William-Adolphe Bouguereau

This is one of my favorites. It's at the Chrysler in Norfolk.

(click to make bigger)

Adolphe William Bouguereau (French 1825-1905)
Orestes Pursued by the Furies, 1862
Oil on canvas, 91 x 109-3/8 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

I did not know that there was an art gallery that housed one of my favorite paintings there.

I have no idea why I love his work so much. It seems to be what I want to see though. I just finished watching In the Time of the Butterflies (2001) Streamed on Netflix of course. I loved it. It is a fictionalized story about sisters in the Dominican Republic under Trujillo, but I didn't know that till the end. It rates a solid 5 stars, so obviously I'm not the only one that loved it.

Has the Greed of Our Species Put Us on the Road to Extinction? Just Ask the Dinosaurs.

Submitted by BuzzFlash on Sun, 08/22/2010 - 11:32am. Guest Commentary
STEPHEN PIZZO FOR BUZZFLASH

"...As some continue to argue that humans have nothing to do with climate change, the climate changes nonetheless. We move now from arguing about whether it’s happening, to trying to figure out how to survive it. Even as scientists calculate that the earth can only support less than 2 billion souls -- assuming they all live at roughly a lower-middle class standard of living -- the number of souls soared this month to 7 billion..."

I usually laugh when I watch Rachel Maddow

But this one made me cry.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

With consumers slow to spend, businesses are slow to hire

By Neil Irwin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 21, 2010
CHICAGO -- Corporate profits are soaring. Companies are sitting on billions of dollars of cash. And still, they've yet to amp up hiring or make major investments -- the missing ingredients for a strong economic recovery.

Jeez. The rich are sooooooo stupid. Are they inbred to the point of retardation? They can't make money if the only people spending money are their inbred yacht buying friends. They need US to spend money an WE don't spend money if WE don't have any and their bankster friends have totally screwed US on credit cards that are maxed out because of their bankster friends greed.


Dear whiny ass rich dickheads,

Keep it up, US proles haven't had much practice with pitchforks and influencing trained snipers. Maybe WE need some.

The International

Great movie. Loved it. Here's the description from Netflix where I watched it:

2009 TV-PG 118 minutes
Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and New York Asst. DA Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) team up to expose a global financial institution's money laundering, arms dealing and other illegal rackets in this tense thriller from director Tom Tykwer. As the pair race from New York to Milan and beyond to pursue their case, they soon discover that the ruthless bank will stop at nothing to continue its profitable activities.

I might have had him take a different tack at the end. After all, there are more of us than there are of them. Many, many, many more poor than "movers and shakers," eh?

US pledges Pakistan full support in flood crisis

19 August 2010 Last updated at 15:30 ET

Huh? A good Muslim OILigarchy is promising aid whilst the US is delivering? Hmm.

Pakistan floods: As international aid lags, US announces increase

Amid United Nations reports of lagging aid for the Pakistan floods, the United States is set to increase aid to Pakistan to $150 million following the worst disaster in the country’s history, Sen. John Kerry (D) of Massachusetts announced on Thursday.

Tomgram: Chalmers Johnson, Portrait of a Sagging Empire

Posted by Chalmers Johnson
at 9:29am, August 17, 2010.

Dude's new book is out. Woot.

Poll: Growing number incorrectly call Obama Muslim

Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010
By ALAN FRAM Associated Press Writer

Ok, now that we've established that Americans are getting stoopider, let's discuss all that crapola about mosques in New York. I got no problems with mosques, there are at least 16 of them in San Diego. Temples and churches too, lots of them. As long as the nutjobs stay out of my face, no problem.

I'm always chucking that damned Jehovah's witness crap in the trash in the laundry room because they leave it on the equipment. When they come ringing my doorbell, I quickly tell them "I'm not interested, thank you very much, have a nice day," and firmly but quietly shut the door in their faces.

If there are signs that radical Islamism is going on in San Diego mosques, they should be investigated. If they are preaching hatred and violence for this country and it's people they need to be very carefully watched and if necessary deported, or the mosque shut down.

