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One person on IRC said “I don’t have a ton of cash to burn, I could have used that $200.” Well apparently he did have the cash to burn and burn it he did. He gave it to Apple. Willingly. They didn’t twist his arm. They asked a price, and he paid it.

But now the self esteem kicks in. He’s no longer joe cool on the block. In fact, any schmuck with $200 less can buy one and laugh at him.

That is why people are upset. Being laughed at, poked fun it. It was all good as long as they had the phone that others could not afford. Now more people can and those early adopters are less special.

Somebody better call a wahmbulance! (*)

An elderly Italian Jewish man wanted to unburden his guilty conscience by talking to his Rabbi. “Rabbi, during World War 2, when the Germans entered Italy, I pretended to be a Catholic and changed my name from Levy to Spamoni, and I am alive today because of it.” “Self preservation is allowable, and the fact that you never forgot that you were a Jew is admirable,” said the Rabbi.

“Rabbi, during the war, a beautiful Jewish woman knocked on my door and asked me to hide her from the Germans. I hid her in my attic and they never found her.” “That was a wonderful thing you did and you have no need to feel guilty.”

“It’s worse Rabbi. I was weak and told her she must repay me with sexual favours, which she did, repeatedly.” “You were both in great danger and would have suffered terribly if the Germans had found her. There is a favourable balance between good and evil, and you will be judged kindly. Give up your feelings of guilt.”

“Thank you, Rabbi. That’s a great load off my mind. But I have one more question.” “And what is that?” “Should I tell her the war is over?”

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New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell says he is extremely concerned that the ABC TV program The Chaser’s War on Everything has taken APEC security so lightly.

Police have confirmed that 11 people are being questioned after being arrested at about 11.30 am AEST.

Three cars have also been seized, with officers investigating alleged breaches of the APEC security zone.

Eight cast and crew members and three hire car drivers are being questioned by police about the stunt.

The stunt involved driving a fake motorcade into the northern part of the CBD including Macquarie Street, with one of the crew dressed as Osama bin Laden.

Mr Campbell says the situation is not funny and is being treated seriously by the APEC Investigation Squad.

“This is an extremely serious issue,” he said.

No it isn’t – it is very funny!

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Here’s a cool study: Alberta biologists appear to have demonstrated that spatial memory in cats is cemented not when a cat sees something — but when it navigates around it. Merely perceiving something, for a cat, isn’t enough.

In their experiment — pictured above — they had a cat step halfway over a small barrier, at which point they distracted it with food. They lowered the barrier while it was eating, but when the cat moved on, it still raised its hind legs, believing the barrier to still be there. This is the sort of behavior you’d expect, of course.

But then they repeated the experiment with a twist. This time, the cat was stopped at the point when it had seen the barrier — but before it had stepped its front paws over it. Again, they lowered the barrier while the cat ate the food. But when the cat moved onwards, it didn’t raise its hind legs high enough the clear the now-removed barrier. The cat had seen the barrier, but because it hadn’t been forced to navigate it with its front paws, the barrier hadn’t become part of its spatial memory.

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Over the next week, much will be written, pro and con, about General Petraeus’s report on the progress of the “surge” in Iraq and President Bush’s response. Since both men have pretty much already announced, or at least rehearsed, what they are going to say, the suspense is not exactly crippling. I’ll be writing more later, but for now I’d simply like to address the media’s responsibility to address, over the next few days, this key moment in our recent history with a steady gaze – which, as I will recount, was sadly lacking last winter in the weeks before the “surge” was announced.

You can read the entire article, or just go for the short version:

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A cornucopia of well-known wingers and bible beaters will be gathered in Fort Lauderdale (whose mayor is the homo-obsessed $250K robopotty mayor Jim Naugle) to hold  a “Values Voter Presidential Debate,” moderated by WingNutDaily’s Joseph Farah.

The is the forum that the Base has been looking forward to because it will be the one debate where candidates will surely get pinned down by the luminaries of the fringe-right movement on the party’s hypocrisy and waffling on social issues.

Regarding the selection of WND’s Farah, debate organizer Janet Folger said, “As long as I can remember I’ve been hearing complaints about the liberal media. I’ve heard about their power and undue influence. For too long the pundits have made their proclamations and people have fallen into lock step. But, not anymore.”

