Oh yeah... changing to and from DST sucks.

There's always the stiff drink to put you to sleep.

You don't strike me as a warm milk kind of guy.

re: #2 researchok

I've decided to pull an all-nighter to reset my clock.

Otherwise, I'll be lost in space-time all month.

re: #3 freetoken

I've decided to pull an all-nighter to reset my clock.

Otherwise, I'll be lost in space-time all month.

[Video]

Oh the pain the pain! -- Dr. Smith

re: #4 Gus 802

Oh the pain the pain! -- Dr. Smith

LOL. Jimmah and I used to post this to Mullah Buzzsaw when he stroked out:

re: #5 iceweasel

LOL. Jimmah and I used to post this to Mullah Buzzsaw when he stroked out:

[Video]

Jonathan Harris was the best part of Lost in Space.

re: #5 iceweasel

In the original pilot episode (which used to be on Hulu), the ending had the whole family praying over a meal.

Don't think that episode gets played on TV anymore.

re: #7 freetoken

In the original pilot episode (which used to be on Hulu), the ending had the whole family praying over a meal.

Don't think that episode gets played on TV anymore.

I watched the first half of the pilot on Hulu. IIRC it was a two part or something. Never saw that end, I don't think.
Hulu rocks, really.

Also, some lizard clued me in to the fact that original twilight zone episodes are on cbs. Yay!

And damn you Hulu for being blocked in the UK. grrr.

re: #8 iceweasel

I watched the first half of the pilot on Hulu. IIRC it was a two part or something. Never saw that end, I don't think.
Hulu rocks, really.

No more Colbert Report or Daily Show for the time being though. I've been watching them recently. They're funnier now than ever.

I need to register to watch more new movies. Last night I caught an old Rockford Files which I love. You know that James Garner is a big time Democratic Party contributor?

re: #10 Gus 802

No more Colbert Report or Daily Show for the time being though. I've been watching them recently. They're funnier now than ever.

I need to register to watch more new movies. Last night I caught an old Rockford Files which I love. You know that James Garner is a big time Democratic Party contributor?

I did not know that!
Also, I have never seen the Rockford Files. :(
I have seen some political blog's little mashup for something, though.

There's lots of TV I'm completely ignorant of. Most, really.

re: #11 iceweasel

I lost track of American television some time in the 1980's, then moved to Germany, where I really lost track of anything on TV. I like to catch BBC program(me)s when I'm over there, wish I could get them here on the continent.

But I catch The Daily Show on the Intenernet, it is also on the Comedy Central website.

re: #11 iceweasel

I did not know that!
Also, I have never seen the Rockford Files. :(
I have seen some political blog's little mashup for something, though.

There's lots of TV I'm completely ignorant of. Most, really.

Oh. The recent mash up regarding TV from the right wingnut crazies was regarding Tom Hanks recent comment on the Pacific front during WWII. Saw that someone posted a blog from pantload VDH about it. They're all freaking out about a few comments he made that they didn't like. You know wingnuts. They hate freedom of speech. Of course they're ignoring the fact that Tom Hanks put WW2 back on the map and created a great deal of interest more than anything those losers could ever accomplish. I'm sure The Pacific on HBO will be a fine program.

re: #11 iceweasel

Garner came to prominence in the "Maverick" TV shows.

re: #14 Gus 802

Didn't the first episode air already?

re: #16 freetoken

Didn't the first episode air already?

Last night was the first episode.

re: #15 freetoken

Garner came to prominence in the "Maverick" TV shows.

[Video]

Yep. Was watching an interview with James Garner last night. He said "Rockford was Maverick." The anti-hero. Great stuff. Lots of old school television greats. Was also listening to a Mike Post interview. He did the theme music for Rockford, Hillstreet Blues, etc. Mike Post also went to school with Tom Selleck at one point.

re: #14 Gus 802

Oh. The recent mash up regarding TV from the right wingnut crazies was regarding Tom Hanks recent comment on the Pacific front during WWII. Saw that someone posted a blog from pantload VDH about it. They're all freaking out about a few comments he made that they didn't like. You know wingnuts. They hate freedom of speech. Of course they're ignoring the fact that Tom Hanks put WW2 back on the map and created a great deal of interest more than anything those losers could ever accomplish. I'm sure The Pacific on HBO will be a fine program.

There was some Rockford Files vid that some small political blog did a thing with. I'll look.

Regarding Hanks-- well he's a hollywood lib and he was in Philadelphia and all/ Obviously part of teh ghey agenda.

re: #17 Gus 802

How was it received (both critically and viewership)?

BTW, racism as an element for discussion in the "Pacific" war is hardly new. The Japanese exploited racist feelings towards Chinese and Westerners. The US exploited racist feelings toward orientals in general and Japanese in particular. All one has to do is look at the propaganda from the period.

Maverick was btw my favorite western TV show. Perhaps because it was a comedy. Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Virginian, The Big Valley, High Chaparral (which I also liked) were just too serious for me. Maybe I was too young to appreciate them.

re: #19 iceweasel

There was some Rockford Files vid that some small political blog did a thing with. I'll look.

Regarding Hanks-- well he's a hollywood lib and he was in Philadelphia and all/ Obviously part of teh ghey agenda.

Yeah. Teh ghey agenda!!111

I thought it was great that Hurt Locker won some Oscars. For two reasons, a) first time a woman director won an Academy Award, Kathryn Bigelow, and b) Guy Pearce who played Sergeant Matt Thompson also played a role as Adam/Felicia in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

re: #20 freetoken

How was it received (both critically and viewership)?

BTW, racism as an element for discussion in the "Pacific" war is hardly new. The Japanese exploited racist feelings towards Chinese and Westerners. The US exploited racist feelings toward orientals in general and Japanese in particular. All one has to do is look at the propaganda from the period.

Hardly new at all. It's just an excuse for them to get all discombobulated. But I guess we're super heroes and racism never influenced our actions? Even Eugene Sledge made reference to it in "The Old Breed" which I read twice. They treated the enemy like animals. That is partially the fog of war. But do they want me to remind them that they were treating German POWs better than they did American blacks during that era? What racism? A war during the height of Jim Crow laws involving a country that still had large pockets of the KKK in its midst including Nazi sympathizers on our very own shores? A war that involved the racism of the Axis nations of Germany, Japan and even China? Yeah, WWII. You can almost say sarcastically, "what racism?" It was there.

There is one old TV Western that actually became more famous after the fact:

re: #20 freetoken

How was it received (both critically and viewership)?

BTW, racism as an element for discussion in the "Pacific" war is hardly new. The Japanese exploited racist feelings towards Chinese and Westerners. The US exploited racist feelings toward orientals in general and Japanese in particular. All one has to do is look at the propaganda from the period.

I've been thinking about this subject lately-- racism in WWII (Pacific war) and the propaganda.
There is definitely racism present, but much of it seems also to be about general xenophobia and the need to treat the enemy as "Other"-- which is a prerequisite in many ways for brutal conduct.

The same themes the US invoked in its WWII propaganda came back again in Vietnam.
And many similar xenophobic themes were present in WWI propaganda too. "The Rape of Little Belgium".

In some ways I think dehumanizing the enemy is a prerequisite for warfare or combat, on the individual level. WWII propaganda was merely more overt.

Prisoners like us German POWs and black workers on the fields felt a common “underdog” status – By Matthias Reiss

About 371,000 German soldiers were held in American prisons until 1946. That they, above all in the southern states, were treated better than black workers, gave the growing civil rights movement a powerful weapon.

All in all, our life here is very orderly. We sleep in beds which have white covers and we eat with knives and forks. Up till now, we were treated excellently... When I was taken prisoner, I visualized a life of horror but it is quite different.” So wrote Private Heinz Fricke, a POW in Camp Ogden, Utah, to his family in Germany in September 1944.

Eventually, more than 371,000 soldiers in German uniform would come to be interned in the United States during World War II. The first large contingent arrived after the surrender of the Army Group Africa in Tunisia in May 1943. The 135,000 “Africans” were joined by those captured in Italy or at sea and about 182,000 German soldiers who were captured after D-Day...

Although not all of these reports were accurate, German POWs often did enjoy better treatment and more rights, such as access to “whites only” facilities. The fact that “Nazi prisoners” were given access to restaurants or railway compartments off-limits to black American soldiers provided the growing civil rights movement in the United States with a powerful weapon.

Racial discrimination also limited the effectiveness of the reeducation program for the German POWs. The program, which started in 1944, tried to turn the prisoners into democrats “by presenting to them in so far as is possible under the circumstances the best aspects of American life and institutions.” Some POWs responded by contrasting American values with the treatment of black Americans. However, the majority of them were more concerned with when they would be allowed to return home.

The Americans created the impression that participation in the reeducation program would lead to quicker repatriation but this was not true. The first to return to Germany were “useless” prisoners and “troublemakers,” i.e. unrepentant Nazis. The last regular shipment of German POWs left the United States on July 22, 1946 of which around 178,000 of the POWs were handed over to Great Britain and France as workers. For the prisoners, this was a “modern slave trade on the grandest scale.” Some of them had to endure over two more years of captivity and forced labor.

