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Archive for March 2007
Trickle-Down Stupidity: Education and the RWNM (Updated)
Reagan conservatives are big fans of trickle-down economics and have foisted it on us several times. The idea is that if we let rich people get richer, some of it will eventually "trickle down" to the rest of us. That's a pretty good description of Bush's economic "plan" over the last six years, and it has been a dismal failure.
But there is another trickle-down theory that has worked, and worked brilliantly:
Trickle-down stupidity.
For a solid quarter-century, conservatives have relentlessly preached against eggheadism, denigrating smarts not attached to the making of money because the smarter and more educated you are, the more likely you are to be liberal. Liberals are less frightened, less stingy, and less likely to go into anaphylactic shock if someone uses a word with more than two syllables.
Because both conservatives and the religious right depend on blind faith and a near-total ignorance of history, science, and logic for their existence, they have spent a good deal of that 25 years attacking education and educated people. After all, it's almost impossible to sell someone who has passed a junior high science class the idea that the sun revolves around the earth. You need a nation of morons to do that, and the Right has pursued and encouraged the entitlement of universal stupidity – the doctrine that every American has the right to be dumb as a brick – with undying fervor.
And it's working. Read the rest of this entry »
Libby, Doan, and Sampson: Systemic Firewalls?
The key to understanding Kyle Sampson's testimony yesterday is this:
For all the nonsense being written in the MSM about his "dramatic" appearance contradicting – or "challenging" as the WaPo's Dan Egger has it – Gonzo's pathetic attempt to pretend he knew nothing about all this attorney-firing business, the plain fact is that Sampson gave the Committee absolutely nothing it didn't already have. Every opportunity he had to expand the Committee's knowledge about the process – who said what, when they said it, who they said it to, etc – Sampson rejected with the litany we have come to know so well from all the Bushies:
"I don't know."
"I can't remember."
"It wasn't my job."
Dana Milbank is much closer to the truth of it when he points out:
Sampson seemed content to fall on his sword rather than naming names when he was questioned about the prosecutor mess. Only the red felt on the witness table concealed the blood. "I could have and should have helped to prevent this," Sampson offered. "I let the attorney general and the department down. . . . I failed to organize a more effective response. . . . It was a failure on my part. . . . I will hold myself responsible. . . . I wish we could do it all over again."
The witness fessed up to an expanding list of sins. He admitted that the Justice Department was trying to circumvent the Senate confirmation process. He confessed that he proposed firing Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutor in the Valerie Plame leak case. "I regretted it," he explained. "I knew that it was the wrong thing to do."
But this blood-letting was severely confined, a pin-prick rather than a deep incision. Read the rest of this entry »
The Gonzo 8: Sampson's Testimony
Spent most of the day watching the Judiciary committee hearing with Kyle Sampson and wanted to jot a quick observation before I have to leave for work.
I have now spent two days in a row – and many more going back to January – watching Bush Admin figures testifying in front of Congress, and the pattern is always the same, what I call the Sgt Schultz Defense:
1. "I don't remember." "I don't recall." "I have no memory of that."
This was the way Reagan answered questions in the Iran/Contra trial, but he had Alzheimer's. What's everybody else's excuse?
The GSA and Rove's Politicization of Our Govt
The politicization of almost every agency of the federal govt during Bush's administration as shown currently in both the matter of the US Attorneys who were fired and the political meeting attended – illegally – and participated in – illegally – by GSA Administrator and GOP hack Lurita Doan, along with the multi-layered levels of corruption and corporate purchasing of virtually every said agency, and adding in the comprehensive Bushian policy of putting foxes in charge of every govt henhouse, ought to give us pause to consider in depth what all that politicization was about.
I'm not just talking about the obvious reasons: the Rove/Norquist/Cheney determination to make the US a one-party nation, or Rove's intention to use govt workers as campaign "volunteers" in much the same way that a mayor might get the fire dept to paint his house on the city dime, or the opportunities to make an illegal buck that it seems virtually every Republican office-holder – including the aforementioned Doan, apparently – jumped at without a moment's hesitation the instant it was presented to them. I'm talking about something deeper, and the Doan business is the pointer.
The FBI and NSLs 5: Don't Trust Mueller (Updated)
FBI Dir Robert Mueller wants the Congress to let him keep the power given him by the PATRIOT Act to use NSLs despite his total failure to supervise that use by his agents.
Mueller expressed concern about any modifications to the USA Patriot Act that might "handcuff us" in terrorism investigations, but he also said that the FBI would be willing to jettison its authority to use national security letters if it is granted the power to use administrative subpoenas to collect the same information.
This is a very bad idea. During his tenure, Mueller has made any number of promises to Congress – including a promise made during the hearings on re-authorization of the Act that he would not allow abuse of the power he now admits his agency abused – and somebody's going to have to point me toward a single one of them he's actually kept because I can't find it. Dianne Feinstein rightly complained that there's no excuse for the lack of supervision Mueller now takes responsibility for.
"This was a very controversial addition to the Patriot Act," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said about the FBI's authority to use the national security letters. "There were many members that had deep concerns about this. The language was negotiated. We were very specifically trying to put in checks and balances. And then it appears they all just melted into oblivion with sloppy administration."
Again, Sen Feinstein, it was NOT "sloppy". It was deliberate. Read the rest of this entry »
The FBI and NSLs 4: Not Operating in a Vacuum
The FBI is still pretending that their use of National Security Letters (NSLs) to obtain information unconnected in any way with national security was a matter of sloppy paperwork and/or "haste", excuses that don't even begin to explain either the high numbers of "mistakes" or the constant lies.
FBI agents repeatedly provided inaccurate information to win secret court approval of surveillance warrants in terrorism and espionage cases, prompting officials to tighten controls on the way the bureau uses that powerful anti-terrorism tool, according to Justice Department and FBI officials.
The errors were pervasive enough that the chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, wrote the Justice Department in December 2005 to complain. She raised the possibility of requiring counterterrorism agents to swear in her courtroom that the information they were providing was accurate, a procedure that could have slowed such investigations drastically.
Forced to acknowledge the extent of the abuses (as many as 10% of the warrants contained inaccuracies, and possibly a lot more – exact numbers aren't yet available although IG Fine estimates that as many as 3000 violations may have occurred over the last 3 years), the FBI's management has moved from minimizing the problem to blaming poor supervision.
In the use of both national security letters and the FISA warrant applications, officials acknowledged that the problems resulted from agents' haste or sloppiness — or both — and that there was inadequate supervision."We've oftentimes been better at setting the rules than we have been at establishing the internal controls and audits necessary to enforce them," FBI Assistant Director John Miller said.
But they didn't "set the rules", that's the whole point. What we have here is a process that ignored the rules to get what it wanted. The very same "mistakes" were made on surveillance warrants as were made on NSLs, so the argument that the NSLs got screwed up because agents weren't used to using them is bullshit.
And what can you say about the idea that after 50 years FBI agents still don't know how to fill out a surveillance request correctly without supervision?
As disturbing as the lies and weak excuses are, what's even more disturbing are the way and the reasons they were used. Read the rest of this entry »
Socialization in the Blogosphere
This is one of those "it started out to be a comment on somebody else's blog but was too long for a comment so I'm making it a post" post. You might want to go read the post that sparked this one before you wade into it. It may not make much sense otherwise.
Chris Bowers at MyDD writes every so often about the phenomenon of blogging itself. His thoughts/insights are usually interesting but it has often seemed to me that he, like a lot of others in the online world, misses a key point:
Online life ain't real life.
George Will Explains It All for You
If you're angry at the Republicans or President Bush, says George Will, it isn't because of Constitution-shredding or torture-justifying or runaway corruption or illegal war-starting or 24/7 lying or election-stealing or Plame-outing or theocracy-enabling or corporate-toadying or for letting wounded troops coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan fester in rat-holes of filth and roaches without treatment or hope of treatment, and mired in a sea of conservative-inspired red tape. No, he explains carefully, it isn't any of that causing your rage. You're pissed off because it's trendy to be pissed off.
[T]here is a new style in anger — fury as a fashion accessory, indignation as evidence of good character.
No wonder Americans are infatuated with anger: It is democratic. Anyone can express it, and it is one of the seven deadly sins, which means it is a universal susceptibility. So in this age that is proud of having achieved "the repeal of reticence," anger exhibitionism is pandemic.
And it's all the fault of us lib-rad moonbats. Read the rest of this entry »
Liz's Cancer and the Edwards Campaign (Updated)
Twenty-three years ago this week, my mother died of a liver cancer that had been eating away at her for more than a decade. She was diagnosed relatively early but treatment modalities were primitive and not terribly effective in cases like hers. Liver cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and bone cancer were, in those days, little less than death sentences.
At the time there were new, experimental treatments cancer specialists were trying to work the kinks out of. When she realized that she was considered terminal, my mother insisted on volunteering for them. My father went along with her, and signed her into the Deaconess Hospital in Boston, which was associated with Sloan-Kettering and the best hospital in New England for cancer research and treatment.
For the next 10 years, she was in and out of the Deaconess undergoing a series of treatments, primarily chemo and radiation therapy. The cancer would go into remission, come back, go away again. She would have a few healthy months, and then it would reappear, sapping her strength. Once it went into remission for almost three years. That was a good time. The doctors said if it stayed away for 5 years, there was a good chance my mom had beaten it for good. We thought – we hoped – she had.
But she hadn't, of course. A year after that long remission ended, she was dead.
A little over four years ago, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was an early catch but I didn't know what that meant. I thought I was walking around dead.
I went into the hospital at noon and was in the "recovery room" – a glorified corridor lined with gurneys – by 2pm. I wanted to leave but the nurses wouldn't let me. They insisted I rest for at least 2 hrs, and as I was still woozy, I let them have their way. By 4.30pm I was out of the hospital and on my way home. The cancer was gone and it hasn't returned.
