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Sunday, May 10, 2009

The End of Free Speech?

May 7, 2009

The End of Free Speech?
Criminalizing Criticism of Israel
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

On October 16, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the Israel Lobby’s bill, the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act. This legislation requires the US Department of State to monitor anti-semitism world wide.

To monitor anti-semitism, it has to be defined. What is the definition? Basically, as defined by the Israel Lobby and Abe Foxman, it boils down to any criticism of Israel or Jews.

Rahm Israel Emanuel hasn’t been mopping floors at the White House.
As soon as he gets the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 passed, it will become a crime for any American to tell the truth about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and theft of their lands.

It will be a crime for Christians to acknowledge the New Testament’s account of Jews demanding the crucifixion of Jesus.

It will be a crime to report the extraordinary influence of the Israel Lobby on the White House and Congress, such as the AIPAC-written resolutions praising Israel for its war crimes against the Palestinians in Gaza that were endorsed by 100 per cent of the US Senate and 99 per cent of the House of Representatives, while the rest of the world condemned Israel for its barbarity.

It will be a crime to doubt the Holocaust.

It will become a crime to note the disproportionate representation of Jews in the media, finance, and foreign policy.

In other words, it means the end of free speech, free inquiry, and the First Amendment to the Constitution. Any facts or truths that cast aspersion upon Israel will simply be banned.

Given the hubris of the US government, which leads Washington to apply US law to every country and organization, what will happen to the International Red Cross, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and the various human rights organizations that have demanded investigations of Israel’s military assault on Gaza’s civilian population? Will they all be arrested for the hate crime of “excessive” criticism of Israel?

This is a serious question.

A recent UN report, which is yet to be released in its entirety, blames Israel for the deaths and injuries that occurred within the United Nations premises in Gaza. The Israeli government has responded by charging that the UN report is “tendentious, patently biased,” which puts the UN report into the State Department’s category of excessive criticism and strong anti-Israel sentiment.

Israel is getting away with its blatant use of the American government to silence its critics despite the fact that the Israeli press and Israeli soldiers have exposed the Israeli atrocities in Gaza and the premeditated murder of women and children urged upon the Israeli invaders by rabbis. These acts are clearly war crimes.

It was the Israeli press that published the pictures of the Israeli soldiers’ T-shirts that indicate that the willful murder of women and children is now the culture of the Israeli army. The T-shirts are horrific expressions of barbarity. For example, one shows a pregnant Palestinian woman with a crosshairs over her stomach and the slogan, “One shot, two kills.” These T-shirts are an indication that Israel’s policy toward the Palestinians is one of extermination.

It has been true for years that the most potent criticism of Israel’s mistreatment of the Palestinians comes from the Israeli press and Israeli peace groups. For example, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and Jeff Halper of ICAHD have shown a moral conscience that apparently does not exist in the Western democracies where Israel’s crimes are covered up and even praised.

Will the American hate crime bill be applied to Haaretz and Jeff Halper? Will American commentators who say nothing themselves but simply report what Haaretz and Halper have said be arrested for “spreading hatred of Israel, an anti-semitic act”?

Many Americans have been brainwashed by the propaganda that Palestinians are terrorists who threaten innocent Israel. These Americans will see the censorship as merely part of the necessary war on terror. They will accept the demonization of fellow citizens who report unpalatable facts about Israel and agree that such people should be punished for aiding and abetting terrorists.

A massive push is underway to criminalize criticism of Israel. American university professors have fallen victim to the well organized attempt to eliminate all criticism of Israel. Norman Finkelstein was denied tenure at a Catholic university because of the power of the Israel Lobby. Now the Israel Lobby is after University of California (at Santa Barbara,) professor Wiliam Robinson. Robinson’s crime: his course on global affairs included some reading assignments critical of Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

The Israel Lobby apparently succeeded in convincing the Obama Justice (sic) Department that it is anti-semitic to accuse two Jewish AIPAC officials, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, of spying. The Israel Lobby succeeded in getting their trial delayed for four years, and now Attorney General Eric Holder has dropped charges. Yet, Larry Franklin, the DOD official accused of giving secret material to Rosen and Weissman, is serving 12 years and 7 months in prison.

The absurdity is extraordinary. The two Israeli agents are not guilty of receiving secrets, but the American official is guilty of giving secrets to them! If there is no spy in the story, how was Franklin convicted of giving secrets to a spy?

