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Jan. 17th, 2012 12:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* Approximately of 400 children have been been murdered and sometimes tortued by the Syrian government since March. The Syrian government claims this slaughter of children is justified by imaginary terrorist thugs and old file footage shot in Lebanon having nothing to do with current events in Syra. The Syrian government murdered thirteen people today, and many more over the weekend. They opened fire on folks waiting in line at a bakery. We all no how dangerous unarmed people innocently shopping for bread are to armed troops, right? The Arab League observers are leaving this week, even as the people beg them to stay.
* There is a serious constitutional political crisis going on in Pakistan. It's sounding like the President tried to pardon something like 800 people of corruption charges so they could run for office. There is a serious question of legality, understandably, and it's being settled by the courts.
* Greece is yet again on the verge of financial collapse. France's credit rating is in trouble.
* Remember that evangelical meeting to choose a candidate? It turns out evangelical leaders like santorum. Yes, that pretty much is it's own punchline.
* See some of these santorum loving evangelicals are also pulling out the anti-catholic rhetoric against Gingrich. Eeew.
* Huntsman is out of the race and backing Romney.
* Stephen Colbert can't get on the South Carolina ballot and there are no write ins, so he has told people who want to vote for him to vote for Cain to prove support.
* The not Colbert PAC's Mitt Romney is a serial killer is embedded in this article on the ad buy. Contains Dexter spoiler from a previous season: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/colbert-ad-airing-in-s-c-attacks-romney-for-being-a-serial-killer/
* There has been a second incident with a greyhound bus driver mistreating people on their way to financial protests. This does not surprise me at all, given that the drivers on the Bellingham/Seattle route routinely strand people for using the toilet, like to randomly berate passengers they don't like the look of, are prone to religious and/or right wing political rants, and make no accommodations at all for disabled folk. This is in the PNW. I can only imagine what thery are like in other regions of the country.
* Twenty nine people are still missing (they were still pulling people out alive yesterday, but odds are narrowing at this point) and six dead in a cruise ship sinking over the weekend. I am sorry for the dead, but honestly, I'm not surprised given Carnival Cruise's crap health and safety record and generally shitty employment practices. CC is of course blaming the Captain, but there is reason to suspect serious electrical malfunction as either a cause or exacerbating factor. This certainly seems consistent with their string of violations connected to ignoring basic maintenance and not being willing to pay for proper skilled labour on things like electrical and plumbing. Of course, crappy employment policies and conditions could contribute to human error also. We'll see how the investigation turns out. I would like to point out that the mega ship had twice the number of passengers as the Titanic, and 4000+ people got off safely, despite half the life rafts being under the water line, the internal lights all being off, and completely understandable panic by folks scared in the dark on a dramatically tilted and sinking ship who had not been given any safety lectures or evacuation plans. I do think questions about why the passengers had not been told in advance what to do in an emergency (see CC's known lack of diligence when it comes to health and safety), and why there were so few crew for so many passengers (see shitty employment practices again). At the same time, I'd like to point out how much worse this could easily have been (See the fate of the Titanic, then double it). As sorry as I am for the families of the dead, I admit, I'm much more focused on the death toll in Syria.
* In honor of MLK Day, there was a huge protest outside of Michigan Governor, Rick Snyder's gated community protesting is plan to abolish Democracy in Detroit, which when added to Flint and the other towns and cities where he has abolished democracy, would mean a majority of African Americans in Michigan would no longer have the vote in local elections. Somehow within my lifetime, it has become an article of faith in the Republican Party, that POC should no longer be able to vote. The party of Lincoln has become the party of disenfranchisement, whether through voter restrictions, de facto poll taxes (if it costs several hundred dollars to get the documents to fit new voting requirements, that's a de facto poll tax), or martial law declarations in Michagan.
MLK and Malcom X are more relevant than ever here in the 21st century. It makes me sad and ashamed, that we are still as a country arguing over whether people of colour should have the right to vote.
