...more recent posts
Tuesday, Nov 30, 2004
To Coup or Not to Coup
A post about Chavez on D Kos.
Threefer
1. While drifting in and out of migraine flavored sleep, I heard Madonna on Fresh Air. Then I heard it again while driving home from the movie theater. Yes, she is that vapid.
2. Over a late lunch I read a WSJ interview with the head of SBC. Is he playing coy, or does he really have that much to learn about the technology and sociology of entertainment and internetworking?
3. I just saw "What the Bleep Do We Know?" While I was cheering for this movie to be good, in the end it was a let down. The film was a mishmosh of half expressed ideas about quantum mechanics and the physiological basis for the mind. The directors attempted to tie it all together with a narrative starring an angst ridden Marlee Matlin. The moral of the story: Paint yourself and throw away your meds!
Snogging
As two people found, my post three down from here about Bush kissing Rice is number 11 on a Google search for "Bush kiss Rice". Substituting "snogging" moves it up to number 1.
While researching these fascinating statistics, I found another disturbing image of Bush's full-frontal snogging.
Hairy Fish Nuts got me going with a post about warflogger math. My comment is crossposted below.
Why Do the Warfloggers Hate Our Troops?
90/150,000 = x/10,000,000
What is x?
x = 6,000
If six thousand were getting shot down, run over, rpg'ed, killed in industrial accidents, and shredded by IEDs in Manhattan or LA on a monthly basis, I think perhaps I'd hear about it. In my little town of 50,000, one violent death per day would certainly register with the populace.
The only city I know in depth that has a horrific death rate is New Orleans. A pace of one a day is not unusual. In the neighborhood at the epicenter, they don't need the liberalcostalelitemedia to explain the problem. All too often they know the names, and sometimes the families and the histories. (Thank goodness the war on drugs is going so fucking brilliantly.)
So the war floggers don't think our troops are facing anything worse than a bad day in LA? Fuckers. Fucking pasty-faced computer warriors. How dare they belittle those who face down supersonic bits of flying hot metal? "Yeah, like, I got totally stuck in wicked traffic on the 405 once. I'll never leave Orange County again."
And with the much lower, but regrettable death rates in dangerous neighborhoods of American cities, could it be that Bush has his pri-or-TEEs a bit off-kilter? So, we're killing Iraqis to make America safer. And that makes sense beeeecause ...???
Step three: America is Safer
IPR
I find myself on both sides of the IPR issue. I'm concerned about selling anything cloneable to the PRC, because, dammit, that's my work. But the ease with which obvious ideas are patented, and the ongoing extension of copyrights to the life of the author's cryogenically frozen head are distressing.
Here's a test case ripped out of todays headlines: if a company can assert that breasts are a trademark, we are doomed.
Bush + Kiss + Rice + Appointment
I was surprised by the PDA that Dubya gave Condi. Seemed odd. Out of place. Unprofessional. At my work, we keep the kissing down to a minimum, even during promotion announcements. And tongue play is way past the limit.
Out of curiousity, I googled on the combination above at news.google.com, and found exactly one relevant story.
The Australian -- November 18, 2004
Roy Eccleston, Washington correspondent
WITH a peck on the cheek from George W.Bush and a few discreet tears, Condoleezza Rice prepared yesterday to take the reins of US foreign policy on a world stage dotted with hot spots from the Middle East to the Sudan, and North Korea to Afghanistan.
Perhaps, I'm all wrong. Perhaps it wasn't an inappropriate display of personal endearment during what should have been a solemn, businesslike occasion during an actual shooting war.
Drain Bamage
Among my hobbies is brain science.
No, that isn't right.
Among my hobbies is reading about brain science. It's a marvelously complicated subject of which I can only skim the surface. Perhaps it will come in handy as most of my grandfather's siblngs went of Alzheimers.
My first fascination came about when I was a small child, while reading about the work of Jane Goodall with some of the furry hominids, and reading about Koko. The nature of human minds and human language quickly come to mind when speaking of the nature and behavior of our hairy cousins.
In the 9th grade, I was drawn to an introduction of experiential models of mental perception and language-based models of cognitive reasoning that were presented in a speech class. The teacher's theory was that if you want to manipulate .... um ... convince people of something, one must start with an understanding how their minds process ideas.
