because i love the twilight zone

and there was a marathon on recently

Films That Have Found Their Way into the Twilight Zone

By Lauren Davis
Didn’t get your full The Twilight Zone fix from the New Year’s marathon? Here are films that draw their inspiration from episodes of the show, and try to recapture Rod Serling’s sense of the unknown.

In addition to inspiring numerous TV episodes (including the original Star Trek pilot “The Cage,” which is based on the episode “People Are the Same Everywhere”), The Twilight Zone spawned its own anthological movie in 1983. But these movies were inspired by individual episodes of the series:

“The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” (1960): A power outage strikes a small suburban town and the residents find that not only has the electricity been cut off, but the phone lines and vehicles have stopped working as well, completely isolating the town. The residents become convinced that this is the sign of an imminent alien invasion, and become suspicious of one another as lights and cars start coming on at random. Soon riots ensue, and it is revealed to the audience that this is, in fact, part of an alien plot. The aliens sow the seeds of suspicion and then leave the humans to destroy each other.
Inspired..............................

because it's maine week here at ravings..........

hmmmmmmmm only the canadian troops

might be lured by the drug trade in afghanistan?????????????

funny how the americans wouldn't be!

the article isn't saying this IS happening. the article says there is a chance it would or could or is happening. the canadians seem to have their eyes open a bit MORE than the americans on this one

Troops lured by drug trade, report warns
Military cites 'high probability' some Canadians will become drug traffickers while in Afghanistan
Bruce campion-smith
Ottawa bureau chief

OTTAWA–There's a "high probability" some Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan – one of the world's biggest sources of illegal drugs – will get involved in the drug trade, a military police report warns.

"Access to illicit drugs in Afghanistan is routine," reads the report obtained by the Star.

"Easy access to heroin, hashish, cannabis presents a temptation for (Canadian) troops in the form of personal use and in the form of importation for the purpose of trafficking," it reads.

It notes that using and trafficking drugs are illegal and "contrary to the ethos" of the Canadian Forces, but concedes some of the 2,500 troops serving in the war-torn nation might not be able to resist.

The findings are outlined in a series of military police documents obtained by the Star under Access to Information legislation. The documents, requested in November 2007, were released last month...........

more on EIGHT NATURAL BORN us citizen

and one legal PERMANENT resident of the united states being booted off of a plane for remarks ANY OF US COULD HAVE MADE

Airline Apologizes For Booting 9 Muslims
Group Plans Discrimination Complaint
By Amy Gardner and Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writers
A U.S. airline apologized yesterday to nine Muslim American passengers from the Washington area who were removed from a flight out of Reagan National Airport, but a Muslim civil rights group said it intends to press a discrimination complaint against the airline for its treatment of the passengers............

.........FBI agents quickly cleared the passengers of wrongdoing. However, an AirTran gate agent barred them from booking a new flight because she had not been notified of their clearance, the airline said. .............

........Inayet Sahin disputed the airline's account. The gate agent "saw the FBI agents leave," Sahin said. "She told us that her corporate office told her not to rebook us on the flight." .........

picture: Atif Irfan and his wife, Sobia Ijaz, were among nine passengers removed from a flight Thursday after commenting on the safest place to sit. (By Phelan M. Ebenhack For The Washington Post)

putting our current regime aside

this is one of (if not THE) most frightening (and sickening for that matter) things i have ever seen. i had not heard about these 'dolls' prior (from boing boing and jezebel

Good Morning America on hyperreal baby dolls and their "moms"

Posted by David Pescovitz

go to the site below and look at the videos there. i can't find the embed codes for them. they are SCARY

Women Living with Fake Baby Dolls Treat Them Like Real Children By Maria

oh i HAD to!

