The Centre for Disease Control has issued a medical alert about a highly contagious, potentially dangerous virus that is transmitted orally, by hand, and even electronically. This virus is called Weekly Overload Recreational Killer (WORK). If you receive WORK from your boss,any of your colleagues or anyone else via any means whatsoever - DO NOT TOUCH IT !!!
This virus will wipe out your private life entirely. If you should come into contact with WORK you should immediately leave the premises.
Take two good friends to the nearest grocery store and purchase one or both of the antidotes - Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract (WINE) and Bothersome Employer Elimination Rebooter (BEER). Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.
You should immediately forward this medical alert to five friends. If you do not have five friends, you have already been infected and WORK is controlling your life.
«Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying.» ~Ronald Reagan
Earlier today, Friday, 13 March 2009, the New Mexico Senate voted 24-18 to repeal the death penalty in New Mexico and replace it with a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. House Bill 285 passed the house of representatives last month and now goes to Governor Bill Richardson for his signature. When Governor Richardson signs this bill, New mexico will become the second state in as many years to legislatively abolish the death penalty.
Following is the transcript of President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address:
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you.
CROWD: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.
I thank President Bush for his service to our nation...
(APPLAUSE)
... as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.
The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.
Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.
(APPLAUSE)
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
(APPLAUSE)
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.
It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.
Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died in places Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed.
Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
(APPLAUSE)
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.
The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth.
We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.
We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality...
(APPLAUSE)
... and lower its costs.
We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.
All this we can do. All this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply.
MR. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.
Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.
And those of us who manage the public's knowledge will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched.
But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.
The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
(APPLAUSE)
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.
Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.
Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.
And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.
(APPLAUSE)
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.
They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan.
With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet.
We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense.
And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, "Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."
(APPLAUSE)
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.
We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.
And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.
To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.
To those...
(APPLAUSE)
To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
(APPLAUSE)
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.
And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.
And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.
It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.
It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old.
These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.
What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
(APPLAUSE)
So let us mark this day in remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.
In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by nine campfires on the shores of an icy river.
The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood.
At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
«may mary's wet placenta wrap around you like a cheap blanket on a windy day and [may you] celebrate the true holiday of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti. down with the nazi!» From: [name withheld] 11:56 25.DEC.08
bon nadal i feliç any nou! god jul och gott nytt år! god jul og godt nytt år! glædelig jul og godt nytår! gleðileg jól og farsælt komandi ár! hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta! maligayang pasko at manigong bagong taon! nollaig chridheil agus bliadhna mhath ùr! nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda! nollaig shona agus blian nua fe mhaise! fröhliche weihnachten und ein gutes neues jahr! joyeux noël et bonne nouvelle année! ¡feliz navidad y próspero año nuevo! noeliniz ve yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun! buon natale e felice anno nuovo! prettige kerstdagen en een voorpoedig nieuwjaar! kellemes karácsonyi ünnepeket és boldog új évet! feliz natal e bom ano novo! mele kalikimaka me ka hauoli makahiki hou! koa kirihimete a kia hari te tau hou!
«idah saidan wa sanah jadidah» «de christmas akhtar de bakhtawar au newai kal de mubarak sha» «meri kurisumasu soshite akemashite omedeto!» «christmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad va sâle-no mobârak» «chag molad sameach veshanah tovah» «shub naya baras»
καλά χριστούγεννα και καλή χρoνιά πολλά! C Pождеством Хpистовым и Лучший Новый Год!
Sixty-six countries at the United Nations have called for homosexuality to be decriminalised.
The countries signed a declaration sponsored by France and the Netherlands demanding and end to legal punishment based on sexual orientation.
Sixty other countries of the UN's 192 member states, including a number of Arab and African states, rejected the non-binding declaration.
They said laws on homosexuality should be left to individual countries.
Gay men, lesbians and transsexuals worldwide face daily violations of their human rights.
Homosexuality is a criminal offence in more than 80 countries, while in at least seven nations, including Saudi Arabia, sex between men can be punished with the death penalty.
Considerable opposition
This month marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the French and Dutch governments are using this to highlight discrimination against homosexuals.
Their statement calls for an end to the execution, arrest and detention of homosexuals and transexuals.
The Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said it was a significant declaration.
Yet there is considerable opposition to this at the UN. Socially conservative countries in the Arab world and in Africa did not want anything to do with it.
Syria spoke on behalf of 60 countries, arguing that domestic laws should be respected, and claiming the declaration could legitimise deplorable acts including paedophilia.
The US was the only major Western nation not to sign the declaration.
Even though the US Supreme Court has ruled that states cannot make homosexuality a crime, diplomats claimed the declaration was not compatible with the division between between state and federal law.
France and the Netherlands hope more countries will sign up to the declaration in the future.
i just learned that an idiotic and ridiculous catholic priest in, surprise, surprise, South Carolina has decided that parishioners who voted for Barack Obama are not entitled to the «grace of jesus christ» through communion until they've done penance.
this is already enough for the man's church to loose its tax-exempt status and for free-thinkers to rise in revolt and offence at this example of the stupidity of faith, religion and the religious.
«[...] only [1] days until I get to A) tell McCain and Palin to go pound a railroad spike and B) give the worst president in American history the middle finger. Bush still has 2,5 months to destroy the world which doesn't sound like much time but you know he's working as hard he can to achieve that goal.» ~mgamber @ this entry
Robert Gabriel Mugabe and Morgan Richard Tsvangirai held hands. Mugabe tried to lift Tsvangirai's hand above the shoulder, to join it in his in a triumphant double fist, a gesture reminiscent of the moment he held up Joshua Nkomo's hand and with that gesture killed opposition politics in Zimbabwe for a long 12 years.
Tsvangirai may also have had Joshua Nkomo in mind, at that moment, because he seemed to resist this, his hand remained just below shoulder level, and Mugabe had to be content with a sideways shake and a toothy grin. Mugabe grinned. Tsvangirai grinned. Arthur Guseni Oliver Mutambara grinned. Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki grinned. They all grinned and were happy together.
It is surreal, this orgy of grinning, this sudden, blinding flashing of teeth: barely a month ago the pictures of torture camps filled television and computer screens, photographs of burnt bodies illustrated the stories of horror from Zimbabwe. Seared on the minds of millions were the story of the death of Abigail Chiroto, killed in an arson attack, and the haunting image of Joshua Bakacheza, diminished and fragile in his death, just two of the victims that made the front-page news of just about any newspaper that gave prominence to Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai was warning the world about genocide in Zimbabwe. Barely a month later he is sitting down to talk with the genocidaire-in-chief.
Such is the fluid world of high politics.
Like Kenya before it, Zimbabwe is to be another example of a new model of African elections. Losing an election, it seems, does not actually mean you have to give up the seat of office. The example of Zimbabwe should be particularly encouraging to Eduardo Dos Santos in Angola and Paul Biya in Cameroon, two incumbent leaders whose countries are next on the elections radar.
This is the lesson of Zimbabwe: if you are the incumbent and it looks like you are on your way out, for God's sake do not panic, just hang in there; beat the living daylights out of some of your people, just because you can, and the poorer they are the better; imprison those who would dare to oppose you, torture them, and if they are women, throw in a little spot of rape; kill them in horrible ways and burn their bodies and dump them in shallow graves, or no graves, as you please; in a word, intimidate your way back to power and, bingo, the African Union will very nicely ask you to accommodate your opponents in a government of national unity.
"The people of Zimbabwe have suffered long enough," is the mantra that is being used to push forward these talks. And indeed, the suffering is beyond levels that anyone with compassion can accept. Everyone knows the figures; the hyperinflation, the unemployment rate and now, yet again, the spectre of creeping starvation -- the United Nations reports that up to five million people face starvation. But how far should this mantra be carried? Have the people suffered so much that non-bread and butter issues to do with the dismantling of oppressive institutions, accountability, justice and reparations must be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency?
There is no doubt that, even if the MDC pushed for these issues to be at the forefront of the negotiations, Zanu-PF would not welcome any demands for justice, for truth and reconciliation, even at the very basic level of a public airing of the atrocities. An insistence on this point may well mean the end of any talks, any negotiation, any accommodation. And is it to be expected that Zanu-PF will approve the demilitarisation of state institutions and thus dismantle the very system that has ensured its survival?
The result of this negotiation, when it comes, may well be a political compromise of the kind that Zimbabwe saw in the 1980s when Joshua Nkomo's Zapu merged with Mugabe's Zanu-PF after a violent campaign of intimidation. That process of negotiation left unaddressed the violent suppression of Nkomo's supporters. The politicians got their Mercs and perks. And to this day the people of Matebeleland have reason to remain bitter that nothing was ever done to address their pain.
It is in this regard that the most disturbing element of these talks is that, as with the Zanu-Zapu talks, and the Lancaster House talks before them, they are yet again the exclusive preserve of politicians. If there is something Zimbabweans should have learned by now, it is that the fate of the country should not be entrusted to politicians. This is a political crisis, the thinking goes, and a crisis for politicians to address. When the MDC wanted the mediation expanded, it talked only of adding another mediator to watch over Mbeki, who has given the world reason to believe that he is Mugabe's most able and hard-working ambassador. The real expansion in the mediation should have been the inclusion of civil society, because the people who truly need watching over are not the mediators but the politicians.
The exclusion of civil society means that matters of justice, however broadly defined, may never be addressed. Nor will the many economic crimes of this brutish regime. And there is another dimension: not only redressing the evils of the past, but also laying a foundation for the future: one of the items on the agenda of the talks is a new Constitution. Certainly, this mediation presents an opportunity to jettison the Lancaster House agreement that was progressively amended to concentrate power in the hands of the executive, thus giving Zimbabwe the horrors of 28 years of Mugabe. The negotiators should agree to a new Constitution but not, as they have attempted to do in the past, come up with a draft themselves. To leave the process of Constitution-making to two political parties would be quite wrong.
The absence of civil society from the talks inevitably means that Zimbabweans, like Kenyans, will be held hostage to a political compromise. And because the people have suffered enough, they will have no choice but to accept what the politicians decide and try to rebuild their lives anew on a foundation of compromise and cheated dreams. If the MDC sings the praises of this new deal in dulcet enough tones and Zanu-PF accompanies with soothing sounds about healings and new visions and unity of purpose, the money for a rescue package will start to flow. Inflation will go down.
The politicians will serve their terms and campaign for new terms. They will make grand speeches at the opening of Parliament and schools. They will pose for photographs with visiting dignitaries. Zimbabweans will joke and laugh about the time inflation was 2 000 000% and they paid their bills in billions and trillions and the budget was set in quadrillions.
Joshua Bakacheza and Abigail Chiroto will fade out of memory; they will certainly not appear in any history books -- neither they nor the many victims whose beaten buttocks and burnt bodies served to stoke the flames and keep the story of Zimbabwe in the limelight. Having served their purpose, they will leave the limelight, appearing only in the memories of the people who loved them and in the occasional search on the internet, where nothing is deleted. And Zimbabwe will go on to a future rooted in grief and pain, where the accumulated resentments of the past will be daily reminders of the dangers of political compromise.
Petina Gappah is a Zimbabwean writer and lawyer who lives in Geneva. She recently won the Mukuru Nyaya prize for comic writing
«Our doubts are traitors, And make us lose the good we oft might win By fearing to attempt. » attributed to one William Shakespeare, «Measure for Measure, Act 1 scene 4»
«and there never was an apple, in adam's opinion, that wasn't worth the trouble you got into for eating it.» from good omens by neil gaiman and terry pratchett
«keep on looking you keep on searching you keep on moving and you get a little further you keep on trusting you keep on hoping you keep on facing your faith [fears] just to keep on growing
just try... try... you just try
keep on wondering you keep on asking keep on reaching keep on taking chances keep on longing you keep on dreaming keep on doing what you do never give up believing [in yourself]
just try... try... you just try you just try... try... just try
maybe your world shakes you try to hold on maybe your heart breaks just keep on loving maybe you'll find out it's meant to be this way maybe you'll learn this or maybe we'll learn this
keep embracing each day keep on yearning keep on making mistakes just to keep on learning keep on giving; you keep on wanting keep on fighting just get up every morning and try... try... just try you just try... try... just try you just try... you just try... just try»
«En la puerta del sol como el año que fue, otra vez el champán y las uvas y el alquitrán de alfombra están. Los petardos que borran sonidos de ayer y acaloran el ánimo para aceptar que ya, pasó uno más.
Y en el reloj de antaño como de año en año cinco minutos más para la cuenta atrás hacemos el balance de lo bueno y malo cinco minutos antes de la cuentra atrás.
Marineros, soldados, solteros, casados, amantes, andantes y alguno que otro cura despistao. Entre gritos y pitos los españolitos, enormes, bajitos, hacemos por una vez, algo a la vez.
Y en el reloj de antaño como de año en año cinco minutos más para la cuenta atrás hacemos el balance de lo bueno y malo cinco minutos antes de la cuentra atrás.
Y aunque para las uvas hay algunos nuevos A los que ya no están echaremos de menos y a ver si espabilamos los que estamos vivos y en el año que viene...
Uno, dos, tres y cuatro empieza otra vez que que la quinta es la una y la sexta es la dos y así el siete es tres.
Y decimos adiós y pedimos a dios que en el año que viene a ver si en vez de un millón, pueden ser dos.
En la puerta del sol como el año que fue otra vez el champán y las uvas y el alquitrán de alfombra están»
Un Año Más, as sung by Ana Torroja during a Girados tour concert in A Coruña
bon nadal i feliç any nou! god jul och gott nytt år! god jul og godt nytt år! glædelig jul og godt nytår! gleðileg jól og farsælt komandi ár! hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta! maligayang pasko at manigong bagong taon! nollaig chridheil agus bliadhna mhath ùr! nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda! nollaig shona agus blian nua fe mhaise! fröhliche weihnachten und ein gutes neues jahr! joyeux noël et bonne nouvelle année! ¡feliz navidad y próspero año nuevo! noeliniz ve yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun! buon natale e felice anno nuovo! prettige kerstdagen en een voorpoedig nieuwjaar! kellemes karácsonyi ünnepeket és boldog új évet! feliz natal e bom ano novo! mele kalikimaka me ka hauoli makahiki hou! koa kirihimete a kia hari te tau hou!
«idah saidan wa sanah jadidah» «de christmas akhtar de bakhtawar au newai kal de mubarak sha» «meri kurisumasu soshite akemashite omedeto!» «christmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad va sâle-no mobârak» «chag molad sameach veshanah tovah» «shub naya baras»
καλά χριστούγεννα και καλή χρoνιά πολλά! C Pождеством Хpистовым и Лучший Новый Год!
The following is a transcript of the Democratic response by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to President Bush's radio address:
HARRY REID:
Good morning. I'm Nevada Senator Harry Reid, the Majority leader of the United States Senate. Last November, Americans elected a new Democratic Congress to end business as usual in Washington and change America. This week marked the end of our first year in the majority, and in that time, Democrats have put working families first, given our troops the care and support they deserve, and made our country safer.
For working families: We cut middle class taxes; raised the minimum wage for the first time in ten years; helped families avoid foreclosure on their homes; made college more affordable for millions of students; and passed historic new energy legislation to lower gas prices, raise fuel economy standards on cars and trucks for the first time in 32 years, and begin to stem the tide of global warming.
To make America safer: We passed the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission — to secure high-risk cities like Las Vegas — and provide first responders additional resources; and we improved security at our borders and ports so that we know who and what is coming into our country from overseas.
For our men and women in uniform: We passed an across-the-board pay raise; provided better protective combat gear; and funded the largest increase in veterans' health care in 70 years.
We have made progress in all of these areas this year — but that doesn't mean I am satisfied. Like you, I am frustrated by the direction of our country. We helped middle-class families make ends meet — but a possible recession still looms and millions may still lose their homes to foreclosure — including tens of thousands of Nevadans. We gave back to our men and women in uniform who are sacrificing so much — but because of President Bush, they remain in Iraq without a clear mission or endgame, and our Armed Forces are stretched to a breaking point. And we took steps to secure our country from terrorism, but Bin Laden remains free, Al Qaeda is growing stronger, and the President's focus on Iraq has allowed conditions in Afghanistan to deteriorate.
We need to do more to solve all these problems, but time after time, when Democrats have fought for change, President Bush and Republicans in Congress have stood in the way. We tried to give health care to 10 million poor children, but Republicans sided with tobacco companies. We tried to promote cleaner energy sources — by turning to the sun, the wind, and geothermal — but Republicans sided with the big oil companies. We chose to invest in priorities here at home, but Republicans chose to send billions more of your taxpayer dollars to Iraq.
This year has shown that Washington is divided between Democrats who want change and Republicans who are satisfied with the status quo. Republicans broke the all-time, two-year obstruction record in just one year with 62 filibusters.
Much of what we read in the papers or see on the news focuses on who's winning — Democrats or Bush Republicans. But this isn't a game to be measured by which party wins and loses. Democrats believe winning means solving our nation's problems. When we work together, we can. But Democrats can't do it alone. In January, we will return to Congress with much more to do for you and all Americans.
I hope the new year will find Republicans willing to join us to get that work done. I am glad to be back home in Searchlight, Nevada this weekend to spend the holiday season with my family and friends. On behalf of the United States Senate, which I have the honor of leading, I wish you and your family a season of health, happiness and joy.
Our thoughts and prayers are with our courageous men and women serving in the military, and with those families who have an empty place at the table this year, awaiting their safe return from war. This is Senator Harry Reid. Thank you for listening.
Since starting her co-hosting role on The View, Sherri Shepherd has had her share of «Huh?» moments. Most famously, the actress said she wasn't quite convinced that the earth was round.
A new quote burning up the viral world may become even more infamous, as Shepherd on Monday's «View» got into a discussion about religion timelines with her fellow hosts. The ensuing discussion went in a head-scratching direction.
While talking about religion, Whoopi Goldberg suggests that ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus didn't have Jesus Christ or christianity.
«They still had Christians back then», Shepherd retorts, claiming that the religion existed 300 years before Jesus Christ was born. «They had Christians and they threw them to the lions», she continues.
«I think this might predate that», Goldberg added.
«I don't think anything predated Christians», Shepherd replied. [Excuse me, but how ignorant must one be to make such a statement. This baffles, enrages and troubles me greatly].
In September, during a similar discussion about religious and scientific beliefs, Goldberg asked Shepherd if she thought that the world was flat.
«I don't know», Shepherd answered, adding that if her son asked her whether the world was flat or round, she'd «go look it up».
So again, we see an ignorant theist and celebrity, earning thousands if not millions of dollars, lacking even basic education in history and science, co-hosting a show that influences the thoughts of millions of females and certainly a male or two almost daily. It also legitimises bad manners as all hosts speak at the same time and stifle proper communication and discussion. I find it stunning that the live audience did not boo Ms Shepherd off the stage. I would sack her and force her to attend junior and high school as well as university (again?) before ever allowing her to utter another word in public. She should also loose custody of her children to prevent them from growing up in the sea of ignorance that must be their theist home.
Australia's opposition Labour Party under Kevin Rudd has won a sweeping general election victory, removing PM John Howard (a Bush ally) after an 11-year term.
Rudd has promised to withdraw Australia's 1.575 troops from Iraq starting in mid-2008 and vowed to start work this very week on ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on climate change and strengthening workers' rights.
Profile of the 2007 federal election:
More than 13,5 million of Australia's roughly 21 million people had registered to vote.
Electors were to choose candidates for all 150 seats in the lower House of Representatives and 40 of the 76 seats in the upper house, the Senate.
PM John Howard had led the conservative Liberal-National party coalition to four election wins since 1996.
Kevin Rudd was taking the centre-left Labor Party to the polls for the first time as leader.
Election issues were the economy, environment and war in Iraq.
«To predict the behaviour of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence.» ~Friedrich Nietzsche
Sooner or later one finds oneself either at the receiving end of advice to cheer up and think positively or giving said advice (not me) to a depressed friend, relative or even total stranger.
Well, it does more harm than good, and you can learn why by yourselves listening to this brilliant segment from the NPR programme All Things Considered and its I Believe series.
«I think opportunities were lost» said Dr Thomas Treasure, British surgeon involved with the inquest into Princess Diana's death saying she might have been saved if French medics had brought her to hospital sooner.
It's much simpler, say I. Princess Diana would have most certainly survived the crash, albeit with some injuries such as broken ribs, for instance, had she been wearing her seatbelt.
Spinner.com has named its list of the Top 25 opening pop song lyrics of all time. They're nearly all so bad, i'm only listing the Top 10 and saying: ugh.
«Superfreak» by Rick James She's a very kinky girl. The kind you don't take home to momma...
«Jumpin' Jack Flash» by The Rolling Stones I was born in a cross-fire hurricane.
