Blogging in Berkeley. Notes on news, politics, law, and technology in the US and China. [This blog is inactive. I am now staying busy and having a great time at UVA Law.]
Friday, December 31, 2004
 

Happy New Year!


AP Photo/Taipei 101, HO

The world's tallest building, "Taipei 101," opened today in Taipei, Taiwan.


 
Thursday, December 30, 2004
 


Man's best friend?

The Jakarta Post - Large python saves Riza and twins:
"'The mother shouted, 'please help save my children. Let me be, but please save my children,'' Riza recounted, in tears.

As she struggled for her own life and that of the twins, she said a large snake as long as a telephone pole approached her. She and the nine-year-olds rested on the reptile, which was drifting along with the current."
 
 


REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

The enormity of this disaster is becoming so great that it is starting to seem abstract. When one hundred people are killed in a train derailing or a landslide it seems like an awful tragedy. But what can be said of an event that kills 1000 times as many?

I am reminded of the cynical quote by Stalin:
"One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic."

Death toll reaches 100,000

And this death toll continues to rise. There is nothing to be done now for the dead except collect their bodies and hopefully return them to their loved ones. Each of them has left behind mourning family and friends.

Most importantly right now there are perhaps 3 million people in need of immediate assistance. Some need water and food, some need shelter, some need medical care, some are in need of all of these things. The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog is the place for the most current information on what we can do to help.
 
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
 

The vote must go forward in Iraq. Hinderaker at Power Line has it right, the terrorists are desperate to stop this election...and for good reason.

Power Line:
"The Iraqi terrorists are growing increasingly desperate as next month's elections draw closer and closer. Osama bin Laden has issued a tape recording denouncing the elections and condemning any Iraqi who votes as an 'infidel,' which means that he or she is threatened with death. But the clock is clicking on the terrorists. They hoped to defeat the U.S. Army militarily, but failed. They hoped to defeat President Bush in last month's election, but failed. They hoped to generate enough violence to force, with the aid of their allies in the American press, postponement of the January elections, but failed. When millions of Iraqis go to the polls one month from now, it will mark the beginning of the end of the Islamofascist campaign of terror."
 
 

Ross Douthat writing about Left2Right blog for the Weekly Standard. This is a great quote...
The Philosophers' Blog:
"But it turns out that when academics gather to consider revising and restating liberalism, the 'revisions' have the feel of deck chairs being reshuffled on the Titanic. These are thinkers, after all, who have given their lives to left-liberalism in its purest, most theoretical form, in which all the significant questions have been settled and the only remaining difficulty is determining how many sexual identities can dance on the head of a Rawlsian pin. Asking this collection of thinkers to 'get through' to the right by 'restating' their beliefs is like putting the Holy Office of the Inquisition in charge of missionary work."
 
 

Dick Morris: How Hillary Becomes President in '08:
"'Condoleezza Rice takes the black base and she takes the female base that's absolutely essential for Hillary's victory.'

Said Morris: 'Rice is the only person who can stop Hillary Clinton from being president.' "
 
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
 

Omar on the AP photographs of the election worker assassinations in Baghdad. There has been a lot of blogging on this issue, but few answer from the AP. When did they find out that there was going to be a triple murder on Haifa Street?

IRAQ THE MODEL:
"Haifa street is not a preferred choice for Baghdadis when they want to go for a walk or even for regular movement because of the dangerous alliance that was born several months ago between the Ba'athists who have the money and the regular criminals who are alwyas hungry for money and these criminals inhabit the old neighborhood close to this street.

And I believe it's become a sinister spot for journalists who work for foreign media after one of them got killed in a helicopter rocket attack during some clashes between the terrorists and the coalition troops some time ago.

So, what the f*** was that photographer doing with his equipment at that particular moment, in that particular spot?"
 