Amani, shown here, was born Dec. 8 to mother Rachaael and father Mchimbaji, at the Detroit Zoo. Amani means "peace" in Swahili. The 23-inch infant arrived hairless, weighing 3 pounds, 10 ounces, with ears measuring 4 inches. The zoo is awaiting DNA tests to determine the newborn's sex.
(Mark M. Gaskill/Detroit Zoo/AP Photo)

racists pieces of scum they call 'news'

fair and balanced as long as you're white, christian, republican and an asswipe (and there are MORE than enough of those out there. look at the comments on the video if you go to the youtube site. sick)

Fox News ticker: 'Let's hope the magic negro does a good job'
As if Americans needed any more reminders of how closely aligned with the Republican party the Fox News network is, New Year's Eve brings us this new tidbit.

During it's broadcast from New York City, the network encouraged viewers to send in text messages which, if approved by moderators, would scroll across the Fox ticker at the bottom of the screen.

Moderators, however, let this one slip: "HAPPY NEW YEAR AND LET’S HOPE THE MAGIC NEGRO DOES A GOOD JOB. LOVE JEN AND JOHN C."

Chip Saltsman, a candidate to lead the Republican National Committee, distributed a CD to RNC members containing the parody song "Barack the Magic Negro," that has been a source of loud, public GOP infighting over the holiday season.......

do you think it's reasonable while waiting to board a plane

or actually already on board and waiting for takeoff, to discuss where the safest place to sit is? i sure do. i think it would be a reasonable conversation. haven't we ALL heard one similar? i know i have

well get this

'Safest' seat remarks gets Muslim family kicked off plane
By Mike M. Ahlers
CNN
Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Muslim family removed from an airliner Thursday after passengers became concerned about their conversation say AirTran officials refused to rebook them, even after FBI investigators cleared them of wrongdoing.

Atif Irfan said federal authorities removed eight members of his extended family and a friend after passengers heard them discussing the safest place to sit and misconstrued the nature of the conversation.

Irfan, a U.S. citizen and tax attorney, said he was "impressed with the professionalism" of the FBI agents who questioned him, but said he felt mistreated when the airline refused to book the family for a later flight.

AirTran Airways late Thursday said they acted properly and that the family was offered full refunds and can fly with AirTran again.

"AirTran Airways complied with all TSA, law enforcement and Homeland Security directives and had no discretion in the matter," the company said in a prepared statement.

Family members disagreed.

"The FBI agents actually cleared our names," said Inayet Sahin, Irfan's sister-in-law. "They went on our behalf and spoke to the airlines and said, 'There is no suspicious activity here. They are clear. Please let them get on a flight so they can go on their vacation,' and they still refused."

"The airline told us that we can't fly their airline," Irfan said...........

from dark roasted blend

pic:
Misterzumbi's "Predator"'s head: (see more here)

i don't know who took the rubik cube puzzle pictures. there's no credit.
but i did find this rubiks cube puzzle

stop by and see ALL of the pictures at drb

ah wicked cool!

(two maine stories in two days)

Right whales gather off coast of Maine

Researchers counted 44 of the endangered mammals about 100 miles offshore – a record winter sighting.

By JOHN RICHARDSON, Staff Writer

Because they are in danger of extinction, North Atlantic right whales are some of the most closely watched creatures in the sea.

Researchers fly over the East Coast looking for them and then, when they find one, zoom in for close-up photos. Many of the individual whales even have names and files containing their photos and life histories.

Until now, however, scientists have had few clues about where many of the whales go in winter, when winds and stormy weather make the search more difficult.

Federal researchers announced Wednesday that an unusually large number of right whales have gathered in recent weeks off the Maine coast in what appears to be a wintering ground, and potentially a breeding ground, for the endangered species. The discovery is expected to enhance efforts to save and restore the population, which now stands at an estimated 325 animals.

Forty-four right whales were seen Dec. 3 in the Jordan Basin area, which lies about 70 miles south of Bar Harbor and 100 miles east of Portland, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Forty-one whales were spotted just west of Jordan Basin on Dec. 14, it said. Bad weather has prevented more recent flights to the area, according to the agency............

