As Iron Man grabs the second-biggest comic book movie opening weekend debut, behind only Spider-Man.

Quite a coup, the article notes, considering Iron Man has always been a B-lister.

I was surprised to read Batman Begins only opened to the tune of $45 million. Which is actually behind even the woeful Superman Returns.

Posted by: Ace at 09:54 AM | Comments (59)
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It never ends. Global warming is now the all-purpose hook for pretty much any tale of misery.

Some experts suggest that an abundance of seals has attracted high numbers of sharks, while others believe that overfishing has hit their food chain. 'I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it's a convenient excuse,' Burgess said. Another contributory factor to the location of shark attacks could be global warming and rising sea temperatures. 'You'll find that some species will begin to appear in places they didn't in the past with some regularity,' he said.

Meanwhile, Switzerland debates "Plant Rights" and "Plant Dignity."

I'm glad we have all the tough problems solved so we can turn our attention to a full bill of rights for flora.

Posted by: Ace at 09:37 AM | Comments (29)
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Henceforth, humans must take care to protect the dignity of plant life and respect its independence. The plant community may not arbitrarily be deprived of life and scientific experimentation involving plants will be subject to rigorous ethical review. Individuals who fail to follow the law regarding the dignity of creation could face criminal charges.

No, really.

At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated.

A few years ago the Swiss added to their national constitution a provision requiring "account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms." No one knew exactly what it meant, so they asked the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology to figure it out. The resulting report, "The Dignity of Living Beings with Regard to Plants," is enough to short circuit the brain.

A "clear majority" of the panel adopted what it called a "biocentric" moral view, meaning that "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive." Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim "absolute ownership" over plants and, moreover, that "individual plants have an inherent worth." This means that "we may not use them just as we please, even if the plant community is not in danger, or if our actions do not endanger the species, or if we are not acting arbitrarily."

Ents, nymphs, and dryads can breath a sigh of relief as their long nightmare comes to an end.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:01 PM | Comments (96)
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Hmm...

The US military is drawing up plans for a “surgical strike” against an insurgent training camp inside Iran if Republican Guards continue with attempts to destabilise Iraq, western intelligence sources said last week. One source said the Americans were growing increasingly angry at the involvement of the Guards’ special-operations Quds force inside Iraq, training Shi’ite militias and smuggling weapons into the country.

Much more at the link.

Seems to be yet another sign of growing US confidence in Iraq -- it seems we've been afraid to do this previously, fearing the response of the Iraqi Shiites. But with Maliki now getting tough with Iran, and apparently with public support, it's now on the table.

The report says that Iran may escalate the conflict if we strike their territory. I can only hope so.

Posted by: Ace at 04:39 PM | Comments (62)
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On NBC, eventually.

Posted by: Ace at 01:07 PM | Comments (35)
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Via Fausta.

Posted by: Ace at 09:15 AM | Comments (35)
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If you have a few minutes on this cold and gray Saturday (at least in the northeast) here are three American heroes you might want to read a little about.

Sgt. Merlin German (USMC)

To the doctors, staff and patients, he was a walking beacon of hope, having survived burns to 97 percent of his body from a roadside blast in Iraq.

Though he died unexpectedly after a surgery last week, the indomitable spirit of Sgt. Merlin German lives on at Brooke Army Medical Center, friends and family members said during a touching tribute to the Marine called the "Miracle Man."

..."Love is the only word strong and powerful enough to describe how we all felt about Merlin," said Brig. Gen. James K. Gilman, BAMC commander.

Gilman said he'll miss seeing German and gently bumping his fist against the nubs of what had once been German's fingers, after asking him, "Hey man, how ya doing?" But he said German left behind words for BAMC's staff and patients to live by when times get rough.

Master Sgt. Brendan OÂ’Connor (USA)

Master Sgt. Brendan OÂ’Connor on Wednesday received the Distinguished Service Cross, the ArmyÂ’s second-highest valor award, for his actions during a 17-hour battle in Afghanistan.

Â…He maneuvered his force through Taliban positions and crawled alone through enemy machine-gun fire to reach two wounded soldiers, the citation said. He tied a signal cloth to his back to identify himself to aircraft overhead. While under fire, he provided medical care and carried a wounded soldier more than 150 yards across open ground. He climbed over a wall three times under enemy fire to help wounded soldiers seek cover. Then he took over as the operations sergeant and rallied, motivated and led his team.

“Thank God for men like Master Sgt. O’Connor,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Wagner, commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.

Pfc. Monica Brown (USA)

Pfc. Monica Brown cracked open the door of her Humvee outside a remote village in eastern Afghanistan to the soft pop of bullets shot by Taliban fighters. But instead of taking cover, the 18-year-old medic grabbed her bag and ran through gunfire toward fellow soldiers in a crippled and burning vehicle.

Vice President Cheney pinned (PFC Monica) Brown, of Lake Jackson, Tex., with a Silver Star in March for repeatedly risking her life on April 25, 2007, to shield and treat her wounded comrades, displaying bravery and grit. She is the second woman since World War II to receive the nationÂ’s third-highest combat medal.

May a grateful nation be worthy of such men and women.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:09 AM | Comments (31)
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Santa Cruz province of Bolivia votes on whether they wish to be part of the madness.

Early indications are, uhm, no.

We're seeing a social process that's happening all over this country," said Eduardo Paz , president of Santa Cruz's chamber of commerce. "After Sunday, the people will have sent the message that they want to do things in a new way.

Marxist Evo Morales has denounced this referendum, and blamed the US (duh) for stirring up shit.

We've gotten kinda used to not having to watch our neighbors, for this kind of unrest. Maybe 20 years, after Reagan tamed Central America.

Can't ignore it anymore.

On the other hand, it's Bolivia.

more...

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 06:01 PM | Comments (22)
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Since Gabe doesn't seem to be around, allow me to do the honors.

Let's consider all his normal spoiler polices in full effect.

Please to enjoy, "The Road Less Traveled".

Oh, if you aren't a fan of BSG, you are welcome to let everyone know that but please don't think it's a zero sum game and this post came at the expense of something else. If BSG isn't your cup of tea, don't worry, there'll be another post coming along any minute.

Posted by: DrewM at 05:50 PM | Comments (60)
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They shut down West Coast shipping in a pique of political grandstanding.

The action also, as one labor historian put it, added significant support for May Day, which has become the preeminent working-class and protest event of the year...

"This union looks at itself as the vanguard of the working class on the West Coast, and I think there was a sense that they needed to participate in this event," said Nelson Lichtenstein, a UC Santa Barbara history professor and director of the school's Center for the Study of Work, Labor and Democracy.

Looks to me like the union is not so much the vanguard of the average laborer as the avant-garde of American Neo-Liberalism (warmed over Marxism for those who aren't paying attention) with it's reverence for May Day, a popular national holiday of the world's Communist and Socialist states.

More below the break...

more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 05:40 PM | Comments (28)
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