The President Rocks The Audience

Live from the White House Correspondents' Dinner:



Contrasting this with Bush's last appearance, I can't help thinking how innately decent and fair our President is. Yes, he had fun tweaking a few people, but no one who didn't deserve it. Most important of all, he called for remembrance of our troops -- the Republicans pay a LOT of lip service to that, but they're the ones who keep cutting the VA budget and freezing the ordinary soldier's wage, and refusing to regulate the payday lenders who are driving our troops' families into foreclosure.

More touching was his call to remember those devastated by the storms that have struck the Southern states. Those red states are a hotbed of teabagger KrayZ. He didn't have to say word one about them. But, unlike Bush, who never mentioned Katrina after it happened except to complain that Kanye West dissed him, our President called for a show of kindness and help to those who hate and disrespect him with every breath.

Thank you, Mr. President. Here's looking forward to another five years with you at the helm.

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Environment: Hurricane Ike

Not being worshippers of any deity in particular, we let Seelin Cat and hir disciples/followers speak for us when we wish for the safety and well-being of all those in every country who have been affected by the vagaries of Mother Nature:

From ICHC, fine purveyors of LOLcattery to all

May everyone stay safe and as dry as possible. May Mike Chertoff's reproductive bits rot right off for FEMA's usual failure to do anything for the suffering with our tax dollars. May you be safely reunited with all your loved ones ASAP.

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Hurricane Katrina

Photo courtesy of The Chicago Tribune

This entire week has been spent worrying for our friends in NOLA and Louisiana in general and all the other good people who live on the Gulf Coast. Gustav is now a Category 4 hurricane, and given the last horrible fiasco, we are on tenterhooks.

For a beautiful (and sad) photo memorial of Katrina, please drop by Gilbert Mercier's blog. The man has both the photographer's eye and a wonderfully developed sense of irony.

We hear the Republicans might reschedule their convention. They claim it's because of Hurricane Gustav, but we greatly doubt that. Those mean motherfuckers couldn't give a shit about New Orleans, and more specifically, poor black (or any other shade in the fucking rainbow) Democratic voters in New Orleans. We secretly suspect they're postponing because so many Reputzlicans have weaseled out of attending that it'll be a gigantoflop.

Of course, Nero II is babbling about how "better days" lie ahead. We assume his poorly developed sense of irony does not permit him to realize that the "better days" the whole world is looking forward to are the days after he leaves office, hopefully in chains, hopefully for the Hague. Hopefully, his good buddy Johnny MacNuts will be eating cake in one of his many mansions, but NOT the one in which we seat our President.

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Happy Anniversary, NOLA

La Casa de Los Gatos believes that McCain made an attempt to commemorate the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the great and beautiful old city of New Orleans three years ago. He was wise enough not to go eat cake with Jor Jee again, though. This time, he decided to kill (how apt) two birds with the same single stone: he named a running mate in an obvious pander to the Vagina Voters; and he ate cake at the aptly named Nutter Center in Ohio.


Frankly, Oldy McMoldy, you're not fooling anyone with the nomination of Alaska governor Sarah Palin. She can't hold a candle to Hillary Clinton, who has academic honours and international honours to her name. Hillary Rodham Clinton served as the First Lady of the State of Arkansas for 12 long years and as the nation's First Lady for an additional eight years. She was distinguished by academic excellence, attending two of the best schools in the country. She is an accomplished lawyer and a powerful speaker in her own right, who has earned the respect of feminists, lawyers, and political activists around the world.

Hillary Clinton is a policy wonk with a deep knowledge of many issues from children's rights to healthcare policy to missile systems and alternative energy. Nominating Sarah Palin, who is under investigation for some rather dubious shenanigans, to stand one heartbeat away from the presidency of an aged cancer survivor with multiple melanomas is not the best thing you've done lately, John. This woman's experience is beyond scanty.

She was on her local PTA, she served four years on the council of Wasilla, a city of a whole six or seven thousand people; two terms as part-time mayor of that same benighted city, whose primary concerns seem to have been centered on a sufficiency of snow for the dog-sled races; she began her tenure by firing city appointees who had supported her opponent. She subsequently ran for the office of Governor of the state (with a population of a whole 600,000. This woman is not even qualified to run California Rep. Lynn Woolsey's congressional district.

She is not known for academic excellence, did not (unlike Rodham Clinton) attend one of the prestigious "top ten" schools, doesn't appear to know what the duties of the Vice President are, she is anti-science, a creationist crackpot who actually wants that garbage taught in taxpayer-supported schools, as viciously anti-choice as they come (exception ONLY for life of the mother, not for maternal health, rape, incest, or fetal health), a homophobe who believes gay people should not be entitled to health care for their partner, she is not a feminist, does not support women's rights to their own bodies let alone anything else, and she has used her position to retaliate against those who oppose or displease her. She doesn't even know the names of foreign leaders (sweetie, that would be one of the duties of the Veep - to make largely ceremonial but necessary diplomatic visits to foreign nations. It helps to know their names, ya lunk).

If nothing else convinces you that McCaincient is a losing proposition, this has to do it. What a slap in the face to Mittens (whom we don't particularly care for but admit is multiple times more qualified for the post), Pawlenty (don't like him much, either, but that's not the point, is it?), Kay Bailey Hutchinson (one of many Republican women who are far more qualified for the position). We may not like Republicans much (excepting Chuck Hagel, Dick Lugar, and Lincoln Chafee, and maybe a few others), but there has to be at least a hundred better qualified candidates for this job. Picking this nobody is a slap in the face to all the Republicans who have worked so hard over the years for Party and country.

