Bush lectures Arab world on political reform
..."Too often in the Middle East, politics has consisted of one leader in power and the opposition in jail," Bush said in a speech to 1,500 global policymakers and business leaders at this Red Sea beach resort. That was a clear reference to host Egypt, where main secular opposition figure Ayman Nour has been jailed and President Hosni Mubarak has led an authoritarian government since 1981....
Kidnapped by the CIA - Tortured in Egypt
By Cècile Hennion
Le Monde
Thursday 07 June 2007
... Abu Omar proclaims he has been a "Salafist," a very rigorous practicant of Islam,...He adhered to Wafd, a liberal party, where he frequented a certain Ayman Nour, the sole and unfortunate competitor to Hosni Mubarak during the last presidential election in 2005, who was thrown into prison shortly after his defeat, and whose friends and family still await his liberation.
Bin Laden lashes out at Arab leaders in new msg.
..."Those (Arab) kings and leaders sacrificed Palestine and Al-Aqsa to keep their crowns. ... But we will not be relieved of this responsibility," bin Laden said.
Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City is one of the holiest sites for Muslims...
The Al-Aqsa is the Third Holiest site for Muslims.
Different types of Christians duke it out in one of the holiest sites in Christianity .
The Jews gotta fight the Muslims for the Holiest Jewish site.
And how do the Muslims deal with their top two holiest sites?
"non-Muslims are strictly prohibited from entering Mecca and Medina. Roadblocks are stationed along roads leading to the city"
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Southland Tales (2006)
Yeesh, what a weird little flick. I didn't say good, although I did enjoy the meanness of the conservatives vs. the liberals. Pretty loopy little piece. John Lovitz was great in this doofy little film, but even better in the special features where he says at first he had no idea what the movie was about. Yeah John, me either.
Oh yeah, and Hollywood, or whoever did the wikipedia page on this movie? You may be talking about Southern California when you say "Southland," but we ain't that down here in THIS part of Southern California. Sorry. That refers to Los Angeles, it's LA talk. We San Diegans generally don't pipe up and yell "HERE!" when somebody hollers "Southland," because only advertisers use that term when they're trying to make a quick buck here. We locals don't use it, don't answer to it and generally are a bit irritated by it.
Yeah, so OK, the best thing about my day was popping one of my kid's CD's in on the way home from my friend's house:
daydream in blue - I Monster
(Shhhhhhh, don't tell the kid I like it, OK?)
Friday, May 16, 2008
All my favorite boys all in one place
John Cusack's War: The Actor Battles to Un-embed Hollywood With His New Film, War, Inc.
Jeremy Scahill
the boy signed me book a year ago.
John Cusack Talks About "War, Inc" VIDEO) (Cusack on with Craig Ferguson, oh make me a happy girl)
Huffington Post | May 16, 2008 09:04 AM
Chalmers Johnson on Our ‘Managed Democracy’
Posted on May 15, 2008
Yep, got him to sign me book too.
I have one problem with all of these men. Not a godanmed one of them has any fucking idea how many Americans would be unemployed if the M-I-C completely fell off the face of the earth tomorrow. How do I know that? Well, except for Ferguson, I've asked them. I've been curious for a while.
Do you know?
Frankly, I think the whole dammed system is broken
Jeremy Scahill
the boy signed me book a year ago.
John Cusack Talks About "War, Inc" VIDEO) (Cusack on with Craig Ferguson, oh make me a happy girl)
Huffington Post | May 16, 2008 09:04 AM
Chalmers Johnson on Our ‘Managed Democracy’
Posted on May 15, 2008
Yep, got him to sign me book too.
I have one problem with all of these men. Not a godanmed one of them has any fucking idea how many Americans would be unemployed if the M-I-C completely fell off the face of the earth tomorrow. How do I know that? Well, except for Ferguson, I've asked them. I've been curious for a while.
Do you know?
Frankly, I think the whole dammed system is broken
California Court Affirms Right to Gay Marriage
and these fucktards can't wait to make me, as a Californian who is happy that the gay marriage ban was struck down by "The current court, with a 6-1 majority of Republican appointees," go ahead and vote on their silly ballot initiative. Then they can waste more taxpayer dollars dragging it back into court trying to thump the whole state over the head with their goddamned bibles.
Pay attention to the petition signature gatherers. I've taken to ignoring them, especially if they hem and haw about who is paying them.
Another story that is upsetting is the Chinese earthquake. 7.9 is a huge quake. That hasn't happened in California since 1857
There are aftershocks. The coverage is positive now for the Chinese army, but you can't tell a couple that lost their only child in a school that was only ten year old that the government is all that and a bag of chips. This story isn't over yet.
In more fun world news: Myanmar cyclone death toll nearly 78,000
What if gas cost $10 a gallon?
Forget pizza delivery. And cheap airfares. And bottled water. In fact, forget a way of life that looks much like today's. But would that be so bad?
...Yes, it would be painful. At $10 a gallon, filling a Ford Explorer could cost $225. Even gassing up a Honda Civic could set you back $132.
And suddenly the bus wouldn't look so bad...
Economic Woes May Lead To Transit Fare Increases
POSTED: 5:33 pm PDT April 28, 2008
NCTD might lay off 10% of staff
Transit agency faces $3 million budget gap
Transit district chief resigning
San Diego Transit Officials Mull Cuts to Budget
Ironically
San Diego's Credit Rating Restored After 4-year Suspension
Pay attention to the petition signature gatherers. I've taken to ignoring them, especially if they hem and haw about who is paying them.
Another story that is upsetting is the Chinese earthquake. 7.9 is a huge quake. That hasn't happened in California since 1857
There are aftershocks. The coverage is positive now for the Chinese army, but you can't tell a couple that lost their only child in a school that was only ten year old that the government is all that and a bag of chips. This story isn't over yet.
In more fun world news: Myanmar cyclone death toll nearly 78,000
What if gas cost $10 a gallon?
Forget pizza delivery. And cheap airfares. And bottled water. In fact, forget a way of life that looks much like today's. But would that be so bad?
...Yes, it would be painful. At $10 a gallon, filling a Ford Explorer could cost $225. Even gassing up a Honda Civic could set you back $132.
And suddenly the bus wouldn't look so bad...
Economic Woes May Lead To Transit Fare Increases
POSTED: 5:33 pm PDT April 28, 2008
NCTD might lay off 10% of staff
Transit agency faces $3 million budget gap
Transit district chief resigning
San Diego Transit Officials Mull Cuts to Budget
Ironically
San Diego's Credit Rating Restored After 4-year Suspension
Thursday, May 15, 2008
the Economist vs Malthus and me
I shouldn't expect any more from the Economist happy talkers, and nobody signed this piece of shit. Before we even start, let's mention that Spain is scheduled to ship in 200 tankers full of drinking water this summer
Malthus, the false prophet
May 15th 2008
The pessimistic parson and early political economist remains as wrong as ever
AMID an astonishing surge in food prices, which has sparked riots and unrest in many countries and is making even the relatively affluent citizens of America and Europe feel the pinch, faith in the ability of global markets to fill nearly 7 billion bellies is dwindling. Given the fear that a new era of chronic shortages may have begun, it is perhaps understandable that the name of Thomas Malthus is in the air. Yet if his views were indeed now correct, that would defy the experience of the past two centuries...
drought and desertification and chronic food shortage
...Malthus first set out his ideas in 1798 in “An Essay on the Principle of Population”. This expounded a tragic twin trajectory for the growth of human populations and the increase of food supply. Whereas the natural tendency was for populations to grow without end, food supply would run up against the limit of finite land. As a result, the “positive checks” of higher mortality caused by famine, disease and war were necessary to bring the number of people back in line with the capacity to feed them.
