FUBAR on SNAFU

Heh. Interesting day today. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (محمود احمدی‌نژاد) visited Columbia University in New York. He was invited to the campus to speak before going to the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow. Its likely that the speech he gave today will be what he'll give tomorrow.

He questioned why the Palestinians should pay for the crimes of Germany. He also said that he thought the way the US managed the world is wrong.

Before he got the chance to speak, the president of the University, Lee Bollinger, had plenty to say, much of it insulting, about the leader after defending the school's decision to host Ahmadinejad on Good Morning America today. He said "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator". He also told the president that there is no reason to research the holocaust: "The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history".

Despite he past claims that Israel should be wiped off the map, he would not go so far as say that here. The likelihood he would not escape New York City with his life or something like it may have been a motivation for the omission. He did comment that the Palestinians deserve self-determination and free elections. To read more on this, there's a large article on CNN.

See that? POTUS?! What a weird name, right? Well it's a new channel on subscription satellite radio service XM radio. This channel is on number 130 and will likely have a 14 month or so life. This will take it through the election of the President of the United States next November. That's right, POTUS stands for the President and his (her) title. After previews and such it has finally gone on the air. Yay!!! If you're a subscriber, tune in!

Recently, maybe today, there was a story about protest songs. Back in the day, there were heaps of songs protesting the Vietnam conflict. One such song was "Save the Country" by the 5th Dimension. Apparently, there is a line in the song that refers to the Kennedy's:

"Come on, people
Sons and mothers
Keep the dream of
The two young brothers

Take that dream
And ride that dove
We could build the dream
With love, I know"

It made me pause. I forget, and I think many people do, how much of an affect the Kennedy's had on the country. I dunno...

Marcel Marceau, the famous French mime, died at the age of 84, on September 22nd. He left no last words.

Back on this day in 622, Muhammad completed his pilgrimage or Hegira. This would be the first on many for Muslims. It continues today and is a major tenet for Muslims the world over.

In 1664, the Netherlands surrenders New Amsterdam to England. It is now known as New York.

In 1890, The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints denounced polygamy with purpose being Utah becoming a state. It never goes truly out of practice and the debate around the practice continues to this day.

On this day in 1906, US President Theodore Roosevelt made Devil's Tower the first national monument.

In 1957, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower orders the 101st Airborne to go into Little Rock to enforce desegregation at the high school there.

And in 1991, Nirvana released their album Nevermind. Rock music would be never be the same.

عصر بخی

Asr be kheyr!
(That's "Good Evening" in Farsi)

Remember Dru

Its a Friday and therefore, don't give me a lot of news to ponder over the weekend. However, having said that, I know I will ponder away and listen to NPR because I cannot get my XM to work at my job (deep in the bowels of a pool hall kitchen) so I'm without my beloved CNN. One could do with worse things...

First off, the major international shakeup in diplomacy. Ya gotta love "he said, he said, denial" moments even if they aren't on a sitcom or soap. The President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, remarked to CBS that a US official (Richard Armitage, who was Deputy Secretary of State to Colin Powell) told Musharraf that he had to cooperate with the US or Pakistan would be bombed "back to the stone age". Whether this can be done is not a question. Look at what a hurricane did here! The question is did he? Armitage may have made the comment but everyone is deying it in a scramble to cover their own ass...ets. Armitage would never have had the authorization to implement force of any kind and so making a comment like this would have been foolhardy. Food for thought: If one makes threats he can't fullfil, he's a jackass. If one believes them, he's an idiot. Regardless, this will play out as the current administration takes criticsm from foreign leaders visiting the US and from even our allies. There isn't a lot of room for latitude and this only adds to the melee.


Like they say on NPR: Science Friday. In many ways it was the newsmaker today. One of the astronauts who returned from their 12 day mission aboard Atlantis collapsed not once but twice today during a ceremony to welcome the crew home. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper collapsed once after beginning to appear confused. After being revived she attempted to continue speaking only to collapse again in a similar manner less than a minute later. She was then escorted through the side door at Ellington Air Base. NASA officials are citing fatigue and adjustment from the Cosmic Electricians 2 grueling spacewalks and her time in zero gravity.

The First Iraninan into space is a woman. She's also the first woman who is a space tourist. Iranian-born US citizen Anousheh Ansari has been enjoying herself aboard the International Space Station after arriving on a Soyuz spacecraft witha cosmonaut and astronaut. She is taking photos, listening to amateur radio and staying out of the way of those trying to actually work. She is a 40-year-old telecoms entrepreneur by day.

Twenty-three people died in a accident involving a maglev train in Germany. The train wsa only warrying 15 passengers since it was testing the track. Reportedly, the accident was caused by human error after the train struck a mainenance vehicle on the track. In addition to the 23 fatalities, 10 others are also listed as injured. These numbers may change. This is the first such incident in the life of the Magnetic Levitation trains. The train was estimated to be travelling at 125mph at the test track in northwestern Germany. Currently, the only commercially operated train is in Shanghai and the trains may reach up to 270mph. That being said, the Japanese have clocked one going as fast as 361mph. At thi time, German officials are laying blame on Human Error. It seems there may have been a series of failures leading to the vehicle being on the track.

And finally, in legal (and local news), Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr. was given the Death Penalty for his kidnapping, beating, raping and later stabbing of University of North Dakota student, Dru Sjodin. This story has been huge around here. Almost as big as the psycho hmong hunter last fall. The case, though tried in North Dakota, was a federal case. The man is from Crookston, MN and crossed state lines. Since the case was federal, a death penalty was always possible. In North Dakota, the death penalty is not legal. It has been nearly a century since such a fate has been handed out by a jury in North Dakota.

Please remember the bright, wonderful person that was Dru Sjodin. She had her whole life in front of her and had it ended so mercilessly.