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THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
Globe /
After 10 years, it’s still a fight for freedom
By Jeff Jacoby
Globe Columnist / September 11, 2011
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AMERICA’S WAR on terror was launched when the heroes of United Flight 93 rushed the hijackers over Shanksville, Pa., aborting what would have been Al Qaeda’s fourth 9/11 attack. In the decade that began that terrible day, the goal of disrupting and crushing the Islamist terror network has been pursued with remarkable versatility: The United States has fought this conflict with military, diplomatic, and financial weapons; it has relied on aggressive intelligence-gathering and sensitive counterinsurgency; it has reshaped airline security and rewritten civil-liberties law. Jihadists have been killed with Predator drones abroad, detained as enemy combatants at Guantanamo, and thwarted in undercover stings at home.
Yet in the long run it may turn out that more significant than any of these was the war of ideas that followed 9/11.
Almost from the outset, President George W. Bush recognized that the United States was engaged in an ideological struggle. During the Cold War two decades earlier, Ronald Reagan had argued that the promotion of freedom should be a priority in American foreign policy. By advancing the ideals of liberty and human dignity, Reagan told the British Parliament in 1982, America and its allies would undermine the Soviet Union and eventually relegate Communist totalitarianism to “the ash-heap of history.’’ In much the same way, Bush saw, radical Islam could be weakened by deploying the moral force of liberal democracy and equality.
Just nine days after 9/11, addressing a joint session of Congress, Bush began to lay out an ideological strategy for defeating the jihadist threat.
“Al Qaeda is to terror what the mafia is to crime, but its goal is not making money,” Bush said. “Its goal is remaking the world -- and imposing its radical beliefs on people everywhere." Terrorism was not caused by the religion of Islam but by the Islamists’ political fanaticism. “They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions - by abandoning every value except the will to power - they follow in the path of fascism and Nazism and totalitarianism.’’
The war on terror, Bush accurately foretold, would be a long struggle fought on many fronts. But ultimately the only way to prevent Al Qaeda and its allies from imposing an “age of terror’’ was for America to sustain an “age of liberty, here and across the world.’’ While Bush would get plenty of things wrong after 9/11, this ideological insight - that the root of Islamist terrorism was the lack of freedom in the Middle East - was one of the big things he got right.
There were plenty who didn’t. Many voices insisted that terrorism was fueled by poverty or lack of education. Other analysts rushed to explain 9/11 as the fruit of US “arrogance,’’ or as a reaction to Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In reality, as Princeton economist Alan Krueger demonstrated in a 2007 book, “What Makes A Terrorist?’’ the best predictors of terrorism are “the suppression of civil liberties and political rights, including freedom of the press, the freedom to assemble, and democratic rights.’’
Bush’s campaign to democratize the Middle East - what came to be known as the “freedom agenda’’ - was rooted in the conviction that the way to break the back of jihadist hatred was to drain the swamps in which it breeds: the dictatorships and theocracies of the Muslim Middle East. “Terrorists thrive on the support of tyrants and the resentments of oppressed peoples,” he said in 2003. “When tyrants fall, and resentment gives way to hope, men and women in every culture reject the ideologies of terror, and turn to the pursuits of peace."
For decades, foreign-policy “realists’’ argued that stability in the Arab world was more important than liberty, and so it was better to tolerate oppressive regimes than to risk democratic upheaval. That was the roadmap that led to 9/11.
Today, 10 years after 9/11, the region is more unstable than it has been in generations. Iraq’s dictator is dead, Libya’s is on the run, and demands for freedom and democratic reform have shaken regimes from Tunisia to Syria to Iran. Yet who wouldn’t prefer today’s churn and ferment to the illusory stability of 2001?
No, Islamist terror hasn't been eradicated. Liberal Muslim democracy has a long way to go. But we have engaged the struggle of ideas. And as we fight not just the terrorists, but the poisoned ideas that motivate them, we are slowly winning the war that began on 9/11.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Home / News / Uganda: Bureau of Statistics consults users on microdata availability, access and use (March 2014)
Uganda: Bureau of Statistics consults users on microdata availability, access and use (March 2014)
Country / Regional Activity: Uganda
Date of Event: 19/03/2014
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), with the support of ADP/PARIS21, hosted a two-day Microdata Outreach Workshop on March 19-20, 2014 near Kampala, to engage in dialogues with other data producers and key data users about microdata availability, access and use. About seventy participants representing data users and producers from line ministries, government agencies, research institutions, and NGOs attended the workshop.
The workshop was opened by Mr. Ben Mungyereza, the Executive Director of UBOS. He highlighted the unique challenges associated with microdata dissemination, and pointed out that exchanges between data producers and users are critical for bridging the gaps between users’ unmet demand for data and the large amount of existing data being unused and wasted. He encouraged more data producers to avail their data for use in planning and research.
UBOS presented its efforts in improving the availability, access and use of data, and demonstrated the National Data Archive hosted on the UBOS website cataloguing over sixty surveys and censuses. Statisticians from the Social Economic Statistics Directorate further explained the design process, implementation, and quality assurance measures behind the Uganda National Household Surveys to data users.
Data users shared their experience using microdata produced by UBOS. Mr. Bernard Sabiti, on behalf of the Development Research and Training (DRT), an NGO who chairs the Uganda Open Development Partnership, showed how DRT uses UBOS microdata to understand, track and redefine poverty and vulnerability.
Dr. Justine Nannyonjo, Director of the Bank of Uganda, presented on how UBOS data is being used by the Bank of Uganda (BOU). She conveyed the overall satisfaction with the data availability and quality, and revealed remaining issues with data disaggregation, revision, documentation and access.
Dr. Sarah Sewanyana, Executive Director of Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC), shared her insights on the changing environment in the international and national contexts. She presented on EPRC’s experience as a major user of household data produced by UBOS and their regular interaction with UBOS. She emphasized that microdata are essential for policy making, and users should always be in the driver’s seat.
Mr. James Muwonge, Director of the Social Economic Statistics Directorate and other producers from UBOS engaged in lively discussion with users and responded to their concerns, suggestions and questions. UBOS welcomed users to provide timely feedback to help improve data production and dissemination.
The final session of the workshop was devoted to consultations on the draft microdata access policy, currently under development by UBOS to further improve transparent and secured dissemination of microdata. UBOS assured participants that the issues and comments will be addressed and welcomed further input.
ADP’s partnership with UBOS dates back to 2006. With ADP support, UBOS has strengthened its microdata management capacity and launched the National Data Archive (NADA). ADP continues to support UBOS in the development of a Microdata Acces Policy.
ADP News
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Why Life Alert is the Best
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since 7/3/08
NCOA's BenefitsCheckUp Site Speeds Filing for Medicare Extra Help and Other Benefits
Based on the posting “NCOA's BenefitsCheckUp Now Allows Automatic Filing for Medicare Extra Help and Other Needed Benefits”, at brainbasedbusiness.com
Edited (with Introduction) by Dr. Don Rose, Writer, Life Alert
If you are a senior citizen, and you think you may be eligible for Medicare’s Extra Help benefit, this article is for you. Or perhaps you know someone who may qualify for Extra Help, or other benefits, but is unaware of them. Whatever the case may be, this article is for you, as it discusses how the BenefitsCheckUp website is assisting older Americans with automatic filing for benefits they are entitled to. More specifically, www.benefitscheckup.org could be especially helpful to the more than 630,000 who were "deemed eligible" in the first Medicare Part D enrollment period, but have lost their eligibility for the low income subsidy and must now apply for it. --Dr. Don Rose
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has added a new feature to its Web-based BenefitsCheckUp service that could assist several million people who are eligible for (but have not enrolled in) the Extra Help benefit, available through Medicare's Prescription Drug Coverage (also known as Part D). The new service, available at www.benefitscheckup.org, could be especially helpful to the more than 630,000 people who were "deemed eligible" for Extra Help in 2006, but who have recently lost their automatic eligibility for this assistance and must now apply for it.
Speeding up Extra Help
"If someone with Medicare has limited income and resources, there's no reason not to apply for the Extra Help," said James Firman, NCOA president and CEO. "And now, anyone anytime can use the Web to speed up this process and find out if they can also get extra income or other help with paying for their medicines or health care expenses."
How to get Extra Help, and how much it helps
People must apply to the Social Security Administration (SSA) first to find out if they qualify for Extra Help. If someone qualifies, they can save on average $3,700 a year since Medicare's Extra Help will pay their cost sharing, and they will have no gap in coverage (the donut hole). This year’s deadline for enrollment in a Medicare Part D plan is December 31, 2006.
People with Medicare, family members or caregivers can now use NCOA's BenefitsCheckUp site (at BenefitsCheckUp.org) to submit their applications for Extra Help electronically, and receive immediate confirmation that SSA received the application.
The extra benefits of BenefitsCheckUp
In addition, without filling out any other questionnaire, the “BenefitsCheckUpRx - Extra Help with Prescription Costs” feature will tell users if they qualify for other federal or state benefits programs. These include programs that can save them money on health care (Medicare Savings Programs and Medicaid), provide extra income (Supplemental Security Income), find other prescription savings (State Pharmacy Assistance Programs) or help in paying for food (Food Stamps).
Fast, free feature fits technology to need
"We added this new feature to BenefitsCheckUp because we received lots of requests from individuals and feedback from organizations involved in finding and helping people with Medicare that some other tool was needed," said Stuart Spector, senior vice president of the NCOA's Benefits Access Group. "The new BenefitsCheckUp Extra Help feature is free, it's fast and it is confidential."
NCOA, which led far-reaching outreach and enrollment efforts during the initial Part D enrollment period, continues its work in helping to find and enroll those who may be eligible for Medicare Extra Help. The Council is doing this through its ongoing support of local Access to Benefits Coalitions in 44 areas, and the second phase of its My Medicare Matters campaign. Seniors nationwide should take advantage of NCOA’s efforts, since the only thing you have to lose is the size of your Medicare bill.
About the National Council on Aging
Founded in 1950, the National Council on Aging is a charitable organization dedicated to improving the health and independence of older persons and to increasing their continuing contributions to communities, society, and future generations. For more information on NCOA, visit the National Council on Aging website (www.ncoa.org).
About BenefitsCheckUp
Since 2001, 1.8 million people have used BenefitsCheckUp and 400,000 have found benefits programs that help them pay for prescription drugs, health care, rent, utilities, and other needs. For more information about how to become a BenefitsCheckUp Organizational Edition user, please send email to [email protected].
This article is based on content in a posting entitled “NCOA's BenefitsCheckUp Now Allows Automatic Filing for Medicare Extra Help and Other Needed Benefits”, on the brainbasedbusiness.com website. The information provided is, to the best of our knowledge, reliable and accurate. However, while Life Alert always strives to provide true, precise and consistent information, we cannot guarantee 100 percent accuracy. Readers are encouraged to review the original article, and use any resource links provided to gather more information before drawing conclusions and making decisions.
The article on this Life Alert website and the content it is based on are covered by a Creative Commons License. You are free to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work; to make derivative works; to make commercial use of the work -- under the following conditions: Attribution -- You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor. For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. Please go to the Creative Commons License site for more information on the CC license that applies to this work.
Dr. Don Rose writes books, papers and articles on computers, the Internet, AI, science and technology, and issues related to seniors.
For more information about Life Alert and its many services and benefits for seniors nationwide, please visit the following websites:
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Life Alert defines a life saved from a catastrophic outcome as an event where a subscriber activated the system, had an actual emergency, was home alone, was unable to get to the phone to call for help, and Life Alert dispatched help.
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Ed Stelmach vs. Daveberta: A plague on both their houses
As the Alberta Premier publically fights with the prank of a former Alberta Liberal party official and the story gains a little bit of steam, I thought perhaps it was time to ask a few critical questions. Now I am not a lawyer [but these days its hard to get too excited over the expertise of law students anyways -ed] but I did think to do a little bit of backgrounding on cybersquatting as it relates in Canada.
The first thing to note is that if this was in the U.S., Ed Stelmach would have already won. While cybersquatting corporate names and slogans can be passed off as fair comment, the identities of flesh and blood people certainly cannot.
The most famous case (so far) of a Canadian citizen running afoul of cybersquatting has to be Victoria's infamous Mike "Soft" Rowe (not related to the host of "Dirty Jobs" on Discovery Channel). The resolution of the case seems to have been in Rowe's favour: how much was legally connected and how much was due to Microsoft's bad press will probably never be known.
The definitive answer, however, for Daveberta is going to be the Canadian Internet Regulatory Authority's "Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy".
To apply under it, Stelmach must meet the requirements to possess a .ca address. Since Cournoyer met them, and citizenship appears to satify it, so far so good.
The acceptable basis for complaint is as follows:
Applicable Disputes. A Registrant must submit to a Proceeding if a Complainant asserts in a Complaint submitted in compliance with the Policy and the Resolution Rules that:
(a) the Registrant’s dot-ca domain name is Confusingly Similar to a Mark in which the Complainant had Rights prior to the date of registration of the domain name and continues to have such Rights;
(b) the Registrant has no legitimate interest in the domain name as described in paragraph 3.6; and
(c) the Registrant has registered the domain name in bad faith as described in paragraph 3.7.
For the purposes of this Policy, the date of registration of a domain name is the date on which the domain name was first registered in the Registry or the predecessor registry operated by the University of British Columbia.
Now its apparently yet untested whether a person's full name is "a mark in which the complaintant has rights", but it would be very shocking for the CIRA or a court to find otherwise. It is highly questionable if Cournoyer has a "legitimate interest" in edstelmach.ca, but we shall come back to that matter. We shall immediately address Cournoyer's biggest danger: registering in bad faith.
Paragraph 3.7 reads (emphasis mine):
Registration in Bad Faith. For the purposes of paragraph 3.1(c), a Registrant will be considered to have registered a domain name in bad faith if, and only if:
(a) the Registrant registered the domain name, or acquired the Registration, primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, licensing or otherwise transferring the Registration to the Complainant, or the Complainant’s licensor or licensee of the Mark, or to a competitor of the Complainant or the licensee or licensor for valuable consideration in excess of the Registrant’s actual costs in registering the domain name, or acquiring the Registration;
(b) the Registrant registered the domain name or acquired the Registration in order to prevent the Complainant, or the Complainant’s licensor or licensee of the Mark, from registering the Mark as a domain name, provided that the Registrant, alone or in concert with one or more additional persons has engaged in a pattern of registering domain names in order to prevent persons who have Rights in Marks from registering the Marks as domain names; or
(c) the Registrant registered the domain name or acquired the Registration primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of the Complainant, or the Complainant’s licensor or licensee of the Mark, who is a competitor of the Registrant.
I would say with a fair degree of certainty that in his role at the time of registry as Alberta Liberal Communication Director, Cournoyer is a competitor to Ed Stelmach and could be clearly construed as registering the domain in bad faith. One is tempted to apply the even easier standard of (b), since Cournoyer quite clearly registered edstelmach.ca only because Stelmach had not already done so. However, it has to be part of a pattern. Some argument including the Ontario Liberals temporary cybersquatting of a domain named after Mike Harris, and last year's case of a Michael Ignatieff campaigner being forced to cease cybersquatting against one of Harris' former staff members. As I said, easily Stelmach's biggest trump card is the "bad faith" provisions.
