The best video* take on the Michael Richards thingy.

(* Work-safe, but loud. On my browser the sound was not adjustable)

[Thanks to Ken S. at "It comes in Pints"]

Scott Kirwin posted this teleporation thought experiment (thanks to the New Scientist):

Imagine being teleported. A special scanner records the state of every cell in your brain and body and digitally encodes the information for radio transmission. Your body is destroyed in the process but reconstructed as soon as the signals are received and decoded at your destination. You "arrive" in precisely the same condition that you "left", identical in body, brain and patterns of mental activity. Your memories, beliefs, plans, skills and emotions are perfectly intact and you go about your business feeling and believing that nothing about you has changed in the slightest. It's just like waking from a dreamless sleep and getting on with the day.

If you are comfortable with this scenario then you should be comfortable with bundle theory. You appreciate that the observing "I" is no more than patterns of energy and information, which can be disrupted and reconstituted without destroying the self - because there is no self to destroy. The patterns are all. If, on the other hand, you believe that some essential "you" would be lost in the process then you are an irredeemable ego theorist. You believe that the reconstituted body is not "you" but a mere replica. Although the replica will know in its bones that it is the very person who stepped into the scanner at the start of the journey, and friends and loved ones will agree, you insist it could not be you because your body and brain would have been destroyed.

Incidentally, we see here a neat inversion of conventional thinking. Those who believe in an essence, or soul, suddenly become materialists, dreading the loss of the "original" body. But those of us who don't hold such beliefs are prepared to countenance a life after bodily death.

..because I don't believe that I would awaken in the replica. The destruction of my body would somehow sever the link between "me" and my body that could not be repaired through the reconstruction down to the finest detail of the latter. I would be dead, but what about my replica? Would it have its own consciousness - or would it be a zombie-like automaton?

A machine that could digitally store and restore human life could do more than just transport people - it could possibly guarantee eternal life. When someone dies, just re-transport them. If the process worked without any virus or "The Fly" effects, it would be one of the greatest inventions ever. I'd do it.

Speaking of transporters, I often wondered why anyone was allowed to die in the Star Trek universe. They didn't have to.

Yesterday on Dean's World I posted about the lessons we should have learned from the assassination of Meir Kahane.

One thing we should have learned: to be aware of the extremist groups that exist within our own borders - like Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, Al Muhajiroun (the "Islamic Thinker's Society") and Jamaat Al-Fuqra. We should also be aware of which mosques or community centers are associated with them.

In the post, I asked the web-based interactive news and discussion site, alt.muslim.com why:

"...they call the terror-cell hosting al Farooq [mosque] "Another very accessible masjid in good location on main strip amongst Muslim businesses" and why do they give it three stars?

While the comment recommending the mosque remains, here's the revised description:

The Al-Farooq masjid has a controversial and troubled history in the Brooklyn area, starting with fundraising for Afghan mujahedeen that may have been associated with Osama bin Laden. In the early 90's, FBI investigators linked several members with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, one of whom (El-Sayyid Nosair) later murdered Jewish radical Meir Kahane in New York in 1990. In 2003, federal investigators linked members of the mosque to $20 million in alleged fundraising for Al Qaeda, though little evidence of direct support was linked to the mosque itself. Other allegations include the use of Saudi-funded literatureand extreme sermons by some of its imams. Many members maintain that they are kept in the dark about any illicit activity that may be taking place and that the relatively poor community can barely keep the mosque functioning. Other members dismiss the allegations and say they are against terrorism and extremism, though deep cultural customs remain.

The automated and fairly anonymous nature of alt.muslim's Mosque/School finder (salat-o-matic) could be a great resource for people who want to express their feelings about extremist political activism within their places of worship. Vocal critics of extremism, like Tulsa's Jamal Miftah and Asra Nomani are often shunned by other members of their mosques. Web-based anonymity gives people who don't want to risk an unkind response a chance to speak out. It would be encouraging if people would take advantage of that.

