November 30, 2007
Because that's the way Lippy rolls.
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11:55 AM
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November 29, 2007
Just another example of why Martini Boy is the gold standard of blogging.
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12:45 PM
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November 28, 2007
China and India should be spared the full burden of fighting climate change, the United Nations said on Tuesday in an agenda-setting report published just days ahead of an intergovernmental conference to agree to a successor to the Kyoto protocols.The report of the UN Development Programme recommends that countries such as China and India should be required to reduce their emissions by only 20 per cent by 2050, while the rich industrialised countries shoulder a cut of 80 per cent.
The report will provide ammunition for developing countries wishing to avoid adopting stringent targets on emissions. China, India and others have argued that rich countries should carry more responsibility for the climate because most of the stock of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere came from the growth of their industry. {...}
Did you get that? China and India would only have to reduce emissions by 20%, whereas the rest of the developed world should have to reduce their emissions by 80%. You know, because climate change is the result of our industrial growth, not theirs.
Saving India for another time, let's keep in mind that this is the same China with whom both the US and EU have trade deficits, not surpluses. The same China that's hosting the Olympic Games next summer and is doing so, partly, to show off how "developed" their country has become over the past twenty years or so. This is the same China that has a freakin' moon program. This is same China that is currently set to pass the US as the worst polluter in 2010. And, most importantly, this is the same China that's currently ruining my niece's Christmas whimsies because most of the toys on the shelves are produced there and her mother won't let her have any because of safety concerns.
Leaving aside the fact that man-made climate change has yet to be conclusively proven, why on earth is this country getting a pass? China's not developing. It's developed. If they've got a freakin' space program that should be a big fat honking clue that they're not hurting for cash. They can go on and on about how they're not to blame for this supposed round of climate change, but what will their excuse be for the next great environmental disaster to befall the world? Because at the rate they're sucking up natural resources, and the slip-shod manner they're using to do so, whatever comes down the pike will be their fault.
What will they say to get themselves off the hook then?
Posted by: Kathy at
11:32 AM
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November 27, 2007
The full story is here
{...}Mr Massey tells the officer he does not understand why he has been stopped or what he is being charged with, at which point the officer orders Massey to get out of the car. The officer then puts down his clipboard and immediately takes out his Taser and points it at Mr Massey without any provocation whatsoever, yelling "Turn around and put your hands behind your back" as Massey attempts to point out the speed limit sign and engage the officer in conversation.A shocked Massey asks "what the hell is wrong with you?" and backs away, turning around as the officer had demanded, at which point the officer unleashes 50,000 volts from the Taser into Massey's body, sending him screaming to the ground instantly and causing his wife to jump out of the car and yell hysterically for help.
Lying face down on the ground a shell shocked, Mr Massey says "officer I don't know what you are doing, I don't know why you are doing what you are doing" to which the officer replies "I am placing you under arrest because you did not obey my instruction."
Mr Massey then once again asks the officer several times why he was stopped and what he is being charged with. He then asks for his rights to be read and points out that the officer cannot arrest him without doing this. Instead of reading Massey his rights the officer then addresses another patrolman who arrives on the scene sardonically commenting "Ohhh he took a ride with the Taser" to which the other officer answers "painful isn't it".{...}
Ultimately, this comes down to what you think your rights are and what the cops think your rights are---and the two are never going to meet. You might want to understand that when you get pulled over. Save your arguments for court, because when the police are armed, well, they're going to win every time. Is it sad that that's the situation, particularly when the police are funded with your hard-earned tax dollars? Yeah. It is. But it's the truth of the situation. You can either accept the situation as it stands, and perhaps save yourself from receiving 50,000 volts, or you can argue about your constitutional rights and get zapped. Your choice. Realize one thing: the police aren't your friend. Nor are they under any obligation to help you understand your alleged crime or rights, despite what Law and Order might portray on tee vee. You'll have to work with your legislative bodies to get that changed, because arguing with a police officer about it isn't going to do anything.
Lest you think I have it in for the police, know that I don't. I can understand the defensive posture police take to protect themselves. They have to deal with an awful lot of horrible individuals who have absolutely no respect for them or the law and they would be negligent if they did anything but take a defensive posture, but this is beyond the pale. It's obvious that the guy wasn't going to harm anyone. His sole crime is that he was a bit mouthy and didn't do precisely what the officer thought he should do, but that shouldn't have earned him a jolt from a taser. Every situation varies and the police should have enough common sense to recognize this. The cop had no common sense and when things didn't go exactly as he would have liked them to, he resorted to brute force. He was Eric Cartman, demanding that the man "Respect his authoritah!" It's just that simple. This could have been resolved easily enough, without anyone going to jail or being tasered, if the cop had just bothered to listen. He didn't. And now he's, apparently, brought a multi-million dollar lawsuit down on his department.
The police are making their own job harder with stunts like this. I doubt they realize that, though.
{hat tip: Martini Boy}
Posted by: Kathy at
10:22 AM
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Ahem
STOP SPAMMING ME WITH YOUR DAMN JUNK E-MAILS!
If I'd wanted to be on your list, I would have signed up for it. That I'm on a blogroll with a number of conservative bloggers who happen to live in the state of Minnesota does not mean I want e-mails from you people, detailing your beautifully coiffed candidate's positions. It's that simple. Furthermore, that you want me to help manage your e-mail list pisses me off. I never subscribed to your list in the first place, hence I shouldn't have to unsubscribe, ya dig?
Now, knock it off or I'll start mocking you. I might even have some fun with Mitt and his hair in photoshop. So, if you'd like to prevent that eventuality, you know what you have to do, eh? Consider yourselves warned.
When are you e-campaigners going to learn, eh?
Posted by: Kathy at
12:34 AM
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November 08, 2007
Here's a transcript of this extraordinary, well-written and moving speech. Go and read it in its entirety. It's really rather amazing.
Yet...here's the headline from this morning's Financial Times:
"Sarkozy Calls For a Strong Dollar Policy."
Sarkozy ended his speech with this:
{...}Long live the United States of America!Vive la France!
Long live French-American friendship!
I can understand the inclination to disregard large chunks of this speech simply because it was apparently tailor-made for the audience to whom Sarkozy was speaking, but considering Sarkozy has done a complete one-eighty from his predecessor's policies toward this country, I don't think the one paragraph, in a four page speech, where he talked about the weak dollar should have been the lede.
Posted by: Kathy at
09:55 AM
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