April 30, 2004
Kentucky Derby Recipes
I posted and linked to some recipes for foods that are traditional for Derby Day on my other blog.
Nightline
Tonight on Nightline Ted Koppel will read the names and show photographs of all U.S. troops killed in Iraq. The original announcement said that he would read the names of those killed in action but this has been changed to include all deaths. The program is scheduled to run 40 minutes, 10 minutes longer than normal.
According to Koppel, the reasoning behind tonight's program is that "Americans need to be reminded of the war."
I would say that we don't need to be reminded as much as we need to be informed. Thanks to coalition efforts in Iraq:
Two new banks have opened in Iraq in the last two weeks. Private deposits there have doubled since last summer.
Iraqi athletes will compete in the Athens Olympics...without having to worry about being tortured by Uday Hussein.
Millions of Iraqi children have been vaccinated against measles, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, and polio.
The CPA has repaired 2,500 schools and provided almost 80 million books to students.
About 2,200 infrastructure projects are currently under way with 18,000 complete. Projects are on schedule to be complete by the handover to Iraqi authorities in two months.
A national poll conducted in Iraq in late March and early April shows that 63 percent of Iraqis of all sects and ethnicity expect they will be better off in five years.
There are more than 200 newspapers compared to six under Saddam.
Iraqi citizens no longer have to fear being tortured or killed by their own government.
"I am not afraid," Ali says. "I was afraid all my life. I will not go back to living in fear."
April 29, 2004
Kentucky Derby
The 130th Run for the Roses will be this Saturday. I will be watching it on TV. I'm not one of the fortunate ones who have box seats nor can I afford the prices the "resellers" are asking (a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each).
When I was younger I would go to the Derby and spend the day in the infield. I never saw a single horse when I did that, but it was still fun. I've also been with people who had box seats. The whole experience is very different depending on which side of the track you sit. The older I get, the more I appreciate the seats on the outside of the track.
The day before the Run for the Roses is Oaks Day at Churchill Downs. The Oaks is a race for fillys and is more popular with many Louisville residents who want enjoy the Derby atmosphere without the huge crowd. It's well attended but not to the extent the Run for the Roses is.
I'm not going to it either. Instead I'm going to be home with my kids (another 3-day weekend...pray for my sanity...what there is left of it.) The schools around here always are closed on Oaks Day. Are there any other school systems that schedule a day off because of a sporting event?
You can register to win $5 million by picking the finish order of all the horses in the Run for the Roses. If you do this and win, please see my earlier post. I'll probably give this a try later today or tomorrow. I really haven't been paying much attention to what horses are running this year. Not that I'm very good at picking the winners. Maybe I'll just read off the names and let my daughter pick them, she seems to have better luck than I do when we go to the track.
Her method is pretty basic. You don't need to worry about pedigree or past performances. Two things matter, the horse's name and the color of the silks.
Which Bob Dylan Song Are You?
| Which Bob Dylan song are you? Like a Rolling Stone
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Just One More
I wasn't planning on making this PETA day, but it's like potato chips...I can't just have one.
Following an attack "on approximately 35 pigs used in a Future Farmers of America (FFA)-sponsored course at White Swan High School, in which five adolescents allegedly beat and sodomized the animals with canes, axes, knives, and hammers, PETA has fired off a letter to Mount Adams School District Superintendent Dr. Mary Hall".
Okay, I'm with them so far. Animal abuse of any kind is bad and this example sounds like an especially sick act.
"FFA programs send a confusing and dangerous message to children," says PETA Education Manager Jackie Domac. "Students are taught to nurture and care for animals and then forced to betray them. In this age of increasing violence, teaching children to disregard the wellbeing of animals is the last thing that schools should be doing."
I looked for news articles about this. None mention whether or not the teenagers who are responsible for this were not FFA members so I'm assuming that they were not. I looked for information about FFA and animal care and found that from the national organization on down to the local divisions, ethical animal care and welfare is part of what the students learn.
It's misleading to take this one incident and say that what a few sick people did was caused by FFA programs. What's more of a concern is that people who abuse animals often will move on to abusing people. Organizations that try to erase the division between animals and people may just make that move easier.
