Archive » 2004 » December

Ace of Spades, one of my daily must-reads, turned one this week. Congrats!
And while we’ve got the champagne glasses out, it’s my half-year blogiversary this month. Thanks to all my readers for stopping by, tracking back, commenting (before my comments section was overwhelmed by trolls), and sending tips and e-mails. Keep ‘em coming. Thanks also […]

Just received an e-mail from reader Carol T. about cable TV slobberer Chris Matthews:
Matthews is using your face in his commercial while the voiceover is saying “No one stops the spin like Chris Matthews”…inferring of course that YOU were the one doing the spinning on that blasted show of his - when we know it […]

In the Ukraine of the Pacific Northwest, blogger Stefan Sharkansky has been ahead of the MSM in breaking an important story about magical mystery ballots appearing and disappearing in several precincts. The Seattle Times miraculously credits him with uncovering the information today.
Meanwhile, another Washington state blogger, Emcee, is rightly outraged about a Marine whose vote […]

The Seattle Times reports, Preschool obesity rises:
Dr. William Cochran, a pediatric gastroenterologist and nutritionist for the Geisinger Clinic in Danville, Pa., said he sees many youngsters in his weight-management clinic who weigh 300 to 400 pounds. He also is seeing more and more children with diabetes, high blood pressure, even liver disease.
“Some kids are drinking […]

Still interested in the laser beam story? There’s an extensive timeline, with updated info, here. The latest AP report is here. And reader Rick Parnell passes along a relevant story from Navy News:
PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) — The Vision Laboratory in Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) Human Systems Division won an Aviation Week and Space […]

Am scheduled to appear on FNC’s Neil Cavuto show at around 4:10pm today. Will try to shed a little non-blinding, non-lethal light on the laser beam thing.

Just adding a plug for Donald Sensing’s online book on terrorism. He’s in search of a publisher. Check him out.

Following up on those weird laser beam stories, I note that at least one online retailer has now stopped selling high power green lasers. (Thanks to reader Mike G. for the tip.) The proprietor of Laser Shoppe.com explains here and wants your opinion about his decision:
Unfortunately, we have decided to STOP selling these lasers. Too […]

Have you received any solicitations from the “Aceh Humanitarian Assistance Fund?” Thinking of donating to the “East Timor Action Network” or the “Tapol” organization?
Better investigate carefully before sending any money.
Geoffrey at Beyond Wallacia has some info on the shady background of political activists purporting to raise money for disaster victims. Be sure to read his […]

Renowned science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who lives with his family in Sri Lanka, survived the tsunami. The Associated Press excerpts an e-mail Clarke authored yesterday letting friends know of his fate.
A reader with ties to Clarke forwarded me the entire message, which includes Clarke’s plea for aid to Sri Lanka and also a […]

Just last week, James Lileks wrote:
In a sense, blogging is so 2004. The next big thing will be videoblogs. You can fit a rudimentary TV studio in a suitcase — a laptop, a camcorder, a few cables, and a nearby Starbucks with Wi-Fi you can leech onto to upload your reports…
He shoots, he scores. The […]

Am scheduled to appear on Fox & Friends this morning, approx. 7:50am EST, to review the year in homeland insecurity. See how I look and sound on three hours’ sleep. Yup, my insomnia is back. No amount of lip gloss can hide the fatigue. Blah.

This story out of Cleveland is disturbing. And it’s not the first report of a laser tracking a commercial plane in American skies. I blogged on Bill Gertz’s report in September about a Delta flight to Salt Lake City, Utah, that was diverted when a laser penetrated the cockpit and reportedly injured the pilot.
And two […]

Via Drudge, I see that former Attorney General Ramsey Clark will be part of Saddam Hussein’s legal defense team. No surprise there.
As I noted in this column nearly three years ago, Clark has a long record of allying himself with America’s enemies–the gorier the better. Michael Tremoglie’s FrontPage magazine articles provide more details:
What is the […]

Washington Times editor Stacy McCain sends along his newspaper’s Susan Sontag obit, which begins:
Novelist, radical Susan Sontag, 71, dies in New York
From combined dispatches
Susan Sontag, a critic, novelist and essayist who blamed America for the September 11 terror attacks and once declared that “the white race is the cancer of human history,” died in New […]

