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Dialogue for
Saturday, Mar. 15, 2008
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Leaked out
Re What would you expect?So which camp do you suppose leaked the sermons, Rove, or Clinton?
Does it really matter? I would say Clinton's. Playing a "race" card would hurt rather than help the GOP. They need black voters and independents who would be alienated once the leaker leaked out.
*** *** ***
Extinguishers banned as 'fire risk'| |
Excerpt: Fire extinguishers may be removed from blocks of flats across Britain after they were deemed dangerous by buildings risk assessors at two blocks on the South Coast.
Many residents regard the distinctive red extinguishers as the first response to fire, giving vital time until professional firefighters arrive.
But a review of two residential blocks in Bournemouth has raised concerns that householders could delay their escape to tackle a blaze. There is also concern that the use of extinguishers by untrained people could add to the danger.
The report has the backing of Dorset Fire and Rescue Service and extinguishers have already been removed from the two blocks -- Admirals Walk and the 10-storey Avon House. |
Definitely a case of "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing". They found the same to be true of untrained people using cardiac resuscitation on heart attack victims here.
*** *** ***
Florida leads U.S. in mortgage fraud| |
Excerpt: For the second year in a row, Florida earned the dubious distinction of ranking first in the nation in mortgage fraud, according to a study released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association, a trade group, and the Mortgage Asset Research Institute, a division of Atlanta-based ChoicePoint.
Law enforcement didn't wait for the list. The FBI recently created a Palm Beach County mortgage fraud task force, and the Florida Department of Financial Services has added an investigator to its mortgage fraud team in West Palm Beach, DFS Detective Theodore Padich said.
That follows last year's move by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida to make mortgage fraud a priority. |
This is not surprising and you can probably add real estate fraud to this as well. Screwing people on land (which may not even exist) is one of Florida's best know accomplishments.
"You can have any kind of a home you want. You can even get stucco.
Oh, how you can get stucco." Groucho Marx, The Cocoanuts
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Chris M.
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One last heads-up on the US economy
by Mr. Chuckles
| Mar. 15, 2008 |
The fate of Western Civilization is at stake, and it is reasonable to suppose that Europe, and Japan at least, will come to our aid in this time of crisis. But the President has burned every bridge, and there are valid reasons to suppose that right-thinking allies see this as a perfect time to de-fang and defenestrate a hyper-powerful country that has turned fascist and gone horribly wrong! ... MORE ...
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Mr. Chuckles
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The personal touch
President Bush intervened to roll back smog rules| |
Excerpt: "Never before has a president personally intervened at the 11th hour, exercising political power at the expense of the law and science, to force EPA to accept weaker air quality standards than the agency chief's expert scientific judgment had led him to adopt," said John Walke, clean air director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a private advocacy group. "It is unprecedented and an unlawful act of political interference." |
He's been there 8 years and he's NEVER personally intervened at the 11th hour? Whoa, Bush Baby, whatcha been waiting for?
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Maybe this is the first time Bush poked his head in, personally, but I remember endless incidents of the White House interfering with science and working to roll back regulations in the Bush-Cheney administration.
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Helen & Harry
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Frozen credit and falling dollar
by Katherine G.
| Mar. 15, 2008 |
This story confirms my belief in the soundness of requesting a Security Freeze on your credit files at the major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian.) The freeze is permanent until you request revocation, and you can temporarily unfreeze for a specific purpose/transaction. There are also "extra" services available -- check Equifax, for example. Having "frozen" credit files will prevent many types of fraud, like the fraud described below.
Being "frozen" is like opting out of the electronic economic system, except that your existing account relationships are not affected by the freeze, so you still have your credit card, bank account, etc., and those companies can continue to check your credit if they need too -- it just stops everyone else from looking or updating the data, which pretty much eliminates you as a target.
Leukemia survivor reaches landmark settlement with TransUnion in ID theft case| |
Leukemia survivor Eric Drew announced today that he has reached a settlement with TransUnion over his lawsuit against the credit reporting company charging negligence pertaining to a case of identity theft.
TransUnion is the first of six credit reporting companies and banks which Drew has filed a federal lawsuit against to come to terms on the case. Litigation is still pending against Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, Equifax and Experian.
Five years ago, Eric Drew was on his death bed with leukemia when his identity was stolen by a worker at the hospital where he was being treated. Credit was issued in his name to a fraudulent address in Washington State, where he was hospitalized but wasn't a resident. Drew alleges that the banks did not verify the address or applications, and that when he called to complain from his hospital bed, he was told to submit paperwork to prove that it wasn't him.
"I was fighting for my life, barely able to function, and then on top of all that, I had to leave the hospital to help find the criminal and fight to clear my credit," said Drew. "I was determined not to let cancer or a thief get the best of me."
