I finally figured out National Public Radio's idea of Rational and Measured U.S Foreign Policy ...
The U.S. is a raving coke addict on a non-stop 96 hour binge and we are now eating our own coke-laced boogers to stave off severe withdrawal symptoms ...
Iran and Pakistan are spiders crawling on our face that a voice says we must kill before they burrow into our eyeballs and lay eggs in our brain ...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Gender
I think we do *need* a woman president, only because we *needed* one a long long time ago and because on average we should have a woman president at least 50 percent of the time and not having one sort of keeps it at zero percent, which is getting pretty embarrassing as a world nation.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Hate Lives
The caption for the photo reads: "Rudy Giuliani's Push to Save America."
This is by that white guy at the party busting out the n*gger joke and then telling everyone to "lighten up" and to "get a sense of humor."
Back this spring and summer, FOX teevee tried to come up with a "conservative" version of Jon Stewart's Daily Show. The reason FOX failed was because what conservatives think is funny is the above. And FOX knows you cannot put this on television.
H/T Thers. Linky to your right.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
To Protect You We Must Kill You
Today's winner in the We Might Be Stupid But At Least We Don't Have National Health Care Department.
---
(CNN) 11/14/07 -- A Canadian firetruck responding with lights and sirens to a weekend fire in Rouses Point, New York, was stopped at the U.S. border for about eight minutes, U.S. border officials said Tuesday.
Fire officials battling the blaze called for help from fire departments in nearby Quebec, using a longstanding and often-used mutual aid agreement. But the first truck that arrived at the small Rouses Point border crossing was delayed as officials checked documentation of the firefighters and their truck, officials confirmed.
"It's embarrassing," said Chris Trombley, chief of the Champlain [New York] Volunteer Fire Department and deputy fire coordinator for Clinton County Emergency Services. "We're calling for help from another country and the first roadblock they hit is at our border."
The Canadian firefighters "were asked for IDs," Trombley said. "I believe they even ran the license plate on the truck to make sure it was legal."
In the past, firetrucks on emergency calls cleared border checkpoints in 30 seconds or less, Trombley said, although he said identification is sometimes checked upon their return.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said the eight-minute delay at the Rouses Point crossing was caused "when one of the firefighters' admissibility was brought into question." He declined to elaborate, citing immigration and privacy laws.
A government source familiar with the case said one firefighter had a criminal record, raising questions about whether he could enter the United States.
Kevin Corsaro of the border protection's Buffalo field office said the agency's primary responsibility is to protect the homeland. He called the event an "isolated incident" and said agency officials were meeting with local fire officials to "develop a plan to prevent the possibility of any delays."
No one was seriously injured in the fire, but The Anchorage Inn restaurant -- a landmark in the village of Rouses Point -- was destroyed. A firefighter who suffered minor smoke inhalation was treated at the scene, said Michael LeBlanc, chief of the Rouses Point Volunteer Fire Department. The cause of the blaze has not been determined, he said.
Ten fire departments, including the Canadian departments, responded to the fire.
"Would it [quicker passage at the border] have changed the outcome of the fire?" Trombley asked. "Would the building have been burned? Of course it would." But he said firefighters were getting fatigued fighting the fire and relief was delayed. "Just the fact that it could happen and it could happen again is what has us worried," he said.
---
Go U.S.A. !!!
---
(CNN) 11/14/07 -- A Canadian firetruck responding with lights and sirens to a weekend fire in Rouses Point, New York, was stopped at the U.S. border for about eight minutes, U.S. border officials said Tuesday.
Fire officials battling the blaze called for help from fire departments in nearby Quebec, using a longstanding and often-used mutual aid agreement. But the first truck that arrived at the small Rouses Point border crossing was delayed as officials checked documentation of the firefighters and their truck, officials confirmed.
"It's embarrassing," said Chris Trombley, chief of the Champlain [New York] Volunteer Fire Department and deputy fire coordinator for Clinton County Emergency Services. "We're calling for help from another country and the first roadblock they hit is at our border."
The Canadian firefighters "were asked for IDs," Trombley said. "I believe they even ran the license plate on the truck to make sure it was legal."
In the past, firetrucks on emergency calls cleared border checkpoints in 30 seconds or less, Trombley said, although he said identification is sometimes checked upon their return.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said the eight-minute delay at the Rouses Point crossing was caused "when one of the firefighters' admissibility was brought into question." He declined to elaborate, citing immigration and privacy laws.
A government source familiar with the case said one firefighter had a criminal record, raising questions about whether he could enter the United States.
Kevin Corsaro of the border protection's Buffalo field office said the agency's primary responsibility is to protect the homeland. He called the event an "isolated incident" and said agency officials were meeting with local fire officials to "develop a plan to prevent the possibility of any delays."
No one was seriously injured in the fire, but The Anchorage Inn restaurant -- a landmark in the village of Rouses Point -- was destroyed. A firefighter who suffered minor smoke inhalation was treated at the scene, said Michael LeBlanc, chief of the Rouses Point Volunteer Fire Department. The cause of the blaze has not been determined, he said.
