"Acacia trees produce tannin in
their leaves when browsed by animals. The tannin tastes so bad that the animal stops
eating this acacia tree. Other acacia trees downwind sense that tannin is being produced.
These trees quickly produce tannin, thus discouraging the animals from eating these trees
too."
Thanks. One always appreciates recognition, even a modless nod, for one's public service.
You and I are old enough to remember Mitchell and Colson, but the tender/.ers reading most of this stuff are not.
On the other hand, plenty of old farts like us have forgotten the past, or never gave a damn in the first place. Moreover, we might hope that some of today's young 'uns have the fire to read up on the history of their country.
In the shadow of Nixon's Watergate breakin to spy on the Democrats in his 1972 reelection campaign, and their bugging of the Democratic National Committee at the 1972 Democratic convention, this obvious pattern of criminal behavior at the top of the Republican Party is intolerable.
I just remember Watergate..... Guys like Agnew got nailed for things completely unrelated, but without the scandal, they never would have been investigated. If this blows up, watch for a lot of other things (Haliburton?) to suddenly show up on the law-enforcement agendas.
Didja know that Rumsfeld was a member of Nixon's cabinet?
"Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Assistant to the President, and a member of the President's Cabinet (1969-1970); and, as
Counsellor to the President, Director of the Economic Stabilization Program, and a member of the President's Cabinet (1971-1972)."
- Source
The Rumsfeld-Cheney-Nixon connection is also interesting:
"When President Richard M. Nixon selected Rumsfeld as White House counselor in 1970, Cheney joined him as his deputy. In August 1974, Gerald Ford assumed the presidency and asked Rumsfeld to be his chief of staff. Rumsfeld immediately sought out Cheney."
- Source
Rumsfeld never got press as a major Watergate player. But this is interesting:
"Rumsfeld was not entirely divorced from Nixon's political operations. There is no sign that he was involved in any of the illegalities of Watergate, but he was willing to offer Nixon other help of a not particularly exalted nature--some dirt on political enemies, some covert ties with a prominent pollster. The Nixon tapes reveal that Rumsfeld often worked with and was a special favorite of John Mitchell and Charles Colson, Nixon's roughest political operators, who viewed Rumsfeld as savvier than other White House aides."
- Source
Mitchell was an obstructor of justice, and Colson was a hatchet man. Rummy was close with those guys? Must be sweet to have a resume like that -- fits right in with the Bush administration.
Senators should be jailed, GOP party heads should be jailed under RICO as mafia.
Once again, you are right on the money -- accurate and articulate.
Speaking of RICO... didja know that the Christic Institute used RICO went it went after the... well, call it the Octopus. Of course, the Christics got themselves shot at, bombed, and bankrupted for their troubles -- but it was a noble attempt at using RICO for busting genuine racketeers.
Police, fire and EMT early responders -- and the IT systems that support them - are under Sisyphean pressure to perform, while budgets are sagging.
Beware the metaphor my son -- the jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
"Sisyphean pressure" sounds impressive, until one considers that Sisyphus never once completed his task.
On the other hand, "Herculean effort" makes clear that a lot of heavy lifting went on... and that the deed got done, because that's the kind of guy Hercules was.
Let's hope that the EMT's who respond to my heart attack are less Sisyphean and more Herculean....
Wellstone was murdered, that much is reasonable. (Not bad weather; not a bad plane; pilots had criminal backgrounds; plane burning on the way down; plane burned to a crisp -- I smell a rat.)
But not murdered "by Coleman"... or "by Bush" for that matter. Those guys benefitted from Wellstone's death, sure -- but they're not the power players.
Coleman may be a two-faced hypocritical spins-like-a-weathervane goody-goody suck-up yes man -- for starters -- but he's not a murderous power broker. I doubt if anyone with real power would trust Coleman with real power.
The real Power -- the one that assassinates Senators (and President Kennedy, for that matter) -- resides outside government: secret coalitions of tycoons and spooks and mobsters.
I thought it was from mercury fumes, boiling it or something...
I recall reading that he actually ingested the stuff... sorry I can't remember the source.
Not unusual for his time -- people took mercury for various reasons, e.g. as a remedy for syphilis.
Archaeologists have tried to locate latrines dug by the Lewis & Clarke expedition -- so many members of the expedition were taking mercury for their syphilis, chances are the mercury can still be found in the now-lost latrines.
I thought it was "movies, microcode, and 30-minute pizza delivery?"
The exact phrase, from Snowcrash:
* Music
* Movies
* Microcode (software)
* High-speed pizza delivery
I was, in fact, thinking of the above phrase when I wrote "entertainment". However, I lump movies and music together under entertainment; American software has a doubtful future, these days; and pizza delivery isn't something we necessarily do best -- it simply can't be outsourced.
"Probably the single thing I do personally that reduces the crude havoc on the Internet is avoiding the Windows OS. Use a Mac, for heaven's sake. Stop adding to the pollution of viruses, and stop offering slave machines that spew spam for others." - Bruce Sterling
Actually, I bet it would be banned for short periods of time in some regions but then would later be considered a classic and all high school students would be required to read it.
That's how I assume they picked the reading material for my English classes... not that I read any of it.
E.g. "Catcher in the Rye" -- possibly even "Naked Lunch". But these are minority cases: an enormous volume of hardcore porn, for example, has been published; but you won't find any of it in school.
Now, here's a weird story. I once noticed two students in a university medical library watching a video of a woman masturbating -- evidently required viewing for a human sexuality course. I'm not against porn, but in the context of a medical library, with lots of students and teachers in the area, I found the video strangely disturbing....
... Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Utah and Colorado?
Texas was a state of Mexico, until rebels who disapproved of Mexico's no-slavery constitution broke away by force.
Arizona and New Mexico... if memory serves, they were acquired by the Gadsen purchase, to which Mexico would not have agreed except for her humiliating defeat in the Mexican-American War... which, again if memory serves, was American aggression.
Utah... taken from the Utes by force. ("The Utes Must Go!" was the battle cry.)
Colorado, I don't know.
California's aboriginal inhabitants put up little fuss, and were easily disposed of.
The US peacefully and legally bought the Louisiana Purchase territories from France and Alaska from Russia.
How did France and Russia come to be the owners of this territory? Surely not by inheriting it from their ancestors, nor by purchasing it from the previous inhabitants.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not defending the Indians -- they fought wars over this land.
the US just over a 100 years ago also lacked imperial ambition - but then post WW2 took serveral major steps backwards (imo): Vietnam, Panama, Iraq 2003.
Some would argue that American imperial ambition began with the Declaration of Independence, and continued throughout the Western expansion -- that every square inch of what is today America was taken by force.
Even a less sanguine historian -- say, Mark Twain -- would agree that American imperialism was obvious by the time of the Phillipine war.
I'm pretty much hairless already! And since I don't have a girlfriend, I might as well be sterile! So exactly how is this bio-weapon of your going to change my life, again?
Slashdot Mirror
"Acacia trees produce tannin in their leaves when browsed by animals. The tannin tastes so bad that the animal stops eating this acacia tree. Other acacia trees downwind sense that tannin is being produced. These trees quickly produce tannin, thus discouraging the animals from eating these trees too."
- Source
-kgj
Colson ... converted to Christianity
Maybe he genuinely converted. Or maybe the conversion was a ruse to help him win points with the parole board.
-kgj
"Ford's Defense Sect'y Rumsfeld lost Vietnam & spends his golden years reliving his youth."
...
Although too large for a (credited) sig, the original phrase --
"Rumsfeld was the Secretary of Defense who lost Vietnam. He's spending his golden years reliving his youth."
-- is much snappier.
Perhaps another compromise is in order? Something like
"Defense Secretary Rumsfeld loses Vietnam, relives youth as Bush man."
Naw, that's not it, either. But the phrase "Bush man" is pretty funny.
-kgj
This is great. Sorry I can't mod it up.
/.ers reading most of this stuff are not.
Thanks. One always appreciates recognition, even a modless nod, for one's public service.
You and I are old enough to remember Mitchell and Colson, but the tender
On the other hand, plenty of old farts like us have forgotten the past, or never gave a damn in the first place. Moreover, we might hope that some of today's young 'uns have the fire to read up on the history of their country.
-kgj
In the shadow of Nixon's Watergate breakin to spy on the Democrats in his 1972 reelection campaign, and their bugging of the Democratic National Committee at the 1972 Democratic convention, this obvious pattern of criminal behavior at the top of the Republican Party is intolerable.
Doc -- cf. my post re. Nixon, Rumsfeld, & Co.
-kgj
I just remember Watergate. .... Guys like Agnew got nailed for things completely unrelated, but without the scandal, they never would have been investigated. If this blows up, watch for a lot of other things (Haliburton?) to suddenly show up on the law-enforcement agendas.
Didja know that Rumsfeld was a member of Nixon's cabinet?
"Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Assistant to the President, and a member of the President's Cabinet (1969-1970); and, as Counsellor to the President, Director of the Economic Stabilization Program, and a member of the President's Cabinet (1971-1972)."
- Source
The Rumsfeld-Cheney-Nixon connection is also interesting:
"When President Richard M. Nixon selected Rumsfeld as White House counselor in 1970, Cheney joined him as his deputy. In August 1974, Gerald Ford assumed the presidency and asked Rumsfeld to be his chief of staff. Rumsfeld immediately sought out Cheney."
- Source
Rumsfeld never got press as a major Watergate player. But this is interesting:
"Rumsfeld was not entirely divorced from Nixon's political operations. There is no sign that he was involved in any of the illegalities of Watergate, but he was willing to offer Nixon other help of a not particularly exalted nature--some dirt on political enemies, some covert ties with a prominent pollster. The Nixon tapes reveal that Rumsfeld often worked with and was a special favorite of John Mitchell and Charles Colson, Nixon's roughest political operators, who viewed Rumsfeld as savvier than other White House aides."
- Source
Mitchell was an obstructor of justice, and Colson was a hatchet man. Rummy was close with those guys? Must be sweet to have a resume like that -- fits right in with the Bush administration.
-kgj
Senators should be jailed, GOP party heads should be jailed under RICO as mafia.
... didja know that the Christic Institute used RICO went it went after the ... well, call it the Octopus. Of course, the Christics got themselves shot at, bombed, and bankrupted for their troubles -- but it was a noble attempt at using RICO for busting genuine racketeers.
Once again, you are right on the money -- accurate and articulate.
Speaking of RICO
-kgj
According to Harris Interactive, more than two-thirds, or 69 percent of American adults were internet users last year.
Alas, only 63% of adults were grown-ups last year.
-kgj
Police, fire and EMT early responders -- and the IT systems that support them - are under Sisyphean pressure to perform, while budgets are sagging.
... and that the deed got done, because that's the kind of guy Hercules was.
....
Beware the metaphor my son -- the jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
"Sisyphean pressure" sounds impressive, until one considers that Sisyphus never once completed his task.
On the other hand, "Herculean effort" makes clear that a lot of heavy lifting went on
Let's hope that the EMT's who respond to my heart attack are less Sisyphean and more Herculean
-kgj
Wellstone was murdered, that much is reasonable. (Not bad weather; not a bad plane; pilots had criminal backgrounds; plane burning on the way down; plane burned to a crisp -- I smell a rat.)
... or "by Bush" for that matter. Those guys benefitted from Wellstone's death, sure -- but they're not the power players.
But not murdered "by Coleman"
Coleman may be a two-faced hypocritical spins-like-a-weathervane goody-goody suck-up yes man -- for starters -- but he's not a murderous power broker. I doubt if anyone with real power would trust Coleman with real power.
The real Power -- the one that assassinates Senators (and President Kennedy, for that matter) -- resides outside government: secret coalitions of tycoons and spooks and mobsters.
-kgj
Seriously, I expect the lawyers at the ACLU are already preparing their case.
:)
Aren't they behind razor wire yet??
-kgj
Hmmm, I wonder if Carly would care that they can replace him for less than 1/10th his salary and probably do as good of a job.
Replace her, you mean. Check out this picture of Carly sizing up her breasts.
-kgj
Don't blame me ... I wanted to be modded "Informative" or maybe "Insightful" ... "Funny" is just a sad, sad side-effect ....
... except for the toxic grin on the face of the sufferer, of course.
There's nothing funny about mercury poisoning
-kgj
I thought it was from mercury fumes, boiling it or something...
... sorry I can't remember the source.
I recall reading that he actually ingested the stuff
Not unusual for his time -- people took mercury for various reasons, e.g. as a remedy for syphilis.
Archaeologists have tried to locate latrines dug by the Lewis & Clarke expedition -- so many members of the expedition were taking mercury for their syphilis, chances are the mercury can still be found in the now-lost latrines.
-kgj
... a lot of people thought Einstein and Newton were crazy ...
Newton did go crazy, from (among other alchemical things) the mercury he ingested.
-kgj
I thought it was "movies, microcode, and 30-minute pizza delivery?"
The exact phrase, from Snowcrash:
* Music
* Movies
* Microcode (software)
* High-speed pizza delivery
I was, in fact, thinking of the above phrase when I wrote "entertainment". However, I lump movies and music together under entertainment; American software has a doubtful future, these days; and pizza delivery isn't something we necessarily do best -- it simply can't be outsourced.
-kgj
"Probably the single thing I do personally that reduces the crude havoc on the Internet is avoiding the Windows OS. Use a Mac, for heaven's sake. Stop adding to the pollution of viruses, and stop offering slave machines that spew spam for others."
- Bruce Sterling
Source: 2004 Bruce Sterling State of the World Address
Entertainment.
-kgj
Actually, I bet it would be banned for short periods of time in some regions but then would later be considered a classic and all high school students would be required to read it.
....
That's how I assume they picked the reading material for my English classes... not that I read any of it.
E.g. "Catcher in the Rye" -- possibly even "Naked Lunch". But these are minority cases: an enormous volume of hardcore porn, for example, has been published; but you won't find any of it in school.
Now, here's a weird story. I once noticed two students in a university medical library watching a video of a woman masturbating -- evidently required viewing for a human sexuality course. I'm not against porn, but in the context of a medical library, with lots of students and teachers in the area, I found the video strangely disturbing
-kgj
Yet if all of the game's anti-Haitian material was put into a book, people would call it free speech...
Yes, and the protest groups would protest the book.
-kgj
That criteria [conquest of territory by force] applies to just about all land on the planet, with the exception of Antartica.
Yes.
Conquest by force was bad enough before the nuclear/biological age; now, it's suicidal madness.
-kgj
... Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Utah and Colorado?
... if memory serves, they were acquired by the Gadsen purchase, to which Mexico would not have agreed except for her humiliating defeat in the Mexican-American War ... which, again if memory serves, was American aggression.
... taken from the Utes by force. ("The Utes Must Go!" was the battle cry.)
Texas was a state of Mexico, until rebels who disapproved of Mexico's no-slavery constitution broke away by force.
Arizona and New Mexico
Utah
Colorado, I don't know.
California's aboriginal inhabitants put up little fuss, and were easily disposed of.
-kgj
The US peacefully and legally bought the Louisiana Purchase territories from France and Alaska from Russia.
How did France and Russia come to be the owners of this territory? Surely not by inheriting it from their ancestors, nor by purchasing it from the previous inhabitants.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not defending the Indians -- they fought wars over this land.
-kgj
the US just over a 100 years ago also lacked imperial ambition - but then post WW2 took serveral major steps backwards (imo): Vietnam, Panama, Iraq 2003.
Some would argue that American imperial ambition began with the Declaration of Independence, and continued throughout the Western expansion -- that every square inch of what is today America was taken by force.
Even a less sanguine historian -- say, Mark Twain -- would agree that American imperialism was obvious by the time of the Phillipine war.
-kgj
I'm pretty much hairless already! And since I don't have a girlfriend, I might as well be sterile! So exactly how is this bio-weapon of your going to change my life, again?
....
Who knows? Maybe the reverse will happen
-kgj