Kevin Chernick, Jason Cherry, Paula Estock, Lindsay Smaron
Gardner Rogers
Rhetoric 105, Section Q10
23 February 2004

The hundreds of thousands of African-American soldiers who did not see combat faced segregation to its fullest in spite of being United States soldiers, and the government did nothing productive to keep this from happening. The Army allegedly sent the quartered African-American soldiers to the South to train in “year-round open weather,” coincidently also the heart of the Jim Crow Laws (Time 65). In other words, the Army sent African-Americans who were willing to give their lives for their country to the worst possible place in America that they could be sent. Some soldiers in El Paso, Texas, were denied entrance and service when they tried to enter a local restaurant. They ate cold food outside while watching “German prisoners of war seated in the restaurant and [eating] hot food” (Time 65). Even the enemies of the United States got treated better than the African-American soldiers. To make matters worse, nobody really saw anything wrong with the situation.

re: #25 iceweasel

In some ways I think dehumanizing the enemy is a prerequisite for warfare or combat, on the individual level. WWII propaganda was merely more overt.

Agree.

The sheer cost of an undertaking like WWII, for the US, in both bodies and money, can only be sustained using primal beliefs. The costs are just too high for a mere intellectual assent.

re: #25 iceweasel

I've been thinking about this subject lately-- racism in WWII (Pacific war) and the propaganda.
There is definitely racism present, but much of it seems also to be about general xenophobia and the need to treat the enemy as "Other"-- which is a prerequisite in many ways for brutal conduct.

The same themes the US invoked in its WWII propaganda came back again in Vietnam.
And many similar xenophobic themes were present in WWI propaganda too. "The Rape of Little Belgium".

In some ways I think dehumanizing the enemy is a prerequisite for warfare or combat, on the individual level. WWII propaganda was merely more overt.

And it came back in the War on Terror which is almost exactly what Tom Hanks said. I would say almost came back and I have to commend Bush for making an effort to prevent that even though overall he came up with some questionable policies. He was highly criticized for mainstreaming Islam into the armed forces during that time. Given what we've been taught here at LGF I think one would have to be blind not to see the underlying and fervent racism and xenophobia that exists within the confines of the so called anti-Jihadist movement and political parties.

re: #28 freetoken

Agree.

The sheer cost of an undertaking like WWII, for the US, in both bodies and money, can only be sustained using primal beliefs. The costs are just too high for a mere intellectual assent.

Well, Japan too-- I wasn't denying your points either about the racism and xenophobia that the Japanese exploited, especially in their treatment of say Nanking or POWs.
I'm primarily making this comment to short-circuit the AM Wingnut Wave, which will likely quote my earlier comment and pretend I'm slagging off the US alone.

Anyway-- you're right. That kind of war necessitates engaging the primal responses on an individual and also group level. Hence, racist or xenophobic propaganda.

Pro Köln, Nick Griffin, BNP, Geert Wilders...

re: #27 Gus 802

"First a Negro … incidentally a veteran": black World War Two veterans and the G.I. Bill of Rights in the deep south, 1944-1948

Of the G.I. Bill's four provisions, only the education and training entitlement benefitted more than a handful of southern black veterans. But training under the provision was very limited. Poor instruction, abusive teachers, and improper and overcrowded facilities frequently nullified the benefit. Few training facilities existed for blacks in the Deep South, and many veterans could not obtain college instruction because of their poor academic backgrounds. A VA survey summarizes how limited the education provision was for black veterans. In April 1947, the VA found only 5 percent of all black veterans enrolled in courses and programs under the education benefit.(97) This occurred at the same time that the total veteran enrollment at colle

BTW, there are a few stories (i.e., true accounts) of black WWII vets being assaulted or killed on returning to the US south.

re: #31 Gus 802

Pro Köln, Nick Griffin, BNP, Geert Wilders...

We have commenters here now who would dearly love to cheer on Nick Griffin, the BNP, and the EDL.

The only reason they aren't is because they know they'll be banned.

re: #30 iceweasel

Well, Japan too-- I wasn't denying your points either about the racism and xenophobia that the Japanese exploited, especially in their treatment of say Nanking or POWs.
I'm primarily making this comment to short-circuit the AM Wingnut Wave, which will likely quote my earlier comment and pretend I'm slagging off the US alone.

Anyway-- you're right. That kind of war necessitates engaging the primal responses on an individual and also group level. Hence, racist or xenophobic propaganda.

One acknowledges it but it doesn't mean we approve. That is to say we can't blindly say, no there was no racism involved when in fact there was. We had our proud moments and we also had our not so proud moments. During the Normandy invasion we had a policy of taking no prisoners. You know what that meant.

re: #33 iceweasel

We have commenters here now who would dearly love to cheer on Nick Griffin, the BNP, and the EDL.

The only reason they aren't is because they know they'll be banned.

They lurk in the shadows. Only to burble up every now in then in a flounce. I'm sure there are plenty of Wilders lovers around still. The EDL which is proudly promoted by the Shrieking Harpy.

re: #34 Gus 802

One acknowledges it but it doesn't mean we approve. That is to say we can't blindly say, no there was no racism involved when in fact there was. We had our proud moments and we also had our not so proud moments. During the Normandy invasion we had a policy of taking no prisoners. You know what that meant.

Yep. The wingnuts want that again though.
No one (sane) denies that war is hell. No one (sane) wants and advocates war as the first and last means of diplomacy, though.

Chickenhawks fantasise about WWII. That's kind of their ideal war.
Of course, they're imagining a WWII that never was.
Except in propaganda.

Actor Peter Graves has died

Peter Graves, whose calm and intelligent demeanor was a good fit to the intrigue of "Mission Impossible" as well as the satire of the "Airplane" films, has died.

Graves passed away Sunday just a few days before his 84th birthday outside his home in Los Angeles, publicist Sandy Brokaw said. Graves was returning from brunch with his wife of nearly 60 years and his family when he had what Graves' doctor believed was a heart attack, Brokaw said.

Graves first gained attention of many baby boomers with the 1950s TV series "Fury," but remained best known for the role of Jim Phelps, leader of a gang of special agents who battled evil conspirators in TV's "Mission: Impossible."

re: #36 iceweasel

Yep. The wingnuts want that again though.
No one (sane) denies that war is hell. No one (sane) wants and advocates war as the first and last means of diplomacy, though.

Chickenhawks fantasise about WWII. That's kind of their ideal war.
Of course, they're imagining a WWII that never was.
Except in propaganda.

There is no ideal war as you know. The reality is like the cliche, "war is hell." You don't get a second chance. You step on a mine and you get maimed or turned into a puddle of blood, bones, and guts. 60 million people died in WWII. We did what we had to do but in the end it was the lowest point in world history. 60 million people, dead. While we honor those that served, we must remember the slaughter that is war. War is best avoided. But since we have the machine at the ready, it is sometimes difficult to avoid.

re: #37 shiplord kirel

Sad. Yet it reminds me once again that the 1960's TV series had some of the best theme music, and very deep acting benches, so to speak.

re: #38 Gus 802

Will we have another "great" war like that one?

Since WWII we have had Cold-war regional proxy wars, regional ethnic-cleansing wars, and a smattering of good old politically based civil wars.

Documentary being released in the UK (heh, at least Jimmah can go see it!)

re: #38 Gus 802

But since we have the machine at the ready, it is sometimes difficult to avoid.

We have the machine, and we have the engine.

Cruelty has a human heart,
And Jealousy a human face,
Terror the human form divine,
And Secrecy the human dress.

The human dress is forgèd iron,
The human form a fiery forge,
The human face a furnace seal'd,
The human heart its hungry gorge.

We also have the will, the desire, the propensity.
That won't ever leave us. Now we have the capacity for mass slaughter, that's all that's changed.

re: #40 freetoken

Will we have another "great" war like that one?

Since WWII we have had Cold-war regional proxy wars, regional ethnic-cleansing wars, and a smattering of good old politically based civil wars.

I don't think we will. I agree with Eisenhower when he said while he was president that the Normandy invasion could not be repeated with modern warfare. However, as we've seen with cases like Darfur or East Timor that high casualties can still occur.

re: #40 freetoken

Will we have another "great" war like that one?

Since WWII we have had Cold-war regional proxy wars, regional ethnic-cleansing wars, and a smattering of good old politically based civil wars.

Depends what you mean by "great". And what you mean by 'we'.

Vicious slaughter and genocide? Look at Rwanda, of course. And other places.

To mention just one, the Congo has a gigantic problem with sexual violence-- with rape as a means of war. It's been going on for over ten years. This isn't even 'normal' rape or 'normal' gang rape, but sexual mutilation and more.
And no one cares.
No one really knows why the Congo has this horrific problem, but the best guess is that it's Hutu militia that fled in there in the mid 90's, were already trained and raised on genocide and rape as a means of total war, and they've been refining (if we can call it that) and continuing their techniques.

re: #42 iceweasel

We also have the will, the desire, the propensity.
That won't ever leave us. Now we have the capacity for mass slaughter, that's all that's changed.