«Blitzkrieg Bop» by The Ramones Hey, ho, let's go!
«I Saw Her Standing There» by The Beatles Well, she was just seventeen, if you know what I mean...
«Mama Said Knock You Out!» by LL Cool J Don't call it a comeback...
«Close to You» by The Carpenters Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?
«Loser» by Beck In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey...
«Blue Suede Shoes» by Carl Perkins Well, it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go, cat, go!
«Gloria» by Patti Smith Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine...
«Livin' on a Prayer» by Bon Jovi Tommy used to work on the docks...
«Happy the man, and happy he alone, He who can call today his own: He who secure within, can say Tomorrow do thy worst, for I have lived today.» ~John Dryden
«American religio-insanity is as vacuous as it is silly. It's the difference between a dark and spooky and drafty Medieval cathedral with old women sitting there saying Rosaries (e.g. in Poland) and a shitty, two-bit tract development off the interstate next to the Wal-Mart, the McDonald's, and the used car lot with a gaggle of 300-pound clueless know-nothings who can't find their own country (America) on a world map and think that Clint Black's "Iraq and Roll" is poetry and sound foreign policy.» ~arcturus
i just found this quotation among draft posts and while its meaning to me is quite clear, its proper placement within the time line of the blog escapes me as did its origin before i just researched it. let's make it this week's quotation. it still fits a certain melancholy and nostalgia and a very loose end.
«and when we meet, which i'm sure we will, all that was there will be there still, i'll let it pass, i'll hold my tongue, and you will think that i've moved on...» ~dido, white flag
During a question-and-answer session at New York's Carnegie Hall a 19-year-old from Colorado asked author JK Rowling: Did Dumbledore, who believed in the prevailing power of love, ever fall in love himself?
The author replied: My truthful answer to you...I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. The audience reportedly fell silent - then erupted into prolonged applause.
New Yorker covers editor Françoise Mouly repositioned Art Spiegelman’s silhouettes, inspired by Ad Reinhardt's black-on-black paintings, so that the north tower's antenna breaks the «W» of the magazine's logo. Spiegelman wanted to see the emptiness, and find the awful/awe-filled image of all that disappeared the on 11 september. the silhouetted Twin Towers were printed in a fifth, black ink, on a field of black made up of the standard four colour printing inks. an overprinted clear varnish helps create the ghost images that linger, insisting on their presence through the blackness.
Exhumed remains may be Tsar's son, Alexei and a daughter
Guardian Unlimited reported today that almost 90 years after imperial Russia's last tsar was executed with his wife and children by a Bolshevik firing squad, the family may be reunited once more.
Archaeologists believe the newly discovered remains of a boy and a young woman are those of Nicholas II's only son, Alexei, and a daughter, Maria.
«clean your finger before you point at my spots.» ~benjamin franklin
«with affection beaming in one eye, and calculation shining out of the other.» ~charles dickens
«the only thing worse than a liar is a liar that's also a hypocrite!» ~tennessee williams
«a hypocrite despises those whom he deceives, but has no respect for himself. he would make a dupe of himself too, if he could.» ~william hazlitt
«the true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity» ~andre gide
«ignorance is natural. stupidity takes commitment.» ~solomon short
«how many people make themselves abstract to appear profound. the most useful part of abstract terms are the shadows they create to hide a vacuum.» ~joseph joubert
«it is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.» ~william g mcadoo
it's splendidly refreshing to find reason and logic elegantly yet forcefully triumph over the blah-blah-blahs of theists like Michael Gerson and in mainstream media of all arenas. please take a moment to read a most brilliant op-ed piece, published by The Washington Post saturday, 14 july.
It's uncommonly generous of Michael Gerson [«What Atheists Can't Answer», The Washington Post, op-ed, 13 July] to refer to me as «intellectually courageous and unfailingly kind», since (a) this might be taken as proof that he hardly knows me and (b) it was he who was so kind when I once rang him to check a scurrilous peacenik rumor that he was a secret convert from Judaism to Christian fundamentalism.
However, it is his own supposedly kindly religion that prevents him from seeing how insulting is the latent suggestion of his position: the appalling insinuation that I would not know right from wrong if I was not supernaturally guided by a celestial dictatorship, which could read and condemn my thoughts and which could also consign me to eternal worshipful bliss (a somewhat hellish idea) or to an actual hell.
Implicit in this ancient chestnut of an argument is the further -- and equally disagreeable -- self-satisfaction that simply assumes, whether or not religion is metaphysically «true», that at least it stands for morality. Those of us who disbelieve in the heavenly dictatorship also reject many of its immoral teachings, which have at different times included the slaughter of other «tribes», the enslavement of the survivors, the mutilation of the genitalia of children, the burning of witches, the condemnation of sexual «deviants» and the eating of certain foods, the opposition to innovations in science and medicine, the mad doctrine of predestination, the deranged accusation against all Jews of the crime of «deicide», the absurdity of «Limbo», the horror of suicide-bombing and jihad, and the ethically dubious notion of vicarious redemption by human sacrifice.
Of course Gerson will -- and must -- cherry-pick this list (which is by no means exhaustive) and patter on about how one mustn't be too literal. But in doing this, he makes a huge concession to the ethical humanism to which he so loftily condescends. The game is given away by his own use of G.K. Chesterton's invocation of Thor. We laugh at this dead god, but were not Norse children told that without Valhalla there would be no courage and no moral example? Isn't it true that Louis Farrakhan's crackpot racist group gets young people off drugs? Doesn't Hamas claim to provide social services to the downtrodden? If you credit any one religion with motivating good deeds, how (without declaring yourself to be sectarian) can you avoid crediting them all? And is not endless warfare between the faiths to be added to the list of horrors I just mentioned? Just look at how the «faith-based» are behaving in today's Iraq.
Here is my challenge. Let Gerson name one ethical statement made, or one ethical action performed, by a believer that could not have been uttered or done by a nonbeliever. And here is my second challenge. Can any reader of this column think of a wicked statement made, or an evil action performed, precisely because of religious faith? The second question is easy to answer, is it not? The first -- I have been asking it for some time -- awaits a convincing reply. By what right, then, do the faithful assume this irritating mantle of righteousness? They have as much to apologize for as to explain.
Essentially conceding that philosophy and secularism do not condemn their adherents to lives of unbridled selfishness, and that (say) the Jewish people did not get all the way to Mount Sinai under the impression that murder and theft and perjury were okay, and also that we could not have evolved unless human solidarity was in some way innate, Gerson ends weakly by posing what is a rather moving problem.
«In a world without God» he writes, »this desire for love and purpose is a cruel joke of nature -- imprinted by evolution but designed for disappointment». Again, he substitutes the wish for the thought. We very probably are, as he admits, not the designed objects of the Big Bang or of the process of natural selection. But this sober conclusion, objective as it is, is surely preferable to the delusion that we have been created diseased, by a capricious despot, and then abruptly commanded to be whole and well, on pain of terror and torture. That sick joke is one that we can cease to find impressive, that belongs in the infancy of our species, and gives a false picture of reality that we would do well to outgrow.
the nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. ~george f will :: we are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems. ~john w gardner
«I am certainly not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and constitutions. I think moderate imperfections had better be borne with; because, when once known, we accommodate ourselves to them, and find practical means of correcting their ill effects. But I know also, that laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the same coat which fitted him when a boy, as civilised society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.»
~Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Kercheval, 12 July 1810
«I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.»
i've previously written (also here) to indeed celebrate this day in history, but this year, with politics as they are here in the US (you've heard, the libby commutation and talk of pardon, the continued and flawed involvement in iraq's RELIGIOUS wars and the like), i'd rather sing to the United Kingdom, as they've just been under terrorist attack and remember a time when we were not quite free yet and Founding Brothers and Sisters invented a nation based on principles now often dismissed by government and citizenry alike.
Rule, Britannia!
When Britain first, at Heaven's command Arose from out the azure main; This was the charter of the land, And guardian angels sung this strain: «Rule, Britannia! rule the waves: «Britons never will be slaves.»
The nations, not so blest as thee, Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall; While thou shalt flourish great and free, The dread and envy of them all. «Rule, Britannia! rule the waves: «Britons never will be slaves.»
Still more majestic shalt thou rise, More dreadful, from each foreign stroke; As the loud blast that tears the skies, Serves but to root thy native oak. «Rule, Britannia! rule the waves: «Britons never will be slaves.»
Thee haughty tyrants ne'er shall tame: All their attempts to bend thee down, Will but arouse thy generous flame; But work their woe, and thy renown. «Rule, Britannia! rule the waves: «Britons never will be slaves.»
To thee belongs the rural reign; Thy cities shall with commerce shine: All thine shall be the subject main, And every shore it circles thine. «Rule, Britannia! rule the waves: «Britons never will be slaves.»
The Muses, still with freedom found, Shall to thy happy coast repair; Blest Isle! With matchless beauty crown'd, And manly hearts to guard the fair. «Rule, Britannia! rule the waves: «Britons never will be slaves.»
note: please observe that «Rule, Britannia! rule the waves» is a COMMAND and so the verb is in the imperative and to sing, «Britannia, rules the waves» is a mistake. and one sings «never, never, never shall be slaves».
this version is taken from The Works of James Thomson by James Thomson, published 1763, Volume II, page 191.
«Lift not the painted veil which those who live Call Life: though unreal shapes be pictured there, And it but mimic all we would believe With colours idly spread, —behind, lurk Fear And Hope, twin Destinies; who ever weave Their shadows, o’er the chasm, sightless and drear. I knew one who had lifted it—he sought, For his lost heart was tender, things to love, But found them not, alas! nor was there aught The world contains, the which he could approve. Through the unheeding many he did move, A splendour among shadows, a bright blot Upon this gloomy scene, a Spirit that strove For truth, and like the Preacher found it not.»
the vulnerability of the quicktime version in question allows attackers to entice users to a website with a maliciously coded java applet and then run attack code on a compromised machine.
the associated press reported today the results of a study indicating that drug-resistant staph infections have spread to the urban poor, rising almost sevenfold in recent years in some Chicago neighbourhoods.
researchers discovered that the crowded living conditions in public housing and jails may speed up the person-to-person spread of infection and that these superbugs, first seen mainly in hospitals and nursing homes, have turned up recently among athletes, prisoners and people who get illegal tattoos.
but... how does one catch germs? the graphic below provides some answers.
«the most valuable thing we can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of a room, not to try to be or do anything whatever.» ~may sarton
note: please be aware that to some people contemplation is akin to lunacy. so perhaps is best to have music playing... and not statre at any walls for too long... stupidity causes cancer, right?