Eventually, with the help of local news media, the identity of the thief was revealed -- a lab technician who had access to Drew's medical information while conducting blood tests. This led to an unprecedented arrest and the first federal conviction under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
But even this did not clear Drew's name. It took him two years to clear his credit reports of the fraudulent address and past due account information. "The main point of my lawsuit is to change the system so no one else has to ever go through what I did," said Drew.
In this unprecedented settlement, TransUnion agreed on an undisclosed financial sum, as well as three major policy changes which they have agreed to implement in the next six months.
These policy changes include:
-- Protection for impaired (hospitalized or elderly) victims of identity theft by allowing them or their caregivers to submit a verifiable note from a doctor or medical facility in lieu of the traditionally required police report and affidavit to have fraudulent items removed from their credit report.
-- All victims of identity theft will have all information pertaining to that theft permanently removed from their credit report even if it is re-reported.
-- A free credit freeze for all victims of identity theft when they request it.
"TransUnion has done a great thing here and should be praised for their leadership," said Drew. "These policy changes will not only help impaired victims of identity theft, but will also change the way that all Americans are treated when they are victims of this crime."
In addition to being a crusader against identity theft, Drew has dedicated his life's work to providing advocacy and education to seriously ill patients and their families.
Learn more about Eric Drew and his efforts at drewfoundation.org
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Here's another interesting story:
Expert fears dollar crash as greenback hits new lows
Bush's bumbling "strong dollar" comments precede fresh plunge| |
Excerpt: "The 'strong dollar' message is so familiar, and is uttered with such unfailing regularity, that market observers often roll their eyes when they hear it, and short-term traders pay it little heed," reports Market Watch.
The consequences of Bush's semi-literate dollar rant was clear to observe - within hours the greenback hit a new all time low against the Euro and sunk below the psychologically important 100-Yen benchmark, as oil continued its climb and gold shot up to less than three dollars short of $1,000 an ounce. |
When Bush and his fellow clowns say "I believe in a strong dollar" it is like someone saying that they believe in life after death, or that they believe in family values -- it is a quite different thing than ACTION to maintain a sound monetary policy that is backed up by financial strength.
When Bush says that he believes in a strong dollar it is like saying he believes it will rain but not bothering to take his umbrella -- it is empty rhetoric and obviously he either doesn't care if it rains or he actually wants it to rain because he placed a bet that the Mormon Sunday Picnic would get rained out.
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Katherine G.
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With great power ...
What magic wand does Cheney plan to bring?| |
Excerpt: Perhaps Cheney is ready to go the extra mile and do things differently. Who knows? After all, he represents the world’s only surviving superpower; one must concede that this counts for something. |
I don't "concede" that. And I doubt that much of the world does anymore.
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Pentagon buries embarrassing Iraq report| |
Excerpt: The Pentagon on Wednesday canceled plans for broad public release of a study that found no pre-Iraq war link between late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaida terrorist network.
Rather than posting the report online and making officials available to discuss it, as had been planned, the U.S. Joint Forces Command said it would mail copies of the document to reporters -- if they asked for it. The report won't be posted on the Internet. |
No mention of when...
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A kangaroo court?
Lawyer: Evidence altered in Guantanamo case| |
Excerpt: Based on the re-write, Kuebler said, it appeared that "the government manufactured evidence to make it look like Omar was guilty." |
Isn't this the norm in prosecutions in U.S. today?
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Wig
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Planet X
by Kathy Fisher
| Mar. 15, 2008 |
Lieutenant Governor Patterson is legally blind, so the way they'll do it is she'll just talk dirty to him.
*** *** ***
Not sure if I believe there is a planet X lurking over us, who knows?? I'll tell ya one thing though, maybe X should hurry up and get it over with!
Clean it all up, wipe the slate clean. Society is really breaking down, kids getting shot two per night in the cities, the violence, the corruption, the idiocy, the broken values. It's a mess getting worse every minute.
People are losing their minds, starting to trust ruthless people of a lesser evil. Nothing makes any sense. Looking to them as their long lost saviors. The haves are getting more because they are stealing from the have nots.
Clarity is distortion, distortion is clarity, NOT!
Joe Lieberman with tits
by Scott & Becky Jo
| Mar. 15, 2008 |
Re "Real" mashed potatoes, Hillary Clinton's judgement and experience
I could probably, as a chore, vote for Hillary Clinton despite her Republican-light record. Or at least I could have, until she started playing Karl Rove, basically cheating to win the nomination over the past few weeks. For me it's too late now. I don't know what's in Hillary Clinton's heart, but I don't see any hint that she's running on any principle that I believe in.
A woman for President? Hell yes, that might be wonderful, but it doesn't mean any woman who runs deserves your support. Would you vote for Eva Braun?
As HRC fights brutally, unstoppably for what she wants -- the Presidency -- I have a question for her supporters: Where was her fighting spirit when Bush & Cheney were pooping on the Constitution, wiretapping without warrants, torturing people, holding people without trials, contaminating Iraq with depleted uranium, dismantling the American economy, parking unqualified cronies in oversight positions, making abortion harder and harder to get, blocking health care for kids, embarrassing America across the globe, and on and on and on?
