Vitamin C, Mexican Vacation, and goodbye Souter =( April 30, 2009

Well its been a few days since I last blogged. Its the end of the semester and I am almost done…2 more papers to go! I am working on one right now…well not right now, im procrastinating and decided to update my blog, but I will get back to my prospectus update as soon as I am done here! Class was relaxing tonight, and for once we got out early which was a nice plus! Unfortunately the bus was running late, so I only made it home about 30 min prior to my normal time, but hey, 30 minutes is an eternity in grad school!

In case you havent seen the news…Justive Souter is planning on retiring. Im personally amazed that Justice Stevens is till kicking it! I thought for sure he would be one of the first to retire after Obama was elected , but hey, to each his own.  But for all of you out there who are obsessed with the hot topic issues, a court nomination will bring out all the crazies on both sides of every issue, so it should make for some interesting blogging!

Well earlier today I read an article about how Airline seats to Mexico are easy to come by right now….wanna take that dream vacation to the Mexican Riviera, well this is the time to do it.  While some professionals seem to think that its the flu and the economy that are making an excess of seats available, Im goign to bet its because of Speidi being there…come on, who wants to have to watch those 2 do photo ops all day!

Going along the lines of the ridiculous and needlesss information that seems to be floating around out there… Sarah Jessica Parkers surrogate may or maynot be from Ohio….who cares! Or how about the Jellybean thief…a robber in PA broke into a home, but all he took were some jellybeans….seriously?! How much you wanna bet its a kid who did it! Or how about the coke smuggling Grandpa in Italy…you have to admit it was pretty genius to put the coke inside of his oranges, and then tell the cops he needed the oranges for vitamin C. Regardless, news seems to be full of random and stupid things these days…maybe its the gecko flu…

Later!

Post Draft Update, Fox v. Obama, and the newest form of economic protest April 27, 2009

Well for a Post Draft update…my beloved Packers actually did well!  I am happy with the overall draft, although I do admit to a minor heart attack when Thompson traded up for a 2nd 1st round pick!  I thought hell had frozen over cause that was certainly unexpected…after all his trademark draft policy is trade down for more picks…oh well.  It was fun to listen to all my friends panic when Cleveland kept trading down…and then of course there was the perpetual name pronunciations which just got even funnier when Bobby got a little drunk and couldnt say any name…so I sent him and Jessie some nice long Hawaiian names to try, which was even funnier! Oh well, overall the draft was kinda odd but still predictable…Oakland was crazy, Minnesota hasnt truly learned the lesson that talent doesnt outway personal issues, and the Patriots continued to master the trade down tactics and manipulate their way into multiple draft picks in this year and next years draft. 

Wow! Can Fox get anymore partison? Oh yes they can…Fox Broadcasting Company announced Monday it will not carry President Barack Obama’s prime time press conference marking his first 100 days in office, the first time a broadcast network has refused an Obama administration request for that valuable airtime. Yes it may be May Sweeps, but to have one of the big 4 media outlets decide not to air the coverage is kinda shocking…maybe Fox should become a CW, and do away with news all together…that wouldnt be a bad thing in my eyes!

Well its nice to see that the community is coming together in the trying times in Mexico…wait…you mean those people wearing surgical masks arent just protecting themselves and helping others? Wait…they robbed a watch store?! Oh well, guess humanity still has its issues…With a rise in the population of Mexico wearing surgical masks to help prevent against the Swine Flu, thief’s are taking advantage of the situation by robbing stores wearing the masks…thus disguising their appearance without looking conspicuous…Its not like merchants can tell the police…there in the blue surgical mask…cause the thief’s can just disappear into the masses..genius!

Wow, I knew the economy was tough, but in Serbia a union worker cut off his own finger in protest over overdue and unpaid wages. The worst part wasnt the cutting off of the finger…in demonstration as to how desperate he and others are, he ate his finger. Um…protest cannibalism as a way to show economic frustration? Have we really resorted to that drastic of measures?! Even I, who find cannibalism fascinating, am slightly disturbed by this new tactic…lets just hope it doesnt get picked up by the mainstream, or there will be alot of fingerless people running around.

Later!

Duct Tape Judge, too much Sci-fi, and living the clean life April 21, 2009

Hmm..have scientists finally discovered the planet for us to all move to when our planet dies?! A recent discovery of another planet with vast oceans and similarities to Earth has been found in a completely different solar system than ours… but I think in order to reach it we may need a Stargate or some BSG ships that are capable of carrying us all there….so I guess I wont get my hopes up until Richard Dean Anderson comes and saves our planet from those evil Gu’ould (sp?).  Yes Im beginning to think that I have watched way to much Sci-fi…when i start thinking in terms of planetary space travel you all know we are in trouble!

