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Wednesday, July 30, 2003
If women ruled the world . . . 
posted by Walter at 5:49 PM
For those who like it hot Pepper Fool is a great site that deals with recipes, restaurant reviews, hot sauces, fresh and dried chiles, chile seeds, hot books, photos, and other products.
posted by Walter at 5:34 PM
Airport Security: A Moving Target?During a recent trip, a few things seemed different at the airport. First, the clerk at check-in issued my tickets without asking for identification. Cool, I figured I've done better than millionaire John Gilmore, who is suing the government for the right to fly without showing an ID. This just proves that the little guy can score a win.
It also occurred to me that they don't ask those ridiculously silly questions anymore, "Did you pack your own luggage? Has your luggage been in your control from the time you packed it? Has anyone unknown to you asked you to carry anything in your luggage?" Come on! What are you supposed to say? "No . . . I was too busy this morning . . . I had my terrorist neighbor pack my bags for me this morning."
My anonymous trip did not last long as my ID and boarding pass were checked before I could enter the security check-point queue. And my boarding pass was checked again 15 feet later before I could pass through the metal detector. What was the point of that?
Finally past the layers of security, I sat and watched the TV in the waiting area. In the space of 10 minutes, ads were broadcast for the Playboy channel, a "Wildest Bachelor Parties" video, No Holds Barred Fighting, and Professional Wrestling.
That must explain why they had to check my ID . . .
The flight back had a different security protocol. Again, no ID at check-in since it was a kiosk self-serve. To enter the security line queue all that was needed was a boarding pass—no ID this time. And I didn't need to show my boarding pass to actually walk through the metal detector.
The "expediter" at the metal detector was a large man with a drill sergeant’s voice barking the following half-warning, half metal detector Miranda, "ATTENTION! You are approaching a METAL DETECTOR! Please remove ALL metal objects off of your person. This includes loose coins, pagers, cell phones, and jewelry. If you beep, I WILL NOT ALLOW you to come back and walk through again. You will have to proceed to SECOND staging area. It's UP TO YOU, if you have 15 minutes of your time to burn. Otherwise, I would suggest that you remove ALL METAL OBJECTS. If you are wearing on you feet ANYTHING OTHER than TENNIS SHOES, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you take them OFF your feet and put them THROUGH the x-ray. Keep the line moving . . ."
At least I got an upgrade to first class . . .
posted by Walter at 7:47 AM
Breaking the RulesOne of the blogging rules of etiquette is that if you plan to take some time off, say so in your blog. Well, I took some time off, but made no mention of it.
My recent bogging energy has been funneled to a new weblog I have created—China Adoption News—which gives China-adoptive parents a convenient way to keep up on news and information about China.
Anyway, I'm back. You can stop sending e-mails wondering where I went.
posted by Walter at 3:25 AM
Friday, July 18, 2003
Daddy, why did we attack Iraq?Q: Daddy, why did we have to attack Iraq?
A: Because they had weapons of mass destruction honey.
Q: But the inspectors didn't find any weapons of mass destruction.
A: That's because the Iraqis were hiding them.
. . .
[more]
(from The Third Eye)
posted by Walter at 5:53 PM
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
VanishedCan anyone tell me where LibertyThink has disappeared to?
posted by Walter at 4:20 AM
ClocksHillary Clinton died and went to heaven. As she stood in front of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, she saw a huge wall of clocks behind him.
She asked, "What are all those clocks?"
St. Peter answered, "Those are Lie Clocks. Everyone on Earth has a Lie-Clock. Every time you lie, the hands on your clock will move."
"Oh," said Hillary. "Whose clock is that?"
"That's Mother Teresa's. The hands have never moved, indicating she has never told a lie."
"Whose clock is that?" asked Hillary.
"That's Abraham Lincoln's clock. The hands have only moved twice, telling us Abe told two lies in his entire life."
"Where's Bill's clock?" Hillary asked. "Bill's clock is in Jesus' office.
"Wow! That's pretty good, isn't it?"
