Crux

You might have something there (in your response to my now-deleted post that Putin is not a man like Hitler was), but your comparison is easily obscured by factual differences between Hitler and Putin, in that Hitler ordered mass murders directly and also lead military aggressions that invaded much of the world to the end of destroying much of civilization and killing many tens of millions of people. Putin has been in power for many years now, but has no great reputation for military aggression, much less genocide. Still, Putin comes from a communist power elite, an entity which you understandably detest with the passion associated with your own ethnic background -- but the attributes of Putin today are paradoxically not communist, consistent with today's *modern* state of affairs. It is here that I think you are on to something: As Hitler was a personification of fascism, so Putin may arguably be understood now as an emerging leader of fascism, based on perceptions that Russia is now undergoing a transition from the tyranny of the left to that of the right. This perception depends upon your definition of fascism, but if fascism is seen as fundamentally a process whereby the corporations merge with the state to the end that all political restraint on capitalism is forcibly removed, then yes, Putin (and Russia) may be going in the direction that Hitler followed. In short, to the extent Putin is now a fascist leader, he is like Hitler.

deleted due to redundancy - linky

Yes they are getting better -- brighter, cheaper, and longer lasting. Last week I picked a second bright flasher for the front, less than $20. And for the back and sides, flashes a TL-1000, very bright, $30. (There's always the latest generation of expensive riding lights that are possibly bright enough to paralyze a deer at two hundred meters, but for just being visible to other eyeballs, the cheap LED flashers are a revelation.) Regarding reflectors -- I'm glad that such gaudy accessories are not only routinely banned from any bike I own, but also don't work very well, upon reflection: "Why Reflector's Don't Work"

I think the point is simply that when its safe to pass, the motorist should pass safely. And when its not safe to pass, the motorist should keep a safe following distance. Also, slower traffic, including when that traffic is a bicyclist, should make room for faster traffic to pass when doing so is practical and safe. For those who have sincere concern about the related issues, you may find helpful the driver's guides and statutes by which these points are clarified and subject to lawful enforcement. And for those who are really just looking to scapegoat bicycle riders and other minorities for your problems that may range from Seattle gridlock to the fact that your spouse disdains your company -- well, you might just park your cage and ride a bike instead, just like that guy your wife has been fucking instead of you. Cheers

I was attempting to synchronize the flashers at the end of my handlebars, that's when it all began. But seriously now, lots of lights is good. It gives drivers a fair chance at getting the fuck out my way before they get hurt.

Because it's aesthetically undesirable, sort of like cc.com, only without all the sexual deviants and information technology workers. Cheers.

"In Iraq, KBR/Halliburton kept the raped woman without food or water in a locked shipping container in an effort to force her compliance with a cover up. It was only after a sympathetic guard slipped a cell phone to the woman, that she was able to call her father in America who then reported the kidnapping to his representative (Ted Poe, R-Texas). To rescue the woman, the congressman dispatched State Department agents to Iraq, where medical personnel who assessed the victim reported she had been drugged, beaten, and raped by multiple assailants. Two years later, Republican congressman Poe and his Democratic ally, John Conyers, now await a response from Attorney General Mukasey in regard to what the Justice Department has or has not done about the related allegations, which include assault, battery, rape, unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy to obstruct justice, kidnapping, extortion, blackmail... KBR insists the matter is exclusively one for the company's own employee complaint resolution procedure, to be conducted in private, of course.

U.S. FEDERAL BUDGET 2008 FISCAL YEAR

Effery time I come 'ere I hear jus smore stoopid shite. Let me educate you: 5,000 year ago, Adam 'n Eve had blue eyes, just like Jesus. Class dismissed.

OK, I get it -- Once those pesky skiers are out of the way, there might be some real money to be made on the slopes!

Courthouse bathroom follies

Putting impeachment on the table: Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) appeared on MSNBC's Hardball and reiterated that he would seek the impeachment of President Bush were he to invade Iran without the permission of Congress. [Primary source: MSNBC]

Loving the earth puts profits at risk? (Something like that in the new thought-crime bill, I think.)

Cheney and Bush have apparently had the NIE report for over the past year: Reporter believes Cheney 'kept his foot on the neck of' report

Doesn't China devalue its currency simply by keeping it pegged to the US dollar?

Arms expert Scott Ritter says the U.S. plans to attack Iran - Metro Times, 07 November 2007.

Apparently in this day of the interwebs, those debauchee of brew can have their cryptograph and big mouth too:

Although sans cryptograhic messages under the cap, the Big Mouth did facilitate tolerance of an equally foul flavor by helping to make possible the sub-second quaff. So the choice between Lucky and Mickey depended upon priorities: Did the young guzzler want to test his lyrical prowess while under the influence, or did he just want get the job done, ASAP. Btw, funnels and hoses are aid.

F + ?

In the backwash of Fennario The black and bloody mire The Dire Wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire Don't murder me I beg of you don't murder me Please don't murder me

ACLU has a problem with Fahrenheit 451 in NYC.

Honda Bucks the Trend, Announces It Will Produce A Hydrogen Car Next Year

We advise you infiltrate your local Democratic caucus and give your support to Hillary, and then vote for Mitt Romney because he's got hair to die for. True, Hillary might win, but we're better off with her in office than we'd be with one of those real Democrats, with all their gay bashing, ACLU loving, Ku Klux Klan cruelty. I mean Hillary, my gawwwd, what a 100% fabulous Republican ass in a 10% openly Democratic pant suit if there ever was one! Oh, and if you don't think Romney will get the nomination -- then get out there and do whatever you can to never let people forget how Congress pushed us into Iraq back in 2002, and how our brave President still refuses to abandon the very troops that Democrats prematurely sent into harm's way! I'm not gay, dammit.

Bump the Internet, 1994: "Something's wrong, Nina. It's been too long... Page him."

We got the best freely elected government money can buy, all mostly at the cash expense of big corporations. What's wrong with that? Utopia is here already!