Ten fire departments, including the Canadian departments, responded to the fire.
"Would it [quicker passage at the border] have changed the outcome of the fire?" Trombley asked. "Would the building have been burned? Of course it would." But he said firefighters were getting fatigued fighting the fire and relief was delayed. "Just the fact that it could happen and it could happen again is what has us worried," he said.
---
Go U.S.A. !!!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Hockomock Lies
It's nice to see that in 2007, grown men like the Mayor of Taunton, Massachusetts think it's a great idea to wake up in the morning, pour a cup of coffee and tell lies about the Hockomock Swamp. So this letter was written:
The Brockton Enterprise
Main Street, Brockton, Mass.
November 13, 2007
To the Editor,
Monday's Enterprise story about the proposed Boston to New Bedford rail line stated, "Despite environmental concerns for the Hockomock Swamp that come with the restoration of the Stoughton line, [Taunton mayor Charles] Crowley contends trains ran through the swamp for more than 100 years beginning in 1847, “with little or no detriment on the Hockomock Swamp.”
Mayor Crowley is wrong. No scientific studies were ever undertaken of the effect of the rail bed on the Hockomock when the rail bed was built. Was Mr. Crowley around when the rail bed was built in 1847? Has Mr. Crowley done any studies himself? Does he know of any studies which support this claim? Or is he just making stuff up off the top of his head to an Enterprise reporter?
There is abundant physical evidence that the old rail line has greatly affected the swamp. The raised rail bed now functions as a miles-long "dam" across the Hockomock which has substantially altered drainage patterns in the swamp. This effect is obvious if you walk the rail line where it cuts through the swamp behind the Raynham dog track.
Scientific studies from the 2002 permitting process determined that putting new rail service on this route will have massive negative effects on the Swamp and its wildlife. Apparently Mayor Crowley has never looked at those massive volumes of data.
It is disappointing to see the Mayor of Taunton make such uninformed remarks to an Enterprise reporter on such an important topic. The Hockomock Swamp is one of the most outstanding and unspoiled natural sites in the northeastern United States. It needs nothing from us except to be left alone and enjoyed.
The Brockton Enterprise
Main Street, Brockton, Mass.
November 13, 2007
To the Editor,
Monday's Enterprise story about the proposed Boston to New Bedford rail line stated, "Despite environmental concerns for the Hockomock Swamp that come with the restoration of the Stoughton line, [Taunton mayor Charles] Crowley contends trains ran through the swamp for more than 100 years beginning in 1847, “with little or no detriment on the Hockomock Swamp.”
Mayor Crowley is wrong. No scientific studies were ever undertaken of the effect of the rail bed on the Hockomock when the rail bed was built. Was Mr. Crowley around when the rail bed was built in 1847? Has Mr. Crowley done any studies himself? Does he know of any studies which support this claim? Or is he just making stuff up off the top of his head to an Enterprise reporter?
There is abundant physical evidence that the old rail line has greatly affected the swamp. The raised rail bed now functions as a miles-long "dam" across the Hockomock which has substantially altered drainage patterns in the swamp. This effect is obvious if you walk the rail line where it cuts through the swamp behind the Raynham dog track.
Scientific studies from the 2002 permitting process determined that putting new rail service on this route will have massive negative effects on the Swamp and its wildlife. Apparently Mayor Crowley has never looked at those massive volumes of data.
It is disappointing to see the Mayor of Taunton make such uninformed remarks to an Enterprise reporter on such an important topic. The Hockomock Swamp is one of the most outstanding and unspoiled natural sites in the northeastern United States. It needs nothing from us except to be left alone and enjoyed.
Yahoo Admits Killing A Guy
If you consider putting a reporter in prison for 10 years to be killing a guy.
Even been sentenced to prison for 10 years for writing a newspaper story?
Losing 10 years of your life in a Chinese Prison is pretty close to being killed.
Only those who have spent 15 years in a Chinese Prison really have room to comment.
Good job, Jerry Yang of Yahoo, American citizen who is not now in a Chinese Jail for 10 years.
But who ratted on a Chinese journalist who is now in a Chinese Jail for 10 years.
Good Job.
This story link below tells the lies. Read between the lines to discern the truth. There is no shame left in this world. Eat your sushi, fuck over your neighbor, drive your Hummer and then wonder why your kids hate your fucking guts.
You are being lied to all the time. You don't have the time to sort them all out. So you believe most of them. That is why they do it. They know that if you can never be sure of what you can believe you will end up believing everything.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1360603420071113
Even been sentenced to prison for 10 years for writing a newspaper story?
Losing 10 years of your life in a Chinese Prison is pretty close to being killed.
Only those who have spent 15 years in a Chinese Prison really have room to comment.
Good job, Jerry Yang of Yahoo, American citizen who is not now in a Chinese Jail for 10 years.
But who ratted on a Chinese journalist who is now in a Chinese Jail for 10 years.
Good Job.
This story link below tells the lies. Read between the lines to discern the truth. There is no shame left in this world. Eat your sushi, fuck over your neighbor, drive your Hummer and then wonder why your kids hate your fucking guts.
