Wednesday, 30 June 2004
An Argument Against On-Street Parking
When I returned, to my dismay, someone had taken my parking spot.
Begrudgingly, I parked somewhere else.
Then, around 2:00 AM, I was awoken by a loud rumbling sound, followed
by a crash. It happened again, and again, and again...
I went outside, and this is what I found... "
Unbelievable.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 30, 2004 at 04:18 PM in Weird Earls | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Lawmakers Ask Ashcroft Why Suspect Freed
Imagine that you were a cop and you had a guy in custody who had trained in an Afghan militia camp, provided money to convicted terrorists, and had been implicated in a plot to blow up the Holland Tunnel in New York City. Would you let him go?
Neither would I. But that's exactly what John Ashcroft did:
The U.S. attorney in Chicago at one point even drafted an indictment against al-Marabh and interviewed a jailhouse informant who alleged al-Marabh admitted he had been plotting to blow up a gas truck inside a New York City tunnel, according to documents reviewed by AP.
FBI and Customs agents gathered evidence al-Marabh had trained in Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s militant camps, sent money to a roommate convicted in a foiled plot to bomb a hotel and was tied to overseas financial transactions that raised red flags even before Sept. 11.
Al-Marabh "intended to martyr himself in an attack against the United States," an FBI agent wrote in a December 2002 report. A footnote in al-Marabh's deportation ruling last year added, "The FBI has been unable to rule out the possibility that al-Marabh has engaged in terrorist activity or will do so if he is not removed from the United States."
Now, both parties in Congress are starting to ask questions:
"Al-Marabh was at one time No. 27 on the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) list of Most Wanted Terrorists," wrote Grassley, who leads the committee that controls federal spending and also is a member of the Judiciary Committee that oversees the Justice Department. "He appears to have links to a number of terrorists and suspected terrorists in several U.S. cities."
The Iowa Republican repeatedly cited the AP story and demanded that Ashcroft answer 19 questions about al-Marabh's case, including why the Justice Department didn't prosecute the man they had in custody for nearly two years either in a military tribunal or through a secret court proceeding that could protect intelligence information.
Grassley also asked Justice to detail what has happened to other terror suspects that appeared on the same post-Sept. 11 terrorism list as al-Marabh.
Aides to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, have also made some preliminary inquiries into the case."
This is not a case of partisan sniping. It is a matter of national security - an area where the Bush Administration, despite their claims, has failed and continues to fail miserably.
Bush and his cronies have not only inflamed Arab hatred with an illegal, unjustified war, they've also been sending terrorists back to their homes instead of prosecuting them.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 30, 2004 at 08:25 AM in Scary Bush | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cheney Booed at Yankees Stadium
Ha:
[...]
Cheney, who visited both clubhouses after batting practice, watched part of the game from the box of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and part from a first-row seat next to the Yankees dugout, where he sat between New York Gov. George Pataki and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Cheney was booed when he was shown on the right-field videoboard during the seventh-inning stretch."
Looks like the RNC convention in September won't be quite the homecoming the Republicans had hoped for.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 30, 2004 at 07:55 AM in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, 29 June 2004
The War on Terra Randomizer
- If you say that music by Elton John is "okay"...
- If you don't think of your genitals as a dirty little secret to snicker about...
- If all of Canada can count their votes in three hours and we can't even do it in a month...
- If the Daily Show is a more credible news source than actual news sources...
- If we don't get four weeks of vacation just like the rest of the civilized world...
And my personal favorite:
- If the US topples the secularist Middle Eastern government that was standing in the way of fundamentalist control of the entire region...
...then the terrorists have already won.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 29, 2004 at 06:23 PM in Weird Earls | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Fahrenheit 9/11 - Never Again
I've seen Fahrenheit 9/11 twice now, but I'm not going to subject you to any kind of review or anything. Plenty of people have already done that, and they've done a much better job than I could hope to.
Naturally, I recommend that you see the movie yourself instead of relying on somebody else for an opinion, but I digress...
