You've Been Warned | Ain't Complicated

“Are You Virginia?”

The few times we’ve air-traveled post-911 with minors, I’ve been grateful for this loophole:

Loophole allows minors to bypass airport security

When an Oregon teen talked his way onto an airplane bound for Chicago last weekend, he unknowingly revealed a little-known hole in airport security.

Kids don’t have to show photo ID.

That may come as a surprise to many air travelers. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, travelers are accustomed to removing their shoes, not carrying liquids and otherwise coping with strict protocols of airport security.

But when it comes to conducting minors through airports, security and efforts to preserve air passenger convenience intersect in a highly unusual way.

The Transportation Security Administration requires all air travelers 18 and older to show a boarding pass and government-issued photo ID to enter security screening.

But minors generally don’t have government-issued IDs. So security officers don’t expect them to have one, says Dwayne Baird, the TSA’s public information officer for the Northwest.

That makes sense enough. But….

Read it all

The Deepening Iran Crisis

OK, so I’m a little slow…. In his article dated October 5, 2009, George Friedman of Strategic Forecasting reports:

Two major leaks occurred this weekend over the Iran matter.

In the first, The New York Times published an article reporting that staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear oversight group, had produced an unreleased report saying that Iran was much more advanced in its nuclear program than the IAEA had thought previously. According to the report, Iran now has all the data needed to design a nuclear weapon. The New York Times article added that U.S. intelligence was re-examining the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) of 2007, which had stated that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon.

The second leak occurred in the British paper The Sunday Times, which reported that the purpose of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s highly publicized secret visit to Moscow on Sept. 7 was to provide the Russians with a list of Russian scientists and engineers working on Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

[…]

If Netanyahu went to Moscow to deliver this intelligence to the Russians, the only surprise would have been the degree to which the Israelis had penetrated the program, not that the Russians were there. The Russian intelligence services are superbly competent, and keep track of stray nuclear scientists carefully. They would not be surprised by the charge, only by Israel’s knowledge of it.

[…]

Two conclusions can be drawn. First, the Israelis no longer need to add to their knowledge of Russian involvement; they know what they need to know. And second, the Israelis do not expect Iranian development to continue much longer; otherwise, maintaining the intelligence capability would take precedence over anything else.

It follows from this that the use of this intelligence in diplomatic confrontations with Russians and in a British newspaper serves a greater purpose than the integrity of the source system. And that means that the Israelis expect a resolution in the very near future — the only reason they would have blown their penetration of the Russian-Iranian system.

[…]

The least that can be said about this is that the Obama administration and Israel are trying to reshape the negotiations with the Iranians and Russians. The most that can be said is that the Americans and Israelis are preparing the public for war. Polls now indicate that more than 60 percent of the U.S. public now favors military action against Iran. From a political point of view, it has become easier for U.S. President Barack Obama to act than to not act. This, too, is being transmitted to the Iranians and Russians.

It is not clear to us that the Russians or Iranians are getting the message yet. They have convinced themselves that Obama is unlikely to act because he is weak at home and already has too many issues to juggle. This is a case where a reputation for being conciliatory actually increases the chances for war. But the leaks this weekend have strikingly limited the options and timelines of the United States and Israel. They also have put the spotlight on Obama at a time when he already is struggling with health care and Afghanistan. History is rarely considerate of presidential plans, and in this case, the leaks have started to force Obama’s hand.

So there you are.

If that’s going to keep you awake, you just as well read the full article, eh? Here you are: Two Leaks and the Deepening Iran Crisis

“Mark my words,
it will not be six months
before the world tests Barack Obama
like they did John Kennedy.”
—Joe Biden

This Is Urgent!

Have you ever felt that way about responding to something or someone electronically?

Blog, Twitter, email, Facebook, forum, IM, text message, chat — having the option and capability to hit Reply right away seems to impose an urgency to do just that.

Most times, such urgency is an illusion untethered from reality. “Most times” — not in a 51% sort of way, but more like a 92% sort of way, if you get my drift. Yes, at the risk of overstating my case, I suggest to you that the urgency of most digital communication is a pseudo-urgency.

