The head coast guard admiral who has been overseeing the BP disaster retired today.
Say What? Something here doesn't ring quite right. The top military leader doesn't quit in the middle of a battle. His commander in chief just wouldn't permit it. Not cool.
I forecast that there is more going on here than we are being told.
-
-
-
-
-
-
I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia 7-1/2 years ago.
-
For a long time the CLL didn't slow me down much or especially degrade my quality of life. But during the last 18 months it has gotten fairly bad. The swollen lymph nodes are now outrageously large. I feel like I should be working in a freak show at the circus. I almost hate to go out in public. They have gotten pretty painful too.
The blood platelets have begun declining, and the red blood cells/hemoglobin have gone way down. So I am almost constantly out of breath, and numbing fatigue comes after just a few seconds of very minor exertion.
The body's ability to fight off invaders, the immune system, has declined precipitously. There is no value in being gross by describing in depth the almost constant tooth and jaw infections, lung infections, jock itch, etc.
Now within the last 90 days I have lost all sense of smell, which of course means also almost all taste of food. My ankles and feet have swollen up so big with edema all of a sudden that I had to buy much larger shoes. Instead of taking the dog for a one mile walk in the desert, twice per day; it now is about 100 meters maximum, and just in the morning when the temperature here in the desert is still fairly cool.
My brain feels from the inside out like it is working better than ever; but I find myself driving very slowly and making large numbers of typos when I am writing. I also doze off much easier. So maybe my brain is deceiving me.
When one is diagnosed with any form of incurable cancer, you go through various stages and thought patterns. At one time having my obituary all typed up, and my will up to date seemed really important to me. Now all that seems largely irrelevant.
The main concern at this stage is: How much suffering should I put up with when this disease is incurable? Over time it will only get worse. At what point does the quality of one's life get so bad that it is sensible to accelerate the process of dying rather than continuing to fight the battle?
What I can say at this point is: My responsibilities to my wonderful little empathic doggie have now become the primary (almost sole) deterrent keeping me from taking any action to close this chapter of life's little one act play. But I'm hedging my bets too. I am ALWAYS armed now. Just in case. Always prepared, like a good Boy Scout.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The National Enquirer tabloid, not especially renowned for it's high standards of journalism, has published an article about the masseuse who is now refusing to cooperate with police. Here is a teaser:
“Masseuse: Gore's 'A Sick Man'
Al Gore is “not what people think he is—he’s a sick man!” claims Molly Hagerty, 54, the Portland massage therapist who accused the former vice president of “unwanted sexual contact” in 2006. Hagerty, who refused to cooperate with police after they filed a 45-page report on the incident, calls Gore a “sexual predator” and says, “I want justice served.” Reports confirm that Gore was in Portland at the time of the incident, which Hagerty says happened in an upscale hotel. She says Gore asked for inappropriate touching and forced an open-mouth kiss.”
Let me get this straight. Apparently Al Gore's biggest offense was wanting to kiss her on the lips. I would guess that probably 95% of female masseuses get daily requests for hand jobs and blow jobs. I think that many times (perhaps most times) these massage establishments are simply whore houses under a more socially acceptable name. Actual physical therapy normally takes place in a different environment. In this case she came to his hotel.
-
Even if he wanted to receive a blow job or a hand job from her, I would say, “So What??” I do sort of question Al Gore wanting to French kiss some worn out 54 year old masseuse. To me this is an indicator of pretty low self esteem. But I guess that after everything he has been through it is logical.
The man still likes sex. Maybe even affection, caring, and that weird concept we call love. Good! I'm very glad. Or at least he did so before this saggy old take-out masseuse woman came along. Maybe she has some sort of financial incentive from the energy companies. It does clearly show that Al Gore is not attracted to young members of the same sex, like is so common nowadays. I'm really glad about that.
There are fucked-up right wingers all over America jumping on this. They are licking their chops and dribbling saliva down their chins they are so excited. Gore solidly got more votes that Bush Jr., and then after the vote rigging in Florida, the Supreme Court had to steal the election for the President of the United States from Al Gore. The ignorant racists on the right still have a burr under their saddle about having to defeat Gore this underhanded way...and getting caught.
These same poorly educated rightist fascists are going to try and use this as ammunition to neutralize Gore's message about the horrors of global warming. Deceitful and dishonorable shit like this almost makes me feel ashamed to call myself an American.