It's been pointed out in numerous places that there is absolutely no way to predict what the impact will be on the election in November. Will it be a fatal blow to the Bush campaign? Or will it serve to mobilize the right wing? The movie is an unprecedented factor in this election so all anyone can do is guess, right?
Well, sort of. There might not be any way to foretell the movie's effect on the Presidential race, but the powers that be have found a way to ensure that this little inconvenience won't pop up again anytime soon:
[...]
Loews is the third-largest movie theater chain in the world, with more than 220 theaters and 2,200 screens worldwide."
If you've already seen Fahrenheit 9/11 then you know all about the Carlyle Group. If you haven't, here's a little background (via Fortune Magazine):
The firm also has about a dozen investors from Saudi Arabia, including, until recently, the bin Laden family. Yes, those bin Ladens."
These guys now own the third largest cinema chain in the world. Something tells me the next Michael Moore movie won't enjoy a 900 screen opening weekend.
Of course, the Carlyle Group can't stop Loews from showing Fahrenheit 9/11. It's too late for that. What they're essentially doing is saying:
Fool me, don't get fooled again."
Posted by flow Frazao on June 29, 2004 at 03:48 PM in Current Affairs, Film, US News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Supreme Court Puts the Smack Down
Lots of action yesterday from the Supreme Court. The "Enemy Combatant" rulings have gotten most of the attention, but another decision was made as well upholding the Miranda warnings:
Under the tactic the court invalidated in the Missouri case, the police first question a suspect while withholding the advice required by the Miranda decision of the right to remain silent and to consult a lawyer before answering questions. In not giving the warnings, the police know that any incriminating statements elicited in this phase of the questioning will be inadmissible in court.
The officers then give the suspect a short break before resuming the interrogation, this time with the warnings. Typically, suspects will waive their Miranda rights and then repeat what they had said earlier, prompted by the officers' leading questions and by the sense that it is now too late to turn back."
This is great news - by a 5-4 decision, Miranda will live to see anther day. However, this case really underscores the importance of the upcoming election. The next President will be nominating up to four Supreme Court Justices. One more conservative judge on the court would have been enough to effectively deal a death blow to the Miranda warnings, and an entire generation would be deprived of hearing "you have the right to remain silent..." in cheesy cop shows.
In case you haven't heard, another huge decision was passed down today involving the government's powers in fighting the War on Terra. As I'm sure you know, for the past two years we've been holding hundreds of people as "Enemy Combatants". No charges have been filed, and most of them are currently being held in cages in Guantamo Bay.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court has dealt the Bush Administration a harsh blow by ruling in favor of the prisoners' rights:
Ruling in two cases, the high court refused to endorse a central claim of the White House: that the government has authority to seize and detain terrorism suspects and indefinitely deny access to courts or lawyers while interrogating them.
A state of war "is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in the most significant case of the day, a ruling that gives American-born detainee Yaser Esam Hamdi the right to fight his detention in a federal court.
Separately, the court said that nearly 600 men from 42 countries held at a Navy prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, can use American courts to contest their treatment. The Bush administration had argued that U.S. courts had no business second-guessing detentions of foreigners held on foreign soil."
Although the official ruling was 6-3, there were some interesting viewpoints expressed:
[...]
Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia and liberal Justice John Paul Stevens said if the government had a case against [enemy combatant] Hamdi it should have charged him as a criminal, perhaps even as a traitor. Citizens cannot be held as enemy combatants so long as the usual protections of the Constitution are in force, the pair wrote."
Even Scalia thinks the government has overstepped it's bounds. This is not a guy who's known for upholding the constitution.
This is extremely heartening news. We can expect the Guantanamo detainees to begin bringing cases to trial sometime this summer, and I have a feeling there are going to be some pretty unsavory details coming out:
Just wait till US citizen Jose Padilla gets his day in court. Torturing Iraqis and Afghans might be acceptable to Joe Sixpack, but somehow I don't think "waterboarding" Americans is going to go over all that well.
It's going to be a long, hot summer for the Bush Administration.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 29, 2004 at 12:24 PM in US News | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Friday, 25 June 2004
Say Hello To the Future Governor of California
He was born to a muscular mother, a former sprinter. Her brother and three other relatives were also very strong — one a construction worker with a talent for hefting curbstones.
