There's a lot to argue about in this list, but one thing is indisputable: Uma Thurman does not belong on a list of hottest women anything. Hottest mutant, perhaps, along with Ms. Jolie. But not even in the top ten of that.

My (possibly NSFW, depending on your work) pick for hottest movie swordswoman who didn't make the list is under the fold. more...

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 11:35 AM | Comments (55)
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Just a rumor.

Rumors are flying this weekend that Mars Phoenix has made a major discovery relating to the potential for life on Mars.

Wired.com reached Sam Kounaves, the mission's wet chemistry lab lead, by cell phone this morning. He quickly directed us to speak with NASA's PR representatives, but not before he said, simply, "Rumors are rumors."

They stem from an article in Aviation Week and subsequent pickup on Slashdot and elsewhere indicating that the White House had been briefed on the potential for life on the planet.

"The White House has been alerted by NASA about plans to make an announcement soon on major new Phoenix lander discoveries concerning the "potential for life" on Mars," wrote Craig Covault, citing anonymous sources on the Phoenix Lander's wet chemistry lab team.

Covault's article showed some restraint, though, and made sure to note that "sources say the new data do not indicate the discovery of existing or past life on Mars.

So I guess they're talking about organic chemicals which could, maybe, one day give rise to life.

Assuming it's not merely a rumor.

And Obama Flip-Flops on a "Space Surge:" Pure coincidence, I'm guessing, but Obama just can't quit flip-flopping.

In a dramatic reversal of policy, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Saturday told supporters on the Space Coast he no longer favors slashing NASA's budget, declaring that the United States "cannot cede our leadership in space." Â… Until Saturday, Obama had said he wanted to delay the Constellation man-on-the-moon program for five years to free up money for education programs. Â… That position had been "reported" on Obama's official campaign Web site until it was removed Saturday. The campaign of Republican rival John McCain was quick to point that out, declaring in a news release, "Barack Obama once again demonstrated that his words really don't matter."

Posted by: Ace at 11:02 AM | Comments (42)
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Below the jump is a very interesting video on why it is important to stay silent if you are ever questioned by the police even if you are 100 percent innocent. Ordinarily, because I am pro law enforcement, I would never post anything that would benefit criminals or hinder the application of justice to those who are guilty. This video though shows just how important it is for innocent people to never waive their 5th Amendment rights as even truthful statements made by the totally innocent can result in dire consequences.
Note: the video is a fast 27 minutes long and there is also a police officer's response to the video. (HT coyoteblog)

more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 07:33 AM | Comments (67)
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Supposedly a sniper took him out and the Syrians are covering it up.

...sources informed Albawaba that General Mohammed Suleiman, an adviser to Syrian president Bashar al Assad, was assassinated on Friday. Suleiman also served as Syria's liaison officer to Lebanon's Hizbullah movement...

Good stuff. Speculate away.

H/T Jawa

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 03:29 AM | Comments (62)
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The recording is old, but it hasn't been heard since originally recorded.

In case you care but didn't know, Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler were great friends and supporters of each other's works. When Ian Fleming decided to kill Bond (at the end of From Russia With Love, I think) due to indifferent sales and lackluster critical reception, it was his friend Raymond Chandler who convinced him there might be something in this barmy James Bond character yet, and if he just stuck with it, he might see some modest sales.

Ahem.

Interesting if you're a fan of either man, and especially if you're a fan of both. Be aware that Raymond Chandler was a genuine hard-case full-blown alcoholic,* and he decided to show up for the interview in his normal state, three sheets to the wind. He slurs and doesn't have much to say. Fleming is pretty clearly straining to carry both ends of the interview here.

* In writing one screenplay -- Double Indemnity, I think, but I could be wrong -- he was afflicted by his other big problem, writer's block, and so informed the producers "I can't write this sober, but I can write it drunk." To write the screenplay, he got falling-down drunk in the morning, and was taken by studio car to his bungalow, and typed out pages while getting drunker still through the day; at day's end, they loaded the insensate drunk into the car and drove him back home. And he followed this routine for a couple of months.

Thanks to Ray Midge.

Posted by: Ace at 11:55 AM | Comments (17)
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Ouch. This going to rankle the Obama bots considerably.

...Still, the record now, while tissue thin, is troubling...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 11:04 AM | Comments (41)
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After spending a couple days denying that obvious, Obama admits that his "You know, heÂ’s new, heÂ’s... doesnÂ’t look like the other presidents on the currency, you know, heÂ’s got a, heÂ’s got a funny name" remark did refer to his being black.

"I donÂ’t think itÂ’s accurate to say that my comments have nothing to do with race," Obama said. "Here's what I was saying and I think this should be undisputed: That I donÂ’t come out of central casting, when it comes to presidential races. For a whole range of reasons. IÂ’m young, IÂ’m new to the national scene, my name is Barack Obama, I am African American, I was born in Hawaii, I spent time in Indonesia. I do not have the typical biography of a presidential candidate. What that means is that IÂ’m sort of unfamiliar and people are still trying to get a fix on who I am, where I come from, what my values are and so forth in a way that might not be true if I seemed more familiar."

I love the contorted double negative at the beginning.

So, let's do the under the bus body count on this one...his own spokesman, the blogging editors of the NY Times and most of the rest of the media.

Andrea Mitchell, who volunteered to serve as Obama's chief defender and attacker of McCain on this matter, was unavailable for comment.

A note to the Obama masses in the media...in case you haven't noticed you and what credibility you have are disposable. But fear not, for while you may be laughed at in this lifetime, the Obamassiah will surely reward you in the next.

Update: Heh. Senator Mel Martinez, who believe it or not is a Republican, says Obama did not play the race card.

"I think we should be in a post-racial environment," said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., a supporter of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., "I think Sen. [Barack] Obama has done an admirable job of that. I don't think he has race-baited. I think he has been very good about that."

What a wonderful bit of bi-partisanship. A Republican more protective of Obama than Obama is!

Posted by: DrewM at 08:09 AM | Comments (70)
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OK, due to the can't-bump-on-new-broken-blogging-thingy fiasco yesterday, there wasn't much response to the update on the Moronfest post. A couple of you emailed asking who else would show up, though. What I'm wondering is: is there somebody y'all want to meet, or somebody you want to avoid?

Anyway, there's going to be a NYC event. August 14 or 16, probably. Out of towners welcome -- and please email me right away (blog dot someone at gmail dot com) so I can try to make the timing work. Old post and comments here, but you might as well use this thread now to announce, debate, etc. Anyone have an opinion on Thursday vs. Saturday? Are mesablue, alexthechick, and/or WickedPinto actually going to show? Do Ewoks sweat when drunk?

Anyone else who's definitely in should probably email me as well, so I can get a better sense of the head count.

Posted by: Open Blog at 04:35 AM | Comments (23)
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Seems to have been the Sitemeter code, interfering with IE7. I've taken it out. Hopefully things will work now.

Thanks to everyone who wrote me about it. I didn't notice anything was wrong -- looked fine in FireFox.

Posted by: Ace at 11:31 PM | Comments (41)
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Let's hope it hurts like hell and it takes awhile for any help to get there.

CBS News has obtained a copy of an intercepted letter from sources in Pakistan, which urgently requests a doctor to treat al-Zawahiri. He's believed to be somewhere in Pakistan's remote tribal areas of Pakistan.

The letter refers to Sheikh Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri by name - and says that he is in "severe pain" and his "injuries are infected."

It is reportedly written by local Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, whose signature and seal are visible on the letter.

The Taliban logo and the Mehsud's seal have been confirmed by experts as legitimate.

However, CBS News has not been able to confirm the authenticity of Baitullah Mehsud's signature and seal.

We still need confirmation but this certainly looks promising in light of the rumor that was floating around earlier.

Here's hoping that after a sufficient period of agonizing pain, Hell gets a new resident.

Kudos to the intel folks and the UAV operators. Too bad we'll never know their names.

Thanks to Bugler in the comments for the heads up.

US Denies [ace]: The United States is denying that the story is true, or at least that they have no knowledge of it.

But the US, too, has been wrong with this stuff before in the past.

"Hunt was On" for a "Big Fish:" So Professor Rusty was tipped last week by his intelligence contacts.

So it seems the US thought they had a good bead on Zawahiri. Obviously that doesn't mean they got him.

But for some reason I think they did.

Cold, Cold Water: Roggio isn't buying it. Main point: With the CIA publicly revealing what it has long known -- to wit, Pakistan's ISI is essentially Al Qaeda's regular forces -- Pakistan has a lot of reason to lie to get the heat of and appear to be anti-terrorist.

Oh, and on that, Pakistan claims it will weed out Taliban and AQ sympathizers from the ISI and government generally.

Posted by: DrewM at 05:23 PM | Comments (66)
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