Ramblings from a relocated and under-employed Southeastern Kentuckian. Liberal politics, art, music, movies, books,sports, games, whatever else strikes my fancy....Sad and strange the days that are no more...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Video | Dickson Despommier On Vertical Farming
From Big Thinkcomes this interview with Columbia professor of environmental health sciences and microbiology Dickson Despommier, the pioneering researcher responsible for bringing national attention to the idea of vertical farming.
A perfect desciption by Digby this morning for the Liberals who represent us in the corporate media:
Richard Cohen and others like him who play the role of "liberal" in the mainstream media are the reason why so many people hate liberals. They're idiots.
I don't know much about Governor Kaine(yet). I'm certain he's being vetted furiously right now. I've actually heard crazy talk of Republicans being considered. I'm still partial to Gen. Wesley Clark or Sen. Jim Webb but with some of the names I've heard(Hagel,Veneman, etc.) this'll do fine.
Update: From the info coming out slowly about Gov. Kaine, I'm shall we say a bit less enthused. Apparently he's mostly anti-stem cell research, pro-life(as in anti-choice). These are the first items to come out so far. There should be more shortly.
-- "Campaign contributions from oil industry executives to Sen. John McCain rose dramatically in the last half of June, after the senator from Arizona made a high-profile split with environmentalists and reversed his opposition to the federal ban on offshore drilling.
Oil and gas industry executives and employees donated $1.1 million to McCain last month -- three-quarters of which came after his June 16 speech calling for an end to the ban -- compared with $116,000 in March, $283,000 in April and $208,000 in May.."
Herald-Leader Shows John McCain Braving The Applesauce Aisle - Video
I tried to throw up the "John McCain attacked by applesauce" video last night but wasn't able to. Most of you have probably already seen it. Today my newspaper posted a pic from that very same supermarket trip without mention of the evil applesauce. They just showed the photo as they were supposed to, as an example of John's closeness to the "little people who have to grocery shop" I suppose, or maybe "why you don't take grandpa to the supermarket". Even without the applesauce event the pic really doesn't do it justice. You have to actually see the video of John in the supermarket, in a dark suit and tie. A classic fish out of water. It made me wonder exactly which servant does the McCain family grocery shopping. It sure ain't "podge John". There's an old saying that goes, "if it had been a snake it woulda got you". If those applesauce jars had been a slow sloth I think they'd have gotten Johnie there in that aisle. Anyway, here's John in the market:
They don't have the pic with the web story. Strange. But their story talks a lot about how John McCain is managing to stay in the race. Amazing how that's working out, without the "news" media's help of course. By the way, you probably already know(unless you get all your news from tv and newspapers)-that lady "shopper" is an RNC plant. The Herald-Leader doesn't tell you that either. That wouldn't be nice to "Papa John".
Vincent Bugliosi | Testimony Before The House Judiciary Committee
What a weekend. I haven't had much luck posting this weekend. This is about my fifth or sixth attempt. A bunch of house and garden work to do and when I'd try to Blog something either Blogger would throw me out or my own desktop Internet Explorer. I'm on the laptop right now and so far so good. Being a wonderful "house husband" I'm cooking dinner(meatloaf) while it's going I'll try again. I found this at Informed Comment.
Tomorrow is Mick Jagger's birthday. Here's an interesting live version of "Sympathy For The Devil" from 1968's "Rock and roll Circus". John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and others are in the audience, Brian Jones is on Mick's right.
Listen Up "News" Media! Jon Stewart Compares "Osama" And "Obama"
Apparently our brainiac "News" media has a problem with keeping Osama and Obama separate in their pointy little heads, so here's Jon Stewart on the Daily Show to explain it to them as simply as possible:
Google Releases Knol | A Website For Sharing Knowledge And Expertise
Google has just launched their new author driven web service Knol, where people can share and collaborate on authoritative articles focusing on their areas of expertise.
"The web contains vast amounts of information, but not everything worth knowing is on the web. An enormous amount of information resides in people’s heads: millions of people know useful things and billions more could benefit from that knowledge. Knol will encourage these people to contribute their knowledge online and make it accessible to everyone."
