Two good links at Confederate Yankee today

The Iraq "civil war" has been averted according to al-Maliki, naturally media disinterest ensued.

Elsbeth Reeve appears to no longer work at TNR. Naturally I blame the joooos.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 12:21 PM | Comments (7)
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I really should have listened to mother when she was telling me to become a scientist. Federal research grants is where its at she'd always say.

But, no, in my eager youth I wouldn't listen and now its too late.

Now theres a guy who has research and determined what the perfect breast looks like. If I had become a scientist, like mother said, I could have written off my trips to the "Bottoms Up" Lounge as a legitimate business expense.

Not sure why I'm telling this group of morons about the perfect boobie though. Its not like you'll ever touch one, perfect or not.

Cross posted from the DHS Weblog.

Posted by: Open Blog at 12:07 PM | Comments (44)
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You thought you knew the facts right? Plastered all over the media, yada, yada, yada. It looks like maybe all that initial reporting needed fewer lies a little more "nuance"

...Consider:

_The so-called "white tree" at Jena High, often reported to be the domain of only white students, was nothing of the sort, according to teachers and school administrators; students of all races, they say, congregated under it at one time or another.

_Two nooses — not three — were found dangling from the tree. Beyond being offensive to blacks, the nooses were cut down because black and white students "were playing with them, pulling on them, jump-swinging from them, and putting their heads through them," according to a black teacher who witnessed the scene.

_There was no connection between the September noose incident and December attack, according to Donald Washington, an attorney for the U.S. Justice Department in western Louisiana, who investigated claims that these events might be race-related hate crimes.

_The three youths accused of hanging the nooses were not suspended for just three days — they were isolated at an alternative school for about a month, and then given an in-school suspension for two weeks.

_The six-member jury that convicted Bell was, indeed, all white. However, only one in 10 people in LaSalle Parish is African American, and though black residents were selected randomly by computer and summoned for jury selection, none showed up...

H/T Duane

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 11:51 AM | Comments (28)
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Apparently Tyler Nelson, who plays the pivotal role of "Dancing Russian Soldier", thought his career prospects would be enhanced by violating the terms of his non-disclosure agreement and telling his local paper what he saw while on set.

It seems that Steven Spielberg is not amused

Spielberg's spokesman, Marvin Levy, wouldn't say whether any of Nelson's spoilers are accurate, but noted: "Who knows whether that particular person will ever work in this town again?"

I really thought they only said things like that in movies.

The paper says they took the spoilers off their website to protect a hometown boy. Ain’t it Cool News also posted them but took them down, presumably to protect their ‘access’ and not Nelson.

The New York Post has no such qualms and printed the ‘spoilers’. You can see them below, though there’s nothing all that Earth shattering. more...

Posted by: DrewM. at 11:50 AM | Comments (17)
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Apparently Tyler Nelson, who plays the pivotal role of "Dancing Russian Soldier", thought his career prospects would be enhanced by violating the terms of his non-disclosure agreement and telling his local paper what he saw while on set.

It seems that Steven Spielberg is not amused

Spielberg's spokesman, Marvin Levy, wouldn't say whether any of Nelson's spoilers are accurate, but noted: "Who knows whether that particular person will ever work in this town again?"

I really thought they only said things like that in movies.

The paper says they took the spoilers off their website to protect a hometown boy. Ain’t it Cool News also posted them but took them down, presumably to protect their ‘access’ and not Nelson.

The New York Post has no such qualms and printed the ‘spoilers’. You can see them below, though there’s nothing all that Earth shattering.
more...

Posted by: DrewM at 11:50 AM | Comments (17)
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No, not the football team, the largest computer club at Washington State University plans to hold an auction, trading their computer skills for a makeover and hopefully a date.

Is this a cash transaction or not?

"You can buy a nerd and he'll fix your computer, help you with stats homework, or if you're really adventurous, take you to dinner!" Ben Ford, president of the Linux Users Group, said on its Web site recently.

What kind of woman wouldn't go for that offer?

A pretty one, that's what kind.

A public relations class observed the interactions of the members of the group that focuses on the use of the Linux operating system, and decided they "needed to market themselves better".

This is what consultants do. They take your money and tell you what you already know.

The idea started as part of an effort to recruit more women into computer science programs. That and to see boobies I'll wager.

