ZED!

Wow.

2?

Or did I just dream the zed?
Where is everyone?

marymccurnin @ 2

Wow.

Gotta deny the rest of us, eh???

marymccurnin @ 4

Or did I just dream the zed?
Where is everyone?

i told ‘em

Hi Teddy, mary and CTuttle. I didn’t see the 60 minutes. Someone reported early that it was all softball.

TeddySanFran @ 6

marymccurnin @ 4

Or did I just dream the zed?
Where is everyone?

i told ‘em

Dang, Teddy, that was Mary’s job…!!!

Who slipped her the kool-aid? I thought she was one of the good reporters.

I’m back.

Suzanne @ 9

Who slipped her the kool-aid? I thought she was one of the good reporters.

Rachel Maddow is my dream date…!!! *sigh*

Back just in time to say g’night…laundry’s all in the dryer so it’s lights out for me!

An American Prince serves only the Marqis de Bush

CTuttle @ 11

Suzanne @ 9

Who slipped her the kool-aid? I thought she was one of the good reporters.

Rachel Maddow is my dream date…!!! *sigh*

She’s a great journalist.

Loo Hoo. @ 7

Hi Teddy, mary and CTuttle. I didn’t see the 60 minutes. Someone reported early that it was all softball.

And very blonde, breathy and flirtatious. I was underwhelmed. But perhaps in Iraq, Ms. Logan needs to depend upon BWater for her own safety. In which case, having her interview Mr Prince was a massive conflict. I wish they’d had Christine Amanpour, but I doubt Prince would have sat for her.

CTuttle @ 11

Suzanne @ 9

Who slipped her the kool-aid? I thought she was one of the good reporters.

Rachel Maddow is my dream date…!!! *sigh*

Me,too and I’m not gay. Yet.

CT, I think you’ll have to wait until our jaqcrat’s done with ms maddow, and i’m not sure there will be much left for you….

not dream date - good reporter - yanno, the kind that gets out of the green zone and doesn’t just parrot the talking points… dayam, this is just so disappointing (if i am remembering correctly she kicked ass by reporting reality in iraq)

Negotiating Blackwater’s expulsion?

We learned on Friday that Army officials in Baghdad believe Blackwater guards at Nisoor Square not only weren’t under attack when they opened fire, the private security force actually opened fire on Iraqi civilians while the Iraqis were fleeing in the other direction. Said Lt. Col. Mike Tarsa, whose soldiers reached Nisoor Square 20 to 25 minutes after the gunfire subsided, “It appeared to me they were fleeing the scene when they were engaged. It had every indication of an excessive shooting.”

To date, there have been exactly zero independent reports and/or evidence bolstering Blackwater’s version of events on Sept. 16. It is against this backdrop that Iraqi officials have renewed discussions with the Bush administration about kicking the private army out of the country.

U.S. and Iraqi officials are negotiating Baghdad’s demand that security company Blackwater USA be expelled from the country within six months, and American diplomats appear to be working on how to fill the security gap if the company is phased out. […]

The Iraqi investigators issued five recommendations to the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which has since sent them to the U.S. Embassy as demands for action. Point No. 2 in the report says: “The Iraqi government should demand that the United States stops using the services of Blackwater in Iraq within six months and replace it with a new, more disciplined organization that would be answerable to Iraqi laws.”

Sami al-Askari, a top aide to al-Maliki, said that point in the Iraqi list of demands was nonnegotiable.

“I believe the government has been clear. There have been attacks on the lives of Iraqi citizens on the part of that company (Blackwater). It must be expelled. The government has given six months for its expulsion and it’s left to the U.S. Embassy to determine with Blackwater when to terminate the contract. The American administration must find another company,” he told AP.

In a bit of a shift, al-Askari, according to the AP report, said Bush administration officials are no longer “insisting on Blackwater staying.”

