Monthly Archives: May 2010

Whoa Nellie, it’s the Friday Cab Roundup, just in time for the weekend. If you’re lucky you’ll ride in one of these fine transportation vehicles, or these. And if you do, make sure you inquire as to the inspiration for the cab’s name. Then report your findings to the DuelingBarstools fan page. God’s speed, and good luck.

Gudaya Cab appears to be named after a remote town in West Shewa, Oromiya, Ethiopia, which is due west of Addis Ababa. To be precise, Gudaya’s geographical coordinates are 9° 7′ 0″ North, 37° 10′ 0″ East. Its original name (with diacritics) is Gudaya. As with Camey Cab (apparently named after a remote area in Somalia), Gudaya Cab appears to be the result of an Ethiopian cab driver wanting to give a shout out to his homies back home, in Gudaya. Alternatively, the cab driver could be Indian, possibly majoring in Hindu Studies at Oxford like this dude named Gudaya (thanks, Facebook!). Just so you know, it’s raining in Gudaya right now with a chance of thunderstorms.

There’s a lot of cabs with two letter names, for instance H-Z Cab. I like that this driver included an ampersand; it’s a nice touch. Obviously the question is what V&G represents. Victor & Golf? Unlikely. Volce & Gabana? That’d be funny. Maybe the cab driver uses V & G Personal Products.

Orion Cab, now that’s a good cab name. This dude named his cab after “one of the largest, most conspicuous, and most recognizable constellations in the night sky,” “recognized as a coherent constellation by many ancient civilizations, though with different representations and mythologies.” Moreover, Orion fashioned for himself a reputation as quite the badass. Most pertinently, in Greek-Roman mythology (which supplies his name) Orion was a “gigantic hunter of primordial times,” featured in such classics as the Odessey, Iliad, and Aeniad. As if all of that doesn’t make it the coolest cab name ever, Orion’s right shoulder is the infamous Betelgeuse, which is awesome. (Info and quotes from Wiki: http://tinyurl.com/265op73).

Here we have White Cab, which as you can see is . . . white. Do not confuse White Cab with Black White Cab, that’s a wholly different transportation vehicle (and one that failed its attempt to symbolize post-racial bliss, since a post racial cab would just be “Cab”). As a practical matter, given how dusty San Diego is, White Cab is a heck of a name to live up to. Impossible really. Me thinks that Snow White Cab would have been funnier (albeit potentially a trademark infringement). SWhitePL Cab would’ve been pretty classic too. How about “White Away Cab” – all sorts of implications there; same with “White Now Cab.” White is so boring, why not “Ivory Cab” or “Off-White Cab,” which could explain why the cab is always dusty. So much wasted potential, White cab.

There can be no doubt whatsoever that Winner Cab’s driver has a positive attitude. Hopefully, though, he isn’t as intense about his positivity as UFC fighter Diego Sanchez, of Tony Robbins “Yes” infamy. Seriously though, if you saw ten cabs lined up and one was Winner cab, which would you pick? The implication is that you’re a loser if you don’t pick Winner Cab, or at least make a good faith attempt. Then again I’m not particularly competitive anymore, so I’d rather ride in USA Freedom Cab, Sea Cab, or any of the cabs on this Bounty-Hunt list. But Winner cab is pretty awesome, after all you can’t but help feeling better about yourself after riding in it. Side note: if Winner Cab was in Hawai’i it’d be pronounced “Weenah” Cab (seriously).

The ol’ Addis Cab.  Addis Cab, I’d wager, is short for Addis Ababa, an incredibly diverse, and ancient, city in Ethiopia. From Wiki:

Addis Ababa . . . is the capital city of Ethiopia. It is the largest city in Ethiopia, with a population of 3,384,56 according to the 2008 population census. As a chartered city (ras gez astedader), Addis Ababa has the status of both a city and a state. It is where the African Union and its predecessor the OAU are based. Addis Ababa is therefore often referred to as “the political capital of Africa”, due to its historical, diplomatic and political significance for the continent. The city is populated by people from different regions of Ethiopia – the country has as many as 80 nationalities speaking 80 languages and belonging to a wide variety of religious communities.

