| A Grin Without a Cat |
[May. 19th, 2009|06:45 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | 1960s, 1967, 1968, 1970s, a grin without a cat, austin chronicle, cheshire cat, le fond de l'air est rouge, lewis carroll, marjorie baumgarten, vietnam | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | There | ] |
I was going to say a big long piece about what's going on in the video below but I tend to think that this video speaks for itself and doesn't require anyone interpreting it for you.
What you've just seen is the opening of the Movie which is titled "Le fond de l'air est rouge" en francais and "A Grin Without a Cat" en anglais. For a pretty decent review of Le fond de l'air est rouge go here: http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A781957
The best part of that review is the following statement:
"The title, A Grin Without a Cat, is a reference to Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat, which, like revolution, is seen only in parts, not the whole. As Marker says of the contributions by this film's unknown image-takers and his own re-edited footage: 'You can never tell what the camera might be filming.'"
I'll be x-posting this to a bunch of other places.
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| Obama, Redistributionist in Chief |
[Feb. 27th, 2009|09:09 am] |
www.fair.org/blog/2009/02/26/obama-redistributionist-in-chief/
02/26/2009 by Peter Hart Barack Obama unveiled plans to extend one lower- to middle-class tax credit, allow the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy to expire as scheduled, and raise revenue from a cap-and-trade emissions plan. Today's New York Times (2/26/09) described the proposals this way: The combined effect of the two revenue-raising proposals, on top of Mr. Obama’s existing plan to roll back the Bush-era income tax reductions on households with income exceeding $250,000 a year, would be a pronounced move to redistribute wealth by reimposing a larger share of the tax burden on corporations and the most affluent taxpayers.
Huh. Were Bush's tax cuts, which were overwhelmingly tilted towards the wealthy, described as "a pronounced move to redistribute wealth" by the Times? My Nexis searches don't turn up anything like it.
I did, however, find a February 9, 2001 piece that began: President Bush formally sent Congress his proposal today for the broadest and deepest tax cuts in two decades, touching off a debate that seemed sure to produce a major cut in personal income taxes this year. But no sooner had Mr. Bush described his plan in the Rose Garden, declaring it a boon for the working poor, than Democrats began jockeying to limit its size while conservatives and business groups sought to expand it. The White House said it would try to head off corporate lobbyists--many representing major contributors to the Bush campaign--who seek to garnish it with huge cuts for their wealthy clients.
The Bush White House, according to the Times, was fighting to make sure his corporate backers didn't benefit from the cut. How did that work out? The Times also mentioned that Obama's tax plan "introduces a politically volatile edge to the congressional debate over Mr. Obama’s domestic priorities." The L.A. Times (2/26/09) was sounding a similar alarm about Obama's plan to raise taxes on the wealthy to fund healthcare: By relying heavily on new taxes, the president is also sending a potentially controversial signal that he is willing to ask wealthier Americans to help foot the bill for his healthcare agenda.
I suspect that if you asked the public if they supported raising taxes on the wealthy in order expand healthcare for those who need it, you'd find that it's not controversial at all. |
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| Science Fiction Mavens Offer Far Out Homeland Security Advice |
[Feb. 25th, 2009|05:12 pm] |
I am still trying to wrap my head around this one, but I am still laughing too hard...
Science Fiction Mavens Offer Far Out Homeland Security Advice
March 2008
By Stew Magnuson
Now a fixture at Department of Homeland Security science and technology conferences, SIGMA is a loosely affiliated group of science fiction writers who are offering pro bono advice to anyone in government who want their thoughts on how to protect the nation.
The group has the ear of Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Jay Cohen, head of the science and technology directorate, who has said he likes their unconventional thinking. Members of the group recently offered a rambling, sometimes strident string of ideas at a panel discussion promoting the group at the DHS science and technology conference.
Among the group’s approximately 24 members is Larry Niven, the bestselling and award-winning author of such books as “Ringworld” and “Lucifer’s Hammer,” which he co-wrote with SIGMA member Jerry Pournelle.
Niven said a good way to help hospitals stem financial losses is to spread rumors in Spanish within the Latino community that emergency rooms are killing patients in order to harvest their organs for transplants.
“The problem [of hospitals going broke] is hugely exaggerated by illegal aliens who aren’t going to pay for anything anyway,” Niven said.
