Some idiot Palinophile left a comment here yesterday (which I deleted, natch) whining, basically, "Give it a rest, the election is over." But, oh, nuh-uh, not so fast! Besides being an obvious and irresistible target for satire 'n' catty bitchiness, there are some totally good reasons to not let up: 1. She's a politically dangerous Christian lunatic. 2. Any attempt to take her seriously must be counteracted. 3. Her lies are pernicious. 4. She fosters ignorance and insipidity. 5. She's ambitious and would like to rule you.
NEW YORK (AP) -- President Bush wistfully saluted the nation's veterans Tuesday as he prepares to hand two ongoing wars over to his successor, saying he'll "miss being the commander in chief of such a fabulous group."
I heard this on the radio and gasped.
Taking my cue from Bill Maher, here are the new rules:
1. No matter how much you admire our vets (and I do), you simply do not describe them as fabulous.
2. Gays have suffered enough in the recent state elections. They should not have to hear the word fabulous spoken by that cretinous abomination.
[Actually, I cannot abide anything spoken by that cretinous abomination and notorious war criminal.]
OK, you can all go back to being serious now. --the BB
A complaint has been filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission and the Attorneys General of California and Utah regarding activities of the Mormon Church with respect to Proposition 8. You can read it all at Americablog.
I believe the gist of the argument lies in acting beyond "member communication" to address the voting public at large, which would put these activities within the realm of reportable activities. Extensive non-monetary contributions are described including phone banks, the work or political operatives, Saturday rallies, satellite broadcasts, and a multimedia program.
Air and light are wonderful disinfectants. --the BB
h/t to, well, Gavin Newsom, who writes that "what we need above all is a sustained commitment to a strategy that will see this fight through to victory."
Markos reports that "SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera has filed suit (PDF) to halt the enactment of Proposition 8 eliminating the right of same-sex couples to marry. Paul Hogarth reviews the plaintiff's brief." Los Angeles County and other governmental entities have joined the challenge. --the BB
On election day I noticed that four more nations had joined the rolls in the flag counter at the right. Tonight I see yet another. So here are flags and tidbits from numbers 145 and 145. (147-149 are yet to come.)
A hearty welcome to our first visitors from Mongolia and French Polynesia.
I have been to neither though my road buddy Bill did visit French Polynesia earlier this year. He did pencil sketches of some of the volcanic hills of the islands.
In the heart of east central Asia lies Mongolia, land of Genghis Khan. Mongolia is now a parliamentary republic and Ulan Bator is its capital. The Mongolian language exists, beyond its utilitarian role for the people of Mongolia and parts of China, to remind me how easy Russian is. Both are written in the Cyrillic alphabet, though there is a Mongol script used for Mongolian in China.
It is made up of several groups of islands, the largest and most populated of which is Tahiti. The island groups are: Austral Islands Bass Islands often considered part of the Austral Islands Gambier Islands often considered part of the Tuamotu Archipelago Marquesas Islands Society Islands (including Tahiti) Tuamotu Archipelago Aside from Tahiti, some other important atolls, islands, and island groups in French Polynesia are: Ahe, Bora Bora, Hiva `Oa, Huahine, Maiao, Maupiti, Mehetia, Moorea, Nuku Hiva, Raiatea, Tahaa, Tetiaroa, Tubuai, and Tupai.
French Polynesia is a French overseas collectivity of which the official languages are French and Tahitian. The capital is Papeete.
Bora Bora (because we all need to hear some French from time to time)
TOA'URA (Slideshow, music) [so we can hear some Tahitian too]
OK, let's have some fun! Fenua sing "E vahine maohi e" (lyrics here)
If you want an exercise video for your hips, my friends, check this out. I think I sprained something just watching.
I think Eileen gets too much blame in her life and this time around I'm not going to add to it. It's my own damn fault I love taking tests and absolutely lack won't power.
