Reason Morning Links: Obama Unclenches Fist in Iran's General Direction, Google Adds "Undo Send," UK Won't Let Citizens Even See Guns

- Obama reaches out to Iran with video offering a "new day."

- Speaking of Iran, a young Iranian blogger jailed for insulting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has apparently died in prison.

- Comparing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

- Google adds an "oops" button.

- Assessing New Zealand's six-year experiment with legalized prostitution.

- Ex-Bush administration official concedes many at Gitmo are innocent; Cheney and Rumsfeld knew, but fought efforts to do anything about it.

- UK pulls an ad for an Angelina Jolie movie because it "could be seen to condone violence by glorifying or glamorizing the use of guns."

Comments

[Pedantic Guy]

Google ads are one thing, but adding a button is another.

[FrBunny]

This feature can't pull back an email that's already gone; it just holds your message for five seconds so you have a chance to hit the panic button.

So it's just another "Are you sure?" popup. What a breakthrough! The singularity is upon us!

[SugarFree]

UK can't show ads for Wanted? HAHAHA!

Mark my words, one day that entire country is going to split in half lengthwise, fold back the edges and turn itself into a giant fucking pussy. Then all the people will be stuffed inside so they can be safe from any temptation deep inside England's swampy womb.

[TofuSushi]

No link to Obama's breakthrough television appearance on The Tonight Show last night?

Is Reason afraid of drawing more positive attention to the most brilliant president ever?

[Xeones]

SugarFree, that mental image almost made me barf, and i haven't even eaten anything today.

[Ska]

Beautiful wordplay there SF.

[Pro Libertate]

Man Behind TofuSushi?,

That bad, huh? Maybe next he'll announce for NCAA tournament games, ? la Jesse Ventura and the XFL.

[Marc]

The obvious next choice is to be a guest judge on on Idol.

[SugarFree]

And to think, my Mom said that Creative Writing degree would get me nowhere...

[Pro Libertate]

It's not the violence. The UK fears Angelina Jolie's sexuality.

[domoarrigato]

The UK fears Angelina Jolie's sexuality.

She can slap me around anytime.

[libertarian democrat]

So it's just another "Are you sure?" popup. What a breakthrough! The singularity is upon us!

I don't think it's really a pop-up, considering gmail's interface, but it might be. Rather just an extra button on the interface you can use.

[SugarFree]

The best line from the comic that the movie left out, Wesley on his soon to be ex-girlfriend:

"What relationship? Once a month we fuck like old people. She hasn't shaved her legs since Christmas."

[Pro Libertate]

Leila: What about our relationship?

Otto: What?

Leila: Our relationship!

Otto: Fuck that!

Leila: You SHITHEAD! I'm glad I tortured you!

[Mo]

On Exchange, you can recall emails (the true undo). This is no undo, it's more of a cancel.

[P Brooks]

The Presidential Suit had a nice chat with Mister Leno, did he?

Did he pull a pistol and force Leno to empty his wallet?

[TofuSushi]

Did he pull a pistol and force Leno to empty his wallet?

Leno did not steal a bunch of money from the government, so I guess that was president Obama's motovation for no needing to recover money from Leno.

[Jennifer]

Ex-Bush administration official concedes many at Gitmo are innocent; Cheney and Rumsfeld knew, but fought efforts to do anything about it.

Which will surprise exactly nobody except the most hardcore Bush fans. But why the hell did this man wait so long to say anything?

[TofuSushi]

Jennifer,

Which will surprise exactly nobody except the most hardcore Bush fans. But why the hell did this man wait so long to say anything?

The death squads. But now that Obama is in charge those types are out of business.

[robc]

On Exchange, you can recall emails

You can TRY all you want, but they dont come back if the remote server aint sending it back. Well, at least if the remote server isnt exchange too.

[@]

BO and his minions just want a Stalin-esque show trial to distract the country from his failure.

[JP]

In other news, New Zealand legalizes prostitution, and the sky doesn't come crashing down. Who'd a thunk it?

[Citizen Nothing]

If it weren't lousy with hobbits, New Zealand would be a good place to relocate.

[Two-Minute Hate]

"In other news, New Zealand legalizes prostitution, and the sky doesn't come crashing down. Who'd a thunk it?"

And them Kiwi girlz is hot!

[Nick]

Re: New Zealand

Can I still get NFL Sunday Ticket?