Sunday, December 26, 2004
 

USATODAY.com - Poll shows troops in support of war:
"Sixty-three percent of respondents approve of the way President Bush is handling the war, and 60% remain convinced it is a war worth fighting. Support for the war is even greater among those who have served longest in the combat zone: Two-thirds of combat vets say the war is worth fighting.

But the men and women in uniform are under no illusions about how long they will be fighting in Iraq; nearly half say they expect to be there more than five years.

In addition, 87%% say they're satisfied with their jobs and, if given the choice today, only 25% say they'd leave the service.

Compared with last year, the percentages for support for the war and job satisfaction remain essentially unchanged."
 
 

What an awful idea. It would be undemocratic to reward people for not participating or obstructing the election.

Iraq Rejects U.S. Talk of Adjusting Vote Result:
"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's election body rejected a suggestion in Washington it adjust the results of next month's vote to benefit the Sunni minority if low turnout in Sunni areas means Shi'ites win an exaggerated majority in the new assembly.

Speaking of 'unacceptable' interference, Electoral Commission spokesman Farid Ayar said: 'Who wins, wins. That is the way it is. That is the way it will be in the election.' "

Thank goodness there are Iraqis with more sense than our State Department!
 
 

Yahoo! News - Asia Quake's Sunamis Kill Nearly 10,000:
"'All the planet is vibrating' from the quake, said Enzo Boschi, the head of Italy's National Geophysics Institute. Speaking on SKY TG24 TV, Boschi said the quake even disturbed the Earth's rotation."
 
 

Chosun Ilbo translator Robert Koehler on a review of a book that suggests South Korean and Japanese nuclearization...

The Marmot's Hole - Are Japanese and S. Korean nukes the answer to the N. Korean nuclear issue?:
"My first impression here is that neither a nuclear-armed South Korea nor nuclear-armed Japan would encourage North Korea to rethink its nuclear program. After all, the one Pyongyang is currently working on is being developed, ostensibly, with the objective of confronting the United States, the world's largest nuclear state. Nuclear parity is apparently NOT a consideration in North Korean strategic planning. What the threat of South Korean or Japanese nuclear development MIGHT do, however, is light a fire under Beijing's ass to take Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions a bit more seriously. As Charles Krauthammer pointed out, 'If our nightmare is a nuclear North Korea, China's is a nuclear Japan. It's time to share the nightmares.'"
 
Friday, December 24, 2004
 


I'm reading a New Birth of Freedom by Harry Jaffa right now, and he began the first chapter with a message written by Abraham Lincoln to Congress in 1861 that contained the following quote: "It is now for them to demonstrate to the world that those who can fairly carry an election can also suppress a rebellion; that ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors of bullets...there can be no successful appeal back to bullets." The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi yesterday.

A Historic Moment for All Iraqis:
"Ballots will prove far more powerful than bullets in the end, and the will of the peaceful majority of Iraqis will triumph over the terror tactics of a hateful few. To this mission, I and my colleagues from the Interim Government pledge ourselves, and we call upon the governments and citizens of our allies in the international community and our neighbors in the region to do their utmost to support Iraq at this critical juncture. A free and secure Iraq will be a victory for all peace-loving people, and we Iraqis face a historic opportunity that we shall not squander."

I guess Dr. Allawi has read Lincoln. The quote by Lincoln is from July of 1861, shortly after the Civil War began. Will Allawi be the Iraqi Lincoln? Perhaps this is how Allawi views himself, fighting a rebellion to preserve his nation.
 
Thursday, December 23, 2004
 

My Way News:
"WASHINGTON (AP) - Refusing to be brushed off by Democratic opposition in the Senate, President Bush plans to nominate for a second time 20 people who did not receive up or down votes on their nominations for federal judgeships.

The Democrats' ability to stall certain White House picks for the federal bench was one of the most contentious issues of Bush's first term. During the past two years, despite the GOP majority in the Senate, Democrats used filibusters to prevent final votes from occurring on 10 of 34 of Bush's nominees to federal appeals courts."
 
