Something's rotten in the church-state of Denmark

TAARBAEK, Denmark - A Danish Lutheran minister who publicly denied the
existence of God said Sunday he was glad to be back in the pulpit, but
refused
to speak about the case that led to his brief suspension last
year.

Rev. Thorkild Grosboell was showered with flowers, hugs and kisses
after
holding a service in a church in this village eight miles north of
Copenhagen.
"It was great, great," Grosboell said after the service, but
refused to speak to reporters about the case, which he described in his
sermon
as "nonsense."

The country's Evangelical Lutheran Church
suspended him in June 2004
because he said in an interview that "there
is no
heavenly God." Earlier this
month, he was reinstated after
renewing his
vows, but will remain under the
supervision of a bishop.

I'll give his parishioners this much. They love their padre enough to follow him to Hell and back. Well, at least half of that anyway. (Hat tip: Catholic Light)

Media Research Center Strikes Back

Somehow, I imagine Media Research Center has something to do with the development of this incredible weapon against MSM bias. If so, I fear what they may cook up next to make leftist editorial boards quake in their little desks.

Vanished

Reason to think twice about hopping in the car with a lone cop. Scary shit, and "coincidence in the extreme" my ass! I'm sure this sort of thing happens ALL THE TIME though. (Via the Pandagon)

$$$ Asking Price $$$

Apparently I was wrong in assuming that Major League Baseball would have trouble selling the Washington Nationals at a decent price without being able to offer a significant portion of the TV revenue. Current estimates on the sale price right now range from $300 million to almost $500 million. MLB is asking the bidders to submit two proposals, one to buy the team without any TV rights, and one with Major League Baseball’s portion of the TV rights, which will start at ten percent and reach 33% in 28 years. Apparently even that small percentage of the TV revenue could increase the sale price by approximately $100 million. Imagine how much more the team would have sold for if MLB hadn’t given away the store to Peter Angelos – allowing him to rake in the TV revenue from a team he will not own. I understand that I shouldn’t be this upset since Major League Baseball owns the Nationals right now, and they (MLB) are the ones who stand to lose money in the sale. But I think the reason this infuriates me is that this is another symbol of the way baseball has treated the Expos / Nationals franchise. Over the last three years, they have been considered for contraction, split home games between Montreal and Puerto Rico, and will now watch their TV revenues from the excitement they create go to a sleazy owner in Baltimore. This franchise, and a team in our nation’s capital, deserves better from Bud Selig and Major League Baseball.

AP Follow-up

This Washington Post article about certain private schools moving away from AP exams tries to give the impression that there is a movement against the strict and focused curriculum demands of AP classes. It is true that AP classes don’t allow for a lot of flexibility – the content is determined for the teacher if they want their students to be successful on the exam. But like I have argued before, AP exams allow students to take classes that colleges and universities recognize as rigorous and good predictors of success in higher education. The reason select private schools can move away from AP exams is that they already have very strong reputations of providing rigor and therefore don’t need the AP seal of approval. By moving away from AP exams, they can feel free to teach American History through film or more focused science classes like “organic chemistry, astronomy, optics and waves, special relativity and biotechnology” – with intense workloads as part of the classes. The point remains that rigor continues to be the key component to successful high schools – but schools without strong stand-alone reputations like University Prep in Seattle will continue to rely on AP exams and the College Board. And as the article points out, there are a select few schools that feel comfortable enough right now to leave AP behind and in fact, the number of private schools using the AP program increased last year (by 15%).

Law and Order's War on Faith

Sorry, I couldn't resist that title. For those of you who have better things to do, you might've missed the war brewing between NBC and Tom DeLay. The issue? An unflattering reference to him spliced into an episode of L&O's Criminal Intent that involved the murder of judges by white supremacists. A detective states, after all leads have been exhausted, that perhaps "Maybe we should put out an APB (all-points-bulletin) for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt." Tom DeLay, upon hearing of this (apparently an aide brought him the bad news), immediately drafted an angry letter to Jeff Zucker about the misuse of his name.

First of all, I doubt DeLay ever watches L&O because he would know this is par for the course. L&O is a show featuring endless parades of wisecracks from smartass characters about politicians, celebrities, and whoever else the writers plan to mock that week. this supposedly emulates more how actual people would talk at work. The character who uttered it also tends to be more on the liberal side in her political comments, which viewers of the show would know. Perhaps it's a verbal jab DeLay doesn't need right now, but it's just a show and it's a line of dialogue that doesn't even suggests DeLay himself did something bad (just, of course, suggestive about the type of people who like Tom DeLay). You don't see Bush drafting angry letters to Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien for suggesting that he's mentally challenged every night. While L&O is notably a serious show, the line is obviously meant to be a joke. But, then again, DeLay doesn't seem like the type able to take a joke.

Standing In His B-Boy Stance

It's out. Ladies and gentlemen, we have Deep Throat. The Watergate exposer revealed himself to Vanity Fair, and it's ex-FBI master W. Mark Felt. Felt is now 91, and partly seems to have come forward at the urging of his children. What took so long? Felt apparently wasn't proud of his deeds as Deep Throat in breaking a scandal that changed the landscape of American politics. While Felt felt like he was doing what needed to be done, his hesitation has long been because he wasn't proud of being a leak.