Needless to say, the WaPoo is reporting that Mittens and Timmeh are none too happy about being blown off. There's a rumour that Charlie Crist might be cancelling his wedding. His beard must be so relieved. We did warn ya, Timmeh, about praising Barack the way you did. We knew Johnny Mac wasn't going to pick you. He doesn't like anyone disagreeing with him. And now he's got someone with the identical mindset to be his partner in crime.

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Environment: Recent Natural Disasters

Myanmar continues to writhe under the heel of an uncaring dictatorship as the populace tries to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone. The creeps-in-charge are busy telling the populace lies about the trustworthiness of U.S. relief instead of giving them help when they need it so desperately. If you would like to send a pair of used underpants to the Burmese government as a hallmark of your respect for their dunderheaded policies, you have our blessing. In case you were living in a mountain cave someplace, Insane McAncient has had to fire two lobbyists from his campaign because they were working for the Burmese junta &mdash you know, the guys who are watching their countrymen starve to death rather than giving them food, aid, and medical assistance.

For what it's worth, at least the ASEAN relief teams have been promised access; and experts are en route to assessing the needs of Cyclone Nargis' victims. Over 133,000 have been reported dead or missing, and 2.4 million are homeless. Please keep them in your thoughts and, if you can spare anything, send it their way. At present, the U.N. says only 40 per cent of promised funding has come through.

In other sad news, Burmese comedian Maung Thura, who works under the stage name of Zarganar, is missing, says U.N. HRC's Myanmar investigator Tomas Ojea Quintana. According to Thura's relatives, police took him from his home in Yangon shortly after he made a trip to the Irrawaddy delta to donate relief items to survivors. The police also seized his computer and cash intended for survivors.

Zarganar's family has not heard from him since the arrest. The ruling military junta had given no reason for the arrest. Zarganar led a team of around 400 people, mainly actors, comedians and writers, in distributing assistance in the form of food, blankets, mosquito nets, and other such items, to those affected by the floods.

The team had made videos of their relief activities, and Zarganar gave interviews critical of the government's relief effort to foreign media, including the British Broadcasting Corp., whose news broadcasts are popular in Myanmar.

To donate to the victims of Cyclone Nargis, you can give directly to organizations like Medicin sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), or go here.

China: Zhang Ziyi, star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and many other top-notch Chinese films, recently lambasted her fellow artistes for their ignorance of the devastating quake in China. Zhang, who has been raising money for quake relief efforts, said:

"I was as angry as a madwoman. I said, 'Are you idiots? You are well-dressed people who look like you identify with society, but you don't know what's going on on planet Earth.' It's incredible!"

La Casa de Los Gatos hereby gives Zhang Ziyi its Media Spokeswoman of Teh Month award for speaking up about the less fortunate.

People like this impress us. They could be going their pretty, wealthy, empty-headed way as most of them do. It's always extremely satisfying when those who have a perch in the upper echelons choose to turn the spotlight on the less fortunate. So many people who strive for fame and fortune achieve it and then forget what life was like before they became rich and famous. There is a saying in Malay, "Kachang lupakan kulit," which translates to "The peanut forgets its shell," that we've always liked.

Zhang Ziyi rocks.

It has been one month since the quake killed approximately 100,000 people in Sichuan province and left a further 5.2 million homeless. The Chinese government's swift response to aid the survivors was astonishing in its scope and dedication. However, now that the initial crisis has been handled, the government is beginning a crackdown on protests planned by grieving parents. Reporters are being actively discouraged from seeking the reason behind the collapse of so many schools. Poor construction and shoddy materials have already been alleged as the root cause.

On the one hand, the Chinese government responded better to the disaster than the U.S. government under Preznitwit Winky McBrillo (thanks, Sharkbabe!) did to Hurricane Katrina. On the other, China is not a democracy, not a free country. On the third hand (as a former believer in a pantheon of deity, we appreciate the multiple hands that are a Side Benefit), China has never been a democracy and we wonder whether it is more important to ensure one billion people the benefit of food, healthcare, education, and a functional society or freedom of speech and the right to sleep under bridges and beg for one's bread.

Yes, we know the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. But didn't Mao Zedong once tell some American politico that dealing with the sewage problems of one billion people was not something that admitted of a democratic solution?

AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

U.S.: In the town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Raw Story reports, some 4,000 homes have been evacuated as flooding from the recent spate of heavy rains left cars and homes inundated with water and destroyed a bridge. Nine rivers in Iowa are seeing historic flood levels. A man has reportedly died in Minnesota as a result of floods.

Flood-related evacuations are also taking place in the towns of Des Moines, Iowa City, and Coralville. Thunderstorms continue to damage parts of southern Wisconsin. There are reports of flash floods in the area. A man was reported killed in Grand Rapids, Michigan, due to flooding. Northern Missouri is preparing for flooding of the Mississippi River. Weather forecasters are warning of tornado risk and thunderstorm warnings have been issued for areas of Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Lake Michigan. Several tributaries of the Mississippi River are overflowing their banks, and record flooding has hit areas across the Mississippi Valley.

To no one's surprise, the Preznitwit has not visited nor made any statements that we can uncover. We believe the National Guard, which would ordinarily be assisting stranded citizens, is off in Iraq being hated by that country's beleaguered citizenry.