Criminalizing criticism of Israel destroys any hope of America having an independent foreign policy in the Middle East that serves American rather than Israeli interests.
It eliminates any prospect of Americans escaping from their enculturation with Israeli propaganda.

To keep American minds captive, the Lobby is working to ban as anti-semitic any truth or disagreeable fact that pertains to Israel. It is permissible to criticize every other country in the world, but it is anti-semitic to criticize Israel, and anti-semitism will soon be a universal hate-crime in the Western world.

Most of Europe has already criminalized doubting the Holocaust. It is a crime even to confirm that it happened but to conclude that less than 6 million Jews were murdered.

Why is the Holocaust a subject that is off limits to examination? How could a case buttressed by hard facts possibly be endangered by kooks and anti-semitics? Surely the case doesn’t need to be protected by thought control.

Imprisoning people for doubts is the antithesis of modernity.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at: PaulCraigRoberts@yahoo.com

Friday, May 08, 2009

Senator Dick Durbin On Bill Moyers Journal tonight

May 8, 2009

In a recent radio address on Radio Chicagoland Senator Richard (Dick) Durbin remarked on power the financial services industry still wields at a time when that industry is theoretically under great scrutiny: "The banks — hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created — are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill.And they frankly own the place."

The banking lobby won a significant victory in Congress on May 1, 2009 when 12 Democrats joined a united Republican Caucus to vote down an amendment to President Obama's housing bill. At issue was a measure that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.


Woo hoo!!! I know where my butt is going to be parked at 8pm PST.

Update 8:34 PM 5/8/2009 click on title link, it's well worth watching.

Meet K Street's Worst Nightmare

Lisa Rosenberg is the lobbyist lobbyists hate.
By Jonathan Stein
May 7, 2009 4:00 AM PST
Mother Jones

Analysis: Obama charts active role in Mideast

Friday, May 8, 2009

By BARRY SCHWEID AP Diplomatic Writer

Thursday, May 07, 2009

On May 5, Mexican dominance irks other Latinos

By MANUEL VALDES Associated Press Writer

...But for Dagoberto Reyes, a Salvadorian immigrant living in Los Angeles, May 5 is more a reminder of the dominance Mexican culture has in a country that is home to immigrants from many Latin American countries. His prime example: Los Angeles-area public schools...

...It's often as simple as commanding the dominant slang - for example, a jacket for Central Americans is "chaqueta," but for Mexicans it is "chamarra" - but it can range to more overt hostility or competition in the work force, and it can spark worries of losing cultural identity.

Ignorance and apathy by Americans adds to the mix...


Who the fuck wrote this piece of shit? I was actually thinking, "Hey Dagoberto, tell that to the immigrants from non Spanish speaking countries who have NO choice but to learn English, while your kids can languish in bi-lingual classes for years, never really learning English."

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

REGULATION VACATION CELEBRATION!

My friend sent me this this morning, it made me laugh. Enjoy.



Food Irradiation Supports Agribusiness, Not Health
by Heidi Stevenson
2 May 2009

hat tip, Raw Story
irradiation?

Dude, I'd never heard of irradiation until I was watching a silly horror flick called "28 Days Later." The apple the character was eating was probably safer than the seemingly crack addicted zombies he was escaping at the moment, but how safe was it?

What is food irradiation?
Food irradiation is a process in which approved foods are exposed to radiant energy, including gamma rays, electron beams, and x-rays. In 1963, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found the irradiation of food to be safe. Irradiation of meat and poultry is done in a government-approved irradiation facility. Irradiation is not a substitute for good sanitation and process control in meat and poultry plants. It is an added layer of safety.

Wait, did I read that right?

...good sanitation and process control in meat and poultry plants...

Bwaaaa ha hahahahaha ha ha ha ha ha

Seriously folks, the corporations get just what they want, even from George Bush's Soooopreme Court.

Monday, May 04, 2009

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Who'd be female under Islamic law?

In Muslim states, violence against women is validated. A dark age is upon us
Monday, 4 May 2009

UAE fines mother over baby death
Page last updated at 18:53 GMT, Monday, 4 May 2009 19:53 UK BBC
The bereaved woman says the accident was not her fault
A court in Dubai has found a woman who lost her unborn child in a traffic accident guilty of manslaughter in what is said to be an unprecedented ruling.

