Among the endless allegations of thievery, financial subterfuge and conspiracy, there is only this certainty: North Carolinians take their pottery seriously.
And that's about all outspoken potter Don Hudson can say without throwing himself further into a deepening dispute among the noted artisans living in an area of central North Carolina rich in natural clay, where pottery has flourished for more than 250 years.
The dispute has resulted in two pottery festivals in Seagrove scheduled for the same November weekend.
One is new this year, the other has been held for the last 26.
The divide, and all the confusing reasons for a fight over pottery, can appear ridiculous to outsiders.
But it's venomous for those involved, resulting in ugly propaganda, reports of a gunshot fired at one shop and allegations of assault.
Attempts to settle it have gotten nowhere.
"It's crazy. It's doing huge damage, and they should get over it," said Charlotte Brown, author of the 2006 book, "The Remarkable Potters of Seagrove" and director of the Gregg Museum of Art & Design at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
"It's not over anything that matters. It's personal. Everybody stands to lose."
Even some customers are starting to take sides, said Michelle Kovack, an artist who paints pots thrown by her husband, Craig, and is neutral in the feud.
"They've got to realize, we're stuck in the middle of this," she said. "We're just trying to make a living."
Potters have carved out a living in the Seagrove area, about halfway between Charlotte and Raleigh, since the mid-18th century.
It was founded by seven families who embraced the abundant clay underfoot.
Seagrove artists' fans include actors Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Tokyo.
North Carolina governors have commissioned the community's pottery as gifts for world leaders.
All of which helps explain the passion that feeds a feud that has simmered for years and went public this summer.
The schism generally involves differences between potters who support the Museum of North Carolina Traditional Pottery - which is more of a welcome center with samples of local work - and artisans who have broken from it.
Some in the breakaway group also support the financially struggling North Carolina Pottery Center, which displays and promotes work from artists statewide, not just those based in Seagrove.
It also sells pottery, which critics say hurts local artists and takes business away from their shops.
The center, which doesn't support either festival, has been the target of attacks by Hudson, a museum board member and a potter in nearby Sanford.
Hudson has published two articles that have infuriated some potters and written numerous e-mails, one of which resulted in legislative fiscal researchers examining the center's finances in August.
The state auditor has since given the center a clean financial report.
Museum supporters operate the Seagrove Pottery Festival.
It attracts 5,000 to 6,000 people to Seagrove - population 250 - each year and is considered one of the best festivals in the Southeast.
Scheduled for the weekend before Thanksgiving, it gives potters a chance to make money before tourism slows in the winter and raises $50,000 to $60,000 for the museum.
"I know that people know that the economy is bad now, but really, for us, it's been dwindling for several years," Kovack said.
"And it makes that show all the more important because the slow season is like January through March, maybe even April. And we need to make a lot of money at Christmastime to get us through that slow season."
Some museum supporters say the center has tried to steal the festival for years, though the former center director denies that.
Hudson tries to frame the feud around the center.
He brought the simmering ill feelings to the public with a May article he published in the guide of a separate pottery gathering.
The article, "Frankenstein's Monster," referenced the museum's efforts to start the center years ago.
Hudson accuses the center of playing favorites and planting "seeds of discord and strife in a community already under the stress of intense competition."
In doing so, Hudson didn't win any friends.
The former attorney said in an e-mail that no one "has ever confused me with Mother Teresa."
The tone of the article upset many, including some of his museum board colleagues, who failed in an attempt to boot him.
Two other board members and an office staffer resigned.
"I think Don in his heart thinks he's doing absolutely the best he can for us," said Judy Merritt, board secretary until she resigned in early June after the failed ouster attempt.
Word of a new event soon followed: the Celebration of Seagrove Potters, scheduled for the same weekend as the other festival.
It began as a group of irked potters, but is now under the auspices of the Seagrove Area Potters Association, a nonprofit marketing group.
Phil Morgan, a potter renowned for his crystalline glazes, said the new event is part of "a vindictive attack to try to kill the museum because Don Hudson is associated with the museum."
Nonsense, said dissident group leader Ben Owen III, another titan of Seagrove and descendant of one of the community's founding families.
He insists the new festival is about highlighting only Seagrove artists, and doesn't have anything to do with Hudson.
That despite the festival, with an emphasis on pottery made in a specific Seagrove area, not including Hudson, who is based in nearby Sanford.
In the past few weeks, things have only gotten worse.
Morgan said someone fired a gunshot into his shop on N.C. 705 - known as "Pottery Highway."
Two other potters accused each other of assault.
Museum supporters are threatening to go to court, claiming the second festival doesn't meet town ordinances.
In August, Hudson wrote a flier titled, "SewerFest," referring to the event's location: a vacant building beside a sewer lagoon.
It includes a tribute to Richard Gillson, the longtime museum president who died in January after falling from a ladder at the museum.
Hudson and his supporters defended the flier as political satire.
But Gillson's daughter, Deborah Gardner of Dunkirk, N.Y., said her father would be horrified.
"My father was a very outspoken man, but he never would have stooped to the level that Don Hudson has brought himself down to," she said.
*****
Oh, and you guessed it Hudson is a ... re...
It seems they cannot exist without causing trouble for everyone else.
Well, I hadn't planned on attending the Seagrove festival this year anyway.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Independents react to Palin's 'speech'
Here are some reactions by four Independent voters to the speech given by the repugican VEEP nominee:
“I was completely underwhelmed. She was a republican novelty act with a sophomoric script. It was not even a speech I would expect for a someone running for the local PTA, much less for vice president.”
-- George Lentz, 66, Southfield - Independent
“Who is Sarah Palin? I'm sorry but I still don't know anymore about this young lady tonight than I did last night ... the way it looks to me, she's the republican vice presidential nominee for one reason: because Hillary wasn't selected.”
-- Mike Kosh, 38, West Bloomfield - Independent
"Sarah Palin is a self-described ‘pitbull with lipstick.’ She spent little time helping Americans learn who she is. Her speech contained few statements about policy or the party platform. … I am not convinced that Palin's experience as a mayor or governor in Alaska meet the qualifications to be vice president much less one stroke or heart attack away from being commander in chief.”
-- Ilene Beninson, 52, Berkley - Independent
“Nothing worked for me. I found her barrage of snide remarks and distortions to be a major turn off. She is not a class act. The most important point she made is that she will be an effective attack dog.”
-- Jan Wheelock, 58, Royal Oak - Independent
“I was completely underwhelmed. She was a republican novelty act with a sophomoric script. It was not even a speech I would expect for a someone running for the local PTA, much less for vice president.”
-- George Lentz, 66, Southfield - Independent
“Who is Sarah Palin? I'm sorry but I still don't know anymore about this young lady tonight than I did last night ... the way it looks to me, she's the republican vice presidential nominee for one reason: because Hillary wasn't selected.”
-- Mike Kosh, 38, West Bloomfield - Independent
"Sarah Palin is a self-described ‘pitbull with lipstick.’ She spent little time helping Americans learn who she is. Her speech contained few statements about policy or the party platform. … I am not convinced that Palin's experience as a mayor or governor in Alaska meet the qualifications to be vice president much less one stroke or heart attack away from being commander in chief.”
-- Ilene Beninson, 52, Berkley - Independent
“Nothing worked for me. I found her barrage of snide remarks and distortions to be a major turn off. She is not a class act. The most important point she made is that she will be an effective attack dog.”
-- Jan Wheelock, 58, Royal Oak - Independent
Palin energizes the base
Palin energizes the base all right -
- the Democratic base
Ben Smith @ poltico reports that Maggie O'Connell's speech last night raised $10 million...for Obama!Obama's coffers have been filling since Sarah Palin attacked him repeatedly in St. Paul last night.
An Obama aide confirms Drudge's report that Obama has raised about $8 million from more than 130,000 donors and is on pace to raise $10 million by the time McCain reaches the stage tonight.
Bet you they didn't see that coming
Get the latest real facts and figure from 538, who has always maintained for weeks now that obama is ahead w/electoral, popular and percentage votes.
An Obama aide confirms Drudge's report that Obama has raised about $8 million from more than 130,000 donors and is on pace to raise $10 million by the time McCain reaches the stage tonight.
Bet you they didn't see that coming
Why would your daughter need sex education?
Why would your daughter need sex education?
Because she's 16 and chugging
rum shots with the gang?
Where was Mom????
As of this moment ...
Lest the repugicans think their diversion is working ...
As of this moment:
In Iraq due to the greed and callousness of the cabal!
As of this moment:
4,150 brave men and women are gone.
In Iraq due to the greed and callousness of the cabal!
Support our troops, bring them home now!
Palin, the CNP and Diebold are linked
Get ready for another stolen election!
by Faun Otter
Fact 1. Palin was not vetted by McCain but by the leaders of CNP
Fact 2. Diebold are major financial backers of CNP candidates
Fact 3. CNP are Christian Reconstructionists and Christian Dominionists
CNP have a rule that, the media should not know when or where they meet or who takes part in their programs, before or after a meeting.
(Reported in the NYT August 2004)
The following Source Watch listing will convince you of the bad people that make up this unpleasant group:
Another good article and links on CNP is at:
How stupid are Repugicans?
They'll buy an "Abstinence Only" program
from a woman who's daughter looks like this.
Cap'n Morgan to the rescue
Penis-boy and Bristol (left) get down
with some Captain Morgan Rum.
He gets the governor's daughter drunk,
screws her,
impregnates her,
then says,
"I don't want kids."
And these are the 'Family Values' people!?
Bristol Palin at the family bar
...and she's either 16 or 17 in this picture.
