i never even knew these existed

aren't these THE coolest things?

The Oldest Extant Gibson Harp Guitar

by Gregg Miner with Benoît Meulle-Stef

(hat tip to bifurcated rivets

the swift boaters are still around

and we should all remember that
The Return of the SwiftBoaters
By Christopher Hayes, The Nation
More than three years after John Kerry's bitter defeat, at the dawn of what looks like a far more promising campaign cycle for the Democrats, the party is still haunted by the specter of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Once upon a time, "Swift boat" denoted an obscure military vessel, but thanks to the activities of this group it has come to represent movement conservatism's penchant for ruthlessly (and effectively) smearing any and all political opponents, from a sitting senator and war hero to an 11-year-old boy with a cranial fracture.
Research by The Nation into Federal Election Commission records of the group's top twenty donors reveals that they've been remarkably active in this cycle, contributing and bundling nearly $200,000 to presidential candidates. This does not bode well. During the last presidential campaign, the wealthy backers of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth--now rebranded as Swift Vets and POWs for Truth--didn't do their real dirty work until the general election, where as a tax-exempt 527 group they operated outside the restraints of direct campaign contributions. We may wish we were done with the Swift Boaters, but they aren't done with us. In 2004 the top twenty donors all gave (with one exception) at least $50,000 to the group. The top three--Houston home builder Bob Perry, Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens and billionaire drugstore impresario and investor Harold Simmons--gave a combined $9.5 million ($4.45 million, $3 million and $2 million, respectively). .........

more more more on my favorite candidate

mike the huckster huckabee. i am telling you, the more i read about him and his buds the more afraid i become.

Will Mainstream Media Ask Huckabee About His Ties to Christian Reconstructionists?
Posted by Pam Spaulding, Pandagon

Of course the easy answer is no. But the MSM should ask - the questions are relevant when his base of support believes in the merging of church and state and he capitalized on his socially conservative, bible-based views as guiding his candidacy and how he would govern. How far from the mainstream is he. It's easy to toss off that New Hampshire voters are more libertarian and he's got to repackage himself for those voters, but how about some accountability here?
I've already blogged about GOP clown car occupant, rapist/murderer-releasing Baptist minister-without-a-theology-degree Mike Huckabee's ties to fundamentalist Steve Hotze, who fundraised for the Iowa caucus champion.
Holtze is the Texas-based anti-choice, anti-gay bible beater who signed a manifesto that included beliefs such as:
• A wife may work outside the home only with her husband's consent
• "Biblical spanking" that results in "temporary or superficial bruises or welts" should not be considered a crime
• No doctor shall provide medical service on the Sabbath • Medical problems are frequently caused by personal sin
• Doctors have a priestly calling
• People receiving medical treatment are not immune from divine intervention or demonic forces
• Physicians should preach to their patients because salvation is the key to their health.

The media really needs to ask fast-rising Huckabee about his ties to Holtze and other Dominionists who believe that the bible approves of corporal or capital punishment for adulterers and homosexuals and that the Old Testament should supplant the Constitution............

no politicizing on this one

in deference to maj andrew olmsted's wishes. go over and read his final (written) words. it's well worth it. final post

via wired
and you can comment on maj oldmsted's last post at obsidian wings

to the family and friends of major olmsted i am sorry for your loss. you are in my thoughts and prayers

tory (victoria) bowen

i've written about her before

here

and here

yesterday i received the following email from her (i asked for her permission to publish it before doing so)

Family, Friends, and Supporters-
As some of you may have already heard, I received a phone call yesterday from the District Attorney saying that they will not retry my rape case. As you can imagine, I was and am devastated. The District Attorney (D.A.) cited that the Judge has made it too difficult to continue to prosecute Pamir Safi, a man who has been arrested for rape on three different occasions for three different women. The D.A's office stated that without the Judge allowing the prosecutors to allow the previous victims to testify (as they did the first trial), without the Judge allowing my entire testimony, without my vial of urine (which broke inthe mail), it is difficult to hope for a case that they could win due to all the evidence which has been gaged, bared, or thrown out of this case by the Judge.So today, Pamir Safi, is a free man for the third time. What is there to stop him from a fourth?Nothing.
For the past three years this trial has been a driving force in my life, and I pursued justice tenaciously. Ican not change this ruling, but I can change how the law works, and so can you. Please do not give up, for a broken system only means that it needs to be fixed.Please find below some ways to help - and forward this to anyone who you think can help.
Thank you for you kind emails, your prayers, hugs,tears, and everything else that you've done for me through the years. This has been a long journey, but now the focus needs to be to change state law, and other states that have archaic laws like Nebraska for the rape cases to come.
WAYS TO HELP:
Contact the Judiciary Committee. The DA sited that they possibly could have retried the case if the state had the authority to appeal a Judge's ruling. Make sure that there are checks and balances in the Judicial process that allows the state to appeal if a Judge continues to rule unfairly. Write a letter,call, or go to a session. The Judiciary Committee must determine which issues/bills they will hear/vote on by JANUARY 9th. SO START A LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN. The Judge can not act as both Judge and jury in cases like these. The jury should be able to hear testimony fully in the words of the victim, not a watered down list that only the Judge and the Defense Attorney approves of.

