News – The Election Ends, but Will it be Forgotten

US

So Bush is the big winner. Kerry did the right thing, ultimately, in conceding. Not necessarily because Bush was the better man(I’m leaving that topic open to opinion), but because a drawn out legal contest would have been another wound, sharper than 2000 because it happened two times in a row. Plus he gets a few cool points for being the bigger man if he decides to run again later. Alright, but the question now is, will he really try to reach out to opponents or will his second term go like the first, in which he more or less alienated anyone who thinks differently than he?

For the moment, Ren doesn’t hold out great hope, based on the prior track record and other factors. I think Paula’s comment on my last entry, at its core, is something many opponents of Bush are musing. Will Bush really look to make compromises or will he consider working together to be focused on opponents submitting to his vision of the future? Only Bush can answer that, through his actions in the next four years. Believe me, I’ll be watching him.

What’s amusing is, as much as people have said they’ll vote for Bush based on the War on Terror, I’m betting most voted based on ‘morality’. What are democrats to do? Start playing the values game, I suppose. At the very least, don’t listen to the typical bad advice.

Lots of people rail on how they’ll move to Canada because of this or have made like they will. Well, get in line cause disgruntled Bush opponents will have to wait with the rest of the would be immigrants. It can take up to a year to get in. But I’d say it’s worth it. I’ve lived in Canada for two years previously and made a few trips over in recent years and it’s a nice place. If you’re set and determined, Explainer can tell you how to move to Canada. Ottawa is a nice place, as is Waterloo, both in Ontario.

And yes, Boxer, $3 billion dollars for stem cell research.. over the next ten years, mind you(when in doubt, scope the article). Prop 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative is sure to make Cali home for many bright minds in the field of stem cell research. If you fund it, they will come.

Iraq

And now comes the moment of truth. Saddam on trial, yet it’s possible much evidence that the US could have used against him was lost or tainted because there was no effort to safeguard records that were destroyed in the looting after Baghdad’s fall. Add to that the digging up of bodies by relatives, which eliminates that evidence as well. If the US can’t pull together evidence, they might well miss their chance to nail Saddam to the wall with ease. It’ll likely be harder.. and there is even the possibility he won’t get everything he deserves.

Iraqis are challenging Bush to bring them the new dawn he promised. I’d like that as well. The current situation is, in obvious ways, much less than desirable.

Though the current situation could change. Bombardment, likely in preparation for an assault, has already started in Falluja. To put it bluntly, the US can’t afford anything but meeting it’s goals when it comes to pacifying this city. With the breakdown of negotiations and the seeming intent that the interim Iraqi government has that the people of Falluja have their hands on alQueda leaders to hand over, but refuse to(which I believe to be wrong), there is nothing left but fight.

Israel/Palestine

Word comes that Yasser Arafat has been in a coma since yesterday, in ICU at a French limitary hospital. As much as it tweaks me to revel in the downfall of another, I do hope he doesn’t wake up and passes painlessly into the next life. Arafat’s successors should start to dig in, I think his time is nearly up.

Blair pins hopes for peace on Gaza withdrawal. Ren pins hopes for peace on Arafat’s death and Sharon’s being ejected due to the Gaza withdrawal, as well as the withdrawal itself, moderates taking the reigns in both countries, Egypt assisting and the US getting off its fat ass to provide evenhanded mediation.

Afghanistan

Karzai’s got quite a lot of work ahead of him now. He’s got to deal with both disarming warlords and stifling the drug trade. The best weapon he can use against both are jobs. Well paying(enough to live on) jobs that keep people from requiring the drug trade or warlord money to survive.

General

Franz Cerami, an italian promoter who is try to set up the first CG talent agency, is the guiding force behind the Miss Digital World beauty pageant.

The biggest game companies are being brought to trial, sued for violating a patent from the late 80s that covers the display in 2D of a 3D image. Yes, you heard me right. One-time printing and graphics specialist Tektronix is the perpetrator of this suit, which has Ren shaking his head in astonishment. I can’t believe this is being allowed. People shouldn’t be allowed to wield such broad patents after over a decade of saying nothing at all. Fortunately early users of this process might well come in to save Electronic Arts, Activision, Take Two, Ubisoft, Atari, THQ, Vivendi Universal, Sega, Square Enix, Tecmo, Lucasarts, Namco and others from being bilked out of their hard earned profits.

Today’s Papers has the LAT talking to soldiers who were at al-Qaqaa on April 2003 and simply couldn’t stop the looting, Hungary having set its troops to leave Iraq by April, more election minutia and other tidbits in the one page news.

Amusements

Mark Fiore: Winner Takes All – Well put, I’d say.

Man buys 8 foot by 16 foot beach hut, with no toilet, for $180,000

<A HREF="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041103/od_uk_nm/oukoe_odd_jet&e=2″>Naked man boards moving jumbo jet after being refused ticket

Drunk man mistakes a real-estate office for his apartment. Breaks off two keys before letting himself in the back window with a brick. Jailarity ensues

Ballots for 40 Ohio precincts were driven off in a truck with a Bush-Cheney sticker in the window. With pics – No insinuation, just amusing. 😉

Fark Photoshop Challenge: What if other popular movies were performed by puppets?

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this mantis praying

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this arch