AMF: Let's Roll

Remember Joanne Ahladiotis. Remember everyone who was murdered eight years ago by evil savages. Never, ever forget. Never capitulate. Never appease. Never surrender.

News.

BBC: Superb vistas from reborn Hubble; Times: A universal success

UAE 'weapons plane' leaves India (BBC, UPI); Times: Mystery of UAE plane with arms for China

French general gets NATO command (BBC, AFP)

CNN: Volunteer fighters help purge Taliban in Pakistan

BBC photo: Iranian Green

BBC: Chavez recognises Georgia rebels - Hugo Chavez recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent? Yeah, right after he recognized Dictator Night at the nearest buffet...

BBC: Help! I'm a Beatles hater - I really hate the Beatles, so I enjoyed this article.

BBC: Japan's space freighter in orbit

Guardian: The [Anglican] right gains ground

Guardian: Another fine speech will not be enough [from Obama] - Unfortunately, the guy who wrote this op-ed thinks that President Obama should ram through a bill as soon as possible. I'm fairly sure that the writer is British, which means that he's never lived without the NHS, which is garbage as far as national health care systems go. He makes some interesting points, and the article's worth reading, but I have to disagree with his ultimate recommendation.

Times: Defused bomb increases tensions in South Armagh

Times: Plan for Afghanistan withdrawal could be set

Times: Rules for war reporters do not exist - "It used to be possible for Western reporters to meet the Taleban and preserve their liberty but the reverse is now true." Context: The Reporter's Account: 4 Days With the Taliban.

Wired Danger Room: District 9: A Military Analysis - The money comment: "ok... so where is the military analysis? This is half a step below what my nerd friends and I used to do in my parents basement when we were teenagers." I repeatedly check Wired's Danger Room blog because they do have a tendency to link to, and provide some basic commentary, on a variety of defense-related issues; but after the third or fourth time that I read that DARPA is the "Pentagon's far-out mad science arm", it became pretty clear that these were not the professional journalists that they thought they were. I understand that, being from Wired, they take a bit of a different tack on some issues, but there's such a thing as journalistic integrity and professionalism, and these guys display neither. The bit about District 9 is interesting, but like the guy in the comments section said, I've done more sophisticated military analysis sitting around a table with a bunch of buddies than Michael Peck did in the entire post.

Just for Fun: The Waterpod - I subscribe to a YouTube channel called RocketBoom, and even though they're a bunch of ignorant hippies, they sometimes come up with something interesting. In a recent video, they had a video highlighting the Waterpod, which is a sort of... Um... Basically, a bunch of hippies made their own houseboat out of an old barge, four chickens, some potting soil, and a bunch of crap that they scrounged up. This proves a point I've made a few times: hippies have some good ideas, but it usually takes a grown-up to make them respectable or presentable. The prototype "waterpod" in the video is ugly and looks like it's inhabited by hippies, because it is; an adult could probably make this both presentable and every bit as sustainable - dare I say it, marketable to people who aren't hippies.

Last night, I had a conversation with an old friend of mine that she agreed to let me share with you all.

The Fly: Feel like making... Ehh, you know the rest. How are you?
Buddha Belly April: Haha, Not bad. You?
The Fly: I just discovered comedy gold: peopleofwalmart.com
Buddha Belly April: lol That is AWESOME! Thanks. Seen failblog.org?
The Fly: Yeah, look at it every day.
Buddha Belly April: Me, too. :)

[...]

The Fly: What are you up to tonight? Other than being hit on, clumsily, with lines from Bad Company songs.
Buddha Belly April: Calling my friend Jess in Taiwan in a moment.
Buddha Belly April: LOL Awesome
Buddha Belly April A cop hit on me in a Chinese buffet. That was funny.
The Fly: Nice.
The Fly: The Chinese buffet part.
The Fly: Oh, a cop. Cute. What did he say?
Buddha Belly April: Yep. He was ladeling seasame chicken into his to go box. He heard me talking to the owner about my grandparents and she said something about them eating a lot.
Buddha Belly April: He stopped me and said "I don't eat that much."
Buddha Belly April: I said she was talking about my grandparents. And he said, this is my favorite part: "Good, I'd hate for you to think I ate too much. You look nice."
Buddha Belly April: How random is that? All in a deep southern accent.
The Fly: That's even clumsier than half-quoted Bad Company lyrics.
Buddha Belly April Yes. Yes, it was.
Buddha Belly April: It could only have been funnier if he'd said "You smell purty"
The Fly: "If good lookin' was a crime, you'd be wanted in all forty-eight states."
Buddha Belly April: lol

Enjoy your weekend, but never, ever forget. See you Monday.