 

Ann Coulter has called it gloating, but I don't think that is accurate. There is a response to bad news in Iraq from opponents to our invasion of Iraq that is unsettling though. Deacon at the popular Powerline Blog has conjured an analogy that seems pretty astute. In this post he is talking about the media treatment of the recent mess hall suicide bombing.

Power Line: Two from the Standard:

"The liberal media's coverage of the war in Iraq reminds me of certain radicals I knew years ago who were so eager to witness capitalism's demise that every economic bump -- a dip in the stock market or an increase in the unemployment or inflation rate -- was greeted as a sure sign of the 'final crisis' of capitalism."

The people today who are looking for the opportunity to say "I told you so" seem to be hoping for our failure. Our success would not serve their interests politically.
 
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
 

Iraqi blogging brothers Omar and Mohammed came to the US recently for a Harvard conference on blogging. Their other brother Ali, a doctor, was doing the blogging while they were away. (Though he was getting a hard time from anti-war Americans, and he decided to quit the blog.) It is an interesting blog to follow; people like Mohammed, Omar, and Ali will be the ones who make a democratic Iraq work.

IRAQ THE MODEL:
"We were very busy during our visit to the States that we couldn't find the time to communicate with our readers.

Those days were very special ones and we never felt like strangers there; we were surrounded with love and respect where ever we went. We were amazed by the endless support and good will that the American people have for Iraq.

Everyone was saying 'we're praying for your people and your country'.

It's been a great opportunity to meet many of our dear readers and respectable bloggers like Jeff Jarvis and Roger Simon and many other friends who kept following and supporting 'Iraq the Model' throughout the past 13 months."
 
 

News on the Chinese piracy problems via Danwei blog:

Danwei:
"Beijing, December 12, 2004-- A new type of DVD, called 'HDVD', has appeared on the black market, further aggravating the DVD piracy problem.

A single HDVD, can contain about 4 full-length feature films, or 10 episodes of TV programming. A standard DVD can generally hold one film, or a handful of TV episodes."

Only 8 yuan per disc (about $1 USD for now, though that will be changing).
 
Monday, December 20, 2004
 

Wrong person, wrong reasons, right message...

Saddam, from His Prison Cell, Urges Iraqis to Unite:
"Ziad Khasawneh, a Jordanian lawyer and spokesman for Saddam's defense team, told reporters: 'President Saddam Hussein urged the unity of his Iraqi people, regardless of their religious and ethnic creed, to confront U.S. plans to divide their country on sectarian grounds.'

"Saddam sent a plea to Iraq's men of religion from all persuasions to "shoulder a historic responsibility" in rallying people in Iraq's difficult times, the lawyers said."

 
Friday, December 17, 2004
 


Barbara Bush dirty dancing with Fabian Basabe.

This article from the Miami New Times is gossipy and funny. The writer is pretty skeptical and Basabe has some priceless lines.

miaminewtimes.com It Isn't Easy Being Fabulous 2004-12-16:

Papa Bush, Basabe says, was very understanding. "There was no flak. If anything, they were more concerned for me." Papa Basabe, however, was beside himself.

"My parents were furious," he sighs, cringing at the memory. "They made me leave New York."

Where did you hide out?

"Malibu."

"I had all these John Kerry people e-mailing me, asking, 'Can't you take her out dancing again?'"

Don't hate Fabian Basabe because he's beautiful. "I don't work, and a lot of people just don't understand that," the 26-year-old Basabe says, sounding genuinely hurt by the less-than-sympathetic response his poor-little-rich-boy persona often inspires. Pausing for a sip of his margarita, he continues: "People focus mainly on the glamour and think that if you're on television and in the public eye, you have a perfect life." Au contraire, Basabe warns. "Most of the time it's great, but it comes with a lot of responsibility."

via Wonkette
 
Thursday, December 16, 2004
 

Richard Leiby's Hollywood column at the Washington Post gives a great example today of a positive way to influence the views of public servants. Though the article's title refers to the first part, which demonstrated how not to do it I've excerpted part of the good approach, I'm looking forward to seeing this movie:

It's the F-Time Show With Chevy Chase (washingtonpost.com):

"State Department employees packed an auditorium yesterday afternoon for a sneak preview of a Golden Globe-nominated movie, but it was all about work, not recreation. The flick is 'Hotel Rwanda,' based on the searing true story of a hotel manager who sheltered more than 1,200 refugees after the West turned a blind eye to that country's genocidal violence a decade ago.