Islamic Gender Apartheid
Pajamas Media 4 May 2009
By Phyllis Chesler

Saudi Arabia clamps down on unlicensed female gyms

An Honor killing in Sadr City
Members of family hang woman and turn themselves in, expecting little punishment.

UN Report: "Honor Killings" Rampant in Iraq
Mark Leon Goldberg - April 29, 2009 - 11:08am
Human Rights Women
UNAMI has reported 139 cases of gender based violence 15 in the last six months of 2008 in five governorates in northern Iraq16. Out of the total number, 77 women were seriously burned, 26 were victims of murder or attempted murder and 25 were cases of questionable suicide

Honour killings start to bring shame
The taboo surrounding the cruel murder of family members in the name of honour is slowly being broken
Comments (125)
Khaled Diab guardian.co.uk, Sunday 3 May 2009 15.00 BST Article history

Emigrants

bring

this

with

them.

I can be culturally insenstive regarding this issue, I'm a woman. A woman who doesn't submit to anyone's bullshit. Fuck this ignorant part of their culture

I can't help but think of stories like these when I hear some asshole like this talk about "Protecting our Muslim women."

Banksters On The War Path To Stop New Regulations

By Danny Schechter.

How Wall Street Is Fighting Back And Winning Their Fight For The Status Quo

Dick Durbin knows his way around the Senate. He’s been there a long time, long enough to know how things really work. Over the years, the man from Illinois has come to realize that it’s not the elected officials who are in charge. Last week, he said it was the bankers “who own the place” acknowledging that Senators may be in office, but not necessarily in power.

Blogged by Sibel Edmonds on 5/4/2009 1:41PM
SIBEL EDMONDS: In Congress We Trust…Not
The former FBI translator and whistleblower suggests blackmail may be at the heart of Congressional refusal to bring accountability and oversight to its own members - such as both Hastert and Harman - in matters of espionage and national security
Exclusive to The BRAD BLOG... Guest Editorial by Sibel Edmonds (Who ?)

Tuesday May 5, Frontline -- Sex Slaves

On PBS Frontline -- Sex Slaves

An undercover journey deep into the world of sex trafficking, following one man determined to rescue his wife -- kidnapped and sold into the global sex trade.


This particular show is three years old. I wonder if there will be any updates?


Update. There weren't any updates. The show broke my heart.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Bling Dynasty: Enter the Dragon

How China is picking over America's carcass.
—By Joshua Kurlantzick

Oy, there' s another article, similar to this one:

Defying the Economic Odds
The World Melts Down, China Grows
By Dilip Hiro

Sleuthing Swine Flu

Chance Test Led CDC Investigators to Link Cases in U.S., Mexico
By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 3, 2009


...A Fortuitous Test

The medical detective work that unearthed the 2009 outbreak of swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) -- more commonly known as swine flu -- began with a bit of happenstance.

On March 30, a 10-year-old boy in Southern California developed a cough and fever. Normally, doctors wouldn't have bothered testing for the flu; they would have given him medicine and sent him home.

But the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego was participating in a clinical trial of new, 30-minute flu tests, so they took a nasal swab and tested it the next day....


...Interesting but not stunning, thought Daniel B. Jernigan, Cox's deputy in the flu division. As the person overseeing the rapid-flu-test project in San Diego and other sites, Jernigan makes his living tracking influenza cases. He had seen a dozen swine flu cases in recent years, most often a child who had visited a petting zoo or a farmer who had come in contact with a sick pig.

WHO Influenza A(H1N1) - update 11
3 May 2009 -- As of 0600 GMT, 3 May 2009, 17 countries have officially reported 787 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

Mexico has reported 506 confirmed human cases of infection, including 19 deaths. The higher number of cases from Mexico in the past 48 hours reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens. The United States Government has reported 160 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.

Saturday, May 02, 2009

Farmers fear pigs may get swine flu from people

By Carey Gillam, Reuters
Friday, 1 May 2009
Humans have it. Pigs don't. At least not yet, and US pork producers are doing everything they can to make sure that the new H1N1 virus, known around the world as the "swine flu," stays out of their herds.

Meanwhile, a certain species named Sus domestica Rumsfeldica may be benefiting from all the swine flu media hype.