Whodathunkit?

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle has not only more laughs, but more of a plot than the "classic" Korean War-set "masterpiece" M*A*S*H.

These two movies share only this in common: I watched over the Memorial Day weekend.

Now, yeah, I did watch M*A*S*H on AMC and it was interrupted by many noxious commercial breaks. And yes, I did get exasperated by the lack of plot about halfway through and said 'screw it.' But all the same, I was extremely disappointed in what I had expected to be a great film, a cinematic treat for the senses. But I was wrong. Clearly Harold and Kumar was a better choice for my viewing pleasure this week.

I mean, is it too much to ask that a movie that screens on AMC actually have a plot?

EWWWWWWWW

We have a resounding "no" on the EU Constitution, and the effects will reverberate through the entire Continent and the world. Chirac has officially been pantsed in front of the entire world by his opposition, and while his resignation may even be in the cards, his political career is at the very least mortally wounded. Already his cabinet ministers have begun resigning, and his electoral future is dim. The surprise is that Chirac didn't see this coming a mile a way. His runoff election with neo-Nazi Le Pen was a wakeup call to all of Europe about the rebirth of the far right, especially when Le Pen's popularity was primarily based on his strident opposition to the EU. This is, thankfully, like to deflate Le Pen and other nutjobs' momentum with the prime issue decided firmly in their favor. Pretty much all they have left to run on is xenophobic racism, but that still has a lot of traction in France.

Domestic politics aside, what happened in France has plenty of international significance. Britain has serious concerns, or more clearly can state their doubts without worry. The Netherlands vote on Wednesday will probably follow suit, with opposition to the EU there likely to gain momentum from this vote. All 25 members have to ratify the constitution before it would go into effect, and that looks about as likely as America ratifying Kyoto. It'll never happen. There are two important things to take away from this. One is that the EU always was a better idea as an ECONOMIC integration, not a political one. The EU itself is far from dead, and if it returns to its roots as a regional economic construct, it still has plenty of potential to do a lot for its members. The second is that the expansion of EU has revealed a lot of European racism towards Eastern Europeans and specifically the Turkish. Europe is having serious identity issues, especially with the proliferation of muslim immigrants. This vote is indicative of it and signals the emergence of a new brand of the Culture Wars in Europe.

Big Surprise

Growing up in New York state, the joke was that New Jersey and Massachusetts had the worst drivers. But now we can see that it wasn't just a joke.

The GMAC Insurance National Driver's Test found that nearly 20 million Americans, or about 1 in 10 drivers, would fail a state driver's test if they had to take one today. GMAC Insurance is part of General Motors' finance subsidiary, GMAC.

More than 5,000 licensed drivers between the ages of 16 and 65 were administered a 20-question written test designed to measure basic knowledge about traffic laws and safety. They were also surveyed about their general driving habits.

Drivers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states did worst. Twenty percent of test-takers failed there.

The state of Rhode Island leads the nation in driver cluelessness, according to the survey. The average test score there was 77, just eight points above a failing grade.

Those in neighboring Massachusetts were second worst and New Jersey, third worst.

College Board’s Continuous Improvements

If there is one thing we have learned about the College Board it is that they are not afraid of change and improvement. Along with recent modifications to the SAT and GRE exams, the College Board is looking to improve its AP courses. There has been some criticism that the AP exams are not allowing students to go into depth in the subject areas because the courses try to cover too much ground. Over the next few years, the College Board will seek input and “best practices” college courses to base their AP classes on. The courses the College Board will focus its improvements on are U.S. history, biology, chemistry, physics, European history, world history and environmental science.

I am a strong supporter of the AP exams – but you could accuse me of being biased. Montgomery County Public Schools leads the state of Maryland in the number of students taking the AP exams and number receiving grades of 3 or higher (62% of AP exams taken in the State of Maryland and 75% of all students that receive a grade 3 or higher are from Montgomery County – and Montgomery County only represents 17% of the state of Maryland’s high school enrollment). The point is that one of the main ingredients to a good high school curriculum is rigor – and offering AP exams is one of the best ways right now to offer rigor in the high schools. It challenges students and helps prepare them for college. Any improvements to the courses will have a major effect on high school education as 1.8 million AP tests were taken in 2004 and nearly 60% of US high schools participate in the AP program.

In case I didn’t do a good job of convincing you of the importance of AP exams and rigor in high schools, watch Stand and Deliver. Edward James Olmos is Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who teaches his inner city youth to take calculus. An inspiring but often forgotten overlooked movie.

Overcompensating Champ

To Sean Connaughton (to be nicknamed "Champ" from here on out), size matters. Oh, I forgot to mention he's a Republican candidate for Virginia's Lt. Governorship. Best of luck with the campaign Champ.