Contact Information:Phone: (402) 471-2622 Address: Room 1103, State Capitol, Lincoln NE 68509
Meeting Dates:During session, the Judiciary Committee meets on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in Room 1113 on the 1st Floor of the Capitol.
Chairperson: Sen. Brad Ashford (402) 471-2622
Vice Chairperson: Sen. Steve Lathrop (402) 471-2623
Members:Sen. Ernie Chambers (402) 471-2612
Sen. Vickie D. McDonald 402) 471-2631
Sen. Amanda McGill (402) 471-2610
Sen. Dwite Pedersen (402) 471-2885
Sen. Pete Pirsch (402) 471-2621
Sen. DiAnna Schimek (402) 471-2632

In addition, you can donate to the efforts that areoccurring at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, please visit WWW.BOWENDC.COM for more information.
Lastly, for more information regarding my case, or ifyou have not signed the petition yet - please visit:http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/freespeechforsurvivors/index.html



Published Friday January 4, 2008No new trial in 'rape' ban case
BY PAUL HAMMEL WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

(No new trial in 'rape' ban case)
LINCOLN — A case that drew national attention after a judge barred the word "rape" from court testimony will not be retried, the alleged victim said Thursday.
Tory Bowen, a former University of Nebraska-Lincoln student who now lives in the Washington, D.C., area,said she was told Thursday by Lancaster County prosecutors that her case, the subject of two previous mistrials, would not be tried a third time.
She said she just recently had received a letter saying that a new trial of her alleged assailant,Pamir Safi, was scheduled to begin Feb. 19.
"I'm absolutely shocked," Bowen said in a telephone interview. "He's free. . . . I can't comprehend it."
Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey, whom Bowen saidshe talked to Thursday, declined to comment Thursdayevening.
Safi, a 34-year-old Army reservist, was accused ofsexually assaulting Bowen after a night of drinking ata downtown Lincoln bar following a Halloween party in2005.
Bowen has maintained that she doesn't remember leavingwith Safi and was unconscious and could not consent tosex. Safi claimed otherwise.
Clarence Mock, Safi's defense attorney, could not bereached Thursday night. Previously he has said thatthere was no evidence his client had sexuallyassaulted anyone and that the judge's rulings werefair in ensuring a fair trial.
Two previous trials ended in mistrials: the first, in2006, because the jury could not reach a unanimousverdict; the second, last summer, after the judgeruled that street protests had interfered with theselection of a jury.
In banning the term "rape" and other words during thetrial, Lancaster County District Judge JeffreCheuvront cited a state law that allows judges to banwords that could be unfairly prejudicial to a criminaldefendant, who is presumed innocent until provenguilty.
He also noted that the term "rape" had been deletedfrom the state's lawbooks in 1975.
Cheuvront later clarified his ruling, saying the"equally descriptive term" of "sexual assault" couldbe used.
Before the second trial, advocates for rape victimsseized on the judge's ruling, saying it was anunreasonable restraint of free speech that woulddamage a victim's credibility with jurors.
Street protests followed, as did unsuccessful attemptsto have a federal judge or the Nebraska Supreme Courtoverturn the ruling.
A federal judge ruled that although he would not"stick his nose" into the state court case, he saw noreason for banning the word "rape."
"For the life of me, I do not understand why a judgewould tell an alleged rape victim that she cannot sayshe was 'raped' when she testifies in a trial about rape," wrote U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf on Sept.25.
"Juries aren't stupid."
Wendy Murphy, a Massachusetts lawyer who took up Bowen's cause, is appealing the limits on speech to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Murphy, who is a former prosecutor, said she disagreed with the decision not to retry Safi, even if Bowen's statements were the only evidence that could be presented.
"If you believe in a case, you should proceed," Murphy said. "But if your hands are so tied that your witness cannot testify honestly . . . I can understand (not retrying the case)."
Bowen said she couldn't understand how Safi could be"walking the streets."
"This is justice denied," she said, sobbing.

