Watching 24 for the First Time

As a 24 noob, I have to say that I've been impressed with the first four episodes. The pace is frenetic, if a bit implausible, and the balance of tension within each episode is fantastic. The season one DVD is nice to have because I find myself wanting to see what's next constantly.

The only show I'm hooked on at the moment is Lost, and I definitely have room for some Jack Bauer in my diet. I think, though, that I'll try to catch up with the show, now in season seven, by rental first. I can tell already that this is going to be an enjoyable ride.

Rainbow Six, Vegas Style

I admit I'm a little behind the curve when it comes to console video games, but I have recently been playing Rainbow Six: Vegas, and it really rocks. Having played Gears of War prior to this, I was familiar with the run, duck, and fire from cover game mechanics. What I wasn't expecting was the impressive amount of visceral fun Rainbow Six offers. While chasing terrorists through Mexico and into Vegas, you get to blow up pretty much anything that stands between you and them. Spraying a burst of gunfire through a casino's glass windows while a bad guy hides behind an escalator shouldn't be this much fun, but it is. Heck, sometimes I don't even know where the bad guys are, so I just fire randomly across the room, which is surprisingly rewarding.

The storyline leaves a lot to be desired, but part of my confusion comes from not being able to hear the important conversations before and during missions. I'm not sure if my television is to blame or if the dialogue is rather muted. Regardless, I tend to play games like this using Tuco's philosophy from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: "If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk."

For a generally good time, I can't imagine action games getting much better than Rainbow Six: Vegas. It's easy to pick up and hard to put down.

A-R-A-B: The Rap

Another video from Remy and Habib, the guys who did the Warcraft vid.

Warcraft: The Rap

My nerdy alter-ego is a huge World of Warcraft fan, and this is one of the best WoW vids out there right now. Even if you don't play, you might still enjoy this.

R.I.P. Bo Schembechler

I remember when the Schembechler-led Michigan Wolverines bested my Crimson Tide in the 1988 Hall of Fame bowl; it was the first time I saw Alabama lose a football game. I was inconsolable.

To Our Veterans: Thanks!

A big tip of the hat to you guys. I appreciate that you are willing to defend, and even die for, the rights we all enjoy. Our armed forces are the most advanced, talented, and powerful in the world. And that's a good thing.

So kudos to you all and God bless!

Scary Assessment from "Londonistan"

From BBC:

MI5 knows of 30 terror plots threatening the UK and is keeping 1,600 individuals under surveillance, the security service's head has said.

Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller warned the threat was "serious" and "growing".

She said future attacks could be chemical or nuclear and that many of the plots were linked to al-Qaeda.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the terrorist threat was "very real" and spoke of "poisonous propaganda" warping the minds of young people.

In the U.S., the threat from radical Islam is largely from outside the country; in the UK and the rest of Europe, it is increasingly home-grown. Muslims constitute almost 15% of the roughly 720 million people living in Europe. Of course, not all Muslims are radical fanatics. Most estimates I've read or heard place the number of radicals at 5-15% of the total Muslim population. And this may be too high yet. However, just calculating with the low number would mean that there are roughly 2.5 million radical Muslims in Europe. While having fanatical views does not make one a terrorist, the likelihood that radical Muslims either agree with or defend terrorist activities is not inconsiderable.

Combine this with the fact that the Muslim birth rate in Europe outpaces that of other Europeans by more than 2:1, and you can see why Blair would stress that the terror threat in the UK is likely to last for a generation.

"Citgo" Chavez Speaks Out

In an illustration of Mark Twain's aphorism, "If the desire to kill and the opportunity to kill came always together, who would escape hanging?", Hugo Chavez claimed today that it is President Bush, not Saddam Hussein, who should face execution as a "genocidal dictator."

Shhh Hugo, your tin horns are showing. The fact that most intelligent people laugh at this buffoonery and grandstanding is reassuring. But Chavez's absent-mindedness concerning his ideological predecessors' predilection for systematic ethnic cleansing is, sadly, all too predictable.

Nobel Prize in the Works for Saddam?

