Meet the New NaNo Winner: ME!

That’s right! I just crossed the finished line with 50,019 words. I have to confess that I did cheat a bit (just a bit!). I did the old “pad the manuscript with song lyrics” trick. Underhanded I know. But these where not random lyrics. Mine fit the story. Of course this is my first time and the story is heavy on action, shallow on character development. Its also supposed to be the first of a trilogy (of novellas, why not). Maybe I’ll go back and hack the hell out of it and hope it reaches a decent agent/publisher. Will see. But for now, allow me to savor the moment!

Oh and see you all next year!

Friday Night Nonsense: Trailers and Shout Outs!

You had your turkey,
You had your fun,
Fought with the relatives when dinner was done
Oh what joy these holidays,
Oh my what fun!

So in the spirit of giving (and staying the Hell away from any and all stores on Black Friday) I give these gifts, from me to you.

Enjoy the Parade:


And a movie to boot:




Just for God's sake don't let it all go crazy with singing, decorating and shopping. Please! Unless you want a visit from Aunt Cathy this fine holiday!

Oh and Happy Holidays!

The AP's Cowardice on Torture

Apparently the AP can't handle the truth. But then it takes heaping amounts of self-delusion and cowardice to twist the truth like that. If this is not tacit support for torture, I don't know what is.

clipped from andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com From their piece on John Brennan's withdrawal from contending for the top CIA post under Obama: Obama's advisers had grown increasingly concerned in recent days over online blogs that accused Brennan of condoning harsh interrogation tactics on terror suspects, including waterboarding, which critics consider torture." There is some debate about some of the techniques used on prisoners by Bush and Cheney, but no sane person with any knowledge of the subject disputes the fact that waterboarding is and always has been torture. So why cannot the AP tell the truth?

And for those who still don't get it, Glenn Greenwald gives us the lowdown:

All of this underscores a crucial fact: a major reason why the Bush administration was able to break numerous laws in general, and subject detainees to illegal torture specifically, is because the media immediately mimicked the Orwellian methods adopted by the administration to speak about and obfuscate these matters. Objective propositions that were never in dispute and cannot be reasonably disputed were denied by the Bush administration, and -- for that reason alone (one side says it's true) -- the media immediately depicted these objective facts as subject to reasonable dispute.

Hence: "war crimes" were transformed into "policy disputes" between hawkish defenders of the country and shrill, soft-on-terror liberals. "Torture" became "enhanced interrogation techniques which critics call torture." And, most of all, flagrant lawbreaking -- doing X when the law says: "X is a felony" -- became acting "pursuant to robust theories of executive power" or "expansive interpretations of statutes and treaties" or, at worst, "in circumvention of legal frameworks."

All of that is what has created the warped Beltway consensus that Bush officials who broke the law, committed war crimes and other felonies, should be absolutely immunized from the consequences of their crimes. That's because when government officials commit "crimes," they're not actually crimes -- they're mere "policy disputes among people in good faith." Only "incendiary" liberals believe that government officials who break the law should be subject to accusations as shrill and extreme as: "they committed crimes."

Ann Coulter's Jaw Wired Shut

Too good to be true!

clipped from www.huffingtonpost.com Ann Coulter may be completely silenced, at least for a while. If the New York Post's Page Six report is true, Coulter broke her jaw and her mouth is wired shut: WE HEAR...THAT although we didn't think it would be possible to silence Ann Coulter, the leggy reaction- ary broke her jaw and the mouth that roared has been wired shut... Check back here for confirmation and updates.

'Interplanetary internet' passes first test

clipped from www.newscientist.com NASA has finished its first deep-space test of what could become an 'interplanetary internet'. The new networking commands could one day be used to automatically relay information between Earth, spacecraft, and astronauts, without the need for humans to schedule transmissions at each point. NASA successfully tested an internet-like protocol for space, which could some day automate communication with craft and bases beyond Earth's orbit (Illustration: NASA/JPL) Spacecraft usually communicate directly with Earth - the first to do so through an intermediary were the Mars Explorations Rovers, which launched in 2003. The Spirit and Opportunity rovers transmit data to orbiters, which then send the data back to Earth. Last week, NASA completed a month-long test of a simulated network of Mars landers, orbiters and mission operations centres on Earth. Also transmitted were a four-node diagram of the internet's ancestor, ARPANET, and a photograph of networking visionary J C R Licklider.

The new protocol is somewhat different from the one that forms the backbone of the internet, called TCP/IP. On Earth, if some data is lost between a sender and a recipient, the two communicate back and forth until all the information is sent.

That 'handshake' works well on Earth, where the network is almost always continuously connected, says Adrian Hooke, team leader at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

But in space, probes pass behind planets and out of range, power outages are common, and distances between planets vary as the planets move in their orbits. In addition, at distances not far beyond the Moon, the time required to beam data between a sender and a recipient makes back-and-forth communication between the two inefficient, says Hooke.

International network

On Earth, DTN has been tested in a variety of projects - from boosting cellular connections in remote locations and improving battlefield communications to using snowmobiles to extend internet access to reindeer herders.

Hooke hopes to incorporate the protocol on upcoming space missions, beginning with robotic missions to the Moon. "The goal is by the end of 2011 to have these protocols ready to go out of the box, so we can give them to project managers to load onto spacecraft," Hooke says.

The team is also working to get the protocol accepted by the international community, so that other spacecraft could join the network.

Spacecraft communicating through DTN could also alleviate traffic on NASA's Deep Space Network, a collection of ground-based radio antennas used to communicate with space probes. Some say the network will soon have trouble meeting demands on its time.

The DTN protocol has been erased from Epoxi, one of the conditions for use of the spacecraft, Hooke says. But the team plans to set up a permanent DTN node at the International Space Station. The protocol will be uploaded to a payload aboard the station in mid-2009.

Friday Night Nonsense: Did he just said what I think he said?

Unintentionally pornographic Japanese RPG game dub:

New friendly fire coverup: Army shreds files on dead soldiers

Video on site.

clipped from www.salon.com Oct. 14 was a long and eventful day at Fort Carson. The post had been in an uproar. The night before, Salon had published my article airing claims that two of the base's soldiers, Pfc. Albert Nelson and Pfc. Roger Suarez-Gonzalez, had been killed by friendly fire in Iraq on Dec. 4, 2006, but that the Army covered up the cause of death, attributing it to enemy action. Based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, and on video and audio recorded by a helmet-mounted camera that captured much of the action that day, my report stated that Nelson and Suarez seemed to have been killed by an American tank shell. "Everybody was trying to figure out who released this video and who talked to a reporter," said Pvt. Charles Kremling, a stout, tough-looking infantryman from the 2nd Platoon, as he recalled the accusatory atmosphere on the base that day. "Pretty much we were made to understand that we are not supposed to be talking about this."

Huckabee Claims Civil Rights Of Gays Are Not Being Violated: They Aren’t Getting Their ‘Skulls Crack

You heard him folks. Get your water hoses and police batons out. Time to crack some skulls for freedom!

Mike, sometimes you can such an total idiot! No really, you are!

clipped from thinkprogress.org Today on ABC’s “The View,” former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabe discussed his pride that an African-American has been elected president. When host Joy Behar asked if he feels the same about gay rights, he said that the two were “a different set of rights,” and suggested that the gay rights movement hasn’t suffered enough violence to be a real issue: HUCKABEE: It’s a different set of rights. People who are homosexuals should have every right in terms of their civil rights, to be employed, to do anything they want. But that’s not really the issue. I know you talked about it and I think you got into it a little bit early on. But when we’re talking about a redefinition of an institution, that’s different than individual civil rights. BEHAR: Well, segregation was an institution, too, in a way. It was right there on the books. HUCKABEE: But here is the difference. Bull Connor was hosing people down in the streets of Alabama. John Lewis got his skull cracked on the Selma bridge.

Unofficial Translation of U.S.-Iraq Troop Agreement from the Arabic Text

clipped from www.mcclatchydc.com Translated from the Arabic by Sahar Issa, Jenan Hussein and Hussein Kadhim of the McClatchy Baghdad Bureau. An Agreement between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America regarding the Withdrawal of the American Forces from Iraq and Regulating their Activities During their Temporary Presence in it U.S. troops and the members of the civilian element commit to the necessity of respecting Iraqi laws, customs, traditions and conventions while conducting military operations in accordance with this agreement, and will refrain from any activities that are not compatible with the spirit of this agreement. The U.S. is obliged to take all the necessary measures for this purpose. All these operations will be conducted with the necessity of fully respecting the Iraqi Constitution and Iraqi Law, and conducting these operations will be without overstepping the sovereignty of Iraq and its national interests as determined by the Iraqi government

Iraq owns all the buildings and installations, the nontransferable structures on the ground that are located in the areas and installations agreed upon, including those the U.S. utilizes, constructs, changes or improves.

At withdrawal, the U.S. will return all the installations and the agreed upon areas allocated for the use of the U.S. combat forces according to two lists (of inventory) to the Iraqi government. The first of these is to be submitted covering the installations and agreed upon areas as soon as the agreement is implemented. And the other list is to be submitted no later than June 30, 2009, the appointed date for U.S. Forces withdrawal from cities, towns and villages. And the Iraqi government has the right to permit the U.S. Forces to use some necessary installations for this agreement's purposes at withdrawal.