an older article about the first two trials
Rape
Omaha woman FIGHTS court in SEXUAL ASSAULT case

..................Bowen’s Jessica Rabbit costume is something defense attorneys would later use against her and was quite a departure from the business suits she typically wore to her job in the state senate and her work as Director of Development for the College Republican National Committee.
Bowen and Safi shared a drink. There is video of Safi leaving the bar nearly carrying an intoxicated Bowen, who now believes she had been drugged. When she woke up the next morning Safi was allegedly raping her, or in Chaeuvront language translation, “having sex” with her.
“I went to the ER the morning that I was raped and filed charges then,” said Bowen. “I told a police officer what happened and the sexual assault nurse did an examination. I was at the ER for nearly seven hours and then the next day went in and made the initial police statement.
“I know the difference between sex and rape. If it was sex, I wouldn’t be speaking to you,” Bowen continued. “For me it is committing perjury. If I take and oath to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth and then am given a list of words that I am not allowed to say it isn’t right – it is just bizarre. When I was originally told by the state prosecutor that I would have to put language restrictions on my testimony I was heartbroken. It was difficult enough to come forward. It is difficult to use the words..............

a recipe (vegan) i created yesterday

because i had a fennel bulb AND sweet potatoes that HAD to be used as soon as possible

Sweet Potato and Fennel (vegan)

3 Large Sweet Potatoes
1 Fennel Bulb
1 (or 2) Granny Smith Apples (or the apple of your choice)
Onion (I like onion so I used lots)
Soy Sauce (1 or 2 T)
Cornstarch (1 T)
Hoisin Sauce (1 T)
Cumin (1/2 t or to your taste)
Cayenne Pepper (1/2 t or to your taste)
Maple Syrup (1 T or to your taste)
Stevia (1 packet)


Mix the Soy Sauce, Hoisin Sauce, Cumin, Cayenne, Maple Syrup and Stevia with approximately ½ to ¾ cup of cold water. Stir in the cornstarch

Peel Sweet Potatoes, onion and Apple (you can leave the peel on the apple if you’d like) and clean and wash and trim the fennel bulb. I used a slicer to slice them all fine. If you don’t have one, slice by hand. You can either layer the ingredients in a shallow baking pan (which has either been sprayed with non-stick oil or greased with a little oil) or mix the ingredients and dump them into the baking pan which is what I did since it’s way easier. Pour over ½ of the liquid mixture (stir to make sure the cornstarch is blended) cover and bake at 400 degrees for ½ hour. Turn the heat to 350, uncover, pour the rest of the liquid over the vegetables and bake another ½ hour or until the sweet potatoes are done/tender

(I served mine with a dollop of vegan sour crème)

get this, YOUR king george

is holding up bonus payments to military members. yeah, we all knew that. i even posted about it a couple of days ago. but WHY is he holding up the bonuses? you'll LOVE this



he's holding them up because his panties are all in a twist about iraq reconstruction AND he wants to make sure none of us can sue the iraqi government in us courts (of course we started it but a bunch of them did a kazillion illegal things too). that's right. he's 'worried' about iraq and NOT our service women and men



he's YOUR king, not mine

Bonus payments frozen

By Jim Tice - Staff writer

The Army has temporarily halted bonus payments for more than 20 enlistment, re-enlistment and service extension programs pending enactment of authorizing legislation.
President Bush, to the surprise of Congress and the Defense Department, vetoed the fiscal 2008 Defense Authorization Act on Dec. 29 after months bargaining with House and Senate leaders.
In announcing the pocket veto, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the president objected to a single provision of the legislation that would delay the reconstruction of Iraq, and expose the Iraqi government to unwarranted law suits in U.S. courts.
If enacted as currently written, the legislation would authorize $696.3 billion in defense spending during 2008, including $1 billion for Army accession and retention bonuses.
Until a new version of the legislation is enacted, all new bonus agreements signed on, or after, Jan. 1 must include an addendum that stipulates the soldier’s eligibility for a future bonus...............

i belive stories of 'non-combat' deaths

like that of Pfc. Hannah Gunterman McKinney MUST be brought to light. there are far too many of them (the figure hovers around 700, but i think in reality it may be much higher). there are parents who are at a loss. there are children. there are brothers and sisters and spouses. there are MANY UNANSWERED questions. why do the families have to fight the military for the truth (or even the partial truth or even a kernel of the truth????)

it looks like the parents of pfc mckinney got some of the answers they deserved. many other families NEVER WILL.

these people are our heroes. they don't deserve this.

to the parents, family and friends of pfc Hannah Gunterman McKinney, my thoughts and prayers are with you. i am so very sorry for your loss

she was 20, she volunteered for active duty. she had a 2 year old son
and SHE WAS KILLED (not by an iraqi or a terrorist or an al-qaeda)

A Drunken Night in Iraq, a Soldier Left Behind
Woman Is Run Over, Abandoned by a Sergeant. Her Family Wants to Know Why.

