Democracy Now Video Embed

Been wanting this functionality forever. You have to click around for it, but eventually you end up at archive.org and an HTML snippet which can supposedly be embedded. We'll find out right now.



Uh, well it works! Needs a bit (a lot) of work, but it essentially works. That's a good start.

...there are two sets of height/width parameters that you can change. and you have to change the 'autoplay' setting from 'true' to 'false' in 4 locations. Hey, Democracy Now! - community-supported radio, that's how we do. :)

Israel: Weapon Tester For U.S. Military

DIME weapons. Nice.

Israeli functions as a military outpost for the U.S. One of their jobs is to test new weapons on Palestinians and Gazans.

Israel Nearing 1,000 Murder Mark

I guess that's what they mean when they talk about being 'near their goal' or whatever. 1,000 is a pretty solid number to bring into the upcoming Israeli elections.

I think the racism must be so strong in Israel - like here in the U.S. - that killing Gazan civilians and resistance fighters is one and the same -- there's just not distinction at all for Israel.

This guy Olmert better not try to show up in my town. I'll arrest his ass.

Least Modern Bookstore In The Country

That would be Stacey's on Market. In all the time I've spent in San Francisco, not once did I go in there -- except, that is, until the other day, when I went it to see why it was failing.

Five things jumped out at me:

1. Underutilized space - too much of the floor space was underutilized - being either sparse or just not being maximized to see stuff and things
2. No cafe
3. An incredible view of Market from the 2nd floor, where a cafe should be - ideally, with a very long bar running across the length of the Market St window.
4. The 'STACEYS books' sign outside on Market is basically invisible. If you are a brand name, you can get away with using your name -- otherwise, just put a big 'BOOKS' sign up there. The 'books' on the sign is tiny and can barely be seen. No tourists would be interested to stop in, that's for sure.
5. The technical books they had seemed like a relic. I understand that old traditions die hard, but if it's killing your business, maybe you should think about ditching them? I noticed a few tech books in the back that absolutely nobody would be interested in.

In short, if I wanted a bookstore to fail, I would do exactly what Stacey's has done -- nothing.

Frugal Foodies Dinner

Sounds cool.

U.S. Terror In Nicaragua

Very typical article - bashing the leader of a non-compliant country as 'totalitarian' for the entire first half, and then allowing us the know why it's all made up:

Leftwingers flocked from all over the world to help harvest coffee, build schools and be inspired by a government that promoted women's rights, literacy and social justice. Events turned when the Reagan administration, alarmed by Managua's tilt to Moscow, sponsored a bloody and ruinous insurrection by Contra rebels which ended in stalemate. For many it was an immoral and illegal intervention by an overweening superpower, a harbinger of today's Iraq. The Sandinistas' credibility was damaged by presiding over hyperinflation and a draft. Exhausted voters, fearing fresh US-backed mayhem, ousted them in a 1990 election, a shocking, unexpected result which reduced many to tears. The revolution was over.

So, the electorate was terrorized by U.S. sponsored Contras so much that they finally relented and voted for the U.S. candidate. They knew that if they voted for their own guy again - Ortega - they'd suffer years more of murder and terror on a massive scale. Reagan was a good guy.

Still, the article is completely absurd -- it talks in once sentence as if the U.S. backed nationwide terror, and in the next sentence as if there was no such thing. Bizarre, but that's the standard:

Three centre-right governments ruled from 1990 to 2006. The economy stabilised, combatants were demobilised and democracy took root. But corruption blossomed and the poor were forgotten. Jobs were scarce and most people scrabbled on less than $2 a day. Ortega lost consecutive presidential elections and was accused of raping his stepdaughter, Zoilamérica Narváez, since she was 11. He denied it and no trial took place because a court decided the statute of limitations applied. But his reputation was shredded, although Murillo stood by her husband.

Um, isn't that the whole point -- to appoint right-wing governments? The combatants - the terrorist Contras - we demobilised because the U.S. didn't need them to terrorize the population anymore. That the poor were forgotten was the predictable and necessary outcome of the election of a U.S. candidate - what would be the point of the invasion-by-terror otherwise?

The 'article,' of course, is unsigned, and it uses unnamed 'western officials' to bash the new lefty govenrment. We're allowed another sliver of truth in the parting sentence:

Kaufman will not turn his back on the flawed Second Coming of the Sandinistas. "Do we think [it] is better than another rightwing, neoliberal government beholden to US masters? Absolutely."

It's totally crazy. We need a people-fueled international newspaper with real resources. Indymedia is great, but it'd be better to have people getting paid so they can eat and take the time necessary to do the best work.

Mayoral, Governor Crimes An Institutional Problem

So the latest case of a corrupt mayor. What to do?

Doesn't it seem a bit weird that one person can steer a contract to a particular contractor based on nothing more than who they like? Isn't that just a disaster waiting to happen?

Of course it is. So why do mayors and governors have any say in the process at all? Really, there should be a board - say, a city council, that appoints an independent 'contracts board' that awards contracts based on various preset specifications.

