Tiki White Supremacy

The only positive of having 6000 white supremacists all carrying their mom's porch Tiki Torch is that there probably wasn't a mosquito for three miles of the UVA campus that night.

Ironic Ice Traps Scientists

Deep deep into the to the southern reaches of the planet's polar cap - where, it is currently summer, a group of climate scientists have become trapped. In ice. Really bad, thick ice. If by some chance you have missed the Alanis Morissette song, you're not the only one. 

Notice how the Associated Press story does too:

The Snow Dragon icebreaker came within 7 miles (11 kilometers) of the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been stuck since Christmas Eve, but had to retreat after the ice became too thick, said expedition spokesman Alvin Stone.

The Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been on a research expedition to Antarctica, got stuck Tuesday after a blizzard's whipping winds pushed the sea ice around the ship, freezing it in place. The ship wasn't in danger of sinking, and there are weeks' worth of supplies for the 74 scientists, tourists and crew on board, but the vessel cannot move.

So is the exact mission of these scientists? AP is rather vague about this reporting only:

The scientific team on board the research ship — which left New Zealand on Nov. 28 — had been recreating Australian explorer Douglas Mawson's century-old voyage to Antarctica when it became trapped. They plan to continue their expedition after they are freed, expedition leader Chris Turney said.

Okay, maybe they're on a pleasure cruise or counting penguins. Usually if you're putting 74 scientists on a boat there might be more to it than just repeating a century-old voyage. If AP is vague about the mission's purpose, Reuters provides even less information.

Still searching for the real purpose of all those scientists traveling to Antarctica, I turn to Whats Up With That.

The expedition is being led by Chris Turney, “climate scientist”, who has “set up a carbon refining company called Carbonscape which has developed technology to fix carbon from the atmosphere and make a host of green bi-products, helping reduce greenhouse gas levels.” The purpose of the expedition is “to discover and communicate the environmental changes taking place in the south.”

It seems they found out what the “environmental changes taking place in the south.” are.

Then, National Geographic states the mission purpose:

...The current crop of explorers are hoping to document some of the same data and compare them to Mawson's numbers, "using the twist of modern technology," Turney told National Geographic earlier this month.

As may be expected, global warming might play a role in this, he suggests, particularly with respect to melted ice in the East Antarctic.

Okay, now it's becoming as clear as black ice - the ironic headline should actually read "Global Warming Scientists Trapped in Antarctic Ice." That's, perhaps, an inconvenient truth.

Full Circle

Large corporations that have boomed in India amid the country's nimble economy have been drawn to the U.S. where unemployment has soared. Struggling residents desperate for work are paid between $12 and $14 a hour to be stationed in tiny cubicles for long shifts of telesales work. Once the employees are established, many are offered the chance to be flown to India themselves - the same tactic Western countries have done in India. Experts said that the phenomenon, which could become more widespread in the coming years, is partly due to Indian workers demanding higher wages and higher living standards.

Mildly Ironic

A Sense of... uh, something.

It's a metaphor? No, a, uh, - you know like rain on your wedding day? A free ride, when you're already late? Something like that?

SUV's are literally killing the Green Party movement

From the article...

"State police said the driver apparently thought she had hit a deer or another animal and realized what had happened only when she arrived home and found Pettigrew's bicycle trapped under her car. Pettigrew was not dragged by the vehicle but suffered severe injuries, police said."

Even if her presumption had been true, who hits a large animal with their car and doesn't stop to inspect the damage immediately afterward? - Before you say secret government agents, let's find the easier answer. Drunk people. Or super dumbasses who are yapping away on their phones.

"When she arrived home and saw the bicycle, she assumed it was something else."

Yeah, seeing as only bears and giraffes ride bicycles?

And, for the record, the SUV didn't kill her - it was the DRIVER of the SUV.

Dr. Food

Doctor, I think you're doing it wrong...

A Problem

Meanwhile... at the Career Technical Training Center....

Zeus Nukes Touchdown Jesus

Touchdown Jesus Statue before his battle with Zeus...

Touchdown Jesus after his battle with Zeus.
Lightning struck and ignited a fire late Monday that destroyed the $500,000 62-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms stretched toward the skies, according to Monroe, Ohio police.

The only thing visible this morning is the charged frame of the structure.

“It burned to the ground. The whole statue is gone,” said Kim Peace, a police dispatcher.

The large “King of Kings” statue was a Butler County landmark since it was erected in 2004 outside Solid Rock Church, 904 N. Union Rd., along northbound Interstate 75 in Monroe just north of the Ohio 63 exit.

Fire crews were called to the church at 11:15 p.m. after several people phoned 911 to report the blaze as a severe thunderstorm swept through Greater Cincinnati, producing a spectacular lightning show, Peace said.

“The lightning was just amazing,” she said, wryly adding: “It was a lot of fun in here last night.”

When fire crews arrived, they found the statue fully involved and an adjacent amphitheater burning. The fire extended into the attic of the amphitheater, destroyed equipment, before fire crews contained it, Peace said.

No injuries were reported. Fire officials are expected to release a damage estimate after 10 a.m. Tuesday.

As fire gorged the iconic statue, several motorists along I-75 pulled over to photograph the sight.

That prompted troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol to respond and patrol the area to prevent a traffic jam and potential accidents, according to the patrol’s Lebanon post.

Church workers declined comment this morning, saying the pastors were up all night due to the fire and should talk to the media later.

The sculpture stretches 40 feet wide at the base. It was made of plastic form and fiberglass over a steel frame. The frame is the only thing visible this morning.

According to the evangelical church's website, there are about 4,000 members. The church was founded by former horse trader Lawrence and Darlene Bishop of Middletown.

Here's this video of it. I had nothing to do with the music choice:

Are You Kidding Me?

This is the actual cover of the current issue of Vermont Catholic magazine, the monthly publication put out by the Diocese of Burlington. No, really.

Less than a week after an almost-$18 million settlement with the remaining 26 plaintiffs (you know, all those children who were diddled by priests for decades while the Church pretended it didn't know what was going on?), they still put a photo of a young man kneeling in front of the Bishop on the cover of their magazine.

Two pages into the magazine there is a letter from Bishop Salvatore Matano discussing the recent settlement, and apologizing for the whole ugly mess that, to be fair, started long before he even took the position as bishop in Vermont. Toward the end, he asks God for forgiveness for any insensitivity which he may have shown during this process. Hey Sal, keep trying.

Sure we know that this photo is depicting the rite of ordination but does the editor of the Vermont Catholic understand irony?

Still, while it might come across as insensitive, it clearly wasn't intended to be... probably? Well, the Catholic Church has always been culturally and socially tone deaf. Why change that now? When you think about the things that have driven people away from the Church historically, it has been largely due to the institution's unwillingness to look outside itself. Birth control, same sex marriage, abortion, homosexuality, females in the clergy, celibate priests: in each case, the Church eschews change and progress, and instead turns inward losing more and more members along the way.

The image on this magazine cover is further demonstration this disconnect. Why, in the midst of a sex scandal, would you put a photo on the cover that evokes the very act for which the scandal is known? Certainly, someone had to make note of this...

Thanks Plaid Crew for the story!~

Alas, Poor Orwell

Sunday Comics: Ironic

If you can't read that, it's the door to the National Association of Telemarketers. There's a very large NO SOLICITING sign on the adjacent glass.

Isn't it Ironic... don't 'cha think?

Typical Socialists

VIDEOGRAPHERS WITH OWN GEAR - Socialism 2009.

Not-for-profit, activist organization seeks THREE freelance videographers with their own video camera & tripod for taping of presentations at upcoming Socialism 2009 conference in June. Professionals or budding professionals. [You mean students?]

PAY:
$200 per day*

CAMERA REQUIREMENTS: [Professional $10K cameras listed]

LOCATION: Wyndham Hotel

(* Socialism 2009 is an advocate of unions and union rates-of-pay. However, as a non-profit, our budget is super tight, and 3 shooters over 3 days adds up. Can you work with us on this?)

No, I can't 'work with you on this'. If I weren't so lazy, I'd look up the Wyndham Hotel to see if it IS a Union hall. That would be funny.

Ornaments

One of the ornaments that was accepted by Laura Bush to hang on the White House Christmas Tree says “Impeach Bush” on it (albeit in small letters). According to the artist who created it “Apparently, they didn’t read it — or Laura Bush is more progressive than I believed.”

From the Washington Post.

Poultry-Pardoning Palin

1:52 is where the action starts. Sorry it took me so long to get this up for you today.

One Alaska turkey was lucky Sarah Palin showed up on Thursday at the Triple D Farm & Hatchery outside Wasilla to issue a traditional Thanksgiving gubernatorial pardon.

The other turkeys that happened to be behind the former Republican vice-presidential nominee during a subsequent television interview at the farm? Not so much.

During the three-minute video, which appeared Friday on U.S. political websites, a smiling Palin appears oblivious to turkeys being slaughtered in the background just moments after she spared the life of one of the birds.

An unidentified worker is seen placing at least two struggling birds head-first into a slaughter cone as Palin, holding a disposable coffee cup, discusses her family, falling oil prices, what she learned during her failed vice-presidential bid and the work she faces as Alaska's governor.

Palin, who became the target of intense media criticism over her performance in high-profile television interviews during the election campaign, said she's thankful that her son's Stryker brigade is relatively safe in Iraq and the rest of her family is healthy and happy.

She added that she would be the one in charge of cooking the turkey at her family's Thanksgiving dinner.

As the blood of one of the birds was drained into a trough, Palin said it was nice to participate in a function that wasn't so filled with "heavy-handed politics that invites criticism."

"Certainly we'll probably invite criticism for even doing this, too," she said. "But at least this was fun."