Russia Developing New, More Dangerous Nuclear Weapons

• New York Times (registration required)
• CNN
• CBC

Which is to say, undesirable yet probable.

• whiprush - GNOME/Firefox/Ubuntu cheerleader and Glee Club President A-1. Jorge’s ability to deadpan a nervous breakdown conveys a palpable feeling that he’s so damaged by the presence of non-GNOME software in the world that he’s practically submissively urinating. Also, abuses schweeb.
• greenfly - published author, perl monk, has the ability to cause 3d6 points of damage due to regexp insanity exposure. Also, abuses schweeb.
• stonetable - our fearless leader. Capable, intelligent, determined, and a heck of a nice guy to boot. Has ability to ban your ass. Also, abuses schweeb.
• Xyzzy - distributed software guru. King of Obsolete Hardware. Nickname is ZORK reference, which makes him a demigod in my view. Also, abuses schweeb.
• orca-emu-drpetwar - convinces me that no matter how bad my life is, someone else is still trying to convince their mother that it’s not genetic material on the floor. Also, abuses schweeb.
• truck - answered the call to serve our country despite knowing better. Sticks to his guns, literally. Also, abuses schweeb.
• cikkolata - evil webstandards unicode goddess. High Priestess of the Shovel Cult. Uses perl, gratuitiously abuses those injuring the Queen’s English. Also, abuses schweeb.
• goatboy - King of All Things Ubuntu. Fixed my system when a malevolent package tried to bone me in the behind. Also, abuses schweeb.
• syndicate - fellow liberal! Knows more about things than you’d suspect, and is a long-suffering victim of the Vast Female Conspiracy. Cooler than you’d suspect. Also, abuses schweeb.
• schweeb - young and enthusiastic, LDAP is his bitch. Also, abuses himself more than any of us could possibly manage.

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I can’t hide the fact that I’m disappointed. I don’t think I should hide that fact. I truly am disappointed by the outcome of the election. Anyone who believes in karmic balance is gonna figure I’m due for something, given that my beloved Yankees were massacred at the end of the year, and then my chosen candidate for President (well, after Dean anyhow) is beaten. Let’s hope something good is coming my way.

But looking back, we have to ask - why are we so afraid of enthusiasm in politics in this country? Howard Dean had what I felt was a pretty good plan for the country, he was a reasonable moderate Democrat, and damnit, I liked the Primal Scream. That kind of enthusiasm is necessary in politics I feel. You’re not just up there saying “Vote for me because I am the logical choice,” you’re up there and should be screaming about what you feel is right and good about your cause.

Let’s look at this. Kerry, while a bright man and someone who I felt was experienced enough to address my primary concerns (civil rights, deficit spending and foreign relations), came off as passionless and non-animated. A bit of a turn-off to the enthusiastic campaigner, I’d say, but he was what he had and what we had to back once the media tore into Dean.

Going back into 2000, we saw that Gore had absolutely no passion outside of that frightening kiss with Tipper. And that even looked really forced, like he wasn’t into public displays of affection like that. You could tell someone like McAuliffe was all “Dude, kiss her, kiss her GOOD, and they’ll love you,” and it was an idea that sucked. It was awkward, it wasn’t well-received, and it did us some serious damage.

Now look at what Al Gore was at the DNC this year: passionate, fiery, and full of vitriol and brimstone. Why were we getting this version of Gore now and not in 2000? What is it about the Democratic leadership that thinks we want these bland, middle-of-the-road automatons with no fire in their bellies? I’ve heard rumours to the effect that the leading candidate for 2008 (despite what people think, I don’t believe Hillary has any shot in hell) is Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico. He’s a good, moderate Democrat with some progressive views who’s intelligent and extremely likable.

Now, are they going to let him show some passion for his cause, or are we going to be stuck with the Amazing Cardboard Candidate yet again? Let’s hope for more fire and less feh.