Crosblog

Fidel Castro visits Venezuela, amazed no one's trying to kill him.

"This may be the only visit I've made in which there was no plan to attack me, simply because I wasn't going to make the trip," said Castro, citing assassination plots thwarted during past summits.

Hey, politics is a contact sport. Anyone could have one assassination plot, maybe even two.

But if someone tries to kill you every time you leave the country for over thirty years, at some point, don't you have to at least consider the possibility that you're just that big an asshole?

Sometime in the very near future, the government of Mexico will lecture us on the inherent racism of American society, probably as relates to our use of the death penalty and/or immigration policy. This may not be delivered in the most artful way, but still. Please listen to whatever arguments are made, noting the strengths and weaknesses of each point. Take heart in the commitment of the Mexican government to combat the venal evil that is racism.

Then take at look at what's going on a postage stamp down there.

Publisher Manelick De la Parra told the government news agency Notimex that the character would be sort of a goodwill ambassador on Mexican letters and postcards. "It seems nice if Memin can travel all over the world, spreading good news," de la Parra said, calling him "so charming, so affectionate, so wonderful, generous and friendly."

Goodwill Ambassador?

It's a little ahead of schedule, but what the hell. Inigo?



"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Remember when Lisa Simpson was elected president of her class, and the faculty used her as a front to wreck the place?

Well, Iran rigged an election to stuff in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as cover for the unelected hardcases on the Guardians Council, and now it's time for him to crack the freaking whip.

That way, when Amnesty International complains "You're having people flogged in public for holding hands! That's almost as bad as Guantanamo!", the mullahs can say "Hey, he won the election."

Which he didn't. But why be techincal?

I suppose it had to happen. In light of the Supreme Court's recent eminent domain ruling, developers are rushing to seek condemnations. This includes an attempt to build a hotel on the site of the home of Supreme Court Justice (and Kelo majority voter) David Souter.

Now that's petty. That's spiteful.

And, I must admit, kind of funny.

International leaders celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.

Turnout was lighter than hoped, unfortunately. However, the celebrants bravely soldiered on, and managed to come up with a resolution blaming the light turnout on Israel.

Alternative joke - Today marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the U.N. Tomorrow marks the 60th anniversary of the first U.N. resolution condemning Israel.

This Steve Silver post is a simple summary of why this country rules.

The editor of a prominent Australian newspaper is upset that freed hostage Douglas Wood has referred to his former captors as "assholes." It seems that Wood was "treated well" by which editor Andrew Jaspan seems to mean that he was fed, and while he may have had to witness other hostages being murdered, it wasn't like they murdered him.

The more suspicious may think that the lack of sympathy towards Wood - after all, if you don't have the right to call a guy who kidnapped you and a gun to your head an asshole, the word has lost all meaning - stems from the fact that Mr. Wood emerged from captivity mad at his captors, still supportive of the mission in Iraq, and actually apologized for things he was forced to say at gunpoint.

I'd like to think Andrew Jaspan is an isolated moron, who rose to journalistic prominence through a series of unfortunate accidents, and people of all political persuasions are aghast at his moronic comments, and he will humbly retract his insipid remarks without qualification or equivocation.

I'd also like to think that nobody is going to use the phrase "Look, I'm glad Mr. Wood is back safe, but..."

I'd also like to think eating at Steak & Shake causes you to lose weight.

Tip - Ace of Spades.

...but since Dawn Summers encouraged us all to vote in the Discovery Channel's greatest American poll - I'm sure she'd want me to spread the word that we have a winner.

Reagan, Ronald Wilson.

COB saw a sneak preview of Serenity, and pronounces it the "best picture I've seen all year."

He also liked Batman Begins, and I assume he hated Elektra, like all decent thinking people. I don't have high hopes for the financial future of Serenity, a cult within the Joss Whedon cult, but if it's a straight up good sci-fi flick - there may be hope.

African Union looks at Zimbabwe and takes a bold stance, loudly proclaiming:

"What? There something going on here we should see? Cause I'm not seeing anything to get excited about, you know what I'm saying?"

Among the things they haven't noticed is Mugabe's crew crushing children to death. While one hopes the fact that Israel cannot be blamed for this will not prevent a massive display of outrage from abroad, one is not optimistic.

Hat tip - Dawn Summers, via Alarming News.

Oh, yeah, one other thing - this quote:

"But if it is in the interests to prevent crime, or improve sanitation or ensure the health of the people or ensure Harare does not turn into a slum, I do not see how the AU should take over the internal legislation for action the government says they have taken to improve the livelihoods of their people," (African Union spokesman Desmond) Orjiako said.

"Improve the livelihoods of their people?"

Desmond, Inigo. Inigo, Desmond.



"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

And there's your Montoya Award winner for the week.

Couple more good posts on the Kelo decision -

Karol points out that Dawn Summers was wrong about the reaction - and the comment thread has some good thoughts on the matter.

Mithras approvingly cites a post in support of the decision - Cliff Notes version - one does not have to agree with the result to agree with the Constitutionality of New London's actions.

Dave Justus - Ouch. Just ouch.

Supreme Court rules in favor of tossing a family out of a century old family property so Pfizer can make some more money.

OK, that's not technically how they put it. The ruling is Kelo vs. City of New London, and can be viewed here. Stevens writes for the majority, joined by Souter, Breyer, Ginsburg, and Kennedy (who writes a separate opinion). They position themselves as the defenders of federalism - who gallantly refuse to involve themselves in the affairs of local government. To them, the economic benefits that the new use of the land will bring constitute a sufficient public use, and the development plan should not be second guessed by the courts.

The position of the defense, as articulated by O'Conner and Thomas, (joined by Rehnquist and Scalia), is that involving yourself is what you're supposed to do when the Constitution is violated - and the acts of the city are, to the dissent, a clear violation of the takings clause - as they benefit a private entity, and do not put the condemned land to a public use, such as a school or road. To them, under the rule as devised by the majority, no taking for economic benefit will ever fail, because the taking will always be disguised in proper sounding language, unless drafted by a "stupid staffer" (actual quote - to prove I at least skimmed the opinion.)

I'm inclined to agree with the dissent on the policy - the rules as articulated by the majority basically mean private citizens are screwed if someone can come up with a grand enough plan for "economic development" - and it should be noted that speaking out on behalf of "the little guy" against the well connected and wealthy would be the conservative justices. However, the "government knows best" side prevailed - so New London is getting some shopping centers.

Ain't no law says anyone has to shop there, though.

Speaking out agin' the decision are many, many people, including, but not limited to:

Rambling's Journal - aghast at the assault on private property.

Hubs and Spokes - Ditto (post includes a link to an amusing shot at Justice Ginsberg.)

Southern Appeal - is not impressed with the decision, although there is praise for Thomas' dissent. (Which, as Thomas' writings usually do, includes a detailed history of the evolution of the law on the subject . If you're a law student taking a class on the subject, eschew your textbook for Thomas' opinion. It worked for my wife on the Commerce Clause.)

Of the Mind - color him dismayed.

Justus for All cites O'Connor's excellent dissent.

And, I will add that the formidable Eugene Volokh points out some points in favor of a decision sure to take a lot of crap in the blogosphere over the coming days.

From The Inside:

If your boss routinely dangles you as bait for serial killers, it's time to find a new job.

This would be true even if he consulted you in advance.

In other countries - people are allowed to say and do things that displease you. Deal with it. Sometimes these things are as simple as visiting a shrine, and sometimes they involve making clever caricatures of your leaders.

Making these demands, while at the same time having your hand out for donations to alleviate the suffering caused by your wretched inability to run a country, would be called "chutzpah" if we thought you had any redeeming qualities and therefore wanted to spare your apparently very delicate feelings.

Since you don't, we dub it "being a jackass."

Via Dawn Summers - This poll for the greatest American includes not one, but two nominees (out of five) from my home state of Illinois. (New Salem's Abraham Lincoln and Dixon's Ronald Reagan) Given that Illinois wasn't even a state during the republic's formative years, this is quite an achievement.

Currently, Illinois' leading political figures include Governor/Walking Jerry Springer Episode Rod Blagojevich, George "Human Cockroach" Ryan, and oh, yeah, Dick Durbin.

