The Wikileaks release of 251,000 U.S. embassy cables is, I'm told, a "diplomatic crisis." Hillary Clinton is running point on damage control. Foreign allies are on high alert. Life will never be the same. So what's in those
cables? Here's the Guardian's bullet list:
Grave fears in Washington and London over the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.... Suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government....The extraordinarily close relationship between Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister....Allegations that Russia and its intelligence agencies are using mafia bosses to carry out criminal operations....Inappropriate remarks by a member of the British royal family.
Say it ain't so! Corruption in the Afghan government? Silvio Berlusconi is a douche? Prince Andrew said something naughty? Pass the smelling salts. But maybe the New York Times has more. Here's their list:
A dangerous standoff with Pakistan over nuclear fuel....Gaming out an eventual collapse of North Korea....Bargaining to empty the Guantánamo Bay prison....Suspicions of corruption in the Afghan government....Mixed records against terrorism....Arms deliveries to militants....Clashes with Europe over human rights.
Oh, and the Saudis would like us to bomb Iran, thankyouverymuch. Yawn. Even Der Spiegel, which excels at finding the most sensational spin possible on this kind of thing, was pretty much stumped:
What, though, do the thousands of documents prove? Do they really show a US which has the world on a leash? Are Washington's embassies still self-contained power centers in their host countries?
In sum, probably not. In the major crisis regions, an image emerges of a superpower that can no longer truly be certain of its allies — like in Pakistan, where the Americans are consumed by fear that the unstable nuclear power could become precisely the place where terrorists obtain dangerous nuclear material.
Andrew Sullivan actually thought the cables showed that the State Department is on the ball: "Overall, I have to say that this brief glimpse into how the government actually works is actually reassuring. The cable extracts are often sharp, smart, candid and penetrating. Who knew the US government had so many talented diplomats?"
Now, I did leave a few things out. There's some interesting stuff about the Chinese Google hack, some frank and candid military assessments of British troops in Afghanistan, a bit of Israeli bluster about bombing Iran (though it's nearly identical to Jeffrey Goldberg's very public piece in the Atlantic a couple of months ago), and confirmation that embassy officials often try to spy on people in their host countries. And the Turkish government is probably going to be pretty pissed at us for a while. Still, this is hardly sensational stuff. In fact, what's really struck me so far is how little our diplomats talk out of school in private cables.
Maybe there's more to come on this,1 but so far I just don't see these leaks causing an epic amount of damage. Obviously feelings will be bruised by the blunt language in some of the cables — though if Spiegel's excerpts are typical, the language is only slightly blunter than your run-of-the-mill anonymous carping — and foreign officials might be reluctant for a while to share confidences with American diplomats. And just as obviously, the United States would really prefer that its confidential cables remain confidential. Hillary Clinton will indeed have her hands full for a while. But honestly, there's hardly anything here that I haven't already read on the front pages of multiple newspapers. Titillating, but not much more.
1In fact, Blake Hounshell tweets: "Anyone who thinks this batch of WikiLeaks docs is not interesting clearly isn't reading them." Marc Lynch agrees: "Guardian NYT undersold them." So maybe there really is more to come. The three English-language accounts, however, just don't make this stuff seem especially earthshaking.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Yet More American Secrets No Longer Secret | Mother Jones
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Danish researchers finally solve the obesity riddle
This chart shows changes in body weight.
Click here for more information.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Israeli War Criminals from Gaza File
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Top Gear's New Stig Bred On Crazy Farm [Video]
Top Gear's New Stig Bred On Crazy Farm
Top Gear will field its new Stig for the first time next week — after picking one at a special "farm for Stigs." But the big question for fans is — what color will this new Stig be?
The new Stig will be unveiled at Earl's Court in London next week as part of Top Gear Live, but TV producers have apparently not yet decided whether a new Stig will be introduced for next year's new series.
Sun columnist Jeremy Clarkson joined fellow presenters of BBC2's motoring show to inspect a herd of carefully reared tame racing drivers.
A source said: "Fans don't know there is a secret farm where we breed lots of different Stigs. We've found just the one."
And now the secret's out. There's a farm. It breeds Stigs. One of them is pink.
Yeah, well, we think we've seen this joke before.
Send an email to Ray Wert, the author of this post, at ray@jalopnik.com.
Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.Loading comments ...
In order to view comments on jalopnik.com you need to enable JavaScript.
