From the Gonzo

New address

2006-03-06T04:40:00.000-08:00

From the Gonzo has moved. UPDATE your bookmarks or don't.

New addy: http://fromthegonzo.wordpress.com/

The changing of the blogs?

2006-03-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

I am still of the mindset that I would like to switch this blog over to WordPress. If you have not voted down below, in the sidebar, do so. Input would help.

Check out the new format before you vote at: http://fromthegonzo.wordpress.com/

I think its pretty slick and unless a lot of people tell me they don't want me to switch I probably will. So change your bookmarks now I suppose, for the time being I will still cross post on both interfaces.

The grand Iraq failure

2006-03-04T16:56:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I have written about the disasterous war in Iraq. (Rest assured, it is a disaster).

Since I looked at the Strategy for Victory in Iraq the situation on the ground has continued to evolve. A wave of sectarian violence is sweeping the country (see news story about one of many events) following the destruction of the Golden Mosque in Samarra.

Many in the media and in the military openly speculated about the possibility of a civil war erupting. A danger that has lurked in the shadows since day one of the conflict anyway. The upsurge in violence has many, including me, wondering what this is all going to accomplish.

Thus far I can see one major success in a downward spiral of failures. The capture and deposing of Saddam Hussein's government.

Meanwhile, a conflict that was supposed to cost the American taxpayers only $1.7 billion has surged in cost to nearly $250 billion. American casaulties continue to mount (over 18,000 so far), slowly but surely. The government we have managed to install is predominantly pro-Iranian Shite Muslim. Somehow we invaded Iraq and managed to turn one of the most strategic regions in the Middle East into a hot bed of anti-American insugency, which shows no signs of abating despite consistent insistances from Administraion officials that it could not possibly pesist for long.

No WMD, the whole justification for invasion in the first place, have been found, another colossal failure. American military might is stretched thin, the Guard and Reserves have assumed a large responsiblity, so large that the part-time force is near the breaking point.

For all the operational success commanders acheived in battles in Fallujah and other towns, the insurgents have simply moved elsewhere. Often into small towns, where they are able to control the population much easier than in a major urban area with millions of people.

This means that troops on the ground are dealing with a constant threat and some commanders have even openly talked about a major insurgent move into Baghdad itself.

Read this excellent story from Feb. 26 Washington Post, it really puts a perspective on what is happening at the loneliest fronts in the Iraq War.

Now, our troops are stuck in Iraq for an indefinite period of time. No one really knows what this war will cost, be it financially, politically, or in human lives.

It took nearly three years for the Bush camp to acknowledge that the Iraq war was not going in the direction they intended, which was around the time they released their strategy for victory. A strategy they claimed has been implemented all along.

I don't know about you but I won't be fooled again (video clip).

Kava time

2006-03-03T01:43:00.000-08:00

Oceania has always been a land of enchantment in my mind. My stumbling upon Jon Frumism just played right into that image.

I think it all goes back to the first time I heard about the mysterious statues on Easter Island, or maybe the annual Christmas Island crab migration. Something about the South Pacific just captures my imagination.

A big part of the Melanesian culture (which includes Vanuatu--think Jon Frum) is a psychoactive pepper plant called kava.

Kava has long held a place in the cultures of the South Pacific, it is well known as an herbal remedy and ceremonial substance. Islanders grind the plant into a brownish liquid with water and it is usually drank from a traditional bowl.

The author of the article I referenced the yesterday, in Smithsonian Magazine, writes of his experience with kava in Vanuatu in that piece. Its social significance in the culture has been displayed when it used to welcome prominent guests to some of the island nation. Among dignitaries said to have consumed kava on official visits, Pope John Paul II and Lady Byrd Johnson.

In recent years agencies within the U.S. government (mainly the CDC and the FDA) have raised concern about the safety of kava consumption. Studies have been produced linking kava to liver damage as well as studies which say the herbal remedy flat out does not work.

Australians seem to be particularly concerned. In the Northern Territory it is tightly regulated, much like alcohol, the above link claims some pretty negative and startling side effects of kava consumption. In fact, for a time in the 90s, kava importation was illegal in the NT.

In the United Kingdom a ban on importation was implemented, making the nation of Fiji none too happy. Fiji counters the claims made by the FDA and others, since 2002, that kava has been linked to liver toxicity and even death.

Kava can be found in herbal supplements, purchased as roots, or even grown. It is not illegal in the United States, although as I said, their are fairly stern health warnings regarding its consumption.

Medicinal benefits attributed to kava include pain relief, stress and anxiety relief and some have even claimed it effective in combating cancer cell growth. Alternatively, kava is said to produce a numbness of the mouth and tongue, euphoric sense of well-being, and relaxed muscles among other psychoactive effects.

Photos: Photo 1: A kava plant (Piper methysticum). (Credit: USIP-CAMI) Photo 2: A sign showing a "Kava licence area" at Yirrkala, in the Northern Territory of Australia. (Credit: Wikipedia)

Related Post: The cult of a man named Jon

The cult of a man named John

2006-03-02T16:42:00.000-08:00

Next Feburary 15, take a look around you, while nothing about the day is inherently special (other than the fact you may be nursing a post Valentine's Day chocolates stomach ache) this day is sacred to a small band of South Pacific islanders in Vanuatu.

Februrary 15 is Jon Frum Day in this tiny island nation.

Who is Jon Frum? Why does he have a day? What the hell is going on in Vanuatu?

The answers, in short, no one really knows, I tell you, and, again no one really knows.

The religious cult in Vanuatu, these people actually worship an American GI named Jon Frum, has had a strong following and is one of the world's few remaining "cargo cults." Cargo cults were a result of European colonization for the most part. As vast stores of supplies and items never before seen arrived to once basic cultures they could only assume that the items were coming from some divine source. Thus, some cultures began to worship the icons of European imperialism in the hopes that they would return with "cargo."

The same thing happened during WWII as vast amounts of military resources deployed to remote and sparsley inhabited regions worldwide. This is how the cult of Jon Frum was born.

This is seriously real stuff. A sect of the cult broke off a couple years back and it culminated in a violent clash with axes and knives, 25 people were hospitalized with injuries after the melee.

Related Links:
Smithsonian Magazine (Feb. 2006) story- "In John They Trust," by Paul Raffaele
Cargo Cult Wikipedia entry
Jon Frum Site

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Make sure you check out the new From the Gonzo at WordPress and let me know if you like it better, it's growing on me. For now I will be posting on both until I get a little feedback. There is a poll about the switch in my sidebar, vote.

From the desk of a dirty mick

2006-03-02T02:20:00.000-08:00

It's been about 3 months since I started this blog, one random December morning. So far I have noticed quite a few return visitors, which tells me one of two things. Either sometimes what I write is intrguing or people are just blindly curious as to what kind of nonsensical dribble will pour forth from my cranium next. Either way is fine, hopefully you'll keep reading.

Due to my increasing focus on this blog and in life in general on space sciences such as astrophysics and astronomy, I have added a slew of new links on the sidebar, many of them space-related, although not all them.

I don't intend to blog solely about space but it will probably continue to be the main focus of my efforts.

I don't usually babble about my life too much but here's what's going on. Classes at Kish, writing a book, and in any spare time blogging randomly here and being a general hermit.

Some of the blog posts upcoming include a look at cargo cults (specifically Jon Frum), a piece on kava, a database I am compiling of declared "nuclear emergencies" from 1999-2006 and hopefully I will also have time to complete a look at attendence and voting patterns in the DeKalb city council that I began last year while working at a news publication. I am also hoping to follow up my post on drilling and logging in the Allegheny National Forest. We shall see.

And don't forget to check out the Postcards from Venus post.

Also I am thinking of switching this blog over to wordpress. I have set up a preliminary blog. I like wordpress because it lets you categorize the posts, making for much easier navigation. Check out the mirror blog I set up (minuses the links) at http://fromthegonzo.wordpress.com/.
Let me know what you think, I need feedback on this one, leave comments here please. Even if you don't want to leave a comment, you can vote in the poll I put up in the sidebar, below the links and above the ads. Thanks.

Postcards from Venus

2006-03-02T00:24:00.000-08:00

The Planetary Society announced winners to their "Postcards from Venus" art contest. Their are some really cool images in their online gallery. These aritists span all age groups and some of them are really talented.

Check out the online gallery here. That's the winner, up above.

The contest is meant to coincide with the European Space Agency's Venus Express orbiter, which is scheduled for an April 11 rendevous with the cloud-shrouded planet.

Most Popular Posts:
Asteroid reaches two on Torino Scale
Apophis collision more likely
Horse slaughter updates

Look up

2006-03-01T06:11:00.000-08:00

This all really happened, except for the bit from American Gods.

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Sometimes you just gotta be slick.

A man walks into the gas station, he doesn't have any purchases but he approaches the register anyway.

He needs change and he asks the attendant politely, if he could exchange a $50 dollar bill for a couple twenties and a ten. It's an off-ramp gas station, a big truck stop, the attendant obliges, why not help him out, he thinks.

He opens the drawer and takes the fresh fifty from the man on the other side of the counter. He carefully counts out two twenties and a ten dollar bill and hands them to the traveler. Five seconds haven't passed before the man looks at the attendant and proclaims "I gave you a fifty, there's only thirty bucks here."

Confident he gave the man the correct amount of change the attendant looks the man in the eye and says, "I know what you're up to."

The man quickly turns and exits the gas station post haste to continue down the interstate.

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It was the middle of the night on Halloween and snowflakes the size of his hand fell from the black oblivion overhead.

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A haggard looking man sits at a table in a decent restaurant. He has ordered plenty of food and clearly, will have a large bill to pay. Getting up to leave the man reaches for his wallet and discovers, much to his chagrin, that he left his credit card at home.

Confounded, he approaches the bartender to confess his embarassing situation. He looks at the bartender. "I can go home and get my card but am afraid all I have for collateral is this old violin," he says and swings a beaten old violin case onto the bar. It's nearly closing time and the night is wearing thin on the bartender but the man owes more than fifty dollars, he hears him out.

"This violin is my livelihood, while not worth much, it is the only way I have to earn a living, so you know I will return." Satisfied the bartender agrees and keeps the violin. The man leaves to retrieve his credit card.

The barkeep continues with his closing duties when another man, who is well-dressed, approaches the bar.

He tells the bartender that he couldn't help but overhear the conversation between him and the hapless man who forgot his credit card and that he is an antique musical instruments dealer and could he please inspect the violin.

With no reason to doubt the man's sincerity he produces the violin for him to inspect. The man opens the case and looks at the violin closely. He takes it out.

"Mmmhmm," he proclaims. "Just as I thought."

Curious the bartender queries.

"Well this violin is rare indeed, it is worth upwards of $50,000," the barkeep can't believe his ears. The antique musical instrument dealer produces a business card and gives it to the bartender asking him could he please give it to the man when he returns as he would be interested in purchasing the instrument. The dealer leaves and the bartender returns, once again, to his closing duties.

After a little while the man who had forgotten his credit card returns, card in tow, to pay off his debt and retrieve his violin.

The barkeep produces the violin again but seems distracted. He looks at the man.

"What would you say if I offered you $500 for this violin?" The bartender asks the man.

"Well I couldn't sell my violin, its my livelihood, as I told you."

The bartender knows the violin is worth alot, he has access to the night's deposits. "How about $1,500? He asks.

"Son, I am sorry I cannot sell it."

Frustrated the bartender finally goes all out. "I will give you $5,000 for that violin." He tells the man. He agrees and sells the bartender the violin for $5,000.

He leaves with $5,000, gets in his car and goes back to his apartment where the "antique musical instrument dealer" waits to split up the haul.

Retold from Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

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Pay attention.

A woman sits on a bench in a park in London. She has just finished working and is relaxing before she has to catch the train home.

A man she doesn't know approaches her with a brown paper sack in hand.

It's a brand new digital camera he tells her and he will sell it to her for 150 pounds. He assures her it's top of the line, 7 megapixels. She can't resist, the price is too low, she produces the money and he hands her the bag. He leaves quickly, before she can inspect the contents. When she does she finds a sack of concrete rocks.

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You can't have something for nothing.

A guy sends away for a bead kit, to make jewelry. The company promises, for a low, one time fee of $180.00 to provide the client with all the items necessary to make bead jewelry, including beads and patterns. The company then promises to buy back for resale any of the jewelry the client makes that meets their specifications.

Unfortunately for this guy, none of the jewelry that anyone makes meets their specifications. Their offices are raided by the FBI a few months later, the CEO and company managers long gone.

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"Your friends hold the lullabies, they wash away the night lies.
Soft sounds just like a radio.
Hearts wrapped in blankets laying low."

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Keep watching people.

A girl works at a popular and demanding restaurant job when she not finishing up high school or spending time with her boyfriend. The cusine isn't anything special but it's the location that kills, right on campus. The university crowd can't resist the cheap and filling carb load the restaurant offers.

The shifts are long, as long as nine or ten hours on weekend nights, but the money's not bad, all she has to do is man the cash register, taking orders and handing people their food.

But she wants more and handling thousands of dollars a night isn't much fun when her check barely breaks $300.

She has an idea. What if she just didn't ring up the sales, the place has no cameras, the only way they know a product is sold is when it is rung into the register, but that's also the only way they know a product needs to be made. But they make a few items in droves, ahead of time, the most popular items. She smiles.

Every few customers, in the heat of a busy evening she doesn't ring up. She counts the drawer at the end of the night, when no one's looking she pockets the overage that resulted from selling food and not ringing it up. She takes over $3,000 in 3 months. She is never caught.

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Do NOT trust other drivers to be sober.

- A man on LSD nearly plows head on into a van on a busy city street around 8 p.m. Later that night he is nearly side swiped by a semi blowing a red light.

- After taking LSD, four men embark on a multiple county drinking binge. It occurs both in automobiles and in apartments and homes. Around seven thirty the next morning they can be seen cruising down a state highway, chucking beer bottle out the side. There are several guns in the car. They are not apprehended.

- A group of 20 somethings spend the enitre trip, several hours, to a baseball game, "pre-gaming" during the car ride on the interstate.

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Look up at a college dorm building, one of the big ones, the tall ones. Count how many windows are open on a cold winter day. Why are all those windows open? Hmm.

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I guess you can't trust anyone.

Night after night a squad car kept showing up in the same neighborhood park. While not odd in itself it was the duration the car stayed there that caught the attention of neighbors. Curious they called police wondering, mostly, if there was a stakeout on some sort of drug house nearby. The police knew of no such stake out but said they would send out another officer to make sure everything was okay.

The other officer arrived and to his surprise found the other, on-duty police officer in his squad car recieving a sex act from a prostitute. The prostitutes in this particular city are not known as being "high class," to say the least.

The officer was arrested and suspended. He eventually pled guilty.

The definition of a planet

2006-02-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

Nine planets, twenty planets, how many planets are there in our Solar System anyway?

This is a question that the astronomical community has been discussing with zeal since the discovery of 2003UB313 (temporarily designated Xena, though this won't be its official name). Xena is about 3000 km in diameter according to observations, which makes its about 25 percent larger than Pluto, the last discovered object to be designated a planet.

The International Astronomical Union, the organization charged with naming and classifying celestial objects, never really set down criteria for new planets in our Solar System. Because they, like most of the astronomical community, assumed there were no other planets in our star system.

The definition of a planet, astronomically speaking, will be set by the IAU at their General Assembly in August 14-25, 2006, in Prague. They say they will announce and publish a definition of a planet at the beginning of September.

Xena is a part of a broader area of the outer solar system called the Kupier Belt. This collection of mostly small, icy bodies orbits the Sun well past the orbit of Pluto and in Xena's case have a year equal to 557 Earth years.

This debate really isn't new. When the first asteroids were discovered they remained classified as planets until a host of smaller objects in the same region began to be discovered. Objects like Ceres and Vesta are now solidly not planets in the annals of astronomy.

IAU action thus far

The IAU hasn't said a lot on this debate so far, they are unlikely to until their General Assembly in August.

In 2001, however, the IAU began to approach this issue in response to the growing number of bodies being discovered orbiting extrasolar stars.

They developed a preliminary definition which they called "evolving." It was revised in 2003.

The thing about this definition is that it walks us around in circles.

From the IAU's definition (emphasis added):

"Objects with true masses below the limiting mass for thermonuclear fusion of deuterium (currently calculated to be 13 Jupiter masses for objects of solar metallicity) that orbit stars or stellar remnants are "planets" (no matter how they formed). The minimum mass/size required for an extrasolar object to be considered a planet should be the same as that used in our Solar System. "

Guess what? There is no criteria on minimum size requirements for planets in our Solar System.

What the IAU has done, it would appear, (according to persistent rumors throughout the scientific community) is to have narrowly passed a preliminary measure at the end of 2005 in favor of the "Pluto and anything larger" definition for planet. Then they wanted a recommendation from the American Astronomical Society, the AAS wanted a committee to look at it and the committee formed a special committee. Now the rumor is that during the General Assembly they will decide on how to make a final, binding decision.

What will the IAU do?

The IAU will not change Pluto's status as a planet, despite the rash of Kupier Belt Object Discoveries in recent years.

What is likely to happen instead is that the IAU will ascribe a planet classification system. They talk of it a bit on the link above when the mention Trans-Neptunian Planets, which would include objects like Pluto, UB313, and Sedna.

Other likely categories include Terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars), Jovian Planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) and then we will likely see additional categories to encompass extrasolar planets. Categories such as the Hot Jovian or Hot Neptunian. Other proposals include a cis-Jovian planets designation for objects closer to the Sun than Jupiter.

Of course, depending on your viewpoint this may all be a moot debate.

"Planet" doesn't belong to scientists

The co-discoverer of Xena, Michael Brown, made a valid point on his Web site when he proposed that the term planet is more a cultural term than it is a scientific one.

He compared it to the term continent, which has a scientific and cultural meaning. In science a continent is divided by plate boundaries but humans have attached their own definition of continent, as India is considered part of the "continent" of Asia.

It is a valid point too. It's likely that 70+ years of nine planets being implanted into brains has made it near impossible that any other object will be considered a planet unless it is comparable to the gas giants.

So even if Xena is declared a planet it is unlikely to gain widespread cultural acceptance as such.

Regardless, this won't diminish the scientific value of discoveries such as Xena.

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Since I am, again, on the topic of astronomy here is an update on the Near Earth Object 2004VD17.

The half kilometer wide object still sits at a Torino Scale maximum of 2. However, since the other day the chance of impact increased slightly to 1 in 1560.

The headline grabbing asteroid Apophis has had no change in its status.

Related Posts:
The battle over science and money
Asteroid reaches two on Torino Scale
Close encounters of the asteroid kind
Apophis collision more likely

Photos: Photo 1: The Pluto system, note the three moons. (Credit: NASA)

The battle over science and money

2006-02-28T00:53:00.000-08:00

Human space travel is perilous, even during its good times. Since the Columbia disaster, NASA has had to remain content with successes through robots instead of humans.

Believe it or not, there have been plenty of successes. Especially considering the woefully small portion of the federal budget the agency recieves. More on recent successes in just a bit, first a short bit on why human spaceflight is important.

There are many, many fine reasons why space travel should continue to be a human quest (whether it stays publicly funded is a seperate question). Foremost among those reasons is the spirit of discovery and the quest for new knowledge. As intelligent creatures it has always been a natural reaction for us to question the environment we live in. Our solar neighborhood is an extension of our environment, especially in today's tech based society, which relies very heavily on space technologies. Humans have always endeavoured to go where they have not gone before, we continue to do that on our own planet, likewise we should continue to do that in our solar system.

Another, more publicly appealing reason lies in the sheer volume of technologies and inventions that have spun off since humans began reaching for the stars. From simple everyday items such as joystick controllers or many of the advanced plastics we take for granted as everyday throw away items, to the life saving technologies found in smoke detectors or fire resistant cloth. Many important inventions owe their existence to our quest to ascend to heights once thought impossible.

Then, there is always the exploitative take. The Solar System is a virtually untapped, unending source of mineral wealth. From asteroids to planets the Solar System is filled with rocks of all types.

The shuttle program's existence, however, is hard to defend. A defunct and aging fleet, billions of dollars in overhaul and for what? So it can fly for three more years to finish the cash-guzzlzing International Space Station? Money that could have been much better spent on the science that makes NASA important.

Not only is the shuttle expensive but let's face it, the whole program has been a public relations nightmare. Two disasters have virtually wiped out broad-based, Apollo-era public support for the space program. Not that floating around in low earth orbit for thirty years really has the power to inspire awe like the moon landings did.

But if we just forget about the shuttle for a minute, we can see a lot of shining moments in recent NASA history.

Mars Rovers - these little guys have rolled across the Martian landscape for over two years, they were supposed to last about 90 days.
Space based observatories - Chandra, HST, Galex, Spitzer
New Horizons launch - this probe will take nine years to reach Pluto and other Kupier Belt objects.
Cassini-Huygens - this joint NASA/ESA venture landed a probe on the mysterious Saturnian moon of Titan. The orbiter continues to send back a wealth of scientific and photographic data.
Mars Reconaissance Orbiter - a critical point in the mission has been reached as the orbiter nears Mars.
Messenger - probe enroute to the planet Mercury
Stardust - this probe rendevoused with Comet Wild 2 and recently returned samples from cosmic oblivion (read the comet).
Deep Impact - in a widely publicized July 4 fireworks show this probe sent an impactor hurling into Comet Tempel 1.

Some of the knowledge imparted by just these few missions has helped us understand fundamental things about the formation of our planet, life and the universe around us that we otherwise might not have been privy to.

Here, at the threshold of this millenium, we stand on the edge of scientific discoveries that will shatter our perceptions of reality and the world around us. Discoveries that will cause us to question the meaning of the most deeply held beliefs and values. But at the cusp of these great discoveries we teeter. Lack of funding has pushed important projects to the back burner. Essential scientific missions, such as a probe to the Jovian satellite Europa (one of the most promising prospects for extraterrestrial life in our solar system) and space based telescopes capable of detecting Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars, have been compromised. NASAs overall budget saw cuts across the board, about 15 percent. But NASAs astrobiology budget, where the cutting edge of space science sits, saw disproportionate cuts. Clearly, a science "friendly" administration at work.

NASAs FY 2007 budget request has been roundly criticized by Congress and important organizations, such as the Planetary Society. Most of this criticism stemmed from the appalling assault on real, hard science that the budget made in the name of Moonshot Vol. 2.

Until space travel becomes a viable, commercial enterprise Americans have to pony up and fund these important projects. If we can justify sending $250 billion to rebuild a nation half a world away then the comparitively smaller amount of money we allocate to our space program will not be missed. Had NASA not squandered billions on the ISS it is likely that a return to the moon and Mars mission could have already taken place.

