occurred last year when the Chinese brought down one of their old weather satellites, also citing vague threats to humanity. At the time, the United States was extremely peeved and complained the Chinese were creating space debris. (If you’re going to play in outer space, you really should clean up after yourself.)
Serb Mob Destroys U.S. Furniture
The protesters appeared to have been in the Embassy's consular building area, McCormack said. U.S. security officials and Marine guards were in a separate part of the compound, the chancery, but no staff were present at the Embassy, he said.
As noted by Robert Musil, if Mobists are as upset as they claim to be -- flailing in the street, throwing rocks, burning buildings -- then why are they often smiling?
Obama's 12 Disciples
The link provided directs us to a wikipedia list of Christ's disciples. Below the list is also provided. Anyone game for drawing some contemporary comparisons within Obama's Political-Religious campaign with that of J.C.'s crew back in the day?
Caesar Ike created the roads that allow the speedy transfer of military equipment and goods across the nation, and like the disciples of old, Obama and his messengers today utilize these contemporary Roman roads. The Wright Brothers and Coanda (another Romanian and hence Roman vestige) have also provided Obama with a vehicle to spread his message of redemption and salvation from New York City to Hollywood.
Okay, first off, who is George Clooney, and who is Hale Berry? See below...
1.) Simon, called peter
2.) Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter
3.) James, son of Zebedee (called the son of Zebedee by Mark and Matthew)
4.) John (Mark and Matthew identify him as the brother of James, son of Zebedee)
5.) Philip
6.) Bartholomew, named Nathanael in John
7.) Matthew (whom the Matthew evangelist identifies as a publican), named Levi in Luke and Mark
8.) Thomas
9.) James, son of Alphaeus
10.) Simon, called a zealot in Mark, Matthew, and Luke
11.) Jude Thaddaeus, called Thaddaeus by Mark, Lebbaeus Thaddaeus by Matthew, and Judas of James by Luke
12.) Judas Iscariot
Can anyone photoshop Obama's head onto the J.C. in DiVinci's "Last Supper"?
Caesar Ike created the roads that allow the speedy transfer of military equipment and goods across the nation, and like the disciples of old, Obama and his messengers today utilize these contemporary Roman roads. The Wright Brothers and Coanda (another Romanian and hence Roman vestige) have also provided Obama with a vehicle to spread his message of redemption and salvation from New York City to Hollywood.
Okay, first off, who is George Clooney, and who is Hale Berry? See below...
1.) Simon, called peter
2.) Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter
3.) James, son of Zebedee (called the son of Zebedee by Mark and Matthew)
4.) John (Mark and Matthew identify him as the brother of James, son of Zebedee)
5.) Philip
6.) Bartholomew, named Nathanael in John
7.) Matthew (whom the Matthew evangelist identifies as a publican), named Levi in Luke and Mark
8.) Thomas
9.) James, son of Alphaeus
10.) Simon, called a zealot in Mark, Matthew, and Luke
11.) Jude Thaddaeus, called Thaddaeus by Mark, Lebbaeus Thaddaeus by Matthew, and Judas of James by Luke
12.) Judas Iscariot
Can anyone photoshop Obama's head onto the J.C. in DiVinci's "Last Supper"?
Hale Berry will pick paper cups
Any other suggestions what the Hollywood types could do to show their rapture?
On the Benefits of Translucency
There's a new bridge proposal and design intended to span the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities, then we have the neat Lindsay Lohan pics of the late Monroe, and now some kind of sail stadium proposal for St. Petersburg, Florida.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Michelle, ma belle, sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.
Demigods Contra Demigods, All While the Plebs Look On
Congressional hearings are interesting this way. It's akin to one cleric calling the other a hypocrite.
Pro athletes like Clemens are deities in their own world and rarely challenged. When they are, it tends to happen gently and with their consent, as in a one-on-one television interview, or else privately, as in a disciplinary hearing before a league commissioner, with phalanxes of lawyers and union reps there to defend them. Never are they as nakedly vulnerable as when testifying before Congress—yet none ever seems to grasp this, which is what makes these hearings so bizarre and riveting.
How disorienting it must have been for Clemens, then, to face the hilariously red-faced Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), who has the bristling haircut of a 10-year-old boy, carrying on about whether the star witness had “carried Band-Aids for his butt if he bled” through his “designer pants” after receiving a shot of something powerful in his hind quarters. The whole Tom Davis litany was delivered as Tom Davis, seven-term congressman, sat beneath a gilded, gold-framed oil painting of...Tom Davis.
