The only change this year is a jar on the bar with a sign asking people to toss in a few bucks for the people who have been devasted by the earthquake in Asia. I figure it's the biggest natural disaster since Atlantis sunk, so intruding on the festivities with a little grim begging isn't so bad.

I tossed in some twenties, so people get the point that we're not looking for pocket change. I have some idea of how much I'd like to raise, but I'm sure I'll be unhappy when I actually count out the cash. Even good people can be stingy at times like this.

My girlfriend wondered if we should worry about somebody making off with the pot. I promised her that anybody stealing from earthquake victims would be in for a rough time, and she forbade me to beat people up in the apartment. She said I have to take the person outside if I want to beat somebody up. I really don't think it will be an issue, but it's nice to have the ground rules covered.

I hope everybody has a good New Year's and remembers what they value and why. I have a friend who was supposed to be in Thailand last week (his work puts him there a few months a year). He hasn't responded to emails. I'm not worried yet-- I'm sure he'll turn up on a beach in California, laughing at me.

A friend of a friend is a diving instructor who lives in Thailand half the year. His house was on the beach. He survived by swimming off the top of his house, clinging to anything that would float:

Our house was 150 feet from the beach, that is THE hardest hit beach in Thailand. As water rushed into our house and then ripped open the second story wall, I leapt off our second story roof and swam and swam and swam, riding the wave deep into the jungle, as it destroyed building after building, ripping up trees and spinning diesel trucks into the air. All this with me in the center of it clinging to anything that floats and swimming to avoid the standing buildings or trees that crushed and impaled many others.

The wave deposited me, a small swedish girl and a 60 foot poilice cruiser (medium sized steel patrol boat - around 20 tons) 1 kilometer from the beach - in the jungle.

He spent the day providing first aid and care to injured people. He says his village had a 60% survival rate. The entirety of help offered by the US government to him was "a phone call, a toothbrush, a paperback book and a temporary passport." In other words, things are ugly over there.

If you're hosting a New Year's celebration, put out a jar. Even small amounts can make a big difference.

Via TalkLeft.

Of course, Santa's not always the victim. He has a long and hidden history of torturing children. Santas rival clowns for the down low scary sadism, and finally somebody has put together the proof.

Via The Morning News.

She keeps asking her mother for advice on how to lose weight. Her mom responded by heaping more macaroni and cheese on her plate. To mom, this woman will always look too thin.

This morning, she woke up, reached over to the nightstand and ate a cookie. "Shit! shit!", she said. She'll never lose that weight if she keeps forgetting she's on a diet.

My diet recommendation, for all you people that gorged on christmas: Grapefruit juice for breakfast. Grapefruit juice and laxatives for lunch. Cigarettes (or heroin) whenever hunger sets in. And a sensible dinner. It's what all the top models do.

I think all this dieting is stupid. Sure I like thin women, and I'm quick with the fat jokes, but when skinny little things with 24-inch waists are eating like North Koreans, it's a real sign that something is a little out of whack.

I just can't get behind this diet nonsense. I'm going to go buy some brie and see how long she can hold out.

Either these Palestinians prisoners are a threat or they're not. Either they deserve to be jailed or they don't. If these people belong in jail, Israel shouldn't release them because they want some good press. If they don't belong in prison, then Israel should have released them a long time ago. Releasing prisoner en masse as "a good will gesture" for public relations just underscores how unjust their imprisonment was in the first place.

Imprisoning people for little or no good reason, holding them indefinitely, and then releasing them for political points is the kind of thing Saddam Hussein did. Unforuntately, it's also the kind of thing we've done in Iraq. It's good to see these people freed, but perhaps we could have acted more judiciously and never imprisoned them in the first place.

Saddam Hussein has been denied access to legal counsel since his arrest. It takes a year to get him a lawyer? That's ridiculous. It's obvious that the man isn't going to get anything more than a show trial. Of course, there isn't really any doubt that he's guilty of all kinds of horrific crimes against Iraq and humanity, so affording him a vigorous defense would produce a trial of little more substance.

The Times speaks warmly of guns. Notably, the guns in question are carried by police and are being phased out.

New York is debating the death penalty again. There was a time when the death penalty obstacle was Governor Cuomo. Every year, the Senate and the Assembly would pass death legislation, and Cuomo would veto the bill. Pataki, winning office in part on this issue, changed all that immediately upon taking office. It's nice to see the members of the Assembly force Sheldon Silver to allow debate on the issue.

And, finally, Pedro Martinez pretends it's not all about the money. Apparently his going to the highest bidding team is a coincidence.

Meanwhile, Jesus hates Curt Schilling. The pitcher famously attributed his postseason perfection (that first ALCS game aside) to "the Lord". But now, it seems he isn't recovering from surgery too well and is likely to miss the start of the season. It must really suck to have fallen out of favor with the Lord and it looks like Boston's fortunes will be reverting to the mean.

Via Say Uncle.

Via TalkLeft.

First, is there Rockefeller Drug Law round up. It's just a page of links to their coverage from the last few years, but the articles do a good job of outlining the problem with ridiculously harsh sentences. They also make clear that we've only just begun to reform those sentencing laws. One article does a particularly good job of illustrating how our current sentencing laws make no sense.

The Voice also covers an article by Frances Kissling in Conscience that examines abortion from a Catholic, feminist perspective. Kissling argues that pro-choicers need to grapple with the ethics of ending potential life. She believes you can do so and still support choice. I agree and am heartened by the Voice acknowledging some complexity in the abortion debate.

Finally, the Voice does a hit piece on Al Sharpton. Seems the Rev's been doing the unholy with a woman who is not his wife. Hypocrisy, blah, blah, whatever. Does anybody really believe Sharpton has any morals? The article is worth reading for prurient interest alone.