The veteran newsman says Al Jazeera English’s mission changed
By Brent Cunningham Fri 4 Apr 2008 11:26 AM
hat tip to Danny
I'm not sure if I have a judgement based on this piece, but I'll try to be bit more skeptical when I read Al Jazeera reports in America. I hope this doesn't give the wingnuts more excuses to keep Al Jazeera away from Americans as cable choice. American news sources just don't cover parts of the world. So Al Jazeera screws up when reporting in the US. So what? Big Telecom hasn't been able to control bloggers here yet. If it's happening in America, somebody is blogging about it. It's not like we, as Americans can't ferret out the truth and work around bias, somebody is always screaming biased.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Charlton Heston, Epic Film Star and Voice of N.R.A., Dies at 84
By ROBERT BERKVIST
Published: April 6, 2008
Charlton Heston made a crapload of movies, most of which I studiously avoided because the stepmonster was a fan of his. I only watched The Omega Man in the last couple of years because my friend said it was a good movie. I tried to like it. (update: my friend said he never said that). I saw all the Planet of the Apes movies, but who didn't in the 70's?
Ok, so call me weird, I've been called worse, but the two movies that he was in that had a lasting impact on me were Soylent Green (I was twelve, OK?) and Bowling for Columbine . When I saw Bowling for Columbine I was just discovering how much politics actually affected my life and the Heston scene sort of made me feel sorry for him. I kind of wanted to protect the old geezer from the truth about the whole Reagan Revolution thing.
Ummmmm then again maybe not. Where the hell was his handler?
OK, enough seriousness. Doesn't this blogger just come out and say what we're all thinking?
Heston Dead; Coroner Can't Pry Gun From Cold Dead Hands
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Published: April 6, 2008
Charlton Heston made a crapload of movies, most of which I studiously avoided because the stepmonster was a fan of his. I only watched The Omega Man in the last couple of years because my friend said it was a good movie. I tried to like it. (update: my friend said he never said that). I saw all the Planet of the Apes movies, but who didn't in the 70's?
Ok, so call me weird, I've been called worse, but the two movies that he was in that had a lasting impact on me were Soylent Green (I was twelve, OK?) and Bowling for Columbine . When I saw Bowling for Columbine I was just discovering how much politics actually affected my life and the Heston scene sort of made me feel sorry for him. I kind of wanted to protect the old geezer from the truth about the whole Reagan Revolution thing.
Ummmmm then again maybe not. Where the hell was his handler?
OK, enough seriousness. Doesn't this blogger just come out and say what we're all thinking?
Heston Dead; Coroner Can't Pry Gun From Cold Dead Hands
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Reading Now
Founding Myths: Stories that Hide our Patriotic Past
by Ray Raphael
The New Press, September, 2004
Frankly, I'm finding it vastly amusing to find out how many of these myths are still in our textbooks. Most second graders hate "Social Studies," (which I think is) a euphemistic term for history. Why? They generally don't verbalize it, but kids aren't stupid, they know bullshit when they see it. They may not have the vocabulary to explain it, but they also know when they are being politically socialized. It's not unique to this country or Western culture, it just happens in school, rather than someplace else.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Managing Iraq's Econoccupation
By Maya Schenwar
t r u t h o u t | Report Friday 04 April 2008
As violence rises again in Iraq, negotiations to institutionalize US economic dominance continue unabated.
(title link, read the whole article, Bremer made a bad situation worse)
This photo caught my eye because I remembered reading a post by Riverbend (can't remember exactly when it was, sometime after the war started, can't find it, blogger search sucks) where she wrote about being afraid of the cooking gas because it wasn't being mixed, or processed or bottled correctly, and gas bottles were blowing up. Looks like it's just being wasted in some places--flared off.
....the newly liberated gas was flared off. This was not the optimum engineering solution. A more elegant approach would be to send the liberated gas through another series of pipes to a natural-gas liquefaction plant, where it could be further refined and then sold. Some plants in Iraq did just that but many did not, for the simple reason that no one had ever gotten around to building the necessary infrastructure. The result, Sam said, was that Iraq burned away at least $10 million worth of gas every day. Indeed, due to its lack of domestic refinery infrastructure, Iraq is a long-time net importer not only of natural gas but also of gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, and all of the other much-needed products that may be obtained from raw crude. (This is one reason Baghdad has so little electricity, which is generated in most Iraqi power plants by burning fuel oil or natural gas.) Rectifying this problem has proved difficult not only because of the war—and the looting and the years of sanctions—but also because the entire system had been allowed to collapse under Saddam. Every engineer I met in Iraq seemed to have a special loathing for the former dictator simply because he had taken what was, by the standards of the 1970s, a fairly good industrial infrastructure and run it into the ground...
....or how much smuggling goes on, or even how much oil is pumped out of the ground or back into it, because—almost unbelievably—the entire system lacks meters...
Still?
Hmmm, now what was I reading just the other day?
t r u t h o u t | Report Friday 04 April 2008
As violence rises again in Iraq, negotiations to institutionalize US economic dominance continue unabated.