Don't know about you but my children did not drink at 16 or 17.
In fact they still don't drink - and the "baby" is 35 years old now.
The media's love affair with McPain is over.
Bloomberg media: The media's love affair with McPain is over.
About time, don't you think!?
Three Facts
Here are three facts about Wasilla:
Wasilla is considered a backwoods hillbilly area by other Alaskans.
People from the area proudly call themselves "Valley Trash."
How much more obvious do you need?
Sarah Palin wows the faithful with her "Seig Heil" tribute to Hitler
Be afraid, be very afraid ...
Video footage of Sarah Palin's church
Wasilla Assembly of God Clip
The Wasilla Assembly of God church had lots more up on their website, but they've since removed it with this statement.
In one of those videos Palin describes the Iraq War as "a task from god."
Here's that video.
Here's another in which it is revealed that the Alaska oil pipeline is God's Will.
If you're so inclined, a quick search reveals a lot more on.
This is video footage from the Pentecostal church Sarah Palin belongs to, clearly showing dozens of members of the congregation speaking in tongues and wandering zombie-like through the aisles, also thrashing around on the floor in front of the pulpit.Smashing Telly's post with the video.
I am not sure, but I believe several people are drooling or frothing at the mouth - it is not clear enough to make it out for sure
I have haven't seen anyone online mention this video, or even Palin's connection in general to this church (including a pastor who preaches that God put the shrub in office), so thought I would bring it to your attention.
The Wasilla Assembly of God church had lots more up on their website, but they've since removed it with this statement.
In one of those videos Palin describes the Iraq War as "a task from god."
Here's that video.
Here's another in which it is revealed that the Alaska oil pipeline is God's Will.
If you're so inclined, a quick search reveals a lot more on.
Douglas Rushkoff on the RNC
Douglas Rushkoff posted an insightful essay about the RNC speeches.
"I felt a bit nauseous watching the Republican convention last night. I’m very much a give-the-benefit-of-the-doubt kind of guy, so I try to listen to the arguments people make even when they’re made in over-the-top or patronizing ways.Sometimes it’s good to distinguish between the rhetorical devices and the underlying substance. Even people who use manipulative language sometimes have an important point beneath their persuasion techniques (ads against smoking, for example). I usually don’t feel uneasy when I put those filters on, but last night - during the Guiliani speech - I realized I was no longer filtering a speechwriter’s intentional manipulation; I was trying to look beyond real hate."
Read the rest of Douglas Rushkoff's essay over at Boing Boing: Douglas Rushkoff on the RNC
Douglas Rushkoff's own website is under a 'Denial-of-service cyberattack' - something that the wing-nuts are fond of doing - preventing readers from viewing his website for the time being
Repugican Hypocrisy
Leave it Jon Stewart to prove the repugican's hipocrisy1
The Daily Show has a segment with video clips of Dick Morris, Karl Rove, Bill O'Reilly, and others complaining about the media's unfair treatment of Sarah Palin, along with earlier video clips of these folks dishing out the same garbage about other women, including Hillary Clinton.
Damn it, those ol' cameras and tape recording devices are only supposed to show and record the dogma not the truth!
Damn it, those ol' cameras and tape recording devices are only supposed to show and record the dogma not the truth!
Soap Opera: episode 9 million and one part 26 - A
Texas drops over half of the cases in polygamist sect raid.
Child by child, Texas authorities are acknowledging that many of the children seized during a raid on a polygamist sect's ranch can safely live with their parents or guardians.
Since the April 3 raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, 235 children's custody cases have been dropped, meaning fewer than half of the 440 children seized remain bound by a court order to stay in Texas, attend parenting classes or be available for unannounced visits by Child Protective Services.
CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said more cases are likely to be dropped but he was unsure how many.
They're being dropped "as fast as we can because it's a burden on everyone," he said.
Child by child, Texas authorities are acknowledging that many of the children seized during a raid on a polygamist sect's ranch can safely live with their parents or guardians.
Since the April 3 raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, 235 children's custody cases have been dropped, meaning fewer than half of the 440 children seized remain bound by a court order to stay in Texas, attend parenting classes or be available for unannounced visits by Child Protective Services.
CPS spokesman Patrick Crimmins said more cases are likely to be dropped but he was unsure how many.
They're being dropped "as fast as we can because it's a burden on everyone," he said.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Peggy Noonan & Mike Murphy - You've been YouTubed!
Hear what the repugicans really think of Palin:
- Murphy: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor work. Engler, Whitman, Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. And these guys, this is all like how you want to (inaudible) this race. You know, just run it up. And it’s not gonna work.
Noonan: It’s over.
Murphy: Still, McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.
CT: Don’t you think the Palin pick was insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too (inaudible)
Noonan: I saw Kay this morning.
Murphy: They’re all bummed out. I mean, is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?
Todd: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?
Noonan: The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political bullshit about narratives and (inaudible) the picture.
Yeah, but what’s the narrative?
Noonan: Every time the Republicans do that because that’s not where they live and it’s not what they’re good at and they blow it.
Murphy: You know what’s really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism and this is cynical.
And as you call it gimmicky.
Palin speaks
Just heard Palin speak for her time at the gathering and it it not go well.
She sounded nervous as a whore on the front row in church and the sermon was about fornication.
Her attempts at folksy and at humor failed miserably and her overall timing and cadence was off throughout the entire session.
Her negative tone and litany of lies made the entire thing a farce.
On the whole the whole evening was a classic lesson on negativity and hate with all the caterwauling from every drone mouthing the dogmatic line.
Enough is enough ... that is what America is saying.
But as usual amerikkka doesn't listen.
They just don't get it.
She sounded nervous as a whore on the front row in church and the sermon was about fornication.
Her attempts at folksy and at humor failed miserably and her overall timing and cadence was off throughout the entire session.
Her negative tone and litany of lies made the entire thing a farce.
On the whole the whole evening was a classic lesson on negativity and hate with all the caterwauling from every drone mouthing the dogmatic line.
Enough is enough ... that is what America is saying.
But as usual amerikkka doesn't listen.
They just don't get it.
Security guards beat man in soccer arena, then get beat up by players, fans
Security guards break in their nightsticks on a banner-waving soccer fan running across the arena, prompting players and fans to storm the field and beat up the guards.
Serves them right!
Canada looses 19 square miles
A chunk of ice shelf nearly the size of Manhattan has broken away from Ellesmere Island in Canada's northern Arctic, another dramatic indication of how warmer temperatures are changing the polar frontier, scientists said Wednesday.
Derek Mueller, an Arctic ice shelf specialist at Trent University in Ontario, told The Associated Press that the 4,500-year-old Markham Ice Shelf separated in early August and the 19-square-mile shelf is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.
"The Markham Ice Shelf was a big surprise because it suddenly disappeared.
We went under cloud for a bit during our research and when the weather cleared up, all of a sudden there was no more ice shelf.
It was a shocking event that underscores the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic," said Mueller.
Mueller also said that two large sections of ice detached from the Serson Ice Shelf, shrinking that ice feature by 47 square miles - or 60 percent - and that the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf has also continued to break up, losing an additional eight square miles.
Mueller reported last month that seven square miles of the 170-square-mile and 130-feet-thick Ward Hunt shelf had broken off.
This comes on the heels of unusual cracks in a northern Greenland glacier, rapid melting of a southern Greenland glacier, and a near record loss for Arctic sea ice this summer.
And earlier this year a 160-square mile chunk of an Antarctic ice shelf disintegrated.
"These changes are irreversible under the present climate and indicate that the environmental conditions that have kept these ice shelves in balance for thousands of years are no longer present," said Mueller.
During the last century, when ice shelves would break off, thick sea ice would eventually reform in their place.
"But today, warmer temperatures and a changing climate means there's no hope for regrowth. A scary scenario," said Mueller.
The loss of these ice shelves means that rare ecosystems that depend on them are on the brink of extinction, said Warwick Vincent, director of Laval University's Centre for Northern Studies and a researcher in the program ArcticNet.
"The Markham Ice Shelf had half the biomass for the entire Canadian Arctic Ice Shelf ecosystem as a habitat for cold, tolerant microbial life; algae that sit on top of the ice shelf and photosynthesis like plants would.
Now that it's disappeared, we're looking at ecosystems on the verge of extinction,' said Mueller.
Along with decimating ecosystems, drifting ice shelves and warmer temperatures that will cause further melting ice pose a hazard to populated shipping routes in the Arctic region
"Reduced sea ice conditions and unusually high air temperatures have facilitated the ice shelf losses this summer," said Luke Copland, director of the Laboratory for Cryospheric Research at the University of Ottawa.
"And extensive new cracks across remaining parts of the largest remaining ice shelf, the Ward Hunt, mean that it will continue to disintegrate in the coming years."
Formed by accumulating snow and freezing meltwater, ice shelves are large platforms of thick, ancient sea ice that float on the ocean's surface but are connected to land.
Derek Mueller, an Arctic ice shelf specialist at Trent University in Ontario, told The Associated Press that the 4,500-year-old Markham Ice Shelf separated in early August and the 19-square-mile shelf is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.
"The Markham Ice Shelf was a big surprise because it suddenly disappeared.
We went under cloud for a bit during our research and when the weather cleared up, all of a sudden there was no more ice shelf.
It was a shocking event that underscores the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic," said Mueller.
Mueller also said that two large sections of ice detached from the Serson Ice Shelf, shrinking that ice feature by 47 square miles - or 60 percent - and that the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf has also continued to break up, losing an additional eight square miles.