Gulf War syndrome is real

clipped from www.latimes.com A congressionally mandated scientific panel has concluded that Gulf War syndrome is real and still afflicts nearly a quarter of the 700,000 U.S. troops who served in the 1991 conflict, according to a report released Monday. The report broke with most earlier studies by concluding that two chemical exposures were direct causes of the disorder: the drug pyridostigmine bromide, given to troops to protect against nerve gas, and pesticides that were widely used -- and often overused -- to protect against sand flies and other pests. "The extensive body of scientific research now available consistently indicates that Gulf War illness is real, that it is a result of neurotoxic exposures during Gulf War deployment, and that few veterans have recovered or substantially improved with time," according to the 450-page report presented to Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake.

"I've had vets go to the VA and be turned away and told that this is something that doesn't exist," said John Schwertfager, vice president of the National Gulf War Resource Center, a veterans advocacy group.

Another Agent Orange. And like the last time the Pentagon denied that it existed so that they could shift the cost of the war unto the men who fought it. I guess Georg Bush Sr. was wrong, the Vietnam Complex did not end in 1991, it simply morphed into the Gulf Complex, one that lead inexorably to the killing sands of Iraq 12 years later.

Service Dog Graduation: Blessed it be those of Great Hearts

Most of my post reflect the negative side of life. But here is a clear example of the reverse, of what happens when good people do good things.

My Net friend Colby trains service dogs like this black lab, Orianna. I know Orianna will make a boy or girl with special needs happy beyond measure. Click on the link and read the wonderful tale for yourself.

clipped from colbymarshall.blogspot.com There were a lot of tears today on Clarcona Ocoee Road. Tears of happiness of the graduates receiving their brand new service dogs and tears of puppy raisers saying goodbye to someone very special to them. I had the pleasure today of meeting a family who just recently applied for a service dog for their son who is autistic. They came today just to watch the ceremony and to see what was in store for them. I sat and talked with the parents, and the little boy sat quietly, not speaking or having much interaction with anyone, including his family. I was told by the family this is exactly why they were looking into a service dog Sure enough, in a few minutes, the Dad brought the boy over to pet Orianna. For the first time all day, he grinned from ear to ear, enthusiastic about this dog he was petting. And the Dad said to me, "Wouldn't it be something if in a few months, she was his dog?" Congratulations on Matriculating, Orianna...you go, girl!

The CIA influence on Hollywood

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk Spies like us ... Body of Lies Everyone who watches films knows about Hollywood's fascination with spies. From Hitchcock's postwar espionage thrillers, through cold war tales such as Torn Curtain, into the paranoid 1970s when the CIA came to be seen as an agency out of control in films such as Three Days of the Condor, and right to the present, with the Bourne trilogy and Ridley Scott's forthcoming Body of Lies, film-makers have always wanted to get in bed with spies. What's less widely known is how much the spies have wanted to get in bed with the film-makers. In fact, the story of the CIA's involvement in Hollywood is a tale of deception and subversion that would seem improbable if it were put on screen.

The model for this is the defence department's "open" but barely publicised relationship with Hollywood. The Pentagon, for decades, has offered film-makers advice, manpower and even hardware - including aircraft carriers and state-of-the-art helicopters. All it asks for in exchange is that the US armed forces are made to look good. So in a previous Scott film, Black Hawk Down, a character based on a real-life soldier who had also been a child rapist lost that part of his backstory when he came to the screen.

Friday Night Nonsense: Godless and Free

Rep. Jon Kyl vows to filibuster Obama's possible Supreme Court nominees

clipped from crooksandliars.com I forgot to post this the other day, but I think it's important. Jon "nuclear option" Kyl shot off his mouth the other day to the Federalist Society and threatened to block Supreme Court nominees of Barack Obama only a few days after the election. Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, warned president-elect Barack Obama that he would filibuster U.S. Supreme Court appointments if those nominees were too liberal. Kyl, Arizona's junior senator, expects Obama to appoint judges in the mold of U.S Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and Stephen Breyer. Those justices take a liberal view on cases related to social, law and order and business issues, Kyl said. "He believes in justices that have empathy," said Kyl, speaking at a Federalist Society meeting in Phoenix. The attorneys group promotes conservative legal principles.

"Kyl said if Obama goes with empathetic judges who do not base their decisions on the rule of law and legal precedents but instead the factors in each case, he would try to block those picks via filibuster."

I guess this idiot has never heard of making decisions on a "case by case" basis.

The Best Real-Life Science Fictional Inventions of 2008

Cool!

clipped from io9.com The Ground Bot — For Exploring Other Planets Designed by Swedish physicists for exploring other planets,the GroundBot can roll up to 6 mph through just about anything—mud, sand, snow and even water. Two gyroscopically steadied wide-angle cameras and a suite of sensors give remote operators a real-time, 360-degree view of the landscape, letting them zoom in on prowlers or detect gas leaks, radioactivity and biohazards. Image of GroundBot via John MacNeill Illustration. Self-Regenerating Hearts If your heart has failed you, you may not have to wait for a compatible donor to get a new one. According to PopSci: This Car Drives Itself - But Isn't as Annoying as KITT Using lasers, cameras, and specialized software, this car — called "Boss" — can drive itself around a racetrack at about 30 mph without making any errors. Just make sure you download those updates or your crash may be a little worse than the sad Mac. Says Captain, "Be sure to check out the video of me driving Boss!"

7 teenagers in Long Island 'lynch mob' plead not guilty to murder of immigrant

NOTE: Comments belong to the original clipper.

I'd like to see a photo of the family of that nameless Ecuadorian immigrant. I wonder if they know and if they do, how they feel. Hate destroys everyone.

clipped from www.nydailynews.com Jeffrey Conroy, 17, leads six teens charges in murder of a Patchogue man. An Ecuadorian immigrant who was fatally stabbled by a gang of Long Island louts was the victim of "a lynch mob," a prosecutor said Monday "This defendant and six of his friends, in their own words, said, 'Let's go find some Mexicans to f--- up,'" Clifford said in Suffok County Criminal Court. When they couldn't find any in Medford, they drove over to Patchogue, where they spotted Lucero and a friend at the train station Saturday night, cops said. "Like a lynch mob, the defendant and his friends got out of their car and surrounded Mr. Lucero and his friend," Clifford said. The first to pounce was 17-year-old Kevin Shea, of Medford, who slugged Lucero Stunned by the blow, Lucero stripped off his belt and tried to defend himself by swinging it. But Conroy was faster. This defendant walked towards him and stabbed him once in the chest, These teenagers left him there to die not some high school prank family of Jeffrey Conroy

Barack Obama's vision of a scientific America

After eight years of neglect, researchers are hoping the new president makes good on his promises, says Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse.

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk In modern times, America has led the world in scientific discovery. But since 2000, the country has seen what might be termed a scientific recession. For five consecutive years, federal investment in science has fallen, stalling endeavour and leading to despondency among America's scientists. Within the administration of George W Bush, scientific advice has been sidelined and subjected to sustained political manipulation. Expert advisers on vital issues such as global warming, stem-cell research and the teaching of evolution have been marginalised, ignored and even removed from office. The Republican approach during the election campaign was no better. It is no wonder, then, that 76 American Nobel laureates publicly supported Barack Obama – nor that there has been a dramatic lightening in mood among my colleagues in New York over the past week. Obama understands – at least, according to his campaign literature and rhetoric – that science has the power to improve lives profoundly.

Friday Night Nonsense: Ratified November 4, 2008

Not laugh out loud or musical, but truly poetic.

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com

A COPY OF ORWELL'S 'NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR' SENT TO EVERY UK MP

clipped from thejournal.parker-joseph.co.uk A COPY OF ORWELL'S 'NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR' SENT TO EVERY MP An Internet grass-roots campaign will this week deliver a copy of George Orwell's prophetic novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' to every Member of Parliament. The books will be inscribed with the words, 'This book was a warning, not a blueprint', and will arrive at Parliament on or before November 5th -- a date of well known historical significance for that building. Outraged by the continual attack upon civil liberties within our nation, a fortnight ago the Libertarian Party proposed reminding those in Westminster who they were elected to serve, and in whose interests the laws that they pass are meant to function. "The Libertarian Party would like the people of Britain to remember that the state is the servant of the people, and not our master. Moreover, we wish to remind those in Westminster of this fact.

Happy Fifth of November!

From the movie V for Vendetta. Don't know why the have to say "bullocks" every five seconds, but what the heck! Sometime Hollywood delivers big:

Redemption

This song of freedom....

clipped from video.google.com

Old pirates, yes, they rob i;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took i
From the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strong
By the and of the almighty.
We forward in this generation
Triumphantly.
Wont you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? ooh!
Some say its just a part of it:
Weve got to fulfil de book.

Wont you help to sing
These songs of freedom? -
cause all I ever have:
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs;
Redemption songs.
---
/guitar break/
---
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our mind.
Wo! have no fear for atomic energy,
cause none of them-a can-a stop-a the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look?
Yes, some say its just a part of it:
Weve got to fulfil de book.
Wont you help to sing
Dese songs of freedom? -
cause all I ever had:
Redemption songs -
All I ever had:
Redemption songs:
These songs of freedom,
Songs of freedom.

Bob Marley/Redemption Songs/Songs of Freedom

Wouldn't It Be Nice? For those who gave their lives for this day.

clipped from www.juancole.com Wouldn't it be nice if Jack, Martin, Bobby, Cesar and Patsy could have been around to see it?

A song for the New United States of America

Is the long nightmare over? That I don't know, but I do know that the faith of the world in the United States has been rekindled. A promised fulfilled, that All Men Are Created Equal!

Mary Matalin on the Bush Years: A Pretty Remarkable Presidency

Mrs. Cheney, I mean Mrs. Matalin is living proof that the metal health system in the US is in dire need of reform.

clipped from crooksandliars.com Download | Play    Download | Play Lady MacCheny still lives in an alternate reality. One in which she hangs out at a saloon with John Hinderaker, who once called Bush a genius. It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can’t get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile And I'll say this and you were there for eight years, we're going to look back at a pretty, really remarkable Presidency relative to national security and yes there is an un, ah unrecorded and unreported lately how long that recovery was that economic recovery right up to this last incident here which he warned against. I think the Bush Presidency will be remembered as remarkable, but not for the same reasons as Matalin does. The word tragic comes to mind.

I Can't Wait to Vote!

Get and Erection for the Election!

clipped from www.explosm.net

Your a Mean Bitch, Mrs. Grinch!

Or is she the Halloween Candy Nazi? No candy for you!

McCain's Real Petraeus Doctrine(NSFW)

Wikileaks has obtained the "Petraeus doctrine" the Pentagon didn't want to show you."

In 2005 a number of credible media reports suggested the Pentagon was intensely debating "the Salvador option" for Iraq..

According to the New York Times Magazine:

The template for Iraq today is not Vietnam, with which it has often been compared, but El Salvador.

This is just evil. End the wars and shut down Gitmo!

clipped from wikileaks.org McCain's real Petraeus doctrine “ [T]he psychological effectiveness of the CSDF concept starts by reversing the insurgent strategy of making the government the repressor. It forces the insurgents to cross a critical threshold-that of attacking and killing the very class of people they are supposed to be liberating. „ So states the US Special Forces counterinsurgency manual described as "what the US learned about running death squads and propping up corrupt government in Latin America and how to apply it to other places" Its contents are history defining The leaked manual is the official US Special Forces doctrine for Foreign Internal Defense prop up "friendly" governments often covert paramilitaries, pervasive surveillance, censorship, press control warrantless searches, detainment without charge suspension of habeas corpus It directly advocates employing terrorists prosecuting individuals for terrorism who are not terrorists false flag operations abuse PSYOP propaganda "population & resource control"

The words above are not mine, they belong to the clipper who posted this on the Clipmarks forums, but I agree with the person 110%. Here are two videos that show what the above really means (WARNING-NSFW):





Americans, if you don't like what you see, you know what to do on Nov. 4.

Talk-Hate Radio Host Resurrects the Anti-Semetic card against Obama

Lies, Damned Lies, and Haters.

clipped from mediamatters.org Summary: On his Cincinnati-based radio show, Bill Cunningham asked a fictional Jewish character voiced by a fellow WLW-AM host: "Did you hear about this Khalidi tape where Obama is toasting a guy who wants to gas and fry Jews? ... This Obama guy loves the PLO. Can't you figure that out?" Cunningham later added, "Jews for [Sen. John] McCain because Obama wants to gas the Jews, like the PLO wants to gas the Jews, like the Nazis gassed the Jews." The New York Times profiled Khalidi in an October 30 article. The profile quoted Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon of Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, who "said he has known Mr. Khalidi for years," stating of Khalidi: "In no way has he ever indicated that he favors the destruction or disappearance of Israel. ... He has always been consistently in favor of dialogue and common ground." The article also reported that Khalidi "has denied working for" the PLO.

Afghanistan Holds Pressing Challenges to Future American President

Hat tip to Prof. Cole for this video:

National Novel Writing Month

First day of this insanity. Will see you all at the end of the month. Maybe....

clipped from www.nanowrimo.org One day 'til lift-off! NaNoHandbook Get your copy of No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty, the official guide to NaNoWriMo. Buy it in the NaNo store, at BetterWorld.com, Amazon, or your local shop! clipped from www.nanowrimo.org What is NaNoWriMo? National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.