If Blackwater is expelled, as now appears increasingly likely, who’d replace their teams? Apparently, DynCorp, which already has a significant presence in Iraq, is poised to replace the controversial North Carolina company, though the AP noted that DynCorp probably doesn’t have the infrastructure in place to take over Blackwater’s responsibilities within six months, as the Maliki government demands.

Christine would have feasted on Prince’s sorry *ss!!! Rachel would’ve went all Benihana, fresh sashimi, anyone…???

So transitions between contractors are so complex that they take more than six months? I thought the contractors were supposed to be the lean, nimble sharp point of Cheney’s warmaking spear. Apparently they have bureaucracy, overhead, and infrastructure just like the US military — what a surprise.

Dolts.

congrats, mary :)

TeddySF - represent!

(middle-aged white guy looking stupid here at my keyboard…)

TeddySanFran @ 17

CT, I think you’ll have to wait until our jaqcrat’s done with ms maddow, and i’m not sure there will be much left for you….

Sloppy Seconds…??? ;-0

We are trying to keep Blackwater The Murders out of Cali. Cristine Craft, a reporter on progressive radio, has a petition on her site. Last month her boss decided to cut her on air hours from three to one a day. Coinkiedink?

giving CT the lQQk and getting ready to put hands on hips

TeddySanFran @ 21

So transitions between contractors are so complex that they take more than six months? I thought the contractors were supposed to be the lean, nimble sharp point of Cheney’s warmaking spear. Apparently they have bureaucracy, overhead, and infrastructure just like the US military — what a surprise.

Dolts.

Haven’t the Marines always been tasked for State’s protection…???

So Dyncorp would just hire the Blackwater folks who lost their jobs?

Speaking of news ….. I am rather proud of how my news blog is coming along.

Suzanne @ 25

giving CT the lQQk and getting ready to put hands on hips

What? I’m behaving…(barely)!!! 8-)

kirk murphy @ 22

congrats, mary :)

TeddySF - represent!

(middle-aged white guy looking stupid here at my keyboard…)

Yea bro, testify!

Suz! Glad to see you back for you were sorely missed. ;~)

ct, that seconds comment was so… so… so junior high

OT

We have a great day today.
A Day at the Beach/Inverness, CA

npb, she found the dress - i described it downstairs - it is completely different than what she went looking for.

marymccurnin @ 33

OT

We have a great day today.
A Day at the Beach/Inverness, CA

That would be “We had - not we have a great day today.”

Suzanne @ 32

ct, that seconds comment was so… so… so junior high

Wait, I thought CT was in junior high!

Back from a great clarinet recital and incredible home-made Korean and Japanese food reception in Anchorage. Making a fire in the woodstove in my shop. Have we won yet?

marymccurnin @ 35

marymccurnin @ 33

OT

We have a great day today.
A Day at the Beach/Inverness, CA

That would be “We had - not we have a great day today.”

Beautiful pix!

I gotta fire going too, ET, but its not anywhere near as cold here as it is up there :)

Hi ET. Welcome.

CTuttle @ 11

Suzanne @ 9

Who slipped her the kool-aid? I thought she was one of the good reporters.

Rachel Maddow is my dream date…!!! *sigh*

{Arms folded on chest} C Tuttle! What ever are you thinking?!? You are LIVING with your dream date!!! Come to your senses, boy! Its a good thing your roommate doesn’t read your e-mail!

Bob in HI

Nice pics, Mary! Suz, when is your daughter getting married? The dress sounds beautiful!

Thanks ya’ll.

TexBetsy,
Left a note for you downstairs.

Bob in HI

TexBetsy @ 38

marymccurnin @ 35

That would be “We had - not we have a great day today.”

Beautiful pix!

And sweet little pup and paw prints in the sand. Thanks for sharing your beach adventure Mary!

This is a nice one:

Kucinich: Get Ready to Read Bush His Miranda Rights
from AfterDowningStreet.org - Impeach Bush and Cheney Now!
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/27692

Kucinich speech at Latino Congresso, via MyDD

I’m so grateful to be with you this morning. It’s such an honor. When I am with this community, I realize the real connection I have, from the heart, (el corazón). It’s a connection that transcends the issues, but it connects us to the issues at the same time.

