Some might find this funny:
I was depressed last night so I called the Suicide Life Line.
I reached a call center in Pakistan.
I told them I was suicidal.
They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck
Protecting Obama
Executive Protection News is a great source for details on protecting the President Elect of America:
When Obama gave his victory speech in Chicago’s Grant Park, the level of security was described as “unprecedented” although I think “Presidential level” is probably more appropriate. Among the measures in place was a ballastic glass shield surrounding the podium, the entire Chicago Police force of 13,500 (although clearly not just to protect Obama) was on duty, a no-fly zone was established over the city, and all off-duty firemen went home with their gear in the event they had to return to duty. The total cost for security that evening was reported as $2 million USD although much to their credit, the Obama campaign will reimburse Chicago for the costs (I’ve been advocating that the political parties pay for convention security since this election started). These measures were appropriate in light of the arrest the week before the election of two white supremacists who alledgedly were planning to assassinate Obama.
I look forward to the day when the US is not compared to a military dictatorship like Pakistan:
Despite it all, we only need look at Pakistan to understand what happens when a nation fails to protect its’ key political and government leaders to understand why it is important to take the necessary measures to protect Obama as well as every President. The alternative is unacceptable.
Instead of Pakistan I probably would have tried to draw lessons from assassinations of (dare I add Malcolm X) Lincoln, Kennedy, McKinley and Garfield into the story, let alone attempts on Reagan, Ford, King, Truman, and Roosevelt, but maybe they’re just history. Another good modern example is Sri Lanka:
Social Services and Welfare Minister and EPDP Leader Douglas Devananda was lucky for the twelfth time after a female suicide bomber yesterday failed in an attempt to assassinate the Minister but killed his Public Relations (PR) Officer while injuring two more.
[…]
The Defence Ministry said that according to initial investigations the LTTE had set the explosives around the woman’s breast, deviating from its usual tactic of placing explosives in the lower abdominal areas of suicide bombers.The Ministry recalled that Minister Devananda has been in the LTTE assassination list ever since he came into mainstream politics.
Twelve attempts thwarted. Whoa.
Polish Jazz
8tracks has some great mixes. This one is pretty cool:
Why can’t modern tuner/amplifiers take objects as input?
Here’s another one:
And another:
Reggae, jazz…all the good stuff is on the Internet.
Cadillac CTS Diesel SuperWagon
Oooooh, be still my beating heart. I’ve never been a Cadillac fan, since they seem to prefer excess and flash to function and efficiency, but I have to give them props for trying to step up and follow the European lead in diesel performance vehicles. Have a look at the Cadillac CTS Wagon:
GM says the 4.5L Duramax, which features aluminum cylinder heads with integrated manifolding and a variable-vane turbocharger mounted in the vee, is capable of delivering more than 310 hp and in excess of 520 lb-ft of torque. It also claims the engine meets the tough 2010 emissions standards, making it legal in all 50 states.
This diesel engine is said to get 20-25% better mileage than the Ultra V-8 engine and you know it will totally kill the numbers on the absurd supercharged V-8 CTS-v. In fact, I think they should just deploy the V-6 diesel in both America and Europe.
Why do it? While the CTS is due to get a 2.9L V-6 diesel in Europe, the 4.5L diesel V-8 would most likely be seen as a way of filling the obvious gap between the 304-hp direct-injection V-6 of the regular CTS and the 556-hp supercharged V-8 of the CTS-v here in the U.S.
What they should really do is can the gasoline V-6 version and offer the same diesel option as in Europe. It will have more power and better mileage. I would be more than happy with a 2.9L V-6 diesel. Who needs anything bigger? Oh, right, it’s Cadillac. Well, I guess better to have a massive V-8 diesel option than none at all. Either way, this would be a fantastic regatta/tow vehicle.
Disclaimer: I already own a VW version of this car, manufactured four years ago
…but I am sure I could be talked into updating to an American made V-6 diesel Cadillac SuperWagon.