You are being lied to all the time. You don't have the time to sort them all out. So you believe most of them. That is why they do it. They know that if you can never be sure of what you can believe you will end up believing everything.
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN1360603420071113
Fear = Freedom
Without stringent border controls and putting illegal children into concentration camps for years until their "status" is resolved, those children will remain easy targets for those trying to smuggle suitcase nukes into the U.S.
Ricky Fuckin Reardon from Revere
Just told me to tell the fuckin' trools to think hahd about what the world looks like lookin' up at the sky from the bottom side of a sewer grate in Nahant.
Just sayin ...
Just sayin ...
Stars are so out of date, dude.
Hope for a dimmer future
November 12, 2007
Boston Globe editorial
FACED WITH inaction at the state level, a number of Massachusetts towns have in recent years taken steps to reduce light pollution. An issue that grows more prominent as development expands, light pollution is the accumulated effect of the excessive artificial glow from buildings, street lamps, and billboards. Unregulated light pollution needlessly wastes energy, creates a dangerous level of glare for drivers, and seeps into nearby homes and apartments at night. While legislation at the local level is welcome, the state should take steps to deal with the nuisance of too much artificial light.
Of all the compelling reasons for the state to enact light pollution regulations, one packs an emotional punch: it is becoming more difficult to see the stars at night - not only in cities like Boston where the sky is becoming blanker, but in the suburbs as well. Astronomers are first to lament the trend. "It's harder and harder to find good places to do any viewing," says Paul Grueter, president of the South Shore Astronomical Society. But outdoor lights also hamper those simply looking for the Big Dipper with the naked eye.
Some changes often proposed by so-called dark sky advocates include shielding outdoor fixtures, so they shine on the ground below but not upward into the sky, and motion-sensor lights that turn on only when needed. A number of cities and towns in the state have some light pollution regulations, including Plymouth, which passed an ordinance in 1997. But many are ineffective, due to a lack of awareness and enforcement, advocates say.
Several states have passed light pollution laws. Arizona mandates shielding for most public light fixtures and requires different lighting levels for urban and rural areas. California's highways are dark-sky friendly. Massachusetts has no such law, despite the efforts of Representative James Marzilli of Arlington and dark sky advocates, who have been introducing legislation on the issue to no avail since the early 1990s.
Marzilli says he is puzzled at the lack of action, considering that Arlington has saved $100,000 a year on more dark-sky-friendly light fixtures, which use less energy. Recently Marzilli sponsored a light pollution bill that is a variant of what he has been introducing for years, and a provision within a broader energy bill that would require the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to analyze inefficiencies in street lighting. Neither has left committee.
With a new governor professing his green credentials, and growing awareness of the effects of light pollution, these proposals may finally get some attention. The practical environmental, economic, and public safety benefits of regulation are many, but there is also a more profound goal: to make sure future residents of the state have a chance to feel awed as they peer into the night sky.
November 12, 2007
Boston Globe editorial
FACED WITH inaction at the state level, a number of Massachusetts towns have in recent years taken steps to reduce light pollution. An issue that grows more prominent as development expands, light pollution is the accumulated effect of the excessive artificial glow from buildings, street lamps, and billboards. Unregulated light pollution needlessly wastes energy, creates a dangerous level of glare for drivers, and seeps into nearby homes and apartments at night. While legislation at the local level is welcome, the state should take steps to deal with the nuisance of too much artificial light.
Of all the compelling reasons for the state to enact light pollution regulations, one packs an emotional punch: it is becoming more difficult to see the stars at night - not only in cities like Boston where the sky is becoming blanker, but in the suburbs as well. Astronomers are first to lament the trend. "It's harder and harder to find good places to do any viewing," says Paul Grueter, president of the South Shore Astronomical Society. But outdoor lights also hamper those simply looking for the Big Dipper with the naked eye.
Some changes often proposed by so-called dark sky advocates include shielding outdoor fixtures, so they shine on the ground below but not upward into the sky, and motion-sensor lights that turn on only when needed. A number of cities and towns in the state have some light pollution regulations, including Plymouth, which passed an ordinance in 1997. But many are ineffective, due to a lack of awareness and enforcement, advocates say.
Several states have passed light pollution laws. Arizona mandates shielding for most public light fixtures and requires different lighting levels for urban and rural areas. California's highways are dark-sky friendly. Massachusetts has no such law, despite the efforts of Representative James Marzilli of Arlington and dark sky advocates, who have been introducing legislation on the issue to no avail since the early 1990s.
Marzilli says he is puzzled at the lack of action, considering that Arlington has saved $100,000 a year on more dark-sky-friendly light fixtures, which use less energy. Recently Marzilli sponsored a light pollution bill that is a variant of what he has been introducing for years, and a provision within a broader energy bill that would require the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to analyze inefficiencies in street lighting. Neither has left committee.
With a new governor professing his green credentials, and growing awareness of the effects of light pollution, these proposals may finally get some attention. The practical environmental, economic, and public safety benefits of regulation are many, but there is also a more profound goal: to make sure future residents of the state have a chance to feel awed as they peer into the night sky.