In college I was fascinated with psycho-acoustics, which really should be called neural-acoutics because they keep finding the neural systems that underlie auditory perception. It's all about the wetware.
In the eighties, I closely followed a substantial and long-running series in EE Times about AI, programmed expert systems, self-programming neural nets, etc., that approached the ideas about thinking from a rather geeky, bottoms-up, engineering perspective.
In the eighties I also dabbled in the literature of psychology, primarily the type one can find in a certain section of your local Barnes and Noble. (Hey, you probably wore big hair, acid wash jeans and pink in the eighties, so lay off.)
In the nineties I dated a mental health counselor and
was exposed to neural models for conciousness as described in Descartes Error. And now I'm fascinated the the neural biology of the retina, the most complex neural structure outside of the brain. In fact, it starts as part of the brain, and migrates during fetal development.
So this accusation kind of bugged me ...
Hatred is easy. Hatred is cheap. Hatred is ancient. Hatred doesn't sleep.
Hatred makes you mad. Hatred makes you angry. Hatred stokes your fear.
If they did choose to rely more on their prefrontal cortexes, they might experience these brain functions more deeply ...
- attention span
- planning
- judgment
- impulse control
- problem solving
- critical thinking
- forward thinking
- learning from experience and mistakes
- empathy
The amygdala is very close to the brain stem, and is the center of fear, rage and aggression. It can and should be regulated by the cognitive functions. And it's a matter of choice. That's all I'm saying.
Wednesday, Nov 17, 2004
Red State Coda
As mentioned previously, I had some red state visitors recently. The SF hotel industry is in the middle of labor negotiations, with lockouts and noisy picket lines. My Mom said something so heartwarming ... so Christian ... so ... Red State.
All Your Obedience Is Belong To Us
"We don't wish this upon anyone, but everyone needs to understand there are consequences for not following the Iraqi government."
To War Monger or Not to War Monger
An interesting on-line conversion of a conservative blogger was noted by Hairy Fish Nuts.
Standing in the shadow of the Cross, Christians have a responsibility to count the cost, speak out for the victims, and explore every alternative before a nation goes to war. We are committed to international cooperation rather than unilateral policies…
...
...
Justice DeLayed
Mr. Tom should be allowed to impress libruls into servitude, and should be allowed to rape, pillage and plunder all librul counties that stand in his way. Watch out Travis County. All your base is belong to DeLay.
Friday, Nov 12, 2004
Oh, childrens. Let tell you 'bout the continental drift and the liquid hot magma.
How does one answer something like this? (Seen on DKos.)
,,, snip ...
To someone familiar with the basic premise of all science, evolution is just as foolish as creation.
By comparision, plate tectonics requires much more time to make an observation, and the whole thing is a bit fuzzy due to complexity of the questions.
We don't "know" that the Indian subcontinent crashed into Asia to create Himalaya. I couldn't prove this fact beyond a reasonable doubt. But it sure looks that way. Scientists and engineers can use physics, mathematics, and powerful software to model and simulate the mantle and the crust, and get to know what the earth looked like billions of years ago.
That's science. Although it can't tell you if you're going to have a 3.1 microquake in your vicinity today.
And it's valuable science. Before we destroy this precious jewel called the earth, we had better learn how it all hangs together.
Biology is far more complicated than physics. It's harder to find the simple, elegant formulations ... F=ma V=IR PV=kRT Nope, kiss the idea of simplicity goodbye. String theory ain't got nothin on DNA.
But the life scientists try to find the threads, the themes that tie it all together. And evolution is one of those themes.
Why do we have complex cells? Why do we have mitochondrial DNA? Evolution. Symbiotic relationships of simpler biological forms were transformed into new, stable, more complex bioligical forms. This concept lies at the very foundation of the contemporary understanding of the origin of multicellular organisms.
One can't fully understand certain subjects unless you study billions of years of past evidence to tease out the underlying order, principles, laws. And the fact that I can't evolve a monkey into an ape as a party stunt doesn't mean that evolution isn't science.