From Scholars and Rogues here's Connor O'Steen a correspondent who's also working in Afghanistan for PARSA, a non-governmental organization (NGO) specializing in microeconomic development with an emphasis on women and children.
-- Dogs, generals, and orphans by Connor O’Steen
One of the things we have no shortage of in Kabul is dogs. Marnie Gustavson, the executive director of PARSA and the person who’s been nice enough to put me up in Afghanistan, currently has seven dogs living under her roof. It wasn’t exactly that she wanted this many; it was just how it turned out, really...
McCain Rewrites History, CBS Writes Off Integrity John McCain lies and CBS/Couric edits video to cover for him:
First some actual History: 2006----> The Anbar Awakening, in which Sunni tribes unite to resist Al Qaida. 2007----> Bush's troop surge
The video:
Here's Katie talking like she's an actuall journalist:
Couric took Rather to task for his reporting. "There were things in there that were quite egregious in terms of how it was reported," she said. "And sloppy work is sloppy work...They did not dot their I’s and cross their T’s when it came to that story...And our job is to get [it] right."-Couric, 2007
Here's Katie wishing there'd been some actual journalists before bloody dubya's war fun:
"And I remember feeling, when I was anchoring The Today Show, this inevitable march towards war and kind of feeling like, ‘Will anybody put the brakes on this? And is this being properly challenged by the right people?-Couric, 2007"
CBS's job-To cover for "The Crazy Talk Express" John McCain?
First off, Tom Brokaw's questions were, almost without exception, awful. Just awful. They reflected the most brain dead, ill-informed D.C. conventional wisdom you can imagine. The first three or four were basically the same: Won't solving global warming with a plan like yours cost big and create pain and devastate Main Street and raise prices and also cost big? Oy.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear responding to the Lexington Herald-leader report about his three planeload of officials tour hip-hopping across the state on our dime basically says; "Conservation? That's for thee but not for me! I'll do what I want, when I want, and spend all your moneys I want. The Herald-Leader and the voters can bite me!" Arrogance meter now in the red at 96.9%!
Beshear: Aides will continue trips
"Gov. Steve Beshear will continue taking members of his cabinet on his 13-city town hall tour and will fly to other stops just as he and aides did last week at a cost of $7,088.
”I happen to think it's important to listen to what the people of this commonwealth think,“ he said in Lexington Monday at the Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts convention. ”So when I'm going around the state for the next two months, I'm going to take the cabinet secretaries with me regardless of whether the Herald-Leader likes it or not.“"
"The judge in the first American war crimes trial since World War II barred evidence that interrogators obtained from Osama bin Laden's driver, ruling he was subjected to "highly coercive" conditions in Afghanistan.."
What is up with Steve Beshear's administration? They're a little bit smarter than the guys in the Ernie Fletcher gang but at least the Fletcher Republicans had an excuse. When they finally got the Kentucky Governor's office back after so long I think they went a bit nuts. They thought they were set and untouchable. So they gambled in a lot of sneaky ways and lost. What's going on with the Steve Beshear administration though? These guys should be competent. Can't they hire a first year political student(or a DFH) to tell them how something like this little stunt is going to look to the voters. You'd think they were Kentucky Republicans the way they run around like they're in a cocoon with no accountability, Internets, or "News" media,
"Three planeloads of officials" for a "town hall meeting" in Pike County Kentucky. I've been to Pike County. ONE planeload of "officials" would have been plenty.
"..And so we’re back where we started in the summer of 2001, with even shark attacks and Chandra Levy’s murder (courtesy of a new Washington Post investigation) returning to the news. We are once again distracted and unprepared while the Taliban and bin Laden’s minions multiply in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This, no less than the defiling of the Constitution, is the legacy of an administration that not merely rationalized the immorality of torture but shackled our national security to the absurdity that torture could easily fix the terrorist threat.."