( Read more... ) |
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| No link between MMR vaccines and Autism |
[Feb. 10th, 2009|11:49 am] |
MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism
The Sunday Times - February 8, 2009
THE doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times investigation has found. Confidential medical documents and interviews with witnesses have established that Andrew Wakefield manipulated patients’ data, which triggered fears that the MMR triple vaccine to protect against measles, mumps and rubella was linked to the condition. The research was published in February 1998 in an article in The Lancet medical journal. It claimed that the families of eight out of 12 children attending a routine clinic at the hospital had blamed MMR for their autism, and said that problems came on within days of the jab. The team also claimed to have discovered a new inflammatory bowel disease underlying the children’s conditions. However, our investigation, confirmed by evidence presented to the General Medical Council (GMC), reveals that: In most of the 12 cases, the children’s ailments as described in The Lancet were different from their hospital and GP records. Although the research paper claimed that problems came on within days of the jab, in only one case did medical records suggest this was true, and in many of the cases medical concerns had been raised before the children were vaccinated. Hospital pathologists, looking for inflammatory bowel disease, reported in the majority of cases that the gut was normal. This was then reviewed and the Lancet paper showed them as abnormal.
( More? ) |
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| Treasury Weighs Hard Choices To Save Banks |
[Jan. 28th, 2009|03:18 pm] |
Treasury Weighs Hard Choices To Save Banks
Any Path Carries Risk of Failure
By David Cho
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 28, 2009; A01
President Obama's top advisers are in the final stages of debating several perilous options to right the financial system, all of which are likely to prove unpopular and in some cases carry a significant risk of failure, according to sources in contact with the officials.
The rapid deterioration of the economy has accentuated these hard choices. The health of many banks is getting worse, not better, as the downturn makes it difficult for all kinds of consumers and businesses to pay back money they borrowed from these financial firms. Conservative estimates put bank losses yet to be declared at $1 trillion.
Senior administration officials are likely to try a combination of initiatives rather than pin their hopes on a single, all-encompassing solution to help the financial system, the sources said. But their strategy may require trial and error, which could make them vulnerable to the same criticism that dogged the Bush administration's fitful management of the $700 billion rescue program.
On the table are several approaches, which officials have begun to experiment with on a smaller scale. One would give the firms a federal guarantee protecting them against losses on assets that are backed by failing mortgages and other troubled loans. Another would set up new government institutions to buy these toxic assets. A third would inject more money into financial firms in exchange for ownership stakes, perhaps ending with nationalization in all but name.
( Read more... ) |
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| I'm sure he's not hiding assets.. |
[Jan. 25th, 2009|10:11 pm] |
Lehman's Fuld sold Florida mansion to wife for $100
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fallen Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Richard Fuld sold his $13.3 million mansion to his wife for just $100 last November, according to Florida real estate records.
The 62-year old executive, who could face civil lawsuits after overseeing the storied investment bank's collapse into Chapter 11 proceedings last September, transferred ownership of the 3.3 acres seaside home to Kathleen Fuld on November 10, records show.
The couple had jointly bought the home for $13.75 million in March 2004, as first reported by Cityfile.com.
Fuld has been blamed for Lehman's collapse on September 15 after it was weighed down by bad assets leading to the largest-ever U.S. bankruptcy when it was unable to find a buyer to come to its rescue.
He was widely criticized for not acting quickly enough to save the 158-year old bank.
Though Fuld told U.S. lawmakers he took full responsibility for his actions and felt "horrible about what has happened to the company," he insisted he shared the blame with U.S. regulators and Congress.
Fuld, who was awarded $22 million in compensation in fiscal 2007, stepped down as Lehman chief executive at the end of last year and did not receive any bonus or severance when he left.
(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke) |
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| Why so many minds think alike |
[Jan. 15th, 2009|02:06 pm] |
Why so many minds think alike
By Elizabeth Landau (CNN)
You're in a room with 10 other people who seem to agree on something, but you hold the opposite view. Do you say something? Or do you just go along with the others?
Decades of research show people tend to go along with the majority view, even if that view is objectively incorrect. Now, scientists are supporting those theories with brain images.
A new study in the journal Neuron shows when people hold an opinion differing from others in a group, their brains produce an error signal. A zone of the brain popularly called the "oops area" becomes extra active, while the "reward area" slows down, making us think we are too different.
"We show that a deviation from the group opinion is regarded by the brain as a punishment," said Vasily Klucharev, postdoctoral fellow at the F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands and lead author of the study.
( Read more... ) |
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| DIY Adjustable Eyeglasses |
[Dec. 23rd, 2008|04:14 pm] |
It was a chance conversation on March 23 1985 ("in the afternoon, as I recall") that first started Josh Silver on his quest to make the world's poor see. A professor of physics at Oxford University, Silver was idly discussing optical lenses with a colleague, wondering whether they might be adjusted without the need for expensive specialist equipment, when the lightbulb of inspiration first flickered above his head.