The weather is expected to affect corn and soybean crops in the named areas, which will result in higher food prices. If you live anywhere in the threatened areas, please be careful. Drive carefully, make arrangements for your children and elderly and pets, and take good care of yourselves.

La Casa de Los Gatos wishes each and everyone affected by this nasty weather worldwide safety and a peaceful resolution to their woes, great or small.

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Natural Disasters: Midwest Flooding

Steve Apps, Associated

Damn. Sometimes it's just not good to be a prophet.

OK, not a prophet so much as ... a good guesser? Attentive? Something.

Just yesterday, we blogged about the looming infrastructure crisis in this country. Today, Raw Story tells us that homes are washing away in the Midwest, and some ten people have lost their lives due to flooding, driven by stormy weather. Thousands have lost power.

Flood warnings have gone out for Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Iowa. In Minnesota, a state of emergency was declared in Houston County, where floodwaters damaged several roads and caused mudslides. The weather service has posted a tornado warning for south-central Illinois and a severe thunderstorm warning for Indiana. A severe weather warning was also posted for Wisconsin.

Six of the ten dead were in Michigan. The AP has announced that a tornado tore through Nebraska.

At least some of the flooding resulted from a broken dam.

National Guard troops are working in central and western Indiana to help people displaced by flooding.

Meanwhile, the East coast is sweltering under a heat wave. Welcome to global warming, children. It's pretty damn hot here, right now, despite the lateness of the hour.

And, before you ask, just like last time when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf coast, Bush is on holiday. Flying around Europe.

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Politics: Impeach!

Well, folks, the Mighty Munchkin of Justice has just brought 35 (thirty-five) articles of impeachment against Gee Dumbya.

The last president got impeached for having his cock sucked. This one's gonna get impeached for being a cocksucker.

Should we get our hopes up? True, the little weasel is flying around Europe at taxpayers' expense even as we rage and rant and slide into poverty (or, if you're in Iowa, into Hurricane Katrina territory). Reuters is calling it his "farewell Europe" tour. What's he hoping to accomplish? Other than spending our much-needed funds, that is.

Operative snippet:

With less than eight months to go before Bush leaves office, European leaders are expected to offer him little if anything to narrow the gap with Washington on issues like climate change, a resurgent Russia and a defiant Iran.

Mindful that Bush is even more unpopular across much of Europe than he is at home, the White House itself has no lofty hopes for Bush's trip, which is expected to draw large protests in countries where anti-Bush sentiment runs highest.

He has the gall to flap his gums about the need for a "stronger dollar" (pretty cheeky, considering that he practically single-handedly shoved it down the toilet and pulled the flush).

In an article with the Web header of 'Yurp' says Auf Wiedersehen to Dubya, the online edition of German magazine der Spiegel states, in less than adoring terms, what German politicians of every stripe think of the lame fuck, er, duck.

Our northern neighbour, Canada, observes at the CBC site that Europe is awaiting the little creep's final visit with "relative indifference." Pertinent quote:

[...] officials in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana say only a few small protests are expected this time.

Local media reports say this is because Bush is on his way out as U.S. leader and no longer attracts the same sort of attention when he visits.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the Independent is pointing out (no doubt to the collective joy of the 75 per cent of the U.S. that wishes the Chimp-in-Chief would disappear on an extended vacation already and never return) that the Chimp is going to receive a less than warm welcome:

But leading voices in the worlds of the arts and politics, including the novelist Iain Banks, the artist David Gentleman and the human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger, have now joined forces to call for Mr Bush to face a war crimes trial in the Hague.

Labour MPs and the cross-party Coalition Against the War in Iraq are preparing a national demonstration against the visit. They will deliver protest letters to Downing Street and carry handcuffs as a symbol of their claims that the President is a war criminal.

Andrew Murray, the chair of the Stop the War Coalition, said: "George Bush should be in The Hague facing war crimes charges over the hundreds of thousands of civilians killed in Iraq since 2003, not being entertained in Downing Street. Gordon Brown doesn't need a policy brief for this meeting, just a pair of handcuffs."

Perhaps Banksy can show up and graffiti the schmuck. A little red paint, some duct-taped-on photographs of dead Iraqi children with missing limbs and broken bodies. You get our drift.

People with conscience and a soul believe the prick belongs in the dock at The Hague on war crimes charges. The blinding spotlight of U.S. coverage of the issue has been noteworthy for its complete and total absence.

Hey, media schmucks! Get a clue. The guy is almost universally disliked, despised, hated, and deplored. Get with the program and give Kucinich, Conyers, Wexler, and their like coverage for their impeachment calls.

We fervently hope that the brainless, worthless, graceless swine returns to a full impeachment.

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Natural Disasters: China Update

The latest information on the earthquake that devastated Sichuan province in China is available here.

The Chinese government has cut its national budget in several areas to ensure that victims of the earthquake will have the aid they need to reconstruct their homes and lives. Currently, they have set aside $13 billion in funds for that purpose.

They are also appealing to the world for tents and other temporary housing assistance to shelter the 5.2 million survivors of the earthquake.

The housing ministry Thursday ordered the construction of one million small homes by August 10 made of light steel, plywood and other materials that are both safe in earthquakes and "recyclable." The houses are supposed to last up to five years.

Well, mud in your eye, America. We still haven't rehoused those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. NOLA's survivors wander the nation, displaced, three years later, often unable to meet voter ID requirements because their records disappeared in that terrible event.

