The Weekly Poll(s)
Results
Results Part 1...
The 'Wiki-Humpty Dumpty' Edition...
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday the leak of hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic documents is an attack not only on the United States but also the international community...
"This disclosure is not just an attack on America's foreign policy interests," Clinton said. "It is an attack on the international community: the alliances and partnerships, the conversations and negotiations that safeguard global security and advance economic prosperity." ..."It puts people's lives in danger, threatens our national security and undermines our efforts to work with other countries to solve shared problems," she told reporters at the State Department...
Clinton calls leaked documents attack on world | detnews.com | The Detroit News
(I watched her statement live and she looked to be NOT a happy camper... Woe be unto PFC Manning)
Do you feel the release of these diplomatic documents are:
1.) A good thing...
2.) A bad thing...
3.) Sorta good - Kinda bad...
4.) Hey! What happened to the Holiday Season theme - thingy?
1.) A good thing...
bebo
1.) a good thing...... because the POTUS said his administration was going to be more transparent than the previous administration.
litebug
!.) I think it is a very good thing.
Noam Chomsky: WikiLeaks Cables Reveal "Profound Hatred for Democracy on the Part of Our Political Leadership"
Adam in NoHo
1- Nothing in these are news. Arab leaders say one thing in public and another behind closed doors?
Why catch me (fan, fan, fan) I've got the vapors... /sarcasm/ Nothing here is actually news.
My gut reaction is this: So long as the govt wants to invade my privacy, I have no problem invading the govt's. Same goes for the corporate 'secrets' Wikileaks released early in it's life. Fair's fair.
jbakal2
They are a good thing, whatever happened to openness in our government? Bush pardoned a criminal and they want to execute a hero.
Richard McD...
Number one for sure. I had enough of Vietnam an Iraq.
Michael in Port Saint Lucie...
Simply voted for 1.) with no additional comment.
Joe B.
It's 1.) A good thing, it's all about money and power and the little guys die for it and I thought that after Nam it would change just like Barack's supposed change everything is still the same.
2.) A bad thing...
maw
2. Bad. I know of no normal person remotely surprised that we, along with the rest of the world, spies. The leaks seem to be only designed to cause embarrassment to us with little or no concern for the harm they do nor to the danger innocent lives are placed in. This all from a man accused of rape and in perpetual hiding. Not too impressed by the media coming in their pants in their haste to get them in print either. Responsible press my ass.
3.) Sorta good - Kinda bad...
Richard McD...
I jump between sorta good and sorta bad and good. If your not offered no 3 definitely go with good.
saskplanner
I guess 3. It seems much of what was released was what an average 16 year old could surmise by just paying attention to international happenings ad reading the news for the last few years. He is in BIG trouble if H is gunning for him.
Chief John from Issaquah
I'll go with #3) Sorta good - Kinda bad... I wouldn't like to see intelligent agents, who are collecting information to protect our troops and nation from attacks, compromised but things like whom was pushing us to attack Iran or the dirty tricks to sabotage Global Climate Conferences should be exposed. This is something our MSN should be doing, but we all know they haven't been doing their job for some time now.
4.) Hey! What happened to the Holiday Season theme - thingy?
*Crickets*
5.) Message received via sub-space transmission from the 'Delta Quadrant'
Dan 'The Stan' D...
As represented by that crazy/wacky conspiracy theory site -- WhatReallyHappened.com -- seemingly throughout ALL the above-referred-to documentation dump, there is absolutely NO criticism whatsoever of Zionland. Now, I'm talking about the same war-crimes state that just got finished (only a short time ago) ramping up its child-victim genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, while yet continuing its colonial migrant land thefts of non-Jewish property in Jerusalem itself! Hell, I've even heard of no Wikileaks criticizing Israel's maritime commando raid in international waters when -- only recently -- they MURDERED an American citizen (among several other internationally non-combatant victims) ... just docu-dump crickets.
It also seems that some highly critical "hearsay" allegations have arisen from Wikileaks which all-too-conveniently indicts Iran for a number of WMD conspiracies and other international crimes-of-convenience ... oh so conveniently timed for Israel's renewed (from last week) demand that we (the US that is) wipe its latest mortal enemy (just as we did the last one, you know, Saddam's independent nation of Iraq) off the map.
Just 'cause Julian Assange has potentially counterfeit documents that (hear)says it's so don't necessarily mean it's so. And with allegedly stolen, secret documentation, Who's to say what's legit? To make a document "counterfeit," all you have to do is change a single word ... and the counterfeiters have certainly improved their trade since those earlier "Yellowcake" days.
