Granite Rock Sound

Presidential Nominee Deabtes: Talk Clock

2007-06-06T22:52:00.000-04:00

These are real clear graph via Senator Chris Dodd's blog. They simply show how much time each candidate spoke during the Democratic and Republican debates. Now it says nothing of content, substance, clarity, or quality of what was spoken. It just shows who owned the mic most of the night. I don't know if that speaks more about the candidates or the moderator. Probably both.

Images Removed

And when comparing times between the Dems and GOP, just remember that there's only 8 Dem candidates at this point versus 10 GOP candidates. That's two extra folks to need time on the GOP side.

UPDATE: Images removed since they were hosted on Dodd's blog and they took them down. Since they took down their images, the link to their blog has also been taken down.

I've been under a rock

2007-06-03T01:30:00.000-04:00

I haven't been as diligent about following the news these last couple months, but I couldn't help but to notice an AP story that mentions a Turkish military build up on Iraq's northern border. A group of Kurds has been using the north of Iraq to stage terrorist attacks in Turkey, so they have some legitimate concern. There are some troubling details, though.

In the past when the Turks would invade northern Iraq, they'd fight along side the local population against this troublesome group, the PKK. Since the US invasion the rhetoric has changed, though. They blame all Kurds for harboring terrorists. I'd have to think that if they invaded now, it would be different than in the past. The Turkish government is rightly concerned that the war in Iraq has destabilized it to the point that Kurdistan may eventually become an independent, rival state. My concern is that they'll wish to invade and establish a permanent presence there, interfering in local Kurdish politics enough to prevent any sort of movement for statehood.

Al-Maliki has warned the Turks not to intervene, but he's powerless to stop it. Iraq's security forces can't even secure Iraq, much less the remote northern frontier. Robert Gates has warned the Turks, too, saying that the US has aided Turkey in dealing with the problem on their own soil, but if the Turks believe that the problem has to be solved on Iraq's soil, their solution is going to be a military one. We probably can't convince them not to. You may remember that Turkey refused Bush Administration requests to stage part of the the 2003 invasion from their bases. I can't remember for sure, but I don't even think we got flyover rights in spite of what was rumored to be a very generous foreign aid quid pro quo.

This is a very dangerous situation and one to keep an eye on.

A Jackass with Highly Drug Resistant TB or Andrew Speaker: Patient Zero

2007-05-31T22:43:00.000-04:00

This story is incredulous. Let's start here:

Speaker said in a newspaper interview that he knew he had TB when he flew from Atlanta to Europe in mid-May for his wedding and honeymoon, but that he did not find out until he was already in Rome that it was an extensively drug-resistant strain considered especially dangerous.

You're joking, right? Well, shoot, if it were just regular TB, it's perfectly fine to trot across the globe and infect people?

Speaker's tuberculosis was discovered when he had a chest X-ray in January for a rib injury, Huitt said.

Gee, I could understand the confusion. The guy only knew he had the disease 5 months before his trip.

The saddest part of the story is that his new father-in-law, Robert C. Cooksey, works for the CDC AND deals directly with TB issues! First, how does the father-in-law not know his son-in-law has a highly infectious disease? Second, if the father-in-law did know about his son-in-law's infection, how did he allow him to travel? Highly suspect that: "Cooksey would not comment on whether he reported his son-in-law to federal health authorities." Then again, it's also telling when this is stated:

``I'm hoping and praying that he's getting the proper treatment, that my daughter is holding up mentally and physically,'' Cooksey said. ``Had I known that my daughter was in any risk, I would not allow her to travel.''

Maybe I'm reading into that too closely or maybe a full quote wasn't given by the press, but there doesn't seem to be too much concern for the son-in-law. That said, this is directly from the CDC website:

If you are infectious while you are at home, there are certain things you can do to protect yourself and others near you. Your doctor may tell you to follow these guidelines to protect yourself and others:
*Do not go to work or school. Separate yourself from others and avoid close contact with anyone. Sleep in a bedroom away from other family members.

Seems pretty self explanatory that extensive travel across the globe and sharing confined spaces like an airliner and hotel rooms would be out of the question. I know some people might bring up the fact that this man may have been on a regimen of medicine and he could have been cleared to travel. Seems highly unlikely considering his specific TB bug is so drug resistant. I would hope the health care officials involved would have narrowed that down in the 5 months that it was known about this TB infection. According to WaPo article, he knew we wasn't supposed to travel:

officials said the man had recently been diagnosed with TB and knew he should not travel when he left the United States on May 12.

After testing revealed his tuberculosis was extensively drug-resistant, he was contacted in Europe by health authorities and told not to take a commercial flight home -- advice he ignored.

I understand the need to stand up for your family and for your children, but when the actual father states:

Speaker's father told WSB-TV: ``The way he's been shown and spoken about on TV, it's like a terrorist traveling around the world escaping authorities. It's blown out of proportion immensely.''

That makes you an equal jackass! He was trying to escape and evade authorities!

Despite warnings from federal health officials not to board another long flight, he flew home for treatment, fearing he wouldn't survive if he didn't reach the U.S., he said. He said he tried to sneak home by way of Canada instead of flying directly into the U.S.

And that brings us lastly to the dipshit border agent who cleared the jackass to continue traveling:

The inspector ran Speaker's passport through a computer, and a warning - including instructions to hold the traveler, don a protective mask in dealing with him, and telephone health authorities - popped up, officials said. About a minute later, Speaker was instead cleared to continue on his journey, according to officials familiar with the records.

The Homeland Security Department is investigating.

The border officer ``who questioned that person is at present performing administrative duties,'' said Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke, adding that the officer is not checking people at the land border crossing.

Colleen Kelley, president of the union that represents customs and border agents, declined to comment on the specifics of the case, but said ``public health issues were not receiving adequate attention and training'' within the agency.

I would think the people who came in contact with this traveling jackass could sue the hell out of the dipshit who didn't do his job. You get a notice to detain a traveler and notify health officials and you don't even call you supervisor?! And you work for the Department of Homeland Security?! Really?!

This whole story has too much gross negligence and idiocy to go around. The worst part is that the rampant stupidity could massively affect the well being of the greater population. Survival of the fittest is working in quasi-reverse here when one moronic host can potentially knock out a larger population. Best quote: "The unidentified inspector explained that he was no doctor but that the infected man seemed perfectly healthy". Well, he's not a doctor and apparently not a competent inspector either. It's disgusting that the guy still has job and is still working even if he, "is at present performing administrative duties". Does "accountability" not mean anything anymore?

It's been a while... time for NIN

2007-05-18T23:54:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted in a while. Found something interesting I thought I would share from Nine Inch Nails' website per Trent Reznor (My bold emphasis):

As the climate grows more and more desperate for record labels, their answer to their mostly self-inflicted wounds seems to be to screw the consumer over even more. A couple of examples that quickly come to mind:

* The ABSURD retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia. Shame on you, UMG. Year Zero is selling for $34.99 Australian dollars ($29.10 US). No wonder people steal music. Avril Lavigne's record in the same store was $21.99 ($18.21 US).
By the way, when I asked a label rep about this his response was: "It's because we know you have a real core audience that will pay whatever it costs when you put something out - you know, true fans. It's the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy."
So... I guess as a reward for being a "true fan" you get ripped off.

ANd if you're a fan of Reznor and not a fan of the current music industry, you'll probably enjoy his most recent interview with Australia's Hearld Sun.

Have to say, I miss the days of spending hours at the music shop browsing for tunes. It's hard finding a good quality album that hasn't been rushed with one or two singles marketed and pushed while the rest is less than so-so. Regardless, I bet NIN's August 22, 2007 show will be more than amazing. What a line up.

Chuck Norris fills in for Hannity

2007-01-30T23:06:00.000-05:00

I've been lurking for the past 2 months just soaking up the news on the internet. This tidbit had just enough mustard to get me posting again:
That's right, Chuck Norris filled in for Sean Hannity the other night on Hannity and Colmes. That is awesome. Now maybe we can get Steven Segal to fill in for Chris Matthews or maybe Jean-Claude Van Damme could handle Paula Zahn's show? Awesome. Just plain awesome. A political opinion is never delivered better than with a roundhouse kick to the face while wearing cowboy boots.

Find the Best Song of 1960-Current

2006-11-27T23:44:00.000-05:00

Yes, you have to scroll down near the end after hitting the link and it's worth it. Like a mini time capsule. Find your favorite and then head to You Tube.

Yeah, most of my alt indie records are scratched from the list, but I remember that 8th grade dance more vividly now. Hit it.

Following Up On UCLA Taser Incident: Cop's Background

2006-11-21T20:34:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Crooks and Liars for pointing to the LA Times follow up on the tasered UCLA student. Seems as though the officer that administered the repeated taser blasts has an interesting work history and was recommended for dismissal at one point but granted a 90-day suspension instead.

Most interesting segment other than the work history:

The officer said that when the probe is complete, he'd like to sit down with students, particularly Muslim student groups, to explain his actions at the library. (emphasis added)

Because the kid he assaulted was of Middle Eastern descent he must be Muslim? How at the time of assualt did the cop know the kid's religion? The point is that he didn't know. Got that? If you were any student at all this cop would have tasered you just the same. Feel better now?

After the internal investigation I'm sure there will be a civil suit, unles they settle out of court, if not a criminal suit first. Everyone deserves their day in court and to have all the evidence heard. At this point, it's looking even worse than it did when the tasering first hit You Tube's site.

