Nice to visit:
Noah's Wonderland series
A little tougher to live in:
San Diego’s Secret Missile-Testing Sites
By Moss Gropen | Published Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Monday, April 07, 2008
Dave Marash: Why I Quit (Al Jazeera)
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.
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.
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?
Monday, March 31, 2008
Why Is George Still Smiling?
March 20, 2008 1:55 PM 
I've liked Robert Scheer since I discovered his work. I do love hearing him rip Tony Blankbrain a new one every week.
That idiotic "what me worry?" look just never leaves the man's visage. Once again, there was our president, presiding over disasters, in part of his making and totally on his watch, grinning with an aplomb that suggested a serious disconnect between his worldview and reality...
...But the president is happy because his legacy issue, the war on terrorism, is intact. No matter that last week the Pentagon was forced to release a report conducted over the last five years that concluded, after surveying 600,000 official Iraqi documents captured by U.S. forces, that there is "no smoking gun" establishing any connection whatsoever between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda
The report was so embarrassing that we taxpayers were not going to be told of its existence, even though the explosive conclusions were declassified, until ABC News forced the administration to post it on the Joint Forces Command Website...
Well I'll be damned, I think I just regained a tad, a smidgen of respect back for ABC news.
I've liked Robert Scheer since I discovered his work. I do love hearing him rip Tony Blankbrain a new one every week. That idiotic "what me worry?" look just never leaves the man's visage. Once again, there was our president, presiding over disasters, in part of his making and totally on his watch, grinning with an aplomb that suggested a serious disconnect between his worldview and reality...
...But the president is happy because his legacy issue, the war on terrorism, is intact. No matter that last week the Pentagon was forced to release a report conducted over the last five years that concluded, after surveying 600,000 official Iraqi documents captured by U.S. forces, that there is "no smoking gun" establishing any connection whatsoever between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda
The report was so embarrassing that we taxpayers were not going to be told of its existence, even though the explosive conclusions were declassified, until ABC News forced the administration to post it on the Joint Forces Command Website...
Well I'll be damned, I think I just regained a tad, a smidgen of respect back for ABC news.
Boston Dynamics Big Dog (new video March 2008)
The program is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA)
I'm speechless.....
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Subrogation my ass
My insurance was told by me that they were paying for something I wasn't receiving. They didn't give a shit. We've already paid in premiums the cash cost of surgery (not elective) that they won't cover.
She's right.
She's right.
For Missing Guards' Kin, An Agonizing Conclusion
By Steve Fainaru
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, March 30, 2008; A01
...Paul Chapman, Crescent's media liaison, said in a telephone interview from Kuwait City that the company had insured the guards through Lloyd's of London. Their beneficiaries, he said, will receive $300,000, although it was unclear whether the payments will be made to the company or directly to the families, he added...
A matter of policy
Suit hits Wal-Mart role as worker life insurance beneficiary
By Sarah Schweitzer, Globe Staff, 12/10/2002
Corporate-owned life insurance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
House Democrats crack down on ‘Dead Peasants Insurance’ policies
Measure takes aim at practice that exploits rank-and-file workers
Feb. 8, 2005
Firms can no longer take out 'dead peasant' insurance on workers
Employees' families often never knew of policies, benefits
Thursday, May 12, 2005
So, were the Crescent Security Group guards "key persons?" If so, it's possible that the company can collect life insurance benefits on them.
Key Person Life Insurance
Is Your Business Adequately Protected?
Help entrepreneurs by contributing articles to this site.
Key Executive Insurance
Key Person Insurance Explained
Key Person Life Insurance
Is Your Business Adequately Protected?
Key Man Insurance is critical for companies that depend on a few “Key People” to generate a large portion of the company’s revenue. The absence of one of these individuals usually results in the death of the company.
Simply enter your Key Person information then click the "Compare Prices Now!" button to access your price comparison.
