SirensChronicles.com is dead now, part of that site’s archives are housed here.
She has just begun to speak out. Listen to what she has to say. Gentlewomen and men, I give you..Valerie Plame and KO:
Plame on surviving the Washington spy game
They had no shame, those men that destroyed the trust of the CIA employees. Cheney made them all collateral damage in his little pissing contest.
I will say up front that I was a Psych major in college, with a Sociology minor. So the commodities futures trading market, specifically the Energy commodities, makes about as much sense to me as Farsi or Dutch for that matter. But this WaPo article, via TruthOut has me scratching my head:
One year ago, a 32-year-old trader at a giant hedge fund named Amaranth held huge sway over the price the country paid for natural gas. Trading on unregulated commodity exchanges, he made risky bets that led to the fund’s collapse – and, according to a congressional investigation, higher gas bills for homeowners.
But as another winter approaches, lawmakers and federal regulators have yet to set up a system to prevent another big fund from cornering a vital commodity market. Called by some insiders the Wild West of Wall Street, commodity trading is a world where many goods that are key to national security or public consumption, such as oil, pork bellies or uranium, are traded with almost no oversight.
Part of the problem is that the regulator, the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has had a hard time keeping up with the sector it oversees. Commodity trading has exploded in complexity and popularity, growing six-fold in trading volume since 2000 – the year that a handful of giant energy companies, including Enron, successfully lobbied to get Congress to exempt energy markets from government regulation.
Is this crap cheating? At the very least it’s screwing over consumers so that a very small, specific group of individuals make a whole lotta money. It’s quite pathetic that we even need to consider government oversight because of that nasty trait in human beings called…
An important action item from the Angry Black Bitch. Please support her by checking out her blog.-Dusty
A bitch stands in solidarity with members of the Navajo Nation who have testified before Congress about the damage done through the use of Navajo land to test and mine for uranium.
The EPA estimates that there are 520 abandoned uranium mines in the Navajo Nation.
The Southwest Research and Information Center estimates there could be as many as 1,200 abandoned mines and related sites on Navajo land.
These sites pose a continued surface and groundwater contamination risk, continue to poison the land and put Navajo people at risk for illness and death.
Please take the time to read this article.
If your Representative is a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform please contact them and let them know how you, the people, feel about this issue.
All together now, people…
Dodd understands America must lead to protect our security not only on Iraq, but also on the rise of state-less terrorist organizations around the world
Chris Dodd is appalled by the current administration’s assault on our Constitutional Rights. That is why Senator Dodd introduced the Restoring the Constitution Act, which would restore habeas corpus and require the US to live up to the Geneva Conventions. It would remedy much of the harm done to our nation’s commitment to due process rights by the misguided Military Commissions Act.
The reviews are in – from environmentalists to the leading voices on the issue of global warming: Chris Dodd’s bold energy plan is setting the standard in the presidential race. With a Corporate Carbon Tax that makes polluters pay to his call for historic fuel efficiency standards that break America’s dependence on Middle East oil by 2015, Chris Dodd is the only candidate in the field with a plan to make America the world leader on climate change and bring energy costs down for families and businesses.
Chris Dodd has worked to ensure that every American has health care coverage, regardless of their economic status. He understands that we simply can’t afford to fail again when it comes to ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable, quality health care. Dodd brought together Republicans and Democrats to pass the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act to ensure that Americans never have to make the choice between the job they need and the family they love. As a result, 50 million people have been able to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a new child or a sick family member. The problems are known and so are the solutions – what we need is the kind of bold leadership Chris Dodd will bring to the White House to meet the health care challenge. He’ll get the job done.
want to know more? chris dodd for president
tags: 2008 elections, change, choices
Dusty informs us on her blog, It’s My Right To Be Left Of The Center, that one million Californians have been displaced by the raging fires there.
Please keep these people in your thoughts, today.
Bush is supposed to arrive in San Diego, today, so get ready for another outrageous photo-op by our “fearless leader”.