Looking forward to the event, Farah said, “So often in presidential debates, questions are asked and answers don’t address the questions. When that happens, I’m going to try to persuade the candidates to focus more precisely on what was asked.”

Look at who will be coming up with the questions for the GOP candidates, it’s going to be so much fun:

* Paul Weyrich, founder and president of the Free Congress Foundation
* Phyllis Schlafly, founder and president of Eagle Forum
* Don Wildmon of the American Family Association
* Judge Roy Moore, columnist at WND and head of the Foundation for Moral Law
* Rick Scarborough of Vision America
* Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel.

Oh my, get the popcorn ready. So far, only the second/third tier candidates have accepted the invitation; Ron Paul, John Cox, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, Tom Tancredo, and Sam Brownback. They are still “working on” getting Rudy, Mitt, McCain and fantasy candidate Fred Thompson to appear. Let’s see, which is worse for these guys — appearing and choking on their hypocrisy, or not showing up, thumbing their noses at the Base?

There won’t be an empty bathroom stall for miles! And I note the website allows you to send in questions. I wonder if this one will be among them:

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1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

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If you want to know how well the justice system is combating terrorism, you’ve got to talk to the lawyers involved.

So we asked 50 defense attorneys who’ve worked on federal terrorism cases since 9/11 their opinions of the legal war on terror. (We also asked 50 prosecutors, but U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Dean Boyd told assistant U.S. attorneys across the country not to participate. He declined to tell us his reason.)

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Not surprisingly, most of the public discussions have focused on developments in Iraq — with Tony Blair having stepped down, Howard is the last major supporter of the president’s war policy — and it led to one noteworthy exchange. (thanks to reader CG for the tip)

[Bush] believes success is being achieved in Iraq and told the Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, upon arrival on Tuesday night that “we’re kicking ass”.

Now, I realize that the president isn’t exactly an impressive guy, and making a good impression overseas probably ranks fairly low on his priority list, but does he really have to embarrass us this much?

[..]

In all likelihood, this is the kind of rhetoric that rallies the base, and causes clueless GOP lawmakers to pump their fist in the air. There may even be some Americans who hear about this and think, “Well, if things were really going poorly, the president wouldn’t seem so confident.”

But therein lies the rub: Bush is detached from reality. He responds to bad news by insisting that it’s good news. He sees failure as success. He’s the head of an organization that doesn’t let facts get in the way.

The aide said that guys like me were ”in what we call the reality-based community,” which he defined as people who ”believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ”That’s not the way the world really works anymore,” he continued. ”We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality — judiciously, as you will — we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”

The mind reels.

Update: Apparently, Bush’s strategy of offering bigger lies is catching on. Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.), who recently said the surge would likely fail, said yesterday, “The surge is working. As much as some Democrats may not like it, the surge is working…. It’s a huge success!” These people must think we’re all idiots.

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As we crossed the border and saw the last of the Iraqi flags, the tears began again. The car was silent except for the prattling of the driver who was telling us stories of escapades he had while crossing the border. I sneaked a look at my mother sitting beside me and her tears were flowing as well. There was simply nothing to say as we left Iraq. I wanted to sob, but I didn’t want to seem like a baby. I didn’t want the driver to think I was ungrateful for the chance to leave what had become a hellish place over the last four and a half years.

The Syrian border was almost equally packed, but the environment was more relaxed. People were getting out of their cars and stretching. Some of them recognized each other and waved or shared woeful stories or comments through the windows of the cars. Most importantly, we were all equal. Sunnis and Shia, Arabs and Kurds… we were all equal in front of the Syrian border personnel.

We were all refugees- rich or poor. And refugees all look the same- there’s a unique expression you’ll find on their faces- relief, mixed with sorrow, tinged with apprehension. The faces almost all look the same.

The first minutes after passing the border were overwhelming. Overwhelming relief and overwhelming sadness… How is it that only a stretch of several kilometers and maybe twenty minutes, so firmly segregates life from death?

How is it that a border no one can see or touch stands between car bombs, militias, death squads and… peace, safety? It’s difficult to believe- even now. I sit here and write this and wonder why I can’t hear the explosions.

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The Arctic ice cap has collapsed at an unprecedented rate this summer and levels of sea ice in the region now stand at record lows, scientists have announced.

