San Diego Celebrates Independence Day

POSTED: 8:30 am PDT July 4, 2009
UPDATED: 8:53 am PDT July 4, 2009

The best places to view the nearly 20-minute-long fireworks show, according to organizers, is from Shelter Island, Harbor Island, North Embarcadero, Seaport Village and Coronado Ferry Landing...


Right. No smoking or drinking allowed on the beaches any more. So, a bunch of squirelly, whiny kids who are only awake because they've been drinking soft drinks all day and their grumpy, sunburnt parents? Parking nightmares?

No thanks.

There's about a dozen other places where they do fireworks displays around this county. I wish I cared. I don't like crowds or loud noises. I'll be doing the BBQ thing with a small group, wondering how many idiots will set fires with illegal fireworks? How many R-wing morons, or ignorant Mexicans will be shooting guns in the air? That's also illegal around here.

So, that was kind of a grumpy post, eh? Lemmee fix that. I love Craig Ferguson, this is a monologue that cracked me up last month. A Scottish guy who probably loves America more than I do, go figure.


Craig Ferguson 6/15/9B Late Late Show MONOLOGUE XD


And any excuse to use this pic. Buh-bye Molly McMooseturd, stay out of the public eye pleeeeeeeeeease.

Change Congress in 20 minutes

First seen posted by Agi over at Guys from Area51 , who also posts over at Agitprop

This might be a good reason to do so:

Weapons: Our #1 Export?
Frida Berrigan | June 30, 2009
Editor: John Feffer

God I hate this town sometimes

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

Update: 6:08 PM 7/2/2009 TPM says
SD DA Bonnie Dumanis may get involved?
I decided to back off from the blogging and reading of blogs to do a little fiction reading. I've known for years that I like Joseph Wambaugh, so I decided to see how long it takes me to read his books that I've neglected over the years. I've recently started on his fiction. I read "Floaters" which I thought was too kind to San Diego law enforcement in general. I guess he didn't spend any time with any Sheriff's dept guys. I've always been hesitant to live in an area where they are in charge because they have a reputation for being assholes. Now keep in mind that this is coming from someone who has bent over backwards to stay within the confines of the law and have no arrest record to prove it.

Don't get me wrong, I personally have had a mixed bag of results with police. A couple of times as a victim of crime I was treated very respectfully. Once, I was absolutely terrified by this bitch cop because her cynical, nasty response to a beating victim (me) was so vicious. Once on a traffic violation the cop bent over backwards to be kind to me. If he had had a partner with him at the time I might not be writing this now because I was pissed and couldn't figure out what I had done wrong and I thought the siren was way the fuck over the top since I was looking for a safe place to pull over and that wasn't in the middle of the fucking intersection when he put the damn siren on.

Anyway, when you don't pay guys shit, and around 90% of the cops or sheriffs come originally from rednecked shitkicking towns all over the US, and decide that they just can't bear to part with the great weather in SD after they get out of the military you get what you get.

(See what I mean? "Abbott, 29, is a former Marine who has been employed by the Sheriff's Department since 2006" More and more of these guys are gonna overreact 'cause they get whacked out in war zones. They could get away with this shit after Nam and before cell phone cameras and the internet. )

They got pepper sprayed in Rancho Santa Fe at a political fundraiser. Rancho Santa Fe is one of the most expensive places to live in San Diego. I'm doubly pissed because I've met Francine Busby and she is a sweet, gentle, intelligent woman. Unfortunately she is a Democrat, which in this fucktard RepugnanThuglican run town is a bad thing.

Read the comments, notice the way that our local newZ covers this, you will see why the local law enforcement gets away with this shit.

Yeesh, your average cop is a sweetheart compared to these godamned greedy motherfucking fuckhead fucks:

Economic Crisis, The Audit — July 01, 2009 02:57 PM
NYT: Banks Gearing Up to Kill New Consumer-Protection Agency
By Ryan Chittum

I was never really a big Michael Jackson fan

But today it hit me that it seems like his music has always been part of the background noise in my life. I never saw the the movie Ben , but I remember the song Ben . I remember hearing ABC on the radio and I'll be there .

