Wednesday - Geez, it's hot!

Wednesday June 24, 2009

. . . . .Holy cineplex orgasm! Let's see Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen opens today, and Terminator:Salvation, Star Trek, and X-Men Origins:Wolverine are all already there. Just what is a fanboy to do? Hmmm?

. . . .Well, I could geek out over the fact that Marvel has decided to resurrect Captain America. I'm sure most of you don't know, and probably don't care, but Cap, or rather Steve Rogers, was killed in 2007 in an editorial decision by his writers and producers. Steve Rogers as Cap will return in Captain America: Reborn on July 1st.

. . . .Stupids for the day (trust me you'll need them after getting to the bottom):

- If that little black box is indestructible, how come the entire plane isn't made of the same stuff?

- Driving up in a car to an ATM that has a braille keypad? Hmm?

- Do sheep stink in the rain?

- Why are they called apartments when they're all crammed together?

- A double cheeseburger, fries and a Diet Coke? Only in America!

. . . In Iran early today, the government was reporting that all is quiet. The power of the Internet destroyed that illusion early. Full coverage here and here. It looks like now the Cleric and the High Council are setting up Mousavi to take the fall for every death and murder of a protestor committed by the secret police and the paramilitary according to Reuters.

- In the meantime, feminist leader Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of opposition rallying point candidate Mir Mousavi is getting word out that "Iran is under martial law" according to the AP.

Why do I keep covering this? Mitakuye Oyasin. It's that simple, we are all related, all of us.

. . . .I cannot take credit for this, nor will I. I have written over and over on how Twitter is keeping the world informed and is keeping the revolution alive, but it is Andrew Sullivan on his blog in the Atlantic that is "following" the Tweets coming out of Iran. One read of the list will pull you in, and show you, first and foremost, a people desperate to get the real story out, and second, make it very real and immediate, very "present" to you. From this morning's bloody crackdown, Andrew picked up the following Tweets and published them, it's what's called live Tweeting folks, and it's how they're bravely getting the word out, no matter the cost to themselves.

we must go - dont know when we can get internet - they take 1 of us, they will torture and get names - now we must move fast

they pull away the dead into trucks - like factory - no human can do this - we beg Allah for save us -

Gunshots Being Heard From Aazadi St.

Lalezar Sq is same as Baharestan - unbelevable - ppls murdered everywhere

they catch ppl with mobile - so many killed today - so many injured - Allah Akbar - they take one of us

in Baharestan we saw militia with axe choping ppl like meat - blood everywhere - like butcher - Allah Akbar

Everybody is under arrest & cant move - Mousavi - Karroubi even rumour Khatami is in house guard

Karoubi: I do not accept this election' result & don't find this administration legitimate.

Possibility of Mousavi being guarded is increasing. While sources close to him deny this, other sources confirm it.

About 10 special forces vans are manoeuvring in Sharak-e-Gharb.

Huge number of arrests in Baharestan. They avoid any stoppage & arrest on the spot.

Military forces were present in Baharestan from hours before not letting a rally to form.

Apologies, the journalist friend didn't stay long enough to see the tear gas.

A journalist friend, just back from Baharestan, said this was the first time tear gas was not used to disassemble ppl

There are reports a young woman is shot in Baharestan.

Urgent: memorial ceremonies for the martyrs, who was to be held tomorrow has been canceled

rumour they are tracking high use of phone lines to find internet users - must move from here now

phone line was cut and we lost internet - #Iranelection - getting more difficult to log into net

all shops was closed - nowhere to go - they follow ppls with helicopters - smoke and fire is everywhere

so many ppl arrested - young & old - they take ppl away - #Iranelection - we lose our group

ppl run into alleys and militia standing there waiting - from 2 sides they attack ppl in middle of alleys

saw 7/8 militia beating one woman with baton on ground - she had no defense nothing - #Iranelection sure that she is dead

Heavy Clashes at Jomhori St, Many People Injured.

Reports: Young Girl Who Shoted in to chest Near Jomhori St. By Army Forces, Died In The Hospital (not conf.)

Reports: At least 2 ppl was shot incl. 1 young girl at Jomhori St. (not conf.)

they were waiting for us - they all have guns and riot uniforms - it was like a mouse trap - ppl being shot like animals

Army Helycopters flying over Enghelab Sq. Army Vans moving toward Azadi St with heavy Machine Guns.

About 5,000 Protesters gatherd at Sadeghieh Sq, Bassij and Hezbollah attcking them.

I see many ppl with broken arms/legs/heads - blood everywhere - pepper gas like war

Reports: Police shoting Teargas at Ppl at Baharestan Sq.

just in from Baharestan Sq - situation today is terrible - they beat the ppls like animals

Reports: Gunshot being heard at Baharestan Sq.

All shops and Passages are closed at Baharestan SQ, Gunshot being heard from Jomhori St.

Clashes at Baharestan SQ, Jomhori and Vanak SQ.