Passion and legacy. One will die like their great great uncle during the Civil War. And their great grandfather in WWI, and the others that followed. You will fight and die for your freedoms and ability to speak freely. Fore it is only because of death that you are free. Therefore, you too must be willing to die in defense of your freedom. Thus we are taught. If you want freedom, or "your way," you must be either willing to kill or be killed.

That's why I'm always alluding to the death cult angle.

re: #39 freetoken

Sad. Yet it reminds me once again that the 1960's TV series had some of the best theme music, and very deep acting benches, so to speak.

Graves's Missiion: Impossible co-star, Martin Landau, later turned in what I regard as one of the one of the most remarkable acting performances in history, with his uncanny portrayal of Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood.

Some of the old shows were terrifically well-written as well. For example, many popular westerns of the time were junk, of course, but others were superbly scripted and cast. My favorite was Have Gun, Will Travel with the erudite Richard Boone in the lead role. Gene Roddenberry and Bruce Geller (who later wrote Mission: Impossible) were among the show's writers.

re: #37 shiplord kirel

Actor Peter Graves has died

RIP
"Have you ever been in a Turkish prison, Billy?" (Airplane)

re: #43 Gus 802

I really don't know.

I've wondered if the US and China could get into a future conflict, with plenty of nations on each side.

Certainly fantasies of such conflict must appeal to certain "chickenhawks", as they've been labeled, given the various web noise about China.

Does nuclear warfare preclude any large multinational war?

Iraq I and II were pretty clearly a gang vs. a single entity (a dictator which nobody really liked.)

In some SciFi it is India/China that sets things off, but I have a hard time seeing India ever really undertaking a conflict outside of their nation. It seems to me that South Asian wars will most be religious terrorism, and other nations will be hesitant to get involved.

It's hard to imagine a WWIII.

re: #45 Gus 802

Passion and legacy. One will die like their great great uncle during the Civil War. And their great grandfather in WWI, and the others that followed. You will fight and die for your freedoms and ability to speak freely. Fore it is only because of death that you are free. Therefore, you too must be willing to die in defense of your freedom. Thus we are taught. If you want freedom, or "your way," you must be either willing to kill or be killed.

That's why I'm always alluding to the death cult angle.

Aha. Hmmm...Eco, eco!

11. In such a perspective everybody is educated to become a hero.

In every mythology the hero is an exceptional being, but in Ur-Fascist ideology heroism is the norm. This cult of heroism is strictly linked with the cult of death. It is not by chance that a motto of the Spanish Falangists was Viva la Muerte ("Long Live Death!"). In nonfascist societies, the lay public is told that death is unpleasant but must be faced with dignity; believers are told that it is the painful way to reach a supernatural happiness. By contrast, the Ur-Fascist hero craves heroic death, advertised as the best reward for a heroic life. The Ur-Fascist hero is impatient to die. In his impatience, he more frequently sends other people to death.

The cult of death has various faces. This is one of them.

re: #44 iceweasel

Depends what you mean by "great".

Intercontinental, cross oceanic, many nations.

"We" = humanity, or the nation-states of the world.

Yea, lots of genocide around the world the past 6 decades, tribal or religiously/ideologically motivated. But those are inward battles, like civil wars.

re: #44 iceweasel

It was truly a noble act, defending Britain, liberating France, Belgium and The Netherlands. But we like to overlok the fact that these nations maintained empires which enslaved millions, and whose liberation movements gave rise to the civil wars in the Congo, Indonesia, the Vietnam War, the ongoing Pakistani/Indian conflict, the Angolan Conflict, etc, etc, etc...

We make WWII out to be a lot more black-and-white than it was.
But heck, we are starting to do the same with The Cold War.

re: #50 freetoken

Intercontinental, cross oceanic, many nations.

"We" = humanity, or the nation-states of the world.

Yea, lots of genocide around the world the past 6 decades, tribal or religiously/ideologically motivated. But those are inward battles, like civil wars.

I was being somewhat flippant and cynical there about the 'great' wars. WWI was originally called the great war and the war to end all wars, right? Yet 20 or so years later, another.

In some SciFi it is India/China that sets things off, but I have a hard time seeing India ever really undertaking a conflict outside of their nation. It seems to me that South Asian wars will most be religious terrorism, and other nations will be hesitant to get involved.

It's hard to imagine a WWIII.

This i agree with, but it's partly because of the 'shrinking world'. Technology first of all, military. But also the global society and economy.

re: #48 freetoken

I really don't know.

I've wondered if the US and China could get into a future conflict, with plenty of nations on each side.

Certainly fantasies of such conflict must appeal to certain "chickenhawks", as they've been labeled, given the various web noise about China.

Does nuclear warfare preclude any large multinational war?

Iraq I and II were pretty clearly a gang vs. a single entity (a dictator which nobody really liked.)

In some SciFi it is India/China that sets things off, but I have a hard time seeing India ever really undertaking a conflict outside of their nation. It seems to me that South Asian wars will most be religious terrorism, and other nations will be hesitant to get involved.

It's hard to imagine a WWIII.

I don't see a WWIII coming either. China is on a trajectory to overtake the USA in their GDP. The interest in Taiwan is fleeting. Russia is more interested in becoming a more stable economy with occasional tactical engagements such as Georgia. But I don't see them becoming anywhere close to the belligerents they were during the Cold War.

That being said there is the possibility of the United States becoming a belligerent nation given the onset of Dominionists and proponents of holy wars against Islamist states. Unilateral actions can have consequences if it involves the use of theater nuclear weapons which has been called for by right wing elements seeking to gain power in this nation.

One has to ask how would the world respond to a preemptive strike by the United States if it so decided to use nuclear weapons in this day and age. If not a military response from EU states perhaps a combined effort involving Russia and China.

Given the atavistic revanchism of late, short of war I could see the United States facing sanctions if more reactionary elements were to take control.

re: #53 Gus 802

Well, let's hope the diehard warmongers stay out of the Whitehouse. OTOH the Paulians are isolationists and I can't see them using nukes preemptively.

Heh. Just looked at memeorandum. Wingnut Wardance happening over health care.

re: #53 Gus 802

There is only one scary scenario out there (although i don't lose a lot of sleep over it)

China's One Child Policy has led to a surplus of unmarriageable males. They coule start a war, lose tens of millions in casualties and even if the political/territorial gains are minor, it wold be to their demographic advantage.

I think this scenario is unlikely, but it is out there.

Schoolhouse Rock: I'm Just a Bill

OK did a quick check of casualties.

60,000 dead in the Bosnian War
100,000 dead in East Timor
300,000 dead in Darfur
100,000-1,000,000 dead in Iraq
5,000 in Afghanistan War

Yeah, I know the numbers are "contested" in the Iraq War.

Celebrating life beyond belief

[...]

The final speaker was, of course, Dawkins. The biologist gave a nuanced lecture on the wonder of evolution and the sense of gratitude even atheists feel for the glories of the material world. He also lived up to his reputation for bluntness, with remarks equally sharp towards Catholics and Muslims. Asked about the sanctification of Mary MacKillop and the uncritical way it had been reported, he paused as if lost for words.

"The idea of creating saints today is pure Monty Python," he eventually said. "It completely gives the lie to the claim that sophisticated theologians can look down on the fundamentalist wingnuts. They're all the same."

As for dialogue with Islamists, he said it was "a remarkably effective tactic to say `If you try to argue against me, I'll cut your head off' ", but that the argument came from a position of intellectual weakness.

"I don't think we should go out of our way to insult Islam because it doesn't do any good to get your head cut off," he continued. "But we should always say that I may refrain from publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, but it's because I fear you. Don't for one moment think it's because I respect you."

Heh, nothing wrong with being a pragmatist.

Shhh...

Since 1960 the mean temperature in Australia has increased by about 0.7 °C . The long term trend in
temperature is clear, but there is still substantial year to year variability of about plus/minus 0.5 °C.
Some areas have experienced a warming of 1.5 to 2 ºC over the last 50 years. Warming has occurred
in all seasons, however the strongest warming has occurred in spring (about 0.9 °C) and the weakest in
summer (about 0.4 °C).

re: #56 ralphieboy

There is only one scary scenario out there (although i don't lose a lot of sleep over it)

China's One Child Policy has led to a surplus of unmarriageable males. They coule start a war, lose tens of millions in casualties and even if the political/territorial gains are minor, it wold be to their demographic advantage.

I think this scenario is unlikely, but it is out there.

China has no reason to start a war. About the only territorial claim they have is Taiwan. I don't see that happening. They're too busy producing products for American companies and making money. It is in the best interest of American corporations to keep China from starting a war. Plus, historically, other than North Korea and Vietnam China has been low key. The USA has actually played a greater warring role than China in a historical context.

re: #61 Gus 802

I generally agree, it's just scary to think that they have millions and millions of surplus males.

re: #59 freetoken

Celebrating life beyond belief
Heh, nothing wrong with being a pragmatist.

Also, of course, UK.
Don't have our own free speech laws.
Phelps and one daughter are barred from entry, for example.

re: #62 ralphieboy

I generally agree, it's just scary to think that they have millions and millions of surplus males.

