"Death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people."
That was the slogan of the infamous Symbionese Liberation Army. (Rico could never quite figure out where Symbion was, but it turns out that in his manifesto Symbionese Liberation Army Declaration of Revolutionary War & the Symbionese Program, Donald DeFreeze (aka "Field Marshal Cinque") wrote, "The name 'symbionese' is taken from the word 'symbiosis' and we define its meaning as a body of dissimilar bodies and organisms living in deep and loving harmony and partnership in the best interest of all within the body".)
Besides kidnapping Patty Hearst, the group claimed responsibility for the murder of a school superintendent and was involved in an armed bank robbery and other violent activities. Eventually those activities caught up with the group's members, including Sara Jane Olson, who was charged in several attempted bombings.
Olson, who was formerly known as Kathleen Soliah, was charged in 1975 with attempting to bomb police cars. But Olson vanished soon after she was charged and reinvented herself as a housewife — changing her name to Sara Jane Olson, marrying a doctor and becoming a mother of three in St. Paul, Minn. She was arrested in 1999 after FBI agents acted on a tip from TV's "America's Most Wanted." In 2001, Olson pleaded guilty to the attempted bombings. She pleaded guilty in 2003 to second-degree murder in the 1975 shooting death of a customer during a bank robbery in Carmichael, near Sacramento. After several adjustments, Olson's sentences, to be served consecutively, included 12 years for the attempted bombings and two years for the bank slaying, said Seth Unger, a Department of Corrections spokesman. Just days after her release on parole, a former 1970s radical was headed back to prison Saturday to serve at least one more year after corrections officials said a miscalculation resulted in her early release. Olson, 61, was detained at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday night and told her right to leave the state had been rescinded. She was sent to stay with family in Palmdale, where authorities kept watch outside the house overnight, and was arrested Saturday and imprisoned in Corona, about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles, Kernan said. She will be returned to the same prison in central California that she walked out of Monday and will not be eligible for release until March 17, 2009, he said.
Rico says a classic oops by someone charged with knowing...
23 March 2008
22 March 2008
No, no, this is the best Irish joke
It's a historical joke, told to me in a pub in Dublin by the president of the government workers' union one drunken evening, back before the fall of the Soviet Union:
The telephone rings in the Kremlin, and the general in charge picks up the phone. "Da?"
"Hello, sorry to bother you at this hour, but this is Irish Defense Forces calling."
"Yes, what can I do for you?"
"Well, fair warning, I'm just calling to tell you that we're going to invade in the morning."
"Invade?" The general is incredulous. "You are going to invade Russia?"
"Yes, in the morning, as I say."
"Please to forgive me, but how many aircraft will you be using to invade my country?"
"Three."
"Three?"
"Yes, three, if we can get the big one off the ground. Otherwise just the two, you see."
"I see." The general sighed. "I must tell you, we will have over a thousand aeroplanes to defend Mother Russia."
"That's quite alright. We'll be along in the morning."
"And how many submarines will you be using to invade my country?"
"Just the one, assuming we can get it out of drydock tonight."
"Really? Well, I must tell you, we will have dozens of anti-submarine vessels and hunter-killer submarines out looking for your craft."
"Indeed? That's a lot. But we'll be on our way in the morning, just the same."
"Finally, please, do tell me how many troops you have committed to invading my country?"
"Assuming we can get the pubs closed early, I think we can muster enough paratroopers to fill all the available aircraft, and we'll be along in the morning."
"So. But it is only fair to tell you that we will have a million, perhaps two millions, of troops awaiting your invasion force."
"Really? Two million?"
"Yes. Two millions."
"Can you hold the phone a minute?"
There is a long wait, and then finally a breathless Irishman comes back on:
"Sorry to have bothered you. Never mind. Forget I ever called." He sighed. "We can't possibly deal with two million prisoners of war."
Rico says now that's an Irish joke...
The telephone rings in the Kremlin, and the general in charge picks up the phone. "Da?"
"Hello, sorry to bother you at this hour, but this is Irish Defense Forces calling."
"Yes, what can I do for you?"
"Well, fair warning, I'm just calling to tell you that we're going to invade in the morning."
"Invade?" The general is incredulous. "You are going to invade Russia?"
"Yes, in the morning, as I say."
"Please to forgive me, but how many aircraft will you be using to invade my country?"
"Three."
"Three?"
"Yes, three, if we can get the big one off the ground. Otherwise just the two, you see."
"I see." The general sighed. "I must tell you, we will have over a thousand aeroplanes to defend Mother Russia."
"That's quite alright. We'll be along in the morning."
"And how many submarines will you be using to invade my country?"
"Just the one, assuming we can get it out of drydock tonight."
"Really? Well, I must tell you, we will have dozens of anti-submarine vessels and hunter-killer submarines out looking for your craft."
"Indeed? That's a lot. But we'll be on our way in the morning, just the same."
"Finally, please, do tell me how many troops you have committed to invading my country?"
"Assuming we can get the pubs closed early, I think we can muster enough paratroopers to fill all the available aircraft, and we'll be along in the morning."
"So. But it is only fair to tell you that we will have a million, perhaps two millions, of troops awaiting your invasion force."
"Really? Two million?"
"Yes. Two millions."
"Can you hold the phone a minute?"
There is a long wait, and then finally a breathless Irishman comes back on:
"Sorry to have bothered you. Never mind. Forget I ever called." He sighed. "We can't possibly deal with two million prisoners of war."
Rico says now that's an Irish joke...
OYAT
Should have been yesterday, technically:Soupcon
Sorry for the incomplete pun, but ths Gates machine doesn't have the ease of typing foreign letters the way the Mac does. Suffice it to say that the title should be pronounced "soup's on".
In case you can't read the apron, it's "Don't make me poison your food", which someone thought summed up my cooking style better than Chris', though the apron fit her better.
Let's just say that eating chez Seymour can be exciting, if not dangerous.
This typing with one eye is challenging. I'll be happy when they merge again. Soon; the doc says. Other that that, I'm doing just fine, thank you very much. As soon as I have an orgasm, and my vision stops being doubled , I'll be back to what passes for normal with me.
I'll keep you posted.
Until then, let's hope the chili turns out well.
Rico says the chili turned out fine, and the orgasms got sorted out, but my eyesight is still doubled, a year-plus later.
Still the best Irish joke
Into a Belfast pub comes Paddy Murphy, looking like he'd just been run over by a train. His arm is in a sling, his nose is broken, his face is cut, and bruised, and he's walking with a limp.
"What happened to you?" asks Sean, the bartender.
"Jamie O'Conner and me had a fight," says Paddy.
"That little O'Conner," says Sean, "He couldn't do that to you, he must have had something in his hand."
"That he did," says Paddy, "a shovel is what he had, and a terrible lickin' he gave me with it."
"Well," says Sean, "you should have defended yourself. Didn't you have something in your hand?"
"That I did," said Paddy, "Mrs. O'Conner's breast, and a thing of beauty it was; but useless in a fight."
"What happened to you?" asks Sean, the bartender.
"Jamie O'Conner and me had a fight," says Paddy.
"That little O'Conner," says Sean, "He couldn't do that to you, he must have had something in his hand."
"That he did," says Paddy, "a shovel is what he had, and a terrible lickin' he gave me with it."
"Well," says Sean, "you should have defended yourself. Didn't you have something in your hand?"
"That I did," said Paddy, "Mrs. O'Conner's breast, and a thing of beauty it was; but useless in a fight."
21 March 2008
Politics makes bedfellows strange
Seems the Obama campaign has floated this photo, taken during a prayer breakfast at the White House, back when Bill Clinton was fighting the Lewinsky battle. Among those in attendance was the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., who is seen shaking hands with Mr. Clinton.Rico says he's sure Clinton shook hands with worse along the way...
Coulda had a V8, too
But Rico isn't going to switch his voting registration in order to vote in the Democratic primary, though the thought was tempting. Given the lack of independents, his vote will go to waste, but hopefully Obama can pull it off without it.
Rico says he apologizes in advance to Mr. Obama; if the senator loses the Pennsylvania primary by one vote, Rico will perform some humiliating public debasement to make up for it...
Rico says he apologizes in advance to Mr. Obama; if the senator loses the Pennsylvania primary by one vote, Rico will perform some humiliating public debasement to make up for it...
Show us the money
Seems that Obama is doing better in the fund-raising game, taking in 193 million while Clinton's 'only' raised 153 million. While the totals are stunning, the Republican candidate, John McCain, only brought in about sixty million.
Rico says Fred's still got his fifty bucks, but he doubts he'll see it again...
Rico says Fred's still got his fifty bucks, but he doubts he'll see it again...
That's two...
First it was that Australian guy, and now this woman gets killed by a ray jumping out of the water and hitting her in the head.Rico says maybe it's not safe out there...
2009 as 1929, if we're not careful
Seems there's more to the recent financial crisis than meets the eye. This New York Times on-line column takes it apart for you.
Rico says read and learn...
Rico says read and learn...
Hip new film archive
Seems the New York Times has gone all hip on us, and is hosting a string of little independent videos.Rico says check it out...
Client Nine cost us a lot of money
Seems the feds spent beaucoup dollars tracking Client 9, the code name for Eliot Spitzer, and his prostitute: "The Justice Department used some of its most intrusive tactics against Mr. Spitzer, examining his financial records, eavesdropping on his phone calls and tailing him during its criminal investigation of the Emperor’s Club prostitution ring." "Justice Department officials insist that it has a strong record of breaking up large prostitution rings around the country, but many of the cases they cite involve case brought several years ago, especially before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks; after that, the department vowed to focus its attention on national security threats."
Brilliant political commentary
Via India Uncut, but originally a quote from Maureen Dowd in the New York Times:
"Geraldine Ferraro, who helped Walter Mondale lose 49 states in 1984, was clearly stung at what she considered Obama’s easy rise to celebrity and electoral success."
Rico says who better than Geraldine to help Hillary into the dustbin of history?
"Geraldine Ferraro, who helped Walter Mondale lose 49 states in 1984, was clearly stung at what she considered Obama’s easy rise to celebrity and electoral success."
