Above: From Chevron's web site. I wonder if their web designer shot himself in the head before he cashed his check.
Chevron Lobbies to Fight Amazon Pollution Lawsuit
Newsweek reports Chevron is urging the Bush administration to yank special trade preferences for Ecuador if the country’s government doesn’t quash a lawsuit against the oil company.
Chevron has been sued for dumping billions of gallons of toxic oil waste into Ecuador’s rain forest. Activists have described the disaster as an Amazon Chernobyl. Earlier this year, a court-appointed expert recommended Chevron be required to pay up to $16 billion to clean up the rain forest. Now, Chevron is lobbying the Bush administration to pressure Ecuador to quash the case. Chevron’s lobbying team includes former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, former Democratic Senator John Breaux and Wayne Berman, a top fundraiser for John McCain.
One lobbyist told Newsweek, “We can’t let little countries screw around with big companies like this—companies that have made big investments around the world.”
Feel helpless against the awesome weight of corporate rape? You're not. Vote with your wallet. If you don't like what Chevron does, don't go there. Money talks.
Gore has really come into his own since he left political crap slinging. It's a shame that you need to give up common sense and integrity to become suitable for President. In absence of true global leadership, I'll follow this guy.
This one is right up my alley. Doing web design for a living, I have spent nearly every day of the past 15 years pushing pixels around in Photoshop. So when a bad Photoshop job crosses my eyeballs I have to post. I guess Iran's missile tests last week had a dud, which they decided to cover up using a little rubber stamp tool.
Here is the picture used in many newspapers. Note the areas of exact duplication in the smoke at the bases of the two right-hand missiles. This is classic copy/paste.
And here is the original:
And since most newspapers laid off their fact-checking staff to save money, the Photoshopped copy gets run.
Anyone remember "Hymietown"? That was the anti-semitic slur spoken to a reporter during Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign. Oops, he did it again. During an interview on FOX NEWS, of all places, he was caught saying "See, Barack been um, talking down to black people... I wanna cut his nuts off."
Wowza baby! Poor Jessie. Never seems to keep his mouth shut. When you get another white man elected President, I'm sure you'll feel good about moving the African-American agenda forward. Well done.
Here it is... you can almost SEE the glee in Bill's eyes as he introduces the tape. It's like he just won $500 bucks on a scratch ticket.
And here is the backpedal...
He said he didn't know the microphone was on, and it was a private conversation. Apparently he was upset that in a recent speech, Obama was telling a black audience they needed to take some responsibility to improve their conditions. Or something like that. I didn't care enough to Google it.
Anyway, nice one, bud! At least you are getting more creative in your senility. For a final thought, here is some random dude summing it all up nicely. Make sure you at least go to 4:45 where he drops the thoughtful discourse and launches a barrage of insults on the guy. Too funny.
It was. Held in PA, it not only featured expected guest Hilary Clinton (slipped earlier in the week), but Obama and in a hilarious segment, John Edwards. Nice work. The perfect chaser for the stiff drink of ABC's stale debate.
"By so badly botching arguably the most critical debate of such an important election, in a time of both war and economic misery, you disgraced the American voters, and in fact even disgraced democracy itself."
- Will Bunch, Philadelphia Daily News
Yeah, it kinda sucked. I think the questions about why Obama doesn't wear a flag pin is best. Like he hasn't answered that a million times. After 45 minutes, they finally started talking about real issues. The two hosts, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos (formerly in the Clinton Administration... can't we call foul on that?) seemed to take special glee in trying to trip up Obama and Clinton. They may chalk it up to good journalism, but it came off more like them grandstanding.
It's crap like this makes most sane people never think of running for public office.
That said, Clinton seemed more in control. Obama seemed tired. A
On the bright side, this was watched by an unprecedented 10.7 million people. Not too shabby.
Inspired by a 60-something guy in a beat up Mercedes who let his dog shit on someone's grass without cleaning it up, Glastonbury, CT...
The progeny of "The Greatest Generation" are remarkable for many reasons.
They started off being raised in a Leave It to Beaver inspired society which slowly drove their parents insane. Suburban perfection. Lobotomy via ranch house.
Then, realizing their parents were hopeless tools of the Establishment, they stopped shaving their armpits and faces, diving into as much counterculture as they dared, though most just sat it out and watched TV. Some decided to spend their time bitching about VietNam from cozy dorms in sunny California.
As time wore on they dropped the love beads, picked up a grey suit and loafers and grabbed for the golden ring, amassing an alarming amount of wealth that was then quickly spent on gas swilling cars and power sucking 5 bedroom homes. They began to breed like rabbits with little concern for the landfills filling up around them with the piles of shit they created.
Promptly ignoring those children, they delved into more self-absorbed behavior in the name of "mid-life crisis," oblivious to the fact that their own vapid lifestyle created their misery. The cushioned the blow of middle age with nicer cars (convertibles seemed to ease the pain), hair plugs, therapy, and massive amounts of alcohol.
Later in life they stared blankly into an absurd world filled with pollution, climate change, a bipolar economy and wars for natural resources. Where did all the idealism go? They were led for 16 years by two baby boomer presidents, one setting the bar so fucking low that it was easy for the second to slither under with his cold war cronies. The most clueless of the boomers seemed to like the second guy most of all, maybe cause he made them feel less stupid.
Now, as they slowly retire, they still watch TV, and in between they see a commercial with a newly face-lifted Dennis Hopper telling them they need a corporate retirement plan with the intro to "Gimmie Some Lovin'" playing away in the background. Then a hair color commercial dedicated to "the generation that swore it would never get old. And didn't."
65 years young and still getting smoke blown up their wrinkled over-privilaged arses.
They are told how young they are, the best years are ahead, and hey, there are still a few drops of The Good Life left to pick up. A boat, an RV... maybe a nice condo in Florida. Sprinkle on top some Viagra and shake well.
Of course, I'm speaking in gross generalizations here. I know many "boomers" who are wonderful people and far from this norm. That said, you are for the most part, pretty gross. We'll see if my generation can do any better.
I have no idea if this is factual, but I love the idea of Bush sitting there enraptured during "story time." The below clip asserts that a Bush aide read a part of "Brave New World" to W, freaking him out and this informed his decisions on stem cells.
"What was it in the novel that made Bush change the course of the nation's scientific research, putting the U.S. several years behind Europe and Asia? Apparently Bush adviser Jay Lefkowitz read the President a passage from the novel about genetically-engineered babies being grown in womb factories and Bush got really quiet and upset. He seemed to think there was a direct connection between stem cell research and wholesale government control of future generations' genetic code. What he didn't realize was that the genome hacking in Brave New World is actually done to prevent the need for welfare and other pesky social programs that Bush hates -- all the working class people are designed to be strong, stupid, and enjoy manual labor so they never get annoyed by working at McDonalds. And they never demand libraries or healthcare."
Hey, George, they have Cliff Notes for it! It got you through Yale, it can get you through policy decisions!
A highly trumpeted part of the "success" of the recent surge in Iraq has been the Iraqis who are now working with the Army and driving back the insurgents. These include groups under the banner "Awakening."
BY THE WAY... WE ARE PAYING THEM. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE STOP PAYING THEM?
Glad they are shooting at something other than Americans, but most of these people we shooting at us last year.
Reporter to Cheney: "Two thirds of Americans say [the war] is not worth fighting."
Cheney (smirking): "So?"
Reporter: "So? You don't care what the American people think?"
Cheney: "No."
Don't believe me? Here it is:
NOTE: A CNN recent poll states 2/3 of Americans oppose the war and 7 out of 10 think it's hurt the economy.
I will personally through a party when that diseased rotten heart of his finally craps out and he's sent to hell where he belongs. Fuck off Cheney, and fuck off everyone that was stupid enough to re-elect you.
Above: David Petraeus tries to approximate how high the political bullshit is piled up around his desk.
With all the comparisons between VietNam and Iraq, one thing seems to be blissfully different... no one is giving the soldiers a hard time when they return. Just about everyone is in agreement that the majority of our soldiers are trying to do what the President wants them to do, even if the whole thing was planned by "Fortunate Son" military side-steppers in that former war.
One very high profile example is David H. Petraeus, the current commander of Iraq Forces, the so called "Architect" of "The Surge." According to Boston Globe reporter Charles Sennott he has brought an imaginative and intelligent plan to help solve the snafu the small-minded cluster fuckers created.