Hmm…Mexican cartels have told their smugglers to dont drink, do drugs, and to live a goof clean family life….are they taking cues from Weeds now? Cause I seem to remember a scene where she was told exactly that! But you know they never listen!

Oh you gotta love the judicial system in this country.  A judge in Idaho lost his patience with a defendant and ordered that his mouth be taped shut with duct tape.  The best part is that the man is incompetent to stand trial due to impaired mental faculties. I wonder when the ACLU will jump on this one?!  Duct taping an insane mans mouth shut instead of removing him form the room is kinda a weird measure…I just know when I worked with the MR/DD population this would have been ground for firing, so I wonder how the judge will fair!

Um…now Im really concerned about the google searches that are leading to my blog…yesterday “gaible porn” led to my blog…whos googling for gaible porn?!?!  How many gaibles are there in the world anyways?!

Later!

More shoe throwing, Israeli Lobby, and a little bit of Rehab April 18, 2009

Well I cant say Im surprised by the announcement that the US will be boycotting the UN Racism meeting, but I am sad.  Yes, the proposed draft has language that could single out Israel, but god knows, that alliance has worked so well for the  US in the past! And who helped convince the US to boycott? Well the Israel lobbies of course! They are a well oiled machine who isnt afraid to label someone as anti-semitic if they dont support their cause. Dont you just love the fact that you cant disagree with them over legitimate concerns for fear of being labeled a racist, yet they can be as racist as they want towards the Palestinians!?!  Oh the Irony…

Is it sad that one of the lead stories this week had to do with the Twitter battle between Ashton Kutcher and CNN…seriously?  Who cares who reaches 1,000,000 followers…

Well, it looks like fear of being attacked by shoes is something that other politicians have to worry about now too.  Thank you Bush for your wonderful leadership these past 8 years, but more thanks go to the reporter who decided that the best way to express his opinion of Bush was by throwing shoes….cause now those running for office in India are afraid that angry contituants will throw shoes at them…so a business has been born…erecting metal nets around podiums to catch any of those unwanted shoes…ahh…how the small things impact the economy!

Well its about time that politicians, aka the White House, began to realize that the war on drugs has one clear cut answer…lower demand! How do you do this?  Well Rehab of course! Its about time!!!!! Now that is how the US should deal with this problem, and its good that someone finally realized that throwing money and guns at the problem wont actually solve it!

Well Im off to a Flogging Molly concert….going to go listen to some Drunken Lullabies at Pipeline Cafe…

later!

Power diplomacy, handcuffs and biting, and a lil’ Mexico March 24, 2009

Well if I ever saw power diplomacy at its finest, it would have to be China’s influence over South Africa when it comes to the Dalai Lama. Too bad it was over something regionally significant, but globally irrelevant. If anything it just hurts South Africa and Chinas perspective in many nations when it comes to triviality over history.  Yes, the Dalai Lama may have opposed China, and been involved in an attempted “coup”, but at the moment, he is a figure head for a place in the world where human rights is a capstone in their interactions with the global community, and to deny him from an international human rights convention, and then justifying it by stating that he would draw attention away from soccer…well now thats stupid. It also reflects that South Africa, post-apartheid, is not ready to venture into the human rights arena which is sad. Their priorities at the moment, strategic protection of their future interests….but I guess that could be said for any state. Kudos for the organizers for cancelling the convention in recognition of the slight.

I love the crazies in the world! And I mean that in the good way!  When I read articles about the eccentric things people do to each other, to themselves, and well what they do in general, it always amazes me that society continues to function at an arguably successful pace.  Take for example, the Connecticut lady who was trying to reconcile with her husband. While he slept, she handcuffed herself to him to force him to have a conversation with her, and when he tried to reach for the phone to call the cops she bit him.  First, I would so not marry a biter (unless its in the kinky good way), Second, where did she get the handcuffs (or do I want to know..were they fuzzy?) and Third, did she think that strategy would end well…guess bedroom diplomacy is still needs some study…phd thesis anyone?!

Finally someone has taken notice, or at least showing some serious respect, to the situation in Mexico. Im still not sold on the Mexican or US course of action, but I will say that its nice that some of our leaders are not imbeciles. Sharing a border with a failing state (or at least a struggling state) is never a good thing, and its only a matter of time before it explodes into the US fully.  Its better to preempt problem, but it may be too late! We’ll see!

Are pre-existing conditions a thing of the past? Not likely, but its nice to hear that health insurance companies are thinking about not charging people more if they have a history of medical problems!