Unfortunately, it’s also the sixth dirtiest city in the world. But never mind that.  What Addis Cab appears to be highlighting about Addis Ababa is it’s tremendous diversity. Look at the picture, the cab driver looks like he is  . . . not what ignoramus such as myself would tend to regard as prototypical Ethiopian. And that’s his point! There’s 80 nationalities in Addis Ababa. He doesn’t want smarmy cab speculators (count me in that category) to think everyone from Addis Ababa looks like Manute Bol (who was Sudanese, btw). Addis Cab demands I do some research, and I did. And guess what I found. Ethiopians share 62% of genome with Caucasians (Ashkenazi Jews, Norwegians and Armenians), 24% with other Sub-Saharan Africans (Bantus), 8% with Austro-Melanesians (Papua New Guineans), and 6% with Far East Asians (Chinese). That’s pretty damn diverse (and well reflected in the diversity of Ethiopian women).

Live long and prosper.

Tremendous read here:

At the end of March, Harold Koh, top lawyer at the State Department, used his keynote address at the annual confab of the American Society for International Law to make an announcement: the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to kill suspected terrorists is legal. The drone strikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan are lawful because, Koh delineated, they are done only in national self-defense, their proportionality is always precisely calibrated, and they carefully discriminate civilians from combatants.

There’s both more and less to it than that, but the legal argument itself is of minor importance. What matters is that Koh said it. Harold Hongju Koh: renowned human rights advocate; leading theorist of international law (which, the ASIL conventioneers would happily have told you, is much more civilized than mere national law); until last year dean of Yale Law School and therefore unofficial pope of the American legal system, and former director of the school’s Orville H. Schell Jr. Center for International Human Rights; Obama appointee accused by Glenn Beck and likeminded screamers of wanting to smuggle Sharia law into U.S. courts. All of which is to say, if a liberal lion like Harold Koh says drone strikes are lawful, what more do you need to know?

Koh’s lecture—warmly applauded by the conventioneers—demonstrates once again the amazing elasticity of international law when it comes to the prerogatives of great powers. Koh’s lecture also demonstrates the accommodating suppleness of several international lawyers who, once strong critics of George W. Bush’s anti-terror policies, now see things differently from inside the Obama administration.

* * *

There are in fact alternatives to the drone strikes, the main one being to end them. Not two years ago, John McCain was blasting Obama’s pledge to launch attacks into Pakistan as foolhardy nonsense. (Where Republican hawks once feared to tread, humanitarian angels now rush in.) Though most hawks have quickly grown to love the drone strikes, it is still not at all difficult to find prominent military intellectuals who favor the alternative of halting the policy full stop. David Kilcullen and Andrew Exum, respectively a former adviser to General Petraeus and a former Army captain who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, are both leading theorists of counterinsurgency warfare at the Center for a New American Security. They have testified before Congress that drone strikes are perceived to be wildly inaccurate—killing, they say, 700 people in attacks on 14 targets—and are undermining the “hearts and minds” offensive that is central to the campaign. They recommend scrapping drone attacks. And then there is the American Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, who happens to be a retired Army general. In leaked cables to the president, Eikenberry severely questioned the wisdom of the counterinsurgency campaign and the escalation in a long telegram commonly compared to the Pentagon Papers leaked by Daniel Ellsberg. Is anyone listening to these well-informed skeptics?

Don’t wait for the international legal profession to prick up its collective ears. Leaked videos of bantering gunship crews fatally strafing civilians may trouble the mind, but drone strikes have been absolved by the great humanitarian authority Harold Koh. His keynote address got a few not-buying-it questions from a couple of academics—long may you live, Benjamin Davis and Mary Ellen O’Connell—but this dissonance was washed away by the warm roar of applause at session’s end. A Russian corporate lawyer chum of mine was taken aback by this mellow response to a legal justification for Bush-Cheney policies. “And they say we Russians are brainwashed by our media! No, I did not clap.”

As they say, read the whole thing.

Via Gov. Johnson’s twitter feed.
Part I:

Part II:

Part III:

Dear Readers, It’s been a long time since the lab cab speculation-info dump. Too long. Without further ado, let’s speculate.