In a second edition published in 1803, Malthus softened his original harsh message by introducing the idea of moral restraint. Such a “preventive check”, operating through the birth rather than the death rate, could provide a way to counter the otherwise inexorable logic of too many mouths chasing too little food. If couples married late and had fewer children, population growth could be sufficiently arrested for agriculture to cope.
It was the misfortune of Malthus—but the good luck of generations born after him—that he wrote at an historical turning point. His ideas, especially his later ones, were arguably an accurate description of pre-industrial societies, which teetered on a precarious balance between empty and full stomachs. But the industrial revolution, which had already begun in Britain, was transforming the long-term outlook for economic growth. Economies were starting to expand faster than their populations, bringing about a sustained improvement in living standards...
Uh, Ok brainiacs, here's where you mention that fabulous energy source,coal and how it powered the industrial revolution.
...Far from food running out, as Malthus had feared, it became abundant as trade expanded and low-cost agricultural producers like Argentina and Australia joined the world economy. Reforms based on sound political economy played a vital role, too. In particular, the abolition of the Corn Laws in 1846 paved the way for British workers to gain from cheap food imports.
Never mind that the Irish would starve because of potato blight, a result of mono-culture farming, which along with Amerindian food exponentially increased the population of Europe to begin with. Well, that and while the Irish were starving some English were making money selling crops that the starving Irish grew. Then the hungry emigrants came here. They still do.
Malthus got his demographic as well as his economic predictions wrong. His assumption that populations would carry on growing in times of plenty turned out to be false. Starting in Europe, one country after another underwent a “demographic transformation” as economic development brought greater prosperity. Both birth and death rates dropped and population growth eventually started to slow.
The Malthusian heresy re-emerged in the early 1970s, the last time food prices shot up. Then, at least, there appeared to be some cause for demographic alarm. Global-population growth had picked up sharply after the second world war because it took time for high birth rates in developing countries to follow down the plunge in infant-mortality rates brought about by modern medicine. But once again the worries about overpopulation proved mistaken as the “green revolution” and further advances in agricultural efficiency boosted food supply.
Color me cynical
If the world's population growth was a false concern four decades ago, when it peaked at 2% a year, it is even less so now that it has slowed to 1.2%. But even though crude demography is not to blame, changing lifestyles arising from rapid economic growth especially in Asia are a new worry. As the Chinese have become more affluent, they have started to consume more meat, raising the underlying demand for basic food since cattle need more grain to feed than humans. Neo-Malthusians question whether the world can provide 6.7 billion people (rising to 9.2 billion by 2050) with a Western-style diet...
China?
As the Seas Are Depleted, the Future Is the Farm Published: December 23, 1998
By R. W. APPLE JR.
..Once again the gloom is overdone. There may no longer be virgin lands to be settled and cultivated, as in the 19th century, but there is no reason to believe that agricultural productivity has hit a buffer. Indeed, one of the main barriers to another “green revolution” is unwarranted popular worries about genetically modified foods, which is holding back farm output not just in Europe, but in the developing countries that could use them to boost their exports.
Political folly increases in a geometrical ratio...
Why don't the Europeans like GM foods?
As so often, governments are making matters worse. Food-export bans are proliferating. Although these may produce temporary relief for any one country, the more they spread the tighter global markets become. Another wrongheaded policy has been America's subsidy to domestic ethanol production in a bid to reduce dependence on imported oil. This misconceived attempt to grow more fuel rather than to curb demand is expected to gobble up a third of this year's maize (corn) crop.
Ok yeah, subsidies for corn ethanol is a dumb idea, there's your one good point.
Although neo-Malthusianism naturally has much to say about food scarcity, the doctrine emerges more generally as the idea of absolute limits on resources and energy, such as the notion of “peak oil”. Following the earlier scares of the 1970s, oil companies defied the pessimists by finding extra fields, not least since higher prices had spurred new exploration. But even if oil wells were to run dry, economies can still adapt by finding and exploiting other energy sources.
Coal? Nuclear? Wind? Solar? Well, not right away, that's for sure.
A new form of Malthusian limit has more recently emerged through the need to constrain greenhouse-gas emissions in order to tackle global warming. But this too can be overcome by shifting to a low-carbon economy. As with agriculture, the main difficulty in making the necessary adjustment comes from poor policies, such as governments' reluctance to impose a carbon tax. There may be curbs on traditional forms of growth, but there is no limit to human ingenuity. That is why Malthus remains as wrong today as he was two centuries ago.
Carbon tax?
Malthus, the false prophet
May 15th 2008
The pessimistic parson and early political economist remains as wrong as ever
AMID an astonishing surge in food prices, which has sparked riots and unrest in many countries and is making even the relatively affluent citizens of America and Europe feel the pinch, faith in the ability of global markets to fill nearly 7 billion bellies is dwindling. Given the fear that a new era of chronic shortages may have begun, it is perhaps understandable that the name of Thomas Malthus is in the air. Yet if his views were indeed now correct, that would defy the experience of the past two centuries...
drought and desertification and chronic food shortage
...Malthus first set out his ideas in 1798 in “An Essay on the Principle of Population”. This expounded a tragic twin trajectory for the growth of human populations and the increase of food supply. Whereas the natural tendency was for populations to grow without end, food supply would run up against the limit of finite land. As a result, the “positive checks” of higher mortality caused by famine, disease and war were necessary to bring the number of people back in line with the capacity to feed them.
In a second edition published in 1803, Malthus softened his original harsh message by introducing the idea of moral restraint. Such a “preventive check”, operating through the birth rather than the death rate, could provide a way to counter the otherwise inexorable logic of too many mouths chasing too little food. If couples married late and had fewer children, population growth could be sufficiently arrested for agriculture to cope.
It was the misfortune of Malthus—but the good luck of generations born after him—that he wrote at an historical turning point. His ideas, especially his later ones, were arguably an accurate description of pre-industrial societies, which teetered on a precarious balance between empty and full stomachs. But the industrial revolution, which had already begun in Britain, was transforming the long-term outlook for economic growth. Economies were starting to expand faster than their populations, bringing about a sustained improvement in living standards...
Uh, Ok brainiacs, here's where you mention that fabulous energy source,coal and how it powered the industrial revolution.
...Far from food running out, as Malthus had feared, it became abundant as trade expanded and low-cost agricultural producers like Argentina and Australia joined the world economy. Reforms based on sound political economy played a vital role, too. In particular, the abolition of the Corn Laws in 1846 paved the way for British workers to gain from cheap food imports.
Never mind that the Irish would starve because of potato blight, a result of mono-culture farming, which along with Amerindian food exponentially increased the population of Europe to begin with. Well, that and while the Irish were starving some English were making money selling crops that the starving Irish grew. Then the hungry emigrants came here. They still do.
