* 'Teener' is slang for a sixteenth of an ounce of white snortin' dope. Just sayin'...
Saturday, April 19, 2008
In honor of Benny the Teener's* visit
Headin' out for a Shopping Saturday, over the hills and through the woods to Carson City. Enjoy.
* 'Teener' is slang for a sixteenth of an ounce of white snortin' dope. Just sayin'...
* 'Teener' is slang for a sixteenth of an ounce of white snortin' dope. Just sayin'...
Missing the point ...
Generally, I understand where folks who I consider heroes were coming from when they said or did the things that made me look up to them. Newtie surely doesn't.
Could you imagine?
Stephanopoulos and Gibson moderating Lincoln v. Douglas:
We'd still be fighting* the Civil War.
...
LINCOLN: Thank you very much, Charlie and George, and thanks to all in the audience and who are out there. I appear before you today for the purpose of discussing the leading political topics which now agitate the public mind.
We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I’m sorry to interrupt, but do you think Mr. Douglas loves America as much you do?
...
We'd still be fighting* the Civil War.
*I know, completely wrong historical reference but you get my point.
Saturday whorage
As usual, the next chapter of Thirty Days at Zeta is up at The Practical Press.
If you're new around here, since I'm whoring, you can still read my earlier postings The Captains and The Fourth Estate too.
Whore your own in comments.
If you're new around here, since I'm whoring, you can still read my earlier postings The Captains and The Fourth Estate too.
Whore your own in comments.
It's bad, you know ...
A commentary on our nation and a tune from one of my favorite bluesmen. Three stoned babes jammin' to the master too.
R. L. Burnside - It's Bad, You Know
Friday, April 18, 2008
Quote of the Day - Zwei
Avedon, speaking to Mr. Aravosis:
Corpses have been elected before, my dear. I'll vote for yer dad before McCain.
... But John, honey, about the age thing: My father would still make a better president than McShame, and he's dead ...
Corpses have been elected before, my dear. I'll vote for yer dad before McCain.
It's official: Iraq war 'a major debacle' with outcome 'in doubt'
McClatchy, God bless 'em.
I hope Bush hangs last. I want him to stand there while all the other architects of the Iraq blunder/war crime drop to their deaths. I want each one to tell him how right they all were on their way to Hell.
The war in Iraq has become "a major debacle" and the outcome "is in doubt" despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon's premier military educational institute.
The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President Bush's projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions.
The report carries considerable weight because it was written by Joseph Collins, a former senior Pentagon official, and was based in part on interviews with other former senior defense and intelligence officials who played roles in prewar preparations.
It was published by the university's National Institute for Strategic Studies, a Defense Department research center.
"Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle," says the report's opening line.
"For many analysts (including this one), Iraq remains a 'must win,' but for many others, despite obvious progress under General David Petraeus and the surge, it now looks like a 'can't win.'"
The report lays much of the blame for what went wrong in Iraq after the initial U.S. victory at the feet of then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. It says that in November 2001, before the war in Afghanistan was over, President Bush asked Rumsfeld "to begin planning in secret for potential military operations against Iraq."
Compounding the problem was a series of faulty assumptions made by Bush's top aides, among them an expectation fed by Iraqi exiles that Iraqis would be grateful to America for liberating them from Saddam's dictatorship. The administration also expected that "Iraq without Saddam could manage and fund its own reconstruction."
The report also singles out the Bush administration's national security apparatus and implicitly President Bush and both of his national security advisers, Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley, saying that "senior national security officials exhibited in many instances an imperious attitude, exerting power and pressure where diplomacy and bargaining might have had a better effect."
I hope Bush hangs last. I want him to stand there while all the other architects of the Iraq blunder/war crime drop to their deaths. I want each one to tell him how right they all were on their way to Hell.
Congressman introduces bill to decriminalize personal marijuana use
Raw Story
Rohrabacher? Normally an embarrassment to my state, he done OK this time.
Amen, brother.
Congressman Barney Frank today introduced bi-partisan legislation aimed at removing federal restrictions on the individual use of marijuana. One bill would remove federal penalties for the personal use of marijuana, and the other – versions of which Frank has filed in several preceding sessions of Congress – would allow the medical use of marijuana in states that have chosen to make its use for medical purposes legal with a doctor’s recommendation. Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) joined Frank as a cosponsor of the federal penalties bill. The cosponsors of the medical marijuana bill are Rep. Paul, along with Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Sam Farr (D-CA).
