Excerpts from Rev. Jeremiah Wright Interview with Bill Moyers
Greg Mitchell
Rev. Jeremiah Wright Interview with Bill Moyers
Posted April 24, 2008 | 12:24 PM (EST)
I'll be watching PBS' NOW also tonight.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Oil, specifically running out of the shit
Seems to be
what everybody's
talking about it lately.
I covered this my first month blogging.
This study hadn't been written yet.
well wouldja lookit that--
...Cost information available from projects and design studies performed in the 1980s can be escalated to give a very rough estimate of the anticipated capital costs
for mining and surface retorting plants. Using this approach, a first-of-a-kind commercial surface retorting complex (mine, retorting plant, upgrading plant, supporting utilities, and spent shale reclamation) is unlikely to be profitable unless real crude oil prices are at least $70 to $95 per barrel (2005 dollars)...
For three million barrels a day that require 2 barrels of water for every barrel of oil. We use 20 million barrels of oil a day now and water wastage in the west is just stupid. You can't reuse the water after you process out shale oil, it's toxic.
Jeez, You won't die if you don't get your McFatass into your SUV and over to Burger Boob's for Cheezwhiz covered fries for three days. You WILL die if you don't get water after three days.
what everybody's
talking about it lately.
I covered this my first month blogging.
This study hadn't been written yet.
well wouldja lookit that--
...Cost information available from projects and design studies performed in the 1980s can be escalated to give a very rough estimate of the anticipated capital costs
for mining and surface retorting plants. Using this approach, a first-of-a-kind commercial surface retorting complex (mine, retorting plant, upgrading plant, supporting utilities, and spent shale reclamation) is unlikely to be profitable unless real crude oil prices are at least $70 to $95 per barrel (2005 dollars)...
For three million barrels a day that require 2 barrels of water for every barrel of oil. We use 20 million barrels of oil a day now and water wastage in the west is just stupid. You can't reuse the water after you process out shale oil, it's toxic.
Jeez, You won't die if you don't get your McFatass into your SUV and over to Burger Boob's for Cheezwhiz covered fries for three days. You WILL die if you don't get water after three days.
Zogby: End it Now
Ok then. Makes sense to me.
Primary results
Anything you want to know about the 2008 elections?
Just in case you're not overwhelmed by that last ton of links in the last link, here's more .
General Election polls, who does better to beat McCain state by state?
Primary results
Anything you want to know about the 2008 elections?
Just in case you're not overwhelmed by that last ton of links in the last link, here's more .
General Election polls, who does better to beat McCain state by state?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
5:27 PM 4/23/2008 - 7 myths of energy independence
The Seven Myths of Energy Independence
NEWS: Why forging a sustainable energy future is dependent on foreign oil
By Paul Roberts
May/June 2008 Issue
Hmmmm. I used to think that Mother Jones was kind of a hippy dippy publication. I don't think that way any more.
Made me think about the Independent Lens show that we watched late last Sunday. It was called King Corn It was one of the most entertaining informational films I've ever watched.
...The doe found that replacing three-quarters of the U.S. fleet with plug-in hybrids would cut vehicle CO2 emissions by 27 percent nationwide—40 percent or more if the country's power system were upgraded to match California's low-carbon grid...
Trains are more efficient. WaPo just used a really nifty graphic two days ago, helllloooooooo?
No presidential candidate has indicated he or she will raise energy taxes or sit down in oil talks with Tehran. All have ties to a self-interested energy sector, be it coal, ethanol, or nukes....
NEWS: Why forging a sustainable energy future is dependent on foreign oil
By Paul Roberts
May/June 2008 Issue
Hmmmm. I used to think that Mother Jones was kind of a hippy dippy publication. I don't think that way any more.
Myth #2
Ethanol Will Set Us Free
Made me think about the Independent Lens show that we watched late last Sunday. It was called King Corn It was one of the most entertaining informational films I've ever watched.
Myth #3
...The doe found that replacing three-quarters of the U.S. fleet with plug-in hybrids would cut vehicle CO2 emissions by 27 percent nationwide—40 percent or more if the country's power system were upgraded to match California's low-carbon grid...