Moreover, look at how much fun and silliness she has added to my life. Here's to you, Fluffy!
Your result for Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test...
"This area has to do with nature, nurturing and relating information to one's natural surroundings. Those with it are said to have greater sensitivity to nature and their place within it, the ability to nurture and grow things, and greater ease in caring for, taming and interacting with animals. They may also be able to discern changes in weather or similar fluctuations in their natural surroundings. They are also good at recognizing and classifying different species.
'Naturalists' learn best when the subject involves collecting and analyzing, or is closely related to something prominent in nature; they also don't enjoy learning unfamiliar or seemingly useless subjects with little or no connections to nature. It is advised that naturalistic learners would learn more through being outside or in a kinesthetic way.
Careers which suit those with this intelligence include scientists, naturalists, conservationists, gardeners and farmers." (Wikipedia)
OK, now can I blame her for the results? I have such a "yes but" response to all this. Asking me if it would be more fun to go to a play or learn a new language? May I ask first how much time I have for this activity? If it's an evening, a play - absolutely! If it's a year, then let's go for a new language.
I did choose Stonehenge. It appeals to me on several levels, including being primal, spiritual, and introspective. I'd like to experience it alone or with no more than two very good friends.
So low on music? Granted, I can't play anything more than simple rhythms on a hand drum but I love to sing and I have played with composition and appreciate a wide range of music. Ah well. I'd still rather meet Buddha than Mozart.
Being a mad-ass intuitive I always see more possibilities and hate having to choose.
Yes, I love comparison, contrast, analysis, and categorization. I think everyone should be able not only to do better than "bird" when they see one but even name many subsets. Not just "duck" but mallard, or ruddy, or canvasback, or grebe. Tree? Perhaps alder, birch, cedar, deodar, elm, fir, ginkgo, hornbeam, ironwood, juniper, kumquat, linden, mahogany, nectarine, piñon, quince, redwood, sandalwood, etc. Of course I have collected and pressed wildflowers. One of my favorite parts of writing fantasy fiction is envisioning the physical environment.
Through a diary by Andrew Callahan at Daily Kos I see that a number of Mormons are writing letters, signing petitions, and in some cases formally resigning from the church over the promotion of discrimination through sponsorship of Prop 8.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been taught, “We do not believe it just to mingle religious influence with civil government …” (Doctrine and Covenants 134:9). Recent action taken by the First Presidency in support of a constitutional amendment in the State of California has rallied us to the cause of freedom.
My prayers, support, and gratitude for these brave souls. --the BB
11/10/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty Staff Sgt. Timothy H. Walker, 38, of Franklin, Tenn., died Nov. 8 in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division...
11/10/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty Pfc. Theron V. Hobbs, 22, of Albany, Ga., died Nov. 6 in a motor vehicle accident in Kirkuk, Iraq. He was assigned to the 572nd Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.
I'm not saying Joe Lieberman should be a social pariah but I do think that, inasmuch as he has left the Democratic Party, there is no reason he should be part of the Dem caucus or hold important chairs in the Senate.
I have sent e-mails to both Senator Bingaman and Senator-elect Udall making my views known. I may not sway them but they will hear a lot from me in the years to come, so I might as well get started.
The bottom line for me is two-fold: (1) he is a GOP enabler and (2) I don't trust him.
Let us not forget that his own party (at the time) rejected him in the Connecticut Democratic primary. That should tell you something. He only won as an independent in the general election because of Republican support.
Yes, I am partisan. I would prefer to rise above it but after the behavior of the GOP over the past three decades I am out to fight them in the trenches, on the beaches, in the woods, on the streets, at the polls, and online. --the BB
Germany will commemorate the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht on Sunday, through a series of events aimed at ensuring a new generation of Germans, too young to have known anyone connected with those events, about the horrors that flowed from the racism of the German past, in the hope of guarding against any future recurrence.
