Best Job, My Ass!

Remember the whole best job in the world contest? Well it went sour, people. The dude that won just got stung by a wee poisonous jellyfish.

"No F'n Way!"

Yeah, that's what I said too. The irony seems lost on the jobber, who's a Brit by the name of Ben Southall. He tells the tale in his own words over at his blog that I wish were mine, because if it were that would mean I won the contest and I made the $120,000 that guy's getting paid for this.

Here's what happened:

Trouble struck paradise this week when a British man who has the "Best Job in the World" as the caretaker of a tropical Australian island was stung by a potentially lethal jellyfish.

Ben Southall – who won a contest to blog for six months about life on Australia's Hamilton Island to promote tourism – wrote Tuesday that he was lucky to have survived his brush with the extremely venomous Irukandji jellyfish.

I wanted that job. I even applied for it. They could have picked me. I can blog... when I feel like it. I can hang around on a beach. I can... breathe oxygen!

But no, they give it to this doof and what does he do? He gets in the path of a extremely venomous Irukandji jellyfish. Not only would that never have happened to me--because I would stay out of the water--but...

I think the guy is full of shit.

Look at who benefits. The dude either made it up or he jellied himself. Just my rampant speculation. I'm merely idly hypothesizing in a completely not libel way.

By the way something, I'm sorry I called that guy a doof. And I was pretty much just kidding about this being a PR stunt.

Clearly They're Not Paying Attention

Russia wants to go all Deep Impact on an Asteroid that's headed right for us. Only, it's not going to hit us. NASA has the object's best shot at Earth being a 1-in-250,000 chance on it's 2032 approach. And besides, all of this happens after the Earth ends in 2012, in a hail of Mayan/Antichrist hellfire. Pay attention, Russia! Damn.

Best line in the article comes from the director of the Russian space agency Anatoly Perminov, stating what he says he heard from one of his scientists, "I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032."

Why do I have a feeling that if we do survive Mayan Deathfest 2012, the Russians are just going to knock this asteroid into us on accident?

What You Talkin' 'Bout Willis?

Uh... She does know that it was 9-11, 2001? Right?

CNN Talks to Flight 253 Hero

Looks like Dutch citizen Jasper Schuringa is a bigtime hero, whether he wants to be paid for his interviews or not.

CNN interviewed him yesterday:

Colbert Out of Character

James Warren has a post on The Atlantic's website describing the appearance that Stephen Colbert, who was not in character, and some of his TV cohorts recently made at Second City's 50th anniversary celebration. Putting Warren's abrasive writing aside, it's a pretty fun read.

Among the topics discussed were Glenn Beck and MSNBC. My favorite part was Colbert's description of what happened when he got off stage after his infamous White House Correspondants' Dinner performance, which is also known as the raddest thing that happened all century.

Warren writes:

When the dinner was over, "I don't think I'm dying. I go to sit down and nobody's meeting my eye. Only [the late journalist-turned-White House spokesman] Tony Snow comes over and says I'm doing a great job." Then Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia came his way and told him he was brilliant.

"I said, oh, s-, don't let me like Antonin Scalia!"

Wondering what exit he should use, Colbert recalls being approached by actor Harry Lennix, whom he knew from their days at Northwestern University. Colbert indicated that he sensed some of the audience wasn't happy. "And he [Lennix] said, 'f- these people."

Fuck them indeed.

A Holiday for the Rest of Us

Happy Festivus, Station Nation.

Take Joe With You

In a sad, desperate attempt to cling to power, Blue Dog Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith is switching from the Democrats to the Republicans. That might make things easier for Griffith in the general election, but will he he make it through the tea party purity challenge? The Red State people are salivating.

To the Streets Once More

This is just one of many clips showing the latest wave of demonstrations in Iran. These come in he wake of the death of beloved reformer Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri.

The Airing of Grievances

What do you think is in the bag?

Image via this place. H/T Russ.