Trains are more efficient. WaPo just used a really nifty graphic two days ago, helllloooooooo?
Myth #7
Once Bush Is Gone, Change Will Come
Blackwater on the border
Virtual fence on Mexican border deemed insufficient
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
So?
Blackwater still needs to feed from the government trough, and what better place than San Diego? Just what we need patrolling the border here, Blackwater.
There's just something about right-wing Christofacist zombies. Relentless fuckers, aren't they?
Duncky will come to their rescue. Lemon Chicken man does his best to secure bucks for all the boondoggles that defense contractors can dream up.
Rep Bob Filner, to his credit, has this to say
I have a question though. Why is Blackwater training sailors here? San Diego is one big huge Navy base.
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
So?
Blackwater still needs to feed from the government trough, and what better place than San Diego? Just what we need patrolling the border here, Blackwater.
There's just something about right-wing Christofacist zombies. Relentless fuckers, aren't they?
Duncky will come to their rescue. Lemon Chicken man does his best to secure bucks for all the boondoggles that defense contractors can dream up.
Rep Bob Filner, to his credit, has this to say
I have a question though. Why is Blackwater training sailors here? San Diego is one big huge Navy base.
THE DEMOCRATIC END GAME: Who has the right credentials?
By Rhodes Cook April 03, 2008
I might be wrong, I haven't been graded on this assignment yet, sorry, ungraded homework is the best I can do for the moment.
This is me condensing the title linked article.
The last time the Democratic Party had a fight involving the credentials committee was during the election cycle of 1972 over the nomination of what turned out to be George McGovern. At that time the party had a new ban on the previously used "winner-take all" system that a lot of Republican primaries & caucuses still use today. The party had recently switched to proportional allocation of delegates, and the anti-McGovern forces used this to strip McGovern of his California delegates. The legal challenge over S. Carolina and California delegates turned the convention chaotic. This situation doesn't look like the same fight, but basically it is. I'm not really sure how Florida and Michigan will seat their delegates at the convention, but I think the credentials committee may be more involved with the choosing of the Democratic Party candidate for President than they have since 1972.
The Clinton-Obama battle could be decided by Michigan and Florida or by the credentials committee. I didn't know what the credentials committee was so I used Google and found this:
What Is This Thing Called the Credentials Committee?
By Greg Sargent - March 31, 2008, 4:23PM (TPM Election Central)
(update: Ok, I'm still learning here, this says "Democratic Party may not seat delegation to violation of primary scheduling rules" )
I might be wrong, I haven't been graded on this assignment yet, sorry, ungraded homework is the best I can do for the moment.
This is me condensing the title linked article.
The last time the Democratic Party had a fight involving the credentials committee was during the election cycle of 1972 over the nomination of what turned out to be George McGovern. At that time the party had a new ban on the previously used "winner-take all" system that a lot of Republican primaries & caucuses still use today. The party had recently switched to proportional allocation of delegates, and the anti-McGovern forces used this to strip McGovern of his California delegates. The legal challenge over S. Carolina and California delegates turned the convention chaotic. This situation doesn't look like the same fight, but basically it is. I'm not really sure how Florida and Michigan will seat their delegates at the convention, but I think the credentials committee may be more involved with the choosing of the Democratic Party candidate for President than they have since 1972.
The Clinton-Obama battle could be decided by Michigan and Florida or by the credentials committee. I didn't know what the credentials committee was so I used Google and found this:
What Is This Thing Called the Credentials Committee?
By Greg Sargent - March 31, 2008, 4:23PM (TPM Election Central)
(update: Ok, I'm still learning here, this says "Democratic Party may not seat delegation to violation of primary scheduling rules" )
Pushing Back Against the Pentagon's Pundits
I don't think the old men that run things in this country really understand just how fed up the American people are.
Tell Congress: Investigate the Propaganda Pundits
Tell Congress: Investigate the Propaganda Pundits
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The News Dissector
is all over it today, except for he didn't link to BradBlog, which has really interesting info on
The Pennsylvania Primary: Democracy of the Gods
BLOGGED BY Brad Friedman ON 4/21/2008 8:05AM
Tuesday's Election Will be 'Unrecountable, Unverifiable, and Unauditable'...