Cournoyer's defense might include this section on "legitimate interests":
Legitimate Interests. The Registrant has a legitimate interest in a domain name if, and only if, before the receipt by the Registrant of notice from or on behalf of the Complainant that a Complaint was submitted:
(a) the domain name was a Mark, the Registrant used the Mark in good faith and the Registrant had Rights in the Mark;
(b) the Registrant used the domain name in Canada in good faith in association with any wares, services or business and the domain name was clearly descriptive in Canada in the English or French language of: (i) the character or quality of the wares, services or business; (ii) the conditions of, or the persons employed in, production of the wares, performance of the services or operation of the business; or (iii) the place of origin of the wares, services or business;
(c) the Registrant used the domain name in Canada in good faith in association with any wares, services or business and the domain name was understood in Canada to be the generic name thereof in any language;
(d) the Registrant used the domain name in Canada in good faith in association with a non-commercial activity including, without limitation, criticism, review or news reporting;
(e) the domain name comprised the legal name of the Registrant or was a name, surname or other reference by which the Registrant was commonly identified; or
(f) the domain name was the geographical name of the location of the Registrant’s non-commercial activity or place of business.
In paragraphs 3.6 (b), (c), and (d) “use” by the Registrants includes, but is not limited to, use to identify a web site.
Cournoyer's defense would likely be (d), particularly since the redirect of edstelmach.ca to Harry Strom's Wikipedia page -- the previous redirect to Daveberta would violate this section. If Stelmach's lawyers filed before the change of redirect, this would also preclude a defense under "legitimate interests".
Finally, the section on "Onus" makes Stelmach's job a little harder, but still eminantly do-able:
4.1 Onus. To succeed in the Proceeding, the Complainant must prove, on a balance of probabilities, that:
(a) the Registrant’s dot-ca domain name is Confusingly Similar to a Mark in which the Complainant had Rights prior to the date of registration of the domain name and continues to have such Rights; and
(b) the Registrant has registered the domain name in bad faith as described in paragraph 3.7;
and the Complainant must provide some evidence that:
(c) the Registrant has no legitimate interest in the domain name as described in paragraph 3.6.
Even if the Complainant proves (a) and (b) and provides some evidence of (c), the Registrant will succeed in the Proceeding if the Registrant proves, on a balance of probabilities, that the Registrant has a legitimate interest in the domain name as described in paragraph 3.6.
The legitimate interest has to come to the forefront. Cournoyer might walk away from this unscathed. But on a first read-through, it looks like Stelmach will win this in the long haul -- at least in the courts. Of course, as this post's title implies, I don't care which of these idiotic liberals wins or loses. Banish both of them to Ontario for all I care.
Daveberta is now upset over Neil Waugh's observation that he's a Liberal staffer. From Waugh's article:
Now here's where it gets trickier.
Cournoyer was an employee of the Liberals when Stelmach's lawyer's letter arrived.
"He was our communications co-ordinator and was working on our web communications," Leblanc confirmed. In other words the Grits' head computer geek.
So who was he doing his blogging for?
"I won't say we sanctioned it or didn't sanction it," sniffed Leblanc, not exactly coming clean. "It's just one of the realities of Internet campaigning."
I'm left pondering the comment I made to this post of mine where I theorized about the validity of Cournoyer's complaints about "being a 24 year old bankrupt University student" -- the implication that somehow being (temporarily) financially poor while killing time for a long graft-filled career witht he Liberal Party makes any stunts or offenses unpunishable. Now there has to be an honesty aspect, along with the validity aspect, to this claim. Again, pace Waugh:
It would have been just another prank by a student from the University of Alberta's loonie-left political science department, but Dave Cournoyer isn't some obscure fat frat boy with a sticky-up haircut.
Until Dec. 31 he was the "communications co-ordinator" for the Alberta Liberal Party, the same Alberta Liberals who believe they have cornered the market in ethics and moral superiority.
Anyone who has been around politics knows what edstelmach.ca was really all about, although Liberal executive director Kieran Leblanc hotly denied it.
The note still is made: Cournoyer kept sound-biting the struggle as being "some young kid with no money versus the all-powerful ruler of the Albertan domain" when in fact this is the leader of one liberal party fighting back against questionable practises (see below) of an official with a competing liberal party. Not the stuff of glorious "David vs. Goliath" puns.
Finally, I think its time to attack another dubious claim by the Liberals and their former staffers:
Though I am still surprised that the +150 staffed Public Affairs Bureau failed to complete the simple task of registering a $14.00 domain name, I am even more surprised that Premier Ed Stelmach’s first reaction in this situation was to threaten to sue an 24-year old blogger and debt ridden University of Alberta student.
This time I would like to address the first point, where the link is located. Is it really just a "simple task of registering a $14.00 domain name?"
www.davecournoyer.com - English musician
www.davecournoyer.ca - Links back to Daveberta
www.daveberta.ca - Links back to Daveberta
www.dave_cournoyer.com - Still available
www.davecournoyer.ab.ca - Still available
www.davidcournoyer.com - Still available
www.daveberta.com - Taken by a cybersquatter
www.dave-cournoyer.com - Still available
www.davecournoyer.org - Still available
www.davecornoyer.com - Still available
www.davecournoyerlib.com - Still available
www.davecournoyerpchater.com - Still available
While you may argue that some of these are a little obscure, that's not necessarily the point. The reason that rules against cybersquatting are in place is because there are so many obscure names. I might be able to get around to registering www.faclc.com and www.faclc.ca and a few others, but the end result is still that there are lots of hyphenated or misspelled or suffixed domains that somebody can take. Dave Cournoyer took one. A website is a parking space on the web, as it were, and if the Premier's parking space wasn't switched from "Ralph Klein" to "Ed Stelmach" in time, it would hardly be considered normal for Daveberta to swoop in with a labelmaker and claim it for himself.
The last thing we need on the Net is more bad adresses. There are dozens of ways for Daveberta to express his opinions without changing the street signs.
Feynman and Coulter's Love Child said...
Oddly enough, while my reading of the CIRA policies and the personal experiences of some Daveberta commenters supports my thesis, a current CIRA official claims otherwise in the Edmonton Journal.
Anybody wanna see if you can dig up some Liberal Party ties? Janke? SDA?
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Federal Court Rules that Federal Reserve Cannot Be the Banksters Bitch Over Swipe Fees
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon just ruled that the Federal Reserve's rules on debit card swipe fees are too bank friendly and ignore the statutory requirements of Dodd-Frank:
The Federal Reserve disregarded Congress’s intent when deciding how much banks can charge merchants for debit-card transactions, a judge ruled, rejecting Dodd-Frank-imposed regulations governing “swipe” fees.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington ruled today that the Fed didn’t have the authority to set a 21-cent cap on debit-card transactions. Leon said the rule, which has been in effect since October 2011, would remain in place pending new regulations or interim standards.
“The Board has clearly disregarded Congress’s statutory intent by inappropriately inflating all debit card transaction fees by billions of dollars and failing to provide merchants with multiple unaffiliated networks for each debit card transaction,” Leon said in his 58-page ruling.
The groups, in a lawsuit filed in November 2011, said merchants will be “substantially harmed” by the fees the Fed set under the Durbin Amendment, a provision of the Dodd-Frank legislation. The rule went into effect on Oct. 1, 2011.
“The board’s final rule permits banks to recover significantly more costs than permitted by the plain language of the Durbin Amendment and deprives plaintiffs of the benefits of the statute’s anti-exclusivity provisions,” the retailers argued in their complaint.
What? The law is not friendly enough to the banks, and so the Fed draws up regulations ignoring the law?
I am so (not) surprised.
Posted by Matthew Saroff at 9:39 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Corruption , Finance , Justice , regulation
The NSA Spying Gets Worse
Now we have XKeyscore, which "collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'."
A top secret National Security Agency program allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals, according to documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The NSA boasts in training materials that the program, called XKeyscore, is its "widest-reaching" system for developing intelligence from the internet.
The latest revelations will add to the intense public and congressional debate around the extent of NSA surveillance programs. They come as senior intelligence officials testify to the Senate judiciary committee on Wednesday, releasing classified documents in response to the Guardian's earlier stories on bulk collection of phone records and Fisa surveillance court oversight.
The files shed light on one of Snowden's most controversial statements, made in his first video interview published by the Guardian on June 10.
"I, sitting at my desk," said Snowden, could "wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal email".
US officials vehemently denied this specific claim. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee, said of Snowden's assertion: "He's lying. It's impossible for him to do what he was saying he could do."
But training materials for XKeyscore detail how analysts can use it and other systems to mine enormous agency databases by filling in a simple on-screen form giving only a broad justification for the search. The request is not reviewed by a court or any NSA personnel before it is processed.
So, either Rep. Rogers knowingly lied, or he was lied to by the state security apparatus.
Yeah, it just keeps getting worse, and there is more to come, at least that is what Senator Ron Wyden said yesterday when he said that, "U.S. intelligence agencies’ violations of court orders on surveillance of Americans is worse than the government is letting on," which means that even with a incredibly compliant FISA Court (You need to keep them away from toilet paper, because they will sign anything), they be bothered to follow the "law".
Labels: Communications , Corruption , Intelligence , Internet
Even HarvarIf Even Harvard’s Own Law Firm is More Loyal to Bain, How Can You Get Good Legal Advice? (Naked Capitalism)
If you really want to understand what’s going on here, the Austrian you need to read isn’t Friedrich Hayek or Ludwig von Mises, it’s Sigmund Freud. (Paul Krugman on why the austerity fetishists continue to ignore what is actually going on in the real world)
The completely bogus shortage of technical people that requires us to expand H1B and related programs? (Business Insider)
The U.S. International Trade Commission takes baby steps against patent trolls. (Daily Tech)
Retta on stereotypes on Conan:
Posted by Matthew Saroff at 6:03 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Linkage
What Ezra Klein Said
He notes that when pundits talk about "the center", they are endorsing a radical agenda that is overwhelmingly opposed outside the beltway:
Martin’s article doesn’t define “the center.” But it’s not the center of public opinion. It’s more a reference to an amorphous Washington consensus. Insofar as that concept ever made sense, the idea was that it’s the legislative center, the zone of compromise where things can actually get done. But even that concept has begun to break down in recent years, as that Washington center — what you might call the “Simpson-Bowles center” — no longer holds any weight in Congress.
When you’re judging policy, “good” and “bad” are descriptions that make sense. So are “popular” and “unpopular,” and “likely to pass” and “no chance.” But “the center”? It’s time to retire that one, or at least come up with a more rigorous definition of what we mean when we use it.
Labels: Good Writing , Philosophy , Politics
How Torture Comes Home, Part 55
We now have a report that the CIA is hemorrhaging because its management sucks:
For the Central Intelligence Agency, he was a catch: an American citizen who had grown up overseas, was fluent in Mandarin and had a master's degree in his field. He was working in Silicon Valley, but after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, he wanted to serve his country.
The analyst, who declined to be named to shield his association with the CIA, was hired in 2005 into the agency's Directorate of Intelligence, where he was assigned to dig into Chinese politics. He said he was dismayed to discover that unimpressive managers wielded incredible power and suffered no consequences for mistakes. Departments were run like fiefdoms, he said, and "very nasty internecine battles" were a fixture.
By 2009, he had left the CIA. He now does a similar job for the U.S. military.
CIA officials often assert that while the spy agency's failures are known, its successes are hidden. But the clandestine organization celebrated for finding Osama bin Laden has been viewed by many of its own people as a place beset by bad management, where misjudgments by senior officials go unpunished, according to internal CIA documents and interviews with more than 20 former officers.
So, how does this relate to torturers?
Because the torturers are people who are not that good at their jobs. If they were good, they wouldn't have to break the law to create the illusion of results. (A quick Google shows that torture does not work)
Of course, between the torture fetishists of Bush and His Evil Minions™, and the torture apologists of Obama and His Evil Minions™, torture has become a ticket that you need to punch to advance in "the agency".
So, because successive White Houses have institutionalized torture, they have also institutionalized incompetent agents who become incompetent managers who are fearful that their lack of ability will be exposed.
We have incentivized torture, incompetence, and corruption for people who want to have intelligence as a career path.
Labels: Corruption , Crimes Against Humanity , employment , Intelligence , Torture
This is Beyond Orwell's Wildest Imaginings
In his seminal work 1984, he coined the idiom, "We've always been at war with Eastasia."
Well, Obama and His Evil Minions™ have done this one better, and they claim that the list of people that we are at war with is classified:
Back in May, we noted the oddity of the charges in Bradley Manning's trial, in which he was accused of aiding three different "enemies," with the last one being classified. Specifically, he was accused of aiding Al-Qaida, Al-Qaida of the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP, which is different than AQ itself) and... mystery enemy. Back at the beginning of July, the government quietly dropped the charge against the classified enemy, so that's no longer in play in that case. That said, apparently this concept of classifying who we're at war with wasn't just limited to the Manning trial. ProPublica has the ridiculous and frightening tale of finding out that the answer to the simple question of who the US is at war with, is apparently classified as well.
At a hearing in May, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., asked the Defense Department to provide him with a current list of Al Qaeda affiliates.
The Pentagon responded – but Levin’s office told ProPublica they aren’t allowed to share it. Kathleen Long, a spokeswoman for Levin, would say only that the department’s “answer included the information requested.”
The Pentagon also went on to tell ProPublica that revealing who we're actually at war with would do "serious damage to national security." The main reason? They think those groups would use the info as good publicity and allow them to recruit more.………
If the UK were to hook up a generator to the grave of Eric Arthur Blair, they could power all of Europe, because he is surely spinning in his grave at unbelievable speed.
Labels: Barack Obama , Corruption , Evil , Intelligence , Secrecy , War
It has been reported that Cumulus Media, the 2nd largest radio conglomerate in America, will not renew their contracts with Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Oh please make this happen. (Politico)
Louisiana police are arresting people under an anti-sodomy law declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court a decade ago. (Insert Louisiana joke here) (Think Progress)
Lawmakers Who Upheld NSA Phone Spying Received Double the Defense Industry Cash. Least surprising news of the day. (Wired.com)
Robert Khuzami, the former chief of enforcement at the SEC has, just joined a major Wall Street Lawfirm for some serious bank. Back end bribery. (POGO)
Pic of the day: Why conservatives hate New York City Bike Share:
Going to Lunch, and It Was On the Radio
Bradley Manning was acquitted of the most serious charge, Aiding the Enemy.
I do not think that Manning "won", because I expect him to get at least 20 years, but Barack Obama, and the US state security apparatus lost.
They means that the American people had a sort of a win, though.
Labels: Heroism , Intelligence , Justice , Military , Secrecy
One of the Worst of the Blue Dogs Gets a Free Pass
Bill Halter, who nearly defeated the despicable Blanche Lincoln in the 2010 Arkansas Democratic Primary, has decided to withdraw from the race for Governor, leaving the race to one of the Dlue Doggingist of the Blue Dogs, Mike Ross.