Photos: Photo 1: Mysterious Jovian satellite Europa. One of the four large Galilean satellites Europa is thought to harbor a liquid water ocean beneath its thick, planet-wide ice sheet. (Credit: NASA: courtesy of Voyager 1) Photo 2: Artist's rendering of the Kepler observatory whose primary mission will be detecting Earth-like planets, scheduled to launch in 2008. (Credit: NASA)

Asteroid reaches two on Torino Scale

2006-02-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

Wow. I was kind of stunned when I saw this but an asteroid, 2004 VD17, has moved up the Torino Scale, to a two. Previously, only one other near earth object has reached as high as two on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, that is Apophis, which briefly went as high as four.

Check it out at the Near Earth Object Web site.

Apophis still sits at a one and 1997 XR2 was removed from the list entirely.

Chances are still slim that this object will impact the Earth, in fact very slim, a greater than 99.94% chance that it will not hit Earth at all. But at a 1 in 1,850 chance of impacting Earth it merits more attention than any other known object at this time.

The potential impact date falls in the year range 2096-2104, ample time to deflect it if that becomes what needs to be done. The greatest likelihood of impact is on May 4, 2102. This asteroid is significantly larger than Apophis at over a half kilometer in diameter. (Apophis is 300-400 meters wide or so).

Related Posts:
Apophis collision more likely
Close encounters of the asteroid kind

Screen Grab: NASA Near Earth Object Program Web site, Feb. 26, 2006.

The black heart of the Alleghenies--Drilling and Logging in the National Forest

2006-02-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

I love nature. I avidly pursue it. And just as avidly want to see it protected from profiteering and exploitation. We humans do enough damage as is.

Every couple years, since 2001, I have made the long drive to Pennsylvania, first to Pittsburgh and then on north to an area just south of Jamestown, New York. The heart of the Allegheny Mountains and right smack dab in the middle of the Allegheny National Forest. Truly one of the most amazing places on Earth. A place that I last visited in the spring of 2005.

One major thing stood out in my mind while I was there. There were a number of new natural gas and oil wells dotting the forested mountains. More than I remembered being there on my previous two excursions to the locale. New access roads crept up hillsides where before only trees stood. The forest still bore the scars of the reckless hack job done on its denizens. Fresh gravel roads, leading up to the brand new, pine green wells, shone brightly on even the rainy days, almost mocking the arboreal surroundings.

Just how many wells are there in the Allegheny National Forest? How much land is used for this purpose? What about logging? I wondered, standing in the forest, as a chainsaw roared in the distance. But it never actually occurred to me to try to figure that out until now.

Logging a fragile ecosystem

The ecosystem is delicate; there is a distinct balance to life. The trees that populate the Allegheny National Forest today aren't all that old. Between 1890 and 1930 loggers nearly clear-cut the entire region and much of it lay barren. Most of the forested land in this part of Pennsylvania is post-1923 growth. The old-growth forest was made up mostly of beech and hemlock trees. Now the forest's trees are predominatly black cherry and other light-loving hardwoods. These trees matured quickly and by 1940 the forest had taken on an appearance that resembles what we see today in the ANF.

As an old, forest-hardened Pennsylvanian once told me. "There are only nine acres of virgin timber up here." I thought he was referring to the general area we were in but he corrected me. "No, in the whole forest," he said. While an exagerration, it puts into perspective just how new the forest is and how much of it was cut down.

There are still a few places to find some of that virgin, old-growth forest. They include an area called Heart's Content (122 acres) and the Tionesta Scenic Area (2,018 acres), both in the Allegheny National Forest. The old-growth forest once covered 6 million acres of the Allegheny Plateau in Pennsylvania and New York. (Note: the Heart's Content link only points to the page which links to the ANF page on Heart's Content, it wasn't working correctly when I did this so maybe it will by the time this gets posted).

Of course, before Europeans arrived to destroy everything the forest existed just fine, for centuries, without the benefit of selective clear cutting. Which is why I hate when people claim that selective clear cutting is beneficial to the long term health of the forest, like this Hoosier. That kind of logic implies the forest could not sustain itself optimally without the assitance of human beings, and it's nonsense.

Excerpt from Michigan City Dispatch article linked above:

"Of course, just about everyone loves big trees, but the only thing better than a big forest is a big, healthy, sustainable forest. And properly managed clear cuts are good for the long-term health of trees."

What planet are these people from? How can killing the trees be good for their long-term health? Chopping limbs off of people isn't good for their long-term health.

Of course, the Forest Service doesn't help matters by claiming similar points on their numerous Web sites.

One comment appears to be an attempt to justify logging in a round about way. From the USFS' Allegheny National Forest Web site:

"Even then the hemlock/beech forest was not totally primeval in character. Disturbances such as tornado and blowdown were a common natural event that created openings in the forest. Native Americans burned the forest to improve berry and oak mast production, hunting, and ease of travel."

See, so it's okay if we mess up the forest because someone or something has always been messing it up. Yeah, whatever. Even the Forest Service acknowledges that the forest was not unhealthy before the modern logging era. Mary Hosmer, a spokeswoman for the Allegheny National Forest said:

"The first lands to become the Allegheny NF were not purchased until 1923, well after the era of exploitive logging. As to forest health records, none exist for the timeframes prior to the creation of the Allegheny NF. There is no reason to believe that the forest was not healthy at that time."

But here is why the forest service says timber harvest is important:

"For example, harvesting timber provides wood products that we all use and creates openings which allow sunlight to reach the forest floor to stimulate seedlings, berries and other plants that wildlife need. This provides opportunities for berry pickers, birdwatchers and hunters."

I still contend that killing trees cannot be healthy. Berry pickers, bird watchers and hunters? That is patently absurd.

As far as how many trees are being "harvested" (like they are some crop) in the Allegheny National Forest, the USFS has published some numbers. (Some of them are included in the graphic above, for those you not willing to read all of this text, the numbers are also listed below).

ANF Logging Stats--From the USFS

- 1986 Forest Plan Allowable Sale Quantity (ASQ): 94.5 million board feet (MMBF*) per year
- ANF Timber Harvest Capablity (95-05): 53.2 MMBF per year
- 2003 total wood sold: 23.5 MMBF, 14.4 MMBF was sawtimber which sold at an avg. of $1,774 per MBF, total sale revenue=$16.9 million
- Total BF under contract (9.30.04): 30.4 MMBF
- Avg. annual harvest (80-05): 58 MMBF
- Avg. annual harvest (87-04): 51 MMBF
- Avg. annual harvest (87-98): 67.6 MMBF
- Avg. annual acreage harvested (87-04): 5,614 (or 1.1% of total ANF acreage annually), total acreage in last 18 years=101,052 (19.7% of total ANF acreage)
- 1998 total wood sold: 9.8 MMBF, 4.5 MMBF was sawtimber which sold at avg. of $1,193 per MBF, total sale revenue=$5.4 million
- Avg. annual "treated" acreage (87-05): 7,407, Total: 133,326

*Remember: MMBF=million board feet, MBF=thousand board feet

Other Logging Related Facts:

Forest types in the Allegheny National Forest:

Allegheny Hardwoods (Black Cherry, Ash, Yellow Poplar)
Northern Hardwoods (Beech, Sugar Maple, Hemlock)
Upland Hardwoods (Red Maple, Black Birch)
Oak Type (Red, White, Chestnut and Black Oak)

- The ANF has roughly 1/3 of the world's black cherry furniture veneer and 25% of the United States black cherry sawtimber.
- All time high for black cherry saw timber: $4,850 per MBF (2003); broke '98 record of $2,505 (wow, almost doubled).
- Black cherry veneer is very desirable for fine furniture.
- The primary method of timber treatment is thinning (annual average since 1987 of 5,103 acres), followed by final harvest (1,908 acres) and selection cuts (396 acres).

Source: ANF Web site & Mary Hosmer.

If we look even closer we find that the average timber harvest between 2000 and 2004 has maintained a level significantly lower than the historical average of 53.2 MMBF (80-04).

According to statistics provided by Hosmer the average annual harvest between 2000 and 2004 was around 17 MMBF, with a low, in 2000, of 14.2 MMBF.

Days of drilling gone by

The forest is littered with relics of gas and oil explorations of the past; the whole region is the nerve center of the Pennsylvania gas and oil industry. Rusted pipes span creeks and dissapear into the lush, green woods. Old and rusted-out gas pumps sit alongside age-old oil tanks, dormant and crumbling from years of neglect. Rusty wires run along the rusty pipes waiting to ensnare the foot of its next victim, human or otherwise. Clean up has never seemed to be much of a priority.

However, there are regulations on the books regarding the clean up of abandoned gas and oil well, including those within the ANF.

Freeda Tarbell, the community relations coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection works with the DEP at the Northwest Regional Office in Meadville, PA and said her office is responsible for issuing all oil and gas permits in northern Pennsylvania.

She quickly pointed out that the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act of 1984 governs site clean up both after well drilling and after well plugging. The applicable section of the law is 601.206. (It's about halfway down the page).

"The responsible party has nine months after completion of the well or nine months after the well is plugged to restore the site and remove equipment," Tarbell said. She added that there is a high rate of compliance because drilling activity involves mostly active, viable companies.

That being said, there are a lot of abandoned sites that existed prior to the law's passage.

"There are literally thousands of abandoned wells on public lands and privately held property in Pennsylvania where wells were drilled prior to the Oil and Gas Act and the companies or individuals who were responsible for the drilling activity no longer exist," Tarbell said

Literally thousands. I figured just as much based on my own personal observations in the ANF and the surrounding lands. Of course, there would be "literally thousands", Pennsylvania is where oil drilling started, in 1859 at Titusville.

All of this abandoned equipment has some potential for harmful environmental impacts, which the Pennsylvania DEP downplayed.

"There is the potential for this abandoned equipment to impact the environment. The scenario that provides the most potential for impact would be an old tank of oil that could develop a leak," Tarbell said. "These tanks might hold a volume of product that at most would be in the tens of gallons range, so if a leak did occur, the area of impact would be very limited."

Limited indeed but still bad for such a beautiful forest.

Despite the Pennsylvania State DEP confirming the fact that there were "literally thousands" of abandoned well sites in northwest Pennsylvania the U.S. Forest Service thought it was important to point out that the equipment would be "promply removed" unless it was of historic significance, all while not commenting beyond "promptly removed" concerning what happens to abandoned wells.

"When oil and gas wells are plugged under today’s standards and guidelines, if the equipment or other remains are determined to be not eligible for inclusion into the National Register of Historic Places, the equipment is promptly removed.

If the remains are found to be historically significant and have been determined to be on or eligible for the National Register, then steps are taken to work cooperatively with the owners of the mineral rights to protect and preserve the historic remains. The equipment technically belongs to the owners of the mineral rights. Most often this protection can be accomplished through preservation in place and working with the owner of the mineral rights, the operator, and the Department of Environmental Protection to design operations to avoid adversely affecting the historic remains.

If preservation in place is not a viable option then other mitigation measures may be more appropriate dependent upon the circumstances. These mitigation measures may involve data recovery via agreed up documentation standards, recording the historic material and preserving it through restoration and curation, or other agreed upon measures.

Another way of preserving the history may involve acquiring the equipment or material from the owner of the mineral rights in order to protect the historic significance. We have an example of this last method of preserving history in the form of an old central power house the forest acquired from the owner. This powerhouse represents the historic petroleum industry and the forest has interpreted the site so recreation visitors can enjoy this unique piece of history. "

That's a heck of an answer. Of course, I asked nothing about historic places just about abandoned wells, talk about dodging the question. How many abandoned wells could possibly be historic in 2006 Pennsylvania anyway?

Historic oil and gas sites

Naturally, an answer to the above question had to be sought. So I followed up with Mary Hosmer, who, if you do not remember, is a spokeswoman for the Allegheny National Forest through the U.S. Forest Service.

It turns out that there is a significant difference it what is considered "historic" and what is considered "historically significant," the classification has a profound impact on how the U.S. Forest Service approaches each potentially historic site.

So what is the difference and how many wells fall into these categories?

"Our archaeologist states that the answer is an unknown amount because it depends upon how you are defining ‘historic,’" Hosmer said. "The forest records every oil and gas site that is older than 50 years as an historic site as part of its responsibilities under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The Allegheny National Forest has hundreds of ‘historic’ oil and gas sites if this definition is used."

The last part of that quote is just a PR way of saying "yes, there are hundred of abandoned oil and gas sites in the ANF and they aren't going anywhere." I must say I take exception to that.

Earlier she told us that, "if the equipment or other remains are determined to be not eligible for inclusion into the National Register of Historic Places, the equipment is promptly removed." It would appear that hundreds of wells that are 50+ years old were never "promptly removed."

She continued.

"Not all ‘historic’ sites, though, are historically significant. That is, not all sites are important enough for the Forest Service to take steps to protect, preserve, and or interpret them."

It looks like, even though some of the wells are historic, they are essentially old garbage that no one is going to clean up. Like I said clean up doesn't appear to be a big priority, even on public lands.

Given the lengthy response referencing historic gas sites from the U.S. Forest Service regarding my original question about abandoned wells one would think that historic preservation was something the administrators of the Allegheny National Forest spend ample time working on.

Based on the numbers this would not appear to be true, however.

"Anywhere from a half dozen to up to a dozen sites are presently being considered for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places," Hosmer said.

That is, 6 to 12 being considered for historic preservation, out of "hundreds of historic oil and gas sites." I am sure the man power crunch is killing the USFS on the historic preservation side of things.

If that isn't taxing enough on Forest Service, they already have two sites determined eliglible for historic preservation.

"The first site is the Old Powerhouse . . . that site is located on State Route 321 approximately one mile south of the junction with State Route 59 in McKean County," Hosmer said.

The second site was the one I found more interesting of the two, though the first one is the only one I have actually seen, real special, just look at the photo.

"The second site is a 'ghost' town site we are keeping confidential in order to protect the site from vandalism and looting."

Sounds cool, wish I could see it. What is the point of preservation in secret? What can we learn from that?

The current scenario

The Allegheny National Forest, like all national forests, is described as multi-use, meaning conservation, mineral exploitation and recreation.

Since 1986 the gathering of natural resources, specifically natural gas and petroleum, in the ANF has been ramped up significantly. An average of 188 wells have been drilled annually (according to the U.S. Forest Service's 2001 Monitoring Statistics) over the last 20 years. In 2004 the USFS said there were about 7,000 producing wells, that number has changed in the year or so since.

That would mean no less than 3,760 new oil and gas wells have been drilled in the 20 years since 1986 because once drilled, wells produce for about 25 or 30 years.

But using the older stats (to be conservative), if just over half of the wells in the forest were installed in the last 20 years that must mean the others were installed in the previous 20, because of the Forest Service's life span estimate for the wells. But that only makes sense to a point.

That would mean that 3,240 wells would have had to been installed in the 10-year period between 1976 and 1986 (if the Forest Service's stat on well life span is correct). I suppose that's possible but it doesnt seem to match up logically considering approximately the same number of wells were installed in the 20 years after 1986.

Any wells installed pre-1976 should not be producing any longer. Those numbers seem suspicious.

The whole of northern Pennsylvania has seen a drilling boon over the last five years.

In the 27-county area covered by Tarbell's Regional Office the number of permits issued for oil and gas drilling has increased 230% over the last five years. A jump from 1,134 permits in 2000 to 3,044 permits in 2005.

The state DEP doesn't have the numbers on drilling on public lands but Tarbell did say, "drilling activity on public land is believed to mirror the overall trend."

The folks representing the Allegheny, Mary Hosmer in particular, tell me that there are currently over 8,000 producing oil and gas wells in the ANF, this is an estimate and up from the 2001 estimate of 7,000, cited above.

She also said that each year wells are plugged and drilled but in general more wells are drilled than plugged. Since 1986 that average has been 225 new wells per year, but that number is fluid as a look at the 2005 numbers reveal.

"However, with the increase in oil and natural gas prices, 688 wells were drilled on the National Forest System surface in 2005," Hosmer said.

I guess that makes sense, the more oil and gas wells a company has the more oil and gas the company has to sell, no wonder oil companies returned record profits. Not only did prices increase but so did domestic production. Amazing, this is the kind of information it would seem the oil companies and federal government generally tend to want to dissuade the population from believing.

All of this drilling makes the ANWR proposal look more useless than I already know it is.

Development in the ANF isn't limited to oil wells, although between the wells, pipelines and electrical lines approximately 50,000 acres of the 500,000+ acre forest are used for mineral procurement and about 191,000 acres on National Forest System surface are in developed or potential oil and gas development areas, Hosmer explained. Although, coal has not been mined on the forest lands for decades.

An important part of the oil and gas infrastructure, roads, break up the continuity of the environment as well.

There are an estimated 2,787 miles of road within the Allegheny National Forest. They are divided among seperate entities, the U.S. Forest Service, state and township and the oil, gas and mineral industries.

The USFS operates 1,270 miles of road in the ANF. The state of Pennsylvania and various local authorities operate about 281 miles of some of the most confusing roadways in the country. The oil industry operates and maintains a USFS-estimated 1,236 miles of road within the forest.

Some activists contend that the Forest Service has given oil and gas companies free reign to cut roads and destroy the forest to access the underground deposits.

From the Allegheny Defense Project's Web site:

"Unfortunately, nearly 95% of the mineral rights in the Allegheny National Forest are privately held, meaning that under antiquated mining laws private developers can cut roads into the forest and drill virtually at will."

While Hosmer conceded that 93 percent of mineral rights in the forest are privately owned she vehemently denied that companies have free reign to cut roads and drill, despite the drilling of 688 new wells last year.

Forest Service Requirements to Develop mineral sites:

- proof of ownership
- a designated field representative to work with the Forest Service
- a map showing a proposed location and dimensions of all facilities, a plan of operation (including drilling and construction schedules
- an Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan at least 60 days ahead of any work
- resource specialists to review the proposal- This is the process where the Forest Service negotiates with the lease holder on resource concerns and identifies ways to mitigate or reduce surface impacts

- after the Forest Service review, the District Ranger then issues a notice to proceed containing all the mitigation measures identified in the review.

Source: Mary Hosmer (USFS)

The oil and gas industry operates nearly as many miles of roads in the ANF as the federal government. If recent trends continue in northern Pennsylvania and in the Allegheny National Forest then we are likely to see even more need for access roads being built into mountainsides. This will further upset the natural balance that life has established in this ecosystem.

The ramped up drilling on public lands should be of concern to all Americans. Little remains of a once wild North American continent. It is our duty to preserve what little has not been exploited for future generations and ourselves to enjoy and behold.

Photos: Photo 1: Blue Jay Creek in the Allegheny National Forest, Warren County, PA. It is One of dozens of cold-water, rock-bottom streams in the region. (Credit: Me) Photo 2: An abandoned and rusted-out oil tank on the banks of the Tionesta Creek in the Allegheny National Forest, Warren County, Pennsylvania. (Credit: Me) Photo 3: The Drake Well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The world's first oil well, built in 1859. (Credit: PA DEP) Photo 4: The "historically significant" old powerhouse in the Allegheny National Forest, McKean, County, PA. (Credit: USFS-Allegheny National Forest) Photo 5: Pump jack on an oil well in the Allegheny National Forest, northwest Pennsylvania. (Credit: PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources)

Mosques and incursions

2006-02-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

Remember the bombing at the Clifton Mosque in Cincinnati?

The bomber still has not been caught.

------

The infamous Mexican border incursion continue to pop up here and there. Now it looks like the U.S. and Mexico will work together to curb the problem.

The U.S. House's Committee on Homeland Security has been investigating the incursion question through hearings, the first of which was held Feb. 7.

Pertinent Links for Mexican incursions:

Video footage of Jan. 23 border encounter.
Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul's (R-TX) opening statement.

Trouble in Fissionville

2006-02-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

A couple notes on nuclear power, which once had the potential to be the world's next great source of energy - before Chernobyl and Three Mile Island anyway.

And then there are incidents such as this:

"Operators at the LaSalle Generating Station declared a 'site area emergency' at 12:28 a.m. Monday during shutdown of the Unit 1 reactor for a scheduled refueling outage and exited the emergency condition at 4:27 a.m. Monday.

The emergency was declared after plant personnel were unable to confirm the position of 3 of the 185 control rods following a shutdown of the reactor."

Good news? No injuries, no radiation release.

Bad news? Public perception of the safety of nuclear power will continue to wane.

------

The incident is under investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and its report will be available in 30 days.

NRC release on special investigation.
Exelon release on incident.
NRC page on Lasalle Unit 1.

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Here are the definitions of the NRC's emergency classifications regarding nuclear sites (in descending order of severity):

4). Notification of Unusual Event - Under this category, events are in process or have occurred which indicate potential degradation in the level of safety of the plant. No release of radioactive material requiring offsite response or monitoring is expected unless further degradation occurs.

3). Alert - If an alert is declared, events are in process or have occurred that involve an actual or potential substantial degradation in the level of safety of the plant. Any releases of radioactive material from the plant are expected to be limited to a small fraction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protective action guides (PAGs). Additional information regarding PAGs can be found on the EPA Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/radiation/rert/pags.htm

2). Site Area Emergency - A site area emergency involves events in process or which have occurred that result in actual or likely major failures of plant functions needed for protection of the public. Any releases of radioactive material are not expected to exceed the EPA PAGs except near the site boundary.

1.) General Emergency - A general emergency involves actual or imminent substantial core damage or melting of reactor fuel with the potential for loss of containment integrity. Radioactive releases during a general emergency can reasonably be expected to exceed the EPA PAGs for more than the immediate site area.

The Lasalle incident was declared a "site area emergency."

-----

Related is the news from a couple days ago that the NRC updated the Safety Evaluation Report for Exelon's application for an Early Site Permit at the Clinton nuclear site, near Clinton, Illinois. This is part of the preliminary process involved in any new reactor construction.

The process allows the applicant to address any site-related issues, such as environmental impacts. This is just the beginning stage of this lengthy process which the NRC predicts could end by 2007. After that Exelon would have up to 20 years to decide to build two or more power plants on the Clinton site.

NRC news release on Clinton ESP.

Photo 1: Lasalle Generating Station, Unit 1, near Seneca, Illinois. (Credit: Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

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Smoke this

2006-02-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

Not that it really matters, because what's done is done. But the smoking ban for DeKalb bars and restaurants is utterly ridiculous. Who are we kidding with this public safety crap? We are talking about establishments that dispense alcohol not day care centers. The people who run these places don't care about the risk to public safety that they create, nor does the city of DeKalb, evidenced by their issuance of liquor licenses, however few that may be.

Everytime government oversteps its constitutional bounds, in my opinion, the impetus seems to fall to public safety. Let's face it, that's how the Bush administration justifies its abhorrent abuse and ignorance of basic civil liberties that we have long taken for granted. Smoking may seem small in the scheme of things but the spirit of America should not become the limiting of rights and privledges. That's bad.

Just ask Jose Padilla.

