Duck blogging

I was getting my first cup of coffee this morning and I got some visitors on the common grassy area right in front of my apartment. I tried to get a shot of the one brave and curious squirrel and the ducks, but I missed it.

Sending loved ones

Today someone I love very much sent her baby brother to Iraq, or Afghanistan, I can't even remember which one because it is so incredibly painful. I met him through her when he was a pre-teen and his voice wasn't anywhere near to cracking and then changing. My friend has to be strong for their mother. The father and the son are two more victims of the economic downturn. The plant they worked at can make the product cheaper and without unionized labor somewhere else, never mind that it breaks lives, homes, families, and hearts. This familiy has already been through hell, they don't need this shit too.

I know what it is like to send a loved one into a war zone. All the patriotic bullshit disappears and your knees are weak at the thought of never seeing this person again that you love so much.

Frankly, this just sucks.

Sibel Edmonds announcing Project Expose MSM

Blogged by Sibel Edmonds 5/27/2009 5:00AM
Whistleblowers set to name names, turn tables on media who've betrayed our trust
Newsweek reporters named in 'real-life' case example of new project...
Guest Blogged by Sibel Edmonds

California Supreme Court Upholds Prop. 8 Gay Marriage Ban, But Allows Current Gay Marriages To Stand

Ho hum. That was predictable. People vote for whatever has the best teevee ads and the PropH8ers must have spent their money more wisely, or something. I know that churchgoers are easy to recruit because they were all over my usually very tolerant neighborhood.

If there is one thing I cannot stand about Christianity, it's that so many preachers, ministers, priests and pastors are concerned with their congregations breeding more of whatever brand of Christianity they are preaching and that the homosexual bashing is in far too many churches. It's time for that stupid, fear-based crap to STOP.

Why the fuck do we need more people on this planet which is being choked by humans and their toxic waste? Seven billion is plenty of people, and it is a completely unsustainable amount of people on the planet. Especially the humans used to a standard of living like we have in the USA. That's not to say that gay people don't have families because they do. I hope that if they are reading this, that they watched to video I linked to also.

Update 9:24 AM 5/27/2009
California Supreme Court Upholds Prop 8
posted by Richard Kim on 05/26/2009 @ 1:36pm

Memorial Day 2009 - A Look at Women in the Military

Marcia G. Yerman
Huffington Post
May 23, 2009

...The Pentagon confirmed that one in three women serving her country has been the victim of a sexual assault. There were 3,000 sexual assaults "reported" in 2008 (as opposed to those that went unreported for fear of ostracism or repercussion). It is clear that the problems of our service women need to be heard and addressed...
(click on title link for full article)


Why Are Women Still Treated Like Second-Class Soldiers?
By Helen Benedict, The Nation
Posted on May 25, 2009, Printed on May 25, 2009



I was born and raised in San Diego, which for all practical purposes is one big military base, or military contractor haven staffed with ex-military. I worked on a base for a couple of years. From what I have observed military women are given the choice of three titles, informally of course, by their fellow servicemen:

1. Bitch

2. Slut

3. Dyke

And my husband wonders why I didn't want to subject my siblings (non-military people) to ten fucking hours of this.

Am I going to get crap for being so "insensitive" on Memorial Day? Probably. Will it change my love/hate relationship with the military? Probably not. Do I hate the glorification of a brutal and misogynistic culture? Yes. Do I blame the kids who join the military, usually now because our industrial base has been hollowed out and said kids need jobs? No.

Do I hate the rich fucks who's kids never join the military yet expect the military to protect, or increase their wealth?

Absolutely.

Do I really hate being dependent on the military budget which has become a sacred cow in this country, yet is bankrupting this country?

Absolutely.

When I got married I felt like I was in between a rock and a hard space and I did not have only myself to think about.

I don't watch the Sundy morning babble on shows

I figure if I miss anything important some blog that I read will pick up on it. So this is what I'm reading:

Obama signs weapons procurement reform
Published: May 22, 2009 at 12:54 PM UPI

Last update - 05:49 24/05/2009
'Israel won't yield to U.S. demands, won't halt settlement construction'
By Haaertz Service


Al Qaeda recruits back in Europe, but why?
Four men say their training experience in Pakistan wasn't what they hoped for. Anti-terrorism officials wonder if they're just biding their time, ready to strike in Europe.
By Sebastian Rotella
LA Times
May 24, 2009

Go to the LA Times search function and put in "israel settlements" and compare the titles of the articles to the title on the Haaretz (an Israeli newspaper) article above. It doesn't surprise me that LA is fed a bunch of bullshit when it comes to Israeli settlements, or the Al Qaeda and Iran fear is ramped up. I'm sure that AIPAC has a huge fucking office in LA.