Here’s a two-for-one Cab photo special, and both cab names have a decent alcohol connotation. First, Absolute Cab, which presumably is the third cab in the telephone book (right after Aardvark Cab (great name, too) and ABC Cab). Absolute is a very strong word, evoking the idea that you’re absolutely going to get where you want to. And Absolute Cab might make you chuckle if you’re inebriated (“heh, I was just drinking Absolut, bro”). But Captain Cab is better. In addition to referencing the Captain Morgan Rum spokesperson, Captains are leaders – they’re at the helm – and stand firm against torrential seas. Perhaps the same individual who who owns Sea Cab owns Captain Cab. If so, he’s a sailor. And a good one. Mark my words.

Frequent Vegas visitor M-wife snapped a picture of Desert Cab in, fittingly, Las Vegas. Me? I love Las Vegas, partly because it is fun as fun can be, but mostly because there’s liberty and opportunity, as well as all of their consequences, good and bad, everywhere you look. To illustrate, Vegas’ mayor is sponsored . . . by Bombay Sapphire gin. By contrast, New York is considering prohibiting restaurants from seasoning food with salt, strongly indicating that American society is not worth its salt. With that said, Desert Cab is a fairly snazzy name (and it’s certainly appropriate). In hopes that Vegas has fleets of uniquely named Cabs, I’m commissioning a team of photographers to visit Vegas later this month to canvas the strip and airport (always a veritable gold mine for Cabs) to search for presumptive gems such as Venetian Cab (no ways that’s copyright infringement), Pyramid Cab (has a cousin in San Diego, the Nile cab (note: spotted Blue Nile Cab recently), or Sands Cab (referencing Vegas’ soil structure as well as a Vegas icon). Come on Vegas, don’t let us down. We’re feeling lucky. How about Craps Cab? That’d be a sweet one.

It should come as no surprise that Surf Ride Cab is (apparently) on its way to Mission Bay. According to the San Diego County Government website, Mission Bay is “a perfect spot for everyone from wind surfers to water skiers,” since Mission Bay “offers boat docks and launching facilities, sailboat and motor rentals, bike/walk paths, basketball courts, and playgrounds for children” and is “one of San Diego’s most fun-filled spots to visit.” Me thinks, however, that “Surf or Ride Cab” would be a better name than “Surf Ride Cab” because it’d be a funny take on the the Surf MC’s 1987 classic Surf or Die, which you can listen to at http://tinyurl.com/2ezykts (@2:20 to see a surfer take a hacksaw to a vintage, yellow skateboard).

I possess a particularly deep appreciation for the cab driver who christened his cab USA Freedom Cab. I think I like USA Freedom Cab better than “Libertarian Cab,” which is a cab name “so awesome I think I may have just crapped.” (Ed note: If you spot Libertarian Cab and get a picture, I will buy you a beer and a shot at Stout.) If I had fuck you money I’d buy a fleet of cabs and give them names such as “Cato the Younger Cab,” “Nat Turner Cab,” and “Cicero Cab,” and give discounts to customers who could identify the individual my cab is named for and cogently discuss that individual’s enduring socio-political impact. Maybe I could setup a video camera, record our conversations, and send in the really dumb ones to Jay Leno for his Jaywalking (watch that clip, btw). Hey, Leno could use a ratings boost. What’s certain about USA Freedom Cab is that no two-bit teenage punks would dare ditch the cab fare and beat up its driver. If you tried that, USA Freedom Cab’s steely-eyed driver would threaten to castrate you with his metal bill of rights (that he picked up at the Penn & Teller show in Vegas (hey, that’s where I got mine)), take your wallet, extract the proper cab fare plus tip, and tell you to get the hell out of Dodge, or else. Of course you’d feel compelled to say “You’re a hard man,” and he’d reply “it’s a hard country.” Then he’d drive off into the sunset, and you’d be wondering, among other things, how the hell he didn’t even drop his cigarette.