But why is evolution an important science? Understanding the origins of biological structures helps us understand those stuctures. Knowing that we share a brain structure called the amygdala with reptiles helps us understand what an amygdala is and does, and why it's important not to allow that part of your brain to make very many decisions.
So, evolution (and plate tectonics) are complicated, imprecise, and don't allow easy experiments. But they are science, and they are important. But are they ungodly?
Knowing that we're all just a collection of uppity bacteria that spent 3.5 billon years learning how to type in no way diminishes the sense of wonder I have about the alleged creator.
Thursday, Nov 11, 2004
Faux Release
So I try the faux press release format. Something new for me. I thought it wasn't bad for a first outing. I even decide, ooooh, I should cross post this to DKos. And then I check out some guy with a website, and I realize I know nothing.
In retaliation for insurgents' occupation of Fallujah, U.S. have negotiated the complete escape of all insurgent leaders from the city, in exchange for which U.S and Iraqi forces are to be allowed to bomb the remaining city to rubble. Insurgents also agreed to leave behind a token force of insurgents that U.S. forces can kill, capture, injure, and hound. U.S. representatives declined to reveal the number of civilian casualties that insurgents and U.S. forces agreed upon.
Update: Army Capt. Sean Sims said it appeared foreign insurgent leaders had fled the city, leaving locals to fight. That assessment was consistent with reports from rebel sources in Fallujah.
"I left that Spic hanging! Fuck him, maybe invade his ass next, they got WMD in Spainardstan?"
rereblogging
Would Random Be Better?
The Democratic Experiment
By Professor Paul Cartledge
Wednesday, Nov 10, 2004
Mind-Brain
This morning KQED broadcast an interview with John Searle, author of Mind: A Brief Introduction. I caught a few snippets during my commute, and plan to go back to listen to the rest. In particular, there were some very good questions from the radio audience.
Must be a bunch of blue county "elites" and their fancy "knowledge".
Carnivore Mentor
Mugatu was at my back window tonight demanding a meal upgrade from kibble. The cupboard is bare, but Ive got some eggs. Is anything as simple yet decadent as scrambled eggs cooked in a bit of fresh butter?
I've cooked fried eggs (over easy) for Mugatu before, but he was confused by the whites. This time I munched on the eggs while Mugatu watched me through a window pane. I do this sort of tasting sometimes with Gracie over a bit of chicken or salmon, to convince Miss Picky Eater that I'm eating the best food on the planet. Mmmmmmm, cooked meeeat.
The mentoring worked for Mugato. He was face down in a bowl of warm eggs last I looked.
Mandatory Eye Gouging
The Christian Taliban never rests in their quest to make U.S. law reflect the will of God. R-rated movies will now include mandatory eye gouging of all patrons. Pocket pool will be punished by amputation. And divorced women will be banished to nunneries.
28: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29: And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30: And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
31: It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
32: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
At a loss
Tonight the Daily Show highlighted a clip of Under Scty of State Richard Armitage telling a huge fucking whopper to the national press. Richie says that the American troops are being led into Fallujah by a force of 2,000 Iraqis. Um, okay. If that's your story.
Now that the media have been publically slapped at the first press conference of the new man-date by the elected lying sack of wet cow droppings, are they going to respond with a little spine, or are they going to roll over and submit?
Knight-Ridder, can you save us all?
The Death of Cultural Elitism
Evangelical Talmud Guides Re-Alignment of Consanguine County Curricula
Clem "Tow Head" Travis, Supervisor of Public Education for Consanguine County, announced today that all grading and scoring of students is banned.
"We found that the ones that could read was making fun of all the other kids -- lording their cultural elitism over the rest of the class. We can't encourage that kind of behavior by reinforcing it with report cards", opined Mr. Travis.
With the guidance of the newly published Evangelical Talmudic Guide to Judeo-Christian Education, Mr. Travis is revamping several of the schools' educational programs. The Health Studies program at Jefferson Davis High School has been replaced with Godliness Studies.
The Bible has been chosen as the new science text book. Coach Pat Falwell explains, "When we got rid of that heretical science teacher, the book had to go too. Genesis is my 'big bang.'" Mr. Falwell will be covering the science program until a non-heretical college graduate can be found.