Earth--Still Kinda Melty

With most of the nation under a blanket of snow, I'm sure the last thing anyone wants to hear about is global warming. Well, after an inadequate accord in Copenhagen, and polling that shows this issue sliding out of the national consciousness, this country clearly needs a wake up call.

It's too bad we don't have some kind of a trusted voice on this matter to sound the alarm. Someone with some real gravitas, like a former lifetime public servant who ascended to high office. Someone with international recognition--like a Nobel Prize winner or, if you want to get showy, a Nobel Prize winner who also won an Oscar and several dozen other awards. Someone with widespread credibility that comes from being both Harvard educated and a Vietnam veteran. Such a man would surely be trusted with such an important message.

What? We do have that guy? And at least half of America hates him like poison and won't believe a word he says? Interesting. They hate him and will never trust what he says despite reports like this that are published roughly every couple of minutes? They even accuse him of promoting a new religion when it is they who ignore the science and spread wild conspiracy theories? Hmm...

It's enough to make me go back to pretending I live in Antarctica.

Iran Slips Straw into Iraq's Milkshake

Okay, there's nothing funny about this. The pretext for about a dozen not good outcomes was just set up when Iran took an oil well that just so happened to be in IRAQ! Not exactly the annexation of Kuwait, but it is something that can be blown out of proportion into a new war or, much more likely, used as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

This comes at the same time when head proportion blower Rush Limbaugh is calling for war with Iran. He wants us to think about the good "that can only be accomplished through war". And by war he means "massive bombing raids" not troops on the ground. Just some bombs. Dropped on some people. Not our people though. Other people.

Ratigan Loses It

I usually like Dylan Ratigan, but this is pretty hard to watch. Wasserman-Schultz's non-response came to a question about why health care companies' stock prices are going up. That's pretty tame stuff. Ratigan's ranting about being a stock analyst came off sounding like Tom Cruise talking to Matt Lauer about his extensive knowledge of the history of psychology. I'm glad the dude still has the capacity to feel, but if he wants to help the people by doing a responsible news show, and I get the impression that he does, he's going to have to stay cool in these situations.

Utterly Chilling

Kos diarist thereisnospoon wrote the most chilling post I've read in many moons. It's a should read, if not a must read.

UPDATE: Thanks to Prof. Challenge for linking to Bill Hicks' legendary disquisition on marketing in the comments.

Health Care Needs Christmas Miracle

Thanks to Joe Liebergrinch (and Ben Nelson as well) any perception of progressive victory has been sucked out of the Senate health care reform bill. Just in time for Christmas! Yay!

By the way, before we get started, I want these people:

to know that they can stop worrying about a government run health care system and go on back to their presidential birth certificate scavenger hunt.

The liberal freakout over the shoddy state of health reform seems to be coalescing around two poles--the optimists, who say that the bill sucks but still does plenty of good and should be passed. This group is fronted by the people I trust a great deal including Nate Silver and President Obama. Nate has plenty of content that is well worth consideration here, here, and here.

As for the liberals who are disappointed and pissed at President Obama, I get where you're coming from. I want him to change the game with his leadership. Even if he doesn't lead and if he does settle for what looks like a very disappointing outcome to this interminable debate then go ahead, let him know how mad you are, but remember two words--BUSH ADMINISTRATION. Please, everyone, chill out with the whole we're-not-going-to-support-his-re-election business. I'm looking at you, Governor Dean. JG at TPM said it well. We can not risk 4, 8 or any amount of years under that kind of administration ever again.

The other group, those who see disaster on the horizon and want to kill the bill, is also fronted by people I trust a great deal, like Governor Dean, Sen. Bernie Sanders and plenty of very good bloggers (including, apparantly, myself in this July post) and even McClatchy.

I agree with all of these people, at least in spirit. This whole fucking thing suuuuucks big donkey balls. Still, I'm leaning toward taking what legislation we can get now AND advocating that we stay fiercely engaged in pushing for the rest of the needed health care reform absent from the final bill starting the minute this piece of shit passes.

I am also nudged in this direction for the same reason Joe Lieberman says he knew to crush the medicare buy in when he saw the enthusiasm of liberals over the provision. In my case, the fact that Sen. Tom Coburn would give his soul if he had one to kill this bill makes me feel a lot better about passing it.

Without a second act, I agree with Robert Reich's assesment. Reich writes, "In all likelihood, the White House and the Dems eventually will get a bill they can call 'reform,' but they will not be able to say with straight faces that the reform is a significant improvement over the terrible system we already have."

In order to get the rest of what is missing in this bill in round two, we need to get around this ridiculous 60 vote threshhold in the Senate either with Tom Harkin's proposal to transform the filibuster into a slow down mechanism or with budget reconciliation, which has its limits. Of the reconciliation process, Ezra Klein writes, "[If] you think we can get these pieces in reconciliation, why not pass the bill and then go back and get these pieces in reconciliation?" The pieces he refers to are the medicare buy-in and the public option. All the other positives in the bill can't be passed under budget reconciliation due to the rules of the Senate (this is the subject of some debate--FDL says Dems can use it). Taking what we can get now and then using reconciliation for the rest later is a good strategy. One a smart guy like that President Obama might very well come up with.

All of a Sudden It's Turk Telling Tuesday on Wildcard Wednesday

Congratulations to The Young Turks for winning Best Political Podcast and Best Political News Site. The Turks have had their shit wired tight for quite some time and it's nice to see that they're getting more recognition, though not the recognition they deserve, which would come in the form of an daily television show with a generous budget, but TV sucks, so they'll just have to keep doing their thing online for a massive and appreciative audience.

In this clip, The Turks take a look at Joe Lieberman's shifting positions on health care.

Missing Emails Found, Frozen in Carbonite

Because everything having anything to do with politics is disgusting and frustrating, the missing Bush administration emails that could potentially implicate senior officials in numerous scandals won't be made public until 2022.

I'm thinking about going into the IST Stasis Chamber until then. Probably a bad idea, since the Kennedy stuff hasn't even come out yet, but a nice, long freeze nap sounds nice.

Maybe I'll just set the controls for 2012 when Holy Joe is up for re-election. That should be fun.

Fox Catapaults New Propaganda: Lower Minimum Wage

That's a brilliant idea. Soon they won't have to pay us at all.

Pardon My French...

But...



That was Paul Gogarty, a member of Ireland's Green Party, lashing out at a Labour Party member who pissed him right off.

Amusing Protest Signs

Huffington Post has a pretty decent collection of images of the battle in the streets among protesters, fought before cell phone cameras with nothing but enthusiasm and signs. This is one of the images included. The rest are here.

Keep Talking

While Karl Rove goes on Fox News and tries to "convince" Bill O'Reilly that the Bush Administration has a positive environmental legacy, and while deniers cling to the thin reed of climate-gate, low-lying atolls are being flooded and the people living on islands around the world are going to need a new place to live.

New Portishead Track Available in Support of International Human Rights Day

On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, which is today, Portishead's new song "Chase The Tear" is available for download (from 7 Digital) at the bargain basement price of a $0.99 donation to Amnesty International. Preview the track (it's quite good) here:

Portishead - Chase The Tear from Mintonfilm on Vimeo.

If Gonzo had it to Do All Over Again...

...he wouldn't have gotten caught. TPM has an overview of Gonzo's telling Esquire interview.

Programming Note

Much to the chagrin of President Obama, Charlie Brown's Christmas message will be heard loud and clear, unobstructed by pesky speeches about trifles like our endless military engagement in Afghanistan, tonight at 8pm on ABC.

I will be watching something from the DVR, quite possibly Meet the Natives or Dollhouse. Other than that, I've pretty much given up on real TV until Lost starts.

Possible Third Party Runs are Catnip

First Lou Dobbs opened the door to a third party presidential run in 2012. Now Sarah Palin is dropping hints. How much of the Republican nominee's share of the electorate is going to be devoured by extraneous teabagger campaigns? Still, I don't know if I buy the assumption that the Republicans will not nominate Sarah Palin. Sure the establishment of the party, at least the McCain campaign insiders, hates her like poison, but the neocons, Rush Limbaugh, hard right evangelicals and the NRA-types all adore her. If not Sarah Palin, then who?

What the Heck?

There's nothing at all in this 1990 L.A. Times article about Barack Obama being elected President of the Harvard Review about the future president being a Muslim or a socialist.

Paging Amy Goodman, You Are Not The Only One the Olympics Are Trying to Shut Up

Amy Goodman, you may be interested in this guest post by musician Carey Mercer at the music blog Stereogum concerning the demand in the contracts of performers at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics that they not speak negatively about said games.

The reason I'm trying to flag Amy Goodman down on this one is because Canadian border cops asked her several times what she had to say about the games.

President Obama May Take Over Prime-Time Television in Effort to Filibuster Christian Message

The mayor of Arlington, Tennessee, thinks that the president is timing his prime-time television appearances to subvert the Christian message of Charlie Brown's Christmas Special. Mayor Russell Wiseman wrote, "We sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our Muslim president is there, what a load... try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose."

Okay, I will try, briefly, to convince you, sir. There were about ten or so networks covering the Obama speech. Think about it, Mayor. Other programming was interrupted by the president. Isn't it possible that the timing of the speech was designed to subvert some other message? Maybe he was trying to do us a favor by sparing us from watching another episode of the bloated corpse of the "Law & Order" franchise. Maybe he doesn't want to know how architect Ted Mosby met his kids' mother. Far more unlikely, but worth mentioning, is the possibility that President Obama's speech had nothing to do with television schedules or the message of Christ at all. Maybe he gave the speech to tell us what he's going to do about the big fucking war going on in Afghanistan.

Or maybe Wiseman is right. We must consider all options, right? Let's see what happens tomorrow night at 8pm when ABC airs Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Fox airs Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special. If the president takes over the airwaves again with some ginned up "speech" then we will know for sure. The President should pace himself though, because the Christmas message is splattered all over the prime-time schedule between now and December 25th.

Here's that secret Muslim, "Cenk Uygur" of "The Young Turks" with his two lira on this matter:

Swiss Take it Out of Neutral

John Oliver goes all out to piss off the Swiss. He settles for quiet, yet deep, displeasure directed at him by the Swiss ambassador.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Oliver's Travels - Switzerland
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Meanwhile, the Swiss continue to crack down hard on Roman Polansky, placing him under house arrest in his luxury Alpine chalet, unprecedented in Switzerland for a detainee in an extradition case. Why on Earth would Switzerland do that? Well, Polansky did plunk down $4.5 million bail.

Do you have any idea how many minarets you can knock down with that much money?

O'Reilly's Redistribution Plan

Check out Bill O'Reilly nakedly advocating for a tax system that would cripple the middle class if it hadn't already been eviscerated by the current tax system. Remember Station Nation, President Obama is the one who wants to redistribute wealth.

Big Evil Monopoly Alert!

It's the new complex, kiddies. NBC's going from the military contractor to the cable company. What could go right?

Cenk Uygur, Karen Finney Debate Obama's Afghanistan Strategy

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks and Karen Finney of the DNC debate the president's approach to Afghanistan.

Canada Freaks Out On Amy Goodman

The great hope for Democracy in this hemisphere--Canada--took a disappointing, communist China-like turn toward Olympic host nation paranoia. Who's the great menace threatening to screw up all of Canada's arrangements? Little Amy Goodman from the academic exercise in purist journalism that is Democracy Now!