And "recyclable," too. What has happened to this great nation? How far have we fallen that China, until very recently an extremely poor nation with nowhere near our educational levels, our healthcare, our robust economy, our military might, our first-rate infrastructure, can take care of a whole devastated province better and faster than we can take care of one city?

Heckuva job, Georgie. The Chinese government is also taking steps to assist the displaced and traumatized population in many different ways, at every level:

At a sports stadium in Mianyang where thousands of homeless are living, more than 1,000 children attended classes in hastily erected tents, reflecting government efforts to restore some semblance of normality.

"Many of the children don't know each other but that's OK. Kids of that age make friends really fast," said geography teacher Chen Qian, 27, as the children stood up to sing the national anthem together.

The health ministry said it had started sending thousands of the most seriously injured people by trains and planes to other parts of China from the overwhelmed hospitals in Sichuan.

Authorities also sent out the first team specialised in treating disabilities, which are expected to afflict many of the 288,431 injured people.

In a bid to cheer up survivors, organisers announced that they would bring the Beijing Olympic torch through Sichuan from August 3 to 5, making it the final stop before the Games open on August 8.

Wow. You think maybe the Chinese government cares for its people? You think maybe Kanye West was right, when he said George Bush doesn't give a damn about Black people?

For a list of organizations to which you can donate, click here.

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China Offers Special Postage Stamp

It's not being talked about in U.S. newspapers -- yet -- maybe they'll eventually print it. I heard on the BBC news on the radio last night: The Chinese government is printing a postage stamp commemorating the people who died in the earthquake. It will be offered for sale today. Proceeds will be donated to the people in Sichuan Province.

Why couldn't Bush et al come up with this after Hurricane Katrina? Why? Why? Why? Does a Communist government care more about their people than a democratic one? Oops, forgot the quotes ... I meant "democratic" one. (Remember, I believe they stole the election.)

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World: Natural Disasters Part II

The Xinhua News Agency is reporting that the death toll from the recent earthquake in Sichuan province has now passed 22,000. The Chinese government believes the final death toll could be as high as 50,000. 40,000 people are still buried in the rubble of the quake.

The ever-efficient Chinese government has dispatched 110,000 soldiers to aid in the relief efforts and to plug cracks in the Zipingku dam, north of Sichuan's provincial capital of Chengdu. The Chinese Defense Ministry has dispatched 101 helicopters to assist in rescuing the buried and injured. The helicopters will also airlift residents of the devastated areas to safety, as the roads in and out of much of the province are blocked by landslides.

Chinese authorities believe some 400 dams in Sichuan province have been affected by the earthquake, and some are showing cracks up to four inches across, although, thanks to the swift reaction, currently they are stable. To thwart the vermin who profit from every crisis, the Chinese government has also imposed temporary price caps on supplies in quake areas and is moving quickly to punish those who attempt to fleece the quake victims.

The Chinese Ministry of Finance has earmarked 3.4 billion YuanRMB (~500 million USD) for disaster relief in the stricken areas.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao flew to the scene to direct rescue efforts shortly after the quake struck:

Mr. Wen, who flew in from Beijing soon after the scale of the disaster became apparent, has been photographed and televised repeatedly handing down orders to rescue workers and shouting encouragement to victims. His display of concern, and its swift reporting by the official media, was in marked contrast to the secretive way the Communist Party has handled emergencies in the past.

Would that Preznitwit DisasterMonkey could have been bothered to do anything but fly in for a photo-op when New Orleans drowned!

President Hu Jintao has also personally flown to the area to assure victims of the quake that their Government will take care of them. China has also permitted foreign aid agencies and rescuers entry to assist in the rescue mission. Aunty Beeb informs us:

Thirty-one Japanese experts arrived on Friday morning, state media said, and a second team with sniffer dogs was due there later in the day.

Taiwan, Russia, South Korea and Singapore are also sending teams to help in the rescue effort.

Some five million people have been left homeless by the quake.

Ms. Manitoba requests that we include the information that follows:

China: Premier Wen Jiabao flew there the same day!!! He was actually on the ground right where people are &mdash buried under rubble &mdash not flying over in his pristine jet. Remember Dubya and New Orleans? Oh, it makes me spit I'm so mad. If I outlive Dubya, I would spend money to travel and dance on his grave.

I want to help the folks in Myanmar ... but I don't trust the military there to actually get food, cooking utensils, etc. to the folks that really need it. What do you think? I feel so badly for the people there. I heard on the radio that they are approximating now: 125,000 casulties in Myanmar. Shocking!

However, I feel differently about China. Yes, yes ... communists and all that. I've know communists in my day ... yes, they can be obnoxious (and heaven knows, I have quite a talent in that area meself) ... but I would have helped them out in a pinch. What the people in China's Sichuan province are feeling is a huge crush and crash. I feel that if I donate $$, they will get it. But I do know you have to be careful where you donate. I don't really trust the Red Cross ... too much administrative overhead. Has that changed? Does anyone know?

"I don't want to help a communist country." Gee, I really hope other people in the world don't feel that way about us: "Hey, the U.S. is a big cruel bully why should we help them?" Separation of government from the people ... let's try it.

This website has good info about what's going on in Sichuan province:

The photo gallery is very worthwhile ... but very upsetting. Many schools are completely destroyed ... children are buried under the rubble.

Okay ... this has been plaguing me ... what's a good place to donate? The local paper had an article about local folks who have family in Sichuan province and how they are organizing so that they can send money directly there.