I suspect that most of the time, succumbing to such false urgency has little consequence beyond social pressure, inner tension, and time consumption. (That all sounds like something far more than “little consequence”!)

That aside, giving in to such imaginary urgency has far weightier consequences when responding in circumstances that roil personal relationships, easily impacting them negatively.

So I urge you to grant significant weight to my five essential guidelines for digital communication:

If you think your attitude will be milder in five minutes or five hours, wait.
If you think your wording will be more careful after an hour’s worth (or a day’s worth) of thoughtful editing and review, wait.
If you think your present circumstances are affecting you even though they don’t pertain to the message in question, wait.
If you think your choice of expression would moderate significantly face-to-face, wait.
If you think thinking about your response will change it, wait.

Otherwise, figure on falling short of constructive dialogue.

Unless, of course, you’re just engaging in weightless, inconsequential back-and-forth techno-babbling because you can and because you don’t know what else to do and because you want to.

Then you need a different set of guidelines. 🙂

Make It Rocky Road

No, not ice cream.

The not-so-distant future here in the United States, as forecast by a Chuck Baldwin (whoever he is):

It is no hyperbole to say that the U.S. federal government has been on a “Ban God” bandwagon for the past 50 years. Whether it kicks prayer and Bible reading out of school, bars military chaplains from praying in Jesus’ name, burns Bibles in Iraq, removes state supreme court chief justices from their positions for posting the Ten Commandments, or threatens high school principals with jail for asking the blessing, the federal government has invoked the judgment of Heaven upon our country as surely as did Old Testament Israel.

Although the comfortable, sports-crazed, TV addicts probably aren’t paying attention, this country is on the verge of an implosion like you cannot believe. For anyone who cares to notice, the signs are everywhere.

First of all, Israel and Iran are on the verge of war. And right now, I’m not concentrating on the “why” or “who’s right or wrong” of the equation. I’m simply telling you, war between Israel and Iran could break out at any time. And when it does, the chances that it will not become nuclear and not become global are miniscule. Yes, I am saying it: the prospects for nuclear war have never been greater. […]

Secondly, America is on the verge of total financial collapse. By the end of this year, America’s budget deficit will stand at around $2 trillion. The debt gap is many trillions more than that. But the nail in the coffin for America’s fiscal health will be the decision by China to dump the U.S. dollar. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the death knell for our financial stability and a painful lesson in sowing and reaping.

[…]

Third, the paranoia regarding the Swine Flu being demonstrated by both government and media spokesmen begs a giant push for some type of “government solution.”

[…]

Exactly how and when all of the above will actually materialize is yet to be seen. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that within the next few months, the world that we know today is going to vanish. And most Americans are totally unprepared for what’s coming.

If you are able to get out of debt, do it. If you need to scale down your lifestyle in order to be better prepared for difficult days, do it. If you don’t have guns and ammo, buy them.

Somehow, I don’t think he has FAFA solely in mind with that last sentence. If I’m right, I disagree with him. Vigorously. Biblically, in my view. (For the record, I do not agree 100% with Chuck Badlwin’s rhetoric and so forth. Not even close. I reference this article to expand your world view a bit — perhaps — but certainly not to endorse Mr. Baldwin or his theology.)

Anyway, you can read the full article here: It Is Going To Be A Rocky Road — it might do you some good.

Oh, you’re wondering what FAFA is, I suppose.

Firearm-Assisted Food Acquisition — another acronym of my very own arrangement and a PC-friendly way of saying hunting — Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! 🙄

Oh, having disclaimed Mr. Baldwin, allow me to claim Jesus and His Word:

“In the last days,
perilous times
shall come.”
2 Timothy 3:1

Shop. Drop. Hop.

Shop — as in, shop all you want and set up shop all you want.

Drop — as in, drop the above notion(s).

Hop — as in, hop right along to other ventures and venture-ers.