Oh, they're just weird that way. They're trying to control their population and it wound up that way. Doesn't mean it's right but that's just the Chinese way. They're reversing their policies now.

U.S. Senate candidates fighting for pro-coal label

[...]

Bowling Green ophthalmologist Rand Paul, in an interview, said environmental issues are best handled at the local level, not by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has tried to slow or halt mountaintop mining in Appalachia by putting holds on dozens of mine permits.

"Local people are acutely aware of pollution," Paul said.

However, when asked about water quality, Paul said he had not heard complaints about drinking water in the coalfields, though some agencies through the years have estimated up to a third of homes in Kentucky's Appalachian counties don't have potable tap water.

"Aren't there municipal water standards?" Paul asked.

There are, set by federal agencies and enforced by state and local governments. But nearly 100,000 people in Eastern Kentucky — about 14 percent of those in the region — get water from largely unregulated private wells, according to Kentucky Infrastructure Authority projections based on 2008 U.S. Census estimates.

According to 1990 census data, more than half of Eastern Kentucky residents complained of hard water, high bacteria content, sulfur-smelling water and iron sediment that turns clothes and sinks orange, the survey said.

"The water didn't look orange to me coming straight out of the coalfields," Paul said.

[...]

Potable water? We don't need no stinkin' potable water...

re: #62 ralphieboy

I generally agree, it's just scary to think that they have millions and millions of surplus males.

Why is that more scary than surplus females?

re: #66 iceweasel

Why is that more scary than surplus females?

Because Males riot,

Morning all.

re: #65 freetoken

U.S. Senate candidates fighting for pro-coal label

Potable water? We don't need no stinkin' potable water...

Oh brother. It's in the blood. According to his father we shouldn't have Federal regulations or any regulations for that matter. Ron Paul would say that "if enough people died from poor water quality than people would stop living in those places." The Paulians would also prevent you from suing.

Another Paulian way of looking at things would be no airlines safety regulations. Just let planes crash and let people die and people will stop flying a particular airline carrier. Then, only the one that didn't get people killed would survive.

re: #67 RogueOne

Because Males riot,

Morning all.

What, like women can't?

morning.

re: #65 freetoken

U.S. Senate candidates fighting for pro-coal label

Potable water? We don't need no stinkin' potable water...

Footnote. Sorry, I should have gone with the compact version.

Rand Paul is an idiot.

uhoh. Rielle Hunter gave an interview to GQ. It appears to be as bad as we might imagine:

For more than two years after Rielle Hunter emerged at the center of the John Edwards love-child scandal, the former campaign videographer kept quiet -- while Edwards denied fathering her daughter (before finally acknowledging it); while Elizabeth Edwards wrote a book describing her as an aggressive homewrecker; while campaign aide Andrew Young wrote one describing her as a loony, needy loose cannon.

Now, though, she's talking, in an extensive new GQ interview obtained by The Washington Post. It's a doozy.

Hunter says she's still in love with "Johnny" and believes he loves her. That they went to bed together the day they met. That his marriage was "toxic," that he feared "the wrath of Elizabeth." That it was Young's idea for the coverup in which he claimed paternity. That she had no idea how much money -- now the subject of a grand jury inquiry -- was being funneled to her from top campaign donors. [...]
The nearly 10,000-word Q&A is accompanied by photos of Hunter styled as Jennifer Aniston might be for a glossy mag: Glowing skin, blond hair, curled on a bed in a white shirt and strand of pearls, bare-legged with a glimpse of panties. There is also a picture of Hunter holding her daughter.

yeesh.

There's a lot of New Agey talk -- John hasn't "fallen from grace... he's fallen to grace," and astrology told her he shouldn't run for president anyway. There's a lot of rationalizing -- John lied about her because "he was traumatized." There's some "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus" -- she couldn't go public sooner because she didn't want to "emasculate" her ex-lover.

Uh-huh.

re: #71 iceweasel

uhoh. Rielle Hunter gave an interview to GQ. It appears to be as bad as we might imagine:

yeesh.

Oh brother. You don't get the full picture until you click on the link. These people are supposed to be adults? That looks like an advert for an escort.

Bleh, I hate politicians. John Edwards was always scum.

I think we've reached new heights with the sex scandal with both parties. We have the UK beat in that regard.

astrology told her he shouldn't run for president anyway.

I thought it was Iowa that told him he shouldn't run for president.

Taking off for work. BBL

re: #73 Gus 802

Oh brother. You don't get the full picture until you click on the link. These people are supposed to be adults? That looks like an advert for an escort.

Bleh, I hate politicians. John Edwards was always scum.

I think we've reached new heights with the sex scandal with both parties. We have the UK beat in that regard.

Pretty damn wacky. The photos in the WaPo are bad enough. Who knows what the other GQ photos are like.

re: #76 iceweasel

Pretty damn wacky. The photos in the WaPo are bad enough. Who knows what the other GQ photos are like.

I think this picture says it best.

re: #77 Gus 802

I think this picture says it best.

Heh.

re: #78 iceweasel

Heh.

It is SFW.

Damn humans. I feel a sudden urge to put John Edwards behind bars. What a lowlife.

Pants on the ground?
Somewhere?

re: #69 iceweasel

any sort of major imbalance is scary, but surplus males are more easily turned into cannon fodder than surplus females.

Night Ice!

Night Freetoken.

Chau y'all.

The Beatles- The End

Sleepy time. Later Gus-ski! And everyone else of course.

re: #84 iceweasel

Sleepy time. Later Gus-ski! And everyone else of course.

[Video]

Latur mine Ice. ;)

re: #68 Gus 802

Free market Idology out of control again.

The Market is a mechanism, it is very good at helping balance supply and demand and for directing capital to where it can be the most beneficial. But it is not a natural state, it is a human construct, and subject to human shortcomings.

But it is a lousy way to regulate infrastructure or manage natural resources. Like airlines or coal.

Good Morning Lizards!

I am moving up to DC two months before I move the family up. Renting a room through Craigslist. I hope I am not killed by an axe murderer! That would suck...

[Link: bit.ly...]

Hundreds of powerful US “bunker-buster” bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in preparation for a possible attack on Iran.

The Sunday Herald can reveal that the US government signed a contract in January to transport 10 ammunition containers to the island. According to a cargo manifest from the US navy, this included 387 “Blu” bombs used for blasting hardened or underground structures.

Experts say that they are being put in place for an assault on Iran’s controversial nuclear facilities. There has long been speculation that the US military is preparing for such an attack, should diplomacy fail to persuade Iran not to make nuclear weapons.

Although Diego Garcia is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, it is used by the US as a military base under an agreement made in 1971. The agreement led to 2,000 native islanders being forcibly evicted to the Seychelles and Mauritius.

re: #87 rwdflynavy

Good Morning Lizards!

I am moving up to DC two months before I move the family up. Renting a room through Craigslist. I hope I am not killed by an axe murderer! That would suck...

As someone living in NoVA, welcome!

The guy on my radio is arguing that judges and lawyers and the such smoke pot. The guy that is a guest is saying to tax bongs and pipes. I don't smoke, so I don't care.

re: #90 Cannadian Club Akbar

The guy on my radio is arguing that judges and lawyers and the such smoke pot. The guy that is a guest is saying to tax bongs and pipes. I don't smoke, so I don't care.

If I'm ever before a judge, I so hope he's a pothead.
;)

Morning Lizards. Time changes are the spawn of the devil. That is all.

re: #91 Varek Raith

If I'm ever before a judge, I so hope he's a pothead.
;)

You can tell who he is. He'll be eating a Hot Pocket or some pizza rolls.

re: #93 Cannadian Club Akbar

You can tell who he is. He'll be eating a Hot Pocket or some pizza rolls.

"Dave's not here, man"

I want to take this to a higher court!

I was smoking pot with a female friend and her parents walked in. I kinda freaked and they asked for a hit.

re: #94 Varek Raith

"Dave's not here, man"

No, it's me, Dave. Open up, I've got the stuff!

Obama Dhimmi Alert:

The US reportedly wants Israel to announce that it’s cancelling the Ramat Shlomo project, investigate how the project came to be announced when Biden was here, and make gestures towards the Palestinian Authority. The US also reportedly demands that Israel publicly announce that all core issues will be discussed during negotiations.

On Sunday, Anti Defamation League National Director Abe Foxman said the US criticism was “especially troubling” because Netanyahu had offered clear explanations of the announcement mishap both publicly and privately.

“US Vice President Joe Biden accepted the prime minister’s apology,” Foxman said. “Therefore, to raise the issue again in this way is a gross overreaction to a point of policy difference among friends.

“We cannot remember an instance when such harsh language was directed at a friend and ally of the United States,” the statement continued. “One can only wonder how far the US is prepared to go in distancing itself from Israel in order to placate the Palestinians in the hope they see it is in their interest to return to the negotiating table.”
[Link: www.jpost.com...]

The Obama administration is a joke...a very bad joke.
Good Morning LGF.

How do we know that the gavel is not really a carefully disguised pipe?

re: #99 MandyManners

How do we know that the gavel is not really a carefully disguised pipe?

