Dissidents are being raped in Iran's Prisons

As punishment, for both men and women, to shame and silence them. From Azarmehr's blog:

Fath-ol-mobin, Codename for Rape Operations in Iran's Prisons

Following the courageous letter by Mehdi Karroubi, exposing the horrors of systematic rape of post-election detainees in Iran, there have been several calls by the 'representatives of God on earth' to put Karrubi on trial.

Babak Daad, is an Iranian journalist and blogger who is now on the run and in hiding. Here is what he says in his shocking interview about what is going on in Iran's prisons and how the lackeys of the coup d'etat are ordered to break down the youth of Iran.

'Its one thing hearing about a news and another thing when you see it first hand for yourself and realise the full horror of what has taken place. You can hear about an accident on the news but unless you witness the accident close by you do not appreciate the reality of blood. The case of rapes in Iran's prisons for those who read or hear about is a news item, but I saw an 18 year old boy, whose father described him as a piece of flesh with no soul, his name is Mehdi and I hope soon the perpetrators who inflicted this crime on this young boy will be tried in an international court and of course those who ordered these crimes to be carried out should be tried too, those who gave the orders to uproot the spirit and the hopes of Iran's justice seeking young generation.

[...]

These reports are not few now and yet there are still more that are not coming out because of fear and the cultural stigma that these people face, yet the young people who have suffered these abuses, these victims should hold their heads up high and proudly consider themselves as the victims of the path of freedom for this country and those who have suffered this tragedy bear the same honour as the martyrs of this epic green movement.

What they were doing at Kahrizak, was they would choose the spirited detainees who were resisting them and by raping them they wanted to break them from pursuing justice and freedom, they wanted to break them so bad that these youngsters would become depressed and even hate themselves.

The code name for these rapes was Fath-ol-Mobin [Illuminating Conquest - also code name for an offensive against Iraq in 1982], look how far they are prepared go with staining the faith and the sanctities of our people and how they use religion as a tool for the repression of people in order to maintain their illegitimate hold on power... A young 18 year old boy purely because he took part in the peaceful silent march on 15th June and wore a green wrist band is attacked, arrested and suffers two weeks of ongoing sexual rape in Kahrizak and is then taken to another prison where he is allowed to slightly recover before he is handed back to his father, I am sorry I have to mention these things but its no longer appropriate to remain silent, he suffers severe rectal and colon laceration, his infection was so bad that they couldn't keep him any longer, this 18 year old was also forced to witness other detainees being raped, he could hear a law enforcement officer, [whom we can identify and hopefully one day bring him to trial] shout 'take these lot and make them pregnant, so they know whats what'

Tens of detainees have reported many Arab prison guards with Lebanese accents were amongst the rapists. And I am sorry to have to say this but I want the families to hear this so their resolve and not their fear increases, Mehdi in the first instance could not believe a stocky foul mouthed guard is getting ready to rape him, when they beat him and forced him naked, he pleaded with them 'for the sake of Imam Mehdi, I am the same name sake as our hidden Imam, please don't do this with me', the interrogator even insults Imam Mehdi as he holds down the trembling 18 year old Mehdi and tells the stocky guard, 'He had come to take back his vote, now give him his vote back so that he never forgets'

In two weeks, this teenager is raped 20 times [...]

Of course the Iranian government is denying it. But these reports are so numerous they can't be ignored. The Iranian government is baring independent investigation and journalists, even banning their own media from investigating, so you can only wonder what they are hiding.

[...] So there you have it, Ahmadinejad's lackeys rape Iran's detainees, boys and girls, to break their spirit. The evidence is now piling up from all directions. How will the European democracies ever justify recognising a regime that systematically rapes boys and girls arrested during peaceful demonstrations? Why are the European useful idiots not marching in the streets in the same way they did for Gunatanamo and Abu Ghoreib? [...]

Azarmehr has some harsh words to describe the Leftist British aristocrats who are defending the Iranian Regime.

These horrific stories sound remarkably similar to accounts I read years ago, about gays who had escaped from Iran to Turkey, who also told about being raped and tortured while being held in custody.

These accounts also fit in with a post I had done previously, about Islamic sexual rage.

There is increasing video testimony about the rape and torture in Iran:



I expect the evidence will continue to mount. But it isn't just rapes and torture that are occurring; there are many claims that people are being killed. Follow this link for Kahrizak prison for just one example.

The demographics of Iran indicate that more than two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, one quarter being 15 years of age or younger. They live in a struggling economy, with few job prospects, now or in the foreseeable future. There is a large illegal drug problem, and growing dissatisfaction with the ruling Theocracy, especially among the younger generation.

Iran's Theocratic Government is attempting to solve this problem by killing many of the nations youth, and terrorizing the rest.

This of course, will have consequences. Many totalitarian regimes start mass killings of their own people. It's a desperate measure, sometimes preceding a collapse of the regime from within. I'm hoping and praying this is one of those times.


Related Links:

Probable Gang Rape and Murder of "Taraneh"

Women Changing Iran’s political Terrain

24 executed en masse in Iran
     

Is the Iraqi government aligning itself with Iran?

There are signs that it may be so. Consider the recent massacre of Iranian dissidents that took place in Iraq:

Iran’s hand is seen behind camp massacre

KIRKUK, IRAQ // Residents at an Iraqi camp for Iranian dissidents have started a hunger strike to protest against alleged human rights abuses inflicted by Iraqi security forces this week, amid fears that the Iranian regime’s influence is growing in the Iraqi government.

On Tuesday, Iraqi police entered Camp Ashraf in Diyala province, where, according to residents, they attacked an unarmed group of people with machine guns and batons, killing 12 and seriously wounding 500.

Iraqi security forces initially denied the casualty figures, but on Thursday, Ali al Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman, acknowledged that six Iranians had been killed and promised an investigation.

“We were empty-handed, with only slogans,” Shahriar Kia, a camp press officer, said. “We were shouting that Ashraf is a city of peace, and they started shooting and beating us.”

Iraqi police are now in position at junctions within the camp, which is around six square kilometres, and in control of the squares and public places, he said. They were restricting movement, said Mr Kia. “They don’t let people move around. They have shot car windows and tyres as people were driving.”

Mr al Dabbagh said a police station had been set up and that there were 1,000 Iraqi troops inside the camp. It was the setting up of a police post inside the camp that sparked the first clashes on Tuesday.

[...]

Residents claim that since Iraqi forces took charge, food and medical supplies have been restricted, and visiting family members and lawyers have not been allowed in.

The clashes this week have stoked fears that the residents will be evicted from the camp and returned to Iran, where they would probably face arrest amid an extensive clampdown on the opposition movement since the disputed June 12 election.

“This is the Iranian regime who is trying to survive by destroying opposition,” said Mr Kia. “The same thing is happening here as on the streets of Tehran – killing and beating.”

