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Politics and pop, past and present.
100 years ago, on Christmas Day, 1914, in the middle of World War I, British and German soldiers put down their guns and stopped killing one another. The terrible industrial slaughter had already taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of young men. But on that day, thousands of troops climbed out of the trenches in France and Belgium, sang Christmas carols, and exchanged food, gifts, and souvenirs. They traded German beer for British rum. They even played soccer. It's a unique event in the history of modern warfare.
It's unique in another way. Those who fought in wars—"the fallen"—are regularly remembered and honored, but remembering and honoring those who refused to fight is pretty much unheard of (except for commemorations sponsored by pacifist and anti-war groups). And yet, this season, the Christmas Truce of 1914 is being commemorated officially, especially in Europe, with a wide variety of government-sponsored memorial events.
"It's quite remarkable," Adam Hochschild said in an interview—he's the author of seven books, most recently the award-winning history of WWI, To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918. "The Christmas Truce has always been marked unofficially. But this year every school in the United Kingdom received a packet of materials about it—photos, eyewitness accounts, student worksheets. There's a children's competition in Britain to design a memorial to the Christmas Truce, and one of the judges was Prince William. In Belgium a memorial soccer field was inaugurated, the British and German ambassadors came, and they are holding a soccer tournament in memory of those Christmas Truce soccer games, with youth teams from Britain, Germany, France and Austria."
Perhaps most amazing is the three-minute TV commercial running in Britain, featuring a high-budget reenactment of the truce, where, after a soccer game, a British soldier trades a chocolate bar with a German soldier. "It's from the supermarket chain Sainsbury," Hochschild said. "The commercial is for a commemorative chocolate bar. The proceeds from this chocolate bar will go to the Royal British Legion, the official veterans' organization. It's another kind of official commemoration of this startling outbreak of peace."
What is it about this refusal to fight that makes it safe to be officially commemorated? "I'm curious about that," said Hochschild, who wrote about the Christmas Truce for TomDispatch. "First of all, the Christmas Truce only lasted for a day or two. The war in its full fury resumed very quickly—and went on for another four years.
"Also the Christmas Truce did not represent a breakdown of military discipline. It was sanctioned by officers on the scene. Officers as high-ranking as colonels came out to greet their counterparts from the other side in no-man's-land."
Hochschild points to one additional factor: "Commemorating anything these days can be big business. First World War tourism in northern France and Belgium is a huge industry. In Belgium alone, the government of the Flanders region is investing $41 million in new tourist facilities for this four-year commemorative period. That's not counting private investment. I'm sure they are thinking, 'if we can add a few peace sites to the existing war sites, so much the better.'"
The other profit-making industry that's gotten involved is professional soccer. "It's a huge business," Hochschild says, "particularly in Europe. Five of the ten most valuable professional soccer teams in the world are in Great Britain, and it's no accident that the trade association for professional soccer is one of the groups financing this packet of information going to all the British schools. The European soccer association is sponsoring the tournament in Belgium."
But there are no official celebrations of many other events where soldiers refused to fight in World War I—the more radical and subversive acts. Hochschild lists several of these acts—of fraternization, desertion and even mutiny—that occurred later in the war: In the spring of 1917, after the Russian revolution, photos show Russian and German troops celebrating and dancing together in couples; on the Eastern Front, a million Russian soldiers deserted and simply walked home, and German soldiers began deserting in 1918; and in 1917, hundreds of thousands of French soldiers refused orders to attack. "These folks should all be celebrated," Hochschild says, "because they helped bring the war to an end."
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Finally, Hochschild says, we ought to celebrate the anti-war leaders who opposed the war from the beginning and paid a heavy price: in Germany, Rosa Luxemburg spent more than two years in prison for opposing the war; in Britain, Bertrand Russell served six months in a London jail for his anti-war advocacy. And in the United States, Eugene V. Debs was imprisoned for urging resistance to the draft; he was still in the Atlanta federal penitentiary in 1920, two years after the war ended.
Now the US government is planning an official commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. It's being organized by the Pentagon, which has declared the purpose to be "to thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War…for their service and sacrifice." But more than 1,000 people have signed a petition insisting that "no commemoration of the war in Vietnam can exclude the many thousands of veterans who opposed it, as well as the draft refusals of many thousands of young Americans, some at the cost of imprisonment or exile." Anti-war activists "are the real heroes that period," Hochschild says, "and we have to be sure to remember and celebrate them."
Read Next: Why no one remembers the peacemakers
Hidden in the Senate torture report are stories of some heroes—people inside the CIA who from the beginning said torture was wrong, who tried to stop it, who refused to participate. There were also some outside the CIA, in the military and the FBI, who risked careers and reputations by resisting—and who sometimes paid a heavy price. They should be thanked and honored.
But President Obama hasn't mentioned them. Instead, he praised the CIA officials who presided over the torture regime as "patriots."
We should "celebrate the ones who stood up for what was right," says David Luban of the Georgetown University law school, author of Torture, Power and Law. Jane Mayer of The New Yorker, author of the definitive book on Bush administration torture, The Dark Side, calls them "the real torture patriots."
The opposition to torture within the CIA was so strong, Mayer reports, that the CIA Inspector General, John Helgerson, "conducted a serious and influential internal investigation." That led the Justice Department to "ask the CIA to suspend the torture program"—at least "until it could be reconciled with the law."
The heroes in the torture report include Ali Soufan, former FBI agent and interrogator of terrorists who, according to Lawrence Wright in The Looming Tower, came closer than anyone to preventing the 9/11 attacks. Soufan has argued publicly against torture and in favor of "rapport-building" as the best technique to get information from suspects. The CIA heavily censored his memoir The Black Banners in what Wright called an effort "to punish a critic and to obscure history." He was featured in a Frontline documentary made by Martin Smith and James Gilmore.
Another hero: Alberto Mora. As general counsel of the Navy in 2004, Jane Mayer reported, he tried to stop the torture program. He told his superiors at the Pentagon that the Bush torture policy violated the Geneva Conventions' prohibition of torture and "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment." He described the Bush program as "unlawful" and "dangerous," and warned that the torturers could face criminal prosecution. He was featured in the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side by Alex Gibney (which won the Best Documentary Oscar in 2007).
Some of the heroes were ordinary soldiers, like Sgt. Joe Darby, who first revealed the Abu Ghraib abuses. As a result," Luban points out, he "had to live under armed protection for six months." Others were high officials, like Philip Zelikow, an adviser to Condoleezza Rice, who, Luban reports, wrote an "anti-torture memo" that the White House "attempted to destroy."
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And there was Ian Fishback, an army captain who reported that his own unit was abusing Iraqi prisoners. Eventually he wrote an open letter to Senator John McCain, asking, "Do we sacrifice our ideals in order to preserve security?" His answer: "I would rather die fighting than give up even the smallest part of the idea that is 'America.' "
Finally we have the case of Guantaánamo prosecutor Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, who refused to prosecute a teenager who had been abused in US detention in Afghanistan and Guantánamo. For that decision, Jameel Jaffer and Larry Siems report, Vandeveld was "barred from the prosecutors' office, confined to his residence and threatened with dismissal from the Army."
The Senate torture report describes CIA personnel "profoundly affected…to the point of tears" by witnessing torture, but it doesn't reveal the names of those whose protests led to the inspector general's internal investigation. We need to know who they are—so we can thank them for trying to do the right thing.
Obama has made it clear from the beginning that there will be no criminal prosecutions of the torturers, even though their actions violated the federal Torture Act. The least he could do is publicly honor those who tried to stop the crimes conducted in our name.
The ACLU has set up a web page with a petition to President Obama to "honor those who said no to torture."
Torture is a crime, a violation of the Federal Torture Act. Those who engaged in the torture documented in such exhaustive detail in the Senate Intelligence Committee's torture report should be prosecuted, and those who conspired in that torture should also be prosecuted. They include UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo, says Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the Law School at the University of California Irvine.
Yoo was co-author of the infamous "torture memo" of 2002, when he was Deputy Assistant US Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel of the Bush Justice Department. In the memo he declared that—in the words of Jane Mayer in her book The Dark Side—"cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment of detainees could be authorized, with few restrictions."
Yoo's memo "directly led to the torture policy that resulted," Chemerinsky said in an interview, citing Mayer's evidence. "That's being part of a conspiracy to violate a federal statute. Someone isn't excused from criminal liability just because they work for the federal government."
The Federal Torture Act defines torture broadly, as "an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering…upon another person within his custody or physical control." The penalty for violating the Torture Act is imprisonment "for not more than 20 years."
Most important for the case of John Yoo, the Federal Torture Act specifically includes conspiracy, stating that "a person who conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties…as the penalties prescribed for the offense." That means Yoo could be sentenced to up to twenty years in prison if found guilty.
"I think he should be," Chemerinsky said. "All who planned, all who implemented, all who carried out the torture should be criminally prosecuted. How else do we as a society express our outrage? How else do we deter it in the future—except by criminal prosecutions?"
Chemerinsky, an authority on constitutional law who has argued cases before the Supreme Court, is the founding dean of the law school at UC Irvine, a sister campus of Berkeley in the University of California System. He is the author of hundreds of law review articles and eight books, including most recently The Case Against the Supreme Court.
Yoo defended his work on torture in an op-ed published by the New York Daily News. "In 2002," he wrote, "I believed that the federal law prohibiting torture allowed the CIA to use interrogation methods that did not cause injury—including, in extraordinary cases, waterboarding—because of the grave threat to the nation's security in the months after the 9/11 attacks." He added that he was "swayed by the fact" that he believed "the CIA would use the technique only on top Al Qaeda leaders thought to have actionable information on pending plots." He said the Senate report was wrong in its conclusion that torture was ineffective in exposing plots, citing CIA head John Brennan's statements to that effect.
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But, Chemerinsky said, there's nothing in the federal torture law that provides an exception for "pending plots."
For a law school dean to call for the criminal prosecution of a law professor at another campus of the same university is unprecedented. When demands were raised in 2008 that Berkely fire Yoo, the dean of the law school at Berkeley at the time, Christopher Edley Jr., said that, while he agreed that "Yoo offered bad ideas and even worse advice during his government service," he believed that advocating "bad ideas" was protected by academic freedom, and such advocacy "would not warrant dismissal" from Berkeley. The only ground for dismissal, he said, was specified in the official university policy: "Commission of a criminal act which has led to conviction in a court of law and which clearly demonstrates unfitness to continue as a member of the faculty."
Chemerinsky's argument is that Yoo has committed a criminal act—conspiracy to torture—and that he should be put on trial for it.
Listen to the full interview with Chemerinsky, courtesy of KPFK radio:
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The morning after a dark night for Democrats, California stands as the great exception to the national pattern of Republican power. In the state, not a single Republican was elected to statewide office. In the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles, the election of progressive Sheila Kuehl will transform the all-powerful Board of Supervisors to a pro-labor force.
Voters approved a sweeping transformation of the state's drug laws, reducing penalties for possession of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine to a misdemeanor instead of a felony. As a result of Prop. 47, 40,000 offenders a year—mostly young men of color—will get lighter sentences. Voters also reduced petty theft—stealing property worth $950 or less—from a felony to misdemeanor.
Governor Jerry Brown, elected to an unprecedented fourth term with 59 percent of the vote, is committed to fighting climate change; despite Republican control of Congress, he said, California already has the political will and financial resources to forge ahead with reducing carbon emissions.
In the Bay Area, San Francisco passed a $15 minimum wage, with support from 72 percent of voters. Anti-Chevron candidates in Richmond swept to victory despite Chevron's massive financial backing for a pro-oil-company slate. The Contra Costa Times called it "a resounding political defeat for the company and its campaign tactics." The city council had sued Chevron after a disastrous refinery fire. And a county south of San Francisco banned fracking.
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Last year the state legislature made it easier for women to get abortions, permitting nurses, Nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives and physicians' assistants who complete specified training to perform the procedure.
The state's gun control laws are among the strongest in the nation. All gun sales require a ten-day waiting period and are recorded by the state. Private sales of firearms are prohibited except through licensed dealers.
California Republicans have been stuck for years at around 40 percent of the electorate. Yesterday's results provided few signs that the pattern is changing.
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Sunday night Homeland returns to TV. That's good news for liberals, who like the show's politics because—unlike Fox's 24—it shows that, in the Middle East, sometimes US actions make more enemies than friends. Sunday's episode centers around the all-to-real situation where a drone attack on suspected terrorists in Afghanistan kills lots of civilians instead. Obama, we are told, is a fan of the show, and Bill Clinton told reporters that the show "created the notion of 'other' which was very important for the American people to sit down and watch." He and the show's star, the brilliant and compelling Claire Danes, both appeared at the 2013 Golden Globes—where, she said, Clinton "asked if I would come and meet him in some special room." (Can you really blame him?)
But I'm still unhappy about Claire Danes's meeting with CIA director John Brennan in a special room at the Agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, a year ago. She told the press afterwards, "It's always so thrilling and moving to meet the people who really do so much to protect and defend our country." She's talking about the people who didn't think ISIS would amount to anything, and before that informed our leaders that Saddam was building WMD. (That info came from "Curveball"—remember him?) And there was also that 9/11 business. But when you're on a publicity junket for your fall show, I guess you're supposed to be nice to everybody.
The show intersects with reality in a much more direct and compelling way: Claire Danes's character Carrie Mathison suffers from bipolar disorder, and her portrayal of her character's manic break in season one was awesome and frighteningly real. We learned how she did it in an unusual place: the op-ed page of The New York Times. The real-life model for Carrie's breakdown wrote the piece—she's the sister of one of the show's writers. "Bipolar extremes can be truly hard to watch," she wrote, "excruciating even in memory."
Reality has also posed a location problem for the show's producers. They considered making the new season about Israel and Palestine, but that was ruled out, show runner Alex Gansa said, because the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "just such a difficult, difficult situation to dramatize and to explicate." He might have added: especially when you have AIPAC breathing down your neck. "The decision also proved wise on a more practical level," the Los Angeles Times reported, because "the violence in Gaza this summer forced two other series, FX's 'Tyrant'Tyrant and USA's 'Dig,' to pull up stakes." Tel Aviv, where Tyrant was in production, "was under missile fire and people were running into bomb shelters," the show runner explained. "It was not conducive to shooting." They moved to Istanbul.
Homeland's people also considered sending Carrie to head the CIA station in Istanbul, but the Turkish government insisted on reviewing all the scripts. They decided instead to make Carrie CIA station chief in Kabul, and to shoot in South Africa as a stand-in for Afghanistan. Cape Town, the LA Times explained, "offers a large Muslim community for background casting that can, with the help of Hollywood magic, pass for Afghanistan and Pakistan."
The cast is also finding inspiration in Cape Town. "It's very moving to be somewhere where a man like Nelson Mandela came to prominence," said Mandy Patinkin—his character, the morose Jew Saul Berenson, has at last left the CIA for a really good job with a private security contractor. "I'm reminded that I'm living in a place where horror was once in abundance and the boil has been lanced and life has improved." Will Carrie help the Afghans lance their boil and improve their lives? Obama will be watching—and so will Bill Clinton.
To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Nixon's resignation, we talked with John Dean—he had been counsel to the president, and it was his Senate testimony that led to Nixon's resignation. His new book is The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It.
Jon Wiener: You set out to reconstruct the day-to-day history of Nixon's actions from the beginning of Watergate to the end, and you had a great source, the White House tapes. We know a lot about the tapes—the racism, the anti-Semitism, the plotting and scheming—but you listened to tapes no one else had heard before. How many tapes did you find–and how long did it take you?
John Dean: When I agreed to do the book, I was trying to figure out how anybody as savvy and intelligent as Nixon could have destroyed his presidency on a bungled burglary. But had I known how long it would take—four years—I might not have undertaken the assignment. I found a thousand conversations that no one had listened to except the archivists; there were partial transcripts for only 400. There isn't a page in this book that doesn't have something new to me—and I've been pretty close to the story since 1972.
What did you discover about the motivation for the original break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex: what were the burglars looking for? And, most important, did Nixon send them?
There's not a scintilla of evidence that Nixon had advanced knowledge. Nixon is concerned in the early days that he might have instructed Charles Colson to do this. But Colson tells him "no." The burglars' original mission was to break into McGovern's headquarters. That is traceable back to Nixon. He tells Haldeman to plant a bug in McGovern's headquarters. But the burglars started out that night with Gordon Liddy's original plan: to find financial information to embarrass Larry O'Brien, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, at his office in the Watergate complex. It's just as stupid as it sounds.
How bad would it have been if they had succeeded in finding that Larry O'Brien had taken illegal money? Would that have significantly damaged the McGovern campaign?
I really doubt it.
The first big decision was to pay hush money to the burglars. What did you learn about that?
Certainly Nixon knew it from the outset. On June 20, same day as the eighteen-and-a-half-minute gap, Nixon suggests they set up a "Cuban committee" to raise money for the Watergate defendants. What's ironic is that that plan could have been legal.
You were the president's lawyer. When did he call you? What did you know, and when did you know it?
I don't see the president until eight months after the arrests.
That's when you told him "there's a cancer on the presidency." What did you learn from the tapes about his reaction to what you told him?
The conversation took an hour and forty minutes. The transcript runs seventy-six pages, single-spaced. You have to remember that, when I tried to convince him to end the coverup, I was a young lawyer in my 30s. I couldn't shake him by the lapels; I had to try to persuade him with facts. Listening to the tapes for the first time, I could hear my amazed frustration. I would raise points and he would bat them down. I say, "Bud Krough is concerned he committed perjury." He replied, "Well, John, perjury's a tough rap to prove." I tell him there's no telling how much money these guys will want—and it's an obstruction of justice to pay them. He says, "How much could they want?" I pulled out of thin air what I thought was a pretty hefty number—I said, "It could cost a million dollars over the next two years." I waited for him to say, "That's outrageous!" Instead, he said, "I know where we can get that." And I now know that after I left the room, he called his secretary Rose Woods in and asked her, "How much do we have in the slush fund that only you and I know about?'"
