Friday Grandbaby Blogging

Okay, here's the math:

No more binky + using potty + big girl bed = TODDLER.

New Drug

I went shopping yesterday!

Because a girl who lives near the ocean can NEVER have enough hoodies, really!

Sweet Crude

A man carrying a machete walks by a burning oil pipeline last month near a farm in Kegbara Dere, Nigeria. The fire burned strong for 45 days, raining ash down on the village.

Documentary filmmaker Sandy Cioffi entered Nigeria legally on April 5, along with Tammi Simms, her producer; and photojournalists Cliff Worsham and Sean Porter. They were accompanied by Nigerian citizen Joel Bisina, who is the founder of a Warri-based NGO, Niger Delta Professionals for Development.

Cioffi is in Nigeria making a documentary film, Sweet Crude, about the impact of the petroleum industry on the economy and environment of the Niger Delta. On April 12, the five were taken into custody by the Nigerian military and so far, have not been charged with anything. They have been denied outside contact, nor have they been formally charged with a crime. The four US Citizens had Visas to enter Nigeria, issued by the Nigerian government, and were returning to the Niger River Delta to complete the film WITH PERMISSION FROM THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT. (emphasis mine.)

Nigeria's petroleum industry is well-known for corruption, pollution and injustice. As the largest producer of oil in Africa, apparently Nigeria doesn't want the world to know too much. We in America import a tremendous amount of oil from Nigeria - is our government complicit in this arrest?

That we depend upon foreign oil is at core of this issue. And it takes the courage of Artists (these filmmakers) to shine the light on this industry. Apparently, their crime is to simply point a camera. So far they've not been charged, and according to Nigerian law, they must be charged within 48 hours or released. It has been over 48 hours. Let's make some noise.

The War for The Presidency

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

A Liberal on a Luxury Cruise

Sailing out of Sydney Harbour, past the Sydney Opera House - this is shot from the balcony of my stateroom. It was midnight when we left. I was hosting a segment of the World Cruise on Crystal Serenity, and I was a liberal among conservatives.

The Sydney Opera House is one of my favorite buildings. On the cruise, I started a series of watercolors with the Opera House as my subject, and now that I am home I've actually gotten serious about my paintings. When I finish, I will photograph them and put them up on Flikr, or Picassa, or something - but right now, I am just doing them. But this image, taken at night, without a tripod, while on a moving ship - well, it has the energy I wanted.

The cruise segment was 17 days, with five ports and 12 days at sea. Those were my favorite days, the sea days. Those were the days for relaxation, reflextion, Yoga, painting, spa, pool, walking. However. I went to the library one day, after I'd finished my book (No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy). They had every book that Ann Coulter has written - they had books by every current neo-conservative author, nothing by any liberal, and the fiction was all Clive Cussler genre. Yikes. The travel books were decent, but I'd read them all, so I sort of backed out slowly...

It was a funny experience for me. I met lovely people, as long as the topic of conversation was superficial - clothes, food, the cruise, men, dancing, the casino. One woman discovered I was a Democrat and she said she would have to reconsider being friendly (until we all decided to chip in on the last day's bingo game. We won the grand prize. She liked me again, thought I was lucky.)(I was lucky. I won big bucks in the casino at Black Jack, Craps, and, yes, even Roulette.) But greed is a strange and powerful motivator. And greedy people tend to be suspicious of others. I spent a lot of time just observing others.

I also found that people who cruise don't really want to get to know a destination in depth. They want convenience over anything else. I prefer land travel, when all is said and done. I want to break bread with local people, to hear about their day, to experience their culture. Do I dislike cruises? Not at all - but I'd just be happy to use a cruise as a means of transportation - I love sea days - I love being afloat on the ocean with nothing but water and the open sky around - the power of the sea is mesmerizing, and it makes my heart sing.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Well, Cows By The Fence is an interesting blog that Betmo pointed out. Cows By The Fence posted THIS article about the growing food shortage globally. The article talks about planting a "Victory Garden,"

a program started by the US (and Canadian) governments during the war years to encourage people to grow food at their homes to ease and reduce the pressure on the food supply during the course of the war. Citizens grew food on their lawns,on apartment rooftops, and wherever possible. Victory Gardens ceased to be when the war ended and things went back to their old ways, being dependent upon supermarkets and grocery stores for our food.

There are additional things we can do: rather than supermarkets, we can purchase fruit and vegetables at local farmers markets - supermarkets truck food thousands of miles, contributing to pollution and rising fuel costs. Local farmers provide fresh produce, and it supports local economy as well. I admit, in Southern California, there are local farmers markets every day of the week, some of which carry mostly organic produce. Cold weather climates are not so lucky.

Still, we have gotten out of the habit of buying seasonally, cooking seasonally. Supermarkets show summer fruits year round: meally, tasteless excuses for peaches or strawberries; cardboard tomatoes; a travesty. We've opted for convenience over nutrition.

I think, this summer, I will do a balcony garden with lettuce, tomatoes, and other yummy container treats. Since I am not the world's best gardener, I will need a lot of luck. But it's worth a shot.

A Perfect Day in Sydney Australia

I've been to Australia almost 30 times. I've been to Sydney at least 20 times, and had never before been to the Taronga Zoo. My thinking was this: I've been to many zoos, and would rather see animals in the wild. However, I forget that zoos have an important educational mission; they also care for the health of animals, and in some cases, they actually help keep certain animals from extinction. So, that said, , I arranged a private visit to the zoo with one of the zoo-keepers. This is actually a tour that I can arrange for my clients, and so I decided to experience it to determine if it's worth doing.

In a word: Youbetcha! Amazing experience. She took me into various animal enclosures, beginning with the Koala enclosure. Koalas in New South Wales suffer from 4 diseases caused by the chlamydia organism: conjunctivitis which can cause blindness, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and reproductive tract infections, which can cause female infertility. While the diseases won't manifest if the Koalas have unlimited resources, the reality is that their habitat has been severely compromised, and so their numbers have been affected drastically.