From today's paper, a list of organizations you can contact to make donations to help the earthquake victims:

• Northern Californian Sichuan Folks Association: (408) 238-3614
  
  
• Sing Tao News, 625 Kearny St., San Francisco, 94108; (415) 989-7111
  
  
• Shin Shin Educational Foundation
  
  
• MercyCorps
  
  
• CARE
  
  
• Save the Children

You can also send donations to

The Sichuan Earthquake Relief Fund
c/o Conestoga Bank
1032 Arch Street
Phila, PA 19107

www.conestogabank.com

or send a check to

American Red Cross International Response Fund
PO Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
(specify donation is for the China Earthquake)
or contact the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS
or visit www.redcross.org

For those who may have relatives in the area, this site run by Watson Meng, provides up-to-the-minute information. Click English if your Chinese is bu tai hao.

TPC sez: Contrast the swift action of the Chinese government to the actions of the Burmese government. The military junta with its boot on the neck of the Burmese people is now rounding up homeless survivors of Cyclone Nargis for use as forced labour, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The junta also refuses to allow foreign NGOs or rescue workers into the country to assist the suffering people.

CBC reports that 78,000 people have died and 56,000 are missing, although the Red Cross estimates that over 100,000 have died. There are reports that the Burmese military is diverting food and supplies meant for the stricken dwellers in the Irawaddy delta for its own use. This would not surprise us, as the people who have suffered most from the cyclone belong to the poor, rural peasant class and the ethnic Shan minority.

The U.S. Campaign for Burma is encouraging those who want to help to donate here. But if the military can so easily divert food, why should they have difficulty diverting funds?

Do you think a military intervention is called for?

Stumble It!

World: Natural Disasters

No, we're not referring to the Bush-Cheney Misadministration, for once.

An earthquake measuring 7.9 has killed some 9,000 or more in China and injured thousands of others. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Wenchuan county of Sichuan province. The total number of casualties will undoubtedly increase as relief workers gain access to the stricken areas, a task currently made difficult by damage to roads linking outlying areas to the provincial capital in Chengdu.

The Chinese government has released millions in emergency aid and is rushing food, emergency shelter, and supplies to the affected areas. The earthquake was also felt in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, and as far away as Hanoi, Vietnam, and Bangkok, Thailand, according to the Hong Kong-based Mandarin-language channel Phoenix TV.

Will Mother Gaia succeed in shaking off this irritating plague of humans that is drowning her lands, blackening her skies, and destroying the sweet green peace of her light and comely garment of life?

The last serious earthquake in China occurred in the 1970s and the death toll was 255,000. Our sympathies to the Chinese people in their hour of grief.


Meanwhile, in Burma, the death toll from from Cyclone Nargis is expected to rise to 1.5 million. The Guardian has some excellent coverage available here, some of it &mdash be warned &mdash quite upsetting.

The Burmese government has decided to respond to the cyclone by refusing to permit international disaster agencies and workers access to stricken areas; insisting to the rest of the world that timely warning was provided to the people regarding the cyclone (those of us who saw what happened to the city of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina know quite well that warnings are worth shit when the people have no way of implementing an escape. Heckuva job, Georgie!); and asking its citizens to report any person who complains or "spreads rumours" about the slowness of rescue operations to the proper authorities. No doubt they're planning to cosh such unfortunates, or, as we have it in the common parlance, whup them upside the head and toss the bodies in the already corpse-burdened waters now covering much of the country. Heckuva job, Generals.

If our armed forces were not already bogged down in the twin quagmires of Iraq and Afghanistan inflicting unwonted (and unwanted) distress upon millions, we could be using them to implement the functions required by peace and humanity: bringing aid to the suffering. But we're too busy bombing and murdering women, children, the elderly and the disabled.

In other news, tornadoes have killed 23 people in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Georgia. While that may seem like small potatoes to some, and we are not of the school of belief in the sanctity of human life, still, every person who dies so is somebody's son or daughter, or sister or brother, mother, father, husband or wife, and there is no comparing pain. Is it worse to lose your entire family, or one member thereof? It's all bad. Our sympathies to all the suffering people and beasts, to the whole suffering planet.

Now do you see why we swear and curse and rant and rave? It's all bad, there is so little we can do to help and comfort the living, and the suffering of every creature merits our compassion.


Today we reflect on the Avalokitesvara Boddhisatva, that divine being who gazes down on the world with compassion; who is known to the Chinese as Guan Yin, to the Tibetans as Chenrezig; whose Sanskrit name is Padmapani, holder of the lotus. One of the legends of Guan Yin/Avalokitesvara is that she, through her countless merits, attained enlightenment, but as she reached the threshold of the Realm of the Pure, she heard the cry of the suffering masses and turned back, vowing not to enjoy the fruits of her merit till she had saved the peoples of the world.

No, we're still not a theist or deist or any kind of godbag. As we remarked over lunch today, if there is a god, it is a very stupid one indeed, and guilty of bad aim. It could have taken out the entire military junta of Burma in one fell swoop. Instead, it landed a cyclone on the heads of the weak, the bereft, the poor, the already suffering. The junta is well-ensconced in power, and appears to fear no threat other than the depradations of the high life and old age. A thousand curses on their bones and may their families wither and die as the families of the poor wither and die and may their names be utterly erased from history.

