On guitar, my niece, Youee.
Lead vocals, and she wrote the song, my daughter, Natalie.
And on drums, my son, Charlie, aka “the Human Metronome”.
Recorded New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2006.
Year: 2007
What the Other Matthew Said: Iraq In Pictures
Matthew Yglesias once again puts it better than I could.
Must be his pricey Harvard education.
I would be remiss in not mentioning Brian Beutler, who snagged the initial pic, and added the following:
And as the Wall Street Journal might present it:
Beg to differ. That is how the Wall Street Journal EDITORIAL PAGE might present it.
The Newsies know their stuff there.
Starr Prosecutor Gives Big Wet Kiss (With Tongue) to Cheney
Yep, this guy was one of Ken Starr’s bully boys. I bet they got a REALLY fair hearing from him.
Valerie Plame’s lawsuit dismissed
…
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds and said he would not express an opinion on the constitutional arguments.
…
Scum.
FAS A Good Insight Into the Current European ABM Kerfluffle
Along with good information on the Russian systems, and the US Posture in the Cold war, and this provides insight into why the Russians believe that this is targeted at them.
This US document might provide some insight:
|
Figure 1: |
 |
|
“To ensure the penetration of the ICBM force, the Soviet ABM system would be attacked first. Minuteman E and F and Polaris missiles would first hit the Hen House early warning radars, and their Tallin system defenses [SA-5 SAM, ed.]. Then the Dog House radar and the Triad system around Moscow would be attacked. More than 100 Minuteman would be involved in the ABM suppression.” |
Here is his money quote:
All of this happened during the Cold War and many things have changed, but the basic motivation for targeting a limited missile defense system then was the same as today: The Soviet ABM system was entirely defensive and couldn’t threaten anyone (to paraphrase a characterization frequently use by U.S. and NATO officials to justify their missile defense plans today), but it could disturb the main ICBM attack on Moscow and military facilities downrange. That made it a top-priority target. And even though U.S. planners suspected that the system was not very efficient, they committed about 10 percent of the entire ICBM force to destroy it. To the extent the Russia ABM is operational, U.S. nuclear strike plans probably still target it today.
All in all, an excellent read, and it reinforces my believe that the US system IS to a large extent towards the Russians.
Microsoft rigs Live Search traffic
Remember those stories about Microsoft gaining on Google in the search business?
Microsoft has successfully rigged its search traffic. The company recently introduced several online games than shamelessly bribe people to query its moribund Live Search Engine, and according to web research firm comScore, these games gave the engine a significant traffic boost last month.
….
When users play games like Chicktionary, Dingbats, and Seekadoo, they automatically generate Live Search results. The more results they generate, the more points they win. And if they win enough points, they win prizes. Like a Microsoft Zune player. OK, it’s not much of a bribe. But it’s still a bribe.
Love that bit of snark at the end.
Europe to RIAA: Eat My Shorts
This is not a court ruling, but it is likely to be the opinion adopted by the European court.
In related news: 23 New Schools to Receive Latest Round of RIAA Pre-Lawsuit Letters.
The RIAA is a bunch of thugs. When the revolution comes, they will be up against the wall before the PR department of Sirius Cybernetics Corporation.
Murdoch and Blair Colluded on Selling Iraq War
This defines Rev. Smiler, and history will be most unkind to him.
How Murdoch had a hotline to the PM in the run-up to Iraq war
By Andrew Grice, Political Editor
Published: 19 July 2007Tony Blair had three conversations with the media magnate Rupert Murdoch in the nine days before the start of the Iraq war, the Government has disclosed.
Details of the former prime minister’s contacts with Mr Murdoch have been released under the Freedom of Information Act. After trying to block disclosure for four years, the Government backed down in a surprise change of heart the day after Mr Blair resigned last month.
Sounds like Gordon Brown threw his dear friend Tony under the Bloody bus.
……
In Alastair Campbell’s diaries, published last week, the former spin doctor described a Downing Street dinner for Mr Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, in 2002. “Murdoch pointed out that his were the only papers that gave us support when the going got tough. ‘I’ve noticed,’ said TB,” Mr Campbell wrote. Lance Price, Mr Campbell’s deputy, called Mr Murdoch “the 24th member of the [Blair] Cabinet“. He added: “His presence was always felt. No big decision could ever be made inside No10 without taking account of the likely reaction of three men, Gordon Brown, John Prescott and Rupert Murdoch. On all the really big decisions, anybody else could safely be ignored.”