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, March 30, 2008; A01
...Paul Chapman, Crescent's media liaison, said in a telephone interview from Kuwait City that the company had insured the guards through Lloyd's of London. Their beneficiaries, he said, will receive $300,000, although it was unclear whether the payments will be made to the company or directly to the families, he added...
A matter of policy
Suit hits Wal-Mart role as worker life insurance beneficiary
By Sarah Schweitzer, Globe Staff, 12/10/2002
Corporate-owned life insurance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
House Democrats crack down on ‘Dead Peasants Insurance’ policies
Measure takes aim at practice that exploits rank-and-file workers
Feb. 8, 2005
Firms can no longer take out 'dead peasant' insurance on workers
Employees' families often never knew of policies, benefits
Thursday, May 12, 2005
So, were the Crescent Security Group guards "key persons?" If so, it's possible that the company can collect life insurance benefits on them.
Key Person Life Insurance
Is Your Business Adequately Protected?
Help entrepreneurs by contributing articles to this site.
Key Executive Insurance
Key Person Insurance Explained
Key Person Life Insurance
Is Your Business Adequately Protected?
Key Man Insurance is critical for companies that depend on a few “Key People” to generate a large portion of the company’s revenue. The absence of one of these individuals usually results in the death of the company.
Simply enter your Key Person information then click the "Compare Prices Now!" button to access your price comparison.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Crusaders 'left genetic legacy'
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News
...The scientists also found that Lebanese Muslim men were more likely than Christians to carry a particular genetic signature. But this one is linked to expansions from the Arabian Peninsula which brought Islam to the area in the 7th and 8th Centuries.
UN food aid agency appeals for US$500 million to offset soaring prices
Author: BI-ME staff
Source: BI-ME
Published: 27 March 2008
...Countries where price rises are expected to have a direct impact include Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Haiti, Djibouti, the Gambia, Tajikistan, Togo, Chad, Benin, Myanmar, Cameroon, Niger, Senegal, Yemen and Cuba, according to WFP.
List of countries and territories by fertility rate
Science reporter, BBC News
...The scientists also found that Lebanese Muslim men were more likely than Christians to carry a particular genetic signature. But this one is linked to expansions from the Arabian Peninsula which brought Islam to the area in the 7th and 8th Centuries.
UN food aid agency appeals for US$500 million to offset soaring prices
Author: BI-ME staff
Source: BI-ME
Published: 27 March 2008
...Countries where price rises are expected to have a direct impact include Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Haiti, Djibouti, the Gambia, Tajikistan, Togo, Chad, Benin, Myanmar, Cameroon, Niger, Senegal, Yemen and Cuba, according to WFP.
List of countries and territories by fertility rate
article titles that cracked me up today
Parents Pick Prayer Over Docs; Girl Dies
(Ahhh, the mighty brainiacs that inhabit this country)
Rhode Island Targets Illegal Immigrants
(What? All three of them in the whole state? At the same time? Oh those damn Canucks)
DEA Losing More Guns, Fewer Laptops
(Ehhhh, what?)
Fingerprint Scans Replace Clocking In
By DAVID B. CARUSO Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - It's happening at Dunkin' Donuts...
(Ummm, yeah, somehow that just dosen't seem cost effective to me, you?)
I found a little humor inside this op ed:
The National Popular Vote Plan: If Ohio, Virginia and Florida Alone Sign On, They Will Change Primary Politics Profoundly, and Greatly Increase the Chance that the National Popular Vote Winner Will Prevail
By VIKRAM DAVID AMAR
...Of course, Senators Obama and Clinton seem to disagree on how they stack up against Senator McCain in the key swing states. It is hard to fully assess their claims here -- especially if one looks to actual primary results, as opposed to polls. One big reason for that difficulty is this: How Clinton and Obama fare against each other in a Democratic primary race in a given state may not tell us much about how either would fare in that state in the November election against McCain. For example, Senator Obama's victory over Senator Clinton in Wyoming, does not suggest any real possibility he could carry that state in November, and Senator Clinton's victory over Senator Obama in New York similarly does not indicate that he wouldn't beat McCain there in the fall.
