The Positivity of Absolute Value

Glenn Reynolds has this account of a 21 year old man being arrested after taking a picture of the police in the midst of doing their job.

I have nothing more to expound upon other than to say I might get myself a lawyer after having received a line like this on the nature of my photographic conduct:

Cruz said police told him that he broke a new law that prohibits people from taking pictures of police with cell phones.

What?
"A new law that prohibits people from taking pictures of police with cell phones?" I realize that some legislation in this country has gotten out of hand, but this just seems a little Willy Wonka, try the Schnozzberry ridiculous to me. The man took a picture from his home of something that everyone else could see.

So I can go see Panic! At the Disco in concert, but I can't listen to them on my ipod? What a world it would be if we were not able to publicly enjoy public things.

Abivablog on the cons. . . And pros? Of e-text:

Those who object to the digitization of literature -- I have been known to be one of them -- like to wax rhapsodic about the object known as The Book: its texture, its weight, its intimacy, and if it's a paperback, its snug portability. A book is a world you can hold in your hand; its cover is the door to an alternate universe. A book is tangible and tractable; the pages bend to your will with a whisper. And so on. Books are wonderful. Books are irreplaceable.

Though I think she is focusing more on ebooks here, which tends to emphasize more the fiction side of online literature; slowly all written text is evolving into electronic form.

I used to agree completely with the reminiscent ideology of which Amba now previously finds herself, until I got an ipod.
Once I versed myself in that little piece of technology, I never looked back. It has been nearly a year since I have purchased a CD, and I can't imagine myself ever needing to again. Even though I always swore I would never go electronic because I had to have the liner notes and the jewel case and the simple weight of the disc in my hands. . .
That is all gone now.

I believe I am on board with the electronic books, of whatever sort they may be. It just kind of makes more sense.

Austin Bay has this on the US Navy's rescue attempts post Israeli air-strike aftermath.

I'm with Bay, my money's on the USN.

Michael Totten is unhappy:

Insulting my personal friends while they are driven out of their homes as war refugees is not acceptable. My old neighborhood is under attack. My friends are terrified and in danger. How on earth do you expect me to feel about this right now? If you can't factor these things into account before bloviating in the comments, then you do not get to comment. Comments are closed until further notice.

In the meantime, allow me to clarify a few things so (some of you) can stop thinking I've decided Israel is the enemy or that Hassan Nasrallah deserves anything but a headstone or a war crimes tribunal.

Obviously Hezbollah started this and Hezbollah is the main problem. Not only did they drag my second home into a war, the bastards also threatened me personally. So I hardly see the point in telling you what I think about them right about now. I'll get to them later.

I can't begin to understand his frustration, as I am in no position to even really know exactly where Lebanon is located on a map, let alone call it my second home.

Still, I have a slight tendency to disagree that the only two countries benefiting from the Israeli outbreak are Syria and Iran. I acquiesce, they may in fact be benefiting, but I think this is a positive position for Israel to take as well.

The current Israeli leadership brings virtually no military experience to the table, and I am sorry but the world is not built on diplomacy. Diplomacy is just an afterthought; perpetual 20/20 hinesight. The fact of the matter is that the world is built on war, whether we all like it or not. So if Israel, under this new and fragile leadership is to prove any military strength and fortitude at all, now is the time.

Andrew Sullivan has this at The Daily Dish.

Would you ever have thought that Ms. Pacman could have so much to teach us?

And to think that there are actually still people out there who refuse to believe that homo-erectus did not evolve from the primate.

The Associated Press reports:

The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Saturday condemning North Korea's recent missile tests and demanding that the reclusive communist nation suspend its ballistic missile program. North Korea said it "totally rejects" the resolution and will continue missile launches to bolster its self-defense.

The agreement was reached after a last-minute compromise between Japan, the United States and Britain, who wanted a tough statement, and Russia and China, who favored weaker language.

This is a good move on China and Russia's part. They had come close to irreparable damage over the last week and a half, but now seem to be back on track; good communist countries.

If you don't believe me for whatever ungodly reason, Austin Bay has this:

The resolution demands the Pyongyang cease its ballistic missile testing programs.

Saving face is important in every human group– face is particularly important in North Asia, in social relationships and in diplomacy. The North Korean ballistic missile tantrum cost China a bit of face. That loss of face has just been avenged.

Ultimately it doesn't matter who fine tunes the details of who said what; it really only matters that these countries are finally on board.

My favorite republican, Ann Althouse has her third vlog up and running.
If you are a dork like I am, you will laugh heartily the entire time this vlog is rolling.

