From TruthDig via truthout.org :
America's Holy Warriors
By Chris Hedges
Truthdig.com
Sunday 31 December 2006
The former New York Times Mideast Bureau chief warns that the radical Christian right is coming dangerously close to its goal of co-opting the country's military and law enforcement.
The drive by the Christian right to take control of military chaplaincies, which now sees radical Christians holding roughly 50 percent of chaplaincy appointments in the armed services and service academies, is part of a much larger effort to politicize the military and law enforcement. This effort signals the final and perhaps most deadly stage in the long campaign by the radical Christian right to dismantle America's open society and build a theocratic state. A successful politicization of the military would signal the end of our democracy.
[cont reading by clicking link below]
http://www.truthout.org:80/docs_2006/010207H.shtml
Wrap...
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Monday, January 01, 2007
Saddam and the US Global Empire...He lost.
From Information Clearing House:
Self-Described Economic Hit Man John Perkins:
"We Have Created the World's First Truly Global Empire": Most of the people in the United States have no idea that we've created this empire and, in fact, throughout the world it's been done very quietly, unlike old empires, where the army marched in.
http://tinyurl.com/y6j25j
[an excerpt from above article] :
JOHN PERKINS: Well, if you're talking about F.B.I. investigations, it revealed that there was an airplane that exploded in both cases. If you’re talking about local investigations and investigations that were done by many international journalists, there were explosives on those planes, both of them. And, you know, it's relatively easy to get to assassinate one of these presidents who has a security force that's well armed, that surrounds him all the time, and in the case of both Roldos and Torrijos, those security forces had been trained primarily at the School of the Americas, a U.S. training camp for South American armies. It’s well known that when --
AMY GOODMAN: Which used to be in Panama, actually?
JOHN PERKINS: Used to be in Panama, right, and it's well known that people that are trained this way stay pretty loyal to their trainers. And they didn't make a lot of money, and so if one of their trainers went back and said, “Hey, would you mind handing this tape recorder to Jaime Roldos?” And the security guy may very well know that there's a bomb in it, and I'm going to pay you several hundred thousand dollars or maybe in this case it's only $100,000, because these guys were not very well paid, or, “simply look the other way while we plant something on the plane.”That's an easy thing to do, and incidentally, we also tried to do that to Saddam Hussein. When he didn't come around, the economic hit men tried to bring him around. We tried to assassinate him. But that was an interesting point, because he had pretty loyal security forces, and in addition he had a lot of look-alike doubles, and what you don't want to be is a bodyguard to a look-alike double and you think it's the president and you accept a lot of money to assassinate him and you assassinate the look-alike, because if you do that, afterwards your life and your family's isn't worth very much, so we were unable to get through to Saddam Hussein, and that’s why we sent the military in.
AMY GOODMAN: Although Saddam Hussein was in the pocket of the U.S. for many, many years.
JOHN PERKINS: He was and – but we wanted that final deal, similar to the one we’d struck with Saudi Arabia. We wanted to get Saddam Hussein to really tie in to our system, and he refused to do that. He accepted our fighter jets and our tanks and our chemical plants that he used to produce chemical weapons that we knew were being used against the Kurds and the Iranians. He accepted all that, but he wouldn’t quite tie into our system in such a big way that he would bring in the huge development organizations to rebuild his country, as the Saudis did, in a Western image. And that's what we were trying to convince him to do and also to guarantee that he would always trade oil for U.S. dollars, instead of Euros, and that he would keep the price of oil within limits acceptable to us. He would not go along with those things. If he had, he would still be president, Amy.
[to read entire article, click link above]
Wrap...
Self-Described Economic Hit Man John Perkins:
"We Have Created the World's First Truly Global Empire": Most of the people in the United States have no idea that we've created this empire and, in fact, throughout the world it's been done very quietly, unlike old empires, where the army marched in.
http://tinyurl.com/y6j25j
[an excerpt from above article] :
JOHN PERKINS: Well, if you're talking about F.B.I. investigations, it revealed that there was an airplane that exploded in both cases. If you’re talking about local investigations and investigations that were done by many international journalists, there were explosives on those planes, both of them. And, you know, it's relatively easy to get to assassinate one of these presidents who has a security force that's well armed, that surrounds him all the time, and in the case of both Roldos and Torrijos, those security forces had been trained primarily at the School of the Americas, a U.S. training camp for South American armies. It’s well known that when --
AMY GOODMAN: Which used to be in Panama, actually?
JOHN PERKINS: Used to be in Panama, right, and it's well known that people that are trained this way stay pretty loyal to their trainers. And they didn't make a lot of money, and so if one of their trainers went back and said, “Hey, would you mind handing this tape recorder to Jaime Roldos?” And the security guy may very well know that there's a bomb in it, and I'm going to pay you several hundred thousand dollars or maybe in this case it's only $100,000, because these guys were not very well paid, or, “simply look the other way while we plant something on the plane.”That's an easy thing to do, and incidentally, we also tried to do that to Saddam Hussein. When he didn't come around, the economic hit men tried to bring him around. We tried to assassinate him. But that was an interesting point, because he had pretty loyal security forces, and in addition he had a lot of look-alike doubles, and what you don't want to be is a bodyguard to a look-alike double and you think it's the president and you accept a lot of money to assassinate him and you assassinate the look-alike, because if you do that, afterwards your life and your family's isn't worth very much, so we were unable to get through to Saddam Hussein, and that’s why we sent the military in.
AMY GOODMAN: Although Saddam Hussein was in the pocket of the U.S. for many, many years.
JOHN PERKINS: He was and – but we wanted that final deal, similar to the one we’d struck with Saudi Arabia. We wanted to get Saddam Hussein to really tie in to our system, and he refused to do that. He accepted our fighter jets and our tanks and our chemical plants that he used to produce chemical weapons that we knew were being used against the Kurds and the Iranians. He accepted all that, but he wouldn’t quite tie into our system in such a big way that he would bring in the huge development organizations to rebuild his country, as the Saudis did, in a Western image. And that's what we were trying to convince him to do and also to guarantee that he would always trade oil for U.S. dollars, instead of Euros, and that he would keep the price of oil within limits acceptable to us. He would not go along with those things. If he had, he would still be president, Amy.
[to read entire article, click link above]
Wrap...
Sunday, December 31, 2006
2007...it's business...
Well, here in San Diego, midnight is just a bit less than 3 hours away, and there's no telling what 2007 will be all about. A few things we know...the race is already on for elections in 2008. No question about that.
War in Afghanistan continues and the occupation of Iraq continues. Because of BushCo's absolute and incredible stupidity, the rest of the world dislikes us intensely. Yet the administration continues to strut across the international stage not realizing they're the streakers, not the actors. More dangerous than the actors because the streakers don't care...they just want the attention. They have it. It's not good.