(Ahhh, the mighty brainiacs that inhabit this country)
Rhode Island Targets Illegal Immigrants
(What? All three of them in the whole state? At the same time? Oh those damn Canucks)
DEA Losing More Guns, Fewer Laptops
(Ehhhh, what?)
Fingerprint Scans Replace Clocking In
By DAVID B. CARUSO Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - It's happening at Dunkin' Donuts...
(Ummm, yeah, somehow that just dosen't seem cost effective to me, you?)
I found a little humor inside this op ed:
The National Popular Vote Plan: If Ohio, Virginia and Florida Alone Sign On, They Will Change Primary Politics Profoundly, and Greatly Increase the Chance that the National Popular Vote Winner Will Prevail
By VIKRAM DAVID AMAR
...Of course, Senators Obama and Clinton seem to disagree on how they stack up against Senator McCain in the key swing states. It is hard to fully assess their claims here -- especially if one looks to actual primary results, as opposed to polls. One big reason for that difficulty is this: How Clinton and Obama fare against each other in a Democratic primary race in a given state may not tell us much about how either would fare in that state in the November election against McCain. For example, Senator Obama's victory over Senator Clinton in Wyoming, does not suggest any real possibility he could carry that state in November, and Senator Clinton's victory over Senator Obama in New York similarly does not indicate that he wouldn't beat McCain there in the fall.
I'm baaaaaaack
Swimming back up from the murky depths of mid-term-ville, whoa, WTF has been going on eh?
News Dissector Takes on CNBC Woooo Hoooo, go Danny!
The age of the anti-Cassandra
Paul Krugman
March 25, 2008, 12:18 pm
Senior Al-Jazeera Staff Quit English Service
By The Guardian.
Al-Jazeera English, the global news channel
Net Neutrality's Quiet Crusader
Free Press's Ben Scott Faces Down Titans, Regulators in Battle Over Internet Control
By Cecilia Kang
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 28, 2008; D01
Indian Tantrik Tries to Kill Man on Television with Black Magic
Published 1, March 24, 2008 Bizarre , Media , Society , Torts
Now, this is reality TV at its best. This month, Indians were glued to their television as India’s leading tantrik or black magician Pandit Surinder Sharma tried repeatedly to kill atheist Sanal Edamaruku first with a death-causing tantra and then later with the “ultimate destruction ceremony” on live TV...
Home » Spin of the Day » Mar 21, 2008
Yes He Can... Create Front Groups
Topics: advertising astroturf corporations ethics front groups secrecy Election 2008
Source: BusinessWeek, March 14, 2008
Senator Barack Obama's chief campaign strategist, David Axelrod, "moonlights" from his political PR firm AKP&D Message & Media. Working from the same office, "Axelrod operates a second business, ASK Public Strategies, that discreetly plots strategy and advertising campaigns for corporate clients," reports Howard Wolinsky...
News Dissector Takes on CNBC Woooo Hoooo, go Danny!
The age of the anti-Cassandra
Paul Krugman
March 25, 2008, 12:18 pm
Senior Al-Jazeera Staff Quit English Service
By The Guardian.
Al-Jazeera English, the global news channel
Net Neutrality's Quiet Crusader
Free Press's Ben Scott Faces Down Titans, Regulators in Battle Over Internet Control
By Cecilia Kang
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 28, 2008; D01
Indian Tantrik Tries to Kill Man on Television with Black Magic
Published 1, March 24, 2008 Bizarre , Media , Society , Torts
Now, this is reality TV at its best. This month, Indians were glued to their television as India’s leading tantrik or black magician Pandit Surinder Sharma tried repeatedly to kill atheist Sanal Edamaruku first with a death-causing tantra and then later with the “ultimate destruction ceremony” on live TV...
