Giving the world a hand since February 3rd, 2002. "If you're gonna dine with them cannibals, sooner or later, darling, you're gonna get eaten."




Comments by YACCS

 
AND ANOTHER THING...

...don't mistake my reaction for weakness or meek acceptance. If there were anything I could do about this, my reaction would be very different.

...and that's all I have to say about that.
so wrote Leper around about 3:20 PM

 
WELL, SHIT...

I guess nice guys do finish last....

Dammit.
so wrote Leper around about 12:21 PM

 
CLEVER

Chechen Terrorists to be Buried in Pigskin
so wrote Leper around about 11:44 PM

 
ANGORA WHAT?

I saw an item in the store today that puzzled me. It was a sweater that was 10% Angora rabbit.

Angora rabbit???

I was always under the impression that angora wool was from........sheep. Y'know, the whole "wool = sheep" connection that is drilled into each child's head in grade school? This revelation brought to mind a series of amusing mental images....

Imagine.....the noble Angora rabbit herder, tending his flock on the high plains of Angora, his Angoran rabbit dog at his side. He sleeps lightly, but sleep he must, as it is coming upon Angora rabbit shearing season. Angoran rabbit shearing season is one of the most difficult for our Angoran rabbit herder, as each Angoran rabbit must be held down as the Angoran rabbit clippers trim the excess Angoran rabbit wool for use in Angoran sweaters. After each shearing, the Angoran rabbits receive a healthy dose of Angoran rabbit dip and sent back to the flock. And who can forget the classic Angoran children's rhyme:

Hippity, hop, black rabbit,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full...

Ok, so I'm weird. But you knew that already.
so wrote Leper around about 9:55 PM

 
IT'S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS

I got my oil changed today at a new place not too far from where I live. When I got back in my car afterwards, there was a yellow carnation on my seat. The people that changed my oil gave me a flower.

I wasn't sure how to react. I've never gotten flowers before.

I understand that some people of both sexes like to receive flowers, I'm just not one of them. To me, giving a guy flowers is like giving an oil painting to a blind man; I appreciate the sentiment, but what the hell am I supposed to do with this? I'm just glad they didn't give it to me personally. Now that would've been awkward, probably prompting me to come up with some witty remark (such as "does this mean we're going steady?" or "Thanks, but I'm still not going to the prom with you") to ease the tension.

In the end, I giggled at my reaction and the apparent silliness of it all.
so wrote Leper around about 11:49 PM

 
THIS JUST IN...

Yoda, the Jedi Master, is the new president of the National Rifle Association.

In his acceptance speech, he stated "Kill people guns do not, kill people people do."

Outgoing N.R.A. president Charleton Heston was a little bitter at the replacement. "I know I haven't been at my best, but to be replaced by a little green punk in short pants? It's outrageous!"

In reply, Yoda said "Punk, am I? Bring it on, he should. Kick his ass, I will."

Heston was unphased. "I faced down a planet full of damn dirty apes. He doesn't scare me."

Heh.
so wrote Leper around about 9:33 PM

 
...BUT WHAT'S IN IT FOR US?

Nations on this funny little planet of ours rarely do anything that doesn’t directly benefit themselves. Whether it be hard currency, increased security, or additional resources, there has to be some kind of payoff before a country rolls into action. This is called enlightened self-interest.

Self-interest is why the US became involved in the war in the Balkans, but has had almost nothing to do with anything happening in Africa. Why care about what happens in Bosnia? Because, way back in 1914, a World War once started in Serbia. Why invade Afghanistan? To destroy the main staging area of al Qeda, thereby affecting their ability to act. Why haven’t we deposed Mugabe in Zimbabwe? He doesn’t have anything we need!

