Friday Fun Video: Swedish Marines in Afghanistan

Warrior poets.

The Tax Burden of the 1%

I'm sick of the "let's eat the rich!" cries of the self-proclaimed progressives.  Do you know the members of the 1% pay a bigger share of the federal income tax burden than the bottom 90% combined?  Yeah.  Tax Prof Blog has charts and numbers.  But some people are addicted to taxation.  I can't help thinking of the first part of this video - a feckless ruler all but fondling that tax revenue:

I'm just going to say one more thing about the whole idea:

The State of the Union Speech Drinking Game

Get ready for alcohol poisoning, citizen!  Here are Greg Gutfeld's SOTU drinking game rules, and they are brutal:

Every time he says ‘folks,’ drink. 

Every time he says ‘fair share,’ drink. 

Every time he says ‘extraordinary,’ drink. 

Every time he brags about working tirelessly, drink. 

When he frets about lack of compromise, drink.   

If he says, ‘Bring me a bill, and I’ll sign it,’ drink. 

When he brings up the middle class, the people he’s ruining, drink. 

Every time he says, ‘It’s the right thing to do,’ drink. 

Every time he cites someone that his policies have helped, drink. 

If she’s in the audience, drink some more. 

Every time he says, ‘I never said it would be easy,’ drink. 

If he says that after mentioning ObamaCare, drink again. 

If he says ObamaCare’s rough start was worth it, drink. 

And every time he reminds us that running a country is really hard, say, ‘Yeah, we can tell,’ and drink … 

Finally, each time you feel like you’re being screwed, drink. 

Then again, being buzzed or even all-out sloshed might be the only way to endure the meaningless yakfest to come.  I'm not even going to bother, frankly.  Did you know that Skyfall is now streaming via Netflix?

Quirky Asia Files; Table Tennis In Taiwan

From the recent 2014 Ben Tai Invitational in Kaohsiung comes this humorous exhibition match between Chuang Chih-Yuan and Jean-Michel Saive.  Wait until they start playing with two balls:

Happy Australia Day!

Cheers to all our friends Down Under!

Britain's Saucy MPs

Sorry, not that kind of saucy.  A slapfest over regional liquid condiments has broken out in Parliament.

Kafka and the Modern Surveillance State

Whenever life imitates Kafka, it's never a good sign.

Davos 2014 Global Wage Calculator

Here it is!   I took it and found out that an admin manager in Finland makes more than I do.  Excuse me while I take my overeducated self off to rage-eat a whole pint of Ben and Jerry's. (Chocolate Therapy, natch.)

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fungus ... Er, FONDER

Sorry I've been away, darlings!  Life, you know.  School.  Work.  Responsibilities and such, plus trying to freeze to death here (where new snow falls even as I type)!  I'll try to be back more often with the usual supply of frivolous sundries and occasional lapses into serious looks at foreign policy ... but mostly frivolous sundries because our foreign policy is pretty much too horrible to contemplate.

Signs of the Apocalypse: Kristen Stewart to Star in a Rom-Com Version of "1984"

I don't want to life on this planet anymore.

Giving Up On Afghanistan

Hey, I thought Afghanistan was the "good" war.  Apparently not.  Dignified Rant has the link to former secretary of defense Robert Gates' new book.  What he says about Obama's approach to Afghanistan is as unsurprising as it is infuriating.

Shakespeare in Taiwan

Celebrate the 450th birthday of the Bard!

Obligatory Complaint About the Polar Vortex

I am frickin' freezing here!  The wind chill is in the negatives.  I can't tell if this is campus or the ice planet Hoth!  Stuff like this convinces me that hell is a cold place, not a hot one.   Perhaps my incandescent rage will keep me warm enough to prevent hypothermia.  Thatisall.

Off We Go Into The Wild Blue Yonder: Some People Want To Abolish the US Air Force

Hmmmmm.  I'm pretty sure my friends in the Air Force have opinions about this.

Nerd Fun: A Bored College President During Christmas Break

Via the Tax Prof Blog comes this delightful video.  Since it is Christmas Break and all the students (and faculty) are away, the president of Truman State University in Missouri is bored out of his wits and trying (hilariously) to amuse himself:

2013's Biggest Winners and Losers in Foreign Policy

Winners and losers.  No surprises.

Top 3 winners:

1. Vladimir Putin and Russia
2. Iran
3. Assad

Top 3 losers:

1. The Muslim Brotherhood and democratic Islamism
2. The EU
3. The Obama Administration

Happy New Year 2014!

Time for fireworks!