When I started my career in politics forty years ago in Cleveland, the Puerto Rican population was growing, and there were a lot of problems between that community and the police. And so when I finally got elected to city council with the help of the Puerto Rican community, the first thing I did was to take a Spanish language course, so that I could better understand and communicate with members of the Latino community. One of the things we first discovered in the city council was the fact that the police were arresting Latinos without reading them their rights, in direct violation of the Miranda decision. So if someone didn’t speak English, they didn’t have any rights. The police didn’t understand that even if people couldn’t speak English, it didn’t mean that those people shouldn’t have rights. So I was responsible for causing the Cleveland Police to have to learn the Miranda rights in Spanish and carry a card with them.

my firstborn gets married may 31st

Suzanne @ 34

npb, she found the dress - i described it downstairs - it is completely different than what she went looking for.

It sounds absolutely beautiful. Did ya get all teary when you saw your little girl wearing it?

Geezis, that was a bad interview, but then I thought she’s probably got to depend on BW on occassion and Iraq is no doubt scary enough not to have BW goons tryin’ to shoot you too…

persiflage @ 48

Suzanne @ 34

npb, she found the dress - i described it downstairs - it is completely different than what she went looking for.

It sounds absolutely beautiful. Did ya get all teary when you saw your little girl wearing it?

Sweet.

i thought i was hiding it well until one of the bridal assistants at the store brought me over a box of kleenex.

TeddySanFran @ 36

Suzanne @ 32

ct, that seconds comment was so… so… so junior high

Wait, I thought CT was in junior high!

Shucks, didn’t even get to the Fifth grade…!!! :P

This is the more of the Kucinich speech:

Now the people in the Administration of George Bush better remember their Miranda rights, because when I’m elected President I’m going to see that they are arrested. I’m not kidding here! I want to let you to know something; how I feel about what’s happened to our country. We have been led into a war based upon lies — an unjust a war. We’ve seen our civil liberties taken away because of lies. The President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense are all part of this. They’re going to be held accountable under the law. If someone runs a traffic light, they’ll get a ticket here. There are a million dead Iraqis and almost 4,000 dead American soldiers as a result of this war. Where is the accountability? What’s happened is that our constitution is being torn up. And in this toxic environment, the Administration, in its never-ending quest for more scapegoats, focuses on immigrants. You know it and I know it. And we see, unfortunately, the failure of the Democratic Party to stand up to this Administration.

newspaperbrat @ 45

TexBetsy @ 38

Beautiful pix!

And sweet little pup and paw prints in the sand. Thanks for sharing your beach adventure Mary!

I don’t know who I love more-Ron The Hubbie or Wally the Best Dog Ever.

Suzanne @ 47

my firstborn gets married may 31st

Righteous!!! Congrats…!!!

pawprints in the sand is my fav

This is a fascinating move on Bush’s part.

Believe it or not, that’s the storyline in the controversial case of Medellin v. Texas, which the Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday. The Administration is siding with Jose Ernesto Medellin and his lawyers, arguing that he along with 50 other Mexican nationals should have their convictions reviewed because, in what the International Court has ruled a violation of a treaty signed by the U.S., they were not offered access to Mexican consular officials after their arrest.

The raucous right is in an uproar, stunned that their onetime hero, George W. Bush, is going against them on a case that combines three of the issues closest to their heart: immigration, the death penalty and international sovereignty. But the real lesson the right wing should take from the case is that the presidential power they so jealously defend when it is used against foreign nationals looks a lot less attractive when it’s applied at home.

Suzanne @ 56

pawprints in the sand is my fav

Woof.

Bob, those sound like great assignments, but you should check with Loo Hoo about assignments for 5th graders. My son had assignments like that in the honors program.

Suzanne @ 51

i thought i was hiding it well until one of the bridal assistants at the store brought me over a box of kleenex.