It appears that the proximate cause is anemic fund raising.
My guess is that this is payback from the Clintons, who have not "gotten over" his challenge to Lincoln. (She would have lost anyway, the polls were clear on that.)
Posted by Matthew Saroff at 11:39 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Campaign Finance , Elections , Politics
More Adventures of the New Party of Jefferson Davis
Paul Krugman notes that the current attempts by Congressional Republicans to use the threat of a government shutdown to roll back Obanmacare mirrors the actions of the South when they tried to destroy the United States.
You see, Marco Rubio is now claiming that Obama wants to shut down government because he will not end his health care plan.
As Krugman notes, Lincoln nailed this at his Cooper Union speech over 150 years ago:
Under all these circumstances, do you really feel yourselves justified to break up this Government unless such a court decision as yours is, shall be at once submitted to as a conclusive and final rule of political action? But you will not abide the election of a Republican president! In that supposed event, you say, you will destroy the Union; and then, you say, the great crime of having destroyed it will be upon us! That is cool. A highwayman holds a pistol to my ear, and mutters through his teeth, "Stand and deliver, or I shall kill you, and then you will be a murderer!"
To be sure, what the robber demanded of me - my money - was my own; and I had a clear right to keep it; but it was no more my own than my vote is my own; and the threat of death to me, to extort my money, and the threat of destruction to the Union, to extort my vote, can scarcely be distinguished in principle.
The party of Lincoln has become the party of Jefferson Davis.
Labels: Congress , Evil , Good Writing , Healthcare , Legislation , Politics
A New Definition of Chutzpah………
Yes, John Pike, infamous as the Pepper Spray cop in Berkeley, who subsequently became a meme, and is now a poster boy for the banality of evil, has now filed for workmans' comp:
The former UC police officer who was internationally condemned for pepper-spraying demonstrators at UC Davis is seeking workers' compensation, saying he suffered psychiatric injury as a result of the November 2011 incident.
John Pike has a settlement conference set for Aug. 13 in Sacramento, according to the state Department of Industrial Relations' website and an Associated Press report.
Pike was fired in July 2012, eight months after a task force investigation found that his action was unwarranted.
I'm beginning to think that the only folks out there with a bigger sense of entitlement than Congressional Republicans Newt Gingrich are bad cops.
Whenever the worm turns, and the scrutiny that they apply to others is applied to them, they employ every trick in the book to avoid justly deserved consequences.
Labels: employment , Evil , Hypocrisy , Law Enforcement Misconduct , Protests
The Joys of Children are Without Number
We took Natalie to Camp Tizmoret Shoshana, a Jewish performing arts camp.
It is at Capitol Camp, about 50 miles from home.
So, we packed up in the morning, and drove her to camp.
100+ miles round trip, and then Sharon and Charlie had to get ready for their performances at Open Space Arts this afternoon.
Only Natalie forgot a few things: her music theory notebook, Portman (her marionette), and her towels.
Then, after the play, we get a text that she had also forgotten her asthma inhaler.
So, instead of getting her stuff to her tomorrow, we had to go back tonight.
So, back we went, another 2 hour round trip.
At one point, we drove through a thunderstorm that felt like the apocalypse.
We had zero visibility, and the almost constant lightning had the wipers strobing across the windshield.
We are now headed back home (Sharon is driving), finally.
I swear, Natalie would forget her own head if it weren't attached.
Labels: family , Stupid , theater
From the annals of unsurprising news, we discover that Rich people cheat more than poor people. (Naked Capitalism)
What is worse than Larry Summers as Fed Chair? Tim Geithner. (Huffpo)
Robert Khuzami, who studiously refused to enforce the law against big banks, gets a plush job from a law firm that represents the big banks. (POGO)
Lawmakers who voted against restricting NSA spying got twice as much in campaign contributions than those who voted for the amendment.
Libertarian Paradise:
Posted by Matthew Saroff at 12:11 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Campaign Finance , Civil Rights , Corruption , Finance , Funny , Linkage , Privacy , Snark , Sociology , Video
Light Posting Tonight
Lying down on a heating pad. My back is killing me.
Sharon and Charlie had roles in Open Space Arts' Summer Playwrites Festival, and Natalie, who had a scheduling conflict this year, was working tech crew.
OSA is a community theater in Reisterstown, and the festival had 7 one act plays.
I filmed out for them.
No blogging tonight as a result
Posted via mobile.
Labels: Entertainment , family , theater
Why Eliot Spitzer must win the race for NYC Comptroller. (Hint: Unprecedented disclosures from private equity firms)
Glenn Greenwald unloads on the defeat of NSA limits in Congress.
Senate Democrats Ready Letter Urging Yellen as Fed Chief. (Reuters) Hating on Larry Summers.
Scandal plagued East Ramopo School Board. (FalseMessiah.com) Seems out of my normal coverage, but this is what happens when religious extremist (Orthodox Jewish) voters take over a public school board and have no interest in public education: they loot it for the benefit of religious schools
H/t Naked Capitalism for the pic.
Eric Holder Will Sue Texas Under the Voting Rights Act
He has announced that he will sue Texas under section 3C of the voting rights act. Basically, the Supreme Court invalidated the old list that was incorporated into the law when it was first passed (Section 5 4), but section 3, which can be invoked on the basis of specific actions by a state, can also require preclearance on voting changes.
This has been invoked before, albeit briefly:
The Obama administration moved to retain some oversight of the way states conduct elections after the Supreme Court invalidated part of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, setting up a new fight with Republican governors.
The legal strategy, announced by Attorney General Eric Holder Thursday, is directed initially at Texas' voting procedures, but it promises to have much broader impact: The action in Texas, Mr. Holder said, "will not be our last." Other states expected to receive Justice Department scrutiny include South Carolina, North Carolina and Alaska.
On Thursday, the Justice Department asked a panel of judges in San Antonio to order continued scrutiny of the state's voting rules and operations, following the Supreme Court ruling in June that effectively nullified what had been a requirement for the state to seek federal approval of any changes.
In an announcement that drew strong criticism from Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Republicans in other states, the attorney general said the Justice Department would invoke a little-used section of the law as a replacement measure for the one the Supreme Court struck down.
In its decision, the court effectively voided Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act by ruling unconstitutional the formula the federal government used to identify jurisdictions that must receive its approval—a process called preclearance—before changing voting procedures.
Now, Mr. Holder said, the Justice Department will use Section 3 of the law to try to keep Texas subject to preclearance. Under Section 5, certain states and counties with a history of discrimination against minority voters couldn't implement voting-rule changes without federal approval. Under Section 3, a court must first find evidence of intentional discrimination—a tougher test—before subjecting the jurisdiction to preclearance.
In the Texas case filed late Thursday, Justice Department lawyers are seeking a 10-year preclearance period.
In this case, the "tougher standard" is not so tough.
There was already a finding of fact by a court a few months ago (under the now defunct section 5) that Texas was engaged in discrimination.
I also think that discovery, when the DoJ computer forensics teams go through emails at the Texas state house, should be very interesting.
Props to Eric Holder. (I cannot believe that I just wrote that)
Labels: Bigotry , Civil Rights , Elections , Justice , Racism
It's Jobless Thursday!!!
Initial claims rose by 7K to 343,000, though the less volatile 4 week moving average fell by 1250, as did both continuing and extended claims.
Generally, a decent set of numbers.
Labels: Economy , employment , Recession
Hopper Wins
Which is good.
If the networks had won, they would have tried to come up with a way to prevent people from going to the bathroom during the ads.
But the courts have affirmed the right for viewers to use ad skipping technologies:
A federal court decision Wednesday gave fresh support to a new technology that helps consumers avoid a basic irritant of television watching — the commercial.
Dish’s Hopper service, which automatically removes advertisements before consumers view recorded shows, is the latest technology to worry broadcasters. These companies have long reaped profits from a practice that is as old as the television itself — forcing viewers to watch ads before they can see the rest of a show.
But a growing slew of technology firms, from Amazon to Netflix, has roiled the industry by offering programs outside the traditional distribution channels that for years dictated what appeared on the living room television. For far less than what cable companies charge, these upstarts are giving consumers more control over what they watch and when they watch it, while enabling them to easily skip ads. Google, the owner of YouTube, became the latest to join this trend, unveiling a device on Wednesday that pumps online videos and other content directly into television sets.
Such innovations have raised questions about how many Americans are actually viewing commercials these days and cast a shadow over a basic way that television funds itself. Digital video recorders have become so common that many consumers fast-forward through ads. With Dish’s Hopper, people can watch shows free of commercials shortly after they are broadcast live.
Now that Hopper has received greater legal support, analysts expect cable companies, DVR providers and others who distribute television content to quickly offer similar services.
While the business fallout from this is unclear, if it had gone the other way, it would have been incredibly ugly for the end users.
I'm not reflexively supportive of technology, but the record in entertainment is clear: Not only do innovations benefit the end user, it also creates new revenues for the content providers.
Labels: Entertainment , IP , Justice , technology
Schadenfreude on 401(k) Plans
Ian Ayres, a professor at Yale, has been reviewing 401(k) programs, and will publicize the really sucky plans that charge excessive fees:
A Yale Law School professor is causing a ruckus among U.S. corporations with plans to publicize a study of employers' 401(k) plan costs.
The professor, Ian Ayres, has sent about 6,000 letters to companies, saying he would disseminate the results of his study using Twitter, with separate hashtags for each company.
Prof. Ayres has mailed out several different versions of the letter since June, and at least one said that he had identified an employer's 401(k) specifically "as a potential high-cost plan." He said that he and his research partner planned to publicize the results in spring 2014.
Tri-City Electrical Contractors Inc., in Altamonte Springs, Fla., received one such letter on July 5. It said that the company's plan ranked worse than 77% of plans of comparable size based on total plan cost.
"As a reminder, fiduciary duties are the most stringent imposed by the law, and require administrators to act solely in the interests of plan participants," continued the letter, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The letters come as administrators of 401(k) plans have been under fire for what some workers and retirees say are excessive fees. Federal fee-disclosure rules went into effect last year requiring 401(k) administrators to better spell out the fees being charged to plan sponsors and participants.
The problem is that there are a lot of 401(k) administrators who over-promise returns to justify inflated fees.
Call me old fashioned, but I think that there should be (low) statutory limits on 401(k) and IRA because otherwise, the tax breaks are simply going straight into Wall Street's pockets (expense ratio is largely unrelated to plan returns).
If you want to blow your money on a mutual fund manager who charges high fees, it's your business, until Uncle Sam starts supplying tax benefits, at which point, it becomes a matter for the public to discuss.
Labels: Academe , Business , Corruption , Finance , Statistics
Small Business Owners Are Complaining Because E-Verify Works, not Because it Doesn't
The Wall Street Journal writes about the problems that employers are having with E-Verify, the online worker verification system run by the INS.
The problem is not that the system is too buggy, its early problems have been ironed out, and it's not too expensive, it's free, no, for the small businesses interviewed, the problem is that works the way that it is supposed to:
Since January, Daniel VanLoh has turned away nine new dishwashers and one line cook from his four Atlanta, Ga., restaurants within days of hiring them.
The reason: Not one was authorized to work in the U.S., according to background checks he ran on the job applicants using a federal verification system, known as E-Verify.
He says he's now struggling to fill six openings, with some job seekers simply walking away after hearing that the company uses the free, Internet-based system to check their immigration status.
This is the way that this is supposed to work. Proper enforcement of worker verification is supposed to keep people who want to work illegally out of the job rolls.
Here is the money quote:
This month, Georgia required small employers to screen applicants with the system, a move that extended existing requirements for larger firms. At least 15 other states, including Arizona, Mississippi and South Carolina, have enacted laws in recent years requiring at least some, if not all, employers to run E-Verify checks on job applicants before hiring them. The laws don't require employers to check existing employees.
Scott Whitehead, who operates an Atlanta landscaping service, began using E-Verify July 1. Over the past three weeks, he says he hasn't found a single authorized worker among more than 50 applicants at his metro area firm, Unlimited Landscaping & Turf Management Inc. "Every immigrant who walks through this door is illegal" according to the online check, says Mr. Whitehead, whose firm has more than 100 employees.
He says the checks are shrinking the pool of applicants he's able to hire. As he struggles to fill openings, existing maintenance workers, most of whom he pays about $14 an hour, are demanding higher wages.
Gee without the possibility of easily recruiting workers who are willing to live in immigration status enforced peonage, his workers are asking for more money.
Hoocoodanode?
BTW, Whitehead's solution is to engage in illegal discrimination:
The system is also bringing anxieties about productivity, he says. To avoid running afoul of the new Georgia law, Mr. Whitehead plans to hire only U.S. citizens who clear the system, even though, in landscaping, he has found that immigrant workers are generally more productive.
This is a violation of the civil rights law.
You cannot discriminate against legal workers on the basis of immigration status.
Unemployment is over seven percent, and if your crappy job cannot attract legal workers at a given wage, then raise the f%$#ing wage.
Labels: employment , immigration , regulation , technology
Even in Bankruptcy, Detroit Must Pay for a Millionaire's Toys
Bankruptcy, Schmankruptcy, billionaire Mike Ilitch's new stadium must get its $450 million:
When Detroit filed for what is the largest municipal bankruptcy in United States history, one of the items immediately placed on the potential chopping block was pensions for current retirees who had worked for the city. A pension shortfall accounts for $3.5 billion of the city's $18 billion in debt, and the city's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, has called for "significant" pension cuts.
But even with pensions possibly getting the axe – along with who knows what else in terms of services for the already downtrodden city, or even masterpieces at the Detroit Institute of Art – Detroit still seems ready to shell out hundreds of millions of dollars to help pay for a new arena for the National Hockey League's Detroit Red Wings………
This is not The Onion.
Detroit is in bankruptcy (sort of, long story), but this billionaire has to get a shiny new stadium for his team.
It buggers the mind.
Labels: Budget , Corruption , Evil , Sports
Fried chicken recipe. (New York Times)
Oldest European cookbook found. (IO9)
How Damon Runyon Would Have Explained Jon Corzine. (Brad Hicks)
Scientific proof that cats are better than dogs. (Buzzfeed)
Below is a recent video of the proto-Punk group Death.
This group (some of the guys on stage in the vid are the sons of the original members) were from Detroit in the 1970s.
They predated the Sex Pistols, and the Ramones, and the Dead Kennedys, and the Clash by a few years.
As I've noted earlier, it does make you wonder how much the emergence of Punk was more of a societal trend than it was a
Labels: Linkage , Recipes , Video
We Lose
The House has narrowly rejected an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill to restrict NSA spying on Americans:
U.S. lawmakers angry about domestic telephone record-collection lost an effort to curtail funding for the intelligence-gathering tools revealed by fugitive U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden.
On a vote of 205-217, the House rejected an amendment that would have limited the National Security Agency’s ability to collect communications records.