Just Give Up, Part IX
If the logic of "we don't have enuf votes in the Senate to impeach" was carried out in real life, nobody would ever run for elective office against an incumbent.
By definition, no challenger ever has "the votes to win" when they begin knocking on doors, and by definition, the incumbent always does.
It's really about being a glass half empty loooser.
And wanting to make sure nobody else tries so they don't prove you wrong.
By definition, no challenger ever has "the votes to win" when they begin knocking on doors, and by definition, the incumbent always does.
It's really about being a glass half empty loooser.
And wanting to make sure nobody else tries so they don't prove you wrong.
According to Hollywood
It was this humble, charismatic white expatriate dude who understood 'the people' who really defeated apartheid. And all these black people helped out and stuff and then cheered the white dude and this gorgeous chick who decided he was the coolest dude evah and wanted to have his babies. Then we brushed the popcorn off our pants, stretched our arms, put on our coats and murmured about car keys.
Dynasty Bullshit
I don't get this obsession with HRC being part of a Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton "dynasty."
It's not a 'dynasty' becuz it's a vote.
It's not HRC's fault that two Bushes got elected. She deeply wished neither was elected.
Nor is it somehow her fault that her husband got elected. HRC should not be allowed to run for president because her husband already did?
This sounds more like an ad hominem way of declaring HRC's candidacy illegitimate regardless of its substance and without ever having to explain why, using specific positions and policies.
It's not a 'dynasty' becuz it's a vote.
It's not HRC's fault that two Bushes got elected. She deeply wished neither was elected.
Nor is it somehow her fault that her husband got elected. HRC should not be allowed to run for president because her husband already did?
This sounds more like an ad hominem way of declaring HRC's candidacy illegitimate regardless of its substance and without ever having to explain why, using specific positions and policies.
HRC: Compare and contrast
Dear Leader puts plants in audiences to avoid taking questions about Global Warming.
Readers Ask ...
Q: Why does Al Gore have to donate every penny he gets to everything?
--
A: Because Al Gore has the unmitigated gall to think about the future and about something beside himself he must be 100 percent pure at all times or he and the causes he espouses and works on must be pronounced fraudulent, worthless jokes.
In contrast, if you profess complete disregard and contempt for the future you are free to do whatever the fuck you want and be seen as a good person because at least you're not a hypocrite.
It's the do-gooder corollary to "Get a Motel Room!"
--
A: Because Al Gore has the unmitigated gall to think about the future and about something beside himself he must be 100 percent pure at all times or he and the causes he espouses and works on must be pronounced fraudulent, worthless jokes.
In contrast, if you profess complete disregard and contempt for the future you are free to do whatever the fuck you want and be seen as a good person because at least you're not a hypocrite.
It's the do-gooder corollary to "Get a Motel Room!"
Terra hearts Freedom
It is also true, as Harvard terrorism expert Jessica Stern has pointed out, that democracy is not always the best tool for fighting terrorists ...
from an 11/13/07 column by H.D.S. Greenway in the Boston Globe.
from an 11/13/07 column by H.D.S. Greenway in the Boston Globe.
Rudey Boy
Rudey Boy's strategery is to tell blatant lies 4-ever cuz the mead-ia will not challenge them, except to meekly mention in passing that "some dispute those figures." This is because, in general, the mead-ia does not view it as their job to assess the veracity of a candidate's claims. That is boring drone work. Their job is to comment on style, exteriors and 'momentum.' And of course, to tell us how we feel.
Environmental Centrism
New York Times calls Newt Gingrich an "environmental centrist."
Given that the topic is bound by the laws of physics and chemistry (there is either lead in the water or not, you can measure it), this term makes as much sense as ...
"gravity centrist."
"electron centrist."
"weather centrist."
"drought centrist"
"cryptosporidium centrist."
"fecal matter in the burger centrist."
Given that the topic is bound by the laws of physics and chemistry (there is either lead in the water or not, you can measure it), this term makes as much sense as ...
"gravity centrist."
"electron centrist."
"weather centrist."
"drought centrist"
"cryptosporidium centrist."
"fecal matter in the burger centrist."
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Just wondering
How do you tell someone they are the last person to die for a high quality war monument ?
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Thursday, November 08, 2007
We Need More Of Ror ...
"I drove back and forth across west Texas dozens of times with a 'Bush Is a Punk-Ass Chump' sticker on. Along with some pro-choice and pro-queer stickers. Probably clocked a total of over 10,000 miles that year. Not too shabby."
"That bumper sticker stayed on my car until I wound up moving to Austin and getting a job at the Capitol, and then someone tore it off the bumper and keyed my car in the Capitol parking garage."
rorschach -- 11.08.07 - 5:10 am | #
"That bumper sticker stayed on my car until I wound up moving to Austin and getting a job at the Capitol, and then someone tore it off the bumper and keyed my car in the Capitol parking garage."
rorschach -- 11.08.07 - 5:10 am | #
My Thoughts on Death Metal
While I respect the tensional and contortional and metacarpal discipline required to play mind-numbingly repetitive music of the like of Pantera, Korn, and SlipKnot, its evocation of a flat, dead, monotonous mental landscape and the blind anger this horizon brings about does compel me to like the song.