A seven-month old baby with a genetic mutation that boosts muscle growth is seen in an undated black and white image released by the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday June 23, 2004. The discovery, reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, represents the first documented human case of such a mutation. The boy's mutant DNA segment was found to block production of a protein called myostatin that limits muscle growth. (AP Photo/New England Journal of Medicine, HO)
Posted by flow Frazao on June 25, 2004 at 02:33 PM in Random News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Taking the Piss Out of Dick
In case you haven't heard, Dick Cheney can now add "pottymouth" to his already impressive resume:
[...]
In response to Cheney, Leahy reminded Cheney that the vice president had once accused him of being a bad Catholic, to which Cheney replied "go fuck yourself."
Luckily, this Administration forgot about "restoring honor and dignity to the White House" a long time ago. At least we have something to look forward to during the Presidential Campaign:
"Read my fucking lips..."
"Tear down this fucking wall motherfucker"
"Four score and seven fucking years ago"
"Today is a day that will live in fucking infamy"
"I am not a fucking crook"
"Ask not what you can do for your country, but what the fuck you fuckers can fucking do for it"
"Bring it the fuck on"
"I have a dream. A glorious fucking dream"
(Thanks to PRRob over at the Whiskey Bar)
Posted by flow Frazao on June 25, 2004 at 12:41 PM in Funny Bush | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bush Gives Tense Interview in Ireland
It's interesting to see Bush sit face to face with an interviewer who asks him real questions. He obviously has absolutely no idea how to deal with it so he just goes ahead and makes shit up:
"First of all, most of Europe supported the decision in Iraq. Really what you're talking about is France, isn't it? And they didn't agree with my decision. They did vote for the U.N. Security Council resolution. ... We just had a difference of opinion about whether, when you say something, you mean it."
Maybe if he read a newspaper once in a while he might have a clue. For those who don't remember, this was the scene in Europe during the rush to war:
So much for the "coalition of the willing" that Bush has promised to lead to war if the UN Security Council won't back him. The people who live under the NATO governments that are backing Bush, according to European polls, are overwhelmingly against a war without UN approval: Britain (90 percent), Italy (73 percent), Spain (90 percent), and Turkey (94 percent).
It would be funny if wasn't so frightening - Bush is simply not attached to reality. There's not much an interviewer can say to a response that's so far removed from the truth.
The interview continues on, and at one point Bush is actually forced to consider the possibility that he has not singlehandedly delivered the world from evil:
Talk about a one-trick pony.
Words really don't do this interview justice. The real video link is here. If you've got the time and can bear to watch the smirking chimp, it's definitely worth checking out.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 25, 2004 at 08:23 AM in Scary Bush | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, 24 June 2004
Are You Ready For Some Football?
This has got to be the most intense soccer game ever played. Portugal vs. England IN Portugal for the European Cup Quarterfinal (i.e. the Elite Eight). Check it out:
The fourth fastest goal in European Cup history. A long ball forward is not dealt with and Owen latches on to a poor defensive header to expertly flick the ball home and give England the perfect start.
HALF-TIME: An open first-half ends with England still leading the tournament hosts 1-0 in a tense quarter-final encounter.
83 mins: GOAL - Portugal 1-1 England
Despair for England as Simao crosses from the left and Postiga soars unmarked to send the equaliser flying into the net off his shoulder.
90 mins: Beckham's free-kick from the left is headed against by the bar by Campbell who reacts to bundle in the rebound - but the goal is disallowed by the referee for a foul by Terry on Ricardo.
FULL-TIME: A dramatic 90 minutes comes to an end with the scores still level, and the game will move into extra-time with the silver goal rule coming into force.
HALF-TIME IN EXTRA-TIME: The first period of extra-time ends with no further goals scored, meaning the final 15 minutes will be played out regardless.
110 mins: GOAL - Portugal 2-1 England
Phil Neville's stumble allows Rui Costa to advance and he lets fly from outside the box, sending a powerful shot flying into the top corner past a helpless James.
