Things that are both surprising and unsurprising

From Avert's comprehensive country-by-country (and US state-by-state) listing of the age of consent laws and anti-gay laws.

Vatican State: 12 years old

There are also no known laws or ages of consent for man on man sex or woman on woman sex.

The jokes kind of write themselves.

Not that there's anything wrong wth that

In what is likely a crushing blow to Sean, myself, and our large Chinese gay readership, we have some unfortunate news to report. The first annual Mr. Gay China pageant? The one we were all eagerly awaiting? It's shockingly been canceled. I know, I can't believe that a gay pageant wasn't allowed to be held in China either.

Now while the first impulse is to blame China's communist police state for it's bigotry and hostility towards anyone who is different or expresses a unique thought, that would be mistaken. It was just a wacky mix-up.

"They said the content, meaning homosexuality, there's nothing wrong with that, but you did not do things according to procedures," Zhang said.

He said police told him he needed official approval for events that included performances, in this case a stage show.

I didn't know they had translated the "Not that there's anything wrong with that" episode of Seinfeld into Mandarin. Good to know that it's not part of the Chinese government's long practice of shunning and intimidating gays, it's just a minor permit snafu. Like all the permit snafus that I bet public gay events run into. I'm sure they'll get this problem sorted out never and we'll be able to provide the sort of coverage of Mr. Gay China that we were going to provide as the world's #3 web destination for the Chinese gay community.

On the bright side, the irreverent comic stylings of classic American sitcoms are beginning to take hold across the Chinese mainland. They're up to Season 4 of Seinfeld now, soon we'll be able to crack Soup Nazi jokes together under total government surveillance. I can't wait until they start showing Curb Your Enthusiasm there.

God bless you, captains of industry

When last we left our precious pharmaceutical companies they were valiantly sacrificing $8 billion a year in profits in support of health care reform....in order to make $35 billion a year. *sniff* Always trying to help us out they are. But as if that noble "sacrifice" wasn't undermined enough my vast sums of money they stood to gain, we find out that their plan to help reduce drug costs had one catch: it was going to be preceded by a massive increase in drug costs.

Even as drug makers promise to support Washington’s health care overhaul by shaving $8 billion a year off the nation’s drug costs after the legislation takes effect, the industry has been raising its prices at the fastest rate in years.

In the last year, the industry has raised the wholesale prices of brand-name prescription drugs by about 9 percent, according to industry analysts. That will add more than $10 billion to the nation’s drug bill, which is on track to exceed $300 billion this year. By at least one analysis, it is the highest annual rate of inflation for drug prices since 1992.

The drug trend is distinctly at odds with the direction of the Consumer Price Index, which has fallen by 1.3 percent in the last year.

My God, it's like prices for medicine and medical care in America often bears no relation to actual market costs or conditions. I'm just so glad that this whole health care reform is working out for pharmaceutical companies. I was worried for a second there that they might have to get by with the meager billions in profits they get from those countries with *shudder* socialized medicine.

No, thankfully they still have a license to print money, thanks to the US and our inability to even attempt to address costs in a serious way and a political party that wanted one days worth of headlines saying pharmaceutical companies supported health reform and were going to cut costs, and didn't care that the pledge to cut costs was coached in the knowledge that the only type of reform our idiot government could pass would mean they'd get back 4 times what they pledged to cut. Oh and that cut would be further undermined by a price increase so large that their pledge to cut prices would still result in a net price increase. I think we should all be glad they didn't pledge to cut costs more, otherwise only the wealthiest sheiks in the world would be able to afford Lipitor.

So in case you were worried about the plight of the poor pharmaceutical mega-conglomerate; don't be. They figured out a way to fuck your wallet on the front and back ends. I'm sleeping easier knowing that. Isn't that what health reform is all about?

Time for me to blow your fucking minds

Pew (pew pew) has a new poll out on Obama's popularity numbers. All in all what we come to expect, in the low fifties, more popular with women and youth, blah blah blah. But get ready for some surprising shit. Guess who Obama is really unpopular with:

With independents over the age of 50 -- just 37%.
Among whites in the South -- 33%
Among white independents -- 39%
Among white evangelicals -- 28%
Among everyone over 65 -- 44%
Among those earning more than $75,000 -- 44%

Sweet Jesus, who would have ever guessed? He's not popular with rich, old, white, male evangelicals from the South! Next you're going to tell me that he's popular with blacks and Democrats.

I'm not saying your poll is useless, Pew. It is nice to have popularity numbers as a whole. I'm just saying don't bother to tabulate certain numbers. Just put "You're kidding, right? Take a fucking guess" where the white, southern evangelical numbers should be and let your polsters skip out of work a few minutes early feeling good that they didn't waste precious time coming to an obvious conclusion.

What are the odds?

Lou Dobbs to appear on The O’Reilly Factor next Monday

I guess this is the "constructive problem-solving" and the "working to change the crippling partisanship and ideology that define the public arena" that he talked about yesterday.

They are going to have such unwatchable sex.

Yes, uh..."stunning" is the word I'd use

So the look into Afghanistan's "election" is finished according to the ECC and it seems that the electoral fraud that was obvious to everyone turned out to be obvious to a panel of experts as well. Not that it's going to do anything to hamper our transfer of funds to his government, increase in troops to his country, and escalation of our war against terror. See, Karzai is a crook, but he's our crook. Plus, he's a much smaller crook than anyone thought.

An investigation of allegedly fraudulent ballots in Afghanistan's troubled election has reduced President Hamid Karzai's portion of the vote to about 47 percent, an outcome that will trigger a runoff between him and his closest competitor, according to officials familiar with results.