Freakonomics

Freakonomics. Buy this book. Read it. Better yet, someone buy ME this book. I've read excerpts, had more than one review shoved in my face. On the excitement scale, Freakonomics ranks up there with pre-Episode I fanfare, Breakdancing battles, and Kate Beckinsale. Check out the accompanying blog and bask in its glory.

Friday Fodder

In a fully loaded post over at Bacon's Rebellion (hands down my favorite Virginia blog): The New York Times discovers life in Southwest Virginia, UVA President John Casteen discovers a weakness in his PR profile, and Affirmative Action riles Virginians YET AGAIN. Comments galore!

Early Friday Gatling Blog

Since in all likelihood I won't have a chance to post tomorrow, and since I was Derelict on a couple of these things, I'm giving you the Friday blogistan tour on Thursday. And, in the words of Reverend Black Thought: "Step into the realm, you're bound to get caught, from this early life we'll soon depart." It's a big one, yo! And I'm trying to bring some more right-wing flavors to the table.

Rudepundit thinks Jesus hates Family Research Council's Prayer Team.

2Blowhards laments for the Corcoran Library's architectural woes.

Balloon Juice, known for being Conservative, tries to defend Newsweek's actions.

A shitstorm (Dean's World) ensues (response) all over the place. (Right Wing Nuthouse). This is probably the most intelligent exchange I've seen about the whole Newsweek incident and subsequent fallout about the credibility or not of the story, and for once transcends the low-level media criticism of "Bias! Yeah, that's all I've got," of many right-wing bloggers. (Not you, PoP, before I find a bunch of Media Research Center stormtroopers waiting for me at home)

SMASH also has, as usual, a tough and sensible analysis of it with a nice roundup.

Rantingprofs dissects the media blackout of recent terrorism in Madrid.

Gateway Pundit has all you want to know about the Zarqawi shakeup/injury/replacement and its impact on Iraq and Al-Qaida.

Mr. Sun has the best advice for graduates ever.

As per InstructorA's comments, TigerHawk discusses Al Qaida's West African Connection.

Free Range Librarian defends bloggers from one of her own, and talks about the roots and basic philosophy of blogging as not really a new idea. Was Samuel Johnson the first blogger? He makes a convincing case.

Riding Sun talks the increasing Japan vs. China flaps.

Froggy Rumination thinks the Dems will knife the RINOs in the back sooner rather than later over the compromise.

Ace of Trump thinks Palestine is learning from America, or at least Chicago.

Vodkapundit tells a Principal to grow up.

Bubblegeneration explains how to do NYTDigital better, instead of just showing some rabies like is in-style in Blogistan these days.

Last, but certainly never least, Ambivablog, spiritual nomad, discusses God Without Religion.

And. . .I'm spent.


CORRECTION. . .Free Range Librarian kindly corrected me as to her sex. I apologize and will feign nothing but sexist assumptions (oops!). I'll make sure not to make that mistake from now on.

Extra Cheese

Next time you're upset someone won't deliver pizza to your house, what should you do? Politely request that they do? Get carry out? Order from somewhere else? Those options don't work for you? Well, there's only one choice left. Try to have them arrested! I shit thee not. A North Carolina woman (does it suprise anyone that she's elderly? best argument I've heard for cutting Social Security benefits) called 911 20 times in 38 minutes demanding police arrest the proprietors of a pizza chain that would not deliver pizza to her home. Police showed up and threw her in jail for two nights. Her response?

A police spokeswoman said the octogenarian scratched, kicked and bit the hand of the officer who did not feed her, after her repeated calls provoked a police response.

She has now been released from jail, pending a court appearance in July, after a judge ordered a medical evaluation.

Damn. I could make just about a million jokes about crazy old people, their medication, and their childishness, as the 70 year old man who banged at my apartment door and cursed me out at 5 in the morning for accidentally parking in "his space" aptly demonstrated to me, but I won't. Because this is too funny to warrant additional jokes. (Via Suburban Guerilla)

One Snark to Rule Them All

Of all things to say about the conclusion of this season of American Idol, Defamer once again proves the king of below-the-belt, invective snark. And I thought all the talk about Lucas' neck-wattle was funny! I had no idea:

"And unless you’ve spent the previous 18 hours slowly marinating in a cannibal’s kettle in Uganda, you already know the outcome. The almost-hot-but-not-quite-hot Carrie Underwood will be afforded every opportunity to make music that won’t be appreciably worsened when stripped of its vocals and converted into the vibraphone version that will haunt the nation’s elevators for years. Bo Bice, the “rocker” unexpectedly propelled to the finals by viewers’ fascination with the dusty records moldering in their grandparent’s basements, will tour the red states in the most kick-assingest Allman Brothers tribute band you ever did see.

Fox will collapse in the corner, waiting for the high from the Idol ratings crack to dissipate. Paula Abdul will attempt to seductively raise a come-hither eyebrow for a Ralphs bag boy, but instead activate a wave of uncontrollable facial tics that negate any amorous intentions, sending her scrambling back into the store for a handle of five-dollar whiskey, the most tender lover she’s ever known, Estevez included. Ryan Seacrest will continue to respirate."

