By Frederick Deligne. Other select Cagle cartoonists: Another slick on the Mediterranean, Gaza Flotilla Attacked, Freedom Flotilla, Israeli Flag.

As for the actual attack I’m saving my breath. I’ve expended enough bile and vitriol for a lifetime. My opinion is well known. And the world will come to see my way is right. You’re all going to regret not stopping this runaway train while you still had the chance. In the meantime, I celebrate increased divisions and disorder. No world order!

Photo by Blake Lokey. Originally found here.

Globalizing police brutality. Everyone wants to be like America these days. At least the world was sent some kind of message even if it had nothing to do with the climate.

Best in show: Hugo Chavez with the now classic quip — "If Climate Were Bank, U.S. Would Have Saved It".

So very true, and also poignant since the physical world represents the only really persistent form of asset. So in essence it is a bank. But anyway, we all know how this works by now. Instead of tackling the problem early on (a point passed many years ago), things are going to be allowed to progress to the brink of chaos. And by "things" I mean not only the narrowly worded CO2 / global warming analysis but rather the endless list of environmental changes that mankind has set in motion. And when we’re there on the brink we’ll see a jumble of panicked measures, including all the things that people scoff at now like a one child policy, universal climate tax, food rationing, climate (water) wars etc. The only actual beacon of light is that science might pull a rabbit out of its ass and solve not only the energy and water shortage but also offer effective means of cleaning persistent pollution and terraforming this planet back to its former glory.

Anyone who has travelled by the river Rhine north of Mainz will not fail to have noticed the castles perched on the hillsides at almost every bend. And it is here that the original ‘Robber Barons’ (or Raubritter in German) in medieval times extracted dues from merchant boats in return for safe passage. The phrase was borrowed to describe unscrupulous tycoons of the late 19th.and early 20th. centuries as they built up their empires and amassed great wealth ,often using questionable methods to overcome competition.

In these stringent times of sickly banks, vast public debt and swathing cost cuts it is particularly galling that many who have presided over failed institutions have continued to award themselves huge salaries and bonuses ……just like those barons of long ago

I also like the touch of the ages old "Twa Corbies" which is weaved into the tune. Lets indeed hope the ravens are soon feasting on the cadavers of these forsaken robber fools. Anyway, I snagged the preview link from their site, hope they don’t mind. "Battlefield Band – Robber Barons" …

(C) Kinmor Music/Temple Records 2009. Album is available from Temple Records, iTunes and elsewhere presumably.

All in all an amazing year in retrospect. I was also pleased to see that two relatively new and unknown Swedish bands – Heat and Eclipse – made it into the list. Also, despite all their flaws, I am happy to see Sabaton was finally recognized. "Art of War" really was a more polished product compared to their older offerings. And more evenhanded politically speaking. Singing exclusively about war can have its pitfalls after all.

Other Swedish bands of course include Opeth, Amon Amarth and Work of Art. The Swedish metal and rock scenes apparently are more productive than ever. But unfortunately these bands remain the unsung heroes of the Swedish export industry.

What do I need to do to start playing GTA IV on my PC?

You will need an active internet connection to activate the software and the retail disk is required to be in the computer drive in order to play.

In order to upload videos to our internet site and play online multi-player modes, you will also need an active internet connection and accounts with both Rockstar Games Social Club and Games for Window-LIVE.

GTA IV PC also requires a number of software installations, including Games For Windows, Adobe Flash, Internet Explorer, SecuROM and our Rockstar Games Social Club application.

The bloated size (~13.8GB) and design of the game also ruins the experience for many. Regardless of whether you bought the game or not (VE3D). But I reckon the scene version, once it is out, will at least be free of the add-on software like the Social Club.

With the installation complete, I was directed to Rockstar’s Social Club to tie my account to my Games For Windows info. With that done, I was allowed to boot up the actual tray app. This uses around 60MB of RAM at load, and 1-3% CPU on a Quad Core Q6600 clocked to 3GHz. Sending the app to the tray pushes RAM to 8-12MB (it bounces around randomly) and stops the CPU usage, though it does occasionally use a burst of processing power.

I for one am happy to see that PC game RIPs (like Skullptura/Gizmolio from Pirate Bay) are making a comeback after a couple of years. These bloated games just don’t cut it anymore, seeing as bandwidth and optical storage haven’t kept up. It’s funny that despite all the DRM, the hilarious size of new games could very well be the best copy protection scheme of all. And the developers can get there by just being sloppy and lazy. Amazing.

Update: Personal review here.

"Twitter has also become a social activism tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader audiences," the report said.

That ought to tag pretty much everyone who uses Twitter. They also take the opportunity to decry how GPS is now easily available. And how "terrorists" are discussing "voice-changing software".

That last part was so interesting I had to re-evaluate the market for voice changers. And by voice changers I assume they mean software implementations. I found pretty much the same alternatives as suggested in the Wikipedia article. None of them were all that impressive even if they did work as advertised. Modern PCs seem to finally have made real-time effects truly effortless. And with a growing list of VoIP and MMO:s on the market there may finally be a use for modulators, besides pranks. I will definitely consider using one in the future. Especially since it seems to bother the powers that be. Lets all thank the US military for reminding us to stay secure.

