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Comments Posted By kesmarn

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The Ferguson Grand Jury Decision

It’s so creepy and unnerving that someone can appear so polished — so well-educated and eloquent — and still have such a despicable agenda. Well dressed, apparently rational, and yet with the sensibilities of a Bull Conner.

» Posted By kesmarn On November 24, 2014 @ 7:09 pm

AdLib, thanks so much for that valuable additional info. I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to legal matters like this, but this DA just seemed to be far from impartial — even just in the few minutes I heard him speak this evening.

» Posted By kesmarn On November 24, 2014 @ 6:57 pm

One of the indictment options was even “involuntary manslaughter.” And they couldn’t even go with that??

I’m numb.

» Posted By kesmarn On November 24, 2014 @ 6:43 pm

No indictment.

» Posted By kesmarn On November 24, 2014 @ 6:26 pm

Hello, fellow Planeteers. I’ve been so swamped with family goings-on that I haven’t been able to be here much over the last week. But, awaiting this announcement…well, I wanted to be among friends.

Fingers crossed, but frankly I’m not optimistic about the chances of this cop being indicted.

» Posted By kesmarn On November 24, 2014 @ 6:00 pm

Morning Blog — 11-20-2014

This is like a flashback to the sixties, isn’t it? 😀 (The best parts of the sixties, that is!)

Thanks so much for posting, Nirek.

Bernie did well in the debate Saturday night, I thought.

» Posted By kesmarn On November 15, 2015 @ 4:51 pm

Cowardly is most definitely the word for it. Awful.

I can only hope that France can find out quickly what happened here and that there are no dire repercussions for refugees all over Europe who really are fleeing just this very sort of violence.

Needless to say, many prayers for your Hubby as he travels next week. Traveling almost anywhere these days is a risky business. Sad to say…

Prayers that the world comes to its senses soon.

» Posted By kesmarn On November 13, 2015 @ 6:36 pm

Kalima, I’ve also been following this story all afternoon and evening. Really awful.

I’m so hoping that things are winding down now that the police have ended the stand off.

Prayers for the people of Paris — and of course Beirut and Syria… Well, really the people of the world. Violence everywhere.

» Posted By kesmarn On November 13, 2015 @ 5:21 pm

Good evening/morning, Kalima! I’m happy to have a little “extension,” so that I can catch up on this earlier, terrific edition of MB while you tend to matters on the home front. And there seem to be plenty to tend to. But I’m so glad to hear that your 90 year old mother-in-law made it through her surgery and is looking forward to her imminent escape from hospital food! Stay strong, both Mrs. K. There’s chocolate in your future!

I loved the snoring hummingbird video. And it definitely got the attention of the household feline, Jordan. He perked right up when he heard that “wheeee!!” sound.

Unbelievable, isn’t it? That there’s a petition to restart a nuclear reactor that sits on a fault line? We can only hope that Japan’s NRA refuses to allow it. And yet — if I were a betting person, I would say that, given the verity of corporate power, I wouldn’t put money on that possibility.

On the other hand — kudos to the wonderful ward of Shibuya! For being the first in Tokyo to give the green light to same-sex marriage. Go, Shibuya! Into the 21st century!

Going back in time though, we have geishas — who crave McDonald’s fries. But aren’t allowed to dash out and fetch them. Who knew? I guess I always thought that geishas had something like an 8 hour day (or evening) and that in their off hours they could wear jeans and eat all the junk food they wanted. But it seems to be a lot more like joining the convent — signing up to be a geisha. You live the role 24/7. A much less romantic lifestyle than most of us imagined.

Moving over to Great Britain — let’s hope that the petition for a vote of no-confidence in David Cameron reaches the 100,000 mark and is acted on. The sooner the better. Some of these petitions have been ignored in the past. But let’s hope that this one isn’t. If ever a British politician needed to join the unemployment line, it’s this one.

And it would be even better if George Osbourne could keep him company there. His stubborn refusal to tax the rich — under any circumstances — and insistence on wringing every last penny out of the poor (including — most recently — even the working poor) is genuinely evil.

Third in line for the unemployment “honors” would be Jeremy Hunt. Who now has the ignominy of having his name attached to the “Hunt effect.” Which is the refusal of desperately ill or injured to go to the hospital on weekends because they’ve heard from Jeremy that there will be no doctors there to take care of them. What an idiot.

At least there’s a bit of sanity and humanity over here in the person of Michael Tomasky. Confronting the madness that is Donald Trump, he has the rationality to say: “No. This loony is not the ‘moderate’ that David Brooks would have you believe he is. He’s not going to save you. Get over that.” Yes, Michael. That’s it, in a nutshell. And the emphasis is not the “nut” part of that word.

And thank God for Andy Borowitz. Good thing that he filled us all in on the fact that there are new rules of civility for GOP
debates now. And that asking questions about anything that the candidate has ever said or done is now considered “gotcha journalism.”

Another favorite: Paul Krugman. He’s too modest to say it, but he was one of the few people warning of the risks of austerity programs after the Great Recession right from the beginning. And — as usual — he was right. He ends his article on a slightly ominous note, though. I think Paul is suspecting that if a Republican is elected president in 2016, there could be dire economic consequences. This is one time it would be nice if he weren’t right, but I’m afraid that’s not going to be the case. Which is why we really have to elect a Dem.

Last but far from least — I loved the old photos of Peking (Beijing). It’s so wonderful to study those faces and take note of every detail of an era that’s lost to us forever now. Terrific!

» Posted By kesmarn On November 12, 2015 @ 4:39 pm

Good Evening/Morning, Kalima! Thanks so much for another great collection of articles from around the world.

It’s always good to start off with a smile, and that sweet Golden Lab who knows how to work faucets and drains to give himself his own bath is guaranteed to bring one. Talk about the perfect pup! Now if I can just get Mr. Jordan Katt to empty his own litter box here…

Well, it’s taken a few years but finally the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation is being held accountable for patient deaths on their watch. As well they should be! Firing nurses, short staffing, poor funding on patient care and ridiculous expenditures on junk. It was a disaster waiting to happen and it did.

And doesn’t it just figure that Jeremy Hunt — while he wouldn’t recognize the truth on actual deaths — doesn’t have any problem at all with making them up when it suits his purposes? When he wants to manipulate and exploit doctors, he claims that they need to work longer hours because “11,000 people died” when they didn’t. Even the people who compiled the report he sucked those numbers from warned that they shouldn’t be misused like that. That would never stop our Jeremy though…

But those photos were worth a thousand words — the ones of a “day in the life of” an NHS emergency room. You can almost feel the tension and stress when you look at them. “The Breaking Point” is a very apt title for that series. What a nightmare.

On American politics — Tomasky is right. Hillary undoubtedly benefited from her debate performance. But so did Bernie! I think his magnanimous gesture toward her (dismissing her email kerfuffle) made him look like a real mensch. Which — of course — he is! And his and his campaign’s refusal to take Martin Shkreli’s dirty money is just the icing on the cake. Good for him!

Paul Krugman — I just love him. The term “Waaaah Street” is perfect. Not only do they complain about regulations, they even complain about complaints about their bad behavior. Such sensitive souls. When it comes to themselves. Never when it comes to other peoples’ suffering, though.

And then there’s Huckabee. Another sensitive soul — who’s so sensitive that he’s perfectly okay with selling people into slavery — as long as they’re poor thieves. Now the rich thieves? Those “Waaah Street” boys? The ones who really should be sold into slavery? Nary a word from our boy Huck.

What a sad tale — about the 14 year old boy who’s already a veteran “soldier” in South Sudan. This kid has been so brain-washed that he has absolutely no inclination to get an education — even if one were offered to him. Talk about a totally dead-end existence. It’s hard to imagine that his life span will be very long if he doesn’t get his head turned around in the near future. People who do this to children should be in prison.

On the other end of the spectrum are the Chinese billionaires. I had to laugh at the one selfie of Jack Ma with David Cameron. Cameron’s eyes are practically popping out of his head in unmitigated adulation of all that MONEY!! That’s like pure oxygen for David. They must have had to give him a tranquilizer after that meeting.

What a chilling story — “The Smuggler and the Baby.” Here’s a woman who was a respected physician not that long ago, and who was forced to trust untrustworthy people, sacrifice a large amount of money, and unwittingly put a friend in legal jeopardy just to get herself and her daughter to safety. What a miracle that they were able to be reunited eventually.

I love the story of the long term friendship between Mrs. Moshe Dayan and her prominent Palestinian colleague. Incredible that the friendship actually outlasted Mrs. Dayan’s marriage — which deteriorated under the stress of the wartime hostilities.

What a sad series of photos of the poverty of the Romas in eastern Europe. These people have been denied housing, education and jobs for years and then are blamed for being homeless, ignorant and unemployed.

Now — on to the trivia question! (It’s fun to see it again!) As usual, I have no idea what the right answer is. But that never stopped me from guessing before. So — here we go. Is a vampire sneeze one in which you bite your own tongue in the process of sneezing. 😀 OK. I know that’s cheesy. But it’s the best I’ve got.

» Posted By kesmarn On October 21, 2015 @ 7:25 pm

Good evening/morning, Kalima! I know that the next edition of MB is just about to come off the presses, but I just had to comment on a couple of the articles in this one.

For starters — the BBC “Funny Animals” vid is a must-watch for anyone who’s having a rough day. Or even a good day. It’s hilarious. My personal favorite was the Michael Jackson tribute.

The article on the soaring prices of cancer treatment meds in Great Britain definitely had a familiar ring. Another of the consequences of privatizing medical care. When areas like health care, education and criminal justice are transformed into capitalist profit-generating businesses, the results are uniformly disastrous. And since the “free market” has no conscience, people can be abused in prisons, neglected in hospital or left ignorant in schools and no one appears to know or care. This is a trend that really needs to be turned around in the near future.

Pope Francis has come and gone by now, but I’m so glad he had a chance to address Congress. One of the few good things John Boehner has done. It’s just a shame that Kim Davis and her publicity-hog of a lawyer had to try to capitalize on the Pope’s visit. They are utterly shameless. It was a relief when the Vatican finally set the story straight and got the word out that Francis didn’t have the slightest idea who this woman was. If Davis and her lawyer were capable of being embarrassed I would hope that they were. But of course, there’s not a chance of that.