Fantasy Congress?

2006-11-20T20:48:00.000-05:00

I can get into fantasy football pretty easily. I like football. I like watching it, cheering for my team, having a few beers with my friends, and watching the players on my fantasy team do well as well as my favorite NFL teams.

But Fantasy Congress? Football is a game. EVERYONE knows that. Politics shouldn't be a game. Politics is how we resolve our nations problems. And never mind the fact that I don't think I could call up some buddies, head to the bar, and have a few cold ones anxiously waiting to see if Carl Levin pushes a bill through (Boo-ya!), if Barbara Boxer is going to vote that day (DE-FENSE!), or if Ted Stevens manages to get that Presidential signature (Who's your daddy!?!). Wow! Minutes of fun! Sounds just about as lame as Fantasy Fashion. People need to stop treating politics like a game, especially the people we elect.

Global Orgasm for Peace

2006-11-19T22:12:00.000-05:00

Count me in:

The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, whose immodest goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm Dec. 22 while focusing on world peace.

...

The couple said interest appears strong, with 26,000 hits a day to their Web site, www.globalorgasm.org.

''The dream is to have everyone in the world (take part),'' Reffell said. ''And if that means laying down your gun for a few minutes, then hey, all the better.''

Sounds like a good idea to me. There's more than one clever pun with "laying down your gun" but I'll leave that alone.

Get Out and See the Leonid Meteor Shower

2006-11-18T11:11:00.000-05:00

The Leonid meteor shower will be in effect tonight so get and see it if you can. It's predicted to be a good show:

This year, the Earth is passing through a denser-than-usual trail of Tempel-Tuttle debris that should result in high meteor activity, said Brian Marsden, a senior astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge.

The rush of meteors was expected between 11:45 p.m. yesterday [11/17/06] and 1:30 a.m. today [11/18/06]], and during the same times late today [11/18/06] and early tomorrow [11/19/06]. Meteor forecasters were predicting 100 to 200 meteors an hour during the peak, said Alan MacRobert, senior editor of Sky & Telescope magazine, based in Cambridge and a Globe columnist.

I generally have bad luck when it comes to viewing meteor showers cursed by cloudy weather. Hopefully tonight I'll be able to sneak a peek. There could be some good stuff tonight:

In North America, for the Maritime Provinces of Canada, New England, eastern New York and Bermuda, the Sickle of Leo (from where the Leonids appear to emanate) will be above the east-northeast horizon just as the shower is due to reach its peak.

But because Leo will be at a much lower altitude compared to Europe, meteor rates correspondingly may be much lower as well.

However, this very special circumstance could lead to the appearance of a few long-trailed Earth-grazing meteors, due to meteoroids that skim along a path nearly parallel to Earth's surface.

Here's hoping.

Man Who Sent Fake Anthrax Out on Bail

2006-11-18T10:51:00.000-05:00

I really don't understand how this guy is out on bail and how he's not being tried as a terrorist. And how does an unemployed, 39 year old who's still living with his parents manage to cough up $350K for bail?

Student Tasered at UCLA Library

2006-11-16T17:37:00.000-05:00

Being an alumnus of Michigan State University, I can relate to abuse of power by campus police. What happened at UCLA was absolutely horrible. Although not clear from the graphic video below, if it is true that the police tasered the handcuffed suspect, those police should fired and barred from ever "protecting" the public again along with steep jail sentences. Video snippets of police actions don't tell the entire story, so an investigation is most definitely important. The video is pretty revealing though. At no point is it ever clear if the suspect is ever under arrest. But with 4 to 5 officers standing around, they couldn't just carry the guy out?

This whole scenario is just so indicative of the mood, temperment, and politics of today's society. You're either with us or you're against us. What disturbs me the most after the initial melee is the officer at the end of the video when approached by a female who asks for his name and badge number, the officer responds with, "Stand back or you'll get tasered too." The public has a right to ask officer's their information. I don't know if officers have the right to threaten violent force in return.

I find it equally disturbing that the student newspaper's editorial staff printed this letter with this gem out of the letters received (I have no clue how many they actually received. I'm assuming they received at least more than just this letter):

What if this suspect had a gun or biochemical agents such as anthrax?

Yes, because there's been a trend, CIA intelligence, or ever an attempt by slow moving terrorists to target university libraries carrying doses of anthrax around. Wow. Us or them buddy. Just hand over all your civil liberties. I realize now that a person can justify any actions by stating, "He could have had anthrax." It's the new "sprinkle some crack on him". Hell if it works for an entire White House administration, why can't the public use it too? Sick.

UPDATE: UCLA's student paper editors speak out agsinst the police use of force. I'm assuming their decision to print the particular Letter To the Editor I quoted above was their attempt to apear "fair and balanced".

However, I disagree with their decision to print this guy's editorial on the subject when all he's done is watch the video and review the police record. I don't know, it that whole investigative reporting thing or maybe taking into account eye witness reports that make an editorial worth something. Otherwise, you're just blowing smoke, like me.

Man arrested for anthrax scare to celebs/politicians

2006-11-13T19:08:00.000-05:00

It's terrorism, plain and simple. It's not a hoax, a joke, or simply a threatening letter. This is the definition of terrorism.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A California man suspected of mailing threatening letters containing a suspicious white powder to celebrities and U.S. politicians has been arrested and could face federal charges on Monday, the FBI said.

Investigators identified Chad Castagana, 39, of Woodland Hills, California, as the person suspected of sending more than a dozen threatening letters to media outlets and the homes of public figures in various cities, the FBI said in a statement on Sunday evening.

According to a federal search warrant, among those who received threatening letters were Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show;" talk show host David Letterman; Keith Olbermann of MSNBC; Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, who is set to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, both Democrats.

This guy needs to be tried as a terrorist and sent to Gitmo. Sadly, No! has even more background on this nutjob. Since this different nutjob repeatedly did the online equivalent of shouting "bomb" in an airport is being "charged with making a terrorist threat over the Internet, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence and US$250,000 fine," I would think Castagana's alleged direct and targeted actions would garner harsher penalties.

This story might make you wonder about the investigation into the real anthrax attacks on U.S. citizens in 2001. The LA Times reports it's still being worked on by the FBI. The results of which have not been as encouraging as one would hope after 5 years into the investigation.

As the probe enters its sixth year, the FBI is urging patience, and notes that complex investigations often take years to resolve. It has compared the case to the Unabomber investigation, which took 17 years to solve, until the assailant renewed his campaign of terror and a relative turned him in. (emphasis added)

As true as that might be, it's always disheartening to read that investigative police work can't solve the problem but rather the public has to wait for another citizen to crack the case.

New Jim Webb Ad

2006-10-03T20:12:00.000-04:00

For those who don't know the backstory, Jim Webb wrote an article in 1979 titled "Women Can't Fight". Webb has since apologized for the article and stated that he is comfortable with women in the military.

George Allen, with not much else mud to sling, crafted a commercial with women, who attended the Naval Academy at the publication date of Webb's article, speaking out against Webb. You can view it here. Take note that the women never verbally endorse Allen. One of those women who originally asked Webb to apologize has accepted Webb's apology and now supports and endorses him.

So in Jim Webb's latest ad, as seen above, the public can see that Webb has promoted the female's role in the military since writing that one article nearly 30 years ago. I'm rather curious what George Felix Allen has done for women in the military?

Jesus Camp

2006-10-01T21:50:00.000-04:00

I've been hearing a lotf buzz about the new documentary Jesus Camp. I've seen many of the same clips repeated on the news shows and listened to a handful of pundits comment on it while few have actually seen the film. Huffington Post has a post from the two directors about a mini tour they did recently with the release of the film. They also invited along the pastor from the camp and she joined them. I haven't seen the film and I'm holding out judgment not only for the obvious reason that I've yet to view it, but also because I attended a Catholic school for 8 years.

I'm sure if someone decided to film my school for a few select months out the many years I attended it, they could get some pretty funky and confusing footage. Not only that, I try to imagine the spotlight put on some of my grade school friends and interviewing them about something as confusing as faith and religion at such a young age, I know they would have spouted out some ramblimng, regurgitated, preached, oversimplified nonsense. And do they all believe in that same religion taught to them? I can firmly say, "No." And this was a religious school we attended 8 months of the year versus just a camp. Based on first impressions, the news and pundits aren't giving the kids in this film enough credit.

I do plan on seeing the silm and I'd like to see it in a theater, but it's not really being released anywhere near me (find listings here). So I may have to wait till DVD to see, but I might be able to check it out while traveling for work. Regardless, I'll post my review.

Election Time

2006-10-01T09:16:00.000-04:00

This is how I feel at election time. I love that Lucy quote:

"Anyone can trust someone who's trustworthy... I'm giving you a chance to trust someone who is NOT trustworthy!"

Do I even need to link a current corruption or scandal story? I think there's enough out there right now that I'll let you pick and choose and conclude which news story best correlates to this comic strip.

Olbermann's look into Condi's 9/26/06 comments

2006-09-28T18:01:00.000-04:00

Here's the video from MSNBC. It starts to get really interesting around the 4:40 mark.

Condi's remarks can be read here which stem from Bill Clinton's interview with Chris Wallace. And if you feel like banging your head against a wall, you should read the interview of Condi by Sean Hannity regarding her statements towards Bill Clinton. Pretty darn misleading and constantly redirecting. (And nevermind the fact that Condi thinks the New Orleans Saints are, "just a really good football team". Really? Watch much football? Saints good?)

Bill Clinton On FOX News with Chris Wallace

2006-09-25T21:17:00.000-04:00

This is all over the blogosphere and even in the nightly news. I'll take just a quick few seconds to give my take on it. I'll start with Chris Wallace's reaction to the interview:

Mr. Wallace noted that Mr. Clinton is "a very big man" and that he thought the former president was trying to intimidate him by getting angry.
"As he leaned forward -- wagging his finger in my face and then poking the notes I was holding -- I felt as if a mountain was coming down in front of me," Mr. Wallace said.

When I read that quote, I started shouting Jane's Addiction's - Mountain Song. I'm ready for the November elections. Bring it.

And if you need anymore of a sharp stinging bite of reality, please checkout Crooks and Liars for one of the most amazing clips from Keith Olbermann speaking for truth and looking the propaganda machine straight in the eye. I'd like to see the the right attempt to take that dialogue apart and I'm waiting.

Sen. Mary Landrieu

2006-09-15T18:28:00.000-04:00

All I can say is, "Hell Yeah!!" This is what every Dem should be saying to every media outlet:

For as wishy washy as she was dealing with the Katrina and Rita aftermath, these are some solid, bold, true statements on the "War on Terror".

Patrick Micheals not Virginia's State Climatologist

2006-08-22T00:07:00.000-04:00

As I brought up in this Agonist diary and here at Granite Rock Sound, Virginia's "State Climatologist", Patrick Michaels, was being scrutinized. He's been the leading "scientist" claiming that global warming is a farce and the main support against global warming while taking money from utility companies and the energy industry.

And it turns out he never was Virginia's State Climatologist and VA Governor Tim Kaine has made it known officially now.

Well this should help the science revolving the real issue of global warming and hopefully increases the rate of production and implementation of solutions. Michaels can be anti-human-induction-global-warming all he wants and pursue that avenue of research. But to take money from the energy industry AND from VA taxpayers to produce information for the VA citizen is a clear conflict of interest. Being a state representative means a person refelcts the views for the state, not the vested interests of a lobbyist. The fact that he never really was "State Climatologist" and just claimed that he was year after year after year is just another slap in the face.

By taking away this title (and paycheck) should remove some of the fake clout his work has received. His work should be viewed as the fringe work that it is. It shouldn't be given more weight because of the title "State Climatologist" because he doesn't have that title and never did.

My biggest question is, "What happens to the $90K a year Micheals has been getting from the State of Virginia as 'State Climatologist'?" Who authorized those paycecks every year?
Photo from NOAA: Large plume of Saharan Desert dust blowing from Africa northeastward over the Mediterranean Sea and Greece.

Online Gambling is Hilarious

2006-08-21T22:43:00.000-04:00

With online gambling being such a hot commodity these days that the federal government wants to ban it and with the fall sports season gearing up, I decided to check out some of the lines being offered. I love the political lines out there:

"Bet On: Who will be found first: The body of Jimmy Hoffa or Osama Bin Laden?

Any wagers placed after outcome becomes public knowledge will be graded as No Action. No refunds. No over limit wagers. If Jimmy Hoffa's body or Osama Bin Laden have not been found by December 31st, 2006, all wagers will be graded as No Action. Max $100.

Jimmy Hoffa +230
Osama Bin Laden -360"

Don't ban this stuff. Treat it like the rest of the gambling and gaming industry. Regulate it, tax it, and get a slice of the pie. As with the current war on drugs, haven't the feds realized that blanket illegalization and bans only produce and promote criminal societal issues? Get to the real issues folks.

And incase you're curious, below you can see how much the gaming industry has made each year for the past ten years. The $100 billion mark is projected to be cracked by the end of the decade. The U.S. casino lobbyists are probably foaming at the mouth and dropping some serious money to get this legislation passed. Now there's some numbers that would be interesting to see.Growth from 1995 to 2005 in both the commercial casino industry and gaming as a whole, which includes pari-mutuel wagering, lotteries, casinos, legal bookmaking, charitable gaming and bingo, Indian reservations and card rooms.

FBI: No terror groups in cell phone case

2006-08-15T20:30:00.000-04:00

So it turns out that in neither of the cases involving the Michigan men nor the Texan men that there was a terror plot. As to why it was thought the men from Texas were going to blow up the Mackinaw Bridge (emphasis added):

"William Kowalski, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit field office, said authorities believe concern about the bridge was connected to images of the Mackinac Bridge found on a digital camera belonging to the men."

Hmmm imagine that. People not from Michigan taking pictures of a famous bridge that thousands of tourists take pictures of year round. That's some top notch police work there. Someone has a picture of a landmark on their camera, so tell the media that the suspects were planning on blowing it up. Quality.

So why did these young guys have so many phones? They were trying to turn a profit reselling them:

"From Dearborn to Troy to Sterling Heights, Arab Americans are a major part of the cell phone business in southeastern Michigan. At least half of the cell phone businesses in the region are owned by metro Detroiters of Arab or Chaldean descent, say business owners in the industry. Many new immigrants or emerging businessmen earn money by buying the cell phones and then selling them to gas stations, distributors or stores.

Snip

Here's how the practice sometimes works, said Nasser Beydoun, head of the Dearborn-based American Arab Chamber of Commerce:

An independent entrepreneur will buy the phones for, say, $8 each. He will sell them to a distributor for $12, making a $4 profit. Multiply that by a thousand -- about the number of phones the three men arrested in Caro bought in total -- and you have a $4,000 profit.

The distributor then will sell the phones at a higher price to gas station owners, who in turn sell them at a marked-up price."

So the crime here is that young men of Middle Eastern descent were running a business venture. Damn those capitalist bastards. We better start pulling over Wal-Mart trucks.

Traffic Stop Yields Terror Arrest of 2 Michigan Men

2006-08-13T11:36:00.000-04:00

Traffic stop yields terror arrest of 2 Mich. men and Arraignments Likely For Men Caught With About 1,000 Cell Phones

Now I just heard on MSNBC that these guys may have been plotting to blow up the Mackinaw Bridge (connects Michigan’s lower and upper pennisulas). This AP report is the second I’ve heard and read about the bridge plot other than MSNBC first repeating the claim. Is this a hype machine behind this story? Why does someone need 1000 cell phones to blow up a bridge?

If this is a terrorist plot, as it has unfolded so far, it wasn't halted due to illegal eavesdropping or by federal intel. It was busted by a store employee contacting authorities and the local authorities intervening.

(The bridge’s name can be spelled Mackinac or Mackinaw. Depends on which side of the bridge you live on how you spell it, but it’s always pronounced Mac-i-naw.)

Additions to the Blogroll

2006-08-11T20:27:00.000-04:00

I've added a few new additions to the Blogroll and I'd like to note them here.

Welcome:
detroitblog. The images "John" captures of the decaying downtown Detroit buildings as well as the historical background of the areas he treks through is out of this world. An urban pioneer if there ever was one. The weekly Metro Detroit paper The Metro Times has nice a piece on what this site is about.

Waldo Jaquith. Waldo hails from Charlottesville, VA and writes with witty commentary on events surrounding Virginia politics. Along with Charlottesville City Councilor Kevin Lynch, Waldo's latest watch and research into VA State Climatologist Patrick Micheals should garner attention from anyone interested in global warming. Who is Patrick Michaels? He's the only State Climatologist to disagree with the global warming theory and he's bankrolled by utility companies.

Haduken. A mix of Virginia info, national interests and sometimes just plain randomness. Been checking them out for some time, but they had me with the post about The Greening of Planet Earth.

I hope you enjoy these additions and read them from time to time.

Thelma Drake Advertisement

2006-08-05T21:30:00.000-04:00

I haven't paid much attention to the Congressional race for Virginia's 2nd district between incumbent R-Thelma Drake versus D-Phil Kellam. I've read blips on other blogs and an occassional article in the paper. It's not my district and I really don't care. That said, I've recently been working on a project in Yorktown, VA. During my hotel stay, this ad came across the TV screen more than once:

I take issue with two facets of the ad. First, the broad sweeping claim that "liberals" are fighting to give illegal immigrants gov't handouts like welfare, free health care, and social security. Who is fighting for this? Who gets free health care? I didn't know we had free health care in this country to begin with. The ad is attacking a ficticious entity only known as "liberals".

Second, the ad makes no refrence to her Republican party. It doesn't have to, but it makes the claim she is "independent". An attempt to distance herself from the flailing GOP machine? Pretty hard to be independent when you're voting with president Bush 89% of the time and voting the GOP party line 98% of the time. I'm having a hard time seeing the independence.

As stated, I'm not deeply entrenched in this election and don't really care. That ad struck a real shord with me. What it did was make me look into Phil Kellam and see what kind of candidate he is. Now I'm just curious to see who wins this race.

Bad New York times for dis-closing the classified financial program, but wait that was dis-closed years ago!

2006-06-30T23:12:00.000-04:00

I love Keith Olberman. I'm getting so sick of the right wing(especially Bush and most importantly Cheney) blaming the Times for dis-closing these programs, especially when the public has a right to know how their freedoms are being infringed upon, and two when the government has already dis-closed programs like this. I really hope the public isn't stupid enough to believe this junk put out by our government. Hopefully they can now see through their lies and cover ups. Also (Steve pointed this out to me earlier) why only the Times? What about the other media outlets and the Wall Street Journal who also dis-closed information like this? Is it because this administration can't take the heat from these generally liberal newspapers that tell it like it is(and tells the public things they should know about), and decides to lie, cheat and steal to get rid of them? Me thinks so.