I like this Marci chick, she makes sense:

The Wrong-Headed Furor over the Planned Mosque at Ground Zero: Mistaking a War on Radical Islamicism for a War on All Muslims
By MARCI A. HAMILTON
Thursday, August 5, 2010

The Mosque Controversy Continues: How a Texas Case Regarding a Sikh Temple Illuminates the Issues
By MARCI A. HAMILTON
Thursday, August 19, 2010

"...Those Who Oppose the Mosque Based on "Sensitivities" Are Making an Argument Similar to That of Opponents of Cartoons Depicting Mohammed..."

"...While the imams had every right to engage in public discourse against images that they found offensive, they had no right to force the media to remove the images they did not like based on their "sensitivities." That is just basic First Amendment law, as I discussed in a prior FindLaw column. No free society can accede to such demands and expect to remain free..."

Oh fuck prop h8

I am straight and I'm sick of this shit. Let the people get married if they want to. They have every right to be just as fucking miserable as I am, don't they? lol

ok ok ok I was wrong

Elites' Democratic Days Are Numbered
Saturday 14 August 2010
by: David Sirota, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

When l Gibbs complained about the professional left my cynical thought processes said to me, "Yeah, ok, the idealists don't want to believe that the sausage making that goes on in DC is a disgusting process." I still think that a little, but the push-back from progressives is happening.

I dunno how the rich (or their rented political mouthpieces ) can think that when they make comments from their ritzy titzy perches in society that can be construed as whining about having to work or getting bailed out on theirbad gambling debts by the public when they have their multimillion dollar bonuses while more and more of that public are homeless and hungry

Voters Must Demand the Solution
"Voters must demand that Congress uncovers and publicizes facts and prosecutes the financial system's massive multi-year frauds. This will mean thousands of felony prosecutions, enforcement actions, and civil actions."

Janet Tavakoli
President, Tavakoli Structured Finance
Posted: August 15, 2010 10:53 AM

Illegal Immigrants Estimated to Account for 1 in 12 U.S. Births

Wall Street Journal
AUGUST 12, 2010

"Undocumented immigrants make up slightly more than 4% of the U.S. adult population. However, their babies represented twice that share, or 8%, of all births on U.S. soil in 2008, according to the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center's report...."


Dear Wall Street,

Your selfish desire for cheap disposable labor while blathering on about "freedom" bit you in the ass didn't it? Maybe the message that crosses the border is "jobs now and at least my kids will have a shot at freedom and a better life?" When are you "Captains of Industry" gonna pull your heads out of your asses and quit encouraging exploitation of these people by US big business and the Mexican drugs cartels?

Lab rats

A defense sub-contractor abandons unstable chemicals in Sorrento Valley
Wednesday, Aug 11, 2010
By Dave Maass ( San Diego City Beat )

"...What’s irregular is the reason: The Sorrento Valley facility wasn’t an illegal meth lab or an irresponsible paint manufacturer. The laboratory belonged to Aries Associates, a subcontractor that worked for and leased space to L-3 Communications, a corporation that, according to USASpending.gov, wins approximately $35 billion in federal aerospace and defense contracts each year...

"...As eager as the parties are to take credit for the invention, neither seem particularly eager to take responsibility for the chemicals used in the process. It will take the EPA at least another week to inventory the chemicals on site, then they will package them for disposal and then attempt to recover the costs..."

Typical.

M-I-C makes a big fucking toxic mess and leaves it for the taxpayers to clean up. Fuck me running.

Chris Dodd, Top Democrat, Fights Against Elizabeth Warren

Does Dodd not wonder if this shows who he is protecting? It sure doesn't look like us to me, it looks like the bankers that he's out to protect.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Will the other banksters be ordered to pay?

Judge orders Wells Fargo to pay back $203M in fees
By EILEEN AJ CONNELLY AP Business Writer
Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010


Does anyone know if any similar rulings on other banks' profiteering have happened? B of A? Chase? Any of the other big banksters?