The Pennsylvania Primary: Democracy of the Gods
BLOGGED BY Brad Friedman ON 4/21/2008 8:05AM
Tuesday's Election Will be 'Unrecountable, Unverifiable, and Unauditable'...
A Switch on the Tracks: Railroads Roar Ahead
Monday, April 21, 2008; Page A01 (WaPo)
Global Trade, Fuel Costs Add Up To Expansion for Once-Dying Industry
Video
Railroads Raise the Roof
Staff Writer Frank Ahrens talks with Norfolk Southern engineer Bob Billingsley about expanding a Norfolk Southern tunnel in southwest Virginia to make way for double-stacked railcar containers. The railroad industry is enjoying a building boom as soaring diesel prices and a changing global market drive freight back to the rails...
...In the 1970s, tight federal regulation, cheap truck fuel and a wide-open interstate highway system conspired to cripple the railroad industry, driving many lines into bankruptcy....
...A train can haul a ton of freight 423 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel, about a 3-to-1 fuel efficiency advantage over 18-wheelers, and the railroad industry is increasingly touting itself as an eco-friendly alternative. Trucking firms also use the rail lines; UPS is the railroad industry's biggest customer...
Hmmmmm, a little econ history, please:
in approximately 1900. Nine out of the twenty-two fortunes were railroad fortunes:
Update 3:42 PM 4/22/2008 Looks like the "gilded age" or robber baron history is being blogged over at TomDispatch also
Global Trade, Fuel Costs Add Up To Expansion for Once-Dying Industry
Video
Railroads Raise the Roof
Staff Writer Frank Ahrens talks with Norfolk Southern engineer Bob Billingsley about expanding a Norfolk Southern tunnel in southwest Virginia to make way for double-stacked railcar containers. The railroad industry is enjoying a building boom as soaring diesel prices and a changing global market drive freight back to the rails...
...In the 1970s, tight federal regulation, cheap truck fuel and a wide-open interstate highway system conspired to cripple the railroad industry, driving many lines into bankruptcy....
...A train can haul a ton of freight 423 miles on one gallon of diesel fuel, about a 3-to-1 fuel efficiency advantage over 18-wheelers, and the railroad industry is increasingly touting itself as an eco-friendly alternative. Trucking firms also use the rail lines; UPS is the railroad industry's biggest customer...
Hmmmmm, a little econ history, please:
in approximately 1900. Nine out of the twenty-two fortunes were railroad fortunes:
Update 3:42 PM 4/22/2008 Looks like the "gilded age" or robber baron history is being blogged over at TomDispatch also
Sunday, April 20, 2008
SUPERDELEGATE MATH
Unpledged delegate projections don't favor Clinton
By Alan I. Abramowitz
Special Guest Columnist
Dr. Alan Abramowitz is the Alben W. Barkley Professor of Political Science at Emory University, and the author of Voice of the People: Elections and Voting Behavior in the United States (2004, McGraw-Hill).
A whosy-whatsy? A Superdelegate?
Undecided superdelegates don't feel bound by primaries
4/20/2008
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
SUPERDELEGATES
Dangling The Kryptonite
by Chris Bodenner
Wed. Apr. 9, 2008
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on 4/9 "said she favors a reduction in the number of superdelegates -- and their oversized influence -- in choosing" the Dem nominee.
Pelosi "did not say how many superdelegates would be appropriate in future elections or how they should be chosen. But she criticized the influence of this year's group and said the party should do a better job making the public aware of the rules that give them such power."
Ummm, sure, Ok. More confused than I was before. By design?
WHAT IF DEMOCRATS USED WINNER TAKE ALL?
April 3, 2008
Without proportional allocation Obama would trail
By Wesley Little
Special Guest Columnist
Wesley Little is the Political Chair for Washington & Lee University's "Mock Convention", the nation's most accurate mock convention since its inception in 1908, and a political columnist for several Virginia news papers, including the News Advance and the News-Gazette.
Basically, if the Dems used the same system the Repubs used that Clinton would be winning the nomination.
THE DEMOCRATIC END GAME:Who has the right credentials?