115 mins: GOAL - Portugal 2-2 England
Terry nods down Beckham's corner and Lampard swivels on the edge of the six-yard box to smash home a dramatic equaliser for England.
FULL-TIME OF EXTRA-TIME: England's fate will be decided in a penalty shoot-out as the referee blows his whistle to bring a thrilling encounter to a close.
FINAL RESULT: Portugal beat England
Portugal beat England 6-5 on penalties in a dramatic quarter-final in Lisbon.
What you have to understand here is that this game went to penalty shots to decide the winner. There is nothing in professional sports that's more nail-biting than a game that comes down to PKs.
Basically, what happens is each team picks 5 players and sends them out. Those players then stand 15 yards away from the goalie and fire off a single shot.
I used to be a goalie, and the only thing you can do against a penalty kick is stand directly in the middle and pick a side. Then, when the shooter fires the ball you dive in the direction you chose and pray that the ball hits you instead of going into the net. And remember, this is soccer - those nets are HUGE.
Today is a good day for my people.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 24, 2004 at 05:44 PM in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Blasts From the Past
Here's a couple of updates to stories that didn't have what it takes to compete in the era of the 23-second news cycle.
- Student in Box-Cutter Case Gets Probation
A college student who says he hid box cutters on airplanes to expose weaknesses in security was sentenced Thursday to two years supervised probation and fined $500. - Man Gets Six-Year Term For D.C. Tractor Standoff
Tobacco farmer Dwight W. Watson was sentenced yesterday to a six-year prison term for making threats, destroying property and paralyzing part of downtown Washington after he drove his tractor into a pond on the Mall last year.
Don't these both of these stories feel like they happened 20 years ago? Maybe it's just me...
UPDATE: OK, OK, I couldn't resist - here's a new one:
- Oklahoma Judge Removed From Bench After Masturbation
While seated on the bench, an Oklahoma judge used a male enhancement pump, shaved and oiled his nether region, and pleasured himself, state officials charged yesterday in a petition to remove the jurist.
Talk about taking the law into your own hands...
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 24, 2004 at 02:33 PM in US News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Now That We've Caught All The Terrorists
After three long years of sacrifice and hardship, our airports are finally secure:
Thomas Blank, assistant administrator at the Transportation Security Administration, told the Senate aviation subcommittee that airports will have three options: remain in the federal system, use a private contractor to hire and train screeners, or run the screening themselves. They can apply for a change in November.
Since we don't have to worry about terrorists, we can go back to rushing through airports and flashing our Blockbuster cards when the minimum-wage security guards ask us for ID.
September 11 really did change everything, didn't it? Thank God we've finally come to our senses.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 24, 2004 at 02:12 PM in US News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Michael & Me
Last night I went out to do the grocery shopping, and I walked right past a whole mess of tv cameras and red carpet style hubbub. Turns out it was the US Premiere of Fahrenheit 911.
This was all happening at the Uptown movie theatre - an old-school 1940's style movie house/Washington DC icon which just happens to be right across the street from our apartment.
I didn't get to see the movie, but Fiona and I did get to shake hands with Michael Moore. It was like shaking hands with a glove full of ground beef - meaty, yet surprisingly firm.
The next morning Fi woke up and went online to read the news. There was a Yahoo slideshow of the premiere, and guess who's photo got picked up by Reuters:
(Reuters)
We're just chillin, as you can plainly see. Here's how it went down:
MM: Yeah, this kinda blows.
Me: My pad's across the street. There's a Miller Lite there with your name on it.
MM: Are you my caucasian or what? Let's get outta here.
We spent the rest of the night drinking beers and watching Enter the Dragon.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 24, 2004 at 10:32 AM in Current Affairs, Film | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Wednesday, 23 June 2004
Now THAT'S Power
While I realize that Bill Clinton committed the Worst Crime in the History of America, I do think the whole impeachment thing was a bit much. But here's what really gets me - after the Clenis got busted, Hillary put the smack down:
Getting some action from a tubby intern: One cigar
Being the subject of Ken Starr's inquiry: $60 million
Making the most powerful man in the world sleep on the couch:
Priceless.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 23, 2004 at 05:28 PM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Origami Master
This guy is really freakin good at origami:
Seriously. I mean, wow.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 23, 2004 at 04:07 PM in Random News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What War Crimes?