My column today recounts the good, the bad, and the ugly on the borders and in the air in 2004.
The first item I mention is the rise of MS-13, which I want to touch on a bit more extensively here. I think this El Salvador-based gang’s ascendance was one of the underreported stories of the […]

This book is for sale now at Amazon.com.
Update: Matt Margolis blogged about this earlier today. He did a little digging and found out that the book’s publication has in fact been cancelled, notwithstanding the fact that both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble are apparently accepting pre-orders.
Update II: Margolis continues to dig and finds this famous […]

In the wake of the Asian earthquake/tsunami disaster, several commentators have made the astute argument that the best defense against such catastrophic risks is economic growth.

Glenn Reynolds, for example, wrote in a Tech Central Station column:
Over the longer run, of course, the best protection against catastrophes, whether foreseen or unforeseen, is a society that is […]

Make sure you are not drinking anything near your computer when you read this.

Update: Reader Mike Gaffney writes in…
As a Red Sox fan, I thank GOD that this twit has a Yankees cap on

The New York Times’ obituary of football star Reggie White contains the following indictment:
White created a stir in March 1998 with a speech to the Wisconsin State Assembly. In it, he referred to homosexuality as “one of the biggest sins in the Bible” and used ethnic stereotypes for blacks and whites.
At the time, White, considering […]

The fashion police at the Federal Air Marshals Service still don’t get it. But the Lakeland (Fl.) Ledger does. The paper weighs in with a scathing editorial about the dress code debacle here.
Meanwhile, I received a “supervisor’s Daily Airport Activity Report” dated 12/15/04, which shows how managers are forced to play clothes cops. Here’s an […]

Don Rumsfeld’s remarks regarding Flight 93 having been “shot down” over Pennsylvania caused a bit of buzz over the weekend. Here’s what he said:
And I think all of us have a sense if we imagine the kind of world we would face if the people who bombed the mess hall in Mosul, or the people […]

Kofi Annan is assuring victims of the massive earthquake/tsunamis overseas that help is on the way:
The United Nations is sending special teams to countries hit by the killer quake and the tsunami waves, even as all UNICEF offices in the quake-hit region have been mobilised to support relief efforts.
“UN disaster assessment and coordination teams are […]

Here’s the latest on the U.S. Airways employee “sickout” that ruined a lot of travelers’ Christmas spirit. The company and unions deny that an organized protest took place. Whatever you call it, it resulted in the cancellation of 65 flights on Thursday, 176 on Friday and 143 Saturday.
Blogger LaShawn Barber has a firsthand account.
New […]

A lot of readers want to know how my Christmas present –the Roomba 4100 Red–is working. So far, so good! I use it on the main level of our house, which has hardwood floors in the dining room, living room, and playroom, and linoleum tile in the foyer and kitchen. You won’t believe how much […]

From the London Sunday Times, we learn that Muslim polygamists may get special tax breaks in Britain:
The Inland Revenue is considering recognising polygamy for some religious groups for tax purposes. Officials have agreed to examine “family friendly” representations from Muslims who take up to four wives under sharia, the laws derived from the Koran. […]

Accuracy in Media compares the state-controlled Ukrainian media with the American propaganda organ otherwise known as the New York Times:
On November 26, the Ukrainian state-controlled media suddenly did an historic about-face. Journalists acknowledged they had broadcast propaganda and lies about the election favorable to the government-approved candidate. They apologized and pledged full independence.
Unlike the Ukrainian […]

What’s for Christmas breakfast:

Apple-Cranberry Chutney with Sausages
Cinnamon Toast Strata
Bacon Potato Frittata
What’s under the tree:
For the kids - Jump Dancer (yes, I’m going to try it), American Girl doll and accessories (from grandparents), Elmo videos, electronic thingamajigs, etc. etc. etc.
For the husband - IOU for his Delphi MyFi, which I ordered from Amazon at the beginning […]

For your early morning reading…
TULSA, Okla. An airman home on leave from basic training jumped into the frigid water of the Arkansas River to save a mother and her 2-year-old son after their car lost control and crashed…
BATON ROUGE, La.- A McDonald’s worker ran to the rescue of an allegedly drunk driver whose car was […]

It’s true. Well, sort of.