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Archive for February, 2012
I recently posted a review of Thomas Bullard's book, The Myth and Mystery of UFOs. In that review I noted that Bullard favors the psycho-social interpretation of UFOs. There was some discussion in the comments about Jerome Clark, the famous UFO researcher, who had been an adherent of the psycho-social view but then abandoned it. I photocopied Clark's article on the psycho-social interpretation from the 2nd edition of his two-volume UFO Encyclopedia and scanned if for those interested. Like everything else in that encyclopedia, an excellent article.
I just listened to a short podcast from the Skeptoid blog entitled, "Are We Alone." It's a good, succinct survey of the problems and obstacles to being optimistic about other inhabited worlds and intelligent civilizations — in terms of there being such a thing, our ever knowing it, and how our civilization and that one would ever detect each other. If you are a zealot about how there *must* be ET life, this might depress you (but a cold dose of reality is good for you). Nevertheless, the Skeptoid host still feels optimistic, but not because of any actual science. I know what he means. It just seems like there might be other worlds with life, but even so, the odds against there ever being contact are formidable. Have a listen!
I just finished Thomas Bullard's book, The Myth and Mystery of UFOs, by scholar-folklorist Thomas Bullard (University of Kansas Press, 2010). Rather than write my own review, I found the work summarized nicely in this review over at Magonia review of books blog. I'll just add a few thoughts below on this important work.
Bullard's book is not light reading. It is an academic work. In my view, as an academic, it's a wonderful volume. Bullard has detailed chapters, with the expected documentation in mainly academic sources, on all the major motifs of UFO studies: descriptions of alien craft, the aliens themselves, abduction narratives, and alien mission and homeworlds. In each case, Bullard painstakingly details how virtually all the UFO anecdotal evidence can be found in ancient, medieval, and early modern tales across the globe. Importantly, the vast majority of these correlations have nothing to do with other planets, inter-planetary travel, or extraterrestrials. That is, though the correlations are overwhelmingly present, it is only in the contemporary era that narratives about abduction and "otherworldly visitation" conforms to anything we would recognize as high technology. His point in this effort is to raise question of how any of the UFO phenomena could in reality be about visitors from space given the vast arrays of correlations. Good question.
Bullard's (for the most part) explanation is the psycho-social approach. This is not a view that says a culture produces these episodes or encounters and their descriptions. Rather, it is the encounter with the anomalous that produces the descriptions — and the descriptions are far more likely to not be about genuine aliens from space than other deep-seated thoughts, fear, beliefs, yearnings, etc. The reason the overlaps are so high, reasons Bullard, is that experiences are parsed in such a way that new mythologies are constructed that serve the same fucntion or outlet as older ones.� The garb changes because we are living in a different era, our lives defined by technology and the "final frontier" of space.
Bullard doesn't take a dogmatic stance on this, though. He simply feels it has high explanatory value, but not complete explanatory power. He leaves room for truly anomalous events that might include genuine extraterrestrial contact, and outlines in some details how such experiences might be winnowed from the those experiences for which the psycho-social explanation can best account.
I would encourage anyone interested in UFOs to read this book, and to keep it as a handy reference for its coverage and source material. In particular, those for whom the UFO subject goes beyond the nuts and bolts (questions of physics and reverse engineering which a priori assume that most UFOs are physical craft of non-human origin) will be well served by Bullard's focus on how the UFO subject molds and produces religious experience and worldview.
There ought to be some sort of ancient astronaut believer gullibility test. Really.
If you want to have your faith in your fellow man lowered (again) by such nonsense (but perhaps raised by the fact that there are those hardy souls who investigate this sort of nonsense), have a look at this post from Silver Screen Saucers.
This "controversy" revolves around the wacky claim made months ago that yet another enlightened researcher (Raul Julia-Levy) had new, incontrovertible proof that the Mayans had been contacted by an ET civilization and was going to release it to a dutifully astonished world. To tease the world Mr. Julia-Levy before his explosive documentary film ("Revelations of the Mayans 2012 and Beyond") made history, he released unprovenanced (and surely not Photoshopped) pictures of saucers and Mayan sculptures. <GASP>
Even more shocking, the Catholic Church was purportedly in cahoots with this shocking revelation. <B-MOVIE FEMALE SCREAM>
Predictably, as the post details (with links), Mr. Levy seems to be nothing more than a con man.� Too bad. George Lucas' Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull film was so awful that I was hoping this one would be better.

subset: commoncrawl


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Soon enough, cold winds will blow. And those cold winds will be especially hard on trees, shrubs and perennials in pots.
In a container, plants' roots are far more exposed and vulnerable than they would be down in the ground. Now is the time to take steps that will increase their chances of surviving a Chicago-area winter.
First, make sure the container is plenty big. "Soil is insulating," says Abigail Rea, manager of horticulture at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, and a larger mass of soil around the roots insulates more. A window box or other narrow container can't put enough soil between roots and the wind.
A thicker material, such as concrete, will protect better than lightweight plastic. Terra cotta pots tend to crack and break if left outdoors in the winter.
Some gardeners insulate a pot with bubble wrap before filling it with potting mix and planting. Or they place a smaller pot inside a larger one with a layer of mulch in between. If you insulate a container, though, make sure to leave the drainage holes clear.
Watering in fall and during winter warm spells also helps plants, Rea says. Water around the roots is protective, even if it freezes. Having ample water in their systems also reduces the stress on plants. Evergreens, especially, need watering during the winter to avoid drying out. And, of course, mulch the surface of the soil to insulate it and hold the moisture in.
If you can move the container, a plant will be safer in an unheated garage or crawl space (only tropical houseplants should come inside the heated house). Even a sheltered corner of the yard where the house or a fence breaks with wind can help. Where there is no refuge, such as on high-rise balconies and rooftop patios, you may need to wrap plants in burlap. Make sure you remove any wrapping and move plants back outside in early spring.
Choose a plant carefully if it's going to spend its winters in a pot. Doris Taylor, the Arboretum's Plant Clinic manager, recommends selecting dwarf trees and shrubs that are hardy to areas colder than Chicago, such as Zone 4 or 3.
Only plants that are interesting to look at in winter earn a spot in the Arboretum's containers, Rea says. Some are evergreen; others have an attractive form, such as a cascading bald cypress, or interesting bark, such as red-twig dogwood.
Beth Botts is a staff writer at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle (mortonarb.org).
Copyright © 2015, Chicago Tribune


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text:
Welcome to Build-It Construction
Build-It Construction Services, Inc. is a commercial General Contracting and Construction Management business with more than twenty years of industry experience. Providing services to Corporate, Institutional, Industrial and Retail sectors, our mission is to provide our customers with exactly what they ask for.
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BREESE, Ill. (KMOV) – Charges were filed Friday in connection to a fatal hit-and-run crash in Breese, Illinois.
Authorities said Jonathon Nast, 25, was charged with failure to report a motor vehicle accident involving death, and obstruction of justice.
Police said Nast sold his truck to a scrap dealer in Murphysboro prior to telling police about his involvement in the accident.
Authorities say 23-year-old Lana Albert was walking in the middle lane of northbound Old US 50 west of Breese, Ill. around 2:15 a.m. Sunday when she was struck by a vehicle.
She was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy later showed she suffered major trauma to her chest and suffered a broken neck.
According to police, Albert had been with friends at Big Stix Sports Bar and Grill earlier in the night. Her body was found between 250 and 300 yards from the bar.
Albert's father tells News 4 she was living in Edwardsville working as a dental assistant. She was originally from Odin, Ill.


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ETL: Stick with KETK for all your voting needs
POSTED: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 - 11:34am
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 - 11:36am
TYLER, TX (KETK) - — It is election today.
To find where you need to vote, click on our story, http://www.ketknbc.com/news/things-to-remember-on-election-day-polling-locatio
At thins link, we will direct you to your county, your precinct, and your voting location.
Watch Bob and Kaci's conversation with KETK's Garrett Sanders about how to use the website, and what you need to know before you head to the polls.


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Experience the joys of a winter wonderland on a guided ice-skating and walking tour of Montreal's Plateau Neighborhood. Discover the charms of Montreal as you ... Read more
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When snow blankets Montreal and transforms the city into an idyllic winter scene, the whole family can experience the best the season has to offer on a 4-hour ... Read more
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Contact: Dr H Lesch
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text:
You know what I am tired of posting shit that is completely underappreciated. You people don't know a real writer when you see one. Your post all your bullshit about politics and world events and personal experiences as if you knew something. Well I'm here to tell you it's all crap compared to my superior intelectual writing skills.
If you all just understood my brilliance you would never pass up one of my posts. The mild entertainment the rest of you provide pales in comparrison to the wonder that is me.
This is obviously a pond of mediocrity and I must move on to the ocean of praise I so rightfully deserve. So that's it. Peace bitches. I'm out unless I get at least 20 comments worshipping me for the paragon that I am.
If you read this and thought 'man, what a self serving cunt'. Let me just say how right you are. This site is full of wonderful, amazing, brilliant, clever, heartwarming, intelligent, thought provoking, wonderfully offensive, funny as hell people that should never be degraded just to make one's own writing feel better than.
I understand the frustration of not having your shit read, but guess what, all of us feel that way sometimes. It's only human to feel that you aren't getting the attention you deserve. But to sit there and say that the writing of the wonderful people on this site are "without note and merit" isn't cool.
I haven't met most of the people I adore on this site, but I feel that I've made a few friends out of it and they are amazing writers. I don't like it when people degrade my freinds. I don't care if you're writing is fucking Einsteinian.
You want to leave, fine. You want to post about leaving, fine. But you post about leaving because everyone on here is too ignorant to understand your brilliance and then say their writing is inferior... You'll get the finger from me.
And it ain't the monkey finger.