I told you all that so I could tell you this:
The surprise – and occasional expression of disgust – engendered by John Edwards' announcement that his wife, Liz, has bone cancer but that he is not going to abandon his campaign on that account, is rooted, I think, in the old perception that cancer is an automatic death sentence.
It isn't any more. Even granting that her condition is incurable, it is, by the Edwards' own statement, "treatable".
Jeff and Hitch Take on Iraq and Family Values
I don't usually do this, partly because lots of other people do and partly because the right wing is so unimaginative they say the same things over and over and over and the sheer endless, mindless repetition gets to me. How many times can you counter the same stoopid, clueless lies before your brain melts into something that resembles moldy oatmeal?
But today I happened to run across two pieces which are pure perfection and decided to share them with you. Each of them represents conservative hypocrisy in all its glory while at the same time offering us a glimpse inside the arguments we will be hearing over the next year or so about how they weren't wrong about the war in Iraq, and how "family values" shouldn't be taken so seriously now that Republicans are openly violating them instead of Democrats. Both pieces are truly precious, priceless examples of right-wing "thought" and more than a little amusing, in a sad, sick way.
The Myth of Corporate-Style Governing 6: Corporate/Prosecutor Purges
Mark Gisleson has a brilliant post up at Norwegianity explaining how standard corporate power-plays are at the bottom of the Gonzales 8 Scandal.
In this matter, and all personnel matters, transparency is key. That which will not withstand scrutiny, of necessity becomes a matter of veils and subterfuge, just as we're now discovering with the fired U.S. Attorneys. In not one case are we learning that the fired U.S. Attorney in question had done anything but an exemplary job. But therein lays the rub — our corporatized administration has done pretty much what corporate execs usually do: they lied and cheated, and now they've been caught red-handed thanks to incriminating emails and lower-ranking officials who've seen plenty of examples of people like themselves being thrown overboard by the Bushies when push came to shucking a perjury charge.
In the corporate world, it's next to impossible to stop top higher ups from doing pretty much anything they like short of raping their administrative assistants in a public area of the building. And ending that "privilege" of rank wasn't easy, as any woman over forty can tell you. Government, however, is not business, and the Bushies in their consumate [sic] arrogance forgot they were leaving paper trails, and that they were dealing with powerful individuals who have powerful friends.
Frankly, I despair of ever ridding American corporations of the dumbfuck idea that a loyal monoculture is best for business. No, it's the best way to make sure that at some future point the company goes down the toilet because of 1) lawbreaking by corporate officers, 2) short-term thinking that destroys long-term business, or 3) any of a number of other unforseen consequences of actions that would have been flagged were the decision-making process open to a more diverse group of people, like actual human beings, for example.
So, unsurprisingly the Bushies tried to claim all the fired USAs were fired for cause. Dumbfuck idea #1, as the Bushies failed to plant said evidence in any of the USAs' personnel files, and all in fact had excellent performance evaluations on record. Further efforts in that regard are also blowing up in the Bushies' faces because the proper foundation (i.e., planting of phony work evaluations and written criticisms) wasn't laid.
Go read the rest. And remember it the next time somebody insists that govt ought to be run like a business – when it is, baaaaad things happen.
The FBI and NSLs 3: How High Does it Go?
Yesterday I asked a couple of simple and, I thought, fairly obvious questions:
Were there any lawyers among the dozen members of the elite CAU [Communications Analysis Unit - MA] responsible for the NSLs? If so, why didn't they respond to the concerns of the Bureau's legal staff? And even if there weren't, how could a slew of "counter-terrorism experts" fail to notice when asking for emergency powers that there was no actual terrorist emergency?
To answer the second question, it turns out there were and they didn't. In fact, Bassem Youssef, a CT expert with a covert background and several successes to his credit, was in charge of the CAU at the time and says he not only noticed, he "raised concerns with superiors".
Stephen M. Kohn, the lawyer for Mr. Youssef, said his client told his superiors that the bureau had frequently failed to document an urgent national security need — proving "exigent circumstances," in the bureau's language — when obtaining personal information without a court order through the use of "national security letters."
Mr. Youssef said his superiors had initially minimized the scope of the problem and the likely violation of laws intended to protect privacy, Mr. Kohn said.
"He identified the problems in 2005, shortly after he became unit chief," Mr. Kohn said. "As in other matters, he was met with apathy and resistance."
Mr. Kohn said that Mr. Youssef had had a long familiarity with national security letters from earlier work on counterterrorism investigations, and that he began reviewing recent letters and spotting legal deficiencies almost immediately.
"It was the same issue that was in the inspector general's report," Mr. Kohn said Sunday. "They didn't have the proper legal justifications in writing to back up their searches."
If Mr Youssef was in charge of the CAU and most of the disputed NSLs were submitted by the CAU, why didn't he simply stop them? Why didn't he call in the agents who were improperly filing and sending the NSLs and order them to correct the procedure or cease using them?
To answer those questions, we have to know the answers to two other key questions:
- Who were the "superiors" in question? Mueller? Or does it go higher?
- Why did Youssef feel it necessary to express his "concerns" about the NSLs to them? It was his department, he was in charge, why not just end the abuse?
The FBI and NSLs 2: The "Accident" Excuse Unravels (Updated)
As predicted, the DoJ IG's conclusion that the FBI's illegal use of NSLs did not constitute a crime is being called into question, and by a Republican no less.
Referring to the exigent circumstance letters, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) wrote in a letter Friday to Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine: "It is . . . difficult to imagine why there should not have been swift and severe consequences for anyone who knowingly signed . . . a letter containing false statements. Anyone at the FBI who knew about that kind of wrongdoing had an obligation to put a stop to it and report it immediately."
Yes, of course they did, but report it to who? Alberto?
Charlie's sudden concern for the possibly illegal use of the NSLs after 6 years of sitting obediently on his ass and watching the Bush Administration and the Justice Dept play fast-and-loose with the Constitution arose yesterday when it came to light that the FBI's own legal staff were expressing doubts about the way the NSLs were being handled as early as 2004.
Lost in Space: NeoCondi in the Middle East
Golly, since the Libby trial went to the jury, everybody in the Bush Administration has been out of town: Cheney's been table-hopping the globe, Bush has been discovering poverty in Latin America, and NeoCondi is in Israel stumbling around trying to sell a quick-dry Palestinian state and getting blind-sided by a move everybody and his Cousin Elmo saw coming a half-mile away.
The United States and Israel have sought to thwart creation of a Palestinian unity government, but U.S. officials are withholding public judgment about the new government until the Palestinian parliament ratifies it tomorrow. But they privately acknowledge that Abbas's announcement last month that he had struck a deal with Hamas was a blow to U.S. and Israeli efforts to elevate Abbas as an alternative to Hamas.
"Abbas promised us several times he would not agree to a national unity government," a senior Israeli diplomat said this week. "But then he sold the store to Hamas. He left us flabbergasted and without a strategy."
Who wants to break it to the fabulous NeoCondi that getting Abbas and Olmert to talk isn't a strategy so much as a tactic without one? And how come she doesn't have a back-up when Hamas was voted into the Palestinian govt months ago and the formation of a unity govt has been in the works for weeks? And weeks? And weeks?
U.S. officials say Rice remains determined to try to make headway on the Israeli-Palestinian issue after six years of stagnation.
Hmmm. Six years of stagnation, six years of Bush. Co-incidence?
Is there anybody in this admin who isn't embarrassing in their ignorance and pathetic in practice?
Bush and Latin America 3: Promises, Promises
Junior's trip to Latin America has taken a much different path than expected, at least by me. For one thing, the armored bubble in which he usually travels protected from any and all contact with the hoi-polloi has been replaced by personal appearances in "shanty neighborhoods" where he came face-to-face with actual poor people for what appears from his reaction to be the first time in his life.
For President Bush, the six-day voyage through Latin America that ended Wednesday proved to be unlike any of his previous foreign trips. It was one in which he tried ever so haltingly to escape the palaces and diplomatic salons long enough to see how people live and to emphasize that it matters to him.
The inspiration for the unusual itinerary was more about the vagaries of geopolitics than newfound curiosity, but the trip exposed the president to sights and sounds that he rarely encounters overseas. The rhetoric of security and terrorism that usually flavors his visits was replaced with discussion of "the human condition" and how to lift millions of neighbors out of deep, enduring poverty.
"We're allies in the cause of social justice," he told the Guatemalans. "The plight of the poor" has drawn U.S. concern, he explained in Uruguay. "We're all members of God's family," he said in Brazil. "And when one of us hurts, we also hurt."
Uh-huh. Pity he's never been able to summon up the same empathy for the poor in his own country. But then, we don't have a massive left-wing movement led by a Hugo Chavez.


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ADATA SH14 Portable Hard Drive Arrives in India in Style
ADATA has introduced its new stylish and sturdy ADATA SH14 Portable Hard Drives in India market, that features ultra-fast USB 3.0 interface, exterior build with a unique water resistant silicone material and incorporates shock-resistant / impact-damping silicone shell for enhanced data protection.
The new ADATA SH14 portable hard drive incorporates a new and more effective shock-resistant designs, and features combination of a modern style and a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface in addition to military grade shockproof and water-resistant construction to stand out in crowd of cold and monotonous outer form clad drives of this class.
The new ADATA SH14 rugged portable drive exterior is build from a unique silicone material, that provides a smooth surface texture.
The SH14 also incorporates the state of art military specification shock-resistant structure, coupled with water-resistant and impact-damping silicone shell, that effectively provides a formidable protection from any untoward damages from accidental drops or spills which can cause irreparable damage in conventional storage devices.
The ADATA SH14 portable hard drive is equipped with a 2.5-inch 5,400 RPM rotational platter hard drive and it incorporates the new generation USB 3.0 data transfer interface, that allows maximum transfer rates up to 90MB/s.
Compared to a standard USB 2.0 powered hard drive, the USB 3.0 powered SH14 drive back up the data files nearly three times faster, with enhanced performance significantly reducing transmission time by 70%.
