Happy 4th of July

much better now. Thanks Sam

this year the 4th means activism....

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

my mom was lecturing us about this yesterday...

I covered an old coffee table with "pleather" for $30.00 yesterday. It is beautiful and is perfect for putting your feet up on.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&add...

...
I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages[T-here is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.

Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the every day practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.

-Frederick Douglass, "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" (July 5, 1852) [excerpt]

Pentagon extends tour of Marines in Afghanistan
2 hours, 23 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has extended the tour of 2,200 Marines in Afghanistan, after insisting for months the unit would come home on time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080704/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_afghanistan_mar...

What does patriotism mean to you.

Lots of winger calls today. Bush lovers! Don't know whether to laugh or throw up!

Picnics and Fireworks?

Ask a normal person and they will hem and haw before reaching into their minds for an answer that sounds good.

a long weekend, time to catch up on reading and sleeping

ok, not total apathy here, reading means political books and blogs, so it means getting worked up and angry, will that qualify as patriotic enough, for a newby american citizen (since 2004 folks! and too late to even be able to vote in that infamous election!)

just saw your comment on my blog for the first time...yea it is like therapy....I like myspace better because when you get comments you get a notification. But it is so damn slow. I have neglected my own blog terribly since being here. It is like a new relationship....

Sorry you had to become a citizen during the reign of our worst president ever. But proud to have you as a citizen!

or should i say dilemma: louisiana is not going to go to obama no way so i have a choice here - i am flirting with the idea of voting for the republican independent, not mccain of course, but maybe ron paul or orrin hatch (is that the one or am i getting him mixed up?) just to throw some wrench in the mcain louisiana victory total?

i am of course gonna vote for the most progressive congressional candidates or anything else progressive on the nov ballot, which isn't saying much in this brackish swamp of a state, muddy waters indeed (poopy poo?)

wonderful weather in new orleans today (sofar)

the french quarter taken over by the essence festival (lucille, are you gonna come for one of those one of these years? the brightest stars of hip hop will be there)

so time for me to hit the lake instead, i am not much for large crowds

have a good 4th! signing off for now

Nebraska Beef expands recall to 5.3 mln lbs: USDA-Reuters

Nebraska Beef Ltd expanded its voluntary recall of material used in making ground beef to 5.3 million lbs, 10 times the initial recall, because it may contain disease-causing bacteria, the U.S. government said on Friday.

Forty illnesses have been reported in connection with ground beef subject to the recall. The recall was expanded based on investigations of the illnesses in Michigan and Ohio.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service said it concluded production practices used by Nebraska Beef, based in Omaha, Nebraska, were insufficient to control E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in beef products intended for grinding.

E. coli O157:H7 bacteria can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in severe cases, kidney failure.

Involved in the recall are about 5.3 million pounds (2.4 million kg) of the company's beef manufacturing trimmings and other products intended for use in raw ground beef produced from May 16-June 26.

The materials were processed by other companies and probably will not carry the establishment number "EST 19336" on products available to consumers.

On Monday, Nebraska Beef began a voluntary recall of 531,707 lbs of ground beef products. The beef was distributed to processors in Colorado, Nebraska and Texas and to wholesalers in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania.

That recall followed a June 25 recall by Kroger Co, a grocery chain, of ground beef sold in Michigan and central and northwestern Ohio.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Nebraska_Beef_expands_recall_to_5.3_0703.h...

If you go forth with a Fifth on the Fourth, you may not go forth on the Fifth.

Celebrate responsibly, I'd miss you.

vive la.... (US?)

viva l'america

what prompted you to settle in New Orleans? I visited once and was wow'd by the architecture and culture but the humidity was impossible for me. I felt very claustrophobic.

We have no architecture or culture here in Northern Nevada but the air is dry and pristine when california is not on fire....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&add...

Groundbreaking Lawsuit Accuses Big Oil of Conspiracy to Deceive Public About Climate Change

Attorney Stephen Susman helped file a groundbreaking lawsuit earlier this year on behalf of 400 Inupiat villagers in the Alaskan town of Kivalina who are being forced to relocate because of flooding caused by global warming. The suit accuses twenty oil, gas and electric companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and Peabody, of being responsible for emitting millions of tons of greenhouse gases causing the Arctic ice to melt

by that much....

the 4th of July?

Is the day we celebrate our independance from a previous asshole named George.

one more to go.

idiots about Obama's "flip flop" on Iraq

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&add...

total gang bang on MSNBC

Is it the 4th already?
submitted by Fernando on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 9:50am.
-----
Thank you Fernando for flying the flag of distress. I'm feeling a little sad today. American democracy is in desperate need of rescue.

