Isn't this picture great? It's not hotlinked, either. Because the gods know there's nothing worse than hotlinking pictures -- not even child molestation is as wretched a crime! So I hereby swear to stop hotlinking pictures, so that my immortal soul may instead ascend into heaven.

Anyway, this NON-HOTLINKED picture comes to us from the excellent Church Sign Generator. Make your own wacky church signs, and check out their nice collection of actual church signs.

Speaking of stuff you should look at: I finished the redesign of Garrison Multimedia. Now you might look at it and say: "Hey, wait a second. This looks almost identical to the old design. All you did was enlarge the picture, put some effects on the title, and redesign the description cells a little bit. Didn't you spend hours and hours trying to come up with an exciting new layout like you made for JT and this blog?" To which I can only respond: Shut up.

Also -- check out Mr. Damon's interesting commentary on The Blue Angels.

Last year, I watched with some admitted fascination as the F-18s climbed and rolled and tore across the sky. It was hard to comprehend how several tons of metal moving with that much speed and under that much stress could not careen out of control.

It was when the planes bore down on us that my attitude became more critical. It was during those moments that I was reminded that these were attack manuevers: bombing, strafing, getting in place for the kill shot. It was during these moments that I and many others (thinking of conversations I had with people that weekend) recognized that the stunts presented as hoo-ha, rah-rah, thrill-kill entertainment were all about killing in their intended application.

HalliBush Wars, Inc.

How do we assure that the Iraqi people enjoy the benefits of freedom? Ban al-Jazeera! Brilliant.

Al-Jazeera has occasionally run into problems with authorities in other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and the former Iraqi regime. Unlike Arab state-run media, the station often airs views of local opposition figures and their criticisms of their countries' rulers.

That's probably why authorities in the US hate them, too. Be good journalists and just repeat what we tell you, will ya?


Meanwhile, in Venezuela, embattled president Hugo Chavez is facing a recall vote on 15 August. Commentators in the US are trying to paint Chavez as a lunatic demon dictator, but -- as always -- you are hereby encouraged not to believe the hype. As the Associated Press reports:

After five years in office, President Hugo Chavez remains a hero to millions of impoverished Venezuelans who see him as their only hope for a better future - and that gives him a good chance of beating a recall referendum this month. . . .

"Chavistas" argue that the president is the first leader in this oil-rich country to give citizens decision-making power and involve them in politics, usually at the local level in groups called Bolivarian Circles.

Again, it should be no wonder that he's disliked by US authorities. ("What? He's involving ordinary people at the grassroots level in the decisions that affect their lives? Where did he get that crackpot idea?")

Chavez isn't perfect; I don't want to downplay the negative aspects of his government (particularly in relation to the courts and human rights). But let's be completely clear: US authorities never had a problem with these issues in Suharto's Indonesia; Duvalier's Haiti; or Pinochet's Chile. It is the change in economic and social-democratic policies that anger elites in the US, not merely these violations of international law. I will not excuse these transgressions; indeed, they should not be tolerated under a supposedly democratic regime. But neither can we overlook the tremendous good that government has been doing for the impoverished masses in Venezuela.

TimeWaster™

Robots Are Our Friends. Magnificent! Via ABS.

Today I'm listening to: Public Enemy! (Word! rapraprapraprap)