The new ADATA SH14 portable hard drive comes in two color, viz. series- passion red and jet black and is available in 500GB, 750GB, and 1TB storage capacities with three year warranty.
In addition, all customers of SH14 external hard drive are also eligible for free download of the latest Norton Internet Security 2011 antivirus software (60 day trial), utility backup software HDDtoGo.
- 500 GB = Rs. 3,735
- 750 GB = Rs. 4,590
- 1TB = Rs. 5,940
Similar Posts:
- ADATA Launches SH12 USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive with Up to 116MB/Sec Speed
- Transcend StoreJet 25A : Shock-resistant USB 3.0 Powered Portable Hard Drive Launched in India
- Transcend StoreJet 25H3P 1TB Portable Hard Drive Launched in India
- Transcend Introduces 750GB 2.5-inch Portable Hard Drive With Unique Shock-resistant Construction
- Transcend SSD18C3 Portable SSD with USB 3.0 Launched in India
- ADATA Launches T006 Buzz Lightyear USB Flash Drive in 4GB and 8GB Capacities
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subset: commoncrawl


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Got plans for the weekend?
If you're not cooped up at home with a cold (is everyone in town sick or what?), check out some great events happening this weekend.
On Friday evening, watch Cinnabar's latest production Couple of Blaguards, a story that recounts the lives of Frank and Malachy McCourt's life in poverty-stricken Limerick, Ireland and their journey to Brooklyn.
If you read Angela's Ashes and think the story is all doom and gloom, you'll be surprised. Blaguards is a rollicking and musical cabaret show that revives all the characters—from relatives to rogues and petty tyrants. Live music by YouKali Celtic band.
Tickets $25 to $35. Continues until January 20.
If you want your kiddos to become birding enthusiasts, or perhaps just practice their math, sign them up for the Christmas Bird Count for Kids going on this Saturday from 9am-3pm.
Hosted by the Petaluma Wetlands Alliance and the city's parks and rec department, the outing will take children ages 9 through 15 to Shollenberger Park to spot different types of birds.
Bring a pair of binoculars, wear layered clothing and bring a brown bag lunch. $5. To register, contact Al Hesla at 765-9411.
Want to kick back and listen to some nice tunes?
Lagunitas hosts French gypsy jazz group Prisma Trova on Saturday starting at. 4:20pm. Mimi Pirard and Andrew DeVeny sing covers in English, French and Spanish as well as originals inspired by extensive travels and living abroad.
Another option this Saturday is the "Winter" concerto from Vivaldi's beloved The Four Seasons by the Live Oak Baroque Orchestra this Saturday at the United Church of Christ. $20. Starts at 8pm.
Want to see more events? Check out our Events Calendar, where you can post your own event instantly and absolutely free. (Please make sure your event is posted only once.)


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Posts Tagged 'sb-800'
Party Photography
—-Nikon D300s + Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8 at f/5.6, 1/80 sec ISO800
One question I'm often asked is something like : "How do I get sharp photos when taking pictures of my friends dancing indoors? What lens should I get for this purpose?"
Well, in most cases, the answer has less to do with your lens and more to do with whether or not you're using flash. Just so happened to have hosted a dance party last night at my house, so I took the opportunity to demonstrate what I mean, using a variety of lenses and shutter speeds, and of course, my hot shoe flashes. The dancing took place in my living room at night, which means no daylight pouring through the window to give me f-stoppage. The room is lit by two floor lamps, providing, I dunno, just about f/0.1 inside. Seriously though, even using my fastest lens, I 'd probably squeeze out a shutter speed of about 1/80th shooting wide open at f/1.4 at ISO3200 in this room. Ouch…not nearly fast enough to stop action under these conditions.
—-Nikon D300s + Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 at 11mm f/5.6, 1/125 sec ISO800
Freezing motion in bright day light out doors is relatively simple, right? You can easily hit say 1/640 or 1/1000 and higher, even stopped down, effectively freezing motion. Can't really do that in a room like this. There's simply not enough ambient. Using flash lets you shoot at lower shutter speeds and still freeze action.
Wait a minute! How is it that you can freeze motion with low shutter speeds when you use your flash? Another question I get asked a lot. They key, again, is in the pop of light you're throwing at your subject. The shutter may be going at say 1/80 or even 1/15, but that flash is hitting your subject at like 1/1500th, fast enough to freeze them in their tracks. If you want to imply motion in your dancing shots, you can drag the shutter at around 1/10 to 1/15 (make sure you camera is set to rear curtain sync):
—-Nikon D300s + Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8 at f/5.6, 1/15 sec ISO800
Or select higher shutter speeds to freeze them completely:
—–Nikon D300s + Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 at 14mm f/5.6, 1/80 ISO800
Another note: you gotta go manual exposure in scenes like this. Throw your camera into aperture priority, for instance, and it will select what it thinks is an appropriate shutter speed to expose the scene. Well, you're pointing your camera at darkness, which means it'll select shutter speeds that are far too low. Use shutter priority and you camera will open up your lens to its maximum, limiting your depth of field options. For the entire night, I dictated the shutter speed and aperture and let the camera's intelligent flash system work its magic. Worked well in this case too because in such a small, dimly lit room, almost all of the light is coming from my flash units.
Another question I get asked: "My lens doesn't have VC/VR/IS. Can I still get sharp shots with it?" Yes! None of the lenses I used last night are stabilized:
—-Nikon D300s + Tokina 50-135 f/2.8 at 95mm f/5.6, 1/80 sec ISO800
—-Nikon D300s + Tokina 50-135 f/2.8
—-Nikon D300s + Tokina 50-135 f/2.8
—-Nikon D300s + Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8
It's important to remember that neither lens nor sensor based image stabilization systems help freeze subject motion. They only help reduce blur induced by small movements caused by the photographer hand-holding the camera. They key, again, is the flash.
Of course, when people are standing still, it's even easier. =)
Does Flash Have to Look Like…Flash?
Suki and I headed out to the beach for a stroll along the water this evening after I got off work. The weather has been totally gloomy in San Francisco lately, however, so there wasn't any dramatic light to make use of when arrived on sight. The test shot I took of her above gives you an indication of what kind of light was out there tonight. Blegh…Suki knows it too.
There was simply too much wind to use any sort of large light modifier, so I had to add some light in with my bare strobes. What to do? Thought I'd create a sunset-like effect with a single SB-900 placed maybe 20 or 30 feet from our position. Here's how it turned out:
Placed a full cut of orange gel (CTO) over the bare SB-900 to give it the orange glow you'd expect from the sun when it's low on the horizon. See? Flash doesn't have to look like "flash," right?
Now Suki is getting into it!
Nikon D300s + Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
The Last Minute Group Shot
This morning I attended a graduation ceremony for a group of students who successfully completed a rigorous training course in American Sign Language. It was an exciting event that drew a few hundred people, mostly friends and family of the students. Bridget and I were involved heavily in helping run the course, and I even brought my camera to every session to document the entire semester. This morning, I arrived about an hour early to help set up the A/V equipment needed to run the graduation, but soon after I arrived, I was asked to take a class photo. A group of 35, a relatively dimly lit hall crowded with people, and uh oh…I didn't have my camera. On top of that, the shot needed to be done BEFORE the graduation started. The wife ran home and grabbed whatever she could for me while I set up the A/V. By the time she got back with some camera gear, however, we only had about fifteen minutes or so to get the shot. A photographic nightmare! I was sweating bullets as I frantically set up a light stand camera right with an SB-900 through an umbrella, feathered high and left. Second light is hand held by my wife standing on a chair camera left, feathered high and right. Now I had about 8 minutes until the start of the graduation program. Gulp.
See how many people were there? This is the reason why I had to use my ultra wide lens for this group shot. There were a TON of people already on site, including a crowd of people with point and shoot cameras behind me. This meant I couldn't back up very far. So I mounted my Tokina 11-16, rushed like crazy to try to get all the students in some sort of order, fired off four or five frames, and that was it, time to start the ceremony. Whew….trust me, it was harder that in sounds!
View the "last minute" group shot larger here.
Camera Specs: Nikon D300s + Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
Don't Start with a Plan
When I first started Suki's 52 week project this year, I tried my best to have a very specific concept in mind for each image, planning each shot as meticulously as I could before we even headed out the door. I'm nearly halfway through the project now, and I've learned that having a plan is not always the best way to get a great shot. Reminds me of what Jay Maisel, a highly regarded NY based photographer once said:
"Not knowing what you're going to shoot is the great adventure. If you go out knowing what you're going to shoot, the great adventure is gone. Most people work to have a plan; I've worked to not have a plan for shooting when I go out."
I love this advice, and I've done my best to incorporate the principle behind it not only in my 52 week project, but in my photography in general.
Nowadays, the only planning I do when I go out to take a photo of Suki is deciding the location. Once we've settled into a spot, I then start scanning the area and coming up with ideas. It forces you to be observant, to look intently for interesting compositions, lines, and light. Instead of locking down on a specific plan, you find yourself exploring with a free and clear mind, and exploration and adventure is what makes photography great.
My best images of Suki this year are the ones where no planning was involved, where I'd just say "hey, let's go to [insert location here] and try to get some sort of shot of Suki." The images you see in this post, for example, are from a series I shot of her last Sunday during an early morning stroll. No plan involved. Just me, some camera gear, and a Shiba Inu. We walked and walked until I saw an element of the environment that struck me. It's a great way to approach your photography. Just make sure you always have your camera with you!
My Favorite Lenses
So lately I've decided that my two absolute favorite lenses in my bag right now are…..[drum-roll]…. The Nikkor 70-300mm VR (used in the top image) and the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 (used in the third photo from the top). Yup. My longest telephoto and my widest wide-angle. Both allow me to greatly exaggerate the perception of distance in an image. Want to really add some impact and dimension to your photos? Move further away from your subject and rack out your telephoto lens. Using an ultra-wide? Move in super close to your subject. Experiment and see what happens!
