IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW MANY OF YOU AS READ THIS BLOG REGULARLY WOULD FIND THE ABOVE IN POOR TASTE considering the late Midwestern flooding as drained Lake Delton in the Wisconsin Dells district dry thanks to a storm-created freshet into the Wisconsin River ... and threatens to be the end of another Wisconsin community, Gays Mills, itself just trying to rebuild after last August's flooding.

Which, I suppose, could be considered Divine Judgement upon Wisconsin for the "mere legal formality" of Constitutionally recognising marriage as the sole and exclusive monopoly of between male and female, lest any pseudoreligious Zealots and True Believers with hyperactive imaginations get any ideas.

Ideas, methinks, influenced by Al Cohol more than likely as opposed to Divine Revelation.

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MEANWHILE, IN CHINA'S SICHWUAN PROVINCE, TWO LAKES AS WERE CREATED BY EARTHQUAKE DEBRIS FORMING IMPROMPTU DAMS are being monitored all the more for signs of imminent collapse as could result in serious destruction downstream on top of the earlier earthquake such.

In one instance, People's Liberation Army troops are blasting holes in the dam to relieve pressure on the ur-superstructure so as to minimise the runoff hazard downstream against the likelihood of outright collapse.

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TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF WHY DECEPTIVE IRONY REIGNS SUPREME ON THE NEOCONSERVATIVE RIGHT: Just how many of you "morally superior" Americans would consider yourselves as "Americans for Prosperity"?

(Especially so when you consider their articles of faith holding that taxes and "undue and unnecessary reguatory burden" are only standing in the way of sustained jobs creation and, in its turn, "social stability;" ergo, the "complete and final" abolition of such "evils" would translate into a return to The Infinite Prosperity of the Universe benefitting all.

(But then again, what would "Americans for Prosperity," in communion with their droogs in K Street, have in mind for replacing taxes as the means to finance the workings of government? Have they valid case studies from the "developed" world in this respect, or what prevents their disclosure?)

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STICKING WITH IRONY FOR A MOMENT, CANADIAN SMOKERS, FACED WITH PERHAPS THE MOST EXPLICIT HEALTH WARNINGS FOUND ANYWHERE on cigarette packs, a blanket ban on advertising and sponsorships, high tobacco taxes and new regulations forcing retailers to move cigarettes behind locked and opaque shelves "to discourage young people from smoking," are finding in these circumstances some irony in the fact that adult magzines are openly avaiable in convenience stores (just so long as they're in sealed plastic bags and on shelves so high children won't be tempted to look @ same) and provincial governments (especially so Ontario and Québec) have exclusive monopolies on liquor sales and distribution "to discourage excessive consumption."

(Worth noting here is that in Ontario, sales of beer and ale are the exclusive monopoly of Brewers' Retail Stores, which are drab-looking by deliberate design to begin with; wines and spirits are sold only through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario's outlets and, in remote areas, agencies. Meanwhile, in La Belle Province, the Regie des alcools de Québec has the monopoly on spirits and quality wines, whereas beer and table wines can be purchased @ licenced supermarkets and convenience stores.)

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HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE NEOCONSERVATIVE ZEALOTS AND TRUE BELIEVERS WON'T EXACTLY HAVE BLACKMAIL OR INTIMIDATION IN MIND in expecting businesses to Do Their Part in creating "real" jobs (as in unskilled, labour-intensive positions) paying"real" money (more than likely paid in form of Wally World gift cards labelled FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY in the name of encouraging wasteful and unnecessary spending "in the national interest," and without due regard being shown for consumers getting their money's worth, or so expected?

(Especially when the blackmail involves threats of "tax evasion," "breach of trust and confidence," "mismanagement" or other charges being made to scare them into manufactured Corporate Responsibility and Good Corporate Citizenship.)    

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DURING THE SUMMER OF 1957, CBS RADIO PRESENTED THE STAN FREBERG SHOW AS A SUMMER REPLACEMENT FOR THE BEST OF BENNY--perhaps the last great example of comedy on Old-Time Radio, tending mostly to satiric sketches and routines crossing into parody.

On occasion, Stan Freberg would use as running gag the idea of referring to foreigners appearing on the show as "Swiss--that way, we don't offend anybody." (Playing, no doubt, on the neutrality of the Swiss Confederation on the international stage, even if they've resisted membership in the United Nations until some 15 years ago ... and still resists joining the European Union.)

Never mind that Switzerland recognises four official languages (French, German, Italian and Romansch, to be exact), or their storied financial secrecy having been humbled by international campaigns against money laundering forcing some semblance of transparency along the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, or even the likelihood of tweaking their monetary policies so as to reduce dependency on the gold standard, or--well, you get the idea.

Still, though, you have to wonder if the idea of referring to foreigners, irrespective of nationality, as "Swiss" so as not to offend anybody does sound a bit interesting. As for how the Lou Dobbs/Glenn Beck/Michael Savage element would react--that's anybody's guess. 

Meanwhile, in case you want to gen up on the latest from across Switzerland, there's always SwissInfo.org, the online portal of Swiss TV/Swiss Radio International for Swiss news, sport, business and culture.

(Did I mention their also having streaming audio?)

Oh, and another interesting thing Swiss: From the mid-1930's until the mid-1990's, they had a rather interesting hybrid of radio and Muzak known as the Telefon Rundspruch, which offered six channels of news, music and light popular programming transmitted over telephonic lines; a necessity considering the mountainous terrain of Switzerland not usually conducive to traditional radio reception. 

SOME OF YOU COMPANIES OUT THERE IN THE GREATER INFORMATION STUPORBAHN LOOKING FOR SOMETHING COST-EFFICENT IN THEIR ONLINE ADVERTISING BUY might want to consider Chitika as the best route to reach the Greater Blogosphere, and then some.

Need further details before you want to proceed?

Or want to go ahead and start reaching weblogs and websites with some 60 million unique visitors between them every month?

So what stands in the way otherwise?

INTERESTING SHORT VIDEO FROM BRAVE NEW FILMS as deserves your attention--not to mention sharing--vis-a-vis The Terrible-Tempered Mr. Bang of Indecision 2008, short and to the point:

Does the video speak for itself, or no?

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I WOULDN'T QUITE KNOW IF THIS IS IN POOR TASTE IN THE WAKE OF THE OUTRIGHT COLLAPSE OF LAKE DELTON IN THE WISCONSIN DELLS REGION this morning by way of a freshet caused by the recent heavy rains in the region on some nearby lowlands, draining same into the Wisconsin River ... and same further @ risk in case of the Mirror Lake Dam downstream collapsing (already, it's said to be weakened by the late rains, with water overunning the top).

You can see actual TV footage of a lakeside home collapsing into the floodwaters and a slideshow of the devastation, thanks to Channel3000.com (the website of Madison's WISC-TV), in case you don't believe me.

The Visitor and Convention Bureau hath it that the Lower Dells Boat Tours, Original Wisconsin Ducks, Dells Army Ducks and the Tommy Bartlett Show are closed until further notice; all other distractions (including the major waterparks) are still open. (In fact, they've been receiving phone and Internet enquiries nonstop since the news of Lake Delton's collapse broke on the wires.)

Donations for the relief effort can be made through the American Red Cross or The Salvation Army; cash donations are preferred rather than "in-kind" such (e.g., used clothes and non-perishable groceries), which will only take up valuable warehouse space.