] But while the gains of the orange-bedecked "chestnut
] revolution" are Ukraine's, the campaign is an American
] creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived
] exercise in western branding and mass marketing that, in
] four countries in four years, has been used to try to
] salvage rigged elections and topple unsavoury regimes.

I've been trying to follow along with events in Ukraine. This is the first article I have seen that points to the US as a direct influence in the election.

Guardian Unlimited | US campaign behind the turmoil in Kiev

] Ever since the Communist party took power in 1949, the
] Chinese media has been tightly controlled by the
] government. Online publishing is a real threat to that
] control, and the government is clearly worried.

This author of this article maintains a blog at http://journalism.berkeley.edu/projects/chinadn/en/

Article: The 'blog' revolution sweeps across China | New Scientist

] "Just to let everyone know, my mother was murdered."
]
] This simple yet startling sentence marks the last entry
] Rachelle Waterman made in her Internet journal before she
] was arrested on charges she participated in killing her
] mother. And it marks the beginning of an online
] discussion that's as remarkable for its popularity as its
] content.

The journal is at http://www.livejournal.com/users/smchyrocky/

According to another news article, Waterman convinced two 24 year old men to abduct and murder her mother while she and her father were out of town. Her mother's body was discovered in a burnt up van on a remote logging road. The three of them have been charged with first degree murder.

This just got some widespread attention, so various LJ threads are exploding. I guess nothing gets the LiveJournal community going like parricide.

Anchorage Daily News | People flock to online journal after 16-year-old's arraignment

] The Athos I, which is registered in the island nation of
] Cyprus, was carrying 325,000 barrels of oil from
] Venezuela when it began spilling the crude Friday night,
] said Jim Lawrence, a spokesman for the vessel's owner,
] Greek shipping company Tsakos Shipping and Trading SA.

20 mile oil slick, from Venezuela, with love.. Almost made it 10 years without a major oil spill on the Delaware, almost.

] Acting New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Codey said the port
] would reopen in about three days, with cleanup taking two
] or three months and all residual effects of the spill
] subsiding in about six months. He said that Tsakos would
] foot the bill.
]
] "We just don't want the river cleaned up, we want it
] fully restored," he said.

Just in case anyone is keeping score: Acting Governor == unelected official

Tanker spills 30,000 gallons of crude oil in Delaware River (phillyBurbs.com)

The parallels are unavoidable.

This op-ed by Larry Lessig was published in Wednesday's Washington Post.

Bytes and Bullets

] In scuttling major intelligence legislation that he, the
] president and most lawmakers supported, Speaker J. Dennis
] Hastert last week enunciated a policy in which Congress
] will pass bills only if most House Republicans back them,
] regardless of how many Democrats favor them.

Hastert supports "the majority of the majority", only.

Hastert Launches A Partisan Policy (washingtonpost.com)

The new issue of TWQ is now available. Start with the editor's note. Pakistan is the main topic. No shortage of reading here.

The Washington Quarterly - Winter 2004-05

Someone predicts that Microsoft will invent MemeStreams in 2008 and then it will be replaced by Google/Amazon in 2010. Very news centric in nature (as is MemeStreams), it ignores that much of the mass media consists of entertainment like movies and TV aside from mentioning Tivo. That's fine, I enjoy a good tale of the future, and this one points at in very obvious direction that most are oblivious of. Apparently some of the most significant technological innovations of the future will be branding, at least that's what I'm thinking after staring at company logos for eight minutes while being told a story.

"In 2005 people realized MemeStreams had already been there since 2001, it just didn't have the resources of Google or MSN. Wired wrote a news article, but the world continued talking about RSS feeds and BitTorrent."

EPIC 2014

It was great. I was so happy to be there. I have wanted to see the Milkmen since I started listening to them in the 7th grade, and now I have. They put on an awesome show. They sounded really good, they played a long and comprehensive set, and the crowd was all loving it.

If asked what I didn't like about it, I could only come up with petty bullshit. Like at the end of Stuart, the "I swear to God!" was not emphasized enough. Or that Big Time Operator wasn't one of my favorite DM songs, but they ended with it. I think Life is Shit would have been better. They didn't play Peter Bazooka. See, crap like that. That's all I can come up with.

