8/9/05 -- Jennings, Attack of the Clones, Siege at Crawford

An Era Dies
I seldom a watched Peter Jennings, but having him gone is like a kick in the stomach. All those newscasters, the heroes of my youth, seem somehow immortal. The world is now a bleaker place.

Everyone (see picture at left) is shocked and saddened by his passing. Even Mr. Snooch The Evil Man.

Some People Jennings interviewed (including two former Presidents) remember him:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/080905_nw_jennings_update.html
An article praising Jennings for his documentary on the nuclear bombing of Japan: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/columns/pressingissues_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001011694
ABC News' Biography: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=126542

Snuppy the Clone
He's not a Stormtrooper, but the cute, fuzzy dog is only the beginning. Considering how many unwanted pets die, cloning a much beloved pet seems a little...ammoral. I also worry about too much genetic similarity making it too easy for diseases to spread, etc., but I guess the expense of the cloning process puts Franken-dogs a long way into the future.

Editorials about Snuppy
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/3298809
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/12333330.htm
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5546029.html

Next: Clones of Bill Frist
http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s4i8826

More Clone Humor:
http://www.theonion.com/wdyt/index.php?issue=4132
http://www.thecoffeeplace.com/Jokes/aaaaabpk.html

" If my clone had a sex change operation could I legally marry her? After all, she'd have an irresistible dry wit."

Waiting for G.W.
Cindy Sheehan has been protesting against the war in Iraq for awhile. Personally, usually I find political protesting to not necessarily be the most constructive way to move society, but you have to admire this woman's determination (and media savvy, call me a cynic.)

http://nytimes.com/2005/08/09/opinion/09tue1.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/06/AR2005080600679.html?sub=AR

Interview: (pro-left website)
http://www.buzzflash.com/interviews/04/10/int04050.html

Articles/Speeches by Ms. Sheehan
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/38/9839
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0506/S00280.htm
http://www.lewrockwell.com/sheehan/sheehan10.html

Her Webpage
http://www.angelfire.com/sk3/spkhntrca/Casey.html

It'll hit the fan if the media gets to see her hauled away in handcuffs, I think, all over CNN...
http://houston.indymedia.org/news/2005/08/41976.php

8/3/04-- Disneyland, Fun with sociology, Fahd Dies

You hate that it's funny but it kind of is...

Disneyland is accident-prone. You hate to see people getting hurt, but there's an appealing kind of irony to the whole thing, I'm sorry to say.
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15800309&method=full&siteid=106694&headline=15-hurt-in-disneyland-roller-coaster-crash--name_page.html

Disney's fireworks may be also be dangerous. Environmentalist are rallying against the happiest place on Earth.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Metro/GH04Ak02.html

And if you mistype Disneyland, you might make something really happy, if it's not your childlike sense of wonder...
http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=99380&section=News

You always suspected but need a study to prove it...
Was the Iraq war caused by testosterone? Apparently, men who are told they are feminine are more likely to modify their opinions in support the Iraq war. Interesting.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug05/soc.gender.dea.html

Random liberal author confirms writes an essay talking about how Iraq and masculinity are interlinked. Mostly, he talks about the sexualization of war. The only thing I don't find sexy is cantelope mold, call that what you may.
http://www.eurowrc.org/06.contributions/1.contrib_en/52_contrib.en.htm

Sociologists are full of other information. For example, increases in threat level are linked to increases in Bush's popularity.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041004193120.htm

Saudi Arabia
Overall, King Fahd seemed like a good guy. Not a perfect guy, but a good one. For a monarch.

Here's a BBC timeline. The poor man's history of Saudi Arabia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/820515.stm

Interesting profile of King Faud from the perspective of a U.S. ambassador
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=67955&d=4&m=8&y=2005

A website about King Faud. Propagantastic!
http://www.kingfahdbinabdulaziz.com/

Of course, I do think the whole not allowing anybody but Muslim men into the funeral is odd. To quote the WSJ Best of the Web: "King Fahd has a proud legacy. He helped lead his country into the seventh century."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050803/ap_on_re_mi_ea/king_fahd