Word-whore. I write 'em. I talk 'em. Information, politics, media, and the cybers. I drink. I use bad words. All publication is a political act. All communication is propaganda. All art is pornography. All business is personal. All hail Eris! Vive les poissons rouges sauvages!
While I was in Washington DC recently, I recorded an interview with attorney and author Mike Godwin, he of Godwin’s Law fame.
We spoke about Godwin’s Law, of course, as well as nationalism, concentration camps, human rights, privacy, the fragility of democracy, Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, libertarianism, Australia’s My Health Record, and more.
Continue reading “The 9pm Probe: Mike Godwin, attorney and author”Richard Nixon’s White House tapes continue to amuse. Here’s an exchange between him and then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
President Nixon: What’s your evaluation of Reagan after meeting him several times now.
Kissinger: Well, I think he’s a… actually I think he’s a pretty decent guy.
President Nixon: Oh, decent, no question, but his brains
Kissinger: Well, his brains, are negligible. I…
President Nixon: He’s really pretty shallow, Henry.
Kissinger: He’s shallow. He’s got no… he’s an actor. He… When he gets a line he does it very well. He said, “Hell, people are remembered not for what they do, but for what they say. Can’t you find a few good lines?” [Chuckles.] That’s really an actor’s approach to foreign policy.
Hat tip to Marc Andreessen. I’ve cleaned up the punctuation a bit.
I was going to write a serious piece comparing the George W Bush and Ronald Reagan presidencies, and discuss the links John Howard’s time as PM. But I’ve been distracted. Instead, I’ve been looking at the questions which led people to this website.
This isn’t original. Meg Tsiamis was there first. As she observed, people find one’s website through some astounding searches.
I’ve mentioned before that the most common search bringing people here is “steve irwin jokes” — something I find quite depressing. The Top 10 includes such gems as “gerbil sex”, “royal gay sex”, “glory hole” and “bestiality”. Classy eh?
But scroll down the list’s long tail, through 580 different keyphrases so far this month alone, and you’ll find actual questions. Here, then, are some of the answers. If you can expand upon them, please do!
I’m a sucker for maps. I’m especially a sucker for satirical maps of our psychopolitical geography. So I reckon this Tory Map of the World from 1982 is pretty special.
I particularly like the entire Indian sub-continent labelled as “Pakis” and the mis-identification of Singapore.
Bonus link: A map of The World according to Ronald Reagan, with Africa divided into “Egypt” and “Negroes”.
Thanks to Strange Maps for the pointer.