«you left me with goodbye and open arms a cut so deep i don't deserve you were always invincible in my eyes the only thing against us now is time
could it be any harder to say goodbye and without you, could it be any harder to watch you go, to face what's true if i only had one more day
i lie down and blind myself with laughter a quick fix of hope is what i'm needing and now i wish that i could turn back the hours but i know i just don't have the power
i'd jump at the chance we'd drink and we'd dance and i'd listen close to your every word, as if its your last, i know it's your last, cause today, oh, you're gone
like sand on my feet the smell of sweet perfume you stick to me forever, baby and i wish you didn't go, i wish you didn't go i wish you didn't go away to touch you again, with life in your hands it couldn't be any harder»
bon nadal i feliç any nou! god jul och gott nytt år! god jul og godt nytt år! glædelig jul og godt nytår! gleðileg jól og farsælt komandi ár! hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta! maligayang pasko at manigong bagong taon! nollaig chridheil agus bliadhna mhath ùr! nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda! nollaig shona agus blian nua fe mhaise! fröhliche weihnachten und ein gutes neues jahr! joyeux noël et bonne nouvelle année! ¡feliz navidad y próspero año nuevo! noeliniz ve yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun! buon natale e felice anno nuovo! prettige kerstdagen en een voorpoedig nieuwjaar! kellemes karácsonyi ünnepeket és boldog új évet! feliz natal e bom ano novo! mele kalikimaka me ka hauoli makahiki hou! koa kirihimete a kia hari te tau hou!
«idah saidan wa sanah jadidah» «de christmas akhtar de bakhtawar au newai kal de mubarak sha» «meri kurisumasu soshite akemashite omedeto!» «christmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad va sâle-no mobârak» «chag molad sameach veshanah tovah» «shub naya baras»
καλά χριστούγεννα και καλή χρoνιά πολλά! C Pождеством Хpистовым и Лучший Новый Год!
Deutsche Oper Berlin declared that «incalculable» security risks would be posed by staging Idomeneo so it has cancelled the Mozart production scheduled for november. apparently the security fears stem from possible ridiculous and immature reaction of islamists and perhaps even some ordinary and reasonable muslims to severed heads of jesus and the prophet muhammad that the opera production would feature along with those of buddha and the mythological greek sea god poseidon. Idomeneo deals with the rebellion of man against the deity.
this drives me mad! if muslims demand respect to their religion, they must also be prepared to relinquish their thriving thirteenth century attitudes and prejudices as well as accept the freedom of thought, dissent and expression at the heart of real western democracy and society.
note that Berlin's mayor, Klaus Wowereit, said the berlin opera director had made the wrong decision to scrap the production telling the Associated Press that «our ideas about openness, tolerance and freedom must be lived out on the offensive» and that «voluntary self-limitation gives those who fight against our values a confirmation in advance that we will not stand behind them».
germany's interior minister called the cancellation «unacceptable».
note as well that this sad decision closely follows the furore caused by the speech made by Pope Benedict in which he cited an ancient text featuring Muhammad, sparking angry street protests round the world.
remembering the 3,047 people murdered in New York City, Washington, DC/Virginia and Pennsylvania on 11 september 2001.
during the last week the nation's media has broadcast a number of documentaries and dramatisations focusing on the grief of survivors, remembering the murdered, the results of the latest research into the destruction of the World Trade Centre and the re-development of Ground Zero. americans have been asked if we feel any safer today. i find it difficult to answer in the affirmative because hardly anything seems to have been done since the attacks to also reduce the root causes of terrorism and anti-Americanism. horrifyingly, it would seem that much has been done to fuel continued hatred towards us instead.
Wynton Marsalis to write opera for the Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Centre Theatre announced in February the first significant creative collaboration between the fellow residents of the New York arts complex. entitled the Met/LCT Opera/Theatre Commissions Program, it would «provide renowned composers and playwrights/librettists with the financial and creative resources to create and develop new works».
The first project to emerge from the scheme is an opera from trumpeter and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Centre, Wynton Marsalis, and American playwright John Guare. The subject and production date have not been revealed.
note: see the Opera News website for more details.
sopranos Nina Stemme and Hillevi Martinpelto have been appointed court singers by the Swedish King, Carl XVI Gustaf. both singers were born and raised in Sweden and have gained international acclaim in recent years.
the tradition of court singers dates back to King Gustav III's reign in the 18th century. many eminent Swedish singers have been awarded the title over the years, including Jussi Björling, Birgit Nilsson, Anne Sofie von Otter, Nicolai Gedda and Elisabeth Söderström.
a spokesperson for the Swedish Royal Court explained that the director of the Royal Swedish Opera proposes names to the King, which are discussed internally before a decision is made. the person doesn't have to be a Swedish national but he or she has to be performing regularly in Sweden. it's an honorary title but court singers are frequently asked to perform at royal events.
«i never understand the need for a 'live' audience. my music, because of its extreme quietude, would be happiest with a dead one.» ~igor stravinsky, quoted in london magazine, 1967
american soprano Deborah Voigt, who in 2004 was dropped from the title role in the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden's production of Ariadne auf Naxos because she was deemed by the venue too large for her costume, a little black dress, has been reappointed to the production for the 2007-2008 season, having lost weight following stomach surgery.
priest drowns trying to replicate jesus walking-on-water fable
physics (again) has trumped religious faith so kids, please do not attempt this at home nor at the seaside.
the daily record and other news outlets and blogs have reported that a priest in libreville, gabon, died last month trying to demonstrate how jesus walked on water.
evangelist preacher franck kabele, 35, told his congregation he could repeat the biblical miracle, but he drowned after walking out to sea from a beach. an eyewitness said that kabele told churchgoers he'd had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water, like jesus.
«he took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the komo estuary, which takes round twenty minutes by boat.»
«he walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back.»
one reckons kabele should have started with the water-to-wine trick and slowly worked his way up to water-walking.
culinary goddess, internationally acclaimed bestselling author, new york times columnist, and television personality nigella lawson returns to US television this autumn in a brand new series based on her best-selling cookery book, feast – food that celebrates life. each episode is to feature a different theme, from major holiday feasts and special occasions to celebrations of small everyday pleasures like midnight snacks and solo meals.
the food network's press release on the series notes:
with her unique and refreshing approach to cooking, nigella's new half hour series, produced by pabulum and pacific productions for food network, will infuse the modern kitchen with her easy elegance and signature style. throughout the first season, nigella will explore such topics as spa snacks, foods for kids that adults can also enjoy, cooking for a crowd, comfort foods and leisurely sunday brunches.
during one episode of nigella feasts, nigella will show viewers how easy it is to prepare meals to pamper themselves, especially if they live alone, with mouth-watering recipes like roast lamb for one and spaghetti alle vongole. in another episode, nigella will illustrate how thrilling it can be to host an unforgettable "girl's night in" with a menu of eggplant and saffron dip, aromatic lamb meat balls, salt and pepper chicken wings, and, for dessert, honeyed figs with greek yogurt and pistachios. she will then explore everyone's favorite indulgence, chocolate, with scrumptious recipes like chocolate guinness cake, chocolate caramel crispy cakes, and alcoholic hot chocolate. finally, for those viewers who are always on the go, nigella will prepare foods they can easily take with them, like meatloaf and pasta salad primavera, which also double as perfect potluck choices for a friend's party.
«the interesting thing about food is that it's both about reality and escape… before you know it, you have made something that seduces people», says nigella.
nigella was deputy literary editor of the sunday times before embarking on a freelance career. she has written for a variety of magazines and newspapers, including the UK's sunday times, evening standard, guardian, daily telegraph, observer, times magazine, and, in the US, gourmet and bon appétit magazines. she originated the restaurant column in the spectator and wrote the food column for british vogue for several years. nigella is also the inspiration behind the successful living kitchen collection brand of cookery and lifestyle products.
the show's premiere is scheduled to air 01 October at 13:00 et.
google's book search service will now allow classic literature fans and the general public to access and download PDFs of dante's divine comedy, aesop's fables and other popular classics and rare books that are no longer subject to copyright. users will also be able to print the books.
however, books still under copyright will only have bibliographies and limited extracts available through the search service.
the book search service is part of a larger project that google is undertaking with universities to digitise the works of several libraries and put them online in a searchable format. the university of california is the latest educational institution to sign up to the project, which has already got harvard, stanford, university of michigan, university of oxford and the new york public library on board.
behold this awe, terror and respect-inspiring image. certainly quite ominous.
by 07:00 cdt on 28 august 2005, «hurricane katrina» was a category five storm, with maximum sustained winds of 280 km/h (175 mph), gusts up to 344 km/h (215 mph) and a central pressure of 902 mbar. it had reached category four intensity just after midnight, at 12:40 cdt with 233 km/h (145 mph) winds.
the mayor of new orleans, clarence ray nagin, jr, issued a mandatory evacuation order for all of the parish of orleans at 10:00 cdt.
can anyone imagine evacuating an area the size of the united kingdom in a matter of hours?
at 06:10 cdt, 29 august 2005, hurricane katrina made its second landfall as a category 3 hurricane near buras-triumph, louisiana, with sustained winds of more than 125 mph (201 km/h). katrina also made landfall in st bernard parish and st tammany parish for a total of three landfalls in louisiana.
by 8:00 cdt, in new orleans, water was seen rising water on both sides of the industrial canal.
by 09:00 cdt, there was 6-8 feet of water in the lower ninth ward.
at 10:00 cdt, the hurricane made its third landfall near pearlington, mississippi and slidell, louisiana, with sustained winds of 193 km/h (120 mph) after crossing breton sound.
by 11:00 cdt, there was approximately three metres (ten feet) of water in st bernard parish. many rooftops could not be seen here as they were submerged.
at 2:00 cdt, new orleans officials confirmed a breach of the 17th street canal levee. there was also confirmation of breaches at two other canals.
one thousand five hundred people lost their lives.