Rohrabacher? Normally an embarrassment to my state, he done OK this time.
To those who say that the government should not be encouraging the smoking of marijuana, my response is that I completely agree. But it is a great mistake to divide all human activity into two categories: those that are criminally prohibited, and those that are encouraged. In a free society, there must be a very considerable zone of activity between those two poles in which people are allowed to make their own choices as long as they are not impinging on the rights, freedom, or property of others. I believe it is important with regard to tobacco, marijuana and alcohol, among other things, that we strictly regulate the age at which people may use these substances. And, enforcement of age restrictions should be firm. But, criminalizing choices that adults make because we think they are unwise ones, when the choices involved have no negative effect on the rights of others, is not appropriate in a free society.”
Amen, brother.
Dear George 'n Charlie: Ya done screwed the pooch big time
Will Bunch blisters some ass. A 'recommended read'.
George and Charlie should have to eat dinner off the mantelpiece for about a week, as my Dad used used to say before one of my frequent trips to the woodshed.
Bonus twofer: a piece on the same subject by Katrina vanden Heuvel on the same page.
Update: See also Greg Mitchell's take.
Dear Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos,
Quickly, a word to any and all of my fellow journalists who happen to read this open letter. This. Must . Stop. Tonight, if possible. I thought that we had hit rock bottom in March 2003, when we failed to ask the tough questions in the run-up to the Iraq war. But this feels even lower. We need to pick ourselves up, right now, and start doing our job - to take a deep breath and remind ourselves of what voters really need to know, and how we get there, that's it's not all horserace and "gotcha." Although, to be blunt, I would also urge the major candidates in 2012 to agree only to debates that are organized by the League of Women Voters, with citizen moderators and questioners. Because we have proven without a doubt in 2008 that working journalists don't deserve to be the debate "deciders."
George and Charlie should have to eat dinner off the mantelpiece for about a week, as my Dad used used to say before one of my frequent trips to the woodshed.
Bonus twofer: a piece on the same subject by Katrina vanden Heuvel on the same page.
Update: See also Greg Mitchell's take.
Good. God.
John McCain is an idiot.
Problem is, a good portion of Americans think he's the greatest thing since Wonder took a knife to bread. Obviously the economy is rolling along just fine thanks to the Chimp's policies and the best thing we can do is continue them for another four years ... at the least.
To quote the lovely Liss:
Problem is, a good portion of Americans think he's the greatest thing since Wonder took a knife to bread. Obviously the economy is rolling along just fine thanks to the Chimp's policies and the best thing we can do is continue them for another four years ... at the least.
To quote the lovely Liss:
FAIL.
And not just a little fail, either. Massive fail constructed from grade-A failery, with lots of little faily bits all over it.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Quote of the Day
The General Accountability Office:
Now that our American chickenshits have given up our civil rights so the Chimp 'can keep us safer', I hope they can sleep well.
...
The United States Lacks a Comprehensive Plan to Destroy the Terrorist Threat and Close the Safe Haven in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
...
Now that our American chickenshits have given up our civil rights so the Chimp 'can keep us safer', I hope they can sleep well.
Hip-hop? Technometal? No, no, no - Bhangra!
I am so fucking sick of campaign 'news', both sides, particularly after last night's so-called 'debate'. I mean, that was only the second one out of the twenty or so that was actually on a free over-the-air network where people could see it, and it might as well have been a Britney-Lindsay hair-pull and tit-yank. It was a huge success - ABC's ratings went up. Me 'n Mrs. G took advantage of the time to do something that mattered. We went out and bought dog food.
Anyway, I was reading the papers this morning (us old farts do that, you know!), trying desperately to find something without the words 'Clinton' or 'Obama' or 'straight talker'. I lucked out, and so did you, dear reader!
I came across one answer to Fixer's burning question, "Why do they hate San Francisco?". Leaving aside for another time whether it is a wise decision to air-drop moth hormones on a somewhat sexually and socially dis-oriented burg like that (picture legions of homeless people flitting around your porch light, just for example), I found something that'll scare skid marks into shorts all across the midwest and south when it gets to them: Bhangra!
