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Professor Pollkatz's statistics. Interestings graphics on Bush approval/disapproval. This one, for example, clearly proves that whenever Bush's approval was high, it was driven by an event (the two major events being September 11 and the Iraq war) and steadily declined afterwards. This page shows that FOX polls consistently overrate Bush, while Zogby polls consistently underrate him. [more inside]
comment posted at 2:19 PM on Dec-4-03
comment posted at 3:58 PM on Dec-4-03

BBC lists 50 places to see before you die. Overall, choices are a bit too exotic for my own taste (only four European cities???) and I still consider Bali a wildly overrated place, but what's really shocking is kitschy Las Vegas at #7 and La Serenissa Repubblica di Venezia at #18. What happened to the British tradition of extolling Italy's beauty? via Attu
comment posted at 10:11 PM on Nov-20-03

The U. S. Secret Service is going to extraordinary lengths to ensure the safety of George W. Bush's visit to London - including some not insignificant structural changes to the Palace (which have not as of yet been approved). The article claims that "There will be more armed men on the streets of London this week than at any time since the end of the Second World War." British security officials further describe operations as has having been "hijacked by the US secret service."

Everyone knows there's a possibility of violence against the president, especially in light of recent events. A measure of security is thus justified. However, are economic concerns being considered? Now, I have the utmost respect for the president's life - as much as I do for just about anybody. I hate the callousness of associating any sort of price on human life. But when security measures require 5,000 police officers and £4,000,000 (that's merely the cost footed by UK taxpayers, mind you), have we not yet reached the point where that money would have been better spent? -especially when the U. S. executive branch has a very robust official policy of succession in place. It's not like the government will suddenly evaporate if the president were to be killed.
comment posted at 8:32 PM on Nov-16-03
comment posted at 9:03 PM on Nov-16-03

National Men Make Dinner Day is today, gentlemen. What culinary delights will you be whipping up this evening?
comment posted at 3:47 PM on Nov-6-03

You're probably feeling safer today than you were a few days ago, and you know why? It's Protection from Porn week, direct from the White House. Spurred on from groups such as Morality in Media (who issued a jubilant press release to mark their achievement) you can finally feel safe now that you've gotten out from under pornography's thumb. (note: These links couldn't be any safer for work)
comment posted at 9:34 AM on Oct-30-03

Welcome to Rawson, N.D., Population. 6. Are towns like these worth saving? Should these "areas" be allowed to go back to their natural equilibrium between man and nature? Is there a "natural" equilibrium? What does this mean for the future of small towns v. urban sprawl? Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times and Drs. Frank and Deborah Popper of Rutgers have an idea.
comment posted at 12:16 PM on Oct-29-03

How'd that crazy sign get there? Pressed about the "Mission Accomplished" banner that so strategically hung behind May's rerouted-aircraft-carrier photo-op, Bush says it wasn't his sign, it was "put up by the members of the USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was accomplished. I know it was attributed somehow to some ingenious advance man from my staff they weren't that ingenious, by the way." Huh. Wonder how Scott Sforza feels about that assessment.
comment posted at 3:15 PM on Oct-28-03

Press underreports casualties I had never heard of "Editor & Publisher" before, but I came across this link, and thought the news was rather shocking.

So while 106 troops were killed since the "end of hostilities," 1927 have been wounded since the war began, 200 have been killed from all causes, and over 4,000 troops have been medically evacuated from Iraq.

The article says the stats are easily obtained from the Pentagon web site - though all I could find was press releases which just mention casualties one by one. Can anyone out there find a comprehensive listing on the Pentagon's page?

The article suggests that the media are at least in part to blame here (along with the administration's general reluctance to focus on bad news). Why wouldn't newspapers want to cover injuries to the troops? I, for one, would like to see this covered. What do you all think?
comment posted at 8:22 AM on Oct-24-03

Poker Redux: Poker is sweeping America (and other countries as well). From million dollar online Texas Hold 'Em tournaments to the weekend nickel, dime, quarter games with friends to the World Poker Tour (heavily promoted on the Travel Channel), poker is forcing itself into the spotlight. [more inside]
comment posted at 1:39 PM on Oct-23-03

Grand Illusions: Optical illusions, scientific toys, visual effects, brain teasers, and (perhaps) just a little bit of magic!
comment posted at 11:45 AM on Oct-23-03

Senate passes legislation to ban partial birth abortion which contrary to what is apparently popular belief, is not a clear cut thing and definitions and facts seem to vary rather greatly. Bush is expected to sign the bill. In other news, another Bush is making medical decisions - this time to keep a comatose woman alive - reversing an earlier court ruling that she be allowed to die.
comment posted at 5:00 PM on Oct-21-03
comment posted at 9:05 PM on Oct-21-03
comment posted at 9:09 PM on Oct-21-03

College Textbooks Are Half-Price Overseas. The big secret is out. As college students hammer into their piggy banks to buy books for their classes, academic publishing avarice has no limits. The results? An unexpected import-export gray market and a possible antitrust violation after previous claims of "high costs," while McGraw Hill profits. Meanwhile, Bush promises free textbooks to Iraq.
comment posted at 3:29 PM on Oct-21-03
comment posted at 3:54 PM on Oct-21-03
comment posted at 4:54 PM on Oct-21-03
comment posted at 8:46 PM on Oct-21-03

Hearts and Minds: Post-War Civilian Deaths in Baghdad Caused by U.S. Forces. "Adil abd al Karim al Kawwaz was driving home from his in-laws' house in Baghdad one night in August with his wife and four kids. It was dark, and he couldn't see the American soldiers from the 1st Armored Division operating a checkpoint with armored vehicles and heavy-caliber guns. No signs or lights were visible, and he did not understand that he was supposed to stop. So he drove a bit too close and the soldiers opened fire, killing him along with three of his children, the youngest of whom was 8 years old. Such accidents are no longer rare in Iraq. They occur at checkpoints, during raids or after roadside attacks as edgy U.S. soldiers resort with distressing speed to lethal force." "The precise number of Iraqi civilians killed by U.S. soldiers since the end of major military operations is unknown....'It’s a tragedy that U.S. soldiers have killed so many civilians in Baghdad, but it’s really incredible that the U.S. military does not even count these deaths.'"
comment posted at 10:27 AM on Oct-21-03

Last night Hosting Matters (and their related resellers) was taken down by a DoS attack attributed to Al-Qaeda. This attack not only disabled the intended target but took down some 3000 sites for a significant period of time. Is this an example of cyber-terrorism or some kid with a script?
comment posted at 12:13 PM on Oct-17-03
comment posted at 12:24 PM on Oct-17-03

"I am no victim and do not portray myself as such. I take full responsibility for my problem." Rush Limbaugh finally admits to what everyone's been guessing for a while now...to read the text of his statement, he claims to be making a clean breast of things and taking full responsibility for his own actions. Is this really an example of a vocal ideologue finally living up the standards they proclaim, or is it somehow readable as self-serving hypocrisy?
comment posted at 4:00 PM on Oct-10-03
comment posted at 8:31 PM on Oct-10-03

The love that dare not speak it's name. (more inside)
comment posted at 11:26 AM on Oct-10-03

On sunday, Rush Limbaugh commented that Donovan McNabb, quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, was overrated and was only seen favourably by the media because they want to see a black quarterback do well. McNabb responded, and earlier tonight Limbaugh resigned from his post on ESPN's pre-game show. N.D. Kalu, one of the Eagle's defensive ends, offered this choice quote: "He speaks well, he's well-read, but he's an idiot."
comment posted at 2:57 PM on Oct-2-03
comment posted at 8:55 PM on Oct-2-03

DVDRHelp. Ever wondered about the difference between DVD-R and DVD+R? Want the best tool for ripping VHS to DVD? All things video are revealed at DVDRHelp. Discover freeware tools like Tsunami MPeg Encoder. Compare the latest DVD burners. Be overwhelmed at the learning curve of making your own DVD videos. AKA VCDHelp.
comment posted at 11:29 AM on Sep-25-03
comment posted at 1:00 PM on Sep-25-03
comment posted at 1:12 PM on Sep-25-03

US soldier kills rare tiger in Iraq zoo
...during a drunken night of revelry involving - you guessed it - feeding the animals. Geez, this occupation gets better every day.
comment posted at 4:12 PM on Sep-20-03

