Long years ahead… however many there may be…

Long years ahead… however many there may be… 2 October 2009

Posted by marisacat in 2010 Mid Terms, 2012 Re Election, DC Politics, Democrats, Inconvenient Voice of the Voter.
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A group of common cranes gather in dawn light, on their night-roost on a lake in the German state of Brandenburg, close to Berlin. From September to November tens of thousands of Cranes use the rural area for a stopover during their migration from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe to their wintering quarters in Spain. The agricultural plains surrounding Berlin are among the biggest crane roosts in Europe, with several tens of thousands of birds gathering during the peak of migration between September and November [Thomas Krumenacker /Reuters]

It’s getting dreary… not even diverting…

Seasonal migration sounds good. Engrossing, better yet! obsessive hobbies! Drink…

I heard a lovely tidbit Friday, in the midst of olympic-sized lamentations… there is an idea floated (in congress) that the ins cos could charge 30 – 50% more if an individual is fat or smokes.

Risk pool? Hello?

I never thought this game of Health Care Reform was anything but a long arc con, from back in the primaries and GE … and, increasingly, it’s looking punitive, destructive and possibly straight up abusive. It could vie with the wretched “system” we already have…

Defies any idea of a decent outcome, at all.

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1. marisacat - 3 October 2009: Yikes. Just catching some conversation that Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary was arrested in 1968 for “lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 14”. (No idea what age he was then)

Coming out of the woodwork.

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: and apparently it’s true.

Legal Woes – The Grateful Dead are busted on LSD charges. Mick Jagger and Chubby Checker are found guilty of possession of pot. Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary pleads guilty to having sex with 14 year old girl. Jim Morrison is arrested for drunkenness, but was found not guilty of his arrest in Miami for “lewd and lascivious behavior” for trying to start a riot. Or feigning masturbation, depending on how you think.

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BooHooHooMan - 3 October 2009: Peter Paul and Mary.
Fuckin Catholics.

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: btw, this is the much talked about ‘directors petition” to do with Polanski. And the full list of signatories (as of the 29th, that is).

It is rather a dumb cluck thing, they should have written on a page…

HE IS OUR FRIEND…. WE WANT HIM BACK. GIVE HIM BACK. WE MEAN IT!

it’s pretty funny actually.

Good luck.

I see Costa Gavras there… frankly I thought he was dead.

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: In the same vein…. on Polanski losing “critical support”…

[“W]e have a judicial procedure under way, for a serious affair, the rape of a minor, on which the American and Swiss legal systems are doing their job,” said Chatel, adding that the director was “neither above nor below the law.”

That message was in sharp contrast to declarations made by French ministers in the immediate aftermath of the arrest of Polanski, 76. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who condemned the director’s seizure on a U.S. warrant as “a little sinister,” announced on Sept. 27 that he and his Polish counterpart had written a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton asking that Polanski be set free. French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand said that Polanski had been “thrown to the lions.”

Support for Polanski is also slipping in Poland, where he lived during most of his war-ravaged childhood and his early career. Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk* demanded that his government display “greater restraint” after Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski labeled the filmmaker’s arrest a “legalized lynching.”

“This is a matter which obviously involves an outstanding Polish director, and did happen many years ago,” said Tusk. “But this is a matter which involves rape, having sex with a child, and we cannot mix politics into it.”

This harder line has emerged after a series of surveys in Poland and France revealed that most voters thought Polanski — who pleaded guilty in California in 1978 to having sex with a 13-year-old girl, but fled the country before being sentenced — should be treated like an ordinary fugitive. More than 70 percent of the 30,000 participants in an online poll by French newspaper Le Figaro said Polanski should be extradited to face justice.

Meanwhile in Poland, a survey of nearly 14,000 people by news site tvn24.pl revealed that 53 percent of respondents believed the ‘Chinatown’ director should “answer for his act,” while only 2 percent thought the director should be pardoned because of his artistic legacy. . . . . .

Although some nice idea that the US and Swiss authorities are doing their job is just horse whatever. They are tossing an over cooked tarte aux pommes around.

* I wonder how someone named *Donald* *Tusk* got to be leader (PM) in Poland. Polish mother? The sort of Polish rightie who lives abroad and flies home to vote? Then stayed? Cash from abroad bought his way in? Something like that I would think. We live in such complex global times. Ick.

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Intermittent Bystander - 4 October 2009: Tusk is a Kashubian from Gdańsk, apparently. Which makes him a Pomeranian (not a poodle)!

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marisacat - 4 October 2009: Kashubians/Kaszubians (Kashubian: Kaszëbi, Polish: Kaszubi/ Kaszuby, German: Kaschuben), also called Kashubs, Kaszubians, Kassubians or Cassubians, are a West Slavic ethnic group in Pomerelia, north-central Poland. Their settlement area is referred to as Kashubia (Polish: Kaszuby, German: Kaschubei, Kaschubien).