From the EssEffChron:
"No one is doing it quite like us" could be Frisco's motto!
Look out, Kansas. Indian music ain't just for convenience stores and motels any more, and this is just one variety. Your kids will pick up on this California trend like they've been doing for generations (remember car-top surfboards in Shawnee Mission?). They'll be dressing like this and groovin' to the Punjabi beat before you know what hit ya.
And it's all the fault of Baghdad-by-the-Bay.
My further research turned up 55,900 bhangra videos. After viewing them, I chose the following for your listening and dancing pleasure. I've got a sudden unexplained urge for a plate of curry, which I'll have while you're enjoying this.
Anyway, I was reading the papers this morning (us old farts do that, you know!), trying desperately to find something without the words 'Clinton' or 'Obama' or 'straight talker'. I lucked out, and so did you, dear reader!
I came across one answer to Fixer's burning question, "Why do they hate San Francisco?". Leaving aside for another time whether it is a wise decision to air-drop moth hormones on a somewhat sexually and socially dis-oriented burg like that (picture legions of homeless people flitting around your porch light, just for example), I found something that'll scare skid marks into shorts all across the midwest and south when it gets to them: Bhangra!
From the EssEffChron:
In the 30 years since the ascent of reggae out of Jamaica, other musical genres - Cuban son, Brazilian samba, North American hip-hop - have staked claims to international turf. The newest big player on the global block is bhangra, the ecstatic polyrhythmic music and dance of the Punjab region of northern India.
And the newest capital of bhangra is San Francisco, which - thanks to a monthly happening called Non Stop Bhangra, organized by a passionate collective of the same name - is challenging even London as the music's liveliest center.
Vancouver and New York City harbor thriving bhangra scenes, but "no one is doing it quite like us," Love says.
"No one is doing it quite like us" could be Frisco's motto!
While bhangra is seeping into pop music in tracks by Jay-Z and M.I.A., it's grassroots innovation that is fueling its explosion in San Francisco.
"The U.K. is really taking note of us," Love says, "to a point where they think that next big wave in bhangra and South Asian music is going to happen here."
Look out, Kansas. Indian music ain't just for convenience stores and motels any more, and this is just one variety. Your kids will pick up on this California trend like they've been doing for generations (remember car-top surfboards in Shawnee Mission?). They'll be dressing like this and groovin' to the Punjabi beat before you know what hit ya.
And it's all the fault of Baghdad-by-the-Bay.
My further research turned up 55,900 bhangra videos. After viewing them, I chose the following for your listening and dancing pleasure. I've got a sudden unexplained urge for a plate of curry, which I'll have while you're enjoying this.
Out of touch ...
Cruising around Left Blogtopia (yes! skippy coined that phrase!) via our gigantic blogroll, even on the biggest blogs, you read posts from people who know what it takes to live in what American society these days. You read how the policies of Chimp & Co. actually affect the 'man on the street' and how their lives have been made more difficult and even desperate. Regular Americans speaking out against the injustice perpetrated in their name, against other nations and at home.
And then I read a post about the right's bloggers. Do they care how many regular folks are crushed under the boot of Republican policies? Sadly, No!
When propaganda is what pays the bills, you begin to believe the shit you shovel. I have a lot of interaction with town and county mechanics during the course of the day (they come to us when they have a problem they haven't seen before, or need to borrow something it would take them too long to 'procure' officially). In Nassau County on Long Island (one of the reddest counties in NY), you have to be a registered Republican to get a job in the county garage or the Marine Division. It's a fact of life. These guys are expected to campaign for the Rethug du jour too. Most of these guys actually believe the crap they peddle and they will vote Republican, no matter how much it lightens their wallets (the municipal employees' union is a shadow of what it once was), no matter how much 'productivity' is coaxed out of them while staffs are cut (they're not firing anybody but they're not replacing retirees when they leave either; goes down better that way).
It's sad to see people who are getting hurt not making the connection their association with the Republicans is the cause. It's because they've been told, throughout their lives, that the 'tax and spend Democrats' will put them in the poor house while they support illegal aliens and Jihadists. Thanks to the Rethug Propaganda Machine, they believe the Dems are the reason their property taxes have gone up so much in the last 8 years. They believe the Dems caused the price and unavailability of health insurance and they believe it's Hillary's fault. They believe Obama will give more to the 'welfare queens' (blacks of course) at the expense of 'hard working people' (whites of course). It's what they've been taught to believe by the Rethugs and the corporate media.
It's why I don't have much hope of seeing a Dem in the White House. The Rethugs stacked the deck over the last generation and the Dems are too inept to overcome the disadvantage. Maybe they believe the propaganda too?
Off to work ... wish it was Friday.
And then I read a post about the right's bloggers. Do they care how many regular folks are crushed under the boot of Republican policies? Sadly, No!
When you’re living on wingnut welfare it’s really hard to imagine how the other half lives, I suppose.
When propaganda is what pays the bills, you begin to believe the shit you shovel. I have a lot of interaction with town and county mechanics during the course of the day (they come to us when they have a problem they haven't seen before, or need to borrow something it would take them too long to 'procure' officially). In Nassau County on Long Island (one of the reddest counties in NY), you have to be a registered Republican to get a job in the county garage or the Marine Division. It's a fact of life. These guys are expected to campaign for the Rethug du jour too. Most of these guys actually believe the crap they peddle and they will vote Republican, no matter how much it lightens their wallets (the municipal employees' union is a shadow of what it once was), no matter how much 'productivity' is coaxed out of them while staffs are cut (they're not firing anybody but they're not replacing retirees when they leave either; goes down better that way).
It's sad to see people who are getting hurt not making the connection their association with the Republicans is the cause. It's because they've been told, throughout their lives, that the 'tax and spend Democrats' will put them in the poor house while they support illegal aliens and Jihadists. Thanks to the Rethug Propaganda Machine, they believe the Dems are the reason their property taxes have gone up so much in the last 8 years. They believe the Dems caused the price and unavailability of health insurance and they believe it's Hillary's fault. They believe Obama will give more to the 'welfare queens' (blacks of course) at the expense of 'hard working people' (whites of course). It's what they've been taught to believe by the Rethugs and the corporate media.
It's why I don't have much hope of seeing a Dem in the White House. The Rethugs stacked the deck over the last generation and the Dems are too inept to overcome the disadvantage. Maybe they believe the propaganda too?
Off to work ... wish it was Friday.
What got 6 million killed ...
60 years ago is still at work today. The politics of hate and fear or, in Republican parlance, the Southern Strategy:
...
Which gives us the past 30 years of this bullshit whereby it's always somebody else's fault, somebody's always coming to get you, and anybody telling you different is just someone else for you to hate. Which gives us Bush, and this election, and everything in between, and it's gonna keep happening until there's nothing left in our mouths but ashes.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
You, you, you, and you ...
You're all volunteers:
I thought Green Zone duty was the key to success in the Republican Party? Hey, Dan Senor got Campbell Brown, right? What are ya afraid of? They're only mortars ...
The State Department has warned U.S. diplomats that they may be required to serve in Iraq next year if there are insufficient volunteers to fill job openings there, U.S. officials said.
...
I thought Green Zone duty was the key to success in the Republican Party? Hey, Dan Senor got Campbell Brown, right? What are ya afraid of? They're only mortars ...
Will Lincoln Survive "Gettysburg" Comments?
Freewayblogger with a comment on the sad state of punditry.
These clowns are on the air 24/7 and would rather pick the flyshit out of the pepper than discuss anything of actual substance. It's probably a good thing that nobody but us political junkies listens to them.
Transcript from "Hannity's America"
November 20, 1863
Pat Buchanan: I know it's a small point, but isn't "Abraham" a Jewish name?
These clowns are on the air 24/7 and would rather pick the flyshit out of the pepper than discuss anything of actual substance. It's probably a good thing that nobody but us political junkies listens to them.
I'm late ...
My intarwebs were down this morning and I just got everything up again (I hate fixing shit before I go to work). That said, here's a post to give you a smile.
Off to work ...
I'm a peaceful, laid back guy. "Live and let live (but don't fuck with me or I'll make your life miserable, bitch)," has been the motto I've chosen to live by and it has served me well. I would never wish harm upon anyone. But there are some people the world could do without. Hitler is one example. And of course, Timothy Goebel whose less than perfect triple lutz in the 2002 Sydney games disgraced our country by only garnishing a bronze metal. But my disdain for Goebel will have to wait for another post.