Hillary Clinton is Joe Lieberman with tits. And at this point it wouldn't surprise me if she pulled a Lieberman and ran as an independent, or as John McCain's vice presidential candidate.
All that is bias
I just read your "about." I just read some of your articles.
You say you are not biased. Mr. Bush has Nazi connections? -- article in unknown news.
You are decidedly anti-war.
All that is bias.
All that seems to be lacking is a willingness to face up to the fact that you are biased and -- at times -- the truth.
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On our 'about' page, which you claim to have read, we wrote in the second and third paragraphs: ... we don't pretend to be "impartial and objective journalists. We're Helen & Harry. We're real human beings, not a 'network' or newspaper. We care, so we have some opinions. ....
Let me translate that from English to English for you: It means we're biased. This website is stuffed to the brim with our opinions, and the opinions of people we find interesting.
If you want to be one of them, you'll need to try a lot harder.
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Helen & Harry
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Dialogue for
Friday, Mar. 14, 2008
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A choice to make
by Herb Ruhs, MD
| Mar. 14, 2008 |
In case you were wondering why Eliot Spitzer had to go:
"Even though predatory lending was becoming a national problem, the Bush administration looked the other way and did nothing to protect American homeowners. In fact, the government chose instead to align itself with the banks that were victimizing consumers."
From the article "Predatory lenders' partner in crime, by Eliot Spitzer from the Washington Post, Thursday 14 February 2008 ...
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If you don't yet understand the nature of the economic cataclysm we are embarking on, you soon will. As a people we will face a choice often faced by people throughout history. We can rise up and take control of our destiny by opposing the forces of economic oppression, rid our society of the possibility of speculative finance and control of the necessities of life by sociopathic corporate powers, or we can submit to lives short, brutal and without meaning leading to eventual extermination. It is a choice like no other.
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Herb Ruhs, MD
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What would you expect?
Carlyle Group goes into insolvency| |
Excerpt: A publicly traded affiliate of the Carlyle Group said yesterday that lenders were seizing its assets, sending the fund, Carlyle Capital, into insolvency.
The collapse of Carlyle Capital is the first time a Carlyle Group fund has failed and is a stinging embarrassment for the District private-equity powerhouse, which has built an international reputation with a client list that reaches around the world. |
LOL !! No honor amongst thieves, I guess. But what would you expect from the people who run these financial institutions but greed, even with themselves.
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Sermons' echoes threaten Obama's image| |
Excerpt: News stories by ABC News and Fox News on the sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama’s pastor at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, are creating a stir in blogland. ABC News leads with Wright saying, in 2003, “God damn America” (“for killing innocent people,” “for treating our citizens as less than human,” and “for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme”). Fox leads with a more recent sermon, from January, in support of Obama’s candidacy, and a Christmas sermon in which, Fox’s Jeff Goldblatt writes, “Wright tried to compare Obama’s upbringing to Jesus at the hands of the Romans.”
Roger L. Simon, the screenwriter and mystery novelist, thinks the sermons are a big deal. “As we all know, we don’t choose our family, but Obama chose this racist demagogue as his pastor for decades. It’s not funny,” Simon writes on his personal blog. “It could do for Obama what Willie Horton did for Dukakis,” Simon later adds. “But unlike the Willie Horton ad, Obama will deserve this. Horton was a mistake by Dukakis that any of us could have made. Jeremiah Wright was Obama’s personal choice for years.” |
Truth be told, this Wright is totally on the money. And to hear some arrogant white sob yell "racism" at a black guy, a preacher no less, makes me want to puke my guts out. What total crap.
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From everything I've read about this guy's sermons, it sounds like he's got a much firmer grip on reality, his conscience, his faith, and his country, than most Americans do. And anyway, when I went to church, I always appreciated a sermon that made me stop and think. If there had been more such sermons, heck, I might still be going to church. So of course, what's excerpted here sounds intriguing to me, though I won't be surprised when many white folks find it damning.
So which camp do you suppose leaked the sermons, Rove, or Clinton?
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Not on the news
by Marvin A.
| Mar. 14, 2008 |
This is a short quote from an article I got from Alternet news that more or less gets to the real heart of what the New York Governor fiasco was all about and again shows just how much the News is controlled by the monied interests. You wont find this opinion on Channel 2 news:
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Excerpt: I wouldn't have written this column had I not read the Wall Street Journal's Page 1 news story headlined "Wall Street Cheers as Its Nemesis Plunges Into Crisis." The article begins with the crowing statement "It's Schadenfreude time on Wall Street" and goes on to quote those whom Spitzer went after over what should be considered the criminal greed that has predominated on Wall Street. It was Spitzer, as much as anyone, who sounded the alarm on the subprime mortgage crisis, the obscene payouts to CEOs who defrauded their shareholders and the other financial scandals that have brought the U.S. economy to its knees.
