perfidy

The works of man may come and go, but Perfidy is eternal.

The sun has made three hundred sixty-five diurnal transits of the sky since the idea for the Ministry of Minor Perfidy first burst upon the world. One year of ever embiggening reach and power, one year of cresting wisdom, sarcasm, and scantily-researched attacks on transient issues of the day, plus some really kickass writing.

From its humble beginnings at johnnytwocents.blogspot.com to a temporary home at the ignominity of the .biz domain, the Ministry of Minor Perfidy is far greater than one simple interweb address that resolves to http://old.perfidy.org . Such towering achievement is beyond the capability of simple language, simple digits, to describe, much less encompass. Lo, history will record the truth! The Ministry now stands as the single greatest achievement with which publicly-funded grade-schooling, a combined two decades of college and trade-schooling, and oodles of cheap liquor have yet graced the world. My it ever be this way, and may its heroic exploits long be recounted by wonks, geeks, and basement-dwellers for generations to come.

Let us now have a moment of silence for the uncounted legions of pixies, homunculi, gnomes, sprites, weirds, gremlins, and assorted faeries who sacrificed their lives for the greatness of Perfidy*.

The Ministry applauds its Ministers, readers, commenters, and sundry onlurkers. We are watching you, and we like what we see. Each and every one of you must remember one thing: nobody said anything about giant fighting space robots, and it is crucial that you remember that fact in the weeks and months to come. Soon enough, my children, soon enough you will look on in awe and wonder. Until that day. . . Excelsior!

[wik] No leprechauns were harmed in any way during any Perfidious endeavor.

[alsø wik] In response to the cowardly anonymous commenter who clearly fears the retribution of the Ministry's minions, and rightly so... this being a so-called "leap year," the Ministry's lifespan would equal three hundred sixty-six diurnal transits, if the so-called "leap year" were not an utter fiction concocted by shadowy forces working on behalf of the erstwhile British Royal Society.

You see, the 1582 transition from Julian to Gregorian Calendar-time was not without its temporal casualites. As the great sage Pynchon observes in his magesterial "Mason and Dixon," the world lost eleven days in 1582 that, it was thought, can never be got back. Little do you know of the subtle plans of great men and women. Do you really think that you actually lived "February 29" this year? Ha!

Remember harder, o benighted one, and tremble at the power shadowy forces can wield!

Krugman gives us the picture that's worth a thousand words.

See the distance between the grey line and the black line? I have a name for that: The Credibility Gap.

When it comes to tax cuts, we know they're good for the GOP's political donors. They get the tax cuts (refunds provided by the social security fund, of course). What we've been told is that this is good for everyone, and results in a better situation for everyone. What we've been told is that these tax cuts would provide massive stimulation to the economy, which would result in more jobs.

Three years in a row Bush's economic team has predicted massive job gains because of tax cuts. They did this in spite of the fact that no serious economists agreed with them.

This leaves us with only two possibilities: Either Bush and friends are really piss-poor at predictions, or they're doing it deliberately. Are there other possibilities I haven't considered?

And let's dispense with the axis of 9/11-recession-war crap. All of that was known early to all parties, and Bush's team was the only one making these outlandish projections.

Left: "Earth is round."
Right: "Earth is flat."
Press: "Shape of Earth: Views differ."

I am such a fan of Firefly...even though it's the show that permanently wrecked my enjoyment of any other sci-fi series. Everything else just sucks in comparison. So imagine my surprise tonight when I read this:

Universal Greenlights Firefly.

For fans of the series, this is great news. For the rest of you, buy or steal the DVD set and watch'em in order. You'll love it.

I hope it's a success. The Firefly two hour pilot episode was better than any given Star Wars movie; most of the episodes that followed it were better than anything any other sci-fi franchise show has ever produced...

This MSNBC report describes a rather jarring situation. Apparently US intelligence had Zarqawi placed in northern Iraq (in the no-fly zone) prior to the war. On two separate occasions plans were formed to kill the bastard off...the first time it died in the National Security Council (good show, there).

The second time it was killed off by the White House directly.

“People were more obsessed with developing the coalition to overthrow Saddam than to execute the president’s policy of preemption against terrorists,” according to terrorism expert and former National Security Council member Roger Cressey.

Two thoughts come to mind. First -- if the Zarqawi was present in Iraq, Bush's position that terrorists is bolstered. But (you knew that was coming, didn't you?)...the guy was in the no-fly zone. There wasn't much that could happen there without US say-so. The US probably had the ability to take him out at will.

