Tuesday, February 15, 2011
U.S. used lies by Iraqi defector 'Curveball' to help justify the Iraq war
History is slowly unmasking George Bush’s Regime. The lies they passed on to you and I about WMDs were based upon information gleaned from the likes of this Iraqi defector who went by the codename “Curveball.”
He has publicly admitted for the first time that he made up stories about mobile bioweapons trucks and secret factories to try to bring down Saddam Hussein’s regime.
"I had a problem with the Saddam regime," Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, who fled Iraq in 1995, told The Guardian newspaper. "I wanted to get rid of him and now I had this chance."Al-Janabi’s information was used in part by the U.S. as justification for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. More than 100,000 people, most of them Iraqi civilians, have died in the war. Story Here.
Poster Boy for Sleaze John Edwards investigation: Charges near?
He’s back! Edwards was the ‘As It Stands’ runner up candidate for ‘Scum of the Year’ in 2010, and now he’s back in the news.
A two-year grand jury investigation of John Edwards has reached a decisive point. Prosecutors believe they have a strong case, but have not yet gotten a green light from the Justice Department to charge the former presidential candidate.
The issue: did Edwards violate election laws by trying to cover up his affair with a campaign videographer, Rielle Hunter. Did you know she got a million dollars hush money from John Boy!
“It would be surprising now if he wasn’t indicted,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a former federal prosecutor and George Washington University law professor. “If John Edwards was aware that money was being paid to hide his mistress... and it was done to help his campaign, then he’s in trouble.” Story here
Lawsuit claims Pentagon turned blind eye to military rape victims
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
The lawsuit specifically names Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, as defendants, charging that both have failed to take aggressive measures to deal with the problem or follow edicts from Congress.
War is hell. More so for women in the military than men however!
Because the military has long been considered a macho organization mainly comprised of men, women who enter it today face a gender bias and mistreatment.
This has been true for decades. Because they chose to live in this macho culture, they pay the price for serving their country.
Fourteen current and former members of the U.S. military were charged in a lawsuit filed today. They believe the Pentagon turned a blind eye when they reported being sexually harassed, assaulted and raped by fellow service members while on active duty.
Excerpt:
“I felt completely isolated and alone and really scared. Here I was, in the middle of a foreign country in the middle of a war,' plaintiff in lawsuit tells NBC News.”
Monday, February 14, 2011
‘To Be or Not to Be’–who qualifies as a Humboldt Blogger?
This recent news came from one of my favorite Humboldt County bloggers – Heraldo at the Humboldt Herald. The way I understand it (after emailing back and forth with Heraldo) is when he/she redesigned the blog he/she decided my blog “As It Stands” was NOT really a Humboldt Blog.
After being on the Humboldt Herald’s blog list since my first blogging experience in 2008, I was was surprised, and disappointed with this decision. It felt like I was being banned because I didn’t measure up to Humboldt Blogging standards. Nevertheless, Heraldo asked me if I wanted it to be listed again when I contacted him/her? I said yes. He/she graciously did and the links are back for As It Stands and As It Stands II. Meanwhile it looks like I should do some soul-searching.
Maybe I’m not a Humboldt Blogger. Perhaps I don’t deserve to be listed as a blogger behind the Redwood Curtain. Let’s see what you think. Do I deserve to be awarded that coveted (by me) moniker “Humboldt Blogger?” I better trot out some credentials and leave it to you, oh viewer, to decide:
HUMBOLDT BACKROUND –
* Attended HSU in 1979 and w
* I was the publisher of the Arcata Union, The Triplicate, and the Redwood Record from 1987 – 1989. I also worked for “Redwoods United” in Humboldt County getting developmentally disabled adults jobs from 1989 -1991.
* I’ve lived in Humboldt County (off and on with the exception of a few years down in SoCal) since 1979.
* I was among a group of people who started the veteran’s Stand Down’s in Humboldt County in 2006. The event continues today, still serving veterans who could use a hand up-and not a hand-out.
* I’ve been writing a Sunday opinion column (As It Stands) in the county’s only daily newspaper – The Times-Standard since July 2008. Prior to that my column appeared in the now-defunct, Eureka Reporter, for nearly two years.
* I still have connections with people in Humboldt County who are movers and shakers. Most recently, County Supervisor Jimmy Smith (who read my column about not havin
* I do write about local issues in my newspaper column and in this blog. Granted, not all the time, but they’re there in my blog archives, and the T-S archives, for your inspection.
Maybe the above is not enough to qualify as a Humboldt County blogger. After careful thought, I’m asking my readers if this blog is Humboldt worthy? Perhaps I’ve been living in a fool’s world and Heraldo woke me up to reality.
In the first place, he/she has every right NOT to put a link in for my blog. Just because he/she did at one point, it doesn’t lock him/her in for life. His/her blog is getting a make-over, and he/she’s been weeding out the chafe (as it were.) Nothing wrong with that. We all need change from time to time.
I thank Heraldo for showing me that I need to sharpen my focus on the world around me in Humboldt County, and have less national and international news if I want to be considered a “Humboldt Blogger” like him/her.
Up till now, I thought I was a Humboldt County Blogger, and maybe I am…but I’d really like to GET YOUR COMMENTS on this subject just to set me straight.
Finally, if there’s certain local issues you’d like me to write about please don’t hesitate. My email address is richstan1@suddenlink.net or you can make comments at the end of this post.
Wife stops tiger attack on her husband with wooden soup ladle
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
In honor of today, I present a good wife and lover saving her husband from a tiger by hitting it with a cooking appliance. Now that’s what I call love! Go Cupid!
I like to think my mate would do the same thing if I was out hunting squirrels one day and was attacked by a pissed off striped kitty cat this big!
“A woman in a jungle region of northern Malaysia rescued her husband from a tiger attack by clubbing the beast on its head with a large wooden soup ladle and chasing it away, police said Monday.” STORY HERE
Sunday, February 13, 2011
As It Stands: A public menace: Smart phones in the hands of prisoners
By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard
Posted: 02/13/2011 01:30:35 AM PST
If smart phones seem to be everywhere nowadays, that's because they are. Prisoners across the nation enjoy their benefits daily. They can call in a “hit” or request exotic foods delivered to their cell.
A convicted murderer can coordinate a robbery or an escape with equal ease. Prisoners can organize strikes, as seen last year when several strikes hit the Georgia prison system thanks to the networking ability of prisoners' smart phones.
Authorities discovered that they punched in text messages and assembled e-mail lists to coordinate simultaneous protests with inmates of other prisons. Using pseudonyms, they were able to share hour-by-hour updates on Twitter and Facebook.
Cell phones are prohibited in all state and federal prisons in the United States. Without going into all the ingenious ways cell phones are smuggled to prisoners, suffice to say they're a fact of life and an increasing problem for the nation's prison security.
Analysts for California's Senate Public Safety Committee flatly stated they believe employees are a big part of the problem. “All indications are that the primary source of cell phones smuggled into prisons is prison staff,” they wrote in a report last year.
Rebutting that accusation, guard union spokesman JeVaughn Baker told the Los Angeles Times, “Sure, there are instances where officers have brought them in. But to say that prison staff are the most likely smugglers of cell phones is simply inaccurate.”
“This kind of thing was bound to happen,” Martin F. Horn, a former commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections, told the New York Times on Jan. 2, referring to the accessibility of smart phones in prisons. Horn, who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said, “The physical boundaries that we thought protected us no longer work.”
Thus far, authorities are using various cell phone detection systems, with mixed results. Smart phones still find their way into prisoners' hands. Federal Bureau of Prisons workers confiscated 1,188 cell phones in the first four months of 2010, according to Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office. An estimated 10,000 phones were discovered in California prisons last year, according to a Feb. 3 article in the Los Angeles Times.
So what's the answer? How do we fight this growing menace to society? One idea was to jam cell phones in prisons. Last year, prison officials from 30 states petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for permission to install technology that would solve the problem.
Chris Guttmann-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs for CTIA-The Wirele
That's not the end of the story. There is hope. The Mississippi prison system recently installed a possible solution. This new system establishes a network around the prison that can detect every call and text. Called managed access, it tells callers they aren't on an approved list and the phone ceases to function. The cell phone industry thinks this system is a good idea and has been supportive of it.
Several states are looking into managed access, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it catch on, if it works as advertised. I guess the other chink in prison authorities' armor is finding the actual cell phones. I read where Maryland and New Jersey are testing dogs to sniff out the ionization of cell phone batteries.
I think what concerns me most is no matter how notorious or high-profile inmates are, they manage to get their hands on cell phone
Ironically, the use of smart phones might not be a problem in prisons in a couple of years. According to a Jan. 8 article in the Washington Post, if things don't change soon, smart phones may contribute to the collapse of the country's 3G cellular network system. That would mean everyone, including prisoners, police, emergency services, and you and I wouldn't have any service. The article warns that technology has to catch up with rapidly increasing usage by 2013 or we face a world without smart phones.
As It Stands, experts agree that a reliable cell phone detection device in prisons is the only workable way to stop their illegal use. The question is, will smart phones even be around by the time detection devices are perfected?
Websites carrying this column:
MySmart Phone Info cell phone news from all over the net
Elexical Systems –Security and phone systems online
Saturday, February 12, 2011
New Study: Everything you know about beating stress is wrong
But these 6 tried-and-true anxiety-busters can relieve your chronically fried nerves
“If deep breaths, weekly yoga classes, and venting to your friends aren't helping you relax, you have plenty of company—and it's not your fault. New studies show that these supposedly tried-and-true anxiety busters are often just... well, a bust. Read on for the surprising truth about what really helps—and what doesn't—when it comes to relieving chronically fried nerves.”
Eating a few pieces of dark chocolate can calm your nerves, a study has found. STORY HERE
Friday, February 11, 2011
Domestic Alert: Alaska oil pipeline 'integrity' at risk, U.S. warns
“A U.S. government investigation of the Trans Alaska Pipeline has found potentially major safety issues on the line that ships 12 percent of domestic oil supply, making its operation risky until repairs are made, according to a letter sent by regulators to the operator and viewed by Reuters on Friday.
The 800-mile line known as TAPS appears to have "multiple conditions" that "pose a pipeline integrity risk to public safety, property or the environment," according to the Feb. 1 letter to operator Alyeska from the U.S. Department of Transportation's pipeline safety division. The Trans Alaska Pipeline ends at this mooring station for oil tankers in Valdez, Alaska
The DOT investigation follows a Jan. 8 leak on the line that forced it to shut down for several days in precarious winter conditions. The closure shut in millions of barrels in production and caused U.S. oil futures to rise for days.” Story here
With Valentine’s Day coming up you may want to check into these Aphrodisiacs from around the globe
Durian: Why It's Provocative Beware: the smell will gag you!
Famous for its odiferous smell, durian is nonetheless popular throughout Asian cultures because of its creamy texture and flavor. "Though the smell is putrid and you would think it's a turn-off," explains Rosofsky, it's often thought that eating the fruit promotes estrogen and increases fertility. Adventurous? You can find these at most Chinese grocers.
FROM DELISH: “Oysters. Truffles. Chocolate. Whipped cream. Sounds like a night of passion! While those foods might set the mood, do they actually make your heart go a flutter? We talked to Dr. Meryl Rosofsky, noted aphrodisiac expert and leader of the of the popular culinary aphrodisiac walking tour at New York City's Institute of Culinary Education, to find out which foods increase attraction, fertility, and — let's just say — promote blood flow to all the right places”
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