"The Angels of Morgan Hill" is one beautiful little novel. More courage in that small book than Bush has every or will ever show in his entire life. Actually, I don't believe he knows the meaning of the word.
Now I've just started on "The Tenth Circle". Yeah, of Dante's hell. A novel concerning a man, wife, and their daughter. So far, I'm not much liking it. The writer is a bestselling author, she writes very well, but I feel a cold calculation in her work and it makes me very uncomfortable.
I doubt I'll continue.
Instead, I'll continue a non-fiction that's about halfway through...Kitty Kelly's "The Family". The family is the Bush dynasty, starting with Prescott, then George HW, then George W. These are most surely not likeable people. What one sees is not what one gets. Always, there are those underlying motives for each and every move they make.
Tomorrow, thanks for small favors, my world will return to normal with all the holiday chaos disappeared as if it had never been. I am so glad. I suspect I have a lot of company who feel much the same. Am very much looking forward to meeting another writer for breakfast in a hotel restaurant where we meet every weekday except Tuesday. The poor staff there has been just slammed with hotel guests seeming to appear all at once. It's been as though everyone's alarm clock has been set to go off at the same time.
The Chargers won again today. They're getting closer and closer to the Super Bowl. Gonna be battles royal in the football stadiums this year.
Also getting closer to the big writers' conference here. I'll be reading/editing advance manuscripts again. Fascinating, that first look at those novels. The thing so many writers aren't really aware of is that once they've finished their books and an agent has expressed an interest in seeing the manuscript is that from that moment on, it's straight business. My agent, while reading a manuscript, is also thinking as he reads about which Senior editor(s) like that kind of book and will possibly make an offer to publish. If, by the time he finishes, no editor has come to mind, the book is rejected. He also does no editing. The book is either polished and ready to be seen by an editor or back it goes. He writes the most encouraging rejection letters I've ever seen.
But if he does think of an editor, does send the book off, the first the writer will hear about it is when he phones to say, "We have editorial interest." Right there, the book is as good as sold for publication unless the writer gets unreasonable.
Most new writers also don't know that it may well take 18 months before the book is in print and headed for the bookstore shelves. Editors handle a batch of books and they handle them in the order the manuscripts are submitted unless the subjects of those books are really in high demand. Then books already in the works will be cut in front of and the hot book will take another book's place at the printers. It's a business. No more, no less. And a very tough one.
Most businesses are.
Put politics in that class. Can a candidate get enough money to make the race? Does a candidate for office have the staying power necessary to get through a viscious campaign? A million things can go wrong and do. You gotta want what you want badly enough to hang in there, no matter what, until you succeed. It's business.
Wrap...
War in Afghanistan continues and the occupation of Iraq continues. Because of BushCo's absolute and incredible stupidity, the rest of the world dislikes us intensely. Yet the administration continues to strut across the international stage not realizing they're the streakers, not the actors. More dangerous than the actors because the streakers don't care...they just want the attention. They have it. It's not good.
"The Angels of Morgan Hill" is one beautiful little novel. More courage in that small book than Bush has every or will ever show in his entire life. Actually, I don't believe he knows the meaning of the word.
Now I've just started on "The Tenth Circle". Yeah, of Dante's hell. A novel concerning a man, wife, and their daughter. So far, I'm not much liking it. The writer is a bestselling author, she writes very well, but I feel a cold calculation in her work and it makes me very uncomfortable.
I doubt I'll continue.
Instead, I'll continue a non-fiction that's about halfway through...Kitty Kelly's "The Family". The family is the Bush dynasty, starting with Prescott, then George HW, then George W. These are most surely not likeable people. What one sees is not what one gets. Always, there are those underlying motives for each and every move they make.
Tomorrow, thanks for small favors, my world will return to normal with all the holiday chaos disappeared as if it had never been. I am so glad. I suspect I have a lot of company who feel much the same. Am very much looking forward to meeting another writer for breakfast in a hotel restaurant where we meet every weekday except Tuesday. The poor staff there has been just slammed with hotel guests seeming to appear all at once. It's been as though everyone's alarm clock has been set to go off at the same time.
The Chargers won again today. They're getting closer and closer to the Super Bowl. Gonna be battles royal in the football stadiums this year.
Also getting closer to the big writers' conference here. I'll be reading/editing advance manuscripts again. Fascinating, that first look at those novels. The thing so many writers aren't really aware of is that once they've finished their books and an agent has expressed an interest in seeing the manuscript is that from that moment on, it's straight business. My agent, while reading a manuscript, is also thinking as he reads about which Senior editor(s) like that kind of book and will possibly make an offer to publish. If, by the time he finishes, no editor has come to mind, the book is rejected. He also does no editing. The book is either polished and ready to be seen by an editor or back it goes. He writes the most encouraging rejection letters I've ever seen.
But if he does think of an editor, does send the book off, the first the writer will hear about it is when he phones to say, "We have editorial interest." Right there, the book is as good as sold for publication unless the writer gets unreasonable.
Most new writers also don't know that it may well take 18 months before the book is in print and headed for the bookstore shelves. Editors handle a batch of books and they handle them in the order the manuscripts are submitted unless the subjects of those books are really in high demand. Then books already in the works will be cut in front of and the hot book will take another book's place at the printers. It's a business. No more, no less. And a very tough one.
Most businesses are.
Put politics in that class. Can a candidate get enough money to make the race? Does a candidate for office have the staying power necessary to get through a viscious campaign? A million things can go wrong and do. You gotta want what you want badly enough to hang in there, no matter what, until you succeed. It's business.
Wrap...
Friday, December 29, 2006
Joe Wambaugh...the cop's cop...
Just wanted to add that I've just finished reading "Hollywood Station" by Joe Wambaugh. It's excellent. If you've ever wondered what is meant by "cop talk", you'll wonder no longer. The opening pages are filled with it. A marvelous language, cop-speak.
More, the reader walks with those cops right into one horrendous murder scene, and neither the reader nor the cops know it until they're face to face with it.
One evening, some years ago, we writers were sitting in the Palace Bar in the old Horton Grand Hotel in San Diego where, by the way, Wyatt Earp also hung out in the 1800's, when Wambaugh wandered in to join us. And to complain that he was "out of work". It seems he'd just finished a book and didn't yet have his next one in mind. Therefore, he really was out of work.
What I want to say is that he's a really nice guy, and a damned fine writer. I think of him and grin. And congratulate him for once again being "out of work" for the best of reasons.
Wrap...
More, the reader walks with those cops right into one horrendous murder scene, and neither the reader nor the cops know it until they're face to face with it.
One evening, some years ago, we writers were sitting in the Palace Bar in the old Horton Grand Hotel in San Diego where, by the way, Wyatt Earp also hung out in the 1800's, when Wambaugh wandered in to join us. And to complain that he was "out of work". It seems he'd just finished a book and didn't yet have his next one in mind. Therefore, he really was out of work.
What I want to say is that he's a really nice guy, and a damned fine writer. I think of him and grin. And congratulate him for once again being "out of work" for the best of reasons.
Wrap...
Brown, Ford, Hussein...all dead...
The Iraqis, now that they've managed to hang Saddam Hussein, have created a problem for themselves. They've hung him until he's dead. Now what they gonna do with the body? Tikrit, his hometown wants it. They think he should be buried next to his sons. Will that town make a martyr of him? Possibly. Should they burn the body up and scatter the ashes to the winds? Best not. Well, I reckon they'll figure something out.
So James Brown passed away too. And he's gonna be buried in a 24 karet gold casket. Dumb. Just how much time will pass before some enterprising grave robbers dig him up to get to that gold casket? Perhaps it's only gold plated. Still...
And then there's former President Gerald Ford who, after lying in state and all the formal ceremonies are finished, will be buried in his home State of Michigan. I suspect he is the only one of the three who will be allowed to rest peacefully.
The rule of three certainly came true this last month of 2006.
And meanwhile, there is Bush 43 down on his show ranch in Crawford Texas, running around with his chain saw, clearing brush, and riding his bicycle. I guess he needed a break after three hours of listening to cohorts telling him how to proceed in Iraq. It's hard work.
And out on the road sat Cindy Sheehan...who, with a couple of others, got hauled off to jail for blocking said road. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. But one way or the other, she's gonna continue to demand Bush explain to her why he sent her son off to die in Iraq. Of course, being the coward he is, he ain't gonna do that. He's already said that, as president, he doesn't have to explain anything he says. As far as that goes, he undoubtedly believes...and certainly displays...that he doesn't have to explain anything he does either. He just sends Tony Snow out without giving Snow any explanation. Hard to explain what you don't know.
Meanwhile, John Edwards went down to New Orleans, grabbed a shovel and went to work for a bit...then announced he's running for President. Listening to him, I'm thinking both his heart and his brain are in the right place, but 2008 is a bit of distance away. At least that fact will allow him to try to gather the massive amount of money it will take to have a real chance.
So one strong, icy wind hit the West Coast and is traveling East once again bringing with it masses of snow and/or rain and causing all kinds of problems both on the ground and in the air.
The New Year 2007 is being brought in the hard way.
Wrap...
So James Brown passed away too. And he's gonna be buried in a 24 karet gold casket. Dumb. Just how much time will pass before some enterprising grave robbers dig him up to get to that gold casket? Perhaps it's only gold plated. Still...
And then there's former President Gerald Ford who, after lying in state and all the formal ceremonies are finished, will be buried in his home State of Michigan. I suspect he is the only one of the three who will be allowed to rest peacefully.
The rule of three certainly came true this last month of 2006.
And meanwhile, there is Bush 43 down on his show ranch in Crawford Texas, running around with his chain saw, clearing brush, and riding his bicycle. I guess he needed a break after three hours of listening to cohorts telling him how to proceed in Iraq. It's hard work.
And out on the road sat Cindy Sheehan...who, with a couple of others, got hauled off to jail for blocking said road. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. But one way or the other, she's gonna continue to demand Bush explain to her why he sent her son off to die in Iraq. Of course, being the coward he is, he ain't gonna do that. He's already said that, as president, he doesn't have to explain anything he says. As far as that goes, he undoubtedly believes...and certainly displays...that he doesn't have to explain anything he does either. He just sends Tony Snow out without giving Snow any explanation. Hard to explain what you don't know.
Meanwhile, John Edwards went down to New Orleans, grabbed a shovel and went to work for a bit...then announced he's running for President. Listening to him, I'm thinking both his heart and his brain are in the right place, but 2008 is a bit of distance away. At least that fact will allow him to try to gather the massive amount of money it will take to have a real chance.
So one strong, icy wind hit the West Coast and is traveling East once again bringing with it masses of snow and/or rain and causing all kinds of problems both on the ground and in the air.
The New Year 2007 is being brought in the hard way.
Wrap...
Surge to Iraq...for 545 days?!!!
From truthout.org:
Third Time's the Harm
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122906H.shtml
Steven Henderson served his country during two tours of duty as an Army sergeant in Afghanistan - repeatedly coming under enemy fire and seeing fellow soldiers maimed and US helicopters gunned down.
The Chicago native is back home now, after being honorably discharged 20 months ago. He's married and is working toward a college degree - but the Army has called upon him again. A letter he received two weeks before Christmas orders him to fight in Iraq for a period "not to exceed 545 days."
Wrap...
Third Time's the Harm
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122906H.shtml
Steven Henderson served his country during two tours of duty as an Army sergeant in Afghanistan - repeatedly coming under enemy fire and seeing fellow soldiers maimed and US helicopters gunned down.
The Chicago native is back home now, after being honorably discharged 20 months ago. He's married and is working toward a college degree - but the Army has called upon him again. A letter he received two weeks before Christmas orders him to fight in Iraq for a period "not to exceed 545 days."
Wrap...
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Damned good question....
From Information Clearing House :
Tale of Two Sisters
By Bill Quigley.
Why Is HUD Using Tens of Millions of Katrina Money to Bulldoze 4534 Public Housing Apartments in New Orleans When It Costs Less to Repair and Open Them Up?
http://tinyurl.com/y2nvya
Wrap...
Tale of Two Sisters
By Bill Quigley.
Why Is HUD Using Tens of Millions of Katrina Money to Bulldoze 4534 Public Housing Apartments in New Orleans When It Costs Less to Repair and Open Them Up?
http://tinyurl.com/y2nvya
Wrap...
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Books both serious and fun...
From Publishers Lunch Weekly:
FICTION/DEBUT:
Sadie Jones's THE OUTCAST, set in 1950s suburban England where heartache, cruelty, and unexpected violence lie beneath the surface of posh upper middle class life, following the troubled adolescent life and loves of a boy who witnesses his young mother's death by drowning, to Terry Karten at Harper, in a nice deal, by Stephanie Cabot at The Gernert Company (US).
