Wednesday, September 3, 2008
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 photoWednesday, August 27, 2008
As of this moment ...
Because of the shrub's greed and insanity in Iraq
4,147 brave men and women are gone.
4,147 brave men and women are gone.
4,147 families have been destroyed
Support our troops ... Bring them home today!
Support our troops ... Bring them home today!
And I Quote
If you would like to know the value of money, go and try to borrow some.
Benjamin Franklin
My wife has a slight impediment in her speech.
Every now and then she stops to breathe.
Jimmy Durante.
Benjamin Franklin
My wife has a slight impediment in her speech.
Every now and then she stops to breathe.
Jimmy Durante.
Kids are quick
TEACHER: Maria, go to the map and find North America .
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria
________________________________________
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
____________________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
__________________________________
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_______________________________________
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with 'I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
_________________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. < face="Verdana" color="red" size="4"> Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
______________________________________
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________
TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.
___________________________________
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher
MARIA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: Maria
________________________________________
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
____________________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
__________________________________
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
__________________________________________
TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
_______________________________________
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with 'I.'
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
_________________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. < face="Verdana" color="red" size="4"> Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the axe in his hand.
______________________________________
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
______________________________
TEACHER: Clyde , your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
CLYDE : No, sir. It's the same dog.
___________________________________
TEACHER: Harold, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
HAROLD: A teacher
Puns
It is said that the ability to make and understand PUNS is the highest level of language development. Here are the top 10 winners in the International Pun Contest.
1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The Stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.
2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, 'Dam!'
3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly, it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too.
4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says, 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'
5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.
6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. But why they asked, as they moved off. 'Because,' he said, 'I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer.'
7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named Ahmal. The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him Juan. Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, 'They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal.'
8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to 'persuade' them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.
9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh , this is SO BAD, it's good) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
10. And, finally, there was the person who posted ten different puns, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The Stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.
2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, 'Dam!'
3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly, it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too.
4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says, 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'
5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.
6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. But why they asked, as they moved off. 'Because,' he said, 'I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer.'
7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named Ahmal. The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him Juan. Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, 'They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal.'
8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to 'persuade' them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.
9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh , this is SO BAD, it's good) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
10. And, finally, there was the person who posted ten different puns, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
Tree Yoga for a New Relationship with the Environment
Check this out from treehugger.com
Do you love doing yoga? The "tree" pose (Vrksasana) connecting your body to the earth while your soul reaches to the sky? Then you will enjoy the news that "husband and wife Hal Preussner and Debra Pruessner have taken yoga to new heights with the Tree Yoga Multi-Sling (TYMS)". This device allows users to suspend themselves from any strong tree, in a multitude of poses ranging from beginner to very advanced. Yes, it is yoga meets anti-gravity boots.
Let's do the Time Warp again ...
Just a break in reality, mind you.
Nothing to get concerned about.
Please carry on as if it was a normal part of your day.
That is all.
Nothing to get concerned about.
Please carry on as if it was a normal part of your day.
That is all.
Why Neanderthal man may not have been as stupid as he looks
Neanderthals were not as stupid as they have been portrayed, according to a study showing their stone tools were just as good as those made by the early ancestors of modern humans, Homo sapiens.
Read the rest here.
Read the rest here.
From the "You're Joking, Right?" Department
Baghdad plans to build giant Ferris wheel
Iraq is calling on companies to submit designs to build a giant Ferris wheel in Baghdad - the latest in a string of lavish proposals painting the capital as a leisure friendly city.
The Ferris wheel, dubbed the Baghdad Eye, will soar more than 650 feet over the city and feature air-conditioned compartments that would each carry up to 30 passengers, Baghdad municipal spokesman Adel al-Ardawi said Wednesday.
Al-Ardawi said the wheel would be taller than the iconic London Eye, which sits on the banks of the River Thames and reaches a height of about 450 feet over the British capital.
The project would including a six-star hotel, spa, an 18-hole golf course and a country club.
Iraq's Tourism Board also is seeking investors to develop a "romantic" island on the Tigris River in Baghdad that was once a popular honeymoon spot for newlywed Iraqis.