Vanity Plates
About every 4th Maine license plate is a vanity plate. But most are so cryptic they can only be decoded or understood by the person who ordered the plate. Which means ...
A Legitimate Question
The Ronald Reagan Museum and Library is an oxymoron that violates most of the basic laws of physics and natural numbers. -- Doug Watts
Does this mean I should cancel our rendezvous at the George W Bush Presidential Library!? -- Rorschach
No !!!
We must rendezvous in Texas air space and win the battle to be the first two people to take a long, trans-national piss all over its two lonely books.
The two books being about a goat and a caterpillar, respectively, as I recall... --- Rorschach
Does this mean I should cancel our rendezvous at the George W Bush Presidential Library!? -- Rorschach
No !!!
We must rendezvous in Texas air space and win the battle to be the first two people to take a long, trans-national piss all over its two lonely books.
The two books being about a goat and a caterpillar, respectively, as I recall... --- Rorschach
God Bless America
Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States, though they are only 11 percent of the general adult population, according to a report to be released Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ 20071...EF_UrjvuG6s0NUE
This is the most fucked up country that ever existed.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ 20071...EF_UrjvuG6s0NUE
This is the most fucked up country that ever existed.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
No Translation Allowed
White humans should not be allowed to publish attempted translations of whale communications. It always comes out as being, "wow, we never imagined they could be this smart."
The reason for this is simple. You cannot get a job in the Sciences if you profess a speculation that whales might just be as sophisticated and smart as people. Or less stupid.
Note the obvious metaphorical connection to white people studying exotic "people" of less than white skin.
Ignorance is immutable because its Prime Directive is to defend itself.
Story here.
The reason for this is simple. You cannot get a job in the Sciences if you profess a speculation that whales might just be as sophisticated and smart as people. Or less stupid.
Note the obvious metaphorical connection to white people studying exotic "people" of less than white skin.
Ignorance is immutable because its Prime Directive is to defend itself.
Story here.
Lead Paint Yummies
I think the lead painted toys from China are a riot. It shows the essence of capitalism and the free market and reveals the pure soul of all those who use those two words without snickering. Nearly 100 years of protective consumer laws in the United States are now being made irrelevant by huge American companies that knowingly buy tainted toys from China and sell them here with a wink and a nod. We are poisoning our own kids. Ha ha ha.
The hallmark of the lead tainted toys from China story is that it allows the CNN and FOXes of the world to "reassess" the need for protective regulations on toys as if the matter had not been settled in 1906 with the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act.
It allows lobbyists and pundits to get paid to go on panels and file copy which asks "questions" that nobody with a brain has felt needed to be asked for 100 years.
Ironically, the boomerang effect here might be globally beneficial. If Americans refuse to tolerate tainted toys from China, then all children will benefit, because China will be forced to stop tainting them.
But I doubt that will happen.
Americans do not tolerate lead in their kids toys. But Americans can't test their kids toys. Our government must do this, and our government is now broken by people who deliberately set out to break government.
Once you break the back of keystone New Deal U.S. policies such as consumer protection laws then it is up to each and every parent to figure out if their kids food and toys are tainted. The rich can afford to buy the best. The poor ... well ... fuck them.
No parent should have to test their food, water, air and toys to see if they are toxic. The burden of proof is upon producers and merchants to sell safe products and to be sued to end of the Earth if they sell poisonous product.
This is why Republicans want "tort reform" -- to make the law so that if a parent doesn't buy a "lead paint test kit" then it is the parent's fault if their kid gets brain damage from tainted food or toys.
The hallmark of the lead tainted toys from China story is that it allows the CNN and FOXes of the world to "reassess" the need for protective regulations on toys as if the matter had not been settled in 1906 with the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act.
It allows lobbyists and pundits to get paid to go on panels and file copy which asks "questions" that nobody with a brain has felt needed to be asked for 100 years.
Ironically, the boomerang effect here might be globally beneficial. If Americans refuse to tolerate tainted toys from China, then all children will benefit, because China will be forced to stop tainting them.
But I doubt that will happen.
Americans do not tolerate lead in their kids toys. But Americans can't test their kids toys. Our government must do this, and our government is now broken by people who deliberately set out to break government.
Once you break the back of keystone New Deal U.S. policies such as consumer protection laws then it is up to each and every parent to figure out if their kids food and toys are tainted. The rich can afford to buy the best. The poor ... well ... fuck them.
No parent should have to test their food, water, air and toys to see if they are toxic. The burden of proof is upon producers and merchants to sell safe products and to be sued to end of the Earth if they sell poisonous product.
This is why Republicans want "tort reform" -- to make the law so that if a parent doesn't buy a "lead paint test kit" then it is the parent's fault if their kid gets brain damage from tainted food or toys.
Industrial Disease
Fascism is like herpes, it never really goes away.
