Pakistan's crises, the world's problem

Okay, so first Wikileaks confirmed for us that the Pakistanis are not our friends, having taken our money in one hand, and backing the Afghan insurgency with the other. Now we learn that the Pakistanis have been busy sinking peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government for their own petty national interests. And the Pakistani government is not the most trustworthy ally to begin with. But their pointless rivalry with India, especially in regards to Kashmir threatens to ensure that the region will remain unstable and all because the Pakistan govenrment feels the need to feel good about itself, especially at a time when it can ill-afford the ill will of the rest of the world. However, it's would-be Arab Muslim allies won't come to it's aid in this difficult time. In the wake of the recent floods, the European nations continue to send aid out of the goodness of their hearts and because it is the right thing to do. But with a 'friend' like Pakistan, how long can it expect to continue to count on aid from its Western allies when its effort to thwart peace in Afghanistan continues to get NATO troops killed?

Stay for 'The Other Guys' end credits

If the movie "The Other Guys" turns out to be in any way memorable, it will be for these end titles. If these graphics don't get your stomach turning you either have scandal fatigue or you're not paying attention (or you're a clueless Wall Street investment banker, if so, you're not reading this blog anyway).

Total props to the gentle folk at Bleeding Cool. Thanks for sharing.

Oily and slick

President Obama launched round two with the multinational oil giant BP. The CEO of the company based in the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales, Sweden, Belize and North Korea walked into the lion's den as the two talked about how BP is going to pick up the tab on this disaster. Maybe the Iranians will end up getting stuck with the bill considering the now pariah firm's connections to the pariah state. With questions still swirling over just how much oil is going into the Gulf and with BP's immediate future unclear, what is clear is that this mess of epic proportions is living down to its old slogan of "No dry holes."

And we are back!

With so much happening in the world, it's tough to figure out just where to start.

With charges only a mother could love, the U.S. government is calling Mahmood Alessa a defendant after seeking to travel to Somalia to either become a terrorist or a pirate. His mother is calling Mahmood an idiot with anger issues.

Yes the special relationship between the U.S. and the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Belgium and Afghanistan has left us with what is now an estimated 40,000 barrels of oil per day spilling into the into the Gulf of Mexico, courtesy of our friends at BP. We (being the New York Times) are expecting that President Obama is going to tell the oil company and the rest of the world on Tuesday before a live studio audience that he is not amused and that if BP fails to sock some money away to cover the costs of this mess, the U.S. government will be sorely put out.

The good news. Futurama returns with all new eps June 24 on Comedy Central.

One iPad to rule them all

Well, it has come to this. In addition to all the accolades to date, let's add one more. After having played with one for an hour, the iPad has the potential to be the new killer ap. I do not say this lightly. This thing has potential well beyond the laps of homo sapiens couch potatius. I can see a lot of use in hospitals and this thing will almost certainly kill both the kindle and the UPS' tricorder.

It will also revolutionize how we consume media. Why bother with a television network schedule when you can download your favorite show in the comfort of your friendly neighborhood star bucks? It will, of course, have consequences for other media as well, but why belabor that point.

But a few days ago, while sitting in the cafe section of a barnes and noble, I overheard a young woman extol the virtues of dead tree artifacts. The woman in question was in her early 20s! That is when I was reminded of the previous lessons of photography and television. These things did not make earlier media obsolete. Those working in those older forms reinvented them, bringing us abstract expressionism and rock 'n' roll. The iPad will bring on a similar revolution because people will still want physical artifacts in addition to digital tech toys.

So while the new iPad is something to be desired, it won't kill print. Print may be a dinosaur, but it will adapt, survive and like one species of dinosaur, it may even grow feathers and learn to fly.