Wow!! It's been a hectic night! We took daughter No.1(oldest) out and helped her pick out a bike as one of her birthday gifts. That, and groceries, and feeding the menagerie here, and this, and that! Time flies...time flies. I signed on here though just to post this video and then I shall surf a bit before bedtime. I've heard this song a few times on Slacker(Internet) Radio and it's been running through my head all evening. Newton Faulkner's "Dream Catch Me" on Jay Leno's Tonight Show:
Carter Chambers: Forty-five years goes by pretty fast. Edward Cole: Like smoke through a keyhole. --"The Bucket List"
Sonny Landham And Bob Barr Not Allowed To Speak At Fancy Farm Picnic
Hmmmmm...I'm torn here. I think Sonny Landham's worthless and Bob Barr's a Republican in Libertarian clothing(there's a fine line there anyway) but I really believe in free speech so what to do?
The invaluable independent news site truthout has an interview up with Dennis Kucinich in which they discuss the politics of justice, the quest for peace and the rationale for holding the administration accountable for its decisions on Iraq.
Myth: There is no scientific evidence proving marijuana's therapeutic qualities.
Reality: In a White House-commissioned 1999 report, the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine declared that "nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting and all can be mitigated by marijuana."
Myth: Marijuana's potential health benefits are insignificant compared to the damage caused by smoking the drug.
Reality: Marijuana need not be administered by smoking: It can be taken in food, tea, or through a smokeless vaporizer. Furthermore, a 2006 study by a leading pulmonologist, Dr. Donald Tashkin, found that even regular and heavy smoking of marijuana does not lead to lung cancer.
Myth: Allowing the medical use of marijuana will send the wrong message to children and lead to more youths using the drug.
Reality: In the 10 medical marijuana states that have before-and-after data, studies have unanimously shown that not only has youth use of marijuana not gone up overall, it actually has declined since medical marijuana became legal.
Myth: Marijuana is a gateway drug to harder substances, and therefore medical marijuana use will lead to dangerous drug use.
Reality: In science, the distinction between cause and correlation is a crucial one. A White House-commissioned study by the Institute of Medicine found that marijuana "does not appear to be a gateway drug to the extent that it is the cause or even that it is the most significant predictor of serious drug abuse; that is, care must be taken not to attribute cause to association." Moreover, claims about marijuana being a gateway make no sense in the context of medical marijuana: Patients often use marijuana instead of highly addictive prescription medicines like morphine and Oxycontin. Medical marijuana is a safe alternative for patients whose other options are not as reliable or effective.
Myth: Supporting medical marijuana is politically risky.
Reality: Across the country and with increasing frequency, public opinion polls show that support for medical marijuana is popular and steadily rising -- and cuts across demographic and party lines. A 2004 AARP poll showed that 72% of seniors support medical marijuana, and a 2005 Gallup poll found that 78% of Americans support "making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering." Compassion and relief from suffering are nonpartisan issues that all legislators can -- and should -- support.
That "Liberal" Media Strikes Again | AP To Rove "Keep Up The Fight"
AP's Ron Fournier To Karl Rove: "Keep Up The Fight"
Rove exchanged e-mails about Pat Tillman with Associated Press reporter Ron Fournier, under the subject line "H-E-R-O." In response to Mr. Fournier's e-mail, Mr. Rove asked, "How does our country continue to produce men and women like this," to which Mr. Fournier replied, "The Lord creates men and women like this all over the world. But only the great and free countries allow them to flourish. Keep up the fight."
That'll show those pesky terroristic Democrats! Rove's AP boy Ron Fournier is now the head of AP's Washington Bureau. That'll show 'em to!
Juan Cole has a great article up(Go read it) about Obama's Iraqi plan and his recent comments about how he wants to shift American troops out of Iraq and into Afghanistan's ancient bloody trap:
Obama on Iraq and Afghanistan: A Friendly Critique
"..Afghan tribes are fractious. They feud. Their territory is vast and rugged, and they know it like the back of their hands. Afghans are Jeffersonians in the sense that they want a light touch from the central government, and heavy handedness drives them into rebellion. Stand up Karzai's army and air force and give him some billions to bribe the tribal chiefs, and let him apply carrot and stick himself. We need to get out of there. "Al-Qaeda" was always Bin Laden's hype. He wanted to get us on the ground there so that the Mujahideen could bleed us the way they did the Soviets. It is a trap.."
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I'd only comment that if our plan becomes how to set up an Afghani "strongman" then we'd need to walk a fine line between the Afghan government and the rights of the people of Afghanistan.
