40% OFF Ka-Bar Knives.

NIGERIA: Suicide bomb targets church in Jos.

CHANGE: Spanish revolt brews as national economic rearmament begins in Europe.

THE HORROR: Pakistanis Desecrate Holy Korans in Smelly Sewage Ditch (Video).

Like black people saying “Nigger,” it’s okay when they do it.

UPDATE: For a related example of identity-based immunity claims, see this: Lawyer: Lesbians’ assault on gay man can’t be hate crime.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Hate is hate, except when it’s “friendly”! Actually, it’s about establishing a position of control over the discourse.

AN EMAIL JUST RECEIVED:

Dear loyal Stratfor partners and clients,

It is with great personal disappointment I have to inform you that I will resign from my position as CEO for Stratfor to immediate effect.

Please rest assured that this decision was not an easy. But in the light of the recent events, especially the release of our company emails by WikiLeaks, I have decided that stepping down is in the best interest of Stratfor and its customer base.

I want to emphasize that this will have no effect on Stratfor’s business or its members and we will continue to provide state-of-the-art intelligence services.

Regarding the latest breach, Stratfor is fully in control of the situation However, while I cannot take any personal responsibility for this incident, I still have to admit that mistakes have been made on our side. To be clear: We certainly do not condone any criminal activities by groups like Anonymous or other hackers. This is theft and we will continue to cooperate with law enforcement to bring those responsible to justice. But we must acknowledge that this incident would not have been possible if Stratfor had implemented stronger data protection mechanisms – which will be the case from now on. Indeed we will immediately move to implement the latest, and most comprehensive, data security measures.

While I played no role in our technical operations, as the company’s CEO I do accept full responsibility thus will resign from my position effective immediately.

Again, my sincerest apologies for this whole unfortunate incident.

Sincerely,
George Friedman

Wow.

UPDATE: It’s a fake, reportedly, and so are many of the emails being published by Wikileaks.

Plus, a Stratfor subscriber emails: “My details were stolen in the December Anonymous attack. In February of this year, Anonymous began to use my card details to make purchases. Fortunately the fraud was discovered shortly after initiation and the card rapidly cancelled and replaced.”

G20 TO EUROPE: You Need More Money. “The world’s leading economic powers said they would not stump up more cash to fight Europe’s debt crisis until the eurozone members increase their own contributions, in a move that piles pressure on this week’s Brussels summit.”

TEN YEARS AGO ON INSTAPUNDIT: Yes, as is so often the case, multicultural “sensitivity” turns out to be a new wrapper for the old “what can you expect from the wogs?” racism.

ANIMATION: America’s Metamorphosis Into A Welfare State.

THE HILL: Democratic governors discuss bypassing Congress with Obama.

#TSAFAIL: TSA airport checkpoint left unattended in Sacramento, causing shutdown.

STACY MCCAIN: My Saturday Night In Hell.

GROVELING WEAKNESS: “It is easy to lose count of the number of administration officials who have issued groveling, pitiful ‘apologies’ over the burned Qu’rans at Bagram Air Base. But take note that our apologies aren’t sufficient. The protests are still active, they are spreading to Pakistan, and Iran wants more – a lot more. It’s ironic how we see things through Western, secular eyes concerning issues pertaining to religious pre-commitments. Our apologies are so serious, so heartfelt, so sincere, so sober – and so completely irrelevant to the Muslim world.”

I liked it better when they were afraid of us instead of the reverse. Now they smell weakness. How did that change, exactly?

VIOLENT ELIMINATIONIST RHETORIC OVER AT DAILYKOS: Murdering, Lying, Thieving, Rat-F*** Republican Pieces of Sub-Amphibian Sh**…

CHANGE: Hardware Startups Look To China.

CIRCLING THE DRAIN: Newspaper Ad Revenues Fall to 50-Yr. Low in 2011. “The decline in newspaper ad revenues to a 50-year low is amazing by itself, but the sharp decline in recent years is pretty stunning. Last year’s ad revenues of about $21 billion were less than half of the $46 billion spent just four years ago in 2007, and less than one-third of the $64 billion spent in 2000.”

Some of it’s technological, but some of it’s the loss of credibility that happens when you become outright partisan flacks.

SHOCKER: ‘Act of Valor’ #1 At The Box Office.

EIGHT SCIENCE FICTION BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS from a futurist.

I second the recommendation for Rainbows End. And here’s a post from a while back with recommendations. I should really do an updated version.

TEN HOME FIXES that can save you money.

AT AMAZON, a closeout sale on 2011 Blu-Ray players.

Might pair well with The Lord of the Rings trilogy on Blu-Ray, which is on sale today.

DEMOCRAT EVAN BAYH, clinging to guns and religion.

CAN’T TAKE THE HEAT? BURN DOWN THE KITCHEN! Scorned Attorney Threatens to Take Down Lawyer-Review Site.

A Florida lawyer unhappy with poor reviews posted in an online attorney review site is threatening legal action to shutter the LawyerRatingz.com site.

In response to the threatened legal action, the Electronic Frontier Foundation asked a federal judge Thursday to declare the website immune from any threatened legal action on the matter. The EFF contends that, even if third-party comments about attorneys are defamatory, federal law immunizes the Sunnyvale-based website from being sued for the speech of its users. . . . The EFF, in a complaint filed in San Francisco federal court, said LawyerRatingz.com is protected by the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which says “interactive computer services” cannot be “treated as the publisher or speaker of any information” provided by a third party.

That seems right to me. I don’t think this takedown effort reflects any better on this lawyer — whose name, for the record, is Adrian Philip Thomas — than the ratings did.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Don’t Cheat On The Bar Exam.

FACELIFTS without surgery?

THIS WEEK IN NUCLEAR HISTORY: How did they get 860 tons of graphite for the world’s first continuously operated nuclear reactor? February 1943 memo sheds light.

AT AMAZON, warehouse deals in grocery and personal care.