Colin Powell to Invest in the Nationals

I hope this doesn’t mean he isn't running for President in 2008. And I wonder if he and his fellow investors know that buying the team will only give them 10% of the TV revenue now, and at most 33% twenty years from now. At least they will not have to pay for the building of the new stadium.

Hindsight is one million / one million

I think this post at the Coalition for Darfur is one of the best comparisons between Rwanda and the Sudan that I have read. It doesn’t go into detail for the two situations – but I don’t think it needs to. You should definitely read the whole post, but basically it describes how at the time, the excuse for inaction in Rwanda was based on how complicated the situation appeard to be. Paul Wolfowitz admits during a panel discussion that more should have been done in Rwanda and it looks in hindsight that a few simple actions could have stopped the killings. The situation in Sudan is very similar in that the excuse for inaction is based on the complicated nature of the problem.

“But unfortunately, it is far more likely that ten years from now, when perhaps another one million Africans have needlessly died, we'll wonder why we did not act when ‘it looks in hindsight to have been so simple to prevent something that was so horrible.’”

Fortress of Solitude

I just finished Jonathan Lethem's opus Fortress of Solitude and I'm starting to understand why people make a big deal out of him. For the record I haven't read anything else by Lethem, but from Fortress of Solitude I can tell he's got astounding virtuosity as a writer. The book is told in two parts, with a short bridge. While the book advertises being about two kids, Mingus Rude and Dylan Ebdus, it's clearly the all-Dylan show. Not a bad thing, necessarily. The thrust of the first part of Solitude is about Dylan's childhood and growing up in the mostly-black area of Gowanus in Brooklyn in the 70s as a white kid. And the terrors of going to public school involved with it. Dylan's an interesting character from the start. He's obviously got all the alienation of Crime and Punishment's Raskolnikov, Midnight's Children's Saleem, and The Stranger's Mersault combined, mixed with the racial tension of Invisible Man (one of my favorite books). It follows him from kindergarten through all of high school in the first part, blending and following the evolution of street language and street music. Dylan is a harassed and brutalized to almost Christ-figure proportions. The only friend Dylan has for most of his childhood is the half-black Mingus Rude, a master of graffiti art that randomly bales Dylan out of his isolated, violent, and lonely neighborhood existence. The two spend much of their time pouring over comic books and tagging everything they can. As Dylan begins to slowly emerge from his poor neighborhood and the inattention of his arteur filmmaker and painter father he starts to take on a more typical middle-class white existence. He rises out of the drudgery of most schools to the magnet school Stuyvesant, falls in with punk music, and even becomes college-bound. Mingus, on the other hand, spirals downward through all the travails of typical problems many black teenagers face, no-showing at school, submerged in vandalism/art, and increasingly drawn into drugs and dealing. In the meantime, Dylan's discovery from a homeless bum of a magic ring gives them both brief careersThe first half of the book ends in tragic violence, Mingus arrested as Dylan prepares to head off to college. The first half is poignant, full of moments that dredge up The Invisible Man, Midnight's Children, and even Great Expectations, all the while infusing them with 70s New York, hip hop, graffiti, funk, and comic books. It's a pretty touching story, frustrating, enthralling, depressing, funny, and interesting all the way. Especially the sideplot of Dylan's father Abraham becoming nearly a demigod once he takes up cover art for bad scifi novels as his day job and the decline of Mingus' father Barry's career as a once-famous soul singer.

The second half brings us to Dylan as a liner notes writer and music junkie, an adult living in Berkeley and still haunted and overwhelmed by his childhood in Brooklyn. It illustrates Dylan's struggle to come to terms with the lose ends in the first half of the book and truly move on in his life that moves through the twisted path of an Anaheim Scifi Convention, his old neighborhood on Dean Street, and a prison in Upstate New York. Briefly, there's a synopsis of Dylan's troubled college years, Mingus' life since the first part in a nutshell, and Dylan's attempts at becoming a superhero through use of his magic ring. The book is mostly biographical, and as such it suffers from much of the same problems biographical novels usually do. The plot seems aimless, sprawling, and more like a collection of vignettes about a life than a real novel. Accordingly, the ending feels like a fade-out more than a resolution and doesn't really leave the reader with much sense of completeness. This, of course, is the weakness of writing biographical novels in general and almost a necessity of them, and Lethem deals with it as well as he can. Fortress of Solitude is definitely worth a read, a study of human alienation, wasted potential, and friendship.

Sloppy Seconds

I'm aware that I frequently cite Slate's articles as gospel, but c'mon!!! How can you turn your head away from this one on C-plus Augustus and his double take on the 'culture of life'? Is killing bad or good? We can predict what percentage of the population will become killers or death row inmates, right? Can't we apply that same percentage to the national stem-cell pool with the hope that one of these embryos will help medical professionals discover a cure for say cancer or alzheimer's?

Marching Two by Two

I have long thought that Christian groups should focus more of their time on helping those in need (and less time focused on humiliating homosexuals and stubbornly teaching abstinence-only education without equipping their followers with the necessary information on how to have safer sex on the off-chance that the person decides to break his or her vow of chastity). David Brooks’ column in the New York Times suggests that evangelical groups might be shifting their focus to do just that.