Residents had begun a hunger strike, he said, which they would maintain until the UN and other international groups came to Ashraf, and residents were allowed to see their lawyers.

“I think that the Iranian government, which is facing a summer of discontent back home, is using its influence over the Iraqi government to send a message that it is still in control,” said Maysun al Damluji, an MP of the secular National List coalition.

The Iranian authorities, she said, were trying to ensure that parties sympathetic to them win in Iraqi elections scheduled for January 2010. They will, she said, “do everything in their power to bring Iraqi political entities that are loyal or close to Iran’s conservatives to power in Iraq … they will also rid Iraq of all of Iran’s opponents, not only in Ashraf, but even outside it.” She described Ashraf as a “simple exercise of muscle flexing”.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, has welcomed the seizure of the camp, describing the action as “praiseworthy” albeit “rather late”. [...]

If religious extremists in the Iraqi government join forces with the religious extremists currently ruling Iran, we would have the worst of both worlds.

Other news in Iraq:

Gay men attacked, executed in Iraq, rights group says

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Hundreds of gay men have been tortured and killed in Iraq in recent months, some by the nation's security forces, Human Rights Watch said Monday.

Interviews with doctors indicate hundreds of men had been killed, but the exact number was unclear because of the stigma associated with homosexuality in Iraq, the New York-based watchdog group said in its report.

"Iraq's leaders are supposed to defend all Iraqis, not abandon them to armed agents of hate," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "Turning a blind eye to torture and murder threatens the rights and life of every Iraqi."

Four victims who spoke to CNN gave accounts of the attacks, which they say have intensified in the past few months.

"In 2004, militias and unknown groups started to go after the gays ... but the peak was six months ago," said Qaisar, who uses a pseudonym for fear of reprisal. "It has become wide scale war against gays in Iraq." [...]

The more we withdraw from Iraq, the more it acts like Iran. If Iraq becomes just like Iran, and joins forces with them, we will have achieved nothing, at great cost to ourselves.

Also see: Iran's pressing needs and Iraq's vulnerability.
     

Farm Report: Queen of The Night, Grape Arbor

We have a large "Queen of the Night" orchid on our back porch. It has large blooms that open during the night, but each bloom opens for only one night. Recently, it bloomed:



One bloom opened Friday night, then withered in the morning. There were four buds left, and they all opened Saturday night.


It had a strong perfume that filled the room, not unpleasant, but kind of strange, like Industrial Strength Celery. Sorta. It's hard to describe.


Pat did some blog posts about the blooms, the first bloom that opened Friday night, and the other four blooms that opened Saturday night. Follow his links for more photos, and a lot more information about the flowering plant, which is also known as "Dutchman's Pipe" and "Cactus Orchid".


Another garden happening on the farm this year is our grape arbor, which we planted last year. This year, the vines are finally taking off in a big way.

Below is a photo of the duck run, in the summer of 2007. We decided to build the grape trellis over the run, because that area is very warm in the summer:



Here is what the duck run with the trellis over it looks like now, summer 2009:



We built planter boxes with good soil on the ends of the trellis, and trained the vines to go over the duck run. It seems to be working spelendidly.

We took the pool out of the duck run, because it was making the ground constantly wet, and a bad smell developed because it wasn't draining. We moved the pool out to the edge of a small hill, were the drainage was better. Also, that way, when the ducks get out of the water when it's time to lock them up, the excess water drips off them by the time they get to their house, so the inside of the house stays dryer and cleaner, too.

End of Farm Report!
     

Coming Soon: No More Saturday Mail Delivery

That is, if the Post Office has it's way. It's the first I've heard of it, but it seems it's been in the works for a while. Some say it's not only likely, but inevitable:

Commentary: Say goodbye to Saturday mail?

[...] The postmaster general of the United States, John E. Potter, has gone to Congress and officially asked for permission to do away with Saturday mail.

His reasoning is hard to argue with. In the e-mail age, usage of the U.S. Postal Service is plummeting. Just about everyone claims to love the look and feel of a handwritten letter, the giddy anticipation of seeing the mail carrier strolling up the sidewalk and wondering what he has inside his bag for you, the orderly, set-your-watch-by-it routine of mail delivery to your home every day of the week except Sunday.

We all say we love it, but we don't use it, at least not enough to offset the prodigious costs. The Postal Service says it will lose approximately $7 billion this fiscal year. Americans have mailed 20 billion fewer items this year than they did last year. Over the past 20 years, some 200,000 mail-collection boxes have been removed from U.S. streets because not enough people were dropping their letters into them. The Government Accountability Office has officially declared the Postal Service to be a high-risk agency.

What to do about this?

One thing, according to Postmaster General Potter, is to stop delivering mail on Saturdays. He has told Congress that this will save more than $3 billion every year.

If and when it happens -- and it's beginning to seem inevitable -- the texture of the nation's life will be altered, probably forever.

[...]

Once -- in 1957 -- there was an attempt to do away with it. The postmaster general at the time, a fellow by the name of Arthur E. Summerfield, decided, in the name of budgetary prudence, to end Saturday mail deliveries nationwide.

It lasted for exactly one Saturday. On April 13, 1957, the mail did not come to America's homes. There was such public anger and outrage over this that President Dwight D. Eisenhower promptly signed a bill to provide more funding to the post office, and by the next Saturday, the country's mailboxes were being filled again.

Would the elimination of Saturday delivery be met with the same public outcry now? Would President Obama, like President Eisenhower half a century ago, be forced to bring back the Saturday mail? [...]

The USPS is losing 7 Billion per year? And they want to save money now by cutting back on service? I've got a better idea, that would save even more money and not cut back service. Privatize the Post Office.

The article mentions that prior to 1950, the USPS used to do multiple deliveries per day, as many a 9 times a day in places like NYC. Back then, when it was an essential service that was heavily utilized and relied on, there may have been some justification for running it as a government agency. But times have changed, and we should at least examine the option of privatizing the Post Office.

UPS and Fedex manage to operate efficiently, and at a profit. USPS doesn't, because it's subsidized and full of unionized gold-brickers, clocking in until they can retire on their fat pensions; they don't have to be efficient or even make a profit, because they get paid regardless, with our tax dollars.

It's time to cut them loose, but I wouldn't hold my breath with this administration. Government expansion and control are the order of the day. Just imagine what they would do if they ran our health care too?


Related Links:

Privatize This

Is It Time to Privatize the Postal Service?
     

Will Windows 7 be any good? Yes, BUT...

Review: New Windows OS Better Than Vista

After the somewhat disastrous launch of Windows Vista -- largely ignored by businesses as they stuck with the XP version of the operating system -- Microsoft Relevant Products/Services is preparing another debut.

Windows 7 is scheduled to be released Oct. 22, and some computer analysts who have been working with a beta version say that this time, Microsoft got it right.

"It's everything that Vista should have been," said Trevor Dierdorff, owner of Amnet, a Colorado Springs-based computer network company. "It's easy to use, has some nice upgrades. It will be good for businesses."

[...]

"I think there will be more fear than usual due to the fiasco around the prior Windows release," said Rick Treese, information technology specialist at TheMarkets.com. "I have never upgraded my offices in the first year, though."

And even Dierdorff, an admitted fan of the new system, said it will only run smoothly on new computers.

"If you have a computer that is more than a year old, stick with what you're running," he said. "Upgrade to Windows 7 when you upgrade your network." [...]

The article says that some people are saying that small and medium sized businesses shouldn't even bother to upgrade, as there is little benefit for them. Many businesses are looking into alternate OS's like Linux, that can still run on the older hardware that companies already have.

I've been reading some geek forums where some of the posters are people who are very technical and computer savvy, and have been using the Windows 7 beta that's available for testing. Most of them aren't great Microsoft fans, but the consensus seems to be that it's pretty good, a big improvement over Vista, and that it's going to do much better than Vista did.

Supposedly it easily runs programs that run on Windows XP, solving a major problem that Vista had. We'll see how it does when it comes out. I expect a lot of people are going to "wait-and-see" what happens to other people first. Not everyone wants to be a guinea pig.

Linux and BSD are also making impressive strides too, which is great. The more choices we have, the better I like it.

     

Can you agree with Obama on some things, yet still think the President is over-reaching?

Sure you can. Here is an interesting example from Maynard at TammyBruce.com:

Obama Agrees with Me on Health Care…and That’s Frightening!
Maynard explains why being right isn’t the point

Maynard starts out talking about difficult moral issues with health care, including people he knows and even Obama with his own grandmother. It would be easy to agree with Obama on some things. But the president's opinions on these often deeply personal issues have the power of law if they become policy in government run healthcare. Is that the government's, or the President's, proper place in our lives?

[...] Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m cold and inhuman. But my words do not carry the weight of authority, other than with respect to my own body. I have nothing to offer but thoughts; take them or leave them.

The terrifying thing about what our government is trying to do is that, if Obama got his way (his stated goal is a single-payer system with the phasing out of private insurance), his thoughts would have the force of law. These are deeply personal questions being contemplated; questions to be pondered with family and spiritual advisors and God. The problem with Mr. Obama isn’t that he’s necessarily wrong; it’s that he has no damn business in this arena. He’s not just pontificating here; he’s forming public policy. The man has no sense of boundaries.

[...]

I’m not rich, not a member of a “protected class”, not associated with any group that has political “pull”. Certainly not an ally of the people who are crafting these rules, and thus not to be looked upon with favor in the new day. I’m confounded by bureaucracies and intimidated by crowds. In the current system, I’ve got a fighting chance. But the new order will put me last on line.

Nancy Pelosi says I carry a swastika; Harry Reid today described me as “evil-monger”. That’s the word, not from a few fanatics, but from the top party leadership. And now you begin to see why I’m afraid. Tell me honestly: If you controlled the distribution of health care, would you give as much care to the “evil” people as the “good” ones? I certainly wouldn’t! I’d kill the evil people! Am I displaying a horrible character flaw in admitting this? Before you call me names, again remember that I have no power, nor do I aspire to power. I control no resources, save for limited control over my own environment and my own body. That’s all I have, and it’s all I want.

Whether you stand with the left or with the right, you can co-exist with me. We can live with each other, not because I’m right or wrong, but because I’m powerless. It doesn’t matter what I say or do, because it doesn’t affect your life. I may think you’re a fool, but this doesn’t mean I have to be your enemy.

By bullying his way into our lives and declaring dissenters to be enemies, Obama has divided America. It’s ironic that, having condemned the incursion into Iraq as a “war of choice”, Mr. Obama has decided to launch his own war of choice against America and against me. I could have lived with Obama, but Obama cannot live with me. And so we go to war with each other, and that’s a damn shame. [...]

It's the lack of tolerance for dissent by this administration that I find especially disturbing. There were signs that it would be this way, even before the election. Now it's coming to pass. It needs to be resisted and opposed. Ideally that would be done respectfully, but respect has to be a two way street. From Neal Boortz:

NOT ONE CALL TO MAKE THE CASE

In spite of the name-calling from the looters and moochers, I have no desire to drown out the voices in support of government-run healthcare. I truly believe that those who support what I see as a Democrat effort to secure control of vast numbers of Americans by controlling their health care need to be heard. Our ability to fight this seizure of power is only enhanced by listening respectfully to what the proponents have to say and formulating a logical and reasoned response. In the talk radio station where I began my career as a big mouth there was a sign: "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him." You can see the poster here. The words are from an English member of parliament named John Viscount Morley. It is absolutely the best possible poster you could find to hang in a talk radio studio. Wish I could find one.

Anyway ... there most certainly have been instances where opponents of ObamaCare have shouted down proponents in town hall meetings. This needs to stop. Our recent history has been one of liberal crowds shouting down conservative speakers on college campuses. Somehow the media and Democrat politicians never seemed to notice. Ditto for the crowds of protesters who would continually shout down President Bush and administration officials over the Iraq war. Again, the media didn't seem to notice. Now, however, things are different. We have a president who was essentially installed in office by a fawning media. He is there creation, and their creation must be protected if for no reason other than to assuage their shame at what was an obvious mistake. OK ... let them play their game. We're on to them ... we know the score. What is good for liberals protesting evil conservatives is not necessarily good for conservatives protesting the actions of well-meaning, compassionate, genuine, loving liberals. [...]

I agree with Neal, both sides need to listen, despite media bias. Yet people sometimes have to shout when their questions are ignored, because sometimes it's the only way to get the attention of the powerful people who are ignoring you. Respect needs to be a two way street, or it will be unbalanced and not work for us. It's a fine line to draw sometimes.
     

Health Care: How to do it right

The following article from Shawn Tully at CNNMoney.com, looks at REAL health care reform, by diagnosing the problems correctly, and then removing the obstacles:

Designing the ideal health care system
One Fortune editor explores the ups and down of Obamacare - and poses his own solution.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- --This is the first installment in a series of health care columns by Fortune editor at large Shawn Tully.

Let's dream for a moment: Imagine that our nation could start with a clean slate and invent the best possible health care system to replace the current wobbly machine -- one that everybody agrees needs fixing.

Let's design a market-based, consumer-driven plan based on the belief that the same free-flowing forces that bring us the world's finest groceries, cars, and private mail delivery can also deliver high-quality health care at bargain prices.

In that world, put simply, the best way to spread coverage to the maximum number of Americans is to make it as affordable as possible, not by disguising the true cost through lavish subsidies, but by allowing the market to bring the benefits of real competition and consumer choice.

That will have two tremendous benefits. First, millions of Americans who lack insurance would buy it for the most basic of reasons -- they can afford it. And second, people who now have coverage would get to keep far more of their future incomes, instead of sacrificing their raises to soaring health care premiums.

So how do we get there?

The solution is to attack both sides of the problem -- inflated demand created by a system that encourages consumers to overuse and waste medical services, and restricted supply that pushes up the prices of those MRI exams, dialysis treatments, and physician visits.

These issues don't exist because the laws of supply and demand won't work in medicine, a misperception that's gained a shocking degree of credence. Once unshackled, they always work. But the market is blocked from working by a web of laws, regulations, and monopolistic restrictions. The solution isn't to add to them, as the Obama plan dictates, but to eliminate as may of these barriers as possible.

Hence, the goal is to put the consumer in charge by freeing Americans to spend their own money on health care, shop for the best prices, and keep what they don't spend. That's the way markets are supposed to behave. [...]

It goes on to show point by point, why this would be far superior to, and much less costly than, the Obama plan. The government does have an important role to play, but it's not the one they are reaching for currently. If they would simply do their part, and not overreach, we would all benefit. Read the whole thing, it's as clear as a bell, your must-read for the day.

There ARE viable alternatives that would work much better and cost much less than what the government is pushing on us. We need a Win/Win situation, not a situation that only benefits government expansion. We need a sustainable system that works efficiently. And we can have that by removing barriers in the current system, and keeping government in it's proper role.

Also see: True Health Care Reform: Reduce the "Wedge"
     

To Les Paul: "Thank You for the Music"

Guitar legend Les Paul dies at age 94

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Les Paul, the guitarist and inventor who changed the course of music with the electric guitar and multitrack recording and had a string of hits, many with wife Mary Ford, died on Thursday. He was 94.

According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side.

He had been hospitalized in February 2006 when he learned he won two Grammys for an album he released after his 90th birthday, "Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played."

"I feel like a condemned building with a new flagpole on it," he joked.

As an inventor, Paul helped bring about the rise of rock 'n' roll and multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the "tracks" in the finished recording.

With Ford, his wife from 1949 to 1962, he earned 36 gold records and 11 No. 1 pop hits, including "Vaya Con Dios," "How High the Moon," "Nola" and "Lover." Many of their songs used overdubbing techniques that Paul the inventor had helped develop. [...]

Read the rest for a brief synopsis of his career. Last year, one of our tenants gave us a cassette collection of the Guitar Music of Les Paul, accompanied by his wife Mary Ford. It really brought back some memories, and demonstrated how advanced his techniques were in their time. Many musicians have indeed built on his work since then.

He was quite a cheerful and clever fellow, he'll be missed by his many fans.

Visit these links for more information about the man and his music:

Guitar, studio wizard Les Paul dies at 94

NYT's Obituary for Les Paul

Wikipedia: Les Paul

Les Paul Online
     

The Perseid Meteor Shower, 2009

They said the peak of the showers were visible last night. It was overcast here, so we couldn't see them. Viewing should still be good tonight though:

Perseids: What They Are, How to Watch the Meteors, More

[...] The greatest concentration of Perseid meteors will hit Earth's atmosphere this afternoon, when they should be largely invisible in North America. But tonight should be just as good a show as last night (Perseids picture from 2008).

To watch, pack a blanket, bug spray, and snacks, then lie on your back away from city lights, with a view of as much of the sky as possible. The best viewing hours should be whenever skies are clear and whenever the moon isn't present. For example, the U.S. East Coast should have moonless skies between about 10:45 p.m. and 1 a.m. (check your local moonrise and moonset times).

Look for the shooting stars to streak out from the northeast to points across the sky, especially at and after midnight (see animated diagram below). [...]

The shower actually continues on till August 25th. But after the peak which is occurring now, the amount of meteors you see will be less numerous, but still fun to watch for.

Also see: Night Sky Observer: Perseids 2009
     

Big Business and Democrats unite for a very profitable Socialist Power-Grab

Pat has already beat me to the things I wanted to post about, so I refer you to his links:

Why Big Pharma and Big Insurance want Obama-style health-care reform:
"No one hates capitalism more than capitalists"

How the Democrats have been steering us towards this for decades:
The Plantation Party has been planning socialized healthcare for over 60 years

More "staged" Town Hall events, with pre-arranged questioners planted in the audience:
Obamugabe's Potemkin townhall

I would love to see the revolt of 1816 repeat itself:
Townhall protesters are not "unAmerican"

The protesters are scoring points, because many people agree with their concerns:
Krauthammer is wrong about the townhall protesters
     

Leah speaks for me. How can we trust people who lie to us about things we know are true?

From Neal Boortz:

LEAH FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE

Something entertaining actually happened on CSPAN. Yes, folks ... I know. But over the weekend a woman by the name of Leah called in to a show called "Washington's Journal." Leah wanted to comment on the media's coverage of these healthcare townhalls. Here's just a taste of what she had to say.

Hi, yeah, I just wanted to clarify a few things about these "manufactured, angered crowds." I've never been politically active in my life. I've never done anything like go to a protest ever. I started going to protests, these Tea Parties back on the Fourth of July, and the reason that you're seeing the numbers grow and swell and become bigger and bigger is not only because of the healthcare legislation, but like you said earlier, all these massive bills, thousands of pages long that are passed with almost no debate, no time for us to see what's in it, in direct contravention of what was promised about transparency and a near era and we're going to know what we're doing in advance. I see, I see politicians admit on TV that they can't read it, that they can't understand it because of its complexity. Lawyers who are writing these bills say they need lawyers to tell them what's in the bill.

Now, when I watch the news people stand here and tell me that I am a member of a hired mob, that I've been called up by the Republican Party, they only wish they could have done something like this. I've never been contacted by any organized group. This is an organic movement, and when people stand there, and lie to me about what I know is going on, how can I trust them when they tell me it's going to save money when the Congressional Budget Office says it isn't? That it's going to cover everybody when the Congressional Budget Office says it isn't? That it's going to let me keep my, my healthcare when common sense tells you that's not what's going to be the end result of this when the government ends up providing all the healthcare which the man who wrote the bill in the beginning says. Go watch it, Jacob Hacker who wrote this says that in time, and President Obama said it, we will all be swallowed up in this government plan.

When people lie to us, we don't trust them when they give us platitudes about what's in the bill.

Yep. And she's got more to say too, listen to the whole thing:



That's what real grass roots sounds like, it's not the root-less Astro-turf the Democrats are manufacturing with Millions from George Soros.

Leah mentions Jacob Hacker. Neal follows up with a post about that:

WHO IS JACOB HACKER?
     

Our Congress on Government Run Healthcare: "Do as I say, not as I do."

Congress want's to exempt itself from the government health plan that they are trying to force on the rest of us:

Rep. Tsongas tries to explain why Congress is exempt from Obamacare. Fails.

It's worth reading the whole thing, but this was especially noteworthy:

[...] More than 150,000 have signed GOP Rep. John Fleming’s petition telling Congress to live under the health care mandates it forces on the rest of the country. [...]