While smoking in DeKalb isn't akin to terrorism in any way the arguments used to justify the actions are similar in many ways. Another close parallel could be found in the seat belt laws. The state of Illinois, and many other states, require motorists to wear their seatbelts at all times. I do, my argument isn't against wearing the seat belt it's against a law telling me I have no choice but to wear it.

Same thing with the smoking ban. My argument isn't against no smoking in restaurants and bars, it's against a law telling me I have no choice but to not smoke in bars and restaurants.

What I found particularly interesting were a couple comments by DeKalb 1st Ward Alderman Karega Harris in the Northern Star the other day.

According to the Star, at the Jan. 23 council meeting Harris said:

"If you are at the age to drink, you should be allowed to smoke if you choose."

Then, after the ban passes, Harris tells the Star:

"I believe the decision was in the best interests of the whole community," Harris said. "I was in favor of whatever a majority of the council was in favor of."

I mean, what the hell is that?

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At least they didn't change the speed limit to 25 mph. Sheesh.

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Next on the DeKalb City Council Agenda, the banning of all automobiles on residential streets. Maybe we could get some of those stupid motorized scooters I see all over Chicago.

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Speaking of Harris, I always knew he was a bad alderman. I have been to my fair share of city council meetings here in DeKalb. The guy was like a mute.

All I have to say is check out his lackluster meeting attendance record. Look for something from me soon on the city council in general.

Photo 1: Smokes, snuffed out. (Credit: Me)

Close encounters of the asteroid kind

2006-02-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

Apophis, the asteroid with a slim chance of impacting the Earth in 2036 (I blogged about it here), will make history in 2029, regardless of whether it hits Earth or not.

On Friday April 13, 2029 the asteroid will approach Earth and pass within 30,000 km (18,600 miles). That's really close, really, really close. It will miss Earth but will provide skywatchers with a show unparalleled in recorded history.

At a mere 320 meters wide the asteroid will glide across the 2029 night sky at about magnitude 3. For comparison here are some common objects and their apparent magnitude (Note: the lower the number the brighter the object appears to the naked eye).

Sun: -26.73
Mars: -2.8
Brightest Star (Sirius): -1.5
Faintest stars visible in an urban neighborhood: +3
Faintest stars visible to the naked eye: +6

Unfortunately, the celestial show will not be visible in North America. Traveling to Africa, Europe or Asia will reveal Apophis to the naked eye that night, however.

It should glide across the night sky faster than any satellite and be easily visible, even through city lights.

This is, all in all, pretty rare. Objects the size of Apophis make close approaches about once every 1,000 years.

Binoculars and telescopes will not assist much in viewing on that day in 2029, all but the most powerful ground-based telescopes will reveal only a starlike point of light.

I don't know about you but I'm going to be there for it, start booking your flights now. I was thinking African safari with a side of asteroid spotting.

Related Post: Apophis collision more likely

Related Links/Addtional Resources:
NASA imagery of comets and asteroids
NASA Near Earth Object Program
Wikipedia: Apophis

Cleared for takeoff?

2006-02-18T15:01:00.000-08:00

Flying cars anyone?

A company, Terrafugia, founded by MIT scientists, plans on building a viable flying car. Check out the story here.

Of course, depending on who you ask, it could already exist.

Semi-related post: What to take, what not to take (to the airport)

Apophis collision more likely

2006-02-16T00:49:00.000-08:00

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration maintains a Web site which disseminates information on Near Earth Objects. Link to it here.

What is a NEO, you ask?

"Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are comets and asteroids that have been nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets into orbits that allow them to enter the Earth's neighborhood. Composed mostly of water ice with embedded dust particles, comets originally formed in the cold outer planetary system while most of the rocky asteroids formed in the warmer inner solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. "

How many are there?

"As of February 09, 2006, 3,933 Near-Earth objects have been discovered. 830 of these NEOs are asteroids with a diameter of approximately 1 kilometer or larger. Also, 748 of these NEOs have been classified as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs)."

NEOs spent some time in the news, when the story about Apophis broke, last year. Asteroid 2004 MN4 (Apophis), when first discovered, was seemingly on a collision course with Earth, one much more certain than its current course. This Guardian article is great background on Apophis' story.

I haven't seen anything in the mainstream press about Apophis lately but between Feb. 5 and Feb. 16 Apophis' chances of hitting Earth got a little bit better.

If you look at the NEO Web site, on Feb. 5 and Feb. 16, the impact probability has changed, not only for Apophis but for asteroid 2004 VD17 as well (on the links the two asteroids of concern are at the top, highlighted in green on the 15th and Apophis is at the top and VD17 is just below the first list on the Feb. 4 link, again they are in green). The other asteroid that has cracked level one (green) on the Torino Scale, 1997 XR2, still sits at a 1 in 10,000 chance of hitting Earth. Together, these three asteroids represent those known that are most likely to collide with our home planet.

I have included the screen grabs from each day below, as well, in case the cached link doesn't work for some reason.

Click to enlarge.

<--Feb. 5 Feb. 16 -->

Basically what those statistics mean is that the asteroid Apophis went from a 1 in 6,250 chance of hitting Earth to a 1 in 5,880 chance of hitting Earth. That's not all. The year range for the potential impacts and the number of potential impacts went up as well. On Feb. 5 there were only 2 potential impacts, today there are 4. The year range changed from 2036-2037 to encompass the years 2036-2062.

The other asteroid, 2004 VD17, went from a 1 in 3,230 chance of hitting Earth to a 1 in 2,780 chance of hitting Earth. In addition its number of potential impacts went from 2 to 3. The range of years for collision with 2004 VD17 also changed. On Feb. 5 this NEO had a chance of hitting earth between 2102-2104, the year range has been updated and is now 2096-2104. Besides just the numbers changing for 2004 VD17 it moved from the list of objects "not recently observed" to the list of objects "recently observed (within the past 60 days)." This, of course, means between the fifth and the 16th that 2004 VD17 was observed.

I should note that the probability that these asteroids will miss Earth entirely is much greater than the probability that they will strike the planet. NASA updates this list constantly, so I'll watch it occasionally for any developments.

Screen Grab 1: NEO Web site on Feb. 5, 2006, note the impact probability, number of potential impacts and year range for Apophis. Screen Grab 2: NEO Web site on Feb. 16, 2006, note the above as well as the addition of 2004 VD17, for that asteroid note the same items. Screen Grab 3: NEO Web site on Feb. 5, 2006, note the above and notice that it is listed as "not recently observed."

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Burnin' down the forest

2006-02-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

As a warm up to the post I am still preparing on oil/natural gas drilling and logging in Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest (best vacation spot ever) here is a little piece I wrote up about the Bush administration's Healthy Forests Initiative. Originally intended as part of the logging/drilling post, it became its own post because it was too off-topic and didn't add to the discussion on drilling at all, so enjoy.

The U.S.Forest Service oft cites the Bush administration's Healthy Forests Initiative. That initiative was created:

"with the intent to reduce the risks severe wildfires pose to people, communities, and the environment. By protecting forests, woodlands, shrublands, and grasslands from unnaturally intensive and destructive fires, HFI helps improve the condition of our public lands, increases firefighter safety, and conserves landscape attributes valued by society."

Why are fires "unnaturally intensive and destructive?" The answer lies in what ecologists and others have said all along. The more fire prevention measures humans take the more destructive fires will be. The reason?

In a forest ecosystem, fires are an essential part of a natural cycle. Their are some plants that will not even release their seeds until they are burnt or others that are fire dependent. By prolonging the periods between major fires, human beings inevitably make the situation worse. With more unburned fuel adding to the mounting pile of detritus, the forest floor becomes a kinder box, just waiting for ignition. I doubt the answer to that problem is further preventing fires.

From the National Park Service link above:

"Many of Yellowstone's plant species are fire-adapted. Some (not all) of the lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta), which make up nearly 80% of the park's extensive forests, have cones that are serotinous sealed by resin until the intense heat of fire cracks the bonds and releases the seeds inside. Fires may stimulate regeneration of sagebrush, aspen, and willows, but the interactions between these plants and fire is complicated by other influences such as grazing levels and climate. Though above-ground parts of grasses and forbs are consumed by flames, the below-ground root systems typically remain unharmed, and for a few years after fire these plants commonly increase in productivity."

Photo 1: A stretch of the Kinzua Creek, near the Allegheny Resivior, Allegheny National Forest, McKean County, PA. (Credit: Me).

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Sending mail at the speed of light

2006-02-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

Not much to post today, I have been a little busier.

But I would point you in the direction of this old Apple ad about email.

You'll need to blow it up to read it but my haven't we come far.

2006 Olympic opening ceremony

2006-02-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

Did anyone catch the opening ceremony to the Winter Olympics the other night?

There seems to be something about the Olympic games that cause those participating in the organization and set-up of the lavish opening ceremony to lose all touch with reality.

During the Parade of Nations, this is the part of the opening ceremony where the athletes are introduced by nation and march around the stadium waving miniature flags, a selection of music is played while the athletes enter and walk around the stadium.

Well, on Friday's NBC coverage of the ceremonies the music was loud and clear and no way could anyone ignore it. As the night droned on, the endless and boring parade of athletes from nations with no chance at a medal such as Senegal, Nepal and Ireland strolled out for their moment in the Olympic sun.

But it was the music not the athletes that couldn't be ignored. It took me a minute to notice, it took a Bob Costas a minute too.

First I heard Annie Lennox. Okay, interesting. I thought. No big deal though.

Then, "Video Killed the Radio Star" began blaring over the stadium's loudspeakers. Odd, I thought. By this time the group that was around me watching the same coverage began to speak up, as did I. Comments flew throughout the room about the 80s music that the someone at the IOC decided the Torino games needed.

But the pinnacle song choice of the evening certainly lies in what the nation of Moldova's athletes had to endure as they entered the limelight.

Silence . . . . announcer introduces Moldovan athletes . . .

"It's fun to stay at the YMCA! It's fun to stay at the . . . "

Oh man, what on Earth are these morons thinking. What an Olympic memory, I thought out loud.

Costas couldn't resist a comment at this point.

"For some reason the athletes are marching in to a seemingly random selection of 80s, American pop music."

I burst into laughter. Way to go Costas.

Opening ceremonies are always bizarre. But I had to change the channel after that. Later on, flipping back to it, I noticed several people in cow costumes dancing about the ice. I am glad I changed the channel and went to a bar immediately.

Photo 1: The Olympic emblem. (Credit: wikipedia.org)

Atomic death rays--updated

2006-02-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

UPDATE (02.10.06):

After talking with a journalist friend of mine I thought I should update this blog entry.

According to this reporter the smoke detector industry and others began reading about the Americium-smoke detector-atomic bomb connection back in 1996. Thusly, the way most smoke detectors were manufactured changed.

Most likely from the ionization type (which includes the americium) to the photoelectric type (which doesn't). Stupid me! I didn't ask him his source but either way the EPA still maintains a webpage on smoke detectors and radiation.

A cursory web search didn't really reveal whether this de facto manufacturing ban on ionization smoke detectors actually existed. But the EPA page linked above was last updated on Nov. 30, 2004 and I pulled this quote from it:

"Many companies make separate products using either photoelectric or ionization technologies, or they combine the technologies in one product."

That implies that, as of 2004, smoke detectors using the ionization technology, and by proxy americium, were still being manufactured.

Even if they weren't, as I discussed with my friend, that wouldn't necessarily stop a determined person from acquiring enough americium-241 via smoke detectors to construct a rudimentary nuclear device.

Think about it, who actually replaces their detectors every 10 years, like most of the packages recommend. You know the smoke detector on your parents and grandparents wall or ceiling has been there since at least the late 1980s.

So, even if there is some kind ionization smoke detector moratorium, the majority of smoke detectors that would pile up in landfills would still be the americium-containing, ionization type.

Photo 1: A smoke detector (Credit: Hemera Technologies/Alamy.com).

Related Posts:

A story about nuclear safety
Nuclear safety
Research, test and new nuclear reactors

Most Popular Posts:

Football stadiums via Google Earth
Cavel, Distriva, Velda
Horse slaughter updates

Original Post (01.19.06)

Every once in awhile I read something that raises my eyebrows beyond their normal range. So when I came across a story about an Eagle Scout who created his own neutron gun, in 1994, it really got me thinking.

Just how easy is it to build dangerous radioactive weapons and devices?

I don't know really but Americium is pretty easy to get hold of and according to this webpage attaining critical mass is pretty easy with some dedication. It seems sound, in theory, though I wouldn't recommend trying it to find out.

That's kind of scary.

Ok, Google "homemade reactor". Alot of strange links there on page one. That geocities site was rather bizarre, it is the second page one hit on the search above.

I don't know how valid any of this is, I am not a nuclear physicist but it's foreboding and a little frightening at the very least.

Even a chemical operations specialist in the U.S. Army requires a secret security clearance to learn about nuclear weapons and nuclear power technology.

Seeing this stuff so readily available also makes me wonder how much our government is really over blowing the threat from nukes. I mean Eagle Scouts building neutron guns? If our enemies had even a bit of ingenuity they shouldn't have a problem melting us into atomic dust.

From time to time I hear about engineering students and amateurs alike attracting attention by building homemade fusion reactors or other nuclear devices. Interesting.

Who Killed Davey Moore?

2006-02-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot about violent sports so in lieu of a regular post . . .

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not I," says the referee,"
Don't point your finger at me.
I could've stopped it in the eighth
An' maybe kept him from his fate,
But the crowd would've booed, I'm sure,
At not gettin' their money's worth.
It's too bad he had to go,
But there was a pressure on me too, you know.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all."

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not us," says the angry crowd,
Whose screams filled the arena loud.
"It's too bad he died that night
But we just like to see a fight.
We didn't mean for him t' meet his death,
We just meant to see some sweat,
There ain't nothing wrong in that.
It wasn't us that made him fall.
No, you can't blame us at all."

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not me," says his manager,
Puffing on a big cigar.
"It's hard to say, it's hard to tell,
I always thought that he was well.
It's too bad for his wife an' kids he's dead,
But if he was sick, he should've said.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all.

"Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not me," says the gambling man,
With his ticket stub still in his hand.
"It wasn't me that knocked him down,
My hands never touched him none.
I didn't commit no ugly sin,
Anyway, I put money on him to win.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all.

"Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not me," says the boxing writer,
Pounding print on his old typewriter,
Sayin', "Boxing ain't to blame,
There's just as much danger in a football game.
"Sayin', "Fist fighting is here to stay,
It's just the old American way.
It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all.

"Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

"Not me," says the man whose fists
Laid him low in a cloud of mist,
Who came here from Cuba's door
Where boxing ain't allowed no more.
"I hit him, yes, it's true,
But that's what I am paid to do.
Don't say 'murder,' don't say 'kill.'
It was destiny, it was God's will.

"Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?

-Bob Dylan, 1964

An interview with an activist

2006-02-08T15:28:00.000-08:00

Horse slaughter is back in the news and I recently completed an interview with Gail Vacca. She is the Illinois Coordinator of the National Horse Protection Coalition.

The Horse Protection Coalition's mission is: "simple and specific: to pass H.R. 503 and S. 1915, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act and end the brutal industry practice that leads to the slaughter of America's horses."

Gail answered a few questions about the USDA's announcement of a fee-for-service program allowing horse slaughtering to continue unabated, some questions about her general stance on the issue, and some background questions.

The interview follows:

FTG: What repercussions do you think will exist for the USDA and FSIS regarding today's announcement of a fee-for-service inspection program? Are there going to be any at all?

GV: Oh, I absolutely think that there will be repercussions. I fully expect that the direct slap in the face delivered by the USDA to Congress, and the American people, will result in rapid advancement and passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503 and S 1915). In a way the USDA and the horse slaughter plants did us a favor, because now Congress is chomping at the bit, pun intended, to pass permanent protection for the horses.

There are also potential legal ramifications of the USDA's actions, which are being explored by a law firm that has been retained by several well known national humane organizations.

FTG: Why do you think Congress has failed to act and out and out ban horse slaughter altogether? For instance, instead of banning horse slaughter they just cut off funding for horse slaughter inspections.

GV: Truth be told, the amendment to the FY 2006 Ag Approps bill was never our ultimate goal. The goal has always been passage of the AHSPA. The amendment was simply a way to spare the suffering of tens of thousands of horses until we could get both permanent bills out of committee and onto their respective floors for a vote. In essence we were trying to save as many as we could, until we can get them all protected.

FTG: How can today's announcement be reversed?

GV: I don't know that it can be reversed, but I'm sure that the tremendous volume of comment the USDA will no doubt receive about this underhandedness, will certainly make them rethink what they are doing. Just an FYI on this, when the slaughter plants petitioned the USDA to allow them to pay for their own inspectors, they also requested that USDA NOT allow for the public comment period as is required by law! Amazing, no? The plants had the nerve to say that they felt it was in the "best public interest" not to allow for comment on this issue!

FTG: Anything else you would like to add?

GV: Only that no matter how one feels about horse slaughter, whether you are for it or against it, all of us should be concerned about this blatant act of disregard for our legislative process by the USDA. This is an agency whose mandate is to uphold the laws of our land, but it is instead working 24-7, bending over backwards to accommodate the very industries they are charged with regulating. The level of corruption in Washington is downright frightening. Ours is no longer a government "for the people, by the people", it is now the government for who ever has the most money and is willing to share it with the bureaucrats on the Hill.

FTG: You used to live in DeKalb, where at, what was it like? Why did you move?

GV: Yes, I leased a small but lovely horse farm just south of DeKalb on Rte 23. I moved a few months ago, mostly because my clients were not comfortable sending their extremely valuable racehorses to a farm that was so close to a horse slaughter plant. They were concerned about the real threat that their horses could be stolen and quickly disposed of at the plant. That and it was extremely stressful for me to have to witness double decker cattle trucks of doomed horses routinely driving by my farm on their way to Cavel. It made life a truly miserableexistencee for me when that plant reopened.

Also, there were several times that my horses inexplicably would begin to freak out. At certain times, while turned out on the north pasture of my farm (about a mile as the crow flies from Cavel) my horses would become alarmed and panicky. They would refuse to leave the area of the pasture closest to the barn, and would ultimately need to be brought back into the barn because they would become so worked up. This only seemed to happen on kill days, so all I could figure is that with their keen sense of hearing, it was likely that they could hear the horses screams at the plant. Enough was enough, it was time to move.

FTG: You mentioned "kill days," when were/are these, how often, any idea how many horses etc..?

GV: Cavel generally kills horses on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. These are the days that their contracted kill-buyers are required to deliver their loads, although it is not out of the question for an occasional load to be brought in on non-kill days, or theoccasionall non-kill-buyer horse(s) to be brought in on these days. They kill anywhere from 100-200 horses on a typical kill day. They usually allot Tuesdays and Thursdays to getting the meat prepared and transported to O'Hare for delivery to Belgium.

FTG: (A no brainer, I had to ask though) What is your position on horse slaughter, why?

GV: Gee, cant you tell? 100 percent against it of course!

As for the why, there are a million reasons, but foremost I'd have to say, because of the cruelty. Horses are very sensitive, intelligent, trusting beings. The physical abuse they suffer during transport to slaughter, the line up to slaughter at the plants and throughout the slaughter process itself is horrific. The emotional abuse they suffer throughout this process is equally as inhumane.These are animals who are not unlike your pet dog or cat. To slaughter these animals is the ultimate betrayal of their trust of mankind. We owe all of our pets/companion animals, no matter the species, a humane life and a humane death. It is the least we can do as responsible stewards.

FTG: For what reasons do you believe this industry has persisted?

GV: I can sum this up in one word.. MONEY. The industry existssolelyy to supply a product, horse meat, for which there is a demand.

FTG: Describe your association(s) with horses, where do your equine interests lie? (i.e. why are they near and dear to you).

GV: I have been a licensed trainer of thoroughbred racehorses for over 25 years. Prior to that, I rode top level hunter/jumpers at the highest level, on the east coast where I was born and raised. I have also been a riding instructor for some 30 years, and have been lucky enough to teach children of all ages andabilityy levels throughout the course of my career.

My love of horses began with a pony ride at age 4. My grandfather made the big, and costly, mistake of taking me for that first ride. That was that, I was hooked.

I see the same starry-eyed bewilderment now in the children that I teach to ride. Horses are a fascinating and bewitching species. Once they have you under their spell, you are theirs forever!
FTG: What is your opinion of groups like the Animal Liberation Front (connected to the Cavel West arson in Redmond, Oregon) and the Earth Liberation Front, who have resorted to often illegal "direct action"?

GV: I loathe violence and/or illegal activity and anyone who would resort to it.Extremistt groups like this have made it far more difficult for mainstream, normal thinking, peaceful animal welfare groups to advance the standards of care and treatment for animals.

FTG: What are some of the biggest horse slaughter "myths"?

GV: The absolute BIGGEST myth/lie is that horse slaughter is humane euthanasia. The plants use this propaganda to fool uneducated horse owners into believing that they perform some sort of necessary function in the horse world. Duh,when is the last time you heard of a truck load of cows going to the slaughter plant to be euthanized?

Coming in a close second to this would be that ending horse slaughter will cause horses greater suffering, as neglect and abuse will rise when people no longer can dispose of "unwanted" horses. This is yet more slaughter plant propaganda. Statistics disprove this rubbish, and yet the plants and their allies continue to spew this garbage every chance they get. Just another meat industry ploy to tug at the heartstrings of those who are not well versed on the issue.

FTG: Anything you'd like to add that I didn't cover?

GV: I don't think so. I'd just like to thank you for doing such a great job in bringing attention to this most important issue. I'll be sure to keep you up to speed on any movement of the bills and other avenues we are pursuing.

FTG: Thanks, Gail.

Horse slaughter to continue

2006-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Big breaking news of local interest. The USDA will circumvent "Congressional intent" to stop horse slaughtering by staving off funding for federal meat inspections.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service agency will set up a fee-for-service inspection program to deal with the cut of federal funding for horse meat inspections.

Check out my post on it here.

Thanks to Gail Vacca for the heads up.

Related Posts:

American Horse Slaughtering--Part One
American Horse Slaughtering--Part Two
American Horse Slaughtering--Part Three
American Horse Slaughtering--Part Four
Cavel, Distriva, Velda
Cavel, Velda and Blog Updates

Most Popular Posts:

Baseball Stadiums via Google Earth
Football Stadiums via Google Earth
Give Me Ghostbusters 3 or Give Me Death
Random
Idaho is Hilarious

Coming Soon: Look for an interview with the Illinois Coordinator of the National Horse Protection Coalition and, later in the week, an in depth look at the exploitation of natural resources (i.e. gas, oil, coal, wood) in the Allegheny National Forest located in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Royalty-free, public domain images

2006-02-06T09:22:00.000-08:00

Finding good, free images without copyright restrictions can be trying, to say the least. You probably know what I am talking about if you have a blog or a newspaper or any published material that uses stock photography of any kind.