Shit - I don't know the specifics, but it seems all too easy for governors and mayors to run roughshod over the system. What's the point of government if it doesn't have built-in checks and balances?

What End Of Times Means

If the Times goes away, we will no longer have a national newspaper that cheerleads us into war. After that, we might be able to start rightsizing some of the military-industrial complex.

Nice.

Time For 32-Hour Work Weeks, Or 6-Hour Days

Why not? The economy is shrinking anyways. At least this way, people can be employed. Or we could mandate a six-hour day.

'Respectable' Liberals Hate Bill Ayers

I'd be very afraid if I agreed with these people. They'll do absolutely anything to avoid confrontation - even be apologists for the mass murder that was Vietnam.

I guess it's tough work, sitting at the computer all day, typing words on a page.

...more of those crazy terrorists doing their terroring thing. Watch out - liberal bloggers will be very very upset that property is being destroyed. The police killing of the boy should not be mentioned - it would not be proper. And the Vietnam War would have ended earlier if it weren't for those pesky kids.

Indian Raid Brings Death To Hostages

If the Indian commandos and their superiors had a reasonable expectation that the hostages would be murdered when they raided - that raises the question - should the commandos and their superiors be charged with murder? Perhaps a lesser crime?

Obama fucking everything up already

He's about to put this warmongering bitch, Hillary, in SecState position. I'm tired of the "I'm a woman, watch me kill some Iraqis" game. Can't we have someone normal?

I guess all the men are cowards, too. Oh, well.

When Will Mainstream Democrats Take Voter Roll Scrubbing Seriously?

Maybe after Obama loses in a couple of weeks, despite national and state polls showing him up several percentage points:

During elections in New Mexico earlier this year, one in nine voters found that their names had disappeared from the electoral rolls. Whole streets of voters in poor neighbourhoods vanished. In Colorado, the disenfranchisement is even greater, with 20 per cent of voters excluded from the rolls.

I promise to say, "I told you so," right after I get back from my first round of direct action.

Riot!

That's what needs to happen after Obama loses the election, but Bush is prepared. He didn't bring those troops home for nothing.

Polls Don't Take Into Account Voter Roll Cleansing

The people who have had their voting registration record wiped from the system won't know until they show up at the polls that they're unable to vote. Then, if they're extremely persistent, they'll only be able to cast a provisional ballot - which will probably be thrown away.

So, in the case of Michigan Republicans admitting to engaging in vast voter crimes, liberal bloggers don't seem to care that the polls don't accurately reflect who will actually be able to vote on November 4 - the polls will inaccurately put Obama ahead comfortably.

MBAR Sounds Like Prince, Too

The kid's got chops. Bob Dylan. Prince. Call it what you want. I call it awesome.

Acorn Registers Mickey Mouse?

No. Drudge lied again - the state rejected the registration attempt. It's just another way for Drudge, the Republican political operative, to try to deceive voters. So what's new?

Headlines you won't find on Drudge? Republicans in Michigan illegally de-registered 1,438 voters.

The blacks will take over

These folks are crazy.

How to be an asshole during a downturn

Just write a bunch of self-important shit about why everyone should listen to you because you kept your shitty wage slavery job.

Message to all superior-sounding jobbed folks as they feel the need to dole out advice to the unjobbed over the next couple of years:  FUCK. YOU.

p.s. I happen to be jobbed at the moment, so no worries, here, but self-important assholes will come along with this same shit every downtown. It's like clockwork - downtown upon us, look out for the poop stew.

What's wrong with Linda Lingle?

The name sounds a bit funny because....well, I've just never heard it before. But here's the weird part - you've seen her on TV before.

Linda Lingle is the current governnor of Hawaii. She's the most prominent female Republican - or was, until Palin took over.

And you know what? Like Palin, Lingle had, at least in one point in time, astoundingly high approval ratings. I'd guess she probably still did until she started using child protective services as a political weapon to crush dissent. Can you imagine anything more disgusting? I mean, there might be outright rape and murder, but this is the next best thing. If you kill the credibility of child protective services, you kill, rape, torture, and make suffer thousands of children in your state - it's that simple. And Linda Lingle pushed for that to happen. Beautiful person.

But Republicans, while still human, can act very anti-human - so this should not have been any sort of dealbreaker for them. Most abused children are poor, right - so what's the big deal with discrediting the agency that protects them, really? Children can't vote, and they sure as heck can't pay bribes to politicians, so what good are they?

But why didn't McCain choose Lingle for VP? She was married and divorced twice, and has no children. Is all of that enough reason not to pick someone for VP? She was chairperson of the 2004 RNC in New York City, where she helped the NYPD go around and arrest thousands of civilians - no small effort. She's been on TV. She's articulate. She trumpets the party line. She's the perfect fit, right?

Well, there's this one other thing. Linda Lingle looks.....gay. Was that enough to crush her chances of running for VP for the Republican party?

I hope it wasn't Triumph that ruined everything for her and Hawaii. Poor poor Hawaii.