Welcome to Megan Fox or Mike Tyson Island

What I really love about this ad is that it basically says “Hey, Brazilians, learn English so you can come to America, where there are way too many beautiful women, unlike Brazil, where THERE IS CLEARLY A LACK OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN.”

Get down like the Great Sun of The Nation

“Ain’t no party like a Pyongyang party, because a Pyongyang party is ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY.”

Did you know that Kim Jong-il’s first title was Party Center (당중앙)?

Related: Kim Jong-il Droppin the Bass

Greeks not lazy—that’s the Germans you’re thinking of

Writes Matt Ygelsias:

It’s true that Germans and Greeks work very different amounts, but not in the way you expect. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the average German worker put in 1,429 hours on the job in 2008. The average Greek worker put in 2,120 hours. In Spain, the average worker puts in 1,647 hours. In Italy, 1,802. The Dutch, by contrast, outdo even their Teutonic brethren in laziness, working a staggeringly low 1,389 hours per year.

….

The truth is that countries aren’t rich because their people work hard. When people are poor, that’s when they work hard. Platitudes aside, it takes considerably more “effort” to be a rice farmer or to move sofas for a living than to be a New York Times columnist. It’s true that all else being equal a person can often raise his income by raising his work rate, but it’s completely backward to suggest that extraordinary feats of effort are the way individuals or countries get to the top of the ladder. On the national level the reverse happens—the richer Germans get, the less they work.

It’s a pretty standard American expectation, grounded partially in the old “protestant work ethic,” that if you’re rich you worked harder, or more, than the poor, who clearly aren’t working hard enough, or else they’d be rich. But, in reality, it’s always the other way around: it’s hard work being poor, and if you’re rich, it’s probably dumb luck.

Oh good Christ

One day after the last American troops left Iraq, an arrest warrant has been issued for Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hasimi, a Sunni, that accuses him of terrorism.

This is important because the Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, is Shia, and there is significant strife between the Sunni minority and the Shiite-led government:

Iraqiya, a powerful political bloc that draws support largely from Sunni and more secular Iraqis, said it was boycotting Parliament, a move that threatens to shatter Iraq’s fragile power-sharing government.

The move pits the largely Sunni and secular coalition against the government of Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Iraqiya contends al-Maliki is trying to amass dictatorial power, and many believe al-Maliki was simply waiting for the Americans to leave before making his move.

One day. One fucking day.

British government backs same-sex marriage

This is something:

Lib Dem Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone today declared herself “delighted” to announce the Government’s move to legislate for same-sex marriages before the next general election.

Addressing the opening day of her party’s autumn conference in Birmingham, she spoke passionately about the need to reject prejudice and discrimination, and support the cause of women’s equal rights and persecuted minorities across the world.

To rounds of applause, she said: “I am delighted to announce today that in March this Government will bring in a formal consultation on how to implement equal civil marriage for same-sex couples.

“And this would allow us to make any legislative changes necessary by the end of this Parliament.”

She added: “Civil partnerships were a very welcome first step, but as our constitution states, this party rejects prejudice and discrimination in all its forms. And I believe that to deny one group of people the same opportunities offered to another, is not only discrimination, it is simply not fair.”

Mind you, this is the government that is a coalition between (very crude but still useful labels)  the conservative party (Tories) and the center party (Liberal Democrats). Yes, this is happening because the conservatives are running the government. Huh.

Maybe they’re looking for an economic boost in the midst of their terrible austerity policies?

How much do we spend on food?

Interesting (and interactive) map from The Ration on how much countries spend on food, and how very unequal the cost is. Natalie Jones explains:

A one dollar bag of rice in the U.S. is not the same as a one dollar bag of rice in Indonesia. For an American, who, on average, devotes about seven percent of his or her spending to food, it won’t matter that much if the price of rice doubles to two dollars. An American can likely take the money that would have gone to a “non-essential” item and put it towards food instead. But for an Indonesian, who devotes 43 percent of his/her spending to food, it could mean less to eat.

Related: Nearly 25% of New York households with children do not have enough money to buy food. Also, look for corn prices to go up next year as unseasonably hot weather has led to tighter supplies.

The mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania really, really hates when cars park in bike lanes

Arturas Zuokas, the mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania, really, really, hates it when luxury cars park in bike lanes, so he shot a staged PSA of him rolling over some cars in a goddamn armored personnel carrier.

Explained the mayor:

“I wanted to send a message… I want to point out that if you have a car and more money it doesn’t mean that you can park it everywhere. Recently there’s been an increase in this type of parking violations, and it shows a lack of respect for others.”

Bravo also for sweeping up afterwards as well. Nice touch.

Friday Funny: If Rupert had never been born

From the amazing A Bit of Fry & Laurie. Seemed appropriate this week, what with the…er...goings-on in Britain.

Ed Miliband has the answer for any question

…and, interestingly enough, it’s the same answer. Not sure if this is some kind of performance piece, but it’s depressingly hilarious.

Wear shorts, be green

In an effort to conserve electricity (since because of the nuclear crisis, they’re going to be short when the summer gets into full swing), the Japanese government is encouraging workers to wear shorts:

Japan’s government wants the country’s office workers to shed their suits in an attempt to use less energy on air conditioning systems this summer.

The government’s “Super Cool Biz” campaign encourages workers to wear outfits appropriate for the office yet cool enough to endure the summer heat.