May 23, 2009
Easy bets with other folks' cash
By Chan Akya
Asia Times

Elite Colleges Are Promoting a Culture of Selfish, Cutthroat Behavior and We Are All Paying the Price
By Peter Schmidt, AlterNet. Posted May 23, 2009.
The results are campus environments where disregard for society is socially accepted, where misguided students are encouraged to become worse.

The House That Taxpayers Built
Posted on May 22, 2009
By David Sirota

Rising unemployment raises threat of social crisis: World Bank
Sun May 24, 2009 7:27am EDT
Reuters

The last article cracked my ass up. If you don't know why that is you haven't read the Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein yet.

I'm also still reading The Ecology of Fear by Mike Davis © 1998

Fires, floods, earthquakes and who knew that LA had a tornado alley?

Saturday

Miscellaneous articles I read today

Uncle Sam's Human Lab Rats
Mon May 18, 2009 5:00 AM PST Mother Jones
They say government scientists messed with their minds. Now, veterans of secret psychedelic tests want answers.
—By Bruce Falconer

Bail Out Your Own Damn Self!
Time for a Tax and Mortgage Strike
by Ted Rall
Published on Thursday, May 21, 2009 by TedRall.com

US Colonel Advocates US 'Military Attacks' on 'Partisan Media' in Essay for Neocon, Pro-Israel Group JINSA
Published on Thursday, May 21, 2009 by Rebel Reports
“The point of all this is simple: Win,” writes Col. Ralph Peters. “In warfare, nothing else matters. If you cannot win clean, win dirty. But win.”
by Jeremy Scahill

Obama signs weapons procurement reform
WASHINGTON, May 22 (UPI) -- U.S. military weapons procurement, long criticized for bloat and inefficiency, changed Friday when President Obama signed into law purchase reforms.

Moyers covers single payer healthcare on tonight's show

Whence Single-Payer?

But Dr. David Himmelstein and Dr. Sidney Wolfe tell Bill Moyers on the JOURNAL that President Obama isn't considering a popular plan — single-payer. In a recent town-hall meeting in New Mexico, President Obama said switching to single-payer would be too disruptive.

Update 9:39 PM 5/22/2009 Just as I thought. "switching to single-payer would be too disruptive" is code for "would eliminate the health insurance industries bloody profits."
watch video here


PBS NOW covers terrorist rehab.

This story looks interesting to me, but it also makes me laugh. We can't even set up rehab for drug addicts. Hey wouldn't want to put a dent in CIA, DEA, or prison funding would we?

Friday squirrel blogging

Obama Curtails Bush's Policy of 'Preemption'
It Let Federal Rules Override State Laws
By Philip RuckerWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, May 22, 2009

Dick Cheney needs to STFU

Cheney defends Bush-era policies



Ketchup is a Vegetable has an outstanding post on Cheney today.

The California Nightmare

I got nuthin' today, but click on the title link if you want to understand why what was once California Dreamin' is now....

Supreme Court Hands Medical Marijuana Major Victory

By Ryan Grim, Huffington Post. Posted May 18, 2009.

The Supreme Court removes one of the last barriers to full implementation of medical marijuana laws.

The U.S. Supreme Court handed medical marijuana patients and advocates a resounding victory on Monday, refusing to hear a case brought by San Diego County, which has long chafed at implementing statewide medical marijuana laws.


I was hoping Dianne Jacob would get her ass handed to her on this one. She did. By the Ca supreme court, and now the Federal Supreme Court. Heh.

Just because there are so many politicians in this county who feel entitled to federal funds and and appear to believe that they are therefore restricted by federal laws doesn't mean that this county is actually part of Washington DC. It is California.

Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, Unexceptional Americans

posted May 19, 2009 09:36 am
Why We Can't See the Trees or the Forest
The Torture Memos and Historical Amnesia
By Noam Chomsky


The Disease of Permanent War
By Chris Hedges
Posted on May 18, 2009



F-111
AP photo / Rich Pedroncelli

Cold War relic: An F-111 fighter jet on display at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, Calif.

Hidden things eventually show up

Rural Alaska leads nation in a tragic way: suicides



Way to go Molly McMooseturd.

Moving on.


FBI infiltrated Iowa anti-war group before GOP convention
By WILLIAM PETROSKI • bpetroski@dmreg.com | © 2009, Des Moines Register and Tribune Company • May 17, 2009
...Confidential FBI documents obtained by The Des Moines Register show an FBI informant was planted among a group described as an "anarchist collective" that met regularly last year in Iowa City....

Change We Can Believe In for U.S.-Israeli Relations?

By Phyllis Bennis, AlterNet. Posted May 17, 2009.

As Obama prepares to meet Israel's new hard-line PM, much of the world awaits signs of a new course.


I wish I had more faith at this point, but this has been one hell of a week when it comes to the appearance of Obama cave-ins on campaign promises.

Still, I don't want to lose hope, because he does have s a pretty good record so far.

Especially since he was only crowned King of the Mountain in January 2009.

This mountain that Bush left him.

Fake news producer goes further into the red

Ha. Serves 'em right.

Howard Zinn: Changing Obama's Military Mindset

By Howard Zinn, The Progressive. Posted May 15, 2009.
Obama once said, 'It's not enough to get out of Iraq; we have to get out of the mindset that led us into Iraq.' What happened to that Obama?

Ok. When a retired Army Colonel who fought in Vietnam and taught at West Point who describes himself as a conservative Catholic and an anti-war/civil rights activist since after he fought in WWII are saying the same thing, I have one question.

Why aren't those in power listening?

Who Rules America?
By Paul Craig Roberts
15 May, 2009
Countercurrents.org

Even with Obama in charge, anti-war Democrats powerless
By David Lightman | McClatchy Newspapers

The Rape of Europa

According to U.S. estimates, the Nazis stole one-fifth of all the known artworks in Europe. While the Allies returned most of the displaced art in the decade following the war, much of the loot is still missing. Tragically, unique masterpieces were destroyed and lost to posterity forever. Other works of art—the last, forgotten victims of the war—survived but remain unidentified, traceable only with costly and difficult investigation.


The Monuments Men: Rescuing Art Plundered by the Nazis
By Ronald H. Bailey | World War II

PBS tonight

PBS NOW Week of 5.15.09
Can the U.N. Keep the Peace?



Bill Moyers Journal
Juan Cole,and Shahan Mufti challenge the notion of Pakistan's impending collapse. "The End of Pakistan?"

"Inside the Banking Crisis"

Psychologist Daniel Goleman on shopping to save the planet. "The Hidden Costs of Stuff."

Now I am going to go read a Chalmers Johnson review of a book that is called "The Bases of Empire."

And finally, cry me a fucking river here, poowah poowwah cohpowations, awah upset that Obama chastised them. They're probably pissed that they might have to actually pay their fair share of the taxes like the rest of us instead of the pathetic 2.3% effective tax rate that they pay now.

Andrew Bacevich explains the folly of Afghanistan

And Danny points us in the direction of Nieman Watchdog's direction as NW highlights that Doctors Ask: Why Such Poor Coverage of Single-Payer?

Hmmmm. How on earth can we pay for health care for all when we are borrowing money like crazy to pay for another military adventure, and a disgustingly bloated military budget, and a fucked up government "by the corporations, for the corporations and of the corporations" that is bankrupting our great great grandchildren?

Besides, you protest during congress and you get arrested.

Five single-payer protestors arrested
Posted: Tuesday, May 12, 2009 12:52 PM by Domenico Montanaro

Fuck me. I'm glad my goofy, entertaining (to me) shows are on tonight.

This PBS show is absolutely fascinating to me

PBS WWII Behind Closed Doors, Stalin, the Nazis and the West

I saw the first one early Monday morning I'm pissed that I have to wait till next week to see the third and final part.

Stalin was a vicious, ruthless bastard, he switched sides after the Nazis betrayed him and then got pretty damn close to taking over Moscow, but I certainly don't remember learning in US history how Churchill and Roosevelt strung him along and promised to help him with a 2nd front in Europe. Two years later they did. 27 million Russians died during WWII, 16 million of them civilians.


Now I'm watching this
POWER TRIP
by Paul Devlin
Amid pervasive blackouts and corruption, an American energy company purchases a formerly state-run electricity company in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Cultures clash, tempers flare and managers and locals tussle as a struggling nation attempts to build itself from beneath the rubble of Soviet collapse.

The film credits said it was made in 2004. When I first started becoming a news junkie I remember it registering to me that there were a lot of murders in Tblisi, the largest city in Georgia, at one time part of the Soviet Union. The iron fisted rulers of the Soviet era used force and fear to make the people submit to their will. The corruption depicted in the film was atrocious. No wonder the company was sold to a Russian company. A terrorized people don't change overnight, especially if anybody with an independent streak and honesty flees or disappears somehow. The country sits between Asia and Europe and people have been figthing over control of the area between the Black and Caspian Seas for hundreds, probably thousands of years.

Most recently because it's part of Piplineistan

Taliban wants 'new world order'

...Speaking during a news conference in London with Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, Zardari said the Taliban are seeking to create a "new world order" and that more effort was needed by the international community to defeat the fighters...