“And when I look at the evangelical community, I see a community in the midst of a transformation - branching out beyond the traditional issues of abortion and gay marriage, and getting more involved in programs to help the needy.”

...

“I see evangelicals who are more and more influenced by Catholic social teaching, with its emphasis on good works. I see the historical rift healing between those who emphasized personal and social morality. Most of all, I see a new sort of evangelical leader emerging.

Millions of evangelicals are embarrassed by the people held up by the news media as their spokesmen. Millions of evangelicals feel less represented by the culture war-centered parachurch organizations, and better represented by congregational pastors, who have a broader range of interests and more passion for mobilizing volunteers to perform service. Millions of evangelicals want leaders who live the faith by serving the poor.”

What is more encouraging is that these groups are working together with social liberals to deal with problems like poverty and AIDS in Africa.

“A few years ago, U2 took a tour of the heartland, stopping off at places like Wheaton College and the megachurch at Willow Creek to urge evangelicals to get involved in Africa. They've responded with alacrity, and now Bono, who is a serious if nonsectarian Christian, is at the nexus of a vast alliance between socially conservative evangelicals and socially liberal N.G.O.'s.

Today I'll be at a panel discussion on a proposed antipoverty bill called the Aspire Act, which is co-sponsored in the Senate by social conservatives like Rick Santorum and social liberals like Jon Corzine.”

It is about time that two groups where their major difference is in their religious beliefs have decided to work together towards their shared goal of helping those in need. It would be amazing if this turned into a major trend.

Sexual Clarity Called For

I’ve been receiving mixed messages from my television this week, regarding God and pre-marital sex. I’m officially confused – and have to wonder about the confused state of mind of the audience as well.

Let’s keep in mind the same age group (middle school, on) and gender (female) are the primary viewers of both of these shows.

The WB’s 7th Heaven told me on Monday that if you have pre-marital sex, you will probably contract an STD, get pregnant, and/or need counseling to figure out why you are having sex in the first place. No one has sex for the hell of it and gets away with it. There are consequences, people, serious consequences! One of the 25 Camden children on 7th Heaven decides the best way to deal with wanting to have sex is to get engaged to someone because then sex will be ok in the eyes of God. As long as someone’s wearing a ring, everyone is safe from those pesky….evil…evil….(it feels too good, God must be against it) desires.

Morale of the WB story: Nothing bad will happen to you, sexually, if you wait to have sex until you are engaged. Quick, go get engaged at 18 - then you can have sex and all will be perfect!

[This storyline ignores the fact that the older Camden children, those that did get married first are having marital problems – at least 2 are divorced/divorcing. One abandoned her child and her husband. Go figure.]

UPN’s Chaotic: Britney and Kevin told me on Tuesday that the way you know you love someone is determined by how good the kissing/sex is. In this case, hormones come first; love, second. You know you love someone if the kissing/sex is “(sigh)…hot” and you have to take a minute to pause and smile stupidly as you describe it. Marriage is certainly not an issue in this case because “love, itself, is a commitment” according to experts Britney and Kevin. And, again, to briefly recap: you only know that you are in love if the kissing/sex is “(sigh)...hot.” You have to have sex before you can even consider getting married.

Morale of the UPN story: Britney and Kevin do not suffer any consequences after having sex on Day One of their relationship. In fact, they like having sex so much that they do it all the time, talk about doing it all the time, and share their sex life with America. They make sex look like a lot of fun. So come on viewers, start having sex with people until you find that special someone. You’ll know its right when you finally hit on that one special person that makes you all giddy and gives you the desire to slide across the dining room table in your socks.

[The sex that Kevin had with his previous girlfriend resulted in children, not love. You have to give him credit for getting back out there and having sex with someone else - he didn't let those pesky kids put a dent in his quest for sex...ooops, I mean love.]

Hmmm…who to listen to, who to listen to…hopefully 13 year old girls will have an easier time figuring this one out. Both the WB and UPN do offer up consequence-free solutions! It's tough to choose just one.

Do private Catholic schools let you get your diploma if you are pregnant, but engaged??

Filibuster Deal - Part 2

Bainbridge earned his title of Professor today. Money quote:

"The filibuster is a profoundly conservative tool. It slows change by allowing a resolute minority to delay - to stand athwart history shouting stop. It ensures that change is driven not "merely by temporary advantage or popularity" but by a substantial majority. Is it any wonder that it has usually been liberals who want to change or abolish the filibuster rule?"

(Via Andrew).