Yes, we're well aware of the irony of sympathizing with the suffering of the poor while simultaneously calling down curses upon the heads of their exploiters. However, irony adds a delicious flavour to life, and since superstition is not our bag any more than god is, we venture to opine that our curses are merely a safety valve to relieve our rage rather than any viable threat to the many worthless scumbags who prey on the weak and the meek. Otherwise those types would already be extinct, given how many curses we have rained upon their heads lo, these many years.

Our meditation upon Guan Yin is simply a hope that the world will respond with compassion to the suffering. And a search for some way of looking at these horrors that inspires internal peace instead of furious rants. It's hard being a cynical yet compassionate curmudgeon.

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World: Quake Hits Turki

An earthquake measuring 5.7 rocked Turki's capital city, Ankara, on the first day of the Eid festival. CNN has the details.

Unsurprisingly, the USGS rates it at 5.3. I sense a trend here (see previous post on New Zealand's earthquake).

The quake was the third of the day, the other two measuring 3.9 and 4.0 respectively, and was centered in the town of Bala, approximately 50 miles south of Ankara. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported.

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World: Big Earthquake Hits New Zealand

Beautiful New Zealand, scenic site of the shooting of fave movie(s) Lord of the Rings, experienced a 6.8 earthquake today, according to its government. The USGS rates the earthquake at 6.6. Although we'd like to take this opportunity to say, based on our experience, that it really don't make much difference what they rate it at, once you hit 6 on the seismometer. It's just a question of whether you can get your stomach out of your teeth and your eyeballs out of the ceiling, at that point.

CNN has the details. The quake apparently originated in the coastal city of Gisborne, which reports some structural damage to buildings, but no apparent deaths or serious injuries. Communications are currently described as "patchy," so if you know someone in or around that area, you might want to wait a day before calling and overloading the phone lines.

No danger of a tsunami, thank Poseidon.

Aside: Those who know us know that we live in a disaster-prone area, and each time one hits, the phone lines are affected. Naturally, everybody inside and outside the disaster zone wants to reassure/contact friends on the other side. Unfortunately, this causes problems. Suffice it to say that when the last major disaster hit (thanks, CNN, for the coverage!), the Authorities (cops, FD, whoever-all wears dem big hats) unanimously requested that frantic callers limit their efforts so that disaster response could take place. While our friends were looking at round-the-clock TV coverage of our stricken homebase, we were not able to get an outside connection to reach them, nor were they able to call in and find out whether we survived.

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Don't have enough money to hire your own firefighters? Too bad!

There is a great article by Naomi Klein on The Nation's web site. Important reading ... all about how disaster services are being privatized.

I used to worry that the United States was in the grip of extremists who sincerely believed that the Apocalypse was coming and that they and their friends would be airlifted to heavenly safety. I have since reconsidered. The country is indeed in the grip of extremists who are determined to act out the biblical climax--the saving of the chosen and the burning of the masses--but without any divine intervention. Heaven can wait. Thanks to the booming business of privatized disaster services, we're getting the Rapture right here on earth.

Just look at what is happening in Southern California. Even as wildfires devoured whole swaths of the region, some homes in the heart of the inferno were left intact, as if saved by a higher power. But it wasn't the hand of God; in several cases it was the handiwork of Firebreak Spray Systems. Firebreak is a special service offered to customers of insurance giant American International Group (AIG)--but only if they happen to live in the wealthiest ZIP codes in the country. Members of the company's Private Client Group pay an average of $19,000 to have their homes sprayed with fire retardant. During the wildfires, the "mobile units"--racing around in red firetrucks--even extinguished fires for their clients.

One customer described a scene of modern-day Revelation. "Just picture it. Here you are in that raging wildfire. Smoke everywhere. Flames everywhere. Plumes of smoke coming up over the hills," he told the Los Angeles Times. "Here's a couple guys showing up in what looks like a firetruck who are experts trained in fighting wildfire and they're there specifically to protect your home."

And your home alone. "There were a few instances," one of the private firefighters told Bloomberg News, "where we were spraying and the neighbor's house went up like a candle." With public fire departments cut to the bone, gone are the days of Rapid Response, when everyone was entitled to equal protection. Now, increasingly intense natural disasters will be met with the new model: Rapture Response.

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Environment: Snippets

Environmental news over the past half year has been uniformly depressing, I'm afraid. Okay, there are little pockets of WTF? in a pleasant way, occasionally - the goddamned daffodils are finally blooming in the garden at Casa de Los Gatos, after who knows how many years - even the bougainvillea is blooming, it's like fall never happened, just an endless summer. But that's not good news, really. It's supposed to be cool and rainy, right now, not warm and sunny. Today the inhabitants of La Casa were sweating like pigs while fixing dinner.

In the meantime, over in Sulawesi, Indonesia, July brought rains with attendant mudslides, although a lot of that is due to the slash-and-burn farming practised there, and the absolute greed of loggers. Death toll so far, 66, and another 23 are missing. Aid helicopters are stuck on Borneo, unable to fly supplies to people desperately needing them.

A series of major earthquakes struck Sumatra island in Indonesia, killing 23 people, wounding 88, and damaging over 15,000 buildings. A small tsunami also hit the islands of Mentawai group, off Sumatra.

