I don't understand this t-shirt, but I hope other people will (and maybe they can explain it to me). It comes from this site, which has some other confusing shirts ("127.0.0.1"??) that would probably make more sense if I were a hardcore tech nerd.

Anyway, people keep giving me a hard time about the fact that I haven't blogged in a while, so here -- I'm making it a priority today. I hope you're happy!

HalliBush Wars, Inc.

I know this is old news by now, but I still fiind it endlessly amusing:

1. You want better armor?
   
2. It's necessary for us to hear this.
   
3. We're working on it.

The squeaky wheel gets the freakin' grease, yo. (Or maybe it just gets the greasy platitudes from those in charge.) Good for you, underprepared soldiers. That's the way to handle an open mic.

Elsewhere

And speaking of go get 'em!

Hundreds of protesters have besieged two oil platforms run by Royal Dutch/Shell Group Cos. and ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX) in Nigeria's southern oil region, shutting down production of 90,000 barrels of oil a day, company officials said Monday. . . .

Oil operations in the restive Niger Delta are frequently disrupted by violence by aggrieved, impoverished communities that feel cheated out of the oil wealth pumped from their land. Nearly all of Nigeria's oil exports come from the delta.

Welcome to The Fourth World War.

From the Purity of Arms file: Israeli troops shoot Palestinian boy for fun.

According to the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronoth, the incident took place in March when a group of newly graduated soldiers were on a hike near the town of Khan Yunus.

The boy's father, Sulaiman Mahdi, told the paper the killing was "just for the sake of it". "Seven bullets pierced my son's head, so you can't talk here about a mistake or random gunfire. This was an act of direct and clear sharp shooting," he said. "The area is wide open and contains nothing special. The only thing unusual was the shooting at us, which killed my son."

But here's the amazing part:

Sulaiman Mahdi, who leads a simple farmer's life, said he did not plan to sue the Israeli army for his son's murder. "I only hope the Israeli army takes care such a thing doesn't occur again. There are lots of children here who work with their parents and I hope Khalid will be the last casualty."

Many Israelis and their supporters make it clear that revenge rocket attacks and random home destruction are justified retaliation -- and this man isn't even suing after they murdered his son. How sweet the sound...

I wonder if I could ever be that merciful. Could any of us supposedly sophisticated, genteel Americans muster that sort of stunning forgiveness? (Or maybe he's just scared of retribution.)

Ever wondered what Hello Kitty's skeleton looks like? How about Buttercup? Or Charlie Brown? Check out the whole collection.

And from the No, I'm Not Making It Up file: What's so bad about steroids?

News anchors get face lifts and actors take Botox (search) so more people watch them. What's different about athletes? . . .

But even if baseball players ended up crippled after their playing days as football players do, why isn't it their choice? What's next? Will government regulators protect white-collar workers from risking heart attacks when they pull all-nighters trying to meet deadlines?

Dude, I'm not even going to try responding to that one.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some very important work to get to.

TimeWaster™

Check out the trailer for The Fourth World War. You really need to see the whole movie. (The shots of the Korean protests are absolutely breathtaking.)

Today I'm listening to: Run-DMC!