Right!

re: #98 Spare O'Lake

He is on my list. A dbag list, back off SS.

re: #100 Varek Raith

Right!

I bet the bailiff has most excellent Cheetos.

Mandy, I don't like your avatar.

Ah, crap! I forgot to plug in my laptop... Emergency reserves at 7%, Captain.
BBL.

RIP, Peter Graves.

re: #103 Cannadian Club Akbar

Mandy, I don't like your avatar.

Gonna' fuckin' whine about it?

Obama is outraged, OUTRAGED, that American consular officials are now being killed by Mexicans. Why the fuck doesn't he DO something to get control of the Mexican border and deport the illegal drug cartel members and their illegal helpers.
80% of US cocaine supply crosses that border.
uh...um...errr...ahhh...fuggedaboudit, he's too busy shreiking at Israel.

re: #104 Varek Raith

Ah, crap! I forgot to plug in my laptop... Emergency reserves at 7%, Captain.
BBL.

Need more dilythium crystals?

re: #106 MandyManners

Gonna' fuckin' whine about it?

Dammit, I keep looking for your old avatar. Makes it hard to recognize your posts.

re: #106 MandyManners

Gonna' fuckin' whine about it?

Na, I'll leave that to the pussy boys who cry about shit. Ya know, the ones who say "Waa, waa I'll get myself a new avatar that offends Mandy" and then does nothing about it.

re: #110 Cannadian Club Akbar

Na, I'll leave that to the pussy boys who cry about shit. Ya know, the ones who say "Waa, waa I'll get myself a new avatar that offends Mandy" and then does nothing about it.

Well, I'll just leave that one alone 'cause I GAZE.

Gotta' git.

I was gonna play water polo yesterday but my horse doesn't know how to swim.

re: #110 Cannadian Club Akbar

Na, I'll leave that to the pussy boys who cry about shit. Ya know, the ones who say "Waa, waa I'll get myself a new avatar that offends Mandy" and then does nothing about it.

Who are you talking about?

Looks like a bunch of people have changed their avatar this weekend.

re: #113 iceweasel

People just bitch about Mandy's old avatar, saying it is offensive, asking how would she feel if they had the "Piss Christ" as an avatar. I really don't care, but I hate when people say they are gonna do something and then do nothing.

Netanyahu is best advised to keep his cool in the face of this obvious baiting by the Obama administration.
I never thought I would see an American government scapegoating Israel for its own internal partisan political interests.
Obama and his cynical crew are so desperate to avoid responsibility for their domestic policy disasters and their impotence in the face of Iranian nuke development, that they are prepared to whip up anti-Israeli sentiment to a fever pitch as a diversion.
Very sad.

re: #114 RogueOne

Looks like a bunch of people have changed their avatar this weekend.

Ice needs her "Happy Meal" avatar back.:)

re: #118 Cannadian Club Akbar

I don't remember that one.

re: #116 Cannadian Club Akbar

People just bitch about Mandy's old avatar, saying it is offensive, asking how would she feel if they had the "Piss Christ" as an avatar. I really don't care, but I hate when people say they are gonna do something and then do nothing.

I ask again-- who are you talking about?

Cato changed his avatar. :) And changed it back once Mandy removed her disgusting and offensive avatar.

So who are you complaining about?

re: #119 RogueOne

I don't remember that one.

The BEST!!!

Good morning Lizards. Happy ides of March.

re: #117 Spare O'Lake

Gotta keep the 'ole Razzle Dazzle going.
(Billy Flynn - Chicago)
Bread & Circus

re: #122 Jetpilot1101

Good morning Lizards. Happy ides of March.

At my college, some of the crazier guys from one of the residence halls would stage an impromptu re-enactment of Julius Caesar in the chapel, with the whole college population looking on.

re: #120 iceweasel

I'm not complaining about anyone. People just cried about Mandy's avatar. I personally never knew what it was about. And I don't care.

re: #121 Cannadian Club Akbar

The BEST!!!

It's coming back. That's actually my fave avatar. I only have this one up for so long because it's related to an ongoing jimmah-ice production.

re: #114 RogueOne

Your youtube link is removed. :(

re: #120 iceweasel

I ask again-- who are you talking about?

Cato changed his avatar. :) And changed it back once Mandy removed her disgusting and offensive avatar.

So who are you complaining about?

Ice, I do have to ask this. When, exactly, did the whining and moaning about Mandy's "disgusting and offensive" avatar start? I don't recall anyone having an issue with it up until, oh, about a week or so ago.

re: #120 iceweasel

I ask again-- who are you talking about?

Cato changed his avatar. :) And changed it back once Mandy removed her disgusting and offensive avatar.

So who are you complaining about?

Can't we have one with each of them pissing on the other?

If someone makes it, I'll use it.

re: #126 iceweasel

Those buttholes! Now I'll have to put up a new one.

You can have my avatar when you pry it from my cold dead fingers...

re: #128 ryannon

I mean the two kids - not Mandy and Cato...

re: #128 ryannon

Can't we have one with each of them pissing on the other?

If someone makes it, I'll use it.

It's been suggested!
If someone made it, I'm sure Cato would use it if Mandy liked it too.

re: #131 ryannon

Although now that I think about it...

This is kind of weird:

AP Exclusive: Pentagon gun was from Memphis police
[Link: www.wkrn.com...]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Two guns used in shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.

Law enforcement officials from multiple agencies tell The Associated Press the guns were once seized as evidence in criminal investigations in Memphis and made their way separately to the shooters.

The handgun in the Pentagon attack on March 4 was sold by the Memphis police department in December 2008. The shotgun used in the Jan. 4 courthouse shooting was sold years ago and the proceeds given to the Memphis-area sheriff's office.

I think we're going to need a ruling on whether this is "ironic" or not.

re: #132 iceweasel

It's been suggested!
If someone made it, I'm sure Cato would use it if Mandy liked it too.

Well, they both could use the same one.
.

re: #127 thedopefishlives

Ice, I do have to ask this. When, exactly, did the whining and moaning about Mandy's "disgusting and offensive" avatar start? I don't recall anyone having an issue with it up until, oh, about a week or so ago.

Uh, 'whining and moaning'?
People had problems with Mandy's avatar for months.

BTW, Charles mentioned the other day that he was hoping she'd get a clue and change it on her own.
Also mentioned that haters were using her avatar to smear LGF.

re: #136 iceweasel

Uh, 'whining and moaning'?
People had problems with Mandy's avatar for months.

BTW, Charles mentioned the other day that he was hoping she'd get a clue and change it on her own.
Also mentioned that haters were using her avatar to smear LGF.

Fair enough, I just hadn't seen anyone making an issue about it, that's why I asked. I figured Charles said something, as knowing Mandy, she wouldn't change it unless it was at the suggestion of the head lizard.

My boss just called, needing my SS number. My first check in 20 months. Gonna be nice. I might by me some food or something.

re: #137 thedopefishlives

Fair enough, I just hadn't seen anyone making an issue about it, that's why I asked. I figured Charles said something, as knowing Mandy, she wouldn't change it unless it was at the suggestion of the head lizard.

The issue had been raised a few months ago.
Lots of various carping on both sides for a while, and finally CJ said the obvious: "I don't want to tell people what to do, I was kind of hoping you'd think about this on your own." (paraphrasing the second clause there).

re: #139 iceweasel

I took it upon myself to cut out the bottom of my avatar. Ruins half the joke but I'm guessing most people will still get it.

re: #138 Cannadian Club Akbar

My boss just called, needing my SS number. My first check in 20 months. Gonna be nice. I might bybuy me some food or something.

re: #138 Cannadian Club Akbar

My boss just called, needing my SS number. My first check in 20 months. Gonna be nice. I might by me some food or something.

Congrats! Hoping for the best for you.
(looking into info for you in re: that school thing you mentioned)

Not even PETA has complained about my avatar.
Maybe I need to find a better one.

re: #142 iceweasel

Congrats! Hoping for the best for you.
(looking into info for you in re: that school thing you mentioned)

That fell through. A 15 year old drug charge. :(
But, I am looking to other avenues:)
I am the eternal optimist!!!

To follow up on a conversation some were having friday re: DNA of arrestees:

[Link: www.nytimes.com...]

The stops themselves are an outrage and a continuing affront to black and Hispanic New Yorkers, who are the ones most frequently singled-out by the police for this public humiliation. But Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Member Peter Vallone Jr., the committee’s chairman, are focusing on the computerized files that the Police Department is keeping on people who are stopped but found to have done nothing at all wrong.

This is not a small problem. The cops are making more than a half-million of these stops every year. A vast majority of the people targeted — close to 90 percent — are completely innocent. They are not arrested. They are not given a summons. After enduring a mortifying public encounter with the police — which frequently requires the targets to sprawl face down on the sidewalk or spread themselves against a wall or over the hood of a car to be searched — they are sent on their way.

What they’ve left behind, however, if they’ve shown their identification to the cops or answered any questions, is a permanent record of the encounter, which is promptly entered into the department’s staggeringly huge computerized files. Why the Police Department should be keeping files on innocent people is a question with no legitimate answer. This is Big Brother in Blue, with Commissioner Kelly collecting more information than J. Edgar Hoover could ever have imagined compiling.

re: #144 Cannadian Club Akbar

That fell through. A 15 year old drug charge. :(
But, I am looking to other avenues:)
I am the eternal optimist!!!