[entry unfinished. notes: seventy percent of hospitals in the area remain closed. some must travel eighty miles to reach a grocery store. the suicide rate has increased three-fold.]
the anniversary of hurricane katrina is upon us, and restaurants nationwide will be participating in share our strength's second restaurants for relief. last year's efforts raised US$1,2 million for post-katrina recovery, in particular for rebuilding school cafeterias, opening summer meal programs and providing assistance for restaurant workers. a listing of participating restaurants in your area may be found here along with the percentage of sales or overall donation that will benefit restaurants for relief 2. in DC, options range from places like capital grille to la madeleine to evening star café.
please note that there are still hundreds of thousands of displaced people who cannot return home and need help rebuilding their lives and livelihoods. we must continue to help reNew Orleans!
it is the passion flowing right on through your veins and it's the feeling that you're oh so glad you came it is the moment you remember you're alive it is the air you breathe, the element, the fire it is that flower that you took the time to smell it is the power that you know you got it well it is the fear inside that you can overcome this is the orchestra, the rhythm and the drum
como uma força, com uma força como uma força que ninguém pode parar como uma força, com uma força como uma fome que ninguém pode matar
it is the soundtrack of your ever-flowing life it is the wind beneath your feet that makes you fly it is the beautiful game that you choose to play when you step out into the world to start your day you show your face and take it in and scream and pray you're gonna win it for yourself and us today it is the gold, the green, the yellow and the grey the red and sweat and tears, the love you go. hey!
como uma força, com uma força como uma força que ninguém pode parar como uma força, com uma força como uma fome que ninguém pode matar
força, força, força, força
closer to the sky, closer, way up high, mais perto do céu, mais perto do céu
como uma força, com uma força como uma força que ninguém pode parar como uma força, com uma força como uma fome que ninguém pode matar
força (oh), força (oh), força, força, força
este amor... este amor... é tão grande, tão forte come on!
so say researchers and work in the european journal of clinical nutrition. nutrisionists in the uk have found that, contrary to common belief, tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, but it can also protect against heart disease and some cancers. they believe flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea that promote health.
clear evidence was found that drinking three to four cups of tea a day can cut the chances of having a heart attack. some studies suggested tea consumption protected against cancer, although this effect was less clear-cut.
additional health benefits seen included protection against tooth plaque and, potentially, tooth decay, as well as bone strengthening.
dr carrie ruxton, public health nutritionist at Kings College London, said that drinking tea is actually better for one than drinking water. while water is essentially replacing fluid, tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants. she added that the idea that tea is dehydrating was an urban myth.
there was no evidence that tea consumption was harmful to health. however, research suggests that tea can impair the body's ability to absorb iron from food, meaning people at risk of anaemia should avoid drinking tea around mealtimes.
pluto, considered a planet since its discovery in 1930 by the american clyde tombaugh will now effectively be airbrushed out of school and university textbooks.
the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) general assembly has passed a resolution following a week of stormy debate declaring that the eight planets are mercury, earth, venus, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus and neptune.
to qualify, a celestial body must be in orbit around a star while not itself being a star. it must also be large enough in mass «for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit».
pluto was automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with neptune's.
it will now join a new category of «dwarf planets» (no disrespect intended, surely).
«the biggest cause of trouble in the world today is that the stupid people are so sure about things and the intelligent folks are so full of doubts.» ~bertrand russell
luciano pavarotti suffers from pancreatic cancer (among presumably other conditions given his notorious obesity) and the corriere della sera reported last week that the former king of the high Cs considers the cancer punishment for his good fortune. «i was a fortunate and happy man and now i am paying the penalty for this fortune and happiness» he said.
this mentality, ladies and gentlemen, encapsulates the meaning of religion, and particularly the wisdom of the catholic faith.
some people are saying today that dubya has lied again. i doubt he was lying per se when he said at this morning's press conference that he «may be the only person -- the only presidential candidate -- who never carried the state in which he was born». it's more like he was displaying ignorance.
yet i find astonishing that he wouldn't know or recall that al gore lost his home state of tennessee despite winning the presidential election in 2000 or that his own father, mr george herbert walker bush, the forty-first president of this great nation of ours, and a native of massachusetts, lost the state twice, to michael dukakis in 1988 and to bill clinton in 1992. and there's also abraham lincoln, hubert humphrey, george mcgovern, adlai stevenson and many others...
«the dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.» ~archibald macleish
lucha de gigantes convierte, el aire en gas natural. un duelo salvaje advierte, lo cerca que ando de entrar en un mundo descomunal siento mi fragilidad.
vaya pesadilla corriendo, con una bestia detrás. dime que es mentira todo, un sueño tonto y no más. me da miedo la enormidad donde nadie oye mi voz.
deja de engañar. no quieras ocultar que has pasado sin tropezar. monstruo de papel, no sé contra quién voy. ¿o es que acaso hay alguien más aquí?
creo en los fantasmas terribles de algún extraño lugar y en mis tonterías para hacer tu risa estallar.
en un mundo descomunal siento tu fragilidad.
deja de engañar. no quieras ocultar que has pasado sin tropezar. monstruo de papel no sé contra quién voy. ¿o es que acaso hay alguien más aquí?
scotland yard said this morning that a plot to blow up planes in flight from the UK to the US and commit «mass murder on an unimaginable scale» has been disrupted. some news outlets are using the word unprecedented instead.
what's UNIMAGINABLE or UNPRECEDENTED? the west continues to do little to tackle the CAUSES of terrorism so it's no surprise that there's still zealots all over plotting to commit heinous atrocities. but again, what's unimaginable or unprecedented about them when humanity has witnessed (but apparently can't recall) the extermination of native peoples in the new world, slavery, the holocaust, the horrors of the khmer rouge, genocide in the balkans, almost a million massacred in rwanda just a few years ago while the world did nothing. and when was the last time you heard DARFUR mentioned in the news?!
AFP reports that sony will market the mylo (standing for my life online), a palm-sized, first-of-its-kind wireless broadband device that would allow users to exchange online voice and text messages, browse the internet and listen to music.
the oblong-shaped mylo should be available in the US, in black or white, starting in september for round US$350. the device features a 6,1-centimetre (2,4-inch) colour liquid crystal display with a slide-out thumb keyboard and comes embedded with instant messaging services such as Google Talk, Skype and Yahoo Messenger and so will allow internet-based calls and online chatting services for users without paying service fees or signing mobile phone contracts.
the mylo can scan for available wireless networks and its HTML browser lets users connect to full web pages as well as send e-mails.
the gadget has a built-in speaker for listening to music stored in its one-gigabyte flash memory, which can also store digital pictures.
«how many people make themselves abstract to appear profound. the most useful part of abstract terms are the shadows they create to hide a vacuum.» ~joseph joubert
this past week i enjoyed an unplanned mini african cinema festival in my own living room, featuring hotel rwanda, yesterday and nirgendwo in afrika (nowhere in africa). not only was i terrified and anguished by the continuing evil and horror inflicted by humanity on itself even at the most personal levels possible, but also moved by the beauty and power of landscapes inhabited by splendid, brilliant and inspiring beings some of which survive even in death. some of these beautiful people are children who along with others from the rest of the planet amount to nine million refugees.
nine million refugee children who need help to live, learn and play.
surely everyone has commented on lance bass being an out homosexualist now and probably simply asked, like i have: «well, aren't they all»? shame he never made it to space rainbow flag in tow. would have given a whole new meaning to planet out! surely a topical episode of south park is to follow. best wishes all round.
the new scientist reports that the body of farinelli, the most famous and presumably greatest castrato opera singer, was exhumed on my birthday, 12 july, to learn how he achieved such dulcet tones.
nicholas clapton, curator of a london exhibition on castrati at the handel house museum. noted that «farinelli was more famous than madonna, johnny depp and david beckham combined».
his body, originally buried in 1782, is to be studied by researchers in italy to see how childhood castration, performed on prospective singers to stop their voices breaking, affected bone structure. a lack of testosterone should have limited the growth of the hyoid bone of the larynx, giving the castrati a child's voice, while the ribs should grow longer, making space for larger lungs with greater volume and sound control.
«nos rivières passent le temps du pont d'la fièvre aux quatre vents où tout cet air se fait plus lent nos rivières vont forcément par ces pierres vêtues de blanc elles nous serrent entre leurs dents nos rivières font nos enfants et c'est la terre qui nous les prend
vivez, jeunes gens de cet air, de cet air et de tout ce temps vivez, vivez, vivez souvent d'un jour où vivre, c'est maintenant d'un jour où vivre, c'est maintenant d'un jour où vivre, c'est maintenant
nos rivières croisent le chant de pluies légères et d'océans sont-elles fières ou simplement nos rivières d'eau et de sang... nos rivières d'eau et de sang
vivez, jeunes gens de cette eau, de cette eau et de tout ce sang vivez, vivez, vivez souvent d'un jour où vivre, c'est maintenant d'un jour où vivre, c'est maintenant vivez, vivez, vivez souvent...
nos rivières font nos enfants et c'est la terre qui nous les prend
d'un jour où vivre, c'est maintenant d'un jour où vivre, c'est maintenant ~isabelle boulay [paroles: didier golemanas / musique: daniel seff]»
though the fourth of july is almost iconic to americans, some claim the date itself is somewhat arbitrary. new englanders had been fighting britain since april 1775. the first motion in the continental congress for independence was made on 08 june. after hard debate, the congress voted unanimously (12-0), but secretly, for independence from the kingdom of great britain on 02 july. the congress reworked the text of the declaration until a little after eleven o'clock, 04 july, when thirteen colonies voted for adoption and released an unsigned copy to the printers. (new york abstained from both votes.) philadelphia celebrated the declaration with public readings and bonfires on 08 july. not until 02 august would a fair printing be signed by the members of the congress, but even that was kept secret to protect the members from british reprisal.
john adams, credited by thomas jefferson as the unofficial, tireless whip of the independence-minded, wrote his wife abigail on 03 july:
the second day of july, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of america. i am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. it ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to god almighty. it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.
adams was off by two days, however. certainly, the vote on 02 july was the decisive act. but 04 july is the date on the declaration itself. jefferson's stirring prose, as edited by the congress, was first adopted by the vote of the 4th. it was also the first day philadelphians heard the official news of independence from the continental congress, as opposed to rumors in the street about secret votes.
note that despite the genesis of independence day, it is largely uncommon for americans to express anti-british sentiment on this day or to view it as a celebration of anti-colonialism. indeed, most americans today consider the united kingdom their greatest ally. rather than specifically as an opportunity to commemorate the end of british rule in the 18th century, contemporary americans generally perceive the holiday as a celebration of the USA. itself and the political values that motivated the united states declaration of independence, including explicit principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and implicit ones of democracy, liberty, freedom, and equality under the law.
last night i watched the brilliant meryl streep read this poem in the PBS brodcast of the Prairie Home Companion season finale and Independence Day Special and i couldn't help imagining that it had been chosen just for me...
You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-- over and over announcing your place in the family of things.
