ninme

It’s the customary picture for ringing in the new year:

No book list tonight. I fear my book book has been put into a box somewhere. When I retrieve it or unpack it, whichever comes first, I’ll do it then. Maybe. If I don’t feel silly doing it late. In the […]

Categories: People and Current Events

As far as I can remember, I pretty much ignored the kerfuffle over Jimmy Carter’s book, and I don’t intend this as a late arrival to the party, only, as put-downs go, this one’s really good:

JPost - Why Jimmy Carter is not an anti-Semite, by Shmuley Boteach

Jimmy Carter is not so much anti-Semite […]

Categories: Politics

We watched the BBC World News from a couple hours before Saddam was hanged, and the correspondent referred to us as the Iraqis’ “American overlords”. After a couple beats (I almost missed it) I turned to Peter, “Did he just say ‘overlords’?” and Peter, eyebrows way up, nodded and deadpanned, “And I, for one, […]

Categories: War and Peace

Right next to each other, both featured with pictures, on the front page of the Times:

The Sunday Times - Focus: The girl who would be Queen

and

The Sunday Times - Hillary falls to earth in poll race

I like to think they did it on purpose. I’m sure they didn’t, but I like to think so.

Categories: Politics

Depict - How to Tell When a Relationship is Over

SFW (though it is a holiday weekend).

Categories: People and Current Events

CDR Salamander - The next First Family

You can tell a lot about people by the Christmas cards they send out. Especially those who have the picture of their brood on the front. Some do better than others. Some spend more than other. Some probably should have taken more pictures.

So, I don’t have a […]

Categories: Politics

Rather than putting it as an update to [this one], because I want everyone to see it (for emphasis, I’m even linking to the NYT), so they remember it when the caterwauling starts up in about a week’s time, that “Bush told us that killing Saddam would end the violence!”

NYT - Dictator Who Ruled Iraq […]

Categories: War and Peace

This is from yesterday (darn that Peter, hogging his own computer):

The Times - America is in a funk, Seventies-style, by Gerard Baker Our writer takes the temperature of a nation

America completes a gloomy year this weekend, mourning the loss of two rather different national icons who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s. […]

Categories: People and Current Events

From The Times:

We’ve seen a lot of Iraqis in those masks these past few years. Just wanted to highlight when they’re not all bad.

Update:

The Times - Iraq deserves more than a hanging, by Tim Hames Saddam Hussein’s death cannot bring ‘closure’

Saddam spent most of his decades in power seeking to divide Europeans from […]

Categories: People and Current Events

AP - Researchers: Baking impacts Puget Sound

Researchers at the University of Washington say all that holiday baking and eating has an environmental impact — Puget Sound is being flavored by cinnamon and vanilla. “Even something as fun as baking for the holiday season has an environmental effect,” said Rick Keil, an associate professor […]

Categories: Food

Saddam’s supposed to swing at dawn, which is about 10 eastern, which is in about 45 minutes.

Just thought I’d pass that along. Since I don’t have cable anymore.

Update:

Okay, I’m feeling a bit immoderately-bloodthirsty at the moment, so here’s a link to RC2, who’s being a grown up about this, and actually taking the opportunity […]

Categories: War and Peace

Peter’s off today (we spent all morning down in Tacoma getting the oil changed then the afternoon painting at the new place) and he’s hogging the computer. So I’m using the laptop. All my links are over there, and it’s too annoying checking them all here, but typing’s easy, so I wanted to […]

Categories: War and Peace

MSNBC (for this, I’ll even link to them - Saddam to be hanged by Sunday Ex-dictator’s execution expected to be carried out by start of Eid holiday

Categories: People and Current Events

JWR - Looking back on the follies of the year ahead. By James Lileks

Highlights:

North Korea tested a nuclear bomb attached to a medium-range missile; it was headed towards a U.S. carrier group before it was destroyed. The United States subsequently tested several nuclear missiles on North Korean soil. The tests were successful. […]

Categories: People and Current Events

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Legislator eyes unused gift card value

Rep. Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee) said today that the value of unused gift cards should go to the state treasury - not to the merchant - and that change will be part of a bill he’ll introduce in the legislative session starting in January. […]

Categories: Business & Media