This is peculiar if you ask me

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France makes it illegal to watch DVDs in Open Source software!

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Heh, I’m just asking….

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Another in the Travel’s With Uncle Dave series.

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Having loved every minute watching the Watergate hearings, I wanted Nixon to get what was coming to him. But I could see reasons for not going through with it. I haven’t thought about all this in a long time, so I’m not sure what I think about this essay.

Why pardoning Nixon was wrong

In the days since Gerald Ford’s death, so much praise has been heaped on the late president’s blanket pardon to his predecessor, Richard Nixon, that you’d think Tricky Dick was Jean Valjean. These magnanimous pronouncements are a preening exercise in cost-free generosity three decades after the fact. They reflect little or no consideration of the merits of the pardon itself.

No new information has emerged during the past 32 years that makes Ford’s pardon to Nixon look any more justifiable; indeed, what facts have dribbled forth make it seem less so. [...] Nor can the pardon plausibly be considered an example of the bipartisan spirit for which Ford is justly, if too extravagantly, praised by Washington insiders. The pardon may have had the long-term effect of tamping down partisan warfare between Democrats and Republicans over a possible criminal trial (obstruction of justice would have been the likeliest charge), but when a Republican short-circuits prosecution of a fellow Republican, you can’t call that bipartisanship. These logical obstacles help explain why people who defend the pardon today do so with vague language about how, in retrospect, it was better for the country to set rancor aside and move on.

Why was Ford wrong to pardon Nixon? Mainly because it set a bad precedent. Nixon had not yet been indicted, let alone convicted, of any crime. It’s never a good idea to pardon somebody without at least finding out first what you’re pardoning him for. How can you possibly weigh the quality of mercy against considerations of justice?

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What to do when a Pepsi seems to be out-of-reach….

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The most fun about partying into the New Year in Times Square is all the cool people from around the world that you meet there. With the mild weather we’ve been having I can easily understand the the city is concerned about crowds as there’s no reason to stay home.

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Japanese romantics will have the chance to hear some truly flowery language with the help of a playful gadget purported to express the feelings of plants. Through the voice of a small doll, the device will share what the plant is supposedly ‘thinking’ when a person strokes it.

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Of course, a lot of people would not have complained too loudly if he HAD been buried alive….

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Costco puts the Zune to use!

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Top general in Mideast to retire – Los Angeles Times — This fiasco is getting so much like Viet Nam that we’re going to have to find a Richard Nixon to get us out of it. My question: will we have to bomb Cambodia again too?

WASHINGTON — Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, has submitted plans to retire and will leave his post in March, a step likely to make way for a change in military strategy at a time the Bush administration is seeking a new plan for Iraq.

Abizaid has been the primary architect of U.S. military strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan since becoming head of the U.S. Central Command more than three years ago. He has strenuously resisted calls to increase troop levels to quell rising violence in Baghdad, arguing it would increase Iraqi dependence on Americans.

But a growing number of current and former officers have embraced the idea, some of whom have briefed President Bush as part of his monthlong review of Iraq policy, and the White House is believed to be considering the move.

And of course the Bush War has killed more Americans than 9/11 as of this Christmas. Every death adds to the record now. That said Bush has a way to go before he kills 50,000 like McNamera and the boys did in Viet Nam. There is no evidence that they cannot eventually manage it.

NEW YORK — In a span of a few hours, 2,973 people were killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In a span of 45 months, the number of American troops killed in Iraq has exceeded that grim toll.

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Real ID marches forward.

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A 21-year-old German tourist who wanted to visit his girlfriend in the Australian metropolis Sydney landed 13,000 kilometres away near Sidney, Montana, after mistyping his destination on a flight booking Web site.

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Housework cuts breast cancer risk!

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Last week I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days at a firing range with a good friend of mine with an interesting collection of weapons. One opportunity I had was to compare the M1 Garand of WWII vs a modern 5.56-mm rifle weighing a third of the older weapon. I also had the chance to check out a red-dot scope vs a traditional telescopic sight.

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