(hat tip to americablog)

picture: Right whales' heads and lips are marked by unique patterns of horny bumps, known as callosities, covered with crustaceans. These bumps are the key to identifying individuals. (Photo by Michael Moore, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) and another article: Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Study Says Population In Crisis

we've known this for more than a year

it's been written about but not covered much by msm. we send kids out to a foreign country to kill people who never did a thing to deserve it (well BEFORE we invaded their land they NEVER did anything to us. sure saddam had to go. he was evil and a murderer. BUT WHAT THE HELL ARE WE?)

there are 4,221 dead american men and women who are dead because they were sent to iraq. there are COUNTLESS TENS OF THOUSANDS (my guess) that are wounded INSIDE and we can't see it. by the time we know, it may be way way way too late

we sent them over there, they 'defended their country' when they come home they deserve MORE than just being kicked to the curb.

the cost of the war is; $584,719,230,222.00 (as of 1:12 am). that is ONLY THE SURFACE COST. that doesn't include all the money we need to fix the men and women coming home. not just PHYSICAL injuries but MENTAL ONES AS WELL. and guess what? same as with viet nam and other 'wars' we're NOT DOING A VERY FUCKING GOOD JOB OF IT

A Focus on Violence by G.I.’s Back From War
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ and DAN FROSCH

FORT CARSON, Colo. — For the past several years, as this Army installation in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains became a busy way station for soldiers cycling in and out of Iraq, the number of servicemen implicated in violent crimes has raised alarm.

Nine current or former members of Fort Carson’s Fourth Brigade Combat Team have killed someone or were charged with killings in the last three years after returning from Iraq. Five of the slayings took place last year alone. In addition, charges of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault have risen sharply.

Prodded by Senator Ken Salazar, Democrat of Colorado, the base commander began an investigation of the soldiers accused of homicide. An Army task force is reviewing their recruitment, medical and service records, as well as their personal histories, to determine if the military could have done something to prevent the violence. The inquiry was recently expanded to include other serious violent crimes........

.....Last January, The New York Times published articles examining the cases of veterans of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan charged with homicide after their return. At the time, it counted at least 121 such cases. In many of them, combat trauma and the stress of deployment appeared to have set the stage for the crimes............

because barack the magic negro

is not even separated by six degrees to this:



(hat tip to shawn and bruce at boing boing)

from: tva coal is killing tennessee

Kingston Ash Containment Area Blowout youtube pics from dec 24 2008

thank the great goddess

there is such a thing as Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Bush Administration Taken to Task for Allowing Loaded Guns Into National Parks
Posted by Satyam Khanna, Think Progress

Earlier this month, the Department of Interior overturned a Reagan-era regulation, allowing loaded firearms at most national park sites such as the National Mall. Yesterday, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sued the administration, saying the rule "jeopardizes the safety of park visitors in violation of federal law." The release notes that the White House violated their own directive:

The suit charges that the Interior Department violated several federal laws in its rush to implement the rule before President Bush leaves office, including failing to conduct any environmental review of the harm that the rule will cause, as is required by the National Environmental Policy Act......................

because i stopped to read this:

Still Paging Mr. Salinger
By CHARLES McGRATH


i found this after looking up what else mr mcgrath had written for the times (this piece is a couple of months old)

A Writer in a Living Novel
By CHARLES McGRATH
PARSONSFIELD, Me. — The novelist Carolyn Chute doesn’t have a working phone, a fax or a computer. She writes on a washtub-size electric typewriter that was probably state of the art in the ’70s. Ms. Chute (pronounced CHOOT) and her husband, Michael, live in a small compound at the end of an unpaved road in this rural Maine village near the New Hampshire border. There are stacks of old tires in the yard, a rusted bedstead, a pen full of Scottish terriers and an assortment of well-used vehicles. A bumper sticker on Mr. Chute’s pickup reads, “School Takes 13 Years Because That’s How Long It Takes to Break a Child’s Spirit.”