Mueller reported last month that seven square miles of the 170-square-mile and 130-feet-thick Ward Hunt shelf had broken off.
This comes on the heels of unusual cracks in a northern Greenland glacier, rapid melting of a southern Greenland glacier, and a near record loss for Arctic sea ice this summer.
And earlier this year a 160-square mile chunk of an Antarctic ice shelf disintegrated.
"These changes are irreversible under the present climate and indicate that the environmental conditions that have kept these ice shelves in balance for thousands of years are no longer present," said Mueller.
During the last century, when ice shelves would break off, thick sea ice would eventually reform in their place.
"But today, warmer temperatures and a changing climate means there's no hope for regrowth. A scary scenario," said Mueller.
The loss of these ice shelves means that rare ecosystems that depend on them are on the brink of extinction, said Warwick Vincent, director of Laval University's Centre for Northern Studies and a researcher in the program ArcticNet.
"The Markham Ice Shelf had half the biomass for the entire Canadian Arctic Ice Shelf ecosystem as a habitat for cold, tolerant microbial life; algae that sit on top of the ice shelf and photosynthesis like plants would.
Now that it's disappeared, we're looking at ecosystems on the verge of extinction,' said Mueller.
Along with decimating ecosystems, drifting ice shelves and warmer temperatures that will cause further melting ice pose a hazard to populated shipping routes in the Arctic region
"Reduced sea ice conditions and unusually high air temperatures have facilitated the ice shelf losses this summer," said Luke Copland, director of the Laboratory for Cryospheric Research at the University of Ottawa.
"And extensive new cracks across remaining parts of the largest remaining ice shelf, the Ward Hunt, mean that it will continue to disintegrate in the coming years."
Formed by accumulating snow and freezing meltwater, ice shelves are large platforms of thick, ancient sea ice that float on the ocean's surface but are connected to land.
The Idiots speak ...
The idiots in Minneapolis speak and thereby reprove the adage -
In Fred Thompson's speech last night he said that the Democrats are afraid of Palin
One Democrat responded with this ... "Are we afraid, let me respond this way. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA."
Oh, the pain from the belly-laughs - afraid of Palin ... about as much as, well I don't know as much as ... what's as much as nothing?
Tis better thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!
In Fred Thompson's speech last night he said that the Democrats are afraid of Palin
One Democrat responded with this ... "Are we afraid, let me respond this way. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA."
Oh, the pain from the belly-laughs - afraid of Palin ... about as much as, well I don't know as much as ... what's as much as nothing?
And I Quote
The House Republican brand is so bad right now that if it were a dog food, they'd take it off the shelf.
~ Representative Thomas M. Davis III (r-VA)
~ Representative Thomas M. Davis III (r-VA)
Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms
Excerpt:
Earlier this year, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin used her line-item veto to slash funding
for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.
A would-be banner of books
Question: Do we want this type to be Vice President of these United States?
Answer: No!
Answer: No!
Time Magazine says that when Sarah Palin took office as mayor, she approached the town librarian and asked how to go about banning books from the town library:
[Former Wasilla mayor] Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” The librarian, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire her for not giving “full support” to the mayor.
Visitors and readers
118 different countries have visited this site!
Not bad for a lil' ol' blog that "nobody reads". All I can say to those naysayers is ... how wrong you are!
Readers from around the world in:
Readers from around the world in:
Argentina; Australia; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Denmark; England; Finland; France; Germany; Guam; Hong Kong; India; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Malaysia; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Russia; South Africa; Sweden; Switzerland; Venezuela.
And right here in the USA.
Also say you are wrong to the naysayers
And right here in the USA.
Also say you are wrong to the naysayers
Israeli archaeologists uncover parts of ancient wall
Israeli archaeologists say they have uncovered new sections of Jerusalem's ancient walls, continuing a project started more than a century ago.
Yehiel Zelinger of the Israel Antiquities Authority said that he located two wall segments just south of the Old City.
The project continues work begun in the 1890s by American archaeologist Frederick Bliss and his British assistant, Archibald Dickie.
The two tunneled along the length of the ancient wall and marked its route.
The modern diggers found beer bottles, a lamp and a shoe that Bliss and Dickie's team left behind.
They also found part of a wall built by the Hasmonean dynasty 2,100 years ago, and another section built by Byzantine rulers five centuries later.
The find will help scholars accurately outline the borders of historical Jerusalem.
It is always interesting at an archaeological dig - you never know what you will find.
Yehiel Zelinger of the Israel Antiquities Authority said that he located two wall segments just south of the Old City.
The project continues work begun in the 1890s by American archaeologist Frederick Bliss and his British assistant, Archibald Dickie.
The two tunneled along the length of the ancient wall and marked its route.
The modern diggers found beer bottles, a lamp and a shoe that Bliss and Dickie's team left behind.
They also found part of a wall built by the Hasmonean dynasty 2,100 years ago, and another section built by Byzantine rulers five centuries later.
The find will help scholars accurately outline the borders of historical Jerusalem.
It is always interesting at an archaeological dig - you never know what you will find.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Palin lied ... again
Amy Gwin, 43, of University City, grew up in Alaska and competed in the Miss Wasilla, Alaska, competition in 1984 against repugican vice presidential choice Sarah Palin.
Gwin said Friday that she won the Miss Congeniality award in the competition, although Palin's wikipedia entry says she won the contest — and the Miss Congeniality award.
Gwin was a year behind Palin, now 44, at Wasilla high school, which had about 800 students. Gwin said Palin was "a high school star in a good way," a beauty who got good grades and excelled at athletics.
Gwin, who was president of her class, does not recall Palin holding school office.
The wikipedia entry on Palin said she was head of the school's fellowship of christian athletes and captain of the basketball team.
Gwin said Friday that she won the Miss Congeniality award in the competition, although Palin's wikipedia entry says she won the contest — and the Miss Congeniality award.
Gwin was a year behind Palin, now 44, at Wasilla high school, which had about 800 students. Gwin said Palin was "a high school star in a good way," a beauty who got good grades and excelled at athletics.
Gwin, who was president of her class, does not recall Palin holding school office.
The wikipedia entry on Palin said she was head of the school's fellowship of christian athletes and captain of the basketball team.
Asked about her classmate's new role as governor ...
Gwin said she was not surprised when Palin became the governor of Alaska, but is astonished that she got the repugican nod for vice president.
Asked whether she would support palin because she knows her.
Gwin said: "I wouldn't support her if she was my very best friend. I support Obama and don't share any of her (Palin's) politics. She's very shallow."
Not to worry Amy, they all are.
And they are all liars - it's in their nature.
Asked whether she would support palin because she knows her.
Gwin said: "I wouldn't support her if she was my very best friend. I support Obama and don't share any of her (Palin's) politics. She's very shallow."
Not to worry Amy, they all are.
And they are all liars - it's in their nature.
It's too easy ...
Who can come up with the funniest caption?
Oh, I won't, it's too easy. I'll be good. Damn it's hard to hold back! Got to resist! Hell, why not?
"The official repugican wanking off to poster""Guns and T&A: what Neo-Con Amerika needs"
"Hey, Dick (Cheney) ... Look familiar?"
Found on the web
Quote from the web:
You know Karma does tend to do that.
"Ya gotta love it.
The right wing nut jobs were praying for rain on the Obama convention.
Instead, they get a hurricane on McCain's convention.
If there is a God, I believe he's just made a statement."
The right wing nut jobs were praying for rain on the Obama convention.
Instead, they get a hurricane on McCain's convention.
If there is a God, I believe he's just made a statement."
You know Karma does tend to do that.
McPain's Biggest Blunder Yet
They just keep coming and building ...
Excerpt:
Another week, another Frank Luntz (R-Fascist) focus group of undecided voters - with bad news for McPain:
they don't like his beauty queen choice for vice president.
Only one person said Palin made him more likely to vote for McPain; about half the 25-member group raised their hands when asked if Palin made them less likely to vote for McCain.
They had a negative impression of Palin by a 2-1 margin ... a fact that was reinforced when
they were given hand-dials and asked to react to Palin's speech at her first appearance with McPain on Friday --- the dials remained totally neutral as Palin went through her heart-warming(?) biography, and only blipped upwards when she said she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere -- which wasn't quite the truth, as we now know.
What was he thinking?
Well it is obvious which head he was thinking with so the answers to those two questions is a bit obvious too.
Read the full article here
Iron Age beekeeping discovered
Science is cool!
Researchers have found evidence of a 3,000 year old beekeeping operation in northern Israel. The apiary, consisting of somewhere between 75 and 200 beehives, contains the oldest human-made beehives ever found.From Science News:
(Hebrew University archaeologist Amihai) Mazar’s team has so far uncovered 25 cylindrical containers for bees in a structure that is centrally located in the ancient city at Tel Rehov.
High brick walls surrounded the apiary.
Beehives sat in three parallel rows, each containing at least three tiers. Each beehive measured 80 centimeters long and about 40 centimeters wide.
In the best-preserved beehives, one end contains a small hole for bees to enter and exit. A removable lid with a handle covers the other end.
Chemical analysis of two Tel Rehov beehives revealed degraded beeswax residue in the containers’ unfired clay walls. The researchers are now examining pollen remains and bee bodies found in charred honeycombs from inside the hives.Read the full story Iron Age beekeeping
Horse Whisperer author poisoned by wild mushrooms
(Photo of Cortinarius Speciosissimus from Mycocheype)
Author Nicholas Evans and three family members are seriously ill after eating poisonous mushrooms in The Highlands.
