Cat blogging

Too fucking cute!

At least it isn't a cat. CAT!

Our Dear Friends The Saudis

Or should that read Bush family friends?

Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.

Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence.

Its not like Saudis would actually attack anyone.

Via Tiny Revolution.

For students

GrAdeSaver.

Beats the hell out of CliffsNotes® which are quite good.

Egypt steps up HIV arrests

Click for larger image
Jesus H Christ with herpes, is Egypt run by Christian fundamentalists? If not, please explain to me the difference.

Egyptian police have stepped up arrests of persons suspected of having HIV, detaining four men this month in a crackdown that violates basic human rights, two international rights groups said Friday.

New York-based Human Rights Watch and London-based Amnesty International warned in a joint statement that the arrests could undermine HIV/AIDS prevention effort as people in Egypt become increasingly afraid to seek information on the subject.

Police denied making any HIV-related arrests but one police official speaking on condition of anonymity said there is a campaign to get persons registered in hospital records as HIV-positive into treatment in "special clinics." The official said he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The latest arrests bring to eight the number of HIV suspects in detention.

Four men were convicted in mid-January of "habitual practice of debauchery," a term used in the Egyptian legal system for consensual homosexual acts, Human Rights Watch said. Those men have been sentenced to one-year prison terms that have been upheld by an appeals court, the group said.

I suffer from something similar to HIV. I always test negative for HIV, but it is of little consequence. My immune system is shutting down. Should I be arrested?

Rhetorical question: Is there no fucking end to what people will do to others?

Via Yahoo! News.

Celebrating Nirvana Day

Yeah, there are other faiths.

I was gonna post a different picture of Buddha, but it is gone. So appropriate.

It would take every column inch of this paper to explain what Nirvana is. Finding and comprehending the state of perfect happiness is a lifetime quest, said Sensei G.R. Lewis of the Buddhist Faith Fellowship in Middletown.

Nirvana Day was observed on Feb. 10 at the Middletown center. But some Buddhists celebrate it on Feb. 8 or today. The day is also called Parinirvana or Nehan-e and is a time to remember the story of Buddha's passing into Nirvana.

Personally I never go for happiness. Contentment is fine. I am almost never "happy".

Via Republican America.

Personal and US is fucked

For a while I worked for PAY n PAK which was bought out by Eagle Hardware which was bought out by Lowe's.

The big gobble up the smaller.


This is the best representative of the PAY n PAK logo I could find. Its like PAY n PAK doesn't exist on the internets tubes except as an Eagle or Lowe's store or a fucking unlimited hydroplane boat.

I would scan the PAY n PAK patch on one of the shirts or caps I have, but can't find one right now.

BTW, we who worked at PAY n PAK were ecstatic whenever "The Pride of PAY n Pak" won an unlimited hydroplane race. And that fucking boat stomped the best. And, should any Pakr's [my word creation] read this, we were very proud of our orange and white team (the colors of our required shirts).


Eagle was a pretty good organization. They hired competent people and ran the stores well.


Lowe's is also a good organization which basically changed nothing about Eagle Hardware from the customers' standpoint.

Here's where the fucking really person shit kicks in. Most of my life I lived in Everett WA. It was sans PAY n PAK, but we had an Eagles Hardware, later to become Lowe's and a Thurmond's. It was DIY (Do It Yourself) heaven.

Now we fucking change gears like an F1 race car.

When working for PAY n PAK, I saw Dave Heerensperger systematically change from US produced products to PAY n PAK branded products produced in China.

Yeah, the customers wanted lower and lower prices and, of course, PAY n PAK profits didn't increase. Muahahaha.

Oh yeah, Heerensperger was a fucking piece of work. He visited a store and asked to see the manager. The employees told him the manager was across the street (I think at a bar), Heerensperger went across the street to confirm what he was told and went back to the store, sent everyone home and chained the doors. This is all hearsay, but I trust the sources.

I did witness Heerensperger's entering a store, saw a light display he didn't like and tore the whole fucking thing down. Such a lovely man.

Why is it the most successful people in US society are also assholes? Just asking.

Stanley Thurman. You will be interested in his story.

A Question of Human Dignity

Dan Froomkin
No I don't think you couldn't figure out who is in the picture. I just had not posted one of him to best of my memory and thought it time.

Dan Froomkin isn't normally one for rhetorical questions, but it appears he had some up his sleeve.

