Go Hoyas

Spring in DC

Went out to the cherry blossom festival again today, it was amazing! I think this was my favorite picture I took. Jefferson silhouetted watching out over the festival-goers...

It is really cool that every one of those trees was a gift from the people of Japan. I think back to the days when countries gave each other gifts like that, like the Statue of Liberty. Pretty cool stuff...

Homa* is where the heart is

Recent modifications made to the Arrow enable Israel's ballistic missile defense system to successfully intercept and destroy any ballistic missile in the Middle East, including nuclear-capable missiles under development by Iran, Arieh Herzog, the head of the Defense Ministry's Homa Missile Defense Agency, has told The Jerusalem Post.

"Our Arrow operational system can without a doubt deal with all of the operational threats in the Middle East, particularly in Iran and Syria," he declared.

I look forward to the pleasure of listening to the eloquence with which that august body of global good, our esteemed United Nations, will denounce and decry this latest Israeli weapon of terrorism, and demand, in the name of human rights, the obliteration of the aforementioned illegal state.

*Homa - Hebrew for "Fortress Wall" - is a branch of the Israeli Defense Ministry's Research and Development Directorate.

Vocab

Recondite; rapine; perspicuous; jejune; pelf. What do these words have in common?

to find out....

I came across all of these words while reading P.J. O'Rourke's On the Wealth of Nations, and I had to reach for the dictionary for each one. Think out your definition before you roll your mouse over the word, and see how you do. Then use each one in a sentence tomorrow!

recondite; rapine; perspicuous; jejune; pelf; parsimonious; invidious; physiocrat; ratiocination; philippic; prosaic; solipsistic; cynosure; pecuniary; emoluments

**UPDATE** Hardest Sudoku EVER

That one I posted before wasn't the actual hard one. Notice the text underneith it in the original article. I guess they didn't have the rights to it or something. Here it is....

Otters holding hands

And now a NON-political post for Elise's benefit...

The Speeches NOT Banned at UN Human Rights Council

I really hate the UN sometimes...

what a worthless waste of space.

U.S. Navy to Iran: "You're tiny and we're not..."

According to ABC News:

The U.S. Navy is offering a huge show of military might near the location where Iran seized 15 British sailors and marines five days ago, in what is seen as a clear effort to send a message to Iran, a senior military official told ABC News' Martha Raddatz in Bahrain.

Twelve ships, 100 aircraft and 12,000 sailors are taking part in the war games designed to get the attention of Iran.

These "games" have evidently been going on for a couple of days, in that this article was from the 27th.

The naval exercise went on all day today and will continue Wednesday, with F-18 fighter jets roaring from the deck of both aircraft carriers in the first appearance of two U.S. carriers in the Gulf simultaneously since 2003.

Heh

Newt to Iran: "You're tiny and we're not..."

In his interview with Newt Gingrich the other day, Hugh Hewitt asked him what the Brits should do about the British sailors taken captive by Iran. His response was priceless.

to read it....

Newt: I think there are two very simple steps that should be taken. The first is to use a covert operation, or a special forces operation to knock out the only gasoline producing refinery in Iran. There’s only one. And the second is to simply intercede by Naval force, and block any tankers from bringing gasoline to Iran…

Hugh: Would you do, would you urge them…

NG: And say to the Iranians, you know, you can keep the sailors as long as you want, but in about 30 days, everybody in your country will be walking.

HH: So how long would you give them, to give them that ultimatum, the Iranians?

NG: I would literally do that. I would say to them, I would right now say to them privately, within the next week, your refinery will no longer work. And within the following week, there will be no tankers arriving. Now if you would like to avoid being humiliated publicly, we recommend you calmly and quietly give them back now. But frankly, if you’d prefer to show the planet that you’re tiny and we’re not, we’re prepared to simply cut off your economy, and allow you to go back to walking and using oxen to pull carts, because you will have no gasoline left.

Read the whole interview.

Hardest Sudoku Ever

HELSINKI (AFP) — A Finnish mathematician on Monday claimed he had created the world's hardest sudoku puzzle, a brain-teaser which required three months' work and a billion combinations to produce.

See how well you guys can do...