March 2011 archive

They Passed The Test  

Despite The Governments Best Efforts To Ensure Failure    

Violate Traffic Laws  

You’re Fired  

Safe Cracked By Tsunami

Money Grows Legs Walks Off  

Residents feel isolated in movement-restricted areas near nuke plant



FUKUSHIMA    

While residents who live closest to the troubled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture have evacuated, those who have remained in a movement-restricted area 20 to 30 kilometers away from the plant say they are feeling increasingly ”isolated.”

Towns were abandoned by many people apparently scared by the government’s instruction to shelter indoors for fear of radiation exposure, local people said.

Residents said they were also troubled by a misperception prevalent among people outside the area that they live in ”a contaminated area,” expressing discontent about what they see as slow actions for help by the central government.

In 1833 after decades of controversy, since borrowers owing as little as 60 cents could be held indefinitely in squalid jails until they paid off their debt … let me introduce our contemporary version Debtors Prison Redux.

‘Are there no prisons?”

‘And the Union workhouses. Are  they still in operation?’

“The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?”

Starting at 2:10 Christmas Carol

In an era where the lines have been all but erased between Wall Street and Washington DC it seems the Corporatocracy has no interest in taking a haircut of any size in this debt fueled implosion. Yet annual bonuses equal to 3 or 4 years of wages for most are continually handed out … and the losses ….. are non-existent. Backed by tax payer dollars the theft continues while no investigation or prosecutions are even on the horizon.

Unless… you are one of the peasant debtors …

This week’s selection is one of those rare songs that came to personify its age.  This complex song, recorded in 1970 and released in late 1971, would never have appeared on the charts today, given its more than eight minute length.  This musical gem consists of several distinct parts, beginning with a finger picked 6 string guitar and four recorders in a Renaissance music style, ending at 2:15, followed by a slow electric middle section (2:16-5:33), then a long guitar solo (5:34-6:44), leading up to a more up-tempo hard rock finale (from 6:45 to its conclusion).  

Some have opined that the song’s intro and opening guitar work closely resemble the 1968 instrumental “Taurus” by the group Spirit.  The group originating this week’s selection appeared with Spirit on an early American tour, so they would undoubtedly have heard “Taurus.”

The inaugural public performance of this piece occurred at Belfast’s Ulster Hall on March 5 1971.  The crowd, apparently wanting to hear songs that were more familiar, was described as appearing bored to tears.  A somewhat more positive response was noted during an early performance at the L.A. Forum, which took place before the record was released.  The song’s world radio premier was recorded at the Paris Cinema on April 1, 1971, in front of a live studio audience and broadcast three days later on BBC.  

Becoming Chaz is coming to the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) on May 10 at 8pm.  Immediately following the show will be a special discussion hosted by Rosie O’Donnell including interviews with Chaz and his girlfriend, Jennifer Elia, directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato and assorted transfolk.

Becoming Chaz first aired at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

Here’s a review:

The last time many of us paid attention to Chaz Bono, he had recently transitioned from a life as a woman to that of a man, and the tabloids and comedians were having a field day. Viewers of Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey’s wildly engaging documentary “Becoming Chaz” might be surprised, then, to see the complicated and often touching story behind the late-night snark.

—Steven Zeitchik, Los Angeles Times

Essays Featured Friday the 25^th of March~

Late Night Karaoke has ‘Bout to Get Fruit Punched Homie, mishima DJs

Six Brilliant Articles! from Six Different Places!! on Six Different Topics!!!

                Six Days a Week!!!    at Six in the Morning!!!!

Topsy-Turvy are slksfca‘s Friday Open Thoughts

Gha!

In Memoriam: Elizabeth Taylor from TheMomCat

dsteffen has another Brilliant edition of How Regulation Came To Be this edition its The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

from Timbuk3: The 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time!

Tonight #96

My Little Town Translator reminisces about Arthur Holloway  

I love it when a completely unexpected and unwarranted assumption jumps out of the closet at the end of a story to vandalize a perfectly good economic horror show with a smiley face.  

Consensus on U.S. growth this year is around 3.5%…But where will this expected growth come from?

First, the deleveraging process is far from over. In fact, It didn’t even begin…

Second, Congress isn’t debating whether fiscal policy has to be tightened — but by how much… Fiscal tightening is a huge swing from the fiscal stimulus position the U.S. economy currently enjoys.

Third, the Fed is moving slowly to prepare the markets for less monetary stimulus for the economy.

[Fourth:] The consumer sector (which accounts for a bit more than 70% of U.S. GDP)…With credit conditions relatively tight and the need to delever still in place, credit-financed consumption growth is some years off.

[Fifth:] Employment growth is barely enough to provide jobs for new entrants…As a consequence, income- and credit-based consumption growth are unlikely to provide the economic motor with the much-needed fuel that replaces the dwindling monetary and fiscal stimulus fuel.

[Sixth:]This leaves us with the investment and net export sectors of the economy to justify a 3.5% growth expectation…but keep in mind that sluggish consumption growth will likely put a dent in investment spending plans…net exports — the component that feeds directly into the GDP figures — are declining again after three years of improvement. The export sector won’t save the day.

To conclude: The U.S. economy will grow over time, if only for the natural tendency of a free market economy to seek an increase of the well being of its citizens.

In concise, mathematical terms,

– 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1 (+ free market love!) = growth.

Sure, the economy is going down the crapper, but thank ye, lord, for the impending beneficence of free markets.

Feel better?

Our regular featured content-

• Six In The Morning by mishima
• On This Day In History by TheMomCat
• Punting the Pundits by TheMomCat
• Evening Edition by ek hornbeck

And these articles-

• My Little Town 20110324: Arthur Holloway by Translator
• Under The Radar: More Outrageous and Stupid by TheMomCat
• Taking Back America: Assault on the Constitution by Obama by TheMomCat

Special live blogging of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament–

• Round of 16 Part 2

The Stars Hollow Gazette

Ever since this story re-surfaced on Monday with the der speigel thing, Ive been reading and searching for the details that will give me more of a Big Picture view as well as more facts of the matter. It aint easy, lotta ugly.

But there’s one surprise.

I’m not 100% certain that I have it right, but … well, okay I admit it. Maybe I’m just a sap, a sucker, a bleeding heart liberal, a naive hopeful vulnerable peaceloving DFH flower power peacenik heart on my sleeve bleeder. …

I want to tell you about this one “starfish” in this godawful mess.: Specialist Adam Winfield. And that I support him.

A simple and essential truth appears to be that Spc. Adam Winfield has been wronged.  He is accused of the May 2010 murder of an Afghani civilian. In fact, he tried, (and failed obviously), to blow the whistle in Feb 2010 on his squad-mates. Follow below for more.