"potato famine", from Eschaton.
"potato famine", from Eschaton.
Swooning the Passel
This is actually quite a nice piece of roccoco writing:
A passel of worries tormented investors, including the dollar, which swooned amid speculation that China will seek to diversify some of its foreign currency stockpiles beyond the greenback. Meanwhile, a record loss from General Motors Corp. owing to an accounting adjustment further dragged on sentiment.
[puts on powdered wig and fires up the harpsichord and candelabra]
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071107/wall_street.html?.v=39
A passel of worries tormented investors, including the dollar, which swooned amid speculation that China will seek to diversify some of its foreign currency stockpiles beyond the greenback. Meanwhile, a record loss from General Motors Corp. owing to an accounting adjustment further dragged on sentiment.
[puts on powdered wig and fires up the harpsichord and candelabra]
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071107/wall_street.html?.v=39
Monday, November 05, 2007
Lies
Q: Is it ever reasonable to restrict constitutional freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism?
MS. PERINO: In our opinion, no.
11/5/07, White House, Washington, D.C.
MS. PERINO: In our opinion, no.
11/5/07, White House, Washington, D.C.
Potato Futures
As a child I used to secretly plot about saving my allowance to buy a futures contract of potatoes on the New York Mercantile Exchange and not selling it and having the truck pull up to our house with 5,000 pounds of potatoes and my mother saying WTF ?
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Waterboarding = Drowning
From the Independent:
"In a further embarrassment for Mr Bush yesterday, Malcolm Nance, an advisor on terrorism to the US departments of Homeland Security, Special Operations and Intelligence, publicly denounced the practice. He revealed that waterboarding is used in training at the US Navy's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School in San Diego, and claimed to have witnessed and supervised "hundreds" of waterboarding exercises. Although these last only a few minutes and take place under medical supervision, he concluded that "waterboarding is a torture technique – period".
The practice involves strapping the person being interrogated on to a board as pints of water are forced into his lungs through a cloth covering his face while the victim's mouth is forced open. Its effect, according to Mr Nance, is a process of slow-motion suffocation.
Typically, a victim goes into hysterics on the board as water fills his lungs. "How much the victim is to drown," Mr Nance wrote in an article for the Small Wars Journal, "depends on the desired result and the obstinacy of the subject.
"A team doctor watches the quantity of water that is ingested and for the physiological signs which show when the drowning effect goes from painful psychological experience to horrific, suffocating punishment, to the final death spiral. For the uninitiated, it is horrifying to watch."
The CIA director Michael Hayden has tried to defuse the controversy. He claims that, since 2002, aggressive interrogation methods in which a prisoner believes he is about to die have been used on only about 30 of the 100 al-Qai'da suspects being held by the US. Meanwhile, a CIA official told The New York Times waterboarding had only been used three times. The Bush administration has suggested that the interrogation of al-Qai'da's second-in-command, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was a success thanks to the technique, and used this to justify continued aggressive interrogations of suspects in secret CIA prisons.
While US media reports typically state that waterboarding involves "simulated drowning", Mr Nance explained that "since the lungs are actually filling with water", there is nothing simulated about it. "Waterboarding," he said, "is slow-motion suffocation with enough time to contemplate the inevitability of blackout and expiration. When done right, it is controlled death."
Mr Nance said US troops were trained to withstand waterboarding, watched by a doctor, a psychologist, an interrogator and a backup team. "When performed with even moderate intensity over an extended time on an unsuspecting prisoner – it is torture, without doubt," he added. "Most people cannot stand to watch a high-intensity, kinetic interrogation. One has to overcome basic human decency to endure watching or causing the effects. The brutality would force you into a personal moral dilemma between humanity and hatred. It would leave you to question the meaning of what it is to be an American."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article3115549.ece
"In a further embarrassment for Mr Bush yesterday, Malcolm Nance, an advisor on terrorism to the US departments of Homeland Security, Special Operations and Intelligence, publicly denounced the practice. He revealed that waterboarding is used in training at the US Navy's Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School in San Diego, and claimed to have witnessed and supervised "hundreds" of waterboarding exercises. Although these last only a few minutes and take place under medical supervision, he concluded that "waterboarding is a torture technique – period".
The practice involves strapping the person being interrogated on to a board as pints of water are forced into his lungs through a cloth covering his face while the victim's mouth is forced open. Its effect, according to Mr Nance, is a process of slow-motion suffocation.
Typically, a victim goes into hysterics on the board as water fills his lungs. "How much the victim is to drown," Mr Nance wrote in an article for the Small Wars Journal, "depends on the desired result and the obstinacy of the subject.
"A team doctor watches the quantity of water that is ingested and for the physiological signs which show when the drowning effect goes from painful psychological experience to horrific, suffocating punishment, to the final death spiral. For the uninitiated, it is horrifying to watch."