Update: Susankay correctly notes in the comments that I altered the word order of the phrase from Vergil's Aeneid. Aeneas said, "sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt." As a great fan of P. Vergilius Maro and his magnum opus, I would never presume to improve on his verse. My intent was to borrow the concept and I did not even trouble my memory for word order. Fortunataely for me, Latin's highly inflected nature allows for flexibility in the sequence of words and grammar remains intact. My sole guideline was the flow of English-style accentuation in the rhythm of my header which borrowed only three words from the master. Sunt lacrimae rerum, pronounced with non-Latin stress and scarce respect for long and short syllables, not to mention standing alone without the rest of the line, strikes my ears as a challenging double amphibrach. The double dactyl was much easier on my internal ear. And that is how it happened.
My friend Susankay has recalled me to due respect for sources and the integrity of tradition. Chastened, I confess my error/sin/sloppiness here to one and all.
This is line 462 from the first book of the 1st century BC Roman poet Virgil’s Aeneid, the epic poem of how the Trojan prince Aeneas flees from his burning city and journeys to Italy to found a new city that one day will be Rome. If I may offer a less literal translation than “the tears of human things and these mortal matters touch the mind” for sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt :
“These are the tears of what it is to be human and what mortals do touch the mind.
Aeneas says these lines to his friend Achates as the two behold paintings of the Trojan War in a temple in Carthage (the modern Tunisia). Aeneas is overwhelmed at the sight of the terrible losses of his own family and friends—the lacrimae rerum—of himself, depicted in art (and art by strangers, by a foreign people, the Carthiginians).
For my generation, looking at The Wall is an abstracted yet powerful analog to Aeneas beholding the tragic past of his people and the events of his own life.
I undertand et mentem mortalia tangunt as the whole matter of being mortal, death-destined, finite, tangled in cycles that transcend our knowing - all this profoundly touching not just the mind but the heart and gut. To somehow grasp the richness and agony and bittersweet nature of the whole enchilada simply reaches out and grabs us and holds our attention. At least when we let it.
Veterans' Day is one of those times we deliberately pause to allow all the matters of mortality to affect us.
Let us feel deeply.
Lest we turn to stone.
[Yes, this post was better without words.] --the BB
I am old fashioned, a certified old codger. I still like the sound of Armistice Day instead of Veterans Day because it ties the remembrance to a specific day, a specific event - the signing of the armistice on 11 November 1918, the end of the Great War.
This does not mean I don't rejoice to include all Veterans of all wars in our remembrance. I do.
I just like the now-quaint older name.
And I love remembering how my father told me of the old man who went down the street in Kingsburg, California, banging two pipes together to announce the end of that war. Dad's tenth birthday was just the month before.
I bring you poetry from the Great War.
The Effort
'The effect of our bombardment was terrific. One man told me he had never seen so many dead before.'--War Correspondent. 'HE'D never seen so many dead before.' They sprawled in yellow daylight while he swore And gasped and lugged his everlasting load Of bombs along what once had been a road. 'How peaceful are the dead.' Who put that silly gag in some one's head? 'He'd never seen so many dead before.' The lilting words danced up and down his brain, While corpses jumped and capered in the rain. No, no; he wouldn't count them any more... The dead have done with pain: They've choked; they can't come back to life again. When Dick was killed last week he looked like that, Flapping along the fire-step like a fish, After the blazing crump had knocked him flat... 'How many dead? As many as ever you wish. Don't count 'em; they're too many. Who'll buy my nice fresh corpses, two a penny?' --Siegfried Sassoon
Cramped in that Funnelled Hole
Cramped in that funnelled hole, they watched the dawn Open a jagged rim around; a yawn Of death's jaws, which had all but swallowed them Stuck in the bottom of his throat of phlegm. They were in one of many mouths of Hell Not seen of seers in visions, only felt As teeth of traps; when bones and the dead are smelt Under the mud where long ago they fell Mixed with the sour sharp odour of the shell. --Wilfred Owen
Back
They ask me where I've been, And what I've done and seen. But what can I reply Who know it wasn't I, But someone just like me, Who went across the sea And with my head and hands Killed men in foreign lands... Though I must bear the blame, Because he bore my name. --Wilfred Gibson
I think that when our troops come home, at last, from Iraq, I may walk down my street banging pipes together.
