Insert a Trite Metaphor for a Corral #54

Posted on February 15, 2007 in Roundup

Here’s a brief list of “big stories that everyone is talking about” from Buzztracker: some pundit who says he hates gay people, more talk about bloggers who work for candidates, promises of a Bush veto, how ipod personalizes isolation, free Wednesday at iTunes, the wicked weather across the North, the Libby trial, BMWs to feature iPhones, corn lipstick, and winning a vintage laptop bag — all stories that I choose to ignore in this roundup.

The problem with Buzztracker, imho, is that it measures what is hot based on responses to articles from major media. I am not sure how it does the gathering (can anyone help me with this) but I do know that this roundup has been featured only two or three times. There exist, according to the powers of the Buzz, bloggers whose opinions mean more than others. It’s funny that when BT has chosen to cite this blog, it grabs the roundup which is laden with about as much opinion as a real estate flyer. OK, a little more, but the words they direct people to read are hardly meaty. But then, the words of many other people that they direct their readers to are hardly meaty either. “Hey, look at this link to XXXXX. I liked it.” sums up what Buzztracker deems important enough to share with the outer world.

Perhaps it is a badge of honor to be ignored by the Buzz. Mediocrity not found here.

I hope.

Crisis Watch: The Queen.

Who is Muqtada al-Sadr? Reports that this Shia cleric in a black turban may have left Iraq for Iran indicate how much the Americans want him out of the country. Patrick Cockburn explores the importance of this man promoted by our invasion of Iraq. Supporters of Muqtada immediately denied that he was in Iran and either refused to say where he was or asserted that he was in the Shia holy city of [[Najaf]]. He has every reason to keep his location a secret, since in the past the US military has said it will either kill or capture him if it can. Two of his most important aides have been killed in mysterious circumstances in the past week. Is it high noon in An Najaf?

A Lying Liar Better Look Out: Al Franken announced his candidacy to challenge Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman. “I’m not a professional politician. I know I’m going to make some mistakes,” he said on his US radio show. “Minnesotans have a right to be sceptical about whether I’m ready for this challenge,” he said in a video posted on his website. “I want you to know: nothing means more to me than making government work better for the working families of this state.”

Open Target: Michelle Manhart was demoted and removed from active duty after posing nude in [[Playboy]] magazine. The Air Force appealed to its high standards when announcing the punishment, failing, of course, to note the irony of doing this while preparing for a low-life air war against Iran.

You Couldn’t Have Enron in China: A multi-million dollar duper received the death penalty for a scamming 10,000 investors out of $390 million dollars. Wang Zhendong promised investors shares in a scheme to breed and sell giant ants, a component of Chinese herbal remedies. The punishment may be unduly harsh, but it stands in sharp contrast to the slaps on the wrist given big grifters here in America.

What Makes the Sky Dance? Five satellites — the Themis series — will encircle the globe in an attempt to pinpoint the space storms known as the northern lights. The northern lights – [[aurora borealis]] – are a visual representation of the turmoils of the Earth’s magnetic field. The sun continually streams energy towards our planet, some of which is stored by the Earth’s magnetic field at heights of 10,000km above the surface. The field creates a protective sheath for the Earth in space, called the magnetosphere, which shields our planet from much of the deadly radiation coming from the sun. But every so often, the field will release the energy it has stored and shower energetic electrons towards the upper atmosphere. When these hit air molecules, the energy released causes a characteristic glow

If you find any articles worthy of mention in these roundups, send the URL to gazissax at best dot com. And feel free to comment!