Still, it'd be a good idea for athletes to stop juicing and becoming complete freaks of nature. In the meantime, I'll won't be tuning the television to any pro sports. Well, perhaps ultimate fighting. But that's it.
Generalissimo Castro is still dead
And CNN lays out the Pepean line on how to report the news on l'Infidel Castré. [I don't have a pic of Castro with some CNN type -- Dan Rather will do. They're all birds of the same feather, after all.]
Feynman Pukes
Why should protons be composed of quarks? Why are protons, antiprotons, positrons, and electrons the only stable elementary particles? No one knows,and no one has even come close to answering questions like these.Our modern instruments give us exquisite snapshots of an ancient cosmic cinema written across the heavens, but they do not foster comprehension, and scientists are left to wander through forests of data without a map, capturing new measurements while never fully explaining or understanding the previous ones. It is simply not possible to understand anything of importance about the universe if we fail to understand its most fundamental mystery: Why does it exist? This is the question most cosmologists are convinced is beyond their reach now and in the foreseeable future. Many would claim it unknowable. “Why does the universe exist?” casts a shadow of doubt across all of the physical sciences. It is the gaping void in science itself. The reason for existence is the most important scientific question there is, and I’m convinced the theory presented in this volume answers it rationally, completely, and unequivocally. A wealth of compelling evidence gives me reason to believe it is the first cohesive explanation of the underlying basis of the physical world. People are born; kittens are born; even stars are born. The notion the universe was born and is very old certainly seems reasonable. While a small number of scientists are convinced there was no Big Bang, no one has a reasonable “short answer” to replace it. Null Physics is, for the first time in the history of science, both a complete answer to the riddle of our existence and a quantitative theory of universal properties. Other fields of science, from molecular biology to geology, still seek a deeper understanding of the phenomena they study. Physics, from the realm of subatomic particles to galactic superclusters, is the only branch of science that claims an unwarranted exclusion from the pursuit of understanding. Where else does not knowing the answer make a question irrelevant?
Letter to MFT's Soldier Bro-In-Law
Below is the letter to my bro-in-law who happens to be on his second tour in Iraq. I thought I'd share it with the rest of you FCP'ers. Enjoy.
This morning I just received your mailing address from [my sister]. Sometimes I'll be watching those war movies (like "Band of Brothers"), and when mail call comes and a soldier doesn't receive anything I think, "Man, that really sucks..." But don't think of this as some sort of pity mail, either. No sir. I'm glad to communicate what it is I've been up to since Christmas and shoot it over to your Mesopotamia locale. I can veil my mild form of egocentrism as a letter to my brother in law. Neat, eh?
Okay. On with the letter. I'm in my last week of a 2-week notice, and it's getting kind of late. But who gives a shit, because as I already said, I'm in my last week at [work], and what are they going to do if I show up a bit late in the morning? Right, they are going to wish that they were so cunning as to have slept in an extra 1/2 hour on the grounds that they stayed up to write their bro-in-law a letter. I won't tell them I was drinking cold beer the entire time, but sometimes those minor cold beer details just crowd a story. Like I said, on with this damn letter.
I traveled to Mongolia. That's a bit succinct for a one month tour, I know. I made several journal entries though, and I have yet to go back and re-read them. By the end of my month in Mongolia, I was craving an American cheeseburger. I'm going to grill you a great damned cheeseburger upon your return. You're just going to have to accept that. If you have any other soldier buddies who enjoy good cheeseburgers, invite them too. But first check with [my sister/your wife], because I don't know how many I should invite over into your guys' house. Back to me, though: I had Dad drive me to a good American cheeseburger joint just after retrieving me from the Bismarck airport upon my Mongolian return. It was great, but enough about cheeseburgers. Back to Mongolia.
Just next door to my friend's apartment flat in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia, lives a couple of U.S. Marines. I think the U.S. has a military interest in Mongolia. George W. Bush was over there some years ago to promote democracy. The Mongolians gave him a horse, or something like that. Mongolian horses have short, stout legs compared to American quarter horses. So if we ever see pictures of G.W.'s Crawford ranch, and we notice an unusually short horse, there's a good chance that it's a Mongol one. I only met one of the U.S. Marines in Mongolia, and his last name was Quarter. Thus, he went by "Quarter." Nice guy, although my friend said he heard two Marines arguing at length with one another a couple days back. They must've worked it out. Whatever.