And Oh yeah, peoples need to stay the fuck out of the bat caves.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Thursday, April 30, 2009

World Health Organization update on swine flu

Influenza A(H1N1) - update 6

30 April 2009 -- The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 17:00 GMT, 30 April 2009, 11 countries have officially reported 257 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

The United States Government has reported 109 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death. Mexico has reported 97 confirmed human cases of infection, including seven deaths.

The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (19), Germany (3), Israel (2), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (3), Spain (13), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (8).

Further information on the situation will be available on the WHO website on a regular basis.

WHO advises no restriction of regular travel or closure of borders. It is considered prudent for people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities.

There is also no risk of infection from this virus from consumption of well-cooked pork and pork products. Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness.

Related links
Influenza A(H1N1) web site


Meanwhile in Congress the real swine continue to lobby.

Real swine continue to get away with shit in Iraq


Americans want torture investigated and they are ignored.


Real


swine


continue squeezing


people


all over


the world

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Our buddies torture too, lookit, how neato..



They can do whatever they want because they buy our shit:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been purchasing advanced weaponry from leading suppliers of military hardware at an alarming rate, fueling what some believe could be a new conventional arms race in the Middle East.


CORPORATE CRIME REPORTER

Raspanti Says Defense Procurement Fraud is on the Comeback Trail
23 Corporate Crime Reporter 17, April 24, 2009

Raspanti is one of those rare lawyers who does both white collar criminal defense – he heads the white collar practice at his firm – and plaintiffs side qui tam cases.


I think I'm going to be sick.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Color me cyinical on the whole swine flu thing

5:03 PM 4/28/2009

Wow, it's Swine Flu all the time, Russia and China think you can get it from eating pork products, Cuba won't fly to Mexico, yeesh. What a media circus. Mexico City is 22 million people. How are you going to quarantine that? It's in New York City

There are no deaths in the US from this yet, I'm still not freaked out by this.

World Health Organization Page

Update 9:23 AM 4/28/2009

So, I'm listening to public radio this morning and here comes the head of the Health Department in San Diego and she says ( I'm parapharasing) the swine flu is a new bug (virus, not bacteria, so antibiotics don't work) that was identified first in the US in San Diego and goes on to say 'Don't overwhelm the "ED" (Emergency Departments ?) by coming in unless you've already been sick for more than a week' and then she goes on and on and in a few minutes she says that 'Tamiflu is effective if taken within the first 48 hours of infection.'

What. The. Fuck?
When was the last time she tried to get an appointment, especially one that requires lab results withing 48 hours of feeling ill?


Why am I cynical?

U.S. health experts noted, meanwhile, that deaths from influenza are common. In an average year in the United States, about 35,000 people die from the flu, and in bad years nearly twice that number.
The Pan American Health Organization said Friday that there have so far been 854 cases of "influenza-like illness" in Mexico City, with 59 deaths. Another 24 cases with three deaths have occurred in San Luis Potosi, in central Mexico, and 24 cases with no deaths in Mexicali, near the U.S. border.

Can I get swine influenza from eating or preparing pork?

Not unless an infected pig you happen to be preparing to slaughter sneezes in your face, duh

Swine flu fears grip world markets
By PAN PYLAS AP Business Writer
...though pharmaceutical companies rallied on expectations that demand for anti-viral drugs may surge to deal with any pandemic.

Swine flu fears close schools in NY, Texas, Calif.
By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press Writer
a strain of swine flu suspected in the deaths of 103 people in Mexico. It has now spread throughout the United States, where authorities have confirmed 20 cases.

Venture capital firm set to reap rewards on swine flu
Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:11pm BST

Flu Kills The Torture Memos

Donald Rumsfeld owns stock in the company that makes Tamiflu = TRUE

Swine flu 'debacle' of 1976 is recalled
The episode triggered an enduring public backlash against flu vaccination, embarrassed the federal government and cost the director of the CDC his job.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Protesters, Police Clash Near IMF Meetings in DC

Posted: 11:05 AM Apr 25, 2009
Last Updated: 11:05 AM Apr 25, 2009
Reporter: Nafeesa Syeed AP

...A 22-year-old man accused of using pepper spray on an officer during the scuffle was arrested...


That made me laugh, sorry but it did. How many times have the cops used pepper spray on protesters?

Do your part: Every San Diegan has an obligation to save water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 26, 2009 at 7:04 am
From the San Diego Union Tribune, this editorial:
Now that the San Diego County Water Authority has declared a drought alert, aggressive water conservation throughout this semi-arid corner of Southern California is more imperative than ever.
Are you ready to do your part?
More than 80 percent of the water San Diegans use is imported from outside the region, primarily from the Colorado River to the east (54 percent) and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the north (28 percent). Because of the drought and a court order restricting pumping from the Delta to protect fish, San Diego will receive in the year ahead 48,000 acre-feet of water less than its projected demand of 629,000 acre-feet. (An acre-foot is enough for two typical households for a year.)
This translates into a mandatory cutback of 8 percent countywide – a reduction that can be achieved with a minimum of economic disruption if every individual does his part to conserve. Even before the drought alert was issued, the Water Authority was calling for savings of 20 gallons per person per day. This remains a good personal target.
Read the full text of this editorial from the San Diego Union Tribune by clicking here

Update 4:31 PM 4/27/2009
Ok, I live in a county full of morons: asked how they'd cut back if required, more residents said they'd save water by cutting indoors than outdoors.

In all fairness though, I went to school in this county and I don't remember them teaching us about where our water actually came from. My kid learned in high school, but suburban land developers never learn,and they have a lot of power in Southern California. Then also there is the issue of people moving here (after playing tourist here) from wetter areas of the country, and insisting on landscaping their yards like they did where they were originally from.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

RIP Bea Arthur

...As a favor to her longtime pal Norman Lear, Arthur has appeared on a 1971 episode of the smash hit "All in the Family" as Edith's liberated cousin Maude who dared to contradict the bigoted Archie Bunker. So successful was this guest shot that CBS asked Lear to create a spin-off for the character.

"Maude" premiered in September 1972 and ran for six seasons. As "that old compromisin', enterprisin', anything but tranquilizing" Maude Findlay, Bea Arthur created a memorable persona that earned her a place in the TV pantheon. She was the first lead character in TV history to have an abortion in a powerful two-part episode that aired in November 1972, months before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the issue...


Somewhat related. Man, I love Hillary Clinton.

Hat tip to bastard.logic

Friday, April 24, 2009

Experts probe deadly Mexico flu

People in masks in Mexico City on 24 April 2009
Public buildings have closed across Mexico City because of the outbreak

World health experts are investigating a new strain of flu that may have killed as many as 60 people in Mexico.

The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said tests so far seem to link Mexico's outbreak with a swine flu virus that had sickened eight in the southern US.



Eight swine flu cases identified in U.S.

...None of the American victims has had any contact with pigs and only one of them has traveled to Mexico recently, he said....


Boy, 7, Is San Diego's 4th Case of Swine Flu
By RORY DEVINE, ERIC S. PAGE and MICHELLE WAYLAND
Updated 3:10 PM PDT, Fri, Apr 24, 2009


I wondered where it might have come from, since there is very little agriculture left in San Diego due to drought conditions and most of the county is not zoned for animals other than household pets, or small caged animals. If you can afford enough land for a horse corral around here, chances are your snooty neighbors don't want pigs in the neighborhood.


Venture capital firm set to reap rewards on swine flu
Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:11pm BST


(snopes.com) Does Donald Rumsfeld own stock in the company that makes Tamiflu?

Real World Facts, Real World Understanding Needed on Torture Issue

Blogged by Coleen Rowley on 4/24/2009 11:09AM
The harsh realities of torture and following orders are quite different from the fictional world of Hollywood's anti-terror warriors, says a noted former FBI Special Agent and 9/11 whistleblower...



When Michelle Bachelet was elected President of Chile I found out that she had been tortured, and it didn't work.

I want the bastards who said it was OK to torture tried at the Hague.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Andbody who knows the military knows the "bad apple" story was bullshit

update 7:00 PM 4/26/2009
Straight to the Top By Scott Horton
April 25, 2009 "Harpers" -- The torture trail starts and ends in the White House.

Arrrrgggggh, No Shit Sherlock!

Seems like everybody has been blogging about the torture thing, so I've avoided it. Last night Rachel Maddow covered it splendidly. I was happy to see Ron Suskind there with Rachel, as I've read a couple of his books.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Religion sucks #18

Paraguay's president caught in triple paternity row
Former Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo has admitted fathering one child and hasn't denied the other claims

* Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 23 April 2009 17.54 BST
* Article history

Bonus: Muslim stupidity in the UK

I want to know why "religious" Muslims in Western countries only raise a stink about civil rights and scream racism and religious discrimination when it's convenient for them? If observing their religious traditions is that important maybe they should quit trying to make business harder to conduct in the Western country that they're living in and go live in a Muslim countries? Oh yeah, that's right, there are no jobs in Muslim countries .