This is what is known as a "down period."

...takes place, in part, in this New Republic Online article about the nomination of Congressman Chris Cox to be head of the SEC. Author David Bosco's agin' it - not because Cox is in any way unqualified to be SEC chair, but because he's such a strong voice on human rights, especially in China, that he serves the country better in his current position.

Quotes from Chinese officials suggest they loathe Cox, which speaks highly of him. If he must be moved - and if the filibuster of John Bolton ended with him being rejected in an up or down vote - Cox might make a good U.N. ambassador. People who piss off dictators should always have a forum to do so.

I usually miss lunch during trials. It's not a plan, it just usually ends up that I don't really have any time.

If I had this case, it would be a plan.

Would you believe that list - already very extensive, actually includes playing baseball?

Of course, that's just for people who oppose the regime. Accept the glory of the socialist revolution, and it's play ball!

OK, there were some great lines on the AFI's list of top 100 movie quotes - but I'm not sure they really reflected how some alternative lines have really become a part of our culture. (One line total from the entire Star Wars saga?)

As an alternative, I'd like to suggest the Movie Quotes Bracket Battle, from one of the many sites that's popped up to discuss the Hollywood Stock Exchange. They take 64 great movie lines - some on the AFI list, some not. (They include classics from Army of Darkness, Blazing Saddles, and Trainspotting. They also include "Yippie-Ky-Yay, motherfucker!" from Die Hard) Readers voted on each quote, March Madness-style, until arriving at the winner.

That winner?



"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Less practical application than one of his other lines, but still a classic movie line.

Durbin's sorry.

"I am sorry if anything I said caused any offense or pain to those who have such bitter memories of the Holocaust, the greatest moral tragedy of our time. Nothing, nothing should ever be said to demean or diminish that moral tragedy.

"I am also sorry if anything I said cast a negative light on our fine men and women in the military ... I never ever intended any disrespect for them. Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line to them I extend my heartfelt apology," Durbin said, choking on his words.

If? He's not aware that he actually did do these things? He must be dumb as a stump.

Ace pretty much got it right, both pre- and post-apology.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the hardcore opponents of Bush are dismayed by Durbin's climbdown. I will spend 30 seconds researching the issue.

Done.

Dammit, Dick, the true believers on your side wanted you to stick to your guns. The true believers on the other side wanted you to stick to your guns. You just don't get that kind of bipartisanship anymore.

Oh, well, there's always Loud Howard.

Petitdov uncovers the hidden meaning of billboards.

We don't have any of those billboards in Atlanta, so far as I know. Must be that Christian southern upbringing.

Of course, we do have at least one that has a giant picture of the ugliest man in the history of music. Can't win 'em all....

The official claim from the Iranian government is that voters turned out in droves. If true, that might make Bush look bad, but I'm sure that won't affect the international media taking a critical look at what actually happened. But every story I've read quotes long lines for voters - but they're not shown, and I haven't seen any foreign journalists personally verifying long lines or hordes of voters.

Apparently there were no independent observers permitted to go anywhere, and Michael Ledeen is reporting that his sources in Iran are clamining turnout was horrible.

Now, the "official" result couldn't be any better for the autocrats currently running Iran. A huge turnout - with the top vote getters an unabashed hardliner and a hardliner who everyone is pretending is a moderate reformer for some idiot reason. (Rafsanjani would be the latter.) My question is - is there any independent sources supporting the validity of the Iranian elections that don't require taking the word of the Guardian's Council?

You are Elizabeth Bathory. (The bloodcountess)
Legend tells us that you, this very rich,
beautiful and high born woman tortured and
murdered some 650 young women and bathed in
their warm blood to keep yourself beautiful.
In some stories, it is said you have drank thier
blood as well. You were a sexual sadist on a
grand scale.
Ah vanity is your downfall. For shame!


Which Imfamous criminal are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

On the other hand...

You Are From Mercury

You are talkative, clever, and knowledgeable - and it shows. You probably never leave home without your cell phone! You're witty, expressive, and aware of everything going on around you. You love learning, playing, and taking in all of what life has to offer. Be careful not to talk your friends' ears off, and temper your need to know everything.