Thanks to Shahed and to Ali Eteraz for notifying him about it. And, as a techie note, that was the best web-page customer response I've seen.

..and John Kerry is the least.

Kerry's even less likeable than Newt Gingrich. Hang it up, John.

Survival for novices, thanks to Popular Mechanics and Instapundit

The basics:

1. Leave a detailed plan

2. Bring the right clothes

3. Stay found

4. Remain in one place if you're in trouble

5. Stay warm

6. Signal for help

7. Build a fire

8. Find water if necessary

Also included - 5 MacGyver tricks

Via Slate

I've always marveled at how long the antique internal-combustion engine has survived. By 2006 standards, my car's power plant is a noisy, heat-blasting, poison-spewing monster with way too many moving parts. One spin in a Tesla made me realize that the gas engine might finally be on its last legs—and not because electric cars will help wean us from Saudi oil and save us from global warming. Rather, the Tesla Roadster is a rolling demo that proves electric cars now outperform their gas-guzzling counterparts in comfort, convenience, and, best of all, speed...

..It's one thing to know this stuff in theory. It's another to experience it on Highway 101. That's where I hitched a ride with Martin Eberhard, the Roadster's inventor. Eberhard got behind the wheel of a Tesla prototype and put the pedal to the metal. I was flabbergasted. In the passenger seat, I was wrapped in an all-powerful force that launched me forward with a perfectly even push. I've been driven this fast before in high-end European cars, always with a mix of excitement and omigod we're all going to die. But as Eberhard zoomed around slowpoke trucks and shot into traffic openings, I never once flinched with worry. I thought I'd miss the sexy rumble of a well-honed engine, but I didn't. In the silence I felt less distracted, more alert on the road...

Victor Davis Hanson has decided that worldwide Islamist aggression will not stand

It’s past time that we quit worrying whether a killer who blows himself up on the West Bank, or a terrorist who shouts the accustomed jihadist gibberish as he crashes a jumbo jet into the World Trade Center, or a driver who rams his explosives-laden car into an Iraqi polling station, or a Chechnyan rebel who blows the heads off schoolchildren, is in daily e-mail contact with Osama bin Laden. Our present lax attitude toward jihadism is akin to deeming local outbreaks of avian flu as regional maladies without much connection to a new strain of a deadly — and global — virus.

Instead, the world—if it is to save its present liberal system of free trade, safe travel, easy and unfettered communications, and growing commitment to constitutional government—must begin seeing radical Islamism as a universal pathology rather than reactions to regional grievances, if it is ever to destroy it materially and refute it ideologically.

Yet the antidote for radical Islam, aside from the promotion of democratization and open economies, is simple. It must be militarily defeated when it emerges to wage organized violence, as in the cases of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Zarqawi’s terrorists in Iraq, and the various killer cliques in Palestine.

Second, any who tolerate radical Islam should be ostracized. Muslims living in the West must be condemned when they assert that the Jews caused 9/11, or that suicide bombing is a legitimate response to Israel, or that Islamic immigrants’ own unique culture gives them a pass from accustomed assimilation, or that racial and religious affinity should allow tolerance for the hatred that spews forth from madrassas and mosques — before the patience of Western liberalism is exhausted and "the rules of the game" in Tony Blair’s words "change" quite radically and we begin to see mass invitations to leave.

Third, nations that intrigue with jihadists must be identified as the enemies of civilization. We often forget that there are now left only four major nation-states in the world that either by intent or indifference allow radical Islamists to find sanctuary.

If Pakistan were seriously to disavow terrorism and not see it as an asset in its rivalry with India and as a means to vent anti-Western angst, then Osama bin Laden, Dr. Zawahiri, and their lieutenants would be hunted down tomorrow.

If the petrolopolis of Saudi Arabia would cease its financial support of Wahhabi radicals, most terrorists could scarcely travel or organize operations.

If there were sane governments in Syria and Iran, then there would be little refuge left for al Qaeda, and the money and shelter that now protects the beleaguered and motley collection of ex-Saddamites, Hezbollah, and al Qaedists would cease.

