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Monday, September 20, 2004 |
Quote of the Day
"At some point the Iraqis will get tired of getting killed and we’ll have enough of the Iraqi security forces that they can take over responsibility for governing that country and we’ll be able to pare down the coalition security forces in the country." -- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.... [Taegan Goddard's Political Wire]
7:21:21 PM Permalink
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Reading the Tea Leaves
READING THE TEA LEAVES....Bob Novak, a conservative who who opposed the Iraq war, says "well placed sources" in the administration believe that George Bush will hastily retreat from Iraq if he wins reelection:They believe that is the recommendation of his... [Political Animal]
5:04:45 PM Permalink
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Stupid anti-terrorism tricks
WOMAN ARRESTED FOR HAVING BOOKMARK IN HER BAGGAGE
JAY CRIDLIN, ST PETERSBURG TIMES - For the past month, Kathryn Harrington has stared down the possibility of a criminal trial, a $10,000 fine and the stigma of being deemed a security risk at Tampa International Airport. The reason? She had a bookmark with her as she passed through airport security screening.
"It was a bookmark," Harrington said. "It's not a weapon. I could not understand why I was being handcuffed and put into a police car. I cried for hours." . . .
A spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration said Thursday the agency, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, is likely to drop Harrington's case as early as next week.
"I think at this point we've decided not to pursue a civil penalty," said TSA spokeswoman Lauren Stover. "But it's not a decision that can be made on the spot. These are things that require an investigation."
Harrington and her college-aged sons were flying home from a vacation in Orlando and Sarasota Aug. 17 when airport screeners found the bookmark - an 8.5-inch green leather strap with lead weights at each end - in Harrington's purse on Aug. 17. She'd carried the $9.99 bookmark on several flights since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, even through Tampa International Airport, but screeners had never noticed it.
This time, screeners thought the bookmark resembled a weighted police weapon, known as a sap or slungshot, used to knock suspects unconscious. . . . Harrington was questioned about the bookmark, then handcuffed and driven to an airport police holding cell. . .
According to the TSA's official prohibited items list, anyone who brings any banned item to a screening checkpoint, even accidentally, may be criminally or civilly prosecuted. Even items that are not specifically listed, but could be considered dangerous, are illegal.
[UNDERNEWS]
4:55:38 PM Permalink
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20 September, 2004
Lebanon bans The Da Vinci Code : "'We have to work for public interest, banning anything that could worsen sectarian prejudices or offend religions.'"... [The Revealer]
As much as I hate book banning, in this case it's tempting to make an exception.
4:43:19 PM Permalink
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Morons in the News: Swaggart Says He'll Murder Gays and Deceive God
Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart says that if a gay man looks at him
the wrong way, he will kill the gay man and "tell God he
died"...
Judging by his appearance, I don't really think Jimmy Swaggart
has much to worry himself about this, but he told his audience
in New Orleans:
I'm trying to find the correct name for it ... this utter
absolute, asinine, idiotic stupidity of men... [morons.org headlines]
4:36:53 PM Permalink
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RNC gets nastier and nastier
This is how Republicans play the game:Campaign mail with a... [Daily Kos]
Campaign mail with a return address of the Republican National Committee warns West Virginia voters that the Bible will be prohibited and men will marry men if liberals win in November.
The literature shows a Bible with the word "BANNED" across it and a photo of a man, on his knees, placing a ring on the hand of another man with the word "ALLOWED." The mailing tells West Virginians to "vote Republican to protect our families" and defeat the "liberal agenda."
Remember: this is official Republican Party campaign material. If you vote Republican, you endorse this kind of campaigning. In short, the "logic" is that you can say anything you want to, make any threat you want to, to scare anyone, as long as it gets you elected.
4:21:52 PM Permalink
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Sunday
On Father's Day, the offspring got us a set of tickets to see the Giants, and yesterday was the day. A few weeks ago, Richard realized that we may be able to see Bond's 700th homer, but we missed it by two days. Still, it was a beautiful day at the park, and we saw a great J.T. Snow demonstration: 4 RBIs (and it would have been 5 but for an idiot fan reaching over and grabbing a ball that was still in play) and a great single-handed double-play. Great tactics on Alou's part, as he brought Bonds (who didn't start) out to pinch it. Bonds was walked to load the bases, and then came Snow's ground-rule double. A good game. Wish the damned Dodgers had lost.
Last night I opened a bottle of the nut brown ale I brewed three weeks ago and bottled a week ago. As I opened it, the beer gushered from the bottle, all over me and the kitchen. Happily for me it wasn't my kitchen! I don't think it was a flaw in the brew or the bottling in general, but rather this particular bottle. We had tried to get all the beer from the fermenter, and this one got too much of that yeast. The rest of the bottles look clear, but to make sure I'll open them over the kitchen sink for a bit.
11:21:43 AM Permalink
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The Home Computer of 2004
Caption below the image reads:
Scientists from the RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a “home computer” could look like in year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems. With teletype interface and the Fortran language, the computer will be easy to use and only [truncated]
[manalang.com]
9:41:38 AM Permalink
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© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
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