My final penultimate comment on PETA (for today...probably) isn't directly related to this or the previous post but more of a general PETA observation. Their protests range from misguided (protesting a pet store for selling IAMs pet food even though the store didn't carry it for the same reasons PETA was protesting) to odd (a naked woman protesting a circus' treatment of exotic animals) to intrusive and scary ("Holocaust on Your Plate" and its methods of targeting propaganda towards children).
If they want me to take them seriously they need to stop the theatrics and campaign for more support for no-kill shelters. You know, something useful that would actually make a difference.
I take that back, before they do that I would like to see one more theatical protest. If they do this one thing, I may begin to take them seriously. You're probably read or heard about protests they have done where they throw fake blood on people wearing furs or leather. Throwing red paint on women in furs doesn't prove anything. If they really mean what they say, let's see them at a bikers rally tossing their paint on everyone with a leather jacket.
Final comment - is it just me or does PETA's group of celebrities that act as spokespeople for them resemble the cast of an old Love Boat episode? For anyone who is unfamiliar with the show, it had a regular cast along with different guest stars on each episode. The guest stars were usually of the B-list, trying to resurrect a flagging career type. There are a few big names, but most appear to be of the "didn't you used to be" type.
Oh, Lord Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes-Benz?
The other night my kids wanted Kentcky Fried Chicken for dinner. Being the manipulative little monsters clever children that they are, all they had to do was mention PETA's opposition to KFC to convice me to go there.
Today I read that PETA is protesting Mercedes-Benz leather interiors. It seems that several of the company's cars are only available with leather interior.
A company official claimed that she was "not aware of a single customer who has requested … a leather-free car" and not been accommodated. PETA, however, is aware of many—including a Texas businesswoman who tore the leather upholstery out of her brand-new Mercedes CL-500 and returned it to DaimlerChrysler headquarters and B-52’s frontwoman, Kate Pierson, who was told that she would have to wait nearly a year for a Mercedes ML320 SUV with nonleather seats. PETA has also heard from people who opted not to buy a Mercedes after the automaker refused their requests for nonleather upholstery.
I don't understand why the woman in Texas bought a car and then tore out the seats. If you're spending close to $100,000 for a car, wouldn't you check these things out before you bought it? Buying it, tearing it up, and then returning it sounds like the actions of an unstable person. This begs for more information about this unnamed woman.
A company that produces a luxury item is ignoring its customers wants? Let's do some fact checking...
The ML320 is available in two trim levels, Classic and Elegance. The Elegance has heated, electrically adjustable leather seats (versus cloth), sunroof and premium audio. There is no mechanical difference between the two....As evidence of the M-Class’ acceptance in the market, there is a waiting list of almost two years for it in some parts of the country....
Well, then, compared to a two-year wait for the SUV, one year doesn't sound that bad.
I can afford KFC. I can't afford a Mercedes. If anyone wants to help me defy PETA's protest by buying one for me just let me know when to pick it up from my local dealer.
I'm only asking this out of self-centered greed the desire to slap back at PETA. I'm even willing to take the less expensive (only about $40,000) SUV instead of the CL500. You get the good feelings from helping my protest for less than half the price of the other car! I'll even treat you to a dinner at KFC to celebrate.
Another Reject
A company that sells t-shirts is complaining that its Google AdWords was rejected. The owner says it's a free speech issue. How often do you hear this when it has nothing to do with the government's regulation of speech? You can say what you want, no one is required to give (or sell) you a forum in which to do it.
It really is tiresome how some people will start protesting that their rights are being violated when they aren't allowed to do whatever they please. No one has stopped the company from selling the shirts. The site, yque.com, can be found through the search engine. The only thing it can't do is advertise a site that is, in Google's opinion, a violation of their guidelines for acceptable Ad Words content.
A Day Late...
Let's not end up a dollar short too.
Wednesday was my son's birthday. I spent the morning in bed recovering from a migraine (the two aren't related) and the rest of the day busy with other stuff so I totally forgot to post for Wictory Wednesday.
Volunteer or donate to the Bush/Cheney '04 campaign.
NOTE - I do have a warning to pass on. I followed a referral link from someone who had posted the Wictory Wednesday blogroll but was not listed on the blogroll. I ended up with some scum-sucking crap that infected my computer and took many hours to remove.