We went into the Australian Nocturnal Habitat - the keeper took me into various enclosures (which caused a bit of surprise for other visitors to the zoo. No, I am not a new kind of Australian Nocturnal Animal! I promise. Don't throw food at me, really!) Then we went into the kitchen where they prepare all kinds of foods for a majority of the animals - from live food (creepy crawly insect kind of thingies) to frozen mice and rats to chopped fruits and vegies - all in very sanitary conditions.

The experience was fun, and highly educational. I've decided that I am going to send all my clients on a back-stage visit to the zoo! It was amazing.

Where have I been?

Where oh where have I been? I spent three weeks on a cruise from Sydney to Hong Kong, that's simple enough. But the real silence has been longer than three weeks. I've been experiencing a deep quiet and a need for clarity. I've probably lost all my readers, so sorry about that. But my heart has been heavy since July , and I've had little to contribute that felt positive.

Bean turned three in March. She's now in a toddler bed, she gave up her beloved binky and she happily uses the potty. She calls me on her toy cell phone and chatters away. I will see her in a week.

I snagged a copy of My Name Is Rachel Corrie. This is the play based on Rachel Corrie's journals and emails - she was a young American woman who was killed in Gaza by Israeli bulldozers. The Israelis say accident; the Palestinians turned her into a Martyr; Katherine Viner and Alan Rickman edited her words into a play because they felt she was a young woman who had a story to tell. I've not seen the play performed, but the press surrounding it and the controversy that surrounds it has taken on a life of its own.

Two young people I know have died from overdoses - both were at one time sober, both went out. A powerful disease, alcoholism and drug addiction. Both of these people lived in a world of hurt, and hopefully their souls are at rest. At peace.

I did not blog against theocracy this Easter. I will not blog against anything ever again. I need to be for something, rather than against. I need to be for peace, for transparency, for a life that tries to heal the world. I'm just so tired of anger, and angry people. To quote Bob Dylan, "you are right from your side, and I am right from mine, and it's one to many mornings and a thousand miles behind."

But I think I am back. Maybe. We'll see.

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

My unka Aman is making me laugh. He's funny. My gamma isn't happy about poltiks because she says there aren't really any choices. I like my pretty bow in my hair and I like to paint and play piano. If you vote for a Democrat even though that Democrat is part of the Corporatrocy, at least they won't mess up the Supreme Court too bad like that Mr. Huckleberry or Mr. Strangelove McCain.

It's cold and snowy out so I am going to go paint now. Bye bye.

Obama '08

Kuchinich dropped out, but he had a snowball's chance in hell. Edwards dropped out, but he was always going to finish a strong 3rd. Gore won't run unless Clinton really badly stubs her toe. So it's down to Clinton and Obama.

This is not a stunning endorsement at all. I haven't the enthusiasm some of my friends have for Barak Obama, but I do like him better than Mrs. Clinton. I do know he believes in building coalitions, and bringing people together in the best sense. But reality leaves me jaded. We have devolved into a one-party system and we have, as a nation, become as insulated and xenophobic as we were in the 1950s. We are a nation that prefers to watch trash, that searches for palliatives and sound bites. We don't investigate issues, and we let others shoulder responsibility. I'm not immune, I'm not above this, I am not sitting in my Ivory Tower pointing fingers - I am as addicted to junk as the next person, I admit it.

But I really want a Democrat as President, because I do think of the Supreme Court. At issue are health care; the environment; Roe v. Wade. We need to recreate discourse in America, we need to raise the bar on conversation rather than belittle intelligence.

So, there it is. I'm voting Obama on Super Tuesday.

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

I like to change Elmo's diaper but he doesn't like it because he likes to use the potty I see it on his DVD and on his website and he sings.

Bye bye I have to play now.

A Delicate Balance

L to R: Earl (of Old Town); U. Utah Phillips; Tom Dundee

Coffee Messiah asked me if I knew Tom Dundee. I heard Tom play a lot over my years in Chicago; an old friend of mine used to rent out his Condo on Juneway Terrace because he was on the road so much and so I met him, hung out with him a bit in the late '90s. He was a lovely guy, and a terrific singer/songwriter. I had no idea he'd died - motorcycle accident in April 2006. Two years before, his friend Fred Holstein died - another staple in the Chicago music scene. And before that, Mike Jordan, and before that Steve Goodman. It is all so fleeting.

"And its all such a delicate balance
Takes away just as much as it gives,
To live it is real,
to love it is to feel
You're a part of what everything is.

And its all such a delicate balance
As it turns through the circles of air,
To worry does nothing
but steals from the loving
And robs from the pleasure that's there."

A Delicate Balance, by Tom Dundee

The Western Wall

My cousin recently went to Israel for the first time. I call her my evil twin, which, oddly, is what she calls me. We constantly egg each other on to adorable levels of snarkiness and we laugh till we drool or have to run to the loo. She's hilarious.

During her trip, she got to go to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The Wall was part of the Second Temple, and is a holy place for Jews. People go there to pray, and they put prayers on notes and stuff them into the cracks between the stones. She managed to get this amazing, spiritually loaded, photo:

"Yo, God? This is Phil. Can I have mustard on that Pastrami sammich? Hold the pickles, they give me gas."

You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way The Wind Blows

Hat tip to Dusty for getting this information out.

The SDS is waking up after a 40 year nap. Pat Korte, a sophmore at The New School in Greenwich Village, is a co-founder of the newly revived group. He feels that the new incarnation of SDS benefits from hindsight: the original SDS was highly factionalized and eventually fell apart because of that factionalization.

And while the new incarnation of SDS has not come up with anything as compelling as The Port Huron Statement of 1962, Mr. Korte does recognize that while revolutionary change is essential, "blowing up buildings is not going to get us anywhere. Nor is joining the Democratic Party.”

We lack a sense of urgency today which we had in the '60s. Perhaps this rebirth of student activism is lighting that essential sense of urgency. I hope so. We need social change. The original Port Huron Statement said "A new left must start controversy across the land, if national policies and national apathy are to be reversed." I do not advocate blowing up buildings, but I do advocate blowing up old ideas. Like Dusty, I was a member of SDS in the 60s. Perhaps it is time to rejoin.