When the Internation Criminal Court was established in 1998, it was done brought into existence by the signatures of 94 different countries. It offered a new, universal standard of justice that could be guaranteed on an international basis.
The United States did not sign the measure. Instead, the US has spent the past 6 years under guaranteed immunity from the ICC. Each year, the UN Security Council has ratified a treaty explicitly exempting US troops and officials from prosecution under the World Court.
Then came the naked human pyramids:
The US has given up trying to win its soldiers immunity from prosecution at the new International Criminal Court.
Washington withdrew its resolution after it became clear it would not get the required support.
"The United States has decided not to proceed further with consideration and action on the draft at this time in order to avoid a prolonged and divisive debate," said the US deputy ambassador to the UN James Cunningham.
Apparently, not even members of the Bush Administration could keep a straight face when they were claiming that US troops are "above that sort of thing".
But how sick is this - the US is threatening to withhold funds for UN peacekeeping missions if the demands aren't met:
Mr Cunningham did not repeat the warning, but said the US would in future "need to take into account the risk of ICC review when determining contributions to UN authorised or established operations".
The US offered a compromise to the Security Council on Tuesday, asking it to renew the existing immunity for just one more year.
It seems as though the Security Council won't budge though. This resolution needs a unanimous vote to pass, and China has been forceful in her opposition to it.
To claim exemption from war crimes prosecution in light of the Abu Ghraib scandal (among other travesties) is the height of arrogance. If the US were truly interested in fostering a "Coalition of the Willing" a good place to start would be by ratifying the ICC and ushering in a new era of international law.
Of course, should the US wind up signing the measure, I'll be more than happy to pay for George Bush's one-way plane ticket to the Hague.
I'll even spring for first class, although it'll be tough for him to get comfortable in those handcuffs.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 23, 2004 at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
More Mindblowing Site Updates
I've added a couple of nifty features to the site. Over on the right I've got it set up so that you can subscribe to TTSU. If you enter your email address you'll receive one email at the end of the day with all of that day's postings. I swear on my sister's life the email addresses will only be used for the powers of good. If I get any reports of people being spammed or anything I'll cancel the service with a quickness.
I've also implemented some live news feeds on the left and the right sidebars. On the left you'll find headlines from Yahoo's Oddly Enough as well as the latest updates to Metafilter. If you're not familiar with Metafilter, just check out the feed. There's really no point in even trying to describe it. Even the term "Pork Chocolate Bar" does not suffice (link via Metafilter, obviously).
On the right sibebar are news feeds from the BBC, headlines from the NYT, and the most recent stories over at Salon.com. For the hardcore news junkies/people bored at work, these are updated several times per day so hitting refresh on your browser will likely get you some fresh dirt.
For those who don't know, Salon is a paysite that will give you a free day pass if you click through a short advertisement. Subscriptions are cheap though and Salon does great work, so if you've got an extra 15 bucks sitting around it would be money well spent.
This is actually starting to look like a real website. My computer science professors would be so proud (here's a little GoogleLove to Dr. Valerie Barr).
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 23, 2004 at 12:32 PM in TTSU Maintenance | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Tuesday, 22 June 2004
From One Who Knows
Although Bush hasn't been enjoying the same kind of free pass he was given over the past few years, it's still somewhat rare to hear a person within the establishment criticize Bush with full force. It seems as though the only people willing to do so are those who are actually old enough to personally remember what fascism was actually like:
“In a way that occurred before but is rare in the United States…somebody came to power as a result of the illegitimate acts of a legitimate institution that had the right to put somebody in power.That is what the Supreme Court did in Bush versus Gore. It put somebody in power,” said Guido Calabresi, a judge on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, which sits in Manhattan.
“The reason I emphasize that is because that is exactly what happened when Mussolini was put in by the king of Italy,” Judge Calabresi continued, as the allusion drew audible gasps from some in the luncheon crowd Saturday at the annual convention of the American Constitution Society.
