Satire

Anger At Government Grows In Bombings’ Wake

September 8, 1940

LONDON (Routers) The new government of Winston Churchill, only in office for a scant few months, came under fire today, after the seemingly senseless destruction of property and lives in the city by German bombers yesterday. Many are blaming the new Prime Minister for the bombings, which they view as a result of his stubborn support of an illegal war against Vichy France, and inappropriately aggressive policies against the misunderstood Germans.

“Under Chamberlain,” said one Labour backbencher, “we had peace for our time.”

“Now,” he went on, “under this new brutal and dictatorial Tory rule, Churchill, along with his poodle Franklin “Delanodamngood” Roosevelt, has brought this wretched war home to Whitehall itself, and ordinary Londoners.”

The bombing began around four o’clock yesterday afternoon, with squadrons of German bombers blackening the skies over London, dropping many thousands of pounds of bombs on the city for two hours. A couple hours later, a second wave of bombings commenced, with the bombers’ navigators guided by the fires from the first attack, with no cessation until early this morning. The fires still burn, and the total casualties have yet to be properly assessed.

It is widely believed that the lamentable attacks have their root cause in the government’s unwillingness to recognize the new P

Science And Society

The World’s Oldest Profession

It apparently goes back further than mankind itself. The New York Times reports the first observed case of monkey prostitution:

Something else happened during that chaotic scene, something that convinced Chen of the monkeys’ true grasp of money. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)

Science And Society

The World’s Oldest Profession

It apparently goes back further than mankind itself. The New York Times reports the first observed case of monkey prostitution:

Something else happened during that chaotic scene, something that convinced Chen of the monkeys’ true grasp of money. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)

Science And Society

The World’s Oldest Profession

It apparently goes back further than mankind itself. The New York Times reports the first observed case of monkey prostitution:

Something else happened during that chaotic scene, something that convinced Chen of the monkeys’ true grasp of money. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of money, after all, is its fungibility, the fact that it can be used to buy not just food but anything. During the chaos in the monkey cage, Chen saw something out of the corner of his eye that he would later try to play down but in his heart of hearts he knew to be true. What he witnessed was probably the first observed exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind. (Further proof that the monkeys truly understood money: the monkey who was paid for sex immediately traded the token in for a grape.)

Space

Back From The Cape

We heard about the launch scrub just as we were pulling into Titusville. We headed back down the coast, but took A1A all the way, so it was a longer, but more scenic trip.

I find it a little ironic that the part that failed today was one of the components that Mike wants to keep ad infinitum, while there was no problem with the Orbiter, which he wants to retire. I may have some further thoughts on this at TechCentralStation, if I can work up the gumption for a piece, but unfortunately, because I lost any productivity today to this futile expedition, I’ve got three other deadlines breathing down my neck in the next couple days.

Administrative

Off To The Cape

We’re driving up to watch the launch. I hadn’t thought I was going to be in Florida this week, so I didn’t bother to try to get a base pass, so we’ll probably just watch from across the river in Titusville. No blogging–I don’t have Verizon wireless, and doubt if I’ll find a connection up there.

War Commentary

A Long Way To Go

Melanie Phillips has a disturbing letter from a British Muslim. As she says:

Truth and lies are at the very heart of this terrible problem facing us all. The sense of grievance and injustice to which this reader refers is indeed very real. But it is the grievance of a people who turn their own misdeeds into their own victimology, thus making rational discourse all but impossible. The tragedy is that this reader and I undoubtedly have much in common

Space

OK Spaceport OK in 2005

I just got a call from Bill Khourie (pronounced ‘curry’), Director of OSIDA who let me know that they are putting their finishing touches on Oklahoma’s spaceport application with FAA AST and environmental impact statement and are targetting December 2005 for approval for horizontal takeoff horizontal landing vehicles. He said they would be delighted to be approached by the vertical crowd and would be pleased to welcome them assuming AST says OK.

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Wednesday, 15:30 CDT: One of the vertical crowd emailed me and said that they already approached OSIDA some time ago and “would be pleased” might not be enough to get a new AST spaceport application filed.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!