I find the media's depiction of various ethnic groups interesting. When a Cynthia MacKinney or a Louis Farrakhan spews their hate-filled utterances, the mainstream media says not a word about the repugnancy and racism inherent in their statements. When a Hispanic supremist group called Mecha who is the exact counterpart to the Ku Klux Klan, and whose official motto is "Por la raza, todo; fuera de la raza, nada" (For the Race, everything; for those outside the race, nothing) publishes a Spanish-language newsletter advocating the takeover by force of the southwestern states in order to create a glorious new Mexican empire, the mainstream press remains silent.
However, when a pair of young, attractive white girls make money espousing what appear on first sight to be much milder sentiments regarding their own (white) race, the media immediately brands them as 'white nationalists" who are "preaching a message of hate".
Really? I would not argue that despite their attractiveness, songs praising Rudolf Hess are in questionable taste. However, consideering the media's claims for First Amendment protection for pornography and anti-Semite and anti-white speech, how dare these same people to paint these girls as racist without acknowledging their duplicity in failing to equally brand their favored groups as racist. Just more evidence of the MSM's bankrupt morality...
It seems to me that if one if black, or Hispanic, then the Media will follow along with no questions on your racist and often repugnant agenda. After all, white men are fair game. Along with Christians, of course! But if you happen to be a white person, then your every utterance is automatically suspect to the nattering nabobs of negativity. Who aree themselves mostly white too! i guess that if you are in the Press, your color doesn't matter. It is only the non-Press whose color makes their utternaces worthy or non-worthy of reportage. This merely confirms my view of the Press as morally and practically corrupt...
Monday, October 24, 2005
Friday, October 21, 2005
Video Updates for Mac
My friend Leo M has posted a fascinating and highly useful update on video codecs you might want to use on your Mac OSX box instead of Apple's proprietary QuickTime player.
Speaking as one who actually has the QuickTime Pro bundle, I must confess that QuickTime does have issues with some movies- especailly those which are large files. The pause functionality doesn't always work as designed, and the movies are big-time meory hogs. Check out Leo's list at Expat-Leo's Blogroll.
Speaking as one who actually has the QuickTime Pro bundle, I must confess that QuickTime does have issues with some movies- especailly those which are large files. The pause functionality doesn't always work as designed, and the movies are big-time meory hogs. Check out Leo's list at Expat-Leo's Blogroll.
More Miers Missteps...
Well, if the President's news on Harriet Miers wasn't already bad enough, it just got worse. According to the excellent Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarters, it appears that Miers is not only tied to some highly questionable sweetheart deals in Texas, but it also appears that Bush's campaign paid her an eye-popping amount of money during his campaign for Texas governor.
Bush is undoubtedly right on the One Big Thing of our times, as eruditely explained by Victor Davis Hanson, but I have come to the concludion that he is undoubtedly wrong on this Miers nomination. Not only does Miers lack strong qualifications, but she has a meagre paper trail, making it difficult at best to guess which wayn she might vote, and she apparently has some uncomfortable insider connections that make it even more difficult for me to endorse her for a postiion of such gravity and importance as Supreme Court nominations have unfortunately become.
With all this new evidence, I have reluctantly come to believe that it is best if the President withdraws her nomination. There are many far more qualififed onminees available (Luttig, Volokh, Brown, etc) and any one of them would be a fine choice for the Court. Miers is simply not in that category.
Hat tip to Captain's Quarters.
Bush is undoubtedly right on the One Big Thing of our times, as eruditely explained by Victor Davis Hanson, but I have come to the concludion that he is undoubtedly wrong on this Miers nomination. Not only does Miers lack strong qualifications, but she has a meagre paper trail, making it difficult at best to guess which wayn she might vote, and she apparently has some uncomfortable insider connections that make it even more difficult for me to endorse her for a postiion of such gravity and importance as Supreme Court nominations have unfortunately become.
With all this new evidence, I have reluctantly come to believe that it is best if the President withdraws her nomination. There are many far more qualififed onminees available (Luttig, Volokh, Brown, etc) and any one of them would be a fine choice for the Court. Miers is simply not in that category.
Hat tip to Captain's Quarters.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
And More Streetwalkers Unite...
It appears that the push to unionize streetwalkers, as I commented on some posts back, has expanded past the streets of the base slums of South Korea. The Asian Sex Gazette is approvingly reporting that Australian migrant sex workers (read prostitutes) are pushing for work visas and a "union spokesperson" claims that most would continue working in the trade, given the choice.
The union (Scarlet Alliance) president, one Janelle Fawkes, goes on to claim that sex slavery is "largely a myth". She says that most of the migrant prostitues (who are apparently primarily from South East Asia) have come due to Australia's "improved working conditions". There's a great hook for the Tourist Bureau. "Come to Australia, where we even have better working conditions for prostitutes!" Of course, Fawkes also wants the government to give her union recognition and legalize prostitution. Along with work visas, of course. Funny how visas from poor countries to wealthy countries seem to be valuable despite the Asian World's well-publicized "better cultural traditions".
The Australian Minister of Immigration responded by comparing sex workers to fruit pickers as not having any special skills and said that Australian industry had no demand. No demand? Maybe not industry, but I find it highly doubtful that Australian individuals have no demand for exotic South East Asian prostitutes. Certainly their sisters in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines have no problem finding clientele!
I find the entire episode amusing. Maybe they need their own version of Karl Marx. Das Kopulate? The Prostitute Manifesto? Hmmm....
The union (Scarlet Alliance) president, one Janelle Fawkes, goes on to claim that sex slavery is "largely a myth". She says that most of the migrant prostitues (who are apparently primarily from South East Asia) have come due to Australia's "improved working conditions". There's a great hook for the Tourist Bureau. "Come to Australia, where we even have better working conditions for prostitutes!" Of course, Fawkes also wants the government to give her union recognition and legalize prostitution. Along with work visas, of course. Funny how visas from poor countries to wealthy countries seem to be valuable despite the Asian World's well-publicized "better cultural traditions".
The Australian Minister of Immigration responded by comparing sex workers to fruit pickers as not having any special skills and said that Australian industry had no demand. No demand? Maybe not industry, but I find it highly doubtful that Australian individuals have no demand for exotic South East Asian prostitutes. Certainly their sisters in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines have no problem finding clientele!
I find the entire episode amusing. Maybe they need their own version of Karl Marx. Das Kopulate? The Prostitute Manifesto? Hmmm....
Well, it Beats Gangsta Rap...
The Daily Mainichi, one of Japan's biggest newspapers, breathlessly reports that Japanese teens have formed their own variety of patois out of normal Japanese conversation. Words such as 忙人 (isojin= busy person) and カラコ (karako= color copy) are being created and then bandied around at an alarming rate and the adults aren't able to catch up. According to the October 18th edition of the Weekly Playboy (no relation to the U.S.'s better-known Playboy magazine), things have gotten to a point where the police have begun keeping a dictionary of teenage slang.
However, even the paper sees little value in adults spending time trying to learn this new patois. Like American gangsta rap music and the terminology re-invented by every new generation of US teenagers, it goes out of style very quickly as teens look for new and better ways to make their mark. Seems to me it is just another way of garnering attention, though it is fascinating from a linguistic standpoint. And it does beat the repulsive 'music' forced on us by supposed 'artists' such as the amusingly-named but untalented P-Diddy and Tupac Shakur.
However, even the paper sees little value in adults spending time trying to learn this new patois. Like American gangsta rap music and the terminology re-invented by every new generation of US teenagers, it goes out of style very quickly as teens look for new and better ways to make their mark. Seems to me it is just another way of garnering attention, though it is fascinating from a linguistic standpoint. And it does beat the repulsive 'music' forced on us by supposed 'artists' such as the amusingly-named but untalented P-Diddy and Tupac Shakur.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Ingrates in Inchon
According to Peter Brookes, the rising anti-Americanism in South Korea has led the forces of radicalism to want to destroy the statue of Douglas MacArthur standing at Inchon. For those who may not recall, MacArthur was the commanding general who liberated Korea first from the Japanese during World War II, then led the United Nations forces to defend South Korea from the invading Communists under Kim Il Sung, the despot of North Korea. Had that defense not occurred, and had 37000 US forces not given their lives to protect South Korea, the entire Korean peninsula would today be ruled by Kim Jong Il. Would these anti-American protestors prefer to live like the North, as opposed to their current comfortable lifestyles?