“The king of Italy had the right to put Mussolini in, though he had not won an election, and make him prime minister. That is what happened when Hindenburg put Hitler in. I am not suggesting for a moment that Bush is Hitler. I want to be clear on that, but it is a situation which is extremely unusual,” the judge said.
Judge Calabresi, a former dean of Yale Law School, said Mr. Bush has asserted the full prerogatives of his office, despite his lack of a compelling electoral mandate from the public.
“When somebody has come in that way, they sometimes have tried not to exercise much power. In this case, like Mussolini, he has exercised extraordinary power. He has exercised power, claimed power for himself; that has not occurred since Franklin Roosevelt who, after all, was elected big and who did some of the same things with respect to assertions of power in times of crisis that this president is doing,” he said.
The 71-year-old judge declared that members of the public should, without regard to their political views, expel Mr. Bush from office in order to cleanse the democratic system.
“That’s got nothing to do with the politics of it.It’s got to do with the structural reassertion of democracy,” Judge Calabresi said.
His remarks were met with rousing applause from the hundreds of lawyers and law students in attendance.
Judge Calabresi was born in Milan. His family fled Mussolini in 1939 and settled in America. In 1994, President Clinton appointed the law professor to the federal appeals court that hears cases from the states of New York, Connecticut, and Vermont.
Of course, if the press picks this up, Calabresi will be vilified. But at least he's saying what needs to be said.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 22, 2004 at 12:54 PM in Scary Bush | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
You Weren't Using Those Amendments Anyway
If you've been reading this site for a while, you might remember the story of Dudley Hiibel, a 59 year old cowboy who owns a small ranch outside of Winnemucca, Nevada.
Dove asked Hiibel 11 times to show his identification, but Hiibel refused.
He was arrested and convicted of resisting an officer by refusing to show his identification, a misdemeanor. He was fined $250.
Hiibel appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, but when the state court ruled against him, he took his case to the nation’s highest court.
It's all on video here. Check it out - the guy really isn't doing anything wrong.
But that didn't stop the Supreme Court from ruling 5-4 against Hiibel, thereby dealing yet another blow to what's left of our civil liberties:
During such “Terry stops,” officers have the right to ask questions about the person’s identity, the court said.
But, the court said, “it has been an open question whether the suspect can be arrested and prosecuted for refusal to answer.”
In Monday’s ruling, the justices settled that question.
“The Nevada statute is consistent with Fourth Amendment prohibitions against unreasonable searches and seizures because it properly balances the intrusion on the individual’s interests against the promotion of legitimate government interests,” said Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority.
But Justice John Paul Stevens, writing the dissenting opinion, said “a person’s identity obviously bears informational and incriminating worth.”
“As the target of that investigation, (Hiibel), in my view, acted well within his rights when he opted to stand mute,” Stevens wrote.
As of now, failure to produce identification upon demand even without probable cause could be grounds for arrest.
I've got an idea - why don't they just go ahead and tattoo our social security numbers on our arms?
Oh wait. That's already been done.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 22, 2004 at 11:29 AM in US News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, 21 June 2004
The New Pad
Quite a few changes around Turn That Shit UP. I've been working on this new version off and on for the past few months, and I've got to admit, I'm pretty pleased with myself.
The old site was powered by Blogger, which was a great service (not to mention free), but I'd pretty much taken it as far as it could go. I really wanted to have more control over stuff like archiving and CSS functionality and whatnot, and Blogger just wasn't up to task. This new version is powered by Typepad, and it's quite a bit more powerful.
Lots of cool features around - check out the photo albums on the right for starters. The interface and the archiving are much better, and I've rigged up a couple of other nifty tricks as well. My fellow nerds will appreciate the full RSS functionality and the trackback capabilities. Yeah, I know, not that big a deal, but it's the little things, right?
Sadly, I couldn't move all the comments over from the old site, and it seems as though most of the links to images were screwed up somewhere along the way. I've gone through and fixed the recent ones, but most of them are just going to be chalked up as a loss.
