I’m the one who hired him. I put him there to give me a frank assessment.
President Barack Obama, discussing Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s request for more troops • According to people who were at a meeting about what to do about Afghanistan. Obama does not plan to cut troops in the country, which begins its eighth year of war tomorrow. • source
If you live in Beijing, you’re under lockdown. The celebrations of China’s communist rule are apparently so awesome that they can’t have average citizens take part. “Police suggest that Beijing residents try not to go out on 1 October to avoid complications,” reported the official English-language China Daily newspaper. “The public is recommended to watch the celebrations live on TV.” Happy anniversary! source
You’re the best series of tubes ever! September 2, 2009 marks a major milestone in technology, communication, spam, pornography, copyright flaunting and insurance that shut-ins will have something to do. On this day, the internet turned on. To commemorate, we totally ganked a random 40th birthday cake from Flickr. It’s only the Web’s nature, guys.source
The murders were probably the most bizarre and far-out in the recorded annals of American time. People are fascinated by the strange and the bizarre.
Vincent Bugliosi • The prosecutor of Charles Manson and members of his “family,” on why the murders continue to hold such a prominent place in popular culture. 40 years ago, Manson attempted to fire the opening shot in what he saw as an apocalyptic race war, convincing his family to go to the home of director Roman Polanski, where they killed actress Sharon Tate (who was pregnant) and six others. Despite the problems that California’s legal system is facing, they’re still in jail – the crimes were that insane. • source