~wild geese by mary oliver, winner of the Pulitzer Price and the National Book Award for her poetry.
---------- Original message ---------- Date: 15 June 2006 @ 14:45 Subject: Hotel Sakartvelo
Here is a brilliant song written by Kaan Vural, a good friend of mine. This song combines every stereotype about Georgia (Sakartvelo in Georgian) and really gives one a good idea of what we must put up with in this country.
If you haven't already guessed, the song follows the same melody as Hotel California by the Eagles (who are herein appropriately attributed [i.e. I mentioned them]).
Anyhow, here is the song...
Hotel Sakartvelo
On a dark mountain highway, Potholes everywhere. Warm smell of cattle, Rising up through the air. Out ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light, I knew it was a mirage, There ain't no power at night.
There he slouched in the doorway, Cigarette in his hand, he said, "Welcome to Sakartvelo, our beautiful land!" Then he lit up a candle, and gave it to me straight, "To go through is twenty lari, to go quick twenty-eight"
Welcome to the hotel Sakartvelo! Such a lovely place, such a lovely place! Seen from far away! They're living it up at the hotel Sakartvelo! What a nice surprise, what a nice surprise, Bring your own supplies!
The electricity's twisted It's never ever online, and he said "We don't have no power here Cause it's the spirit of the times." How they drink in the courtyard, the wine tastes of regret. Some drink to remember, I just want to forget! So I called up the captain, "please bring me my wine" he said "We have had that spirit here since BC four thousand and nine" And still those hookers are calling from far away, Wake you up in the middle of the night, Just to hear them say:
"Welcome to the hotel Sakartvelo Such a lovely place, such a lovely place Seen from far away They're living it up at the hotel Sakartvelo What a nice surprise, what a nice surprise, Bring your own supplies!
Cobwebs on the ceiling, can't get to my floor He said, "That's probably because the lift ain't working no more, We have water problems, and there will be no light" I said "you can bet your bottom dollar, my friend, I won't be spending the night!"
Last thing I remember, I was running for the door I had to find the passage back to the place that I was before "Relax" said a policeman, "it'll all be all right."
Couldn't get out of the country, the Planes all leave at midnight!
(solo)
:: «That's what happens when earth fucks with space-never forget that.» ~Jimi Hendrix, after refusing to play at Madison Square Garden.
tokyo, which has ranked as the world's most expensive city for the last four years, has lost this infamous distinction to moscow, where a two-bedroom flat would cost you US$3,000, a served cup of coffee 5,27, an international newspaper 3,40 and a burger and chips 3,87. ouch! a weakened yen places tokyo in third place just behind seoul.
london, meanwhile, still makes a pricey showing at number 5, making it the most expensive city in europe, followed by geneva, which ranks 7 worldwide.
here's the top twenty:
Moscow
Seoul
Tokyo
Hong Kong
London
Osaka
Geneva
Copenhagen
Zurich
Oslo
New York
St Petersburg
Milan
Peking
Istanbul
Paris
Singapore
Dublin
Sydney
Shanghai
the cost-of-living survey from mercer human resource consulting uses new york city, ranked number 10, as its cost base -- scoring it at 100. then it compares the prices of more than 200 items, including housing, household goods, food, entertainment and transport in 144 cities round the planet.
leipzigis europe's least costly city at number 123. sydney is australasia's most expensive city followed by melbourne and brisbane.
other high-ranking cities include los angeles in position 29, san francisco in 34th place and chicago in 38th position. washington, dc takes 83rd place. winston-salem is the cheapest US city surveyed, ranked 124th.
toronto is the most expensive city in canada and moves up from 82nd to 47th place. ottawa remains the least expensive canadian city but has climbed 32 places from 122nd to 90th.
são paulo and rio de janeiro are the most expensive cities in latin america moving up from 119th and 124th positions to 34th and 40th place respectively
asuncion in paraguay remains the least expensive city globally, in 144th position. other cheap cities include buenos aires, montevideo and caracas in 142nd place, 138th and 136th respectively.
interestingly, the US commonwealth of puerto rico has experienced rather high inflation during the last year making san juan the costliest city in the central american and Caribbean geographical regions in 55th position. san jose, costa rica is the least expensive in 134th place. santo domingo in the dominican republic is in 126th position dropping 27 places due to the depreciation of the dominican peso against the US dollar.
---------- forwarded message ---------- date: 19 june 2006 @ 09:15
I found this on a web forum. LOL.
Seamus O'Brien had been hailed the most intelligent Irish man for three years running. He had topped such shows as the 'Just a Minute Quiz' and 'Quicksilver'. It was suggested by the Irish Mensa board that he should enter into the English Mastermind Championships. He did, and won a place.
On they evening of the competition, Seamus entered from the audience and placed himself in the Leather Seat and made himself comfortable. The lights dimmed and a spot light pointed at his face.
Magnus said "Seamus, What subject are you studying?." Seamus responded, "Irish history". Very well said Magnus, Your first question: "In what year did the 'Easter Rising' take Place?"
Seamus responded .."Pass."
"OK" said Magnus, "Who was the leader of the Easter Rising?", Seamus Responds .."Pass." "OK" said Magnus, How long did the Easter Rising Last?" Seamus Responds.. "Pass."
Instantly, a voice in the crowd shouted, "Good Man Seamus... Tell the English Nothing..."
:: «That's what happens when earth fucks with space —never forget that.» ~Jimi Hendrix, after refusing to play at Madison Square Garden.
british newspaper the mail has reported that iPods are assembled by women who work 15-hour days and earn £27 (US$50) per month at «iPod city», a plant in longhua, china.
foxconn's longhua plant houses 200,000 workers who live in 100-people dormitories closed to visitors.
the iPod shuffle is manufactured at a factory in suzhou, shanghai. workers there are housed outside the plant, and earn £54 (US$101) per month, but they must pay for lodging and food which takes up half their salaries.
i don't own a motorcar, but i enjoy listening to car talk, whenever i find myself awake on a saturday morning before the crack of noon. in fact, it's great fun and always an educational experience, not limited to the realms of automotive technology and service, humour and common sense.
for instance, today, i learned the word obnubilate which means to confuse: make unclear, indistinct, or blurred as in «his words obnubilate his true wishes».
«the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. the opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. the opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. and the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.» ~elie wiesel, october 1986
«for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate, a time for war, and a time for peace.» ~ecclesiastes 3:1-8
five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear. five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. how do you measure, measure a year?
in daylights, in sunsets, in midnights in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
in five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure a year in the life?
how about love? how about love? how about love? measure in love,
seasons of love. seasons of love.
five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes! five hundred twenty-five thousand journeys to plan.
five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. how do you measure the life of a woman or a man?
in truths that she learned, or in times that he cried. in bridges he burned, or the way that she died.
it's time now to sing out, tho' the story never ends. let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends. remember the love! remember the love! seasons of love!
oh you got to, got to remember the love! remember the love. you measure in love. know that love is a gift from up above. seasons of love. share love, give love, spread love. measure, measure you life in love. ~seasons of love, rent
i wish it could be this easy, but this tactic does not work for me. the horrid thing is that so many actually live with their head not in the sand, but apparently so far up their arses that it comes up and out between their shoulders and so don't even realise it. and it stinks up the world...
john was a bad boy, and beat a poor cat; tom put a stone in a blind man's hat; james was the boy who neglected his prayers; they've all grown up ugly, and nobody cares.
an old woman
there was an old woman as ugly as sin, who lived upon lucifer-matches and gin; but she was so greedy, and ate such a many, you could not have kept her a week on a penny.
jack
that's jack; lay a stick on his back! what's he done? i cannot say. we'll find out tomorrow, and beat him today.
i've been reading the meditations by marcus aurelius for about a year now (obviously very, very slowly and just a bit at a time). they reflect the contemplative thoughts and philosophical wisdom of a long-dead emperor and require slow digestion as the food for the soul (mind) they certainly are.
a passage from book II has carried much weight this week and i wish to share it below.
«begin the morning by saying to thyself, i shall meet with the busy-body, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. all these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil. but i who have seen the nature of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly, and the nature of him who does wrong, that it is akin to me, not only of the same blood or seed, but that it participates in the same intelligence and the same portion of the divinity, i can neither be injured by any of them, for no one can fix on me what is ugly, nor can i be angry with my kinsman, nor hate him, for we are made for co-operation, like feet, like hands, like eyelids, like the rows of the upper and lower teeth. to act against one another then is contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be vexed and to turn away.»
love is the passion which endureth, which neither time nor absence cureth; which nought of earthly change can sever: love is the light which shines for ever.
what cold and selfish breasts deem madness lives in its depths of joy and sadness; in hearts, on lips, of flame it burneth — one is its world, to one it turneth.
its chain of gold — what hand can break it? its deathless hold — what force can shake it? mere passion aught of earth may sever, but souls that love, love on for ever. ~mary anne lamb
funeral blues
stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, silence the pianos and with muffled drum bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead scribbling on the sky the message he is dead, put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
he was my north, my south, my east and west, my working week and my sunday rest, my noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; i thought that love would last for ever; i was wrong.
the stars are not wanted now: put out every one; pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood, for nothing now can ever come to any good. ~w h auden
«what makes it so plausible to assume that hypocrisy is the vice of vices is that integrity can indeed exist under the cover of all other vices except this one. only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core.» ~hannah arendt
«god runs electromagnetics by wave theory on monday, wednesday, and friday, and the devil runs them by quantum theory on tuesday, thursday, and saturday.» ~sir william bragg
«these are the times that try men's souls. [...] tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. what we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.»
at first glance one is tempted to scream, wondering whether the journalist responsible finds himself on a peaceful and deserted beach somewhere, but even then he could surely report on the weather, the scenery or his state of mind! i mean, with much taking place all round us meriting our attention, this headline's almost offensive... at first glance...
the fact is that not only did it catch my attention and peeked my interest, but it even prompted me to tell you about it.
the story refers to four armed men who stole several famous paintings friday, including a Picasso and a Monet, from a Rio de Janeiro museum and then slipped away in a crowd of carnival revellers... who, allegedly, did not see anything unusual...
washington city paper's brian beutler has written a most interesting article on the current state and future of DC's real estate bubble.
by the way, a real-estate bubble or property bubble (or housing bubble for residential markets) is a type of economic bubble that occurs periodically in local or global real estate markets. it is characterized by rapid increases in the valuations of real property such as housing until they reach unsustainable levels relative to incomes and other economic indicators, followed by rapid decreases that can result in many owners holding negative equity (a mortgage debt higher than the value of the property).