My other blog!

Okay, I've done it. I now have a second blog, Luxury Adventures, strictly devoted to travel. That way I can keep politics and personal away from selling adventure travel, and this makes all the sense in the world to me.

So visit. I've JUST started it.

I Think It's Going To Rain Today

Let's tell Betsy Ross how good we feel

Not bad for a guy who used to be a postal worker in a Chicago suburb, eh? I love John Prine.

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

Okay so but I like to paint and it is more fun than watching the Iowa Caucus which is really starting to scare me because if someone who doesn't believe in science might be President then maybe they will make me have to be a Christian and I don't want to be a Christian I want to paint and eat cookies. Its a funny name, Huckabee. Didn't they make a movie called I Heart Huckabee? and it wasn't really very good, my Gamma didn't like it much, but she did like No Country for Old Men but I didn't see that movie because I'm only almost three. I like Finding Nemo. Okay, I have to go play now. Bye bye.

Election Coverage

Given The Wall Street Journal's incisive take on Dennis Kuchinich (with a very big hat-tip to Dusty), I thought I would provide the following election coverage:


Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

Imagining the Iowa Caucus

Reading about the escalating violence in Kenya, I can't help but envision this kind of tribal fighting wending its way toward our shores. What stops us from killing each other when our chosen candidates don't win? What stops us from burning down buildings, or upending automobiles?

Yesterday, as an alternative to football, some of us went to a movie. In the pre-movie onscreen noise, there was an infomercial for TruTV: "it's not reality, it's actuality." Huh?

I wonder, at the end of the day, what possible difference it's going to make who wins the Iowa Caucus. What difference does it make? I'm still going to face gasoline prices that are inching toward $4 per gallon. I'm still going to have drug copayments of $50 a refill. I'm still going to get up and go to work every day.

No answers, just more and more questions.

Happy New Year

May 2008 bring peace, joy, and the fulfilment of our wildest dreams. Thank you all for remaining readers while I got re-grouped. It was an odd year for me, with some painful losses. Ellie Bean is a joy, and I adore her. As for politics, I think I am going to endorse Donald Duck for President.

Peace, love and joy to all.

Fiber Retreat in New Zealand

Here's a thought: A creative retreat in New Zealand for knitters, or fiber artists of all kinds. Space is limited to ten, but they offer three dates. Cost is not bad, either, about $1600 USD for the five days plus airfare.

Day 1
Arrive, meet the staff and tour the factory
At the Mill House classroom with Jo Reeve learn secrets of carding, building a rainbow, and blending fibres
Home stay for dinner
Evening party.

Day 2
Mill House classroom with Cindy Begg learn wool classing, and novelty spinning
Home stay for dinner
Pedicure and massage pampering.

Day 3
Back Country Adventure
Arrive Inverary Station and watch musterers and shearers at work then board 4-wheel drive vehicles to go across country for lunch in a musterer’s hut
On the journey home view the agate jewellery and woodland garden at Rangiatea farm and the alpacas at Homestead farm.

Day 4
Mill House classroom with Priscilla Lowry learn about silk, creating luxurious yarns and dyeing techniques
Home stay for dinner
Illustrated talk on silk and the world of the Geisha.

Day 5
Mill House classroom with Rowena Hart using your beautiful yarns weave a fashion garment.

Take home new skills, new experiences, the warmth of new friendships and a fibre adventure you will never forget!

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

Brunei

Long House on the Temburong River

This is one of the reasons I love what I do: in a couple of months I am hosting a segment of a World Cruise. One of the ports of call is Bandar Seri Begawan, in the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. Brunei is on the northern coast of the island of Borneo: an oil-rich, peaceful enclave with one of the most diverse eco-systems in the world. Nearly 80% of Brunei is tropical rainforest. When you consider that the entire nation is just under 5800 sq km, that's a lot of forest. And most is easily accessed from Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital.

Honest to pete, this is not a place that sort of comes to mind quickly. I do not get a lot of calls from clients saying "Hey, I've got an idea! I want to go to Brunei Darussalam!" But because I am going to get there, I have to read up, learn all I can, and prepare for my new adventure. More to come.

Tips for Spiro!

Since Commandante Agi asked so nicely, I'm going to make some suggestions for Madrid, Barcelona, and Paris. Let's get the annoying stuff out of the way: Security at the airports in Europe is quite tough. So when you pack, if you're even remotely in doubt, don't carry it on the plane. ONLY ONE CARRY ON, not a carry on and a small personal bag, per person!

Madrid: Visit the Prado Museum which contains the world's best collection of Spanish painting, including works by El Greco; Velazquez; Goya; Ribera; Zubaran; Murillo. The Prado also contains works by Van der Weyden and Hieronymous Bosch; it houses the most complete collection of Titian's works as well as other painters from the Venice School; and also houses a collection of first class work from English, German, and French artists. And visit the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia National Museum, which has a collection of 20th Century painting and sculpture: works by Picasso, Juan Gris, Miro, Dali, Chillida and Tapies. Finish the visit with Picasso's Guernica - the most compelling visual reminder of the horrors of war I have ever seen.

I can arrange a day of private cooking lessons in an atelier in a private home, if you would like.

Visit the Malasana quarter, and witness how a middle class neighborhood is being "discovered" by Madrid's hip, younger generation. Taberna Lardosa supposedly has the best draft beer in Madrid! This quarter is loaded with off-scene theaters, modern shops, hip restaurants and cafes, intermingling with history: the Church of San Antonio de los Alemanes is an 18th Century Baroque building with lavish frescoes.

Or, you can do a day trip to Toledo, the city of three cultures. Christians, Arabs, and Jews lived here successfully and peacefully, for centuries during the Golden Age. Churches, Mosques, Synagogues make the Old Quarter a virtual museum of diversity of architectural styles (and a testement to how people can indeed live in peace with each other.) This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Barcelona: The heart of Modernism probably lies in Barcelona. The movement had its heyday in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, and embodies the most innovative creations in art, literature, theater, architecture, decoration, and furniture design. Gaudi, the master of Modernist Architecture, lived in Barcelona - his works are part of what makes this city breathe. Visit his masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia Church, and also Park Guell. And visit the Picasso Museum (also the one in Paris).

