Trayvon/Alawadi conflation

I'm tired, I'm cranky, my head hurts, my shoulder hurts.

I'm sick of people conflating the Trayvon Martin and Shaima Alawadi cases. There have been like 3 "hate crimes" in El Cajon in 4 years would everyone jut STFU and wait till the investigation has come to any kind of conclusion?

You know, come to think of it this is what I really really know about these two cases:

I WASN'T THERE AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT REALLY FUCKING HAPPENED.

4/12/12 update:
"...The documents also show the woman's 17-year-old daughter, Fatima Alhimidi, was distraught over her pending arranged marriage to a cousin..."

Fourplay - Max O man

Who Pays for Political Ads?

I love Bill Moyers!!!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

OIl and money, money and oil

Tomgram: Michael Klare, Welcome to the New Third World of Energy, the U.S.
Posted by Michael Klare at 5:09pm, April 1, 2012.

"...Fracking Our Way to a Toxic Planet

Such pressures in the Third World have forced the major U.S. and European firms -- BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Total of France -- to look elsewhere for new sources of oil and natural gas. Unfortunately for them, there aren’t many places left in the world that possess promising hydrocarbon reserves and also welcome investment by private energy giants. That’s why some of the most attractive new energy markets now lie in Canada and the United States, or in the waters off their shores. As a result, both are experiencing a remarkable uptick in fresh investment from the major international firms.

Both countries still possess substantial oil and gas deposits, but not of the “easy” variety (deposits close to the surface, close to shore, or easily accessible for extraction). All that remains are “tough” energy reserves (deep underground, far offshore, hard to extract and process). To exploit these, the energy companies must deploy aggressive technologies likely to cause extensive damage to the environment and in many cases human health as well. They must also find ways to gain government approval to enter environmentally protected areas now off limits...

Put another way, North America will have to be Third-Worldified."


Raymond J. LearsyAuthor, 'Oil and Finance: The Epic Corruption Continues'
Shell Supports Iran's Murderous Mullahs; Should We Be Supporting Shell?
Posted: 04/ 2/2012 5:16 am

Russia Moves to Drill in Arctic, Oil Companies Follow Suit
Brian Merchant
Business / Corporate Responsibility
February 15, 2011

SUNDAY, APR 1, 2012 2:00 PM PDT
How billionaires destroy democracy
Wealthy Wall Streeters have rigged the economy and the government against the people. Here's how they did it
BY LINDA MCQUAIG AND NEIL BROOKS

Bill Moyers | The Real Costs of War

Bill Moyers | The Real Costs of War
Sunday, 01 April 2012 12:48
By Bill Moyers, Bill Moyers & Co. | News Analysis

*sigh*

Palm Beach Elections Overturned After Hand-Count Reveals Op-Scans Mistallied Results

By Brad Friedman on 3/30/2012 3:00pm
"...Yes, it's true that Palm Beach County simply cannot carry out an election properly on any type of voting system. It's true that..." (just read it)

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
People Who Are Destroying America - Teachers
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

March 29, 2012, 11:56 PM NYT opinion
Suppress the Vote!
By JIM ARKEDIS and LINDSAY MARK LEWIS

The Price of Oil: Saudi Hypocrisy, Our Gullibility

"Speaking of speculation -- or worse, manipulation -- and given the lack of transparency in the trading of oil futures in the world's commodity markets..." Eggzakly!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Rachel Maddow on Supreme Court

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

This woman is brilliant!

The Wall Street multibillion-dollar scandal no one is talking about

By Stephen Gandel, senior editor FORTUNE

"Much of the talk about bad behavior on Wall Street since the financial crisis has been about mortgages...

...But there is another scandal that has come out of the financial crisis that at least to me makes the mortgage underwriting scandal look like small peanuts, and it has been heating up lately. Two weeks ago, the government disclosed that it is looking into bringing criminal cases against traders and banks that manipulated a key bank lending rate, called LIBOR....

...Consider what went on here. Banks took a rate that they artificially set themselves, and then went out and convinced municipalities and pension funds and others to bet against them on the rate.... "

Read the whole thing and tell me you are surprised? Or gee, maybe this article from 2003 was a clue?

I'm not surprised, especially since I have had a cautious at best and hateful and disgusted at worst attitude towards traders, and their disdain for government regulations.

Remember those Enron energy traders and what they did to Californians? I sure as fuck do, I hated those arrogant little pricks.

Let the investigation continue in the Al-Awadi case

Update Thurs April 5, 2012
"...The documents also show the woman's 17-year-old daughter, Fatima Alhimidi, was distraught over her pending arranged marriage to a cousin..."

"...Records obtained at El Cajon Superior Court on Wednesday showed the victim's plans to leave her husband..."

"...Fatima also had a previous run-in with police last November when she was caught having sex with a 21-year-old man in a parked car, the search warrants stated.
After being picked up by her mother, Fatima jumped out of her mother's car going 35 mph, according to the search warrants. Fatima suffered a possible broken arm and was placed on a medical hold...."

Sunday April 1, 2002

Ok, now there were 3 'go back to your country' notes, one 5 days before the killing, one left at the scene and one at the hospital, according to this Al-Jazeera report.

4/5/12 update --
The sheriff's crime lab determined it was a copy, not the original, according the documents.

