Blackwater

Apparently the private security firm Blackwater and its sisters have not had to obey Iraqi law. Nor the universal code of military justice (UCMJ), and it seems that they are not even accountable under American law.

Contractors build buildings, or repair pipelines. Once a contractor is carrying a sub-machine gun or flies helicopters which have machine guns mounted it is no longer a contractor. They are a private militia. Or perhaps the correct description is a private army or mercenaries.

Neither fits in with what us Americans believe about ourselves.

If the top officials of the American Government do not trust the military to protect them, and they need to hire their own private army to do so, then our country is in more serious trouble than I thought.

All private security contractors, all private militias, and all mercenaries need to be removed from the picture in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact the American government should never employ such an immoral and unethical ruse again.

Class Act

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Britney Spears gave new dignity to Louisiana trailer park trash today. The concept of "Southern Grace" certainly does not apply to her.
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Maybe she was a sailor in a prior life. On one of her many toilet breaks today from a court session today she told a reporter to "Eat it, lick it, snort it, fuck it!"
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Well, she may be a fat ass, and perhaps she is a drug addict and a really bad parent. And some people claim that she can't sing worth a damn.
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But you have to give her credit where credit is due: That lady sure can cuss!
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Speed Limit in Germany?

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In today's news I see that the social democrats (the SPD) is recommending that an 80 mph speed limit be imposed on the German freeways. To lower carbon dioxide emissions.
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Fortunately the Prime Minister (they call this job the Chancellor) Angela Merkel is saying, "No way Jose', not on my watch."
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In a surprising policy decision, the SPD voted in favor of introducing a speed limit of 130 kph (80 mph) on Germany's autobahns, famous for their lack of speed limits, in a bid to reduce CO2 emissions. However the policy is unlikely to make it into law, due to opposition from the CDU: In an interview on Sunday, Merkel said a speed limit "is not going to happen with me." Germany's powerful car lobby opposes autobahn speed limits, arguing that they reduce demand for its high-performance automobiles.
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Until early 2007 I lived in Europe for 15 years. My house was less than a mile from the German border.
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The German freeways have a roadbed that is more than twice the thickness of the American Interstate Highways, and the radius of the bends is extremely gentle. The same turn on the German motorways will take 2-1/2 to 3 times as far as on the USA expressways. In other words these German roads are made for really high speeds.
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Before I bought the Toyota Prius, very often indeed I would get on the German freeways (autobahn) and set the cruise control on 130 mph. Yes MILES per hour. This meant that most of the time I would have to stay in the slow lane because the BMWs and Porsches and the occasional Ferrari were just zipping past me like I was standing still. I guess they were probably doing around 180 mph.
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But with traffic tie ups I would normally catch up to them in 10 or 20 miles.
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True Story: One time I was on my way to an art exhibit in Frankfurt about 260 kilometers away. A close friend of mine was on vacation with his family, and he was pulling his camping trailer very responsibly about 60 mph. I didn't even see him as I blew by. He recognized my car with the Dutch license plates. So he called me on the Cell Phone and asked me if I was on my way to Frankfurt. I said Yes I was. So I slowed way down, then finally pulled over and waited for several minutes so he could catch me. I waved at his kids, then hauled ass on towards Frankfurt.
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Paul Garland

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I realized today that I can put videos on this blog, so I am just playing!
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(NOTE: Click on the play button twice and it should play)
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The Open Road Calls

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Next weekend the famous Terlinga Chili Cookoff takes place.
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I'm sure tempted to hook up the little teardrop trailer to the Toy Crayola late next week and head towards the Big Bend of Texas.
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Maybe I'll stop one night along the way in the backcountry of Woodward Ranch south of Alpine, Texas.
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(this picture is from Aaron Copeland's album for the Common Man)
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Dzogchen Ponlop

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The local PBS FM radio station just had an interview of a very interesting sounding author.

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This fellow has that same innocent but very direct laugh and approach to life that the Dali Lama has. I'll bet this is a great book.

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Fluorescent Rocks

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This morning I was trying out a new battery in the Nikon digital SLR camera that I use to photograph fluorescent minerals.

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I decided that instead of trying to take nice super close-up shots, I should try taking a couple of pictures taken from a distance.

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Marrying Inside The Family

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I just heard a piece on NPR about marriage between the various sects of muslims in Iraq.
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The bride was interviewed, and she observed that in Iraq it is strongly encouraged that you marry your cousin.
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This sounds racist, but I don't intend that. All the same, maybe it explains something about the current insanity in Iraq.
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The Moon

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Last night there was a special full moon. It will also look really fine tonight.


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Moving in its elliptical orbit the furthest it gets away (apogee) is about 405,696 kilometers. But right now it is at its perigee (closest point) of around 384,600 kilometers. This means that right now the moon appears 14% bigger than normal and about 1/3 brighter than on average.


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So last night at 2:00 a.m. me and the dog took our Meade telescope outside and looked at the full moon. It was glorious.


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I took these pictures this morning at sunrise without attaching the camera to the telescope, just using the standard lens of my trusty little Sony digital camera.