They speak Kashubian, classified either as a language or a Polish dialect.[1][2] In analogy to the linguistic classification, Kashubians are considered either an ethnic or a linguistic group.[2]

Slovincians are grouped with the Kashubians as Pomeranians, similarly Slovincian and Kashubian are grouped as Pomeranian, with Slovincian being either a closely related language[3] or a Kashubian dialect.[4][5]

thanks for that IB…. interestingly i noticed his father as well was “Donald”.

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2. BooHooHooMan - 3 October 2009: Oh yes. Yes Indeedy.
May they claw each other to death.

McChrystal. the much vaunted Special Forces Commander,
AND Obama, the much vaunted Smart Warrior,
now both SOoo exposed – More Cannon Fodder! More Troops!
-the whole invincible Next Gen Promise not to mention the very
Oo Rah Premise of Special Ops along with them– That JFK era con, hastily conceived following Korea to provide an extra shell in the shell game for Politicians to more easily sell War to the Public.. That JFK era stillborn baby , just dead in utero, long before exiting that canal headed for the Bay of Pigs. Never even washed of the bloody afterbirth nor afforded an appropriate burial.

We’ll Have More! Lot’s More! The Generals say,
Fill up the family barracks O Mama as it were. Utterly bizarre.
And yet this invariably haploid redestructive cycle has been the Warriors m.o. certainly for the last 50 years.

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3. catnip - 3 October 2009: From the last thread:

“Then why do you keep asking me?” Gibbs inquired.

“Because I want your conscience to bother you,” Thomas replied. The room erupted; Gibbs reddened. . . . . . .

Hilarious. 😀

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: Advantage … Helen.

… any day of the week.

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4. What Noom Would Say - 3 October 2009: We all know that Obama sucks because of the questions Helen Thomas asks. If you bring up the fact that Bush banned Helen Thomas from asking questions at all then, well, you’re probably just a “pwoggie” who doesn’t know that Chris Christie will save New Jersey.

Advantage. The troll.

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: Actually people who criticise Ob are called RACIST. There is no other reason to criticise our foundling from Hawai’i Indonesia Kenya and Chicago.

Etc.

It seems appropriate that the whole thing has devolved to a joke.

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Madman in the Marketplace - 3 October 2009: oh, gee, you’re right. I’m sure those dead wedding parties in Afghanistan can see the difference.

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catnip - 3 October 2009: I think it’s hilarious when the best Obama defenders can come up with is “well, he’s (marginally) better than Bush!”.

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: Or, as Sully said, way back when he still had a brain cell or two, in ’92… that all Clinton would be was a Better Bush.

I’d kill for a new theme.

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BooHooHooMan - 3 October 2009: Oh how precious!
Obama’s Press Op actually Lets Helen Thomas ask questions! as opposed to Bush! Wow!

Advantage. The Troll.

What a fuckin poop chute.

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: think it is Four Titz.. other wise known as…………… donkeyhoohoo. Soemthing like that.

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5. marisacat - 3 October 2009: The Irish people have given a resounding ‘yes’ vote to the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty, says Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen.

For more details: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news

hmmm think I read this helps clear the way, somehow or other, for the Blair Bunny to run for EU pretzel. What a shame it all is.

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6. marisacat - 3 October 2009: hmm Glen Ford of BAR in Real News… vid and transcript. he says the black left is becoming more vocal and active and troubled by Ob. They are organising soemthing for Nov 7 in Washington.

Well he would know, if “Black is Back”, I guess.

[F]ORD: On September 12, individuals and organizations, a group of us, came together to form the Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace, and Reparations. We’re going to have our first inaugural rally and march on the White House on November 7 in Washington, DC. The purpose is quite simple and basic. The black left has been asleep, comatose, since Barack Obama became a serious consideration for president. And during that period of, oh, I guess, the last two years, what we have seen is a disaster, a worldwide disaster of historical proportions, and yet there has been no response from the black left. Now, by my calculations, over the decades, black folks make up numerically about half of the Americans who could reasonably be considered progressive, and historically we have been in the forefront of progressive politics. We certainly are the most antiwar ethnic group in the country. But we understand the need for government to right social wrongs and take the side of the people. And so our absence not just numerically but politically from a progressive movement is a crippling absence. But we must reinvigorate this movement on our own terms through our own independent organizing. And that’s what the Black Is Back coalition for social justice, peace, and reparations is trying to do.

JAY: So, specifically, what type of demands would you be making at the march in November? What are the objectives of the movement?
[….]

JAY: Well, speaking of—the current rising tide is a rising tide of unemployment, and as unemployment grows, certainly African Americans have a higher percentage of that unemployment. What’s the mood in the communities? How patient are people going to be with President Obama if unemployment continues to be so serious?

FORD: The mood is one of despair, and it is the responsibility of leadership to direct people out of despair and into action. And that’s why, first and foremost, the project, the Black Is Back Coalition, is to gather these various leadership organizations to figure out how to create a lasting movement to confront power. The only thing that has changed is that there is a black face on the power structure. But power is acting just as it has always acted, and power never concedes anything without a demand, as Frederick Douglass told us. We have not been making demands. We’re going to start that on November 7.