'Over 500 people came, and they were clearly moved by the film,' director Terry George told us after the screening. 'We had a fairly good discussion about peacemaking today and the situation in Darfur and the Congo.'"

INDCJournal.com linked fantasy interview of Chevy Chase by word of the day junkie Christopher Hitchens.
 
 

Orin Kerr has a pretty funny satirical look at the "Conservative in Academia Persecution Complex" yesterday at Volokh Conspiracy:

Th Plight of Conservatives in Academia

The particular article by a pseudononymous "assistant professor of classics at a university in the South" that Kerr targeted was pretty unimpressive.
 
 

With all the bad news that comes out each day, it is nice to see some good news sometimes.

Crystal Lake police chief nabs thief, saves hamster:

"CRYSTAL LAKE – A foot chase saved a hamster and led to an arrest in Crystal Lake on Monday."
 
 

Great paper-procrastination reading from my friend Kelly.

She did a comparison of a few of the paradoxical "acceptable" and "unacceptable" legal and social restrictions of Singaporean society:

http://kellog.blogspot.com/2004/12/what-is-acceptable.html
 
 

It's just after midnight and I'm sitting here in the main stacks of Doe Library at UC Berkeley working on a paper. Fall finals are this week and the library is open 24 hours a day for tense students cramming to prepare for their examinations.

About ten minutes ago the aisles of the this enormous underground library started filling up with students and a low and constant chatter started to grow in this usually uptight "shhhh!" environment. I hardly noticed since I had my earplugs in.

Suddenly people started shouting and clapping, and then I saw a parade of dozens of naked students jog by while everyone cheered. I settled back to my paper and just a few minutes later the streakers ascended the stairs in front of the table at which I am working, passing by again after completing their lap of each floor. A minute later the last straggler danced past, more likely an exhibitionist than unable to keep up.

It's nice to relieve some stress around finals, and ironically I was just working on Rousseau's man in the state of nature. Those people looked just as I imagined Rousseau's natural man, except they were wearing running shoes.
 
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
 


I would really like a Reagan 1980 or Carter 1980, or perhaps a Mondale 1984, but I will settle for this gem.
 
 

Dear theodore101,
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Bid details Item name: MICHAEL DUKAKIS For President 1988 Democratic Flag Pin

Item number: 3947240622

Seller: ssondall

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View the item you're bidding on:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3947240622&ssPageName=ADME:B:BN:US:1
 
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
 

Eugene Volokh ends his post on societal inequality with this joke which I have excerpted.

The Volokh Conspiracy -:
"There's an old Soviet joke about the man who visits Hell. In Hell, there are three giant cauldrons in which the sinners are being boiled. On the rim of one stands a regiment of demons, shoulder to shoulder, constantly using their pitchforks to smack down the sinners who are trying to escape. On the rim of the second walk a few demons, who occasionally whack someone down. The rim of the third is empty, but no-one is getting out.

What's going on here?, the visitor asks. 'There are three kinds of people,' the Devil says. (In the original joke, they are Jews, Russians, and Ukrainians, but in honor of the Orange Revolution I've sworn off Ukrainian jokes . . . .) 'The first kind is in the first cauldron. When one looks like he's trying to escape, all the rest follow him. We need a lot of demons to manage them.

'The second kind is in the second cauldron. Occasionally someone is trying to escape, but the others don't pay any attention. It takes just a few demons to deal with this kind.

'The third kind is in the third cauldron: When one is starting to escape, all the others drag him back down by the ankles.'