So in large part four nations stand in the way of eradicating much of the global spread of jihadism — and it is no accident that either oil or nuclear weapons have won a global free pass for three of them. And it is no accident that we don’t have a means to wean ourselves off Middle East oil or as yet stop Iran from becoming the second Islamic nuclear nation.

Dick Cheney is doing his best to empower the fascist/terrorist regime Saudi Arabia:

Vice President Dick Cheney is on his way back to Washington after a daylong whirlwind meeting with Saudi Arabian King Abdullah.

On all issues, the Saudis and the United States see "eye to eye," the adviser added.

Saudi Arabia is expected to take a lead role in the region.

Great plan, guys. Fuckin' ingenious, if I understand it correctly. It's a Swiss fuckin' watch.

Via CBC

A Kazakh novelist says actor Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of the character Borat, deserves a national award for popularizing Kazakhstan.

Sapabek Asip-uly, known for several novels describing the Russian colonization of the former Soviet state, called on the Kazakh Club of Art Patrons to give Baron Cohen its annual award...

...Borat "has managed to spark an immense interest of the whole world in Kazakhstan, something our authorities could not do during the years of independence," Asip-uly said in a letter published by the Vremya newspaper on Thursday.

"I truly hope my initiative will be supported for the benefit of the glorious nation of Kazakhstan," Asip-uly said...

Borat is doing a great service for the country, Asip-uly said.

"If state officials completely lack a sense of humour, their country becomes a laughing stock," he said.

Government officials in the former Soviet republic have been objecting to Borat's antics for months and shut down a Borat website earlier this year, saying it makes a laughing stock of Kazakhstan.

Since the regime usually imprisons and tortures critics, and since they seem to be tolerating this dissent due to the publicity Cohen's Borat has provided, good for him.

Thanks to Stephan Pastis of United Media's Pearls before Swine and Armed Liberal, who posted this on his blog back in 2002, the answer to the eternally oblivious question: Why do they hate us?

These mobs have been carrying out campaigns of oppression, enslavement and robbery throughout the Middle East and Africa. These imperialist, racist thugs hate us because they're hungry, they want what we have and we're in their way.

Okay, now that we've answered that question, what do we do about them? Lee Smith and Tony Badran have some good ideas. The New York Times' editorial section doesn't.

View from the upper reaches of the Chrysler Building, NYC

[Photo thanks to Ben L., who gets all the best views.]

We flew back to Jersey on the last flight out, around 8:40 pm. on Sunday. I scheduled a late flight so we could be sure to avoid getting the bends after Saturday's late dive - and I was putting off our return to chilly Jersey.

I also got a chance to visit with up and coming lawyer-blogger Dave J. If he ever quit his day job Dave would be a great finder of offbeat ethnic restaurants. His favorite Thai place in Boston is Rod Dee's, and his favorite Cuban place in South Beach is Puerto Sagua, where the roast chicken and the beef were excellent.

Of course, he's not giving up his day job because he's just been promoted. Congrats Dave!

Michael Totten and others note that the stage is set for unrest in Lebanon

There is little doubt that Syria's widespread intelligence and security apparatus organized Gemayel's assassination. The Lebanese government was poised to approve legislation for the formation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the al-Hariri assassination, which has made the Syrian regime and its allies in Lebanon nervous, to say the least. To thwart the tribunal formation and ensure that the government remains in gridlock, five of Lebanon's Shiite Cabinet ministers belonging to Hezbollah and the Amal Movement resigned Nov. 11. Pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud also has refused to sign any decree on the tribunal.

Following the summer conflict with Israel, radical Shiite Islamist group Hezbollah has seized the opportunity to fortify its political position in Lebanon by forcing an expansion of the Lebanese Cabinet that would give Shiite parliament members veto power to counter the anti-Syrian March 14 coalition. To achieve this, Hezbollah has escalated sectarian tensions in the country and organized massive demonstrations in Beirut in an effort to prove it can control the decisions of the Lebanese government with or without majority political representation.

Now that Gemayel has been eliminated from the Cabinet, only one more Cabinet position needs to fall in order for the government to lose its constitutionality. Gemayel's assassination is part of a strategy to bring down the Lebanese government and force new elections that could favor Hezbollah and its Shiite allies...

...The Lebanese army already has deployed four brigades to greater Beirut to assume combat readiness in case Hezbollah forces attack Sunnis in West Beirut. Lebanon's Sunni bloc, led by the al-Hariri clan and their regional Arab allies, also has sent a number of fighters to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to receive military training in order to counter Hezbollah's well-equipped and well-trained military forces. In the meantime, Syria continues to send reinforcements to its allies in Lebanon. Syrian army officers who previously served in Lebanon have infiltrated the country and are leading combat units of their allies in Hezbollah, pro-Syrian groups and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Furthermore, about 2,500 Syrian troops masquerading as laborers have joined the ranks of the anti-government forces in Lebanon.

Though Hezbollah is unlikely to engage in a military confrontation at this time in order to preserve its legitimacy as a resistance movement acting in the interests of the Lebanese people, an outbreak of hostilities between Lebanon's rival factions is a real possibility.

I finally got into the water on Friday. I saw lots of pretty fish..

..swam through a few open caves and had a lot of fun doing somersaults and flips 30 ft down. I didn't get to see Jesus, due to low visibilty. Maybe next time.

Our last dive was a night dive, with only a flashlight and a glow stick to show the way.

Before we jumped into the water, I asked our instructor, Howard "how does the boat find us?" He said "it doesn't. We have to find the boat". I was glad to have an instructor to keep us from wandering too far.

I probably should mention that I'm still phobic about diving. When I jump into the water with many pounds of gear on, with a suit that's tight around my neck, I still feel the same crushing, claustrophobic panic that I felt when I first started diving. But I also know that I feel better after I've been underwater for a few minutes. I have no idea why. I guess that's what unreasonable fears are all about.

I was worried that diving in the darkness would make me feel more hemmed in, but instead I was distracted by the newness of it all. At night, the lobsters and the rays come out and the eyes of the little shrimp sparkle. With the glow sticks and the roaming flashlights, the underwater had a vaguely halloweeny atmosphere. Green moray eels and cave dwellers popped out of their hiding places, then receded back into the down deep funhouse.

We rode back under the stars (the Leonoids were, unfortunately, not visible, but most of the sky was). Howard described a meteor shower he'd recently seen and the one meteor that didn't burn up like the rest, the meteor that kept coming closer and closer. Like pilot tales, his stories were all about the wind, sand and stars.

Like most of the instructors, he'd left another, better-paying career to teach diving. Some people are driven by ambition, some just want money and some want to explore, to push the envelope because, you know, it's there.

My daughter agreed that this was the best dive.

Via the New York Times: Anti-Syrian Minister Is Assassinated in Lebanon.

Also from the New York Times, Sunday's Week in Review section: Envisioning U.S. Talks With Iran and Syria

IN Washington these days, an idea the White House once treated as anathema is suddenly gaining currency: to sit down and talk directly to Iran and Syria.

Tony Blair is recommending it. The Iraq Study Group headed by James Baker and Lee Hamilton may do so, too. With Iran intent on pursuing its nuclear program and with Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia unable to stabilize the region, there may be no other choice.

But if the White House chose to talk directly to Iran and Syria, what would those two want, and what possible areas of agreement could there be?

Discussions about Middle East politics remind me of a bit from a comic, Pearls Before Swine. One of the characters is a Zebra, who can't understand why the lions keep eating his fellow Zebras. So, he writes a letter to the lions filled with philosophical questions about peace, understanding and the nature of being, asking why can't they all get along, why can't they be friends..

The answer comes back from the lions "we eat Zebras becuz you taste gud."

One of the main reasons why we've been so ineffective against the mob politics in Syria, Iran, Hezbollahland, Egypt, Saudi Arabia etc. is the way we allow ourselves to be distracted by their propaganda and by our own desire for peace. We don't pay enough attention to their goals and their actions.

If we listen to their propaganda, we can tell ourselves that we're dealing with a group of people who are motivated by religion and philosophy. We're fighting an ideological war.

If we pay attention to their actions, we realize that we're dealing with a bunch of gangsters. They're well-organized gangsters, funded by millions in oil money, but they're gangsters all the same. They want more money and power (as much as they can get), and they use guns to get them. Some are knuckle draggers and some wear suits and move money, propaganda and religious dogma around.

If the Gottis and Gambinos had wised up to the power of multicuturalism, leftist self-loathing and the multitude of hiding places provided by the skirts of religion, they could have ruled the world.

If we try to compare Middle East politics to our own political system, we're confused. If we compare MENA politics to the mob wars in Italy, Russia, Ireland or New York, they make a lot of sense. You have some families, and some groups who ally with other families and groups when it's convenient for them. They all want a bigger slice of the pie. You've got some pro-democracy types fighting for the rule of law.

In these Mob Nations, all groups put family and community first, but most are willing to make deals with other organizations - unless they have more guns or money than the rest. There are also 'holy men' who lie about their motivations, who dupe gullible people into being martyrs. We can call it taquiya or just old-fashioned subterfuge. They're at war with us, lying and deceiving is their job.

These organizations fight with us for the same mundane reasons all aggressors fight - they don't want a slice of the pie, they want the whole thing. It's our job not to be fooled by them - or by ourselves.

When we went to sign up for the afternoon scuba dive yesterday, the woman behind the desk warned us about the weather.

"The current is strong today and the visibility is low. You might want to think twice about spending 4 hours on a roller coaster ride, just to see a lot of cloudy water"

We thought it over and decided to go. She then told us that she'd just heard from the morning-dive crew. Not only were the divers seasick, the instructor was. When the instructor gets sick, there's a problem.

So, I decided not to go, but my daughter, accompanied by another instructor who appeared to be immune to the waves, insisted on going. She had a great time diving in the rain and the waves. According to her instructor, if she could dive through that, she could probably dive anywhere.

When it comes to scuba, I'm a dilletante at best. I had a great time not diving in the rain and the waves.

The weather looks better today. Hope to go out, dive into some sunny waters and see some pretty fish.

To check out colleges with my daughter in Miami, and to scuba. Be back soon...

According to this Global Terrorism Analysis by the Jamestown Foundation, al Qaeda and their ilk are winning the war.

They're 'winning' mostly by attacking or threatening America's allies. The attacks follow a certain pattern - separatist groups make threats or attack civilians, and the allied nation responds by apparently giving in to terrorist demands. The pattern demonstrates that terrorism is basically extortion - nice country you've got, woudn't want anything to happen to it. Bin Laden is just another gangster spawned by the long-running mob war that is the Middle East.

The question is, why are these gangsters becoming so powerful, worldwide? Is it just the influence of oil money? Why would any nation give in to the demands of an organization that's clearly militarily weaker than they are?

One commenter discussing this article (posted by Ali Eteraz), Randall said:

"Taking over European self-defense may have been one of the biggest mistakes we ever made."

As a result of the cold war, there are a lot of countries out there who can't defend themselves (or, like most of Europe, they can but they choose not to). Islamofascism is like an opportunistic infection; it's a mundane parasite that probably wouldn't be much of a problem in a world with a functioning immune system.

What would a world with a functioning immune system look like? Well, I can only theorize, since there's currently no real-life example, but according to most anti-terrorism experts it would be decentralized. Political power wouldn't be concentrated in the United States. It wouldn't be concentrated in the UN either. Individual nations would realize that they have to deal with all threats to their own sovereignty effectively, on their own, or with a loose collection of allies.

The American Right says that the US should be able to guide the world. The Left wants to leave that job up to the UN. Both want political power to be more centralized, not less.

As a result, when we ask why bin Laden is gaining ground, the Left blames American imperialism (and the Right). The Right blames the UN (and the Left). We don't ask why our allies are giving in to such weak extortion. We just accept it as the way things are.

If we're going to fight a war, we need to know our enemy and know ourselves. We're really neglecting the second part.

I saw the Borat movie. Yes, there were many cringeworthy parts (the dinner party was excruciating) but I love road movies, so yeah, it was good.

I also love slapstick, and that was the grossest, funniest fight scene ever.

The movie does mock Kazakhstan in a mild way, like an edgier take on SNLs Wild and Crazy Guys. Borat's focus is mostly on American culture. I was disappointed that he made fun of Middle America and Pamela Anderson. Everyone has been there and done that.

He should have stayed in New York. New York sophisticates are an unexplored gold mine of comedic possibilities. Imagine if, instead of being obsessed with Pamela Anderson, Borat was hopelessly in love with Diane Sawyer. Or James Wolcott Now that would have been funny.

However, the NYC reviews might not have been so positive.

Hezbollah visits Michael Totten's site.

Roger Simon writes:

As for my own political stance. I no longer consider myself a Democrat. And I'm not a Republican. For now (like Arnold and Joe - the big winners yeserday), I'm a "Freeranger." The only place you can be a radical anymore is in the center.

In my case I can make it easy on myself and fall back on my default option, the Democrats. I could make it difficult by painstakingly figuring out which party sucks slightly less, but I won't. The default option it is. I'm voting straight Democrat next month. The Republicans are in charge of all branches of government. And if neither party deserves to be in charge then they can cancel each other out. Enjoy the coming stalemate, boys and girls of the Congress. You've earned it.

My liberal friends will be happy to know I'm voting for their party. My conservative friends will be happy to know I'm doing it without enthusiasm.

I've always thought that so called neo-cons, 9/11 conservatives and centrists sympathized with the Democrats about some issues. But given their reaction to this last election, some former centrists have turned from purple to crimson red. Some apparently agree with the claim that if you vote for Democrats you will die.

For these former centrists, the war against terrorism has turned into an ideological war against Democrats. They seem to believe that we can only fight terrorists by fighting Democrats.

This strategy, treating half of America as the 'enemy' didn't work when the Democrats tried it, why should it work when the Republicans try it? I avoided voting for Democrats two years ago because many treated half of the American population as the enemy. Now some Republicans and former centrists are doing the same thing.

I'm not really a moderate on some issues, like anti-fascism. Anti-fascism isn't a right or a left thing. I know plenty of right wingers and moderates who are anti-fascist. I know Leftists and anarchist commies who are anti fascist.

There are also plenty of pro-authoritarian types on the right and the left.

When Republicans talk about how the Democrats are soft on terrorism, are they talking about Joe Lieberman?

Are they talking about Charles Schumer, who, according to Front Page magazine, "has been steadfast in his efforts to uncover the nexus of Hamas front groups in the U.S., was ruthless in his portrayal of CAIR as part of an international terror network."

When they talk about how Democrats are soft on terrorism, are we talking about Saudi poodle James Baker whose law firm Baker Botts defended Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the Saudi defense minister from a lawsuit brought about by hundreds of families who'd lost relatives in the 9/11 attacks? Are we talking about the same James Baker who is currently proposing that we offer incentives to Iran and Syria to help the US in Iraq?

Or are they talking about realists like Henry Kissinger, who apparently had a lot of influence over the Bush administration's Iraq war policy?

Sure, it's not good to know that Dems like John Conyers and Nancy Pelosi have gotten some political power, but if a normal amount of political power was a twinkie, Baker and Kissinger's Twinkies would each be thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds. When we're talking about the influence of these two malign gargoyles, that's a big twinkie.

So I voted for some Republicans and some Democrats because the only other choice was not to vote at all. Classic liberal purple staters don't have a team, so we cheer and boo for both sides. I know it annoys the reds and the blues, but until we get our own team, this is the best we can do.

Via Business Week:

With oil prices hovering around $70 a barrel, Israel is looking for ways to reduce its near-total dependence on energy imports. It's pondering the use of the nation's huge reserves of oil shale—a dark, crumbly rock loaded with hydrocarbons—located in the central and southern parts of the country. Thanks to a technical breakthrough, it should be possible to extract fuel oil from the shale for less than $20 a barrel. That could allow Israel eventually to cut its crude imports by up to one-third.

Shale is already used as a fuel for power plants in Israel and Estonia, where the rock is burned like coal to drive steam turbines. Israel's small shale-fired power plant was built nearly 20 years ago. But past attempts to extract liquid oil from shale weren't economically feasible: The process cost upwards of $50 per barrel at a time when oil was selling for less than half that.

Now, the tables have turned. A Russian-born Israeli immigrant named Moshe Gvirtz developed a technique in the 1990s to squeeze oil from shale by mixing the rock with a residue from conventional oil refining and putting it through a catalytic process. The dramatically improved results, coupled with soaring crude prices, have inverted the economics of oil shale. That could help not just Israel but dozens of other countries, including the U.S., that are rich in shale reserves.

Well, not directly..

What's Wrong With American Companies?

It's no secret that international stocks have outperformed their American counterparts over the past five years. Indeed, the MSCI EAFE index has outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 7 percentage points per year over the past five years.

While traditionally strong American large caps such as Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), AT&T (NYSE: T), and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) have struggled to break even over this period, international juggernauts such as SAP and Diageo (NYSE: DEO) have doubled.

These aren't isolated events, either. A recent issue of Forbes listed its "2,000 Biggest Companies in the World" and found that, of the stocks in their study, "foreign stocks delivered many of the best short- and long-term stock market values."

We can debate about the influence of the leftist press in shaping America's image abroad, but it's hard to debate the cold, hard numbers. According to the numbers, we're not as competitive as we used to be.

If took some of the energy we've been spending on politics, and focused it on the economy, that might change.

[posted from a local internet cafe]

Despite the pouring rain, I went out to practice at the range (yes, there's one in NYC). When I got back, my block was drenched and very dark. There wasn't a single light on.

Of course, this was only my block. Everyone else was well-lit and happy.

So, I dug up a few candles, found one flashlight and used it to find all the others and generally had an easier time than I did during the last blackout. It helps to be a little bit prepared.

Anyway, the power came back but my cable service is still down. Maybe a tree fell or something. I have no home access to the news - or the net. And the roof is leaking.

The good news is, my daughter and I had a nice candlelit takeout dinner. We talked instead of watching TV. We read Rimbaud in French, and I went over pronunciation.

With no IM, my son had to use to phone to contact me. We also had a nice conversation. He soloed three students so far.

More good news - I have no home access to the latest news about the election, complaints about the election or crowing about the election. I cleaned the house, called the roofer, got a new washing machine and dryer and cleaned all the dirty clothes. It took a few hours, time I would have spent blogging, but the house smells better.

A life lived offline really isn't all that bad.

According to Instapundit, all the PJ video was shot with this inexpensive Canon Powershot:

..with lots of people having access to YouTube really worked out well. I hope we'll see a lot more of that kind of thing, which I've been pushing for years. The video capabilities of digital still cameras, as I've noted in the past, are underappreciated, but terrific for the Web.

I'm not cheering for the blue team or the red team, so as long as there are no military coups, pointless impeachment processes or lawsuits, it's all good.

I'd be on the purple team if there was one, which is why I'm so glad to hear about Lieberman's victory. Go team!

Dan Gerstein managed Lieberman's winning campaign. Here*, he explains why single-minded partisanship loses elections...

* Thanks to Atlas and Pajamas Media.

Get out and vote!