It's an outrage that we should even have to be put in the position of doing this.


     

Running out of Runner Ducks; Fond Memories

Miss Dilly, under the apple tree, April 2009

Our Indian Runner Duck, Miss Dilly, died Wednesday morning. She was listless and not eating for a couple of days beforehand. She often has gotten ill in the Summer, around molting time. I figured there was a Summer plant or insect that she would ingest that caused it. Each time she would recover, but not this time.

She was the last survivor of the pair of Indian Runner Ducks we got in 2006:



Pat and Andy bought them for me for my birthday. I always wanted to have some ducks, and these did not disappoint. They were adorable:



They ate like horses, and grew quickly. They would eat pieces of banana out of my hands; I became their mommy. They were very funny and amusing.



They aren't exactly "cuddly" like a dog or cat is, but they have a way of making you grow fond of them. We all got used to their ways, and they quickly became favorite pets. We named the boy "Daffy" and the girl "Dilly":



Domestic ducks seem a bit more intelligent than chickens, and have more of a personality. Ours quickly acclimated to being outside once the weather got warmer:



One of their favorite spots was the pool. Endless Fun, for them and us:



We built them a duck house, with an enclosed cage attached, and surrounded it with a fence and a gate. I would lock them in their house at night for safety. They seemed happy there.





We eventually moved the pool inside the duck pen, so they could linger there in the summer evenings. Ultimately, that turned out to be not a good idea, for reasons I'll explain soon.

Daffy, the Drake, was rather aggressive about protecting Dilly. Once he bruised my arm. I held his beak tightly and scolded him; he never bruised me again. He did often get under my feet though, and would peck at my legs. He could be a real pest when I was trying to get work done. But often it seemed like he wanted to play, and it was fun.

But our smallest Chihuahua, Herbie, didn't think it was fun. That dog and the drake didn't like each other, and I had to keep them separated.

One day that first summer, I came home to find a bloody trail from the dog run fence, leading to the drake cowering in the duck house, with a bloody beak. I suspected that he stuck it through the fence into the dog run, and the chihuahua bit it. His beak was cracked, but fortunately it healed. I "duck-proofed" the dog-run fence, so no beaks would fit through the lower portion.

They got through that first winter just fine.



Daffy was very attentive to and protective of Dilly, and she thrived on the attention.



The following summer was beautiful. The foraging ducks loved to eat slugs and snails, which helped the garden tremendously. Dilly gave us many, many delicious green duck eggs. She got sick a few times, we think from something she ate, perhaps poisonous salamanders, we never found out what it was, but she always recovered.

I got into the habit of driving the ducks into their pen in the evening, then letting them linger in their wading pool till sunset, when I would lock them in their duck house for the night. Ultimately that proved to be tragic.

As summer slowly slid into autumn, as it does here, it started getting darker earlier. I should have locked the ducks in their house right at Sunset every evening, but I hated to chase the ducks out of the pool. Since the duck pen was near the back porch, I left the porch light on so they could stay out longer. The dog run was nearby, so I figured that with the light on and the dogs near by, the ducks would be safe.

I figured wrong.

One evening, about an hour after sunset, I was going outside to lock the ducks up, when I heard Herbie barking frantically. I assumed he was barking at the drake, which he did sometimes. But when I got outside, I saw he was barking at our shed/shop. His bark had a frantic quality. I felt uneasy and rushed to put the ducks away, only to find, to my horror, that the drake was missing. Suddenly I realized, the dog was barking at the shed because something had got the drake and dragged it under the shed.

A raccoon had climbed over the fence into the duck pen. Daffy had dried to protect Dilly, and the raccoon ripped his throat open, then dragged the carcass over the fence and under the shed to eat it. My beautiful drake, who I had been playing with just that afternoon, was gone forever.

My Beautiful Drake

I didn't realize raccoons were hunters as well as scavengers. I found out the hard way.

Dilly, now alone, moped for quite some time after that. She walked around the farm for WEEKS, calling out for him. It was heartbreaking to hear it.

It was impossible to get more runner ducks at that time of year. A nearby farm was selling pairs of Mallard ducks, so we got a pair to keep her company.



I named the Mallards Dally and Dolly. They probably were not the best choice for Dilly. I suppose it was better than nothing, but the Mallards were into eachother, and took a long time to bond with Dilly. Eventually they all got along fine, but it wasn't like the relationship Dilly had with Daffy.

When summer came, Dolly, the Mallard hen, cranked out quite a few eggs. Dilly didn't lay any eggs. I thought ducks would lay eggs even if they didn't have a mate, but she didn't.

I had clipped the Mallard's wings when we got them, to keep them from flying away until they thought of our farm as home. When they molted the next fall (2008), they got their flight feathers back, and began to fly around the farm. It was glorious to behold! They started making afternoon trips away, to a nearby lake, I suspect. I didn't mind, because they always came back in the evening. But then one evening, the drake returned alone.

We never saw Dolly again. We suspect she was shot by a hunter, but we'll never know. I clipped Dally's wings, so we wouldn't loose him too.



The Mallard and Runner Duck now made an odd couple. He tried mating with her in the spring, and I was going to let her hatch out a clutch, but again, she did not lay any eggs this summer.

Dilly also developed some white spotting on her feathers. I thought it odd, but she seemed healthy otherwise. But she may have had something wrong with her internally. She got weak over a period of a few days, and by Wednesday morning, she died.

I don't generally get all that sentimental about birds, but the Runner Ducks were an exception; they were almost like dogs.

Goodbye Dilly,



Goodbye Daffy,



My Wonderful Runner Ducks. Thanks for the memories, I will miss you.

I had read that runner ducks can live 12 to 15 years. I fully expected ours to. I resolved to take good care of them, but my inexperience with predators got the one, and I'm not sure what got the other. The farmer part of me looks for an organic cause; the poet part of me thinks she died of a broken heart, having lost her ideal mate when Daffy was killed.

Advice for new duck owners who may be reading this: I read that most domestic ducks die from dog attacks, and that one should never leave a duck alone with a dog, no matter how well they seem to get along. So I didn't leave them alone together, but I also didn't anticipate the duck sticking his beak through the fence, looking for trouble. Make sure the lower part of a fence has wire mesh with holes small enough to prevent that.

And I would suggest you ALWAYS lock your ducks up in a safe, predator-proof enclosure after dark. Don't let your pet be a literal "sitting duck" for a hungry animal. Wild animals will always search for the weakness in your defenses, be it bad fencing or just plain carelessness. Be vigilant.

Now I have one duck left, the Mallard Drake. I would like to find him a female or two, but it's hard to do this time of year. We were given the number of someone who has more Runner Ducks, but I don't think I want to try them again.