From my, admittedly limited, experience, all mothers find the first sight of their little girl all grown-up and womanly in her wedding gown over-whelming. Like “where’d that kid who ate mud go? She was here only yesterday”

years decades of following astronomy….

and just about to search “Ron the Hubble”

when did NASA name it?

goddess, I need glasses -

i’m sitting here with token laying on my lap - his nose just hanging over my knees… and remembering when firstborn came home from the hospital and i would put her in the same spot, and rock her to sleep with my legs.. sometimes, that was the only way to soothe her

Good night all.

See you again when Suzanne is ready to celebrate her birthday. Laura Doty also has a birthday tomorrow.

Great beach pix, Mary. And great Dennis speech, Bets.

Imagine someone running for president talking about arresting Bush and Cheney! He needs to talk like that more often.

marymccurnin @ 33

OT

We have a great day today.
A Day at the Beach/Inverness, CA

beautiful. Pt. Reyes is such a great place. Is that McClure’s Beach? Abbott’s Lagoon?

kirk murphy @ 61

years decades of following astronomy….

and just about to search “Ron the Hubble”

when did NASA name it?

goddess, I need glasses -

or just scoot the chair a little further away from the monitor, kirk. i forgot my glasses and found i could read the memu yesterday only while holding it with my arms fully extended

Loo Hoo. @ 57

This is a fascinating move on Bush’s part.

Believe it or not, that’s the storyline in the controversial case of Medellin v. Texas, which the Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday. The Administration is siding with Jose Ernesto Medellin and his lawyers, arguing that he along with 50 other Mexican nationals should have their convictions reviewed because, in what the International Court has ruled a violation of a treaty signed by the U.S., they were not offered access to Mexican consular officials after their arrest.

The raucous right is in an uproar, stunned that their onetime hero, George W. Bush, is going against them on a case that combines three of the issues closest to their heart: immigration, the death penalty and international sovereignty. But the real lesson the right wing should take from the case is that the presidential power they so jealously defend when it is used against foreign nationals looks a lot less attractive when it’s applied at home.

Bush wants to ensure himself access to the American consul when Dennis comes to arrest him in Paraguay!

nite betsy

Suzanne @ 62

i’m sitting here with token laying on my lap - his nose just hanging over my knees… and remembering when firstborn came home from the hospital and i would put her in the same spot, and rock her to sleep with my legs.. sometimes, that was the only way to soothe her

Gee Suzanne, now I’m sniffling, joyful and sad at the same time. I guess most important moments in life are like that. Now for the hard part, what is mother of bride wearing?

persiflage @ 60

Suzanne @ 51

i thought i was hiding it well until one of the bridal assistants at the store brought me over a box of kleenex.

From my, admittedly limited, experience, all mothers find the first sight of their little girl all grown-up and womanly in her wedding gown over-whelming. Like “where’d that kid who ate mud go? She was here only yesterday”

Whaa… No snoopy dance? I remember seeing the eldest off to the mainland for college, Paarty!!! ;-)

goodnight, Betsy.

punaise @ 65

marymccurnin @ 33

OT

We have a great day today.
A Day at the Beach/Inverness, CA

beautiful. Pt. Reyes is such a great place. Is that McClure’s Beach? Abbott’s Lagoon?

North Beach

persiflage @ 69

Suzanne @ 62

i’m sitting here with token laying on my lap - his nose just hanging over my knees… and remembering when firstborn came home from the hospital and i would put her in the same spot, and rock her to sleep with my legs.. sometimes, that was the only way to soothe her

Gee Suzanne, now I’m sniffling, joyful and sad at the same time. I guess most important moments in life are like that. Now for the hard part, what is mother of bride wearing?

firstborn is insistent that i am not permitted to wear tie dye - yesterday was all about Jen - my outfit is still to be determined

Does she have a color theme yet?

pastel green and pastel orange - sorta kinda celtic in colors

marymccurnin @ 72

punaise @ 65

beautiful. Pt. Reyes is such a great place. Is that McClure’s Beach? Abbott’s Lagoon?