Implementation of the amendment could have created a new burden on telephone and Internet companies to retain bulk data, in addition to ending the NSA’s blanket collection of phone records. Those possibilities led the White House, Republicans leaders and many congressional Democrats to oppose the proposals, pitting them against lawmakers from both parties who champion civil liberties and privacy.
The by-party tally is Democrats (111-83), and Republicans (94-134), a 5 vote margin, and it is almost certainly only because Obama started seriously twisting arms on the Dem side of the aisle in the past 48 hours or so. (My rep, John Sarbanes, voted yes).
Hopefully, this is only the start of the fight, and the next time, the good guys will pick up a few more votes, and win.
Labels: Civil Rights , Congress , Intelligence , Legislation , Privacy
If the NYT really cared about keeping the newspaper business profitable they wouldn’t be calling for Anthony Weiner to get out of the Mayor’s race.
Labels: Business , Funny , Good Writing , Media , Scandal , Sex
Just When You Thought that Obama's Secrecy Fetish Could Not Get Any More Reprehensible………
I present to you the case of Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye, who was imprisoned at the demand of the US government because he revealed that it was a US drone strike, and not a Yemeni army attack, that killed 41 civilians in al-Majalla in 2009.
His "trial" was condemned as a kangaroo court by numerous human rights group, and when the President of Yemen wanted to pardon him because of internal protests, Barack Obama personally called him to brow beat him into extending his detention.
Well, Shaye has now been released, but the official wheels in the Obama administration continue to try to grind him to dust:
News broke yesterday afternoon that, after a nearly three-year-long imprisonment, Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Haider Shaye had been released by the Yemeni government. Shaye's work drew international attention in 2009 when he reported on a U.S. airstrike in the Yemeni village of al-Majalla that killed 41 civilians. He also conducted multiple interviews with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
U.S. officials, including the U.S. ambassador to Yemen, have told journalists that Shaye facilitated AQAP attacks, but his accounts of his arrest detail press intimidation by the Yemeni government, then still headed by Ali Abdullah Saleh, who resigned amid mass protests in November 2011. Shaye's five-year prison sentence has drawn criticism from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Federation of Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Yemen-based Freedom Foundation.
The U.S. government is still concerned about Shaye. Bernadette Meehan, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, told FP this morning by email, "We are concerned and disappointed by the early release of Abd-Ilah al-Shai, who was sentenced by a Yemeni court to five years in prison for his involvement with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula." Meehan did not comment on whether the United States advocated against his release.
This is so repulsive on so many levels.
Labels: Barack Obama , Corruption , Evil , Hypocrisy , Journalism , Middle East , Terrorism
Damn It Feels Good To Be A Banksta
Because as a bankster you can break into someone's house, and take all their stuff, and not only are not arrested, you don't have to pay them anything for this:
An Ohio bank is refusing to reimburse a Vinton County woman whose house they unjustly repossessed while she was out of town.
Katie Barnett recently returned home after being away for two weeks to find that the lock on her door had been changed. She crawled in through the window to find all of her stuff missing.
Barnett suspected she had been robbed — and she wasn't too far off.
It seems that, while Barnett was gone, the First National Bank of Wellston arrived at her place of residence, broke in, and took possession of all her belongings, including the house.
Except, as it later turned out, they had the wrong address.
"They told me that the GPS led them to my house," Barnett told 10TV. "My grass hadn’t been mowed and they just assumed."
Phoning the local police to report the incident did Barnett little good, as the McArthur Police Chief refused to investigate and considered the case closed.
But for Barnett, the ordeal is very much ongoing.
With all of her stuff either sold off by the bank or thrashed, the homeowner presented the bank's president with an $18,000 estimate for restitution.
He refused to pay up.
"He got very firm with me and said, ‘We’re not paying you retail here, that’s just the way it is,’" Barnett recalled. "I did not tell them to come in my house and make me an offer. They took my stuff and I want it back."
Seriously, will no one prosecute these rat bastards?
They break into your house, they steal and trash all of your stuff, and when caught, they refuse to make you whole.
I would suggest that Katie Barnett lawyer up, put a lien on the f%$#ing bank's HQ, and then start foreclosure proceedings.
Labels: Corruption , Evil , Finance
This is Joseph. He is a well known commodity forecaster. (Biblical commodities hedging from FT)
The next financial weapon of mass destruction. (Reuters)
PA Republican GOP Chair admits that voter ID is for partisan advantage. (TPM)
No, the Komodo Dragon does not have a particularly dirty mouth. (NatGeo)
Another thought on the Trayvon Martin murder:
H/t DC at the Stellar Parthenon BBS.
It Means that She Frightens Them………
Politico, the epitome of the mindless and soulless Washington, DC stupidity, has published a hit piece on Elizabeth Warren.
They now see her as a threat.
Labels: Congress , Heroism , Media
A Patent Troll Bites the Dust
One of the worst of the parasite, Eolas, has had its patents invalidated:
The inventor of the Web, Tim Berners-Lee, had never testified in court before last year. In February 2012, he left Cambridge to fly down to Tyler, an East Texas city of about 100,000, to testify at a patent trial. It was the culmination of a bold campaign by a man named Michael Doyle to levy a vast patent tax on the modern web.
Berners-Lee was one of several web pioneers who came through the court during the course of a four-day trial, which ultimately convinced a jury to invalidate two patents owned by Eolas, the tiny patent-holding company that Doyle and his lawyers transformed into one of the most fearsome "patent trolls" of all time.
Now Eolas appears to be gone for good. The company mounted a lengthy appeal, but it was all for naught; this morning, a three-judge appeals panel affirmed the jury's verdict without comment.
Pei-Yuan Wei created the pioneering Viola browser, a key piece of prior art, while he was a student at UC-Berkeley in the early 1990s. Scott Silvey, another UC-Berkeley student at that time, testified about a program he made called VPlot, which allowed users to rotate an image of an airplane using Wei's browser. VPlot and Viola were demonstrated to Sun Microsystems in May 1993, months before Doyle claimed to have conceived of his invention.
Eolas claimed an tremendously broad patent on all forms of interactive web products.
Why the f%$# has Eolas been able to blackmail people for so long?
Labels: Corruption , Internet , IP , Patent
Why Janet Yellen will not Become the Federal Reserve Chairman
Because she has ovaries:
The favored parlor game of the political-economic complex right now is guessing who will replace Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve. The clear front-runner is Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen. But she’s by no means a sure thing.
One important reason she’s not — and I don’t know another way to say this — is sexism, as evidenced by the whispering campaign that’s emerged against her.
The message isn’t always delivered in a whisper, of course. In May, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher suggested on CNBC that if Yellen is chosen, the pick will have been “driven by gender.” That’s more of a shouting campaign.
Fisher hastened to add that Yellen is “extremely capable.” But, he said, “there are other capable people.” Capable people, I guess, who are male, and thus whose picks wouldn’t be driven by gender.
But Fisher’s comments aren’t the sort that matter in this process. They’re too crude. The significant doubts about Yellen are transmitted with more subtlety, and for months they’ve been coursing through the cloistered, close fraternity that will drive the selection of Bernanke’s successor.
If you look at the dynamics of the Obama administration and finance, at least under the auspices of (the now thankfully in private life) Timothy Geithner was contempt against those who lacked a Y chromosome.
Notwithstanding the presence of Valerie Jarrett, the Obama administration has many of the aspects of an old boy's club, and even if you ignore the "boys" part, it is a club, and Larry Summers is most assuredly a part of that club, and Janet Yellen isn't.
Labels: employment , Finance , regulation , White House
Barack Obama Reveals that he is Black
Barack Obama has spent pretty much all of his time on the national stage trying to avoid the accusation that he is the stereotypical "Angry Black Man", and so, with the brief exception (which he walked away from as quickly as he could) of a comment on the arrest of Henry Louis Gates.
This is why Obama saying that 35 years ago that he would be Trayvon Martin was such a big deal:
Barack Obama used an unexpected speech at the White House to personally address the debates over race relations that have convulsed America since George Zimmerman was acquitted over the shooting of the unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
In remarks immediately interpreted as the most expansive comments on race since he became president, Obama said the US was still not "a post-racial society".
"You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is: Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," he said.
But once again, it appears that Obama immediately followed this up by pandering to bigots racial profilers by floating the name of New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who has aggressively profiled blacks, Hispanics, and Muslims:
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama endorsed New York City police commissioner, and stop-and-frisk cheerleader, Ray Kelly as an adequate replacement for Janet Napolitano as head of the Department of Homeland Security. Under Kelly, the New York Police Department’s policy on randomly stopping people in the streets and then questioning and patting them down for weapons and drugs, imposed a stiff burden on black and Latino residents. According to the ACLU in New York, between 2002 and 2011, black and Latino New Yorkers made up close to 90 percent of those stopped by police — 88 percent of whom had no weapons or drugs on them when it happened. Kelly has staunchly defended the policy regardless of the racial profiling it codifies and its fruitless conclusions.
But Obama told Univision on Wednesday that “Kelly has obviously done an extraordinary job in New York,” and that the police commissioner is “one of the best there is” — an “outstanding leader in New York.”
“Mr. Kelly might be very happy where he is,” said Obama. “But if he’s not I’d want to know about it. ‘Cause, you know, obviously he’d be very well qualified for the job.”
This endorsement seems tone deaf given the current conversations nationwide around national security. Kelly’s “extraordinary” work in New York City has led to the city council passing the Community Safety Act, which scales back the police’s ability to racially profile considerably. Kelly’s stop-and-frisk policy is being challenged in federal court by the Center for Constitutional Rights right now. Obama’s own Justice Department may be sending in a federal monitor to ensure that NYPD stops racial profiling. The following, questioning and apprehension of targeted black males is at the crux of the current debate around George Zimmerman’s killing Trayvon Martin.
Also, you have to read the New York Times OP/Ed by Ta-Nehisi Coates:
It was candidate Obama who in 2008 pledged to “ban racial profiling” on a federal level and work to have it prohibited on the state level. It was candidate Obama who told black people that if they voted they would get a new kind of politics. And it was State Senator Obama who understood that profiling was the antithesis of such politics. Those of us raising our boys in the wake of Trayvon, or beneath the eye of the Demographics Unit, cannot fathom how the president could forget this.
Of course, the best argument against allowing Ray Kelly anywhere near law enforcement are the words of Ray Kelly, who, writing in (where else) The Wall Street Journal, where he engages in transparent lying to defend his career:
Since 2002, the New York Police Department has taken tens of thousands of weapons off the street through proactive policing strategies. The effect this has had on the murder rate is staggering. In the 11 years before Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office, there were 13,212 murders in New York City. During the 11 years of his administration, there have been 5,849. That's 7,383 lives saved—and if history is a guide, they are largely the lives of young men of color.
So far this year, murders are down 29% from the 50-year low achieved in 2012, and we've seen the fewest shootings in two decades.
He knows that these numbers are reflected nationwide in any number of cities with all sorts of different sorts of police tactics.
He knows these numbers, and the reason that he lies about this is because the only way that he can defend his contemptible policies is to misrepresent his numbers, and what they mean.
Labels: Barack Obama , Bigotry , Hypocrisy , Race , White House
It's a new feature for my blog.
Basically stuff that I don't have anything about but, "KEWL!!!!"
I'll be doing this whenever the f%$# I feel like it.
When mushrooms ruled the earth.
Durgin Park recipes for Baked Beans and Indian Pudding. (.doc file) (BTW, if anyone has a suggestion for a kosher replacement for pork fatback [for the baked beans] and for corn meal [for the Indian pudding] it would be appreciated.
Why the rich are above the law. (Short version: our justice system is geared toward extracting plea bargains, and the rich have the resources to take it to trial.)
We are currently fighting 74 different wars. (Old, but worth it)
Labels: Linkage , Meta , Video
Obama Continues to Spy on Ordinary Americans
They just got a 3 month extension of its data drift net of Verizon, and one would assume everyone else too:
The National Security Agency has been allowed to extend its dragnet of the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon through a court order issued by the secret court that oversees surveillance.
In an unprecedented move prompted by the Guardian's disclosure in June of the NSA's indiscriminate collection of Verizon metadata, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has publicly revealed that the scheme has been extended yet again.
The statement does not mention Verizon by name, nor make clear how long the extension lasts for, but it is likely to span a further three months in line with previous routine orders from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Fisa).
The announcement flowed, the statement said, from the decision to declassify aspects of the metadata grab "in order to provide the public with a more thorough and balanced understanding of the program".
According to Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein, the Verizon phone surveillance has been in place – updated every three months – for at least six years, and it is understood to have been applied to other telecoms giants as well.
Not feeling hopey changey here.
Labels: Civil Rights , Intelligence , Privacy
What Yves Smith Said
She makes a compelling case against Larry Summers being the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Basically, it comes down to the fact that he is a polarizing personality who refuses to listen to others:
The big problem with Summers is not his record on deregulation (although that’s bad enough) or his foot-in-mouth remarks about women in math, or for suggesting that African countries would make for good toxic waste dumps. No, it’s his appalling record the one time he was in a leadership position, as president of Harvard. Summers was unquestionably the worst leader in Harvard’s history.
Summers, unduly impressed with his own economic credentials, overruled two successive presidents of Harvard Management Corporation (the in-house fund management operation chock full of well qualified and paid money managers that invest the Harvard endowment). Not content to let the pros have all the fun, Summers insisted on gambling with the university’s operating funds, which are the monies that come in every year (tuition and board payments, government grants, the payments out of the endowment allotted to the annual budget). His risk-taking left the University with over $2 billion in losses and unwind costs and forced wide-spread budget cuts, even down to getting rid of hot breakfasts.
So Summers couldn’t keep his ego out of the way, bullied the people around him, ignored the advice of not one but two presidents of Harvard Management, and left a smoldering pile of losses in his wake. And serious adults are prepared to allow someone with so little maturity and such misplaced self confidence to have major sway over much bigger economic decisions?
Summers’ second big problem is the scandal that led to his ouster at Harvard, which was NOT the “women suck at elite math and sciences” remarks. The university has conveniently let that be assumed to be the proximate cause.
In fact, it was Summers’ long-standing relationship with and protection of Andrei Schleifer, a Harvard economics professor, who was at the heart of a corruption scandal where he used his influential role on a Harvard contract advising on Russian privatization to enrich himself and his wife, his chief lieutenant Jonathan Hay, and other cronies. The US government sued Harvard for breach of contract and Shleifer and Hay for fraud and won.
And yes, he was also hip deep in the ouster of Brooksley Born for her demands that derivatives be regulated.
So, he doesn't listen, he alienates those around him, he is deeply involved in a massive corruption scandal, and he has been wrong on basically everything outside of academe.
Given this record, I expect him to fail up into the Federal Reserve.
Labels: Finance , regulation , Stupid , Wanker
Why I Want Rush Holt and not Corey Booker to be the Next Senator from New Jersey
Go Rush Holt!
Rush Holt has proposed eliminating the tax cap on social security, which would keep the fund solvent until the sun burns down to a cinder.
You won't hear this from Corey Booker, because he is owned by Wall Street, who is determined to get their hands on this money, so that they can generate fees.
Labels: Congress , Elections , Politics , Social Safety Net , Video
Helen Thomas Dead at 92
Link.