What if it were possible, he thought, to make a pair of glasses which, instead of requiring an optician, could be "tuned" by the wearer to correct his or her own vision? Might it be possible to bring affordable spectacles to millions who would never otherwise have them?
...
Silver has devised a pair of glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful it becomes. Inside the device's tough plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.
The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens. When the wearer is happy with the strength of each lens the membrane is sealed by twisting a small screw, and the syringes removed. The principle is so simple, the team has discovered, that with very little guidance people are perfectly capable of creating glasses to their own prescription.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/22/diy-adjustable-glasses-josh-silver |
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| Cosmic Aerogami |
[Dec. 10th, 2008|10:19 am] |
[fixed URL]
My housemate Alex emailed me this article today...
Ever wonder what would happen if someone threw a paper plane out of the space shuttle?...
[update: my father emailed me this image he found of the plane: 
( Read more... )
I can hardly believe it... this is as cool as that time I read about the thousand-foot-tall cave that looked just like a Hans-Werner Sahm painting (google Cueva del Fantasma). But even if it doesn't work, it's great that there are scientists with that kind of playfulness and imagination in the world.
I want to see a model of this plane, and a blueprint for how to fold it! It must be a really smooth dart shape. Although that would make it very fast, too. Maybe it's a design that's supposed to glide smoothly and slowly?... |
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| Washington’s New Tack: Helping Homeowners |
[Dec. 5th, 2008|10:54 am] |
I thought the conflict between banks and the real estate people was laid out pretty well here and is quite fascinating in terms of competing interests.
December 5, 2008
Washington’s New Tack: Helping Homeowners
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
WASHINGTON — After pouring vast amounts of money into financial institutions of almost every type, and having little to show for it, the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve are suddenly taking a new look at ordinary homeowners.
Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, warned on Thursday that the soaring number of foreclosures threatened the economy. He then proposed some ideas — government-engineered loan modifications, and more taxpayer money to help people refinance — to keep people in their homes.
“The public policy case for reducing preventable foreclosures does not rely solely on the desire to help people who are in trouble,” Mr. Bernanke said. “More needs to be done.”
( Read more... ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 30th, 2008|09:47 pm] |
Acorn Watchers Wonder What Happened to Crop
By Brigid Schulte
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 30, 2008; Page A01
The idea seemed too crazy to Rod Simmons, a measured, careful field botanist. Naturalists in Arlington County couldn't find any acorns. None. No hickory nuts, either. Then he went out to look for himself. He came up with nothing. Nothing crunched underfoot. Nothing hit him on the head.
Then calls started coming in about crazy squirrels. Starving, skinny squirrels eating garbage, inhaling bird feed, greedily demolishing pumpkins. Squirrels boldly scampering into the road. And a lot more calls about squirrel roadkill.
But Simmons really got spooked when he was teaching a class on identifying oak and hickory trees late last month. For 2 1/2 miles, Simmons and other naturalists hiked through Northern Virginia oak and hickory forests. They sifted through leaves on the ground, dug in the dirt and peered into the tree canopies. Nothing.
"I'm used to seeing so many acorns around and out in the field, it's something I just didn't believe," he said. "But this is not just not a good year for oaks. It's a zero year. There's zero production. I've never seen anything like this before."
( More? ) |
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| Many recent presidential executive orders won't count. |
[Nov. 15th, 2008|11:36 pm] |
[ source ]
Huge Bush Gaffe Allows Obama To Overturn More Laws
We've heard for the past week that Barack Obama intends on overturning George W. Bush's Executive Orders. Basically all laws passed in the middle of the night without Congressional approval and all, coincidentally, bad for the American people.
Now Politico brings us news that the Bush Administration made a huge gaffe. They aimed for the wrong date to get all of their legislation signed into law.
The Bush Administration were racing to finalize new laws before November 1st, the date they believed was the cut off date for Obama to be able to easily overturn anything Bush passes at the end of his term.
( However, Bush's targeted date was wrong. ) |
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| Election correction: Sign absentee ENVELOPE, not ballot! |
[Oct. 23rd, 2008|11:36 am] |
Mail-in voters must sign their ballot envelopes for their votes to be counted.
They must not sign their ballots. Signed ballots will not be counted and will be discarded.
An editorial in The Sacramento Bee today incorrectly advises mail-in voters to sign their ballots.