Finally, if people have a chance to take the quiz on world poverty in the one article put out by the BBC (“Are there more poor people now than there were 200 years ago?”) I’d urge them to do it. I failed it completely — but for a good reason. Seems we’ve made more progress in battling poverty and lack of health care/education over the last 30 years than I’d realized. According to the article, if we keep going at the current rate, extreme poverty could be eradicated by 2030.

Every now an then, there’s some surprisingly good news out there.

😀

» Posted By kesmarn On October 7, 2015 @ 5:45 pm

Good evening/morning, Kalima! After two days in Chicago with The Fave high school freshman (plus two days of recovery afterward) I was ready to take a good long look at MB today. So many great articles!

Always nice to start off with a dancing baby owl. Even if much of the rest of the news is grim, that image can still make people smile!

It was good to see so many Japanese mothers out protesting against war. I can hardly imagine how many generations of mothers over innumerable centuries, in so many nations, have suffered because of war. Maybe at some future date when more women are leaders in more countries the voices of mothers will finally be heard. Unfortunately, I don’t think Abe is listening.

A really interesting set of graphs demonstrating the varying levels of support that Jeremy Corbin has on a number of different issues. It looks like the British public is solidly behind him in only one area — the NHS. Granted, that one is tremendously important. But I wish the voters would wise up to the fact that the conservatives have been wrong on just about every other issue too! If they’re inclined to move to the left, they should do it across the board. Not just in the area of NHS restoration.

Speaking of the NHS, how very “brave” of Cameron’s appointee to skip off to Australia after having totally bungled the project to get Britain’s health records transferred over to an electronic system. That seems to be the typical pattern with “free market” advocates: when you completely screw up in one area, just take your golden parachute severance package and move on to wreak havoc elsewhere. Carly Fiorina knows that tune all too well,

The 12 photos of the horrible plight of Syrian refugees were heart-breaking. But almost as distressing were the comments below! Talk about hard-hearted! An amazing number of people were saying that the photos were staged, cherry-picked for emotional impact and/or otherwise “misleading.” Do people really doubt the fact that families are being uprooted and forced to flee from Syria? Unbelievable cynicism among some groups of people on the far right, I must say.

I loved the Bernie Sanders articles. In one of them (I forget which at the moment) there was embedded the whole video of Sanders’ address to the students at Liberty University. I had heard about it but hadn’t actually seen it before tonight. I’m so glad I watched it. It was truly remarkable. Very candid (he frankly acknowledged areas in which he knew there was disagreement between him and the religious right) and very “Christian” (all the more wonderful, coming from a Jewish guy — 🙂 ). I think he may have touched some hearts and minds that day.

Unlike Donald Trump! Whose own heart seems to be filed away next to the American Express card in his wallet. The comparison of his campaign style to the modus operandi of an 8th grade girl bully was right on the money. Maybe he’ll pick Martin Shkreli (the Big Pharma guy who raised the price of a vital med from $13 to $750 a pill) as his running mate. A match made somewhere outside of heaven.

And on the topic of people who are not getting their marching orders from the deity: Netanyahu’s proposal to use sniper fire against stone throwers makes about as much sense as killing 3000 Palestinian civilians (including women and children) to avenge the loss of three Jewish teens in 2014. 1000 eyes for an eye? And 1000 teeth for one tooth? I don’t think that’s “biblical,” Bibi.

A long but really excellent article on why ISIS fighters are doing what they’re doing in the ME. Some great reporting (including some serious risk taking) by author Chalov there. So much of this boils down to some embittered and angry Iraqis who were very badly treated during Dubya’s misbegotten “Shock and Awe” Iraq war. There are now thousands of Iraqis in Syria and they’re bent on avenging what was done to them. Meanwhile, Dubya paints pictures of his dog and his feet in the bathtub in Texas. There’s something really wrong with those pictures. In many ways.

The article on the missing women (although maybe “missing girls” would be more accurate) in Mexico was truly chilling. Between the horrors that women endure in India and parts of the Middle East and this level of abuse and murder in Mexico, it’s clear to see that we have a very long way to go before women can feel safe and have equal rights in huge parts of the world. The UN should make this a real priority.

And another priority should be birth control! I’m so often reminded of the Planet’s late KQuark when I read articles like the one about the 2,000,000 applicants for 300 low-level clerical jobs in India. He often said that uncontrolled global population growth was a disaster in the making. Too many people. Too few jobs. This is a recipe for major trouble. KQuark, you were so very correct!

Thanks again for another terrific edition of MB, Kalima. And now I think you should take a week off. With pay!! 😀

» Posted By kesmarn On September 23, 2015 @ 8:19 pm

Good evening/morning, Kalima! Wow… it feels good to type those words again. For the Planeteers who didn’t know, we had a couple weeks of excitement here with the 93 year old Dad having surgery. But he’s on the mend now and life is getting back to what passes for normal in these parts. “Normal” also includes heat and humidity. They aren’t even telling us the “heat index” any more. I don’t think they want us to think too hard about global warming.

Even if it weren’t so hot here though, I’d be steaming after reading the article on the benefits sanctions in the UK. If people don’t get a chance to read it, I just have to say that there’s a description of a situation in which a man who was applying for disability benefits actually had a heart attack in the middle of the interview for them. He was DENIED, on the grounds that he “hadn’t completed the interview process.” Utter madness.