April 10, 2008
By Rhodes CookSenior Columnist
One of the basic themes of the long-running Democratic nominating campaign between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton speaks to the need for a new era in American politics. But increasingly it seems as though their race could be decided by a method quite old--a decision by the convention credentials committee that is voted up or down on the convention floor.
Unpledged delegate projections don't favor Clinton
By Alan I. Abramowitz
Special Guest Columnist
Dr. Alan Abramowitz is the Alben W. Barkley Professor of Political Science at Emory University, and the author of Voice of the People: Elections and Voting Behavior in the United States (2004, McGraw-Hill).
A whosy-whatsy? A Superdelegate?
Undecided superdelegates don't feel bound by primaries
4/20/2008
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
SUPERDELEGATES
Dangling The Kryptonite
by Chris Bodenner
Wed. Apr. 9, 2008
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on 4/9 "said she favors a reduction in the number of superdelegates -- and their oversized influence -- in choosing" the Dem nominee.
Pelosi "did not say how many superdelegates would be appropriate in future elections or how they should be chosen. But she criticized the influence of this year's group and said the party should do a better job making the public aware of the rules that give them such power."
Ummm, sure, Ok. More confused than I was before. By design?
WHAT IF DEMOCRATS USED WINNER TAKE ALL?
April 3, 2008
Without proportional allocation Obama would trail
By Wesley Little
Special Guest Columnist
Wesley Little is the Political Chair for Washington & Lee University's "Mock Convention", the nation's most accurate mock convention since its inception in 1908, and a political columnist for several Virginia news papers, including the News Advance and the News-Gazette.
Basically, if the Dems used the same system the Repubs used that Clinton would be winning the nomination.
THE DEMOCRATIC END GAME:Who has the right credentials?
April 10, 2008
By Rhodes CookSenior Columnist
One of the basic themes of the long-running Democratic nominating campaign between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton speaks to the need for a new era in American politics. But increasingly it seems as though their race could be decided by a method quite old--a decision by the convention credentials committee that is voted up or down on the convention floor.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Palestinian Suicide Bombers Attack Crossing Into Gaza
A Hamas leader in Gaza City, Sami Abu Zuhri, said the group would carry out more attacks on crossings to break the nearly yearlong blockade of the territory.
The military wing of Hamas has launched a rare suicide attack on Gaza's border with Israel.
It came as a controversial meeting between Hamas officials and Jimmy Carter, the former US president, was concluding in Syria.
At least 13 Israeli soldiers were wounded, and three Palestinian fighters were reported to be killed.
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from Gaza.
This. Crap. Just. Never. Ends.
The military wing of Hamas has launched a rare suicide attack on Gaza's border with Israel.
It came as a controversial meeting between Hamas officials and Jimmy Carter, the former US president, was concluding in Syria.
At least 13 Israeli soldiers were wounded, and three Palestinian fighters were reported to be killed.
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from Gaza.
This. Crap. Just. Never. Ends.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Local newz
Notice the wording of these headlines.
Marine wife accused of poisoning husband
Woman charged with first-degree murder for financial gain
Thurs., Dec. 15, 2005
Authorities: Wife Killed Marine Spouse For Breast Enhancements
Sommer Resists Extradition
POSTED: 9:03 am PST January 4, 2006
UPDATED: 7:05 am PST January 5, 2006
Well, can you imagine my surprise when this woman was released from prison yesterday?
Test clears woman of poisoning husband
Published: April 18, 2008 at 2:12 PM
SAN DIEGO, April 18 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in San Diego have dropped charges against a 34-year-old woman convicted in January of killing her U.S. Marine husband.
Cynthia Sommer was freed from the Los Colinas jail after spending two years and four months behind bars on charges of fatally poisoning Sgt. Todd Sommer with arsenic, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday.
In freeing Sommer, prosecutors said the conclusions of a new group of toxicology experts has cast doubt on poisoning as a cause of Sgt. Sommer's death.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis told a news conference Thursday "as soon as we had the information that pointed to reasonable doubt, we brought this case this afternoon to get the matter dismissed."
Sommer, 23, died in February, 2002 after collapsing at the couple's home at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
At first doctors said he died of natural causes but tests later found high levels of arsenic in his liver and kidneys.