* The Interior Department has agreed to correct the misquote on the MLK monument on the National Mall. Good!
* On a personal note, I am wondering if the stone carver who used to sculpt me is still doing carving and repairs to the monuments on the national mall. It's how he made his bread and carrot juice back then. I suppose he's likely retired now, but he he was a very vigorous health nut, so who knows.
* Mache is improving. The limp is decreasing, and she was up to hanging with the clowder during the evening migration.
* I emerged from my cave to find it had snowed. In Bellingham! O.o Of course it was too late to cancel my Doctor's appointment, and the snow was light and fresh, so I decided to risk it. The hard part was getting out of and back into the parking lot of my complex, where the ground was uneven, the steep slope of the street starts, and the snow gave way to packed down slush turning to ice. Luckily the street itself was clear, so as long as I was willing to risk cars, the walk to the bus stop was only slightly more dangerous than usual. The downtown sidewalks were dangerous for me, as no one ciders/salts, but I made it there and back with a minimum of drama. (The really scary bit was trying to get back into my complex, as I said). Really, I needed to pick up some comet and conditioner at the supermarket, but the snow had turned to hail at that point and the slush was turning nasty and icy, so my decision to go straight home was clearly the best choice.
When I got home, I opened the patio blinds so the beasties could all watch the hail without drama.
* I got the Hall nearly dry, but late last night, it came back. This time, I caught it early enough to see that it is seeping up through the floor. I can't see how they will fix it without taking up the carpet, and it will likely be a huge, long term hassle. I need to do prep if we're going to have that sort of extended scrutiny.
* RM found, "Second Class Citizen: http://lettersfromtitan.tumblr.com/post/15992171456/blurintofocus-tyleroakley-second-class
* RM found, a cool little story Robert Downey Jr., that genuinely moved me: http://rdjnews.tumblr.com/post/11049963912/true-story-his-name-is-robert-downey-jr
I've always rooted for him, and when he finally got his life together I was extremely happy. It's nice to know that he is a genuinely a wonderful human being on top of being so talented.
* Goldie Taylor and Micheal Erik Tyson on Doctor Martin Luther King's war on poverty (after the intro):
* In honor of his birthday, I give you Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking about poverty in America: http://youtu.be/L--vJg_gLew
* There is a serious constitutional political crisis going on in Pakistan. It's sounding like the President tried to pardon something like 800 people of corruption charges so they could run for office. There is a serious question of legality, understandably, and it's being settled by the courts.
* Greece is yet again on the verge of financial collapse. France's credit rating is in trouble.
* Remember that evangelical meeting to choose a candidate? It turns out evangelical leaders like santorum. Yes, that pretty much is it's own punchline.
* See some of these santorum loving evangelicals are also pulling out the anti-catholic rhetoric against Gingrich. Eeew.
* Huntsman is out of the race and backing Romney.
* Stephen Colbert can't get on the South Carolina ballot and there are no write ins, so he has told people who want to vote for him to vote for Cain to prove support.
* The not Colbert PAC's Mitt Romney is a serial killer is embedded in this article on the ad buy. Contains Dexter spoiler from a previous season: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/01/colbert-ad-airing-in-s-c-attacks-romney-for-being-a-serial-killer/
* There has been a second incident with a greyhound bus driver mistreating people on their way to financial protests. This does not surprise me at all, given that the drivers on the Bellingham/Seattle route routinely strand people for using the toilet, like to randomly berate passengers they don't like the look of, are prone to religious and/or right wing political rants, and make no accommodations at all for disabled folk. This is in the PNW. I can only imagine what thery are like in other regions of the country.