North Beach

gracias - don’t know that one

sherbert! or is it sorbet?

Suzanne @ 75

pastel green and pastel orange - sorta kinda celtic in colors

think ice cream sherbet version of the green and orange of ireland

Suzanne @ 73

my outfit is still to be determined

firedoglake blue

TeddySanFran says
October 14th, 2007 at 11:02 pm

Great beach pix, Mary. And great Dennis speech, Bets.

Imagine someone running for president talking about arresting Bush and Cheney! He needs to talk like that more often.

Yes!

And the Rethugs loves, loves, loves them their Tazers electric shock torture devices for arrests.

Any day now I expect the party of “Separate but unequal” to give cost-plus contacts for platinum Tazers.

7.1 Torture Hardware
Other torture hardware includes electroshock weapons, electrically heated hot tables, whips, iron-chain filled rubber hoses, cat-o’-nine-tails, clubs, canes, specially designed torture devices and interrogation rooms using white noise (Fig. 41) (Sweeney 1991a and 1991b) and stroboscopic UV light (New Scientist, 1973). Much of this equipment is home made but some of the newer technologies are purpose built and may be used by successive law enforcement agencies after one torturing regime is replaced by another. For example, the ‘Apollo machine’ which was devised by SAVAK, the Shah’s secret police in Iran (it delivered an electric shock to sensitive parts of the body, while a steel helmet covered prisoners’ heads to amplify their screams), was also used by the succeeding regime’s religious police. (Mather,1982)

Helen Bamber, Director of the British Medical Foundation for the Treatment of the Victims of Torture, has described electroshock batons at ‘the most universal modern tool of the torturers’. (Gregory, 1995) Recent surveys of torture victims have confirmed that after systematic beating, electroshock is one of the most common factors (London, 1993); (Rasmussen, 1990). If one looks at the country reports of Amnesty International, electroshock torture is the Esperanto of the most repressive states. Many examples of its use have been reported including Austria,114 Greece (Council of Europe, 1994); China (Amnesty International 1992b), Ballantyne, 1992, 1995); and Saudi Arabia (Amnesty International, 1994). Amnesty International has just published a survey of fifty countries where electric shock torture and ill treatment has been recorded since 1990.115

According to the manufacturers, the new pulsed variants of electroshock weapon were developed in the 1980’s on the basis of biomedical research. They come in several variants including hand held prods and batons, (Fig. 42) electrified riot shields (Fig. 43) and electrified dart systems like the Taser (Fig. 44.). Electroshock weapons work on the induction coil principle. They are battery powered devices which step up the voltage several thousand fold to produce a high voltage low amperage shock that affects the victim’s muscle control. As well as severe pain and a temporary paralysis, such weapons also achieve a psychological effect because of the dancing display of crackling blue lightning which traverses the electrodes of both shields and prods.

An independent survey by the UK Forensic Science Service (FSS) (commissioned by the British Home Office), examined the possible hazardous effects of a range of different electroshock devices on the human body (Robinson, et al., 1990). The FSS study reported that receiving a typical discharge from an electroshock prod up to half a second startles and repels the victim; one to two seconds and the victim loses the ability to stand up; three to five seconds and loss of skeletal muscle control is total and immobilization occurs. The effect can last for between five and fifteen minutes. The FSS study also reported that modern pulsed electroshock weapons are more powerful than the old fashioned cattle prods by nearly two (45) orders of magnitude.

