Today's news summary on Democracy Now! included the following:
Greenpeace: Lebanese Oil Spill Spreads Into the Seabed of Mediterranean
Greenpeace Lebanon has revealed that the oil spill off the Lebanese coastline has spread into the seabed and could threaten marine life for years. Oil on the seabed is so thick that it can be physically picked up by divers. The spill occurred six weeks ago when Israel bombed an electric power plant. Up to 15,000 tons of fuel oil leaked out but the Israeli military blocked any cleanup for a month. Zeina Al-Hajj, Greenpeace coordinator in Beirut: "What we have seen is miles and miles of oil suffocating the seabed. This is an indication that the contamination from the oil spill has spread beyond the shore and beyond the water coastline and into underwater. And that is an indication of the urgency needed to deal with this disaster."
The fact that Israel's blockade prevented any possibility of a cleanup campaign is quite discomforting. Another news brief in the same report indicated that Israel has several nuclear centers capable of enriching uranium, as well. Given the reported destruction of Lebannon, it does not appear that Israel was severely threatened by Hezbollah.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
A News Story Unfolds and a Good Laugh
Today, I was reading through my RSS feeds for the Guardian Unlimited News Network based out of the UK. A story caught my attention merely by its headline: "Transatlantic flight in emergency diversion." Reading the story was even more interesting. Apparently, FOX News reported that a female passenger (reported by a US Transportation Security Administration official to be 60 and suffering from claustrophobia and an anxiety attack) "brandished a screwdriver and matches and had a note referring to al-Qaida in her possession." CNN reported that she had two notes--one in English and one in Arabic--and was being questioned by the FBI. At the time of writing this entry, CNN and FOX News were reporting that the possession of a screwdriver, matches, two notes, AND vaseline has been refuted by US officials.
Now, what I want to know is that if she in fact did not have the screwdriver, matches, notes, and vaseline, then who introduced this collection of items? What would the vaseline do? Quite interesting.
Finally, my friend Frank found a video of Stephen Colbert interviewing Eleanor Holmes Norton on the top list from digg.com. After watching the video, I have decided to embed it in this post. It's very amusing--probably the best interview to this day. However, I must admit that the power of editing is likely the key to the humor. Enjoy the video.
Now, what I want to know is that if she in fact did not have the screwdriver, matches, notes, and vaseline, then who introduced this collection of items? What would the vaseline do? Quite interesting.
Finally, my friend Frank found a video of Stephen Colbert interviewing Eleanor Holmes Norton on the top list from digg.com. After watching the video, I have decided to embed it in this post. It's very amusing--probably the best interview to this day. However, I must admit that the power of editing is likely the key to the humor. Enjoy the video.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Bush and Blair Talking at the G8 Summit
By now, most people have heard or seen George Bush say "shit" to Tony Blair at the G8 Summit. That's pretty passe, but I doubt you have heard or read the exchange before that. It isn't surprising or uncouth. but it's very funny. In the very least, it is interesting to hear the candid exchange between two prominent world leaders.
Read the transcript from the Washington Post below.
President Bush was caught on an open microphone talking with other leaders at the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg as they ate lunch before adjourning on Monday. At times the television camera was on Bush, at times it was panning the room. Some of the exchange was hard to hear over the clinking of plates and pouring of drinks. Here's a transcript by The Washington Post:
Someone, probably an aide, asks Bush something, evidently whether he wants prepared closing remarks for the end of the summit:
Bush: No. Just gonna make it up. I'm not going to talk too damn long like the rest of them. Some of these guys talk too long.
The camera is focused elsewhere and it is not clear whom Bush is talking to, but possibly Chinese President Hu Jintao, a guest at the summit.
Bush : Gotta go home. Got something to do tonight. Go to the airport, get on the airplane and go home. How about you? Where are you going? Home?
Bush : This is your neighborhood. It doesn't take you long to get home. How long does it take you to get home?
Reply is inaudible.
Bush : "Eight hours? Me too. Russia's a big country and you're a big country."
At this point, the president seems to bring someone else into the conversation.
Bush : It takes him eight hours to fly home.
He turns his attention to a server.
Bush : No, Diet Coke, Diet Coke.
He turns back to whomever he was talking with.
Bush : It takes him eight hours to fly home. Eight hours. Russia's big and so is China.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair approaches.
Bush : Blair, what are you doing? You leaving?
Blair : No, no, no, not yet.