If Ann Coulter were to die tragically how would it go down? In order to feel better about a world where such a human could exist, I composed a list I thought would be the most fitting and/or most comedic ways for her to move on to that big cable news circuit in the sky.
...
Off to work ...
Great thanks to the wonderful Maru for the link.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Why do they hate San Francisco?
Ted:
... Pesticides untested for safety on humans will be sprayed over the Bay Area starting June and August in an attempt to eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth ...
There is wisdom in the Holy Land ...
And hopefully they'll secure the amount funding AIPAC does. Our pal PC:
They'll get a check from me this year.
The WahPoo tells us that Jewish liberals (and, hopefully, progressives, moderates, nonsectarians, democrats, independents, and anybody who has seen that the State of Israel is being used as a catspaw for American imperialist ambitions in the Middle-East to the detriment of the Jewish people) are forming a PAC to counter the influence of the far-right AIPAC lobbyists.
The hawks of AIPAC do not represent the Israeli people, who are far more interested in peace than in the continuing manipulation of American foreign policy with detrimental results for both Israeli and Palestinian peoples. They do not represent the American people, who are bankrolling their militarism to the tune of nearly $100 billion. They do not represent anyone except a small handful of wealthy, powerful, militaristic maniacs who stand to profit from the continuing murder and horror.
...
They'll get a check from me this year.
Quote of the Day
Part of a headline at BuzzFlash about the latest car bombing in Iraq:
So...how's that workin' out? They haven't gotten the oil yet, and they probably won't.
'Manhood'? Redeeming something they never had is completely beyond them, but they're perfectly willing to waste a lot of real men's lives and trillions of our dollars in the futile attempt.
This was not about removing Saddam Hussein. This was not about terrorism. This was about chickenhawk warmongers who had to redeem their manhood and oil.
So...how's that workin' out? They haven't gotten the oil yet, and they probably won't.
'Manhood'? Redeeming something they never had is completely beyond them, but they're perfectly willing to waste a lot of real men's lives and trillions of our dollars in the futile attempt.
Obama would ask his AG to "immediately review" potential of crimes in Bush White House
I've been staying off the Democratic presidential nominee campaigns just like I would stay out of most bar fights - there's nothing much to gain and I might get hurt, but this is promising.
Attytood
Two paragraphs you should go read.
It might just be campaign bullshit, but it's bullshit I like, and I haven't heard it from the other candidate.
Attytood
Tonight I had an opportunity to ask Barack Obama a question that is on the minds of many Americans, yet rarely rises to the surface in the great ruckus of the 2008 presidential race -- and that is whether an Obama administration would seek to prosecute officials of a former Bush administration on the revelations that they greenlighted torture, or for other potential crimes that took place in the White House.
Obama said that as president he would indeed ask his new Attorney General and his deputies to "immediately review the information that's already there" and determine if an inquiry is warranted -- but he also tread carefully on the issue, in line with his reputation for seeking to bridge the partisan divide. He worried that such a probe could be spun as "a partisan witch hunt." However, he said that equation changes if there was willful criminality, because "nobody is above the law."
I mentioned the report in my question, and said "I know you've talked about reconciliation and moving on, but there's also the issue of justice, and a lot of people -- certainly around the world and certainly within this country -- feel that crimes were possibly committed" regarding torture, rendition, and illegal wiretapping. I wanted to know how whether his Justice Department "would aggressively go after and investigate whether crimes have been committed."
Here's his answer, in its entirety:
Two paragraphs you should go read.
The bottom line is that: Obama sent a clear signal that -- unlike impeachment, which he's ruled out and which now seems a practical impossibility -- he is at the least open to the possibility of investigating potential high crimes in the Bush White House. To many, the information that waterboarding -- which the United States has considered torture and a violation of law in the past -- was openly planned out in the seat of American government is evidence enough to at least start asking some tough questions in January 2009.
It might just be campaign bullshit, but it's bullshit I like, and I haven't heard it from the other candidate.
The Loser
That's us, folks.
Bob Herbert
It sure is. Please read the rest.
Bob Herbert
I wonder what the answers would be if each American asked himself or herself the question: "How is the war in Iraq helping me?"
The U.S., once the greatest can-do country on the planet, now can't seem to do anything right. The great middle class has maxed out its credit cards and drained dangerous amounts of equity from family homes. No one can seem to figure out how to generate the growth in good-paying jobs that is the only legitimate way of putting strapped families back on their feet.
The U.S. seems almost paralyzed, mesmerized by Iraq and unable to generate the energy or the will to handle the myriad problems festering at home. The war will eventually cost a staggering $3 trillion or more, according to the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz. When he was asked on "Democracy Now!" about who is profiting from the war, he said the two big gainers were the oil companies and the defense contractors
A country that used to act like Babe Ruth now swings like a minor-leaguer. The all-American can-do philosophy has been smothered by the hapless can't-do performances of the people who have been in charge for the past several years. It's both tragic and embarrassing.
It sure is. Please read the rest.
The Winner
Fixer inspired me with his Santana selection below. Here's another take on 'winning' and pickin' stupid fights.. I hope we get off this easy in Bush's wake. Come to think of it, I'd love to attend Bush's wake. Tomorrow would be fine.
Progress ...
In a sign of our remarkable turnaround, Iraqi officials say 15 people have been killed and 15 wounded in two separate bombings in northern Iraq.
In another defining moment, the Iraqi government has dismissed more than 1,300 soldiers and policemen who deserted or refused to fight during the recent offensive against Shiite militias in Basra, officials said Sunday.
...
Links here.
And, as I run off to work, a bit of sarcasm on my part:
Carlos Santana - I'm Winning
Later ...
There are worse things ...
Than San Francisco:
Hear, hear!
...
Yeah, that would be just horrible, wouldn’t it? {{shudder}} I mean, who would want to live in a cosmopolitan place full of art, culture, diversity and some of the best restaurants in the country if it means that your neighbors might be, you know, homosexual??? The bald faced bigotry that people feel comfortable expressing in this day and age never fails to horrify me.
...
Hear, hear!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Alang
The breakers' yards at Alang, India.
.Since I've been whoring my travel blog here over the last few weeks and extolling the virtues of cruising, I wanted to bring to light the dark side of the shipping industry. I'm talking about the places ships of all types go to die. The breakers.
...
I went down to the water's edge. The Pioneer came looming out of the darkness, thrashing the ocean's surface with its single screw, raising a large white bow wake as it rushed toward the beach. I could make out the figures of men peering forward from the bridge and the bow. Now the sound of the bow wave, like that of a waterfall, drowned the drumming of the engine. A group of workers who had been standing nearby scattered to safety. I stayed where I was. Pandey joined me. The Pioneer kept coming. It was caught by an inshore current that carried it briefly to the side. Then the keel hit the bottom, and the ship drove hard onto the flooded beach, carried by its weight, slowing under full forward power until the rudder no longer functioned and the hull veered out of control and slid to a halt not a hundred yards from where we stood. Anchors the size of cars rattled down the sides and splashed into the shallows. The engine stopped, the lights switched off in succession from bow to stern, and abruptly the Pioneer lay dark and still.
...
Located mostly in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, the breakers' yards are an environmental nightmare. Chemicals, heavy metals, and fuel run from the dissected hulls and dollar-a-day workers slowly poison themselves working in the muck.
...
But the work slows when they come to the hull, where the steel is heavier and harder to cut. At that point, even for veteran workers, there must be a moment of hesitation at the audacity of the business. Using little more than cooking gas and muscle power they will tear apart this immense monolith, which towers above the crowds on the sand. It will take six months or a year to finish the job; men will be injured, and some may die. Almost all will to some degree be poisoned by smoke and toxic substances -- and more seriously, no doubt, than they would have been on the streets of India's cities. Nonetheless, the poor cannot afford to be timid.
...
Greenpeace has taken the lead in highlighting the situation but it doesn't look like anything will be done soon. It's a sad commentary on our society that the ships we use for fun and commerce end up poisoning the world's poor who merely try to carve out an existence.
Update:
Gord's note in comments made me think where I saw a story on this too. Found it:
More Yoo
The last few days, I've posted a coupla times on the assistant war-criminal-in-charge of legalizing war crimes and current law prof at UCB, John Yoo, and how a lawyer's association wants him canned. Well, Dean Edley refuses to do so, and rightly so since this drive is in its infancy. Due process and all, you know, the law.
Scott Horton has a well thought out response to the Dean's refusal:
A criminal indictment would render a movement to get Yoo fired kinda moot. I just wanta see him get his kim chee settled one way or another.
Mr. Horton must be a lawyer, 'cuz the article goes on and on. And on...
Interesting, though. Go read.
Scott Horton has a well thought out response to the Dean's refusal:
agree with Dean Edley on two key points. First, John Yoo is entitled to his legal views, however eccentric, radical and harmful to our democracy. The academic community benefits from the presence of the philosophical outlier. It sharpens debate, and can furnish us with a reminder of the fundamental values which the outlier disparages. And often enough it is the outlier who is proven right against the weight of accepted opinion. The leaders of the academic community have a duty to protect those who profess unpopular views from the crowd that menaces and seeks to silence them. And this, properly viewed, is Dean Edley’s duty.
Second, it would not be proper to fire John Yoo on the basis of his views alone, nor would it be proper to terminate him without following formal process in which the charges against him are proved up and he is given a full opportunity to prove his defenses. Dean Edley is correct to hold rigorously to process. And those who crusade for Yoo's firing must recognize the legitimacy of process and accept that even if Yoo is ultimately fired it should only be by proper process. Much of the rage against John Yoo comes from his strained legal efforts to craft a space beyond the reach of law into which the Administration’s targets could be disappeared, a legal black hole into which their rights as human beings would be collapsed. It would be hypocritical of his critics to strip Yoo of his proper rights in accusing him of denying the rights of others.
Dean Edley concludes that as a “mere advisor,” Yoo’s ethical and legal culpability cannot be compared with that of the “deciders,” that is, those who actually fix and implement policy.
This is astonishingly fallacious legal and ethical reasoning, doubly so because it flows from the pen of the highly respected dean of one of the nation’s premier law schools.
In response to this “legal uprising,” David Addington and Alberto Gonzales decided to task John Yoo to prepare memoranda. These memoranda were commissioned with two purposes in mind. First, to protect the policymakers who had authorized torture techniques from future criminal liability (something which Gonzales had identified as early as January 2002 as a serious prospect). And second, to wield the Attorney General’s opinion powers to silence lawyers who had correctly evaluated the legal framework.
Both of these purposes were wrongful, and inconsistent with the proper use of the Attorney General’s opinion power. Criminal investigators may well conclude that this act joined John Yoo in a joint criminal enterprise with the persons who devised and pushed implementation of the torture policies.
Indeed, this is not entirely a speculative matter. We will shortly learn in the mass media that some prosecutors have already reached that conclusion and that the preparation of a criminal case is underway.
A criminal indictment would render a movement to get Yoo fired kinda moot. I just wanta see him get his kim chee settled one way or another.
Mr. Horton must be a lawyer, 'cuz the article goes on and on. And on...
Interesting, though. Go read.
Oh, the irony...
Ironic Times
Time to cash in! I'm putting my nekkid photos of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mamie Eisenhower on Ebay today!
Nude Photo of France's First Lady Sells for $91,000
Most ever paid for photo of naked first lady.
Time to cash in! I'm putting my nekkid photos of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mamie Eisenhower on Ebay today!
Lobbyists Spend $17 Million A Day on Members of Congress
According to phone records of D.C. madam.
Bloomberg’s Plan to Tax NYC Drivers For Clogging City Dies Without a Vote
Lawmakers stuck in traffic.
Florida Passes “Take YourGuns to Work” Law
Decision hailed by disgruntled postal workers.
The 'Surge'
Click to embiggen
The Guardian
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's government moved Sunday to restore discipline within the ranks of the security forces, sacking more than 1,300 soldiers and policemen who deserted during recent fighting against Shiite militias in Basra.
So much for "As they stand up, we'll stand down", which is backwards anyway.
It oughta be "As we stand down, they'll stand up", which would be a better way to motivate our puppet Iraq government to action. Or cause its overthrow and allow some form of legitimate Iraq government to take its place.
Any solution only applies, of course, if Bush wants our troops to leave, which he doesn't.
More tips ...
Mrs. F and I are beginning to plan our vacations for 2009 and we're taking you through the process of cruise planning over at our travel blog.