Home » Spin of the Day » Mar 21, 2008
Yes He Can... Create Front Groups
Topics: advertising astroturf corporations ethics front groups secrecy Election 2008
Source: BusinessWeek, March 14, 2008
Senator Barack Obama's chief campaign strategist, David Axelrod, "moonlights" from his political PR firm AKP&D Message & Media. Working from the same office, "Axelrod operates a second business, ASK Public Strategies, that discreetly plots strategy and advertising campaigns for corporate clients," reports Howard Wolinsky...
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Talking about race: Um, you first
The one thing Obama danced around because he knows Hillary has more support in Hispanic communities is touched upon in the above linked article from the LA Times:
..."You know," she said, "I've been looking for jobs in environmental education. A lot of them require that you speak Spanish. It sounds so awful to say this, but it's very frustrating. Shouldn't they learn English? This is America."...
A Hispanic woman on welfare with four kids and an "old man" who was in jail for criminal gang activity once told me to my face "It's OK to steal from gringos 'cause the gringos stole the land."
You can't make this shit up.
In all fairness I was on welfare at the time. I was also ten or fifteen years older than this woman and I wondered how many more brats was she going to squirt out? I had one kid and the ability to dump boyfriends like hot potatoes if I found out that they were engaged in criminal activity. Not that I had family support, I didn't. People helped me, and I am forever grateful for that help. They also knew I wouldn't steal from them.
I have had jobs that paid me less than others working there who spoke Spanish. Didn't seem to matter that they managed to mangle both languages. People talk shit around my kid, about my kid because she doesn't look like she speaks Spanish. She speaks Spanish.
There are immigrants from all over the world in San Diego. The only ones who don't have to eventually learn English are the Spanish speakers.
Nafta and Cafta anyone?
So yeah, Obama, let's talk about resentment. And language. And the jobs that first drew people to the US/Mexico border areas and then went to China, where the labor is cheaper. Frankly, it's about time multi-national corporations were bitch slapped into paying a liveable wage and serving a big slice of STFU pie to their greedy ass executives. It's what the workers have come to expect.
..."You know," she said, "I've been looking for jobs in environmental education. A lot of them require that you speak Spanish. It sounds so awful to say this, but it's very frustrating. Shouldn't they learn English? This is America."...
A Hispanic woman on welfare with four kids and an "old man" who was in jail for criminal gang activity once told me to my face "It's OK to steal from gringos 'cause the gringos stole the land."
You can't make this shit up.
In all fairness I was on welfare at the time. I was also ten or fifteen years older than this woman and I wondered how many more brats was she going to squirt out? I had one kid and the ability to dump boyfriends like hot potatoes if I found out that they were engaged in criminal activity. Not that I had family support, I didn't. People helped me, and I am forever grateful for that help. They also knew I wouldn't steal from them.
I have had jobs that paid me less than others working there who spoke Spanish. Didn't seem to matter that they managed to mangle both languages. People talk shit around my kid, about my kid because she doesn't look like she speaks Spanish. She speaks Spanish.
There are immigrants from all over the world in San Diego. The only ones who don't have to eventually learn English are the Spanish speakers.
Nafta and Cafta anyone?
So yeah, Obama, let's talk about resentment. And language. And the jobs that first drew people to the US/Mexico border areas and then went to China, where the labor is cheaper. Frankly, it's about time multi-national corporations were bitch slapped into paying a liveable wage and serving a big slice of STFU pie to their greedy ass executives. It's what the workers have come to expect.
Jared Diamond lectures on Collapse
Today I will finish this book.
I have to, I have midterms coming up, and have other reading to do.
I did, however have some interest in sharing with you a brief (condensed by me) quote:
Throughout recorded history, actions or inactions by self-absorbed kings, chiefs, and politicians have been a regular cause of societal collapses, including those of the Maya kings, Greenland Norse chiefs, and modern Rwandan politicians discussed in this book...
...Conversely, failures to solve perceived problems because of conflicts of interest between the elite and the masses are much less likely in societies where the elite cannot insulate themselves from the consequences of their actions.