What a wonderful thing that would be.
I want to bang pipes.
In the meantime, may we treat our vets well. We owe them. --the BB
I was just looking at who in Albuquerque gave for and against Prop 8 using the database at SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle folks). I only saw two $100 donations listed under my name (I know there were at least three and probably four). But I saw the largest ABQ donor to Yes on 8.
Brian Rule, executive of Blake's Lotaburger.
Guess where I will no longer be having green chili cheeseburgers? (And they do make nice ones, too.)
These places are all over Albuquerque. When I first moved there I felt they were located on at least every fourth corner in town.
Well, no queer money from my pocket will ever go there again.
May flights of drumming and dancing angels sing her to her rest!
"She was a mother to our struggle," Mandela said in a statement. "Her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile which she felt for 31 long years. Her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in us."
Sunday night's concert was to support Robert Saviano, the Italian author who has lived in hiding since publishing Gomorrah, a best-selling expose of the Camorra gangsters who, among many other crimes, are blamed for killing six African immigrants in Castel Volturno in September.
Makeba's family, noting in a statement that she had performed one of her greatest hits, Pata Pata - Xhosa for Touch, Touch - shortly before collapsing, said: "Whilst this great lady was alive she would say: 'I will sing until the last day of my life'."
Since the plight of Congo is finally making it into the news, it might be a good time to take a look at that region.
When you hit Mimi's pages, you must be important, right? Thanks to Mimi for upholding the plight of Congo (here and here and here and here). Mimi's new Boswell, Georgianne Nienaber, has been there and here is her article at HuffPo.
Georgianne also gives us some visuals:
So, where are we talking about anyway? It's that part of Africa around the shaded oval above.
The Republic of Cameroon is a picture of diversity.
Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. English and French are the official languages. (Wikipedia)
The capital is Yaoundé. Wikipedia adds the following:
Compared with other African countries, Cameroon enjoys political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president, Paul Biya, and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement party, and corruption is widespread. The Anglophone community has grown increasingly alienated from the government, and Anglophone politicians have called for greater decentralisation and even the secession of the former British-governed territories.
Equatorial Guinea is a Spanish- and French-speaking nation with its own share of challenges:
Diplomats and even ministers have been caught smuggling drugs, sometimes using diplomatic bags and even the president's baggage on state trips. The incumbent president has never equalled the bloodthirsty reputation of former dictator Francisco Macías Nguema, whom he overthrew. On Christmas of 1975, Macías had 150 alleged coup plotters executed to the sound of a band playing Mary Hopkin's tune Those Were the Days in a national stadium. A huge proportion of the £370 million revenue is confiscated by the president while most of the 500,000 subjects subsist on less than a dollar a day, sewage runs through the streets of the capital Malabo, and there is no public transport and little drinking water or electricity.[Wikipedia]
The capital is Malabo. Here is a drive through Malabo with local music:
The Central African Republic is one of the poorest nations on the planet. The capital is Bangui. A new president was elected in 2008. From Wikipedia:
The CAR is heavily dependent upon multilateral foreign aid and the presence of numerous NGOs which provide services which the government fails to provide. As one UNDP official put it, the CAR is a country "sous serum," or a country metaphorically hooked up to an IV. (Mehler 2005:150). The very presence of numerous foreign personnel and organizations in the country, including peacekeepers and even refugee camps, provides an important source of revenue for many Central Africans. The country is self-sufficient in food crops, but much of the population lives at a subsistence level. Livestock development is hindered by the presence of the tsetse fly.
