Got this from a friend who deals with North Korea. Not in English but perhaps readers can identify the origin and meaning of it. Nevertheless quite funny!

Via Bruce Schneier. Watch and wait for it.

I can’t help but posting this. In all seriousness, why aren’t we using more ideas like this to fight the infowar? Tactics like the recent ‘butt bomber’ just beg for such parody and are a great means of discrediting al-Qaeda.

This is not a work-safe video!

Internet funny man Ze Frank recently got a mainstream gig at Time. His latest video talks about what it means to go green during the #iranelection. Check it out:

Also, I leave you with this amusing comic from John Cole of the Times Tribune (via laughing squid):

As someone who follows the American debate on second ammendment rights, I came across a fantastic Onion piece that readers will enjoy. So here’s a little something light for the weekend.

In The Know: New Iraqi Law Requires Waiting Period For Suicide Vest Purchases

Needless to say, President Obama’s stimulus package has come under a considerable degree of scrutiny, criticism and rejection both at home and abroad. Czech Prime Minister and acting EU President, Mirek Topolanek, infamously (paraphrasing the rock band AC/DC) labeled it a “road to hell.”

Which leaves one curious as to how this effort at economic recovery should be labeled:

Local government officials in China have been ordered to smoke nearly a quarter of a million packs of cigarettes in a move to boost the local economy during the global financial crisis.

The edict, issued by officials in Hubei province in central China, threatens to fine officials who “fail to meet their targets” or are caught smoking rival brands manufactured in neighbouring provinces.

Even local schools have been issued with a smoking quota for teachers, while one village was ordered to purchase 400 cartons of cigarettes a year for its officials, according to the local government’s website.

The edict, issued by officials in Hubei province in central China, threatens to fine officials who “fail to meet their targets” or are caught smoking rival brands manufactured in neighbouring provinces.

Even local schools have been issued with a smoking quota for teachers, while one village was ordered to purchase 400 cartons of cigarettes a year for its officials, according to the local government’s website.

(Yeah, I’ve got nothing. Boston’s “Smokin’,” Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the water” and Motley Crue’s cover of “Smokin’ in the boys room” just haven’t lead me to anything as stinging and erudite as Topolanek’s pop cultural analogy. The man’s a bloody genius…)

We’re open to suggestions.

This was forwarded from a friend, and while a number of the sites have since become defunct, but nonetheless this is a fun list of legitimate companies that didn’t spend quite enough time considering how their online names might appear… and be misread.

1. “Who Represents” is where you can find the name of the agent that represents any celebrity. Their Web site is:
www.whorepresents.com

2 . Experts Exchange is a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views:
www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than:
www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at:
www.therapistfinder.com

5. There’s the Italian Power Generator company:
www.powergenitalia.com

6. And don’t forget the Mole Station Native Nursery in New South Wales:
www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you’re looking for IP computer software, there’s always:
www.ipanywhere.com

8. The First Cumming Methodist Church Web site:
www.cummingfirst.com

9. And the designers at Speed of Art await you at their wacky Web site:
www.speedofart.com

Stumbled upon this old ad while reading about Iran’s nuclear program on wikipedia. As far as amusement and irony goes, this deserves a special award.

Good to know oil was also running out in the 70s and that 30 year safety record is pretty comforting too.

After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a ‘gripe sheet, which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots (“P”) and the solutions by maintenance engineers (“S”).

By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never had a flight crash.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit
S: Something tightened in cockpit

Read the rest of this entry »

FP Passport spotlights the hiphop track The Economist by Psikotic, an ode to my favourite magazine suggestive of the nerdcore genre. The track features some choice cuts from The Economist podcast and samples Perpetuum Mobile the iconic composition by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, one of my favourite modern classical groups (see a performance of the original on YouTube). Have a listen to the track below:

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