It was some junk that self installed then gave itself permission to download more garbage.
April 26, 2004
Americans Abroad
Most sources of foreign phrases for travelers are helpful, if somewhat predictable. They will teach you common greetings, how to ask for directions to the restrooms, how to request a single or double bed at the hotel, how to inquire about transportation along with some helpful phrases for shopping or dining.
The Zompist Phrasebook has something a little different. You can learn to say, "It's better in the States.", "How much is that in real money?", "Yessir, you folks certainly have made a mess of this country.", "Can I have fries with that?", and other things that are probably better left unsaid. Phrases are translated into French, Spanish, and German. Other pages in the site have translations into Italian, Russian, Danish, Dutch, and Chinese.
Most are literal translations but one of my favorites was one that condensed the thought a bit.
Impressed as I am with the New Wave in cinematography, I must say that this particular film seemed both pretentious and unsatisfying, and that the director's imagery, though compelling, is no substitute for a true cinematic message.
Mais c'est de la merde, ce navet.
A esto le llamo yo estiércol cinematográfico.
Der Film ist Scheiße.
April 24, 2004
African Slave Trade
Slavery in the Southern U.S. was called the "Peculiar Institution". In this case the word "peculiar" doesn't mean odd (as in, "Don't you think cousin Harry is acting peculiar since he started wearing that tinfoil hat?"). It meant that slavery was a primarily Southern institution.
Unfortuantely it was a misnomer. The kidnapping and purchase of slaves from Africa was not confined to the U.S., as a whole or in part, then or now. According to UNICEF, it continues today.
Trafficking of human beings affects every country in Africa for which data is available, either as countries of origin or destination, according to a report issued today by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence.According to the study -- which assembles and analyzes data from across the continent -- half of African countries see trafficking in human beings as a serious problem, particularly with regard to women and children.
...Trafficking does not remain within Africa. In 34 percent of the African countries, the trade flows to Europe and in 26 percent of the countries flows are directed to the Middle East and Arab states. Trafficking within national borders is very common, occurring in 8 out of every 10 African countries.
...important factors are sexual and economic exploitation, including the demand for cheap domestic and agricultural labour. The conflict-related demand for child soldiers; demand related to adoption; and the trafficking in body parts also play a role and need further investigation, according to the study.
(Emphasis mine.)Using women and children as slaves for labor or sex is horrible and degrading enough, but body parts?
From the BBC:
Girls and boys as young as six are taken from desperately poor homes and placed as domestic workers with strangers in the city.In return, they are promised an education. In reality, they are often beaten, fed on leftovers, forced to work long hours and forbidden to go to school.
Other children are sent instead to work in quarries or plantations, both inside Nigeria and in neighbouring west African states.
Some are even trafficked for ritual purposes and end up dead.
April 23, 2004
April 22, 2004
Taboo or Just Icky?
Results
Your Moralising Quotient of 0.43 compares to an average Moralising Quotient of 0.19. This means that as far as the events depicted in the scenarios featured in this activity are concerned you are less permissive than average.
Your Interference Factor of 0.20 compares to an average Interference Factor of 0.11. This means that as far as the events depicted in the scenarios featured in this activity are concerned you are more likely to recommend societal interference in matters of moral wrongdoing, in the form of prevention or punishment, than average.
Your Universalising Factor of 0.50 compares to an average Universalising Factor of 0.27. This means you are more likely than average to see moral wrongdoing in universal terms - that is, without regard to prevailing cultural norms and social conventions (at least as far as the events depicted in the scenarios featured in this activity are concerned).
If you're going to take the test, don't continue reading until after you have your results.
Link to the quiz was found on The Presurfer.
I thought that a woman using my country's flag to clean her bathroom was wrong. It shows a lack of respect and just because a country has a culture where this lack of respect is normal doesn't make it right. You don't even have to respect a country to respect its flag. Because of its symbolic nature, something like a flag often needs to be treated with more care than something more concrete.
In the second scenario a son promises his dying mother that he will visit her grave every week. I didn't think it was wrong for him to break that promise. The important thing here was giving comfort to his mother not whether he actually followed through with it. Read Mark Twain's Was it Heaven? Or Hell? It's a short story and won't take long to read.
