The Indignity of Labor

26 Year War in Sri Lanka Ends

[Tamil Tiger rebel chief, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, currently toast]

From today's NY Times

The government information service sent a text message to cellphones across the country on Monday saying that Mr. Prabhakaran was dead, and state television broke into regular programming to announce the news.

But hours later General Fonseka said the military was still trying to identify Mr. Prabhakaran’s body among the corpses on the battlefield, The Associated Press reported.

In contrast to the sense of overwhelming military victory in Sri Lanka, outsiders continued to register concerns about how the battle had been fought.

Foreign ministers of the European Union, meeting in Brussels, said they were “appalled” by reports of high civilian casualties and urged an independent inquiry into alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by both sides.

So Lincoln announced that Lee had surrendered at Appomattox by sending text messages to everybody's cellphones. Ulysses S. Grant announced that the Union Army had the body of Jefferson Davis, except they didn't.

The EU ministers got together to carp that the Union and the Confederacy had conducted themselves as though what they were doing was a war and not a game. Which made everyone respect the ministers and take them seriously.

The Obstacle to Peace in the Middle East

[Khaled Meshal with Ahmadinejad]

HAMAS: WE WON'T ACCEPT TWO-STATE SOLUTION
Hamas' Damascus-based leader Khaled Mashal said last week that his organization will not accept a two-state solution as a means to end the conflict with Israel, Germany's Deutsche Presse Agentur reported Mashal recently criticized Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas for recognizing Israel and vowed to continue Hamas' "resistance" against the Jewish state. Hamas is working to form a unity government with Abbas' Fatah party, but must first overcome a number of political and ideological hurdles. The Obama administration has conditioned any financial support for the PA on all of its members' explicit adherence to the three Quartet conditions-recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and acceptance of all previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements. To date, Hamas has refused to meet any of these core conditions.

Nude Bikeride in San Francisco

There was a nude bikeride parade in San Francisco a while back with a hundred or so riders. They wore bodypaint and not much else.

This woman has a great smile, a good paintjob, and a great figure. See right for how her son felt about her displaying herself in the streets of San Francisco.

It's nothing that 14 years of therapy and three bad marriages by the time he's 40 won't fix.

An Antiwar Poem

[Mars, the god of war]

I am against war.
Because I am against ending slavery.

I am against war.
Because it is OK with me if the Aryans kill all the other peoples of the earth.

I am against war.
Because I think Pol Pot is a kitchen utensil.

I am against war.
Because I didn't know any of the people murdered in the London and Madrid subways.

I am against war.
Because I don't care if rockets endlessly bombard towns far away from mine.

I am against war.
Because I don't care if millions of lives are crushed so long as their pictures aren't shown to me.

I am against war.
Because tyrants will relent if we ask nicely.

I am against war.
Because "evil" sounds so judgmental.

I am against war.
Because no one has told me that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

I am against war.
Because everyone else is against it.

I am against war.
Because it is so much easier than thinking.

HIV Update

Here is a link to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) website. There is no point in guessing or supposing or listening to opinions when the actual facts and statistics are available.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm#exposure

Under AIDS cases, click on "AIDS Cases by Transmission Category" The first table shows new cases reported in 2007. The second shows all cases cumulatively, from the beginning of the epidemic until the end of 2007. It is important to note which categories most of us are not in:

We are not having male-to-male sexual contact. (16,749)
We are not using injectible drugs. (6,010)
We are not both having male-to-male sexual contact and using injectible drugs (1,664)
We are not having high risk heterosexual contact ( 1,111)
(defined as "**Heterosexual contact with a person known to have, or to be at high risk for, HIV infection.", i.e. gays and drug injecters)

We are in the category of Other. But within Other, we are not "*** Includes hemophilia, blood transfusion, perinatal exposure," (400)

Besides hemophiliacs and newborns, Other includes, "risk not reported or not identified." I think that does not represent a transmission category so much as the limits of the accuracy and completeness of the statistical reporting to the CDC.

Which means that fewer than 220 non-hemophiliac, non-newborn, women not known to be in the defined categories got HIV in 2007 in the United States, and fewer than 180 such men.

According to the National Lightning Safety Institute there were 756 deaths in the US from lightning between 1990 and 2003. (I am not making this up. http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_lls/fatalities_us.html ) While that is fewer per year than women and men getting HIV, it is of the same order of magnitude.

Just as one is not going to give up any of the pleasures of life from fear of being struck by lightning, neither should one give them up out of fear of a comparable risk of HIV transmission.