Who are we as a nation? Are we who we used to be? Did one terrorist attack really change all that? [which is a great question, BTW] Can it be changed back?

Via WaPo.

Says who? Oh yeah, Dim Son

BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID!

Ya know, every time I tag a post "terrorist, Bush" it occurs to me the words are synonymous.

"At this moment, somewhere [rather vague] in the world [that narrows it down], terrorists [vague again] are planning [really? you attend the meetings?] new attacks on our country ," the president said. "Their [always "their"] goal is to bring destruction to our shores that will make September the 11th [idiot, the party term is 9/11] pale by comparison." [and I suppose what you've done in Iraq is little more than a fucking tea party] [emphasis mine].

So I'll reiterate, who says so? Give US some evidence and don't just make such fucking sweeping statements.

We bloggers and the media can't get away with that shit so why can Dim Son? Just asking.

Via ilovemylife.

Google©

Google© Valentine's Day 2008

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

I'm not sure using two old people with osteoporosis to represent the Gs is what they should have used, but whatever.

US plans to shoot down spy satellite: defense official

Spy satellite heading for Earth
Good news-bad news.

Note: The first link below is actually a more complete story from the administration with bravado and everything. But lazy ass bloggers don't re-do a post they've already written. It specifies exactly where on the satellite they will be aiming.

OK, I know you want the bad news first. It comes in two parts.

If they fuck this up the US military is going to look incompetent to the world and no country is gonna be afraid of "accurate" missile launches against their spy satellites.

Hydrazine is a highly toxic substance, harmful to the human central nervous system and the satellite has half a ton of it.

The good news. Also in two parts.

If they are successful it will vastly improve other counties' opinions of the US military's capabilities to hit what they target.

The Hydrazine breaks down quickly in heat and ultra-violet light. Both of which should be in abundance once the thing starts burning up in the atmosphere.

OK, one more bad news. Other wire stories I've read said the thing's the size of a fucking school bus.

A US defense official said Thursday that the Pentagon plans to shoot down a malfunctioning US spy satellite before it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere next month.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said an Associated Press report, which said the preferred option was to fire a missile at it from a Navy cruiser, "is accurate."

The Pentagon, meanwhile, announced a press conference later Thursday with senior officials to discuss how they plan to deal with the satellite, including "any military aspects with respect to the way ahead."

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would not confirm that the plans call for shooting down the satellite, but he pointedly refrained from disputing media reports to that effect.

"I'm pretty good about correcting things that I see that are out there that are wrong," he said.

...

He said parts of the mass of the 2,500 pound satellite will likely survive re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere. It includes a 1,000 pounds of a highly toxic propellant called hydrazine.

Hydrazine is harmful to the human central nervous system and can be fatal in big doses. However, it breaks down quickly in heat and ultra-violet light, the French security agency Ineris said in a report.

It gets more and more interesting. This from the WaPo.

The malfunctioning spy satellite is roughly the size of a school bus and is believed to weigh between 5,000 to 10,000 pounds, small for a spy satellite [emphasis mine].

Uh, believed to weight? Can they launch something into orbit without knowing exactly what it weighs? Doesn't the weight of the payload affect trajectory? Just asking.

Via AFP.

Asia faces growing rice crisis

Its getting more and more difficult to stay on top of the growing shortages of human edible grains in the world.

An Indian government ban of rice exports has plunged neighboring Bangladesh into crisis, in a grim preview of growing global grain shortages. Leading rice-exporting nations such as India and Vietnam are reducing sales overseas to check domestic price rises. Previously healthy buffer stocks in the world's largest rice exporter, Thailand, are shrinking.

And for those of you familiar with Asia or even the Discovery Channel, you know Asian countries practically can't survive without rice. For many its the only food they can could afford.

I'll try to find the link and story, but I read yesterday China is following the same policy as India. They want to ensure adequate rice supplies for their own people.

Its not funny, but it reminds me of an old joke: We have to get all we can before the hoarders get it.

Via The Signs.

Feminism, sort of

This post could go most anywhere.

It starts out with being a parent. The feminism part comes later.

Children are great about 90-95% of the time as many (most?) of you well know.

Its terrific when they learn to laugh, walk, talk, dance, mangle words, sing or play in a school concert, perform in a play, bring home drawings or crafts just for you, succeed in a sport. I think I've made the point.