Blair, standing over Bush as the president eats, tries to engage on the stalled global trade negotiations.
Blair : On this trade thing . . .
Some of the ensuing conversation is inaudible. Blair evidently wants Bush to make a statement on the talks.
Bush : If you want me to. I just want some movement. Yesterday, I didn't see much movement. The desire's to move.
Blair : No, no there's not. It may be that it's impossible.
Bush : I'll be glad to say it. Who's introducing me?
Blair : Angela. [German Chancellor Angela Merkel ]
Bush : Tell her to call on me. Tell her to put me on the spot.
Bush then changes the subject, presumably to a gift Blair must have given him for his recent 60th birthday.
Bush : Thanks for the sweater. Awfully thoughtful of you. I know you picked it out yourself.
Blair : Oh, absolutely.
Both of them laugh. Then Bush turns serious, asking Blair about comments apparently made about the Middle East crisis by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, another guest at the summit.
Bush : What about Kofi? That seems odd. I don't like the sequence of it. His attitude is basically ceasefire and [then] everything else happens. You know what I'm saying?
Blair : Yeah. No, I think -- the thing that's really difficult is we can't stop this unless you get this international presence agreed. Now, I know what you guys have talked about but it's the same thing.
The next remarks are i naudible, but the conversation turns to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.
Blair : . . . see how reliable that is. But you need that done quickly.
Bush : Yeah, she's going. I think Condi's going to go pretty soon.
Blair : Right. Well, that's, that's, that's all that matters. If you -- see, it'll take some time to get out there. But at least it gives people a --
Bush : A process, I agree. I told her your offer too.
It's unclear what offer he means, but apparently Blair offered to make some sort of public statement.
Blair : Well, it's only if it's -- I mean, you know, if she's gotta -- or if she needs the ground prepared, as it were. Obviously, if she goes out, she's got to succeed, as it were, whereas I can just go out and talk.
Bush : See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit, and it's over.
Blair : Who, Syria?
Bush : Right.
Blair : I think this is all part of the same thing. What does he think? He thinks if Lebanon turns out fine, if we get a solution in Israel and Palestine, Iraq goes in the right way, he's [inaudible ] . That's what this whole thing's about. It's the same with Iran.
Bush : I felt like telling Kofi to get on the phone with Assad and make something happen. We're not blaming Israel. We're not blaming the Lebanese government."
At this point, Blair notices the microphone and turns it off.
Read the transcript from the Washington Post below.
President Bush was caught on an open microphone talking with other leaders at the Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg as they ate lunch before adjourning on Monday. At times the television camera was on Bush, at times it was panning the room. Some of the exchange was hard to hear over the clinking of plates and pouring of drinks. Here's a transcript by The Washington Post:
Someone, probably an aide, asks Bush something, evidently whether he wants prepared closing remarks for the end of the summit:
Bush: No. Just gonna make it up. I'm not going to talk too damn long like the rest of them. Some of these guys talk too long.
The camera is focused elsewhere and it is not clear whom Bush is talking to, but possibly Chinese President Hu Jintao, a guest at the summit.
Bush : Gotta go home. Got something to do tonight. Go to the airport, get on the airplane and go home. How about you? Where are you going? Home?
Bush : This is your neighborhood. It doesn't take you long to get home. How long does it take you to get home?
Reply is inaudible.
Bush : "Eight hours? Me too. Russia's a big country and you're a big country."
At this point, the president seems to bring someone else into the conversation.
Bush : It takes him eight hours to fly home.
He turns his attention to a server.
Bush : No, Diet Coke, Diet Coke.
He turns back to whomever he was talking with.
Bush : It takes him eight hours to fly home. Eight hours. Russia's big and so is China.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair approaches.
Bush : Blair, what are you doing? You leaving?
Blair : No, no, no, not yet.
Blair, standing over Bush as the president eats, tries to engage on the stalled global trade negotiations.
Blair : On this trade thing . . .
Some of the ensuing conversation is inaudible. Blair evidently wants Bush to make a statement on the talks.
Bush : If you want me to. I just want some movement. Yesterday, I didn't see much movement. The desire's to move.
Blair : No, no there's not. It may be that it's impossible.
Bush : I'll be glad to say it. Who's introducing me?
Blair : Angela. [German Chancellor Angela Merkel ]
Bush : Tell her to call on me. Tell her to put me on the spot.
Bush then changes the subject, presumably to a gift Blair must have given him for his recent 60th birthday.
