News – Will the Plan Stack Up?
North America
Bush will be outlining his Bird Flu plan later today, so stay tuned to your news sources. I hope he has both a solid plan for getting proper medication and quarantine procedures in place. He should also have some education efforts focused on informing the public what to watch for when it comes to Bird Flu symptoms in both people and animals. Vigilance is as important as plans and if this turns out to be another instance where public education is neglected, we’ll still be vulnerable.
Lawmakers will be confronting U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte, concerned he’s being too secretive and not meeting goals Congress hoped for in the intelligence overhaul.
Thinking of getting a nice, big house? Might want to reconsider if they tamper with the alternative minimum tax.
Cheney appoints David Addington to replace Lewis Libby.
As usual, the military wants to turn something dangerous into a weapon. What is it this time? The weather. Oh yeah, this will turn out well. I shudder anytime the military starts trying to reason out using nature as a weapon. Nature is a balance of forces, if we start monkeying around with it too much, things could break down. And that wouldn’t be good for anyone.
Explainer looks at the many ways to lie.
Middle East
Sharon demands that Palestinians wage real war on terror. He won’t be happy until he’s got Palestine in chaos with Palestinians killing each other left and right, it seems at times.
Israel clamps down on allowing reporters to enter Gaza, thought to be an attempt to limit reporting on the killing of Palestinian civilians, the firing of artillery shells and the use of “sonic bombs” to terrify the local population. I can believe it and wouldn’t be surprised if that is why Israel clings so to maintaining control of Palestine’s borders. What good does a sonic bomb do, terrifying the general populace? Not a whole lot that I can see, save for making them hate Israel all the more.
The US seeks to diplomatically bully Syria into compliance. Sad that it has come to using democracy as a bludgeon, ever an undesirable end to reach. No matter what the bludgeon is, it rarely generates good will, and lack of good will can be an issue in the future.
Europe
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says the US wants him to win the upcoming election, but that this doesn’t mean the US is tinkering with the election. All things said, the endorsement of the US might not be worth today what it used to be. Could be more disadvantage than advantage. Of course, I don’t doubt they want Silvio to stay in. They know him, if some other guy takes control of the country, he might not be on board with the administration’s goals. And that would just be inconvenient.
General
The Feud between Miami layer Jack Thompson and the gaming industry gets wierder and wierder. Then again, when has gaming ever been out of the realm of weird? We thrive on the unusual and unique when it comes to games. Whatever captures the imagination and opens the wallet.
UN IAEA Chief Mohamed ElBaradei wants talks on the stalled treaty banning the production of weaponized nuclear material started. A good idea, we need to get such things locked down. It’s been too long.
Today’s Blogs look over Samuel Alito, giving their own up or down votes.
Today’s Papers mentions suicide attempts at Guantanimo, more on Alito, no compelling legal reason for Cheney to not speak on what has happened in the dark recesses of his bunker and more in the one page news.
Amusements
Hugo Chavez calls for ban on Halloween, says it’s an American attack on Venezuela and points to Ghost Recon as proof of the U.S.’s use of the supernatural as weapons
Porn video firm ordered by to pay £4,000 to woman who complained that explicit “rumpy-pumpy” on front cover of videos didn’t match actual content
“Never before in my time at the bar or on the bench have I ever had to deal with somebody who voluntarily allowed himself to be buggered by a dog on the public highway.”
Doofus in Thundercat costume arrested in Savannah. Poses for mug shot wearing face paint. The Smoking Gun is there
Groups want to block the use of an almost 100 percent effective cervical cancer vaccine because they say it condones promiscuous behavior
Demopolis newspaper acknowledges pins, needles and razors in Halloween goodies are bunk, then turns around and announces free x-raying of said Halloween goodies at local hospital
Burglar to take remedial burglary classes after stopping to make a delicious pizza after taking a pizza joint’s safe
Time-traveling squirrels could explain mysterious photographs that keep appearing in woman’s garage, except for one problem: Squirrels lack opposable thumbs
Texas mayor plans on running his city via the telephone since he’s barred from setting foot inside city limits until his current criminal case is resolved
Leave it to acountry singer to compare his recent divorce to the theft of a big screen TV
Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this cold cruel world
Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop this robot
Fark Photoshop Challenge: The 2005 Fark true scary/ghost story thread. Post your best here. Voting enabled