The CIA director Michael Hayden has tried to defuse the controversy. He claims that, since 2002, aggressive interrogation methods in which a prisoner believes he is about to die have been used on only about 30 of the 100 al-Qai'da suspects being held by the US. Meanwhile, a CIA official told The New York Times waterboarding had only been used three times. The Bush administration has suggested that the interrogation of al-Qai'da's second-in-command, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was a success thanks to the technique, and used this to justify continued aggressive interrogations of suspects in secret CIA prisons.
While US media reports typically state that waterboarding involves "simulated drowning", Mr Nance explained that "since the lungs are actually filling with water", there is nothing simulated about it. "Waterboarding," he said, "is slow-motion suffocation with enough time to contemplate the inevitability of blackout and expiration. When done right, it is controlled death."
Mr Nance said US troops were trained to withstand waterboarding, watched by a doctor, a psychologist, an interrogator and a backup team. "When performed with even moderate intensity over an extended time on an unsuspecting prisoner – it is torture, without doubt," he added. "Most people cannot stand to watch a high-intensity, kinetic interrogation. One has to overcome basic human decency to endure watching or causing the effects. The brutality would force you into a personal moral dilemma between humanity and hatred. It would leave you to question the meaning of what it is to be an American."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article3115549.ece
Waterboard = Drowning
Henri Alleg, a journalist, was tortured in 1957 by French forces in Algeria. He described the ordeal of water torture in his book The Question. Soldiers strapped him over a plank, wrapped his head in cloth and positioned it beneath a running tap. He recalled: "The rag was soaked rapidly. Water flowed everywhere: in my mouth, in my nose, all over my face. But for a while I could still breathe in some small gulps of air. I tried, by contracting my throat, to take in as little water as possible and to resist suffocation by keeping air in my lungs for as long as I could. But I couldn't hold on for more than a few moments. I had the impression of drowning, and a terrible agony, that of death itself, took possession of me. In spite of myself, all the muscles of my body struggled uselessly to save me from suffocation. In spite of myself, the fingers of both my hands shook uncontrollably. 'That's it! He's going to talk,' said a voice.
The water stopped running and they took away the rag. I was able to breathe. In the gloom, I saw the lieutenants and the captain, who, with a cigarette between his lips, was hitting my stomach with his fist to make me throw out the water I had swallowed."
From: Alleg, Henri, The Question, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln: 2006; original French edition © 1958 by Editions de Minuit
The water stopped running and they took away the rag. I was able to breathe. In the gloom, I saw the lieutenants and the captain, who, with a cigarette between his lips, was hitting my stomach with his fist to make me throw out the water I had swallowed."
From: Alleg, Henri, The Question, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln: 2006; original French edition © 1958 by Editions de Minuit
Americans support Torture
At least a third of Americans approve of human torture. At least a third of Americans would support televised executions. There was significant support for the Singaporean caning of an American expatriate a few years back.
Another third of Americans give little thought or concern to whether the United States tortures people because they believe themselves and their family will never be tortured by their own government. It's someone else's problem.
Only a small portion of Americans are troubled that the U.S. Congress has repeatedly given its approval of human torture, ie. partial drowning, as an "interrogation tool."
We now know the U.S. maintains secret gulags where people are tortured and killed. Ronald Reagan's use of the phrase "Evil Empire" for the Soviet Union was largely based upon the USSR's secret gulags and the Soviet's commonplace use of human torture.
Strangely enough, the same Americans who worshipped Reagan for standing up for human rights in the USSR actively support George Bush and the USA for doing exactly what the USSR did. Strangely enough, the torture techniques now used by the U.S. were developed by the Soviets. Torture Technology Transfer. Handcuffs Across the Waterboard.
How do Democratic members of Congress explain themselves in condoning human torture by the U.S. government?
They change the subject. They say "we must study the issue." They say "we will fix this later." They say "we must look at this in a broader context." They hedge. They waffle. They obfuscate. Anything to avoid making a clear and principled stand.
Here's a simple question. Would Sen. Diane Feinstein support a San Francisco Police Chief who allows officers to waterboard citizens placed under arrest? If not, then why is she supporting an Attorney General of the United States who refuses to even answer the question?
Apparently, Sen. Feinstein believes the Attorney General of the United States should be held to a far lower standard than a local police chief or police officer.
Howbout parents? Should parents be able to waterboard their kids, Sen. Feinstein ?
Howbout a husband? Should a husband be able to waterboard his wife, Sen. Feinstein ?
Attorney General nominee Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he doesn't know if partially drowning a prisoner strapped to a table is torture or not because he doesn't know anything about this "classified" technique. This is odd because most of the U.S. public is familiar with the technique by its Orwellian euphemism: waterboarding. How did every day Americans become 1,000 times more informed about a centuries old torture technique than the nominee for U.S. Attorney General? Is Mukasey that dumb? Or just a dumb liar?
Sen. Feinstein said she is voting for Mukasey because he "is not Alberto Gonzales." Well, no shit. He's not Howdy Doody either. But his non-answers about torture are EXACTLY the same as Gonzales' non-answers. Mukasey is a lip quivering liar who approves of human torture.
Another third of Americans give little thought or concern to whether the United States tortures people because they believe themselves and their family will never be tortured by their own government. It's someone else's problem.