I wasn't crazy about the Mallards when we got them, because I hadn't raised them from when they were babies, and they weren't very tame. They didn't like being touched, and would not eat out of my hand. But on the plus side, they didn't get underfoot while I was working; they didn't taunt or attack the dogs. The female was a great egg factory. And they were pretty smart about what they ate; nothing local seemed to make them sick. They are pretty and pleasant to have around.

And since we have one now anyway, the path of least resistance might be to stick with them and try to get more. We'll have to see what we can do.

Dally, the molting Double-Widower, Lone Survivor
     

Solar Flare: The "Carrington Event" of 1859

In a post I did a few days ago, about sunspot activity, the famous solar storm of 1859, often referred to as the "Carrington Event", was frequently mentioned. I've been reading up on that, and here is some of the information I found:

A Super Solar Flare

At 11:18 AM on the cloudless morning of Thursday, September 1, 1859, 33-year-old Richard Carrington—widely acknowledged to be one of England's foremost solar astronomers—was in his well-appointed private observatory. Just as usual on every sunny day, his telescope was projecting an 11-inch-wide image of the sun on a screen, and Carrington skillfully drew the sunspots he saw.

On that morning, he was capturing the likeness of an enormous group of sunspots. Suddenly, before his eyes, two brilliant beads of blinding white light appeared over the sunspots, intensified rapidly, and became kidney-shaped. Realizing that he was witnessing something unprecedented and "being somewhat flurried by the surprise," Carrington later wrote, "I hastily ran to call someone to witness the exhibition with me. On returning within 60 seconds, I was mortified to find that it was already much changed and enfeebled." He and his witness watched the white spots contract to mere pinpoints and disappear.

It was 11:23 AM. Only five minutes had passed.

Just before dawn the next day, skies all over planet Earth erupted in red, green, and purple auroras so brilliant that newspapers could be read as easily as in daylight. Indeed, stunning auroras pulsated even at near tropical latitudes over Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Hawaii.

Even more disconcerting, telegraph systems worldwide went haywire. Spark discharges shocked telegraph operators and set the telegraph paper on fire. Even when telegraphers disconnected the batteries powering the lines, aurora-induced electric currents in the wires still allowed messages to be transmitted.

"What Carrington saw was a white-light solar flare—a magnetic explosion on the sun," explains David Hathaway, solar physics team lead at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

[...]

The explosion produced not only a surge of visible light but also a mammoth cloud of charged particles and detached magnetic loops—a "CME"—and hurled that cloud directly toward Earth. The next morning when the CME arrived, it crashed into Earth's magnetic field, causing the global bubble of magnetism that surrounds our planet to shake and quiver. Researchers call this a "geomagnetic storm." Rapidly moving fields induced enormous electric currents that surged through telegraph lines and disrupted communications.

"More than 35 years ago, I began drawing the attention of the space physics community to the 1859 flare and its impact on telecommunications," says Louis J. Lanzerotti, retired Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Bell Laboratories and current editor of the journal Space Weather. He became aware of the effects of solar geomagnetic storms on terrestrial communications when a huge solar flare on August 4, 1972, knocked out long-distance telephone communication across Illinois. That event, in fact, caused AT&T to redesign its power system for transatlantic cables. A similar flare on March 13, 1989, provoked geomagnetic storms that disrupted electric power transmission from the Hydro Québec generating station in Canada, blacking out most of the province and plunging 6 million people into darkness for 9 hours; aurora-induced power surges even melted power transformers in New Jersey. In December 2005, X-rays from another solar storm disrupted satellite-to-ground communications and Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation signals for about 10 minutes. That may not sound like much, but as Lanzerotti noted, "I would not have wanted to be on a commercial airplane being guided in for a landing by GPS or on a ship being docked by GPS during that 10 minutes." [...]

From what I've read, Canada and many of the Scandinavian countries have experienced the most electrical damage from solar storms, because of their proximity to the North pole (these effects can emanate from the South pole too, I believe, but there are fewer people and electrical grids nearby to be affected). The affects of a larger solar storm could be farther-reaching.

The Biggest Solar Storm in History

It was the 2 September 1859. The clipper ship Southern Cross was off Chile when, at 1:30am, it sailed into a living hell. Hailstones from above and waves from all around whipped the deck. When the wind-lashed ocean spray fell away to leeward, the men noticed they were sailing in an ocean of blood. The colour was reflected from the sky, which, they could see – even through the clouds – was wreathed in an all-encompassing red glow.

The sailors recognised the lights as the southern aurora that usually graced the skies near the Antarctic Circle, just as their northern counterparts cling to the Arctic. To see them from this far north was highly unusual. As the gale subsided, they witnessed an even more astonishing display. Fiery lights loomed against the horizon as if some terrible conflagration had engulfed the Earth. Vivid bolts flew across the now clear sky in spiral streaks and exploded in silent brilliance, as if the very souls of all humanity were fleeing whatever cataclysm had befallen the planet.

Upon their arrival at San Francisco, the ship’s company discovered that theirs was not an isolated experience. Two thirds of the Earth’s skies had been similarly smothered. Also, there was a sinister side to the aurorae.

The beguiling lights had disabled the telegraph system, wiping out communications across the world. For days, nature refused to allow these arteries of information to flow freely. It was as if today’s Internet had suddenly, inexplicably shut down. Worse still, the aurora also threatened life and limb.

In Philadelphia, a telegrapher was stunned by a severe shock. In some offices the equipment burst into flames. In Bergen, Norway, the operators had to scramble to disconnect the apparatus, risking electrocution. On top of this, compasses spun uselessly under the grip of the aurora, disrupting global navigation. [...]

It's obvious the flare caused considerable trouble back in 1859. What impact would such a solar storm have on our modern world, if it occurred today?


Blogger Neil Craig has some excerpts from Michael Brooks' report in NewScientist Magazine on what could happen if a solar storm the size of the "Carrington Event" were to happen today:

SEPTEMBER 1859 - CARRINGTON EVENT THE WORLDWIDE CATASTROPHE YOU NEVER HEARD OF

[...] it is clear that a repeat of the Carrington event could produce a catastrophe the likes of which the world has never seen. "It's just the opposite of how we usually think of natural disasters," says John Kappenman, a power industry analyst with the Metatech Corporation of Goleta, California, and an advisor to the NAS committee that produced the report. "Usually the less developed regions of the world are most vulnerable, not the highly sophisticated technological regions."

According to the NAS report, a severe space weather event in the US could induce ground currents that would knock out 300 key transformers within about 90 seconds, cutting off the power for more than 130 million people (see map). From that moment, the clock is ticking for America.

First to go - immediately for some people - is drinkable water. Anyone living in a high-rise apartment, where water has to be pumped to reach them, would be cut off straight away. For the rest, drinking water will still come through the taps for maybe half a day. With no electricity to pump water from reservoirs, there is no more after that.

There is simply no electrically powered transport: no trains, underground or overground. Our just-in-time culture for delivery networks may represent the pinnacle of efficiency, but it means that supermarket shelves would empty very quickly - delivery trucks could only keep running until their tanks ran out of fuel, and there is no electricity to pump any more from the underground tanks at filling stations.