Ford claimed the idea for the auction came to him while he was in the shower.

...

I'm just repeating what I read, that's all.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 11:19 AM | Comments (23)
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Just put this in the headlines, but I guess it deserves a post of its own. The San Francisco Film Commission has decided the streets of their fine city are just too pristine to be sullied by Marines and their recruiting efforts.

City officials barred members of the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon from shooting a recruiting advertisement in San Francisco, according to KGO-TV.

A police official tells the station that Stefanie Coyote, the head of the San Francisco Film Commission, would only give the camera crew permission to film a city street if they didn't have any military personnel in the shot.

"This -- a slap in the face of every veteran and every parent of men and women who are doing their duty -- is shameful," says police Capt. Greg Corrales, a Marine veteran who commands the city traffic bureau.

Now, the Film Commission of San Francisco is under no obligation to allow Marines to film a commercial in their city, but that doesn't make their actions any less shameful. I wonder if their anti-military sentiments will be as strong if a future natural disaster makes sending in the National Guard necessary?

This story does raise an obvious question. If the city of San Francisco won't play nice with the military, why does the military reward them with a large event that dumps tons of cash into that city's economy?

Posted by: Slublog at 10:00 AM | Comments (80)
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Rudy, J-Mac, Mitt and Fred! all cite schedule and fundraising conflicts for not appearing at a forum on Thursday sponsored by Morgan State University.

Mike Huckabee and the (some of? not listed) other long shots have agreed to appear.

I'm puzzled by their decision. I can't speak for them. I think it's a mistake. I wish they would change their minds — they still have a few days — and I wish they would in fact go to the debate Thursday night," said Gingrich, who is considering entering the race for the GOP nomination.

Is it really a big deal? I don't know. It still makes me laugh that the Dems all turned down a debate on Fox, a supposedly "unfriendly" venue. I do think if one of these front runners found some time in their schedule, the others would as well. I don't presume this is necessarily a "tough" crowd to play to, but if it is, answering tough questions can work to your advantage, if you handle them well. I'd rather see that than Dems fielding softballs for an hour and a half.

Ok, I'd pretty much rather see the bearded lady at the carny than that too. Bad example.

Posted by: Dave In Texas at 09:11 AM | Comments (20)
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It's shaping up to be another important term at the Supreme Court (then again, don't we say that every year?). In addition to the Guantanamo detainee cases that we knew were coming, the Supreme Court announced this morning that it would be hearing cases on the constitutionality of lethal injection and voter ID laws once their October 2007 term begins.

The lethal injection case comes out of Kentucky, where two death row inmates are claiming that the procedure amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. This will be the first time the Supreme Court has had to face the particular issue of cruel and unusual punishment in quite some time. (I wrote about the Court's historical difficulty defining the phrase here.)

The voter ID case comes from Indiana, where an appeals court has already upheld the requirement that voters present government-issued photo ID at the polling place. The decision is expected to be out in June, with plenty of time to spare before the election.

Indiana officials (who had already won in the lower courts) weren't thrilled about the appeal and forecast trouble:

State Solicitor General Thomas Fisher said granting Supreme Court review of the issue now would likely prompt a spate of lawsuits across the nation that would disrupt the 2008 presidential primaries and create new uncertainty over the validity of all voter identification requirements.

He said the justices should wait for another case after the 2008 elections.

Yeah, but "justice delayed" and all that. Besides, I'd like to see these issues nailed down.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 08:31 AM | Comments (44)
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I didn't plan it but it looks like I'll be taking a vacation, sort of, for the first time in, no idea, I guess over a year and a half, when I moved from NYC to Boston.

I'm still here in NYC and since it's already Tuesday I figure maybe I should just plan on taking the week here and seeing some of the apartments I need to see for my move.

Sorry about the lack of notice. Just sort of happened.

I'll be posting sporadically for the rest of the week -- kind of hard to just take over a friend's computer to blog when you're already taking over a couch -- so I guess it's Open Blog for the week.

If you're so inclined, I'd gladly take Mercy Clicks even if you don't really want to read the site in my extended absence. Traffic is horrible this month.

Again, apologies for the lack of notice. I just haven't really gotten away for an extended period from the blog, or a sleepy Boston suburb, for a long while and I figure I need to.

Posted by: Ace at 08:10 AM | Comments (17)
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