From the Washington Post this morning:
Since '01,Guarding Species Is Harder
Endangered Listings Drop Under Bush
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 23, 2008; A01
From yesterday's AlterNet
The Folly of Turning Water Into Fuel
By Stan Cox, AlterNet. Posted March 22, 2008.
Even the commenters on AlterNet are typical Americans in that they think the solution to the problem of cars that run on on gasoline or diesel are cars that run on renewable energy sources. How can the problems created by cars be more cars?
Murikans ain't givin' up thur cars. Period. No matter whut it costs them other people.
How much longer do you really think we will have that choice? The rest of the world is pretty much sick of our shit.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Lagos-based daily’s cartoonist attacked at home by armed intruders
Nigeria
21 March 2008
Reporters Without Borders condemns an attack on The Guardian newspaper’s cartoonist
Who attacks cartoonists?
Oh yeah, morons
Jailbird morons throw urine, feces, trays silverware and sue because they are given horrible tasting food as punishment?
Gimmme a break. Some people are just too stupid to live.
21 March 2008
Reporters Without Borders condemns an attack on The Guardian newspaper’s cartoonist
Who attacks cartoonists?
Oh yeah, morons
Jailbird morons throw urine, feces, trays silverware and sue because they are given horrible tasting food as punishment?
Gimmme a break. Some people are just too stupid to live.
Friday, March 21, 2008
I knew Ben Stein was weird
and he certainly isn't a box office draw for me anyway, but I didn't know he was one of those batshit crazy Intelligent Design people either. I guess he is, & isn't quiet about it. How was I supposed to know? I don't watch Bill O'Reilly.Bill O'Reilly is a nasty ass bully
Looks like Phayrngula (PZ) was expelled from Expelled , even though he's in it.
The movie has been criticized by several of the interviewees, including biologists PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins[47] and NCSE head Eugenie Scott, who say they were misled into participating by being asked to be interviewed for a film named Crossroads on the "intersection of science and religion", with a blurb[48] which described the strong support that had been accumulated for evolution, and contrasted this with the religious who rejected it, and the controversy this caused.[49][50][51]
Looks like Phayrngula (PZ) was expelled from Expelled , even though he's in it.
The movie has been criticized by several of the interviewees, including biologists PZ Myers and Richard Dawkins[47] and NCSE head Eugenie Scott, who say they were misled into participating by being asked to be interviewed for a film named Crossroads on the "intersection of science and religion", with a blurb[48] which described the strong support that had been accumulated for evolution, and contrasted this with the religious who rejected it, and the controversy this caused.[49][50][51]
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Religion sucks #10 (or how to unsuccessfully mix politics and religion)
Lieberman forced to Correct McCain again
McCain referred to the Jewish holiday Purim as “their version of Halloween.”
Liebershrewd & McInsane were confused by the whole candy thing.
Mmmmmmmm. Makes me wonder if McInsane is tapping the old lady's stash, I mean, somebody's popping too much something.
In other recent news: Fucktardama bin Laden pipes up again. --- Alienating moderate Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Oh, what's this? The Saudis say they will retrain 40,000 clerics? Hmmmmm. Color me skeptical. If it's true it must be the almighty €uro talking.
The Hasidim look like idiots to me:
Hasidic actor walks off Portman movie
(Abe Karpen, 25, a married father of three, was cast as Portman's husband...)
Yeesh, where would Israel be if the only two exports this country has left (Arms and Entertainment) were stopped?
You thought I wouldn't bash the Christian whack-jobs?
Oh boy, lookeee here, it's got three brands of religious whack-jobs in one article plus a bonus McCain bashing.
McCain referred to the Jewish holiday Purim as “their version of Halloween.”
Liebershrewd & McInsane were confused by the whole candy thing.
Mmmmmmmm. Makes me wonder if McInsane is tapping the old lady's stash, I mean, somebody's popping too much something.
In other recent news: Fucktardama bin Laden pipes up again. --- Alienating moderate Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Oh, what's this? The Saudis say they will retrain 40,000 clerics? Hmmmmm. Color me skeptical. If it's true it must be the almighty €uro talking.