The best rule of thumb these days is that ordinary Americans should be mightily depressed over any news that Wall Street hustlers cheer, for they have been exposed as a dangerous pack of scoundrels quite willing to rob decent, hardworking people of their homes. And of course no one on Wall Street ever paid for sex. |
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Marvin A.
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Double ick
From the "(S)he who hesitates is lost" department ...
Woman sits on boyfriend's toilet for 2 years
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Double ick and I'm sure Jerry Springer will be calling.
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Helen & Harry
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Taking a breather
by The Canadian
| Mar. 14, 2008 |
It would seem the denied truce between Hamas and Israel is convenient for both parties at the moment. Hamas gets to replenish, retrench and regroup. Israel gets to complete the latest "dog and pony" shows for world leaders and complete its own preparations North, South and East. All that remains is for the skies to clear come the beginning of Spring, thereby permitting Israeli air power an unfettered view of the land, and for the end of the official Muslim 40 day period of mourning for Mouniyeh. It just so happens that both upcoming events will coincide during the last 2 weeks of March.
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The Canadian
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Talk is cheap
In my budget zone:
A cellphone with no flips, no folds -- just a very low price
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There's no mention that this $20 cell phone might be sold in America, but dang me, I'd be interested. We have one cell phone, which we rarely use, sharing it only for emergency contact when one of us is working late, etc. And I hate it. Too many small buttons, too many bells and whistles, too difficult to use in poorly lit areas like buses, sidewalks. I'd seriously consider this discount phone.
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Helen & Harry
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Mad as a hatter
Re Captains' chat
Part of me reacts to the idea of Chinese sub with a picture of stir-fry pork dumpling in sauce on a hoagie roll. (And Hoagie Carmichael was always on a roll! Sorry can't resist one that obvious and obscure to the youngsters!)
However back in the real world is indeed interesting. What do two ship commanders say to each other? They both are used to being the final word as in central command ain't there when the cannons are firing and you have to make decisions. What do they gossip about?
"So how's your Commander in Chief?"
"Mad as a hatter."
"Yours too? Sad, isn't it. It would be so poor a reason for our crews to die and kill each other as our families back home vaporize, no?"
"Not that we would really talk treason... but we both must uphold and protect our countries."
"Depends on what is protecting them means, no?"
"You would have made a good lawyer."
Who knows, not me for sure. Possibly soccer?
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Jos
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"Real" mashed potatoes
Re Murder on a grand scale
You know how you go to some restaurants and they have on the menu "real" mashed potatoes? Maybe peace loving Christians can start differentiating themselves as "real" Christians. I, too, am so very tired of people, politicians, friends and neighbors calling themselves Christian and doing the opposite of Christ's teachings. I have left the church in disgust, though I believe strongly in God and maintain a relationship with Him. If God is the final judge, then let it be so. Everyone has an opinion, but it is not up to any of us to judge the other. But that is what I see. I am also Pro Choice, but for feminist reasons. Men have too much control of a woman's body. I trust Mother Nature, I trust mothers and decent, present, loving fathers are rare. If law makers, politicians, and law enforcement can't do any better with deadbeat dads, then that last thing they need are more untended babies.
But, good for you, Joy. You have given me hope.
May those who love us, love us.
And those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts;
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles,
So we will know them by their limping.
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Re Remarkable Hillary
I had originally planned to make a list, but the list got too long. Go to WikiPedia (not my normal source, but it is hard to get an unbiased list of accomplishments and failures): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Rodham.
I personally would like a president who gives a hoot about kids, women, immigrants (the legal kind), etc. She has had some success in business as well, but you will also see a long list of her work for kids, poor, women, etc.
Ireland has had two 2-term female presidents. I think that on the international landscape the U.S. looks like a bunch of hillbillies. "NO WAY! A GIRL CAN'T BE IN CHARGE!!"
Margaret Thatcher was elected prime minister of Great Britain three times. Lots of countries have elected women presidents - Argentina, Iceland, the Philippines, Nicaragua, Ecuador. Right now Finland, Ireland, Liberia and Chile have women presidents. www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/19/60minutes/rooney/main1513207.shtml
I would be happy with either Obama or Clinton as the next president (just please God not McCain <<she shudders>>). I am frustrated that Hillary is discounted out of hand because she is not perfect. A perfect woman is a male fantasy and usually doesn't include intellect. This is a door that needs to be kicked in. If not now... then when???
Lastly, your comment about throwing away your vote on Nader scares me. Please...reconsider.
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Re Hillary Clinton: I don't have any problem with the concept of a woman president, and nobody in my circle of acquaintances would have any problem with that. I kinda think, ignoring Margaret Thatcher, a woman president might be a good thing. Might make war and certain kinds of stupidity a little less likely. It's this woman, Hillary Clinton, who doesn't impress me.