I do actually have the Elizabeth Bathory action figure. (My wife actually bought the thing. I married well.)

Quizzes via Dave Justus and Grant. For a fun exercise, before peeking, try and guess which blogger posted which quiz.

Hey, the man doesn't think he said anything wrong, and doesn't want to apologize. Quit trying to make him.

You know, Dick's from Illinois, where his opposition is coordinated by the dumbest collection of allegedly conservative politicians not appearing on a David E. Kelley show. His seat is safe. But in future elections, the Dems will be trying to make inroads into red state areas, such as here in the South. They obviously want to run as the party that doesn't think Illinois' senior senator is a complete jackass, against the party that does.

I say we go ahead and let them.

Iranian official says election won't alter Iran's nuclear policy.

OK, if an election doesn't have a shot at altering a nation's policy, is it really an election?

Or don't guess. Read about it. Any leader in Africa who wants a reputation as a regional leader needs to step up quick. South Africa's Thabo Mbeki has pretty clearly chosen the goodwill of a dictator over the plight of a nation.

Bush denounces Iranian elections as undemocratic.

Bush said Iran's unelected rulers rejected more than 1,000 presidential candidates, "including popular reformers and women who have done so much for the cause of freedom and democracy in Iran."

He said Iranians "deserve a genuinely democratic system in which elections are honest -- and in which their leaders answer to them instead of the other way around." He called for a free press, freedom of assembly, a "free economy" independent of the state, an independent judiciary and religious freedom.

"Today, the Iranian regime denies all these rights," Bush said. "It shuts down independent newspapers and Web sites and jails those who dare to challenge the corrupt system. It brutalizes its people and denies them their liberty."

Bush concluded: "America believes in the independence and territorial integrity of Iran. America believes in the right of the Iranian people to make their own decisions and determine their own future. America believes that freedom is the birthright and deep desire of every human soul. And to the Iranian people, I say: As you stand for your own liberty, the people of America stand with you."

On a related note, read this Dave Justus post about a prisoner of conscience in Libya.

Favorably reviewed by such diverse experts as Dawn Summers(she's really smart, don'tcha know) and Ace of Spades can only mean a movie is destined to be a huge hit. And it's pretty darn good, by which I mean "not as good as Sin City, but several orders of magnitude better than Elektra, which somehow managed to combine Jennifer Garner in tight clothes and violence and make them boring." I mean, seriously, you have comics in this character's history written by Frank Miller and Kevin Smith, and the best you can do for the movie is some tripe with what's his name from ER? Good Lord, people, J.J. Abrams has Garner and a boring leading man and he poops out stuff that's twice as good on a weekly basis for a fraction of the money! I mean...

...oh, right, Batman. Christian Bale is the best film Batman ever. (Yes, better than Keaton.) What he gets right is how much Bruce hates playing Bruce Wayne, millionaire playboy. All acting by people not currently pretending to date Tom Cruise is quite good, and the spouse would like it said that Cillian Murphy is a very good looking man. If you're a comic book fan, they get a few things wrong. Lucious Fox and Jonathan Crane are a little wrong, and Ra's Al Ghul is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. (And, unlike Fox and Crane, he didn't need to be wrong to fit in with the movie's plot.) The details would involve plot spoilers, so go see the movie first.

And on your way out of the theater, if you see anyone involved with the making of Elektra, they are to be mocked. For that movie sucked many chunks.

Not Batman, though.

Pretty much everyone around here except yours truly appears to be signing book and/or movie deals. Among the media products we can expect are a book from Brian Nichols' hostage Ashley Smith, a movie about Marcus Dixon from the guy who did Coach Carter, and, of course, the inevitable Jennifer Wilbanks story. The achievements meriting these deals are, in order: not getting killed, not raping somebody, and not getting kidnapped.

A co-worker just posted a picture of this guy on my door...



...which is a comment on my unconventional filing system. I would like to take this opportunity to declare my deep, abiding suspicion of all you clean-desked people out there. I'm not convinced you actually do any work. I mean, if you did, it would be out there on your desk, wouldn't it? You know what I put in filing cabinets and desk drawers? Stuff I'm not working on, that's what.

There's just something not right about a clean desk.