Mongolia is really f#cking cold in January. Believe me. Even colder than North Dakota, and certainly colder than Winnipeg. Yet the body reached a certain pain plateau from cold, and although it got even colder, the body only allowed for a certain amount of pain. I called it the Cold Pain Threshold. This is merely theory, of course, and since we ducked into warm places [pubs] every couple blocks, it's difficult to say whether the beer was acting as bio-antifreeze, or whether the Cold Pain Threshold was reality. Hold on, I need to grab one more cold beer... ... ...--...
Alright. I really wanted this letter to be so much more. But we just have to work with what we got. I'll get this in the mail, and start composing another ASAP. I'm scheduled to be down in Vegas the first three days of March. More details on that when they unfold. Until then, cold beer and cheeseburgers on me upon your return.
Sincerely,
~mft
This morning I just received your mailing address from [my sister]. Sometimes I'll be watching those war movies (like "Band of Brothers"), and when mail call comes and a soldier doesn't receive anything I think, "Man, that really sucks..." But don't think of this as some sort of pity mail, either. No sir. I'm glad to communicate what it is I've been up to since Christmas and shoot it over to your Mesopotamia locale. I can veil my mild form of egocentrism as a letter to my brother in law. Neat, eh?
Okay. On with the letter. I'm in my last week of a 2-week notice, and it's getting kind of late. But who gives a shit, because as I already said, I'm in my last week at [work], and what are they going to do if I show up a bit late in the morning? Right, they are going to wish that they were so cunning as to have slept in an extra 1/2 hour on the grounds that they stayed up to write their bro-in-law a letter. I won't tell them I was drinking cold beer the entire time, but sometimes those minor cold beer details just crowd a story. Like I said, on with this damn letter.
I traveled to Mongolia. That's a bit succinct for a one month tour, I know. I made several journal entries though, and I have yet to go back and re-read them. By the end of my month in Mongolia, I was craving an American cheeseburger. I'm going to grill you a great damned cheeseburger upon your return. You're just going to have to accept that. If you have any other soldier buddies who enjoy good cheeseburgers, invite them too. But first check with [my sister/your wife], because I don't know how many I should invite over into your guys' house. Back to me, though: I had Dad drive me to a good American cheeseburger joint just after retrieving me from the Bismarck airport upon my Mongolian return. It was great, but enough about cheeseburgers. Back to Mongolia.
Just next door to my friend's apartment flat in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia, lives a couple of U.S. Marines. I think the U.S. has a military interest in Mongolia. George W. Bush was over there some years ago to promote democracy. The Mongolians gave him a horse, or something like that. Mongolian horses have short, stout legs compared to American quarter horses. So if we ever see pictures of G.W.'s Crawford ranch, and we notice an unusually short horse, there's a good chance that it's a Mongol one. I only met one of the U.S. Marines in Mongolia, and his last name was Quarter. Thus, he went by "Quarter." Nice guy, although my friend said he heard two Marines arguing at length with one another a couple days back. They must've worked it out. Whatever.
Mongolia is really f#cking cold in January. Believe me. Even colder than North Dakota, and certainly colder than Winnipeg. Yet the body reached a certain pain plateau from cold, and although it got even colder, the body only allowed for a certain amount of pain. I called it the Cold Pain Threshold. This is merely theory, of course, and since we ducked into warm places [pubs] every couple blocks, it's difficult to say whether the beer was acting as bio-antifreeze, or whether the Cold Pain Threshold was reality. Hold on, I need to grab one more cold beer... ... ...--...
Alright. I really wanted this letter to be so much more. But we just have to work with what we got. I'll get this in the mail, and start composing another ASAP. I'm scheduled to be down in Vegas the first three days of March. More details on that when they unfold. Until then, cold beer and cheeseburgers on me upon your return.
Sincerely,
~mft
New Twin Cities Bridge
I know DLB and AA both traversed the former bridge many, many times. I did too while attending the U of Minnesota, usually when I wanted to sip a hot coffee at the Dunn Brothers on University Ave. Anyhow, this is what's going on with the new plan. Some day I'll have to return for a look and a bar crawl. You up for it some day DLB? AA?~mft
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Worthy to Take Note...