So I thought I would compile a short list of some of my favorites as well as a link or two to some more extensive lists that are out there.

With all of these links make sure you check the licensing and copyright information, some of the sites are not all public domain material, but the policies vary from site to site. If I know them specifically, off the top of my head I'll put a short note next to the link. Also check the policies regarding link backs or credit, I'll note it if I know it.

YotoPhoto-all public domain images here, it works like a search engine to return public domain images. (highly recommended).
Alamy-another good site, not all public domain but you can narrow the search field. (highly recommended).
stock.xchng-180,000 images, all public domain. (highly recommended).
MorgueFile-all public domain, must credit photographer. (good site).
FreeMediaGoo-this site has free images, audio, flash and textures, I just found it though.
StockVault.net-stick to the free image gallery and you should be alright.
Nations Illustrated-over 7,100 images, looks like non-commercial use only. CORRECTION: NationsIllustrated.com doesn't limit any way the use of pictures. Almost all pictures are restrictions free (including commercial) and some of them have Creative Commons licensing options. Thanks to Armen Oulikhanian, the Webmaster over at NationsIllustrated.com.
Pixel Perfect-all public domain, no credit necessary and commercial use allowed it appears.

The govenment maintains a number of photo databases that are public domain.

NASA
USDA
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2nd Page)
National Park Service
NOAA
DOD
USGS

Lists of links

Here is a link to a huge list on firstgov.gov to government photos and graphics, note the disclaimer at the top of the page. Most work published by the government is in the public domain, so peruse the list of U.S. Departments and Agencies, most of what you find should be fair game for your use. LSU maintains its own database as well.

Other Lists

Digital Librarian
Photoshop Tutorials Blog

A flurry of updates

2006-02-04T23:35:00.000-08:00

I have posted a lot of new stuff lately and fear that the few of you who actually might read this may have missed something. So here is a round up of recent updates, the older posts are listed first:

Nuclear safety: a post about nuclear power in light of the announcement of a possible new reactor by 2016
A story about nuclear safety: tale of an election season interview and unanswered questions about nuclear safety in Illinois
Violating invisible lines: update on Mexican military incursions
The death of a telegram: Western Union discontinued telegrams on Jan. 27
Random: a post about the randomness of life, interesting stuff.
Football stadiums via Google Earth: in the vien of Baseball stadiums via Google Earth, a satellite look at the arenas which host America's violent past time.
Give me Ghostbusters 3 or give me death: my rant on the need for a third installment of Ghostbusters.

Also, I have added a few sites to the links category, on the left side of the screen. First, news, there is The Daily Chronicle, DeKalb's "hometown paper," if you will. Then, DeKalb County Online, an excellent source of news and information for the DeKalb area.

Below those is a new poetry blog from someone I know, a beat freak, mad poet. anyway check out the links.

And if you haven't seen Glock21's blog yet, you should check it out too, interesting insights.

In addition, you may see some guest blogging from my brother soon. Look for a post I have been working on, it's not yet complete, that will take an in depth look at oil and gas extraction in the Allegheny National Forest, in northwestern Pennsylvania. It will likely be up sometime next week, I am waiting to hear from the EPA and others.

Give me Ghostbusters 3 or give me death

2006-02-04T23:09:00.000-08:00

Invisible man? Sleeping in your bed?

Who you gonna call?

(Ray Parker Jr.) Err . . . I mean Ghostbusters?

I heard about this crappy fan film called Return of the Ghostbusters and it made me angry, well maybe not angry, let's just say off-put, because I have always wanted to see a third installment of "Ghostbusters." What a horrible tease, Return of the Ghostbusters, pfft.

There are a number of reasons why I want a Ghostbusters 3, not the least of which are: the first movie was spectacular and the second movie really sucked.

Here are 10 questions without answers and reasons that "Ghostbusters II" was so bad:

1) Why were the Ghostbusters broke, out of work bums only five years after they not only saved New York City but the entire world?

2) They mention that the Ghostbusters were being sued by many governmental entities within New York City and state. How could the government sue them, they saved the world?

3) On the same topic, wouldn't a judge just throw the lawsuit out of court when he saw the news footage of the 100-foot marshmallow man rampaging through the city?

4) Whose idea was a river a slime anyway?

5) What the hell was 'Viggo' planning to do in a one year old baby's body? People who eat pureed food are not that frightening.

6) Why didn't they get Bronson Pinchot to play the feminine museum employee? The guy they had was awful, at least with Pinchot the movie could have had some redemption for the lack of a cohesive or entertaining plot.

7) Louis randomly starts dating Jeanine? I thought she was seeing Egon.

8) Good slime? Bad slime? What?

9) Let me get this straight. If you cover the Statue of Liberty in silly string and play Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher" this will cause 186 tons of steel and copper to seperate from its foundation, walk across a habor and bash a hole in the art museum. Okay, got it, I think.

10) The first soundtrack gets Ray Parker Jr.'s catchy "Ghostbusters" theme. The second soundtrack gets Bobby Brown.

So give me a third Ghostbusters! Right now. Rumors abound in blogs and chat rooms and forums but people always speculate, especially on the web. This could be a cool sequel with the right combinations of actors.

I know some of you agree with me, leave your comments, maybe we could start a petition or something.

Photo 1: Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, original toy. Courtesy wikipedia.

Football stadiums via Google Earth

2006-02-03T11:15:00.000-08:00

Much like my Baseball stadiums via Google Earth post I have now decided, especially in light of Super Bowl Sunday, (which is somewhat of a national holiday whether you like football or not) to post a football stadiums via Google Earth extravaganza, brace yourself.

A couple of notes:

1) Google Earth had no high res image of Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
2) A number of the newer stadiums are shown under construction. I couldn't really find any construction sites of other new stadiums that are soon to be complete, such as the Cardinals.
3) I have included a few old stadiums, the ones I could find, they are below the teams which used to play there prior to moving. In this case it applies to Arizona, Oakland and Tennessee.

Arizona Cardinals

Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals)

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans (Astrodome right)

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints, however

LSU Tiger Stadium (Baton Rouge) &

the Alamodome (San Antonio)
are where the Saints played this
year.

New York Giants & Jets

Oakland Raiders

Los Angeles Coliseum (L.A. Raiders)

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Diego Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

The Astrodome (Houston Oilers)

Washington Redskins

Link back for this post is: http://inorganicallygonzo.blogspot.com/2006/02/football-stadiums-via-google-earth.html

The death of a telegram

2006-02-02T01:11:00.000-08:00

Western Union officially killed their telegram service, a technology long since declined. Used since 1851, telegrams have gone the way of typewriters. Phones, faxes, and email being the death knell for the telegram. If you try to send a telegram via their Web site you only see this message.

"Effective January 27, 2006, Western Union will discontinue all Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, and we thank you for your loyal patronage. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a customer service representative."

This happened on Jan. 27, one day after First Data Corporation (which Western Union is a subsidiary of) announced that it intended to "separate its fast-growing Western Union consumer payments business into an independent publicly traded company."

First Data acquired Western Union in 1995 after completing a $7 billion merger with First Financial Management Corporation. But First Data had tried to acquire Western Union before, in bankruptcy court, a year earlier.

This bloomberg.com article on the Jan. 26 First Data announcement provides some background on Western Union and its emergence from the edge of bankruptcy in 1994 when First Financial Management Corporation bought them in a $1.19 billion deal.

Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time Western Union has discontinued telegrams in some way. But it would seem this discontinuation represents the passing of an American era (despite the fact that it in fact ended years ago) in a more permanent way than it has in the past. Telegrams have always held a special place in American folklore. Western Union telegrams will be forever associated with the tragic notifications of the 20th century's greatest conflicts.

Update (Feb. 3):

The discontinuation of telegrams on Jan. 27 included not only telegrams but mailgrams and singing telegrams as well. By 1980 money transfer revenue exceeded telegram revenue for the first time and the company never looked back.

As for Western Union's statement on discontinuing telegram service, I heard back from Colin Wheeler, Vice President of Corporate Communications at First Data Corporation, which, of course, owns Western Union. He gave me a prepared statement which is below.

"Because we are operating in an increasingly competitive marketplace, Western Union is constantly reviewing operations to maximize service value, focus on our core competencies and directly address the ever-changing needs of the marketplace.

Western Union has decided to discontinue the Western Union Communications business which includes Commercial Messaging and Telegram services.

With our rich history in the telegraph business, this decision was a difficult one. During the past 10 years, Western Union has transformed itself from a global communication services company (telegraph, telegram, Westar 1, TELEX, facsimile) into a global financial services company (Money Transfer, Money Order, Quick Collect, Quick Pay). This move completes our transition from a communications services business to a financial services business as well as helps us focus on our core competencies of connecting people around the world through safe reliable financial transactions."

Telegrams and history

So, Western Union telegrams have been a mainstay of American life, not only through our most tragic times but also through events of historical significance.

Telegrams from throughout history still exist. From historical figures, as chronicles to historic events or just as personal communication between people whose place in history had yet to be determined when they sent their message.

Some telegrams (from historical events and people):

1 2

3 4

Telegrams:

1) 1949 telegram from JFK to the Coordinator of the Harvard Law School
2) 1952 telegram from Harry S. Truman to Dwight D. Eisenhower congratulating him on his election day victory.
3) Telegram from Orville Wright to his father regarding the Wright Brothers first flight.
4) 1964 Telegram from Malcolm X to Martin Luther King Jr. Concerned about continuing civil rights violations and violence against African-Americans in the U.S.

Telegrams have played more than just an arbitrary role in American history. They have not always been relegated to the background noise of American culture. Before the United States entered World War I there was the infamous "Zimmermann Telegram" incident.

For those of you who don't know or didn't click the link, the Zimmermann Telegram called for a German-Mexican alliance if the United States entered the war against Germany after the Germans began "unrestricted submarine warfare." As part of the deal, if the alliance was victorious in battle, Germany promised to help Mexico regain "the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona." This telegram was intercepted by British intelligence and reported by newspapers on March 1, 1917. The Zimmerman Telegram added to mounting pressure for the U.S. to enter the war but President Woodrow Wilson held out until April 2, 1917.

The proposal contained in the telegram German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann sent to the German Ambassador in Mexico may seem far fetched but it's not, not really. Mexico still harbored some pretty deep seated resentment regarding the Mexican War of the mid-1840s, they lost face, territory and pride during that conflict with the United States.

<-- Actual coded Zimmermann Telegram.

A last bit of old life is gone now. The days of paper-based communications are coming rapidly to an end. Now, computers take over and the idea of holding important information in your hand slips away slowly.

Today, to intercept a Zimmermann Telegram would require electronic surveillance and security experts. Old-fashioned code breaking is so much more complex. And there is something to be said for being able to look at a solid object (like a slip of paper) and read the words spoken during the past. Telegrams are the IMs of yesteryear.

For nostalgias sake, below are some of the headers from Western Union telegrams throughout the years. Those of you who know me, you might know that I enjoy old things (architecture, technology, objects, etc.), this had more than a passing influence on this post.

Header, circa 1859.

Header, circa 1908.

Header, circa 1913.

Header, circa 1914.

Header, circa 1921.

Header, circa 1922.

Header, circa 1926.

Header, circa 1930.

Header, circa 1932.

Header, circa 1938.

Header, circa 1944.

Header, circa 1945.

Header, circa 1955.

Header, circa 1958.

Header, circa 1967.

Header, circa 1969.

Header, circa 1979.

So it dies the death of a telegram, amidst little fan fare, nary so much as a press release from First Data and certainly no "green velvet slippers."

Non-telegram photos: Photo 1: A woman cries over a war lost beau. Photo 2: WWI-era German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann.

Random

2006-02-02T00:03:00.000-08:00

We live in a strange world, where I am convinced everything happens by chance and nothing else, no grand director, nor exquisite design. Things just happen. Randomly.

This light bulb has been burning bright since 1901. 105 years. Odd.

Atari, faced with declining sales in the early 1980s, buried millions of cartridges in the New Mexico desert. This appears to be completely true. Bizarre.

The president mentioned Zimbabwe in his State of the Union address as one of the nations that do not enjoy liberty. (Text of speech). Another case of saying random things with no intention of following through on them. The list included Iran, Syria, Burma, Sudan and North Korea too. Surprising.

People and occurrences are entirely random. My light bulbs burn out all of the time, it's ridiculous. I have known about the horror of Robert Mugabe for several years, at least. Not that we can do anything about that now embroiled in a useless war that even the Pentagon says the military is too overstretched to "win."

I finally heard an anti war opinion state "I don't support the troops." Bold.

Speaking of random, has anyone ever seen the P.T. Anderson, (who is a near-deity btw), film "Punch Drunk Love"? If not, you should; but if you have you will remember that Adam Sandler's character collects Healthy Choice Pudding UPCs and cashes in on a promotion that exchanges the bar codes for airline miles. Thusly earning a near-unlimited bank of miles to travel with for the rest of his life. Odd enough in a movie. But it really happened. (original forum post here). Fantastic.

I'm sure Healthy Choice never anticipated it, so odd, the whole idea of collecting all of those pudding cups. No company could have anticipated that. It's just too chance, far fetched. Tedious.

There is a giant pineapple in Australia. A 140' muskie in Wisconsin. And an 8' jackalope in Douglas, Wyoming. At least pineapples and muskies are real. There is also a 31 foot tall rusty office chair in Alabama. Curious.

Pangrams anyone? A pangram is a holoalphabetic sentence, one that uses every letter of the alphabet. A good example: The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog. A classic in typing classes everywhere. Pangrams aren't as cool as perfect pangrams. When a pangram is perfect it uses only 26 letters, each one once. They are near impossible to construct and I contend that no one can write one that doesn't: a) use acronyms, initials or contractions b) use words so obscure that the sentence has no meaning or c) use names (proper nouns). I would love to see a usable perfect pangram.

About.com has a 28-letter pangram: Waltz, bad nymph, for quick jigs vex.
Wikipedia has some acronym heavy examples of actual perfect pangrams, like this oddball: Glum Schwartzkopf vex'd by NJ IQ. Perplexing.

Words are about as random as it gets. I had an argument with a friend once about language, specifically the colloquial use of the word 'ax' as a substitute for 'ask.' (On the link, scroll down to nonstandard variant). I contend language is so fluid that to exclude words based on your own non-usage is not only limiting your comprehension of culture and human sociology but also downright ignorant. He was just upset because it was in the dictionary. A dictionary, I assert, is no authority on language, it is merely a collection of words and often late in listing additions to the vernacular.

Case in point: Lewis Carroll.

If you haven't read Jabberwocky you should, I think I was first exposed to it in junior high. It appeared in "Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There" and Carroll literally makes up a gaggle of words in this poem, which he is known for. Most of them are portmanteaus (a term Carroll coined), combining the sounds and meanings of two different words to form a new word. Anyway, I count over a dozen made up words in Jabberwocky, one of the greatest works of nonsense verse in the English language. Phenomenal.

Before leaving Wonderland you must click this link to the British Library. You can browse the original manuscript for "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." It's 3D and interactive and extremely cool. There are several other works available but no others by Carroll.

That's it for now. Life is random, so was this post. Oh well. Obscure.

Photo 1: 105 year old light bulb, web cam grab.
Photo 2: John Tenniel's 1865 illustration for "A Mad Tea Party."

Violating invisible lines

2006-02-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

The story about the Mexican military violating U.S. borders rampantly, which I first referenced here, (more information here) has gotten some pretty hefty coverage by the Associated Press in the last week.

This story from Jan. 28 is interesting because it looks like our government is trying to relay the message that, "yes, this was a Mexican military incursion." I suppose there are a number of reasons why they might want it to look this way.

The best journalism, I have seen so far anyway, on this issue has come from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Ontario, California.

This story about an armed standoff between Mexican "military" and U.S. border agents peaked my interest and a Jan. 15 (which was taken offline for some reason, a story from KYMA TV on MSNBCs Web site talks about it here) helped spur several Congressional reps to call for investigation into the border incursions referenced in the Jan. 15 Daily Bulletin story.

This whole thing is whimsical. These guys were running drugs, whether they were Mexican military or not, it doesn't really matter. Saying that the Mexican military participating in drug running means that the entire Mexican government sanctions drug running is a bit of a stretch.

Regardless, with the border, control is impossible. It's truly a needle in a haystack battle. People get away with smuggling of all sorts everyday, in airports, at border check points, in train stations, on highways. So why wouldn't people try to get away with smuggling across the vast expanses of open land on the Mexico-U.S. border, seems natural enough and probably less risky from a potential incarceration standpoint.

But I'm sure the terrorism card will be played. And it's hard to sort through the heaps of propaganda both sides give out.

So who can you trust?

Is there really a serious security risk at the southern U.S. border? Or is it all just trumped up nonsense to keep the drones toiling away?

I watched a documentary on National Geographic last year. It told the story of a team of Navy SEALS sent across the Mexican border to dispose of a rogue chemical warfare scientist who had set up camp with some jihadist agents. The story, as told, played out in the Summer of 2004 and the SEALS found live chem/bio warfare agents on site.

Okay. Maybe that happened, maybe it didn't. It would be an easy enough story to fake, documents and all (the military documents everything, good journalists usually know that and thusly the military knows that reporters know this).

While information control doesn't necessarily ensure a firm grasp on power it goes a long way toward meeting that end.

Newest musings

2006-01-31T09:13:00.000-08:00

Tuesdays and Thursdays are my slow, boring days. I posted a couple more poems, both recent works. So check them out if you have a moment.

Perhaps I will post something more substantial later, perhaps not.

A story about nuclear safety

2006-01-27T10:20:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time . . ., just kidding. Once, working for an unnamed publication I was assigned a story which consisted of coverage of a political debate. I gladly accepted the assignment, my interest in politics being what it is. And since it has a passing connection to nuclear safety I will relate it here.

The debate pitted candidates for the 70th District State
Representatitives seat against one another. Incumbent, appointee Robert Pritchard squared off against the comparitively meek but good intentioned Bob Brown. The race went off last fall amidst the pomp and pageantry of the presidential election. The stage was set, the media was in place along with the script of token questions about cliche issues. The Battle of the Bobs was about to begin.

The night wore on. The men bantered back and forth about medical malpractice insurance rates and how they chased doctors from Illinois. They argued about campaign financing and who took what money from which alcohol and tobacco distributors. A perfectly "legal" business Pritchard reminded the crowd. It became boring after, about, the second question.

Finally, the debate ended. Audience members stretched their legs, probably more out of boredom than anything, the debate hadn't lasted more than 45 minutes but it had seemed like an eternity to me and, apparantly, most of the crowd gathered to watch these two men talk to each other. Both candidates stayed for awhile after they finished debating and mingled with the audience and the media.

Time for some questions, I thought.

I figured I could get two or three with each candidate and Pritchard's press liason had assured me some time to ask questions. While the incumbent mingled with random attendees (maybe, maybe not so random), I hunted down challenger Bob Brown.

Brown is an amiable fellow. He bought me a Pepsi at the DeKalb County Democrats Election Day party, which I also covered for the unnamed publication.

I asked him a question about malpractice, he stumbled through his prepared answer rapidly. Then I hit him with my off-the-wall question of the night, one I came up with the previous day.
It went something like this:

"Considering that Illinois is home to more nuclear power reactors than any other state, how well do you think the state has focused attention and funding on nuclear security, post 9-11?"

Brown kind of looked at me strangely and answered. His answer was clearly unfocused and off the cuff. He kept saying that it was obviously something that needed to be looked at very closely. I don't think he knew what to say, so I left in search of the representative himself.

Pritchard was across the room from Brown, fully engrossed in a conversation with someone, a tall man. I walked up and his press secretary noticed me. After making me wait about 2 or 3 minutes Pritchard ended his conversation and turned his attention toward me. This was not the first time we had met nor was it the last time we would. He greeted me with a politician's smile and shook my hand with a politician's handshake. I obliged.

My questions ready, I fired away. The first, again, related to the malpractice issue they had discussed during the debate. He gave me the same talking points-riddled answer I expected, much of the same jargon he had orated while debating Brown.

Then I gave him my nuclear safety in Illinois bit.

He gave me a look similar to that Brown had given me, but I didn't falter I just waited. Then he looked at me and said:

"Well, you obviously know a lot more about it than I do . . . "

I almost burst out laughing. Oh, that's great, I thought. He then proceeded to ramble his way through a perfectly PR answer that neither made sense nor made me feel any safer about who represented DeKalb in the General Assembly. It was after that I knew, if there had been any doubts, who was going to win that election.

So, I guess all that means is what Bob Pritchard knows about nuclear safety can be summed in less than one sentence.

Photo1: Byron Nuclear Station, near Rockford.

Nuclear safety

2006-01-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

Nuclear power, nuclear meltdowns, in conversations about nuclear power they almost always become intertwined.

Obviously the risk is minimal. With Chernobyl being the only major meltdown accident and Three Mile Island coming extremely close, but, nonetheless, the chance does exist. If it did not then companies which hold nuclear power and plants would not publish pamphlets such as this one.

Tone alert radios

I didn't realize that Progress Energy had distributed Tone Alert Radios to residents within a five a mile radius of Harris Nuclear Power Plant, near Raleigh, North Carolina:

"Tone Alert Radios

Residences within the five-mile radius of the Harris Plant have been given tone alert radios. You should always keep the radio plugged in and in a place where you can hear the alarm, particularly at night while sleeping.

In severe weather, a signal sent by the National Weather Service activates an alarm on the radios. The National Weather Service also sends a signal to the radios if there is an emergency at the Harris Plant.

When the alarm sounds, you should press the WEATHER bar Maor button on top of the radio to receive brief instructions. If there is an emergency, you should also tune to a radio or TV station for more details.

The pamphlet that you received with your radio explains how it works. Keep this information in a handy place for quick access. If you have any questions about your radio, call the Progress Energy Customer Service Center at 919.508.5400 or1.800.452.2777, Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m."

Make sure you keep your radio plugged in and in a place you can hear? Particularly at night? While sleeping?

What is this Atomic Friday?

No, no. Don't worry. Don't be alarmed. It's mostly for weather. Just push the handy WEATHER bar when the alarm sounds, which will never be for a nuclear meltdown, ever.

That's from the Progress Energy safety pamphlet regarding Harris, which may be the site of a new a nuclear reactor come 2016.

I can just see the Progress Energy PR department writing that one up . . .

We here at Progress Energy care about your safety* when it comes to severe weather events. Especially if you live within five miles of our massive fission reactor. That's why we have sent you these weather radios, which will also notify you of any mishaps, that are unlikely to occur at our facility.
*We do not actually care about your safety.

Funny thought.

Safety pamphlets

Progress Energy has links to safety information in PDFs for each of their 4 nuclear plants. They are significantly more detailed than similar information from Exelon. Exelon claims all nuclear plants located in Illinois.