Camera Info:
Nikon D300s
1st image: Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR, 260mm f/8, 1/400 second, ISO200
3rd image: Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, 11mm, f/16, 1/320 second, ISO200
CLS triggered SB-800 + SB-900 used in both images


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Southern Island RoadtripPosted by in Nyheter
A few weekends ago me and my french housemate Bruno decided to rent a sweet as Hyundai Geytza and head out for a three day roadtrip to check out some of the scenery on the Southern Island of New Zealand. We left Queenstown without any real plans for the trip except for that I was going to buy a bike in Christchurch and that we wanted to go to Mount Cook.
The first 480km from Queenstown to Christchurch took us around 8 hours since we constantly stopped to shoot photos and video on the breathtaking scenery. What really stood out was the fact that after a 30 minute drive the landscape had changed completely, basically making us forced to stop a few times every hour. Massive mountains, lakes, open fields and endless of photo snapping Japanese people.
When we arrived in Christchurch our plan was to find a hostel for the night and then meet up with the guy selling the bike. Our initial thought was that we'd just find a good hostel in Lonely Planet, but it turned out not to be that easy. Every single hostel in Christchurch was either fully booked or closed due to the earthquake. After calling 15 different hostels we had to change our plans to find a place for the night. Finally we were able to get a room at a place in Oakins Bay, slightly south east of Christchurch.
After that we headed to pick up my bike which offered yet another surprise. We checked out the bike, managed to get the price down a bit and then handed over a big pile of cash. As we walked in to the shed to check out the rather massive amount of bikes in there we were told that this was Cam Cole's house and his brand spanking new Lapierre was hanging on the wall. Had a spin on it and drooled over all the shiny Easton gear! And yeah, the bike was HUGE.
The drive to Oakins Bay took way longer than expected, mainly since we took a detour on a sketchy gravel road in pitch black with running sheep in front of the car. And we missed the exit from the main road… We arrived to hostel and it turned out to be one of the best $30 stays of my life. Beautiful house with a great kitchen, big comfy beds and a soft lawn to have breakfast in the sun on. The beach just next to the hostel was something out of the ordinary!
We continued the trip by driving along the sea front to Akaroa, "a historic French and British settlement nestled in the heart of a volcano". Strolled through the town, had some pie and beer and just enjoyed the glory days of unemployment.
A few hours later we found ourselves at the foot of the highest mountain in NZ; Mount Cook. Majestic for sure! After a horrible night in the Japanese-crammed hostel with easily 30 degrees in the room we headed out for a hike to Kia Point, a vantage-point over Mt Cook. Snapped photos of the peak, had beer in the sun and just enjoyed life like every day in NZ!
Unplanned, impulsive trips like this could either turn out to be a complete disaster or a massive success, and this one was a blast from the first minute to the very end. Thanks Bruno for excellent french company! Check out more pictures on my Flickr Account
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The top of Zillow's Most Expensive Homes Listed in East Hampton is a four-bedroom, 2,740 square-foot house overlooking the Connecticut River in Middle Haddam.
The Victorian-style house, listed for $925,000, was built in 1888, and comes with an 1,800-square-foot guest home. It sits on just over one acre and features eclectic design touches, including three originally carved marble fireplace mantles. It has a master bedroom suite, state-of-the-art kitchen and is in pristine condition, according to the listing.
The home is listed by Rachel Thomas Associates of Essex.
To view this listing and other chart-toppers in the East Hampton area click here.


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Thursday is scheduled as the last day off for officers from the Santa Cruz Police Department following the shooting death of two officers on Tuesday.
Officers were given the day off Wednesday and Thursday, but are expected to return to work on Friday, an SCPD spokesperson said.
Staff from the Capitola Police Department, Watsonville Police Department, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office and California Highway Patrol took over for SCPD Thursday.
All is expected to be back to normal, as far as patrol beats, on Friday morning.
For complete coverage of the tragic shooting, click here.
Bay City News contributed to this report.


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HESTEC 2004 kicked off with more than 1,000 South Texas teachers attending Math and Science Educator Day – primarily geared towards science and math educators at the kinder-12 – at the UTPA Fieldhouse Monday, Sept. 27.
Educator Day brought an array of speakers to the stage including corporate leaders, a Hollywood actress, NASA's Mars Czar and several congressional leaders from the state of Texas.
UTPA President Dr. Blandina Cárdenas welcomed the educators and sponsors of the weeklong event, Sept. 27-Oct. 2, to the opening ceremonies.
|J. Brian Ferguson, chairman and CEO of Eastman Chemical Company, speaks to teachers and school administrators during the morning session of NASA Math and Science Educator Day.
"We must prepare them for that vision of the future that is technology-based, the requirements, the preparation of Hispanic students in this country in those fields is a scandal, the numbers are so low and the population is growing to be such an important population that if we do not adopt a great sense of urgency in increasing the numbers, that future will be dim for them and dim for the society as a whole and that is why you are here," Cardenas said.
Cárdenas told the sponsors she was thankful for their support during HESTEC, and would like to see their support extend to other areas of the University.
"It is an extraordinary assembly of corporate leaders and we are grateful to them. We expect that we can become partners with them in not only HESTEC, but in our research, in supporting our students and in the development of The University of Texas-Pan American as one of the most important (universities) in the state and indeed in the nation," Cárdenas said.
This year's sponsors include Ford Motor Company, Texas Instruments, Verizon, Time Warner Cable, NASA, Boeing, Bank of America, U.S. Department of Energy, Lockheed Martin, City of Edinburg, H-E-B, Coca Cola and many more.
Roland S. Arriola, UTPA vice president for External Affairs and HESTEC co-founder, also welcomed the educators to the first day of HESTEC, and told them the world needs their help in shaping the minds of future engineers and scientists.
"One of our main goals is to reach out to more than 300,000 kids and make sure they have an opportunity to investigate careers in technology, science and all those fields that are rapidly increasing," Arriola said.
The first keynote speaker of the day was J. Brian Ferguson, chairman and CEO of Eastman Chemical Company, who talked to teachers about "Realizing the Possibility – Math, Science Literacy and Hispanic Youth." Eastman Chemical Company was recently named one of the nation's top 48 companies and government institutions considered most supportive of Hispanic-serving engineering schools.
Ferguson told teachers and school administrators the blame for the shortage of Hispanics in the science and technology fields falls on no one, but they can be the champions for change in turning around those numbers.
Ferguson said that only four percent of Hispanic youth leaving high school have skills to even attempt an engineering degree. He also said that fewer have the passion and desire, clearly making it too late for many Hispanic youth to realize their possibilities.
"As educators, leaders and as role models in your schools, you are in a unique position to begin changing the failures of the past into the successes of the future," Ferguson said. "You can't do it by yourself and you shouldn't be expected to do it all by yourself, but you can provide the impetus, and the spark for reform. You can be the catalyst to help them realize the possibilities."
In addition, Ferguson mentioned that 40 of the top 50 fastest growing occupations in the U.S. now require some sort of education after high school, and the number of jobs requiring at least a bachelor's degree is expected to grow by nearly 22 percent at the end of this decade, while jobs requiring at least an associate's degree is expected to rise by 32 percent.
"Yet we are not producing those potential workers at the appropriate rate," Ferguson said. "Our own U.S. Department of Labor estimates that by the end of this decade we will face a critical shortage of 12 million qualifying workers in this country."
Also, speaking during the morning session was Maria Conchita Alonso, actress and singer, who encouraged teachers to continue to teach and believe in not only themselves, but also in their students.
|Orlando Figueroa, director of the NASA Mars Exploration Program, serves as the keynote speaker during the noon session of Educator Day at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
"One of our key roles is to inspire the next generation of explorers," Figueroa said. "One thing we've committed ourselves to is to leave this world better than we found it."
Figueroa, also known as the "Mars Czar," spoke about three points, which he hoped would cultivate a spirit of exploration among youth. One was to implement a program to explore the solar system and beyond with robots and humans.
The final two were to expand the desire to explore beyond the earth's orbit and to promote U.S. interests throughout the world. He also told the crowd about NASA's accomplishments this year with the Mars Rovers and future plans to have humans on the moon again in 2020.
"The Rovers have been successful beyond our wildest imagination," Figueroa said. "I hope this information has been a source of motivation and inspiration to the next generation of explorers."
Educators also participated in breakout sessions during the event, which gave them the opportunity to learn how to build rockets, construct hot air balloons, make homemade chemistry sets, map a volcano on Mars as well as many more hands-on activities they could take back and teach their students.
Tomas Gonzalez, an 11th grade chemistry teacher at PSJA North High School, said the breakout session, "Rocketry – In and Outside the Classroom," taught by NASA Johnson Space Center representative Angelo Casaburri, was an excellent activity that he will share with his students.
Gonzalez said he plans to build every rocket that was presented during the session with his class including a straw rocket, bottle rocket, industrial strength paper rocket and rocket car.
"It helps to know someone that has the experience (in rocketry) and has gone through it and we can see how we can apply it in the classroom. I have used modifications of this, but I've never built a rocket out of paper. I also learned it is very inexpensive to build because I have all the things needed to create it," Gonzalez said.
Elisama Gutierrez, an eighth grade science teacher at San Juan Middle School and 2002 UTPA graduate, said she will also take back what she has learned at Educator Day and share it with her students.
Gutierrez built a paper rocket during the session. Some of the rockets were launched outside the UTPA Engineering Building after the sessions.
"For me it was an eye opening experience, I know as soon as I get back to my classroom I'm going to make modifications to make it an interesting experience for my students," Gutierrez said.
The University of Texas-Pan American Science Symposium, also part of HESTEC's first day of events also featured research posters from UTPA students from each department of the College of Science and Engineering.
UT Pan American students stood near their posters and were on-hand to talk to students, faculty, staff and HESTEC guests about their research projects.