*****
Might be a 'tough sell', don't you think?
Sectarian violence, suicide bombings, and general warfare aside - it's the middle east for Pete's sake and it has never been known as a place of leisure or hedonism ... at least as a pan-cultural ideology.
There have been single cultural groups to embrace those ideals throughout history, but as a whole the region has not.
Sectarian violence, suicide bombings, and general warfare aside - it's the middle east for Pete's sake and it has never been known as a place of leisure or hedonism ... at least as a pan-cultural ideology.
There have been single cultural groups to embrace those ideals throughout history, but as a whole the region has not.
Paul McCartney gig revives Israeli Beatles tale
An upcoming concert by Paul McCartney has revived memories of the 1960s, when an Israeli official supposedly called off a Beatles concert for fear it would corrupt the nation's youth.
The episode is often fondly quoted as a relic of a long-lost Israel where the public's innocence needed protecting.
Trouble is, the story might not be true: With Israelis in a tizzy about McCartney's arrival, the official's blamed for the 'cancellation', son is taking the opportunity to try to clear his father's name, calling the tale a "Zionist urban legend."
So pervasive is the story of the concert's cancellation 43 years ago that this year Israel's ambassador in London wrote a letter expressing regret over the matter to surviving members of the band.
He told them the country would like to make it up to them: come play during this year's celebrations marking Israel's 60th anniversary.
"Israel missed a chance to learn from the most influential musicians of the decade, and the Beatles missed an opportunity to reach out to one of the most passionate audiences in the world," Ambassador Ron Prosor wrote.
On Wednesday, McCartney confirmed the Sept. 25 concert in Tel Aviv, which had been rumored for days.
In a news release, McCartney acknowledged the brouhaha, saying he is finally coming "43 years after being banned by the Israeli government."
He promised to give Israelis "the night they have been waiting decades for."
Even before McCartney announced the show, tickets went on sale at prices ranging from $140 to $430.
The Israeli official blamed for canceling the 1965 concert was Yaakov Sarid, a stern-faced man in horn-rimmed glasses who was the Education Ministry's director.
He is remembered today - to the extent that he is remembered at all - mainly for his alleged role in denying Israeli youth their chance to faint and scream at the Fab Four.
Also implicated is David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding father and prime minister at the time.
Sarid, who died in 1976, was the father of Yossi Sarid, for years an outspoken member of Israel's parliament and currently a newspaper columnist.
The younger Sarid, now 67, claims his father had nothing to do with the decision.
He wrote a column - only partially tongue in cheek - for the daily Haaretz this week to call the story "a Zionist urban legend."
He has tried to make the point in the past, he said, but the story has become too firmly ensconced to budge.
The real story, Sarid said, involved a more mundane feud between two Israeli concert promoters.
The competition was so bitter that when one of them, Yaakov Uri, was about to bring the Beatles to the Jewish state, the other, Giora Godik, used his official connections to torpedo the government approval his rival needed to get the foreign currency to pay for the gig.
Sarid said his father was not involved.
This version of events is supported by Israel's pre-eminent pop music critic and historian, Yoav Kutner, who recounted the details in Haaretz on Monday.
"It never happened that way," Kutner said of the oft-told story.
Sarid said his father had never heard of the Beatles - his artistic tastes leaned more toward European Jewish liturgical music - and that Ben-Gurion probably hadn't either.
The false version of events only emerged after his father's death, or "after my father was unable to listen to the Beatles," in Sarid's words.
Sarid said the story was first written in a journalist's anthology about Israeli history and gained traction because of Sarid's own political career.
Sarid the son was one of the most liberal members of parliament and an outspoken critic of government censorship, which gave the story the necessary ironic punch.
The story has lived on because - accurate or not - it accurately reflected the times.
The 1960s was the heyday of Israel's socialist ideology, which sanctified sacrifice and scorned materialism and Western frivolities.
Officially, earnest Hebrew paeans to the beauty of the Land of Israel and to the military were in.
"Love Me Do" was out.
