Real Time | Former CIA Official Bob Baer On Waterboarding

Bob Baer's a former CIA officer. He appeared on Bill Maher's Real Time a few days ago and discussed torture, specifically "waterboarding" as torture, and why torture doesn't work.


That the media is still debating this is the most amazing thing and going into convoluted language("enhanced interrogation techniques") to say TORTURE. Our armed forces executed Japanese soldiers in WW2 for waterboarding POW's.
Here's John Amato:

It's very annoying that we still have to bring people out to explain over and over again that waterboarding is torture and "torture is bad.

We have to blame the media on this in reality because torture apologists will do and say anything to cloud the truth, but the media endlessly debates the same things over and over again. It's settled law and has been settled for decades. Torture is illegal and torture is a crime.

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Susan Boyle | If You Haven't Seen The Video

If like me you're one of the ten people online who hadn't yet seen Susan Boyle's coming out party well here it is. When this dowdy, frumpy looking lady with a nervous twitter of a laugh, and high-pitched voice opens her mouth and begins singing
it is a bit entrancing and completely beautiful. Here it is, just enjoy the song:

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent
by dwarthy

Her debut also reminds me of another diamond in the rough, Paul Potts. Here he is on the same show under similar circumstances. Like Susan Boyle if you're not ready the voice will knock your socks off:

Paul Potts - First Audition - Britain's got talent
by EtiNs

BritGotTal

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Republicans | "100 Days Of 'No"

Before I fire up the grill here's something from Kos:


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Eight Druggiest Rock Stories

From Ten Zen Monkeys:

Eight Druggiest Rock Star Stories

Happy Earth Day!

Try to do something nice for your Mother Earth today.

Planet earth from Apollo 17, Dec. 7, 1972.

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More On | Bushco, The Torture Years

Their big desire was to link Al-Qaida to Saddam Hussien. When that failed they attacked Iraq anyway.













The Master Inquisiters

Torture planning began in 2001, Senate report reveals.

Crazee Donnie Rumsfeld wanted torture, needed torture.

Wolfowitz wanted "More aggressive interrogation techniques".

Senate Armed Services Committee report

Bush administration began planning for torture right after 9/11/2001

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The Coming Web On Your TV | Twittering and Google-ing

The future.
I'm on the computer more than the tv anyway. Way past time to combine the two.

From Salon.com:

"..another small step to acclimate people to the long-awaited union of the web to TV..

..If you’re watching baseball on TV, you could switch to photo web feeds from people’s cameras at the game and receive their tweets on screen, with a graphic showing GPS coordinates of their stadium location. Creepy, cool, and useful!..

..A better path for Android OS might be to avoid the set-top box altogether and align with a TV manufacturer to create an affordable Google-branded TV. Better yet, Google could build the TV itself through a cheap OEM..

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More:
UpdatedGoogle’s Android Makes Set-top Box Debut


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Light Years From Home | Looking At A Black Hole

No it's not the eye of Mordor. This, in theory is the view of a black hole. Particulary GRO J1655-40. Of course another theory says that at this distance your atoms are being stretched to infinity.

In the center of a swirling whirlpool of hot gas is likely a beast that has never been seen directly: a black hole.
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Moby Directed By David Lynch

David Lynch directed the video for Moby's new song, "Shot in the Back of the Head"



Download the free MP3.

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"ABEL RAISES CAIN" - Trailer

A trailer from the documentary for legendary prankster and hoaxter Alan Abel:



Watch documentary on Hulu, or buy or download with most of the money going to the filmmakers.

LS
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How It Was - A Samuel Beckett Memoir

"I don't find solitude agonizing, on the contrary. Holes in paper open and take me fathoms from anywhere."(PDF)
- Samuel Beckett

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Stem Cells Therapy Cures Most Common Cause Of Blindness

Blind to be cured with stem cells

BRITISH scientists have developed the world’s first stem cell therapy to cure the most common cause of blindness. Surgeons predict it will become a routine, one-hour procedure that will be generally available in six or seven years’ time.

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The Story Appears True | Pvt. Beachamp Exonerated

No matter the rants of rightwing commenters this story rang true before, and seems to remain true. A short from Atrios:
----
Since the right-wing blogs likely will not revisit and the press certainly will not.
The coda of the Beauchamp Affair:
"A senior enlisted Army soldier was convicted on Wednesday of killing four handcuffed and blindfolded Iraqi men with pistol shots to the backs of their heads shortly after arresting them in Baghdad two years ago, The Associated Press reported.."