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7. catnip - 3 October 2009: Our Canadian military – hard at work: Investigation launched after military helicopter touches down for burgers

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BooHooHooMan - 3 October 2009: Yes, I’ll have the Chopper Whopper with Cheese.

Before you know it, they won’t touch down at all. They’ll simply
lower a basket or hook timed perfectly to make-off with somebody’s food just as it’s being handed out the window.

Which Frankly, I now see as a potential Canadian Threat .
Leaving us with no option other than private sector deployment of
Anti Aircraft installations on all our Food Joints here..

Now Edna – we taking you off the counter for this shift.. Ah, you’ll be on the Ball Turret Gun up on the roof.
You see Anything larger than a moth up there, I want you to
shoot it down, okay?

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: Bird strike with burgers. It’s a mil operation… The geese used to fly burgers to the Canadian helos will also be trained to take down our passenger planes over the Hudson.

We need to bomb Canada. Now.

On the way to Iran.

(I see Iran says Ob made a mistake…. ha!)

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BooHooHooMan - 3 October 2009: 😆
Well the Canadian “Geese” “Flyover” thing TWICE a year. Riiiiight.
Suuure. Oh hey. Why don’t we all just fly to Florida?
We’re not moranic down here. They’re up to something.

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catnip - 4 October 2009: 😆

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8. marisacat - 3 October 2009: From Politico’s “44”… they link to the NYT and to the ISIS report… http://www.politico.com/politico44/

A report by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency concludes that Iran has “sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable” nuclear weapon, according to a report published Saturday on the New York Times’ website.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in 2007 that Iran had halted its nuclear program, and while other countries including France, Germany and Israel disputed that assessment, the U.N. report’s conclusions suggest Iran’s nuclear program is more advanced than any of those nations have asserted.

Reports the Times: “While the analysis represents the judgment of the nuclear agency’s senior staff, a struggle has erupted in recent months over whether to make it public. The dispute pits the agency’s departing director, Mohamed ElBaradei, against his own staff and against foreign governments eager to intensify pressure on Iran.

What appear to be detailed excerpts from the IAEA report, written by agency members and outside experts, were published on Friday by the Institute for Science and International Security. (5:19 p.m.)

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9. marisacat - 3 October 2009: Tough tittie said the kittie… Ob outta take a gander. It’s lapping at his heels.

CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago’s dream of an Olympics-sized stimulus was dashed when the 2016 Summer Games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro, and the loss amounts to more than a bruised ego for the nation’s third-largest city.

Officials can no longer trumpet the $13.7 billion citywide economic impact local Olympics organizers estimated would come of games-related jobs, construction, tourism and transportation. They’ll also have no excuse for distraction in a city grappling with a mounting deficit and violence that has led to dozens of deaths of city teens each year.

Still, a recent Chicago Tribune/WGN poll showed Daley’s approval rating had sunk to 35 percent in part because of skepticism over the Olympics and an unpopular deal to lease city parking meters to a private contractor. And the mayor was in Copenhagen as an unwelcome spotlight again shone on his city after a 16-year-old honors student was beaten to death while walking to a bus stop after school. . . . . .

I love all the scrambling to say the overall Chicago presentation (some called it too “tourist oriented” and nto suited for an IOC presentation, HA!) and their VERY BAD personal presentations in Copenhagen, somehow “don’t matter”.

😆 and don’t screw with the parking meters. Either.

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: Just sticking this in to stash the link. Text of both their presentations to the IOC at Bella Center.

skipping a vid link, it might leave a wet spot. Lordy it was drippy.

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10. marisacat - 3 October 2009: Myself I am watching the spectacle of 100 kilometer bike races … somewhere in Switzerland.. in the Ticino I think, but not sure where.

It is just a good day to look at their organised and clean, mixed use small town lay out. A relief to the eyes.

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marisacat - 3 October 2009: Yeah.. Mendrisio, Switzerland.

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11. marisacat - 3 October 2009: fwiw….

Meet the Press: Susan Rice; roundtable with David Brooks, E.J. Dionne, Rachel Maddow, Mike Murphy.

This Week: Susan Rice, Sens. Schumer and Cornyn.

Face the Nation: James Jones, Sen. Levin, Ret. Gen. Zinni, Rep. Skelton.

State of the Union: James Jones, Sens. Kyl and Boxer.

Fox News Sunday: Sens. Bayh, Graham, Chambliss and Casey.

***

I see Rachel Maddow made the cut again…

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12. marisacat - 3 October 2009: Apparently Frontline has a segment coming up called “Obama’s War” on Afghanistan. (let’s all think in unison: “Sinkhole of Empires”)

Cheeky of them…

Ben Smith has a link to a 24 minute preview…

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13. marisacat - 4 October 2009: nu

LINK

…………. 😯 ……………..

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