Dirty Red Commie

Well, the title just about covers it.

When the world's gone crazy, let Mad Magazine be your guide.

The secret reason for War, Pestulance, and the other riders is a million monkeys, which is something we all knew anyway, but monkeys rule, right?  Cracked.com explains the Monkeysphere, which is all around us, even now in this very room.  

(Oh, warning: some swearing, but well worth the read.)

Well, man has a point:

 http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/fidel_castro/2007/05/ideas_cannot_be_killed.html

I hope someday we can all go to Cuba. 

Second Life is a virtual on-line world reminiscent of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. In addition to the communication and games afforded by most virtual worlds, citizens can create, buy, and sell property.

The French organization Front National caused a stir when it set up a headquarters in Second Life. The protests held there have quickly escalated to violence. Violence, in this context doesn't mean people are being hurt. The area the organization has settled in doesn't even allow virtual property damage. Some of the weapons used are purely symbolic, such as machine guns and bombs. Others have a stronger effect in the virtual world--attacks designed to overload that area of Second Life so as to make it temporarily unusable. Pig bombs, holographic attacks, push guns, and rez cages are some of the weapons unique to this virtual world.

What a surreal story. I wonder if these sorts of events will start to make wider press in the near future.

According to the BBC, UK airports will no longer allow you to have carry-on baggage.  This is apparently in response to the foiling of a plan to blow up a plane. 

 The only things you'll be able to carry onto a plane are wallets, small quantities of non-liquid medication, glasses (but no cases), contact lens holders (but no solution), baby food (you have to taste it for them), diapers and such, tampons and tissues (unboxed), and keys (no electric keyfobs).

 Notably, you can't have a laptop, a music player, a book, or even a magazine.  Not even a couple crayons.  You also can't bring any liquids onto the plane. 

Can you imagine a trans-atlantic flight with no reading material, no music, no laptop, no video games?  I would go completely batshit insane.  I would hijack the plane and crash it into the sea just to end the interminable boredom.  (Note to NSA et-al: This is meant humorously.  I would never do such a thing.  Unless it was a plane full of politicians.  (just kidding))

 I'm interested to know how exactly I could hijack or blow up a plane with a paperback novel.  My first thought was the possibility of malicious paper cuts, but they do allow you to bring necessary travel documents--presumably printed on standard paper.  Maybe it's the content of the books they fear.  Incendiary language, perhaps.  Magazines, I understand.  I heard someone once robbed a bank with a rolled-up magazine.  And glasses cases are understandable.  They could be hiding anything in there.  If only there was some device they could use to see if anything dense or metallic was inside--some kind of ray machine.  But that's just science fiction, right?

(From BoingBoing) 

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879

It's a little over 25 minutes.   Colbert makes fun of Bush with him sitting two people away.

[img_assist|nid=80|title=|desc=|link=|align=left|width=200|height=160]The keen mind(s) at thepartyparty.com have put together an excellent version of Sunday, Bloody Sunday sung entirely by Dubyah.

BoingBoing is linking to a clip of John Stewart ripping apart Bill Bennett on the topic of gay marriage.  What really impresses me about John Stewart is that he can tear down these right-wing arguments and show them for what they are, yet do so politely and respectfully.  And he still manages to be completely hilarious.

 Turn it around, and you see people like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly calling people names, cutting off their opponent's microphones, and generally acting like spoiled children. 

http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/060227fa_fact

 Is an account of internal struggles to draw a line between torture and proper treatment procedures for detainees.  It's a good read - if somewhat of a letdown, we all know how this fight ended - and enlightens us mere mortals outside of the Beltway to executive policy-making trends.

In Corpus Cristi, TX, our vice president 'peppered' a fellow hunter while attempting to shoot quail.

Cheney's office took over 24 hours to report the event, while he waited at the hospital with Harry Wittington, who is reported to be in stable condition.

Katherine Armstrong, the property owner and fellow hunter, said, "The vice president didn't see him. The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a bird and was following it and shot. And by God, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good... This is something that happens from time to time. You know, I've been peppered pretty well myself."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/12/cheney.ap/index.html