Mr. Chute, who looks like a 19th-century hunting guide, spends most of his time drawing and making sculptures in an unfinished, uninsulated building he calls the security office. He has a beard of ZZ Top proportions, wears checked shirts and round felt hats, and in Down East fashion frequently uses “wicked” as an adverb.

Ms. Chute, 61, a wry, direct and earthy woman who favors bandannas, peasant skirts and stout hiking boots, works in their home, which is guarded by a sign that reads: “Woa. Visitors Turn Back.” Neither building is heated, except by wood stove, or has hot water. The compound’s sole toilet is a tin-roofed outhouse.............

picture:

Erik Jacobs for The New York Times

Carolyn and Michael Chute at their home in Maine. Ms. Chute’s fourth book will be published on Friday.

(and i also found the following from 2002 in looking up MORE on the chutes Writing to Her Heart's Content By JOANNE LANNIN, Portland Press Herald Writer
..................

If any one incident served to radicalize Chute, it was the death in 1982 of their newborn son, Reuben. Chute blames his being stillborn on the fact that she and Michael had no health insurance. She says the hospital would not admit her during her early labor – even though the baby was a month overdue and she had a temperature of 104 degrees.

"Neighbors of mine with lower back pain and good insurance were admitted instantly to have their babies," she wrote in a letter to the Maine State Legislature's committee on banking and insurance in April 2001 when she testified about the need for universal health care. "My baby was struggling to be born. . . . They will let you in for quickie stuff. But not complicated costly stuff."...................)

sure i'm hungry, starving for ANY salinger news. there is NONE. i was curious to see what else mr mcgrath had written and i found the carolyn chute piece.

i read the beans of egypt maine a LONG time ago. i LOVED it. i was floored by it. it is by no means a pretty or nice story. but it's a story we pray doesn't happen yet we know happens all of the time. i read the beans long before i even dreamed of owning a computer. i had no idea what carolyn chute was all about (well in fairness i still don't know. i only know a BIT more about her and her life). i never got around to looking her up. just forgot about her and the beans. that's MY fault. i never should have forgotten. thank you mr mrgrath for reminding me about carolyn chute and what she is capable of writing. even though i don't think i'd be a fan of the second maine militia, i KNOW i'd sure love to sit down, have a steamin' cup o' joe and a nice long conversation with ms chute. i would LOVE to meet her. i'd love to tell her the beans was a very special book for me indeed. i'd like to thank her for writing and for being carolyn chute

i like her

i've not written about gaza on purpose

a dead palestinian child and a dead israeli child are EXACTLY the same to me. it's sick how we as humans act. there is NO right and ALL wrongs here.

i AM going to link to the following story though because i'm STILL NOT OVER israel attacking one of OUR ships IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS the uss liberty, lying about it and our government covering it up (they're just as guilty)

Gaza relief boat damaged in encounter with Israeli vessel
(CNN) -- An Israeli patrol boat struck a boat carrying medical volunteers and supplies to Gaza early Tuesday as it attempted to intercept the vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, witnesses and Israeli officials said. CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul was aboard the 60-foot pleasure boat Dignity when the contact occurred. When the boat later docked in the Lebanese port city of Tyre, severe damage was visible to the forward port side of the boat, and the front left window and part of the roof had collapsed. It was flying the flag of Gibraltar.

The Dignity was carrying crew and 16 passengers -- physicians from Britain, Germany and Cyprus and human rights activists from the Free Gaza Solidarity Movement -- who were trying to reach Gaza through an Israeli blockade of the territory.

Also on board was former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney.

Penhaul said an Israeli patrol boat shined its spotlight on the Dignity, and then it and another patrol boat shadowed the Dignity for about a half hour before the collision.

One patrol boat "very severely rammed" the Dignity, Penhaul said.