While it was clear from her statements later in life, she was aggressively anti-Zionist, it should be noted that this was not her journalistic beat.
On her beat, the White House, she was a pain in the ass to 10 successive administrations, which is what a reporter assigned to the White House is supposed to do.
Labels: Journalism , Obituaries
Johnny Cashing It Today
Remember when I complained about ruining my shirt by leaving an uncapped pen in my pocket?
My dad, who follows my blog, sent me a bunch of dark colored shirts, including a black dress shirt.
Without thinking, I put on the black shirt today, and also grabbed a pair of black slacks.
I got comments on my style sense from about 5 people at work, the best being, "Johnny Cashing it today?"
I think that this is the closest that I have ever been to being fashionable in my life.
Labels: 40yrs , employment , Fashion , Weird
I Don't Give a Crap
It has been reported that Britain's biggest welfare family is expecting their first child.
Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, is reportedly in labo(u)r.
To quote George Washington, "Let there be no Kings."
Americans should not be following this news with baited breath.
I can't wait to hear what Vonners, my (small R) republican British friend has to day about this.
Labels: Breaking News , Europe , Wanker
Gee, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
After all, the market solves everything, so the sale of the UK's primary blood plasma supplier to Bain Capital should work out just fine:
The Government was tonight accused of gambling with the UK’s blood supply by selling the state-owned NHS plasma supplier to a US private equity firm.
The Department of Health overlooked several healthcare or pharmaceutical firms and at least one blood plasma specialist before choosing to sell an 80 per cent stake in Plasma Resources UK to Bain Capital, the company co-founded by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, in a £230m deal. The Government will retain a 20 per stake and a share of potential future profits.
PRUK has annual sales of around £110m and consists of two companies: it employs 200 people at Bio Products Laboratory (BPL) in Elstree, Hertfordshire, and more than 1,000 at DCI Biologicals Inc in the US. DCI collects plasma from American donors and sends it to BPL where it is separated into blood proteins, clotting factors and albumin for supply to NHS hospitals in the treatment of immune deficiencies, neurological diseases, and haemophilia.
Considering the damage caused in the US because the American Red Cross (under the direction of Liddy Dole) and big pharma, both of whom resisted 100% testing for years,and killed tens of thousands of hemophiliacs in the United States, and many times that world wide, this does not fill em with confidence about the UK blood supply.
Labels: Business , Disaster , Healthcare , Philosophy
Silly Rabbit, Extradition is for Other Countries
Robert Seldon Lady, the former CIA station chief in Rome, was arrested in Panama on an Italian warrant after he was convicted in absentia for kidnapping Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr and sending him to Egypt to be tortured.
Less than 24 hours later, he was on his way back to the United States, free from any legal jeopardy:
Former CIA Milan station chief Robert Seldon Lady, who was convicted in Italy of kidnapping an Egyptian Muslim cleric and recently arrested in Panama, is headed back to the United States, a State Department spokeswoman said on Friday.
"It is my understanding that he is in fact either en route or back in the United States," said Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman.
So he'll probably never face trial for this.
In an interview, he invoked the good German defense:
He was quoted as telling Il Giornale newspaper in 2009 that he was not guilty and was carrying out orders from his superiors.
Just following orders. I thought that Nuremberg settled this matter. This is not supposed to be a valid defense.
But don't worry, he has already suffered great punishment:
Also in that interview, he said he had wanted to stay in Italy but his retirement villa with vineyards had been seized to cover court costs.
Compare this to what is looking at Edward Snowden.
Note also the case of Posada Carriles, who blow up a civilian airliner, but lives in safety in the United States.
Labels: Crimes Against Humanity , Foreign Relations , Hypocrisy , Justice , Torture
Bank Failure Friday on Sunday!
We had the 10th credit union failure last Monday, Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union, the rate of bank and credit union failures certainly have been slowing down.
Labels: Finance , regulation
Deep Thought
Labels: Deep Thoughts , Politics
Went to Another Concert Tonight
A band called Junior Doctor.
They are doing an (I kid you not) living room tour, which is why out looks like they are playing in a living room.
We drive across the Bay Bridge to Stevenville.
Good music, and the bass player/keyboardist (Davey Hoogerwerf) was particularly impressive. His bass playing was insane.
Because of the limitations of playing in a living room, the drummer, Jarrod Kearney, played a Cajón, the box like instrument that he is sitting on.
Mark Hartman does lead vocals and rhythm guitar.
It was (obviously) a very intimate setting.
Natalie got a compliment on her song writing (she had shared some songs with then a few weeks back via Facebook). This had her going "SQUEEE!" All the easy home.
Charlie got himself filmed by the band members once they saw his mad (Rubik's) cube skills.
It was a good time for all, though there was a 45 minute hangup on the Bay Bridge going home because of an accident.
Labels: family , Music
At a Vort
(Yiddish for engagement party)
This is my nephew and his betrothed.
Labels: family , Religion
What Stefan Svallfors Said
He has nominated Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize as a way for the Nobel committee to atone for giving the aware do Obama:
In his letter addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Stefan Svallfors praised Snowden for his“heroic effort at great personal cost.” He stated that by revealing the existence and the scale of the US surveillance programs, Snowden showed “individuals can stand up for fundamental rights and freedoms.”
“This example is important because since the Nuremberg trials in 1945 has been clear that the slogan ‘I was just following orders’ is never claimed as an excuse for acts contrary to human rights and freedoms,” Professor Svallfors wrote.
He emphasized that the decision to award the 2013 prize to Edward Snowden would also “help to save the Nobel Peace Prize from the disrepute incurred by the hasty and ill-conceived decision to award US President Barack Obama 2009 award.”
Not being George W. Bush is an insufficient reason to give someone a f%$#ing Nobel f%$#ing Peace prize.
Labels: Corruption , Foreign Relations , Hypocrisy , Secrecy
Worst Constitutional Law Professor Ever
So, a judge rules that guards grabbing the genitals of Guantánamo prisoners who want to talk to their lawyers is interfering with their right to counsel, so they are appealing:
A federal appeals court is allowing Guantánamo guards to resume searching detainees’ genitals on their way to and from legal meetings while the Obama administration challenges a federal judge’s ruling that the searches unfairly impede attorney-client interaction.
The order Wednesday by a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit capped 24 hours of legal wrangling: The Justice Department asked a New York lawyer to let guards search her client’s genital area, the lawyer refused and the Southern Command’s top general joined the fray with a sworn declaration that a federal judge got it wrong.
Groin searches aren’t intended to prevent legal meetings, said Southcom’s Marine Gen. John F. Kelly, noting that his Guantánamo soldiers similarly search captives meeting with Red Cross delegates.
Past practice of shaking a captive’s trousers to see if “nails, shanks, ragged scraps of metal” fall out “posed an unacceptable risk to the safety and security of detainees and guards,” Kelly said.
Last week, detainee lawyers persuaded U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth that the invasive searches, adopted amid a widespread hunger strike, were discouraging some of Guantánamo’s 166 captives from voluntarily leaving their cells for meetings with their lawyers. Lamberth ordered the guards to stop it, and resume the practice of physically shaking the waistband of the pants of a prisoner to see if any contraband comes out.
In his ruling last week, Lamberth concluded that the motivation for the searches was not to enhance security but to deter the detainees’ access to attorneys by implementing search procedures that are “religiously and culturally abhorrent” to devout Muslims.
Lamberth’s ruling had sought to reset the search procedures to an era before Latif’s death. The judge noted that there was no proof that Latif hid the drugs in his genital area.
In London, detainee attorney Crider, who works for a non-profit law firm Reprieve, called the refusal to follow Lamberth’s order “contempt of court, pure and simple. Why is it suddenly essential for the government to grope my clients in a way that been off-limits for years?”
I'm beginning to think that the Bush/Cheney regime of overt lawlessness is preferable to the protestations by Obama and His Evil Minions™ that they "respect" the rule of law and due process.
Labels: Civil Rights , Corruption , Evil , Justice , Terrorism , War
The Final word on George Zimmerman, Care of Alex Fraser
Dear George Zimmerman,
For the rest of your life you are now going to feel what its like to be a black man in America.
You will feel people stare at you. Judging you for what you think are unfair reasons. You will lose out on getting jobs for something you feel is outside of your control. You will believe yourself to be an upstanding citizen and wonder why people choose to not see that.
People will cross the street when they see you coming. They will call you hurtful names. It will drive you so insane some days that you'll want to scream at the top of your lungs. But you will have to wake up the next day, put on firm look and push through life.
I bet you never thought that by shooting a black male you'd end up inheriting all of his struggles.
Enjoy your "freedom."
A black male who could've been Trayvon Martin
From his Facebook page.
Labels: Bigotry , Crimes , Good Writing , Race , Racism
Those Whom the Gods Destroy, They First Make Weird(er)
So, Michelle Bachmann is under investigation for campaign finance violations, one of her staff has been charged in petty thefts in other Congressional offices, and now its been revealed that aa Conservative Christian group mailed vibrator to Michele Bachmann:
.Hundreds of pages of email and text message correspondence made public last week shed new light on the infighting and organizational disarray that have plagued America’s leading conservative Christian political consulting firm in recent months.
As BuzzFeed reported in June, the Columbus-based Strategy Group for Media — which has represented dozens of tea party and religious right Republicans, including Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Michele Bachmann, and Newt Gingrich — has been mired in lawsuits and internal tumult since last spring, when seven of the firm’s managers staged a religious intervention with their CEO, Rex Elsass. After the managers made their demands in a dramatic meeting that culminated with them laying hands on their boss and praying for his soul, Elsass fired three of his top lieutenants, including his longtime protégé and Strategy Group President Nick Everhart.
The series of emails and text messages, made public on the Franklin County Court website in the ongoing lawsuit between Everhart and Strategy Group, adds further detail to that meeting, and shows the extent to which the company’s managers were worried about Elsass’ psychological and spiritual health. They also reveal potentially embarrassing anecdotes for the company, including one incident in which an executive said Elsass accidentally mailed a “female pleasure machine” to Rep. Michele Bachmann.
And an email thread from May 29 — after the three managers were fired — featured Strategy Group’s former voter-contact consultant P.J. Wenzel making reference to Elsass sending “female pleasure machines” to Bachmann. The emails don’t elaborate on the incident, but one person familiar with the story told BuzzFeed that Elsass had intended to give Bachmann a vibrating head massager to help alleviate her migraines, and that the employee he sent to buy the gift accidentally purchased something that more closely resembled a sex toy — and sent it to her office.
Tyler said the item in question was purchased at Brookstone and was not a sex toy, but he declined to provide further information about the product. (Brookstone announced in 2011 that it had begun selling “pleasure objects.”)
The person familiar with the story said the firm successfully retrieved the gift before Bachmann could open it.
Seriously, have you noticed that when a political figure's career is in a death spiral, that there suddenly emerge a plethora of stories that are even weirder than before?
By this benchmark, I think that Michelle Bachmann will be sent to Gitmo.
Labels: Corruption , Politics , Schadenfreude , Weird
If the Washington Post Were to Replace Richard Cohen with Pat Buchanan………
No one could tell the difference, except that Pat is a more interesting writer.
So, it's OK to stalk a black boy in a hoodie because he's a black boy in a hoodie, just like when he said that it was OK for jewelers to refuse to allow black people into their stores.
He also decided that the Polanski child rape was no big deal, basically because he likes Chinatown. (I would note that there are legitimate issues of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct, which are serious issues, but Cohen, and the almost as awful Anne Applebaum, are just horrible human beings.)
I do not understand why Cohen is not sweeping floors for a living.
Labels: Bigotry , Evil , Hypocrisy , Racism , Wanker
Unloading on Florida After the Zimmerman Verdict
The hosts of Comedy Central both unload with both barrels
Oliver:
A well deserved smackdown of a state that seem determined to elevate Carl Hiassen from novelist to documentarian.
Labels: Bigotry , Funny , Justice , People I Do Not Want to Piss Off , Racism , Video
Damn, This is Weird
There have been rumors of a corruption investigation f Representative Michelle Bachmann for some time. Well, now a senior staffer of hers has been arrested for petty thefts from other Congressional offices.
Have you ever noticed that just before a political figure is frog marched out of the building in handcuffs, their staff starts getting busted for the weirdest crap?
Well, it looks like Bachmann is on the hit parade:
That's Javier Sanchez back in June of this year with his then-boss, Michele Bachmann. [Not bothering with the picture here] They're headed for a closed briefing on the NSA disclosures. Javier Sanchez was a high-level legislative director for Michele Bachmann, assisting her with issues such as immigration reform, the farm bill, and her oxymoronic assignment to the House Intelligence Committee.
On July 11, Mr. Sanchez was arrested on charges that he burglarized several offices belonging to other House members. From news reports, it appears that some thefts took place back in 2012 and others in 2013.
It has been noted that, "Sanchez has been charged with Theft II," which is for amounts less than $1000.00.
If this is the indicator that I think that it is, then Michelle Bachmann is toast.
Labels: Congress , Corruption , Schadenfreude , Weird
I Think that Carl Levin Just Suggested that Obama Fire James Clapper
Seeing as how Levin is one of the most intelligence agency friendly Senators, so the fact that he is subtly suggesting that DNI Clapper be fired is a significant thing:
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said Tuesday that he was “troubled” by the testimony of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and was unsure how Clapper could be held accountable.
The testimony prompted criticism from lawmakers and led to some calls for his resignation over the false testimony.
Levin said he wouldn’t go that far but suggested that the only way Clapper could be held accountable was if President Obama fired him.
“I’m troubled by that testimony, obviously,” Levin said at a breakfast roundtable hosted by The Christian Science Monitor.
“How do you hold him accountable? I guess the only way to do that would be for the president to, somehow or other, fire him,” Levin added. “I think he’s made it clear that he regrets saying what he said. I don’t want to call on the president to fire him, although I’m troubled by this.”
Actually, the distinguished gentleman from Michigan does want Clapper fired, he would not have brought it up, and then dismissed the suggestion, if he did not want Clapper gone.
Labels: Congress , employment , Evil , Hypocrisy , Intelligence
White supremacy: the idea that some black men must be killed with impunity to keep society at large safe. http://t.co/t6eK1WzL3D
— The Nation (@thenation) July 14, 2013
Labels: Bigotry , Good Writing , Justice
Not a Great Day for Jews
It is Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month Av, and a small subset of the nasty bits of Jewish history follows:
The report of the spies from Canaan, resulting in the people of Israel spending 40 Years in the Desert.
The destruction of the 1st Temple.
The destruction of the 2nd Temple.
The Romans razed Betar, killing 100,000 Jews.
The Romans plowed the temple mount.
The start of the 1st Crusade. (You see it as a coming together of Christendom. I see it as a pogrom with years of murder and rape.)
The expulsion of Jews from England.
The expulsion of Jews from France.
The expulsion of Jews from Spain.
Germany entered the WW I. (Can be legitimately claimed to have directly led to the Shoah)
Formal approval of the "Final Solution" by the Nazis in 1941.
Deportations to Treblinka from the Warsaw Ghetto begin in 1942.