The third set of questions were about a family who ate their pet cat after it was hit by a car. I live with cats. They would know if I had said it was ok...my life would be in danger forever after. The question didn't indicate that the family was starving and had no other source of food, rather their reason for eating their pet was that they had heard that cat meat was tasty. Let's not tell them that people are supposed to taste like pork.
The next question was about a brother and sister having sex. The question says that they have never regreted it and it's been a positive experience in their lives. Even ignoring the taboo factor, it would blur the lines of their relationship that would have an effect on other relationships in their lives. Just because it's positive for them doesn't mean it won't create some negative feelings for someone else in their lives even if that other person has no idea what the cause is.
The last set of questions was about a man who had sex with a chicken (from the grocery) before he cooked and ate it. I wouldn't say this was strictly bad, morally speaking. I just wouldn't want to be invited to his house for dinner.
Most of the questions included a statement that the person/people involved had no regrets about what happened. This is irrelevant to whether or not the act was wrong.
April 21, 2004
More Stupidity
I was listening to the radio while I was driving today. It was a local talk show discussing changing eating habits to improve health. The guest was saying that we should quit eating red meat because it's full of saturated fat and "saturated fat kills."
Water kills, should I give it up too?
On a side note, I used to know someone who always ordered any beef well-done so that it wouldn't be "red" meat.
Wictory Wednesday
Bush/Cheney '4: Bush Cheney U - a section of the re-election site for college students.
The section on educational funding has information about the President's 2005 budget plans including reducing the interest rate on student loans for most borrowers and increasing the loan limits for first-year students. He has proposed increasing Pell Grant funding to $12.9 billion, a $856-million increase. Funding to colleges and universities with a large proportion of minority and disadvantaged students would be increased.
There's a Students for Bush Blog and what I consider one of the best things there...
The University of Louisville Cardinal! (Mascot Photos)
Volunteer or donate to the Bush/Cheney '04 campaign.
April 20, 2004
When I Was Your Age, Television Was Called Books
Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti
Sheesh! I never worked for so little, except once, and that was a very noble cause.
Found via LeeAnn.
Science Project
Sandwiched in between the two birthday parties is the due date for Conor's fifth grade science project. I drove him to school this morning to help him carry it all inside. The projects will be scored this afternoon and the science fair is tonight.
His project was comparing the efficiency of solar cells positioned at different angles. I think that he did a good job on it. All the information about it is on his site.
Update: Conor got a first place ribbon for his project! Everyone received a ribbon; either first, second, or third place or honorable mention.
We walked around and looked at all of the projects. There were some really interesting ones and then there were others that were just examples of bad science. From what I could tell, bad science (lack of a control group, no control over variables, small sample groups) didn't keep some of the projects from winning a first place ribbon as long as the project followed all the steps and looked nice.
Parties, School, and Impolite People
Last Sunday was Emma's birthday party. We went to The Artist in You, a place where the kids get to paint a ceramic figurine that is then glazed and fired. I like having the parties somewhere other than home. (I don't have to worry about cleaning the house before the party!) Her birthday was yesterday. I have pictures somewhere...I'm not exactly very organized right now (as if I ever am).
Conor is having a birthday party next Sunday. He's having it at the Hwang's Martial Arts and his father is taking care of most of the details so outside of having to send out the invitations I don't have to do much planning for that one.
It's not really the planning that is the problem for me though. I kind of enjoy that. We don't do it more than every other year though because during the week before the parties I always swear I'll never do it again. My problem is with invitations.
First, in my kids' school, you have to mail invitations unless you are inviting everyone in the class. They don't want any hurt feelings. The only problem with this is that not everyone is listed in the school directory. Some people choose not to be listed. Some probably just forgot to send in the forms at the beginning of the year. I wouldn't rule out the chance that some parents carefully filled out all the forms but the kids managed to misplace them somewhere between home and school.
I think the chance of a child's feelings being hurt are greater when they don't get invited to a friend's party because their address is unknown than someone getting upset because they aren't invited by a kid who isn't really a friend but just happens to be in the same class. Another school policy that came from good intentions but isn't really logical.
