We Are In Agreement

Thanks Glenn

Anne Applebaum is a moron

She poses a fair question: "Why should we care [about the Nobel Peace Prize]?"

And then veers into absurdity:

Alfred Nobel, the Swedish dynamite tycoon who thought up this whole thing, specifically wanted Norwegians to choose the winner, apparently because Norwegians, being outside the European mainstream, would be less likely to be politically corrupt. The trouble is that Norwegians, being outside the European mainstream, are also more likely to be eccentric.

Followed by a non-sequitar

Norway is a wonderful country, and Norwegians have some of the highest living standards in the world—thanks to their low numbers and their large deposits of oil and gas—

and capped off with some anecdotal evidence

but the last time I was there, I got into an argument with someone about which country was more evil: the United States or North Korea. This being a few years ago, at the height of the Bush terror, you can guess which side the Norwegian was on.

That's all in the first paragraph.

To sum up: Norwegians are too rich and weird too determine Nobel Peace Prize winners; also, she met this viking this one time who thought Bush was an asshole.

Pretty sweet. Except for your passengers.

iZUP (eyes-up) is a new product we saw demoed at the CTIA Wireless conference (see all stories) that addresses this head-on.

The app springs to life after it detects that your phone is traveling at speeds over 5 miles per hour, after which point it all but locks down the screen.

Cnet

The product is designed to prevent drivers from texting. It will also, apparently, prevent passengers in cars, trains, buses, rickshaws and taxis from texting.

Awesome.

And lest you think I'm taking this out of context:

iZUP team told us it's looking into such features as a passenger override, so that a non-driver can regain control of the phone.

I'll pass.

Obama Wins the Nobel Peace Prize

NYT Nils Butenschon, director of the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo and a well-known human rights champion in Norway, went so far as to say the committee has risked the authority of the peace prize by awarding it to Mr. Obama before he has accomplished much of substance

What?

Burn poor people, burn

Fox News ridicules ACORN for giving smoke detectors to poor people.

Louie Louie as sung by Iggy Pop

Why does WashingtonPost.com's interface suck so much?

I don't really like visiting WaPo's website, what stories I do read I filter through GoogleReader. Occasionally, though, I drop by.

Something I just noticed is just how awful the interface is configured. The columns are cramped on the left, ads run on the top and the center, and the entire right side is vacant.

Compare this to The New York Times:

Or the Wall Street Journal:

Or ThinkProgress

Terrible.

Episode of the A-Team unfolding in Hardin, Montana

Yeah, so, this paramilitary force (American Police Force) took over prison in Montana and are acting as the town's de facto police.

The story is totally weird and shadowy, the whole things sounds like Knight Rider meets the A-Team meets Jericho.

Anyway, APF's website is awesome. The ad-copy appears to have been written by Bulgarian spy novelists using Google Translator.

APF offers a variety of military, security and private investiagtion services, here are some highlights:

From the Services section, under "Check Your Mate" (Cheating Spouse)

Infidelity, Adultery, Cheating, and being unfaithful might all have a different definition in your mind but at APF its a category all by its lonesome. Married husbands and wives will typically call untrustworthy loved ones adultery or infidelity. In the non-marital relationships its commonly known as cheating and we can help you figure out what's really going on.

Bolding mine, adorable poetic flourish with "all by its lonesome."

Specific services offered:

Surveillance
Polygraph Examination Lie Detection
Semen Testing
Bodily Fluid Testing
DNA for Hair and Skin
Covert Pregnancy Testing
Surface Drug Testing
Photos of Unknown Subjects
Communications Activity
Computer Usage
Internet Usage
Email Tracing
Identity Verification
Covert and Undercover Assignments

Not sure why they need separate entries for "semen testing" and "bodily fluid testing," but I can only speak from my own experience.

Also, "covert pregnancy testing?" Wtf?

APF also offers Ransom and Kidnapping, which I guess is more honest than "extraordinary rendition." The graphic accompanying this section is great, it looks like my dad escorting some LDS members to the door.

APF also offers Forensic Testing. An area that allows them to work with their favorite subject: cum.

APF offers forensic services criminal cases involving murder and rape. We also provide a service to catch cheating spouses including dna investigations with body fluid, semen testing, and hair follicles.

All in all, a comprehensive security outfit capable of solving all your paramilitary needs, especially if those needs happen to fall in an area of the world that has just been jerked-off on.

Finally, do not underestimate SPF, they thrive on adversity and competition, but don't take my work for it. From their Our Competitors section:

Our competitors are efficient diligent, & attentative. They make us search for ways to improve our services. Our competitors would take our business if they could. This keeps us alert to what we have. If we didn't have competitors we'd be incompetent & unattentative; we need the discipline they enforce on us. We salute "Our Competitors", they have been good to us, God Bless them all.

Chilling.