The tally by the U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission, which one official called "stunning," is due to be finalized Friday. Preliminary results by Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission had given Karzai 54.6 percent of the Aug. 20 vote.

7.6%? C'mon that's practically honest. The little scamp just wanted to avoid a run-off election, because he knows heeding the ways of democracy according to the manner in which their constitution demands is detrimental to his country. Now there's going to be another election, more money is going to be spent, a new round of threats levied against those who vote by the Taliban, and the onset of winter might drive voter apathy to American levels. That is, of course, if Karzai even recognizes the results of the study. You see he thinks that the study of the internationally back election for his internationally backed and funded government during the internationally backed, funded, and fought war for the liberation of his people is too tainted by the stench of international involvement. There is that.

But these findings have "major implications for the Obama administration's ongoing deliberations over Afghanistan war strategy" according to the Washington Post. You see, depending on how Karzai responds to the discovery of his obvious election rigging will determine how we go forward in Afghanistan. You see if he allows the runoff to go forward and admits the fraud, well then we'll give his government billions of dollars and escalate the war in his country. But if he refuses to do either, then we'll just be forced to give his government billions of dollars and escalate the war in his country...but with a head cocked skeptically and a cautious look on our faces. So you can see what hangs in the balance here.

Guh?

So, uh, President Obama just won the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the third sitting President and first in 90 years to win the award. In a surprise to everyone, Barry won the award without having that "peace" requirement that everyone else usually has on their Nobel resume. They're apparently grading on a curve.

The committee praised Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" during his nine months in office and singled out for special recognition Obama's call for a world free of nuclear weapons, which he first made in an April speech in Prague
...
In response to questions from reporters in Oslo, who noted that Obama so far has made little concrete progress in achieving his lofty agenda, committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said he hoped the prize would add momentum to Obama's efforts. At the same time, Jagland said, "We have not given the prize for what may happen in the future. We are awarding Obama for what he has done in the past year. And we are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do."

Jagland specifically cited Obama's speech about Islam in Cairo last spring, as well as efforts to address nuclear proliferation and climate change and use established international bodies such as the United Nations to pursue his goals. The committee -- made up of luminaries selected by the Norwegian government -- noted a profound shift in American policy and said Obama had "created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play."

I say again: Guh? That's strange, I've never seen a Nobel used to try to guilt someone into not escalating an armed conflict. Or someone say they hoped the award helped his future diplomatic endeavors, as if being President of the US isn't enough, he needs to be President of the US with a gold star on his lapel to be extra effective. Still though, Barry has tried very hard at outreach towards the Muslim world what with his speech there and all, made strides and agreements over nuclear non-proliferation, hosted a G20 event, has ratcheted back the inexplicable tensions the Bush Administration had with Russia by scrapping that missile defense, held that important "beer summit", seemed to make some progress with Iran, and has changed America's diplomatic posture from one of "intense pouting" to the arcane custom we refer to as "talking". Still....seems a bit light. Oh, I forgot he's not Bush. He is definitely not Bush. That's a plus. I guess it was just a down year for big diplomacy. It's sort of like when the Spurs won the NBA title during the 1998-99 lockout year.

Of course the same old critics came out to wail and moan at the award: the Taliban and the right wing of the GOP. Actually the fringe right's crazed disdain and sneering wasn't a surprise, but the Taliban kind of was. Who knew they had a lightning fast media office? So now we get to hear a few days worth of shrieking over diplomacy being gay and appeasement instead of interminable shrieking over death panels. At least it's a change from health care crazy to foreign policy crazy with a healthy dose of Euro-bashing.

So congrats, Barry. Excuse me; Nobel Prize winning Barry. Paul Krugman will show you the secret handshake. And hey, just think: if your Nobel acceptance speech is good enough and you take one of the diplomatic tracks you've started to the finish line, they'll give you a second one! Go back to back! Three-peat! Then you can rub that shit in the noses of assholes like Linus Pauling and the Office of the UN High Commission for Refugees.

Crisis averted....for now

Health Insurance Stocks Rise After Defeat Of Public Option Amendments

Shares of companies that operate private health plans turned higher or trimmed losses in afternoon trading Tuesday after a Senate committee rejected an amendment that would have created a government-run insurance option. Humana Inc. (HUM) shares, which had been down earlier, were recently up 1% at $38.41. UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) shares gained 3 cents to $25.83.

Private health insurers have bitterly fought the creation of a public insurance option, fearing that such an option would cut into their profits. Yesterday, Life And Health Insurance News reported that the insurance industry has responded positively to the defeat of the public option amendments. “We are pleased by the rejection of both the Rockefeller and Schumer amendments,” said Tom Currey, president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. Janet Trautwein, president of the National Association of Health Underwriters, also told the press that her organization is pleased by the failure of the Schumer and Rockefeller amendments.

Whew, that's a relief to hear. We have averted the looming crisis of middling stock growth for insurance companies. I'm glad. I wouldn't want our precious health insurance industry to be unable to grub every dime it has coming to it. I'm just sad the stocks grew so little. 1%? 3 cents? For shame, Wall Street. I can only hope that the stocks went up in the previous days knowing that the amendments were almost 100% likely to be defeated. Still, we're not out of the woods yet. Chuck Schumer still seems optimistic and there's still a danger that a public option could come out of the House/Senate conference committee.

Stay vigilant, otherwise our health care system might have to suffer the indignity of lower quarterly dividend payments, creating insurance options that don't vacuum money out of people's pockets in return for nothing, and *shudder* covering sick people. Hopefully we can still avoid that nightmare dystopian future.

Pleasant surprise of the day

Not to burst anyone's bubble but there actually is measured, rational discourse taking place in the current health care debate. Thanks, Al.



[via BoingBoing]