If of course you are a normal person, you probably won't. I just hope that you give the video a complete watch as there is bound to be at least one issue Ann touches on that will frill your little fannypacks.

Give it a watch, it's fun if nothing else.

The International Herald Tribune reports on the continued and increasingly more fierce Israeli air strikes on Lebanon:

Beirut Israel extended punishing airstrikes deeper inside Lebanon on Friday, as President George W. Bush rebuffed a Lebanese request that he push Israel for a cease-fire.

Israeli warplanes hit areas in Beirut's suburbs that are linked to the militant group Hezbollah, cut the main highway between the capital and Damascus, and struck power plants near Beirut and a Palestinian training camp near the Syrian border.

I mean it's not a complete I told you so, as Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israel, making it more of a war than a public beating. Still, it's kind of like watching an overrated minor league hockey team take on the Stanley Cup Champs; painful.

The New York Times:

Representative John A. Boehner won the job of House majority leader amid a post-Abramoff clamor for an overhaul of lobbying and ethics rules. But nearly six months later, the changes are still tied up in Congress. And far from trying to put the brakes on lobbyists and the money they channel into Republican coffers, Mr. Boehner, who has portrayed his ties to Washington lobbyists as something to be proud of, has stepped on the gas.

Good to see that money still talks. I was beginning to worry there for a second. At least this money isn't frozen, right?

Sorry if the posts have been a little light lately.
I started second session summer school on Monday and it has been a little hectic. I have a research paper to pump out in 5 weeks and the stress is slowly burning the healing essence oils of my sanity.

I will try and keep everyone up to date on the paper as I write it, but in the mean time I will relay whatever relevant news that I can.

Jacob Weisberg reports for Slate:

In the latest battle between the press and the White House, opinions have tended to break along predictable lines. The ACLU, most Democrats in Congress, and Frank Rich contend that the New York Times did the right thing in revealing government monitoring of international financial transactions through the SWIFT system. Dick Cheney, Republican House members, and a pitchfork-waving mob of talk-show hosts and conservative bloggers think exposing the operation damaged national security without justification. Lumping the recent disclosure together with earlier revelations about the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program, feverish voices on the right are calling for journalists to be prosecuted for treason.

While defending the fundamental institution of Journalism, Weisberg gives his opinion on why it was still wrong for The New York Times to report when they did.

(Pulled from Instapundit)

Austin Bay's TCS Daily column on the Mumbai train bombing is up.

He urges all you secret society folk to leave your morbid fascination with numbers at church, as pointing the finger at al-Qaida prematurely will surely be a moral victory for them.

China and Russia have submitted their proposal to the UN on what should be done about North Korea, but it lacks the luster that the Western backed Japan had hoped for:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - China and Russia introduced a U.N. Security Council resolution on Wednesday that would urge North Korea to suspend its nuclear program but avoid mandatory weapons-related sanctions as sought by Japan.

Japan, backed by the United States, Britain and France welcomed the new draft and said it moved closer to their position but fell short.

One has to wonder if these two major hitters are taking baby steps towards aligning their own agendas with everyone else's. Though if that's the case, why?

Time will tell, I suppose, whether these hesitations are justified or if there is some global marketing scheme taking place that I can't see.

As these poor chaps found out the hard way, criticizing your government may earn you the black bag (has anyone seen V for Vendetta?):

MOSCOW, July 11 -— The Russian security officers, in plain clothes, arrived in the late afternoon at a hotel where a pro-democracy conference was being held, witnesses said.

They swiftly seized four members of a political movement opposed to President Vladimir V. Putin, handcuffed them and rushed them away. Then they turned on a German magazine correspondent who tried to photograph the arrests. One of the officers snatched his camera and left with it, too.

Sometimes I forget what it means to be an American, and how it was people just like the ones mentioned above who fought and bled for the exact same ideals; and won them for me.

Starbucks may be good for you, and apparently the more the merrier:

DRINKING coffee can substantially reduce the risk of developing diabetes, scientists have discovered.

A major study involving more than 14,000 people in Finland, which has the highest rate of coffee consumption in the world, has revealed that those who drink most have the lowest incidence of adult-onset or type 2 diabetes.

No I am not telling you that you should run out and buy four Venti Caramel Frappuccinos. The study does not suggest that excessive sugar and extreme levels of trans-fat can prevent debilitating diseases. So, sorry to you soccer moms out there, it's the drip coffee the study refers to, or anything else with caffeine that is missing all the sugars and carbs and fat.

