Friday, June 09, 2006

Don't Steal

Found this on Clicked today: The Saga Of The Stolen Sidekick

In this age of blogs, it is a very bad idea to steal. The Ebay Laptop incident is another example.

I found a Sidekick in a cab a little over a year ago. It was pretty beat up, and didn't turn on. I took out the SIM card and inserted it into my cell phone to see if I could retrieve the owner's information. I did, and called him. He didn't seem too concerned about it. I left my number, asked when he'd like to pick it up. The guy didn't live in the city, so he said he'd have to call me whenever he'd be in next. I offered to mail it to him. He said no thanks.

He never called me back. I even left him a message in case he lost my number. But nothing. So I have a Sidekick. I never signed up for the service, but it's fun to take out now and then and pretend like I'm Paris Hilton.

As for these people who stole this guy's Sidekick, they deserve to be humiliated. It doesn't matter where you're from, what race you are, how much money you have. What matters is how you act as a human being. By not returning the Sidekick, these people acted pretty badly. In the internet age, behaving that way has consequences. That said... the lynch mobs of the World Wide Web can overstep their bounds too. We're talking about a $200 dollar device here. Embarrass, but embarrass responsibly. Evan Washere has exercised restraint... but those latching onto his cause.. even venturing to videotape the thieves' house... have gone a little far. Do these people have lives?

Anyways, the lesson is clear. Don't steal. Or if you do, don't have a MySpace page.

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PLUS: In Other Vital News... Cats Compete In Reality Showdown
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Thursday, June 08, 2006

I Love Stephen Corbert

The commencement speaker I had at NYU sucked.
One Terrorist Down, 2,936,978 To Go

Al Zarqawi

Al-Zarqawi, not to be confused with Al-Borland of Home Improvement fame, was killed by Coalition (i.e. U.S.) forces this morning. We should all thank our lucky stars there's one less terrorist in the world, but it's unclear right now what the effects will be. Already a new terrorist leader has been mentioned, Abu al-Masri. Whether al-Masri also gets his kicks by personally beheading journalists and contractors remains to be seen.

Anyone see Bin Laden lately? Anyone still looking? Mr. President?
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Why Is This Woman Smiling?

Hillary Clinton

A) She just saved a bunch of money on her car insurance.

B) She's the front-runner for the Democratic Presidential nomination despite spending the entire year catering to right wing Republicans.

C) Botox.

D) All of the above.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Republican Party Values

"I don't believe there's any issue that's more important than this one."
--Republican Sen. David Vitter

Is he talking about the AIDS crisis in Africa? The genocide in the Sudan? The war in Iraq? Iran's nuclear aspirations? Peace bewteen Israel and Palestine? How about illegal immigration? Health care? The state of education in this country? The economy? Maybe he's talking about global warming. Bird flu? Russia slipping away from Democracy? The Khamer Rouge? The earthquake victims in Java? Maybe he's referring to the efforts to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast? Or finding new ways to combat terrorism? Is the important issue he speaks of tax reform? Addressing the problem of the shrinking middle class? Creating new services to get the homeless off the streets? Cleaning up corruption in government? How about making sure every vote counts? Better funding for the arts and sciences? Body armor for troops? Finding Bin Laden? Maybe he wants to keep better tabs on sex offenders? Solve the oil crisis? Create renewable energy technologies for the post-oil age? Raise the minimum wage? Fight corporate corruption? Regulating internet commerce? Maintain better relations with the world? Fight world hunger? Maybe he thinks tort reform is the most important issue. Or social security reform. Perhaps he thinks we should spend more money fighting the war on drugs. Or the war on pornography? Is saving the rainforest most important? Or saving endangered species? Ending China's human rights abuses? Making sure the North Koreans don't use the bomb? Protecting our interests and assets abroad? Curing cancer? Stopping Mad Cow? Reducing teen pregnancy? Prosecuting identity thieves? Tightening port security? Puerto Rico attaining statehood? Tell me, David Vitter, what's most important? Promoting Democracy in the East? Providing humanitarian aid to Rwanda and the Congo? Ending the sex slave trade? Fighting child prostitution in the far east? Supporting our troops?? What issue is he talking about??? What issue is MOST IMPORTANT??????

Oh. Nevermind. He was talking about outlawing gay marriage. Well, it's important to have priorities.


[Even Lou Dobbs, who scares me, agrees]

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Vote For The Studio!!!

The Studio

The Studio is a women's clothing store in Boston, Massachusettes.

They're an inspirational story and some great people (one's my Aunt).

CBS is running a contest for best women's fashion boutique in the greater Boston area. And The Studio deserves to win. They do so much to help the community.

If you also think they're the best, Help Em Out!

Vote For 'The Studio' Here!
The Terrorists Strike... Falafel??

Ultra-radical Islamic insurgents in Iraq are reportedly targeting a new "infadel": falafel vendors.

It used to be, as long as you kept your head down, prayed to Allah every hour, wore clothes that covered your entire body, and stayed away from alcohol, smoking, and every form of entertainment, you'd be relatively safe from Islamic militant reprisals. Unless you wandered near an I.E.D. But now, you can't even buy or sell a falafel in Baghdad without a terrorist bullseye on your back.

"I said I was just feeding the people, but they said there were no falafels in Muhammad the prophet's time, so we shouldn't have them either. I felt like telling them there were no Kalashnikovs in Muhammad's time either, but I wanted to keep my life."
Iraqis shooting other Iraqis over fried chickpeas? That certainly doesn't seem like "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq.

The media has reported that enraged Marines may be responsible for the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians (including women and children) in the town of Haditha. There are indications the U.S. government's own investigation may prove the allegations true.

Luckily, we have enlightened minds like Rush Limbaugh to put things in perspective:

"This Haditha story, this Haditha instance -- incident, whatever -- this is it, folks. This is the final big push on behalf of the Democratic Party, the American left, and the drive-by media to destroy our effort to win the war in Iraq... folks, let me just put it in graphic terms. It is going to be a gang rape. There is going to be a gang rape by the Democratic Party, the American left, and the drive-by media to finally take us out in the war against Iraq. Make no bones about it."
Well, that clears it up for me. The "Haditha Instance" is clearly not the fault of the Marines involved, not the fault of the architects of this war, and certainly not the fault of our President, who continues to authorize torture. It's the fault of the media, and the Democrats. I'm sure glad Rush put it in such.. er.. graphic terms for me.

If the media seems to report only negative news from Iraq, doesn't it stand to reason that maybe, just maybe, the VAST MAJORITY of news from Iraq is negative? Sure, there may be some Iraqi schoolchildren who just received pencils. But should the media trump up those stories and downplay something like... "Marines Accused of Massacre"? Limbaugh might say yes.

I'm not in Iraq. Neither are you, most likely. We don't know what's going on. And neither does Rush. All we have are two sources. The media and the government. Which one do you trust? Which one has the bigger motive to distort the truth?

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