I spent the weekend in Chicago at YearlyKos. It was not the nirvana I had hoped. It was still fabulous. I love Chicago. It is beautiful and walkable. I went to the break out session with Hillary Clinton and was far more impressed than I expected to be. She is infinitely more dynamic, compelling and human in person than she seems on TV. I also went to a panel on foreign policy that was brilliant and fascinating. It gave me hope that there are people in the smoky insider rooms who think critically and accurately about the world we live in. I'm not saying get optimistic, I'm just saying there is room for optimism amongst the depressing realism.
Democrats court liberal bloggers - Yahoo! News: "The Kos convention is a sign of the times.
Gone are the days when candidates and political parties could talk to passive voters through mass media, largely controlling what messages were distributed, how the messages went out and who heard them. The Internet has helped create millions of media outlets and given anyone the power to express an opinion or disseminate information in a global forum, and connect with others who have similar interests.
Clinton is viewed skeptically by the the blogging community, mainly for her history of hawkish views on Iraq. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of Daily Kos and spiritual leader of the convention, said Clinton still might be able to mitigate her problems.
'We may decide she's not our first choice, but she's not a bad choice,' he said.
Appearing solo at a session of bloggers before the debate, Clinton was warmly received, especially when she jokingly blamed a microphone malfunction on the 'vast right-wing conspiracy.'
One thing most bloggers have in common — regardless of their political leanings — is an intense frustration with the political establishment. And so it was a convention dripping in irony when liberal bloggers welcomed the living symbols of the Democratic status quo — seven presidential candidates."
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
As U.S. income stagnates, Democrats reject free trade - Yahoo! News
As U.S. income stagnates, Democrats reject free trade - Yahoo! News: "'For decades we took for granted that everyone agreed with us economists that free trade is good, protectionism is bad. Somewhere along the way, that stopped being the conventional wisdom,' acknowledged U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab , in an interview with McClatchy Newspapers . 'And whereas the default vote on a trade bill in Congress used to be a 'yes' vote, the default vote on a trade bill now in Congress is a 'no' vote.'
Why? Because lots of people are no longer convinced that a rising tide of trade lifts all boats— and there's evidence to back them up.
For three decades, the richest 10 percent of Americans have been growing even richer much faster than everyone else. Over the past five years, real wages for all the rest of American workers have been almost flat. Many blame globalization.
During a mid-July congressional hearing, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke contended that education levels largely determine income inequality. But he was angrily interrupted by Rep. Barney Frank , D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who declared, 'Mr. Bernanke, that's simply not true.'
Frank said that the 29 percent of Americans who have bachelor's and even master's degrees haven't seen real income growth, on average, over the past five years. That's what Democrats in Congress are focused on, he said.
Why? Because lots of people are no longer convinced that a rising tide of trade lifts all boats— and there's evidence to back them up.
For three decades, the richest 10 percent of Americans have been growing even richer much faster than everyone else. Over the past five years, real wages for all the rest of American workers have been almost flat. Many blame globalization.
During a mid-July congressional hearing, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke contended that education levels largely determine income inequality. But he was angrily interrupted by Rep. Barney Frank , D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who declared, 'Mr. Bernanke, that's simply not true.'
Frank said that the 29 percent of Americans who have bachelor's and even master's degrees haven't seen real income growth, on average, over the past five years. That's what Democrats in Congress are focused on, he said.
Daily Kos: Realigning For Revolution
Daily Kos: Realigning For Revolution: "First, we need to understand what's going on, and that may be boiled down to one word: 'globalization.' We are now, and have been, in an era of 'post-modern politics.' 'Modern' politics was centered on the nation-state, as indeed was the basic economic system we call 'capitalism.' National capitalist economies of the so-called 'core' nations spread over the world in a competition for control over colonies -- where resources were exploited for the benefit of core nation elites. Gradually, since the end of World War II, capitalist elites have become internationalized -- first among the 'core nations' and now among elites in the formerly colonial periphery. A recent kos diary, for example, revealed that Saudi princes own a sizable chunk of stock in Murdoch's Fox empire.
With a globalized capitalist elite comes a global economic order, enforced by a global political order. That global political order has one central requirement, namely, integration into the global economic order. The catch is that such integration must be on terms acceptable to the global capitalist elite -- which winds up meaning, on terms dictated by the global capitalist elite. This is the great sin of such regimes as Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, and of course, Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion. Everybody asks why some authoritarian regimes like Saddam Hussein's, must be "changed," while others like the dictatorships still found in Central America or sub-Saharan Africa excite no particular concern. The reason is that some dictatorships benefit global corporate elites, while others do not. If Hugo Chavez permitted the continued exploitation of his nation's oil wealth on terms dictated by international oil companies, no one would have the least concern for any "tyranny" found within his borders.
With a globalized capitalist elite comes a global economic order, enforced by a global political order. That global political order has one central requirement, namely, integration into the global economic order. The catch is that such integration must be on terms acceptable to the global capitalist elite -- which winds up meaning, on terms dictated by the global capitalist elite. This is the great sin of such regimes as Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, and of course, Iraq prior to the 2003 invasion. Everybody asks why some authoritarian regimes like Saddam Hussein's, must be "changed," while others like the dictatorships still found in Central America or sub-Saharan Africa excite no particular concern. The reason is that some dictatorships benefit global corporate elites, while others do not. If Hugo Chavez permitted the continued exploitation of his nation's oil wealth on terms dictated by international oil companies, no one would have the least concern for any "tyranny" found within his borders.
As for the American working class, In the "good old days" of American affluence -- that would be the '50's and '60's -- the traditional division of the world between the "core" and the "periphery" permitted US elites to spread the wealth to American wage earners. This is classic imperialist theory, where national elites essentially buy off their own working classes. As national elites have gradually fused into one international corporate elite, the basic deal between elites and certain preferred elements of the working class has broken down.
Duh.
Why people have sex: It feels good - Yahoo! News: "'It's refuted a lot of gender stereotypes ... that men only want sex for the physical pleasure and women want love,' said University of Texas clinical psychology professor Cindy Meston, the study's co-author. 'That's not what I came up with in my findings.'
Forget thinking that men are from Mars and women from Venus, 'the more we look, the more we find similarity,' said Dr. Irwin Goldstein, director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego. Goldstein, who wasn't part of Meston's study, said the Texas research made a lot of sense and adds to growing evidence that the vaunted differences in the genders may only be among people with sexual problems."
Forget thinking that men are from Mars and women from Venus, 'the more we look, the more we find similarity,' said Dr. Irwin Goldstein, director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego. Goldstein, who wasn't part of Meston's study, said the Texas research made a lot of sense and adds to growing evidence that the vaunted differences in the genders may only be among people with sexual problems."
Monday, July 30, 2007
The Sonnet
The Sonnet: "The Sonnet
Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer (DGLD)
Romantic, hopeful, and composed. You are the Sonnet. Get it? Composed?
Sonnets want Love and have high ideals about it. They're conscientious people, caring & careful. You yourself have deep convictions, and you devote a lot of thought to romance and what it should be. This will frighten away most potential mates, but that's okay, because you're very choosy with your affections anyway. You'd absolutely refuse to date someone dumber than you, for instance."
Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer (DGLD)
Romantic, hopeful, and composed. You are the Sonnet. Get it? Composed?
Sonnets want Love and have high ideals about it. They're conscientious people, caring & careful. You yourself have deep convictions, and you devote a lot of thought to romance and what it should be. This will frighten away most potential mates, but that's okay, because you're very choosy with your affections anyway. You'd absolutely refuse to date someone dumber than you, for instance."
Daily Kos: Fox News wins in court.
Daily Kos: Fox News wins in court.: "Akre and Wilson refused and threatened to report Fox's actions to the FCC, they were both fired.
August 18, 2000, a unanimous Florida jury found that Akre was wrongfully fired by Fox Television when she refused to broadcast (in the jury's words) 'a false, distorted or slanted story' The jury awarded her $425,000 in damages.
FOX appealed the case, and on February 14, 2003 the Florida Second District Court of Appeals overturned the settlement awarded to Akre.
In a stunningly narrow interpretation of FCC rules, the Florida Appeals court claimed that the FCC policy against falsification of the news does not rise to the level of a 'law, rule, or regulation,' it was simply a 'policy.' Therefore, it is up to the station whether or not it wants to report honestly.
During their appeal, FOX asserted that there are no written rules against distorting news in the media. They argued that, under the First Amendment, broadcasters have the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on public airwaves. Fox attorneys did not dispute Akre’s claim that they pressured her to broadcast a false story, they simply maintained that it was their right to do so.
Fox then filed a series of motions seeking more than $1.7 million in trial fees and costs from both Akre and Wilson."
August 18, 2000, a unanimous Florida jury found that Akre was wrongfully fired by Fox Television when she refused to broadcast (in the jury's words) 'a false, distorted or slanted story' The jury awarded her $425,000 in damages.
FOX appealed the case, and on February 14, 2003 the Florida Second District Court of Appeals overturned the settlement awarded to Akre.
In a stunningly narrow interpretation of FCC rules, the Florida Appeals court claimed that the FCC policy against falsification of the news does not rise to the level of a 'law, rule, or regulation,' it was simply a 'policy.' Therefore, it is up to the station whether or not it wants to report honestly.
During their appeal, FOX asserted that there are no written rules against distorting news in the media. They argued that, under the First Amendment, broadcasters have the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on public airwaves. Fox attorneys did not dispute Akre’s claim that they pressured her to broadcast a false story, they simply maintained that it was their right to do so.
Fox then filed a series of motions seeking more than $1.7 million in trial fees and costs from both Akre and Wilson."
The End of the Harry Potter Series - Windypundit
The End of the Harry Potter Series - Windypundit: "Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly) :
As the conflict with Voldemort comes to a head, Ron Weasley is suddenly and shockingly killed. Hermione responds with steely determination, joined by Luna Lovegood, who turns out to be a rare witch who has super-powerful martial arts skills. While Harry tries ineffectively to help—often with comic results—Luna kills the Death Eaters with Unblockable Scorpion Kicks and Hermione defeats Voldemort in a head-on battle of magic."
As the conflict with Voldemort comes to a head, Ron Weasley is suddenly and shockingly killed. Hermione responds with steely determination, joined by Luna Lovegood, who turns out to be a rare witch who has super-powerful martial arts skills. While Harry tries ineffectively to help—often with comic results—Luna kills the Death Eaters with Unblockable Scorpion Kicks and Hermione defeats Voldemort in a head-on battle of magic."
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Bush Fulfills His Grandfather's Dream
Bush Fulfills His Grandfather's Dream: "'Document uncovers details of a planned coup in the USA in 1933 by right-wing American businessmen. The coup was aimed at toppling President Franklin D Roosevelt with the help of half-a-million war veterans. The plotters, who were alleged to involve some of the most famous families in America, (owners of Heinz, Birds Eye, Goodtea, Maxwell Hse & George Bush�s Grandfather, Prescott) believed that their country should adopt the policies of Hitler and Mussolini to beat the great depression. Mike Thomson investigates why so little is known about this biggest ever peacetime threat to American democracy.'
Actually, if you listen to the 30-minute BBC story, there is not one word of so much as speculation as to why this story is so little known. I think a clue to the answer can be found by looking into why this BBC report has not led to any U.S. media outlets picking up the story this week."
Actually, if you listen to the 30-minute BBC story, there is not one word of so much as speculation as to why this story is so little known. I think a clue to the answer can be found by looking into why this BBC report has not led to any U.S. media outlets picking up the story this week."
Econ-Atrocity / Econ-Utopia » Blog Archive » Econ-Atrocity: Ten Reasons Why You Should Never Accept a Diamond Ring from Anyone, Under Any Circumstance
Econ-Atrocity / Econ-Utopia » Blog Archive » Econ-Atrocity: Ten Reasons Why You Should Never Accept a Diamond Ring from Anyone, Under Any Circumstances, Even If They Really Want to: "
# Slave Laborers Cut and Polish Diamonds. More than one-half of the world’s diamonds are processed in India where many of the cutters and polishers are bonded child laborers. Bonded children work to pay off the debts of their relatives, often unsuccessfully. When they reach adulthood their debt is passed on to their younger siblings or to their own children.
# Conflict Diamonds Fund Civil Wars in Africa. There is no reliable way to insure that your diamond was not mined or stolen by government or rebel military forces in order to finance civil conflict. Conflict diamonds are traded either for guns or for cash to pay and feed soldiers."
# Slave Laborers Cut and Polish Diamonds. More than one-half of the world’s diamonds are processed in India where many of the cutters and polishers are bonded child laborers. Bonded children work to pay off the debts of their relatives, often unsuccessfully. When they reach adulthood their debt is passed on to their younger siblings or to their own children.
