(no subject)

* The Syrian government killed 70 people yesterday in shelling, while still claiming that somehow all those men in Syrian army uniforms with Syrian army artillery and tanks were really secretly terrorists. I suppose he's technically correct in that his government is practicing terrorism by having their army shell civilian neighborhoods, but I do not think that's what Assad means.

* Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, on trial for Crimes against Humanity stemming from his fomenting and funding a bloody civil war in Sierra Leone, leading to mass rape, sexual slavery, terrorism, amputation of limbs and mutilation of civilians and children, and the forcible recruitment of child soldiers, was found guilty on eleven counts. Rightly so. Obviously nothing can make up for the horrors he cause, but at least he's being made to face is crimes and there is international acknowledgement of his monsterousness. They had to come back not proven on some things including a bunch of terrorism counts on the grounds it was impossible to tell if the atrocities were done specifically to terrorize civilians r simply for fun and profit, with the terroristic effect being a side effect, though they did uphold some. Similarly, in some cases they couldn't establish he'd directly ordered or controlled the people doing some of the things. It was much easier to prove material, practical, and moral support. They did get him for planning some of the campaigns. The summation and verdicts were hard to listen to, given the detailed contents. I can only imagine how devastating the trial was for those participating. I think it's outright impossible to imagine what it must have been like to live through for the survivors. The conflict in Sierra Leone is infamous, a sort of watch word for how bad things can get. I never thought anyone would be held responsible. I'm glad someone is beside this, another 13 have already been prosecuted. Not enough, but it's a start.

Yes, I watched almost the whole verdict segment, as BBCA broadcast it without edit or break for the first hour. (They cut away for some commentary in the second, and lost the feed for a bit in the third hour.) Frankly, the parade of horrors was such that at some point I became numb and couldn't take in any more. I knew this stuff was going on over there, but something about the list of specifics with locations and dates made it so much more real. It is amazing to me that Justice Lussick got through it all with his voice so calm. I couldn't have done it.

* 40,000 Norwegians turned up to sing the Norwegian version of a Pete Seeger song called "Children of the Rainbow" outside the courthouse where they are trying Anders Breivik because he railed against it in court. I shed real tears watching it.

* George Zimmerman had about 200 thousand dollars stashed in pay pal during his bond hearing when he was pleading indigence along with his family. I honestly feel bad for his lawyer who's been blind sided and made to look dishonest. It also makes me queasy that so many people thought this was a better use of their money than any other charity.

* In Michigan, a man who's firm brought a challenge to a recall petition ruled that the font size was slightly to small and upheld the challenge. He claims that ruling on a challenge coming from his own firm was not a conflict of interest. Of course. So the repeal of Democracy in Michigan continues. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#47198428

( Embed: )

* The goal of the supposedly pro-woman Republican "Woman Up" program is to drop the percentage of women in Congress from just less than twenty percent to fifteen percent. O.o They also look to be backing down on blocking the Violence against Woman Act re-authorization what with it being politically toxic to be that blatant about their anti-woman agenda.

* How is it that no one in the President's camp thought it was a bad idea for Vice President Biden to be talking about how big the President's "stick" is? *faepalm* Seriously? No one said, "Let's leave this line out?" WTF???

* Psybelle finds some scary stuff: http://psybelle.livejournal.com/735063.html

* I went to bed very early, and Hector only spent a couple of hours howling, so I got real sleep. I was even able to read the whole second chapter of Drift without interruption. O.o (This is part of why I don't read much non fiction any more: It's hard to concentrate on anything complicated with all the howling and drama going on). While I had scattered awareness of political stuff before the Ford/Carter debates, most of what I know about events before that point was learned later and therefore retrospect from various positions. The rise of Reagan was something I watched real time. There is a real difference, especially since most historical analysis stops with Ford becoming president in this country. Sure, you get pundits arguing over Reagan's legacy and what have you, but you don't see much complicated political analysis intelligently examining ford and forward with an historical understanding and perspective. Hagiography, sure, but not serious analysis. This is a new experience for me as an Xer. Boomers were examining their history in depth from the moment it became yesterday, but it wasn't like that for my generation. To a certain extent, I'm suffering from a strange double vision, reading about Reagan lying about Panama while in my memory, my childhood self watches him lie on TV while my parents quietly debated it in the background. It's fascinating, no doubt, but I'm still picking at the material, so haven't put any complex thoughts together. In some ways, this feels like a book I've been waiting for all my life without ever guessing that that's what I wanted. wish I had someone reading it with me who lived through that history with eyes open to argue about it with, but my father and comic guy Wes are dead, and I have no sensible moderate Republican friends of the right age to dig into it with. Which is a shame, because that would be fascinating and fun.

* Feliway Update: The Junior beaties love it. Mache seems indifferent. Hector thinks it may be poison. I had to catnip the spots I feliway'd to keep him running from the scent in terror. He did let me sleep last night, but he was also deescalating on his own, so I can't tell if it's working, or a natural mood swing. I think we'll need to wait untill his next PTSd escalation cycle to tell if it's working or not.

