I always get uncomfortable when people mention Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. Usually this is because he is mentioned as a rare hero who has stood up to the overwhelming evil of the United States. Well today the Venezuelan Congress gave President Chavez the ability to rule the nation by decree for 18 months. The justification for this move is to give the President the ability to continue his transformation of Venezuela into a socialist paradise. Or more likely, Chavez will use the power to further centralize authority in Venezuela and further cement his power. The Congress that granted Chavez the power? Comprised completely of pro-Chavez legislators, as the opposition boycotted the 2005 elections.
Prediction: 18 months from now Chavez's new powers will be extended. Indefinitely.
Venezuela's Chavez gets powers to rule by decree by Christian Oliver. Reuters.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2007-01-31T205202Z_01_N30340466_RTRUKOC_0_US-VENEZUELA-CHAVEZ.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-8
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Awesome video I
In a strange sort of pagan ritual, I watch this video whenever I want to have God on my side.
Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world
I feel there is no larger threat to global stability than Pakistan. Recently, the Director of the CIA testified that Al'Qaeda is regrouping and launching operations out of the tribal agencies of Pakistan. Since the government signed a peace deal with insurgents in the region bordering Afghanistan, deadly attacks in Afghanistan have increased. Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are widely believed to be somewhere in the tribal agencies. There is a strong undercurrent of fundamentalist Islam in Pakistan. There have been multiple attempts on Gen. Pervez Mussharraf's life. And they have nukes.
Currently Pakistan is counted as one of the US's key allies in the war on terror. But Musharraf's assistance to the US is widely resented. It has also been largely ineffective. For example, when Osama Bin Laden was believed to be trapped in the Tora Bora mountain range, Pakistan sent its forces to cut off any potential escape into Pakistan. However, the Army and intelligence apparatus, the ISI, is sympathetic to Bin Laden, and it is widely believed that Bin Laden and other Al'Qaeda fighters were allowed to escape into Pakistan.
Now imagine for a moment if Gen. Musharraf was assassinated or that his rule was overthrown by a coup. Radical Islamists seize power in Islamabad. They are sympathetic to Al'Qaeda. They have nukes. Al'Qaeda is actively seeking biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons to use against the United States. Scary. Even if Musharraf isn't overthrown, there is the possiblity of Pakistani nukes making it into the hands of terrorists. Take, for example, A.Q. Kahn, the nuclear scientist credited with running a nuclear black market and selling technology to not only Iran, but North Korea.
Recent events are only serving to further illustrate the instability of Pakistan. A recent article titled "Controverisal Clerics Receive Death Threats From Authorities" by Syed Saleem Shahzad reports that after "last week's deadly bomb blasts in the Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Peshawar, well-placed sources in the capital told Adnkronos International that president General Pervez Musharraf asked the Pakistani Air Force to carry out an airstrike on the largest Islamic seminary or madrassa in Islamabad." The article goes on to say that those "attending reportedly disagreed categorically with the idea of an air strike in the captial city..." and pointed out that the Islamic students were "...a force to be reckoned with."
This recent example just goes to show how tenuous the situation of Pakistan is. The government is, at the top with Musharraf, trying to clamp down on fundamentalist Islamists, while at the bottom many sympathise with the Islamists. The ultimate question is what to do about Pakistan to make it less of a threat to the world as a whole.
Here's the link to the article:
Pakistan: Controversial Clerics Receive 'Death Threats' from Authorities
by Syed Saleem Shahzad, 1-29-07
http://www.adnkronosinternational.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.381167776&par=0
Currently Pakistan is counted as one of the US's key allies in the war on terror. But Musharraf's assistance to the US is widely resented. It has also been largely ineffective. For example, when Osama Bin Laden was believed to be trapped in the Tora Bora mountain range, Pakistan sent its forces to cut off any potential escape into Pakistan. However, the Army and intelligence apparatus, the ISI, is sympathetic to Bin Laden, and it is widely believed that Bin Laden and other Al'Qaeda fighters were allowed to escape into Pakistan.
Now imagine for a moment if Gen. Musharraf was assassinated or that his rule was overthrown by a coup. Radical Islamists seize power in Islamabad. They are sympathetic to Al'Qaeda. They have nukes. Al'Qaeda is actively seeking biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons to use against the United States. Scary. Even if Musharraf isn't overthrown, there is the possiblity of Pakistani nukes making it into the hands of terrorists. Take, for example, A.Q. Kahn, the nuclear scientist credited with running a nuclear black market and selling technology to not only Iran, but North Korea.
Recent events are only serving to further illustrate the instability of Pakistan. A recent article titled "Controverisal Clerics Receive Death Threats From Authorities" by Syed Saleem Shahzad reports that after "last week's deadly bomb blasts in the Pakistani cities of Islamabad and Peshawar, well-placed sources in the capital told Adnkronos International that president General Pervez Musharraf asked the Pakistani Air Force to carry out an airstrike on the largest Islamic seminary or madrassa in Islamabad." The article goes on to say that those "attending reportedly disagreed categorically with the idea of an air strike in the captial city..." and pointed out that the Islamic students were "...a force to be reckoned with."
This recent example just goes to show how tenuous the situation of Pakistan is. The government is, at the top with Musharraf, trying to clamp down on fundamentalist Islamists, while at the bottom many sympathise with the Islamists. The ultimate question is what to do about Pakistan to make it less of a threat to the world as a whole.