If you are using Firefox and NoScript addon, please mark jalopnik.com as trusted.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Lemmings: A Dialogue with Gualtiero Piccinini on Philosophy and Neuroscience
Gualtiero: Until recently, you were known for armchair philosophizing
and not at all for empirical research. Could you briefly explain how
you became interested in doing empirical
research and what your current empirical projects are?Brit: Actually, I started out in the sciences. I have a 5-year M.S. in neuroscience from University of Copenhagen and The Danish National Hospital. My research was on neurotransmitters, specifically glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). As a hormone, GLP-1 stimulates insulin-secreting cells. As a neurotransmitter, it modulates stress and anxiety. I was, and still am, very interested in mood disorders,so I really loved this project. But owing to a terrifying event described in the personal information section of my website, I decided to go to graduate school in philosophy. I already had degrees in philosophy and linguistics as well. One of my main areas of specialization in philosophy was, and still is, philosophy of language. Philosophy of language by its very nature is a very empirical area of philosophy.
Philosophy of language by its very nature is a very empirical area of philosophy.
We look at what the linguists do, and they look at what we do. But you are right. Until recently I didn't design my own experiments or studies. My interest in designing my own studies was sparked by a series of events taking place around the time of my divorce. To deal with the consequences of these events, I felt that I had to expand on my knowledge of the brain. Another coincidence sparked my interest in synesthesia.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Is Gideon Levy the most hated man in Israel or just the most heroic? - Middle East, World - The Independent
Gideon Levy is the most hated man in Israel – and perhaps the most heroic. This “good Tel Aviv boy” – a sober, serious child of the Jewish state – has been shot at repeatedly by the Israeli Defence Force, been threatened with being “beaten to a pulp” on the country’s streets, and faced demands from government ministers that he be tightly monitored as “a security risk.” This is because he has done something very simple, and something that almost no other Israeli has done. Nearly every week for three decades, he has travelled to the Occupied Territories and described what he sees, plainly and without propaganda. “My modest mission,” he says, “is to prevent a situation in which many Israelis will be able to say, ‘We didn’t know.’” And for that, many people want him silenced.
Cursebird: What the f#@! is everyone swearing about?
Stats for the last 28 days
Monday, September 27, 2010
Atheists Outdo Some Believers in Survey on Religion - NYTimes.com
Americans surveyed on their religious knowledge got half the questions wrong, including ones about their own faith.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
North and South Korea on the brink of war, Russian diplomat warns - Telegraph
North and South Korea are on the brink of war, a top Russian diplomat has warned, calling for both countries to exercise restraint and sit down for talks.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Mexico Killed In Drug Deal | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
MEXICO CITY—In the latest incident of drug-related violence to hit the country, all 111 million citizens of Mexico were killed Monday during a shoot-out between rival drug cartels.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Joe. My. God.: "All Faggots Must Die"
"All Faggots Must Die"
The above comment was left today by "Jimmy" on my post about the DADT cloture vote. The IP address *appears* to resolve to the neighborhood of GOP U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss' Atlanta office. The ISP is "United States Senate." I'm confident that the JMG internet sleuths can get to the source.
Here's the IP: 156.33.20.72. Get busy, geeks!
UPDATE: According to a friend of JMG reader Sean Chapin, the comment appears to have actually come from the Atlanta office of Sen. Johnny Isakson, the OTHER Republican Senator in Georgia, whose offices are not far from Sen. Chambliss'. Dennis writes:
"First I did a WHOIS lookup on the address and found out that it belonged to the US Senate. Then I did a trace on the IP and got the latitude, longitude and city location for the IP. Once I had the city, I did a search on senate offices and started with the one that came out on top which was Isakson’s. Once I had the address of his office, I pulled up the latitude and longitude info for it and found that it matched those of the IP."Examine Dennis' screenshots below and tell us if you think he's got this nailed.
UPDATE II: OK, this is getting really interesting. According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the offices Chambliss and Ikason are in the same building in Atlanta. The paper has called both offices looking for comment.Labels: Georgia, hate speech, JMG, Senate
New! Share this on Facebook: Share
posted by Joe | --> 0 comments
Swans' Past Commentaries: Litany for Dictatorships, a poem by Stephen Vincent Benet - zig053
Litany for Dictatorships
Ian Bogost - Me in Playboy
Playboy runs a "top professors" feature in their annual college issue, and I am fortunate to be one of the twenty profs baring my intellectual gifts in the October issue, even if in brief (not in briefs though).
