Changing Places

No oral sex, please.

What a stupid, idiotic place Georgia is. Please, if you live there or know someone who does, CALL THE ATTORNEY GENERAL and bitch. Loudly.

And now do we get why this whole attorney general fiasco of Gonzales and Bush stinks to high heaven? This is the kind of crap the Christianists want to enforce on all of us. Bitching all the while about how they’re for smaller, less interfering government that will lower their taxes.

Fine, you want lower taxes? Get out of our bedrooms and stop prosecuting people for consensual sex, dammit.

July bond hearing set for teen sex case – Yahoo! News
Wilson became a symbol for extreme cases of getting tough on sex offenders when he was sentenced to the mandatory 10-year sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl in 2003, when Wilson was 17.
If he had instead had sexual intercourse with the teen, he would have fallen under Georgia’s “Romeo and Juliet” exception. But under the law in 2003, oral sex for teens still constituted aggravated child molestation and carried a mandatory sentence, plus listing on the sex offender registry.
Lawmakers last year voted to close that loophole, but the state’s top court said the new law could not be applied retroactively to Wilson’s case.
“As far as I’m concerned, this case is a throwback to Southern justice,” said state Sen. Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat and one of several prominent supporters who have rallied to Wilson’s cause.

OK, these aren’t random bombings. This means there’s a strategy behind taking out these bridges, as Juan Cole notes:

Guerrillas are attempting to cause Iraqi society and government to collapse by hitting the infrastructure, and the bridge demolitions are part of that strategy.

This is no longer an “insurgency” against our occupation – this is a civil war. We just happen to be in the middle of it.

The “surge” is a failure.

And to anyone who doesn’t get it – yes, this is our war – if you don’t vote, or if you didn’t vote for those who want to end this war, you’re part of the problem. If you’re not “political”, you’re part of the problem. If you care more about how the Sopranos ended or who won American Idol or Paris Hilton being in jail than the war in Iraq, you’re part of the problem.

Bombings targeting Iraq transportation – Yahoo! News

Suspected Sunni insurgents bombed and badly damaged a span over the main north-south highway leading from Baghdad on Tuesday — the third bridge attack in as many days in an apparent campaign against key transportation arteries.

The United States, meanwhile, sent Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte to Baghdad as pressure increases on Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government to carry through on political reforms aimed at bringing the disaffected Sunni minority into the political process and stem support for the insurgency.

“A lot of missions are ahead of us, on top of them is developing our security forces to handle their national roles in fighting the al-Qaida terrorist group, Saddamists and militias to impose law and order in all the country,” al-Maliki said during the meeting, which was held in the prime minister’s office in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

The attack on the bridge occurred six miles south of a bridge brought down on Sunday by what was believed to be a suicide truck bomber. Three U.S. soldiers guarding that bridge were killed in Sunday’s blast.

The explosion at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday — not thought to be a suicide bomb — struck a bridge linking the villages of Qariya al-Asriyah and Rashayed in northern Babil province, 35 miles south of Baghdad. No injuries were reported.

About 60 percent of the bridge was damaged, but one lane was passable, police said. But debris from the blast fell on the main north-south expressway below, further complicating efforts to reopen that main artery, closed after Sunday’s blast dropped masses of concrete onto the roadway.

Geez, we’re even the ones who gave bin Laden weapons first to fight the Soviets. We sold arms to Saddam to fight the Iranianians, and to the Iranians to fight back.

This is insane. Our country is just stark, raving mad, and the only ones who benefit are the war profiteers and arms dealers.

US military arming Sunni groups in Iraq: report – Yahoo! News

US military commanders in Iraq are turning to a new counterinsurgency strategy, which involves arming Sunni Arab groups that have promised to fight militants linked with Al-Qaeda, The New York Times reported on its website late Sunday.

Citing unnamed US commanders, the newspaper said the strategy has been successfully tested in Anbar Province, and US commanders have held talks with Sunni groups in at least four areas of central and north-central Iraq where the insurgency has been strong.

In some cases, the US commanders say, the Sunni groups are suspected of involvement in past attacks on American troops or of having links to such groups, the report said.

Some of these groups, they say, have been provided, usually through Iraqi military units allied with the Americans, with arms, ammunition, cash, fuel and supplies.

“Pranayama has three movements: prolonged and fine inhalation, exhalation, and retention; all regulated with precision according to duration and place.” — Yoga Sutras

“What is required is not a new artificial way of breathing that lasts as long as our stunningly brief attention span, but to return to a way of breathing that can be calm and regular, flexible and spontaneous”. — Donna Farhi

One of the wonderful things that happens in yoga is you learn pranayama, or breath control. I suppose some people might think it’s silly to learn how to breathe, but there is a lot of strength to be gained from learning proper breath control. For me it comes pretty naturally since I trained as a singer, and learning to breathe deeply into your stomach and back is a big part of that. In fact, when I took some voice lessons recently, my teacher was quite pleased that I actually knew how to “back breathe” – she spent a lot of her time teaching singers to breathe properly.

When you think about it, your breath is really your life – you can go a few days without water and even longer without food, but not more than a few minutes without breathing. And when we become stressed or anxious, the breath is the first thing that goes – as our heart rate goes up, we also start breathing more shallowly, or we stop breathing, stressing us out even more. People often mention how calm I am and how relaxed I seem to be most of the time. A lot of that is simply because I breathe properly and pretty much automatically. Even when I am not “watching” myself breathe, I tend to do it correctly.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed out, pranayama techniques can be very helpful to calm the mind and eliminate stress. It’s well worth learning from a good yoga teacher.

Shit.

But then it’s just a number.

U.S. Toll Tops 3,500 in Iraq | World Latest | Guardian Unlimited

Another U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, the military said Thursday, pushing the four-year death toll for American forces to 3,501, according to an Associated Press tally.

The count includes 23 deaths in the first six days of June, an average of about four per day.

The soldier was killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded during combat operations in a southwestern section of Baghdad, a military statement said. It added that two other soldiers were wounded in the attack and evacuated to a coalition medical facility.

You realize that from the beginningless beginning you have been complete and whole as you are. And this supreme truth is the most difficult for us to swallow. There is nothing to be attained. — Zen master Dennis Genpo Merzel

In shavasana we encounter nondoing. We embrace being. We oppose the goal-driven striving of the Western world with deep stillness. This is a difficult pose for most of us. What does it mean that we have nothing to attain? — Rolf Gates, Meditations from the Mat

The follower of knowledge learns as much as he can every day;
The follower of the Way forgets as much as he can every day.

By attrition he reaches a state of inaction
Wherein he does nothing, but nothing remains undone.

To conquer the world, accomplish nothing;
If you must accomplish something,
The world remains beyond conquest.

– Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

This is Darwin’s cousin, Pentu(Finnish for cub/puppy). Isn’t she adorable? She’s three months old.

Her mom, Debra, asked me about Desert Goldens via email before adopting her, and then we found out we live near each other. So soon Darwin will get a visit from Pentu, or vice versa. Yay!

Yes, there will be more pics of them soon….

Poor Darwin. He’s got growing pains….

Growing Pains: Osteochondrosis, Ununited Anconeal Process, Fragmented Coronoid Process, Panosteitis

Panosteitis

Panosteitis is the most common and painful of the “growing pains” with the age of onset usually between five and twelve months of age. It has been reported in dogs as young as two months of age and as old as five years of age. While panosteitis usually affects large or giant breeds of dogs, it can also affect the Basset Hound.

CLINICAL SIGNS:

Clinically, there is pain in the long bones (humerus, ulna, radius, femur, and tibia) which is manifested by slight to severe lameness which can last from a few days to several weeks. Some animals may be reluctant to move at all. Often the lameness shifts from one limb to another every two to three weeks, with apparent lapses in clinical manifestations of up to three months between episodes. Multiple bone involvement is seen in about one-half of the cases. The classic finding on physical examination is pain on deep palpation of the long bones. Some animals may have reduced appetite and activity during the painful periods. The complete course of the disease is usually two to three months, but it can range from a week to six or eight months.

RADIOGRAPHIC (X-RAY) SIGNS:

Ultimately, the diagnosis of panosteitis is made radiographically. A radioisotope bone scan can be used to diagnose those with no radiographic lesions.

THERAPY:

Inasmuch as the cause of panosteitis is not known, only symptomatic treatment is recommended for those animals who need pain relief. Antiinflammatory drugs such as aspirin and corticosteroids are probably the most commonly used agents. The disease will eventually run its course and resolve at maturity.

So then, Roger Ailes says Fox News is the same as Al Qaeda?

Well that explains a lot. Does Ailes head Al Qaeda, too? That would explain even more.

Nah. Too much like a James Bond movie or something…

Murdoch, Ailes, Weymouth Pump Bloomberg At Breindel Awards | The New York Observer

And he had some choice words for Democratic candidates who have decided not to debate on Fox.

“The candidates that can’t face Fox, can’t face Al Qaeda,” said Mr. Ailes. “And that’s what’s coming.”

Better stock up on the gas peeps – we’re in for a bumpy ride…. wow – this has NEVER happened in my lifetime!

The Intersection

Cyclone Gonu, in the Arabian Sea, was our first Category 5 storm of the year yesterday. Now, as I write this, it is still a very strong storm and is about to set an ominous record. As Margie Keiper puts it over at the Weather Underground:

An unusual event is happening over the next 48 hours, as the first tropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds, and major hurricane-force winds at that, is approaching the Gulf of Oman, to strike the eastern coast of Oman, curve northward, and make landfall on the coast of Iran. In the tropical cyclone best tracks and the modern era of weather satellites, there is no record of such an occurrence.

And there is a lot of damage that could be done in the area, which is likely to be highly unprepared for such a powerful storm. I’m on the road but when I can will be watching this closely…..

Via Hoffmania….

Stories like this one a friend sent me today:

Hi friends – I would like to share a story with you of a recent therapy visit by Billy. On Thursday, we were at Grossmont Hospital. It was the end of our “shift” so we were in an elevator heading down to the first floor. On the second floor, a man got on, saw Billy, and asked if we could please go see his wife, Maria, and tell her that Billy’s visit was a gift from her husband. I, of course, couldn’t say no, so we headed back up in the elevator, found the right room, and asked for Maria. When she saw us, she burst into tears. She patted Billy over and over, with tears streaming down her face, and she beamed when I told her this was a gift from her husband.

Finally, Billy waved good-bye to her and, since there was another bed in the room, I called out through the curtain and asked if anyone else would like a visit with a therapy dog. The answer was yes, yes. So I walked over to that side of the room and saw a man sitting in the visitor’s chair, sobbing. I made an instant decision that he needed Billy even more than his wife, who was the patient in the bed, and we walked over to him. He clutched Billy, stroking him, and shedding tears on him. He finally was able to tell us that two months previous, he had been in the hospital in a coma and no one – not his wife, not his daughter – could wake him up. Then he had a visit from a therapy dog, and he woke. By that time, everyone in the room (except Billy) was in tears. I hugged the man as he sobbed, and he and his wife uttered their thanks to Billy over and over.

It was a beautiful, wondrous experience, and I am so glad that Billy was able to be there for that man so that he could release some of the strong emotions and memories he was carrying.

Thanks for listening to my story; it helped me to share with you.

Love, Mary Jane

These people truly have no sense of irony.

Administration Rebukes Putin on His Policies – New York Times

A top Russia expert at the State Department issued an unusually sharp public criticism on Thursday of Moscow’s behavior under President Vladimir V. Putin, describing the Kremlin as bullying its neighbors while silencing political opponents and suppressing individual rights at home.

The comments, approved by the White House, are the latest volley of criticism between Washington and Moscow in recent days. Although the White House said this week that President Bush would play host to Mr. Putin on July 1 at the Bush family compound in Maine, the speech is likely to add tension at a time when the broader dialogue between Washington and Moscow is already taking the most caustic tones since the collapse of communism.

“We do no one any favors, least of all the Russian people and even their government, by abstaining from speaking out when necessary,” the Russia expert, David Kramer, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said in a speech Thursday night before the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs.