Insert A Trite Metaphor for a Corral #32

Posted on January 20, 2007 in Roundup

I’m out to reclaim the old feel of the roundup today. Instead of just posting links, I’m out to put them in a little commentary/context.

Yes, I saw that Hillary announced as did Sam Brownback, surely a big household name in this contest for the leader of 2009. An interesting challenge may be posed by Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico and the nation’s first Latino candidate for president, who announces tomorrow.

And yes, Fidel Castro is still not dead.

• Yesterday was “Great Canadians in the News” with the passing of Dennis Doherty of the Mama and the Papas. California dreaming on such a winter’s day. Even I’m doing it what with the strange cold weather we’ve been having, eh.
• This seems to me like one of those odd reactionary events that have taken place since the announcement of the erroneous War on Error: Thousands of Peruvians marched in support of the death penalty — when the accused are members of the Shining Path liberation movement. The victors get to hang the losers?
• Hot times are driving Australian snakes into the cities.
• Greek Orthodox officials are begging a whole convent full of nuns to return following the latter’s going on the lam due to massive debts. Come home. All is forgiven. We’ll figure out how to make payments. (Thanks to Lynn for this one.)
• Anti-cat propaganda. Should I teach Boadicea, Fiona Phosphor, and Virginia Mew to want to be walked on a leash?
• Andrew Cockburn reviews the war on Jimmy Carter being conducted by Alan Dershokovitz who is using his freedom of speech/no slander possible against former public officials rights to the hilt. Carter stood up for himself. When will Ultra-Zionists realize that you can support Palestinian rights and not hate Jews?
• China has reintroduced the Cold War with the introduction of a killer satellite, capable of taking out American “defense” orbiters. I bet we’ll finally be hearing about the atrocities at Tianneman Square now. (Oops. Just got the site banned in China. Oh, what will it do for trade?)
• New Orleans may gentrify out at about half of its pre-Katrina population.
• It’s cool to be a pacifist again.
• Damn: I should go to Hong Kong!
• It’s not clear to me whether divorce creates a higher rate of depression/mental illness for women or whether they get divorced because they are mentally ill. A recent study doesn’t address this question.
• Thirty years ago, Berkeley led the way in banning smoking in restaurants, etc. Good for Berkeley!
• Ben Stiller can’t shake reports that he is bipolar: “I said that as a joke in an article once and it seems to keep going. It’s something that was written somewhere and it always seems to crop up. Unfortunately, irony is never something that comes across well in a print interview” he says. I can’t see Stiller as bipolar, but Robin Williams is another matter.

Very well, go ahead and comment on my new expanded format or what I said therein. And if you have an article or a web site that you think I could include here, send the URL to me at gazissax at best dot com.