The second problem with invitations is that you fill them out. You carefully put all the required information; who it's for, where it will be, and what time. You include your phone number on the line next to where it says R.S. V. P. You mail them out and wait to hear from the kids or their parents to let you know who will or won't be there. And you wait. Why is it so hard for people to make a phone call? Do they think R.S.V.P. means regrets only? Or that it means call if you're coming? Or are they just lazy, inconsiderate cretins too busy to call?
While I don't like it, I can handle it if someone is rude. I really don't like it when someone is impolite though. If the schools want to teach kids about consideration of others, here's their chance. Teach them some social manners because I have strong doubts that many of them are learning them at home.
April 19, 2004
Please Try to Keep Your Whacko Propaganda Straight
I've read in the news that many Palestinians are angry with the U.S. and Bush and are holding America responsible for Rantisi's death. The reason for this, they say, is that Bush gave the go ahead to Israel for Rantisi's killing.
This is where I get confused.
What happened to the moonbat idea that the U.S. is a Zionist puppet? I've never heard of the puppet telling the puppetmaster what to do.
Let's try this idea...the U.S. and Israel are allies but are also separate and independent in making decisions. Neither country wants to be the target of fanatical murdering terrorists. Removing someone whose purpose in life is to destroy you, your country, and all of the people in it is a rational reaction. Defending itself is a country's obligation, not something for which it needs to seek approval.
Yeah, that makes much more sense.
April 16, 2004
A Stack of Waffles
In honor of Senator Kerry's ever changing views, today's selection is Nut Waffles:
3 tbsp. brown sugar, packed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted and cooled (2/3 stick)
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
Preheat waffle iron. In large bowl, combine sugar, flour and baking powder; set aside. In medium bowl, combine egg yolks, milk and butter; stir into sugar mixture. Add pecans and blend well. In medium bowl, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form; fold into flour mixture. Bake in waffle iron following manufacturer’s directions.
Makes about 6 waffles.
Kerry Campaigns at Howard University
Yesterday John Kerry made a stop at Howard University to talk and answer questions from students. About 150 showed up to hear him speak. (University enrollment is over 10,000.)
"I personally do not believe that America is going to advance if we go backwards and look to reparations in the way that some people are defining them," Mr. Kerry told Aaron Nelson, 20, a junior political science major, who questioned the Democratic presidential hopeful on his stance.
Aaron? Howard is a university for women. The 150 students who came to hear him must have come from more than just this school.
The reports don't mention whether or not he was questioned about the lack of diversity in the higher levels of his campaign staff. Maybe it's enough that his wife has called herself African-American.
April 15, 2004
Kuma\War
Think that you could be doing a better job managing the War on Terror? Would you have killed or captured Uday and Qusay? Could you have protected the new Iraqi currency from insurgents? What about Al Qaeda in the Shah-i-Kot valley in eastern Afghanistan?
Kuma Reality Games gives you a chance to find out. It costs $9.99 a month to play and promises new missions based on current events.
This sounds interesting enough to almost tempt me. I usually prefer games more along the lines of Harvest Moon. I play to relax, I don't need any adrenaline spikes. I have three kids and three cats, I get enough excitement from them.
And from driving. Yesterday I had to go through the same intersection two different times. Both times when I had a green light, someone coming down the cross street ran their red light. I avoided getting hit both times, thankfully. Some idiot whizzing through an intersection at 50 mph wanting to t-bone me is really more excitement than I want. I don't need more from video games. Let me just tend my cows, sheep, and chickens.
No Actual Cities Were Harmed in this Test
This morning I destroyed part of Los Angeles by smacking it with an asteroid. I used the diameter, density, velocity, and impact angle of the one that created Ries Crater in Germany.
The worst that would happen to me (a couple thousand miles away) would be a fine dusting of debris and a mild wind. On the other hand, Los Angeles would end up with a crater that was almost 17 miles wide. It could be worse, an asteroid the size of the one that hit Chixulub, Mexico would leave a crater over 112 miles wide. I would see debris just over an inch thick and the air blast would be strong enough to damage my roof and knock down some trees. Someone a bit closer, in Las Vegas for example, would be feel the thermal radiation from the impact in just under 10 seconds. It would be hot enough to ignite clothing and trees. In less than a minute and a half, Las Vegas would feel a 10.2 earthquake. In just over 5 minutes it would be buried under 40 feet of debris. In about 24 minutes an air blast would hit with a velocity of 1327.6 mph. Not that anyone would be left there to notice it.