"Death and Taxes:2009" is a representational poster of the federal discretionary budget; the amount of money that is spent at the discretion of your elected representatives in Congress. Basically, your federal income taxes. The data is from the President’s budget request for 2009. It will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress by October 1st to begin the fiscal year.

The poster provides a uniquely revealing look at our national priorities, that fluctuate yearly, according to the wishes of the President, the power of Congress, and the will of the people. If you pay taxes, then you have paid for a small part of everything in the poster.

With so many users getting the game so early, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a pirated copy of Gears of War 2 has already been leaked in its entirety onto warez sites. The pirated copy, which has been created by group x360inT from the NTSC edition of the game, was released early this morning on a private tracker. With a total file size of 6.76GB, the download has been split into 73 RAR files.

It is worth mentioning that pirated Xbox 360 games only work on modified systems.

True, one needs to modify the XBOX360 for it to work. Plus use dual layer discs I guess. And I hear the mods have become more difficult with the release of new optical drives and revisions. Still, compared to what it costs to get a PC up to spec, many will find even paying for a modification to be quite affordable. I would do it in a heartbeat if I had an XBOX.

So suck it up and admit that you were wrong. I hope console games get pirated till you’re all out of business.

The way I see it we come down to the same issue of military versus economic imperialism to borrow Chalmers Johnson’s terminology from "Sorrows of Empire". The point here is that America’s policies and its presidents usually fall into one of two categories. The important difference being that the economic imperialist approach is much harder to expose. But they are just two songs from the same old broken record. For the person staring down the barrel of an American gun, it wont matter all that much in the end. In that sense, a president like George W Bush is a blessing. American power when wielded in such a brazen way effectively drives a wedge between the US and its allies. But all of this is of course rather obvious.

Another obvious observation is that the world loves Obama, much to the ire of some American and Swedish commentators. If they had any sense at all they would realize that this is the best possible starting point for a nation that has irrevocably entangled itself with foreign nations and interests. Thankfully they don’t, or we’d have two economic imperialists. But this love affair with Obama is also part of the problem.

For Obama to make a real difference he would have to basically be lying about his positions, be as "radical" and insightful as Wright and Ayers, and that is simply too unbelievable. The US system may be broken in many ways, but to allow an actual progressive candidate who is in earnest critical of America’s role in the world to move to within a heartbeat of the White House, well, that is simply hard to believe. It is far too easy to sympathize with Obama. And of course it really hurts me every time I see the familiar wingnut smears. And my personality makes me inclined to want to decorate the streets with McCain’s and Palin’s intestines. But those are just feelings, just like the somewhat irrational inclination to believe that Obama can and will solve all the world’s problems. Given a personal, superficial look at the two candidates alone, obviously Obama is the superior choice. He is calm, intelligent, eloquent and by American standards fairly enlightened. But a deeper understanding of the United States and its history raises quite a few red flags. Especially in the light of his recent adoption of all too familiar American values. In short Obama seems to be falling into line.

Once elected, Obama can never live up to the expectations. And if he did he would surely be forced out of office or assassinated, probably by his own party. Already the fact that he has come this far gets my highly cynical grey cells working, suggesting that something is wrong and that he is not a principled as some would believe. His seemingly effortless backpedalling on net neutrality, Israel and government wiretapping suggests that he is indeed a politician. He does not, like the Ron Pauls and Ralph Naders of the world, apparently stand his ground ad absurdum. So in short he cannot be trusted.

What of McCain? Well, on a personal level he seems like real asshole. He could foment World War III if we are very very lucky. Or he could be the quasi-liberal conservative maverick that he was a decade ago and what we are seeing is just empty bellicose rhetoric. He could be lying just as well as Obama, but it is not likely, and even if it is the case, he’d have to continue to lie to stay in office, just like Obama. Most likely he’d just be a continuation of Bush policies. And that is good enough. Because America’s greatest asset isn’t its military or economic prowess. No, America’s single greatest asset is rather its hard earned social and political influence. It’s kind of like the economic markets that way, driven largely by psychology. This influence is something that has been artificially created via propaganda, careful political manipulation and sometimes brute force. It took more than a century to create and it has been tanking harder than the US economy lately. Without this good-will, America is just another country and to put it simply, people would see though American policies – even in highly Americanized countries like Sweden. Without informal support (from countries like Sweden) and the direct support from its proxy states, America would be down to a choice. It would either have to pay for its existence, fight for its existence or largely retreat to within its own borders. Either way, the USA would never be the same again -  and they as well as the rest of the world would be better off for it. Of course, millions might die as violence escalates all around the globe, as a result of other parties vying to fill the void or the United States refusing to yield. But as the saying goes in Washington – it is a price I think is worth paying -  if we can permanently weaken America once and for all.

So what I am saying is this: McCain/Palin would have zero cred going into office while Obama/Biden would be incredibly overvalued, particularly internationally. This social capital would take time to dissipate. Obama/Biden are thus much shrewder at projecting American power whether they know it or not. And they might even balance the national budget. Plus, hope is a dangerous thing. You get the idea. They will do a good job and strengthen America and inspire its past and present allies to once more unconditionally rally under their aegis. The only real reason to support Obama is if you’re an American, and naive to boot. For non-Americans to support Obama they would have to be ignorant and naive beyond compare. Or maybe that is just what they call hope.

We cannot allow this to happen, and therefore the seemingly senseless alternative makes the most sense.