And America apparently chortles with glee.
January 2011 archive
Jan 01 2011
18 Dead In Pakistan By US Drone Attacks
Jan 01 2011
1/1/11
(crossposted from The Wild Wild Left)
Welcome to the beginning of whatever comes next.
It is around 50 degrees here, the snow has all melted and the air smells like Spring in my house. It feels incredible to have cracked the doors and windows and let new air in. There is something so appropriate about that too for the first day of 2011. Fresh air!
It is all arbitrary, this date-system, how we all accept the Gregorian model. It really makes more sense for the 1st day of the year to correspond with a Solstice. I mean, I get more excited when the 21st of December comes and the sun is returning. I don’t think that the Dianian Calender is going to gain acceptance any time soon, so here we are. Stuck with it.
One’s head has to be in a specific place to do the internal inventory of “opportunities lost” or “mistakes made” as …well as the “changing goals” or “self improvement” that every human is prone to do at times. My head is there all the time, not just because a calender says to. Yet, culture seems to have made me prone to do so anyway on this day. Or maybe I just am glad to be done with 2010.
2010 had some really polluted air, stinky air, air that no freshener could renew and no perfume could mask. Its time for me to quit trying to deal with the stale air, let the new air in and close the windows on the old air for once and for all. Besides, its going back into the 20’s by tomorrow. Heh.
There are many paths to the Costa Rica in your minds. The only thing I know for sure is you cannot get there by walking backwards. The pleasures of Costa Rica are right there for the taking, so enjoy all the souls you meet along the way, and be open to finding ever new companions for the journey. The path IS the Costa Rica.
I can smell it from here…. it smells like fresh air.
Jan 01 2011
HONORING THE FALLEN: US Military KIA, Iraq & Afghanistan/Pakistan – December 2010
Honor our living brothers and sisters all the time! Fully Fund the Veterans Administration, no questions asked, as we fund the Department of Defense, no questions asked. Sacrifice comes from the rest who send those of us who serve into Wars and Occupations of others, they and their families are not the only ones who should be Sacrificing their all!
Jan 01 2011
Six In The Morning
Republicans want to make being brown illegal
Political battle on illegal immigration shifts to states
Legislative leaders in at least half a dozen states say they will propose bills similar to a controversial law to fight illegal immigration that was adopted by Arizona last spring, even though a federal court has suspended central provisions of that statute.
The efforts, led by Republicans, are part of a wave of state measures coming this year aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.
More U.S. news
NYC ball drops to ring in 2011
Nearly a million U.S. revelers have cheered the traditional ball drop in New York’s Times Square to mark the start of 2011. Full story
NYT: States face political battle on illegal immigration
Hostages freed, 2 arrested in bank robbery
NYT: Investors flourish amid economy’s year of tumult
Cuomo sworn in as NY governor, faces huge crises
Legislators have also announced measures to limit access to public colleges and other benefits for illegal immigrants and to punish employers who hire them.
Jan 01 2011
Julian Assange and Daniel Ellsberg Q&A
Julian Assange and Daniel Ellsberg Interview
Good material here that you won’t read about in the “press”, or see on TV.
Jan 01 2011
Personal Thanks from Translator to These Communities 20101231
Folks, we are coming up to a New Year. 2010 was not kind personally or politically for me, but I am thankful that I remain breathing.
In many respects, that has to do with you, Dear Audience! You have read many of my thoughts and responded to them. Agree or disagree, many of you responded.
I have been a Big Orange person for years, but was asked to edit on another site recently. I very gladly accepted, but will never forget this place.
Jan 01 2011
Random Japan
2010 Roundup
APRIL
“Kodokan” means “we automatically win”
The All Japan Judo Federation said it would do away with its homegrown “Kodokan” rules and instead adopt the standards of the International Judo Federation.Dude, chill out
After losing to an unheralded rival in the prestigious Koshien baseball tournament, the coach of a high school team in Shimane said his squad’s performance “was a humiliation that will carry over for generations. I can’t get over it… I want to die.”Warning: irony alert
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is organizing an 8,000km boat cruise for relatives of servicemen who were killed at sea during World War II.Hey, hang on a minute…
The Japan Mint is selling newly pressed ¥1,000 coins featuring the likeness of 19th-century samurai Ryoma Sakamoto for ¥6,000.The wrestler and the rye
The mother of Estonian sumo wrestler Baruto, who was promoted to the second-highest rank of ozeki, said that after first arriving in Japan, her son “was unaccustomed to Japanese food” and “missed rye bread.”
Jan 01 2011
It’s After Midnight… It’s All Over!
That sad excuse for a decade is gone. Over and done. History…. It’s After Midnight….
After midnight, we’re gonna chug-a-lug and shout
We’re gonna stimulate some action
We’re gonna get some satisfaction
We’re gonna find out what it is all about
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After midnight, we’re gonna shake your tambourine
After midnight, it’s all gonna be peaches and cream
We’re gonna cause talk and suspicion
We’re gonna give an exhibition
We’re gonna find out what it is all about
After midnight, we’re gonna let it all hang down
After Midnight
Jan 01 2011
Original v. Cover — #58 in a Series
When the clock strikes twelve this evening, we will bid a not so tearful farewell to 2010. Then thoughts will then turn toward the year ahead. We may recall the story of “The Lady and the Tiger”, however, those ominous growling sounds from behind both doors are unsettling, to say the least.
If you are someone who cannot estimate their net worth to the nearest $10 million, the year ahead promises continued prosperity and riches. Your motto will be an enthusiastic “Stay the course!”
For the remaining 99%, who weren’t George W. Bush’s base, nor Barack Obama’s either, the upcoming year may appear as a minefield that must be crossed to reach the dawn of 2012. While it was tempting to include a poll to assess the percentage of DD readers regarding 2011 with a sense of hope versus despair, the result would likely have surprised few of us, this writer included. One shudders to think that we may someday regard 2010 with nostalgia.
The challenge for us commoners will be that of remaining vigilant while at the same time surviving as best we can, sharing our truth with others to the extent that it doesn’t induce crippling depression in ourselves or those whose lives we touch.
Jan 01 2011
“The rich are much richer than you and me.”
The rich are much richer than you and me
No shit, really? Thank you CNN! Boy that’s a swell effin headline to read! But I think it’s just a teensy bit too subtle. Why not just run a headline that says:
“God-damn! Y’all Some Broke-ass Motherfu@&ers“-?
Or how about this:
“Your Teacher’s Salary Ain’t Shit“-?