The captain of the Dignity told Penhaul he received no warning. Only after the collision did the Israelis come on the radio to say they struck the boat because they believed it was involved in terrorist activities, the captain said.

But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor denied that and said the patrol boat had warned the vessel not to proceed to Gaza because it is a closed military area.............

wonderful wonderful wonderful

..........Zbig to Joe: "You have a such stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on it's almost embarrassing to listen to you.".......

(hat tip talking points memo)

time after time after time

women get kicked off of planes for breastfeeding

or
you have to make a choice between career and motherhood (as in nursing your baby). you CAN'T be a doctor AND a mother??????????? hmmmm

or

you can show your breasts to sell cars BUT NOT to keep your children healthy

now it seems you can't even have a breastfeeding facebook group:
Facebook facing protest over removal of nursing photos
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Facebook is facing an online protest after removing pictures of breastfeeding mothers found to be overly revealing from the pages of members of the social network.

A Facebook group entitled "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!" has attracted nearly 85,000 members as of Tuesday and a handful of activists held a rally outside its California headquarters over the weekend.

The organizers of the page, which is hosting a lively debate, receiving more than 10,000 comments, said they launched their "Official Petition to Facebook" after Facebook pulled profile pictures showing women nursing their babies.

"The pictures have been reported as 'obscene' and have been removed -- their posters warned not to repost or fear being kicked off of Facebook," the group's organizers said.

"We're wondering: what about a baby breastfeeding is obscene? Especially in comparison to MANY other pictures posted all over Facebook that really are obscene."

Facebook, which has more than 120 million members, said there was no ban on breastfeeding pictures but it did have a policy on how much of a woman's breast can be revealed similar to that of US newspapers and other media outlets............

i DO NOT think edwina froelich would be happy about this AT ALL

letterman gives us the top ten

favorite double ya moments

and i think we're DANGEROUSLY

close to this. far closer than most think in fact. some pooh pooh the idea. i don't. i'm a realist (well, in THIS case i am)

Unrest caused by bad economy may require military action, report says
By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times

EL PASO -- A U.S. Army War College report warns an economic crisis in the United States could lead to massive civil unrest and the need to call on the military to restore order.

Retired Army Lt. Col. Nathan Freir wrote the report "Known Unknowns: Unconventional Strategic Shocks in Defense Strategy Development," which the Army think tank in Carlisle, Pa., recently released.

"Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities ... to defend basic domestic order and human security," the report said, in case of "unforeseen economic collapse," "pervasive public health emergencies," and "catastrophic natural and human disasters," among other possible crises.

The report also suggests the new (Barack Obama) administration could face a "strategic shock" within the first eight months in office.

Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt said the Army post is not involved in any recent talks about a potential military response to civil unrest...........

bye delaney!

you kicked ass while you were here and we thank you!
Delaney Bramlett, 1939-2008

Delaney Bramlett, who co-wrote songs such as “Superstar” and worked with a who’s-who of rock royalty, died Saturday. He was 69.

According to a Reuters report picked up by The New York Times and other outlets, the guitarist and vocalist died in Los Angeles following gallbladder surgery.

“I held him and he held on up until the last breath with which he went in peace to the light and on into eternity,” his wife, Susan Lanier-Bramlett, said on Bramlett’s Web site, www.delaneybramlett.com.

Bramlett was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, in 1939. After becoming part of the house band for the ABC rock ‘n’ roll show “Shindig” in the mid-‘60s, he met and married Bonnie Lynn O’Farrell, a backup singer for Ike & Tina Turner, in 1967, according to Allmusic.com. The pair formed Delaney & Bonnie, which became Delaney & Bonnie & Friends in 1969.........

wow

powerful

and moving

and true

and almost ALL of us, to the one, have been through one or many of the things ms peterson writes about

it is not only important for us to educate our girl children, it's important for us to educate our boy children as well.