No Mention of 9/11 by FBI on bin Laden

2006-06-20T03:18:00.000-04:00

Take a look at Osama bin Laden's FBI Most Wanted poster. There is no mention of 9/11. Want to know why? Get the story here. That's extremely disturbing. Can't wait to see what the conspiracy theorists make out of this. I wonder if it will be updated relatively soon ~~when~~ if the MSM catches wind of this.

Review: An Inconvenient Truth

2006-06-18T12:18:00.000-04:00

As I said I would, I saw An Inconvenient Truth over the weekend. I have to say I'm a little disappointed, but not surprised. Global warming entails many facets and it would be hard to package all of it, its historic contexts, and future possibilities into an hour and half presentation. You get a glimpse of the situation; a sound bite of what's really going on. In that context, the film gets its point across: Raise awareness about the reality of the situation. I was looking for something a little more meaty, but again, not surprised at what was presented. The presentation is aimed at a general audience.

The comparative photographs were excellent. And there were many slick and impressive graphs and animations. Included in Gore's presentation is this clip from Futurama. There were a few times when Gore would throw up a graph, make his point, then quickly flip to the next graph or image. Part of a presentation or film is time constraints, but I would like to have been able to fully absorb the graphs and their information. I will say that there is one graph that Gore uses where data is extrapolated to predict future CO2 concentrations. At the data point, it stated something to the fact of "if no corrective measures are taken". Excellent! So often that important fact is ignored with prediction models.

Related to imagery, there's part of the film where Gore discusses the melting of the Polar caps and how it's destroying Polar Bear habitat. He states how researchers are discovering dead bears where death has been caused by drowning due to bears drifting out to sea and not having enough suitable ice flows to rest/live on. As he is talking about this, a computer generated animation shows a Polar Bear swimming in a vast ocean with a little chunk of ice that breaks to pieces when the bear tries to climb aboard. As the shot pans out, the bear is swimming in a vast sea with no land or ice in sight, leading to the assumption the bear will drown. That whole scenario and imagery didn't sit well with me. No figures or statistics were given on how many bears had died in this manner. Options were not discussed as to other reasons the bears drowned. Age and experience of the bears was taken into account. It's not that this scenario isn't occuring, it's just a very big leap with little explanation.

The film also delves into politics. It's impossible to discuss remedies to global warming without discussing politics. There are times when it feels a bit like bitter grapes with Gore focusing on the Bush administration. I'm sure the guy is bitter and rightfully so, many people are, but being bitter isn't going to solve anything. These parts of the film seemed to be added to the film for dramatic purposes and don't seem to be part of Gore's normal presentation. They should have been left out. America knows the drama of that dichotamy. America doesn't understand global warming.

CO2 is a major contributer to global warming and Gore focuses the movie around CO2 data. There really isn't much attention paid to any other factors. He touches on Ozone issues and how corrective measures have already improved that situtation. It cites (and most importantly in my eyes) the media's role in propagating the "myth," "debate," and "controversy" of global warming instead of treating it as a reality. He never mentions or attempts to dispell the concept of global cooling that was popular in the 80's, rather he cites how the data always pointed to warming trends. I'm almost certain global cooling was media hype as well, but he should have eradicated the concept since so many opponents to global warming continually cite it.

As the credits role, some corrective actions citizens can take are scrolled. The film doesn't really dwell on how we got into the mess or the major causes other than fuel consumption. It targets data to prove global warming is occuring. The movie isn't just about global warming but also Gore's crusade to bring awareness. My conclusion: Wait for the DVD. If you're up on the subject, there really won't be anything new here for you.

New Species and Cave Discovered

2006-06-01T00:07:00.000-04:00

"Scientists say they have discovered eight previously unknown species of crustaceans and scorpion-like invertebrates living in an underground cave that has been sealed off for millions of years.

Geologists from Jerusalem's Hebrew university made the discovery at a quarry near Ramla in central Israel. They opened passages to a cave with a lake and a unique ecosystem 100 metres underground. Biologists discovered white crustaceans resembling shrimps and invertebrates looking like scorpions. Also in the cave were bacteria that serve as a food source.

"So far eight species were found in the cave, all of them unknown to science," said biologist Hanan Dimantman. "Every species examined had no eyes, so they lost their sight due to evolution. Apart from the scorpions, all are alive. The scorpions are dead but we are sure live scorpions are to be found under boulders."

Another truly amazing find for science. There is still so much on (and under) the face of Earth that we don't know about. Nasa was extremely important during the cold war and many, many products and inventions have stemmed from NASA. In recent decades, NASA has not been producing nearly the same results as it used to compared to the enourmous funding it recieves.

A new scientific branch with the sole purpose of discovery of our own planet is greatly needed. Will it ever happen? I highly doubt it. A small amount of federal funding reaches our universities, but it pales in comparison to the scope of NASA. Not to pick on NASA, there are many bloated agencies operating within the federal umbrella and its bureaucracy. It's not hard to recognize the possibilities and abilities of discovery from a federally funded research corp versus a professor or two and a handful of students. With scientists and a few corporations already scouring a few nooks and crannies of the globe for new compounds to benefit mankind, one would think a politician or two could see the merit in such an endeavor.

Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth" Movie: Fact or Hype?

2006-05-25T15:51:00.000-04:00

National Geographic News asks a few experts about claims made in Al Gore's new movie about global warming and climate change. You can watch the trailer below:

I haven't seen the movie yet. It won't be released in my area until late June. If I'm able to go see it, I'd like to do that. But the theater it's playing at in my town is rather small. I've read on other sites that theaters are already selling out. I have no problem waiting for the DVD to come out. You can check here for a list of theaters and dates of when the film will be playing near you.

The National Geographic piece speaks primarily to Eric Steig, an Associate Professor from University of Washington's Earth and Space Sciences department. He wrote a more in depth piece on the film for the website Real Climate: "RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists." Steig is also a founder of that site.

Most of the reviews from scientists that I've read resonate with Steig's commentary. I'm sure there's a handful of scientists who will contest every point in the film and I'm sure those individuals will get plenty of sound bites on certain radio and news shows. Most agree that Gore has presented the big picture on global climate change quite well. It's the smaller facts that seem to be not discussed adequately. NPR has the audio of a nice report and review on the film here.

The Boston Globe has a great article surrounding the events of the film including current politcal moves:

"The film has already provoked a backlash. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market group that gets funding from oil companies, is running television ads rebutting Gore's arguments."

So there's forces out there already trying to make this an "us against them" kind of issue. I'm so tired of that cliche and I hope the film doesn't take that angle. From what I've read, it doesn't do that and it's presented more as a lecture with slick slideshow. I'll see the movie and I'll post my own opinion and review of it at that time.

New Antibiotic Eliminates Superbugs

2006-05-23T21:33:00.000-04:00

"A compound produced by a simple soil microbe may prove a new and extremely effective antibiotic. In recent decades, strains of Staphylococcus aureus and various Enterococcus bacteria have shown resistance to the most powerful antibiotics in the modern medical arsenal. The new compound has wiped out the two superbugs in vitro and in mice.
...
"The path ahead remains a long one that includes further preclinical study, and, if these studies are successful, extensive clinical trials for safety and efficacy in humans," writes Eric Brown of McMaster University in Ontario in a commentary accompanying the piece in today's Nature. If it passes all of those tests, platensimycin could be the third new antibiotic--and the strongest--to reach patients in the last 40 years."

This is amazing news for medicine and potentially human health. According to the FDA:

Disease-causing microbes that have become resistant to drug therapy are an increasing public health problem. Tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and childhood ear infections are just a few of the diseases that have become hard to treat with antibiotic drugs.
Though food-producing animals are given antibiotic drugs for important therapeutic, disease prevention or production reasons, these drugs can cause microbes to become resistant to drugs used to treat human illness, ultimately making some human sicknesses harder to treat.
About 70 percent of bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one of the drugs most commonly used to treat infections."

And according to the NIH:

Nearly 2 million patients in the United States get an infection in the hospital each year
About 90,000 of those patients die each year as a result of their infection, up from 13,300 patient deaths in 1992
More than 70 percent of the bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections are resistant to at least one of the antibiotics most commonly used to treat them
People infected with antibiotic-resistant organisms are more likely to have longer hospital stays and require treatment with second- or third-choice medicines that may be less effective, more toxic, and more expensive"

A decrease in the over use of anitbiotics is definitely called for, but new medicines are still needed to combat the resistant monsters our over use has created.

I've always been interested in the work that biologists, botanists, microbiologists, and chemists have done in combing our terrestial lands looking for unknown compounds occuring in our environment that can combat our illnesses. Why go through the work of creating a synthetic chemical compound when a naturally occuring one might already exist? One of thee most interesting articles I've read on the subject was from the May 2004 issue of the Smithsonian titled Medicine from the Sea: "From slime to sponges, scientists are plumbing the ocean's depths for new medications to treat cancer, pain and other ailments." What a job. Hopefully my career path will take me there one day.

