tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43272842839160023152024-03-13T06:30:31.906-04:00sub specie aeternitatisMJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.comBlogger535125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-25600644817069826412011-01-24T12:02:00.001-05:002011-01-24T12:02:40.190-05:00Every once in a while the Brits get it right!<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-size:12pt'><span style='color:black'>From the BBC - by John Cleese. <br/> <br/>ANNOUNCEMENT <br/> <br/>The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." <br/> <br/>Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada. <br/> <br/>The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years. <br/> <br/>The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability. <br/> <br/>Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides." <br/> <br/>The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbor" and "Lose." <br/> <br/>Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels . <br/> <br/>The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy. <br/> <br/>Australia , meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be alright, Mate." Three more escalation levels remain: "Crikey!"</span><span style='color:blue'>,</span><span style='color:black'> "I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend"</span><span style='color:blue'>,</span><span style='color:black'> and "The barbie is cancelled." <br /></span></span></p></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-47417758585713676682011-01-22T08:53:00.000-05:002011-01-22T08:54:41.168-05:00You read it here first, I mean, second, or third...<iframe frameborder="no" width="480" height="270" scrolling="no" src="http://www.theonion.com/video_embed/?id=18702"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/kim-jong-il-ends-nuclear-program-for-lead-in-next,18702/" target="_blank" title="Kim Jong Il Ends Nuclear Program For Lead In Next 'Batman'">Kim Jong Il Ends Nuclear Program For Lead In Next 'Batman'</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-33724473999185585382010-02-09T07:52:00.001-05:002010-02-09T07:52:55.776-05:00Ayatollah Khomeini Funeral<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/2k7mpnPJWDo' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/2k7mpnPJWDo'/></object></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-33426670894451064102010-01-24T09:37:00.001-05:002010-01-24T09:37:46.781-05:00Hitler, Brown, Massachusetts Senate Race Jan 2010<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/kYLRO7ZuKdM' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/kYLRO7ZuKdM'/></object></p><p>These Never Get Old For Me!</p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-52248270778314774182009-12-09T16:45:00.004-05:002009-12-09T16:50:40.828-05:00WTF Article of the Day: 'SmarTrend's Candlestick Scanner Detects Possible Bullish Harami Pattern for SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/SyAbJIS60bI/AAAAAAAADtg/hhezisbQRWA/s1600-h/HaramiNQuptrend.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/SyAbJIS60bI/AAAAAAAADtg/hhezisbQRWA/s400/HaramiNQuptrend.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413356595758944690" /></a><br /><br />Just in case you were wondering, the above is it. Now if you can see bull amongst those candles, I salute you!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-61629126291066896432009-11-09T10:48:00.001-05:002009-11-09T10:48:21.512-05:00Buy Gold for $50 an Ounce!<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/Gk5aRIz17fk' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/Gk5aRIz17fk'/></object></p><p>Go baby go!</p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-85979042481329286912009-10-09T17:16:00.001-04:002009-10-09T17:16:59.011-04:001964 Antique MODEM Live Demo<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/X9dpXHnJXaE' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/X9dpXHnJXaE'/></object></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-29001574312157256012009-10-07T16:05:00.001-04:002009-10-07T16:05:39.434-04:00Christopher Hitchens on Mother Teresa<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/il4CsZaA610' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/il4CsZaA610'/></object></p><p>Too good not to share.<br />As I used to say to my mother-in-law (until some dumb shit enlightened her) how is the Missionary Position going? </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-25222289233941646722009-10-03T19:14:00.001-04:002009-10-03T19:14:44.397-04:00Anne Frank, seen from window<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/kEXuviihrrs' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/kEXuviihrrs'/></object></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-46335510464352679782009-04-08T14:12:00.001-04:002009-04-08T14:12:53.905-04:00Quote of the Day: Nouriel Roubini<span xmlns=''><p>Gold is not a hedge against inflation.<br /></p><p>Gold is a hedge against Armageddon.<br /></p><p> - Nouriel Roubini</p></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-18298280570976484382009-03-27T23:08:00.001-04:002009-03-27T23:08:30.333-04:00Hey Paul Krugman (A song, A plea)<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/XOYAuk809fY' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/XOYAuk809fY'/></object></p><p>When pictures kick word butts.