While it's fun (and so easy) to slam France, we need to recognize the Marc Bloch's when they come to the fore. As well, it's necessary to recognize individual FCPers' intellectual honesty. See below:
AI said: "...let's give credit where credit is due -- note that some French politicos have pushed for giving [Ayaan] Hirsi Ali asylum in France. I don't know who they are, but I hope that they are successful, and France can show it still cares about human rights."
Another shining moment for the FCP Annales.
AI said: "...let's give credit where credit is due -- note that some French politicos have pushed for giving [Ayaan] Hirsi Ali asylum in France. I don't know who they are, but I hope that they are successful, and France can show it still cares about human rights."
Another shining moment for the FCP Annales.
Where is John Brown when you need him?
Or, for that matter, William Tecumseh Sherman? What we get, instead, is this: Before the eyes of the world, a leading citizen of the Netherlands begs the legislature of Europe to protect her against assassins whose declared goal is the destruction of Europe’s liberties as well as its civilization. The Dutch government turns its back. Europe’s Parliament listens politely and refers the matter to committee. And this: Stripped of casuistry, he proposed that Muslim women subject to forced marriages, genital mutilation, or domestic violence should be handed over to Muslim religious courts, rather than be offered the protection of English Common Law. To my knowledge, this is the first time that one of Europe’s spiritual leaders has proposed to abandon innocent victims to their fate. Versailles in all its glory.
Hadn't Even Bought an HD-DVD Player...
With samauri swiftness, Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida honorably executes the HD-DVD player for Blu-ray disc technology.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Allah's Sun Dazzles Planet Pepe
At least the Christians with their Creation Science Institute can recognize an oblate spheroid when they see one.... pity the physicist sweating out an attempt at reasoned response to this quranic gerbil; probably will be checking his e-mails for Fatwas for a long while.
After all, the Researcher concludes his argument with this little warning/reminder:
"
What I say is based on Koranic science. He bases his arguments on the kind of science that I reject categorically – the modern science that they teach in schools. This science is a heretic innovation that has no confirmation in the Koran. No verse in the Koran indicates that the Earth is round or that it rotates. Anything that has no indication in the Koran is false."
Yale vs Harvard Law School
All those rich lawyers posing as Tribunes of the People--the schtick leaves me cold. VDH (who's ramping back up to form) gets it just right.
Danish Truth and a Yankee Veil
Note: this J.C. holding a winchester 30-30 lever action is another amendment to the previously posted pics. I didn't want to play favorites with the bomb in Mohommad's turbine pic. ~mft 
Hitchens: ...last week, almost every Danish newspaper made a deliberate decision to reprint the offending cartoons. Perhaps, if you live in most of the countries where this column of mine is syndicated or reprinted, you wonder what all the fuss can have been about. Certainly, if you live in the United States or Britain, you will be wondering still. This is because your newspapers have decided for you—as with Butz—that you must be shielded from the unpalatable truth. Or can it really be that? We live in the defining age of the image and the picture; how can it be that the whole point of an entirely visual story can be deliberately left out? (To see the original cartoons, by the way, click here.) I have a feeling that the decision to protect you from the images was determined this time by something as vulgar as fear.
[Note: this pic is an additional gift for my buddy and the most recent FCP arrival, DJB, and a Jesus Horse for balance below. Enjoy!]
Heart of stone
Planet Pepe in all its glory. No, we won't sing the Star Spangled Banner, no siree. We have much more fun with lashes and stones.
Big bum bobaraba
Bottoms up. We need bigger wazoos! [Add a pic of Lindsay Lohan in a Marilyn Monroe pose. Not quite as relevant as J.Lo's derriere, but more stylish, yes?]
Cherchez le mullah
What's behind Pelosi & Co.'s cuddling the Binnie boyz. Money speaks to the limo liberals. How would they get their limos, otherwise?
Greasing the skids
So what were Zbig & Co. doing in Damascus the other day? Selling out to the head-hackers before they even got into power? Planet Pepe ullulates. JJ is happy things are not monochromatic anymore (ie, turning yellow). Joy to the world.
French cheese con
Cons the peons in the Andes. After a long chase, Inspector Clouseau nabs her at the Negresco. There must be a moral here somewhere.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Pepe's darling issues an injunction
[Ahmadinejad's guy] called on [Dutch Justice Minister] Ballin to prevent this "provocative and satanic act on the basis of European Convention on Human Rights. [..] We must not allow the freedom of speech ... to be used as a cover for assaulting the sensibilities and exalted moral and religious values which are respected by all of humanity."