Court documents said a lab in Canada re-tested Sommers' tissue samples this month and found no evidence of arsenic.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
For more go here
Yeesh, I'm so cynical at this point I wonder if it might have been poisoning that killed him and it was easier for the local authorities and NCIS to grab her instead of dealing with the real problem.
US Military Bases Known To Be Contaminated (ca. 1992) (From: Life in the Times)
The following 59 U.S. military bases were suffering from significant water or soil contamination a year ago, according to the Department of Defense's interpretation of its latest hazardous waste survey. DoD officials say not every base suffering such contamination is on the list, because information was not available for all bases. The list is based on the latest status report for DoD's Installation Restoration Program.
The IRP report contains no explanation of the problems at each base, so we asked each service to provide details. The Army did so. The Navy Chief of Information refused to help us gather the information...
Moffett Field NAS, CA
The major contaminants in the ground water are volatile organic compounds.
Whidbey Island NAS, WA...
Other Navy bases:
China Lake, CA
Indian Head NOS, MD
Jacksonville NAS, FL
Miramar NAS, CA (now MCAS Miramar)
Pabmont River NAS, MD
Toxic Trails: U.S. Military Bases and the Environment
November 29, 2000
Marine wife accused of poisoning husband
Woman charged with first-degree murder for financial gain
Thurs., Dec. 15, 2005
Authorities: Wife Killed Marine Spouse For Breast Enhancements
Sommer Resists Extradition
POSTED: 9:03 am PST January 4, 2006
UPDATED: 7:05 am PST January 5, 2006
Well, can you imagine my surprise when this woman was released from prison yesterday?
Test clears woman of poisoning husband
Published: April 18, 2008 at 2:12 PM
SAN DIEGO, April 18 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in San Diego have dropped charges against a 34-year-old woman convicted in January of killing her U.S. Marine husband.
Cynthia Sommer was freed from the Los Colinas jail after spending two years and four months behind bars on charges of fatally poisoning Sgt. Todd Sommer with arsenic, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday.
In freeing Sommer, prosecutors said the conclusions of a new group of toxicology experts has cast doubt on poisoning as a cause of Sgt. Sommer's death.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis told a news conference Thursday "as soon as we had the information that pointed to reasonable doubt, we brought this case this afternoon to get the matter dismissed."
Sommer, 23, died in February, 2002 after collapsing at the couple's home at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
At first doctors said he died of natural causes but tests later found high levels of arsenic in his liver and kidneys.
Court documents said a lab in Canada re-tested Sommers' tissue samples this month and found no evidence of arsenic.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
For more go here
Yeesh, I'm so cynical at this point I wonder if it might have been poisoning that killed him and it was easier for the local authorities and NCIS to grab her instead of dealing with the real problem.
US Military Bases Known To Be Contaminated (ca. 1992) (From: Life in the Times)
The following 59 U.S. military bases were suffering from significant water or soil contamination a year ago, according to the Department of Defense's interpretation of its latest hazardous waste survey. DoD officials say not every base suffering such contamination is on the list, because information was not available for all bases. The list is based on the latest status report for DoD's Installation Restoration Program.
The IRP report contains no explanation of the problems at each base, so we asked each service to provide details. The Army did so. The Navy Chief of Information refused to help us gather the information...
Moffett Field NAS, CA
The major contaminants in the ground water are volatile organic compounds.
Whidbey Island NAS, WA...
Other Navy bases:
China Lake, CA
Indian Head NOS, MD
Jacksonville NAS, FL
Miramar NAS, CA (now MCAS Miramar)
Pabmont River NAS, MD
Toxic Trails: U.S. Military Bases and the Environment
November 29, 2000
Medical "professionals?"
Filipino doctors on YouTube face penalty By OLIVER TEVES Associated Press Writer
Anybody that's ever worked in an ER knows these kinds of cases show up, and the buzz goes around the hospital, but you never publicize them. NEVER. These medical "professionals" need a remedial class in ethical standards and to be penalized for "violating a code of conduct."
The Philippines train and send out more nurses than most countries do.
I'm sure most of them are highly competent professionals.