Go forth and wreak destruction.
April 14, 2004
Waffles Update
I checked to see how the effort to have johnkerry.com show as a top result for "waffles" in Google was doing.
At 8:20 Eastern Time, it was #1.
Update: By 8:30 it's gone again. If you're curious about what it looked like for that brief moment, look here.
Wictory Wednesday
According to an AP article, the AFL-CIO will be spending $44 million to coerce members on a get-out-the-vote effort this year. Their problem is that while the union leaders have endorsed Kerry, many of the union members prefer Bush.
A focus groups study suggested, "If possible, find more pictures of Kerry with working people and/or families to warm him up," to combat the senator's aloofness. "'Strength' pictures are also good to use." This is to counteract an AP-Ipsos poll in which Bush was picked 2 to 1 over Kerry as being the one who is better described as being a strong leader.
Another problem the AFL-CIO is facing is that Kerry wants to require US automakers to "increase our fuel economy standards to 36 miles per gallon by 2015." (Current standards are 27.5 m.p.g. of gasoline for cars and 21 m.p.g. for 2005-model light trucks.) Automakers say that this would disadvantage US companies and result in lost jobs. Even though the senator cosponsored legislation in 2002 to increase the standards and makes the same statement on his Web site, the AFL-CIO claims Kerry is still working through what the standards should be. Maybe it's just one more thing he's for until he's against it.
Volunteer or donate to the Bush/Cheney '04 campaign.
April 13, 2004
I Would Hate to See the Runners Up
Tell me again how there's no liberal bias in the media.
Steve Sack won the Society of Professional Journalists' 2003 Sigma Delta Chi Award for editorial cartooning, SPJ announced today.Sack, who was a Pulitzer Prize finalist this year, is with the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Tribune Media Services.
SPJ named 49 winners from more than 1,350 entries.
Examples here.
French Journalist Taken Hostage In Iraq
A French journalist was kidnapped in Iraq on Sunday. On Friday the French foreign ministry had issued a warning that said, "risk is high that French citizens would be confused with those of member countries of the coalition."
Do you think that the problem is really one of confusion or is it more likely that the kidnappers just don't care where you're from? Originally two men were held but one (the cameraman) was released on Monday. He says he had convinced them that he was French so they released him. Could be that the kidnappers had just decided that the one who is in front of the camera was the only one worth keeping.
Kidnapping is an evil act. It's about fear and control. Just because you don't think you should be a target doesn't mean the terrorists will think the same.
April 12, 2004
Waffles
USA Today reports on a recent Google bombing.
Esoteric Diatribe began an attempt to make johnkerry.com the first listing for "waffles".
They've nearly succeeded on the No. 2 search engine, Yahoo. By Sunday, eight days after the prank began, johnkerry.com was listed second among 703,000 results of a Yahoo search of the word "waffles."At the No. 3 search engine, MSN Search, johnkerry.com was also the second Web page result of a search Sunday for "waffles."
The senator's site isn't showing up at the top of the list in Google (yet). The only front page result that I saw that mentioned John Kerry and waffles was a Slate article, John Kerry's Waffles.
Reading about waffles is making me hungry. Usually Kerry has the opposite effect.
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter/margarine
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Heat waffle iron.
Beat eggs in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in flour, milk, oil, sugar, baking powder, and salt until smooth.
Pour 2/3 cup batter onto the center of the hot waffle iron. Close the lid.
Let cook for about five minutes or until steaming stops. Carefully remove waffle. Repeat with remaining batter.
Serve hot.
Makes six 7" waffles.
April 11, 2004
Who's to Blame
In February of this year a Harris Poll compared the fear of terrorism in the U.S. and Great Britain. (The poll was conducted in late January 2004.)
At the time of the poll the alert level in the U.S. had recently been dropped from orange to yellow.
How often do you worry about the possibility of a terrorist attack in this country?
U.S. - often 9%, occasionally 46%, don't worry much 33%, don't worry at all 12%
G.B - often 12%, occasionally 47%, don't worry much 28%, don't worry at all 13%
How likely do you think it is that there will be a major terrorist attack in this country in the next twelve months?
U.S. - very likely 11%, somewhat likely 52%, not very likely 32%, not likely at all 6%
G.B - very likely 11%, somewhat likely 53%, not very likely 31%, not likely at all 5%
In both countries the majority of the people answering the questions said they don't avoid traveling by air, don't avoid large events, don't travel less, and don't avoid visiting big cities.
What makes anyone think that vague warnings or a notification of "increased chatter" would have changed or prevented the attack on September 11? Would you have stayed home that day? What if there had been a warning everytime there was an increase in activity or communications among suspicious groups. Would you stay home when you heard of the first alert? The tenth? The fiftieth? Most of us wouldn't. We didn't feel vulnerable. Even now, most of us still don't. We know that just because something is possible doesn't mean that it's probable.
The only ones who knew that the possibility of an attack using passenger planes on September 11, 2001 had become a probability were the people who planned and carried it out. Put the blame where it belongs.
April 10, 2004
Jew
GROUP SAYS GOOGLE'S NOT KOSHER
Jewish activists are trying to unseat an anti-Semitic site that has taken top placement on Google during the eight days of Passover. Type "Jew" into the search engine, and the first result is "Jew Watch," a newsletter that promotes conspiracy theories and Holocaust deniers.After Google refused to remove the listing, Daniel Sieradski, who runs a blog called Jewschool, started a campaign to replace the top entry with an encyclopedia entry defining "Jew."
"[Google] is a private company, that's their prerogative," Sieradski said. "But since I'm capable of abusing the algorithm, too, we're fighting back."
The Wikipedia article for "Jew" includes the etymology for the word "Jew", Who is a Jew?, Conversion to Judaism, "Jew" in Israeli Law, Ancient Israelites, Ethnic Divisions, Religious Leadership, Population, and The Jewish Community Today.
April 07, 2004
Musical Universe
MusicPlasma - search for a band or musical artist and find other musicians with a similar style. Clicking on a group will center the map on them, bring up a brief discography (links to Amazon.com) and let you hear some short music samples. Left clicking lets you zoom in or out.
Pre-Med
Surgeons Who Play Video Games Err Less
All those years on the couch playing Nintendo and PlayStation appear to be paying off for surgeons. Researchers found that doctors who spent at least three hours a week playing video games made about 37 percent fewer mistakes in laparoscopic surgery and performed the task 27 percent faster than their counterparts who did not play video games.
And I thought my kids were just wasting time playing so much. Who knew they were preparing for careers as doctors?
April 05, 2004
Gambling Ads
Google and Yahoo have announced that they will stop running advertisements for online casinos.
The move, which the companies said would take effect by the end of April, comes as federal prosecutors are threatening action against American companies that do business with Internet casinos that are based abroad. The prosecutors are arguing that the American companies are "aiding and abetting" offshore Internet casinos, whose operations are illegal in the United States.
I couldn't find any mention of removing the search listings for these sites.
April 03, 2004
Air America
Air America has a site where you can get information about the shows and listen online. Shows include The O'Franken Factor and Morning Sedition. How clever! How original!
AirAmericaRadio.com. Does anyone else think it's funny that they registered their domain name through an Australian company?
ICANN Registrar: MELBOURNE IT, LTD. D/B/A INTERNET NAMES WORLDWIDE
I'm not saying that's a bad thing, just funny. Of course, the owners of Air America Radio and Progress Media Inc. may not know what domain company they were registered with, it may all have been handled by their hosting company, Verio (based in Colorado, owned by Nippon Telephone and Telegraph.)
RushLimbaugh.com was registered through Network Solutions and is hosted by Premiere Radio Networks (owned by Clear Channel Communications.)
No, I don't see anything amusing about that one, I just wanted to be fair.
Not Dead Yet, Just Felt That Way
Whatever the kids had last week, Jeff and I got this week. Jeff had taken the week off since it was the kids' spring break from school. If you're gonna get sick, you should at least be able to miss school or work because of it, not miss out on vacation time.
Not a fun way to end the week.