Mubarak: Flatulating Butthead

Egyptian President-for-life Mubarak shocked many when he said he would be making electoral reforms. Traditionally, Egypt is a one-party state with opposition parties outlawed. Mubarak's "reform" was to allow limited competition, but the government gets to pick who can run in opposition and who can't, which is about as transparent as raw sewage. This "reform" was also set to pass by a referendum. For a number of reasons, all the main Egyptian opposition groups are opposed to this step because it still allows Mubarak to cherrypick his challengers and keep some groups banned. The referendum took place today, and the protesting opposition group got treated to some characteristic Mubarak tactics according to CSM. One such protesting opposition group, a secular pro-democracy group called Kifaya, got especially brutalized:

Kifaya men were dragged into the crowds of Mubarak supporters, beaten badly about the face and kicked repeatedly when they fell to the ground. In one instance, Kifaya member Ragab Mahdi, a young woman, was trapped against the grate for an underground garage with riot police between her and the pro-Mubarak men.

As the riot police began to move aside to allow the men through, she screamed, "What are you doing, they're going to kill us."

An Egyptian journalist off to the side urged the police to intervene, but was told, "Our orders are to allow this to happen." After the men beat her for a few minutes, older men in suits working with the attackers told them to back off and, her clothes torn and her body bruised, she was bundled into a taxi and taken to safety.

Meanwhile this reform is being praised, especially by Laura Bush, as a great step toward democracy. Is it, or is it just more Mubarak shadow-games to give his President-for-life reign some phony legitimacy?

Man, I'd love to sink my teeth into that. But all that cholesterol, I dunno.

Surprises Abound in Baseball

You would think with the Yankees off to a slow start despite all the promise, struggling to catch the Toronto Blue Jays to take over 3rd place, I would be a lot less excited about this baseball season. And you would think that with the steroids allegations that saturated the pre-season I might be thinking about taking some time off from our national pastime. But for a true baseball fan like me, this is turning out to be an amazing season. Before the season started, I thought I could confidently predict who would be in the playoffs at the end of the season. After all, it looked so simple. The Yankees and Red Sox would battle for the American League East title, with the second place team (I assumed that would be the Red Sox) taking the wild card. And in my mind, there was no way anyone would compete with the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central or the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (the stupidest name in baseball history) in the American League West.

As it turns out though, the Baltimore Orioles are smacking around the American League, three games ahead of the Red Sox and 4.5 ahead of the Yanks and Blue Jays. In the Central the Chicago White Sox are five games ahead of the Twins and the Texas Rangers are keeping the West interesting, only one game behind the Angels. Both the White Sox and Orioles still have a lot to prove in the remaining 118 games. But watching pitchers like Jose Contreras for the White Sox and Bruce Chen for the Orioles having resurgences in their careers, and young managers like Lee Mazzilli and Ozzie Guillen turning their teams around is extremely exciting and great for baseball. Even though I am a Yankees fan, I can see how the Yankees and Red Sox dominating the American League every year can get old. I never want to see the Yankees lose (and I am confident they will find their way into the playoffs), but seeing surprising teams succeed thanks to big performances from players who only last year were under the radar is keeping this season very interesting.

The same can be said for the National League. The NL East is extremely close – we knew the Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves would be strong, but not many predicted that the New York Mets and Washington Nationals would still be so competitive (although they have fallen off the pace recently, for a while they were only 1 or 2 games out of first place). In the west, the San Diego Padres of all teams are in first place with the Arizona Diamondbacks only a half game behind (I thought Randy Johnson wanted to leave the Diamondbacks because they weren’t competitive). The two teams many thought would be competing for the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are 3.5 and 4.5 games out of first, respectively. The Diamondbacks are doing so well because of players like Troy Glaus, Craig Counsell, Shawn Estes, and Javier Vazquez having big starts. And the Padres are also benefiting from big performances from a resurgent Ryan Klesko and strong showings from pitchers Jake Peavy and Trevor Hoffman. In fact, the only division that is not a surprise is the National League Central where the St. Louis Cardinals are running away with it.

A lot of these teams still have to prove they can stay in it – but it will be exciting to watch and see who stays on top and who falls off.

While The Boss Isn't Looking....

Star Wars Episode III, an average movie (box office receipts not withstanding). Where do I begin?

First, a disclaimer: I WANTED this movie to do well, both box office wise AND among the critics. I spent entire summers watching the original triology REPEATEDLY, I had most of Episodes IV and VI memorized at one point for god's sakes. The reason I vehemently argued with Mr. Proliferation on the issue of "viewing context" was because I felt that these movies (any Sci-Fi movies for that matter) had to be viewed using the eyes of a kid. Mainly because I feel like we get too wrapped up in the whole critical viewing of cinema that we can't always enjoy movies for the sake of enjoying movies. I'm sad to say even though I went into the theater with my Darth Vader t-shirt on, with the excitement of a 10-year old, I still was not able to fully enjoy this one.

I wasn't expecting a masterpiece. I wasn't expecting some life-altering scene with Yoda's version of fortune-cookie wisdom. And I wasn't even comparing this movie to other current "hot" movies (i.e. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Spiderman, etc.). I viewed this bad boy in a cinematic vacuum, with nothing to compare it to but the OTHER Star Wars movies. And even then, I was left wanting.

