Shaima Alawadi Dead: Iraqi Woman Who Was Severely Beaten In California Home Dies

This makes me so sad. It also makes me wonder if the perps were on meth? El Cajon is kind of known for being tweaker hell. Condolences to friends and family.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Birkenstocks Anonymous?

Hmmm. It started with one pair in my 20's, then two. Stopped wearing them, got old and fat, thought I needed a bigger size, bigger size caused major problems, went back to smaller size and then just went crazy buying the damn things. So 14 of the 20 pairs pictured I can actually wear now. The soft footbeds for short periods, the regular footbeds on most days and the bad days, ONLY the high arch pairs.

Nice couple of days

Got to spend some time with my friend who I've known for like, forever. Got to see her son, her daughter, meet her daughter's friends at a BBQ and she flies home tomorrow. I'm so happy that she came and thrilled that her kids are so grown up now. All in all, just a really good time for me.

Merah dead

Suspect in French shooting attacks dead after raid, shootout
March 22, 2012
LA Times

"...Authorities said the suspect had acknowledged killing seven people in three separate shootings. Guéant said Merah had admitted gunning down a rabbi and three children at a Jewish school in Toulouse on Monday, saying it was in revenge for the killing of Palestinian children.

Officials reported that the suspect also said he shot three soldiers, two of them Muslims, in retaliation for French military involvement in Afghanistan. The drive-by attacks happened before the shooting at the Jewish school...."

As Occupy Arrestees Arraigned, Iris Scans Affect Bail

By Nick Pinto Mon., Mar. 19 2012 at 5:00 AM
Categories: Courts, Occupy Wall Street, Privacy

Welcome to Police State America. Between that and a mention of Romney beating Obama in some poll somewhere and the possibly premature screams of anti-semitism in France over today's shooting I'm just absolutely disgusted.

Shit, what's on Netflix?

Robert Bales, Afghan Killing Suspect, Plagued By Money And Job Strife

I know I'm going to get a lot of negative responses for saying this so I'll just say it.
Sgt. Bales' actions opened up a big ugly can of infected worms and maybe the sunlight shined on it will be a good thing in the long run.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

What a bunch of creeps

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
2010 R117 minutes
Director Alex Gibney turns the spotlight on the life and career of politician Eliot Spitzer, the New York governor whose potential to become the first Jewish president of the United States was thwarted by his indiscretions.

Cast:Eliot Spitzer, Joseph Bruno, Kenneth Langone, Roger Stone, Maurice R. 'Hank' Greenberg, Cecil Suwal, Lloyd Constantine, Peter Elkind

So nice to know that in one of the most powerful and wealthy cities in the world that some of the powerful are virtually indistinguishable from some of the characters in the Godfather or on the Sopranos. Bleh. I absolutely loathe those movies and that show. And oh yeah, these creeps have friends in the FBI (Fucking Bought off Idiots).

I've always thought that he went after the worst fraudsters and that's why he was taken down. Kind of fishy to me that the greedy little ho that only did him once got to be so famous.

I got to feed!!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day. I got to see my friend, her kids and significant others and it was wunnerful. I rarely get to feed a group and it's even more rare that I dearly love everyone I'm feeding. Even the rain couldn't bum me out this time.

Signed,

The Birkenblogger.

Soldier accused in Afghan killings was family man

By ADAM GELLER and RACHEL LA CORTE

March 17, 2012 3:22PM
Chicago Sun-Times

"...Browne said he did not know if his client had been drinking the night of the massacre.

Then, in the middle of the night last Sunday, shots rang out in a pair of villages within walking distance of the base. Soon after, a surveillance camera mounted to a blimp captured an image of a soldier the Army identifies as Bales returning in the dark. A traditional Afghan shawl was draped over the gun in his hands. As he reached the gates of the base, the man in uniform lay the weapon down. He raised his arms in surrender.

Browne said he did not know if his client had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but said it could be an issue at trial if experts believe it’s relevant. Experts on PTSD said witnessing the injury of a fellow soldier and the soldier’s own previous injuries put him at risk..."

This was totally predictable in my opinion. I been watching this my whole life, and that's a few wars.