Edit: Upon request, this post was in reference to this post:
Are you off to that ocean of praise on the first iceberg passing by?
Everyone has their own style of writing, and strong points. There's TONS of great material here.
Personally, when I write depressing stuff, people read it. When it's bright and cheery...(on my "day blog", before I got into my current drama), not so much. It's all relative.
Anyhow...I agree with you. Nice post!
The Many, The Mediocre, The OS Typing Pool.
BUT! But wait! If EVERYONE did the same thing...everything lost their marbles like you just did so that every post was a rant like this so that Monday morning Kerry and Thomas see nothing but shit like this ...well, that's kinda of funny, no?
Forget a suggested that. I kid.
Let me just say how right you are. This site is full of wonderful, amazing, brilliant, clever, heartwarming, intelligent, thought provoking, wonderfully offensive, funny as hell people that should never be degraded just to make one's own writing feel better than.
I understand the frustration of not having your shit read, but guess what, all of us feel that way sometimes. It's only human to feel that you aren't getting the attention you deserve. But to sit there and say that the writing of the wonderful people on this site are "without note and merit" isn't cool.
I haven't met most of the people I adore on this site, but I feel that I've made a few friends out of it and they are amazing writers. I don't like it when people degrade my freinds. I don't care if you're writing is fucking Einsteinian.
You want to leave, fine. You want to post about leaving, fine. But you post about leaving because everyone on here is too ignorant to understand your brilliance and then say their writing is inferior... You'll get the finger from me.
And it ain't the monkey finger.
Verbal: I take it as a wonderful compliment coming from you. Thanks!
Greg: Big hugs right back atcha babe.
Stellaa: haha. You guys aren't ever getting rid of me. My bitch ass is here to stay. And the avatar is me and my dogs. They are attacking me while I try to take a nice family photo.... You see how that worked out. Thanks for the comment!
MTK: You also better send a forwarding site address too, damn it! You are one of the greats.
JK: I was trying to whore a bit with the title. I just couldn't stand another flouncing post on the freaking rated list when they were denouncing the people on this site. But I humbly welcome you to this wonderland of fantastic writing.
Hya: I had to. It was the beer ;)
Julie: Yeah, I've wrote worse after a couple of beers. I won't feel the need to apologize for this one tomorrow.
Attention: Oh I was never off to my glorious ocean. I prefer the pool of mediocrity, and of course by mediocrity I mean brilliance.
Rich: Very nice. I love a good sci-fi reference.
Joe: Exactly.
bah: lol. Actually the point is you are all worthy. Very, very worthy.
Karin: Glad we're on the same page.
darkside: That's the beauty of this place. There's something for everyone. And that's why calling it crap is worth shit stained toilet paper.
idaho: ceiling cat??? I'm totally confused.
m.a.h.: I know it was a cheap shot. But it's all Bob Eckstein's fault.
Ann: I'm with you. I'm surprised I was the first. Thanks a lot!
Janie: Beers... 6 now. Comments I believe I've hit the 20 mark. lol Not that I was actually ever gonna leave.
Shiral: Oh, believe me, I'm down with the pool. This is my kinda place.
T: HAHAHAHAHHAAH. Omg, I almost spewed my beer on that one. Damn good comment.
Theodora: No excuse. You're absolutely right. I hope you like it here. I know I do.
Luluand: I was just done with the bullshit. Maybe it's the full moon.
gracie: lol. You are definitely one of the people I adore. You fit into many of the categories I mentioned above.
I thought this was a 'flouncing off' post. Now I am laughing and wondering about the full moon.
This should answer your question Lonnie.
K8: that's what I figure all the flouncing is about.
Suzie: The full moon is probably the reason.... Plus the booze.
JL: Ah, my partner in crime. I just couldn't hold it in any longer. Thank you for the compliment, sweetie.
A Clockwork Orange was one of the very few movies I ever enjoyed more than the book for a similar reason.
Rob: No you are awesome. Are you kidding me. All of OS needs to be referencing your posts ;)
Lonnie: I'm sure he has something to offer, as everyone does. I just thought it was a lousy move to shit on everyone's stuff. But yeah, I don't get it at this point, and now I won't try to.
MB: lol. Thank you so much. I love to rock.
PF: Join the club of talentless hacks that I love. There are obviously a lot of you out there.
Sheesh, that's like so 90s AOL.
Anyway, your opening paragraphs belong in the Rant Hall of Fame. You pretty much captured all the usual flounce histrionics in three short paragraphs.
"Just because nobody understands you doesn't make you an artist."
Sounds like the ultimate flouncer slogan.
LOVED your post,
Angus - king of the bar bet
Great righteous rant.
Or a knock-me-out-kick-a-hole-in-the-wall . . .Orgasm!
Better yet, have both!
Thumbed because YOU KNOW we love you! I have a collar, wanna borrow it . . . . hehehehehe!