Sat Mar 31 2012 The reporters must be frustrated at how little information is being revealed by the investigators. Perhaps the investigators are frustrated with how little new information is being discovered? Anyway they have no "persons of interest" at this time.

Iraqi-American woman slain in US is buried in Iraq
By BUSHRA JUHI and HADI MIZBAN Associated Press
Posted: 03/31/2012 08:50:21 AM PDT

NAJAF, Iraq—An Iraqi-American woman found bludgeoned to death in her California home last week, with a threatening note left beside her body, was buried in her native Iraq on Saturday. Family members wept uncontrollably by her graveside and her father asked God to exact revenge on those responsible for her death....

5:30 p.m., March 28, 2012
Updated 10:35 p.m.
Update: Few answers in Iraqi woman's death

Hate crimes in El Cajon rare

(here is the statewide hate crimes report, I think the reporter mixed something up in her last paragraph

HATE CRIMES, 2010 ) Hey, where did that last paragrapgh go? lol.

Update: Police logs describe possible suspect in murder of El Cajon mother
Updated: Mar 28, 2012 5:50 PM PDT

Update: Family of murdered Iraqi-American woman recounts story of brutal attack
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Last Updated: Tue Mar 27, 2012 18:12 pm (KSA) 15:12 pm (GMT) Al Arabiya News

"...Hamidi said he and his wife are both from the city of al-Samawa in the governorate of al-Muthana in southern Iraq.

“We got married in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia.”
...

Where Are The Protests Against the Killing of Shaima Al Awadi?
A muslim mother of four gets beaten to death in her California home and left with the message "Go back to your country, you terrorist." But there won't be a million hijab march for her.
By NINA BURLEIGH | @ninaburleigh | March 28, 2012

I added Ms. Burleigh's TIME magazine article because there is a tiny bit of background information on Iraqi refugees in the US, but I don't believe that she has been following local news reports or neighbor's interviews on this particular case and frankly, her article belongs on the opinion page where I found it.
-------------

I don’t know why that no one has been arrested in in the case of Shaima Alawadi, but her body is being flown back to Iraq:

San Diego murder victim Shaima Alawadi to return to Iraq

A hate crime appears to be the most obvious answer because of the note (s), but I have alternate theories that may still pertain to the hateful note. It might have been smokescreen left there by the killer(s) and used by the police in order to continue their investigation.

Here are some other things to think about.

Even if the killer was a racist pig and/or a right-wing nut-job, methamphetimine use in El Cajon is well known, and the area is pretty well mixed as far as socioeconomic and educational levels go and racial make-up in the area is varied. (According to this, El Cajon is whiter than I thought, and thank you wikipedia for cluing me into the fact that there is a Chaldean mafia in bed with Mexican drugs cartels AND the Sicilian Mafia, because I didn't know about these arrests).

Also well known is that the Iraqi community in El Cajon has a majority of Chaldeans (kind of like Catholic Christians) and the Al Awadis are Shia and her “dream was to work and build bridges between the Muslim and Christian communities.”

"Redman said the ECPD (El Cajon Police Department) had never before recorded a hate crime against Iraqis or Chaldeans, tens of thousands of whom live in the East County."

The husband had worked for a US Army military contractor in San Diego as a cultural advisor to train US soldiers who were going to be deployed to the Middle East, as did the brothers.

Yeah, sorry, but daughter’s dramatic skills are on display for the cameras here. I know that when I cry you can hear the stuffed up sinuses. Since the family came to the US in the early 90’s that kid was raised here, and most 17-year-olds do not consider their mother their best friend, even if the mother was very young when she started a family (15 in this case).

Common police procedure is to suspect the husband first, although he was taking some of his kids to school while his oldest daughter was sleeping upstairs and his wife was being hit in the head with a tire iron downstairs. Well some reports say she was sleeping upstairs and others say she came in the house and found her mother unconscious. The victim's father was a Shia cleric in Iraq. Neighbor interviewed by local tv station says it looked to her that the back slider door's glass shattered out, not in.

From what I can gather, the mother’s last name and the daughter’s last name are not the same, and the family lived in San Diego before and had very recently moved back.

So, those may be some factors in why nobody has been arrested in this case yet, or there just may not be any evidence that the killer(s) left, the labs haven’t finished processing any evidence or interrogations haven’t tripped anyone up yet. Obviously the killer(s) haven’t been caught.

Tragic Beating Death of Shaima Alawadi Feeds Into Trayvon Martin Race Debate
By Andre Tartar
Mar 25, 2012 NYmag

"We don't want to jump to any conclusions and say it's a hate crime when there is still a lot of investigation to be done," said Edgar Hopida, spokesman for CAIR in San Diego.

Update Tuesday March 27, 2012 7:45pm

Memorial Held For Slain Iraqi Woman

"...10News learned that the family mini-van was hauled away on a flat-bed tow truck for forensic examination, as police crime scene technicians combed the house and backyard in search of additional clues on Tuesday morning..."

Hmmmmm. Maybe there is a suspicion that the attacker was acquainted with the family well enough to leave clues in the van? The attacker came in the house through the garage and grabbed the tire iron the daughter mentioned on the way into the house? The coroner's report was sealed by the police at least 2 days ago.

Health Care Reform: Opening Day At The Supreme Court

Defending ‘Obamacare’ In and Out of Court

March 26, 2012

http://billmoyers.com/2012/03/26/defending-obamacare-in-and-out-of-court/
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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