nerdgirl

More from Defenselink on interactions with the next President - also give it a partisan patina, which usually gets attention. “[SecDef]Gates Urges Direct Dialogue With President-elect on Iraq” “Washington and Baghdad have reached a deal stipulating that U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011. But as Defense Department leaders discuss the details and timeline of the force drawdown, Gates has urged direct dialogue with President-elect Barack Obama, Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters at the Pentagon.” “On the heels of his trip to the Middle East, Gates flew to Chicago to meet with Obama and his national security team. Attending the meeting was [Navy ADM Mike] Mullen [chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff], who, at Gates’ request, briefed the group on ‘the current thinking about the way ahead in Iraq.” “‘The secretary described that conversation, that discussion, as an excellent one,’ Morrell said. ‘He said he feels as though the group has already exhibited excellent chemistry.’ “Morrell noted that Washington and Baghdad at any time could renegotiate the agreement on the U.S. troop presence in Iraq, though there are no plans to do so. But he provided a glimpse into the secretary’s thinking if the timeline were extended beyond 2011. “‘[SecDef Gates] could see where a force in the size of tens of thousands, as he said, would still be needed to help the Iraqi military continue to grow, continue in its training, and also provide the kind of support that it cannot provide for itself at this point, whether it be through logistics or aviation or intelligence or other means,’ Morrell said. “‘The focus will be on making sure there is direct communication between the commanders and the president-elect, so that he can make an informed decision about the way ahead,’ Morrell said. ‘The secretary, I believe, wishes to conduct a similar process to the one that he has conducted as these decisions have been made over the past couple of years,’ he continued. ‘[A process] in which the president -- the commander in chief -- gets to hear from virtually every commander with a vested interest in this particular area of the world.’ “‘It means [they] will all get to speak -- if the secretary is able to do this -- directly with the president, so that President-elect Obama gets a wide variety of views, a number of varying perspectives … about what they believe to be the proper course,’ he said.” In noting that this is the "process" [in which the President hears directly from military commanders] that has been implemented "over the past couple of years," is that a tacit suggestion or acknowledgement that it was *not* the situation before 18 Dec 2006, i.e., when Dr. Gates became Secretary of Defense? VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Follow-up on the origin of the ordinance: the new police chief had one in the previous jurisdiction he served (Royal Oak); the rationale behind it: pre-emptive desire to have ability by police chief, i.e., there do not appear to have been any specific incidents prompting the ordinance; and some initial responses: like here, that it’s unconstitutional. "Some question Brighton's ordinance against annoying others" "The City Council Dec. 18 passed ordinance amendments that give police more power to arrest or ticket citizens on grounds of repeated harassment, intimidation or interference in the activities of other community members or city officials. "Michael J. Steinberg, the American Civil Liberties Union's legal director for Michigan, questions the city action. ‘The ordinance gives police the unbridled discretion to arrest a person for engaging in a constitutionally protected activity,’ Steinberg said. "The Brighton ordinance makes it a civil infraction for a person to ‘engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose.’ It further makes it illegal to ‘insult, accost, molest or otherwise annoy, either by word of mouth, sign or motion any person in any public place ... any person in a public place.’ “’I can go to a City Council meeting, and just my presence can be annoying,’ responded resident Pat Cole, a frequent critic of city actions. “‘The concern isn't someone who speaks up and says something the council doesn't like,’ said Police Chief Tom Wightman. ‘It implies someone who is disrupting the ability to carry out a meeting. It provides several tools we didn't have in the city in the past.’ “City Manager Dana Foster said the ordinance was patterned after one in Royal Oak, where Wightman was deputy police chief before coming to Brighton. Foster stressed the ordinance ‘has no relationship or linkage to any individuals in the community,’ including those who have been critical at past council meetings. “The police chief said the ordinance ‘is designed to protect the citizens from harassment that doesn't rise to the level of stalking, which is covered by a state law. It's important to note it's not about a single incident but involves repeated acts.’ Wightman said the harassment section is a ‘civil infraction,’ involving a fine only. However, two other sections - interfering with a police officer and disturbance at lawful meetings - are misdemeanors, which involve a maximum $500 fine and 90 days in jail. "Former Brighton City Council Member and local attorney Richard Gienapp said the ordinance ‘may be unconstitutionally vague, and threaten free speech. It seem like an unfriendly thing to do, a solution in search of a problem,’ he said. “But Foster defended the ordinance as a common one, citing at least 17 other communities - as small as Fowlerville and as large as Grand Rapids and Lansing - that make it illegal to insult, harass, alarm or annoy another person. “Wightman said Brighton's ordinance ‘actually sets a higher standard for enforcement than many of the other communities’ because it ‘requires repeated acts (and) was crafted to establish a balance between the need to protect citizens and the concern for protected speech. “‘Many old city ordinances prohibit being an annoying person, but whenever that provision has been challenged, it has been struck down as unconstitutional,’ argued Steinberg. “Royal Oak City Attorney Dave Gillam said no one had been charged under its harassment ordinance in the last two years. ‘We have other sections that deal with most such offenses,’ such as striking or shoving another person, which comes under assault and battery, Gillam said. He said the ordinance has never been challenged on constitutional grounds or for vagueness.” If there was no predicating incident(s) and there was no lack of current ways/means (laws) to deal with incidents, I’m not understanding the motivation to pass this regulation. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Come now, lightning follows a predetermined path according to the collection of atmospheric anions and cations. Lightning serves a very important purpose in our ecosystem. Interesting case for comparison with evolution. Would you both share the basis on which you make your comments regarding predicability of lightening? On what extent is the understanding & predictability of generation/occurence of lightning? I.e., is it on the atomic/micro- or macro- level? VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Based on some of Adam's previous posts here: ""Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal" by Ayn Rand" on protection of individual rights "The US Government is a Terrorist Organization" opposition to seat belt laws ... my speculation ... & that's all it is ... is that it is more regarding the TARP (the bailout) and regulation of private capital (?) Although the latter would potentially include private usage of marijuana. I too am curious as to the intended context. Adam - will you explain the context of your OP and your advocacy of jury nullification? Thanks! VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Thanks for the link. Looks like an intellectually provocative documentary. I have to acknowledge that filmmaker’s assertions w/r/t the purported/alleged James ossuary caused a little skepticism. Skepticism not necessarily dismissal of validity in his underlying arguments or of the value of the questions he is asking. He’s correct that at the time the documentary was film the literal jury (in the trial of the antiques dealer) was still hearing the case. As far as I am aware, that the *inscription and connection to James the Just/first Bishop of Jerusalem* on the ossuary (not the burial box itself) has been shown to be, with little remaining doubt, a fake or hoax. Ancient Biblical artifacts is beyond my area of expertise -- so I'm not comfortable making an assertion on the merits of the arguments - my skeptics radar is piqued. Find it interesting nonetheless. Wiki summary of the James Ossuary case, mentioning (I think) the documentary you cited. And the James ossuary case doesn’t obviate the underlying arguments. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

