Given my druthers, I'd just as soon skirt the whole hurricane issue—there's only so much mawkish solicitude and amateur punditry one can take—but since I didn't want to seem like a middle-aged guy who was living with his mother on purpose, I mentioned that I was from New Orleans and temporarily homeless, etc. A few minutes later a guy with an Okie accent and haircut en brosse approached me. Diffidently he mentioned the looting in New Orleans, and I agreed it was a shame.¶ 11:20 AM 0 commentsHe went on: "I had a dream the other night that God was flushing the toilet."
" … I'm sorry?"
"I told my wife, 'God's flushing the toilet!' Know what I mean? Those people who stayed behind and looted?"
"Well," I said, "I don't think they stayed behind to loot per se …"
"Still, you know, that whole damn city—"
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has been struggling to negotiate changes to the charter in hopes of winning Sunni Arab support, and senior U.S. officials in Washington have said they are confident that Iraq’s draft constitution will be approved. But those officials also have said that if the constitution is defeated, Iraq could descend into anarchy.From the same article:
The new surge of violence before an Oct. 15 referendum on Iraq’s constitution has killed at least 194 people, including 13 U.S. service members, in the past five days.If that's law and order, I don't want to see what happens under anarchy. ¶ 11:14 AM 0 comments
From traveling throughout Illinois and more recently around the country, I can tell you that Americans are suspicious of labels and suspicious of jargon. They don't think George Bush is mean-spirited or prejudiced, but have become aware that his administration is irresponsible and often incompetent. They don't think that corporations are inherently evil (a lot of them work in corporations), but they recognize that big business, unchecked, can fix the game to the detriment of working people and small entrepreneurs. They don't think America is an imperialist brute, but are angry that the case to invade Iraq was exaggerated, are worried that we have unnecessarily alienated existing and potential allies around the world, and are ashamed by events like those at Abu Ghraib which violate our ideals as a country.His point is that progressives need to see the country through a non-partisan lense if they want to build a successful progressive majority. Single-issue people, who put their cause above all else, even to the detriment of other progressive causes, set the movement back. They fuel a fire that burns away any chance for true accord in this country.
It will be interesting to see Obama's role in leading on this level. ¶ 11:04 AM 0 comments
I captured some audio from the Jet Blue emergency landing at LAX yesterday. Listen as the Captain discusses his options with maintenance and his dispatcher.By now, the emergency landing of the Jet Blue plane is old news. Many people at the time called it a heroic effort by the captain, but if you listen to him in the recording above, you will be doubly impressed. Calm, cool, and collected to the max. ¶ 11:07 AM 0 comments
Direct download: fwm85.mp3
Defective bulletproof vest for Bush?
Hmmm. ¶ 8:39 PM 0 comments
Today I am introducing the third in the series of monthly guest columns, the Regenerative Living Series. In the words of it's author, the Garbage Collector, it is "A series that will have you freeing yourself from the bonds of nonrenewable energies and the fluctuations of the global market."
(at left: author and Juan Antonio with recently installed biodigestor)
Part I: Introducing…..BIOGAS!
It has existed for hundreds if not thousands of years; conversely, how is it that biogas remains such an obscure alternative to fossil fuels here in the U.S.A? Why do we continue to be governed by dwindling supplies of overly expensive petroleum and natural gas prices instead of looking at our own digested organic material that sits silently in the ceramic throne or the garbage that saturates our kitchen with fetid air?
I have no explanation to such questions or inquiries; however, from living here in
In regards to anaerobic digestion, we find that there exists various examples of its and biogas’s existence in the natural world. For example the bacteria responsible for biogas are found in the digestive track of ruminant animals like those
In addition to the brown gold in our sewer systems and septic tanks, the organic waste slowly decomposing in our bacteria copious landfills is an untapped source of biogas. On a daily basis landfills are producing massive quantities of methane that contribute to the destruction of the Ozone Layer; however, with proper technology and a vision for sustainability, an ecological disaster like Fresh Kills landfill can become an electricity generating plant. In the case of the megalopolis,
Although the U.S. Department of Energy and EPA have realized the potency of landfill gas (
Stay tuned next month for more insightful information on biogas and how you can construct your own biodigestor for $200, and additional topics such as permaculture and its green revolution. For additional information, inquiries, solicitations, please contact Garbage Collector.
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If you missed this month's earlier guest columns, check them out now:
Dave Gray's Aviation Monthly
The Miseducation of Kevo
"We are all modern women of the republic," said Semra Aydemir, 52, a retired teacher, also in a tiny two-piece. "We are against terrorism. We are against violence. We are against ugliness."