By Donna St. George Washington Post Staff Writer
The sun had not yet risen in Taji. A young Army soldier lay alone in the dirt. She was alive, but barely. Her ribs had been crushed; her spleen, ruptured. Her right side was marked by the angular tread of a tire.
Pfc. Hannah Gunterman McKinney was 20 years old, the brown-eyed mother of a toddler son, when she was spotted in the headlights of a passing Humvee on a perimeter road at one of the largest U.S. military camps in Iraq.
Thirteen hours later, in Redlands, Calif., Barbie and Matt Heavrin, who had three children in the military, learned they had lost their elder daughter to "injuries suffered when she was struck by a vehicle," as the Army first described it.
But there was more to the story. For the Heavrins, the events of Sept. 4, 2006, inside the wire of Camp Taji emerged bit by bit. McKinney's last hours, they would learn, involved alcohol, sex and a decorated reservist who was responsible for looking out for junior enlisted soldiers such as their daughter. .........

please also stop by the lavena johnson petition page. HER family NEVER got answers........

hey iowa republicans

i know you don't have much of a choice BUT PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZ

the man freed two rapists. the man thinks women should submit (i think a lot of men do they just won't say it). the man wants to bring 'christ' into the oval office. while i won't deny anyone their religious convictions, there are MORE than JUST CHRISTIANS in the united states of america. oh yeah there's that little thing about separation of church and state too!

and he kills little animals.

Huckabee Wins Iowa's Republican Caucuses
Evangelicals Fuel Victory Over Romney

video link

please DO click on the link. there is a video that makes everything RIGHT with the world. the huckster WITH CHUCK NORRIS IN THE BACKGROUND. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahoooooooooooo

lest we forget about our men and women in

afghanistan...............the terrorists haven't. they've killed MORE of them in 2007 than any other year

U.S. casualties in Afghanistan hit record
By Jason Straziuso - The Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. military deaths, suicide bombings and opium production hit record highs in 2007. Taliban militants killed more than 925 Afghan police, and large swaths of the country remain outside government control.
But U.S. officials here insist things are looking up: The Afghan army is assuming a larger combat role, and militants appear unlikely to mount a major spring offensive, as had been feared a year ago. Training for Afghan police is increasing.
Still, six years after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, violence persists in much of southern Afghanistan where the government has little presence, and recent militant attacks in Pakistan highlight a long-term regional problem with al-Qaida and the Taliban........

...........Afghanistan in 2007 saw record violence that killed more than 6,500 people, including 110 U.S. troops — the highest level ever in Afghanistan — and almost 4,500 militants, according to an Associated Press count. Britain lost 41 soldiers, while Canada lost 30. Other nations lost a total of 40.........

just a reminder

it isn't any better for THEM
AP: Iraqi Government Says Civilian Deaths Actually Rose in 2007

and now for something COMPLETELY different

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

Studying Kangaroo Farts and Teflon-Coated Frogs: Weird Science That Could Save Our Lives
Why study kangaroo farts?
Until recently, we may have thought that the most interesting things about kangaroos were their mean left hooks and, in the case of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, their ability to rescue lost children from the wilds of Australia.
But, thanks to research carried out in Queensland for the past four years, and released last month, the marsupial's cleverest trick is its ability to produce environmentally friendly farts. Researchers have isolated the bacteria in the stomach lining of kangaroos that means their farts contain no methane, a greenhouse gas far more damaging than carbon dioxide.
The team, led by Dr. Athol Klieve, believes that unlocking this secret could lead to the creation of more climate-friendly cattle. Between them, the flatulent farm animals produce so much methane that they account for 14 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia, second only to power stations. But if the kangaroo bacteria were added to cattle feed, the researchers hope they could create herds with much lower carbon footprints.........