Anybody that's ever worked in an ER knows these kinds of cases show up, and the buzz goes around the hospital, but you never publicize them. NEVER. These medical "professionals" need a remedial class in ethical standards and to be penalized for "violating a code of conduct."
The Philippines train and send out more nurses than most countries do.
I'm sure most of them are highly competent professionals.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Does the Pope Care About Workers' Rights?
posted April 14, 2008 (web only)The Nation
Angela Bonavoglia
...To the casual observer, this (teacher's) strike makes it seem like Catholic school teachers are secure in their right to fight for just wages and working conditions. Yet in reality, they have legal protection for union activities only in a handful of states, thanks to the obstructionist tactics of Catholic bishops...
(Since he's in my country this week, it must be pick on the Pope week for me, sorry to those of you who gain some comfort and spiritual guidance from the guy, but Ratzi, and actually the whole organized religion thing gives me the creeps)
Angela Bonavoglia
...To the casual observer, this (teacher's) strike makes it seem like Catholic school teachers are secure in their right to fight for just wages and working conditions. Yet in reality, they have legal protection for union activities only in a handful of states, thanks to the obstructionist tactics of Catholic bishops...
(Since he's in my country this week, it must be pick on the Pope week for me, sorry to those of you who gain some comfort and spiritual guidance from the guy, but Ratzi, and actually the whole organized religion thing gives me the creeps)
Monday, April 14, 2008
Testosterone May Drive Traders to Risks, Riches (Update1)
Said Captain Obvious.
It is often said that woman make the best investors, but not traders.
Yes, I still laugh every time I see it.
It is often said that woman make the best investors, but not traders.
Yes, I still laugh every time I see it.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Pope visits
Traffic Tie-Ups, Disruptions Expected During Visit
D.C. Officials Recommending Patience, Planning
By Lena H. Sun
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 13, 2008; C01
The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Washington this week could cause major traffic backups and disrupt subway and bus commutes on a scale not seen since the state funeral for former president Ronald Reagan four years ago, transportation officials said....
Yeah, whatever. You know where I think this clueless fuck should be visiting with his cadre of secret service looking dudes? The Arizona desert where pollos die trying to get across the border to make enough to feed their families. Let's see how long those suits last jogging through that heat. That's not to say that Mexicans are not ignoring the Church's cluelessness now:
...Around the world, fertility rates have fallen from an average of 4.95 children per woman in the 1960-1965 period to 2.96 children in the first half of the '90s. ... a 60 percent decline from the mid-1960s.
But fast-growing populations are like speeding locomotives that cannot brake slowly, and even though Mexican birth rates fell dramatically, the population has continued to surge....
Because this:
The Pope and Birth Control: A Crisis in Catholic Authority
Friday, Aug. 09, 1968
ROME has spoken," runs an ancient proverb of the Roman Catholic Church. "The case is closed." No longer true.
Last week Pope Paul VI formally promulgated his encyclical on birth control, which condemns all methods of contraception, except rhythm, as against the will of God.
Really wasn't that long ago.
Funny how he's not visiting Tijuana, he's safer than most Mexicans in that Popemobile of his.
You think he'll be visiting anywhere that they are having food riots?
D.C. Officials Recommending Patience, Planning
By Lena H. Sun
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 13, 2008; C01
The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Washington this week could cause major traffic backups and disrupt subway and bus commutes on a scale not seen since the state funeral for former president Ronald Reagan four years ago, transportation officials said....
Yeah, whatever. You know where I think this clueless fuck should be visiting with his cadre of secret service looking dudes? The Arizona desert where pollos die trying to get across the border to make enough to feed their families. Let's see how long those suits last jogging through that heat. That's not to say that Mexicans are not ignoring the Church's cluelessness now:
...Around the world, fertility rates have fallen from an average of 4.95 children per woman in the 1960-1965 period to 2.96 children in the first half of the '90s. ... a 60 percent decline from the mid-1960s.
But fast-growing populations are like speeding locomotives that cannot brake slowly, and even though Mexican birth rates fell dramatically, the population has continued to surge....
Because this:
The Pope and Birth Control: A Crisis in Catholic Authority
Friday, Aug. 09, 1968
ROME has spoken," runs an ancient proverb of the Roman Catholic Church. "The case is closed." No longer true.