Keith: It was actually the easiest thing I've ever written. I just pretended my head was stuck up my ass and Poof! Words came out. ;)
Just Pamela: lol. He is awesome isn't he.
mhellman: Now that is great!
angus: C'mon man. I've been drinking. Gimme a break on the grammar ;)
TS: Doesn't it always lol
Rick: I'm there man. We'll hit up the best dive bar in town and talk till we can't drink anymore.
Monte: Hey, it's totally appreciated good sir!
LadyMiko: "I have a collar, wanna borrow it ."
God it's so hard not to comment on that one.!
Guess I'll be leaving, too. Hold on while I pack my bags.
(Flounces off to search for long-forgotten luggage.)
"We'll hit up the best dive bar in town and talk till we can't drink anymore."
Or..., drink till we can't talk anymore?
I bow to the Best.
Wayne: You have luggage? I never got OS luggage! I'm gonna write Joan about this.
MsLissa: Yeah, tell me about it.
Sandra: I'm happy to be a small fish in this pond too.
Shelle: Thank you darling!
Rick: You say potato, I say potato vodka...
Coogan. lol. I'm actually not quite sure how to respond to that one.
Stephanie: Done and done =)
Ben: It is sometimes! lol. But no, of course not. I'm just a world class smart ass.
*shrugs* flouncing indeed. Wow, should I get that like when people don't want to read my drama anymore, because they're all "troglodytes"?
Man, I may be down in the shitter in my life these days...but I'm glad I'm not in THAT space.
Keep on keeping on ;)
Slippers for everyone? Naps?
I'm for those.
darkside: Yeah, I should have put that one in the original post. Thank Stephanie for that one.
odette: yeah, I actually say that a lot.
persephone: I think he read some of my past posts about my lesbo lifestyle. I pimp it out sometimes.
Feels good, don't it!!??
But if it's cream, it will eventually rise...if not...broken glass and soggy paper.
Love me! Please somebody love me! .............
he typed as he softly chuckled........
Y'all are a very interesting group of folks....this can be a lot of fun.
But there's more. Often the party who perceives that he/she has been snubbed/injured surfaces with a new identity and makes a career of trolling others posts. By and by the troll gets banned, and then their I.P address rotates, and the whole bit starts over again. Forum members spend increasing amounts of time responding in kind to the troll, which is exactly what the troll's after- a reaction - and so the process continues.
Somebody wants to cut loose and have a tantrum? Let 'em. They've said their piece; they're gone. All the turds you throw back in righteous indignation are just wasted words and wasted time.
Having said all this, here's a prophecy: all of this is going to happen again, and it's going to be similar in form and content to all of this.
Or not, if y'all ignore it, and go about your business like nothing at all has happened. Which is about the state of it, after all.
I saw the title and thought "WTF, Mungular's gone right off the rails!" because that is SO not your tone.
So much relieved to read the rest of the post and see the lightbulb. :)
Tee-hee.Good times were had by all. Rated.
Mick: Well you were about where I was last night.
Scruffus: Thhhhaaaannnkkk you.
JK: You should see me in person. Completely unedited, I'm a real asshole. ;)
Rod: You're right, it probably should be ignored. I just felt like being childish. And it turned out to be therapeutic. Just a bit of fluff.
Zumi: lol. You, me and a bar. A buddy fight would obviously happen before last call. ;)
Merwoman: Yeah, I wouldn't take off like that. ;)
Dakini: lol. now that's one I've never heard.
Susanne: I'm there, girl.
Sandra: It's just cuz I'm such a raging smart ass. I've always got something to say. Thank you though. It's always nice when you stop by.
John: I thought it was obvious that it was humor, but yeah the entire first half is satirical.
Ricky: I'm not going anywhere man. Thanks for stopping by.
Padraig: love the curtains remark.
onecorgilover: Awwwww.
Sharron: It's just a way of saying that you 'thumbed' someone's post. I think that Behind Blue Eyes is the first person I saw use it, but I could be wrong.
Rosie: Ah memories ;)
k1m: I just got tired of the flouncing.
Or to put it plainly, you may find a diamond in a pile of shit, but that's not the first place I'd go looking.
How the hell did you get 66 and counting on this? I tried a post called "Read this post or I'll shoot this blog" that was WAAAY funner than this and less rude and got a handful.
Nearly everyone who does leave me comments loves the work. Overwhelming, the comments. So: how come such little traffic? not even for my one (just one???) Editor's pick ("baby gone" http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=57746)?
I comment on others. I REALLY read others' works, read then with care; make apt, precise comments, everywhere.
These should have done better:
Civilization starts with a meal. (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=80121)
Anger makes you stupid. So marry well. (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=80062)
ode to her womb (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=80051)
--all just today --
My first kiss (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=80051)
the funny thing about minor imperfections... (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=79158)
a n d b r e a t h e . . . (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=77727)
My father dies clean. (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=77304)
Read This Post or I'll Shoot This Blog! (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=77105)
What a bullet knows. (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=76667)
Angels in Dark Masks (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=76351)
Falsifiability and the Heat Death of the Universe (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=73368)
Xeno at the Hotel (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=73368)
if her cancer wins (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=73367)
one of one (http://open.salon.com/content.php?cid=73366)
Not that i am glomming on your traffic or anything.