FARC leaders were paid millions to free hostages: Swiss radio

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Leaders of the Colombian FARC rebel movement were paid millions of dollars to free Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, Swiss radio said on Friday, quoting 'a reliable source'.

The 15 hostages released on Wednesday by the Colombian army 'were in reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards was a set-up,' the radio's French-language channel said.

Saying the United States, which had three of its citizens among those freed, was behind the deal, it put the price of the ransom at some $20 million.

The radio said its source was 'close to the events, reliable and tested many times in recent years.'

The report added said the wife of one of the hostages' guards was the go-between, having been arrested by the Colombian army. She was released to return to the guerrillas, where she persuaded her husband to change sides.

Switzerland, along with France and Spain, has been mediating with the FARC on behalf of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe............

Free Democracy

I've been using the day to deep clean my house while everyone else plays.

Somehow cleaning as if scrubbing the atrocities out of my mind always seems to be the gig. Right now I'm on a break from scrubbing the cabinets, trim and walls from dirty hand prints and food remnants off the kitchen cabinets.

Its a real wonder I actually get any food on my plate with so much slung up on the walls.

mire - are you really thinking about voting for Oral Hatch for anything? Or did you mean Bob Barr? Talk about desperation :(

"Ah, July 4th, when we honor the great white men who forged an astounding democracy upon North America. A democracy that considered black folks to be livestock (except when it came to apportioning representatives to Congress, of coruse, when they were counted as 60% human). And a ‘democracy’ that didn’t consider women - not even the white ones - as worthy of the vote. And, really, people like Adams were so terrified of the common people (the dirty fucking hippies of the time, I suppose), that they came up with the electoral college nonsense, with which wee are still saddled.

Problem is, there already was a democracy in North America - a confederation of the six Haudenosaunee nations - upon which the government of the United States of America (absent that pesky equal rights and womens’ vote stuff) would eventually be based.

Anyhow, back in 1763 or so, the Haudenosaunee had secured from the British a royal proclamation outlawing intrusions by the colonies onto Haudenosaunee land and creating formal procedures by which native nations could, if they desired, sell territory - as long as the sale was endorsed by the British government.

Needless to say, this pissed off our forefathers to no end (maybe even more than that tea tax you hear so much about). After all, this was their goddamn land to steal and kill for, and those bloody redcoats should just stay the fuck out!

So, the fine leaders of the colonies (mostly a bunch of land speculators), in the finest tradition of god fearing white men everywhere, ignored the new laws and encouraged settlement into native lands. Although they were far superior warriors (especially on their native land), the Haudenosaunee, wishing to avoid involvement in a conflict that would strain their confederacy (the Oneidas and Tuscaroras tended to side with the rebels, while the rest of the six nations sided with the British), made two treaties with the colonies in order to guarantee its neutrality.

The colonies, of course, failed to live up to their end of the treaties, and in 1777 the Haudenosaunee took up arms to thwart an illegal military venture into their territory by the “Americans” at the Battle of Oriskany.

The great white father George Washington decided to send General John Sullivan into Haudenosaunee territory in a “preemptive attack” (sound familiar?) to break the back of the Six Nations. In fact, the most significant US military venture of 1779 was not against the British, but Sullivan’s raids against the Haudenosaunee.

Sullivan and his 3,500+ troops were ordered by Washington to “lay waste all settlements around…so that country may not only be overrun but destroyed.” Sullivan launched a “scorched earth campaign” (a lot like US tactics in Vietnam), torching over 40 Haudenosaunee communities and destroying thousands of acres of crops. During the following winter of 1779-80 - among the most severe of the time - thousands of Haudenosaunee men, women and children - deprived of food and shelter - died of starvation and exposure. Their determination to carry on the fight remained, but the British eventually decided to cut their losses, and the 1783 Treaty of Paris between the US and Britain ended the war, but neglected to offer any protection to the Haudenosaunee. Veterans of the Sullivan raids snatched up huge amounts of Haudenosaunee territory, and the rest, as they say, is history

So, happy Independence Day, everybody! Well, to all us descendants of white Europeans, anyway."

pjsauter

Kevin ©

.mp3

is doing an operation chaos kind of thing with (Barr)....just to mess things up with McCain

but we just missed her by that much....

in dan's comment?

watch Rachel take on these four
Submitted by mhappenow on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 10:20am.
------

Until we are willing to take a serious stand on the traitorous mainstream media, this will continue. Media Matters is not the entire answer nor is F.A.I.R. It will take cancellation of cable and satellite subscriptions- along with a boycott of products. It's the only thing corporate power understands.

that dan's a dumbass using flickr for the 1st time. check it out now.