You might think standing in line for a long time with a very sprained ankle is a bad idea, especially to see a band you have seen before, at a show that was very much over-hyped. I agree. I showed up at 9 thinking I would get in in time to see Dr. Dog and Robbers on High Street. Once I realized how long the line was, I almost left, but then I figured, why not stay, maybe this is the last time they will ever play the (very intimate) Mercury Lounge. And, Ambulance Ltd. was coming on after, so even if I didn't get in before Clap, I would see them. Long story short, I got in about 5 mins before Clap went on, saw them play an excellent set well worth the $15. But by the end my legs were cramping up, my ankle was killing, and I had to bail on Ambulance. So, I probably wouldn't do it again, but I'm glad I waited just the same.
Do you know what an Earth Ball is? It's a giant inflatable ball, also called a cage ball, and you can usually find them in the corner of your junior-high-school locker room, waiting for a rainy day so that the coach can say, "No soccer. Today's Earth Ball Day." I am one of those. I was manufactured sometime in the early 1980s, and I have lived most of my life in a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. It is a peaceful existence and a generally happy one.
I Can Never Recall the Name of Brooklyn's New Hip Band.
by Dan Kennedy
- - - -
I'm Clapping as Fast as I Can
Clap Your Hands Together Like This
All Clap Hands, That's Right!
Yes, I'm Clapping, OK?
Clap, Clap, Clap for the Band
¶ 11:43 AM 0 comments
The discipline that the cold war imposed on America, by contrast, seems to have faded. Last year, we cut the National Science Foundation budget, while indulging absurd creationist theories in our schools and passing pork-laden energy and transportation bills in the middle of an energy crisis.
We let the families of the victims of 9/11 redesign our intelligence organizations, and our president and Congress held a midnight session about the health care of one woman, Terri Schiavo, while ignoring the health crisis of 40 million uninsured. Our economy seems to be fueled lately by either suing each other or selling each other houses. Our government launched a war in Iraq without any real plan for the morning after, and it cut taxes in the middle of that war, ensuring that future generations would get the bill.
Last year I taught in an American public school for the first time. Last week, I began my second year as a sixth grade teacher in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Through a program called Teach For America I was given a classroom and duped into believing I could change the world. Somehow I would be able to 'reach' sixty children, teach them all they had missed in seven years of substandard schooling, feel good about myself while doing it, then quit it all after two years and move on to my real professional career doing whatever the hell I truly want to do for the rest of my life. It was a decision to procrastinate in a meaningful way – to postpone the real decision making, and to save the world by doing it. Fuck that. I entered a difficult career that people spend their whole lives developing while being treated like morons. Teachers (in my school at least) often get treatment that a rat doesn't deserve. Their opinions – not valued, their expertise – questioned, and their successes – swept under the rug or claimed by superiors. School becomes a political place where employees vie for status and students are left to be herded from one side of the building to the other and berated by various overworked and over stressed employees. On my fifth day of my second year as a teacher I don't know what to do. Everyone in my world is excited, inspired, and fresh after two months away from the place they are supposed to be excited and inspired about. I keep getting flashbacks to reality.
The eight bottlenose dolphins were swept out of an aquarium tank by an estimated 40-foot wave during Hurricane Katrina.
Another interesting element of the story:
Because these dolphins are from a captive facility, they do not forage for food or necessarily have the survival skills necessary to avoid predators or boat traffic. Marine Life Aquarium trainers and NOAA Fisheries Service biologists have been feeding the dolphins several times a day from a NOAA vessel.
¶ 9:32 AM 0 comments
His staff distributed fliers in Chinese that featured an eagle, the Statue of Liberty and a photo of Mr. Morgenthau in his naval uniform - he earned a Gold Star in World War II - as well as a more recent shot.
- Weiner is number two in the polls now (a late surge), and it looks like he will deny Fernando Ferrer the 40% he needs to win the Democratic nomination outright. Therefore, in a few weeks we ought to be treated to a runoff vote between Ferrer and Weiner. I think that a lot of people think Ferrer is too old-school and tired to do anything interested vs. Bloomberg. There is an outside chance that Weiner could end up beating Ferrer and setting up a show down with hizzona himself.
- In a very, very crowded field, I went with Scott Stringer because he seems to have the most experience (up in Albany) and a committment to work on skyrocketing rents and other housing issues in Manhattan. He has also offered more concrete ideas than other candidates. Winner takes all here, no runoff.
