6 Aug - BlogRoaming

On this day...

by BooMan
Thu Aug 6th, 2009 at 12:38:22 PM EST
Today is not only the birthday of Lucille Ball, Alfred Tennyson, and Andy Warhol, it's the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. What else has happened on this day?

In 1787, the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia met for its first day. In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire formally went out of existence. In 1890, William Kemmler became the first person to be executed in an electric chair. In 1914, World War One began. In 1962, Jamaica won its independence from the United Kingdom. In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. And, in 1984, Prince release Purple Rain. Which one of those events strikes you as the most important?

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APA Says There is No Gay Cure

by BooMan
Thu Aug 6th, 2009 at 11:57:12 AM EST
The American Psychological Association says that if you are gay and your religious beliefs condemn gay behavior, therapy isn't going to help you. They say you should try celibacy or simply change churches. Of course, changing churches is a nice way of saying 'change your stupid religious beliefs,' but there are diplomatic ways to say almost anything.

Attempting to cure yourself of same-sex attraction can actually be dangerous.

No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the resolution, adopted by a 125-to-4 vote. The association said some research suggested that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.

I think physical relocation is also a good way to lesson the burden of same-sex impulses. There are many areas of the country where homosexuality is not frowned upon and doesn't present too many difficulties. If you are depressed or thinking suicidal thoughts, it may be because the people in your life don't accept you for who you are. Getting away from them may be the best therapy.

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The Next Wingnut Panic Attack

by Steven D
Thu Aug 6th, 2009 at 10:32:43 AM EST
Birtherism has turned into a joke. Health care reform will send old people to death camps is getting stale. So what's a right wing fanatic to do? I suspect -- no make that I strongly suspect -- that this will be next big brouhaha to arise from the Real Americans about how much Obama and the Democrats hate America: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's remarks in Kenya (you can see their little pinwheel hats spinning already at the mention of that country) that it is regrettable the US is not a member of the International Criminal Court -- you know, the one that prosecutes people for war crimes:

NAIROBI, Kenya, August 6 -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday it was "a great regret" that the United States was not a member of the International Criminal Court, an institution that has long been treated warily by the Pentagon. [...

Clinton said it was "a great regret but it is a fact" that the U.S. government was not a member of the court. "But we have supported the court and continue to do so."

She added: "I think we could have worked out some of the challenges that are raised concerning our membership by our own government, but that has not yet come to pass." [...]

In December 2000, Clinton's husband, then-President Bill Clinton, signed the treaty setting up the International Criminal Court, despite what he called "concerns about significant flaws." But he did not submit it to Congress for ratification. Months later, the Bush administration in effect withdrew that signature. The Obama administration has not made any move to join the court.

The Pentagon has long worried that the international war crimes court could unfairly target American military personnel stationed around the globe. Some legal experts, however, say the U.S. government had won important concessions to ensure protection of American servicemen and servicewomen.

Here's how the AP headlines the story, by the way:

Clinton suggests US could join war crimes court

A headline bound to stir up the right wing juices, doncha think? Of course, she said no such thing. She was simply giving a diplomatic response to the anger many in the international community feel that the US refused to join the Court, and then launched an illegal, aggressive war (i.e., committed a war crime) against Iraq which has resulted in the death and displacement of millions of people. Personally, I doubt this will happen on Obama's watch or any other President's either, but it would be nice if Dick Cheney and Dubya were wetting their collective pants about now considering the possibility of standing in the dock at The Hague on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, wouldn't it?

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( And of course Congress had other ideas in 2002 : American Servicemen Protection Act. So I chimed in with some results from a search of Opit's LinkFest! on Opera. )

Does The Bush CIA Team Fear Prosecution For Torture??

The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer discusses the fallout from the Red Cross’ shocking report on CIA torture and its serious legal implications.

Does Utah Savage have the last word ?

Analysis: How vital was spying during the Cold War?By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
The BBC’s security correspondent, Gordon Corera, asks a very basic yet very intriguing question about the history of the Cold War: did espionage actually make a difference in ts outcome? This question stems out of BBC Radio 4’s three-part documentary series examining the 100-year history and operations of MI6, Britain’s foremost external intelligence agency.

Criminals join the e-waste cycle

An EU directive on recycling was meant to clear up the problem of electronic waste – but it is being flagrantly abused in the United Kingdom. Pete Warren reports.

In a raid at the start of June, police and officials from the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency (EA) targeted two east London locations -- a farm at Upminster and an industrial site at Rainham -- and forced open around 500 containers full of old computers, monitors, refrigerators and assorted electrical waste destined for illegal export to Africa, where it would be stripped down for raw materials.

“Our investigations have found that the majority of this equipment is beyond repair and is being stripped down under appalling conditions in Africa,” said the Environment Agency’s national enforcement service project manager, Chris Smith. “But the law is clear -- electrical waste must be recycled in the UK, not sent to developing countries in Africa where unsafe dismantling puts human health and the environment at risk.

Morning Joe #FAIL

On Thursday, August 6, I listened to Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan wax eloquent about the authenticity of the grassroots protest against health care reform at town hall meetings, which are actually astro-turfing efforts organized by GOP talent and funded by corporations.

Of course, Joe and Pat found them entirely authentic and failed to mention the invlovment of lobbying money and GOP party operatives. What I heard from Joe's mouth, a self-proclaimed bipartisan and self-proclaimed man of reason, was the rhetoric of an ideologue and a propagandist.

Report: White House Deal Shields Big Pharma from Competition. Why? By: Scarecrow Wednesday August 5, 2009 8:43 pm
( Yes. Well. Ka-ching!! See Wikipedia for Kleptocracy : that might be entertaining. )

Beads I view by Pat
( Pat runs a bead outlet )

Brain exercise!!

This is a quiz for people who know everything !!! I found out in a hurry that I didn't. These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers. No cheating! If you get the answer wrong, you'll probably remember it even longer. Use the information at a party to impress you friends with your knowledge. That could be another post.

Truisms?

Welcome! Ole! Guten Tag!
Here's my thought...

I come across something every now and again that makes so much sense that I think... well yeah! It couldn't be truer! That's why I'm calling the following "Truisms".


1.A day without sunshine is like night.

2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.

6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture most people have.

10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

12.. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

14. OK, so what's the speed of dark?

15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

16.. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

20.. Why do psychics have to ask you your name?

21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, 'What the heck happened?'

22. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

23. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

24. Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

CRYPTOME

Project Lennox - the codename for the new US Embassy in London - a 25-storey 97m high tower close to the MI6 HQ on the south bank of the Thames.