</p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-84809829799171998062009-03-27T15:12:00.002-04:002009-03-27T15:16:02.686-04:00Mark Your Calendars: Chavez Day!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/Sc0lZlt5auI/AAAAAAAADpo/VuKSkLrrgac/s1600-h/chavez+image.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/Sc0lZlt5auI/AAAAAAAADpo/VuKSkLrrgac/s400/chavez+image.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317947856545999586" /></a><br /><br />From the files of You Just Can't Make this Stuff Up. And in America, no less!<br /><blockquote><br />Recognizing Chavez<br />March 24, 2009<br /><br />Every year at this time, Jacque Rhodes, Calvin assistant dean of multicultural student development, is surprised afresh at how few people recognize the name Cesar Chavez. “This man made such a tremendous contribution to our country and how we look at labor and unions, and he’s hardly known,” said Rhodes of the farm worker, labor leader and civil rights activist who founded the United Farm Workers of America.<br /><br />Cesar ChavezRhodes and the students leaders of Calvin’s multicultural student advisory board (MSAB) have planned a full round of activities to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day on March 31—and to perhaps raise Chavez’s “Q rating” a little: “I really think he should be as prominent a figure as Martin Luther King,” Rhodes said.<br />Free cake and buttons<br /><br />First on the roster of events is the complimentary birthday cake served up by MSAB from 10:30 a.m. through 3 p.m. in the fireplace area of the Hekman Library. The students will also pass out Cesar Chavez buttons and informational flyers about his life. The cake honors Chavez’ birthday, which coincides with his annual day. “We do this every year,” Rhodes said.<br /><br />The celebration will continue at 3:30 p.m. as Blair Babcock, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent speaks on “Inside Immigration: the Struggle to Become a Citizen. “He’s actually going to talk about immigration law and just talk about the complexity … ,” said Rhodes. “ I think people in general have kind of a misinformed idea that it’s as simple as getting your driver’s license—that you walk into an agency and take a test and ‘Voila!,’ you’re a citizen. They have no conception that it’s a process that can, in some cases, take years.”<br />Hearing from peers<br /><br />A student panel, held at 5 p.m. in the Commons Lecture Hall, will offer further insight on the immigration process. Of the panel, titled “The Impact of Immigration: A Multifaceted Perspective, Rhodes said: “I think it’s really important for students to hear from their peers. I think it makes a greater impact on them when they can put a face on a story.”<br /><br />The day’s events will conclude with the provocatively titled A Day Without a Mexican, which Rhodes explained, is a “mockumentary.” The film, to be shown at 7:30 p.m. in the Robert L. Bytwerk Video Theater, depicts what would happen if, suddenly, there were no Mexicans working in the state of California. The film carries an important message, Rhodes said, adding: “I think we do our best learning when we’re uncomfortable.”<br /><br />All Cesar Chavez Day events are free and open to the public.<br /><br />~by Myrna Anderson, communications and marketing</blockquote><br /><br />Don't believe me? <a href="http://www.calvin.edu/news/2008-09/chavez-day/">Believe</a>!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-62186138058108533122009-03-27T15:11:00.001-04:002009-03-27T15:12:08.009-04:00Quote du jour<blockquote>But then there are those fundamentalists such as the late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson who offer all the limitations of Calvanism without any of its strengths.<br /></blockquote> -Alan Wolfe<div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-82432595042342200132009-03-27T12:37:00.003-04:002009-03-27T12:45:18.128-04:00Word of the Week: 'Backwardation.'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/Sc0Cmf-qqsI/AAAAAAAADpg/4-CxWh5af-M/s1600-h/silver2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 293px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/Sc0Cmf-qqsI/AAAAAAAADpg/4-CxWh5af-M/s400/silver2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317909595437050562" /></a><br />As in, <br /><br /><blockquote>At the same time, <span style="font-style:italic;">backwardation</span> in LBMA silver forward rates has been slowly disappearing.</blockquote><br /><br />And, <br /><blockquote><br />If a supply disruption is approaching, however, we could see LBMA silver <span style="font-style:italic;">backwardation</span> return with a vengeance.</blockquote><br /><br />More backwardation <a href="http://silveraxis.com/todayinsilver/2009/03/23/silver-supply-shocks-could-be-mounting/">here</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-53524105641363787202009-03-26T12:23:00.001-04:002009-03-26T12:23:53.708-04:00You Are Not An Orphan Alert!<strong><blockquote>Dear Friends,<br /><br />Someone who attended the Uzbek film, You are not an Orphan, left a pair of<br />glasses behind. The glasses are now at the lost and found with Penny in the<br />south building of Munk.<br /><br />Best wishes,<br /><br />ES </blockquote></strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-47683556355627722122009-03-24T10:56:00.001-04:002009-03-24T11:01:19.664-04:00Website of the Day: Jew of the Day<a href="Website of the Day: Jew of the Day"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Website of the Day: Jew of the Day</span></a><br /><br />TLA here.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-90187267348752885542009-03-24T10:47:00.002-04:002009-03-24T10:55:49.564-04:00Isaiah Had it Right<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/Scj0SkvB3rI/AAAAAAAADpY/cgyBjDp9WHs/s1600-h/Isaiah+Berlin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 254px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/Scj0SkvB3rI/AAAAAAAADpY/cgyBjDp9WHs/s400/Isaiah+Berlin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316767960046624434" /></a><br /><blockquote>“For these studies spring from, and thrive on, discord. Someone may question this on the grounds that even in a society of saintly anarchists, where no conflicts about ultimate purposes can take place, political problems, for example constitutional and legislative issues, might still arise. But this objection rests on a mistake. Where ends are agreed, the only questions left are those of means, and these are not political but technical, that is to say, capable of being settled by experts or machines, like arguments between engineers or doctors. That is why those who put their faith in some immense, world transforming phenomenon, like the final triumph of reason or the proletarian revolution, must believe that all political and moral problems can thereby be turned into technical ones. That is the meaning of Engels’ famous phrase (paraphrasing Saint-Simon) about ‘replacing the government of persons by the administration of things’…” </blockquote><br />--Isaiah Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty<div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-78009500714615685342009-03-24T02:25:00.001-04:002009-03-24T02:25:56.059-04:00Wordsmith's Word of the Day"Detroit's bet on big trucks and sport-utility vehicles has turned snake eyes."<br />David Kiley; Michigan: Epicenter of Unemployment; BusinessWeek (New York); Jun 24, 2008.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-67630171700056512712009-03-23T15:23:00.003-04:002009-03-23T15:40:00.398-04:00The Lockheed Plane Factory in LA Before and After Camouflaging<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/ScfiMvhvE9I/AAAAAAAADpQ/OgV32MEZb6I/s1600-h/lockheed032209before.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 318px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/ScfiMvhvE9I/AAAAAAAADpQ/OgV32MEZb6I/s400/lockheed032209before.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316466593678431186" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/ScfiBIEZ40I/AAAAAAAADpI/RCSvdraEOIo/s1600-h/lockheed032209bafter.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 283px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/ScfiBIEZ40I/AAAAAAAADpI/RCSvdraEOIo/s400/lockheed032209bafter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316466394107863874" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-62085959272676335892009-03-21T08:04:00.001-04:002009-03-21T08:04:07.531-04:00Extreme Sheep LED Art<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/D2FX9rviEhw' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/D2FX9rviEhw'/></object></p><p>Courtesy: LM<br />(PS What's a TAF?)</p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-17520878288451831652009-03-20T08:07:00.001-04:002009-03-20T08:07:48.208-04:00Got Me!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/ScOG-tOp3BI/AAAAAAAADpA/fNntmg5v2QE/s1600-h/ToothFairy.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 232px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/ScOG-tOp3BI/AAAAAAAADpA/fNntmg5v2QE/s400/ToothFairy.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315240397078387730" /></a><br /><br />HT: KPC<div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-70385212453939333932009-03-19T21:58:00.001-04:002009-03-20T08:04:42.833-04:00What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor<A HREF="http://www.kitco.com/connecting.html"><br /> <IMG SRC="http://www.kitconet.com/images/quotes_2a.gif" BORDER="0" ALT="[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]"><br /></A><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-18320916982956428212009-03-19T13:01:00.005-04:002009-03-19T13:07:33.911-04:00Those Were the Days When If Someone Called You a Crypto-Nazi you could call them...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/ScJ63noNadI/AAAAAAAADo4/280HzxRSDm8/s1600-h/vidal.photo3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 192px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_G4mDx2xBJxM/ScJ63noNadI/AAAAAAAADo4/280HzxRSDm8/s400/vidal.photo3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314945606199634386" /></a><br /><blockquote>At the Aug. 28 debate in Chicago - the penultimate encounter in the series, with an estimated 10 million people watching - things began with relative calm. But it didn’t stay that way, and before long the men began exchanging words that one simply didn’t hear on TV at that time (see box below). <span style="font-style:italic;">Vidal called Buckley a "pro-crypto-Nazi," a modest slip of the tongue, he later said, because he was searching for the word "fascist" and it just didn't come out. Inflamed by the word "Nazi" and the whole tenor of the discussion, Buckley snapped back: "Now listen, you queer," he said, "stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in you goddamn face and you’ll stay plastered."