rantlust

Posted by anupcs on March 31st 2006 in Rants, USA
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Alaska is in the news again. Hardly has the news of the “bridge to nowhere” died down when we hear of more excesses from this non-contiguous state. The lawmakers of the remote village of Dillingham, Alaska petitioned the Department of Homeland Security for $202,000 to fight terrorism (after all Russia is only 800 miles away whereas Seattle is more than 1200 miles away) and the DHS, being the esteemed organization it is, granted it. How was this money spent? They installed 80 cameras all over the village to watch over the 2,400 inhabitants. Swell.

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Posted by anupcs on March 31st 2006 in Politics, Society, USA
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As the debate about (illegal) immigration rails on, with Dubya at Chichen-Itza, numerous protest rallies, and what not, there is a lot of polarizing views being bandied about. One essay which stood out for me is by Victor Davis Harrison at RealClearPolitics. Quote:

So what fails and what works? Bilingual education in our schools, multicultural romance about a mythical Aztlan in our universities, guest worker programs that institutionalize helot status, salad-bowl separatism, and millions who cross the border illegally, all have contributed to the present disaster. But as we see with second- and third-generation model Mexican-American citizens, English immersion, acceptance of an American identity, integration, intermarriage and assimilation, legal and monitored immigration in the thousands from Mexico–all that guarantees immigrants success and energizes us the host.

Gets one thinking about the whole “when in Rome…” aphorism again.

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Posted by riyer on March 30th 2006 in French-Surrender, History, Humor, Society
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I am not making this up, they make it too easy to pick on them.
A column titled Who Moved My Fromage? by John Tierney (note: Paid Subscription required) notes

Today’s French can’t even stand up to unarmed foreigners. When French young adults were asked what globalization meant to them, half replied, “Fear.”

Here is my visual: Ramakrishnan Venkataratnam Iyengar from India lands at De Gaul for an IT project and wonders why all the French have their hands up, waving white towels, in a gesture of surrender. Him not being familiar with the rich and glorious traditions of the French.

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Posted by tafkap on March 30th 2006 in Random
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A mind boggling optical illusion that a co-worker of mine sent my way. Stare at one of the ’snakes’ and the others seem to rotate - widen your browser window for maximum effect.

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Posted by renéejo on March 30th 2006 in Humor, Internet
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[via the Daily Irrelevant]

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Posted by bab on March 30th 2006 in Cars, Developing Nations
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Thanks to good old sugarcane, Brazil is all set to achieve gasoline independence this year. Most of the new cars sold in Brazil are flex cars which are able to run on ethanol, gasoline and blended mixture of the two. Moreover sugarcane ethanol is cheaper to produce than corn ethanol which is used in United States. Brazil also requires all gas stations to provide atleast one ethanol pump. According to NBC news, sugarcane ethanol will remain cheaper than gasoline as long as gasoline stays over $45 a barrel. More here.

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Posted by renéejo on March 29th 2006 in Books
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Winning the Nobel prize in anything doesn’t make you great. You need to be truly non-judgemental in order to be great unlike some laureates. Idiot.

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Posted by riyer on March 29th 2006 in Disasters, Journalism, Politics, USA, Women
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A human side of Iraq from Baghdad at this blog. She reveals quite a sense of humor with her ‘Oscar Awards’ blog on March 6, 2006

It is chilling to read that the MoD is advising residents not to take orders from the army or police during nightly patrols.

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