...OK, I'm willing to hold off on this one, since Iran does have an active opposition movement that at least has a shot at succeeding. The upcoming test is Friday's election. The mullahs have pretty much already rigged the stupid thing, tossing virtually every candidate who's not down with willing to be a front for the absolute rule of a small band of corrupt mullahs, but they're sweating the possibility of a laughably low turnout, which would risk making the fraud that is "Iranian Democracy" so apparent that even a U.N. official might notice. (Not do anything about. Just notice. Crawl before you walk, and all that.)

And now comes word that the only candidate who passes for a genuine reformer is considering withdrawing. (And they desprately need Moin to run, as he alone speaks for the faction of reformers who are willing to vote in this election.) I'd like to see the opposition unite in a boycott, but if I lived in Iran, I'd be hard pressed to sign off on letting Akbar Rafsanjani have a free hand at running my country without saying something about it.

Still, with Moin, turnout will be low. Without him, it will be almost nothing. Nevertheless, expect an "official result" somewhere around 50%. Hopefully there will be some real scrutiny of turnout, since there's little point in being curious about the results.

Jackson walked. I, like many others, more or less called it. And while I won't pretend to have followed the case closely enough to definitively say critics of the prosecution are right or wrong, there are a couple points I want to bring up.

1. Child molestation cases are very difficult to prove - only on Law & Order do you ever find the defendant's secret collection of video tapes documenting the abuse. Here on Planet Reality, you have a young, vulnerable, damaged victim whose story is told only through other people - parents, teachers, counselors - usually with little opportunity to collect the forensic evidence that CSI has taught the public to expect. Such stories can be easily suspect (and not without justification), yet are often the only way to obtain the facts regarding the abuse.

2. Skilled abusers are capable of identifying and exploiting vulnerability. A damaged child, with a dysfunctional family will not only be susceptible to a charismatic abuser's allure, but has the added benefit (for the abuser), of being less believable should they ultimately come forward. Whether or not Jackson in fact exploited him, his accuser was certainly the perfect target. (This is also why, predator or not, Macauley Culkin was almost certainly never at risk.)

3. How long do you wait? Jackson had purchased the silence of at least one previous accuser, and had (and presumably still has) no shortage of idiot parents willing to drop their kids off at Neverland to have tickle fights with the Most Bizarre Human Being on Planet Earth. (Hopefully his promise to quit sleeping with young boys will hold up.)

I don't quibble with the jury's verdict - everything that makes child molestation cases difficult can also be a legitimate source of reasonable doubt, and if Mark Geragos had to "affect" somebody's case, well, it was probably more important to convict Scott Peterson anyway.

Paris Hilton to retire in two years.

From what? What does she do now?

Also, could someone explain why the woman who raised Paris Hilton gets a TV show where she judges contestants on taste and etiquette? Do we let Steven Seagal judge actors?

They have a verdict in the Michael Jackson case...

Go over to Karol's and read something in honor of her third blogiversary. Karol is the first person I actually met in person through the whole blogging thing, when she came down here to work on Herman Cain's campaign. Through her blog, I met a whole bunch of great people who have led me to believe New York is more than just a haven for crazy liberals. Also Dawn.

Anyway, here's hoping for a celebration that she won't remember, but those around her will document and blog about.

They're hot. Stuff blows up.

You need more?

...some other time. Right now, 2,500 lawyers have rushed to the defense of Saddam Hussein. Apparently, the current defense is going to be that the tribunal trying Saddam are all a bunch of traitors and if they give the country back right now, he will see their deaths are quick and painless.

Nerds make better lovers.

Just so we're clear, we're talking about nerds. Not metrosexuals or French people.

Since the brilliantly European idea of taking away private citizens' guns has pretty much given Mugabe impunity to do whatever he wants, there really isn't much recourse. Maybe the fact that Mugabe destroyed a mosque will move the international community to action. (And maybe the Kansas City Royals are just one trade away from being pennant contenders - ed.)

There isn't much that can be done internally. An attempted general strike collapsed quickly, because the people who would have had to lead it stayed quiet, because they would have quickly vanished had they spoken out. The common lament against "outside intervention" from the "we swear, we'll democratize Tuesday for a blind eye to our crackdowns today" crowd is that democracy cannot be imposed from without, but pressure for change must come from within. This is what's known, in geopolitical terms, as horseshit.