The rest, I'm afraid, will have to be left to your imagination.
-->
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Billion-Year Old "Black Widow" Pulsar Ripping Through Milky Way at 1 Million KPH (Weekend Most Popular)
The "Black Widow" pulsar is zipping through the galaxy at a speed of almost a million kilometers per hour. A bow shock wave due to this motion is visible to optical telescopes, shown in this image as the greenish crescent...
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Behold the Bacon Log
This is an instructable on how to make the all-famous bacon log. Bow in its presence. I have no personal pictures, but this was made at a friends par...
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Shane Alexander & Jason Vantress Shoplift During 'Shop With a Cop' Day - Seattle News - The Daily Weekly
From our partners at True Crime Report comes this tale of border-state boneheadedness. Shane Alexander, 20, and Jason Vantress, 30,...
Berlin 'cannibal' restaurant calls for diners to donate body parts for menu - Telegraph
A new restaurant in Germany has advertised for humans to donate body parts for the menu.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Are the offspring of therapists really more screwed up than the children of non-shrinks? - By Jessica Grose - Slate Magazine
Whenever Micah Toub tells acquaintances that his parents are both psychologists, they say something along the lines of "But you're so well-adjusted." That stock response is familiar to anyone who has a shrink for a parent—myself included. As Toub writes in
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
'I don't like British people’ says Japanese politician - Telegraph
Ichiro Ozawa, a politican tipped as a future Japanese prime minister has declared Americans are simple-minded and the British are not very likeable.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
U.S. Forgoes Salmonella Vaccine for Egg Safety - NYTimes.com
British farmers virtually wiped out salmonella in eggs by vaccinating hens, but American regulators decided not to mandate the precaution.
Tyler Patrick Thomas, Oregon State Lineman, Found NUDE In Stranger's Home
CORVALLIS, Ore. — An Oregon State University offensive lineman has been dismissed from the team after police say they found him naked and intoxicated in a stranger's home and had to use stun guns to take him into custody. Corvallis police say they received the call about a naked intruder early Sunday.
I love living in Oregon, because he was found nude without rape, so this is just Crazy Town, not Rape Town.
FailedMessiah.com: Rabbi Who Endorsed Book Permitting Murder Of Arab Babies Says "Nigger" Music Not Kosher
Music can get contaminated. Experts will investigate and see if the tune is 'kosher,' if it expresses an aspiration to goodness, or if it is taken from the jungle and stimulates negative emotions. With pop, you can see clearly that...
Photo Tampering Throughout History
Photography lost its innocence many years ago. Only a few decades after Niepce created the first photograph in 1814, photographs were already being manipulated. With the advent of high-resolution digital cameras, powerful personal computers and sophisticated photo-editing software, the manipulation of photos is becoming more common. Here, I have collected some examples of photo tampering throughout history. To help contend with the implications of this tampering, we have developed a series of tools for detecting traces of photo tampering.
Photo Tampering Throughout History
Photography lost its innocence many years ago. Only a few decades after Niepce created the first photograph in 1814, photographs were already being manipulated. With the advent of high-resolution digital cameras, powerful personal computers and sophisticated photo-editing software, the manipulation of photos is becoming more common. Here, I have collected some examples of photo tampering throughout history. To help contend with the implications of this tampering, we have developed a series of tools for detecting traces of photo tampering.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Texas: War Veterans/Military Family Members Successfully Blockade Fort Hood Deployment to Iraq - Infoshop News
Aug. 23, 2010 (KILLEEN, TX) - Five peace activists successfully blockaded six buses carrying Fort Hood Soldiers deploying to Iraq outside Fort Hood's Clarke gate this morning at around 4 a.m. While the activists took the width of Clarke Rd. and slowed the buses to a halt, police made no arrests, but instead beat the activists out of the streets using automatic weapons and police dogs so the deploying Soldiers could proceed.
War Veterans/Military Family Members Successfully Blockade Fort Hood Deployment to Iraq
Aug. 23, 2010 (KILLEEN, TX) - Five peace activists successfully blockaded six buses carrying Fort Hood Soldiers deploying to Iraq outside Fort Hood's Clarke gate this morning at around 4 a.m. While the activists took the width of Clarke Rd. and slowed the buses to a halt, police made no arrests, but instead beat the activists out of the streets using automatic weapons and police dogs so the deploying Soldiers could proceed.