According to Sennott, one of the Generals skills is to take the best of his soldiers and encourage them to be inventive in problem solving, which can go into such minutia as helping groups solve small issues within Iraqi neighborhoods. They help pose questions to these groups and step back and let the people solve their issues.
He also appears to be a student of history's successes and failures... is that even allowed? He even wrote at length on the failures in VietNam. What the hell is he even doing taking orders from W?
Anyway, good luck General. You have a crappy gig, and seems like a smart fellow and an exceptional soldier. It sounds like you are on your way to NATO after Iraq. With a little luck the gains you made will be meaningful.
"If you look back on those five years it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavor ... and it has been well worth the effort," Cheney told a news conference in Baghdad after meeting Iraqi leaders.
Here's one of the few times he's received any feedback... who could forget this classic moment.
The Washington Post has revealed the Environmental Protection Agency weakened a key section of its new smog rules after a last minute intervention by President Bush. The rules deal with the level of protection given to wildlife, parks and other open areas from smog. The EPA’s initially proposed limits were already less restrictive than government scientists had recommended. But according to newly disclosed documents, President Bush ordered the EPA to increase its allowed smog limits even further. The intervention was so last-minute that it forced the EPA to delay its announcement of the new rules by five hours. To accommodate the weakened regulations, government lawyers rushed to change public welfare guidelines set by previous submissions to the Supreme Court. The National Resources Defense Council calls the White House intervention “unprecedented and unlawful.”
The Basics: American land owners are being forced to give up land for the US/Mexican wall... unless you are a friend of George W or give him 35 million for his Presidential library.
"With the Texas Democratic primary and caucus less than a week away, the Bush administration’s plan to build a wall along part of the southern border has suddenly become a campaign issue. After many landowners refused to give over their land for the eighteen-foot-high wall, the Department of Homeland Security began filing lawsuits against some homeowners. At the same time, the government is leaving large gaps to avoid building the wall on the property of wealthy residents, including those with ties to President Bush."
I tend to disagree with this woman's viewpoint on plastic surgery — I actually even dipped into it myself for some love handle lipo last year, and was very pleased — but her points are valid. She considers the trend to more and more cosmetic procedures to be creating "Cosmetic Darwinism."
I think people (and many animals) have always wanted to look like whatever ideal their biology implies. Look better, more sex. More sex, more chances to reproduce. The downside when the look is artificial, of course, is that even though you had the doctor give you Angelina Jolie's lips, your kid will still have your genetically defined lips. At least until cosmetic surgery goes genetic.
People, life is short. If you look like DeVito and want to look like DiCaprio, go for it. Just don't cry if you end up like some kind of Star Trek transporter accident.
It's definitely going to be a happy Valentine's Day for the good horny people of Texas: the Lone Star State's infamous sex toy ban has finally been overturned. After years of needless meddling in people's sex lives, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ban -- which made it a crime to sell sex toys shaped like human genitalia -- was in violation of the 14th Amendment, also known as the right to privacy.
"If this were only about me, I'd go on. But it's never been only about me. I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, in this time of war I feel I have to now stand aside for our party and for our country."
"In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."
So all left-leaning people are helping the terrorists? What a shame you are leaving. You are truly the uniter the country needs. We really would have come together under your leadership.
Pandering until the very end... what a good soldier you are.
Fuck off Romney. Go home all ready... which ever political resume building place you call home.
I've been a web designer since the mid 1990s. Back then you had very limited choices for browsing the web. No firefox, safari, or mozilla. In one corner, you had a horrible IE browser that is almost as bad as it is now (and was pushed upon the world via Microsoft's horrid monopoly). It sucked.
In the other corner, was the wonder and reliable Netscape. This was a great browser. I seem to remember version 3.04 being it's best version on the Mac.
This week, life support was pulled on the 17 year old browser. We'll remember you and your crummy lighthouse graphic.
Stump speech on the radio. This kind of marketing can't be defeated. Well done.
I voted for Mike Gravel today. I like Obama all well and good, but was put off by the media turning the volume down on otherwise good candidates with options to add to the conversation. I though Gravel, Kucinich and Ron Paul were all screwed. This was my symbolic protest again big politics before I do everything I can to get anything that remotely smells like George Bush out of the White House and Congress.
