Richard Tallent on boobs and television.#

I was not offended so much by the "nudity" (hey, we all have 'em) as by the "presentation," which was forced, purposeless, and tasteless. Working theory: Janet is so desparate to take attention to her album (and her branch of the family tree) that she's willing to go through such antics, and Timberlake is just trying to get some attention after ex-gf Spears had her own faux-sexual moment (surprisingly more appropriate by comparison) during a mass-audience event. But, unlike NYPD Blue and the VS fashion shows of yesteryear, this wasn't avant garde, it was just wanton.

Tony Pierce warns us of the future... it's a scary place.#

the clouds are beautiful today. the sun in shining. the air is crisp. the girls are wearing cute little scarves and ugg boots. their flowers are wilting in their button holes their dreams havent been crushed yet like mine have, their boyfriends havent been found out yet and their daddys still pay for their miatas.

but one day they will look in the mirror and see what i just saw (pictured): the cold hard truth.

Tracy Adams posts pictures of the armed guards of Guatemala. Interesting stuff.#

The biggest concern about the people here in Guatemala is the security. According to the Guatemalans I talked with, the regular police force is unreliable. You call, but they do not necessarily come in an emergency. As a result, people then take security in their own hands. The tourist department runs their own security department to keep the tourist attractions safe. On the way hiking up the volcano, we passed 3 stations with 2 security guards each. Private businesses hire their own security guards. Some carry huge rifles - it is not uncommon to see a security guard standing with a huge rifle in a grocery store or even McDonald's.

Nova Spivack links to Daniel Klem's work that reveals over 1 billion birds are killed yearly by glass buildings.#

"Glass is ubiquitous and it's indiscriminate, killing the fit and the unfit," said Klem, a Muhlenberg College ornithologist who estimates that collisions with glass kill up to 1 billion birds a year in the United States alone.

"Buildings that we have created to be aesthetically pleasing are slaughtering birds."

Although cell phone towers, oil spills and power lines raise the ire of conservation groups, those hazards pale in comparison to glass, Klem said. He estimates that only habitat destruction kills more birds.

Michael Williams writes about bastard vegetarians and anti-tv-ites.#

The only people more holier-than-thou than vegetarians are people who don't watch TV. I don't watch a lot of TV myself, but isn't it irritating to try talking with someone who is constantly reminding you that they "don't waste time with that stuff" and "don't even own a TV"?

The reason vegetarians and anti-TV-ites are so annoying is because they take pleasure in rubbing our faces in their rejection of the very fabric of our shared society.

What's the number one social activity? Eating. And it's difficult for omnivores to enjoy a meal with a proud vegetarian because their food requirements severely limit everyone else's choices.

This is why I feel like an asshole.

• No meat. (Vegetarian.)
• No animal products. (Vegan.)
• No TV. (Crazy.)
• No Drugs, Alcohol, or Smoking. (Straight-edge.)

Result: 100% Asshole.

Metafilter reminds me that I live in a dream world.#

Police dog suspended for potential racism. It seems that for some time now, Dolpho, a police dog in Pennsylvania, has been singling out black children, which, in the eyes of officials is clearly a sign of racism, and they are calling for an end to his active duty -- not to mention an end to his life.

Richard links to a great comic blurb.#

Believe it or not, some women can tell the difference between "Y'know, I'm kinda bored, kinda lonely and kinda drunk but wouldn't mind fucking you" and "Wow, I think you're an amazing person and would love to get to know you better" (even if the former is often disguised as the latter).

The Black Saint writes about stupid fashion. Ugh.#

This kid "stars" in the sure-to-be-cancelled Tracy Morgan Show. Let's look at this boy and take him in. What stands out? Ah, yes, the two-different-shoes fashion statement. This is something kids do because they think it looks cool, and it's only ten years later that they look at photos and realize why their parents were imploring them not to go to out of the house dressed like that. Every child does it. When I was eleven or twelve, my big thing was the mismatched earrings, a stud in one ear and a large, garish, dangly one in the other.

The Binary Circumstance writes about measuring morals without a ruler and those who don't understand self-interest.#

The article also discusses rational-choice theory:

Rational-choice theory -- the hypothesis, popular in economics and political science, that we behave in ways that efficiently serve our self-interest -- can't explain such behavior ["cheating" or in general, not following morals -Je]. Nor can it explain why we make anonymous gifts to charity, return lost wallets to strangers, or choose to work for modest pay at socially useful jobs.

