Vleeptron_Z

PizzaQ -- find the 2 differences between Reality & not-Reality / Galveston / Flaco Jimenez: accordian but it not suck

2009-07-08T13:46:00.011-04:00

Click, certainly.

From our trove of photos from Cape Cod. Taken on the only Sun-shiney day of the whole week.

But I liked the fog and the ocean gale and the violent lightning storms. I don't think Chatham Lighthouse, long automated, blows a horn, but in the night fog you could see its beam swing across our pond every 20 seconds. Cape Cod was and remains very dangerous waters to navigate. Typically the skipper or bridge watch makes 3 small little mistakes in a row, none of which by itself would cause harm, and then the ship hits the rocks and everybody drowns. In the Quaker Meeting House Cemetery, every sixth gravestone: Lost At Sea.

My brother is a mahof, of both musical and spiritual matters, of a whomp-butt Unitarian-Universalist church near Washington DC. Last trip I had lunch with him and Pastor Lilly of the Universalist Society of DC, I think she originally hails from the Texas Gulf Coast, maybe Galveston -- the Hurricane Smash Hit Center of North America -- but I could be wrong about that.

Galveston historically is destroyed by hurricanes more than any other city. These tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico must like the local seafood -- a lot of shrimp -- or the music -- Janis Joplin was from there, and this is also the region where Tex-Mex and Flaco (Skinny) Jimenez el Rey de Tex-Mex, who also plays the accordian and it not suck, was born and blossomed.

There's a large German-American population in this part of Texas, and in some towns you can hear nothing but deutsches on the street. (New Braunfels also has WurstFest (30 October - 8 November 2009) where thousands of cowgirls and cowboys in cowboy and cowgirl hats and cowboy and cowgirl boots dance much Polka and consume much Wurst and Beer.)

They had their accordians and polka music, and their Tejano neighbors paid close attention to all the things they were doing wrong to music, and the ways they were tormenting and insulting music, and sometimes the Tejanos played in their polka bands. So polka somehow partially morphed into Conjunto/Tex-Mex, a truly unexpected miracle. I think recently I posted Flaco's English/Spanish/German cover of

"en el Cielo no Hay Cerveza"
"In Heaven, There Is No Beer"
"Im der Himmel dar ist kein Bier"

so that's why we drink it here
and when we're gone from here
all my friends will be drinking all the beer

It's a sad sort of song about a serious defect in Heaven.

But back to the U-Us. I wanted to snap this very handsome piece of architecture, so I talked S.W.M.B.O. into parking in the strip mall while I got out with the little digital camera and photographed the church across the road perched up on a hill.

Very much as you see it here. But

What You See
Is Not What I Got
when I looked at the church.

Back at the Graphic Arts Department of Agence-Vleeptron Presse, I changed -- fixed, I think is a good word -- Reality to suit my taste with 2 specific changes.

My new way, this way, makes a better New England Cape Cod Tourist Postcard. Reality sucked, so I fixed it. Now it's Better Than Reality. It's New, Improved Reality (tm).

One change (1) is/was Large, and the other (2) Smaller, a bit more subtle.

Okay, 2 slices extra mozarella, capers.

If nobody gets these, I may explore a possible future as a counterfeiter. I already make faux postage stamps, how hard can this be?

3rd & final warning / CORRECTED crappy unauthorized English translation of "Petite annonce amoureuse" / aussi: les Filles du Roy

2009-07-06T20:48:00.014-04:00

TO: Robert Merkin
FROM: SG@Académie_française.fr
SUBECT: L'AVERTISSEMENT TIERS ET FINAL

M. Merkin:

l'Academie Française exige que vous ne tentiez jamais de parler ou écrire en français encore.

Cette est votre avertissement ters et final.

Philippe de Montebello
Secretaire-General
l'Academie Française
Paris
France

=======================
patfromch said...

That cover is just awful.

The music isn't. Folksy pop, a bit of country, georgeous quebequois accent. Call me an Idiot, somehow this reminds me of the Indigo Girls or Joni Mitchell in their best moments. This Is Montreal, Not Nashville.

Uplifting music for a wonderful hot sunny summer afternoon like today (even though the lyrics are not meant to be uplifting somehow).

Vleeptron has broadend my horizon once again ! I for one know who I am going to play this to, wonder if she likes it...

==============

Did you see the goofy YouTube video? La realizatrix (?) is as talented and funny as les chanteuses.

Okay, about the cover.

I have "Pronto Monto" down in the basement in vinyl, my Shrine to les Saintes McGarrigle c'est la bas aussi, candles, incense ...

"Pronto Monto" was released in 1978, when Anna was 34 and Kate was 36. Above, les Soeurs McGarrigle in a more recent photograph.

I would whack a perfect stranger if either of these ladies asked me to. They could pay me by singing to me.

=======================

There is a little ambiguity about the authorship of the song "Petite annonce amoureuse." It's by Kate and Anna McGarrigle, but may also have been co-written by Philippe Tatartcheff, a poet who has written songs the McGarrigle Sisters have made popular before. One source co-credits almost all the songs on this album to Tatartcheff.

Tatartcheff lives or once lived in Val d'Or, in Northern Quebec, and his Day Job was as a miner in a gold mine. Gold mines are our deepest human-made penetrations into the Earth, and are extraordinarily dangerous workplaces. To get the gold we love so much, a lot of people die every year all over the world. I drove through Val d'Or and stopped for gas on a day there'd been a very bad collapse, with lives lost, in the gold mine. The young woman I spoke to said everyone in town knew someone trapped in the mine.

The price of gold is up -- it always goes up during economic crises or collapses -- and suddenly a long-abandoned mine in the center of Johannesburg, South Africa, has re-opened. Hundreds of badly (but regularly) paid miners are going down one of Earth's deepest holes again, because people trust gold, where they have lost faith in other forms of value storage -- stocks, bonds, derivatives, pork belly futures, exotic loans and odd financial arrangements with questionable promises on pieces of paper. We have lost faith in paper, and instinctively want to hoard gold, which we can touch and pet and admire and weigh and assay.

Gold was regarded as the tangible manifestation of the Sun on Earth, and silver the manifestation of the Moon. Women were often prohibited from being associated with or coming near goldsmiths and gold metallurgy; their presence was believed to spoil or ruin the magic associated with working in this unique metal, which never rusts or oxidizes. Thus gold is believed to be the only uncorruptible -- eternal -- substance on Earth, requiring special priestly ritual.

All else which we experience decays, rots, rusts.

Gold has unique chemical and industrial properties. It can be hand-pounded to foils of one or two or three atoms of thinness. (You can wrap chocolates in this foil, and eat the chocolate, gold foil and all, without harm.) The contact surfaces of electrical connections which must be reliable (telecom, space) are often gold or gold-plated. Gold dissolves only in a highly concentrated cocktail of Aqua Regia -- nitric and hydrochloric acid.

* * *

"La vache qui pleure" (2003) is the McGarrigle Sisters' second album of (mostly) French / Quebecois songs.

After bothering a very nice fellow named Aesop on the Internet Relay Chat UnderNet channel #Montreal, I have hammered out an Unauthorized English translation, I did the best I could.

Aesop informs me that "fille du Roy" is a 300- or 400-year-old expression for prostitute, streetwalker, sex worker.

{Aesop} Fille du Roy = Whores
{Droog4} ah ah ah ah merci
{Droog4} this is a local nuance i do not know
{Aesop} Im not a whore, i feel happy or not.
{Aesop} it's an old timer expression
{Droog4} the singers are Montreal sisters, now they are maybe 60 annes
{Aesop} fille du roy = more than 300-400 years old expression
{Aesop} hehe
{Aesop} it was used in the times of kings and knights
{Droog4} ah wow, i would never have known this, this is not in regular Larousse
{Aesop} nop

If you find mistakes, glaring or subtle, in this translation, SVP Leave A Comment, set me straight. I did the best I could. I tried to retain or reproduce the expressing style of the singers, the intentions of the woman who sings

A little personal love ad

Looking for man five-foot-three
I'm no debutante, no Fille du Roy
Sometimes I'm happy
Sometimes I'm not
Please answer my ad

Whoever answers this ad
He'll get a nice reward

Whoever answers this ad
He'll get a nice reward

Me I'm not quite five-foot-two
But I'm not lame
I wouldn't be taller than you
You'd be a little taller than me
For the love of God, answer

I've had it with being alone at my place
It breaks my heart, hurts my liver too
Dogs run away from me
Cats stare at me
Little kids are scared of me

I only smoke good tobacco
I like mice, I hate rats
Two paws, three or four paws
Bums or fine aristocrats

Five-two, five-three
Glass eye, wooden leg
Militaire
Débonnaire
And especially savoir faire

Stop me before I post more McGarrigle Sisters Québécois songs

2009-07-04T19:41:00.006-04:00

Speakers ON / Right-click: Open in New Tab
or just click and watch their very funny YouTube
(realisé par / directed by Sarah Mishara)

From the 2003 album "La vache qui pleure"

(There's a famous brand of cheese: La vache qui rit)

Petite annonce amoureuse
(a little personal love ad)

by Kate & Anna McGarrigle & Philippe Tatartcheff

Je cherche une homme qui a cinq pieds trois
Moi j’suis pas la fille du Roy
Ou bien ça va
Ou ça va pas
S’il vous plaît répondez-moi

Qui annonce reçoit réponse
Qui demande a récompense

Moi je n’ai que cinq pieds deux
Pourtant je ne suis pas boiteux
C’est tu trop
C’est tu trop peu
Répondez pour l’amour de Dieu

J’en ai assez d’être seul chez-moi
Ç a crève le coeur et puis le foie
J’éloigne les chiens
J’effraie les chats
J’fais peur aux petits enfants

Je ne fume que du bon tabac
J’aime les souris, j’hais les rats
À deux ou trois
Ou quatre pattes
Vilains ou bien aristocrates

Cinq deux, cinq trois
OEil de verre, jambe de bois
Militaire
Débonnaire
Et surtout du savoir faire

shifting strategies, new major US offensive in Helmand and opium-growing provinces of Afghanistan

2009-07-03T06:45:00.004-04:00

Click image for larger, clearer

Associated Press (newswire USA)
Thursday 2 July 2009

U.S. Marines exchange fire
with Taliban in searing heat

by Jason Straziuso, Associated Press Writer

NAWA, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. Marines hiked through searing heat and took fire from small pockets of militants Thursday after landing in this Taliban-controlled southern region of tree-lined fields, mud homes and crisscrossing waterways in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize Afghanistan.

Elsewhere, the U.S. military announced that insurgents were believed to have captured an American soldier missing in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday. The missing soldier was not involved in Operation Khanjar, or "Strike of the Sword," under way in southern Afghanistan.

The southern offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday (4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, 2030 GMT), as thousands of Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages along roughly 20 miles of the Helmand River in Helmand province, the world's largest opium poppy-producing area. The goal is to clear insurgents from the hotly contested region before the nation's Aug. 20 presidential election.

The Marines have not suffered any serious casualties and have seen only a sporadic resistance, said Lt. Abe Sipe, a spokesman for the unit.

"The enemy has chosen to withdraw rather than engage for the most part," Sipe said. "We had a couple of heat casualties, but not deemed serious in nature at this time."

Officials described the offensive as the largest and fastest-moving of the war's new phase and the biggest Marine assault since the one in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. It involves nearly 4,000 newly arrived Marines plus 650 Afghan forces. British forces last week led similar, but smaller, missions to clear out insurgents in Helmand and neighboring Kandahar province.

"Where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold, build and work toward transition of all security responsibilities to Afghan forces," Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson said in a statement.

Pakistan's army said it had moved troops from elsewhere on its side of the Afghan border to the stretch opposite Helmand to try to stop any militants from fleeing the offensive. It gave no more details, but U.S. and Pakistani officials have expressed concern that stepped-up operations in southern Afghanistan could push the insurgents across the border.

Transport helicopters carried hundreds of Marines into the village of Nawa, some 20 miles south of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, in a region where no U.S. or other NATO troops have operated in large numbers.

The troops took many insurgents by surprise, dropping behind Taliban lines, said Capt. Drew Schoenmaker, from Greene, N.Y.

"We are kind of forging new ground here. We are going to a place nobody has been before," said Schoenmaker, 31, who commands Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

Several hundred Marines took positions in a freshly plowed dirt field at 3 a.m. The soft, deep dirt proved challenging for troops weighed down with days' worth of water, food and gear, and many frequently stumbled.

At daybreak the Marines walked along tree lines, and at 6:15 a.m. the company took its first incoming fire, likely from an AK-47 along a tree-line. The next three hours brought repeated bursts of gunfire and volleys of rocket-propelled grenades, sending deep booms across the countryside.

A small force of Afghan soldiers accompanying the Camp Pendleton-based Marines got into several scraps with an insurgent force of about 20 fighters. The fire came from a mud-brick compound, and the Marines, the Afghan soldiers and their British advisers surrounded the compound on the east and the south.

Before the mission, Schoenmaker, the company commander, said he would practice "tactical patience" as a way to avoid civilian casualties -- an issue newly arrived Gen. Stanley McChrystal has underscored in recent weeks. Though troops in many similar circumstances have called in airstrikes on such a militant-controlled compound, Schoenmaker did not.

"We made the decision to isolate the compound and not destroy it because we couldn't confirm if civilians were inside," he said. The militants were believed to have escaped out the back.

A Cobra helicopter circling overhead for most of the day fired rockets at a tree line nearby. Other troops walked through fields of corn and past mud-wall homes. Only a handful of villagers dared to venture outside.

Helmand's deadly heat, well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, proved to be another enemy the Marines had to fight. Because soldiers were on foot, they had to carry all their own water and food. Forward observers and snipers spent the entire day under the cloudless sky.

"It's like when you open up the oven when you're cooking a pizza and you want to see if it's done. You get that blast of hot air. That's how it feels the whole time," said Lance Corp. Charlie Duggan Jr., 21, of Baldwinsville, N.Y.

The Marines trained for months in the heat of the Mojave desert for the deployment, and many appeared happy to be here.

At one point Thursday, some 50 Marines were relaxing in an abandoned and dilapidated mud brick compound, their dusty-brown uniforms stained with perspiration. Suddenly someone spotted an Afghan male who appeared to be watching them from a nearby road.

The Marines quickly threw on their flak jackets and Kevlar helmets.

"It sucks but it's what you've been training for your whole life," Lt. Chris Wilson, 25, of Ramsey, N.J., said with a smile as he held a radio with an eight-foot antenna. Thursday was Wilson's first mission into a combat zone.

Last summer, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit took the town of Garmser -- about 15 miles south of Schoenmaker's company -- and helped provide security for an area U.S. commanders say is now relatively secure.

The U.S. would like to replicate the success in Garmser to the north and south. The strategic setting can help the military slow the opium poppy and heroin trade and interdict fighters coming from Pakistan.

Of immediate need is security for the country's Aug. 20 election.

Southern Afghanistan is a Taliban stronghold but also a region where Afghan President Hamid Karzai is seeking votes from fellow Pashtun tribesmen. Without such a massive Marine assault in this southern section of Helmand, the Afghan government would likely not have been able to set up voting booths to which citizens could safely travel.