* Twenty nine people are still missing (they were still pulling people out alive yesterday, but odds are narrowing at this point) and six dead in a cruise ship sinking over the weekend. I am sorry for the dead, but honestly, I'm not surprised given Carnival Cruise's crap health and safety record and generally shitty employment practices. CC is of course blaming the Captain, but there is reason to suspect serious electrical malfunction as either a cause or exacerbating factor. This certainly seems consistent with their string of violations connected to ignoring basic maintenance and not being willing to pay for proper skilled labour on things like electrical and plumbing. Of course, crappy employment policies and conditions could contribute to human error also. We'll see how the investigation turns out. I would like to point out that the mega ship had twice the number of passengers as the Titanic, and 4000+ people got off safely, despite half the life rafts being under the water line, the internal lights all being off, and completely understandable panic by folks scared in the dark on a dramatically tilted and sinking ship who had not been given any safety lectures or evacuation plans. I do think questions about why the passengers had not been told in advance what to do in an emergency (see CC's known lack of diligence when it comes to health and safety), and why there were so few crew for so many passengers (see shitty employment practices again). At the same time, I'd like to point out how much worse this could easily have been (See the fate of the Titanic, then double it). As sorry as I am for the families of the dead, I admit, I'm much more focused on the death toll in Syria.
* In honor of MLK Day, there was a huge protest outside of Michigan Governor, Rick Snyder's gated community protesting is plan to abolish Democracy in Detroit, which when added to Flint and the other towns and cities where he has abolished democracy, would mean a majority of African Americans in Michigan would no longer have the vote in local elections. Somehow within my lifetime, it has become an article of faith in the Republican Party, that POC should no longer be able to vote. The party of Lincoln has become the party of disenfranchisement, whether through voter restrictions, de facto poll taxes (if it costs several hundred dollars to get the documents to fit new voting requirements, that's a de facto poll tax), or martial law declarations in Michagan.
MLK and Malcom X are more relevant than ever here in the 21st century. It makes me sad and ashamed, that we are still as a country arguing over whether people of colour should have the right to vote.
* The Interior Department has agreed to correct the misquote on the MLK monument on the National Mall. Good!
* On a personal note, I am wondering if the stone carver who used to sculpt me is still doing carving and repairs to the monuments on the national mall. It's how he made his bread and carrot juice back then. I suppose he's likely retired now, but he he was a very vigorous health nut, so who knows.
* Mache is improving. The limp is decreasing, and she was up to hanging with the clowder during the evening migration.
* I emerged from my cave to find it had snowed. In Bellingham! O.o Of course it was too late to cancel my Doctor's appointment, and the snow was light and fresh, so I decided to risk it. The hard part was getting out of and back into the parking lot of my complex, where the ground was uneven, the steep slope of the street starts, and the snow gave way to packed down slush turning to ice. Luckily the street itself was clear, so as long as I was willing to risk cars, the walk to the bus stop was only slightly more dangerous than usual. The downtown sidewalks were dangerous for me, as no one ciders/salts, but I made it there and back with a minimum of drama. (The really scary bit was trying to get back into my complex, as I said). Really, I needed to pick up some comet and conditioner at the supermarket, but the snow had turned to hail at that point and the slush was turning nasty and icy, so my decision to go straight home was clearly the best choice.
When I got home, I opened the patio blinds so the beasties could all watch the hail without drama.
* I got the Hall nearly dry, but late last night, it came back. This time, I caught it early enough to see that it is seeping up through the floor. I can't see how they will fix it without taking up the carpet, and it will likely be a huge, long term hassle. I need to do prep if we're going to have that sort of extended scrutiny.
* RM found, "Second Class Citizen: http://lettersfromtitan.tumblr.com/post/15992171456/blurintofocus-tyleroakley-second-class
* RM found, a cool little story Robert Downey Jr., that genuinely moved me: http://rdjnews.tumblr.com/post/11049963912/true-story-his-name-is-robert-downey-jr
I've always rooted for him, and when he finally got his life together I was extremely happy. It's nice to know that he is a genuinely a wonderful human being on top of being so talented.
* Goldie Taylor and Micheal Erik Tyson on Doctor Martin Luther King's war on poverty (after the intro):
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
* In honor of his birthday, I give you Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking about poverty in America: http://youtu.be/L--vJg_gLew
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-17 11:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-18 01:31 am (UTC)