Last week Pope Paul VI formally promulgated his encyclical on birth control, which condemns all methods of contraception, except rhythm, as against the will of God.
Really wasn't that long ago.
Funny how he's not visiting Tijuana, he's safer than most Mexicans in that Popemobile of his.
You think he'll be visiting anywhere that they are having food riots?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Food prices, population and failures in family planning
Q&A: Rising world food prices
Page last updated at 10:26 GMT, Friday, 11 April 2008 11:26 UK Page last updated at 10:26 GMT, Friday, 11 April 2008 11:26 UK
The price of wheat, rice and maize have nearly doubled in the past year - and they are not the only foodstuffs trading at a high price on the international commodity market.What are the main causes?
...The first reason why prices are rising is growth in the world's population, which is expected to top nine billion by the middle of the century.
That is an incredible number of mouths to feed and will put pressure on a range of resources, including land, water and oil, as well as food supply...
BBC video on food shortage protests
U.S. Farm subsidies are not moral if you think globally.
On the other hand, we have water problems and the farming practices are lowering our most important aquifer. Should we use up our most precious resource helping along exponential population growth?
50 simple things you can do to save the Earth (#47)
In more than half the developing countries studied by the U.N., population has been growing faster than food supplies.
...Step 2. Think nationally. The U.S., with 5% of the global population, uses about 25% of the world’s fossil fuel resources, and the average American consumes 120 lbs. a day in natural resources. So population stabilization in the U.S. could have a big impact on protecting the environment...
I'm not picking on the Philippines here, the next two links are only an example of how tradition and customs are making progress harder and starvation more frequent.
Arroyo lauded for preventing food riots in RP
Posted on Saturday 12 April 2008
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is “appropriately concerned” and “very concerned” over the continued rising prices and low supply of food including rice in the world market, which has already sparked civil disturbance and food riots in 33 countries, an official of the United Nation’s International Fund for Agriculture Development (Ifad) said.
Philippine Fertility Rate Is One of the Highest in Asia: Santa Clara, Segundina and Other Stories
In this predominantly Catholic country, people often pray for divine intervention from Santa Clara (Saint Claire), the patron saint of the childless, for one very specific purpose: to aid fertility and bless them with children.
Bangladesh faces food crisis
Page last updated at 23:02 GMT, Thursday, 10 April 2008 00:02 UK
Birth rate country comparison
Population growth rate by country 2005
List of countries by population growth rate
Of course the neutrality of the Wikipedia page on Overpopulation is disputed. Probably by some bible thumping head-up ass Bush supporter.
Dems Lose Fight on Family Planning Aid
December 17, 2007
by Anne Flaherty
The Associated Press
Abstinence only Sex Ed in the US has been a miserable failure.
Update: We're wasting our precious water on our fucking gas tanks and people are starving? Yikes.
Page last updated at 10:26 GMT, Friday, 11 April 2008 11:26 UK Page last updated at 10:26 GMT, Friday, 11 April 2008 11:26 UK
The price of wheat, rice and maize have nearly doubled in the past year - and they are not the only foodstuffs trading at a high price on the international commodity market.What are the main causes?
...The first reason why prices are rising is growth in the world's population, which is expected to top nine billion by the middle of the century.
That is an incredible number of mouths to feed and will put pressure on a range of resources, including land, water and oil, as well as food supply...
BBC video on food shortage protests
U.S. Farm subsidies are not moral if you think globally.
On the other hand, we have water problems and the farming practices are lowering our most important aquifer. Should we use up our most precious resource helping along exponential population growth?
50 simple things you can do to save the Earth (#47)
In more than half the developing countries studied by the U.N., population has been growing faster than food supplies.
...Step 2. Think nationally. The U.S., with 5% of the global population, uses about 25% of the world’s fossil fuel resources, and the average American consumes 120 lbs. a day in natural resources. So population stabilization in the U.S. could have a big impact on protecting the environment...
I'm not picking on the Philippines here, the next two links are only an example of how tradition and customs are making progress harder and starvation more frequent.
