Homocon

Moscow police detain gay activists

"Nationalists and extreme Russian Orthodox believers held icons and denounced homosexuality as "evil" while a group of thick-set young men turned up with surgeon's masks, which they said would protect them from the "gay disease" . . . Richard Fairbrass, a gay singer with the British pop group Right Said Fred, was punched in the face and kicked by anti-gay activists while speaking to Reuters in an interview."

What's the world coming to when a self-respecting one-hit wonder disco singer can't speak to a reporter on the streets of Moscow without getting socked in the jaw for trying to spread his "gay disease" . . . ?

"How could something sick feel so fabulous!"

Posted by at 9:50 AM | Permalink

The Color Association of the United States' Fashion Projections for Fall-Winter 2007-2008

"The men’s forecast straddles . . . a warm range of brown and buff tones, like Mane and Cavern . . . offset by inky blues and purples, slate grays and vegetable greens . . . Entitled “A New Order” and incorporating many mythical or magical ideas, this palette addresses the ongoing revolution in American men’s style, and suggests that the modern man may be seeking more primordial roots through color."

Uh . . . "mythical" and "magical"? The modern man may be seeking "more primordial roots through color"? What the hell does any of that even mean?

Yo, fashion industry mavens -- how's about we lay off the freshmen year psychobabble already and just sell me a pair of frickin' shoes . . . Oh! Like these Jo Ghost boots!

Posted by at 6:33 PM | Permalink

The stock market was on a major bullish tear earlier today, with investor confidence high and money pouring into every nook and cranny -- that is, until Alan Greenspan addressed an audience in Madrid and declared that he "feared" a dramatic contraction in Chinese stocks.

"In the last five years, the world as a whole is growing faster than at any time in the world`s history," Greenspan said. "It can`t last and it won`t last because it`s a one-shot adjustment."

Almost immediately after his remarks, the DOW dropped 14 points, the S&P slipped on its own black ice and the NASDAQ bled over 10 points.

What nobody seems to be reporting, however, is that Greenspan recently accepted a lucrative consulting position with PIMCO, the world's largest Hedge Fund with over $687 billion dollars under management. Of course, the financial details of Mr. Greenspan's compensation are entirely undisclosed.

Nice work if you can get it, eh?

But the problem here is that when Greenspan talks, the market moves, and with Greenspan now on the payroll of PIMCO, it doesn't take a genius to wonder how much money PIMCO's funds raked in on short positions when Greenspan opened his very influential mouth and set the markets tumbling . . .

It's not like he hasn't done this kind of thing before.

So the question is, should Alan Greenspan continue to make public pronouncements regarding world markets, especially now that he's on the payroll of a gihugic Hedge Fund? Or is Greenspan's ability to move markets with just a well-turned phrase the very reason he was hired as a "consultant" in the first place?

Imagined conversation in the halls of PIMCO: "Hey, Alan -- I have a mortgage payment due on my villa in Tuscany. Can you go out and express a bit of concern about the Asian markets again? Thanks, buddy. I owe you one."

"Unethical" doesn't even begin to cover it.

Posted by at 8:09 PM | Permalink

Who c-cares about Live Earth?

Roger Daltrey exhibits more wisdom than all of Washington, Greenpeace and every single Eco-Nutjob combined.

"My answer is to burn all the f***ing oil as quick as possible and then the politicians will have to find a solution.”

I'm going for a long drive in my SUV right this very minute . . .

Posted by at 5:07 PM | Permalink

Attorney General Gonzales proposes new crime: "Attempted" copyright infringement

"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is pressing the U.S. Congress to enact a sweeping intellectual property bill that would increase criminal penalties for copyright infringement, including "attempts" to commit piracy . . . The Justice Department's summary of the legislation says: 'It is a general tenet of the criminal law that those who attempt to commit a crime but do not complete it are as morally culpable as those who succeed in doing so.'"

Okay, I can understand the logic behind prosecuting someone who attempts to commit a murder, tries to steal a car or attempts to rob a house or bank, but trying to enact legislation that will make it a crime to attempt to commit copyright infringement? I dunno -- that seems a bit of a stretch to me.

No one is hurt in an attempted copyright infringement, no guns are drawn, no doors are kicked in, no bystanders taken hostage, no families screaming in terror, no shouted orders to "give me your keys and get out of the car or I'll f***king blow your brains out!"

I'm all for copyright laws, and for protecting intellectual property from those who just want to hitch a free ride off other people's hard work, but changing the standards of prosecution for copyright infringement from actual infringement to merely attempted infringement is even too much for me.

I mean, what's the standard here? How will they go about proving an attempt at copyright infringement if no actual infringement has taken place? And if the government is allowed to seize all your computer equipment on the mere suspicion that an attempt at copyright infringement might be taking place, then this type of legislation strips away one more layer of citizen protection against illegal search and seizure.

I can see where law enforcement officials might applaud this move as a very simple way of getting their hands on the computer hard drives of suspected drug traffickers and money launderers ("But your honor, we believe these people may be attempting copyright infringement!"), and I'm certain the Recording Industry and the Motion Picture Industry are jumping up and down with glee at the news, but is such a vague and overly broad piece of legislation beneficial for the rest of us?

Posted by at 9:15 AM | Permalink

And I don't mean Paris, France -- though that's happening, too.

The gossip on the 'Net is that Paris Hilton is appealing to Governor Schwarzenegger for a pardon. Perhaps she read this article: Better watch out inside, say prisoners' kin

"My ex-wife got beat up and got a black eye in this place," said a man, who declined to give his name out of fear of retribution against the woman . . . A woman who gave her name only as Melanie . . . said the general population showers together and that a large group of "very masculine lesbians" prey on them. "This is bad," she said. "She's not going to make it."

Now, I'm no fan of Paris Hilton -- she's obviously a total screw-up who flouted the rules for so long that she figured they must not apply to her any longer -- but a 45 day prison sentence should not include a 99% chance of getting beaten up and/or raped by fellow inmates. No prison sentence should include that.

Removal from society is the punishment -- everything else that now comes along with the time in jail is a result of an incarceration system that has utterly failed at monitoring or rehabilitating its population.

Instapundit has been posting lately about the desperate need for prison reform. I wonder if anyone is listening?

Could drawing attention to the plight of inmates in American prisons be the one thing of worth that Paris Hilton contributes to society?

Posted by at 5:36 PM | Permalink

What do you MEAN I'm not going to die?

"A British man who went on a wild spending spree after doctors said he only had a short time to live wants compensation because the diagnosis was wrong and he is now healthy -- but broke."

Too, too funny.

Posted by at 7:24 PM | Permalink

The BF and I were watching 'Lost' tonight off our iTV (and I dearly love my iTV), when he suddenly turned to me and said, 'Riverworld!'

I had no idea what he was talking about, but he explained to me that there's this (now) fairly obscure Sci-Fi fiction series of books written by Philip José Farmer called 'Riverworld', which tell the story of the population of Earth resurrected on a planet created by aliens who designed the planet of Riverworld as a moral test for the human species.

"Apparently left to their own devices, the people set about recreating their Earthly societies and coming to terms with an afterlife no religion ever described."

Go take a look at the Wikipedia page describing the 'Riverworld' series -- you'll find that 'Lost' suddenly starts to sound very familiar.

ADDENDUM:
I find this paragraph, listed under the "origins" section of the Wikipedia page, very revealing:

"The original Riverworld story was titled Owe for the Flesh and ended with the protagonist (called Richard Black in this version) finding the tower at the end of the river. Farmer entered a scifi contest run by Shasta Press and subsidized by Pocket Books, submitting his 150,000-word entry. He won the contest, but received no money. The work was never published and WAS LOST in its original form. A later, revised manuscript (itself LOST for decades) was discovered and published in 1983 as River of Eternity." (-- emphasis mine)

Posted by at 9:28 PM | Permalink