Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize winner, speaks from an Israeli jail about the abduction of Gaza aid activists

al jazeera english...

Fourteen people remain in custody after an aid ship bound for Gaza was seized by the Israeli navy on Tuesday. Among them are a nobel peace prize winner, and two Al Jazeera journalists. The Free Gaza movement sent the ship loaded with humanitarian supplies from Cyprus, in defiance of Israel's crippling 2-year blockade.

also, see previous post...

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Once upon a time, Americans would have had the stones to do something about the kidnapping of a former Congresswoman

no shit, professor cole...

US hostages held in foreign country on Fourth of July, including a former Congresswoman, after having been captured in a naked act of piracy in international waters after the Americans attempted to respond to a crisis provoked by crimes against humanity, as detailed by Amnesty International.

Once upon a time, Americans would have had the guts to mind such a thing.

Gazans and other Palestinians under Israeli occupation do not enjoy "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and have not been able to "institute" a "government" of their own to secure those rights. The occupation authority that rules them does not derive its "powers" from the "consent of the government." The occupation government has become destructive to these ends. I think we know what the American Founding Fathers would say the Palestinians need.

not only do we no longer have the guts to do what should be done and more than enough "courage" to do things we absolutely SHOULDN'T do, we also don't even bother to give outrages like this any media attention...

muy, muy patético...

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God help us...! Sarah's going to run for President...!

sometimes i think i live in the most bizarre, screwed up country in the world...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will resign her office later this month, according to several sources familiar with her decision, freeing her to build a national political team and travel the country in support of an expected 2012 presidential bid.

The first term governor is stepping down "so that she can take the fight for her issues elsewhere," according to a Palin aide.

i hate to wish anyone ill, but i have to say i hope she makes a bigger fool out of herself than she has already which i honestly don't think she will have to work very hard to do... talk about delusions of grandeur, grandiosity and sheer over-the-top you-gotta-be-kidding-me insanity...

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Oops...! We've been fingered...! Guess it's time to try to spin our way out of it...!

what a bunch of fresh, steaming, fly-encrusted horseshit...

Washington Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth yesterday canceled plans for a series of policy dinners at her home after learning that marketing fliers offered corporate underwriters access to Post journalists, Obama administration officials and members of Congress in exchange for payments as high as $250,000.

"Absolutely, I'm disappointed," Weymouth said in an interview. "This should never have happened. The fliers got out and weren't vetted. They didn't represent at all what we were attempting to do. We're not going to do any dinners that would impugn the integrity of the newsroom."

The fliers were approved by a top Post marketing executive, Charles Pelton, who said it was "a big mistake" on his part and that he had done so "without vetting it with the newsroom."

[...]

Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli said he was "appalled" by the plan. "It suggests that access to Washington Post journalists was available for purchase," Brauchli said. The proposal "promises we would suspend our usual skeptical questioning because it appears to offer, in exchange for sponsorships, the good name of The Washington Post."

The Post Co. fliers offered an "intimate and exclusive Washington Post Salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth." The fliers, which said participants would be charged $25,000 to sponsor a single salon and $250,000 to underwrite an annual series of 11 sessions, were reported yesterday by Politico.

ok... take a deep breath... clear your head... take a moment to look off in the distance and let those muddled thoughts settle... ready...? now, let's get really, really real...

these protestations of being "appalled," of "disappointment," of not wanting to do "any dinners that would impugn the integrity of the newsroom," are disingenuous in the extreme... pelton would have never done something that involved sending fliers to d.c. movers and shakers under the wapo banner advertising no less than dinner at the house of the wapo ceo and publisher unless ALL the details had been ok'd by said ceo and publisher in advance... no marketing honcho is going to put his career on the line by doing something like that unilaterally unless he's purposely angling to get fired... no siree... they blew it, big-time, and now pelton has become the whole burnt offering sacrificed on the altar of "to hell with you, i'm saving my OWN ass..."

patético...

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Why do we give a shit about credit scores?

do you know how many times i see this little banner ad - or ones just like it - on my computer screen every day...? well, i ain't countin' but it's got to be in the mid-double digits... it's just part of the grand plan to get everybody to think their lives ain't worth shit if they don't have a good credit score...

stop and think about it... what kind of life do you have to live to get a good credit score...? first of all, you gotta buy shit on credit, the more the better... second, you have to follow the rules set out by the banks, credit card companies, and every other institution that is angling for your money to the frickin' LETTER... this means you have to be a 110% goody two-shoes AS THEY DEFINE IT or, god forbid, you won't be able to go out and buy more of their shit...

why do we keep sitting back and playing the game according to rules set by those who absolutely do NOT have our best interests at heart...? hmmmmmmm...?

btw, who do you think are the sponsors behind the ad...? kee-rect... experian, equifax and transunion, the unholy trio that sit in judgment over our financial lives...

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Hiking the Appalachian Trail

i was listening to npr's wait wait don't tell me with my daughter in minneapolis on sunday... it's a very clever show that i would probably enjoy listening to more often, but, anyway, they opined that the new code for canoodling is "hiking the appalachian trail"... ya gotta love it...