And then we have the craziness at the NHS. I hadn’t realized that during the whole “privatization” craze, Britain’s hospitals had been forced to take on tremendous amounts of debt. Now staffing levels are terrible because so much money is going to pay off these debts. Bankers get rich and staff and patients suffer.

Well, it’s a relief to hear something humane coming from the mouth of a head of state in Germany though, after the cruelty in England. I’m proud of Angela Merkel for standing up for the Syrian refugees. (At that same time that I’m appalled at what’s going on in Hungary. What is wrong with those people? And I say that knowing that I have a Hungarian — as well as German — heritage.) I wish everyone would follow Germany’s lead. And a pox on Assad and ISIS for creating the hell that is Syria right now.

Speaking of hell. That must have been where “Bryce Williams” (as he called himself) got the inspiration for his shooting rampage. Or it was the next place to hell — the mind of Dylann Roof, the Charleston shooter. Seems that event was the motive for Williams’ actions. Hate begets hate and violence begets violence. Not to attempt to justify anything Williams did. But for some people, it takes just something like that to push them right over the edge.

Is anyone else already as tired of Donald Trump as I am? Sigh… I’m hoping his 15 minutes of fame end pretty soon. The Dionne article on the “Trumpification of the News” was excellent. The line between ratings-driven celebrity TV and the political realm is fast disappearing. Who’ll host the next debates? Jerry Springer? Will there be chair-throwing?

If folks have time to read only one article, I hope they’ll read about the latest steps the State of Alabama is taking to try to disenfranchise poor and minority voters. They’re closing many of the Dept. of Motor Vehicles offices, so that people will have to drive many miles to get their voter IDs. Diabolically clever, those bigots

To wrap up on a happy note, though — I’m so relieved to see that the President has the necessary votes to get the Iran deal done! This is so good on so many levels. It’s a welcome step toward a less violent world. (That’s the elevated level.) And it’s a real poke in the eye for Bibi Netanyahu and Tom Cotton. (The not-so-elevated-but-still enjoyable level.) 😉

Thanks so much for another great collection of articles!

» Posted By kesmarn On September 3, 2015 @ 6:37 pm

Good evening/morning, Kalima! That Tokyo heat wave you’re suffering through actually made the evening news on PBS here in the states. When self-absorbed Americans take note of someone else’s weather, you know it has to be bad.

I loved the article (including the headline) about Jeremy Hunt as the latter day version of Henry VIII in regard to the NHS in Britain. Just as Henry demolished monasteries, decimated the population of monks and seriously damaged their mission of providing health care to the poor, Hunt seems to have all the same goals. Psychopath does seem to be the title that fits for both of them.

On the topic of psychopaths, isn’t it ironic that — as the parents of Anders Breivik’s victims still struggle with grief and PTSD five years after the mass murders he committed — Breivik himself has just been accepted to begin work on a degree in political science. His life goes on. Well, maybe he’ll actually learn something in those classes he’s taking while he’s in prison. About the futility of using violence as a tool when you’re promoting any given ideology?

Continuing on the theme of psychopathy: I loved Dana Milbank’s piece about the multitude of areas where Donald Trump has done complete U-turns regarding his alleged “beliefs” — on everything from immigration to Hillary Clinton. The GOP really has created a monster in this man — and like Dr. Frankenstein, they’re going to have a tough time getting this oaf with a bad hairdo back into the laboratory. It truly serves them right.

Israel seems to have a very sensitive and highly developed moral sense when it comes to rock-throwing (by Palestinians). Twenty years in prison for that. What’s the penalty for stealing peoples’ land, depriving them of their means to earn a living, and bombing women and children during the summer of 2014? [[crickets]]

Last but not least — I had to laugh about the 999 call about the aggressive seagull. It’s very similar to the one that a guy made to the BMW customer service hotline. He was complaining that his BMW car only ran in the day time. When he put the automatic gear shifter on “D,” it ran very well. But at night, when he put it in “N” — for night mode — it wouldn’t go anywhere. And he was particularly upset when he put it in “R” (for racing mode) and ended up hitting the car behind him. 🙂 The woman on the other end of the line was in hysterics.

» Posted By kesmarn On July 27, 2015 @ 6:04 pm

I’ll keep an eye out for it. Thank you, Kalima!

There were some wonderful articles in the 07/05 edition of MB, too, that I haven’t had a chance to comment on.

One that I highly recommend is the one on the plight of Afghan women.

And the Mexican laborer’s message to Donald Trump is absolutely priceless! Now that “El Chapo” has escaped from prison in Mexico, Donald had better watch his highly unattractive scalp! Just recently he was talking tough about “kicking El Chapo’s ass.”

Well — for once — let’s see him put his 7 billion dollars where his lying mouth is!

😉

» Posted By kesmarn On July 14, 2015 @ 8:45 pm

Kalima, as I read this the 11 p.m. local news is on and there’s footage of the crowds rejoicing in the streets in Tehran. I’m so proud of John Kerry, Barack Obama and the whole Iranian negotiating team. This took hundreds of hours of patient work and a lot of courage on both sides to accomplish.

I hear that Bibi Netanyahu called the President early this morning to protest. Boo-hoo. I wonder if he’s ever had any second thoughts about his massively disrespectful treatment of the President of the United States earlier this year. Now when he’d like to have the President’s ear, he’s finding that he has zero credibility. And it’s nobody’s fault but his.