Anyway, what gets me the most is that, for being a functionally unprofessional international fugitive and all that, neither James Bond nor Jack Ryan can seem to finger this guy. I mean, Angelina Jolie should at least be able to corner-bend a bullet into his head or something.
In the meantime, who's really benefiting the most from this selectively revealing, document-dump? Perhaps that schitty-little-state?
Results Part 2...
With Assange's arrest in England, denial of bail and extradition request from Sweden, the ante has been raised. Supporters have countered with hacker attacks on sites refusing to process donations to Wikileaks, the Swiss bank that holds Assange's funds and the Swedish prosecutor's office. It appears that the White House is angling to get its hands on him for possible legal charges... The battle lines are firming up... The saga continues... with an addendum question:
At this point, do you support Julian Assange and Wikileaks?
a.) Yes, Hooray!
b.) No frickin' way!
c.) I wish whole damn'd thing would just go away...
If you've already responded to the previous question, feel free to resubmit. All will be posted...
a.) Yes, Hooray!
DRD
Without hesitation, I place my check mark on A. Without the ability to speak our heart's content we would be akin to an ocean vessel without a rudder! Freeness of speech is one of, if not the most powerful of tools we have to protect, not only ourselves, but our brothers in arms. The opening of sealed doors, clicking on of the inner lights, opening the windows to allow fresh air to circulate in an effort to counteract the mold and mildew of falsehoods is good for all of us! The Government answers to the people, or at least that is the story line, so let the light of truth shine brighter! That's the way I see it Bob
Chief John from Issaquah...
Julian Assange has come out and said he has not released any information that would compromise individuals. Also that the documents he has released were the same as what various world wide well known papers have released, redactions and all. If that is so, then I say Yes, Hell Yes to supporting him. Unlike war criminals, Bush, Cheney, Rove, and others in their group whose political release of Valerie Plame's network of agents who were watching for WMD, got many of those agents killed and threatened our national security and safety of our troops in the middle east, I don't believe what Assange has done is any where near as bad. Just embarrassing to powers to be! The American people need to know what dirty tricks our government and corporations are doing in the world in our name. In today's BartcopE page, 12/9/2010, there is an article from a Wikileaks about Dyncorp providing young children, mostly boys, for sex at parties in Afghanistan. This is disgusting and even if it is acceptable in Afghanistan, it isn't in American. Hillary Clinton and former Secretary of State Rice need to explain themselves in a court of law as to why they find this (along with other dirty tricks) acceptable and have hidden it from the American public. Of course I am not holding my breath for that to happen.
My late father, a WWII Navy veteran and Union organizer and supporter, use to tell me that the powers will do anything from embarrassing to killing to shut up people who are a thorn in their side. Assange's sexual charges have a familiar ring to it just like Scott Ritter's sexual charges, a former U.S. Marine and U.N. Weapons Inspector who came out against Bush's attack on Iraq. They hope to embarrass and silence him. If this doesn't work they will put him into prison, throw away the key, and/or kill him.
Michael in Port Saint Lucie...
Simply voted for a.) with no additional comment.
Joe B.
I'm going with a.) I'm glad it came out, they do what they want anyway but at least more people are aware of what is going on.
Litebug
I think he is a real hero and it is amazing how the powers-that-be are going after him. Don't they send Interpol after each and every accused "rapist"? Sure they do, even when it turns out that it wasn't really rape after all but some strange offense, known only to the Swedes and the whole thing stinks to high heaven, with the woman being connected to the CIA.
The retaliation by his supporters against those who would cut off contributions to Wikileaks or deny service, is a David vs Goliath tale and, as such, is deeply satisfying to watch, in this age when corporations are running roughshod over us all. If only they would go after known torturers and war criminals with as much vigor.
Adam in NoHo
I guess that Assange himself is something of an ass, but I support his actions and the reasons he does it. Like I said before, if govt and big business get to watch me and listen to my phone calls and read all
of my mail, I get to do the very same. And Assange is NOT worse than Osama bin Laden. Assange never bankrolled murder, unlike the Bush admin, the Obama admin, and the likes of Nestle.
BillyBob
The truth is not the enemy of the people, only the politicians.
b.) No frickin' way!
*Zilch*
c.) I wish whole damn'd thing would just go away...
*Nada*
I have decided to abstain from the Polls for personal reasons. I hope that everyone will respect my decision...
Thanks to all for your responses... As always... Yer the Best!
BadToTheBoneBob
~~~~~~~~~~~
New Question
The 'Holiday Season A/V Attractions and Distractions' Edition...
There's a bazillion (at least) movies, songs and commercials connected to the 'Holiday Season' that are streamed non-stop out over the ether this time of year celebrating all manner of things spiritual, secular and avaricious... Yes, I know that you are not shocked at that statement, so don't write and say that you are (haha)... Ahem... Moving right along... All righty then...
Share with us, if'n ya please, yer favorites as well as the ones that make ya want to get yer Scrooge on... I'll tell ya mine, if'n you tell me yours...
1.) Movies
2.) Music
3.) Commercials
Send your response to
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Block Those Economic Metaphors (New York Times)
The idea that the economic "engine" is going to catch encourages policy makers to settle for sloppy, short-term measures when the economy really needs well-designed, sustained support.
Jonah Weiner: Make It $top (Slate)
The pleasure and pain of listening to Ke$ha.
Musicians, writers and their obsessions: Interviews by Dorian Lynskey, Dave Simpson and Jude Rogers (Guardian)
They're not the best songs. They might not even be good ones. But they become the tracks we play again and again. Here, musicians and writers share their obsessions.
In Awe of Taylor Swift-But Enough! (Wall Street Journal)
Joe Queenan knows all about Jake Gyllenhaal, the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Lautner, and wishes he didn't.
Lemmy: 'I'm not completely fixated on Jack Daniel's' (Guardian)
Motörhead's singer on the best tour diets, American cheese and food fights. Interview by John Hind.
Dick Cavett: Lennon's Return (New York Times)
When I entered their room, bed is where the Lennons were. I'm afraid that sentence seems to promise more than will be delivered. Let's come back to it.
Dick Cavett: Witness for the…Who, Exactly? (New York Times)
A bit later certain things began to entangle John. He very nicely asked if I would be willing to do him a favor. Recklessly, perhaps, I said I would. Of course. Especially considering what he and his wife had done for my Nielsen numbers. Would I help him resist the Nixon White House's plan to have him deported?
FRANK RICH: Gay Bashing at the Smithsonian (New York Times)
It still seems an unwritten rule in establishment Washington that homophobia is at most a misdemeanor.
Jon Henley: Was this the man who inspired Tintin? (Guardian)
The story of Palle Huld, a globetrotting, red-haired 15-year-old, may have provided the inspiration for Hergé's comic-book hero, Tintin.
Getting Real About Movie Ratings (Wall Street Journal)
America has lost its innocence, and now movie ratings are due for an overhaul, says Roger Ebert.
KRISTIN M. JONES: Epic History of the Holocaust Returns (Wall Street Journal)
The voices of "Shoah"-the survivors, the eyewitnesses, the Nazi perpetrators-keep reverberating. To mark its 25th anniversary, Claude Lanzmann's cinematic oral history will be rereleased in cinemas.
Elaine Lipworth: Denzel Washington (Guardian)
The Hollywood actor talks about his family.
David Bruce has 39 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $39 you can buy 9,750 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
wrote:
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Marin County
Historical Building
FORMER "JEFFERSON AIRPLANE" FOUNDER AND LEAD SINGER MARTY BALIN HIRED PURPLE GENE AND JOHN DESMIDT TO TRANSFORM HIS MILL VALLEY HOME INTO A WOODEN WONDER IN 1978....FEATURES A COPPER TOPPED PYRAMID ROOM WITH A SLIDING WOODEN PLANK TO MEDITATE ON WITH HIS HEAD IN THE "KING'S CHAMBER".....IT IS NOW A HISTORICAL BUILDING.
YouTube - Marty Balin's former Marin County Residence
Reader Suggestions
New Movies
Captain Jack Sparrow sounds like fun
Cars 2 this one too
gary in pa
Thanks, Gary!
Reader Suggestion
a good video
Hey Marty,
Found this video your readers might enjoy. it's called "The Reason for
the Season." Watch it 'til the end......
Pass it on!
BadtotheboneBob
Weather
Hello, Marty...
You wrote Monday, "Yep - it's a heat wave."... I don't think so!
At 10am here it's 7 degrees and with a 25 mph NW wind the wind chill is -15!
Beautiful blue skies, but it ain't no damn'd 'heat wave', I'm tellin' ya, and that's a fact!... So, Dear Friend, two words come to mind... Shut up! (Haha)...
BadtotheboneBob
Thanks, B2tbBob!
Brrrr-that's cold, but here, well, it's been downright hot.
A week ago it was properly winter-like, and we never saw 60°. Yesterday and today,
it was nearly 90° by day, and never cooled off to the 60°s at night.
OTOH, whenever my east coast relatives ask if I miss the snowy weather at Christmas, my stock response is
'I've never seen any pictures of the Baby Jesus making a snowman. There are always palm trees in the background, and
lots of sand, and, hey, that's just like here.'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Much warmer than seasonal, but not for long.
Ferrell, Reilly Parody Christmas Classic
Little Drummer Boy
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly have added a comedic twist to David Bowie and Bing Crosby's classic Christmas duet.
The video was posted Monday by Funny or Die. It's a remarkable, comedic imitation of Crosby and Bowie's beloved 1977 Christmas special in which they sang "Peace on Earth/The Little Drummer Boy." In it, Ferrell plays Bowie and Reilly performs as Crosby.
The mimicry is impressive, with almost every line exactly repeated. Reilly fittingly dons a V-neck sweater, and Ferrell sports Bowie's blue blazer and a British accent. The two stay faithfully in character until the end, when they curse at each other and Ferrell knocks over a Christmas tree.
Little Drummer Boy
Funds Women's Health Center
Go Daddy
Make no mistake: GoDaddy.com loves women.
The seller of website domain names, whose Super Bowl ads with scantily clad women made it a household name, announced that it has donated $500,000 to the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS to launch a women's health clinic in Phoenix.
The Go Daddy Women's Health Center, set to open in 2011, will provide HIV/AIDS prevention for women. In particular, the new center will cater to women with a heightened risk of catching the disease, particularly those suffering domestic violence. The center will be partially funded by the city of Phoenix.
The Scottsdale, Ariz., company's philanthropy contrasts sharply with the ad it submitted to this year's Super Bowl. In it, a masseuse rubbing down race car driver Danica Patrick strips down to a tank top and underwear, wiggles her hips and eventually falls into a pool, causing her shirt to become wet. In a Web-only ad, mocking the brouhaha, another model rips off her clothing to reveal a similarly skimpy getup and does a more sexually suggestive dance.
Go Daddy
New York Film Critics Pick
`Social Network'
"The Social Network" continued its virtual sweep of the early awards season, earning best film from the New York Film Critics Circle.
David Fincher, director of the Facebook drama, won best director in the awards, announced Monday. The New York critics followed the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Online in choosing "The Social Network" as the year's best film.
The NYFCC awarded best actor to Colin Firth for the British monarchy tale "The King's Speech" and best actress to Annette Bening for the lesbian family drama "The Kids Are All Right."
The New York critics were particularly high on "The Kids Are All Right," honoring Mark Ruffalo for best supporting actor and Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for best screenplay.
`Social Network'
Wedding News
Richie - Madden
Nicole Richie and Joel Madden have gone from reality star and rocker to husband and wife.
Richie's publicist Nicole Perna says in an e-mail to The Associated Press Sunday that the 29-year-old socialite and her longtime boyfriend Madden were married Saturday in Los Angeles.
The couple, who dated for more than four years, have a 2-year-old daughter, Harlow Winter Kate, and a 15-month-old son, Sparrow Midnight.
Richie - Madden
Ex-TV Chef Gets 9 Years
Juan-Carlos Cruz
With a wink and smile at his wife, former "Calorie Commando" TV chef Juan-Carlos Cruz was sentenced to nine years in prison Monday after pleading no contest to trying to hire two homeless men to murder her.
Looking considerably grayer than he did during his arrest in May, Cruz turned to catch one more glimpse of his wife Jennifer Campbell as he was led from the brief hearing. She was seated in the front row of the courtroom with her attorney.
In a plea agreement, Cruz, 48, pleaded no contest in October to a charge of solicitation of murder, and prosecutors dropped a more serious count of attempted murder.
Defense attorney Shawn Chapman Holley said Cruz is expected to serve half of the nine-year term because no serious, violent felony was committed.
Juan-Carlos Cruz
NH Parents Object
"Nickel and Dimed"
A New Hampshire couple told a school board Monday that their son's civil rights were violated when he was assigned a book that refers Jesus Christ as a "wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist."
The 2001 book, "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America," documents author Barbara Ehrenreich's attempts to live on minimum wage as she critiques the nation's economic system.
Aimee and Dennis Taylor complained about the book's foul language, descriptions of drug use and characterization of Christianity when it was assigned to their son's personal finance class at Bedford High School in the fall and later pulled him out of school at his request. On Monday, they asked the school board to remove the book from the curriculum and create a committee of parents to review and rate all other books used in the school, but the board held off on making a decision until it hears from its curriculum committee next month.
In a passage describing a tent revival meeting she attended, Ehrenreich writes about feeling troubled by its emphasis on Jesus' crucifixion and wishing the preacher would focus more on his teachings of social and economic justice.
"Jesus makes his appearance here only as a corpse; the living man, the wine-guzzling vagrant and precocious socialist, is never once mentioned, nor anything he ever had to say," she wrote.
"Nickel and Dimed"
Ukraine to To Open For Tourists
Chernobyl
Want a better understanding of the world's worst nuclear disaster? Come tour the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Beginning next year, Ukraine plans to open up the sealed zone around the Chernobyl reactor to visitors who wish to learn more about the tragedy that occurred nearly a quarter of a century ago, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Monday.
Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing radiation over a large swath of northern Europe. Hundreds of thousands of people were resettled from areas contaminated with radiation fallout in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Related health problems still persist.
The so-called exclusion zone, a highly contaminated area within a 30-mile (48-kilometer) radius of the exploded reactor, was evacuated and sealed off in the aftermath of the explosion. All visits were prohibited.
Today, about 2,500 employees maintain the remains of the now-closed nuclear plant, working in shifts to minimize their exposure to radiation. Several hundred evacuees have returned to their villages in the area despite a government ban. A few firms now offer tours to the restricted area, but the government says those tours are illegal and their safety is not guaranteed.
Chernobyl
Most-Viewed On The YouTubes
Justin Bieber
Teenager Justin Bieber had four of the top 10 most-watched music videos in the world on YouTube in 2010, with "Baby" taking claiming the top spot at more than 400 million views, YouTube said on Monday.
The 16 year-old Canadian, who was first discovered in 2008 by posting home videos on YouTube, also saw "Never Say Never," "Never Let You Go" and "Somebody to Love Remix" make the most-watched videos from major music labels for 2010.
A young Alabama man giving an impassioned TV news interview about a local crime spree became the most-watched YouTube entry outside those produced by major music labels.
"Bed Intruder Song" -- a remix of the words by Antoine Dodson, 24, set to a song by New York musicians Evan and Michael Gregory -- was viewed 60 million times around the world. The song also entered the iTune charts and the revenue helped Dodson buy a new house.
For the list - Justin Bieber
NC National Park Has Most Suicides
Blue Ridge Parkway
A study shows that the Blue Ridge Parkway was the national park with the most suicides from 2003 to 2009.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Saturday on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 15 people killed themselves on the parkway during that period and another six attempted suicide.
It's the first report to look specifically at suicides in national parks. Study author Sara Newman said the deaths are preventable and traumatizing to park staff.
Officials at the Blue Ridge Parkway say it was likely the top location because it is the most visited national park, charges no admission and has many access points.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Streak Hits 15 Years
`Today' Show
Far more than a malfunctioning alarm clock, Meredith Vieira worried about disrupting The Streak when she joined NBC's "Today" show in 2006.
"Today" has won every week in the morning-show ratings since December 1995, according to the Nielsen Co. Last week the streak reached 15 years, or 783 weeks.
"My one goal was not to mess it up," said Vieira, who co-anchors the show's first two hours with Matt Lauer. "I didn't want to be the one in the anchor chair when we fell from first to second. I was really, really scared about that."
For good reason - she probably would have been blamed after replacing Katie Couric (R-Kneepads). Instead, the institution rolled on. This season, "Today" has averaged 5.3 million viewers, or 1 million more than its strongest rival, ABC's "Good Morning America."
`Today' Show
Wham Wins Most Annoying Xmas Song Award
'Last Christmas'
British pop group Wham!'s 1984 hit single "Last Christmas" was voted most annoying Christmas song in a poll in Bulgaria, beating Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas," organisers said Monday.
A total of 28,110 Bulgarians said the Wham! hit was the song they least wanted to hear this year in the ballot on the campaign's website www.nohohoho.org.
"I think these songs are the reason for Christmas depressions and suicides," added a pollster, Yordan Stamenov.
Despite the vote, the two picks were listed by the website www.gigwise.com as the most downloaded Christmas songs this year, judging by figures collected by OVI music store.
'Last Christmas'
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