# Conflict Diamonds Fund Civil Wars in Africa. There is no reliable way to insure that your diamond was not mined or stolen by government or rebel military forces in order to finance civil conflict. Conflict diamonds are traded either for guns or for cash to pay and feed soldiers."
Thursday, July 26, 2007
FSU Editorial: "The Dow is Crashing" by Mike Maloney 04/16/2007
FSU Editorial: "The Dow is Crashing" by Mike Maloney 04/16/2007: "Anytime that it looks like everything is going up, stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, and virtually every kind of investment there is, you have to stop and ask yourself, 'why?' The only reason the Dow looks like it is going up is because the Fed has pumped so many more dollars into the currency supply, that all asset classes are rising.
Under these conditions, the only way to see where true value lies is to eliminate the dollar from the equation… you have to measure each asset class, not with the dollar, but against another asset class."
Under these conditions, the only way to see where true value lies is to eliminate the dollar from the equation… you have to measure each asset class, not with the dollar, but against another asset class."
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Sex-abuse case dropped because of delays in search for interpreter - CNN.com
Sex-abuse case dropped because of delays in search for interpreter - CNN.com: "ROCKVILLE, Maryland (AP) -- Charges against a man accused of raping and repeatedly molesting a 7-year-old girl have been dropped because the court took too long to find an interpreter fluent in his native West African language.
Montgomery County Circuit Judge Katherine D. Savage dismissed the nearly three-year-old case against Mahamu Kanneh last week, saying the delays had violated the Liberian immigrant's right to a speedy trial.
'This is one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make in a long time,' Savage said from the bench Tuesday. She said she was mindful of 'the gravity of this case and the community's concern about offenses of this type.'
Prosecutors are considering whether to appeal the dismissal. They cannot refile the charges.
Police arrested Kanneh, of Gaithersburg, in August 2004 after witnesses told police he assaulted the girl multiple times. He spent one night in jail and was released on a $10,000 bond with the restriction that he have no contact with minors.
Prosecutors at first maintained Kanneh could understand the proceedings without translation into his native Vai, a tribal language that linguists estimate is spoken by about 100,000 people mostly in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Prosecutors pointed out that Kanneh attended high school and community college in Montgo"
Montgomery County Circuit Judge Katherine D. Savage dismissed the nearly three-year-old case against Mahamu Kanneh last week, saying the delays had violated the Liberian immigrant's right to a speedy trial.
'This is one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make in a long time,' Savage said from the bench Tuesday. She said she was mindful of 'the gravity of this case and the community's concern about offenses of this type.'
Prosecutors are considering whether to appeal the dismissal. They cannot refile the charges.
Police arrested Kanneh, of Gaithersburg, in August 2004 after witnesses told police he assaulted the girl multiple times. He spent one night in jail and was released on a $10,000 bond with the restriction that he have no contact with minors.
Prosecutors at first maintained Kanneh could understand the proceedings without translation into his native Vai, a tribal language that linguists estimate is spoken by about 100,000 people mostly in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Prosecutors pointed out that Kanneh attended high school and community college in Montgo"
The FBI Can Eavesdrop on You Even When Your Cell Phone is Turned Off
The FBI Can Eavesdrop on You Even When Your Cell Phone is Turned Off: "Did you know that the FBI can listen in to any and all of your conversations through your cell phone–even when you’re not actually speaking on the phone?
Using your cell phone’s tracking device, the FBI can turn on the microphone in your cell phone and listen to any conversations taking place nearby."
Using your cell phone’s tracking device, the FBI can turn on the microphone in your cell phone and listen to any conversations taking place nearby."
Monday, July 23, 2007
pay attention
Newhouse News Service - Congressman Denied Access To Post-Attack Continuity Plans: "WASHINGTON — Constituents called Rep. Peter DeFazio's office, worried there was a conspiracy buried in the classified portion of a White House plan for operating the government after a terrorist attack.
As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, DeFazio, D-Ore., is permitted to enter a secure 'bubbleroom'' in the Capitol and examine classified material. So he asked the White House to see the secret documents.
On Wednesday, DeFazio got his answer: DENIED.
'I just can't believe they're going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack,'' DeFazio said.
Homeland Security Committee staffers told his office that the White House initially approved his request, but it was later quashed. DeFazio doesn't know who did it or why.
'We're talking about the continuity of the government of the United States of America,'' DeFazio said. 'I would think that would be relevant to any member of Congress, let alone a member of the Homeland Security Committee.''"
As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, DeFazio, D-Ore., is permitted to enter a secure 'bubbleroom'' in the Capitol and examine classified material. So he asked the White House to see the secret documents.
On Wednesday, DeFazio got his answer: DENIED.
'I just can't believe they're going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack,'' DeFazio said.
Homeland Security Committee staffers told his office that the White House initially approved his request, but it was later quashed. DeFazio doesn't know who did it or why.
'We're talking about the continuity of the government of the United States of America,'' DeFazio said. 'I would think that would be relevant to any member of Congress, let alone a member of the Homeland Security Committee.''"
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Where I've been
Crooks and Liars » What if you held a debate and *almost* no one came?: "The one photo the GOP does not want anyone to see was snapped at yesterday’s NAACP GOP Presidential Candidate Forum. The NAACP invited all 9 Republican candidates to the forum, but only one showed up: Tom Tancredo. All the Democratic Presidential hopefuls showed up for their forum."
I know it is a long time between postings right now. I am in Detroit for work and there isn't much free time and the free time that there is, I am usually trying to sleep. That said, I am loving life. I go to YearlyKos in two weeks, I am reading Harry Potter this weekend and am hoping to take a week off to go to San Francisco in the fall. Additionally, the congress seems to be actually getting a backbone and the word impeachment is screaming to get back on the table:) Things can't be all that bad, right?
I know it is a long time between postings right now. I am in Detroit for work and there isn't much free time and the free time that there is, I am usually trying to sleep. That said, I am loving life. I go to YearlyKos in two weeks, I am reading Harry Potter this weekend and am hoping to take a week off to go to San Francisco in the fall. Additionally, the congress seems to be actually getting a backbone and the word impeachment is screaming to get back on the table:) Things can't be all that bad, right?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
"Even Richard Nixon knew it was time to resign" | Salon.com
"Even Richard Nixon knew it was time to resign" | Salon.com: "Even Richard Nixon knew it was time to resign. Would that you could say that, Mr. Bush. And that you could say it for Mr. Cheney. You both crossed the Rubicon yesterday. Which one of you chose the route no longer matters. Which is the ventriloquist, and which the dummy, is irrelevant. But that you have twisted the machinery of government into nothing more than a tawdry machine of politics is the only fact that remains relevant."
Monday, July 16, 2007
Pronto condoms - the best way to get it on
Pronto condoms - the best way to get it on: "Fortunately, those days are over. Introducing PRONTO, the condom for the new millennium. The PRONTO condom can be applied in a few seconds. And it’s a lot more convenient to use, compared to an ordinary condom. You simply crack the pack open and unroll the condom directly onto the penis. Sounds too good to be true? See for yourself, by clicking on the demo:"
What THE FUCK!
Details Blog: "Albert (his middle name), a good-looking 29-year-old who's fairly well-known in the music industry, says he asks the women he dates to have anal sex with him because it raises the level of intimacy in the relationship. He doesn't demand anal sex—especially not if it's a one-time hookup—but he won't commit to a woman who refuses to grant him a backstage pass. 'I had a girlfriend who I was with for a long time and she wasn't into it,' Albert says. 'There was definitely a thing in the back of my head like, 'I can't marry her.' How can I, knowing I can't go to all the places I can go with her? The physicality of it, being painful or whatever, shows how comfortable the girl is with you.' Here, he pointedly stops short of romanticizing screwing a woman rectally. 'Ideally, every girl is a disgusting pig who wants it,' he says. 'But only with you.'"
Thursday, July 12, 2007
The Persian Sufism
The Persian Sufism: "The Sufi phenomenon is not easy to sum up or define. The Sufis never set out to found a new religion, a mazhab or denomination. They were content to live and work within the framework of the Moslem religion, using texts from the Quran much as Christian mystics have used to Bible to illustrate their tenets. Their aim was to purify and spiritualize Islam from within, to give it a deeper, mystical interpretation, and infuse into it a spirit of love and liberty. In the broader sense, therefore, in which the word religion is used in our time, their movement could well be called a religious one, one which did not aim at tying men down with a new set of rules but rather at setting them free from external rules and open to the movement of the spirit.
This religion was disseminated mainly by poetry, it breathed in an atmosphere of poetry and song. In it the place of great dogmatic treatises is taken by mystical romances, such as Yusuf and Zuleikha or Leila and Majnun. Its one dogma, and interpretation of the Moslem witness: 'There is no god by God', is that the human heart must turn always, unreservedly, to the one, divine Beloved."
This religion was disseminated mainly by poetry, it breathed in an atmosphere of poetry and song. In it the place of great dogmatic treatises is taken by mystical romances, such as Yusuf and Zuleikha or Leila and Majnun. Its one dogma, and interpretation of the Moslem witness: 'There is no god by God', is that the human heart must turn always, unreservedly, to the one, divine Beloved."
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
That's right, Defective I said!
Pope: Other Christians not true churches - Yahoo! News: "LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI (JACKASS) has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches."
Monday, July 09, 2007
Smells like Peak Oil?
How the World Works: Globalization, Globalization Blogs - Salon.com: "But there's a problem with this formulation that demonstrates a very careful, if not disingenuous, attempt to skirt the troubling implication of 'peak oil.' Peak oil does not mean, as has been emphasized a thousand times before, here and elsewhere, that 'the world is running out of oil.' It means that 'the world is running out of cheap oil.'
And that interpretation seems to be completely justified by the IEA report. Take, for instance, BP's much delayed 'Thunder Horse' Gulf of Mexico offshore oil project. The IEA report notes that the project has faced a 'perfect storm' of problems, including technical issues related to the new challenges of ultra-deepwater oil drilling, hurricanes and more mundane bumps in the road. Then the report notes that 'Other projects may not face the same litany of problems as Thunder Horse, but as incremental non-OPEC supply becomes increasingly concentrated in technologically challenging areas, so cost over-runs and delays will remain part of the industrial landscape.'
That's the most important sentence in the report. New supply is going to be harder to get, posing greater technological challenges and requiring higher levels of investment.
The world's oil companies and national governments will no doubt respond to this challenge. All those new middle-class citizens driving in their air-conditioned cars to their air-conditioned offices will demand it. But it's not going to be cheap. It's going to get more and more expensive.
And that interpretation seems to be completely justified by the IEA report. Take, for instance, BP's much delayed 'Thunder Horse' Gulf of Mexico offshore oil project. The IEA report notes that the project has faced a 'perfect storm' of problems, including technical issues related to the new challenges of ultra-deepwater oil drilling, hurricanes and more mundane bumps in the road. Then the report notes that 'Other projects may not face the same litany of problems as Thunder Horse, but as incremental non-OPEC supply becomes increasingly concentrated in technologically challenging areas, so cost over-runs and delays will remain part of the industrial landscape.'
That's the most important sentence in the report. New supply is going to be harder to get, posing greater technological challenges and requiring higher levels of investment.
The world's oil companies and national governments will no doubt respond to this challenge. All those new middle-class citizens driving in their air-conditioned cars to their air-conditioned offices will demand it. But it's not going to be cheap. It's going to get more and more expensive.
Ironically, or tragically, there appears to be only one thing that can effectively dampen growing demand for oil. And that would be a collapse of economic growth, which, quite possibly, could be a result of the ever-higher prices for fossil fuel products that economic growth mandates.
Meanwhile, crude oil futures sit tight around $72 a barrel.
CDC: Antidepressants most prescribed drugs in U.S. - CNN.com
CDC: Antidepressants most prescribed drugs in U.S. - CNN.com: "ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Dr. Ronald Dworkin tells the story of a woman who didn't like the way her husband was handling the family finances. She wanted to start keeping the books herself but didn't want to insult her husband."
The doctor suggested she try an antidepressant to make herself feel better.
She got the antidepressant, and she did feel better, said Dr. Dworkin, a Maryland anesthesiologist and senior fellow at Washington's Hudson Institute, who told the story in his book "Artificial Unhappiness: The Dark Side of the New Happy Class." But in the meantime, Dworkin says, the woman's husband led the family into financial ruin.
Salon.com | News Wires
Salon.com | News Wires: "July 09,2007 | BAGHDAD -- Turkey has massed 140,000 soldiers on its border with northern Iraq, Iraq's foreign minister said Monday, calling the neighboring country's fears of Kurdish rebels based there 'legitimate' but better resolved through negotiation."
Start panicking.....
Start panicking.....
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Live Earth-Society falls apart quietly
The majority in a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, ruled on a narrow ground, saying the plaintiffs, including lawyers and journalists, could not show injury direct and concrete enough to allow them to have standing to sue.
