what's the arabic word for "chutzpah"?

(new updates below)

Quoth Hamas, after innumerable terrorist attacks, underground infiltrations, and most recently the firing of hundreds of rockets into Israel, "stop hitting us back!":

Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu said ... "What our people want is clear: an immediate stop to all kinds of aggression, the end of the siege by all means, the opening of all border crossings, and international guarantees that the occupation will not renew this terrorist war again."

update 1: a related cartoon

update 2: the solution is obvious:

(Those who believe) that negotiations will solve these problems (in the Middle East) forget that our enemies want us dead or dominated, they don’t want a world at peace in which they will have to deal with real problems of governance. They are waging jihad, not diplomacy.

(T)hose people who fume at the very idea of challenging the Iranian regime are actually making a truly terrible war more likely, not less. Those few of us who believe that support for Iranian democratic dissidents could bring down the mullahs are almost universally scorned, and even accused of seeking war. It is just the opposite. The same accusations were directed against us when we supported Soviet dissidents, and called for regime change in Moscow. And yet the Soviet Empire came down. The Iranian regime is far weaker than the Soviet state. An overwhelming number of Iranians oppose the regime, and are dreaming of the day when we finally embrace their cause...

(I)t is impossible to address the Arab/Israeli conflict by itself, for the context is all wrong. Nobody in Gaza or the West Bank, nor in Amman or Cairo, can guarantee peace for Israel. Today, that decision rests in the hands of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Until there is a different government in Tehran, there cannot be peace between Arabs and Israelis, any more than there can be peace in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Lebanon.

update 3: Sane people everywhere should be offended by every bit of press coverage that calls "Israel defending itself" an "offensive".

update 4: Jungle Mom has more cartoons

well whaddya know!

i'm a trendsetter! haven't sold a track for several years...

hpy hollllllidays

Finished Christmas shopping tonight, and had to get some wrapping paper. I prefer geometric and/or simple designs, and try to avoid recognizable figures that might get cut in half. The store's selection of giftwrap with a snowy look included snowflakes designed with either 5 or 8 points - gah! (Those designers are a few bulbs short of a strand.)

So everybody's presents from me this year will be wrapped in poinsetta paper...

i can haz hokeystik?

algore say: y2k stole mah inkunveenyunt trooth!

(A volunteer team assessed) problems with US temperature data used for climate modeling. One of these people is Steve McIntyre, who operates the site climateaudit.org. While inspecting historical temperature graphs, he noticed a strange discontinuity, or "jump" in many locations, all occurring around the time of January, 2000.

These graphs were created by NASA's Reto Ruedy and James Hansen (who shot to fame when he accused the administration of trying to censor his views on climate change). Hansen refused to provide McKintyre with the algorithm used to generate graph data, so McKintyre reverse-engineered it. The result appeared to be a Y2K bug in the handling of the raw data.

McKintyre notified the pair of the bug; Ruedy replied and acknowledged the problem as an "oversight" that would be fixed in the next data refresh.

NASA has now silently released corrected figures, and the changes are truly astounding. The warmest year on record is now 1934. 1998 (long trumpeted by the media as record-breaking) moves to second place. 1921 takes third. In fact, 5 of the 10 warmest years on record now all occur before World War II. Anthony Watts has put the new data in chart form, along with a more detailed summary of the events.

The effect of the correction on global temperatures is minor (some 1-2% less warming than originally thought), but the effect on the U.S. global warming propaganda machine could be huge. Then again - maybe not. I strongly suspect this story will receive little to no attention from the mainstream media.

no news is good news

Global Warming is to Climate Change as Inflation is to _______ ?

men of lawlessness

Secular and Christian prophets agree...

Torchlight, via Gates of Vienna:

What you are witnessing now is the eclipse of evil over the light of civilization. The streets are filled with those who wish to plunge your nation into the abyss of anarchy and regress into tribalism. The question of how the whimsical nature of these beasts can potentially usurp 3,000 plus years of prosperity and proud heritage is a difficult one but must not be avoided. Furthermore, the question of which way to go, and how best to maintain order deserves an immediate answer.

“Our democracy is destroying itself because it abused the rights of freedom and equality, because it taught the citizens to consider insolence a right, lawlessness as freedom, the audacity of words as equality and anarchy as bliss….” — Isocrates (436-338BC)

Insolence, lawlessness, anarchy, and the perceived right to destroy the work and successes of fellow men are indeed not freedoms but instead crimes of the worst nature. Equality never meant to enshrine the Marxist ideology that when one man suffers, all must follow suit.