Polo shirts and trainers are allowed, while jeans and sandals are also acceptable under certain circumstances.

….

The Environment Ministry’s dress code suggests that men may consider wearing a pair of tight pedal pushers* or carry a fan with them.

The campaign (albeit with a really corny name—c’mon: “Super Cool Biz”? Really?) is picking up acceptance, and even involvement:

In 2005, less than a third of 2,000 poll respondents said that Cool Biz had been implemented in their workplace. In 2007, the figure had risen to 47%, and in 2009 it had reached 57%.

I, for one, volunteer to wear shorts to work to save the environment. Every little bit helps, right?

* For those not up-to-date on their Anglo lingo, “pedal pushers” are long shorts, or capri pants for men. I think Americans could do better, because whoever thought those were a good idea should be fired. I suggest jorts.

Makaveli in Baghdad

Even before there were “deathers,” those reincarnated birthers or whatever, some Iraqis have started to think that Saddam Hussein is still alive:

Since the former dictator’s execution in December 2006, numerous conspiracy theories of the Elvis variety have percolated. And with precision timing on the eve of Mr. Hussein’s birthday, a new YouTube video landed that depicted an actual recent phone call between a member ofIraq’s Parliament and a man who claimed to be Mr. Hussein, whose voice and inflection so resembled that of the former dictator’s that it even gave pause to those who are convinced that Mr. Hussein is dead.

Where’s the death certificate, NObama?

Also, now that Osama’s dead, time to find Tupac’s killer.

Stupid kids don’t know who Osama was, also apparently use Yahoo!

At the Yahoo! company blog, a post* notes how many kids asked the search engine (now powered by Bing, right? — I haven’t been there since 1997) who Osama bin Laden was:

According to Yahoo!, The Top Searched Questions on Osama bin Laden are (based on Sunday, 5/1):

1. Is Osama bin Laden dead?
2. How did Osama bin Laden die?
3. Who killed Osama bin Laden?
4. How old is Osama bin Laden
5. Who is Osama bin Laden
6. Where was Osama bin Laden killed?
7. Is Osama bin Laden dead or alive?
8. How tall is Osama bin Laden?

Younger Generation. News of Osama bin Laden’s death seemed to have struck a chord with younger folks who grew up during the war on terrorism.

-          On Yahoo!, 1 in 3 searches for “how did osama bin laden die” on Sunday were from teens ages 13-17.

-          According to Yahoo!, 40% of searches on Sunday for “who killed osama bin laden” were from people ages 13-20.

-          However, it seems teens ages 13-17 were seeking more information as they made up 66% of searches for “who is osama bin laden?”

* An annoyingly super-awkwardly formatted post, that is.

Does the U.K. referendum on alternative vote confuse your cat?

Finally, an explanation of the 5 May U.K. alternative vote referendum that even a cat can understand.

More U.S. crazies than Egyptian crazies (what Islamic Brotherhood takeover?)

YouGov’s Peter Kellner notes some positive polling from Egypt:

Finally, a finding that will come as a great relief to Israel and much of the international community: 60% think Egypt should continue to uphold the peace treaty agreed in 1978 at Camp David; just 27% think Egypt should now end the treaty and sever diplomatic relations with Israel.

Adam Serwer adds:

Egyptians already have a civil war going on next door; it makes sense that they wouldn’t want to escalate tensions with their neighbor on the other side. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the number of people who want to sever relations with Israel are about the same number who want an Islamic state, but either way, we’re talking about the political fringe. Let me put it this way: There is a larger percentage of birthers in the Republican Party than hardcore Islamists in Egypt.

The Big Cheese

If you are the President of the United States, the past two months and especially the past week has been the most empowering time of your presidency.

Obama is limited in America, he has to deal with Congress if he wants to do anything.  The stimulus plan was a package of Congressional Democrat spending priorities slapped together with a huge piece of tax cuts to appease Republicans.  In the end Republicans didn’t even support it.  The health care bill was totally put together by Congress.  The framework of financial regulatory reform was put together by his Treasury Department staff but ultimately named the “Dodd-Frank Act” after the two lead congressional sponsors of the legislation.  While there is a list of important legislative items that could not have passed without Obama, none are truly his own offspring.

Then comes the unraveling of dictators in the Middle East.  When Obama sent envoys to Egypt and the U.S. began its attack on Libya he never addressed the nation, he never asked Congress for their opinion, he simply gave orders to the State Department and the Pentagon.  Fuck Congress – why bother with them?  Seriously, why would anyone want to involve 535 men and women with 535 opinions on how to move forward with a pancake breakfast, let alone a multi-state coordinated attack on a sovereign nation?

You just have to imagine that despite the nostalgic feeling of taking the oath of office, all the birthers, the entire health care debate, failure of cap-n-trade, Guantanamo, there lack of thanks from a tea party patriot nation who fails to see the economic growth and 14 months of private sector job increases that it all would make the President feel a little powerless.  Now, all of a sudden Obama realizes he can snap his fingers and order a $100+ million a day assault on an asshole that oppresses his people in the name of justice. The decision on Afghanistan might have been more important, but given the public and congressional scrutiny the President would have felt a lot of pressure on all sides .  With Libya,  he had the opportunity to act well before the majority of the nation had any opinion at all.

It must be a good feeling to act before people start to judge, and I imagine that for the first time Obama might feel like the President of the United States of America.