I am always amazed by protestors like this. They wish to throw the United States out, claiming that we are the Great Satan or some other disparaging epithet. Do these people really believe that life without the protection of the United States would be somehow preferable? Have they ever done anything to protect their way of life? And have they thought out the ultimate logic of their anti-Americanism? I remember during the Cold War that the constant song of the Left was that the US and the USSR were simply two sides of the same coin. Do these new radicals claim that in regards to China? But yet they forget that we Americans have fought and died in Europe, the South Pacific, Europe, North Africa, Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq to protect people from enskavement. In many of these places, there was nothing at stake for the United States, yet we sent our precious soldiers to protect people who certainly had no love for us- see the still-ongoing events in Kosovo and the Middle East. Not to mention that it was Western willpower that finally ended the slave trade- a trade that Europeans did not begin, and in which they were not the main participants.
I would be the first to admit that the United States is not perfect. But has there ever been a more benevolent superpower during its heyday? Only Great Britain comes close in that regard- no one else can even be considered. Do these anti-Americans forget the horrific results of Muslim imperial expansionism? Have they mislaid the memory of the Chinese Empire's depradations on the rest of Asia? Would prefer a modern-day version of Genghis Khan, or perchance Tamerlane? And I further wonder, with whom do these protestors wish to replace us? The Communist Chinese? I don't recall that we slaughter our own citizens (Tianenmen Square, 1989)and jail dissidents on purely political charges the way the Chinese Communists do. If we did, neither Cindy Sheehan nor Jane Fonda would be at liberty. Yet both of these traitors are still openly shilling their repulsive opinions despite their clear breach of our own treason laws. Nor do we outlaw groups like the Falung Gong. Heck, we even let Muslims terrorist wanabes run their little mosques in the open, despite their constant attempts to kill us!
It has been written that power abhors a vacuum. If we were to withdraw, some other country would try to seize our empty place, and I doubt they would like the consequences from the likely applicants. They might want to consider that, for a change, instead of mouthing their mindless anti-American chants. But then that would require thought- something of which I doubt they are capable.
I am always amazed by protestors like this. They wish to throw the United States out, claiming that we are the Great Satan or some other disparaging epithet. Do these people really believe that life without the protection of the United States would be somehow preferable? Have they ever done anything to protect their way of life? And have they thought out the ultimate logic of their anti-Americanism? I remember during the Cold War that the constant song of the Left was that the US and the USSR were simply two sides of the same coin. Do these new radicals claim that in regards to China? But yet they forget that we Americans have fought and died in Europe, the South Pacific, Europe, North Africa, Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq to protect people from enskavement. In many of these places, there was nothing at stake for the United States, yet we sent our precious soldiers to protect people who certainly had no love for us- see the still-ongoing events in Kosovo and the Middle East. Not to mention that it was Western willpower that finally ended the slave trade- a trade that Europeans did not begin, and in which they were not the main participants.
I would be the first to admit that the United States is not perfect. But has there ever been a more benevolent superpower during its heyday? Only Great Britain comes close in that regard- no one else can even be considered. Do these anti-Americans forget the horrific results of Muslim imperial expansionism? Have they mislaid the memory of the Chinese Empire's depradations on the rest of Asia? Would prefer a modern-day version of Genghis Khan, or perchance Tamerlane? And I further wonder, with whom do these protestors wish to replace us? The Communist Chinese? I don't recall that we slaughter our own citizens (Tianenmen Square, 1989)and jail dissidents on purely political charges the way the Chinese Communists do. If we did, neither Cindy Sheehan nor Jane Fonda would be at liberty. Yet both of these traitors are still openly shilling their repulsive opinions despite their clear breach of our own treason laws. Nor do we outlaw groups like the Falung Gong. Heck, we even let Muslims terrorist wanabes run their little mosques in the open, despite their constant attempts to kill us!
It has been written that power abhors a vacuum. If we were to withdraw, some other country would try to seize our empty place, and I doubt they would like the consequences from the likely applicants. They might want to consider that, for a change, instead of mouthing their mindless anti-American chants. But then that would require thought- something of which I doubt they are capable.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Cultural Decay in Japan?
Japan has long been considered the land of tradition, and the zealous cultural guardians, particularly those whose livelihood depends on it have been successful thus far in safe-guarding the tradiotions. However, things may be changing. According to the Daily Mainichi Shinbun, young Japanese are just as randy and as neglectful of their cultural traditions as are many of our own youth over here.
The article in question claims that young couples are engaging in noisy sexual escapades at traditional Japanese inns, and the article seems to be worrying about the effect on the coutry's traditions.
In yet another assault on Japanese traditions, it seems that young so-called 'office ladies' (girls in their late teens and twenties who work in companies as decorative fixtures until they marry employees) are apparently rebelling against the status quo. Wai-Wai reports that they are using methods like wringing dishwater into their boss's cups of tea to get back at their second-class treatment.
