Liberia.

For those Americans in the crowd who like to view American foreign policy through rose colored glasses, have a look at this. The US really screwed Liberia over, and they are still getting screwed over.

Imagine that.

There are actually tolerant and progressive Catholics in the world. Rock on. Take that, Mr. Ratzinger!

I really love it when progressives kick the asses of narrow minded conservatives. It makes me happy. So, yay Canada!

More.

I am so utterly sick of hearing about weapons of mass destruction. I suspect I'm not the only person who smirks whenever the term gets bandied about. And now this. Just what we need. America has a lot of problems, but one thing it always had going for it was the civil liberties and freedoms awarded to citizens. In a post 9/11 America evidently we're more willing to tolerate the loss of those liberties and freedoms. Sure, there are people speaking out against the Patriot Act, but those people seem to be few and far between.

America. It's an interesting place really. This is a quite well-written assessment of the current push for a flag protection amendment. I'm probably one of maybe a dozen people who read government sites for fun, and yes, I realise how warped I am. I find the following to be so incredibly irritating, I can barely express that irritation.

From:
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.J. RES. 10, CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AUTHORIZING CONGRESS TO PROHIBIT PHYSICAL DESECRATION OF THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES -- (House of Representatives - June 21, 2005)

"Our flag, with 50 stars and 13 stripes, represents the history, culture, and ideology of democracy for the world. Millions of Americans throughout our Nation's history died defending our flag and the ideals it represents. To burn a flag is to disrespect America and disrespect democracy. For our enemies, those who embrace terrorism, communism, and totalitarianism, burning the American flag is a sign of defiance, because freedom threatens the existence of tyranny. For our soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, our flag is motivation to keep fighting, to move ahead, and reason to liberate a people from fear of oppression, as it has been in every conflict in which our Nation has fought."

Phil Gingrey of Georgia's 11th district is responsible for the above. I'd really like to poke him in the eye. He's on the list, along with Hillary Duff and Bono. Yup. They need to be poked in the eye Three Stooges style. (And no, I'm not saying I'm going to poke them in the eye, in no way is this a threat, it's simply an expression of dislike. Please don't sic your goons on me. I'm a nice law abiding citizen, honest.)

I remember a few years ago, the speech made by Ashcroft regarding a flag desecration amendment. He said, "As a national emblem of the world's greatest democracy, the American flag should be treated with respect and care. Our free speech rights do not entitle us to simply consider the flag as 'personal property', which can be treated any way we see fit including physically desecrating it as a legitimate form of political protest."

Yeah. Because Ashcroft was such a huge supporter of The Bill of Rights. Uh huh. Really.

I remember reading this story about Madeleine Albright visiting some eastern European countries just after they had thrown off communism.There were people waving American flags - flags with 48 stars. American soldiers had passed out flag when they had helped liberate these countries during World War II, and the people had preserved the flags a representation of democracy, even through Soviet oppression. And that's cool, it really is. I'm all about democracy (even if America isn't actually a democracy - it's a republic). But the flag is a symbol. A symbol. Yes, it's a powerful symbol, but that's all it is.

Do I like swastikas? No. Do I like the "confederate" flag (which wasn't actually the national flag of the confederacy)? No. Do I absolutely support the right to display them? Yes. Believing in and supporting the Bill of Rights, and in particular the freedoms of speech and expression means supporting those freedoms even when we whole-heartedly disagree with what they are being extended to.

There is a reason the framers made it so difficult to amend the constitution. They didn't want people doing so foolishly, and without serious consideration.

You know, if the states ratify this amendment I'm really going to have to get my ass out of this country before I land that same ass in jail. And you know, I'm rather partial to my ass.

Brilliant!

I am beyond impressed with this fantastic new device. It just goes to show that sometimes simple things really are best. We get so caught up in major medical advances and technological breakthroughs that we lose sight of the importance of simple, user-friendly, resources for developing countries.

In other news, God, I really hope Brazil breaks the patent. I know some people are saying that it would set a dangerous precident, but ffs, Brazil is one of the few countries really making an effort to provide antiviral meds to everyone in need of them. If the major drug companies don't pull their heads out of their asses and quickly we're going to see Brazil's middle age vanish just as we've seen Africa's vanish.

Man. I just have to say how impressed I am with Brazil right now. First they basically tell Microsoft to get bent, and now they are taking on the drug companies. Woo woo!

Now I've seen it all.

My word. We've found a way to make everything a competition. Having a social conscience is a good thing, right? Evidently it's more important to be sexy person with a social conscience than just an average person trying to "do something". I love that it's supposedly about people with "passion and compassion. Hah! I'd say the majority of people on that list are vegetarian because it's much easier to maintain a skeletal size 2 dress size when you aren't consuming meat than it is when you are.

What a wonderful world.

Insert suitably clever title here.

This is seriously messed up. Geez. Isn't the Patriot Act bad enough?

And we wonder why the rest of the world despises us.

There are some scary ass people in the world.

As proof I offer http://www.rainbowprimates.com/

wtf?

Dare now to be tragic men, for ye shall be redeemed!

Nietzsche. Gotta love it.

So, this weekend I've been reading My Life by Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton's Living History. I enjoyed her book more than I did his. It was better written, and you know, not 900+ pages. I know that it would absolutely horrify my family but darned if reading her book didn't increase my already profound admiration of the woman.

I learned a new two dollar word today:

recondite adj.
1. Not easily understood; abstruse.
2. Concerned with or treating something abstruse or obscure: recondite scholarship.
3. Concealed; hidden.

I was talking about the "brain drain" in Africa with a friend recently. It's really quite sad, but it's difficult to imagine a solution. It seems to be a relatively common occurance with former colonies. There isn't much of a future of graduates so they leave the country - taking any hope for home-grown improvements with them.

I wonder sometimes about a world where families sell their children as slaves because they are so destitute they feel there is no other option. Is redemption possible for such a world? How can we sleep soundly at night knowing about such horrors?

But, in happy news, Brazil has basically told Bill Gates to get bent. Rock on Brazil! What chance do developing economies really have in the world of technology when the cost is absolutely prohibitive? The open source movement is really where it is. Open source enables the creation of software to specifically address the needs of the users. Instead of attempting to tweak your software to do something it wasn't created to do, you are given incredibly broad creative scope.

So maybe there is hope afterall.

Indignation.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4104680.stm

This is the kind of crap that just pisses me off. IVF is lame. It's lame because having a difficult time getting pregnant is nature's way of telling you "thank you for not breeding". There's a reason for it, and for as fantastic as science and medicine are, I think there are certain advances that aren't exactly advantageous.

When you look at the population boom in India and then consider the millions of dollars spent each year in the west on IVF and other fertility treatments - it's a frightening thing. Just what we need, more people!

I just keep thinking, "cane toads, cane toads, cane toads". Scientists have this way of just rushing forward, patting themselves on the back for brilliance, and not really considering the long-term.

The world is so incredibly fucked up. You have Japan, with a steadily declining birth rate, India with a rapidly inclining birth rate, and Africa - with a rapidly shrinking middle age. The estimate is that by 2010 there will be 40 million AIDS orphans in Africa alone.

So what do we do? We spend precious research funds on lame ass IVF.

Sometimes I really hate people.