Exelon's safety info is found by linking to any of the individual plants listed on the right side of this page. If you follow it and look down a bit you will see a link, in blue, on the Exelon page for whatever plant you clicked on (let's say, hypothetically, Byron), the link will say emergency plan, if you click it you will get a PDF like the one you can see by clicking here. Nine of the 11 plants listed on the Exelon page have emergency plans PDFed. They are sketchy and lack detail, beyond that they are all the same save some contact information and a map. The PDFs imply that this is what they send out to people in the U.S. mail or have available at the front desk in the corporate office. Pretty crappy job by Exelon.

Photo: Harris Nuclear Plant near Raleigh, NC.

Horse slaughter updates

2006-01-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

I've written some lengthy updates to the horse slaughter updates page recently. The whole thing is pretty good background along with a couple of the posts that I regualrly reference on the updates page.

Just thought I would point it out.

More Mexican incursions

2006-01-24T18:13:00.000-08:00

The Mexican incursions I posted a Washington Times story about are still making news. Details were released regarding a stand off between Texas Department of Public Safety officers and men dressed in camoflauge, possibly Mexican military. The article above was quoted in a similar story which appeared in the Kansas City Star.

This comes on the heals of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff downplaying the reports from the Washington Times.

Also of note, two California congressmen have asked for a formal investigation to the allegations in said report.

So that's a quick mainstream update on the Mexican border incursions.

This is my second update of the evening. You can check out my other update, Research, test and new nuclear reactors and the related update from the 19th, Atomic death rays. However, the post that has generated a relative swarm of traffic is my compilation of satellite images of every baseball stadium available on Google Earth. And that's every one except for Miller Park, the new Busch Stadium and Petco Park (although it is under construction in a photo I included).

Research, test and new nuclear reactors

2006-01-24T16:19:00.000-08:00

Keeping with the last post's theme news that a new nuclear power reactor may be online by 2016 broke yesterday/this morning. The AP story is here. The new reactor will be located near Raleigh, NC (headquarters of the company building the reactor, Progress Energy). The reactor's will be built by Westinghouse. The new plant will incorporate Westinghouse's AP1000, which received design certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Dec.30.

Information on the AP1000, from Westinghouse, can be found here.
Progress Energy's press release on the new plant can be found here.
Information about the proposed NC site for the plant is here.
NRC information about the Harris site (proposed site) is here.
Progress Energy info on the Harris site (proposed site is here.

This would be the first new nuclear power reactor to be built in the United States in over 30 years. And it may not be the only one planned by Progress Energy in the next decade. There is talk of another Progress Energy reactor for a site in Florida.

Illinois reactors

Illinois, of course is home to more nuclear power reactors than any other state. For no other reason than disseminating and compiling information for ease of access, a list of Illinois reactors follows with links to the NRC info on them and, where applicable the company's info on them.

Braidwood (2 reactors): NRC--Unit 1, Unit 2, Exelon Fact Sheet

Byron (2 reactors) NRC--Unit 1, Unit 2, Exelon Fact Sheet

Clinton (1 reactor) NRC info, Exelon Fact Sheet

Dresden (2 reactors) NRC--Unit 2, Unit 3, Exelon Fact Sheet

LaSalle County (2 reactors) NRC--Unit 1, Unit 2, Exelon Fact Sheet

Quad Cities (2 reactors) NRC--Unit 1, Unit 2, Exelon Fact Sheet

Facilities undergoing decommission in Illinois (according to the NRC):

NRC: Dresden Unit One

NRC: Engelhard Minerals

NRC: Honeywell

NRC: University of Illinois

NRC: Zion Units 1 and 2, Exelon Fact Sheet

Gonzo style

2006-01-19T05:07:00.000-08:00

Totally Gonzo style.
Scroll down for atomic death rays.

War of words and Mexican incursions

2006-01-18T01:51:00.000-08:00

I really have a lot to say but I'm not going to say it. But I did want to point everyone in the direction of two stories. If you watched the Daily Show last night you probably witnessed Hillary Clinton continue the ongoing war of partisan words. I never lived on a plantation but I doubt it was much like the House of Representatives.

Secondly there is this. U.S. Border Patrol agents have been warned about possible Mexican military incursions onto U.S. soil. That begs the question, if our government can't keep out another country's military (or possibly para-military gangs) how can we expect them to keep us safe from the other threats we face.

Baseball stadiums via Google Earth

2006-01-13T02:23:00.000-08:00

For several days now I have been using the cool Google Earth (if you haven't checked it out you really should) program to dig up satellite images of Major League Baseball stadiums, a free moment here and there and I found them all. They're just kind of neat, I thought. There are even some older stadiums in there, some of the images of current stadiums aren't that updated (like U.S. Cellular Field) but at PNC there is a game going on. The only stadium that wasn't available in high res on Google Earth was Miller Park in Milwaukee, it fell just outside the realm of the city that was imaged in high res. The rest are there though.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Atlanta Braves

Baltimore Orioles

Boston Red Sox

Chicago Cubs

Chicago White Sox

Cincinnati Reds

Cleveland Indians

Colorado Rockies

Detroit Tigers

Tiger Stadium--this is sad really.

Florida Marlins

Houston Astros

Kansas City Royals & Chiefs

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Los Angeles Dodgers

Minnesota Twins

Montreal-Olympic Stadium

New York Mets

New York Yankees

Oakland Athletics

Pittsburgh Pirates--Look, a game.

Philadelphia Phillies-Vet remains.

San Diego-Qualcomm Stadium

San Diego Padres-Petco construction.

San Fran-old Candlestick/3Com.

San Francisco Giants

Seattle Mariners & Seahawks

St. Louis Cardinals

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Texas Rangers

Toronto Blue Jays

Washington Nationals

Recent updates

2006-01-11T02:02:00.000-08:00

Just to bring it to your attention, in case you didn't notice. I have written a little bit on the whole horse slaughter debate, scroll down, there are several recent updates. That section is linked on the left side of the front page below "recent posts."

Included in the updated is what has turned out to be not so Daily Web-bits (haha hits..bits, get it?), linked below horse updates, on the front page by the way. There is some interesting stuff in that section so if you have time, check out the links. Otherwise, check out the posts on the "dangerous side" of things. The one about the dogs is rambling and directionless, I know. But what I am trying to say is valid, I think.

That's all for now, adieu.

Dangerous ideas

2006-01-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

This is kind of old news, I stumbled on it last week but never had time to write anything about it so I am behind everyone else I suppose.

Every year the Edge foundation offers up a question of the year, it's like a New Years tradition or something. This year their question, "What is your dangerous idea?" elicited 119 responses, (75,000 words, that's about a novel's worth of responses) some good, some bad. You can read the responses starting here, actually the response don't start until page 2.

One interesting take was put forth by Dave Pollard, another blogger. He said that the responses weren't really dangerous at all. I have a tendency to agree with him, many of the ideas are recycled and nothing new.

How can something be dangerous if it has existed for years without changing society one iota?

One good example of the utter safety of these ideas comes from the response given by Roger C. Schank, Chief Learning Officer at Trump University Chief Learning Officer? Only Donald Trump could come up with something that stupid.

Anyway, Schank's dangerous idea is neither dangerous nor his idea. He rambles on for several paragraphs about how school is not really good for education. To make his whole essay even more pointless and tired he even cites several well-known thinkers and their quotes concerning the American educational system. Such as:

"We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a belly full of words and do not know a thing." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

and

"Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." — Oscar Wilde

To me it seems common sense dictates that a dangerous idea should also be an original one. Schank's piece is neither.

Pollard, the blogger from above, states:

"Only four of the 107 ideas, in my opinion, are vaguely dangerous:

Howard Gardner, a Harvard psychology professor, dares to think that "the pessimists [who warn of our apparent willingness to destroy the world] may be right" and that we may be destined "to follow Sisyphus, not Pandora".

Richard Dawkins says it's time to stop looking for causes of problems and perpetrators to blame, and accept that we can't change who we are.

Andy Clark, a University of Edinburgh philosophy professor, goes further, suggesting that what we do is driven by our unconscious, the "quick-thinking zombies inside us", and our conscious thought is all after-thought to rationalize what we've already decided.

Clay Shirky tells us that, if we ever had it in the first place, "free will is going away", and we need to decide what kind of economic and political systems we need in a world where free will is absent."

The rest, Pollard says, are not dangerous, we should move along. He did offer his own top ten dangerous ideas, from all sorts of various people, a couple of which I thought were particularly intrguing.

Two of his ten really made me think but these are not new ideas, simply what Pollard finds dangerous.

1. Human beings will be happier only when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again [Kurt Vonnegut]. The way we live today isn't the way human beings were meant to live, and deep inside we know it. That doesn't mean throwing away technology, it means interacting with those in your community (human and non-human) in deep, authentic, synaesthetic ways we have forgotten.

There is a touch of Unabomber-esque nihilism in that one that I found interesting. Also this type of statement could be the impetus for such works as Fight Club.

2. People will listen when they're ready to listen and not before [Daniel Quinn]. Probably, once upon a time, you weren't ready to listen to an idea than now seems to you obvious, even urgent. Let people come to it in their own time. Nagging or bullying will only alienate them. Don't preach. Don't waste time with people who want to argue. They'll keep you immobilized forever. Look for people who are already open to something new.

This one goes a long way toward explaining why no ever listens or cares. So, give up argumentation altogether? Happiness is elsuive because of it? Interesting.

Not all of the ideas on the list were that dangerous. You can check them all out here.

What's your dangerous idea?

Dangerous dogs

2006-01-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

McHenry County is considering a number of options following the serious dog attacks late last year which left several people grievously injured.

After setting up a task force (worst buzz words ever) in November some ideas became more than just ethereal and intangible. The county is seriously considering maintaining a web based dangerous dogs database.

These databases are nothing new, at least in some areas. At least two counties in Florida maintain similar web sites. Seminole and Hillsborough counties (think Tampa) maintain these web sites already, but they seem highly useless.

Hillsborough County Dangerous Dogs Registry
Seminole County Dangerous Dog List

These are the two counties that seem to be cited most in press coverage of the issue in McHenry county. But there are others.

Other online dangerous dog databases

Brevard County (Florida): List of 21 dogs
Charlotte County (Florida): List of 13 dogs
Fairfax County (Virginia): List of dogs 34 dogs

The recommendations for the Web site come amongst other recommendations that include stiffening penalties for both dogs and owners.

Why the website is a stupid idea

Who are we kidding? There are only 15 dogs on the Seminole County registry, McHenry County officials already maintain a list of dangerous dogs, they say there are about 10 dogs on that list. The U.S. Census Bureau says that about 391,000 people live in Seminole county, I find it hard to believe that in a county of almost 400,000 people there are only 15 dangerous dogs. In McHenry county there are almost 300,000 people, and only 10 dangerous dogs? So what's the point?

The dogs involved in the McHenry county attacks were not on any dangerous dog lists and they had no history of aggression or attacks. So in this case the list would have been completely useless.

This list will not be valuable. The problem lies in trying to predict behavior, unless a dog has previously been vicious the list will contain no data on them, just like in the Cary attacks.

Unpet your pets--a return to the way it should be?

I don't even like dogs. They smell, they lick and are way too dependent to deal with.

That being said I find it odd that people keep animals around and then show shock and surprise when these animals turn on them or others. They are animals, I don't care if they are domesticated or not, dogs do not think on the level of humans and if they are properly provoked of course they will attack. It doesn't matter what breed the dog is either, banning specific breeds will never stop all dog attacks. Any time people and animals are put together tragedies are inevitable.

Just like when a certain "entertainer" was dragged off stage by his throat, by a freaking tiger! A tiger! People were surprised at that one too. What in the world is going through people's heads?

Perhaps animals weren't meant to be held in captive bondage. No one ever suggests that though. It's always: "Oh, those poor people who got attacked by animals." That attitude is crap. More like: "Oh, those poor animals that people kept in captivity and servitude for their own enjoyment and need to control something else." Same thing with zoos.

While zoos do some good work concerning preservation of endangered species they are essentially accomplishing the same task as pet ownership on a grander and more wild scale. Zoos wouldn't have any work to do with endangered species if human weren't so damn good at destroying everything around them. Illinois wasn't always a flat land covered in farm fields, so is the price of "progress."

A lot of people fail to appreciate the world around them for what it is, maybe that's why we are always so intent on altering it.

Not good enough, build a bridge. Not good enough, blow out a mountainside. Not good enough, dig up some uranium. Not good enough, how can we kill with this? Never good enough.

Then we express anger, regret and sorrow when we fail to control nature and it's reaction to our disease. Katrina must have been someone's fault right? Wild fires in Texas? Gotta be someone who is responsible.

Why couldn't they stop this? The ubiquitous question. Why?

Why would anyone be able to stop anything. Society expects it almost always, it seems. We dig holes in the unstable Earth below us to extract minerals and wealth and then sit back teary eyed when our holes collapse and explode around us. Is any of this really that surprising? Is any of this really that tragic considering the collective damage we have done and are doing to each other and the world every single day?

A friend of mine once wondered aloud why the people of New Orleans and those in the government tasked with its protection were so terribly surprised that human technology couldn't stop the levees from pouring over onto the city.

"It's f-cking water," he said. "You can't mess with water."

And that is 100 percent correct and not just about water. The physical and biological forces at work in our universe and on our planet are far beyond the control of this civilization's technological power.

So the next time you shed a tear for a trapped miner, victim of an animal attack or a Vegas entertainer dragged off stage by a lion or something think about why you are concerned about them and what you should really be concerned about.

Terrorists in the 21st century

2005-12-31T14:31:00.000-08:00

How do you communicate with the world when simply showing your face in public could result in your bitter demise at the hands of a unmanned aerial vehicle?

How do you tell the world your message when you live in a mountain cave hiding out from constant pursuit at the hands of your enemies?

The web, that's how. And since before 9-11 terrorist organizations worldwide have used the internet to claim responsibility for acts of terrorism and to post messages to each other or to foreign powers.

But if you look for these sites they can be difficult to find, many are up one day and down the next. Searching Al-Qaeda or Al-Qaida gives limited results. But there are a couple of people working out there to index some of this and monitor it, hopefully the CIA is one of those "people," (I wonder sometimes).

Two that I have found:

The Site Institute--They have a list of "terrorist" Web sites here.
Internet Haganah--They also have a list of sites, but not all of the links were still working. The best thing about this database is that each listing includes the "Who is" information which reveals who hosts it, IP, nation of origin and other pertinent computer related info. (*Please note this database is affiliated with the Jewish faith*).

The sites

Ok, so you didn't click the links, that's alright, don't worry about it. Here are some of them, with a brief explanation and some information.

Sites linked from Internet Haganah:

A huge list of sites affiliated with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. The sites appear to be affiliated with individual cells and they are all Arabic-only.

Another list of sites, these belong to Hamas affiliated cells. Some of these sites are available in English. One thing about all of these is that they aren't the best designed sites, lots of scrolling text, animated .gifs and music that plays upon the page loading, really annoying.

--English Hamas sites
1. Palestinian Information Center--All of the palestine.info sites linked on the Haganah list link to the same Palestinian Information Center Web site.
2. Sabiroon--Arabic version here. All of the sabiroon domains go to this site.
3.Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades--This is a good one. It's the link to the military wing of the Hamas movement in Palestine. The Arabic is here. They are clearly different sites, I wonder if the content is as different as the appearance.

Update: (1.11.06), A friend tells me that the content is indeed as "different" as the design. In fact it was described as "more Jihadist," with the addition of "Jihadist, I guess that's a word now."

Next list is Salafyist/Jihadist. These are Jihadist sites, mostly pro-Qaeda news and rhetoric. There are some English sites as well.

--English Salafyist/Jihadist sites
1. Islam Q & A--This appears to be a question and answer forum type site with a slight Jihadist tiltt. The front page is here, and it has links to the Arabic page as well as a number of other languages.
2. Islamic Awakening--This United Kingdom based site is described as "Pro qaida "news" and discussion forum, notable participants in which include English Nazi David Myatt, aka Abdul Aziz," by Internet Haganah, the database I am referencing.
3. Jihad Unspun--Well designed site and one I have checked for a couple of years. Some very interesting content on this Canada-based Web site.
4. World of Islam--Mostly just a links site but the links are mostly pro-Jihadist sites on just about every conceivable related topic. World of Islam has a lot of links to pro-Iraqi insurgent Web sites.
5. Al-Mourabitoune-Though this site is a French language site you can see the Google translated version here. The French version is linked above, this site appears to be a forum.
6. Alsalafyoon.com--This site has English and Arabic content and a numerical URL.
7. Dr. Safar Al Hawali--Looks like a personal Web site of some doctor. He has some literature and a few rants on there.

that's just some of them, the list is long. I stopped at the doctor's site, http://alhawali.com/, but I am certain there are more English language ones on the list.

There are several other categories in the database at Internet Haganah, they are: Hiz'b'Allah, which has a pretty good list of links, Hizb ut-Tahrir, another good list, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, good list there too, Kavkaz, good list with a focus on the Caucasuses (hmm..Chechnya). The other categories are: Spawn of Finsbury Park Mosque (no I have no idea what that mean either), Caliphist/Jihadist, only one link there and, finally, a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine category with only two links.

Sites linked to from the Site Institute:

Terrorist Group Web sites:

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade--http://www.kataebaqsa1.com/ --site works, Arabic-only.
HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement)--http://www.palestine-info.info--site works, linked above too, English version available.
Hizballah (Party of God)--http://www.nasrollah.org/--site works, English available here.
Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ)--http://www.qudsway.com--site works, Arabic-only, really annoying "marching to war" music plays on site load.
Hamas military wing, Izza Deen al-Qassam--http://www.alqassam.info--this site is gone and no longer works as a Hamas site.
Islamic Army of Iraq--http://www.iaisite.net/--site works, Arabic-only.

Some of these have already been linked in this post and some of them appear in the other database too. American media has failed to present both sides of the story in the Iraq War and in the broader War on Terror, mostly out of fear of being labeled unpatriotic or having their phones tapped I think. So where better to find out then straight from the other sides propaganda mill. At least we can see what they are saying, if nothing else.

Iraq links

For the Iraq links I am just going to repost the list from World of Islam. Eventually, if I feel like it I will tell you where these sites are hosted from which may or may not cause the FBI to kick down some doors. The information will appear slowly but surely next to the links to the sites, it takes awhile to crunch all that data so bear with me. Not all of sites are pro-insurgent and many are in Arabic.

IraqTunnel
AlBasrah--hosted out of Gaza
AlChahed (Arab) --hosted on multiple servers it appears, Baghdad and Paris
UrukNet
IraqPatrol (Arabic)
IraqVictims--registered, according to whois.net, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

IslamicArmyIraq(Arabic)--registered in Amman, Jordan, check out that link though, under 'tech name' we see Yahoo!, Sunnyvale, California, USA.

JubaOnline (Arabic) , Umm, Vancouver, Washington is where this one is registered. I don't know what the site says though
ElectronicIraq-this is registered to someone in Chicago.
Jaami (arab)
IraqBodyCount
HiatOlama (arab)
IraqOccupationFocus
CostOfWar
AlRashedeen (ar)
WarProfiteers
SOSIrak (be) (eng)
Autonomy & Solidarity
IraqiDemocratsAgainstOccupation
IraqWatch
CampaignAgainstSanctionsIraq
IraqWarCasualties
StopWar
Fair
BagdadBulletin
NewsNow
IraqiEconomy
IraqDaily
CAABU
U.S.BombingWatch
OneWorld
IraqiRabita
IraqNuclearMirage
IraqOccupation&ResistanceReport
DahrJamailIraq
WarOnTerror

Travel warnings and coalitions

2005-12-31T12:26:00.000-08:00

More nonsensical ramblings enuse.

Iraq, this war sucks. I don't care what the Bushies say about "progress." 18,328 American soldiers and civilians have been killed or wounded as of 10 a.m. Dec. 30. That's alot. Perhaps something good will come out of such carnage, I sincerely hope so, and if it does I would love to see it.

That aside, the U.S. Department of State issued a new travel warning for Iraq on Dec. 29. This may or may not be due to the revelation that a Florida teenager traveled to Iraq for a school project on immersion journalism. The warning is nothing new as the last State Dept. warning came June 28.

Sometimes all of these government releases and policy documents tend to contradict each other or at the very least bring into question some of the assertions made one place that are seemingly challenged in another.

Remember the president's "Victory Strategy in Iraq?" I posted one blog on it already.

The strategy outlines a number of points which will supposedly lead to the all-important "victory." As part of the evidence that this plan is not only already working but has been in place for some time the document presents some of the "progresses" Coalition forces have made in Iraq (and by Coalition I mean the United States, more on that later).

I found the comments concerning Fallujah to be of particular interest. Pay attention to the bolded text.

"Significant progress has been made in wresting territory from enemy control. During much of 2004, major parts of Iraq and important urban centers were no-go areas for Iraqi and Coalition forces. Fallujah, Najaf, and Samara were under enemy control. Today, these cities are under Iraqi government control, and the political process is taking hold. Outside of major urban areas, Iraqi and Coalition forces are clearing out hard core enemy elements, maintaining a security presence, and building local institutions to advance local reconstruction and civil society."

Then there is the State Dept. travel warning linked above. Which was issued the other day, about a month after the president first went on a public, campaign-style propaganda tour promoting his victory strategy.

The travel warning also mentions Fallujah:

"All vehicular travel in Iraq is extremely dangerous. There have been numerous attacks on civilian vehicles, as well as military convoys. Attacks occur throughout the day, but travel at night is exceptionally dangerous. Travel in or through Ramadi and Fallujah; travel between al-Hillah and Baghdad; travel between the International Zone and Baghdad International Airport; and travel from Baghdad to Mosul is particularly dangerous."

If you check out a map those places lie mostly within the area popularly known as the Sunni Triangle. Except for Baghdad to Mosul, which is a huge tract of northern Iraq.

I guess that's what the Bush administration calls "Iraqi government control" in its victory strategy. Under control must mean something different in Iraq than it does in my mind. I wouldn't envision an area referred to as "under control" as being somewhere one might not want to travel in fear of murder or worse. This warning is meant for civilians but logic dictates places that are unsafe for civilians are probably unsafe for military personnel as well.

So heck yeah to victory, I guess.

Related Notes on Terror

I have been finding some interesting terrorist propaganda on the Internet as well as some actual terrorist sites (mostly in Arabic) where some of the groups operating in Iraq and elsewhere post responsiblity claims and other items. Perhaps I will write something about those later.

The Coalition of the Willing

26 nations, some planning withdraws or drawdowns soon, have troops in Iraq right now (not including the United States). Of course, if you go to the Central Command web page you find that the Centcom says there are 37 nations in the "largest Coalition ever built," which is laughable. Centcom lumps all of the worldwide "war on terror" operations into one broad coalition. Many of the nations listed on the above link are participating in only Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).