Among those blockading were three veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and one military spouse. (See attached bios) The action, organized by a group calling themselves "Fort Hood Disobeys," was aimed at preventing the deployment of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Soldiers to what the veterans termed an illegal and immoral occupation.
While standing in the street, the activists held banners reading "Occupation is a Crime" and "Please Don't Make the Same Mistake We Did. RESIST NOW." From the TX HW-190 overpass, additional supporters attempted to hang larger banners that read, "Tell the Brass: 'KISS MY ASS' Your family needs you more" "Sick of Fighting Your Wars" and "Col. Allen [3 ACR Commander]: Do not deploy wounded Soldiers."
This latest deployment comes less than two weeks after President Obama announced the second end to combat operations in Iraq. FHD organizers denounced this as a lie, and pointed to the deployment of the 3rd ACR, a combat regiment, to Iraq as clear proof. They have stated they will continue to organize direct action in the Fort Hood community to oppose the wars as long as troops continue to deploy.
The action organizers have established a website at forthooddisobeys.blogspot.com where they will be posting statements, photographs and video from the actions as they become available during the next 48 hours. As well, for the length of the day, FHD ran live webcasts updating their supporters and depicting portions of the direct action. All live broadcasts from the day are archived at http://bit.ly/b1WEyv.
For more information or to arrange coverage of today's events, call 347-613-8964 or write to forthooddisobeys@hushmail.com. See attached bios for more information on those who participated in today's action.
------------------Participant Bios:------------------------
I am Bobby Whittenberg-James, a Marine veteran of the war against the people of Iraq, a Purple Heart recipient and a third generation military service member. I joined the Marines in June of 2003, believing the lies about weapons of mass destruction and an imminent threat to our safety. I have since come to learn that these wars and occupations do not keep the people of the United States or the Middle East safe, but instead serve the interests of politicians, capitalists and corporations; the ruling elite.
These unjust wars and occupations rob the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen of their dignity and their right to self-determination and serve to make the people of both the Middle East and the United States less safe. They also serve to further destabilize a region that has suffered under the boot-heel of western colonialism for over a century. The US Empire also supports both financially and militarily the brutal apartheid regime that occupies Palestine. All of this is done in our name with our money, and I am here to say "Not in my name!"
The recent information leaks about the US Empire's wars lay bare their war crimes and crimes against humanity. We must face the truth, even if it makes us uncomfortable or shows us something about ourselves that we don't want to see. When we find the truth, we must respond accordingly. I will not be complicit in the killing of people. Since I do not believe that the government or the capitalists will end these wars, I will vote with my body.
Bobby Whittenberg-James
Disobedient
------------------------------
I am Crystal Colon. I was a sergeant in the Army for five years, stationed at Fort Hood the entire time, save two deployments to Iraq totaling 26 months. I was a Signal Support Systems Noncommissioned Officer, coordinating communications for various commands. I was honorably discharged in Jan., 2010, and have been organizing in the veterans peace movement ever since.
I first began to question the war in Iraq during my first deployment in '05-'06. After my friend Robbie was killed, I was very deeply affected. I started questioning why we were in Iraq. It felt like he had died for nothing. After returning from Iraq, I planned to leave the military. I was stop-lossed and forced to return to Iraq for 15 months, in total held beyond the length of my enlistment more than 450 days. Since leaving the military, I have been active with the veterans peace movement, speaking out about my experiences and supporting troops who refuse to fight.
I am doing this today because I can't allow this war in which I have fought to continue. I can't allow other Soldiers to make the same mistake I did, deploying in support of a war crime. As a veteran of Iraq, how could I not do this today? For the people I helped occupy, for the friends I lost and stilI have over there, for the Soldiers on those buses. How could I not do this today? I should have disobeyed. I should have never boarded those buses to Iraq. I wish someone had tried to stop me.
Crystal Colon
Disobedient
----------------------
I am Matthis Chiroux, former Army sergeant and War Resister. I was press-ganged into the Army by the Alabama Juvenile "Justice" System in 2002. While in the military, I occupied the nations of Japan and Germany for more than four years, with shorter tours in the Philippines and Afghanistan. I was a Public Affairs Noncommissioned Officer specializing in strategic communications. In reality, I was a propaganda artist. I was discharged honorably to the Individual Ready Reserve in 2007.