Yesterday the New York Times did a profile of classically-trained architect Marianne Cusato, who believes that a small space can feel expansive, if it’s part of something larger:

Ms. Cusato’s belief — that even a small space can feel expansive, if it’s part of something larger — has informed what has become her most important project thus far: designing a series of tiny houses for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Early next year, Lowe’s, the home improvement chain, is to begin selling two of her Katrina Cottages as kits. A buyer will be able to acquire everything needed to build a house, from the ceiling trusses down to the last can of paint, in a single transaction. Prices will begin at about $45 a square foot, or $27,000 for the smallest cottage, according to Jennifer Wilson, a spokeswoman for Lowe’s, which is based in Mooresville, N.C.

"Now the designer has made a deal with Lowes to sell packages of plans and materials in four different designs ranging from 544 to 936 square feet, that will cost from $ 25,000 to $ 50,000. Good for floods (no drywall) and winds up to 140 miles an hour. Selling at Lowes may not sound like a big deal, but in fact is a huge step in the prefab business- a major mainstream retailer selling architect-designed, well resolved solutions at reasonable prices."

When nice is for sale, reasonably-priced at Lowe's, that's even better.

[Cusato Cottages Homepage]

Fausta reports: the Chavistas are coming out of the closet

Like Michael Totten, I'm not a supporter of the death penalty but I also support the execution of political figures who are accused of committing crimes against humanity, including Saddam Hussein.

I also believe that a state has the right to wage war, (ie. to kill people) in order to defend its sovereignty

I believe that states have the right to inflict violence when threatened by armed militias, native or not.

Political criminals who have committed crimes against humanity are threats to a state's sovereignty. The execution of Saddam is justified, not because the death penalty is just, but because if a state isn't willing to use violence to defend its sovereignty, it's not a viable state.

That's the lesson we all should have learned from Lebanon.

Why would anyone dream of being a suicide bomber?

According to this video, because they can't win a fair fight.

These real-life 'Islamic Thinkers', who are associated with al Qaeda are proof - you probably can't join the terrorists unless you're a dweeb. Look at al Qaeda's founder.

Then there's Zarqawi.

The only question is, why do some Lefties think they're cool?

Weird Al Yankovic's "White and Nerdy"

I'm listening as I review my new version of TurboCAD..

I support strong public schools, welfare, gay rights and the legalization of marijuana. I should be a Democrat. For most of my life, although I've always been registered as an Independent, I voted for Dems. I used Dave's method of reasonably evaluating candidates and picked Democrats every time. Voting was easy.

There was one catch - I also support military and self defense. Before 9/11, that wasn't much of an issue. Afterwards, it was. In 2002, I wrote this post, explaining to my daughter how I could have broken with family tradition and all that we held holy by voting for one Republican.

I continued to vote for Republicans because most didn't treat the other party as 'the enemy'. They appeared to be looking for the quickest path out of the mess we found ourselves in and they appeared to be as level-headed as Rudy was.

That was then, this is now. There is only one Rudy Giuliani, and I'll vote for him in 2008 whether he runs or not, but since we're talking about this election...

Iraq was not the quickest path out the mess we found ourselves in. The quickest path would have been to acknowledge that our wealthy and generous Gulf allies are supporting terrorism; as supporters of terrorism they are our enemies. But, since our leaders, Republicans and Democrats, are addicted to their habit of feeding at the bountiful Gulf oil trough, most politicians will never acknowledge that.

Their fellow hogs in the media and academia won't either.

As things stand now, it's unlikely that we will find a political or miltary means for fighting the worldwide terrorist infrastructure because many of our "allies" are a part that infrastructure. You can't fight a war if you're allied with your enemy.

So, like other centrists, I'm returning to my old habit of voting on social issues, for Democrats*. This may, inadvertently, be a good thing. About 99% of Americans believe that our reliance on oil, especially foreign oil, is a major problem. The Dems have a reputation of wanting to do something about this. They certainly have no intention of drying up their supply of Saudi cash, or of defending innocent lives that are currently threatened by petrodollar-supported terrorism. Instead, Democrats want to cater to the environmentalists and PETA loons in their midst. Whatever. They are, unintentionally, doing the right thing.

In this election, that's as good as it gets.

[* except for the corrupt Robert Menendez (D-NJ)]