[Pro Libertate]

What's this about Obama offending Special Olympics kids?

[Two-Minute Hate]

"What's this about Obama offending Special Olympics kids?"

He told Leno they should all be exterminated in order to free up the resources they are wasting.

[R C Dean]

Google ads an "oops" button.

I'm gonna call RC'z Law on that one.

[Pro Libertate]

Oh, okay. Seems a bit harsh, doesn't it? You'd think that would go against liberal precepts. Oh, well, they never make any sense to me, anyway.

[TofuSushi]

R C,

What is your law anyway? Sorry, I keep hearing about it but I do not remember what it is.

[TofuSushi]

He told Leno they should all be exterminated in order to free up the resources they are wasting.

Nice twisting of words intent.

He was admiring Special Olympics kids after he increased his bowling score.

[Two-Minute Hate]

Meta, baby. Meta!

[R C Dean]

What is your law anyway?

RC'z Law posits that a typo is likely to be more funny or insightful than the intended text.

[TofuSushi]

R C,

I lik it.

[Two-Minute Hate]

"I lik it."

tiresome

[High Gloss]

"And them Kiwi girlz is hot!"

Agreed!

[Johnny Nowhere]

What's this about Obama offending Special Olympics kids?

tempest in a teacup. he didn't get anywhere near full retard.

[Pro Libertate]

Call me old fashioned, but I'm not much for a sitting president going on a talk show.

[R C Dean]

Why not, PL? Its not like he was doing anything in Washington.

[kinnath]

Call me old fashioned, but I'm not much for a sitting president going on a talk show.

As an old timer, I could envision a grainy, black-n-white TV screen with Walter Cronkite doing a one-on-one interview with a sitting president during some time of crises.

But the idea of a sitting president chatting with Leno just after the monologue . . I find that repulsive.

[Pro Libertate]

Well, yeah, there is the libertarian ideal of him wasting his time not screwing up the country more. I guess it's a dignity of the office thing. Of course, now he's sending YouTube videos to Iran, so maybe it's too late for that.

[JP]

You guys don't understand. Obama is determined not to make the same mistakes as Carter. Obama's going to be an incompetent Dem president who's cool.

[Isaac Bartram]

Funny how the same folks who got exercised about Bush going on vacation and neglecting his duties in Washington* (as though there was any duty he could not perform as easily in Bumfuck, WY as in DC) see Obama going everywhere giving speeches (about the same thing Bush did) as getting out amongst the people.

*I always got this picture of the prez doing an eight hour shift at the guvminting machine pulling levers and pushing buttons.

[thoreau]

I kind of like the fact that Obama got stuck in traffic on the 110.

I'm disappointed that he didn't try to get on the 10 East from the 605 South. Anybody who can pull off that maneuver gets my respect.

[R C Dean]

I'm disappointed that he didn't try to get on the 10 East from the 605 South. Anybody who can pull off that maneuver gets my respect.

Anybody who can't pull that off with a police and secret service escort gets my disrespect.

[thoreau]

1) Have you seen that interchange?

2) Obviously he'd get more points for doing it solo.

3) I'm not sure how a limo would fare on those turns.

[Pro Libertate]

thoreau,

You have no conception of what the Secret Service can do with vehicles. The presidential motorcades move at shocking speed through DC, regardless of the traffic. I have no idea how they do it--high performance limos? Secret traffic diverting technology?

Back during my fellowship at the Clinton White House, Clinton's posse just about ran me off the road at high speed. And he flipped me off as they drove by.

Okay, I made up that last sentence.

[thoreau]

PL-

Not even the Secret Service was able to avoid a traffic jam on the 110. And the 110 is hardly the worst of our freeways out here.

The 10-605 interchange would make quick work of the Secret Service. And if they had tried the 405, odds are that he'd still be there.

[Pro Libertate]

Don't believe it. I've seen their uncanny abilities on the road.

[Pro Libertate]

Uncanny.

[thoreau]

Then why did they get stuck on the 110?

[Pro Libertate]

Who says Obama got stuck? Don't believe the Secret Service's lying propaganda. They let his stunt double get stuck.

[Mr. Chartreuse]

NZ ended farms subsidies and legalized prostitution, not too shabby.

[Kiwi]

We've still got to get marijuana legalised, then we're not too shabby.