The Pentagon is deploying 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in time for the elections and expects the total number of U.S. forces there to reach 68,000 by year's end. That is double the number of troops in Afghanistan in 2008 but still half as many as are now in Iraq.

The Taliban, who took control of Afghanistan in 1996 and were ousted from power following a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, have made a violent comeback, wreaking havoc in much of the country's south and east.

Thousands of British forces, fighting under NATO command, have been in Helmand since 2006 with broadly the same strategy, but security has deteriorated. They have encountered stronger resistance than had been expected from Taliban fighters bankrolled by the vast opium and heroin trade.

Reversing the insurgency's momentum has been a key component of the new U.S. strategy, and thousands of additional troops allow commanders to push into and stay in areas where international and Afghan troops had no permanent presence.

In March, Obama unveiled his strategy for Afghanistan, seeking to defeat al-Qaida terrorists there and in Pakistan with a bigger force and a new commander. Taliban and other extremists, including those allied with al-Qaida, routinely cross the two nations' border.

Obama told The Associated Press on Thursday that he will reassess the possible need for additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the August elections.

The president said the main U.S. goal is to keep al-Qaida from acquiring a haven from which it can train fighters and launch attacks on the United States or its allies. He said the U.S. and its allies also must build up the Afghan national army and police and enable Pakistan to secure its borders against terrorist movements.

Last year, NATO and Pakistani forces cooperated in a series of complementary operations on the border, but the overall commitment of Islamabad to Washington's aims in Afghanistan has long been questioned. Pakistan has frequently been accused in the past of failing to stop â and sometimes aiding â the movement of insurgents into Afghanistan from its side of the border.

- 30 -

Associated Press writers Fisnik Abrashi in Kabul, Nahal Toosi in Islamabad and Lara Jakes in Washington contributed to this report.

======================

Reuters (newswire UK)
Friday 3 July 2009

Q+A:
Opium and Afghanistan's insurgency

by Jonathon Burch

KABUL (Reuters) -- Controlling the opium trade in Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of the drug, is a key element in the fight against Taliban militants.

With thousands of U.S. Marines launching a major new offensive against the Taliban-led insurgency in southern Helmand province, the epicenter of world opium production, the U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, has also foreshadowed a new approach to controlling the trade.

Following are questions and answers about Afghanistan's poppy production, its role in the insurgency and efforts to combat it.

HOW MUCH POPPY IS GROWN?

Afghanistan produces 93 percent of the world's opium, a thick paste made from the poppies that is processed to make heroin, according to United Nations figures.

In 2008, 157,000 hectares of opium were cultivated, down 19 percent from 193,000 hectares in 2007. Opium production only declined 6 percent to 7,700 tonnes because of record high yields.

Helmand cultivated 103,000 hectares in 2008.

In the same period, prices fell by about 20 percent, meaning the value of the opium to Afghan farmers fell by about a quarter from roughly $1 billion to about $730 million.

The export value of opium, morphine and heroin at border prices in neighboring countries fell to $3.4 billion in 2008 from $4 billion in 2007, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 2008 Afghan Opium Survey.

WHAT IS THE LINK BETWEEN OPIUM AND THE TALIBAN?

The Taliban are mainly funded by the opium trade.

Despite the drop in cultivation, production and prices, the UNODC says the Taliban and other "anti-government forces" still make "massive amounts of money from the drug business." Their take, mainly from levies on processing and trafficking, has been put at between $200 million and $400 million, with up to $70 million more from "ushr," or charges on economic activity.

UNODC executive director Antonio Maria Costa has also pointed to the danger of opium stocks held by the Taliban. "For a number of years, Afghan opium production has exceeded world demand. The bottom should have fallen out of the opium market, but it hasn't," he said in the UNODC's 2008 Afghan Opium Survey.

"So where is the missing opium? Lack of price response in the opium market can only be the result of stock build-ups, and all evidence points to the Taliban."

HOW DOES IT AFFECT MILITARY STRATEGY?

Addressing the opium problem will no doubt form a big part of General Stanley McChrystal's new counter-insurgency strategy, part of Washington's wider effort to defeat the Taliban and stabilize Afghanistan.

McChrystal and other commanders say their new strategy is designed to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Afghans, "to talk more and shoot less."

But the amount of money farmers can make from opium instead of other crops like wheat is a big problem. Destroying farmers' livelihoods by eradicating opium crops would make it very difficult to win them over to the fight against the Taliban.

In 2007, the gross income ratio for farmers from opium to wheat was 10:1. In 2008 that narrowed to 3:1, although that was partly due to drought. The United Nations has called for greater international development to consolidate on gains, along with "more honest government" and more security, it says.

WHAT ABOUT ERADICATION?

Holbrooke told a G8 conference this week that Washington is to phase out poppy eradication in a dramatic overhaul of its anti-drug strategy.

"The Western policies against the opium crop, the poppy crop, have been a failure. They did not result in any damage to the Taliban, but they put farmers out of work," Holbrooke said.

Haroun Mir, political analyst and co-founder of Kabul's Afghanistan Center for Research and Policy Studies, agreed.

"I'm sure this new (Holbrooke) decision to shift the counter-narcotics policy has something to do with the new General McChrystal," he said.

In total, only 5,480 hectares -- less than 4 percent of all cultivation -- were eradicated in 2008 compared with 19,047 hectares in 2007, a 71 percent drop.

Eradication is also costly and dangerous. At least 78 people involved in eradication, most of them policemen, were killed in 2008, a 75 percent increase on 2007, according to the UNODC.

Supporters of poppy eradication say it is only a small part of a wider counter-narcotics policy and is only carried out on targeted areas where farmers have access to alternative crops.

Holbrooke says Washington will now concentrate on intercepting drugs and chemicals and going after drug lords.

(Editing by Paul Tait and Alex Richardson)

- 30 -

India court ends colonial-era ban on homosexual acts

2009-07-02T04:40:00.005-04:00

The New York Times
Thursday 2 July 2009

Indian Court Overturns
Brit Colonial-Era
Gay Sex Ban

by Heather Timmons

NEW DELHI — In a landmark ruling Thursday that could usher in an era of greater freedom for gays and lesbians in India, New Delhi’s highest court decriminalized homosexuality.

“Discrimination is antithesis of equality,” Delhi High Court judges wrote in a 105-page decision that is the first in India to directly guarantee rights for gays and lesbians. “It is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual,” the decision said.

Homosexuality has been illegal in India since 1861, when British rulers codified a law prohibiting “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.” The law, known as Section 377, has long been viewed as an archaic holdover from colonialism by its detractors.

Gay men and women have rarely been prosecuted in modern times, but it has been used to harass, blackmail and jail marchers and participants in gatherings.

The repeal applies only to the territory of India’s capital city, but it will force India’s government to either appeal the decision to the Supreme Court or repeal the law nationwide, lawyers said.

In their decision, Chief Justice A. .P Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar declared Section 377, as it pertains to consensual sex among people above the age of 18, in violation of key parts of India’s Constitution.

The law violates Article 14, which guarantees all people “equality before the law;” Article 15, which prohibits discrimination “on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth;” and Article 21, which guarantees “protection of life and personal liberty” they said. The repeal comes after a broad campaign organized by gay rights activists, authors and celebrities, lawyers and AIDS awareness groups.

- 30 -

And these three made a solemn vow: "John Barleycorn must die!"

2009-06-30T23:33:00.006-04:00

Click image for larger

There really is no reason why some beverages should taste so wonderful.

This song celebrates the torturing and beating and murdering and burying of grain -- the brutal punishment of barley -- which nonetheless grows and is resurrected and becomes a brew so delicious and potent that it triumphs over its tormenters, and flattens all those men who wounded it so badly.

Some form of this myth and song -- often accompanied by village harvest dance -- dates from pre-Christian pagan times. The Christian missionaries who converted the pagans tolerated these myths and songs to bridge the gap between old faith and new faith, and use the old beliefs to explain the new resurrection and triumph over death.

Speakers ON / Rightclick: Open in New Tab

John Renbourn - guitars, vocals
Tony Roberts - vocals, flute, recorders, oboe, piccolo
Jacqui McShee - vocals
Sue Draheim - fiddle, vocals

(Many samples of Sue Drahem's music)

Keshave Sathe - tabla, finger cymbals

John Barleycorn

(traditional England / Scotland)

There were three men come from the West
Their fortunes for to try,
And these three made a solemn vow:
"John Barleycorn must die."

They plowed, they sowed, they harrowed him in,
Threw clods upon his head,
'Til these three men were satisfied
John Barleycorn was dead.

They let him lie for a very long time,
'Til the rains from heaven did fall,
When little Sir John raised up his head
And so amazed them all.

They let him stand 'til Mid-Summer's Day
When he looked both pale and wan;
Then little Sir John grew a long, long beard
And so became a man.

They hired men with their scythes so sharp
To cut him off at the knee;
They rolled him and tied him around the waist,
And served him barbarously.

They hired men with their sharp pitchforks
To pierce him to the heart,
But the loader did serve him worse than that,
For he bound him to the cart.

They wheeled him 'round and around the field
'Til they came unto a barn,
And there they took a solemn oath
On poor John Barleycorn.

They hired men with their crab-tree sticks
To split him skin from bone,
But the miller did serve him worse than that,
For he ground him between two stones.

There's little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl,
And there's brandy in the glass,
And little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl
Proved the strongest man at last.

The huntsman cannot hunt the fox
Nor loudly blow his horn
And the tinker cannot mend his pots
Without John Barleycorn.

1st Day Issue / Tierra de los Sueños / the New Appalachian Trail / Maine to Buenos Aires

2009-06-28T18:16:00.006-04:00

Oh yes by all means
please click the image
to make it larger.

I am SO PSYCHED! I am packing my backpack and gettin out my hikin' boots! If I leave Right Now, I should be in Buenos Aires oh maybe ... gee, I don't know, this is a real schlep. But what an adventure! Even with my lousy feet, I am confident I will succeed, nothing can stop me, nothing can possibly go worng!

Petites Boîtes

2009-06-28T04:37:00.005-04:00

Click for larger

Petites Boîtes

French lyrics by Graeme Allwright
translated from "Little Boxes"
by Malvina Reynolds

Kate & Anna McGarrigle sing
a very nice (abbreviated) version HERE
(intro to episode of "Weeds")

Petites boîtes très étroites
Petites boîtes faites en ticky-tacky
Petites boîtes, petites boîtes
Petites boîtes toutes pareilles
Y a des rouges, des violettes
Et des vertes très coquettes
Elles sont toutes faites en ticky-tacky
Elles sont toutes toutes pareilles

Et ces gens-là dans leurs boîtes
Vont tous à l'université
On les met tous dans des boîtes
Petites boîtes toutes pareilles
Y a des médecins, des dentistes
Des hommes d'affaires et des avocats
Ils sont tous tous faits de ticky-tacky
Ils sont tous tous tous pareils

Et ils boivent sec des martinis
Jouent au golf toute l'après-midi
Puis ils font des jolis enfants
Qui vont tous tous à l'école
Ces enfants partent en vacances
Puis s'en vont à l'université
On les met tous dans des boîtes
Et ils sortent tous pareils

Les garçons font du commerce
Et deviennent pères de famille
Ils bâtissent des nouvelles boîtes
Petites boîtes toutes pareilles
Puis ils règlent toutes leurs affaires
Et s'en vont dans des cimetières
Dans des boîtes faites en ticky-tacky
Qui sont toutes toutes pareilles.

¿Fue esto la cara que lanzó 1000 buques? / Appalachian Trail now goes all the way from Maine to Buenos Aires!!!! Hey guys! Hike it today!

2009-06-27T15:28:00.006-04:00

Oh yeah, click EVERYTHING!

This is WONDERFUL news! I've wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail all my life -- the Nature, the Beauty, the Solitude, the Adventure! -- and now the Appalachian Trail has just become SO MUCH BETTER!

Thanks to a cooperative effort between the USA National Park Service, the Appalachian Trail Club, and several Central and South American governments, now you can hike all the way from Maine to Buenos Aires!!!

========================

En la Argentina,
un gobernador de EE.UU.
engaña a su esposa

El gobernador de Carolina del Sur, Mark Sanford, que se había ausentado misteriosamente durante cinco días, volvió a su casa y confesó públicamente su affaire

WASHINGTON -- El extraño misterio de la desaparición durante cinco días del gobernador del estado norteamericano de Carolina del Sur, Mark Sanford, dio un giro más bizarro aún hoy cuando reapareció sorpresivamente admitiendo no sólo un "exótico" viaje secreto a Buenos Aires, sino que además mantuvo una relación extramatrimonial con una mujer argentina.

Un affaire que, más allá del escándalo mediático, podría tener graves consecuencias para la carrera política del republicano.

"Le he sido infiel a mi mujer. Inicié una relación con una muy, muy querida amiga de la Argentina", reconoció Sanford en una rueda de prensa pocas horas después de reaparecer, tras pasar casi una semana sin dar señales de vida.

Sanford, cuyo nombre se barajaba como posible candidato presidencial por el Partido Republicano para 2012, había desaparecido el jueves de la semana pasada sin revelarle ni a su familia -mujer y cuatro hijos- que estaba de vacaciones, ni a sus colaboradores cercanos, a dónde se iba.

En la víspera, su esposa Jenna había asegurado a la prensa que no sabía "nada" de su marido desde entonces, mientras que el personal del gobernador, ante las crecientes críticas de políticos de su estado por la desinformación acerca del paradero del jefe regional, emitió un comunicado afirmando que Sanford estaba haciendo excursionismo en los Montes Apalaches.

Pero nada de eso era cierto. Un periodista local fue testigo de su llegada en la mañana de hoy al aeropuerto estadounidense de Atlanta en un vuelo procedente de la Argentina.

"Quería hacer algo exótico", explicó Sanford al reportero del diario "The State". Buenos Aires "es una ciudad fantástica", agregó indicando que conocía la capital argentina de dos viajes anteriores.

Aventura lejana. Lo que no reveló al periodista es lo que diría públicamente unas horas más tarde ante unos medios que confesaron quedar atónitos: Que la "amistad" que comenzó de "manera inocente" ocho años antes con una mujer argentina pasó a "algo más" hace un año y que desde entonces ha mantenido una aventura extramatrimonial de la que su familia tenía conocimiento desde hace cinco meses.

"El perdón no es un proceso inmediato", dijo Sanford. Sus palabras iban dirigidas a su mujer y sus cuatro hijos, ausentes de la rueda de prensa y para los que pidió "privacidad". Pero el mensaje podría estar destinado también a las esferas políticas de su partido, que con Sanford ven sumarse un escándalo más en momentos de por sí más que bajos para la oposición estadounidense.

Otra infidelidad. Y es que la admisión de una aventura del gobernador por Carolina del Sur se produce apenas dos semanas después de que otro alto político republicano, el senador por Nevada John Ensign, admitiera también un affaire amoroso.

Como consecuencia, Ensign dimitió de su puesto como presidente del Comité de Políticas de su partido, el cuarto puesto más importante de la formación republicana en el Senado. Al igual que Sanford, Ensign era considerado un candidato potencial para las elecciones presidenciales de 2012.