I wore some really ugly uniforms that I didn't like wearing, but I needed a job. Helloooooo?

Ummmm, yeah. I have questions. Why isn't the Vatican irrelevant by now? Why isn't Mecca irrelevant? I could go on, but I think you got my point, and obviously there are some wealthy people who still find some use in the structure of these silly organizations and their middle class enforcers.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Earth Day

You want happy talk about how fabulous the human race is on Earth Day? Wrong fucking blog, go on now there are literally millions of blogs out there.

What, you still here? OK then, steel yourself, big breath now.



Usually the PBS NOW show is 26 minutes, but last week it was a special 56 minute presentation on glaciers, that can be watched online.

On Thin Ice
Seventy-five percent of the world's fresh water is stored in glaciers, but scientists predict climate change will cause some of the world's largest glaciers to completely melt by 2030. What effect will this have on our daily lives? With global warming falling low on a national list of American concerns, it's time to take a deeper look at what could be a global calamity in the making.

(I love to listen to Vandan Shiva, she's a brilliant woman who uses her vast, well-rounded knowledge as an activist.)

PBS Frontline -- Poisoned Waters (click here to watch 52 minute show online)



James Caress: Gases fast destroying oceans' pH
By JAMES CARESS
Guest commentary
Updated: 04/20/2009 08:36:02 AM PDT


As Earth Day Arrives, Population Still the Uneasy Issue

Carrying Capacity, Exponential Growth, and Resource Wars
By John Cairns Volume 14, Number 1 (Fall 2003) Issue theme: "Mass immigration: the public health dimension"
...Nature levies brutal penalties for exceeding carrying capacity, such as famine, disease, and war...

Population growth and resource depletion
Essential Concepts
There are 5 main concepts that our students struggle with when learning about population growth and the relationship of population to geological resource use:

1. overpopulation is a leading environmental problem,
2. exponential population growth and development leads to faster depletion of resources,
3. population grows exponentially,
4. why population prediction is difficult,
5. population is not evenly distributed throughout the world.

When my mother was born there were 2.3 billion people on the planet. When I was born there were 3.2 billon people on the planet. My child is now of childbearing age and there are almost 7 billion people on the planet. That's called exponential growth. I'm not a big fan of religions because they all seem to be mired in the past when their holy texts were written and population growth. was not linked to deadly environmental degradation.

Oh Jeez, I don't know where to start with this article, it just cracks me up:

President Obama to head to Iowa for Earth Day
By PHILIP ELLIOTT – 58 minutes ago
...Obama aides note: Last year, the U.S. wind industry gained 13,000 direct jobs, and about half of wind turbines' components are made domestically...

...5.1 million jobs have been lost since December 2007 -- pushing the (nationwide) unemployment rate to 8.5 percent in March."...

(I'm not even going into the fact that the IMF and the World Bank are useless as teats on a boar to most of the world population)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Meet the Press and the Media’s Distortions of the Bush Prosecutions Debate

the Bush Prosecutions Debate
By Salon.
– By Glenn Greenwald
Whatever else one thinks about the debate over investigations and prosecutions for Bush crimes, there is no question that huge numbers of Americans — likely majorities — favor them. And that was true even before the release of the most graphic and stomach-turning evidence yet: the 4 DOJ memos released this past week which describe the torture in detail. The assertion that “most Americans” don’t want investigations — whether made by media stars to argue against investigations or Obama supporters to justify the immunity the President wants to extend to everyone involved — is factually false....(title link)


I'm loving Gomer this week.

Crimes suspected in 20 bailout cases -- for starters


The special inspector general says TARP is 'inherently vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse.' The risk grows as the plan becomes more complex, he says.
By Ralph Vartabedian and Tom Hamburger
April 21, 2009 LA Times

Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles -- In the first major disclosure of corruption in the $750-billion financial bailout program, federal investigators said Monday they have opened 20 criminal probes into possible securities fraud, tax violations, insider trading and other crimes...(title link)

Monday, April 20, 2009

We Shall Remain

I missed the first one. I just happened to catch part of Tecumseh's Vision. Ironically I happened to walk through the room when the tribe that my ancestor is from was mentioned, and the Treaty of Greenville which really did the tribe in. There wasn't a treaty that the US Govt or settlers respected. They were all broken.