Arroyo lauded for preventing food riots in RP
Posted on Saturday 12 April 2008
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is “appropriately concerned” and “very concerned” over the continued rising prices and low supply of food including rice in the world market, which has already sparked civil disturbance and food riots in 33 countries, an official of the United Nation’s International Fund for Agriculture Development (Ifad) said.
Philippine Fertility Rate Is One of the Highest in Asia: Santa Clara, Segundina and Other Stories
In this predominantly Catholic country, people often pray for divine intervention from Santa Clara (Saint Claire), the patron saint of the childless, for one very specific purpose: to aid fertility and bless them with children.
Bangladesh faces food crisis
Page last updated at 23:02 GMT, Thursday, 10 April 2008 00:02 UK
Birth rate country comparison
Population growth rate by country 2005
List of countries by population growth rate
Of course the neutrality of the Wikipedia page on Overpopulation is disputed. Probably by some bible thumping head-up ass Bush supporter.
Dems Lose Fight on Family Planning Aid
December 17, 2007
by Anne Flaherty
The Associated Press
Abstinence only Sex Ed in the US has been a miserable failure.
Update: We're wasting our precious water on our fucking gas tanks and people are starving? Yikes.
Friday, April 11, 2008
McCain Erases Obama Lead
And the depiction of U.S. citizens as Neanderthal continues.
Cui Bono?
Oh look, it's an old as dirt peroxide blonde pony-tailed Neanderthal. Ain't she a sweetheart?
RepugnantThuglicans....
It's what's for dinner.
Cui Bono?
Oh look, it's an old as dirt peroxide blonde pony-tailed Neanderthal. Ain't she a sweetheart?
RepugnantThuglicans....
It's what's for dinner.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):
1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1
4 times against it
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2
100 years in Iraq
Bomb Iran
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.
More CCain hypocrisy
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."
voting record
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.
CNN article
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.
McCain's money CNN
7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
teh Google on de temper
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.
teh Google on his lobbyists
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."
Columbia Journalism Review
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year. hoooo-eee, lookit all them NVs (not voting) in his recent environmental votes
John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be.
4 times against it
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2
100 years in Iraq
Bomb Iran
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.
More CCain hypocrisy
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."
voting record
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.
CNN article
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.
McCain's money CNN
7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
teh Google on de temper
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.
teh Google on his lobbyists
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."
Columbia Journalism Review
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year. hoooo-eee, lookit all them NVs (not voting) in his recent environmental votes
John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Religion sucks #11
Documents: Sect Married Girls at Puberty
By MICHELLE ROBERTS Associated Press Writer
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - A polygamist compound with hundreds of children was rife with sexual abuse, child welfare officials allege in court documents, with girls spiritually married to much older men as soon as they reached puberty and boys groomed to perpetuate the cycle.
Our British laws are there to protect Muslim women
From The Times
February 14, 2008
Mary Ann Sieghart
Canada: Polygamous Ontario Muslims collecting multiple benefit cheques
12/02/2008: Polygamous Muslims in Ontario receive benefits, although polygamy is officially illegal in Canada. (Toronto Sun)
An abuse of the welfare system by GTA [Greater Toronto Area, ed.] Muslim men allowed to live in polygamous marriages under a controversial Ontario law was met with shock and outrage yesterday.
Polygamists are selfish, stupid, pig-dogs.
There are already enough people on the planet
By MICHELLE ROBERTS Associated Press Writer
ELDORADO, Texas (AP) - A polygamist compound with hundreds of children was rife with sexual abuse, child welfare officials allege in court documents, with girls spiritually married to much older men as soon as they reached puberty and boys groomed to perpetuate the cycle.
Our British laws are there to protect Muslim women
From The Times
February 14, 2008
Mary Ann Sieghart
Canada: Polygamous Ontario Muslims collecting multiple benefit cheques
12/02/2008: Polygamous Muslims in Ontario receive benefits, although polygamy is officially illegal in Canada. (Toronto Sun)
An abuse of the welfare system by GTA [Greater Toronto Area, ed.] Muslim men allowed to live in polygamous marriages under a controversial Ontario law was met with shock and outrage yesterday.
Polygamists are selfish, stupid, pig-dogs.
There are already enough people on the planet
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
San Diego
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
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
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.
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