Washoe and Alex

This was a nice sendoff article for Washoe and Alex who died this year. Washoe was a sign language using chimp who taught her adoptive chimpanzee son some words too. Alex was the African Grey Parrot who knew at least 100 words in English and put them to use to even tease his human handlers.

May they rest in peace. Thank you for your valuable insight into animal heads.

it wasn’t the size of their respective vocabularies so much as the frequent winsomeness of their word usage that captivated us: the way that even the simplest impromptu phrasings from them could give us sudden glimpses into the minds of other beings, into the motive and mindfulness behind language in creatures that don’t happen to speak our own.

Recession Alert Level

Do you all remember The Religious Policeman who quit blogging in 2006 but came up with the color coded Muslim Offense Level?

Today – as we begin Bush’s last year in office, Small Dead Animals’ post headline reminded me of this color coding system. As he suggests, we’re on High Alert, or

Seven Year American Recession Watch Remains On High Alert

To help us remember, we’ll use Orange (High Alert) as the color.
This editorial in the NYTimes is concerned about a 3.6% increase in spending this year (but reminding readers that part of that spending was in gas and food.

Which may or may not have something to do with fewer people on airplanes as 1)airlines get more uncomfortable and crowed and b) airlines cancel flights toward the end of the year because of bad weather and crew crankiness leading to no crew for flights and c) people just want to stay home at the holidays as we (baby boomers) get older and less prone to travel about for recreation)

All of that portends economic pain for families, even if growth, over all, does not contract — the general definition of a recession. That’s because even optimistic growth forecasts — about 1.5 percent for this quarter and next — are too tepid to counter recessionlike conditions in which job growth slows, unemployment rises and paychecks shrink or disappear. If inflation continues, rising prices will only feed the pain.

Worry away folks and don’t think about the 22% increase in online sales this year. They don’t count. Apparently.

Friday Calf Blogging

With special guest, “Buddy”, joining in.

Bhutto

May she rest in peace. And may Pakistan rest her in peace.
Here’s a few links to some perspectives.

From Ralph Peters who thinks that in death maybe she can unite Pakistanis against terrorists.

In fact, Bhutto was a frivolously wealthy feudal landlord amid bleak poverty. The scion of a thieving political dynasty, she was always more concerned with power than with the wellbeing of the average Pakistani. Her program remained one of old-school patronage, not increased productivity or social decency.

From Christopher Hitchens who thinks she may have changed her ways in the intervening years.

d her mind, at least on the Taliban and al-Qaida, and was willing to help lead a battle against them. She had, according to some reports, severed the connection with her rather questionable husband. She was attempting to make the connection between lack of democracy in Pakistan and the rise of mullah-manipulated fanaticism.

and From Spiegel who thinks that…well, read it, it’s hilarious.

Ongoing difficulties in Iraq. A Taliban offensive in Afghanistan. And now the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan. For the West, 2007 has become a year of failure and missteps.

They mention communism here and how it fell apart “all by itself” in recommending the use of the weapon “composure” to fight terrorism.

and finally From Mark Steyn on Bill Richardson’s response concerning Bhutto’s death.

What do we want? A broad-based coalition government that relentlessly hunts down terrorists and has a great prescription drug plan for seniors! When do we want it? Now! Well, gee, it would be unfair to let anybody else take credit for such a viable plan. Why doesn’t Governor Richardson jet in and run for the Pakistani parliament himself? First rally in Rawalpindi on Saturday?

This kind of “expertise” is why so many people hold politicians in contempt.

Visiting the Enemy

Or as they like to call it at the UN

visiting those

…who are perhaps less than supportive of the government of Afghanistan”.

re the diplomats expelled from Afghanistan.

Opinions

I wonder what it takes to be an opinion writer?

The reason I wonder is that this piece in the LATimes this morning is so bad, it makes me think that perhaps the writer was hired as a warm body.

‘The common defense’

The sixth in a series of editorials examining American values and the candidates for president.

I haven’t read the other 5 in the series, but this particular piece starts out with:

From the wreckage of the Bush administration’s foreign policies, the next president will inherit many intractable problems.

It doesn’t list what exactly is the wreckage of Bush’s foreign policies though, so I’m not sure what the heck he/she is talking about. It goes on and on and will make you very cranky, because in the end, this turkey wants us out of Iraq, into Darfur, contain Iran, save the UN, work on domestic “woes”, invade Pakistan if necessary, yet stay humble and remember that all in foreign affairs is “murky”.

Have fun. But take your blood pressure medication.
Or end it by reading Lawrence Kudlow’s column listing Bush’s accomplishments this year.

The Scary Economy

Instapundit notes that the “NYTimes” finds retail sales up 3.6% and online sales up up 22.4% “bleak”.

Huh?
click through…his updates and multiple quotes are funny.

Hillary

Captain Ed reads the NYTimes story on Hillary so you don’t have to.

He’s missing all the “when asked about X, Mrs. Clinton again didn’t really answer the question” seen in the article, but otherwise a nice re-cap.

Hitler

Bloodthirstyliberal has the most clear headed thoughts about using Hitler as a reference in any conversation.

If you have to use Hitler to make your point, you probably need to rethink your point.

(all in the wake of an odd Will Smith quote)

In a story published Saturday in the Daily Record, Smith was quoted saying: “Even Hitler didn’t wake up going, ‘let me do the most evil thing I can do today.’ I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was ‘good.’ ”

I’m with BTL. There is evil in this world. Don’t explain it, just deal with it.

UPDATE:
People are whacked out, jumping all over the net looking for anyone who said anything bad about Will Smith. Take note – I didn’t say anything bad about Will. I love the guy. He’s one of my favorite actors and he seems like a genuinely good person.
He did NOT say that Hitler was good. And I’m not saying that he did.
I have no idea what the point was he was trying to make when he said he didn’t think Hitler woke up figuring out what bit of evil he wanted to do today, (like a Dr. Evil in a cartoon flick). It doesn’t matter. I’m saying that anytime I hear anyone bring up Hitler in reference to anything I think “oh – here we go again”.
Hitler/Bush, Hitler/Mugabi, Hitler/Saddam, Hitler whatever.

So – again the point being that if you think you need to reference Hitler, don’t bother.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to you all!!
Thanks for continuing to come by and visit.