The unimportant news thread

[Todd]

I wonder if maybe this will get the supposedly anti-war lefties and other do-gooders here in the US up in arms, and if the American press will start pressuring Barry O more.  Actually, I don't. 

And really, "war crimes"?  Hasn't Chomsky and his ilk been saying for decades that every post-war American administration has committed war crimes?  (Along with pretty much every pre-war American administration.)  Why would Barry O be any different, except for his promise to bring change you can believe in?  Anyway, which other state, combination of states, or international organization has the power to actually pursue war crimes charges against an American leader?

[Todd]

More good news on the ACA front.



This here shows but one reason why Republicans were stupid to make such a big issue out of Obamacare: the insurance industry benefits.  They can now drop lower premium, bare-bones policies and replace them with higher premium policies that will be subsidized by taxpayers.  And there will ultimately be a lot more customers.  Did the Republicans forget that they are the party of business?  Their favored donors didn't.

Now, the botched roll-out, that's something that can be used for political purposes for at least a while, though I'm guessing that by November of next year, most systems will be running in adequate or close to adequate fashion.  Still, I'm hoping for some political blood.  Ms Sebelius is as good a target as any.  Let's see that head roll.

[Todd]

The US slowly, slightly expands military operations in Africa.  A lengthy article, but a good one.  Some nice excerpts:


The hunt is one of the most unusual military operations since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Kony is not an Islamist extremist or a narcotics smuggler. He poses no jeopardy to the United States, nor is he an existential risk to any African nation. Although he once held sway over a substantial portion of central Africa, the Ugandan military campaign to neutralize him, which began more than a decade before U.S. troops arrived in the region, has shooed him from populated areas. His ranks decimated, he is thought to command fewer than 250 fighters.

Even so, U.S. military officers and diplomats in the region contend that he remains a target worth pursuing.

"Is Joseph Kony a direct threat to the United States? No," said Scott DeLisi, the U.S. ambassador to Uganda. "He's not targeting U.S. citizens. He's not targeting U.S. embassies. He's not al-Qaeda."

Instead, DeLisi said, Kony merits U.S. involvement because his malign behavior runs counter to "our core values."

"Why is the United States engaged in the world, for God's sake?" he said. "If we are true to what we believe in as Americans . . . we need to get rid of Joseph Kony."



Is "our core values" the new-fangled version of White Man's Burden?



When Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) placed a hold on the legislation, the [activist] groups [like Invisible Children] rallied students to sleep on the sidewalk in front of his office in Oklahoma City. Despite the frigid nights, the crowd swelled to more than 150. After 11 days, Coburn caved.


So now the young are used by supposed do-gooders to pressure Congress to engage in more military action?

[Karl Henning]

snypsss, it could be worse: there could be clouds of sriracha in your air.

[Todd]

Wait just a minute: this article would seem to imply that recent European indignation at being spied on by the big, bad NSA may just be a wee bit disingenuous.  That cannot be.  European leaders are righteous and honest.

[knight66]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/opinion/sunday/friedman-calling-america-hello-hello-hello-hello.html?smid=tw-TomFriedman&seid=auto&_r=0

Mike

[Brian]

"The agency's Dishfire database — nothing happens without a code word at the N.S.A. — stores years of text messages from around the world, just in case. Its Tracfin collection accumulates gigabytes of credit card purchases."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/world/no-morsel-too-minuscule-for-all-consuming-nsa.html?hp&_r=0

"Presto Classical, ImportCDs, EuropaDisc, MDT, Arkivmusic... yeah, we don't need to worry about these guys."

EDIT: Heh, there's also the slightly amusing revelation that the NSA spies on Israeli military officials.

[ibanezmonster]

EDIT: Heh, there's also the slightly amusing revelation that the NSA spies on Israeli military officials.

Uh-oh... don't tell snyprrr... or do tell him? 

[Todd]

An amusing morning on the ACA front:

Amusing Item 1: A fun article.  Just who did higher-income (ie, above the subsidy ceiling), self-insured people who voted for Obama and wanted ACA think would feel the brunt of this law?   

Amusing Item 2: It's funny to watch the hippy-dippy owners of a local business I frequent change all their workers over to part-time.  I'm sure their actions have nothing to do with the health care law.

Amusing Item 3: The subsidy ceiling for a family of four where I live is about $67K a year.  It's a small subsidy, yes, but I have have a feeling public health care expenditures may end up growing more than various leaders let on.

[Todd]

Behold: The Canadian Marion Barry!

[Todd]

Okay, so first some doofuses on the Sörmland County Council in Sweden aim to prevent men from urinating while standing up, and now there's this.  Is Sweden involved in some type of large-scale pharmacological experiment?  (I hope -abe- doesn't read this.)

[Brian]

Okay, so first some doofuses on the Sörmland County Council in Sweden aim to prevent men from urinating while standing up, and now there's this.  Is Sweden involved in some type of large-scale pharmacological experiment?  (I hope -abe- doesn't read this.)

It sounds like they won't ban anything, just have a scorecard system.

Sweden is also home to the world's largest pile of wood.

[Todd]

It sounds like they won't ban anything, just have a scorecard system.

No, they won't ban anything, at least not yet, but the intention is very clearly to sway viewing habits by deploying an arbitrary, purely political rating system.  If it works, the entities imposing it (apparently, move theaters in this case, at least for now) will be influencing expressive content through economic coercion.

[Brian]

No, they won't ban anything, at least not yet, but the intention is very clearly to sway viewing habits by deploying an arbitrary, purely political rating system.  If it works, the entities imposing it (apparently, move theaters in this case, at least for now) will be influencing expressive content through economic coercion.

It's Cass Sunstein's paternalist politics at work. (Or Mike Bloomberg's, but in this case, it doesn't raise any issues of liberties etc.) It raises issues of how their government is choosing to spend money on these report cards, but I don't see any other objection. Of course, I'm in favor of the principle; movies and other genres of art are too male-dominated and the fact that most in-demand actresses are either It Girls or Distinguished Old Eminences speaks to a sexism we have never been able to scrub out.

Heck, even the movie they're championing, Hunger Games, is headlined by an It Girl, though fortunately a talented one.

[Todd]

Of course, I'm in favor of the principle

Of course, Swedes can spend money in any way they see fit, but in principle I am strongly opposed to the state or any of its agents using political and economic power to curb, in any way, free expression; liberty is affected.  This type of coercion is intrinsically insidious.

[not edward]

Behold: The Canadian Marion Barry!

This one's getting more fun every day. Now there's a video of him in a massive tantrum threatening to kill some unspecified person, and there's one video in police hands whose content hasn't been publicized yet. However, local media has been hinting (none too subtly) that it may be a sex tape.

I suppose I should feel some compassion for the guy, but given that he's rampagingly incompetent and a wife-beater to boot, I don't.

[Szykneij]

Hope this wasn't Karl!         

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/08/saxophone-lung-clean-clarinet-instrument-woodwind_n_4221368.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

[Todd]

Healthcare.gov a huge success; enrollment numbers exceed expectations.


(I wonder if anyone floated the idea of having a company like Amazon or perhaps an insurance company build the site.)

[Karl Henning]

Hope this wasn't Karl!         

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/08/saxophone-lung-clean-clarinet-instrument-woodwind_n_4221368.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

No, no, my recent absence really was a vacation, and not a blind for The Kenny G Saxophone Lung Rehab Clinic & Wellness Spa.

[Todd]

Man, the ACA rollout is better than Republicans hoped for.  Slick Willy said it needs to be fixed, and now Barry O offers a fix of sorts to those who wanted to keep their plan by deferring the day of reckoning for one year.  One big caveat:

Since insurance is regulated at the state level, it remains up to the commissioners to permit the extensions and the companies to do so. The president noted that not all commissioners may agree to extensions. At least four states -- California, Idaho, Virginia and Kentucky -- are requiring all individual plans adhere to Obamacare rules.

Looks like ACA will be a 2014 issue, too.