Ignorance . . .

. . . may or may not be evolutionarily adaptive, but it apparently seeks to propagate itself. Some California schools have banned dictionaries because they define "oral sex" (the definition reads, "oral stimulation of the genitals"). More at the UK Guardian.

More MJ

The young MJ on the Dating Game:



Documentary with a number of interviews with MJ at age 44; here's the first segment:



Some segments seem to be being taken down, so go see them now if you're interested.

Two Japanese Carrying $134 Billion in US Bonds Detained

"Thursday 11th June, 06:18 AM JST
ROME —

"Two Japanese nationals were detained by Italian financial police last week after trying to enter Switzerland with $134 billion worth of undeclared U.S. bonds, mostly Treasury bonds, an Italian daily said Wednesday. . . ."

More at Japan Today; and some helpful analysis at Blue Sky Sunshine. The two men were also carrying a considerable amount of "original bank documents." It should be mentioned, it's uncertain at this point whether they're really Japanese.

Speculation's rampant (about this incident, that is; you knew it's rampant elsewhere). The main theories seem to be: (1) China and Japan hold large amounts of US bonds, and one of them is nervous about the dollar and want to unload the bonds without panicking other holders or depressing the price – an interpretation that bodes ill for the US economy – but per Bloomberg, "[i]f the notes are genuine, the pair would be the U.S. government’s fourth-biggest creditor, ahead of the U.K. with $128 billion of U.S. debt and just behind Russia, which is owed $138 billion"; (2) they're fake, possibly counterfeited by North Korea, and the Italians happened to stumble across a really ambitious counterfeiting operation (but not the most ambitious; apparently a similar, much larger attempt's been busted before) – and the counterfeiters could have been trying to capitalize on the current plausibility of alternative (1), an interpretation that also does not bode well for the US economy; and (3) it relates to ill-gotten gains or tax evasion (considered least likely; the amount's too big).

Another theory notes ties between the Bush family and the Yakuza, Japanese crime syndicates with a significant Korean constituency. For now, I think I vote for alternative (2) above.

As jberryhill said, "Dang . . . NOW I know what happened to my luggage."

As proteus_lives said, "They f---ed up a deal worth $134 billion!?! Sepukku time."

UPDATE: See Denninger, inferring that the circumstances suggest the bonds are real and represent off-book issuances by the U.S. to the Japanese or Chinese. This keeps getting odder.

FURTHER UPDATE: Per Bloomberg, according to Colonel Rodolfo Mecarelli of the Guardia di Finanza in Como, Italy, the securities were purportedly issued in 1934. "The seized notes include 249 securities with a face value of $500 million each and 10 additional bonds with a value of more than $1 billion, the police force said on its Web site. Such high denominations would not have existed in 1934, the purported issue date of the notes, Mecarelli said. Moreover, the 'Kennedy' classification of the bonds doesn’t appear to exist, he said. . . . Mecarelli said he expects a determination from the SEC “'within a few days.'”

The bonds were seized on June 3; I'm writing this on June 18; so we're over 2 weeks in and the Feds haven't yet confirmed whether these bonds in the highest denominations ever issued – some allegedly never issued – are the real thing?

FURTHER FURTHER UPDATE: Per the WSJ, the Feds say the bonds are fake.

FURTHER FURTHER FURTHER UPDATE: I understand that per a Japanese publication, Mainichi Shimbun (translated at cryptogon), the two Japanese men involved have been released by Italian authorities without being charged with any crime –– curiouser and curiouser.

Need an Audience, or Something?

You can get a whole crowd of cut-outs at Mr. Flat People, which points out that flat people

• Don't need to be fed
• Don't make noise
• Don't need breaks
• Don't ask for overtime
• Always do what you say

(Thanks, Ben!) The site lists a bunch of movies in which the cut-outs have been used, including U2.

Reminded me of the Flat Daddy program. You can order your own Flat Daddy for $49.50, but he's only the top half of a man.

Re- UFO's

I'm agnostic about pretty much everything. I operate on the basis of temporary conclusions; "truth" is whatever seems to have worked best so far in terms of predictive power – like, if you live based on certain assumptions, what's your subsequent quantity and quality of life? I have to say, a lot of us live by stuff that does not pass this test.

I don't know how seriously to take the recording at the link below, but it seems to me unlikely that we are the only life in the universe, or the most advanced. I find the possibility of UFO's more plausible than any number of articles of religious faith.

I don't mean to promote or disparage either – I'm dam' glad I've never been in a situation that required me to decide whether I actually believe in either an omnipotent deity or aliens.

I do happen to believe that whether one believes in a deity has little to do with how well one behaves. I think any sane person who's had the nurturing and education to think clearly about life (too few of us) will behave pretty much the same way (constructively), whether they believe in any o' that or not.

All that said, check out the Dr. Edgar Mitchell interview here.