Lets start with some of the NEGATIVES. I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Proliferation. The scenes with Anakin and Padme were beyond painful to watch. Anakin didn't exude "whiny bitch" as much, but a better actor than ANYONE in the original trilogy he is not. Natalie Portman, bless her heart, got screwd over royally in this trilogy. I was hoping that Lucas would write something minimally worthwhile for Portman to recite/act, but Mr. Proliferation got it right that woman are the unsuspecting(?) beacons of evil doers.

I didn't care so much for the battle scenes, though I wasn't necessarily bored while watching them. I'm definitely not part of the anti-CGI camp, but there's something to be said about using straight up miniatures versus computer-generated ships which look more advanced than their future counterparts. Each of the battle scenes (particularly the first one above Coruscant) made me wonder how the hell R2-D2 lost all of his cool droid capabilities. For a second I thought R2 could have been a stand-in for 007s Aston Martin, what with all the neat little gadgets he had up his pipes.

I love light saber duels/fights. I clocked my cousin in the head several times when we were trying to imitate the Luke vs. Vader duel in Episode VI back in the day. But I felt absolutely robbed, ROBBED when the jedi masters got skewered by Darth Sidious in less than 10 seconds. Is the definition of 'Master' basically the equivalent of calling someone an 'Associate' on the corporate ladder? Come on George, if this were extended it would have shortened at least one, maybe two of the excrutiating scenes with Anakin and Padme.

The most heinous scene in this movie involved Anakin's first appearance as the Darth Vader we all know and love from the original trilogy. Not only did that scene make me cringe (and tear up my Darth Vader shirt then and there), I think this scene single-handedly diminished the badass persona of Darth Vader. Instead of screaming "Oh Snap, here comes Vader!", forever will the word 'Pussy' come to mind when I see that black helmet of his. Oh, and Darth Vader is NOT Frankenstein, so he shouldn't move like him (with or without the suit).

I could end this portion of the post with the numerous inconsistencies in continuity from the Original Trilogy and the New Trilogy, but they're a) too numerous to list and b) they'd be a waste of space.

Now for a few POSITIVES:

The killing of the Jedi was one of the better cinematic montages I've seen in some time. I was miffed that the scenes were cut short (i.e. Arguably, there were thousands of Jedi in the universe and we were only treated to the demise of 5 of them), but the length didn't take away from the impact. It was great to finally SEE what the hell Obi Wan was trying to communicate in Episode IV. It was sad, it was frightening, and it was overwhelming all at the same time.

As I mentioned before, I love lightsaber duels. I can't help it, I always though swordfighting was/is a more civilized way of fighting. There was no arms-length separation between you and the enemy, the enemy was right in your face, and you had no choice BUT to fight. Defend yoruself or die, it was that simple. The lightsaber fights, as numerous as they were, were still the best part of these so-called 'battles'.

Yoda: 900 years old and still kicking ass. Too bad he couldn't take the Emperor out, though he was close (Mace was a helluva lot closer, but he couldn't close the the deal either).

As far as some of the individual performances are concerned:

Ewan McGregor did a far better job this time around. His lackluster performance in Episode I can finally be put to rest (unless you're sadistic and actually liked the Phantom Menace). Over the course of the New Trilogy his casting was probably one of the better over all decisions made by the production team. Still a wooden performance compared to some of his other gigs, but he's a jedi. He has no feelings.

Sam Jackson, to his credit, did NOT go out like a chump. I will admit, he was the worst at handling a light saber in the original Trilogy and his death scene was reminiscent of some of his lines in "The Negotiator" (i.e. "You are NOT IN CONTROL!"). Again, to rationalize away his duller than dull on-screen Star Wars persona: Jedi have no feelings. I think I would have preferred Dave Chappelle acting as Sam Jackson acting as Mace Windu in this movie.

Ian McDiarmid as the emperor. If he wasn't a returning character, he would have trumped McGregor's performance easily. Fortunately, he's part of the returning crew and he took his character to town. Even without the 'wrinkles', the emperor was a scary son of a bitch. How in hell did he manage to fool all of those Jedi, the Senate, and everyone else around him into his plan?

The duo of Christensen and Portman couldn't put together a worthy performance as individuals. Add them together, and you're just a few ewoks shy of a full scale rebellion. Hayden performed better than in Episode II. He whined less and grimaced more (I think it was the manly haircut). Portman, unfortunately, lost the will to live in the movie, and lost the will to act well too it seems.

Final analysis: Not unlike many of my fellow fanboys, Episode III is ranked fourth among the Star Wars movies. Possibly DVD worthy, but definitely not worth more than a matinee viewing.

I Believe the Bloggers are the Future...

I am sure many of us in the blogosphere think we are changing the world. And when we investigate stories before the larger news outlets realize their importance or write about topics the MSM is ignoring, we are making a difference. But as Nicholas Kristof’s column points out, bloggers are having an even bigger impact in China where they are investigating and reporting on situations of government abuse and cover-ups at the risk of their safety. With 100 million Chinese accessing the internet, bloggers are creating a highly accessible underground media that is trying to fill in the information vacuum caused by China’s non-existent free press. Although China tries to censor the websites that have content critical of the government, the bloggers are finding creative ways to avoid the censorship.