However in all candor, I should point out that the National Lightning Safety Institute's figures show casualties only from naturally occurring lightning. The particular activities which these figures show are not particularly risky, are precisely those most likely to provoke bolts of divine wrath, if not from heaven then from your mother.

Which is Which?

One of these two men is a great hero of the Jewish people. The other is Natan Sharansky.

Harvey writes:

So it was an interesting lunch with Natan Sharansky. About 20 members of the synagogue met at the Chabbad House of Rabbi Mendi Zwiebel. His wife Channah prepared a very elaborate three course meal on very little notice. Sharanasky is not an imposing figure, but he does command the room.

His contention is that peace will not come until there is a free and democratic Palestinian state. He is very clear that the recent election of Hamas was not from a free people. He is very down on both American and Israeli liberals. They recognize and support dictators. He was also extremely upset at the various human rights groups and their double standard that cites Israel for rights violations without mentioning the arab states, North Korea or even Somalia.

The Market

is up almost 50% since March 6.
.

A Life Well Lived

Math and the City

1. Zelda and Jane were given a rottweiler at their commitment ceremony. If their dog needs to be walked 2 miles a day and they walk at a rate of 3/4 mile per hour, how much time will they spend discussing their relationship in public?

2. Michael has two abusive stepfathers and an alcoholic mother. If his self-esteem is reduced by 20% per dysfunctional parent, but Michael feels 3% better for every person he denigrates, how long will it take before he's ready to go home if 1 person walks by Starbucks every 2 minutes?

3. Sanjeev has 7 piercings. If the likelihood of getting cellulitis on a given day is 10% per piercing, what is the likelihood Sanjeev will need to renew his erythromycin prescription during the next week?

4. Chad wants to take half a pound of pot to Orinda and sell it at a 20% profit. If it originally cost him $1500, how much should Nicole write the check for?

5. The City and County of San Francisco decides to destroy 50 rats infesting downtown. If 9,800 animal rights activists hold a candlelight vigil, how many people did each dead rat empower?

6. A red sock, a yellow sock, a blue sock and a white sock are tossed randomly in a drawer. What is the likelihood that the first two socks will be socks of color?

7. Georg weighs 245 pounds and drinks two triple lattes every morning. If each shot of espresso contains 490 mg of caffeine, what is Georg's average caffeine density in mg/lb?

8. There are 4500 homes in Mill Valley and all of them recycle plastic. If each household recycles 10 soda bottles a day and buys one polar fleece pullover per month, does Mill Valley have a monthly plastic surplus or deficit?

Bonus question: Assuming all the plastic bottles are 1 liter size, how much Fiji Water are they drinking?

9.If the average person can eat one pork pot sticker in 30 seconds, and the waitress brings a platter of 12 pot stickers, how long will it take five vegans not to eat them?

10. Todd begins walking down Market Street with 12 $1 bills in his wallet, and he always gives panhandlers a single buck. How many legs did he have to step over if he has $3 left when he reaches the other end and met only one double-amputee?

Advanced Placement Students Only:
11. Katie, Trip, Ling-ling, John-john and Effie share a 3-bedroom apartment on Guerrero for $2400 per month. Effie and Trip can share one bedroom, but the other three need their own rooms with separate DSL lines to run their web servers. None of them wants to use the futon in the living room as a bed, and they each want to save $650 in three months to attend Burning Man.

Which is their best option?
a. All five roommates accept a $12 hour job-share as handgun monitors at Mission High.
b. Ask Miles, the bisexual auto mechanic, to share Effie and Trip's bedroom for $500 per month.
c. Petition the Board of Supervisors for an advance on Ling-ling's annual digital-artists-of-color stipend.
d. Rent Strike.

How to Still Be Single at 62

from the Borowitz Report

.
sent by Raph' Abrams (DailyRaphirmations.com)

Report: Still Hard Out Here For A Pimp

Bitches Jumpin' Ship, Talkin' Shit Remain Problems

Three years after the Three 6 Mafia won an Oscar for their song "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp," a new study reveals that it indeed is still hard, if not harder, out here for a pimp.

The study, commissioned by the University of Minnesota's Pimp Research Institute, is the result of interviews with the pimps themselves, who paint a bleak picture of the state of pimping in 2009 America.

"After looking at the pimps' concerns and complaints, we can only come to one reasonable conclusion," writes the University of Minnesota's Davis Logsdon, who supervised the study. "And that is, it's still hard out here for a pimp."

According to the polling data, pimps cite "bitches jumpin' ship" as the number one problem facing pimps today, with "bitches talkin' shit" a close second.