Original Essay: The Not Rape Epidemic

Written by Latoya Peterson

*Trigger Warning*

Latoya’s Note: So, as promised, here’s the original version of the essay that appears in Yes Means Yes. If you see this popping up in your reader, I do not recommend you read it at work.

Rape is only four letters, one small syllable, and yet it is one of the hardest words to coax from your lips when you need it most.

Entering our teenage years in the sex saturated ’90s, my friends and I knew tons about rape. We knew to always be aware while walking, to hold your keys out as a possible weapon against an attack. We knew that we shouldn’t walk alone at night, and if we absolutely had to, we were to avoid shortcuts, dark paths, or alleyways. We even learned ways to combat date rape, even though none of us were old enough to have friends that drove, or to be invited to parties with alcohol. We memorized the mantras, chanting them like a yogic sutra, crafting our words into a protective charm with which to ward off potential rapists: do not walk alone at night. Put a napkin over your drink at parties. Don’t get into cars with strange men. If someone tries to abduct you, scream loudly and try to attack them because a rapist tries to pick women who are easy targets.................

..........This is how the Not Rape epidemic spreads - through fear and silence, which become complicit in perpetuating the behaviors described here. Women of all backgrounds are affected by these kinds of acts, regardless of race, ethnicity, or social class. So many of us carry the scars of the past with us into our daily lives. Most of us have pushed these stories to the back of our minds, trying to have some semblance of a normal life that includes romantic and sexual relationships. However, waiting just behind the tongue is story after story of the horrors other women experience and hide deep within the self behind a protective wall of silence.............

a big fat DUHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

just because one hides one's head in the sand doesn't mean the ass end isn't gonna get kicked

if one doesn't allow their children to be instructed in a good thorough COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION program, we all know there is more chance for pregnancy AND health issues.

it's sex, almost ALL of us ARE gonna do it. get real (AND GET EDUCATED)
i hope now that king george's ass is almost out the door, the ridiculousness of ABSTINENCE only education is also out the door

it's JUST downright FOOLISH

Premarital Abstinence Pledges Ineffective, Study Finds
Teenagers Who Make Such Promises Are Just as Likely to Have Sex, and Less Likely to Use Protection, the Data Indicate
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today.

The new analysis of data from a large federal survey found that more than half of youths became sexually active before marriage regardless of whether they had taken a "virginity pledge," but that the percentage who took precautions against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases was 10 points lower for pledgers than for non-pledgers.

"Taking a pledge doesn't seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior," said Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose report appears in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics. "But it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking.".........

no five year old or seven year old or twelve year old girl should EVER have to go through this ANYWHERE. in some cultures women are thought to be UNCLEAN unless fgm occurs. well lots of cultures think females are unclean PERIOD.

EDUCATION IS THE KEY TO EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE INCLUDING FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION


For Kurdish Girls, a Painful Ancient Ritual

The Widespread Practice of Female Circumcision in Iraq's North Highlights The Plight of Women in a Region Often Seen as More Socially Progressive

By Amit R. Paley

Washington Post Foreign Service

TUZ KHURMATU, Iraq

Sheelan Anwar Omer, a shy 7-year-old Kurdish girl, bounded into her neighbor's house with an ear-to-ear smile, looking for the party her mother had promised.

There was no celebration. Instead, a local woman quickly locked a rusty red door behind Sheelan, who looked bewildered when her mother ordered the girl to remove her underpants. Sheelan began to whimper, then tremble, while the women pushed apart her legs and a midwife raised a stainless-steel razor blade in the air. "I do this in the name of Allah!" she intoned.