There are about 10,000 species of mushroom found in Britain and Cortinarius Speciosissimus is known to be one of the most deadly. Found mostly in Scotland, where it grows in conifer woods, it causes damage to the liver, kidneys and spinal cord. As other members of the Cortinarius family are also dangerous none are recommended for human consumption.
South Carolina sheriff buys tank to conduct raids
Don't even think about running an illegal bingo game in Richland County, South Carolina.
The Richland County, South Carolina Sheriff's Department (that's them above) just obtained an armored personnel carrier, complete with a belt-fed, .50-cal turreted machine gun. Sheriff Leon Lott has charmingly named the vehicle "The Peacemaker," and insists that using a caliber of ammunition that even the U.S. military is reluctant to use against human targets (it's generally reserved for use against armored vehicles) will "save lives."
Sheriff Lott's New Toy
Now if that don't beat all! Remind me to call Leon later and tell him what an ass he is again, he forgets every so often and needs reminding.
Bright and shiney, oooh
We all know the naming of Palin was a political stunt, but could it be she is just a distraction for more than McPain's failings?
Something like this maybe:
The Dutch intelligence service, the Aivd, has called off an operation aimed at infiltrating and sabotaging Iran's weapons industry due to an assessment that a US attack on the Islamic republic's nuclear program is imminent, according to a report in the country's de Telegraaf newspaper on Friday.
Read the story in the Jerusalem Post
Remember October is but a month away and an 'October Surprise' would not be surprising at all given the shrub and the rest of the cabal's proclivities.
Something like this maybe:
The Dutch intelligence service, the Aivd, has called off an operation aimed at infiltrating and sabotaging Iran's weapons industry due to an assessment that a US attack on the Islamic republic's nuclear program is imminent, according to a report in the country's de Telegraaf newspaper on Friday.
Read the story in the Jerusalem Post
Remember October is but a month away and an 'October Surprise' would not be surprising at all given the shrub and the rest of the cabal's proclivities.
Beyond the Pale-n
Since the 'announcement'
* The news that Palin once backed the bridge to nowhere went national.
* It emerged that Palin has links to the bizarro Alaska Independence party, which harbors the goal of seceding from the union that McCain and Palin seek to lead.
* The news broke that as governor, Palin relied on an earmark system she now opposes. taken along with the bridge to nowhere stuff, this threatens to undercut her reformist image, something that was key to her selection as McPain's veep candidate.
* The news broke that Palin's 17-year-old daughter became pregnant out of wedlock at a time when the conservative base had finally started rallying behind McPain's candidacy.
* Barely moments after McPain advisers put out word that McPain had known of Bristol Palin's pregnancy, the Anchorage Daily News revealed that Palin's own spokesperson hadn't known about it only two days ago.
* A senior McPain adviser at the republican convention was forced into the rather embarrassing position of arguing that McPain had known about the pregnancy "last week" -- without saying what day last week he knew about it.
* It came out that repugican lawyers are up in Alaska vetting Palin -- now, more than 72 hours after it was announced that she'd been picked.
* Palin lawyered up in relation to the trooper-gate probe in Alaska -- a move that ensures far more serious attention to the story from the major news orgs.
* Don't forget the fact that Sarah was part of ted stevens' 527!* It emerged that Palin has links to the bizarro Alaska Independence party, which harbors the goal of seceding from the union that McCain and Palin seek to lead.
* The news broke that as governor, Palin relied on an earmark system she now opposes. taken along with the bridge to nowhere stuff, this threatens to undercut her reformist image, something that was key to her selection as McPain's veep candidate.
* The news broke that Palin's 17-year-old daughter became pregnant out of wedlock at a time when the conservative base had finally started rallying behind McPain's candidacy.
* Barely moments after McPain advisers put out word that McPain had known of Bristol Palin's pregnancy, the Anchorage Daily News revealed that Palin's own spokesperson hadn't known about it only two days ago.
* A senior McPain adviser at the republican convention was forced into the rather embarrassing position of arguing that McPain had known about the pregnancy "last week" -- without saying what day last week he knew about it.
* It came out that repugican lawyers are up in Alaska vetting Palin -- now, more than 72 hours after it was announced that she'd been picked.
* Palin lawyered up in relation to the trooper-gate probe in Alaska -- a move that ensures far more serious attention to the story from the major news orgs.
And the hits just keep coming ...
There is even a nude photo of a brunette in the early 1980s that face recognition software gives a 50/50 chance of it being her floating around the net.
I can't wait to see what is next.
Rampant Paranoia in Minneapolis
Radio news host among protesters arrested at RNC for "conspiracy to riot", National Guard headed in?
So, it is obvious to all how the repugicans are abusing the system and their paranoia is screaming loudly enough for the entire world to hear.
There are multiple reports of arrests of 'protesters' daily in Minneapolis starting before their klan gathering even began.
While in Denver during the entirety of the Democratic Convention there was only one reported case of arrests of 'protesters' - actually armed terrorists planning on killing Obama, who the repugican U.S. attorney in Denver dubbed 'good ol'boys' and sent them away with a stern talking to.
Everyone but the repugicans sees the pattern here.
Amy Goodman, host of the independent news program "Democracy Now!," was among hundreds who were arrested in St. Paul Minnesota today.
Also detained were Goodman's producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar.
The three were covering the protests at the Republican National Convention, but the Minneapolis Police Department charged them with conspiracy to riot.
Goodman has since been released, but her colleagues were still being held as of last night.
Video embedded above from Rick Rowley and Brandon Jourdan.
Democracy Now's news release about the incident is here.
More on the story: Editor and Publisher, San Francisco Chronicle, and Washington Post, excerpt below:
"I was down on the convention floor interviewing delegates when I heard that two of our producers had been arrested," said Goodman. "I ran down to Jackson and 7th Street, where the police had moved in."Update: A group called Cold Snap Legal in the Twin Cities area is offering legal assistance to the hundreds of protesters who were arrested today at the RNC. Here's their Twitter stream, with lots of updates. Via that Twitter stream, a re-tweet from @tcdailyplanet, 830pm PT: "Credible report of a convoy of National Guard heading toward the Twin Cities on Highway 55 between 8 and 9 p.m., with at least 7 humvees."Goodman said that when she ran up to find out what was going on, she was also arrested. "They seriously manhandled me and handcuffed my hands behind my back. The top ID [at the convention] is to get on the floor and the Secret Service ripped that off me. I had my Democracy Now! ID too. I was clearly a reporter."
Goodman, who was released after being charged with a misdemeanor, said that Salazar had been hurt in the face, while Kouddous had been thrown up against a wall and hurt his elbow.
"Nicole told me that as they moved in on three sides, she asked them 'How do I get away from this?' and they jumped on her."
So, it is obvious to all how the repugicans are abusing the system and their paranoia is screaming loudly enough for the entire world to hear.
There are multiple reports of arrests of 'protesters' daily in Minneapolis starting before their klan gathering even began.
While in Denver during the entirety of the Democratic Convention there was only one reported case of arrests of 'protesters' - actually armed terrorists planning on killing Obama, who the repugican U.S. attorney in Denver dubbed 'good ol'boys' and sent them away with a stern talking to.
Everyone but the repugicans sees the pattern here.
Hanna is coming for the weekend
Hurricane Hanna slumped to tropical storm strength while grinding away at the Bahamas and other Atlantic islands on Tuesday, and forecasters said it still poses a hurricane threat to the U.S. East Coast.
The storm snapped trees and kept Providenciales, capital of the Turks and Caicos islands, without power.
It hurled rains that caused flooding across Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico, where at least one university student died in a rain-swollen river.
Hanna's maximum sustained winds slipped to 70 mph (110 kph), but the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it could regain hurricane strength of 74 mph (119 kph) within a day.
Forecasters say it could hit the U.S. coast by Friday or Saturday.
"Right now, the uncertainty is such that it could hit anywhere from Miami to the outer banks of North Carolina," said Jessica Schauer Clark, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center. "So people really need to keep an eye on it."
The storm snapped trees and kept Providenciales, capital of the Turks and Caicos islands, without power.
It hurled rains that caused flooding across Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico, where at least one university student died in a rain-swollen river.
Hanna's maximum sustained winds slipped to 70 mph (110 kph), but the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it could regain hurricane strength of 74 mph (119 kph) within a day.
Forecasters say it could hit the U.S. coast by Friday or Saturday.
"Right now, the uncertainty is such that it could hit anywhere from Miami to the outer banks of North Carolina," said Jessica Schauer Clark, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center. "So people really need to keep an eye on it."
*****
Well, there goes my weekend plans.
And Ike is forming up out in the Atlantic. oh, joy!
And Ike is forming up out in the Atlantic. oh, joy!
Stupid or crazy - both actually
Eagle Forum Alaska sent a questionnaire to Alaska’s gubernatorial candidates. Sarah Palin gave the following responses:
On the right to choose:
SP: I am pro-life. With the exception of a doctor’s determination that the mother’s life would end if the pregnancy continued. I believe that no matter what mistakes we make as a society, we cannot condone ending an innocent’s life.
On abstinence education vs. sex education:
SP: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.
On hate crimes legislation protecting minorities:
SP: No, as I believe all heinous crime is based on hate.
On spousal benefits for same-sex couples:
SP: No, I believe spousal benefits are reserved for married citizens as defined in our constitution.
“Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?”:
SP: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.
*****
All women have the right of choice even Sarah Palin and she made it but she wants to deny other women that right - typical of one who is delusional.
Willful ignorance equates to stupidity and not knowing about sex can kill you and that is what she wants - you not to know about sex.