» Posted By kesmarn On July 14, 2015 @ 8:11 pm

Good evening/morning, Kalima! So glad to hear that you’re getting some real spring weather in Tokyo. I know that the rainy season and the muggy, humid days that come after it are lurking out there, so I hope you can enjoy every minute of fine weather while you have it.

Like Nirek, I just have to start off with a word of thanks for the video on human acts of kindness. A little reminder of what I so often saw in nursing: most people are decent at heart.

Should we add: “except for extreme conservatives” to that statement, though? 😉 Two parallel stories in this edition of MB. The first being that the number of households on welfare in Japan is continuing to rise. And the greatest part of the increase is among the elderly. And the second is that there have been 1.1 billion pounds in cuts to social care programs in England — again with the elderly being the most affected. I was stunned by the figures on the turnover rate of nursing staff in nursing homes in the UK! 32%! That is a horrendous rate — and a real symptom of intolerable working conditions. Do the Tories care? Obviously not.

The thing that amazes me is that Brits just opted to re-elect the same people who’ve already done this much damage. There are no words to explain that one.

I was disappointed to read that the evil Iain Duncan Smith is a Catholic — along with Paul Ryan and Chris Christie here. Apparently all of them slept through every class they ever had in Catholic social justice, because none of them know even the first thing about it. I wish Pope Francis would excommunicate every one of them.

Loved the article that was headlined: “I’ve tried to understand the rich, but I just can’t.” I can’t either, sister. Total obliviousness to other peoples’ suffering is inexplicable to me too.

NATO and the EU are indeed going to have to take Vlad Putin and Russia seriously and come up with some strategies to deal with Russian aggression. Because unless the US is crazy enough to elect Lindsey Graham or another Bush who want to dominate the world militarily, the days of the US doing the heavy lifting in defense of Europe are over I’m afraid.

Even the Russians are coming up with strategies to deal with Russian aggression. As in — leaving the country. That was a great article. I had to appreciate the fact that the one person who was interviewed about the current situation in Russia referred to the “bellicose form of patriotism” that’s now popular in Russia. Wow — does that ever sound familiar!

What a tragedy the loss of Joe Biden’s son was — both for his family and — potentially — for the nation. And leave it to Ted Cruz to respond in the most inappropriate way possible. I would conjecture that this man must be autistic, but I think that would be an insult to people with autism.

I’m glad to see that the citizens of Detroit are fighting back against these water shut-offs. That’s more than people in West Virginia and North Carolina are doing when industries pollute their waterways and force them to drink bottled water. They seem to have very little will to push back against these corporations. And when they vote, they vote GOP.

So even the oppressed people of North Korea are starting to get sick of Li’l Kim now? Maybe it was the execution of the official who fell asleep during a public event that pushed them over the edge. I hope I live to see the day when that little dictator is compelled to do a little manual labor for once in his life. I hope his delicate ankles can take it.

Four amazing stories of oppression and hardship — and I’d recommend them all: The film: “Little Princess” about a single mom in Bolivia, the article on the forced separation of Indigenous families in Canada, the story of Mahenaz Mahmud, who witnessed her own daughter’s assassination, and the article about Ota Benga, a man from Africa who was exhibited in a cage with primates at a zoo in NY — by allegedly “civilized scientists.” Incredible stories — all.

I also really appreciated the photos of the ghost areas of Fukushima all these years after the disaster — still remarkably untouched. Haunting.

Thanks so much once more, Kalima, for a great collection of stories from around the globe. My son is visiting from out of town, so I’m not able to get to the Planet as often as I’d like, but I try not to miss MB!

» Posted By kesmarn On June 5, 2015 @ 6:20 pm

Good evening/morning, Kalima! True to my better-late-than-never style of getting things done lately here I am! At last!

I just have to start out by saying that I highly recommend that anyone who has just 16 minutes to spare have a look at the short film you linked to called: “My Enemy, My Brother.” It’s the story of a literally one in a million coincidence involving two Middle Eastern men who were once fighting against each other. I won’t give any more of the plot away than that. But it’s just a remarkable story!

It’s good to see that people in Britain haven’t completely given in to despair after this latest election and are still demonstrating against austerity programs. This author is so right when she says “people will die” as a result of these programs. That’s not hyperbole.

I can only imagine how much regret those three British school girls have now — the ones who went off to the Middle East on a juvenile, romantic quest to find adventure in supporting ISIS. I suspect they were forced into marriages that turned out to be anything but romantic. They’re apparently on the run now. It’s a shame that they couldn’t have seen earlier that there were only two likely fates awaiting them: becoming baby-machines and/or suicide bombers.

That tragic Philly train derailment — more evidence that the GOP refusal to invest in infrastructure (in this case, not so much in the tracks as in the “smart” braking system that would have prevented this) is having the same effect as austerity in England. “People will die.”

Walker’s playing the same game in Wisconsin. Now the university that my son’s attending in Madison is being starved for funds to pay for tax cuts for the rich. Walker’s well on his way to creating a state that no one wants to live in.

A sobering article on the increasing difficulty in finding reproductive health care for women in Texas. I suppose there’s a sort of warped and sick rationale for their attempts to limit access to abortion services. But trying to eliminate cancer screenings? What in the hell….? Well, it’s Texas. (Please flee, AB!)

