I have seen this guy at air shows - amazing. He was test pilot in WWII, shot down over europe spent time in POW camp. His air shows are incredible. This video shows his famous power off loop, barrel roll and landing - unbelievable - and he also shows how he can do a barrel roll and pour a glass of iced tea at the same time!!!
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Buddhist temple 360 degrees panorama
Here is a link to a very cool page, providing 360 degree panoramas of locations around the world, everything from london, to a hill in scotland, to a Buddhist sunset chanting ceremony performed by nuns. You have to be amazed at what you can find on the internet that makes the world become so small....
Monday, May 22, 2006
New glasses - pierced nose
these minimalist glasses require you to have the bridge of your nose pierced, then you attach your glasses. I am speechless....
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Tom Waits: American buddha
Tom Waits is an amazing song writer. His performances are no less fantastic. Here is waits from the Letterman show. He even does a soft shoe dance!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Pres Al Gore Won't leave West Wing set!
Here is the video of Al Gore on SNN, pretending to have been President for the last 6 years. funny!
10 commandments parody
They remade the 10 Commandments movie into a teen flick! Yes, the new kid moses arrives at high school, and takes on the establishment. Funny part of trailer is Sam Jackson as the flaming bush - very funny.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
"We don't need no stinking badges!"
Pres. Bush has proposed that National Guard troops will serve two-week stints guarding our southern border before rotating out of the assignment, so keeping the force level at 6,000 over the course of a year could require up to 156,000 troops. Is this completely nuts? What will a national guard soldier do for 2 weeks patroling the border? Drive around in a humvee? Where will they live, in tents? Its the f**cking desert! How many will be support troops, how many will actually patrol? Remember how the national guard "guarded" our airports after 911? They stood around with unloaded weapons. The guard should not be used for border patrol, they won't be patroling anything anyway - its all a show. Its racism: the republicans pander to the right wingers in california and arizona and texas, and they dont want the USA to become Mexicanized (remember when Bush said he spoke Mexican?) That part of the US was part of Mexico. Look at the picture - its a picture of the actor from Treasure of Sierra Madre, when humphrey bogart asked him, "if you are the federales, then show us your badges..." Its a racist argument - its not about jobs, its about "mexicans" expanding as a % of our population. We have always been racist about immigration - our laws restricted immigrants from asia until recently, and favored european immigrants, esp those from "iron curtain" nations. Actually, bush is trying to do the right thing, find a way of legalizing immigration, but for the wrong reasons - mexican immigrants are important members of the work force for low paying, non union jobs. oh, the humanity....
Libya
The term "real politik" applies to a foreign policy based on self interest, not on human rights, "freedom," or any consistently applied principle. Look at our relations with Cuba - communist state, we must isolate it. Iran - socialist islamist state, we must isolate. Iraq - socialist, dictatorship with crazy person (Saddam) as ruler. But Libya???? Within the past 20 years, it has been a terrorist state, a dictatorship, a radical islamic fundamentalist state, and now we are restoring relations with Libya. Why? Oil. Kadaffi (one of the principle rulers) wants to sell oil to international companies connected to US, for money, what else? Its about trade: we pay top dollar for Libya's money, they get all sanctions dropped. Were they responsible for the Locherbie 747 bombing? Perhaps their agents were connected, but it was a hit called for by Iran - the Libyans were easier to prosecute. (read this editorial written by the parent of one of the young women killed on that plane.) What is the difference between Libya and Saddam's Iraq? Saddam hated US, didnt care about sanctions, was convinced he could use Iraq oil to leverage an alliance with germany, france, to have sanctions released by UN, to isolate the US from the second largest supply of oil in the world. The UN drops sanctions against Iraq, Iraq says "f**ck you america we sell our oil to the European Union," and Iraq wins. But, we invaded. the lesson? Sell us your oil or we will find a way of wrecking your economy, or of invading your country. No sense of morality whatsoever.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
The Dick
Vice President Dick Cheney went pheasant shooting in Pennsylvania in December 2003, but unlike most of his fellow hunters across America, he didn't have to spend hours or even days tramping the fields and hedgerows in hopes of bagging a brace of birds for the dinner table.
Upon his arrival at the exclusive Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township, gamekeepers released 500 pen-raised pheasants from nets for the benefit of him and his party. In a blaze of gunfire, the group—which included legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), along with major fundraisers for Republican candidates—killed at least 417 of the birds. According to one gamekeeper who spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cheney was credited with shooting more than 70 of the pen-reared fowl. I love it! a bunch of old, fat men, eat barbecue and drink beer, then they stand in one place while handlers release and chase birds in front of them so they can shoot - domestic rraised birds - without even having to walk. hell, why not release the birds by the tables where the barbecue and beer are at, that way cheney doesnt even have to walk to shoot. Is this hunting? What did they hunt? They stood in one place and shot domestic raised birds. This is not what "men" do, its what eunuchs do.
After lunch, the group shot flocks of mallard ducks, also reared in pens and shot like so many live skeet. There's been no report on the number of mallards the hunting party killed, but it's likely that hundreds fell.
Rolling Rock is an exclusive private club for the wealthy with a world-class golf course and a closed membership list. It is also a "canned hunting" operation—a place where fee-paying hunters blast away at released animals, whether birds or mammals, who often have no reasonable chance to escape. Most are "no kill, no pay" operations where patrons only shells out funds for the animals they kill.
Bird-shooting operations offer pheasants, quail, partridges, and mallard ducks, often dizzying the birds and planting them in front of hunters or tossing them from towers toward waiting shotguns. There are, perhaps, more than 3,000 such operations in the United States, according to outdoor writer Ted Williams.
For canned hunts involving mammals, hunters can shoot animals native to given continents—everything from Addax to Zebra—within the confines of a fenced area, assuring the animals have no opportunity to escape. Time magazine estimates that 2,000 facilities offer native or exotic mammals for shooting within fenced enclosures.
The HSUS worked hard to expose Cheney's shooting spree, and we were fortunate in persuading The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Dallas Morning News, and other media outlets to cover the events of that day and our subsequent criticism.
Our criticism is simple to understand: Farm-raised pheasants are about as wary as urban pigeons and shooting them is nothing more than live target practice, especially when they are released from a hill in front of 10 gunners hidden below in blinds—as Cheney and his party were. Such hunting makes a mockery of basic principles of fair play and humane treatment, and the vice president should not associate himself with such conduct.
The private excesses of Cheney are bad enough, and worthy of The HSUS's rebuke. But it's the public policy excesses that are of even greater concern to me. Cheney's hunting trip strikes me as emblematic of the Bush Administration's callousness towards the earth's animals.
The administration's most outrageous proposal is its plan to allow trophy hunters to shoot endangered species in other countries and import the trophies and hides into the United States. The administration first floated the proposal a few months ago, with formal proposals subsequently published in the Federal Register, and President Bush is expected to make a final decision soon on the plan, which originated with his U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
For 30 years, the Endangered Species Act has provided critical protections for species near extinction in the United States. The act also protects species in foreign nations, by barring pet traders, circuses, trophy hunters, and others from importing live or dead endangered species. While we can't prevent the shooting or capture of endangered species overseas, we can prevent imports—thus eliminating the incentive for American hunters and others to shoot or trap the animals in the first place.
But with this plan the administration is seeking to punch gaping holes in the prohibitions, under the assumption that generating revenue through the sale of hunting licenses will aid on-the-ground conservation in foreign lands.
The plan is transparent on its face. It's not aimed to help species, but to aid special interests who want to profit from the exploitation of wildlife. No group is more centrally involved in this miserable plan than Safari Club International, the world's leading trophy hunting organization and an entity with close ties to the Bush Administration.
The 40,000 member organization of rich trophy collectors has doled out close to $600,000 in campaign contributions among GOP candidates in the past six years. President Bush appointed a former top lobbyist of the Safari Club to be the deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—again, the very agency promoting the plan to allow the selling off of endangered species to private interests.
The HSUS is not a pro-hunting organization. That said, we view certain types of hunting as worse than others. It crosses any reasonable line to support the shooting of some of the rarest and most endangered animals in the world. And it is beyond the pale to advocate for or participate in the shooting of animals in canned hunts—for birds or mammals.
President Bush met with leaders of 19 hunting organizations on December 12. While we expect him to endorse certain forms of hunting, he should in no way countenance the shooting of endangered species or the hunting of captive or pen-reared animals. If that's where these hunting groups want to lead him, he needs to resist their entreaties. He needs to stand up to these special interest groups and draw a bright line between certain types of hunting conduct.
Americans don't support this nonsense, and the president shouldn't either.
Upon his arrival at the exclusive Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township, gamekeepers released 500 pen-raised pheasants from nets for the benefit of him and his party. In a blaze of gunfire, the group—which included legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), along with major fundraisers for Republican candidates—killed at least 417 of the birds. According to one gamekeeper who spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cheney was credited with shooting more than 70 of the pen-reared fowl. I love it! a bunch of old, fat men, eat barbecue and drink beer, then they stand in one place while handlers release and chase birds in front of them so they can shoot - domestic rraised birds - without even having to walk. hell, why not release the birds by the tables where the barbecue and beer are at, that way cheney doesnt even have to walk to shoot. Is this hunting? What did they hunt? They stood in one place and shot domestic raised birds. This is not what "men" do, its what eunuchs do.
After lunch, the group shot flocks of mallard ducks, also reared in pens and shot like so many live skeet. There's been no report on the number of mallards the hunting party killed, but it's likely that hundreds fell.
Rolling Rock is an exclusive private club for the wealthy with a world-class golf course and a closed membership list. It is also a "canned hunting" operation—a place where fee-paying hunters blast away at released animals, whether birds or mammals, who often have no reasonable chance to escape. Most are "no kill, no pay" operations where patrons only shells out funds for the animals they kill.
Bird-shooting operations offer pheasants, quail, partridges, and mallard ducks, often dizzying the birds and planting them in front of hunters or tossing them from towers toward waiting shotguns. There are, perhaps, more than 3,000 such operations in the United States, according to outdoor writer Ted Williams.
For canned hunts involving mammals, hunters can shoot animals native to given continents—everything from Addax to Zebra—within the confines of a fenced area, assuring the animals have no opportunity to escape. Time magazine estimates that 2,000 facilities offer native or exotic mammals for shooting within fenced enclosures.
The HSUS worked hard to expose Cheney's shooting spree, and we were fortunate in persuading The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Dallas Morning News, and other media outlets to cover the events of that day and our subsequent criticism.
Our criticism is simple to understand: Farm-raised pheasants are about as wary as urban pigeons and shooting them is nothing more than live target practice, especially when they are released from a hill in front of 10 gunners hidden below in blinds—as Cheney and his party were. Such hunting makes a mockery of basic principles of fair play and humane treatment, and the vice president should not associate himself with such conduct.
The private excesses of Cheney are bad enough, and worthy of The HSUS's rebuke. But it's the public policy excesses that are of even greater concern to me. Cheney's hunting trip strikes me as emblematic of the Bush Administration's callousness towards the earth's animals.
The administration's most outrageous proposal is its plan to allow trophy hunters to shoot endangered species in other countries and import the trophies and hides into the United States. The administration first floated the proposal a few months ago, with formal proposals subsequently published in the Federal Register, and President Bush is expected to make a final decision soon on the plan, which originated with his U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
For 30 years, the Endangered Species Act has provided critical protections for species near extinction in the United States. The act also protects species in foreign nations, by barring pet traders, circuses, trophy hunters, and others from importing live or dead endangered species. While we can't prevent the shooting or capture of endangered species overseas, we can prevent imports—thus eliminating the incentive for American hunters and others to shoot or trap the animals in the first place.
But with this plan the administration is seeking to punch gaping holes in the prohibitions, under the assumption that generating revenue through the sale of hunting licenses will aid on-the-ground conservation in foreign lands.
The plan is transparent on its face. It's not aimed to help species, but to aid special interests who want to profit from the exploitation of wildlife. No group is more centrally involved in this miserable plan than Safari Club International, the world's leading trophy hunting organization and an entity with close ties to the Bush Administration.
The 40,000 member organization of rich trophy collectors has doled out close to $600,000 in campaign contributions among GOP candidates in the past six years. President Bush appointed a former top lobbyist of the Safari Club to be the deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—again, the very agency promoting the plan to allow the selling off of endangered species to private interests.
The HSUS is not a pro-hunting organization. That said, we view certain types of hunting as worse than others. It crosses any reasonable line to support the shooting of some of the rarest and most endangered animals in the world. And it is beyond the pale to advocate for or participate in the shooting of animals in canned hunts—for birds or mammals.
President Bush met with leaders of 19 hunting organizations on December 12. While we expect him to endorse certain forms of hunting, he should in no way countenance the shooting of endangered species or the hunting of captive or pen-reared animals. If that's where these hunting groups want to lead him, he needs to resist their entreaties. He needs to stand up to these special interest groups and draw a bright line between certain types of hunting conduct.
Americans don't support this nonsense, and the president shouldn't either.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Deerhunter on the big screen
I just saw Deer Hunter on the big screen, at regent sq theater in pittsburgh. Amazing. I could see the whole scene as the director wanted - huge screen. Regent sq is an old theater, with the big screen, not the small screens those muliplex theaters have. The colors were so vibrant. And I could hear the dialogue better than ever. For a film criticized so much (poor editing, poor dialogue etc) it was nominated for many award, won 5 academy awards, Michael Cimino won every director's award there was that year. Oddly enough, this is only one of two Cimino films that were ever considered good and it still has its critics. The wedding party scene was great on the wide screen. I finally connected the choir at church wedding with the choir singing when Michael goes deer hunting the first time. In church, he mocks stan when stan makes the sign of the cross. Then when they are hunting the first time, the choir starts to sing as Michael stalks the deer: the woods are Michael's church! He worships the deer, the hunt, the "one shot" code. The second time he hunts, he purposely misses the deer, and yells, "OKAYYYY?!" up in the air, as if speaking to heaven - does he now believe in God? Meryl Streep was soooo beautiful - her hair is so many shades of blonde. the scene where she sleeps next to michael in her towel...no dialogue, none needed. And when michael waits for her outside the Eagle market, she gets in car, says, "Did you even think our lives would turn out like this?" Michael of course is silent (De Niro didnt have many long lines in the movie). Finally figured out what the viet cong guy is yelling during the russian roulette scenes: "Di di Mau! Mau!" It means hurry up in Vietnamese. The GI's in nam started using it as a phrase, as in, "Lieutenant, it looks like an entire NVA battalion is about to over whelm us, I suggest we Di Di Mau!!!" like lets get the hell out of here quick. Its an expression vietnam vets would recognize. The movie was perfect, although they cut the sound off too soon for the speaker after the film - that song is so beautiful at the end, you have to let it play out. The funeral at the end, in that run down cemetary next to the church where stevie and angela were married, the sound of a train and factory in background, these are not affluent people, this is not a rich mans cemetary, and then the breakfast scene afterward, Linda fumbling with the silver war, no one really functioning, speaking, and then finally the song God Bless America - absolutley heart breaking...I mean you know these people and actually care about them. I have seen this film about 30 times, I still cried all the way through it, starting at the wedding party, going right through to the end.
ihave some Vietnam links elsewhere on the blog here and here. Christopher Walken for President!
ihave some Vietnam links elsewhere on the blog here and here. Christopher Walken for President!
Saturday, May 06, 2006
british helo downed
No a good sign. The british occupy southern iraq, around Basra, where there has been less opposition to the invasion. The reason for this, is that Shia militia effectively control the area - the british are tolerated because the militia is really in control. The police are controlled by the militia. In other words, the central gov isnt in control of this part of Iraq, the british troops arent "enforcing" anything. The Shia are alligned with Iran, and Iran has poored arms into southern iraq to support the shia militia. But Tony Blair didnt do well in the the british elections, and it was in large part due to his support of the iraq war. I think the militia in basra figured out that Blair is weakened, and maybe now is the time to put the hammer on the british troops, who really arent in control of anything to begin with. The press doesnt report this - no real analysis behind the news. So what happens if the british leave? Nothing, other than the militia will continue to be in control, and the central government will not have legitimacy in southern Iraq. There is only the illusion of "Iraqi Government" legitimacy now in southern iraq. There is a de facto division of Iraq, with Kurds controlling the north, shia militia controlling the south, and the US army/marines trying to shore up the central gov by battling the sunni insurgents.
nagasaki
there is a book entitled "When Presidents lie: a history of deception and its consequences" by eric alterman. Not a bad book, doesnt really go into the great lies of presidents. Like when Harry Truman explained that he had no remorse about dropping the bomb on japan, that it saved American lives. Truth is, Japan was trying to surrender, an invasion wasnt necessary. US wanted unconditional surrender, refused any negotiations. Meanwhile, continued to drop indendiary bombs on a nation that couldnt defend itself. Here are some eyewitness accounts of the day the bomb was dropped. You know you dont have to be a historian to study presidential deception: we have it today with Bush and his handlers. The entire iraq invasion was a giant deception. I cant get over the hubris involved in the US invading iraq over the "threat" of weapons of mass destruction, or the fear of a nuclear Iran, when the US has the record for using weapons of mass destruction. The only time nuclear weapons have been used is by the US, against Japan which was at the time a defenseless nation. And who gave the chemical and biological weapons to Iraq? the US of course.
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