[snip]

Manufacturers’ claims that these products are “safe” are open to interpretation. Deaths have been reported from both Tasers116 and from shock shields.117 One of the key experts used by manufacturers of electroshock weapons to justify claims of the generic safety of these devices has refuted such an interpretation.118 There is also the need to take into account the political context in which many of these weapons are used since push button torture may be just one methodology applied as part of an entire spectrum of abuse.

punaise @ 79

Suzanne @ 73

my outfit is still to be determined

firedoglake blue

It might just clash with the green and orange…!!!

i like blue, pun - cobalt is one of my fav colors but that doesn’t really go well with her color theme

firstborn is insistent that i am not permitted to wear tie dye - yesterday was all about Jen - my outfit is still to be determined

————————————-

What is she? The Anti-Hippie? I know from watching friends go through it that mother of bride outfit is difficult. It can’t be too fabulous because the bride is entitled to pretty much all of the fabulousness on the day. OTOH, it can’t be unfabulous either. Still, plenty of time to decide.

Suzanne @ 82

i like blue, pun - cobalt is one of my fav colors but that doesn’t really go well with her color theme

well, then someone needs to consider a change to the color scheme! (just kidding)

persi, she is the one who coined the term used to describe me of “a 17 year old trapped in an old woman’s body”.

WEll, I gotta go, Mr Persi and I are going to do some shopping (no, not for anything exciting) and he’s giving me signals that he’s ready and waiting.

See ya tomorrow to celebrate Suzanne’s birthday!

I am going to bed also. Thanks for the kind words about the pics. See you all tomorrow.

Suzanne @ 85

persi, she is the one who coined the term used to describe me of “a 17 year old trapped in an old woman’s body”.

Ha! If only more of us could share that affliction! I get away with it because I don’t have kids so never really had to grow up.

g’nite mary mcc

enjoy shopping persi

persi, have good fun.

wish you happy shopping surprises ;)

G’nite, Persi and Mary!!!

Suzanne @ 85

persi, she is the one who coined the term used to describe me of “a 17 year old trapped in an old woman’s body”.

Old woman? At 53?

prodigal son punaise jr. ventured home for the weekend - first trip back from college, and not just to do laundry. Louis the cat followed him around the whole time.. “hey, I remember this guy”.

Your son misses you, punaise.

((((punaise, jr, louis the cat, punaise’s partner))))

Loo Hoo. @ 92

Suzanne @ 85

persi, she is the one who coined the term used to describe me of “a 17 year old trapped in an old woman’s body”.

Old woman? At 53?

i had just turned 40 when she coined it and it was as true then as it is now… my orthopedist said at the time that i was 40 but my knee was 85

Prince Erik still plans to conquer San Diego despite local opposition
http://www.signonsandiego.com/.....black.html

also, y’all catch the Sanchez fiasco? Retired general criticizes the war, and the rethugs automatically press the auto-swiftboat button.. they’re trying to tar him with Abu Ghraib now, after completely exonerating him for the same atrocities at the time, if I remember correctly.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITI.....index.html

These people really are special
General Sanchez: war is a “a nightmare with no end in sight.”
Lindsay Graham (immediate auto-swiftboat response): “Abu Ghraib got out of control under his watch. The war in general got out of control under his watch.”

Blub @ 97

Prince Erik still plans to conquer San Diego despite local opposition
http://www.signonsandiego.com/.....black.html

also, y’all catch the Sanchez fiasco? Retired general criticizes the war, and the rethugs automatically press the auto-swiftboat button.. they’re trying to tar him with Abu Ghraib now, after completely exonerating him for the same atrocities at the time, if I remember correctly.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITI.....index.html

These people really are special

they are still living bush’s ‘you are either with us or you are against us’ crap

hey loo hoo, kirk! it’s only been three weeks, but the family dynamic has changed and yet not changed. it’s all good. punaisette gets to move upstairs and take over the crow’s nest of a bedroom.

Suzanne,

Your birthday is Monday?

Local news had a story about a Pleasanton CA wiccan lady who’s protesting her neighbor’s halloween decoration. Before you think she’s taking needless offense or overreacting: the halloween display her neighbor selected is a witch hanging from a gallows.

What’s halloween-y about that? Sounds to me like the neighbor knows his neighbor’s religion and has singled her out with his display.

People!

yeup, et, 10/15

happy birthday, Suzanne