Well, well. The more things change, the more they stay the same....
The article in question claims that young couples are engaging in noisy sexual escapades at traditional Japanese inns, and the article seems to be worrying about the effect on the coutry's traditions.
In yet another assault on Japanese traditions, it seems that young so-called 'office ladies' (girls in their late teens and twenties who work in companies as decorative fixtures until they marry employees) are apparently rebelling against the status quo. Wai-Wai reports that they are using methods like wringing dishwater into their boss's cups of tea to get back at their second-class treatment.
Well, well. The more things change, the more they stay the same....
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Remember the Cole
It is a slow week for blogging here, due to the demands of my work, coupled with the needs of Baby Gankomon at home. If you happen to have a three-week-old baby, you know the demands of which I speak. I will get caught up once the current needs subside somewhat.
In the meantime, I may be belated, but Michelle Malkin had a wonderful tribute to the murdered sailors of the USS Cole. For those of you who do not recall (or who have deliberately forgotten), October 12, 2005 was the fifth anniversary of the attack on the destroyer USS Cole by Al Quaida during the Clinto Administration. The lack of response to this act of war was one of many signals that we ignored at our peril, and which eventually led to the events of September 11, 2001, according to Marc Genest, an associate professor at the Naval War College.
For a more detailed tribute, please see the Stars and Stripes, the official newspaper of the United States Armed Forces.
In the meantime, I may be belated, but Michelle Malkin had a wonderful tribute to the murdered sailors of the USS Cole. For those of you who do not recall (or who have deliberately forgotten), October 12, 2005 was the fifth anniversary of the attack on the destroyer USS Cole by Al Quaida during the Clinto Administration. The lack of response to this act of war was one of many signals that we ignored at our peril, and which eventually led to the events of September 11, 2001, according to Marc Genest, an associate professor at the Naval War College.
For a more detailed tribute, please see the Stars and Stripes, the official newspaper of the United States Armed Forces.
More Minority Smears
Apparently Louis Farrakhan is still parroting the discredited Loony Left/RaceMongerers line that the Katrina disaster was all a put-up job to kill blacks. Breitbart.com reports that Farrakhan claimed a bomb burst the New Orleans levees, not the hurricane's winds. He claimed a member of the Army Corps of Engineers actually told him that there wer brun marks on the levee.
Interesting how all these so-called 'black leaders' are so quick to denigrate the feds' attempts to help their people. Whether it is claiming the federal government is out to destroy them (a job they seem to be doing quite well all by themselves) or blaming the response on racism, there is little attempt to rally their people to any sort of self-improvement. I guess it is easier to expect others to give than to actually put any effort into improving yourself.
One reads that the black population is highly religious. Yet whatever happened to the Biblical idea that help comes to those who help themselves? Charity for those in need is fine, but a culture of victimhood helps no one. Maybe Louis might want to think about that before he casts any more stones at folks who actually did help the Katrina victims - certainly more than he did.
Interesting how all these so-called 'black leaders' are so quick to denigrate the feds' attempts to help their people. Whether it is claiming the federal government is out to destroy them (a job they seem to be doing quite well all by themselves) or blaming the response on racism, there is little attempt to rally their people to any sort of self-improvement. I guess it is easier to expect others to give than to actually put any effort into improving yourself.
One reads that the black population is highly religious. Yet whatever happened to the Biblical idea that help comes to those who help themselves? Charity for those in need is fine, but a culture of victimhood helps no one. Maybe Louis might want to think about that before he casts any more stones at folks who actually did help the Katrina victims - certainly more than he did.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Thoughts on Miers
Slow week for me, since I was out of town at a conference with little or no Internet access. Hopwever, I did manage to hear the big news regarding Bush's second Supreme Court pick. I have little knowledge regarding Harriet Miers, but based on the surface resume, I find myself agreeing with Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters, Michelle Malkin and others on the Miers candidacy. Is this the best that Bush can do for a Supreme Court candidate? There have been some formidable names bandied about from the center-right on this, and the fact that none of them were chosen, does not bode well for conservaitve hopes of retaking the Court from the leftist activits.
And I have another question- why is it OK for an unabashed leftist like Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be appointed with little or no brouhaha, but not even a clearely centrist like Roberts can be proposed by a republican administration without 'controversy'?
