25 most recent entries:
St Paul, Repression, Solidarity and Diversity of Tactics (Sep 07 2008 17:36 GMT)
As a witness to some of the events this past week in St Paul, I wanted to write about it. As well as having friends who were arrested, in jail and looking at prison sentences, I took it more personal. I've thought about the fact of how many have brought up how they've been arrested and/or fellow comrades and how that may take away from the movement and any issues going on in the world.
Sunday music retrospective: Cold on the Shoulder (Sep 07 2008 15:00 GMT)
Gordon Lightfoot: Cold on the Shoulder This is one of my favorite albums from back in the day, but many of the songs have not been available through youtube until very recently. There is apparently a group of Lightfoot enthusiasts trying to change that, though some of them are still embedding disabled.
The Real McCain (Sep 07 2008 13:43 GMT)
If the CERN Large Hadron Collider doesn't end the world as we know it, we still have John Sidney McCain as the backup plan. There is a big difference though. The LHC, if it's experiments successfully bear out hypotheses, may provide physicists with a new understanding of the workings of the universe so fundamental that they will be able to fit the final few pieces of data into the final touches of a coherent Theory of Everything so complete that the fantasy of an invisible man in the sky ruling the universe will at long last be laid to rest, for anyone capable of critical thinking and reason at least, and the irrational dream world that people like McCain, Dobson, Bush, Palin, Kristol, Lieberman, Scheunemann and others inhabit may be one step closer to coming to an end. On the other hand, if we are still here on November 08 an electoral win by McCain may simply set in motion the final few mindless political and military moves that will ultimately destroy America, civilization as we know it, and the environmental capability of the earth to support life. Matt Welch, Editor in Chief of Reason Magazine, talking with Paul Jay of The Real News explains and provides a history of McCain and his ties to militant neocons.
HONORING THE FALLEN: US Military KIA, Iraq/Afganistan - August 2008 (Sep 07 2008 11:30 GMT)
Iraq There have been 4,468 coalition deaths -- 4,154 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Azerbaijani, 176 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, 1 Czech, 7 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 5 Georgians, 1 Hungarian, 33 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 Korean, 3 Latvian, 22 Poles, 3 Romanians, 5 Salvadoran, 4 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of September 5, 2008, according to a CNN count. { Graphical breakdown of casualties }. The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose deaths have been reported by their country's governments. The list also includes seven employees of the U.S.
The Apocalypse of Alexandros: Chapter 3 (Sep 07 2008 01:39 GMT)
This chapter is titled: Return of the Heroes. For Prologues go here: http://www.
Pony Party (Sep 06 2008 23:14 GMT)
Well. There is nothing going on in calico land. While the east coast is getting hit we are enjoying 73 degree weather in Tennessee. A few random pictures..... Turkeys in the pasture....
"Mother is the word for God on the lips of children everywhere" (Sep 06 2008 21:29 GMT)
The charge of SEXISM really doesn't help women's causes to lead, not to say there isn't sexism out there, but it is too loosely thrown around and is being used as an excuse and a roadblock to any real dialog. SEXIST is the charge directed at anyone who questions Sarah Palin about ANYTHING, but particularly when it is directed at Palin's ability to take care of her children and the nation at the same time. It is what her supporters are first to point out in their sexism charges. Never mind those same concerns were voiced about Michelle Obama, the difference is the Obama's didn't whine about it and charge sexism.
Obama On McCain as Change Agent: "They must think you're stupid." (Sep 06 2008 19:57 GMT)
"And suddenly he's the change agent? Ha. He says, 'I'm going to tell those lobbyists that their days of running Washington are over.' Who is he going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman, who's one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington?
Inspiring Speech from Shamako Noble at the RNC Welcoming Committee Press Conference (Sep 06 2008 19:52 GMT)
[Cross-posted at you-know-where] Hey kossacks. This is my first diary for awhile. I have to admit I've kind of given up on the kos.
SeaWorld: flipper and friends (Sep 06 2008 19:00 GMT)
One of the many venues that can be seen from the Skytower is Dolphin Discovery, with its lighthouse motif. But we made a lot of stops along the way. It was sort of like Dorothy and the gang...
Baseless in Obamaland (Sep 06 2008 17:05 GMT)
Original article by Eric Patton, sub-headed From Chad Ocho Cinco to Sarah Palin, via counterpunch.com: It's official. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson is now Chad Ocho Cinco.
Palin: "F**king Eskimo's" & "Arctic Arabs" (Sep 06 2008 15:55 GMT)
Take a real good look at her face - not at her fake smile, but look into her eyes. What do you see? Alaskans Speak (In A Frightened Whisper): Palin Is "Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, And Mean" "It was kind of disgusting," Lucille, who is part Aboriginal, said in a phone interview after admitting that she is frightened of being discovered telling folks in the "lower 48" about life near the North Pole.
From High Risk to High Hopes - Public Art (Sep 06 2008 14:34 GMT)
A few months ago I engaged in a project at work that was like nothing I've ever done before. It was completed this week and I thought I'd share a bit about it here. I'm not sure it will have much interest for anyone but me. But its something that has moved me and I hope the end product will be a lasting legacy and testament to the small ways we have tried to change a few lives in this town. But first, a little background.