Don't be that third kind."

There seem to me to be communities of the third kind today in America.
 
 

Great article on North Korean economic reform by Dr. Andrei Lankov...

Asia Times - News and analysis from Korea; North and South:
"Until recently, the government did not try to lead, but simply followed the events. The much-trumpeted reforms of 2002 by and large were hardly anything more than the admission of the situation that had been existing for a few years by then. The official abolition (or near-abolition) of the public distribution system did not count for much, since this system ceased to operate outside Pyongyang around 1995.

But the North Korean economy has indeed come a long way from its Stalinist ways. Now the government has neither money nor support nor the political will to revive the Stalinist-style central economy. There is no way back, only forward. Stalinism is dead. Welcome to capitalism, comrades! "
 
 

This is just wierd...

Twin Sisters Deliver Sets. of Twin Boys: "ATLANTA (AP) - Two twin sisters are seeing double - or make that quadruple - after delivering two sets of twin boys Tuesday.

Twenty-one-year-olds Ashlee Spinks of Indianapolis and Andrea Springer of Conyers, Ga., delivered their boys by scheduled Caesarean sections Tuesday about an hour apart at Northside Hospital.

The women were six months pregnant when they found out they were both going to have twin boys due on the same date - Jan. 1, 2005. "
 
Monday, December 13, 2004
 

Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech - Spark of life creates 'ethical embryos':
"SCIENTISTS last night claimed to have made a major breakthrough in overcoming opposition to stem cell research by creating human embryos which cannot develop into babies.

The so-called 'ethical' embryos have been created by using an enzyme dubbed the 'spark of life' which tricks human eggs into believing they have been fertilised even without the presence of sperm."
 
Sunday, December 12, 2004
 

William F. Buckley Jr. on Barry Goldwater:
"A few years before his death in 1998, Goldwater started taking positions different from those of the conservative constituency at large. Conspicuous here was his defense of Supreme Court decisions involving abortion, gay rights, and the separation of church and state. Most followers of the senator were surprised, and abashed, especially at his defense of abortion. What emerged as a question, at the meeting in Phoenix, was whether his abortion position was owing to judicial ultramontanism, or to his general devotion to individual rights. "

Wow! Ultramontanism, contumacious, and exegete all in one article. I think William F. Buckley is one of those "word of the day" junkies.

He is the king of
arcane locution!
 
Saturday, December 11, 2004
 

Great editorial by Kathleen Parker. She managed to work in the word "glossolalia;" very impressive.

President doesn't use faith as a bargaining tool:
"Bush's invocations of God, meanwhile, are never gratuitous but are appropriate to context -- a funeral, or prayer breakfast, or the finishing touch on a State of the Union address: 'God bless America.' Hardly the rantings of a theocrat.

One can find other references to God, most notably in Bush's articulation of what is surely the central narrative of his presidency: 'Freedom is not America's gift to the world. Freedom is the almighty God's gift to every man and woman in the world.' Again, this is not rain dancing. Such is the seed that grew the United States of America.

In other words, the notion that Bush is imposing his religious beliefs -- or that he is going reshape America in the image of some fundamentalist fantasy -- is a bum rap. "
 
 

This is a clever use of javascript.
Click here and a little man will hijack your browser window:
man in a box
 
Friday, December 10, 2004
 

This is a long excerpt (the last quarter of the article) but it's worth reading.

Conservatism is on 'firing line':
"Right now, the conservative movement has an insufficient ratio of philosophers to tacticians.

Bush asserts that the security of the United States ultimately depends on the spread of freedom and democracy, particularly in the Middle East.

But Buckley pointed out that acting on American idealism internationally should be constrained by the need to act to protect ourselves. There is not much of that sort of restraint in the Bush doctrine.

Buckley said in the mock Firing Line that, although he initially supported the Iraq war, knowing what he knows now, he wouldn't have. As someone who opposed the Iraq war then based on what he knew then, in large part Bush's unconstrained regional ambitions, that's welcome company.