(title link, read the whole article, Bremer made a bad situation worse)
This photo caught my eye because I remembered reading a post by Riverbend (can't remember exactly when it was, sometime after the war started, can't find it, blogger search sucks) where she wrote about being afraid of the cooking gas because it wasn't being mixed, or processed or bottled correctly, and gas bottles were blowing up. Looks like it's just being wasted in some places--flared off.
....the newly liberated gas was flared off. This was not the optimum engineering solution. A more elegant approach would be to send the liberated gas through another series of pipes to a natural-gas liquefaction plant, where it could be further refined and then sold. Some plants in Iraq did just that but many did not, for the simple reason that no one had ever gotten around to building the necessary infrastructure. The result, Sam said, was that Iraq burned away at least $10 million worth of gas every day. Indeed, due to its lack of domestic refinery infrastructure, Iraq is a long-time net importer not only of natural gas but also of gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, and all of the other much-needed products that may be obtained from raw crude. (This is one reason Baghdad has so little electricity, which is generated in most Iraqi power plants by burning fuel oil or natural gas.) Rectifying this problem has proved difficult not only because of the war—and the looting and the years of sanctions—but also because the entire system had been allowed to collapse under Saddam. Every engineer I met in Iraq seemed to have a special loathing for the former dictator simply because he had taken what was, by the standards of the 1970s, a fairly good industrial infrastructure and run it into the ground...
....or how much smuggling goes on, or even how much oil is pumped out of the ground or back into it, because—almost unbelievably—the entire system lacks meters...
Still?
Hmmm, now what was I reading just the other day?
Friday, April 04, 2008
The artist behind the iconic 'running immigrants' image
John Hood, a Navajo and Vietnam vet, has created many works in his job as a Caltrans graphic artist. But the picture of an immigrant family running has resonated far beyond his office cubicle.
By Scott Gold, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 4, 2008
On the fifth floor of Building Two of Caltrans' San Diego compound, a bear of a man with a quiet voice sits in a cubicle straight out of "Dilbert."...
What an interesting man, I thought as I read the article. I'm still startled when I drive by one of the signs he designed. I was reminded of one of my favorite books as I was reading the article.
And yeah, I'm not ignoring the Hillary-has-a-major-conflict-of-interest-thing going on. I read the blogroll links to the right and these guys are on it.
By Scott Gold, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 4, 2008
On the fifth floor of Building Two of Caltrans' San Diego compound, a bear of a man with a quiet voice sits in a cubicle straight out of "Dilbert."...
What an interesting man, I thought as I read the article. I'm still startled when I drive by one of the signs he designed. I was reminded of one of my favorite books as I was reading the article.
And yeah, I'm not ignoring the Hillary-has-a-major-conflict-of-interest-thing going on. I read the blogroll links to the right and these guys are on it.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Another KBR Rape Case
...That dawn, naked, covered in blood and feces, bleeding from her anus, she found a US soldier she did not know lying naked in the bed next to her: his gun lay on the floor beside the bed, she could not rouse him and all she could remember of the night before was screaming and screaming as the soldier anally penetrated her while a colleague who worked for defense contractor KBR held her hand--but instead of helping her, as she had hoped, he jammed his penis in her mouth...
Sexual Assault Is a Crime, Not a Labor Dispute, Unless of Course You Work for Halliburton/KBR [VIDEO]
Jamie Leigh Jones Congressional Testimony
posted by Melissa McEwan | Thursday, December 20, 2007
'Tort reform' injustice
By Peggy Garrity
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Justice? These women won't get justice. Justice would be for whoever thought that writing binding arbitration clauses into employees' contracts in a war zone to experience the first paragraph grab up top of this post.
Sexual Assault Is a Crime, Not a Labor Dispute, Unless of Course You Work for Halliburton/KBR [VIDEO]
Jamie Leigh Jones Congressional Testimony
posted by Melissa McEwan | Thursday, December 20, 2007
'Tort reform' injustice
By Peggy Garrity
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Justice? These women won't get justice. Justice would be for whoever thought that writing binding arbitration clauses into employees' contracts in a war zone to experience the first paragraph grab up top of this post.
Woman Charged With Stalking John Cusack
Bummer. I'm a Cusack fan, but stalking? Ewwwwww. Anyone that's ever been stalked would never dream of doing that to someone else. I've been stalked and it's terrifying AND enraging.
I've asked for exactly three autographs in my life, only twice was it face to face. Famous people come to San Diego but I usually beat feet if I see them. If I spy paparazzi I'm gone quicker than usual, I don't give a shit who they're stalking, I don't want any part of it.
Some guy almost knocked me on my ass flying out onto the street where I was walking and then repeatedly said "No autographs, no autographs." I looked at my date after we both regained our footing and asked, "Who IS that asshole?" Turns out he was some turd roller on a TV show that they filmed here in San Diego for a while. I never wanted to be famous, and I never wanted to hang around famous people. Name droppers bug the shit out of me. I'm just not interested. I have a friend in LA, but she knows how much I hate the whole LA name dropping thing. I roll my eyes a lot when I go to LA. Actually LA people aren't nearly as bad as people who have to tell me they watched a film being made in their hometown of East Podunk. A million fucking times they gotta tell me how they met so-and-so or blabbity blah. Like I give a shit because I was born and raised in Southern California?
