Aside

Ed: The problem is, neither of these decisions are going to really make any difference one bit. NYT, July 9 2004: Report Says Key Assertions Leading to War Were Wrong WASHINGTON, July 9 Ñ The Central Intelligence Agency greatly overestimated the danger presented by deadly unconventional weapons in Iraq because of runaway assumptions that were never sufficiently challenged, the Senate Intelligence Committee said today. In a long-awaited report that goes to the heart of President Bush’s rationale for going to…

Word to the wise: If you’re flying over DC, make sure your transponder is working. The top general at the North American Aerospace Defense Command was on the telephone and prepared to order an F-16 fighter to shoot down an unidentified plane that turned out to be carrying the governor of Kentucky to former president Ronald Reagan’s funeral last month, according to two federal security officials briefed separately about the incident. The tense incident June 9 ended after the twin-engine…

Good news: I got approval to write another food piece for Oakland City magazine! Woo-hoo! Weird news: While researching a story for B2, I came across Adopt-A-Sniper. Kinda like Adopt-A-Child around the Holidays, but slightly different.

From “David Corcoran” Subject Re: Fwd: Persians are not Arabs – need correction Date Wed, July 7, 2004 1:27 pm To “Cyrus J. Farivar” Persian it is. The correction will say his POETRY is in Persian, leaving the other works aside. Thanks again for your help and good humor. David >Heh. You’re opening a can of worms with that. If you ask me, I’d say >either one is fine — but probably Persian is the safest. > >You might want…

To the Editor of the Science Times and Ms. Margaret Wertheim: I wanted to write you to tell you that I very much enjoyed your July 6 article “Virtual Camp Trains Soldiers in Arabic, and More.” However, I found a glaring error in the 10th paragraph, where you write: “No one is going to be able to read Omar Khayyam after this training…” implying that Khayyam wrote in Arabic. In fact, Khayyam was Persian and remains one of the greatest…

So I’m reading a NYT story about virtual Arabic training, and it says: No one is going to be able to read Omar Khayyam after this training, but the agency hopes it will enable soldiers to navigate more easily and safely through the Arab world. OF COURSE THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO READ KHAYYAM! HE WAS PERSIAN! HE WROTE IN PERSIAN! Persians ≠ Arabs Persian language ≠ Arabic language

From the GOP’s site: (I wish I was making this up.) Edwards Has ÒNever Done Any Serious Farming.Ó Edwards DoesnÕt Follow Weekly NASCAR Races, Adds He ÒDoesnÕt Follow Anything Except Politicking.Ó Edwards HasnÕt Hunted Or Fished ÒIn Years.Ó Edwards Has ÒIn The Past Been A Country Music Fan.Ó (Tim Funk, ÒQ&A With John Edwards,Ó The Charlotte Observer, 5/26/03) Edwards CanÕt Even Remember Make Or Model Of His Own Truck. . . . Edwards Thought ÒItÕs An Enormous Mistake To Fly…

Associated Press, July 6 2004: NEW YORK (AP) — Dewey defeats … Gephardt? The New York Post, in a front-page gaffe reminiscent of the 1948 headline wrongly announcing President Truman’s defeat, proclaimed Tuesday that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry would select Rep. Dick Gephardt as his running mate. “KERRY’S CHOICE,” read the headline over the Page One “exclusive” story. “Dem picks Gephardt as VP candidate.” The story, which ran without a byline, was accompanied by a file photo of the…

Ok, so I’m reading this NYT article about Christian hipster t-shirts and what not. “I travel to all the festivals, dozens of them, all summer long, then I do smaller events in California during winter,” Mr. Lula said, standing over T-shirts that read, “Hardcore Christian,” “Hetero-Boy” and “Religion Is Dead. Jesus Is Not.” He said he was not simply selling concert souvenirs. “I feel I’m getting the word of God out,” he said. . . . T-shirts screamed or punned…

Paul Boutin found this great link about Saddam’s attempt at playing Rock Paper Scissors at his hearing in Baghdad last week. Rachel and I tried to go to Sweetie Pie and Poppy’s in Oakland, but I guess they have a Sunday buffet, which was somewhat off putting, so we opted for La Bayou on Adeline near Ashby BART instead. La Bayou, which was intriguing as it boasted alligator (25 bite size bits for $7.99 over fries) — however, when we…