Finally, as most of you know this site is mainly political in nature, but that will soon be changing as well (70 days and counting...). If everything goes according to plan my wife Fiona and I will be selling most of our crap and going on a big huge adventure, and this site will follow us along.
Please let me know if anything is broken or if you have any ideas on how something could be improved. And most importantly, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the new site.
Click here to continue.
Posted by SmooveJ Zao on June 21, 2004 at 10:45 PM in TTSU Maintenance | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bonnaroo
Finally posted some pictures from Bonnaroo. Check them out if you think you're qualified.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 21, 2004 at 12:57 PM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0)
Friday, 18 June 2004
A lovely little tale
I just saw the most amazing thing happen.
This little old lady was standing by the side of a busy road trying to work up the courage to step into the street to hail a cab. About 50 feet away two white cops stood by their cars casually chatting to each other over a Starbucks.
I watched as a young black guy walked up to the old woman and offered to help her flag down a taxi. I couldn't hear what she said, but the relief on her face was clearly visible - she wasn't having any success,
and definitely appreciated the help.
Meanwhile, the cops were standing around chatting and watching this
whole episode unfold. The black guy stepped out into the street and put his hand up in the universal sign for "I need a cab", and not 15 seconds later a cab with no passengers and it's "On Duty" lights on went speeding by.
Obviously, this wasn't the first time the guy had been dissed by a taxi. Shaking his head, he glanced over at the cops with a look of exasperation on his face.
Here's where it gets incredible.
Without a moment's hesitation, one of the cops goes "That's bullshit" and JUMPED into his car and took off after the cab. Sadly, I couldn't see whether or not he caught him because they went around a corner.
It was a heartening little vignette. Everything from some guy helping an old lady get a cab, to the old lady not being all like "Help! A black person!!", to the cops actually doing the right thing. All in all, a great way to end the week.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 18, 2004 at 05:16 PM in Little Stories | Permalink | Comments (2)
Wednesday, 16 June 2004
Bush on Religion
At yesterday's news conference, Bush was asked to respond to Ron Reagan's eulogy of his father on Saturday:
PRESIDENT BUSH: Whether or not a politician should wear their -- I've always said I think it's very important for someone not to try to take the speck out of somebody else's eye when they may have a log in their own. In other words, I'm very mindful about saying, you know, oh, vote for me, I'm more religious than my neighbor. And I think it's -- I think it's perfectly -- I think it's important for people of religion to serve. I think it is very important for people who are serving to make sure there is a separation of church and state."
Thanks for clearing that up.
Moron.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 16, 2004 at 04:12 PM in Funny Bush | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Monday, 07 June 2004
A Fitting Tribute to Ronald Reagan
There has been, and will continue to be, a lot of talk about how to honor our 40th President. Instead of putting his smiling face on a coin or on Mount Rushmore perhaps we should give him the memorial Nancy Reagan has asked for:
"Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him," she said. "Because of this, I'm determined to do whatever I can to save other families from this pain."
Reagan, 82, who was married to the nation's 40th president for 52 years, had been by the ailing president's side, particularly as the family publicly acknowledged his bout with the disease 10 years ago. Reagan's recent public support of stem cell research, however, has put her at odds with other Republicans, including President George W. Bush, who opposes the research.
Still, Reagan, whose support carries much clout, is doing what she says she has to do. "I just don't see how we can turn our back on this," she said at the fund-raiser.
Luckily, not all countries have been taken over by fundamentalist regimes. The UK has recently opened the world's first stem cell bank, and Australia announced today that it would distribute embryonic stem cell lines free of charge to scientists who want to use them for research. Many scientists believe that embryonic stem cell research has the potential to yield
profound insights into a range of afflictions, including Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Sadly, the Bush Administration has made it illegal to distribute federal funds to American researchers who work in what has quickly become the most active areas of biological discovery.
However, the number of cell lines available to the world's researchers, but off-limits to U.S. government-funded researchers, is now much higher: at least 51. It could rise to more than 100 over the coming year. There are three new lines in Dvorak's lab, with four more in progress. And there are also new lines in Sweden, Israel, Finland, and South Korea. Last week, the world's first public bank of embryonic stem
cells opened in Britain, a country where there are at least five new lines and more on the way.