Though Sarid wants the record set straight and his father's name cleared, he also finds the story amusing and realizes it has taken on a life of its own.
"It's a nice story, in this case much nicer than the truth," he said.
The episode is often fondly quoted as a relic of a long-lost Israel where the public's innocence needed protecting.
Trouble is, the story might not be true: With Israelis in a tizzy about McCartney's arrival, the official's blamed for the 'cancellation', son is taking the opportunity to try to clear his father's name, calling the tale a "Zionist urban legend."
So pervasive is the story of the concert's cancellation 43 years ago that this year Israel's ambassador in London wrote a letter expressing regret over the matter to surviving members of the band.
He told them the country would like to make it up to them: come play during this year's celebrations marking Israel's 60th anniversary.
"Israel missed a chance to learn from the most influential musicians of the decade, and the Beatles missed an opportunity to reach out to one of the most passionate audiences in the world," Ambassador Ron Prosor wrote.
On Wednesday, McCartney confirmed the Sept. 25 concert in Tel Aviv, which had been rumored for days.
In a news release, McCartney acknowledged the brouhaha, saying he is finally coming "43 years after being banned by the Israeli government."
He promised to give Israelis "the night they have been waiting decades for."
Even before McCartney announced the show, tickets went on sale at prices ranging from $140 to $430.
The Israeli official blamed for canceling the 1965 concert was Yaakov Sarid, a stern-faced man in horn-rimmed glasses who was the Education Ministry's director.
He is remembered today - to the extent that he is remembered at all - mainly for his alleged role in denying Israeli youth their chance to faint and scream at the Fab Four.
Also implicated is David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding father and prime minister at the time.
Sarid, who died in 1976, was the father of Yossi Sarid, for years an outspoken member of Israel's parliament and currently a newspaper columnist.
The younger Sarid, now 67, claims his father had nothing to do with the decision.
He wrote a column - only partially tongue in cheek - for the daily Haaretz this week to call the story "a Zionist urban legend."
He has tried to make the point in the past, he said, but the story has become too firmly ensconced to budge.
The real story, Sarid said, involved a more mundane feud between two Israeli concert promoters.
The competition was so bitter that when one of them, Yaakov Uri, was about to bring the Beatles to the Jewish state, the other, Giora Godik, used his official connections to torpedo the government approval his rival needed to get the foreign currency to pay for the gig.
Sarid said his father was not involved.
This version of events is supported by Israel's pre-eminent pop music critic and historian, Yoav Kutner, who recounted the details in Haaretz on Monday.
"It never happened that way," Kutner said of the oft-told story.
Sarid said his father had never heard of the Beatles - his artistic tastes leaned more toward European Jewish liturgical music - and that Ben-Gurion probably hadn't either.
The false version of events only emerged after his father's death, or "after my father was unable to listen to the Beatles," in Sarid's words.
Sarid said the story was first written in a journalist's anthology about Israeli history and gained traction because of Sarid's own political career.
Sarid the son was one of the most liberal members of parliament and an outspoken critic of government censorship, which gave the story the necessary ironic punch.
The story has lived on because - accurate or not - it accurately reflected the times.
The 1960s was the heyday of Israel's socialist ideology, which sanctified sacrifice and scorned materialism and Western frivolities.
Officially, earnest Hebrew paeans to the beauty of the Land of Israel and to the military were in.
"Love Me Do" was out.
Though Sarid wants the record set straight and his father's name cleared, he also finds the story amusing and realizes it has taken on a life of its own.
"It's a nice story, in this case much nicer than the truth," he said.
Ancient Dead Sea scrolls to go online ...
... and they will surprise some with what they contain (if they are published in their entirety and direct translation).
Israeli and American scientists are bringing the oldest known version of the Hebrew Bible into the 21st century.
They're digitally reproducing the Dead Sea Scrolls online.
The ancient manuscripts containing almost the entire Hebrew Bible date back more than 2,000 years.
They are widely considered to be one of the most important archaeological finds ever.
They were discovered accidentally by a Bedouin shepherd looking for a stray sheep in 1947.
The Israeli Antiquities Authority said Wednesday that reproducing the thousands of scroll fragments will take about five years.
Special imaging cameras are being used to record the priceless manuscripts without damaging them.
Israeli and American scientists are bringing the oldest known version of the Hebrew Bible into the 21st century.
They're digitally reproducing the Dead Sea Scrolls online.
The ancient manuscripts containing almost the entire Hebrew Bible date back more than 2,000 years.
They are widely considered to be one of the most important archaeological finds ever.
They were discovered accidentally by a Bedouin shepherd looking for a stray sheep in 1947.
The Israeli Antiquities Authority said Wednesday that reproducing the thousands of scroll fragments will take about five years.
Special imaging cameras are being used to record the priceless manuscripts without damaging them.
DHS contractor threatens woman with arrest for wearing "lesbian.com" tee on federal property
It's not just the idiots at the TSA - the entire Department of Homeland Security is rife with mentally ill whack-jobs ...
For example:
Security guards contracted by the DHS threw a woman out of a Social Security office in Van Nuys for wearing a t-shirt that read "lesbian.com." He claimed that "The Rules and Regulations Governing Conduct on Federal Property" gave him the right to throw her out for wearing a t-shirt with the word "lesbian" on it.
When will the bigots learn? We keep asking the question even though we know the answer - Never.
For example:
Security guards contracted by the DHS threw a woman out of a Social Security office in Van Nuys for wearing a t-shirt that read "lesbian.com." He claimed that "The Rules and Regulations Governing Conduct on Federal Property" gave him the right to throw her out for wearing a t-shirt with the word "lesbian" on it.
T-shirt gets Van Nuys woman kicked out of federal buildingAs she headed for a line to pick up a Social Security card for her son, Gilbert was stopped by a guard who said her T-shirt, naming an educational and resource Web site for gay women, was offensive.
She said the guard, who works for a private company hired by the Department of Homeland Security, demanded that she leave the building or face arrest.
When will the bigots learn? We keep asking the question even though we know the answer - Never.
A Slice of Philosophy
Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace.
~ Albert Schweitzer
And I Quote
He that always gives way to others will end in having no principles of his own.
~ Aesop.
An intellectual is someone who has found something more interesting than sex.
~ Edgar Wallace.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Old man fights robbers
Excerpt:
Two masked gunmen came into the Subway just after 11 p. m. There was a lone diner, John Lovell. After robbing the cashier, the two men attempted to shove Lovell into a bathroom and rob him as well. They got his money, but then Lovell pulled his handgun and opened fire on the criminal assholes. He shot one of the thieves in the head and chest and the other in the head. Lovell was in the Marine Corps.
Something tells me this old Marine wasn't 'in fear for his life', even though his life was definitely at risk.
The only thing he could be charged with is participating in an unfair fight. One 71 - year young Marine against two punks.
*****
Simper Fi, brother Simper Fi.Seven Reasons Why the Gym is Better Than Therapy
I have a love affair with my gym. She’s not much to look at: a rubber track and weight room in a dank basement, but appearances aren’t everything. She’s there on my best days and on my worst days. We never fight, and she doesn’t care what I look like as long as I give her my full attention for a few hours a week.
I was talking with a fellow gym goer recently (the gym and I have an open relationship). He mentioned that whenever he is facing something frustrating, he goes to the gym. The gym is his form of therapy, and if I think about it, it’s my stress release too. So, I’d like to present my list of ten reasons the gym is better than therapy.
Read more from 7 Reasons Why the Gym is Better Than Therapy
Faux News gets their comeuppance ... live
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo posted this yesterday and it bears repeating:
The following video report, as seen live on fox "news" yesterday, demonstrates that the far-right "news" channel has no clue what the words "raucous", "out of control" or "freedom of speech" actually mean, as "reporter" Griff Jenkins is seen taunting DNC convention demonstrators, only to receive chants of "fuck fox news", live on air, in the bargain...
Those morons at faux news can't even discern when they are being told to take a long walk off a short pier and 'blame' those that are telling them to take that walk of failing to speaking up for what they believe ... you got to love the stupidity of faux news - not!
Then they try to link the Chicago riots of 1968 to the Democratic convention in Denver saying that is what those that won't talk to them are planning to 'recreate' ... ah, the noise machine at work folks.
The following video report, as seen live on fox "news" yesterday, demonstrates that the far-right "news" channel has no clue what the words "raucous", "out of control" or "freedom of speech" actually mean, as "reporter" Griff Jenkins is seen taunting DNC convention demonstrators, only to receive chants of "fuck fox news", live on air, in the bargain...
Those morons at faux news can't even discern when they are being told to take a long walk off a short pier and 'blame' those that are telling them to take that walk of failing to speaking up for what they believe ... you got to love the stupidity of faux news - not!
Then they try to link the Chicago riots of 1968 to the Democratic convention in Denver saying that is what those that won't talk to them are planning to 'recreate' ... ah, the noise machine at work folks.
Future Tech
Remember: today's science fiction is tomorrow's science fact ...
The military is looking at some pretty radical ideas in future tech.
For example -
The military is looking at some pretty radical ideas in future tech.
For example -
Drugs that make soldiers want to fight. Robots linked directly to their controllers’ brains. Lie-detecting scans administered to terrorist suspects as they cross U.S. borders.These are just a few of the military uses imagined for cognitive science — and if it’s not yet certain whether the technologies will work, the military is certainly taking them very seriously.
“It’s way too early to know which — if any — of these technologies is going to be practical,” said Jonathan Moreno, a Center for American Progress bioethicist and author of Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense. “But it’s important for us to get ahead of the curve. Soldiers are always on the cutting edge of new technologies.”
TSA declares war on large breasts
Yet another misadventure from our fellows over at the TSA!
A large-breasted woman flying from Oakland to Boston was accosted by the TSA when the underwire in her bra set off the magnetometer. She was given a choice: allow her breasts to be fondled or give up on flying. Instead, she raised a stink:
Delayed by her bra, air passenger is indignant
Kates asked to see a supervisor and then the supervisor's supervisor. He told her that underwire bras were the leading item that set off the metal detectors, Kates said.Arbitrary, no-exceptions "security" rules unduly punish innocents -- people with surgical pins in their bodies are now subject to discriminatory treatment when they fly, as are those whose names are similar to aliases used by suspected terrorists, and they're now joined by women with large breasts. Free societies shouldn't punish the innocent to get at the guilty.If that's the case, Kates said, the equipment must be overly sensitive. And if the TSA is engaging in extra brassiere scrutiny, then other women are suffering similar humiliation, Kates thought.
The Constitution bars unreasonable searches and seizures, Kates reminded the TSA supervisor, and scrutinizing a woman's brassiere is surely unreasonable, she said.
The supervisor told her she had the choice of submitting to a pat-down in a private room or not flying. Kates offered a third alternative, to take off her bra and try again, which the TSA accepted.
Delayed by her bra, air passenger is indignant
The TSA dolts shouldn't be allowed a free show. They should have to pay like the rest of us - and through the nose, too, at the local Titty Bar
North Korea claims to have invented anti-hunger noodles
A North Korean propaganda release claims that the hunger-stricken country has developed a "hunger-delaying" soy-protein noodle that doesn't induce the same carb-based hunger pangs that starch-based noodles cause:
Okay, now they have their noodles, what are they going to do with them? Produce enough to end world hunger? Or, are they just off their 'noodles'?
According to the newspaper, which is seen as closely linked to the Pyongyang leadership, the new noodles have twice as much protein and fives times as much fat as ordinary noodles."When you consume ordinary noodles (made from wheat or corn), you may soon feel your stomach empty. But this soybean noodle delays such a feeling of hunger," it said on its website.
The noodles would be available soon across North Korea, the newspaper said.
An estimated one million people starved to death in North Korea in the late 1990s after natural disasters and government mismanagement devastated the country's economy.
Okay, now they have their noodles, what are they going to do with them? Produce enough to end world hunger? Or, are they just off their 'noodles'?
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