Rico says who better than Geraldine to help Hillary into the dustbin of history?
Rico gets it
Having had a little NDE of his own, Rico can understand the inclination:
Last year the Sunday Times carried a letter written by Andre Gorz, a French philosopher, to his terminally ill wife. Here’s an excerpt:
You’ve just turned 82. You are still beautiful, graceful and desirable. We’ve lived together now for 58 years and I love you more than ever. Lately I’ve fallen in love with you all over again and I once more carry inside me a gnawing emptiness that can only be filled by your body snuggled up against mine.
At night I sometimes see the figure of a man, on an empty road in a deserted landscape, walking behind a hearse. I am that man. It’s you the hearse is carrying away. I don’t want to be there for your cremation; I don’t want to be given an urn with your ashes in it. I hear the voice of Kathleen Ferrier singing, ‘Die Welt ist leer, Ich will nicht leben mehr’ (translation: "The world is empty and I do not wish to love more") and I wake up. I check your breathing, my hand brushes over you.
Each of us would like not to survive the other’s death. We’ve often said to ourselves that if, by some miracle, we were to have a second life, we’d like to spend it together.
They committed suicide together.
Rico says he understands completely, and wonders what he would do if his ladyfriend should become ill. Fortunately, he may have many years before he has to answer that question...
Last year the Sunday Times carried a letter written by Andre Gorz, a French philosopher, to his terminally ill wife. Here’s an excerpt:
You’ve just turned 82. You are still beautiful, graceful and desirable. We’ve lived together now for 58 years and I love you more than ever. Lately I’ve fallen in love with you all over again and I once more carry inside me a gnawing emptiness that can only be filled by your body snuggled up against mine.
At night I sometimes see the figure of a man, on an empty road in a deserted landscape, walking behind a hearse. I am that man. It’s you the hearse is carrying away. I don’t want to be there for your cremation; I don’t want to be given an urn with your ashes in it. I hear the voice of Kathleen Ferrier singing, ‘Die Welt ist leer, Ich will nicht leben mehr’ (translation: "The world is empty and I do not wish to love more") and I wake up. I check your breathing, my hand brushes over you.
Each of us would like not to survive the other’s death. We’ve often said to ourselves that if, by some miracle, we were to have a second life, we’d like to spend it together.
They committed suicide together.
Rico says he understands completely, and wonders what he would do if his ladyfriend should become ill. Fortunately, he may have many years before he has to answer that question...
Why others see us so clearly
Again, from the India Uncut blog:
Historical quote of the day: When someone is beating you over the head with a hammer, don’t sit there and take it. Take out a meat cleaver and cut off their hand.
That’s Bill Clinton speaking in 1981, as quoted by Karen Tumulty and David Von Drehle in Time. Things sure haven’t changed—even though Barack Obama doesn’t have a hammer, Hillary Clinton is certainly putting her meat cleaver to use.
In Slate, John Dickerson writes about the damage this is doing the Democratic Party. And Markos Moulitsas writes in Daily Kos that he opposes Clinton because “she cannot win without overturning the will of the national Democratic electorate and fomenting civil war, and she doesn’t care.”
Of course she doesn’t care. It’s all about her, her, her, and that’s somehow supposed to be empowering for women...
Rico says you won't see this sort of analysis in the mainstream media...
Historical quote of the day: When someone is beating you over the head with a hammer, don’t sit there and take it. Take out a meat cleaver and cut off their hand.
That’s Bill Clinton speaking in 1981, as quoted by Karen Tumulty and David Von Drehle in Time. Things sure haven’t changed—even though Barack Obama doesn’t have a hammer, Hillary Clinton is certainly putting her meat cleaver to use.
In Slate, John Dickerson writes about the damage this is doing the Democratic Party. And Markos Moulitsas writes in Daily Kos that he opposes Clinton because “she cannot win without overturning the will of the national Democratic electorate and fomenting civil war, and she doesn’t care.”
Of course she doesn’t care. It’s all about her, her, her, and that’s somehow supposed to be empowering for women...
Rico says you won't see this sort of analysis in the mainstream media...
Too true
From the inestimal India Uncut blog:
Yesterday I read Sudhir Venkatesh’s Gang Leader for a Day, in which he describes his years as an embedded sociologist in the Black Kings, a Chicago gang. In the excerpt below, he describes his first meeting with the ganglord JT:
He took the questionnaire from my hand, barely glanced at it, then handed it back. Everything he did, every move he made, was deliberate and forceful. I read him the same question that I had read the others. He didn’t laugh, but he smiled. How does it feel to be black and poor?
“I’m not black,” he answered, looking around at the others knowingly.
“Well, then, how does it feel to be African American and poor?” I tried to sound apologetic, worried that I had offended him.
“I’m not African-American either. I’m a nigger.”
Now I didn’t know what to say. I certainly didn’t feel comfortable asking him how it felt to be a nigger. He took back my questionnaire and looked over it more carefully. He turned the pages, reading the questions to himself. He appeared disappointed, though I sensed that his disappointment wasn’t aimed at me.
”Niggers are the ones who live in this building,” he said at last. ”African Americans live in the suburbs. African Americans wear ties to work. Niggers can’t find no work.”
He looked at a few more pages of the questionnaire. “You ain’t going to learn shit with this thing.”
Rico says this is a truism that cannot be easily spoken of in this country...
Yesterday I read Sudhir Venkatesh’s Gang Leader for a Day, in which he describes his years as an embedded sociologist in the Black Kings, a Chicago gang. In the excerpt below, he describes his first meeting with the ganglord JT:
He took the questionnaire from my hand, barely glanced at it, then handed it back. Everything he did, every move he made, was deliberate and forceful. I read him the same question that I had read the others. He didn’t laugh, but he smiled. How does it feel to be black and poor?
“I’m not black,” he answered, looking around at the others knowingly.
“Well, then, how does it feel to be African American and poor?” I tried to sound apologetic, worried that I had offended him.
“I’m not African-American either. I’m a nigger.”
Now I didn’t know what to say. I certainly didn’t feel comfortable asking him how it felt to be a nigger. He took back my questionnaire and looked over it more carefully. He turned the pages, reading the questions to himself. He appeared disappointed, though I sensed that his disappointment wasn’t aimed at me.
”Niggers are the ones who live in this building,” he said at last. ”African Americans live in the suburbs. African Americans wear ties to work. Niggers can’t find no work.”
He looked at a few more pages of the questionnaire. “You ain’t going to learn shit with this thing.”
Rico says this is a truism that cannot be easily spoken of in this country...
Another great idea we should try
Rico says it's so perfect it requires no comment:
Indian Health News reports that a bandit-infested region of India is trying to persuade men to undergo sterilisation by offering to fast-track their gun licence applications, an official said on Tuesday. Officials in central Madhya Pradesh state’s Shivpuri district decided to adopt the policy—already tried out by some neighbouring states—to increase the low vascectomy rate. “I came to know that it had to do with their perceived notion of manliness,” said Manish Shrivastav, administrative chief of Shivpuri district, part of the Indian Chambal region, which is famed for its lawlessness and bandits. “I then decided to match it with a bigger symbol of manliness—a gun licence,” he said. “And the ploy worked.”
Rico says he got his vasectomy without benefit of gun license, and got his CCWs without having to prove his potency...
Indian Health News reports that a bandit-infested region of India is trying to persuade men to undergo sterilisation by offering to fast-track their gun licence applications, an official said on Tuesday. Officials in central Madhya Pradesh state’s Shivpuri district decided to adopt the policy—already tried out by some neighbouring states—to increase the low vascectomy rate. “I came to know that it had to do with their perceived notion of manliness,” said Manish Shrivastav, administrative chief of Shivpuri district, part of the Indian Chambal region, which is famed for its lawlessness and bandits. “I then decided to match it with a bigger symbol of manliness—a gun licence,” he said. “And the ploy worked.”
Rico says he got his vasectomy without benefit of gun license, and got his CCWs without having to prove his potency...
And you thought you had problems
Seems a woman in Germany went into the hospital for an operation on her leg. They got her mixed up with another patient. She got the other guy's procedure, and had her anus repaired. She's now suing the hospital. No word on the other guy, nor his leg.
Rico says he'd known about writing "this one" on the knee that needed surgery, but didn't know he had to write "not here" on his butt...
Rico says he'd known about writing "this one" on the knee that needed surgery, but didn't know he had to write "not here" on his butt...
What were they thinking?
Rico is still unclear on why Florida and Michigan decided, in defiance of Democratic Party policy, to hold their primaries early. (He's equally unclear on why the Party insisted on not having primaries early, but it was something about momentum...) This stupidity has, of course, thrown the whole nomination process into a cocked hat, and may make the final selection of the candidate difficult if not impossible without the intervention (which will be political poison) of the superdelegates."It is in the interest of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign to portray the contest as being highly competitive. Her campaign is intent on combating Mr. Obama’s efforts to pick off superdelegates. And it is increasingly concerned that any sign that the window is closing could lead a Democrat like Al Gore or Speaker Nancy Pelosi to step in and urge Democrats to back Mr. Obama in the interest of unity... In truth, in interviews, Mrs. Clinton’s advisers said that task was tough and growing tougher and that the critical questions were what would happen with Florida and Michigan and the possibility of developments involving Mr. Obama’s relationship with his spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. The fight over Florida and Michigan is just partly about delegates. Victories in new primaries in those states are among the only realistic ways for Mrs. Clinton to erase Mr. Obama’s advantage in the total popular vote. Mr. Obama’s edge over Mrs. Clinton is 700,000 votes out of 26 million cast, excluding caucuses and the disputed Florida and Michigan results. About 12 million people are eligible to vote in the remaining contests. Aides to the two candidates said even with the best possible showing for Mrs. Clinton in the states ahead, it was hard to see how she could pass Mr. Obama without Michigan and Florida."
Rico says that, between Vader and Clinton, he'll take Vader; at least he acts like he really is, and ultimately proves to have a heart...
When are we going to saw them off?