The United States doesn’t get involved with the many brushfire wars in Africa because none of our strategic interests are threatened. Look at Somalia, the one example in the last 50 years where we ignored this rule of thumb. The only reason that the US was in Somalia was to offer famine relief. No US citizens were threatened, no oilfields were in danger, no NBC weapons were being developed. We were there strictly to hand out food. We had absolutely no reason to be there, other than out of the goodness of our own hearts. Eventually, someone got the bright idea to try and subdue the warlords there & restore the government to power. What did it get us? The local populace turned on us, dragging dead American soldiers through the streets and cheering about it. Eventually, we realized that there was nothing in it for us, so we left.

Another example: NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Created after World War Two to defend against the evident Soviet threat to Western Europe. The thought was that individually the countries of Western Europe weren’t strong enought to repel an invading Soviet force, but by banding together, their unified strength would be enough to deter any aggression. They even invited the very powerful United States to be a member of NATO to counterbalance the enormous capabilities of the Soviets. The Europeans worked well with the Americans because they needed them. After 1989, the Soviet threat was gone. Without the Soviet threat to hold the countries of NATO to their treaty obligations, it was no longer in their self-interest to kiss up to the Americans. The Western Europeans became more bold, openly showing their disdain for their once-valued American allies and neglecting their own armed forces. This was most evident in the fall of 2001 when the US invoked the NATO charter for other member nations to come to our aid. The response from the other NATO nations (with the exception of the UK) was, for the most part, with sympathetic words and no actions.

In the case of Iraq, it is in the self-interest of the United States to overthrow Hussein and install a more pro-Western leader. This will achieve several objectives. First, it will remove a man that has become a thorn in the sides of everyone in the Middle East. The arab leaders can’t do anything about him because he is a fellow arab. Any arab country attempting to overthrow Saddam would be met with huge uprisings of their own people. Now, if they were to let “The Great Satan” do all the work of deposing him, well, then they couldn’t be to blame, could they? Second, it will disarm one of the largest armies in the Middle East, one that has large amounts of NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) weapons. We’re pretty sure Saddam isn’t dumb enough to use them on us, but then again he has used chemical weapons before against Iran and on native Kurds. Third, installing a pro-Western government would create a country that would be willing to sell billions of barrels of oil to the US. Fourth, after the dust has settled, it will calm the region down. The Palestinians will have lost a major source of income, the Kuwaitis won’t be constantly looking to the north in fear, the Saudis won’t have to worry about the lunatic next door lobbing nukes or chemical weapons, and the Iranians won’t have to worry about a second Iran-Iraq War. Fifth, for good or ill, it’ll put the fear of God into those that oppose the United States. This is the one that concerns me the most. Will it deter such countries as North Korea into giving up their nuclear program, or will it make them even more determined to become a member of the Nuclear Club? Unfortunately, I think the latter is more probable.

France & Russia currently oppose any move to overthrow the Iraqi regime. Why? First, the current Iraqi government owes France & Russia millions (if not billions) of dollars for weapons & material bought over the past twenty years. Any new government there is sure not to repay those debts. Second, both France & Russia have recently signed very lucrative trading contracts with Iraq that go into effect when the current embargo is lifted. Again, any new government in Iraq is sure not to honor those treaties. Third, several have speculated as to what embarassing evidence would come to light should a new government take control of Iraq. How much have France & Russia ignored the UN embargo? What kind of assistance have they given Iraq? How pissed off would the rest of the world be when this is revealed?

The next time you see something on the news & say to yourself “someone ought to do something”, ask yourself who has anything to gain by acting. Then wait & see who actually does anything. You’ll probably be right.

so wrote Leper around about 11:48 AM

 
CAN'T BREATHE....LAUGHING TOO HARD...

Just found a site that has "biogs"--faux weblog entries done in the style of famous authors. Check out the disturbing AA Milne, the great Dr Seuss, and the fantastically hilarious Ernest Hemingway entries...

I hope there will be a Hunter S Thompson entry.
so wrote Leper around about 11:12 PM

 
HMMMM.....NOT SURE IF I AGREE

	You are Rowlf! You don't draw attention to yourself much, preferring to keep your cool and stay in the background.
Take the What Muppet Are You? Quiz!

so wrote Leper around about 10:41 PM