- Despite virtually every big name NY Democrat endorsing Robert Mogenthau for his bazillionth term as Manhattan DA, Leslie Crocker Snyder decided to challenge him. At first, she seemed a bit abrasive, but then I thought about it, and how the hell do you take on such a long-term incumbent without being abrasive? I also met her on the street in Chelsea one hot, humid afternoon -- it impressed me simply that she was there. Not sure if she has a chance, but much respect for trying.
- Cool ads? Got me to notice him at least. But his plan for free wi-fi everywhere in NYC is worth a vote, at least.
In such a Dem-heavy city, usually the winner of the Democratic primary has only token Republican opposition in November, so today is the big day. The exception here is the mayoral race, of course, and whoever wins today or in the runoff can expect to get slaughtered by tens of millions of dollars of Bloomberg's own money.
...the most interesting aspect of the show was the akwardness between songs when it was painfully silent. Silence in startling contrast to the rowdy whoops, shouting and applause that CYHSY received between tunes. You could even hear the sound of the mic being placed back into the mic stand; it was that dead between songs. Plus, people continued to file out throughout the show.
How this could be—how the president of the United States could have even less "situational awareness," as they say in the military, than the average American about the worst natural disaster in a century—is one of the more perplexing and troubling chapters in a story that, despite moments of heroism and acts of great generosity, ranks as a national disgrace.¶ 4:57 PM 0 comments
"These guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There's no authority over them, so you can't come down on them hard when they escalate force," said Brig. Gen. Karl R. Horst, deputy commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, which is responsible for security in and around Baghdad. "They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place."¶ 2:29 PM 0 comments
Lt. Col. Troy Stephenson tells me they spotted an abandoned van a few days ago with "KILL THE WHITE BITCHES" painted on the side. "You can kind of gather there was some ethnic tension," he says.
¶ 12:55 PM 0 comments
FEMA's top three leaders -- Director Michael D. Brown, Chief of Staff Patrick J. Rhode and Deputy Chief of Staff Brooks D. Altshuler -- arrived with ties to President Bush's 2000 campaign or to the White House advance operation, according to the agency. Two other senior operational jobs are filled by a former Republican lieutenant governor of Nebraska and a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official who was once a political operative.
But there's another side to Bush. He can seem detached and unaware of the messages conveyed by his words and conduct. Bush decided to see Katrina's destruction for the first time from his jumbo jet and joked on his first trip to the disaster zone about youthful partying in New Orleans. He didn't cancel his vacation until two days after Katrina struck and didn't visit the region until four days after the storm. It's not the first time that side of the president has been visible. He taped a video for a 2004 black-tie dinner showing him hunting under White House furniture for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction as the death toll there mounted. His visit to Ground Zero came three days after the 9/11 attacks.
Today I happily introduce a new column we will be running here, "Dave Gray's Aviation Monthly." Expect this column around the beginning of every month. We'll also be introducing a few more monthly columns in September, on a wide range of topics.
Dave is a professional in the aviation industry and holds a degree in aviation business from a top aerospace school. Drink from his cup of high-altitude wisdom:
The Wright Amendment 1979:
This amendment was enacted to encourage more travelers to fly out of the then brand new Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW). Dallas Love was previously Dallas’s only airport with airline service. Dallas Love Field has a competitive advantage by virtue of it being closer to downtown Dallas making it appealing to business travelers. In short, the legislation prohibits any airline from providing transportation from the airport to any state not adjacent to Texas. This would later be eased in 1997 to also allow transportation between Dallas Love and Kansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. The reason for the act was to allow the newer DFW airport to flourish and help pay off the debt that it incurred during design and construction. Airlines wanting to serve Dallas outside of this immediate region would now have no other choice but to serve the newer airport.
Now some 25years later, DFW has grown to become the 6th largest airport in the world in terms of passengers, by virtue of the American Airlines mega-hub there. Dallas-Love is not even in the top 50! Southwest Airlines who is based at Love, has requested that legislators remove this amendment and allow free competition to benefit the city of Dallas. I too strongly support removing the Wright Amendment. The larger American Airlines is lobbying to keep the act so it can protect the near monopoly it has on Dallas. Nevertheless, Southwest is no longer the little guy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull their HQ out of Dallas without the repeal of the act. This would be a tremendous blow to Dallas in terms of tax revenue and in terms of airline competition. Politicians have recently addressed the amendment and are in the process of deciding how they will handle the matter. All I can say is that I hope the people of Dallas will not be wronged due to a political pissing match. In the meantime stay tuned to http://www.setlovefree.com/ for updates.