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My friend Ed Anderson sent me this picture that he took outside his house in Northern California.
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Ku Klux Clan

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I had one great great grandfather who was a leader in the local Ku Klux Klan group. In our family bible there is a letter describing what he was doing as a wonderful and Christian act.
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Fortunately on the other side of the family I had ancestors who were running one of the stations in the underground railroad helping slaves escape the South to freedom in the North.
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America was built by immigrants. And not just in the 19th century either.
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This article describes how the Border Patrol (known locally as la Pinchi Migra) wants to approach the "illegal immigration" situation. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/25/america/NA-GEN-US-Immigration-Zero-Tolerance.php
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This is so surreal that I feel like I'm seeing a Salvador Dali' painting. Or watching Clockwork Orange. To me the approach the Republicans are taking seems straight out of the how-to manual by the Ku Klux Klan.
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Steve Crosno

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Steve Crosno was an El Paso icon. He had a genuine impact on many people growing up in far west Texas.

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Link: http://hpgarland.blogspot.com/2006/09/steve-crosno.html

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And now he is being entered into the Texas radio broadcasters hall of fame. Its about time!

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Link: http://www.newspapertree.com/calendar/229-steve-crosno-to-be-honored-posthumously-by-texas-radio-hall-of-fame

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America, The Country of Laws

One of the central arguments heard in the debate over illegal immigration is that in this country one must obey the law. This is a country of laws. This is not the USSR for heavens sake. In America the government officials or the royalty don’t make their decisions based upon a whim or a bribe. And that all people are treated equally under the law. Rich and poor, black and white, Christian and Muslim, heterosexual and homosexual, skinny and fat, tall and short, young and old.

Driving on the interstate highway system I normally set my cruise control exactly on the speed limit. And I would guess that 95% of the other vehicles pass me; some quite rapidly. Even policemen without their lights flashing. It seems like the Border Patrol guys are among some of the worst at flaunting the law. And virtually no one uses their directional turn indicator lamps anymore when changing lanes or turning.

Many wealthy Republicans go to a dinner party and drink a few martinis, then drive home inebriated, clearly making them criminals. And some of the younger businessmen go into the back room and snort cocaine. A large majority of young people have smoked pot, taken ecstasy, or drank alcohol under age. And if you manage to get over on the IRS many people see you as a hero.
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Did the same rule of law apply to OJ as to an "illegal immigrant" who has a court appointed lawyer?

In the early parts of the 21st century it appears that there is an open and clear cut contempt for the rule of law in the last superpower, the oldest democracy on the planet.

Look back to the era of prohibition from 1920 to 1933 and you will see that a large majority of Americans were openly violating the law of the land. During WWII there was government rationing of basic foodstuffs like sugar, and there was a large grey market openly breaking the law.

My analysis is that it is a real stretch to say that America is a country of laws. We may be better than some tin horn banana republic dictatorships, but we really have a very long way to go.

I lived in The Netherlands for 15 years, up until early in 2007. And it seems to me that in both Germany and Holland the people are significantly more law abiding than we are here in the USA. Both countries are democracies.

So it seems to me that the message should be, “Get off your arrogant high horse Americans, and get to work trying to make this a better country.”

Dumbledore Was Gay

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Now that the series is finished the author of the Harry Potter series has announced that Professor Albus Dumbledore, esteemed headmaster of Hogwarts, was gay. If this great role model wanted to come out of the closet he would have done so while he was still alive.
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I have been to (the outside) of J.K. Rowling's house, I've visited the British castle that was used as Hogwarts in the movies, I too had a Ford Anglia when I was a teen, and I've eaten in Nicolson's restaurant in Edinburg where she wrote a large part of the first book (twice).
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I really like the Harry Potter series, and I admire Joan Rowling as an author.
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But her outing Dumbledore after his death is just not cool. And after the series was finished too. Sorry. Really terribly inappropriate.
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It looks to me like the fame and unbelievable wealth is finally beginning to get to her.
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To many of us Gandalf, Frodo, and Dumbeldore hold much more relevance than some middle eastern carpenter who was raised in the Jewish faith 2,000 years ago.
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Joan I am afraid that you are becoming a hard and evil mean hearted bitch.
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Great analysis, read this: http://www.gryffindorgazette.com/2007/10/25/seven-clues-that-dumbledore-was-gay/
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Link: http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1674550,00.html
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Yurt in West Texas

A friend of mine has a fun construction project going. He is building a Yurt.
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This is a type of dwelling used by the nomadic peoples of central asia. Places like Mongolia and Kazakhstan. In theory this is a temporary structure that can be disassembled and moved fairly easily using camels or yaks. Sort of a Central Asian RV that you live out of. And when the grazing plays out you move to a new location. Hunter-Gatherer style.
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Wikipedia says that a Yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt
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My friend's yurt is being constructed largely from salvage materials. It is about 25 feet in diameter, the side walls are 5 feet high, and the center pole is 12 feet 3 inches tall.
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The cover or roof was made here in America and was bought over e-bay. It is made of some kind of waterproof plasticized tarp or awning material. That is laid over a second cover below which seems to be cotton. The two layers of material will provide a tiny bit of dead air and thus some insulation.