I heard a disturbing bit on the radio this morning about Joe Jackson promoting his record label at the Michael tribute thing and I got curious about Michael's young life, so I looked it up on Wikipedia . The kid was singing in strip clubs before he was 10?

Yeesh, no wonder Janet and Michael wrote Scream .

I found this song called Sugar Daddy on youtube but I don't really remember it. I remember the more innocent, sweet songs from when he was a boy.

I always hated PYT because the girl who antagonized a boyfriend that beat the crap out of me in front of her and then refused to go with me to file a police report loved that song. But who could forget Rock With You , or Human Nature or what a big deal that Thriller was?

Tragic death, but not uncommon it seems like, for a life lived in the spotlight.

The grandmother was granted temporary custody of Michael's children.

Someone put together a nice montage on youtube called Michael Jackson History

He was talented and successful and he leaves us lots of music and memories.

Russia blames US for flood of Afghan heroin into country

Why does this not surprise me?

And then there is this:


Obama creates a deadly power vacuum
By Spengler Middle East (Asia Times)
Jun 30, 2009

I've been reading mostly non-fiction since September 12, 2001. I feel like I am in retreat. I went to the library today and picked up some fiction. Granted, some of them are Joseph Wambaugh, and it is not all fiction, but sometimes all the shit I read is just overwhelming. I need a break occasionally and movies mostly suck, so I read.

Friday squirrel blogging, and climate change that won't affect the rotten little rodents

Proposed climate bill a breath of fresh air
David Greising
June 26, 2009

China welcomes U.S. climate bill, says more needed
Fri Jun 26, 2009 7:56am EDT

Wow, I find the title of the above article a bit ironic since

China blames pollution for surge in birth defects
The government's acknowledgment of the problem is a victory for environmentalists, who say the rate of defects is highest in coal-producing regions.
By Barbara Demick
February 02, 2009

and

US scientists believe that as much as 25 per cent of the air pollution in Los Angeles comes from China.

And finally as long as we are talking about pollution, might as well throw in the most dysfunctional part of the US budget, and the worst polluter on the planet -- the US Military.

The farm lobby vs. the global warming bill
The agriculture lobby's fingerprints are all over a crucial bill aimed at fighting global warming.
June 26, 2009

Rep. Broun receives applause on the House floor for calling global warming a ‘hoax.’
...Broun’s tired hoax claims aside, Broun’s $3,100 talking point is contradicted by the Congressional Budget Office, which found that that the average cost of the legislation would be only 48-cents a day, the price of a postage stamp,...

Media reported conservatives' high cap-and-trade cost estimates, but not lower CBO number
June 23, 2009 3:52 pm ET

Reprimanded Psychiatrist? Bad Advice?

Give that documentary a Peabody!
The Observatory — June 24, 2009 01:10 PM
By Paul Scott

But where her film was generous in its inclusion of heartbreaking personal stories about depression, its broad survey of the science of the illness included frequent appearances by Charles Nemeroff, M.D., a leading— some say powerful —mood disorders researcher from Emory University. Last fall, Nemeroff also became one of the most prominent psychiatrists to be rebuked for failing to disclose funds earned from the drug industry.

Sibel Edmonds on with Brad Friedman as he fills in for Mike Malloy KTLK right now

click title link

The Health Care Industry vs. Health Reform

Submitted by Wendell Potter on June 24, 2009 - 12:12pm.

Amy Smart says Congress needs to strengthen the Waxman-Markey bill

Update: 2:10 PM 6/25/2009 the other side speaks here
...Cap-and-trade is an ineffective tool for that, because it does not reliably end fossil fuels' price advantage....

Fuck Wall Street, Fuck Wall Street, FUCK WALL STREET

Why not? They can't get enough of fucking us in the ass and we ain't even getting kissed first!

(Update 8:19 PM 8/7/2009 those of you who got here by using the Google search term "street fuck" I have no idea what you are looking for, but I think that this particular blog entry is beyond your little lizard brain mentality, go away, like to here )


Foreclosure Fiasco
Posted on Jun 24, 2009
By Robert Scheer

...California couldn’t get the White House to guarantee $5.5 billion in short-term notes to avert severe cuts in state and local payrolls, from prison guards to schoolteachers. Compare that with the $50 billion already given to Citigroup, plus an astounding $300 billion to guarantee that institution’s toxic assets. Citigroup benefits from being a bank “too big to fail,” although through its irresponsible actions to get that large it did as much as any company to cause this mess...



Obamanomics: The Good, the Bad, the WeakOn bank regulation, the White House goes too far, and not far enough.
—By Nomi Prins (Mother Jones)
Wed June 17, 2009 7:07 PM PST

Wall Street players reimburse Treasury with money we lent them—and Geithner celebrates?
—By Nomi Prins (Mother Jones)
Sun June 14, 2009 6:41 PM PST

10 Sleazy Ways That Goldman Sachs Distracted Us While Pocketing Billions from the Treasury
By Nomi Prins, AlterNet. Posted May 28, 2009.

Madoff says 12 years is plenty

71-year-old Ponzi fraudster faces a maximum of 150 years in the slam. His lawyer asks judge to consider 12 years - an 'effective life sentence.'

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: June 23, 2009: 11:39 AM ET

..Madoff is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29. He has been locked up in the Metropolitan Correctional Center since March 12, when he pleaded guilty to masterminding the largest Ponzi scheme of all time. He pleaded guilty to 11 criminal counts, including fraud, money laundering and perjury.

Madoff perpetrated the scheme through his firm, which he founded in 1960. Thus far, federal investigators have identified 1,341 investors in Madoff's firm, with losses exceeding $13 billion...

Are you fucking kidding me? Oy. Oy Vey. Oy Gevault.

Americans Want Real Health Care Reform. Help Us Make Congress Understand

By Howie Klein Sunday Jun 21, 2009 11:00am (Crooks and Liars)

Dueling government priorites

Gov. Dean: 'Why Would You Put A Trillion Dollars Into Something That Hasn't Worked?'
By Susie Madrak Saturday Jun 20, 2009 3:00pm

Umm. yeah. I know that is a wonderful question regarding the healthcare "debate" in this country but ummm.....

What The Fuck?

The Three Trillion Dollar War:

As Part of Crackdown on Journalists, Iranian Security Forces Detain and Beat Canadian Journalist

In his first public remarks after days of demonstrations, Ayatollah Khamenei denied any possibility that last week’s vote had been rigged and defended President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad as the rightful winner of the election. At the same time, the Iranian government continues to arrest journalists, prominent reformists and associates of the opposition candidates, including twenty-six-year-old Mohammadreza Jalaeipour, the top strategist for presidential challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. We speak to Toronto Globe and Mail reporter George McLeod. On Sunday, he was arrested, briefly detained, and beaten by Iranian security forces.

Middle East (Asia Times)
Jun 20, 2009
Beijing cautions US over Iran
By M K Bhadrakumar

After 8 years of discouragement in this arena

Yesterday, a House subcommittee approved the Fiscal Year 2010 State/Foreign Operations Appropriation bill that includes a substantial increase in funding for international family planning.

The subcommittee, under the leadership of Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), allocated $648 million for family planning and reproductive health care, including $60 million for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This amount is significantly higher than President Obama’s budget request of $593 million with $50 million for UNFPA.

Overall funding for international family planning declined by nearly 40% between 1995 and 2008. President Obama indicated his intent to reverse this trend by designating more than half of his proposed global health budget increase for family planning.

Yesterday’s move by the House subcommittee goes even further, signaling that they understand that, even in a difficult economic climate, real investment in international family planning will pay dividends: it will increase maternal and child survival, ease pressure on the environment, and encourage social stability in the developing world.

The bill will be considered by the full Appropriations Committee next week. We will keep you updated as the bill makes its way through the House and Senate.

Nunya sez Yaaaaaayyyy, good news from Population Connection.