Eighteen students, chosen as the outstanding students from each department in the college received a UTPA Student Research Excellence Award provided by the Office of Research Administration to be used for conference travel or to defray textbook expenses.
Cárdenas congratulated poster session winners and explained why she thought the potential to be a scientist existed in every person.
"Every three year old child, no matter what culture they are born into, no matter what continent they may be born into, no matter the economic condition of their family, every 3-year-old child is a scientist," Cárdenas said. "They engage in exploration. They engage in inquiries. They classify what they observe, synthesize their understanding of what is around them and they create a reality. That potential for scientific work is in every human being."
Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, director of the Office of Science in the U.S. Department of Energy, said 13.5 percent of the 2005 national discretionary budget is devoted to research and development, which is the highest in 37 years.
The current administration understands the importance of scientific research and the support exists to help and encourage students in the audience, he said.
"Each of you are individuals and each of you can create. No one can take that away from you," Orbach said. "If you create in science, you leave something for posterity that is yours and that will have your name on it and show your excitement for discovery and creativity."
The efforts of corporate leaders and government representatives to increase the numbers of students, especially Hispanics, in the fields of science, engineering and technology were recognized in a press conference held at the International Trade and Technology Building by Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) as part of HESTEC 2004.
The conference was held immediately prior to the Congressional Roundtable on Science Literacy. Speaking at the press conference were Congressmen Solomon Ortiz (TX-27), Lloyd Doggett (TX-10) and Chris Bell (TX-25); Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18); UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof; and UTPA President Cárdenas.
"Since its inception, HESTEC has captured the imagination of South Texas and galvanized the community around the goal of preparing the next generation of mathematicians, scientists, engineers and technology experts. This event has engaged our community on all levels. Last year HESTEC reached over 1,500 teachers, 25,000 community members and 330,000 students from across Texas – and I know this year's event will be just as successful. The initiative also has generated $1 million in scholarship dollars for college students," Hinojosa said.
|Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (center) talks to other congressional and local politicians during the Congressional Roundtable on Science Literacy.
Educators listened as each congressional representative talked about the need and ways to increase the numbers of Hispanics in the critical fields of math, science, engineering and technology.
"We need to give hope and to do what we need to do to think out of the box and events like HESTEC think out of the box," Jackson-Lee said.
HESTEC continues Tuesday, Sept. 28 with Ford Hispanic Leadership Day at the UTPA Fieldhouse with more than 1,000 high school students expected to converge onto the campus.


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BAM Education's Professional Development workshops
are developed in accordance with Common Core Standards, New York
State's Learning Standards, and the Blueprints for Teaching and
Learning in the Arts. They can be customized to fit a specific
classroom's goals and expectations, and can be offered onsite at
schools or at BAM by arrangement. Please contact us well in advance
of your schedule for the upcoming year so that we may tailor a
specific workshop to meet your needs. Sample workshop topics
• Exploring classic texts through performance
• Developing literacy through spoken word
• African music and dance in the curriculum
• Effective use of hip-hop education in the classroom
Maximize your class' appreciation of Shakespeare's work in this intensive workshop.


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Please join us Monday, July 15th as we debut our second "Sidework Series" featuring art from those working in Philly's food industry, including Oyster House, Continental Midtown, Fergie's Pub, Whole Foods Market, Milk & Honey Cafe, Little Fish BYOB, Rybread and Northstar Bar.
The show has been described as "a little bit twisted" — perhaps because the artists are food industry workers, fields that require people skills, introspection, and humor, even if dark.
See for yourself at our opening reception, Monday, July 15th. View the art, enjoy small bites from Metropolitan Bakery and sample summer punch made with Art in the Age's SAGE gin. The Little Baby's trike will be on hand as well.
"The Sidework Series II" Opening Reception
Metropolitan Gallery 250
250 S. 18th Street, Philadelphia
Monday, July 15th, 6-9p.m.
Learn about show hours and read the curator's statement, here.
ABOVE: "Tapped to Light the Flight," Sarah Davey (Fergie's Pub), 2012


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So - many of us out there share a devotion to Pit bulls and other bully breeds. We will protect and defend them with our lives, just like they would do for us. Unfortunately, many dont realize just how lovely pitty's are. They don't give them a chance to show their true colors. Devoted, loyal, loving - they are some of the most fantastic creatures I have ever had the pleasure of sharing my life with. And yet, every day, hundreds die in shelters. Cold - alone. Some perfect - some broken inside. No matter what they've experienced, no matter how hard they've tried, they aren't given a chance. Labeled as a 'pit bull' - they are thrown out, deemed vicious. One of my greatest hopes for this coming generation is that they see, and understand, how stereotyping people and animals can have such a significant effect on them. Pit Bull's have a heart of gold, and a mind like no other.
And so, with pleasure, I introduce Damien! Gray hair spots his muzzle, brown eyes lead the way to the kindest heart. A senior pup at about 7 years old, who deserves to live out the rest of his life in comfort, and with love - more then he could ever possibly imagine. And, on January 24th, our rescue (Tails Of Courage) stepped up to provide him just that - a chance to receive what every dogs wishes to posses - a home. However, most fairy 'tails' have a twist. Damien, a plain brown pit with a heart of gold, has a cancerous tumor growing on the side of his muzzle. If it is not removed, he won't have much longer to live. All his waiting, wishing, wanting, for a home that only wants to love him will go to waste. A brilliant mind, a fantastic heart, all will go to the ground. Damien was rescued from a cruelty situation where his owners were providing him with absolutely no medical care and sadly we are told were abusing Damien. Yet somehow, and isn't this always the way, Damien has remained a sweetheart and wants to please people. On January 28th he was transported from the shelter directly to our amazing veterinarian, Dr. Diane Ford, with the medical records provided by the shelter vet. His surgery to remove the tumor and to begin his chemotherapy treatment will begin this week. Damien will then enter the Tails of Courage:Heroic Paws program and be available for adoption when he is ready.
We are going to need all the help we can get to get Damien the medical funds he so desperately needs to survive. Please, help us get Damien the closest to heaven that he'll ever be, only with all four paws touching the earth, and his head on the lap of a new mommy. To donate to Damien, please visit http://tailsofcourage.chipin.com/damiens-surgery


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Huang Ruo:
Drama Theater No. 2: Shifting Shades
Charles Tyler (cello), Stephen Buck (piano) & David Stevens (percussion)
Drama Theater No. 3: Written on the Wind
Min Xiao-Fen (pipa and voice)
Drama Theater No. 4: To The Four Corners: Scene I; Scene II
Kelli Kathman (flute), Vasko Dukovski (clarinet), Stephen Miahky (violin), Elizabeth Weisser (viola) & Alexander Lipowski (percussion)
String Quartet No. 1: The Three Tenses
Judy Kang (violin I), Aaron Boyd (violin II), Erin Wight (viola) & Charles Tyler (cello)
Future In REverse (FIRE), Huang Ruo
(also available to download from $7.00)
Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.)
Drama Theater No. 3, "Written on the Wind"
Scene I
Scene II
String Quartet No. 1, "The 3 Tenses"
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During the visit Johanna will sign a free trade agreement between Iceland and China. That agreement has been in the making for the past six years, but the prime ministers of Iceland and China agreed in April 2012 to speed up the process so that the negotiations could be finished within a year.
The agreement will be signed by the Chinese and Icelandic ministers of foreign affairs.
Didi Kirsten Tatlow wrote about this visit on her blog at the New York times website today.
She for example wrote:
"Will China's state media show Jonina Leosdottir, the wife of the prime minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, during an official visit to China in mid-April? If so, how will she be portrayed, with China's apparent conversion to First Ladyism on display in the recent high profile given to the wife of President Xi Jinping, the singer Peng Liyuan?"
Gay marriage is not legal in China, and proponents of gay marriage will be watching closely. The Chinese authorities however are believed to tolerate, or ignore, homosexual behaviour in private. But being openly gay is still a taboo in China.
Didi wrote:
"Reflecting that situation, quite some interest in the question of the Icelandic leader's visit has sprung up in Chinese social media since Sunday, as news spread that she would be accompanied by her wife of 13 years, according to an announcement by the prime minister's office in Reykjavik on Saturday: "The Prime Minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, and her wife, Jonina Leosdottir, will be on an official visit to China on 15-18 April." Ms. Sigurdardottir is the world's first openly gay prime minister."
"And her wife… that sentence sounds really, really good," wrote a person with the online name Little Poet_Miara on Sina Weibo, China's biggest microblog site, one of about 125 comments posted by noon Monday. A post announcing the two-woman official state visit, had already been forwarded more than 1,000 times.


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February 1, 2014
The Mexican Ship Uribe 121 to be Exploded and Sunk in Rosarito
The date has not been set, but the ship, Uribe 121, still in Colima, will be towed to Ensenada. Once there, it will be cleaned, the paint will be removed, holes for divers to swim through will be created, and all dangerous poles and other objects will be removed, so that the ship becomes 'environmentally sound' and safe. Read more here.
June 19, 2013
The federal government is putting a former Coast Guard cutter up for auction after efforts to send it to a museum in Juneau failed. The cutter Storis was listed for auction last week on the General Services Commission website at an opening bid of $60,000. Read more here.
February 22, 2013
The former USS Vancouver, launched in 1962 as an amphibious transport dock vessel and decommissioned in 1992, was brought in to dry dock for hull cleaning and repair on Mare Island Thursday afternoon. Read more here.
January 6, 2013
Plans to Build an Artificial Reef Along Belmont Pier Benefits Local Anglers
MSRP proposes to build seven artificial reef modules covering a quarter of a ten acre area along Belmont Pier in Long Beach, California. Read more here.
November 13, 2012
Vietnam War-era oiler to depart from Benicia on final voyage
A Mare Island company has secured two upcoming mothballed ship cleaning contracts, before the vessels take their final voyages for scrapping in Texas. The former USS Wabash is scheduled to be tugged from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet early Wednesday morning to Allied Defense Recycling on Mare Island. Read more here.