Only a small portion of Americans are troubled that the U.S. Congress has repeatedly given its approval of human torture, ie. partial drowning, as an "interrogation tool."
We now know the U.S. maintains secret gulags where people are tortured and killed. Ronald Reagan's use of the phrase "Evil Empire" for the Soviet Union was largely based upon the USSR's secret gulags and the Soviet's commonplace use of human torture.
Strangely enough, the same Americans who worshipped Reagan for standing up for human rights in the USSR actively support George Bush and the USA for doing exactly what the USSR did. Strangely enough, the torture techniques now used by the U.S. were developed by the Soviets. Torture Technology Transfer. Handcuffs Across the Waterboard.
How do Democratic members of Congress explain themselves in condoning human torture by the U.S. government?
They change the subject. They say "we must study the issue." They say "we will fix this later." They say "we must look at this in a broader context." They hedge. They waffle. They obfuscate. Anything to avoid making a clear and principled stand.
Here's a simple question. Would Sen. Diane Feinstein support a San Francisco Police Chief who allows officers to waterboard citizens placed under arrest? If not, then why is she supporting an Attorney General of the United States who refuses to even answer the question?
Apparently, Sen. Feinstein believes the Attorney General of the United States should be held to a far lower standard than a local police chief or police officer.
Howbout parents? Should parents be able to waterboard their kids, Sen. Feinstein ?
Howbout a husband? Should a husband be able to waterboard his wife, Sen. Feinstein ?
Attorney General nominee Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he doesn't know if partially drowning a prisoner strapped to a table is torture or not because he doesn't know anything about this "classified" technique. This is odd because most of the U.S. public is familiar with the technique by its Orwellian euphemism: waterboarding. How did every day Americans become 1,000 times more informed about a centuries old torture technique than the nominee for U.S. Attorney General? Is Mukasey that dumb? Or just a dumb liar?
Sen. Feinstein said she is voting for Mukasey because he "is not Alberto Gonzales." Well, no shit. He's not Howdy Doody either. But his non-answers about torture are EXACTLY the same as Gonzales' non-answers. Mukasey is a lip quivering liar who approves of human torture.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Bluefin tuna disappearing
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Stocks of bluefin tuna, among the most coveted sports and food fish in the sea, are in decline and a moratorium on catching the sleek fish could be on the horizon.
This month, an American delegation to the International Commission for the Conservation of Tunas will request a three- to five-year moratorium on bluefin tuna fishing in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
"The U.S. is really trying to make a stand for a species that's really at risk," said Monica Allen, a spokeswoman with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The overwhelming majority of Atlantic bluefin tuna is caught in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, with a smaller percentage fished in the western Atlantic.
The bluefin has been part of the Mediterranean diet for centuries and the dark red meat now produces some of the world's most expensive fish dishes.
Once, bluefin tuna were so plentiful off the Outer Banks that fishermen needed only to throw out a few bait fish to attract swarms of tuna.
"You could hand-feed them," said Steve Richardson, a Virginia Beach charter captain whose boat, the Backlash, hails from Hatteras. "It was like puppy dogs, throwing them a bone. I wish it was like that today."
http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=1285716
This month, an American delegation to the International Commission for the Conservation of Tunas will request a three- to five-year moratorium on bluefin tuna fishing in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.
"The U.S. is really trying to make a stand for a species that's really at risk," said Monica Allen, a spokeswoman with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The overwhelming majority of Atlantic bluefin tuna is caught in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, with a smaller percentage fished in the western Atlantic.
The bluefin has been part of the Mediterranean diet for centuries and the dark red meat now produces some of the world's most expensive fish dishes.
Once, bluefin tuna were so plentiful off the Outer Banks that fishermen needed only to throw out a few bait fish to attract swarms of tuna.
"You could hand-feed them," said Steve Richardson, a Virginia Beach charter captain whose boat, the Backlash, hails from Hatteras. "It was like puppy dogs, throwing them a bone. I wish it was like that today."
http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=1285716
Rilly?
"Ms. Rice personally intervened twice in the past four months to try to keep General Musharraf from imposing emergency rule, telephoning him at 2 a.m. Pakistani time in August. On Saturday, while traveling to Turkey for an Iraq security conference, she reinforced that message, saying, “I think it would be quite obvious that the United States wouldn’t be supportive of extra-constitutional means.""
NYT 11/3/07
NYT 11/3/07
Friday, November 02, 2007
One way or tuh hother.
If waterboarding is not scary enough to the victim to be considered torture, then by definition it would be useless for eliciting information from someone who does not want to give out said information.
Sadly, U.S.American reporters have had the sentence logic section of their brain cauterized as part of their orientation seminar.
Sadly, U.S.American reporters have had the sentence logic section of their brain cauterized as part of their orientation seminar.
Massachusetts Hates Bush
Citizens of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey hate Bush more than people in all other states. Remember that when it's time to do your shopping and vacation planning. Support those who hate Bush the most.
http://img229.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oct07uk6.gif
http://img229.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oct07uk6.gif
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