DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

Frightening results from a recent Pew Research Center poll on global opinion of the war on Iraq:

• Osama bin Laden is viewed favorably by large percentages in Pakistan (65%), Jordan (55%) and Morocco (45%).
• In those same countries, more people than not think suicide bombings against Americans are justified.
• Large majorities in almost every country surveyed think that American and British leaders lied when they claimed, prior to the Iraq war, that Saddam Hussein’s regime had weapons of mass destruction.
• Large majorities in every country, except for the U.S., hold an unfavorable opinion of Bush.
• Just 14% of Germans, 24% of French and 41% of British think that people who have moved to the U.S. from their countries have a better life.

To anyone who thinks America can succeed and survive in the long term without the support (if not admiration) of the rest of the world, I humbly suggest you cancel any international travel plans.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to what John Hulsman, from the right-wing Heritage Foundation, says about the recent bombings in Madrid and subsequent ejection of Spain’s Bush-friendly government:

Al Qaeda clearly determined the outcome of a Western election. That is terrifying, and it will only encourage them to continue. The lesson is going to be that if you side with America, there’s a price to be paid.

More from Hulsman, and more interpretation of the Pew results can be found here: U.S., allies face rising antiwar sentiment (mirror)

When I visited Greece last Fall, I was treated with courtesy and respect nearly everywhere I went. But outside of the towns I saw evidence that my appeal was less than universal. This is only a tiny data point, but I took it personally. I don’t want to be judged based on the actions of my government. Moreover, I don’t want to be punished for them.

My friend Darell, one of the few people on the planet who can claim to have owned two electric vehicles at once, demonstrates his new portable recharger for the Toyota Rav4EV.

Darell’s inspiration came from Toyota’s own misguided marketing campaign. Ads for the Prius, not a zero-emissions vehicle, poke fun at the company’s (regrettably discontinued) ZEV line by claiming “You never need to plug-in for recharging — which makes the Prius a solution with no cords attached.”

It’s a silly campaign. The Prius is neat, but ZEVs are neater: Renewable trumps non-renewable. “Zero emissions” trumps toxic internal-combustion exhaust. And even beyond that, nobody’s selling ZEVs any more, so Prius customers don’t actually have a “cord attached” choice.

It’s funny, except that it’s sad:
Doonesbury on Bush’s invasion of Iraq

If you’ve ever been to Four Corners or the Continental Divide, you won’t be surprised to learn that the South Pole bears a monument and a sign. But you might be surprised to learn that a new monument is installed every January, because the pole moves about 33 feet per year.

More specifically, the pole doesn’t move, but the sheet of ice that covers it does. The true Pole is on the ground, under 2 km of ice that’s slowly migrating north. (Of course it’s migrating north — this is the South Pole!)

There’s a permanent marker at the “ceremonial” South Pole. It’s called “permanent” because it doesn’t move — or, rather, in spite of the fact that it’s moving about 1 inch/day.

Then there’s the temporary marker, reset every January 1, which is not called “permanent” because it moves every year — or, rather, in spite of the fact that (at least once per year) it accurately indicates the actual static position of the pole underneath.

Here is a picture of the 2004 South Pole Marker. Here are pictures of the 1998 South Pole Marker.

Previous markers are collected and displayed, except for the ones that get stolen.

I made the mistake of watching The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen last night. It’s the sort of film that’s so bad I want to ask the filmmakers for my money back. Or better yet, for my time. Maybe I could get Stephen Norrington to come mow my lawn for 110 minutes.

The DVD contains an interview with Sean Connery, who is one of the strong points of this otherwise forgettable film (but only because he’s so fun to watch — he could make a film about programming interesting, so long as he raises his eyebrows at the camera from time to time and mutters something about “passing by reference” or “initializing variables” in that great Scottish brogue).

He said something that makes me wonder what might have been. I bet he’s wondering too, along the lines of “where did I go wrong?!”

According to Connery, he was offered a part in The Matrix, but he didn’t take it because he didn’t understand the script. Later he was offered a part in Lord of the Rings, but again didn’t take it because he didn’t understand the script. Both these film series became huge hits (e.g. 11 Academy Awards for Return of the King.)

Connery admitted that he didn’t understand the LXG script either, but accepted anyway. The unspoken reasoning: this could be the next huge special-effects-laden science fiction blockbuster. Oops.

Let’s take a look at viewer scores for these movies, as tallied by IMDB:

• Fellowship of the Ring: 8.7/10
• The Matrix: 8.5/10
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, one of whom is a white Hulk with a tumor: 5.5/10