Lastly — thanks so much for linking to the article on the “Rape of Berlin.” As so often happens, it’s women and children who end up bearing intolerable burdens in war time. I’ve read in more than one source that the people in Berlin where praying — as they knew the war was coming to a conclusion — that the Americans would reach the city before the Russians. They were well aware of what was likely to — and did — happen. If they resisted, they were brutalized. If they didn’t, they were seen as “collaborators.” A horrible situation all the way around. This is the type of history that needs to be out there — so that it’s not repeated.

Thank you once more for a great collection in this edition of MB!

» Posted By kesmarn On May 20, 2015 @ 5:24 pm

If ever we needed to see Palestinian saints, it’s now, Kalima!

This Pope is truly what the times call for.

Long live “Frank”! 😉

» Posted By kesmarn On May 20, 2015 @ 5:03 pm

“Harm the peace process?” Really? Who could possibly harm it more than Bibi Netanyahu already has? Good for Pope Francis! This man is fearless and has a really well thought out ethical base from which he speaks. I hope he’ll stay well, safe and active for many years to come!

» Posted By kesmarn On May 19, 2015 @ 5:03 pm

Good evening/morning, Kalima! This is the first time I’m writing a comment without having read a single MB article yet! But I had to take a moment to say that I may know that person who was — well let’s just say — “very busy” on this day two years ago. And she is very grateful for everyone who stood with her then and in all the weeks afterward. Nobody accomplishes anything worthwhile without “a little (a lot of) help from her friends.”

Now — to settle into the recliner and get into these MB stories….

» Posted By kesmarn On May 13, 2015 @ 6:07 pm

Almost midnight here in corn country, Kalima, but I just had to stop and say how much I appreciated the link to the 25 minute Aljazeera film on being “15 in Gaza.” It’s a very beautifully done — simply presented — look at the life of a girl who’s just on the cusp of adulthood.

So touching, charming and yet very frustrating. It’s as though this woman-child is in a box, within a box, within a box. Imprisoned in so many ways.

There’s no way for her to get out of Gaza. Even inside of Gaza her educational opportunities are very limited (much more so than if she were male). And within her own family there are so many dominant adults telling her how to think and feel. Even her clothing is a kind of prison. The look of revulsion on her face as she tries on the niqab and then tosses it away in disgust is heart-breaking.

I’m so glad her story is getting out — even if she can’t. The world needs to know.

On another note entirely — I was disheartened, but not entirely surprised, to see that Ohio was glowing a bright and unpleasant RED on the map of the “Most Racist Places in America.” I think there are economic reasons for this. With the decline of manufacturing jobs, rustbelt citizens are bitter, angry and looking for someone to blame. Rather than look at the 1%, they seem to find it easier to look at the minority person down the block or at the Black man in the White House and blame him.

Logical? No. But it requires so much less effort and research than taking the time to learn the truth.

To be continued… (The rest of MB that is…)

But now I’ll take my May cold (having made it through the winter without catching one) and go off to bed! Take care and thanks for another great edition of MB.

» Posted By kesmarn On April 30, 2015 @ 8:56 pm

Good night/morning, Kalima! Now that the taxes are all done (not only mine, but a few other folks’ as well) I can indulge in some Morning Blog — at long last — even though it’s far from morning here in the heartland.

I wonder how your feline Blackie would take to the nickname of “Rusty” after his fur color change? Don’t suppose he’s been hitting the feline salon in search of a new look involving a dye job — kitty mid-life crisis, as it were?

On a more serious note: I feel for the Syrian man who was held captive with other foreigners by ISIS. What a helpless position to be in. And you have to wonder if he suffers from any survivor’s guilt after he was freed and some of the others killed. It’s interesting that Al Baghdadi himself (the head man) was the one who made the decisions on who was to be released and who was to be executed. I suspect he might also have decided how they were to be executed as well then — which is an indication of how brutal he really is.

A good article on the force of the Scottish Nationalist movement and how it compares to the influence of Farage’s Ukip. One paragraph pretty well summed it up:

This refusal to countenance one version of English nationalism while at the same time enacting another via the utter negligence of entire parts of the United Kingdom is visible to anyone outside the political class. Or indeed anyone who gets on a train. This is why we are not having the election we were told we were having, the one in which all that mattered was Nigel, the one in which English self-determination and supremacy were taken for granted. Ukip are fading while the SNP flames. The power balance is indeed shifting.

A long but intriguing piece on the current Russian public information “psy-ops” techniques. “Hall of Mirrors” really does sum it up. If anyone could really take a country down the rabbit hole that they refer to as the “psychosphere,” it would be Vlad Putin. In areas like Estonia, the Russians seem to act almost like provocative stalkers. Online, they have their armies of paid juvenile trolls. (Although there are plenty of GOPTP operatives who will bash the President for free for them!) And the RT “News” network seems to be the equivalent of America’s FOX “News.” If the object of the game is to produce a sort of mind-numbing befuddlement, they seem to be doing rather well. As the one American journalist commented: “How do you combat someone who just makes stuff up?” But I think we might ask the same of FOX and the rest of the RW media here in the US as well. The only encouraging thing here is that FOX is not state sponsored. Thank God!