BBQ was nice

Feeding picky eaters ain't so bad if you have prior notice and instructions. I loved seeing my friend and her daughter and I got to meet her daughter's boyfriend. Great kids and great company. Somebody let me know if I missed something really important, cause I an't hunting down any political bullshit today. It's just too nice of a day.

Me, up at 7AM?

Yep, my friend is coming in from out of state. Haven't seen her in two years. I'm soooooooooooo excited!!!!

How We All Got Stuck Paying the Medical Bills of the Woman Who Sued to Kill Obamacare

"It is people who have decided not to buy coverage -- but who nevertheless get sick or injured and seek medical care when they do, even if they don't have the money to pay for it -- that make health insurance so expensive for the rest of us"



Dude, that's only part of it. What about the people who have invested in all sectors of the "health care business" and expect to make a return? Shareholders in health insurance companies, medical equipment and supply companies and health care facilities don't jack up our costs? What about the fraud in Medicare? What about the miscalculation in Medicare costs when SS and Medicare was set up? Nobody during FDR's time expected to have THIS many old and sick people, THIS few jobs and fewer young people enteriing the workforce because women discovered they could do more than stay at home and squirt out brats once there was birth control available.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Questions linger in US on high-tech voting

GMA News
ROB LEVER, AFP March 11, 2012 4:08pm

Of course, the powers that be may not even have to cheat considering things like this:

SHOCK POLL: 52% OF MISSISSIPPI GOP VOTERS SAY OBAMA IS MUSLIM

Sort of boggles the mind. Is this some nonsense propaganda or did they only poll Fox Snooze watchers? Are people really that stupid? I know they polled Republicans, so that says something right there.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Righteous & The Wicked

Afghan Shooting: U.S. Officials Seek To Contain Damage

I don't know why people are so surprised, indignant and vengeful towards this soldier. Nobody in the service gets help when they start to lose it because they don't want "head case" stamped in their service jacket. I was born and raised in a county that is basically one big military base, I've been seeing the homeless vets on the streets my whole life. Dude was on his 4th deployment into a war zone in a foreign culture. Not everyone handles that well, but the attitudes of many service persons don't allow for any weakness and seeking mental health help is seen as a weakness.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Greenwald totally nails it on Kucinich

SATURDAY, MAR 10, 2012 2:40 AM PST
Dennis Kucinich and “wackiness”
BY GLENN GREENWALD

"...Establishment Democrats have long viewed Dennis Kucinich with a mixture of scorn, mockery and condescension...

But more important: Kucinich’s animating belief was that both political parties often embraced extremist, destructive policies due to a combination of cowardice and malignant views..."

I'm pooped

I cleaned my carpets today. There are some clean spots now.

My dilemma and my anger

I know, you're looking at the pictures and you're thinking, Bitch is fucking obsessed with her feet and these damn shoes. Yeah, kinda, but this is something a little bit different.

Here goes --

I've been wearing the wrong size for 14 years and it caused all kinds of problems with my back, knees and 1 very painful arch. Easy for a shoes salesperson to mistake since I'm almost perfectly in between sizes and with most shoes you need to go up a size if there is doubt. Based on my experience I don't recommend it with Birkenstocks. The arch supports need to be in the correct places for your frame.

So the picutures below are of new pairs that I can't wear. Well, I have this wonderful family next door and her mom has "wide feet little bit" and "problems with fitting shoes and with feet" and she sends shoes to mom in Iran through sister in another country because the sanctions and bad relations between Iran and the U.S. are making direct phone calls and the sending of packages of things like Motrin and wide shoes to mom difficult. I didn't know this when I asked if she could get a foot tracing to see if the Birks I can't wear might work for her mom. I asked my friend and neighbor if we could just send the shoes to her and she explained the problems.

I couldn't help but think "WTF?" and then "Oh, of course! The geniuses at Homeland Security will find some way to indicate that a couple pairs of secondhand Birkenstocks (gently and slightly used and not broken in!) will somehow help Iran with it's nuclear program."

It makes perfect sense to me now since I'm almost done reading this book. I told her that the problems that the U.S. has with Iran are made in Israel and we laughed. She and I have discussed how we love that the US has freedom of religion. Those two countries really don't if you look at the problems encountered by people of the less favored religion in them, but I would posit that Jews in Iran have less problems than Muslims in Israel do. Well, I think everybody in Iran is having a tougher time with survival.

