Archive for August, 2009

Pro-Georgian Tweeter Writes To Medvedev; Forwarded to Putin

7:20 pm, August 10th, 2009 on Humor, Russia

Dear Vlad,

What should I do in this matter?

Yours,

Dmitri

From: ‘Giorgi aka cyxymu’
Sent: Thursday, August 6, 2009 21:00
To: ‘Dmitri Anatolievich Medvedev’
Subject: DDos Attacks

To President of Russian federation
Dmitri Anatolievich Medvedev

Mr. President, Read on »

2 Comments

North Korean Nuclear Materials Being Peddled on Indian Streets (Already)

5:25 pm, August 10th, 2009 on Asia, Humor, India

Indian scientists and police searching a North Korean ship detained near the Andaman and Nicobar islands have not found any nuclear materials aboard, according to a home ministry spokesman.

The vessel, MV Mu San, dropped anchor without permission on Wednesday, but attempted to flee when contacted by the Indian coastguard. The ship was later  detained after a chase and escorted to Port Blair, the capital of the islands.

“We have been checking the ship for any radioactive material, but I must say we have found nothing like that so far,” senior Andaman police official Ashok Chand said. “But we will continue checking it until we are satisfied there is nothing wrong with the consignment.”

Meanwhile, your correspondent was able to get quotes on several North Korea-made nuclear weapon components and raw materials, and other weaponry, at a street market in Port Blair.

The market is awash with illicit armaments that have been brought ashore since Wednesday, according to a street peddler selling Chinese-made hand grenades.

“We buy weapons from police. Big cargo come Korea,” he said. “Very cheap – 10 grenades for 100 Rupees. China grenades. No like? Plutonium – only 1000 Rupees a kilo. Special price for you. Special price. Ok, only 900 Rupees a kilo just for you. Very good price. No beat.”

Comment on this

Saudi Dep. PM Incensed His Sexual Conquests Not Featured; Shuts Down TV Station

5:06 pm, August 10th, 2009 on Humor, Middle East

Pretending Piety

Pretending Piety

The Jeddah offices of a Lebanon-based LBC TV station have been closed, on orders from the country’s deputy prime minister, Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud.

The station had broadcast an interview with a Saudi man boasting of his sexual conquests. The 32-year-old Saudi man’s interview shocked conservative Saudi society, prompting calls for him to be punished. Mazen Abdul Jawad talked about his sexual conquests and how he picks up women in the kingdom. Read on »

Comment on this

Hillary Purchases Angolan Diamond Mine

5:58 pm, August 9th, 2009 on Foreign Policy, Humor

Reaching Out

Reaching Out

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has purchased an entire diamond mine in  Luanda, Angola, while on her trip to the southern African nation.

The mine was previously controlled by the UNITA rebels, who had waged war against the Angolan government until 2002. The term “conflict diamonds” came to exemplify those supplied primarily by mines in Luanda.

While not know for her extravagant jewelery, Ms. Clinton has shown an inclination to move away from her predominantly bead jewelry. The Angolan mine will ensure a constant supply of legal and high quality diamonds for her own use and for diplomatic purposes, according to a source.

Angola is Clinton’s third stop on her African tour. She is rapidly establishing a business empire to finance her next run for presidency, when she takes on President Obama in 2012.

1 Comment

Clinton Met Mistress in Pyongyang

10:59 pm, August 7th, 2009 on Humor, Politics

Using His Charms

Using His Charms

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton met his long-lost mistress and former Miss North Korea, Byang Soon Jing Kin, in Pyongyang during his recent trip.

While officially on mission to affect the release of two arrested American journalists, Clinton took time from his schedule to spend several hours alone in the company of Ms. Jing Kin.

Clinton also purchased several boxes of Cuban cigars from duty-free shops at the Seoul International Airport during his brief stop-over on his way to Pyongyang.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Clinton had been planning a trip to Pyongyang for several months now, but was unable to obtain necessary clearance. “The two journalists gave him an excuse to fly to North Korea.”

In related news, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also planning to visit North Korea. The purpose of the trip is yet undisclosed.

Comment on this

Another Third World Dictator Stays On

10:41 pm, August 7th, 2009 on Africa

Mamadou Tandja, aged 71 and President of Niger, has won a referendum allowing him to continue in power for another term.

Turnout was at 4%, according to the opposition, and Tandja won a staggering 92% of the vote.

So, Tandja has been re-elected on the support of 3.6% of the population.

Why is it so difficult for third world dictators to give up power?

Comment on this

Mehsud Dead: Progress or None?

9:14 pm, August 7th, 2009 on Asia, Terrorism

Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the Taliban, has finally been sent off to hell. But does it mean that the Taliban in Pakistan will falter or will they merely move on?

Comment on this

274,000 Job Lost and Obama is in Good Spirits?