Well, Im off to work on my prospectus. I may have actually had a break through today and developed a new but similar course of action…lets hope it is accepted!

Later!

My new housemate, anti-bird rant, and what to do with a head March 10, 2009

Well oddities are a common thing in my life, I embrace randomness, but I think its reached a new level. We have a ghost living in our house…Josh thinks its an old surfer dude who has a scraggly beard, but for me its a bunch of shaddows making up no form. Random things happen, random noises are heard, and we wake up at odd hours of the morning for no reason (well maybe for me its insomnia)…but Josh is set on the ghost theory.  We are currently looking for names for our new housemate. Any ideas let me know!

The winds have been ahowlin’ today. No rain, but lots of noisy wind to keep me from sleeping this morning. Add the presence of the chickens, and some random bird who I think is looking for a mate. thease are just a few things on the list of things that I am finding annoying today.  I am really not a fan of birds…I dont have a fear, but am just generally annoyed by them, but this isnt a new thing either, Im just noticing it more since in Hawaii the walls and windows are paper thin, and definately dont block out noise.

Um, so a friend has tried Pilsburys new cinnamon rolls with chocolate icing. I am sceptical because for me, although a normal food adventure junky, chocolate icing on cinnamon rolls is a violation of all things sacred about the ooey gooey goodness.  it should have normal icing, not chocolate!  And I love chocolate, but even I dont think my stomach could stomach it!

Well ive always wondered what  happens when the Mexican Cartels beheaded someone.  I mean, where does the head go?  What do you do with a head?  I guess you could always bury it under a rose bush, but that seems cliche. You could always give it to Colbert to use as Abe Lincolns ghost, but he already has one. Hmm..its a predicament….oh wait, you can put them in ice chests, cause God knows thats the most creative place to put a head!  But in all seriousness, thats exactly what they did. Instead of leaving the bodies, they took the bodies and left the heads with the victims eyes taped shut.  Well identification was made easy, but cause of death is going to be a bitch!

Later!

Crazy Bashir and his propaganda moves, Obama getting novel, and how to fight drug war March 7, 2009

Well my brain is frozen, numb, about to explode…any way you put it my brain is dead.  My Friday, Saturday, and most of Sunday will be shot from spending way too much time on reading, writing, and disaster group project. Stupid grad school…well at least thats how I feel right now.

Well Bashir is back in the news. He is making a trip to Drfur after being accused of war crimes and and ICC arrest warrant was issued. He told a rally in the capital, Khartoum, that if anyone wanted to fight him, they should come to Sudan instead of issuing arrest warrants. He continued, stating that the aid agencies he kicked out of the country following the ICC verdict were thieves and accused them of taking 99% of the budget for humanitarian work for themselves and only giving 1% to the people of Darfur.  Meanwhile, the United Nations says the expulsion puts more than a million lives at risk.  Bashir discounts the ICCs ability to try him since stating that it cant be impartial, since it has no jurisdiction over US citizens…and thus the US was dragged into the crisis…not exactly how i pictured it, but definately as I feared would happen.  Hwile his move is one of propaganda, it is still valid. Now the administration must decide whether to respond or ignore the comment. If they respond, they walk a dangerous line of self imposed justice versus international legal oversight. Should be intersting.

Hmmm…is Obama taking a section out of counterinsurgency knowledge? Reaching out to the moderates within the Taliban?!  Hmmm….how novel!  Not!  This is something that should have been done from the beginning!  In fact, doing so now may be too late, but its not Obamas fault that diplomacy was forgotten under Bush. (Well at least diplomatic talks). Any insurgent should reach out to those who he may be able to ally or befriend, regardless of ideological beleifs…its all strategy.  This is ringing back to Algeria versus the French…dont alienate the moderates!!! They are yur most likely partner for information…but I fear its too late!

And we’re off and running…Obama was briefed on the Mexican Drug War…and of course asked the old adage…”How can we help.”  Gee…how about curbing the demand on this side o f the border…if you do that then cartel operations dwindle due to lack of supply and stability can be restored….Not likely though. Its just too easy for the US to send, logistical and strategic support to Mexico, while curbing the USs drug addiction problem is too complex of a problem to fix. So in reality this move wsa nothing but face time with Mexico to show moral support and concern for their growing counterinsurgency…which has already spread over borders (violence in CA, GA, etc) and in to Canada even (cocaine supplies are low and have resulted in violence between dealers). How stupid is this all!!

Wow…the impossible happened.  TO found a new home…and with Buffalo?  Seriously? Hmm hope they dont live to regret that decision!