High winds destroyed 200 homes in the historic Kampung Ayer (Water Village) of Brunei, inhabited by some 30,000 people. The houses are built on stilts over the water, much like the kelongs of Southeast Asia, and are an important tourist attraction. Kampung Ayer pic from this Brunei site

At least China has begun acknowledging the serious impact of pollution, and is taking steps to reduce it, although with a population of 1.5 billion, the sheer magnitude of the problem must be overwhelming. China's Vice-Minister of State Environmental Protection recently authored a column acknowledging the existence of a Five-Year Plan and insisting that environmental protection is a priority. The Plan suggests that development should, in future, be measured in terms of "Green GDP." Let's see how it works.

Liu Jian qiang, a visiting scholar at Beijing University, believes that the growing environmental crisis is fostering greater openness and the growth of democracy, as China's population begins to fight the environmentally unsafe practices of its government.

The urbanisation of Asia is being blamed for an epidemic rise in cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever, a more serious variant of dengue fever which is caused by the Aedes mosquito. Kampuchea suffered 25,000 cases this year, resulting in the deaths of 300 children under the age of 15 years. Indonesia suffered 100,000 cases. Malaysia's infection toll rose by 50 per cent over the previous year, with 1,000 people being admitted to hospital each week in July, and 56 deaths recorded in June. Vietnam's toll rose by 40 per cent over the previous year, with 33,000 people infected and 32 deaths. There is no vaccine for any of the four known strains of the virus and no one strain confers immunity from any other strain.

Dr Axel Kroeger, a WHO dengue research coordinator in Geneva, said: "We always think next year it will get better but we always find next year it gets worse. There's a very clear upward trend."

An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale hit the Pacific island of Vanuatu in August. No tsunami warning was issued, nor were there any reports of death or serious injury.
August in Japan brought some of the hottest temperatures the island nation has seen since 1933, resulting in the deaths of 13 people as temperatures soared to 40.9C (106F). Hundreds of people were hospitalized due to heat-related illnesses and injuries.

Typhoon Nari, with winds of 155 mph, is churning across the East China Sea, heading towards Japan at 20 kph. It is expected to bring heavy rain to southern Japan and Korea. Earlier, typhoon Fitow hit eastern and northern Japan, killing 2 people and injuring 82 others.

An earthquake of 6.7 magnitude hit the Solomon Islands in mid-August, striking 1.1 miles below the sea. Previously, the islands had been hit by an 8.0 earthquake and tsunami in April which killed 50 and displaced thousands. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no real risk of a tsunami but warned of possible local tidal waves.

Between June and September, the annual monsoons left 13.5 million stranded or displaced in India and Bangladesh. Over 2,200 people died in India, and over 1,000 more died in Bangladesh. The storms and flooding were reported to be the worst in decades. Additionally, landslides and floods have killed at least 185 people in neighbouring Nepal. The rains have also destroyed millions of acres of food crops, threatening food shortages. Victims of the flood are now trying to cope with water-borne illnesses.

Forest fires in Spain have forced 10,000 from their homes and destroyed 60,000 acres of land in the Canary islands in August. Special prosecutor for environmental crimes Guillermo Garcia Panasco described the fire as one of the worst ever suffered by the islands. High winds contributed to the conflagration while impeding firefighting helicopters. Low humidity and temperatures above 104F kept the fires going as well.

Meanwhile, voles have infested nearly a million acres of land in the Castilla-Leon region of Spain, leading farmers to use controlled burning as a means of coping with the rodents. Castilla-Leon's Agriculture Minister, Silvia Clemente, said

"There has never been a plague like the one we have now."

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Science - The Environment And The Coming Drought

Those of us who have been paying attention over the past decades always knew the day would come - most likely in our lifetimes - when the human population of the planet would outstrip the natural resources we require to support our lives. I was hoping I'd kack first, but alas, it is not to be. Within my lifetime, I see that we have reached peak oil. The Guardian published a piece today about global oil supplies expected to halve by 2030. The article also predicts declines in coal, gas, and uranium. So much for nuclear power plants, natural gas, and coal replacing oil as a source of power, I guess.

But that's still 23 years off. In the meantime, my main question is, will we make it till global oil supplies are reduced by half? You see, thanks to global warming (which does NOT NOT NOT exist), we're now in the midst of a prolonged drought. In some countries. Others are dying from floods. Hurricanes, typhoons, and other such weather events are getting stronger, and our carbon dioxide sinks - the oceans and the forests - are absorbing less carbon dioxide, leading to greater quantities of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

While parts of Africa drown, Southern California is burning up, and the East Coast is drying up. (Click to view a handy-dandy drought map over at Accuweather.com)

Atlanta (Georgia) is set to run out of water in 90 days and North Carolina expects to run out in 60 days, if it does not rain before then. Meanwhile, Duke University and UNC are watering their - astroturf. Yup. You heard right.

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The Shock Doctrine

A new book by Naomi Klein called The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism sounds like a must read.

To see a short video that demonstrates what The Shock Doctrine is about, go here. The video links in with a discussion that PolCat and I had on yesterday's entry:
More War
and then
my response.

One of Klein's arguments is that a government can make use of natural disasters while the populace is in shock due to the natural disaster. The government can use this period of passivity and shock to put forth laws and policies that further the interests of the ruling classes and whatever administration is in power. Plus, we have a tendency during those periods right after a disaster to follow a leader that promises to protect us. The economist, Milton Friedman, and his followers were drawn to the power of shock. I'd really like to read more about this.

If you'd like to hear Naomi Klein talk in person about her book, click here for a list of tour dates.

So, is a disaster coming our way ... let's say sometime before the elections of 2008? Take a deep breath and think on it. Tell us what you think.