Iranian Dress Code Revisted

2006-05-22T21:29:00.000-04:00

It greatly disturbs me when a news organization simply erases a news story from their website. That's what the National Post did with their story about a new law passed by Iranian officials which included a dress code to identify Jews and Christians. You can find a copy of that article here. A flurry of stories broke about the validity of the story and the National Post then published this article.

The Iranian government denies anything of the sort was passed. The National Post story continues to cast a shadow of doubt over the issue with their last article with an air of speculation. The main issue revolves around a law setting an Iranian dress code with traditional Islamic standards. Iranian officles have stated ideas were tossed around it's possible someone brought up clothing which identifies non-Muslims since that has been part of traditional Islamic dress in the past. Iranians are saying the concept was never part of the law.

So my question is what is the motivation of creating such a massive story on this premise knowing it would get much international press? Why the rush to print without confirmation? Why delete the story immediately without editorial or explanation? That story is a bold action which already stresses a pressing internationl juncture.

The blog Regime Change Iran has an excellent detailed post that closely follows this controversial reporting and policy. I can understand some hesitation on believing the statements that come out of Iran since they repeatedly stated their nuclear research was solely for the purpose of developing energy technology and it is now known Iran is persuing nuclear weapons technologies. But there doesn't seem to be any conclusive evidence that what the National Post first reported on dress code was factual.

UPDATE: This story is totally bogus and now talented folk out there a tracking down who did this, how, and why. These folks have done the research and taken action to look into the bogus stories: Antonia Zerbisias, Firedoglake, Taylor Marsh, and Juan Cole. The people behind this bogus story are pretty horrible people and seems the reasons for doing so are completely dubious. It's disgusting. People should be put in prison for something like. Inciting international alarm and panic and tensing already strained relations. The people behind this know what they were doing. It's sick.

UPDATE II: The Galloping Beaver makes great sense out of the story and those who began this ordeal.

New Iranian Law Would Require Non-Muslim Insignia

2006-05-19T13:03:00.000-04:00

On November 14, 1939, the President of Lódz decreed that all Jews must wear arm bands or badges with a Jewish star.
Photo credit: Meczenstwo Walka, Zaglada Zydów Polsce 1939-1945. Poland. No. 43.I don't even know what to say or think about this:

"Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical "standard Islamic garments."

The law, which must still be approved by Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims.

Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth."

From the Jerusalum Post:

"Furthermore, according to the law, the Iranian government has envisioned that all Iranians wear "standard Islamic garments" designed to remove ethnic and class distinctions.

The purpose for the law was to prevent Muslims from becoming najis "unclean" by accidentally shaking the hands of non-Muslims in public."

It's almost near impossible not to draw Nazi Germany comparisons. Nuclear weapons programs, refusing the recognize the Jewish state, and now this. First comes identification, then segregation, and then...? What exactly is our White House administration's foreign policy on all this? I'd like to hear from all our representatives on Capitol Hill on the subject of Iran. The American public doesn't need political games and posturing. They need real foreign policy. We shouldn't have to wait until the 2006 elections are over before real work is accomplished.

Stores owned by Jews had to be marked with a Star of David, another part of the increasing segregation of Jews.
Photo credit: Meczenstwo Walka, Zaglada Zydów Polsce 1939-1945. Poland. No. 49.
UPDATE: US concerned over reports of Iranian dress law

"The State Department said Friday it is concerned about reports that Iran's parliament is considering legislation to require non-Muslims in the country to wear badges.

Spokesman Sean McCormack said any such measure would be "despicable" and carry "clear echoes of Germany under Hitler."

US government statistics indicate that 98 percent of Iranians are Islamic. Other faiths are Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i.

McCormack said he could not comment further because the precise nature of the proposal is unclear.

"I don't have all the facts," he said."

UPDATE II:Democrats ask Bush for intelligence update on Iran

"Senate Democrats asked President George W. Bush on Friday to order a new U.S. intelligence report on Iran to avoid the errors that plagued prewar assessments on Iraq.

Five Democrats, headed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, wrote to Bush requesting a new National Intelligence Estimate, or NIE, while the United States is involved in an international diplomatic effort to get Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions.

The Democrats want an NIE, the intelligence community's most authoritative written judgment, to address several points including Iran's nuclear program and its military and defense capabilities."

UPDATE III: Be sure to see Iranian Dress Code Revisited for more updates.

Judge issues split decision in AT&T privacy lawsuit

2006-05-18T23:03:00.000-04:00

My question revolves around this:

He [U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker] ordered the Electronic Frontier Foundation and its consultants not to give the documents to anyone pending further court review. He will hear arguments June 23 by AT&T and the Justice Department to dismiss the case.

The Justice Department, which filed a motion Saturday seeking to classify the documents as military secrets, also sought to keep the papers sealed."

Classify the documents as military secrets? Information that passes through AT&T's servers and switchboards 24/7/365 is a military secret? Tracking American's phone calls and emails without warrents? This is beyond keeping a database of phone numbers. And how "classified" should this information be if an AT&T service technician can access it? A person would think that if this information was so vital to national security, the government would have deemed it classified ages before a service technician could get his hands on it.

CNET News looks a little deeper into the legal issues at hand with the tech company. This certification letter from AShcroft is interesting, but if it exsists, why wouldn't AT&T just play that card and everything would be in the clear? Maybe their customers wouldn't be too happy about that. I wouldn't be happy if I was one of their customers.

More from the San Francisco Chronicle.

"AT&T contends that Klein's documents contain trade secrets that could help a hacker, a competitor or even a terrorist, and asked Walker to order Klein and the plaintiffs to return their copies. Although Klein isn't a party to the case, he is a potential witness who signed a confidentiality agreement with AT&T while he worked there. That means the judge has the power to control his conduct to keep the material secret and preserve the company's property rights, argued David Anderson, a lawyer for AT&T."

So the EFF gets to hold onto the documents for now. I'm curious how far a confidentiality agreement goes when it deals with one of the parties breaking laws. I'm also curious what kind of "trade secrets" are involved in spying on your customers' phone conversations and emails. And it's intersting how this case is being kept seperate from the story about the NSA keeping a database of millions of Americans phone calls.

Front Page Snark at Firedoglake

2006-05-16T14:18:00.000-04:00

I made a snarky comment over at FDL about the youthful Republican cheerleaders out there and Christy thought it was funny enough to share on the front page. My slight rant was inspired by by this post at FDL about young'n Ben Ferguson taking on Randi Rhodes on Larry King Live. Can O Fun has the whole show.

I don't have a degree in political science or constitutional law. I read the papers and watch the news like anyone else can. But I'm not trying to make a name for myself, let alone a career, by rehashing political memes.

Light Weight Sunday Blogging

2006-05-14T10:18:00.000-04:00

To start off, enjoy this clip of Frank Zappa on the Arsenio Hall show from 1989. Man, Arsenio was a pretty bad interviewer, funny guy, just bad at that on air give and take.
My Favorite quote from Zappa:

"Well, let's not be too rough on our own ignorance. I mean, after all, it's the thing that makes America great. Because if we weren't incomparably ignorant, how could have tolerated the last 8 years?

And that's talking about the Reagan administration. I really wonder what the guy would say about the U.S.'s current state of affairs. And if you didn't check it out the last time I posted it, check out Zappa on CNN's Crossfire with Robert Novak and John Lofton back in 1986 here. Zappa knew what was what.

And I've only got one song this weekend. Check out Rage Against the Machine - Testify. You read the lyrics here. I'm sure you know what most of the members of RATM are doing, but here's a great site that keeps updates on Zack de la Rocha. Check him in this clip at Google Video performing for the South Central Farmers.

NSA tracking and Porter Goss

2006-05-11T22:49:00.000-04:00

I may have been a little off base with my previous post about Goss and the NSA/AT&T spying, but I was onto something. Other people are connecting the dots for me and it's pretty spooky. Eric Alterman does quite a job delving into the "history" of Porter Goss over at Mother Jones. Now throw the recent news about phone numbers being tracked by the NSA of millions of Americans. E-Commerce Times has an article that ties the latest phone number collections with the current EFF lawsuit against AT&T to tap phones and email. And now put all that into context with the new nominee to head the CIA: Gen. Michael Hayden. May favorite quote from Alterman:

"...it should be surprising to no one that we have to rely on Jon Stewart, once again, to shed the most necessary light on this process. Through “the magic of TiVo,” Stewart’s staff of crack comedy writers shamed the national press by noticing, as none of them did, that Bush used the exact same words to nominate the catastrophic Porter Goss as he would to nominate Gen. Hayden: "He's the right man to lead the CIA at this critical moment in our nation's history."

Firedoglake has a list of of the phone companies that gave out the info as well as alternatives you can sign with that haven't handed out your records. Glad I use Sprint (for the time being). Interesting comments with that post too. And Crooks And Liars has video of Jack Cafferty with a rant that's spot on. But does this really suprise anyone since cell phone companies have been selling your records to anyone who will pay for them?

So my question, if phone companies will sell your personal phone records to anyone willing to pay for them, what are the phone companies getting from the government in this latest story? Big business isn't likely to do something for nothing or for "the good of the country." I'm really curious how this all ties into net neutrality. But the concept itself of the gov't knowing who I call is disturbing itself. Great for tracking a terrorist, but tracking "millions" of Americans? Are there really millions of people aiding terrorists in this country? I bet there were millions of pinko communists during the McCarthy era too.