I can arrange a private excursion out the the Montserrat and Penedes Wine Regions, if this is of interest.

Paris: There is a line from a movie that says "Paris is always a good idea." I could not agree more. Paris is divided into 20 districts that spiral out like a snail shell from the first, centered round the Louvre. I always walk in Paris, although the Paris underground is quite easy to navigate (and it's clean, and compared to other cities, quiet.) I walk in Paris because it's how I discover things: places like the Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris and a virtual oasis of calm in this bustling city. Located in Le Marais, it has a history - it was the first example of "urban planning" and dates from 1612. You can visit Victor Hugo's house for free!

Once you're peaceful, go to Musee Carnavalet (23-29 rue de Sévigné 75003): this is Paris from the Roman times to 1900… If you see only one museum, see this one! It goes on and on and on and on and on and on! I quite love it. Dine somewhere in Le Marais. You can't miss. Actually, dine anywhere in Paris. You can't miss.

I can create private tour experiences in each city that will give you an insider's view in each city, or the surrounding areas. Feel free to email me with questions!

This is first, and foremost, a travel blog

My blog is about travel. That's what I originally intended it to be but somehow I got sidetracked into the despair of all things political. It isn't that I don't care, it's that I believe that the surest way I can help create peace is to help people travel.

I'm also talking about experiences, where you can rub elbows with locals and really get to know a place. When you break bread with someone, and conversation flows, your heart and mind opens. When you hold hands with a child in a local village, your heart and mind opens.

So this is where I am, and this will be my focus. Nothing more, nothing but travel.

Breaking News: Scientific Study!

Study Finds Working At Work Improves Productivity

Join me in fighting poverty

Subject: Join me in fighting poverty!

Hi,

I've just signed the ONE Declaration committing myself to help fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty.

I'm asking you to make that commitment, too, by adding your voice.

I think your name belongs on that declaration, too. You can put it there by visiting:

One

ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans - one by one. So far, over two million have signed the declaration in support of a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world.

Together as ONE we can make a difference!

Thanks!

Images from the California Fires

A California Department of Forestry firefighter attempts to extinguish hot spots burning near homes on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, in Running Springs, Calif. (Photo: GETTY IMAGES/Justin Sullivan):



A firefighter fights the Poomacha fire early Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007, on the La Jolla Indian Reservation, Calif. (Photo: Getty Images/Eric Thayer):



Burned homes surround an unburned home after wildfires swept through the area in San Diego County near Rancho Bernardo, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007. (Photo: AP Photo/Chris Carlson):



A San Bernardino county firefighter hoses down the remains of a burned home in Lake Arrowhead, Calif., Monday, Oct. 22, 2007. (Photo: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez):



Rubble is all that is left of a million dollar home as strong, gusting winds push a wildfire through Malibu, Calif., Monday, Oct. 22, 2007. (Photo: AP Photo/Gus Ruelas):

The unthinkable

I've not been around blogging much. Nor have I been visiting any blogs lately. But today, I got an email from Thorne about the unthinkable: her grandson died in his sleep last week, no reason, he just stopped breathing. Please visit her blog with condolences, and give her your love. She needs it.

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

I like flowers and the Zoo. We went to the zoo and then we looked at flowers and I saw a bear up close in the zoo but it was behind glass but it was in a "habitat." My mama said she likes animals that are in the wild but some zoos are good like the Lincoln Park zoo and she has a joke but she won't tell me because it's dirty and I'm two.

My mama has a bad cold that is in her chest and she's supposed to go on a cruise tomorrow and fly on an airplane so she's on drugs but she's still not feeling perfect. She watched the movie "Children of Men" yesterday but she thought it was depressing so then she watched "The Search for John Gissing" which she said made her laugh. She says she would watch Alan Rickman read the phone book but I think that's boring. What's good about a phone book?

Okay, bye bye

Friday Grandbaby Blogging or Good Orderly Direction

The Second Step of Alcoholics Anonymous explains why I’ve become a bit silent as a blogger of late. The step says simply: “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” Of late, I’ve been feeling off-center, dis-eased, and this emotional imbalance has been fueled by rage and a focus on what is wrong with our nation. I confess, it has been making me feel thirsty - a dangerous condition for a person like me.

Over the course of the year, I have participated in the blogswarms against theocracy in July and in April because I believe in a power greater than myself. Isn’t that a paradox? I am not anti-religion; I am very much about mandating how I should believe. But then I remember what it says in Step Two:

We gloated over the hypocrisy, bigotry, and crushing self-righteousness that clung to so many `believers’ even in their Sunday best. How we loved to shout the damaging fact that millions of the `good men of religion’ were still killing one another off in the name of God. This all meant, of course, that we had substituted negative for positive thinking.

What I can control is my own behavior. I am unable to continue to point out the wrongs of others, because it makes ME feel ill. I have the disease of alcoholism, and for me, focus on negative thinking makes me feel ill, and when I feel ill, I feel thirsty. I want to drink at the problems. I feel overwhelmed and incapable of fixing anything. I substitute negative for positive thinking.

So I became quiet at my own blog. I’ve posted infrequently here. I’m trying to focus on what I CAN do, which is simple and clear and clean: I need to practice ethical morality and be the example of what I want to see in the world. As a sober woman, I need to be the change I want to see. And while I have not closed up shop completely over at Journeys with Jood, I will not post on a regular basis. I must really keep it simple, for me. Anger is a luxury I cannot afford. Once I know the problem, I have to focus on what makes it right rather than how wrong or fucked up it is - rage is something that younger people can handle but I cannot.

I am not silent - but my focus must change. My method of speaking and reading must change. It must, or I will lose. And frankly, my friends, it is ALL about me!

(cross posted at The Sirens Chronicles and The Fat Lady Sings

Quiet time for me

The best aspect of blogging has been the friends I've made - wonderful people who care deeply about our world and who want to make a difference. The worst aspect has been the amount of time it takes - sitting at a computer, when it's goregous outside, gets tedious. I want to be outside, in the water, playing.