According to several of the center-right pundits, including Glenn Reynolds and those cited above, the center-right is outraged by this choice. It may be that Bush has at last done what I thought was impossible- lost the Republican Party the Congress as well as the White House. This decidedly underwhelming nomination, coupled with his lack-luster performance on border control, may prove to be the straw that broke the camel's back for many conservatives. Remember also that many of us are already outraged at Bush's lack of fiscal discipline.
However, I do have a question for the Press and the pundits. Since when did leftists become a majority of this country- depsite their overwhelming presence on editorial boards and in newspaper staff rooms? And why are the opinions emanating from the Left more valuable than those from the Right? Last time I recall a poll, more people self-identified as 'conservative' than did as 'liberal'. That really ought to tell the White House something about who voted for them and where their path ought to lie- expecially considering the possible opposition in 2008. Too bad they don't seem to be paying attention...
And I have another question- why is it OK for an unabashed leftist like Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be appointed with little or no brouhaha, but not even a clearely centrist like Roberts can be proposed by a republican administration without 'controversy'?
According to several of the center-right pundits, including Glenn Reynolds and those cited above, the center-right is outraged by this choice. It may be that Bush has at last done what I thought was impossible- lost the Republican Party the Congress as well as the White House. This decidedly underwhelming nomination, coupled with his lack-luster performance on border control, may prove to be the straw that broke the camel's back for many conservatives. Remember also that many of us are already outraged at Bush's lack of fiscal discipline.
However, I do have a question for the Press and the pundits. Since when did leftists become a majority of this country- depsite their overwhelming presence on editorial boards and in newspaper staff rooms? And why are the opinions emanating from the Left more valuable than those from the Right? Last time I recall a poll, more people self-identified as 'conservative' than did as 'liberal'. That really ought to tell the White House something about who voted for them and where their path ought to lie- expecially considering the possible opposition in 2008. Too bad they don't seem to be paying attention...
Monday, October 03, 2005
Gray Art?
Since at least the 19th century, there has been an undercurrent of illegal activity running through the market for Greco-Roman antiquities. Due to the fact that it was the Europeans and Americans who first made archaeology an accepted pursuit, and many wealthy Europeans and Americans who pursued the collection of ancient treasures while the Greeks and Italians were still busy scratching out an existence, many of the foremost pieces remaining from the ancient world reside in museums outside their areas of origin. For example, the magnificent Altar of Zeus from Pergamum is in the Berlin Pergamon Museum, and the equally inspiring Elgin Marbles are to be found in the British Museum.
Although at least some of these treasures were acquired legitimately (in the case of the Elgin Marbles, Lord Elgin paid the Greek government of the time for their removal) there has been ongoing controvery over who actually should have possession. Throughout much of the 20th century, Greece and Italy have conducted campaigns for the return of these treasures. And modern-day museums and collectors pay millions for pieces from sometimes less-than-pure sources.
Today, we are reminded of this undercurrent by the announcement here that the Getty Museum has agreed to return to Italy three works that are the subject of a criminal trial. These were part of a larger consignment that Italy and the Getty Museum have yet to agree on. In fact, Italy is trying the Getty's antiquities curator on charges of rconspiring to receive stolen property. I guess every field has its own share of illicit activity- particularly when dealing in art and sculpture.
Although at least some of these treasures were acquired legitimately (in the case of the Elgin Marbles, Lord Elgin paid the Greek government of the time for their removal) there has been ongoing controvery over who actually should have possession. Throughout much of the 20th century, Greece and Italy have conducted campaigns for the return of these treasures. And modern-day museums and collectors pay millions for pieces from sometimes less-than-pure sources.
Today, we are reminded of this undercurrent by the announcement here that the Getty Museum has agreed to return to Italy three works that are the subject of a criminal trial. These were part of a larger consignment that Italy and the Getty Museum have yet to agree on. In fact, Italy is trying the Getty's antiquities curator on charges of rconspiring to receive stolen property. I guess every field has its own share of illicit activity- particularly when dealing in art and sculpture.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Church, State and Privacy in Japan
All one can say to this article about Japan's impending post office privatization is that the people are people everywhere. Read and enjoy. This article is courtesy of the Daily Mainichi Newspaper.
However, on a more serious side, the Japanese High Court has ruled Prime Minister Koizumi's annual pilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社) unconstitutional on the grounds that it is a religious activity and that the Constitution forbids to the government on grounds of separation of Church and State.