I thought background checks only went back 10 years?

re: #144 Cannadian Club Akbar

That fell through. A 15 year old drug charge. :(
But, I am looking to other avenues:)
I am the eternal optimist!!!

I hope you're kidding about it falling through because of some long ago drug charge. That would be massively fucked up. Can they do that?

One more story regarding DNA sampling:

Obama Supports DNA Sampling Upon Arrest

Josh Gerstein over at Politico sent Threat Level his piece underscoring once again President Barack Obama is not the civil-liberties knight in shining armor many were expecting.

Gerstein posts a televised interview of Obama and John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted. The nation’s chief executive extols the virtues of mandatory DNA testing of Americans upon arrest, even absent charges or a conviction. Obama said, “It’s the right thing to do” to “tighten the grip around folks” who commit crime.

re: #146 RogueOne

I thought background checks only went back 10 years?

Not with hospitals. And I hate pills.

re: #148 RogueOne

One more story regarding DNA sampling:

Obama Supports DNA Sampling Upon Arrest

Rogue-- what do you think about DNA collection on arrest and any permanent database for it?

re: #147 iceweasel

I hope you're kidding about it falling through because of some long ago drug charge. That would be massively fucked up. Can they do that?

I might write my state congresscritter and my 2 Senators. I understand their point as far as the hospitals go, but I'm not gonna drop 10K on skool to steal something.

re: #150 iceweasel

Rogue-- what do you think about DNA collection on arrest and any permanent database for it?

We were talking about it friday afternoon. I think keeping a DNA record of innocent people is a violation of their privacy rights. If they're convicted of a felony then I don't have a problem but I don't like the idea of keeping tabs on people arrested but not convicted of anything.

re: #151 Cannadian Club Akbar

I might write my state congresscritter and my 2 Senators. I understand their point as far as the hospitals go, but I'm not gonna drop 10K on skool to steal something.

I think you should. IIRC you wanted to finish a 4 yr program where you already had 2 yrs in (before they became a 4 yr place) to be a med tech. (is that right?)

This is fucked up. i don't think they should be able to prohibit you from getting the training. Especially as you wouldn't necessary ever be in a hospital or have unlimited access to any pharmacy, etc. Is that right?
(forgive me please if i misremembered)

re: #151 Cannadian Club Akbar

I might write my state congresscritter and my 2 Senators. I understand their point as far as the hospitals go, but I'm not gonna drop 10K on skool to steal something.

You might want to run your situation past an attorney, as well. It's possible to have some records expunged once so much time has passed, but the details vary by state. They may also have additional insight on the matter.

re: #153 iceweasel

2 year skool. But a background check is necessary. I actually talked to a Dean and she said nothing when I said I couldn't get through a background check.

re: #152 RogueOne

We were talking about it friday afternoon. I think keeping a DNA record of innocent people is a violation of their privacy rights. If they're convicted of a felony then I don't have a problem but I don't like the idea of keeping tabs on people arrested but not convicted of anything.

Oh okay. yes. But would you support a difference there where the crimes are sexual in nature, even if the person isn't convicted?

That's my issue. But I would first like to see PD's always performing, and indefinitely keeping, rape kits. Which they don't. I also think we need more serious sentencing gudielines for sexual assaults and better monitoring of those (convicted) offenders.

re: #155 Cannadian Club Akbar

2 year skool. But a background check is necessary. I actually talked to a Dean and she said nothing when I said I couldn't get through a background check.

I agree with six degrees on this-- I think you might want to talk to a lawyer and see about your options, esp having the record expunged.

re: #154 SixDegrees

I have a friend (sorta) who is a defense attorney. My state geek is named...ready?... Ron Reagan. Heh.

re: #156 iceweasel

Oh okay. yes. But would you support a difference there where the crimes are sexual in nature, even if the person isn't convicted?

That's my issue. But I would first like to see PD's always performing, and indefinitely keeping, rape kits. Which they don't. I also think we need more serious sentencing gudielines for sexual assaults and better monitoring of those (convicted) offenders.

I think, in my opinion, it would be a good compromise to have mandatory DNA collection on arrest, but only have it entered on record in a police database upon successful conviction. All other records of innocent parties would be expunged. That way, you don't have to worry overmuch about having your DNA on record just for getting hauled in, and the DNA evidence is also on record for the conviction.

I'll agree with keeping the rape kits, it protects both the victim and the accused, and while I understand the states need to catch/convict felons we have to draw the line somewhere and I draw it at a conviction.

There has been quite a few stories lately regarding problems with a variety of state databases and forensic studies both here and overseas. There was a Volokh post regarding a DNA conviction that I remember:

[Link: volokh.com...]
(You won't be surprised to read Patterico disagreed)

[I]n 2004, a search of California's DNA database of [338,000] criminal offenders yielded an apparent breakthrough [in a 1972 rape/murder case]: Badly deteriorated DNA from the assailant's sperm was linked to John Puckett, an obese, wheelchair-bound 70-year-old with a history of rape.

The DNA "match" was based on fewer than half of the genetic markers typically used to connect someone to a crime, and there was no other physical evidence.

Puckett insisted he was innocent, saying that although DNA at the crime scene happened to match his, it belonged to someone else.

At Puckett's trial earlier this year, the prosecutor told the jury that the chance of such a coincidence was 1 in 1.1 million.

Jurors were not told, however, the statistic that leading scientists consider the most significant: the probability that the database search had hit upon an innocent person.

In Puckett's case, it was 1 in 3... In every cold hit case, the [scientific expert advisory] panels advised, police and prosecutors should multiply the Random Match Probability (1 in 1.1 million in Puckett's case) by the number of profiles in the database (338,000)..

A 1 in 3 chance of a wrong "hit". That isn't even close to acceptable.

re: #157 iceweasel

I agree with six degrees on this-- I think you might want to talk to a lawyer and see about your options, esp having the record expunged.

Ya know, if the people could see these post they would realize I WANT to do the skooling. I can get drugs anywhere. (bangs head on wall)

Until further notice the Obama administration shall reamain INSULTED and OUTRAGED.
BBL

re: #160 RogueOne

That's a subject touched upon in a book I recently read about the history of forensics - Irrefutable Evidence.

re: #159 thedopefishlives

I think, in my opinion, it would be a good compromise to have mandatory DNA collection on arrest, but only have it entered on record in a police database upon successful conviction. All other records of innocent parties would be expunged. That way, you don't have to worry overmuch about having your DNA on record just for getting hauled in, and the DNA evidence is also on record for the conviction.

I'd also like us to do away with any statute of limitations on rape. That's a relic of pre-DNA times, eyewitness identification evidence.

I like your idea but I'm not sure how 'legal' that could be. Why even collect it on arrest if it's not to be used until conviction?

re: #164 iceweasel

I'd also like us to do away with any statute of limitations on rape. That's a relic of pre-DNA times, eyewitness identification evidence.

I like your idea but I'm not sure how 'legal' that could be. Why even collect it on arrest if it's not to be used until conviction?

Well, it would be used in the investigation. It wouldn't be stored on record until conviction. I mean, currently, they can get your DNA just by getting a court order with probable cause. This would eliminate the middleman, as it were.

Here is the LA times article about the conviction, it's a long one but it's the perfect example of the biggest problem I have with keeping a database:

[Link: articles.latimes.com...]

Jurors are often told that the odds of a coincidental match are hundreds of thousands of times more remote than they actually are, according to dozens of interviews with leading scientific and legal authorities, a comprehensive review of scientific and academic papers in the field and court documents in cold hit cases.

Two national scientific committees, including the FBI's DNA advisory board, have recommended portraying the odds more conservatively. But interviews with expert witnesses and DNA analysts from crime labs across the country show that few if any have adopted that approach.

The FBI lab, which oversees the nation's offender databases, has disregarded the recommendation of its own advisory board, bureau officials acknowledged.

So far, the courts have ruled in law enforcement's favor on this issue.

As a result, some experts fear, a technology best known for freeing the innocent could be causing its own miscarriages of justice.

The lesson? If you're on a jury and all they have is DNA evidence, a 1 in a million match, that's not good enough.

Greets and saluts from the soggy and still rainy NYC metro area. The rains are lessening, but the flooding and wind damage remains a big problem throughout the area and a whole host of towns in the region have cancelled schools because of power outages, trees down, and even water purification issues because of those power outages.

Over the weekend the President announced that he was going to be delaying his trip to Indonesia to make sure that the health care reform gets passed.

I think that's an artful dodge. He doesn't need to be present to get a deal done and while some pressure may be brought to bear on recalcitrant members in the House and Senate, I think there might have been a more practical reason why he opted to delay the trip.

The terror crackdowns against Jemaah Islamiyah and the raids last week that netted the capture of several members and killed a top terrorist wanted in the Bali bombings. It's possible that the USSS warned off the President to delay so that the Indonesians and US could get a better handle on the security situation - or perhaps thwart any potential plots against the President the terrorists may have been planning.