Ah, but the other 5-10%, when you want to take your progeny to the nearest bridge and throw them off. Later you laugh, but not just then.

You know, when they put toast into the CD player, get sticky something all over the car, furniture, TV screen, scratch your favorite CD, break a window (OK, not so much that one), scream for no apparent reason, go running around in a store, shred one of your speakers (see last post), crash your car or...

One of my favorite anecdotes concerns my middle son.

My wife and I were working in our business when my son called. My wife answered and heard him say, "Hi mom. First of all we got the fire out..." They were cooking and started a grease fire. It did no real harm except for a little smoke damage and they had the sense to carefully carry the pan outside.

By the way I have only sons. On my father's side of the family there have been only 3 girls born in 400 years. My dad fathered 2 and his brother 1 of them.

When I called my grandfather and told him my wife had given birth to our first child he told me that was great. "What was it?" I told him a boy. He said, "Good. Girls are no damn good."

Now I didn't exactly share his sentiments, but you didn't argue with grampa.

My mother was an accomplished woman before deciding to be a stay at home mom. She managed 3 ice cream parlors in San Francisco when younger. I've lived around exceptional, strong, mostly career women all my life and can never understand why they seem to frighten or intimidate men.

Music

Its about music, but probably not what you'd expect.

If you aren't an audio buff you can skip this whole post.

In addition to the items listed below I used to have a Pioneer turntable with a head that cost more than most turntables, two cassette decks, two CD players and a tape noise reduction unit. Not to mention the reel to reel. I could find pictures for none of those.

2 Channel, 12 Band Graphic Equalizer by?
Not the same, but similar to the picture.


Phase Linear 5000 Tuner


Phase Linear 4000 Preamplifier

Phase Linear 400 Power Amplifier
But one (two of) the prides of that system were the speakers. Below is the best picture I could find. Mine had black grills and were oak. They also were not Klipschorn, but replica kits from Speakerlab.


Klipschorn Corner Horns
Its not apparent in the picture, but they were nearly 3 feet wide and about 4 feet tall.

The beauty of that system is, no matter where you were in the house, you would swear there were live musicians in that room and regardless of volume the system was accurate with every high, mid-range and low.

And if you cranked it up, which I was known to do, you guaranteed neighbor complaints after a while. One neighbor said his bedroom wall was vibrating. Of course I turned it down for him.

At the time I lived on a fairly small lake. One day a neighbor from the other side of the lake came over and thanked me for the afternoon concert. It was summer and the doors were open.

Everything's gone now, but it was fun while I had 'em.

Pork, the other white meat

Are you ever traveling down a road and thinking: Pork the one you love. And you wonder why you're repeating that in your head? Then you realize you had read this?

Happens to me all the time. Could just be me.

Warfare of the Whisper –Dividing the People and Keeping Them Ignorant

My only problem with this story is the implication (my interpretation) people now acknowledge the truth and do recognize the lies they've been told and are being told daily and that just isn't true at all.

When the truth is too horrible to acknowledge, then it becomes very easy to believe in a series of lies instead. If the truth is that our leaders are really monsters, who have purposely manufactured a planned genocidal world war, in order to preserve America’s fading position in the world, then the truth becomes almost impossible to believe.

It is difficult to believe, but there are some people who were shocked to learn that White House spokesmen issued 935 documented falsehoods to lie us into the Iraq war. This says nothing of the far greater number of lies told to create the “war on terror” itself. If it wasn’t for the flowing river of lies known as the “US Government,” we would not now be staring down the barrel of the nuclear gun at another innocent Muslim country. It took thousands of dedicated war party disinformation agents, working non-stop for decades, to give substance to the myth of al Qaida, the official justification for the war. Unraveling the Myth of Al Qaida. It has taken many thousands more to sustain the war based on lies, against an imaginary enemy. It is only another small step to extend those lies about wars against imaginary enemies to Iran, an imaginary enemy with imaginary nuclear weapons.

I always take the Daily Scare with a modicum of suspicion, but in the past its often proven to be quite perceptive. You can do some of the work and decide if you believe the post is plausible or not.

If you have reason to believe its true, please add a comment and site links.

I just find the Daily Scare very thought provoking.

Via Daily Scare.

Florida woman finds blade in lollipop

Florida authorities are investigating a Valentine's Day lollipop found to have a blade-like piece of metal in it.

Come on now. Doesn't the person who put that blade in there realize that's a strictly Halloween candy tradition? Just asking.

Via Boston Globe.

USDA looks at new ethanol crops

File under must read IMHO or its about time or whatever...

Note: Several new links added. Sorry, but I found them after posting.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working on new crops for ethanol.

With corn and soybeans being used for fuel as well as food, there are increasing concerns about the best use, the Journal Star reported.

It was getting a little fucking disconcerting that many were sounding the alarm about using food crops for fuel when some people are already starving for lack of food. Those who aren't starving are slowing being starved out of affordable food. (FT.com).

Yet almost no one seemed to be addressing the problem. The bright side is, one crop cycle and farms can switch to non-food sources for biofuels. The USDA just has to figure out the best ones.

Now if someone would just tackle the problems of deforestation for biofuels crop production, the need to water those crops when the water is needed for drinking and irrigation of food crops and the probability biofuels will put more carbon into the atmosphere, we can all relax.

A short aside. In the US, biofuels almost always mean ethanol with little to no consideration of biodiesel. Those big trucks gobble up millions of barrels of fuel and pollute pretty badly, but ya gotta keep them voters' cars going.

Related story at FT.com. Study finds profit in cutting emissions.

Related story at AlterNet. Maude Barlow: The Growing Battle for the Right to Water.

Via UPI.

Great Moments In Propaganda

This via Multi Medium.

From the NRCC: A suspected foreign terrorist calls the United States from overseas to plan an attack on U.S. soil. Our intelligence agencies monitor the situation and secure critical information about the call. Because of our ability to monitor terrorist cells overseas and gather this important information, we are able to thwart off this particular threat. “Thwart off”?

Just tell me, isn't there enough fucking reality out there we don't have to deal in 24 TV type hypotheticals? Just asking.

2008

Please bear with me because I think this post could go almost anywhere.

I read this at Bad Attitudes and got to thinking. Always a dangerous thing.

Who is in the least surprised Obama could get slammed by the Clinton juggernaut? The fact is, his success is because of what he represents and has little to do with organization.

Now, I'm not denouncing Hilliary for being organized. I certainly would expect that in a President and would feel cheated if not so.

Hilliary has political power without doubt. As Martha Stewart would say, "That's a good thing."

Ah, but consider this. Warren Grant "Maggie" Magnuson (April 12, 1905–May 20, 1989) sorry, Wikipedia which loads like sludge on my computer.

The voters in Washington State canned him because of his drinking.

Clout is only clout until you have none.

Must see

If you are male or a female interested in cars. Don't miss the Top Gear show on TV. I catch it on the History Channel. Hell, those aren't requirements at all. It's a throughly engrossing, entertaining show.


In the latest installment you can watch a car go from zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds! That's 3.5 fucking seconds. Almost as fast as you can think 60. See a guy 6' 5" tall drive a car into BBC headquarters, in the elevators and down the halls. A car from 1963 which gets 100 miles to the gallon pre-computer. And you can watch a 700 horse power car race a jet fighter.

Ya gotta learn to trust me.

Must read IMHO

How Ronnie Wood has lived so long is beyond comprehension. Keith Richards, on the other hand, is not really human.

Via Amazon.

Questions requiring answers

What was the point of voting?

We told Reid and Pelosi to get rid of Bush. We told them to get the children out of Iraq. We told them our economy is tanking.

Their response...

I'm mystified to say the least.

Can we please stop talking now about how we "liberated" Iraq?

Must read IMHO.

The images in the Basra police file are nauseating: Page after page of women killed in brutal fashion -- some strangled to death, their faces disfigured; others beheaded. All bear signs of torture.

BTW, the woman in blue could very well be next.

If this doesn't make you feel a little sick, you are sick.

Via Brilliant at Breakfast.

Tea party

Ya gotta love children. That is, if you don't feel inclined to kill 'em.

When I was a baby, someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a gift and it was one of my favorite toys.

Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea,' which was just water.

After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home. My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch his little princess bring him a cup of tea, because it was, "just the cutest thing!"

My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up, then says, "Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet???"

Yeah, the graphic sorta gives away the punchline, but I do that sometimes.

Via Jonco.

