North Korea and Iran: Part Two

Welcome back to my multi-part series on Iran and North Korea. There are just around three options to eliminate the problems posed by these countries that I outlined in the last post.


1. Going to war.

• Personally, I don't think that there is really an option of going to war with these two countries. I think it would be like Iraq, but worse. We don't have the troop levels, the international support or the domestic support. It would cost hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides and really just wouldn't be worth it at all.

2. Sending in specialized strike teams to eliminate the enemies nuclear facilities.

• To me, this doesn't particularly solve anything in the long run. First of all, anything that we destroy can and will be rebuilt, so it is not a long term solution. Secondly, destroying something on North Korean or Iranian soil will just give these leaders more of an opportunity to turn the population against up, and bring about hatred in the form of national unity.

3. Eliminating the leaders of these countries.

• This is against U.S policy, and would have to be done very sneakily so as to make it look like an accident. This is because if it does not look like an accident or natural causes, it could unite the country under an extremist successor and we would be worse off than when we started.
  

I think that in the long run, a combination of the second and third courses of action are what is best for U.S interests. If we destroy their nuclear facilities, and eliminate their leaders, either through intimidation, taking away their porn collections or killing them in a mock accident, and then line up a successor that is actually fit to rule, everybody would be much better and we would only have to China and Russia to deal with and oh yeah Osama bin Laden. But seriously, any sort of assassination or "shock and awing" out of power should only be used as a last resort when peaceful negotiations fail, and a threat to U.S interests seems very imminent.

North Korea and Iran: Part One

In this multi-part series, I am going to be exploring the many facets of the problems posed towards America by North Korea and Iran. You may ask, why am I doing this? And I would tell you, because I can!

From my standpoint, the way things are looking right now, an alliance between a nuclear North Korea, and a wanna-be nuclear Iran is potentially hazardous to our country. This is for a few reasons.

• Both dictators have no regard for their people's well being, and run a state of ultra-security, meaning no information about the state goes in or out unless it is smuggled.
• Their propaganda machine can pin all of their problems on the U.S and its allies, meaning that it could stir its people into a war frenzy against the "rorld", or the "infidels."
• North Korea is nuclear, and Iran is a nuclear wanna-be.
• North Korea has ties to Russia and China, both of whom have uneasy relations with the U.S.
  
• Iran has ties to a Muslim world that openly does not like the U.S (for the most part).
• These leaders do not really have a sense for the impact that some of their actions may have on their county and the rest of the world, i.e they are somewhat irresponsible towards their peoples needs.

So how do we deal with these problems?

You can find Part Two here.

5 Reasons Hillary Clinton Will Get the Democratic Nomination in 2008

Here are 5 Reasons why Hillary will Get the Dems Presidential Nomination in '08

1. Her husband is Bill Clinton which gives her star power

2. John Edwards already lost a nomination, and didn't win on the Vice Presidential ballot

3. Barrack Obama, though he is extremely popular, is too young to be President this time around, but look for a vice presidential nomination for him

4. She is an experienced and well liked Senator, who is at the top of the heap in terms of Democratic candidacy

5. She is a woman. (I know this one sounds more like a disadvantage to many people, but I believe that the democratic party is looking for a change from stuffy old white men)

This is not to say that she will win the Presidency, which I think is likely, but after getting the nomination she may have some tough opponents on the Republican side like John McCain.

Why Illegal Immigration May Be Good for America

Everybody is complaining about outsourcing. But what is the cause of outsourcing? Labor is much cheaper in other countries where the standard of living is less and minimum wage is either less regulated, less, or non-exist. Everybody wants to bring these jobs back to the U.S and U.S citizens, but how can we do this when a companies sole purpose in life is to make as much money as it can as quickly as it can? The answer, lies in our own backyard, or rather our neighbors backyard.
Cheap labor is available readily in our country through working passes issued to Mexican citizens who cannot otherwise support their families. So why not use it? American corporations could then bring back jobs from places like India and China, and help these Mexican families attain a better quality of life. And after a while who knows, these jobs could go back to the Americans who need them most.
At least the jobs come back onto American soil, and hey, it's a start.

Google Notebook

Looks like people have been posting their sensitive information online...on Google of all places. If people sue Google and win. It's kind of like getting drunk, and walking around in your underwear, and then suing Jimmy Bean.

Saddam's Last Message

This just in from the murderer of countless Iraqi citizens: "Do not hate"
Apparently after learning that he will soon become a martyr, or a cadaver depending on your viewpoint, Saddam wrote a final sob letter to a world that never really understood him. Tear, tear. That being said, I'm not sure that executing him is the right way to go.

"some Hussein loyalists threatened to retaliate if the ousted Iraqi leader is executed, warning in a posting on the same Baath Party Web site that carried the former leader's letter they would target U.S. interests anywhere."

By executing Saddam, we are just putting ourselves on the hit list of so many more extremists who are willing to die for their cause. Eventually, if enough people hate us something bad is going to happen.

Now I'm not saying that Saddam should be given a full pardon, but just be kept in life imprisonment and maybe executed later. Executing him now is like rubbing dirt in the wounds of the extremist movement, and is not a wise decision at this point.

What do you guys think?

Christmas Decorations

Something that bothers me a little bit, is when people leave their Christmas decorations up until Easter. Yes, we understand that you like Christmas, and you wish everyday was Christmas, but could you please take your decorations down its already been like a month. Anyway thats besides the point. I was driving past I don't know where, and I saw these decorations on the lawn.
And I bet you anything, they will be up for at least another month.

A Solution to Waiting for Support Over the Phone

It seems that almost every month or so, I have to call tech support for one reason or another. And every time it happens, I take a phone, dial the number, put it on speakerphone and surf the web until somebody picks up. I can wait for hours sometimes, and then I just get transferred. So I came up with a solution.

Why can't they call us back? Why can't it be like this:

You dial the number. A computer picks up and tells you that all operators are busy, but if you could please enter your phone number as soon as one becomes available he will call you back. Thank you for your time.

This means no more waiting on hold for hours on end. I don't know how much it costs for a company to call you from Mumbai, but it seems like it would be cheap enough.

Now I Can Have Directions Read to Me as I Drive

As someone who uses Cingular's EDGE mobile wireless network, this announcement from Google's blog is exciting. Now I can be in the car, and have directions to my location read out to me as I drive. Very, very, very cool.

Subscriptions

Hits to this site have been very satisfying for its first few days of operation, but subscriptions to the feed are quite low. I was wondering if that was because of something that I have done, like this is not interesting enough, or if it was because how to subscribe (to where) was not obvious enough?

Why Vista is Doomed

Vista is doomed. At least for its first year.

Let's let that sink in.

Microsoft, the biggest software corporation in the world, led for now by the richest man in the world, has just released a piece of software that it has spent years and millions upon millions of dollars on, that is doomed for failure. Why?

Around a year ago, I bought an Alienware laptop for about $1500. Today, I ran the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, and guess what? I failed. That means that I can't run Vista on my computer. Which mean, that I'm not going to upgrade until I get a new computer. If I just bought an relatively expensive Alienware laptop a year ago and it can't run Vista, I'm betting that most consumers and business' can't afford the kind of graphics intensive system that Vista requires. Which means less of an incentive to upgrade to Vista, especially since its heralded unparalleled security seems pretty much the same as XP. Here too. So basically, there is no incentive to upgrade until I upgrade my computer anyway.

Sorry Microsoft, but you couldn't quite pull off the copy cat job this time.

Should Trans Fats Be Banned?

In about 18 months, every restaurant in New York City will have fazed out trans fats (except for the ones that want to get arrested, or worse fined ;) ). Personally I think that this is almost outrageous, not quite though. I understand the reasoning behind it. It is to protect consumers from the evils of trans fats, and to curb the obesity epidemic facing New York and America. But let us take a step back. How come a restaurant can serve alcohol, a potentially lethal drink, that alters the consciousness of the consumer to the point where he loses his inhibitions and leads to countless car accidents a year, but that same restaurant cannot serve a dish that can, over time in large quantities, lead to heart disease among other things. That is one thing I don't understand. There are others.

What ever happened to consumer responsibility. Shouldn't consumers be able to make informed choices about what they eat. Why can't we choose for ourselves. I don't think as an American citizen that I shouldn't be allowed to eat something that I want to as long as I understand the potential health risks after a few decades of frequent ingestion. That's just me.

What do you think? Comment back.

Sorry

Sorry I haven't post all day, I was after-Christmas shopping (read returning) and was away from my computer. I'll hopefully get a few posts up tonight after dinner.

Hits Christmas!

Well, 8:30 is on its way, and I'm looking forward to a nice healthy dose of Chad Pennington to finish off my monday night. But before I do that, I just want to thank you for all of the hits I've had lately, and show you how many people from around the world have visited so far. Again, Merry Christmas.