Hey I'm Still Alive! Michael Franti Video And World Class Auto Superstore Still Sucks
To the regulars coming by-I'm not dead, I'm still alive! Been busy and couldn't find time to feed el Bloggo, but then that's why I'm FAR down the list from the A street Bloggers, or even those snooty D listers. Lots of things goin' on, we went to the Lions Club Bluegrass Fair last night and had a pretty good time. Again reminded of why I hate carnies, they'll rob ya blind. Not in the level of robbing you blind as the pros at World Class Auto Superstore(BAH DA BING!)-but few are. As always there's lot's of interesting things going on in the world. The Obama/New Yorker cover dust up for example. Meanwhile I'm still here trying to keep up, and here is Michael Franti and Spearhead with "I Know I'm Not Alone":
Hold Karl Rove In Contempt | Throw Him In The Basement Jail
Karl Rove has refused to comply with a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee to testify about his involvement in the political prosecution of ex-Alabama Governor Don Siegelman.
That's of course with my country standing in for my flag. You know every time bloody duh-bya enters a room a band should start playing The Talking Heads's "Psycho Killer". Photo from: Group News Blog.
.."The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."
He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.
Mr Bush, whose second and final term as President ends at the end of the year, then left the meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Hokkaido where the leaders of the world's richest nations had been discussing new targets to cut carbon emissions.." uk-Telegraph
"Muhajababes", wearing the veil the right way. The wearing of the ever present Middle Eastern scarf as fashion statement or even fashion enhancement. Sietske in Beiroet:
Naomi Klein author of "The Shock Doctrine" appeared on Tavis Smiley's show and discussed the use of that same shock doctrine in regards to the present oil and gas crisis to try to give the oil companies their wish lists of ANWR and coastal drilling.
I've never been lucky enough to see a coral reef. I don't guess I ever will. We're sending them the way the way of the polar bears and the passenger pigeons.
FAUX News Records Jesse Jackson's Obama Comments On Open Mike
I caught this little item early on The Today(Infotainment) Show. The corporate news really LOVES it when a black man says something mean about Obama. Personally my first thoughts when I saw it was: What was Jesse Jackson(or ANY Democrat) doing on the FAUX News Republican channel, haven't they learned? Aaand, who's decision was it to leave the mike on, because it worked perfectly(for FAUX News). Being at work all morning I haven't had a chance to read any other Blogs about it yet. I did find this Countdown video with the fantastic Rachael Maddow giving the details on the YouTube:
By the way personally the only time I've thought Barack's had his nuts cut off was on his appeasement of bloody dubya on FISA.
Approves spying on everybody, and telecom immunity to go along with it. I think they threw in somewhere that whatever duh-bya wants duh-bya gets. Who needs that fourth amendment anyway? Now they'll start working on whats left of the constitution. No wonder their approval ratings are worse than george w. bush. They're his bitches.
Oh...and Barack Obama? He's all for illegal spying and immunity to.
That sound you hear? It's the Bill of Rights being torn in half. Talk about losing the war on terror. Who needs external forces threatening your way of life when your elected lawmakers are doing such a good job of it? Boingboing
Daniel Ellsberg | What Every American Needs to Know (and Do) About FISA Before Tuesday, July 8th
Tomorrow, July 8th, could mark the beginning of official condoning of warrantless surveillance of US citizens in the US. Here's a short interview with Daniel Ellsberg, famous for releasing the Pentagon Papers, about what every American needs to know -- and do in the next 24 hours -- about the new FISA (Federal Information and Surveillance Act) amendments.
WHAT YOU CAN DO IN 60 SECONDS: Here are two steps you can take: 1. ALL AMERICANS: Go tosnipurl.com/2ubhqand put in your zipcode to find your Senator's phone number. Call them and read the short script on the same page. If no answer, click the link at the bottom of the page to e-mail them. If the above link doesn't work, go toeff.org, click "take action," and click the first item. 2. OBAMA SUPPORTERS: Go tosnipurl.com/2ubhland invest 30 seconds to become a member of the group Obama watches for numbers that want him to oppose this bill. Recommend others search "obama please vote no" on Google and the MyBarackObama link will be in the top results.