Bear in mind that the President has repeatedly called for artificial deadlines to pass health care and each one has gone by the boards. There's no reason to think that the latest one will be any different.

re: #163 lawhawk

That's a subject touched upon in a book I recently read about the history of forensics - Irrefutable Evidence.

I'll have to check that out. There was just a recent study done by the Nat'l Academy of Sciences that all but blasted the forensics field:

[Link: www8.nationalacademies.org...]

Balko, at the agitator, has been posting story after story for years of some incredibly shoddy forensics work being done in Mississippi by Dr. Hayne and Dr. West. The two of them have managed to convict more than just a few innocent people based on very crappy forensic "science".

re: #167 lawhawk

I don't care about the health care bill. I just don't want to be fined by the gubment for NOT having it. They can bite me.

re: #167 lawhawk

Bear in mind that the President has repeatedly called for artificial deadlines to pass health care and each one has gone by the boards. There's no reason to think that the latest one will be any different.

Isn't it pretty to think so.

Passing some form, any form, of HCR is major and something that Obama is committed to doing for a number of reasons.

re: #163 lawhawk

BTW, the "favorite" button is pretty handy for keeping track of things you want to look into later. Someone give CJ a thumbs-up for me.

re: #170 iceweasel

I agree that he's committed to doing something - he's put so much prestige behind it that if it fails - he fails. Right before the midterm elections too.

Everyone knows that this is what's at stake. Congress knows that their necks are on the line and will get hammered if they pass this. Some might do it anyways. Others will see the writing on the wall and opt to oppose.

The President's arm twisting here in every way imaginable to get a deal done, even if the deal is a bad one and will cost far more than everyone expects it to do. It will be a deal for the sake of getting a deal.

And voters who are paying attention will see it for what it is...

re: #172 lawhawk

IIRC, "W" is the only sitting President to not lose seats through his first 6 years.

re: #71 iceweasel

Reille is one odd duck, hopping in the sack with JE the instant they met. I'm sure it fit right in with Edwards' need for instant gratification and idol worship. ("How's my hair look?")

I guess anyone whose father arranged the murder of her beloved horse for insurance money, as a young girl, would grow up pretty fucked up, though. Given the choice, I'd kiss my horse before I'd so much as take my freakin' socks off for a two-timing douchebag like John Edwards.

Bluck. And her sessy photos are beyond tasteless, under the circumstances.

re: #173 Cannadian Club Akbar

First 4 years, they lost seats starting with year 6.

re: #175 RogueOne

First 4 years, they lost seats starting with year 6.

That is working out well, huh?

re: #175 RogueOne

First 4 years, they lost seats starting with year 6.

Now that I think about it they had to start losing seats starting with year 4 but kept their majority until year 6.

re: #172 lawhawk

You alleged that there was a 'more practical' reason for the push this week, and then said this:

The terror crackdowns against Jemaah Islamiyah and the raids last week that netted the capture of several members and killed a top terrorist wanted in the Bali bombings. It's possible that the USSS warned off the President to delay so that the Indonesians and US could get a better handle on the security situation - or perhaps thwart any potential plots against the President the terrorists may have been planning.

Rubbish, with all due respect. The reason for the push is wholly domestic. Wholly about HCR.
And the Dems will lose seats in the midterm no matter what. Bad economy= anti-incumbent sentiment.
It won't be a rejection of the Dems, or HCR, or Obama. It will be spun that way by some.

re: #174 theheat

Reille is one odd duck, hopping in the sack with JE the instant they met. I'm sure it fit right in with Edwards' need for instant gratification and idol worship. ("How's my hair look?")

I guess anyone whose father arranged the murder of her beloved horse for insurance money, as a young girl, would grow up pretty fucked up, though. Given the choice, I'd kiss my horse before I'd so much as take my freakin' socks off for a two-timing douchebag like John Edwards.

Bluck. And her sessy photos are beyond tasteless, under the circumstances.

Yep. And, ewww. All of it.

This has to be a gag, I hope:

[Link: news.ninemsn.com.au...]

Woman aims to become world's fattest

Donna Simpson, from New Jersey, weighs 273kg but told the Daily Mail newspaper she had her heart set on reaching her goal weight of 1000lb (450kg) in two years.

The 42-year-old already holds the title of the world's fattest mother after giving birth to her daughter in 2007 when she weighed 241kg.

"I'd love to be 1000lb ... it might be hard though, running after my daughter keeps my weight down," Ms Simpson told the Daily Mail.

Ms Simpson, who needs a mobility scooter to go shopping, eats huge amounts of junk food each week and tries to move as little as possible so she doesn't burn off as many calories.

re: #178 iceweasel

You alleged that there was a 'more practical' reason for the push this week, and then said this:

Rubbish, with all due respect. The reason for the push is wholly domestic. Wholly about HCR.
And the Dems will lose seats in the midterm no matter what. Bad economy= anti-incumbent sentiment.
It won't be a rejection of the Dems, or HCR, or Obama. It will be spun that way by some.

I disagree. The dems are the party in control of the purse strings. If they lose historic numbers people are going to notice why.

re: #180 RogueOne

Um, I'll ask. How did she get pregnant?

re: #181 RogueOne

I disagree. The dems are the party in control of the purse strings. If they lose historic numbers people are going to notice why.

They won't lose 'historic' numbers.

re: #182 Cannadian Club Akbar

Um, I'll ask. How did she get pregnant?

Great, thanks for ruining it for me.

re: #181 RogueOne

I disagree. The dems are the party in control of the purse strings. If they lose historic numbers people are going to notice why.

They will be lovingly and acceptingly booted right out on their Dem asses.

re: #182 Cannadian Club Akbar

Um, I'll ask. How did she get pregnant?

Marathon Sperm.

re: #183 iceweasel

They won't lose 'historic' numbers.

They might and if so Obdi owes me beer. I'm roping him into a side bet. We need to figure out some way to do an LGF election pool sort of like a Final Four thing.

re: #186 Spare O'Lake

I drink, but I never saw a 1000 pound woman and said "I'd hit that."

re: #181 RogueOne

"I mean like Orca fat."

The Usual Suspects

That's grossly, sinfully, indulgently fat. There's something much darker going on there, when someone needs to substitute pounds of lard for mental health. If she conceived the old fashioned way, it must have been morbid curiosity.

re: #188 Cannadian Club Akbar

I drink, but I never saw a 1000 pound woman and said "I'd hit that."

Takes all kinds...

re: #190 Spare O'Lake

Takes all kinds...

I have an old friend who likes extra-large women. He's a green and he drives a little enviro-buggy (that's what I call it) and his current spouse is so big the car leans to the passenger side even when she's not in it.

re: #190 Spare O'Lake

We have a friend that is into big ladies, but nothing near a half-ton.

True story: many years ago, one of his larger one night stands died of a heart attack in the act. Yeah. Try living that down, like, EVER.

re: #191 RogueOne

I have an old friend who likes extra-large women. He's a green and he drives a little enviro-buggy (that's what I call it) and his current spouse is so big the car leans to the passenger side even when she's not in it.

OMG!! I am trying not to crack a rib!!!

re: #192 theheat

We have a friend that is into big ladies, but nothing near a half-ton.

True story: many years ago, one of his larger one night stands died of a heart attack in the act. Yeah. Try living that down, like, EVER.

Did he finish?

re: #193 Cannadian Club Akbar

OMG!! I am trying not to crack a rib!!!

The best part is he's into an "alternative lifestyle" kind of thing, swinging. So if you ever get invited to a swingers party keep that in mind.

re: #192 theheat

We have a friend that is into big ladies, but nothing near a half-ton.

True story: many years ago, one of his larger one night stands died of a heart attack in the act. Yeah. Try living that down, like, EVER.

While true, you have to admit, it's probably one of the best ways for her to go.

re: #194 Cannadian Club Akbar

Yes. Barely.

Sometimes, truth surpasses urban legends.

re: #191 RogueOne

I have an old friend who likes extra-large women. He's a green and he drives a little enviro-buggy (that's what I call it) and his current spouse is so big the car leans to the passenger side even when she's not in it.

First gear, it's all right,
Second gear, lean right...

Under the cover of a benign government information-gathering program, a Defense Department official set up a network of private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan to help track and kill suspected militants, according to military officials and businessmen in Afghanistan and the United States.

The official, Michael D. Furlong, hired contractors from private security companies that employed former C.I.A. and Special Forces operatives. The contractors, in turn, gathered intelligence on the whereabouts of suspected militants and the location of insurgent camps, and the information was then sent to military units and intelligence officials for possible lethal action in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the officials said.

SNIP

re: #199 MandyManners

Sounds like he may have watched "Charlies War" one too many times.

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland resisted calls for his resignation yesterday, despite admitting that he took part in meetings where the victims of a paedophile priest were forced to take a vow of silence.

Cardinal Sean Brady, the Primate of All Ireland, has confirmed he was present at a closed canonical tribunal in 1975 when two child victims of Father Brendan Smyth were ordered to sign agreements under oath that they would not discuss what happened to them with anybody other than an approved priest.