As the midwife sliced off part of Sheelan's genitals, the girl let out a high-pitched wail heard throughout the neighborhood. As she carried the sobbing child back home, Sheelan's mother smiled with pride.........

she was five when this happened:

They pinned me to the ground, and I just cried and cried," said Shaker, who spoke barely above a whisper. "I was just so astonished. But now I realize that they want to prevent women from living their lives normally." Her mother, Shukria Ismaeel Jarjees, a 38-year-old housewife, said she was forced by her relatives and elderly women in the community to have her daughter circumcised. "I made a huge mistake, and now my daughter is always complaining of pain in her pelvis," Jarjees said. Her eyes began to fill with tears. "I now advise my daughters to never circumcise their children."

i agree with ccoonnddoolleezzaa

rice. i think we and generations yet to come WILL thank king george for all he's done IF WE'RE F**KING HIGH on acid that is

no one in their RIGHT MIND would even CONSIDER most everything that man has done as beneficial to people OR the earth

ccoonnddii WTF are YOU smokin grrrlfren'?

Rice: 'This generation' will 'soon thank' Bush
Andrew McLemore
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended the last eight years of President Bush's policies as an achievement that is not reflected in the lowest approval ratings of all time.

Rice said it won't be long before Bush's contributions to the world will be acknowledged and that recognition of big achievements sometimes take a long time.

"I think generations pretty soon are going to start to thank this president for what he's done," Rice said in CBS interview Sunday. "This generation will."

Asked what grade she would give the administration on foreign policy, Rice said some decisions merited an "A-plus" while others "deserve a lot less." But she remained adamant that Bush's central decision to invade Iraq was the right one......

this is the funniest horror i have ever heard of

i mean it's not REALLY funny in any way shape or form of course. it's absurd. it's obscene. it's ridiculous. it's insane. it's fucked up

we're getting our asses handed to us on a plate so what do we (the we is NOT me or any SANE person, it's king george and his band of merry white boyz) do?
this:

U.S. will give free weapons to Afghan civilians
David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster

One way to quell a violent and deteriorating situation, according to the U.S. military, is to flood the place with guns. That's exactly what is planned for Afghanistan, where a rising tide of chaos is slowly pushing the country past Iraq as the most dangerous battlefield Americans tread upon.

"The U.S. military plans to help the Afghanistan government recruit, train and arm local Afghans to fight a resurgent Taliban," reported CNN's Barbara Starr.

"For the United States, the most sensitive part of the proposal will be the use of American military funds to purchase small arms, most likely AK-47 rifles, that will be given to local Afghans, according to a U.S. military official."

"There are worries," Starr continued, "putting even more weapons in the hands of local communities could lead to tribes fighting each other instead of the Taliban. U.S. troops could get caught in the middle." The plan would also hinge upon the weak Afghan government to maintain the loyalties of the newly armed populace...........

this land is your land

n Harriman, Tenn., flooding from fly ash sludge on Monday after a storage pond wall broke. (Photo: J. Miles Carey / Knoxville News Sentinel / AP)







this land is my land. woody guthrie wrote the following words and i'm sorry to say he's wrong. this land was not his land nor mine. now, it belongs to king george and the good ol' white boy network. ESPECIALLY big big big bid-nez who cares NOT a wink for woody's legacy OR me

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

As I was walkin'  -  I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side  .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

Chorus

In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

"Empty Promise": The Broken Federal Commitment Behind the Tennessee Coal Ash Disaster

by: Sue Sturgis, Facing South

When Earthjustice Attorney Lisa Evans testified earlier this year before a congressional committee about the looming threat from coal combustion waste, she warned that the federal government's broken pledge to regulate disposal of the potentially dangerous material threatened the health and safety of communities across the country.

Speaking before a June 10 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Natural Resources titled "How Should the Federal Government Address the Health and Environmental Risks of Coal Combustion Waste?," Evans pointed out that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in its Regulatory Determination on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels published in 2000 that federal standards for disposal of coal combustion waste were needed to protect public health and the environment.

The federal failure to regulate the waste has put 23 states -- including Tennessee -- in a special bind, since their statutes have "no more stringent" provisions prohibiting them from enacting standards stricter than those found in federal law. Without federal action, those states can't regulate coal combustion waste disposal beyond the few obviously inadequate safeguards that now exist...........