Malthus got his demographic as well as his economic predictions wrong. His assumption that populations would carry on growing in times of plenty turned out to be false. Starting in Europe, one country after another underwent a “demographic transformation” as economic development brought greater prosperity. Both birth and death rates dropped and population growth eventually started to slow.
The Malthusian heresy re-emerged in the early 1970s, the last time food prices shot up. Then, at least, there appeared to be some cause for demographic alarm. Global-population growth had picked up sharply after the second world war because it took time for high birth rates in developing countries to follow down the plunge in infant-mortality rates brought about by modern medicine. But once again the worries about overpopulation proved mistaken as the “green revolution” and further advances in agricultural efficiency boosted food supply.
Color me cynical
If the world's population growth was a false concern four decades ago, when it peaked at 2% a year, it is even less so now that it has slowed to 1.2%. But even though crude demography is not to blame, changing lifestyles arising from rapid economic growth especially in Asia are a new worry. As the Chinese have become more affluent, they have started to consume more meat, raising the underlying demand for basic food since cattle need more grain to feed than humans. Neo-Malthusians question whether the world can provide 6.7 billion people (rising to 9.2 billion by 2050) with a Western-style diet...
China?
As the Seas Are Depleted, the Future Is the Farm Published: December 23, 1998
By R. W. APPLE JR.
..Once again the gloom is overdone. There may no longer be virgin lands to be settled and cultivated, as in the 19th century, but there is no reason to believe that agricultural productivity has hit a buffer. Indeed, one of the main barriers to another “green revolution” is unwarranted popular worries about genetically modified foods, which is holding back farm output not just in Europe, but in the developing countries that could use them to boost their exports.
Political folly increases in a geometrical ratio...
Why don't the Europeans like GM foods?
As so often, governments are making matters worse. Food-export bans are proliferating. Although these may produce temporary relief for any one country, the more they spread the tighter global markets become. Another wrongheaded policy has been America's subsidy to domestic ethanol production in a bid to reduce dependence on imported oil. This misconceived attempt to grow more fuel rather than to curb demand is expected to gobble up a third of this year's maize (corn) crop.
Ok yeah, subsidies for corn ethanol is a dumb idea, there's your one good point.
Although neo-Malthusianism naturally has much to say about food scarcity, the doctrine emerges more generally as the idea of absolute limits on resources and energy, such as the notion of “peak oil”. Following the earlier scares of the 1970s, oil companies defied the pessimists by finding extra fields, not least since higher prices had spurred new exploration. But even if oil wells were to run dry, economies can still adapt by finding and exploiting other energy sources.
Coal? Nuclear? Wind? Solar? Well, not right away, that's for sure.
A new form of Malthusian limit has more recently emerged through the need to constrain greenhouse-gas emissions in order to tackle global warming. But this too can be overcome by shifting to a low-carbon economy. As with agriculture, the main difficulty in making the necessary adjustment comes from poor policies, such as governments' reluctance to impose a carbon tax. There may be curbs on traditional forms of growth, but there is no limit to human ingenuity. That is why Malthus remains as wrong today as he was two centuries ago.
Carbon tax?
VA discouraged staff from diagnosing PTSD for ‘compensation seeking veterans.’
Think Progress Wonk Room Attackerman Blog Fellows Think Progress
Filed Under: Military
By Matt at 12:28 pm VA discouraged staff from diagnosing PTSD for ‘compensation seeking veterans.’»
VoteVets.org and CREW released an e-mail today that reveals “a Veterans Affairs (VA) employee directing VA staff to refrain from diagnosing soldiers and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).” The e-mail, dated May 1, 2008, complains about “compensation seeking veterans” and urges VA staff to rule out PTSD and “consider a diagnosis of ‘Adjustment Disorder’” instead:
Last month, RAND released a study showing that nearly 20% of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan — nearly 300,000 in all — “report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment.”
Wow, I didn't think it could get worse than that, but apparently a vet is in jail for aggressively pursuing back benefits for PTSD
Filed Under: Military
By Matt at 12:28 pm VA discouraged staff from diagnosing PTSD for ‘compensation seeking veterans.’»
VoteVets.org and CREW released an e-mail today that reveals “a Veterans Affairs (VA) employee directing VA staff to refrain from diagnosing soldiers and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).” The e-mail, dated May 1, 2008, complains about “compensation seeking veterans” and urges VA staff to rule out PTSD and “consider a diagnosis of ‘Adjustment Disorder’” instead:
Last month, RAND released a study showing that nearly 20% of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan — nearly 300,000 in all — “report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment.”
Wow, I didn't think it could get worse than that, but apparently a vet is in jail for aggressively pursuing back benefits for PTSD
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Reality check
Study Says Foreigners In U.S. Adapt Quickly
By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008; Page A02
Sounds good, right? Like we're way ahead of the stupid Europeans in this area, right? We'll never have a major Al-Qaida problem here, right? Hooooo, well not according to Liebershrew:
Violent Islamist Extremism, The Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat (pdf)
I searched the above pdf file for the word "convicted" and it showed up exactly once. So maybe we are better at integrating our immigrants, who knows?
I have a tough question, though. If corporations are forced to spend more on taxes to pay for Nationalized health care, how fucking fast do you think we will start pushing out illegal immigrants like the Europeans and others do?
Come on man, do you think that large corporations don't influence the way people think in this country? Are you naive? Are you stupid?
If not, why does this bullshit about tort reform keep ending up in my mailbox? The kind of dumbfucks who keep circulating this bullshit couldn't afford to sue if they needed to, even to recover medical expenses, which make up half of bankruptcies among people but you can bet the large corporate interests can afford a cadre of lawyers to protect their bottom line AND their right to profit at your expense. And at the expense of the illegal aliens that they hire also.
It's not like there aren't already a few racial problems here:
Racist Incidents Give Some Obama Campaigners Pause
By Kevin Merida
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008; A01
By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008; Page A02
Sounds good, right? Like we're way ahead of the stupid Europeans in this area, right? We'll never have a major Al-Qaida problem here, right? Hooooo, well not according to Liebershrew:
Violent Islamist Extremism, The Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat (pdf)
I searched the above pdf file for the word "convicted" and it showed up exactly once. So maybe we are better at integrating our immigrants, who knows?
I have a tough question, though. If corporations are forced to spend more on taxes to pay for Nationalized health care, how fucking fast do you think we will start pushing out illegal immigrants like the Europeans and others do?
Come on man, do you think that large corporations don't influence the way people think in this country? Are you naive? Are you stupid?
If not, why does this bullshit about tort reform keep ending up in my mailbox? The kind of dumbfucks who keep circulating this bullshit couldn't afford to sue if they needed to, even to recover medical expenses, which make up half of bankruptcies among people but you can bet the large corporate interests can afford a cadre of lawyers to protect their bottom line AND their right to profit at your expense. And at the expense of the illegal aliens that they hire also.