While I have always been against the war in Iraq, I began resisting it actively in 2008, after I received mobilization orders for a year-long deployment to Iraq. I refused those orders in Congress in May of 2008, calling my orders illegal and unconstitutional. I believed appealing to Congress would end the war. When 13 Members signed a letter of support for my decision and sent it to Bush, I thought we had won a victory for peace. This was more than two years ago. The president has changed, and the wars and destruction drag on.
Today, I am blocking the deployment of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment with my fellow vets and military family members because the wars will continue to victimize our communities until we halt this bloody machine from within. I am putting my body on the line in solidarity with the people of the Middle East, whose bodies have been shot, burned, tortured, raped and violated by our men and women in and out of uniform. I cannot willfully allow Americans in uniform to put their lives and the lives of Iraqis in jeopardy for a crime. We are here because we have a responsibility to ourselves as veterans and as humans of the world. I will not rest until my people, ALL PEOPLE, are free.
In Struggle and Solidarity,
Matthis Chiroux
Disobedient
------------------------------
I am Cynthia Thomas, and I have been an Army Wife for 18 years. My husband has been deployed three times since the wars began. During his second deployment, he was severely wounded and medevaced to Walter Reed Army Hospital on Life Support. Even though he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, suffered three fractures in his back, three fractures on his pelvis and countless other injuries, the Army deployed him a third time. This was devastating to our two daughters, our step-son and to me.
Three months after my husband deployed for the third time, our step-son called to inform me he was joining the Marines. That was the exact moment I realized that our children would be fighting these endless wars. I decided that I needed to start resisting.
The reason I am doing this today is because for the past 3 years that I have been speaking out and advocating for Soldiers, things have only gotten worse. I have heard countless stories from Vets and Active Duty Soldiers that give people nightmares. I have heard stories from family members that would shock people awake if they would just listen! Our military community is being destroyed!
If these wars are destroying our Soldiers and military families with 12 to 15-month, often repeat deployments, how do you think the Iraqi and Afghan people doing? They have been living these wars 24/7, 365 days a year for nearly a decade! My youngest daughter is an Operation Iraqi Freedom baby. She was less than one-year-old when her father left to invade Iraq. I look at her, and I see an Iraqi or Afghan child having to live in constant fear with no end in sight! I am doing this for our community, for my girls, for my husband and our Marine. I am doing this for the Iraqi and Afghan People. Enough is enough. If Soldiers really want to go fight, they'll have to go through me.
Cynthia Thomas
Disobedient
Share
The billionaire Koch brothers’ war against Obama : The New Yorker
A REPORTER AT LARGE about billionaire libertarians Charles and David Koch and their funding of think tanks, grassroots groups, and other organizations that oppose the Obama Administration’s policies. With his brother Charles, who is seventy-four, David Koch owns virtually all of Koch Industries, a conglomerate, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas…
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Michael B. Laskoff: ADHD Entrepreneurs
Starting a new business is ridiculously hard. So why would any sane individual set out on this sort of quixotic journey? Some will tell you it's for love or passion, but I think that people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) do it out of necessity.
China tries in vain to keep bellies buttoned up - Los Angeles Times
In the sweltering heat of summer, when the refreshing breezes desert the city, Hu Lianqun absent-mindedly reaches for a solution: He rolls up his shirt to expose his belly, often fanning himself
Friday, August 20, 2010
Behold the BK Whopper Bar Featuring the NY Pizza Burger : Fast Food : Eater National
[Photos: Eater.com] In the hurly-burly neon buffet of Times Square signage, the new BK Whopper Bar is relatively understated. The Subway sign, for instance, has a lot of flashy lights....
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
YouTube - Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury
A sexy pop music video about the science fiction author, Ray Bradbury.Starring: Rachel Bloom
Writer: Rachel Bloom
Arranger: Jack Dolgen
Director/Editor: Paul Br...
Green Tea Kit Kat | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
My girlfriend goes to Hawaii to visit family. While she is there she picks these up. They are awesome!! Green Tea Kit Kat? Yes please! Why is it that everything Japanese is so great?! Including my girlfriend ;)
How to Make Justin Bieber Sound Incredible: Slow Him Down 800 Percent
You totally hate Justin Bieber, right, because you're a rebel, or whatever? That's just because you haven't listened to Bieber slowed down 800 percent. Now his new single "U Smile" is a 30-minute epic. And it sounds awesome. No, really.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Retirement At 62 Boosts Well-being - Science News
Physical and emotional benefits to retiring on the early side