I think Nerdgirl has me beat on that one. Naw … you can keep that one, if you want.

For Mike – a slightly belated Merry Christmas.

Been to Almaty. It's been a few years. Lots of pickpockets ... attempts to be pick-pocketed and attempts at fraud. My male colleagues got propositioned by prostitutes on a regular basis, in the middle of the day in all parts of town. Traffic was like Moscow. Air pollution (depending on season) could be like LA in the 1970s. Architecture was circa-Soviet era. Surrounding geography was magnificent! VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

This thread annoys me, consider yourself under citizen's arrest! Is this gonna hurt? I do have that magic lasso handy. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

To include something different that did incure $2B in expenses, out of a projected $12B overall cost in mid-1990s, and as you point out is now just ... essentially ... very expensive holes in the ground south of Dallas. One could argue it as a waste from at least 3 different angles: 'folly' of pure science, indication of lack of government follow-through & cost over-runs, or indicative of short-term choices that may contribute to the decline of American scientific and technological prominence. Also wanted to include something that would clearly not be my own personal choice.

Yep, it is opinion ... and I concur with [DanG] that "waste" is more than just dollars. But that's my opinion. And opinions are what I'm curious to read. The current results are a little surprising to me: 42% (20 people) have voted for the Iraq war as I’m posting this. Only 4 people (8%) have voted for the bailout. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

I don't get it either. Am curious to the background/back story on this ... but not *that* curious to track it down. Without more information, my best speculation is that it's 'small town' politics at it's worse. One of the council members of another small town in the same county came after a fellow township council member with a pitchfork (it's a largely rural county) a number of years back -- would that qualify as 'annoying"? It is a new law. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

One small town in central Michigan thinks so: “Being Annoying Now Illegal In Brighton” “Since when did being annoying become a crime? Since Brighton City Council approved a public conduct code Monday night, which includes fining someone up to $500 for being annoying. “One section of the bill reads, ‘It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose.’ “The bill also states it's unlawful for anyone to insult, accost, molest or otherwise annoy any person in public. “The ordinance was modeled after one in Royal Oak, where the Brighton police chief previously worked.” “Annoying ordinance passed in Brighton” (Btw: for those who look for partisan explanations: the area is strongly Republican and has been for the last 30+ years. It’s not San Francisco, Boulder, the People’s Republic of Cambridge, or even Ann Arbor by a long shot.) I’m trying to imagine the metrics to determine what counts as “annoying”? Who gets to determine "annoying"? Wow … just wow … & not in a good way. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Why? And how much ($/time) do you think your nominee for biggest waste of taxpayers' money 'wasted'? VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

My first tandem was about jump #340 - tandem master needed recurrency, iirc. /Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

It hadn't before you brought it up ... but it's an intellectually interesting speculation imo. Is there any other evidence of correlation? The 'nerd' in me finds archeological/astronomical/historical/paleotogical/geological attempts to explain incidents recorded in most religious/mythological texts interesting from Judeo-Christian Biblical to Gilgamesh to Bhagavad Gita to Native American creation stories. I had never thought of it from the perspective you suggest before. Interesting hypothesis. I don't have cable so can't comment on Discovery Channel programming. VR/Marg [Edit to add: p.s. what was the explanation put forth in the Discovery Channel program you watched?] Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

When I first read your posting I thought it might be somewhat 'tongue-in-cheek'. Was it? Given that under Saddam Hussayn's regime Christians were a relatively protected/privileged minority (remember Tariq Aziz?) and given that the level of violence directed at the Christian minority has risen dramatically since 2003 in Iraq, the fact that there is/was able to be a public celebration of Christmas is a positive sign (postive for stabilty and security). Also given that Iraq's Constitution establishes Islam as the national religion of Iraq: Article 2: 1st — Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation: (a) No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam. (b) No law can be passed that contradicts the principles of democracy. (c) No law can be passed that contradicts the rights and basic freedoms outlined in this constitution. 2nd — This constitution guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and the full religious rights for all individuals and the freedom of creed and religious practices it's a demonstration of that 2nd part being not just de jure but also de facto, in at least one instance. There were also Hanukkah celebrations in Iraq. What significance does that have? VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Really? You think/perceive/see it that black & white? Perhaps there are many shades of partisan lenses, eh? One only has to look as far as the issue of use of torture in interrogation to find moral relativism by the right. *Not all on the right.* It's wrong if "they" do it to us ... but those who are proponents can come up with all sorts of subjective rationalizations to make it 'right' and 'just' for "us" to do it, from Jack Bauer-esque ticking time bomb scenarios to Jesus Christ (all rationalizations put forth on SC by individuals who identify as conservatives). VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

15 March 1997 Archway Skydiving, Vandalia IL Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Thanks for the history. I was not aware of that case. Good lessons, imo. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

I do think that there is some accuracy in your statement above altho' perhaps not the same conclusion to which you would ascribe. I have no doubt that Mr. Williamson has worked hard to try to find places to resettle detainees. How diplomatic he has or has not been is another speculation. How hampered his attempts have been by other political factors is another speculation. I agree that there is likely some element of timing to the Portuguese government's statement of willingness to acccept detainees now. I would speculate that it is more of an indication of Portugal's positive stance to the incoming administration and desire to be viewed positively by the incoming US administration *and* that it is an action based on domestic Portuguese politics. (As much as it may sometimes seem like it ... or some want to believe ... *everything* the rest of the world does is not about US.) If you recall Portugal was one of the countries that launched domestic judicial inquiries into CIA extraordinary rendition flights. The current PM (as well as at least one prior) was implicated as having some level of knowledge or culpability by many inside Portugal and in the EU. Now the current PM's government appears to be stable (as far as I can tell ... & it's not my area of expertise). There are domestic politics to be considered too. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