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And how about that economy that's rising from the ashes?

i was - not by choice - watching cnbc's kudlow report yesterday... good lord, what a collection of self-important gasbags...! if they weren't fulminating about the "death tax," they were pounding the drums for just how rosy things are starting to look for the economy and how obama's stimulus package had absolutely NOTHING to do with it... i finally had to leave the room... just one of the many, many reasons my tolerance level for u.s. television is measured in nanoseconds...

look for yourself and see how long you can hold out...

meanwhile, reality, in its usual annoying fashion, insists on making its presence felt...

U.S. Unemployment Rate Rises to 26-Year High

Employers keep slashing jobs, undermining signs of progress in the economy, and making clear that the job market remains in terrible shape.

then this from the la times...

Even as the nation's economy begins clawing its way out of the worst recession in 60 years, there are growing signs that this recovery could come with an unsettling twist: The wheels of commerce may begin to turn again without any substantial boost in jobs.

Not only is the national unemployment rate, now 9.4%, likely to climb into double digits later this year, but it is also expected to remain there well into 2010, economists say. That would prolong the misery of the unemployed, squeeze retailers and other businesses, and add millions of dollars in government costs and lost productivity. It could even threaten the recovery itself.

a guy in my class asked me on tuesday night how long he could expect to be out of work (he was laid off from a local casino about four months ago)... not wanting to sugarcoat the truth, i told him that he should expect at least another year and perhaps longer... amazingly enough, he's actually begun to consider emigrating to canada, an idea i told him might not be a bad one...

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From the dawn of time until 2003, there had never been a suicide bombing in Iraq

juan cole takes the recent comments of one of the world's preeminent dicks - cheney - about his concerns over "wasting" the "sacrifices" the u.s. has made in iraq and tosses them into the dumpster where they so rightly belong...

a sample...

First of all, Cheney didn't make any sacrifices in Iraq. He deferred his own military service five times because he 'had other things to do.' The 'sacrifices' were caused because he purveyed falsehoods to the US public in order to get up that war, hinting around that Saddam was in bed with Usama Bin Laden and telling senators that Iraq was two years away from having a nuclear bomb. So the sacrifices were of other people's children, and his role was merely that of an Aztec high priest cutting the heart out of the victims.

why can't this despicable bastard simply retreat to his "undisclosed location" and leave the rest of us in peace...?

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Follow-up: Argentine election results

i read a few articles on the election results which claimed that argentine voters were repudiating a center-left government... b.s... they were repudiating an incompetent, airhead, fashionista presidente who, with her ex-presidente husband, have systematically, in true argentine fashion, lined their own pockets while claiming to be on the side of the poor, a population that is steadily increasing while the rich - as usual - get richer...

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner lost power in Congress after voters angry at her handling of a farm strike, crime and a slowing economy favored opposition candidates in mid-term elections yesterday.

Fernandez acknowledged that a slate of candidates for the lower house led by her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, was defeated in the bellwether province of Buenos Aires. She told reporters today that the government will have 35 seats in the 72-member senate and 107 lawmakers in the 257- member lower house, not counting allies from other blocs.

Fernandez, 56, relied on her coalition’s control of Congress to back an agenda that included nationalizing $24 billion in private pension funds and the country’s flagship airline, Aerolineas Argentinas SA. She angered many supporters when she tried to raise farm export taxes last year, provoking four months of road blockades and protests.

too bad, so sad, cristina... meanwhile, check out what you've done to your wonderful country...

Argentina faces having to import wheat

Argentina, which considers itself the world’s bread basket, faces having to import wheat next year after the worst planting season on record because of drought, lack of credit and government policies.

Argentine farmers are set to sow about 2.9m hectares with wheat, the smallest area since records started more than a century ago and down 30 per cent from last season’s 4.2m, according to estimates from the Buenos Aires grain exchange.

“Since records started in Argentina more than 100 years ago there is not a single season with a lower planted area,” said Esteban Copati, an agricultural analyst at the exchange. “The wheat-sowing season has started badly, on the wrong footing.”

what a crying shame...

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A mere EIGHT MONTHS after the election, it looks like MN will once again have 2 Senators [UPDATE]

'bout freakin' franken time, i say...!

Minn. court rules for Franken in Senate fight

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race, paving the way for a resolution in the seven-month fight over the seat.

The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Justices said Franken is entitled to the election certificate he needs to assume office. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibusters.

i just came back from minnesota where i was visiting my daughter... it's bizarre enough to have viewed this debacle from the outside but it was ever so much more bizarre to actually be there, talk to folks, and watch them just shake their heads... thank god, it's almost over...

[UPDATE]

coleman, the quintessential prick, concedes...