There were immediate calls for Cardinal Brady’s resignation. Colm O’Gorman, head of Amnesty Ireland and founder of One in Four, a charity helping victims of sexual abuse, said that the Cardinal’s position was now impossible.

Last December Cardinal Brady said that if he found himself in a situation where his failure to act had meant that children were abused, he would resign.

SNIP

The United States is to blame for recent tensions in Sino-US ties and must take steps to repair the damage, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday, indicating no let-up in their diplomatic row.

Wen accused Washington of violating China’s sovereignty when it approved the sale of billions of dollars in weapons to Taiwan in January, and again when US President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House last month. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated over a series of other issues — Google’s threat to leave China over cyber attacks and web censorship, a string of trade disputes, and the value of the Chinese yuan.

SNIP

Shoulda' let him use the front door for all the good it did, BHO.

re: #202 MandyManners

The United States is to blame for recent tensions in Sino-US ties and must take steps to repair the damage, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Sunday, indicating no let-up in their diplomatic row.

SNIP

Shoulda' let him use the front door for all the good it did, BHO.

For all the whining the Chinese are doing, they might as well be French.

re: #191 RogueOne

I have an old friend who likes extra-large women. He's a green and he drives a little enviro-buggy (that's what I call it) and his current spouse is so big the car leans to the passenger side even when she's not in it.

That is not nice.

I had a cousin who was morbidly obese. It was a genetic issue for her. She didn't really eat all that much, and went from clinic to clinic. Her family made her feel like it was her fault, that she was a fat slob because she had no "will power." It was tragic. The last thing she ate was a shotgun.

Cop gets probation for rape plea because sending him to prison would be too harsh for an ex-cop according to the judge:

[Link: www.krqe.com...]

Cordova claimed he fondled her and then raped her twice in an Albuquerque ballpark before taking her to jail. On Friday she asked the judge to lock him up.

District Court Judge Pat Murdoch said it would be a harsh sentence for an ex-cop

“The impact and the punishment that he would receive in prison would be more than anybody else going to prison for the same allegations,” Murdoch said.

Under the terms of the deal, the judge could have given him 4 1/2 years in prison.

Moments later the judge sentenced Maes to five years on probation, a sentence Cordova said she expected since the man she said raped her once wore a police badge.

re: #201 MandyManners

If the church was an automobile, there would be a recall, at this point. Toyota 'injured' fewer people.

As individuals, I can get behind Catholics. As a church... not happening.

re: #205 RogueOne

Cop gets probation for rape plea because sending him to prison would be too harsh for an ex-cop according to the judge:

[Link: www.krqe.com...]

unbelievable.

re: #207 Aceofwhat?

Dirty cops and favoritism go together like ___.

re: #208 theheat

Dirty cops and favoritism go together like ___.

Junk food and depression...because until you fix the latter, you're just going to get more of the former.

re: #205 RogueOne

Cop gets probation for rape plea because sending him to prison would be too harsh for an ex-cop according to the judge:

[Link: www.krqe.com...]

Heaven forbid that prison should be harsh on anyone./

Good Morning Lizards!

Here for a short while.

Mostly to wish you all a happy Day-light Savings MOnday!

re: #162 Spare O'Lake

Until further notice the Obama administration shall reamain INSULTED and OUTRAGED.
BBL

Did one of them read "WUV" in a statement recently?

/

The Pullout.

re: #203 thedopefishlives

For all the whining the Chinese are doing, they might as well be French.

How much of our debt do the French hold?

re: #211 ggt

Good Morning Lizards!

Here for a short while.

Mostly to wish you all a happy Day-light Savings MOnday!

When are they going to make this a federal holiday is what I wan't to know?

re: #205 RogueOne

Cop gets probation for rape plea because sending him to prison would be too harsh for an ex-cop according to the judge:

[Link: www.krqe.com...]

When doe that fucking judge come up for re-election?

re: #214 MandyManners

How much of our debt do the French hold?

Hm, yes. That could be a bit more of an issue. Nevertheless, I am amused to see the Chinese in a minor hissy fit. I don't know why, it just is.

re: #213 MandyManners

The Pullout.

that avatar is awesome

re: #206 theheat

If the church was an automobile, there would be a recall, at this point. Toyota 'injured' fewer people.

As individuals, I can get behind Catholics. As a church... not happening.

It just keeps building and building.

re: #208 theheat

Dirty cops and favoritism go together like ___.

Hookers and attorneys?

re: #216 MandyManners

When doe that fucking judge come up for re-election?

And three cheers for the process by which at least some of our judges are elected...

re: #211 ggt

Good Morning Lizards!

Here for a short while.

Mostly to wish you all a happy Day-light Savings MOnday!

I want my hour back.

re: #222 MandyManners

I want my hour back.

me too!

re: #220 MandyManners

Hookers and attorneysNY politicians?

re: #215 KenJen

When are they going to make this a federal holiday is what I wan't to know?

Let's start our own. Begin drinking.

Good Morning and Happy Monday Everyone, I won't say Happy Daylight Savings Day because I'm up an hour earlier than normal and RWC has generously passed on his flu to me and I feel like you know what warmed over. I'm not going to stay long because the little person that's trying to drill a hole in my right temple is getting rather insistent about my laying back down, but I will pop in from time to time. I hope you all are happy and health and laughing. See ya!

re: #224 Aceofwhat?

Took the words right outta my mouth.

Oh, poop.

RIP

re: #222 MandyManners

I want my hour back.

I think it would be better if they changed the clock at noon on a work-day, not midnight when I need my sleep!

re: #217 thedopefishlives

Hm, yes. That could be a bit more of an issue. Nevertheless, I am amused to see the Chinese in a minor hissy fit. I don't know why, it just is.

Yes, it is amusing.

Does BHO still admire their infrastructure?

re: #218 Aceofwhat?

that avatar is awesome

Why, thank you. Like the quote, too?

re: #230 MandyManners

Yes, it is amusing.

Does BHO still admire their infrastructure?

They have infrastructure--through-out the Whole country?

re: #231 MandyManners

I'm not sure I get what the quote means. Could you explain?

re: #221 Aceofwhat?

And three cheers for the process by which at least some of our judges are elected...

At least the city gave her $575,000.00.

re: #224 Aceofwhat?

YES! YES! YES!

re: #229 ggt

I think it would be better if they changed the clock at noon on a work-day, not midnight when I need my sleep!

It's a pain in the ass to have to set your alarms for 2am to change all the clocks. Takes me an hour to get back to sleep.

re: #231 MandyManners

Why, thank you. Like the quote, too?

Yes. Controversial but appropriately so. right up my alley!

re: #223 ggt

me too!

I heard on the radio this morning that this tomfoolery causes extra heart attacks and car wrecks.

re: #226 Dragon_Lady

Good Morning and Happy Monday Everyone, I won't say Happy Daylight Savings Day because I'm up an hour earlier than normal and RWC has generously passed on his flu to me and I feel like you know what warmed over. I'm not going to stay long because the little person that's trying to drill a hole in my right temple is getting rather insistent about my laying back down, but I will pop in from time to time. I hope you all are happy and health and laughing. See ya!

Take care!

re: #229 ggt

I think it would be better if they changed the clock at noon on a work-day, not midnight when I need my sleep!

We'd still lose an hour!

re: #236 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

It's a pain in the ass to have to set your alarms for 2am to change all the clocks. Takes me an hour to get back to sleep.

I cheat. I set the clock before I go to sleep. That way I don't have to do the sleep interrupt thing which screws up my REM cycle. I get very, very crankie when that happens.

re: #240 MandyManners

We'd still lose an hour!

But. not of sleep!

re: #232 ggt

They have infrastructure--through-out the Whole country?

Ask BHO. I've never been there.

re: #239 MandyManners

Take care!

Thanks Mandy, I appreciate that!

Here's some weird-ass morning wakeup music for those having a weird-ass morning:

Polly Jean Harvey.

re: #228 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Oh, poop.

RIP

Now I have two movies I need to watch this week. Airplane and Lost Boys. I ripped my version of lost boys this weekend so I can put it on my phone.

re: #242 ggt

But. not of sleep!

Sattv always works it so he is at work... get's paid for an extra hour in the Spring.

Prolly calls in sick in the fall...

re: #245 Obdicut

Here's some weird-ass morning wakeup music for those having a weird-ass morning:

[Video]

Polly Jean Harvey.

I don't do weird-ass in the morning.

re: #233 Obdicut

I'm not sure I get what the quote means. Could you explain?

As Judge Judy says, put your thinking cap on.

BBL, gonna go lay down now. :-P

re: #201 MandyManners

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland resisted calls for his resignation yesterday, despite admitting that he took part in meetings where the victims of a paedophile priest were forced to take a vow of silence.

SNIP

THAT is exactly why so many are upset with the Church on this stuff -
the cover-ups, the failure to admit responsibility, the failure to acknowledge the devastating effects these pedophile priests have had on the lives of the young and impressionable - completely disgusting.

re: #237 Aceofwhat?

Yes. Controversial but appropriately so. right up my alley!

Coleridge is controversial?