Metro at Baharestan Sq is closed, Army Helicopters flying over,about 1000 ppl gathering at Vanak Sq.

The streets, squares and around BAHARESTAN (Approx. South-eastern of Tehran) is swarming with military forces, civilian forces, the security motorists

Reports: Army Helycopters flying over Baharestan and Vali Asr Sq.

More than 10.000 Bassij Milittias get position in Central Tehran, including Baharestan Sq.

More than 1000 detaniees family members gatherin infront of Islamic Rev. Court, in Tehran.

Third Story: Today's Demo is divided in 6 diffrent places around central including Baharestan.

Reports: Karoubi May Appear at Rally Today! (not conf.)

Karoubi's FB: today Rally will start 16.30 (NOW) infornt of Parliment and 5 other places.

Some of those who hit people are hired on a daily basis for about $200. Some are foreigners who get paid more

Mohsen Rezaiee has dropped his complains.

an idea of symbolic act becoming hotter: simultaneously releasing many green balloons at crowded areas from cars

"It always seems impossible until it's done" -- Nelson Mandela

Rajanews exhibited its insurmountable malice again claiming #Neda was murdered by MKO not Basij

There are protests planned for 4pm today in Baharestan Sq. in Tehran

. . . . .These are not just 1's and 0's, not just words. They are the voices of a people who want a voice in their own goverrnment, and are willing to do anything to be self-determining of their destiny.

. . . .Think about it, something you're doing right now, reading a blog, getting on Twitter, checking your Facebook page, is punishable by getting shot right now in Iran. Ask yourself one question - If it was important not to your future, but to future generations, that you somehow get the word out, would you risk getting on the Internet? These people are. Sadly, I don't think most Americans would these days.


. . . .One brave young Iranian is using Google Maps to track the sites of the protests and map as many killed protestors as he can. Wednesday's map is here.

. . . Will Khameini, Ahmadenijad and the paramilitary put down the attempted coup? Probably. Will most of the protestors be killed, along with Mousavi? Probably. Will the attempted revolution go away? No. It will probably simmer along under the surface and eventually break out. This will be only the beginning shot in it, just as Tianamen Square was a couple of decades ago. China at least smartly moved along and is controlling it's democratization and it's growth. Iran's mullahs and the Shariiya law of the Taliban probably won't, but will eventually be overthrown. Tyranny essentially is a limited term type of government, and once the people under it's thumb find out that their masters are made of straw, and must use muscle, guns and blades to keep order, eventually they will be toppled.

. . ..Just think, we didn't have to send one young American in uniform in under fire to do it. No one, at least so far, will get sent home in a flag-draped coffin. A people, self-determining and willing to act and sacrifice are now setting a future, different course for their country and their generations to come. There aren't any "Americans" involved in the attempted coup and overthrow to blame and wax stentorian about on Al-Jazeera. (Despite the fact that Khameini and Ahmadenijad are doing just that right now).

. . . .And no, the White House isn't inviting the Iranian delegation to the White House for the 4th of July festivities.


. . . . . And by the way, just something to think about the next time you're in the market for buying something electronic; Nokia and Siemens are the two companies helping the Iranian hard-line government track the Internet users.

. . . .On one I posted yesterday, an alert young intern named Isabelle over at Open Congress. org let me know that the State Sponsored Secrets Act of 2009 that I referred to in yesterday's post (see below) can, in fact, be found over on Open Congress as H.R. 984

. . . .As much as I detest the Republican Party and the mockery that it's become; as much as I know that they completely subverted the party of Lincoln, a party born of opposition to the slavers; a party that once represented everyone, and hadn't yet done a George Orwell's 1984 with the word "conservative" that Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush did with it; a party that has become a fringe, third party of wackos, weirdos and discontent angry old men. The party that started this entire economic free-fall with Reagan's signing of the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 and was brought to it's denouement by Paulson and Bush with the 8 years of completely deregulated credit derivative creation trading and the complete nadir of it all last September when Joseph Cassano's craps table move with derviatives brought the biggest 5 banks to their knees as something that was "never supposed to happen" happened and the 5 banks "too big to fail" failed. As much as the Republicans wrong-headedly went into Iraq on a complete lie and cost us 4,000 of our finest young men and women while allowing Osama bin-Laden to roam free and grow stronger in Afghanistan and Pakistan; the whole time that Adminstration cozied up to Saudi Arabia, making money behind our backs with them. As much as Bush 43 suspended 9 of the first 10 Amendments for 7 years of his Administration by Executive Order; As much as Reagan started the decline of the American manufacturing industry with his breaking of PATCO, followed by the Bushes complete dismantling of American manfacturing and the breaking of the American automotive industry. As much as I detest them for all that and their cheapening of the political process in this country by Rove's harvesting of the Religious Right and his damn "values voters" system and process. . . . . This. . . . .this. . . . is all. . . .well. . . .funny.
. . . Just watching them self-destruct has become a completely enjoyable spectator sport.
. . . If it wasn't so hilarious to watch after the damage and destruction they've wreaked on this country and it's economy and it's people with their arrogant imperialism for the last 8 years, (well, really 30), it'd be sad. This many clueless, bumbling idiots in one place. The true omen? Dick Cheney shooting his "best" friend in the face while bird hunting. Should've said everything right then.