All forms of mathematics have been entirely banned, with the exception of the counting numbers, from one to nine. "We found out that the Ay-rabs invented the algebra, so that had to be dropped, for sure. I got my nephew over in Bay City to google on it, and we wasn't sure if the number zero was invented by the Chinese, the Oriental Indians, the Ay-rabs or the Babylonians. But we couldn't take the chance that we was teaching the children the black arts of the towel heads," said James "Jimbo" Beufort of the Arithmetic Department.
This is purely satire, and is not intended to reflect any educational system to which I may have been subjected while living in a Red State.
Polygamy is Already Legal
Well, duh. It's called "blended-families". Sure, it's mightly complicated at times. Dad, step-dad, mom, step-mom, step-siblings, half siblings, siblings, step-cousins, step grandmas. Hard to keep it straight. Some people handle it okay, and some fuck it up. But it's legal. There's an entire branch of law devoted to it: Family Law.
So, unless you're going to put that genie back in the bottle, polygamy is here to stay. However, taking your cousin's 12 year old daughter as your third simultaneous wife is illegal in several different ways.
So, honkie, please. Your hatred of gay marriage is all about your hatred of gays.
--------------
For another fascinating round of "Traditional Family Values", let's take a look at that foundation of Anglo-American law: the Magna Carta.
No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she wishes to remain without a husband. But she must give security that she will not marry without royal consent, if she holds her lands of the Crown, or without the consent of whatever other lord she may hold them of.
This fine screed inspired me to go ahead and publish the rant I wrote last week. I'm beginning to let go of the anger, but will never let go of the determination to quash the 1% man-date.
Red State Rant
I'm receiving some visitors from the buckle of the Cracker Belt in two days, so I should go ahead and get this out of my system.
There are those of us in the blue counties of the blue states who just don't want to see your fucking faces. You threaten the very foundations of our cities' greatness: the celebration of the intellect, international exchange of ideas, culture and commerce, public health, public safety, and freedom from puritan moralists. And then you want to visit?
Just get the fuck out of here.
By the way, it's not just the entire Bay Area. Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston and New York City called to say "Fuck Off" too.
Monday, Nov 08, 2004
Jihad vs. Jihad
J.C. Christian, in his post linked below, links to a Reuters article about the religious zeal with which some Americans will approach Fallujah.
Allawi has his own band of zealots in this fight ...
"May they go to hell," shouted the soldiers. "To hell they will go," Allawi replied.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God
Courtesy of Jesus' General.
The Evangelical Talmud of the Christian Taliban
I'll just keep driving this theme right into the ground. There's certainly no shortage of material.
Saturday, Nov 06, 2004
Republican Family Values
I've seen pro-bush blogs that speak of horrific things. Democrats should be castrated like so many farm animals so that they are suitable company for republicans. Rep. Stephanie Herseth (D-SD) is suited to be a "comfort woman" for republicans. Republicans should push the faces of democrats against curbstones and stomp on the backs of their heads.
Now, boys will be boys. I'm sure this is all just a little light hearted ribbing about their totally bitchin' 1% man-date. Like the preznit in his firstest press conference of the new reich telling the reporters that there ain't gonna be no back talk (bitch). The "bitch" part was silent, but you could see it in his eyes.
Now, I know I's all mean sometimes. And I might be talking trash about reptile-brained fag haters. But I figure calling people after the names of animals with whom they share characteristics, and calling out their stated beliefs is in the neighborhood of polite discourse.
I draw the line at making jokes about murder, dismemberment, mutilation, and sexual degradation of the people who voted for the wrong candidate. I guess I'll never be suited to being a republican.
The Red States Don't Value Brains
This portion of a Knight-Ridder article was not present in the Houston Chronicle's version. This was an unfortunate editing decision. Texans need to understand what they voted for.
HOSPITAL NEAR INSURGENT-HELD CITY PREPARING TO HANDLE MANY VICTIMS
In the six weeks Noyes has worked at the Al-Fallujah camp, his team has operated on Marines with eyes gouged by shrapnel and limbs torn by explosion. A rocket strike outside the hospital killed two staff members and left deep pockmarks across the white concrete walls.
Noyes said some bodies have been so badly mangled that they had to be shipped home for DNA identification.
As Noyes was speaking Thursday, two Marines and a female American photojournalist were rushed into the hospital. A roadside bomb had damaged their vehicle. The Marines had shrapnel cuts and burns, and the photographer's teeth had been pushed back into her mouth. The bomb was attached to a tank of gasoline, meant to create a fireball that didn't ignite.
Capt. Melissa Kaime, another Navy surgeon at the hospital, said that seeing trauma wounds in medical school is one thing; seeing them come off the battlefield is something altogether different.
``To treat a patient when (his) brain is coming out . . .,'' she said, before her voice trailed off. ``There are things that I will never understand. It's beyond my comprehension; a higher power will have to explain why these things have happened.''
Bible-based Law
In preparation for the imposition of the Evangelical Talmud, we're making a few changes to bring the United States of Jesusland more into line with basic Judeo-Christian values.
20: And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.
21: And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Thursday, Nov 04, 2004
Seen somewhere on DKos
"The Cracker Belt hates us because of our freedom."
Selective Homophobia
The fag haters that elected Bush actually have a bit of, how you say, nuance to their homophobia. Ashcroft can joke about the Queer Eye Guys. Republicans can be friendly with their gay waiters. But there's a line that can't be crossed.
It's similar to how sotherners felt about "Coloreds" or "Negroes" in the fifties. Yeah, they are welcomed as entertainers or servants, but you wouldn't want one of "their kind", you know, in the PTA, for God's sake.
Pop Psychology II
......Or it could be the revenge of the jocks
In high school, the jocks totally rule. There may be inklings of the rise of the brainiacs, but the jocks are clearly at the pinnacle of the social pyramid. But then real life happens. The geeks, the wonks, the dweebs hit their stride. They run the banks. They dominate the arts and entertainment. They run hi-tech, biotech, nanotech. They live in their coastal cities and eat their goddamned sushi while watching TiVo. Fuckers!
The revenge of the jock is the rejection of intellect, and this time without an asterisk. But they couldn't find a jock, so they settled for a high school cheerleader, a smirking boy who is popular despite being ignorant and unwise.
But like the best of all possible marks, the Bush lovers don't even realized that they have been conned. He'll mortgage their grandmothers and their sons for his vainglorious lies, and blame it on "his opponent", "the enemy", "the French".
Atavism is the New Black
There's the legitimate and measured response to a former agent gone wrong (i.e. bin Laden). And then there's something entirely different, the perpetual GWOT (global war on terror). The GWOT is an elaborate series of lies intended to incite the base emotions of fear and hate that reside in the reptilian brain. Bypassing the nuance of the pre-frontal lobe, the Bushista's tap into the inner lizards of the American populace.
The homophobia which may have swung the balance in the swing states is another example of atavism. The primitive homophobic emotion that afflicts so many so-called Christians isn't of Paleozioc origin, but it is a throw back to a primitive time. I've never met a homophobic quadraped, and our cousins the Bonobo aren't homophobic. So I'd have to peg this repugnant loathing to the Pleistocene Epoch.
While some may decry the notion of turning back the clock to a pre-scientific era of "magical" thinking, I find that criticism wide of the mark. The Bushistas want to turn the clock back 300 million years. They want the populace to act like so many Komodo Dragons in the presence of red meat, and seem to have mastered the technique for stimilating the amygdalas of millions of Americans. I, for one, refuse to quietly accept an era of primitive, violent emotion.
Update:
For the sake of being fair and balanced, let me offer an alternate view, from my muse, the Reverend Doctor Jerry Falwell ...
Jerry Falwll on CNN October 24, 2004
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004
Legislative Analyst
There are 10 or so propositions, including two vague and complicated semi-contradictory pairs. Two that aren't opposed. And one that's entirely pointless.
While skimming over the one hundred and sixty five page state ballot guide (plus local guides), I watched a little SNL. I enjoyed the way they let Real Audio have some time to stretch. An uncomfortable silence needs time to settle in.
And then "Mosh". I dared to let myself contemplate the repudiation of Gee Dub. That would be sweet.
Hope Tinged with Dread
