Nuff said!

South Dakota, better than you think

We just got back from a short week in South Dakota. Took in the usual sights in the badlands and the black hills. Weather was pretty good, and the scenery was nice - lush green forests, mountains and lakes. I don't know why, but for some reason I had extremely low expectations that were way off base. So I came up with a new slogan for the state tourism authority: South Dakota, better than you think.

Saw lots of these guys roaming about the park. I have lots of photos that I'll slowly start posting later this week.

On vacation

I'm heading up to South Dakota to see the sights. I'll be gone for a week.

Caffeine

Tired of waking up and having to wait for your morning java to brew? Try Shower Shock Caffeinated Soap!
If that doesn't work for you you can also find caffeine enhanced Sunflower seeds and beer.

Evolution in Action

This one was sent to me by KT Cat

Police dog handlers arriving Wednesday at the abandoned nursing home where they hold training sessions discovered two men and a woman dismantling the building’s copper pipes and wiring, Hall County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kiley Sargent said.

When the officers arrived, the three dropped their tools and ran. That was their second mistake.

"For anyone to try to run from a whole unit of canines, it’s just a no-win situation,“ Sargent said.

Pamela Puckett, 37, quickly surrendered. Marc Black, 18, was tracked to a trash bin behind a nearby convenience store. Paul Perry, 39, was treated for a superficial dog bite just below the buttocks after his arrest, authorities said.

The original article is here

Secret Squirrel

Tehran under attack from rodents! The Islamic Republic News Agency reported this week that police had arrested 14 squirrels on charges of espionage. The rodents were found near the Iranian border, allegedly equipped with eavesdropping devices, according to IRNA. Read more here

Chickenhawk Generation

This summer Max Blumenthal made a little documentary about the College Republican National Convention. He lets them speak for themselves. See it here

... when I asked these College Republicans why they were not participating in this historical cause, they immediately went into contortions. Asthma. Bad knees from playing catcher in high school. "Medical reasons." "It's not for me." These were some of the excuses College Republicans offered for why they could not fight them "over there." Like the current Republican leaders who skipped out on Vietnam, the GOP's next generation would rather cheerlead from the sidelines for the war in Iraq while other, less privileged young men and women fight and die.

No Comment

Hott4Hill

The Big Orb in the Sky

(reprinted from Frazz by Jef Mallett)

The Dog Days of Summer

(Taken from Lynn Johnston's For Better or for Worse)

A new candidate for 2008

Dr. Zachary Smith for president. Thanks to Dr. Zaius for pointing out his running.

What every evil super genus needs

Now anyone, for mere tens of millions of dollars, can own your own luxury submarine. Impress your friends and oppress small governments.

Our Resident Speaks

Have you noticed that when our resident of the white house speaks to the press, it sounds like he's scolding a teenager about something.

More Squirrels

Squirrels

Software bloat

HubPages compares a 1986 Mac Plus against a brand new AMD Dual Core running Vista. The results will shock you!

Indian Peaks Wilderness

The little dog got taken on a little hike this weekend to the Indian Peaks Wilderness. The Indian Peaks Wilderness is a National Forest wilderness area north west of Boulder Colorado. The trail starts at Brainard lake, passes by Long lake, and ends at Lake Isabelle. Its an easy half day hike.

There are lots of wild flowers along the trail.

There is something about the snow. Any time we pass by a snow drift, Kelly has to roll and rub in the snow. I suppose it might help cool her off.

Our destination was Lake Isabelle. A good sized alpine lake at around 10,860 feet. Kelly had a little swim and was ready to move on.

Fred Thompson

Can Fred come to the rescue of the Republicans? Or is he like the notorious unnamed democrat who everyone loves until there is a name attached?

Green Weapons

British Aerospace, a UK arms manufacturer is now promoting ecologically-sound weaponry; reduced-lead bullets, recyclable explosives, and fuel efficient jet fighter aircraft.

Too much wasabi?

I found a new cartoonist, Harry Bliss and he does fantastic stuff.

Future's so bright, got to wear shades

The scratching post has a post about how well the economy is doing. Strange how the numbers don't translate into anything I can see in my neighborhood.

Happy Independence day

Why doesn't Green Peace Care about Chinese Pollution

China's current economic development has been a boon to the current government and to some workers salaries, but at a growing cost. A recent article at the Scratching Post illustrated the growing threat of industrial pollution in China. A companion post of mine referenced charges that the Chinese government is attempting to censure a World Bank report on premature deaths in China due to their growing environmental degradation. The rational for China's request is the fear that knowledge of the report by China's populous would lead to wide spread social unrest.

Much of the environmental problem has its roots in the way current government maintains power. According to the historian Wu Si, the Chinese government may have much to worry about. The present day exploitation of workers in China, he says, is comparable to the horrors inflicted on the poor during the Qing dynasty two hundred years ago, and China's current structure of governance ensures that such abuses continue. It is these sort of abuses that lead to the Nationalist revolution in the first place.


So KT asks, quite rightly, where is the outrage? I'd assumed the big environmental organizations such as Green Peace would mention this growing problem, and call for changes. But a check of the Green Peace site, as well China Green Peace site, shows nothing but talk of Global warming. While I support taking action to mitigate global warming, ignoring the issue of overwhelming pollution in Asia is a tragic mistake. It is as if we only focused a patient's cancer, when they are rapidly bleeding to death. Triage is what is needed here.

Censured report on premature Chinese deaths

The Scratching Post has a nice blog about heavy metals in Chinese food. More along these lines came out of the Financial Asia Pacific Times which has reported that the Chinese government is pressuring the World Bank to remove nearly a third of its report on pollution in China because of concerns that findings on premature deaths could provoke social unrest.

The report found that about 750,000 people die prematurely in China each year, mainly from air pollution in large cities. Sixteen of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in China, according to previous World Bank research.

Missing from this report are the research project’s findings that high air-pollution levels in Chinese cities is leading to the premature deaths of 350,000-400,000 people each year. A further 300,000 people die prematurely each year from exposure to poor air indoors, according to advisers, but little discussion of this issue survived in the report because it was outside the ambit of the Chinese ministries which sponsored the research.

Another 60,000-odd premature deaths were attributable to poor-quality water, largely in the countryside, from severe diarrhoea, and stomach, liver and bladder cancers.

Perhaps the Feline Theocracy was right.

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