October 12, 2012
Maritime Administration ahead of schedule in scrapping Suisun Bay mothball fleet
Aged and crumbling ships may be leaving the Suisun Bay "mothball" Reserve Fleet at a steady pace, but some of their value is being left behind. Vallejo's California Maritime Academy, one of six state maritime schools nationwide, soon will see a nearly $400,000 funding influx, proceeds from the sale of the obsolete vessels. The new funding, $2.2 million overall, is due to a federal mandate requiring federal reinvestment into maritime schools. Read more here.
September 7, 2012
U.S. Government Ends The Sinking Of Old Ships as Artificial Reefs
The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has adopted a new policy that effectively terminates the federal artificial reefing program that allowed the scuttling of old ships for so-called "artificial reefs" Read more here.
July 26, 2012
Roughly five weeks ago, with the hope of jump-starting a plan to install a fish — and fishermen — friendly artificial reef offshore of Santa Barbara, Chris Goldblatt and some colleagues dropped two 1,300-pound hollow concrete igloos into the ocean offshore of Hendry's Beach. Read more here.
July 9, 2012
July 2, 2012
The U.S. Navy is resuming its practice of using old warships for target practice and sinking them in U.S. coastal waters after a nearly two-year moratorium spurred by environmental and cost concerns. Read more here.
June 19, 2012
The Fish Reef Project is the next great ocean environmental movement. Starting in 1958, the California Department of Fish and Game created more than 50 man-made reefs, most of which now are home to amazing amounts of marine life. Read more here.
June 18, 2012
The non-profit group, Fish Reef Project is building large cement balls to use as artificial reefs. The balls are designed to sit on the sea floor and collectively act as a reef. The group hopes the reefs will attract sea life, including fish and crabs. Read more here.
June 7, 2012
Calif approves new marine protected areas off north coast, finishing statewide network
With the designation of another group of ocean protection zones, California has put the finishing touches on a vast network of protected areas that dot the sea from Mexico to the Oregon border. Read more here.
April 10, 2012
For the third year in a row, a 156-acre artificial reef built in 2008 to help offset environmental impacts on marine life from San Onofre's undersea intake pipes is not meeting state performance standards. Read more here.
March 16, 2012
EPA Guide On PCB Ship Waste May Not Quell Concerns On MARAD Policy
EPA is crafting guidance to advise ship owners on how to comply with its rules governing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) before exporting ships for scrapping but the guide may not quell concerns that a 2011 Maritime Administration (MARAD) policy allowing owners to self-certify removal of PCBs circumvents EPA's toxics law authority. Read more here.
March 18, 2012
Supervisors Approve $7.4 Million for Dana Point Harbor Design
The Orange County Board of Supervisors signed off on a $7.4 million contract agreement between Dana Point Harbor and MVE Institutional Inc. to design, plan and analyze the first phase of the long-awaited Dana Point Harbor Revitalization Plan, covering the harbor's commercial core and dry boat storage options. Read more here.
February 21, 2012
In a major breakthrough decision at the 10th Conference of the Parties of the Basel Convention, 178 Parties agreed to allow an early entry into force of law of the Basel Ban Amendment which prohibits all exports of hazardous wastes, including electronic wastes and old obsolete ships from developed to developing countries. Read more here.
February 15, 2012
Mothball Fleet helps with disaster response training, fuel conservation
The Novato-based Coast Guard Pacific Strike Team, a national-level contingency response organization, lead fuel-transfer operations at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in Benicia, Calif., Wednesday as part of fuel conservation efforts and hands-on training for disaster response. Read more here.
October 24, 2011
Some 40 years after polluters were forced to stop dumping toxic pesticides and other noxious chemicals into the ocean off the Palos Verdes Peninsula, plans are still being developed to clean up and restore severe damage to the marine environment. Read more here.
July 6, 2011
Many in the diving community were saddened by the sudden death of Jim Kinane, on July 2, 2011, while on a friend's boat, preparing to dive. Read more here.
June 11, 2011
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) announces changes to recreational groundfish regulations that apply to state waters 0-3 nautical miles from shore. The new regulations were adopted by the Fish and Game Commission last month and take effect June 9, 2011. Read more here.
June 11, 2011
Ship recycler ready to expand, seeks Dry Dock 4 at Vallejo's Mare Island
Vallejo's ship dismantling company is expanding to a third Mare Island dry dock, which could mean more work and jobs, officials said this week. Read more here.
June 7, 2011
Officials are hoping to build an artificial reef to bring back the glory days at Oil Pier beach and potentially use it as a showcase of how to restore and save beaches around the county. Read more here.
April 26, 2011
Mare Island dismantler gets no traction on new contract bids
Four Mothball Fleet ship-dismantling contracts posted Monday shut out a Mare Is-land ship industry newcomer. Read more here.
April 7, 2011
It's a heave-ho, U.S. Navy style. After several years during which turning old warships into artificial reefs was fashionable, four decommissioned aircraft carriers will instead be dismantled, and recycled, at shipyards. Read more here.
March 10, 2011
Pacific Coast fishermen are gearing up for what's expected to be the best salmon fishing season in years. Read more here.
March 7, 2011
Mare Island will welcome Tuesday the second federally owned cargo ship set for dismantling there. Read more here.
March 6, 2011
Ray Hiemstra, the associate director of Orange County Coastkeeper, has written an article," MLPA's Public-Private Partnership Protects Oceans During Lean Budget Times," that includes a number of false claims in his attempt to extol the virtues of the private foundation funding behind Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. Read more here.
March 4, 2011
Conservationists Push Back Against Desalination in California
California is in the process of building a series of massive ocean desalination plants on a scale not seen before in the United States. While most are at various stages, slowly slogging through bureaucratic red tape, conservationists are pushing back against powerful interests betting California's looming water crisis occurs sooner rather than later. Read more here.
March 2, 2011
A Sacramento-based appellate court on Tuesday invalidated a regulation that is one of the state's main tools in guarding the California coast. Read more here.
March 1, 2011
What's a big oil lobbyist doing chairing a marine protection panel?
During this widely-contested process, Reheis-Boyd and other task force members went out of their way to take water pollution, oil spills and drilling, military testing, wave energy projects, corporate aquaculture, habitat destruction and all other human impacts on the ocean other than fishing and gathering off the table in the so-called marine protected areas created under the privately funded initiative. Read more here.
February 20, 2011
Northern California Native American tribes are clashing with state wildlife regulators over plans to restrict fishing off parts of the rugged coastline from the Oregon border south to Point Arena in Mendocino County. Read more here.
February 19, 2011
The man who developed an underwater breathing device and coined the term "scuba" to describe it has died at his home in Pennsylvania. Read more here.
February 16, 2011
On-going economic and population growth had been identified as factors that had put ample stress on the California's coastal ecosystems. Read more here.
February 15, 2011
Ship recycler plans formal opening Friday for Dry Dock 3 at Vallejo's Mare Island
The Mare Island shipyard has been mostly quiet in the weeks since the auspicious arrival of the SS Solon Turman to Dry Dock 3 earlier this month. But buzzing beneath the surface is the ongoing preparation work to dismantle the first "mothball" Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet vessel by November. Read more here.
February 1, 2011
First Suisun Bay Ship To Be Recycled At Vallejo, Calif. Facility
The former steam freighter SS Solon Turman will be towed from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (SBRF) on Wednesday, February 2, 2011. Read more here.
January 22, 2011
Tribes and local fishing and environmental groups on Friday repeated their support of a regional proposal for marine reserves along the North Coast before the Legislature's Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture in Eureka. Read more here.
January 5, 2011
The U.S.S. Kittiwake is finally underwater. The former US navy submarine rescue ship is now an artificial reef sitting on the ocean floor 60 feet below the surface. Read more here.


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Compression fractures, sometimes called spinal fractures, are breaks in the vertebra or vertebrae. Seniors, especially women, are the most at risk for compression fractures because of osteoporosis. (The risk factors for spinal fractures and osteoporosis are the same.) Other causes of compression fracture include trauma to the spine and spinal tumors.
Compression fractures are a specific type of spinal fracture. When a compression fracture occurs, usually the front of the vertebra crushes, but the back stays in tact. This has the mechanical effect of bending the trunk forward. In time, this causes kyphosis. Fractures in multiple spinal bones can lead to kyphosis as well. A 2009 study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that elderly women with spinal fractures who also had kyphosis faced a greater risk of death than women with only one of the two conditions.
Compression fractures can cause a lot of back pain, but usually the pain is not nerve pain. The spinal cord is rarely affected by a compression fracture.
A minimally invasive procedure called vertebroplasty is often given for compression fracture. Vertebroplasty involves injecting bone cement into the fracture to stabilize the bone and relieve back pain. But in 2009, the New England Journal of Medicine published two studies in which vertebroplasty was no better than a sham procedure at relieving pain for patients suffering from painful compression fractures.


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Select a datex
See the best that England's capital has to offer on a full-day city tour of London! After an early access visit to the UNESCO-listed Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels and more, watch the must-see Changing of the Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace. Sit back and relax on a sightseeing cruise down the River Thames and then explore St Paul's Cathedral with a guide. If you want to see even more, upgrade to one of two must-do activities: an afternoon tea at Westminster Park Plaza, or a London Eye flight.
- Hotel pickup included
- Comprehensive tour of the city
- Informative, friendly and professional guide
- Travel by boat and see the sights from the water
Start your day with a pickup from your central London hotel or Victoria, and then travel east by air-conditioned coach to the Tower of London, a former prison, fortress and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Head inside for a walking tour, led by one of the tower's distinctive Yeomen Warders – the guards more commonly known as Beefeaters. Before the tower opens to the general public, visit sites like Traitor's Gate, the Torture Exhibition and, of course, the glittering Crown Jewels – a collection of irreplaceable and historic items.
Leave the Tower of London, and head to the Mall outside Buckingham Palace to watch the legendary Changing of the Guard ceremony. Accompanied by a military band, soldiers from the Queen's Foot Guard march in time to drumbeats, performing a ceremonial ritual that dates back centuries.
After taking photos outside the world-famous palace, travel to the riverside and hop aboard a sightseeing boat for a short trip down the River Thames. Cruise down the river, looking out for the top London attractions such as St Paul's Cathedral and Shakespeare's Globe, and then step out onto dry land in time for a traditional pub lunch (own expense).
Revitalized after your lunch break, return to your coach and travel to Westminster Abbey where Prince William married Kate Middleton in a lavish royal wedding ceremony in 2011. Pose for photos outside the Gothic crowd pleaser, and then finish your sightseeing trip with a tour of St Paul's Cathedral, including visits to the famous Whispering Gallery and the crypts.
Finish your tour back at the start point or alternatively, upgrade to finish on a high note with one of two optional activities. Options include an afternoon tea at Westminster Park Plaza (see Itinerary below) or a must-do London Eye flight, for picture-perfect views over the capital. Both activities include transport to the attraction, but no transport back.
Please note: If your tour falls on a date when the Changing of the Guard ceremony is not taking place, you will visit Horse Guard's Parade and the outside of Buckingham Palace, instead.
Schedule details
See the Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace
Select a month to view a calendar of availability and departure details.
Departure Point:Victoria Coach Station or selected London hotels
Departure Time:
- 8am (Please note: from April 1, tour departs at 8:15am)
Hotel pickups commence prior to this time, you must contact the local service provider to verify your exact pickup time.
Return Details:Concludes at approximately 5:30pm
Pricing information
Click the link below to check pricing & availability on your preferred travel date. Our pricing is constantly updated to ensure you always receive the lowest price possible.
Tour options:
London Full-Day Sightseeing Tour
Take a flight on the London Eye, offering spectacular views of London from high above the River Thames, the tour ends here at the London Eye.
Visit Westminster Park Plaza for Champagne tea overlooking Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. The tour ends here, so you can enjoy your tea at leisure.
Additional information
London Full-Day Sightseeing Tour
- Hotel pickup (selected hotels only)
- Tours of the Tower of London and St Paul's Cathedral
- Sightseeing cruise
- Changing of the Guard ceremony (selected dates only)
- Transport by air-conditioned coach
- Afternoon tea or London Eye flights (if upgrade option selected)
- Hotel drop-off
- Gratuities (optional)
- Food and drinks
Additional Information:
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Children under 16 years must be accompanied by an adult
- Sunday tours are unable include a tour of St Paul's cathedral due to the weekly service taking place; you will still be able to go inside the cathedral but there will be no guided tour
Itinerary:Westminster Park Plaza Afternoon Tea:
- Selection of finger sandwiches and cakes
- English scones with clotted cream and preserves
- Glass of chilled Champagne and a pot of tea
Voucher Info:
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity. What's this?
Local Operator Information:
Complete Operator information, including local telephone numbers at your destination, are included on your Confirmation Voucher. Our Product Managers select only the most experienced and reliable operators in each destination, removing the guesswork for you, and ensuring your peace of mind.


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NASA: 'something unexpected is happening on the sun' (Second Coming Watch Update #318) - Ministry Videos
172 views
Released: March 11, 2013 By: Daniel Whyte III
1. According to The International Business Times, the U.S. space agency NASA has found that the sun is currently less active than it should be. NASA says that "Something unexpected is happening on the sun. 2013 is supposed to be the year of solar max, the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle. Yet 2013 has arrived and solar activity is relatively low. Sunspot numbers were well below their values in 2011, and strong solar flares have been infrequent for many months." Some scientists believe that the lack of activity is simply a period of calm before increased solar activity.
2. According to The Associated Press, hundreds of people in eastern Pakistan rampaged through a Christian neighborhood on Saturday, torching dozens of homes after hearing reports that a Christian man had committed blasphemy against Islam's prophet Muhammad. No one in the Christian community was hurt, but several policemen were injured when they were hit with stones as they tried to keep the crowd from storming the area. Hundreds of Christian families fled the area overnight, fearing for their safety.
3. According to Space Daily, Millions of people in western India are suffering their worst drought in more than four decades, with critics blaming official ineptitude and corruption for exacerbating the natural water shortage. The state's chief minister said that some areas are facing a water shortage worse than the severe drought in 1972...
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Archive for the 'The Blogosphere' Category
Separated At Birth?
You wouldn't think Iranian President Ahmadinejad and batshit-crazy wingnut blogger Pam "Atlas Juggs" Geller would have anything in common, would you? She hates his guts and he thinks she's a lunatic. She wants him assassinated and he wants her eviscerated. But you'd be wrong. They're both Holocaust Deniers. Which is weird because Geller is, like, Jewish.
You know, there is a sort of resemblabce here. They both look like they've been injecting way too much botox, Pammy in her forehead and Prez A in his nose. Co-incidence?
And oh yeah, as long as we're discussing La Juggs, she thinks passing the healthcare "reform" bill on Xmas Eve is blasphemy!!!! (You have to imagine a deep bass voice through an echo chamber on that last word.) I might agree. I tend to suspect that Christ would NEVER want his name associated with a bill that shamelessly molests innocent people. (Via Norwegianity)
Norwegians Never Die, They Won't Even Fade Away, Dammit
Mark Gisleson, our favorite angry Wegian, is back blogging again, this time not as an aggregator (though there will doubtless be miles of links, Mark being Mark) but writing like Hunter Thompson on his less stoned days. Viz:
It started with the Star Tribune but now it's spread to the New York Times and Washington Post. I look at their newspapers but increasingly I find that I don't care what they're writing about. The more important the story, the more likely it is that the editors have inserted lies or maybe the reporter(s) never wrote the real story in the first place. The narrative being shared by the mass media is gaseous with greasy uninformed speculation and the gristle of inferred wrongdoing. Most expensive inauguration ever? or simply the first time security costs were included?
All I know is that Obama will do what Obama will do, and rank speculation with all its accompanying media snitstorms won't impact this President.
It's a better, more fiery world with Mark afflicting the comfortable and as razor-sharp as he is these days, I'm glad he's more or less on my side. Or I'm on his. Or whatever.
You'll find him at the new Norwegianity. (On the sidebar under "WordPress Blogs".)
Save the Netroots For Us – The Food Will Come Later
Over at Suburban Guerrilla Susie is asking if maybe the netroots' priorities are all backwards.
For a while now, I've had the very strong sense that things have been exactly ass-backwards, upside down in the blogosphere – that the peak of Maslow's triangle is nowhere near roomy enough to carry the weight of a meaningful movement. And yes, of course telecom immunity is an important issue – but where would you place it on the triangle? Fight first to make sure people are fed, take care of their most basic needs and build the netroots coalition from that.
…See, to me, progressive values have always been about economic and social justice…
I get her point. I even thank her for it. But there's something she's not considering.
Yes, the online netroots is to a degree elitist, no question. In order to take part, you need either the money or the time, preferably both. And yes, there are real-world needs (as opposed to virtual world desires) that have actual consequences attached to not meeting them, like starvation or poverty or no education. But beyond all that there is a deadly political situation to be considered – deadly for us, down here in the trenches – which, if it isn't turned around, will almost certainly wind up killing us and the nation, and the netroots may be (I said may be) our only way to affect that kind of change.
You see, we're not much for politics down here even though it is politics that determines the economy that feeds and houses us (or not, like the Bush Economy). We're kinds too busy making ends meet to get organized in our spare time, which we don't have much of in the first place because either we don't work at all and have to hustle 24/7 or we work 16 hours a day and take care of the kids at night and spend our weekends (if we don't have to work overtime for straight pay) cleaning the house, food shopping, cooking, and so on (and on and on and on….).
So we need the netroots. They got the time, energy and money we don't have to fight the people who are making us miserable, and they're trying to figure out how to do that. We'll help when we can but first we have to ensure our own day-to-day survival – you know, those things you were talking about earlier. Besides, the PTB don't listen to us anyway. We know that. But they do listen to the activists, to the media, and, of course, to that virtual combination of the two, the netroots. Oh, not about everything. But some things, and that's already more than we could make them do.
See, that's kinda how it works. The establishment learned a long time ago that if you keep slaves busy and worn out, they'll be too tired to revolt. And so we are. We have been pushed so far down that we have no energy left for anything but mere sheer survival. We struggle with everyday matters trying to keep our heads above water, which leaves no room for giving the Boss a hard time about – well, about much of anything.
And it's important to us that we eventually have access to the net. If they shut us off from that, too, we will have lost one of the last tools of non-violent protest available to us. They've closed or cut back the libraries, or attached fees to library use that we can't afford to pay on the meager salaries they give us; they're taking away analog (over-the-air) tv so we have to buy cable; they're even trying very hard to make radio a pay service. Short of the local papers, which are as big a joke as local news shows, the best way to find out what's going on, respond to it, and even organize around it, is the internet. We need it, and right now we need somebody to save it for us.
A Word About Larry Craig – But Not From Me
What Digby would call "the Kabuki" at the heart of the Larry Craig Show doesn't interest me much. These days, what's one more Republican hypocrite more or less? There are so many. Practically all of them if you count the ones what ain't been outed yet.
Anyway, what difference if Larry stay or if he go?
Imperial Democrats and the Gullible Left
I like Glenn Greenwald and consider his Salon blog a Must-Read most days but his insistent refusal to accept the deliberate nature of right-wing pundit fantasizing has become annoying and his benefit-of-the-doubt criticisms of the MSM and Democratic inactivity may be downright dangerous. Fortunately, his readers aren't as backward as he is.
Jim Capozzola, 1962 – 2007
The Rittenhouse Review's Jim Capozzola died Monday. He was one of only two or three bloggers who could legitimately be considered a pioneer, and there are a lot of posts around expressing gratitude for his generosity and appreciation for his talent.
Unlike the others who are writing postmortems, I didn't know him personally, I never corresponded with him, and as far as I know, he never had so much as an inkling that I existed. So I wasn't going to write anything about him, figuring it wasn't really my place.
Then I read this short eulogy by Anthony Cartouche, who's subbing for Roger Ailes this week, and when I read the last graf, I realized that Mr Capozzola had after all influenced me in a significant way that I had almost forgotten.
Cheney Claims VP's Office Not in Executive Branch (2 Updates)
You read right. Where dies he think it is, Constitutionally speaking? He doesn't say.
Vice President Dick Cheney's office refused to cooperate with an agency that oversees classified documents, then tried to abolish the office when it challenged the actions, House oversight committee Chairman Henry Waxman said.
The National Archives' Information Security Oversight Office is charged by presidential order with ensuring that classified information and documents are properly handled by executive branch agencies.
According to a letter from William Leonard, director of the oversight office, Cheney's office argued it did not meet the definition of an executive branch agency and therefore was exempt.
When Leonard unsurprisingly refused to accept this absurd interpretation, Cheney threatened to abolish the ISOO altogether, claiming there's a "presidential order under consideration" right now that would do just that.
It's all about making sure nobody can see – ever – Bush Administration documents that Cheney wants only loyal Bushies who can be trusted to a) keep their mouths shut, or b) twist whatever they find in the presidential papers to reflect the party line. In the background is the Bush Library to be built at SMU.
CB Takes the Prize
CB in Iraq (Reuters)
Back in July of '04, I was writing a blog about literary blogs – blogs that used the form for fiction or poetry or photography, or that featured exceptional writing – and in surfing for them I stumbled across one called My War: Fear and Loathing in Iraq by an anonymous Iraqi soldier stationed near Mosul who called himself "CBFTW". The writing was raw, honest, and vibrant. CBFTW reminded me of a cross between Norman Mailer and Hunter Thompson (even without the clue in the title, it would have been impossible not to recognize CB as a Thompson fan from the style of his writing). I was very impressed and said so when I reviewed it.
This is, as far as I know, one of a kind. Not only is it a blog written by a soldier now serving in Iraq, it's written by a soldier who can write. His grammar isn't great, his spelling is OK, his punctuation is horrible. All of that is beside the point….[H]e can communicate a sense of time and place so clearly that it's almost physical–you can hear it, you can see it, you can almost reach out and touch it.
He…seems to write at least one post a day, sometimes two, and they all slice directly into the heart of what the troops are up against and, to a degree, how they're coping. He doesn't make judgments and he doesn't talk poilitics; if he has opinions he mostly keeps them to himself. What you will read is raw, frontline reporting, practically in real-time. In other words, everything we don't get–or only rarely–from our Bush-addled media.
This is one of the best combat soldier's diaries I've ever read. It has the immediacy and authenticity of an eye-witness account under extreme stress, and the power of a Hemingway novel to punch you in the gut when you're not expecting it. Consider it a Must-Read and check it every day. If he can live it, we can read it.
Somebody told him about the review and not long after I got an email from CBFTW, thanking me for the attention and the nice things I said. He wrote that it was encouraging to get that kind of praise because he was just a low-income kid from a suburb of San Francisco with no education to speak of who had never written anything before and often felt lost, like he wasn't sure he was doing it right. He told me his name – Colby Buzzell – and that the "FTW" stood for "Fuck This War".
Well, I was hooked, of course. A working-class kid – like me – who wanted to write and actually had talent? I couldn't resist. Read the rest of this entry »
Let's Stop Pretending Rice Is Doing Something
The trouble with policy wonks is that they think everybody is as knowledgeable and logical as they are despite all compelling evidence to the contrary. Eric Martin riffs on a Josh Landis piece about the "meeting" between the fabulous NeoCondi and Syrian foreign minister Walid Moualem in an attempt to analyze what might be going on.
The recent diplomatic thaw between the US and Syria may be a manifestation of a nascent strategy to de-link Syria from Iran (which would then, presumably, make it easier to isolate Hezbollah in Lebanon by eliminating Iran's middleman). This reading is not made any less credible by the obvious empowerment of Iran in the region, and the perceived need to assemble and fortify an effective counterbalance. The question remains, however, what would the US offer Syria in return for its cooperation? The return of the Golan Heights, and the killing of the tribunal investigating Syria's role in the Hariri assassination, are the two most obvious Syrian objectives.
This is all nonsense. There is no "thaw", the US has no intention of offering Syria anything for their "co-operation" except calling off its potential invasion – maybe (there are three carrier groups off the Iranian coast, a stone's throw from Syria) – and no one in the Bush Admin understands the concept of "counterbalance", let alone is looking for a way to achieve it.
Landis isn't much better, though he does at least hint that Condi offered, in fact, nothing, and quotes Iran's foreign minister to that effect.
Mottaki was more honest. He explained that the US needs Iran more than Iran needs the US. The US had not prepared for the meeting properly and was not willing to discuss the an agenda important to Iran, comsequently Iran passed up the chance to talk to the Americans at the ministerial level.
(emphasis added)
Of course we hadn't "prepared properly". Since when has the fabulous NeoCondi prepared for anything properly?
Look, at some point it would be helpful if we stopped talking about these people as if they were sentient, rational human beings with knowledge, goals, and strategies for how to attain them. They are none of the three. They are not-very-bright ideologues who feature a deep-seated disdain for most foreigners and a heavy penchant for throwing their weight around. They know how to bully, they know how to threaten, and that pretty much exhausts a list of their negotiating tactics.
Wingnut Response to VATech Shootings
It was inevitable, I suppose. Expect a lot more of this for a few days.
That said, how much of this killers rage was indoctrinated at the very campus on which he took out his rage. When professors teach students to hate everything around them they are learning evil.
Just to clarify the killer was in the English program and liberal professors are known for teaching hate.
Blogging Can Be Hazardous to Your Health
Socialization in the Blogosphere
This is one of those "it started out to be a comment on somebody else's blog but was too long for a comment so I'm making it a post" post. You might want to go read the post that sparked this one before you wade into it. It may not make much sense otherwise.
Chris Bowers at MyDD writes every so often about the phenomenon of blogging itself. His thoughts/insights are usually interesting but it has often seemed to me that he, like a lot of others in the online world, misses a key point:
Online life ain't real life.
Coulter Smacked by the Pendulum (Updated)
I was going to talk about Ann Coulter but I hear you have to go into rehab if you use the phrase "brain-dead fascist bimbo".
Jesus. I can't believe I have to waste time and energy talking about this but there's something that needs to be said and nobody's saying it.
Believe me, I'm pleased as punch that a furor has erupted over Coulter's jab at John Edwards during her speech at the annual CPAC meeting. Nobody deserves it more. (Michael Savage, maybe, but that's how low you have to go to get underneath Anorexic Annie.) But, really, what's the big deal? Calling a Democrat a "faggot" is mild for her, and it was clearly a joke – or what passes for one at a right-wing gathering (it's not like Republicans have senses of humor a normal human being can relate to). She wasn't seriously suggesting Edwards is gay, she was just dissing him with her usual lack of class.
Now before you get all outraged righteous on my ass, don't miss the point. I'm not defending her. I'm saying that in the pantheon of Coulterisms, this one wouldn't rate so much as a footnote were it not for the response. I mean, this is a woman who wrote a best-selling eliminationist screed calling all Democrats "traitors" and advocating that True Americans go out and shoot themselves one or two. And unlike her CPAC quip, she wasn't kidding when she wrote that. Yet that book raised not a single eyebrow in the media. Not only did no one but Democrats denounce it but she went on a lot of television shows and repeated her charges, using much of the very same language that's in the book (she has a, uh, limited imagination), and was treated like a) nothing she said was a big deal, and b) everything she said was sane, rational, and correct when it was none of the three. Read the rest of this entry »
Kurtz, Marcotte, Paul, and The Church
In the wake of Amanda Marcotte's resignation from the John Edwards campaign, Howie Kurtz has responded with one of his patented, snide, attack-without-attacking columns in the WaPo. After a reasonably fair summation in which he quotes liberally from Marcotte's resignation post at pandagon, he swings into Howie-mode with this little gem of a graf:
The former North Carolina senator was caught between conflicting pressures. On one hand, Marcotte and McEwan, like many writers in the freewheeling blogosphere, had written profane and offensive attacks on their detractors, using language that no presidential candidate would be comfortable defending. On the other, liberal bloggers were embracing their cause, depicting them as victims of an orchestrated conservative campaign to discredit them.
There are two outright lies in that short graf and one opinion stated as fact. Let's begin with the First Lie:
1. "…had written profane and offensive attacks on their detractors".
The posts which so offended Donohoe and from which Howie quotes later on – out of context, naturally – were NOT attacks on her "detractors". They were attacks on the Catholic Church's anti-female attitudes, biases, and policies, in particular its rigid insistence on mixing into the abortion debate with what an objective observer could only call a "heavy hand". It would be impossible in any legitimate sense to consider the quotes for which Marcotte was pilloried a personal attack on any "person" when they were so obviously aimed at an organizational entity. Here's the quote:
The Catholic church is not about to let something like compassion for girls get in the way of using the state as an instrument to force women to bear more tithing Catholics.
"The Catholic church" is not a person and, so far as I know, has never attacked Amanda Marcotte. Benedict would probably be a "detractor" if he knew or cared what she said but he doesn't. I feel safe in saying that you could search his recent speeches exhaustively without once hearing the name "Amanda Marcotte" pass his lips, so she certainly wasn't responding to anything he said about her.
As a recovering Catholic and a minor student of Church history, I can also tell you, categorically, that there's only one mistake in that sentence: Catholics don't "tithe" (give one-tenth of their pre-tax income to The Church). Read the rest of this entry »
Marcotte Resigns
Via MNObserver at Norwegianity comes the news that Amanda Marcotte has resigned from John Edwards' campaign. Her first post back at the old stand explains why. Read the rest of this entry »