But the global security article above tells us that beyond the United States and the United Kingdom there really aren't that many significant players as far as military contributions go in the Iraq theater.

South Korea, Italy and Poland have all been among the most significant contributors to military might during Operation Iraqi Freedom. However, Italy and Poland have both rethought their original commitments. Italy will pull out entirely, Poland will greatly reduce its forces, though they will stay. Meanwhile, South Korea, Bulgaria and Ukraine have all pulled out or authorized a drawdown of troops from Iraq.

So that means: 3,300 South Korean troops will be reduced to about 2,300, the 1,500 Polish troops will face gradual reduction through the end of 2006 until there are only about 600 Poles left in Iraq. Ukraine's 950 soldiers and Bulgaria's 450 soldiers have already left Iraq. Really just a drop in the bucket anyway considering that of all forces in Iraq only 23,000 are non-American. 8,500 of those are British.

Bah! Americans are doing just about all of the foreign work in Iraq and only the Iraqis are spilling more blood.

Alot of nations have already withdrawn their forces in addition to those above, which are the most recent. Not that the inclusion of Tonga or Moldova are really a powerful addition to any military coalition. Some of these nations include:

Hungary-Withdrew troops: Late-Dec. 2004
Nicaragua-Withdrew troops: Feb. 2004
Spain-Withdrew troops: Late-Apr. 2004
Dominican Republic-Withdrew troops: Early-May. 2004
Honduras-Withdrew troops: Late-May. 2004
Philippines-Withdrew troops: mid-Jul. 2004
Thailand-Withdrew troops: Late-Aug. 2004
New Zealand-Withdrew troops: Late-Sep. 2004
Tonga-Withdrew troops: mid-Dec. 2004
Portugal-Withdrew troops: mid-Feb. 2005
Moldova-Withdrew troops: Feb. 2005

From: globalsecurity.org

This coalition was hodge podge from the beginning. So much so that the fine folks over at Multi National Force-Iraq had almost nothing to say about the "coalition," save for:

"At this time, several nations are contributing to the ongoing stability operations throughout Iraq."

Good thing there are several nations contributing methinks. Though the 26 nations now participating are a far cry from the 49 participants announced by the White House at the onset of the war.

Cincinnati mosque update

2005-12-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

My original post on the bombing at a Cincinnati mosque can be found here.

The latest news stories on Google stem from the FBI offering a $15,000 reward for help in the investigation, the most recent one is dated Dec. 22. The reward is for information leading to the "arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the bombing of the Islamic Association of Cincinnati facilities at 3668 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati on Tuesday December 20, 2005."

This is in addition to the $5,000 offered by CAIR and another reward offered by the local Crimestoppers organization.

Though no one was hurt in this incident, bombings at mosques are not something to be taken lightly, as it is an oft used tactic in Iraq. Insurgents use this type of terror to undercut moderate voices within Islam and the results are deadly serious.

CAIR-Ohio held a vigil at the mosque last week, on Wednesday evening (Dec. 21). It appeared that the vigil went well and area Muslims were determined to continue on with their normal lives despite being afraid.

"We didn’t really know how many to expect. Chairs for 60 were set up. Over 300 people showed up," said Karen Dabdoub, the director of the Cincinnati office of CAIR-Ohio.

She said area Muslims are "shocked, worried and afraid." Though there is some fear she pointed out the large turnout for the prayer vigil at the very mosque that was bombed.

Dabdoub also said it was likely the high turnout was due to the unprecedented nature of this event within the Cincinnati Muslim community.

The FBI and ATF are investigating the event, with the ATF analyzing the explosives.

As of Friday night, Dabdoub said she didn't know if the FBI, ATF and local police were doing enough to complete the investigation.

"Time will tell," she said.

Free speech update

2005-12-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

Took a little break for the holiday, so updates have been non existent. I won't post this til I get back to DeKalb.

If you saw this about the UMass Dartmouth student who said he was questioned for checking out Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book" through the interlibrary loan program, then you will be pleased to know that it was all a hoax.

Thanks to Glock 21 for the update.

What to take, what not to take (to the airport)

2005-12-22T13:06:00.000-08:00

I just saw a news broadcast on Chicago Land TV (CLTV).

The main story was about holiday air travel and security but the anchor did a little aside with nifty graphics at the end of it. The anchor pointed out what items were permissible and which were prohibited, each category had its own graphic.

Nail clippers are allowed on planes
almanacs are not mentioned by the TSA.

Among the permissible items were nail clippers and cigar cutters. Among the prohibited, box cutters and fire arms, and the anchor kept a straight face while announcing to Chicagoland that guns and box cutters were not permitted on airplanes.

TSA lists

The Transportation Security Administration has a newly updated list ("effective December 22) of items allowed and not allowed here. And a handy quick reference sheet here.

Mostly the list is common sense, it tells you what is ok in the carry-on and what is ok in checked baggage. I think everyone knows that you can't take a sword on a plane in your carry on, or a gun. Some categories of items are altogether prohibited, they also mostly make sense.

No explosives, dangerous chemicals, gun powder or flammable items are allowed on planes in any capacity, carry-on or checked. However some items like martial arts weapons (such as black jacks, brass knuckles or mace), ammunition and firearms, knives, swords, other sharp objects (including box cutters) are allowed in checked luggage but not in carry-on bags.

First of all, box cutters better never be on the list of permissible items in the remaining history of air travel and air security. I'd rather give a lithium patient a gun and a key to the flight deck.

Secondly, has anyone ever seen a movie?

If the terrrorists just stowaway in the baggage hold they could have firearms out the wazoo, box cutters and swords too. It'd be like a mujahadeen, samurai special-ops team just waiting to strike from the baggage hold/armory.

Who the hell is flying guns across the United States anyway? Hunters? I suppose, but many weapons are not for hunting, like, for instance, the AR-15.

Putting guns on airplanes is a bad choice no matter what. Give them to pilots, air marshals, and let passengers put them into their luggage? Introducing a weapon into a weaponless environment is never a good idea, from a tactical standpoint, if you lose that weapon the bad guys now have it. And we have all seen what great success the air marshal program has led to.

When is the last time you took a vacation and packed guns? My guess is never or it's been some time.

So anyway, if a ninja terrorist jumps out of your holiday flight's cargo hold with grandpa's shotgun and two civil war replica swords, don't say I didn't tell you so.

Explosion outside Cincinnati mosque

2005-12-21T06:34:00.000-08:00

UPDATE #2: Dec. 22--

The FBI has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to arrest in the Cincinnati mosque bombing on Tuesday. This is in addition to the $5,000 reward already pledged by the Council on Islamic American Relations.

CAIR-Ohio announced a prayer vigil for 8 p.m. this evening at the Islamic Association for Cincinnati mosque, better known as the Clifton mosque (because it's on Clifton Ave.). This is the same mosque that was bombed on Tuesday night.

Here is the details for the event in case you wanted to know or you live in Cincinnati:

WHAT: Mosque Interfaith Prayer Vigil
WHEN: Thursday, December 22, 8 p.m.
WHERE: Islamic Association of Cincinnati, 3668 Clifton Ave., Cincinnati
CONTACT: CAIR-Cincinnati Director Karen Dabdoub, 513-604-4444, E-Mail: karen@cair-ohio.com

UPDATE: Dec. 22--

The Cincinnati Enquirer covered Wednesday's CAIR press conference. CAIR offered a reward for the capture of the perpetrator(s) on Wednesday as well.

WCPO also has a pretty awesome round-up here, with photos, news conference video, and a pretty detailed description of what happened.

The article's writer spoke to the special agent in charge of the field office in Cincy,

"Stanley Borgia, special agent in charge of the Cincinnati FBI office, said the investigation has not yet determined a motive for “the crime of violence against the Islamic Center. The intent of perpetrators is unclear,’’ he said No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which is being investigated as a possible hate crime or act of terrorism, Borgia said."

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory even chimed in,

"This is a hateful act whether it’s classified as a hate crime or not,’’ said Mayor Mark Mallory. "This kind of criminal act cannot be tolerated in this community.’’

So this could have been an act of terrorism and Agent Borgia confirmed there were two bombs involved in the incident.

"There were two explosive devices that detonated outside in the doorways of two adjacent buildings of the Islamic Center Tuesday night, Borgia said"

The article also gave additional details on the damage.

"The bomb blasts damaged the wooden door and surrounding glass windows in the older building and blew out glass windows in the newer building. The ceiling area of the entranceways of both buildings were also damaged"

Despite some pretty superb local coverage CNN's Web site is still a no go in terms of coverage, not even a wire story that I could find.

MSNBC is still floating this unupdated story on its Crime and Punishment section front under U.S. News.

And for the surprise of the evening. FOX News had an Associated Press wire story. Found that story with a search of FOX's Web site using the terms 'ohio mosque.' The story also showed up under the other search query I used, simply 'mosque.'

So, CNN doesn't care, MSNBC actually linked the story on one of its news pages (though it is kind of buried) and FOX News had a story but you had to be looking for it to find it because its not linked on any of its pages.

-END UPDATE-

This explosion apparently happened Tueday night. I found coverage on it at an Iowa news station but it was sparse.

Other coverage was here in the United Kingdom's The Muslim News.

Some local coverage here, here, and here.

The call came in about 10:10 p.m. but there were, of course, concerns that another device may be in the area. Police swept the vicinity with bomb sniffing dogs and gave the all clear.

The blast caused some damage to the doors but no one was injured as it occurred a couple of hours after worship typically lets out.

Here is what the Council on American Islamic Relations said in a release today:

"(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/21/2005) - Later this morning, the Ohio office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) will hold a news conference outside a Cincinnati mosque damaged by an explosion late Tuesday.

WHAT: Ohio Muslims React to Explosion at Cincinnati Mosque
WHEN: Wednesday, December 21, 11 a.m.
WHERE: Islamic Association of Cincinnati, 3668 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio
CONTACT: CAIR-Cincinnati Director Karen Dabdoub, 513-604-4444, E-Mail: karen@cair-ohio.com

The FBI and local authorities are investigating one or more explosions that damaged the Islamic Association of Cincinnati, also known as the "Clifton Mosque." No injuries were reported.S
EE: "Mosque Door Damaged by Explosion"

CAIR said vandalism or other possible bias-related incidents have been reported recently at mosques in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Nebraska, California, and New York. The Washington-based group is urging Muslim institutions nationwide to review security procedures using advice contained in CAIR's "Muslim Community Safety Kit."

The safety kit may be obtained free of charge online or by e-mailing: pubs@cair-net.org (Include name, address and phone number when requesting the safety kit.)CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding."

Hate crime? Probably. Larger trend or lone weirdo, I have to go with lone weirdo. I don't think most Americans want to bomb houses of worship. Any thoughts?

What's really bad about this?

This reminds me of something that happened in Oklahoma a few months ago, diference being one person died in that incident and it was outside of a football stadium with 80,000 OU fans in attendance. Coverage was short and sweet at first but a few bloggers started to take a deeper look. It turned out, of course (wink, wink), nothing too out of the ordinary, though I still question the event.

Now, a bomb goes off in Cincinnati, outside a mosque, no less. Where is this story? In The Akron Beacon and the The Muslim News, that's where.

Wonder if there was any mention of this on cnn.com, msnbc.com or foxnews.com?

Surprisingly MSNBC carried the story here. And it was the top story in the U.S. section under 'Crime and Punishment."

FOX News, not surprisingly, faired worse than MSNBC. No story on any page. Search for 'ohio mosque' turned up nada. As did a search for the term 'cincinnati.' And the lead hit for the term 'mosque' is served up in only a style FOX News could get away with; at least that is what I thought until I saw CNN's top hit for 'ohio mosque.'

Turning, now, to the CNN Web site. No story on the front page, a search for 'cincinnati mosque' turned up zilch as well as 'ohio mosque' and just 'cincinnati' and there was nothing on the U.S. section front, not even in the Midwest subcatergory.

So good job major national cable media. Instead we get coverage, like this, or this, or this, and then spin-offs like this (I think you get it), of veiled threats and sketchy government intelligence.

Russian polls, North Korean ramblings

2005-12-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

Scanning the Pravda Web site I found this article about a poll of Russians conducted by the polling agency VTSIOM, which I think was actually taken over by the Russian government a few years back. The poll concerns foreign assistance with the promotion of democracy, which, suffice it to say, Russia could use some assistance.

Here is the relevant information on the poll from the article:

"The survey conducted by VTSIOM shows that 70% of the youth from 18 to 24 years old are happy about foreign teachers of democracy. From 53% to 56% of the middle-aged and senior citizens are in favor while 26% of the polled strongly object to foreign assistance in the promotion of democratic values. The figures change when America is mentioned as a democracy teacher for Russia. Every second respondent is against the U.S. assistance to Russia in terms of democracy promotion. Every third one is in favor. The pros and cons among the youth are 46% and 42% respectively."

Either people don't like America interfering in Russia or the government wants everyone to think that.

Speaking of other nations hating the American government.

North Korea's state-run news agency Web site is always a laugh, in a four horsemen of the apocalypse kind of way.

There were a couple amusing pieces on the Korean Central News Agency's (KCNA-linked above) story list for Dec. 20. The first one that caught my eye was headlined, "U.S. Adventurous Attempt to Attack DPRK Assailed."

"The Washington Times and the Washington Post, leading papers of the U.S., a few days ago reported that the U.S. Defense Department would present a "report on 4-year defense strategy," the win-win strategy approved by the U.S. military authority, to the U.S. Congress in February next year.

What is noticeable in the strategy code-named "1421" is military interference in different areas of the world, simultaneous performance of two wars and complete occupation of a sovereign state. Rodong Sinmun in a signed commentary today says that one of the main targets of the U.S. imperialists' new war strategy is the Korean Peninsula. It discloses the U.S. attempt to make a preemptive nuclear attack on the DPRK including the recent U.S. military decision to deploy the latest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier "George Washington" in the U.S. military base in Yokosuka, Japan."

That's just the first two paragraphs. But you get the idea, it's a bit over the top, even if George W. Bush is president.

The second headline I noticed at KCNA for Dec. 20 read, "DPRK Foreign Ministry Denounces U.S. Anti-DPRK "Human Rights" Racket."

"A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry in a statement issued Monday blasted the frantic anti-DPRK "human rights" racket kicked up under the U.S. supervision. The U.S. instigated its allies to railroad the anti-DPRK "human rights resolution" through the Third Committee of the 60th UN General Assembly this year and recently brought together riff-raffs in Seoul to stage such farce as the "international conference on north Korean human rights performance," the statement said, and went on: The U.S. plans to stage a similar farce in Brussels next year.

It can not but be a tragedy in the 21st century for the U.S. to talk about human rights as it has the world's poorest human rights record and is an empire of evil."

The article goes on to decry the U.S. for invading Iraq but it fails to defend why blasting North Korea's human rights record is such a travesty.

But does North Korea hate us or what? Heh.

Forget free speech, you are being watched.

2005-12-20T12:03:00.000-08:00

I am scared now. The federal government should have a Ridiculous Library Investigations Agency.

Check this out. Liberty and justice for what?

UPDATE: Fellow blogger Glock 21 posted this in the comments but I thought I would post it here. This, of course, is hilarious (in an Orwellian way) in light of the NSA domestic spying scandal all over the headlines lately.

A quote from the President:

"Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."

Sweet land of liberty, it is of thee downfall I sing.

Yahoo's top searches

2005-12-20T00:27:00.000-08:00

2005 Top Searches courtesy of Yahoo!

Alaska and its oil

2005-12-19T23:22:00.000-08:00

I wanted to blog about something more substantial than some old poems but the only thing I could find was that the drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge had passed the House.

Intrigued, I wanted to find the text of the legislation.

But the text of the legislation doesn't mention anything about Alaska, except for some Air Force operational appropriations.

I assumed these were amendments to the Defense Appropriations Bill, stuff concerning not only ANWR but also disaster relief for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The bill also included another $50 billion earmarked for the Iraq/Afghanistan wars.

If anyone can help with the search for the legislation at the Library of Congress' archive that would help. I am tired or I would look harder but I was searching earlier today and had the same lack of luck.

Anyway, something of substance. Have a good night.

Just . . .werd . . .

2005-12-19T20:07:00.000-08:00

Some more poetry. Thanks for readin' ;) I have some other stuff here, if you are interested.

Untitled

i'm almost back now
from the edge of the blade
from the hollows of darkness
the pain of the knife
cuts turn to scars
and i cower
back inside
where my sadness comes from
where my darkness never ends
wish i knew a way that i could mend
so broken
and desolate
deserted my feelings
and i didn’t know you noticed me
standing over here in the corner
alone
i didn’t know anything
so much noise

Blinding Light

all i can tell you
are the few the things i know
blinding light, letting go
stuck in here
years and years
and pain
letting go
am i dark?
blinding maybe
deafening noises screeching from down below
forever jealous of you
forever stuck in here
a cage of my own inescapable design
and the pouring of the cool water over my skin
seeping in, dripping down
and hear it again
that awful, pounding, grinding sound
just because i cant sleep with it grinding slowly away at my sanity
i can't afford to know
i can't afford to go
journey back out and around
i didn’t stop at the door
it was that terrible sound
that pushed me out
that walked me away
i never knew
i never
tried
to slide out of here
just staying stuck inside
indecent
and frayed
here on the ground
here in the corner
where i guess i should have always stayed

Gonzo Gallery

2005-12-19T01:54:00.000-08:00

Muppets

Feb. 2--The Gonzo Gallery kicks off today instead of stupid daily web-bits that I never updated. Here you will find Gonzo images, whatever your definition. These, I found in the public domain, if you have your own gonzo images feel free to email them to me, I will post them.

Totally Gonzo style, totally.

Warning, Gonzo crossing.

What's more Gonzo than dispensing Pez?

Ridiculous Commodore 64 game, The Great Gonzo.

Assorted Covers

Hunter

He did love guns, didn't he?

Mad Beat

Freakin' genius fest.

Iraq and military recruiting

2005-12-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

My mind is churning over the Iraq War. What does it all mean? Such a broad question but some tangibles can be looked at.

This war is having an effect on recruiting and retention for the U.S. military. It seems the Reserves are suffering the most. While the active duty components have remained fairly steady over the years from 2000-2004, the Reserves have missed some goals. Though, I'm a little lost for some of their math on the active duty table below.

Active Duty Recruiting 2000-2004

Reserve Component Recruiting 2000-2004

That all comes from a GAO report released in March called "Preliminary Observations on Recruiting and Retention Issues within the U.S. Armed Forces."

Interesting stuff, this recruiting thing is, it acts a gauge for politicians to judge the morale, and strength of a fighting force. If numbers are down that probably doesn't bode well for any war or for the military fighting that war. If they are up then, obviously, things are viewed as better off.

So what about Fiscal Year 2005? How did the military fare?

For the U.S. Army there is a nice breakdown here. Looks like the active army was short changed this year while the Reserve hit its recruitment goals. Things are looking upward recently for the Army and its recruiting program. But Christian Science Monitor writer Mark Sappenfield had an idea why recruitment has been up as 2005 comes to a close.

If what he is saying is true, the army could well still be in dire straights when it comes to recruiting new soldiers. Its no wonder the stop loss program has been used to retain soldiers; it has been used only by the three Army components. Many thousands have been affected by the stop loss program.

"A DOD official told us that in June 2005, the Army stop loss program affected over 15,000 soldiers . . ."

That is from the GAO report "DOD Needs Action Plan to Address Enlisted Personnel Recruitment and Retention Challenges," released in November.

Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) David S.C. Chu said this on July 19, 2005 to the Military Personnel subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee.

So, the Reserves are stop losing a whole bunch of people, along with the Guard and the regular Army. And at least one person says that the numbers are meant to be made up for in the summertime, when recruits are more available to join.

All of this could render the recently positive direction of recruitment numbers useless, unless optimistic predictions of summer recruitment numbers ring true.

Think about how many Reserve and Guard soldiers and units are mobilized right now in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Of course, this 266 page PDF of the mobilized units includes all reserve service components but it's still a lot of units.

None of that even begins to take into account the effect of numerous casualties on recruitment and retention levels.

Not sure what that means but the Selective Service is certainly not an inactive federal agency.
It's budget of $26,100,000 dollars tells me that much, I don't think it costs $26 million to mail out those little cards when kids turn 18. Although, that budget has been pretty steady since at least 2003, according to factcheck.org. I mean, not to scare monger or anything but the Selective Service does maintain 1,980 local boards.

According to the Selective Service, "A Selective Service Local Board is a group of five citizen volunteers whose mission, upon a draft, will be to decide who among the registrants in their community will receive deferments, postponements, or exemption from military service based on the individual registrant's circumstances and beliefs" That's over 10,000 volunteers on local and appeals boards for a draft that will supposedly never happen.

Don't worry though. The Selective Service has us covered,

From the Selective Service's Web site FAQs:

"Why do we need Selective Service if there may never be a draft?
As President Clinton informed Congress in 1994, 'Maintaining the Selective Service System and draft registration provides a hedge against unforeseen threats and a relatively low cost 'insurance policy' against our underestimating the maximum level of threat we expect our Armed Forces to face.'"

This FAQ is practically screaming, "Hey stupid liberals!"

Jeez.

And for good measure, a shot at everyone's favorite peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter, courtesy of the Selective Service System.

"When was registration reinstated?
President Jimmy Carter reinstated the Selective Service registration requirement in the summer of 1980."

"So don't blames us!" screamed the Republicans in unison.

Regardless of who's fault it is that a conscription service exists in America, the fact is that almost everyone signs up for this.

Some jobs that are hard to fill in the Army might
be done by conscripts but a number of the jobs are
hard to fill because they require a certain level of
technical skill.

The jobs you would expect to be
empty are, like infantry, ammunition specialist, tank crew, cavalry scout and other dangerous occupations within the combat arms. Check out this partial list, to the right, from the first GAO report referenced above.

It's not too hard to see why many of these jobs are on the hard to fill list.

So how much help would an organized draft really be to the military anyway? Commanders continually deny that a draft is needed or wanted, as they have virtually since the war began. We know how well the draft worked in Vietnam.

But let's face it if a force was actually facing a troop shortage then anyone they could get would do just fine. World War Two came and went and from Dec. 7, 1941 until Dec. 31, 1946 16.1 million Americans served in the European or Pacific theaters of battle. This country can undertake conscription on a gigantic level, of couse Iraq is no WWII either.

But hey it's as big as the struggle against communism and fascism. A couple of sources quote the Pentagon as saying about 1 million Americans have served in wars since Sept. 11, 2001. One sixteenth the number during WWII and, according to the global security article linked above, one third the number that served in 15 years during the Vietnam War.