So we are left with the question -- did Bush decide not to take out Zarqawi's camp, when presented with that information? If he decided against it, why?

Note that the quote comes from a former National Security Council member.

Ishkur has replaced his old and busted internet guide to electronica with a new and enslickened version. It made even me, a mid thirties blues and americana entusiast, long for the days when I used to go to the raves back in Ohio, before they got all corporate and shit. 
 

Murdoc has posed an interesting question:

There's been a lot of talk about how we might know where Osama is and how there might be a big operation along the Pakistan border soon. There's also been a lot of talk about how the capture of OBL might be "managed" by the Bush administration for maximum political effect. I get the feeling that whenever he's caught, there's going to be a general outcry of "politicization."

So I'm taking a poll to attempt to determine what window is available to
capture OBL without appearing to have staged it.

Whether the capture will have appeared to be politicized will depend on two things. One, the party affilation of the beholder, and the backstory behind the capture. For some, no matter when bin Laden is captured, it will be a nefarious Rove-orchestrated plot designed to seduce the befuddled masses away from the clearly superior Democratic candidate.
Others might think so if there is any indication that the intelligence services and armed forces had knowledge of his whereabouts for a significant length of time befoe the apprehension. How long "significant" is will again likely depend on party affiliation.

Absent that kind of information, I think most people will assume that we just caught him. The only capture date after which a majority of the public would wonder if it had been stage managed would be in the month before the election. Indeed, it might almost be better to intentionally capture him after the election.

So I voted for Oct 1; but for many on the left, it will be anytime after right now.

In any event, go over there and cast your vote.

While that word was invented by the Germans to describe the pleasure they experienced in observing the misfortunes of teh French, I think that many Americans have shared that pleasure in hearing that Martha Stewart has been found guilty of obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she unloaded her ImClone stock just before the price plummeted. Me, I will miss her warm presence on the airwaves, and her helpful tips which might (if I applied myself diligently) make me almost as good as her.

I wonder what tips she could come up with for celebrating a fine and gracious prison Christmas when constrained by a nine by nine cell.

Dude.

This Sunday the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will play their first game since the spiritual and literal beating that was Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.

Sure it's just a stupid Grapefruit League matchup, devoid of larger meaning, but do you seriously believe it won't be a kickass game, a prologue to a tooth-and-nail dogfight of a regular season? In my nightmares I still see that Pedro pitch hang fat over the plate like a full moon in the September sky, and improbable "hero" ("dickhead') Aaron Boone smack that dinger over the fence. The sports reels here in New England were for the next week full of self-lacerating hair-shirtery and endless replays. Then came the offseason: The Wooing of Jose Contreras. Jose Contreras joins the side of Evil. The Wooing of A-Rod. A-Rod too dons the Pinstripes and joins the side of Evil. Executive sniping and backbiting. More of the same. And all that was before the snow started to melt.

Ass: meet couch. Beer, Pretzels and Mayhem will be here soon.

Researchers at the University of California at Berkely have developed working, strength-enhancing exoskeletons. The device fits over the legs, and allows the 'pilot' to carry both the weight of the exoskeleton and aseventy pound backpack as if the whole thing weighed only five pounds.

The device's success where many others have failed is apparently in the software that the system uses to effectively cooperate with the human wearer. The researchers say that there next goal is to increase the capacity of the system, and to work on miniaturizing the engine and other components.

One of the biggest problems facing the Army today is the weight of all the gear that they have to carry. If soldiers can carry 120 pounds of gear like it was a fanny pack with a camera and water bottle, that will kick ass. Or more to the point, they will kick ass. Soldiers can be better armored, carry more ammo, and yet still have the endurance to fight at the end of the march.

Powered armor is clearly right around the corner. And giant fighting robots can't be far behind.

[wik] This link might actually work, and gives you more links to more information as well.

Could someone please tell me why the crying fuck this wasn't tried before?

U.S. forces searching for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden along the mountainous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan will soon implement high-tech surveillance tactics in the region, enabling them to monitor the area 24 hours a day, seven days a week, CNN has learned.

It's believed that the constant surveillance of the border region and the "squeeze play" by U.S. and Pakistani forces surrounding the mountainous frontier will present the best chance ever to net the world's most-wanted terrorist.

We've suspected for TWO YEARS that's where the shitrat has been hiding... why only NOW with the spyplanes and the satellites and the squeezing and the m'd'hoy glavinating?

Could the war in Iraq have been a... distraction?

[wik] Asked and answered. Though I'm not completely talked out of my tree yet, Buckethead and GeekLethal have provided plausible explanations for the news story. Thanks, gents!