Posts tagged “current events”
A video of the Presidential inauguration, though likely US-only due to streaming restrictions.
Vote.
I've got this.
My friend Laurie cuts through the Russia-Georgia conflict with brutal efficiency: war with Russia never ends well, nobody has two decades to waste, and clearly we should all just gang up on China instead.
Tonight's ABC debate was a disaster. Nearly every major issue facing America went unaddressed while moderators obsessed over flag pins, bitter-gate, and Obama's former preacher. Nakedly pro-Hillary and substance-free, it was terrible even by the embarrassingly low standard of American political debates.
I jinxed it. James Brown, Gerald Ford, and Saddam Hussein all died while I was away, plus Saddam's execution was a rushed mess. And it's only 11am on New Year's Eve.
A year in review: accidental Google fame via Orlando Bloom, skin allergies, dental hell, antibiotic depression, Ukraine, being made redundant the day after praising my job, and relocating to San Francisco. Also Snakes on a Plane was pretty good. Archives finally fixed too.
Hell yes. Democrats take the House AND the Senate, and Rumsfeld finally gets the boot. Best day in politics in a long time.
Castro's ailing, his 75-year-old brother Raul is running things, and everyone wants to know what happens next. No US invasion, no sudden opposition triumph. My bet: a USSR-style gradual loosening, then a tipping point. Cuba could be a real Caribbean power, but will probably just become another US satellite.
I give up on this shit.
A massive fuel depot explosion rattled our windows at 6am, leaving a huge smoke cloud drifting over the house all day. Also saw the Jon Stewart show (disappointing), have a cold, and am possibly overdosing on mince pies. West Wing season 6 is keeping me up past my bedtime.
Angry, not scared, after today's failed London bombing attempts. They were amateurs compared to last time, but they still had a plan and still panicked the city. My tube link to London is down again. Retreating into Harry Potter, where the villains are clear and defeat is guaranteed.
London's dark humor is returning after the bombings, and so am I. We're coping the only way we know how: taking the piss. And to those posting "We Are Not Afraid" from Nebraska: easy to say when you're not the one who's fucking terrified.
I'm okay, but all three of my routes to work were bombed this morning. Mobile networks are down. I walked home shaken. This was real, not panic or exaggeration. Reach me at work email for now.
The name Donald is pretty bad.
Back from a 6,000-mile trip to cold, smelly London, but at least I have broadband again. Also, calm down about Prince Harry, and apparently I'm borderline Asperger's. Please take these tests and tell me they're meaningless.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake has killed 46,000 people and counting. That's 23 times the 9/11 death toll. We fuss over far smaller tragedies while the Earth casually erases entire communities. We are not lords of this planet. We are an irrelevant eyeblink between ice ages. Donate if you can.
Ashcroft's resigned, but not before claiming he's "achieved the objective" of keeping America safe. Mission accomplished? We're in two wars! I'm just glad this lunatic is gone. Maybe he'll finally focus on his singing career.
Watching the 2004 election results at 3:30am with Bush ahead and the key states still undecided. Heading to bed, desperately hoping America gets it right this time. Canada's weather is a strong motivator.
The Chalabi scandal keeps compounding: we paid millions to a convicted fraudster for false intel, invaded Iraq based on it, and possibly got played by Iran. Nobody's been fired. Never underestimate the Bush administration's capacity to make catastrophically bad situations dramatically worse.
Rumsfeld's out. Good riddance.
Clearing my backlog: Abu Ghraib torture outrages me, we should rent a castle in August, Mills and Boon manga exists, some guy bet his life savings on roulette and won, and yes, Wolf Blitzer's mother really does call him Wolf.
Security contractor killed in Fallujah worked for a company called Custer Battles. You really can't make this stuff up.
Trying to parse the logic on targeted killings in the Middle East is making my head spin. Both sides are committing atrocities out of mutual terror, the security fence looks inadequate, and the only thing I'm sure of is that simple answers don't exist here.
Linking to some good Iraqi Information Minister humor (still funny, always will be), plus thoughts on SARS panic outpacing the actual disease. That 5% death rate isn't reassuring when you think about it statistically. Staying scared for now.
The Rockall Times piece reads like satire, but the underlying reality it's describing is all too real.
Thomas Friedman declared the "terrorism bubble" burst because Iraq fell. But hey, the terrorists weren't Iraqi, their money wasn't Iraqi, and bin Laden sure as hell isn't Iraqi. If anything, we just gave the Middle East more reasons to hate us. Friedman is an idiot.
We're going to war. Like it or not, apparently.
Mocking CNN's DC sniper coverage for fanning panic, celebrating a wild Birmingham clubbing weekend including an impromptu wet t-shirt competition, and puzzling over a Macromedia knockoff site and bizarre Iraqi protest footage.
Massive link dump covering Tim Berners-Lee's first browser, Jurassic 5, Ben Folds Five, Al-Qaeda golf course sniper panic, Dawson's Creek gay sex, Google Zeitgeist, brain cancer breakthroughs, Apple's OS X giveaway, and Tomato Nation. My topic-hopping is probably breaking Google's brain.
Living in the US right now feels like Sarajevo with a McDonald's. Snipers, anthrax, abductions... and Harry Belafonte wading into politics with a gloriously blunt house-slave metaphor aimed at Colin Powell. I disagree with his methods, but anyone who thinks Ashcroft is nuts is alright by me.
The Masai gave New York nine cows after 9/11 -- a genuinely touching gesture. And if you want to return the favor, apparently you can send a sheep online with your credit card. Seriously.
BBC News is predictably grim lately, so it's refreshing to see Will Young coming out as gay making headlines. Called it. Also, the guy's barely been famous two weeks and he's already managed to torpedo his own career. Impressive work.
Disappointed by London's May Day anti-capitalism protests. Five thousand protesters, six thousand cops, and everyone behaved themselves. Germany had firebombs, Australia had riots, but London managed nothing but cyclists. Anarchism has really gone downhill.