And this screen shot made me chuckle. No shame in AT&T's game:

CIA Chief Porter Goss Resigns

2006-05-05T14:53:00.000-04:00

Wow, that's pretty huge. Goss was met with a healty dose of opposition when his name was first circulated as the new potential CIA Director and that clamour followed him when he entered the position.

But why the sudden, unexpected departure now? That's very out of the ordinary for something like this to happen at the top level of an agency for this administration. Has Fitzgerald's CIA leak investigation poked into this realm? Or maybe the CIA has been doing some snooping like the NSA and Goss is getting out while he can?

Tired of WHCAD Bush V. Bush video clips

2006-05-02T21:31:00.000-04:00

I thought the Bush impersonator interpreting what Bush was thinking during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner was unfunny and just plain lame. I have no other way to describe it. It's like when the priest in church or the CEO of your company tells a completely unfunny joke, yet everyone laughs because they feel as though they have to laugh.

So for some clips that the MSM isn't reporting on, check out Stephen Colbert's speech at the WHCAD. He did it in his Colbert Report character and the "truthiness" rang free. The only MSM mention of Colbert is either how inappropriate or unfunny his appearance turned out. I couldn't disagree more. Maybe it's because Colbert hit way too close to home on Bush AND the MSM.

Check out his appearance here.

(Updated the video clips. You Tube was forced tot ake them down. The video still exists on Google Videos. Properly linked now)

UPDATE: Do a Google News Search of Colbert and see how many stories are flying around the internet now. Interesting, no?

Return of Friday Night Music Blogging!

2006-04-28T22:59:00.000-04:00

I was extra busy last Friday and I'm a bit worn out this Friday night too. So I figured something a little different was in order.... Instrumentals. Not just classical or techno or old music without the lyrics. There were a lot I wanted to add, but I selected a few. Hope you enjoy!

Nickel Creek - Ode To A butterfly - Bluegrass
Miles Davis - What I Say - Jazz - This song was recorded live! It just blows me away. I would have loved to have seen something like this.
Kaki King - Ingots - Out of this world acoustic guitar - I've had the privelage of seeing Kaki live and the recording of this song doesn't so it justice. There's some added drum and cymbols, but that main base beat is her playing it on the guitar with the palm of her picking hand. Unreal? Yes.
Alice In Chains - Whale And Wasp - Hard to imagine that's all rock baby.
Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Is Coming More jazz, more mellow than old Miles.
Pavement - Range Life - Alt. Rock - You know Pavement and Stephen Malkmus as the indie alt. rockers of yor, but I don't know what you classify this song under.

And the bonus song tonight:Postal Service - Natural Anthem - Lap Pop - A bonus because it starts and makes you think it's going to be an instrumental, but those last few words at the end...

President Bush & Prime Minister Blair comitted to war two months before the Iraqi invasion.

2006-04-26T22:33:00.000-04:00

I was reading some of the news and politics blogs on myspace and I happen to come across this news article on BBC. I was very surprised that I haven't even heard of this until then. No news coverage, nothing. In my opinion, this is a media gold mine. It is basically a memo that states Bush and Blair had intentions of invading Iraq derived from private conversations between the two. Now this doesn't surpirse me one bit knowing Bush, it was obvious he was set on the path to war but here is the proof. What was really scary was this comment

"The US "was thinking of flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours", Mr Bush said.

If Saddam fired on them, the Iraqis would be in breach of UN resolutions, he suggested."

Provoking Saddam into the open in order to justify war much better. Pretty sick, and yet this administration was re-elected. What I find unfathomable is that this administration hasn't undergone any type of impeachment. The things this administration is doing is a hundred times worse than anything clinto never did. Such a shame.

Chernobyl's Kidd of Speed

2006-04-26T15:43:00.000-04:00

With the 20 year anniversry of Chernobyl, I figured I'd toss in my 2 cents.

I came across the Kidd of Speed site a few years ago. It has been claimed to be a hoax and I'm sure you can imagine why. The original site is here and you can read Elena's tale of events surrounding the controversy here. Look through the pictures of Ghost Town and the follow up Land of Wolves.

I was stunned when I read and looked through the site for the first time. I was doing research on large scale environmental disasters and this site popped up in one my searches. I didn't really know what to expect but I remember I spent a long time going over the material. If you want a first hand look, you'll get it on Kidd of Speed. It puts anything the MSM has put out about Chernobyl this week to shame.

Need to Move on Biodiesel

2006-04-25T17:22:00.000-04:00

ADM breaks ground on it first fully biodiesel plant. There needs to be more of a push for biodiesel. According to the National Biodiesel Board there are 53 current biodiesel plants, 40 plants under construction with 4 plants making expansions, and 24 plants in the planning/pre-construction phase. For comparision sake, a list of U.S. oil refineries and the production. Biodiesel isn't anywhere close to comparison.

Biodiesel is beginning to get out there and I hope it's popularity continues to grow. It's not readily available in all areas. I wouldn't mind running one, but it's not exactly an everyday item. A map and list of retail biodiesel stations in the U.S. from the NBB.

It amazes me that George Washington Carver and Henry Ford first came up with the concept of using peanut oil to power diesel engines back in the 1930's. Back then, it wasn't cost efficient or practical and I don't think they were very preoccupied with eco-friendly fuels. You would think 70+ years of technology would have moved things along a little faster. I wonder why it hasn't caught on? Biodiesel Michigan has a great segment from a History Channel show about George Washington Carver, Biodiesel, and Henry Ford. I saw the show when it originally aired and this clip gives a great history on biodiesel. Watch it here.

On related news, my favorite quote from George W. Bush's speech on Energy today:

"And so we're strongly committed to corn-based ethanol produced in America. Yet there -- you just got to recognize there are limits to how much corn can be used for ethanol. After all, we got to eat some. And the animals have got to eat."

That's so eloquent. Bring on the Biodiesel!

Learn About Net Neutrality Now

2006-04-23T01:50:00.000-04:00

The Agonist is ont top of this. Net Neutrality is HUGE. Don't slink behind your screen or keyboard. Send that email or CALL your senators and congresspeople. It dosn't matter how young or old you are, or what race you are, or what religion you are, what political party you represent, you can call your representative AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU THINK!

Iranians fire artillery at Kurds in Iraq

2006-04-22T15:12:00.000-04:00

Link on the title and more at Khaleej Times which references this Reuters article.

Crossing borders, active fighting, in an international powder keg. Iran has a right to defend their country, but by crossing its borders into another country? Would Iran have done this while Saddam was in power? Is this considered part of "War on Terror"?

Trump Park

2006-04-21T19:51:00.000-04:00

That's a pretty amazing plan. If Trump bought that land for $2 million back in the 90's, imagine it's current value. All I can say is that I'm impressed. In today's age, you'll get a story about the wealthy donating large sums of money to a charity. You don't really hear about people donating entire parks. For someone who normally develops land, I applaud Trump in maintaining green space.

Another Reason to Like Costco

2006-04-21T19:12:00.000-04:00

It's too bad the rest of big business and the federal government isn't taking notes. They could learn something.

McClellan is Out, Rove's Job Switches Focus

2006-04-19T17:09:00.000-04:00

White House Press Secretary has to be one of the most frustrating jobs out there. I'm really amazed that McClellan lasted so long admist so much controversy.

The part of this article that intrigues me is:

"As for Rove -- the powerful architect of Bush's two presidential campaigns -- a senior White House official told CNN that Rove will no longer focus on policy but will be involved in long-term strategic planning as a deputy chief of staff and a senior adviser."

Long-term strategic planning? How do you focus on long-term strategic planning and are not involved with policy?

And I'm not sure what to make of the rumor mill surround Tony Snow as the replacement. Makes sense since Fox News Radio is already the mouthpiece for this admin.

Friday Night Music Blogging

2006-04-14T19:49:00.000-04:00

Tonight I figured I'd link to a few great videos. With all the money the music industry throws at videos, it's amazing how generic and repetative so many turn out.

Tool's Sober and Aenema. That's some dark claymation/stop motion animation. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the little guy in Sober does some freaky head and hand shaking in the video. I remember seeing this in a Marilyn Manson video a few years later. And a few years after that, that effect turned up in House on Haunted Hill. It's been in other places, but that Tool video is the first I remember seeing it.

Pearl Jam's Do The Evolution. They had Todd McFarlane do the animation on this one, after the movie Spawn came out. It's still pretty cool.

Run DMC Vs. Jason Nevins It's Like That. All right, it's cliche. West Side Story started it out. The horrid You Got Served a few years ago. But that song is awesome and it reminds me of Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo".

Two from Kenna: Hell Bent and Free Time. I'd only seen each on TV a handful of times, but they're both great videos. Funny how they both kind of have the same message.

And last up, the White Stripes' Fell in Love with a Girl because I was never that skilled with Legos. As a bonus, this live clip from when the Stripes hosted an entire week of Conan O'Brien back in April 24th, 2003. I remember watching it on TV and came across the clip, so enjoy: Let's Build a Home/Goin' Back to Memphis/John the Revelator.

White House stands by Rumsfeld in light of Ex-Generals' Comments

2006-04-13T18:19:00.000-04:00

See how easy it is? Remeber how this guy did it?
I don't quite understand how you can tender a resignation (twice?) and then not have it accepted. If you quit a job, then you quit a job. You give your two weeks notice and then you stop showing up. This isn't the first time people have spoke out against the war. You'd think that the opinions of those who were involved with the act of carrying out the operations and overseeing their completion would carry some weight.