All photos by Spencer Platt/Getty Images Spencer Platt, a staff photographer with Getty Images, spent two weeks in December 2007 with MSF in the Central African Republic.
Gabon is one of the most prosperous countries in the region. It is a francophone nation and the capital is Libreville (which sounds like a street in the Vieux Carré here in New Orleans - Iberville, Bienville... Libreville. See?).
Simon Reeve travels to one of Africa's most expensive cities, Libreville, to learn more about the reality of the Gabon oil industry. Free video clip from BBC worldwide.
In Gabon traditional music is still very popular, and indeed it should be. It's great. Here you can see and hear an instrument invented by the original inhabitants of Gabon, the m'congo, played by a master in the village of Tchibanga, in southern Gabon. It is frequently played in iboga initiation ceremonies.You can find more about Gabon on my home page,
Brazzaville is the capital of the Republic of the Congo, not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo. French is the official language while Kongo/Kituba and Lingala are also recognized. Wikipedia includes the following:
However, Congo's democratic progress was derailed in 1997. As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou camps mounted. On June 5, President Lissouba's government forces surrounded Sassou's compound in Brazzaville and Sassou ordered members of his private militia (known as "Cobras") to resist. Thus began a four-month conflict that destroyed or damaged much of Brazzaville and caused tens of thousands of civilian deaths. In early October, Angolan troops invaded Congo on the side of Sassou and, in mid-October, the Lissouba government fell. Soon thereafter, Sassou declared himself President. The Congo Civil War continued for another year and a half until a peace deal was struck between the various factions in December 1999. The National Expansionary Growth Regional Operation was signed with representatives of Democratic and Patriotic Forces to end the conflict and work on rebuilding the heavily damaged infrastructure. Sham elections in 2002 saw Sassou win with almost 10% of the vote cast. His two main rivals Lissouba and Bernard Kolelas were prevented from competing and the only remaining credible rival, Andre Milongo, advised his supporters to boycott the elections and then withdrew from the race. A new constitution, agreed upon by referendum in January 2002, granted the president new powers and also extended his term to seven years as well as introducing a new bicameral assembly. International observers took issue with the organization of the presidential election as well as the constitutional referendum, both of which were reminiscent in their organization of Congo's era of the single-party state.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a former Belgian colony that has gone through various name changes since independence, including Zaire. The capital is Kinshasa. Wikipedia has the following:
Following the First Congo War which led to the overthrow of Mobutu in 1997, the country was renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Second Congo War, beginning in 1998, devastated the country greatly and involved seven foreign armies and is sometimes referred to as the "African World War". Despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the east of the country. In eastern Congo, the prevalence and intensity of rape and other sexual violence is described as the worst in the world. The war is the world's deadliest conflict since World War II, killing 5.4 million people.
[Emphasis mine]
I just had to re-do the graphic because a new flag was adopted in 2006 and in my collection of saved flag graphics I had the older version.
Clashes in Democratic Republic of the Congo's North Kivu province continues to force people to flee. The violence in the eastern province has also hampered efforts to bring aid to the most needy, with some roads and entire villages cut off by fighting. The displaced are in need of shelter and UNHCR is now constructing new camps.
You all know that I like to add some bits to reinforce what we have explored. There are no grades or punishment or humiliation, just teasers.
Holy One, the earth and all its peoples belong to you and you hear the cry of spilled blood, the anguish of the oppressed, the brutalized, the hungry, the injured and diseased. Pry open our closed hearts and unstop our ears that we may not be blind or deaf to the plight of our sisters and brothers. Show us what we may do to stand with the people of Central Africa and work with them for a better tomorrow, and grant us strength and courage to do it. Have mercy upon us all. --the BB
Our new blog friend Abinas sent a link to this bit of Obama music. Everybody get up and dance!
Grandmère Mimi has been putting up posts to remind us of what is going on in the more unnoticed parts of the world, calling us all to pay attention. Kudos to Mimi for caring and for sharing information!
