Well, according to nobodies, based on internet/SMS polling. I expected the whole list to be dominated by mosques, but no, not a single one there.

It's a decent enough list, though, really, Petra, Jordan? Gorgeous. Super-cool. The current resting place of the Holy Grail, which gets you points.

But not really an engineering marvel, is it? Just a lot of statuary and columns carved into soft rock.

Posted by: Ace at 11:05 AM | Comments (71)
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Barraged by insults by people directed to his site by Digg, the writer responds:

I am a bit disappointed at the "Southpark/Overweight/etc" comments and I hope that is a result of shortsightedness, misunderstanding or simple jealousy rather than genuine beliefs. I encourage you all to face each day with an open mind - and not one filled with stereotypes or preconceived notions. In 20 years, when your children are learning about the world in a virtual one - I hope some of you remember that not everybody who uses computers to communicate or for enjoyment is a social leper who deserves nothing else but to be beaten up. The geeks shall inherit the earth.

If you're playing one character, heck, you might as well play more than one. But this gets pretty expensive. It's not the idea of doing this that bothers me so much as the obsessiveness and self-indulgence required to do so. Like so:

Guy's got more computers running than CTU during an alien invasion.

Not sure about this, but I imagine, in addition to ten or twelve different computers, this guy would also need ten or twelve different high-speed internet lines and ten or twelve WoW accounts. All so he can get maximum PWNag3 out of his dirty dozen of virtual alter egos.

Thanks to someone.

Posted by: Ace at 10:17 AM | Comments (31)
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At least the crucial Lennon-McCartney partnership.

Posted by: Ace at 09:55 AM | Comments (29)
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I was, as you can probably imagine, listening to the simulcast of Live Earth all day long on NPR.

I learned that one could combat global warming just be "raising awareness" and rocking out.

So, to do my part, I've got Houses of the Holy cranking, and now I'm telling you: There's this theory of "global warming" and carbon is bad.

Rocked out: check

Raised awareness: check

Now I get to go back to my favorite hobby -- clear-cutting forests using the most fuel-inefficient machinery available.

More: Live Earth may have produced more carbon in one day than Afghanistan did in a whole year.

“It is a manufactured get-out-of-enviro-guilt-jail-free card,” said Christopher Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute said of the Green Event Standard. “How they can so loudly promote their own elitism is merely further proof thereof,” Horner asked.

Criticism of the possible environmental impact of the Live Earth concerts has not been limited to Washington, D.C. Even some world famous musicians have scoffed at the idea of the Live Earth concerts.

“The last thing the planet needs is a rock concert. I can’t believe it. Let’s burn even more fuel,” Roger Daltrey, lead singer of The Who and participant in the Live Aid and Live8 concerts for Africa told the British paper, The Sun. “We have problems with global warming, but the questions and the answers are so huge I don’t know what a rock concert’s ever going to do to help.”

The lead singer of the rock band Muse, Matt Bellamy, referred to the musicians’ consumption to participate in the concerts as “private jets for climate change”.

“When we’re using enough power for 10 houses just for (stage) lighting… It’d be a bit hypocritical,” Matt Helders, drummer of the popular British band, the Arctic Monkeys told the Agence France-Presse.

Most surprisingly, Bob Geldof, the musician and Nobel Prize nominee who founded the Live Aid and Live8 concerts, singled out Gore in particular, asking, “Why is Gore actually organising them? To make us aware of the greenhouse effect? Everybody’s known about that problem for years.”

The noble carbon sacrifice of the idiots screaming at us to reduce our own carbon emissions.

And still more from Instapundit, who observes, "I'll start acting as if it's a crisis when the people who are telling me it's a crisis start acting as if it's a crisis."

Posted by: Ace at 09:49 AM | Comments (33)
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A hawk trained to hunt deer. Either this is a very small deer or damn, this is a big hawk.

Thanks to dri.

Posted by: Ace at 09:44 AM | Comments (17)
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Jules Crittendon notes an incomprehensible editorial by the New York Times.

The NYT says that an American withdrawal could make Iraq "bloodier" and "more chaotic" and invite "power grabs" by Iran. And yet, despite this statement that a withdrawal will make Iraq worse off, they then assert:

. But Americans must be equally honest about the fact that keeping troops in Iraq will only make things worse.

Ah. So if we leave, Iraq will become worse, but we must be "honest" about the fact that keeping our troops there will also "make things worse."