The Late Graham Chapman and the curse of Yellowbeard. Yar, don't be making fun of a pirate captain, even a fictional one. The curse of the film eventually claimed the lives of actors Graham Chapman, Madeline Kahn, Peter Cook, James Mason, Spike Milligan and Marty Feldman - the only one of them who died while filming the actual movie. Harry Nilsson wrote an unused ditty for the flick and soon visited Davy Jones' locker. It didn't exactly do wonders for the careers of Cheech and Chong or Martin Hewitt, who played Yellowbeard's son. Watch it and feel like you too have been cursed. (More Inside, Yar!)
comment posted at 3:14 PM on Sep-19-03

My vote for best sentence of the year: "I did not have financial relations with Halliburton." Though I would have preferred the wording "that company" to Halliburton.
comment posted at 2:18 PM on Sep-19-03
comment posted at 2:55 PM on Sep-19-03

Where is our money going? According to the Congressional Budget Office, not only is the Bush administration asking for 87 billion dollars to cover Iraqi reconstruction, but they're also unable to account for 2.5 billion of the 4 billion dollars that they're spending per month in Iraq.
comment posted at 9:03 AM on Sep-19-03

College Cost Crisis (pdf alert) Tuition at universities continue to mount. This recent Congressional report chronicles this increase- but places the blame squarely on the Universities. Do you buy it?
comment posted at 2:17 PM on Sep-18-03
comment posted at 2:38 PM on Sep-18-03

"Mostly, we've been watching the president's rhetoric spring leaks in Iraq and Afghanistan. So perhaps we haven't paid enough attention to how many holes have popped open in his domestic socks. Joblessness that was supposed to be stanched by the Bush tax cuts. Urban food kitchens overwhelmed by the demand from people who are working but underemployed and end up out of money three weeks into the month. A domestic Peace Corps program (AmeriCorps) that is praised publicly by the president as admirable volunteerism but is being starved of money by the White House and congressional Republicans. But, still, you wouldn't think he would stiff children and their schooling. That's maybe the most disappointing thing this president has done here at home."

Looks like the "No Child Left Behind/'accountability is the true foundation of education reform'/Texas education miracle" is just another Texas tall tale.
comment posted at 3:16 PM on Sep-17-03

Portugal: Officially the greediest, laziest and most drunken country in the West. What dubious, highly debatable sources of pride do you attribute to your own country?
comment posted at 9:32 PM on Sep-12-03

Yellowstone supervolcano threatens world destruction - That's about it, folks: "Volcanologists have been tracking the movement of magma under the park and have calculated that in parts of Yellowstone the ground has risen over seventy centimetres, almost two and a half feet, since 1923, indicating a massive swelling underneath the park. "The impact of a Yellowstone eruption is terrifying to comprehend." says Professor McGuire. "Magma would be flung 50 kilometres into the atmosphere. Within a thousand kilometres virtually all life would be killed by falling ash" The Yellowstone caldera has been acting up in recent months and we're supposedly overdue for the big one. But don't flee to the East coast: A super tidal wave will get you there. I hear Tierra Del Fuego is nice, except for the Ozone Hole problem. Have a nice weekend. Y'all.
comment posted at 1:30 PM on Sep-12-03
comment posted at 1:50 PM on Sep-12-03
comment posted at 2:26 PM on Sep-12-03
comment posted at 10:07 PM on Sep-12-03
comment posted at 10:31 PM on Sep-12-03
comment posted at 11:00 PM on Sep-12-03

A really good reality show for gay people would be five gay men dying of AIDS. Changing the channel has gotten so much easier since the invention of the remote control. Who doesn't love free speech?
comment posted at 12:06 PM on Sep-11-03

Bear prowls Montana neighborhood. Climbs tree. Animal Control. Tranquilizers. Trampoline. Hilarity ensues . . .
comment posted at 6:19 PM on Sep-10-03

Depp: Dumb Puppy Comment Wasn't Anti-U.S. "I am an American. I love my country and have great hopes for it. It is for this reason that I speak candidly and sometimes critically about it."
comment posted at 10:03 AM on Sep-6-03

RIAA to give file swappers amnesty. Provided they delete all unauthorized music files from their computers, destroy all copies (including CD-Rs) and promise not to upload such material in the future. Each infringing household member will have to send a completed, notarized amnesty form to the RIAA, with a copy of a photo ID. Those who renege on their promise will be subject to charges of willful copyright infringement.
comment posted at 8:02 PM on Sep-4-03

Alfred Hitchcock meets Star Wars Kid [note: 7 mb WMV (Windows Media) file]
comment posted at 7:36 PM on Sep-4-03