"Never try to teach a pig how to sing, because it won't work and it annoys the pig."
-Judge Judy
A Quote I'll Never Forget
Panetta Blasts Cheney
While the direct link is only "almost" there, Cheney sometimes makes us wonder the moral priority he has in his head:
WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - CIA director Leon Panetta says it's almost as if former vice president Dick Cheney would like to see another attack on the United States to prove he is right in criticizing President Barack Obama for abandoning the "harsh interrogation" of terrorism suspects.As former vice-president, shouldn't it be in your best interest to wish your country well rather than take a vindictive approach against a slightly more pacifist foe?
"I think he smells some blood in the water on the national security issue," Panetta said in an interview published in The New Yorker magazine's June 22 issue.
"It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point."
Cheney, who was a key advocate in the Bush administration of controversial interrogation methods such as waterboarding, has become as a leading Republican critic of Obama's ban on harsh interrogations and his plan to shut the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In a blistering May 21 speech, Cheney said Obama's reversal of Bush-era policies were "unwise in the extreme" that would make the American people less safe.
Panetta called Cheney's actions "dangerous politics."
He told The New Yorker he had favored the creation of an independent truth commission to look into the detainee polices of former President George W. Bush. But the idea died in April when Obama decided such a panel could be seen as politically vindictive. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Alan Elsner)
Abramovich Returns to Launch the Eclipse
Russion billionaire Roman Abramovich hopes that launching the world's largest yacht, the Eclipse, can help revive his London side, Chelsea. I would prefer to see £300,000,000 invested into new football talent rather than a floating bit of metal.
From daily mail:
It is the biggest private yacht in existence and comes with a missile-detection system, two helipads, a luxury spa, swimming pool and a miniature submarine.
But when you're Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, only the most ostentatious displays of wealth will do.
His latest baby is the Eclipse, a 557-footer reported to have cost a staggering £300million.
As it glided out of the Blohm & Voss shipyard, in Hamburg, Germany, it was so breathtaking that many stopped to watch, barely able to believe their eyes.
To keep the oligarch safe, the Eclipse has a military-grade missile defence system, armour-plating around Abramovich's master suite and bullet-proof windows.There is also a private submarine, which doubles as an escape pod.
The project has been shrouded in such secrecy that at one point the shipbuilders would only say that a yacht called Eclipse was being built somewhere in Germany. Needless to say, they would not confirm who had bought it.
But there is little doubt that 40-year-old Abramovich who already owns four luxury vessels, is the proud owner.
According to industry experts, the Eclipse has been specifically designed to overshadow the world's current largest private yacht, a 525-footer owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.
Abramovich's new toy is due to be delivered in 2010 and will join the rest of his fleet. None of his ships - the Pelorus (377ft), the Ecstasea ( 282ft) and the Sussurro (161ft) - are insubstantial but the Eclipse will dwarf them all.
The oil magnate, who is the 11th richest man in the world according to Forbes, uses his yachts for very specific purposes.
Originally built for a Saudi sheikh, the Pelorus is used for entertaining and boasts room for 22 guests and 40 staff. It has two helipads, an indoor pool and a steam room.
He uses the Ecstasea, which comes complete with Chinese-themed interior, for cruising and the Sussuro for short journeys and to loan to friends.
Annual overhead for the boats is more than £15million, and it costs him £73,000 just to fill up the tanks of his current largest boat, Pelorus.
The son of Jewish parents, Abramovich began his business career selling plastic ducks from a grim Moscow apartment but, within a few years, his vast wealth spread from oil conglomerates to pig farms.
Russia's richest man has flourished under president Vladimir Putin, with critics saying he used his government ties to take over former state-owned assests and reap the profits for personal use.
Outside of Russia, the 41-year-old is known as owner of the Chelsea Football Club. He is also known to entertain players and British financiers on his yachts.
Abramovich reportedly lost up to £13billion in the global financial crisis, but he was already in the process of having his biggest-ever yacht built.
Why is there a missle-defense system on this yacht? Certainly Abramovich hasn't that many enemies? Or perhaps a national navy will mistake his yacht for an encroaching military vessel as he approaches shore.
Chat Fools Fidel Castro's Son
From the BBC:
A Cuban exile blogger from Miami says he used a female internet alter ego to gain access to a member of the usually impervious family of Fidel Castro.
Luis Dominguez said he used the character to begin an online relationship with 40-year-old Antonio, the son of ex-leader Mr Castro.
He refused to apologise for the deception, saying he wanted to show the "opulent lifestyles" of the Castros.
Cuban authorities have made no comment regarding the online chats.
Daily life
Many internet users have engaged in a series of flirtatious chats only to find the person they have met online is not who they say they are.
In Cuba people are put in prison for no reason at all. Their rights are violated... So, why can't I do the same thing to them? I have no remorse whatsoever
Luis Dominguez
As anyone who covers Cuban politics and the Castro family knows, gaining access of any sort is far from easy.
The Castro family has had a massive security cordon around it for decades - in large part due to the many attempts to remove the island's communist government from power.
Mr Dominguez used Antonio Castro's alleged weakness for young women and sports.
Mr Dominguez created Claudia, a 27-year-old Colombian sports journalist.
Claudia made contact with Antonio and they chatted on and off for an eight-month period.
Antonio shared details of his daily life in Cuba and his trips around the world with his uncle Raul, the Cuban president, but did not reveal any state secrets.
However, Mr Dominguez says that by showing what he describes as the opulent lifestyles the Castros live in a communist country like Cuba he has achieved his aim.
Mr Dominguez has published pictures and documents of his chats with the younger Mr Castro on his blog.
He refuses to apologise for violating Antonio Castro's privacy.