Cosmic 8 (13-0.0.1.7)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

red resonant earth ~ kin 137

CHANNEL in order to EVOLVE,
INSPIRING SYNCHRONICITY
seal the MATRIX of NAVIGATION
with the RESONANT tone of ATTUNEMENT.
guided by the power of UNIVERSAL WATER.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
◄ 12.19.15.8.9 ≈ buluc muluc ►

people like Rachel and Keith are infiltrating and changing things. They are hired for marketing reasons but they do have an impact....

boycotts are of limited value....too passive to be effective.

you are far from a dumbass

Submitted by Kevin © on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 10:30am.
----

Oh you just wait until the lies about the daring rescue come. It's going to be enough bull-shit drama for an academy award.

its the boycotts that are marketed with a lot of noise and fanfare that are successful. simply cancelling or not watching without letting people know is what makes it ineffective.

for example, if i find myself in a waiting room and they are playing faux noise or something like that, i will switch the channel and if somebody objects make a comment about how can anybody believe those lies...

thats a great post
Submitted by mhappenow on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 10:34am.

*********

see if he posts it ... 8-)

i was surprised to see in the mornings paper that the rescued person was praising chavez.

===

weird, i can't find the story now, and the ones i am finding are critical of chavez.

Highway Blog " Impeach Before Pardons" I'm putting the sign on north facing bridge over major highway and then will put up on south side if still there on Sunday when all the people return from their "patriotic" picnics and "patriotic" shopping. I'll try to get a pic. Google "Freeway Blogger" I's a patriotic thing to do, after all the freeways are still not privatized.

An Independence Day look back at the radical influence of Thomas Paine, the often-overlooked founding father whose words sparked the American Revolution. Get more videos from the American News Project here. Watch the video on Paine below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/04/thomas-paine-the-man-who_n_1108...

when the Constitution is under attack?

America is under attack
her people are being drained of their children and treasure.

If not now when? Why aren't we all in the streets protesting this "holiday" with our torches and our shovels?

http://www.wral.com/

Conservative Sen. Jesse Helms, 86, died at 1:18 a.m. today.

great...

yeah that was one of the first things she did

Jesse Helms is dead at the age of 86.

I guess he was 86'd! Sorry, that was cruel but like Crank, the pun!

That must be the breath of fresh air I just felt.

Happy Independence Day all.

Betancourt praises Chávez's mediation; calls for respect for Colombian democracy

El Universal - Ingrid Betancourt, who was held as hostage by the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) and was rescued Wednesday, said the role of mediators Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his Ecuadorian counterpart Rafael Correa have played in the Colombian peace process is very important, but stressed that Colombia's democracy needed to be respected.

"Colombians elected President Álvaro Uribe, Colombians did not elect the FARC. Thus, in the same way President Chávez and President Correa came to power in their countries through democratic means, I am asking all of our brother countries in the continent to help us so that changes in Colombia may also come through democratic means," she said.

Dude! I thought he was already dead, oh that was another racist Strom Thurmond.

Berancourt would have changed politics and policies had she become Pres in Columbia. This "rescue" just gave her a louder voice.

Garrison Keillor:

Having been called names, one looks back at one's own angry outbursts over the years, and I recall having once referred to Republicans as "hairy backed swamp developers, fundamentalist bullies, freelance racists, hobby cops, sweatshop tycoons, line jumpers, marsupial moms and aluminum siding salesmen, misanthropic frat boys, ninja dittoheads, shrieking midgets, tax cheats, cheese merchants, cat stranglers, pill pushers, nihilists in golf pants, backed-up Baptists, the grand pooh-bahs of Percodan, mouth breathers, testosterone junkies and brownshirts in pinstripes." I look at those words now, and "cat stranglers" seems excessive to me. (here)

Things you can count on the Republican leadership to screw up:

The deficit. Body armor. Medicare reform. Social Security reform. The minimum wage. Port security. The National Guard. Diplomacy. The Geneva Conventions. Fair elections. Clean elections. Intelligence. Protecting the Constitution. Protecting the Bill of Rights. Government transparency. Oversight. Separation of church and state. The middle class. The poor. Tax reform. Tax cuts. Bankruptcy law. Global warming. Disaster management. Defeating terrorists. Saying no to lobbyists. Saying yes to public opinion. Pre-war planning. Post-war planning. Competence. Civil rights. Civil liberties. Civil debate. Veterans' benefits. Hiring based on ability. Legal surveillance. Morality. Energy policy. Energy independence. End-of-life decisions among spouses. Inclusion. Learning lessons from history. Learning, period. Drug policy. Fiscal responsibility. Trusting the generals. Trusting the spooks. Trusting the experts. Basic honesty. Basic health care. Education. Creating jobs. Keeping CIA operatives' identities secret. Catching Osama. Playing nice. Playing fair. Refilling ice cube trays. Making paper airplanes. Or coffee. Tying their shoelaces. Making friends. Blowing their noses. Counting to ten five three. Sharing their toys. Telling the truth. Uniting the country. Protecting underage kids from a predatory congressman.

"As we once again celebrate our Independence as a nation, let us celebrate freedom from fear and pledge that government 'of the people' will survive in this land that we love."
- Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Some Democratic Leaders say Impeachment is off the table.

So, let's set a new table for our nation, upon which we place the Constitution and where we demand that all those who have taken an oath to defend it ... keep their promise and protect our nation from the threat within.

Please go to kucinich.us now and sign the petition, which calls for impeachment. This is the one petition that will make a difference because I will be personally delivering it to your member of congress. Please circulate word of this petition far and wide, to all your friends and family. This is the one opportunity that we have right now to actually change events in this country.

Two hundred and thirty-two years ago, our nation was conceived in liberty. We have once again reached a moment of truth, one that Lincoln recognized at Gettysburg as to whether "this nation or any nation so conceived or so dedicated can long endure."

Through the ashes of the civil war, Lincoln prayed that "this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom ... and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

This Fourth of July, 2008, we face a different kind of war; one which is trying our souls ... a war based on lies. But with the power of truth and the power of the people we can achieve a new birth of freedom, standing up for what is good in America, insisting on the rule of law, demanding adherence to the Constitution, and supporting the impeachment of a President who lied to take us into a war against Iraq.

Be the answer to Lincoln's Prayer. Please pledge your support now to restoring the rule of law in America. As we once again celebrate Independence Day, let us celebrate freedom from fear and pledge that this government of the people will survive in this land that we love.

Religious silliness: Prayer vigils at gas stations to lower prices

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the price of oil continues to rise, some are turning to God and prayer for an answer to their financial troubles. The Pray at the Pump Movement, founded by Rocky Twyman, has been holding prayer vigils at gas stations across the country.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200807/NAT200...

" Not all conservatives are stupid, but all stupid people are conservative." HL Menckin

Garrison Keillor:

Having been called names, one looks back at one's own angry outbursts over the years, and I recall having once referred to Republicans as "hairy backed swamp developers, fundamentalist bullies, freelance racists, hobby cops, sweatshop tycoons, line jumpers, marsupial moms and aluminum siding salesmen, misanthropic frat boys, ninja dittoheads, shrieking midgets, tax cheats, cheese merchants, cat stranglers, pill pushers, nihilists in golf pants, backed-up Baptists, the grand pooh-bahs of Percodan, mouth breathers, testosterone junkies and brownshirts in pinstripes." I look at those words now, and "cat stranglers" seems excessive to me. (here)

Things you can count on the Republican leadership to screw up:

The deficit. Body armor. Medicare reform. Social Security reform. The minimum wage. Port security. The National Guard. Diplomacy. The Geneva Conventions. Fair elections. Clean elections. Intelligence. Protecting the Constitution. Protecting the Bill of Rights. Government transparency. Oversight. Separation of church and state. The middle class. The poor. Tax reform. Tax cuts. Bankruptcy law. Global warming. Disaster management. Defeating terrorists. Saying no to lobbyists. Saying yes to public opinion. Pre-war planning. Post-war planning. Competence. Civil rights. Civil liberties. Civil debate. Veterans' benefits. Hiring based on ability. Legal surveillance. Morality. Energy policy. Energy independence. End-of-life decisions among spouses. Inclusion. Learning lessons from history. Learning, period. Drug policy. Fiscal responsibility. Trusting the generals. Trusting the spooks. Trusting the experts. Basic honesty. Basic health care. Education. Creating jobs. Keeping CIA operatives' identities secret. Catching Osama. Playing nice. Playing fair. Refilling ice cube trays. Making paper airplanes. Or coffee. Tying their shoelaces. Making friends. Blowing their noses. Counting to ten five three. Sharing their toys. Telling the truth. Uniting the country. Protecting underage kids from a predatory congressman.

i thought that was only important when you were talking about clinton and sex.