….
Well, there’s always hoping that he’ll share a cell with Bush and Rumsfeld.
IE/Firefox Bug Update
I while back, I posted about a bug that allowed Internet Explorer to call Firefox to execute malware.
Microsoft’s response was “not my problem”. Mozilla just released an update to fix this.
Any guess as to my preferred browser?
Only in the USA
It appears that some inmates at El Reno federal prison in Oklahoma attempted to buy a “get out of jail free” card using copyright.
They “copyrighted” and then attempted to file suits for millions of dollars against him and seize his property with the idea of using this as leverage to be let out.
Needless to say, the indictments against them for “conspiring to impede the duties of federal prison officials” rap, and “mailing threatening communications with the intent to extort”.
On the bright side, they have each received six figure offers of employment from the RIAA when they get out of stir.
Neat Tech: How To Get Your Vinyl on the Computer Edition
I just came across USB turntables. This is intensely neat.
This way, you can play and rip your old vinyl records at the same time. At $150 for the cheaper turntable, it’s something I’ll consider if I ever make enough space on my bloody desk.
With The Bush Admin, There is No Policy, There is Only Politics
This time, it’s the so called “War on Drugs”.
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said documents obtained by his panel suggest that the appearances by the drug control officials were part of a larger White House effort to politicize the work of federal agencies that “may be more widespread than previously known.”
This is a direct consequence of conservative philosophy. If one sees government, even when it works as a source of weakness and moral hazard, then the only reason to govern is to accumulate wealth and power for you and yours.
The Bush administration is not an aberration, rather it is the logical consequence of the hard right wing philosophy that they all hold.
There is no policy, because government is evil. It’s just a gravy train.
I saw this first hand when I went to college with, and served in the student Senate with, Tony Rudy, who has copped a plea in the entire Abramoff/Delay thing for taking bribes.
He was personally nice, but once in government, there was nothing for him to do but to be corrupt.
What’s Going On With Subprime Loans
I came across this post at Alea blog, which has a picture worth many thousands of words:
As you can see, the other loan default rates are at or below their levels in the 2001-2002 recession.
The big question is whether the other default rates will follow subprime variable rates.
My guess is yes, for at least 2 of the remaining 3. Notwithstanding the Dow, we are headed for a slow down, and interest rates are going to have to rise. They are still at or near historically, and unsustainably, low levels.
With oil likely to break 90 by year’s end, and trillions in mortgage resets due to hit in the next few years, I see it as getting very, very bad.
Pentagon to Engage in Psych Warfare Domestically
The full article is in Harper’s.”
Meet the Pentagon’s New Spin Unit: Bush Administration hacks court bloggers, talk radio
Ken Silverstein
….
The rapid-response team has been shut down but several sources tell me that another of Smith’s spin projects is ongoing. This project seeks to bypass the traditional media and work directly with talk radio and bloggers, mostly those with a heavily conservative tilt. The unit, which one source says was originally called “Surrogates Operation” but was later rechristened “Communications Outreach,” also reportedly provides talking points and briefings to retired military officials who now support the administration in appearances as media pundits. (I haven’t been able to learn which blogs and individuals the unit has been working with, but urge anyone with such information to contact me via email.)
It should be noted that this effort appears to violate the law which forbids domestic Pentagon propaganda operations.
The article, while informative, buries one of the important points in the last graph:
…
The irony here is that Gates has a far better relationship with the media than Rumsfeld, who treated journalists as the enemy. But with Smith running amok, Gates’s honeymoon with the media and with the military may be coming to an end.
Randy “Duke” Cunningham Updates
It appears that Cunningham is talking to federal prosecutors, but he’s not ratting out his fellow congressmen, yet.Imprisoned
Cunningham outlines depths of corruption to FBI
By George E. Condon Jr. and Marcus Stern
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE8:53 p.m. July 17, 2007
WASHINGTON – In two days of prison interviews with federal agents this year, disgraced former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham described a level of corruption on his part more extensive than previously known and dealt a potentially devastating blow to the defense being waged by one of the defense contractors alleged to have bribed him.
…
According to an 11-page FBI summary of the sessions, obtained by Copley News Service, Cunningham was very much the initiator of his corrupt actions, demanding bribes, accepting envelopes with cash and displaying an insatiable appetite for more money, more cars, more drink, more fine food and more expensive goods.