I spent a few hours researching her a year or so ago while working on a brief biographical sketch of her for another website, and one article I read then has really stuck in my mind. To me, this is Hillary Clinton in a nutshell: She was for torture before she was against it.
She gets two cheers from me for eventually opposing torture, but I can't fathom why it took her so long. I mean, among decent human beings and action movies all through my lifetime, it's pretty much gone without saying: Torture is what bad guys do. It's not something up for debate among good guys.
I don't doubt that she's better than Bush or McCain, and lord knows, if the choice is McCain vs Clinton I'll probably rethink my umbrage and vote for her. But I pray for a better choice. I want a president who doesn't need to be talked out of torture.
Re abortion: I like the way you say that, and I hadn't actually thought of it quite that way before. There are plenty of lousy mothers, of course, but lousy fathers are more common, in my experience.
I usually just shrug and say, it's not like we're having a population shortage here. Not like we need to get busy procreating to keep humanity going. And so many people just don't have what it takes to be good parents, it's an abomination to take doubtful parents and force them to raise a child. That's cruelty to children. Abortion, by comparison, is the kindest thing.
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Hillary Clinton's judgement and experience
Re Florida and Michigan
Hillary Clinton is the matriarch of the most powerful family in the Democratic Party. The Clintons ain't what the Kennedys were thirty or forty years ago, and of course, neither are the Kennedys, but Bill and Hillary together, stop and ponder it: Who's more powerful in Democratic circles than Bill Clinton? Nobody. And who's in second place if it isn't Hillary Clinton?
So ask yourself, what have the Clintons done with all their power during the Bush-Cheney administration? Answer: They haven't done jack diddlyshit. Can you imagine where the public debate in America might be today, if Hillary Clinton had spent her years in the Senate fighting for the Constitution with a fraction of the ferocity she's shown in fighting for the nomination?
But the Clintons haven't stood up to this criminal administration in any meaningful way. They haven't urged others to stand up to Bush-Cheney. Quite the contrary, they have basically worked with the Bush-Cheney administration. Bill Clinton has never made waves with criticisms of Bush-Cheney, and Senator Hillary Clinton has voted over and over again for Bush wars and unconstitutional acts at home -- and she has encouraged other Democrats to do the same.
That's the "judgement" and "experience" Hillary Clinton is touting, and there is no way in heaven or hell that I would vote for her.
I wish M.M. would come back. It occurred to me as I was reading his or her note that nobody here has been supporting Hillary Clinton -- not Helen and Harry, and not anybody that I can remember on the dialogue or commentary pages. So I had to say a few words about Hillary Clinton.
Barack Obama is a newcomer and a stranger to me. He hasn't offered anything approximating the kind of push-back against the Bush-Cheney administration that America needed and deserved, but he's shown a few signs of courage and principle. I don't know whether he'll be a President we can be proud of, but he is at least a candidate we don't have to be absolutely ashamed of.
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Dialogue for
Thursday, Mar. 13, 2008
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Captains' chat
Re How's this for unknown news?
Yes it was a shock when that sub popped up when and where it did. The scuttlebutt I have been hearing from some naval lifers is that some Russian and Chinese subs now are using a rubberlike coating which can absorb radar and sonar frequencies so that when they are running on battery power we can't find them anymore.
Of more importance may be that they decided to show up like that. This wasn't an accident. This very very clearly let the naval commanders on our side know that they can evade detection. Which is an advantage you normally don't give away. Also, there is some talk that the ships' captains had a conversation. Beyond the point of trying to make sure they didn't accidentally ram each other causing an "incident" it is interesting isn't it that the captains may feel they have things to say to one another without the interference of Washington or other leaders?
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Jos
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Simply sadism
by Herb Ruhs, MD
| Mar. 13, 2008 |
The acceptance of use of torture by a society is a good rough guide of the degree of spiritual advancement of its people. The advocacy of torture by leaders of a society is a good guide to the degree of depravity of those leaders. Study of the issue of torture reveals that there is no rational defense for its use on utilitarian grounds, much less ethical or spiritual grounds. In fact the use of torture is demonstrably counterproductive to the aims for which it is rationalized as useful. Ultimately torture by authorities is simply sadism with a political cover. Torture deserves the unalloyed revulsion of all sane people.
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Herb Ruhs, MD
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All success, all the time
Army to turn trash into power in Iraq
If only bullsh*t could be converted.| |
Excerpt: "We think there's a high probability of success." |
Isn't anything involving Iraq a success now a days?
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Excerpt: An updated version completed last year at a cost of about $1 million now sits in an unheated warehouse on Purdue's West Lafayette campus awaiting a final shakedown before deployment. The same team is currently building the second unit. |
How much was spent on the OUTDATED versions?