People want the power to choose their own leaders, and have a say in how the country is run. Dictators want to keep on dictating, leaving them at cross purposes. Dictators live by the golden rule - "He who has the gold, makes the rules," or more accurately, "he who steals the gold, buys guns with the gold, thenmakes the rules." As for the battle between a tired old autocracy, left behind by history and the bright ideals of young, peaceful patriots...well, just ask a Tiananmen Square protestor how that turns out, if you can find one. The simple truth is this:

If the dictator is willing to paint the streets with blood, democracy is coming from without, or not at all.

Mugabe is such a dictator. I'd be willing to try the sanctions thing again, if people think a John Bolton-less UN has the stones to see it through. (Unless they have World Series tickets and need to catch flights to Kansas City - ed.) Failing such a display of multinational resolve, the world is faced with two options: Either we sign off on removing Mugabe by force, or we've signed off on how he runs the country.

...Taking pleasure in someone else's pain.

For instance, noting that a basketball player's broken foot keeping him out of NBA tryouts means he'll probably be coming back to one of your favorite college teams.

I prefer to think of it as "seeing a silver lining."

...so I don't know what life is like at a big law firm, but I read an interesting story in our legal newspaper (unfortunately not online.) It's about Richard Merritt, who got fired from a high-prestige job at a highly prominent law firm because he wrote a book called "Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star."

The firing apparently soured him on big firm work. In the article I read, he was quoted as saying "I'd go back into porn before I'd go back to work for a large law firm."

From what I hear, wouldn't he be getting screwed either way?

Nothing "extraordinarily" wrong with Janice Rogers Brown.

Concern about the compromise seems to be coming more and more from the Democratic side of the aisle. And remember, however one thinks these things should go, the truth is that without that deal, Judge Brown would not have been brought to a vote.

Add in the fact that William Pryor should be confirmed this time tomorrow, (another vote that wouldn't have happened without the deal), and I think the compromise is looking even better.

...the whole Koran-abusing thing? Oh, yeah, Israel has totally done that too. And they did it, recently, you know, while the whole world has their shorts in a bunch about how to handle the Koran, cause Israeli soldiers are totally dumb as rocks.

Or, you know, the whole thing is complete horsepuckey, since Koran desecration is the preferred complaint du jour.

Feel free to make up your own minds, taking into account whether any one side is more likely then another to make unfounded, exaggerated accusations of horrific behaviour in the service of their cause.

Just saying.

Sen. Pat Leahy: "It is hard to think of a world without the U.N."

...but there is something seriously messed up with the way Utah sentences murderers. Mark Hacking, who shot his (maybe) pregnant wife Lori Hacking and threw her body in a landfill, plead guilty to murder. Six years to life seems a little vague - since we've got a judge, and witnesses if we need them, how's about narrowing it down a little?

Katie Holmes would make a crappy Wonder Woman.

Colorado will today begin the laborious process of trying to extradite an accused cop-killer from Mexico. Laborious, because Mexico refuses to extradite suspects who face the death penalty or life without parole. Any exception to this rule would require a Mexican government currently facing a strong challenge from a left-wing, anti-US candidate to take a strong stand in favor of cooperation with the U.S. during an election. I'm going to file that one under "long shots." They may ultimately have to try him in Mexico. The family of the victim, Detective Donnie Young is, at the moment, willing to take what they can get.

While he's in Mexico, the authorities have occupied themselves bugging his relatives, who may have helped him escape and may or may not be here legally. Now, I'm not one to give unsolicited advice, but this happened in Tom Tancredo's state, and he'll be sure to make a big deal out of this and try and use it as part of his quest to tighten up the border and increase immigration enforcement. If a national government had a vested interest in a more open border, and the prospect of legalization of immigrants already in the country - well, I can think of a high-profile way to build some goodwill.

Just saying.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is considering banning, or otherwise regulating pit bulls after a dog attack on a child.

I'm not surprised that San Francisco is one of those cities that elects people who can't conceive of a solution to a problem that doesn't involve giving the government more power, but once again, the breed of dog is not the problem. The kind of people who buy pit bulls will buy other dogs of similar size, build, and temprament. If these people don't raise their dogs properly and supervise them, the dogs will damage people and property. What happened in San Fran (normally considered the dog-friendliest city in the country) could have happened just as easily with any one of a number of breeds of dogs. A person not allowed to buy a pit is not going to buy a cocker spaniel.

The sole positive outcome that could result from Mayor Newsom's declaration that he is a Caring, Proactive Mayor who is going to Do Something is some additional press should he decide to run for higher office, and that's only if you actually want the guy to run.

OK, there was an issue this week at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. What happened?

In short - a group of Jewish tourists was touring the Temple Mount (just touring, not trashing the place or peeing on any Korans, although they were, you know, being Jewish), and a group of Palestinians felt this merited showing the tourists and their police escorts with a hail of rocks.

The response from PA Head Mahmoud Abbas, the guy who's supposed to persuade Israel to make concessions because he can deliver a Palestinian state willing to co-exist with a Jewish state:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, commenting on the incident, told reporters in the West Bank that visits by right-wing Jews to the holy site, one of the most politically sensitive in Jerusalem, could have "dire consequences."

Cause, you know, they were, well, being Jews, and you know how provocative that is.

Abbas is frequently described as a moderate, which is probably a Montoya Award right there too. Cause an actual moderate probably would have found the time to issue a statment more like this:

"Geez, people, would knock it off already with the freaking rocks? No wonder people don't want to deal with us - your answer to everything is to throw rocks at people! Jews on the Temple Mount? Throw a rock. Israel won't release enough convicted killers of Jews? Throw a rock. Loverboy half-asses its way through "Working For The Weekend?" Throw a rock. Just once - JUST FREAKING ONCE I'd like to have a press conference where I don't have to explain a geological hailstorm! Is that to much to ask?"

The local (to us metro Atlantans, at least) Geosciblog.

Saw the movie Unleashed last night. Thought it was really good - Jet Li can act, and Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins were excellent in the other main roles. (Hoskins plays one of the more evil villains you'll see in movies, this side of Palpatine.) The spouse actually considers it the best movie she's seen this year. I wouldn't put it above Sin City, but it's good. The only flaw is most of the fights aren't as elegant as you're used to seeing in a Jet Li movie, due to the nature of the character. (There are a couple of really good fight scenes, one that takes place in a jewelry store, another involving some guy in white.)

It's probably out of most theaters by now, but track it down on Netflix.

Sixteen years ago tomorrow was the Chinese crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Tiananmen Square. China would prefer you forget this, and to that end, is harassing the mothers of Tiananmen victims to prevent them from raising uncomfortable questions. Hong Kong will stage a protest, remembering Zhao Ziyang, one of the few government officials who tried to stop the slaughter. While China may let this protest occur, they have arrested a journalist who interviewed Zhao, in the hope of silencing the fact that many Chinese government officials supported the call for openness and democracy.

Spider-Man has spoken out on behalf of the victims of Tiananmen Square, and to their credit, so has Amnesty International. China has in the past referred to the students as traitors, and has called memorializing their murders "outdated."

For their recent use of the word "outdated", and their previous uses of other words condemning the activists of Tiananmen Square, we commemorate June 4, 1989, by awarding the Chinese government an Inigo Montoya Award.



"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

From Smackdown last night - John Bradshaw Layfied dissing ECW.

"The captain of the Titanic only had one shot at the iceberg, Paul Heyman's had three."

Closing arguments begin in the Michael Jackson case. Closing arguments could go on for a while, since the only thing lawyers love more then the sound of their own voices is hearing the sound of their own voices while the world records their brilliance for posterity. Even so, they will end when the judge's butt falls asleep.

Dawn Summers is your place to bet on the outcome. I think he will be found not guilty. If you believe he did in fact molest the kid, he chose his victim well, picking a damaged boy from a dysfunctional family whose credibility can easily be attacked. It's a difficult case either way - the jury either gets to convict someone who may not be a child molestor, or they get to exonerate someone who might be. Hard to believe people actually wanted that job.

Dave sent this one my way a couple days ago...