And so I'm not exactly closing Journeys with Jood; I'll pop in from time to time when I really have something to say. But right now, I have nothing to say. I don't even feel like visiting other blogs because I have nothing to add. And what little I do have to say, I will say at The Sirens Chronicles.

For all of you who do visit, thank you. Thank you for your opinions, your comments, your humor, your challenges - you've all made me grow and think, and stretch. But now it's time for me to get quiet.

Peace, love, and understanding!

Sunday Sounds

August 18, 1963

August 18, 1963, James Meredith gradutated from The University of Mississippi with a degree in History. That doesn't sound very impressive by itself, because plenty of people graduate from Ole Miss. However, James Meredith is black. He was the first Black student to graduate from this former bastion of segregation.

Meredith had applied to the University twice, and was denied admission; eventually accepted, he attempted to enter on September 20, 1962 but was barred from entering. Governor Ross Barnett, a staunch segregationist and alumni of Ole Miss, opposed Meredith's enrollment and riots broke out on campus. President John F. Kennedy sent in US Marshalls to qwell the riots, which killed two and injured hundreds, and on October 1, 1962, James Meredith became the first Black student to enter the bastion of Whites-Only education.

Why is this important today? Why is Meredith's quiet heroism important today? And he doesn't see his actions as heroism, all he wanted was an education - something that ALL US Citizens should desire, but apparently don't. Meredith's actions are important today because they remind me of how far we've slipped away from decency, dignity and acceptance.

This week, Jose Padilla was convicted on all charges in his "terrorism trial." What does this have to do with James Meredith? Really?



When Meredith entered Ole Miss, he was proving TESTING what our Declaration of Independence spells out:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Mr. Padilla's trial proves that we need to keep our Constitution and return to a real rule of law. Waging a "war on terror" does not require giving up our rights under the Constitution and substituting Constitutional Law with Military Law, which, under this administration, is not law at all.

Padilla, a US Citizen, was arrested in May 2002 in Chicago under a warrant to testify before a Grand Jury. He was held in civillian custody for a month, but on the eve of his hearing in Federal Court, President Bush decided he was an "enemy combatant" and Padilla was whisked off to a military cell in South Carolina. Then-US Attorney General John Ashcroft said that Padilla was part of a terrorist plot to set of a "dirty bomb" in a US city.

Shades of Snidely Whiplash.

For nearly two years, Jose Padilla was denied all access to his lawyers, his family and the court system. The Bush administration claimed that he could be held without trial until the end of its "war on terror."

The war on terror is endless. It is a war on an idea, and an idea whose sole goal is to keep people terrified. Padilla was tortured. He was deprived of sleep. He was subjected to extreme temperatures. He was kept in stress positions. He was held without human contact; without natural light; without a clock - complete sensory deprivation.

I'm not going to list the details of the Padilla case - other bloggers have done so, and done it well. No. What sickens me is how we, as a nation, have gone so completely backward since James Meredith gradutated, with dignity, from Ole Miss and gave that University some measure of dignity with his presence. Meredith broke down a wall of fear. And since September 11, 2001, the Bush Administration has rebuilt that wall bigger, higher, thicker, and with mortar made from the poison of hate.

Jose Padilla and James Meredith are worlds apart. Padilla was a small-time thug, a petty criminal who has become an important symbol of how our government uses fear as a weapon. James Meredith is a writer, an educator, and an example of good. But does that mean Padilla should be stripped of his rights as a US Citizen? Not at all. Not at all.

Padilla did not set out to be a hero, nor is he. The heroes in his case are the attornies who worked on his behalf, and, ultimately, on my behalf and yours attempting to keep our Constitution out of the shredder. We are not out of the woods by any means. Our President is making noises to justify his desire to invade Iran; I still fear an "October Surprise" in 2008 which will let him invoke Martial Law, suspend elections and declare himself President for Life - after all, the "war on terror" is endless if you are in charge of it.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said after the attack on Pearl Harbor "The only thing to fear is fear itself." How the Bush administration has twisted that - because this administration has created so much fear in order to keep people afraid.

In one of the Harry Potter books, the Wizard Students are learning about "boggarts", dark magic creatures that are our deepest fears. The way to combat a boggart is the charm "Ridiculos" - so, to Bush, Cheney, and all their cohorts, I say to you "RIDICULOS" - you are ridiculous. No, I will not cave in to your example of fear and hate. I choose to follow the example of James Meredith. I choose dignity.

cross posted at The Sirens Chronicles

Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changing - 1965

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

Shhhh. I have to laugh now. I can't laugh if everybody is all pissy and angry because the government is a mess - right now, right this minute, on Friday, I have to laugh. It's summertime, and I can chase butterflies. And I can go to the beach, and I can play in my wading pool in the back yard. I can jump on doggie, and jump on Mommy. I can't jump on Mama because she's not here all the time but she's coming to visit again in a couple of weeks. I told my uncle "wait a minute" so I could show him my ouchie booboo on my elbow and he could kiss it better. I have to laugh. So everybody shhhhh about the bad people for a few days.

Do you feel a draft?

The Bush administration is preparing to declare that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps is a foreign terrorist organization, senior administration officials said Tuesday.

So, really, how's all that workin for ya, George?

Tuesday Post for Peace

The Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information wants you to Walk the Green Line. Nov. 29th marks the 60th anniversary of the UN decision to partition Israel/Palestine into 2 states - one for the Jews and one for the Palestinians. This 3-day trek is a political action that provides a unique opportunity for participants to learn first-hand what the conflict is really about. The route is the Green Line, which demarcates the border between Israeli and Palestinian territories. The trek is being publicized in Israel, Palestine, and internationally and intends to draw attention to the urgent need to resolve the conflict on the basis of two states for two peoples.

IPCRI is a joint Israeli-Palestinian peace center and think-tank, located in Jerusalem. This fund-raising trek is intended to support bringing Israelis and Palestinians (and the world) together in people-to-people programs that advance peace. To participate, you must raise $2500 plus supply your airfare.