Protecting minorities ... okay here is something that she has a point about, granted it isn't a good one but it still holds true - if all are protected then there is no need for special protections for minorities, ah, but the rub is all are not protected.
Benefits for same-sex couples - you bet, they should have the same benefits as the rest of us and by the same token the same burdens as well.
The Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves at the wing-nut fundamentalists attempts to rewrite history to fit their absurd fantasies.
The Pledge was not written by the founding fathers in fact all of them had been dead many years before it was written.
But it is not the Pledge that Palin is referring to (remember that rewriting of history thing of theirs), it is the 'under god' insertion into the Pledge from the 1950s that she she harping on.
I am sure the founding fathers of 1776 were all there for that in the 1950s - hell, the youngest of them would barely be 200 years old then.
Oh, and as an aside, did you know the word 'fundament' the root for fundamental, literally means asshole - the actual hole itself ... kind of an appropriate term for those called and claiming themselves to be such, don't you think?!
Willful ignorance equates to stupidity and not knowing about sex can kill you and that is what she wants - you not to know about sex.
Protecting minorities ... okay here is something that she has a point about, granted it isn't a good one but it still holds true - if all are protected then there is no need for special protections for minorities, ah, but the rub is all are not protected.
Benefits for same-sex couples - you bet, they should have the same benefits as the rest of us and by the same token the same burdens as well.
The Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves at the wing-nut fundamentalists attempts to rewrite history to fit their absurd fantasies.
The Pledge was not written by the founding fathers in fact all of them had been dead many years before it was written.
But it is not the Pledge that Palin is referring to (remember that rewriting of history thing of theirs), it is the 'under god' insertion into the Pledge from the 1950s that she she harping on.
I am sure the founding fathers of 1776 were all there for that in the 1950s - hell, the youngest of them would barely be 200 years old then.
Oh, and as an aside, did you know the word 'fundament' the root for fundamental, literally means asshole - the actual hole itself ... kind of an appropriate term for those called and claiming themselves to be such, don't you think?!
Significant 'Bounce'
Even as the repugicans begin spewing in Minneapolis.
Americans are looking at Obama even more favorably.
"The Democratic National Convention significantly boosted Americans' views of Barack Obama as a strong leader who "shares your values" and can manage the economy and Iraq."
Americans are looking at Obama even more favorably.
"The Democratic National Convention significantly boosted Americans' views of Barack Obama as a strong leader who "shares your values" and can manage the economy and Iraq."
Full Story Here.
This is not surprising given the caterwauling from the right-wing mouthpieces to the contrary and the very telling reaction of one of their own namely Pat Buchanan as he broke ranks with the dogmatic line when he gushed over Obama's speech.
Tut was a daddy?
Professor Robert Connolly, an anatomist who is working with Egyptian authorities to analyze the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh, says that preliminary tests on the mummified remains of the two still-born babies indicate that Tutankhamun may have fathered them both.
Full Story Here.
Palin is just another hypocrite ... Surprised?
Palin is just another hypocrite is what the headline of several news articles and blog entries is.
My question ... Is this any surprise to anyone?
Palin an avid and outspoken abstinence only crowd ranter has a 17 year-old daughter knocked up (five months gone) ... here again any surprise there?
Those stupid enough to believe that abstinence only bull-hockey in lieu of education about sex and some of the things can my happen due to having sex frequently find their beliefs are in error.
And the children of such idiots are the most likely to suffer from that error.
Just like the preacher's son/daughter is the wildest child on the block so are these children of abstinence.
But, this really is a non-issue.
Palin is a hypocrite there is no doubt, it is just the list of her hypocrisies is so expansive and extensive this 'issue' is hardly worth a mention.
My question ... Is this any surprise to anyone?
Palin an avid and outspoken abstinence only crowd ranter has a 17 year-old daughter knocked up (five months gone) ... here again any surprise there?
Those stupid enough to believe that abstinence only bull-hockey in lieu of education about sex and some of the things can my happen due to having sex frequently find their beliefs are in error.
And the children of such idiots are the most likely to suffer from that error.
Just like the preacher's son/daughter is the wildest child on the block so are these children of abstinence.
But, this really is a non-issue.
Palin is a hypocrite there is no doubt, it is just the list of her hypocrisies is so expansive and extensive this 'issue' is hardly worth a mention.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Savage in Hawaii
A British environmentalist rowed through the night until she arrived in Honolulu early Monday, completing the initial leg of her journey as she tries to become the first woman to row alone across the Pacific Ocean.
Roz Savage, 40, had spent 99 days on the ocean since she departed San Francisco on May 25 on the 2,900-mile leg to Hawaii.
"I'm very happy," Savage said at the Waikiki Yacht Club, where she docked shortly before 6 a.m. "It was challenging, but very worthwhile."
Savage's trip is meant to raise awareness about plastic debris polluting the ocean.
She hopes people start using reusable grocery bags and biodegradable trash bags.
"I'm not saying I've changed the world, but I've started creating a few ripples. I'm a real believer in the ripple effect. The message will spread," she said.
Savage navigated the rough waters of the Hawaiian islands through a dark, moonless night before she found land before dawn.
She reached shore so early that no one was there to greet her.
"It was just me in the dark," she said. "I've come all this way on my own, and now I've finished on my own, and I didn't mind at all."
Her vessel is a 24-foot long rowboat named the Brocade after her corporate sponsor, Brocade Communication Systems Inc. of San Jose, Calif.
There were many challenges during the voyage, including a six-week delay just in getting started.
Winds off the California coast kept pushing her back no matter how hard she rowed, but she eventually broke free.
Then along the way, her two potable water makers broke, leaving her with only a scarce water supply with still a long way to go.
She traded food with two other Pacific travelers for a water maker.
Savage, who previously crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 103 days, will continue her Pacific rowing in early 2009 with a 2,600-mile trek to Tuvalu in the southwest Pacific, followed by the final leg to Australia.
If successful, she will have rowed 7,200 miles over three years.
Roz Savage, 40, had spent 99 days on the ocean since she departed San Francisco on May 25 on the 2,900-mile leg to Hawaii.
"I'm very happy," Savage said at the Waikiki Yacht Club, where she docked shortly before 6 a.m. "It was challenging, but very worthwhile."
Savage's trip is meant to raise awareness about plastic debris polluting the ocean.
She hopes people start using reusable grocery bags and biodegradable trash bags.
"I'm not saying I've changed the world, but I've started creating a few ripples. I'm a real believer in the ripple effect. The message will spread," she said.
Savage navigated the rough waters of the Hawaiian islands through a dark, moonless night before she found land before dawn.
She reached shore so early that no one was there to greet her.
"It was just me in the dark," she said. "I've come all this way on my own, and now I've finished on my own, and I didn't mind at all."
Her vessel is a 24-foot long rowboat named the Brocade after her corporate sponsor, Brocade Communication Systems Inc. of San Jose, Calif.
There were many challenges during the voyage, including a six-week delay just in getting started.
Winds off the California coast kept pushing her back no matter how hard she rowed, but she eventually broke free.
Then along the way, her two potable water makers broke, leaving her with only a scarce water supply with still a long way to go.
She traded food with two other Pacific travelers for a water maker.
Savage, who previously crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 103 days, will continue her Pacific rowing in early 2009 with a 2,600-mile trek to Tuvalu in the southwest Pacific, followed by the final leg to Australia.
If successful, she will have rowed 7,200 miles over three years.
Check out more about Roz Savage here.
As the noise machine sputters
I see the wing-nut noise machine is up and running this morning lying and distorting as usual.
What is so funny today is they are lying and distorting their own lies and distortions.
The disaster of picking Palin has sent them into a tailspin that they cannot get out of and the arrival of Gustav is 'stealing their thunder' from their klan gathering.
Anyone else see the irony here ...
What is so funny today is they are lying and distorting their own lies and distortions.
The disaster of picking Palin has sent them into a tailspin that they cannot get out of and the arrival of Gustav is 'stealing their thunder' from their klan gathering.
Anyone else see the irony here ...
All their talking heads are spewing and 'promising' to help any that are affected by Gustav instead of yelling that they deserved it because they were Liberals like they did when Katrina roared ashore and ignoring those who needed help and actually hindering help from those that did help.
If Gustav would have come ashore last week ... would they still be singing the same tune?
You know I am joking, right?
They would be singing the old tune from three years ago, blaming Liberals, gays, the neighbor's dog and anyone their handlers told them to but themselves for Gustav coming ashore.
If Gustav would have come ashore last week ... would they still be singing the same tune?
You know I am joking, right?
They would be singing the old tune from three years ago, blaming Liberals, gays, the neighbor's dog and anyone their handlers told them to but themselves for Gustav coming ashore.
It's shaking for the Kiwis
A moderate magnitude-5.8 earthquake has struck deep underground in New Zealand's central North Island, but there have been no immediate reports of damage or injury.
The quake hit at 1:21 p.m. Monday (New Zealand time).
It was located about 6 miles southeast of Turangi near Lake Taupo, the center of an active volcanic area.
The tremblor was centered some 50 miles below the earth's surface.
It felt throughout central North Island, geological agency GNS Science reported on its web site.
New Zealand sits above an area of the earth's crust where the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates are colliding and records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, though only about 150 are felt by residents.
Fewer than 10 a year do any damage.
The quake hit at 1:21 p.m. Monday (New Zealand time).
It was located about 6 miles southeast of Turangi near Lake Taupo, the center of an active volcanic area.
The tremblor was centered some 50 miles below the earth's surface.
It felt throughout central North Island, geological agency GNS Science reported on its web site.