El gobernador por Carolina del Sur anunció hoy su renuncia como presidente de la asociación de gobernadores del Partido Republicano. Sin embargo, no reveló si también dejará su puesto al frente de su estado ni si este "traspié" sentimental cortará su carrera política.

Pese a todo, no es ésta una situación de la que los demócratas de Barack Obama puedan sacar mucho jugo.

Y es que también ellos saben bastante de problemas sexuales en sus propias filas: el año pasado, un escándalo de prostitución acabó con una de sus figuras más promisorias, el gobernador por Nueva York Eliot Spitzer. Unos meses más tarde, poco después de renunciar a la carrera presidencial por los demócratas, el ex senador John Edwards también tuvo que admitir una relación extramatrimonial.

- 30 -

=================

CIUDAD DE BUENOS AIRES (Urgente24).-- El "secreto" ha sido develado: la amante argentina del gobernador de Carolina del Sur, Mark Sanford, se llama María Belén Chapur, y no es funcionaria, sino una atractiva morocha de 43 años, vecina de Palermo, divorciada hace mucho tiempo, madre de dos hijos adolescentes y ejecutiva de la firma Bunge & Born.

Según los registros de graduados de la Universidad Católica Argentina, María Belén obtuvo el título de licenciada en Ciencias Políticas, con especialización en Relaciones Internacionales.

Chapur se mantiene en excelente estado físico haciendo mucho deporte. Participó al menos de dos grandes maratones como fue la 'Marathon Nike 10K', y la 'Maratón Accenture', en la cual corrió como parte de la empresa Bunge Argentina SA.

Según relató hoy un cronista de Radio Continental que conversó con sus vecinos, Chapur es una mujer muy linda y en muy buen estado físico.

Esto pudo advertirlo todo aquel que la vio por TV, cuando Chapur colaboró en 'Después de Hora', el noticiero de medianoche que conducía Daniel Hadad y que emitía América 2.

También es políglota. En efecto el 14 de noviembre de 2005, el sitio 'El Reloj', publicó unas declaraciones de la mujer en una nota sobre los argentinos que aprenden chino para lograr nuevas oportunidades de trabajo.

"Incluso un conocimiento básico del mandarín es de suma ayuda, según la estudiante Belén Chapur, de 39 años.

El año pasado, antes de tomar clases de mandarín, Chapur acompañó a su marido -un exportador de soja- a un viaje de negocios a Pekín. Pese a su fluido español, francés e inglés y su básico portugués tuvo muchos problemas para comunicarse con sus interlocutores durante el viaje.

"Fue como jugar a 'dígalo con mímica"', recordó. "He viajado a varias partes del mundo y ése fue el lugar donde más me costó comunicarme", agregó."

Por supuesto, no le cuesta tanto con el inglés. Ayer Sanford lo confirmó en una conferencia de prensa, en la cual pidió perdón a su familia "y a mi gran amiga argentina", lamentando las implicancias de su aventura.

"Quería hacer algo exótico ... Buenos Aires es una ciudad grandiosa", dijo el gobernador, cuya escapada fue descubierta por una periodista que lo encontró en el aeropuerto de Atlanta, cuando regresaba de su volcánica aventura rioplatense.

Sanford le había dicho a su esposa que viajaba unos días a los Appalaches para trabajar en la paz montañosa en la redacción de un libro, pero que en realidad su destino era Buenos Aires, donde lo esperaba Chapur.

Mencionado entre los posibles candidatos republicanos a la Presidencia en 2012, el futuro político de Sanford ha sufrido un golpe letal con su affaire porteño.

El diario 'La Nación' dijo esta madrugada que sus intentos por contactar a Chapur no habían hallado respuesta, pero la "viglia" en torno a la mujer comenzará en minutos y seguramente durante el transcurso de la jornada no podrá evitar el asedio de los cronistas.

La novela en torno al destino de Sanford habìa comenzado al fin de la semana pasada, y ni sus asesores sabían donde estaba. "He engañado a mi esposa, desarrollando una relación con una amiga argentina que comenzó de forma inocente, pero que luego fue algo más profundo y como consecuencia herí a mi esposa, a mi familia y a mucha gente más", afirmó ante las cámaras de televisión estadounidenses.

El mandatario contó que el vínculo empezó hace ocho años como algo "inocente" y aseguró que "ella estaba a miles de kilómetros de distancia" y sólo se intercambiaban ideas a través del correo electŕonico. Varios de esos correos fueron publicados en las últimas horas en el diario 'The State'.

Sanford reconoció que la relación fue creciendo y con el tiempo se desarrolló una "amistad significativa", que luego se transformó en "algo más". "En ese momento comenzamos a cuestionarnos cómo hacer de aquí en adelante, y a reflexionar sobre cómo dejar esto en el pasado. Fui para explicarle que había algo real, pero que pensando en la gente de Carolina del Sur, mi esposa y mis hijos, tuve que tomar una decisión", explicó.

El gobernador aseguró que tras la aventura dio por finalizado su romance con la mujer argentina y trató de minimizar el episodio, que pese a todo se convirtió en tema inevitable entre los norteamericanos y en un nuevo escándalo que involucra a un funcionario público.

"Quiero pedir perdón a mi esposa, a mis cuatro hijos y a todo el pueblo de Carolina del Sur. Se trata de un proceso y no estaría aquí si no pudiera decir que estoy comprometido a hacer lo correcto", concluyó el infiel Sanford ante la prensa. Las explicaciones deberá seguir dándolas puertas adentro.

Chapur figura ahora incluso en la biografía de Sanford en Wikipedia, donde se lee:

=====================

"Extramarital affair

On June 24, Sanford arrived at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport, at 5:43 am on a Delta Flight 110 from Buenos Aires, Argentina.[31] He was met at the airport by only one reporter, The State's Gina Smith, who had received a tip that the governor would be arriving in Atlanta.[32][33] He gave her a brief sit-down interview, wherein he claimed that he was alone for the entire trip, and did not give any other details than that he drove the coastline.[32] Sanford said that he had considered hiking the Appalachian trail, but at the last minute decided to do something "exotic".[32][34] When asked why his staff said he was hiking, Sanford replied, "I don't know." He later said "in fairness to his staff," he had told them he might do such hiking. Sanford said he cut his trip short after his chief of staff, Scott English, told him his trip was gaining a lot of media attention and he needed to come back.[35] These events prompted Republican state senator Jake Knotts to comment, "Lies. Lies. Lies. That's all we get from his staff. That's all we get from his people. That's all we get from him."[34] Several hours after arriving back in the US, Sanford held a press conference, where he admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife.[36][32] He told reporters that he had developed a relationship with an Argentinian woman that he had met "a little over eight years ago, very innocently,"[37] and that the relationship had turned romantic about a year before.[32] Sanford's wife had become aware of his infidelities around five months beforehand, and the two had sought marriage counseling.[32] She said that she requested a trial separation about two weeks before his disappearance.[38]

Sanford resigned as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association,[39][40] and he was swiftly succeeded by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.[41] Sanford has not commented about the possibility of resigning his position as governor.[32]".

==========================

Un último dato, no menor: Sanford había representado a Carolina del Sur durante tres períodos en la Cámara de Representantes, donde curiosamente en 1998 votó en favor de enjuiciar al presidente Bill Clinton por su aventura extramatrimonial con Monica Lewinsky.

Y aunque los demócratas analizaban ayer todos los detalles del caso para intentar sacar rédito político, entre sus propias filas también hubo recientemente algunos casos similares.

El año pasado, un escándalo de prostitución forzó al gobernador de Nueva York, Eliot Spitzer, a renunciar a su puesto. Pocos meses más tarde, el ex senador y ex candidato presidencial demócrata John Edwards también sepultó su carrera política al admitir que le había sido infiel a su esposa.

- 30 -

Veterans, widows and orphans vs. momzer, ganef, meshugineh Frumm & sociopath / Madoff's victims write the judge who will sentence him Monday

2009-06-26T09:28:00.006-04:00

Click for larger.

Below the body of this story from The Jewish Daily Forward aren't Comments ... but letters written by Bernard Madoff's victims to Madoff's sentencing judge, who will hand down Madoff's prison sentence on Monday 29 June.

As the story notes, much of the public has the impression that Madoff exclusively scammed the rich and famous, movie stars, entertainment personalities, and that greed and folly were elements of every victim's fate.

These letters to the sentencing judge show the actual situations and profiles of Madoff's victims. After a lifetime of hard work and careful saving, they wanted a comfortable, modest, safe retirement. They had no fantasies of yachts and private jet planes to Aegean isles.

If anyone has wondered why Vleeptron has not blogged much about Bernard Madoff until now, it's not from a co-religionist's sympathy.

It was out of concern for my health and blood pressure. I didn't want to blow a gasket.

For one thing, Madoff lives a subset of Judaism with which I have Zilch closeness or familiarity, and his Adventures are not likely to make me want to get closer to what my mother used to describe as "meshugineh Frumm" (crazy Orthodox Jews).

Theologically, when Madoff dies (Nostrabobus predicts that will be in prison; he faces 150 years), and requests entrance to Heaven by proving he has never eaten pork or Chesapeake Bay crabs, or mixed meat with dairy, I can't wait to see the vinegary expression on God's face.

Heaven, if it exists, or other Post-Mortem rewards, just don't work like that. It's not about the lobsters and the pork chops.

But in evaluating how good a Jew Madoff is, Huckleberry Finnstein is happy to defer to the opinion of Elie Weisel, survivor of several Nazi concentration camps, and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. The funds for Weisel's charity, and Weisel's and his wife's life savings, were wiped out by Madoff's Ponzi scam. [The full story of Weisel's opinions about Madoff is printed at bottom.]

Asked what punishment he would like to see for Madoff, Wiesel said: "I would like him to be in a solitary cell with only a screen, and on that screen for at least five years of his life, every day and every night, there should be pictures of his victims, one after the other after the other, all the time a voice saying, 'Look what you have done to this old lady, look what you have done to that child, look what you have done,' nothing else."

In fact many of Madoff's victims didn't even know their finances were involved in any way with Madoff's schemes, and had never heard of Madoff. They only learned they were ruined when Madoff confessed and the headlines started screaming.

One charity entirely wiped out when the Madoff bubble burst paid for competent private defense lawyers for Pennsylvania kids in trouble with juvenile court. Instantly Pennsylvania's minors in trouble lost their lawyers, and now wander through the court system defended, if at all, by overburdened, bargain-basement state-supplied public defenders -- lawyers at the very bottom of the legal Skill Chain.

Pennsylvania's kids will now do lots of time behind bars not because of their authentic crimes or guilt, but just because this charity can no longer pay for adequate defense lawyers. Similar stories abound throughout the USA's charity sphere.

Authentic suffering -- not just cutting back from French to New York State wine -- but diseases untreated, dashed college hopes, old women and old men having to go back to working night shifts at convenience stores just to avoid homelessness ...

What would I like? I'd like Madoff to give the money back to those he stole it from.

But where the money never existed, or where it's vanished, he can't.

And where he's hidden the money in anonymous coded bank accounts around the world, he won't.

====================

The Jewish Daily Forward
English edition
New York City USA
Wednesday 24 June 2009

Madoff’s Victims Speak Out

Veterans, widowers, parents, the elderly and the sick. They are hardworking people who believed in living within their means, saving for a rainy day and putting money aside for their grandchildren’s college tuition. From across the country, victims of Bernard Madoff’s $65,000,000,000 Ponzi scheme wrote in painful detail of their hardship and losses as they implored U.S. District Judge Denny Chin to give Madoff the maximum prison time allowed by law, 150 years, at his June 29 sentencing.

In their own voices, some of the victims wrote of losing their homes, having to go on food stamps or needing to go back to work, despite being in their late 60s, to make ends meet. Many of his victims said they were shocked by the news that they were broke. Then as the slow realization set in, they found themselves questioning their faith in humanity and coping with the emotional and physical pain that the financial upheaval has wrought.

Despite the pervasive assumption that those who invested with Madoff were celebrities, the wealthy and well connected, the messages released by the court illustrate that many of Madoff’s clients had been ordinary Americans. They had trusted him or their financial advisers with their life savings, and they asked why the Securities and Exchange Commission had not saved them from the massive fraud.

Madoff surrendered to authorities last December and pleaded guilty in March to 11 criminal charges in connection with the scheme. What follows are excerpts from some of the 113 statements written by Madoff’s victims.

-– Alison Cies

* * *

Our parents didn’t, and don’t, deserve to lose everything they saved for over the decades, and they don’t deserve to have to say goodbye to their safe, unflashy home. They never harmed anybody.… Bernard Madoff lied to, and thus stole from, my parents ON A WEEKLY BASIS, with every weekly packet of confirmation slips that he sent out. That means that he lied to them, and stole from them, 52 separate times in a single year. And, because they invested with him approximately two decades ago, that means that Bernard Madoff lied to them, and stole from them, 1,040 separate times. He deserves to stay in prison for at least that many years.

Abby Frucht
Wisconsin

I am an 80-year-old man in poor health whose remaining years have been totally devastated by Bernie Madoff. My wife and I have lost every dollar of our life savings in Madoff’s fraud scheme with no hope of recovery. We have had to sell every asset that we own in order to survive, and we don’t know how long the proceeds will last. I cannot begin to describe to you the toll that Madoff’s actions have taken on us financially, physically and emotionally…. Mr. Madoff is a ruthless and unscrupulous man with no conscience or remorse.

Leonard Forrest
Port Saint Lucie, Florida

I have personally been in contact with several victims, most of whom have lost their entire life savings. None of these people had millions of dollars invested. They were, for the most part, humble, hardworking individuals who invested prudently and diligently to provide for their retirement. I am one of those people…. I had never heard of Bernard Madoff prior to his highly publicized arrest on December 11, 2008. And I realized only after receiving Michael Sullivan’s letter on December 20 that my entire life savings had probably been lost. I am 52 years old and once had hopes of retiring with modest means. That possibility has disappeared…. Due to his egregious deeds, Mr. Madoff deserves no better than to live under a bridge in a cardboard box, scavenging for his food and clothing, living the existence which he has undoubtedly relegated some unfortunate victims to.

Robert G. Mick

I recently read a report that Mr. Madoff has hired a jailhouse consultant who is supposed to teach him how to put his best face forward during the sentencing phase. Please be aware that he (or his wife) is using our money, that belonging to the victims, to pay that consultant. This is just one more slap in the face and once again demonstrates total disdain for the victims of his massive fraud.

Michael De Vita
Chalfont, Pennsylvania

We have a 16-year-old daughter. We took her to New York three years ago to meet Bernie Madoff. He had the gall to shake her hand as we thanked him for taking such good care of our money — her college money — and all of our extended family’s money. He robbed us not only of our money, but of our faith in humanity, and in the systems in place that were supposed to protect us. Please remember his victims. Sentence this monster Madoff to the most severe punishment within your abilities. Madoff is a serial criminal.

Randy Baird

We trusted the SEC to protect us, and they failed us. At this point, we really feel like we cannot trust anyone ... I am hoping that the judicial system does not fail us, as well.

Sheila Ennis
Manhattan Beach, California

Twenty-one years ago my husband invested our life savings with Bernard Madoff. He died from a heart attack two weeks later. Shortly after I buried my husband, I met with Bernard Madoff. He appeared to be a genuine, kind man. He put his arm around my shoulder and assured me that my money was safe and I should not worry. I have to admit that I was not sophisticated in investing or finance and I trusted this kindly man ... Look at the faces of the people in the courtroom; they are a small representation of the thousands that he has destroyed. Please keep all of us in your mind when you decide the fate of this heartless human being.

Norma Hill
Armonk, New York

I am opening up my family’s financial status to anyone who wants to see it, which is incredibly humbling and humiliating after years of hard work and major philanthropy. My family’s name can be seen on buildings for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Hebrew Home for the Aged and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem ... Mr. Madoff seems to have done all he could to protect his family, while now I have lost almost everything I have to protect mine ... I had to pretend to smile when my 10-year-old daughter was around, and try not to reveal the fear that I was living with ... What gave him the right to do this to us?! He knows everything. He knows where the money is and who else is involved and is not talking, thus he shows no remorse for what he has done. For this alone, he deserves the maximum sentence. Combine that with how much suffering he has caused his investors, and it’s a slam dunk.

Caren Low
Harrison, New York

Bernard Madoff did not come forward because he felt regret for his actions. He came forward because he knew he could not continue his fraud. He came forward in his own calculating way to keep the damage at a minimum for himself and his family. While he was sitting in his penthouse apartment, waiting for a hearing with his upscale lawyer and his legal team to minimize the prison time, my husband and I had to put our house up for sale, scramble to pay our bills and try not to go bankrupt ... We cannot afford a lawyer to help us.

Florence and Richard Roth
Jupiter, Florida

Not wealthy, I am not the typical media portrayal of a Bernard Madoff victim. I live in a modest two-bedroom house, and I own one car. I was a small business owner and I worked six days a week for most of my life and funded my own IRA in order to retire comfortably. Now I am considered under the poverty level, and I do not think I can last another six months in my home ... The impact of this crime is far-reaching, and Bernard Madoff must be severely punished for a crime of this magnitude. Please take into account that Mr. Madoff stole not only money, but lives, dreams, futures and security.

Angelo Viola
Staten Island, New York

Mr. Madoff has not cooperated with any law enforcement entities to unravel his decades-old crimes. He has not cooperated in identifying other accomplices, and essentially he took the easy way out by pleading guilty, thus avoiding any cross-examination and the thorough investigation of the facts which a trial would have necessitated ... I feel I have been economically raped. Mr. Madoff has not only stolen my money; he has stolen my lifestyle and my family’s lifestyle. I recognize I will never be able to earn what Madoff stole from me, my wife and our children, and we, as a result, are sentenced to living a life devoid of our life savings and the security and comfort that provided to us…. While the popular perception has been that the victims were primarily very wealthy Jews, the reality is that most of the victims were your neighbor next door, hardworking, middle-class, tax-paying citizens. Madoff didn’t discriminate, as long as the money was green; he took it for his own benefit.

Richard Shapiro
Hidden Hills, California

I am 76 years old. I have served my country in the Korean War and have been a good tax-paying citizen. I was recommended to Madoff in 1997. I had two other investment counselors, but Madoff outperformed them every year (or so I thought), and I moved all of my money (it was in an IRA) to Madoff. I am now destitute. We had to sell our home in upstate New York at a very reduced price to avoid foreclosure. We are now living in one room in my daughter’s house in California. I cannot pay my long-term health insurance. I had to give up my car, and we are applying for food stamps. Our lives are a nightmare.

Allan Goldstein
Woodland Hills, California

My husband is 92 and I am 87 years of age, and the distress and misery and anguish his vile acts have caused deserve a severe sentence. If I could, I would charge him with heartbreak, sadness and tears.

Shirley Stone

Patricia Brown
Danbury, Connecticut

I am a widow of 81 years old. My husband and I invested our money for 20 years so we would have a worry-free retirement…. My husband passed away on April 8 after a long battle with cancer. In December, I found out that Madoff stole all of my money — I am broke — robbed by “The Madoff Gang.” Now I find that I was also robbed by my government. My husband and I paid taxes for years, and it is unlikely that I will ever get that back. Not only did Madoff steal money, but he caused the government to steal also…. Madoff victims have been portrayed in the media as wealthy and privileged individuals. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many Madoff victims are elderly individuals or retirees who were saving for the future and had the misfortune to believe in a powerful Wall Street insider who was repeatedly investigated and given a clean bill of health by a government watchdog agency named the SEC.

Emma De Vita
Chalfont, Pennsylvania

Compiled by Alison Cies. Contact her at cies@forward.com

=================

The New York Times
Friday 27 February 2009

Elie Wiesel levels
scorn at Madoff

by Stephanie Strom

What does Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor who has dedicated his life to fighting hatred and intolerance, think about Bernard Madoff?

" 'Psychopath' — it's too nice a word for him," Wiesel said in his first public comments on Madoff and the Ponzi scheme he is accused of perpetrating on thousands of individuals and charities, including the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity.

" 'Sociopath,' 'psychopath,' it means there is a sickness, a pathology. This man knew what he was doing. I would simply call him thief, scoundrel, criminal."

Wiesel's charity lost $15,200,000, and he and his wife, Marion, lost their life savings. "This was a personal tragedy where we discovered all of a sudden what we had done in 40 years — my books, my lectures, everything — was gone," said Wiesel, who shared his story as part of a panel discussion on the Madoff scandal on Thursday.

He said he began investing with Madoff at the suggestion of an old friend whom he declined to name, "just a wealthy man, not in the financial business." Wiesel said, "He too lost $50,000.000."

The Wiesels met Madoff on only two occasions, he said, adding that during one encounter Madoff had tried to persuade Wiesel to abandon his post at Boston University, where he teaches the humanities, philosophy and religion, for a chair at Queens College, alma mater of Madoff's wife, Ruth.

"We must have spoken about ethics," Wiesel said. "Some learn, and some don't."

After seeing how consistently Madoff generated handsome returns buying fairly plain-vanilla securities — "He bought 100 shares of Coca-Cola and sold 500 shares of Pfizer," Wiesel said, describing his understanding of the Madoff strategy — the Wiesels decided to invest their charity's assets with him as well.

"We checked the people who have business with him, and they were among the best minds on Wall Street, the geniuses of finance," Wiesel said. "I am not a genius of finance. I teach philosophy and literature — and so it happened."

Wiesel spoke on a panel at the "21" Club moderated by Joanne Lipman, the editor in chief of Portfolio, the Condé Nast magazine devoted to business and finance.

Another panelist, James Chanos, who specializes in short-selling, or betting that certain stock prices will fall, said Madoff's investors bore some responsibility for not heeding the warning signs.

"Every checklist of responsible behavior on behalf of fiduciaries broke down here: 'we're not going to tell you what we're in,' 'you can't see where we're investing,' the statements weren't clear, the strip-mall accounting firm," Chanos said.

Harvey Pitt, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that Madoff investors were not the only ones hoodwinked in the last several years, that investors in Wall Street firms also tolerated less-than-ideal transparency. "I really do believe that there was criminality at a lot of these firms," Pitt said, citing the different valuations that financial institutions placed on the same financial instruments.

"It's not per se fraudulent to have different values for different purposes, but someone has to look at that and figure out what was going on," he said. "These kinds of things reflect more than happenstance or carelessness; they reflect criminality."

Wiesel said, however, that spotting problems was not easy. "Remember, there was a myth he created around him, that everything was so special, so unique that it had to be secret," he said, adding that his charity's accountants had not identified potential concerns about Madoff.

He said he was amazed at the outpouring of support for his charity in the wake of the scandal. "Unsolicited, hundreds of people, literally, hundreds of people we have never known sent us money through the Internet, $5, $18, $100, one even $1,000," he said.

The Elie Wiesel Foundation will hold a benefit concert on May 26 to raise more money, and Wiesel has a book, "A Mad Desire to Dance," coming out soon.

Asked what punishment he would like to see for Madoff, Wiesel said: "I would like him to be in a solitary cell with only a screen, and on that screen for at least five years of his life, every day and every night, there should be pictures of his victims, one after the other after the other, all the time a voice saying, 'Look what you have done to this old lady, look what you have done to that child, look what you have done,' nothing else."

- 30 -

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul! / the Chambered Nautilus / Spira Mirabilis, the Logarithmic Spiral

2009-06-23T20:33:00.008-04:00

Click image for larger

Logarithmic spiral tiling by Steven Dutch, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay (USA)
Photo of nautilus shell by John Lienhard, University of Houston (Texas USA)
Graph by Wolfram MathWorld

The e in the equation is Euler's constant

e = 2.71828 18284 59045 23536 02874
......71352 66249 77572 47093 69995
......95749 66967 62772 40766 30353
......54759 45713 82178 52516 64274
......27466 39193 20030 59921 81741 ...

Time has not been kind to Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Time is right.

There's not much that he wrote that deserves a ticket to Immortality. He let himself be trapped by every embarrassing cliche and convention of the Worst Moment of English-Language Literature, the 19th century.

Not all his contemporaries ended up in the trap. Holmes' fellow Civil War soldier -- actually a Union Army field medic -- Walt Whitman made of himself a volcano of originality, and singlehandedly prepared American poetry for the far more interesting and important 20th Century. He pioneered tools and perceptions for poets that endure to this day in the best American and English-language poetry. The best English poets are all intimate with Whitman. But nobody needs to feel embarrassed that he or she forgot to read the collected works of Oliver Wendell Holmes.

This is either an exception to his typical long-winded Victorian claptrap, or it isn't. You decide. Or skip it entirely and wait for Vleeptron to post something, anything, more interesting than this poem. Perhaps tomorrow would be a good time to post my new pimento cream-cheese sandwich recipe.

Eugene O'Neil liked one phrase -- maybe the whole poem -- and titled one of his last plays, finally produced posthumously, "More Stately Mansions." It is possible, even through the Victorian claptrap, to like this poem not for its clumsy verbosity, but for its sentiment. A not very great (though, in his day, immensely popular) poet is sincerely yearning for something many would recognize as important, and does the best Victorian job he can to express his yearning.

He wishes to celebrate a simple, pretty marble, and reaches for a garishly colored 12-pound Spalding bowling ball. Simplicity and directness, not to mention brevity, were not centerpieces of Victorian poetry.

The chambered nautilus itself (Nautilus pompilius) is a unique and impressive ocean cephalopod (the same group as octopus and squid). It rises and sinks in the ocean because of its hard-shell air chambers; as it grows larger, it grows new, larger, watertight chambers. The squishy, living, many-tentacled creature lives safely inside the most recent and largest chamber of the remarkable shell.

The shell is nacre, or mother-of-pearl, made from calcium carbonite extracted from seawater.

The illustration above shows the geometric pattern of the chambered nautilus, which mathematicians have noted and admired for centuries. The math alone -- a logarithmic spiral first described by Descartes -- is sweepingly elegant and simple. Jakob Bernoulli called it spira mirabilis, the marvelous spiral.

It grows larger and larger -- but its shape is always the same, chamber after chamber, year after year. An infant nautilus has exactly the same shape as a full-grown nautilus; near Indonesia and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, shell diameters can reach 268 millimeters = 10.6 inches.

Hawks and flying insects, tropical cyclones, brocolli florets and spiral galaxies also obey the plan of the spira mirabilis.

And yet no marine biologist has ever suggested the chambered nautilus has the slightest realization of what a clever, even wonderful mathematician and physicist it is. Alan Turing spent a lot of time late in his life studying and writing about these built-in, automatic mathematics skills of living things, and how computers might be programmed to mimic this phenomenon. DNA itself has astonishing computational skill and power, used chiefly to correct the tiniest errors in its endless replications. Without this superfast, superpowerful, constant digital computation, our kids would look a lot less like Mom and Dad, if they survived conception, pregnancy and birth at all.

I don't know how tasty Nautilus pompilius is. If it tastes anything like squid or octopus, it might be delicious. If I got my hands on some, I'd start with fresh-ground black pepper, but lightly, not to smother what's probably a very subtle taste.

I have no idea how two chambered nautiluses have sex and reproduce. I don't think Holmes had any idea, either, which is why so much of his poetry found a welcome home in high-school textbooks -- our shrines for Literature Certified to Be 100% Sex-Free. There's a lot less Whitman in high-school textbooks.

~ ~ ~

The Chambered Nautilus

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

THIS is the ship of pearl, which, poets feign,
Sails the unshadowed main,—
The venturous bark that flings
On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings
In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings,
And coral reefs lie bare,
Where the cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair.

Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl;
Wrecked is the ship of pearl!
And every chambered cell,
Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,
As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,
Before thee lies revealed,—
Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed!

Year after year beheld the silent toil
That spread his lustrous coil;
Still, as the spiral grew,
He left the past year's dwelling for the new,
Stole with soft step its shining archway through,
Built up its idle door,
Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more.

Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,
Child of the wandering sea,
Cast from her lap, forlorn!
From thy dead lips a clearer note is born
Than ever Triton blew from wreathèd horn!
While on mine ear it rings,
Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:—

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!

text: Yale Book of American Verse (1912)

Leonhard Euler on the front 10 franc CH note / Leonhard Euler's pretty pictures on the obverse

2009-06-22T05:36:00.008-04:00

One click makes it larger
And one click makes it small

patfromch said...

Did you know that there is a Hotel Euler in Basel?

[the link to the Hotel Marvin Euler has been removed. See Comments below.]

I am going to walk by on Thursday and will give it a nod. Most guests probably don't even know who Leonard Euler is, that he once used to be on one of our bills or where Königsberg is. They probably just want a soft bed, room service and a wake-up call in the morning.

The heydays of BASIC were before my time, I can only remember trying my hands on a Commodore 64 and later MS-DOS and have forgotten most of it. Bill Gates still claims that he knows BASIC by heart as this video shows:

MS is still developing post-Basic stuff, check this out:

I have decided to go back to school and work for a CompTIA A+ exam, basic skills in programming languages such as Java or SQL may be inevital I fear. Apart from many other things. Oh bloody hell. The introduction lesson will be on said Thursday when I will walk past the Hotel Euler.

And I can't believe I am pulling plugs for MS. Get Ubuntu or even better, get a Mac ! You can still run Windows via Bootcamp or Wine if you really have to

====================

Can you walk in the lobby and see if maybe they got a pretty little free postcard of the hotel? I asked you last year to scout me up some good local hotels -- I think you just found my hotel in Basel.

(I know I owe you some postcards. I got the postcards. I got the stamps. I just haven't put the stamps on the postcards and mailed them yet. I think Freud called this kind of behavior Anal Retentive, it comes from Bad Toilet Training at Age 2 or whenever.)

Okay, I pronounce the above Extinct Banknote a tie with NL's 1000 Guilder Spinoza note.

You should have seen the Gazillion Koroner notes of the Socialist Heroes in Czechoslovakia, they had a nasty-looking Soviet-style soldier holding a Kaloshnikov with the cylindrical ammo magazine. If he had a Speech Balloon, he would be saying: Don't try anything funny, Tovarich.