My apologies for the lack of original content at DuelingBarstools over the last couple of weeks. I am studying for the California bar exam, a difficult and arguably unnecessary examination that has tremendous bearing on my future prospects. I regret that I likely will not be posting much besides weekly cab roundups and links to fascinating articles (see below). I reserve the right, however, to return from Stout mildly inebriated and wound up about something socio-political / economic, and pen a rant of some sort. In that event, I’ll probably be expressing my angst as to the criminally low level of national discourse surrounding immigration reform. A prelude: In my view, proper immigration reform requires fundamental changes to our tax code, social-welfare policies, and minimum wage; tearing down the regulatory barriers restricting free enterprise; ending the war on drugs; streamlining the process to obtain legal residence in America; and revisiting some of America’s 19th century federal land policies that provided real opportunities for citizens and immigrants alike to create wealth and engage in free enterprise. By contrast, the immigration “debate” – and I am loathe to use that word – seems to revolve around two equally stupid, shortsighted measures: (a) send hardworking, illegal immigrants home (and don’t let them come back) or (b) add 12 million plus plus new legal immigrants overnight without revising state and federal labor / employment policies, social-welfare, taxation, and business policies. In time I intend to discuss in detail what I consider to be a comprehensive immigration “reform,” and look forward to your comments, suggestions, and criticisms in the comments. Until then, I will be engrossed by mountains of Barbri study materials, and attempt to relearn three years of law school in the next two months. In the meantime, enjoy this read (courtesy of Pila), which reminded me, among other things, that the US of A is a long, long way from a free market system, and in the macro sense may never have truly had one. On a different note, I found this piece on neanderthals interesting too, and particularly enjoyed this piece on domestic militia paranoia reminding us that “[w]e can reenact the Brown and Red Scares of the past, or we can pull back from a mentality that has never been good for either liberty or security; we can plunge further into madness like the Oklahoma bill, or we can adopt the measured skepticism displayed this week by Judge Roberts.”

Here’s a link and video from Gov. Johnson’s twitter feed. First, a Salon article about Gov. Johnson titled “The Most Interesting Republican You’ve Never Heard Of,” which is as curious as it is an understated title for an article essentially showing that Gov. Johnson shatters the left’s narrative of eeevil Republican politicians. It’s worth the read anyhow though, and I liked this bit too:

Johnson is betting that the country is in the mood for some more tough love, albeit wrapped in flamboyantly libertarian garb. It’ s a risky wager at best. But one thing is guaranteed: If Gary Johnson runs for president, he’ s sure to freshen up the national conversation. And those debates with Mitt Romney should be fun to watch.

A Gov. Johnson v. Gov. Romney debate would be epic. Common sense, plain-expression versus expert legal wordsmithing. Legal wordsmithing might carry the day in court, and in Andrew Sullivan’s portion of the blogosphere, but common sense, but in the voting booth Gov. Johnson’s message will carry the day. As the article correctly points out, however, the challenge will be getting enough voters to hear Gov. Johnson’s message.

Now, a video:

You’re probably aware that when South Park’s SuperBestFriends episode aired in 2001 there was no Muslim backlash to speak of. Of course that’s wholly unsurprising, since:

[t]he Qur’an contains absolutely nothing about depicting Mohammed. It is only the Hadith, most of which came several hundred years after Mohammed’s death, that discuss this—one of them bans all depictions of living creatures outright, and another merely says that such illustrations are not to be encouraged, but does not decree that those found guilty are to be punished. The major reason it is widely considered wrong to depict Mohammed, especially among the Sunni majority of Muslims, is that it might encourage idolatry. This might be fair enough within the Islamic world, but is clearly absurd to apply outside of it. After all, non-believers cannot make themselves any more guilty of non-belief or idolatry by drawing pictures. But if the justification behind fatwas against depicters of Mohammed is based in the Hadith, then clerics would have to issue fatwas against all those who draw pictures of living creatures—a crime which virtually every person on earth is guilty of.

That being said, the obvious inference is that the violent “protests,” threats, and vitriol surrounding the Mohammed Cartoons a couple years ago, as well as the more recent South Park episode, stems less from religion and more from anger at being insulted. The final nail in the no-can-draw-Mohammed coffin is the plain fact that Islamic artists have long depicted Mohammed in a variety of ways. Enjoy (below) the contrast between Islamic art circa 12th century and some choice pieces from the 21st century.