MYSTERY:
Author of THE COLLABORATOR OF BETHLEHEM Matt Beynon Rees's A GRAVE IN GAZA, the second in a series featuring Palestinian investigator Omar Yussef, who learns firsthand that "every crime in Gaza is connected to every other crime" as he navigates amongst various corrupt political factions for the release of his kidnapped colleague, to Katie Herman at Soho Press, by Lisa Erbach Vance at the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, on behalf of Deborah Harris at the Deborah Harris Agency (NA). Deborah@thedeborahharrisagency.com
GENERAL/OTHER:
Karen Maitland's A COMPANY OF LIARS, set in England in 1348, as the plague is spreading and a band of misfits are trying to outrun it, including a scar-faced trader in holy relics, a minstrel from Venice, an itinerant painter of church frescoes, a deformed storyteller wanted by the law, a strange albino child, a healer, and a bad-tempered magician traveling with an embalmed mermaid, and THE OWL KILLERS, also set in the middle ages, to Kate Miciak for Dial and Bantam, by Kathleen Anderson at Anderson Literary Management, on behalf of Victoria Hobbs at A.M. Heath (NA).
Maggie O'Farrell's THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX, a multi-generational tale of a woman who, after sixty years in a sanitarium, is expelled into a world that forgot her and to a great-niece who never knew she existed, to Jenna Johnson at Harcourt, by Emma Parry at Fletcher & Parry (US).
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Former National Security Council member and coauthor of America Unbound, Ivo Daalder's and foreign policy scholar Mac Destler's IN THE SHADOW OF THE OVAL OFFICE: The National Security Advisor and the Making of American Foreign Policy, a history of the position that describes how presidents from JFK to George W. Bush have relied on their national security assistants to manage America's engagement overseas, and what the consequences have been for our foreign policy, to Alice Mayhew at Simon & Schuster, by Andrew Stuart at The Stuart Agency (NA).
WSJ reporter Steve Levine's examination of the Alexander Litvinenko affair -- from the polonium poisoning of the former spy in London to the investigation currently underway throughout Europe, including the shadowy underworld of Putin's Russia, to Will Murphy at Random House, by Tom Wallace (world).Former prime minister of Russia and architect of the "shock therapy" economic reforms of the 1990s, Yegor Gaidar's book on the demise of the Soviet Union, from the man who fell ill presenting the Russian edition last month and attributed the illness to poisoning, translated by Antonia Bouis, to Robert Faherty at Brookings Institution Press, for publication in July 2007.
Sarah Skinner Kilborne's THE UNEXPECTED HOUR: How William Skinner Spun America's Gravest Industrial Disaster Into the Comeback of the Century, a descendant of America's "Silk King" recounts how -- after losing everything he'd spent thirty years building in just fifteen minutes (when a reservoir north of Skinnerville, MA burst through its dam and swept the town away) -- he went on to leave a legacy far greater, to George Gibson at Walker, in a nice deal, by Rob McQuilkin at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (NA).rob@lmqlit.com
RELIGION/SPRITUALITY:
Amish scholars Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher's AMISH GRACE: How Forgiveness Redeemed a Tragedy, about the recent shooting in a one-room Amish school that killed five students, and exploring the confounding gesture of forgiveness offered to the killer and his family by the local Amish community, to Sheryl Fullerton at Jossey-Bass, by Giles Anderson (World).
SPORTS:
Washington Post writer John Scheinman's BARBARO, the behind-the-scenes story of the undefeated 2006 Triple Crown favorite, who pulled up injured in the opening seconds of the Preakness, and of his unlikely and ongoing recovery -- drawing on access to the principals of the story, to Susan Canavan at Houghton Mifflin, in a very nice deal, by Bridget Wagner at The Sagalyn Agency (world).lori_glazer@hmco.com
Wrap...
FICTION/DEBUT:
Sadie Jones's THE OUTCAST, set in 1950s suburban England where heartache, cruelty, and unexpected violence lie beneath the surface of posh upper middle class life, following the troubled adolescent life and loves of a boy who witnesses his young mother's death by drowning, to Terry Karten at Harper, in a nice deal, by Stephanie Cabot at The Gernert Company (US).
MYSTERY:
Author of THE COLLABORATOR OF BETHLEHEM Matt Beynon Rees's A GRAVE IN GAZA, the second in a series featuring Palestinian investigator Omar Yussef, who learns firsthand that "every crime in Gaza is connected to every other crime" as he navigates amongst various corrupt political factions for the release of his kidnapped colleague, to Katie Herman at Soho Press, by Lisa Erbach Vance at the Aaron Priest Literary Agency, on behalf of Deborah Harris at the Deborah Harris Agency (NA). Deborah@thedeborahharrisagency.com
GENERAL/OTHER:
Karen Maitland's A COMPANY OF LIARS, set in England in 1348, as the plague is spreading and a band of misfits are trying to outrun it, including a scar-faced trader in holy relics, a minstrel from Venice, an itinerant painter of church frescoes, a deformed storyteller wanted by the law, a strange albino child, a healer, and a bad-tempered magician traveling with an embalmed mermaid, and THE OWL KILLERS, also set in the middle ages, to Kate Miciak for Dial and Bantam, by Kathleen Anderson at Anderson Literary Management, on behalf of Victoria Hobbs at A.M. Heath (NA).
Maggie O'Farrell's THE VANISHING ACT OF ESME LENNOX, a multi-generational tale of a woman who, after sixty years in a sanitarium, is expelled into a world that forgot her and to a great-niece who never knew she existed, to Jenna Johnson at Harcourt, by Emma Parry at Fletcher & Parry (US).
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Former National Security Council member and coauthor of America Unbound, Ivo Daalder's and foreign policy scholar Mac Destler's IN THE SHADOW OF THE OVAL OFFICE: The National Security Advisor and the Making of American Foreign Policy, a history of the position that describes how presidents from JFK to George W. Bush have relied on their national security assistants to manage America's engagement overseas, and what the consequences have been for our foreign policy, to Alice Mayhew at Simon & Schuster, by Andrew Stuart at The Stuart Agency (NA).
WSJ reporter Steve Levine's examination of the Alexander Litvinenko affair -- from the polonium poisoning of the former spy in London to the investigation currently underway throughout Europe, including the shadowy underworld of Putin's Russia, to Will Murphy at Random House, by Tom Wallace (world).Former prime minister of Russia and architect of the "shock therapy" economic reforms of the 1990s, Yegor Gaidar's book on the demise of the Soviet Union, from the man who fell ill presenting the Russian edition last month and attributed the illness to poisoning, translated by Antonia Bouis, to Robert Faherty at Brookings Institution Press, for publication in July 2007.