In case you haven't been watching the news of late: "Federal drug regulators, in announcing Wednesday that the mystery contaminant in heparin was an inexpensive, unapproved ingredient altered to mimic the real thing, moved closer to concluding that Americans might be the latest victims of lethal Chinese drug counterfeiting. The finding by the Food and Drug Administration culminated a worldwide race to identify the substance discovered early this month in certain batches of heparin, the blood-thinning drug that had been linked to 19 deaths in the United States and hundreds of allergic reactions." "The F.D.A. said it had found the contaminated heparin at Changzhou SPL, the Chinese plant that supplies the active ingredient to Baxter. Changzhou in turn buys its heparin from two companies, called consolidators, that gather crude heparin from workshops that make it from pig intestines. Many workshops that make crude heparin are unregulated family operations."
We don't allow the Chinese to make electronics as haphazardly as we allow them to make drugs. Bad electronics won't kill you. Bad drugs will. Cheap is good for electronics, but bad for drugs. Rico says you should get used to paying top dollar for your drugs, or get used to dying...
We don't allow the Chinese to make electronics as haphazardly as we allow them to make drugs. Bad electronics won't kill you. Bad drugs will. Cheap is good for electronics, but bad for drugs. Rico says you should get used to paying top dollar for your drugs, or get used to dying...
Buy Apple now, while it's still cheap
Charles Cooper, in his on-line column, notes that at least one analyst has upgraded Apple: "Our sense is that the Mac business appears to be recession proof. We were already looking for robust Mac unit growth of 38 percent year over year, but now we think it may be closer to 42 percent."
Now they want Apple's business
Seems Universal Music Group is 'cozying up' to Apple with an offer to let them build a 'device' (presumably a special iPod) that is "preprogrammed with Universal Music's entire library": The Financial Times reported that UMG wants $80 for any Apple device bundling Universal Music songs, while Apple has offered $20.
Rico says he doesn't care enough about music to have an informed opinion, but it'll be interesting, no matter how it goes...
Rico says he doesn't care enough about music to have an informed opinion, but it'll be interesting, no matter how it goes...
Morons. Surrounded by morons.
Seems several contract employees of the State Department went fishing in the records to have a look at Obama's passport file. The department still isn't sure what they saw or who they told, but they're working on it: "Two State Department employees were fired and a third has been disciplined for improperly accessing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's passport file, the State Department announced Thursday night... Senior Department officials said they learned of the incidents only when a reporter made an inquiry Thursday afternoon. They said an initial investigation indicated the employees - all of whom worked on contract - were motivated by "imprudent curiosity."
Rico says this was particularly stupid, because there's been a program in place for over a decade to flag just this sort of behavior: "The employees were each caught because of a computer monitoring system that is alerted when the passport account of a 'high-profile person' is accessed, department spokesman Tom Casey said. The computer monitoring system, which focuses on politicians and celebrities, was put in place in recent years after the State Department became embroiled in a scandal involving the access of the passport records of Bill Clinton in 1992, when he was the Democratic presidential candidate."
Rico says this was particularly stupid, because there's been a program in place for over a decade to flag just this sort of behavior: "The employees were each caught because of a computer monitoring system that is alerted when the passport account of a 'high-profile person' is accessed, department spokesman Tom Casey said. The computer monitoring system, which focuses on politicians and celebrities, was put in place in recent years after the State Department became embroiled in a scandal involving the access of the passport records of Bill Clinton in 1992, when he was the Democratic presidential candidate."
Now they've got the Pope worried
Seems the al-Qaeda tapes are taking on the Pope, saying that he's running a new Crusade against the Muslims. He isn't, and he doesn't have the power of the last pope that laid on a crusade nearly eight hundred years ago, but it's nice of them to think he is. Of course, if one of them tries to kill him like that other pope, it won't be so funny.
But the papal authorities couldn't let all this pass without asserting that "religion must be respected"...
Rico says religion must be respected? For what? Just 'cause? For several millenia of mindless assertions like that? For conducting religious wars that fractured countries and sent countless thousands to untimely deaths because they weren't the 'right' religion? One thinks of the Huguenots, the Protestants (who had to flee to the New World; bummer), and the Jews (though Stalin put it best when asked about getting the Pope to condemn Hitler: "How many divisions does this Pope have, anyway?"). Respect is earned, not demanded. When religion does something worthy of respect, Rico will respect it (and does, on a tactical level). Until then, the Pope and all his minions can go fuck themselves (and, doubtless, will)...
But the papal authorities couldn't let all this pass without asserting that "religion must be respected"...
Rico says religion must be respected? For what? Just 'cause? For several millenia of mindless assertions like that? For conducting religious wars that fractured countries and sent countless thousands to untimely deaths because they weren't the 'right' religion? One thinks of the Huguenots, the Protestants (who had to flee to the New World; bummer), and the Jews (though Stalin put it best when asked about getting the Pope to condemn Hitler: "How many divisions does this Pope have, anyway?"). Respect is earned, not demanded. When religion does something worthy of respect, Rico will respect it (and does, on a tactical level). Until then, the Pope and all his minions can go fuck themselves (and, doubtless, will)...
More weirdness running for president
Seems a candidate with a bizarre religious connection is a requirement for presidential campaigns these days. According to this International Herald Tribune on-line article, "Taiwan's ruling party presidential candidate has a colorful past. Frank Hsieh was a lawyer who defended dissidents during Taiwan's martial law era in the 1980s. He followed a guru who claimed he could use magic to appear in different places at the same time... One of the biggest controversies in Hsieh's career was his relationship with Sung Chi-li, a Taiwanese guru who claimed he could use supernatural powers to split his body so it appeared in multiple places at one time. Sung once told reporters he took Hsieh on a "cosmos-roaming" tour of Paris, where they stopped at the Eiffel Tower. Hsieh wouldn't directly comment on Sung's claims."
Rico says at least Obama's pastor never claimed to use magic...
Rico says at least Obama's pastor never claimed to use magic...
Self-referential criticism
Charles Krauthammer, in an on-line column from the Washington Post, says of Barack Obama's mea culpa speech, "The beauty of a speech is that you don't just give the answers, you provide your own questions." Of course, he titles his own column the same way: "The Speech: A Brilliant Fraud".
He does make a good point, however: "But Obama was supposed to be new. He flatters himself as a man of the future transcending the anger of the past as represented by his beloved pastor. Obama then waxes rhapsodic about the hope brought by the new consciousness of the young people in his campaign. Then answer this, Senator: If Wright is a man of the past, why would you expose your children to his vitriolic divisiveness? This is a man who curses America and who proclaimed moral satisfaction in the deaths of 3,000 innocents at a time when their bodies were still being sought at Ground Zero. It is not just the older congregants who stand and cheer and roar in wild approval of Wright's rants, but young people as well. Why did you give $22,500 just two years ago to a church run by a man of the past who infects the younger generation with precisely the racial attitudes and animus you say you have come unto us to transcend?"
Rico says Obama is going to have a hard time living down the Reverend Wright...
He does make a good point, however: "But Obama was supposed to be new. He flatters himself as a man of the future transcending the anger of the past as represented by his beloved pastor. Obama then waxes rhapsodic about the hope brought by the new consciousness of the young people in his campaign. Then answer this, Senator: If Wright is a man of the past, why would you expose your children to his vitriolic divisiveness? This is a man who curses America and who proclaimed moral satisfaction in the deaths of 3,000 innocents at a time when their bodies were still being sought at Ground Zero. It is not just the older congregants who stand and cheer and roar in wild approval of Wright's rants, but young people as well. Why did you give $22,500 just two years ago to a church run by a man of the past who infects the younger generation with precisely the racial attitudes and animus you say you have come unto us to transcend?"
Rico says Obama is going to have a hard time living down the Reverend Wright...
Sad, but no surprise
The New York Times has an on-line article about immigration officers (this one an immigrant himself; Rico didn't realize we were recycling them into the INS) soliciting money or sex from their clients in exchange for not deporting them or improving their status: "She came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2004 and overstayed. When she married an American citizen a year ago, the law allowed her to apply to “adjust” her illegal status. But unless her green card application was approved, she could not visit her parents or her brothers’ graves and then legally re-enter the United States. And if her application was denied, she would face deportation." "The agent insisted that she had to trust him. “I wouldn’t ask you to do something for me if I can’t do something for you, right?” he said, and reasoned, “Nobody going to help you for nothing,” noting that she had no money." "The charges against Mr. Baichu, who became a United States citizen in 1991 and earns roughly $50,000 a year, appear to be part of a larger pattern, according to government records and interviews." Mr. Maxwell, the immigration agency’s former chief investigator, told Congress in 2006 that internal corruption was “rampant,” and that employees faced constant temptations to commit crime. “It is only a small step from granting a discretionary waiver of an eligibility rule to asking for a favor or taking a bribe in exchange for granting that waiver,” he contended. “Once an employee learns he can get away with low-level corruption and still advance up the ranks, he or she becomes more brazen.”
Rico says we should keep her and send the INS guy back to Guyana with a "Do Not Readmit" tattoo...
Rico says we should keep her and send the INS guy back to Guyana with a "Do Not Readmit" tattoo...
20 March 2008
Civil War for the day
The commemorative plinth for General William Wing Loring, CSA, in St. Augustine, Florida. He was wounded in the Mexican War, led an expedition all the way to Oregon during the Gold Rush, fought in the Seminole Uprising, and served under the US flag, the Confederate flag, and the Egyptian flag following the Civil War, based on a personal recommendation to the Khedive by General U.S. Grant. He died in New York City, but is buried in St. Augustine.Rico says an amazing man, to have lived so many lives; Rico would have to write a book, except Loring already did...
Jobs a tyrant? Nah. Just excitable.
This article from Wired points out why things happen the way they do at Apple. Given all the great stuff that keeps coming out of Cupertino, Rico is happy they do...
"Steve proves that it's okay to be an asshole," says Guy Kawasaki, Apple's former chief evangelist. "I can't relate to the way he does things, but it's not his problem. It's mine. He just has a different OS."
Having worked for the man (and known Kawasaki as well) Rico says he couldn't agree more...
