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I consider this a Radical Gumbo, with many varied ingredients making more than the sum of its parts. We are no-holds barred, passionate and not overly PC here. Yes, Liberals can have Fangs. Jump in and be part of the cutting edge!
We've seen some pretty wild phone advertisements in our time, but this latest from Verizon seems to be a bit odd. The Motorola Droid X ad itself doesn't seem to make much sense, but what's worse is that it bears some similarity to the Abu Ghraib torture images we saw a few years ago. Is this just some slip up on Verizon's part, or did the carrier's marketing and advertising team decide to stir up a little controversy? Or did they just go through with the ad and watch the final product and say, "This looks so familiar, but why?"
U.S. combat troops leaving Iraq now, msnbc (the disney channel).. . has the exclusive. Richard Engel, Rachel is there, Keith O reporting.
The last U.S. combat forces are crossing into Kuwait, leaving Iraq seven and a half years after the first U.S. airstrike hit the Middle Eastern country. NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel reports live from the convoy.
It's not very long and she neatly recaps the back story for you, then touches on a couple of key points as well. Go read it. I'll wait. Okay, here's a teaser:
Khadr's trial was about to begin in January 2009, when the newly-inaugurated President Barack Obama ordered a stay of all military commission proceedings. Many believed that Obama would scrap the military commission system altogether, but that May, he announced his plan to revive an improved version of them. The resulting legislation did have better rules limiting the admission of hearsay and evidence obtained through coercion. So Khadr was charged yet again -- this time with murder, attempted murder in violation of the laws of war, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism, and spying. A military judge ruled this week that almost all of the statements Khadr made to interrogators were reliable, including those made following a threat of rape, and would be admissible at trial.
[NOTE to WWL'ers: Obvious as hell to you folks here, but what the heck. This is my Sally Panic alter ego in full swing. You can expect to see more of her. ha!]
Gibbs re-affirms today [yesterday] that this WH is at war with The Left. He didn't 'misspeak', it wasn't a faux pas or a moment of frustration. The man is a professional wordsmith, message-crafter and spin master. He meant it, every word. No apologies, no remorse, no walking it back. No shame.
I get it. I get the message loud and clear.
"I don't think [liberal voters won't show up]," he said, "because I think what's at stake in November is too important to do that."
Call on God, but row away from the rocks.
Hunter S. Thompson
So, most of you probably have an idea that Diane, WWL owner/founder and blogger extraordinaire, is facing some difficult challenges.... with her usual grace, i.e. minimal whining (I'd be a wreck!) I think she could use a little help from her friends, so here's this Essay as a place for it.
As much as blog love, words of support and wisdom, etc, might help, I imagine her PayPal here is open too, so to anyone who has the ability and heart to throw some cash her way, please do!
"Love is the ultimate outlaw.
It just won't adhere to any rules.
The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice.
Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet.
That would mean that security is out of the question.
The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate.
My love for you has no strings attached.
I love you for free."
- Tom Robbins (Still Life with Woodpecker)
I don't have much blog time this whole week, but the bats in the belfry keep making noise.
VENICE, La. - As Louisiana state and local officials continue to hammer BP and the federal agencies responding to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, repeatedly threatening to "take matters into our own hands" if the response falls short, BP said Monday morning that it was further delaying its next attempt to shut off the leak.
The oil company has been planning to attempt a procedure known as a top kill, in which heavy fluid would be pumped into the well. Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for exploration and production, said in an interview on NBC on Monday morning that the top kill would be attempted Wednesday morning. BP had previously said it hoped to execute the procedure on Tuesday. nyt
and during my morning haze (get everybody out the door) I vaguely overheard Georgie on GMA saying something... what was that again? ABC News...
Frustration along the Gulf Coast is mounting and the government has threatened to take over the cleanup process in the Gulf of Mexico ifBP does not make progress soon as the oil spill enters its fifth week.
snip Today Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Secretary Salazar will lead a Senate delegation to check on BP's progress.
yeah yeah whatever...
BP...
"The challenge here is ... doing things in 5,000 feet of water. What looked like a fairly simple task, when you have to do those with those robotic submarines -- even small things sometimes can take longer than we estimate," Suttles said.
