JawsBlog

So I’m in the awkward position for writing a lab practical (read as final exam) for the course I TA’d this past semester.

I’m not sure if writing a final is going to be easier or harder than taking one?

JTA: U.S.: Israeli tactics helped reduce terrorism

Terrorist fatalities in Israel were halved in 2004, a U.S. State Department report said, partly because of Israel’s aggressive counterterrorism tactics.

100 fatalities is still to many; even 1 is too many. But what does the Israeli Left and its supporters have to say about this?

Chalk this one up under strange and unexpected occurances:

[A] Robert Reich-New Gingrich alliance?

Political rivals unite over math-science grad ‘crisis’–San Diego Union Tribune

A quick thought on the content of the article–neither Reich nor Gingrich is a scientist–nor am I sure how familiar they are with the difficulty of courses and materials in the sciences. In short–it’s a lot, lot easier to be a politics or economics major in most cases than it is to be a Math/Chem/Bio/Physics/Comp. Sci/Engr. major.

School Mistakes Huge Burrito for a Weapon

CLOVIS, N.M. - A call about a possible weapon at a middle school prompted police to put armed officers on rooftops, close nearby streets and lock down the school. All over a giant burrito. Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped into Marshall Junior High.

The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapenos and wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt.

The burrito was part of Morrissey’s [the student’s] extra-credit assignment to create commercial advertising for a product.

“We had to make up a product and it could have been anything. I made up a restaurant that specialized in oddly large burritos,” Morrissey said.

Oddly large burritos…..hmmm….makes one thing come directly to mind: Chipotle!

Pop quiz:

What nation’s intellegence service used to funnel funds, training and other support to Palestinian terrorist groups…

Did you say the USSR (and the KGB)?
If so–good for you! That’s the right answer!

After reading this article headlined: Putin promises Russian training and equipment to Palestinian security forces and the related stories , it sounds like Putin wants to take Russia back to the old ways of the USSR.

Combine that with recent Russian arms sales to Syria and Russian-Iranian ties…

Sounds like Putin is slowly letting Russia slip back into being the USSR. Need more proof? Aldaynet has a whole series titled “Return to the USSR“

Don’t many of these lawyers usually make/take 33% of the award?

After eight years and three trials, a group of protesters whose eyes were swabbed with pepper spray during a series of anti-logging demonstrations finally won their case Thursday against Humboldt County sheriff’s deputies and Eureka [California] police – but were awarded only $1 each in damages.

It’s off to the lab I go…. I’ll be in there all day long so no posting ’till later today

How many grains of salt should be taken when reading these headlines? This is Debka after all.

DEBKAfile’s Exclusive Islamic and Intelligence sources report:

An announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death appears Friday in one of his close aides’ most credible Web sites. It has sparked a storm of controversy in al Qaeda circles, some of whom claim notice is false.

Signed by the Pen of Jihad Warriors, the site provides no information on circumstances of death, only asks:

Where are those who break out of borders? Where are the lamenters? Where are those who throw themselves from the tops of towers and skyscrapers? Where are the heart-rending cries?

Egyptian bin Laden adherent, Yasser Sari, calls notice a lie and promises new videotape soon in which leader announces end of al Qaeda truce in Europe. Other followers credit the announcement as “authentic and Islamic.”

I agree with Glenn Reynolds and Ann Althouse about how boring the current major topics of political debate are.

The whole Tom DeLay/ethics thingy is boring too for that matter.

AirlineMeals.net–”the site about nothing but airline food”

I’m pleased to say it’s been a couple of years since I’ve been served an airline meal. And in case your wondering, yes, 99% of the time, the Kosher meal tastes like crap.

I was teaching a review session for my biology lab this evening (after spending most of the day in the lab then in class) so I didn’t catch most of the President’s press conference this evening. I heard a few minutes of it on the radio but that was about all.

Did anything exciting and/or interesting take place during the press conference? Anything new or newsworthy get mentioned?

From Cleveland Scene:

That, essentially, was an arbitrator’s ruling last week in the case of Painesville cop Stuart Underwood, who was fired last year for rocking the world of his mistress while on duty. Underwood’s flame claimed they had sex on numerous occasions while he was supposed to be patrolling the mean streets.

While admitting to an occasional dalliance, Underwood said that his ex-lover inflated and fabricated most of the stories as revenge for getting dumped. But that’s all good, ruled arbitrator Dennis Minni. He ordered the cop reinstated.

The sex, Minni wrote, was no more distracting than “a nap, playing a video game, working a crossword puzzle, or standing in line at a bank or store . . .,” apparently normal behavior in the law-enforcement field. “Even Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry took the time to take a last bite from his hot dog before leaving the restaurant to confront the bank robber he saw while eating,” Minni added.

Painesville’s human-resources director, was baffled by the ruling. “All I can figure is that we have different value systems,” he says. “I think police are held to a higher standard than your average employee.”

Electric Lacrosse

If you’ve never played WhirlyBall you so don’t know what you’re missing out on!

Sorry about the lack of posts today…I was in the lab the whole day working. Really, I was!

I’ll spare you all the details of what exactly it was that I did.

Newsday.com: Assault with sandwich case nothing but baloney to jury

In light of the recent kerfuffle that arose at Brandeis over the choice of commencement speaker.

At least they chose someone from outside of the university to speak, unlike The Ohio State University, who is having Bill Hall, the longtime Ohio State vice president for student affairs

I say enough with the demonizing of Tom Delay…what’s he done that’s any different from, oh just about any other politician?

They’re all guilty

Got back to the Island this evening…nothing too exciting to really report about the trip back home this time around. The pilot didn’t get lost on the tarmac this time (which is a good sign).

Been spending the night catching up on things, unpacking, replying to student emails…the usual routine.

Regular blogging returns tomorrow!

We’ve dodged the bullet (for now at least) here in Youngstown the snow has fallen but isn’t sticking.

But back in Cleveland, we heard via the news that there’s a FOOT OF SNOW on the ground!

Let me double check my calendar…it is late April, right?

Survived two seders again…. Saw way too much food served for my own good… Why was so much of it so yummy?

Pictures coming later this week