“The authorities have arrested a growing number of Web dissidents. But there just aren't enough police to control the Internet, and when sites are banned, Chinese get around them with proxy servers.

One of the leaders of the Tiananmen democracy movement, Chen Ziming, is now out of prison and regularly posts essays on an Internet site. Jiao Guobiao, a scholar, is officially blacklisted but writes scathing essays that circulate by e-mail all around China.”

It is a brave new world. Bloggers unite!

Oozin Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is quickly descending into a hellish nightmare on the brink of civil war. Clashes a week ago in Andijan have an official deathtoll of 169 (that is way too precise for a place like Uzbekistan), but local activist put the estimate more on the order of at least 1000, with up to 3000 missing. President-for-life Islam Karimov is continuing the crackdown, arresting Human Rights Activists attempting to report on the events in Andijan to the outside world. Amidst calls from Britain, NATO, and the EU to allow an independent inquiry, Karimov is also standing his ground, declaring that he will "take care" of it. Sure, "take care" of it by disappearing a few more hundred people. Karimov insists that he was putting down a Wahhabist insurgency, but that claim is also looking increasingly dubious.

Why do I bring this up? Well, it's about time we stopped positioning ourselves next to this shady butcher of a dictator that pretends to be a President and who is approaching Saddam Hussein-like levels of atrocity to hold onto power. He is right now our "Ally", but not much of one. In the past he helped us with Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban, and provided a staging ground for the war in Afghanistan. But now he just remains a nice source for rendition and that's just about it. Liberal hawk Fred Kaplan says enough is enough and that our relationship with Karimov is more damaging than helpful. Conservative hawk Caroll Morse says Karimov's days are numbered and that his regime is under assault from a variety of historical forces. I would tend to agree with both. Karimov's not going to last much longer. His brutal attempts to supress his own people are disgusting and make us look bad by association, so it's time to flip Karimov and join in the chorus of denunciation. Uzbekistan is a stewy mess of poverty, resentment, and Islamism, a fertile ground for terrorism that Karimov is doing more to fan the flames of than prevent. Turning the tables on old Islam Karimov might get us somewhere, might help install some democratic roots in the country, and continue the Fourth Wave onto topple another despicable tyrant.

Weapon of Choice

In the assorted nuisance arsenal of adware, spyware, viruses, and spamming and all their associated interconnectedness, we have a new beast. As if being bombarded with popups, having your email address harvested, your online movements tracked, identity stolen, and your computer crashed isn't enough, there's a new weapon deployed for hackers to make your life miserable. It is called Ransomware. Ransonmware is a devious invention, and works differently from a lot of other tactics. The tool burrows into your computer and begins madly encrypting all your files, rendering them unviewable and unusable. In the wake of this malady, it leaves a ransom note demanding money for the digital keys to unlock the files.

The first few incidents of this have been easy to overcome because experienced codebreakers can decrypt the files themselves without having to pay the ransom, but hacker attacks and the associated tools they use only get more sophisticated over time. The open-source nature of cyberterrorism and e-crime allows each hacker or criminal to readily improve on the software and methods of their predecessor. My guess is we're going to see a lot of this sort of thing. Files on computers are often are most private things, and ransomware has the potential to function like blackmail. Do you really want to turn to an outside expert to decrypt the files for you? Afraid of what they might see? You'll likely pay the money. That is, assuming the encryption doesn't get powerful enough to make decryption impossibly difficult without the keys. There was a time when I thought the internet was like the Wild West, a lawless land that was slowly being tamed. Stories and issues like this make me doubt it, because it's more like the gunslingers are creating their own private weapons systems and militias.

DC Catechism

DCeiver lays out a long, thoughtful, and damning case against James F of Why.I.Hate.DC. Given that James F and DCeiver's DCist collective have both graced the pages of El Wapo recently this is an interesting Grudge Match. I wonder if James will come out of the woodwork during his Frisco vacation to answer this. Maybe then I'll get my secret fantasy of these two battle-rapping each other.

Career Change

Defamer has probably the scariest photoblogging I've ever seen, all from Tom Cruise's appearance on Oprah. I think the man should take up horror movies.

"Cats and Dogs, Living Together..."

"...mass hysteria."

Finally. The only sensible folks in the Senate, moderates , have allowed our legislature to finally get back to the business of running the country. Reid and Frist, you may put your penises back where they belong now, in your pants.

Tick Tock

Germany's "Whinin' Chancellor" (I'm coining it, as of now. Please pass it around), Gerhard Schroder, is running out of time. During the UN Security Council Iraq Drama, Schroder sounded out spectacular anti-American notes in his opposition to the war. It boosted his popularity magnificently. But not for long. Schroder's theatrics distracted Germans from a stangant economy that has not improved since, and his party has been suffering state electoral defeats. This is significant, because unlike Britain or France, Germany does have a Federalist system, though it differs from ours. Theirs is often called "marble-cake" federalism because the states appoint their reps to one of the legislatures houses and do have assigned powers under the constitution. For comparative politics nuts, ours is referred to as "layer-cake" federalism, whereas Britain a