On to other news:
From Reason Online:
(More on Michael Mukasey)
The Gap in Mukasey’s Testimony:
During his recent confirmation hearings, Michael Mukasey, the former federal judge nominated to be the next attorney general, conceded that “the president doesn’t stand above the law.” Yet Mukasey, who is expected to be easily confirmed, also suggested that the president is entitled to ignore certain laws.Since the law “starts with the Constitution,” he said, the president need not obey a statute that interferes with his inherent constitutional authority “to defend the country.” Now that the War on Terror has replaced the Cold War as a reliable rationale for extending executive power, the breadth of this authority to defend the country will be a central issue in national politics long after Mukasey completes his service as attorney general.
According to fat pride activist Marilyn Waan, the American medical establishment has lost its head over the nationwide “obesity epidemic,” and its prejudice is claiming victims. In one case, Waan says, a doctor told a fat woman complaining of shooting lights in her vision that the problem must be her weight. Her next doctor discovered a brain tumor.Meanwhile, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with healthcare consortium Kaiser Permanente have found a great new way to fight childhood obesity: the Amazing Food Detective. The computer game, released last week, features ten “case files” of unhealthy children—click on each prisoner-style mug shot and you proceed to help a fat child make a healthy choice. The solution to chubby 12-year-old Emily’s dilemma is to install a security camera to catch and stop her eating at home (After all, “Those large portions were quite suspicious!”); little Cole has to learn that he can only eat raw carrots and bananas because, “Healthy snacks are the way to go!” And the game comes complete with a time-out after 20 minutes: “You should take a break and do something active, like 100 pushups!” Gee whiz-that sounds fun!
From Yahoo! News:
Alzheimer’s memory loss faster among well-educated:
Having more years of formal education delays the memory loss linked to Alzheimer’s disease, but once the condition begins to take hold, better-educated people decline more rapidly, researchers said on Monday.
From The Lab:
Chronic cough? You may need more iron:
Instead of cough drops, some women may need to reach for an iron supplement to treat that pesky cough, Italian researchers say.The study, presented at the scientific meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Chicago, suggests iron deficiency may help explain why some otherwise healthy, nonsmoking women have persistent coughs.
From Telegraph:
Micro-robot that can clear arteries:
A microscopic robot small enough to travel through blood vessels has been built by scientists.Less than a millimetre in size, the robot walks like a crab on six legs and has been designed to clear blocked arteries.
It was produced by researchers at Chonnam National University in Korea, who found the robot was able to travel 55 yards in a week.
(Dizzy sez: Hmmm…I saw that movie and it didn’t end well for the humans when the nano-bots took over *wink*)
From AlterNet:
What If The Military Advertised With Disclaimers? [VIDEO]
From The Huffington Post:
D’oh! House GOP Website Pirates Simpsons Images?
Republican Representative Joe Barton, the ranking minority member of the committee whose name graces the top of this press release, who incidentally denounced Democratic Representative Pete Stark recently, for intemperate remarks on the House floor. While at the same time he’s issuing press releases making fun of toddlers being savaged by attack dogs — and blaming such behavior on Democrats (I assume he’s referring to Democratic Representative Rahm Emmanuel, the only “Rahm” in Washington of which I am aware). It’s downright surreal.But what caught my eye was not the text of the press release, which (after all) is covered by the First Amendment’s free speech guarantee of protection for political satire (weak though such satire may indeed be) — but the images themselves. Images are not protected as satire, unless the image itself is satire (the protection which covers all political cartoons). But these seem to be unadulterated images taken straight from The Simpsons television show itself. Which means it is a copyright issue.
You would think, after all, that a press release from a ranking House committee minority member with “Commerce” in its name would be aware of copyright issues. After all, this committee oversees the FCC — including television and internet issues — so how could they not be aware of current imagery copyright laws?
(Dizzy sez:
“Mommy, when I grow up, I wanna be a Congressman.”
