Pacific Views

Saturday Reading

Daily Kos: An Iraqi family forced to execute US informant son. Elsewhere, other Iraqis turn assailant over to US. And in a 'who will be our punching bag now?' moment, the Bush administration says goodbye to Iran-Contra felon, Adm. Poindexter.

Talk Left points to Bush's Top 40 Lies, talks about Gary Hart's speech to a gathering of defense lawyers, and how the Supreme Court is starting to pay attention to international precedent. I'm stopping here, but you should make sure and read everything that's up over there today.

Brad DeLong finds that the Economist has some sensible comments on global warming. Which is touching, really, from the people who launched Bjorn Lomborg. But still, better late than never. Also, DeLong tries to explain why someone could 'get' the libertarian and decentralized internet and still not think that libertarian ideals are a great way to run a government.

The Coalition Casualty Count has the latest tallies and links on allied deaths in Iraq.

Ruminate This on the disappearance American jobs to overseas outsourcing. Now that white collar jobs are fleeing too, congress has started paying attention. But one can only wonder if libertarian internet wonks have noticed yet?

Digby talks about Saddam's bluff, and below that, why Bush is a phony and why we should say so (loudly, repeatedly, etc.)

Eschaton brings us a wingnut breakdown.

The Sideshow has a good news & post roundup.

Seeing The Forest: The latest Meetup numbers give an interesting candidate profile for the Democratic nominees. And, my response to this little news item was "What the ****ing ****!?" Air marshals will be pulled from cross-country flights.

Veiled4Allah tells us that in a fit of obtuseness (is it catching, or what?), DreamWorks will present Sinbad the Sailor as a Greek story. Excuse me? Also, according to the article she links, they may very well be slandering Eris. Such behavior will surely land them a place as a Precious Mao Button in the Region of Thud. Splitters.

How to Save the World has a graph that looks like two straight lines, which actually represents US income distribution. Do not adjust your screen, society is having technical difficulties.

If you've been missing The Daily Show lately, and have a high bandwidth connection, Lisa Rein is your go to person for a roundup of the latest spot-on political skewerings by the best newscast on US television. (That's just terribly amusing and depressing at the same time, I can't hack it.) In case you should be reading this entry at a later date, start here and walk back through the archives.

Magpie alerts us to the fact that the collapsing rubble of the 'Argentine miracle' was brought to you by the same people who gave us Enron. Way to go, guys.

The Eyeranian contemplates the benefits foregone in the 1953 CIA coup in Iran, and points to additional historical background. Also, comments on the Tehran beating death of a Canadian-Iranian journalist.

Frog n' Blog passes on the deep perplexity of a mystified techie who wants to know why fbi.gov is being used as a Microsoft download site. Also, a link to some quotes from Diogenes, and I'll leave you with this one, because if you're still with me here, you could probably use a chuckle:

...Why do people give to beggars, he was asked, but not to philosophers? "Because they think they may one day be lame or blind, but never expect that they will turn to philosopy." ...