It's not like there aren't already a few racial problems here:
Racist Incidents Give Some Obama Campaigners Pause
By Kevin Merida
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 13, 2008; A01
Sunday, May 11, 2008
This
got my attention a few days ago, and I'll be honest, it was because he was slamming Amy Goodman. I like Democracy Now and I listen or watch at least 3 times a week. The show covers stuff that the msm doesn't bother with, even if some of it is uber-esoteric or over-the-top activism (for shit that doesn't amount to squat in my life) for my tastes. Well this Max Keiser dude impressed me because he actually replied in the comments section (I don't see a whole lot of that at HuffPo) and one of the little gems he left in there was this one. Unfortunately I'm not quite sure what to do with this information because you could fit my financial expertise on the head of a pin, despite my suffering through two years of business classes. I was happy to add Mr. Keiser to my blogroll and I will be checking out Karmabanque to see if I can learn a little more about how it works.
I also loved this post from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brendan DeMelle today.
Unearthed: News of the Week the Mainstream Media Forgot to Report
I also loved this post from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brendan DeMelle today.
Unearthed: News of the Week the Mainstream Media Forgot to Report
Happy Mother’s Day for Moms with teenagers
You’ll get through this, hang in there
They aim their hate at you, but it’s really everywhere
At their age they don’t know who they are
And it’s all your fault, they think
You’ll get through this, hang in there
Even when they push you to the brink
When you want to run and hide from these evil rotten brats
Because you’re so exhausted from the never ending spats
Remember they’re testing their bully skills
Just smile and say I love you ‘cause
They’ll win a test of wills
They’ll break you if they can
Let them test their wings
Let them take control of their responsibilities
And let them skin their knees
They’ll pop back up if you let them
Just tell them that they can
They’ll remember that you let them win
And they’ll want to be with you later
You’ll get through this, hang in there
And so will they
Your heart really will mend
Even if they break it every day
Saturday, May 10, 2008
FBI, ATF Battle for Control Of Cases
Cooperation Lags Despite Merger
By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 10, 2008; A01
Oh fer Gawd's sake, I swear some shit just never changes. Anybody who's read Joseph Wambaugh knows this stuff. Yes, this woman is disgusted that guys compete more than they cooperate. Don't think think that because I'm a woman that I don't understand competition either boys, hell I used to work out a full 20 hours a week, 11 months a year for 6 years as a competitive athlete. Get it together guys!
By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 10, 2008; A01
Oh fer Gawd's sake, I swear some shit just never changes. Anybody who's read Joseph Wambaugh knows this stuff. Yes, this woman is disgusted that guys compete more than they cooperate. Don't think think that because I'm a woman that I don't understand competition either boys, hell I used to work out a full 20 hours a week, 11 months a year for 6 years as a competitive athlete. Get it together guys!
Friday, May 09, 2008
Books on how crappy the US media is
Our Media Have Been So Wrong for So Long
By Jayne Lyn Stahl, AlterNet. Posted May 9, 2008.
In his new book, E&P editor Greg Mitchell offers a stinging indictment of the media's complicity with Washington's war-marketing machine.
May 09, 2008
Huffington Author, Blogger
Arianna Huffington on How John McCain Has Changed Since Telling Her He Didn’t Vote for Bush in 2000
When I started figuring out the business end of the media is when I figured out how full of shit a lot of it was. Hey, didn't they used to call the ass end of a horse the business end?
Update 1:47 PM 5/9/2008 Looks like the German press is full of shit too. Jeez, where do they get this oversimplified anti-American drivel?
Die Zeit,Germany
The Handgun Lies Next to the Bible
By Martin Klingst May 1, 2008
He’s the biggest loser in American society – but he will decide who becomes president: the white male
Translated By Ron Argentati
By Jayne Lyn Stahl, AlterNet. Posted May 9, 2008.
In his new book, E&P editor Greg Mitchell offers a stinging indictment of the media's complicity with Washington's war-marketing machine.
May 09, 2008
Huffington Author, Blogger
Arianna Huffington on How John McCain Has Changed Since Telling Her He Didn’t Vote for Bush in 2000
When I started figuring out the business end of the media is when I figured out how full of shit a lot of it was. Hey, didn't they used to call the ass end of a horse the business end?
Update 1:47 PM 5/9/2008 Looks like the German press is full of shit too. Jeez, where do they get this oversimplified anti-American drivel?
Die Zeit,Germany
The Handgun Lies Next to the Bible
By Martin Klingst May 1, 2008
He’s the biggest loser in American society – but he will decide who becomes president: the white male
Translated By Ron Argentati
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Did Rush Limbaugh Tilt Result In Indiana?
Conservative Host Urged 'Chaos' Votes
By Alec MacGillis and Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 8, 2008; Page A01
Democrats Split Indiana and North Carolina
Sen. Barack Obama won North Carolina's presidential primary by a wide margin Tuesday, while Sen. Hillary Clinton narrowly won in Indiana.
Why does the media give that bag of butt pus so much credit? Why do they pay so much? Do people really listen to him?
Here is a link to the original Indiana document containing voter registration information:
http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/pdfs/Statewide_Voter_Count_by_County5.1.08.pdf
According to this document, here is a map with the percentage of voter registrations cancelled or changed, along with the quantities. (click on pic for map source info)
By Alec MacGillis and Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 8, 2008; Page A01
Democrats Split Indiana and North Carolina
Sen. Barack Obama won North Carolina's presidential primary by a wide margin Tuesday, while Sen. Hillary Clinton narrowly won in Indiana.
Why does the media give that bag of butt pus so much credit? Why do they pay so much? Do people really listen to him?
Here is a link to the original Indiana document containing voter registration information:
http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/pdfs/Statewide_Voter_Count_by_County5.1.08.pdf
According to this document, here is a map with the percentage of voter registrations cancelled or changed, along with the quantities. (click on pic for map source info)
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Dozens of college students busted in drug sting
Duuuuuuuuude.
So a bunch of frat boys out at San Diego State got busted for selling coke, pot, ecstasy to DEA .
This cracked me up:
"Those arrested included a student who was about to receive a criminal justice degree and another who was to receive a master’s degree in homeland security."
So a bunch of frat boys out at San Diego State got busted for selling coke, pot, ecstasy to DEA .
This cracked me up:
"Those arrested included a student who was about to receive a criminal justice degree and another who was to receive a master’s degree in homeland security."
Fight the War on Greed (explains tax loopholes)
"Monsanto investigators" hound farmers regarding alleged sale or use of genetically modified seeds? How creepy is that? Not what they wanted you to remember when you rode the Monsanto ride at Disneyland.
Don't tell me corporate hegemony and in fact corporate criminality isn't about PR, because it is.
I remember her and this info from the Corporation. The estimates on the cyclone death toll in Myanmar are going up as high as the size of a small city in the US, and they're already mentioning the rice crop destruction. Color me cynical. I thought at first that the food riots we were seeing could be blamed on overpopulation alone. Not so:
Goldman Sees `Explosive' Commodity Rallies, $175 Oil (Update1)
By Claudia Carpenter and Alexander Kwiatkowski
March 14 (Bloomberg) -
Well well well, I just keep getting entertainment sent to me via e-mail today "Goodbye Bush" (song by my friend, who like me, can't wait for Jan '09) I need it today.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Return of the population timebomb
May 5, 2008 11:00 AM | Printable version
It has become taboo over recent years, but population, not consumption, really is the key to managing our use of the world's resources
It has become taboo over recent years, but population, not consumption, really is the key to managing our use of the world's resources
Truthout chats with Donna Frye
My Chat With Donna Frye
By Marc Ash
t r u t h o u t | Interview
Thursday 01 May 2008
Donna Frye is a name not well known outside of San Diego, but her story speaks to the heart of American politics today. What's wrong with American politics today? What ordinary people doing extraordinary things can do to change American politics for the better.