New Zealand sits above an area of the earth's crust where the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates are colliding and records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, though only about 150 are felt by residents.
Fewer than 10 a year do any damage.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Say What?
Federal court blocks beef exporter from testing for Mad Cow disease
The USDA tests 1% of cattle of Mad Cow disease.
Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef Exporters wants to test 100% of its cattle for Mad Cow disease.
But the Bush administration took Creekstone to court, and a US federal appeals court ruled that the USDA has the authority to stop meatpackers from testing more than 1% of its cattle.
The Bush administration should apply the same logic to the TSA.
Terrorists are extremely rare, so only 1% of passengers ought to be checked by airport security.
Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef Exporters wants to test 100% of its cattle for Mad Cow disease.
But the Bush administration took Creekstone to court, and a US federal appeals court ruled that the USDA has the authority to stop meatpackers from testing more than 1% of its cattle.
The dispute pits the Agriculture Department, which tests about 1 percent of cows for the potentially deadly disease, against a Kansas meat packer that wants to test all its animals.The AP reports that "The Bush administration says the low level of testing reflects the rareness of the disease."Larger meat packers opposed such testing. If Creekstone Farms Premium Beef began advertising that its cows have all been tested, other companies fear they too will have to conduct the expensive tests.
The Bush administration should apply the same logic to the TSA.
Terrorists are extremely rare, so only 1% of passengers ought to be checked by airport security.
(In lieu of the 30% or more that are detained every day at airports around the country.)
Read the rest here
Okay, so we know the flaw here ... shrub administration - logic ... two mutually exclusive things trying to be conjoined.
It begs the question ...
Why in the hell not?
The beef exporter wants to test ALL of the beef it handles - at it's own expense, I might add - and the feds say no way to testing more than they require?!
Want to bet if they wanted to test less than the 1% required to be tested the feds would be singing a different tune?
It begs the question ...
Why in the hell not?
The beef exporter wants to test ALL of the beef it handles - at it's own expense, I might add - and the feds say no way to testing more than they require?!
Want to bet if they wanted to test less than the 1% required to be tested the feds would be singing a different tune?
Russian police kill Web site owner
Looks like the police in Minneapolis aren't the only ones using strong-arm tactics contrary to the law not to mention humanity ...
The owner of an independent Web site critical of authorities was shot and killed Sunday by police in a volatile province in southern Russia.
Police arrested Ingushetiya.ru owner Magomed Yevloyev on Sunday, taking him off a plane that had just landed in Ingushetia province near Chechnya.
Police whisked Yevloyev away in a car and later dumped him on the road with a gunshot wound in the head.
Yevloyev died in a hospital shortly afterward.
In Moscow, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said in a statement that Yevloyev was detained by police and died in an "incident" while being taken to police headquarters for an interrogation.
Markin did not elaborate, saying that a check to clarify the circumstances of Yevloyev's death had begun.
The committee is under the Prosecutor General's office.
Yevloyev has angered regional authorities with bold criticism of police treatment of civilians in the region.
A court in June ordered him to shut his site on charges of spreading "extremist" statements, but it reappeared under a different name.
Yevloyev arrived in Ingushetia from Moscow on Sunday on the same plane with regional President Murat Zyazikov.
Police blocked the jet on the runway after it landed in Ingushetia's provincial capital, Magas, entered the plane and took Yevloyev out.
Yevloyev's death is likely to further stir up passions in Ingushetia, which has been plagued by frequent raids and ambushes against federal forces and local authorities.
Government critics attribute the attacks to anger fueled by abductions, beatings, unlawful arrests and killings of suspects by government forces and local allied paramilitaries.
Many in Ingushetia are intensely unhappy with Zyazikov, a former KGB officer and a close ally of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Immediately after Yevloyev's detention, his Web site urged Ingushetia's residents to gather outside the headquarters of a leading opposition group.
The owner of an independent Web site critical of authorities was shot and killed Sunday by police in a volatile province in southern Russia.
Police arrested Ingushetiya.ru owner Magomed Yevloyev on Sunday, taking him off a plane that had just landed in Ingushetia province near Chechnya.
Police whisked Yevloyev away in a car and later dumped him on the road with a gunshot wound in the head.
Yevloyev died in a hospital shortly afterward.
In Moscow, Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said in a statement that Yevloyev was detained by police and died in an "incident" while being taken to police headquarters for an interrogation.
Markin did not elaborate, saying that a check to clarify the circumstances of Yevloyev's death had begun.
The committee is under the Prosecutor General's office.
Yevloyev has angered regional authorities with bold criticism of police treatment of civilians in the region.
A court in June ordered him to shut his site on charges of spreading "extremist" statements, but it reappeared under a different name.
Yevloyev arrived in Ingushetia from Moscow on Sunday on the same plane with regional President Murat Zyazikov.
Police blocked the jet on the runway after it landed in Ingushetia's provincial capital, Magas, entered the plane and took Yevloyev out.
Yevloyev's death is likely to further stir up passions in Ingushetia, which has been plagued by frequent raids and ambushes against federal forces and local authorities.
Government critics attribute the attacks to anger fueled by abductions, beatings, unlawful arrests and killings of suspects by government forces and local allied paramilitaries.
Many in Ingushetia are intensely unhappy with Zyazikov, a former KGB officer and a close ally of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Immediately after Yevloyev's detention, his Web site urged Ingushetia's residents to gather outside the headquarters of a leading opposition group.
*****
Remember folks this is the type of country the repugicans want - where they and their flunkies can do as they please to anyone they please.
Their paranoia is showing ... part duex
Found this over at Boing Boing and it goes along with my "Their Paranoia Is Showing" post earlier.
Report: Massive, warrantless raids on peace protesters in Minneapolis, ahead of RNC.
Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com reports that protesters in Minneapolis, where the Republican National Convention will soon begin, have been subjected to massive, pre-emptive police raids. Those arrested include members of Food not Bombs, and a group calling itself the "RNC Welcoming Committee," and a group that uses video to protect civil liberties by documenting police activity at first amendment events. Snip:[They have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff's department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than "fire code violations," and early this morning, the Sheriff's department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying.Massive police raids on suspected protestors in Minneapolis. Glenn's post includes videos. One of them is embedded here, below, "from the house that had just been raided."Jane Hamsher and I were at two of those homes this morning -- one which had just been raided and one which was in the process of being raided. Each of the raided houses is known by neighbors as a "hippie house," where 5-10 college-aged individuals live in a communal setting, and everyone we spoke with said that there had never been any problems of any kind in those houses, that they were filled with "peaceful kids" who are politically active but entirely unthreatening and friendly. Posted below is the video of the scene, including various interviews, which convey a very clear sense of what is actually going on here.
In the house that had just been raided, those inside described how a team of roughly 25 officers had barged into their homes with masks and black swat gear, holding large semi-automatic rifles, and ordered them to lie on the floor, where they were handcuffed and ordered not to move. The officers refused to state why they were there and, until the very end, refused to show whether they had a search warrant. They were forced to remain on the floor for 45 minutes while the officers took away the laptops, computers, individual journals, and political materials kept in the house. One of the individuals renting the house, an 18-year-old woman, was extremely shaken as she and others described how the officers were deliberately making intimidating statements such as "Do you have Terminator ready?" as they lay on the floor in handcuffs. The 10 or so individuals in the house all said that though they found the experience very jarring, they still intended to protest against the GOP Convention, and several said that being subjected to raids of that sort made them more emboldened than ever to do so.
The house where I-Witness Video is staying in St. Paul has been surrounded by police. We have locked all the doors. We have been told that if we leave we will be detained. One of our people who was caught outside is being detained in handcuffs in front of the house. The police say that they are waiting to get a search warrant. More than a dozen police are wielding firearms, including one St. Paul officer with a long gun, which someone told me is an M-16. We are suffering a preemptive video arrest. For those that don't know, I-Witness Video was remarkably successful in exposing police misconduct and outright perjury by police during the 2004 RNC. Out of 1800 arrests, at least 400 were overturned based solely on video evidence which contradicted sworn statements which were fabricated by police officers. It seems that the house arrest we are now under and the possible threat of the seizure of our computers and video cameras is a result of the 2004 success.
Miscellanies
Ten Miscellanies
The World's Oldest Guitar has been attributed to Belchior Diaz, a Portugese builder who probably made the instrument around 1590.
Wife Swapping Swinger's Orgy Porgy Party (Audio Stag, AS1004, 1971) Oh, music from those heady days of 1971.
Patent number 1,867,377, issued to Otto Frederick Rohwedder on July 12, 1932.
Renaming products to match their qualities - Honest Products at Worth 1000.
Sexy people, a celebration of The Perfect Portrait. Use Caution When Viewing!
A large collection of long forgotten pictures of Japan by Rob Oechsle, a photographer from Okinawa.
Ashrita Furman currently holds more than 75 Guinness records, including the official record for holding the most records. Since setting his first record of 27,000 jumping jacks in 1979, Ashrita has broken more than 180 records overall. His records include "Pushing a 4150 lb. Van, the fastest mile" (21 min 8 sec.) and 'Rolling the Largest Hula Hoop", 16 feet 5 inches in diameter.
The design of the Olympic medals through the years.
Recommended storage times for refrigerators and freezers.
How Robert P. McCulloch bought a London Bridge in 1969 and transported it to the Arizona desert.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
repugican reaction to palin
"It's important that America has a vice president who has eaten a mooseburger."
-- some GOP dude on CNN searching for the good news and how to spin the disaster of McCain picking Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP
Really? Sarah Plain and Tall from Alaska?