-
-
-
-
-
--
The Vatican is using the legal argument that they cannot be held legally responsible for their perverted priests since a direct employment relationship did not exist.
I would argue otherwise. The church in America did not have the authority to defrock a priest because he was butt fucking young boys in his parish. Only the Vatican in Rome could do that, and frequently they did not. The church laws, rules, and regulations that the priests had to live up to were set in Rome, not locally. If a priest were investigated due to his sexual perversions, it was done so by an office out of Rome. If the Vatican in Rome wanted the man reassigned to another duty post, they had the power to make this happen.
Clearly Rome called the shots, so enough of an employment relationship existed for the Vatican bosses to be held fully accountable.
The Vatican is also arguing that the Pope cannot legally be charged because he has legal immunity as the head of state for an independent country. This argument has pros and cons, but at the end of the day I think it is clear that the Pope will not be going to jail over this issue.
The vehemence that the Vatican is using in attacking the authorities in Belgium shows that they still think their authority and their rules equal or maybe even supersede those of the secular society. Perhaps they could sell this idea in the 1950's but not in 2010. No way Jose'.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Pope Benedict is outraged that the Belgian authorities confiscated a computer and various records which apparently documented over 500 sexual abuse cases, even though the authorities had warrants and followed all appropriate procedures. The Pope's press releases seem to indicate that he feels the church and the governmental authorities should both investigate. And that their two investigations are of equal importance.
In any large organization, business, or sect the leaders are expected to do what is necessary and appropriate to prevent sexual abuse by the powerful against the rank and file. If the leaders have any reason to suspect that sexual harassment may be occurring or may have occurred, it is their duty to look into the matter. If then it appears that in fact some sexual abuse may have taken place they have a responsibility and legal obligation to notify the governmental authorities. It would be normal for them to turn over to the government any information they have, including all records and documents. The Belgian church should have provided these documents concerning the 500 cases of sexual abuse years ago. Instead they hid them from the secular authorities.
If BP conducts a sexual harassment investigation and finds that something incorrect took place, they are expected to notify the authorities and then help them in all ways possible. If the head of BP issues a press release saying that he considers his company's investigation to be treated equally to the government's investigation, it is sure proof he is completely out of touch with reality.
More and more it feels like this is the Pope's problem. He is somewhere out in space.
-
-
-
LATER ADDENDUM: Victim's rights groups are expressing outrage at the Pope's statements. It seems that once again the Catholic Church is choosing secrecy and protection for the pedophile priests rather than protection for the children who they sexually abused.
-
-
-
-
-
-
a Golden Globe nomination.I was looking something up on Wikipedia today and came upon this interesting bit of history.
The Mexican peso was the first currency in the world to use the "$" sign, which the United States dollar later adopted for its own use when the United States adopted the peso as currency during a period before adopting the dollar.
-
-
-
-
-
"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.
They didn't want it good, they wanted it Wednesday.
When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere.
May you live as long as you wish and love as long as you live.
No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.
I never learned from a man who agreed with me.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."
-
-
------------------------- Robert A. Heinlein
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
In each caliber or size the ammunition manufacturers make all different types of ammo. Some is designed for low recoil, others are made in a way which maximizes their accuracy for range or target practice. There also is ammunition specifically made for personal defense.
If your continuation as a life form is under genuine t
hreat, you would prefer to have the most destructive handgun possible available to you, like a .44 magnum. But considerations including concealment, weight, recoil, muzzle flash, etc. may demand that you carry a smaller firearm, such as a .380, which is also sometimes called a 9 mm short.
The Walther PPK, Polizeipistole Kriminalmodell (Police Pistol Detective Model), was first made in Germany in 1931. It is a small handgun well suited to concealed carry. Ian Fleming assured its popularity by making it James Bond's primary firearm. Adolph Hitler killed himself with his PPK. The PPK has been manufactured for several sizes of ammunition, but the most popular have been the .32 ACP and the .380 ACP.
In April 2010 Texas Governor Rick Perry was out getting some early morning exercise with his daughter's Labrador retriever when he was threatened by a coyote. He judged that he was in “imminent danger” and used his .380 Sturm, Ruger LCP ultralight semi automatic handgun with a laser sight to kill the errant coyote. This weapon only weighs about 10
ounces and easily fits in a pocket.