Well off to watch some Cpt. Jack with the boys…

Later!

Mexico violence reaches US, why you shouldnt have a shotgun in your car, and hope for Zimbabwe? February 10, 2009

Solving the Economic Crisis with Jon Oliver

Well the violence from Mexico’s war on drugs is spilling over into the US and not in the Border-towns like everyone expected.  Violence has reached bigger cities like Atlanta and Phoenix. Violence is following the drugs.  Drug customers who owe money are kidnapped until they pay up. Cartel employees who don’t deliver the goods or turn over the profits are disciplined through beatings, kidnappings or worse.The violence may not be as severe as the violence seen across the border, but it doesnt mean its not present. In Birmingham AL 5 men were found with their throats slit. They had apparently been tortured with electric shocks before being killed in a murder-for-hire orchestrated by a Mexican drug organization over a drug debt of about $400,000. The lessons to be learned?  Sharing a border with a state that is on the verge of ailure can be catastrophic for any nation, so that means the US people and administration better wake up to the implications that are trickling in with the drugs….

When will people learn?  Showing up at the White House with a rifle will never end well!  Even if you are making a “delivery.”  Second…a guy showing up at the white house in a pick-up truck with a delivery for Obama is unlikely, and will never actually see the President, so Im not sure his plan, whatever it may have been, was well thought out.   Its like my Grandmas rant when Bush was in office.  Although she would have loved to take a shotgun to him, she at least was realistic in the fact that he wouldn’t show up on her doorstep, so it would never happen. (ps:  she always said it jokingly..kinda)

Why are all the US brokers getting bonuses? The explanation going around that if you dont pay them, they wont stay is ludicrous. If they wont accept a pay but or no bonus, then let them walk away. If they do, they just proved how stupid they are to voluntarily walk away from a well paying job in a horrible economy, and if they dont then you still have high quality people working for you. Even if you do, there has to be a realization that over 500,000 people are without jobs, many with degrees, who would gladly take a position with any company at this point. Heck I have a friend who would!  Need a name, just ask!

Well, Tsvangirai is due to take office of Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on Wednesday, thats assuming the old crazy Mugabe doesnt do something to cause chaos again.  Even if the power-sharing deal takes place there is a huge battle to be waged over the economy and the country.  Since most nations outside the AU have reservations about the successfulness of the deal(mainly due to Mugabe, and the Tsvangirai’s capabilities to lead) there is an unlikelihood that any changes will occur immediately. The EU, UN, and US have economic santions in place and are reluctant to relase them until there are signs of change, but it could be a dangerous tactic. In order to effect change there needs to be some method for the new PM to use, and right now thats not available.  Maybe releasing certain sanctions for a specified time as a sign of cooperation would be the best tactic that the world could make for the people of Zimbabwe.

Later!

Statute of limitations on $0.50, stupid theifs, and Mexican drug war February 4, 2009

Somehow Im guessing that India has not heard of a statute of limitations clause before.  Apparently an Indian doctor has been jailed for taking a bribe of $0.50 over 24 years ago.   First off, 50 cents is not a bribe..its not even a cup of coffee today..maybe 24 years ago it was, but not today. Second, although he was initially sentenced to a year in prison, it has been reduced to 3 months.  Im not sure how 3 months in jail for $0.50 is an equivalent punishment to the crime, and Im not the only one to agree…the Judge who sentenced to him even admitted $0.50 isnt a sufficient amount for a bribe, but under the law he had to be punished…so at the age of 74, the doctor is off to jail…over $0.50.

When you think tools of the trade for thief’s, Im betting you arent thinking frozen chickens…but yet thats what one Australian man used to break into a cafe.  Since his tactics were rudimentary and kinda stupid, of course he got caught.  Guess how?!?!   He cut his wrist on the glass, and thinking he was dying once he saw blood, he called the paramedics for treatment…Basically he called the cops on himself…not the brightest bulb in the bunch.  How about using a Star Trek Klingon replica Sword to rob a place?  At least its better than the frozen Chicken tactic, but it still looks bloody stupid!  A Colorado man tried it though…and wasnt too successful…after two attempts at convenience stores, which he didnt walk away with much, the cops caught up to him.  At least he didnt call the cops on himself!

Wow…I knew the war on drugs in Mexico was violent and causing major problems for the country and the government, but a  recently retired Mexican army general whose bullet-riddled body was found Tuesday near Cancun had taken over as the area’s top antidrug official less than 24 hours earlier.  The cartels are getting more effective and serious…guess the governments motto that their use of the military is an effective tool to fight the cartels isnt necessarily true…not that I was believing it anyways.

Later!