A Gazillion Koroner would have bought you a cup of coffee in Prague -- if they had any coffee, which was not all the time. Edible food was also a common challenge.

I used to have a flatmate who said that capitalism was by far the best economic system, because only a capitalist economy could produce 14 competing different models of electric guitars. How could Marx possibly have refuted that? I don't think Marx even played the ukulele. (Karl, anyway, I think Groucho plays the ukulele in a couple of movies.)

Anyway, if you want to be a Successful, even a Great Sovereign Nation, you don't put a threatening soldier on your money. You put your country's greatest Philosoph on your money.

Or the world's greatest Mathematician, if he just happens to hang in your Sovereign Nation. You festoon your hard cash with the portraits of your most brilliant Dreamers.

In the little Amsterdam hotel, I asked the front-desk lady to make me a phone call to the Spinoza House because I don't speak any Dutch, and she very nicely made the phone call and found out what I needed to know about visiting Spinoza's little house (he rented the upstairs from a sympathetic surgeon) in Rijnsburg.

Later I was in the bar and she came up to me, she looked a little embarrassed, and said:

"Of course I have heard of Spinoza. But ... just who was he?"

I didn't know the Dutch word "Wijsgeer," but my father had used the word "Philosoph," he pronounced it with a pan-Euro spin, so I told her he was a great Philosoph. She nodded, she understood, she smiled. Danke wel.

The Euro was already in business and had extincted the old Guilder notes. But later I found out why she knew Spinoza's name -- and had even seen his face now and then.

You could probably have bought a used deux chevaux with a Spinoza.

The Euler, on the other hand -- 10 Suisse (old? new?) francs, this was real Straßegelt, 20 of these jumped in and out of your wallet every week. Everybody knew what Leonhard Euler looked like. In Confoederatio Helvetica he was as familiar as Elvis.

Interestingly enough, the Nasty Socialist Hero Soldier with the Kaloshnikov was a symbol of hyperinflation and worthless currency. Nobody in Prague wanted it, they asked for DM or Pound Sterling or U$, anything but the local stuff.

But with Euler and Spinoza -- this is Real Money, you can have a very nice brandy, or a short airplane flight, or a long train trip along the Rhine. I'll bet a Spinoza could have bought you Companionship in Amsterdam for the evening, and you would get change back.

I so terribly miss the Old Money. It was such a pleasant nightmare changing it two or three times a day when you crossed a border, seeing all these new faces, wondering who they were -- not just the Dreamers, but the Queens and Kings, the Revolutionaries who overthrew them, the Statesmen.

Newton made the biggest impression of all. After his nervous breakdown, his friends dragged him out of Cambridge, he bought a house in London, and eventually used his fame and connections to become England's Master of the Mint. He had to supervise a new coinage.

The old silver and gold coins kept shrinking -- people would use scissors to snip around the outsides of the coins. So Newton invented Milling -- the ribbed circumference of coins, so you can tell immediately if it's the original size or has been snipped and shrunk.

A counterfeiter and confidence man accused Newton of corrupting the currency. He probably thought Newton was a silly old Dreamer and no match for the confidence man's clever attacks.

Newton defended his new coins very effectively. When it was all over, he was still Master of the Mint. And the confidence man -- well, counterfeiting and Monkey Business with the national Money is considered High Treason, and the punishment for that was to be Drawn and Quartered. That must have hurt.

In an earlier Vleeptron post I showed the Euro coin found in Spain with Homer Simpson's image on it. This counterfeiter has a lot of talent, but I don't think he has much business sense or much of a future as a counterfeiter.

Reporters Without Borders / Reporters sans frontières: Iran Becomes World's Biggest Prison for Journalists

2009-06-21T20:43:00.005-04:00

Reporters Without Borders
Reporters sans frontières

Repression stepped up
yet again as Iran becomes
world’s biggest prison
for journalists

Published on 21 June 2009
In the same country

19 June 2009 - European Union’s 27 leaders urged not to recognise Ahmadinejad’s reelection

18 June 2009 - Journalists in France demonstrate in support of their Iranian colleagues

17 June 2009 - Press freedom violations recounted in real time

The Islamic Republic of Iran now ranks alongside China as the world’s biggest prison for journalists. The crackdown has been intensified yet again following Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s endorsement of the result of the 12 June presidential election and the opposition’s decision to call another demonstration on 20 June.

Iran now has a total of 33 journalists and cyber-dissidents in its jails, while journalists who could not be located at their homes have been summoned by telephone by Tehran prosecutor general Said Mortazavi.

“The force of the demonstrations in Tehran is increasing fears that more Iranian journalists could be arrested and more foreign journalists could be expelled,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The regime has been visibly shaken by its own population and does not want to let this perception endure. That is why the media have become a priority target.”

The press freedom organisation added: “The international community cannot continue to ignore the situation. It must have a clear and unanimous reaction that is proportionate to the gravity of these events. And there will never be any question of recognising the results of the 12 June election.”

Reporters Without Borders already wrote to the leaders of the European Union’s 27 member countries urging them not to recognise President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reelection.

It has emerged that Mohammad Ghochani, the editor of Etemad Meli (a daily owned by Mehdi Karoubi, one of the opposition presidential candidates), was arrested at 2 a.m. on 18 June. Intelligence ministry officials took him away to an unknown location, probably the security wing of Tehran’s Evin prison.

Ghochani is also the editor of the dailies Shargh and Hammihan and the weekly Saharvand Emroz. The publication of all these newspapers had already been suspended before his arrest.

Reporters Without Borders has also learned that blogger and human rights activist Shiva Nazar Ahari was arrested at her Tehran home on 14 June (see her blog: http://azadiezan.blogspot.com).

Husband-and-wife journalists Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee and Jila Baniyaghoob were arrested at midnight of 20 June by intelligence ministry officials in plain clothes who searched their home and then took them away to an as yet unknown location, probably the security wing of Tehran’s Evin prison.

A winner of the Courage in Journalism prize awarded by the International Women’s Media Foundation, Baniyaghoob edits a news website that focuses on women’s rights, Canon Zeman Irani (http://irwomen.net). Her husband, Amoee, writes for various pro-reform publications.

Reporters Without Borders has also been able to confirm that Ali Mazroui, the head of the Association of Iranian Journalists, was arrested in the morning of 20 June.

The BBC confirmed in the afternoonof 21 June that its Tehran correspondent, Jon Leyne, has been ordered to leave the country within 24 hours. Officials accused him of “supporting rioters”. The authorities had previously accused Britain of “conspiring“ against Iran.

Journalists and activists held in Evin prison are being put under a lot of pressure to make filmed “confessions” acknowledging their participation in a “velvet revolution.” Reporters Without Borders has also received many allegations of torture.

The state radio and TV broadcaster is meanwhile putting out false information about the opposition candidates and the cancellation of today’s demonstration. Foreign news agency correspondents are also being pressured not to report anything about the opposition.

A few hours after Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech yesterday endorsing Ahmadinejad’s election and banning any demonstrations, several videos were posted online showing individuals on rooftops chanting “Allah Akbar!” (see this Iranian blogger’s video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZfm...).

After being blocked since 11 June, the Iranian news website Entekhab (www.entekhabnews.com/) has now been closed down on the orders of the Tehran prosecutor general.

At least 20 journalists had already been arrested since 12 June (see list below). Reporters Without Borders has not been able to trace many others. Some may have found refuge but others may now be with those of their colleagues who had already been in jail for some time. Even before the election, Iran was ranked as the Middle East’s biggest prison for journalists and cyber-dissidents.

Twenty-three journalists have been arrested in the week since the presidential election results :

14 June:

- Somayeh Tohidloo, who also keeps a blog (http://smto.ir)

- Ahmad Zeydabadi

- Kivan Samimi Behbani

- Abdolreza Tajik

- Mahssa Amrabad

- Behzad Basho, a cartoonist

- Khalil Mir Asharafi, a TV producer

- Karim Arghandeh, a blogger (http://www.futurama.ir/) and reporter for pro-reform newspapers Salam, Vaghieh and Afaghieh, who was arrested at his Tehran home.

- Shiva Nazar Ahari (see her blog: http://azadiezan.blogspot.com).

15 June:

- Mohamad Atryanfar, the publisher of several newspapers including Hamshary, Shargh and Shahrvand Emrouz, who has reportedly been taken to the security wing of Evin prison.

- Saeed Hajjarian, the former editor of the newspaper Sobh-e-Emrouz, who was arrested at his Tehran home on the night of 15 June despite being badly handicapped.

- Mojtaba Pormohssen, who edits the newspaper Gylan Emroz and contributes to several other pro-reform newspapers and radio Zamaneh. He was arrested in the northern city of Rashat.

16 June:

- Mohammad Ali Abtahi, also known as the “Blogging Mullah,” who was arrested at his Tehran home. His blog: http://www.webneveshteha.com/.

- Hamideh Mahhozi, arrested in the southern city of Bushehr.

- Amanolah Shojai, who is also a blogger. Arrested in Bushehr.

- Hossin Shkohi, who works for the weekly Paygam Jonob. Arrested in Bushehr.

- Mashalah Hidarzadeh, arrested in Bushehr.

17 June:

- Saide Lylaz, a business reporter for the newspaper Sarmayeh, who had been very critical of Ahmadinejad’s policies. He was arrested at his Tehran home.

- Rohollah Shassavar, a journalist based in the city of Mashad.

18 June:

- Mohammad Ghochani, the editor of Etemad Meli.

20 June:

- Jila Baniyaghoob, editor of website Canon Zeman Irani (http://irwomen.net),

- Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee,

- Ali Mazroui, the head of the Association of Iranian Journalists.

================================

La répression s’accentue
encore et le pays devient
la première prison du monde
pour les journalistes

Publié le 21 juin 2009
Dans le même pays

19 juin 2009 - Reporters sans frontières en appelle aux 27 chefs d’Etat de l’Union européenne

19 juin 2009 - Les journalistes en France se mobilisent en faveur de leurs collègues iraniens

17 juin 2009 - La répression s’intensifie contre la presse, nationale et étrangère

La République islamique d’Iran occupe désormais, avec la Chine, le rang de première prison du monde pour les journalistes. La répression s’est encore accentuée à l’issue de la confirmation par le Guide Suprême Ali Khamenei, le 19 juin 2009, du résultat de l’élection présidentielle du 12 juin, et en marge de la manifestation convoquée, le 20 juin, par l’opposition.

Le pays compte trente-trois journalistes et cyberdissidents emprisonnés. Le procureur de Téhéran, Saïd Mortazavi, a convoqué par téléphone les journalistes qui n’ont pas été localisés à leur domicile.

“La violence des manifestations à Téhéran fait craindre a tout moment de nouvelles arrestations de journalistes iraniens et d’autres expulsions de confrères étrangers. Le régime, profondément ébranlé par sa propre population, ne peut tolérer d’être ainsi perçu. C’est pourquoi il s’attaque en priorité à la presse. La communauté internationale ne peut plus ignorer la situation. Sa réaction, claire et unanime, doit être à la mesure d’un événement de cette gravité. Il ne sera jamais question de reconnaître le résultat de la présidentielle du 12 juin”, a rappelé Reporters sans frontières, qui a écrit en ce sens aux chefs d’État et de gouvernement des 27 pays de l’Union européenne.

Mohammad Ghochani, rédacteur en chef du quotidien Etemad Meli, propriété de Mehdi Karoubi, l’un des candidats d’opposition à Mahmoud Ahamadinejad, a été arrêté à Téhéran, le 18 juin à deux heures du matin. Des fonctionnaires du ministère du Renseignement l’ont transféré vers un lieu non précisé, vraisemblablement la section de sécurité de la prison d’Evin. La parution des quotidiens Shargh et Hammihan ainsi que de l’hebdomadaire Saharvand emroz, dont il était également rédacteur en chef, avait déjà été suspendue.

Reporters sans frontières a également eu connaissance de l’arrestation, le 14 juin à son domicile de la capitale, de Shiva Nazar Ahari, cyberdissidente et activiste des droit de l’homme (voir son blog : http://azadiezan.blogspot.com).

Le 20 juin à minuit, le domicile de Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee et son épouse Jila Baniyaghoob, à Téhéran, a fait l’objet d’une perquisition d’agents en civil du ministère du Renseignement. Le couple de journalistes a été aussitôt arrêté et transféré vers un lieu non précisé, vraisemblablement la section de sécurité de la prison d’Evin. Lauréate en 2009 du Prix du Courage en journalisme, décerné par la International Women’s Media Foundation, Jila Baniyaghoob dirige un site d’informations de tendance féministe, Canon Zeman Irani (http://irwomen.net). Son mari, Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee, collabore à plusieurs publications proches du courant réformateur. Reporters sans frontières a également eu confirmation de l’arrestation d’Ali Mazroui, le président de l’Association des journalistes iraniens, dans la matinée du 20 juin.

Enfin, la BBC a confirmé, dans l’après-midi du 21 juin, que son correspondant à Téhéran, Jon Leyne, avait reçu l’ordre de quitter le pays dans les vingt-quatre heures. Le journaliste est accusé de “soutien aux émeutiers” par les autorités, pour qui la Grande-Bretagne "comploterait" contre l’Iran.

Les journalistes et activistes emprisonnés à la prison d’Evin subissent d’importantes pressions de la part des autorités pour faire des “aveux” filmés, au titre de leur “participation à une révolution de velours”. Nombreux sont les cas de tortures signalés à Reporters sans frontières.

La radio-télévision d’État s’est par ailleurs employée à attribuer de fausses informations aux candidats d’opposition, notamment l’annulation de la manifestation du 20 juin. La pression s’exerce également sur les agences de presse étrangères pour que leurs correspondants ne relayent aucun fait rapporté par l’opposition. Quelques heures après la discours du 19 juin de l’ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmant la “victoire“ de Mahmoud Ahmadinedjad et interdisant toute manifestation, plusieurs vidéo circulant sur Internet ont montré des individus perchés sur des toits et scandant “Allah Akbar !” (voir la vidéo d’une blogueuse iranienne : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZfm...). Le site d’informations Entekhab (//www.entekhabnews.com/), filtré dès le 11 juin, a été fermé sur ordre du procureur du Téhéran.

Au moins vingt-trois journalistes ont déjà été arrêtés depuis le 12 juin (liste ci-dessous). Nombreux sont ceux dont Reporters sans frontières a perdu la trace. Dans le meilleur des cas, ils se sont mis à l’abri. Au pire, ils sont déjà sous les verrous, rejoignant leurs confrères détenus de longue date. Avant le scrutin présidentiel, l’Iran avait déjà la triste réputation de plus grande prison du Moyen-Orient pour les journalistes et cyberdissidents.

Les vingt-trois journalistes arrêtés depuis le 14 juin 2009

Le 14 juin 2009 :
- la cyberdissidente Somaieh Tohidlou (http://smto.ir)
- Ahmad Zeydabadi,
- Kivan Samimi Behbani,
- Abdolreza Tajik,
- Mahssa Amrabadi,
- Behzad Basho, le caricaturiste
- Khalil Mir Asharafi, réalisateur à la télévision iranienne
- Karim Arghandeh, journaliste pour les journaux réformateurs Salam, Vaghieh etafaghieh, et blogueur (http ://www.futurama.ir/) a été arrêté à son domicile de Téhéran.
- La cyberdissidente Shiva Nazar Ahari ( http://azadiezan.blogspot.com)

Le 15 juin 2009 :
- Mohamad Atryanfar, directeur de plusieurs publications comme Hamshary, Shargh, Shahrvand Emrouz, aurait été transféré à la section de sécurité de la prison d’Evin.
- Saïd Hajarian, ancien directeur du journal Sobh-e-Emrouz, a été arrêté par les forces de l’ordre dans la nuit du 15 au 16 juin à son domicile de Téhéran, alors même qu’il est handicapé.
- Mojtaba Pormohssen, journaliste pour plusieurs journaux réformateurs, collaborateur à la radio Zamaneh et rédacteur en chef du journal Gylan Emroz, a été arrêté à Rashat (nord du pays).

Le 16 juin :
- Mohammad Ali Abtahi, surnommé “Mollah blogueur“, a été arrêté à son domicile de Téhéran. Son blog : http://www.webneveshteha.com/.
- Mme Hamideh Mahhozi, arrêtée à Bushehr (sud de l’Iran)
- Amanolah Shojai, journaliste et blogueur, arrêté à Bushehr
- Hossin Shkohi, journaliste à l’hebdomadaire Paygam Jonob, arrêté à Bushehr
- Mashalah Hidarzadeh, arrêté à Bushehr

Le 17 juin :
- Saide Lylaz, journaliste au journal Sarmayeh, a été arrêté à son domicile de la capitale. Ce spécialiste des questions économiques s’est montré très critique envers la politique d’Ahmadinejad.
- Rohollah Shassavar, journaliste de la ville de Mashad, est détenu depuis la même date.

Le 18 juin :
- Mohammad Ghochani, rédacteur en chef du quotidien Etemad Meli.

Le 20 juin :
- Jila Baniyaghoob, directrice du site d’informations Canon Zeman Irani (http://irwomen.net),
- Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee,
- Ali Mazroui, président de l’Association des journalistes iraniens.

=======================

Reporters Without Borders
Reporters sans frontières

Introduction

Published on 24 April 2009

"Don’t wait to be deprived of news to stand up and fight for it"

In some countries a journalist can be thrown in prison for years for a single offending word or photo. Jailing or killing a journalist removes a vital witness to events and threatens the right of us all to be informed. Reporters Without Borders has fought for press freedom on a daily basis since it was founded in 1985.

Investigate, expose and support

Reporters Without Borders:
- defends journalists and media assistants imprisoned or persecuted for doing their job and exposes the mistreatment and torture of them in many countries.
- fights against censorship and laws that undermine press freedom.
- gives financial aid each year to 100 or so journalists or media outlets in difficulty (to pay for lawyers, medical care and equipment) as well to the families of imprisoned journalists.
- works to improve the safety of journalists, especially those reporting in war zones.

Before taking action, Reporters Without Borders researchers, who each handle a region (Africa, the Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe and the former Soviet bloc, Middle East/ North Africa) or a topic such as the Internet, compile reports of press freedom violations. After checking the information, the researchers and the organisations’ correspondents send protest letters to the authorities to put pressure on governments which do not respect the right to inform and to be informed, and send releases to the media to drum up support for the journalists under attack.

Sometimes gathering information is not enough. A Reporters Without Borders fact-finding mission is then sent to investigate on the spot the working conditions of journalists, as well as cases of imprisoned or murdered journalists, and also to meet with the authorities in the country concerned.

Publicity campaigns conducted with the help of public relations firms aim to inform people and try to give countries which do not respect this basic right a bad name in the eyes of international institutions, the media and governments that have ties with them.

Reporters Without Borders is funded by the sale of its twice-annual albums of photographs as well as calendars, by auctions, small and large donations, member dues, public grants and partnerships with private firms.

An international organisation

Reporters Without Borders is present in all five continents through its national branches (in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland), its offices in New York, Tokyo and Washington, and the more than 120 correspondents it has in other countries. The organisation also works closely with local and regional press freedom groups that are members of the Reporters Without Borders Network, in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burma, Colombia, Democratic Congo, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Russia, Somalia, the United States and Tunisia.

Reporters Without Borders is registered in France as a non-profit organisation and has consultant status at the United Nations.

In 2005, the organisation won the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

A constantly-updated website

All the organisation’s press releases and publications are available online in five languages (Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Persian) at its website www.rsf.org which keeps a daily-updated list of journalists killed or imprisoned around the world. It also contains detailed reports on special cases and invites the public to sign online petitions for the release of jailed journalists.

Press freedom events

As well as its daily press releases, fact-finding mission reports and regular publications, Reporters Without Borders stages several annual events to highlight the issue of press freedom.

- The round-up of press freedom in the world In January, the organisation summarises the previous year, with the number of journalists arrested, threatened, physically attacked or killed and media censored.

- World Press Freedom Day On this day (May 3), Reporters Without Borders publishes its list of the predators of press freedom, as well as a book of photographs which is sold to raise money for the organisation to continue its work.

- The Worldwide Press Freedom Index Issued in October, measuring the degree of freedom journalists and media have in more than 160 countries.

- Jailed Journalists Support Day Reporters Without Borders has lobbied media and journalists since 1989 to “adopt” journalists imprisoned for doing their job and to publicise their plight on this day each November so they are not forgotten. A second book of photographs is also published on the day to raise money to help imprisoned journalists.

- The Reporters Without Borders Prize In December. This honours a journalist who, by work, attitude or principled stands, has shown strong belief in press freedom, a media outlet that exemplifies the battle for the right to inform the public and to be informed, a defender of press freedom and a cyber-dissident spearheading freedom of expression online.

Yankee Magnetic Software: "Solving things you never even knew were problems!" / QuickBasic and Konig7

2009-06-21T18:55:00.005-04:00

Click image for larger.

Paul P said...

I tried to read all of this post but I got a headache.
Sunday, 21 June, 2009

=========================

Again, I am not saying how I voted about whether you are a human or a spambot, but I am increasingly leaning against the proposition that you are software. Software can make you want to kill the ATM machine, but it rarely whines and kvetches. Whining and kvetching are, so far, the exclusive province of H. sapiens.

But as you can see, I have the skills to write a program that repeats endlessly:

"Are we there yet?"

Yankee Magnetic Software's all-time best-seller was "Beer.exe", which picked a Very Big Random Integer (we have discussed this Random thing before), and then displayed on the screen:

624489022 bottles of beer on the wall
624489022 bottles of beer
take one down, pass it around
624489021 bottles of beer on the wall

624489021 bottles of beer on the wall
624489021 bottles of beer
take one down, pass it around
624489020 bottles of beer on the wall

624489020 bottles of beer on the wall
624489020 bottles of beer
take one down, pass it around
624489019 bottles of beer on the wall

624489019 bottles of beer on the wall
624489019 bottles of beer
take one down, pass it around
624489018 bottles of beer on the wall

... a never-ending annoyance previously only sung by elementary school children to the bus driver on a long field trip. I made the computer act exactly like a busful of elementary school children. Except that eventually kids get bored or have to sleep. Beer.exe had no such limitations as long as there were still a few bottles of beer on the wall.

This is not Quite So Silly or Dumb. Or maybe it is Silly and Dumb.

As Fox News Channel (Murdoch) proclaims: We report. You decide.

But

It's software, you're not supposed to READ it, you're supposed to Copy & Paste it into a QuickBasic compiler, and then RUN it so it makes your computer do a Very Nifty Thing.

But I found it very liberating to post my actual pathetic programming skills and talents to the entire planet, many of whose residents make their living writing software. Posting my actual code (which nobody can see or read after the program is compiled into a stand-alone *.exe file) to all Cyberspace felt a lot like walking into a Sarah Palin rally wearing a Late Night with David Letterman t-shirt. About my crappy programming skills, I have always been rather shy.

Not 100% secretive. This guy Gordon Shumway (the name which ALF the cat-eating Alien Life Force used to get credit cards and Victoria's Secret catalogs) found this readable code on

QBCafe

a QuickBasic Labor-of-Love Kult Site that Dieter runs out of Germany. Weirdos like me dump their screwy proggies on Dieter's QuickBasic website as freeware, and anybody can hose it up and run it.

All dialects of BASIC were supposed to have been laughed out of Dodge decades ago. Finally about 8 years ago, Microsoft, which had developed the super-sophisticated dialect QuickBasic, took it out in the backyard and shot it. Microsoft no longer sells, supports or continues to develop QuickBasic.

And now my beloved QuickBasic is having bad allergic reations and dysfunctions when you try to run it in the Microsoft Windows Vista OS.

Not just abandoned and unsupported. Now Mom is trying to suffocate, strangle and murder her baby.

I would so much like to Dialogue with Bill Gates about that and express my Disappointment personally to him. I would like to Share My Feelings about that with him, and with Melinda if she's in the room or on the yacht or the private Lear Jet.

BASIC is the only lingo I know how to use to force computers to Dance To My Every Whimsical Tune. When I have troubles using BASIC, I can't make my computer, or everybody's computer, do Everything I Want My Worldwide Army of Silicon-Based Slaves To Do.

Look -- I don't ask for much. I just want to write BASIC programs to make all the computers in the world obey me. Is that wrong?

Evil People do things along those lines, but you can detect their Evilness because they do it in C++ -- the language of brain-dead industrial software Morlocks in cubicles.

The BASIC kult are the last surviving True Believers that ANYBODY, no matter how dumb or clumsy or ignorant, should be able to Completely Control any computer. All it takes is BASIC, the documentation, and a big bottle of Aspirin. And a week or two, or a month or two, of your Time. How much Time depends on how complicated or ambitious the Slave Dance you want the computer to do is.

That was the whole idea of the two math professors at Dartmouth College (New Hampshire USA), John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz, who invented BASIC. In 1964 they could see computers springing up all over the place, but almost nobody knew how to enslave them, because all the programming languages were Too Fucking Complicated to learn or grasp. Only a Specialist Programming Elite could make computers dance.

So they invented BASIC. After Just 1 Night of Real Simple Study ... Shazam! Your computer dances to your every whimsical tune!

Anyway, find a Nerd who can hose Konig7 up, and run it on your computer. Then you can watch the Whimsical But Mathematically and Educationally Significant Dance Across the 7 Bridges of Konigsberg.

As Vleeptron has discussed before -- the occasion, I think, of your first Comment -- I think the 7 Bridges of Konigsberg is one of the most charming Fairie Tales anybody on Planet Earth ever cooked up, I have been entranced by it since the first time I heard about it. I have even tried to go to Konigsberg twice.

Which is not an easy trick, because Kongisberg no longer exists.

But still, with determination, backpack, and Bad Judgment, it can be done and I am gonna get there.

My own travels have taught me that if I ever do get there, there will be Australians of both genders with backpacks in line in front of me. Them suckers are Travellin' Fooles!

Either the 7 Bridges of Konigsberg will move you very deeply, hypnotize, fascinate, astonish, thrill, excite, enflame, captivate, challenge and mesmerize you.

Or it won't.

The choice is yours.

This will go on your Permanent Record.

Bob rediscovers his amazing PROOF of the 7 Bridges of Konigsberg!

2009-06-20T09:19:00.009-04:00

Re-filched from Australian Mathematics Trust. For supplying the map and the names of the bridges, I won 2 t-shirts!

Unbelievable! Unbelievable!

I Googled "Yankee Magnetic Software" (my fictitious corporation which I invented to get Free Crap from computer companies) and some lovely gentleman had posted the QuickBasic code to my Konig7 program!

Konig7 PROVES that it is impossible to cross all 7 Bridges, each bridge only once, and return to the place you started!

The names of the Bridges:

Greune
Koettel
Schmiede
Honig
Hohe
Holz
Kraemer

I've lost this program 3 computers ago -- but now I got it again!!! Thanks Gordon Shumway!!!

===========

From: Gordon Shumway
To: All
Date: 2003-03-15 20:00:08
Subject: Seven Bridges

DECLARE SUB FrTh ()
DECLARE SUB UnFrTh ()
DECLARE SUB Logiq ()
DECLARE SUB Menu ()
DECLARE SUB NoMenu ()
DECLARE SUB Pat1 ()
DECLARE SUB Pat2 ()
DECLARE SUB Pat3 ()
DECLARE SUB Koni ()
DECLARE SUB Slp ()
DECLARE SUB SlpSlo ()
DECLARE SUB Brugge ()

    D$ = CHR$(148): RRPS = 8: SHRT = .01

    CLS : T100K = TIMER: FOR AA = 1 TO 100000: NEXT AA
    T100K = TIMER - T100K: IF T100K < 0 THEN T100K = T100K + 86400
    SCREEN 12

A04: CLS : Koni: Menu: LOCATE 29, 11: PRINT "        "; : LOCATE 20, 1
    PRINT "         The 7 Bridges of K"; D$; "nigsberg": PRINT
    PRINT " On Sunday strolls, citizens of K"; D$; "nigsberg"
    PRINT " tried to cross all 7 bridges, each only once,  "
    PRINT " and end where they started. No one ever could. "
    PRINT " But no one could prove it was impossible.      ";

    LOCATE 2, 52: PRINT "           KONIG7           ";
    LOCATE 3, 52: PRINT "     Copyright (c) 2002     ";
    LOCATE 4, 52: PRINT "      by Robert Merkin      ";
    LOCATE 6, 52: PRINT "  Yankee Magnetic Software  ";
    LOCATE 7, 52: PRINT "     Northampton MA USA     ";
    LOCATE 9, 53:  PRINT CHR$(34); "Solving things you never";
    LOCATE 10, 53: PRINT "even knew were problems!"; CHR$(34);
    LOCATE 12, 52: PRINT "   bobmer.javanet{at}rcn.com  ";
    LOCATE 13, 52: PRINT "   http://users.rcn.com/   ";
    LOCATE 14, 52: PRINT "          bobmer.javanet/  ";
    LINE (400, 0)-(635, 235), 12, B

    D$ = CHR$(148): RRPS = 8: SHRT = .01

    CLS : T100K = TIMER: FOR AA = 1 TO 100000: NEXT AA
    T100K = TIMER - T100K: IF T100K < t100k =" T100K" href="http://users.rcn.com/" target="new">http://users.rcn.com/   ";
    LOCATE 14, 52: PRINT "          bobmer.javanet/  ";
    LINE (400, 0)-(635, 235), 12, B

A08: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A08
              IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

 : NoMenu: DZRT = SHRT: Pat1: DZRT = 2: Slp: Koni
           DZRT = SHRT: Pat2: DZRT = 2: Slp: Koni
           DZRT = SHRT: Pat3:                Menu

A12: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A12
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN 0: CLS : END

LINE (400, 0)-(635, 235), 0, BF: Koni
LOCATE 1, 52: PRINT "After centuries of trying,  ";
LOCATE 2, 52: PRINT "some K"; CHR$(148); "nigsberg
students    ";
LOCATE 3, 52: PRINT "wrote Leonhard Euler (1707 -";
LOCATE 4, 52: PRINT "1783), Europe's greatest    ";
LOCATE 5, 52: PRINT "mathematician, and asked him";
LOCATE 6, 52: PRINT "to solve the puzzle of the  ";
LOCATE 7, 52: PRINT "7 Bridges.                  ";

LOCATE 9, 52:  PRINT "Euler's notation:";
LOCATE 11, 52: PRINT "   7 Bridges      abcdefg   ";
LOCATE 5, 9:   PRINT "c"; : LOCATE 5, 18:  PRINT "d";
LOCATE 5, 31:  PRINT "g"; : LOCATE 14, 9:  PRINT "a";
LOCATE 14, 18: PRINT "b"; : LOCATE 14, 31: PRINT "f";
LOCATE 10, 25: PRINT "e";

A16: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A16
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

LOCATE 13, 52: PRINT "   4 Land Zones   ABCD      ";
LOCATE 2, 39:  PRINT " C "; : LOCATE 17, 39: PRINT " B ";
LOCATE 10, 5:  PRINT " A "; : LOCATE 10, 39: PRINT " D ";

A20: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A20
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

: Brugge: LOCATE 9, 52:  PRINT "To Euler, the 4 Land Zones  ";
      LOCATE 10, 52: PRINT "ABCD were more important    ";
      LOCATE 11, 52: PRINT "than the 7 Bridges.         ";
      LOCATE 13, 52: PRINT SPACE$(27);

A24: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A24
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

LOCATE 13, 52: PRINT "The Word DA means:    ";
LOCATE 15, 52: PRINT "     Cross from zone D";
LOCATE 16, 52: PRINT "             to zone A";

A28: DZRT = SHRT: FOR XX = 29 TO 18 STEP -1
CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: NEXT XX

DZRT = 1: Slp: XXL = (18 * RRPS)
           XXR = (29 * RRPS) + 8
           YYC = (18 * RRPS) + 4
LINE (XXL, (YYC - 4))-(XXR, (YYC + 4)), 10, BF
LINE (((21 * RRPS) - 10 + 4), (17 * RRPS))-(((26 * RRPS) + 10 + 4), (20 *
: SlpSlo

G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A28
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

LOCATE 13, 61: PRINT "C";
LOCATE 15, 73: PRINT "C"; : LOCATE 18, 60: PRINT "by
either bridge.";

A32: DZRT = SHRT
FOR YY = 3 TO 15: CIRCLE (((17 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((17 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT Y

DZRT = 1: Slp: YYH = (3 * RRPS)
           YYL = (15 * RRPS) + 8
           XXC = (17 * RRPS) + 4
LINE ((XXC + 4), YYH)-((XXC - 4), YYL), 10, BF
LINE (((17 * RRPS) - 6), (5 * RRPS))-(((17 * RRPS) + 14), (14 * RRPS)), 1
: Slp

DZRT = SHRT
FOR YY = 3 TO 15: CIRCLE (((8 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((8 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT YY

DZRT = .5: Slp: XXC = (8 * RRPS) + 4
LINE ((XXC + 4), YYH)-((XXC - 4), YYL), 10, BF
LINE (((8 * RRPS) - 6), (5 * RRPS))-(((8 * RRPS) + 14), (14 * RRPS)), 12,
: Slp

G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A32
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

FOR LL = 1 TO 25: LOCATE LL, 52: PRINT SPACE$(28); : NEXT LL: NoMenu
LOCATE 1, 52: PRINT "A Path that crosses 7   ";
LOCATE 2, 52: PRINT "bridges can be described";
LOCATE 3, 52: PRINT "by an 8-letter Word.    ";
LOCATE 5, 52: PRINT "ABDCABDA means:         ";
LOCATE 7, 52: PRINT "         Cross from A   ";
LOCATE 8, 52: PRINT "                 to B   ";

DZRT = .05: CIRCLE (((17 * RRPS) + 4), ((20 * RRPS) + 4)), 3, 13
PAINT (((17 * RRPS) + 4), ((20 * RRPS) + 4)), 13
FOR YY = 21 TO 34: CIRCLE (((17 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((17 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo
YYY = YY: NEXT YY: FOR XX = 17 TO 30
CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo
XXX = XX: NEXT XX: Menu

A36: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A36

: NoMenu: LOCATE 9, 52: PRINT "      then cross to D";
FOR YY = 34 TO 18 STEP -1
CIRCLE (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo
YYY = YY: NEXT YY: DZRT = .05: Menu

A40: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A40

: NoMenu: LOCATE 10, 52: PRINT "      then cross to C";
FOR YY = 17 TO 2 STEP -1
CIRCLE (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo
YYY = YY: NEXT YY: FOR XX = 30 TO 8 STEP -1
CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo
XXX = XX: NEXT XX: DZRT = .05: Menu

A48: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A48

: NoMenu: LOCATE 11, 52: PRINT "      then cross to A";
FOR YY = 2 TO 18: CIRCLE (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo
YYY = YY: NEXT YY: DZRT = .05: Menu

A60: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A60

: NoMenu: LOCATE 12, 52: PRINT "      then cross to B ...";
FOR YY = 19 TO 34: CIRCLE (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo
YYY = YY: NEXT YY: Menu

A64: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A64
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

A68: LOCATE 14, 52: PRINT "How many Path Words   ";
LOCATE 15, 52: PRINT "can be spelled with   ";
LOCATE 16, 52: PRINT "any combination of    ";
LOCATE 17, 52: PRINT "A B C and D?          "; : WZT = 0: Logiq

A72: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A72
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

A76: LOCATE 14, 52: PRINT "A Path Word can't have";
LOCATE 15, 52: PRINT "AA or BB or CC or DD  ";
LOCATE 16, 52: PRINT "in it. Why not? How   ";
LOCATE 17, 52: PRINT "many Path Words now?  "; : WZT = 1: Logiq

A80: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A80
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

LOCATE 14, 52: PRINT "                        ";
LOCATE 15, 52: PRINT "A Path Word can't have  ";
LOCATE 16, 52: PRINT "BC or CB in it. Why not?";
LOCATE 17, 52: PRINT "How many Path Words now?"; : WZT = 2: Logiq

A84: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A84
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

LOCATE 14, 52: PRINT "In a Solution Path, the ";
LOCATE 15, 52: PRINT "First letter must equal ";
LOCATE 16, 52: PRINT "the Last letter. Why?   ";
LOCATE 17, 52: PRINT "How many Path Words now?"; : WZT = 3: Logiq

A88: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A88
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

LOCATE 14, 52: PRINT "In a Solution Path,     ";
LOCATE 15, 52: PRINT "CD or DC must occur only";
LOCATE 16, 52: PRINT "once. Why? How many     ";
LOCATE 17, 52: PRINT "Path Words now?         "; : WZT = 4: Logiq

A92: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "" GOTO A92
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04
         IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END

LOCATE 15, 52: PRINT "BD or DB"; : WZT = 5: Logiq

LOCATE 26, 52: PRINT "QED! No Path exists which  ";
LOCATE 27, 52: PRINT "satisfies these (and other)";
LOCATE 28, 52: PRINT "Rules of the puzzle!       ";
LOCATE 29, 7:  PRINT "    ";

A96: G$ = INKEY$: IF G$ = "X" OR G$ = "x" THEN SCREEN
0: CLS : END
         IF G$ = "R" OR G$ = "r" GOTO A04 ELSE GOTO A96

SUB Brugge
SHARED RRPS

LINE (((8 * RRPS) - 6), (5 * RRPS))-(((8 * RRPS) + 14), (14 * RRPS)), 12, BF
LINE (((17 * RRPS) - 6), (5 * RRPS))-(((17 * RRPS) + 14), (14 * RRPS)), 12, BF
LINE (((30 * RRPS) - 6), (5 * RRPS))-(((30 * RRPS) + 14), (14 * RRPS)), 12, BF

LINE (((8 * RRPS) - 6), (23 * RRPS))-(((8 * RRPS) + 14), (32 * RRPS)), 12, BF
LINE (((17 * RRPS) - 6), (23 * RRPS))-(((17 * RRPS) + 14), (32 * RRPS)), 12, B
LINE (((30 * RRPS) - 6), (23 * RRPS))-(((30 * RRPS) + 14), (32 * RRPS)), 12, B

LINE (((21 * RRPS) - 10 + 4), (17 * RRPS))-(((26 * RRPS) + 10 + 4), (20 * RRPS






END SUB

SUB FrTh

LINE (450, 442)-(546, 468), 13, B
LOCATE 29, 59: PRINT "[F]reeze";

END SUB

SUB Koni
SHARED RRPS

LINE (0, 0)-((49 * RRPS), (37 * RRPS)), 10, BF         ' green
LINE (0, (7 * RRPS))-((49 * RRPS), (12 * RRPS)), 9, BF ' Pregel high
LINE (0, (25 * RRPS))-((49 * RRPS), (30 * RRPS)), 9, BF ' Pregel low
LINE (0, (7 * RRPS))-((3 * RRPS), (30 * RRPS)), 9, BF ' Pregel left
LINE ((22 * RRPS), (7 * RRPS))-((26 * RRPS), (30 * RRPS)), 9, BF ' Pregel
: Brugge

END SUB

SUB Logiq
SHARED WZT, DZRT

DZRT = .5: NoMenu: FrTh
PP = 0: PW$ = "DDDDDDDD"          ' prime the pump
LOCATE (19 + WZT), 59: PRINT "0";

Q08: AA = 0
Q12: AA = AA + 1: IF AA = 9 GOTO Q24

CC = 0: UU = ASC(MID$(PW$, AA, 1)) + 1: IF UU = 69 THEN UU = 65: CC = 1
MID$(PW$, AA, 1) = CHR$(UU): IF CC = 1 GOTO Q12

'    ++++   new string complete   +++++++++++++++++++++++++

Q24: IF WZT < hcd =" 0:" cc =" 1" hcd =" HCD"> 1 GOTO Q64

Q26: IF WZT < hbd =" 0:" cc =" 1" hbd =" HBD"> 1 GOTO Q64

Q27: IF WZT = 0 GOTO Q60
IF WZT <> RIGHT$(PW$, 1) GOTO Q64

Q28: BB = 0
Q32: BB = BB + 1: IF BB = 8 GOTO Q60

IF WZT = 0 GOTO Q32
IF MID$(PW$, BB, 1) = MID$(PW$, (BB + 1), 1) GOTO Q64
IF WZT < pp =" PP"> "DDDDDDDD" GOTO Q08
LOCATE (19 + WZT), 73: PRINT "done"; : UnFrTh: Menu

END SUB

SUB Menu

LINE (40, 442)-(219, 468), 13, B
LOCATE 29, 7: PRINT "[ ]  [R]eset  e[X]it";

END SUB

SUB NoMenu

LINE (40, 442)-(219, 468), 0, BF

END SUB

SUB Pat1
SHARED RRPS

'     "Another trolley always comes along." -- "McTeague"
'     this bucket brigade logic is sort of strange, but it works.

CIRCLE (((18 * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 3, 13
PAINT (((18 * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 13
FOR XX = 19 TO 30: CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: XXX = XX: NEXT XX
FOR YY = 17 TO 2 STEP -1: CIRCLE (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT YY
FOR XX = 29 TO 8 STEP -1: CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: XXX = XX: NEXT XX
FOR YY = 3 TO 34: CIRCLE (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT YY
FOR XX = 9 TO 17: CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: XXX = XX: NEXT XX

END SUB

SUB Pat2
SHARED RRPS

CIRCLE (((30 * RRPS) + 4), ((3 * RRPS) + 4)), 3, 13
PAINT (((30 * RRPS) + 4), ((3 * RRPS) + 4)), 13
FOR YY = 4 TO 18: CIRCLE (((30 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((30 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT YY
FOR XX = 29 TO 17 STEP -1: CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 2,
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: XXX = XX: NEXT XX
FOR YY = 19 TO 34: CIRCLE (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT YY
FOR XX = 16 TO 8 STEP -1: CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: XXX = XX: NEXT XX
FOR YY = 33 TO 2 STEP -1: CIRCLE (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT YY
FOR XX = 9 TO 17: CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((YYY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: XXX = XX: NEXT XX

END SUB

SUB Pat3
SHARED RRPS

CIRCLE (((29 * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 3, 13
PAINT (((29 * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 13
FOR XX = 28 TO 17 STEP -1
CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((18 * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: XXX = XX: NEXT XX
FOR YY = 17 TO 2 STEP -1
CIRCLE (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XXX * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT YY
FOR XX = 18 TO 30
CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((2 * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((2 * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: XXX = XX: NEXT XX
FOR YY = 3 TO 34
CIRCLE (((30 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((30 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT YY
FOR XX = 29 TO 8 STEP -1
CIRCLE (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((34 * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((XX * RRPS) + 4), ((34 * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: XXX = XX: NEXT XX
FOR YY = 33 TO 18 STEP -1
CIRCLE (((8 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 2, 0
PAINT (((8 * RRPS) + 4), ((YY * RRPS) + 4)), 0: SlpSlo: YYY = YY: NEXT YY

END SUB

SUB Slp
SHARED T100K, DZRT

ZZ = (100000 * DZRT) / T100K: FOR TT = 1 TO ZZ: NEXT TT

END SUB

SUB SlpSlo
SHARED T100K, DZRT

DZRTSLO = .05
ZZ = (100000 * DZRTSLO) / T100K: FOR TT = 1 TO ZZ: NEXT TT

END SUB

SUB UnFrTh

LINE (450, 442)-(546, 468), 0, BF

END SUB

--- Peach v1.69
* Origin: Rockford Files * (248)398-6601 * (1:120/483)
SEEN-BY: 633/267 270
@PATH: 120/483 481 228 261/38 123/500 106/2000 633/267

snapshot from the USA's War On Drugs

2009-06-20T08:40:00.003-04:00

Comment to Nicholas Kristof's

Time to Legalize Drugs?

oped column in The New York Times:

===========================

545. June 19, 2009 1:50 pm Link

I hope they free my brother someday. He has been in prison for 18 years for selling LSD. He is a non-violent “deadhead” drug offender. He received 2 life sentences with no parole. He sent LSD through the mail which made it federal and he sent it to friends which made it a “conspiracy.” He had 1 prior charge for LSD and a no contest plea for Ecstacy. This made him a “career criminal.” So, life in prison, without the possibility of parole. Timothy L. Tyler, 99672-012. My Dad also received a few hits of acid and served 8 and 1/2 years for the same case. My dad had one prior of marijuanna from 30 year prior, so this was a minumum mandatory 10 years in prison. He died in prison when he was 53. Timothy V. Tyler. You can check on bop.org inmate search.

Anyway, the punishments do not fit the crimes. I miss my brother. He was 22 when he went in, and he’s 40 now, almost 41. He can only hope Obama gives him a pardon I guess. I pray…I cry.

— Carrie Tyler

SOLSTICE! Wake up you Sleepyhead! Rub your eyes! Get out of bed!

2009-06-20T07:51:00.004-04:00

Oh yes please click for larger!

I caught Solstice Sunrise at the Sunwheel in 2007 (I really don't like waking up to see the sunrise; usually when I see the Dawn I am catching it at the end of a really rowdy all-night party), and it was Beyond Charming.

The drive to the Sunwheel had clear skies, and Jupiter was HUGE and BRILLIANT as the Morning Star. (I didn't know it was Jupiter, but the young astrophysicist host did.)

So MAYBE I'll catch it again. Or MAYBE I'll catch the SUNSET gathering, which, for some mysterious reason, is always much better attended.

But the images above -- THIS is the one I really want to see!

==============

SUMMER SOLSTICE 2009
Sunrise and Sunset Gatherings
at the SUNWHEEL

University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts USA

.................sunrise....sunset ==================================
Sunday 21 June.....05:00.....19:30
Monday 22 June.......EDT.......EDT ==================================

The public is invited to witness the passing of the seasons by joining Dr. Judith Young of the U-Mass Department of Astronomy to watch the Sun rise and set over the tall standing stones in the U-Mass Sunwheel for the Summer Solstice of 2009.

The sunrise and sunset events will be held on both Sunday & Monday, 21 and 22 June 2009. Visitors for the sunrise viewing should arrive at 5:00 a.m., and visitors for the sunset viewing should arrive at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

These gatherings celebrate the Solstice, International Year of Astronomy, and 11 years of Sunwheel seasonal events for the public, which have attracted over 10,000 visitors.

This year, the instant of the Summer Solstice is

01:46 a.m. EDT
Sunday 21 June

For those interested in learning about the sky, there will be a presentation which will include the significance of the solstices & equinoxes, the cause of the seasons and phases of the Moon, the story of building the Sunwheel, and discussion of other calendar sites around the world, including Stonehenge & Callanish.

There will also be an explanation of the Moon's 18.6-year cycle, also called the Major Lunar Standstill. Bring your questions, your curiosity, and be prepared for cool temperatures and wet ground.

The gatherings typically last 1 hour, and are held in all weather except rain.

Donation: A $3 donation is requested to help with the cost of the additional sitework and future events which are planned. Sunwheel T-shirts & sweatshirts will also be available for purchase.

The UMass Sunwheel is located south of McGuirk Alumni Stadium, just off Rocky Hill Road. The Sunwheel can easily be reached from the center of Amherst, following Amity Street to the west, on the right hand side of the road about 1/4 mile after crossing University Drive.

* more information on the U-Mass Sunwheel

* more information on the Moon's 18.6-year cycle

* information on other programs offered by Dr. Judith Young

The Sunwheel is a project conceived by Dr. Judith S. Young, Professor of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

e-mail: Judith Young at young@astro.umass.edu

==============

Tomorrow
from the musical comedy "Annie"
(sung by little girl in whiney, annoying voice)

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There'll be sun!

Just thinkin' about
Tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
'Til there's none!

When I'm stuck in a day
That's gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,

Oh
The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way!

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way!

My new binoculars!!!

2009-06-20T06:21:00.002-04:00

Click for larger!

Nicholas Kristof is having an epiphany!

2009-06-17T21:06:00.005-04:00

513. June 17, 2009 8:28 pm

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

Yo Nicholas — your ambivalence was passive kerosene to help the War on Drugs make America the world’s No. 1 Prison. We have more prisoners than China. We have more prisoners than Russia. So thanks for the decades of ambivalence, it was mother’s milk to the scoundrels who’ve grown rich and powerful from the War on Drugs.

Let President Richard Nixon clue you in about what the War on Drugs was all about from the get-go. He explained his drug policies to his chief of staff H.R. Haldeman:

“… you have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to.”

(From Haldeman’s 1994 memoirs.)

Of course you’re not a racist. But thanks for enabling 40 years of racists. Keep on Ambivalencing!

— Bob Merkin

=============

The New York Times
(daily broadsheet USA /
also owns and is threatening
to close The Boston Globe)
Saturday 13 June 2009

Time to Legalize Drugs?

by Nicholas Kristof

My Sunday column looks at the 40-year “war on drugs” and argue that it has failed and that it is time for a dramatic rethink of drug policy. I haven’t written about drugs before because I’ve been ambivalent — in particular, I’ve worried that liberalization would lead to an increase in drug use. I’m not one of those who thinks that drugs are fine — on the contrary, I’ve seen how narcotics can devastate families, even countries. My home town of Yamhill, Oregon, has been hit hard by the Meth explosion.

Yet over the last year I’ve swung toward liberalization, for three reasons. First, the evidence suggests that any increase in use from liberalization would be minor, if there was one at all. Second, Mexico and Afghanistan have shown how American drug policy empowers foreign cartels/terrorists and destabilizes foreign countries. Third, the tens of billions of dollars spent on the drug war seem a vast misallocation of resources at a time we’re struggling to pay for education and health care.

I don’t know precisely what policy I’m in favor of. Decriminalization to start with, as some European countries have done. But maybe we should look at a legalization model as well, with state liquor stores or pharmacists selling narcotics and raising money through taxes. With cigarettes we’ve seen that an aggressive combination of taxation and public health campaigning can reduce addictive behavior, so maybe those are the better tools to apply to narcotics. I hope to continue looking at these issues and thinking about them. Your thoughts most welcome.

- 30 -

ghastly liars' & scoundrels' Iraq War could be YOUR lucky opportunity!

2009-06-17T15:51:00.007-04:00

Okay a few posts ago we published a mysterious WTF e-mail, with a BBC link which the guy promised would explain the mystery.

We clicked and read the BBC story.

NOW we know what the e-mail was all about!

Hot Damn! Money! Money! MoneyMoneyMoneyMoney!

AS ALWAYS, Vleeptron absolves itself from all responsibility if you should e-mail the author of the original e-mail and negotiate with this gentleman regarding your share of the Loot.

Personally, as a former U.S. Army soldier, I find it incredible that U.S. soldiers may have kept some of the Loot for themselves, and now are trying to find an Honest Person (like, for example, YOU) to help them smuggle the Cash out of Iraq.

But if it all works out for you, please observe the traditional Vleeptron protocol and buy me a whomp-ass Lobster Dinner at a fancy-schmantsy restaurant.

============

BBC News (UK)
Last Updated: Wednesday, 30 April, 2003, 12:28 GMT 13:28 UK

Stash of money
found in Baghdad

Foreign currency worth nearly $200,000,000 has been found in a Baghdad neighbourhood, the US military say.

Troops found $100,000,000 and 90,000,000 euros in 31 containers, US Central Command said.

The money has been flown out of the country to a "secure location" for counting purposes and will eventually be returned to Iraq to help rebuild the country, the US said.

Last week, US troops found more than $650,000,000 in the same area of Baghdad.

Soldiers questioned

The latest banknotes were discovered between 23 and 26 April in an area of Baghdad secured by members of the US 3rd Infantry Division, according to a US statement.

The funds will eventually be returned to the Iraqis to help rebuild their nation.

It did not specify exactly where the money was found, although the funds were said to have been kept in containers.

The statement said the containers were flown from Baghdad International Airport on Sunday under an escort of police officers, criminal investigators and financial experts.

"The money arrived at a secure location for counting purposes at approximately 10:30 that morning," the statement said.

"Soldiers of the unit in charge of the counting took approximately five hours to finish this count.

"Funds will remain secure until a stable government is established in Iraq and will ultimately be returned to the Iraqis to assist in the re-building of their nation."

The funds which were found last week are also being held at an undisclosed location.

The money had been hidden behind the false wall of a house searched by US troops. It is thought the stash could have been left by fleeing regime leaders.

Five US soldiers are currently being questioned by military officials after some of that money was allegedly stolen following its discovery.

- 30 -

UK blizzard snowman / snowperson CORRECTION

2009-06-17T15:33:00.003-04:00

There is a really nifty SNOWMAN here, click on it and see it, but Vleeptron wishes to make a correction:

Peaches' kids did not make the snowman when the schools were closed during the blizzard in London, but they made the snowman in the UK city of BRISTOL.

There, now everything on VleeptronZ is PERFECT.

Sugar Babe what's the matter with you / You don't love me like you used to / Sugar Babe it's all over now

2009-06-16T22:44:00.003-04:00

Sugar Babe
by Tom Rush
                                                       
G
Sugar babe what's the matter with you
....C 
You don't love me like you use to do
G...........D.............G
Sugar babe  it's all over now


G
Sugar babe what's the matter with you
.......C
You're running round  with somebody new
G...........D.............G
Sugar babe  it's all over now


G
All I want my sugar to do
......C
Is to make five dollars and give me take two
G..........D.............G
Sugar babe it's all over now


G
Gonna  go downtown and get me a line
......C
And I hope that woman changes her mind
G..........D.............G
Sugar babe it's all over now


Sugar babe what's the matter with you
You don't love me like you use to do
Sugar babe it's all over now

Sugar babe what's the matter with you
It ain't your honey but the way you do
Sugar babe  it's all over now

eat or be eaten / you eat life or life eat you / our week on Cape Cod / I'll never kiss your lips again / They buried you today

2009-06-16T21:40:00.005-04:00

Please click on image.

First of our Cape Cod photos. The ice cream parlor, Sundae School, had a player piano; for 25 cents it would play one or two 1950s rock n roll tunes. One of them was

Teen Angel
(1959) written by Jean Dinning and Red Surrey
sung by Mark Dinning

That fateful night the car was stalled
upon the railroad track
I pulled you out and we were safe
but you went running back

Teen Angel can you hear me?
Teen angel can you see me?
Are you somewhere up above
And am I still your own true love?

What was it you were looking for
that took your life that night?
They said they found my high school ring
clutched in your fingers tight

Teen angel can you hear me...

Just sweet sixteen
and now you're gone
they've taken you away
I'll never kiss your lips again
they buried you today

Teen angel can you hear me...
Teen angel teen angel answer me please

There was one sunshiny, hot day; the rest of the week ranged through a gale, thunderstorms, dense fog, rain. S.W.M.B.O. says our cottage rental contract warned that you can't get your money back if the weather sucks.

Actually, I found the weather Interesting, often beautiful -- the weather of the Atlantic Ocean. The beam from Chatham Lighthouse would slash through the fog that blanketed Mill Pond at night every 20 seconds. But on two nights the ocean wind cleared the fog and rain clouds completely, and I saw night skies clear enough to recognize constellations. Shooting stars flamed down.

Our cottage was originally a clam shack, where diggers would bring their haul of oysters, clams and mussels. The tiny two-storey cottage was surrounded with a solid covering of oyster shells.

Two cottages away was a working boatyard with railroad tracks descending into the pond to winch large boats in and out of the pond.

The pond had lots of horseshoe crabs -- to the best of my knowledge, nobody cooks and eats them. On the shore we saw deer and bunnies, and on the sand in the morning in front of the cottage were raccoon tracks; they came with the tides to eat the shellfish. Fish leapt out of the water. There were long-legged wading birds, duck and Canada geese families floating across the pond, and a black bird that dove straight down to fish, maybe a cormorant. Gulls would fly high with a clam or oyster in their mouths and drop them on rocks to smash them and get at the meat inside. Some locals said there were more deer on Cape Cod today than during Colonial times.

I don't know what local marine biologists and ecologists would say, but Mill Pond seemed incredibly clean, healthy, and teaming with life, all trying, around the clock, to eat each other. We were a part of that. We ate lots of seafood, fish and chips, oysters, I had some delicious duck breast smothered in crushed peppercorns, and every restaurant, inexpensive or fancy, served lobster rolls -- lobster salad in a hot dog bun.

huh?

2009-06-16T19:31:00.003-04:00

----- Original Message -----
From: SGT.LARRY HILLS
Sent: Saturday, June 13, 2009 5:55 PM
Subject: Greetings From Major Williams Mark,

Greetings From Major Williams Mark,

I know you would be surprised to read from someone relatively unknown to you before. My name is SGT. Larry Hills, a member of the U.S. ARMY USARPAC Medical Team, which was deployed to Iraq in the beginning of the war in Iraq.

I would like to share some highly personal classified information about my personal experience and role which I played in the pursuit of my career servingunder the U.S 1st Armored which was at the fore-front of the war in Iraq.

Though, I would like to hold back certain information for security reasons for now until you have find the time to visit the BBC website stated below to enable you have insight as to what I'm intending to share with you, believing that it would be of your desired interest one-way or the other.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm

Also, could you get back to me having visiting the above website to enable us discuss in a more clarifying manner to the best of your understanding. I must say that I'm very uncomfortable sending this message to you without knowing truly if you would misconstrue the importance and decides to go public. In this regards, I will not hold back to say that the essence of this message is strictly for mutual benefit of you and I and nothing more.

I will be vivid and coherent in my next message in this regards. Meanwhile, could you send me a mail confirming you have visited the site and we can partner in the project i have. Please email me on this email:
(majorwilliams@sify.com)

NOTE: you must not forget that this must surely be of a mutual benefit to both of us, i assure you.

In God We Trust
Major W. Mark.

Postalo Vleeptron celebrates AML 10th Anniversary / I'm getting off light! 10th Anniversary = TIN!

2009-06-15T21:22:00.007-04:00

Oh yes certainly click image.

Message #28523 of 28523

AML's artists have mastered nearly every aspect of mail art and faux postage -- perforations, selvedge, cancellations, etc.

But one dimension of mail/post has escaped this community.

It is Postalo Vleeptron's ambition to pioneer the reproduction of this dimension:

Late, tardy, slow, unreliable mail.

Until our mail art can be slow, unreliable, misdelivered, and delayed for unconscionable lengths of time, our mail art can never truly reflect and resemble the authentic government mail/post which inspires our efforts.

PV's first experiment in LateMail (tm) is this here stamp celebrating AML's 10th Anniversary, which Postalo Vleeptron posts as a file today -- what? A week, 10 days after the deadline for the Anniversary call?

Anyway, surely this adds a previously unknown dimension of authenticity to mail art and faux postage.

My 10th wedding anniversary is coming up soon, and I just had to research what physical token of my Love & Devotion I will soon have to spring for.

Surprise! I'm getting off light: Tin!

Hey! Don't snicker at tin! The Phoenicians sailed past the Pillars of Hercules and hung a right (a nautical term) into the North Atlantic to mine tin in Britain!

Not because anybody's heart goes pitta-pat at a necklace made of tin. But because tin is extremely useful in making a variety of useful, important and beautiful alloys.

Like pewter. So Postalo Vleeptron celebrates AML's 10th with an 18th-century English pewter sconce what I filched off the Web, never mind where.

A pewter sconce gets screwed to a wall, but unless your wall is inside a trailer/caravan, you can't have a wall without William Morris wallpaper. This is Morris' "Acanthus" wallpaper made from woodblocks in 1875.

(And probably still for sale. You could fall asleep every night gazing at this; it could leach into your dreams.)

One reason this mail is late is that it takes a little while to send mail back and forth between Planet Vleeptron (in the nearby Dwingeloo-2 Galaxy) and Earth (in the Milky Way).

Anyway that's Postalo Vleeptron's lame excuse for this late mail, which also resembles the lame excuses of authentic government postal authorities.

Happy Anniversary! Hope ya likes the stamp!

Bob

Commemorative Issues Administrator, Postalo Vleeptron
Poortown, Ciudad Vleeptron
Vleeptron
Dwingeloo-2