UPDATE: More generals are speaking out against Rumsfeld.

Iran Announces Uranium Enrichment

2006-04-11T22:47:00.000-04:00

Well, it's official. Iran was not developing it's nuclear technologies for energy purposes, as they claimed less than a month ago. All this just after their announcement of developing a super torpedo.

I'm a bit speechless. What now? I'm sure tomorrow this will be all over the news and every pundit and talking head will have a viewpoint, but the airwaves are pretty much silent after this announcement. Maybe that's a good thing.

Another Conviction in NH phone jamming

2006-04-11T22:19:00.000-04:00

Another conviction in this election day phone jamming scandal that took place in New Hampshire in 2002. I'm a bit floored at the lengths taken to stop people from voting.

Does this really point to the White House involement? It's a little hard to not think there is some level of attachment, but simply stating that phone calls were made between the Republican New England Regional Director and the White House on Election Day isn't very damning evidence. Now, if someone has records of what transpired in the phone conversations, you may have something. Yes, it's very coincidental seeing as how the man was just convicted. Plus it looks bad that the RNC paid for Tobin's legal expenses.

The White House phone records weren't used in this latest case, so I'm curious as to what the next step is in this set of proceedings and IF there is going to be another step.

Third Retired General Wants Rumsfeld Out

2006-04-11T12:30:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON, April 9 — The three-star Marine Corps general who was the military's top operations officer before the invasion of Iraq expressed regret, in an essay published Sunday, that he did not more energetically question those who had ordered the nation to war. He also urged active-duty officers to speak out now if they had doubts about the war.

The article is continued in today's New York Times.

Not many will speak up. Just like the article says, it's not a good idea to do that if you have or are wanting to make a career in the military. And, as the article also says, it's just not part of the military culture to speak out against civilian leadership. Even though I'm against the war, I kind of have to agree with that.

But when these guys really disagree with what's going on, they have the right (and, in my opinion, the obligation) to leave the military and speak out about it. These people deserve our respect, because it's not easy to what they're doing.

The military is a decidedly top-down paradigm, and that's why it's essential that we, the people, elect only the very best among us to lead. While there may be a few heated meetings scattered around during the planning of a debacle such as Iraq, there'll never be a serious challenge. War is a political decision, and while the Pentagon can certainly throw down in the political arena (the budget process in particular comes to mind), they are not one challenge broad policy decisions such as this. Their job is to execute.

New fossils

2006-04-09T12:59:00.000-04:00

Tiktaalik is an amazing find, no doubt. But I take issue with the media dubbing it a "missing link." That term is a complete misnomer. Anyone who has studied evolution knows that there isn't going to be one sole fossil that describes the entire process of evolution or bridge the gap between Classes or Orders. The scientific community understands this, but the MSM wants headlines and controversy. Now maybe with genetic screening there will be the possibility to draw some very strong conclusions about lineage, but nothing that could match the hype of the MSM.
Tiktaalik roseae.
Another important fossil was also found recently. Not as romantic as Tiktaalik, but Hagryphus is an important find. Not only because it's a new giant species of oviraptor, but because of the region it was found in; the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. If predictions are correct, hopefully this area provides more interesting finds in the near future. I'm curious if either of these fossils can provide DNA samples as well.

And I really think a different conceptual artist sould have been used on the Hagryphus. That pic is really out of this world:
Hagryphus giganteus.

Friday Night Music Blogging

2006-04-07T21:22:00.000-04:00

Time to have some fun and GRS and time to talk some new music.

Palms Out Sounds has to be one to coolest music blogs I've come across lately. I now know I simply enjoy Massive Attack. These folks are Massive Attack FREAKS. I also enjoy the concept behind their "Sample Wednesdays" where they hunt down the original beats and songs that have become the loops in sampled music. All that plus more cool stuff.

Pearl Jam has a new CD coming out in May and you've probably heard the new single Worldwide Suicide. I can't say that I'm feeling this one too much.

Dixie Chicks also have a new album coming out in May. You can heara their new song "Not Ready To Make Nice" and see the video on their site. Seems as though they're still pretty pissed over the fallout from their politcal spatter, and rightfully so.

David Gilmour also has a new CD that came out in March. I couldn't get the samples to run for me on his site, but I found some here. I wouldn't mind hearing more.

And I'd been looking for this next song online for quite some time. Ben Lee's "Cigarette's Will Kill You." And I found it here. Also found the The Kings of Leon's "King of the Rodeo" here. Their embedded players looks a bit bulky, so just click there if you're intrested. Check out both Ben's and the Kings of Leon's website for a few of their videos.

More than a name

2006-04-07T10:45:00.000-04:00

I thought this was a really interesting article. I didn't have the chance to go to the live reading, but what a concept for an english composition class.

More Than A Name

A class assignment at Tidewater Community College makes the war in Iraq more real.

BY STEPHANIE HEINATZ

April 6, 2006 VIRGINIA BEACH -- Jade Chandler-Haag knew she needed to make the call.

Weeks earlier in an English composition class at Tidewater Community College, Haag's professor, Rachel Blue Ankney, passed out a 24-page list of names.

The assignment: Pick one, and through an essay or a poem, write about the person's life. Make them real. Make people remember them.

When Haag selected Rachel K. Bosveld, she had no idea that on Oct. 26, 2003, the private first class was killed in a mortar attack on the Abu Ghraib police station in Baghdad.

Nor did Haag realize how little information about the 19-year-old soldier from Wisconsin would be available on the Internet or in newspapers.

It soon seemed, Haag said, that to preserve Bosveld's legacy as something more than one of 2,300-plus American men and women who have died in the war in Iraq, she'd have to talk to Bosveld's family - something her professor had suggested, but didn't require.

Haag knew she needed to make the long-distance call. She just didn't know how.

"I held the phone in my hand," Haag wrote in her essay. "Looking at the number ... I felt my stomach flip with nerves. I wondered what I could say to the mother of a girl who had died."

Haag thought of her own 6- and 2-year-old daughters.

"Would I want to or be able to talk about them and their lives if they were taken from me," she wrote.

Probably.

"I would want everyone to know how wonderful they were, no matter how painful it would be to talk about them."

Haag dialed, introduced herself and hoped for the best.

She never brought up the war. She only asked about "Rachel, the person - Rachel, the young girl from Wisconsin."

When Haag hung up from what turned into an hour-long conversation, the tears she'd kept inside sprang free.

She learned that Bosveld was buried on her 20th birthday. That she wrote letters to three elementary school classes back home. That she'd earned a Purple Heart in another attack before getting killed. And that in her free time, Bosveld was so thoughtful that she hand-wrote letters to members of her unit so they, too, could get something in the mail every now and then.

Haag still gets visibly emotional when she talks of "Rachel, a girl I would have hung out with.

"But tonight at 6 p.m., she and several other students given the same assignment will read their work as part of the college's annual literary festival.

The war was already very real to Haag - her husband and many of her friends are in the military. "But to be able to tell people about Rachel, people who may have never known her name before, well, I'm honored to do it."

Some students opted not to make that call, even when they had the phone number.

Tut Geth, who selected 20-year-old Marine Pfc. Juan Guadalupe Garza Jr., just "didn't have the heart to call them and ask them anything," he said. "I probably would have gotten more information. But it felt like a selfish act."

He used the only story he could find about Garza as the inspiration for his work.

According to the Defense Department, Garza was "killed in action" on April 8, 2003.

In Geth's poetry, Garza passed out toys and candy to Iraqi children before he died, even though he was told not to.

I reach out to you,
You feed me sweets to eat
And toys for when I play,
A man of honor in armor,
Has come down from the bed where angels lay.

Darren MacMartin, chose several names from the list, including a young Army specialist.

Officially, Paul J. Sturino died from a "non-combat discharge" on Sept. 22, 2003.

But according to the introduction to MacMartin's poem, "those who served with him remembered him for his humor and charm, and his uplifting spirit even in the roughest of times."

Man, you made it
easy, fighting
heat,breathing
dust, on the brink
of exhaustion

MacMartin also crafted a poem about Army Pfc. Bryan N. Spry, with whom he shared the same age.

Nineteen year
sold
should
be cruisin'
down the boulevard
listenin' to some
rock song.

But Spry, a "paratrooper on a mission" in Baghdad was, while in a Humvee, "forced to swerve" around a civilian vehicle. The Humvee flipped off the road and landed in a water-filled ditch, bringing Spry "into the blue, into the white."

MacMartin will remember this English class, and this assignment - and that was the point."I want my students to have assignments that mean something," Ankney said. "I could hand them an assignment to analyze a poem. But I'm not sure what that does for you once you walk out of the classroom."

I had a history course at Western Michigan University called "American History during the Vietnam Era" And part of my final was to interview a Vietnam vet and write a term paper on it. It was a truly amazing experience and an extremely difficult one. I basically wrote verbatum what was said in the interview. I didn't memorialize anyone, I didn't ad lib, I didn't impose my opinion, I didn't enhance with emotional, flowery rhetoric. I tried to write down the experience as the man I interviewed laid it out for me. My writing skills couldn't match the magnitude of the words he was speaking. I'm no Phil Caputo and I was quite embarassed at the time at my attempt.

I'm sure the students in the above article took time and care with their assignments and I'm most assured that they wrote with passion and emotion. More importantly, this assignment will share these soldiers as people and not just as a statistic on the nightly news. What a writing assignment indeed.

