BEWARE! North Korea is coming after you.

luckily, if you have the ability to use photoshop, and you've had a sandwich and some chips today, you're probably in better condition than the north korean army.

on the other hand, barack obama needs to up his game if we are going to compete with kim jon-un's severe skin fade and THREE landlines.

You're Not Fooling Anyone

I get it that conservatives believe there is a "war" on Christmas or whatever, despite the fact that it dominates the attention of this country for nearly four months (Kmart had artificial Christmas trees for sale in early September).  But in this Fox and Friends story about the Governor of Rhode Island referring to the Christmas tree in their state house as a holiday tree, I was surprised that they provided viewers with the phone number for the Governor's office as well as encouragement to call and complain.  That's the sort of antics usually left to political action groups, not a supposedly unbiased news organization.  Weird.

But don't worry, some freshman state representative desperate for attention is going to hold a rival REAL CHRISTMAS TREE lighting somewhere else at the exact same time.  So yeah.  Sounds fun.

[via] (video not imbed-able)

Third Time's the Charm!

Get ready for WWIII!!!!  I'll give you one guess as to whom it might start with.  Give up?  It's the Germans...again.

Germans are scared that if the European Central Bank starts printing more money to keep Greece solvent, they'll be unable to resist their old Nazi habits.  Following WWI, the German Central Bank began printing extra money to pay domestic debts and reparations, and many Germans believe the resulting hyperinflation allowed the Nazi Party to seize power.  Poland's Finance Minister is shaking in his wooden shoes (Polish people wear wooden shoes right?) saying that a collapse of the Euro Zone and the European Union could lead to widespread political instability and war in 10-20 years.

Not helping matters is Silvio Berlusconi who referred to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as an "unfuckable lard-ass".  that.is.an.actual.quote.  Honestly I've gotta say, after being called that I'm not so sure I would blame her if she became a lady Hitler.

Anyway, you should probably start stockpiling guns, composting your poop, and turn your bathtub into a tilapia farm/hydroponic garden because if the Mayan apocalypse doesn't come in 2012, the German's will be waiting in 2021.  Either way, we're all screwed.

[via]

what did you think was going to happen?

via

the saddest thing ever?

Navy Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson was one of 30 Navy SEALs aboard a Chinook helicopter downed by Taliban insurgents on August 6th. (remember)

At his funeral in Rockford, Iowa, earlier this week, Tumilson’s beloved canine companion Hawkeye refused to leave the side of his master’s casket.

there is also a video if youre into that.

CATS of war!

this is really funny.

thx davey!

good news.

obama said in a 60 minutes interview recorded today that he will not be releasing the dead-osama pixies. you can see his brain in them! eewwww!!

"The risks of release outweigh the benefits," he said. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East."

"Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaida killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet," he continued. "Osama bin Laden is not a trophy - he is dead and let's now focus on continuing the fight until Al Qaida has been eliminated." (via)

i know what you're thinking: what does sarah palin think? she tweeted:

Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama;it's part of the mission

is that a semi-colon? how gauche!

update!

me: well they just sent out a company-wide earth day newsletter, highlighting various offices' achievements in sustainability
i saw rupalsdragrace reading it
john: you should tape it over the light switch while it's in the off position
me: thats what i thought
john: or
OR
fish that post-it note out of the trash, stick it on a printed copy of the news letter, and then affix it to her desk with a bloody knife, stabbed through a dead pigeon.
me: there we go

ugh, libya.

yesterday, some shit went down in libya that got a bunch of journalists, photographers, etc. killed.

BENGHAZI, Libya — Tim Hetherington, a conflict photographer who was a director and producer of the Afghan war documentary “Restrepo,” was killed in the besieged city of Misurata, Libya, on Wednesday, and three photographers working beside him were wounded, one fatally, when they came under fire at the city’s front lines.

Chris Hondros of the Getty Images photo agency died later of devastating brain trauma. Guy Martin, who was filing photographs to the Panos agency, suffered a severe pelvic wound, said Andre Liohn, a colleague who was at the triage center where the photographers were rushed by rebels after they were struck. (via)

above is a short film he created called "diary", which is the last work produced by tim hetherington. his own words about it:

"'Diary' is a highly personal and experimental film that expresses the subjective experience of my work, and was made as an attempt to locate myself after ten years of reporting. It's a kaleidoscope of images that link our western reality to the seemingly distant worlds we see in the media." (via)

getty photographer chris hondras was also killed. the guardian has compiled a retrospective of his work.

jicyww

president obama talked to us about libya last night.

a little tip.

if you haven't checked out pj harvey's new album, let england shake, i higly recommend you do so. she sings about history and war and england and america. it is 11 biscuits, i'm telling you.

here's a recent fresh air interview.

how does michelle rodriguez keep finding herself in these dangerous combat situations

cloverfield + war of the worlds + saving private ryan = battle: los angeles

"You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan."

The reported last words of Richard Holbrooke, veteran US diplomat.

things are happening...

....in south korea:

The South Korean military went to “crisis status” on Tuesday and threatened military strikes after the North fired dozens of shells at a South Korean island, killing two of the South’s soldiers and setting off an exchange of fire in one of the most serious clashes between the two sides in decades. (via)

careful, y'all.

thx joey.