As BP makes its latest attempt to plug its gushing oil well, news photographers are complaining that their efforts to document the slow-motion disaster in the Gulf of Mexico are being thwarted by local and federal officials—working with BP—who are blocking access to the sites where the effects of the spill are most visible. More than a month into the disaster, a host of anecdotal evidence is emerging from reporters, photographers, and TV crews in which BP and Coast Guard officials explicitly target members of the media, restricting and denying them access to oil-covered beaches, staging areas for clean-up efforts, and even flyovers.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
RIP Dennis Hopper: 74 is a good run, but not a long enough one. You will definitely be missed!!
Screencap source: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/dennis-hopper-actor-and-iconoclast-has-died/
Damn and we just watch him in "Queen of Blood" the other night. Not one of his best movies, but we still enjoyed seeing him in it. Sidenote: we're still w/o Internet. Just borrowing a neighbor's connection to post this. So sad to see. Gary Coleman and now Dennis Hopper. I guess there's one more out there. Or do we count Britany Murphy's widower?Friday, May 28, 2010
Cable gal sez: no Internetz until Wednesday! ;(
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Alleged "liberal" Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer decides all prepaid mobile phones = potential terror weapons
via gothamist.comNew Use For Prepaid Cell Phones: Terror!
By Jaya Saxena in News on May 27, 2010 11:14 AMSenator Chuck Schumer proposed a bill yesterday that would require anyone buying a prepaid cell phone to provide ID for the seller to keep so law enforcement could trace the phones if needed. The bill was sparked because failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad admitted to using a prepaid phone, and officials were only able to trace him because he gave custom officials the same number he used to call the seller of the SUV. Schumer said in a press release, "This proposal is overdue because for years, terrorists, drug kingpins and gang members have stayed one step ahead of the law by using prepaid phones." We knew there was something sinister about those Boost Mobile ads...
Here's the comment I left on this post:
It is nice how there is no mention of any statistics detailing what percentage of prepaid phones are used in terrorism. I mean, saying "All terrorists use prepaid phones" is like saying "all bank robbers use guns". Right, bright-eyes, but how many people DON'T use prepaid phones in crimes??So, the poor folks (and those who don't want to spend a lot or get roped into contracts) suffer because some senator's trying to look like he cares about security.
Newsflash kids, we're supposed to be living in a free country...
And Bottomless Chips, another commenter on the post at Gothamist, left this comment:
Liberals love freedom?
It's always fun when We The People have to remind our leaders about our right to not live in a surveillance state. >_<
OLPC--the non-profit that inspired the world to innovate, has given up on innovation. http://goo.gl/mhvw
New XO-3 Announced: Just a Marvel Moby Tablet, Re-branded (Yawn)
Posted by Wayan Vota on May 27, 2010
Hit that tech.thepete.com link to read about the non-profit that single-handedly invented a new genre of computer and how they've given up.
It's indeed a sad day for innovation.
Though, hopefully, kids in developing nations will still benefit from access to these computers.
One can hope, anyway.
Yummy, crunchy, freedomless corruptionism: Photographers Say BP Restricts Access to Oil Spill (via Newsweek.com)
BP's Photo Blockade of the Gulf Oil Spill
Photographers say BP and government officials are preventing them from documenting the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Gerald Herbert / AP![]()
Jean-Michel Cousteau (center) was turned away from a wildlife sanctuary by the U.S. Coast Guard after they discovered that an AP photographer was on board.
Hey kids, you know what this sounds like, dontcha?
Yep. Corruptionism.
I was going to use the word "corporatism" to describe this, but there's something that just isn't right about the official definition of corporatism. The definition says that corporatism is a "Political system in which power is exercised through large organizations (businesses, trade unions, etc) working in concert with each other, under the direction of the state."
That's not a true "ism" then, is it? "Racism" isn't "the belief that one's own race is superior to others, under the direction of the state." "Islamist states" don't put their government above Islam, but put Islam above government (well, that's what they claim). So, I decided that a state that is bought and paid for by any interests other than the People's is a corruptionist state.
Just like ours.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Just saw these dudes in Union Square--any idea what military branch their uniforms are from?
"I overheard upper management talking saying that BP was taking shortcuts..." the cause of the BP blow-out?
...witness statements obtained by The Associated Press found that senior managers complained oil giant BP was "taking shortcuts" by replacing heavy drilling fluid with saltwater in the well that blew out.
Truitt Crawford, a roustabout for drilling rig owner Transocean Ltd., told Coast Guard investigators about the complaints. The seawater, which would have provided less weight to contain surging pressure from the ocean depths, was being used to prepare for dropping a final blob of cement into the well.
"I overheard upper management talking saying that BP was taking shortcuts by displacing the well with saltwater instead of mud without sealing the well with cement plugs, this is why it blew out," Crawford said in his statement.
A major corporation taking shortcuts? YOU DON'T SAY.
No doubt using sea water instead of mud is cheaper.
Like they say, you pay now or you pay later, right?
Ballpoint Adventures for February 15, 1999: Billy Ballpoint has run out of reasons to kill people...or has he?
Visit http://thepete.com/ics for more Ballpoint Adventures comics! Freshly drawn strips every Monday with classic Ballpoints Tuesday through Friday!
TheDad Visits NYC April 2010: Pic set 2: Seeing Sondheim on Sondheim and the view from the hotel room
Pic #2: the screens move around and the chasis they are on rotates around to reveal a set that singer/actors perform some of Sondheim's best songs.
Pic #3: you can sorta make out Sondheim but he's split between the two sections of the displays.
Over all, the show was great. If you're at all a fan of Sondheim it's worth seeing the show--it's like a documentary about him with songs. :)
Pic #4: TheView from TheDad's hotel room window. Yep, that's Times Square. Gorgeous view, huh? Just wait until you see the night-time pic.Pic #5: the night-time version of pic #4.
i'm so behind on posting all of these!








