the wages of sin don't adjust for inflation

Let's start with a happy before all the crushing depression. This video of a freighter's night run through a harbor is so awesome I could just watch it all day long, for serious.

Additionally, this Amazon item has the best user reviews OF ALL TIME.

Now, to begin the horribleness: Ohio county raids hippie co-op. Is this the beginning of a war on food? Somewhere in their lava-moated private island fortress of doom, Monsanto executives are laughing themselves silly.

Finally someone's talking sense about law and order. Aw, Canada! You're so cute. Bless. I don't know why you crazy hippie greenies wouldn't want to perpetuate a US-style war on drugs. I mean, we've only been losing ours for several decades. I'm sure it'll turn around any day now.

Here's a very short but very interesting opinion piece comparing "enhanced interrogation techniques" and their effects to rape. So ask yourself: if Abu Zubaydah had been raped 83 times, would we be talking about no legal consequences for his rapist - or the people who monitored and authorized the rape? It's an interesting way of looking at things, though I would argue that no, probably we wouldn't care if these men had been subjected to literal rape (and I can't say I'd be surprised if they actually were), simply because we seem to think that people who are raped in prison somehow got what was coming to them -- whether they're inside for murder or possession of marijuana. The threat of sexual violence is like a tool in the arsenal of our criminal justice system.

Oh yeah. I'm having an optimistic day today.

Huffington has an amusing post today with highlights of Fox News' creative editing skills and how they use them to make people look like they said exactly the opposite of what they actually said. I'm pretty sure the people at Fox News have actually gone insane and are now building their own bomb shelter in the basement. They will stock it with interns whose flesh they will feed to Glenn Beck to keep him from destroying them all in the coming end-times. I mean, they've seriously gone over the line from "kind of kooky and not what you'd call news" to "raving fucking lunatics."

While using seized criminal assets to fight crime sounds like beautiful, beautiful poetic justice, this just one reason why it's a profoundly stupid idea. I've read several stories lately also about police in Tenaha, Texas, robbing passing motorists under the guise of law enforcement. Amazingly, despite all the attention this town has been getting for this practice, nobody's been arrested or lost their job or been removed from office.

Meanwhile, redeeming my faith in humanity, a homeless man in Winnipeg jumped into the Red River and rescued a drowning teenager. See? We really can all get by if we look out for each other. And also, don't accidentally jump into rivers. Kthx.

The Guardian today has a video about miscarriages of justice. It looks interesting, but I haven't been able to watch it yet since I'm at work. So mostly this is a note for me for later, but you all can tell me if it's any good, too. ;)

Marion Barry's at it again, folks: But I didn't realize I was voting for the homos! I want a do-over! Oh, Barry. How are you so lame?

This one needs no introduction save its own title: Carl Sagan On Why Aliens Would Think We're A Planet Of Idiots. Did he come up with the thesis on his own, I wonder, or did he watch a lot of Farscape? Heh.

16-year-old jailed under Patriot Act. Due process: who needs it? Apparently nobody.

And here is the story of Diego Garcia. It's so depressing I can hardly stand it. And now I'm just putting myself in a funk (and sharing it with the interwebz!) so I'm gonna stop. Uuuugh.