"Steve proves that it's okay to be an asshole," says Guy Kawasaki, Apple's former chief evangelist. "I can't relate to the way he does things, but it's not his problem. It's mine. He just has a different OS."
Having worked for the man (and known Kawasaki as well) Rico says he couldn't agree more...
Making change in the election
Why is it that, every time Rico hears a politician talking about 'making change', he sees this in his head? (Okay, okay, so it's the New York Subway in 1912; with some politicians, it might as well be...)
Surprise, surprise, the good guys won one
Seems the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations voted 2 to 1 that Geno's Steaks had not violated the city's Fair Practices ordinance with its sign asking patrons that, when ordering, they should speak English. "Commissioners Roxanne E. Covington and Burt Siegel voted to dismiss the complaint, finding that the sign does not communicate that business will be 'refused, withheld or denied'. In a dissenting opinion, Commissioner Joseph J. Centeno said he thought the signs did discourage some customers."
Rico says fuck 'em if they're offended. The joke is, unless they speak English (or can read it, which is harder), they won't know what the sign says anyway...
Rico says fuck 'em if they're offended. The joke is, unless they speak English (or can read it, which is harder), they won't know what the sign says anyway...
Still growing
As we say, Apple only has six percent of the OS market, but it's the best six percent...
Let's hope they don't screw this up
The Financial Times reported Tuesday that Apple is in talks with the four largest record labels about offering a device with access to the entire iTunes music library. A source close to the negotiations confirmed the report in an interview with CNET News.com and said the offering would be free initially but device owners would later be charged subscription fees.
The talks are preliminary and no agreements have been reached, the source said. That hasn't stopped some of Apple's competitors and antitrust lawyers from sounding alarms.
Apple is in for a fierce legal fight should it ever release a device that offers all-you-can-eat music, according to David Pakman, CEO of rival digital music service eMusic. "It smells like classic Sherman Antitrust Act to me," Pakman said. "I only know what I've read but the plan sounds very similar to the tying practices Microsoft used with Windows/Explorer. And Microsoft is still paying the penalties for that one." Pakman says Apple is following Microsoft's lead. In 1998 the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit accusing Microsoft of monopolistic practices by bundling Internet Explorer with its Windows operating system. The case was settled in 2001. In that case Microsoft had monopolistic position in operating systems with Windows, the government charged. The company achieved dominance in browsers by forcing Windows buyers to use Microsoft Explorer. The parallel is that Apple is forcing people who buy this device with preloaded music to buy its music, Pakman argues.
What's the difference between a device that bundles music and the relationship between iTunes and iPod? Weren't they tied together? The answer is yes and they have been challenged in U.S. and European courts. A year ago, two separate lawsuits, which have now been consolidated, accused Apple of unfair competition, maintenance of a monopoly power and "unlawful tying." That case and a similar one, Black vs. Apple, are pending, according to documents Apple filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In France, a consumer group has alleged that Apple has violated that country's consumer laws by failing to mention that the iPod is "allegedly not compatible with music from online music services other than the iTunes store" records show.
An Apple spokeswoman said the company doesn't comment on rumor or speculation.
Rico says he doesn't, either, but he bets the lawyers get fat on this one...
The talks are preliminary and no agreements have been reached, the source said. That hasn't stopped some of Apple's competitors and antitrust lawyers from sounding alarms.
Apple is in for a fierce legal fight should it ever release a device that offers all-you-can-eat music, according to David Pakman, CEO of rival digital music service eMusic. "It smells like classic Sherman Antitrust Act to me," Pakman said. "I only know what I've read but the plan sounds very similar to the tying practices Microsoft used with Windows/Explorer. And Microsoft is still paying the penalties for that one." Pakman says Apple is following Microsoft's lead. In 1998 the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit accusing Microsoft of monopolistic practices by bundling Internet Explorer with its Windows operating system. The case was settled in 2001. In that case Microsoft had monopolistic position in operating systems with Windows, the government charged. The company achieved dominance in browsers by forcing Windows buyers to use Microsoft Explorer. The parallel is that Apple is forcing people who buy this device with preloaded music to buy its music, Pakman argues.
What's the difference between a device that bundles music and the relationship between iTunes and iPod? Weren't they tied together? The answer is yes and they have been challenged in U.S. and European courts. A year ago, two separate lawsuits, which have now been consolidated, accused Apple of unfair competition, maintenance of a monopoly power and "unlawful tying." That case and a similar one, Black vs. Apple, are pending, according to documents Apple filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In France, a consumer group has alleged that Apple has violated that country's consumer laws by failing to mention that the iPod is "allegedly not compatible with music from online music services other than the iTunes store" records show.
An Apple spokeswoman said the company doesn't comment on rumor or speculation.
Rico says he doesn't, either, but he bets the lawyers get fat on this one...
19 March 2008
He got that part right
Seems Barack Obama said in an interview that "I'm somebody who was pretty clear that O.J. was guilty".That won't make him popular in certain circles, but Rico thinks it's a good sign...
Not a good day in the White House
Seems, according to her just-released schedule, that Hillary Clinton may well have been in the White House the infamous semen-on-the-blue-dress day. Rico bets there was a long cold night (or two, or thirty) for Bill after that was revealed...
Disturbance in the Force
The large hole in my wa, created when my oldest friend decided we weren't any more, has not healed, nor is it likely to any time soon. The ball's in his court, but Rico suspects it's not coming back...
3 billion to one; guess who wins
"China says it is engaged in a life and death struggle with the Dalai Lama over Tibet", according to a Voice of America on-line article. In just the sort of self-aggrandizement we've come to expect from the Chinese, they're planning on taking the Olympic torch to the top of Everest (or thereabouts, depending on weather) on its way to Beijing.
Tibet's government-in-exile says at least 99 people have been killed in unrest over the past week. It says the death toll includes 19 Tibetans who were shot dead by security forces Tuesday in new protests in Gansu province. Human rights groups have released photographs that show Tibetans allegedly shot and killed by security forces in China's western province of Sichuan.
Rico says he'll stick with the Dalai Lama on this one; the Chinese aren't known for playing nice or fair...
Tibet's government-in-exile says at least 99 people have been killed in unrest over the past week. It says the death toll includes 19 Tibetans who were shot dead by security forces Tuesday in new protests in Gansu province. Human rights groups have released photographs that show Tibetans allegedly shot and killed by security forces in China's western province of Sichuan.
Rico says he'll stick with the Dalai Lama on this one; the Chinese aren't known for playing nice or fair...
Another great one gone
Arthur C. Clarke died yesterday in Sri Lanka.
In a videotaped 90th birthday message to fans, Clarke said he still hoped to see some sign of intelligent life beyond Earth, more work on alternatives to fossil fuels -- and "closer to home," an end to the 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and ethnic Tamil separatists. He is widely credited with introducing the idea of the communications satellite, the first of which were launched in the early 1960s. But he never patented the idea, prompting a 1965 essay that he subtitled, "How I Lost a Billion Dollars in My Spare Time".
In a videotaped 90th birthday message to fans, Clarke said he still hoped to see some sign of intelligent life beyond Earth, more work on alternatives to fossil fuels -- and "closer to home," an end to the 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and ethnic Tamil separatists. He is widely credited with introducing the idea of the communications satellite, the first of which were launched in the early 1960s. But he never patented the idea, prompting a 1965 essay that he subtitled, "How I Lost a Billion Dollars in My Spare Time".
Strange bedfellows, yet again
Now John Murtha has endorsed Hillary Clinton. (There goes the Vietnam vet vote.)
Rico says the fat fuck may be from Pennsylvania, but he's not Rico's congressman...
Rico says the fat fuck may be from Pennsylvania, but he's not Rico's congressman...
Another good one gone
One of my childhood heroes, Ivan Dixon, is dead. He made it to 76, which is good. I used to watch Hogan's Heroes every day when I was a kid, and he was one of the best parts of it. His honors include four NAACP Image Awards, the National Black Theatre Award and the Paul Robeson Pioneer Award from the Black American Cinema Society. He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild of America and the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
Pakistan might make it after all
Seems this guy (Asif Ali Zardari is the co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party and widower of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in Pakistan in December) is not only in charge, he's smart, at least as evidenced by his column from CNN/Asia: "Pakistan's political leaders and people have suffered from the politics of personal destruction; we have been battered by dictatorship; we have seen civil society taken apart and a free and independent judiciary destroyed. We have seen international assistance, secured in the name of fighting terrorism, diverted towards making Pakistan's affluent few richer. We have seen progress on education, health and women's rights stopped and reversed. But now, with renewed confidence in democratic parties like the PPP and PML-N, it is time for the rebirth of a democratic, vital and progressive Pakistan."
"Those of us who are now in a position of leadership seek, in my wife's words, "a tomorrow better than any of the yesterdays we have ever known." We see a Pakistan where all children, regardless of their socio-economic standing or their gender, are guaranteed compulsory and quality primary and secondary education. We see a Pakistani educational system of quality teachers, who receive decent salaries, and teach in modern classrooms with state-of-the-art computers and technology. We see a Pakistan where political madrassas that teach hatred are closed, and educational institutions that focus on science and technology flourish."
Some would say we deserve as much in this country and, if Obama makes it, we might actually get it.
"Those of us who are now in a position of leadership seek, in my wife's words, "a tomorrow better than any of the yesterdays we have ever known." We see a Pakistan where all children, regardless of their socio-economic standing or their gender, are guaranteed compulsory and quality primary and secondary education. We see a Pakistani educational system of quality teachers, who receive decent salaries, and teach in modern classrooms with state-of-the-art computers and technology. We see a Pakistan where political madrassas that teach hatred are closed, and educational institutions that focus on science and technology flourish."
Some would say we deserve as much in this country and, if Obama makes it, we might actually get it.
18 March 2008
OYAT
This will be a concatenation of several posts, since I was out of computer range for a week or so. (All typos are per the original posts.)
The last OYAT was 4 March of last year.
This one starts with a big day, 6 March, when I was discharged from rehab...