Sarah Skinner Kilborne's THE UNEXPECTED HOUR: How William Skinner Spun America's Gravest Industrial Disaster Into the Comeback of the Century, a descendant of America's "Silk King" recounts how -- after losing everything he'd spent thirty years building in just fifteen minutes (when a reservoir north of Skinnerville, MA burst through its dam and swept the town away) -- he went on to leave a legacy far greater, to George Gibson at Walker, in a nice deal, by Rob McQuilkin at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (NA).rob@lmqlit.com
RELIGION/SPRITUALITY:
Amish scholars Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Weaver-Zercher's AMISH GRACE: How Forgiveness Redeemed a Tragedy, about the recent shooting in a one-room Amish school that killed five students, and exploring the confounding gesture of forgiveness offered to the killer and his family by the local Amish community, to Sheryl Fullerton at Jossey-Bass, by Giles Anderson (World).
SPORTS:
Washington Post writer John Scheinman's BARBARO, the behind-the-scenes story of the undefeated 2006 Triple Crown favorite, who pulled up injured in the opening seconds of the Preakness, and of his unlikely and ongoing recovery -- drawing on access to the principals of the story, to Susan Canavan at Houghton Mifflin, in a very nice deal, by Bridget Wagner at The Sagalyn Agency (world).lori_glazer@hmco.com
Wrap...
Ford to Lie in State...
From Roll Call :
Ford Expected to Lie in State Beginning Saturday
By Paul Kane
Roll Call Staff
Wednesday, Dec. 27; 2:38 pm
Capitol memorial services for the late President Gerald Ford will be held over the New Year’s Day weekend and conclude by Tuesday, clearing the way for the opening of the historic 110th Congress as scheduled, Congressional sources said.
Wrap...
Ford Expected to Lie in State Beginning Saturday
By Paul Kane
Roll Call Staff
Wednesday, Dec. 27; 2:38 pm
Capitol memorial services for the late President Gerald Ford will be held over the New Year’s Day weekend and conclude by Tuesday, clearing the way for the opening of the historic 110th Congress as scheduled, Congressional sources said.
Wrap...
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Hell of a storm in Reno....
Email just in from 6 miles down the mountain from Virginia City:
"We are going through the toughest storm since 1976 (or something). The winds have been clocked at over 150 mile per hour gusts and when I got home from work today the wind had blown out windows and broken some stuff and it looked like a hurricane hit the inside of the house!!!!
J and S.....you built a great home! Thank you, any other would have fallen apart, as they have all over Reno tonite.
Thank the good Lord we are fine, as are our pals (animals) and praise God for great neighbors!!!! J and wife to the rescue! The two men, J and husband, boarded up the broken windows with plywood, on a 20 foot ladder unfortunantly...they were both knocked down from the gail force winds and both had to sit down and gather their wind as well as their senses. Glad to say, they laughed about it and moved on... then the snow hit. I mean it's still coming down. Beautiful....plywood on the front doors and windows (socks stuffed in the edges) fire in the fireplace and Gods blessings on a solid built house....we love this place so much.
Just to let you know......winter may have "officially" arrived!........still no electricity, so the batteries on my laptop may die at any moment."
Wrap...
"We are going through the toughest storm since 1976 (or something). The winds have been clocked at over 150 mile per hour gusts and when I got home from work today the wind had blown out windows and broken some stuff and it looked like a hurricane hit the inside of the house!!!!
J and S.....you built a great home! Thank you, any other would have fallen apart, as they have all over Reno tonite.
Thank the good Lord we are fine, as are our pals (animals) and praise God for great neighbors!!!! J and wife to the rescue! The two men, J and husband, boarded up the broken windows with plywood, on a 20 foot ladder unfortunantly...they were both knocked down from the gail force winds and both had to sit down and gather their wind as well as their senses. Glad to say, they laughed about it and moved on... then the snow hit. I mean it's still coming down. Beautiful....plywood on the front doors and windows (socks stuffed in the edges) fire in the fireplace and Gods blessings on a solid built house....we love this place so much.
Just to let you know......winter may have "officially" arrived!........still no electricity, so the batteries on my laptop may die at any moment."
Wrap...
Tuesday eve on the patio...
So the writers gathered tonight at our usual place and usual table. Tables, really, since we have to slide a couple together to accomodate the number of us. Never know who will show up, so it's run from a low of four to a high of 20-something. Tonight I believe there were about nine. Gets a bit difficult to hear sometimes, since two or three conversations may be going on at once.
And they were tonight. The five at the end were having at it about politics and war, and the others at the other end were carrying on about dogs, dates during teenage years, Christmas presents, the horrid Paso del Posado and many other things...including politics.
And then we noticed that the reason we were having trouble hearing each other was that the patio had filled up from end to end. This is not a usual thing, since the patio is long and divided into three parts. From the front sidewalk toward the rear gate into the parking lot, there is, first, a section with round umbrella tables. That area is open to the sky and has plants and small trees on both sides, with small sculptures here and there among them. The middle section has a canvas roof and, on the open side, plants and more small trees edge the area. At present there is a clear plastic curtain rolled down because of possible rain and because the breeze is chilly at night. Square tables fill this middle section, and moving the iron-legged chairs on the floor's tiles makes a hell of a racket. Our group sits happily in the far left corner.
The third section at the rear of the patio has the same chairs and tables we have, but there is a wonderful fireplace at the very back, and a lattice screens separate the back section from ours. One large floor to ceiling screen on each side, and woven Mexican drapes are pulled back from each side to make a doorway. Very colorful. And colored light bulbs are draped throughout the patio sections. This back section also has a plastic roof.
And suddenly all three sections are crammed full of people, as is the private party room upstairs, and the interior of the restaurant. We deduced that people had guests staying at their homes and were not about to keep that holiday cooking going. Don't blame them a bit. Enough is enough. Time to dine out.
So there we were, talking, eating, drinking coffee, smoking and enjoying. Think we've been going there for close to six or seven years now. And the manager, who is by now a friend, comes over looking distressed and announces somebody called the health nazis agency and come Jan 1st, no more smoking on the patio sections with the plastic roofs and the plastic side curtains because that made them enclosed rooms. Manager tried to tell them that the side curtains roll up, but they'd made up their minds.
A couple of us are going to check out another restaurant with a patio...that is, with a roof covering for when it rains, side shields to block the wind, and heat...to see if we might transfer over there. Problem is, that possible new place has what have to be the most uncomfortable chairs possible. The seats are dead flat and square, and my feet don't touch the floor when I sit in one, and the backs of those wooden chairs go straight up. Which is one reason they no longer serve breakfast. People, me included, tried it out when they opened for business, but those chairs were so awful they quit sitting on the patio, and simply went elsewhere. But we're gonna look at it anyway. May have to put up with the chairs.
Now, an enclosed room is just where BushCo needs to be put, never to exit again. There he is, having left Camp David, down on his ranch in Crawford, Texas, "listening" and planning some kind of change in the Iraq War. Yeah, right. What he's really planning is planting nukes on Iran as soon as he thinks he can get away with it, no doubt.