…
This actually makes Cunningham worse than I had initially believed. These were not bribes as much as they were extortion.
The interesting thing is that Cunningham’s military history predicted this. While a good fighter pilot, he was a disaster as an officer, who left a trail of destruction wherever he went, and he would have been RIFFed had it not been for his making ace.
While we’re at it, it appears that the House Intelligence Committee won’t release it’s report on him. It appears that both Republicans and Democrats are covering it up because it makes them look bad.
“They are so nervous about this report being out,” said one congressional official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Members oppose putting this thing out because you read this and the natural question is: ‘Did you know this, and what did you do about it?’ I don’t think any members wanted that scrutiny.”
Larry Flynt is Shocked????
According to Political Wire, Larry Flynt has 30 good leads about prominent customers of “DC Madame”. Flint describes them as, “We’ve got good leads. We’ve got over 300 initially. And they’re down to about 30 now which is solid.“
The thing that really intrigues me though is that there is another Senator among those 30, and Flynt hints that it is not one of the usual suspects:
KING: Will we be — I don’t want to get into names yet. Will we be shocked?
FLYNT: Yes.
KING: Were you shocked?
FLYNT: I was shocked, especially at one senator but…
KING: One senator especially?
FLYNT: Yes.
What the hell shocks Larry Flynt?
Flying is Once Again For the Birds
Well, it appears that there is company that will be converting left over animal fats from slaughter houses into jet fuel.
That’s right, planes powered by schmaltz (chicken fat).
I’m wondering when Colonel Sanders will open his own airline.
Bureaucracy that Works, the CIA , a Case Study
As you may be aware, the Council of Europe issued a report on American Gulags in Poland and Romania.
It now appears that CIA bureaucrats provided much of the information.
“There were huge conflicts between the CIA and Rumsfeld. Many leading figures in the CIA did not accept these methods at all,” Marty told European Parliament committees, defending his work against complaints it was based on unnamed sources.
The report issued last month said the Central Intelligence Agency ran secret jails in Poland and Romania, with the complicity of those governments, and transported terrorist suspects across Europe in secret flights.
Poland and Romania have repeatedly denied hosting CIA prisons on their soil.
“People in the CIA felt these things were not consonant with the sort of intelligence work they normally do,” Marty said.
He said he had based his findings largely on conversations with “high officials of the CIA (and) highly placed European office-holders, who for different reasons, often honorable reasons, were ready to explain what had happened”.
Since he had no power to summon witnesses, subpoena documents or search buildings, he was forced to rely on such evidence, Marty said.
As much as we may complain about bureaucracy when we are waiting in line at the DMV, the truth is that a competent and honest bureaucracy is essential to a properly functioning democracy.
Even with the Dems back in power in the Congress, the actions of honest bureaucrats who know the rules, and follow them, has been the most effective push back against Bush and his evil minions™.
RIAA Gets Owned
An Oklahoma woman stood up to the threats and intimidation that the RIAA used to try and extort money from her.
She won, and now she has been awarded court costs.
On July 13, 2006 the Oklahoma court ordered the RIAA’s claims against Foster be dismissed with prejudice and ruled she was eligible to be awarded attorneys fees. The court was skeptical that “an internet-illiterate parent, who does not know Kazaa from a kazoo” could be liable for copyright infringement committed by someone else using her internet account.
There are legitimate concerns about misuse of the RICO statutes, but its use against the RIAA’s thugs would be a “slam dunk.”
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot??
It now appears that I’m going have to spend more time thinking about physically posting than I do writing this. (It’s not a whole bunch in either case).
Google is requiring word verification:
Blogger’s spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What’s a spam blog?) Since you’re an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and we sincerely apologize for this false positive.
Just because no human beings read this, does not mean that a human being did not write this.
What the Frack?
So, I’m at work today, and unbidden, the song Kiss Me Deadly by (quick Google….Ohhhh!!! the 1955 Mike Hammer Movie sounds like neat film noir) Lita Ford.
Not a song I like particularly, but songs I don’t like spring into my head unbidden all the time (quick, try to not have It’s a Small World going through your head).
I didn’t think much of it, and tried to occupy myself otherwise.
About 6 hours later, I’m driving home, and Colin “The most overrated man in America” Powell comes on NPR. Not wanting to listen to his self-serving, hypocritical bulls#$@, I changed to music.
There the song was, one that I had not thought about in 10 years.
Synchronicity, I guess.