The picture on the left is a round of .380 ammunition made by Winchester. The bullet weighs 95 grains and has a full metal jacket. It is ideal for use on the range or for target practice.
The round in the picture on the right is also a .380 but this one is made by Federal, and is specifically made for the purpose of personal defense. The bullet weighs 90 grains and is called a hydrashok jacketed hollow point. When you are being threatened and you feel that you are in imminent danger, whether the animal threatening you has four legs or two, you hope that the ammunition you are using results in the maximum stopping power and tissue damage possible.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
If you haven't seen the movie Invictus yet, you need to make a point of it.
This movie is a true story about Nelson Mandela and South Africa. Morgan Freeman plays Mandela and Matt Damon plays the captain of the South African rugby team. The movie was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood.
I just can't say enough good things about this movie. You won't be disappointed.
-
-
-
-
-
-
I am in the process of reading several books which have been nominated for the pending Hugo award. One of the books takes place about 150 years from now.
My grandmother was born in 1890. The civil war ended in 1865 so she was born roughly 25 years after the civil war. She heard lots of family stories about it growing up. When I was a young boy she imparted some of these family memories to me. This spans roughly 150 years. One hundred and fifty years really isn't all that long. Technology wasn't as advanced back then, but they experienced most of the same emotions, fears, and hopes that we do in 2010. I can easily imagine living 150 years ago; but trying to imagine what it is going to be like 150 years in the future is much harder.
It is easy to be negative and pessimistic about it. Our greed and consumption of fossil fuels will have made the climate much worse. The gap between rich and poor may be even larger than today, etc. But I see this negative only approach as kind of a cop out.
We have the technology now to communicate. But we don't. I detest the right wing racists, so I do not listen to them. I'm certain they feel the same about me. Will the world still be using so many different languages? If we all used one language we could have the possibility of a better understanding of each others problems. Will we learn to listen?
More and more bacterial diseases no longer can be treated successfully with antibiotics. Will researchers be able to solve this? How about obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes? Will malaria and tuberculosis still be such a scourge? What about agriculture – will monoculture cause rampant famine, or will mankind be able to come up with real and long lasting solutions to hunger? Will extreme poverty still be such a feature of the lives of a large part of mankind?
As the earth warms and sea levels rise, how is mankind going to deal with so the many millions of people who will now no longer have homes? As America transitions from a white Anglo-Saxon culture to one that is primarily Hispanic how will the country change? Will Christianity continue its decline to where we become basically a secular society? What effect will this have? Will America continue to decline financially to where 150 years from now it is a poor has-been country like Iran, Greece, or Italy?
At the moment I just can't seem to come up with a good (and positive) picture of how things are going to be lots better 150 years from now than they are now.
I hope I'm wrong. But for the sake of the planet, maybe mankind needs to go ahead and hurry with its own destruction. Nature can write off homo sapiens as a failure and try over again.
-
-
-
-
-
My dad was one of the greatest guys I ever knew. He died 33 years ago, and I still miss him.BP CEO Tony Hayward has now blown it in about as many ways as is possible. Today this guy in on the Isle of Wight watching his yacht compete in a big race. While thousands of others are working weekends to clean up BP's mess in the Gulf of Mexico. No doubt Hayward used one of the BP corporate jets to fly him back to England.
This is the guy who whined that he “wanted his life back.” And the same ethnocentric jerk who told the Times of London that “Americans were particularly likely to file bogus claims over the spill.”
He is the same dishonest bastard who when being interviewed under oath by the U.S. Congress claimed “me no know nothing senor.” Stonewalling time and again. They should hold this wimp in contempt of congress and put his skinny British ass in jail.
While some of the fishermen of South Louisiana are now having to stand in food lines to get charity food so that their children won't starve, this purple-nosed British cretin is flying off to England to race his million dollar yacht.
Hayward is one worthless example of humanity.
-
-
-
-
-
The people who live near the Gulf of Mexico are rapidly descending into a state of despair. And maybe rightfully so. The more one learns about BP and the oil spill disaster, the more that despair seems like a completely appropriate reaction.
The Jews living in Israel are getting more-and-more paranoid and desperate. There are rumors that Iran has ships headed their way trying to incite violence and warfare. In all these years the Arabs still deny their right to exist as a state, and they keep shelling Israel and sending in rockets. Despair is an attitude that the Israelis can understand.