George Benson - Breezin'

Ahhh, so calming to me. The stepmonster is alive today because I discovered smooth jazz at 16. It's still my favorite kind of music. I don't care if some people think it sounds like elevator music. I like it.

Elizabeth Warren makes me smile

Because she doesn't blow smoke up our asses. Neither does William Greider.

The AIG Bailout Scandal
William Greider
August 6, 2010 (The Nation)



Congressional Oversight reports
this month's (pdf)

Earl Klugh - One Night (Alone With You)

From one of my favorite CD's. Earl Klugh's Soda Fountain Shuffle.

The 10 most macho movie moments

I've only seen one of them. Gee, I'm female, guess which one? I hate to tell you guys this but the reason the "Get away from her you bitch!" line works is because she is protecting a child from a horrid monstrosity. If that's your definition of "macho" you need a fucking dictionary, and I feel sorry for your mother.

Climate change

CBC news This NASA satellite image shows an island of ice, 251 square kilometres in size, breaking away from the rest of the Petermann Glacier on Aug. 5. (NASA/MODIS)

Pakistan Hit By Worst Flood In 80 Years
By Brian McAfee
05 August, 2010
Countercurrents.org

"...Pakistani Professor M. Iqbal Khan stated that he believes the melting glaciers is the main cause of the floods. In an interview with the Associated Press of Pakistan Prof Khan stated "It is the glaciers which are adding fuel to the fire and due to the melting of glaciers the flood situation is aggravated," he oes on to say that the apparent gradual Himalayan glacial melt will continue to exasperate future flooding. Professor Khan's glacial melt theory has been reiterated by recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) findings..."

PAKISTAN: Floods send food prices higher
Sunday 08 August 2010


Landslides Kill Scores in Northern China
By MICHAEL WINES
Published: August 8, 2010

“Torrential rains began to fall at around 10 p.m. Saturday. Then there were landslides and many people were trapped,” the head of Zhouqu county, who goes by a the single name Diemujiangteng, told Xinhua.

Russian fires.


Progress in controlling Russia's fires, ministry says (1st Lead)
Aug 8, 2010, 12:41 GMT

"......"Moscow - The battle against forest and peat bog fires around Russia was starting to show progress, with firefighters able to extinguish fires in several regions, Moscow officials said Sunday.
The Civil Defence Ministry was cited by the Interfax agency as saying that at the sametime, however, more than 250 new fires had broken out over the past 24 hours..."


In the face of the worst drought in generations, Russia, the world’s third-biggest wheat grower, announced a export freeze on grain on Thursday. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization last week cut its 2010 global wheat output forecast by about 4 percent.

Ten dead, thousands evacuated in central Europe floods
AFP) – 2 hours ago

Is Climate Change Creating More Environmental Refugees than War in Africa?

Source: Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
Date: 03 Aug 2010
"... According to yet another report by the United Nations University, in 2009, there were about 19.2 million people officially recognized as "persons of concern" - people who are likely to be displaced because of environmental disasters. This figure is projected to grow to about 50 million by the end of 2010..."


And finally, this coast of the US seems to be having a strangely cool summer .

"Brothers" 2009

Natalie Portman makes me want to vomit most of the time, but I like the Gyllenhaal siblings and Tobey Maguire. I saw an ad for this and Maguire's character looked absolutely batshit insane and I thought I would compare the performance to his in one of my favorite movies ,The Cider House Rules in which he played such a sweet, gentle, intelligent and strong character.

Stars Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Bailee Madison, Taylor Geare and Mare Winningham.
So, I'm gonna go watch it now...

Ok, done.

Meh. I've seen more damaged human beings from war. War sucks. The movie is a remake of a Danish film film that's available for streaming on Netflix. Natalie Portman still makes me want to vomit. It's a good movie though...

Ok, I watched the Danish version. It's better in my opinion.

McConnell to Franken: "This Isn't SNL"

Posted by Colin Daileda
August 6, 2010 10:15 AM

Well isn't that special?


Come on, don't tell me I'm the only one who had that thought?

Who needs horror flicks?

13 stabbings, 5 deaths raise fears in Flint, Michigan
By Julian Cummings, CNN
August 6, 2010 4:31 p.m. EDT

"...Race may be a factor in the crimes: All of the stabbing victims are African-American and the perpetrator is described by surviving victims as a white male...

..." in many cases first lured his victims to his car by appearing to have car trouble or needing directions..."


Sick fucker.

I think this story is important

Which is why I keep eyeballing it and finally decided to post it. It speaks to so many of the problems that Americans are suffering and the only place I saw it prominently displayed is a favorite website of mine. Yes I am aware that more important stories are out there and one of them is related. Not that the court will be able to right this wrong any time soon.


CORPORATE CRIME REPORTER
Thousands Injured, 275 Dead, WR Grace Not Guilty
Corporate Crime Reporter 29, July 16, 2010

W.R. Grace's 2Q profit more than double
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 22, 2010, 5:22PM

COLUMBIA, MD.

W.R. Grace Found Not Guilty in Montana Asbestos Trial (Update4
By Bob Van Voris and Amy Linn -

May 8, 2009 17:19 EDT (Bloomberg)


Cheney's Firm Backed Bill To Limit Asbestos Liability
by Andrew Schneider and Lise Olsen
Published on Friday, August 4, 2000 in the Seattle Post-Intelligence

Rachel Maddow on CA Prop 8 ruling

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This segment made me laugh so hard

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Prop 8 overturned: Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down in California

"Although Proposition 8 fails to possess even a rational basis, the evidence presented at trial shows that gays and lesbians are the type of minority strict scrutiny was designed to protect," Walker ruled.

Woot!!

The judgment was the first offered by a federal court with respect to laws banning gay marriage at the state level and it promises to have massive reverberations across the political and judicial landscape. The decision is expected to now head to the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court (also based in San Francisco) for appeal and from there to the Supreme Court.

Woo HOO!

It does not appear that Walker allowed for an immediate hold on his decision, which means that the defense must seek one from a higher court. Until then, gay couples could be legally allowed to marry in the state of California.

Take that you silly Mormons! I wish you were getting out of San Diego, but since I see you are doing construction work on that hideous thing off of I-5, maybe you won't have as much money to fight what has been proven to be unlawful in California. AGAIN.

And it looks like it just might still be ok if it goes to the Supreme Court:

But gay rights activists may have been too pessimistic about the current Supreme Court. It's true that the Roberts Court is conservative and that several Justices are unlikely to be open-minded about same-sex marriage, including the four most right-leaning Justices: Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito. On the other side of the bench, there are four Justices likely to be favorable to Olson and Boies's argument that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples violates the Constitution: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan (assuming she is confirmed).

As usual in the Supreme Court these days, the swing vote belongs to Anthony Kennedy. And there are several reasons to believe that Kennedy, though conservative on many issues, will vote with the liberals on this one. The Supreme Court has issued two major decisions dealing with gay rights over the past 15 years. Both decisions came out strongly in favor of gay rights -- and both were written by Justice Kennedy.

Tomgram: Bill McKibben, A Wilted Senate on a Heating Planet

We’re Hot as Hell and We’re Not Going to Take It Any More
Three Steps to Establish a Politics of Global Warming
By Bill McKibben

* Nine nations have so far set their all-time temperature records in 2010, including Russia (111 degrees), Niger (118), Sudan (121), Saudi Arabia and Iraq (126 apiece), and Pakistan, which also set the new all-time Asia record in May: a hair under 130 degrees. I can turn my oven to 130 degrees.

4 Ingredients to a Climate and Energy Bill

religion sucks #22

Well, Ann Rice thinks so, and here is why

When heroes get religion
Jessica Reed
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 4 August 2010 12.06 BST


"... but last week's announcement that Anne Rice was to "quit being a Christian" while remaining committed to Christ made me smile. Rice made the annoucement on Facebook:

"In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen"...

Good on you Ann :)

Project Vigilant and the government/corporate destruction of privacy

MONDAY, AUG 2, 2010 08:03 ET
BY GLENN GREENWALD


"...Uber is the Executive Director of a highly secretive group called Project Vigilant, which, as Greenberg writes, "monitors the traffic of 12 regional Internet service providers" and "hands much of that information to federal agencies..."

Gee, ya think?

Mexico at War WaPo's coverage of the drugs wars in Mexico.

Obama: Patchwork immigration policy unacceptable
Monday, Aug. 2, 2010 AP

Gah.

They are fleeing economic hardship that our fiscal policies helped create on top of a country run by vicious, murdering drugs cartels that kill each other and anyone who gets in their way with guns that came from this country, in order to control a drugs trade that we support by using drugs and having a retarded justice system that makes some rich investors in it richer, and creates hopelessness in the prisoners because they never get a real chance for drugs or vocational rehab, and then we pour money into a corrupt government over there to fight the War on Drugs and we wonder why we have a gazillion people crossing into our country illegally?

Hmmm, was that a run on sentence?

In Mexico's Nuevo Laredo, drug cartels dictate media coverage
By William Booth
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 2, 2010

Reporters without Borders coverage of Mexico

Arizona was once tolerant of illegal immigrants. What happened?Analysts suggest it was a perfect storm of demographic shifts, a scary criminal element, the recession and a new governor.

What the fuck took the LA Times so long to figure it out? Ahh, hmm, could be the estimate of almost a million illegal immigrants in LA County alone?

No wait, it's the LA Times, the paper that never criticizes anything that the Israeli government does, and never reports on the effect of Israeli settlements or their expansion.

Here I go again, on immigration

Does this dorkwad thinks he's actually doing something good for the cause? I actually find humor in that. Did he forget what country he's in?

Here are some thoughtful and short posts on immigration.

A look inside the government’s deportation flights
By Associated Press | Sunday, August 1, 2010

"..Most of those aboard the flight came to authorities’ attention after being convicted of a crime in the U.S. One was convicted of murder, 16 for assault, 11 for driving under the influence, nine for drug charges and six for theft. Another six had no criminal background..."

Honestly, I am not sure what the deal is with the 6 with no criminal convictions. Perhaps real immigration reform would help people like that in the future.

Bay Area protests put focus on immigration policies

By Matt O'Brien
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 07/29/2010 04:17:05 PM PDT
Updated: 07/30/2010 12:15:57 PM PDT

"..The program has identified more than 4,000 immigrants with criminal records in Bay Area jails this year, and many of those immigrants were then handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to government records..."

Immigration memo sparks controversy U.S. officials consider ways to allow some illegal migrants to stay through administrative actions. Republicans see it as proof that Obama is aiming to bypass Congress with a 'de facto amnesty.'

Don't think I don't understand why people risk life and limb for a chance at a better life than the one where they come from. My neighbor told me that at her citizenship confirmation there were people from 80 countries there. I was usually in the minority on most of my jobs, I worked with immigrants from all over the world, and I have heard some stories that would curl your hair from some of my co-workers.

Don't think that I don't understand that the "War on Drugs" and Nafta and Cafta and our corrupt politicians cozying up to corrupt Latin American politicians is good for anybody except big business and (at the very least morally) corrupt politicians.

And oh, yeah, Americans and their drug habits. Are we really so insulated from the truth that 25,000 Mexican people have been slaughtered? Gee, might that have actually increased the amount of people fleeing north to escape from Mexico? Could just be that Mexico is a corrupt shit-hole also. Could be that a few rich control everything in Mexico and the US policies have control over the economy through this tiny minority of the population there.

Mexico now gets more of its revenue from drugs than it does selling us oil, and they are our number two supplier of oil. You think Mexicans know Cantarell is in decline?