Well, Mark stuck to the original plan and was discharged today. The morning was uneventful and we saw his neuro psych and the neurologist, got lots of directions and prescriptions, and we're home. And we have the evidence to prove it.
The picture at left is Mark and his friend David with all of Mark's discharge supplies. The bed in the rear of the picture is a veil bed which zips completely closed for the very common Houdini type patients. Almost anyone who has the strength to get out of bed on their own has one.
And the picture on the right is Mark's room mate Ken. They made a great team, sort of like the odd couple.
Mark was escorted to the curb by one of his nurses. I think all the ladies wanted to walk him out. I'm not sure if this was due to his charming ways or they were glad to see him go. I think it's the former.
And last but not least, Mark enjoying sitting in a quiet place at home. Even the cat (nasty thing that she is) was either glad he was home or just needed someone warm to sit on.
It's amazing how long it can take two adults to shower, eat breakfast and get out the door. But we arrived at outpatient rehab on time, ditching our errands we had planned on the way. Mark had a full schedule from 11 am till 3:30 pm and we stopped at the grocery store on the way home. We arrived home after five, and ate dinner around 7. Mark hit the sack at 9. The only nap he had was the ride home from rehab which takes about 40 minutes. The boring chat on NPR radio and the warm sun shining in the car windows was very condusive to sleeping. After we got home, Mark watched some TV which is something he hadn't been interested in for months. I asked if he wanted to write tonights blog but he declined. He's awake for extended periods of time now and napping a lot less.
We've had a very busy weekend. Mark's friend Alan brought Chinese food on Friday night and they had a short but great visit. On Saturday evening we went to a reception hosted by Mark's good friend Doug and his wife Vickie. It may have been a premature outing, Mark's vision isn't very good at night and finding Mark's suit and sewing on the missing buttons took some time. It took a few tries but he got his tie tied and suspenders adjusted, but he wanted to see Vickie. I've included a picture of the two of them getting very cozy.
My 15 year old cat, Blossom (she was in a photo with Mark on the blog recently) died Monday night. Like most older cats, she was in kidney failure. She seemed fine when Mark got home and stayed by his side all the time. I think she was waiting for him to get home so I wouldn't be lonely.
I have decided to turn over the blog to Mark and he has agreed. Remember, his time and place are still confused at times, especially when he's tired. He's still not up to email, but I think that'll change soon.
I'm bak
Rico's been saway for awhile, but he's back now.
First there was this time in various hospitals, in varying states of conciousness, but then I was let out into the world, moe or less tht same as when I went in.
Chritine has, as related below, been taking care of me throughout, for which I am eternally grateful.
I'm as stupid and ornery as ever, I'm told, so the experience didn't change much, apparently.
But it did give me a new sense of gratefulness for smal pleasure and courtesies, so it wasn't a wasted time.
i"ll relate what I can recall here for your amusement as we go along. Questions are welcme, and some may actually ge answered.
My undying love and gratitude to those who too care of me, startig with Christine.
It"s an odd thing to say, but I'm grateful to be back, and apparently in such good shape.
More anon.
The last OYAT was 4 March of last year.
This one starts with a big day, 6 March, when I was discharged from rehab...
Well, Mark stuck to the original plan and was discharged today. The morning was uneventful and we saw his neuro psych and the neurologist, got lots of directions and prescriptions, and we're home. And we have the evidence to prove it.
The picture at left is Mark and his friend David with all of Mark's discharge supplies. The bed in the rear of the picture is a veil bed which zips completely closed for the very common Houdini type patients. Almost anyone who has the strength to get out of bed on their own has one.And the picture on the right is Mark's room mate Ken. They made a great team, sort of like the odd couple.
Mark was escorted to the curb by one of his nurses. I think all the ladies wanted to walk him out. I'm not sure if this was due to his charming ways or they were glad to see him go. I think it's the former.
And last but not least, Mark enjoying sitting in a quiet place at home. Even the cat (nasty thing that she is) was either glad he was home or just needed someone warm to sit on.
It's amazing how long it can take two adults to shower, eat breakfast and get out the door. But we arrived at outpatient rehab on time, ditching our errands we had planned on the way. Mark had a full schedule from 11 am till 3:30 pm and we stopped at the grocery store on the way home. We arrived home after five, and ate dinner around 7. Mark hit the sack at 9. The only nap he had was the ride home from rehab which takes about 40 minutes. The boring chat on NPR radio and the warm sun shining in the car windows was very condusive to sleeping. After we got home, Mark watched some TV which is something he hadn't been interested in for months. I asked if he wanted to write tonights blog but he declined. He's awake for extended periods of time now and napping a lot less.
We've had a very busy weekend. Mark's friend Alan brought Chinese food on Friday night and they had a short but great visit. On Saturday evening we went to a reception hosted by Mark's good friend Doug and his wife Vickie. It may have been a premature outing, Mark's vision isn't very good at night and finding Mark's suit and sewing on the missing buttons took some time. It took a few tries but he got his tie tied and suspenders adjusted, but he wanted to see Vickie. I've included a picture of the two of them getting very cozy.
My 15 year old cat, Blossom (she was in a photo with Mark on the blog recently) died Monday night. Like most older cats, she was in kidney failure. She seemed fine when Mark got home and stayed by his side all the time. I think she was waiting for him to get home so I wouldn't be lonely.
I have decided to turn over the blog to Mark and he has agreed. Remember, his time and place are still confused at times, especially when he's tired. He's still not up to email, but I think that'll change soon.
I'm bak
Rico's been saway for awhile, but he's back now.
First there was this time in various hospitals, in varying states of conciousness, but then I was let out into the world, moe or less tht same as when I went in.
Chritine has, as related below, been taking care of me throughout, for which I am eternally grateful.
I'm as stupid and ornery as ever, I'm told, so the experience didn't change much, apparently.
But it did give me a new sense of gratefulness for smal pleasure and courtesies, so it wasn't a wasted time.
i"ll relate what I can recall here for your amusement as we go along. Questions are welcme, and some may actually ge answered.
My undying love and gratitude to those who too care of me, startig with Christine.
It"s an odd thing to say, but I'm grateful to be back, and apparently in such good shape.
More anon.
Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke
The US Supreme Court has said it will hear arguments in the case of so-called fleeting expletives, which are single uses of the f-word in broadcasts.
The case stems from two incidents in which Cher said the f-word and Nicole Richie uttered a variation of the same word and said also the foul word for excrements. The Federal Communications Commission said in 2006 that both incidents, which happened during the Billboard Music Awards show, were indecent. However, a federal appeals court in New York ruled 2-1 that the FCC has no authority in regulating such incidents and their rules might be unconstitutional.
There are two possible outcomes. Either the Supreme Court could rule that the Federal Communications Commission has the power to decide what is acceptable for broadcasts or the justices could find that the 1st Amendment's protection for the freedom of speech does not give authority to the government regulator to punish broadcasters for an accidental vulgarity.
Rico says there are no accidental vulgarities. When he says 'fuck', he knows he's saying it. He just doesn't fucking care...
The case stems from two incidents in which Cher said the f-word and Nicole Richie uttered a variation of the same word and said also the foul word for excrements. The Federal Communications Commission said in 2006 that both incidents, which happened during the Billboard Music Awards show, were indecent. However, a federal appeals court in New York ruled 2-1 that the FCC has no authority in regulating such incidents and their rules might be unconstitutional.
There are two possible outcomes. Either the Supreme Court could rule that the Federal Communications Commission has the power to decide what is acceptable for broadcasts or the justices could find that the 1st Amendment's protection for the freedom of speech does not give authority to the government regulator to punish broadcasters for an accidental vulgarity.
Rico says there are no accidental vulgarities. When he says 'fuck', he knows he's saying it. He just doesn't fucking care...
Olympics at the South Pole? Why not?
A Sports Illustrated column discusses the difficulties of holding the Olympics in any country on earth, given the political situations that humans find themselves in every four years: "If avoiding political fallout is the ideal, it's too bad they can't just hold the damned games in a neutral site, like the South Pole."
Rico says the South Pole would be good for the Winter Olympics, but hard on the track & field and swimming teams...
Rico says the South Pole would be good for the Winter Olympics, but hard on the track & field and swimming teams...
Now they tell us
Chancellor Angela Merkel says the German people are filled with shame over the extermination of six million Jewish people during the Nazi Holocaust. In an historic address Tuesday to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Ms. Merkel said Germany will always stand by the Jewish state. Chancellor Merkel became the first head of government to address the Israeli parliament, an honor normally reserved for heads of state. At least three Israeli lawmakers threatened to walk out on the speech spoken in German by Ms. Merkel, who is on the last of a three-day visit to Israel. One of those lawmakers, Arye Eldad, has said German is the last language his grandparents heard before they were executed during the Nazi Holocaust in World War II.
Rico says the Germans should be filled with something, preferably something fatal; shame doesn't cut it relative to the Holocaust...
Rico says the Germans should be filled with something, preferably something fatal; shame doesn't cut it relative to the Holocaust...
The Supremes are singing the right tune
From early reports, SCOTUS is dividing along positional grounds, as expected, with liberals siding with the District and conservatives siding with gun owners. Fortunately, there are only four liberals and five conservatives, so things may go well: "A majority of the nine-member high court seemed to support the view that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protected an individual right to keep and bear arms, rather than a right tied to service in a state militia."
Literate strippers; that's a good thing
From this article in the Emirates Economist blog: "On a good day, it's like Peter Pan. On a bad day, it was like Lord of the Flies. We can do whatever we want, and there's nobody to tell us what to do."
Rico can hardly wait
Someone in the UAE with way too much money has offered Britney Spears two million pounds (which is half again that much in dollars) to dance with her big snake in Dubai. "Britney is currently under her father's lock and key but that won't stop Shareez (founder of Hollywood.tv paparazzi group, Sheeraz Hasan), who is ready to sneak the popstar out of her home. He said: “I’m going to take Paris Hilton to Dubai – the sheikhs said any amount of money she wants is fine."Rico says the whole thing would be laughable if it wasn't so fucking pathetic...
Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it, to repeat it, to repeat it
From an article on the history of the United Arab Emirates (aka Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, and Fujairah; the UAE has six principal tribes spread throughout the federation: the Bani Yas, the Manasir, the al-Qasimi, the al-Ali, the Sharqi-yin and the Nu'aim): "Increasing British involvement in India beginning in the late eighteenth century quickened British interest in the gulf region as a means of protecting the sea routes to India. Before British intervention, the area was notorious for its pirates and slave trade and was called the Pirate Coast. The British defeated the Qawasim' in 1819, burning their ships and the town of Ras al Khaimah. This in turn led to the signing of agreements with Britain by the Qawasim' and other sheikhs which suppressed the piracy and slave trade in the gulf region. In 1820 a peace treaty with the British government was followed by other agreements such as the Perpetual Maritime Truce of May 1853. Under the Exclusive Agreement of March 1892, the Trucial sheikhs agreed not to enter into any agreements or correspondence with other powers, receive foreign agents, or cede, sell, or give any part of their territory to another government and to abstain from piracy. The strategic importance of the Persian Gulf became increasingly apparent as the oil industry developed in the twentieth century. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran all claimed some of the territory of the gulf states during the years between World War I and World War II, but Britain's firm resistance to these claims enabled the emirates to maintain their territorial integrity without resort to arms. When Britain announced that it would withdraw from the Persian Gulf, the Foreign Office assumed that the UAE would include the Trucial Coast as well as Qatar and Bahrain. Those later two emirates, however, refused to join the UAE and became independent states when Britain left in 1971.
Rico says nothing much has changed, other than a massive infusion of money after the discovery of oil; the primitive tribes of the region have bigger toys now, but no more notion of what to do with them than a hundred years ago...
Rico says nothing much has changed, other than a massive infusion of money after the discovery of oil; the primitive tribes of the region have bigger toys now, but no more notion of what to do with them than a hundred years ago...
Obama clears the air, sort of
Barack Obama gave a somber speech in Philadelphia this morning on the issue of his church, his pastor, and racial remarks made therein.
While no one is going to give him a pass on the whole thing, it appears from the blogging that he made a credible attempt to make it go away. How successful he was, of course, remains to be seen.
Rico says he's giving Obama the benefit of the doubt here. Since Rico has no love for the religious, of any persuasion, all this hoohah is meaningless to him. In the face of real racism, however, this pastor's issues are minor. Move on, people. We've still got us a Hillary to get rid of...
While no one is going to give him a pass on the whole thing, it appears from the blogging that he made a credible attempt to make it go away. How successful he was, of course, remains to be seen.
Rico says he's giving Obama the benefit of the doubt here. Since Rico has no love for the religious, of any persuasion, all this hoohah is meaningless to him. In the face of real racism, however, this pastor's issues are minor. Move on, people. We've still got us a Hillary to get rid of...
St. Patrick's Day
Rico, his ladyfriend, and their friends celebrating this years' St. Paddy's Day with appropriate food and libations. (His friend Pam took the picture.)
Be happy it's not four bucks a gallon
This is a window of a jewelry store in a mall in Abu Dhabi. If you wonder where your gas money goes, this is it...
New York's got nothing on these guys
Seems the 'richest city in the world' title is up for grabs again. Abu Dhabi is going for it, however: "plans call for almost $200 billion to be spent here over the next ten years." "Welcome to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates and the richest city in the world. The emirate's 420,000 citizens, who sit on one-tenth of the planet's oil and have almost $1 trillion invested abroad, are worth about $17 million apiece. (A million foreign workers don't share in the wealth.) Yet most people couldn't find Abu Dhabi on a map." "We're not trying to be Dubai. What they've done is phenomenal, and we're very proud of it. But here we have a unique opportunity to get it right." "The city of Abu Dhabi sits at the tip of a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf. Wide tree-lined boulevards run through clusters of utilitarian concrete-slab high-rises and modern mirrored towers. An elegant corniche stretches the length of the city along the coast. There are finely manicured roundabouts, abundant fountains, and more trees than anywhere else on the Gulf. But it's oddly quiet - there's little traffic, few pedestrians, and no nightlife to speak of. That's all about to change. From a helicopter you can see sandy islands covered with dump trucks and crisscrossed with empty highways sitting offshore like blank canvases. It's a stark contrast to what lies just 15 minutes up the coast by air: a landscape of cranes, yacht harbors, man-made islands in exotic formations, and what will soon be the tallest building in the world. There's nothing subtle about Dubai. Its crowded, smoggy skyline is part Miami, part Las Vegas, and all new. There's scarcely a plot of open space or an uncongested highway." "The population of Dubai, an emirate the size of Rhode Island, was concentrated in a small merchant community that capitalized on the town's sheltered and navigable creek. Abu Dhabi, roughly the size of West Virginia, was much poorer. Bedouin tribesmen roamed the desert; pearl divers lived in huts where the city is today. Then, in 1958, British explorers discovered what would turn out to be the world's fifth-largest crude reserve, 90 percent of which was under Abu Dhabi. That discovery - and the wealth that came with it - made the Nahyans the dominant family in the region when the British pulled out in 1971. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, became President of the newly independent UAE, while Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al Maktoum of Dubai became Prime Minister. Zayed set out to carve a modern country in the sand. When the oil started flowing, the city of Abu Dhabi had just 46,000 people, four doctors, and five schools. Rich people had mud houses; poorer families built with reeds. "As students, we were provided with books, transportation, and a small salary," remembers Mohammed Ahmed al Bowardi, a longtime government advisor. "Sheikh Zayed, our country's George Washington, realized that the people needed an incentive to come to school. So that 100 dirham [about $27] meant a lot to us. As his country became wealthy, Zayed insisted that "not a single grain of sand" be sold. Though most men received plots of land, transferring ownership required the sheikh's approval. As a result, native-born Arabs - rapidly becoming a minority in their own country - got land while outsiders couldn't buy any. That made it difficult to attract foreign investment, especially when oil prices plunged to $18 a barrel in the late 1990s." "As Dubai raced ahead, Abu Dhabi stood still - a Melbourne to a Sydney, a Philadelphia to a New York. One businessman remembers weeds growing out of cracked streets in 2000. Zayed had grown ill, and no one dared to suggest radical changes. Another problem: Zayed technically owned all the land. "The horses were being held behind," says al Bowardi. That all began to change in 2004, after Zayed's death. Power fell to two of his 19 sons: Sheikh Khalifa, his eldest, became President, and the much younger Sheikh Mohammed became crown prince, taking over the day-to-day running of Abu Dhabi. Soft-spoken but shrewd, Mohammed is considered the most Western of the emirate's leaders. A graduate of Britain's prestigious Sandhurst military academy, he used his control of the UAE's armed forces to amass the economic and political clout he needed to become the heir apparent to Khalifa. (He's also a pretty good fighter pilot.)" "The next thing Abu Dhabi needed was a landmark. The answer was the $3 billion Emirates Palace hotel, with its $1,000-a-night rooms and $10,000 suites. It was Abu Dhabi's bid to outdo Dubai's Burj Al Arab, the $1 billion sail-shaped hotel that has become a tourist attraction. The plan worked: While the Emirates Palace doesn't seem to have many guests, it does have gawking European tourists. But the most important change was Law No. 19. It formally abandoned the old property regime and permitted the sale of land by citizens and, in some areas, the purchase of 99-year leaseholds by foreigners. The real estate boom started immediately." "There wasn't a rush to simply copy what Dubai did. After all, beneath that city's glitter are serious problems no one likes to talk about. Its infrastructure is overtaxed, inflation is climbing, and crime and prostitution are on the rise. Abu Dhabi has a more traditional and more religious population, unwilling to sacrifice its way of life for tourist dollars." "We don't seek to become a commoditized destination for mass tourism," says Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon al Nahyan, chairman of the new Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. "We're creating an exclusive, high-end tourist destination." Perhaps the best example of that is Saadiyat Island, a $30 billion project that includes 29 hotels, three marinas, two golf courses, and housing for 150,000 people. But what makes it different from Dubai is the attempt to create a cultural oasis in the desert. "When we were designing it, we thought there had to be some of what we call 'pearls,'" says Jose Sirera, an architect with Gensler, a San Francisco firm that designed the master plan for the island. "It needed art galleries or museums or special gathering places." "Soon the crown prince was meeting with Thomas Krens, the director of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. "He said he wanted a cultural destination that everybody in the sophisticated world of art and culture would have to visit," Krens says. "So I said, 'Let's take what's worked around the world and magnify it by 50%.'" "The result: a 670-acre cultural district designed by some of the world's best-known architects, including Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel, Tadao Ando, and - at the special request of the crown prince - Frank Gehry, who will try to outdo what he did for the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain. For good measure, Abu Dhabi offered a reported $1 billion for an outpost of the Louvre, the Paris museum's first. The entire plan is estimated to cost billions. "I never expected to be able to design another one of these places," Gehry says. "But in Abu Dhabi you can do things that would be unthinkable anywhere else." "All that highbrow intention doesn't mean Abu Dhabi hasn't borrowed some Dubai-like ideas. Yas Island will have a Ferrari theme park and driving school (Abu Dhabi owns 5% of Ferrari through Mubadala), a racetrack winding its way around the island, water parks, a dozen hotels, four polo fields, a golf course, and a Formula One racing team. The Danet Abu Dhabi development will feature 36 mixed-use towers, two shopping malls, two mosques, and a five-star hotel. On Al Reem Island, Shams Abu Dhabi will have a canal system like Venice's, a central park like New York City's, and an 83-story skyscraper. So if they build it, will they come? Certainly some of the residential projects will sell, because Abu Dhabi faces a housing shortage and rents that are increasing almost 50% a year. (A three-bedroom apartment is as expensive as in Manhattan.) Other projects may never get off the ground. But Davidson, the UAE expert, thinks Abu Dhabi has a better model than Dubai's. "Dubai relies totally on commerce and tourism, so if there were a war, instability, or terrorism, Dubai is finished," he says. "Abu Dhabi's brand of tourism would be able to bounce back. It's not relying on Europeans who could change their favorite destination on a whim. Abu Dhabi is going after Arab tourism and investment." "Khaldoon likes to tell a story about how the crown prince works. Abu Dhabi's outdated seaport, situated in a prime location, was causing problems for redevelopment. "He said, 'We've got to find a new location,'" Khaldoon says. "Within 60 days, everyone came back. All the options were put on the table. He made his decision right there. Boom. A new location for a new port and the land to go with it. Things like that just don't happen this quickly anywhere else in the world."
