Dowbrigade

More Americans Believe the Jews Killed Jesus

The percentage
of Americans who believe Jews were responsible for killing Jesus has
grown
in recent
years,
although
it
remains a view
held by a minority of people, according to a poll released Friday.

The survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found
26 percent of respondents believe Jews were to blame for the Crucifixion,
up from 19 percent in ABC News poll in 1997.

The greatest increase was among young people and blacks.

Thirty-four percent of those under age 30 now believe Jews were responsible,
compared to 10 percent in 1997, the Pew Center said. And 42 percent of
blacks hold that view, compared to 21 percent seven years ago.

What percentage think Jesus was Jewish?

from the Associated Press

The Dowbrigade has been lurking around the premises of
the Kinko Copy shop on Ocean Blvd., in Long Beach, for far too long.
We think the staff is getting suspicious, casting sidelong glances while
speaking to each other in low tones. It appears they have dealt with
internet derelicts in the past, probably some even more desperate and
disturbing than the Dowbrigade.

Kinko’s has a dozen computers to rent out, and a single red USB cable which
is available FREE to anyone with a laptop. Three blocks from the Convention
Center one would expect knife fights or laser pointer duels for squatting
rights on the Red Line, but surprisingly every time we arrive it is either
available or in use with no one else waiting. Whereupon we begin to utilize
a combination of the Sicilian evil eye and Tantric mind control to inspire
said user to remember something else important they had to do.

We just finished delivering our main spiel to the convention. We should
have known the fix was in when we saw the schedule. The Dowbrigade presents
some damn
thing
at this Convention every year, and usually we get scheduled in the conventional
horse latitudes; Tuesday morning (nobody there yet) or Saturday afternoon
(everybody gone). This year, we were scheduled for Friday 2 pm – Prime
Time. And in a Major Hotel Ballroom! The Big Time! Finally, the Dowbrigade
was getting the respect he so richly deserved, for his immense contributions
to the field. That was before we realized where the Ocean Ballroom of the
Westin Hotel was actually located.

It was a good mile from the main convention site, at the furthest extreme
from the Convention Center, across two major streets, down four city block,
past dozens of attractive stores, bars and cafes. When we saw the way to
the Westin ran directlythrough a 3 block flea market we knew it would be
an intimate session.

Last year we presented on a really interesting topic: Moshe Meet Mohammed
: Defusing Cultural Conflicts in the Classroom. The conference organizers
put us in a small conference room on Saturday morning. People were standing
in the hall listening and we ran out of handouts by half.

Today we were presenting on a rather specialzed and unglamorous topic Balancing
Priorities in Design of a Pre-LLM Program for Foreign Lawyers, and the
scheduled us in a hotel ballroom that could hae held 1000. Ten people came, but they were a magnificent
ten, and it was a lively session.

Now that our official duties are done, the Dowbrigade is looking to get
wild and crazy in Los Angeles. Of course, we know absolutely no one on
the West Coast and have no idea of where to go for a good time (so to speak).
Any ideas?

here is the PDF of the slides

This
rather impressive photo appeared on the front page of the Los Angeles
Times this morning.  The guy in the foreground is an armed guard
for the Cheif Iraq Administrator Paul Bremmer. 

Now, since Bremmer
is target number one on the ground at all times (except when George
Bush drops in), we can assume that this "armed guard" is one of the most
highly trained and ruthless bodyguards on the planet, and that he is
equiped with the very latest and best top-secret killing technology
our tax dollars can buy.

However, besides the very badass looking weapon in his hands what piqued
our curiosity is that it appears that his SUNGLASSES are wired to some
kind of a data device.  Are these heads-up data displays? How wired
is this guy? Anyone familiar with this technology? Or are they just really
cool sunglasses?

photo from Agence Presse France

Story from the LA Times