Because it may be impossible for any plaintiff to demonstrate injury from the highly classified wiretapping program, the effect of the ruling was to insulate it from judicial scrutiny. Thus, the program’s secrecy is proving to be its best legal protection.
Because it may be impossible for any plaintiff to demonstrate injury from the highly classified wiretapping program, the effect of the ruling was to insulate it from judicial scrutiny. Thus, the program’s secrecy is proving to be its best legal protection.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Much of US favors Bush impeachment: poll - Yahoo! News
Much of US favors Bush impeachment: poll - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (AFP) - Nearly half of the US public wants President George W. Bush to face impeachment, and even more favor that fate for Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a poll out Friday."
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Are people starting to pay attention?
Poll: Majorities say income gap too wide - Yahoo! News: "About seven in 10 said discrepancies between income levels are too large, a sentiment voiced by nearly two-thirds of those from households earning at least $80,000 a year, the survey said. Three-fourths of people earning less than $80,000 agreed.
Eight in 10 said the gap between the rich and the middle class has worsened over the last 25 years, said the survey by the University of Connecticut's Center for Survey Research and Analysis.
The poll comes in the early stages of a 2008 presidential campaign in which several Democratic candidates have discussed a widening distance between the country's rich and poor."
I am going to YearlyKos in August after all. All by myself! I am hoping for political geek heaven.
Eight in 10 said the gap between the rich and the middle class has worsened over the last 25 years, said the survey by the University of Connecticut's Center for Survey Research and Analysis.
The poll comes in the early stages of a 2008 presidential campaign in which several Democratic candidates have discussed a widening distance between the country's rich and poor."
I am going to YearlyKos in August after all. All by myself! I am hoping for political geek heaven.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
WTF?
New Drug Deletes Bad Memories - Yahoo! News: "Researchers at Harvard and McGill University (in Montreal) are working on an amnesia drug that blocks or deletes bad memories. The technique seems to allow psychiatrists to disrupt the biochemical pathways that allow a memory to be recalled."
....
....
The rats were trained to associate two musical tones with a mild electrical shock so that when they heard either of the tones they would brace themselves for a shock. The researchers then gave half the rats the drug when playing one of the musical tones.
After the treatment, the rats that had been given the drug no longer associated that particular tone with an imminent shock but still braced themselves upon hearing the second tone, demonstrating only one memory had been deleted.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Drinking the blood of puppies and fish
Leaving No Tracks | Cheney | washingtonpost.com: "In Oregon, a battleground state that the Bush-Cheney ticket had lost by less than half of 1 percent, drought-stricken farmers and ranchers were about to be cut off from the irrigation water that kept their cropland and pastures green. Federal biologists said the Endangered Species Act left the government no choice: The survival of two imperiled species of fish was at stake.
Law and science seemed to be on the side of the fish. Then the vice president stepped in.
First Cheney looked for a way around the law, aides said. Next he set in motion a process to challenge the science protecting the fish, according to a former Oregon congressman who lobbied for the farmers.
Because of Cheney's intervention, the government reversed itself and let the water flow in time to save the 2002 growing season, declaring that there was no threat to the fish. What followed was the largest fish kill the West had ever seen, with tens of thousands of salmon rotting on the banks of the Klamath River."
Law and science seemed to be on the side of the fish. Then the vice president stepped in.
First Cheney looked for a way around the law, aides said. Next he set in motion a process to challenge the science protecting the fish, according to a former Oregon congressman who lobbied for the farmers.
Because of Cheney's intervention, the government reversed itself and let the water flow in time to save the 2002 growing season, declaring that there was no threat to the fish. What followed was the largest fish kill the West had ever seen, with tens of thousands of salmon rotting on the banks of the Klamath River."
Amazing!
The World of the Happy - Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you’ve ever seen: "Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you’ve ever seen"
Giant microwave turns plastic back to oil - earth - 26 June 2007 - New Scientist Environment
Giant microwave turns plastic back to oil - earth - 26 June 2007 - New Scientist Environment: "A US company is taking plastics recycling to another level – turning them back into the oil they were made from, and gas.
All that is needed, claims Global Resource Corporation (GRC), is a finely tuned microwave and – hey presto! – a mix of materials that were made from oil can be reduced back to oil and combustible gas (and a few leftovers).
Key to GRC’s process is a machine that uses 1200 different frequencies within the microwave range, which act on specific hydrocarbon materials. As the material is zapped at the appropriate wavelength, part of the hydrocarbons that make up the plastic and rubber in the material are broken down into diesel oil and combustible gas."
All that is needed, claims Global Resource Corporation (GRC), is a finely tuned microwave and – hey presto! – a mix of materials that were made from oil can be reduced back to oil and combustible gas (and a few leftovers).
Key to GRC’s process is a machine that uses 1200 different frequencies within the microwave range, which act on specific hydrocarbon materials. As the material is zapped at the appropriate wavelength, part of the hydrocarbons that make up the plastic and rubber in the material are broken down into diesel oil and combustible gas."
Saturday's Full Moon Offers Strange Illusion - Yahoo! News
Saturday's Full Moon Offers Strange Illusion - Yahoo! News: "When low on the horizon, the Moon can appear to be larger than when it's higher in the sky. It's all an illusion, scientists say, and it does not involve any enlarging effects of the atmosphere. Rather, it's all in your mind."
Friday, June 29, 2007
Air travel
I will presumably spend a lot of time in planes in the next couple of years. It gives me lots of time in the in between space. I can feel the contours of my mind easier and think I can see where I am and maybe sometimes glimpse where I might be going. It is precious time, but it is also time that I am utterly separated from those things that humanize me. It was a beautiful flight tonight, an almost full moon welcomed me home. And it is home and it is so much more than I hoped.
Daily Kos: The USS Enterprise headed for Iran, Is the administration planning to use it
Daily Kos: The USS Enterprise headed for Iran, Is the administration planning to use it: "That is an amazing amount of firepower. That is in reality about 300 planes and 1700 Tomahawk and Asroc missiles. To put that in perspective, during the first Gulf War the US used a total of 286 Tomahawks in that engagement. If joined by a fourth Carrier force those totals will jump to 400 planes and around 2200 Tomahawk and Asroc missiles.
For those of you who may not quite understand just how much power that is, that battle group is capable of causing more destruction than was caused in every war in the last century. Not just American wars, but all of the worlds wars in the last century.
So why would the U.S. put so much Naval power in the region? I am not sure what our intentions are. You might say with Iran thumbing their nose at the U.S. and the U.N. there is the possibility of a naval blockade of Iran. There is a distinct possibility of a blockade. However, the two carrier groups in the region could do so with out a problem. Could it just be saber rattling to intimidate Iran? I believe anyone who knows the military potential of two carrier groups would know that two is intimidating enough, but three and, according to promises made by Dick Cheney and reported to the FreeMarket News, a fourth still to come."
For those of you who may not quite understand just how much power that is, that battle group is capable of causing more destruction than was caused in every war in the last century. Not just American wars, but all of the worlds wars in the last century.
So why would the U.S. put so much Naval power in the region? I am not sure what our intentions are. You might say with Iran thumbing their nose at the U.S. and the U.N. there is the possibility of a naval blockade of Iran. There is a distinct possibility of a blockade. However, the two carrier groups in the region could do so with out a problem. Could it just be saber rattling to intimidate Iran? I believe anyone who knows the military potential of two carrier groups would know that two is intimidating enough, but three and, according to promises made by Dick Cheney and reported to the FreeMarket News, a fourth still to come."
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
ABC News: Murder a Top Killer of Pregnant Women
ABC News: Murder a Top Killer of Pregnant Women: "According to a number of studies, homicide is one of the leading causes of death for pregnant women in the United States. Studies in Maryland, New York and Chicago determined that about 20 percent of women who die during pregnancy are murder victims."
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Scotsman.com Business - Latest News - Roundtable CEOs' pay rose 10.6 percent
Scotsman.com Business - Latest News - Roundtable CEOs' pay rose 10.6 percent: "Members of the influential Business Roundtable, which opposes Congressional attempts to reform executive pay, saw 2006 pay rise by an average of 10.6 percent, or nearly three times that of a typical U.S. white collar worker, according to a report released on Tuesday"
Monday, June 18, 2007
Read the whole thing, hand to Republicans
What Every American Should Know About Iraq - CommonDreams.org: "Right after 9/11, according to Clarke, “The president dragged me into a room with a couple of other people, shut the door, and said, ‘I want you to find whether Iraq did this.’ Now he never said, ‘Make it up.’ But the entire conversation left me in absolutely no doubt that George Bush wanted me to come back with a report that said Iraq did this. I said, ‘Mr. President. We’ve done this before. We have been looking at this. We looked at it with an open mind. There’s no connection.’ He came back at me and said, ‘Iraq! Saddam! Find out if there’s a connection’. And in a very intimidating way. I mean that we should come back with that answer. We wrote a report. It was a serious look. We got together all the FBI experts, all the CIA experts. We wrote the report. We sent the report out to CIA and found FBI and said, ‘Will you sign this report?’ They all cleared the report. And we sent it up to the president and it got bounced by the National Security Advisor or Deputy. It got bounced and sent back saying, ‘Wrong answer. … Do it again’.”"
Study: People Literally Feel Pain of Others | LiveScience
Study: People Literally Feel Pain of Others | LiveScience: "One mirror-touch synaesthete, Alice, said 'I have never been able to understand how people can enjoy looking at bloodthirsty films, or laugh at the painful misfortunes of others when I can not only not look but also feel it.'"
cranky
I am sick again this morning. I feel like I have been sick with something or other this entire year and I am officially cranky. that's all.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Stupid People
I'm a subservient wife and love it: "Like many of the book's other disciples, Skye now has 'no idea' how much money she and her husband have. 'I have handed all of our financial matters over to Frank. He is the breadwinner. I am the homemaker,' she says. 'He has all the power. He buys what we need and gives me pocket money.'
And she swears the arrangement works wonderfully. 'I've never been happier!'
Frank says that now his wife has handed over control of everything in their life to him, she is much more feminine and their sex life has never been better.
'She wears make-up, takes real good care of herself and leaps into my arms when I come home each day,' he says. 'She looks after me properly, attends to my every whim and really listens to what I say.
'She loves that I'm in charge and that she doesn't have to worry about making any decisions. She knows it's all taken care of, and I love being the boss of the house…'"
I have never been married. I'm probably not that likely to get married. Marriage always freaked me out for various reasons. Then I read crap like this and my head wants to explode. I know married people, I even know happily married people and I feel confident saying that it would be deeply offensive to them to intimate that happiness will only exist if one person (likely the female) submits totally to the other person. Who are these freaks and why do we have to read about their disturbing relationships? People are offended by gay marriage but not these weirdos? I really don't understand.
And she swears the arrangement works wonderfully. 'I've never been happier!'
Frank says that now his wife has handed over control of everything in their life to him, she is much more feminine and their sex life has never been better.
'She wears make-up, takes real good care of herself and leaps into my arms when I come home each day,' he says. 'She looks after me properly, attends to my every whim and really listens to what I say.
'She loves that I'm in charge and that she doesn't have to worry about making any decisions. She knows it's all taken care of, and I love being the boss of the house…'"
I have never been married. I'm probably not that likely to get married. Marriage always freaked me out for various reasons. Then I read crap like this and my head wants to explode. I know married people, I even know happily married people and I feel confident saying that it would be deeply offensive to them to intimate that happiness will only exist if one person (likely the female) submits totally to the other person. Who are these freaks and why do we have to read about their disturbing relationships? People are offended by gay marriage but not these weirdos? I really don't understand.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
DampOwls » Blog Archive » Ridiculously Cool Technology
DampOwls » Blog Archive » Ridiculously Cool Technology: "June 6th, 2007 by admin
This is some very cool technology from a division of Microsoft. It was demonstrated at the TED conference and shows some amazing manipulation of various images."
This is some very cool technology from a division of Microsoft. It was demonstrated at the TED conference and shows some amazing manipulation of various images."
Monday, June 11, 2007
Officially Evil
CoolAqua: Giuliani Campaign's Dirty Secret: "One has to wonder how much of the funds donated to the Bush Campaign, and promised funds for the Giuliani campaign, were essentially stolen thru quasi legal means from US debt relief funds appropriated by the well meaning US Congress, at the behest of the Bush Administration, for African or third world country Debt Relief.
Billionare Paul Singer's and other Vulture capitalists scam to fleece American Taxpayers appears to work as follows:
Well meaning Americans empathize with the suffering of starving third world citizen, being attacked by a changing climate, overpopulation, civil war and strife, and aids. President Bush magnanimously offers up a program to offer Debt Relief to the third world country, and the US Congress responds by approving funds, which are then held in a US account.