There are also some indications that pimps have not been immune to problems in the broader economy, with large numbers of pimps complaining about increases in housing and fuel costs. When asked, "What expenses make it hard out here for a pimp?", 33% of the pimps surveyed named "Tryin' to get money for the rent" while 31% cited "Cadillacs and gas money spent." As for the future prospects of pimps, the University of Minnesota's Logsdon warns that it may be even harder out here for a pimp in the years to come.

"Based on the data, there is every reason to believe that the key factors making it hard out here for a pimp - in particular, bitches jumpin' ship and bitches talkin' shit - will continue to plague the pimping sector going forward," he said.

'Prequel to Hamlet' Reviewed

Why Up is not as Much as Down

The market has risen 37% from its low on March 6. But the way it works is that if the market falls 50%, it has to gain 100% to get back to its initial value. If it loses 75%, it has to gain 300% to get back.

Having lost 57% of the value it had on June 5, it will have to increase 131% to get back to what it was. So the 37%, while nice, is not enough to get excited about.

The Moon and Venus

[Click on the picture]

Costco

I was down at Costco today. They still insist on forcing their customers to buy huge packages of things. At least I hope so. Because I don't want to even think about what life would be like for someone who actually wanted a 55 gallon drum of Preparation H.

The Suburbs of Northern Virginia

[David Kellerman's home]

According to the New York Times, the Chief Financial Officer of Freddie Mac, David Kellerman,was found hanged in his Northern Virginia home this morning. It is assumed to have been suicide.

Before becoming chief financial officer, Mr. Kellermann had served as senior vice president, corporate controller and principal accounting officer. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan and a volunteer board member of the D.C. Coalition for the Homeless.

Regulators with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice have been interviewing Freddie Mac officials about possible accounting violations and other topics, the company disclosed in March. It is not known if Mr. Kellermann was one of those interviewed.

The company recently disclosed in a public filing that in September it received a federal grand jury subpoena seeking documents concerning the company’s accounting, disclosure and corporate-governance practices. The investigation is being overseen by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Freddie Mac has said it was "cooperating fully in these matters."

One doesn't commit suicide because one has a good honest explanation of where all your employer's money went.

This is more and more starting to look like the 'bad loans' excuse for what happened to the capital of American financial institutions is a lie. More and more it looks like the capital of substantially all the huge financial institutions in the country was simply stolen by the top executives.

What are the chances the Obama Administration will engage in investigations and prosecutions as broad as the colossal thefts that have apparently occurred? None at all.

First, it would be devastating to the economy if it were even intimated how corrupt the financial system has become, and how little chance there is of reforming it. The new administration (how long do they remain 'new'?) is committed to repairing the economy and presumably is reluctant to press the apparently justified investigations and prosecutions because of the effect it would have on markets.

I suspect there is a deeper reason as well. They may be the liberal reformist wing of the managerial class, but they are the same class. They live in the wealthy suburbs of Northern Virginia too. Prosecuting an entire class, even a small elite class, would be class warfare, even if fully-justified. When that class is the ruling class, as the class of business executives surely is, the implications go beyond reform. Replacing the ruling class with a different one is revolution.

And that is not who the Obama Administration are. They are tepid reformers, institutional men. Interestingly, the Feds were closing in on Kellerman not because he stole, but because he stole from a government-regulated institution. Which is to say, the government men are protecting the institution of which they themselves are part.

The Philippines and the New China

[MacArthur returning to the Philippines 1945]

From the Times today -

Official Chinese news organizations reported on March 20 that the government intended to bolster its naval presence in the South China Sea by sending six more patrol vessels to the region in the next three to five years. The official reason was to “curb illegal fishing.” But the announcement came after tensions with the Philippines rose in March over the disputed Nansha Islands, which the Filipino government claimed as its territory in a law passed on March 10.

Remember the Philippines demanding and getting the closure of the Clark and Subic Bay naval bases in 1991? You wanted the American imperialists out? Now defend yourselves without us you ungrateful pricks.

A Cool Moment

[Don Corleone hears about adding Coke Classic to brisket]

Hard Times Without End

The Times (why do I keep reading that rag?) reported that two strong earthquakes leveled a number of villages in Afghanistan. Dozens are known to have been killed as first reports reach the west. Further information will likely contain news of many more deaths. Thousands are believed homeless. Afghan rural houses are frequently unreinforced adobe so casualties from house collapses are expected to be numerous.

In the past generation the two most powerful armies on earth, have done their best to level this hapless country. Then warlords and the Taliban. Now this. It is as though G_d had turned His face away from them.