What's most astonishing are the sheer numbers. One usually does not find statistics that high on these types of studies. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the medical community does with this information. I'll keep you posted.

I would like to point out here that if it weren't for my current writing teacher, who is trying to kick the habit, I would not have found this article, so the credit is his. Although I think my previous math teacher would disagree with him as she never came to class without her Starbucks mug of Starbucks coffee. Yet another classic battle between Humanities and the Sciences.

That's a lot of assassination attempts.
You might say he has seen a plethora of assassination attempts.

Perhaps a change in the game plan is in order.

Reuters reports:

Israel launched rapid-fire air strikes against Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday after rebuffing a proposed ceasefire by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas.

Israel is threatening to expand its offensive unless militants release Corporal Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier abducted in a cross-border raid on June 25, and halt rocket fire on Israeli cities.

I understand that the Isreal-Palestine strife goes back a ways, so it never surprises me to see just how hard-headed either one of them can be.

Still, it would be hard to disagree with the notion that Isreal has the most powerful military in the middle east. Which makes sense as they are pretty much an extension of our own. The Palestinians know this, so why? Return the boy and continue attempts to make peace. Right?

Of course, I don't understand all of this bloodshed over a holy ideal, forgive me for being atheist. I just think that the most ridiculous, irresponsible and inefficient type of war is the religious war. You are killing each other for something you have never even seen. How can that make sense?

The New York Times:

Department of Education statistics show that men, whatever their race or socioeconomic group, are less likely than women to get bachelor's degrees - and among those who do, fewer complete their degrees in four or five years. Men also get worse grades than women. And in two national studies, college men reported that they studied less and socialized more than their female classmates.

As a college student, I can attest to this; at least from what I observe. I am one of those freaks who is almost solely driven by my GPA, and if I get a low A I kind of lose it a little.

But certainly from what I have seen, the ladies work much harder, and tend to understand the material better than the fellas. Too bad for them.

The Washington Post:

President Bush today questioned whether the word of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il "means anything," but said the United States would stick with diplomatic efforts to rein in the Stalinist state's nuclear weapons and missile testing programs, even though the process can be "slow and cumbersome."

I am heartened by the President's decision to do this diplomatically, particularly because if we were to enter into war with North Korea while still at war in Iraq and with Iran looming on the horizon, it would take something uncomfortably close to an every man, woman and child draft to compete. We cannot afford to do this any other way right now, and I am glad the President recognizes that.

I again would like to reiterate my overwhelming disappointment with Russia and China for showing a complete lack of fortitude. There is no reason these two countries should be backing down to the likes of North Korea, especially when they have allies like the United States and Japan. It makes no tactical sense. What are they afraid of?

The president also mentions in the article that we need an upgrade to our missile defense system; I completely agree. Wait I know, why don't we build 300 miles of top-notch chain link fence to keep them out?

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I do actually agree with the President, our missile defenses could be upgraded and if these "tests" are going to continue, should be upgraded. But in the words of my political science professor, "I'm kidding, I'm just picking on him." Which I heard just a few too many times last semester.

NPR reports:

Authorities say they have disrupted a plot to bomb train tunnels that run between New Jersey and lower Manhattan. An FBI official says that of the eight people believed to be involved, three are in custody overseas -- including the alleged mastermind, held by Lebanese authorities.

Authorities are saying that because lower Manhattan, including the financial district is above sea level, there would have been some water, but certainly no flooding.

That is all fine and good for the people above sea level, but I imagine that there at least a few people who use the Holland tunnel to travel back and forth between New York to New Jersey each day; and those people are everything but above sea level.

Glenn Reynolds has more here.

Though they are kind of dorks regarding the introduction to the show, if you haven't subscribed via itunes to the Glenn and Helen Show podcast, you really should. They consistently surprise me with the fascinating content of their show and the wide array of guests they attract.

Go out and get it, it's free.

Josh Marshall has a very quick round-up of an interview between President Bush and Larry King on Joe Lieberman; who is running for the Senate as we speak, but has said he will run as an independent in 08 if he loses his current race.

Though Kos and his crowd have shown that I really don't need to leave a specific example of Lieberman bashing, I will anyway.

Mexico's presidential election has been a particularly close one this term, but it looks as though Calderon has pulled it off:

With nearly all the votes counted in Mexico's presidential vote, conservative candidate Felipe Calderon has a thin, but insurmountable lead. Calderon has declared victory.