Outside his St. Paul home, the incumbent, Norm Coleman, a Republican who had held the seat for one term, conceded the election to Mr. Franken, bringing an end to a lengthy battle that had resulted in thousands of pages of legal documents, cost tens of thousands of dollars, and had left many ordinary Minnesotans weary.

what a maroon... coleman's going to go down in history as a complete and total ass, finally humiliated into the loss he should have accepted as a fact months ago...

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Tomorrow's election in Argentina

a triumph of vacuousness... sigh...

In the waning minutes of “Showmatch,” the most popular entertainment show on Argentine television, the host managed on Thursday night to finally connect with Néstor Kirchner, the former president and now a candidate for Congress.

The suspense had been building for more than 90 minutes — “Will Néstor come?” was the title of the show — and the host, Marcelo Tinelli, periodically went to the street to check for signs of Mr. Kirchner’s motorcade. With the show nearing its end, Mr. Tinelli telephoned Mr. Kirchner at the presidential residence that he shares with his wife, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

“What’s up with you calling at this hour, Marcelo?” Mr. Kirchner asked jokingly.

Mr. Kirchner’s appearance had been rumored for days as a potential last-ditch effort to charm voters and perhaps save the Kirchners’ political future in congressional elections scheduled for Sunday. With a dearth of political television in Argentina and Mr. Kirchner’s refusal to debate his rivals, the political sketches of “Showmatch” have filled a void.

In what analysts say are further signs of desperation, the Kirchners have encouraged dozens of city council members and even Daniel Scioli, the governor of Buenos Aires Province, to run on their ticket as “testimonial candidates,” who do not expect to actually assume their positions if they win, a practice that has not been challenged in Argentina.

“This is one of the most vacuous legislative campaigns I have ever seen in this country,” said Graciela Romer, a veteran political analyst in Buenos Aires. “This is a campaign that has been almost entirely waged through Tinelli’s show.”

what a shame... argentina is such a wonderful country in so many ways and yet this is the kind of charade that passes for democracy... where's the real leadership...? that said, i could say virtually the same thing about my own country...

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Detainee abuse at Bagram

like we didn't know what was happening at "guantánamo east"...

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There's a lot of boo-hooing going on out there...

they're dropping like flies... too bad, so sad...

Governor Sanford made a stunning admission at his news conference this afternoon that he has been having an extramarital affair with a "dear dear friend" in Argentina. The affair, he said, began "very innocently" but blossomed into "something much more than that."

"I've been unfaithful to my wife," Sanford said. "As a consequence, I hurt her, you all, my wife, my boys, my friends like Tom Davis. I hurt a lot of different folks. All I can say is that I apologize."

Sanford said he will resign as chairman of the Republican Governors' Association.

what a bunch of losers... they can dictate morality and piously tell everyone else how to live their lives... but, guess what, they're only human just like the rest of us, only they want us to feel sorry for them when that turns out to be the case... sorry for them...? AFTER being preached at... she-e-e-e-e-it... in your dreams...

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Juan Cole: more demonstrators were arrested in New York protesting Bush than in Tehran

kinda puts things in perspective, doesn't it...?

juan cole...

The number of demonstrators arrested in Tehran on Saturday is estimated at 550 or so, which is less than those arrested by the NYPD for protesting Bush policies in 2004.

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Proof positive the Iran election was stolen

if you're going to steal an election, best do it in such a way as to make it at least somewhat believable...

juan cole cites the chatham house study (pdf) and sums it up this way...

The numbers do not add up. You can't have more voters than there are people. You can't have a complete liberal and pragmatic-conservative swing behind hard liners who make their lives miserable.

The election was stolen. It is there in black and white. Those of us who know Iran, could see it plain as the nose on our faces, even if we could not quantify our reasons as elegantly as Chatham House.

would that when our presidential election was stolen in 2000 and 2004, we would have had the stones to kick up a fuss the way the iranians are doing...

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A headline and a lede that anyone with two brain cells to rub together should choke on

'scuse ME...?!?! we fork over literally TRILLIONS to the banks, investment firms, insurance companies, automakers, and everyone else associated with the money and power structure in this country and we can't manage to come up with funding for health care...? un-fuckingly-believable...

Obama Initiatives Hit Speed Bumps
On Capitol Hill
High Price Tag For Reform Bill Prompts Sparring And a Delay

President Obama's hopes for quick action on comprehensive health-care reform ran headlong this week into the realities of Congress, as lawmakers searching for the money to pay for a broad expansion of coverage discovered that it wasn't easy to find and descended into partisan -- and intraparty -- bickering.

A set of unexpectedly high cost estimates -- arcane data that nevertheless carry enormous import in the legislative process -- sent shockwaves along Pennsylvania Avenue and forced one key committee to delay action on its bill, probably until after the July 4 recess.

In a high-level meeting at the White House yesterday, Obama conveyed his concern over early pronouncements by the Congressional Budget Office that a bill drafted by the Senate health committee would cover just 16 million additional people at a cost of $1 trillion, said one official with knowledge of the session who was not permitted to talk to reporters and so spoke on the condition of anonymity.

somebody grab me quick and slap me really, really hard... i'm rapidly losing all grip on reality...

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