On the other hand, this builds character. And who cares? and makes me a better writer. sob.
dc: I believe you!
Greg: pimp your stuff here as much as you want. I'm not trying to hold anyone back. Peace man.
Nanate: I assume that was a joke, but I wasn't sure after what she said to H. Either way it's one of the most inventive rants I've ever seen. Thanks for stopping by.
Actually we don't live that far apart. I go to Atlanta quite often. Maybe we should party sometime. Are there any fun bars in Kennesaw?
And I'm still stuck on the "peace bitches" line...
I'm beginning to feel what I can best describe as the pull of a delicious yet inescapable vortex that will likely capture countless hours of time that I don't really have, but will miraculously manifest without effect in my day-to-day existence. Does this make sense? I'm scared and positively motivated at the same time.
Oh, and by the way Mung, I think I love you!
However, please understand it will have to be strictly platonic, as I am very happily married to my soul mate, the love of my life (who would kill me if I ever messed around)!
Drum Disciple: HAHAHAA. Nice. You will totally enjoy it here. It is an incredibly source of time suckage (my girlfriend already hates it) but so much fun and so many amazing writers. Welcome!
Texas Bubba: Love the name, man. Yeah, we southern belles do tend to get a little rowdy sometimes. Must be all the fried food. ;)
At Daily Kos this type of piece is seen so often it has an acronym--GBCW, for GoodBye, Cruel World!
I love that your tag was "narcicists"! But honey, you are going to have to learn how to spell that word. It is a very important word to know. I come from a family narcissists and I love to point it out to everyone!!
Leeandra: You'd be surprised, girl. They put up a post saying they're going to leave and cursing everyone on the site and the pleas come in waves.
Denise: We feel like we want to leave sometimes, sure. But copping out and saying it's because we're surrounded by talentless people just seemed enough to call bullshit on. But you're right hon, it sucks not to be read.
Stacey: Why thank you! I have no intentions of going anywhere. Was just trying to make a loud, obnoxious point.
Palindrome: Thank you for letting me know. I am a chronically bad speller. It really should be studied.
I don't understand. I can have my stuff not be read anywhere on the Internet. Lots of people are not reading my stuff even as I type. But I come *here* to not have my stuff read by a much classier group of people.
Thank goodness for OS. ;-)
Yep I've come full circle and now back in Chattanooga. I went to East Ridge, Go Pioneers, lol. However, I went a long, long time before you. But that dosen't mean I can't throw back a cocktail with the best of 'em :)
Jeff: that was awesome... just awesome!
Bob: That's right man. Keep on, keepin on.
Greg: Fuck it, man. ;)
Faith: Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.
Zumi: Sounds like a plan. I'll send you a message next time I'm up to for a visit, and you shoot me one if you ever come down Kennesaw way.
Turtle: Nah. You're good in my book, man. Nothing wrong with taking a break.
And I can spell-check: "Well I'm here to tell you it's all crap compared to my superior intelectual writing skills."
And speaking of that Joe Walsh song, Bill Beck, my favorite line is "I can't complain but sometimes I still do."


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Ships Free to USA*!
CMA Dishmachines dishwasher L-1X16. 24 racks / 96 covers per hour. Economical to operate. Uses only 1.7 gallons of water per cycle. All heavy duty 304 stainless steel construction assures long life and years of trouble free operation. 16" high door opening allows the washing of larger items. Unique spray arm system features upper and lower stainless steel wash arms with reinforced end caps. Built-in chemical pumps and deliming system assures proper chemical usage. Convenient to service "Works-in-a-drawer". All electrical components are attached to a sliding drawer for easy access and service. Available with sustainer heater. One year parts and labor warranty.


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How thoughtlessly do the apologists for America's gulag at Guantanamo defame those who have been seriously tortured!
San Francisco Chronicle/SF Gate columnist Debra Saunders has written a hit piece against activists in Berkeley who are seeking to pass a City Council resolution to resettle cleared Guantanamo detainees within the city limits of this college town for the University of California, the home of the Free Speech Movement, People's Park, and also known for other antiwar and progressive causes over the years. A vote on the resolution before the Berkeley City Council is scheduled for Tuesday night, February 15.
Last December, the City of Berkeley's Peace and Justice Commission passed a recommendation asking the Berkeley City Council to adopt the resolution, officially called "Resolution to Assist in the Safe Resettlement of Cleared Guantanamo Detainees." A full copy of the resolution is available here. Sponsors include No More Guantanamos; Code Pink Women for Peace, Golden Gate Chapter; Boalt Alliance to Abolish Torture (UC Law School); Ecumenical Peace Institute; Legislative Committee, Tenants Assn., Strawberry Creek Lodge (senior citizens); and others.