UN Resolution 181, on Nov. 29, 1947, resolved that this land be divided into two states: one Jewish (Israel) and one Arab (Palestine). Israel became a state in 1948, but Palestine has yet to be created.

The Green Line border set in the armistice agreements of 1949 marks the line that designates the basis of the future border between Israel and Palestine. Since the beginning of the occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem following the June 1967 war, the green line border has been gradually disappearing. Walk the GREEN LINE is a political statement aimed at marking the line where the future border should be so that Israeli-Palestinian peace can emerge and develop.

It means a withdrawal by Israel to the June 4, 1967 borders and an end to armed conflict based on respect for International Law. It means cooperation between two sovereign nations that would be for mutual gain. It means peace.

The trek is 3-days, but you sleep in hotels along the route, and the day-to-day itinerary includes meetings with a variety of people:

Three days of hiking along the green line with a professional guide

Meetings with Israeli President and Nobel Peace Laureate Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Meetings with senior Israeli and Palestinian politicians

Meeting with Israeli and Palestinian peace workers and NGOs

Evening cultural programs

Political briefings

Discussions and debates on the political, security, environmental, and economic situation

The Route

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The Gilboa: Mount Avinadav view over Jelaboun, walking along the view line to the area of Mt. Yitzpur over looking P'koa

Bus to Nazareth for the night

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Central area: Barta'a – walking along the green line, bus to Baqa al Gharbia – walking along the wall, bus to Tzofin and walk along the area of Modi'in Elite.

Bus to Nazareth for the night

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Jerusalem area: Walaja, Batir, Nahal Hamayanot, Wadi Fuqin – meeting with residents of the village. Ending of walk – Abu Dis.

Bus to Bethlehem for the evening

Evening program – political event marking 60 years since UN Resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine into two states.

This is, my friends, a unique opportunity. Support Peace in the Middle East, please.

Cross posted at The Katrinacrat

Pet Insurance for ALL Children!

SCHIP, or the State Children's Health Insurance Program is a state-and-federal program that successfully provides medical insurance to children whose families cannot afford insurance, and who do not qualify for other programs, such as Medicaid. But the program is in trouble. The AMA is worried that the Senate may move to strip the Medicare physician reimbursement increase out of the children's health legislation and dubs the negotiations in both Houses as "contentious." Just before leaving for their August recess, Congress passed a measure that would prevent Medicare physician pay cuts for the next two years; the next day, the Senate passed Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 which did nothing to change physicians Medicare payments. Because the bills are substantially different, when Congress reconvenes in September a committee will attempt to work out a compromise to save SCHIP before it automatically expires Sept. 30th.

But the program remains in serious jeporady. In his infinate lack of wisdom, President Bush threatens to veto ANY legislation he's sent:

"The program is going beyond the initial intent of helping poor children. It's now aimed at encouraging more people to get on government health care. That's what that is. It's a way to encourage people to transfer from the private sector to government health-care plans."

Yeah, THAT's the ticket. Pesky government health-care plans sounds like (gasp) Socialized Medicine.

"(The program) has a solid track record of working to get kids covered and that's important because kids who don't have health care coverage are less likely to see a doctor," said Elaine Arkin, communications director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Vincent DeMarco, of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, an advocacy and lobbying group based in Baltimore, says that SCHIP is, in his opinion, one of the most successful government programs ever.

Barbara Ehrenreich suggests a solution:
Open up pet health insurance to all American children now!

This year, Americans will spend about $9.8 billion on health care for their pets, up from $7.2 billion five years ago. According to the New York Times, New York's leading pet hospitals offer CT scans, MRI's, dialysis units, and even a rehab clinic featuring an underwater treadmill, perhaps for the amphibians in one's household. A professor who consults to pet health facilities on communication issues justified these huge investments in pet health to me by pointing out that pets are, after all, "part of the family."

Well, kids are part of the family, too, and can do almost as many tricks as your dog! And they snuggle as well as your cat. So, why not? Pet insurance is not very expensive, around $33 per month. Of course, Ms. Ehrenreich refers to an article by the NY Times' Bob Herbert from June of this year. In the article, Mr. Herbert wrote about Diamonte Driver, a 12-year old boy who died recently from an abscessed tooth because he had no insurance and his mother could not afford $80 to have the tooth pulled. And he also wrote about 14-year old Devante Johnson, who died when his health insurance ran out in the middle of treatment for kidney cancer. Both these kids could have been treated by a Veterinarian. Instead, their lives were cut short for lack of insurance, for lack of $80.

We can, we must, do better. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you.

cross posted at The Sirens Chronicles

Can I have a side of Denver Boots and a soft drink, please?

A Chicago police officer tickets the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in the 400 block of North Michigan Avenue.

American Scot of the blog AYE! has become my favorite source of Chicago images - makes me homesick, he does! However, this story just did me in:

A massive hot dog clogged Chicago's main artery Thursday morning.

In a rare occurrence of an encased-meat vehicle committing a traffic violation, Chicago police ticketed the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile for illegal parking on the Magnificent Mile.

The incident began at 10:57 a.m. in the 400 block of North Michigan Avenue. At least two members of the Wienermobile entourage left the vehicle in the six-lane street with its emergency blinkers on. The vehicle is registered to Kraft Foods under the Wisconsin license plate "WEENR."

A police officer approached the Chevrolet with the 27-foot fiberglass sausage and removable bun roof. The officer radioed for a tow truck.

Matt Smith of the city's Streets and Sanitation Department said the city would have been ready to handle the job.

"We have access to tow trucks that could have handled a Polish sausage, not just a hot dog," Smith said.

The officer wrote the ticket and affixed it to the wiener's footlong side mirror. Ed Walsh, a spokesman for the city Department of Revenue, said parking in a "Parking/Standing Prohibited Anytime" zone is a $50 violation.

About 15 minutes later, as curious passersby snapped pictures with their camera phones, the driver and passenger of the vehicle returned before tow trucks could arrive. "The situation was resolved without the use of ketchup, which in Chicago is a big thing," Smith said.