Obama Campaigning On McCain's Terms (Sep 06 2008 12:22 GMT)
On August 8, 2008 Georgia under President Mikhail Saakashvili at the instigation of the Bush administration and PNAC neocons launched a major military offensive to retake the breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia responded by sending tanks and troops into the area and rapidly broke Georgia's offensive, forcing Georgian forces to retreat and abandon their aggresssion against the two provinces, and in the process announced to the world that the geopolitical balance of power had shifted and had been shifting for some time while Bush has had the US bogged down in quicksand in Iraq. South Ossetia and Abkhazia have both moved to request UN and international recognition of their independence from Georgia, and South Ossetians have announced their intention to reunite with North Ossetia under the Russian Federation. The McCain campaign, the Bush Administration, and US media have turned the situation and reality on it's head with continual rhetoric condemning Russia for "aggression" and attempts to encircle Russia with a "missile defense shield", when it was in reality Georgia supported by Washington and the neocons that had committed the aggression. Obama has picked up on the McCain narrative and has also condemned Russia calling them the "aggressor", and is now fighting the election on McCain's terms trying to show that he is as "tough" or tougher than McCain on "national security".
John McCain is wrong ...wrong for America (Sep 06 2008 02:56 GMT)
John McCain believes the answer is war ...Barack Obama believes the answer is peace. Which pathway will be the choice of Americans? McCain is adamant in describing his America as one in which Americans will sit atop the mountain of the world's bountifulness and mercilessly fight off the aspirations of our global brothers and sisters. McCain would build high fences around the perimeter of the United States, send our armies and navies out into the valley below to crush those who aspire to ascend to higher ground, to peaks of their own.
News You Won't Read in the Paper: Unemployment 10.7% (Sep 05 2008 21:03 GMT)
This is the follow-up to News You Won't Read in the Newspapers: Unemployment breaks 10%. Series Id:
Family dirt, part 2 (Mabel and Florence) (Sep 05 2008 20:43 GMT)
There is summer, and there is summer. For those who live in seasons that change, that air, that scent of heat and sun, (because the sun does smell of life and air and heat and all things hot and white-yellow bright), the summer air is fleeting. Summer raises the heart, like a glad sweet song, then whispers to the soul silently with sweet-bitter notions of cooler Autumn straight ahead. Autumn, days that masquerade as portage between brief spurts of hottest days and stifling nights to cooler twilight and longer, darker, colder Winter. Look at the fate of summer flowers,
NEWSFLASH: Unemployment hits above 6%!!! (Sep 05 2008 18:58 GMT)
Today the latest figures of unemployment were released, and folks things are continuing to not look good. Payrolls across the economy has dropped this month...again! Officially, the unemployment rate now stands at 6.
Real McCain of Genuis (Sep 05 2008 18:38 GMT)
Fun. From Change to Win. John McCain doesn't know how many houses he owns. That's why he's a REAL MCCAIN OF GENIUS.
Republicans steal property ... And, threaten the future ... (Sep 05 2008 18:35 GMT)
The McCain campaign and Republican Party have both been aggressive in their use of music, clips from movies, etc without, it seems, even bothering to seek copyright permission despite the promise "to protect the creative industires from privacy." They have gotten pushback, multiple times, for their unauthorized use (read "theft") of intellectual property. In many of these cases, the involved artists are actually quite Green and environmentalist in their donation streams and stated interests. A Daily Kos diary highlights Heart's (Wilson sisters) reaction to the use of Barracuda as a theme song for Sarah "Pit Bull with Lipstick" Palin.
Return of the Green Screen (Sep 05 2008 18:35 GMT)
Earlier this summer McCain gave a widely panned speech in front of a green background. Lime jello and cottage cheese became a running joke on the Interwebs. Stephen Colbert issued the McCain Green Screen Challenge:
American Idol (Sep 05 2008 18:24 GMT)
One week has passed now since Barack Obama gave his eloquent acceptance speech before an audience of 84,000 in Denver. It has been one week since John McCain announced his running mate would be Sarah Palin. In that time, the Democratic presidential campaign has been derailed and in the year of the celebrity candidate, Palin is the hot new thing. Conservatives have their "rock star" and liberals cannot help themselves from talking and writing about her. McCain has accomplished what he set out to do by choosing her:
Sen. McCain, Thanks But No Thanks! (Sep 05 2008 18:05 GMT)
Cross posted at the Big Orange The Dog may have been born with his eyes closed, but that does not mean he is blind. Last night Sen. McCain (Cloud-Yeller, AZ) went out and tried to distance himself from the criminal Bush administration and the policies that he has helped support for the last eight years. In a stunningly cynical manner the senior (so very, very senior) Senator from Arizona called for those that think of themselves first and country second to be ready for change in Washington. This completely ignores the fact that it is his party that has taken this path and that to achieve real change in this manner of doing business would require a decimation of the Repug congressional delegations.
McCain's Media Free Ride (Sep 05 2008 16:11 GMT)
The other day Scott Ritter and Ray McGovern began a conversation with Paul Jay of The Real News about McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his VP running mate, and about what McCain knew about the selling of the invasion of Iraq based on demonstrably false information. Based on outright lies in other words, that straight talk express McCain happily supported and spread. Today the conversation with Ritter and McGovern continues as they discuss the unquestioning free ride McCain is getting from US media in his presidential campaign. A campaign that, like the Iraq invasion, is based virtually entirely on lies. Lies disseminated and perpetuated by complicit media and "journalists" who are blatantly propagandizing and no longer even making any pretense at "journalism", and thus allowing the RNC and McCain to being another campaign of lies now aimed at demonizing and attacking Iran and militarily confronting Russia.
Open Thread (Sep 05 2008 13:30 GMT)
You want the thread? YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE THREAD!!1!
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