“The Rush to Humiliate the Poor” is such a good article. As most of us know — barring people from using their government assistance money for lobster, alcohol or cruises is not happening because there are poor people who are actually doing that. It’s happening because there are Republicans who would like us all to think that there are people who are doing that. They want us to be so focused on hating the poor that we ignore what the Kochs, the Romneys and the Waltons are doing to us.

Astonishing story about the Chinese man who drove right past his own mother — who was lying mortally injured by the side of the road. An awful episode in itself — but then there’s the explanation in the article about the fact that Good Samaritans who do stop to help injured people in China are sometimes sued by the families of the injured person in order to recover the costs of medical treatment. Unbelievable!

Well, you and Nirek and everyone else, try to stay warm and dry. (Snow, Nirek? Really?? That is not right!) We managed to dodge the tornadoes here last night. Today was much sunnier, but just now a little cloudburst rolled through again. We’ll take it, though. I only wish we could send it to Southern California! 😀

» Posted By kesmarn On April 10, 2015 @ 6:42 pm

Maybe if we were less inclined to shame and/or punish people who are battling mental illness, there would be less pressure on people like this co-pilot to conceal it. Sigh… We have a long way to go before we truly understand how to treat and heal people who are going through these types of crises, no?

» Posted By kesmarn On March 27, 2015 @ 5:32 pm

Kalima, I was out much of the day but caught this just before I left the house.

It’s hard to imagine what in the world would induce someone to do such a horrible thing. It’s one thing to have suicidal impulses, but how can it ever seem right to take other people out at the same time?

I’m hoping that there will be an investigation that takes a look at any papers or online messages this co-pilot might have left behind. I’m not sure why we humans seem to have such a powerful urge to answer the question “why?” but we do.

» Posted By kesmarn On March 26, 2015 @ 4:56 pm

Good evening/morning, Kalima! I’m on the same page with agrippa. Just think of all the hours of research we’re spared because you sort through so many news sources and pull out the important stories of the day! MB is a real gift and we thank you!

I’m sure security is on high alert with the First Lady visiting Japan, and I’m hoping it’s just as high for Caroline Kennedy. Wouldn’t you think that — with all the family members this woman has lost to violence — people might have the decency to leave her alone? But decency seems to be in short supply sometimes lately — and even women like Mrs. Obama and Ms. Kennedy aren’t always spared from the lunatic elements, sadly.

Britain’s George Osborne sure has an oddball sense of humor, doesn’t he? He ought to learn the basics of his job (before it’s too late) and leave the comedy to the professionals.

A disturbing article about the number of child-abusers who have been shielded by Ireland’s IRA. One figure very high up in the organization apparently was even molesting members of his own family. Between this and the clergy abuse stories that have come out of Ireland, it’s clear that there have been kids who’ve had heart-breakingly miserable experiences while they’ve grown up in what was a rigid code of silence. Hope there’s a lot of sunlight being allowed in to this situation in the 21st century.

VICE News is getting the most amazing interviews with the President these days! My son introduced me to VICE about a year and a half ago. I’d never heard of it before then, but it’s really gaining credibility rapidly. Shawn Smith is just fearless when it comes to getting the story. And he’s covered everything from N. Korea, to medical topics to these interviews. A real old school investigative journalist. And the Prez is so right — a major part of the GOP agenda is based on the simple (minded) notion of just opposing every single thing he wants to get accomplished.

Well, that and cooking up cruel projects like the latest House budget proposal. How they have the brass to propose slashing the social safety net even further and funneling ever more money to the very wealthy is beyond me. But then, true sociopaths don’t know how to feel guilt.

Eugene Robinson really summed it up: “…[T]hey have no earthy idea of what they want to accomplish.” But that’s just the point, isn’t it? Nihilists don’t really want to accomplish anything.

And the King of the Nihilists is Dick Cheney. It figures that he’d do an interview for a mouldy old publication like Playboy. Does anyone even read that anymore? I heard that he claimed that the President is the “worst President of his lifetime.” He must have been clinically dead during the Nixon, Reagan and Bush administrations then. And — given his health history — he just may have been.

His moral equivalent abroad, though, would be Bibi Netanyahu. They’re as compatible as Dubya and Putin. “Ugly” is exactly the right word to describe his recent election “victory.” Mark Shields summed it up brilliantly tonight on Washington Week. He said that Netanyahu had stooped so low — with the Congressional appearance, the racist remarks about Arabs, the lies about the two-state solution and the fear-mongering — that he’d emerged from the whole election process as “a diminished man” in the eyes of the world. “All to win a lousy election,” as Shields put it.

Last but far from least — the Aljazeera article on Syria (with the haunting photo of the women with bloody faces) is really a must-read. Five years. What a tragedy — five years of war there. Assad is truly one of the strangest, most menacing villains in recent memory. None of this misery seems to faze him in the slightest. He, Natanyahu and Cheney seem to be kindred spirits, don’t they?

As you and Nirek said — thank goodness we have the innocence of the animals around us to give us comfort and balance in our lives!

» Posted By kesmarn On March 20, 2015 @ 7:19 pm

Good afternoon/night to you Kalima! Love that sweet mama kitty who’s willing to adopt that funny looking kitten with the bushy tail as one of her own. And what a kind-hearted couple there in the video — to take in so many homeless critters. People who are that good to animals have got to be truly decent to humans as well.

Interesting article about the flesh-eating bacteria in Japan. I was intrigued by the emphasis on building up the human immune system — which somehow seems very Asian in its approach. Whereas here in the West there’s more emphasis on developing new antibiotics that will eradicate the resistant bacteria. There’s something to be said for both, I suppose.

Cameron — in his own tiny mind, he’s probably already gotten Britain out of the EU and pulled up the drawbridge across the English channel. In a world that’s increasingly interconnected, he maintains an increasingly bunker mentality.

That wonderful Armando Ianucci piece about the decline of the tone of political activity — from being about beliefs and society to becoming the worship of money — was so good I just had to post it in our Twitter feed. An eloquent call for a serious re-evaluation of our priorities.

McConnell and Boehner attend the Selma commemoration? Never! They have much more important things to attend to. Boehner was pumping wealthy donors for contributions in CA. And McConnell was thinking of new ways to sabotage negotiations with Iran. A non-materialistic, non-violent person like MLK just doesn’t register with their 21st century agenda. Which is — more power and money for ME.

What a wonderful video: the NYTimes story “A Call From Selma.” It’s in the best tradition of oral history — from a northern minister who was there and witnessed history first hand. Some of it violent history.

The Mayor of Ferguson continues to be in denial — even after the DOJ report indicated the numerous ways in which his little cesspool of a town has failed in the areas of race relations and civil rights. Also — in the middle of the article — was a bombshell about the judge who had had such a large role in sentencing so many Black citizens to jail for inability to pay traffic fines and fees. Seems Judge Brockmeyer himself owes $170,000 in back taxes. And yet — he himself is walking around a free man! Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

On a happier note — it was so gratifying to see that tens of thousands of Israeli citizens turned out for an anti-Netanyahu rally. I think all of us knew that there have always been a lot of Israelis who did not approve of the way this man operates. But the irony is — among the people who will be crying the hardest if Bibi is not re-elected — will be the American GOP. He’s their unofficial party leader, after all.

» Posted By kesmarn On March 10, 2015 @ 9:39 am

Good evening/morning, Kalima! A rainy day (and rain is SO much easier to shovel than snow) gives me a chance to get to the full edition of MB at last. YAY!

Well, by now the Netanyahu address to Congress is history. Bad history — but history nonetheless. I’m so proud of Joe Biden and every other Democrat who stayed away from this disrespectful spectacle. The whole thing is based on a completely false premise anyway. That being that there’s a done deal with Iran and that Bibi knows exactly what it is. There isn’t and he doesn’t. He’s done nothing but make himself look bad. And Orange Man joined him in the whole debacle. Meanwhile, the President once more looks like the only adult in the room.

So Jim Webb really wants the Keystone pipeline to be built? I had a funny feeling about this guy, and this confirms it. I didn’t and don’t trust him, and wouldn’t even consider voting for him in a primary.

Elizabeth Warren on the other hand? Her I trust! And because she’s so ethical, naturally the GOP is going after her and her Financial Consumer Protection Agency. Don’t you have to wonder how the Repubs can justify their stance of NOT wanting consumers to be protected from fraud and exploitation? How do you spin fraud and lying as good things for the American people?

Gene Robinson’s column on Obama Derangement Syndrome was very good. As he mentioned, it isn’t just a matter of the ridiculous things some people on the right say (like Giuliani’s declaration that the President doesn’t love America). It’s the fact that virtually no one in the GOP is willing to step up and disagree publicly with people like Giuliani. Cowardice, plain and simple.

I like the idea of the major powers in the UN foregoing their veto options when the issue is an emergency that involves genocide. Good for Amnesty for raising this important issue. I really hope this suggestion gets serious consideration.

When it comes to a humanitarian crisis, though, it looks as though we may have our own here in the US with this ‘black site’ in Chicago. So disturbing and — really — shocking. I think the Department of Justice needs to do an extensive investigation of what’s going on here and who’s responsible. And then make some arrests.

On a somewhat lighter note — we have Kim Jong-un’s new hairstyle. (When I first saw “Kim Up-do” I though there might have been a new member of the Kim family. Kim Up-doh!? Whodat?) Originally I was convinced he was going for a Mao Tse-tung look. But when I saw the photo of Audrey Hepburn, I knew I’d been wrong. He’s totally going for the “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” image.

😆

» Posted By kesmarn On March 3, 2015 @ 4:51 pm

Kalima, I just finished reading the wonderful Tomasky article. It was refreshing to see that someone could say what has been on so many peoples’ minds — that Natanyahu and the American far right are pushing in the direction of war with Iran. They not only don’t want a bad deal with them; they don’t want ANY deal.

Here’s what Nancy Pelosi had to say about Netanyahu’s speech:

“As one who values the U.S. – Israel relationship, and loves Israel, I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister’s speech – saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States as part of the P5 +1 nations, and saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation.”

Well said, Ms Pelosi!

» Posted By kesmarn On March 3, 2015 @ 11:48 am

Talk about a track record that only a sociopath could be proud of.

No wonder Dubya saw him as a kindred spirit.

» Posted By kesmarn On March 3, 2015 @ 11:15 am