"I'm a Cuban and I'm a Cuban American and I have not been able to go back to my country since 1971 when I left.
"I use whatever tools I have to be able to get back at these people. In Cuba people are put in prison for no reason at all. Their rights are violated... So, why can't I do the same thing to them? I have no remorse whatsoever."
The Cuban authorities have made no comment about the chats, but Claudia says the relationship has gone cold.
Random Quote
"One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it"
-Anonymous
Well it's not an anonymous author, I would just prefer to have you guess what recent movie this quote is from without a hint.
North Korea Threatens Nuclear War
Kim Jong Il's regime takes the new UN sanctions rather seriously:
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's president ordered his top security officials Sunday to deal "resolutely and squarely" with new North Korean warnings of a nuclear war on the eve of his U.S. visit. In Washington, Vice President Joe Biden said "God only knows" what North Korea wants from the latest showdown.
President Lee Myung-bak travels to Washington on Monday for talks with President Barack Obama that are expected to focus on the North's rogue nuclear and missile programs.
The trip comes after North Korea's Foreign Ministry threatened war with any country that stops its ships on the high seas under new sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council in response to its May 25 nuclear test.
It also vowed Saturday to "weaponize" all its plutonium and acknowledged a long-suspected uranium enrichment program for the first time. Both plutonium and uranium are key ingredients of atomic bombs.
A commentary published Saturday in the North's state-run Tongil Sinbo weekly claimed the U.S. was deploying a vast number of nuclear weapons in South Korea and Japan.
North Korea "is completely within the range of U.S. nuclear attack and the Korean peninsula is becoming an area where the chances of a nuclear war are the highest in the world," it said.
Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman at the U.S. military command in Seoul, denied the allegation, saying the U.S. no longer has nuclear bombs in South Korea. U.S. tactical nuclear weapons were removed from South Korea in 1991 as part of arms reductions following the Cold War.
President Lee summoned his top security ministers Sunday and ordered them to "resolutely and squarely cope" with the North's threats, his office said. The Unification Ministry, responsible for ties with the North, issued a statement demanding that it stop inflaming tension and resume talks with the South.
"North Korea should give up its nuclear program ... and stop any kind of military threat," it said. "We urge North Korea to respond in a sincere dialogue to improve South-North Korean relations."
The new U.N. sanctions approved Friday are aimed at depriving the North of the financing used to build its nuclear program. They also authorize searches of North Korean ships suspected of transporting illicit ballistic missile and nuclear materials.
Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press" that it's crucial that the U.S. and other nations "make sure those sanctions stick."
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, reportedly had a stroke 10 months ago and analysts believe there may be a plan in place to name his inexperienced 26-year-old son, Kim Jong Un, as the future leader.
"God only knows what he wants," Biden said of Kim. "There's all kinds of discussions. Whether this is about succession, wanting his son to succeed him. Whether or not he's looking for respect. Whether or not he really wants a nuclear capability to threaten the region. ... We can't guess his motives.
"We just have to deal with the reality that a North Korea that is either proliferating weapons and or missiles, or a North Korea that is using those weapons ... is a serious danger and threat to the world, and particularly East Asia," the vice president said.
Lee Sang-hyun, an analyst at the Sejong Institute, a South Korean security think tank, said he believes the North will continue to conduct nuclear tests until it masters the technology to mount nuclear warheads on missiles and will give credit for it to Kim Jong Un.
"Kim Jong Un's status is still unstable. Kim Jong Il appears to be trying to give the son a powerful means to strengthen his succession," Lee said. "Kim Jong Un could also get the credit for nuclear weapons development."
North Korea is already believed to have enough plutonium for at least half a dozen atomic bombs.
North Korea says its nuclear program is a deterrent against the U.S., which it accuses of plotting to invade and topple its regime. Washington, which has 28,500 troops in South Korea, has repeatedly denied having any such plans.
Some thoughts: 1. The United States doesn't need to place nuclear weapons on South Korean soil to be in nuclear striking range of North Korea. Kim Jong Il is mistaken if he doubts we have that kind of long-range technology.
2. Because a nuclear strike doesn't necessitate having weapons on the Korean peninsula, I'd think that we would strike from dozens of mobile or trans-continental locations, rather than have our whole aresenal stockpiled in a lcoation where North Korea can easily retaliate (We can strike an island in the south pacific with a rocket launched from California in half an hour)
3. Politically, I'd think that the South Korean government would be hestiant to let the United States re-stockpile dozens of nuclear weapons in a previously tense region, as Kim Yong-Kyu suggests
4. Politically, North Korea's response that they are aiming to present a deterrent is valid, as one of the best arguments in favor of nuclear arms is the argument of deterrence. The United States does it, the Soviet Union did it, the whole Western world did it, and it appears that North Korea is following in those footsteps. The only issue however, is the nutcase in power with his finger on the trigger. Traditionally we have been accepting of high-polity nations using nuclear arms as deterrents particualarly because we are their allies. Now, I guess times have changed (or haven't really, they've just gone back to that Soviet-era ethic of mutually assured destruction)
5. Kim Jong Un doesn't need nuclear arms to increase credibility, because credibility doesn't matter in this regime. Whether credible or not, he will assume power and hold it (if he is talented enough). Should the general public fear that a weak leader is leading their nation, leave it to the state-run media to pursuade them otherwise.Closing Quote
"Conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that
logic cannot reach"
-Sol Lewitt
Smoking Kills
Chalermchai Kositpipat, a prominent contemporary Thai artist, crafted this nifty warning sculpture on the grounds of his now famous temple, Wat Rong Khun, in northern Thailand. The commentary here is very clear, as you can see. It's a nice way to work a traditional style in with a contemporary message.
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