News – Bullheaded Diplomacy

Middle East

The US is less than helpful by announcing a blanket boycott of Palestinian ministers in the new unity government unless the government meets international conditions. Because we know that crap has already worked, right? Wrong, all it has done is led to Palestine dropping like a stone when it comes to integrity, which only makes things worse for the eventual recognition of Israel. But I’m not surprised. The current US government sucks when it comes to diplomacy. They prefer to strong-arm and thrown their weight around, expecting everyone to fall all over themselves to do as they’re told. Funny how that rarely works well.

Iraq PM Nouri Maliki sacks an official of his government who demanded an inquiry into allegationst hat a Sunni woman was raped by Iraq police. This sort of thing doesn’t lead me to look favorably on the new Iraq government. Maliki says that his opponents are using the story as a means of discrediting the Shia dominated security forces. What better way to quiet them than to investigate and find the charge was wrong or to find it was right and to sack the individuals who perpetrated the offense? Sacking your opponents won’t quiet the dissent. One wonders why so many seem frightened of open investigations if they’re so sure such stories are fabricated or untrue.

Tony Blair is set to declare a timetable for the withdraw of some UK troops from Iraq. Apparently Basra has progressed enough for that to happen. I suppose those troops aren’t needed elsewhere in Iraq then?

Trials with a virtual Iraq simulator, allowing traumatized soldiers to confront their fears has shown good results with the first handful of patients treated with it. This is the sort of innovative medicine I like to see. Well done.

It seems the US already has a contingency drawn up for a deep bombing campaign on Iran. It would extend past nuclear facilities to the majority of their military infrastructure. According to sources, two triggers for such an attack might be full confirmation that Iran is going for nukes or an actual Iranian attack on US forces in Iraq.

Clinging to the Holocaust as a justification for Israel is counterproductive and unnecessary. “Never forget” is a mantra to which I ascribe fully when considering the Holocaust. And “never again” is a conviction which all of us should do everything we can to realise. But the Jewish people are not the helpless nation that we were 60 years ago. And Israel is our strong, independent home that is here to stay. Our energies need to be diverted from justifying Israel’s existence and emphasising the hardship of the Jews and vested instead in ensuring that our strong state can find a way to become a stable one, at peace with its neighbours. Quoted for truth, as they are want to say on some message boards.

Africa

Police in Zimbabwe’s capital outlaw protest for three months after a recent spate of violence. You know, rather than government reforms and such. As well, president Robert Mugabe has plans to nationalize the country’s diamond mining industry in an attempt to prop up the economy.

Somali government forces ad Ethiopian troops shell areas of Mogadishu after their own positions came under insurgent attack. Time is steadily running out to quell this quickly. The worse things get, the harder it will be to bring peace. Iraq is the clear example to avoid. Fortunately, things are starting to move forward.

Asia/Pacific

UN envoy Philip Alston says that the Philippine army is in a state of denial over a wave of political killings in the country.

Fiji’s military leader says he plans to call for elections in 2010. This would, if done, restore the parliamentary democracy that was present before the coup. That’s quite a long time before putting things back to normal. One wonders why so long.

Americas

Curious remarks from Bush and Condi. Trust them? No thanks.

A new tape has surfaced of JFKs last moments. This link should be it, I think. Doesn’t mean much to me, likely I’d have though it has unimportant as the owner did.

A host of Hollywood celebrities raise 1.3 million for Obama’s presidential campaign. One wonders how his association with them will spin the race ultimately, once the real mud slinging starts.

For those following her increasingly strange tale, Britney Spears is back in rehab. Yet another star gets burned. Though in her case, I’m not really surprised. She and many of her ilk are almost assured to have consistently rocky times due to their poor decisions.

Here we have a sad first, the first baby to survive having been born 22 weeks premature. One can only hope she is spared the normal run of health issues that plague some premature children.

Will Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid be scuttled by her not admitting it was a mistake to vote for the war in Iraq?

General

A German study suggests that natural family planning is as effective as contraceptive pills if taught and executed properly. That would be the rub, though. Good ole human error. Contraceptives are easy to use, the symptothermal method is not. But if you can use the natural method, more power to you then.

The general sexualisation of young women in society has an obvious negative effect on young girls. It’s become part of society, not fully embodied in any one media. At that point, something of this nature is hard to remove, as it’s been drilled into the psyche of the population and the mere removal of it from the media won’t be enough to change perceptions. That takes longer term social engineering.

Google tests their much used drives and discovers the truth of hard drive failure is not so simple as might be expected.

Presenting Machinima, where one makes movies using the graphics from video games. The link on the page goes to a few examples. Of them, I really, really like the one made with Sims 3(third down the line). Good song, very good animations that visualized the story of the song as perfectly as one could hope. Very good works.

The Blogs look at JetBlue’s stumbling, the conditions in Walter Reed hospital and the word “scrotum.”

Today’s Papers has note that Hillary doesn’t often refer to herself as Clinton, the closing arguments in the perjury trial of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the question of when the security crackdown in Iraq should hit Sadr city and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Heavy Metal Guy – One of the most ingenious flash series I’ve seen in my time online. I wish there were more to be seen.

U.S. general and his experts flew to Hollywood to meet the producers of “24,” so they could urge them to stop the actors who play American agents from pretending to torture the actors who play terrorists

The 50 most loathsome New Yorkers

When you are arrested for a suspended driver’s licence, the officer is just doing his job. No need to use your corporation to send thousands of spam emails accusing him of sex with young boys

Old and busted: Nigerian scammers. New hotness: Mormon scammers

Ted Haggard wins $130,000 in the lottery. Just kidding. The church he shamed and humiliated will pay him $130,000 in “financial support.” Jesus saves

Meet John Zweifel, who “says the Pledge of Allegiance six times a day,” is “obsessed by love for freedom” and is “possibly crazy.” Okay, I added that last one, just RTFA

When your new husband asks you to stop drinking at your reception because you’re seven months pregnant, do you: A) Reply, “How foolish of me”? B) Abandon your beer? Or C) Drunkenly bash him in the face?

Movie theaters are annoying. Strong Bad explains why

Alabama college awards 67-year-old disabled grandmother three athletic scholarships

Definition of a slow news day: Craig Ferguson’s decision not to rip on Britney “Chrome-Dome” Spears makes the AP wire

‘Fart bomb’ closes postal centre and roads. ‘Pull my finger’ jokes cancelled for the day

How to tell if it’s a slow news day, No. 49: Cow leads police on chase. With bonus: “Lynn Jolicoeur reported that the cow is fat, and sometimes moves slowly”

Singapore has a serious problem with roving gangs breaking into houses, stealing food and soiling the premises. Gangs of monkeys, that is

Step 1: Get a summons for no ticket on the Light Rail. Step 2: Rip up summons in front of the Officer. Step 3: Profit? No, you get another summons for littering, then you assault the Officer of course

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this furniture sale

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this gentleman and his dog-cart

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this snowboarder going flat-out