Excuse me while I find something sturdy to cover my head with.
Labels: History , Religion
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission could have instituted real and effective rules on swaps trades by doing nothing, but they caved to the banks, because the banks refused to prepare for the deadline:
I’m going to be brief, in part because the CFTC’s probable demonstration of lack of gumption is still in play, while the SEC’s was expected but nevertheless appalling. But the bottom line is that even though we seem some intermittent signs of the officialdom recognizing that big banks remain a menace to the health and well-being to the general public*, the measures to constrain them continue to be inadequate.
As readers may recall, CFTC chairman Gary Gensler was in a position to stare down bank efforts to water down critical provisions of Dodd Frank on derivatives (see here for details of the issues at stake). The short version is that Gensler did not have the votes among his commissioners to support his position since the Administration had managed to appoint a bank stooge as one of the Democrats. However, Gensler controlled the agenda. That meant he had the option of not putting the matter to a vote of his fellow commissioners at all, which meant Dodd Frank would become effective as written (mind you, normally legislation does legitimately require some tweaking since the legislative language may be imprecise or not mesh well with existing rules).
What appears to have forced Gensler to relent was not the CFTC politics, but bank refusal to prepare, which meant they could stamp their feet and say if Gensler did not back down, the markets would blow up and it would all be his fault.
Read the rest, and you will not just be disgusted by the CFTC, you will want to replace the SEC with a trained monkey as well.
Barack Obama Gets a Warning from Dianne Feinstein*
If there is one constant in the US Senate, it is that Dianne Feinstein is friendly to an expansive and intrusive state security apparatus.
Thus her signing onto letter to Obama suggesting that his allowing the force feeding of prisoners at Guantanamo is illegal is a big deal:
Dianne Feinstein and Dick Durbin sent Obama a letter yesterday, using Kessler’s [The Federal Judge who condemned the force feeding, but said that she had no standing to rule] ruling to connect the two explicitly.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Gladys Kessler also expressed concern about the force-feeding of Guantanamo Bay detainees. The Court denied detainee Jihad Dhiab’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop force-feeding due to lack of jurisdiction, but in her order, Judge Kessler noted that Dhiab has set out in great detail in his court filings “what appears to be a consensus that force-feeding of prisoners violates Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which prohibits torture or cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.” The United States has ratified the ICCPR and is obligated to comply with its provisions. Judge Kessler also wrote, “it is perfectly clear from the statements of detainees, as well as the statements from the [medical] organizations just cited, that force-feeding is a painful, humiliating, and degrading process.” (emphasis added).
The judge concluded by correctly pointing out that you, as Commander in Chief, have the authority to intercede on behalf of Dhiab, and other similarly-situated detainees at Guantanamo. The court wrote: “Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution provides that ‘[t]he President shall be the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States. …’ It would seem to follow, therefore, that the President of the United States, as Commander-in-Chief, has the authority—and power—to directly address the issue of force-feeding of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay.”
Feinstein only by association makes the next part of her argument. We comply with these treaties by complying with our Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel or unusual punishment. And the government has long said that if we can do something elsewhere in a our gulag system, we can do it in Gitmo.
Say what you will about DiFi (lord knows I’ve often said the same, where I thought it appropriate), but she has just told a President from her own party that he’s breaking the law.
This is what you call a, "statement against interests."
When DiFi is implying that your intelligence activities are over the top, you have jumped the shark.
I would also note that the Snowden matter might very have something to do with this, she also sent a letter expressing concerns to SecDef Hagel about a month ago (about a week and a half after the Snowden revelations).
The US state security apparatus still thinks that this will blow over, but even DiFi realizes that something has changed.
*Full disclosure, her grandfather, Sam Goldman, and my great-grandfather, Harry Goldman, were brothers.
Labels: Barack Obama , Congress , Crimes Against Humanity , Torture
Back Loaded Bribery
If you play ball with the monied people who want law and regulation structured to ensure that their wealth increases even more, then they reward you with lucrative jobs, like a high paid lobbyist, or, as in the case of Timothy "Eddie Haskell" Geithner, an absurdly lucrative speaking gig:
During his tenure as Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner was constantly dogged by the belief that he was spawned from Wall Street. This thinking was false: If you need a refresher, Geithner had actually spent most of his career in government, and none of it at a bank. When he left office this year, Geithner said that it would be "extremely unlikely" for that to change.
But as it turns out, Geithner is now being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by massive financial organizations. It's just that he isn't being paid to work on Wall Street; he's just being paid to talk every now and then.
The Financial Times reports that Geithner, like countless former public servants before him, has hit the highly lucrative speaking circuit. He's already made about $400,000 in just three engagements. And that tab is being footed by financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank and Blackstone, which paid him about $200,000 and up to $100,000, respectively.
No one ever explicitly told Geithner that if he protected the banksters, he woud get a payoff, but this is explicit in Washington, DC's revolving door.
He knew that he would get rewarded, and he has not been disabused of this belief.
H/t Gaius Publius.
Labels: Corruption , Finance , regulation , Wanker
Bummer of a Birthmark, Boeing
A Boeing 787 caught fire at Heathrow, though there are no indications that batteries are involved:
Investigators classified the fire that broke out on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner parked at London's Heathrow airport as a "serious incident" but have found no evidence it was caused by the plane's batteries, Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said on Saturday.
The question of whether the fire was connected to the batteries is crucial because the entire global fleet of Dreamliners, Boeing's groundbreaking new flagship jet, was grounded for three months this year due to battery-related problems.
The AAIB designation fell just short of a full-blown "accident" on the scale it uses to describe investigations. The agency's preliminary probe is expected to take several days, opening up Boeing to more questions about its top-selling plane.
When Boeing decided that it would be a good idea to outsource most of its expertise to "risk sharing partners", it was pretty much inevitable.
As I noted 2 years ago in the case of Dell Computer, this is penny wise and pound foolish:
So the decline of manufacturing in a region sets off a chain reaction. Once manufacturing is outsourced, process-engineering expertise can’t be maintained, since it depends on daily interactions with manufacturing. Without process-engineering capabilities, companies find it increasingly difficult to conduct advanced research on next-generation process technologies. Without the ability to develop such new processes, they find they can no longer develop new products. In the long term, then, an economy that lacks an infrastructure for advanced process engineering and manufacturing will lose its ability to innovate.
Boeing's problems are further complicated by the fact that its partners did not have the time to develop the expertise to do the job right, so now we have a troubled airliner where the sum of the parts is less than the whole.
Labels: Aviation , Business , Manufacturing , technology
F%$# Florida
George Zimmerman was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin.
The problem here is that the law, and quite honestly the whole governmental apparatus, of Florida is broken.
Between stand your ground, and half-assed Sanford cops, my guess is that this was inevitable.
Expect more people to be shot for being black in "stand your ground" states now.
Labels: Corruption , Evil , Justice
The rolling stones played their first gig in public.
Feel old? I do.
Labels: History , Music , Video
Well Duh!
The Washington Post notes that, "Lawmakers say administration’s lack of candor on surveillance weakens oversight."
Gee, you think?
Lawmakers tasked with overseeing national security policy say a pattern of misleading testimony by senior Obama administration officials has weakened Congress’s ability to rein in government surveillance.
Members of Congress say officials have either denied the existence of a broad program that collects data on millions of Americans or, more commonly, made statements that left some lawmakers with the impression that the government was conducting only narrow, targeted surveillance operations.
The most recent example came on March 12, when James R. Clapper, director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the government was not collecting information about millions of Americans. He later acknowledged that the statement was “erroneous” and apologized, citing a misunderstanding.
"Misunderstanding," my ass.
Clapper was given a day's notice that the question was going to be asked, and he was given an opportunity to further clarify immediately after the fact.
He simply lied, because he knew that he could.
Labels: Evil , Hypocrisy , Intelligence , Privacy , Stupid
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acuya, Harrier, kerflubble, killcarrion, Sebastian, wrestleryu, Yori
Showdown '19: Mako "The Shark" Adachi (C) vs Daisuke Takeuchi: Tension World Title Match
AFW :: Tension :: PPV :: Showdown
Re: Showdown '19: Mako "The Shark" Adachi (C) vs Daisuke Takeuchi: Tension World Title Match
by M.J.Caboose14 on Mon Jan 13, 2020 3:41 pm
Mako was cocky by nature. Confidence coasted through her like blood in her veins. Hell it was probably even in her dna. No matter how much it affected her, she could never change that. Honestly, Mako knew it was a problem. But she still couldn’t stop herself. Right now, though, Mako really wished she could stop being cocky....
*THWACK*
Although she couldn’t understand how, Mako would see Daisuke coming at her with one of the chairs she had chucked in earlier.. “Eh!? Princey isn’t that tough, is he?” the shark thought to herself. But it was far too late for her to stop him. “What the fu-UUCCKKKKK!!!“ the champ began to say before chair suddenly met skull. Mako ended up dropping backwards instantly from the blow to her head. At the very least, she was super lucky that the table had been set up a bit too far to the right for her to fall through it. However, landing on the floor hurt too. Mako ended up bouncing up briefly after landing on her back. Looking incredibly stunned, all the champ could do was stare up at the ceiling as she slowly began to remember everything, starting with her own name.
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by Teenwrestler on Tue Jan 14, 2020 11:35 am
The wrestling prince wasn't usually the type of person who would resort to chair shots when wrestling against anyone, especially against someone of the opposite gender. He always considered himself to be a graceful and technical grappler rather than a maniac using brute force or raw power to get over his matches. However, Mako was no normal opponent and he realized that from his many encounters with her and especially the last one they had in the ring.
So, when the chance came begging, Daisuke would swing that chair and smack it against the head of the King to knock her off the ring apron and send her off the ring apron and down onto her back on the outside floor. She was lucky she didn't fall on the table she had set moments ago, otherwise the fall would have been much worse.
Daisuke would soon join Mako on the outside, dropping down on the floor before proceeding to bend down and grab her by the hair, pulling her up on her feet. "This is what you want isn't it? Just you and me like caged animals?" he hissed. With that, Daisuke would attempt to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her up to deliver a spinebuster on the table that she had set up.
Ami "The Supermodel" Takeuchi
Daisuke 'The Wrestling Prince' Takeuchi
Friction:
Misaki Toyoda (Part-timer)
Sakura Hagiwara
Teenwrestler
Location : Here ---->
by M.J.Caboose14 on Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:29 pm
Mako would let out a groan as Daisuke pulled her up by her hair. Although she was looking pretty out of it, the shark would still let out a slight laugh in response. "...Hell yeah..." Mako would say back to her opponent as if this all came naturally to her. Which of course, it did. Mako was a violent woman. Plain and simple. Giving or receiving didn't matter to her really. As long as things got rough she was happy. So since Daisuke was holding nothing back, the champ couldn't be happier.
The challenger wasn't done, though. It looked like Daisuke's 'rough treatment' was only getting started as the wrestling prince suddenly hoisted the champ up before bringing her down through the table with a spine buster! The impact utterly shattered the table using Mako's body. Leaving the shark flat on her back as she held the back of her head with both arms. Despite the beating she was taking, Mako was still adamant that things were not as dire as they seemed. Sure the fans would probably be terrified seeing their champ getting wailed on. But that just meant they'd all be far more ecstatic when she turned things around! Needless to say the complete opposite was still possible and would pretty much crush the fans entirely. Which was why Mako had no intention of even thinking like that. If she let any stress get to her nerves, then the king would be in big trouble. But if she fought with her usual attitude, then Mako could take anyone down!
"Aaack...fuck! Ugh...No hard feelings...but...I'm gonna really fuck you up...for that..." Mako would groan, albeit in a playful manner even if she was 100% serious about really fucking Daisuke up. Sure pounding on her like this is exactly what she wants during matches. But at the same time, these sorts of things only only encouraged her to raise the level of violence. In fact, she was already trying to think of a way to kick Daisuke through one of the steel walls they were trapped in. Impossible? Probably. Did that matter? Absolutely not. Mako would still try to do that no matter what!
by Teenwrestler on Tue Jan 14, 2020 3:01 pm
Despite the weird connection Daisuke had with Mako, he never understood her taste for violence. Sure, Daisuke enjoyed winning wrestling matches and putting others down by making them admit he was the best wrestler but he never enjoyed the violent side of wrestling that would transition them into fights rather than wrestling. For him, this was to be treated as a game of chess rather than a barbaric duel between two warriors.
However, his last fight with Mako taught him if he were to beat the Shark he would have to stoop down to her level and beat her with an inch of her life. With that in mind he would slam her back through the table with a spinebuster that left the champ screaming in pain.
"Hmph, I'd like to see you try Mako" he said in a cold response. Once more, he grabbed her by the hair to pull her up on her feet. "I never wanted this. This is what YOU wanted Mako" he would say dragging her towards the steel structure. The prince would then grab both of her hands and attempt to forcefully Irish Whip the Shark into the steel fence with as much force as he could.
Mako had literally no clue this type of thing was only fun for her. Maybe it was because the prince, despite not enjoying excessive violence, was still pretty good at brutalizing her. Then again, it was probably because Mako was so dense that she didn't even have a clue about Daisuke's side of things. Even if he flat out told her, the champ would probably say he was 'playing hard to get' or 'denying his true feelings'. Then she'd probably start hitting him harder to make the guy admit it, then he'd get mad and hit her back harder, but since that's literally what she wanted, Mako would no doubt think she was right, etc...etc...etc...
...honestly it'd just be easier if they just kept fighting instead of even trying to get on the same page...
So, without even taking notice of how cold Daisuke's voice was, the shark would groan as she was once again pulled back up. This time it took a bit longer since even Mako couldn't deal with tables that easy. Getting up slower would probably make her opponent impatient, but the same could be said about the champ. After all, she wanted to keep fighting more than him. While Daisuke just wanted to end this, she was dying for an insane brawl. Once she was on her feet, though, Mako seemed to sway a bit from side to side. Clearly she was a bit wobbly, but that didn't stop her defiance.
"...Heh...well duh...why wouldn't I want this?" Mako laughed at the wrestling prince as he led her forwards a bit. She wasn't even close to regretting her choices, so at this point Daisuke was wasting his breathe. Soon Mako would find herself pulled suddenly, and it was clear he planned to slam her into the steel cage. Plus, being so close just meant it would hurt more. It only took a single second for her back to collide with the metal structure. Instantly feeling the wind getting knocked out of her, even Mako normally would've dropped flat on her face from such an impact. However, the cage actually bounced her back due to just how hard she had hit it. This caused her to take a few steps before collapsing on her knees with the side of her face smacking against her opponent's midsection. Normally this would be so hot for her. Sadly, these abs didn't belong to a woman. It was a shame, falling face first into a woman's abs was a fantasy of her's. Still, this gave her somewhat of a lucky break. Mustering her strength quickly, Mako would try to pull back her arms before trying to land a forearm strike to Daisuke's bread basket. Not that great of a counter, but it was a good enough start. Mako could definitely work with this...