Experts say they are “stunned” by the loss of ice, with an area almost twice as big as the UK disappearing in the last week alone.

So much ice has melted this summer that the Northwest passage across the top of Canada is fully navigable, and observers say the Northeast passage along Russia’s Arctic coast could open later this month.

If the increased rate of melting continues, the summertime Arctic could be totally free of ice by 2030.

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Het was twee weken terug groot nieuws: Steeds meer rechts rabiate websites vervuilen het internet. Een paginagroot artikel in het NRC met een ankeiler op de 1. Onderzoeksjournalist Joep Dohmen had zich eens op het vermaledijde internet gestort en was middels de Way Back Machine, jing jang, Google, fingerspitzen, MDI en politieke voorkeur tot de conclusie gekomen dat sinds de aanslagen van 11 september het aantal niet-linkse sites explosief is gestegen. Het verhaal werd gestaafd met een PDF vol gevaarlijke adressen. GeenStijl ontbrak zowaar in dit overzicht, dus mocht het MDI huilie doen in het artikel zelf. “Die site weigert gehoor te geven aan onze verzoeken tot verwijdering. In plaats daarvan maken ze ons belachelijk.” Wel op de gewraakte lijst sites als vrijspreker, vrijevolk en frontaalnaakt. Ook het op het eerste oog zo onschuldige Flabber werd door het NRC ontmaskerd als archetypische extreem-rechtse website. Alleen kwam er een olifant met een hele grote snuit en die blies Joep’s verhaaltje uit…

Onmiddellijk na publicatie leidde dit journalistieke broddelwerk tot nogal wat commotie in de blogosfeer. Zo schreef het weblog Retecool: “Het aller belachelijkste en meest misleidende van het stukje in NRC is dat ze een grafiek hebben getekend, waarin de teller van het aantal sites alleen maar toe mag nemen, niet af. In de kleine lettertjes zeggen ze wel netjes dat een derde van deze sites al weer offline is, maar toch is het op die manier een paniek generator waar Fox zich nog voor zou schamen. Het is vergelijkbaar met een demografische beschrijving van de Nederlandse bevolking, waarin je alleen immigratie en geboortes noteert, maar geen emigratie of sterfgevallen.”

Dodelijk voor Dohmen was de hilarische grafiek dat het weblog een dag later presenteerde. “Na diepgravend onderzoek met behulp van de alwetende en immer correcte google, komen wij tot de conclusie dat terrorisme een zorgwekkende toename van het aantal poezensites heeft veroorzaakt. Bij elke gesneuvelde Amerikaanse militair, ontstaan er honderd poezensites!”

Maar ook op de sites die door Dohmen als extreem rechts werden afgeschilderd ging het los. Overigens behoor je volgens Dohmen al tot het extreem rechtse kamp wanneer je je vraagtekens zet bij de klimaatverandering dan wel de islam met enige scepsis benaderd. Ook mensen die nog terug rekenen naar de gulden, kritiek hebben op de maximum snelheid of de vooringenomenheid van de (linkse) media behoren simpelweg tot het Wilders-kamp. Welnu, ook hier kreeg Dohmen van onder uit de zak. En dat lezers terug praten, zijn ze niet gewend bij de oude media. Luisteren en je kop houden, luidde tot voor kort het devies. Wij weten namelijk wel wat goed voor u is.

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Files op de snelwegen leveren jaarlijks 134 miljoen euro op aan inkomsten uit brandstofaccijnzen en btw. Dat heeft de werkgeversorganisatie Koninklijk Nederlands Vervoer vandaag gemeld. Het KNV heeft dit berekend op basis van cijfers van de Bereikbaarheidsmonitor 2006 van het ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat.

De files waren goed voor 44 miljoen voertuigverliesuren. In die uren van stilstand werd ongeveer 440 miljoen liter aan brandstof verbruikt. De verkeersinformatiedienst (VID) heeft onlangs berekend dat de files dit jaar toenemen met 17,3 procent.

Logisch dat ze er geen flikker aan doen…

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Here is what makes the rise of supply-side ideology even more baffling. One might expect that a radical ideology that successfully passed itself off as a sophisticated new doctrine would at least have the benefit of smooth, reassuring, intellectual front men, men whose very bearing could attest to the new doctrine’s eminent good sense and mainstream bona fides. Yet, if you look at its two most eminent authors, good sense is not the impression you get. Let me put this delicately. No, on second thought, let me put it straightforwardly: They are deranged.