The burglary at the Watergate was actually the second one conducted by the White House plumbers unit—the first had been at Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office in Beverly Hills. It was Nixon's obsession with Ellsberg leaking the Pentagon papers that led him to create the plumbers unit. Did Nixon himself connect the dots between the Ellsberg break-in and the Watergate break in?
He doesn't connect them until I tell him on March 17, 1973—the Watergate arrests had been on June 17, 1972. One of the amazing things I discovered is that neither Haldeman nor Ehrlichman tell him about the jeopardy the White House has—that the same people now in the DC jail had also been used to break into the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist.
Nixon's plan was to blame the whole thing on you, to say you ran the cover-up. It was your word versus the president's. Fox News still seems to be making this argument. Could that have worked at the time—send you to jail, and leave Nixon in the White House?
I had nothing to do with the break-in or the cover-up. But there's a good possibility it would have worked to blame it all on me—if the tapes hadn't come out.
Nixon knew all his conversations were being taped—including planning the cover-up and arranging for the hush money. Why did he keep talking?
Occasionally it's clear he knows he's recording himself. But 98 percent of the time he's oblivious—because he doesn't think anybody will ever get access to the tapes. In April he instructs Haldeman to remove the system, but Haldeman reminds him that "Henry Kissinger might write a different history than you, so you might want to have a good record of national security matters." He agrees with that. Then he says, "Let's destroy everything except the national security material." Haldeman says, "Sure," but then never does it—because he gets consumed by Watergate himself.
What did you conclude about the eighteen-and-a-half-minute gap?
I concluded that "Who created the eighteen-and-a-half-minute gap?" is the wrong question. It's a mystery, but what difference does it make? The important question is what they erased. My book has a special appendix on that.
Finally: What was it like for you to spend four years listening to Nixon talking?
I told my wife Maureen, "Men in my family go deaf in their mid-70s, and I'm getting there. God forbid that the last voice I hear is Richard Nixon's." Fortunately, Jon, I can hear your voice, so I've come out the other side.
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"Congratulations, Class of 2014, you're totally screwed"—that was the graduation message offered this season by Thomas Frank, Salon columnist and author of Pity the Billionaire. The average student-loan borrower graduating in 2014 is $33,000 in debt, according to the Wall Street Journal—the highest amount ever. And a new study of public universities shows that student debt is worst at schools with the highest-paid presidents.
The "most unequal" public university in America, according to the report, is Ohio State. Between 2010 and 2012 it paid its president, Gordon Gee, a total of almost $6 million, while raising tuition and fees so much that student debt grew 23 percent faster than the national average.
The only people on campus worse off than students with loans are the part-time faculty members—and they too were worst off at schools with the highest paid presidents. OSU, while paying its president $5.9 million, focused its faculty hiring on low wage part-timers, hiring 498 contingent and part-time but only forty-five permanent faculty members.
At the same time that the regular faculty has been shrinking, the number of administrators has been growing. During the period when OSU hired forty-five permanent faculty members, it hired 670 new administrators. A similar pattern is found throughout American universities.
The Institute for Policy Studies report, "The One Percent at State U: How University Presidents Profit from Rising Student Debt and Low-Wage Faculty Labor," examined the relationship between executive pay, student debt and low-wage faculty labor at the twenty-five top-paying public universities. Co-authors Andrew Erwin and Marjorie Wood reported that money spent on administration at the highest-paying universities outpaced spending on scholarships by more than two to one.
"The high executive pay obviously isn't the direct cause of higher student debt, or cuts in labor spending," Ms. Wood told The New York Times. "But if you think about it in terms of the allocation of resources, it does seem to be the tip of a very large iceberg, with universities that have top-heavy executive spending also having more adjuncts, more tuition increases and more administrative spending."
Why is this happening? "The motor force behind these trends is the hiring of 'professional administrators' whose primary commitment is to their own careers and advancement," says William R. Schonfeld, former dean of social sciences and emeritus professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine (where I teach history). "They take jobs as stepping stones to other positions higher on the ladder."
"To protect themselves," Schonfeld says, "they grow the bureaucracy. They are committed to goals which can be relatively quickly achieved—more funds raised this year from the immediate business community, as compared to building a strong foundation for long-term giving by alumni; new schools and academic units, as compared to the tedious and slow process of building true distinction."
The focus on quick results—not so different from corporations' focus on quarterly profits—is responsible for the increase in both the number of administrators and their growing salaries. At Ohio State, "We've been hiring financial VPs from Wall Street and HR heads from private corporations," says OSU's Harvey Graff, professor of english and history and Ohio eminent scholar in literacy studies.
Average pay for university presidents continues to rise, according to the annual Chronicle of Higher Education survey. Nine chief executives earned more than $1 million in total compensation in 2012–13, the Chronicle reports, up from four the previous year. The median total compensation of the 256 presidents in the survey was $478,896, a 5 percent increase over the previous year.
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So while university presidents are making huge salaries, Tom Frank explains, students "borrowed and forked over enormous sums in exchange for the privilege of hearing lectures…lectures that were then delivered by people who earned barely enough to stay alive. It is a double disaster of the kind that only we Americans are capable of pulling off."
The schools that followed OSU on the "most unequal" list were, in order, Penn State, and the universities of Michigan, Minnesota and Delaware.
What is to be done? The IPS study suggests that debt relief for college grads is the number-one task—and recommends Senator Elizabeth Warren's "Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act," which would refinance student loans at 3.86 percent—cutting almost in half the payments required of students currently carrying loans at 6.8 percent. Warren's bill would pay for the lower interest rates by adopting the "Buffett Rule," which would raise the marginal tax rate on income in excess of $1 million.
Also, the IPS study says, state legislatures should limit pay for administrators, and require that spending on non-academic administration be pegged to money spent on scholarships—the authors suggest the ratio should be two to one. "Bringing down spending on administration while increasing scholarships will help make college more affordable and discourage rapid tuition increases," the report argues. The authors also favor granting organizing rights to part-time adjunct faculty.
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August 8 will be the fortieth anniversary of Nixon's resignation. That's a good target date for the long-overdue appointment of a new director of the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California.
The library has been without a director for two and a half years, ever since the departure of Timothy Naftali in 2011. He presided over the installation of the new, historically accurate Watergate exhibit—his number-one duty after the Nixon Foundation agreed in 2007 to bring the library, which opened in 1990, into the National Archives presidential library system.
Before that, Nixon had been the only president to refuse to cooperate with the National Archives, which ran all the other presidential museums. In 1974, Congress insisted that the Archives, rather than Nixon himself, have control of all of his presidential papers and tapes. The result was a seventeen-year standoff during which the Nixon Foundation ran a private museum in Yorba Linda that served as the nation's center of Watergate denial, defying the National Archives.
Now the standoff has returned. The Nixon Library has no director because the Nixon Foundation, run by old-time Nixon loyalists and family members, blocked the appointment of the candidate selected by the National Archives: Mark Atwood Lawrence, an associate professor of history at the University of Texas in Austin. Lawrence is a respected middle-of-the-road scholar who was fully qualified for the job; he's the author of The Vietnam War: A Concise International History, published in 2010 by Oxford University Press.
But the Nixon Foundation didn't want Lawrence. Ron Walker, chairman of the Foundation's board of directors, told Daniel Langhorne of the Orange County Register that he was concerned about Lawrence's "perspective" on Vietnam. "It was just different," Walker said. "I'm not going any further on that."
How different was it? Lawrence doesn't call Nixon a madman or a war criminal, but he does challenge those in the Nixon administration who argued at the time that an American defeat in Vietnam would do irreparable damage to US influence in the world. In the scholarly journal History: Reviews of New Books, the reviewer of Lawrence's book wrote that "for a subject that has all too often inspired overwrought critiques of the various parties involved in the conflict, it is refreshing to have a synthesis that adopts a more neutral and dispassionate view of the Vietnam War."
Lawrence wasn't exactly vetoed, but the foundation made clear their hostility to him, and eventually he withdrew his application.
The power to appoint directors of presidential libraries rests with the archivist of the United States, currently David Ferrio. He has been deferring to the Nixon loyalists and family members, but his responsibility is to the American people. The National Archives' mission is "to serve American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government."
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The problem is now approaching a crisis because the foundation, which funds the exhibits and public programs of the museum, has announced plans for a $15 million renovation of the exhibits. Apparently, it prefers to do this without a director in place to oversee the historical accuracy of what it has in mind.
The number-one exhibit in need of revision, not surprisingly, is the one concerning Vietnam. Currently the museum devotes more space to the return of American POWs from North Vietnam than it does to the war itself. The result is an exhibit that suggests America was fighting in Vietnam to get our POWs back.
Redesigning the exhibits in Yorba Linda should be the work of a professional director committed to a nonpartisan and historically accurate museum, not one deferring to old-time loyalists and family members who want a shrine that celebrates the life of their hero. Archivist David Ferrio needs to make that appointment before the fortieth anniversary of Nixon's resignation on August 8.
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For more than a century, May 1 has been celebrated as International Workers' Day. It's a national holiday in more than eighty countries. But here in the land of the free, May 1 has been officially declared "Loyalty Day" by President Obama. It's a day "for the reaffirmation of loyalty"—not to the international working class, but to the United States of America.
Obama isn't the first president to declare May 1 Loyalty Day—that was President Eisenhower, in 1959, after Congress made it an official holiday in the fall of 1958. Loyalty Day, the history books explain, was "intended to replace" May Day. Every president since Ike has issued an official Loyalty Day proclamation for May 1.
The presidential proclamation always calls on people to "display the flag." In case you were wondering, that's the stars and stripes, not the red flag. Especially in the fifties, if you didn't display the stars and stripes on Loyalty Day, your neighbors might conclude that you were some kind of red.
During the 1930s and 1940s, May Day parades in New York City involved hundreds of thousands of people. Labor unions, Communist and Socialist parties, and left-wing fraternal and youth groups would march down Fifth Avenue and end up at Union Square for stirring speeches on class solidarity.
Socialists meeting in Union Square, May 1, 1908 (Courtesy: Library of Congress)
In the fifties, Loyalty Day parades replaced May Day parades. If you Google "Loyalty Day parade," you get a quarter of a million hits. Long Beach, California, claims to have "the longest consecutively running loyalty commemoration in the nation!" (Exclamation point theirs.) The Veterans of Foreign Wars started theirs in 1950, nine years before Ike's declaration. This year's Loyalty Day parade in Long Beach will be the same as always: high school marching bands, vintage cars, riders on horses and floats, as well as the required military color guard. Also clowns.
The first May Day proclamation made the Cold War context pretty clear: "Loyalty to the United States of America," Ike said, "is essential to the preservation of our freedoms in a world threatened by totalitarianism." That was the idea: "we" represented freedom, and "they" were "the enemies of freedom." Of course, in 1959 our "freedoms" included segregation for blacks and blacklisting for reds, and our "Free World" allies included dictators and tyrants like Chiang Kai-Shek in Formosa, Marcos in the Philippines, the Shah in Iran and whoever was running South Korea.
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Obama's proclamation in 2013 said that on Loyalty Day we should reaffirm our commitment to "liberty, equality, and justice for all." That's not terribly original, but it's not bad—especially if he really means "all" people. Skeptics might suggest his statement is an empty cliché; they might point to many cases where Obama has denied liberty, equality and justice to all (one example: US citizens killed without a trial).
In Los Angeles, where I live, the biggest parade on May 1 came in 2006, when 400,000 people marched down Wilshire Boulevard for immigrants' rights. They carred signs that said "Si se puede!" ("Yes we can") and "This land is your land/This land is my land." That May 1 was May Day—and it was a lot better than Loyalty Day.
Read Next: Peter Van Buren on life inside the new minimum wage economy
Elizabeth Kolbert is a New Yorker staff writer; her new book is The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. This interview has been edited and condensed.
Jon Wiener: Your work on species extinction began with a report on a poisonous frog in Panama.
Elizabeth Kolbert: Yes, the Panamanian golden frog. It's New York taxicab yellow, with very dark eyes and thin limbs and long fingers. A decade ago, a fungal disease moved through Central America attacking frogs. That fungus is now all around the world, imported everywhere by people moving amphibians around. The Panamanian golden frog is now extinct in the wild—although some have been saved in a sterile facility in Panama.
How many species right now are headed for extinction?
Amphibians have the dubious distinction of being the most threatened class of animals—40 percent are classified as threatened with extinction, and very high numbers have already gone extinct. They are probably followed by mammals: one-quarter of all mammals are classified as endangered. As many as a third of all reef-building corals are endangered. Plus one-fifth of all reptiles, and one-sixth of all birds are endangered and facing extinction. And we have statistics only on a few groups; with most species of living things we don't even know what's out there.
The last wave of extinctions came when an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs and their world. What's different about the species extinction that threatens now?
Scientists say now we're the asteroid. This extinction event is unique because it's being caused by a living thing.
You got to go on many trips to exciting places to do your research. I loved your trip to One Tree Island on the Great Barrier Reef.
That was a wonderful experience. One Tree Island is made completely of dead coral, with some dirt on top of it. Scientists there were doing an experiment that required walking across the reef at low tide. We went out in the middle of the night. It was spectacular: the stars were so bright, and on the reef waiting for high tide were enormous loggerhead turtles, huge giant clams in amazing colors, bright blue starfish and ruddy octopuses in tide pools—the fantastic array of life that lives on a reef.
You quote Darwin saying, "Coral reefs rank high amongst the wonderful objects in the world."
Yes, and scientists say it is likely that the reefs will be the first entire ecosystem in the modern era to become extinct.
Is that because of global warming?
It's because we are changing the chemistry of the oceans. When we pour CO2 into the air we are in effect also pouring it into the water. And when you dissolve CO2 in water it forms an acid. We're acidifying the oceans. As a result the corals are having a hard time.
You didn't have to go to the Australia or Panama to find devastating evidence of species extinction—you went to a bat cave near your home in western Massachusetts.
Almost anywhere you go these days you're going to find tremendous upheaval in the natural world. Our bats in New England hibernate for the winter. It turns out they now have a fungus that irritates them and wakes them up. They don't have the fat reserves to get through the winter if they wake up. They need to stay in a deep state of hibernation. But they wake up, they fly around, and they drop dead. This fungus is spreading rapidly—it's in at least twenty-two states now, and a lot of Canada. It's also transported by people. As a result bat populations in the northeastern US have been plummeting.
You found another way we are changing the planet, and something new to worry about: ballast water!
We're moving a lot of species around every day. When you bring species together that have been living on separate continents or in separate oceans, bad things can happen. Our huge supertankers take on ballast water that has many small animals. Then they dump that water, often in an entirely different ocean. So we are moving species around the world—estimates are 10,000 species are moved every day in ballast water. That doesn't count species moved in planes, and in our luggage.
We have the endangered species protection act in America—it was passed a long time ago, in 1974, and is often ridiculed for protecting obscure fish or birds in places slated for real estate development. How successful has it been?
There have been some iconic successes: the California condor. For many species it has staved off extinction—absolutely. But to get a species listed has become very difficult. Many species are stacked up waiting for their listing. When you're officially designated an endangered species there has to be a recovery plan. That's good. But the problem now is that the kinds of threats that are emerging—climate change—make it very hard to come up with a rescue plan. We're getting into complicated territory.
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It's easy to feel hopeless about species extinction. Do you have an answer to the question "What is to be done?" Do you have a six-point plan? Do you have hope at this point?
I wrote the book to bring this issue into awareness. I didn't write it because I have a six-point plan. Unfortunately I don't think anyone has a plan. But an obvious first step is that we've got to agree to start minimizing our impact on the planet. To be honest, right now we seem to be moving in the opposite direction.
Read more of The Nation's special #MyClimateToo coverage:
Mark Hertsgaard: Why TheNation.com Today Is All About Climate
Christopher Hayes: The New Abolitionism
Naomi Klein: The Change Within: The Obstacles We Face Are Not Just External
Dani McClain: The 'Environmentalists' Who Scapegoat Immigrants and Women on Climate Change
Mychal Denzel Smith: Racial and Environmental Justice Are Two Sides of the Same Coin
Katrina vanden Heuvel: Earth Day's Founding Father
Wen Stephenson: Let This Earth Day Be The Last
Katha Pollitt: Climate Change is the Tragedy of the Global Commons
Michelle Goldberg: Fighting Despair to Fight Climate Change
George Zornick: We're the Fossil Fuel Industry's Cheap Date
Dan Zegart: Want to Stop Climate Change? Take the Fossil Fuel Industry to Court
Jeremy Brecher: 'Jobs vs. the Environment': How to Counter the Divisive Big Lie
Dave Zirin: Brazil's World Cup Will Kick the Environment in the Teeth
Steven Hsieh: People of Color Are Already Getting Hit the Hardest by Climate Change
John Nichols: If Rick Weiland Can Say "No" to Keystone, So Can Barack Obama
Michelle Chen: Where Have All the Green Jobs Gone?
Peter Rothberg: Why I'm Not Totally Bummed Out This Earth Day
Leslie Savan: This Is My Brain on Paper Towels


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Date(s) - 03/29/2014
09:00 - 11:00
Desert Oasis Aquatic Center
Help Chandler firefighters save a life.
This past year Chandler firefighters responded to 7 drowning or near drowning incidents. All of these calls involved children. You can help prevent water related tragedies in our community.
Chandler firefighters are inviting residents to join them in a door-to-door walk through local neighborhoods. Volunteers will distribute water safety door hangers to promote the "Eye to Eye to Supervise" message. The goal is to educate everyone about the importance of direct and constant adult supervision of children around water.
The Fire Department's 2014 drowning prevention walk will be held on Saturday, March 29. Volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. at Desert Oasis Aquatic Center, 1400 W. Summit Pl. At that time, Fire Department staff will assign specific neighborhoods to small groups of volunteers and provide maps and other materials. Participants will then walk their assigned route and leave a printed message at every home. The time commitment is 1-2 hours.
The Drowning Prevention Walk and other water awareness activities are making a very real difference in Chandler. Over the past three years, the number of drowning or near drowning incidents in Chandler has been reduced by more than 50 percent. Please consider being part of this very worthwhile effort.
To volunteer, please call 480-782-2175 or 480-782-2124 prior to March 30.

subset: commoncrawl


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So there's that. Is that neat? I don't even know anymore. NASA's new Buzz Lightyear spacesuit: WOULD YOU HIT IT? Honestly, guys, it's December 19, 2012. Am I the only one who's tired? Surely there is at least one other person who is tired. Let's pull out the cots and take a super quick nap. Say, starting right now through January 2nd. "Sounds great!" January 2nd, 2018. "Wait! That's a long nap!" I bet the deep, black, weightlessness of space would be an awesome place for a nap. "Is he still talking about naps?" Yes! To infinity talking about naps and beyond! #GreatBlog #PleaseRT (Via Animal.)
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I've spent the past two hours wanting to just go home and crawl under my blankets. So yes, napping would be awesome. Napping through my 20s would be awesome (since Jan 2 2018 is quite close to my actual 30 birthday). I can get behind that.
I would be napping through my 30s, which I'd be fine with because it'd let me avoid annoying ticking-biological-clock conversations.
I actually like it. Super nerdy I guess because I LOVE Toy Story. Let's just hope all Sheriff uniforms start looking like this:
wow…sorry everybody! super large! sorry!!!!!
I'm a little confused as to why they bothered with a separate piece of fabric for the vest.
Actually NOT super large. I'm, for one, not impressed. Oh the picture size…?
Are they going to premier these Buzz Lightyear space suits for this year's New York Fashion Week?
"We own space." -Disney
"Is that neat? I don't even know anymore."
- Gabe Delahaye, 1756-2012
Maybe the end of the Mayan calendar wasn't really a sign of the end of the world, it was just a sign of that's when everyone lies down for a nap for five years.
Two things:
1. This post is great. A+ would read again.
2. On the mobile version of this site some people arbitrarily have different avatars. It's weird.
Weird! I've stopped checking in on my phone because I can't seem to access the full website version anymore and it just isn't the same if I can't log in and upvote. Anyone else have that problem?
Is my avatar still an island? I was thinking of updating it.
On my phone, yours like most people's is blank. Oh, and I've thought your avatar was a mountain all this time. Now, I'm not sure why I thought that.
It's a mountain of sorts – one rising out of the sea.
Why the hell would I want to nap through my 35th birthday (which is today)?
I Googled "napping pods" earlier today in an attempt to convince my boss that paid siestas would improve productivity.
I'd hit it
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Q&A: Energy Audit
Q&A: Rebates on equipment and incentives to weatherize
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Vermont Gas provides the following rebates to qualifying residential customers:
Eligible Equipment
(must be purchased new)
Required Efficiency
(as listed in GAMA)
NOTE: Multiple boiler/furnace systems and non-conventional designs will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
To qualify you must be an existing Vermont Gas customer and use a gas certified contractor to install the new equipment.
©2012 VermontGas Systems, Inc.
Mailing: P.O. Box 467, Burlington VT 05401 Delivery: 85 Swift St, South Burlington VT 05403. Phone: 802.863.4511.
Email: email@example.com


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Recently rechristened by our friend Elanor at Persephone Farm, Dragon Tongue is our newest mustard recombination, melding the mellow Horned with the sweet and colorful Miike. Slow bolting with high contrast leaves of purple veining on a bright green background, and wide midribs that grow and thicken at maturity, horning up into a great stir-fry vegetable. Salad size leaves are textured and colorful, with full sweet mustard flavor, but not too hot. My fall favorite. Farm Original Variety!
Oregon Tilth Certified Organic Seed!


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BALBAGAN FESTIVAL is the mother of all festivals in the Municipality of Binalbagan. The festival celebrates the origin of the Binalbagan. It is said that in ancient times cargo of shrimps, so abundant then...read more
The Municipality of Binalbagan is one of the town in Negros Occidental gifted with beauty of nature that are waiting to be discovered. Adventurous tourist will enjoy their stay and exploring unspoiled...read more
The local government officials are leading the quest in developing and improving the towns infrastructure, roads and services for the benefit of the people. Mayor Alejandro Y. Mirasol already planned projects...read more


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Critic & User Reviews
Upset Kids and Happy Music Lovers
posted by RonaiSnzer (WAYNE, WV) Sep 6, 2009
Member since Apr 2008
15 out of 23 gamers (65%) found this review helpful
The music is a wide variety that makes the younger audiance and by that I am talking about the Teenies cry out about how horrible the song list is. So what if we dont have all this pop junk from today?
Classic Rock, Metal, Funk, Blues, Quazi-Punk.
If you cant find more then one favorite song out of the 85 tracks you shouldn't be playing this in the first place. The only complain I have is if you use Mr.Kurt Cobain in quickplay he is RIGHT HANDED!
posted by DthBlayde (PARLIN, NJ) Sep 4, 2009
Member since Jul 2008
17 out of 33 gamers (52%) found this review helpful
Sadly... the song list this time around was abysmal. Having to trudge through unknown songs from bands that sound like they belonged in the bonus track section, JUST to unlock songs that are actually popular or known... Maybe I'm just not keen on what passes as "today's" music, and I consider myself pretty broad-minded where music is concerned.
I couldn't bring myself to finish the song list to the end, and returned this after 1 day, with 4 venues left unlocked.
If this is the road Activision choose to take with the franchise, then count me out.
Guitar Hero is goin down
posted by Adult38kid (TROY, MI) Nov 22, 2009
Member since Jun 2009
5 out of 10 gamers (50%) found this review helpful
Worst Tracklist EVER
posted by MrMatthew (SAN JOSE, CA) Sep 16, 2009
Member since Nov 2008
2 out of 4 gamers (50%) found this review helpful
Gameplay is Solid
Graphics look Great
Online Works... but that's only if you can find anyone else online. Seriously is no one playing this game or is it their matchmaking software?
Either way, avoid this game.
I wanna Rock....Band That is
posted by jf1977 (WEST GROVE, PA) Oct 31, 2009
Member since Jan 2006
1 out of 2 gamers (50%) found this review helpful
More of the same
posted by Caveman420 (REDMOND, OR) Sep 29, 2009
Member since Apr 2009
3 out of 7 gamers (43%) found this review helpful
posted by ilnewsome (BEAVER FALLS, PA) Sep 9, 2009
Member since Oct 2008
6 out of 15 gamers (40%) found this review helpful
The game has great songs. Import most of the GH:World Tour songs, Import most of the GH: Smash Hits songs (on the 10th for PS3), Import all your other downloads. Plus import support for ALL future Guitar Heros so GH:VH should be an import and Band Hero is already a confirmed import so all you people bitching about the set list will get your pop and over commercialized music in there, too.
Real people who matter are giving this game 4.5/5 and 9/10 for it's new modes, new competitive game modes, and just making getting online and playing really fun, new, and easy. I also like how you save your band mates now and all the opportunities to get score multiplyers of up to x11. if you get Band Moment, all band members activate star power at the same time, and you have a streak. WOW! and you Six star songs if you get all the notes. 100% and full streak is worth an extra star. The add on characters like Kurt Cobain and Carlos Santana are nice. The new calibration system is neat once I figured it out. You can make and save your own playlists unlimitedly, and you can turn on the game and be playing within 30 seconds because the game boots straight into Party Play mode, so you grab your instrument and press Square/Yellow and a song loads right up, or you can pull out a setlist you made. Keep is rolling and if someone wants to join they grab the instrument they want, hit square/yellow and join right in also! No interruptions of any kind.
DLC looks promising for this new generation of GH too, with the first pack being Rolling Stones and not a European one. The note highway is now uniform same color that's easy to see notes on, no matter what instrument you may be playing. Overall, amazing! I play it more than RB2 now because it's truly better, and after importing have over 300 songs on the game!
Guitar Hero's hero!!
posted by gamer301 (CLAYTON, NY) Sep 21, 2009
Member since Mar 2008
4 out of 10 gamers (40%) found this review helpful
I actually, really like the song list; it's really good in my eyes. There are several good songs I actually have on my iPod and other songs I'm new too. All songs are upbeat and fun to play. The genres of the songs are all over the place, but all provide good songs.
The guitar is also awesome. It comes with improved whammy, and fret board. It also comes with a cool little feature called the Slider which is really cool.
Pros: Amazing graphics, sick character and instrument design. Song list is actually really good, stages are cool. The new guitar adds new and welcome additions.
Cons: If you don't have the guitar, there are some road blocks that can make you fail a song. Not compatible with Rock Band controllers.
I totally recommend this game to any fan of Rock band or Guitar Hero. But I would advise a purchase of the guitar, at least.
Got Boring Really Fast and Awful song selection
posted by GWARRRRRR (CASTRO VALLEY, CA) Sep 4, 2009
Member since Apr 2008
5 out of 13 gamers (38%) found this review helpful
I never looked up ahead of time to see what songs were on it because I like to be suprise, and boy was I suprised at how terrible the songs are. I mean there are seriously songs on here that do nothing but the same rhythm and buttons the whole song. WHATS THE FUN IN THAT. I mean Scars on Broadway? Gorillaz? Terrible!
GH is supposed to let you play great instrumental songs, and instead we get this. There are some good songs, but 5/150 is not good. haha.
Glad I didnt pay $60 for it. Sent it back the next day.
Oh well maybe next time
What the hey
posted by aumndragon (FLORENCE, MA) Sep 5, 2009
Member since Jul 2009
5 out of 15 gamers (33%) found this review helpful
posted by g0d2076 (OVID, MI) Nov 13, 2009
Member since Nov 2009
1 out of 3 gamers (33%) found this review helpful
posted by dankgrns (SANTA ANA, CA) Nov 2, 2009
Member since Jan 2008
1 out of 3 gamers (33%) found this review helpful
Above Average
posted by Spideyman2 (EASTLAKE WEIR, FL) Sep 9, 2009
Member since Apr 2009
2 out of 7 gamers (29%) found this review helpful
Graphics are better than previous games and they improved allot of stuff such as GHStudio,Drop in Drop out party play,and more minor things.
So i guess i would rent this but your not going to be super surprised at how good it is!
Not playable with my guitar
posted by ladygemini (GREENEVILLE, TN) Sep 15, 2009
Member since Sep 2009
1 out of 4 gamers (25%) found this review helpful
Great songs Horrible Gameplay
posted by alphagame (SAN JOSE, CA) Sep 7, 2009
Member since Jul 2009
2 out of 10 gamers (20%) found this review helpful
HOWEVER, the gameplay is just horrific. I have played the drums for quite some time now and the lag configuration setup is so far off it really destroys the game. I barely ever missed any notes on either Rock Band, my 100 songs downloaded, or GH World Tour but for some reason the lag on this game is frustratingly off. On top of that the sound is always behind because you can't adjust the sound in the negative direction. Frustration built to the point I just gave up and sent it back without ever having finished more than 4 songs. I really wish Rock Band wouldn't have made its next install a all Beatles game (cause its a little late and outdated) but I guess Ill just spend 60 bucks on DLC for previous titles because neither GH nor RB will be getting my money for their full releases this year.
Great Game!
posted by Pitboy43 (LEAVENWORTH, KS) Jun 27, 2012
Member since Jun 2012
posted by Harley9589 (DIAMOND, IL) Mar 6, 2011
Member since Nov 2010
I liked the meters on this one. But I missed the meter that told us who was winning. The beginers is neat. I was able to play but that was at times to hard. Rox.
Not completely bad, but not good either.
posted by tfchronos (MORGANTON, NC) Nov 8, 2010
Member since Oct 2010
Play each song once (which is okay with me 96% of the songs I could only stand to play once anyway) collect stars to proceed, once in a rare while you'll see a cut scene. The challenges are a neat addition but but it's not fun if you don't like the songs.
Graphics: 6
Are better than any of the others. The create a rocker is almost the same as in the past. The clothes are all the same, might and I stress might be 2 or 3 new pieces. But overall same ol' same ol". The fret boards are also boring. It's the same thing for all characters unlike previous GH's which were different.
Sound: 3
It's only getting a 3 from me because it has Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden and 3 Doors Down on it. You can also play DLC. Other than that this set list should be balled up thrown in a rocket and shot into the sun, the guy(s) who came up with it too, they picked good bands don't get me wrong. They just picked bad songs.
GH Mix: 9
They really cleaned it up; they almost out did them themselves on it. I would have preferred it have more than 2 decent Metal Tones and not so many clean and old ball tones. Other than that it's pretty good.
GHTunes however: 2
It's like grass that never gets mowed...
It would be half way neat if 99% of it wasn't junk. All you find on there is impossible this or to hard that… GHTunes should have a "Remove it" feature where if the song gets enough of those votes it should be removed from GHTunes... That would save alot of space and let all the good ones be heard.
Lasting Appeal: 2
For me it's an epic failure the only thing that will keep me playing which is once every other week is GH: Mix and DLC. If you like most of the songs then you'll not get board.
Overall: 3
Only because of GH: Mix and DLC, again if you like easy to play pop and alternative songs then you will love the game. I'll just stick with playing a game that's actually requires skill like GH: Metallica
Thanks for reading
posted by imaboss69 (DAVIS, CA) Jul 12, 2010
Member since Jul 2010
posted by KEVERY12 (FLOWERY BRANCH, GA) Jun 1, 2010
Member since Jun 2010
posted by SOULR3AV3R (BURLINGTON, VT) May 12, 2010
Member since May 2010
Really Bad
posted by hazmat (WOODBRIDGE, VA) Mar 14, 2010
Member since Dec 2007
Above Average
When a game goes to far.
posted by mdcrawford (BROKEN BOW, NE) Mar 9, 2010
Member since Mar 2010
horrible songs!
posted by Crallfish (SUWANEE, GA) Feb 9, 2010
Member since Jan 2010
I'd Say 4th Best of Series
posted by gameflyrev (DALLAS, TX) Jan 23, 2010
Member since Dec 2009
Anyway as for the game itself I'd say this is the 4th best in the series. Behind GHI, GHII and GH Metallica. The song list has its ups and downs. There are alot more simple songs nowadays in the song lineup due to the fact that it takes into effect microphone difficulty and other difficulties besides just the strength of the guitar track, which is what made GH I and II so fantastic. The entire lineup was geared around the strength of the guitar sections and of course that automatically makes rock and roll the centerpiece genre. Now? You have everything.
Best thing about this title is the online play and the new modes. Finally a GH with new online modes! You will have alot of fun, especially with one called Momentum. A competitive mode that puts everyone playing at Medium difficulty. As you correctly hit your notes the game will steadily increase your difficulty up to Expert. The more you miss, the lower in difficulty you go. It is quite the slap in the face when you see yourself on Expert while your friend is all the way back at Beginner on the same tune lol.
This title is definately worthy of the purchase if you are a fan of many types of music. With 90+ songs and the ability to create your own music and download more, really theres not much holding you back from a purchase. If you hate these titles already, this will not change anything. Oh, and good god, watching Johnny Cash during a metal song or Kurt Cobain during a rap/r&b song is pure comedy.


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PHOTO: Bill Murray crashes engagement photo
JUST ADDED: 5 Seconds of Summer will be rocking the stage at this year's iHeartRadio Music Festival Village in Las Vegas! The band sat down with Ryan Seacrest to break the news.�Click here to buy your tickets now, before they sell out!
Check out the full lineup for this year's iHeartRadio Music Festival
Ashley Donald and Erik Rogers didn't expect a surprise guest during their engagement photoshoot. Bill Murray happened to be South Carolina and decided to join the couple for some photos.


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While it has some significant limitations, the Bushnell Solar Wrap Mini 100, works well as a lightweight backup battery for a variety of electronics in the field. Using the product, I kept an iPhone 4s and an iPad Mini charged throughout a thru-hike of the Colorado Trail. In preparing for a thru-hike of the Colorado Trail, I figured I would need more battery power to supplement the internal batteries of my iPhone and iPad Mini. I planned to be on trail for up to six days between resupplies. In researching… Full review
SunJack Phone
SunJack is portable, durable, and feels like I have a power outlet with me anywhere I go. Highly recommended for anybody that has experienced the pain of running out of battery without a nearby wall-outlet. Also recommended for anybody that wants to free themselves from sitting by a wall outlet while their phone charges. SunJack is a carry-everywhere item, and provides me with my own portable energy source. Living in Southern California, there's no shortage of sun, and the SunJack easily charges… Full review
MPowerd Luci
A lightweight, easy to carry, waterproof solar-powered lantern useful in the backcountry or at home during emergencies. I saw this while standing in the checkout line at a local Eastern Mountain Sports, and figured "what the heck, it's only $15!" Then I figured "what the heck, it's only $30!" and got one for a friend as well. Meet Luci: Luci weighs 4 ounces and collapses to a disc that's 1" thick and 5" in diameter. Luci's LEDs are powered by a rechargeable 3.7V lithium battery and have a bright,… Full review
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Obama's Historic Visit to Burma: Laying the Groundwork For Oil-Friendly Military Rule?
United States President Barack Obama and Burmese Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi pet Bo, the Obama family dog, at the conclusion of their meeting in the Oval Office on 19 September 2012.
Photo Credit: Pete Souza/White House
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AMY GOODMAN: President Obama made history today by becoming the first sitting U.S. president to visit Burma. Tens of thousands of Burmese lined the road from the airport to welcome Obama to their country, which held elections earlier this year after 50 years of military rule.
During his six-hour visit, Obama met with the Burmese president and visited the home of the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, where she was confined under house arrest for more than 15 years before her release two years ago.
For more, we're joined by two guests. In Washington, D.C., Jennifer Quigley is with us, advocacy director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma. And in Britain, London, we're joined by Peter Popham. He is the author of The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Peter Popham, let's go to you. You wrote Aung San Suu Kyi's biography. Talk about the significance of President Obama in Burma meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, who could well be the next president of Burma.
PETER POPHAM: Well, it's clearly a massive step, and it's a massive vote of confidence for President Thein Sein and a tribute to the effectiveness of Aung San Suu Kyi's campaign over many years. There are reasons for thinking that perhaps it's premature, because the one thing that Burma needs to do now is to enact constitutional change, to do something to remove the inevitability of generals continuing to rule in one form or another. And I think there is quite a lot of feeling that maybe the president has jumped the gun in the sense that constitutional change is not on the cards yet.
AMY GOODMAN: Jennifer Quigly, you have been very critical, your organization, the U.S. Campaign for Burma, of President Obama going to Burma at this point. In fact, word was, although Aung San Suu Kyi accepted it now, she, too, originally said this is too soon. Why?
JENNIFER QUIGLEY: Because it's seen as an endorsement of the current status quo in Burma, which while there's been limited reform in central Burma, you're seeing a lot of ethnic conflict carried out by the military, carried out by those with racial hatred against the Rohingya Muslim minority. And so, going at this point is not going to be seen as his concern for the ethnic minorities; it's going to be seen as an endorsement of the status quo in Burma, which is military rule with a few reform-minded individuals.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain what is happening in the north of Burma right now, the significance of what's taking place.
JENNIFER QUIGLEY: Well, there's actually—there's two. There's northeast Burma. There's been a war that the Burmese army has been fighting against the Kachin ethnic minority for 18 months, and denying humanitarian access to the IDPs from that war. The other has been since June of this year, some intercommunal violence that has really turned into a systematic, targeted violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority. And so, both of these things go to show you that the Burmese military has no plans whatsoever of changing their crimes against humanity, their war crimes, their complete dominance over the Burmese population. And so, while President Obama wants to sort of reward the reformists, they don't have control over the Burmese military.
AMY GOODMAN: And what about the issue of the business community coming in, the U.S. oil companies, the gas companies, that this is the moment for that? Do you think this is premature, Jennifer Quigley? Or do you think this is the time?
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Norwegian postal and telecom regulator PT said TeliaSonera Norway has told it that it has rescinded its threat to disconnect Lycamobile Norway on 06 November, after the MVNO paid its outstanding dues.
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Jalna, Alaska
Un-Explored Business Potentials in Rural India
Today the world is growing at a very High Pace, and it is not new that since the advent of internet, the boundries between different countries are vanishing. The business and way to do the same are changing with time…
In this advent we have seen that the real potential is now lying with countries with BIG Populations. India is one such country. It has wide figures of population and is just small figures behind China in population.
Till date 70% of India's population lives in rural areas. This rural areas are now on the accelerated mode and are fast developing. In this article I am going to bring in front one such area in India to all my readers. This area has huge potential and has good strength of Youngsters populating this area with new found energy. Yes the energy for Growth and Prosperity, energy to excel.
This area is called Marathwada. Marathwada region lies in Maharashtra State of India and compromises of eight districts viz. Aurangabad, Jalna, Nanded, Latur, Osmanabad, Beed, Parbhani, and Hingoli. This regions are still considered as the most backward regions and un-developed regions in India. But let me tell you that this regions are about to shoot to the TOP, YES to got me right, this regions in about five years down the line shall be growing at the rate never imagined by us. Am I Right? What makes me say this. A big question comes to your mind that if this regions are backward regions, that what is going to happen in five years…
Marathwada is very close to major cities in Maharashtra, like, Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, etc. It is in the center of Maharashtra state and Marathwada is now well connected through Railways and Roads to major cities in Maharashtra. It has airport in Aurangabad, Nanded, and Latur. The Land is Marathwada region is very cheap and so is the easily available manpower. The biggest secret is that the government of India has opened FDI i.e. Foreign Direct Investment in India and this are the target areas under the development. A MEGA Industrial Hub is coming up in Marathwada region's Aurangabad and Jalna Districts called DMIC, under this a Huge Investment from manufacturers in Japan and other countries in coming in Marathwada region. This region already has a Huge Auto Cluster, one of the largest in Asia at Waluj in Aurangabad .
This region in last 7 years has developed Big Steel and Rerolling Mills manufacturing TMT Bars and now is known to be one of the largest Steel Hubs in Maharashtra is at Jalna in Marathwada.
Marathwada also has one of the largest Seed Producing and Manufacturing in India, with strong Agriculture based community. This region called marathwada is now well connected to major business cities and there is lot of un-explored potential to gain from this region. You can invest in real estate, start a project in the region at very lower cost as the region falls in D Category of the government, have a joint venture, or just be a observer. So be there before the opportunity is open to all and rip the un-explored benefits in rural india. http://marathwada.info
- aurangabad,
- maharashtra,
- latur,
- nanded,
- to,
- marathwada,
- jalna,
- best,
- oppurtunities,
- earn
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Matt Flener Joining KCWE as Morning Anchor
KMBC, the Kansas City ABC affiliate, has announced Matt Flener will join its sister station,CW affiliate KCWE, as morning anchor beginning April 1.
"It's an honor to join such a well-respected station," said Flener. "KMBC has a rich history of strong journalism and I'm excited to break stories that continue that tradition. I'm happy to move back to the Midwest to raise my kids. They have a great chance to learn strong family values in the Kansas City area and be close to their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins."
Flener, who will anchor the 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. news on KCWE, comes to the station from KUSA in Denver where he was a news anchor, reporter and host of a monthly political talk show. Read more


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Shenandoah and James River Fish Disease and Mortality Investigation
Spring 2010 Update As Of June 1
Angler reports of small numbers of dead and diseased smallmouth bass began in the South Fork Shenandoah River in early April. DGIF verified that light mortality and disease of smallmouth bass and sunfish was occurring throughout the South Fork Shenandoah River from Port Republic to Front Royal. DGIF also sampled throughout the North Fork Shenandoah and Main stem Shenandoah River and did not observe any disease or fish mortality.
Things have been fairly quiet this spring on the Cowpasture, Jackson, and upper James River. Angler reports of dead or diseased fish in these rivers were almost non-existent this spring. DGIF sampled fish from various locations in the upper James River, and at locations on the lower Jackson and Cowpasture River. A few dead fish have been observed in the upper James and Cowpasture by DEQ while taking water samples, and DGIF observed a high percentage of the rock bass and a few smallmouth bass with lesions or other signs of disease while collecting fish in late April. The number of dead and diseased fish appears to be lower than previous years. DGIF will continue to watch these rivers.
Biologists monitored fish in the Maury River throughout March and April this spring. The Maury River continues to avoid these fish mortality and disease events, as all fish appeared healthy.
This year's spring fish mortality event on the South Fork Shenandoah appears to be on the light side with anglers reporting seeing a few (2-10 on avg.) deceased adult smallmouth bass over a several mile section of river. This is similar to what was observed in spring 2009. The percentage of smallmouth bass and sunfish showing signs of disease (10-25%) at individual locations is also similar to previous years.
Impacts from this year's mortality/disease events are expected to be light. However, DGIF biologists will not obtain a full assessment of the fishery in the Cowpasture, James, and Shenandoah Rivers until later this fall. In the meantime, DGIF will continue to monitor the fish population in these rivers.
Chronic spring-time fish mortality and disease events have occurred in the Shenandoah River 2004-2009, and in the upper James River 2007-2009 (Figure 1). These episodes have not been uniform in location or severity over these time periods. Adult smallmouth bass, redbreast sunfish and rock bass have been the primary fish affected. However, several additional species have also been inflicted. Affected fish typically exhibit open sores or "lesions" on the sides of their bodies (Figure 2). Some dead and dieing fish have no visibly external abnormalities. Other external symptoms include: dark patches of skin, raised bumps, loss of scales, split or eroded fins, and discolored/eroded gills. See photos.
Determining the cause of these mortality and morbidity events has proven to be extremely difficult. Scientists have conducted in-depth studies on fish health, pathogens, water quality, and contaminant exposure. The fact that these events have occurred in two separate watersheds that differ in many ways has added to the complexity of understanding the cause.
From the research and monitoring conducted to date, there has not been any conclusive evidence that water quality variables or chemical contaminants were directly responsible for these fish mortality/morbidity events (Figure 3). Contaminant levels were measured in the rivers affected as well as some rivers where these fish mortality/disease events were not occurring. Contaminant levels were measured at both base-flow and during runoff events (Figure 4). However it must be noted that not every possible chemical compound was measured, and that the toxic concentration of many chemical compounds are unknown. It is also not well understood how some chemical compounds could "interact" with one another and become toxic to fish. More research is needed in this area. Detailed findings from water quality and contaminant monitoring projects can be obtained from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Valley Region Office or by visiting www.deq.state.va.us/info/srfishkill.html.
Some chemical compounds and heavy metals have been shown to suppress the immune system of certain aquatic organisms. These contaminants are referred to as "endocrine disruptors". Natural and synthetic forms of the hormone estrogen also fit into this category. Estrogenic activity was measured in water samples taken throughout the Shenandoah River and its tributaries at levels that could cause biological effects in fish. However, at this time there has been no definitive or conclusive evidence that chemicals are negatively affecting the immune system of fish in the Shenandoah or James River and contributing to the mortality/disease events. Researchers with the United States Geological Survey are still actively engaged in understanding how certain contaminants may influence the immune system of fish. This research includes fish taken from Virginia rivers as well as other rivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. VDGIF continues to work with these scientists by providing fish samples.
Fish health investigations to date have included: histopathology (Figure 6), parasitology, bacteriology, virology, and blood analysis (Figure 5). This information has been collected from the affected rivers, over multiple years, and also from "reference" rivers where these mortality/disease events have not been occurring. Fish health samples have been analyzed by several Universities, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Northeast Fish Health Lab, and the United States Geological Society's Eastern Fish Health Lab. While researchers have collected a significant amount of fish health data, linking the disease and mortality episodes to a single cause has been elusive. Detailed research findings are described in the Virginia Tech University final report "Investigation Into Smallmouth Bass Mortality in Virginia's Rivers" (Orth et al. 2009) (PDF).
Researchers looked to aquatic insects as a possible way to understand the cause of the problem in the Shenandoah River Watershed. The Entomology Department at Virginia Tech was contracted by DGIF in 2006 to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the aquatic macroinvertebrates in the Shenandoah River Watershed. Unfortunately, the study did not detect the cause of the fish mortality and disease problems. However, the main finding was that the Shenandoah River's aquatic insect community is indicative of a agricultural based watershed, is more vibrant than the New River in Virginia and the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, and is more diverse and healthy than it was back in the 1960's. (Shenandoah Macroinvertebrate Study Report (PDF))
DGIF and DEQ have recently (2008-2010) been focusing efforts on learning more about a particular biological pathogen (bacteria) that has been cultured from fish in the affected rivers. Researchers are focusing on this pathogen to better understand what is happening to these fish, as it may prove to be a significant part of the disease/mortality episodes. The bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida (Figure 7 & 8) is the only variable common to all the fish mortality/disease locations. The bacteria has been cultured from adult and juvenile smallmouth bass and several other fish species from the affected rivers. It has not been found on fish in other Virginia rivers where the disease episodes are not occurring. The bacteria is considered a "cold-water" fish pathogen since it cannot survive water temperatures > 74° F. The bacteria has been cultured from multiple fish species throughout the world, but it most commonly causes disease in trout and salmon. Bacteriologists with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have determined that this bacteria can act as a "primary" pathogen and does not necessarily require the fish to be stressed from other factors before becoming diseased. However, as mentioned earlier, other researchers are investigating immune function viability in fish and whether certain environmental variables can affect the virulence of the bacteria. USGS researchers have identified that coldwater tributaries entering the river and large springs upwelling in the river are "reservoirs" of this bacteria where it can survive year-round.
While scientists conclude that they will probably never be able to determine where specifically this bacteria came from nor when it may have been introduced into these rivers, learning more about this pathogen could lead to understanding the root cause of the problem. Work is ongoing in 2010 to determine how the bacteria gets distributed throughout the river, the number of potential reservoirs, and how much river (distance) can be affected by a single reservoir of bacteria. Additional questions that researchers hope to answer concerning this bacteria include:
- What is the spatial distribution of the disease in these rivers?
- Why are certain species of fish more susceptible to the disease than others?
- What is the main vector of disease transmission (fish to fish contact or through water/fish contact)?
- Why is disease not as prominent in juvenile fish as it is in adults?
- Are fish becoming more resistant to the bacteria over time?
- Do certain environmental parameters influence the virulence of the bacteria?
- What is the average percentage of smallmouth bass and sunfish (throughout the river) that are carrying the bacteria and becoming diseased?
Status of the Fishery (November 2009)
Smallmouth Bass
The one question that anglers and concerned citizens have asked since the beginning of these fish mortality and disease episodes is what has been the impact on the fish population. In the initial years of these events there was higher mortality observed and biologists estimated that fish losses were quite high. Fish biologists stressed that these were estimates and that the severity of the mortality and disease was not uniform throughout the rivers that were affected. However, several factors have allowed these fish populations to recover faster than anticipated. The most significant of these being excellent smallmouth reproduction between 2004 and 2007 (Figure 9). The years 2004 and 2007 were two of the best spawning years in the past decade in the Shenandoah River. Virginia biologists have documented that river flow in the spring/early summer is what determines the success of the smallmouth bass spawn. It also only takes a small number of successful spawning fish to keep the population viable. While researchers have recently verified that juvenile smallmouth bass are carrying the bacteria Aeromnas salmonicida, these fish do not appear to show signs of disease. Biologists have also not been able to document baby bass mortality associated with these episodes. Natural reproduction is what "drives" the river smallmouth bass populations in Virginia. The relative abundance of larger fish in the population is directly related to spawning success in previous years (Figures 10 & 11). Anglers can "ride the wave" of a strong spawn for several years as these fish grow into desirable sizes. Two and three year old smallmouth are the bass most frequently caught by anglers fishing the Shenandoah and James River. On average it takes a smallmouth bass five years to reach 14 inches in the South Fork Shenandoah River. This explains the lag of a few years following a strong spawn when the numbers of larger fish increase in the population. This is easier to see in the Shenandoah graph (Figure 10) than in the James River graph (Figure 11). The opposite is true when there are several years in a row with below average spawning success. 1999-2002 were drought years and 2003 was an extremely wet year. This five year time period produced very few smallmouth bass. Because of the lack of fish entering the population the numbers of larger fish started to decline in 2003 and 2004. When the first fish mortality event hit the South Fork Shenandoah in 2005 adult smallmouth bass numbers were already on a decline. Focus on how the adult smallmouth bass population responded to the fish mortality episode on the SF Shenandoah in 2005 (Figure 10) and the James River in 2007 (Figure 11). One can see that both adult populations plummeted during the worst mortality years. However, notice how these populations have recovered and are near or well above the average over the last 10-15 years. Another important thing to take away from these data graphs is the consistent low proportion of large smallmouth in the population. The impacts of the fish mortality can be seen in the bigger fish sizes, but it is much less noticeable. Readers may also notice that 2002 was the best year to catch larger smallmouth bass in both the James and the Shenandoah River. This is due to consistent spawning in the early 1990's and a mega spawn in 1997. While electrofishing catch rates of larger smallmouth bass are quite variable on both the Shenandoah and James River, biologists have estimated that the mortality events have taken about 5-10% of the larger bass from the population per year.
Angler-creel survey data is also used to validate what biologists see in their electrofishing data. DGIF conducted a creel survey on the South Fork Shenandoah River in 2008 and the angler catch rate for smallmouth bass was 2.7 fish per hour. Comparing this to a catch rate of in 1.6 fish per hour in 1997 one can see how the fishery changed in a decade. Angler satisfaction was also high (75 %) for the 101 anglers surveyed on the South Fork Shenandoah River in 2008. The electrofishing data suggests that the overall smallmouth bass population in the Shenandoah River has only been marginally affected by the recent fish mortality and disease episodes. The most noticeable difference to anglers would be a modest reduction in large bass (>16"). However, the size structure of the smallmouth bass population in the South Fork Shenandoah River during fall 2009 was excellent with a high proportion of fish being of angler preferred size (Figure 12). Excellent reports from anglers in 2009 also were an indication that the abundance of quality size smallmouth bass was on the increase in the South Fork Shenandoah River. It must be noted that this electrofishing data represents the smallmouth bass population as a whole. This information was generated by combining electrofishing data from multiple sites throughout these rivers. Smallmouth bass population statistics can vary for different individual reaches of river.
Biologist predict that anglers will see a modest decline in the number of larger smallmouth bass this year particularly in the James River upstream of where the Maury River enters at Glasgow. The catch rates of larger smallmouth on the South Fork Shenandoah River this summer could also be slightly lower than last year due to this spring's disease episode. Fishing in the North Fork Shenandoah. mainstem Shenandoah, and cowpasture River is expected to be similar to last year. DGIF biologists want to remind anglers that not every fish that develops a lesion will die. Biologists and anglers have been observing adult smallmouth bass and sunfish with healed lesions later in the summer and fall. See Photos. Also the location and severity of these disease outbreaks are not uniform up and down these rivers. For that reason the fish population could be stronger in different sections of river. Overall, 2010 catch rates for smallmouth bass in these rivers should be similar to 2009.
Largemouth Bass
Largemouth bass do not gain as much attention as there cousin the smallmouth bass, but the South Fork Shenandoah harbors a very good largemouth population (Figure 13). While biologists have observed a very small number of largemouth bass showing sings of disease, there appears to be no impact on the population. Good numbers of quality-size largemouths are available to anglers. Largemouth bass of up to seven pounds have been collected by biologists from the South Fork in recent years. Looking at a recent angler/creel survey conducted by the VDGIF, largemouth bass are being underutilized by anglers.
The South Fork Shenandoah is home to several sunfish species. Redbreast sunfish, bluegill, and green sunfish are the most common Rock bass can also be included in the sunfish group, but their numbers are quite low. Biologists and anglers have observed a drastic reduction of rock bass in the river over the past 10-15 years. DGIF has no explanation. Pumpkinseed sunfish are also present, but in very low numbers.
Redbreast sunfish are the most abundant sunfish species inhabiting the South Fork. They can be found in all types of habitat throughout the river. Usually where there is one many others will be in close proximity. Unlike the other sunfish species, redbreast will also occupy areas of the river with faster currents. Redbreast in the 6-7 inch range can make for some exciting fishing. Redbreast sunfish numbers have been on the increase the past two years (Figure 14) and the population appears to not have been significantly impacted by the recent disease and mortality episodes.