Here's the link to the article:
Pakistan: Controversial Clerics Receive 'Death Threats' from Authorities
by Syed Saleem Shahzad, 1-29-07
http://www.adnkronosinternational.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.381167776&par=0
Friday, January 12, 2007
There is nothing greater then my hatred for G4TV
After suffering through some of G4TV's CES coverage, I have decided that the station is the devil. What set me over the edge was a segment on the "hottest digital camcorders and cameras from the show floor!" This statement came right before a commercial break, which I decided to wait out in anticipation of seeing some of the new stuff that will be coming out in the next couple of months. I'm actually in the market for a digital camcorder so I counted myself as extra-psyched for the coverage. After waiting out a 5 minute commercial break I was given a quick look at 1 high-end Sony HD camcorder, another product completely forgettable (I don't remember what it was), and finally a digital picture frame by Kodak. Woo hoo. Their "floor report" was finished in about 3 minutes, then it was a preview of what is coming up next and more commercials.
There are so many things I hate about G4 that I don't know where to start, but the above example is a solid place to begin. Since "Attack of the Show" is their flagship program, I'll use that to illustrate my feelings. There is NO CONTENT in Attack of the Show. None! The whole thing consists of the two co-hosts just yammering to each other about non-sense. You know what G4!? I don't care about either of those two morons. I want NEWS and INFORMATION about GAMES and TECHNOLOGY. I feel like I'm always waiting for something of meaning to be said. Every 2 minutes is a preview of what is coming up later on in the show!!!! They do a preview of "the feed", their news segment for the same show. Why not just do the news segment instead of showing a preview for the news segment that is just as long if not longer then the actual segment is!!! Don't get me started on "the loop", which I guess is supposed to be an actual piece of content, or something.
The amount of commercials on the station are mindboggling. Its like G4 is trying to make as much money in advertising as quickly as it can because it knows that its pulling a big scam on its viewers. 'Hey if we create shows that have no content and are constant previews of whats coming up next, we can sell advertising time to companies and make money while doing nothing!!!!' During their E3 coverage all I wanted was to see the sweet new games on display, but all I got was a continued plea for me to text message some number to indicate how "hot" I think a game is. Garbage.
I guess there are two things that make me so angry about G4. What it was and what it could be. First, what it was. There is a reason I don't get angry watching SpikeTV. Because before it was SpikeTV, it was that country station. G4 however, replaced TECHTV. Now there was a focused station that provided relevant content to its viewers. It was good television. G4 is a big step down from TECHTV. It hurts to think that G4 has replaced TECHTV. Second, what it could be. Frankily, G4 could be the coolest station on TV if it wanted to. More shows like "Icons", less Attack of the Show, more shows involving actual game-playing. I mean why not cover professional game tournaments as they grow in popularity? Why haven't there been any game-reality television shows? "I hate you! You sent zerg to my base when you said you wouldn't!" It would be awesome.
Before commercial breaks on Attack of the Show the hosts ask us not to change the station. Well, they practically beg us not to change the station. That to me, sounds like a station who is desperate for us to watch. That sounds like a station that has no confidence and is basically saying 'hey, we're the only one in this field so just watch it ok?' I wish G4 would realize that it isn't SpikeTV, it's G4, the gaming station. Maybe then, just maybe, I could watch it and not get sick.
There are so many things I hate about G4 that I don't know where to start, but the above example is a solid place to begin. Since "Attack of the Show" is their flagship program, I'll use that to illustrate my feelings. There is NO CONTENT in Attack of the Show. None! The whole thing consists of the two co-hosts just yammering to each other about non-sense. You know what G4!? I don't care about either of those two morons. I want NEWS and INFORMATION about GAMES and TECHNOLOGY. I feel like I'm always waiting for something of meaning to be said. Every 2 minutes is a preview of what is coming up later on in the show!!!! They do a preview of "the feed", their news segment for the same show. Why not just do the news segment instead of showing a preview for the news segment that is just as long if not longer then the actual segment is!!! Don't get me started on "the loop", which I guess is supposed to be an actual piece of content, or something.
The amount of commercials on the station are mindboggling. Its like G4 is trying to make as much money in advertising as quickly as it can because it knows that its pulling a big scam on its viewers. 'Hey if we create shows that have no content and are constant previews of whats coming up next, we can sell advertising time to companies and make money while doing nothing!!!!' During their E3 coverage all I wanted was to see the sweet new games on display, but all I got was a continued plea for me to text message some number to indicate how "hot" I think a game is. Garbage.
I guess there are two things that make me so angry about G4. What it was and what it could be. First, what it was. There is a reason I don't get angry watching SpikeTV. Because before it was SpikeTV, it was that country station. G4 however, replaced TECHTV. Now there was a focused station that provided relevant content to its viewers. It was good television. G4 is a big step down from TECHTV. It hurts to think that G4 has replaced TECHTV. Second, what it could be. Frankily, G4 could be the coolest station on TV if it wanted to. More shows like "Icons", less Attack of the Show, more shows involving actual game-playing. I mean why not cover professional game tournaments as they grow in popularity? Why haven't there been any game-reality television shows? "I hate you! You sent zerg to my base when you said you wouldn't!" It would be awesome.
Before commercial breaks on Attack of the Show the hosts ask us not to change the station. Well, they practically beg us not to change the station. That to me, sounds like a station who is desperate for us to watch. That sounds like a station that has no confidence and is basically saying 'hey, we're the only one in this field so just watch it ok?' I wish G4 would realize that it isn't SpikeTV, it's G4, the gaming station. Maybe then, just maybe, I could watch it and not get sick.
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