The Water Torture of Djamel Ameziane
It's no surprise to discover that Saunders' column was picked up by a number of conservative outlets, especially as it retails the lie that the detainees are dangerous, or likely to "return" to terrorism if released. Besides uncritically accepting Department of Defense figures, she lies about what they actually say, and then tries to impugn the stories of the two Guantanamo detainees mentioned by the Berkeley commission, one of whom, Algerian Berber Djamel Ameziane, has the distinction of being the only Guantanamo prisoner to have suffered a form of waterboarding.
Petitioned by lawyers from Center for Constitutional Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, part of the Organization of American States, intervened on Ameziane's case in 2008 with the U.S. State Department to ask for guarantees of humane treatment for Ameziane.
From the petition before the Inter-American Commission, p. 24 (PDF):
In another violent incident, guards entered his cell and forced him to the floor, kneeing him in the back and ribs and slamming his head against the floor, turning it left and right. The bashing dislocated Mr. Ameziane's jaw, from which he still suffers. In the same episode, guards sprayed cayenne pepper all over his body and then hosed him down with water to accentuate the effect of the pepper spray and make his skin burn. They then held his head back and placed a water hose between his nose and mouth, running it for several minutes over his face and suffocating him, an operation they repeated several times. Mr. Ameziane writes, "I had the impression that my head was sinking in water. I still have psychological injuries, up to this day. Simply thinking of it gives me the chills."
Ameziane left discrimination against his Berber ancestry and his Muslim faith, and the chaos of civil war in Algeria in the early 1990s, as a young man in his 20s to work in Vienna, where — yes, Debra Saunders — he was the highest-paid chef at the well-known Italian restaurant Al Caminetto Trattoria. But Ameziane ultimately lost his work permit, due to anti-immigrant hysteria in Austria, and then went to Canada, where he spent five years waiting upon his claim for political asylum. Only after it was denied did Ameziane leave for Afghanistan in 2000, believing that the only place for him after all might be an Islamic country that ruled with Sharia law. After 9/11 and the U.S. attack on Afghanistan, he was arrested in a mosque and later turned over to the Americans, probably for bounty money.
Saunders quotes Thomas Joscelyn, right-wing columnist and senior fellow for the neo-conservative Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, as writing that Ameziane must have been a jihadist, because he was caught in a lodging supposedly owned by Abu Zubaydah, and that "to 'gain admittance to a Taliban guesthouse, recruits need a certified Taliban or al Qaeda member to vouch for their commitment' to jihad." Except, Zubaydah was never a member of the Taliban or al Qaeda, and the guesthouse was not associated with them either. But what do such little facts matter to these conservative hirelings for the torturers?
In fact, not only were the others captured at this "safe house" later released or cleared by the Americans, but two different Combatant Status Review Tribunal hearings for Ameziane found that "while in Afghanistan, the detainee did not receive any military or terrorist training and did not see any fighting." Nor was any evidence of any terrorist or military activities ever produced. "Has Ameziane been cleared by U.S. authorities? Not that I can find," writes Saunders. Perhaps she never read the Reuters headline: Obama team clears 75 at Guantanamo for release. Nor is she likely aware that the Anglican Diocese of Montreal has said they would sponsor his settlement in Canada.
Russian Prisoner Already Welcomed by Massachusetts Towns
Saunders also attacks the other Guantanamo detainee mentioned by the Berkeley commission as a possible candidate for resettlement, Ravil Mingazov, a former Russian ballet dancer, who was conscripted into the Russian army and performed for two years in the Army's ballet troupe. A convert to Islam, he found himself subjected to discrimination in Russia, had his house ransacked by the KGB (according to a report by Andy Worthington), and like Ameziane and many others left for what they thought of as an Islamic refuge in pre-9/11 Afghanistan.
Mingazov has already been sponsored for settlement in resolutions similar to that up for vote in Berkeley, specifically in the Massachusetts towns of Amherst and Leverett. The Guantanamo prisoner, the last Russian to be held in the U.S. torture prison in Cuba, was granted his habeas corpus petition last Spring. In his opinion (PDF), Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. noted that the only real "evidence" supplied by the government was Minagzov's stay overnight at Issa House, owned by Abu Zubaydah. But the government could not prove that the house was associated with al Qaeda, Kennedy wrote. Nor could the government prove for the purposes of even a habeas hearing that Mingazov had ever been at a training or terrorist camp, or involved with the Taliban or al Qeada. He was a classic case of the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The Court simply will not conclude that a one-night stay at Abu Zubaydah's house, where Mingazov was unable to communicate with most if not all other occupants, from which he was sent away shortly after his arrival, and which goes in no way to show that Mingazov was part of Al Qaeda's command structure, meets the standard for lawful detention.
Mingazov was tortured under U.S. confinement at Bagram, where he "'endured harsh conditions and suffered physical … abuse,' in particular being "severely beaten, slammed into the ground, hung by [his] arms for extended periods of time, and deprived of food and sleep.'" But, according to Saunders, Mingazov has not been "cleared" for release, despite Judge Kennedy's decision.