Rolled tacos/enchiladas, friends and beer

It don't get any better than that.



I am wiped out. Yesterday I spent all day drinking Pacifico and making enchiladas/rolled tacos, & last week I was in LA. If there are major brain farts in this post, let me know and I'll fix it when my brain recovers :)

My friend came over and helped me with them. We had a blast. We haven't spent the whole day together in I don't know how long. At one time she teased me about my "filing cabinet" in the freezer until she came over one day and I had a great Mexican meal on the table in a half hour. I took out 2 8x8 pyrex dishes, stripped the ziploc bags off of Enchilada sauce, laid it frozen on top of the frozen enchilada rolls, microwaved the enchiladas, microwaved the frozen beans, cooked a (cheater) Rice-a-Roni Spanish rice package and fed 4 people all inside a half hour.

Everybody loves them so here's the recipe. It's a lot of work, but with all the extra you make, you don't have to do it very often. The red basket pictured is my "filing cabinet" for the freezer.

1 1/2 split chickens barbecued over mesquite and then cooled in the fridge and de-skinned, de-boned and diced no larger than 1/4 inch squares
4 lbs Jack Cheese, grated
2 large or 3 medium onions softened in olive oil
3 7 oz cans diced (mild) green chiles
3 X 36 count corn tortillas softened (very quickly fried) in oil

quart size ziploc type freezer bags, labeled and dated with a permanent marker

Mix all ingredients together and roll the taquitos/enchiladas and place in bags and lay flat in the freezer the ones you won't be using for dinner (pizza boxes are a great flat surface). Each bag should hold 6 to 8. These can be taken out of the freezer bags one or two at a time and fried (taquitos) and dipped in guacamole or salsa

Guacamole

1-2 fresh garlic cloves minced finely
1/2 onion minced finely
3 key limes
salt
2 avocados

Salsa (everything is fresh, and hand diced from an 1/8 inch for the peppers to 1/4 inch for the onion and tomato, I tried to cheat and throw everything in the blender once and it sucked)

3 Yellow chiles
3 jalapeños
1 Anaheim chile (mild green)
1 red bell pepper
2 medium sized onions
1/2 bunch cilantro
juice from a dozen or so key limes
4 medium tomatoes (ripe, preferably sent to the market still on the vine!)
salt to taste

Enchiladas
the rolled enchiladas can be taken out of the bags and put into whatever pan you want to bake them in and doused with your favorite enchilada sauce or you can make your own. I've gotten lazy so I don't make my own any more. I like El Pato, but I just paid $1.5o for this can, not $4.00. It's not hard to make, just tomato sauce, fresh garlic, fresh onion, oregano (Mexican, not Mediterranean) and a bit of dried ground cayenne pepper. After rolling over a hundred taquito/enchilada thingys and making sure they lay flat on a pizza box in the freezer, I generally don't feel like screwing around with making the Enchilada sauce too. Especially since it's hot outside the last couple of days and hotter inside softening the tortillas.

Best served with your choice of beans and Spanish or Mexican rice (there is a difference)

My favorites are frjoles negritos (refried black beans) and (my) "Mexican rice"

my "Mexican rice"

2 cups Brown rice (20 minutes in the rice cooker, eh?)

7.5 oz can of El Pato hot tomato sauce or jalapeño sauce
1 medium onion diced
2-3 cloves garlic
3/4 cup frozen mixed vegetables
Mexican ground oregano (no more than 1/8 tsp)
chili powder (? to taste)
cayenne

Saute onion, garlic and veggies in olive oil till onions are translucent
add everything else and cook on low till the veggies are done

Former Prosecutor Talks about Crossing the Political Line

Oh. My. God. I just listened to David Iglesias hand a local caller's ass to him. I laughed out loud, very loudly. The blowhard caller told Iglesias that he was "very partisan," and implied that Iglesias was a rabid "liberal" Democrat.

David Iglesias is a registered Repubulican

Giving a free lecture a SDSU Price center 7 pm

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Iran sentences U.S. journalist to 8 years

Nice. Understandable once you have read the book I'm reading. Iranians are weird. Paranoid and weird.