4:08 pm, August 7th, 2009 on Economy, White House

Our unemployment is still over 9%. 274,000 more Americans lost their jobs last month. The economy contracted another 1% last quarter.

$787 billion of our tax money was spent with little to show for it. Any improvements in the economy has been because of market forces. Obama’s money isn’t even being spent yet.

And, Barack Obama is in good spirits and taking credit for everything?

Comment on this

The Saudis… What Do They Think of Themselves?

8:06 pm, August 6th, 2009 on Middle East

According to the Economist, almost 75% of all prisoners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, run by the Most Noble, the Most Benevolent King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, are foreigners.

The Saudis depend upon foreign labor for almost all economic activity and yet they deem it acceptable to incarcerate a disproportionate number of them. The foreign born population is only about 23%. Yet, almost 75% in the prison aren’t born in the Kingdom.

The Saudis fund terrorism all over the world; they discriminate against all other Muslims and Arabs; they treat their immigrants like scum; they push for their version of extreme Wahhabism over all other strains in Sunni Islam; they treat their Shia population like slaves and women even worse.

What do they think of themselves, huh?

Prisoners2

Comment on this

Blaming the Wrong Party for the Trouble in Somalia

7:44 pm, August 6th, 2009 on Africa

Instead of pushing for accountability and transparency in the so-called “unity government” in Somalia led by President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Clinton and Obama are blaming Eritrea for supporting Al-Shabab.

While Eritrea may be at fault in this matter, Ahmed’s incompetence and his government’s utter failure in establishing any sort of centralized control over Mogadishu, let alone all of Somalia, is to blame for this continuing mess. Read on »

Comment on this

Treating Athletes Like Criminals

1:46 pm, August 6th, 2009 on Sports

wadaThe World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has come up with an ingenious way of re-classifying athletes as hunted criminals who need to be tracked every single day of the year.

Dubbed the “Whereabouts” program, it sounds like one that can be implemented with convicted sex-offenders, homicidal maniacs, terrorists and so on. Read on »

Comment on this

Bienvenido Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

12:55 pm, August 6th, 2009 on supreme court

What a terrible day in the history of the United States Supreme Court when a justice is appointed to its bench solely on the basis of her gender and race.

Shame on the Republicans who voted for her.

Comment on this

Dilbert’s Take on Corporate Awards

4:45 pm, August 3rd, 2009 on Economy

62569.strip.sunday

Yeah, those corporate awards handed out in big companies amount to just about so much.

Comment on this

North Carolina 7 – The Problem With Converts

4:41 pm, August 3rd, 2009 on Terrorism

From the DOJ:

On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned a sealed seven-count indictment against the following defendants:

  • Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
  • Zakariya Boyd, 20, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
  • Dylan Boyd, 22, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
  • others

According to CNN:

Officials said one of the men, identified as North Carolina resident and U.S. native Daniel Patrick Boyd, had traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he trained in terrorist camps to carry out “violent jihad.”

Boyd, 39, who went by the name Saifullah, was charged along with two of his sons: Dylan Boyd, 22, also known as Mohammed, and Zakariya Boyd, 20.

The problem with people like Boyd is that they convert to Islam for the wrong reasons. Their hatred for western culture and American society prompts them to adopt a religion that is perceived as being antagonistic to the West.

For whatever reason, Boyd is probably disenchanted with his upbringing, his family and his environment, much like John Allen Muhammad. I bet Boyd’s from a broken family and has had trouble in his married life. His economic standing is probably not much better either.

Converting to Islam provides an easy psychological escape from this hell and creates a justification for fighting against the Great Satan. His associates in Islam, especially those who helped him convert, must be abetting and encouraging this hatred for the West for their own perverted reasons.

I am always wary of 2 kinds of converts:

  1. People like Boyd who plan to use the religion for justifying their own perverted campaigns against the society that has hurt them at some level
  2. People who convert because it is “cool” and “happening,” such as celebrities like Wesley Snipes

Switching religions is a serious matter that requires much introspection as to the real reasons behind the conversion. Religion is not like buying a TV; you can’t try it out and exchange it for another. If you are, you’re disrespecting the religion, yourself and the people who are helping you.

Religion is also not like a computer that you purchase for work, but use it mostly to surf pornography on the web.

Religion has a purpose, that may be different for different people. One must understand this before converting to or from any religion.

Comment on this

Americans Rewarding Ford For Its Financial Prowess

4:22 pm, August 3rd, 2009 on Economy

The Cash for Clunkers program is apparently helping Ford the most. Among the top 6 carmakers, Ford had the largest year-over-year increase in sales at 2.3%.

Other US carmakers did not fare quite as well with sales drops for both GM and Chrysler. Hyundai and VW, however, posted increases of 12% and 1% respectively. Others reported drops.