Note: each dot is a hit
If you want to see a map of where people are visting from, Google Analytics can help, and its free.

What This Blog Would Look Like as Soup

What this blog would look like as soup:
I couldn't get the text exactly right, but you get the idea. Maybe I should have done something more in the holidy spirit, like what it would look like as mint jelly.

My Top 10 Time-Wasting Online Games (In no Particular Order)

Merry Christmas. These are my Top 10 Time-Wasting Games that I have played this year, in no particular order:
1. Line Rider
This is a little bit predictable, but seriously this is possibly the most timewasting game I have ever played. I can go for hours and hours without getting tired. (That's what she said)
2. Two Minute Football
I like football, and I play this on Sunday while I'm waiting for the game to start. I can't get past All-Pro, what about you?
3. Top Dog
I played this all the time earlier in the year. The trick is to fly upside down close to the ground and don't let the other plane get on the ground. My highest is 34? What's yours?
4. Escapa!
This is a very difficult game. It's good for a warm up session before a nice game of Halo. Gets the reflexes up.
5. BMX Backflips 2
I played the wheely level constantly from morning to night for about a month. Truly an addicting game.
6. Frat Boy Beer Pong
Fun......
7. Ice Breakout
This year was the year of the penguin, and this is the game of the penguin. Dont push me, cause I'm close to the edge.
8. Red Line Rumble
Good street racing game. It's the poor mans NFS.
9. Drivers Ed
This should be the standard government driving test. Beats going to the DMV.
10. Hell of Falling Sand Game
Very addicting. Limitless possibilities for destruction.

I don't know what this post has to do with restoring sanity, but I thought it would be fun to do. What are your favorite games? I'd love to find new ways to waste time. Post your comments and see you soon.

Why Helmets Actually Put You at Risk When You Ride your Bike

It's true, and the reason makes sense. A psychologist at the University of Bath, who is an avid biker (he probably even shaves his legs), did a study where he rigged his bike with an ultrasonic sensor, helping him detect how far away cars were passing him. Then all he did was ride his bike to work for the next two months, with and without helmets. The study shows that drivers passed him about 3.35 inches closer when he was wearing a helmet than without. Apparently the study shows, most drivers would rather hit a guy with a helmet than without one. And yes, he did get hit during his study. Once by a bus, and once by a truck. Both times while he was wearing a helmet. (I think he did on purpose). Until tommorow....

Snap

I was reading through a few blogs, and I found something called Snap. Here is an example:
Google
Run your mouse over that and what pops up? A cached image of Google thats what. So in your egnog infused stupor, you should probably skip on over to Snap and put image infused links under your tree for free.
Just thought I might let you guys know, because it just definitely made my day. Tommorow I'm going to have a real post for you guys, just sort of taking a little break right now, you know Holiday spirit.

By the Way

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you guys have a healthy year and look forward to seeing you in the times to come. I'll probably post something later today.

Gridiron Gripe

I think I may be starting a new tradition for this blog. I think I am going to be doing one post every Sunday concerning football. That isn't to say that this blog is soley about football, it's just something that I am interested in and you quite possibly are as well. If you're not, then go read something else on Sundays.

Personally, I am a fan of the Jets. My family has had season tickets since 1969, and it's sort of a tradition. Now watching the Jets for so many years, they have really introduced me to the joy of either narrowly losing, or narrowly winning in the NFL. This is because, almost every game the Jets play is a nail biter. Save for games against Green Bay, Houston and the Vikings, we have won almost every game by a touchdown or less this season. And I wouldn't want the Jets any other way. It makes things much more interesting. But the Jets aren't what I want this post to be about, well, not directly.


My question, is why, without Direct T.V, or a Slingbox, I can't watch a Jets game unless I'm in the Tri-State area. I mean if I was in Russia I could, because anybody outside of the U.S can watch a live streaming broadcast right on their laptops, or tricked out Ak-47s as the case may be. Take for example, the fact that last week I was on vacation, and in order to watch the game, I had to go on Yahoo and refresh a page every five seconds, to see what was happening during the game in text. Yes, text. It would say, C. Pennington 2 yard touchdown pass to C. Baker. Then I would furiously refresh to see if Mike Nugent had made the PAT, which of course with the Jets is something that is cast into doubt. He might make it, he might not. But still, can't the NFL screw the networks, and stream me my Jets game as long as I am outside of the Tri-State area? Pretty please? With a cherry?