This was a memorial show, so there were a number of touching molments. The vibe throughout the night was always positive and happy, never depressing. Between bands someone (whom I did not catch the name of) shared stories and tidbits about Dave. During the Milkmen's set in the extended intro to Bitchin' Camero, Rodney talked at length about Dave. He reminded everyone in the audience that they were legally obligated not to kill themselves, and if they were feeling depressed to call someone. Dave's brother sang his part in Dean's Dream (and also declared his love for Huster Du at another point). A number of charities Dave supported were there collecting donations.

Nixon's Head and Electric Love Muffin were the opening bands. I only saw a song or two of each between runs to the bar. This was the first time I had been out to the Trochadero (shocking!), so I spent a little bit of time familiarizing myself with the venue. I also spent some time familiarizing myself with a shot of rum, a Guinness, a Yuengling, and a double of tequila.

The Milkmen opened up with Tiny Town.. The first song off Big Lizard in my Backyard, and also the first song on the CD of Milkmen tracks I made for the drive out. They played a solid set the entire way through and did a seven or eight song encore. There were only one or two songs where the crowd appeared to calm at all. Rodney was all over the stage the entire night, between songs he was venting vitriol at Rick Santorum (Senate, PA-R). I found it highly amusing that Rodney was wearing a Frontline Assembly t-shirt when they first came out. Based on certain DM lyrics, I'm pretty damn sure they hate that group, the entire genera they represent, and the shirt was pure sarcasm. FLA is one of the industrial groups I've liked over the years, so I found it very funny.

I was there with a group of five other friends. Our NYC and Boston reps cancel out due to work related reasons, but this allowed two friends who were not able to get tickets in time (also due to work related reasons) to come. I cannot easily explain what an unlikely group it was.. At least one massive feud that has been going on for years ended for this show.

After the show Dean, Joe, and Rodney were hanging by the front of the stage signing things for people. I got a chance to briefly address them all and say thanks. I didn't have anything to get signed. I never get things signed, I get brain cells burned in.

I hope someone was recording this show. The Milkmen sounded better then any bootleg or live album of theirs I've heard before.

Mike the Usurper wrote:
] Well as someone who knows their guns (for no real reason), the
] SKS is the chinese designation for the AK-47. It's cheap,
] it's reliable, and no hunter I've EVER heard of uses the damn
] thing. It's noisy (yep, that works great with deer who bolt
] at a the sound of a snail farting 400 yards away) not very
] accurate at range. What it is good as is throwing up a ton of
] lead. Traditionally, they have something like a 20-30 round
] banana clip, and can unload the whole thing in a few seconds,
] although it's semi-automatic, not full auto. It's designed to
] kill people, not deer.

The 30 round clip is illegal in the states. When people use a SKS for hunting they use the 10 round clip in the configuration where the weapon loads from the top.. At least they should.

You are accurate in your description of the firearm. It would not be my first pick for a hunting rifle. It is an offensive weapon. Almost all semi-autos leave a little to be desired in terms of accuracy at range, the exceptions being more modern assault rifles. A good example of that would be a Bushmaster like the DC snipers used in their killing spree. It would be a better hunting rifle then an SKS, but I'm sure that's not what anyone wants to hear. Bolt action rifles are usually the preferred hunting rifle since its the first shot that counts, and they are not as heavy. A bolt action rifle was used to kill JFK. Their rate of fire, while much slower then a semi-auto, is still up to the speed required by the DC snipers to carry out their attacks. I think a bolt action rifle was also used by Charles Whitman in the Texas clock-tower shootings.

Regardless of firearm design, it is only usage that matters. Irresponsible people like this cause rights to be taken away. This idiot clearly had no respect for human life. This lack of respect did not come from the gun. As a responsible firearm owner, I want to see this guy spend the rest of his life in jail. Every time something like this happens, it reflects badly on gun owners. It would be nice to see him made an example of, and not the firearm, but I know that is not going to happen that way.

This article isn't bad. The way these things are usually handled, I expect to be seeing a picture of the firearm, not the suspect.

RE: ABC News: 5 Killed, 3 Hurt in Wis. Hunting Dispute