The problem is that they don't have a clear, objective definitions of what rational and self-interest are. To assume that it is rational to use material wealth and/or social status as the gold standard of rational behavior is an irrational premise to begin with. In and of themselves, wealth and status have no value, for the same reason that food has no value unless you are hungry and a car has no value unless you have a need to use it. Presumably, if a person gives to charity, returns a wallet or works for modest pay, he sees some payoff in it for himself, otherwise he would not do it.

Kuro5hin.org reports on Americans making it illegal to laugh.#

Samantha Marson, a 21 year old woman from Britain, was jailed in Miami after making a joke to an American customs official.

The joke: "Hey be careful, I have three bombs in here," she quipped, as her carry-on luggage was screened.

Unfortunately, officials asked her to repeat herself twice and promptly had her arrested. She was released from Miami-Dade County Jail, but only with a $5,000 bond.

See also: Faré on "Our Ultimate Weapon: Laughter."

Rob Lawson doesn't think that America is an Empire, or trying to become one.#

When a nation builds empires and wish to conqueror other lands, they usually start with nations which share a border and/or close to their region. See: Hitler, WW2. In the end, strategy overwhelms greed.

So, why hasn't America conquered Canada or Mexico yet? We have the ability, the army, the technology, and enough money to make Microsoft top-dog Bill Gates jealous. Here's a better question: Why do we keep sending foreign aid to small, puny, third world nations? In the long run, taking over the country itself would save us billions of dollars. As I said: In the end, strategy overwhelms greed. The sheer will of the American people will never allow our government to dominate countries which do not pose a threat to us or our allies. The left uses this "America is an empire" canard so much because they hate America, Americans, and our way of life.

Apparently ALL empires are evil and must do exactly the same things in the course of their development.

Lisa Williams wonders about what Fascism really is.#

I hear the term "fascist" being thrown around a lot lately, but I have to confess although I get the idea I still don't have a clear conception of what "fascism" is, really. Most other "isms" in politics have a clear connection to the process of identifying leaders (democracy = leader chosen by people; monarchy = leader identified by heredity, etc.) but "fascism" doesn't really fit this mold. It turns out that fascism isn't really built on ideas or a "platform" or program that's expressed in written documents (such as the Communist Manifesto for communism or the Federalist/Antifederalist papers and of course the Constitution for US democracy) but is instead a sort of individual gut response to insecurity that can be whipped up into a mania.

MNOT writes about the funny subtleties of United States law.#

As alluded to before, you're taking on legal risk when you allow people to say things to you. Yes, this is crazy, but hey, it's the US legal system. Go figure.

For Weblogs, this means copyright on comments. Specifically, if you reproduce something that someone else has created without a license from them, you open yourself to copyright violation lawsuits. Now, sane people know that comments are meant to be reproduced, and I'd be willing to bet reasonably large amounts of money that a court would say that if you submit a comment to a blog, you know the consequences. In many ways, it's like sending mail to a mailing list; if there's a reasonable expectation that people know how mailing lists work, you'd likely be said to have given up your copyright when you post.

Tibor R. Machan writes about the fallacy of market failures.#

The first case of alleged market failure is no such thing because it assumes that some alternative method for providing the goods or services could be more efficient. Yet, as public choice theory has shown, what occurs instead is that political failures replace the so-called market failures, ones that are far more severe and lasting than the supposed wasteful duplications of free markets. Mill was wrong, also, because he failed to notice that nearly all competitive production can be faulted for producing supposedly wasteful duplication — ten competing shoe manufacturers all need to have the equipment, overhead, and delivery systems to get their shoes to market, so why not fuss about that duplication? (Indeed, it is Karl Marx who regarded the market anarchic and irrational for, among other things, just such duplications.) But Mill also failed to appreciate that once one places the provision of anything whatever into the purview of coercive government, all the ills of politics will beset the process. Graft, special interest favoritism, pork and similar "inefficiencies," not to mention violations of justice, will make for a far greater mess than a little duplication ever would.

This is explored in greater depth by François-René Rideau in Public Goods Fallacies.

Pete Guither at Drug War Rant writes about effective means of quelling addictions.#

If you're going to read one article this week to gain a new perspective on the drug war, you must read this one by Dan Gardner in today's Edmonton Journal.

It's about one of those notions in the drug war that has been so ingrained into our consciousness by the drug warriors that we have a hard time wrapping our minds around the most effective reform.

My friends will tell me, "OK, I can see what you're saying regarding legalizing marijuana, but what about the hard drugs? What are you going to do about heroin?" My response: "Give it away for free" is meant to shock them. However, it's also the truth. It is, in fact, the only approach for some heroin addicts that has historically been shown to be effective. In some cases, it is the best approach to reduce crime, increase the life-span of addicts, reduce new addictions, and eliminate the profit incentive for dealers.