If we take the round one million figure we find that just 1.8 percent of the total number of troops serving in a hostile, combat zone become casualties in Iraq or Afghanistan (18,217 as of Dec. 16). In WWII about 1,077,000 Americans became casualties, that's about 6.7 percent of the 16.1 million who served in the five years from 1941 to 1946. Even statistically, this war is a far cry from the carnage of WWII. But it is interesting to compare.

Moon Photography

2005-12-17T22:56:00.000-08:00

My cool digital camera, a Sony Cyber Shot (corporate monsters) DSC-P150, 7.2 megapixels of quality, photo capability, has afforded me the opportunity to snap photos by the light of the moon.

It's hard to see in the picture to the left but there is a halo around the moon, about thirty degrees or so out from the moon. It forms a perfect circle all the way around the satellite, although only part of the circle shows up in this photograph.

Moon halos form when ice crystals associated with high and thin clouds, like were present the night of Oct. 18, 2005 over DeKalb, refract light from the moon.

The picture to the right was taken on Nov. 12, 2005, with the same Sony (jerks) digital camera. It was a moony night (no one says moony, everyone says sunny, confused yet?) here in DeKalb and the birch tree next to my balcony offered a perfect web to view the moon through. I thought it looked pretty cool.

The picture below is from the same night as the one on the above. The sun was setting and cast a perfectly eerie orange glow on the southeast sky. All with the moon shining brightly.

Probably have to enlarge the pic below to really see it. But it is the moon and Mars captured very closely together. They were probably seperated by about 10 or 15 degrees (10 degrees is about a fist sized chunk of the sky when the fist is held at arm's length).

Anyway, that's all of the moon photos I will subject you to for now.

Victory strategy in Iraq

2005-12-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

I'm reading the Presidents strategy for victory in Iraq it was released Nov. 30. I'm only on page 8 (of 38) and already questions are festering in my brain.

A safer you
For instance, the strategy says that America will benefit from this victory in a number of ways including by becoming:

"Safer, by removing Saddam Hussein, a destabilizing force in a vital region, a
ruthless dictatorwho had a history of pursuing and even using weapons of mass
destruction, was a statesponsor of terror, had invaded his neighbors, and who
was violently opposed to America; by depriving terrorists of a safe haven from
which they could plan and launch attacksagainst the United States and American
interests; by delivering a strategic setback to the terrorists and keeping them
on the run; by delivering a decisive blow to the ideology that fuels
international terrorism, proving thatthe power of freedom is stronger than a
perverse vision of violence, hatred, and oppression."

State sponsor of terrorism? A safe haven for terrorists?

There are more threatening state sponsors of terrorism in the world than Iraq ever was. And I can't recall one incident planned and launched against the United States from Iraq.

The three track plan
This whole thing is pretty basic. The strategy doesn't layout anything really. There is an integrated three track path to victory, the political track, the economic track and the security track.

Each track is punctuated with catchy little words to describe its goals.

The political track-Isolate, Engage, Build
The economic track-Restore, Reform, Build (a lot of building to do)
The security track-Clear, Hold, Build

I wonder if commanders walk around saying things like "We need to IEB the locals for track one of the great plan for victory."

Most of the stuff under these categories could have been lifted straight from the pages of "Duh!" magazine.

Such as, "Restore Iraq’s neglected infrastructure so it can meet increasing demand and the needs of a growing economy." That's the actual text for the Restore portion of the economic track. Are these people really paid to come up with this nonsense?

Or, "Clear areas of enemy control by remaining on the offensive, killing and capturing enemy fighters and denying them safe-haven." The Clear entry for the security track of the strategy.

Clear areas of enemy control . . . what? This is also stupid. It's a freakin' war, do we really need to write out that the enemy should be defeated. That's not a plan for victory; I am not sure what it is.

The more detailed explanation to the Security track is further on in the document (18-22; in the document). It seemed like a glorified "defeat the enemy" line with a "let's train some Iraqis and leave it to them" thrown in for an out.

There are a couple really interesting things said here and there as well.

Iraqi force readiness

There are some numbers provided on Iraqi force readiness:

"Iraqi forces are growing in number. As of November 2005, there were more than
212,000 trained and equipped Iraqi Security Forces, compared with 96,000 in
September of last year. In August 2004, there were five Iraqi army battalions in
the fight; now more than 120 Iraqi army and police battalions are in the fight.
Of these battalions, more than 80 are fighting side-by-side with Coalition
forces and more than 40 others are taking the lead in the fight. More battalions
are being recruited, trained, and fielded. In July 2004 there were no
operational Iraqi brigade or division headquarters; now there are seven division
and more than 30 brigade headquarters in the Iraqi army. In June 2004, there
were no Iraqi combat support or service support battalions; now there are a half
dozen operational battalions supporting fielded Iraqi units."

That's under the Progress on the security track section (20).

What I want to know is where they got that 96,000 number at for September of last year. And 40 battalions are taking the lead.

What about this summer's coverage here, there were only 3 of 107 battalions Level One (Level One means units are able to plan, execute and sustain independent counterinsurgency operations--sounds suspiciously like taking the lead) ready in July, now there are 40? That story got even better in September. Do they think we are all stupid or maybe that we don't read or can't?

Blanket statements
Other interesting things I read in the strategy included two references to Syria and Iran.

"The neighborhood is inhospitable. Iran and Syria have failed to provide support to Iraq’s new government and have in many ways actively undermined it. The region, while including some cooperative actors, has only recently mobilized to support the emergence of a democratic and stable Iraq."

and

"Neutralizing the actions of countries like Syria and Iran, which provide comfort and/or support to terrorists and the enemies of democracy in Iraq;"

Good word, neutralizing. Leaves open a world of possibilities. Kind of like this broadly over reaching blanket statement.

"The war on terrorism is the defining challenge of our generation, just as the
struggle against communism and fascism were
challenges of the generations before. As with those earlier struggles, the
United States is fully committed to meeting this challenge. We will do
everything it takes to win."

Not only does this allow the government to say later, "hey we told you we will do everything it takes to win" (hmm, like conscript civilians) but it also gets a token reference to communism and fascism in. Why is it when an anti-war person compares Iraq to Vietnam the hawks always dismiss it as rubbish? All the while they are comparing the Iraq War to the world's most destructive conflict and one of the world's most oppressive regimes in modern times at the same time?

Word choice
The word choice is suspect in more than one place, kind of like the original moniker for Operation Enduring Freedom--Infinite Justice (which I hear only God can bring, so that thusly alienated about, oh, 5 billion people).

Take the use of the word engage in the political track to victory.

"Engage those outside the political process and invite in those willing to turn away from violence through ever-expanding avenues of peaceful participation."

Seems perfectly nice, except the way I think of the word engage in terms of during a war usually conjures up scenes of intense combat. Maybe not the best word in the world to use there.

I thought that seemed stupid but the next thing I noticed about word choice made me wonder what PR knucklehead had been paid to write this garbage. Page 25-Organization for Victory stated, "The 8 Strategic Pillars," absolutely brilliant I must say.

What are the eight strategic pillars you ask.

Well, besides being the single worst use of the English language that I have seen in a number of years, they are:

"To organize these efforts, we have broken down our political/security/economic
strategy intoeight pillars or strategic objectives:
1. Defeat the Terrorists
and Neutralize the Insurgency
2. Transition Iraq to Security Self-Reliance
3 . Help Iraqis Form a National Compact for Democratic Government
4.
Help Iraq Build Government Capacity and Provide Essential Services
5. Help
Iraq Strengthen its Economy
6. Help Iraq Strengthen the Rule of Law and
Promote Civil Rights
7. Increase International Support for Iraq
8.
Strengthen Public Understanding of Coalition Efforts and Public Isolation of
theInsurgents" (24-25)

There they are, the eight strategically insulting pillars. Interesting word choice that is. This is all followed by an eight page appendix explaining and outlining each of the strategic pillars, those pages even have nifty American flag-Iraqi flag graphics at the top of each one.

I don't know about this strategy for victory.

The Weather Channel

2005-12-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

I figured out what I can blather about. I was talking to Rasmieyh when the topic of The Weather Channel came up.

The Weather Channel is one of those unique TV networks that have the advantage of having almost every television viewer stop on it at least once a day. They use this to their benefit by hiring people like Jim Cantore, who, if you have ever seen him, is the most hilarious weather lover on Earth. I specifically recall a live spot during a blizzard he did a few years back when there was a clap of thunder overhead. He went bananas, it was great.

Guys like him are great because they bring personality to what would otherwise be the most mundane network on television. Weather anchors with the personality of Cantore might make a viewer watch longer or even intentionally switch their TV to TWC.

Interestingly enough, when I still lived in Bloomington, the cable company tried to remove The Weather Channel from its basic cable package. People were riled up in Bloomington about the The Weather Channel. It was a step away from a militant assault on the cable company's office. Day after day letters appeared in The Pantagraph telling Insight Communications (the cable company) how evil they were to take away The Weather Channel.

And judging by Insight's reaction to scathing letters to the editor and countless angry phone calls, they immediately regretted that decision. The Weather Channel was nearly instantaneously restored to the list of channels included in basic cable subscriptions.

But there is a subtle irony in that story, as Rasmieyh so diligently observed. With everything going on in America, especially in light of the NY Times story on the NSA (reg. req'd) (avoid that nonsense here), perhaps people could be collectively motivated to do something better than "save The Weather Channel."

Look what the angry citizens of Bloomington got accomplished when sparked by their disdain.

Sincerest Apologies

2005-12-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

Well, my apologies to my readers and Munson. I never called her back. I have been busy. I will get to it on Monday. But I want to write about something . . . hmmm . . .

American horse slaughtering-Part Four

2005-12-15T16:42:00.000-08:00

I guess the whole aim of these four posts was to provide a bit of context for horse slaughtering in the United States. Year after year state and federal legislation aims to eliminate it from American commerce, this year is no exception as, again, the controversy rages.

This is the last of the American horse slaughtering posts, the other three can be read here, here and here.

This post was originally supposed to be solely about the Dallas Crown, Inc. horse plant in Kaufman, Texas. But first let me make my stance here a little clearer, so you know where I am coming from. Horse meat sounds disgusting; Americans don't eat it, why should Americans slaughter it. I mean, there are hundreds of arguments to make in either direction but horse slaughtering just seems, well, creepy. And I suppose I do see horses through American eyes (as those mangy creatures which helped the bandit-like thugs called the U.S. Cavalry murder countless Native Americans), as creatures with an air of mystique and beauty, graceful, elegant animals, beckoning to be ridden into the sunset in a Western Nevada ghost town. Alright enough of that.

Here is what I thought so interesting about Dallas Crown, Inc. and it says it right on their home page, "Dallas Crown provides Carnivore Diet for zoos and wildlife centers across the United States. Carnivore Diet products under USDA and EU regulations and supervision."

A story about horse meat

It would seem that the Dallas Crown plant provides horse meat to zoos and wildlife parks across the country. Interesting. I will get to why (if you don't already know) in a moment but first an anecdote about horse meat in zoos.

When I was about 13 or 14 I used to volunteer at the local zoo during the summer, I did this for several years. As part of my "assigned" tasks (and I use that word loosely, meaning any job the zookeepers didn't want to do.) I would regularly have to hand grind large chunks of horse meat; usually they came in cylindrical packages, like sausage does. The purpose for this seemingly disgusting task was generally to blend vitamins or medications into meals for the big cats at the zoo, thus making it simpler for them to ingest whatever necessary. Don't worry I got to wear gloves. The meat always reminded me of really dark beef except it had more of a play-doh quality to it.

Needless to say, the meat chunks weren't all meat, or so it would seem. I used to find absolutely disgusting trinkets which I affectionately dubbed "horse matter" or "random horse matter." Once, I even had this chunk of something resembling a fish's swim bladder, I don't think horses have swim bladders; maybe those horses were corralled out West near some old New Mexico test site or something. I don't like messing with ground meat anyway, its aroma is somewhat repulsive to me, so this wasn't the most pleasant experience I had at the zoo (and it may have shaped my opinion of horse meat) but the snow leopards sure did love the crap out of it.

The funny thing about Dallas Crown

Here's the thing about the Kaufman Plant. The bills being considered in the Senate and the House, respectively ban only horse slaughter for human consumption, though they do it outright, quite dissimilar to this summer's agriculture appropriations bill.

The text of the key amendment to the Horse Protection Act (S.1915):

‘‘(8) The shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or
donation of any horse or other equine to be slaughtered for human consumption.’’

Human consumption, defined in S.1915 as "(1) The term ‘human consumption’ means ingestion by people as a source of food."

The Horse Protection Act, in its amended 1976 form, doesn't provide any stipulations in Section 5 (Prohibition) about the slaughter of horses for non-human consumption; it is mostly concerned with "sore" horses.

What I am getting at is the Dallas Crown Plant will probably be exempt from this law. They slaughter horses for consumption by cheetahs, lions and sun bears, not people. I doubt this is what the anti-horse slaughtering lobby wants to hear, but regardless of the fate of S.1915 and its House counterpart horse slaughtering will probably continue unabated in the United States; at least in one locale.

Hey, I can rewrite press releases too!

2005-12-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

Well not really. I mean, I can, but should I?

Apparently a 16-year-old high school student in Sacramento was subject to an FBI interrogation after an incident a couple of years back in which he scrawled PLO upon his notebook. The incident took place at Calvine High School. This was the only Google news hit on the item; it was 24 minutes old when I posted it. That story was simply a copy of a press release I received from the Council on American Islamic Relations.

So here is what happened, according to the press release, verbatim:

"On September 27, 2005, the student was pulled out of class and taken to a room in which two men identifying themselves as FBI agents were waiting to speak with him. The agents asked the student to recount an incident that had occurred two years earlier in a math class. He told the agents that his teacher had reprimanded him for having scrawled the letters "PLO" on his binder. The teacher said that anyone who supported the PLO was a terrorist.

The FBI allegedly asked how the student knew about the PLO, whether he was familiar with the investigation of several Muslims in Lodi, whether he had ever traveled to Palestine, and whether he had pictures of terrorists on his cell phone. (In fact, the student had only a picture of a mosque as his phone's background display.) The entire experience left the student badly shaken, and he has since been hesitant about expressing his political views in any context."

All in violation of a school board policy which says parents must be notified when law enforcement officials are interviewing students at school. This is all kind of scary as far as the first amendment goes.

Freedom of speech for everyone, unless we don't like your speech, then we will scare the crap out of you, that's right, even you kid!

Of course, their is a whole different arguement in a case like this, this kid was pulled out of school in September by FBI agents and it is just now being brought up by activists? The student had scrawled PLO on his notebook, referring to the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and a teacher alledgedly told him anyone who supported the PLO was a terrorist. May or may not be true but this kid apparently didn't think that was true. Regardless, the LCCR and CAIR and this kid say that he was questioned by FBI agents without prior consent from his parents, this is in violation of a school board policy that I couldn't seem to find on its Web site. That doesn't make it untrue, just hard to find, may have to make a phone call or two tomorrow.

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR) of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento Valley chapter of CAIR have sent a letter to the Elk Grove School Board, its contents should be forthcoming in the next few days, I will share it when I receive it.

UPDATE: Letter linked at bottom of post.

The CAIR release came out on Dec. 15. The Elk Grove School Board met on Dec. 13, no mention of this appeared in its agenda or an addendum to the agenda, perhaps someone spoke about it during the public hearing. This again could be used to show lack of action, hard to say in cases like this.

Aside from this, look for Part Four of the American horse slaughter bit and a Munson update soon.

Letter from LCCR to Elk Grove School Board, dated Dec. 15, 2005.

American horse slaughtering--Part Three

2005-12-15T08:05:00.000-08:00

Alright, back to it. As I started Part Two, the United States is home to only three horse slaughterhouses. One, Cavel International, is here in DeKalb, Illinois. The other two are located in the great state of Texas, where everything is bigger, even horse slaughtering, albeit only twice as big as in Illinois. There used to be another one in Oregon but, as I said before, the Animal Liberation Front claimed to burn it down, regardless of who did it, the plant burnt down.

And as one commenter pointed out, not to be forgotten, the Cavel Plant in DeKalb also suffered a fire, in 2002. Coverage can be found here or here.

Back to Texas. There are two horse slaughtering plants in Texas. One in Fort Worth, the Bel-Tex Corporation, which also dabbles in ostrich meat.

Ostrich and horses? Any jaguar burgers in there?

According to the Equine Protection Network Bel Tex is a Belgian-owned horse slaughtering firm. Troublesome it has been to track down what Belgian company owns Bel Tex but alas nothing gets away from me. Thanks to the now semi-famous Belgian business guide, a paper commissioned by The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (authored by Raymond Goydon and Stephen Kindel) and Infobel Belgium I was able to figure out who owns The Fort Worth horse slaughtering plant known as Bel Tex Corporation.

The company Multimeat NV is the owner of the plant in Ft. Worth. I found a slew of contact and other info here. +32 3 354 08 48 is their phone number according to numerous sources including those previously linked.

Bel Tex is as elusive as Velda ever was but the EPN did have contact information for the plant, which I have yet to confirm elsewhere.

3801 N. Grove St.
Ft. Worth, Texas 76106

Phone: (817) 624-1136

Fax: (817) 624-4594

Email: ericn@onramp.net
Eric Nauwelaers

The other plant is in Kaufman, Texas. The Kaufman plant is interesting in its own right, known as Dallas Crown, Inc. the plant seems to concentrate its focus on providing "Carnivore Diet." More about that in this ever-expanding series' Part Four.

Contact Info for Dallas Crown follows:

Dallas Crown, Inc.
2000 West Fair
Kaufman, Texas 75142
Phone: (972) 932-3436
Fax: (972) 932-3062

E-mail sales@dallascrown.com

I first saw this contact info here but then I confirmed it on the Dallas Crown Web site as well as on this Internet phone book.

Dallas Crown is apparently a French-0wned company, although this has also proven difficult to track down. Thanks again to the aforementioned paper by Goydon and Kindel I think I may have figured it out (the previously linked site with a slew of info on Multimeat also assisted in this search).

It appears the Dallas Crown plant is owned by Chevideco France, which is based in Roncq, near the Belgium-France border.

Well, now we know the international players in American horse slaughtering ventures. Velda Group, in Belgium, Multimeat N.V., also Belgian and Chevideco France, in, obviously, France.

Stay tuned for Part Four on the significance of Dallas Crown's carnivore diet business.

American horse slaughtering--Part Two

2005-12-15T03:14:00.000-08:00

Holy crap! This is so fun, anyone could leave some comments now and again, I want to know what you think, even if you disagree. Anyway onto part two of the American horse slaughtering blog entry.

You can read part one here.

The United States is home to only three horse slaughterhouses. One, Cavel International, is here in DeKalb, Illinois. The other two are located in the great state of Texas, where everything is bigger, even horse slaughtering, albeit only twice as big as in Illinois. There used to be another one in Oregon but, as I said before, the Animal Liberation Front claimed to burn it down, regardless of who did it, the plant burnt down.

However, before I get to the Texas slaughterhouses and what I have been able to dig up on them a quick note relating to federal horse slaughtering legislation.

S. 1915 and H.R. 503 are not the only horse slaughtering related legislation pending right now. H.R. 297 in the House and S. 576 in the Senate aim "To restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros."

This, of course would avert a controversy such as that which occurred this year involving wild mustangs and their sale to Cavel for slaughter by the Bureau of Land Management. Here is one AP Story and another from a few days earlier from the DeKalb Daily Chronicle, one of those two stories was referenced by the Northern Star in the above link. The Chronicle also covered it here.

The passage would also stop the Ford Motor Company from capitalizing on this type of conundrum as they did when they garnered loads of good press for helping the BLM save "the lives of 52 other mustangs," according to the AP in April 2005.

Anyway, the bills could all be moot points thanks to the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006. Try Ctrl+F to find horses, the act amends numerous existing laws to starve funding for inspection of horse meat. Again, the actual effect of the law is still to be sorted out by lawyers.

These posts are losing direction slowly, so I will post a part three that talks solely about Texas and its two horse slaughterhouses, interestingly enough none of these pending bills or the appropriations bill, which passed the House in June, the Senate Sept. 22, 2005 and was signed by the President as Public Law 109-097 on Nov. 10, may actually affect one of the plants in Texas. More on all of that to come.

American horse slaughtering--Part One

2005-12-15T01:01:00.000-08:00

Around DeKalb people are wondering what pending and recently passed federal legislation might mean for the Cavel International horse slaughtering plant and its 50 or so employees.

First let's look at what's going on as far as bills on the floor of the House and Senate. There are some provisions being looked at that may make horse slaughter for human consumption out and out illegal in the United States.

Probably the most important bill is the Virgie S. Arden American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act or S.1915. A summary of action on the bill can be found here. It was introduced on Oct. 25, 2005, the chief Senate sponsor is Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) but it has 10 Senate co-sponsors including, Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT).

The bill itself is specifically designed, "To amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes," according to the text of the legislation.

The Horse Protection Act (15 USC 1821-1831) was passed in Dec. 1970 and amended in July of 1976. This is where the bill starts and this bad boy is also known as Public Law 91-540; don't try looking on the list of Public Laws provided by the Library of Congress though, they only go back to the 93rd Congress. Anyway you can see the 1976 amendment text at the bottom of the page linked above as the start of the bill. It essentially changed a few definitions, i.e. "sore" and "state." Ok, history lesson over, sorry about that aside.

So what does all of this mean, at least in reference to S. 1915?

Well, I don't know if anyone has ever tried to read federal legislation but it truly is the most futile of past times. Take, for example, the text in S.1915 which alludes to Section One of the Horse Protection Act:

(a) Definitions- Section 2 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1821) is amended--

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) as paragraphs (2), (3), (5), and (6), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redesignated by paragraph (1)) the following:
(1) The term `human consumption' means ingestion by people as a source of food.'; and (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) (as redesignated by paragraph (1) the following:
(4) The term 'slaughter' means the killing of 1 or more horses or other equines with the intent to sell or trade the flesh for human consumption.

Just a bit unclear, at least, and at worst it’s like trying to choose from the red, blue or green wire when defusing a bomb. You absolutely have to have the original law in hand to make any sense of this. Which, as I linked to earlier, is conveniently provided by the U.S Department of Agriculture here or the U.S. House of Representatives here.

So now to the meat of the changes, so to speak.

According to S. 1915:
"(c) Prohibition- Section 5 of the Horse Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1824) is amended--

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through (11) as paragraphs (9) through (12), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after paragraph 7 the following:

(8) The shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of any horse or other equine to be slaughtered for human consumption.'"

First Section 5 Paragraphs 8-11 are changed into paragraphs 9-12. Paragraphs 8-11 prohibit the following:

"8-The failing to establish, maintain, or submit records, notices, reports, or other information required under section 1823 of this title.

9-The failure or refusal to permit access to or copying of records, or the failure or refusal to permit entry or inspection, as required by section 1823 of this title.

