Last updated 6-28-2022
It just takes some time,
Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride...
Got my hair lopped off again, so I'm back to the summer spiky look. Hey, I happen to like how it looks, and it keeps my head cool, so... :::shrug:::
In case you happened to miss it (and I'm sure a lot of Americans did), Brazil beat the lederhosen off the Germans in the World Cup finals, earning its fifth trophy. Woo-hoo! It was a great game to watch. At the Company picnic last Friday, I played a short and very loose game of soccer, but as we only had three players to each side, we all had to work extra hard. I finally called a break before I dropped, but not without leading my 'Brazil' to a 4-2 victory over Natasa's 'Macedonia.' Heh-heh...
The PC Expo sucked this year. It was much smaller and more subdued than in years past. I've heard that this has been the case with all trade shows and conventions since September 11th, though the tech industry is probably worse off than most. I'm worried about what the Macworld Expo will be like later this month... While we're on the subject, System Administrator Appreciation Day is on Friday, July 26th. ;)
So, both the Pledge of Allegiance and the federal death penalty are unconstitutional, eh? Heh-heh-heh. As an atheist, I was never too bothered by the reference to "one nation, under God," but I do see the point of the lawsuit and the court's decision, especially during these ultranationalistic times. Those of us who don't believe in the Judeo-Christian God, whether we're American atheists or pagans or Hindus or whatever, are being subtly told that we're not true patriots, that we're somehow less American for it. There are even those who would say (and have said) that, if we object to any references to God in the Pledge or on U.S. currency or elsewhere as pertains to the government, we're not entitled to American citizenship and we should just leave this country. Pinheads. I may gripe about a lot of things done and said by the American government and people, but I was born here and am an American citizen, and I love this country even if it's not perfect. The difference is that I acknowledge those imperfections and do what little I can to bring them to people's attentions and maybe get something done.
On that note, I'm rather ashamed of Dubya's administration's decision to stay out of the International Criminal Court and in fact to jeopardize peacekeeping missions around the world in a hissy fit over the issue. Is Rumsfeld planning on using the American military and intelligence agencies in the commission of war crimes? If not, then there's no issue here. Germany, France, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, even Yugoslavia have signed on. Why should the United States be above the law? There should be no exceptions for any state, regardless of whether or not they've signed on. I doubt that Nazi Germany would have ratified it, and yet I'm sure that Dubya and Rumsfeld would agree that the Nuremberg trials were necessary and justified. The Nazis seemed rather assured of their own moral superiority, too...
I wonder how Bush would feel if the leaders of other nations, dismayed with some of his decisions and his stance on certain issues, declared that his government needed to be revamped or even replaced. I wonder how the American people would react to that declaration. Now, I wonder how the democratically-elected Arafat and his fellow Palestinians feel... Maybe Arafat does need to be replaced, but that's up to the Palestinians, not the Israelis or Americans.
I think Augusto Pinochet was morally unfit to rule Chile back in the day, but mentally unfit to stand trial today for his crimes? Come on... I'm interested to see whether or not Chile manages to extradite Henry Kissinger, though.
What is wrong with North Korea?!? The few Communist nations left in the world don't seem to quite understand how to play nice with the rest of the world anymore... Hmmm, maybe the presidents of the two Koreas need to get into the ring to settle their nations' issues. "Celebrity Death Match: Kim vs. Kim!"
Two wonderful bits of news, one regarding the city of my birth, the other about the town out of which I'll be moving in a month: the mayor of Paterson, NJ, has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes. I don't think it's much of a surprise, but it is sad... Even sadder, I think, is that a swim club owner in Nutley, NJ, has been accused of keeping people from joining or even visiting on the basis of race. Disgusting if true...
The Ox is dead. What a shame, especially as it happened the day before John Entwistle was going to kick off a new tour with the Who. They were even supposed to start work on a new studio album. :\ The tour is going ahead anyway, a few days late, but I don't imagine the album's going to happen now. We'll miss you, Quiet One...
All right, time to wrap things up... I'm moving
at the end of the month; hopefully, once I'm settled in, I will be
able to update the Web site (and work on my music!) with a little
more frequency and regularity. No, this isn't a Metamucil
advertisement. Seeya!
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Last updated 6-28-2022