ananova reports today that swedish female penguins have failed in their mission to seduce gay male humboldt penguins in a german zoo.
bremerhaven zoo had introduced the female penguins to try and establish more breeding pairs in its penguin pens, since it has far too many male penguins, while kolmarden zoo in sweden has an oversupply of females.
at bremerhaven, the birds, which find new mates every year, form all-male pairs and adopt pebbles as if they were eggs. last year, officials said the females had arrived too late for pairing. and this year, the birds arrived in time, but were too shy.
zoo chief executive heike kueck said that the swedish penguins are rather stand-offish.
four local females were quickly snapped up but the rest of the 22 penguins ignored the newcomers and formed male couples.
last year, homosexualists bombarded the zoo with emails and protest letters, claiming it was interfering in the penguins' freedom of sexual orientation.
go ahead, say: seventy-seven seasick sailors were nursed by seven fair nurses. nothing to it... but try, sjuttiosju sjösjuka sjömän sköttes av sju sköna sjuksköterskor... aha! see, the problem is that the sj's and sk's involve pronouncing a voiceless palatal-velar fricative (also voiceless dorso-palatal velar fricative, voiceless postalveolar and velar fricative, voiceless co-articulated velar and palatoalveolar fricative) which for non-native swedish speakers presents a bit of a prob, especially since the swedes themselves pronounce it differently, according to dialect and even social class.
listening repeatedly to the soundtrack of various films and to swedish pop songs as well as my language tapes it sounds to me like an "sh" sound followed by an "h" (as in hat) and a "w" then whatever vowel comes after the sj/sk... but not quite and not always.
yesterday afternoon, i heard panelists on a radio show discuss for an hour how to draw children away from television and interest them in reading. not one suggested SWITCHING OFF THE TELLY...
the nyt says it's «inventive. imaginative. ingenious. fanciful». the washington post says that «the whole interface feels almost alive... it's a rare, rewarding example of a paper-bound process that has been radically rethought...» the chicago tribune points out that «...a user is continually surprised at the insights and solid results that each search delivers» and yahoo adds that it's «a near-perfect combination of content and design».
the visual thesaurus is described as a tool for people who think visually; a thesaurus and dictionary with an interactive display allowing one to explore and understand language in a new way. it presumably allows the user to find the exact word he needs, to write descriptively, to see connections and relationships, brainstorm, get synonyms and antonyms, hear words pronounced correctly, build vocabulary, explore new words and meanings, understand 39,000 proper nouns and more.
i thought i'd give it a go, and looked up solipsism. i was not impressed. for instance, i found that googling define:solipsism provided rather straightforward and brilliant results.
in most countries, using cannabis is likely to land one in trouble with the law. but the substance has also inspired a cure for coughing fits discovered under sponsorship of the US government.
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive chemical found in cannabis, besides its well-known effect on the brain, also latches onto the nerve cells in the upper airways of mammals and short-circuits the signals that cause coughing spasms.
the US government's national institute of health (NIH) has been paying the university of california in oakland to develop a cough cure based on this effect. researchers found that a recently discovered relative of THC – arachidonylethanolamide (anandamide) – can have a similar cough-quelling effect, but without also making users high [er... what's the point again? ah yes, the coughing cure...].
anandamide can be puffed into a person's airways from an aerosol inhaler and latch onto the same nerve cells as thc. but it binds so tightly to the cells that it will not get into the bloodstream.
the drug has so far been tested on rats and guinea pigs, which were given the treatment and then sprayed with pepper. microphones inside the animal's cages counted the coughs – and they were significantly reduced after the aerosol cure was administered.
february is celebrated as black history month here in america and something different i've noticed this year is that there's an emphasis on the fact that we are all africans.
the prejudiced, along with the willfully and stubbornly ignorant who refuse to accept the fact of evolution and what science in general and archeology in particular teach us about the origins of humans find this a hard pill to swallow.
BBC radio has producded a superb series, the strory of africa which tells the story of the continent from an african perspective. i listened to a fascinating three-hour installment last night on WETA-FM which covered the origins of humankind, africa & the nile valley, the berbers, the bantu migrations, traditional religions, and the coming of christianity. further episodes will air sunday evenings.
WETA-FM here in DC is also featuring a series of non-commercial radio adverts called «moments to remember» highlighting pioneering and pivotal events in american black history.
i heard two gentlemen on the radio this morning trying to answer some questions and they weren't doing very well and just before their last attempt the host warns the caller not to get his hopes up since they were «batting a thousand today». i thought the expression meant the opposite... and it does.
to bat a thousand: american idiom meaning to do something extremely well and better than one had hoped to do it.
now, what would be the opposite equivalent expression? wait, is opposite equivalent the right term?!
bush said last night that ending US dependence on foreign oil is a national priority. successes in iraq were cited and warnings to iran issued regarding nuclear arms. he also mournedd the passing of coretta scott king even though he radically and militantly opposes some of the freedoms that she and her late husband fought for throughout their lives. NPR reporters offer insights on what was said... and what wasn't.
regarding the controversy about the european cartoon depicting the prophet mohammed wearing a turban shaped as a bomb and others, i'd like to remind all that so-called blasphemy is protected by democratic freedom of expression. when islamist terrorists act they do so in the name of their deity and religion. muslims who claim that such acts do not represent the beliefs of all muslims and that they should not all be "grouped together" should also accept that the view of the cartoonist is his own and may not represent the views or beliefs of all westeners and that calling for boycotts is nothing short of hypocrisy. why not hit the streets in protest of terrorism, for instance, each time a westener is kidnapped and threatened with death by beheading in the name of islam, the deity and its prophet? don't they consider terrorism as or more blasphemous than the cartoons in question?
i don't know how we went from installing a digital thermostat to discussing the effect of the coriolis force on the draining water in a sink or a toilet, but we did discuss the matter and agreed further researh was required.
the result is that while the force, caused by the earth’s rotation, is indeed responsible for air being pulled to the right (counterclockwise) in the northern hemisphere and to the left (clockwise) in the southern hemisphere, whose effect is the observed curved path of moving objects relative to the surface of the earth (hurricanes are good examples. they curve to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere), it is too weak to affect such small bodies of water as contained in a sink or toilet. in fact, one can find both counterclockwise and clockwise flowing drains in both hemispheres.
«be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out.» ~thomas cardinal wolsey (1471-1530)
read this faq for further information on the subject.
«i curse you. until you do right by me... everything you think about... will crumble! until you do right by me, everything you even think about will fail! the jail you planned for me is the one you'll rot in. everything you done to me... is already done to you. i'm poor... black. i may even be ugly. but dear god, i'm here. i'm here!» ~miss ceely (whoopi goldberg), the colour purple
please bear with yours truly as i (based on a ravashti template) work to refresh αι's look, update links and attempt to restore missing graphics. substantive writing and commentary has been sporadic at best... so has been my living of life...
billy said in a deposition that he hadn't sexed the pretty, smart, pudgy girl and got himself impeached despite the parade of constitutional scholars who told senators and citizens that well, fibbing about extra-marital affairs isn't really treason nor an impeachable offence. georgie & co set out to dismantle the fundamental principle of separation of powers, the separation of church and state and system of checks and balances along with the bill of rights and the country looks the other way if it looks at all.
the news is that bush actually authorised domestic spying before the terrorist attacks of 11 september 2001. truthout reports that a declassified document contradicts the president's assertion that the 11 september attacks prompted him to take the unprecedented step of signing a secret executive order authorising the NSA to monitor american citizens thought to have ties to terrorist groups in such a way that the protocols implemented in essence meant the agency was conducting a covert domestic surveillance operation in violation of applicable law.
should auld acquaintance be forgot tho' they return with scars? these are the noble hero's lot obtain'd in glorious wars welcome, my varo, to my breast thy arms about me twine and make me once again as blest as i was lang syne
methinks around us on each bough a thousand cupids play whils thro' the groves i walk with you each object makes me gay since your return the sun and moon with brighter beams do shine streams murmur soft notes while they run as they did lang syne
as i reckon most know, the new year arrives one second later this year... hence the title of this entry, in which i simply wished to re-visit the thoughts from the same time last year and well, share this one quotation again:
«life careers gravewards at a breakneck rate, so drink and love [me], and leave the rest to fate.»
~tony harrison (b. 1953), british poet: palladas: poems (1975), no. 11. / the poems are versions of greek originals by the fourth-century alexandrian poet palladas.
«presence is a noun, not a verb; it is a state of being, not doing. states of being are not highly valued in a culture which places a high priority on doing. yet, true presence or "being with" another person carries with it a silent power -- to bear witness to a passage, to help carry an emotional burden or to begin a healing process. in it, there is an intimate connection with another that is perhaps too seldom felt in a society that strives for ever-faster "connectivity."»
Te extrañará que te escriba hoy 26 de diciembre, pero quiero aclarar ciertas cosas que me han ocurrido desde que te mandé mi carta, lleno de ilusiones, en la que te pedía que me trajeras una bicicleta, un tren eléctrico, una XBOX 360 y un par de patines. Quiero comentarte, Santa Claus, que me maté estudiando todo el año, tanto que no sólo fui de los primeros de la clase, sino que saqué puros dieces en el colegio, no te voy a engañar. No hubo nadie que se portara mejor que yo, ni con sus papás, ni con sus hermanitos, ni con sus amiguitos, ni con sus vecinos. Hacía recados SIN COBRAR, ayudaba a los viejecitos a cruzar la calle y no había nunca algo que no hiciera por mis semejantes, y sin embargo, ¡¡¡QUÉ HUEVOS LOS TUYOS SANTA CLAUS!!!
Es que... dejar debajo del arbolito una puta peonza, una mierda de trompeta y un maldito par de calcetines, ¡QUÉ CA--GA--DA!. ¿Qué hostias te has creído barrigudo? O sea que me porto como un imbécil todo este año para que me vengas con una mierda de este calibre. Y no conforme con eso, al maricón del hijo de la vecina, a ese idiota sin educación, malcriado, desobediente que le grita a su mamá, a ese tonto de las pelotas que no puede entrar a su cuarto de tantos juguetes que tiene, a él sí le trajiste todo lo que te pidió. Por eso ahora quiero que venga un terremoto o algo así, para que nos lleve a la mierda a todos, ya que con un Santa Claus como tú, tan incompetente y falso, mejor que nos trague la tierra.