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Wig
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No sympathy for Spitzer
by Angry Annie
| Mar. 13, 2008 |
I think it's pretty obvious that Spitzer was taken down by the Bush administration -- that they targeted him, as a rising star of the Democratic Party, and focused their efforts on digging up dirt until they found something. I strongly feel that the investigation of Spitzer should itself be investigated, because if every politician who's frequented hookers resigns, we'll have about fifty people in Congress, mostly women.
If you would have asked me a week ago, I would've said that Eliot Spitzer was one of my favorite elected officials. But now, I have no sympathy for Spitzer. None whatsoever.
And let me explain, I don't care in the slightest who anybody sleeps with or whether they pay. In my book, sexual infidelity is a fairly small and forgivable shortcoming. But loudmouth hypocrisy is not something I can quickly forgive. As Attorney General. Eliot Spitzer stood on the podium and declared war on prostitution, and put people in prison for the same thing he was doing. He can rot in hell.
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No disagreement here, but I want to linger on your first paragraph. It's a political prosecution, and my hope is that Spitzer's name and residue of power are enough to finally, finally force an investigation of the obvious ongoing illegal activity in the US Department of Justice.
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Helen & Harry
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Lap-cat
by Siskiyousis
| Mar. 13, 2008 |
Re Cats save lives?
I agree. No cat with any sense at all will stay in a house of strife.
This is not a very well-conducted study, methinks.
I refer you to Jon Carroll's column this week on coffee houses that offer in addition to caffeine, the company of a lap-cat during your stay there. Probably won't go near a human too wired, though. The Japanese also do this.
Possibly the dogs that are trained to monitor an owner's chronic condition are more reliable because their noses are better and their attachment to that human more altruistic than that of a cat. I love cats, but I do believe this is the case.
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Siskiyousis
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Israel would be toast
Blowback of war likely to be 'terrible'| |
Excerpt: 'It would be a disaster for Israel if the United States took military action against Iran, because it would fundamentally weaken the United States and it would fundamentally weaken Israel's position in the Middle East,' argued Nitze. 'But nobody in the political horizon, including on the Democratic side of the aisle, has been willing to say this.'
Of the major party candidates, only Senator Obama has suggested that he would meet with the leader of Iran -- a stance that was ridiculed by many in the Washington political establishment when he voiced it last summer. But even that position is now in question, as Obama told reporters recently that he supported Israel and the Bush administration's refusal to talk to the leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas, saying, 'You can't negotiate with somebody who does not recognize the right of a country to exist.' Like Hamas, Iran also refuses to recognize Israel. |
If anything would trigger WWIII, an attack on Iran most definitely would. Israel would be toast as would most of the middle east. Talk about your arrogant, dumb ass ideas. As far as recognizing Israel, Israel would not recognize Palestine or Jordan for a very long time. Quid pro quo.
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Chris M.
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Zip it, Spitzer
by Kathy Fisher
| Mar. 13, 2008 |
Eliot's new theme song I can hear it now...
The minute you walked in the joint,
I could tell you were a man of De-Stink-tion.
A REAL BIG SPENDER!
Good lookin, so refined,
Say wouldn't you liked to know what's going on in my mind?
So let me get right to the point ...
I don't pop my cork every guy I see.
Hey Big Spender, spend a little time with me!
Bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom
bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, bom, Yeah!
Once a week at 5,500 a pop -- that is a serious screwing. I'd be pissed as a taxpayer, let alone the wife of the idiot who paid way too much to get his yahyahs out! Maybe someone should take this one to the Better Business Bureau because he really got ripped off!
It is beyond my realm of thinking how these wives of the sleezebags can stand next to their man with the children no less and look like they have been crying for days. What the hell do they think they're proving? Standing in front of the American flag and the media blitz? The only way I would be standing over a dirt bag like Spitzer would be with a Smith and Wesson saying ''Ok, how do I reload this thing?'' Puulleeeeze! What's with these broads anyway?
Show your daughter what, Mrs. Spitzer? How to stand by a man who uses you and makes you stand there with him sharing in his humiliation?
She had a look on her face like it was all her fault, ''Oh maybe if I would have been more uninhibited in the bedroom, he'd never have to go to other women..." Christ, these women come off as so goddamn independent in public and you see later that it's all a facade, fake just like their faces and their anorexic bodies. They're all so vulnerable and insecure.
Is it any of our business? Hell yes it is, when those who proclaimed themselves to be servants of the people AND while he was suppose to be in Washington DC tending to the business of the people. Instead he was being serviced by a high priced hooker on the NY taxpayer's time... That's when it becomes OUR business.
When he returns to private life he can screw who he pleases.
Murder on a grand scale
I spent 8 hrs. looking at the stories you have -- wow. This research has taken months of effort & I'm only scratching the surface!
