Pentagon Budget to Increase by 8%

Over the weekend we reported that the Pentagon was ordered to trim the budget by 10% (Berman Post: Pentagon Ordered to Cut Budget by 10%). It seems now that Fox News got their numbers crossed. The non-war-cost budget limit given to the Pentagon by Obama represents an increase of about 8% over last year. That number is the same as the Bush administration would have gone with. The 10% cut is from the requested budget of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This the cut was not really a cut at all. The budget limit when up, just not by as much as the Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted, but at the level the Bush administration would have chosen.

This does not mean that I do not think that there are some programs that should be cut from the budget. Cleaning up some of the waistful spending would get the Joint Chiefs of Staff closer to the resource level they want for the other programs they requested funding for.

More at http://hotair.com/archives/2009/02/02/obama-plans-8-increase-in-defense-budget and http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003022493.

Protester Throws a Shoe at China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao

At a speech at Cambridge University, China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was on the receiving end of a shoe toss. A protester toward the back stood up, shouted "How can you listen to this unchallenged?", and then threw their shoe. It landed pretty far away from the Prime Minister, but it seems clear that the intention was to hit him with it. (More at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486724,00.html.)

How many more incidents like this before footwear is no longer allowed at events? Then again, without shoes who knows what these people would throw.

Their is a video of it, but it is hard to make out. At about five seconds in there is a flash (from a picture) and you can see the thrower in the follow through. The camera turns just in time to see the shoe slide to a halt a few feet away from the podium (to the speakers right or on the left side of the screen).

Video embedded below. (From http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/02/more-shoe-chucking-protester-wings.html)

Super Bowl XLIII Wrap Up

The Steelers won after an amazing fourth quarter. The final score was Steelers 27 to Cardinals 23. Amazing plays were aplenty, including a record breaking 100-yard touchdown run following an interception to end the first half. (More at http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090202/D963EBNO0.html)

The ratings were down from last year. Instead of the predicted 100 million viewers, it appears closer to 90 million viewers tuned in. Still not bad considering that number represents almost 1/3 of the population of the United States. (More at http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D963I71G1&show_article=1)

There was a bit of a snafu of sorts for Comcast. In some areas 30 seconds of pornography interrupted the final few minutes of the game. The clip "featured full male nudity ... a woman unzipping a man’s pants, followed by a graphic act between the two". The shot was from Club Jenna (an adult cable television channel). They are still unsure how it happened, but are looking into it. (More at http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/fromcomments/278448.php)

For all you commercial junkies, you can see all the Super Bowl ads at http://www.hulu.com/superbowl and see some rankings over at http://www.slate.com/id/2210279/pagenum/all.

Prediction results: 3 for 3
1) Steelers would win - check (27 to 23)
2) No team scores more then 40 points - check (highest 27)
3) Combined score less that 60 - check (50 points combined)

Update:
Reports now indicate that there were around 95 million viewers in the United States alone.

No Punishment For Michael Phelps

Two days ago Michael Phelps was apparently photographed smoking cannabis (Berman Post: Michael Phelps Caught Smoking Cannabis?). Yesterday he has admitted the picture is authentic, while not actually admitting it was cannabis he was smoking (Berman Post: Michael Phelps Admits Picture Was Legitimate). Today the International Olympic Committee said that Phelps would not face any sanctions or punishments. They took his apology as enough proof of his sincerity. Fortunately for Phelps, even if he had been smoking marijuana, it was out of competition and consequently not an anti-doping matter. Translation, no punishment save any repercussions from his sponsors.

More info at http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE51129C20090202?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews.

Michael Phelps Admits Picture Was Legitimate

Yesterday Michael Phelps was apparently photographed smoking cannabis (Berman Post: Michael Phelps Caught Smoking Cannabis?). Today, he has admitted the picture is authentic. This could be even worse then it seems for Phelps. My understanding is that Olympic rules dictate the punishment for this infraction is a four year ban from the Olympics. That would mean he would be unable to compete in the 2012 Olympics.

More at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486396,00.html.

Update:
Just to be clear, Phelps has not admitted that it was cannabis he was smoking, only that it was him in that picture. The punishment only applies if he was doing drugs.

The Bailout - Visualization

When dealing numbers as large as what is being proposed in the Bailout, it is often hard to really comprehend what it all means. The people over at SuitablyFlip.com have some nice visualizations. The first is a comparison of the Bailout with other large government spending programs adjusted for inflation. The first thing that jumps out at you is that it is bigger, much bigger, than any of the others. The interest alone will cost more than getting to the moon. That picture can be found at http://www.suitablyflip.com/suitably_flip/2009/01/stimulus-illustrated.html. The second image shows what you could purchase for that money, or exactly how much it represents. That picture can be found at http://www.suitablyflip.com/suitably_flip/2009/01/stimulus-illustrated-part-ii.html.

Pregame Super Bowl XLIII News + Predictions

The Super Bowl has banned the pro-life ad from CatholicVote.com which invokes President Obama (Berman Post: CatholicVote.com Invokes Obama in Pro-Life Video). The reason given was that they did not want any political advocacy or issues ads. Some are not buying the reasoning and believe the reason is more ideological because of reasons they have given for another banned ad. More info at http://www.lifenews.com/nat4801.html.

After selling all of the Super Bowl ad slots, NBC announced that they had made a record $206,000,000. They also announced they had made a record $261,000,000 on ads for the entire day. In the United States alone, a predicted 100,000,000 people will watch the game. The 30 second ads cost advertisers between $2,400,000 and $3,000,000. More info at http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090131/D962BAF00.html.

A PETA ad showing women with vegetables in bizarrely provocative situations was the other banned ad referred to above. The difference in outrage level seems to stem from the notion that PETA created the ad with the intention of having it banned in order to get more publicity.

Video embedded below. (From http://www.peta.org/content/standalone/VeggieLove/Default.aspx)


'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

Public schools in Pittsburgh will have a two hour delay this Monday because of the Super Bowl. They hope the move will cut down on student and faculty absenteeism. More at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09029/945457-100.stm?cmpid=MOSTEMAILEDBOX.

Prediction time: Steelers over the Cardinals, no team breaks 40 points with a combined game score less then 60 points. My brother agrees but adds that if the Cardinals win the score will be over. I disagree, but I do not think we will get to see which one of us is right.