This is coming from Pepe's heartthrob's sidekick--a member of the Council for Spreading Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Thoughts. OK, I'm listening for the multichromatic interpretation.
This is coming from Pepe's heartthrob's sidekick--a member of the Council for Spreading Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Thoughts. OK, I'm listening for the multichromatic interpretation.
Don't bug them!
Should members of Britain’s beleaguered and persecuted bombing community be subjected to intrusive surveillance techniques such as bugging? It seems a bit illiberal, given their very real difficulties in day-to-day life. Hard enough trying to find a safe place to hide all that fertiliser, castor beans, etc., without having to worry if your whispered conversations after Friday prayers are being eavesdropped upon by some spook. There is probably a European Union law about bugging Muslim terrorists, which insists you have to notify them in advance and also provide disabled access ramps if you’re bugging them in a public place.
Sounds like the least Pepe would do for them. Right, Pepe? Let's hear the multichromatic point of view on this, the one JJ pines for, with bated breath.
Sounds like the least Pepe would do for them. Right, Pepe? Let's hear the multichromatic point of view on this, the one JJ pines for, with bated breath.
Dutch youths are turning French
Ah, the love affair of "les jeunes" with car-burning. Must be something in the water. I can't think of any common thread here. Maybe Pepe can help.
DLB and MFT,
Sorry for the delay. I thought AI knew how to invite contribs and so when I saw his responses to an earlier post, I assumed the job was done. AI has a long history of claiming he knows how to do anything that a computer can do on a computer.
Don't worry about the absolute correlation between bragging and lying, though. I handled it last night. DLB should have an invitation in his Hotmail account.
I also noteiced that Pepe is posting under another name. If he needs a re-invite, he needs but ask. I am tired of the monochrome rightwing point of view here and would welcome him back with all the VCP that AI owes me.
Don't worry about the absolute correlation between bragging and lying, though. I handled it last night. DLB should have an invitation in his Hotmail account.
I also noteiced that Pepe is posting under another name. If he needs a re-invite, he needs but ask. I am tired of the monochrome rightwing point of view here and would welcome him back with all the VCP that AI owes me.
Hermann Broch
Thanks to MFT for advising me of his existence. He had been, until a few minutes ago, one of those rumsfeldian "Unknown Unknowns" in my life. He seems interesting, and I'll go see if I can pick up his books in English translation.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Sharia bonds
Buy, Pepe, buy! Sharia-compliant bonds were designed to get round the ban on paying interest – "riba" in Islamic law. The Koran says it is sinful to make money from money. Unlike a conventional bond which is debt-based, a "sukuk" is asset-based. Instead of receiving interest, bond holders receive "rent" on the asset, thereby complying with sharia law. Perfect for you.
IMPORTANT: AI or JJ READ THIS
I'm over here at the abode of FCP's most recent newcomer, DLB, and have found that he does not have the ability to create a new post. He wants to contribute posts and such, but he needs to be granted access.
AI or JJ, could you see to it that DLB has the ability to create posts on FCP? He's a stand up guy, symbolized by the fact that I'm drinking his beer right now, and he gave up his last Leinenkugel's Northwoods Lager to me this afternoon-eve. I'm going to give him a ride to pick up his car now, but let's welcome him into FCP good and proper.
Also, my friend in Mongolia is interested in contributing, and as soon as I get his blogger tag, I'll request that you guys do the same so we can have a Mongol front as well. They are, I assure you, fellow boozers.
AI or JJ, could you see to it that DLB has the ability to create posts on FCP? He's a stand up guy, symbolized by the fact that I'm drinking his beer right now, and he gave up his last Leinenkugel's Northwoods Lager to me this afternoon-eve. I'm going to give him a ride to pick up his car now, but let's welcome him into FCP good and proper.
Also, my friend in Mongolia is interested in contributing, and as soon as I get his blogger tag, I'll request that you guys do the same so we can have a Mongol front as well. They are, I assure you, fellow boozers.
Warming up the car
Is a stoopid idea. If you wanna make out in there, like DeCaprio and Kate Winslet, let the body heat warm it up, instead.
Pinko poster boy
"I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z." For sure, I'm American enemies," said KSM in his broken English. "When we made any war against America we are jackals fighting in the nights ... the language of the war are killing. Got it.
Whether they intend it or not, KSM's victimologists are dupes in his campaign to undermine the antiterror enterprise. Dupes? Oh, C'mon. Cheerleaders is more like it.