Japan aims for emissions trade with Russia - media

I'm fucking sorry, but I have never understood this concept. Perhaps I'm just too goddamn dense, but greenhouse gas emissions are greenhouse gas emissions regardless of who takes/gives credits.

This isn't a fucking game. Greenhouse gas emissions have to be reduced in the aggregate. Trading just ain't gonna cut it.

Japan and Russia have agreed to start talks on fighting global warming, including possible greenhouse gas emissions trading that would help Tokyo to meet its goals under the Kyoto Protocol, media said on Sunday.

Japan is the world's fifth-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, and while officials have pledged to meet its obligations under the international pact to fight global warming, critics say this may be difficult.

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and Russian First Deputy Premier Sergei Ivanov agreed in a meeting on the sidelines of a Munich conference that the first round of vice-ministerial talks on the issue would be held on Feb. 27 in Tokyo, Japanese officials were quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying.

Separately, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said the talks aimed at reaching a deal under which Japan would buy surplus emissions quotas from Russia, a key step towards helping Tokyo meet its Kyoto goals.

Am I missing something here? Just asking.

Via Reuters.

Shatner Never Watched Star Trek!

When is a Trekkie not a Trekkie?

Whaaaaaa? William Shatner admitted that he’s never watched Star Trek!

File under I learn new stuff every fucking day: Did you know Trekkie had two Ks? I didn't until now.

If you did, your a goddamn bigger geek than I.

Via Neatorama.

Obama Sweeps 3 States, Virgin Islands

Sorry, but this is just how my fucking sick mind works.

Obama Sweeps 3 States, Virgin Islands

Isn't that a tad bit demeaning when commenting about a black person? Just asking.

"Rules", "wins", "dominates" come to mind as preferred alternatives to "sweeps".

I will add it is also equally demeaning should HRC have won. The word should be thrown out now.

The meds will arrive shortly and I'll be fine.

Via AP.

Ecuador official: protect Indians from oil drilling

Isn't it enough to just wipe out animal species?

Ecuador's attorney general on Saturday urged the government to negotiate with oil firms to stop drilling for crude in a protected area deep in the Amazon jungle where Indian tribes hide from the outside world.

...

Those companies have part of their oil blocks inside the 700,000 hectare (1.7 million acre) protected area home to two tribes of hunters and gatherers known as Tagaeri and Taromenani who in 1950s decided to cut ties with the rest of the world.

"The attorney general's office considers urgent the exit of oil companies from the protected areas, via a negotiation," the office of Attorney General Xavier Garaicoa said in a statement.

The statement added that the government should include a ban on oil activities in the area in its ongoing negotiations with foreign firms to boost state participation in current deals.

President Rafael Correa, a former college professor who taught environmental economics, has vowed to protect the tribes from development after reports of deadly clashes between Indians wielding spears and illegal loggers armed with guns.

Jesus H Christ sans loincloth, for nearly 60 years these people have been isolated. They can't possibly cope with outside disease. And they certainly don't need outside influences.

Via Reuters.

Infragard

Have you heard of Infragard? If you read many blogs you would have. Most will give a H/T to A Carol for bringing it to their attention.

A Carol. As of Saturday, 09 February 2008.

Well, that's what happens when you're a big dog. You may be late, but you cite the correct people.

I posted this. As of Friday, 08, 2008 05:28:00 PM.

And I got tipped to it by Agitprop on a post dated Friday 08,2008 at 03:04 PM.

But, fuck, we aren't big dogs so no one actually reads us. even though we're much quicker with the information.

BTW, two things. I love A Carol and am not taking a potshot at her. She's good.

Second, I'm just beside myself realizing how safe Americans are now there's a nation of high school dropouts, people incapable of finding employment at Burger King and who knows what given 007 power to shoot anyone they want.

OK, I'm ready for the fucking chastisements about my last sentence. It was ill conceived and derogatory. Sorry. I was just trying to make a point and rocket scientists and university professors didn't seem to cut it.

Jordan says Hamas seizes aid covoy sent to Gaza

BTW, I think the headline should read "convoy" and not "covoy".

Jesus H Christ with a first aid kit, I hope this report is inaccurate.

The people in Gaza are sometimes literally bleeding and Hamas would deny aid?

Jordan said on Saturday the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas has confiscated a convoy of humanitarian aid sent to people living under an Israeli blockade in the Gaza Strip.

Via Reuters.