10-The removal of any marking required by the Secretary to identify a horse as being detained.

11-The failure or refusal to provide the Secretary with adequate space or facilities, as the Secretary may by regulation under section 1828 of this title prescribe, in which to conduct inspections or any other activity authorized to be performed by the Secretary under this Act."

The above provisions are simply other things that the original Horse Protection Act prohibited.

S. 1915 adds a key paragraph to Section 5 (Prohibition) the Horse Protection Act and dubs it paragraph 7.

"The shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of any horse or other equine to be slaughtered for human consumption."

That phrase in Ensign's amendment effectively bans horse slaughter for human consumption in the United States. Ensign referenced a similar bill in the House, "The House version of this bill, H.R. 5031 (sic), currently has more than 120 cosponsors.," in his Oct. 25 introduction of S. 1915, according to the Congressional Record. Although, when browsing THOMAS (federal legislation on the Web from the Library of Congress) for H.R. 5031 you will receive this lovely error message.

Which led me to believe either Ensign misspoke on the Senate floor or the Congressional Record had a typo in the Web version. I was right.

Check out H.R. 503, it's the same bill as S. 1915, so there is the House version.

If you take a look at the bill summary and status for H.R. 503 you will see some small differences from the Senate bill S. 1915. First, the bill was introduced some eight months earlier than the Senate version, the chief sponsor in the House is Rep. John E. Sweeney (R-NY) and it has 133 co-sponsors instead of the 120 it had on Oct. 25 according to Ensign.

Both bills are currently stuck in committees. S. 1915 has been "Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation." While H.R. 503 has been, "Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection."

Will these proposals have what it takes to become law?

This could be an irrelevant question as in June the House of Representatives passed, as part of the Department of Agriculture spending bill took away funding for USDA inspection of horse meat for human consumption overseas. Of course, Cavel Plant Manager Jim Tucker said the plant could pay for it themselves so the result of that legislation is still up in the air.

Hard to see the future is. Activists and politicians alike continue to cite public polling which shows most Americans are opposed to horse slaughtering for human consumption. With so much support in both the Senate and House it's hard to not see this thing becoming the law of the land. One poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling during May 2003 in Texas (which is relevant because the other two U.S. horse slaughterhouses are located there) showed 81 percent of Texans opposed to the slaughter of horses for food, 81 percent! In Texas, no less! I'd say native Texan and President George W. Bush would have a hard time not signing this bill into law when it reaches the Oval Office.

Part two to this blog entry will be posted within the next couple of hours.

Cavel, Distriva, Velda

2005-12-14T19:29:00.000-08:00

Is Distriva owned by Velda? I sent Velda an email, asking them that question, among others, unfortunately I cannot afford a call to France or Belgium, but who can. The email, at least, didn't kick back to my inbox, so it went somewhere. Otherwise, I have been doing some good, new-fashioned, Internet research. I got the email here. Which, is also where I first found the link for Distriva.
Further contact info for Distriva is available as well, according to its Web site:

DISTRIVA SA
Zone Industrielle Nord BP 48F-80190 NESLE, France TEL: 0 800 90 66 70
FAX: +33 3 22 78 32 96
E-mail: distriva@distriva.com

According to the French yellow pages:
Zone Industrielle 80190 NESLE
Tel: 03 22 88 21 82
Tel: 03 22 88 27 00
Fax: 03 22 78 32 96

The international country code for France is 33

If you don't know what I am talking about, click here and here.

If you Google the terms ‘Distriva Velda’ you get a handful of hits, about 12 or 13. The second hit seemed relevant. It links to Velda Italia, apparently the Italian subsidiary of the Belgium-based Velda Group, and if you translate the page into semi-cryptic English some interesting stuff is on the site, although the site itself does look a bit suspect for a large international conglomerate; maybe web design isn't a heavily used business tool in and around Central Europe.

Quick word of warning though: the Velda Italia site only appears if the search filter allows pages updated anytime, meaning it probably hasn't been updated anytime in the last year. Still the information is out there for the perusing and browsing, and telling people about. (My own little disclaimer, how nice.)

Basically the site has a nice map if you link to the profile of the company here. You can see the DeKalb Cavel International location marked with a big yellow splotch. Other locations are marked as well but these are not necessarily horse slaughtering locales. The "other locations," include the now-defunct Cavel West (see below) a number in South America, mostly Argentina. Others are located In Europe and Australia.

One of the European ones appears to be Distriva, which if you haven't read its site yet do it now. Distriva isn't a slaughterhouse, it's an import company. They are basically a distributor.

Check this out from the Velda Italia Web site (it's from the corporate profile for the entire Velda Group)

"The main center of group VELDA is found in Zele Belgium and, being Company leader to world-wide level, it stops two slaughter houses on the north America (CAVEL INTERNATIONAL and CAVEL WEST USA), moreover exercises the exclusive right on others 3 slaughter houses dislocates between the Latin America and Australia to you, while on the rancese market in the field of the great distribution and present with the Distriva brand."

Granted this is the Google translated version but the gist is there. So then when you look at the map you see that, clearly not all of the locations on the map are horse slaughtering houses.

Distriva reiterates this on its shoddily designed Web site (home on the range, I guess?):

"DISTRIVA is one of the leading importers/distributors of horsemeat on the European market.
Our imports come from all over the world so we receive a constant supply of meat from all continents. For this purpose, we have our own slaughterhouses as well as exclusivity agreements signed with other slaughterhouses.
Our distribution is also organised on a world-wide basis, with the European market at the centre. We have our own fleet of trucks for distribution in Europe, backed-up by distribution via specialised transport firms."

Distriva imports and distributes horse meat products. From all over the world, apparently: "Our suppliers are slaughterhouses in the United States, Argentina, Brazil and Australia." You can read that if you click on the little, annoying, animated .gif of Mother Earth on the left side of the home page.

In fact go to that page because the map is probably the most telling part, along with the sentence above. They import from Argentina, Brazil, the United States (Cavel International here in DeKalb) and Australia. Those places, along with Distriva are marked on the map above the text, which is just an edited version of the map that appears on Velda Italia's page. Those dots correspond with the dots on the Velda Italia map. A logical conclusion based on the site's text and the maps referenced above is that Distriva imports horse meat from five Velda owned horse slaughtering plants worldwide. We know Distriva doesn't kill the horses, nor does Velda Italia.

This leaves three Velda-owned properties, again according to this map, whose functions are not yet known. The one in Oregon they gave away above, likely Cavel West, which was in Redmond, Oregon. I do believe that it was set aflame by the Animal Liberation Front; here is a reference to the fire in a press release from Oregon's Lieutenant Governor. So one down (they really should update their map and site). The other two are in what looks to be Argentina.

Velda is a pretty ambitious corporation it would seem. They have operations in seven countries, including a likely five horse slaughtering plants as well as distribution and sales.

Moreover, according to the Velda Italia site: “VELDA be succeeds to serve beyond 2.000 customers scattered on all the European continent managing beyond 80.000 deliveries anniversaries.”

This, I think, is trying to say; Velda serves more than 2,000 European customers continent-wide, making 80,000 deliveries annually. Again, lots of horse bologna and salami and such. If this page hasn’t been updated recently those numbers could be different, but the main point is Velda supplies a lot of horse meat to people for food.

Of course, the update frequency of this page may not be up to par with many other corporations. They seem web elusive regardless. At least, I found an email address.

Good song

2005-12-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

The Strokes have a new album due out in January. I think these lyrics for "On the Other Side" are correct, if you see any mistakes let me know.
UPDATE: posted lyrics to Ask Me Anything below these, if you found them congrats, again they may or may not be correct. These are only as good as my source, which isn't the best journalistically but damn it I want to post some Strokes lyrics.

On the Other Side

i'm tired
of everyone
i know
and everyone
i see
on the street
and on TV

on the other side
on the other side
nobody's waiting for me
on the other side

i hate them all
i hate them all
i hate myself
for hating them
so i'll drink some more
i love them all
i'm drinking even more
i'll hate them even more
than i did before

on the other side
on the other side
nobody's waiting for me
on the other side

i remember when you came
you told me i'm insane
now it seems so far away
you told me i'm insane

i'm tired
of being
so judgemental
of everyone
i will not go to sleep
i will train my eyes to see
and my mind is this bird
as a perch of a tree (?)

on the other side
on the other side
i know what's waiting for me
on the other side

on the other side
on the other side
i know you're waiting for me
on the other side

Ask Me Anything

right, wrong, what to do
someday
it will come to you
(?) Indians
we named our summer camp for you

i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i'm in utter dismay
i've got nothing to say

harmless children
we named our soldiers after you
don't be a coconut
God is trying to talk to you
we could drag it out
but that's for other bands to do

i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say

i've got nothing to give
got no reason to live
i will fight to survive
i've got nothing to hide
wish i wasn't so shy

i'd like to watch
i'd like to read
i'd like a part
i'd like the lead

but i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
i've got nothing to say
got no reason to live
i'd kill to survive
i've got nothing to hide
wish i wasn't so shy

Idaho is hilarious

2005-12-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine tipped me to this hilarious piece of legislation in the Idaho state house which thanks the writers and producers of Napoleon Dynamite. Pretty funny stuff. Make sure you scroll down far enough to read the text of the resolution, especially the parts that have "whereas" flying fast and furious.

My personal favorite section of the resolution follows:

"WHEREAS, tater tots figure prominently in this film thus promoting Idaho's most famous export; and
WHEREAS, the friendship between Napoleon and Pedro has furthered multiethnic relationships; and
WHEREAS, Uncle Rico's football skills are a testament to Idaho athletics; and
WHEREAS, Napoleon's bicycle and Kip's skateboard promote better air quality and carpooling as alternatives to fuel-dependent methods of transportation; and
WHEREAS, Grandma's trip to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes highlights a long honored Idaho vacation destination; and
WHEREAS, Rico and Kip's Tupperware sales and Deb's keychains and glamour shots promote entrepreneurism and self-sufficiency in Idaho's small towns; and . . ."

Haha!!! Make sure you read the rest. So funny.

Poetic Musings

2005-12-12T03:26:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: This was the first of my poetry posts. It will now be my "Poetic Musings" page which you will see linked on the left of the front page. I have pasted the recently posted poems here too but I will leave those two on the seperate post too because they have comments. Enjoy. New stuff on top, older stuff below.

Of course, any feedback would be more than appreciated. Good, not good, I don't care, it just seems to pour out of me. Take a chance on it, on me.

March 3, 2006

It’s To Her

and so and now
theyll be time
to just
....
wonder why
...
cry
....
but there'll be time
for this sky
and words by
yours
truly
someone standing next to me
is up to no good
i don’t know why
i trust
i thought i should
and oh so cold and lame and fine
but i throw another party
in the hollow of my fineness
a place where you can go
when you get mad
isn’t life funny
when it stings
like that beekeepers hive
but every time
i can’t find you
i know i’m too late
so i duck out
go down to find . . .
and what i find
don’t make me wish
don’t make me wish that i was dead
just makes me wish
another way through
was there instead
but either way you look at it
we have no chance
i have no chance
i have no chance

Feb. 4, 2006 (2 Poems)

Untitled

and so
i am
so sorry again
i am
i am
the way i am
and so
i am
if i could
take it all back
i would
so sorry again
i am
and so
i am
perhaps i am
so sorry again
i feel alone
but sometimes
i don’t
i am

take me away
take me over
take me away
to anywhere

and so
i am
so sorry again
i apologize
sincerely
for
the way i am
and so
there are times
when i’m not so alone
but i won’t
i am
this time i won’t
i am
so sorry again
and so
perhaps i’m not
sorry at all
i am
deeply and utterly,
entirely alone
i am
so sorry again

Untitled

what if i told you i loved you
what if i said i wanted now to be forever
what if i scared you away
and never got to capture that forever
instead just sparkled and fizzled then faded away
what if i told you i want only your eyes
what if i told you i’d hold you ‘til death
what if you ran frightened and screaming
pushing and kicking and denying my feelings
until finally i just slipped and faded away
what if i told you each kiss was sacred
what if i said each touch made me smile
what if you took my heart out to bleed it
and then i would smile
and fade darkly away, grasping and screaming, just trying to stay
what if i told you i loved you
from now until dust
what if i said i wanted you always and only
until the mountains are dunes and the seas are all dry
what if i told you what i see in your eyes
most peaceful and calming, soothing night skies
over a meadow in green mountains so lush
i cannot see you just running away
but maybe if i say nothing
it will compel you to stay
here where i am with my fragile, dark heart
falling to pieces, late at night
where i cant sleep, until its light
what if i told you i loved you
would that change things then?
would you ever want to even see me again?
what if i said i could not live without you
would you call it a lie
would you say i just want to make you give it a try
what if i said i wanted you always
would you raise up one eye
would you question it and always continue wondering why
what if i told you i loved you

Jan. 31, 2006 (2 Poems)

Thoughts (Endlessly)

endless clouds
covered my endless nights
speeding around town in ‘black cabs’
with tinted windows
the world breezing by
in a constant hum of artificial and endless light
penetrating the dark,
the clouds and the night
endless thoughts
all out of place
entirely mixed up
and walks in the rain
entirely jumbled
mixed up and out of place

oh no
oh damn
i killed my friends again
endless seduction
through my endless corruption
oh no
oh damn

endless lies
cover my
endless life
and i wanted to stay
to not shut off
to not go away
but these endless thoughts
that beg me to stay
caused too much hurt and
too much pain
for a life stained thirty different shades of gray
endless days of
endless pain

endless clouds
cover the endless sky
on endlessly cold, long, dark nights
for reasons unknown we could never ask why
just stood and stared
in the dim green light
and watching as you walked away
for one last time
killing something off
hidden inside
but once exposed it would never leave
the yen and the burning
offered no reprieve
offered the nothing
i was sent to retrieve
and scraped it up grumbling
shocked and deceived

oh no
oh damn
my mouth is wide open
and i can only stand and stare
oh no
i killed them all again
through endless seduction
and endless corruption
oh no
oh damn

endless roads
that are endlessly paved
leaving in all directions
i’ve just to pick the way
nothing stays constant
except for the blame
and if nobody wants it
i guess i can’t stay
the endless thoughts
of endless nights
are with me each and every day
endlessly lousy
this is the way
endlessly fooled
endlessly leaving
and forever the tool.

Killing Birds

i killed a million birds
with a thousand stones
and when my killing spree was over
i was entirely alone
afraid and unfree
terrified of these thoughts
building in me
to scared to stay
to afraid to go
a finely honed coward
and a pain that you’ll never know
and when the darkness arrives
as i know that it will
i’ll be alone
standing completely still
alone while the cold and arctic wind blows
alone in the drifting and piling snows
the birds overhead
it seems like they know
that i am going to kill them
because i am alone
my fire is slow
and burns me inside
from feelings and hurt
i wished i could hide
but it won’t go away
but i wanted it to
the feelings that have made
me so royally blue
and in the shadow of horses
riding away
thunder is rolling
trying to say
something is dying
deep down in me
something i wanted to just set me free
caged as i am
with walls all around
blocking out those noises
those awful, damned sounds

and its killing me
like i killed those birds
and its stinging me
like it stung at first
and its killing me
and its killing me
oh my love
i could never win

and i’ll be here tomorrow
i’ll still be alone
sitting and watching
from my thorn covered throne

Jan. 18, 2006

Untitled

just so you know
i miss you everyday
and my yen spills over
into my endless, lonely nights
and thoughts of you
hang in the crisp night air
only to be blown away
by loneliness, sorrow and despair
just so you know
you haunt my every minute
of every night and infinite day
for every second
since you walked away
and never turned back
for the longest time i thought
just so you know
a life unfulfilled
every second spiraling down
far beneath
the frost covered ground
is what i carry
a burden too heavy
a pain all to real
just so you know
i have shed a thousand tears
for your thousand lies
after feeling the feelings
it would have been better off to hide
just so you know
i don’t owe you a thing
you walked away
leaving me nothing
only this sting
thoughts of you consume me
capture my being
just so you know
i have been left with no feelings
and here in this place
where it’s cold, dark and wet
i can stay here forever
forever and yet
every single time
that i try to steal away
thoughts of you come crashing
making me stay
just so you know
i only hang on
hoping and waiting
for something far gone
hoping and wishing
and waiting all day
for a bittersweet moment
when it’s finally okay
just so you know
i never wanted it this way
i would have loved you forever
just so you know
i’ll never love again
just stay here and wallow
in my darkness and sin
just so you know
just so you know

Dec. 29, 2005

Attempted

how many nights ago was it?
that my lungs filled
with that sickly, sweet fluid
drowning me inside
grasping, pulling and reaching for air
could never reach the surface
could never leave there
struggled to swim
to get away
could never reach the surface
could never break the waves
and i feel its tension
snapping inside my brain
feel it tightening
writhing with pain
and if i am snuffed out
or i can’t remain
don’t think about me
don’t let it rain
because it's in the rain that i feel truly free
bathing my soul and letting me see
in the water caressing, all around me
could never reach the surface
could never break free
just leave this place
for another that will never be
that cannot erase
the grasping, pulling, drowning sounds
that just keep coming from so far down
does not matter anyway
could never reach the surface
could never get away.

you can’t hide
like i can’t get away
nothing i ever tried
nothing i ever say
had any meaning
tattered, torn and frayed.

Dec. 19, 2005

Untitled

i'm almost back now
from the edge of the blade
from the hollows of darkness
the pain of the knife
cuts turn to scars a
nd i cower back inside
where my sadness comes from
where my darkness never ends
wish i knew a way that i could mend
so broken and desolate deserted my feelings
and i didn’t know you noticed me
standing over here in the corner
alone
i didn’t know anything
so much noise

Blinding Light

all i can tell you
are the few the things i know
blinding light, letting go
stuck in here
years and years
and pain
letting go
am i dark?
blinding maybe
deafening noises
screeching from down below
forever jealous of you
forever stuck in here
a cage of my own inescapable design
and the pouring of the cool water over my skin
seeping in, dripping down
and hear it again
that awful, pounding, grinding sound
just because i cant sleep with it grinding slowly away at my sanity
i can't afford to know
i can't afford to go
journey back out and around
i didn’t stop at the door
it was that terrible sound
that pushed me out
that walked me away
i never knew
i never
tried
to slide out of here
just staying stuck inside
indecent
and frayed
here on the ground
here in the corner
where i guess i should have always stayed

Dec. 12, 2005

Untitled

something only something
hiding in the wilted shadows
amongst the rocks
where the water laps the shore
and the footprints are smoothed away
and the cold water leaves a cold nothing
in the wilted shadows
amongst the rocks
with wisps of moss
and the hint of dying fish
and only the shadows remain
waved across the sand like fingers
ripping into the world
tearing into the searing flesh
that’s left behind
amongst the rocks and wilted shadows
the night has consumed
and the darkness claims its victims
daylight into night and all hope is lost
only the cold water remains
lapping against the shore
sweeping away the sand
and mopping up the moss
the cool air eats the scents hanging in the night
and only the dew remains
and the fog on the water rolling in across the waves
licking at the rocks amongst the shore
in the shadows from the moon
condensing and drying up into the cool night
like wilted shadows dying off
in a cloud of nothingness
and haze of everything

Some of this is incredibly hard to share but I found a second one I don't mind letting you read. I thought this one might make a decent song if set to the right music. :) And this one has a title

Don’t Let Go

in the clearing, off in the distance
i can see something, so blurry i can barely make it out
the closer i get the more obscure it becomes
down the lonely, deserted path
someone in the distance
out beyond the pain
up to no good
pulling on the strings, making things be
on the coldest route, on the bleakest night
if i can just reach there
i might be able to save myself
instead of falling down the drain
lost inside an awesome tidal force
swirling away, to never be seen
i thought i knew what you wanted
i thought i knew
nothing . . .
now ive got to hide out, for just a minute
and never turn back around
and leave it all behind
the feelings
you’ve got yours and i’ve got mine
let my feet beat the ground
(don’t let me go)
let my voice be heard
(don’t let me go)
from here to there and far away
where i will go forever
(don’t let me go)
and stay

Notes on Cavel and Munson

2005-12-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

First, I haven't posted the last couple days, I have been busy writing and pondering this mixed up crazy game called life.

On to the update.

My investigation into "technical changes" continues, albeit abated for the weekend. I did get a call back from Rep. Ruth Munson on Friday; however, I was not around to receive it and will have to wait until Monday to return the call as I did not see she had called until well after 6 p.m. on Friday. Either way we will soon know what she has to say, which is a good thing.

Previous posts on "technical changes" can be read here, here, here, here and here.

On an unrelated note about Cavel, I have little else to share but there are a couple of things to spout about.

First, I am in contact with a Dutch Belgian. He has been busy working long hours it is possible he will soon assist me in acquiring the records I need.

I did find out that the previously linked Distriva is a French company so the Web site provided wasn't the one for Velda but it appears, after looking at a Belgian business guide, that Distriva is affiliated in some way (distribution perhaps?) with Velda, I peeked into that same Belgian business guide for my first blog post on Cavel. The guide provides the information I provided on Velda's location in the blog post linked above, with, apparently, is the right phone number.

Disclaimers galore

2005-12-07T21:01:00.000-08:00

Perusing ilga.gov I found the following disclaimers so I figured I better post it so everyone knows. Although, perhaps if they aren't sure about accuracy of what they are publishing for public view maybe that should be taken into consideration prior to publishing it on an "official" governement Web site.

The site is official, the information contained therein may not be.

Perhaps I should shut up perhaps not.

First Disclaimer: (can be linked to at the menu bar in purple or blue at the top of the page under "legislaiton & laws")

Disclaimer: This site contains provisions of legislation from databases that were created for the use of the members and staff of the Illinois General Assembly. The provisions have NOT been edited for publication, and are NOT in any sense "official". The accuracy of any specific provision originating from this site cannot be assured, and you are urged to consult the official documents or contact legal counsel of your choice. This site should not be cited as an official or authoritative source

Second Disclaimer: (can be linked to by scrolling down to the bottom of the home page and clicking "disclaimers" on the bottom menu bar.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Accuracy of Data
Although the information found on this site is believed to be reliable, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability, or usefulness of any information, either isolated or in the aggregate. The information is provided "as is". All warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, freedom from contamination by computer viruses, and non-infringement of proprietary rights, are disclaimed. Changes may be periodically made to the information; these changes may or may not be incorporated into this site. If you have obtained information from any of the Illinois General Assembly web pages from a source other than the Illinois General Assembly website directly, be aware that electronic data can be altered after its original distribution. Data can also quickly become out of date. If you find any errors or omissions, we encourage you to report them by e-mail to: webmaster@ilga.gov.

This is weird I think. I mean a government website should be informing the people accurately I would think. Maybe I'm wrong. I wonder, are the disclaimers even accurate? Any thoughts?