Have a look.
Donna talks about political realities in the County of San Diego.
By Marc Ash
t r u t h o u t | Interview
Thursday 01 May 2008
Donna Frye is a name not well known outside of San Diego, but her story speaks to the heart of American politics today. What's wrong with American politics today? What ordinary people doing extraordinary things can do to change American politics for the better.
Have a look.
Donna talks about political realities in the County of San Diego.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
My PBS shows were different last night
Here's what was on last night.
Friday, May 2 KPBS
KPBS Channel 15
KPBSHD Channel 15.1
Evening
5:00 pm Washington Week
5:30 pm Mclaughlin Group
6:00 pm Bill Moyers Journal : Healthcare
7:00 pm The Newshour with Jim Lehrer
8:00 pm Fiesta Mexicana
10:00 pm Supernatural Science : Open to Suggestion
11:00 pm Road Trip : Central Coast
What's up with the Mclaughlin Group? A bunch of ancient Republicans screaming the same fucking message at each other. Damn, they need to get some hearing aids or something. Ugh. I don't have cable and I don't want to watch it.
Ummm, this is what was NOT on my teevee last night:
Week of 5.2.08
Election 2008: What to Expect (click video link to watch online)
It usually is.
Bill Moyers wasn't on when it usually is & he opened the show with one hell of an essay on Rev. Wright.
It wouldn't surprise me at all to find out that GOP operatives and crackers are getting their noses out of joint at some of the "liberal" programming on the local PBS station. Yes, to a lot of local fu%*tar#s, "Liberal" is a still a bad word. They can't help it. They're easily frightened.
Friday, May 2 KPBS
KPBS Channel 15
KPBSHD Channel 15.1
Evening
5:00 pm Washington Week
5:30 pm Mclaughlin Group
6:00 pm Bill Moyers Journal : Healthcare
7:00 pm The Newshour with Jim Lehrer
8:00 pm Fiesta Mexicana
10:00 pm Supernatural Science : Open to Suggestion
11:00 pm Road Trip : Central Coast
What's up with the Mclaughlin Group? A bunch of ancient Republicans screaming the same fucking message at each other. Damn, they need to get some hearing aids or something. Ugh. I don't have cable and I don't want to watch it.
Ummm, this is what was NOT on my teevee last night:
Week of 5.2.08
Election 2008: What to Expect (click video link to watch online)
It usually is.
Bill Moyers wasn't on when it usually is & he opened the show with one hell of an essay on Rev. Wright.
It wouldn't surprise me at all to find out that GOP operatives and crackers are getting their noses out of joint at some of the "liberal" programming on the local PBS station. Yes, to a lot of local fu%*tar#s, "Liberal" is a still a bad word. They can't help it. They're easily frightened.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Southern California Residents Gear Up for New Fight to Stop Secretive Expansion by Military Firm Blackwater (Democracy Now)
Blackwater Still Courting Investors
By Noah Shachtman
May 02, 2008 | 3:01:55 PM Categories: Mercs
Looks like Wired Magazine is doing a fine job of following all things Blackwater
San Diego GOP has a cracker?
Heh.
By Noah Shachtman
May 02, 2008 | 3:01:55 PM Categories: Mercs
Looks like Wired Magazine is doing a fine job of following all things Blackwater
San Diego GOP has a cracker?
Heh.
The FCC is as full of crap as a Christmas Goose
Adopted: May 1, 2008 Released: May 1, 2008
By the Assistant Chief, Policy Division, Media Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant in part a petition for declaratory ruling filed by the Christian Broadcast Network, Inc. (“CBN”), producer of a 60-minute television program entitled “The 700 Club.”
This program airs weekdays on 100 television stations in the United States, as well as on the ABC Family cable network, FamilyNet, and Trinity Broadcasting Network.
1. In its petition, CBN asks the Commission to declare that the subject program qualifies in its entirety as a bona fide newscast within the meaning of Section 315(a) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the “Act”), 47 U.S.C. § 315(a), or, in the alternative, that the news segments aired on “The 700 Club” qualify as bona fide newscasts and the news interview segments qualify as bona fide news interviews pursuant to Section 315(a).
2 . For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the newscast and news interview segments of “The 700 Club” qualify for the bona fide newscast and news interview exemptions under Section 315(a), respectively, and that these segments conducted on the program are exempt from equal opportunities.... (click here, to read the document)
So you kin click raht ther on the pitchur to find out a lil bit more about yer bona fide newzcaster/interviewer, thet the FCC sez is a bona fide news program exempt from the equal opportunities rule.
( Exempt from the equal opportunities clause????? )
"The FCC also ruled Friday that the news segments and interviews on Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club -- which airs on TV stations as well as ABC Family -- are also a bona fide news program exempt from the equal opportunities rule.
That show is hosted by Pat Robertson, himself once a presidential candidate.
But the commission stopped short of declaring the entire program exempt. CBN had asked that the whole show be exempt, but absent that, it wanted the interviews and news segments to get the exemption. The FCC chose the latter."
I know I've seen the Pentagon pundits on those gasbag Christofascist interviews. I need to go throw up.
Also
The Federal Communications Commission is requiring Sprint, the nation's third-largest wireless carrier, to clear certain channels by June 26, a move designed to eliminate radio interference with thousands of public safety agencies across the country. The company would essentially swap spectrum with the public safety agencies...
...The deadline was set three years ago in an initial order....
...Sprint, which said the FCC's new position was unreasonable, claimed if regulators enforce the deadline it would cripple the network....
...The court said if Sprint vacates those channels then it's likely it will immediately reduce radio interference that public safety agencies have experienced....
...expects the FCC will extend the deadline by at least another six months.
By the Assistant Chief, Policy Division, Media Bureau:
1. In this Order, we grant in part a petition for declaratory ruling filed by the Christian Broadcast Network, Inc. (“CBN”), producer of a 60-minute television program entitled “The 700 Club.”
This program airs weekdays on 100 television stations in the United States, as well as on the ABC Family cable network, FamilyNet, and Trinity Broadcasting Network.
1. In its petition, CBN asks the Commission to declare that the subject program qualifies in its entirety as a bona fide newscast within the meaning of Section 315(a) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the “Act”), 47 U.S.C. § 315(a), or, in the alternative, that the news segments aired on “The 700 Club” qualify as bona fide newscasts and the news interview segments qualify as bona fide news interviews pursuant to Section 315(a).
2 . For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the newscast and news interview segments of “The 700 Club” qualify for the bona fide newscast and news interview exemptions under Section 315(a), respectively, and that these segments conducted on the program are exempt from equal opportunities.... (click here, to read the document)
So you kin click raht ther on the pitchur to find out a lil bit more about yer bona fide newzcaster/interviewer, thet the FCC sez is a bona fide news program exempt from the equal opportunities rule.
( Exempt from the equal opportunities clause????? )
"The FCC also ruled Friday that the news segments and interviews on Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club -- which airs on TV stations as well as ABC Family -- are also a bona fide news program exempt from the equal opportunities rule.
That show is hosted by Pat Robertson, himself once a presidential candidate.
But the commission stopped short of declaring the entire program exempt. CBN had asked that the whole show be exempt, but absent that, it wanted the interviews and news segments to get the exemption. The FCC chose the latter."
I know I've seen the Pentagon pundits on those gasbag Christofascist interviews. I need to go throw up.
Also
The Federal Communications Commission is requiring Sprint, the nation's third-largest wireless carrier, to clear certain channels by June 26, a move designed to eliminate radio interference with thousands of public safety agencies across the country. The company would essentially swap spectrum with the public safety agencies...
...The deadline was set three years ago in an initial order....
...Sprint, which said the FCC's new position was unreasonable, claimed if regulators enforce the deadline it would cripple the network....
...The court said if Sprint vacates those channels then it's likely it will immediately reduce radio interference that public safety agencies have experienced....
...expects the FCC will extend the deadline by at least another six months.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Read yesterday's post and then this one.
Clinton Gas-Tax Proposal Criticized
Economists Share Obama's View
By Alec MacGillis and Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 1, 2008; Page A01
...Backing up Obama's position against Clinton's proposal to suspend the 18.4-cent-per-gallon tax for the summer is a slew of economists who argue that the proposal, first offered by Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, would be counterproductive...
The car took $50.00 in gas yesterday and it didn't fill up the tank. It ain't an SUV or truck.
Now the campaign geniuses think that allowing further disintegration of the infrastructure that the fucking 18 cents per gallon can't keep up with anyway, AND was stupid to continue building upon, (but that's another story altogether) is a good idea? (note how much higher CA gas taxes are)
Meanwhile people are going unfed, while the fat cats' profits on grain are up.
Before the bell: MRK, BP, ADM, MA, CFC, AAPL ...
Posted Apr 29th 2008 8:25AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: ...Archer Daniels-Midland (ADM)....... MasterCard Inc'A' (MA), ....Countrywide Financial (CFC), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Merck and Co (MRK), U.S. Steel (X), Valero Energy (VLO)
Before the bell: Street awaits Fed (V, DB, GM)...
....Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), the world's largest grain processor, said third-quarter profit rose 42% to $517 million or 80 cents per share, topping analyst estimates of 69 cents per share, as it traded more grains and crushed more soybeans. Sales climbed 64% to $18.7 billion. Seems that being in agriculture lately is a positive and ADM shares are rising 3.75% in premarket trading....
I'm fed up with this pattern.
Economists Share Obama's View
By Alec MacGillis and Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, May 1, 2008; Page A01
...Backing up Obama's position against Clinton's proposal to suspend the 18.4-cent-per-gallon tax for the summer is a slew of economists who argue that the proposal, first offered by Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, would be counterproductive...
The car took $50.00 in gas yesterday and it didn't fill up the tank. It ain't an SUV or truck.
Now the campaign geniuses think that allowing further disintegration of the infrastructure that the fucking 18 cents per gallon can't keep up with anyway, AND was stupid to continue building upon, (but that's another story altogether) is a good idea? (note how much higher CA gas taxes are)
Meanwhile people are going unfed, while the fat cats' profits on grain are up.
Before the bell: MRK, BP, ADM, MA, CFC, AAPL ...
Posted Apr 29th 2008 8:25AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: ...Archer Daniels-Midland (ADM)....... MasterCard Inc'A' (MA), ....Countrywide Financial (CFC), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Merck and Co (MRK), U.S. Steel (X), Valero Energy (VLO)
Before the bell: Street awaits Fed (V, DB, GM)...
....Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), the world's largest grain processor, said third-quarter profit rose 42% to $517 million or 80 cents per share, topping analyst estimates of 69 cents per share, as it traded more grains and crushed more soybeans. Sales climbed 64% to $18.7 billion. Seems that being in agriculture lately is a positive and ADM shares are rising 3.75% in premarket trading....
I'm fed up with this pattern.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tomgram: Chalmers Johnson, Teaching Imperialism 101
The RAND Corporation was the ur-think tank, the Cold War granddaddy of them all, and it's still with us.
By Chalmers Johnson
A Litany of Horrors
America's University of ImperialismBy Chalmers Johnson
This essay is a review of Soldiers of Reason: The RAND Corporation and the Rise of the American Empire by Alex Abella (Harcourt, 400 pp., $27)
...Without RAND, our military-industrial complex, as well as our democracy, would look quite different...
...The RAND Corporation is surely one of the world's most unusual, Cold War-bred private organizations in the field of international relations. While it has attracted and supported some of the most distinguished analysts of war and weaponry, it has not stood for the highest standards of intellectual inquiry and debate. While RAND has an unparalleled record of providing unbiased, unblinking analyses of technical and carefully limited problems involved in waging contemporary war, its record of advice on cardinal policies involving war and peace, the protection of civilians in wartime, arms races, and decisions to resort to armed force has been abysmal...Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Watching this now
CARRIER
I tell you whut. I wouldn't last ten minutes on that ship. One of those pilots embodies everything that I hate. Cubby holes and needing everything to be seen black and white, right and wrong. Fuck that. Salute that jerk? Nope. I am not military material.
Rigid, inflexible, arrogant, pack like, and not nearly as fucking smart as they think they are. No, wait, that would be the Republicans. Uh, yeah, like I said, I've never been military material.
I tell you whut. I wouldn't last ten minutes on that ship. One of those pilots embodies everything that I hate. Cubby holes and needing everything to be seen black and white, right and wrong. Fuck that. Salute that jerk? Nope. I am not military material.
Rigid, inflexible, arrogant, pack like, and not nearly as fucking smart as they think they are. No, wait, that would be the Republicans. Uh, yeah, like I said, I've never been military material.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Kids from Polygamous Sect Remain in State Custody
Talk of the Nation
April 28, 2008 · More than 400 children remain in the care of the state after reports of child sexual abuse prompted a raid on a Texas polygamist compound. Authorities maintain that they are protecting the kids, but families argue there was no evidence of abuse. Guests and callers weigh in on what's best for the children.
Guests:
Howard Berkes, NPR rural affairs correspondent
Rodney Parker, attorney based in Salt Lake City, Utah; spokesman for the families whose children are in state custody
John Sampson, professor of law at the University of Texas; teaches the Children's Rights Clinic, which provides legal representation for abused and neglected children in Travis County
Jack Downey, president and CEO of The Children's Shelter in San Antonio, Texas; caring for 22 children from the Eldorado compound
Related NPR Stories
April 25, 2008Officials Using DNA to Sort Polygamy Sect Kids
Gene Disorder Complicates Sect Custody Fight
31 of 53 teen girls at FLDS ranch are pregnant or had baby
By MICHELLE ROBERTS – 1 hour ago 3:59 PM 4/28/2008
Tracing the Polygamists' Family Tree
Sunday, Apr. 20, 2008 By HILARY HYLTON
...Four surnames dominate the list: Jeffs (relatives of Warren Jeffs, the sect's imprisoned leader and "prophet"), Jessop, Barlow and Steed.
In the 1930s, two families, the Jessops and the Barlows, settled the area around Hildale, Utah, along the border with Arizona, where they founded the FDLS — and began handing down to their descendants a recessive gene for a severe form of mental retardation called Fumarase Deficiency...
...Families whose children are affected often avail themselves of state-funded medical care, consistent with the FLDS philosophy of seeking government aid — despite their suspicion of government — which they call "bleeding the Beast."
...The FLDS community, by and large, rejects the idea that Fumarase Deficiency is caused by genes, according to Tarby...
Birth defect is plaguing children in FLDS towns
Fumarase Deficiency afflicts 20, is linked to marriages of close kin
By John Hollenhorst
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006 11:36 p.m. MST
Bust up in Bountiful (update)
CBC
More Clarity About Abuse, Intermarriage, Child Breeders, and the Fundamentalist Church of Later Day Saints
Posted by Sara Robinson, Orcinus at 2:51 PM on April 25, 2008.
Polygamy in Canada: Legal and Social Implications for Women and Children – A Collection of Policy Research Reports
Barf.
Update 12:07 PM 4/30/2008
Official: History of injuries found in polygamist sect kids
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Investigators have discovered a history of physical injuries, including broken bones, in children taken from a polygamist sect's ranch compound, the chief of state protective services told legislators Wednesday...
..."When asked, women and children would change their names and ages," he said...
...Church officials have denied that any children were abused at the ranch and say the state's actions are a form of religious persecution.
They also dispute the count of teen mothers, saying at least some are likely adults.
April 28, 2008 · More than 400 children remain in the care of the state after reports of child sexual abuse prompted a raid on a Texas polygamist compound. Authorities maintain that they are protecting the kids, but families argue there was no evidence of abuse. Guests and callers weigh in on what's best for the children.
Guests:
Howard Berkes, NPR rural affairs correspondent
Rodney Parker, attorney based in Salt Lake City, Utah; spokesman for the families whose children are in state custody
John Sampson, professor of law at the University of Texas; teaches the Children's Rights Clinic, which provides legal representation for abused and neglected children in Travis County
Jack Downey, president and CEO of The Children's Shelter in San Antonio, Texas; caring for 22 children from the Eldorado compound
Related NPR Stories
April 25, 2008Officials Using DNA to Sort Polygamy Sect Kids
April 23, 2008
Courts Pitting Child Welfare Against Religious FreedomApril 17, 2008
After Texas Raid, Officials Work to Help New OrphansApril 16, 2008
Children from Polygamist Compound in Legal LimboApril 9, 2008
Texas Raid Leaves 400 Children in CustodyGene Disorder Complicates Sect Custody Fight
31 of 53 teen girls at FLDS ranch are pregnant or had baby
By MICHELLE ROBERTS – 1 hour ago 3:59 PM 4/28/2008
Tracing the Polygamists' Family Tree
Sunday, Apr. 20, 2008 By HILARY HYLTON
...Four surnames dominate the list: Jeffs (relatives of Warren Jeffs, the sect's imprisoned leader and "prophet"), Jessop, Barlow and Steed.
In the 1930s, two families, the Jessops and the Barlows, settled the area around Hildale, Utah, along the border with Arizona, where they founded the FDLS — and began handing down to their descendants a recessive gene for a severe form of mental retardation called Fumarase Deficiency...
...Families whose children are affected often avail themselves of state-funded medical care, consistent with the FLDS philosophy of seeking government aid — despite their suspicion of government — which they call "bleeding the Beast."
...The FLDS community, by and large, rejects the idea that Fumarase Deficiency is caused by genes, according to Tarby...
Birth defect is plaguing children in FLDS towns
Fumarase Deficiency afflicts 20, is linked to marriages of close kin
By John Hollenhorst
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2006 11:36 p.m. MST
Bust up in Bountiful (update)
CBC
More Clarity About Abuse, Intermarriage, Child Breeders, and the Fundamentalist Church of Later Day Saints
Posted by Sara Robinson, Orcinus at 2:51 PM on April 25, 2008.
Polygamy in Canada: Legal and Social Implications for Women and Children – A Collection of Policy Research Reports
Barf.
Update 12:07 PM 4/30/2008
Official: History of injuries found in polygamist sect kids
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Investigators have discovered a history of physical injuries, including broken bones, in children taken from a polygamist sect's ranch compound, the chief of state protective services told legislators Wednesday...
..."When asked, women and children would change their names and ages," he said...
...Church officials have denied that any children were abused at the ranch and say the state's actions are a form of religious persecution.
They also dispute the count of teen mothers, saying at least some are likely adults.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Local Mayor stuff
This reminded me of an old post of mine:
McCain visits, gets Sanders' endorsement
(it's a really short post)
Mayor Sanders (used to be Chief of Police, so not surprised) but I'm not sure if him refusing to shake the other mayoral candidates hand and telling him "Fuck you Francis" was very endearing.
So, who is this guy Francis who pissed off a pretty affable Sanders?
The two faces of Steve
Will voters who remember Steve Francis from 2005 recognize the new model?
By David Rolland
The new Steve Francis
Who are you, and what have you done with that conservative rich guy?
By CityBeat Staff
Steve Francis meets with medical cannabis group
Posted on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 by Marc @ 11:30 am
Francis has promised to take the city out of the developers pockets.(Not)
I don't think it can be done, it's how this city works, the M-I-C and the real estate developers. The Francis ads, the push polls, and blaming Sanders for the budget and pension crisis are annoying to me.
Let's go back in time please, before there was a "strong Mayor" .
And let's have look at how the city started going broke. Oh look, it was those "fiscal conservative" Republicans.
Still there are so many people in this county who just mark the candidate with the R by the name. No matter what. It's what they do.
Stupid? Intellectually lazy? Loyal to the point of self-destructiveness? Need daddy to tell them what to do? It's what their parents did?
I don't get it. I just know that you'd have to be crazy to want the job, and I'm not thrilled with either of the candidates, basically I see two Rs.
McCain visits, gets Sanders' endorsement
(it's a really short post)
Mayor Sanders (used to be Chief of Police, so not surprised) but I'm not sure if him refusing to shake the other mayoral candidates hand and telling him "Fuck you Francis" was very endearing.
So, who is this guy Francis who pissed off a pretty affable Sanders?
The two faces of Steve
Will voters who remember Steve Francis from 2005 recognize the new model?
By David Rolland
The new Steve Francis
Who are you, and what have you done with that conservative rich guy?
By CityBeat Staff
Steve Francis meets with medical cannabis group
Posted on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 by Marc @ 11:30 am
Francis has promised to take the city out of the developers pockets.(Not)
I don't think it can be done, it's how this city works, the M-I-C and the real estate developers. The Francis ads, the push polls, and blaming Sanders for the budget and pension crisis are annoying to me.
Let's go back in time please, before there was a "strong Mayor" .
And let's have look at how the city started going broke. Oh look, it was those "fiscal conservative" Republicans.
Still there are so many people in this county who just mark the candidate with the R by the name. No matter what. It's what they do.
Stupid? Intellectually lazy? Loyal to the point of self-destructiveness? Need daddy to tell them what to do? It's what their parents did?
I don't get it. I just know that you'd have to be crazy to want the job, and I'm not thrilled with either of the candidates, basically I see two Rs.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Chalmers Johnson writes, I read
The Pentagon Strangles Our Economy: Why the U.S. Has Gone Broke
By Chalmers Johnson, Le Monde diplomatique. Posted April 26, 2008.
World Total military expenditures --(2004 est) --- 1,100 bn
World Total minus the US ------------------------------500 bn
...Our excessive military expenditures did not occur over just a few short years or simply because of the Bush administration's policies....
...In its conclusions, NSC-68 asserted: "One of the most significant lessons of our World War II experience was that the American economy, when it operates at a level approaching full efficiency, can provide enormous resources for purposes other than civilian consumption while simultaneously providing a high standard of living."...
...Dated 14 April 1950 and signed by President Harry S. Truman on 30 September 1950, it laid out the basic public economic policies that the U.S. pursues to the present day...
...By 1990 the value of the weapons, equipment and factories devoted to the Department of Defense was 83% of the value of all plants and equipment in U.S. manufacturing
...Military industries crowd out the civilian economy and lead to severe economic weaknesses....
...Devotion to military Keynesianism is a form of slow economic suicide...
...Some of the damage can never be rectified. There are, however, some steps that the U.S. urgently needs to take...
...If we do these things we have a chance of squeaking by. If we don't, we face probable national insolvency and a long depression....
Yeah, the guy who wrote the Blowback Trilogy.
By Chalmers Johnson, Le Monde diplomatique. Posted April 26, 2008.
World Total military expenditures --(2004 est) --- 1,100 bn
World Total minus the US ------------------------------500 bn
...Our excessive military expenditures did not occur over just a few short years or simply because of the Bush administration's policies....
...In its conclusions, NSC-68 asserted: "One of the most significant lessons of our World War II experience was that the American economy, when it operates at a level approaching full efficiency, can provide enormous resources for purposes other than civilian consumption while simultaneously providing a high standard of living."...
...Dated 14 April 1950 and signed by President Harry S. Truman on 30 September 1950, it laid out the basic public economic policies that the U.S. pursues to the present day...
...By 1990 the value of the weapons, equipment and factories devoted to the Department of Defense was 83% of the value of all plants and equipment in U.S. manufacturing
...Military industries crowd out the civilian economy and lead to severe economic weaknesses....
...Devotion to military Keynesianism is a form of slow economic suicide...
...Some of the damage can never be rectified. There are, however, some steps that the U.S. urgently needs to take...
...If we do these things we have a chance of squeaking by. If we don't, we face probable national insolvency and a long depression....
Yeah, the guy who wrote the Blowback Trilogy.
Bill Moyers interviewed Jeremiah Wright (Part I)
Part II
It was worth watching last night. The links lead to the page with video stream links.
Frankly, I got the impression from this piece that Reverend Wright takes the saying "faith without works is dead" as a direct challenge...
I tried Googling that saying and got horribly confused by all the semantics squabbles on the internet tubey thingies. I dusted off my Bible and started reading at James 2:26. That's where the quote "faith without works is dead" comes from, but that's where the important information ends, back your way up through James to get it.
Bet you didn't think I owned a Bible, didja?
Well I do, and occasionally I consult it. There's some good stuff in it, and some really outdated CRAP in it also. Like all religious texts written a few thousand years ago, there is some silly, superstitious, arrogant, patriarchal, misogynous, homophobic, outdated bullshit in them.
Update 8:42 AM 4/28/2008 -- AND as y'all reminded me, (thank you for that) there is violence, mayhem, murder, all that happy horseshit in thet there Bible too.
It was worth watching last night. The links lead to the page with video stream links.
Frankly, I got the impression from this piece that Reverend Wright takes the saying "faith without works is dead" as a direct challenge...
I tried Googling that saying and got horribly confused by all the semantics squabbles on the internet tubey thingies. I dusted off my Bible and started reading at James 2:26. That's where the quote "faith without works is dead" comes from, but that's where the important information ends, back your way up through James to get it.
Bet you didn't think I owned a Bible, didja?
Well I do, and occasionally I consult it. There's some good stuff in it, and some really outdated CRAP in it also. Like all religious texts written a few thousand years ago, there is some silly, superstitious, arrogant, patriarchal, misogynous, homophobic, outdated bullshit in them.
Update 8:42 AM 4/28/2008 -- AND as y'all reminded me, (thank you for that) there is violence, mayhem, murder, all that happy horseshit in thet there Bible too.
Friday, April 25, 2008
First fatal shark attack since 1959 in San Diego
And according to this video interview with Prof Rosenblatt they never found the body then, the guy disappeared.
The attack took place about 150 yards offshore. Several swimmers wearing wetsuitswere in a group when the shark attacked, said Solana Beach lifeguard Craig Miller. Two swimmers were about 20 yards ahead of the man when they heard him scream for help. They turned around and dragged him back to shore....
...club members had been meeting at the beach for at least six years and never had seen a shark...
Oh great. Way to freak out the tourists right before tourist season. The sixty year old man looked like breakfast wearing a wetsuit. Shark took a taste and spit him out, they eat seals, not skinny old men. The shark is probably half-way to Monterey Bay by now. The water here is usually too warm for Great Whites during tourist season, which is not April or May which are actually nice here, but gloomy June, OK July and miserably hot August. It's going to be hot this weekend, but the water temp still ranges cooler. With a shark scare it just might be nice and empty at the beach. Hmmmmmmm.
Update 2:04 PM 4/25/2008 with idiots running businesses like this one which are said to alter sharks' natural behaviour I may just cool off in the surf & I'll be taking short dips. Even then it might not be too frightening because most of the "dangerous" sharks off the coast of San Diego are 4-5 foot blues.
Speaking of sharks: Countrywide CEO earns $132 million in 2007 pay, stock sales
The attack took place about 150 yards offshore. Several swimmers wearing wetsuitswere in a group when the shark attacked, said Solana Beach lifeguard Craig Miller. Two swimmers were about 20 yards ahead of the man when they heard him scream for help. They turned around and dragged him back to shore....
...club members had been meeting at the beach for at least six years and never had seen a shark...
Oh great. Way to freak out the tourists right before tourist season. The sixty year old man looked like breakfast wearing a wetsuit. Shark took a taste and spit him out, they eat seals, not skinny old men. The shark is probably half-way to Monterey Bay by now. The water here is usually too warm for Great Whites during tourist season, which is not April or May which are actually nice here, but gloomy June, OK July and miserably hot August. It's going to be hot this weekend, but the water temp still ranges cooler. With a shark scare it just might be nice and empty at the beach. Hmmmmmmm.
Update 2:04 PM 4/25/2008 with idiots running businesses like this one which are said to alter sharks' natural behaviour I may just cool off in the surf & I'll be taking short dips. Even then it might not be too frightening because most of the "dangerous" sharks off the coast of San Diego are 4-5 foot blues.
Speaking of sharks: Countrywide CEO earns $132 million in 2007 pay, stock sales
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