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Louisiana Purchase: Trump Builds in New Orleans

No doubt many people are very happy that Trump has bought prime property in New Orleans and is planning to build the tallest building in New Orleans filled with luxury condo units for hotel guests and more luxury condo units for folks to buy.
Here’s a quote from a real estate firm representing Trump:

“Trump International Hotel & Tower New Orleans will reflect the ultimate in luxury living and provide views never before available in the Crescent City. This residential tower will be in a class of its own, with no close second,” said Cliff Mowe, Trump’s development partner.

Plans call for 1.6 million square feet, rising 716 feet high topped with an additional 126 foot spire. The seventy story tower will contain 435 luxury condominium hotel units, beginning on the 18th floor, and 299 luxury condominium units starting on the 33rd floor. The condo-hotel unit owners will have the opportunity to place their units in a rental program. The first two floors will be reserved for retail space and floors 3-15 will provide parking for over 700 vehicles.

Trump International Hotel & Tower is the first major downtown development in 25 years and the tower, when complete, will be the tallest residential structure along the entire Gulf Coast.

I think it’s obscene when poor people are still struggling to return and, those who have returned are struggling to survive in New Orleans. The All Headlines web site (http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008497105) has this report:

New U.S. Census Shows New Orleans' Black Population Smaller, But Still In The Majority

September 12, 2007 4:33 p.m. EST

Jessica Pupovac - AHN Writer

New Orleans, LA (AHN) - Fewer black people displaced from their homes in New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina have been able, or willing, to return to their homes than their white counterparts, according to a report released Wednesday, just ahead of the 2006 U.S. Census.

While much has been said by community leaders and politicians about the disproportionate toll the disaster took on the black community, the new analysis bills itself as the "first full picture" to give hard data on the subject.

The figures were compiled by sorting through information collected in the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 and 2006 American Community Surveys, as well as tax filings and other federal documents.

The report, compiled by demographers at the Brookings Institution, found that one year after the hurricane, the black population had declined 57%, from 302,580 people to 129,192, compared to a 36% drop for whites, from 119,620 to 76,422. "Compared with 'stayers' in the city of New Orleans," the study says, "out-migrants were younger, poorer, more likely to be black, and more likely to have children."

The analysis also found that most blacks moved to Houston and other cities, while the whites tended to relocate to the city's suburbs.

The analysis showed post-Katrina New Orleans to be notably whiter, older and less populous than it had been during the 2000 census, with fewer children, fewer renters and a more educated citizenry.

One surprising finding was that the Latino population actually declined by 37 percent during the year following Katrina, despite the influx of Hispanic laborers working on reconstruction efforts. To account for this, the study's authors say it is highly possible that "the transitory nature of temporary working conditions of primarily Hispanic construction and service workers has eluded traditional estimation and survey techniques."

New Orleans continues to be a "majority minority" city, however, with African Americans still making up roughly 58% of the population. "The black loss," they conclude, "was not sufficient to shift the racial composition of the city."

If you’d like to hear a very interesting interview conducted by host, Davey D, with New Orleans Hip-Hop artist, activist, organizer and entrepreneur Sess 4-5 that was broadcast today on KPFA’s Hard Knock Radio program, go here.

One of the things they discuss is that there has been very little charitable response to survivors of Katrina ... in comparison to the tsunami survivors (December 2005). Why is that? Very specific racism towards poor African Americans? Or ... anybody have an explanation?

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Social Justice - Happy Anniversary, NOLA!

Here's what Chimperor Awol was doing when Katrina hit New Orleans:

He went from the birthday party to another bash, I believe, where he clowned around pretending to have the first fucking clue about playing a guitar:

Meanwhile, in New Orleans:


1,500 people were dying, from various causes, including, in the case of disabled and bedridden elderly nursing-home patients, euthanasia. People were watching their spouses and partners and relatives and pets drown before their very eyes, as they screamed and wept and prayed and begged for help, for anyone to hear them and get them the fuck out of the hellhole that Katrina made of New Orleans.

That gracious and beautiful city, gone forever, swept away in minutes, drowned like Grover Norquist's proverbial baby in the bathtub of its low-lying land as the levees breached and the water came boiling in.

Mister MushMouth said, two years ago:

Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes … we will stay as long as it takes … to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives. And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know: There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.

Today marks the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Much of the city's poor, especially minority, population continues to suffer in trailer parks, because affordable housing has not been constructed for residents who lost their homes. And Bush flew back there today to commemorate the drowning of NOLA. He should have waited another 2.5 weeks to show up, just like he did when the hurricane hit.

Other voices here, here, here, here, and here.

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Environment - Peru Earthquake Update

Raw story reports that the death toll is rising as more bodies are discovered:

"The toll has jumped to between 500 and 510 dead and 1,600 injured," the head of the country's firefighter service, Roberto Ocno, told AFP from Peru's southern coastal area, struck late Wednesday by a massive tremor.

"There are dead trapped under houses," he said. "There are several bodies in the streets, people who may have died from heart attacks."

And, despite the assurance that there would be no tsunamis, tsunamis have struck coastal villages after all:

Tsunamis flooded fishing villages on the Paracas bay, causing some damage, according to the locals.

The Red Cross has sent two planes loaded with supplies. The UN is mobilizing assistance. Peru's regional neighbours are sending aid, as are other nations around the world, including Italy and France. Firefighters Without Borders and Oxfam are among the groups sending aid.

George W. Bush is sending $100,000. I guess he's cutting the twins' allowance.

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