Sounds like it's worth a bullet
Over at The Sandbox, the Peripatetic Engineer mentions a post from the now-blocked-in-Dubai-only Secret Dubai Diary about a Yemeni precious stone dealer in jail in Dubai for promoting a 'bulletproof' onyx. (Price? Just 1.8billion dirham, or about 500,000 dollars.)
The owner insists it's the real deal: "I am willing to prove to the world that it's a bulletproof onyx stone... I am ready to face a death sentence if that's what will take me to prove that the stone is doubtlessly bulletproof... I didn't con anybody's money, but the police tricked me and filed a malicious case against me," the 52-year-old Yemeni dealer, Q.M., told the Dubai Appeals Court on Monday.
Rico says there's a simple way to test his claim: put the pebble on him and shoot him. If it works, great. If it doesn't, end of problem. (Apparently the judge chickened out and sentenced the guy to six months in jail...)
The owner insists it's the real deal: "I am willing to prove to the world that it's a bulletproof onyx stone... I am ready to face a death sentence if that's what will take me to prove that the stone is doubtlessly bulletproof... I didn't con anybody's money, but the police tricked me and filed a malicious case against me," the 52-year-old Yemeni dealer, Q.M., told the Dubai Appeals Court on Monday.
Rico says there's a simple way to test his claim: put the pebble on him and shoot him. If it works, great. If it doesn't, end of problem. (Apparently the judge chickened out and sentenced the guy to six months in jail...)
Another mystery solved
Seems a German aviator is claiming to have shot down Antoine de Saint Exupéry in 1944.Horst Rippert, 88, who lives in Wiesbaden, said that he had suffered remorse all his life after discovering that Saint Exupéry was the pilot of a P-38 Lightning of the Free French Air Force that he blew from the Mediterranean sky on 31 July 1944. "If I had known that it was him, I would never have fired."
Ah, the French
Nicolas Sarkozy's party didn't fare well at the polls recently:
"The expected vague rose -- pink wave -- enabled the Socialist opposition to take 15 big cities from centre-right control, including Toulouse and Strasbourg, but not Marseille as they had hoped. One of the left's more impressive victories was the capture of the eastern city of Metz, which had been under rightwing control since 1848. The left now run a handsome majority of large towns. They comfortably held on to Paris and Lyon, the two biggest. Of historical note was the fall of three Communist bastions: the channel port of Calais, Montreuil, and Aubvervilliers, on the eastern edge of Paris. Montreuil was won by Dominique Voynet, a veteran Green party figure who becomes the first écologiste to run a big city. On the other fringe, Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National got nowhere. With the old bogeyman nearing 80, it is unlikely that his movement will survive... Sarkozy is helped by the shambles among the Socialists. Their mayors may do a good job at running towns, but nearly a year since Royal's presidential defeat, the national opposition remains headless and rudderless. About 10 of its barons and rising stars are manoeuvering for the top job when François Hollande, its lame-duck boss, leaves in the autumn. Like Britain's Labour party in the 1980s and early 90s, the Socialists have no plan for running the country. They are nowhere near adapting their old Marx-based creed to the modern world. Their failure to do so is reflected in polls that show that however poorly Sarko is deemed to be doing, a majority do not believe that the Socialists would run the country any better.
"The expected vague rose -- pink wave -- enabled the Socialist opposition to take 15 big cities from centre-right control, including Toulouse and Strasbourg, but not Marseille as they had hoped. One of the left's more impressive victories was the capture of the eastern city of Metz, which had been under rightwing control since 1848. The left now run a handsome majority of large towns. They comfortably held on to Paris and Lyon, the two biggest. Of historical note was the fall of three Communist bastions: the channel port of Calais, Montreuil, and Aubvervilliers, on the eastern edge of Paris. Montreuil was won by Dominique Voynet, a veteran Green party figure who becomes the first écologiste to run a big city. On the other fringe, Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National got nowhere. With the old bogeyman nearing 80, it is unlikely that his movement will survive... Sarkozy is helped by the shambles among the Socialists. Their mayors may do a good job at running towns, but nearly a year since Royal's presidential defeat, the national opposition remains headless and rudderless. About 10 of its barons and rising stars are manoeuvering for the top job when François Hollande, its lame-duck boss, leaves in the autumn. Like Britain's Labour party in the 1980s and early 90s, the Socialists have no plan for running the country. They are nowhere near adapting their old Marx-based creed to the modern world. Their failure to do so is reflected in polls that show that however poorly Sarko is deemed to be doing, a majority do not believe that the Socialists would run the country any better.
It's okay, we'll just take your word for it
Seems the Dalai Lama has offered to allow the Chinese to examine his offices, his pulse, his 'stools', and his urine to determine if he's the 'mastermind' behind the recent rioting in Tibet.
You gotta hand it to those Buddhists; they know what needs to be checked out...
But he says they either stop the violence, on both sides, or he resigns.
As Dalai Lama, he can't really 'resign', but it is possible for him to refuse (we're talking cosmology here) to be reincarnated once he dies, thus breaking the chain.
But he's trying: "On violence, it's wrong. We should not develop anti-Chinese feelings. We must live together side by side," he said. "Independence is out of the question."
You gotta hand it to those Buddhists; they know what needs to be checked out...
But he says they either stop the violence, on both sides, or he resigns.
As Dalai Lama, he can't really 'resign', but it is possible for him to refuse (we're talking cosmology here) to be reincarnated once he dies, thus breaking the chain.
But he's trying: "On violence, it's wrong. We should not develop anti-Chinese feelings. We must live together side by side," he said. "Independence is out of the question."
Getting it out of the way early
Now the new governor of New York, David Paterson, is admitting to a 'rough patch' in his marriage. Apparently he and his wife both had affairs, however, before they went through counseling and 'saved' their marriage.Rico says it's good to get the dirty laundry out early, without waiting for the press to dig it out...
Gun control should be using two hands
The whole gun-nation is awaiting the Supreme Court's ruling (in June, apparently; it's going to be a long spring in the blogosphere) on Washington, DC's ban on handguns. CNN has a nice little article on the issue. "The issue is one that has polarized judges and politicians for decades: Do the Second Amendment's 27 words bestow gun ownership as an individual right, or is it a collective one -- aimed at the civic responsibilities of state militias, and therefore subject, perhaps, to strict government regulation?"
Rico's posted on this several times before, so he won't belabor the point, but if SCOTUS reviews the contemporary writings on the amendment, there's no way they can construe it as other than an individual right. If that overturns (as it should) all the bullshit gun control laws in places like Maryland and Massachusetts and Chicago, Illinois, and San Francisco, oh fucking well...
Rico's posted on this several times before, so he won't belabor the point, but if SCOTUS reviews the contemporary writings on the amendment, there's no way they can construe it as other than an individual right. If that overturns (as it should) all the bullshit gun control laws in places like Maryland and Massachusetts and Chicago, Illinois, and San Francisco, oh fucking well...
17 March 2008
Fencing is a sport, not politics
According to the Arizona Republic, they're planning to add a whopping eleven miles of border fence in Arizona this year. The Arizona border with Mexico is approximately 300 miles wide. Even assuming there's some existing fence, that's still ten or fifteen years before they finish. At a million illegals a year...
Plus there's a lot of environmental issues with building a fence, starting with migratory animals (like the humans, they hate fences, too).
Rico says he has a much more eco-friendly solution: open season on two-legged (non-avian) migratory animals within a mile of the border. No expensive surveillance gear, no leaky fences, no large corporate involvement. Just gun-totin' Americans with a no-limit hunting license on feral immigrants. Messy? Sure. Effective? Absolutely. Legally shaky ground? Definitely. But if you post television cameras at half-mile intervals, with shows running on some pay-per-view channel, we could make serious money with it...
Plus there's a lot of environmental issues with building a fence, starting with migratory animals (like the humans, they hate fences, too).
Rico says he has a much more eco-friendly solution: open season on two-legged (non-avian) migratory animals within a mile of the border. No expensive surveillance gear, no leaky fences, no large corporate involvement. Just gun-totin' Americans with a no-limit hunting license on feral immigrants. Messy? Sure. Effective? Absolutely. Legally shaky ground? Definitely. But if you post television cameras at half-mile intervals, with shows running on some pay-per-view channel, we could make serious money with it...
If you thought it was ugly before...
...how about the revelation that Governor Jim McGreevey's driver is claiming to have had threesomes with the politician and his wife...
Tiger, Tiger, burning bright
Tiger Woods has won five PGA events in a row and seven of his last eight. Someone may play that well someday, but there's no one else out there capable of doing it now. Now if Obama wins...
Another first for Apple
Yes, that's an iPod on the dashboard of the space shuttle. Apparently they're much in demand by astronauts, once they've been 'fixed' with space-approved alkaline batteries (lithium-ion ones are bad in zero G, it seems).Rico says it cries out to be an Apple commercial...
War going well? Amazing.
Seems the public, always fickle, has turned in favor of the war in Iraq. According to a Pew poll in late February, "53 percent of Americans now believe the U.S. will ultimately succeed in achieving its goals in Iraq. That figure is up from 42 percent in September 2007. The percentage of those who believe the war in Iraq is going 'very well' or 'fairly well' is also up, from 30 percent in February 2007 to 48 percent today."
In addition, CBS found that a clear majority of Americans were “confident” that McCain could “handle an international crisis” - 56 percent said so for McCain, 47 percent for Obama and only 39 percent for Clinton.
Rico says we might actually fuck up and win this war. Of course, if we fuck up and elect Hillary, we won't win the next one...