Comments?
(note: the formatting on this post will be enhanced and will have working links at a later date -- I am on the road and using a stripped down browser that prevents me from using all of the blogger tools) ¶ 2:47 PM 0 comments
Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we've confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo's Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice's timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, "How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!" Never one to have her fashion choices questioned, Rice had security PHYSICALLY REMOVE the woman.
Washington's fixation with Hugo Chávez is helping spread his "Bolivarian revolution" across Latin America (slate)
NY Times endorsement of Leslie Crocker Snyder for Manhattan D.A. (definitely will vote for her in the Democratic primary on Sept 13)
Rock snobs in the ipod era (from The New Republic, anyone for whom I have copied a CD should read this)
A fair and balanced guide to choosing between New York and San Francisco (The Morning News) ¶ 8:24 PM 0 comments
The Katrina Premium: Why the hurricane may hurt the economy more than 9/11
Department of Homeland Screw-Up: DHS Flunks its first test
The rest of their coverage can be found here.
As I sit here listening to CNN, I'd say the coverage has taken on a new tone, a decidedly "what the hell is going on and why is the Federal government letting this happen" tone. I don't know if it's fair, but there are a lot of pissed off people out there. ¶ 8:08 PM 0 comments
The Newhouse News Service article published Tuesday night observed, "The Louisiana congressional delegation urged Congress earlier this year to dedicate a stream of federal money to Louisiana's coast, only to be opposed by the White House. ... In its budget, the Bush administration proposed a significant reduction in funding for southeast Louisiana's chief hurricane protection project. Bush proposed $10.4 million, a sixth of what local officials say they need."Think Progress notes that Scott McLellan would not answer questions about this today. ¶ 8:01 PM 1 comments
Economy:
The Washington Post writes:
Katrina's economic effects may be more lasting than those that usually follow big storms, economists and businesspeople said yesterday, owing to the severity of the damage and the unique geography of the New Orleans region. The storm hit a chokepoint in the U.S. economy -- a concentration of ports, rail lines, barge traffic and major highways making up one of the nation's major trade hubs.New Orleans is the largest port in the country, and this storm has essentially knocked it out of commission. It fed goods up the Mississippi River that supplied millions of Americans. I don't think anyone knows how long it will take to get the distribution network up to speed, but everything from oil and industrial goods to bananas and coffee will be affected.
20 oil rigs are missing from the Gulf of Mexico and reportedly the word from oil industry insiders is that the damage to Gulf oil output could be much worse -- perhaps months or years before it gets back to pre-Katrina levels. And last I checked, the current price of oil wasn't exactly considered at bargain levels. Tons of key industries depend on oil, and with prices rising even more and no drop in sight, airlines, industrial output and more will face great negative consequences.
Jerome at DailyKos has even more on all of this.
Race/Class Divisions:
A post at DailyKos brings to everyone's attention this article from Reuters. Many poor and low-income families in Biloxi did not have the means to flee the oncoming hurricane. They were left to feel the brunt of the storm, and no doubt the majority of the deaths from Katrina will turn out to be people who had fewer economic resources at their disposal. Looting in the Biloxi area has turned vengeful, aimed at upscale residences.
Jack Shafer, writing at Slate, notes the media's failure to address the elephant-in-the-room: the storms victims are overwhelmingly poor blacks:
When disaster strikes, Americans—especially journalists—like to pretend that no matter who gets hit, no matter what race, color, creed, or socioeconomic level they hail from, we're all in it together. [snip] But we aren't one united race, we aren't one united class, and Katrina didn't hit all folks equally. By failing to acknowledge upfront that black New Orleanians—and perhaps black Mississippians—suffered more from Katrina than whites, the TV talkers may escape potential accusations that they're racist. But by ignoring race and class, they boot the journalistic opportunity to bring attention to the disenfranchisement of a whole definable segment of the population. What I wouldn't pay to hear a Fox anchor ask, "Say, Bob, why are these African-Americans so poor to begin with?"A quick Google News search for "Katrina+class+race" shows that plenty of people are writing about this. It's worth noting that the National Guard is being called in to stop the looting now (rightfully so) but do we really know how well trained they are to do this? This morning there were shots fired in New Orleans at a helicopter evacuating people from the Superdome as the Guard moved in. How does this equation look for you:
Unprecented Devastation+ Years of built up race/class tension + hastily deployed Guard troops + everything else that chaos brings = a potential powderkeg waiting to go off ¶ 8:48 AM 0 comments