"..In February, another military jury convicted the unit’s medic, Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr., 28, of premeditated murder and sentenced him to life in prison. On March 30, Sgt. First Class Joseph P. Mayo, 27, pleaded guilty to murder and received a 35-year sentence.."
More..

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WANTED! Computer Hackers!

Maybe a post or two on the ol' log before news surfing, job searching, WoW playing and sun worshiping on a beautiful day.
A young computer code/programming wiz could do well for themselves these days:

Photo: Coding mind

Wanted: Computer hackers ... to help government
04/18/2009 8:40:26 AM
By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press Writer
Wanted: Computer hackers.

Federal authorities aren't looking to prosecute them, but to pay them to secure the nation's networks.

General Dynamics Information Technology put out an ad last month on behalf of the Homeland Security Department seeking someone who could "think like the bad guy." Applicants, it said, must understand hackers' tools and tactics and be able to analyze Internet traffic and identify vulnerabilities in the federal systems.

In the Pentagon's budget request submitted last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Pentagon will increase the number of cyberexperts it can train each year from 80 to 250 by 2011.

With warnings that the U.S. is ill-prepared for a cyberattack, the White House conducted a 60-day study of how the government can better manage and use technology to protect everything from the electrical grid and stock markets to tax data, airline flight systems, and nuclear launch codes.

President Barack Obama appointed a former Bush administration aide, Melissa Hathaway, to head the effort, and her report was delivered Friday, the White House said.

While the country had detailed plans for floods, fires or errant planes drifting into protected airspace, there is no similar response etched out for a major computer attack..."

Continue..

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"Teabagging" It's For The Corporations

Teabaggers? I actually agree with one or two of these teabagger people's fears. It's just, where the hell were they when dubya was destroying our nation's economy? Teabagging is a Republican media game, from the top down, not grassroots. Republican/corporate:

FOX News Gone Wild, a mashup:



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The Top Ten Tax Day Lies

When in doubt make crap up:

..As their furious followers head off to their April 15th orgy of tea-bagging, the leadership of the GOP and its amen corner in the right-wing media have instead turned to tall tales on taxes.

Here, then, are 10 Republican Tax Day lies:
1. President Obama will raise taxes on small businesses.
2. The estate tax devastates small businesses and family farms.
3. 40% of Americans pay no taxes.
4. Tax cuts always increase revenue.
5. The GOP is the party of fiscal discipline.
6. Ronald Reagan was the greatest tax cutter of all time.
7. FDR caused the Great Depression, or at least made it worse.
8. Obama's cap-and-trade plan will cost each American family $3,100 a year.
9. Obama's tax proposals will undermine charitable giving.
10. The rich pay too much in taxes already.

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RIP "Cruella" the Guinea Pig

Goodbye Ms Cruella.


Our latest pet loss was placed, with some ceremony, in our pet cemetery in the back yard.
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Evening Video | Niko Case

Niko Case with "This Tornado Loves You" live.



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Senator Al Franken? When Oh When?

"Seriously. Norm, I like you. You lost, OK?"
-Joe Scarborough


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Ladies and Gentlemen ...Mr. Leonard Cohen

1965.


Ladies and Gentlemen...Mr. Leonard Cohen paints an informal portrait of the legendary Montreal poet, novelist and songwriter both onstage and off...

Woods Lot.
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Interesting Find | Josh Poehlein

Josh Poehlein's "Stump Speech" is part of a series of collages made up entirely of screen grabs from YouTube videos. From Modern History.


Found at Woods Lot.
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RIP Ollie Baker Dean

Tomorrow's the 8th anniversary of my Mother's death.
This is Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie with the song "Into the Dark". I love the song so it's a little miss you valentine for her.


Love you mom.

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The Fox Conservative Fear | Baracknophobia

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Baracknophobia - Obey
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

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Tweet, Twit, And A View Of The Future

One more pic before I start another job search. Here's the future as seen by a very smart "space man" long ago:
Twitter link.

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Those McCain/Palin Stickers

I passed one of "those cars" with the pink McCain/Palin stickers on the back window this morning and did what I usually do(and maybe what you do). I pointed at the car, laughed, and said "LOSERS".
I know they think they're throwing something in the faces of sane America with that strange rightwing logic, but do they know we're laughing at them?
Maybe John McCain can explain it to them. I think this pic may have been taken at one of his latest stump speeches. You tell 'em John:

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The International Year of Astronomy, The "You Decide" Winner

The International Year of Astronomy is the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first observations with a telescope. People around the world came together to participate in the IYA's 100 Hours of Astronomy, April 2 to 5. This global astronomy event was geared toward encouraging as many people as possible to experience the night sky.


Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Arp 274, also known as NGC 5679, is a system of three galaxies that appear to be partially overlapping in the image, although they may be at somewhat different distances. The spiral shapes of two of these galaxies appear mostly intact. The third galaxy (to the far left) is more compact, but shows evidence of star formation.

Two of the three galaxies are forming new stars at a high rate. This is evident in the bright blue knots of star formation that are strung along the arms of the galaxy on the right and along the small galaxy on the left.

The largest component is located in the middle of the three. It appears as a spiral galaxy, which may be barred. The entire system resides at about 400 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo.

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This Modern World And The Crying Beck

Tom Tomorrow looks at CNN'sFox New's resident wingnut Glenn Beck and his sobbing crusade to save America from the results of George W. BushBarack Obama


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Friday On Bill Moyers Journal | William K. Black On "Banksters", Also Glenn Greenwald And Amy Goodman

Bill Moyer's Journal is one of, if not the, best investigative/interview show going right now. This past Friday's show was a perfect example. With William K. Black, the former senior regulator who cracked down on banks during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s talking about the banking crisis and our government's inability to confront it honestly with the American people and their "fox guarding the henhouse" approach. Also Glenn Greenwald and Amy Goodman of Democracy Now named "Pillars of independent media" by Park Center for Independent Media Izzy Awards talk about the condition of our corporate media today.
"Banksters" Part I:

Part II and III

Glenn Greenwald and Amy Goodman Part I:

More.


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Unemployed Day 45 | Article For Our Government "Drug-fueled Madness"

You would think that being unemployed would lead to a storm of posting ala Atrios, etal. I've found out that it's hard work trying to find another job; work around home, pets, job searches, resumes, World of Warcraft(aah, maybe I shouldn't put that one in there, strike that). Anyway I'm on for a bit.

You know maybe Matt "Dick" Lauer can have Michael Phelps on his show again and berate him for smoking a little pot. Here's another article for Barack "inhaling was the point" Obama and the rest of our government "leaders".

--
Salon.com

Drug-fueled madness!
Our nation's narcotics policy, that is. But there's good news as Hillary Clinton and Sen. Jim Webb take baby steps toward sanity.
By David Sirota

"..According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Americans spend about $9 billion a year on Mexican pot.

Add that to the roughly $36 billion worth of domestically produced weed, and cannabis has become one of the continent's biggest cash crops. As any mob movie illustrates, mixing such "insatiable" demand for a product with statutes outlawing said product guarantees the emergence of a violent black market -- in this case, one in which Mexican drug cartels reap 62 percent of their profits from U.S. marijuana sales.

That last stat, provided by the White House drug czar, is the silver lining. Every American concerned about Mexico's security problems should be thankful that the cartels are so dependent on marijuana and not a genuinely hazardous substance like heroin. Why? Because that means through pot legalization, we can bring the marijuana trade out of the shadows and into the safety of the regulated economy, consequently eliminating the black market that the cartels rely on. And here's the best part: We can do so without fearing any more negative consequences than we already tolerate in our keg-party culture.

Though President Barack Obama childishly laughed at a question about legalization during his recent town hall meeting, his government implicitly admits that marijuana is safer than light beer. Indeed, as federal agencies acknowledge alcohol's key role in deadly illnesses and domestic violence, their latest anti-pot fear mongering is an ad campaign insisting -- I kid you not -- that marijuana is dangerous because it makes people zone out on their couches and diminishes video-gaming skills.

(This is your government on drugs: Cirrhosis and angry tank-topped lushes beating their wives are more acceptable risks than stoners sitting in their basements ineptly playing "Halo." ... Any questions?)..."

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Patriotic Retirement! Economy Fixed!

From Suburban Guerrilla:

An email making the rounds:

This was an article from the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper on Sunday. The Business Section
asked readers for ideas on “How Would You Fix the Economy?” I thought this was the BEST idea…..
I think this guy nailed it!

Dear Mr. President,

Patriotic retirement:

There’s about 40 million people over 50 in the work force - pay them $1 million
apiece severance with the following stipulations:

1) They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.

2) They buy NEW American cars. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.

3) They either buy a house/pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.

Can’t get any easier than that!

Sounds good to me. I'm over fifty. The only problem, I'm already unemployed and looking for a job. Fix that little part and I'm in on this deal!

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Stephen Colbert Explores Media Madman Glen Beck

Wonderful;

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The 10.31 Project
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

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