1372 Reasons to Doubt Obamacare

If it's so freaking awesome, why are there so many waivers given out?  I think it's absolutely a legitimate question.

Disgustingly Cute: Cat Plays the Shell Game

Check out Frida, a feline Berliner!   She's very focused.

Memorial Day -- It's the Unofficial Start of Summer

FINALLY.  Also this.

Disgustingly Cute: Curing Kitten Nightmares

Be warned, people.  This is weapons-grade cute.  (The cuteness!  It burrrrrrrrrrrrrns!)

The British Army's Newest Colonel-in-Chief

Lookin' good!

HopeChange Chronicles: Bibi's Beatdown and Its Aftermath

I'll say this: the ripples of Netanyahu's visit to the US are still surging everywhere.  I haven't seen so much interest in either the event or its context in a long, long time. On a personal note, it's even gotten people interested who usually don't pay attention to foreign policy in general or the Arab-Israeli conflict in particular.  The Cine-Sib isn't a foreign policy nut like me (he's a normal happy well-adjusted person, see), but over the last few days he in all seriousness asked me about the Six Day War and its aftermath.  I've been giving him mini-lectures on Israeli history.  Then yesterday I spent half an hour with him as we looked at a map of Israel, its various borders over time, and its surroundings.  It was fun -- but kind of odd, as he and I are usually laughing about video games and movies, not having a serious discussion about geography and Israeli security ("What's this 9-miles-wide thing that everybody keeps talking about...?").  "Indefensibility" is just a word until you see actual topographical features on a map?

So onto another related matter: OK, so I'm getting two wildly variant reports of the aftermath of Netanyahu's speech among Israelis.  The New York Times reports that a wagonload of people hated it.  This op-ed in the Jerusalem Post refers a poll that showed that his approval rating soared over 10 percentage points.  Hmmm.

Actually, that op-ed about Bibi's triumphantly Churchillian speech is worth a look in its entirety.

On a similar note, this analysis by William Russell Mead is a firecracker in its own right.  It also gives us our quote of the day about Obama's foreign policy, which I quote at length after the jump:

Friday Fun Video: The Physics of "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic"

Absolutely hilarious and clever in that nerdy/geeky kind of way!  You'll never look at the children's cartoon show in the same way again.

Quote of the Day: Obama's Israel Policy

Charles Krauthammer is not happy:

The only remaining question is whether this perverse and ultimately self-defeating policy is born of genuine antipathy toward Israel or of the arrogance of a blundering amateur who refuses to see that he is undermining not just peace but the very possibility of negotiations.

Ouch.  Then again, Krauthammer's options may not be mutually exclusive.  In other news, it seems that everybody hates Obama's Israel "policy."  Well, hey, on the up side, he did manage to unite all sorts of disparate folks!  Rock on!

Nerd News: Academic Freedom? YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

Read this summary of a current campus controversy at the University of California at San Diego (my emphasis in boldface):

When two faculty members disagree about issues related to research, is it right for an administrator to intervene? 

A faculty committee at the University of California at San Diego examined that question in a report this week that finds that a dean responded to a dispute between two professors by telling one not to publish or speak out about the other's research. And that order, the committee concluded, violated basic principles of academic freedom. 

"Faculty members’ rights to study, re-analyze, and publish controversial scholarly materials cannot be abridged," says the report from the UCSD Committee on Academic Freedom. "These rights to academic freedom cannot be administratively revoked to prevent possible future breaching of professional norms. In our view, the campus administration’s fundamental responsibility is precisely to protect the right of faculty members to research and publish scholarly work even when others, on or off campus, find the work or its conclusions controversial or objectionable."

Well, DUH.

Awesome Art: Pencil Vs. Camera

Take a look!

Epic Speech Not So Epic At Home?

Bibi wowed his American friends.  His Israeli constituents, not so much?

Great Moments in Research: Exploring How Dogs & Cats Drink

No, really.  As the Cine-Sib sarcastically responded, "And how much money did they spend on that?"  Next up: How dogs play poker.

Nerd Notes: At Commencement, Are You an Athenian or a Visigoth?

Here's fascinating, though undelivered, commencement address.  Link via Stones Cry Out.

Obama Addresses Parliament

So how was the speech?  One British critic opines: 

"... a series of orotund banalities, of the sort which can be heard at every tedious Anglo-American conference: 'Profound challenges stretch out before us ... the time for our leadership is now ... Our alliance will remain indispensable.'"  

Basically?  That's code for "yadda yadda yadda."  Ouch.  Well, I've gotten used to such glittery hollow nonsenses.  I prefer a real speech by a real statesman, thanks.

Awesome Nerd News: University of Chicago's Amazing Mansueto Library

Dude.  ROBOTS ARE INVOLVED.

Nerd News: College Majors/Degrees and Employment Prospects

Hmmmm.  Recall this?  That major in women's studies is going to get you nowhere fast in a rocket sled, baby.

Couch Potato Chronicles: "Supernatural" and "Buffy" in Season 6

Last week my guilty pleasure of a TV show, "Supernatural," finished its season with a bang! La Parisienne and I had a fabulous time watching it together.  (Come on: Castiel + Balthazar + Crowley + Bobby = automatic awesome, along with very quotable quips along the way.)  Besides, the season-ending cliffhanger was really good.  I didn't see it coming, for one thing -- I thought something else was going to go down.  Well played, Sera Gamble.  I was going to write up a full episode review, but then I found an interesting little review comparing "Supernatural" season 6 with "Buffy" season 6.  Do read!  Spoilers.

Quote of the Day: Assessing Jimmy Carter

Princeton man TigerHawk doesn't mince words.  As I recently said, in Carter's case, age does not bring wisdom.

Score at the Buzzer: Netanyahu 4, Obama 1?

Heh. Well, Netanyahu's speech to Congress was pretty much a slam dunk.  (Yes, yes, I know we're all really on the same side, so this isn't about ultimate winners and losers -- just a conceit about public relations and diplomacy, mmmmmkay?)

UPDATE 1:  Make that Bibi 5, Obama 1 -- and that 1 is debatable because it was kind of an ambush, which in my book doesn't really count because it's a ... well, let's just say it ... a cheap shot.  It also turned out to be a momentary and Pyrrhic victory.

UPDATE 2: Bibi 6, Obama 1.

Netanyahu Addresses Congress

After the previous fireworks, I simply have to watch this speech live.  Sorry, Nerd Lords, no research for an hour at least.  CNN's talking heads are being as obnoxious as ever, but I'm not really here for them.  Goodness, I haven't been this interested in a major policy speech since ... well, forever.  Bonus: Netanyahu's a great speaker.  

Heck with it: I'm liveblogging.

AFTER-SPEECH UPDATE:  In a nutshell?  Epic speech was epic.  Transcript as released by Netanyahu on his Facebook page.  Full video of the speech here.  My liveblogging is after the fold.  Oh, heck.  Let's just embed the video: