You Suggest, We Hit "Publish"

Some blog suggestions from you beautiful people over the course of this past week:

* UK beer attacks Gordon Brown.
* South Korea imposes price controls.
* Some amazing video from North Korea. 
* EU wants to fingerprint 6-year-olds and put results in centralized database.
* Remembering Douglas Adams.
* Interview with a douchebag-slinger.
* Are pirates and emperors really the same thing?
* "My name is Frank McEnulty and I am pretty much a regular guy.  I am married, have two daughters, go to a lot of sporting events that my daughters participate in and am completely and utterly disgusted with both political parties in this country. That is why I am doing this."
* $100 trillion in debt!
* Medical marijuana puts tax collectors in tight spot.

Comments

[Travis]

Watch the Schoolhouse Rocks Pirates & Emperors it's really good.

[Geotpf]

The last two lines of the medical majijuana story are amusing:

And the feds note that income from any source, legal or illegal, is taxable.

"Income, regardless of whether the source is legal or illegal, is taxable," Lee said.

Lee, and the reporter who wrote the story, both work for the Department of Redundancy Department, of course.

[andy]

a san diego insurance company is offering policies against eminent domain:

http://sdbj.com/article.asp?aID=123332&link=perm

basing a business model entirely around one court ruling... hmm... sounds shaky.

[Franklin Harris]

Inspired by the Gordon Brown attack ale, I'm going to try to convince a local microbrew here in Alabama to use the remarks of Alabama State Rep. Alvin Holmes, arguing against raising the state's limit on alcohol content in beer, as its slogan: "The beer we got drink pretty good, don't it?"

In the meantime, I highly recommend this Mississippi beer. (This will be the first and last time I recommend anything from Mississippi.)

[SIV]

What? No post on the opening day of baby Harp seal season?

There is the business angle too.
Baseball bat exports are good for our trade balance.

[Aresen]

I thought the first item read
"UK bear attacks Gordon Brown"

Don't get my hopes up like that.

[TD]

Not even Vice can be ironic in the face of the evils of North Korea. That video series is priceless. It's hard to laugh when you're in a mausoleum pretending to be a country.

[Click \'n\' Learn]

Matt 'n' Nick are furiously working on a column condemning the harp seal hunt. Why is there a 275,000 head limit?

Meanwhile, Matt 'n' Nick are holding off on commenting on this until GordonGecko has told them what to say. (Hint: Lew's agin it)

On a lighter note, while I don't like to promote things on the TV, I found this very funny.

[dbcooper]

Pretty bad ass for Don Felder:

http://jezebel.com/373204/south-park-takes-a-trip-to-heavy-metal

[Kolohe]

I like how 'cram schools' are a necessity in the ROK - hmm, I wonder where that trade deficit comes from.

We should be thankful that Soju is also a necessity, otherwise we'd be truly fucked. 🙂

[Reinmoose]

* EU wants to fingerprint 6-year-olds and put results in centralized database.

I predict a sharp rise in crimes committed by les 5 year olds

[VM]

you'll be surprised, Rein, about how effective this argument will be:

Officials in Brussels also argued that a growing number of EU citizens no longer fear being likened to potential suspects [cuz of mandatory finger printting]...

...noting that biometric data of this kind has become increasingly common

(phrase taken out for brevity)
in short:
"since they see it a lot, they're desensitized, and we then can continue our creep".

the jackbooted thugs, thug wanna bes, and flunkies out of the JACKBOOTED THUG AND HENCHMAN(WOMAN) CORRESPONDENCE COLLEGE on both sides of the pond adhere to this strategy.

[J sub D]

"since they see it a lot, they're desensitized, and we then can continue our creep".

Like the Norweigian Ruminant, I recognize the creeping surveillance state. It starts in the public schools. We are raising a generation used to metal detecters, videa monitoring of their daily activity, armed patrols in the school hallways, urinalysis, suspensions for criticizing school officials OFF SCHOOL GROUNDS on THEIR OWN TIME, etc.

As you get older you get used to banking regulations that monitor and report your cash flow, automated red light cameras to generate revenue, pat downs to enter a federal building, strip searches before boarding an airplane (soon to be expanded to rail travel), DWI checkpoints, and on and on and on.

As it relates to privacy and freedom, sometimes I feel like I'm a member of the Omega generation.

[Jennifer]

Every video I see of Pyongyang makes me view litter in a kinder light. The good thing about litter is, if people are dropping their food wrappers and drink bottles on the ground, at least you know they can afford drinks and food.

[wicks cherrycoke]

There still are people out there who think the Sandinistas equal "power to the people." Wow. 80's nostalglia! Next we'll be listening to Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

[h-dawg]

The NK videos were truly freaky. As Urkobold(tm) might say, more Tea Girl!

[Art-P.O.G.]

I'm sure David Lynch would appreciate the vibe in Kim Jong Il's North Korea. Like the f-ing mirror universe over there.