This feature, once daily, is really a luxury in terms of my time though a sad necessity in terms of our desperate need for global awareness. Since I am taking today off I get to do it. I miss doing this.
Атомный реактор подлодки, на которой произошло ЧП, исправен - ВМФ РФ РИА Новости - 1 час назад МОСКВА, 9 ноя - РИА Новости. Главная энергетическая установка атомной подводной лодки, на которой в результате несанкционированного срабатывания системы пожаротушения погибли 20 человек и 21 пострадал, функционирует исправно, радиационный фон в норме, сообщил РИА Новости помощник Главнокомандующего ВМФ России - начальник Службы информации и общественных связей ВМФ, капитан первого ранга Игорь Дыгало. "Первичный осмотр подводной лодки показал, что она технически исправна и срабатывание системы ...
Bashir leads Bali bombers' funerals Radio Australia - 34 minutes ago The radical Indonesian cleric and alleged co-founder of the Jemaah Islamiya terrorist network, Abu Bakar Bashir, has led the funerals of Amrozi and Mukhlas in East Java.
Bank of England fires its biggest salvo Times Online - 19 hours ago - The Bank of England slashed its base rate. Then Alistair Darling strong-armed the bank bosses to pass it on. But will ...
Doris Leuthard n'exclut plus une récession économique en Suisse Romandie.com - Il y a 7 heures Au vu des récents développements conjoncturels, Doris Leuthard n'exclut plus une récession en Suisse également. Encore en septembre, la ministre de l'Economie considérait qu'il y avait "zéro indice" laissant entrevoir cette éventualité. ...
Charities, NGOs funds 'drying up' Independent Online - 3 hours ago Some charities and NGOs in South Africa have closed down because of the global downturn, and others face a tough few years with funds drying up.
Espera Argentina dureza económica de Obama El Financiero (México) - hace 1 hora Buenos Aires, 9 de noviembre.- El triunfo de Barack Obama en Estados Unidos puede representar un acercamiento político de ese país con América Latina, pero también un endurecimiento económico derivado de la crisis financiera, afirmó el analista Carlos ...
India needs $500 bn for core sector in next five years: PM Economic Times - 6 hours ago MUSCAT(OMAN): India needs over $500 billion in investments over the next five years for infrastructure development, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here on Sunday.
Syria's Assad says US should withdraw from Iraq AFP - 2 hours ago DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday called on the United States to pull its troops out of Iraq, saying they posed a threat to neighbouring states.
Afghanistan Reporter recounts kidnapping Canada.com - 2 hours ago Get the daily headlines emailed to you every morning with the Victoria Times Colonist newsletter. KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- CBC-TV reporter Mellissa Fung described being held in grim conditions in a cave for four weeks before before being freed, ... Afghan war reporter freed Calgary Herald CBC journalist Fung set free The Province
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us, unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. --The Book of Common Prayer, page 815
In the first of an expected avalanche of post-election regulations, the Bush administration on Friday narrowed the scope of services that can be provided to poor people under Medicaid’s outpatient hospital benefit. --Robert Pear reporting at the NYT
Hey, I wanted his ass impeached years ago.
What a disaster he has been for this nation and the world. And he has 71 days and 11 hours to continue doing damage.
In stark contrast one may look at efforts by some to provide health care for the poorest at teacherken's diary, titled "This may break your heart - and it should." "Hidden Hurt" is the Washington Post Magazine article that inspired his post. --the BB
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the blogger and do not represent the positions of any group or organization with which he may be affiliated. As one who spent decades stuffing down his opinions and emotions, I am inclined to cut loose here, which I believe is healthy, honest, and part of the process of sanctification in the long run. Politics and spirituality mingle freely here, along with theatre reviews, photography, and passionate talk about food, literature, and the human journey. If anything written here offends you, please find other blogs to read. I am here to share, not to do battle.
