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Showing posts from August, 2007

AFP demonstrates how well they check facts

I mean, this is hilarious! MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2025 and wants to build a permanent base there shortly after, the head of Russian space agency Roskosmos said Friday. "According to our estimates we will be ready for a manned flight to the Moon in 2025," Anatoly Perminov told reporters. An "inhabited station" could be built there between 2027 and 2032, he said. The only moon landing in history is NASA's Apollo expedition in 1968 . (Emphasis mine.) First the unfired bullets that were "shot" at the old woman's home, now this. And in case you just tuned in, December 1968 was when Apollo 8 first orbited the Moon. The US landed on the Moon in July 1969. We did it again five more times, the last one being Apollo 17, in December 1972. So if the illustrious French news agency can't get some basic, obvious, simple history right, what does that say about the rest of their "reporting"? And I th

Olive Opus No.5 = Heaven on Earth

I want one. Simple as that. Once acquired I'd just have to piece together a worthy stereo. Click logo to see why.

The dissident frogman instructs AFP

I short while ago, AFP posted a bogus picture from Iraq, complete and utter hogwash to anyone who knows even a little about guns and bullets. The Dissident Frogman shows us how and why it was bogus, plus instructs AFP on how to minimize future bogosity, with his posting Like a suppository, only a bit stronger . Excellent. 

Martin Lewis calls for a coup d'etat; what a maroon!

He asserts to General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: You can relieve the President of his command. Not of his Presidency. But of his military role as Commander-In-Chief. You simply invoke the Uniform Code Of Military Justice. He tries to dodge accusations of a coup by writing: To be crystal clear - I am NOT advocating or inciting you to undertake any illegal act, insurrection, mutiny, putsch or military coup. You are an honorable patriotic man. I am NOT advocating or inciting you to interfere with any of the civilian duties of the President. That would not be a legal action by you. His bio reads: Martin Lewis is a British-born, Hollywood-based humorist, commentator, producer and radio host. Maybe I should be kind and just consider this a pathetic attempt at humor. He is, after all, a humorist, oh haha, it is to laugh. Absent humor, though, I'm left with only one conclusion, that he's an an idiot. Captain Ed neatly sums up why this is so: Lewis quotes exten

Bond versus Bourne

First, let me note that this is a thought exercise about fictional characters. There is no real "James Bond", there is no real "Jason Bourne". You could argue that Bond is closer to reality since author Ian Fleming based much of his writing on his own experiences, but that's a stretch. What makes this interesting, though, is that the debate keeps cropping up. Matt Damon was quoted in the UK, at the opening his the third Bourne film, saying that Bond sucked. I don't know if anyone solicited a response from the current Bond actor, Daniel Craig . Then a commentary on MSNBC declares essentially the same thing, that Bond is a has-been and that Bourne more accurate reflects our modern, complicated world. I gag. I haven't yet seen the third Bourne film. I'll probably wait for the DVD, since that's how I've seen the first two. I enjoyed the first and was pleased with the second. I have mixed feelings about the third. Why? Because near the begin

A fable too over-the-top for Hollywood?

 I had to wonder when I found this jewel : Most of us, myself included, tend to take our democratic institutions for granted. They were there when we were born. They were there for 200+ years. The idea that the US could somehow no longer be a representative democracy does not resonate at the gut-level, even when events should demonstrate the vulnerability of our system. Yet, twice in the last 4 decades, the US Constitution has come very close to extinction. Interestingly, and perhaps not surprisingly, each occurred in the setting of a war begun with a series of lies, and continued beyond the point when everyone knew the ultimate outcome would be unaffected, but was pursued just for the vanity of those in power. He is, of course, referring to then-Nixon and now-Bush. He starts his hyperbole by praising a judge for getting angry and imposing a maximum sentence as a result of that anger. Given almost any set of principles, no one would support a judge acting out of anger. The reality

When did Macs become cost competitive?

Well, actually they haven't, but Mac software is. No, it's more accurate to say Mac software is kicking Windows ass. Microsoft has a pricing plan for Vista that can charitably be described as a "scheme". It also doesn't make a lick of sense to me. To make matters worse, the reality is that if/when you buy a copy of the software you get all versions on your DVD. Your activation code determines which version installs, that's all. What this means is that at any time you can pay for an "upgrade" and unlock additional "features". What this means is that MS is leveraging their vast majority share of the operating system market. They are also complicating the hell out of buying decisions. In contrast, Apple is suddenly becoming nimble (in addition to already being arrogant, smug, and conceited). The latest Mac operating system retails at around $150. Period. End of story. Does MS Windows Vista Ultimate Mind-boggling Confused Version do anything