The Hasidim look like idiots to me:
Hasidic actor walks off Portman movie
(Abe Karpen, 25, a married father of three, was cast as Portman's husband...)
Yeesh, where would Israel be if the only two exports this country has left (Arms and Entertainment) were stopped?
You thought I wouldn't bash the Christian whack-jobs?
Oh boy, lookeee here, it's got three brands of religious whack-jobs in one article plus a bonus McCain bashing.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Center for Media and Democracy ( covers another great story that the MSM will ignore)
Teaching College Kids to Lie
Topics: corporations | education | ethics | front groups | guerrilla marketing
Source: Inside Higher Ed, March 3, 2008
Additional details have surfaced about the story we mentioned last month regarding a corporate-sponsored hoax at Hunter College. The college receives donations from the Coach Corporation, a manufacturer of handbags, shoes and other women's accessories. In particular, Coach funded a "guerrilla marketing" class that "educated" students about the dangers of knockoff products by creating a fictional student named "Heidi Cee" who claimed that she had been conned by a counterfeit Coach handbag. "The professor who taught it says that he was pressured to do so even though he has no expertise in advertising or public relations (he teaches computer graphics) and had ethical qualms about the course," reports Scott Jaschik. "Further, the professor -- and other professors who have investigated the circumstances of the course -- maintain that the professor was required to teach only one side of the issue, had to accept industry officials watching him teach, and had little clout to fight back since he didn't (and still doesn't) have tenure." According to Hunter professor Stuart Ewen, the lessons in deception were designed by Paul Werth Associates, an Ohio-based PR firm working for the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, a Coach-funded organization.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Obama's Historical Speech On Race 3-18-08
Fuck the pundits and the analysts. Watch it for yourself.
Obama's Historical Speech On Race 3-18-08 Pt. 1 of 4
Obama's Historical Speech On Race 3-18-08 Pt. 2 of 4
Obama's Historical Speech On Race 3-18-08 Pt. 3 of 4
Obama's Historical Speech On Race 3-18-08 Pt. 4 of 4
Or go read the transcript:
I liked this story also today;
Calif., Ohio election officials honored as Profiles in Courage
The Associated Press
Obama's Historical Speech On Race 3-18-08 Pt. 1 of 4
Obama's Historical Speech On Race 3-18-08 Pt. 2 of 4
Obama's Historical Speech On Race 3-18-08 Pt. 3 of 4
Obama's Historical Speech On Race 3-18-08 Pt. 4 of 4
Or go read the transcript:
I liked this story also today;
Calif., Ohio election officials honored as Profiles in Courage
The Associated Press
Monday, March 17, 2008
Um, except for saying the Iranian Oil Bourse is in Tehran, instead of Kish Island, where an FBI agent was killed, er, oops, has disappeared I think he got it right.
He tells us slowly and laboriously tells us what's behind all the talk of war with Iran
And I love this post about the corporate media ignoring the anti-war protests inside the United States. Yes, folks, the Iraq war has united the United States in their disgust with this war and the idiot we didn't elect. Either time.
He tells us slowly and laboriously tells us what's behind all the talk of war with Iran
And I love this post about the corporate media ignoring the anti-war protests inside the United States. Yes, folks, the Iraq war has united the United States in their disgust with this war and the idiot we didn't elect. Either time.
The movie "Bordertown" gave me nightmares
My friend was visiting El Paso recently and she called me and said "Well, I can see Juarez from here, but I can't go there, it's too dangerous." There was sad resignation in her voice. She and I and our friends used to go to Tijuana occasionally to eat or shop, and when we were younger, occasionally to dance and drink. I still use a blanket that was made and purchased in Mexico that is probably 25 years old. The last time I went to Tijuana was some time after September 11 and another friend and I were appalled that they kept pushing us to buy tequila shots for our 13-year-old daughters on the famous (or infamous) Avenida Revolución. It was a week day and around lunch time, so we made sure we got our butts back across the border way before dark. Later I thought to myself, "Hey guys, way to send responsible tourists packing, never to return." We bought blankets that were labeled "Hecho en Corea" that day.
