Cool Ideas on How the World is Changing

Goodbye Nuclear Weapons, See You in Iran!

Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council, with President Obama as its chairman, voted to strengthen the restrictions on nuclear technology, making it more difficult to convert peaceful applications into weapons programs.  This, however, is still a matter of enforcement which has been a persistent problem for the United Nations in the past; its coffee and doughnut budget has been exceeded for every year of its existence.  Iran is at the heart of this matter, even though President Obama was very general in his comments during the meeting, but glared at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad because "he knows what he did." 

One Quarter of the Afghan Vote Was Cast by Pack of Wild Monkeys; Situation Dire

Well, Afghanistan, you've got a mess on your hands.  A lot of mess.  A quarter of your votes could be tainted!  That's Chicago bad.  The good/bad news is that this isn't the worst of your problems.  The top general in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has essentially stated that the situation is dire in the remote nation. 

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Avast!  Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day!  A day where people of all stripes can unleash their inner pirate and express their scurvy selves.  If you need any help, check out www.talklikeapirate.com for great ways to get in that pirate-y mood!  So, in observance of Talk Like a Pirate Day, let us get into character: arrrrrr!  Now, enjoy some pirate-y videos!

Imma Let You Finish Afghanistan, but Iran Had the Craziest Election of All Time

In what we can only imagine as a scene out of Michael Jackson's Bad, clashing rallies erupted in Iran.  Today, in Iran, is Quds Day which is a major day for the Iranian regime (not unlike ten cent wing day).  It is an occasion for people to show their support for the Palestinians and opposition to Israel.  This rally by the opposition is the first major one since July and there have been reports that former president Mohamad Khatami was attacked by the paramilitary group the Basij. 

No Missile Shield for You!

Today, the U.S. announced that it is scrapping the Bush era missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic and replacing it with a different system to first be deployed aboard ships and potentially then in Southern Europe.  This move will likely appeal to Russia who had vehemently opposed the Bush plan and liked to do some sabre rattling about it.  There is no word on whether or not this move was accompanied by a large shipment of vodka and beets to St. Petersburg. 

Health Care Reform Protests: Send Me Your Tired, Ignorant and Stupid.

With the recent town hall events of August and the bill that came out of the Senate Finance Committee, health care reform is as contentious as ever.  People are mad and dammit, they aren't going to let ignorance get in their way!  So what are the critiques of universal health care?  People are claiming all sorts of things.  A big one is that this is socialism.  Socialism!  Just when you thought we'd defeated that back in the 80s, it rears it ugly head.  Another critique is that it will cost too much and another is that well, Obama is a fascist. 

Graveyard of Empires: Well, Crap...

In a recent speech to foreign policy experts, former U.S. national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, warned that if the U.S. does not halt the Taliban insurgency, things in Afghanistan will quickly go pear shaped.  Well, shit.  While a laudable goal of installing credible institutions and making a real, functioning country, is one that is likely worth pursuing, it will be a difficult road.  For instance, it only took 300 special forces troops to bring down the Taliban in 2001.  That just goes to show that the government there had tenuous control at best and the amount of man power needed to eliminate an insurgency will be very high.

Like Scrabble? Like Beating the Crap Out of Your Unsuspecting Opponent?

Then this Scrabble strategy video is for you!  We here at Puggling came across this while spending some quality time at MentalFloss.com.  The general strategy in this video is how to play mind games and mess with your opponent and well, we here think this is a good way to win and piss off your friends.  We don't recommend this for family game night, unless you come from an ultra competitive family.  Enjoy!

Craziness. Kanye West is a Douchebag. Who Knew?

Brace yourselves everyone.  Kanye West is a douchebag.  It's shocking, but he is.  Beyonce has the greatest video of all time?  Really?  He has obviously not seen the video for Los Del Rio's mega hit, Macarena.  Or even Cotton Eyed Joe, by someone in a redneck outfit?  While Ms. Beyonce's video is a good video, (we saw no obvious flaws, the lighting was very nice) it does not even compare to Europe's The Final Countdown.  No way.  Never.

Consider This an Invitation to My Gangsta Nation...

After a long hiatus, Puggling is back!  A lot has changed in the world since we last were here.  There were some good times.  Afghanistan had it's first real election.  It also had it's first real epidemic of voter fraud too!  It's like a whole nation made up of Chicago!  During the August recess of Congress, people went apeshit over health care reform and we all learned that bacon was bad good for us.  But now we're back and ready to bring the fire!