Back-up generators would run at pivotal sites - but only until their fuel ran out. For hospitals, that would mean about 72 hours of running a bare-bones, essential care only, service. After that, no more modern healthcare.

The truly shocking finding is that this whole situation would not improve for months, maybe years: melted transformer hubs cannot be repaired, only replaced. "From the surveys I've done, you might have a few spare transformers around, but installing a new one takes a well-trained crew a week or more," says Kappenman. "A major electrical utility might have one suitably trained crew, maybe two."

Within a month, then, the handful of spare transformers would be used up. The rest will have to be built to order, something that can take up to 12 months.

Even when some systems are capable of receiving power again, there is no guarantee there will be any to deliver. Almost all natural gas and fuel pipelines require electricity to operate. Coal-fired power stations usually keep reserves to last 30 days, but with no transport systems running to bring more fuel, there will be no electricity in the second month.

...With no power for heating, cooling or refrigeration systems, people could begin to die within days. There is immediate danger for those who rely on medication. Lose power to New Jersey, for instance, and you have lost a major centre of production of pharmaceuticals for the entire US. Perishable medications such as insulin will soon be in short supply. "In the US alone there are a million people with diabetes," Kappenman says. "Shut down production, distribution and storage and you put all those lives at risk in very short order."

Help is not coming any time soon, either....
"I don't think the NAS report is scaremongering," says Mike Hapgood, who chairs the European Space Agency's space weather team. Green agrees. "Scientists are conservative by nature and this group is really thoughtful," he says. "This is a fair and balanced report."... [...]

The article goes on about some of the things we might do to lessen the threat, but also acknowledges the difficulties of convincing people of the threat, and taking the necessary precautions.

I have posted before about how our dependency on electricity and computer chips increases our vulnerability to EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) weapons:

EMP Vulnerability: Could Advanced Electronics be the Achilles' Heel of our Western Civilization?

While the emphasis on that post was the danger posed from EMP weapons, the effects of large solar storm/flares share some similarities with EMP events. Both involve fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field, that are damaging to electrical systems. And the safeguards needed to protect our electrical infrastructure from said fluctuations, be they from natural or man-made sources, are largely the same. Yet it's hard to convince people of the need to protect against something that has never happened in their own experience, or in the case of the Carrington Event, within living people's memory.

Even with the solar storm of 1859, there were no advanced electronics. The U.S. electric power industry didn't even exist yet (it only began in 1882). A comparison with today is difficult.

Today's advanced electronics, like computer microchips, are very vulnerable to magnetic field fluctuations, but we have only had them in wide use in recent decades. People aren't likely to think of the consequences of them failing en-mass, until they do.

Some people argue that storms like the Carrington Event only occur every 500 years or so, so why worry? But the data and arguments on that assertion are disputed, it's by no means a certainty. Also, a storm or flare of lesser strength still might do a lot of damage nowadays, given the delicate nature of our advanced electronics. Oddly enough, there could be a blessing in that, if it makes people aware of the danger, and more likely to protect against a larger event. Hopefully we won't have to learn hard way, by the worst scenario.

Since 1859, several solar storms about half the strength of the Carrington Event have been observed; but none of those observed flares were moving in the direction of Earth. It may be just a matter of time before one does. Scientists are watching the sun closely. We've learned more about the sun in the past decade, than we have in the last 100 years, but we still can't predict solar flares yet. Hopefully our ability to do that will improve over time. And hopefully, the next big storm we do experience won't be as big as the Carrington Event.


Related Links:

Our climate, the weather, our grid and the Sun

Could another Carrington Event destroy our economy?

Solar cycle 24: solar flares & social collapse or ‘crushing cold temperatures and global famine'?
     

True Health Care Reform: Reduce the "Wedge"

What is the "wedge"? It's one of the crucial things that makes health care costs so high. Read on. From Arthur Laffer at the WSJ:

How to Fix the Health-Care ‘Wedge’

[...] The health-care wedge is an economic term that reflects the difference between what health-care costs the specific provider and what the patient actually pays. When health care is subsidized, no one should be surprised that people demand more of it and that the costs to produce it increase. Mr. Obama’s health-care plan does nothing to address the gap between the price paid and the price received. Instead, it’s like a negative tax: Costs rise and people demand more than they need.

[...]

The bottom line is that when the government spends money on health care, the patient does not. The patient is then separated from the transaction in the sense that costs are no longer his concern. And when the patient doesn’t care about costs, only those who want higher costs—like doctors and drug companies—care.

Thus, health-care reform should be based on policies that diminish the health-care wedge rather than increase it. Mr. Obama’s reform principles—a public health-insurance option, mandated minimum coverage, mandated coverage of pre-existing conditions, and required purchase of health insurance—only increase the size of the wedge and thus health-care costs.

[...]

The president’s camp is quick to claim that his critics have not offered a viable alternative and would prefer to do nothing. But that argument couldn’t be further from the truth.

Rather than expanding the role of government in the health-care market, Congress should implement a patient-centered approach to health-care reform. A patient-centered approach focuses on the patient-doctor relationship and empowers the patient and the doctor to make effective and economical choices.

A patient-centered health-care reform begins with individual ownership of insurance policies and leverages Health Savings Accounts, a low-premium, high-deductible alternative to traditional insurance that includes a tax-advantaged savings account. It allows people to purchase insurance policies across state lines and reduces the number of mandated benefits insurers are required to cover. It reallocates the majority of Medicaid spending into a simple voucher for low-income individuals to purchase their own insurance. And it reduces the cost of medical procedures by reforming tort liability laws.

By empowering patients and doctors to manage health-care decisions, a patient-centered health-care reform will control costs, improve health outcomes, and improve the overall efficiency of the health-care system.

Congress needs to focus on reform that promotes what Americans want most: immediate, measurable ways to make health care more accessible and affordable without jeopardizing quality, individual choice, or personalized care. [...]

Mr. Laffer maintains that Obama's solutions won't work, because he has failed to diagnose the problems correctly. Read the whole thing. We need to fix our existing system, not scrap it for an even larger system that suffers from the same systemic problems, and that will also become unsustainable.
     

Obama Supporters Can't Take a Joke

Or even a joker, apparently:

Obama Joker Poster Stirs Outrage, Bush Joker Poster Not So Much

Not surprisingly, the Obama Joker Poster reported by NewsBusters Saturday is already drawing some outrage.

According to a television station where the posters have been spotted, "Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson is calling the depiction, politically mean spirited and dangerous." [...]

And when the same thing happens to a Republican President, what happens? Why nothing, of course:

[...] Yet, when Vanity Fair's Politics & Power blog published a somewhat similar visual representation of George W. Bush last July, nobody seemed to complain. In fact, throughout the Bush years, demeaning drawings of the President and Vice President Dick Cheney were quite commonplace.

[...]

In reality, if I wanted to, I could likely produce hundreds of disgusting drawings of Bush, Cheney, and others in their Administration plastered at publications across the fruited plain the last eight years.

That was acceptable commentary and political satire back then.

Now that Obama is in the White House, it's called "mean-spirited and dangerous."

Any questions?

Follow the link to see the depiction of Bush as a Vampire feeding of the statue of liberty. Heck, what about all the assassination "jokes" the Left used to do about Bush?

I guess the people who dish it out most heavily, can't take even a little bit of it shoveled back in their own direction. It's always All Their Way, or Nothing.

How long before the White House appoints an "Opinion Czar", to make sure we only express politically correct opinions?

I'd like to think that remark is over the top, but the "Health Czar" is already looking for "Big Brother" snitches to spy for them.

Maybe the Obama Team needs to learn to tolerate criticism, and even listen to it sometimes, like every other American Administration that has gone before them has had to do.


Related Link:

Poking fun at politicians is our third favorite sport after baseball and football
     

People Leaving San Franciso-Oakland Area

America's Abandoned Cities

[...] San Francisco boasts balmy weather, seaside diversions and the best baseball stadium in the country.

But despite the perks, the Bay Area is losing people at an even greater clip than Miami--and ranks second on our list. Rental vacancy rates swelled from 4.7% to 7.1%; homeowner vacancies more than tripled from 1.1% to 3.4%. Why the dramatic change?

"One of the things we're noticing is that rents are still high," says Ken Shuman, a Bay Area-based spokesman for real estate data provider Trulia.com. "What we're also seeing is the economy. San Francisco, of all cities, is the most transient. People flock here when times are good--they don't mind paying high rent as long as pay is high. Now, in many cases, wages are frozen or reduced."

And that's if you're lucky enough to still have a job. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest reports, Bay Area unemployment has more than doubled since last year, up from 4.6% to 9.4% as of April. Many laid-off workers aren't sticking around.

"People are migrating. It happened after the dot-com bust too," says Shuman. "As much as it's a beautiful place to live, you really have to think about lifestyle. There's no point in being here if you can't enjoy it." [...]

It's funny how prices in the SF Bay Area never seem to go down, regardless of how the economy is doing. The cost of living is so high there, it's difficult to drop the price of anything, because none of the other prices ever drop. It's just plain expensive. Overpriced and overcrowded. I'm glad we don't live there anymore.
     

Farm Report 08-02-09; Flowers, July's Egg Count

I liked this rose dripping with dew the other morning, so I took photos:



We've had more summer rain and drizzle than usual this year.



It's been nice, because everything is still very green; the plants are loving it.



It's just starting to get dry now, and a bit dusty. That usually happens sooner, so the extra moisture was nice while it lasted. The water level in the well is dropping too, but slowly.



We've had plenty of flowers but the best is yet to come. I think we have more flowers in August than at any other time of the year. I always look forward to it.

Pat has more pictures of our summer flowers:

Blooms and bugs

Woolly pussies and other weeds and wildflowers

The Egg Count for July was as follows:

Pullets had 73 eggs, Bantams had 130, for a monthly total of 203. That's the same amount of eggs as last month. The yearly total is now 1,018.

End of Farm Report!
     

Email: Free advice from attorney is mostly right

I got this in my email recently:

Here is a bit of wisdom that may help you some day.

Attorney’s Advice - NO CHARGE - Not a Joke!! If you dislike attorneys... You will love them for these tips.

Read this and make a copy your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.

1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.

3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it.

4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.

I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.

But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

6. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).

But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)

7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the internet in my name.

The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

3.) Trans Union : 1-800-680-7289

4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything.

If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about.

Now this all sounds like good advice, but I decided to look it up on Snopes.com anyway. And it turns out, it IS good advice - mostly. There are a few things, and one mistake, worth noting.

The number above for reporting fraud or identity theft to the Social Security Administration is incorrect. According to Snopes, the (toll-free) number should be: 1-877-438-4338.

The sample on Snopes was collected in 2002. But some people have added stuff since then, and there is some quibbling about the added advice. Read the page at Snopes.com for more information:

Snopes.com: Full Faith and Credit Card
     

American Healthcare; could it be that it is so expensive, because it's the Best?

Ten reasons why American health-care is more expensive - and better (source: Hoover Digest at Stamford)

They are compelling reasons. Can anyone doubt that GOOD medical care does cost more? That's not to say there aren't things we can do to lower costs, but even so, quality usually costs more. Much of what we take for granted isn't even available to others. Even the poorer among us in the USA often get what they need. The assertion that without Obamacare, "poor sick people will die in the streets" is false.

There is room for reform, for sure. The Health Care Industry does not have our best interests in mind, any more than the government does. We are really going to have to insist on reforms that serve OUR interests, building on what's good about the current system, not destroying it.
     

NASA's reflective satellite: Echo I or Echo II?

I came across this photo recently, which I thought was pretty neat:


Look how tiny the people are in comparison. It was labeled "Echo 1" on site I got it from. It's one of the two Echo satellite series that NASA made in the 1960's. It's was basically a large reflective space balloon:

Following the failure of the Delta rocket carrying Echo 1 on May 13, 1960 Echo 1A (commonly referred to as just Echo 1) was successfully put in a 1,519 to 1,687 km (944 to 1,048 mi) orbit on August 12, 1960. The 30.5 meter (100 foot) diameter balloon was made of 0.127 mm (0.005 inch) thick metalized Mylar polyester film and was successfully used to redirect transcontinental and intercontinental telephone, radio, and television signals. The satellite also aided the calculation of atmospheric density and solar pressure due to its large area-to-mass ratio. As its shiny surface was also reflective in the range of visible light, Echo 1A was visible to the unaided eye over most of the Earth. Brighter than most stars, it was probably seen by more people than any other man-made object in space. Echo 1A reentered Earth's atmosphere and burned up on May 24, 1968.

Echo 1 was a passive communications satellite: it functioned as a reflector, not a transmitter. After it was placed in a low orbit of the Earth, a signal would be relayed to Echo, reflected or bounced off its surface, then returned to Earth. Echo 1 was visible to the eye because of its shiny surface, but also because of its low orbit; it would appear from below one side of the horizon, cross the sky, then disappear below the opposite horizon after crossing the sky, as happens with all LEO satellites. The spacecraft was nicknamed a 'satelloon' by those involved in the project.

I saw this photo in a magazine, where it was labled "Echo I", but this photo says 1965 in the file's name, so maybe it's "Echo II"? I've not been able to confirm it either way, but I still think it's a neat picture. I knew about the Echo satellites when I was a kid, but I didn't know they were inflatable balloons, and that they were so large.

There is another good photo at MSN's Encarta, which also has a photo of the smaller Telstar "active" communications satellite, which was made in 1962.