Despite all their time spent together, perhaps Daisuke didn't fully understand or get Mako all that well. She seemed like the person who would just love to fight, no hold barred, no strings attached and just an out and out fight. Clearly, things had worked out for her because she was the Tension world champion.
He would then shake off these thoughts and focus on whats most important, taking that title from her waist onto his own. With that thought in mind, Daisuke would brutally whip Mako into the steel fence. The Shark's front would SMACK hard against the structure before she would wobble back and fall to her knees, her head leaning against Daisuke's abs.
"Hmph! Is that it? Do you gi-Ouugghh why you" Daisuke would growl in anger when Mako would strike his lower half. This would anger the prince in so much that he would pull Mako up on her feet before wrapping his arms around her body and pulled her up in a bearhug position. He would give her firm squeeze before charging towards the ring post and attempting to drive her back into said post.
by M.J.Caboose14 on Wed Jan 15, 2020 1:20 pm
"Aaaack!!! Fuck...Fuck Daisuke! If you...wanted to crush on me...you should've...done it a while ago!" Mako barked out in pain. Still taunting her opponent even as he crushed her in his arms, the champ would squirm as much as she could. Legs kicking as she was held in the air, Mako would even try to pry Daisuke's arms off her. However, that wasn't working very well at all. Then, the wrestling prince would manage to charge forwards and drive the shark's back into the ring post!
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she'd cry out as her spine collided with the hard post. Mako would feel her strength waver from such a collision, and she briefly went limp in her opponent's arms. This moment of weakness didn't last long, though. Regardless of how bad that hurt, Mako would force herself to start punching Daisuke's face as soon as she possibly could. While the prince proved his toughness when he recovered from that double knee drop so fast, Mako was doing that sort of thing all the time. So it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the champ was already starting to smash her fist into Daisuke's face. Due to the punishment she'd taken so far, there was a brief pause in between every punch that Mako threw. At least for the moment, she had to muster up her strength before every strike. If she could just get out of this bear hug, then Mako could try to recover her stamina.
by Teenwrestler on Wed Jan 15, 2020 2:18 pm
He knew that Mako was one tough SOB and that there was no way she was ever going to submit to a plain bearhug. So, the prince decided to spice things up shortly after pulling her up and squeezing her. "Tsk, you still don't get it do you? This is just a big game to you isn't it?" he would growl in response to her taunting. Daisuke would then charge towards the steel post and RAM her back into the steel post which caused Mako to scream out loud in pain.
This was an indication to the prince that he was on the right track and soon he would end victorious if he would keep this up. However, the tenacious Shark would show that she was as determined, if not more, as the prince. Right after her back was clattered against the post, she would begin to punch Daisuke's face.
"Arghh, Oww" he moaned. Daisuke would squeeze her back harder before once again start a sprint, this time looking to drive her back into the steel cage door, attempting to drive her through the cage door and out of the steel structure.
"RAAAUGHHH" he roared while he attempted this.
by M.J.Caboose14 on Fri Jan 17, 2020 5:28 pm
Daisuke's latest comment got Mako to notice his bad mood. However, noticing and caring were too entirely different things to the champ. "Well I guess I don't!" she'd shout back at her opponent before also muttering "...Moody bitch...", in an annoyed tone. This wasn't a request for Daisuke to explain what he meant, though. Nor was it an invitation to explain to her what she didn't understand. This was just Mako rejecting his words completely and continuing their fight. If there was in fact something pissing Daisuke off on a mental level, she didn't give a fuck. Nope. Not even one.
This was a match. Only violence should be used to settle things between them. If Daisuke wanted to 'talk about his feelings' he had to wait till after one of them finished beating the fuck out of the other. With that in mind, Mako would let out a howl as Daisuke ran at the cage door and smashed into it while using her like a damned battering ram. The impact hurt just as much as when she'd been crushed against the ring post. The door moved a bit, but the chain keeping it locked wasn't exactly in danger of breaking. Still, this didn't help Mako very much since Daisuke wasn't letting go despite all of her struggling.
By now her body was feeling heavy, and it was clear she was losing her strength at this point. Feeling weaker and weaker as this went on, Mako started going into a frenzy. Wrapping her left arm around her opponent's head, the shark would attempt to push herself up a bit while also putting pressure on his neck. That way she could start punching downwards wildly at Daisuke's head with a vengeance. Of course, by wrapping her arm around her opponent's head like this, she also forced her breasts right into his face. Oddly enough, this wasn't on purpose. Not even a little. Mako was far too focused on hitting Daisuke to actually notice she was smothering him. No one would believe this thanks to her long history of sexual hijinks, though. Besides...IF someone actually asked her about it later on, she'd probably lie and say that was totally on purpose.
The wrestling prince couldn't understand his friend, how could she treat this so casually. It was a title match, in a hell in a cell and it seemed like she was enjoying it, like she enjoyed being put through so much pain. "Don't call me a bitch you crazy bitch" Daisuke hissed back at her before ramming her back first into the steel door, hoping to break it but the impact only shook the door but its hinges were still intact and the door remained closed.
Mako would lean onto the prince, feeling heavy. "Just give up Mako" he whispered to her before starting to squeeze her again, continuing the bearhug submission. That is when Mako would start to counter, by wrapping one arm around his head and force it up into her chest while using the other to pound on the back of his head.
"Mmrrghh?! Oowwmmfff...Uurughmmm" his moans were more muffled whilst he was being smothered. The prince's grip started to weaken and he would proceed to put Mako down on her feet.
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Home / Chinese Culture / Myths / General Yin / Text
Fun history 2020-01-02 15:29:18 Yin General Wu Kong Yan Huaili Li Yang Bo Bodhi ancestor Li Shan
Today's interesting history editor brings you the long lived fox king in " Journey to the West " why can you live so long? Interested readers can take a look with the editor.
Friends who are familiar with "Journey to the West" should not be unfamiliar with this name, that is, Long Live Fox King. Exactly, this is not his name, but just what other people call him, but from this title, we Many things can be inferred. First, his actual age is over ten thousand years old, and second, he has a strong ability to dominate the king on one third of his acre. But he failed to live forever, and was eventually killed by others. So why is a pot of porridge so certain that he was killed by others, not the end of his life ? Here is a simple analysis.
According to statistics, the lifespan of foxes is about 10-15 years. Although Journey to the West is a magic novel, Mr. Wu Chengen's writing is very cautious, so even if it is exaggerated, the theoretical lifespan of "Long live Fox King" will not exceed 342 years. (This age is the age of Sun Wukong in the book of life and death. Regardless of qualifications or breeds, this fox king cannot be compared with the monkeys born from heaven and earth, so this age is still estimated from Gaoli).
However, "Long live Fox King" far exceeds this limit, reaching a lifetime of more than 10,000 years. This period of time can already be regarded as immortality. To achieve this level, there are two possibilities. The first possibility is that the relationship with the prefecture cannot be reversed, and the life limit can be added to the life and death book. That's what Li Shimin did. The other is to deter the entire land government by force, and there is no way for the land government to take him.
Long live the fox king just dominates the king in his one acre, and demons elsewhere do not even know that such people exist. This shows that his ability is not very strong, and he can't use force to subdue the prefecture, so he can only use other means to close the relationship with the prefecture staff. His age can indicate that the prefecture has a very good relationship with him.
However, Long Live Fox King eventually died, which shows that other forces have followed him, so that even the prefectural government did not dare to add his birthday to him without authorization. So who took the life of Long Live Fox King? In fact, Long Live Fox King has hinted that before his death, he told his daughter Jade- faced fox to quickly find a man. This man has two conditions. One is capable and can protect her. . One is loyal and honest, so as not to lie to her because she is greedy for her millions.
Jade-faced fox
As a result, the jade-faced fox really found it, and that was the Devil King. Mr. Wu Chengen's writing of this paragraph must not be a leisurely stroke. In contacting the main line of the entire Journey to the West, we can infer who killed the Long Live Fox King? The whole journey to the West is centered on this line. The one-third of an acre where the king is located is exactly on the route. The jade-faced fox king was looking for this husband, who happened to be at odds with Sun Wukong.
Therefore, we have come to the conclusion that the man who killed Vive queen was the Buddhist sect. On the one hand, the site where Vive queen is located is located in Hezhou, Xiniu. It is in charge of Rulu to clean up a demon king and anyone. The Supreme Chief Jizo Bodhisattva is also a member of the Buddhism sect. In addition, killing the hooray fox king can force the jade fox to find the ox devil as a spouse, and pull the demon king who hates the scriptures into the water. Therefore, 81 difficulties, each difficulty has a causal relationship, rather than accidental encounters. Because of this, Tang Seng was arrested countless times without even losing a hair.
• Why do black bear monsters like "Journey to the West" like 袈裟? But have no interest in Tang Seng?
• Which fairy spells in Journey to the West are better than Sun Wukong? Who is the "strongest"?
• The four long pills in Journey to the West! Sun Wukong ate three of them!
• What is the final outcome of White Dragon Horse in Journey to the West? Become a "star" but lose your freedom!
• There is a monster with special treatment in Journey to the West! Caught Tang Monk but was not punished in the end?
• How many stitches are there in the Journey to the West? What is the name other than the gold hoop?
• How was Shi Tuoling written in The Original Journey to the West? Why is this the darkest place?
• What kind of person is King Che Chiguo in Journey to the West? Can only say that the thief is fine!
• What are the backgrounds of the three monsters in Che Chiguo in Journey to the West? Why can the three monsters call the wind and rain?
• What background does Liu Boqin have in Journey to the West? Why is Sun Wukong calling his elder brother?
• What is the true identity of Liu Boqin in A Journey to the West? Why is he said to be an incarnation of Erlang?
There are many heroes in ancient history. Have you heard the story of Yue Fei? There is a very powerful army in the Song Dynasty. Details
Where did the "Five Hus" ethnic groups go during the "Five Hus"? It is a question that many people want? The following interesting history editor is for details.
There are many heroes in ancient history. Have you heard the story of Zhu Yuanzhang? Because of the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty, people have been going through details
9 Nine Greatest Gods of War in China's History
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documentO @ Krowswork–Oakland, CA
by Aaron Harbour on June 30, 2012
Entrance to Krowswork, with Carrie Hott's 'Blackout Means Black'
all photos courtesy Krowswork Gallery 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012 saw the opening of DocumentO, an extremely ambitious project at Krowswork Gallery in Oakland, California. It was organized by its Director, Jasmine Moorhead. Operating under the guise of an unofficial satellite show to dOCUMENTA (13), the massive, 100-day exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany, the show at Krowswork is a brief (July 1 close) overview of the art scene in Oakland. It has been noted that ‘no one likes these things when they happen’, but judging by early reviews, dOCUMENTA’s main curator, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, has put together a stellar show.
This is no small accomplishment given the potential for an enormous budget, coupled with a who’s who of international artists, to be eclipsed by the numerous biennials and international exhibitions dotting the calendar; not to mention the curator’s oversized personality and tendency toward bold, broad statements which could have easily overshadowed the exhibition, making dOCUMENTA’s mostly positive reception all the more surprising.
For a thorough, informal, but critical review/walk through, see the three blog posts at http://blog.frieze.com/archive/)
documentO found itself presaged by a bit of bold writing/framing by Moorhead, which localized Christov-Bakargiev’s theory about the current status of the artist as occupying a series of possible positions with art as sort of emergent phenomena:
“What does it mean to be in a state of siege?
What does it mean to be in a state of hope?
What does it mean to be in withdrawal, in retreat?
What do I do when I am onstage, when I am performing?”
Moorhead draws parallels to Oakland with its perpetual ‘state of siege’, its situation as a model for America, and its artists as performing Oakland. I will expand on how the show addresses these concerns later, but what sticks out most at the preview is the shear number of artists included. There were fifty, yes, fifty, in the show, which led to cramped quarters at times. The other, less obvious observation is how eclectic they are. Many engage in practices far outside the discernible boundaries of Art Murmur or classic Oakland-based art. Many, too, have exhibited internationally and/or within the Bay Area’s larger institutions.
While an interesting cross-section of the art scene, it lacked key attributes. First, space, in order to consider the individual works. Second, context to go along with the art beyond their titles, materials, et al. Within this very specific context, some pieces still managed to carve out space enough to be read, but, in general, little beyond immediate visceral aesthetic affect was offered.
It may be a result of the work itself and curatorial decisions about placement, although the work appearing on the salon-style wall was not much more than a blur–no one piece was differentiated from the others. It could be they were victims of a deficiency (many were bland photographs), choices about display, or perhaps, more candidly, my own unwillingness to look closer. This contrasted greatly with the small room facing the entry where the works felt more individuated, creating a balance that worked, despite a tedious drawing by Dean Smith placed in the center of the room.
Hillary Weidemann, 'Trying to Remember the Equatorial Sun'
Confirmation bias, the tendency to see evidence which confirms previously held opinions, held sway on my review of the work. I found myself drawn to works/practices I was familiar with such as Hillary Wiedemann’s excellent Trying to Remember the Equatorial Sun. I especially remember the hours absorbing the futile struggle of a camcorder attempting to capture the sun, resulting in various colored artifacts becoming simultaneously tragic and funny. Also worthwhile among this grouping was the abstract work of John Davis and Suzy Poling which included two, similarly grainy films.
There was much time-based media on display throughout the show, including Zarouhie Abdalian’s peculiar Drift, a film about debris outflow from the Mississippi. The details were so illegible that it felt like a sketch on a small screen. Also, Tooth and Moyah Pravah Newsreel’s hectic, 16 mm film, which would have benefited from a larger format (it was shown on a small screen as a video transfer), and Chris and Greg’s (Chris Vargas and Greg Youmans) silly take on the reality show ‘Work of Art’ where their versions of queer art are disparagingly critiqued by the show’s judges. A subtle video by Matthew Draving worked well on small screen. Its ambiguous content sat tilted in the frame with its mac top bar provided a sort of time and name signature and the introduction, for a brief second, the shadow of a hand, established and broke a second wall of sorts. As previously mentioned, familiarity with these artists and their work, I suspect, contributed to my preselection of the works I chose to review.
Highlights from the rest of the show include Chris Fraser’s light installation in a corner of the pew room, a subtle variation on his practice investigating projected and estranged light. Two of the painters whose work I respond to, in part due to their medium/style’s lack of a need for context, were Steuart Pittman’s small Mansio Mens– three black geometric shapes and on a hazy background and John Zurier’s strikingly similarly concerned Jenny, a simple duo-chrome work. Their works complemented each other although they are from wildly disparate art worlds and generations–Zurier received his MFA not long after Pittman’s birth, and the juxtapositions fueled excitement.
Kelly Lynn Jones’ Shelf from the Lifestyle Store, a collection of mocked objects (using what I often refer to as dumb trompe l’oeil and meant as a compliment), stood out well from the pack. So did Emma Spertus’s sculpture, fortunate enough to be situated outdoors. It was a foreshortened, ping-pong table/box object, providing relief from the main exhibition in its playfulness and serendipity. Less pleasing were Favianna Rodriguez’s posters Its My Body – It’s My Pussy I’m a Slut. Their content, confrontational counter-point to recent conservatist legislation, was forced, although, admittedly I dislike her illustration style.
