BunkBlog

Jack Valenti and his ilk can go roast in the deepest bowels of heck. I was inspired by a recent article about getting TV episodes from BitTorrent, so I followed the links to a site that hosts the pointers (torrents) that allow people to share the files. I wanted to watch an episode of Andromeda I missed. Well, I can’t connect to most torrents, because my IP is blocked. Why is my IP blocked? Am I a narc? Am I a mole for the RIAA? No, my IP is blocked because I use Cox for myISP (the only choice for broadband above 400kbps here). Cox, for their part, rolls over with such speed when the letters D M C and A are thrown at them that other P2P users have begun ignoring us entirely. Great. Cox has 8% of the internet market in the U.S., and we’re now effectively cut off from the newest avant garde pieces of the internet.

The DMCA sucks ass.

VP raises ‘sensitive’ war issue: Jabs at Kerry remarks

bq. Dick Cheney’s desperate misleading attacks now have him criticizing George Bush’s own words.

According to our latest information, al Qaeda has new plans.

Al-Qaeda has a plan to assassinate a world leader either in the U.S. or another country.

“The U.S. or another country” pretty much covers the entire planet except Antarctica. So, they want to kill someone important somewhere, at some unknown time. Great. Get right on that.

In other news, a giant storm may kill some people in the U.S. or another country. Stay tuned to Fears R Us for more useless information.

Could someone who knows more about economics than I please explain how these various indicators are not showing a poor economic plan, or at least tell me how the Republicans are explaining this as a good thing?

Second-quarter growth fell to 3 percent compared with 4.5 percent in the first quarter and about 8 percent in the third quarter of 2003. Personal income growth fell to 0.2 percent; personal consumption expenditures also fell, by 0.7 percent. Housing starts were off 8.2 percent. New-home sales fell 0.8 percent. Industrial production fell 0.3 percent. The July jobs report shows just 32,000 new jobs and a cut of 34,000 in the estimates previously released for June (for a net loss of 2000 jobs in July, when tacked onto the June numbers as originally reported). The Dow Industrials fell 8% in 6 months, and the Nasdaq is down 15% in the same six months.

I know the economy is more than just these indicators, but these sure seem to add up to a bad thing in my perception, and I’m sure in most non-economist minds as well.

It takes a lot to be dubbed the most dangerous food in the U.K., considering the absurd “food” products those folks eat over there. There’s a new ahem, delicacy called the Stonner which is a deep-fried pork sausage kebab. It has double the calories of a Big Mac and 46 grams of fat per kebab.

The chip shop that sells this monstrosity has a policy of only selling one per customer per week. It’s more of a dare than a meal.

I can’t wait to hear what the vast right-wing conspiracy has to say about this one…

International team to monitor presidential election

A spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said, “The U.S. is obliged to invite us, as all OSCE countries should.”

Now, this brings to mind two issues – civil rights and sovereignty. On one side, folks will say we need an unbiased outside party to doublecheck certain areas (like, say, Florida?) to ensure that all eligible voters are allowed to vote freely. On the other side, doesn’t this at least lean toward giving some of our hard-won sovereign powers to an outside political organization?

It turns out to be a compromise, really – the Dems wanted the U.N., while the Reps wanted nobody. So they get the OSCE instead. Not sure how we belong to an organization whose stated goal is to deal with things in Europe, but apparently the group just needs a new name.

After reading about the massive job growth in July, it’s especially amusing to hear the Vice President talking about how strong the economy is today. A quick quote that sums up the disconnect between job growth that is 110,000 people fewer than population growth for the month and where the administration lives:

bq. I would have to conclude — and I think it’s a fair judgment — that the economy is back on track, is headed in the right direction.

Which direction is that? The stock market has fallen to a new low for the year, employment has no chance to reach the same level it was when Bush took office, and oil is at an all-time high with no sign of falling. Great direction.

This poster is one example of why so many people in the non-coastal states think that lefties are communists. Capitalism isn’t necessary, with the implication that you would like to get rid of capitalism then? Replacing it with one of those nice systems like centrally-controlled economies or anarchy, I suppose. Those work so much better.

Just found LOW MORALE, thanks to . The centerpiece of all the animation *must* be the Creep video. Since he’s complaining about bandwidth issues, I’ve mirrored it for anyone who must watch it. And you must. You must.

I like to listen to 102.1 THE EDGE because the local radio stations suck ass. So tonight, I’m listening and a voice keeps breaking through. Apparently one of the internal comm lines is patched into the mixer board and they haven’t noticed it is being broadcast. Maybe it is only being sent on the net so nobody has complained. Weird. Anyway, I moved over to 91X instead. 🙂

Where is this thriving economy exactly? I don’t know what Greenspan and friends can do to fix it, but the past six months of stock market activity doesn’t make things look good for Bush in November. That record-breaking oil price ain’t so good either.

Good thing we’re in the middle of such a strong economic recovery, hmmm?

From a recent Lou Dobbs commentary:

Bush and Kerry have mostly offered similar policy positions on the most divisive issues of our time.

Both have supported nearly identical plans for winning the war in Iraq. Bush and Kerry also agree on preserving tax breaks for the middle class, demanding greater accountability from our nation’s educators, immigration reform and limiting government spending in an effort to cut the deficit in half by the end of this decade.

What I find interesting is the disconnect between what they say and what they do. Kerry voted to help the President fast-track free trade agreements that Kerry now claims should be looked at more closely. So why did you shirk your responsibility to force that closer look, Senator?

The President, on the other hand, has the gall to claim that he wants to reduce government spending, when he’s increased government spending a record amount so far.

Fool me once…

Esquire has an article by the ever-eloquent Ron Reagan discussing his perceived failings in the Bush administration. The “lying for lying’s sake” argument is a good one. What was gained by pretending that Gore spent more in 2000 than Bush, when anyone with a bit of research can find out the opposite was true? There are other examples.

Finland requires their young men to complete a massive six month military commitment. Some of them can’t make it that long without their most prized activity. Sex? Drugs? Nope, the intarweb and Everquest. What’s astounding isn’t that people would try anything to get out of being a draftee, it’s that the military is going along with it!

bq. Finland’s military conscription unit revealed that some of the young men drafted can’t cope with being apart from their beloved PCs and have been booted off their full term of military service.

Old information led to the terror alerts in the financial districts of DC and NY yesterday. Or maybe not so old, but mostly old. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Democrats have raised questions over the timing of the alert, saying it could be politically motivated ahead of the election.

Politically motivated? I’m sure the Democratic allegation has no political motivation behind it either. Nope. They’re completely altruistic and just thinking of the best thing for the country. Of course.

Thanks to I now have a new way to waste time online. X-E is fucking hilarious. I found a commercial for the Yugo, and then I ran into the review of McDonald’s McGRIDDLES Breakfast Sandwiches. There are some great lines in this thing, but here’s a good wrapup:

bq. I’ve enjoyed how the commercials play them up as “oddities,” because really, that’s the best way to persuade people to eat shit.

Sinfest

You think he meant for this to be dirty?

Talk Soup, now called The Soup, is back! Oh, the snarky goodness… And it’s an hour before The Daily Show, so it’s a double dose of smartass!

I’m amused by this. I consider it the Frequent Fuckers Card, though. Buy six Viagra pills, get the seventh one free. Guys getting a stack of like 10 of these cards, just for bragging rights…

I’ve done my homework, the laundry, and there’s nothing compelling on television (Well, the Talented Mr. Ripley is on and I’ve not seen that)… I’ll knock out some floor finishing tonight. Woohoo!