Simultaneously, Vulture funds such as Paul Singer's, knowing that the target country finances are about to be re-capitalized by the US Taxpayers, go out and buy up the debt which was supposed to be forgiven. Here's a recent example:
'...By extraordinary coincidence, the amount claimed is almost exactly the sum which Zambia is due to receive this year as a result of the Gleneagles debt deal...'
Billionare Paul Singer's and other Vulture capitalists scam to fleece American Taxpayers appears to work as follows:
Well meaning Americans empathize with the suffering of starving third world citizen, being attacked by a changing climate, overpopulation, civil war and strife, and aids. President Bush magnanimously offers up a program to offer Debt Relief to the third world country, and the US Congress responds by approving funds, which are then held in a US account.
Simultaneously, Vulture funds such as Paul Singer's, knowing that the target country finances are about to be re-capitalized by the US Taxpayers, go out and buy up the debt which was supposed to be forgiven. Here's a recent example:
'...By extraordinary coincidence, the amount claimed is almost exactly the sum which Zambia is due to receive this year as a result of the Gleneagles debt deal...'
The Vulture funds then sue in England or other countries, and gain awards for the junk bonds that were about to be forgiven. After the Court rules in favor of the Vulture fund, the Vulture fund can then tap into the funds approved by the US Congress for debt relief.
In the case of the Vulture fund suit won Friday against Zambia, the $2 million dollar junk bonds bought by the Vulture fund must now be repaid with interest. Debt that the US Government planned on forgiving for $2 million dollars is now worth $40 million due to the British Court settlement.
Every now and then, something good happens!
Judge: No 10-year sentence for teen sex - Yahoo! News: "'If this court or any court cannot recognize the injustice of what has occurred here, then our court system has lost sight of the goal our judicial system has always strived to accomplish ... justice being served in a fair and equal manner,' the judge wrote.
Wilson's original sentence, for aggravated child molestation, was widely criticized on the grounds it was grossly disproportionate to the crime. State lawmakers later passed a law to close the loophole that led to the 10-year sentence."
Wilson's original sentence, for aggravated child molestation, was widely criticized on the grounds it was grossly disproportionate to the crime. State lawmakers later passed a law to close the loophole that led to the 10-year sentence."
Sunday, June 10, 2007
We got it wrong, says former torturer - World - smh.com.au
We got it wrong, says former torturer - World - smh.com.au: "Between January 2004 and January 2005, first at Abu Ghraib prison and then in Mosul, in northern Babil province, he tortured suspects, most of whom he said were innocent. He realised he had entered a moral dungeon when he found himself reading a Holocaust memoir, hoping to pick up torture tips from the Nazis.
Mr Lagouranis told The Sunday Telegraph: 'When I first got back I had a lot of anxiety. I had a personal crisis because I felt I had done immoral things and I didn't see a way to cope with that.'
Disturbingly for the British military, which has distanced itself from the worst excesses of Abu Ghraib, Mr Lagouranis says the Americans learnt much of their uncompromising approach from British interrogators.
'We heard about interrogators in Northern Ireland who were successful. Some of our interrogators went on the British interrogation course, which was tough. People wanted to emulate that, but we went too far.'"
Mr Lagouranis told The Sunday Telegraph: 'When I first got back I had a lot of anxiety. I had a personal crisis because I felt I had done immoral things and I didn't see a way to cope with that.'
Disturbingly for the British military, which has distanced itself from the worst excesses of Abu Ghraib, Mr Lagouranis says the Americans learnt much of their uncompromising approach from British interrogators.
'We heard about interrogators in Northern Ireland who were successful. Some of our interrogators went on the British interrogation course, which was tough. People wanted to emulate that, but we went too far.'"
Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3.
Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that generally appears before the age of 3.: "Contrary to claims by vaccine manufacturers touting 'mercury free' vaccines an investigation by Health Advocacy in the Public Interest (HAPI) recently found mercury in all four vials tested. This despite manufacturer claims that two of the vials were completely mercury free. Boyd Haley, PhD, Chemistry Department Chair, University of Kentucky, feels that if mercury can be detected in any vaccine using standard instrumentation, the content should be disclosed in the product insert and manufacturers should not be allowed to call the product 'mercury free.' "
Things I want to do
YearlyKos Convention - n. yier-lee-KOS k&n-'ven(t)-sh&n An annual convention gathering people from all walks of life who belong to the Netroots community, the US-based (but globally focused and inclusive) non-partisan grassroots political action community that uses the Internet and blogs as primary tools for: expressing viewpoints, building consensus, acting to change the status quo, mobilizing huge numbers of people and informing each other and the world about current events, grassroots actions, networks, meetings, policy and more. The YearlyKos Convention is a project of bloggerpower.org with the generous support of the Netroots Arts and Education Initiative (NAEI).
I Really want to go, but have no one to go with..so sad. Maybe I will go by myself?
I Really want to go, but have no one to go with..so sad. Maybe I will go by myself?
Are we really this hated?
The Guardian:
The United States is the most hated country on the planet, followed by, to the extent that there is a distinction, Israel. So far as I know, there are no other contenders. You can say "Who cares?", as many will say, or "Screw’em if they can’t take a joke" or "I’d rather be feared than loved". All very droll. Still, it is an interesting datum. No country ever lives up to its own PR, but there was a time when America was widely admired. Now, almost universally, it is seen as a rogue state. And is.
......
"The increasing, detailed, intrusive regulation of life, the national desire for control, control, control. Everything is the business of some form of government. Want to paint your shutters? The condo association won’t let you. Let dogs in your bar? Never. Decide who to sell your house to? Racial matter. Own a dog? Shot card, pooper-scooper, leash, gotta be spayed, etc. Have a bar for men only, women only, whites or blacks only? Here come the federal marshals. What isn’t controlled by government is controlled by the crypto-vindictive mob rule of political correctness. This wasn’t always in the American character. Add the continuing presence of police in the schools, the arrest in handcuffs of children of seven, the expulsions for drawing a picture of a soldier with a gun. Something very twisted is going on.
How much of the public knows what is happening, or even knows that something is happening? I don’t know. But I don’t think that it’s going to go away. In ten years it will be an entirely different place with the same name. Almost is now."
The United States is the most hated country on the planet, followed by, to the extent that there is a distinction, Israel. So far as I know, there are no other contenders. You can say "Who cares?", as many will say, or "Screw’em if they can’t take a joke" or "I’d rather be feared than loved". All very droll. Still, it is an interesting datum. No country ever lives up to its own PR, but there was a time when America was widely admired. Now, almost universally, it is seen as a rogue state. And is.
......
"The increasing, detailed, intrusive regulation of life, the national desire for control, control, control. Everything is the business of some form of government. Want to paint your shutters? The condo association won’t let you. Let dogs in your bar? Never. Decide who to sell your house to? Racial matter. Own a dog? Shot card, pooper-scooper, leash, gotta be spayed, etc. Have a bar for men only, women only, whites or blacks only? Here come the federal marshals. What isn’t controlled by government is controlled by the crypto-vindictive mob rule of political correctness. This wasn’t always in the American character. Add the continuing presence of police in the schools, the arrest in handcuffs of children of seven, the expulsions for drawing a picture of a soldier with a gun. Something very twisted is going on.
How much of the public knows what is happening, or even knows that something is happening? I don’t know. But I don’t think that it’s going to go away. In ten years it will be an entirely different place with the same name. Almost is now."
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
Obsidian Wings: Are We Disappearing Children?
Obsidian Wings: Are We Disappearing Children?: "Also according to Mohammed, he and Majid were detained in the same place where two of Khalid Sheik Mohammed’s young children, ages about 6 and 8, were held. The Pakistani guards told my son that the boys were kept in a separate area upstairs, and were denied food and water by other guards. They were also mentally tortured by having ants or other creatures put on their legs to scare them and get them to say where their father was hiding."
Oh BUT! Don't fear...
“We are handling them with kid gloves. After all, they are only little children...but we need to know as much about their father's recent activities as possible. We have child psychologists on hand at all times and they are given the best of care.”
Oh BUT! Don't fear...
“We are handling them with kid gloves. After all, they are only little children...but we need to know as much about their father's recent activities as possible. We have child psychologists on hand at all times and they are given the best of care.”
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
More reasons to hate the Media
Glenn Greenwald - Salon: "The great fraud being perpetrated in our political discourse is the concerted attempt by movement conservatives, now that the Bush presidency lay irreversibly in ruins, to repudiate George Bush by claiming that he is not, and never has been, a 'real conservative.' This con game is being perpetrated by the very same conservatives who -- when his presidency looked to be an epic success -- glorified George W. Bush, ensured both of his election victories, depicted him as the heroic Second Coming of Ronald Reagan, and celebrated him as the embodiment of True Conservatism.
This fraud is as transparent as it is dishonest, yet there are signs that the media is nonetheless beginning to adopt this theme that there is some sort of epic and long-standing 'Bush-conservative schism.' But very little effort is required to see what a fraud that storyline is."
This fraud is as transparent as it is dishonest, yet there are signs that the media is nonetheless beginning to adopt this theme that there is some sort of epic and long-standing 'Bush-conservative schism.' But very little effort is required to see what a fraud that storyline is."
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Witnesses To Alleged De Anza Rape Speak Out - News Story - KTVU San Francisco
Witnesses To Alleged De Anza Rape Speak Out - News Story - KTVU San Francisco: "'When I looked in, I saw about ten pairs of legs surrounding a girl, lying on the mattress on the floor and a guy on top of her with his pants down and his hips thrusting on top of her,' recall Chief Elk. 'And when I saw that I knew immediately something wasn't right. It just didn't look right.'
'I saw that this young girl did not want to be in there, and that's when we just went 'We're getting this girl out of there,'' says Grolle.
April and Lauren -- along with a third soccer player named Lauren Breayans -- broke down the door and were shocked with what they found.
'This poor girl was not moving. She had vomit dribbling down her face. We had to scoop vomit out of her mouth [and] lift her up. Her pants were completely off her body,' says Chief Elk. 'She had her one shoe one, her jeans were wrapped around one of her ankles and her underwear was left around her ankles. To the left of the bed there was some condom thrown on the ground.'
'When they lifted her head up, her eyes moved and she said 'I'm sorry,'' says Grolle. 'One of the guys who was in the room said 'This is her fault. She got drunk and she did this to herself.''
Lauren Chief Elk didn't believe him: 'You have to be conscious to consent to something, andthat was not the case at all."
The three girls were the only ones at the party to take the alleged victim to the hospital and have spent the last ten weeks telling their story to authorities. They were shocked when the district attorney said there would be no charges. That is why they are telling their disturbing story."What we saw was rape. It was a crime," says Grolle. "It was assault against a 17 year girl. I will forever know in my heart that is what happened."
'I saw that this young girl did not want to be in there, and that's when we just went 'We're getting this girl out of there,'' says Grolle.
April and Lauren -- along with a third soccer player named Lauren Breayans -- broke down the door and were shocked with what they found.
'This poor girl was not moving. She had vomit dribbling down her face. We had to scoop vomit out of her mouth [and] lift her up. Her pants were completely off her body,' says Chief Elk. 'She had her one shoe one, her jeans were wrapped around one of her ankles and her underwear was left around her ankles. To the left of the bed there was some condom thrown on the ground.'
'When they lifted her head up, her eyes moved and she said 'I'm sorry,'' says Grolle. 'One of the guys who was in the room said 'This is her fault. She got drunk and she did this to herself.''
Lauren Chief Elk didn't believe him: 'You have to be conscious to consent to something, andthat was not the case at all."
The three girls were the only ones at the party to take the alleged victim to the hospital and have spent the last ten weeks telling their story to authorities. They were shocked when the district attorney said there would be no charges. That is why they are telling their disturbing story."What we saw was rape. It was a crime," says Grolle. "It was assault against a 17 year girl. I will forever know in my heart that is what happened."
Oh Joss, why?
Female action pics need heroes of their own - Yahoo! News: "The other problem, according to many writers and executives, is that there hasn't been that knockout feature script starring a female action hero. If 'Buffy' creator Joss Whedon is let go for not being able to nail a 'Wonder Woman' script, what hope do lesser mortals have?"
The crazies are in the house!
Inside the Creation Museum | Salon News: "At the ribbon cutting, Ken Ham, the rugged-faced CEO and president of Answers in Genesis, the nonprofit ministry that built the museum, tells an enthusiastic crowd that the Creation Museum will undo the damage done 82 years ago when Clarence Darrow put William Jennings Bryan on the stand in the famous Scopes trial in Dayton, Tenn. 'It was the first time the Bible was ridiculed by the media in America, and that was a downward turning point for Christendom,' Ham says. 'We are going to undo all of that here at the Creation Museum. We are going to answer the questions Bryan wasn't prepared to, and show that belief in every word of the Bible can be defended by modern science.'