* Glee, S:2: ( Today's thoughts: )

* Bwahahahahahaha! http://io9.com/5872490/if-famous-writers-had-written-twilight/
http:metaquotes.livejournal.com/7568184.html

(no subject)

* The Syrian government killed 70 people yesterday in shelling, while still claiming that somehow all those men in Syrian army uniforms with Syrian army artillery and tanks were really secretly terrorists. I suppose he's technically correct in that his government is practicing terrorism by having their army shell civilian neighborhoods, but I do not think that's what Assad means.

* Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, on trial for Crimes against Humanity stemming from his fomenting and funding a bloody civil war in Sierra Leone, leading to mass rape, sexual slavery, terrorism, amputation of limbs and mutilation of civilians and children, and the forcible recruitment of child soldiers, was found guilty on eleven counts. Rightly so. Obviously nothing can make up for the horrors he cause, but at least he's being made to face is crimes and there is international acknowledgement of his monsterousness. They had to come back not proven on some things including a bunch of terrorism counts on the grounds it was impossible to tell if the atrocities were done specifically to terrorize civilians r simply for fun and profit, with the terroristic effect being a side effect, though they did uphold some. Similarly, in some cases they couldn't establish he'd directly ordered or controlled the people doing some of the things. It was much easier to prove material, practical, and moral support. They did get him for planning some of the campaigns. The summation and verdicts were hard to listen to, given the detailed contents. I can only imagine how devastating the trial was for those participating. I think it's outright impossible to imagine what it must have been like to live through for the survivors. The conflict in Sierra Leone is infamous, a sort of watch word for how bad things can get. I never thought anyone would be held responsible. I'm glad someone is beside this, another 13 have already been prosecuted. Not enough, but it's a start.

Yes, I watched almost the whole verdict segment, as BBCA broadcast it without edit or break for the first hour. (They cut away for some commentary in the second, and lost the feed for a bit in the third hour.) Frankly, the parade of horrors was such that at some point I became numb and couldn't take in any more. I knew this stuff was going on over there, but something about the list of specifics with locations and dates made it so much more real. It is amazing to me that Justice Lussick got through it all with his voice so calm. I couldn't have done it.

* 40,000 Norwegians turned up to sing the Norwegian version of a Pete Seeger song called "Children of the Rainbow" outside the courthouse where they are trying Anders Breivik because he railed against it in court. I shed real tears watching it.

* George Zimmerman had about 200 thousand dollars stashed in pay pal during his bond hearing when he was pleading indigence along with his family. I honestly feel bad for his lawyer who's been blind sided and made to look dishonest. It also makes me queasy that so many people thought this was a better use of their money than any other charity.

* In Michigan, a man who's firm brought a challenge to a recall petition ruled that the font size was slightly to small and upheld the challenge. He claims that ruling on a challenge coming from his own firm was not a conflict of interest. Of course. So the repeal of Democracy in Michigan continues. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#47198428

( Embed: )

* The goal of the supposedly pro-woman Republican "Woman Up" program is to drop the percentage of women in Congress from just less than twenty percent to fifteen percent. O.o They also look to be backing down on blocking the Violence against Woman Act re-authorization what with it being politically toxic to be that blatant about their anti-woman agenda.

* How is it that no one in the President's camp thought it was a bad idea for Vice President Biden to be talking about how big the President's "stick" is? *facepalm* Seriously? No one said, "Let's leave this line out?" WTF???

* Psybelle finds some scary stuff: http://psybelle.livejournal.com/735063.html

* I went to bed very early, and Hector only spent a couple of hours howling, so I got real sleep. I was even able to read the whole second chapter of Drift without interruption. O.o (This is part of why I don't read much non fiction any more: It's hard to concentrate on anything complicated with all the howling and drama going on). While I had scattered awareness of political stuff before the Ford/Carter debates, most of what I know about events before that point was learned later and therefore retrospect from various positions. The rise of Reagan was something I watched real time. There is a real difference, especially since most historical analysis stops with Ford becoming president in this country. Sure, you get pundits arguing over Reagan's legacy and what have you, but you don't see much complicated political analysis intelligently examining ford and forward with an historical understanding and perspective. Hagiography, sure, but not serious analysis. This is a new experience for me as an Xer. Boomers were examining their history in depth from the moment it became yesterday, but it wasn't like that for my generation. To a certain extent, I'm suffering from a strange double vision, reading about Reagan lying about Panama while in my memory, my childhood self watches him lie on TV while my parents quietly debated it in the background. It's fascinating, no doubt, but I'm still picking at the material, so haven't put any complex thoughts together. In some ways, this feels like a book I've been waiting for all my life without ever guessing that that's what I wanted. wish I had someone reading it with me who lived through that history with eyes open to argue about it with, but my father and comic guy Wes are dead, and I have no sensible moderate Republican friends of the right age to dig into it with. Which is a shame, because that would be fascinating and fun.

* Feliway Update: The Junior beaties love it. Mache seems indifferent. Hector thinks it may be poison. I had to catnip the spots I feliway'd to keep him running from the scent in terror. He did let me sleep last night, but he was also deescalating on his own, so I can't tell if it's working, or a natural mood swing. I think we'll need to wait untill his next PTSd escalation cycle to tell if it's working or not.

* Glee, S:2: ( Today's thoughts: )

* Bwahahahahahaha! http://io9.com/5872490/if-famous-writers-had-written-twilight/
http:metaquotes.livejournal.com/7568184.html