Late for work ... I hate Mondays.
Late for work ... I hate Mondays.
And while we're talking about elitists ...
John McCain is no regular guy:
Yeah, he's in touch with 'small town folks'.
...
The McCain campaign is managed by a cadre of Washington-insider special interest lobbyists. He and his current wife are estimated to be worth about $100 million. He reportedly owns eight houses. His let-them-eat-cake economic policies are based on George Bush's failed radical conservative "you're on your own buddy" philosophy. One after another he supported trade agreements that protect the rights of corporations, but ignore the rights of labor, and have devastated one Pennsylvania community after another. He gets most of his campaign cash from the wealthiest corporate interests around. And he has the gall to call Barack Obama an "elitist"?
...
Yeah, he's in touch with 'small town folks'.
Thanks to Dr. Attaturk for the link.
.A question ...
If what Barack said about small town folks is so wrong, why do the Republican candidates pander to the NRA and the churches for endorsements?
Just askin'
And just a question for you 'small town folks', being I'm an 'elitist' from NYC and I just don't get it.
After voting 'guns 'n god' over the last 8 years, what did it get ya? Maybe you should rethink just what's important to ya, because if you keep it up you'll get more of the same. If you're bitter now, wait until McCain gets done screwing you.
Just askin'
And just a question for you 'small town folks', being I'm an 'elitist' from NYC and I just don't get it.
After voting 'guns 'n god' over the last 8 years, what did it get ya? Maybe you should rethink just what's important to ya, because if you keep it up you'll get more of the same. If you're bitter now, wait until McCain gets done screwing you.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Friend of the Devil
I'm kinda on a roll with Jerry Garcia this weekend. Why mess with success? This is one of my favorites. Here's the info:
Re 'Acid Art': I think that's the guy who did the montage. Watch fast, like ya got a 'motor wind' on yer brain. Heh.
Solo Acoustic
Random pics and Acid art.
"Jerry at the Jail" John Kahn on Bass
Oregon State Prison; Salem, Oregon
5-5-1982
Re 'Acid Art': I think that's the guy who did the montage. Watch fast, like ya got a 'motor wind' on yer brain. Heh.
Who's Readin' What
Cape Cod Today has a rundown of who reads which newspapers. Kinda Eas' Coas' -centric, and I get the feeling that on Cape Cod they think the United States is about a hundred miles wide...
Oh, ever so much more! Enjoy.
2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country which is now being run by readers of Rev. Moon's Washington Times.
3. The Washington Times is read by Moonies, neocons, oligarchs, Third World dictators, president George W. Bush and the entire staff of the Bush White House.
10. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who is running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated and the editorials are written by a religious-right ultra conservative. The newspaper already has girlie pictures on Page 6.
11. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores and Lottery results.
17. The Cape Cod Voice is read by people who aren't sure if there is a country or that anyone is running it, but if so, they oppose all that the rest of you stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped, minority, feminist, atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.
Oh, ever so much more! Enjoy.
Quote of the Day
Brad:
... Call me a liberal elitist if you must, but the fact that corporate fat cats get to pass themselves off in the press as blue-collar salt-of-the-Earthers just goes to show how fucked up this country really is ...
Patriotism ...
It's not about wrapping yourself in a flag and agreeing with everything the government does. Our brother Bulldog:
When I took my oath to defend my country against all enemies, foreign and domestic, I also took an oath to protect the Constitution, not the President of the United States. When the President sees the Constitution as "just another piece of paper", he receives no defense from me. That document is what separates us from monarchies and dictatorships. If our leaders don't take it seriously, they are not fit to lead.
...
So am I a patriot? After all is said and done, all my internal arguments for and against, I believe I am. I am doing my part, however small it is, to defend my country even now. I feel it is my obligation to speak out against actions taken by our government to subvert the will of the people and destroy the Constitution. This is an obligation I take very seriously. So ask yourself the same question: Are you a Patriot?
When I took my oath to defend my country against all enemies, foreign and domestic, I also took an oath to protect the Constitution, not the President of the United States. When the President sees the Constitution as "just another piece of paper", he receives no defense from me. That document is what separates us from monarchies and dictatorships. If our leaders don't take it seriously, they are not fit to lead.
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