Bush : Thanks for the sweater. Awfully thoughtful of you. I know you picked it out yourself.
Blair : Oh, absolutely.
Both of them laugh. Then Bush turns serious, asking Blair about comments apparently made about the Middle East crisis by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, another guest at the summit.
Bush : What about Kofi? That seems odd. I don't like the sequence of it. His attitude is basically ceasefire and [then] everything else happens. You know what I'm saying?
Blair : Yeah. No, I think -- the thing that's really difficult is we can't stop this unless you get this international presence agreed. Now, I know what you guys have talked about but it's the same thing.
The next remarks are i naudible, but the conversation turns to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.
Blair : . . . see how reliable that is. But you need that done quickly.
Bush : Yeah, she's going. I think Condi's going to go pretty soon.
Blair : Right. Well, that's, that's, that's all that matters. If you -- see, it'll take some time to get out there. But at least it gives people a --
Bush : A process, I agree. I told her your offer too.
It's unclear what offer he means, but apparently Blair offered to make some sort of public statement.
Blair : Well, it's only if it's -- I mean, you know, if she's gotta -- or if she needs the ground prepared, as it were. Obviously, if she goes out, she's got to succeed, as it were, whereas I can just go out and talk.
Bush : See, the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit, and it's over.
Blair : Who, Syria?
Bush : Right.
Blair : I think this is all part of the same thing. What does he think? He thinks if Lebanon turns out fine, if we get a solution in Israel and Palestine, Iraq goes in the right way, he's [inaudible ] . That's what this whole thing's about. It's the same with Iran.
Bush : I felt like telling Kofi to get on the phone with Assad and make something happen. We're not blaming Israel. We're not blaming the Lebanese government."
At this point, Blair notices the microphone and turns it off.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
So Much Things to Say
Where to begin? For starters, if you've kept up (which I doubt you have), you are now mildly familiar with Yogi Laser and the Orange Mime, two of NYC's finest. Apparently, YouTube has videos of both cretins in action. Rather than embed the videos, I'll just provide direct links:
Yogi Laser
Orange Mime
I didn't have the opportunity to see Yogi Laser in action, but this 30-second video captures the main event. I'm happy I didn't waste my time. As for the Orange Mime, I was never close enough to hear the robot sounds that you hear in the video. That's even dumber!!! So, if you need a laugh, check out the clips. It's pretty amazing that these people sustain themselves by peddling money on NYC streets.
Finding these two videos on YouTube enticed me to look for more NYC shenanigans. There appear to be a few other regulars showcased on YouTube (if you search for them). There's a midget Michael Jackson. He sucks. I won't even include the link--search for him yourself.
In addition, I found a magician with a cart of tricks on a subway car (click here). That was kind of neat, but his tricks were canned, especially the coloring book one. Notice where he places his hand when he flips through the book. That's no David Blane!
Now for the funny stuff. Have you read the blog WOW! ithaca? or List-en Up? These are the writings of twin sisters--twin sisters who proofread documents on the side. Why mention this? Well, you might notice a trend in both blogs: the occasional "THe" or "THat's" or "LUckily" decorate their rants and raves. You may say, "Oh, well they are twins! What's the big deal?" It's not a twin thing, the older sister does it too in emails. It's pretty funny, but worrysome, as well, and I know why it happens, at least for our WOW! ithaca? author. She never looks that the monitor while she types. She watches her fingers and occasionally checks for errors, but I think this proofreading is limited to the last couple of words. So, obvious typos at the beginning of the sentence are often overlooked. Quite hilarious! Now, I've probably let quite a few typos slip by in this note, but my bigger problem is exluding words. The best part, it's usually the crucial words, like "not." I suppose we all have our idiosyncrasies that we never realize ourselves. The world just watches and laughs, unless there is money involved.
(By the way, the picture shown above is my first encounter with Times Square a few weeks ago. I'm ready to return to NYC.)
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Glorified Panhandlers in NYC
While waiting for the water taxi from Seaport to Red Hook, we watched some pretty stupid street performers. Luckily, these performers have their own websites, so I had no need to waste pictures to hold on to the memories.
The first moron was Yogi Laser. At first, I thought his shtick was doing yoga moves--sun salutations and downward dogs. This is the warm up to his main event: folding his ass up into a clear box. Check out his website. He has photos, too. There were two people recording videos of his routine while we watched, but the website does not appear to have these films.