“Why’s that, Honey?”
“Well, when I do something wrong, you send me to my room, but if I was a Congressman, I could do whatever I want and I wouldn’t get into any trouble at all!”
“OK, Dear. But, why don’t you aim higher? You could be President and get away with bigger crimes!”)
From News Hounds:
During Tuesday’s edition of Special Report the All-Star Panel discussion started off with a video clip of Vice President DIck Cheney addressing a weekend meeting at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he uttered yet another of his dire warnings to Iran. The Washington Institute was founded in 1985 by a former research director of AIPAC and has a long history of advocacy for pro-Israeli positions. Once again, pro-war neocons Fred Barnes and Charles Krauthammer suggested that President Bush will attack Iran before his term ends. His reason? Because he wouldn’t want to leave it for the next President to deal with!! Yeah, and coffee still costs a dime … With video.
(Dizzy sez: Hey, I got this great Rolex from that guy in the dirty trenchcoat and I just put a downpayment on a desert bridge. But, coffee for ten cents? Unfrigginbelievable!)
From The Mail:
Bush Touts European Missile Defense Plan
President Bush said Tuesday that plans for a U.S.-led missile defense system in Europe are urgently needed to counter an emerging threat of attack by Iran.“If (Iran) chooses to do so, and the international community does not take steps to prevent it, it is possible Iran could have this capability,” Bush said. “And we need to take it seriously — now.”
Bush’s latest warning about Iran’s nuclear ambitions came in a broad defense of his security policies at the National Defense University and it came not long after Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a news conference in the Czech Republic that the administration might delay activating the proposed missile defense sites until it has “definitive proof” of a missile threat from Iran.
In his speech here, Bush said intelligence estimates show that Iran could have the capability to strike the United States and many European allies by 2015.
“The need for missile defense in Europe is real, and I believe it’s urgent,” Bush said.
(Dizzy sez: I sure hope I got a good deal on that landlocked bridge…)
From Sign of the Times:
Navy’s Definition of Ignorance: US Signs Maritime Pact With Mongolia:
Somebody should have looked at a map.The State Department with great fanfare on Tuesday signed an agreement with landlocked Mongolia that will allow Mongolian ships to be boarded and searched if they are suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction.
This despite the fact that Mongolia – a vast land that’s home to the Gobi Desert, windswept steppes and largely populated by nomadic yak herders – has no navy at all and lies thousands of miles from open waters.
(Dizzy sez: Alrighty, then!)
Phew! Glad I got through all of that. There’s not enough painkillers in the world to get over the splitting headaches I get whenever I read about Bubbles and the Boyz.
I guess I’ll have to settle for another cuppa, instead.
You all take it easy and be safe, today.
(In case you get lost, you can find this post at Dizzy Dayz and The Katrinacrat blog and The Sirens Chronicles)
Dennis Kucinich is the only democrat running for President who has voted against authorizing the war in Iraq and against funding its continuation.
Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate for President with a plan for a Universal, Single-Payer, Not-for-Profit health care system.
A corrupt campaign finance system, coupled with vulnerable electronic voting have eroded America’s confidence in our elections. The USA Patriot Act and secret strategy meetings to set policy tear into the very concept of We the People. As President, Dennis will protect individual liberty and privacy and restore balance and fairness in America’s electoral system.
As the world population soars towards eight billion, critical issues of survival face all of us. Living on a planet of finite resources means that human life can not be sustained indefinitely without careful thought and compassion coupled with political courage.
My family is in San Diego. My sister and her family, whom I was just visiting last week, has been evacuated from her home. Another sister is on standby to evacuate. My dad, who isn’t in the best of health, is hemmed in by freeway closures in the north part of San Diego county due to the fires. This is a personal fire for me obviously. I couldn’t probably get down there due to all the fires and carnage between my home in the San Joaquin valley and San Diego. Roughly half a million people are evacuated from their homes in San Diego county.