A little note about us -- my husband and I studied early Christianity and discovered the early Christians did not destroy human life under any circumstances. They preached against abortion, rescued abandoned babies from the streets, took care of the sick and dying even if they got sick themselves. They obeyed the laws of the land unless those laws violated their convictions (sacrificing to idols or killing people). They promoted peace wherever they lived and worked tirelessly among the poor. They gave away their money and possessions to anyone in need. They did not participate in government or the military because those occupations required them to kill. War to them was 'murder on a grand scale'. They prayed for their governments instead -- and the Roman Empire had the longest peacetime in world history (the Pax Romana).
Under Constantine, Christianity became the state religion -- he gave church leaders 'perks' and it soon followed that Christians entered public office, then the military. Within a few decades, the Roman Empire fell... and wars have plagued the earth ever since, most of them waged by Christians.
The world must hear that this is not the true Christian faith. (See The Ante-Nicene Fathers or Scroll Publishing). U.S. militarism / terrorism, in the name of Christianity, is sheer heresy. Don't believe it for a minute.
Just wanted to share this with you since I really like your peaceful stance to world affairs.
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Abortion is too complicated, to emotional for me to let government overrule women's consciences. We're pro-choice.
I'm pro-Christianity while not usually identifying myself as a Christian any more. I guess I'd say I'm "culturally Christian", but not religiously Christian. I'm a Christian-sympathizer, I guess, but an impatient one. What I can't brook and don't understand, and for me this is maybe the biggest issue related to this, is that so many good Christians aren't infuriated by what's done in the name of Christianity. Why aren't Christians bothered that this commonly-called "Christian nation" and it's most outspoken "Christian leaders" are a big embarrassment to anyone who's really a Christian?
If someone went on TV claiming to be me and saying things I find abhorrent, I'd try to make a stink. If someone sells counterfeit name brand products, lawyers go to court and someone might go to jail. So why do Christians and Christian leaders allow men like Pat Robertson and John Hagee and all the others to call themselves Christians, without ever making a pip? Why aren't the charlatans greeted by pickets and protests everywhere they go? |
Fallon gong
by Farouk M.
| Mar. 13, 2008 |
Re Magazine says US CentCom chief Fallon is the only
impediment to war on Iran... and he's about to be removed
You guyz really nailed that one on the button! I just heard the news yesterday that General Fallon resigned on his own (of course from no outside pressure *wink*) and one of your articles states that he is the only impediment to imminent invasion of Iran. I must commend your site of its unbelievable insight and intuition. You really know how 'they' think.
I too know how 'they' think. It's like playing chess. The whole point of the game is to out-think your opponent. In chess you must constantly think, "Now, what's gonna be his next move?" These recent events and your perfect, prescient reporting just never ceases to amaze me. Keep up the fantastic work!
Fan for life,
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I don't watch many murder mysteries any more -- having had a few friends killed, it's a little hard for me to view murder as entertainment. But in that genre, one of the best is Michael Mann's Manhunter. The plot, which sounds hackneyed now but seemed fresh in 1986, has a cop trying to climb into the mindset of a psychopathic killer.
And any time I'm trying to figure out what the Bush-Cheney administration is up to, that old movie briefly flitters across my mind.
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Helen & Harry
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Dialogue for
Wednesday, Mar. 12, 2008
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Bouillabaisse of angels and devils
by Herb Ruhs, MD
| Mar. 12, 2008 |
Re Katrina's aftermath
Well, I am forgiving to a fault of the errors of individuals, but I would like people who are going there to spend money to think about the implications of giving their money to folks who have benefited from ethnic cleansing and mass murder of innocents by neglect and in some cases deliberate killing. The majority of people who earned a meager living from the tourist trade in New Orleans have been sidestepped or shipped off to places like Houston.
Remember the words of a rich white New Orleanian that cheered the results of the hurricane as evidence the God destroyed poor black housing thus "solving" a problem. New Orleans was always a Bouillabaisse of angels and devils, the base and the inspired, but now it is a thin and putrid soup of white bread, lacking in nutrition and spirit.
Of course, this will all soon be moot. Progressive environmental degradation from greedy development on the coast, surface water heating leading to stronger hurricanes and sea level rise will soon make New Orleans a memory. So I suppose people could argue that they need to see it while the seeing is good. Of course I am accepting of those fine people who actually go there to help. They know what they are about and will not be influenced by my warning which is directed towards folks who are visiting mindlessly.
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A trip to New Orleans is certainly something that shouldn't be done without some serious reflection. I wouldn't do it.
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Helen & Harry
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We're #2
Re It grows on trees
So Cheney went over there as a peace envoy... and they did it with a straight face? C'mon folks, they had to ROTFLMAO on this one as soon as he left the room! Gods, please, please tell me he left his hunting rifle in Washington! That would be all we need. Cheney shoots Mubarak in face or Karsi in the Kabul. I can just picture it.
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Cats save lives?
This is new? Ever hear of going for a diagnostic cat scan? If they purr you're okay.
But don't worry apparently no matter what goes wrong we can make socks for Target. (All together now, USA, USA, We're #1!) (Would you really want to be thought of as #2...)