This is Kucinich's side of the story. I think we should be aware of this. Get past the dumb image of Willie Nelson and click on it.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health experts denounced President George W. Bush's 2009 federal budget request on Monday, calling it a disaster for the health of Americans and saying they would look to Congress to change it.
Bush's $3.1 trillion spending plan proposes a 7 percent cut in funds for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as less money for Medicare and Medicaid -- the joint federal-state health insurance programs for the poor and elderly.
The budget for the fiscal year starting October 1, 2009 would reduce spending on Medicare by $12.8 billion and lower federal funds for Medicaid by $18.2 billion over five years.
From last June... I still feel as strongly about this now as I did then.
Citizens of Iraq: I'm an American, and I have something to tell you that is long overdue. It does not come easily. Many people in my country would berate me for saying it, call me a coward, think me morally weak, or even worse – betraying the soldiers who fight on behalf of my freedom. But I do not believe any of that. I believe the those who fear saying what they believe are the true cowards, and are not free at all.
People of Iraq, I would like to tell you I am sorry.
I am sorry for the unjust suffering that my government has inflicted upon you in my name.
I am sorry that at the conclusion of our first war with Iraq when Saddam invaded Kuwait, our former President encouraged you to rise up, promising you our support, and when you did, we let you be killed by the thousands while we did nothing but watch.
I am sorry for a new war that was sold to America with outright lies, half-truths, and omissions of fact. I am sorry that most of us believed them, allowing ourselves to be frightened beyond reason by tales of secret Iraqi weapons, though many truly knowledgeable people knew better. The "yellow-cake" uranium from Africa. The aluminum centrifuges. The mobile poison gas facilities. The "smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud."
I am sorry we allowed those who questioned our government's assertions to be bullied into silence, sidelined, punished, or black-listed as un-American, including those of reason within our Congress, our military, and the news media we trusted to objectively inform us and protect our best interests.
I regret a fabricated coalition that was formed to invade your country. Fourty-nine countries, many of whom were present in name only to satisfy American demands. This so-called "coalition" cheapened the true coalitions of history that were created to fight for just and noble causes.
I regret that our soldiers were ordered to leave a worthy cause in Afghanistan to turn it's attentions upon your country, though I trust few of you were sorry to see Saddam ousted. Our soldiers are by-and-large good people with spirit and character. They sacrifice everything to protect their country. The deserve better than they have received, yet they still try to do what is decent and honorable.
I apologize that during the siege of your capital, the short-sightedness of our military planners – so focused on your oil – forgot to protect you and your national treasures from criminals, the mob, and fanatic warlords.
I am sorry that while years were spent planning the invasion of your country, only weeks were spent considering how to deal with what came after. I am sorry we put people in charge that had no credentials other than being ideologically aligned with our President and his staff.
I am deeply sorry that in our rush to oust the tyrant who brutalized your country, we did not study your history, which would have easily foretold the civil unrest and retribution killing which plague you now. Some did foresee this, though again, those voices were silenced or ignored. Without this insight, we allowed your communities to fall into chaos, causing many of you to flee homes your families have owned for generations and see loved ones murdered without cause.
I regret the thousands of people sent to Abu Ghraib to be tortured and humiliated. Torture has been proven time and again to not produce reliable information, though it often works well on American television. I fear our current leaders did not know the difference.
More over, I am deeply sorry that in this rush to war, we took our eyes off the true threats that we all share, and somehow must learn to face together.
Apologies can be hard to come by in uncertain times. They are particularly scarce from this American government.
People of Iraq, America is a nation of good people. We will spill our blood at a moment's notice for a worthy cause, even for people we have never met. 3,500 American soldiers have died, and 20,000 have been wounded for a cause they believe worthy. More innocent Iraqis have died and than can be reliably counted. But our government has betrayed us, and has betrayed you as well. I hope someday soon we will restore our government to one that is worthy of our people – and you will be able to rebuild your country free of tyranny and chaos.
Finally, and most importantly, I am so very sorry that we came to Iraq with the premise of defeating religious fanatics willing to kill for power, while not realizing we had those very same people in charge our own country.
Presently living in an abandoned Soviet radar station
I'm a former male model with degrees in philosophy and martial arts. I left the seminary to spread the word of truth to the infidels (the other ones). I frequently mix Vodka, Cialis, Viarga and Paxil to control my overzealous love of mankind.