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The Mumbai police will soon have khabris deployed (not physically) at over 500 cyber cafes in the city. A new software will allows cops to swoop down on terrorists the moment a keystroke is pressed at any cyber café across the city.

[..]

Vijay Mukhi, President of the Foundation for Information Security and Technology says, “The terrorists know that if they use machines at home, they can be caught. Cybercafes therefore give them anonymity.”

Two links, President of the Clueless Foundation for Information Ignorance and Badly-understood Technology:

http://tor.eff.org/index.html and http://mixminion.net/

The home machines are invisible.

“The question we need to ask ourselves is whether a breach of privacy is more important or the security of the nation. I do not think the above question needs an answer,” said Mukhi.

Indeed – if a nation is founded on the ideals of individual human rights, the privacy of the citizen is a vital national security interest, and thus is far more important.

As long as personal computers are not being monitored. If monitoring is restricted to public computers, it is in the interest of security,” said National Vice President, People Union for Civil Liberty.

Let me rephrase that: as long as you’re only monitoring poor people, everything is fine.

Wholesale monitoring doesn’t work: East Germany had as much as 30% of the population monitoring the other 70%, and still fell.

Anyway, the real reason for all this, money, as usual, in the form of license (tax) revenue:

All cyber cafes in the city will now need a police license to keep their business going.

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If you were to begin researching interrogation, interviewing, and brainwashing techniques, you would eventually notice that one particular interesting-sounding volume appears over and over again in the relevant bibliographies: something called The Manipulation of Human Behavior, published in 1961 [by John Wiley & Sons].

Based on the compelling title and the fact that just about every publication in the subject area cites it, you would then probably try to seek it out for yourself–only to discover that it has never been reprinted.

Then you’d find out a bit more: the book is a compilation of seven research reports, and funded at least in large part by the United States government. You can even track down the table of contents online, and your jaw may drop when you read the chapter titles:

* The Physiological State of the Interrogation Subject as it Affects Brain Function
* The Effects of Reduced Environmental Stimulation on Human Behavior: A Review
* The Use of Drugs in Interrogation
* Physiological Responses as a Means of Evaluating Information
* The Potential Uses of Hypnosis in Interrogation
* The Experimental Investigation of Interpersonal Influence
* Countermanipulation through Malingering

These articles were written by the people who were paid by the US government, mostly in the 1950s, to research brainwashing and interrogation techniques by giving people drugs, placing them under sensory deprivation, hypnotizing them, etc. etc. Many of these experiments essentially involve torture and are likely to be widely regarded as highly unethical. This is fundamental research, and if there was any followup research done, it has not yet been published for public consumption.

This book is of enormous historical importance, and yet is largely unavailable. If you live in the United States, this is some of what your government was up to in the fifties. I doubt that their funding of these ideas stopped with the publication of this volume.

Link to copy of the complete text.

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“Our enemies shall talk themselves to death and we will bury them with their own confusion.”

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In Europe, particularly in the UK, mobile phone ring tones are huge business.

This fact, of course, is an atrocity on par with the greatest acts of genocide of the 20th century.

But moral panic aside, musical ringtones are real. They exist. The genie can’t be put back in the bottle.

When Apple released the iPhone, lots and lots of people — every single one of them between the ages of twelve and twenty-four — complained to high heaven that the device the company touted as the most amazing advance in telecommunications technology since the bullhorn didn’t support musical ringtones.

Of course, many saw this decision for what it was. Apple is, far beyond anything else, a brand. It’s not a computer company; it’s not a consumer electronics company. It’s a brand. And everything Apple does serves that brand, which is by far the company’s most valuable asset.

Apple, therefore, has a strong vested interest in making sure that people who see other people using iPhones aren’t immediately annoyed by them. So there would be no ringtones that are creepy-as-hell covers of bad 80s synth-pop jingles as interpreted by computer-simulated frog sounds.

But still, the kids want their musical ringtones. They want them bad. And they’re bitching that they can’t have them.

So what does Apple do? It lets iPhone owners purchase ringtones for ninety-nine cents.