Crittendon summarizes the next bit of contradictory dogfood logic:

NYT in remarkable admission says surrender-happy Democrats are “foolish” for thinking a forced withdrawal date will prompt the Iraqi government and its neighbors to “finally focus … on reality.” But, NYT goes on to state foolishly, a forced withdrawal date might prompt Iraq and its neighbors to finally focus on reality...

The left has a tricky mission here: In order to sound like they're not coming from cloud cuckoo land, they have to acknowledge that a withdrawal from Iraq would be disastrous, which the vicious lying demagogue Bush also asserts. But, having conceded a defeat in Iraq would be catastrophic, they then have to go on to argue that this catastrophic defeat would actually, somehow, be in the American interest, and such a catastrophic failure could even be a success of sorts.

The American public doesn't like the war, but they also don't like losing wars. So the left is making this absurd argument that somehow we "win" by surrender.

If that were the case, France would rule the world.

More at Hot Air, which also takes on the NYT's "Public Editor"/True Believer Shill Clark Hoyt.

He finally finds fault with the NYT -- agreeing with the far-left of the blogosphere that the NYT has been excessive in branding Al Qaeda in Iraq as Al Qaeda in Iraq.

What a shock, huh?

Posted by: Ace at 09:41 AM | Comments (125)
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Newspaper wedding announcements.

I certainly hope none of these ladies hyphenated their names.

Posted by: LauraW. at 06:23 AM | Comments (16)
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International environmental groups, in advance of a bevy of rock musicians, arrived today in Japan to petition Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to ban the traditional Japanese practice of killing whales for food and raw materials.

Organizers of the expedition arrived dramatically at Kobe seaport in small vessels constructed of halved, rotting whale carcasses propelled by outboard motors.

"We're endeavoring to raise awareness of the whales' plight, particularly for extremely rare species such as these," explained Head Organizer Tim Simpul, waving toward the ghastly flotilla of enormous ribcages. "Sometimes people need to be shocked out of their complacency."

Concerts will be held nightly over the next week in The Kobe Municipal Fruit & Flower Park. Attendees can support conservation efforts by purchasing whale-oil luminaria, scrimshaw iphone covers engraved by famous artists such as DoDoGuRu, and fried whale snacks.

UPDATE: The Real Deal.

Their narcissism and hypocrisy footprints dwarf even their massive Carbon Footprint.

Critics say Live Earth lacks achievable goals, and that jet-setting rock stars whose amplifier stacks chew through power may send mixed messages about energy conservation.

Emphasis mine.

The crowd — which was expected to swell to 60,000 — rose to its feet as the reunited Genesis used its hit "Land of Confusion" to send an environmental message with Phil Collins urging fans to make the world "a place worth living in."

I won't be coming home tonight
My generation will put it right
We're not just making promises
That we know, we'll never keep.

UPDATE II: Unsurprisingly, the online article I originally linked has been altered dramatically. It has been expanded to include supportive quotes from other artists, and now excludes the reference to 'Land of Confusion,' and furthermore excludes the original specific criticism (which I did not quote) from (Live Aid patron saint) Bob Geldof, who really wonders what this whole thing is attempting to concretely accomplish.

All of that was replaced with this:

Critics have faulted the Live Earth concerts for lacking clear-cut, achievable goals, and for lauding rock stars whose jet-setting, high-consumption lifestyles can often send a different, less environmentally friendly message.

In London, after fans went home, the stadium's floor was covered with discarded plastic cups and litter.

Many of the musicians acknowledged that they weren't rock stars when it came to the environment but said it was important to start a discussion about climate change.

Same/same.
'Do as I say, not as I do.'

These people want the masses to turn our thermostats down in Winter, when they won't do without one single earthly luxury at any time whatsoever.

Duly noted, Superstars, and please do go fuck yourselves.

Posted by: LauraW. at 07:43 AM | Comments (95)
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Funny video from The Onion.

Live From Congress: Rep. Ingersoll's Murder of a Hobo

Thanks to 'someone.'

Posted by: LauraW. at 05:21 AM | Comments (35)
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They never had standing to sue in the first place -- a demonstrable, tangible harm they'd experienced. Courts require that because, well, if you're in court, it's supposed to be because you've actually been personally, concretely wronged, not just because you don't like government policy.

The dopey leftist judge bought into absurd claims as to how they'd been harmed -- lawyers with overseas (Middle Eastern) clients claiming they'd been "chilled" from candid conversation due to the eavesdropping policy -- but the sixth circuit court of appeals told her to go piss up a rope with that nonsense.

Posted by: Ace at 02:46 PM | Comments (28)
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