The entourage got a grilling from the officer.

"You can't just park here," the officer said.

One of the passengers, who declined to be identified, said they were visiting a Wienermobile alumnus who worked nearby, but were unaware that one could not park a giant sausage in the middle of the city's busiest thoroughfare.

Sydney Lindner, a spokeswoman for Kraft Foods, said the Wienermobile is on a nationwide tour promoting a contest to sing the Oscar Mayer jingle in an upcoming commercial.

She said "regardless of the reason" the driver had for parking there, the company neither condones nor relishes such actions.

"It's against company policy to park in undesignated area even if you're driving a company vehicle that's shaped like a giant hot dog," Lindner said. "We appreciate the police doing their job and we regret any inconvenience this may have caused."

The hot dog was last seen driving north on Michigan Avenue.

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

So but I love flowers and insects and trees and birdies and fish and stuff and so we found out this report that Arctic Sea Ice broke the record for the lowest recorded ice area in recorded history. I know that the lowest recorded Golf score wins because my Daddy is teaching me golf. Not really yet but he got me my own plastic golf clubs and I play with them. But the lowest recorded sea ice is not a good thing. But so this this other scientist says it really won't break the record but it's close.

Mark Serreze of the National Snow and Ice Data Center said that there's a triple whammy. A high pressure system makes the clouds stay away, and lots of winds from the south with warm air, and lots of open water. I like no clouds and I like warm winds and I love water, but this is way too much of these things. My mommy says that I have to get out of the water after playtime is over.

There is still a whole month left before the sun sets in the Arctic, so there might be more melting ice. Where will the polar bears go to rest? They can't all go to the zoo, they don't like the zoo, they like to be outside. I like the zoo, but I'm two and I'm not a bear. My mama is coming to visit again soon, I talked to her on the phone yesterday and said "Hi mama. I'm TWO."

And then all these big government people are getting all mean about who owns what shipping routes and planting flags and threatening, like they can't share. They should all go to pre-school, we learn to share in pre-school. The Russians planted a flag in the sea bed in the North Pole, and the Canadians got all huffy. I think Government people never went to pre-school, I'd bet all my Elmos on it.

Bye-bye, I have to go to pre-school now.

Shuffling the Deck Chairs on the Ship of Fools

Sumo told me about this article at Alternet called Neocons on a Cruise: What Conservatives Say When They Think We Aren't Listening. Johann Hari, the reporter, set simple ground rules for himself when he booked himself as a guest on the National Review's annual cruise for Conservatives. He had one rule for himself:

If any of the conservative cruisers asked who I was, I answered honestly, telling them I was a journalist. Mostly, I just tried to blend in - and find out what American conservatives say when they think the rest of us aren't listening.

If you have not read the article, you must. The cruise was organized through one of my competitors, which doesn't surprise me, and people paid a massive premium to join the cruise. But I looked into the one that just ended: Alaska, on the ms Noordam, July 29 - August 5, 2007 so you can't get on. However, when you click on the link, John Bolton's face pops up at you telling you he's just been added as a speaker. What is it about Neo-Conservatives that when they try to smile, they look like it hurts?

One of last year's cruise guests, Steven M. Warshawsky, wrote this article about his experience. He said

We weren't on the cruise for the sunny and scenic destinations; we were on it for the conservative camaraderie and bonhomie for which National Review cruises are well known. The NR cruises offer an unparalleled opportunity for ordinary folks like us to meet and mingle with leading conservative academics, commentators, and politicians.

Isn't that nice? Ordinary people getting to experience conservative camaraderie and bonhomie. How nice. Johann Hari describes this bonhomie well:

The etiquette here is different from anything I have ever seen. It takes me 15 minutes to realise what is wrong with this scene. There are no big hugs, no warm kisses. This is a place of starchy handshakes. Men approach each other with stiffened spines, puffed-out chests and crunching handshakes. Women are greeted with a single kiss on the cheek. Anything more would be French.

Sounds delightful. Mr. Hari mentions a Judge he encounters on the cruise who is the founder of Canadians Against Suicide Bombing Mr. Hari asks him if there would be many members of Canadians FOR Suicide Bombing, and the Judge, confused, replied that yes, there would be. Hmmmm. Yet at dinner, one of Mr. Hari's table-mates said, regarding the United Nations building in New York, "They should suicide-bomb that place."

Mr. Hari confronts Kenneth Starr:

Mr Starr, do you feel ashamed that, as Osama bin Laden plotted to murder American citizens, you brought the American government to a stand-still over a few consensual blow jobs? Do you ever lie awake at night wondering if a few more memos on national security would have reached the President's desk if he wasn't spending half his time dealing with your sexual McCarthyism?

Starr replies with a series of legalese versions of "It's not my fault." No accountability. No concern. Conflicting morals. A cruise fueled by hate. Not a way I want to spend MY summer vacation.

I don't feel good

My nose is stuffed, my throat is sore, my chest is congested, I'm coughing, and I'm in a bad mood. Don't mess with Diva Jood when she's in a bad mood. Oh, and yes. I have to go to work now.

So I will post a picture of Alaska instead of having any rational thought today.

Tuesday Post for Peace

It is said that a person who folds 1000 Paper Cranes will be granted one wish.

August 6, 1945 was the real day that will live in Infamy. On that date, the United States became the first, and so far, only nation, to use Nuclear Weapons against other human beings. And we did it again, three days later. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki created a class of people known as the hibakusha (A-bomb victims and survivors). It is essential to learn from them. They survived the most inhumane act, infernal pain and suffering, and have opted for a path of reconciliation. Their wish: “I want no one else to suffer the way I did”.

But the Hibakusha's average age is over 70 years - they will not be with us forever. They have so far effectively prevented the third use of atomic weaopons; their goal is a complete elimination of such weapons. War is not the answer, and this genie must be put back in the bottle.

And as my own country devolves further and further into a totalitarian regime devoid of conscience and decency, I see it all falls to us. To me. If I must fold 1000 paper cranes to create peace, I will do so. I don't believe that the citizens of the United States are inherently evil; so why do we allow evil in our government? I will fold 1000 paper cranes, and this is also my wish:

This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.