Republicans still worried about Obama 'infomercial' despite ABC promise

BY Richard Huff
DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR
Updated Thursday, June 18th 2009, 10:22 AM

Call for 'day of mourning' in Iran

UPDATED ON:
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
20:25 Mecca time, 17:25 GMT


Middle East (Asia Times)
Jun 18, 2009
Page 1 of 2
Khamenei rides a storm in a tea cup
By M K Bhadrakumar

...Besides, "unity rally" held in Tehran by supporters of Ahmadinejad condemned "enemies, particularly the US, Britain and Israel. [for] interfering in Iran's internal affairs, plotting against the government and giving media support to the enemy groups, rioters and social and political hooligans who are trying to fuel chaos in the Islamic Republic".

Dude is whacked.

Following up on yesterday's happy news

Bitchin'. Who better to help put the nail in the coffin than Ahmadinejad?

Here's to stolen elections, corruption, OILigarchs and the American race to the bottom of the living standards. I'm sure the rich won't mind if we live like poor Brasilians,

as long as they live like the rich Brasilians, in gated communities with bullet proof SUVs and bodyguards.

The American Empire Is Bankrupt

Posted on Jun 14, 2009 TruthDig
By Chris Hedges

This week marks the end of the dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency. It marks the start of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. And it signals the last gasp of the American imperium. That’s over. It is not coming back. And what is to come will be very, very painful... (click on title link)




From The Times (UK)
June 15, 2009
World Agenda: Looking to the future without the West


US cities may have to be bulldozed in order to survive Uk Telegraph
By Tom Leonard in Flint, Michigan
Published: 6:30PM BST 12 Jun 2009
Dozens of US cities may have entire neighbourhoods bulldozed as part of drastic "shrink to survive" proposals being considered by the Obama administration to tackle economic decline.

Update 4:30 PM 6/17/2009
China, Russia sign five-point joint statement
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-18 05:26:55

BRICs Don't Flee The Dollar
Paul Maidment, 06.17.09, 11:30 AM EDT
The dollar's reserve currency status remains unchallenged, despite rhetoric.

Bric in search of elusive common cause
..."Do not expect any short-term initiatives with respect to the dollar," said Roberto Mangabeira Unger, Brazil's minister for strategic affairs, backing that position. "No one wants to say things or do things that would increase volatility in the ... crisis."

Iranian election

I don't speak Farsi, but it looks like a lot of people are not happy about the Ahmadinejad "win." My blogger friend Naj sent me this, she has more.

Tehran in support of Mousavi UK Times online

EU leads international pressure on Iran over vote
Mon Jun 15, 2009 10:36am EDT

Iran's Stolen Election May Spark Global Crisis
Writer, founder of GlobalEconomicCrisis.com (article from HuffPo)
Posted: June 13, 2009 03:41 PM
Sheldon Filger
...Moreover, the regime announced the predetermined outcome only a few hours after the polls had closed, a logistical impossibility given the geography and demographics of Iran. However, when a regime decides what the outcome of an election will be in advance, electoral logistics are inconsequential....

Big crowd turns out for pro-Mousavi rally in Tehran
Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:52am EDT
..."Where are the 63 percent who voted for Ahmadinejad?" they chanted, referring to his official election tally...

Monday, June 15, 2009
Iran supreme leader orders vote fraud probe By ANNA JOHNSON and ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writers
...The students set a truck and other vehicles on fire and hurled stones and bricks at the police, he said. Hard-line militia volunteers loyal to the Revolutionary Guard stormed the dormitories, ransacking student rooms and smashing computers and furniture with axes and wooden sticks, Akbar said.

Before leaving around 4 a.m., the police took away memory cards and computer software material, Akbar said, adding that dozens of students were arrested....

Washington has wait-and-see stance on Iran
Published: June 15, 2009 at 9:24 AM UPI
...The Obama administration has been low key in its reaction to Iran's election and the days of protests that followed, The Washington Post reported Monday. Obama, during his campaign and while in office, has indicated a willingness to re-establish a diplomatic relationship with Iran...

I think the Obama administration is doing the right thing by staying low key about this. Obama needs to be very careful considering the US govt's history in Iran, and Iranian sensitivity to Washington meddling. If the powerful in Iran need to close off access to foreign press, internet access, and cell phones, facebook, and then use thugs to push people off the streets the people's anger at injustice will leak out no matter how hard the regime tries to hide it.

If Ahmadinejad really does end up with the presidency, then Obama needs to be very careful about ignoring the right-wing nutjobs in this country.

More touristy pics.

As I took this picture of the fountain, I was acutely aware of the coming exhibit poster being displayed on the outside museum wall to my left. I had no interest in paying to see it, in fact I was repulsed. Not just because I'm squeamish about being around dead humans, but because this guy gives me the creeps and there are still questions about whether or not the bodies were all willing to to be plastinated and displayed when they were still alive. There are a a lot of medical and nursing students in San Diego, and people who really want to see this, so I figure they don't need my $25 .

Sino-Russian baby comes of age

Asia Times
Jun 13, 2009
from page 2 of 3

....The Obama administration's proposed budget for the State Department allocates of $41.5 million for Kyrgyzstan and $46.5 million for Tajikistan, whereas the corresponding figures for the current fiscal year are $24.4 million and $25.2 million, respectively. US military aid to the two countries will also similarly be increased under the new budget.
The justification given is that Central Asia's strategic importance has risen of late for US regional policies. According to budget justification documents released by the State Department in Washington on May 7:

"Central Asia remains alarmingly fragile: a lack of economic opportunity and weak democratic institutions foster conditions where corruption is endemic and Islamic extremism and drug trafficking can thrive. For this region, where good relations play an important role in supporting our [US] military and civilian efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, the [budget] request prioritizes assistance for the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan."

The political rationale for in Washington's decision to step up aid to Central Asia at a time when the Russian capacity to bankroll Central Asian economies is in serious doubt. "The United States rejects the notion that any country has special privileges or a 'sphere of influence' in this region; instead the United States is open to cooperating with all countries in the region and where appropriate providing assistance that helps develop democratic and market institutions and practices.


Sunday, June 14, 2009
NEWS BRIEFS

KYRGYZSTAN: RUSSIANS KANT LEAVE MILITARY AIRBASE FOR 49 YEARS
5/29/09

The Americans may have to be out of their base by August, but the Russians can look forward to at least another 49 years in Kyrgyzstan.

Under a new deal, the Russian air base at Kant, outside of Bishkek, will be leased to Moscow for 49 years, with an automatic option for a 25-year extension. Kant was opened in 2003 and serves Collective Security Treaty Organization forces. Russia pays $4.5 million annually to the Kyrgyz government in rent, the RIA Novosti news agency reported on May 29.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev ordered US forces out of the Manas Air Base in February in a move that was widely linked to the receipt of a massive aid and loans package from the Kremlin. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Posted May 29, 2009 © Eurasianet

When you live in San Diego

Sometimes you just gotta go play tourist.












Time spent with a really good friend is the best.

No, I'm not posting the pics of me and my friend goofing off in Balboa Park or on the roof, just the few of the pictures I took.

Friday squirrel blogging

Holocaust survivor: Museum shooter akin to suicide bomber
(CNN) -- The gunman who opened fire at Washington's U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum this week is no better than a suicide bomber, a survivor of the Holocaust said.


ANALYSIS - Qaeda struggling with slump in donations
Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:27pm IS

When it comes to poor Al Quaida struggling for donations, the first thing that goes through my mind is "Sympathy is in between shit and syphilis in the dictionary."

Gator gitters

Did anyone else get this e-mail? Just recently a buddy sent me this, but it's been circulating since 2004. I'm glad I don't live in the southeastern part of the US, for more than one reason.


This picture was taken by a helicopter flying over Lake Wiess about 90 miles north of Birmingham , Alabama !
The helicopter pilot and the game warden were in communication via radio's here is a transcript of their conversation.

'Air1 have you a visual on the gator, over'

'Approaching inlet now, over'

'Roger Air1'

'Gator sighted.. Looks like it has a small animal in its mouth.. moving in, over'

'Roger Air1'

'Holy Crap it's a Deer!'

'confirm Air1.. did you say Deer?, Over'

'Roger.. a Deer in its mouth.. looks like a full sized buck.. that's a big gator, we are going to need more men, Over'

'Roger Air1.. can you give me a idea on size of animal, over'

'Its big 25 feet at least, please advise Gator is heading to inlet.. do I pursue?, over'

That has to be a HUGE gator to have a whole deer in its mouth!

The deer was later found to be a mature Stag and was measured at 11feet!

Are you ready to go skiing on Lake Wiess ?!

If you ski at the west end of the lake -- try not to fall.


This alligator was found between Centre and Leesburg , Alabama near a house! Game wardens were forced to shoot the alligator - guess he wouldn't cooperate...

Anita and Charlie Rogers could hear the bellowing in the night.

Their neighbors had been telling them that they had seen a mammoth alligator in the waterway that runs behind their house,

but they dismissed the stories as exaggerations.

'I didn't believe it,' Charles Rogers said, but they realized the stories were, if anything, understated.

Alabama Parks and Wildlife game wardens had to shoot the beast.

Joe Goff, 6'5' tall, a game warden, walks past the 28 foot, 1 inch alligator 8.5 metres (?) he shot and killed in their back yard.

snopes sez, story basically true, but gator was "at least 12-13 feet long"

Too bad they shot it. Jeff Sessions would have made a nice snack.

Anyhow, this woman probably wouldn't want to tangle with this particular gator, but she seems to do pretty well with other gators.

California nears financial "meltdown" as revs tumble

By Jim Christie Jim Christie – Wed Jun 10, 7:31 pm ET
Reuters
Underscoring the severity of California's cash crisis, Controller John Chiang, who has previously warned the state's government risks running out of cash without a budget deal, said revenues in May fell by $1.14 billon, or 17.7 percent, from a year earlier...
...The state's revenues from personal income taxes tumbled by 39.3 percent in May from a year earlier while revenues from corporate taxes fell by 52.1 percent and revenues from sales taxes sagged by 7.6 percent, according to a report released by Chiang's office....


Public release date: 9-Apr-2009
University of Kansas
Tax lobbying provides 22,000 percent return to multinational firms, KU researchers find A recent tax law change provided a tax break to the corporations by lowering their tax rate 85 percent on certain worldwide income
LAWRENCE, Kansas — Three professors at the University of Kansas have found that a one-time tax break allowed multinational corporations to receive a 22,000 percent average return on lobbying expenditures.


Obama: Corp. tax-cheats cost $210 billion
Posted May 4, 2009 12:15 PM
by Christi Parsons
President Barack Obama said this morning that he plans to crack down on American companies that legally avoid U.S. tax obligations by investing money in countries with lower tax rates.


Ummmm, yeah, Obama must be going after some low hanging fruit, because $210 billion seems awfully damned low to me.

FedEx Campaign Delivers Controversy

Source: New York Times, June 9, 2009

...At issue is "a provision in a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill" that would reclassify some FedEx employees under the National Labor Relations Act, making it easier for them to form unions. UPS, which is "heavily unionized," is already classified under the Act. UPS spokesman Malcolm Berkley said that FedEx "uses the fact of the labor law it is currently under inappropriately as a lever when talking to UPS customers, particularly when we're negotiating our contracts."...

I'm tired of hearing what rich people think

This picture was in my mind when I woke up this morning. I think I stole it from the Freeway Blogger's site.



Anyway, it's exactly how I feel today. The Nation Magazine had an essay contest for high school or college students a while back and here are two of the winners.


Addressing Inequity in Education
By Laine Alison Zalac
December 15, 2008


Transcending Trauma
By Victor Lopez
December 13, 2008

Tomgram: Alfred McCoy, Back to the Future in Torture Policy

posted June 07, 2009 5:32 pm

When the Abu Ghraib photos were released in 2004, it seemed that most Americans were shocked by such novel and horrific images, but at least one was not. I'm talking about Alfred McCoy, who had been following the Central Intelligence Agency since the early 1970s, when it unsuccessfully tried to stop the publication of his book, The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade.


119 Million Americans Want a Public Health Option -- Why Aren't Politicians Listening?
By Robert Parry, Consortium News. Posted June 8, 2009.

Shamanaqua gives us a few ugly supporting facts.

Monday, June 08, 2009
Politics, a game for fools, clowns and scalawags