Whether they intend it or not, KSM's victimologists are dupes in his campaign to undermine the antiterror enterprise. Dupes? Oh, C'mon. Cheerleaders is more like it.
Deep thinking about Obama
From your random Canuck: To be black and catapulting towards the presidency on charm, intellect, and popularity is unacceptable to the racist paranoid and scary in America the beautiful… They do not want to hear that he is a better American than they are, these right-wing extremist fascists in the land of America who no doubt believe it’s God’s will Barack Obama not get to the White House, no method of deterrence out of bounds, in their zealotry to protect and perpetuate Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Mom's apple pie, and the cross of Jesus in every home.
Deep thinking about American Education
Ms. Jacoby doesn’t leave liberals out of her analysis, mentioning the New Left’s attacks on universities in the 1960s, the decision to consign African-American and women’s studies to an “academic ghetto” instead of integrating them into the core curriculum, ponderous musings on rock music and pop culture courses on everything from sitcoms to fat that trivialize college-level learning.
Could someone help me parse this? The pop culture musings are tripe but the women's and AA-studies aren't?
Could someone help me parse this? The pop culture musings are tripe but the women's and AA-studies aren't?
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wisconsin Northwoods Lager this Weekend
A friend of mine said he picked up a case of Leinenkugel's Northwoods seasonal lager, and there's a good chance I'll be able to pry a few from his fridge this weekend. We'll drink a few, and then the plan is to plant ourselves in the downtown Bismarck area where plenty of bars and pubs are in pedestrian winter distance. I'll try to do a full report, that is if I remember how they go down.
Hairball is a smash
OK, I'll remove the pic of the hairy guy (it offended JJ's tender sensibilities); put instead a tame Picasso drawing (titled Grosse Prostituée sur les Genoux d'un Barbu). You can't possibly complain about that, JJ, can you?
AI, I can find idiots too!
See if you can make it past the sentence with the words "Ron Paul" in it! I dare you!
McCain=Churchill?
Hmmm... Not even JJ would claim that, would he? Depends on which Churchill we're talking about.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Pickett's charge
Don't mess with Texas. Of course, if this was Massachusetts, the outcome would have been different.
Dinoskin Redux
Author Phillip Manning details the finding of Dakota
In 1999, then-16-year-old Tyler Lyson went fossil hunting in the Hell Creek Formation badlands close to his home in North Dakota. Three tail bones poking out of the dirt piqued his interest, but he didn’t have time to examine the spot closely until 2004. His return marked the beginning of one of the most significant dinosaur excavations in history. Lyson and his team unearthed what may be the most intact mummified dinosaur ever found.... [see first comment for entire story]
In 1999, then-16-year-old Tyler Lyson went fossil hunting in the Hell Creek Formation badlands close to his home in North Dakota. Three tail bones poking out of the dirt piqued his interest, but he didn’t have time to examine the spot closely until 2004. His return marked the beginning of one of the most significant dinosaur excavations in history. Lyson and his team unearthed what may be the most intact mummified dinosaur ever found.... [see first comment for entire story]
Someone Just Nominated Themselves As a New Target
The New Targets are easier to spot when they flail their hands. I don't understand flailing in public as much as, say, Militant Islam does. Why not just chat about it over a beer or coffee? Who knows.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Hmmmm, so this was realpolitik...
is it why Nixon blew Mao? Something like cast your bread upon the waters for it will return ten millionfold?
In Praise of Melancholy
The gene pool — before and beyond time — froths and sloshes. What flops up onto the temporal shores is a matter of chance, a product of the waves' whims. At some point this teeming reservoir of DNA spumes forth a saturnine gene, a double helix destined to produce melancholy dispositions. From this instant onward what we know as human history begins: that striving, seemingly endless, toward an ungraspable perfection, that tragic effort to reach what exceeds the grasp, to fail magnificently. This gene, this melancholy gene, has proved the code for innovation. It has produced over the centuries our resplendent towers, yearning heavenward. It has created our great epics, god-hungry. It has concocted our memorable symphonies, as tumultuously beautiful as the first ocean. Without this sorrowful genome, these sublimities would have remained in the netherworld of nonexistence. Indeed, without this genetic information, sullen and ambitious, what we see as culture in general, that empyreal realm of straining ideas, might have never arisen from the mere quest for survival, from simple killing and eating.
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