What a contrast to former Repub President Gerald Ford, he is. Ford was a decent, truthful man. Ford was everything Bush is not. The new Dem Congress had best not fail to do its duty or the people in this nation will throw a fit they won't soon forget.
Wrap...
And they were tonight. The five at the end were having at it about politics and war, and the others at the other end were carrying on about dogs, dates during teenage years, Christmas presents, the horrid Paso del Posado and many other things...including politics.
And then we noticed that the reason we were having trouble hearing each other was that the patio had filled up from end to end. This is not a usual thing, since the patio is long and divided into three parts. From the front sidewalk toward the rear gate into the parking lot, there is, first, a section with round umbrella tables. That area is open to the sky and has plants and small trees on both sides, with small sculptures here and there among them. The middle section has a canvas roof and, on the open side, plants and more small trees edge the area. At present there is a clear plastic curtain rolled down because of possible rain and because the breeze is chilly at night. Square tables fill this middle section, and moving the iron-legged chairs on the floor's tiles makes a hell of a racket. Our group sits happily in the far left corner.
The third section at the rear of the patio has the same chairs and tables we have, but there is a wonderful fireplace at the very back, and a lattice screens separate the back section from ours. One large floor to ceiling screen on each side, and woven Mexican drapes are pulled back from each side to make a doorway. Very colorful. And colored light bulbs are draped throughout the patio sections. This back section also has a plastic roof.
And suddenly all three sections are crammed full of people, as is the private party room upstairs, and the interior of the restaurant. We deduced that people had guests staying at their homes and were not about to keep that holiday cooking going. Don't blame them a bit. Enough is enough. Time to dine out.
So there we were, talking, eating, drinking coffee, smoking and enjoying. Think we've been going there for close to six or seven years now. And the manager, who is by now a friend, comes over looking distressed and announces somebody called the health nazis agency and come Jan 1st, no more smoking on the patio sections with the plastic roofs and the plastic side curtains because that made them enclosed rooms. Manager tried to tell them that the side curtains roll up, but they'd made up their minds.
A couple of us are going to check out another restaurant with a patio...that is, with a roof covering for when it rains, side shields to block the wind, and heat...to see if we might transfer over there. Problem is, that possible new place has what have to be the most uncomfortable chairs possible. The seats are dead flat and square, and my feet don't touch the floor when I sit in one, and the backs of those wooden chairs go straight up. Which is one reason they no longer serve breakfast. People, me included, tried it out when they opened for business, but those chairs were so awful they quit sitting on the patio, and simply went elsewhere. But we're gonna look at it anyway. May have to put up with the chairs.
Now, an enclosed room is just where BushCo needs to be put, never to exit again. There he is, having left Camp David, down on his ranch in Crawford, Texas, "listening" and planning some kind of change in the Iraq War. Yeah, right. What he's really planning is planting nukes on Iran as soon as he thinks he can get away with it, no doubt.
What a contrast to former Repub President Gerald Ford, he is. Ford was a decent, truthful man. Ford was everything Bush is not. The new Dem Congress had best not fail to do its duty or the people in this nation will throw a fit they won't soon forget.
Wrap...
Sad news...
News flash:
Former President Gerald Ford has died. He was 93 years old and has not been in good health for some time.
Wrap...
Former President Gerald Ford has died. He was 93 years old and has not been in good health for some time.
Wrap...
Recruiting overseas...in exchange for US citizenship...
From Christian Science Monitor:
US military may recruit foreigners to servePentagon considering several 'disputed proposals' including fast-track citizenship for volunteers.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1226/dailyUpdate.html?s=mesdu
AOL Keyword: CS Monitor
Wrap...
US military may recruit foreigners to servePentagon considering several 'disputed proposals' including fast-track citizenship for volunteers.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1226/dailyUpdate.html?s=mesdu
AOL Keyword: CS Monitor
Wrap...
Monday, December 25, 2006
End of holiday greetings brawl...finally...
Well, Christmas Day, 2006, is slowly but surely coming to an end and none too soon. Attended a Christmas brunch today at a professional musician's home. Lots of nice people, a beautiful white tree, good food...though I didn't indulge having just come from breakfast.
And at home, lovely gifts. Was especially pleased with some peanut brittle from a small sweets shop on Vashon Island in Puguet Sound outside Seattle, WA. Thicker than factory made, and with texture. Tasted wonderful.
At this point, I can't even count the gorgeous photos of snow-laden places in print and online I've seen. Each and every one made me doubly glad that I live in San Diego. That's because I grew up in northern Illinois. If I never put a foot in snow again, it will be too soon. Pretty to look at though...and available. Just an hour and a half drive up into the mountains to the old gold-mining town of Julian, then right back down to sunshine and blue skies and the beach or the parks and warm weather.
Had breakfast on Denny's concrete shoebox patio again this morn with another writer. Biscuits, grits, two eggs over easy. The last, not good. I like solid whites with just a bit of softness in the yolks. In short, medium well. And toxic amounts of coffee. Wonderful, that suddenly dark chocolate and black coffee studies say both are good for a person. Love those studies.
Tomorrow morn, back to the Hacienda Hotel's Acapulco Restaurant patio in Old Town, where one or two other writers might well show up. No more than that because a group of us will be meeting at 5PM just to gather and carry on about every possible subject. Looking forward to that.
Wrap...
And at home, lovely gifts. Was especially pleased with some peanut brittle from a small sweets shop on Vashon Island in Puguet Sound outside Seattle, WA. Thicker than factory made, and with texture. Tasted wonderful.
At this point, I can't even count the gorgeous photos of snow-laden places in print and online I've seen. Each and every one made me doubly glad that I live in San Diego. That's because I grew up in northern Illinois. If I never put a foot in snow again, it will be too soon. Pretty to look at though...and available. Just an hour and a half drive up into the mountains to the old gold-mining town of Julian, then right back down to sunshine and blue skies and the beach or the parks and warm weather.
Had breakfast on Denny's concrete shoebox patio again this morn with another writer. Biscuits, grits, two eggs over easy. The last, not good. I like solid whites with just a bit of softness in the yolks. In short, medium well. And toxic amounts of coffee. Wonderful, that suddenly dark chocolate and black coffee studies say both are good for a person. Love those studies.
Tomorrow morn, back to the Hacienda Hotel's Acapulco Restaurant patio in Old Town, where one or two other writers might well show up. No more than that because a group of us will be meeting at 5PM just to gather and carry on about every possible subject. Looking forward to that.
Wrap...
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Woodward to Billy, the Kid...