Emma Spertus, 'Tale of Two', 2012
The lack of context was especially awkward to some of the work by artist’s whose practice is deeply vested in a broader project. Two former Berkeley Art Museum Matrix artists, Desirée Holman and David Wilson, was a bit lost in the show with each represented by a singular drawing. Holman’s Flesh Texture (Diffuse Map), a strange color pencil drawing of a sort of flattened face was simply too weird without its video accompaniment, and David Wilson’s delicate illustration of various small plants feels precious and irrelevant separated from his broader practice which is made relevant by the shear breadth of his nature studies. Much of the show’s photography, particularly on a large salon-style wall, did not allow for individual impact, suggesting that some of these artists might benefit from placement in larger groupings or at the very least, explanatory text.
In the end, my anticipation of what the show would be like matched what I saw in person. It was an ambitious, risky, exciting project which dared to present a vision of what Oakland art is. Its potential felt hemmed in by the complicated nature of its ambitions and a lack of space and/or editing. That assessment is a harsh one, because as a curator, I am unsure I could have done a better job of incorporating so many strains and subcultures of the Oakland scene. I imagine I would have’d be hemmed in by a too tightly wound aesthetic, and I don’t really subscribe to presenting (or viewing) art through a regionalist’s lens. The contradiction here is that Oakland is an especially vital place in the Bay Area, and potentially, in the broader art conversation. There are many incredible artists here, with more migrating every year for various educational opportunities and the wide array of cultural offerings. My feelings are best reflected in my agreement (and disagreement) with Moorhead’s statement for the show:
Oakland has spent much of the last year in a state of siege. And before that, and before that.
Oakland, this sprawling urban space, has never been any more or less under siege. Traveling around Oakland before, during and after the most visible aspects of Occupy, things are the same as they ever were, with people going to and from work and school semi-oblivious to what seem to those close to the matter life/game changing experiences and events. So, before that and before that, there was distrust in the local and broader government, general segregation-lite, creeping gentrification (of which the art spaces and artists which are multiplying here are the vanguard). Can an art show promote change, political or social in a way that denies either spectacle or commodity, or must it always operate as an ‘enemy from within’?
Oakland right now is being asked to perform for the world. These artists, who either live or work in Oakland, are performing Oakland.
Who is asking? This feels unresolved, our place within a broader art historical and contemporary context is something we create regardless of outside desire. We are not being asked, yet via our projects here and away we do perform Oakland, which is to say, we reflect in our general tone and wide ranging productions this place as peculiarly vital (especially given the lack of substantial institutional, fiscal, and state support). Art is unsolicited and in surplus to the everyday; the futility of adding one more picture, one more object, one more action to the scheme of things is both disheartening and exciting.
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Eastern Conference Rookie Of The Month Trae Young’s impressive week started off with a career-high 36 points against the league’s scoring leader and his Houston Rockets. ...(Read more)
Trae Young’s Ridiculous Week Ends With A Ridiculous Ejection
David Astramskas
| March 4th, 2019 3,628 Views | NBA
Aka VincentDa & RedApples fka Expiredpineapples. My alter-ego is a digital-marketing guy in Houston. Won editing awards & created obsolete flash websites that have been featured in mags like Sports Illustrated. Studied film & women at FSU during the golden age of hip-hop. Collects records, laserdiscs, sports memorabilia & toys. Father of 2 daughters that are more athletic and popular on YouTube.
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Eastern Conference Rookie Of The Month Trae Young’s impressive week started off with a career-high 36 points against the league’s scoring leader and his Houston Rockets. As an encore, he tied his career-high and dished out 10 assists in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Two night later, he put up a ridiculous 49 points, 16 assists and 8 boards during a 161-168 loss to the Chicago Bulls in quadruple overtime!
On Sunday, Young had a shot at revenge against the Bulls. After 18 minutes, he was on pace for another 30-point double-double with 18 points (6 of 9 shooting) and 5 assists. Then the refs decided everyone was having too much fun and hit Young with a technical for staring at the back of Kris Dunn’s head after making a three. The tech was Young’s second, which meant his first career ejection in the NBA.
“I didn’t say anything.” Said Young after the Hawks win. “It was just a look. I didn’t say anything…I got to live with it. They made a call. I looked at someone and that’s about it.
“You play with energy, passion, emotion. For me, I was just having fun. That wasn’t the first time I looked at someone after I hit a shot. But he made the call.”
As expected, the reactions on social media weren’t kind to the enforcers of the soft league that has people like me and Reggie Miller shaking our heads and reminiscing about his trash-talking days in the NBA.
“What’s happened to my beloved NBA game?” Tweeted Miller. “So damn SOFT and SENSITIVE now, nooooo way Trae Young should be given a technical for this. I would have been broke and out of the league in 2 years. Let Ballers Ball.”
Nick Young, who has been calling Trae Young the Rookie Of The Year throughout the week, also tweeted about the ejection.
Haten my man was on his way to another 30 ball and they kick him out let that man be ROY
— Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) March 4, 2019
That’s weak as hell. Give @TheTraeYoung his money back https://t.co/QJnxcwjPbg
— Allonzo Trier (@ISO_ZO) March 3, 2019
🗣PREACCCCHHHHH!!!!! https://t.co/02kRSYO7o4
— Baze (@24Bazemore) March 4, 2019
Anyways, let’s revisit the highlights from Young’s other games this week, including his historic 49, which made him the first rookie since The BIG O in 1961 with 40 points and 15 assists in a game. The performance was also Trae’s 4th game with 30 points and 10 assists; Only rookies with more are Oscar (24), Michael Jordan (5) and Steph Curry (5).
49 PTS vs BULLS
36 PTS vs WOLVES
36 PTS vs ROCKETS
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Exodus, Chapter 1 Introduction to Exodus | Chapter 2
Ex 1:1-22. INCREASE OF THE ISRAELITES.
1. Now these are the names--(See Ge 46:8-26).
7. children of Israel were fruitful--They were living in a land where, according to the testimony of an ancient author, mothers produced three and four sometimes at a birth; and a modern writer declares "the females in Egypt, as well among the human race as among animals, surpass all others in fruitfulness." To this natural circumstance must be added the fulfilment of the promise made to Abraham.
8. Now there arose up a new king--About sixty years after the death of Joseph a revolution took place--by which the old dynasty was overthrown, and upper and lower Egypt were united into one kingdom. Assuming that the king formerly reigned in Thebes, it is probable that he would know nothing about the Hebrews; and that, as foreigners and shepherds, the new government would, from the first, regard them with dislike and scorn.
9, 10. he said . . . Behold, the . . . children of Israel are more and mightier than we--They had risen to great prosperity--as during the lifetime of Joseph and his royal patron, they had, probably, enjoyed a free grant of the land. Their increase and prosperity were viewed with jealousy by the new government; and as Goshen lay between Egypt and Canaan, on the border of which latter country were a number of warlike tribes, it was perfectly conformable to the suggestions of worldly policy that they should enslave and maltreat them, through apprehension of their joining in any invasion by those foreign rovers. The new king, who neither knew the name nor cared for the services of Joseph, was either Amosis, or one of his immediate successors [OSBURN].
11. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters--Having first obliged them, it is thought, to pay a ruinous rent and involved them in difficulties, that new government, in pursuance of its oppressive policy, degraded them to the condition of serfs--employing them exactly as the laboring people are in the present day (driven in companies or bands), in rearing the public works, with taskmasters, who anciently had sticks--now whips--to punish the indolent, or spur on the too languid. All public or royal buildings, in ancient Egypt, were built by captives; and on some of them was placed an inscription that no free citizen had been engaged In this servile employment.
they built for Pharaoh treasure cities--These two store-places were in the land of Goshen; and being situated near a border liable to invasion, they were fortified cities (compare 2Ch 11:1-12:16). Pithom (Greek, Paturnos), lay on the eastern Pelusiac branch of the Nile, about twelve Roman miles from Heliopolis; and Raamses, called by the Septuagint Heroopolis, lay between the same branch of the Nile and the Bitter Lakes. These two fortified cities were situated, therefore, in the same valley; and the fortifications, which Pharaoh commanded to be built around both, had probably the same common object, of obstructing the entrance into Egypt, which this valley furnished the enemy from Asia [HENGSTENBERG].
13, 14. The Egyptians . . . made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick--Ruins of great brick buildings are found in all parts of Egypt. The use of crude brick, baked in the sun, was universal in upper and lower Egypt, both for public and private buildings; all but the temples themselves were of crude brick. It is worthy of remark that more bricks bearing the name of Thothmes III, who is supposed to have been the king of Egypt at the time of the Exodus, have been discovered than of any other period [WILKINSON]. Parties of these brickmakers are seen depicted on the ancient monuments with "taskmasters," some standing, others in a sitting posture beside the laborers, with their uplifted sticks in their hands.
15. the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives--Two only were spoken to--either they were the heads of a large corporation [LABORDE], or, by tampering with these two, the king designed to terrify the rest into secret compliance with his wishes [CALVIN].
16. if it be a son, then ye shall kill him--Opinions are divided, however, what was the method of destruction which the king did recommend. Some think that the "stools" were low seats on which these obstetric practitioners sat by the bedside of the Hebrew women; and that, as they might easily discover the sex, so, whenever a boy appeared, they were to strangle it, unknown to its parents; while others are of opinion that the "stools" were stone troughs, by the river side--into which, when the infants were washed, they were to be, as it were, accidentally dropped.
17. But the midwives feared God--Their faith inspired them with such courage as to risk their lives, by disobeying the mandate of a cruel tyrant; but it was blended with weakness, which made them shrink from speaking the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
20, 21. God dealt well with the midwives--This represents God as rewarding them for telling a lie. This difficulty is wholly removed by a more correct translation. To "make" or "build up a house" in Hebrew idiom, means to have a numerous progeny. The passage then should be rendered thus: "God protected the midwives, and the people waxed very mighty; and because the midwives feared, the Hebrews grew and prospered."
Introduction to Exodus | Chapter 2
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Parents Stand Strong, Planned Parenthood Holds Obscene Fundraisers by Linda Harvey, November 30, 2019
When I consider the long-term well-being of our children and what they are taught at school, my first thought always goes to pole-dancing. How about you?
Planned Parenthood apparently thinks this way. A fundraiser called “Femme Fest” is being held in Olympia, Washington by the Northwest and Hawaii Planned Parenthood political action group, and it’s labeled a “sex education information” evening.
The timing is ironic in relation to a recent school board vote in the nearby Battle Ground school district that rejected pornographic, pro-abortion “comprehensive sex education” via a curriculum called FLASH. These lessons funnel girl clients into Planned Parenthood clinics, but the surprising vote rejected this form of sex education.
How did such a miracle happen? Parents Rights in Education, Southwest Washington State chapter, and other parent groups orchestrated a huge turnout by local churches. The Slavic/Russian community rallied for a protest in Olympia last spring, drawing more than 2,000 people, and much prayer and fasting along with meaningful dialogue with officials turned a predictably comfortable win by radicals into a thumbs-down loss.
And Planned Parenthood is furious. They immediately scheduled meetings with the ACLU, a letter-writing campaign, strategy sessions and more in an attempt to quickly reclaim this territory.
But first, they must do some pole-dancing.
The event in Olympia on November 9 is for “all genders and ages.” An online announcement describes the event, which starts with a Pilates session but quickly deteriorates:
5-5:30 Sexy Floor Work Lesson
5:30 - 6 p.m.: The Art of Feminine Sensual Movement
6 - 6:30 p.m.: Clitoris and Pleasure Education with Planned Parenthood
6:30 - 7 p.m.: Sex Ed in Washington State Informational with Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii
7- 9 p.m. Wicked Sexy Pole Dance Showcase presented by Pole at Play
The purpose is “an irreverently playful night of fundraising, fitness, sex talk, and exotic pole dance performances.” And of course, no sexual anarchy meeting is complete these days without making sure men dressed as women, or women dressed as men, are validated and welcomed:
“The theme for the night is a reclamation of pleasure, and while we emphasize the Clitoris, we understand that not all folks who have marginalized sexualities have a Clitoris or are femme presenting.”
These folks are probably concerned about their credibility and future involvement in schools because of the surprising sex ed defeat. And this is one of their solutions?
It’s not the first time PP has gone full-porn in a fundraiser. “Summer, Sex and Spirits” fundraisers have been held by Planned Parenthood New York City, where VIP ticketholders received Butter Boy lubricant and pole dancing lessons.
And PP never cleans up its act even when focusing on the need for youth sex education. A Bronx, NY school encouraged students to “Say It With A Condom” by designing dresses covered with condoms. This effort frequently partners with Planned Parenthood and adopted the “educational” theme, “Don’t eff with us, don’t eff without us.”
Condom-covered dresses have been the centerpiece of several “Condom Couture” fundraisers in Central Ohio. In Minneapolis, a condom apparel fashion show was named “Ready or Hot: Fashion Meets Passion.”
A title better describing the work of Planned Parenthood would be, “Sex Meets Death.”
This is an organization that believes their recently-released obscene Q & A book, In Case You’re Curious: Questions about sex from young people with answers from the experts, is helpful to American kids. Like most of those promoting sexual promiscuity to youth, they firmly maintain their approach is “medically accurate” when addressing questions every teen has like, “Can you break a penis?”
And let’s not forget Planned Parenthood’s YouTube video with advice for teens on sado-masochism as well as another that displays their despicable approach for adolescents about sexual “consent.” Go HERE to watch these explicit videos—on a website targeted to teens—with scenes of couples in bed, including several pairs of homosexuals.
What does homosexuality have to do with Planned “parent”-hood? Good question. But the emerging reality is that this organization has an agenda of hyper-sexualization in all directions, and has quickly become one of the most aggressive and powerful “LGBT” lobbying groups in America. Planned Parenthood in SW Washington has marched in local “gay pride” parades and supported “drag queen” library events.
What parents and school officials need to recognize is the truly harmful, misleading, medically inaccurate advice being given by Planned Parenthood, ending sometimes, as we know, in the approved and planned death of a human being.
Like most of the left, these folks are determined to overcome the barriers of youth purity and innocence. The same agenda Satan has. What a coincidence!
The wholesome American adolescent is an obstacle to these deeply depraved minds, and we need to take the blinders off to equip ourselves to appropriately contend against this mounting darkness.
The parent groups in southwest Washington State, when asked how they achieved such a stunning victory in a very liberal climate, attributed their success to being on their knees to God because, “without His help, we knew we would not win this struggle.” Many people were praying for them as well. They also knew the objectionable FLASH curriculum inside and out so they knew its weaknesses, and they went one on one with board members with very productive dialogue. They also maintained a professional demeanor throughout.
This is how we can win—prayer, research, hard work, and boldly standing for the truth.
It’s time to do much more of what the Battle Ground School parents did—pray, fast, organize and recruit. And then be prepared to keep standing when a tidal wave of sewage from Planned Parenthood comes our way.
We can win against these wicked people. We just have to get our heads, hearts and souls in the game.
More articles and bio for Linda Harvey…
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