</span> Smith attempted to calm the exchange with "gentlemen, let's not call names," but the damage had been done. The two men, considerably subdued, met the following night for the last of their week of debates.</blockquote><br /><br />Clip <a href="http://www.pitt.edu/~kloman/vidalbuckleyvideo.RM">here</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-13801437517251697752009-03-18T15:46:00.001-04:002009-03-18T15:46:26.664-04:00Gotta Love the Vatican; Making One New Member at a Time<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>From Times Online<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>March 17, 2009<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:24pt'><strong>Pope says condoms are not the solution to Aids - they make it worse<br /></strong></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images)<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>The Pope departing for Africa today - his first trip to the continent<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Richard Owen in Rome <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>The Pope courted further controversy on his first trip to Africa today by declaring that condoms were not a solution to the Aids epidemic – but were instead part of the problem. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>In his first public comments on condom use, the pontiff told reporters en route to Cameroon that Aids "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems". <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Pope Benedict has previously stressed that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against Aids. The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>After his election as Pope, Benedict described Aids as a "a cruel epidemic which not only kills but seriously threatens the economic and social stability of the continent", but reiterated the Vatican ban on the use of condoms. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>He said the "traditional teaching of the Church" on chastity outside marriage and fidelity within it had proved to be "the only sure way of preventing the spread of HIV and Aids". <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>The Pope, who will also visit Angola, is making his first trip as pontiff to Africa, the continent where the Roman Catholic Church is growing fastest. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Two years ago there was speculation that the Vatican might amend its ban on condoms after Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, the former Archbishop of Milan, said that in couples where one partner had HIV/Aids, the use of condoms was "a lesser evil". <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan of Mexico, the Vatican Health Minister, also said condoms could sometimes be exceptionally condoned, for example when a married woman was unable to refuse her HIV-positive husband's sexual advances. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>"You can defend yourself with any means," he said. A subsequent Vatican study of the issue reiterated the blanket ban on condoms, however. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>In 2003 a senior Vatican official claimed condoms had tiny holes in them through which HIV can pass, exposing thousands of people to risk. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>The then head of the Vatican Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, said: "The Aids virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon can easily pass through the 'net' that is formed by the condom." <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>He added "These margins of uncertainty... should represent an obligation on the part of the health ministries and all these campaigns to act in the same way as they do with regard to cigarettes, which they state to be a danger." <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>The World Health Organisation responded at the time by saying that "These incorrect statements about condoms and HIV are dangerous when we are facing a global pandemic which has already killed more than 20 million people, and currently affects at least 42 million." <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>The WHO said that "consistent and correct" condom use reduces the risk of HIV infection by 90 per cent. <br /></span></p></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4327284283916002315.post-54464633087343814592009-03-17T12:16:00.001-04:002009-03-17T12:16:52.718-04:00Bernanke on 60 Minutes; Such Bullshit<embed src='http://www.cbs.com/thunder/swf30can10cbsnews/rcpHolderCbs-3-4x3.swf' FlashVars='link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecbsnews%2Ecom%2Fvideo%2Fwatch%2F%3Fid%3D4866969n&partner=news&vert=News&autoPlayVid=false&releaseURL=http://release.theplatform.com/content.select?pid=YM_Le_009ypLmrmUWOnzuDI4E093gfGj&name=cbsPlayer&allowScriptAccess=always&wmode=transparent&embedded=y&scale=noscale&rv=n&salign=tl' allowFullScreen='true' width='425' height='324' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed><br/><a href='http://www.cbs.com'>Watch CBS Videos Online</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Everything you don't need to know.
mjrabin@rogers.com</div>MJRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650005926140038804noreply@blogger.com1