In an e-mail to the Sacramento Bee Editorial Board, state election officials reminded voters that "they must sign their ballot envelopes and absolutely not sign ballots themselves. Under state law, a signed ballot that allows the voter to be identified by others must be discarded."
So, mail-in voters remember: Sign the ballot envelope only. Do not sign the ballot. http://www.sacbee.com/1089/story/1337966.html |
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Make your vote count. (via ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cieldumort) |
[Oct. 22nd, 2008|12:34 pm] |
Tips to make sure your voice is heard this November from StealBackYourVote.org:STEP 1: DON'T DON'T DON'T mail in your ballot!! Absentee ballots are often not counted for the weakest of reasons. Furthermore, there are new rules in many states that you must photocopy your ID and send it with the ballot. However, they often don't even tell you that. So HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of absentee votes will not be counted for this reason.
STEP 2: VOTE EARLY ...VERY EARLY! Many states are already allowing you to vote. Do it NOW. That way if you're not listed on the voter roles, you have plenty of time to get your complaint heard.
STEP 3: REGISTER AND THEN REGISTER AND THEN REGISTER! There is a TON of purging of voter rolls going on. It's not enough to think you're registered. Double check twelve times. You can check online at www.votersunite.org/info/RegInfo.asp. Once you're done with that, go register. ...Then go register.
STEP 4: DO NOT FILL OUT A PROVISIONAL BALLOT if your vote is challenged!! In 2004 the Republicans challenged a ridiculous number of voters. The voters were then told by a sweet little lady at a table that their "provisional ballot" would be counted, BUT IT WON'T. Don't listen to the little old lady!! DEMAND that poll judges make the judgement ON THE SPOT. Demand a call to the supervisor of elections. If you have to, go home and come back with a better form of ID.If you need help, call ELECTION PROTECTION at 1-866-OUR-VOTE . And help those around you when you're at the polling place. Look for people having trouble. Call the number for them. Tell them not to fill out a provisional ballot!
STEP 5:STEP AWAY FROM YOUR COMPUTER! Walk out your front door and get active!! Volunteer to help with the campaign. Or ignore the campaign and do something on your own. It's as simple as printing out these ELECTION PROTECTION steps and leaving them at people's doors. Hell, you could hand them out outside the polling places. Don't sit still or this election WILL be stolen. And go to a swing state if at all possible.
STEP 6: FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS VOTE WITHOUT FRIENDS! Don't go to vote alone. Bring friends!! Lots of them or only one of them. Make it a date. Arrange to have lunch with everyone after you vote. Whatever it takes. And have your election protection phone number WITH YOU (1-866-OUR-VOTE).
STEP 7: IT AIN'T OVER 'TILL IT'S OVER! If the election is indeed stolen, don't throw in the towel! The day after is CRUCIAL! Three words need to be chanted over and over again: COUNT EVERY VOTE. For example, in 2000 Al Gore lost because of a Supreme Court decision that was 5-4 against him. Imagine if he had won that court decision. But if half of America had not chanted COUNT EVERY VOTE after election day, we would never have gotten to the Supreme Court. Half of America could've thrown in the towel on election night, but thanks to people in the streets, it was fought to the end. |
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| Mexico pays its ID Theives in the US. |
[Oct. 17th, 2008|04:45 am] |
Thomas blasts consulate for aiding immigrants caught in raid
[ source ]
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas on Thursday lashed out at the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix for depositing money in the jail accounts of nine people arrested last June in an immigration raid at a valley water park.
Thomas called the deposits - which are not illegal - an instance in which "The Mexican government is trying to come in and undermine American law, Arizona law in this case, in relation to illegal immigration."
Mexican Consulate officials released a statement that said the office has the right to assist Mexican citizens who are in the United States. That includes lending financial help. The money given helped the group purchase things such as tooth paste and deodorant, according to the statement.
The purpose of the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix is ( to assist Mexican citizens in this country )
The nine people in question were arrested in June at Waterworld amusement park in Glendale and at the park's parent company's headquarters in Mesa. They were charged with identity theft and other charges, and Thomas believes the investigation into their employment could lead to the first civil complaint under the employer sanctions law, which threatens the business licenses of employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants.
( more... ) |
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| Debating Palin: Folksy but False |
[Oct. 3rd, 2008|02:47 am] |
False claims dominate the specific statements Gov. Palin made in her debate with Sen. Biden
Compiled October 3, 2008 by macguyver; sources at bottom
On Taxes:
- Palin says a tax hike on people making over $250k a year will affect “millions of small businesses” – this is false. The Washington Post says[1]:
Palin said a tax hike that hits earners over $250,000 would hit "millions of small businesses." That is untrue. The vast majority of small businesses barely break even and do not pay the top tax brackets. To get that figure, Republicans count affluent taxpayers who claim some income from some small business income as "small businessmen."