Scores of Afghan girls ill in third school poisoning
Tue May 12, 2009 7:38am EDT

...The early morning mass-poisoning at Qazaaq school was likely the work of Taliban sympathizers hostile to girls' education, the head of security for Kapisa province told Reuters...

We Shall Remain

I'm watching the first episode online.

Frankly, it's kind of depressing to know that religious nut-jobs who were a pain in the ass in England were among some of the first to gain a tenacious foothold in the new land.

We are still dealing with harmful religious nut-jobs.

Medicare, Social Security drying up faster than expected

Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 1:48pm MDT

Fronltline -- the Madoff Affair

Holy Crap you have to watch this thing to believe it. I don't feel sorry for any of the people who worked for him. Nobody asked Madoff questions because they were all making really good money on it. And that is how you keep a ponzi scheme going for 30 years. If anything I have sympathy for the underfunded and overworked SEC.

Bernard Madoff , rotten little weasel.

He pulled off a ponzi scheme that even pulled in European royalty.

When I watched this movie, I realized that that a video screen was as close as I ever wanted to be to certain members of European royalty. In fact, a couple of the impressions I had made me grateful that I never had to deal with any of these people in any way, and you can be sure that some of them are glad they never had to deal with me. The American kids are so differerent.

Unemployment, Afghanistan and bankster rescue explained

Ehrenreich: Where is the outrage over unemployment?
By Barbara Ehrenreich
Posted: 05/07/2009 02:56:38 PM PDT
Updated: 05/07/2009 07:10:52 PM PDT
n most parts of the world, mass unemployment brings the specter of mass social unrest. Not in the United States, though, where 13 million people have accepted joblessness with nary a peep of protest.

Many reasons — from Prozac to Pentecostalism — have been cited to explain America's passivity, but the truth might be far simpler: In America, unemployment has been reconfigured as a new form of work....

What the fuck are we doing in Afghanistan?

Posted May 12, 2009 3:37 pm
Tomgram: Pepe Escobar, Pipelineistan Goes Af-Pak

Back in March, Pepe Escobar, that itchy, edgy global reporter for one of my favorite on-line publications, Asia Times, began laying out the great, ongoing energy struggle across Eurasia, or what he likes to call Pipelinestan for its web of oil and natural gas pipelines. In his first report, he dealt with the embattled energy corridor (and a key pipeline) that runs from the Caspian Sea to Europe through Georgia and Turkey -- and the Great Game of business, diplomacy, and proxy war between Russia and the U.S. that has gone with it...

Frankly, this shit pisses me off more than some of the other stuff. Why? Because corporate interests are using war to get their hands on other people's natural resources in order to profit by selling it to yet another area. Corporate America has all but abandoned US citizens. They profited while there were helping to set up a sense of entitlement of a certain standard of living amongst US citizens that is absolutely unsustainable and is in fact contributing to co2 levels that are exacerbating global warming.

Still, though, I wonder what Escobar is trying to pull when he refers to a bill that never became law? update 9:09 PM 5/12/2009 Of course I should have added earlier that what I found shocking was the title of the bill, it was arrogant. The bills passed to fund the war, but they were called something else.

William Greider and Naomi Klein try to explain to Charlie Rose just what is happening to us via the banksters.

Once again bloggers push story up to the mainstream newz

Coverage of al-Libi 'Suicide' Almost Wholly Absent from U.S. Mainstream Corporate Media


Wikipedia page Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi

Last night I stayed up too late watching TV

I am such a PBS dork. First I watched

Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority
Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority explores the remarkable political story of Patsy Takemoto Mink, an Asian American woman who, battling racism and sexism, redefined American politics.

and then I watched

WWII Behind Closed Doors
Unlikely Friends Summer 1939 to Summer 1942

Before Joseph Stalin allied the Soviet Union with the United States and Great Britain, he offered help to Hitler and the Nazis much more than the rest of the world knew at the time. But when Hitler turned on Stalin and invaded the Soviet Union, in desperation the Soviet leader looked to the West for help. Although British prime minister Winston Churchill and U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt despised Communism, they also valued anyone who fought against the Nazis.

And then I fell asleep during the Geronimo episode of We Shall Remain. It started at 3 AM and I didn't know that you could watch the series online here . I'm going to watch the whole series because I want to see if they ever bring up the fact that almost every treaty ever signed was broken.

Mother's Day texting

Kid: Happy Mother's Day! I love you!

Mom: Thanks. I love you too.

Kid: Well thanks. Do you want to have lunch or something?

Mom: That is sweet, but no thank you, the restaurants are full of crazy people who hate their mothers.

Kid: HaHa OK

Mom: I love you big. Just you being you is the best present ever that a mom could get 4 Mother's Day.