In addition, CBS found that a clear majority of Americans were “confident” that McCain could “handle an international crisis” - 56 percent said so for McCain, 47 percent for Obama and only 39 percent for Clinton.
Rico says we might actually fuck up and win this war. Of course, if we fuck up and elect Hillary, we won't win the next one...
Superdelegate this, motherfucker
A columnist hit it dead on: "If -- and it's still an if -- the numbers just don't add up for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic presidential nominee, but the party, through its arcane rules and superdelegates process, gives it to her anyway, Democrats will pay dearly, for a generation or more. Instead of re-establishing themselves as the party in power for perhaps the next 20 years, Democrats could be effectively handing the White House to Republican John McCain and alienating up to 30 million young voters who have gotten engaged in politics this year for the first time because of Barack Obama. If these voters feel that Obama has been cheated out of a chance to run for president, they and the hordes more of them becoming eligible to vote in the years ahead, will not easily return to the Democratic fold. Even if they like the party's principles, they will distrust its processes."
Rico says the whole thing sounded looney to him from the get-go...
Rico says the whole thing sounded looney to him from the get-go...
The Russians weigh in
Always known for stalwart support of dissidents and separatists, the Russians are telling the Chinese to "take all necessary measures" in its Tibetan difficulties. "We express hope that the authorities of the People's Republic of China will take all necessary measures to curtail unlawful actions and ensure the speedy normalisation of the situation in the autonomous region," the ministry said.
Rico says he hears the distant sound of gunfire in those words...
Rico says he hears the distant sound of gunfire in those words...
Another Rico-wants-one from Apple
Seems there's a new AirPort Express out ("the $99 AirPort Express works with both Macs and PCs, connects wirelessly with printers, and can handle up to ten simultaneous users"), for yet another hundred dollars that Rico will now have to spend...
Do-overs are for kids
The whole Florida and Michigan primary debacles should be allowed to stand, just to teach them a lesson. But then we'd have the 2000 elections all over again, with lawsuits headed for the Supreme Court.
Rico says hopefully someone will come up with the money, they'll all get to vote again, Obama will win handily, and we can just get the fuck on with it...
Rico says hopefully someone will come up with the money, they'll all get to vote again, Obama will win handily, and we can just get the fuck on with it...
Politics makes strange bedfellows, indeed
Seems the hooker who brought down Eliot Spitzer was the same woman in the Charlie Sheen debacle. At least, unlike the Hugh Grant disaster, she's good-looking enough to make it all remotely worthwhile...Plus she'll come out of it fine: "Penthouse publisher Diane Silberstein said they have considered offered Ashley Alexander Dupre a cover shot, while Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt said they also wanted to feature her."
Taking the hard line
The Chinese governor of Tibet is promising harshness for protesters who don't turn themselves in by today. "This was organized, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique and it was created under the collusion of Tibet independence separatist forces both inside and outside China," Champa Phuntsok said, without giving any details. Phuntsok described a scene of chaos throughout Lhasa on Friday with "people engaged in reckless beating, smashing, looting and burning." Shops, schools, hospitals and banks were targeted and bystanders were beaten and set on fire, he said. Among the 16 dead, he said, three people jumped out of building to avoid arrest while 13 were "innocent civilians."
Rico laughs silently, as would Buddha... "Jumped out of building to avoid arrest"? Let us remember the derivation of defenestration, the most famous of which is still Masaryk: "On 10 March 1948 the Czechoslovakian minister of foreign affairs Jan Masaryk was found dead, dressed in his pajamas, in the courtyard of the Foreign Ministry below his bathroom window. The initial 'investigation' stated that he committed suicide by jumping out of the window, although it is now commonly believed that he was murdered by the ascendant Communists."
Rico laughs silently, as would Buddha... "Jumped out of building to avoid arrest"? Let us remember the derivation of defenestration, the most famous of which is still Masaryk: "On 10 March 1948 the Czechoslovakian minister of foreign affairs Jan Masaryk was found dead, dressed in his pajamas, in the courtyard of the Foreign Ministry below his bathroom window. The initial 'investigation' stated that he committed suicide by jumping out of the window, although it is now commonly believed that he was murdered by the ascendant Communists."
No prenup? See what happens...
Paul McCartney low-balled it (as if he didn't have the money; the fuck's only worth four hundred million pounds) and Heather Mills asked for a lot (a hundred and a quarter million pounds), so the judge came down in the middle, as usual. She'll get sixteen and a half million pounds and their daughter gets thirty five thousand a year. Not bad for four years of marriage...Incredibly, given the publicity, "the judge refused to permit either party to raise as an issue the alleged conduct of the other on the broad ground that it was irrelevant".
Rico says hurrah for British jurisprudence...
2001, if only seven years late
Now that the space shuttle astronauts have hooked up the Dexter robot (Rico refuses to use the Canadian bilingual spelling) to the space station, it's starting to look like what NASA had in mind all along.
St. Patrick's Day
They do it up right in Dublin, but we're just having a dozen folks over for corned beef and Irish beer.The smaller cat's having his balls off today, so he'll never celebrate it anyway, but we will...
Beehive revisited
The XM1028 120mm Canister Tank Cartridge; it contains over a thousand 10mm tungsten balls; fired from the smoothbore main gun of the M1 tank, they leave the container and spread out as soon as they exit the muzzle. The round is designed to be effective against "soft" targets (read: people, unarmored vehicles, etc.) at 500 to 700 meters. It's intended to take out enemies hiding behind inadequate cover, clear opponents climbing on friendly armored vehicles (sweeping them off like a broom - the balls won't penetrate the armor, so the crew inside will be safe), or bring down light structures through massive damage to the walls and roof.
Rico says twelve gauge? See ya and raise ya...
A beautiful thing
Go here for a series of posts on the classic Spitfire aircraft of WW2 fame.Rico says it's still the benchmark for beautiful airplanes...
You say racist, Rico says so what
A lot of people in the blogosphere are busting on quotes from Senator Obama's pastor, who's made a fiery sermon or two on the subject of racism.
There's a surprise: a pastor in a black fundamentalist church who rags on racism.
Let us remember, however, that Martin Luther King, Jr. had a thing or two to say on the subject back in 1963:
"We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal'."
Rico says we have a huge debt to pay to blacks in this country, and the interest is piling up...
There's a surprise: a pastor in a black fundamentalist church who rags on racism.
Let us remember, however, that Martin Luther King, Jr. had a thing or two to say on the subject back in 1963:
"We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal'."
Rico says we have a huge debt to pay to blacks in this country, and the interest is piling up...
A sad thing to report
Rico's oldest friend has chosen, for reasons still not totally clear to Rico, to remove himself from our friendship. This is a sad thing. It may or may not get fixed, but Rico hopes it does, and soon.Until it does, there's a hole exactly his size and shape in Rico's world, and Rico is very unhappy about that...
Second sainthood for this guy
Seems Robert Levy has been fighting the good fight for the Second Amendment. "I believe in the written Constitution and that the text ought to be interpreted the way it was meant to be," Levy said. Of his lawsuit against the District of Columbia, now before the Supreme Court: "Only one plaintiff remains: Dick Heller, a security guard who applied for a handgun license and was rejected under the district's handgun ban. The lower federal courts, while striking down the law, concluded only Heller was harmed by the city's law."
Kentucky, early on, held that "the right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State must be preserved entire".
"The Second Amendment protects a right of individuals to own and possess firearms, much as the First Amendment protects a right of individuals to engage in free speech." "In 2001, the Justice Department under Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a memorandum opinion stating that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms."
On November 20, 2007, the United States Supreme Court announced that it will hear the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, case no. 07-290. The question the Supreme Court justices posed is whether the provisions of the D.C. statute “violate the Second Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes.”
Rico says we should all remember that the Second was written to protect the First: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." He feels that we should drop the initial 'ablative absolute' phrase, and just leave the operative part: "the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". That would preclude the stupidities over the definitions of 'well regulated' and 'militia', and would better reflect the original text from the First Congress: "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person."
Kentucky, early on, held that "the right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State must be preserved entire".
"The Second Amendment protects a right of individuals to own and possess firearms, much as the First Amendment protects a right of individuals to engage in free speech." "In 2001, the Justice Department under Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a memorandum opinion stating that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms."
On November 20, 2007, the United States Supreme Court announced that it will hear the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, case no. 07-290. The question the Supreme Court justices posed is whether the provisions of the D.C. statute “violate the Second Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes.”
Rico says we should all remember that the Second was written to protect the First: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." He feels that we should drop the initial 'ablative absolute' phrase, and just leave the operative part: "the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". That would preclude the stupidities over the definitions of 'well regulated' and 'militia', and would better reflect the original text from the First Congress: "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country; but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person."
"Great restraint"? Highly unlikely
From al-Reuters: "China said on Monday it had shown great restraint in the face of violent protests by Tibetans, which it said were orchestrated by followers of the Dalai Lama seeking to wreck the Beijing Olympics in August."
Rico says he doubts that; the Dalai Lama isn't into violence. ("Speaking from his home in India's Himalayan foothills on Sunday, the Dalai Lama called for an investigation into what he called cultural genocide in Tibet. Xinhua news agency quoted Tibetan officials as saying the charge was 'downright nonsense'." Rico says any time a government agency, even in translation, uses the phrase 'downright nonsense', whatever they said is bullshit.)
But the Uighurs, they could be a problem; seems they're unhappy, too, and are 'plotting' to disrupt the Olympics out in Xinjiang. Looks like the Olympics could be more exciting than the Chinese intended this time...
Rico says he doubts that; the Dalai Lama isn't into violence. ("Speaking from his home in India's Himalayan foothills on Sunday, the Dalai Lama called for an investigation into what he called cultural genocide in Tibet. Xinhua news agency quoted Tibetan officials as saying the charge was 'downright nonsense'." Rico says any time a government agency, even in translation, uses the phrase 'downright nonsense', whatever they said is bullshit.)But the Uighurs, they could be a problem; seems they're unhappy, too, and are 'plotting' to disrupt the Olympics out in Xinjiang. Looks like the Olympics could be more exciting than the Chinese intended this time...
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