It seems that buyers are purchasing mid-size and compact vehicles but not necessarily hybrids, as evidenced by rise in sales of the Ford Focus. Hyundai and VW also mostly manufacture smaller vehicles.

Numbers for hybrid sales are not available, but any significant increase would have helped Toyota. But, Toyota is reporting a decrease in sales.

Ford’s increase cannot be explained merely by the quality of its offerings or its advertising programs. It seems that Americans are rewarding the company for not taking bail-out money.

Ford continues to function as an independent, American-owned, privately-owned company that is not yet under union control. Alan Mulally should be rewarded for his smart management practices.

Comment on this

A Change in Iraqi Attitudes Towards Americans?

7:55 pm, August 2nd, 2009 on Iraq, Middle East

The discovery of Navy Capt. Michael Scott Speicher’s body 18 years after his plane was shot down during the first Gulf War reflects a change in Iraqi attitude towards Americans, it seems.

An Iraqi citizen came forward with the information, with little or no financial incentive. He was a resident of Anbar, probably the most persistently violent region of Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

The guy has been mum for more than 6 years now. It has been almost 2 years since the surge began.

He might have had an incentive to come forward during the post-surge operations, when the Sunni leaders in the province were cooperating with the Americans. He might have even  revealed this information during the insurgency, to curry favor with the Americans and make a buck. But no, he didn’t.

At this point, it seems that he doesn’t view the Americans as an enemy anymore. In Asian cultures, providing such important information for free, that is without any coercion, is considered to be an act of friendship, an act of reconciliation.

I hope that this reflects a broader change in Arab attitudes towards Americans. We can do a better job in the region with Arabs on our side.

Comment on this

Plague + Swine Flu Scourge the Chinese

7:30 pm, August 2nd, 2009 on Asia, China, Health

In addition to the swine flu that’s still causing concern for health officials in China, we now have another unpleasant addition to the scene - plague:

Thousands of people have been placed in quarantine in north-western China after a man died of pneumonic plague.

Chinese authorities say the man who died was a 32-year-old herdsman from a sparsely populated area mostly inhabited by Tibetans.

Most of the other 11 people infected with the disease are relatives of the dead man.

This is the first case of plague that comes to mind since the ‘94 outbreak in western India.

This episode also points to the terrible health and sanitation conditions in western China, especially in Tibetan and Uyghur areas.

1 Comment

Obama’s Approval Ratings Down

6:44 pm, August 2nd, 2009 on White House

According to Rasmussen:

obama_index_august_2_2009

The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve.

obama_total_approval_august_2_2009Not lookin’ too good.

Comment on this

Bank Closures Continue

11:44 am, August 2nd, 2009 on Economy

The total number of bank closures in 2009 is now up to 69, with an additional 5 shut down over the past few days:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was named the receiver of the five banks, the regulator said yesterday in e-mailed statements. The seized banks, with total assets of $2.69 billion and deposits of $2.56 billion, will cost the FDIC’s insurance fund about $911.7 million.

Mutual Bank of Harvey, Illinois, was the biggest of yesterday’s failures, with $1.6 billion in assets and the same amount in deposits. Peoples Community Bank in West Chester, Ohio, was second, with $705.8 million in assets and $598.2 million in deposits. Also shuttered were New Jersey’s First BankAmericano, Integrity Bank in Florida and First State Bank of Altus, Oklahoma.

Apparently:

Regulators are closing lenders at the fastest pace in 17 years, depleting the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund by more than $14.4 billion since January. The FDIC is offering to share losses with buyers of assets from failed banks, reviving a practice followed during the collapse of the savings-and-loan industry in the late 1980s.

Alan Greenspan’s extended period of artificially low interest rates during our last recession is continuing to cause more pain for local economies and the national economy in general. And the man is still defiant about his policies.

Comment on this

Has The NRA Lost Its Touch (or Is It Overreaching?)

10:57 pm, August 1st, 2009 on Politics

NRA’s campaign against Sotomayor is having little or no effect, even amongst the s0-called conservative Democrats and some Republicans:

Voting “yes” [on Sotomayor] will include A-plus-rated and NRA-endorsed Democratic Sen. Max Baucus and his fellow Montanan, A-rated Sen. Jon Tester, as well as A-rated and NRA-endorsed Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, the only GOP leader to break with the rest of this party to back Sotomayor…

Some Democrats who have high NRA ratings, including Alaska Sen. Mark Begich and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson, are on the fence.

Still, the NRA’s threats seem to hold less potency on this vote. Asked whether he was worried about ruining his perfect NRA score and endorsement by opting to vote for Sotomayor, Nelson paused and said with a smile, “I’d probably have a good rating regardless.”

Has the NRA picked the wrong battle?

Comment on this