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What Time Is It?

Time can be described a lot of different ways. Click on this display of time conversion and it will enlarge enough to be readable.

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Telescope

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At the new JC Penney near my house that just opened they have a good grand opening sale going on. Plus I have a certificate that gives me an additional 15% off on top of that.

So today when I went over there to buy some dress socks and a couple more pairs of suspenders, I ended up also buying a Meade astronomy telescope. A DVD comes with it, and included on the DVD is an atlas of the moon with at least a zillion photographs.

There are two that I especially like. One is the Cannon crater (Link: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2275/1697543626_dc201e45d2_o.jpg), and the other is the Mons Hadley (Link: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2180/1696694123_96e65aae09_o.jpg).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon_(crater)

Family Dinner

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Every Sunday evening our family gets together at my Sister's house to bond and to eat dinner. It is really pleasant. Normally there are about 8 people and 5 dogs present.
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I am very fortunate that I have a nice family. They are all exceptional people, and each one of them is very unique. I like and admire all of them. And the dogs all have different and unique personalities, but they have bonded into a pack so they all get along really well.
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While eating yesterday evening an odd thing happened. Someone observed that the French people are beginning to get fatter. So almost everyone chimed in with their erudite opinion on this imporant subject. Except me. I just listened.
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Inwardly I was chuckling to myself: None of these folks has ever even been to Europe, much less to France. Over the course of my life I guess I've probably visited or driven through France 25 times or more. But it never occured to anyone at the dinner table to ask me what I thought about this vital matter. This didn't offend me, it just seemed a little odd.
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Finally I chimed in by changing the subject to how fat the British have become. Which once again allowed everyone (who have never been to the UK either) to air their opinions on British cuture, body styles, etc.
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American Indians

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Yesterday out at Hueco Tanks http://hpgarland.blogspot.com/2007/01/hueco-tanks.html about 20 miles east of El Paso, Texas they had an "interpretive fair." This amounted to free entrance (I already have a paid up annual membership), and several tables set up by vendors from the Kiowa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiowa, Navajo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_mythology, and the Tigua indian tribes.
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My little doggie Inu and I got there at just the right time to hear a long talk by one of the four remaining pure-bred Kiowa elders. Then they did some traditional songs and dances. Really moving. It was apparent that these old Kiowa elders really felt the sense of history and of their ancestors who had died at this spot fighting soldiers.
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From an old Kiowa woman I bought a pair of hand made turquoise earrings. Her son who must have been about 50 is the artist who made them. She introduced me to him and it was nice to talk about lapidary and the techniques he uses to cut and polish the turquoise.
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From two very genuine Navajo women from Northern New Mexico USA I bought a nice beaded necklace. It celebrates the Raven in Navajo mythology. The mythological story was so obviously genuine and a part of their oral history passed down among the elders, that I got the lady to repeat it so that I could record the story.
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The myth relates to why Ravens are black. During a winter of great famine the Gods sent down a lightning bolt to warm the animals. Many animals tried to retrieve an ember to warm them, but only the raven was successful. But the ash from the fire of the embers turned the raven from blue to black. When you see ravens in strong sunlight you can still see a little bit of the blue color. And the lightning and the fire are represented by the colors of fire.
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Animal Tracks Out In The Desert

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People who don't go walking out in the desert much think it is virtually devoid of life.

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Not

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Picture: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2284/1660019261_124f3d5456_b.jpg

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The El Paso County Sheriff

Inu and I had an interesting walk this morning. It is finally beginning to cool down slightly here in the high desert, so we took a little longer walk out in the desert than usual.

And when we got back to where I could see the car parked out in the desert I was shocked to see another car parked right behind it. And then I noticed two large persons examining my car. At first I thought, “Oh Goodness, I hope I am not about to have some sort of a confrontation.”

Then I noticed that the other car was painted black and white and had lights on top. And that both of the big persons were wearing uniforms. And then I thought, “Oh Goodness, I hope am not about to have another sort of confrontation.”

Of course Inu was bounding across the desert wanting to make friends with these two new people. And both Sheriffs did a quick draw, removing their night sticks from their belts, just in case they needed to defend themselves from my little black doggie.

So I took off my hat to show deference, and then I hollered at them, “Good Morning Officer. He is the kind of doggie that will lick the burglars to death.”

It was a man and woman sheriff. She was either a really pushy and overbearing female, or she was of higher seniority, because she sure took the lead.

They were worried that someone had stolen my car and dumped it out here in the desert, or that I had come out here to commit suicide. The lady told me, “Usually when we find a car out here in the desert there is not a good ending.”

Well there was a good ending this time. Inu got to make two new friends. The man asked me my name, so I told him my name and said, “I can show you some ID if you like.” And the Sheriff said, “Oh no, that’s OK.”

When we all got back to our cars both Sheriffs shook my hand, and we parted on very friendly terms.