"Science is like a stream of water, because it finds its way," said Susan Fisher, a stem-cell researcher at the University of California at San Francisco. "And now it has found its way outside the United States."
Posted by flow Frazao on June 7, 2004 at 09:06 AM in Scary Bush, Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Friday, 04 June 2004
George Bush - Master of the Obvious
Posted by flow Frazao on June 4, 2004 at 12:26 PM in Funny Bush | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, 03 June 2004
Crazy Here, Crazy There, Tons O' Crazy Everywhere
Don't have much time for blogging today, but get a load of these two articles:
In civil-rights lawyer Connie Rice's words, the officers are simply "shovelling quicksand" - and without more equipment, back-up, effective witness protection, training and, crucially, more officers, they are fighting a losing battle. And she should know. Having worked with the community and the LAPD on various initiatives and reform programmes ever since the 1992 Rodney King case sparked riots, she is now about to begin investigating the newly re-opened Rampart police corruption scandal inquiry.
Aside from a rising homicide rate, Ms Rice warns that the gangs are crossing a line that has not been crossed before: They are now targeting police officers themselves. She says: "It's one thing for gangsters to exchange fire with the police in situations, but we are now starting to see sniping. We are now seeing the ambushing of cops by gangsters and we should be panicking. "We are on the way to a point of no return and we will end up in a Falluja situation. It is already a Falluja situation in some areas. LA
is on the road to Falluja."
Crazy Article #2:
Nabil al-Marabh, once imprisoned as the No. 27 man on the FBI's list of must-capture terror suspects, is free again.
He's free despite telling a Jordanian informant he planned to die a martyr by driving a gasoline truck into a New York City tunnel, turning it sideways, opening its fuel valves and having an al-Qaida operative shoot a flare to ignite a massive explosion.
Free despite telling the FBI he had trained on rifles and rocket propelled grenades at militant camps in Afghanistan and after admitting he sent money to a former roommate convicted of trying to blow up a hotel in Jordan.
Free despite efforts by prosecutors in Detroit and Chicago to indict him on charges that could have kept him in prison for years.
Those indictments were rejected by the Justice Department in the name of protecting intelligence. Even two judges openly questioned al-Marabh's terror ties. The Bush administration in January deported al-Marabh to Syria - his home and a country the U.S. government long has regarded as a sponsor of terrorism.
Posted by flow Frazao on June 3, 2004 at 03:02 PM in Random News, War on Terra | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Wednesday, 02 June 2004
Kidnappers target, torture Iraq's best doctors
Already plagued by outdated equipment and drug shortages, Iraq's fragile health-care system is buckling under this new security threat. Some doctors who have not been kidnapped have fled Iraq - just as the nation most needs their help. "We are losing the brain power of our most brilliant doctors," said Dr. Sami Salman, internist and medical director at the Special Care hospital at Baghdad's Medical City health-care complex. "You can't just replace these people overnight."
Ransom, it seems, is not the only motivation for the crimes. In many cases, abductors have ordered the physicians to leave Iraq, sometimes setting a deadline. Iraqi officials fear that the abductions and threats are an organized attempt to cripple the country's healthcare network, likening the tactics to terrorist attacks on the country's oil pipelines or electricity plants. "These are not purely thieves," said Dr. Amir Kuzaii, deputy health minister. "These people have different aims. They are professionals. They want to paralyze the basic functions of the country."
Posted by flow Frazao on June 2, 2004 at 04:45 PM in Iraq | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Why Do Umbrellas Hate America?
First of all, notice that the guy next to him doesn't seem to be having any trouble at all. Unless perhaps this was a "God tried to suck George Bush into the blades of the presidential helicopter" sort of event.
In any case, someone else might have assessed the situation, surmised that the umbrella was hopelessly screwy, and put it down instead of stubbornly holding it up as if nothing were seriously wrong. But that
wouldn't really be George Bush's style, would it?
Posted by flow Frazao on June 2, 2004 at 11:25 AM in Funny Bush | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack