Monthly Archives: May 2024

Green Acres

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Robert Paterson writes,

Starting in June, I will be having two interviews a
month on CBC Mainstreet. I have decided to focus on hearing the stories

of the many Back to the Landers who came to PEI in the 1960′s and the 1970′s.

They have great stories to tell that have something
important to tell us again as we enter a time when knowing how to live
simply may become less of a choice and more of a necessity.

For a golden age, they built their own houses, killed
their pigs and chickens, swam naked, made butter and cheese. Most now
live quite conventional lives but what stories! What confidence that
they could do anything! What friendships and what a contribution to
"Our Country"!

I am starting in Eastern Kings – the hot bed of hippiedom. My  guides will be Darla Thompson and John Rousseau.

I’ll be reading, Robert.

You’ve Arrived

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Thanks to Jeneane for the link to Squarks.  One hopes his business here will not soon be finished and that we may enjoy his company for a while before he rushes away, like a fish in a hurry.

Should we meet in person, and in some small way, find a common
interest; the pupils in our eyes might widen, just ever-so-slightly.
Or, perhaps the widened would be replaced by a scowl of mistrust –
that formation on the superciliary ridge above the eyes. And, one of us
might wonder why an annoying twitch is beginning to develop in a region
on our body that tends to be publicly noticable. So, the apprehension
and an evergrowing cloud of ambiguity lurks; a tad beneath the surface,
but far from the heart of the relationship.

Tinfoil Hat Writ large

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TinfoilIt’s as we suspected… (thanx to Nathan Black for the link)

SACRAMENTO, Calif.  – A home in Sacramento’s south Natomas neighborhood is surrounded by sheet metal, and neighbors are calling it an eyesore.

The D’Souza family lives in the home on Timberwood Court, and claims
the aluminium pieces are necessary to protect them from unknown
neighbors who have been bombarding them with radio waves and making
them sick.

"(It’s)
a shield to protect against radiation, because microwave radiation is
reflected off of aluminium, so it’s a protective measure," resident
Sarah D’Souza said.The D’Souzas said the bombardment began after
the first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2024, terrorist attacks, and
that the radio waves have caused them health problems ranging from
headaches to lupus.Sacramento Code Enforcement officials have
gotten involved and ordered the family to remove the metal by Monday or
face a misdemeanor citation.

CIA Charter Flights

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Air America was the CIA front operation for civilian contracted flight support from 1946 to 1975 through both Indochina Wars.  They have mottos… regarding the 1946 to 1975 record of clandestine activity in Vietnam, Laos, burma, and Cambodia they said, "First In, Last Out."  Reminds me of Arthur Andersen for some reason.

Another Air America motto Air America — "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere — Professionally" will have to be updated soon.  Air America’s successor front company "Aero Contractors, Ltd." can effectively brag, Aero Contractors — "Anyone, Anything, Anytime, Anywhere — Professionally."  The New York Times reports,

When the Central Intelligence Agency wants to grab a suspected member
of Al Qaeda overseas and deliver him to interrogators in another
country, an Aero Contractors plane often does the job. If agency
experts need to fly overseas in a hurry after the capture of a prized
prisoner, a plane will depart Johnston County and stop at Dulles
Airport outside Washington to pick up the C.I.A. team on the way….

Some of the C.I.A. planes have been used for carrying out renditions,
the legal term for the agency’s practice of seizing terrorism suspects
in one foreign country and delivering them to be detained in another,
including countries that routinely engage in torture.

Well, they are after all professionals.

The Swedish people take issue with these extralegal activities and their government has vowed to maintain tighter control…

The authorities in Italy and Sweden have opened investigations into the
C.I.A.’s alleged role in the seizure of suspects in those countries who
were then flown to Egypt for interrogation. According to Dr. Georg
Nolte, a law professor at the University of Munich, under international
law, nations are obligated to investigate any substantiated human
rights violations committed on their territory or using their airspace.

…but everyone knows the Swedes are unhappy, generally suicidal and socialists to boot, while the Italians surrendered to the allies in World War II (and THAT the Bush clan finds hard to forgive).

Andersen Skates on Appeal

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The Rehnquist court has found for Arthur Andersen.  People everywhere were gladdened to see Arthur Andersen fall following its trial and conviction for destruction of documents related to the Enron scandals.  Now, zombie-like, it rises again. One presumes this reversal of the conviction is necessary to protect partners’ fortunes from civil suits, else why bother. 

La Petite Mort

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This is the most artistic thing I’ve seen since Al Goldstein and Ralph Ginzburg were publishing in the late sixties.

terra cotta? notta chance…

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Beth makes mud pies while I blog.  Today she’s finishing up the outdoor planters, stuffing annuals into urns.  On the front porch there’s a beautiful vase shaped thing, dull brick red.

"Terra cotta?"  I asked.

"Not." She replied.

"Don’t you wish it was real instead of plastic?"  My question goes to some deep seated value regarding "real" things versus "plastic" things.  I just like stone and earth better than petrostuff.

"No way," she replied.  "If it was terra cotta it would weigh a ton, I couldn’t have left it outdoors all winter, it would be liable to crack, I couldn’t move it around.  Why would I wish it was heavy and fragile?  Plastic foam is fine.  Doesn’t it look nice?"

And of course it does.  After all I had just asked her if it was terra cotta.

What Democracy Looks Like…

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The French voted and the world may never be the same.  The BBC reported:

In the French referendum almost 55% of people voted "No", with 45% in favour. Turnout was high, at about 70%.

It is a severe – perhaps fatal – blow to the EU constitution, which needs to be ratified by all 25 member states.

The French have a democratic tradition that is objectively superior to the United States’. Freedom House ranks them at least our equal in terms of political liberty and civil rights, but Freedom House is perhaps less than objective in their assessment of America.   The French in fact have the world’s greatest democracy.  The French had a revolution.  America had a colonial insurrection.  The people of France, victors in a revolution that overthrew the monarchy and laid the foundation for democracy, came to the aid of the ragtag American colonials who were seeking tax relief.   We have always resented that.  Now we will watch and see what French influence brings to the EU constitutional process.  The people have spoken.