Best of the Web Today

Wall Street Journal

Heath Ledger Has Died

Aged twenty-eight.

I loved A Knight’s Tale. It was like something The Society for Creative Anachronisms would have produced, complete with music by Queen. In fact, I have the DVD.

All of the facts are not in, and those in are being disputed, but it looks like it was drug related. Pity.

Iowahawk does it again

The man is a comic genius.

Hey OZ……Apple, RIPPING YOU OFF!

The Exorcism of Britney Spears by Mike Huckabee

This one is funny. Well at least to me, but then I have a real sick mind.

Malaysia Islamic State to Enforce Separate Lines for Women, Men at Supermarkets

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia —  Malaysia’s only state run by the Islamic opposition party will get stricter about enforcing separate lines for men and women at supermarkets, an official said Tuesday.

Authorities in the northern state of Kelantan — governed by the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party — will fine supermarkets and shops if they let men and women use the same lines at checkout counters, said party spokesman Anual Bakri Haron.

Chief Minister Nik Aziz Nik Mat has called for stricter enforcement “to safeguard the ladies” from being harassed and to avoid close proximity between opposite sexes while lining up to buy groceries, Anual said. “He wants the enforcement to be looked into thoroughly.”

 

Fox News

See ladies..You have these Neanderthals all wrong…All this “to safeguard the ladies”. Here you thought it was for Female Genital Mutilations, Honor Killings or otherwise being treated like Chattel.

Puhshawww!

Well, Fred’s out of the running.

Damn! I liked Fred, too. Now what?

Golden Raspberry Awards

I wish they would have a TV extravaganza of these awards to rival the Oscars (because I couldn’t care less about the Oscars). Ever since Showtime Cinemas went under, I haven’t cared to make the extra long drive to see a movie in a cineplex, and that is definitely Hollywood’s fault for not making anything worthwhile.

What does it mean to be human?

A link concerning artificial intelligence at Instapundit got me to thinking: what does it mean to be human? A better question, of course, would be what does it mean to be conscious and self-aware? The term “human” is, after all, a species-specific term, that distinguishes us from all other species, including our closest cousins, the primates. But what would you call an AI that is self-aware and can learn and interact with the same,or better, proficiency than a human being? We’re not there yet by a long way, but sooner or later, if technology continues in this direction, humanity is going to have to confront the question.

Science fiction has supplied us with the terms “robot” and “android”.  Most of us just accept that science fiction is largely fantasy, but history has shown that science fiction has a way of becoming science fact.  For instance, growing a human-looking android seemed like a literary projection into the 23rd or 24th or 35th century of mankind.  But is it really?  How long before scientists are actually able to “grow” a body that supports an artificial intelligence that is self-aware?

There are lots of philosophical objections to that last sentence. People who study the mind disagree on what consciousness actually is, and there are further disagreements with the religious establishment. We are, after all, merely biological/chemical machines, and we take it on faith that God supplied us with an immutable soul. What scientists do agree on is that much of consciousness is informed by chemical processes (hormone/brain interaction, for instance), so if a biologically “grown” android possessed a body that could “feel” (which even robots can sort of do with electronic sensors), would that android be human? Traditional religion says no, because only God can create a soul. But I suspect science would answer otherwise.

I’ve been watching the new series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, partly because I liked the original Terminator movie, and partly because the writer’s strike has almost completely dried up television (except reality game TV, which I absolutely loathe), and I’m hoping we’ll see these kinds of questions touched on, at least in as much detail as TV is capable. I was also a dedicated fan of science fiction literature, back before it got hijacked by the Dungeons & Dragons set.

This is what happens when cold weather coops you up in the house too long. Any thoughts?

Dog Talk

A guy is driving around the back woods of Tennessee and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: “Talking Dog For Sale.”

He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador Retriever sitting there.

“You talk?” he asks.

“Yep,” the Lab replies.

After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog speak, he says, “So, what’s your story?”

The Lab looks up and says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told them. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running.

“But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in.

“I uncovered some incredible stuff and was awarded a bunch of medals. I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired.”

The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.

“Ten dollars,” the guy says.

“Ten dollars?! This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?”

“Because he’s a liar. He never did any of that stuff.”

(Shamelessly stolen from here)

Ahmadinejad Embarrassed by Ayatollah on Gas Legislation…Sorry, we don’t have an Awww, Shit category…

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was publicly humiliated Monday when Iran’s supreme leader smacked down the president’s decision not to implement a law supplying natural gas to remote villages.

______________

The move by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came amid rising dissatisfaction with the president’s performance. Ahmadinejad’s popularity has plummeted amid rising food prices and deaths due to gas cuts during a particularly harsh winter.

______________

In response to a request by the conservative-dominated parliament, Khamenei ordered the president to implement a law spending $1 billion from the Currency Reserve Fund to supply gas to villages after he balked for budgetary reasons.

______________

“All legal legislation that has gone through (the required) procedures stipulated in the constitution is binding for all branches of power,” Parliamentary Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel quoted the supreme leader as saying in a statement.

______________

Haddad Adel called Ahmadinejad’s refusal to implement the law “surprising” and said his appeal to Khamenei was aimed at “defending the dignity of the legislature.” His comments, which were broadcast live on state-run radio, prompted chants of “well done” from the chamber.

Fox News

Fed Cuts Rate 0.75%, but Dow Drops

Excerpts…….

The Federal Reserve, responding to an international stock sell-off and fears about a possible United States recession, cut its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point on Tuesday.

Mr. Bush is to meet Congressional leaders later on Tuesday in a regular session almost certain to be dominated by the economy and the stimulus package. “I’m not going to close off any doors,” Ms. Perino said when asked about the shape the package might take.

“Time is of the essence and the president stands ready to work on a bipartisan basis to enact economic growth legislation as soon as possible,” Mr. Paulson said.

Mr. Paulson said he was optimistic that the administration and legislators could find a bipartisan “common ground” on the economic package and “get this done before winter turns into spring.”

He also said he hoped to do something in the next couple of weeks “that will make a difference this year.”

____________________

Question’s…

Are these people in Washington D.C., by far the main being the party in power in both houses of Congress, the Democrats, willing to throw chances of winning this economic battle away, as they so ignorantly and smugly did for Iraq winning its battle for and of their freedoms they now have, just for political gain in winning the Presidency?

The Iraqi’s are winning their battle now. Congress, are you going to lose America?

NYT

The NY Times Strikes Again

Once again, the New York Times defends the indefensible.

Only click for more if you really want to.

A Card For Tim

Just for Tim Blair…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Sorry, was busy wetting myself laughing.

This is why:

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In U.S. War On Iraq 1,168,058.

The saddest part of all is that people think that site is a credible resource.

Word is…Best Blog Australia/New Zealand

Producer… Tim Blair, has had a successful surgery for cancer. Visit Tim and say…onya mate.

The New, The Improved???…Did I say, Improved??!!

Iowahawk

IF you have never read this brilliant site…do so.

The ‘Hawk is fandamntastic.