- Senator Joe Manchin may be a conniving anti-gun suck. But he has just become the biggest Democrat truth-teller on Obamacare. “Meltdown … falls of its own weight … becomes more than we can absorb.” Devastating stuff!
- Ever hear of Ocorrafoo Cobange, a scientist at the Wassee Institute of Medicine in Asmara? Neither has anybody else. But 157 professional journals were happy to accept the extremely fake-sounding scientist’s extremely fake article.
- “What This Poet Says About Our Culture Is So Brilliant It Could Break Something in Your Brain.” Well, maybe not that brilliant. But definitely very astute. And very funny, besides. (Tip o’ hat to A.)
- U.S. tech firms aren’t the only American businesses losing billions in sales because of the NSA. Try … Boeing.
- And here’s one that deserves to lose billions thanks to its blatant collaboration. (The news about what RSA did isn’t new; that came out in September and was in fact suspected for years before that. But the fact that they profited so handsomely by it … well, let’s just hope they pay for that profit by going completely out of business. In this case, mere millions in losses might do the trick.)
- To end on a cheerier note, here’s a little dog that served as a living, breathing monitor while his little girl underwent surgery. “It sounds silly, in this age of technology, when we have millions of dollars worth of equipment beeping around me, that we had a little dog who was more sensitive than all the machines.”
If you like bizarre sci paper retraction stories, add retractionwatch.com to your bookmarks. My personal favorite was the guy using a Budweiser address who got a math paper with no math accepted:
http://retractionwatch.com/2012/04/17/math-paper-retracted-because-it-contains-no-scientific-content/
My pessimistic side (well over 50%) of me is not happy to learn Manchin’s comments. It seems to me that his approach is quite rational and does provide the best chance to save Obamacare. I think that once started, a federal monstrosity is extremely difficult to get rid of, almost no matter how useless in a practical sense or oppressive – consider TSA, perhaps.
I usually don’t think much of stand up comics and this guy had to act subjectively like he did to get giggles from the characters who do like them, but I certainly thought “aggressively inarticulate” is an apt description of our society and MSM.
Regarding Boeing and Brazil, this administration has repeatedly shown merciless behavior to American citizens and spineless waffling towards foreign governments. Obama needs to make another apology tour, this time for himself.
If RSA really did that, I believe the market will take care of the problem nicely.
That’s a truly remarkable dog story. Sometimes I just think there’s a sixth sense providing the warnings.
We had a Cairn terrier, Andy, who helped raise our daughters. I have no doubt he was psychic.
Did you notice that Manchin is concerned about an ACA meltdown because the Democrats might lose the midterm election, not because it will screw over the people he’s supposed to represent?
Concerning the comic (good clip Claire, Thanks) I believe that Orwell said that the purpose of “newspeak” was to remove the ability of people to communicate, or to understand concepts and ideas contrary to the controlling powers ideology.
Glad to see there is some resistance to the concept.
One of the benefits of being deaf, Tahn… 🙂 I can’t understand a word they’re saying and don’t bother to try. It’s only a problem when real friends send me videos. Can’t understand them either. sigh
And the dog story is marvelous, Claire. I remember when we were fighting tooth and nail to get permission to bring pets into nursing homes and residence situations for young patients, even developmentally delayed folks. They make just so much difference, not only to the happiness of the people involved on all sides, but to the actual health outcomes of the patients. I’m glad to see this.
[Regarding Boeing and Brazil, this administration has repeatedly shown merciless behavior to American citizens and spineless waffling towards foreign governments]
Uh, you mean Obama has not invaded or occupied enough countries yet? Or is it more sword-rattling you are looking for?
That comic really nailed it. However there is an obligation connected to speaking with authority, and that is to know what you are talking about.
As to Boeing’s loss, look at the bright side. Some other people (Swedes) were rewarded for NOT spying on everybody. That’s a good thing, right? Even though the whole thing is about wasting taxpayer dollars on military toys…
[The central question raised by the Reuters report and earlier articles, however, remains: Did RSA use what it knew was deliberately weakened crypto software in BSafe, or at best did it look the other way in the face of expert criticism of Dual EC, in order to make money from U.S. government deals?]
The question answers itself.
When Obama first met a number of significant world leaders, he made a point of bending over 90 degrees at the waist. This maneuver may well have been one of the inspirations for the word spineless. I always smile every time I think of his deep bow to the Emperor of Japan, as I cannot help but visualize Harry Truman turning over in his grave.
Ordering a superpower’s military to attack a small country is not evidence of a strong backbone; it could be evidence to the contrary. While Libya and Syria likely were planned targets well before Obama took office, he still approved the policy. Reagan, by contrast, made his point in Libya quite quickly; it turned out to be well taken. When the Marine barracks was bombed in Lebanon, Reagan had the courage both to realize that prolonged involvement was not wise and to meet personally, along with his wife Nancy, the families of all the Marines killed there.
In Benghazi, orders were given not to support the doomed men even though the entire event was being watched by DOD over live feed. Obama then had the gall to declare an internet clip of a Grade F movie was the cause of the attack. This was after he went to bed during the killings and attended a fund raiser the next day. The father of one of the dead SEALs said as far as he was concerned, while it didn’t fit the template of a legal case, Obama murdered his son. I agree with him completely.
In Libya, he drew a “line in the sand” and then proceeded to ignore it when it was crossed. Irrespective of whether one believes he should have drawn such a figurative line or whether he chose the right one, doing it and then backing down is cowardly waffling behavior.
The Chinese are well aware of this, naturally. After Obama has bowed to the Premier and has given them special access to the U.S. Treasury sales, they cannot have any respect for him. While it was inevitable that at some point they would start pushing and probing militarily, it’s quite clear that with our weak – to be charitable – leadership their timing is good.
Telling the Russians that he can get them a better deal after the election is a cowardly betrayal; getting caught saying it over an open mike makes it a particularly stupid one. Obama has shown such lack of resolve that Forbes Magazine now deems Putin the most powerful man in the world. I expected someone in China to take that title from us in time.
By contrast, Reagan went against his advisers and challenged the Soviet Union, even saying “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” in such a professional and respectful way that Gorbachev attended Reagan’s funeral, spent a longer time on his passing by the casket than most, and then reached out and touched the casket before leaving. Bill and Hillary fell asleep during that one, of course.
Courage would not be selling rifles to known Mexican gangs to cause American deaths, then disavowing any knowledge of Fast and Furious. Nor would courage be remaining in Afghanistan with decreased numbers to paint a prettier political picture while exposing U.S. servicemen to attacks by members of our Afghan “allies.”
From the World English Dictionary – spineless: “3. lacking strength of character, resolution, or courage.” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/spineless?s=t
Yes, spineless. Absolutely.