Two days removed from shouting "Long live the people and death to their enemies" following his sentencing, Saddam appeared contrite in court today, urging harmony between Kurds, Iraqis, and other Arabs. One can only speculate as to the sincerity of his motives, and I am persuaded to be doubtful, but I wonder how long it will be before the image of "Saddam the Humanitarian" is being bandied about.

Bitter Root Award

This week's Bitter Root award goes to Ramsey Clark. Clark, lawyer for Saddam Hussein and Bush-hater extraordinaire, was ejected from the Iraqi courtroom where Saddam's trial was being held for labeling the procedure "a mockery of justice." Clark was promptly ordered out in English and, presumably, out of the public eye until the next murderous dictator comes to trial.

A Haggard Story?

According to the Denver Post, revelations about the Rev. Ted Haggard's purported affair with a gay prostitute grew a bit more complicated this morning when his accuser, Michael Jones, failed a polygraph test.

This is a weird story, to say the least, and hopefully judgment will be restrained until all the facts are in.

Update I: Breitbart reports that Ted Haggard admits to buying meth and receiving massages from Michael Jones, the man who claims that Haggard paid him for sex. However, Haggard says no sex was involved. The obvious question, to me at least, is what does buying drugs have to do with receiving massages?

This one looks ugly for the reverend.

Update II: The board of New Life Church dismissed Haggard as pastor, citing "sexually immoral conduct." While no one should condemn Haggard for his behavior, it is reasonable to expect better conduct than his. These men are in positions of influence and as such are held to higher standards. It is no secret, however, that pastors sometimes feel isolated, and it seems Haggard could have used some accountability along the way. Hopefully, his church can recover.

PR "Bomb" at Penn

In the boneheaded move of the week, Penn president Amy Gutmann poses with a student dressed as a Palestinian suicide bomber at a Halloween event. The party was thrown by the president, and the student in the photo is Saad Saadi. His website is here (H/T Malkin).















My problem is not so much with the student; he's probably just being dopey. What I can't understand is what the president of an Ivy League school would be doing posing for a shot like this. She should and probably will apologize, but this looks like a well-deserved PR nightmare. A real head-scratcher.

Update: Penn president Amy Gutmann has posted a response to the publication of the photo on Saadi's website and others:

Statement by President Amy Gutmann
November 03, 2006

Each year, the president hosts a Halloween party for Penn students. More than 700 students attend. They all crowd around to have their picture taken with me in costume. This year, one student who had a toy gun in hand had his picture taken with me before it was obvious to me that he was dressed as a suicide bomber. He posted the photo on a website and it was picked up on several other websites.

The costume is clearly offensive and I was offended by it. As soon as I realized what his costume was, I refused to take any more pictures with him, as he requested. The student had the right to wear the costume just as I, and others, have a right to criticize his wearing of it.

So, we should all hold hands again and sing kumbaya?

Decision at U.N. after Only 47 Tries

Apparently, Hugo Chavez's quest for world domination has been delayed a bit. From Breitbart, but appropriate for The Onion: "Venezuela, Guatemala withdraw from race for Security Council seat, support Panama."

This is moving beyond the comic to the absurd.

A Message from Our Troops, "Stuck in Iraq"

A great message for our most equine Senator Kerry.

Someone should tell God

A recently completed Harris poll shows God slipping at this point in the season. I do find it interesting that 93% of born-again believers say they are certain that God exists. Not that there would be a correlation or anything.

Finding the Balance between Violence, UP, and the Ying-Yang Twins

On Friday night, a University of Alabama student and Iraq War veteran was gunned down in a residential area following a Ying-Yang Twins concert on campus. According to reports, this incident had little to do with the concert, but students are already pointing fingers. Among the blamed is the group University Programs (UP), the organization responsible for bringing the YYT to Tuscaloosa.

This is just another black-eye for the maligned UP, who were heavily criticized earlier this week for separating (some would say segregating) the YYT and another act, country singer Neal McCoy.

Having been a student at UA since 2002, I can honestly say I don't remember a time when UP wasn't criticized, be it for concert selections or issues of fiscal accountability. Perhaps it's time for the group's leadership to take a step back and analyze how they fit into the University's purpose and even consider leadership changes.

Whatever happens, though, I hope the race-baiters will stay silent and let school administrators decide how this should be handled.