JayB

Anyone remember this place? http://fullduplex.org/tardblog/

"For some reason only now are ipods and water a massive threat, just when they need to stir up fears of "terrorism" in the backwoods redneck fucktards who are least at risk, but fear it most." So - just for the record - you *literally* believe that this was a hoax undertaken by the British government at the behest of the Bush administration, in order to garner more Republican votes in November.

Intense fear is one thing, appropriate precautions are another. Do you leave your life savings on the front porch, or keep them in a bank? If it's the latter, then clearly the criminals have succeeded in terrorizing you into a state of thoughtless fear. As far as the airport cluster goes, applying a rational screening methodology would go a long way towards addressing that. Let's remember that the primary reason for the megacluster is the fact that we've been forced to accept the polite fiction that every passenger is equally likely to use the plane as a vehicle for slaughter.

Tired retort. I don't think I've ever argued that anyone found WMD in Iraq. I did believe that there was a high probability that he had them before the invasion proved otherwise, and that, at a minimum, he'd actively pursue them once the flagging sanctions regime was either dropped alogether or became so porous as to be meaningless. I was wrong about the first, and we'll never know about the second. It's one thing to make a judgement before all of the facts are in, and quite another to refuse to accept them once they are known.

It's been interesting to watch a segment of the electorate on their journey from dissapointment, to cynicism, to paranoia, to delusion. Since you've uncovered the facts behind this election year shenanigan, Mr_Phil, I hope you'll be kind enough to share them with us. Take as much space as you need.

Trivialities like this are just the thing to stoke the flagging ennervation, eh? Kind of an LA-post-consumer-riff on the senescent English gentry's take on events across the channel in the mid-30's. "Oh yes darling - that - do pass the tea..."

great, they'll ban me. unfrigging believable These guys must not have read the NYT story about the monitoritoring of the wires passing through the SWIFT network. Hopefully they'll get a sweet settlement and a swift apology from Scotland Yard. "A number of events are understood to have convinced the counter-terrorist agencies to act. A telephone call about the alleged plot was intercepted, internet communication increased noticeably and two men under surveillance disappeared off the intelligence radar. However, security sources indicated that the key event — thought to be the transfer of funds — had taken place overseas. “It was very close, and it was too risky to allow the surveillance operation to go on for any longer,” one source said. These are the names of 19 suspects reportedly being held by the police after the foiled plot and whose assets the Treasury has sought to have frozen. Umir Hussain, 24, London E14 Muhammed Usman Saddique, 24, London E17 Waheed Zaman, 22, London E17 Assan Abdullah Khan, 22, London E17 Waseem Kayani, 28, High Wycombe Waheed Arafat Khan, 24, London E17 Cossor Ali, 24, London E17 Tayib Rauf, 21, Birmingham Ibrahim Savant, 26, London E17 Osman Adam Khatib, 20, London E17 Shamin Mohammed Uddin, 36, Stoke Newington Amin Asmin Tariq, 23, London E17 Shazad Khuram Ali, 27, High Wycombe Tanvir Hussain, 24, London E10 Umar Islam, 28, (born Brian Young) High Wycombe Assad Sarwar, 25, High Wycombe Abdullah Ali, 26, London E17 Abdul Muneem Patel, 17, London E5 Nabeel Hussain, 21, Waltham Forest"

Word. Fixie = preening pretension worthy of the Vespa+long scarf combo. Might make sense for some people, but for the average commuter they're just dumb. Especially in Seattle. Once fixies become passe' I hope the next trendster ride will be the chainless deals from the late 19th century with the huge-ass front wheel.

Word is the UK authorities successfully stopped a plot to bring down a dozen-plus airliners flying from the UK to the US. "ne government official said the terrorists had hoped to target flights to major airports in New York, Washington and California, all major summer tourist destinations. Chertoff said the plotters were "getting close to the execution phase." "There were very concrete steps under way to execute all elements of the plan," he said. "They were not yet sitting on an airplane," but were very close to traveling, a senior U.S. counterterrorism official told The Associated Press. A U.S. administration official said the terror plot targeted Continental, United, and American Airlines. It was not immediately clear whether other airlines also were involved. British Home Secretary John Reid said the plotters planned loss of life on "an unprecedented scale."

Bonzo, Smokey_McPot, Chocolate_Trombone...

We live pretty close to the Roxbury/Dorchester/Mattapan Trifecta of Doom, so the ridership issues are definately a factor. Heading North and crossing the Charles for an interview at one of the outfits over there was like crossing into another dimension. Quiet, peaceful, delightfully free of random public hostility....and relatively bike friendly for these parts.

True dat. Taking the bus sucks. Interesting cultural experience every now and then though. In my experience, most of these are better enjoyed through listening to a first-hand account rather than in-person.

Having to ride in a bus sucks, period, IMO. Maybe the least of many evils in some cases, but I'd much rather ride through horrible weather and risk getting doorprized, etc than take the bus. That's especially true out here.

It'd be way more interesting to have some kind of an Avatar Amnesty thread, where people reveal who was behind defunct or banned avatars.

I heard that regular bike commuters in some cities are noticing more folks riding into work these days? Anyone out there seen any evidence of that? Can't say I've seen any uptick in Boston, but most people here that ride into work seem to do so to avoid the traffic megacluster, or because parking costs run into the thousands per year, or because they hate trying to manage their lives around the public transport schedule. I've never heard anyone mention the price of gas. In any event, it'll be interesting to see how many folks trying to save gas money stick it out once the dark/cold/rainy months arrive.

Thankfully for the Democrats it doesn't look like there's a candidate on the Republican side that can exploit the situation in this state.

You really think he'll caucus with the Republicans? When you see the Senate roster, there will be one less person listed there in the "Democrat" column. He won't necessarily always vote with the Republicans, but if he proves that he can jettison the left wing vote and still win, he won't have to pander to that segment of the Democratic base, nor will he necessarily need to abide by any party discipline that the Democrats try to apply to him when it comes time to make votes. I think he'll also realize that his political stock is highest as an independent that both parties will court heavily when it comes time for crucial swing votes, and he'll also probably make all of the Demos who will publically trash him over the course of the next three months prostrate themselves before him when they need his support. Not a member of the Republican caucus, but definitely a less reliable "yea" when the time comes for Harry Reid to count votes. Anyone know the track record for candidates that the Daily Kos and Co endorse in general elections?

My prediction. Primary: Lieberman wins the general election in November, Democrats lose seat in the Senate. Secondary: This turns out to be a Pyrric Victory for the activist wing of the Democratic party. Win the primary, lose the election. Continue establishing reputation as electoral kryptonite.

Watch out for cantaloupe.

Can't leave out Portland...

Quite the contrast between Seattle and Tacoma. Also interesting that homes in the interior bits of Mercer Island and *Ballard* are comparable on a per square foot basis.

Looks sincere to me. The physical aspects may be the same, but the context and the consequences couldn't be any more different. Personal satisfaction versus gold medal.

I've seen quite a bit of celebrating in the Olympics on the part of competitors who nail stuff in comps that they've been working on forever in practice sessions.

Definitely an interesting take on the video. To my eyes it looked like something that took tons of skill and serious heuvos to pull off. I doubt that there are many people who happen to participate in both climbing and Moto-X, but it'd be interesting to get their take on how the risks in each sport affect them. For me, risks that involve making a truly irreversible commitment - like hitting the lip on a larger jump or drop when skiing, or heading into a rapid at the top end of my ability when kayaking - make me way nervous than the incremental and largely reversible risks constitute the majority of the dangers that I expose myself to when climbing. Maybe these guys are wired differently.