October, 2010 archive
Americans Lead the World in Remaking Themselves 0
Science 2.0 (Scientific Blogging under a new name) reports that the United States has more plastic surgeries (“procedures” if you want to pretend they aren’t “operations”) than any other country.
It does not surprise that the majority are cosmetic. Worldwide rankings of the top procedures are:
The popularity of surgical procedures varied by country with Brazil, the United States, China, Mexico, India and Japan the dominant countries for the top five procedures.
(snip)
The top five non surgical procedures are: toxins or neuromodulators injections (Botox, Dysport) (32.7%), hyaluronic acid injections (20.1%), laser hair removal (13.1%), autologous fat injections (taking a patient’s fat from one location and transferring it in the same patient in another location) (5.9%) and IP Laser treatment (4.4%).
Lots of money for not much of anything, if you ask me. Or even if you don’t.
“Take No Prisoners” (Updated) 0
This does not seem right (emphasis added).
The Apache helicopter pilots killed both Iraqi men after being advised by a US military lawyer that they could not surrender to an aircraft and therefore remained valid targets. A leading military law expert consulted by the Guardian has questioned this legal advice.
Follow the link. Read it all.
Aside:
No wonder the Pentagon wants to keep this stuff secret. Claiming that it endangers lives in the future is sophistry.
It endangers careers in the now.
Addendum, Slightly Later:
The Guardian comments (emphasis added):
(snip)
But each extra piece of evidence builds a portrait of a military occupation deeply implicated in practices that were illegal under international law and unconscionable in the eyes of any reasonable observer.
The terrible truth about British and American involvement in Iraq seems increasingly to be that it was not just a strategic failure, it was, for the occupying powers, a moral catastrophe.
The Galt and the Lamers 0
Wasserman:
Unknown States 0
I dreamt I was up all night repairing a car.
Now I don’t know whether I’m tired or rested.
Season’s Over 0
Thank you, Phillies, for a great run.
Foreclosure Fraud 0
Tom Levenson digs into the implications. A nugget:
And that is that the entire foreclosure endeavor is in fact a huge imposed cost on American homeowners and our economy; it almost certainly runs against the long-term interests of the financial system as whole, whatever the incentives may be for individual companies (and it may well be a long term fail for many of the short-term beneficiaries as well). Foreclosure as it is being practiced now is likely to be a net negative for homeowners now, to the point that subsidizing in some way those who got into trouble is economically rational, even if it might be galling to those who’ve paid up and gone about their business.
The entire post is worth the five minutes it takes to read.
Voting Is Not a Right. It Is a Duty. 0
Yes, it is difficult not to be cynical.
Be as cynical as you wish, but vote. Michael Roth explains why in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“The Confidence Fairy” 0
Paul Krugman reports on the austerity myth. A nugget:
And it’s a fad that has been fading lately, as evidence has accumulated that the lessons of the past remain relevant, that trying to balance budgets in the face of high unemployment and falling inflation is still a really bad idea. Most notably, the confidence fairy has been exposed as a myth.
“Move Along, Nothing To See Here” 0
Nothing in the latest Wikileaks release not already known or suspected.
The Great and Glorious Patriotic War for a Lie in Iraq was conceived in mendacity and deceit, which propagated themselves with greater wrongs.
It was evil, sin, done in our name.
QOTD 0
Doris Lessing, from the Quotemaster (subscribe here):
As you get older, you don’t get wiser. You get irritable.
Dustbiters 0
You can longer bank on these. They ain’t no more.
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First Arizona Savings, A FSB, Scottsdale, Arizona
Hillcrest Bank, Overland Park, Kansas
First Suburban National Bank, Maywood, Illinois
The First National Bank of Barnesville, Barnesville, Georgia
The Gordon Bank, Gordon, Georgia
The FDIC was hungry.
Candidates in Absentia 0
Teabagger candidates put the lie to the saying, “You can run, but you can’t hide.” Alex Slater, writing at the Guardian, wonders where the yellers went:
The year of the missing Tea Party candidates has Washington observers scratching their heads for two reasons. First, is this the start of a trend where we’ll see statewide candidates guarded and shielded as much as presidential candidates? And second, how on earth are the Tea Party press handlers going to control their candidates who actually become elected officials?
The Tea Party candidates can run (literally), but they can’t hide forever. And once in the senate or the house chambers, they’re going to be unleashed to say whatever they want – usually, the first racist, bigoted or just idiotic pronouncement that comes into their minds.
Can’t Win for Losing, No Magic Wands Dept. 0
John Cole explains.
Facebook Frolics 0
Phantom Facebook user brings police to school:
The person posting the comments called himself David Prezet, according to students, and students were concerned Thursday because the poster indicated he was coming to the school that day.
Horchak said the poster claimed he was going to enroll that day. That did not happen, nor is there a student at the Mullica Hill school by that name, the superintendent said.
It started with friend requests. Once the poster had a number of “Facebook friends” amongst the students, the posts turned creepy–from the story, apparently more nasty than threatening.
Having been a teenager and (probably contrary to the theories of my children, being able to remember what it was like) I suspect the posts were pretty creepy to motivate the kids to complain to the administration.
Why can’t they be like we were, stealing the occasional stop sign and tping the occasional teacher’s yard and driving fast on back roads on dark nights perfect in every way?
“Buying Democracy, One Race at a Time” 0
Details here.
Flag Ettiquette 0
My two or three regular readers know that one of the things that frosts my cupcake is abuse of the American flag.
It was the subject of one my earliest posts. I have even had a letter to the editor of the local rag published on the matter.
Which raises the question:
Why are those who claim most loudly and vociferously to revere the United States of America and its symbols the first to show them disrespect?
It’s Matthew 6:5 all over again once more redundantly.