The Book of Genesis, that famous first chapter of the Bible, which Ham's group has interpreted to claim that the universe was created in six 24-hour days a mere 6,000 years ago, serves as the blueprint for the museum. Astronomy, geology and evolution, as they are commonly understood in mainstream science, have no place here. As Ham later tells me, the conclusions of modern science are not to be trusted, as they are biased by the fickle reasoning of man and a modern antagonism toward faith. On the other hand, he says, the Book of Genesis is true 'from the first word to the last.'"
The Book of Genesis, that famous first chapter of the Bible, which Ham's group has interpreted to claim that the universe was created in six 24-hour days a mere 6,000 years ago, serves as the blueprint for the museum. Astronomy, geology and evolution, as they are commonly understood in mainstream science, have no place here. As Ham later tells me, the conclusions of modern science are not to be trusted, as they are biased by the fickle reasoning of man and a modern antagonism toward faith. On the other hand, he says, the Book of Genesis is true 'from the first word to the last.'"
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Justice, 'tied at hip' to White House, hurts respect for law - Yahoo! News
Justice, 'tied at hip' to White House, hurts respect for law - Yahoo! News: "Daniel Metcalfe worked at the Justice Department for more than three decades - through seven presidents, Democratic and Republican, liberal and conservative. But he recently told Legal Times that Alberto Gonzales did something no other attorney general had managed during Metcalfe's long career: In just two years, Gonzales 'shattered' the department's 'strong tradition of independence' and left it 'artificially tied at the hip' to the White House."
Friday, May 25, 2007
FEMA Concentration Camps
FEMA Concentration Camps: "MASSACHUSETTS
Fort Devens - New prison a factory facilities and reservoir that have been built around the camp. It was constructed last year and the railroad had to reconstruct tracks into the prison from Canada and from Boston. Livingston"
Fort Devens - New prison a factory facilities and reservoir that have been built around the camp. It was constructed last year and the railroad had to reconstruct tracks into the prison from Canada and from Boston. Livingston"
Daily Kos: How I learned to stop being angry
Daily Kos: How I learned to stop being angry: "It's today that I realized that we are, indeed, a one-party state in this country. Oh, we have two official parties, but that's just for show. The reality is that they all work for the same people. Sure, there are different factions and personalities within this all-encompassing group, and granted there might be a few people here and there who doggedly fight the system and actually work for us, but they are VASTLY outnumbered, and more importantly, not taken seriously by the rest of the members of this theatrical group known as the U.S. two-party system.
It's a real relief, to realize this. I no longer have to be angry, and I no longer have to wonder how these people can be so SPINELESS and STUPID. They're neither. They simply work for people other than us.
So the reality is that the Democrats have done us a favor today.
The Democratic Party conceded today that they have absolutely no ability at all to do anything in this country, not even against The Worst President In History.
They've shown us that this country is officially under One Party Rule, not by either party in particular, but by the Corporatocracy itself that actually runs things.
It's the old 'Golden Rule'. You know, 'the guy with the gold makes the rules'. "
It's a real relief, to realize this. I no longer have to be angry, and I no longer have to wonder how these people can be so SPINELESS and STUPID. They're neither. They simply work for people other than us.
So the reality is that the Democrats have done us a favor today.
The Democratic Party conceded today that they have absolutely no ability at all to do anything in this country, not even against The Worst President In History.
They've shown us that this country is officially under One Party Rule, not by either party in particular, but by the Corporatocracy itself that actually runs things.
It's the old 'Golden Rule'. You know, 'the guy with the gold makes the rules'. "
Thursday, May 24, 2007
I went to Hooter's
I'm in Oklahoma for work and I got roped into going to Hooter's. I swore I would never go to a place like that. So I went and I was fascinated. Totally fascinated. Wouldn't go again or anything, but it was fascinating.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Extremely drug-resistant TB spreading in India - Yahoo! News
Extremely drug-resistant TB spreading in India - Yahoo! News: "He said the death rate among the XDR-TB patients was an 'alarmingly high' 42 percent.
'An important finding was that the majority of patients with XDR-TB were of younger age group (averaging 30 years old), thus posing a major threat to our economically productive population,' Jain said.
He said it was impossible to determine the prevalence of XDR-TB in India, since most of its labs are not equipped to perform drug susceptibility tests, and that treatment of the disease was compounded by its huge cost.
'Serious efforts are needed to tackle this deadly disease which may become a global emergency,' Jain said."
'An important finding was that the majority of patients with XDR-TB were of younger age group (averaging 30 years old), thus posing a major threat to our economically productive population,' Jain said.
He said it was impossible to determine the prevalence of XDR-TB in India, since most of its labs are not equipped to perform drug susceptibility tests, and that treatment of the disease was compounded by its huge cost.
'Serious efforts are needed to tackle this deadly disease which may become a global emergency,' Jain said."
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Long time No write
I haven't written anything in awhile. There has been a generalized funk about my world for no real specific reason, other than the aforementioned sense of foreboding.
No updates on the bees. The FDA is a mess, thus you now have to afraid of the food you eat and Bush is more nuts than ever. I watched Children of Men , not the best idea I've ever had, but such is my funk that it didn't do much to move me. My new job is less new, but not really less confusing. It's a very opaque corporate dynamic and my efforts so far to understand its currents have been largely fruitless. So I'm just going on as one does when you don't really know where you are going.
LONDON (AFP) - Internet censorship is growing worldwide, with 26 out of 40 countries blocking or filtering political or social content, a study reported Friday.
No updates on the bees. The FDA is a mess, thus you now have to afraid of the food you eat and Bush is more nuts than ever. I watched Children of Men , not the best idea I've ever had, but such is my funk that it didn't do much to move me. My new job is less new, but not really less confusing. It's a very opaque corporate dynamic and my efforts so far to understand its currents have been largely fruitless. So I'm just going on as one does when you don't really know where you are going.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Print Story: French workers biggest whiners, Irish happiest: study on Yahoo! News
Print Story: French workers biggest whiners, Irish happiest: study on Yahoo! News: "French workers are the world's biggest whiners, according to a study published Monday which said the Irish complain least about their lot.
Britons come second to their Gallic cousins in the moaning stakes, followed by Sweden, the United States and Australia. Japanese workers have the lowest morale, but don't complain so much.
The lowest levels of whining were found in the Netherlands, Thailand and Ireland, according to the study by the FDS research group.
'It is interesting to note that after France, Britain and Sweden, the world's biggest workplace whingers are Americans, despite their having by far the highest levels of income,' said FDS chief Charlotte Cornish."
Britons come second to their Gallic cousins in the moaning stakes, followed by Sweden, the United States and Australia. Japanese workers have the lowest morale, but don't complain so much.
The lowest levels of whining were found in the Netherlands, Thailand and Ireland, according to the study by the FDS research group.
'It is interesting to note that after France, Britain and Sweden, the world's biggest workplace whingers are Americans, despite their having by far the highest levels of income,' said FDS chief Charlotte Cornish."
Monday, May 14, 2007
Spying in the Death Star: The AT&T Whistle-Blower Tells His Story -
Spying in the Death Star: The AT&T Whistle-Blower Tells His Story -: "Those documents are under seal, but Wired News independently acquired and published a significant portion of them last year. They show that AT&T built a network-monitoring facility in a nondescript room at an internet switching hub in San Francisco, at 611 Folsom St. Diagrams in the document show that AT&T technicians split fiber-optic cables handling AT&T's WorldNet internet service -- as well as traffic to and from other major ISPs -- diverting copies of the traffic into the room, which was packed with internet-monitoring equipment.
In this rare interview, Klein supplies details of how he first learned about the secret room even before being transferred to the Folsom Street office. He also lashes out at Congress for failing to hold hearings, and says he won't be satisfied until he can visit the AT&T building and see that the room has been dismantled."
In this rare interview, Klein supplies details of how he first learned about the secret room even before being transferred to the Folsom Street office. He also lashes out at Congress for failing to hold hearings, and says he won't be satisfied until he can visit the AT&T building and see that the room has been dismantled."
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
U.S. hospitals charge uninsured more, study says - Yahoo! News
U.S. hospitals charge uninsured more, study says - Yahoo! News: "In 2004, the most recent year for which data was available, hospital patients without health insurance and others who pay for medical care out of their own pockets were charged an average 2.57 times more than those with health insurance, according to the study published in the May-June issue of the journal Health Affairs.
That number has been rising steadily since 1984, but has jumped more quickly since 2000, the analysis of government data said."
That number has been rising steadily since 1984, but has jumped more quickly since 2000, the analysis of government data said."
Monday, May 07, 2007
Vile at I Blame The Patriarchy
Vile at I Blame The Patriarchy: " All things are subject to interpretation; whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth. — that putz Nietzsche
It is with curled lip and bloodshot eye that I anticipate a total lack of surprise at the news that last month a 17-year-old Iraqi girl was stoned to death in an “honor killing” — words I cannot type without overloading my Oxymoronitron. I expect abhorrence, yes. Disgust, yes. A crushing sense of the futility of it all, yes. Surprise, no."
Warning, the video is disturbing.
It is with curled lip and bloodshot eye that I anticipate a total lack of surprise at the news that last month a 17-year-old Iraqi girl was stoned to death in an “honor killing” — words I cannot type without overloading my Oxymoronitron. I expect abhorrence, yes. Disgust, yes. A crushing sense of the futility of it all, yes. Surprise, no."
Warning, the video is disturbing.
George Tenet cashes in on Iraq | Salon News
George Tenet cashes in on Iraq | Salon News: "When Tenet hit the talk-show circuit last week to defend his stewardship of the CIA and his role in the run-up to the war, he did not mention that he is a director and advisor to four corporations that earn millions of dollars in revenue from contracts with U.S. intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense. Nor is it ever mentioned in his book. But according to public records, Tenet has received at least $2.3 million from those corporations in stock and other compensation. Meanwhile, one of the CIA's largest contractors gave Tenet access to a highly secured room where he could work on classified material for his book."
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Funny and Sad.
John & Belle Have A Blog: Anatramy: "To learn about this peculiar organ [the extraordinarily long phallus found in some species of ducks], Dr. Brennan decided she would have to make careful dissections of male tinamous. In 2005 she traveled to the University of Sheffield to learn the art of bird dissection from [otherwise apparently intelligent] Tim Birkhead, an evolutionary biologist. Dr. Birkhead had her practice on some male ducks from a local farm.
Gazing at the enormous organs, she asked herself a question that apparently no one had asked before [because they were semiliterate morons who weren't aware of sexual dimorphism].
“So what does the female look like?” she said. “Obviously you can’t have something like that without some place to put it in. You need a garage to park the car.”
The lower oviduct (the equivalent of the vagina in birds) is typically a simple tube. But when Dr. Brennan dissected some female ducks, she discovered they had a radically different anatomy. “There were all these weird structures, these pockets and spirals,” she said.
Somehow, generations of biologists had never noticed this anatomy before, [probably because they were afraid they would suffer the fate of Nicholas Schooenhoek, who perished of a severe case of the cooties in 1712, in the first reported case of bird-to-human transmission]. Pondering it, Dr. Brennan came to doubt the conventional explanation for how duck phalluses evolved. [The conventional theory, first expressed in a Nature article from 1954, was that "ducks with, like, huge dicks, totally kick ASS."]
Gazing at the enormous organs, she asked herself a question that apparently no one had asked before [because they were semiliterate morons who weren't aware of sexual dimorphism].
“So what does the female look like?” she said. “Obviously you can’t have something like that without some place to put it in. You need a garage to park the car.”
The lower oviduct (the equivalent of the vagina in birds) is typically a simple tube. But when Dr. Brennan dissected some female ducks, she discovered they had a radically different anatomy. “There were all these weird structures, these pockets and spirals,” she said.
Somehow, generations of biologists had never noticed this anatomy before, [probably because they were afraid they would suffer the fate of Nicholas Schooenhoek, who perished of a severe case of the cooties in 1712, in the first reported case of bird-to-human transmission]. Pondering it, Dr. Brennan came to doubt the conventional explanation for how duck phalluses evolved. [The conventional theory, first expressed in a Nature article from 1954, was that "ducks with, like, huge dicks, totally kick ASS."]
Corn up nearly 700 percent in Zimbabwe - Yahoo! News
Corn up nearly 700 percent in Zimbabwe - Yahoo! News: "The price of an 11-pound bag of corn meal — which provides an average family of six one meal a day for about five days — now will sell for $1.45, up from 21 cents.
'Sadza is part of our way of life. Things are terrible all around, but it (the price increase) makes it worse,' said Bridget Mhkizwe of Harare.
She said her husband, a delivery man, earns about half the official poverty-level salary of $92 a month for a family of five"
'Sadza is part of our way of life. Things are terrible all around, but it (the price increase) makes it worse,' said Bridget Mhkizwe of Harare.
She said her husband, a delivery man, earns about half the official poverty-level salary of $92 a month for a family of five"
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
See? Spooky.
Arctic ice cap melting 30 years ahead of forecast - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Arctic ice cap is melting much faster than expected and is now about 30 years ahead of predictions made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.S. ice expert said on Tuesday.
This means the ocean at the top of the world could be free or nearly free of summer ice by 2020, three decades sooner than the global panel's gloomiest forecast of 2050."
This means the ocean at the top of the world could be free or nearly free of summer ice by 2020, three decades sooner than the global panel's gloomiest forecast of 2050."
ABC News: The New Immigrant Backlash: KKK Targets Mexicans
ABC News: The New Immigrant Backlash: KKK Targets Mexicans: "Take David Ritcheson, 16, a Mexican-American football star born in Houston. He was beaten nearly to death by two skinheads at a teen party. They poured bleach on him and beat him mercilessly. Ritcheson was in a coma for days, and suffered massive internal injuries, internal bleeding and a shattered cheekbone. He is now deaf in one ear.
'I just didn't expect my race to become a situation,' Ritcheson told ABC News senior Law & Justice correspondent Jim Avila.
Ritcheson testified before a congressional committee last month about the need for stronger hate crime legislation.
'I don't think there's any question at all that hate crimes against Hispanics and anyone really perceived to be an immigrant are very much on the rise,' said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center."
'I just didn't expect my race to become a situation,' Ritcheson told ABC News senior Law & Justice correspondent Jim Avila.
Ritcheson testified before a congressional committee last month about the need for stronger hate crime legislation.
'I don't think there's any question at all that hate crimes against Hispanics and anyone really perceived to be an immigrant are very much on the rise,' said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center."
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Weekend thoughts
Notes on the nature of being spooked. I like being aware. I try to pay attention to the world I live in and I try to penetrate beneath the obvious in several areas. I read, I participate and occasionally I write here. The mind, or mine specifically, has always been my true companion. That should in no way be taken to diminish those of you who are my companions in this life we lead, but only to point out that my mind is the only companion that has been there since the beginning and excepting dementia, will be with me when I leave this earth. Regardless, I digress gratuitously. I am spooked deeply right now. The world as I experience it seems dangerously off kilter. It is my opinion that one of the fundamental rules of the universe is balance. Obviously balance beyond what we can perceive or likely hope to understand even in the next couple of generations, but balance nonetheless. I think this is why kids have such an innate sense of fairness, Buddha said move beyond the Ego and Rilke said pain is as necessary as joy to be able to experience life as a human. And the world as we perceive it, is terribly awfully destructively off balance. From the disappearing bees, to the dramatically ignored destruction of the ocean and the desperate state of most of the world’s human population, it seems to me that those who orchestrate these systems assumed something would happen before now to correct the excesses. Only nothing did. Israel invaded Lebanon
Friday, April 27, 2007
Project Censored Media Democracy in Action
Project Censored Media Democracy in Action: "In debunking the official explanation of the collapse of the three WTC buildings, Jones cites the complete, rapid, and symmetrical collapse of the buildings; the horizontal explosions (squibs) evidenced in films of the collapses; the fact that the antenna dropped first in the North Tower, suggesting the use of explosives in the core columns; and the large pools of molten metal observed in the basement areas of both towers.
Jones also investigated the collapse of WTC 7, a forty-seven-story building that was not hit by planes, yet dropped in its own “footprint,” in the same manner as a controlled demolition. WTC 7 housed the U.S. Secret Service, the Department of Defense, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management, the Internal Revenue Service Regional Council, and the Central Intelligence Agency. Many of the records from the Enron accounting scandal were destroyed when the building came down."
Jones also investigated the collapse of WTC 7, a forty-seven-story building that was not hit by planes, yet dropped in its own “footprint,” in the same manner as a controlled demolition. WTC 7 housed the U.S. Secret Service, the Department of Defense, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management, the Internal Revenue Service Regional Council, and the Central Intelligence Agency. Many of the records from the Enron accounting scandal were destroyed when the building came down."
Project Censored Media Democracy in Action
Project Censored Media Democracy in Action: "Halliburton’s subsidiary KBR (formerly Kellogg, Brown and Root) announced on January 24, 2006 that it had been awarded a $385 million contingency contract by the Department of Homeland Security to build detention camps in the United States.
According to a press release posted on the Halliburton website, “The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs. The contingency support contract provides for planning and, if required, initiation of specific engineering, construction and logistics support tasks to establish, operate and maintain one or more expansion facilities.”
What little coverage the announcement received focused on concerns about Halliburton’s reputation for overcharging U.S. taxpayers for substandard services.
Less attention was focused on the phrase “rapid development of new programs” or what type of programs might require a major expansion of detention centers, capable of holding 5,000 people each. Jamie Zuieback, spokeswoman for ICE, declined to elaborate on what these “new programs” might be."
According to a press release posted on the Halliburton website, “The contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs. The contingency support contract provides for planning and, if required, initiation of specific engineering, construction and logistics support tasks to establish, operate and maintain one or more expansion facilities.”
What little coverage the announcement received focused on concerns about Halliburton’s reputation for overcharging U.S. taxpayers for substandard services.
Less attention was focused on the phrase “rapid development of new programs” or what type of programs might require a major expansion of detention centers, capable of holding 5,000 people each. Jamie Zuieback, spokeswoman for ICE, declined to elaborate on what these “new programs” might be."
Project Censored Media Democracy in Action
Project Censored Media Democracy in Action: "Several recent studies confirm fears that genetically modified (GM) foods damage human health. These studies were released as the World Trade Organization (WTO) moved toward upholding the ruling that the European Union has violated international trade rules by stopping importation of GM foods.
* Research by the Russian Academy of Sciences released in December 2005 found that more than half of the offspring of rats fed GM soy died within the first three weeks of life, six times as many as those born to mothers fed on non-modified soy. Six times as many offspring fed GM soy were also severely underweight.
* In November 2005, a private research institute in Australia, CSIRO Plant Industry, put a halt to further development of a GM pea cultivator when it was found to cause an immune response in laboratory mice.1
* In the summer of 2005, an Italian research team led by a cellular biologist at the University of Urbino published confirmation that absorption of GM soy by mice causes development of misshapen liver cells, as well as other cellular anomalies.
* In May of 2005 the review of a highly confidential and controversial Monsanto report on test results of corn modified with Monsanto MON863 was published in The Independent/UK.
Dr. Arpad Pusztai (see Censored 2001, Story #7), one of the few genuinely independent sci"
* Research by the Russian Academy of Sciences released in December 2005 found that more than half of the offspring of rats fed GM soy died within the first three weeks of life, six times as many as those born to mothers fed on non-modified soy. Six times as many offspring fed GM soy were also severely underweight.
* In November 2005, a private research institute in Australia, CSIRO Plant Industry, put a halt to further development of a GM pea cultivator when it was found to cause an immune response in laboratory mice.1
* In the summer of 2005, an Italian research team led by a cellular biologist at the University of Urbino published confirmation that absorption of GM soy by mice causes development of misshapen liver cells, as well as other cellular anomalies.
* In May of 2005 the review of a highly confidential and controversial Monsanto report on test results of corn modified with Monsanto MON863 was published in The Independent/UK.
Dr. Arpad Pusztai (see Censored 2001, Story #7), one of the few genuinely independent sci"
Project Censored Media Democracy in Action
Project Censored Media Democracy in Action: "“Let me make a generalized statement about a trend I see in the U.S. Congress that I find disturbing, that applies not only with respect to the Iranian situation but a number of others as well,” Cheney said. “I think we Americans sometimes make mistakes . . . There seems to be an assumption that somehow we know what’s best for everybody else and that we are going to use our economic clout to get everybody else to live the way we would like.”
Cheney was the chief executive of Halliburton Corporation at the time he uttered those words. It was Cheney who directed Halliburton toward aggressive business dealings with Iran—in violation of U.S. law—in the mid-1990s, which continued through 2005 and is the reason Iran has the capability to enrich weapons-grade uranium.
It was Halliburton’s secret sale of centrifuges to Iran that helped get the uranium enrichment program off the ground, according to a three-year investigation that includes interviews conducted with more than a dozen current and former Halliburton employees.
If the U.S. ends up engaged in a war with Iran in the future, Cheney and Halliburton will bear the brunt of the blame.
But this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who has been following Halliburton’s business activities over the past decade. The company has a long, documented hi"
Cheney was the chief executive of Halliburton Corporation at the time he uttered those words. It was Cheney who directed Halliburton toward aggressive business dealings with Iran—in violation of U.S. law—in the mid-1990s, which continued through 2005 and is the reason Iran has the capability to enrich weapons-grade uranium.
It was Halliburton’s secret sale of centrifuges to Iran that helped get the uranium enrichment program off the ground, according to a three-year investigation that includes interviews conducted with more than a dozen current and former Halliburton employees.
If the U.S. ends up engaged in a war with Iran in the future, Cheney and Halliburton will bear the brunt of the blame.
But this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who has been following Halliburton’s business activities over the past decade. The company has a long, documented hi"
Thursday, April 26, 2007
WTF
Feministe » Sacrificing Women at the Altar of Fetus Fetishism: "I’m glad your wife is doing well and I’m sorry for the loss of your baby.
As a father of a 1 yr old baby girl, I value the life of my baby more than anything else on Earth. She is the most important thing there is, I would have to say equal to my own wife.. my baby is a part of me, she is my own blood, my offspring, she is genetically closer to me than my own wife. My baby girl will love me more as she is growing up than my own wife ever will.. the love between a daughter and father is, in my opinion, greater than between a husband and wife. Agree with me or not, that is my opinion.. and my baby girl is only 1 yr old. All she can say is “da da”, but I know she loves me and I love her infinitely so.. my wife, I love also infinitely so, but sometimes it’s rocky, sometimes it’s up and down and we aren’t always as close as we’d like to be, but I will always love my baby girl infinitely."
.....
I am not against aborting if there is no possible alternative to saving the mother.. but if the child can be saved at the loss of the mother then I would choose the child. There is no logic to losing both, but it’s a risk worth taking, to take it as far as you took it should happen in every case, in my opinion.
Seriously hope this woman sees this and files for divorce.
As a father of a 1 yr old baby girl, I value the life of my baby more than anything else on Earth. She is the most important thing there is, I would have to say equal to my own wife.. my baby is a part of me, she is my own blood, my offspring, she is genetically closer to me than my own wife. My baby girl will love me more as she is growing up than my own wife ever will.. the love between a daughter and father is, in my opinion, greater than between a husband and wife. Agree with me or not, that is my opinion.. and my baby girl is only 1 yr old. All she can say is “da da”, but I know she loves me and I love her infinitely so.. my wife, I love also infinitely so, but sometimes it’s rocky, sometimes it’s up and down and we aren’t always as close as we’d like to be, but I will always love my baby girl infinitely."
.....
I am not against aborting if there is no possible alternative to saving the mother.. but if the child can be saved at the loss of the mother then I would choose the child. There is no logic to losing both, but it’s a risk worth taking, to take it as far as you took it should happen in every case, in my opinion.
Seriously hope this woman sees this and files for divorce.
Thoughts Today
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Intelligence has nothing to do with wealth, according to a US study published Tuesday which found that people with below average smarts were just as wealthy as those with higher IQ scores.
Here is where the paper of record stands:
Here is where the paper of record stands:
Tonight PBS is broadcasting ""Buying the War," Bill Moyers' devastating hour and a half long indictment of the US news media's complicity in helping sell Bush's invasion of Iraq.
You'd think, given the gravity of the issue and the status of Moyers, that the newspaper of record would review the program.
You'd be wrong.
And housing continues to look even scarier:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/26/73731/9576
A few points.
1.) This number, well, sucks. Housing is not anywhere hear a bottom.
2.) All regions dropped. The smallest drop was 6.2% in the South. The Midwest had the largest drop of 10.9%.
3.) The total inventory available for sale increased 17.1% from year ago levels, increasing from 3,198,000 to 3,745,000. Current months available for sale inventory increased from 6.8% to 7.3%.
4.) There is further to do on the downside. While sales dropped, the median price increased from $213,600 in February to $217 in March. Seller's still haven't gotten the message that to move houses off the market they're going to have to lower prices.
5.) While weather was probably partially responsible, this drop is fundamental -- that is demand is weakening. Credit standards are tightening, consumers already have a ton of debt on their books and there are simply a ton of houses on the market to sell.