Sunday Muse | Carlo Betocchi, "Come, Come to Me Now"
Come, Come to Me Now That I'm Old, Not Love Carlo Betocchi Translated by Ned Condini
Come, come to me now that I’m old, not love but you, love’s shadow, dust of mute, humble things, views of roofs, roads, shutters ajar where lovers spy their love coming, of convalescing windows, and weak progressions of sorrowful days, and umbrous peace that vanishes the way a duck shot in flight vanishes into the marsh and drowns and a few feathers float in the air: I’m reality here that wavers hopelessly if you don’t come, my love, love’s shadow, o dear sleep, to give me rest.
TED Video | Natalie MacMaster: Fiddling in reel time
From TED, Natalie MacMaster backed by Thomas Dolby, who uses the synthesizer to create vocal layers in real time., Natalie MacMaster performs traditional reels, jigs and even some simultaneous step dancing:
Saturday Classic SciFi Finds | Alfred Bester, Brin And Bear
We took some things over to The Goodwill store this AM. While browsing their books I found a small treasure trove of Science Fiction. Someone has had to give up their collection. I bought Alfred Bester's "The Stars My Destination", Greg Bear's "Dinosaur Summer", David Brin's "Infinity's Shore" with a "Years Best Science Fiction" from 1995, all hardcover. The Stars My Destination is in my top five science fiction novels of all time.
John McCain's surrogates in the Media and in politics have been throwing the word "elite" around at Barack Obama. If you looked up the word "elite" in the dictionary John and Cindy's pics should be by it. Matt Yglesias gives us this bit of history regarding that all average American McCain family:
"By contrast, John McCain is an all-American regular guy who, like most people, earns his keep bymarrying an heiress. Like average, everyday folks the McCain's rely on credit cards to make ends meet month-to-month "Cindy McCain charged as much as $500,000 in a single month on one American Express card and $250,000 on another, while one of their two dependent children had an AmEx card with a monthly balance as large as $50,000." Yes it's true, one of McCain's dependent children spent approximately themedian annual household incomeof the United States in a single month and that's how McCain knows how to connect withregular people. Similarly, Mrs. McCain "favors suits made by the German designer Escada, which typically retail for around $3,000 a pop" so she understands that most Americans welcome Wal-Mart's discount prices. And like many Americans, the McCains are very effected by developments in the real estate market, since "trusts and corporations controlled by her and her children spent nearly $11 million between the summer of 2004 and February 2008 on three condominiums in Phoenix and a pair outside San Diego." The McCains understand that these days many young people graduate from college saddled with debt and need a helping hand, that's why they spent "$700,000 for a 1,900-square foot, three-bedroom loft condo for her then-22-year-old daughter Meghan McCain" after she graduated from Columbia. Similarly, they know all about problems with inflation since they "increased their budget for household employees from $184,000 in 2006 to $273,000 in 2007, according to John McCain’s tax returns."
"A new star, likely the brightest supernova in recorded human history, lit up planet Earth's sky in the year 1006 AD. Now known as the SN 1006 supernova remnant, the debris cloud appears to be about 60 light-years across and is understood to represent the remains of a white dwarf star. Part of a binary star system, the compact white dwarf gradually captured material from its companion star. The buildup in mass finally triggered a thermonuclear explosion that destroyed the dwarf star.."
Happy Independence Day USA. I hope we become a lot more of a help to the world and less of danger in the next few years. I hope we can save ourselves. Here's Coldplay with "42" from Viva La Vida:
Before I go a quick Happy Fourth of July also to our National corporate "News" media. With the latest piffle turned to tempest by you regarding General Clark's true comments about John McSameMcCain I'm reminded once again why I tune you out.
Anyway you're paid well for your B.S. and GOP butt-kissin' so enjoy your fourth, maybe Johnie will call you over for some more bar-bee-que. Congratulations
Farm Sluts(2003) is a funny movie about the ruining of a man's life because of one nasty spam message. It stars Chris Parnell and lot's of other familier faces.
Warning: Not work safe(probably) and not young family safe:
This Brave Nation: Episode 5 | Tom Hayden And Naomi Klein
Author, Activist and Former California State Senator Tom Hayden talks in depth with the author of No Logo and The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein, about the state of the fourth branch of government: journalists.