This and That

Is this chart really true?

Because if it is, my business (http://www.anabaptistbooks.com) has roughly twice the profit margin of “Big Oil”!

So I guess I qualify as “Big AB” — and I hope it isn’t a mistake to post that in a public forum like this. I might have the politicians and activists after me.

From the New York Times via International Herald Tribune:

The Senate’s latest immigration bill is an awkward, unappetizing compromise, which would shut out many newer immigrants and impose daunting red-tape hurdles on the rest. But at least it remains wrapped around a vital principle: the option of citizenship for those who want and deserve to become Americans.

So if I break into the NYT offices, I deserve to become a reporter for them?

Or if I hack my way into their Web site, I deserve to become a reporter for them?

That’s how I read it.

WorldNetDaily: ‘Tangible proof’ al-Qaida deploying nukes

A terrorism symposium featuring leading experts will begin with presentation of “tangible proof” al-Qaida not only has developed an arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons but also has begun to deploy them for use in its jihad against the United States and Israel.

Do you believe that?

How long can Abbas last? That’s the question that came to my mind when I read this:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that he would not fire the new Hamas-led government at this time despite the Islamist group’s refusal to renounce violence and embrace peacemaking with Israel.

Abbas, leader of the more moderate faction Fatah, last week vetoed Hamas’s nomination of a Gaza Strip militant to a senior security post, prompting violent street confrontations and warnings of a looming Palestinian civil war.

Unless Abbas was grandstanding and playing to the international audience (with Hamas knowledge and consent), I think they’re going to taken him down. Violently.

And where’s his face that some people fret he lost?

More importantly, where’s Wang Wenyi?

And if you don’t have answers to those questions, maybe you could tell me what’s going on here:

My IBM ThinkPad 760e is ancient. I’ve had it at least five years. It runs Win95 on a 3Gb hard drive. No network port. No USB. No CD. Even so, I’m very pleased with it. In the past, I’ve generally been very pleased with IBM’s service and tech/warranty support. I say “in the past” because it’s been about three years since I’ve dealt with them.

My desktop is a Dell machine purchased a year ago. It’s my second Dell desktop. I’m very pleased with it. And have been very pleased with Dell’s tech support.

I really should get a new notebook. I’m torn between an entry-level Dell and an entry-level ThinkPad. (I’m very partial to ThinkPad because of the TrackPoint keyboard. I’m partial to Dell because of the price difference.)

What do you advise?

Kamchatka — a name seared in my memory from an event 23 years ago.

I remembered immediately when I saw this headline at Yahoo! News: Massive quake rocks Russia’s remote Kamchatka peninsula.

A massive earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, followed by another huge tremor, rocked Russia’s remote northeastern Kamchatka peninsula but reports from officials indicated only light injuries.

But no mention of this atrocity.