So go read some gossip, the world doesn't look very pretty.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
How the World Works - Salon.com
How the World Works - Salon.com: "The environmental impact of the solid-state revolution in lighting will be enormous. Look at a map of the world based on satellite photographs taken at night and you will see that light emissions from the United States, in particular the east coast of the country, are far higher than from anywhere else. Most of this light is still produced by antiquated Edison-style incandescents. If every American household were to install energy-efficient lights in five of their most frequently-used fixtures -- the kitchen ceiling light, living room table and floor lamps, bathroom vanity, and outdoor porch lamp -- the resultant drop in energy consumption would keep more than one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. That is equivalent to eliminating the pollution caused by more than eight million cars for an entire year, a $6 billion dollar savings for householders equivalent to the annual output of more than twenty power stations."
Monday, April 23, 2007
Broadsheet - Salon.com
Broadsheet - Salon.com: "Reason #2: A reader just sent us a link to his column from last week (available to non-TimesSelect subscribers here), in which he focused his cross-hairs on violence and misogyny. He reasons, 'A close look at the patterns of murderous violence in the U.S. reveals some remarkable consistencies, wherever the individual atrocities may have occurred. In case after case, decade after decade, the killers have been shown to be young men riddled with shame and humiliation, often bitterly misogynistic and homophobic, who have decided that the way to assert their faltering sense of manhood and get the respect they have been denied is to go out and shoot somebody.' The case of Virginia Tech killer Cho Seung-Hui is only the most recent example of some of this. Cho 'was reported to have stalked female classmates and to have leaned under tables to take inappropriate photos of women. A former roommate told CNN that Mr. Cho once claimed to have seen 'promiscuity' when he looked into the eyes of a woman on campus,' Herbert writes.
He continues: 'Violence is commonly resorted to as the antidote to the disturbing emotions raised by the widespread hostility toward women in our society and the pathological fear of so many men that they aren't quite tough enough, masculine enough -- in short, that they might have homosexual tendencies.'"
He continues: 'Violence is commonly resorted to as the antidote to the disturbing emotions raised by the widespread hostility toward women in our society and the pathological fear of so many men that they aren't quite tough enough, masculine enough -- in short, that they might have homosexual tendencies.'"
Food - Supermarkets - Obesity - Nutrition - Calories - Farmers - Agriculture - New York Times
Food - Supermarkets - Obesity - Nutrition - Calories - Farmers - Agriculture - New York Times: "Doing so starts with the recognition that the “farm bill” is a misnomer; in truth, it is a food bill and so needs to be rewritten with the interests of eaters placed first. Yes, there are eaters who think it in their interest that food just be as cheap as possible, no matter how poor the quality. But there are many more who recognize the real cost of artificially cheap food — to their health, to the land, to the animals, to the public purse. At a minimum, these eaters want a bill that aligns agricultural policy with our public-health and environmental values, one with incentives to produce food cleanly, sustainably and humanely. Eaters want a bill that makes the most healthful calories in the supermarket competitive with the least healthful ones. Eaters want a bill that feeds schoolchildren fresh food from local farms rather than processed surplus commodities from far away. Enlightened eaters also recognize their dependence on farmers, which is why they would support a bill that guarantees the people who raise our food not subsidies but fair prices. Why? Because they prefer to live in a country that can still produce its own food and doesn’t hurt the world’s farmers by dumping its surplus crops on their markets."
Violence at home
Ten are dead in weekend violence | Inquirer | 04/23/2007: "Ten are dead in weekend violence
The slayings followed three forums Friday on how to stem the city's problem. The year's homicide count is 127.
By Jan Hefler
Inquirer Staff Writer
At least 10 people died over the weekend as bullets cut through several Philadelphia neighborhoods - including Center City, where homicides are rare - and at a barbecue in West Philadelphia. At least nine others were wounded in shootings or stabbings.
Despite the national spotlight on gun violence after the Virginia Tech massacre and at least three antiviolence conferences held in Philadelphia last week, the homicide toll climbed to 127, rising as the temperature hit the high 70s.
The Center City shooting - at 12th and Chestnut Streets - quickly resulted in an arrest. Investigations continued in the other cases."
The slayings followed three forums Friday on how to stem the city's problem. The year's homicide count is 127.
By Jan Hefler
Inquirer Staff Writer
At least 10 people died over the weekend as bullets cut through several Philadelphia neighborhoods - including Center City, where homicides are rare - and at a barbecue in West Philadelphia. At least nine others were wounded in shootings or stabbings.
Despite the national spotlight on gun violence after the Virginia Tech massacre and at least three antiviolence conferences held in Philadelphia last week, the homicide toll climbed to 127, rising as the temperature hit the high 70s.
The Center City shooting - at 12th and Chestnut Streets - quickly resulted in an arrest. Investigations continued in the other cases."
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Daily Kos: George W. Bush Publicly Declares Disloyalty To United States
Daily Kos: George W. Bush Publicly Declares Disloyalty To United States: "WOLF BLITZER: So what's your bottom line? Do you believe, based on the reporting you did for this article, that the president of the United States is now aggressively plotting military action, a pre-emptive strike against Iran?
SEYMOUR HERSH: The word I hear is 'messianic.' He thinks, as I wrote, that he's the only one now who will have the courage to do it. He's politically free. I don't think he's overwhelmingly concerned about the '06 elections, congressional elections. I think he really thinks he has a chance, and this is going to be his mission.
'Again, the White House Web site records that on March 3, Bush told a Los Angeles audience, 'God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear.' After mentioning himself in the same breath with God, Bush then topped himself when the Lancaster New Era reported on July 16 that in a private meeting with an Amish group in Lancaster County, he told them, 'I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job.' The White House has denied the statement.'"
SEYMOUR HERSH: The word I hear is 'messianic.' He thinks, as I wrote, that he's the only one now who will have the courage to do it. He's politically free. I don't think he's overwhelmingly concerned about the '06 elections, congressional elections. I think he really thinks he has a chance, and this is going to be his mission.
'Again, the White House Web site records that on March 3, Bush told a Los Angeles audience, 'God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear.' After mentioning himself in the same breath with God, Bush then topped himself when the Lancaster New Era reported on July 16 that in a private meeting with an Amish group in Lancaster County, he told them, 'I trust God speaks through me. Without that, I couldn’t do my job.' The White House has denied the statement.'"
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Unknown News
Unknown News: "The newspaper said it had obtained 328 pages of classified documents that showed foreign agents had infiltrated Osama bin Laden's network and were carefully tracking its moves. One document prepared in January 2001 was entitled 'Plan to hijack an aircraft by Islamic radicals', and said the operation had been discussed in Kabul at the start of 2000 by al Qaeda, Taliban and Chechen militants.
The hijack was meant to happen between March and September 2000 but the planners put it back 'because of differences of opinion, particularly over the date, objective and participants,' Le Monde said, citing the report.
The attacks on U.S. cities that eventually took place on Sept. 11, 2001 killed almost 3,000 people.
"
The hijack was meant to happen between March and September 2000 but the planners put it back 'because of differences of opinion, particularly over the date, objective and participants,' Le Monde said, citing the report.
The attacks on U.S. cities that eventually took place on Sept. 11, 2001 killed almost 3,000 people.
"
The 100 unsexiest men 2007: 70-61 - Rec Room - The Phoenix
The 100 unsexiest men 2007: 70-61 - Rec Room - The Phoenix:
"[63] CHAD KROEGER
Mullet king
When we put the lead vocalist of turdy rockers Nickelback on the list last year, we didn’t think his fans would come out in force to defend him quite like they did. Seriously? People actually think this dude is attractive? He looks like a lion crossbred with a chicken."
"[63] CHAD KROEGER
Mullet king
When we put the lead vocalist of turdy rockers Nickelback on the list last year, we didn’t think his fans would come out in force to defend him quite like they did. Seriously? People actually think this dude is attractive? He looks like a lion crossbred with a chicken."
14] THE US SENATORS FROM MASSACHUSETTS
Capitol offenders
No Senate delegation has served the Unsexy constituency with such distinction as the moon-faced windbag Edward Kennedy and the high-haired highbrow John Kerry. What the hell happens when you get sworn in from New England? The judge administers the oath . . . and then whacks you in the head with the ugly stick?
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? - Independent Online Edition > Wildlife
Are mobile phones wiping out our bees? - Independent Online Edition > Wildlife: "No one knows why it is happening. Theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops have been proposed, but all have drawbacks.
German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines.
Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a 'hint' to a possible cause.
Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: 'I am convinced the possibility is real.'"
German research has long shown that bees' behaviour changes near power lines.
Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees refuse to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried it out, said this could provide a 'hint' to a possible cause.
Dr George Carlo, who headed a massive study by the US government and mobile phone industry of hazards from mobiles in the Nineties, said: 'I am convinced the possibility is real.'"
Thursday, April 12, 2007
In Memoriam
I have lots of authors who have guided me through life, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five was the first time I was able to read between the lines and see a different story. I ended up reading almost everything he ever wrote, including the speech he gave at my best friends college commencement. Thank you Mr. Vonnegut, Thank you.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
New awesome song
O.A.R. Heard The World Lyrics
I just heard the world, is breaking down into bits again.
Tell me what am i to do?
And you just want me to stay, here.
So i'm just gonna stay, here.
Home, the last resort.
Build a castle with an iron door.
Lock the window, pull the shades, the hazed out sun won't help anyway.
If the world is crumbling down, I don't wanna be alone.
NO, locked up in this place.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
Fear, is holding me here.
The television got me seeing unclear.
Bravery, my neighbor, moved away.
Cause I don't need to be courageous today.
If the world was crumbling down, I don't wanna be alone.
NO, locked up in this place.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
Nothing's gonna save me.
I'm hanging from the nearest tree.
Nothing's gonna save me.
I'm hanging from the nearest tree.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
Tell me what am i to do?
And you just want me to stay, here.
So i'm just gonna stay, here.
Home, the last resort.
Build a castle with an iron door.
Lock the window, pull the shades, the hazed out sun won't help anyway.
If the world is crumbling down, I don't wanna be alone.
NO, locked up in this place.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
Fear, is holding me here.
The television got me seeing unclear.
Bravery, my neighbor, moved away.
Cause I don't need to be courageous today.
If the world was crumbling down, I don't wanna be alone.
NO, locked up in this place.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
Nothing's gonna save me.
I'm hanging from the nearest tree.
Nothing's gonna save me.
I'm hanging from the nearest tree.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
I heard the world up, late night.
Holding my breath tight, trying to keep my head on right.
There's a chill in the air, nobody could care.
How you're caught up in the fight of your life.
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
World up, late night
Salon.com | News Wires
Salon.com | News Wires: "Google Earth allows those who have downloaded its free software to focus on satellite images and maps of most of the world. When users scan over the Darfur region, where the United Nations estimates that more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in four years of carnage, Google Inc. hopes to attract their gaze with icons.
The icons represent destroyed villages with flames and refugee camps with tents. When users zoom in to a level of magnification that keeps most of Darfur on a computer screen, the icons seem to indicate that much of the region is on fire. Clicking on flame icons will open windows with the village's name and statistics on the extent of destruction.
Google enhanced the resolution for certain areas of the region so that users can zoom in to see the burnt remnants of houses. Google says it will periodically update the images.
The online maps of the region also include an icon that links to a presentation by the Holocaust museum on the crisis in the region with photos, video, historical background and testimony on atrocities.
Sara Bloomfield, the museum's director, said museum staff members had approached Google about the project as they sought ways to highlight what they believe is genocide to many people who remain unaware. In Google Earth, which the company says has been downloaded by 200 million people worldwide, they found an ideal medium.
The icons represent destroyed villages with flames and refugee camps with tents. When users zoom in to a level of magnification that keeps most of Darfur on a computer screen, the icons seem to indicate that much of the region is on fire. Clicking on flame icons will open windows with the village's name and statistics on the extent of destruction.
Google enhanced the resolution for certain areas of the region so that users can zoom in to see the burnt remnants of houses. Google says it will periodically update the images.
The online maps of the region also include an icon that links to a presentation by the Holocaust museum on the crisis in the region with photos, video, historical background and testimony on atrocities.
Sara Bloomfield, the museum's director, said museum staff members had approached Google about the project as they sought ways to highlight what they believe is genocide to many people who remain unaware. In Google Earth, which the company says has been downloaded by 200 million people worldwide, they found an ideal medium.
"This is like the world's biggest bulletin board," Bloomfield said.
"Monday, April 09, 2007
mouse
I just had a mouse run over my foot at work. So gross. Took like ten people to find it and bring it outside.
Daily Kos: John Edwards and the New Populism
Daily Kos: John Edwards and the New Populism: "I won’t bother feeding you all the stats showing that income inequality is a problem; even conservatives—the honest ones, anyway—now accept it as fact. There’s a terrible gap between not only rich and poor but also super rich and everyone else. Virginia Senator Jim Webb, a prominent New Populist, recently smuggled some truth onto the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page.
The most important--and unfortunately the least debated--issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century. America's top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years. It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a different country. Few among them send their children to public schools; fewer still send their loved ones to fight our wars. They own most of our stocks, making the stock market an unreliable indicator of the economic health of working people. The top 1% now takes in an astounding 16% of national income, up from 8% in 1980. The tax codes protect them, just as they protect corporate America, through a vast system of loopholes."
