It's raining today. Not our usual mountain thunderstorm type rain, but a dreary steady gray rain. Reminds me of the years I lived in Washington state, where I suffered from "seasonal affective disorder" about this time each year. Since moving to Arizona, I no longer have the symptoms of winter depression, but I seem to be in a bit of a funk today.
Of course, it may be shrub's fault.
(picture of Smelter rapid on the Animas river)
Zebulon Simentov, the last Jew in Afghanistan, is once again marking the Jewish holy day of fasting in solitude, in a deserted synagogue in the capital of a devoutly Islamic nation.
"I have everything I need for the 24 hours of praying and fasting," Simentov tells AFP before the start of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, at sunset on Friday.
Around two decades ago, there were still about 20 Afghan Jewish families living in Kabul, although all were from Herat -- the largest city in northwestern Afghanistan near the border with Iran.
Through the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, the subsequent civil war and the Taliban's 1996-2001 regime, all went to Israel or moved to neighbouring former Soviet republics -- undoing a Jewish presence built up from the seventh century.
Only Simentov has been left behind, becoming by default the guardian of Kabul's empty synagogue.
I found this to be a sad note. As someone who isn't religious, it's easy for me to scoff at the various forms of religious intolerance. But there is a real, human price that some are forced to pay for their religious beliefs.
Simentov is alone. His wife and two children are in Israel, which he says he has not visited since 1998.
"I have been the only Jew in Afghanistan for two years," he says. Ishaq Levin, the synagogue's former guardian, died from illness two years ago aged around 80.
Simentov says it is not easy to practise his religion alone.
One thing that all major religions agree on is human fallibility. That is to say that a mere human cannot fully understand the "will of god". I wish that the "true believers" of every religion could grasp that insight, that other beliefs deserve equal respect. But the "believers", secure in the knowledge that they possess the "truth", proceed to either impose their beliefs on others or eliminate those who disagree. Humans (who are fallible) proceed to kill other humans (who are fallible) in the name of a god (who they cannot fully understand, according to their own scriptures), and they consider themselves "righteous". It boggles my mind.
Added: Am I the only one who finds it ironic that there are more Jews in the Iranian parliament than there are in Afghanistan?
Newt Gingrich declared he will run if his supporters can raise $30 million duckets. Although I don’t particularly care for Newt Gingrich nor do I buy
his “I’m Reformed, and Have Perspective” Routine, I must admit this plan is
ingenious.So, I’ve decided to begin taking donations. If we (And I really mean You) can raise $10 million, I promise to run as well.
I’m not sure where I’ll run (I have some friends in Italy), but I promise if we can meet this goal (And I know we can) I will most assuredly run.
There are times when I almost want to give up on representative democracy. Yesterday, the senate wasted a lot of time condemning the MoveOn ad, as if it mattered. We have rethugs filibustering important bills such as restoring Habeas Corpus (the most basic principle of law) and giving our over stretched troops a reasonable amount of time off, but the media calls this a "failure by the democrats". Our shrub is preparing to veto children's health care and blame democrats for his veto. So the democrats turn around and condemn an ad that accurately reflects the opinion of the majority of the American people? Nice job.
We live in an era of "gotcha" politics, where a good sound bite trumps substance. Never mind the working class Americans worried about losing their homes, Forbes has a list of 400 billionaires. Never mind that Iraq is awash in death and destruction, we must say nice things about our generals. Health care? Only when somebody can make a profit off of it. Greed is rewarded and honesty is attacked. Somehow, the word "liberal" is an insult, as if caring about people is inherently evil. The phrase "family values" is used to discriminate against anyone who won't follow a strict christianist doctrine. Product safety? That might cut into corporate profits. "Death to the poor" is the rethuglican mantra.
With all the problems deserving senate attention, an ad by MoveOn is beyond trivial. Doing the people's business takes a back seat to grandstanding to score a few "gotcha" points.
We Deserve Better!
Reports about the size of Birgus latro vary, and most references give a weight of up to 4 kg (9 lb), a body length of up to 400 mm (16 in), and a leg span of around
1 m (3 ft),[2] with males generally being larger than females. Some reports claim weights up to 17 kg and a body length of 1 m
During a tagging experiment, one coconut crab was observed catching and eating a Polynesian rat.[3]. Coconut crabs often try to steal food from each other and will pull their food into their burrows to be safe while eating.
The coconut crab climbs trees to eat coconuts or fruit, to escape the heat or to escape predators. It is a common perception that the coconut crab cuts the coconuts from the tree to eat them on the ground.
The coconut crab is eaten by the Pacific islanders, and is considered a delicacy and an aphrodisiac, with a taste similar to lobster and crabmeat. The most prized parts are the eggs inside the female coconut crab and the fat in the abdomen. Coconut crabs can be cooked in a similar way to lobsters, by boiling or steaming. Different islands also have a variety of recipes, as for example coconut crab cooked in coconut milk.
While the coconut crab itself is not poisonous, it may become poisonous depending on its diet, and cases of coconut crab poisoning have occurred. It is believed that the poison comes from plant toxins, which would explain why some animals are poisonous and others not. It may also be possible that this poison is considered an aphrodisiac, similar to the highly poisonous pufferfish eaten in Japan. However, coconut crabs are not a commercial product and are usually not sold.
Children sometimes play with coconut crabs by placing some wet grass at an angle on a palm tree that contains a coconut crab. When the animal climbs down, it believes the grass is the ground, releases its grip on the tree, and subsequently falls.
The coconut crab is admired for its strength, and it is said that villagers use this animal to guard their coconut plantations. A coconut crab may attack a person if it is threatened. The coconut crab, especially if it is not yet fully grown, is also sold as a pet, for example in Tokyo. The cage must be strong enough that the animal cannot use its powerful claws to escape.
We need more critters like this. (h/t http://www.apostropher.com/blog/)
Breaking: Senate rejects habeas legislation.
In a 56-43 vote, the Senate today “narrowly rejected” legislation that would have restored habeas corpus rights to military detainees and given them “the right to protest their detention in federal court.” The roll call fell four votes short of the 60 needed to cut off debate.
UPDATE: Full roll call vote HERE.
UPDATE II: Leahy has put out a statement reacting to the vote:
It is difficult to defend the higher ground by taking the lower road. The world knows what our enemies stand for. The world also knows what this country has tried to stand for and live up to — in the best of times, and the worst of times. … We will not give up on this important effort.
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/09/19/breaking-senate-rejects-habeas-legislation/
(pigs from here:http://www.wimdelvoye.be/afc.html)
Added: yay, that's our 700th post!
Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers filed suit against God Friday, asking a court to order the Almighty and his followers to stop making terrorist threats.The suit (.pdf), filed in a Nebraska district court, contends that God, along with his followers of all persuasions, "has made and continues to make terroristic threats of grave harm to innumerable persons." Those threats are credible given God's history,
Chambers' complaint says.Chambers, in a fit of alliteration, also accuses God of causing "fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes, pestilential plagues, ferocious famines, devastating droughts, genocidal wars, birth defects, and the like."
The Iraqi government Monday ordered Blackwater USA, the security firm that protects U.S. diplomats, to stop work and leave the country after the fatal shooting of eight Iraqi civilians following a car bomb attack against a State Department convoy.
The order by the Interior Ministry, if carried out, would deal a severe blow to U.S. government operations in Iraq by stripping diplomats, engineers, reconstruction officials and others of their security protection.
The presence of so many visible, aggressive Western security contractors has angered many Iraqis, who consider them a mercenary force that runs roughshod over people in their own country.
Sunday's shooting was the latest in a series of incidents in which Blackwater and other foreign contractors have been accused of shooting to death an unknown number of Iraqi citizens. None has faced charges or prosecution.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki late Monday and the two agreed to conduct a "fair and transparent investigation" and hold any wrongdoers accountable, said Yassin Majid, an adviser to the prime minister. Rice was expected to visit the Mideast on Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070917/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&printer=1;_ylt=Aj30OhVUa.rf5zCeaVwYcREUewgF
Not so fast. Larry Johnson (who's work I greatly respect) thinks otherwise:
First problem. Blackwater does not have a license to operate in Iraq and does not need one. They have a U.S. State Department contract through Diplomatic Security. Instead of using Diplomatic Security officers or hiring new Security officers or relying on U.S. military personnel, the Bush Administration has contracted with firms like Blackwater, Triple Canopy, and others for people capable of conducting personnel security details. State Department is not about to curtail the contract with Blackwater, who is tightly wired into Washington. Plus, State Department simply does not have the bodies available to carry out the security mission.
Second problem. The Iraqi government has zero power to enforce a decision to oust a firm like Blackwater. For starters, Blackwater has a bigger air force and more armored vehicles then the Iraqi Army and police put together. As Spencer Ackerman reported, Blackwater’s little bird helicopter (an aircraft normally used by U.S. special operations forces) that was firing mini guns at Iraqi targets on the ground this past weekend.
I can only imagine how Americans would react if there were Russian, Chinese, Mexican, or French security firms running around the United States and getting into firefights in tough neighborhoods, such as South Central Los Angeles. We would just shrug our shoulders and say nothing. Right?
Yeah, that’s what I thought. This incident will enrage Iraqis and their subsequent realization that they are impotent to do anything about it will do little to support the fantasy that the surge is working. There are some Iraqis who genuinely want to run their own country. But we are not about to give them the keys to the car. Blackwater is staying.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2007/09/17/the-iraq-blackwater-test/
We'll see how this plays out, but I'll bet that corporate profits will trump Iraqi sovereignty. They'll probably have a name change, just to provide some political cover.
United Press International
A U.S. study suggests differing zests for beer might reveal more about alcohol's effect on the brain than inherent differences in taste sensitivity.
Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee -- led by Associate Professor Judy Grisel of Furman University -- are using a mouse model
to map genes responsible for differences in beer consumption.In our preliminary study, we have two critical findings, said Grisel, a professor of psychology and neuroscience. There is no significant correlation between the drinking patterns and the allelic status of the taste receptor on Chromosome 2, and many strains of mice voluntarily consumed enough alcohol to become dependent.
By studying self-administration of beer, the researchers have been able to decrease the influence of taste sensitivity that's been a big factor in previous studies in which scientists measured the consumption of alcohol mixed with water.
The ongoing research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Furman Advantage Program and South Carolina independent colleges and universities.
Mogollon used to have the slogan "coming out, all beer is pretty much the same. going in, there is a difference".
Added: But it would explain Budweiser.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves
and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.
Otherwise, it’s a pretty smooth ride, with a water bottle snugged in beside you and a hot desert sun shining above. There’s nothing on the AM/FM dial except Mexican mariachi music, which is good enough to hum along with, but you lose the cadence when you can’t sing along because you don’t know the words, let alone the language. Luckily out here you can’t get the ubiquitous Jeebus-preacher stations common to middle-of-nowhere America; probably because this high desert is hell already, so why would those Men of God waste their time trying to radio the damned that live out here? So you stab at the SEEK button, and what to your surprised ears do you stumble across, but KNPR, the Vegas National Public Radio outlet.
A-and, while you wend your way down this two-lane, then four-lane tar-line, you hear the Studio360 program du jour, which is a celebration? discussion? what have you? concerning the 50th anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road,” a particularly good talk-fest for a long, lonely highway such as this.
Apparently, you learn, this is the silver annum of this now treasured American classic, which brought a be-bop, beatnik enthusiasm to the rich American travel experience, building on J.F. Cooper’s Gleanings, Twain’s Huck Finn, and updating Steinbeck’s angry grapes for the hipper generation. Doc Thompson covered it too, in his wild escapades across the desert to our American Cibola in the West; and there are probably many more epic trip stories that aren’t even reminders in your brain while you speed along, listening and learning.
After all, isn’t there a famous quote that says to understand
Kerouac’s prose hints at some of that, but also puts it on the path to individual discovery. In this case, as so many others, through the American road. The journey. The path. That’s right, the road trip. Spiritual descendent of the pioneers in their covered wagons, only now we’re not blazing an original trail, we’re following a pre-determined one, laid down by highway engineers who based their original surveys on long-traveled dirt trails and Conestoga buggy paths. So, what Kerouac understood, was with the path already in place, that henceforth with each road trip, the trail-blazing, the pioneering had to take place in the mind of the individual, and furthermore, that the individual had to simultaneously both understand and to deny that; to understand that they were on their own individual trip, as well as following an arc or ribbon on society’s trip.
Wow. Heavy. And, given that you never even read the book until you were thirty, and thought it only so-so, it’s just the kind of meanderings you might expect from a four-hour jaunt across a harsh, unforgiving landscape, in society’s current chrome-wheeled, fuel-injected, air-conditioned, stepping-out-over-the-line vehicle – the American automobile.
And further, you’ve just ridden this conveyance to the epitome of American extravagance and waste,
Granted, everyone knows that Vegas is a complete fantasy. We (meaning everyone who visits) accept, and even encourage that. Walking the Strip this morning, amongst the current edifices are dozens of construction cranes and towers, hurling up even more thousands of rooms into the area, making the Vegas downtown look like
Like I said, a fantasy. And all roads, even Dean Moriarty’s, lead to Vegas, or some other Eldorado on the hill.
But I’m a simple guy, and out here in non-fantasy-land, we’ve got some, ummmm, bumps in the road. Some potholes, if you will, in the Kerouac Zen dream of
First, let’s talk about energy.
Last week, OPEC, said that they will probably increase output by 500,000 barrels of oil per day. Now for most people, OPEC is synonymous with
Now 500,000 bbl/day divided by 20.8 million bbl/day current use in the
Now, given that OPEC controls much of what’s known to be left in the ground oil-wise, and given that stated U.S. policy going back to Carter (hell, back to FDR) has been the unobstructed, inevitable dynamo of growth in America – which relies almost exclusively on oil – doncha maybe kinda think, just for a minute, that WE, as a matter of national policy, were ah, I don’t know, a teensy-eensy bit short-sighted by placing all our eggs in that basket? That maybe we shouldn’t have built our entire worldview (driving everywhere, easy-to-grow food, new-and-amazing medicines and medical discoveries, the heat for our damn houses) on something that’s halfway around the world?
Oh, that’s right. We weren’t placing all our eggs in that basket, because up until 1973 or so, the good ‘ol
Until, one day, we weren’t. We’ll discuss that in the next post, and maybe touch a little bit more on the future of the Kerouac dream of the open road.