Paul, via Bible Gateway:

...Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God... For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

to republicans, on popularity

This article reminds me of a joke my dad used to tell, that went something like this:

"There was a man who happened to live near the Potomac when the Civil War started. He had friends on both sides and wanted to remain neutral. To symbolize his neutrality, he decided to wear a Confederate coat and yankee pants. When the battle neared his house, the yankees shot at his arms and the Confederates shot at his legs."

bad predictions

bogus, we know

bogus, we hope

next time, ask

but hopefully there won't be a "next time" where the "media were heavily invested in getting Obama coronated so actually investigating him was out of the question.":

There are at least seven questions Obama's team needs to answer, and answer soon, if their inauguration is to avoid the odor of corruption.

1 - Did you communicate directly or indirectly with Blagojevich about picking your replacement in the U.S. Senate?

2 - Why didn't you or someone on your team correct your close adviser David Axelrod when he said you had spoken to Blagojevich about picking your replacement?

3 - When did you learn the investigation involved Blagojevich's alleged efforts to 'sell' your Senate seat, or of the governor's impending arrest?

4 - Did you or anyone close to you contact the FBI or U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald about Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell your Senate seat to the highest bidder?

5 - Did federal investigators interview you or anyone close to you in the investigation?

6 - When did you and Blagojevich last speak and about what?

7 - Do you regret supporting Blagojevich?

guest posting

at local malcontent:

"too close for comfort"
"potty mouth"

Chicago S.O.P.

Gates of Vienna:

So the governor’s office was offering to sell Obama’s vacant seat for the right price. It sounds like standard operating procedure for the Chicago political machine. But Barack Obama is the child and beneficiary of that same machine. Who bought his chance at a Senate seat for him? And what price was paid for it?

Illinois Senate seat: $? million
U.S. Presidency: $600 million
Media supression of relevant questions: $$$billions
Turning the White House into Uncle Dem's Cabin: priceless

meme across the red river

For a short time surrounding his upcoming nuptials, the "Malcontent" in this blogger's name temporarily means "short of content". So i've been asked to help provide some content, and i hope you find it not too "mal" ;)

But i'm having a little trouble coming up with a new idea, so here's my continuation of this meme found at his site:

read it here

Do you remember your first favorite song? If so, what was it?
not really. it was probably a hymn. "jeremiah was a bullfrog" was the first rock song i ever heard.

What do you refuse to eat?
"seafood with legs": squid, octopus, crab, lobster, crawdad...

Have you ever injected any kind of drug before?
very very no.

Do amusement park rides make you sick?
they didn't back when i rode them - they might today.

Who is your favorite Star Wars character?
han solo. definitely not the muppet-based characters: yoda, ewoks, etc.

What kind of cheese do you put on your sandwiches?
cheddar with salami, swiss with other lunchmeats.

What was the first thing you ever learned how to cook?
macaroni & cheese. skinner elbows & velveeta, not that nasty box-o-chemicals.

Did you ever collect beanie babies?
very very no.

When was the last time you got a haircut?
buzzed last month.

Have you ever been to a bachelor/bachelorette party?
two extremely tame ones.

Where are you most ticklish on your body?
probably feet.

Have you ever bailed anyone out of jail?
no.

What’s the last board game you played?
does 'cranium' or 'balderdash' count? if not, i don't know.

Do you still own any VHS tapes?
a few tapes, but currently no player.

Do you shop at JC Penney’s ever?
on rare occasion.

If there was a real Jurassic Park, would you visit it?
i might fly over it if they don't bring back pterodactyls.

Do you ever read the newspaper?
newspapers are the best argument for tree conservation.

Do you eat your mac & cheese with a fork or a spoon?
usually fork, unless i hadn't run the dishwasher for a while.

Is there any medicine/pill you take everyday?
two, to remain unnamed.

How many 20 dollar bills do you have on you right now?
this minute, none.

Would you do meth if it was legalized?
and again, very very no.

Are you afraid others will judge you, reading your answers to survey questions?
these questions? not much.

Do you think Obama will be assassinated?
unlikely.

Have you ever made out with someone and then never saw them again?
immediately afterwards? no. i haven't seen my first girlfriend since we broke up (via phone, not my idea), does that count?

Do you drink egg nog?
if someone offers it, and it's non-alcoholic, maybe.

What are you wearing?
all black, as usual.

more fakes?

This could be a much bigger story than Rathergate:

Barack Hussein Obama's birth certificate may be forged.

Stay tuned.

A Blogger's Lament

O! That a blog
Were as an untended lawn,
Whose fecund vegetation flourisheth
Though its proprietor languisheth in disinterest.

Woe! That a blog
Is as an untended houseplant,
That withereth hastily whilst
Its author neglecteth it for mere moments.