I draw that conclusion because he did not say that Portugal would accept detainees. He called on the EU to step forward and send a "signal" to "help" the US vis-a-vis the resettlement of detainees. Also stating that Portugal would participate in sending this "signal". The Portugeuse statement is quite explicit “we [the Portuguese Government] will be available to participate” in “resettlement of detainees.” That’s it. Now there will be lots of logistical points to work out, albeit. That does not, however, obviate that clear statement of the Portuguese government. You are correct -- & no one has suggested otherwise -- that the Portuguese government is asking for the entire EU to do as the Portuguese government has. The Portuguese foreign minister does not speak for the EU. (The Presidency of the EU was with Portugal through July 2007. Currently France holds EU Presidency, and the Czech Republic will assume it in January 2009.) It would be akin to the Sec of the Army trying to speak for all the services. The Army can speak for what they're doing but can't commit the other services. Everything else in your response is conjecture and opinion, which is fine ... & is what I asked for. Some good & reasonable; some … uh, what’s your word: “stretching.” Nonetheless, interesting to read your thought process tho. As far as the issue of the speculative questions you pose, if you would have looked at the linked articles, e.g., the one from The Economist, you would know that many of your hypothetical questions are specious – if you read the links, you would know that they don’t apply &/or are irrelevant to the detainees in question. (The Portuguese have agreed to take cleared detainees who can't be repatriated due to concerns regarding their homelands, like the Uighurs. They're detainees that have been tried and time served or cleared/wrongly detained.) VR/Marg [Edit: I can't spelled Portugeuse Portuguese.] Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Have you read Andrew Bacevich's The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism ? Bacevich, an IR prof at Boston University ... he's also a retired US Army Colonel ... writes on the issues on the problems of the 2-party system from a national defense/American foreign policy perspective. I can't find a good excerpt quickly on the web specifically related to criticism of the 2-party system. Here's a video linked through the "Daily [Ron] Paul" website (the oirgin of interview is PBS). VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

That's a bit of stretch: That does not clearly state that they are willing to accept the resettlement of detainees. It more sounds like they are willing to be a conduit for the detainees to be placed "somewhere"...in the context of calling on the EU to step to the table. Huh? The foreign minister, as representative of the Portuguese government, stated in writing that they would participate – they would be willing to accept detainees for resettlement in Portugal. He also asked other European nations to also be willing to take detainees. How is that a stretch or anything different from what was written? How did you come to your conclusion? The US Ambassador is non-concur with your analysis as well. Excerpts from Fox News article on “Portugal Offers to Take Guantanamo Detainees” “An offer by Portugal to take in detainees released from Guantanamo Bay will bring the U.S. closer to its goal of closing the offshore military prison, an American diplomat said Thursday. “Clint Williamson, U.S. ambassador-at-large for war-crimes issues, said the gesture marks a breakthrough in efforts to find new homes for detainees who would risk persecution or torture in their native countries. “‘We certainly welcome this initiative,’ Williamson said in an interview with The Associated Press. ‘We have approached over 70 countries at this point, and I personally visited a number of those capitals, raising this with other governments.’ “As many as 50 of the roughly 250 inmates remaining at the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba would risk mistreatment if sent back to countries such as China, Algeria and Syria, according to human rights groups. The U.S. has described a lack of resettlement options for them as an obstacle to emptying the prison. “Thus far, Albania is the only country that has accepted Guantanamo detainees on humanitarian grounds, taking in five members of China's Uighur ethnic minority in 2006.” More from Time magazine: "Portugal's Offer to Help the US Close Guantanamo," from the Financial Times: "Portugal offers asylum to US detainees," from the BBC: "US hails Lisbon Guantanamo offer," from al Jazeera online in English: Portugal to take Guantanamo inmates," and from The Economist: "Special offer: one-way ticket from Guantanamo to Europe." VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying

Generating knowledge IS generating wealth. While you & I and many others may appreciate & recognize the intangible value in knowledge, all knowledge does not generate monetary wealth, e.g., a great deal of the arts and humanties. Even a great deal of basic reserach.* *As you and I know and many others knows as well, that 10% or so of basic research that does lead to tangible wealth is sometimes priceless, from the basic research of vacuum tubes to NMR and virology to inhaled vaccines. Decline in science and technology (S&T) base is a related but further complicating topic or two. VR/Marg Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters. Tibetan Buddhist saying