Slog
News & ArtsSaturday, January 28, 2012
News Saturday Morning News
Posted by Riya Bhattacharjee on Sat, Jan 28, 2012 at 8:34 AM
Hot-headed and undisciplined: Newt Gingrich
Goldman Sucks: Largest source of Mitt Romney's campaign contributions.
Syria: The Arab League will be suspending its monitorng mission in Syria due to a surge in violence. It is estimated that about 200 people were killed since the mission was renewed for a second month Tuesday.
A drug of last resort: State warns that prescription opioid methadone is "unpredictable and poses a high risk of accidental death." A Seattle Times investigation in December reported that at least 2,173 people in Washington have died since 2003 after accidentally overdosing on it.
Sentenced: The Barefoot Bandit gets 6 1/2 years for committing at least 67 crimes, including eight burglaries, nine car thefts, and three airplane thefts; says remorse is "heartfelt."
Might close: The Volunteer Park Conservatory. If the city can't find the funds to keep it open, they might close it by next year. The 100-year-old conservatory brings in a revenue of $25,000 and costs $450,000 to run.
Overbilled: DOT has discovered that some drivers were overbilled in 520 tolls by an extra 25 cents. The agency announced late Friday that it will waive the fee on ALL trips made Jan. 17 to 25.
Shot!: Eight sea lions were found with bullet wounds in the Puget Sound region recently. Their deaths are being investigated. (Whoever did this should rot in hell).
TRAFFIC ALERT!: I-5 off-ramps at Mercer closed until 9 a.m. Saturday. I-5 on-ramps will be closed until 7 p.m. Sunday. More details here.
"Oomph": That's the word missing from the U.S. economy.
And finally, it's Saturday, let's learn how to fake French:
2
I've wondered what happened to Riya and why I never (or rarely) saw her report on anything other than the Seattle school district and then only online. I'm glad she's back and I'm hoping to see more of her work--in print, too.
3
Romney has a real problem with his ties to Goldman Sachs. It isn't just Gingrich that can use his ties to tarnish him but Obama as well. There are a lot of people that are still pissed off about that bailout. And the fucking bonuses that followed.
4
And Goldman Sachs was a top contributor to Obama.
This is getting silly. It really doesn't make a difference. Big money connects don’t sway voters minds. Romney will win the presidency if more Americans feel that he’d do a better job in the economy than Obama, and if Romeny is a viable alternative to Obama in foreign policy and other key issues. Obama will not win re-election because of Romney’s fat contributors.
This is getting silly. It really doesn't make a difference. Big money connects don’t sway voters minds. Romney will win the presidency if more Americans feel that he’d do a better job in the economy than Obama, and if Romeny is a viable alternative to Obama in foreign policy and other key issues. Obama will not win re-election because of Romney’s fat contributors.
6
But Obama appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States who was an attorney for Goldman Sachs.... Or is that something we don't talk about?
7
It's one thing to get donations but quite another to get a giant fed bailout when you're already swimming in money. And one of the fight songs of the right is Obama is the food stamp president and a socialist. But that claim diminishes significantly when you're a rich recipient of government largesse.
8
Remember, the bank crisis happened between the change-over from Bush to Obama. It's not all cut-and-dried.
9
@7: You'd have a point if Goldman Sachs didn't pay back their TARP investment by the government, but they have.
I agree with you about the "food stamp" rant though (which comes from Gingrich). It has ugly racist overtones.
I agree with you about the "food stamp" rant though (which comes from Gingrich). It has ugly racist overtones.
10
Racist overtones yes. And I'd rather see my tax dollars going to feed hungry families than subsidising oil exploration, corn farming, military actions, big pharmaceutical companies....Shall I continue ?
12
Sea Lions should rot in hell, the persons who shot them should be rewarded. They are thieving, smelly, terrorizing bastards. The raccoons of the seas. Fuck them.
13
@10: Interesting to note that all the things you enumerate after “hungry families” are used for food production or have been used to get food to starving people.
14
#9
Speaking of racist...only 6.5 years for one of Seattle's little white boys?
And the commentators at SLOG wax about how it might "help him".
Speaking of racist...only 6.5 years for one of Seattle's little white boys?
And the commentators at SLOG wax about how it might "help him".
15
I'm with @12. They were shot by fishermen, obviously, possibly from the tribes as well. Fish are our greatest natural resource and must be protected. One sea lion can wipe out a run; they camp out by the choke points and gobble gobble gobble.
16
"they camp out by the choke points and gobble gobble gobble."
Are you talking about the seals or the Indians?
Are you talking about the seals or the Indians?
18
@15 Did it ever occur to you that, even just forty years ago, there were so much fish that one sea lion couldn't do much damage? The problem isn't the fucking sea lions, who are eating as much as they've always ate for the past few hundred thousand years, it's the fact that there are far fewer fish.
So if you think that the fish are our greatest natural resource, why don't you work against the real threats to their population? Things like over-fishing, dams, deforestation, massive amounts of pollution in the oceans that create 'dead-zones,' as well as global climate change. You know, man-made problems. Pull your head out of your ass on this one.
So if you think that the fish are our greatest natural resource, why don't you work against the real threats to their population? Things like over-fishing, dams, deforestation, massive amounts of pollution in the oceans that create 'dead-zones,' as well as global climate change. You know, man-made problems. Pull your head out of your ass on this one.
19
@15 You're right of course but that doesn't change the fact it's illegal. And the argument could be made that it is us that has diminished the fish supply and not the sea lions. But if it were my tribe, I'd probably shoot them, too.
20
@ 12, 15
Oh, I also forgot human over-population as another major contributor to the problem of depleted fish runs. You both can solve that one by killing yourselves.
Oh, I also forgot human over-population as another major contributor to the problem of depleted fish runs. You both can solve that one by killing yourselves.
22
@21 What, are you a creationist? Yes, the time factor I gave was an off-hand remark. It's really counted in tens of millions of years since the onset of mammals into the oceans & waters, but I haven't looked up the hard estimate for when sea lions appeared.
Are you seriously trying to argue that the only thing we can make judgments on are things we've personally experienced?
And Vince, an argument could also be made that the sky is blue, but why would you want to argue w/ the clearly delusional?
Are you seriously trying to argue that the only thing we can make judgments on are things we've personally experienced?
And Vince, an argument could also be made that the sky is blue, but why would you want to argue w/ the clearly delusional?
24
@19, if you think the tribal fishermen weren't killing sea lions and actively managing the fish resource before the white folks got here, you are mistaken. As for the other factors you mention, I have described them at length here many times; indeed I wouldn't be at all surprised if that's where you heard about them.
25
I grew up in a "raccoons of the seas" household, and I think my parent's parents, and their parent's parents did too. I've seen no empirical evidence to prove racoons aren't assholes. Fact: An adult sea lion has directly murdered more living creatures than an adult human. No remorse. A true mammalia sociopathii.
26
@24 Yes, you'd like to think that, wouldn't you? Nice ego stroke. Listen, Fnarf, a lot of stuff you say I'm behind you 100%. I sincerely doubt whether the small population of Native Americans had much impact on the sea lion population, but it doesn't matter: you're still missing the point. What the tribes did w/ the sea lions before white man is immaterial. We're arguing over why their aren't as many fish. It's not the sea lions that's reducing the populations, it's human activity. Pure & simple. There's nothing to do to "manage" either populations, they've done fine w/o humans for a long time, as I said. There's plenty to do to stop our self-destructive way of life.
Forty years ago my dad went down to the port where the Squaxin tribe were selling whole salmon for five bucks. Not five bucks a pound, mind you. For the whole fish. They had already sold the rest of their catch to the markets in Seattle & Tacoma. Fifty years before that, I've read stories of so much salmon in the rivers during the run you'd only have to put out your hand-net to catch one. There was plenty of salmon. Now there's not. What is the major change in the system since then? You know the answer. It's staring at us in the mirror.
@23 I can see that.
Forty years ago my dad went down to the port where the Squaxin tribe were selling whole salmon for five bucks. Not five bucks a pound, mind you. For the whole fish. They had already sold the rest of their catch to the markets in Seattle & Tacoma. Fifty years before that, I've read stories of so much salmon in the rivers during the run you'd only have to put out your hand-net to catch one. There was plenty of salmon. Now there's not. What is the major change in the system since then? You know the answer. It's staring at us in the mirror.
@23 I can see that.
27
@6, 18, 22, 26 About that sky/blue thing. Could you give me some links, maybe get me half way there? Because right now I'm just a little bit overwhelmt with the concept.
Have a happy sunny day, Sloglodites.
Have a happy sunny day, Sloglodites.
28
James Michener’s verbosity in unexcelled in “Alaska” as he describes multiple sea lion slaughters by tribes – and we all know Michener does his homework. But seriously, SONLI, Fnarf is as environmentally conscious as any good Slogger. But God made a category for obnoxious and annoying critters, which Sea Lions are charter members.
Hmm, I’d love to make a good Salmon Bisque – but it’s so tricky to keep the cream from curdling if you don't catch it before boiling.
Hmm, I’d love to make a good Salmon Bisque – but it’s so tricky to keep the cream from curdling if you don't catch it before boiling.
30
Boy, slogged missed the opening salvo in African American history month:
"A 15-year-old boy and a 29-year-old man were both wounded in a shooting in south Seattle"
Blacks…..oops, sorry, members of one of our 'disadvantaged' communities.
"the 17-year-old and two other men began robbing people in the street, sometimes armed with a handguns.
Blacks…..oops, sorry, members of one of our 'disadvantaged' communities.
"3 shot in South Lake Union"
Blacks…..oops, sorry, members of one of our 'disadvantaged' communities.
"Drunk man shot in leg on Capitol Hill, then fights medics"
Blacks…..oops, sorry, members of one of our 'disadvantaged' communities.
It's been a busy 36 hrs for members of our 'vulnerable communities'.
"A 15-year-old boy and a 29-year-old man were both wounded in a shooting in south Seattle"
Blacks…..oops, sorry, members of one of our 'disadvantaged' communities.
"the 17-year-old and two other men began robbing people in the street, sometimes armed with a handguns.
Blacks…..oops, sorry, members of one of our 'disadvantaged' communities.
"3 shot in South Lake Union"
Blacks…..oops, sorry, members of one of our 'disadvantaged' communities.
"Drunk man shot in leg on Capitol Hill, then fights medics"
Blacks…..oops, sorry, members of one of our 'disadvantaged' communities.
It's been a busy 36 hrs for members of our 'vulnerable communities'.
31
#30
Seattle was too busy buying furniture at IKEA for Colton Harris-Moore's cell. The poor thing insisted on teal sheets and it had to be flown in from Sweden.
Seattle was too busy buying furniture at IKEA for Colton Harris-Moore's cell. The poor thing insisted on teal sheets and it had to be flown in from Sweden.
32
That French stereotype video is excellent. Do they make a Mexican one? I want to see how to fake Mexican. Wouldn't that be funny? Like tequila instead of wine? Am I right, ladies?
Didn't Joe Biden do a funny fake Indian accent too? He's super funny too.
Didn't Joe Biden do a funny fake Indian accent too? He's super funny too.
35
@32, Isn't it a little disingenuous to class stereotypes about historically oppressed peoples as the same as stereotypes about historically privileged peoples?
37
@36, So a generalization like "white people are boring", and how about because I'm Jewish, "Jews are greedy" are equally unacceptable?
38
@35
What makes me sad is that the oppression, and even genocide, the French people have historically suffered is long forgotten nowadays. I mean, sure the French ruling class had it pretty good but then so did the Mexican ruling class and the Indian ruling class. The Cambodian and Sudanese ruling class did just fine too. None of that erases the suffering of the people under them, in France as much as anywhere.
I mean, should we have more gay stereotypes because, like, Malcom Forbes? It's just weird -- just ignorant -- how some people think they've got a license to be an offensive dick for some off the wall reason.
What makes me sad is that the oppression, and even genocide, the French people have historically suffered is long forgotten nowadays. I mean, sure the French ruling class had it pretty good but then so did the Mexican ruling class and the Indian ruling class. The Cambodian and Sudanese ruling class did just fine too. None of that erases the suffering of the people under them, in France as much as anywhere.
I mean, should we have more gay stereotypes because, like, Malcom Forbes? It's just weird -- just ignorant -- how some people think they've got a license to be an offensive dick for some off the wall reason.
39
@9 "You'd have a point if Goldman Sachs didn't pay back their TARP investment by the government, but they have."
Was that before or after they got billions in secret below market loans from the Fed?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-21…
Was that before or after they got billions in secret below market loans from the Fed?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-21…
40
@38, I agree it's sad, and I would say shameful that we tend to forget the various evils that have been perpetrated throughout history, but don't pretend that being dickish to a people who today live comfortably in a developed nation in the West which has and continues to play empire is the same as being dickish to a people living in a developing nation that has and continues to be the victim of Western imperialism.
41
@40
Note that in most Hollywood movies, "terrorists" are usually played by white north central Europeans. cf. Die Hard.
Note that in most Hollywood movies, "terrorists" are usually played by white north central Europeans. cf. Die Hard.
42
#3
It's hard to believe that anyone other than a 1%er would vote for Romney. What is he offering?
It's hard to believe that anyone other than a 1%er would vote for Romney. What is he offering?
45
@43
That particular joke however is quite offensive, especially since it's based on ignorance and the need to justify our war mongering.
That particular joke however is quite offensive, especially since it's based on ignorance and the need to justify our war mongering.
46
@37
When you scratch a boor off your guest list, it doesn't matter how unacceptable the boor is. The main thing is that you won't be seeing or hearing from them again, and hopefully you'll never speak of them. So just how unacceptable they are is moot.
When you scratch a boor off your guest list, it doesn't matter how unacceptable the boor is. The main thing is that you won't be seeing or hearing from them again, and hopefully you'll never speak of them. So just how unacceptable they are is moot.
48
Phoebe@13; That is an enormous stretch in trickle down economic theory. " Give tax money to hugely profitable industries and they might use some of those resources to deliver blocks of crappy cheese and powdered milk to the poor." Maybe. Or they might hoard their profits in foreign bank accounts. Food stamps and ebt cards make more sense to me.
49
@48: You describe two extremes to try to substantiate your sophomoric rhetoric. Perhaps the answer lies in the middle?
51
Charlie Chaplin did fake French better than anyone.
Video is copyrighted (although try to find it; it's truly awesome!), but here's the sound file:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hoqbIrgJ…
Also, please eat more herring and sardines, and shellfish, and vegetarian fish like Tilapia for a few years or decades, por favor. Just until the big fishes of the oceans recover somewhat. Fish lower on the food chain are also less mercury-laden and higher in omega fatty acids, so it's a "win/win," as they say.
Video is copyrighted (although try to find it; it's truly awesome!), but here's the sound file:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hoqbIrgJ…
Also, please eat more herring and sardines, and shellfish, and vegetarian fish like Tilapia for a few years or decades, por favor. Just until the big fishes of the oceans recover somewhat. Fish lower on the food chain are also less mercury-laden and higher in omega fatty acids, so it's a "win/win," as they say.
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