McCain has indicated he's waaaaay too old for two terms,
so his VP will naturally assume front-runner status for 2012
...and the GOP is going to be led
...by a vagina'd American?
so his VP will naturally assume front-runner status for 2012
...and the GOP is going to be led
...by a vagina'd American?
(That's the GOP's reaction to a woman in power, not mine.)
For What It's Worth
What with the current election being about change I thought this reminder of the change we started and the neo-cons derailed was needed - so we can finish the job we began all those years ago.
Yeah I was there or at least they tell me I was
Memory's a bit hazy from August of '69 but I do remember this band from that concert in upstate New York I was at.
The Band performing "The Weight" at Woodstock
Copperhead Road Twenty Years On
Damn, it's been twenty years since Steve Earle told us a familiar tale for the Vietnam Generation.
Olde Schoole
Tommy James and the Shondells doing it old school.
(For all you young whippersnappers out there that thing in the video is an single vinyl 45rpm record)
(For all you young whippersnappers out there that thing in the video is an single vinyl 45rpm record)
Who will cut taxes again?
For all you 'tax cut' fanatics of the wing-nut variety as well as all the rest of us ordinary folks check out this calculator to see which presidential candidate's tax plan will actually cut your taxes.
In my case:
In my case:
Gustav just short of becoming a top-scale Category 5 hurricane
Gustav slammed into Cuba's tobacco-growing western tip as a monstrous Category 4 hurricane Saturday while both Cubans and Americans scrambled to flee the storm as it roared toward the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans.
Forecasters said Gustav was just short of becoming a top-scale Category 5 hurricane as it hit Cuba's mainland after passing over its Isla de la Juventud province, where shrieking 150 mph (240 kph) winds toppled telephone poles, mango and almond trees and peeled back the tin roofs of homes.
Meanwhile on the Gulf Coast authorities began ordering mandatory evacuations along Louisiana and Mississippi's Gulf Coast on Saturday as Hurricane Gustav roared past Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico.
Forecasters said Gustav was just short of becoming a top-scale Category 5 hurricane as it hit Cuba's mainland after passing over its Isla de la Juventud province, where shrieking 150 mph (240 kph) winds toppled telephone poles, mango and almond trees and peeled back the tin roofs of homes.
Meanwhile on the Gulf Coast authorities began ordering mandatory evacuations along Louisiana and Mississippi's Gulf Coast on Saturday as Hurricane Gustav roared past Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico.
"They made it very clear that this storm could be as bad as it gets," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Saturday afternoon of the Category 4 storm, with sustained winds that reached 150 mph. "We could see flooding even worse than we saw in Hurricane Katrina."
Thousands of people had begun fleeing the coast by the time a hurricane watch was issued Saturday afternoon for southeastern Texas to the Alabama-Florida border as Gustav pursued a projected path toward the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The watch, which means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours, was announced the day after many in the region marked the third anniversary of Katrina's landfall.
Following in Katrina's footsteps
Gustav swelled to a fearsome Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 mph (195 kph) as it shrieked toward the heartland of Cuba's cigar industry Saturday on a track to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, three years after Hurricane Katrina.
The storm already has killed 78 people in the Caribbean and the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it had become the second major hurricane of the Atlantic season, following Bertha in July.
Hopefully this time those on the Gulf Coast will heed the signs and leave the area.
And that the response to any need be swift and proper.
The storm already has killed 78 people in the Caribbean and the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it had become the second major hurricane of the Atlantic season, following Bertha in July.
Hopefully this time those on the Gulf Coast will heed the signs and leave the area.
And that the response to any need be swift and proper.
Nude Vacationers
The number of people who are taking and want to take a vacation and leave their clothes behind is increasing.
Check out this article on the increase in nude vacationers.
Their paranoia is showing ...
Police raided a rental hall used by a group organizing protests at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday.
A few 'good ol'boys' planning to kill the Democratic nominee and had the arsenal to do it are treated like 'boys will be boys' and a room full of liars were left alone by the police in Denver at the discretion of a repugican U.S. attorney.
But lord, in Minneapolis there are people watching a movie - send in S.W.A.T!
Want to bet there is a repugican U,S. attorney in Minneapolis as well?!
The RNC Welcoming Committee, which describes itself as "anarchist/anti-authoritarian," accused St. Paul police of trying to disrupt their protest planned for Monday, the day the GOP convention is set to begin.
While no one was arrested, the group said police temporarily detained and photographed at least 50 people who were inside the building.
St. Paul Police spokesman Tom Walsh said they were executing a search warrant.
"The cause for the search warrant is not public at this time," Walsh said.
As many as 30 police officers entered with guns drawn, according to witnesses in the building.
"The convergence center is simply a gathering place and is not used for illegal actions -- it is a place for workshops and trainings," a statement from the protest group said. "Tonight, we were watching films and sharing food."
"We are now accused of a simple fire code violation," the statement said.
*****
A few 'good ol'boys' planning to kill the Democratic nominee and had the arsenal to do it are treated like 'boys will be boys' and a room full of liars were left alone by the police in Denver at the discretion of a repugican U.S. attorney.
But lord, in Minneapolis there are people watching a movie - send in S.W.A.T!
Want to bet there is a repugican U,S. attorney in Minneapolis as well?!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Women respond to Palin
The Mrs., says "Who is this no name thing that McPain chose, he has lost his fucking 72 year old mind?"
This has been the typical response from every woman I have met today ... some had even more colorful terms to express their displeasure at the choice.
Looks like the 'strategy' has backfired.
This has been the typical response from every woman I have met today ... some had even more colorful terms to express their displeasure at the choice.
Looks like the 'strategy' has backfired.
Buchanan loved it.
Of all the hoopla and bruhaha and so forth that has surrounded this election so far and will continue to surround it the fact that one of the right-wing's staunchest and outspoken members Pat Buchanan had to be cut off due to time while he gushed and lauded Obama's speech last night should be telling.
If it doesn't send a loud and clear signal through the thick skulls of the wing-nuts and assorted whackos on the far right ... something is very off in the universe.
See Pat Buchanan's reaction to Obama's speech here.
The Times they are A'Changin' ... To quote Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan.
If it doesn't send a loud and clear signal through the thick skulls of the wing-nuts and assorted whackos on the far right ... something is very off in the universe.
See Pat Buchanan's reaction to Obama's speech here.
The Times they are A'Changin' ... To quote Robert Zimmerman aka Bob Dylan.
Just in case you missed it ...
In a clear cut attempt to sway women voters McPain picks Palin for vice president.
Sarah Palin, the first term governor of Alaska is the first woman to be named to the repugican ticket.
A move that will lose McPain the evangelical whackos and not sway enough women to vote for him to cover the losses ... thereby conceding the election before it starts.
Palin, in typical and what appears to be standard repugican procedure won her seat by clamoring on about corruption, ethics and criminal acts of those in office and how she was above such ... well, guess, who is under investigation for just such.
Of course McPain would pick someone under investigation - he had too, there is not a repugican not under investigation for some type of turpitude that I can think of.
Sarah Palin, the first term governor of Alaska is the first woman to be named to the repugican ticket.
A move that will lose McPain the evangelical whackos and not sway enough women to vote for him to cover the losses ... thereby conceding the election before it starts.
Palin, in typical and what appears to be standard repugican procedure won her seat by clamoring on about corruption, ethics and criminal acts of those in office and how she was above such ... well, guess, who is under investigation for just such.
Of course McPain would pick someone under investigation - he had too, there is not a repugican not under investigation for some type of turpitude that I can think of.
History repeat?
With a new storm threatening to cause chaos in New Orleans all over again, a horse-drawn carriage brought the last seven unclaimed bodies of Hurricane Katrina victims for entombment at a memorial site on Friday during ceremonies marking the disaster's third anniversary.
The ceremonies were tinged with a recognition of how much the city has rebuilt since Katrina's floods, as well as fear that another disaster could be looming.
"We look ahead to a better day, as we also prepare ourselves for another threat," Mayor Ray Nagin said as he helped guide a gleaming coffin into a mausoleum.
Tropical Storm Gustav was swirling near Jamaica, Friday after being blamed for 67 deaths in Hispaniola.
Forecasters said it could hit the Louisiana coast early next week as a major hurricane and city and state officials were preparing for possible weekend evacuations - the first in the state since Katrina hit in 2005.
You know the shrub has a fishing trip planned for next week, don't you.
The ceremonies were tinged with a recognition of how much the city has rebuilt since Katrina's floods, as well as fear that another disaster could be looming.
"We look ahead to a better day, as we also prepare ourselves for another threat," Mayor Ray Nagin said as he helped guide a gleaming coffin into a mausoleum.
Tropical Storm Gustav was swirling near Jamaica, Friday after being blamed for 67 deaths in Hispaniola.
Forecasters said it could hit the Louisiana coast early next week as a major hurricane and city and state officials were preparing for possible weekend evacuations - the first in the state since Katrina hit in 2005.
You know the shrub has a fishing trip planned for next week, don't you.
Forever means exactly that
I am glad to see that a court has ruled that the word 'forever' means exactly that.
For those wondering what I mean by that ... there has been a big stink in Asheville, NC over a developer trying to build on land that was donated through a will over 100 years ago to the Public Trust with the stipulation that the land remain in the Public Trust as parkland 'forever'.
Yesterday a judge ruled that is exactly what it is to remain and the developer has given the hosing up the arse he has been trying to give the citizens of Asheville ... Karma works that way, you know.
While this saga of greed and unmitigated gall does not affect all of you directly - it actually does, because similar types of 'deals' are going on everyday in your little corner of the world as well ... many happening without anything known about them.
More alert and aware citizens are what these 'deal-makers' fear the most and with their free run for the last eight years coming to an abrupt end they are scrambling to squeeze even more out of us. But it is like trying to push back the ocean with a sponge - it won't work and you will get wet.
For those wondering what I mean by that ... there has been a big stink in Asheville, NC over a developer trying to build on land that was donated through a will over 100 years ago to the Public Trust with the stipulation that the land remain in the Public Trust as parkland 'forever'.
Yesterday a judge ruled that is exactly what it is to remain and the developer has given the hosing up the arse he has been trying to give the citizens of Asheville ... Karma works that way, you know.
While this saga of greed and unmitigated gall does not affect all of you directly - it actually does, because similar types of 'deals' are going on everyday in your little corner of the world as well ... many happening without anything known about them.
More alert and aware citizens are what these 'deal-makers' fear the most and with their free run for the last eight years coming to an abrupt end they are scrambling to squeeze even more out of us. But it is like trying to push back the ocean with a sponge - it won't work and you will get wet.
Right on cue
Damn, the wing-nuts have been up all night 'inventing' what Obama said in his speech for their mindless faithful drones.
Some of the stuff they are saying he said has to have been pulled straight from their asses and the rest from whatever planet they reside on, which isn't the one who actually listened to Obama give his speech last night.
Of course they are repeating the same old same old trying to get the mindless to believe it.
No need to repeat them here you all know what they are.
It is utterly amazing how ignorant the ignorant think the rest of us are.
Here are a few of the things Obama actually DID say in his speech to the nation and to the world last night ...
... the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time.
Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but, really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than 90 percent of the time?
I don't know about you, but I am not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.
. . .
Now, I don't believe that senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans; I just think he doesn't know.
. . .
Washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years. and, by the way, John McCain has been there for 26 of them.
And in that time, he has said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil than we had on the day that senator McCain took office.
. . .
You know, John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.
. . .
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe.
The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans, Democrats and republicans, have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
. . .
As commander-in-chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
. . .
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. so let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain.
The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and republicans and Independents, but they have fought together, and bled together, and some died together under the same proud flag. they have not served a red America or a blue America; they have served the United States of America.
So I've got news for you, John McCain: we all put our country first.
Some of the stuff they are saying he said has to have been pulled straight from their asses and the rest from whatever planet they reside on, which isn't the one who actually listened to Obama give his speech last night.
Of course they are repeating the same old same old trying to get the mindless to believe it.
No need to repeat them here you all know what they are.
It is utterly amazing how ignorant the ignorant think the rest of us are.
Here are a few of the things Obama actually DID say in his speech to the nation and to the world last night ...
... the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time.
Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but, really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than 90 percent of the time?
I don't know about you, but I am not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.
. . .
Now, I don't believe that senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans; I just think he doesn't know.
. . .
Washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years. and, by the way, John McCain has been there for 26 of them.
And in that time, he has said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil than we had on the day that senator McCain took office.
. . .
You know, John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.
. . .
We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe.
The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans, Democrats and republicans, have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.
. . .
As commander-in-chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.
. . .
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. so let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain.
The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and republicans and Independents, but they have fought together, and bled together, and some died together under the same proud flag. they have not served a red America or a blue America; they have served the United States of America.
So I've got news for you, John McCain: we all put our country first.
Federal judge indicted on sex abuse charges
A federal judge accused of fondling a former court employee was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on sexual abuse charges.
U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent is charged with two counts of abusive sexual contact and one count of attempted aggravated sexual abuse.
U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent is charged with two counts of abusive sexual contact and one count of attempted aggravated sexual abuse.
*****
When is it going to stop?
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Oh, no he didn't ...
a. A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
b. Dijon vu - the same mustard as before
c. Practice safe eating - always use condiments.
d. Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.
e. Those who jump off a bridge in Paris must be in Seine
f. A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.
g. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
h. Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
i. Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.
j. Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.
k. When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
l. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.
m. Definition of a will: A dead give away.
n. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
o. She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.
p. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
q. If you don't pay your exorcist, you'll be repossessed.
r. With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
s. When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.
t. You feel stuck with your debt if y ou can't budge it.
u. Local Area Network in New Zealand or Australia: the LAN down under.
v. Every calendar's days are numbered.
w. A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine.
x. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
y. A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.
z. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
AND:
aa. Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.
ab. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.
ac. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
ad. Acupuncture is a jab well done.
b. Dijon vu - the same mustard as before
c. Practice safe eating - always use condiments.
d. Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.
e. Those who jump off a bridge in Paris must be in Seine
f. A man needs a mistress just to break the monogamy.
g. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
h. Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
i. Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.
j. Reading while sunbathing makes you well red.
k. When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
l. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.
m. Definition of a will: A dead give away.
n. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
o. She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.
p. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
q. If you don't pay your exorcist, you'll be repossessed.
r. With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.
s. When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.
t. You feel stuck with your debt if y ou can't budge it.
u. Local Area Network in New Zealand or Australia: the LAN down under.
v. Every calendar's days are numbered.
w. A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine.
x. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
y. A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.
z. Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
AND:
aa. Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.
ab. Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.
ac. Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
ad. Acupuncture is a jab well done.
Could it be a tad disparate or something?
White supremacists with rifles? No big deal.
Black inmate with baby powder? Credible threat
Dave Neiwert, writes about the disparity in the Colorado justice system towards threats against presidential candidates.
It seems there may be a reason federal law-enforcement officials are not interested in pursuing serious charges against the white-supremacist tweakers who were caught this week in Denver:
The man making the decision is a republican operative.
And when it came to a threat against John McPain by a black man, he had a completely different approach.
The ap story describing the official pooh-poohing of the threat gives us a clue:
But when a black man in prison sent John McPain a threatening letter containing baby powder, it was another story altogether:
The man making the decision is a republican operative.
And when it came to a threat against John McPain by a black man, he had a completely different approach.
The ap story describing the official pooh-poohing of the threat gives us a clue:
"we're absolutely confident there is no credible threat to the candidate, the democratic national convention, or the people of Colorado," U.S. attorney Troy Eid said in a statement.
But when a black man in prison sent John McPain a threatening letter containing baby powder, it was another story altogether:
Marc Ramsey, an inmate in the Arapahoe county jail, the man accused of sending a threatening letter to McPain through McPain's Colorado headquarters office, admitted he sent the letter.
On Friday afternoon, the U.S. attorney Troy Eid announced Ramsey will be charged with knowingly threatening to harm or kill through the u.s. mail.
The charge is punishable up to five years in federal prison and up to $250,000 fines.
"We won't stand for threats of this kind in Colorado," Eid said.
"A death threat is not a legitimate form of political expression," Eid said.
On Friday afternoon, the U.S. attorney Troy Eid announced Ramsey will be charged with knowingly threatening to harm or kill through the u.s. mail.
The charge is punishable up to five years in federal prison and up to $250,000 fines.
"We won't stand for threats of this kind in Colorado," Eid said.
"A death threat is not a legitimate form of political expression," Eid said.
So, on the serious threat meter, this is how it goes:
A black inmate sending letters with baby powder - serious threat.
White men with rifles, a caches of guns and ammo, consipiring to kill Obama...not so much.
White men with rifles, a caches of guns and ammo, consipiring to kill Obama...not so much.
Dave goes on to investigate U.S. attorney Troy Eid, who was part of the Karl Rove-Harriet Miers team.
But you have to wonder, what's the big deal?
A meth-head with a rifle, that's not dangerous at all!
Not in the least!
Not in the least!
Futurese
Language evolves over time. Here are examples of how English has evolved over the last 1000 years and how it might evolve over the next 1000 years. All examples say the exact same thing.
This is how some think English will sound in the future ...
| 1000 AD: | Wé cildra biddaþ þé, éalá láréow, þæt þú taéce ús sprecan rihte, forþám ungelaérede wé sindon, and gewæmmodlÃce we sprecaþ... |
| 2000 AD: | We children beg you, teacher, that you should teach us to speak correctly, because we are ignorant and we speak corruptly... |
This is how some think English will sound in the future ...
3000 AD: *ZA kiad w'-exùn ya tijuh, da ya-gAr'-eduketan zA da wa-tAgan lidla, kaz 'ban iagnaran an wa-tAg kurrap...
Read the full article here.
Read the full article here.
Ancient Mayan underworld discovered in Mexico
This is an update on a subject of an earlier post:
Archeologists in Mexico think they might have discovered Xibalba, a mythical Mayan underworld also known as the "place of fear." After some serious scuba diving and inching across deeply submerged underwater tunnels near the Yucatan peninsula, investigators reached an entrance to a bunch of dry chambers with the stone ruins of eleven sacred temples and a 330-foot long road. There were also lots and lots of human bones. According to the ancient Mayan scripture Popol Vuh, the entrance to Xibalba was once protected by rivers filled with blood, scorpions, and pus, and houses swarming with shrieking bats. Thanks to Boing Boing for the photo
Archeologists in Mexico think they might have discovered Xibalba, a mythical Mayan underworld also known as the "place of fear." After some serious scuba diving and inching across deeply submerged underwater tunnels near the Yucatan peninsula, investigators reached an entrance to a bunch of dry chambers with the stone ruins of eleven sacred temples and a 330-foot long road. There were also lots and lots of human bones. According to the ancient Mayan scripture Popol Vuh, the entrance to Xibalba was once protected by rivers filled with blood, scorpions, and pus, and houses swarming with shrieking bats. Thanks to Boing Boing for the photo
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