Oil steady above
$145 in Asia on Saudi declaration

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil prices remained near record highs above $145 a barrel in Asia after Saudi Arabia's oil minister suggested his country doesn't plan to boost production.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices;_ylt=AhJrajkiKrRwLXuSCiH4wwUOr7sF

!!!

Judge Robertson sharply rebuked the Bush administration for its position that because the several hundred Guantánamo detainees have been classified as "enemy combatants," they are not entitled to the protections normally given to prisoners of war. - NYT

Judge Roberston is also the guy who went into the memory hole after quitting the FISA courts because of what he knew about the NSA spying on American's.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson also ruled that the law's denial of habeas corpus to the more than 12 million legal immigrants living in the United States was unconstitutional. - Seattle Times

Argentines find lost
'Metropolis' scenes

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lost scenes from the sci-fi classic "Metropolis," recently discovered in the archives of a Buenos Aires museum, were shown to journalists for the first time in decades on Thursday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080704/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/argentina_metropol...

there's an interesting undercurrent in the trading world that says the saudis have been lying about how much oil reserves they have and that the bushies learned about this back when cheney had his secret energy task force.

essentially, the claim is that the saudis can't increase production because it ain't there. peak oil baby.

My hand and eye coordination is still awful.

Transgender guy gives birth

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Beatie, who was born a woman but after surgery and hormone treatment lives as a man, has given birth to a girl at an Oregon hospital, People magazine reported on Thursday.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080703/us_nm/transgender_birth_dc;_ylt=AnFy...

Yankee doodle dandy;

Mind the music and the step

Let us ignore Barack Obama and listen to his preacher when he says “God Damn America.” Those words were not meant to divide but rather to unite. The vast majority of the population can come together beneath the words “God Damn America!,” because what has the violence of the American empire done for us?? What has being the most powerful nation on earth done for your average American?? What has all this bullying of innocent people throughout the world and in our own country done for anybody??

Doodley Squat!

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/07/a-declaration-of-independence/

Heya Alice! Hope all is well! I agree with you whole heartedly! Happy Freedom Day- or something.

Submitted by edna ellen poe on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 11:17am.
My hand and eye coordination is still awful.

------

So is my grammar.

barrels next week to ship off to SA...so i am going to spend the day packing and sealing all 10 of them..does that make me a patriot?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua0pR06pevU

TreeeeeebuLicious! :)

Did you get that money off to your daughter to pay her Aunt?

the Saudis also have their Own Hedge funds and buy their own oil.

my brother called to wish little ms phoenix happy birthday this morning...(its tomorrow) and i told him to tell her i will send it to her on monday
he said he will take care of her birthday and for me not to worry...

http://zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/18096

I said Jesse was from South Carolina, I wa wrong. He's from North Carolina. Anyway, who cares.

Problem is ha had to go and die on the 4th of July!

gonna work my fingers to the bone today.

love y'all!

supposedly the big brokers and banks are the holders of the largest number of oil futures contracts. when subprime collapsed they moved over to oil as a way to maintain their return.

its just a guess, but i don't see oil coming down in price anytime soon without these brokers getting out. i doubt they could survice a second hit after the subprime.

Declaration

http://www.willdurant.com/interdependence.htm

Will Durant expressed his reasoning for his recommendation:

Just as independence has been the motto of states and individuals since 1750, so the motto of the coming generations should be interdependence. And just as no state can now survive by its own unaided power, so no democracy can long endure without recognizing and encouraging the interdependence of the racial and religious groups composing it.

The Declaration of Interdependence was launched on March 22, 1945 at a gala event in Hollywood.

2007-12-10
News

HSBC Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets (CIBM) Global Research has launched the HSBC Saudi Equity Index. The newly created index is a benchmark for the returns generated by the Saudi equity market.

Alongside this market tracking Saudi Index, HSBC has also launched a tailored sector index, based on Saudi Petrochemical stocks called the HSBC Saudi Petrochemical Equity Index. Both indices are reviewed quarterly.

The Saudi Equity Index is comprised of 36 liquid stocks representative of the market capitalisation of the broad range of economic sectors in Saudi. The companies included reflect the breadth and diversity found in the Saudi stock market, from banks to bookstores, from petrochemicals to publishing.

Created to provide clients with a potentially high growth sector benchmark, the Petrochemical Index provides exposure via a portfolio of 11 shares with weightings representative of their market capitalisation in this sector. The Saudi economy is largely driven by oil prices and by the Petrochemical industry and this sector index includes some of the most important oil industry companies in the world such as SABIC and SAFCO.

Complementing these indices, HSBC Saudi Arabia Ltd. has launched two new open ended funds; the HSBC Saudi Equity Index Fund and the HSBC Saudi Petrochemical Equity Opportunities Fund. Both passively managed funds are aimed at institutional investors and third party distributors and represent one practical way for offshore investors to gain exposure to the Saudi equity market, which is currently closed to direct investment by non-domiciled investors.

http://www.hedgefundsreview.com/public/showPage.html?page=662273

Philly radio station refuses to run Democratic ad
By David Matthews
Posted: 07/03/08 02:29 PM [ET]
A Philadelphia news radio station has rejected a Democratic ad that features an impersonator of President Bush thanking GOP congressional candidates for supporting the “Big Oil” agenda.

Philadelphia KYW-AM Vice President and General Manager David Yadgaroff said his station decided not to run the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) ad because it was worried its listeners would be misled.

“As an all-news station, we were concerned that our listeners would have been misled by usage of an impersonator in the creative delivery,” Yadgaroff said in an e-mail sent to The Hill.

The ad was part of a $100,000 DCCC ad campaign in 13 different congressional districts held by Republicans. In the ad, a Bush impersonator calls the local GOP congressman, thanking him for “continuing to support the Big Oil agenda” as a member of the “Grand Oil Party.”

KYW broadcasts in Rep. Jim Gerlach’s (R-Pa.) district. The Philadelphia station is the only one known to have decided against running the ad.

The DCCC criticized the station for rejecting the ad. "The station didn't think their listeners were savvy enough to understand it [the Bush impersonator] was a parody," DCCC communications director Jennifer Crider said.

Other Republicans targeted by the DCCC include Reps. Steve Chabot (Ohio), Robin Hayes (N.C.), Virgil Goode (Va.), Patrick McHenry (N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) and Jean Schmidt (Ohio).

McHenry spokesman Brock McCleary criticized the ad.

“Patrick McHenry is fighting for energy independence and lower gas prices while the liberal congressional leadership does nothing — except bankroll his liberal opponent’s smear campaign, that is,” McCleary said via e-mail.

The final airings of the weeklong ad campaign will take place on Friday, according to the DCCC.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/philly-radio-station-refuses-to-run-...

Remember your post about the AP?

When the AP takes sides
Posted July 3rd, 2008 at 11:05 am
Share This | Spotlight | Permalink

In March, at a conference of the nation’s newspaper editors, two of the Associated Press’ top political reporters greeted John McCain with a box of Dunkin’ Donuts. One of the reporters was careful to get McCain his favorite kind — “Oh, yes, with sprinkles!” he said — and then passed McCain a cup. “A little coffee with a little cream and a little sugar,” the AP’s Liz Sidoti said.

Shortly thereafter, at the same conference, AP Chairman Dean Singleton quizzed Barack Obama about whether he would send more troops to Afghanistan, where “Obama bin Laden is still at large.” In other words, the AP gives McCain tasty treats, and confuses Obama’s name with the 9/11 mastermind.

Since then, I can’t help but notice that the AP hasn’t exactly been neutral. A month ago, the AP ran an article about the “people who might complicate Obama’s campaign,” including Tony Rezko and Jeremiah Wright. The piece not only read like a slam job, it actually resembled an RNC oppo dump, which for all I know, it was.

Two weeks ago, the same reporter who made sure McCain had coffee to go with his donuts wrote a scathing, 900-word reprimand of Obama’s decision to bypass the public financing system in the general election. It was filled with errors of fact and judgment, and ignored the fact that McCain has illegally played fast and loose with the public-financing system this year.

And then this week, the AP’s David Espo wrote a hagiographic, 1,200-word piece, praising McCain’s record of reaching across the aisle. Reading it, one was unsure if maybe the AP had accidentally stuck a byline on a McCain campaign press release — Espo went so far as to laud McCain’s “singular brand of combative bipartisanship.”

For more than a decade, on tobacco, health care, immigration, judicial nominees, creation of a commission to investigate the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and more, McCain has championed high-profile legislation opposed by President Bush or others in his own party.

His record of accomplishment is mixed, yet he has made his willingness to cross the political aisle a central theme in his campaign for the White House in an era when voters are plainly tired of partisan gridlock in the nation’s capital.

Wait, it gets worse.

In this midst of this sycophantic fluff piece, Espo slams Obama, too.

Obama, McCain’s Democratic rival in the race for the White House, also lists bipartisanship as a congressional credential. A recent Associated Press-Yahoo News poll showed about 40 percent of the electorate believes both men would work across party lines.
Even so, none of the examples cited by Obama’s aides, beginning with a bill to secure nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union, placed the Illinois lawmaker at odds with the leaders of his own party or gave significant offense to outside interest groups aligned with Democrats.

Not so, McCain.

You see, if a policy maker reaches across the aisle to work with rivals on policies of national significance, it doesn’t really count as bipartisanship unless the policy maker’s party disagrees with the policy. Who came up with this rule? Apparently, the AP did.

And just to add insult to injury, the AP praises McCain’s record of bipartisanship on issues like tobacco and immigration reform, without noting that McCain completely reversed course and no longer believes in the position the AP is touting.

The Associated Press is one of the most widely read, if not the most read, sources of news in print journalism in the U.S. If it could at least pretend to be objective in the presidential campaign, I’m sure we’d all appreciate it.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16081.html

ABC News' Bret Hovell Reports: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will join presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain in Mexico City Thursday morning on the last day of McCain's three-day visit to Latin America.

Gov. Bush was in Mexico City on business and wanted to spend time with the candidate. He will not spend the day with Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., who has several other events today, including a media availability this afternoon.

Gov. Bush's name has been floated in Republican veepstakes chatter. On Good Morning America Wednesday, however, McCain pushed back on any talk of his vice presidential pick.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/07/jeb-bush-to-joi.html

The New Evil Empire: Sovereign Wealth Funds

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have been around for over four decades, but only recently have made it as headliners in Davos, Switzerland, the winter playground for the world's corporate, government and political leaders who meet annually to carve up the world's resources. SWFs are large pools are capital controlled by sovereign governments that invest in global markets, now worth about $3 trillion; twelve of which have been established since 2005. They are expected to grow about $1 trillion annually and may grow to over $15 trillion within the next ten years, and perhaps double that in 20 years.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-harrington/the-new-evil-empire-sove_b...

buy their own oil on the futures market and who cares what price ... that helps drive the price up and they resell it at a higher price .... if they see they might get hit ,,, they just turn down production to keep the supply down.

Happy 4th of July
Submitted by SEDER on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 9:25am.

What does July 4th mean to you?

It means that Jesse Helms is dead.
Oh, and food, folks and fun, yes

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

just wondering. They make the best juke box ever.

i would love to maybe next year...i dont think i have much vacation left after germany this year

Yes, because prayer has worked so well to end war, famine, catastrophic natural disasters, and so on. Besides, my guess is these idiots are the ones who still believe in Savior Bush. Since Savior Bush has a direct line to God, why don't they just ask Savior Bush to talk to God about their gas price woes?

Jeebus. That's really quite funny (in a sad and pathetic sorta way).

It was Senator Obama falling off his pedestal. I am a strong Obama supporter, and am working as a volunteer in the campaign. He has my vote, and will continue to benefit from my donations of money and time. But I now see Mr. Obama as far closer to Bill Clinton than the Kennedys and Kings in whose image I once thought he was fashioned.

That means that we can expect not only more disturbing changes during the campaign, but a substantial January surprise after inauguration, and to inure myself, I will not be maxing out for our candidate the way I expected. Much more of what money I can afford will be supporting liberal candidates on the assumption that we will need them to pressure the new president into making the honorable decisions that should be made on principle but apparently will need to be made through yielding to pressure.

That wasn't the deal you heard breaking, Senator, it was my romanticized idol of you fashioned out of finer stuff than it appears you're really made and enshrined in a place you don't belong.

[crossposted from Senator Obama - Please vote NO on Telcom Immunity - Get FISA Right on MyBarackObama.com]

Wha??? Nooo not JB VP! ARRGGHH!

WOW! Did you know that when Roberts helped overturn the Texas Sodomy law that allows for same sex relationships to be considered legal in Texas and all other states, it was the 4th Amendment that laid the foundation of the opinions?

I bet that PBCLiberal will soon quit donating all together.

Your health insurance industry is prohibited from using your own health records against you prior to getting coverage based on your Fourth Amendment rights.

Submitted by toniD on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 11:03am.
Jesse Helms is dead at the age of 86.
I guess he was 86'd!
--------
eighty-six or 86 tr.v. Slang., eight·y-sixed or 86·ed, eight·y-six·ing or 86·ing, eight·y-six·es or 86·es.

!.) To refuse to serve (an unwelcome customer) at a bar or restaurant.

2.)
a.) To throw out; eject.
b.) To throw away; discard.

[Perhaps after Chumley's bar and restaurant at 86 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village, New York City.]

Alice, thanks!!!
Submitted by gbasin on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 12:47am.

The vintage Watts has arrived, now that's great way to celibate the 4th. Thanks again for your generosity and kindness.

I'm not sure what you mean. What is passive about deciding where to spend your money?

Poor quality video advisory Sorry if it's a repeat.

Hope we aren't treated to a week of fond remembrances for this fuck. Missing Jim Earl right now.

unbelievable...not good karma either....piffle

America

http://www.americanfilms.com/play.cfm?clipid=1021&cid=1

Prayer vigils at gas stations to lower prices
Submitted by GBC on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 12:18pm.
...why don't they just ask Savior Bush to talk to God about their gas price woes?

Jeebus. That's really quite funny (in a sad and pathetic sorta way).
---------
Why pray for cheaper gasoline when you could pray to be transported without needing gasoline? Religious fanatics are morons.

Let's say that you believe in an omnipotent deity and you are suffering from an illness.

If you are a moron, you pray for a pharmaceutical company to invent a drug to address your illness.

If you are not a moron, you pray to be made well. An omnipotent deity is omnipotent. There is no point in going the long way around to be granted your wish.

On the other hand, the omnipotent deity first made clay so that it could make man out of clay, so the omnipotent deity is obviously a moron.

The deity and its followers deserve one another.

Don't let them grind our conversations to a halt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWt0XUocViE

In 2007, Jim also became a staff writer for "TalkShow with Spike Feresten" on Fox TV

FOX?

James Yee spoke passionately about his experience of being a Muslim Chaplain at Guantanamo Bay detention camp where he worked to address the religious needs of the U.S. military staff and over 600 prisoners. He shared with the audience his observations about what he characterized as inappropriate and unacceptable use of religion as a weapon against the Muslim detainees. Yee called for more education and training so that Americans—both soldiers and civilians—will understand the basic tenets of Islam as a non-violent religion.

He also briefly retold his own story of being unjustly arrested and held in solitary confinement for 76 days in 2003. He was accused of spying, espionage and aiding prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp but was subsequently exonerated of all charges, given an honorable discharge and commended for his service.
VIDEO LINK 88 min. Date: March 20, 2008

"Far Left Wing Extremists" my ass. What is extreme about expecting your government to uphold it's own laws?

can lock up people on their own say so!

Oops!
Submitted by edna ellen poe on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 11:20am.
Submitted by edna ellen poe on Fri, 07/04/2008 - 11:17am.
My hand and eye coordination is still awful.
------
So is my grammar.
-----------------------------------
If you are referring to subject/predicate number agreement, I believe that there is only one coordination in your sentence which is of the hand-eye variety.

The error is in your subject modifier. It is not hand coordination and eye coordination that you cite as problematic. It is hand-eye coordination, which is a single entity denoting the ability of the hands to function in concert with the visual information supplied by the eyes.

I hope your hand-eye coordination improves soon. In the meantime, don't attempt to pick your nose or rub your eye. And practice your Dr. Strangelove accent.

two assholes mixed up- i meant it as a detraction from the unavoidable mcain takeover of louisiana, yeah desperation, you rite...and cleaning the house! talk about a good idea, can you come do mine too, fernando? really really needs a good scrub

Please dear God, let there really be a hell. Because if there really IS a hell then Jesse Helms is already consumed by it's lowest depths. He's wailing for eternity with his blood brothers; Adolf, Mao, Stalin and the rest of the worst of the subset of human beings who have crossed from mere mortal to eternal evil. Satanic. Jesse joins his kin, Strom Thurmond, Bull Connor and a host of other vicious racist fucks who have taken it upon themselves to very nearly ruin the core principle that this country was founded upon: equality.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/4/11388/55738/621/546543

on the cooking channel? I LOVE HER...she cooks and tastes everything with her fingers...very unlady like

am watching her now
grover is gone out with the girls..a nice chance for me to sort these barrels out

The Simpsons
In Living Color
The Tracey Ullman Show
The X-Files
Beverly Hills 90210
Melrose Place
Party of Five.
American Dad
Arrested Development
Family Guy,
Married...With Children
Futurama
24
Prison Break
King of the Hill
That '70s Show
The Bernie Mac Show
Malcolm in the Middle
The O.C.
House
Bones

the humidity doesn't bother me at all, i like it - i was in massachussets and upstate new york for years before coming south, i did not like the long winters and the snow, i guess i am more of a mediterranean type and found a little of that here in the architecture (spanish), climate and overall people attitudes, not to say it's the same but felt a little less foreign here than in other states like new england and ny though they were more progres