Bob Woodward's book, "State of Denial", is something else again. It's damned near impossible to read more than one of its short chapters before having to cease because you've gone into a state of rage. Took me...and I'm a fast reader...over a month to read that book because I'd get so damned mad that I had to put it down. Finally did finish it and loaned it to another writer. It affected that writer the same way. Bottom line is that I cannot recommend it enough.
Had recently reread "Locked In the Cabinet" by Robert Reich, Clinton's Sec of Labor. And again enjoyed that very close-up and personal view of just what it's like to run one of the Cabinet agencies. Not fun. One of the things that stuck with me is the fact that, even going full tilt, it takes a Cabinet member, when a new president is elected, from their swearing in time in January until June before the agency is truly ready to do business.
So here is our new SecDef, Gates, who has just about a month to come up with the solution to the Iraq War for our idiot administration. Good luck, buddy. I found it most interesting that Gates was prepped for his testimony before Senate confirmation by VP Cheney's office. And of course he was part of Baker's Iraq Strategy Group. So how much can the nation expect him to depart from Bush's "stay the course"?
Baker...the Saudi royal families' main lawyer. Ah, the links to this chain never end and get tighter every day.
Thank heavens for Denny's restaurant. It will be open for breakfast in the morning....Christmas morning, that is. Another writer and I meet for a patio breakfast (has to be a patio because I demand a smoke with my coffee) weekday mornings and are often joined by other writers. Kicks off the day very nicely. But our usual place is closed tomorrow. Denny's will be open. Bless 'em...they're always open.
So the writer who flew in from Colorado last week joined us for breakfast and today I read that his town there didn't get hit with that snowstorm, but did get hit with tumbleweeds...massive numbers of them flying around in strong winds.
Which reminded me of one of the loneliest places I've ever encountered. Billy, the Kid's graveyard in Old Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Dirt, the desert, falling down wire fence, and the constant wind, the slow-rolling tumbleweeds across the Kid's grave. Billy lays between two of his fellow gun-slingers, all three covered with a concrete blanket, out there in that little graveyard with its worn, half-fallen, wooden crosses here and there. And nothing out there for miles except the cottonwood trees on one side of the gravel road and a small concrete building next to the graveyard.
Next to Bush and his administration, Billy, the Kid was a piker. No comparison in the number of deaths each was/is responsible for. But then, Billy was a real cowboy, whereas I doubt Bush has ever sat a saddle. Pathetic.
Wrap...
Had recently reread "Locked In the Cabinet" by Robert Reich, Clinton's Sec of Labor. And again enjoyed that very close-up and personal view of just what it's like to run one of the Cabinet agencies. Not fun. One of the things that stuck with me is the fact that, even going full tilt, it takes a Cabinet member, when a new president is elected, from their swearing in time in January until June before the agency is truly ready to do business.
So here is our new SecDef, Gates, who has just about a month to come up with the solution to the Iraq War for our idiot administration. Good luck, buddy. I found it most interesting that Gates was prepped for his testimony before Senate confirmation by VP Cheney's office. And of course he was part of Baker's Iraq Strategy Group. So how much can the nation expect him to depart from Bush's "stay the course"?
Baker...the Saudi royal families' main lawyer. Ah, the links to this chain never end and get tighter every day.
Thank heavens for Denny's restaurant. It will be open for breakfast in the morning....Christmas morning, that is. Another writer and I meet for a patio breakfast (has to be a patio because I demand a smoke with my coffee) weekday mornings and are often joined by other writers. Kicks off the day very nicely. But our usual place is closed tomorrow. Denny's will be open. Bless 'em...they're always open.
So the writer who flew in from Colorado last week joined us for breakfast and today I read that his town there didn't get hit with that snowstorm, but did get hit with tumbleweeds...massive numbers of them flying around in strong winds.
Which reminded me of one of the loneliest places I've ever encountered. Billy, the Kid's graveyard in Old Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Dirt, the desert, falling down wire fence, and the constant wind, the slow-rolling tumbleweeds across the Kid's grave. Billy lays between two of his fellow gun-slingers, all three covered with a concrete blanket, out there in that little graveyard with its worn, half-fallen, wooden crosses here and there. And nothing out there for miles except the cottonwood trees on one side of the gravel road and a small concrete building next to the graveyard.
Next to Bush and his administration, Billy, the Kid was a piker. No comparison in the number of deaths each was/is responsible for. But then, Billy was a real cowboy, whereas I doubt Bush has ever sat a saddle. Pathetic.
Wrap...
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Saturday...with people...
Have just discovered that Ken Kuhlken, the mystery writer, has started a blog. Now if he will just keep carrying on, I won't have to beat the fire outta him. Here's where interested readers can find it: http://aka-california.blogspot.com/
California, he says, he considers the end of the world.
I disagree. Inside Blair House and the White House lies the end of the world...at least as we knew it. Those inhabitants comprise the worst horror movie that could ever be filmed. And joy, the rest of the world--including us--get to live in it in reality.
Stopped at the neighborhood liquor store Thurs morn to pick up a couple of Lotto tickets (I won $2.00 after spending $4.00), with that morning's copy of the LA Times in hand. Mr Fish had drawn a mind-blowing cartoon in the Opinion section in which he'd captured Bush like nobody I'd ever seen...in one sentence.
In any case, I showed the clerk the cartoon and a guy who said he was a Vietnam Vet saw it and had a fit. Bush, he proclaimed, was the greatest president the United States had ever had. Whereupon I disagreed in no uncertain terms and he then asked, "You forget about 9-11?" To which I replied, "NO, and Iraq had not a damned thing to do with it." And we went from there, making sure to laugh so as not to go too far since we'd never met before.
Interesting, how people can be dead serious but laugh to not half kill each other on the spot.
From there to the retired guy (former Navy) who lives across the street...our neighborhood watchdog...and who is always out front of his open garage taking opportunities to strike up a conversation with every single person who walks within talking range. And he proceeds to tell me that the three worst presidents we've ever had are, in this order, Carter, FDR, and Clinton. The best: Reagan. Sheesh!
So. Onward to a very early dinner with old friend and his former wife. See them about once every year or so at various times. He, even though not Jewish, has lived and breathed the Holocaust for years and does exceptional work to make sure that horrible event is not forgotten. He has no other topic of conversation. She is now working, after many years, on getting her MA. She can really put away the food! I was impressed. And I was also bored to death.
I find I'm not excited about medical conditions, pets...and that was about all that she talked about.
Breakfast on the patio tomorrow morn will be much more interesting, since another writer will be joining me...her #1 interest is in serial killers...and possibly a former Green Beret who goes shooting out in the desert, not far from the Mexican border, on weekends. He's a sniper type of guy and has a 5000 foot range with targets. The Border Patrol guys know he's there--he tells them--and don't come within his shooting range. He says shooting relaxes him. Okay. Good.