Anyhoo, this article caught my eye because I want to see War Inc. (trailer) Hmmmm, kind of looks like I'll be able to buy or rent it before it's released in theaters.
I've asked for exactly three autographs in my life, only twice was it face to face. Famous people come to San Diego but I usually beat feet if I see them. If I spy paparazzi I'm gone quicker than usual, I don't give a shit who they're stalking, I don't want any part of it.
Some guy almost knocked me on my ass flying out onto the street where I was walking and then repeatedly said "No autographs, no autographs." I looked at my date after we both regained our footing and asked, "Who IS that asshole?" Turns out he was some turd roller on a TV show that they filmed here in San Diego for a while. I never wanted to be famous, and I never wanted to hang around famous people. Name droppers bug the shit out of me. I'm just not interested. I have a friend in LA, but she knows how much I hate the whole LA name dropping thing. I roll my eyes a lot when I go to LA. Actually LA people aren't nearly as bad as people who have to tell me they watched a film being made in their hometown of East Podunk. A million fucking times they gotta tell me how they met so-and-so or blabbity blah. Like I give a shit because I was born and raised in Southern California?
Anyhoo, this article caught my eye because I want to see War Inc. (trailer) Hmmmm, kind of looks like I'll be able to buy or rent it before it's released in theaters.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Justices asked to hear Navy sonar, whales case
Bush administration asks Supreme Court to review ruling that limits use
Something tells me that the Sooopreme court justices won't be using teh Google search terms that they need to. It'll be all Homeland Security All The Time.
I've heard from more than one sailor that one of the few joys when you're stuck out at sea for what seems like forever is watching the dolphins.
Reed Saxon / AP
A gray whale dives off the Southern California coast near the Palos Verdes Peninsula on Jan. 16.
Evolution of the whale ear
MARINE MAMMAL AUDITORY SYSTEMS:
A SUMMARY OF AUDIOMETRIC AND ANATOMICAL DATA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC IMPACTS
Bush administration appeals Navy sonar case to Supreme Court
Joshua Pantesco at 8:50 AM ET
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
The Justice Department petition argues that the decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco jeopardizes the Navy's ability to train sailors and Marines for service in wartime.
MARINE MAMMAL AUDITORY SYSTEMS:
A SUMMARY OF AUDIOMETRIC AND ANATOMICAL DATA AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC IMPACTS
Bush administration appeals Navy sonar case to Supreme Court
Joshua Pantesco at 8:50 AM ET
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
The Justice Department petition argues that the decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco jeopardizes the Navy's ability to train sailors and Marines for service in wartime.
Something tells me that the Sooopreme court justices won't be using teh Google search terms that they need to. It'll be all Homeland Security All The Time.
I've heard from more than one sailor that one of the few joys when you're stuck out at sea for what seems like forever is watching the dolphins.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
A Marked Increase In Pregnancy Discrimination Claims
---A Marked Increase In Pregnancy Discrimination Claims and Other Key Developments Illustrate the Continuing Struggle of Pregnant Workers:
Part One in a Two-Part Series of Columns
By JOANNA GROSSMAN Tuesday, Apr. 01, 2008
EEOC statistics show that pregnancy discrimination complaints have increased dramatically in a number of recent years, increased forty percent over the last decade and increased fourteen percent in just the last year. (Charge statistics are available at http://eeoc.gov/stats/pregnanc.html ). Though the birth rate declined over the past decade,pregnancy discrimination charges were among the fastest-growing category of claims with the EEOC. These statistics are consistent with anecdotal reports from women about their experiences of being fired, demoted, or otherwise treated adversely because of pregnancy.
Pregnant man says bearing child a "human" desire (Gee, ya think? Could be why there's almost 7 billion people on the planet.)
Tue Apr 1, 2008 11:42pm BST
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A transgender man who kept his female reproductive organs despite his transformation is now five months pregnant and will appear on Oprah Winfrey's television show, the talk show said on Tuesday.
Um, it's not on her site Anybody see him on the show?
Part One in a Two-Part Series of Columns
By JOANNA GROSSMAN Tuesday, Apr. 01, 2008
EEOC statistics show that pregnancy discrimination complaints have increased dramatically in a number of recent years, increased forty percent over the last decade and increased fourteen percent in just the last year. (Charge statistics are available at http://eeoc.gov/stats/pregnanc.html ). Though the birth rate declined over the past decade,pregnancy discrimination charges were among the fastest-growing category of claims with the EEOC. These statistics are consistent with anecdotal reports from women about their experiences of being fired, demoted, or otherwise treated adversely because of pregnancy.
Pregnant man says bearing child a "human" desire (Gee, ya think? Could be why there's almost 7 billion people on the planet.)
Tue Apr 1, 2008 11:42pm BST
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A transgender man who kept his female reproductive organs despite his transformation is now five months pregnant and will appear on Oprah Winfrey's television show, the talk show said on Tuesday.
Um, it's not on her site Anybody see him on the show?
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