The most important--and unfortunately the least debated--issue in politics today is our society's steady drift toward a class-based system, the likes of which we have not seen since the 19th century. America's top tier has grown infinitely richer and more removed over the past 25 years. It is not unfair to say that they are literally living in a different country. Few among them send their children to public schools; fewer still send their loved ones to fight our wars. They own most of our stocks, making the stock market an unreliable indicator of the economic health of working people. The top 1% now takes in an astounding 16% of national income, up from 8% in 1980. The tax codes protect them, just as they protect corporate America, through a vast system of loopholes."
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Welcome to your Theocracy...
How Pat Robertson's law school is changing America. - By Dahlia Lithwick - Slate Magazine: "oodling is an improbable character for a political scandal. She's the mirror opposite of that other Monica—the silly, saucy minx who felled Bill Clinton. A 1995 graduate of an evangelical Christian school, Messiah College, and a 1999 graduate of Pat Robertson's Regent University School of Law (this seems to be her Web page), Goodling's chief claim to professional fame appears to have been loyalty to the president and to the process of reshaping the Justice Department in his image (and thus, His image). A former career official there told the Washington Post that Goodling 'forced many very talented, career people out of main Justice so she could replace them with junior people that were either loyal to the administration or would score her some points.' And as she rose at Justice, according to a former classmate, Goodling 'developed a very positive reputation for people coming from Christian schools into Washington looking for employment in government.'"
Friday, April 06, 2007
Let’s Die Together
Let’s Die Together: "When suicide-positive cultures meet the Internet, those inhibitions that do exist are weakened. The spread of Internet communications makes it easy for suicide seekers, radical Islamists, pedophiles, and other fringe groups to meet online, away from the prying eyes of parents, spouses, and the police. Once online, it is easy for such groups to attract new members from the free-floating population of lonely, curious, or dissatisfied souls who exist in all times and places, and in all cultures. Instead of spending their time in prayer, or listening to sad music, or reading novels, or knitting, or taking care of too many cats, vulnerable and unstable members of society are socialized into virtual communities whose shared vocabulary and values become an antidote to loneliness, even as they propel their members toward death."
I normally like to focus on the good and powerful effects of the democratization of information that is the Internet. It is important to remember that almost everything is a double-edged sword.
I normally like to focus on the good and powerful effects of the democratization of information that is the Internet. It is important to remember that almost everything is a double-edged sword.
Tops and Bottoms
What is ‘gay’?
In the Middle East, however, homosexual behavior remained just that—an act, not an orientation. That is not to say that Middle Eastern men who had sex with other men were freely tolerated. But they were not automatically labeled deviant. The taxonomy revolved around the roles of top and bottom, with little stigma attaching to the top. “‘Sexuality’ is distinguished not between ‘homosexual’ and ‘heterosexual’ but between taking pleasure and submitting to someone (being used for pleasure),” the sociologist Stephen O. Murray explains in the 1997 compilation Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature. Being a bottom was shameful because it meant playing a woman’s role. A bottom was not locked into his inferior status, however; he could, and was expected to, leave the role behind as he grew older. “There may be a man, and he likes boys. The Saudis just look at this as, ‘He doesn’t like football,’” Dave, a gay American teacher who first moved to Saudi Arabia in 1978, told me. “It’s assumed that he is, as it were, the dominant partner, playing the man’s role, and there is no shame attached to it.” Nor is the dominant partner considered gay.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
this makes me physically ill
Ford CEO paid $39.1 million in 2006 - Automotive - MSNBC.com: "Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Co.’s new president and chief executive officer, received compensation valued at $39.1 million during his four months on the job last year, according to an analysis of a federal regulatory filing made Thursday.
Mulally succeeded Bill Ford as CEO of the Dearborn, Mich.-based company on Sept. 1.
The nation’s second-biggest automaker lost $12.7 billion in 2006, the largest loss in its 103-year history, largely due to a massive restructuring plan undertaken amid a withering assault from Asian automakers that have taken an increasing share of the U.S. auto market."
Mulally succeeded Bill Ford as CEO of the Dearborn, Mich.-based company on Sept. 1.
The nation’s second-biggest automaker lost $12.7 billion in 2006, the largest loss in its 103-year history, largely due to a massive restructuring plan undertaken amid a withering assault from Asian automakers that have taken an increasing share of the U.S. auto market."
So Fcuking Scary!
Glenn Greenwald - Salon: "More than any other candidate, Giuliani exudes those authoritarian traits, which is what accounts for his unparalleled popularity as a candidate, including among the extremist base of the GOP. And it's why they can't stand McCain even though his views are actually more doctrinally 'conservative' than Giuliani's -- because McCain doesn't seem to hate liberals viscerally enough and seems to believe in some (very minimal) limits and restraints on what the Leader can do.
Rudy Giuliani -- the leading Republican candidate for President -- has made two of the most extraordinary statements of any major presidential candidate in a long time. In a rational world, this would be a major scandal and Democratic (and the other Republican) candidates would be rushing to make their views clear on these matters. But the revelation that Giuliani believes in process-less imprisonment (and that Romney can only decide once his lawyers are done debating it) provoked virtually no attention (but hey, those first-quarter fundraising numbers sure were interesting!).
Despite the fact that the media is only recently acknowledging it, we have had a serious Constitutional crisis in this country for the last six years as a result of a President who literally embraces a theory that vests him with the power to ignore the law. That crisis never really materialized because the submissive Congress acquiesced to the concept of President as monarch -- the Republican-led Congress (often with the passive acceptance of Democrats) chose to do nothing when the array of presidential lawbreaking was discovered (other than pass laws retroactively legalizing the lawbreaking). For that reason, it is actually unknown what the Bush administration would really do if Congress (or the courts) sought to impose genuine limits on the President's will even in areas where those branches have unquestioned authority to act -- would the White House accept those limits or proclaim them to be invalid (because they impermissibly interfere with the President's "inherent powers") and ignore them? But here Giuliani is, making expressly clear what he would do in such a situation. Nothing can limit his powers, including express provisions of the Constitution regarding war-making. That seems worthy of some note, at least.
Rudy Giuliani -- the leading Republican candidate for President -- has made two of the most extraordinary statements of any major presidential candidate in a long time. In a rational world, this would be a major scandal and Democratic (and the other Republican) candidates would be rushing to make their views clear on these matters. But the revelation that Giuliani believes in process-less imprisonment (and that Romney can only decide once his lawyers are done debating it) provoked virtually no attention (but hey, those first-quarter fundraising numbers sure were interesting!).
Despite the fact that the media is only recently acknowledging it, we have had a serious Constitutional crisis in this country for the last six years as a result of a President who literally embraces a theory that vests him with the power to ignore the law. That crisis never really materialized because the submissive Congress acquiesced to the concept of President as monarch -- the Republican-led Congress (often with the passive acceptance of Democrats) chose to do nothing when the array of presidential lawbreaking was discovered (other than pass laws retroactively legalizing the lawbreaking). For that reason, it is actually unknown what the Bush administration would really do if Congress (or the courts) sought to impose genuine limits on the President's will even in areas where those branches have unquestioned authority to act -- would the White House accept those limits or proclaim them to be invalid (because they impermissibly interfere with the President's "inherent powers") and ignore them? But here Giuliani is, making expressly clear what he would do in such a situation. Nothing can limit his powers, including express provisions of the Constitution regarding war-making. That seems worthy of some note, at least.
Sometimes they do the right thing.
Florida to restore felons' civil rights - Yahoo! News: "Crist has made it clear since before he was governor that he was in favor of making it easier for felons who have done their time to vote. He pushed the measure forcefully, and rejected McCollum's assertion that it was welcoming the worst of the worst back into society too easily.
After someone has served their time, Crist said they should get their rights back as a matter of justice.
Still, Crist's plan was a compromise, carving out murderers and other violent felons who would still have to either go before the board for a hearing or at least be subject to review.
Florida is one of three states — the others are Kentucky and Virginia — that still deprive felons of civil rights for life. Most other states automatically restore felons' rights when they complete their sentences, probation or parole.
A recent federal lawsuit challenged Florida's rights ban on "
After someone has served their time, Crist said they should get their rights back as a matter of justice.
Still, Crist's plan was a compromise, carving out murderers and other violent felons who would still have to either go before the board for a hearing or at least be subject to review.
Florida is one of three states — the others are Kentucky and Virginia — that still deprive felons of civil rights for life. Most other states automatically restore felons' rights when they complete their sentences, probation or parole.
A recent federal lawsuit challenged Florida's rights ban on "
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
No where to go, nothing to say
As part of the surveillance, the retailer last year had a long-haired employee infiltrate an anti-Wal-Mart group to determine if it planned protests at the company's annual meeting, according to Bruce Gabbard, the fired security worker, the Journal said.
The company also deployed cutting-edge monitoring systems made by a supplier to the Defense Department that allowed it to capture and record the actions of anyone connected to its global computer network, the Journal said.
I work for a corporation. I have for my entire post college career. I enjoy my work and the compensation received, but it gets hard to reconcile as these stories keep growing. Best Buy firing people not for performance, but because they made too much. Hershey outsourcing to Mexico, not because they aren't profitable here, but because they can be "more" profitable there. I hated Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman and most other economists that I read because they never dealt with the public good as a necessary function of any economy. Now it seems, the little detail is becoming more irrelevant and the proletariat less powerful even as their standard fo living rises. The bees are dying, the oceans are collapsing and we see no difference. Global warming at least makes itself seen on a daily or yearly basis, but really, what will it take for the people to fight back against a system stacked against them?
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Circuit City's harsh layoffs give glimpse of a new world - Yahoo! News
Circuit City's harsh layoffs give glimpse of a new world - Yahoo! News: "All of this makes for an interesting business model. But it raises troubling questions about the direction of the American economy and society. Among them:
•Is this politically sustainable? Read through Circuit City's statement about the layoffs, and one can almost detect a sense of glee at its job cuts. This kind of treatment of employees, combined with growing disparities of wealth, increase the chances of a potent political backlash that will result in overly rigid labor laws, punitive tax rates on the wealthy and trade protectionism.
•Will the 'service economy' result in the death of service? Many consumers might be comfortable buying high-end goods and services online. But others might want a knowledgeable salesperson, who might become a rarity in today's rush to cut wages."
•Is this politically sustainable? Read through Circuit City's statement about the layoffs, and one can almost detect a sense of glee at its job cuts. This kind of treatment of employees, combined with growing disparities of wealth, increase the chances of a potent political backlash that will result in overly rigid labor laws, punitive tax rates on the wealthy and trade protectionism.
•Will the 'service economy' result in the death of service? Many consumers might be comfortable buying high-end goods and services online. But others might want a knowledgeable salesperson, who might become a rarity in today's rush to cut wages."
Monday, April 02, 2007
Feminism Benefits Us All (Shakesville)
Feminism Benefits Us All (Shakesville): "One of the greatest bulwarks against men accepting the feminist movement is that they seem to think that women gaining power must necessarily dilute their own exclusive powers and status. But in so holding onto this erroneous notion, they forget that they themselves are powerless in the face of the corporate plutocracy that now weighs down so heavily upon all of us. If they could get their heads around the fact that they too are powerless and insignificant and ignored, they would stop trying to beat up on the kids they perceive to be weaker and instead acknowledge their own weakness, ally themselves with them, and move forward with them in a new movement that would grant greater freedoms for all of us. It shouldn’t be about trying to maintain some illusory advantage over others. It should be about trying to create concrete advantages for all of us."
FT.com / Markets / UK - Europe tops US in stock market value
FT.com / Markets / UK - Europe tops US in stock market value: "Europe has eclipsed the US in stock market value for the first time since the first world war in another sign of the slipping of the global dominance of American capital markets.
Europe’s 24 stockmarkets, including Russia and emerging Europe, saw their capitalisation rise to $15,720bn (€11,819bn) at the end of last week, according to Thomson Financial data. That exceeded the $15,640bn market value of the US.
The rise of the euro against the dollar, growth of east European markets such as Russia and stock market outperformance spurred by improving profitability have seen Europe close a long-held gap with the US. Ian Harnett at Absolute Strategy Research, who identified the move, said this marked a “seismic shift” in markets."
Europe’s 24 stockmarkets, including Russia and emerging Europe, saw their capitalisation rise to $15,720bn (€11,819bn) at the end of last week, according to Thomson Financial data. That exceeded the $15,640bn market value of the US.
The rise of the euro against the dollar, growth of east European markets such as Russia and stock market outperformance spurred by improving profitability have seen Europe close a long-held gap with the US. Ian Harnett at Absolute Strategy Research, who identified the move, said this marked a “seismic shift” in markets."
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