BunkBlog

‘TIME-TRAVELER’ BUSTED FOR INSIDER TRADING – That’s right, the fella went from $800 to $350,000,000 in two weeks, so the feds busted him for suspicion of insider trading. He spent four hours regaling them with his confession – as a time traveler.
More »

Think it’s subversive enough?

Over at the Andy Social Emporium, I’ve added a new design: What Would Guevara Do? I figured the What Would Chthulhu Do? design kind of bombed, so I’d get more political. Enjoy.

Halliburton awarded Iraqi firefighting contract – I’m sure it’s a complete coincidence that VP Cheney used to work there.

Something that Gringo may find especially interesting: Mixed Feelings: San Diego / Tijuana, a documentary on PBS. The site says it airs “March 26th” but then all the reviews are from last year, so maybe it’s not news after all. Wish they’d put a year on there somewhere.

Time says it better than I could: Shame on You, Mr. Moore! Shame on You!

It’s not so much the message as the delivery, if you want to sway anyone to your point of view. Sure, plenty of people cheer Michael Moore’s antics. Those people already agreed with him. If he intended to influence anyone who was ambivalent, he just added some fuel to the “anti-war protestors are nuts” fire. It’s too bad, because you could make a pretty solid guess that most of the members of the audience agreed with him, just based on the stunned silence that greeted him. Scared of blacklists, much?

Futurama is on DVD. I can totally get behind owning the complete Futurama series, oh, yeah…

This gadget to translate between dogs and humans sounds suspiciously like the toy I got in a Happy Meal the other day.

Arab League ‘salutes Iraqis’ yet sends no military support of any kind. With friends like these…

UN to ask for help in Iraq – Iraqi people need food, medicine, clothing, and all the other things we take for granted. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is goingt to ask for up to 2 billion USD to help alleviate the suffering in Iraq. If we, as Americans, want to be consistent and honest about the motivations for invading Iraq, we should be the most generous in donating to the various Non-Governmental Organizations (Red Cross and others) which will assist in that region.
More »

How many people actually believe that the current conflict is really all about oil? How many believe that it’s all about human rights? How many believe that it’s all about wounded pride? How many believe that it’s because we know where Saddam is and we can’t find Bin Laden so we have to shoot someone?
More »

I don’t know why Michael Moore is a prick, but he is. I even agree with many of his views. But, a documentary filmmaker is not an expert on civics and international relations, no matter how much he yells.

And, fictition is not a word.

I know how the military will react to the POW issues in Iraq – greater resolve, less mercy, more firepower.

How does the average civilian feel though? Will the faces of our servicemembers, scared and confused on international television, make them more sure that war is just, or will it make them waver? I can see it either way. If you see these men, who are obviously out of their depth as POWs, who have recently watched their compatriots executed in the streets, who know that Iraq cares not one whit for the Geneva Convention, do you (as a viewer at home) feel that we really are doing the right thing? Does it make it more clear who is the bad guy and who is the good guy? Or, does it make you queasy and make you want to give in to any demands Iraq may make, just to get our soldiers back safely?

I’m sure this piece will amuse Buff quite a bit, but it certainly does illustrate one of the things I’ve been repeating quite a bit lately. That is, “get informed before shooting off your mouth.”

I have no doubt that the human shield volunteers were earnest in their desire to stop an unjust war. They just didn’t bother to find out whether the Iraqis wanted to be liberated or not. It increasingly sounds like they do.

the friday five

1. If you had the chance to meet someone you’ve never met, past or present, who would it be? Isaac Asimov
2. If you had to live in a different centurey, past or future, which would it be? Let’s say 22nd, so I’ll not be too lost.
3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be? Rosarito, Baja California Norte
4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be? Trent Castanaveras
5. If you had to live with someone else’s face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be? John Cusack

Michael Tomasky writes, in the American Prospect, very clearly and concisely what so many of us (maybe the majority?) are thinking and saying. I hope that good comes of the current war, and that is not an unreasonably optimistic belief. But, we’ve sure stepped on a lot of toes getting there.
More »

The answer, apparently, is ratings. All my coworkers are crowded around the lone TV in the office, watching CNN’s live coverage of the death and destruction.

Some things that cheer me, to some degree – the targets so far have all been military, not infrastructure. Also, we’ve only lost two US servicemembers to hostile fire and less than a dozen total so far.

Let’s get this over with and then follow through on our promise of humanitarian aid and infrastructure construction.

Yet another person who seems to think that attacking Iraq is defending ourselves or taking revenge for the 9/11 attacks.

Repeat after me, “There were no Iraqis among the hijackers.”

Maybe you’d also like to remember, over half the hijackers were Saudis, but Saudi Arabia is our friend so it’s impolite to mention.

This story, which is rather short on details (thankfully you may think), gives a quick reason for why anyone who is concerned with human rights and the suffering of innocent people should be involved in the current conflict.

I’m still not thrilled with the run-up to the war, and I think we’re going to be reaping the fruits of our ill-conceived methods of slapping our long-time friends around, but there are good reasons for going in. Resolution 688 is one.

Another case of rural folks losing sight of reality. I know it’s not a Texas thing, but big cases like this don’t come up often. I’m sure many of those arrested were guilty. But what undercover cop is allowed to work with no backup or wire? What judge is happy to convict people with no evidence beyond a cop’s word? Not to mention that cop was not the most upstanding in the world anyhow.