Things I’ve Seen

Harry Potter 6 - July 16th 2005

“‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ is completed and has been delivered to my English-language publishers,” Rowling said yesterday on her Web site.

The book, which takes up the story of Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, will be released on July 16 in the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

American Civil Liberties Union have released documents pointing to direct authorisation, by President Bush, of the use of torture in Iraq.

A document released for the first time today by the American Civil Liberties Union suggests that President Bush issued an Executive Order authorizing the use of inhumane interrogation methods against detainees in Iraq.

… The two-page e-mail that references an Executive Order states that the President directly authorized interrogation techniques including sleep deprivation, stress positions, the use of military dogs, and “sensory deprivation through the use of hoods, etc.”

Two people have berated me now for posting a link to Ozy and Millie, claiming that it has interfered with their work and/or sleep.

Sorry.

But not really. Here’s another taster:

A new cartoon strip. Well, an old one (been going since 1998), but new to me, which is even better, because it means there are about 1500 strips in the archive for me to read.

Ozy and Millie. Think Calvin and Hobbes, add Doonesbury and some Bloom County (no, add lots of Bloom County), and perhaps just a dash of Footrot Flats (although that’s the one influence the author doesn’t admit to).

I should resist picking out a single cartoon, because the effect is cumulative. But if you have the time, go back to the start and read them all. You may regret it, but if you do you’ll probably regret any links I point you to.

I should resist - but I can’t. Here’s the first cartoon in the archive. I think it sets the tone…

…and this speaks for itself…

A lighthearted diary at Kos on bumper stickers included this…

God Used to be my Co-pilot
but then we crashed in the Andes and I had to eat him.

…and this…

I found Jesus. He was behind the couch the whole time.

It Affects You noticed that there was a strong (apparent, at least) correlation between teenage pregnancy levels and Republican voting states (see this graphic courtesy of Kos).

As a result of all the feedback they got, they’ve launched a section of the blog - the Red State Project. This is a really imaginative way of enabling liberals and progressives to get on the front foot in the ‘values’ argument - to show that progressive policies are a better answer to conservative worries than reactionary ones…

I was just watching “Guns not Butter” (West Wing series 4) last night, in which Danny (I think), speaking of on foreign aid, said something along the lines of “They cut funding for farmers in Cambodia, so they all starting growing drugs; they cut funding for schools in Afghanistan so the Islamic extremist schools took over. Why aren’t the Democrats out there saying Republicans are weak on drugs, weak on national security?”

Take a look at this quote on outsourcing:

a new study indicates that the actual impact on US workers [of outsourcing] is not as drastic as some may believe. A report by Lori Kletzer, an economist at the University of California Santa Cruz … found that between 1979 and 1999, 69% of US workers who lost a non-manufacturing job due to free trade found a new job within one year with an average salary equal to 96% of their prior job.

Now let me try another version:

…A report by Lori Kletzer, an economist at the University of California Santa Cruz … found that between 1979 and 1999, 31% of US workers who lost a non-manufacturing job due to free trade remained unemployed for more than one year, and those who did find work took an average salary cut of 4%.

I’m not arguing the pros and cons of outsourcing here, just noting how easy it is to take advantage of the fact that people read over numbers without really processing them…

These optical illusions are very cool. Stare at this one for long enough (you might want to stare slightly out of focus), and you’ll see a giraffe!

(Thanks to Sureka for this one).
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