The news reports mention around 400 raped and murdered women in Juarez. The movie mentions that there may be as many as 5,000 missing women in Mexico. I don't know about you, but that number makes me wonder just what the fuck is going on in our border towns? And who all might be involved, eh? Sometimes Hollywood tries to bring attention to real problems and sometimes it even goes as far as throwing out there creative solutions to real problems.
But anyway, all you kids who think that just handing over a couple of bucks when you fuck up, or you get fucked up in Mexico on Spring Break? You might end up in more trouble than you think, and don't be surprised if the problems you create in Mexico follow you home. Yeah, everybody's looking for the mordida .
To Work and Die in Juarez
Mass grave unearthed in midst of Mexico's drug war
By Marla Dickerson and Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
March 15, 2008
MEXICO CITY -- Authorities in Ciudad Juarez said Friday that they had uncovered the remains of 33 people buried in the yard of an abandoned property, a mass grave believed to be linked to the city's violent drug trade.
Bodies of 5 Minors Found Executed Outside of Tijuana
Last Update: 3/04 11:57 pm
Murder Victims Found
The news reports mention around 400 raped and murdered women in Juarez. The movie mentions that there may be as many as 5,000 missing women in Mexico. I don't know about you, but that number makes me wonder just what the fuck is going on in our border towns? And who all might be involved, eh? Sometimes Hollywood tries to bring attention to real problems and sometimes it even goes as far as throwing out there creative solutions to real problems.
But anyway, all you kids who think that just handing over a couple of bucks when you fuck up, or you get fucked up in Mexico on Spring Break? You might end up in more trouble than you think, and don't be surprised if the problems you create in Mexico follow you home. Yeah, everybody's looking for the mordida .
To Work and Die in Juarez
Mass grave unearthed in midst of Mexico's drug war
By Marla Dickerson and Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
March 15, 2008
MEXICO CITY -- Authorities in Ciudad Juarez said Friday that they had uncovered the remains of 33 people buried in the yard of an abandoned property, a mass grave believed to be linked to the city's violent drug trade.
Bodies of 5 Minors Found Executed Outside of Tijuana
Last Update: 3/04 11:57 pm
Murder Victims Found
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Drug Trade Tyranny on The Border
Mexican Cartels Maintain Grasp With Weapons, Cash and Savagery
By Manuel Roig-Franzia
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, March 16, 2008; A01
...More than 20,000 Mexican troops and federal police are engaged in a multi-front war with the private armies of rival drug lords, a conflict that is being waged most fiercely along the 2,000-mile length of the U.S.-Mexico border. The proximity of the violence has drawn in the Bush administration, which has proposed a $500 million annual aid package to help President Felipe Calderon combat what a Government Accountability Office report estimates is Mexico's $23 billion a year drug trade.
A what?
No, es más que ese, mirada aquí,...
Y aquí...Y aquí...Y aquí...Y aquí...Y aquí...Y aquí...
some shit just never changes ... history repeating
& Cheney goes to thank & kiss some Arab ass this week regarding this country's other addiction problem
By Manuel Roig-Franzia
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, March 16, 2008; A01
...More than 20,000 Mexican troops and federal police are engaged in a multi-front war with the private armies of rival drug lords, a conflict that is being waged most fiercely along the 2,000-mile length of the U.S.-Mexico border. The proximity of the violence has drawn in the Bush administration, which has proposed a $500 million annual aid package to help President Felipe Calderon combat what a Government Accountability Office report estimates is Mexico's $23 billion a year drug trade.
A what?
No, es más que ese, mirada aquí,...
Y aquí...Y aquí...Y aquí...Y aquí...Y aquí...Y aquí...
some shit just never changes ... history repeating
& Cheney goes to thank & kiss some Arab ass this week regarding this country's other addiction problem
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