(i think i have to send this on over to skippy the bush kangaroo)

the nutmeg grater: john durham; crimebuster#links#links

the nutmeg grater: john durham; crimebuster#links#links

daddy dearest

he didn't ask her dad for permission to marry - no, it's NOT funny.
(link via feministing

Father accused of killing pregnant daughter and her family
MARKHAM, Illinois (AP) -- A suburban Chicago man is accused of setting an apartment fire -- killing his pregnant daughter, her husband and their young child -- because the son-in-law didn't ask permission for the marriage, prosecutors said. Subhash Chander, 57, of Oak Forest, Illinois, was ordered held without bond Tuesday on three counts of first-degree murder, one count of intentional homicide of an unborn child and one count of aggravated arson.
Prosecutors allege Chander used gasoline to start the fire late Saturday. The India native told police he disliked his son-in-law because he belonged to a lower caste and had married his daughter without his consent, said Cook County First Assistant State's Attorney Robert Milan.
"His son-in-law was beneath him in his opinion," Milan said..........

our dreams have come TRUE

lunchballz ARE HERE!




(shout out to bifurcated rivets)

we are now best buds with one of THE

most evil men on this goddesses' earth. he is directly responsible for MANY deaths murders.
this country is even WORSE than saudi arabia. there are NO freedoms. yet we 'support' them? they blew a plane full of innocent people out of the sky yet we're patting them on the back? here is the story of one man's (the author of this article) experience. his brother is of the missing.

Libya's Inconvenient Truth
By Mohamed Eljahmi
Tomorrow, Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam is to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Their sit-down at the State Department will come nearly seven months after President Bush declared himself a "dissident president" and promised active support for dissidents around the world. "I asked Secretary Rice," Bush said during a speech in Prague, "to send a directive to every U.S. ambassador in an un-free nation: Seek out and meet with activists for democracy. Seek out those who demand human rights."
Nothing of the sort happened. In fact, in its embrace of Tripoli, the Foreign Service has built a wall of silence around human rights concerns.
More than a year and a half ago the State Department removed Libya from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, confirming Libya's status change from pariah to example. "Libya is an important model to point to as we press for changes in policy by other countries," a department statement declared. But if Libya is a model, human rights advocacy and reform will be casualties. ...........

you should be reading these two blogs ANYWAY

but cv rick has directed me to this piece by flimsy sanity

it's shocking but at the same time, NOT shocking at all. there is so much to say but it's all been said before. why people still enlist is beyond me. why this isn't on the front pages of the wapo, the nyt, hell, even the ny post is beyond me.

these people are disposable. always have been always will be. but remember, they are our sons, our daughters, our husbands, our wives. THEY ARE US

Drugged Up Military
Today, the Pentagon has admitted that they provided speed to the U.S Armed Forces during the Gulf War and are doing the same with military personnel in Afghanistan. A report called " Performance Maintenance During Continuous Flight Operations", produced by the Naval Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, Florida outlines the Pentagon practice of providing speed to pilots. The report "The Use of Amphetamines in U.S. Air Force Tactical Operations during Desert Shield and Storm", by Emonson DL and Vanderbeek RD outlines the use of speed during the Gulf War. A statement issued by the US Air Force Surgeon General's Office also confirmed the use of amphetamines by pilots. It said: "During contingency and combat operations, aviators are often required to perform their duties for extended periods without rest. ..................

could this BE any MORE sobering?

for me? no, it couldn't. how about for YOU?

Opinion Research Group Sept. 2007

Iraqi anti corruption board Dec 15, 2007

M. Collins: Forget the Torture Tapes

Opinion: Michael Collins

There’s a reflexive tendency to think the worst of the Bush-Cheney administration when scandals like the torture tapes emerge. This tendency is well justified.

This administration’s defining moment was the Iraq invasion. Over time, it caused death to 1.2 million civilians and the injuries of 1.1 million noncombatants. Just last week we found out that there are now five million orphans in Iraq.
How can the administration and their enablers ever top that? Why shouldn’t we expect the worst immediately when we hear yet another accusation of criminal or unethical conduct?
Destroying torture tapes pales by comparison to these tragedies, all a result of the illegal invasion:...............

blog of the day

i09 - strung out on science fiction

(hat tip to boing boing)

big bid-nez and big corporations FIRST

american people and american safely SECOND.

one REALLY has to wonder???

Doubts Raised on Technology Sales to China
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
WASHINGTON — Six months ago, the Bush administration quietly eased some restrictions on the export of sensitive technologies to China. The new approach was intended to help American companies increase sales of high-tech equipment to China despite tight curbs on sharing technology that might have military applications.
But today the administration is facing questions from weapons experts about whether some equipment — newly authorized for export to Chinese companies deemed trustworthy by Washington — could instead end up helping China modernize its military. Equally worrisome, the weapons experts say, is the possibility that China could share the technology with Iran or Syria.
The technologies include advanced aircraft engine parts, navigation systems, telecommunications equipment and sophisticated composite materials.
The questions raised about the new policy are in a report to be released this week by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, an independent research foundation that opposes the spread of arms technologies............