The second guy is really pathetic. He calls himself the Orange Mime. He is mostly (I'll get to this) covered with the color orange, and, for money, he will change his pose. Otherwise, he stands still. You might expect that he would be totally orange. No, not at all! He uses face paint, but he does not completely cover his skin. His hair has not been dyed. I think his shoes were black. It is pretty sad. I saw much better street statues in Amsterdam. Of course, this idiot has a website, too. It screams I am a moron, especially when he claims that "Orange you going to feed the bucket" is a clever used of the the word orange. Is this guy serious? The worst part is that little kids find him fascinating, so he gets all this money from stupid parents hoping to entertain their children. Folks, keep your money and do not support this worthless behavior.
The last two beggers were on the subway--big surprise. The first was a homeless man claiming to collect money for the homeless, not necessarily himself. I find it hard to believe that there is a coalition task-force seeking to help the fellow homeless. However, I could be wrong. He managed to collect a little bit of money from a few passengers. Then, he moved on to another car.
The final beggers were little kids selling candy. Get this, they were doing this as an alternative to selling drugs. They actually claimed this!! That was their ploy to get suckers to shell out a few bucks for underground chocolate bars. Maybe they do the honor of lacing the bars to hide the goods they intend to sell. Doubtful, since they would certainly see losses when they add up their sales for the day.
Sorry, these last two didn't announce a web address. That would be pretty cool if they did, especially the first one!
Anyway, NYC is full of different people, mostly stupid people. It's quite amusing. Perhaps, I will mention the purse peddlers that sell authentic Coach bags.
The first moron was Yogi Laser. At first, I thought his shtick was doing yoga moves--sun salutations and downward dogs. This is the warm up to his main event: folding his ass up into a clear box. Check out his website. He has photos, too. There were two people recording videos of his routine while we watched, but the website does not appear to have these films.
The second guy is really pathetic. He calls himself the Orange Mime. He is mostly (I'll get to this) covered with the color orange, and, for money, he will change his pose. Otherwise, he stands still. You might expect that he would be totally orange. No, not at all! He uses face paint, but he does not completely cover his skin. His hair has not been dyed. I think his shoes were black. It is pretty sad. I saw much better street statues in Amsterdam. Of course, this idiot has a website, too. It screams I am a moron, especially when he claims that "Orange you going to feed the bucket" is a clever used of the the word orange. Is this guy serious? The worst part is that little kids find him fascinating, so he gets all this money from stupid parents hoping to entertain their children. Folks, keep your money and do not support this worthless behavior.
The last two beggers were on the subway--big surprise. The first was a homeless man claiming to collect money for the homeless, not necessarily himself. I find it hard to believe that there is a coalition task-force seeking to help the fellow homeless. However, I could be wrong. He managed to collect a little bit of money from a few passengers. Then, he moved on to another car.
The final beggers were little kids selling candy. Get this, they were doing this as an alternative to selling drugs. They actually claimed this!! That was their ploy to get suckers to shell out a few bucks for underground chocolate bars. Maybe they do the honor of lacing the bars to hide the goods they intend to sell. Doubtful, since they would certainly see losses when they add up their sales for the day.
Sorry, these last two didn't announce a web address. That would be pretty cool if they did, especially the first one!
Anyway, NYC is full of different people, mostly stupid people. It's quite amusing. Perhaps, I will mention the purse peddlers that sell authentic Coach bags.
Friday, August 04, 2006
places to go if you visit NYC
Magnolia Bakery
401 Bleaker St
New York, NY 10014
The best cupcakes in the world!
Chumley's
86 Bedford St
New York, NY 10014
An old Greenwich Village speakeasy with its own brews.
Bar 288
288 Elizabeth St
New York, NY 10012
Nice place to take shelter from the rain.
Lil' Frankie's Pizza
19 First Ave
New York, NY 10003
Interesting Italian restaurant. They have a website, too. Find the URL yourself.
Bar Veloce
175 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003
Primarily a wine bar but other beverages are available. See the website.
401 Bleaker St
New York, NY 10014
The best cupcakes in the world!
Chumley's
86 Bedford St
New York, NY 10014
An old Greenwich Village speakeasy with its own brews.
Bar 288
288 Elizabeth St
New York, NY 10012
Nice place to take shelter from the rain.
Lil' Frankie's Pizza
19 First Ave
New York, NY 10003
Interesting Italian restaurant. They have a website, too. Find the URL yourself.
Bar Veloce
175 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003
Primarily a wine bar but other beverages are available. See the website.
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