Cheney's Aide Says President Approved Leak

2006-04-07T10:18:00.000-04:00

From the NY Times.

My question: Why? Why did the president declassify and leak the info? Why has he let this whole charade continue for SO long at the taxpayers' GREAT expense?

President Bush, Sept. 30, 2003:

"Let me just say something about leaks in Washington. There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington. There's leaks at the executive branch; there's leaks in the legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of."

"Listen, I know of nobody — I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action. And this investigation is a good thing."

Scott McClellan White House Press Secretary, Oct. 10, 2003:

"The President has made it very clear that the leaking of classified information is a serious matter, and he takes it very seriously. That's why he is saying that we need to get to the bottom of this, and the sooner, the better."

July 11, 2005: On the leak investigations:

"No one wants to get to the bottom of it more than the president of the United States."

UPDATE: More from the NY Times after McClellan's briefing. I watched the briefing. I really hope the media keeps pushing on this. No one actually asked THEE question though: Why?

I'm kind of amazed that the transcript isn't up yet on the White House's website.

Today on Fresh Air

2006-04-04T17:12:00.000-04:00

The executive producer of The Daily Show was interviewed today on Fresh Air. I was very interested to hear the story on how they framed their coverage on the Dick Cheney shooting down here in Texas. I didn't know this, but it appears Cheney went on what's called a "canned hunt". Apparently it's where you go to a ranch that raises birds to be hunted. You pay for them up front and even ride in the same truck with them when you go out to the range. Then some guy releases them pretty much right in front of you as you pick them off.

I've heard of big game safari operations that import exotic animals for the wealthy to kill without having to go to those nasty, developing countries, but never anything quite like this. For fifteen dollars you can buy a bird that you could kill for free if you wanted to. Quail and Pheasants are everywhere down here!

Anyway, this is my first contribution to Granite Rock Sound, and although it's not much, I'll try to bring some good things to the table very soon.

Frank Zappa on CNN's Crossfire: 1986

2006-04-03T23:46:00.000-04:00

I thank Crooks and Liars for posting this video clip of vintage CNN's crossfire with guest Frank Zappa. I was able to be a member of the studio audience of Crossfire in it's last year of production. The partisan hackery seems to have been the same, but I'm glad Zappa put things in check then and I'm glad Jon Stweart puts things in check now.

Partisan TV needs more people like Zappa and Stewart to represent the common person. Zappa and Stewart had/have thier professional lives and work those arenas. However, when they were/are subject to common discourse in public light, they both articulate with a common sense that is rarely seen in ratings grabbing television.

Virginia DGIF

2006-04-03T22:11:00.000-04:00

For this next story, I need some context about the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. I'm a recent transplant to Virginia, and it's sad this is my exposure to a gov't agency that I know employs many hard working, intelligent individuals.

First the safari and the audit. Second, the Lewis Ginter Beaver. And third and the most devestating the Maymont Bears. Here's a great site which chronicles the events of the tragedy. Unrelated cases, but they add up to one cluster of a department.

Now for my 2 cents. I'm working on a construction site that was closed for a few weeks. When we returned, a pair of killdeer had nested and laid a clutch of four eggs.

Not wanting to plow over the birds, I wanted to know the best way to move the nest and have the parents still recognize and accept the nest. I didn't have a phone number to the VDGIF, but I did have a few fishing magazines with ads for conservation groups. After trying a few numbers, I got in contact with a man with experience with quail. He gave me some great general info on moving bird nests and a funny story about his friend succesfully moving an owl nest. He also supplied me with the VDGIF's phone number.

I made several calls and left a few messages to the VDGIF. None of my messages were returned. Tired of leaving messages when we needed to work, I dialed the VDGIF receptionist. I was a bit suprised when I asked for a biologist in the ornithology department that the receptionist sounded confused, no worries, I explained my scenario and was assured a biologist would contact me.

And a biologist surely did contact me. He informed me that the killdeer was a protected bird. Really? And started informing me I needed permits to move the nest the 30-50 yards I wanted to move it so it was out of harms way. Nevermind the symantics I was interested in physically moving the nest and if the parent birds would still care for the eggs; he said he'd call me back and let me know about the permit, which should be easy to obtain... over the weekend. He said he'd call back with more info now that he knew the situation.

Well he did call back, and he then told me it was out of his jurisdiction and that I needed to talk with an agent U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife and gives me contact info. Really? So I call this gentleman at the U.S. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and explain the situation and he asks, "He had you call me? Why?" I'm scratching my head too. So he tells it's fine to move the nest and gives me some info on the best way to do so and all works out in the end.

I'm amazed once again by the VDGIF.

Environment in the Presidential Budget

2006-04-03T21:55:00.000-04:00

This is a photo I took of the output being released from an oil refinery in Louisiana. I'm about 15-20 miles away from the refinery

With all the problems facing our nation, I'm glad there are people out there that still keep thier eyes on the environment.

Jean Schmidt and her degrees

2006-04-03T21:39:00.000-04:00

I don't give two hoots about the Jean Schmidt-and-her-fake-degrees story. But what gets me is her chief of staff's explanation for the problem:

"The reason for the discrepancy, explained Schmidt's chief of staff Barry Bennett, is that the Miami Township Republican has completed the hours required to earn a second bachelor's degree, but she didn't collect it."

Speaking as someone who persued a college degree, took time off while I had "enough hours to earn a bachelor degree," and returned to school to actually obtain my degree, let me tell you, there's a HUGE difference between having that piece of paper and NOT having that piece of paper. "But she didn't collect it?" You don't "collect" a degree, it is granted to you by the university. Either you finished the coursework and earned it or you didn't.

While applying for jobs, I never put down that I HAD a colleege degree even though I had 1.5 times the needed credit hours for a degree. Yes I explained that in interviews, but I never misrepresented myself. What a silly thing to do but it says a lot.

Bush to keep all his staff..

2006-03-19T23:40:00.000-05:00

Seems according to a local article that rumors of a "staff shake-up" have been put down.

Two people specifically I would like to see replaced is Michael Chertoff, and Alberto Gonzales, mostly Mr. Chertoff. His lack of effort along with President Bush's led to a horrendous disaster in which still has yet to be resolved. Yet Mr. Chertoff has seemingly stayed away from any blame being set upon him for Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Gonzolas mostly for his avid defense of this domestic spying program and his push to sustain it.

There are many people that should/need to be replaced in the Bush administration. I don't have a doubt in my mind that Bush knows that some people needs to be replaced, he just doesn't want to admit he made a mistake in picking the wrong people for the job.

Scrub the National Civilian Community Corps?

2006-03-19T13:37:00.000-05:00

How is abandoning a working, functioning, well-inentioned program that produces results like the NCCC a good idea? WAPO has more.

Of all that exists in "big government" that is fundamentally corrupt, broken, and/or just doesn't work, this is the best place to start making cuts? The president calls our nation to serve the country, then destroys the tools that make it possible. Add this to the list of horrible decisions made by this administration.

Mentioned at the Agonist

2006-03-18T15:00:00.000-05:00

We got a front page nod over at The Agonist. It's a great site with a great community. Go check them out.

Images of Cameron Parish, LA after Hurricane Rita

2006-03-17T23:12:00.000-05:00

After the 2005 U.S. hurricane season, I had a work assignment on the west side of Louisiana. I was much, much closer to Texas than to New Orleans. My focus was through out Cameron Parish. The eye of Hurricane Rita passed over the area I was working, meaning it essentially got hit twice. The pictures here include aerial shots of the debris line and damage from Hurricane Rita.

This video is of Holly Beach, a residential area located right on the Gulf Of Mexico. Hundreds of homes wiped out.

Here is a great site that has before and after satellite imagery of Holly Beach.

I've wanted to post these pictures for quite some time. They date from September-November 2005. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues, who requested to remain anonymous, for sharing some of their photos with me.

While working down there, I had the great joy of meeting and working with people from Louisiana who were greatly affected by the disasters. Many people I met from Louisiana were flat out disgusted with the mainstream media's covereage of the hurricane disasters. The vast majority of coverage was on New Orleans with snippets of Trent Lott; there were other cities that were flooded that had their levees broken. There were other cities outside of Louisiana that were devestated. The true damage of what happened down there is unimaginable and to see first hand how the gov't handled the emergency response and to now see how the gov't is still handling the situation half a year later is beyond less than impressive.

There are still huge debris lines. There are still rotting animal carcasses. There are still people who have not recieved FEMA aid. I'm not as worried about FEMA cheats who claim to be hurricane victims as I am about shady gov't contracts, wasteful spending, and irresponsible pork projects. In my experience, too many people who had the authority to make decisions down there wanted to be the hero and not enough people wanted to do the work. Maybe this accounts for the "communication breakdowns?" I believe this is why you saw many first responders side-lined or simply sent back to their home states while America watched people suffer and the devastation on TV.

There needs to be a definite chain of command in situations like this. While the lower echelon was eager and willing to lend their hands and backs, the higher echelon seemd to not see beyond the edge of their desk to carry out an effective plan. What looks good on paper does not always work in the real world. Sometimes you just need to get your hands dirty and work. The biggest problem in Emergency Response is that despite all your pre-planning, sometimes your eyes on the site need to make snap decisions and adjust plans. There's your communication breakdown.

The New Blog

2006-03-15T21:25:00.000-05:00

Congratulations on the birth of Granite Rock Sound! This is the first of hopefully many posts.