Now, before any further explanations of the title or of the above explanations, a quote to rivet in your head:

“We don’t make haphazard decisions about risks here at CPSC.”
Scott Wolfson, CPSC spokesman

Good. That sounds commendable enough to me. I mean, any reasonable person should be in favor of not making that kind of decision.

With no further introduction or commentary….

New Government Policy Imposes Strict Standards on Garage Sales Nationwide

Americans who slap $1 pricetags on their used possessions at garage sales or bazaar events risk being slapped with fines of up to $15 million, thanks to a new government campaign.

The “Resale Round-up,” launched by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, enforces new limits on lead in children’s products and makes it illegal to sell any items that don’t meet those limits or have been recalled for any other reason.

[…]

In order to comply, stores, flea markets, charities and individuals selling used goods — in person or online — are expected to consult the commission’s 24-page Handbook for Resale Stores and Product Resellers (pdf) and its Web site for a breakdown of what they can’t sell.

Violators caught selling anything on the enormous list face fines of up to $100,000 per infraction and up to $15 million for a related series of infractions.

Waddle that do for eBay, Craig’s List, Amazon, Roth’s Curiosity Corner, Anabaptist Bookstore, and your great aunt’s garage sale?

😯

Breaking Discovery: I was ready to publish this post. I decided to pause long enough to have a peek at the CPSC site. Here’s a quote:

CPSC’s Internet surveillance team
is monitoring
online retailers and auction sites
for sales of recalled and hazardous products.
CPSC 9 Aug 09 Press Release

Persian Pickles

A pickle isn’t just something to eat. A pickle is also something to try to get out of. A problem, in other words. A dilemma.

And of course you know Iran is ancient Persia.

So here you go, straight from the folks at Stratfor:

Misreading the Iranian Situation

After the last round of meetings between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama, the Israelis announced that the United States had agreed that in the event of a failure in negotiations, the United States would demand — and get — crippling sanctions against Iran, code for a gasoline cutoff. In return, the Israelis indicated that any plans for a unilateral Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be put off. The Israelis specifically said that the Americans had agreed on the September U.N. talks as the hard deadline for a decision on — and implementation of — sanctions.

[…]

Obama’s assurances notwithstanding, there accordingly is no evidence of any force or process that would cause the Iranians to change their minds about their nuclear program. With that, the advantage to Israel of delaying a military strike evaporates.

Here are a few more isolated statements from the above article:

Moreover, the Israelis have Obama in a box.
If that’s true, then the current crisis is more dangerous than it appears.
Given that, the United States might as well do the attacking.
It isn’t clear that Obama can do that, however.
That consensus causes foreign leaders to take risks; it also causes Obama to have an interest in demonstrating that they have misread him.
We get the sense that everyone is misreading everyone else.

Then, at the end (where you would expect to find it), the closing paragraph:

The current situation is not as dangerous as the Cuban Missile Crisis was, but it has this in common: Everyone thinks we are on a known roadmap, when in reality, one of the players — Israel — has the ability and interest to redraw the roadmap. Netanyahu has been signaling in many ways that he intends to do just this. Everyone seems to believe he won’t. We aren’t so sure.

I wonder what Joel C. Rosenberg has to say about this whole mess. OK, I just peeked. There’s this and this and this.

Google Dictionary

I assume such a thing exists, but I don’t know.

So I used plain old Google for a Spanish dictionary earlier this morning. You see, I saw on a news site a Spanish word I didn’t recognize. Its context didn’t help me determine the meaning.

After I Googled the term and while I waited for the results to arrive on my very slow dial-up connection, I Alt-Tabbed around to other projects I was multi-tasking.

When I came back to Google, I was stunned at the images that were included in the Image Search portion of the search results.

😯

I quickly scanned the other results and discovered the meaning of the word.

Not a bad word at all.

But obviously a very useful one for promoting PornoImagery.

Lesson learned, I hope: Don’t use Google Search as a dictionary.

And, no, I won’t tell you what the perfectly innocuous word is.