Sarah Palin seems to suggest that Barack Obama will raise taxes for many households. However, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center says2 that 99% of all households in the US (incomes under $603,402 a year) will see no tax increase. Over 90% of households – those making under $226,981 will see their taxes decrease by $500 to over $2700 a year.
With McCain’s tax plan, the poorest 60% of all households, families making an income of under $66,354, will see a tax cut of less than 1%. Meanwhile, McCain wants the richest 0.1% – those making over $2.87 million a year to see an average tax cut of $269,364.
- Palin claims "As mayor, every year I was in office I did reduce taxes." This is false. In fact, Palin increased spending and increased taxes. From The LA Times[4]:
In fact, she oversaw a 35% increase in the operating budget of Wasilla, Alaska. What happened was this: Palin reworked the budget in part by decreasing the tax burden on city residents via the property tax -- which was indeed lowered -- and spreading the responsibility to residents outside the city by increasing the sales tax, to 2.5% from 2%.
- Sarah Palin claims “Barack Obama voted to increase taxes for every American earning more than $42,000 a year.” This is false. From the Washington Post[1]:
Obama voted for a non-binding budget resolution….The budget resolution did not represent a vote to raise taxes. Obama has said that he is in favor of continuing the Bush tax cuts for all but the wealthiest Americans.
- Sarah Palin claims Senator Obama voted 94 times to either raise taxes or fight against tax cuts. This is false. From the Washington Times[7]:
The dubious count includes repetitive votes as well as votes to cut taxes for the middle class while raising them on the rich. An analysis by factcheck.org found that 23 of the votes were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all, seven were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, 11 would have increased taxes on only those making more than $1 million a year.
( Read More, Foreign Policy, etc. ) |
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| Supreme Court issues stay of execution for Davis |
[Sep. 23rd, 2008|06:29 pm] |
See also: Democracy Now
By BILL RANKIN, RHONDA COOK, MARCUS K. GARNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Jackson — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a stay of execution for Troy Anthony Davis less than two hours before he was to be put to death by lethal injection.
Davis’ family and supporters, who for years have pressed for a new trial on claims Davis is innocent, broke into tears and song when they learned the high court had at least temporarily postponed the execution.
“I’ve been praying for this moment forever,” said Davis’s sister and most outspoken proponent, Martina Correia. Davis’ mother, Virginia Davis, said God had answered their prayers.
Just a few hours earlier, the mother and sister had given Davis what they thought could be their final good-byes at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.
Davis, 39, sits on death row for the Aug. 19, 1989, killing of Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail. He was scheduled to be executed at 7 p.m.
( Read more... ) |
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| War profiteering |
[Sep. 22nd, 2008|07:33 am] |
BBC reporters looking into where an estimated $23 billion in US taxpayer's money intended for the War in Iraq went are prevented from detailing their findings by gag order. BBC article
A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.
The BBC's Panorama programme has used US and Iraqi government sources to research how much some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding.
A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.
The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.
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| Stereotypes, and why. |
[Sep. 12th, 2008|11:22 pm] |
Misrepresenting the Black community
[ source ]
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor examines why the stereotypes of Black men invoked by Barack Obama have a hold--not only among politicians but in different parts of the African American community.
THIS WAS not the first time Barack Obama chose a South Side church in Chicago as a platform to denounce Black men as "boys" who supposedly ignore their responsibilities as fathers.
Invoking the worst stereotypes about Black men, Obama said three years ago, in an identical speech to the one he gave this past Father's Day, "There are a lot of folks, a lot of brothers, walking around, and they look like men, and they're tall, and they've got whiskers--they might even have sired a child. But it's not clear to me that they're full-grown men."
( more... )
These are the reasons today that, despite the historic presidential campaign of Obama, there remains, now more than ever, the need for a political and independent left to breathe more life into campaigns that defend workers and the poor. Moreover, there is a need for a revival of a Black radical left that can stand up to Obama when he attacks Black workers in a way that white radicals and progressives would be chastised for doing.
Obama's campaign, as evidenced by his increasingly conservative rhetoric does not spell the end of Black politics, but serves as an example of why now more than ever, we need to rebuild an independent Black left that does not repeatedly parrot the idea that the best African Americans can do is continue to vote for Democrats who have yet to demonstrate in practice that the well-being of Black communities--in terms of jobs, good schools and good housing--is a priority for them. |
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