Which is good news indeed for the United States as Calderon will follow in the footsteps of Vicente Fox, his predecessor. This may not necessarily be the greatest thing for Mexicans, as it is debatable what kind of good Fox did for the country during his presidency, but at least we can look forward to diplomatic relations for a while longer.

Calderon's opponent, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is contesting the victory however, claiming that the electoral process is flawed:

Leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador refused to concede defeat Thursday in Mexico's closest-ever presidential race, after an official recount showed conservative candidate Felipe Calderon ahead by less than half a percentage point.

Sounds eerily familiar doesn't it?
Still, I think the race is pretty much over, as these kinds of hitches tend to stick to their original outcome. So it is probably safe to recognize Felipe Calderon as Mexico's new President, congratulations.

Update: Ambivablog has this on the election results, which illustrates the reactions of Obrador's supporters. They are none too happy.

Well, I got it over at Instapundit.
Give it a vote, maybe it will make it's way to the people who apparently matter.

In the wake of scandals involving lobbyists like Jack Abramoff and Congressmen like Tom DeLay (R-TX), Bob Ney (R-OH), William Jefferson (D-LA), and Alan Mollahan (D-WV), do you think Congress is doing enough to clean itself up?:

Yes

No

I don't know

Which do you think will happen first? The current leadership of Congress will push for real ethics and lobbying reforms, or Elvis will be sighted?:

Congressional leadership will push real reforms

Elvis will be sighted

I don't know

You can only vote once.

The New York Times:

The Bush administration has tried to ignore North Korea, then, reluctantly, to engage it, and then to squeeze its bankers in a manner intended to make the country's leader, Kim Jong Il, personally feel the pinch.

Yet none of these steps in the past six years has worked. So now, after a barrage of missile launchings by North Korea, President Bush and his national security advisers found themselves on Wednesday facing what one close aide described as an array of "familiar bad choices."

There are two related articles here and here.

I would like to add emphasis to the latter of the two related articles, as it follows the same vein as my last post.

Apparently the east is acting a little like the democratic party right now. Japan, China and South Korea are all quick to condemn and cast judgment, realizing that something must be done about this, but none of them are very willing to take a stance and decide exactly what that is. Japan is taking the most aggressive stance, as they are the ones who stand the most to lose if the North does develop missiles that won't fail when launched.

Not too surprising, but quite disappointing is China's stance, or lack there of in this debacle. Jintao should really be leading the charge on this one, along with the United States; if there were to be any really effective action taken. Unfortunately they seem quite content in making this a US vs. North Korea situation, which Washington rebukes realizing that if anything is to be done it is going to take the cooperation of all who vested interest in North Korea.

Whether or not Jintao can step up to the plate and become the leader he needs to be, will be one of the deciding factors of how this situation unfolds before Bush's term ends in 08.

Update: Michael Reynolds has thoughts.

President Bush has put aside his strict reform attitude and apparent fancy for the Senate Immigration Bill, and has begun to cozy up to House Republicans.

I can't imagine this will make Kos's cretins very happy.

The Christian Science Monitor:

BEIJING -– Kim Jong Il's seven missile launches on July 4 have woken up East Asia from a long somnambulance about North Korea. The firing of the missiles, which mostly landed in Russian waters, is regarded as a military act - prompting Asian states to rethink their approach both to North Korea and each other. While a small crisis, it could be divisive and play into local differences, analysts say, causing further tensions at a time when the region is already experiencing difficult relations.

I think by now the majority of people have heard of the North Korean missile launch on the fourth of July; which is precisely what Pyongyang wanted. I have read some dispute that the decision to launch on our independance day may have been a coincidence, but that view has been extremely limited because the timing of the event is quite obvious.

The real question is why? Why would North Korea want to make US headlines, consequentially stealing those headlines from Iran; who has been under immense pressure from Washington for the past couple of months? One has to wonder if it is because Kim Jong Il is playing patty cake with Ahmanidejad. Though I can't imagine this is what's happening, simply because you have one very crazy ideologue in Iran and one just plain crazy in North Korea. To be inclined to think that these two are allies is not really a natural thought, but I had to ask. So why?

Well, I think I answered that already. Jong Il is just plain crazy, which will soon be seen.

We have been imposing very stringent negotiations upon Iran, in which they have slowly agreed to participate in. They have in no way agreed to any solid resolution yet, but atleast they are sleeping on it. Ahmadinejad and his cohorts are being kept at bay by this pressure. Keep in mind, it is really only the United States applying all of the pressure. We have gotten no help from China, the most powerful ally because of size and resources, and limited help from the other members of the council.

In contrast, North Korea under heavy pressure not only from the United States, but also from South Korea, Japan and China, just to name a few, decided to green-light their highly contested missile launch operation on the fourth of July; one of the most prominent and revered holiday's in America. Now there is no way that anyone is going to convince me that Kim Jong Il was not aware of all of this. He knows what South Korea has invested in him, and he knows how much a launch like this would both enrage China and set Japan on the defensive.

So basically, Jong Il had much more to lose than Iran when he decided to launch, which makes little sense because the launch was a failure, and a weak failure at that. The one new missile they fired, the intercontinental Taepodong 2 failed after 42 seconds in the air; and the others were much older models that also yielded no success. So why risk so much for such a unimpressive display of puny world muscle? At this point I think only Jong Il knows, and what goes on in that mans head is not something the rest of the world wishes to see.

Perhaps North Korea wants a war, yet with who I don't know. The west in general I imagine. Though when one wants war, typically one believes that one can win. Kim Jong Il can't really think all out warfare with the west would bebeneficial for his country, can he?

(Austin Bay has thoughts here)

Alright, I saw Superman Returns on Saturday at 6:15.

I am going to skip the details pointing out things like the Park Place Mall was packed and we had to fight not only eachother (she wanted to go to Dillards to buy some make-up) but the massive movie going crowd as well.

I am going to skip everything but the actual end product of the movie and say this...
Superman Returns is not only my favorite movie of all time at this point, but the best movie ever made.

Yeah Yeah Yeah, I know there are people out there who take the film industry far too seriously, as though there were actual real life application or physical merit in it. And I know those people would like to scorn me for taking something so modern and giving it the credit that I have. Fortunately for me however, I have realized that art is one hundred percent subjective; which means that no one persons opinion is any more important than someone else's. That means that no matter how much a film critic may try to display some sort of superior credibility, they will fail miserably. It is because art is subjective that I can say Superman Returns is the best movie ever made.

Now to the movie itself:

First and foremost, the special effects and computer animation were superb. As I watched the film, I never once thought about the fact that superman was flying all over the place. It just seemed a natural part of the movie. Unlike the previous films in which I was constantly asking myself "how are they doing that?" One could hardly tell the computer animated Brandon Routh was animated at all; it looked just like him. Another thing that I later though of was that as I left the theater and overheard some of the conversations around me, I heard no one even mentioning the graphics; which is quite unlike my experience after having seen the third Matrix, where the sentence "yeah, it was really cool, but it just looked kind of fake" was commonplace. Kudos to whoever it was that made that happen, it was amazing.

The plot was exsactly what it needed to be. It was Superman. One thing I will say of these storytellers however, they really showed a side of Superman that we were never really exposed to in the originals; and that was his divinity, for lack of a better word. They really had him take on the role of savior emphasizing his omnipresence and unwavering benevolence. This was kind of refreshing to see. Even after all these years we can still learn something about the Man Of Steel.

The acting was also something very noteworthy. As it ought to be with the likes of Bosworth and Spacey. As usual Kevin Spacey delivers a stellar performance, but that makes sense considering he is one of Hollywood's best. Still he had tough shoes to fill as Gene Hackman is no slouch himself. Wonderful performance and a perfect Lex Luthor fit. The real surprise though was Brandon Routh. I cannot get over how close to a Christopher Reeves style Superman Routh portrayed. He looked like him, talked like him, moved like him, he played Superman perfectly. It was because of Routh that one felt like the originals never came to a hault to begin with. It was one of the more fluid transitions into a continuation of films that I have ever seen, and this kid was the dominant factor in that phenomenon.

I could go on for hours with all of my favorite parts and how I felt as I was watching the movie, but I will save that for another time. For now, to say the least, you should do yourself the favor of watching this movie in the theaters. You may not feel the same way about it that I do, but you won't be let down.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, greatest movie I have ever seen.

Well, here are a few memories from our wonderful weekend at the Ventana Canyon Resort. I can't remember the last time I was so relaxed, nor the last time I regretted coming back to work quite so much:

Here is a view from the room, facing the east end of the
Catalina Mountains.

Another view from the room looking at the mountains.
We were fortunate that the monsoons rolled in early this
year. We couldn't have hoped for a more picturesque
motif for our vastly inadequate escape from the daily crazy.

This is a view from the front of the Hotel that I took in
childlike splendor right when we arrived.

And here is another.

Hope you enjoy. I know I did.