Wrap...
California, he says, he considers the end of the world.
I disagree. Inside Blair House and the White House lies the end of the world...at least as we knew it. Those inhabitants comprise the worst horror movie that could ever be filmed. And joy, the rest of the world--including us--get to live in it in reality.
Stopped at the neighborhood liquor store Thurs morn to pick up a couple of Lotto tickets (I won $2.00 after spending $4.00), with that morning's copy of the LA Times in hand. Mr Fish had drawn a mind-blowing cartoon in the Opinion section in which he'd captured Bush like nobody I'd ever seen...in one sentence.
In any case, I showed the clerk the cartoon and a guy who said he was a Vietnam Vet saw it and had a fit. Bush, he proclaimed, was the greatest president the United States had ever had. Whereupon I disagreed in no uncertain terms and he then asked, "You forget about 9-11?" To which I replied, "NO, and Iraq had not a damned thing to do with it." And we went from there, making sure to laugh so as not to go too far since we'd never met before.
Interesting, how people can be dead serious but laugh to not half kill each other on the spot.
From there to the retired guy (former Navy) who lives across the street...our neighborhood watchdog...and who is always out front of his open garage taking opportunities to strike up a conversation with every single person who walks within talking range. And he proceeds to tell me that the three worst presidents we've ever had are, in this order, Carter, FDR, and Clinton. The best: Reagan. Sheesh!
So. Onward to a very early dinner with old friend and his former wife. See them about once every year or so at various times. He, even though not Jewish, has lived and breathed the Holocaust for years and does exceptional work to make sure that horrible event is not forgotten. He has no other topic of conversation. She is now working, after many years, on getting her MA. She can really put away the food! I was impressed. And I was also bored to death.
I find I'm not excited about medical conditions, pets...and that was about all that she talked about.
Breakfast on the patio tomorrow morn will be much more interesting, since another writer will be joining me...her #1 interest is in serial killers...and possibly a former Green Beret who goes shooting out in the desert, not far from the Mexican border, on weekends. He's a sniper type of guy and has a 5000 foot range with targets. The Border Patrol guys know he's there--he tells them--and don't come within his shooting range. He says shooting relaxes him. Okay. Good.
Wrap...
"Ignorant" is an understatement...
From Information Clearing House:
Archbishop attacks US, Britain on Iraq:
THE spiritual head of the Anglican Church launched an outspoken attack on the British and US governments on Saturday, saying their "ignorant" policy in Iraq has put Christians in the region at risk.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20970722-38200,00.html
Wrap...
Archbishop attacks US, Britain on Iraq:
THE spiritual head of the Anglican Church launched an outspoken attack on the British and US governments on Saturday, saying their "ignorant" policy in Iraq has put Christians in the region at risk.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20970722-38200,00.html
Wrap...
US Customs has a target: US Citizens...
From Schneier on Security :
Automated Targeting System
If you've traveled abroad recently, you've been investigated. You've been assigned a score indicating what kind of terrorist threat you pose. That score is used by the government to determine the treatment you receive when you return to the U.S. and for other purposes as well.
Curious about your score? You can't see it. Interested in what information was used? You can't know that. Want to clear your name if you've been wrongly categorized? You can't challenge it. Want to know what kind of rules the computer is using to judge you? That's secret, too. So is when and how the score will be used.
U.S. customs agencies have been quietly operating this system for several years. Called Automated Targeting System, it assigns a "risk assessment" score to people entering or leaving the country, or engaging in import or export activity. This score, and the information used to derive it, can be shared with federal, state, local and even foreign governments. It can be used if you apply for a government job, grant, license, contract or other benefit. It can be shared with nongovernmental organizations and individuals in the course of an investigation. In some circumstances private contractors can get it, even those outside the country. And it will be saved for 40 years.
[cont reading at http://www.schneier.com/blog/ ]
Wrap...
Automated Targeting System
If you've traveled abroad recently, you've been investigated. You've been assigned a score indicating what kind of terrorist threat you pose. That score is used by the government to determine the treatment you receive when you return to the U.S. and for other purposes as well.
Curious about your score? You can't see it. Interested in what information was used? You can't know that. Want to clear your name if you've been wrongly categorized? You can't challenge it. Want to know what kind of rules the computer is using to judge you? That's secret, too. So is when and how the score will be used.
U.S. customs agencies have been quietly operating this system for several years. Called Automated Targeting System, it assigns a "risk assessment" score to people entering or leaving the country, or engaging in import or export activity. This score, and the information used to derive it, can be shared with federal, state, local and even foreign governments. It can be used if you apply for a government job, grant, license, contract or other benefit. It can be shared with nongovernmental organizations and individuals in the course of an investigation. In some circumstances private contractors can get it, even those outside the country. And it will be saved for 40 years.
[cont reading at http://www.schneier.com/blog/ ]
Wrap...
DC Appeals Ct: FEMA can tell NOLA to shove it...
From truthout.org :
FEMA Not Required to Restore Aid to Evacuees, Court Rules
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122306F.shtml
The Federal Emergency Management Agency does not have to reinstate immediately rental assistance to evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled yesterday, reversing a decision that a lower court judge had said he hoped would "get these people a roof over their heads before Christmas."
Wrap...
FEMA Not Required to Restore Aid to Evacuees, Court Rules
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122306F.shtml
The Federal Emergency Management Agency does not have to reinstate immediately rental assistance to evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled yesterday, reversing a decision that a lower court judge had said he hoped would "get these people a roof over their heads before Christmas."
Wrap...
Thursday, December 21, 2006
BushCo's blood lust will not quit....
From Information Clearing House :
Target Iran
Former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter and Investigative Journalist Seymour Hersh on White House Plans for Regime Change.
This Is A Must Listen
The aircraft carrier Eisenhower and its strike group entered the Persian Gulf on Dec. 11. Another aircraft carrier, the Stennis, is expected to depart for the Gulf within the next month. The military said it is also taking steps to prevent Iran from blocking oil shipments from the Gulf.:
http://tinyurl.com/yh2odb
Wrap...
Target Iran
Former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter and Investigative Journalist Seymour Hersh on White House Plans for Regime Change.
This Is A Must Listen
The aircraft carrier Eisenhower and its strike group entered the Persian Gulf on Dec. 11. Another aircraft carrier, the Stennis, is expected to depart for the Gulf within the next month. The military said it is also taking steps to prevent Iran from blocking oil shipments from the Gulf.:
http://tinyurl.com/yh2odb
Wrap...
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