3 names I go by: Gib (most of humanity), Gilbert (people who call me at work, my wife when I say something inappropriate), and Bert (one guy I work with calls me that.)

3 physical things I like about myself: My health, my hands, and my eyes.

3 physical things I dislike about myself: Weight, nose, hair

3 parts of my heritage: Italian, English, French

3 things I am wearing right now: Black shirt, Wedding ring, Dracula Watch

3 favorite bands / musical artists: Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, Kenny Rogers

3 (of many) favorite songs: Shameless, Schadenfreude (Avenue Q), Goodbye Earl (Dixie Chicks)

3 things I want in a relationship: Open mind, sense of humor, trust

3 physical things about the preferred sex that appeal to me: long legs, long hair, nice butt.

3 of my favorite hobbies: Music, poker, reading

3 things I want to do really badly right now: Wrestle with my dogs, watch my new Batman: The Animated Series DVD's,

3 things that scare me: Stinging insects, heights, the possibility that Ashlee Simpson will make another album

3 of my everyday essentials: Caffeine,

3 careers you have considered or are considering:

3 places you want to go on vacation: Barrow, Alaska; the Far East, Russia

3 kids’ names you like: Ian, James, Rachel

3 things you want to do before you die: Nothing specific other than have kids and watch them grow up.

3 ways I am stereotypically a boy: Sports fan, "organizationally challenged," and apparently it's my job to kill all the fricking spiders around here.

3 ways I am stereotypically a girl: I married someone who swears a lot. Does that count?

3 celeb crushes: Nicole Kidman, Beyonce, Angelina Jolie

3 people who are up next: I'll send this to the world. Feel free to do it. Or not. I get paid either way.

Oh, wait, I don't get paid either way.

China, Russia, India to cooperate on UN reform...

What they said:

"...a common approach to key global developments in the 21st century", the ministers favoured the democratization of international relations and envisaged a key role for the UN in creating a just and humane world order.

"They agreed on the objective requirement for comprehensive reforms of UN, including that of Security Council, so that the organisation becomes more reflective of contemporary global realities and more effective in discharging its functions," said the communique.

What they mean:

"Screw you, Japan."

Mithras: "Sartre was wrong: Hell is other people's porn."

Runaway bride pleads guilty to felony - two years probation, community service, and a fine. As a further condition of probation, any movie based on this story may not star anyone more famous than Jennifer Love Hewitt.

I'm not exaggerating by much. Anticipating that people will take to the streets over the craphole he's turned Zimbabwe into, Robert Mugabe has arrested thousands, and made as many as 1.5 million residents homeless. Mugabe is profiting from his own inability to run a lemonade stand, let alone a country, as a gasoline shortage has prevented journalists and activists from traveling about to learn the scope of Mugabe's crackdown.

As might be expected, Robert Meyer at Publius has a detailed recap of the whole affair, including Mugabe's plan to get rid of that pesky right to appeal that was slowing down his "land reform," as well as getting rid of what passes for electoral oversight, while setting up another legislative body to allow the rare Zanu-PF member who couldn't figure out how to steal his election to not suffer the indignity of not getting to serve. Meyer also notes that what should pass as the regional grownup - South Africa - isn't likely to put any pressure on Mugabe anytime soon.

Hey, maybe Amnesty International could start a campaign - "Stop Robert Mugabe - Before Zimbabwe Gets As Bad As Guantanamo!"

Kansas Senator Sam Brownback may be running for President in 2008. Brownback's a pretty down-the-line conservative, but from here, his best attribute is the fact that he's been a strong, consistent voice on human rights and advancing democracy. The last time I voted in a Republican Presidential primary was 2000, and my choice then was John McCain, who's attempts to regulate political speech have cost him points with me. As far as other candidates go, Frist hasn't impressed me in his tenure as Senate majority leader, I'm not convinced Rice is even running, and while I have no serious beef with the man, I really hope Jeb Bush doesn't run for reasons that have nothing to do with whether or not he'd be a good President.

Brownback's potential candidacy favorably commented on here by Southern Appeal, who get the tip of the cap for pointing it out.

Police in N. Ireland arrest two in connection with murder of Robert McCartney.