BP has "other options" to pursue if the top kill approach does not work. Suttles said ultimately he hopes the spill will not be "catastrophic" because "there have been oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, there are natural seeps in the Gulf of Mexico and that environment seems to recover from those things."
Gah... who does that remind me of?
"What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) - this is working very well for them." -Former First Lady Barbara Bush, on the hurricane evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston, Sept. 5, 2005
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon Thursday banned four reporters, including one from McClatchy Newspapers, from covering future military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, charging that they'd violated ground rules by publishing the name of a former Army interrogator who was a witness at a hearing there this week.
The news organizations - McClatchy, the Toronto Star, the Toronto Globe and Mail and CanWest Newspapers of Canada - said they'd appeal the Pentagon's decision and that their reporters hadn't violated the ground rules.
Col. David Lapan, the director of Defense Press Operations, said the ban affects only the individual reporters and that their organizations would be allowed to send others to future hearings. The banned reporters were Carol Rosenberg of McClatchy's Miami Herald, Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star, Paul Koring of Toronto's Globe and Mail and Steven Edwards of CanWest Newspapers.
UPDATE:Scott Horton, Harpers this morning with this headline: Press Censorship at Guantánamo
Things are going very poorly for the Defense Department at Guantánamo. When the proceedings convened, it was learned that the Defense Department had prepared a new set of procedural rules, written entirely in secret without following standard procedures that envisage consultation with the bar. The initial hearings then had to be adjourned so that the prosecutors, defense counsel, and judge could read the new rules. Under international law standards that the Supreme Court ruled binding on the United States in Hamdan, the military commissions are only valid if they are a "regularly constituted court." There is little doubt that proceedings in the American military-justice tradition, applying the rules normally used in courts martial, would have met this test. But the Guantánamo commissions have departed from those traditions at every turn, making clear that they are "irregular." The embarrassing secret dealings surrounding the rules coupled with blatant retaliation against critical media serve to highlight their illegitimacy before the actual transactions of the court are even examined.
At this point the only way out for the Obama Administration is to arrange a plea bargain for Khadr. The case is now so thoroughly compromised that any other outcome will only be a further embarrassment.
"According to an 1850 report by the U.S. Coastal and Geodetic Survey, San Nicolas Island "is slightly the farthest from the mainland, and is the driest and most sterile. It is 890 feet high, with bold, precipitous sides of coarse sandstone on 3 sides ... Two thirds of the surface of the island is covered with sand and the remainder with coarse grass." The report also said it was nicknamed "Otter Island" due to the large numbers of sea otters on its beaches, and the "Indian name was said to be Ghaiashat." An 1899 L.A. Times article says San Nicolas Island is a flat island, "almost as bare as a floor," with 500 foot jagged rock canyons leading down to its beaches, which are covered with sea lions and seals. The article goes on to say the island is approximately 8 miles long, and 4 miles wide, it sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean west of Los Angeles, CA, and the island is known for its heavy winds, "surrounded on all sides by ocean waves, sometimes 30 feet high," so powerful they shake the ground. source
It was her island. Her home. This woman.
She had a name.
A name given to her in youth by her family, a mother and father who loved her, surely.
It was not "Juana Maria". They decided to call her that ... because they couldn't pronounce hers. They. They decided.
(Moving, beautiful, heartrending and uplifting. Amazing/ Love to you, my sister in Irishness :) - promoted by Diane G)
"When you realize how perfect everything is
you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky" Buddha
I've been lucky or blessed maybe. My encounters with death or loss have been extremely few and far between. I lost my parents ... pretty much the way it should be... to old age, well into my own adulthood. Blessed be.
When I was young, I hated it when people would accuse me of leading a "sheltered life" but, truth is, I did. Pretty much. As a result I was rather ill equipped to deal with a lot of life's little slings and arrows. But... you live and learn. "Tomorrow's another day" my Mom would always say.
I know what I know
I'll sing what I said
We come and we go
That's a thing that I keep
In the back of my head
War Criminal Torture Champions roam free, teach Law, and show up as guest/experts on the Sunday Talk Shows, but failing to teach all those brown kids to pass those tests is just ... wrong!
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - President Barack Obama says a Rhode Island school that recently fired all its educators is an example of how there needs to be accountability.