These pilgrimages have been a constant for Japanese Prime Minister's for at least the last thirty or forty years, though they have been increasingly controversial, even inside Japan. The Court did, however, leave open the door for him to continue visiting if he clearly states that it is in a personal capacity.
Personally, I think that this is pussyfooting around the real issue. Should Japan's Prime Minister be allowed to pay visits to the shrine where Japan's war dead are memorialized? Yes. Should fourteen Class A war criminals from WWII be enshrined there (which is the real root of the controversy)? Probably not. However, as the shrine refuses to allow their removal, there seems to be no easy resolution to this problem. Perhaps only a true and full Japanese admission for their many atrocities during the Second World War (which they call the Pacific War) would really answer the critics.
On a side note, how long will it be before the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State or some other left-wing group manages to convince an activist judge somewhere (along the lines of the out-of-control judge who recently declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional) to use this decision as a precedent to bar the President from visiting the National Cathedral? Or maybe even swearing to uphold the Constitution 'so help me, God'?
However, on a more serious side, the Japanese High Court has ruled Prime Minister Koizumi's annual pilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine (靖国神社) unconstitutional on the grounds that it is a religious activity and that the Constitution forbids to the government on grounds of separation of Church and State.
These pilgrimages have been a constant for Japanese Prime Minister's for at least the last thirty or forty years, though they have been increasingly controversial, even inside Japan. The Court did, however, leave open the door for him to continue visiting if he clearly states that it is in a personal capacity.
Personally, I think that this is pussyfooting around the real issue. Should Japan's Prime Minister be allowed to pay visits to the shrine where Japan's war dead are memorialized? Yes. Should fourteen Class A war criminals from WWII be enshrined there (which is the real root of the controversy)? Probably not. However, as the shrine refuses to allow their removal, there seems to be no easy resolution to this problem. Perhaps only a true and full Japanese admission for their many atrocities during the Second World War (which they call the Pacific War) would really answer the critics.
On a side note, how long will it be before the ACLU, Americans United for Separation of Church and State or some other left-wing group manages to convince an activist judge somewhere (along the lines of the out-of-control judge who recently declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional) to use this decision as a precedent to bar the President from visiting the National Cathedral? Or maybe even swearing to uphold the Constitution 'so help me, God'?
Streetwalkers of the World, Unite!
Fascinating. According to the Asian Sex Gazette, Korean prostitutes near the US Army base in Pyongtaek are in the process of forming what they hope to have recognized as a trade union. They also "complain of the lack of help from women's rights advocates who regard their job as an affront to female dignity." Well, that is certainly par for the course for the so-called 'women's right advocates'. With few exceptions, they seem to be more interested in getting female members into August golf course than actually helping those who really need their help. Typical libs....
However. Considering that prosititution in South Korea is highly illegal, I have to think that the prosititutes' chances or recognition are as scanty as their 'work uniforms'. Or will the authorities be taxing the 'labor' involved next? Snicker....
However. Considering that prosititution in South Korea is highly illegal, I have to think that the prosititutes' chances or recognition are as scanty as their 'work uniforms'. Or will the authorities be taxing the 'labor' involved next? Snicker....
The EU Wants In?
Well, well. After the EU's infamous ISO-OSI model for the Internet was rejected by the free market in favor of the US's privately developed TCP/IP model, and after the US has done virtually all of the heacy lifting on the creation, manintenance and upgrading of the Internet, the EU now thinks it somehow deserves an equal role in managing the Internet. Natually along with Third-World 'contributors' such as China, Brazil, etc.
According to Breitbart this morning, the EU is insistent that control of the Internet be handed over to an international body,; the US says no way. Without being too nationalistic, I have to think that the US government is correct on this one. If you have developed something and done by far the majority of the maintenance, organization and funding, why hand it over to a group that definitely does not have your best interests at heart? If the EU and the developing world wants to have a larger cut of the Internet pie, they should have contributed a little more of the development.
Hat tip to Matt Drudge.
According to Breitbart this morning, the EU is insistent that control of the Internet be handed over to an international body,; the US says no way. Without being too nationalistic, I have to think that the US government is correct on this one. If you have developed something and done by far the majority of the maintenance, organization and funding, why hand it over to a group that definitely does not have your best interests at heart? If the EU and the developing world wants to have a larger cut of the Internet pie, they should have contributed a little more of the development.