So, I watch the live streams on the internets..from San Diego and Los Angeles. Firestorms that can do as much damage as a massive tornado in the midwest my dear reader, but on a much larger scale. The difference is..a tornado just touches down and then nature takes it away..not so with firestorms. I call my family every hour or so. I silently freak out at what I witness live and in burning color.
Four years ago this week was the Cedar fire. It was a horrible week long firestorm that took lives and hundreds of homes. These fires in San Diego have claimed at least one life and roughly 600 homes and 150 businesses. Friends lost their homes in that fire. Some lived with my sister, who has been evacuated this time, for weeks.
Although I came across several posts about the fires in California, my early morning posts were mostly about other things. Keep our California bloggers in your thoughts, today.
From Brilliant at Breakfast:
So what does the Administration have on Michael Mukasey?:
Democrats noted how his tone changed between the first and second days of his appearance, which makes me wonder what information he didn’t want to get out that the Administration showed him they had between those two days.Is this how they’ve gotten away with it over the past six years? Compiling dossiers on everyone, including guys like Arlen Specter and John Warner, who look like they’re going to do the right thing and then cave at the last minute? And if that’s the case, then Washington is an even bigger cesspool than we imagined.
Maybe the next presidential candidate to emphasize “competence” won’t be laughed at:
I wouldn’t hold my breath, though. Still, considering that when George W. Bush took office, the prevailing wisdom ran the gamut of “Thank God the grownups are now in charge” and “Don’t worry, his father will be running everything anyway”, all that insistence on suits and ties and sexual restraint looks like just so much window-dressing now:
Yes, Virginia, now old SNL-alum movies are inspiring the CIA
Your tax dollars at work: Meet the CIA’s new “Terrorist Busters” logo:
(Dizzy sez: Maybe we are all characters in a really scary pre-Apocalypse novel. If not, will somebody please wake me up from this friggin’ nightmare cuz this story sucks!)
From The Huffington Post:
What Did Pelosi Know, and When Did She Know It?
Will House Speaker Nancy Pelosi come clean now that it is clear that the National Security Agency (NSA) was turned loose on American citizens well before 9/11? She has admitted knowing for several years about the Bush administration’s eavesdropping on Americans without a court warrant. She was briefed on it when she was ranking Democrat the House Intelligence Committee when Bush and Cheney took office.But was she told that within days of their taking office, the National Security Agency’s electronic vacuum cleaner had already begun to suck up information on Americans–criminal law and the Constitution be damned?
(Dizzy sez: Hmmm…good question…)
I tell about my personal pain not because I feel somehow special or different, but because of my belief that in examining any one human story a greater truth can be gleaned. We all struggle with death, loss, that path that turns one way and not the other. My story is your story, just change the names, alter some details.
I am drained. I meant to write more about the CO’s…but Friday my eldest would have been 37 and grief has taken over me. I will admit to a change in my grief, hard to define and describe. It will never not be there, but the rawness of it has ebbed some. I still cry, fret that as he crawled on his hands and knees along the city streets looking for the help that came to late, he felt he died alone… that I did not care or love him. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Your first born has a quality about the experience, the births after it no less loved or precious, that is so intense. Every choice you make as a parent, every new thing your child does is so wonderful, so full of import. The circumstances around my first born heightened that time, the 60 are a crucible of American societal change. Being one of the world’s smartest 15 year olds certainly helped;-p. His father had just been drafted, my home life was one of abuse, I was young and in love ,surely all the terrible things adults told me were bound to happen would not happen to me~ I was infallible after all. I bravely or stubbornly, depending on your viewpoint, decided to reject the abortion offered by my Doctor, marry my love and we would strike out on our own. When that child was first placed in my arms the feeling was the best I had ever had and I knew that come what may I had made the right choice. He was my doppelganger~ the common face and voice, temperament, and in the years before the end, he showed me what I could have become had I not made the choices I did.
The Sirens Chronicles 