. . . After the total disasters of Bobby Jindal as "Kenneth the Page" and Sarah Palin deciding the a late-night comedian (who gained 700,000 viewers in a week while she garnered 15 supporters) was a worthy political sparring partner, I thought to myself, "who or what can top that?"
. . . .Well, let's start with Nevada Republican Senator Ensign's affair
. . . But the capstone has to be, absolutely has to be, South Carolina Governor Sanford with this afternoon's press conference and his admission of an affair with an Argentine woman.
. . . .Up till then he was one of the top 3 contenders for 2012 for the Grand Old Party of Cranks.
. . . ."I've spent the last 5 days of my life crying in Argentina."????? Puhleeze, c'mon!


. . . . Another Faux News commentator in training, Hal Turner, a well-known white supremacist radio host was finally arrested today for urging that judges be killed and giving their names and addresses out.

. . . .OK, I know that Faux, err, I mean, Fox News isn't really a News Station, that is is an entertainment arm of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. just like it's sister channels FX Network and Fox TV, but do you think that possibly they could do a little basic research? Identifying the above named Republican Governor of South Carolina Sanford as a Democrat? C'mon, your stripes are showing morons.

. . . And speaking of the traitors at Fox News and in the media who spread sedition and treason; Limbaugh, Coulter, Beck, Hannity, Malkin et al.
Ann Coulter - "The Left hates America so much that they assume the rest of the world does too"
Sorry, Ann, we love our country, much more than you do, because we understand that a true patriot and an American citizen realizes that the Constitution says that the man sitting in the chair was elected under due process and it's now an American citizen's job to support that sitting President. To not support him is treason, and to spread your type of fascism is clearly sedition.
Limbaugh - What Mark Sanford did is different than Clinton because "Republicans like sex too". Enuff said. Rush, guaranteed your sweaty, large drug-addled butt ain't gettin' any.

. . . .Late Night with Bill Maher is one of my "don't miss" programs for the week. This last week, Meghan McCain was on. I do like Meghan. She's one of the brighter young minds on the Conservative side who is absolutely disgusted with and has no affinity with idiots like Limbaugh, Gingrich, Rove and Cheney. However, at 24 years old, she's a bit inexperienced. Going up against Paul Begala, who's spent a lifetime in politics showed she was a little out of her depth. Paul Begala absolutely took her to school. Check the link here.


. . . . .From Wired magazine again, more on ways to improve the national electrical grid. This is the cheapest, fastest, most efficient way to start marching away from foreign oil dependence, and get ourselves some money savings right away:

Problem It's high noon in July. At 90-plus degrees outside, the masses are jonesing for AC. But it's seriously expensive to keep the juice flowing when demand crests. Firing up turbines that sit idle 360 days a year can multiply electricity costs by a factor of 10. How to keep cool without stressing the grid?

Solution Pay big users to cut consumption when the need arises. Many utilities already do an ad-hoc version of this, an emergency practice known as demand response that has lately been promoted by Jon Wellinghoff, acting chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Now there's an alternative: Call EnerNOC, a Boston-based company that gangs commercial users who are willing, for a quarterly payment, to trim back operations on 30 minutes' notice. EnerNOC micromanages consumption at 3,400-plus locations from Maine to California. Between dimming lights, adjusting thermostats, and suspending industrial activities, the potential cuts top the output of a large nuclear reactor. And the savings can be huge. EnerNOC's cofounder, Tim Healy, points out that 10 percent of all US generating capacity exists to meet the last 1 percent of demand. Utilities paid EnerNOC $100 million last year simply to stand at the ready—insurance, in effect, against the inevitable days when every AC unit is humming.

. . . .If you've not checked out Raymond Kurzweil for his thoughts and ideas as a futurist, but instead only remember him for his contributions to the music world (think keyboards, synthesizers, etc.) you're missing out. Kurzweil is a brilliant futurist, and is willing to go out on the fringe of things to explore them. His website KurzweilAI.net and we'll explore it further this week and go into his concept of the Quantum Singularity and especially in light of how Facebook and Twitter are changing how we interact with one another and with the matrix.

. . . .Outta here

. . . .Got your back

. . . . .Kiss your kids, tell 'em you love 'em. This rodeo is a one-way ticket and no one gets out alive, and we don't get to dictate the terms and circumstances of how the ticket gets punched, so it's not about yesterday, or tomorrow, or somewhere else. It's about right here, right now. Change your life, and change the world

The Desolation Angel