This is disgusting

Chinese Businessmen Paying $80,000 to Hunt Polar Bears in Canada

Russsians arrested in St Petersburg protests

Russia election: Police arrest 550 at city protests
5 March 2012 Last updated at 15:34 ET

Ahhhh, a little waterboarding and they'll admit that Hillary made them do it.

AIPAC Works for the 1 Percent

Posted on Mar 4, 2012
By Chris Hedges
Truthdig

"...AIPAC does not drive Middle Eastern policy in the United States. I am afraid it is worse than that. AIPAC is one of an array of powerful and well-funded neoconservative institutions that worship force and drive our relations with the rest of the world. These neoconservatives choose an enemy and then our compliant class of journalists, specialists, military analysts, columnists and television commentators line up to serve as giddy cheerleaders for war. Moments like these always make me embarrassed to be a reporter. Our political elite, Republican and Democrat, finds in this ideology a simple, childish allure. This ideology does not require cultural, historical or linguistic literacy. It reduces the world to black and white, good and evil. The drumbeat for war with Iran sounded by AIPAC is part of this broad, sick, binary vision of a world that can be subjugated by force, a world where all will be made to kneel before these corporate and neoconservative elites, where none, including finally us, will be permitted to whisper dissent..."

yeah I know it's 3 pages long, read it anyway

I'm still trudging through the book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by Mearsheimer and Walt.

AIPAC 2012: Obama Defends Policies Toward Israel, Fends Off Partisan Critiques

AIPAC is so busy staring at it's own navel it doesn't even realize that what it is advocating might not be the best thing long term for the actual people in Israel and they surely don't care about the people inside the US.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Limbaugh Advertisers: We Still Won't Sponsor Rush Anymore

Why is it that you have to hit these idiots in the pocketbook in order to get their attention?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

wtf is the matter with Arizona?

I went looking for some more details on the shooting last night because my first thought after I saw a headline that mentioned 13 were shot,was "Mexican drugs gangs?' So I use the search terms "Arizona shooting." Then I have to weed through the results to find last night's shooting?

Like I said, wtf is the matter with Arizona?

(I don't even want to go into how fucked up the AZ rednecked Republican politicians and law enforcement are)...on second thought, wtf is the matter with the world?

Flashback: Drug Cartels Helped Save The Banks During Financial Meltdown
March 3, 2012
Print Version
Source: Guardian

Risking Peace at a Troubled School

How one struggling San Francisco school is using meditation to help at-risk children thrive.
Edutopia / By David Markus
at Alternet
March 2, 2012

"... Middle schoolers, sitting silently, hardly moving?

Seriously?..."

Andrew Breitbart Dead: Conservative Blogger Dies Suddenly At 43

My condolences to friends, family and followers. May he rest in PEACE.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Iran Air War: U.S. Plans For Possibility, But Goal Remains Unclear

"Remember the real reason why Moammar Gadhafi is dead. He dared to propose and started creating an alternative currency to the world reserve U.S. Dollar..."



http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article32874.html
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Kansas Abortion Bill: Governor Sam Brownback Likely To Sign Sweeping Legislation

Didn't Brownback figure prominently in the book "What's the Matter with Kansas?"

http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Matter-Kansas-Conservatives-America/dp/0805073396
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Haven't read Clusterfuck Nation in a while

because ya gotta toughen up the emotional skin before diving into his pool.

I'm good today, you?

Let's go into

A Fog of Mendacity
By James Howard Kunstler
on February 27, 2012 9:43 AM

Omygodomygodomygod I love this guy:

" ...The US government is in on this propaganda offensive, especially the Department of Energy's Energy Information Agency (EIA), which routinely issues overly optimistic reports about future oil production. The political spin is a quixotic effort to promote another commonly touted lie about the future: that the US is approaching a point of "energy independence." You'll know we got there when you have to walk to your new job weeding the potato fields. The mendacity behind this propaganda is strictly the wish of politicians to avoid telling voters the truth, out of sheer cowardice for the consequences..."

A dozen bankers are destroying civilization- and governments don't care

OpEd News
Lila York
Feb 26, 2012