It is eerie how much both of these cases rely on supposed links to "high-value" prisoner Abu Zubaydah, who the Bush Administration pushed early on as an al Qaeda mastermind, author of the "Manchester" resistance manual, leader of his own terrorist forces, etc., and who was famously tortured in CIA prisons, waterboarded an admitted 83 times. These claims about Zubaydah's significance, which were quietly dropped in recent years, have been revived in recent months in some court rulings and even in the Center for Public Integrity's Pearl Project report (see pg. 54).
Statistics and Damned Lies
Perhaps the most egregious lie Saunders spreads was born from the fertile minds of the right, spinning the 2010 "Summary of the Reengagement of Detainees Formerly Held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba," put out by the Director of National Intelligence last year. Saunders says the report confirms that "the Director of National Intelligence reported in December that 25 percent of released Gitmo detainees have been confirmed or suspected of engaging in terrorism." Actually, the report says that "the Intelligence Community assesses that 81 (13.5 percent) are confirmed and 69 (11.5 percent) are suspected of reengaging in terrorist or insurgent activities after transfer."
Saunders leaves out the part about "insurgent activities," because to the right-wing, anyone who would oppose with arms the United States, even if the U.S. invaded their country, must be a terrorist. In this, they are assisted by the current administration, who continues to view the "war on terror" with the same point of view of their Bush/Cheney predecessors.
Not only does Saunders not mention that the confirmed number of even this dubious figure is actually 13 or 14 percent, but she hides the fact that the "suspected" figure is questionable itself, as it relies on "[p]lausible but unverified or single-source reporting" (emphasis added). In a press release following the Pentagon's latest release on "recidivism" figures for former Guantanamo detainees, Center for Constitutional Rights commented, the government "persists in using the language of 're-engagement' to describe individuals, despite the fact that the majority of them should never have been detained in the first place and were known early on by the government to be innocent. It is not possible to return to the battlefield if you were never there in the first place." Furthermore, "the latest report only summarizes its figures without actually naming any alleged recidivists or including any information that would enable meaningful scrutiny."
Saunders also quotes Joscelyn as saying that the prisoners who have received transfers or releases from Guantanamo are hardly cleared of terrorist stigma. "They didn't find any innocent goat herders," Joscelyn said. But this totally contradicts statements by former Secretary of State Colin Powell's Chief of Staff, Lawrence Wilkerson, who wrote in a guest post at The Washington Note in March 2009 about "the utter incompetence of the battlefield vetting in Afghanistan during the early stages of the U.S. operations there." Wilkerson said that "several in the U.S. leadership became aware of this lack of proper vetting very early on and, thus, of the reality that many of the detainees were innocent of any substantial wrongdoing, had little intelligence value, and should be immediately released." The reason they didn't, Wilkerson concluded, was because they feared looking bad, and endangering the "war on terror" campaign.
Saunders concludes her article, with the strange assertion that "in a new act of fiction, Berzerkeley plays make-believe by pretending that two Gitmo detainees should be dating your cousin." While presumably a response to a quote by Berkeley Peace and Justice commissioner Rita Maran earlier in the article, the use of this turn of phrase, so similar to historically racist forms of expression, to the effect that one would not want one of your relatives to date one of those people (Irish, Italians, Jews, Blacks, Mexicans, etc.), is not coincidental. The fear-mongering against the Guantanamo detainees has always carried a racist edge to it.
The resolution up before the Berkeley City Council to advocate resettlement of two cleared Guantanamo prisoners is agenda item 18 on the Council's agenda Tuesday night. The resolution also asks Congress to reverse its position and agree to the release of cleared detainees into the United States. It also predicates any resettlement in Berkeley upon a rescission of the Congressional ban on domestic detainee resettlement.
Update, 2/16/11: According to news accounts, the Berkeley City Council rejected the resolution to resettle detainees from Guantanamo. There were four votes "for," one "against," and four abstentions. The resolution needed five votes to pass. Unfortunately, the fate of this resolution speaks volumes about the political situation in the United States today.


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Fun for goblins of all ages to make!
Gooseberry Patch OCTOBER 2011
Blend together butter and sugar; stir in egg and vanilla. Add flour; mix until well blended. Shape into ball; cover and chill 4 hours to overnight. Roll out dough 1/4-inch thick on a lightly floured surface; cut out with cat-shaped cookie cutters.
Arrange cookies on lightly greased baking sheets; bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden. Frost cookies with Chocolate Frosting when cool; if desired, sprinkle with black sanding sugar and add candy "eyes." Makes about 2 dozen.
Chocolate frosting:
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth.
Go to Full Version of
Black Cat Cut-out Cookies Recipe


text: MEDFORD, Ore. — Jackson County has one of the highest opiate death rates in the State, and health officials said that the number is on the rise. The Center for Disease Control reports that more deaths are caused from pain killers than heroin and cocaine combined. They also said they can be a gateway drug … Continue reading »


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While this isn't going to come as a surprise to many of us, HTC and Verizon held their press event to today and unveiled none other than the HTC Droid DNA. For those that don't know, this is essentially the US version of the HTC J Butterfly.