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Jos
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The great bank bailout
by Marvin A.
| Mar. 12, 2008 |
Remember when I sent you an email about the T-Bills being sold to help out the Banks? Well in today's Bloomberg News it was announced that the amount was to be 200 BILLION. Can you imagine that? Can you believe the arrogance of this government?
And I am not centering just on Bush and his cronies, because this shit started long before he ever got to office.
You and I can go sleep in the fucking street. But these mother fuckers get to do just anything they want and if they fuck up then someone will come along and bail their asses out! And they are going to make a profit on top of it!
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You said it absolutely perfect. Damn them all to hell.
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Helen & Harry
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People have just stopped giving a damn
From what I've witnessed, people have come to accept almost anything one human being says or does to another as normal behavior at first glance, and are too wrapped up in our own lives to stop and take another look. You see people arguing, it's normal. Even as they start uttering threats, it's just a couple of people yelling at each other. It's normal. ... MORE ...
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Chris D.
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A whole new perspective
Surge, surge, surge!
US death toll at 8 in Monday attacks
But, but, but, Anbar Province is a real, real success model. So say the neo-con die-hards.
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This explains a lot:
Revelation at Sinai was 'mind-blowing'| |
Excerpt: Shanon, whose main focuses of research are the phenomenology of human
consciousness and the philosophy of psychology, also wrote that the burning bush
episode was likely the result of psychedelic hallucinations as well ... |
Gives a whole new perspective on the nutty occurrences related in the "Bible".
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Wig
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With six you get eggroll
by Kathy Fisher
| Mar. 12, 2008 |
Six top Nuclear scientists in deadly plane crash
Weather was good...
Oh well, nothing suspicious here, just a strange coincidence.
Florida and Michigan
by Angry Annie
| Mar. 12, 2008 |
Re Remarkable Hillary
I'm disappointed that you've (apparently?) not heard back from M.M., the Clinton supporter. M.M. seemed like a reasonably reasonable soul, and I'd be curious to see her response to your rather low-key rationale for opposing Clinton.
M.M.'s email popped into my mind as I was reading this, in Newsweek:| |
Q: You've been advocating seating delegations from Michigan and Florida. But Senator Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan. Does making this argument risk alienating voters who think you're breaking the rules or changing the rules?
A: I don't think so. I mean, he had a choice to be on the ballot. He chose not to be. I chose to stay on the ballot. So that was a choice he made. His campaign then ran a very vigorous effort to try to defeat me with uncommitted delegates, and he lost. So it wasn't as though there wasn't a contest. There was a contest. And I won. And I won resoundingly in Florida … I don't think we should be about the business of denying voters in Michigan and Florida the right to be heard. |
As anyone who's aware of the facts of the matter knows -- which I guess includes nobody at Newsweek -- that is just a blatantly false perspective. It is a lie.
When Florida and Michigan moved their primaries way, way up, so early that they were in violation of Democratic Party rules, all the candidates were asked not to participate, and all the major candidates agreed. All the candidates withdrew their names from the Michigan primary -- with the exception of Clinton (and, I think, Dennis Kucinich). After that rather bald-faced hypocrisy, Obama did not remove his name from the Florida ballot, but he did not campaign there. Hillary Clinton left her name on the ballot in Florida, and campaigned there. And now she claims Michigan and Florida as "victories".
This is a woman with principles so low, she could have married into the Bush family.
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I'm tired of all the campaigning, and it's vomit-inducing to think that we have eight more frickin' months of this before the election.
That said, of course, you're right, and Hillary Clinton is a scumbag.
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How's this for unknown news?
Re Apples and oranges
You can add militarily to that list of ways China will dominate the world. This is my top
pick for the number one unknown news story for 2007:
The uninvited guest: Chinese sub pops up in middle
of US Navy exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced| |
Excerpt: American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk -- a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board.
By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier.
According to senior NATO officials the incident caused consternation in the U.S. Navy.
The Americans had no idea China's fast-growing submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed such a threat.
One NATO figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" -- a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age. |
I'm pretty sure this story wasn't covered on Unknown News. I didn't see it there when it happened (mid November 2007); too busy at the time to send you an e-mail about it.
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I remember reading about this at the time, but I didn't put it on our page. Didn't strike me as anything more than a curiosity. I think I pictured some radar tech asleep at his post, or assuming the blip he saw was a test pattern...
But gee willikers, it seems a lot more newsworthy when you make me stop and think for a few moments, or when I actually read to the bottom of the article...
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Tuckered
by Cassandra
| Mar. 12, 2008 |
Re MSNBC's Carlson unintentionally reveals the lapdog role of the American press
I did read somewhere today that he's soon to be out of a job....
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We have no cable, so I have very little Tucker consciousness, but the headlines say he's a goner. Seems almost nobody was watching his punditry.
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Helen & Harry
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