Hat tip to Matt Drudge.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
More Egg For the MSM
It appears that the so-called 'professionalism' the MSM likes to bleat about is nothing more than a monstrous put-up job. Recent reports out of New Orleans would seem to indicate that the job performed by the MSM was disgraceful at best and downright criminal at worst. The most appalling part of the new information seems to indicate that if the majority of refugees had been white, as occurred in Mississippi, the Exempt Media would not have covered things this way. Which brings up the question- then why did color make a difference?
According to John Podhoretz of the National Review, both the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Los Angeles Times have now noticed the lack of accuracy displayed by our 'professional' media regarding the Katrina story. Of course, Dan Rather hasn't. He thinks the coverage was wonderful. Well, Mr. Forged-but-True's lack of perspicacity is unfortunately not surprising. Disappointing, but not surprising.
According to John Podhoretz of the National Review, both the New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Los Angeles Times have now noticed the lack of accuracy displayed by our 'professional' media regarding the Katrina story. Of course, Dan Rather hasn't. He thinks the coverage was wonderful. Well, Mr. Forged-but-True's lack of perspicacity is unfortunately not surprising. Disappointing, but not surprising.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Hope for Oil?
This article, contains an interesting possibility as regards our unfortunate dependency on Islamoterrorist oil. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel after all. Read the article in its entirety and see what you think.
I agree with Glenn Reynolds when he says:
Now if only the enviro-terrorists can be persuaded to hold their inevitable lawsuits in abeyance until we know whether this is a viable option or not. Wait, who am I kidding? Environmentalists work for the good of the country as opposed to their own little agenda? We all know they would rather see us all die as opposed to find any alternatives to oil other than their favored (unfeasible and impratcial, but oh-so-touchy/feely)ideas.
Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds.
I agree with Glenn Reynolds when he says:
Long term strategic plan for the United States: Get the price of oil up high enough that oil shale competes with Middle East oil. Then put Middle East oil producers out of business, or just let them run out of oil. Oil-funded islamoterror then goes out of business, too, and the Middle East goes back to being an unimportant backwater.
Now if only the enviro-terrorists can be persuaded to hold their inevitable lawsuits in abeyance until we know whether this is a viable option or not. Wait, who am I kidding? Environmentalists work for the good of the country as opposed to their own little agenda? We all know they would rather see us all die as opposed to find any alternatives to oil other than their favored (unfeasible and impratcial, but oh-so-touchy/feely)ideas.
Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Air Scamerica- Take Three
Well, well. The Air America scandal keeps getting deeper and dirtier. The New York Sun newspaper reported today that David Goodfriend, a former Clinton Administration appointee and the one Air America executive who actually appears to have tried to behave ethically, was "sickened to the core" by the idea of money being taken from a Boys and Girls Club to fund Air America.
Mr. Goodfriend, in fact, as the Sun reports, resigned in the face of great pressure rather than sign on to what he believes was a fraudulent transfer of authority from Progress Media to the current owners of Air America, Piquant Media.
And I am sure we can all imagine what the Exempt Media would be saying if this were a conservative network. Or even a story that could be tied in some remote way to George W. Bush. Remember their breathless attempts to blame Bush and the Republicans for Enron? How that story simply couldn't get enough resources? Or maybe how they spent so much time on the Texas ANG story in hopes of proving Bush an AWOL- though they themselves do not appear to have any issues with draft-dodgers, as evidenced by their adoption of and identification with Bill Clinton!
But apparently the "win at all costs" attitude the Left inherited from the Bolsheviks and Communists who were their major funders has trumped truth in reporting for these repulsive remnants of the Left's broadcast dominance. Will the Exempt Media ever report on this story? The world wonders....
Mr. Goodfriend, in fact, as the Sun reports, resigned in the face of great pressure rather than sign on to what he believes was a fraudulent transfer of authority from Progress Media to the current owners of Air America, Piquant Media.
And I am sure we can all imagine what the Exempt Media would be saying if this were a conservative network. Or even a story that could be tied in some remote way to George W. Bush. Remember their breathless attempts to blame Bush and the Republicans for Enron? How that story simply couldn't get enough resources? Or maybe how they spent so much time on the Texas ANG story in hopes of proving Bush an AWOL- though they themselves do not appear to have any issues with draft-dodgers, as evidenced by their adoption of and identification with Bill Clinton!
But apparently the "win at all costs" attitude the Left inherited from the Bolsheviks and Communists who were their major funders has trumped truth in reporting for these repulsive remnants of the Left's broadcast dominance. Will the Exempt Media ever report on this story? The world wonders....
Truth in Pork?
Truth in Legislation? Considering the embarrassing and bloated bills that our Congress and Presidents have foisted on the unsuspecting taxpayer, like the recent highway bill, perhaps it is time we start. Two members of the legal profession, Professor Brannon Denning and attorney Brooks Smith have suggested a Truth-in-Legislation amendment to the US Constitution. A copy of their proposal may be found here . Read the full text and decide for yourself.
One word of warning- this has been tried before, both times during Republican administrations and has failed both times. Congressmen and Senators are wedded firmly to pork and are not likely to easily give it up. However, I like the idea. Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds.
One word of warning- this has been tried before, both times during Republican administrations and has failed both times. Congressmen and Senators are wedded firmly to pork and are not likely to easily give it up. However, I like the idea. Hat tip to Glenn Reynolds.
Don't Cry for Me Dan
Dan Rather apparently has succumbed to the well-known phenomenon of viewing the past through rose-colored glasses. This despite being a member of the baby boom generation- one not known for either introspection or for much humility. This was the generation that was so convinced of its own purity- and is still not very good at taking stock of its failures, as was famously proven by Bill Clintons' eight scandal-ridden years in the WHite House!
Rather, according to Matt Drudge, claims that there is a "new journalism order" and said that a climate of fear is running through newsrooms "worse than anything he had seen in his more than four-decade career".He also whined that politicians had gotten better at applying pressure to the corporate entities that run most journalistic enterprises.
Well, gee, Dan. Since you members of the Fourth Estate have twisted your role from reporter of events to arbiter of society, and can't or won't observe either objectivity or just come out and admit your biases, don't you think that politicians might strike back the only way they can- at your bosses pocketbooks? The First Amendment exists, like it or not, to protect mainly political speech of the type you (mostly) engage in, not porn, despite what you folks on the Left would like to believe. Therefore, since politicians cannot regulate the Press they way a United Kingdom can, they are going to make life uncomfortable for your corporate bosses, instead of directly attacking you.
This is simply more proof that the Exempt Media cannot come to grips with the fact that they are no longer able to get away with the partisan, untruthful and biased 'rfeporting' that they have engaged in for the better part of the last fifty years. Welcome to the New Order, Dan. I personally prefer it to what went before.
Rather, according to Matt Drudge, claims that there is a "new journalism order" and said that a climate of fear is running through newsrooms "worse than anything he had seen in his more than four-decade career".He also whined that politicians had gotten better at applying pressure to the corporate entities that run most journalistic enterprises.
Well, gee, Dan. Since you members of the Fourth Estate have twisted your role from reporter of events to arbiter of society, and can't or won't observe either objectivity or just come out and admit your biases, don't you think that politicians might strike back the only way they can- at your bosses pocketbooks? The First Amendment exists, like it or not, to protect mainly political speech of the type you (mostly) engage in, not porn, despite what you folks on the Left would like to believe. Therefore, since politicians cannot regulate the Press they way a United Kingdom can, they are going to make life uncomfortable for your corporate bosses, instead of directly attacking you.
This is simply more proof that the Exempt Media cannot come to grips with the fact that they are no longer able to get away with the partisan, untruthful and biased 'rfeporting' that they have engaged in for the better part of the last fifty years. Welcome to the New Order, Dan. I personally prefer it to what went before.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Weekend Posts
The weekends are pretty slow in the Gankomon househopd. I spent today cleaning up my office. SInce we have recently joined the ranks of the homeowners, our belongeings, while mostly unpacked and correctly stored, are not entirely organized toi our liking. The office, as it is the repository of our book collection is a particularly unsightly at the monment, hencce our efforts this weekend to make it somewhat more presentable.
after spending the majority of the day building additional bookshelves, shredding no-longer-relevant documents and re-organizing Mrs. Gankomon has promounced the room 'a vast improvement'. Therefore, I conclude that my efforts were not in vain. We will be spending the remainder of the weekend execuiting those other required domestic tasks- shopping for groceries, vacuuming, and taking my mother-in-law, who is visiting, to local Japanese supermarkets.
after spending the majority of the day building additional bookshelves, shredding no-longer-relevant documents and re-organizing Mrs. Gankomon has promounced the room 'a vast improvement'. Therefore, I conclude that my efforts were not in vain. We will be spending the remainder of the weekend execuiting those other required domestic tasks- shopping for groceries, vacuuming, and taking my mother-in-law, who is visiting, to local Japanese supermarkets.
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