"Not really, he's using it as a ceiling fan."
posted by Walter at 4:01 AM
Sunday, July 13, 2003
posted by Walter at 8:29 PM
Weapons SearchSearch Google for "Weapons of Mass Destruction"
posted by Walter at 8:19 PM
Saturday, July 12, 2003
International LawA letter by James C. Hsiung in the July 10, 2003, Far Eastern Economic Review,On "what" law was violated in the war in Iraq, there are two answers. First, the U.S.-led war violated the key injunction in what is understood as jus ad bellum, that resort to the use of force is solely for self-defence in response to an "armed attack," not just to a threat, even one posed by weapons of mass destruction. Second, the massive U.S.-British air strikes and missile attacks violated two rules in jus in bello that firepower used for destroying the enemy's defensive capability must be proportionate to the harm inflicted by the enemy; and there shall be no wanton killing of noncombatants.
posted by Walter at 1:52 PM
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Flawed Logic“Gen. Tommy R. Franks said today that violence and uncertainty in Iraq made it unlikely that troop levels would be reduced for the foreseeable future.” [article] Of course, the violence in Iraq is targeted towards U.S. troops, precisely because they are in Iraq. A quick way to end the killing of American soldiers is to get them out of Iraq.
posted by Walter at 4:45 AM
Ideal JusticeLawrence Sirovich, a mathematician at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, calculated that the current Supreme Court of nine judges behaves as if it were made up of about 4.68 "ideal" judges—adjudicators who make their decisions completely independently of each other. To put that figure in perspective, Sirovich says, a court with a strict liberal-conservative divide would behave as if it had only one judge because all decisions would be determined purely by which faction made up the majority. [link]
posted by Walter at 4:28 AM
Bush Asks Congress for $30 Billion to Help Fight War on Criticism “Sadly, the threat of criticism is still with us. We thought we had defeated criticism with our successes in Afghanistan and Iraq. We thought we had struck at its very heart with the broad discretionary powers of the USA Patriot Act. And we thought that the ratings victory of Fox News, America's News Channel, might signal the beginning of a lasting peace with the media. Yet, despite all this, criticism abounds.” [article] (Via J-Walk)
posted by Walter at 4:15 AM
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
The mystery has finally been solved!It's a bug in the software program that runs the world from Redmond, Washington. I am not making this up....
posted by Walter at 8:17 PM
Troop Morale in IraqEven as President Bush speaks of a "massive and long-term" undertaking in rebuilding Iraq, that effort, as well as the high tempo of US military operations around the globe, is taking its toll on individual troops.
Some frustrated troops stationed in Iraq are writing letters to representatives in Congress to request their units be repatriated. "Most soldiers would empty their bank accounts just for a plane ticket home," said one recent Congressional letter written by an Army soldier now based in Iraq.
In some units, there has been an increase in letters from the Red Cross stating soldiers are needed at home, as well as daily instances of female troops being sent home due to pregnancy.
. . .
In one Army unit, an officer described the mentality of troops. "They vent to anyone who will listen. They write letters, they cry, they yell. Many of them walk around looking visibly tired and depressed.... We feel like pawns in a game that we have no voice [in]." [link] (Via J-Walk)
posted by Walter at 3:50 AM
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
Never Say to a Cop- I can't reach my license unless you hold my beer. (OK in Texas)
- Sorry, Officer, I didn't realize my radar detector wasn't plugged in.
- Aren't you the guy from the Village People?
- Hey, you must've been doin' about 125 mph to keep up with me. Good job!
- Are You Andy or Barney?
- I thought you had to be in relatively good physical condition to be a police officer.
- You're not gonna check the trunk, are you?
- I pay your salary!
- Gee, Officer! That's terrific. The last officer only gave me a warning, too!
- Do you know why you pulled me over? Okay, just so one of us does.
- I was trying to keep up with traffic. Yes, I know there are no other cars around. That's how far ahead of me they are.
- When the Officer says "Gee Son....Your eyes look red, have you been drinking?" You probably shouldn't respond with,"Gee Officer your eyes look glazed, have you been eating doughnuts?"
posted by Walter at 9:32 AM
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