Pero eso sí, no dejes de venir el año que viene porque voy a reventar a pedradas a tus putos y sarnosos venados. Empezando por esa mierda de Rudolph que tiene nombre de homosexual. Te los voy a espantar para que tengas que joderte, caminando a pie como yo ¡cabrón!, ya que la bicicleta que te pedí era para ir al colegio, que queda a tomar por culo de mi casa.
No quisiera despedirme sin antes mentarte a la madre que te parió, ojalá que cuando hayas subido muy alto se te de la vuelta el puto trineo y te pegues una buena hostia por ser tan hijo de puta.
Pero eso sí, eh, te advierto que el año que viene vas a saber lo que es un niño maldito, desgraciado y cabrón.
Atentamente, Pablito.
P.D. La peonza, la trompeta y el par de calcetines puedes recogerlos cuando quieras y metértelos por el culo.
«if i traded it all if i gave it all away for one thing just for one thing if i sorted it out if i knew all about this one thing wouldn’t that be something.» ~one thing by finger eleven
bon nadal i feliç any nou! god jul och gott nytt år! god jul og godt nytt år! glædelig jul og godt nytår! gleðileg jól og farsælt komandi ár! hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta! maligayang pasko at manigong bagong taon! nollaig chridheil agus bliadhna mhath ùr! nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda! nollaig shona agus blian nua fe mhaise! fröhliche weihnachten und ein gutes neues jahr! joyeux noël et bonne nouvelle année! ¡feliz navidad y próspero año nuevo! noeliniz ve yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun! buon natale e felice anno nuovo! prettige kerstdagen en een voorpoedig nieuwjaar! kellemes karácsonyi ünnepeket és boldog új évet! feliz natal e bom ano novo! mele kalikimaka me ka hauoli makahiki hou! koa kirihimete a kia hari te tau hou!
«idah saidan wa sanah jadidah» «de christmas akhtar de bakhtawar au newai kal de mubarak sha» «meri kurisumasu soshite akemashite omedeto!» «christmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad va sâle-no mobârak» «chag molad sameach veshanah tovah» «shub naya baras»
καλά χριστούγεννα και καλή χρoνιά πολλά! C Pождеством Хpистовым и Лучший Новый Год!
the beeb reports that according to the new york daily news the body and bones of alistair cooke were stolen before his cremation by a criminal ring trading body parts. allegedly, the body snatchers surgically removed his bones and sold them for more than £4,000 ($7,000) to a company supplying parts for use in dental implants and various orthopaedic procedures.
i wonder whose ashes (or what's) mr cooke's family spread over central park in manhattan almost two years ago. same goes for the ashes spread over the aegean sea, allegedly belonging to the legendary callas. see, she was cremated in a hurry after her death in august 1977 and burried at père lachaise. some time later her grave was found disturbed and the ashes missing. only they were "found" elsewhere in the cemetery. how do we know if the ashes burried at père lachaise were hers in the first place. who would do so and then leave them behind? i mean, was this the work of a deranged fan obsessed with feng-shui or someone who'd just want to keep or sell or otherwise dispose of the diva's ashes and then felt guilty? don't think so. i bet the ashes in the aegean were a cat's or something...
psychology, the mental process by which a person makes sense of an idea by assimilating it to the body of ideas he or she already possesses.
what a dangerous process when the already possessed ideas are, for instance, wrong and the assimilation serves to pseudo-support them further rather than correct them. take, creationism, or as it's now known pseudo-euphemistically, intelligent design. the "psychology" here astonishes.
a panelist on this evening's washington week stated that the US has so far used thirty-three terms «define» the enemy we're fighting in iraq. the implications of naming the enemy are disturbingly serious given what's at stake. this is not just about the security of our homeland and of our citizens worldwide, nor just about the countries and people of the countries touched by our fight against terrorism and our occupation of iraq, but about the fundamental principles of our democracy and the role and responsibilities we impose on our government at home and overseas. it's about whether we can live to up to our commitments and ideals, whether we can accomplish what we set out to do.
what and/or whom are we fighting in iraq? the idea that we went there to fight terrorism has been utterly discredited even though unquestionably we are fighting it when we are dealing with al-zarqawi and his allies.
we are indeed fighting insurgents, but the administration fears the use of the word perchance because it implies accepting or at least seriously considering the view of experts expressing that fighting an insurgency to victory requires nine to ten years and it fears the political risk involved as americans seem more apprehensive than ever about supporting such an enterprise. we'd like it all said and done cleanly and quickly and it just can't and won't be this way this time round. this is quite a harsh notion when we still have to take care of our own country and ourselves.
what if this word-game, the one calling the enemy in iraq saddamists, rejectionists, insurgents, terrorists or any of the other twenty-eight terms applied to them so far, prompts america at-large to ask, basically, what it is we're really doing there when we don't even know whom we're fighting or what the targets really are? ah, therein lies a difference i reckon has been overlooked.
we may not know what to call the enemy, but we do know what they stand for and we fight against that. we fight against threats to our national security, the free-flow of oil, and for stability in the region which can only be achived through democracy and the development of a strong civil society. regardless of whether we had the right to do it or should have done it in the first place, we've toppled a heinous totalitarian regime. we did it without a plan for the following day, which was the most short-sighted, irresponsible and serious mistake of the whole enterprise, again, barring starting the war in the first place, but we've done it. we are there.
we must accept that we can't just pack up and leave. there's no way round this. we must stay the course. i stood against hurrying to war while the existence of weapons of mass destruction was so in question. i stood against it while it was clear that we did not have a plan, that we didn't even have anybody to take the reins of government once saddam hussein's dictatorship fell. pretending that we did in the figure of chalabi is an egregious assault on honesty and intelligence. BUT, we attacked, we invaded, we toppled the regime and occupied the country. this meant that we had to stand behind our troops and demand that our government be true to the principles that should guide it and the commitments it would make on our behalf. but americans in general aren't comfortable with complexity nor seem very adept at judging who can handle it successfully, opting more often that not, for the simple, the plain and the familiar. so last year a large majority voted for the man who would continue the war after claiming victory and still without a plan rather than for another who at least hoped to end it before the mere massive yet still inadequate (in numbers) military presence in iraq became a stronger and more widely accpeted reason or excuse to fight us.
there's been important successes, but still, less than half the funds destined for reconstruction have been spent meaning that among other goals, i believe our efforts to train iraqis to defend themselves and secure peace remain less than satisfactory. this also translates into a failure to mobilise iraqi society to manifest itself massively against the insurgency and in favour of taking their future into their own hands democratically, free from tyranny and terror, supported by its new allies. i do recognise that these tasks are more than arduous in a country where the majority of its people lived under the tyranny, absue and discrimination of a minority; a country further fragmented by tribalism and ethnic and religious differences which can't be overcome overnight. but i'm concerned we are failing to capitalise on the influence of theexisting highly-skilled, educated population and the heroes who have risked their lives to cast votes and will do so again, hopefully in larger numbers, a third time in the upcoming election. i am just thinking of the power massive and public manifestations of support for their own future, not the occupation per se, can have on those determined to derail it, for instance. but how could they know this when they hear that we just want to get out of there as soon as possible?
it's easier to grab a candle and hit the streets to voice our views in our country and other industrialised, democratic nations, when we don't really have to fear being shot by insurgents, when we can do so because we are empowered to do so by our general economic well-being or stability. but iraqis could be encouraged to exercise their new freedom, that there's indeed increased safety in numbers, especially with massive supportive military power in situ.
at the same time, we americans need to accept responsibility for the exercise in nation-building we granted our government permission to conduct, committing to it aware that it won't conclude within months or the next couple of years. the majority of americans chose bush to continue as commander-in-chief and so it's incumbent upon us all to demand he fulfills his duties courageously and properly which means that the administration has to, not only welcome the criticism it has been ignoring for far too long, but consider and implement alternative strategies which seem better than the obviously still non-existing plan. we may not know what to call the enemy, but we do know what our troops are fighting for (and against), we just need to accept it will take longer than some blindly believed and become aware of the sacrifices it entails. we risk becoming our own enemies.
this acceptance gets us all to work for victory and the political lithmus test as we vote for our legislators and the executive becomes whether incumbents and candidates have a real, plausible strategy and can implement it and not whether we should stay or go, simply and... plainly.
this christmas end a quarrel. seek out a forgotten friend. dismiss suspicion, and replace it with trust... write a love letter. share some treasure. give a soft answer. encourage youth. manifest your loyalty in word and deed. keep a promise. find the time. forgo a grudge. forgive an enemy. listen. apologise and make ammends if you were wrong. try to understand. flout envy. examine your demands on others. help. think first of someone else. appreciate. be kind; be gentle. laugh a little. laugh a little more. deserve confidence. take up arms against malice. decry complacency. express your gratitude. go see he who waits for you. gladden the heart of a child. take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the universe. speak your love. speak it again. speak it still once again. ::: :::
how the angel came to be on top of the christmas tree
well, in a now rare moment of jocosity round here, as friends discussed decorating for the season and the new "upside-down" tree mini-craze (about US$600 to 700 at hammacher schlemmer's for instance), i recalled there's a story of how that little angel came to be atop the christmas tree and told it as best i could, having forgotten the details... in any case, i found a fun and more complete version at satiche and thought i'd share it here [ed. j].
so there had been no snow during the entire month of december. the elves in the bicycle department had been on strike since october, and now there was the possibility that the elves in the doll department might join them.
daily life so far north in finland hadn't been too pleasant lately, and father christmas (joulupukki, actually. you know, santa) was in a rather foul mood. mrs claus was suffering from arthritis and was quite upset given that her red-velvet cake had fallen in the oven. santa had tried to round up some extra helpers, but with no snow, they were delayed, unable to travel by sleigh to the workshop.
rudolph had caught a bad cold, and his nose wouldn't light up. comet and prancer were fighting over vixen, who had just come into heat. blitzen's right foreleg was still in a cast, and the vet said that they would have to wait until 24 december to decide if blitzen would be able to pull the sleigh.
the electricity went off, and all the power tools came to a stop. there was nothing going right in santa's workshops. the helpers were about three weeks behind in their work, and it didn't look that all the toys would be ready by christmas eve. santa's foul mood was exacerbated by a bad case of hæmorrhoids, and he wasn't too happy about the prospect of so far on christmas eve.
seeing the terrible state of affairs at the north pole chez santa, the angels took up an offering to buy a gift for the unhappy workers and the clauses - something that would brighten their christmas. they chose a christmas tree, and they sent it down by angel.
the angel burst into the workshop room and asked, «hiya! er, where do you want me to put this tree?»