Post #501: Outsourcing Intelligence

Harriet Hands George the Osama Memo - Logo by Tengrain of Mock Paper Scissors

Today is the six year anniversary of the Presidential Daily Briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US."

This July 31st article in Alternet both confirms the date of the PDB, and walks us through the outsourcing of the most sensitive national security document: the President's Daily Brief.

We all know about Blackwater USA, which bills itself as "the most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world." That's a fancy way of saying they are paid mercenaries. Founded in 1997 by an ex-Navy Seal, Blackwater was awarded a $21 million no-bid contract in August, 2003, to supply security guards and two helicopters for Paul Bremer, the head of the U.S. occupation in Iraq. The company also provides security for food shipments in the Fallujah area.

But what is not generally known is that the secret side of the Iraq War and the larger "war on terror" is also conducted by private corporations, fielding private spies. The reach of these corporations has extended into the Oval Office. Corporations are heavily involved in creating the analytical products that underlie the nation's most important and most sensitive national security document, the President's Daily Brief (PDB).

A question was raised in the comments to my post about King Dick, Granny asked "Who is pulling Dick Cheney's strings?" The answer becomes clear when we learn that 70 percent of the intelligence budget goes to private contractors.

And this is true of every branch of our Intelligence Network. Between 50-60% of the CIA's National Clandestine Service, which is responsible for the gathering of human intelligence, comes from employees of for-profit corporations.

Corporate intelligence professionals from companies such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC and others are thoroughly integrated into analytical divisions throughout the intelligence community, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It is the ODNI that produces the final document of the President's Daily Brief.

It was the PDB that warned on August 6, 2001, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US." Of course, the PDB has all kinds of corporate logos printed all over it, and the Alternet article indicates that it is almost impossible to tell if the work is the government's, or the corporate intelligence-gathering.

Concerned members of the intelligence community have told me that if a corporation wanted to insert items favorable to itself or its clients into the PDB to influence the US national security agenda, at this time it would be virtually undetectable. These companies have analysts and often intelligence collectors spread throughout the system and have the access to introduce intelligence into the system.

So when we have our most sensitive security analysis being done by people with allegiance to a private company, with private agendas, it tends to color that analysis. There is nothing fair, or balanced in any of this. It is all about who is going to turn a profit this year. Bush's allegiance is not to the citizens of the United States of America; it is to those various CEOs who drive the conversation. Cheney belongs to Halliburton.

And what do we expect of this Administration? Yesterday, August 5th, Mr. Bush signed into law a bill that broadly expanded the government’s authority to eavesdrop on the international telephone calls and e-mail messages of American citizens without warrants. I speak to people in foreign countries daily - I wonder how many of my conversations will be monitored? Free travel advice, get your fiber optics monitoring systems while they're hot!

Can this be fixed? Yes. It would take the Director of National Intelligence to develop a spine, acknowledge the problem, and mustering the political will and leadership to work toward a solution. It would take Congress to step in and Impeach those in charge who have consistently broken the laws of our nation. Speak up, people. Speak up.

Friday Grandbaby Blogging

I love my swimming class, because I love the water. Mommy goes with me. When Mama visited last week, she went with me too and stayed on the pool deck taking pictures of me, and of Mommy. Mommy lifts me up out of the water and then puts me back in and I laugh and then I do reach and pull, reach and pull, and then I do kicks and then we sing songs and we have fun. When I am going to swim class, I sing "pool, pool, pool" all the way there. And I cry when I have to leave.



And when Mama took this picture, Mommy and I were saying "CHEESE" because I think that's funny. Bye bye, I have to go to school now and play.

King Dick

Hat tip to Mentarch, who refers to VP Cheney as "Regent Cheney." Mentarch builds a case for Cheney's Office of the Unitary Regency of the U.S.A. (O.U.R.U.S.) here, and here, and here, confirming for me that Richard Cheney is the most dangerous man in the United States.
Earlier this week on CNN, Cheney told Larry King

I made the decision when I signed on with the President that the only agenda I would have would be his agenda, that I was not going to be like most Vice Presidents, and that was angling, trying to figure out how I was going to be elected President when his term was over with.

But there is no need to angle to figure out how to become President after Bush is out of office, because Cheney has been calling the shots since day one. King asked Cheney "Does it pain you when Brent Scowcroft says, 'This is not the Dick Cheney I knew'?" The response says so much via a slip of the tongue:

Brent doesn't walk in my shoes these days. He's not in the job I'm in. He's not responsible for making the decisions the President has had to make and those of us who support him and advise him.

So it does beg the question: is Cheney indeed confirming that HE is responsible for making the decisions the President has had to make? Sure sounds like it to me.

Hankies and Pankies galore

A little while ago, Peacechick Mary created the Mega Meme to End All Memes. So the winners were announced yesterday with appropriate fanfare and other cockamamie whatsitz, and yes, my bribe worked. I am a winner. One of six. Of course, there were only six entries, so what can I say?

Peacechick Mary wrote:

Since nearly everyone I visit has been tagged, here is what I propose: We hold a final runoff and select the Greatest Thinker of All Time (for the moment) and the Biggest Fat Ass Schmoozer. Now tell me you aren't lusting for one of those faabulous titles? All you have to do is write a post using two keywords (see below) linked to ending the war in Iraq. Our distinctive panel of judges will select the winners and post the results by the end of the month.

Keywords - Lust and Bee

Well. There we are.

Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal

I don't have photoshop. If I had photoshop, I would re-do the venerable Wall Street Journal as one of Rupert Murdoch's rather tawdry shock-sheets. Now, some people might not see this as change - after all, The Wall Street Journal is geared toward business readers, and it has been Conservative for years. But what it has not been is cheap, or sensationalized, or dishonest, or fearmongering. It has been respectable.

Not now. Now it will belong to Rupert Murdoch, who also owns Fox News OPINION.

But I hope that someone with photoshop will re-do the Wall Street Journal so it fits well with THESE: