Happy Birthday, Mom
Sunday, December 31, 2006
J - James / G - Gerald
Hey Folks,
Here are some thoughts to take us back. Even if we can't ever learn from the past, it's fun to pretend that someday we might - don'tcha think ??
Maybe not.
- Uke Man
December 28, 2006
Lessons Never Learned
By BOB HERBERT
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
It would not be easy to find two men more different than Gerald Ford and James Brown. But I had a similar reaction to each of their deaths — a feeling of disappointment at some of the routes the nation has traveled since their days of greatest prominence.
Both men were important figures, symbolically more than substantively, at crucial periods in postwar American history — Mr. Brown at the crest of the civil rights movement in the mid-1960s and Mr. Ford in the trough of the “long national nightmare” of Watergate.
Both were unlikely harbingers of the new. Mr. Brown, with his gleaming (and anachronistic) pompadour, became the very embodiment of black pride, a troubadour exhorting his followers to “Say it Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud” at a time when schoolhouse doors were opening and unprecedented opportunities were beckoning to black Americans after centuries of almost unimaginable degradation.
Mr. Ford was more than just the designated healer after Watergate. The U.S. was also in the final throes of the long national nightmare of Vietnam. And it was stuck in a protracted energy crisis. The nation was looking for a way forward.
My disappointment stems from the opportunities never seized and the lessons never learned from those two periods, which were all but bursting with possibilities.
Mr. Brown’s message was relentlessly upbeat and optimistic. Despite the continuing plague of racism, there were dreams in the 1960s of fabulous days ahead for black Americans, days in which the stereotypes and degradation of the past would be erased by a new era of educational, professional and cultural achievement.
Those dreams did not include visions of an enormous economically disadvantaged population that would continue to live in poverty, or near-poverty, more than 40 years later; or a perennially ragged public school system, largely segregated in fact, if not by law, that would turn out generation after generation of educationally deprived children; or a black prison population so vast and so enduring it would come to seem normal to legions of black youngsters, actually dictating to a great extent their tastes in fashion, art and music; or a level of sustained violence that has condemned thousands upon thousands of black youngsters to an early grave.
Oh, there have been plenty of strides since the mid-1960s. That’s undeniable. But one would have to be blind not to notice that there is much cause for disappointment, as well.
James Farmer, who helped create the Congress of Racial Equality on Gandhian principles of nonviolence, once told me that even as the civil rights movement was racking up its stunning successes, its leaders made a grave error.
“We did not do any long-range planning,” he said. “So we were stuck without a program after the success of our efforts, which included passage of a civil rights bill and voting rights legislation. We could have anticipated the backlash that followed. We could have asked ourselves what the jobs prospects would be for blacks in the ’70s, the ’80s, the ’90s, and later on. By and large we didn’t do that, except for affirmative action. We should have had a plan.”
It would be foolish to suggest that the United States as a whole hasn’t made tremendous progress since the 1960s and ’70s. But it’s impossible to reflect on the presidency of Gerald Ford, who formally ended U.S. participation in the war in Vietnam, and fail to notice that his defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and chief of staff, Dick Cheney, were among the chief architects of the current calamity in Iraq. There were lessons galore to be learned from Vietnam. But Mr. Rumsfeld and Mr. Cheney, like frat boys skipping an important lecture, managed to ignore them.
The trauma of the 1973 oil embargo actually spooked the country into action on the energy front. Fuel economy standards for automobiles were ratcheted up and improvements were made in the energy efficiency of refrigerators, air-conditioners and other household appliances. But those successful early efforts, instead of being strengthened, were undermined by the conservative political tide of the past several years.
Now we’re confronted with the dire threat of global warming, and as usual there is no plan.
If history tells us anything, it’s that we never learn from history. We could have stepped back from the war in Iraq, and stepped up to the challenge of global warming. We could have learned something when James Brown was on the charts and Gerald Ford was in the White House.
Maybe next time.
Here are some thoughts to take us back. Even if we can't ever learn from the past, it's fun to pretend that someday we might - don'tcha think ??
Maybe not.
- Uke Man
December 28, 2006
Lessons Never Learned
By BOB HERBERT
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
It would not be easy to find two men more different than Gerald Ford and James Brown. But I had a similar reaction to each of their deaths — a feeling of disappointment at some of the routes the nation has traveled since their days of greatest prominence.
Both men were important figures, symbolically more than substantively, at crucial periods in postwar American history — Mr. Brown at the crest of the civil rights movement in the mid-1960s and Mr. Ford in the trough of the “long national nightmare” of Watergate.
Both were unlikely harbingers of the new. Mr. Brown, with his gleaming (and anachronistic) pompadour, became the very embodiment of black pride, a troubadour exhorting his followers to “Say it Loud — I’m Black and I’m Proud” at a time when schoolhouse doors were opening and unprecedented opportunities were beckoning to black Americans after centuries of almost unimaginable degradation.
Mr. Ford was more than just the designated healer after Watergate. The U.S. was also in the final throes of the long national nightmare of Vietnam. And it was stuck in a protracted energy crisis. The nation was looking for a way forward.
My disappointment stems from the opportunities never seized and the lessons never learned from those two periods, which were all but bursting with possibilities.
Mr. Brown’s message was relentlessly upbeat and optimistic. Despite the continuing plague of racism, there were dreams in the 1960s of fabulous days ahead for black Americans, days in which the stereotypes and degradation of the past would be erased by a new era of educational, professional and cultural achievement.
Those dreams did not include visions of an enormous economically disadvantaged population that would continue to live in poverty, or near-poverty, more than 40 years later; or a perennially ragged public school system, largely segregated in fact, if not by law, that would turn out generation after generation of educationally deprived children; or a black prison population so vast and so enduring it would come to seem normal to legions of black youngsters, actually dictating to a great extent their tastes in fashion, art and music; or a level of sustained violence that has condemned thousands upon thousands of black youngsters to an early grave.
Oh, there have been plenty of strides since the mid-1960s. That’s undeniable. But one would have to be blind not to notice that there is much cause for disappointment, as well.
James Farmer, who helped create the Congress of Racial Equality on Gandhian principles of nonviolence, once told me that even as the civil rights movement was racking up its stunning successes, its leaders made a grave error.
“We did not do any long-range planning,” he said. “So we were stuck without a program after the success of our efforts, which included passage of a civil rights bill and voting rights legislation. We could have anticipated the backlash that followed. We could have asked ourselves what the jobs prospects would be for blacks in the ’70s, the ’80s, the ’90s, and later on. By and large we didn’t do that, except for affirmative action. We should have had a plan.”
It would be foolish to suggest that the United States as a whole hasn’t made tremendous progress since the 1960s and ’70s. But it’s impossible to reflect on the presidency of Gerald Ford, who formally ended U.S. participation in the war in Vietnam, and fail to notice that his defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and chief of staff, Dick Cheney, were among the chief architects of the current calamity in Iraq. There were lessons galore to be learned from Vietnam. But Mr. Rumsfeld and Mr. Cheney, like frat boys skipping an important lecture, managed to ignore them.
The trauma of the 1973 oil embargo actually spooked the country into action on the energy front. Fuel economy standards for automobiles were ratcheted up and improvements were made in the energy efficiency of refrigerators, air-conditioners and other household appliances. But those successful early efforts, instead of being strengthened, were undermined by the conservative political tide of the past several years.
Now we’re confronted with the dire threat of global warming, and as usual there is no plan.
If history tells us anything, it’s that we never learn from history. We could have stepped back from the war in Iraq, and stepped up to the challenge of global warming. We could have learned something when James Brown was on the charts and Gerald Ford was in the White House.
Maybe next time.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
One view of Gerald Ford
Hey Folks,
With the passing of former President Gerald Ford, I've seen two views expressed. The most common one is that Ford, never seen as extremely intelligent, looks like Mensa material compared to Bush!!
And, that he was a decent person. This seems supported - at least compared to Bush - in the report below. He was upset by the wiretapping, and he wouldn't have invaded Iraq.