So the announcement wasn't a surprise, is anything else related to the new HTC phablet a shocker? Not really, it seems pretty on par with the J Butterfly. Here are the official specs and features on the HTC Droid DNA:
As you can see, this phone is a beast with its quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 1080p 5-inch screen. Large phones like this aren't for everyone, and HTC Sense might be a turn off for some– that said, if you are looking for a massively powerful phablet, this is certainly the most powerful you'll find at least for now.
[ source ]
There is no micro SD on dna. Only on butterfly
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I love making carrot kugel. It is sweet, but not overpoweringly so.
I use a bundt pan for an interesting shape. I shred eight carrots in a food processor. I separate four eggs and add the yolks to the carrots but set aside the egg whites. I also add a cup of honey, one-third cup of oil, four teaspoons of grated lemon rind, and two teaspoons of vanilla.
I stir in two cups of all-purpose flour and a teaspoon of baking powder. Then, I beat the egg whites until they stiffen. I fold them into the mixture and pour it into the greased bundt pan. I bake the kugel for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
My sister likes to add half a cup of golden raisins to her batter. Since I'm not big on raisins, I leave them out, but it's great either way.


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Who remembers the crazy of web badges in the mid 1990s… "Top 5%"! Back at Maricopa, I had slapped together my "stinking web badges" page (wow what old stuff).
Got a new one today, but I am humbly flattered… This stinking web dog blog got listed as one of the top 100 educational educational blogs from the Online Education Database, in the company of many bloggers I look up to.
Badges are back! Maybe coming back soon too are the blink tag and title tag animations.
Got Me a Badge by CogDogBlog, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


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Sign up for the Meister Newsletter
The Prodigy | PR124
This season we'll be introducing a new colorway to our popular Prodigy line. The PR124 will feature our redesigned stainless steel bezel in black to blend with the dark graphite tone of the timepiece. White luminescent hour indicators make the watch easily viewable during the day or night and a rubber / silicone composite band add comfort and ruggedness. Learn More
New Prodigy Bezel
This Fall, our Prodigy line will be receiving a design revamp. It will flaunt a newly re-designed grooved bezel with accenting screws. The overall look is more refined, while still maintaining its rugged aesthetic. Beginning Fall, four special releases will feature the new bezel: Olympic Red & Gold, Olympic Blue & Gold, Kings, Year of the Dragon, and Black & Gold.
Black & Gold Series
In addition to the 2 new styles we'll be introducing this year, the Fall collection will also feature a series of watches done in our signature, black & gold, colorway. The B&G Prodigy will be one of the first to feature the newly re-designed bezel. The Commander and full stainless steel Ambassador will have black cases accented with numerous gold screws and a gold index.
Tim Lincecum x MSTR Prodigy Re-release
MSTR is pleased to announce the second release of Tim Lincecum's player edition Prodigy (PRS110). When we released the first run during fall of 2011, our entire shipment SOLD OUT within hours of it being available to purchase. With such a high demand for his black and orange signature series timepiece, we had to come out with a second run for all the fans who missed out. Hurry and purchase your Special Edition Tim Lincecum Prodigy while supplies last. Purchase Now
PRS109 Available now
With every white Prodigy being amongst the more popular in our line, we chose to incorporate some rose gold in our latest take for the holidays. The PRS109 features a full stainless steel casing and bezel coated in our unique rose gold finish. The white dial face is highlighted with gold throughout and is accompanied with a white rubber composite band. A series of gold screws complete the PRS109 by holding the 7-piece design tightly together.
Stash x Meister Prodigy Available on Blue Monday
On November 28th, our latest collaboration with artist Stash will be available for purchase on "Blue Monday" and will be exclusively available through the MSTR website. The PR113 holds his signature colorway with splashes of blue doused on the dial face and backed with a light grey casing. There were only 200 produced for this special model and each timepiece is individually numbered on the back casing of the Prodigy. Those that purchase the Stash x Meister Prodigy on Blue Monday will get it at the special price of $140 and will come with a personally signed box by Stash. […]
Black Voltron | Black Friday
The final timepiece of our Voltron collaboration series is set to release over the upcoming holiday weekend. To represent the black lion, piloted by the commander of the Voltron Force, this Prodigy comes equipped with a black stainless steel casing and bezel. The essence of the black lion is captured with it's face being featured on the dial. Only 100 individually numbered pieces will be available to purchase starting Black Friday.
Tim Lincecum's Prodigy 11/11/11
In a constant pursuit to work with Meister's of all aspects, we've partnered up with our first professional baseball player for this collaboration. Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants epitomizes what it is to be deemed an "Ace" in major league baseball. His spin on the Prodigy timepiece features an all black stainless steel casing that's boldly accented with an orange face plate bolted down onto the dial face. Tim's signature will also be laser etched into the back casing of each watch. The collaboration will be sold exclusively in-store at illestSF and online @ MSTRwatches.com at midnight on […]