I asked Bill Buckley whether, in his opinion, George W. Bush was a conservative.

Buckley made a distinction between being conservative, which he said Bush was, and being 'a' conservative, in the sense of himself and Barry Goldwater, which he said Bush wasn't.

Much of the future of modern American conservatism depends on whether that distinction can be preserved over the next four years."
 
Thursday, December 09, 2004
 

We all need to start thinking seriously about our vision of the future of human civilization. If we resign ourselves to the fact that we cannot predict what will come then we will give up any chance of shaping the future that is to come. In considering what is possible and what is desirable we may still hope to influence the world of tomorrow. Perhaps more importantly though, we must think about the future so that we can anticipate and prepare for those developments that may be inevitable. Biotechnology is an area in which we do not want to be caught off guard, the stakes are too high. Biotech is becoming so powerful that it may change everything we know down to what we are as a species. The power of biotech can work for the good of mankind or for our detriment and it is up to us to guide the development in a way that conforms to our beliefs and values.

There are so many fundamental philosophical questions that we must consider in the development of biotech. This MSNBC article might help us consider: how much human material can we put in to a research animal before we must consider that animal a human?

MSNBC - Of mice, men and in-between:
"In Minnesota, pigs are being born with human blood in their veins.

In Nevada, there are sheep whose livers and hearts are largely human.

In California, mice peer from their cages with human brain cells firing inside their skulls."
 
 


What do you think he is saying to the puppet?
 
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
 

More on the Iraqi elections...
Yahoo! News - Iraqis May Extend Election Amid Violence:
"Responding to a suggestion this week by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi that voting could be spread over two or three weeks, the Independent Electoral Commission said it would consider such a proposal if the government were to make it formally.

The Interior Ministry, which with its U.S. military allies faces a massive task to provide security at thousands of polling stations on Jan. 30, also endorsed Allawi's idea, saying voting over several days could reduce vulnerable lines in the streets."

This seems like a sensible plan. Don't delay the elections, extend the elections.
 
 

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

Dictionary.com/Hanukkah Word Origins
 
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
 

10 Questions For College Football :: Eric Sorenson examines the ins and outs of college football:
"Question 2 - Let me get this right, it's okay to beg, whine and politic your way to a BCS berth? Shame on Mack Brown.

No wait; why not say congratulations?! He figured out a way to get his team into the Rose Bowl over Cal. From what I've heard, four voters in the coaches poll had the Bears as far down as No. 7 and two had them down as far as No. 8. Yep, Cal at No. 7 or 8. And get this - surprise! - one coach put Texas at No. 2 on his ballot! I wonder who did that?"

That was in the last week, as of the previous week no coaches had Cal lower than six. That four coaches then dropped Cal out of the top six in order to bump up Texas is scandalous. (After Cal won the final game of the season no less.) Who were these coaches? What a bunch of Longhorn bull.
 
 

ESPN.com - NCF/BOWLS04 - Cal can't hide anger:
"BERKELEY, Calif. -- California stuck to its ideals all season long, refusing to run up the score or beg for poll votes.

And as a reward, the fourth-ranked Golden Bears will be stuck at the Holiday Bowl while Texas runs for the roses."
 
 

More on the Iraqi election...

ScrappleFace: Sunni Clerics Ink P. Diddy for Vote-n-Die Campaign:
"The Sunni 'Vote-n-Die' campaign aims to reach out to young, hip, urban Muslims encouraging them to refrain from voting on election day.

A spokesman for Mr. Diddy said the performer was delighted to join the Sunni effort which he considered 'an extension of my work to elect John Kerry as president.'"
more...
 
 

Charles Krauthammer: Fighting the good fight:
"WASHINGTON -- In 1864, 11 of the 36 United States did not participate in the presidential election. Was Lincoln's election therefore illegitimate?

In 1868, three years after the security situation had, shall we say, stabilized, three states (not insignificant ones: Texas, Virginia and Mississippi) did not participate in the election. Was Grant's election illegitimate?
There has been much talk that if the Iraqi election is held and some Sunni Arab provinces (perhaps 3 of the 18) do not participate, the election will be illegitimate. Nonsense. The election should be held. It should be open to everyone. "

Krauthammer goes on to point out that the Sunnis make up about 20% of the population and have held power over the majority Shia for 80 years. He is of the opinion that there is already a civil war in Iraq, but only one side is fighting it. US soldiers are fighting and dying to defend the Shia muslims and Kurds from the Sunnis.

Ironically I had this very conversation this morning at the Free Speech Cafe. Some people think that we should postpone this election because the Sunnis are threatening not to participate and there could continue to be violence. A postponement would be a victory for the terrorists and obstructionists. The forces who would stop the democratization and stabilization of Iraq want to stop this election in January and I don't think we can afford to postpone this election. There will be more violence leading up to the election, but hopefully things will be more stable afterwards...or at least no worse than before. I have coffee (really any caffeinated beverage) riding on no civil war a week after the election.

Speaking of bets, I have a $20 bet that Rumsfeld will still be Secretary of Defense on inauguration day (this one is looking good) and we have lunch riding on a three way bet based on troop levels in Iraq in June, 2005. I say less troops, a highly esteemed professor says more troops, and an Army officer says no troops. (This officer beat me on a bet over Rage Against the Machine lyrics, I am hopeful for payback.)
 
Monday, December 06, 2004
 

Coach Tedford agrees to new five-year contract:
"In recognition of an historic season and the remarkable turnaround of the school's football program, the University of California has reached a new five-year agreement with Head Coach Jeff Tedford through the 2009 season, Athletic Director Sandy Barbour announced today.

Tedford, recently voted the Pac-10 Coach of the Year after guiding the Golden Bears to a No. 4 national ranking and the school's best record (10-1) in 55 years, agreed to the new contract this morning. The agreement, which replaces his existing five-year contract that had three years remaining, includes an enhanced compensation package for his assistant coaching staff."

I wonder if Tedford's contract extention would have cost more if Cal had been awarded a Rose Bowl appearance.
 
Sunday, December 05, 2004
 

Reason: Everyday Acts of Resistance: Do brain scans prove that people are powerless against chocolate cake and porn?:
"Banzhaf, a George Washington University law professor who never saw a problem that couldn't be solved by suing someone, argues that food sellers have a legal duty to warn consumers about the dangerous deliciousness of high-calorie products such as ice cream, cheeseburgers, and potato chips. 'Bet you can't eat just one!' presumably wouldn't count.

Banzhaf cites 'growing evidence...that eating some fattening foods can cause addictive reactions in the brain just like nicotine,' evidence he says is sufficient 'to warrant at least a warning about possible addictive effects.' He advises food companies that such warnings would help shield them from liability--very sporting of him, since he is a leading advocate of suing them for making people fat."
 
Saturday, December 04, 2004
 

This video clip is...well, one of a kind.

 
Thursday, December 02, 2004
 

Click here if you have been having trouble keeping track of the vast right-wing conspiracy behind Bush's reelection. This chart should clear it up for you.
 
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
 

Wired News: More Robot Grunts Ready for Duty:
"ORLANDO, Florida -- Hunting for guerillas, handling roadside bombs, crawling across the caves and crumbling towns of Afghanistan and Iraq -- all of that was just a start. Now, the Army is prepping its squad of robotic vehicles for a new set of assignments. And this time, they'll be carrying guns.

As early as March or April, 18 units of the Talon -- a model armed with automatic weapons -- are scheduled to report for duty in Iraq. Around the same time, the first prototypes of a new, unmanned ambulance should be ready for the Army to start testing. In a warren of hangar-sized hotel ballrooms in Orlando, military engineers this week showed off their next generation of robots, as they got the machines ready for the war zone. "
 

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