The number of millions of Americans who do not have health insurance and are denied access to health care continues to grow. The Obama plan does not incorporate single payer or a vigorous government option. It won't even affect most people for another few years. The greedy Republicans seem sincere about trying to overturn even this very weak and modest healthcare program. Despair doesn't seem entirely out of line.
The war in Afghanistan is going worse all the time. We are not going to be successful there. That has become clear. For all the kids who come home in a pine box or who do come home but are horribly screwed up physically or emotionally despair is common.
Most of America's senators and congressman are on the take. Corruption is rampant. Rather than being beholding to the voters who elected them they have sold their souls to the wealthy who provide the millions in campaign contributions. Campaign finance reform is simply not going to happen.
Global warming is real and is happening, but still is being denied. America is not doing anything meaningful to help.
Mexico is slowing imploding to the south of us. The Mexicans sure know the meaning of the word despair.
Not good.
-
-
-
-
-
6:15 a.m.
Last night was the most terrible yet. I don't think I slept longer than 10 minutes at a time all night long. I don't know what the total adds up to, but it feels like not nearly enough.
Extreme uncontrollable (and painful) coughing, lungs wheezing. I have never heard the death rattle, but I couldn't help thinking about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_rattle You really have no choice but to sit up or in most cases actually stand up to try and get the gut wrenching cough under control. Once in a while hocking up a goober of extremely sticky phlegm, but mostly just useless uncontrollable coughing.
The strong pain inside the right lung...right at the same place where it was 7 years ago when I was first diagnosed with leukemia, except now with the addition of lot of very large and sensitive lymph nodes. I remember having this almost debilitating lung pain in Paris, and later at a party given by the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Holland.
I now have so many defective cancerous white blood cells that the hemoglobin and oxygen carrying red blood cells have declined well below what people consider to be optimal minimum levels. So lots of tissues and muscles are just barely getting enough oxygen. Quickly becoming out of breath after slowly walking just 10 or 20 meters. Feet and ankles swelling substantially. I had to go buy some new larger shoes.
On the internet I have been following the same leukemia patients for a while. One is a friend of mine. Yesterday a couple of them had been in such pain and continuous discomfort that they were beginning to question how bad one's quality of life can get in an incurable cancerous disease before it makes perfectly good sense to begin questioning how much longer one should keep up the fight. Or as I would say, How much longer one should put up with this shit.
I would not welcome spending many months or years in this situation, but honestly I don't think the body has the stamina left to survive several months of this this level of abuse anyway. I've been this sick for a while now. I should have the strength to put up with it a few more weeks. If things don't start to show signs of getting any better by then, all bets are going to be gradually begin slipping off the table.
-
-
-
–
-
-
-
-
Several American news organizations note that Mexico just had its most violent week ever. About 350 people have died in one week as a result of the fight with organized crime (mostly drug syndicates) in Mexico.
Mexican President Calderon has blamed the problem on demand for drugs like marijuana and cocaine in America and to a growing degree home grown consumption in Mexico. Both of these could be solved by decriminalizing, regulating, and taxing recreational drug use. Prohibition didn't work back in the 1930s, and it doesn't work in the twenty-first century either.
The Mexican President also says that the Mexican mafias have been able to overpower the authorities because of all the guns being brought in from the U.S.A. This part I dispute. Criminals will always have guns whether owning guns is against the law or not. The Mexican criminals are getting their guns from America just because it is nearby and handy. If the American guns were not available then AK-47s would be coming in by the ocean going container load from many countries all over the world. They are readily available and not expensive.
The reason that the Mexican authorities including the police and military have not been able to deal with their organized crime problem is because of the rampant corruption in Mexico. The concept of rule-of-law is not a part of the Mexican culture. Bribes are paid to all government workers in Mexico on a daily basis. In many cases paying a small bribe is the only way to get routine paperwork handled by the government. Now that there is a genuine battle going on against the drug lords, the Mexicans find that this sort of corruption and infiltration by the bad guys reaches to the very top levels of government and law enforcement.
My conclusion? The Mexicans are screwed.
LINK: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/15/AR2010061503174.html?hpid=moreheadlines
-
-
-
-
-
-