He made the comments Monday in Washington at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He called for "accountability" if a school continually fails its students without improvement.
He said that is what happened at Central Falls High School, where the school district's board of trustees voted last week to fire 93 teachers, administrators and other staff. No more than half could be hired back under federal law.
Obama pointed out that just 7 percent of students at the high school have tested proficient in math.
Right. That'll fix it. Fire them. Just fire them all.
I will be working (at home) today providing an assist to my Teacher (Musician) husband as he prepares to start what he refers to as his "War Room"... i.e. job hunting. He is still employed, but, word is getting around and all the staff at his school are brushing up their resumes.
When I read this headline (& story) at Common Dreams, I just guffawed. I admit I don't really quite know how to guffaw but I think I just did.
Obama's Idea of Education Reform? Fire All the Teachers Central Falls {Rhode Island} Thrust into School Reform Forefront
snip snip snip to the end:
As of Wednesday morning, 88 teachers, along with the high school's administrative team, faced their own uncertainty. All 93 were sent letters of termination.
Last week, I left you hanging with OTW: Bienvenidos a Miami Part 1. In that Essay, I told you a little bit about my growing up in Miami, Florida, alongside the initial wave of Cuban refugees in the early 1960's. I also promised you I was going somewhere with this. Yes, I do have a Point. :P I will make good on that promise near the end below. And finally, I left you with a cliffhanger with my mention of my Cuban friend, Maria {not her real name}. Well, guess what? I have a surprise for you!
Let's pick up with a little snapshot phone convo between me and Maria, shortly after college.
She picks up on the third ring and I immediately lay into her. "Where the hell are you? It's one o'clock already! Ive been ready for an hour! We're gonna be late!!"
Maria is ever so casual. "Calmate, we have plenty of time. I'll be there to pick you up around 2, like I told you. Man! Calm down."
"But... the invitation says the wedding starts at 2, and it's a 45 minute drive, at least, up to Hollywood. We are sooooo late. This is so bad." I'm whining and pleading now.
Maria assures me and tries to explain. "Bueno, she's Cuban, remember? Are you kidding me? We would look so stupid if we actually had the nerve to arrive at 2PM. They'd lookit us like we're crazy."
"No, no, no, but Maria... he is Jewish! This is just so not done. You don't get it."
"No, you don't get it, the bride's family is Jewban. The groom doesn't count when it comes to a wedding anyway, ferchrissake. Hang up the phone and go fix your lipstick or something. Ill be there in a bit. Jewbans are on Cuban time, reglas cubanas. lolol
Okay, as culture clashes go, this one is certainly tame and a little funny, but it did happen, and yes, we were terribly late by the wall clock, with me fretting all the way of course, but it all turned out just fine. Maria was right. lol We arrived just as the ceremony started, at about 4PM, which was just right by the culture clock.
OTW = Off the Wall .. my series, the first of which is here, having to do with multi-cultural and diversity topics.
NOTE: I decided to make this Part One because I had entirely too much fun googling related topics & pics, and I got a little lost sidetracked. lol. I have a certain direction I want to take this, but it may take me another week to actually get there! So there will be a Part Two (at least). Thanks for your patience. Heh.
In 1960, when the first wave of Cuban refugees arrived in droves in Miami Florida, I was about 4 years old. So were a number of Cuban children who would become my classmates, age-mates, rivals and friends. I was just a regular ol', you know, American. My WASP Dad was from Ohio and my Irish Mom, western Massachusetts. Miami was, at the time, a blend of New England transplants, retired New York Jews (Miami Beach), and more. I was considered a bit of a rarity in that I was actually born there, a "native". The huge intake of hundreds of thousands of Cubans in such a short period of time had quite an impact on the city. Since I was only 4 at the time, what do I know? But trust me, it did.
It is still unclear how many have been killed in the earthquake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, but aid agencies fear thousands are dead.