A relative lack of decency among the entire Bush posse could partially explain the vehemence of their misguided, inhuman agenda.
Ford had problems with Bush Iraq policy
Thu Dec 28
WASHINGTON - Former President Gerald R. Ford questioned the Bush administration's rationale for the U.S. invasion and war in Iraq in interviews he granted on condition they not be released until after his death.
In his embargoed July 2004 interview with The Washington Post, Ford said the Iraq war was not justified, the Post reported Wednesday night.
Ford "very strongly" disagreed with the current president's justifications for invading Iraq and said he would have pushed alternatives, such as sanctions, much more vigorously, the Post's Bob Woodward wrote. The story initially was posted on the newspaper's Internet site.
"I don't think I would have gone to war," Ford told Woodward a little more than a year after President Bush launched the invasion.
In the tape-recorded interview, Ford was critical not only of Bush but also of Vice President Cheney — Ford's White House chief of staff — and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's chief of staff and then his secretary of defense.
"Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction," Ford said. "And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."
In an interview given with the same ground rules to the New York Daily News last May, Ford said he thought Bush had erred by staking the invasion on claims Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
" Saddam Hussein was an evil person and there was justification to get rid of him," he observed to the Daily News. "But we shouldn't have put the basis on weapons of destruction. That was a bad mistake. Where does (Bush) get his advice?"
In the Daily News interview, Ford was more defensive about Cheney and Rumsfeld. Asked why Cheney had tanked in public opinion polls, he smiled. "Dick's a classy guy, but he's not an electrified orator," Ford said.
The former president did not like Bush's domestic surveillance program.
"It may be a necessary evil," Ford conceded. "I don't think it's a terrible transgression, but I would never do it. I was dumbfounded when I heard they were doing it."
Woodward wrote in the Post that his interview took place for a future book project, though the former president said his comments could be published at any time after his death.
In another interview released after his death, Ford told CBS News in 1984 that he initially was against using the phrase "long national nightmare" in his first speech as president following
Richard Nixon's resignation, concerned that it was too harsh.
Ford said he reconsidered and sought his wife's advice. "After thinking about it and talking to Betty about it, we decided to leave it in and, boy, in retrospect, I'm awfully glad we did," he said.
In the Daily News interview, Ford, a few weeks from his 93rd birthday, showed frustration with the toll health problems had taken on him, saying he thought doctors were too strictly limiting what he could do.
At one point, he offered to share some butter pecan ice cream, his favorite dessert, with his guest, correspondent Thomas M. DeFrank.
Asked what his doctors would think about that, the former president said, "We have it anyhow."
With the passing of former President Gerald Ford, I've seen two views expressed. The most common one is that Ford, never seen as extremely intelligent, looks like Mensa material compared to Bush!!
And, that he was a decent person. This seems supported - at least compared to Bush - in the report below. He was upset by the wiretapping, and he wouldn't have invaded Iraq.
A relative lack of decency among the entire Bush posse could partially explain the vehemence of their misguided, inhuman agenda.
Another, different view of Ford will be forthcoming.
- Uke Man
Ford had problems with Bush Iraq policy
Thu Dec 28
WASHINGTON - Former President Gerald R. Ford questioned the Bush administration's rationale for the U.S. invasion and war in Iraq in interviews he granted on condition they not be released until after his death.
In his embargoed July 2004 interview with The Washington Post, Ford said the Iraq war was not justified, the Post reported Wednesday night.
Ford "very strongly" disagreed with the current president's justifications for invading Iraq and said he would have pushed alternatives, such as sanctions, much more vigorously, the Post's Bob Woodward wrote. The story initially was posted on the newspaper's Internet site.
"I don't think I would have gone to war," Ford told Woodward a little more than a year after President Bush launched the invasion.
In the tape-recorded interview, Ford was critical not only of Bush but also of Vice President Cheney — Ford's White House chief of staff — and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's chief of staff and then his secretary of defense.
"Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction," Ford said. "And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."
In an interview given with the same ground rules to the New York Daily News last May, Ford said he thought Bush had erred by staking the invasion on claims Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
" Saddam Hussein was an evil person and there was justification to get rid of him," he observed to the Daily News. "But we shouldn't have put the basis on weapons of destruction. That was a bad mistake. Where does (Bush) get his advice?"
In the Daily News interview, Ford was more defensive about Cheney and Rumsfeld. Asked why Cheney had tanked in public opinion polls, he smiled. "Dick's a classy guy, but he's not an electrified orator," Ford said.
The former president did not like Bush's domestic surveillance program.
"It may be a necessary evil," Ford conceded. "I don't think it's a terrible transgression, but I would never do it. I was dumbfounded when I heard they were doing it."
Woodward wrote in the Post that his interview took place for a future book project, though the former president said his comments could be published at any time after his death.
In another interview released after his death, Ford told CBS News in 1984 that he initially was against using the phrase "long national nightmare" in his first speech as president following
Richard Nixon's resignation, concerned that it was too harsh.
Ford said he reconsidered and sought his wife's advice. "After thinking about it and talking to Betty about it, we decided to leave it in and, boy, in retrospect, I'm awfully glad we did," he said.
In the Daily News interview, Ford, a few weeks from his 93rd birthday, showed frustration with the toll health problems had taken on him, saying he thought doctors were too strictly limiting what he could do.
At one point, he offered to share some butter pecan ice cream, his favorite dessert, with his guest, correspondent Thomas M. DeFrank.
Asked what his doctors would think about that, the former president said, "We have it anyhow."
Baaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!! Baaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!! Again
Hey Folks,
I'm re-running this since the deed was done in Baghdad this morning.
For me, the act demands I ponder (once again) the nature of revenge, politics, capital punishment, murder, war, class, greed, "acceptable" psychosis, and the nature and future of humanity.
It will be interesting to hear the prattle that passes for "commentary" that comes out of this today/tomorrow/etc. That will be for laughs.
For serious commentary, think about it on your own.
- Uke Man
Court: Execute Saddam within 30 days
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press
Dec. 26
BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Iraq's highest appeals court on Tuesday upheld
Saddam Hussein' 's death sentence and said he must be hanged within 30 days for the killing of 148 Shiites in the central city of Dujail.
The sentence "must be implemented within 30 days," chief judge Aref Shahin said. "From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation."
On Nov. 5, an Iraqi court sentenced Saddam to the gallows for ordering the 1982 killings following an attempt on his life.
Hey Folks,
It may be that history is repeating itself.
Iraq was invented and arbitrarily drawn on the world map by white foreign fingers, thus requiring animals like Saddam to serve as "leaders" who could control the antagonistic forces suddenly caged together as "brothers."
Now we hear from right-wingers that we need a new "Pinochet" to lead and control those same antagonistic forces, forces still trapped in the pretend "nation," those very forces set free by toppling Saddam.
Yep, hanging Saddam will cleanse us of our sins, but wouldn't throwing him off a cliff be more in keeping with Biblical practice regarding scapegoats?
- Uke Man
p.s. a note from a compulsively "helpful" English teacher: The plan is that Saddam will be HANGED, not HUNG. He may or may not be hung at present, but he expects to be hanged soon.
I'm re-running this since the deed was done in Baghdad this morning.
For me, the act demands I ponder (once again) the nature of revenge, politics, capital punishment, murder, war, class, greed, "acceptable" psychosis, and the nature and future of humanity.
It will be interesting to hear the prattle that passes for "commentary" that comes out of this today/tomorrow/etc. That will be for laughs.
For serious commentary, think about it on your own.
- Uke Man
Court: Execute Saddam within 30 days
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press
Dec. 26
BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Iraq's highest appeals court on Tuesday upheld
Saddam Hussein' 's death sentence and said he must be hanged within 30 days for the killing of 148 Shiites in the central city of Dujail.
The sentence "must be implemented within 30 days," chief judge Aref Shahin said. "From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation."
On Nov. 5, an Iraqi court sentenced Saddam to the gallows for ordering the 1982 killings following an attempt on his life.
Hey Folks,
It may be that history is repeating itself.
Iraq was invented and arbitrarily drawn on the world map by white foreign fingers, thus requiring animals like Saddam to serve as "leaders" who could control the antagonistic forces suddenly caged together as "brothers."
Now we hear from right-wingers that we need a new "Pinochet" to lead and control those same antagonistic forces, forces still trapped in the pretend "nation," those very forces set free by toppling Saddam.
Yep, hanging Saddam will cleanse us of our sins, but wouldn't throwing him off a cliff be more in keeping with Biblical practice regarding scapegoats?
- Uke Man
p.s. a note from a compulsively "helpful" English teacher: The plan is that Saddam will be HANGED, not HUNG. He may or may not be hung at present, but he expects to be hanged soon.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Pinochet Video
Hey Folks,
Just a bit of video commentary from along Pinochet's way toward dying of natural causes, an old man, cradled in the arms of those he enriched by his monstrous behavior.
BBC video: Pinochet escapes standing trial (how convenient):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1430000/video/_1430893_pinochet22_marshall_vi.ram
- Uke Man
Just a bit of video commentary from along Pinochet's way toward dying of natural causes, an old man, cradled in the arms of those he enriched by his monstrous behavior.
BBC video: Pinochet escapes standing trial (how convenient):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1430000/video/_1430893_pinochet22_marshall_vi.ram
- Uke Man
"Hundreds pay respects" - Thousands denounce!!!
Hey Folks,
This is the guy the Right says should be the model for Saddam's replacement.
- Uke Man
Hundreds pay respects to Pinochet
[THOUSANDS spit on him - Uke Man]
By EDUARDO GALLARDO, Associated Press
SANTIAGO, Chile - Hundreds of supporters of Gen.
Augusto Pinochet, many in tears, filed Monday past the brown wooden coffin for the ex-dictator, who was denied a state funeral normally granted to former presidents.
While Pinochet's relatives mourned his death Sunday from heart failure at age 91, his many opponents [the people] celebrated with champagne and lamented that he escaped justice for the torture and killings that marked his 17 years in power after a bloody 1973 coup.
Police surrounded key buildings and intersections Monday to prevent more of the violent protests that spread past midnight to several working class districts.
Deputy Interior Minister Felipe said 43 police officers were injured and 99 demonstrators were arrested in the clashes, which were blamed on a small contingent of the thousands of demonstrators who jammed streets to denounce Pinochet's legacy.
In lieu of a state funeral, Pinochet was granted only military honors at the Santiago Military Academy, and he will be cremated Tuesday to avoid desecration of his tomb by "people who always hated him," said his son, Marco Antonio.
Flags were lowered to half-staff at military facilities only, and President Michelle Bachelet, who was jailed as a young woman and lost her father during Pinochet's takeover, said it would be "a violation of my conscience" to attend a state funeral.
It was unclear whether any diplomats would attend the military ceremony. "We do not consider it appropriate to send a representative," Britain's Foreign Office said Monday, despite Pinochet's support for Britain in past years.
Roman Catholic Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz led the first of several religious ceremonies at the academy. The Chilean flag was placed on top of the coffin, along with Pinochet's blue military hat and gala uniform jacket. Visitors kissed the glass of the coffin, crying openly.
"Our beloved captain general has gone. It's a great pain for all of Chile," said one mourner, Sergio Erazo. "There is much pain, we are all crying."
Pinochet took power on Sept. 11, 1973, demanding an unconditional surrender from President Salvador Allende as warplanes bombed the presidential palace. Instead, Allende committed suicide with a submachine gun he had received as a gift from Fidel Castro.
The U.S. had been working to destabilize Allende's Marxist government and keep Chile from exporting communism, but the world reacted in horror as Santiago's main soccer stadium filled with political prisoners to be tortured, killed or forced into exile after Pinochet came into power.
Although his dictatorship laid the groundwork for South America's most stable economy, Pinochet will be remembered as the archetype of the era's repressive rulers who proliferated throughout Latin America and, in many cases, were secretly supported by the United States.
Chile's government says at least 3,197 people were killed for political reasons during Pinochet's rule, but courts allowed the aging general to escape hundreds of criminal complaints as his health declined.
The announcement of his death on Sunday triggered celebrations at points across the Chilean capital. At the central Plaza Italia, thousands of cheering, flag-waving people gathered to pop champagne corks and toss confetti.
Allende's daughter Isabel Allende — a cousin of the famous novelist of the same name — said she never expected Pinochet to face justice, but she hopes Chile's judicial system will nonetheless continue investigating the crimes committed during his dictatorship.
"What I would have liked was a sentence of condemnation," the lawmaker for Chile's Socialist Party said in Madrid. "I think it would have been important for Chile, for the rule of law, a recognition that we are all equal before justice."
The Bush administration has good ties with Bachelet, a socialist who has continued Chile's free-market economic policies, and White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Sunday that "our thoughts today are with the victims of his reign and their families."
The office of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Pinochet's staunchest ally in Britain, said she was "greatly saddened" by his death.
Pinochet disbanded Congress, banned political activity and crushed dissent during his rule, and the radical economic reforms he launched triggered financial collapse and dire unemployment at first. But it opened the way for South America's healthiest economy, which has grown by 5 percent to 7 percent a year since 1984.
Pinochet avoided prosecution for years after losing an October 1988 referendum to extend his rule. But his invincibility cracked in 1998 in London, where he had traveled for back surgery. Placed under house arrest there when a Spanish judge sought his extradition on human rights violations, Pinochet was eventually deemed too ill to stand trial and sent home to Chile.
More than 200 criminal complaints were filed against him since then, and none of them ever reached trial because of his poor health.
On his 91st birthday — less than a month before his death — Pinochet's wife read a statement by him saying he took "political responsibility for everything that was done, which had no other goal than making Chile greater and avoiding its disintegration."
___
Associated Press Writer Federico Quilodran contributed to this report.
This is the guy the Right says should be the model for Saddam's replacement.
- Uke Man
Hundreds pay respects to Pinochet
[THOUSANDS spit on him - Uke Man]
By EDUARDO GALLARDO, Associated Press
SANTIAGO, Chile - Hundreds of supporters of Gen.
Augusto Pinochet, many in tears, filed Monday past the brown wooden coffin for the ex-dictator, who was denied a state funeral normally granted to former presidents.
While Pinochet's relatives mourned his death Sunday from heart failure at age 91, his many opponents [the people] celebrated with champagne and lamented that he escaped justice for the torture and killings that marked his 17 years in power after a bloody 1973 coup.
Police surrounded key buildings and intersections Monday to prevent more of the violent protests that spread past midnight to several working class districts.
Deputy Interior Minister Felipe said 43 police officers were injured and 99 demonstrators were arrested in the clashes, which were blamed on a small contingent of the thousands of demonstrators who jammed streets to denounce Pinochet's legacy.
In lieu of a state funeral, Pinochet was granted only military honors at the Santiago Military Academy, and he will be cremated Tuesday to avoid desecration of his tomb by "people who always hated him," said his son, Marco Antonio.
Flags were lowered to half-staff at military facilities only, and President Michelle Bachelet, who was jailed as a young woman and lost her father during Pinochet's takeover, said it would be "a violation of my conscience" to attend a state funeral.
It was unclear whether any diplomats would attend the military ceremony. "We do not consider it appropriate to send a representative," Britain's Foreign Office said Monday, despite Pinochet's support for Britain in past years.
Roman Catholic Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz led the first of several religious ceremonies at the academy. The Chilean flag was placed on top of the coffin, along with Pinochet's blue military hat and gala uniform jacket. Visitors kissed the glass of the coffin, crying openly.
"Our beloved captain general has gone. It's a great pain for all of Chile," said one mourner, Sergio Erazo. "There is much pain, we are all crying."
Pinochet took power on Sept. 11, 1973, demanding an unconditional surrender from President Salvador Allende as warplanes bombed the presidential palace. Instead, Allende committed suicide with a submachine gun he had received as a gift from Fidel Castro.
The U.S. had been working to destabilize Allende's Marxist government and keep Chile from exporting communism, but the world reacted in horror as Santiago's main soccer stadium filled with political prisoners to be tortured, killed or forced into exile after Pinochet came into power.
Although his dictatorship laid the groundwork for South America's most stable economy, Pinochet will be remembered as the archetype of the era's repressive rulers who proliferated throughout Latin America and, in many cases, were secretly supported by the United States.
Chile's government says at least 3,197 people were killed for political reasons during Pinochet's rule, but courts allowed the aging general to escape hundreds of criminal complaints as his health declined.
The announcement of his death on Sunday triggered celebrations at points across the Chilean capital. At the central Plaza Italia, thousands of cheering, flag-waving people gathered to pop champagne corks and toss confetti.
Allende's daughter Isabel Allende — a cousin of the famous novelist of the same name — said she never expected Pinochet to face justice, but she hopes Chile's judicial system will nonetheless continue investigating the crimes committed during his dictatorship.
"What I would have liked was a sentence of condemnation," the lawmaker for Chile's Socialist Party said in Madrid. "I think it would have been important for Chile, for the rule of law, a recognition that we are all equal before justice."
The Bush administration has good ties with Bachelet, a socialist who has continued Chile's free-market economic policies, and White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Sunday that "our thoughts today are with the victims of his reign and their families."
The office of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Pinochet's staunchest ally in Britain, said she was "greatly saddened" by his death.
Pinochet disbanded Congress, banned political activity and crushed dissent during his rule, and the radical economic reforms he launched triggered financial collapse and dire unemployment at first. But it opened the way for South America's healthiest economy, which has grown by 5 percent to 7 percent a year since 1984.
Pinochet avoided prosecution for years after losing an October 1988 referendum to extend his rule. But his invincibility cracked in 1998 in London, where he had traveled for back surgery. Placed under house arrest there when a Spanish judge sought his extradition on human rights violations, Pinochet was eventually deemed too ill to stand trial and sent home to Chile.
More than 200 criminal complaints were filed against him since then, and none of them ever reached trial because of his poor health.
On his 91st birthday — less than a month before his death — Pinochet's wife read a statement by him saying he took "political responsibility for everything that was done, which had no other goal than making Chile greater and avoiding its disintegration."
___
Associated Press Writer Federico Quilodran contributed to this report.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Birthday - December 29, 2006
Well folks, it’s my birthday. I’ve become 62; two more years before I have to ask the musical questions.
And what do I think, having achieved such great age (great from the standpoint of youth, who’ve thought I was ancient since I was forty? Thirty ?
I guess I’d have to say that almost everything I have previously thought was isn’t. At times I want to write a book to let everybody in on the joke, especially young people.
I want to tell them, “It’s all fake; nothing is as it seems; nothing is what it claims to be; we live in a mad house where patients give lobotomies to the doctors and nurses.”
When I was very young I thought well of the mayor and the city council; I outgrew that and looked up, instead, to the governor and the state legislature ( whose chambers I visited and was allowed to sit in the Special chair - momentarily, of course ); I outgrew that as well, and looked up to the President, the federal legislature, and the Supreme Court all of whom - the television and everybody said - deserved our respect.
They were fake, too; and, in turn, I outgrew them.
Sometimes I want to write a book and let everyone in on the joke, especially young people. But I don’t think it would work. They wouldn’t believe me. Too many of my fellow inmates would call me a liar, say I was nuts, needed a straightjacket. They’d condemn me to hemlock for corrupting the youth.
And, anyway, what kid is going to believe that the president of the United States of America (whom anyone can grow up to be in this greatest nation on the earth and under God) is a totally self-centered, egotistical, ignorant, foolish, and heartless clod?
Nope. They wouldn’t believe it.
And what kid is going to believe that “An Army of One” is just so much Madison Avenue crap to lure the disadvantaged and oppressed into the deadly service of their oppressors, who won’t even spend the money it takes to equip them properly or care for them adequately when they are maimed and ruined? But will spend money like water to enrich their corporate cronies?
Nope. They wouldn’t believe me; that’s all too hideous to consider; it can’t be true.
So, I guess I won’t write the book.
Instead, on my birthday, I’ll share a poem with you and share it in honor of my Mother, whose birthday was always on New Years Eve:
The Music Crept by Us
...........................................By Leonard Cohen
I would like to remind
the management
that the drinks are watered
and the hat-check girl
has syphilis
and the band is composed
of former SS monsters
However since it is
New Year’s Eve
and I have lip cancer
I will place my
paper hat on my
concussion and dance.
- Uke Man
And what do I think, having achieved such great age (great from the standpoint of youth, who’ve thought I was ancient since I was forty? Thirty ?
I guess I’d have to say that almost everything I have previously thought was isn’t. At times I want to write a book to let everybody in on the joke, especially young people.
I want to tell them, “It’s all fake; nothing is as it seems; nothing is what it claims to be; we live in a mad house where patients give lobotomies to the doctors and nurses.”
When I was very young I thought well of the mayor and the city council; I outgrew that and looked up, instead, to the governor and the state legislature ( whose chambers I visited and was allowed to sit in the Special chair - momentarily, of course ); I outgrew that as well, and looked up to the President, the federal legislature, and the Supreme Court all of whom - the television and everybody said - deserved our respect.
They were fake, too; and, in turn, I outgrew them.
Sometimes I want to write a book and let everyone in on the joke, especially young people. But I don’t think it would work. They wouldn’t believe me. Too many of my fellow inmates would call me a liar, say I was nuts, needed a straightjacket. They’d condemn me to hemlock for corrupting the youth.
And, anyway, what kid is going to believe that the president of the United States of America (whom anyone can grow up to be in this greatest nation on the earth and under God) is a totally self-centered, egotistical, ignorant, foolish, and heartless clod?
Nope. They wouldn’t believe it.
And what kid is going to believe that “An Army of One” is just so much Madison Avenue crap to lure the disadvantaged and oppressed into the deadly service of their oppressors, who won’t even spend the money it takes to equip them properly or care for them adequately when they are maimed and ruined? But will spend money like water to enrich their corporate cronies?
Nope. They wouldn’t believe me; that’s all too hideous to consider; it can’t be true.
So, I guess I won’t write the book.
Instead, on my birthday, I’ll share a poem with you and share it in honor of my Mother, whose birthday was always on New Years Eve:
The Music Crept by Us
...........................................By Leonard Cohen
I would like to remind
the management
that the drinks are watered
and the hat-check girl
has syphilis
and the band is composed
of former SS monsters
However since it is
New Year’s Eve
and I have lip cancer
I will place my
paper hat on my
concussion and dance.
- Uke Man
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Bill MACHO'Reilly !!!
Hey Folks,
You may remember a while back when Bill O'Reilly was upset with the French. Well, Billy was going to nail those frogs!! He'd organize a bouycatt and teach those whimpy America-haters a lesson.
Since then, he's been heard to claim just how badly France has suffered under his boot.
Well, here's the latest report.
- Uke Man
French wine and spirit exports see bumper year
by Christian Charcossey Sun Dec 24, 3:46 PM ET
PARIS (AFP) - French wines and spirits are set to have a record year in 2006, with exports of cognac, champagne and bordeaux wines, and even French vodka, projected to bring in 8.0 billion euros (10.5 billion dollars).
"It's a very good result, despite frenetic competition, an unfavourable euro-dollar exchange rate and slow growth in consumption around the world," said Philippe Casteja, president of the French association of wine and spirit exporters, or FEVS.
Exports of bordeaux wines rose 27 percent in value in the first ten months of 2006 compared to the same period last year, according to customs office figures released late December by FEVS.
Champagne exports rose 17 percent in the same period, cognac exports went up 12 percent, armagnac exports rose 19 percent, and burgundy wine exports went up 9.3 percent.
France, not traditionally associated with vodka, also managed to boost its exports in the first 10 months of this year of the drink by a hefty 132 percent.
This was largely due to the success of the Grey Goose vodka brand in the United States. France exported 320 million euros' worth of the drink in the first 10 months of this year.
The previous record for French wine and spirit exports was 2003, when the country exported 7.8 billion euros' worth of the drinks.
You may remember a while back when Bill O'Reilly was upset with the French. Well, Billy was going to nail those frogs!! He'd organize a bouycatt and teach those whimpy America-haters a lesson.
Since then, he's been heard to claim just how badly France has suffered under his boot.
Well, here's the latest report.
- Uke Man
French wine and spirit exports see bumper year
by Christian Charcossey Sun Dec 24, 3:46 PM ET
PARIS (AFP) - French wines and spirits are set to have a record year in 2006, with exports of cognac, champagne and bordeaux wines, and even French vodka, projected to bring in 8.0 billion euros (10.5 billion dollars).
"It's a very good result, despite frenetic competition, an unfavourable euro-dollar exchange rate and slow growth in consumption around the world," said Philippe Casteja, president of the French association of wine and spirit exporters, or FEVS.
Exports of bordeaux wines rose 27 percent in value in the first ten months of 2006 compared to the same period last year, according to customs office figures released late December by FEVS.
Champagne exports rose 17 percent in the same period, cognac exports went up 12 percent, armagnac exports rose 19 percent, and burgundy wine exports went up 9.3 percent.
France, not traditionally associated with vodka, also managed to boost its exports in the first 10 months of this year of the drink by a hefty 132 percent.
This was largely due to the success of the Grey Goose vodka brand in the United States. France exported 320 million euros' worth of the drink in the first 10 months of this year.
The previous record for French wine and spirit exports was 2003, when the country exported 7.8 billion euros' worth of the drinks.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
to avoid any confusion: below you will find a three-part card regarding Bill O'Reily, Santa, and the "War on Christmas." Start at the top and work on down to see what Santa says to Bill.
Bill O' - Santa - & the War on Christmas
click the pictures for a better view, then hit the "back" arrow
Monday, December 25, 2006
Luke 2:14
Hey Folks,
We get Christmas cards suggesting “Peace on earth; goodwill toward men.”
I’ve heard that this suggestion, properly translated, is “peace on earth to men of goodwill.”
It makes a difference. The first is universal: peace everywhere and goodwill toward everyone. The second restricts peace to only those of goodwill. The first is truly to be wished but unlikely. The second is closer to being attainable and fits better with the human character.
What does it say that we ALWAYS hear the first version and never the second?
Not only do we choose to have Angels broadcast what never has been and likely never will be; but we actually work to restrict, hobble, or smash those few “men of good will” who DO exist, especially “peacemakers” – Jimmy Carter, for example.
This Christmas I don’t feel too hopeful about the human race. I’ve been feeling less hopeful right along now for some time. I saw the problem, starting way back with Reagan – the grinning grandpa who "ought'a be on Rushmore" - and then working its way through Papa Bear Bush, Slick “Triangulation” Willie, and (now) Baby Bear Bush.
Under the Gipper there wasn’t too much goodwill toward men or peace to men of goodwill, either. And the screws have been tightened right along, especially since the Moronic Monkey Boy came into his own, anointed by god. And, if you ask me, the newly dominant Democrats are not going to reverse the slide any more than Clinton reversed Reagan; the pace may slow and be more nuanced / less blatant, but the slide WILL continue.
Just recently the mainstream media has begun talking about the decline of the Middle Class and what is behind it - something I’ve been screaming about since Reagan. Short of an uprising by angry citizens (what are the odds?), in my childrens’ lifetime the USA will be a third world nation.
Indeed, if things continue as they are, during my grandchildren’s lifetime the entire globe will be homogenized – Everywhere we will find (1) a small minority of rich beasts running things, (2) a necessary number of their lapdog retainers/enforcers/overseers floating in the middle air, and (3) the rest of us peasants/peons/slaves glad to have sweatshop jobs so as not to starve all at once.
Mark my words.
This pogrom, this enslavement, this perversion of all that is "holy" is no accident, but a premeditated assault against the mass of humanity. Worse, those leading the assault talk loudest about loving their country and about loving God, while trampling the highest ideals and teachings of both. As I said, short of rebellion, this is the future.
Do you think that “patriots” who care more about bashing gays and immigrants than in liberty and justice for all, combined with “Christians” more worried about “losing” in Iraq than in feeding the hungry, are likely to revolt?
To put it another way, do you think men of ill will can find peace? Do such slugs even WANT peace for anyone but themselves?
So, this Christmas I’m not too hopeful about humanity. But then, I’m old.
If you are young, you have a lot more reason than I to hit the streets or hit the bottle.
Happy New year !!
- Uke Man
We get Christmas cards suggesting “Peace on earth; goodwill toward men.”
I’ve heard that this suggestion, properly translated, is “peace on earth to men of goodwill.”
It makes a difference. The first is universal: peace everywhere and goodwill toward everyone. The second restricts peace to only those of goodwill. The first is truly to be wished but unlikely. The second is closer to being attainable and fits better with the human character.
What does it say that we ALWAYS hear the first version and never the second?
Not only do we choose to have Angels broadcast what never has been and likely never will be; but we actually work to restrict, hobble, or smash those few “men of good will” who DO exist, especially “peacemakers” – Jimmy Carter, for example.
This Christmas I don’t feel too hopeful about the human race. I’ve been feeling less hopeful right along now for some time. I saw the problem, starting way back with Reagan – the grinning grandpa who "ought'a be on Rushmore" - and then working its way through Papa Bear Bush, Slick “Triangulation” Willie, and (now) Baby Bear Bush.
Under the Gipper there wasn’t too much goodwill toward men or peace to men of goodwill, either. And the screws have been tightened right along, especially since the Moronic Monkey Boy came into his own, anointed by god. And, if you ask me, the newly dominant Democrats are not going to reverse the slide any more than Clinton reversed Reagan; the pace may slow and be more nuanced / less blatant, but the slide WILL continue.
Just recently the mainstream media has begun talking about the decline of the Middle Class and what is behind it - something I’ve been screaming about since Reagan. Short of an uprising by angry citizens (what are the odds?), in my childrens’ lifetime the USA will be a third world nation.
Indeed, if things continue as they are, during my grandchildren’s lifetime the entire globe will be homogenized – Everywhere we will find (1) a small minority of rich beasts running things, (2) a necessary number of their lapdog retainers/enforcers/overseers floating in the middle air, and (3) the rest of us peasants/peons/slaves glad to have sweatshop jobs so as not to starve all at once.
Mark my words.
This pogrom, this enslavement, this perversion of all that is "holy" is no accident, but a premeditated assault against the mass of humanity. Worse, those leading the assault talk loudest about loving their country and about loving God, while trampling the highest ideals and teachings of both. As I said, short of rebellion, this is the future.
Do you think that “patriots” who care more about bashing gays and immigrants than in liberty and justice for all, combined with “Christians” more worried about “losing” in Iraq than in feeding the hungry, are likely to revolt?
To put it another way, do you think men of ill will can find peace? Do such slugs even WANT peace for anyone but themselves?
So, this Christmas I’m not too hopeful about humanity. But then, I’m old.
If you are young, you have a lot more reason than I to hit the streets or hit the bottle.
Happy New year !!
- Uke Man
Crumpet the Elf - David Sedaris
Hey Folks,
This is WONDERFUL !!! You WILL laugh and laugh !!!
If you've heard it before; well, so have I, but I STILL laugh!!!
If you don't laugh, Santa will come to your house and steal all your stuff!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5066175
- Uke Man
This is WONDERFUL !!! You WILL laugh and laugh !!!
If you've heard it before; well, so have I, but I STILL laugh!!!
If you don't laugh, Santa will come to your house and steal all your stuff!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5066175
- Uke Man
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Videos
Check out some of the show in video form at:
http://www.ukulelenoir.com/pages/videos.html
or
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=99F29CD1152A5224
http://www.ukulelenoir.com/pages/videos.html
or
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=99F29CD1152A5224
The Highlight of my evening !! Dave Wasser !!
This guy!!! He "couldn't make the show" - Then he appeared out of nowhere - all the way from Providence !!!That's my pal !!!
Sounds right to me
Hey Folks,
This guy has been right before!!
- Uke ManGeorge W. Bush: A dangerous, cornered, rabid animal
Hill Street Blue
(a ukethanks to Phyll)By DOUG THOMPSON - Dec. 13, 2006
My gut tells me the President of the United States has become a cornered animal - wary of a party that has all but shunned him, distrustful of even his closest advisors, angry at an American public that has rejected him and fearful of his own inability to cope with his growing madness.White House insiders tell me George W. Bush grows more sullen and moody with each passing day. His paranoia, they say, is increasing to manic levels as he launches into tirades about traitors in his own party, in the press and among his allies.
They describe a man living on the edge and stepping too often over it.
Bush, they say, feels betrayed by former Secretary of State James Baker who he now feels held his administration up for public humiliation in the Iraq Study Group report. Although he told the press after meeting with ISG co-chairs Baker and Lee Hamilton that the White House will take the group's recommendations "very seriously," Bush says privately that he has no intention of going along with their plan.
"Fuck 'em," Bush reportedly said after his breakfast meeting with Baker and Hamilton last week. "I'm the President. I'm the one who decides what's best for this country."
Reports from within the White House show an administration in turmoil, torn from within by dissension over a failed Iraq war policy that everyone but Bush says is a no-win situation.
I wish I had proof of this. I don't. I have snippets of information passed on by people who should be in a position to know along with rumors and a gut instinct honed by 40 years of watching politicians try to squirm their way out of trouble.
One needs only to closely watch the President in his appearances to see that this is clearly a man in emotional trouble, struggling to hold on. His eyes dart from side to side and his eyelid movements when he speaks indicate a textbook example of dishonesty.
This attitude carries over into other White House staffers. Press briefings with Presidential Press Secretary Tony Snow have become increasingly confrontational with Snow quick to label anyone who dares question administration policy as a "troublemaker." He accuses reporters of partisanship, an ironic bit of hypocrisy since Snow came to the White House from Fox News, clearly the most partisan game in town.
Bush's decision to delay his "major policy speech" on Iraq until next year is, Snow claims, just to give the President time to hear all sides of the argument before proceeding. But others say privately the President has already made up his mind and is in no hurry because he doesn't plan to make any major changes.
And while Bush delays, America hit a grisly milestone this week when the "official" number of Americans dead or wounded in his dirty little war hit 25,000. I say "official" because the Pentagon has played fast and loose with the statistics on just how many Americans have come home without arms or legs or in body bags and the real figure could be even higher.
Whatever the "real figure" is or is not, one inescapable fact remains: Many more Americans will die in Iraq and/or other actions spawned by Bush's illegal invasion of a country that posed no threat to this nation. And many, many more will come home physically maimed and/or emotionally scarred for life.
Because the Iraq war is not over nor will it end anytime soon. It will continue to be waged by a cornered animal named George W. Bush.
And, as any real hunter knows, nothing is more dangerous than a cornered animal.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
A Christian sent me this
Hey Folks,
I am not religious and personally don't believe in God, but I respect people who practice a religion of "good will" (a term appearing on many Christmas cards). Jimmy Carter, I believe, is a good example of a Christian of good will.
I'd bet, too, that Jimmy already knows and practices the recommendations made in this letter (sent to me on the net).
Happy & Merry Everyday!!!! - Uke Man
A letter from God to His children:
Dear Children,
It has come to my attention that many of you
are upset that folks are taking My name out of
the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I
wasn't actually born during this time of the
year and that it was some of your predecessors
who decided to celebrate My birthday on what
was actually a time of pagan festival. Although
I do appreciate being remembered anytime.
How I personally feel about this celebration
can probably be most easily understood by those
of you who have been blessed with children
of your own. I don't care what you call the day.
If you want to celebrate My birth just, GET
ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Now,
having said that let Me go on.
If it bothers you that the town in which you live
doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then
just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen
and put in a small Nativity scene on your
own front lawn. If all My followers did that
there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on
the town square because there would be many
of them all around town.
Stop worrying about the fact that people
are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of
a Christmas tree. It was I who made all
trees. You can & may remember Me anytime
you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you
wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching
explaining who I am in relation to you & what
each of our tasks were.If you have forgot that
one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.
If you want to give Me a present in remembrance
of My birth here is my wish list. Choose
something from it.
1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting
to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write
letters of love and hope to soldiers away from
home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this
time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.
2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't
have to know them personally. They just need
to know that someone cares about them.
3. Instead of writing George complaining about
the wording on the cards his staff sent out this
year, why don't you write and tell him that
you'll be praying for him and his family this
year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from
you again.
4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts
you can't afford and they don't need, spend time
with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and
why I came to live with you down here. Hold
them in your arms and remind them that I love them.
5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past
and forgive him or her.
6. Did you know that someone in your town will
attempt to take their own life this season because
they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't
know who that person is, try giving everyone you
meet a warm smile. It could make the difference.
Also, you might consider supporting the local
Hot-Line: they talk with people like that every day.
7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in
your town calls the holiday, be patient with the
people who work there. Give them a warm smile
and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to
wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep
you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping
there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much
money on that day they'd close and let their
employees spend the day at home with their families.
8. If you really want to make a difference, support
a missionary, especially one who takes My love &
Good News to those who have never heard My name.
You may already know someone like that.
9. Here's a good one. There are individuals &
whole families in your town who not only will have
no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any
presents to give or receive. If you don't know them
(and I suspect you don't) buy some food & a few
gifts & give them to the Marines, the Salvation
Army or some other charity that believes in Me &
they will make the delivery for you.
10. Finally if you want to make a statement about
your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a
Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't
do in My presence. Let people know by your
actions that you are one of mine.
P.S. Don't forget; I am God and can take care of
Myself. Just love Me & do what I have told you to do.
I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above
& get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball
is now in your court. And do have a most blessed
Christmas with all those whom you love and
remember, I LOVE YOU.
God
I am not religious and personally don't believe in God, but I respect people who practice a religion of "good will" (a term appearing on many Christmas cards). Jimmy Carter, I believe, is a good example of a Christian of good will.
I'd bet, too, that Jimmy already knows and practices the recommendations made in this letter (sent to me on the net).
Happy & Merry Everyday!!!! - Uke Man
A letter from God to His children:
Dear Children,
It has come to my attention that many of you
are upset that folks are taking My name out of
the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I
wasn't actually born during this time of the
year and that it was some of your predecessors
who decided to celebrate My birthday on what
was actually a time of pagan festival. Although
I do appreciate being remembered anytime.
How I personally feel about this celebration
can probably be most easily understood by those
of you who have been blessed with children
of your own. I don't care what you call the day.
If you want to celebrate My birth just, GET
ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Now,
having said that let Me go on.
If it bothers you that the town in which you live
doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then
just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen
and put in a small Nativity scene on your
own front lawn. If all My followers did that
there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on
the town square because there would be many
of them all around town.
Stop worrying about the fact that people
are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of
a Christmas tree. It was I who made all
trees. You can & may remember Me anytime
you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you
wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching
explaining who I am in relation to you & what
each of our tasks were.If you have forgot that
one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.
If you want to give Me a present in remembrance
of My birth here is my wish list. Choose
something from it.
1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting
to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write
letters of love and hope to soldiers away from
home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this
time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.
2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't
have to know them personally. They just need
to know that someone cares about them.
3. Instead of writing George complaining about
the wording on the cards his staff sent out this
year, why don't you write and tell him that
you'll be praying for him and his family this
year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from
you again.
4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts
you can't afford and they don't need, spend time
with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and
why I came to live with you down here. Hold
them in your arms and remind them that I love them.
5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past
and forgive him or her.
6. Did you know that someone in your town will
attempt to take their own life this season because
they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't
know who that person is, try giving everyone you
meet a warm smile. It could make the difference.
Also, you might consider supporting the local
Hot-Line: they talk with people like that every day.
7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in
your town calls the holiday, be patient with the
people who work there. Give them a warm smile
and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to
wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep
you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping
there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much
money on that day they'd close and let their
employees spend the day at home with their families.
8. If you really want to make a difference, support
a missionary, especially one who takes My love &
Good News to those who have never heard My name.
You may already know someone like that.
9. Here's a good one. There are individuals &
whole families in your town who not only will have
no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any
presents to give or receive. If you don't know them
(and I suspect you don't) buy some food & a few
gifts & give them to the Marines, the Salvation
Army or some other charity that believes in Me &
they will make the delivery for you.
10. Finally if you want to make a statement about
your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a
Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't
do in My presence. Let people know by your
actions that you are one of mine.
P.S. Don't forget; I am God and can take care of
Myself. Just love Me & do what I have told you to do.
I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above
& get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball
is now in your court. And do have a most blessed
Christmas with all those whom you love and
remember, I LOVE YOU.
God
Friday, December 22, 2006
Ukulele Noir 20 - Boston
Hey Folks,
I’m back in Round Town and getting my flat-land legs under me. It was a long trip home, and I think I brought a few species of foreign gut-bugs back with me; but I’m almost my weird/normal self again.
Anyway, the plan is to share with you a bit about the show (Ukulele Noir 20) with which I started this adventure in New England son-visiting.
After a long drive to Boston I was put up by the dark and noir-ishly impish “King of Ukulele Noir, Craig Robertson in his charming and art-filled home. Next day was the show, and it was great to see old friends in a beautiful venue.
Below are some shots taken a bit before the musical fun began. More to come.
- Uke Man
I’m back in Round Town and getting my flat-land legs under me. It was a long trip home, and I think I brought a few species of foreign gut-bugs back with me; but I’m almost my weird/normal self again.
Anyway, the plan is to share with you a bit about the show (Ukulele Noir 20) with which I started this adventure in New England son-visiting.
After a long drive to Boston I was put up by the dark and noir-ishly impish “King of Ukulele Noir, Craig Robertson in his charming and art-filled home. Next day was the show, and it was great to see old friends in a beautiful venue.
Below are some shots taken a bit before the musical fun began. More to come.
- Uke Man
Fun & Friends Before the Show at Johnny D's
The club, Dave Wasser,Mark Occhionero/Joel Eckhaus/Robert Wheeler, Craig & Cecile Robertson 
Sheehaqn guilty - Pinochet still untried (but dead)
Hey Folks,
Figures, doesn't it.
- Uke Man
Sheehan among 4 convicted of trespassing
By SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press
NEW YORK - Peace activist Cindy Sheehan and three other women were convicted of trespassing Monday for trying to delivery an anti-Iraq war petition to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
A Manhattan Criminal Court judge sentenced them immediately to conditional discharge, which means they could face some form of penalty if they are arrested in the next six months, and ordered them to pay $95 in court surcharges.
Sheehan and about 100 other members of a group called Global Exchange were rebuffed last March when they attempted to take a petition with some 72,000 signatures to the U.S. Mission's headquarters across a street from the United Nations.
After Monday's sentencing, the women returned to the Mission; this time, their petition was accepted.
Prosecutors said they were arrested in March after ignoring police orders to disperse.
The four were acquitted of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstructing government administration. They had faced up to a year in jail if convicted of all counts.
"We should never have been on trial in the first place," Sheehan said in a statement after the verdict. "It's George Bush and his cronies who should be on trial, not peaceful women trying to stop this devastating war. This verdict, however, will not stop us from continuing to work tirelessly to bring our troops home."
Sheehan, 49, of Vacaville, Calif., lost her 24-year-old son Casey in Iraq on April 4, 2004. She has since emerged as one of the most vocal and high-profile opponents of the war, drawing international attention when she camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch to protest the war.
The women, calling their campaign "Women Say No To War," had hoped to give the petition to Peggy Kerry, the mission's liaison for non-governmental organizations and sister of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as they had in 2005.Kerry refused to meet with the women in the presence of Sheehan and the news media. She testified during the trial that the presentation seemed like a publicity stunt.
The women ignored police orders to leave and were reading it aloud on the sidewalk when officers arrested them. The women sat on the sidewalk and were carried to patrol wagons.
Following Monday's court session, the women returned to the U.S. Mission to ask for an apology and resubmit the petition.
They were met by Richard A. Grenell, the mission's director of external affairs, but didn't have the petitions with them. After obtaining copies of the petition, they went back a second time and handed them over to Kerry and Grenell in the building's lobby.
Grenell did not explain why the petitions were accepted this time.
Sheehan's co-defendants were Melissa Beattie, 57, of New York; Susan "Medea" Benjamin, 54, of San Francisco; and Patricia Ackerman, 48, of Nyack, N.Y.
Figures, doesn't it.
- Uke Man
Sheehan among 4 convicted of trespassing
By SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press
NEW YORK - Peace activist Cindy Sheehan and three other women were convicted of trespassing Monday for trying to delivery an anti-Iraq war petition to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
A Manhattan Criminal Court judge sentenced them immediately to conditional discharge, which means they could face some form of penalty if they are arrested in the next six months, and ordered them to pay $95 in court surcharges.
Sheehan and about 100 other members of a group called Global Exchange were rebuffed last March when they attempted to take a petition with some 72,000 signatures to the U.S. Mission's headquarters across a street from the United Nations.
After Monday's sentencing, the women returned to the Mission; this time, their petition was accepted.
Prosecutors said they were arrested in March after ignoring police orders to disperse.
The four were acquitted of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstructing government administration. They had faced up to a year in jail if convicted of all counts.
"We should never have been on trial in the first place," Sheehan said in a statement after the verdict. "It's George Bush and his cronies who should be on trial, not peaceful women trying to stop this devastating war. This verdict, however, will not stop us from continuing to work tirelessly to bring our troops home."
Sheehan, 49, of Vacaville, Calif., lost her 24-year-old son Casey in Iraq on April 4, 2004. She has since emerged as one of the most vocal and high-profile opponents of the war, drawing international attention when she camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch to protest the war.
The women, calling their campaign "Women Say No To War," had hoped to give the petition to Peggy Kerry, the mission's liaison for non-governmental organizations and sister of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., as they had in 2005.Kerry refused to meet with the women in the presence of Sheehan and the news media. She testified during the trial that the presentation seemed like a publicity stunt.
The women ignored police orders to leave and were reading it aloud on the sidewalk when officers arrested them. The women sat on the sidewalk and were carried to patrol wagons.
Following Monday's court session, the women returned to the U.S. Mission to ask for an apology and resubmit the petition.
They were met by Richard A. Grenell, the mission's director of external affairs, but didn't have the petitions with them. After obtaining copies of the petition, they went back a second time and handed them over to Kerry and Grenell in the building's lobby.
Grenell did not explain why the petitions were accepted this time.
Sheehan's co-defendants were Melissa Beattie, 57, of New York; Susan "Medea" Benjamin, 54, of San Francisco; and Patricia Ackerman, 48, of Nyack, N.Y.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Olbermann on X-Mas at the W-House with Barney et.al.
Hey Folks,
Have some Barney fun !!
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=e8a83b1a-86de-4fd1-8684-0db52ddb8ffc&p=News_Comment%20-%20Analysis&t=c1149&rf=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/&fg=
- Uke Man
Have some Barney fun !!
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=e8a83b1a-86de-4fd1-8684-0db52ddb8ffc&p=News_Comment%20-%20Analysis&t=c1149&rf=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/&fg=
- Uke Man
Sunday, December 17, 2006
New Hampshire Notes
Hey Folks,
I'm still in New Hampshire - still with limited access to the geek machine, but here's something:
My son Travis, the doctor, graduated yesterday - hopefully for the last time. Had a nice ceremony in Concord and a party later at Cristina's house (Travis's mother-in-law). The Uke Man played a couple tunes near the end when the guests had thinned out some and the bourbon had done its work.
Earlier in the day my grand daughter Paloma met with Santa, so that's taken care of too.
The weather is uncharacteristically above freezing and completely lacking in snow. People are (for real) complaining about it. And THIS is the year my son decided to get a big, expensive snow-thrower for X-Mas. Global warming !!!!! Bah !!!
I've about given up on pictures for you until I get home. I'll have some then AND hook you up with videos of the Boston show.
There's a Latke Party today with the title: "Eat Free or Die," a play on the state motto "Live Free or Die." The state probably would do well to replace its motto with the party's. If Duhbya has his way, everyone in New Hampshire will have to die.
Before the party, I'm told, we'll get to play woodsmen and cut down a live Christmas Tree. That's fine; I just hope I don't get drafted to string the lights. Bah!! Humbug !!!
A Merry and Happy Everyday to you!!
- Uke Man
I'm still in New Hampshire - still with limited access to the geek machine, but here's something:
My son Travis, the doctor, graduated yesterday - hopefully for the last time. Had a nice ceremony in Concord and a party later at Cristina's house (Travis's mother-in-law). The Uke Man played a couple tunes near the end when the guests had thinned out some and the bourbon had done its work.
Earlier in the day my grand daughter Paloma met with Santa, so that's taken care of too.
The weather is uncharacteristically above freezing and completely lacking in snow. People are (for real) complaining about it. And THIS is the year my son decided to get a big, expensive snow-thrower for X-Mas. Global warming !!!!! Bah !!!
I've about given up on pictures for you until I get home. I'll have some then AND hook you up with videos of the Boston show.
There's a Latke Party today with the title: "Eat Free or Die," a play on the state motto "Live Free or Die." The state probably would do well to replace its motto with the party's. If Duhbya has his way, everyone in New Hampshire will have to die.
Before the party, I'm told, we'll get to play woodsmen and cut down a live Christmas Tree. That's fine; I just hope I don't get drafted to string the lights. Bah!! Humbug !!!
A Merry and Happy Everyday to you!!
- Uke Man
Good dog!! Good Barney!! Good doggy!!
Hey Folks,
Here's a Tragedy fit for the season !!
- Uke Man
December 9, 2006
The Oval Intervention
By MAUREEN DOWD
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
It is not a happy mood in the Oval Office.Poppy is sobbing, his face in his hands, slumped in one of the yellow-and-blue striped chairs. Laura is screaming the words “Oscar de la Renta” and “rendition” into her cellphone, still seeing red after showing up at a White House gala in the same $8,400 red gown as three other women who did not happen to be first lady.
Bob Gates is grim-faced, but not as grim-faced as Barbara, whose look could freeze not only the Potomac but the Tigris and the Euphrates. Scowcroft is over on the couch, trying to nap while Kissinger drones softly in his ear.
And, of course, there is the Deprogrammer for the Decider, James Baker, perfectly suited in bright green tie and suited perfectly for his spot behind the president’s desk.
The Council of Elders had hoped this Apocalypto moment wouldn’t be necessary. They had assumed that the scorching Iraq Study Group report would have the same effect on Junior as the bucket of cold water that Mr. Baker’s strict father, a lawyer known as “the Warden,” used to throw on his face to wake him up as a boy.
But Junior is trying to wriggle away completely, offering a decidedly cool response to the attempt to yank him into the reality-based community. He rallied his last two allies — his English poodle and his Scottish terrier, Blair and Barney.
He is loath to give up his gunslinger pose to go all diplo. He cleaves to the neocon complaint that it is the realists who are now being unrealistic, thinking the administration can bargain with Syria and Iran, or that the Army can train Iraqi security forces (or, as they are known there, death squads) in a matter of months when they haven’t been able to do it in years.
The Velvet Hammer is undeterred. He’s doing an all-out intervention, locking Junior and Barney in the little study next to the Oval. To stress the seriousness of the situation, they don’t give the president his feather pillow.
The group gathers at the door of the study. “My boy,” his dad tells him between sobs. “We love you. We’re here for you. We’re worried about you. You’re not just hurting yourself, you’re hurting others. This is a safe place. No one’s judging you ...”
“What are you talking about, Dad?” Junior snaps. “I just actually read 96 pages of your friends’ judging me in that cowpie report.” Barney woofs in support.
Barbara can be heard muttering from across the room. “We were right about Jebbie.”
Henry the K lumbers up to the door and in a low Teutonic rumble says: “It’s time we stopped taking care of you and started caring about you. Would you like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”
Junior is getting even more furious. “You all think you’re so realist. But you’re unrealist. I’m realist. Are you sitting at my desk, Baker? Get out of there! Everyone says you’re so Mr. Ride to the Rescue, but none of your surrender monkey ideas would work. Talk about Pretend Land — Israel giving up the Golan Heights? Yeah, right. And they call me delusional.”
Baker glides up to the door and says, in his most satiny drawl, “So
Here's a Tragedy fit for the season !!
- Uke Man
December 9, 2006
The Oval Intervention
By MAUREEN DOWD
(a ukethanks to Phyll)
It is not a happy mood in the Oval Office.Poppy is sobbing, his face in his hands, slumped in one of the yellow-and-blue striped chairs. Laura is screaming the words “Oscar de la Renta” and “rendition” into her cellphone, still seeing red after showing up at a White House gala in the same $8,400 red gown as three other women who did not happen to be first lady.
Bob Gates is grim-faced, but not as grim-faced as Barbara, whose look could freeze not only the Potomac but the Tigris and the Euphrates. Scowcroft is over on the couch, trying to nap while Kissinger drones softly in his ear.
And, of course, there is the Deprogrammer for the Decider, James Baker, perfectly suited in bright green tie and suited perfectly for his spot behind the president’s desk.
The Council of Elders had hoped this Apocalypto moment wouldn’t be necessary. They had assumed that the scorching Iraq Study Group report would have the same effect on Junior as the bucket of cold water that Mr. Baker’s strict father, a lawyer known as “the Warden,” used to throw on his face to wake him up as a boy.
But Junior is trying to wriggle away completely, offering a decidedly cool response to the attempt to yank him into the reality-based community. He rallied his last two allies — his English poodle and his Scottish terrier, Blair and Barney.
He is loath to give up his gunslinger pose to go all diplo. He cleaves to the neocon complaint that it is the realists who are now being unrealistic, thinking the administration can bargain with Syria and Iran, or that the Army can train Iraqi security forces (or, as they are known there, death squads) in a matter of months when they haven’t been able to do it in years.
The Velvet Hammer is undeterred. He’s doing an all-out intervention, locking Junior and Barney in the little study next to the Oval. To stress the seriousness of the situation, they don’t give the president his feather pillow.
The group gathers at the door of the study. “My boy,” his dad tells him between sobs. “We love you. We’re here for you. We’re worried about you. You’re not just hurting yourself, you’re hurting others. This is a safe place. No one’s judging you ...”
“What are you talking about, Dad?” Junior snaps. “I just actually read 96 pages of your friends’ judging me in that cowpie report.” Barney woofs in support.
Barbara can be heard muttering from across the room. “We were right about Jebbie.”
Henry the K lumbers up to the door and in a low Teutonic rumble says: “It’s time we stopped taking care of you and started caring about you. Would you like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”
Junior is getting even more furious. “You all think you’re so realist. But you’re unrealist. I’m realist. Are you sitting at my desk, Baker? Get out of there! Everyone says you’re so Mr. Ride to the Rescue, but none of your surrender monkey ideas would work. Talk about Pretend Land — Israel giving up the Golan Heights? Yeah, right. And they call me delusional.”
Baker glides up to the door and says, in his most satiny drawl, “So