My daughter and I said some special prayers last night as we snuggled in our warm bed. Empathy. I couldn't get the idea out of my head of what it must be like for the people there. What a dreadful deep dark night they were facing. Even though there weren't many photos out yet, I could only begin to imagine. Having been through Hurricane Ike here a couple of summers ago, I at least know the frustration and dismay that comes with no power, no communication, no relief. But we were fine. Can't even begin to compare. We were able to camp out in (and outside) our old funky but sturdy home, get in our funky little car and drive back and forth to The Pod for government issued emergency water and supplies, and listen to our Emergency Weather Radio. A walk in the park for us. I cannot comprehend this...
Bodies on the streets Aftershocks rattled the city of 2 million people as women covered in dust clawed out of debris, wailing. Stunned people wandered the streets holding hands. Thousands gathered in public squares singing hymns.
People pulled bodies from collapsed homes, covering them with sheets by the side of the road. Passersby lifted the sheets to see if a loved one was underneath. Outside a crumbled building the bodies of five children and three adults lay in a pile.
snip
Haitian President René Préval told the Miami Herald that he had been stepping over dead bodies and hearing the cries of those trapped under the rubble of the national Parliament building, describing the scene as "unimaginable."
"Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed,'' he said.
Préval issued an urgent appeal for aid.
Tens of thousands of people appear to have lost their homes and many perished in collapsed buildings that were flimsy and dangerous even under normal conditions.
"The hospitals cannot handle all these victims," Dr. Louis-Gerard Gilles, a former senator, said as he helped survivors. "Haiti needs to pray. We all need to pray together."
2010. Iraq. Iran. Afghanistan. Pakistan. Yemen?. (Russia). USA
What tangled webs.
I want to ask / urge you dharma bums (& blogger friends) to go read this 2007 piece I came cross the other day and help me get a handle on this thing that has been lurking and teasing in my mind. This stuff is really out of my league and terribly complex, but ... shudder... somebody needs to connect the dots. Are there parallels to be drawn? This is really bugging me. I'm sorry I can't explain better, it's shadows and light still.
Consider this an open invitation to venture in to comments below and help me learn and understand.
OFF THE WALL: Im willing to make a commitment to a weekly Essay every Thursday, however I can't promise I'll stay "on topic", so it'll be open-ended. I have a definite tendency to wander off and go on tangents (in case you haven't noticed!). Sometimes, my thinking, and subsequent remarks, leapfrog and may seem like they are just Off The Wall. I'll try to leave a trail in here. If I can stay on track for a while, my hope is to broaden, enlighten, and embrace my own, and yours, world view through review of world cultures and crises. (and maybe Ill learn to text wrap too. lol)
So. Here we go. heh.
My spark this week was from a great phone conversation with Diane G and we somehow got onto a topic of diversity, multi-cultural, etc. I forget how we even got started on that. But it made me realize that my life experiences have been anything but homogenious or culturally boring.
This subject, world cultures, is something that you could write about every week for a year and still not cover it. It's .... complicated. Even just with a normal-ish approach. However, you will not get a normal-ish approach to it from me!
For some inexplicable reason, I've always had a fascination with world cultures and variations of the human theme. It hits me from several angles. It's fascinating, really. Then it morphs and extends into areas of human rights & justice, then global stuff, then ya know enlightenment and One Love and all that! (lol Pinky & the Brain: "And Tomorrow, Conquer the Worrrrrld!") So, I'll just see how this takes shape.
Aside from my B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, I mostly tap in to my personal experiences when I get into this arena. The degree thing, well, I'm not much of an academic and my poor Advisor had to constantly nudge me to take more on Theory. Poor guy.
I grew up in the 60's & 70's in neo-Miami, alongside a sizeable population* of Cuban refugees. (*approx 400,000 from 1960-1974) Strange city to grow up in. In some ways, a suburb of New York, but truly quite unique. Tourist town. From there, a whole life's worth of experiences. limited geographically but broad in other ways. Most notably, a year or so working in a refugee services agency (RSA) in 1992, grant-funded, unbelieveably challenging and an incredibly enriching time for me. Humbling. Profoundly humbling.
Most definitely not the first, but certainly the most profound "cross-cultural" experience was my interactions and friendships with a particular few Cambodian-Americans back in '92. They stole won my heart. In my recent google-hunt, I came across this post which makes a statement that I've felt ... in my bones ... for some years, but was never able to articulate as well as this woman does here. She cuts to the quick. This goes to the core of my activism.
