Sunday, July 31, 2005
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Cameo Appearances of Common Sense
With the recent memorial tributes paid to Mr Chuck Cadman, the question arises Why is it these days that common decency and common sense make little more than cameo appearances in the halls of power? Like uninvited guests they show up agitating the status quo arguing for a simpler and more just society until old forces and the three-tongued mindsets of animated relics shoo them off, expelling their influence from the hallowed premises. Then its back to business as usual inventing more syllables for lawyer.speak to utterly confound and dazzle the masses.
I Elected him?
Many of us cringe in the knowing that we actually elected these slick gladhanders and were so foolish as to imagine that they might share our serious intent to get the important work done, work involving no less than the rescue of millions of people from starvation and the precarious ecological balance of our planet.
Pandemics are looming in the shadows of developing countries where issues of hygiene are eclipsed by the need to feed one’s family.
The messages of desperate scientists that we are all at risk of being exposed to drug resistant disease and more extreme weather from climate warming (and all the weird ramifications of that earth-battering phenomenon) are falling on deaf ears. These are major concerns which need real action and each country belonging to the civilized and more well-to-do columns (the G8 for example) must somehow be compelled to act. Clang. Clang. How loudly must we ring this bell?
What is missing from these elected bodies are enough people like Cadman with the will to take the bull by the horns.
Democracy, while clearly still the most representative means of constituting a government, has in its evolution become flawed. Corporate lobbyists find ways to circumvent the rules related to campaign financing; the candidates are progressively becoming puppets maneuvered into position by the old guard; and once elected, even if the individual is nobly intent on striking a humanistic chord among his new peers he is relegated to the backbenches where he proceeds to be educated as to the way things are done by the senior class, very similar to juniors arriving in private school university settings, and as juvenile.
I Elected him?
Many of us cringe in the knowing that we actually elected these slick gladhanders and were so foolish as to imagine that they might share our serious intent to get the important work done, work involving no less than the rescue of millions of people from starvation and the precarious ecological balance of our planet.
Pandemics are looming in the shadows of developing countries where issues of hygiene are eclipsed by the need to feed one’s family.
The messages of desperate scientists that we are all at risk of being exposed to drug resistant disease and more extreme weather from climate warming (and all the weird ramifications of that earth-battering phenomenon) are falling on deaf ears. These are major concerns which need real action and each country belonging to the civilized and more well-to-do columns (the G8 for example) must somehow be compelled to act. Clang. Clang. How loudly must we ring this bell?
What is missing from these elected bodies are enough people like Cadman with the will to take the bull by the horns.
Democracy, while clearly still the most representative means of constituting a government, has in its evolution become flawed. Corporate lobbyists find ways to circumvent the rules related to campaign financing; the candidates are progressively becoming puppets maneuvered into position by the old guard; and once elected, even if the individual is nobly intent on striking a humanistic chord among his new peers he is relegated to the backbenches where he proceeds to be educated as to the way things are done by the senior class, very similar to juniors arriving in private school university settings, and as juvenile.
Losing the Spirit of the Righteous Enthusiast
Our hero, the iconic Mr Smith in Washington or Cadman in Parliament, is muzzled and must kowtow to the regime’s modus operandus. His enthusiasm and dedication to the concept of public service is eroded and too often does he (not including Cadman) don the bib of apologist, then the vacuous grin of the greasy gladhander finally to graduate to the Machiavellian backroom tactician seasoned in empty speechifying.
Nowhere in this process is the innocent intent of the righteous enthusiast supported.
The confusion of this individual’s scenario is compounded by the party system. To create a new party each country has in place is own set of rules and in the United States for example it is virtually impossible now to introduce a new party into the intransigent mix despite how desperately one might be required to advance the radical agenda obviously needed to keep pace with tumultuous world-wide events. Ross Perot, despite multi-millionaire status and his willingness to bankroll his own political drive, was barley able to make a significant dent and his original ideals very few could now recall.
Party System Prevents Independents like Ross Perot.
In Canada, the Bloc Quebecois, rather than being designed to address the country’s concerns and fortify it as a nation to contend with the more tightly woven global affairs, is mandated to separate Quebec from the country. Quebeckers have been using the threat of separation for decades as its ruse to extort more money from the federal government for their province’s unique concerns. That the country’s lawmakers, leaders and thinkers have allowed this situation to have evolved thus shows a lack of political will and a total absence of common sense.
Only in a country of ditherers so preoccupied with their tactics would a party be allowed to exist in Parliament which has as its core interest the destruction of that country. This is tantamount to inviting the starving fox into the chicken coop and expecting tea to be served. This would all be quite hilarious and knock-down funny except that the 30 million people who live in this extraordinarily beautiful country of such vast natural (and much coveted) resources must all suffer for the lack of stable, hands-on good governance.
Nowhere in this process is the innocent intent of the righteous enthusiast supported.
The confusion of this individual’s scenario is compounded by the party system. To create a new party each country has in place is own set of rules and in the United States for example it is virtually impossible now to introduce a new party into the intransigent mix despite how desperately one might be required to advance the radical agenda obviously needed to keep pace with tumultuous world-wide events. Ross Perot, despite multi-millionaire status and his willingness to bankroll his own political drive, was barley able to make a significant dent and his original ideals very few could now recall.
Party System Prevents Independents like Ross Perot.
In Canada, the Bloc Quebecois, rather than being designed to address the country’s concerns and fortify it as a nation to contend with the more tightly woven global affairs, is mandated to separate Quebec from the country. Quebeckers have been using the threat of separation for decades as its ruse to extort more money from the federal government for their province’s unique concerns. That the country’s lawmakers, leaders and thinkers have allowed this situation to have evolved thus shows a lack of political will and a total absence of common sense.
Only in a country of ditherers so preoccupied with their tactics would a party be allowed to exist in Parliament which has as its core interest the destruction of that country. This is tantamount to inviting the starving fox into the chicken coop and expecting tea to be served. This would all be quite hilarious and knock-down funny except that the 30 million people who live in this extraordinarily beautiful country of such vast natural (and much coveted) resources must all suffer for the lack of stable, hands-on good governance.
Fat Worms in the Woodwork
Running as an independent is becoming an attractive means for a man committed to raising the banner for revolutionizing corrupt governments and the people are beginning to consider this option as being entirely acceptable now that they’ve had decades (most of their adult lives) witnessing the unseemly business going on in their houses of legislation and Parliament. But how many independents are going to be able to sustain their drive over the years required to win their points, and ultimately strike down the old guard? Even opposing parties would work in tandem against these independents if they were ever to mount a significant threat against their establishments.
The other fat worm in the political woodwork is the lack of voter turnout. Aside from the issues of voters being propagandized by darkly contrived campaigns, slanderous advertising, gossipy innuendoes and mudslinging, the absence of the voter at the ballot box can undermine the whole democratic process and result in Hitlers or Attilas being voted into office as the young people, isolated in their i.poddled states, who do manage to show up don’t bother to take note who is on the slate or what their politics really signify. And the more isolated we allow our young people to become by not engaging them in the political dialogues the more we can expect a kind of loosely advocated anarchy from them.
The other fat worm in the political woodwork is the lack of voter turnout. Aside from the issues of voters being propagandized by darkly contrived campaigns, slanderous advertising, gossipy innuendoes and mudslinging, the absence of the voter at the ballot box can undermine the whole democratic process and result in Hitlers or Attilas being voted into office as the young people, isolated in their i.poddled states, who do manage to show up don’t bother to take note who is on the slate or what their politics really signify. And the more isolated we allow our young people to become by not engaging them in the political dialogues the more we can expect a kind of loosely advocated anarchy from them.
Circus Clowns in Halls of Power
And as they view the current shenanigans of the circus clowns in those halls of power who is to cast the first stone of blame at them for having become conveniently disillusioned?
So while the elder, burger-faced statesmen are acting like juvenile brats in their name-calling and catty remarks in the House (for which they get paid seriously well with many perks on the side) how can they expect their sons and daughters to abandon their own brattishness and queue up to the polling booth with a mature choice in mind? The appeal of partying all night in this age of techno-wizardry is far outweighing any thought of joining in the dry debate of creepy old fogies.
These are only a few of the flaws of democracy but inherent in these imperfections is the rationale of the last few inspired people to just not bother trying to topple the culture of corruption, barefaced in its distinctiveness and shameless in its tedious power-mongering.
Given the self-protective measures each successive government imposes, any overhaul of this ship of state is absurd to imagine. It is at our peril that we have allowed this entrenchment.
So while the elder, burger-faced statesmen are acting like juvenile brats in their name-calling and catty remarks in the House (for which they get paid seriously well with many perks on the side) how can they expect their sons and daughters to abandon their own brattishness and queue up to the polling booth with a mature choice in mind? The appeal of partying all night in this age of techno-wizardry is far outweighing any thought of joining in the dry debate of creepy old fogies.
These are only a few of the flaws of democracy but inherent in these imperfections is the rationale of the last few inspired people to just not bother trying to topple the culture of corruption, barefaced in its distinctiveness and shameless in its tedious power-mongering.
Given the self-protective measures each successive government imposes, any overhaul of this ship of state is absurd to imagine. It is at our peril that we have allowed this entrenchment.
PUPPET MAN ACCOSTED BY FOUR POLICE FOR BUSKING
As a long time resident of the Commercial Drive Area, and a former member of the Local resident's association (GWAC) I wish to express my dismay at the actions I witnessed on Friday June 15th at approximately 6:30 PM.
A busker with disabilities (many of us on the Drive know him simply as the old man with the puppets) was accosted by no less than four police officers.
His crime? Busking near the liquor store under the "safe streets act".
When I asked one of the officers why? He said: "We had to come because they called us" (pointing to the Liquor Store).
In response, I called George Hayman - manager at the BC liquor store on the Drive. He did not care about the disabled man, didn't seem interested in my complaint and blamed the Commercial Drive Business Association's private security guards which now regularly patrol the Drive harassing panhandlers, buskers, and anyone who doesn't have that Kitsilano shopping and spending gaze.
The Drive has long been a tolerant community. Not any more, if you are poor, disabled, and doing your best to make ends meet through busking, the business community has a message for you: Get lost or we will sick the police on you. The Drive will be gentrified for the rich property owners and to hell with the marginalised.
Where is our so called "progressive" COPE City Hall members? And what about our so-called progressive MP and MLA?
We need action to stop the harassment of the marginalised and those who cannot afford $1500 + a month in rent.
Express your outrage, call and complain.
STOP THE SWEEPS
BC Liquour Store (DRIVE), George Hayman (Manager): 604-660-9088
Grandview Woodlands Community Policing Centre 604 717-2932
(The CPC supports sweeps of the Drive and is against poor people,
panhandlers and buskers)
COPE (your so called progressive City Hall members) 604-255-0400
-P Lyons
Copwatch mailing list Copwatch@lists.resist.ca
https://lists.resist.ca/mailman/listinfo/copwatch
A busker with disabilities (many of us on the Drive know him simply as the old man with the puppets) was accosted by no less than four police officers.
His crime? Busking near the liquor store under the "safe streets act".
When I asked one of the officers why? He said: "We had to come because they called us" (pointing to the Liquor Store).
In response, I called George Hayman - manager at the BC liquor store on the Drive. He did not care about the disabled man, didn't seem interested in my complaint and blamed the Commercial Drive Business Association's private security guards which now regularly patrol the Drive harassing panhandlers, buskers, and anyone who doesn't have that Kitsilano shopping and spending gaze.
The Drive has long been a tolerant community. Not any more, if you are poor, disabled, and doing your best to make ends meet through busking, the business community has a message for you: Get lost or we will sick the police on you. The Drive will be gentrified for the rich property owners and to hell with the marginalised.
Where is our so called "progressive" COPE City Hall members? And what about our so-called progressive MP and MLA?
We need action to stop the harassment of the marginalised and those who cannot afford $1500 + a month in rent.
Express your outrage, call and complain.
STOP THE SWEEPS
BC Liquour Store (DRIVE), George Hayman (Manager): 604-660-9088
Grandview Woodlands Community Policing Centre 604 717-2932
(The CPC supports sweeps of the Drive and is against poor people,
panhandlers and buskers)
COPE (your so called progressive City Hall members) 604-255-0400
-P Lyons
Copwatch mailing list Copwatch@lists.resist.ca
https://lists.resist.ca/mailman/listinfo/copwatch
Stranded in Space
-stories re space station derived from NASA site.
The two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are eagerly anticipating the arrival of NASA’s space shuttle Discovery and their first human visitors in more than two months.
No Take-Off soon to bring relief to the men up there.
ISS Expedition 11 commander Sergei Krikalev and flight engineer John Phillips said they look forward to nightly dinners with Discovery’s STS-114 astronauts, and are planning something special to welcome the shuttle crew aboard.
“If I told you now, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Phillips told reporters Friday during a space-to-ground news conference. “But I do have a surprise for them.”
Discovery’s STS-114 mission, commanded by veteran astronaut Eileen Collins, is slated to launch on July 13 at 3:51 p.m. EDT (1951 GMT) and dock at the ISS two days later. In addition to testing out new orbital tools and procedures to inspect and repair space shuttles, Collins and her crewmates will deliver a cargo pod full of much-needed supplies, experiments and replacement parts to the ISS.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my colleagues up here, and seeing another seven faces,” Phillips said, adding that he has been collecting his supply of Mexican food for a theme dinner with the shuttle astronauts.
Krikalev and Phillips have lived aboard the ISS since mid-April, and are expected to be the last two-person crew to maintain the orbital facility. A third crew member, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter, is slated to join them during NASA’s STS-121 shuttle flight aboard Atlantis, which is currently set to launch no earlier than Sept. 9.
The two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are eagerly anticipating the arrival of NASA’s space shuttle Discovery and their first human visitors in more than two months.
No Take-Off soon to bring relief to the men up there.
ISS Expedition 11 commander Sergei Krikalev and flight engineer John Phillips said they look forward to nightly dinners with Discovery’s STS-114 astronauts, and are planning something special to welcome the shuttle crew aboard.
“If I told you now, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Phillips told reporters Friday during a space-to-ground news conference. “But I do have a surprise for them.”
Discovery’s STS-114 mission, commanded by veteran astronaut Eileen Collins, is slated to launch on July 13 at 3:51 p.m. EDT (1951 GMT) and dock at the ISS two days later. In addition to testing out new orbital tools and procedures to inspect and repair space shuttles, Collins and her crewmates will deliver a cargo pod full of much-needed supplies, experiments and replacement parts to the ISS.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my colleagues up here, and seeing another seven faces,” Phillips said, adding that he has been collecting his supply of Mexican food for a theme dinner with the shuttle astronauts.
Krikalev and Phillips have lived aboard the ISS since mid-April, and are expected to be the last two-person crew to maintain the orbital facility. A third crew member, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Reiter, is slated to join them during NASA’s STS-121 shuttle flight aboard Atlantis, which is currently set to launch no earlier than Sept. 9.
NASA report on Current Crew of Space Station
International Space Station Status Report #05-36
4:30 p.m. CDT, Friday, July 15, 2005
Expedition 11 Crew
The International Space Station Expedition 11 crew worked this week on final preparations for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on its STS-114 Return to Flight mission, now on hold.
Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips worked to wrap up packing of items to be returned to Earth on Discovery, while continuing their scientific experiments, physical exercises and routine Station maintenance.
On Friday, the crew tested their Soyuz capsule's motion control system. The test was in preparation for a relocation of the Soyuz spacecraft. The Soyuz is the crew's lifeboat in the event an evacuation of the Station is needed and is the crew's ride home at the end of its six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.
4:30 p.m. CDT, Friday, July 15, 2005
Expedition 11 Crew
The International Space Station Expedition 11 crew worked this week on final preparations for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on its STS-114 Return to Flight mission, now on hold.
Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA Science Officer John Phillips worked to wrap up packing of items to be returned to Earth on Discovery, while continuing their scientific experiments, physical exercises and routine Station maintenance.
On Friday, the crew tested their Soyuz capsule's motion control system. The test was in preparation for a relocation of the Soyuz spacecraft. The Soyuz is the crew's lifeboat in the event an evacuation of the Station is needed and is the crew's ride home at the end of its six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory.
15 Dawns in Space
The concept of a "day" aboard an orbiting spacecraft is a little abstract: every 24 hours, astronauts on board the ISS will experience 15 dawns as the station speeds around the world. But human beings have been conditioned by millions of years of evolution to a 24-hour daily cycle, and so-called circadian rhythms of waking and sleeping are hard-wired into our brains and bodies. So astronauts work and sleep to fixed schedules that match these ancient rhythms. Any other arrangement would soon have crews living in a state of permanent jet lag.
24 hours lost in space
The crew are awoken by an alarm each "morning" - perhaps interrupting the dreams of weightlessness that many astronauts experience - and stir out of their beds to begin their day. Most astronauts would have hooked their sleeping bags to a wall the night before. Sleep spots need to be carefully chosen - somewhere in line with an ventilator fan is essential. The airflow may make for a draughty night's sleep but warm air does not rise in space so astronauts in badly-ventilated sections end up surrounded by a bubble of their own exhaled carbon dioxide. The result is oxygen starvation: at best, they will wake up with a splitting headache, gasping for air.
A few brave souls try floating free, but their sleep is likely to be interrupted by collision with an air filter that is trying to suck them into its grill. Along with other station equipment, all these fans and air filters make for a noisy night - some astronauts have compared duty on a space station to living inside a giant vacuum cleaner - so some of the crew prefer to sleep with earplugs. But most eventually acclimatise to the noise, just as people on Earth get used to living on a main road. The background sound of these systems dedicated to keeping them alive actually seems reassuring.
Once stirred, the astronauts tend to adopt a foetus-like posture as they move weightlessly about the station. Sometimes referred to unflatteringly as the "simian hunch", it seems to be the natural human attitude in microgravity; perhaps it really is an echo of the weightless months that every growing embryo spends floating in its mother's womb.
The crew dress as quickly as they can: no easy task when your limbs float out at odd angles. They wear disposable clothes, replacing them once every three days: there are no washing machines in space. But the ISS does have a shower. Water squirts out of the "top" to be sucked down by an air fan at the "bottom". The shower has to be used sparingly to conserve water, but it is a luxury item that earlier space pioneers would have envied. and today's astronauts cherish.
For the men on board, wet shaving remains a laborious task. Surface tension generally keeps water and shaving cream stuck to an astronaut's face, while cream and stubble stick to the razor blade until wiped on a towel which is then rolled up to prevent the deposits escaping. Electric shaving is also possible, although it has to be done next to a suction fan to ensure the hairs don't float away. Many male astronauts prefer to shave as little as possible, and all agree that it's one area in which their female colleagues have all the advantages.
A few brave souls try floating free, but their sleep is likely to be interrupted by collision with an air filter that is trying to suck them into its grill. Along with other station equipment, all these fans and air filters make for a noisy night - some astronauts have compared duty on a space station to living inside a giant vacuum cleaner - so some of the crew prefer to sleep with earplugs. But most eventually acclimatise to the noise, just as people on Earth get used to living on a main road. The background sound of these systems dedicated to keeping them alive actually seems reassuring.
Once stirred, the astronauts tend to adopt a foetus-like posture as they move weightlessly about the station. Sometimes referred to unflatteringly as the "simian hunch", it seems to be the natural human attitude in microgravity; perhaps it really is an echo of the weightless months that every growing embryo spends floating in its mother's womb.
The crew dress as quickly as they can: no easy task when your limbs float out at odd angles. They wear disposable clothes, replacing them once every three days: there are no washing machines in space. But the ISS does have a shower. Water squirts out of the "top" to be sucked down by an air fan at the "bottom". The shower has to be used sparingly to conserve water, but it is a luxury item that earlier space pioneers would have envied. and today's astronauts cherish.
For the men on board, wet shaving remains a laborious task. Surface tension generally keeps water and shaving cream stuck to an astronaut's face, while cream and stubble stick to the razor blade until wiped on a towel which is then rolled up to prevent the deposits escaping. Electric shaving is also possible, although it has to be done next to a suction fan to ensure the hairs don't float away. Many male astronauts prefer to shave as little as possible, and all agree that it's one area in which their female colleagues have all the advantages.
Space Meals
Then comes the day's first of three meals. Space food has vastly improved in taste and variety since the purely freeze-dried days of the Apollo missions. But space meals are prepared and eaten under the same basic restrictions: food and drink has to be somehow confined, or else it will wander off around the station. This is obviously messy and unhygienic; but if free-falling food gets into station equipment, it can also be dangerous. So drinks and soup are served in plastic bags and sipped with straws. But with a little care, astronauts can eat more solid dishes with a knife and fork - magnets keep the utensils from floating away from the dining table. Prolonged microgravity dulls tastebuds, so spicy food is usually a crew favourite.
After eating, astronauts settle down to the assigned tasks of the day, either supervising experiments or performing routine maintenance on station equipment. It takes a complex array of machinery to keep people alive and well in orbit. Daily, each human breathes the equivalent of 0.9 kg. of liquid oxygen - enough air to fill a 3.5 cubic metre room - and drinks a total of 2.7 kg of water. To minimize on resupply needs, the ISS life-support systems are designed to recycle as much as possible. Waste water from urine and moisture condensed from the air is either purified and reused direct, or broken down by electrolysis to provide fresh oxygen. Carbon dioxide 'scrubbers' chemically remove that toxic gas from the air.
One substance that is not recycled on ISS is solid human waste: it is collected, compressed and stored for disposal. The space toilet that does the collecting has a somewhat intimidating appearance. But it is a huge improvement on the sanitary arrangements that earlier astronauts had to endure. When power failures on Mir forced cosmonauts to fall back on emergency plastic bags, morale plummeted until their orbiting "convenience" was back on line.
After eating, astronauts settle down to the assigned tasks of the day, either supervising experiments or performing routine maintenance on station equipment. It takes a complex array of machinery to keep people alive and well in orbit. Daily, each human breathes the equivalent of 0.9 kg. of liquid oxygen - enough air to fill a 3.5 cubic metre room - and drinks a total of 2.7 kg of water. To minimize on resupply needs, the ISS life-support systems are designed to recycle as much as possible. Waste water from urine and moisture condensed from the air is either purified and reused direct, or broken down by electrolysis to provide fresh oxygen. Carbon dioxide 'scrubbers' chemically remove that toxic gas from the air.
One substance that is not recycled on ISS is solid human waste: it is collected, compressed and stored for disposal. The space toilet that does the collecting has a somewhat intimidating appearance. But it is a huge improvement on the sanitary arrangements that earlier astronauts had to endure. When power failures on Mir forced cosmonauts to fall back on emergency plastic bags, morale plummeted until their orbiting "convenience" was back on line.
Fastened to Space Toilets
Space toilets do not use water. Instead, astronauts must first fasten themselves to the toilet seat, which is equipped with spring-loaded restraining bars to ensure a good seal. A lever operates a powerful fan and a suction hole slides open: the air stream carries the waste neatly away. Some crew members find the toilet difficult to get used to. As well as the device itself, they have to accustom themselves to the disconcerting fact that their bowels actually float inside their bodies - like the rest of their internal organs and of course everything else on board.
A less stressful daily routine involves exercise. The human body loses muscle and bone in weightlessness; a few hours of daily exercise helps to keep some tone in muscles that would otherwise see little use. Exercise also helps relieve the so-called "space snuffles", caused when body fluids, no longer tugged downward by gravity, accumulate in the head. Like the old Russian Mir station, ISS has a treadmill; it also has an exercise bike. Astronauts have to strap themselves down to the exercise machines, of course: unrestrained, their own efforts would make them float away.
Generally, days in orbit are busy - and when heavy equipment has to be moved, they can be exhausting, too. Just because a crate of scientific gear is weightless doesn't mean that it has lost its mass. Astronauts have to pull and push against inertia, and they are often working in strange positions for which human muscles are not well adapted.
Still, the crew will normally have some free time before bed. These hours are precious: this is when they might write emails home, watch DVDs, or transmit just for fun on ham radio. People on Earth can do these things too, of course. But ground dwellers cannot hope to share the most popular leisure pursuit in space: just watching the Earth turning below. Astronauts swear that the view is never dull.
SURPRISE. SURPRISE.
Wouldn’t we all be just so surprised to learn that dna from the Hells Angels clubhouses matched some of the DNA found at the Pictin pig farm? Nah. Couldn’t be.
A less stressful daily routine involves exercise. The human body loses muscle and bone in weightlessness; a few hours of daily exercise helps to keep some tone in muscles that would otherwise see little use. Exercise also helps relieve the so-called "space snuffles", caused when body fluids, no longer tugged downward by gravity, accumulate in the head. Like the old Russian Mir station, ISS has a treadmill; it also has an exercise bike. Astronauts have to strap themselves down to the exercise machines, of course: unrestrained, their own efforts would make them float away.
Generally, days in orbit are busy - and when heavy equipment has to be moved, they can be exhausting, too. Just because a crate of scientific gear is weightless doesn't mean that it has lost its mass. Astronauts have to pull and push against inertia, and they are often working in strange positions for which human muscles are not well adapted.
Still, the crew will normally have some free time before bed. These hours are precious: this is when they might write emails home, watch DVDs, or transmit just for fun on ham radio. People on Earth can do these things too, of course. But ground dwellers cannot hope to share the most popular leisure pursuit in space: just watching the Earth turning below. Astronauts swear that the view is never dull.
SURPRISE. SURPRISE.
Wouldn’t we all be just so surprised to learn that dna from the Hells Angels clubhouses matched some of the DNA found at the Pictin pig farm? Nah. Couldn’t be.
Note to Kevin Chong
There are some seasoned (and professional) writers using this new internet forum for citizen journalism because they feel impelled by the current state of social injustice to try to induce readers to consider that they may each make a difference; through reading these writers and learning to view the issues from an anti-establishment perspective they may make more sophisticated choices at the ballot box and more humane decisions in their communities.
The effort to enliven the collective moral conscience is hampered when columnists who can boast a 2-300,000 readership evidently just “write for money” or, as in the case of a lot of self-absorbed bloggers, to gratify their insatiable egos with endlessly bland reports of their properties or hobbies. Attention-hogging by sneer.meisters can only but have a deleterious effect on the overall social mosaic.
"I write for money."
The effort to enliven the collective moral conscience is hampered when columnists who can boast a 2-300,000 readership evidently just “write for money” or, as in the case of a lot of self-absorbed bloggers, to gratify their insatiable egos with endlessly bland reports of their properties or hobbies. Attention-hogging by sneer.meisters can only but have a deleterious effect on the overall social mosaic.
"I write for money."
Bland Content
Your employer, CanWest, seems perfectly happy with pouring bland, right wing editorial content in the cracks between the SUV and real estate ads to placate the readers with a vague notion that something responsible is being done about the public’s occasional interest in actual debate.
With the issues facing the world today being of such global intensity, life and death matters crying out for resolutions constantly, one has to wonder how a columnist in that intellectually lackadaisical environment just doing it for the money will eventually justify unhinged ramblings to a dwindling readership.
Now that you've made your motivation perfectly clear to all us peons out here, at least we know what not to expect from you: Inspiration.
With the issues facing the world today being of such global intensity, life and death matters crying out for resolutions constantly, one has to wonder how a columnist in that intellectually lackadaisical environment just doing it for the money will eventually justify unhinged ramblings to a dwindling readership.
Now that you've made your motivation perfectly clear to all us peons out here, at least we know what not to expect from you: Inspiration.
Pottermania: the Perfect Escape
With all the creepy adults running the world into a diseased and depressed state is it any wonder the kids want to escape with some magic and other-worldly adventures? And who knows, maybe the real world is more akin to their version anyway, and we adults have just drained it of all that’s truly wonder-full.
My Kind of People
The writers of Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit, and the inventors of Aladdin’s Lamp and the Time Machine are all my kind of people. Reminding us dull adults that the kids really do have it right: that the world is a place of fantastic ideas, magical thoughts, marvelous creatures and time-travelling adventures.
"Mom! Where's my Spidey pants?"
"Where you left them. Still in the phone booth."
"Mom! Where's my Spidey pants?"
"Where you left them. Still in the phone booth."
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Whose Ox is being Gored?
To date, the head count of fatalities in London due to this most recent terrorist attack remains at under 50. Targeting civilians sitting in buses or cooped up defenselessly in subways (or tubes) is truly heinous and to the heartfelt condolences which have been expressed by world leaders and common people everywhere I add my own today.
The Other Body Count
It is appropriate however to recall another tragic statistic of concern to even more people: according to The Iraq Body Count web site (www.iraqbodycount.net), somewhere between 22,000 and 25,000 civilian deaths have been reported in Iraq resulting from the US-led military intervention in Iraq.
Add to that grisly figure the atrocious treatment of prisoners at the recently demolished (out of sight, out of mind?) Abu Ghraib prison and ongoing at Guatanamo Bay, one has to wonder what Georgie B is talking about when he says, “…the contrast couldn’t be clearer between the intentions and hearts of those of us who care deeply about human rights and human liberty, and those who kill (with) such evil in their heart that they will take the lives of innocent folks…” Maybe he doesn’t consider Iraqi civilians “folks.”
Add to that grisly figure the atrocious treatment of prisoners at the recently demolished (out of sight, out of mind?) Abu Ghraib prison and ongoing at Guatanamo Bay, one has to wonder what Georgie B is talking about when he says, “…the contrast couldn’t be clearer between the intentions and hearts of those of us who care deeply about human rights and human liberty, and those who kill (with) such evil in their heart that they will take the lives of innocent folks…” Maybe he doesn’t consider Iraqi civilians “folks.”
"Post Kyoto?"
Even taking the minimum figure of 22,000, Bush’s war team has scored at least 18,800 more civilian kills than the Al Qaeda. And the fact remains that if Bush hadn’t sent his American boys (and girls) in there in the first place, he wouldn’t have aroused so much fanatical Muslim ire against the western world which stunned Londoners saw the consequence of this week. All he had to do was isolate Bin Laden and his murderous cells with correct intelligence and he could have saved thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars, which might then have been spent to aid Africa and finance doing the right thing about climate warming.
Rather, our world in peril has been put at greater risk with all the cowboying going on from the Yanks and now the serious and immediate climate problems have been shifted to the back burner while Georgie B introduces a new term to continue his country’s compliance with industry polluters: “Post Kyoto,” as he spins into a vague strategy for “a better way forward.” Just buying more time to placate the polluters and as to his schedule where any significant and meaningful changes might be enforced upon the American industries and consumers? After he’s dead while we’re all sucking his wind.
Rather, our world in peril has been put at greater risk with all the cowboying going on from the Yanks and now the serious and immediate climate problems have been shifted to the back burner while Georgie B introduces a new term to continue his country’s compliance with industry polluters: “Post Kyoto,” as he spins into a vague strategy for “a better way forward.” Just buying more time to placate the polluters and as to his schedule where any significant and meaningful changes might be enforced upon the American industries and consumers? After he’s dead while we’re all sucking his wind.
The Karla Circus
Thanks to the world media and in no small part the Canadian media, that Karla thing is probably going to enjoy a financial windfall selling the gory details of her murderous experiences with her boyfriend.
Can’t we all just imagine how many American TV producers would sell their grandma’s back door key to thugs to get that story? And how easily she can skirt any Canadian judge’s constraints about profiteering from her crimes as she calls on her rights of freedom of speech and her additional right to trade outside of Canada where no judge from our country has any say about her creepy affairs.
Meanwhile, her star rating shot up to near A list levels for those couple of weeks just past as both the Canwest and Bell Globemedia conglomerates splurged rivers of ink all over their newsprint informing us of her every thought and letter. Then with the 1.2 billion dollar per year boondoggle known as the CBC adding to that frenzy with their interview, we were presented with the sly connivings of a true psychopath (a mental disease by the way which often results from being sexually abused at a very young age).
Can’t we all just imagine how many American TV producers would sell their grandma’s back door key to thugs to get that story? And how easily she can skirt any Canadian judge’s constraints about profiteering from her crimes as she calls on her rights of freedom of speech and her additional right to trade outside of Canada where no judge from our country has any say about her creepy affairs.
Meanwhile, her star rating shot up to near A list levels for those couple of weeks just past as both the Canwest and Bell Globemedia conglomerates splurged rivers of ink all over their newsprint informing us of her every thought and letter. Then with the 1.2 billion dollar per year boondoggle known as the CBC adding to that frenzy with their interview, we were presented with the sly connivings of a true psychopath (a mental disease by the way which often results from being sexually abused at a very young age).
Embarrassing Media Hounds
What made all this muckraking so patently egregious was that representative editorialists from both papers and broadcasters from the CBC all bemoaned the attention she was getting with headlines like, “Are you as fed up with Karla as I am?” or “Karla H media circus isn’t in anyone’s interest.” All this, of course, after they each had (and will continue to have) their pound of her flesh. Such blatant hypocrisy is precisely why we need more of the fresh approach of “citizen journalism” which The English Bay Banner hopes to sustain.
In the future, I suggest a new media policy: never print the pictures of convicted criminals, just their names to shame them. And then forget about them before weak-minded low-lifes decide they want all of that glory for themselves and go do a Mark David Chapman.
The common media has to end their embarrassing habit of charging around like a frenzied mob after criminals with their cameras bouncing off their shoulders and mikes shoved in everybody’s faces screaming out their loaded questions, or what little credibility this crazed media has left will soon evaporate altogether.
Creating an appetite for garbage is hardly a noble vocation.
In the future, I suggest a new media policy: never print the pictures of convicted criminals, just their names to shame them. And then forget about them before weak-minded low-lifes decide they want all of that glory for themselves and go do a Mark David Chapman.
The common media has to end their embarrassing habit of charging around like a frenzied mob after criminals with their cameras bouncing off their shoulders and mikes shoved in everybody’s faces screaming out their loaded questions, or what little credibility this crazed media has left will soon evaporate altogether.
Creating an appetite for garbage is hardly a noble vocation.
On St Douglas Todd’s Watch
It was noted in a headline last week that churches are becoming concerned about the poor. About time I thought. Upon reading the article however, it became clear that what the pastors were concerned about was the fact that these poor people were using the church bathroom. Heaven forbid.
And as to all this teddible world poverty, Douglas Todd writes recently about world leaders like Mandela, the Dalai Lama and now he generously includes Sir Geldof stating that “something about their spirituality calls them to overcome their human indifference to the many poor with whom we share the planet.” And Todd repeats a comment from evangelist Jim Wallis about sparing “a special moment for worship, always identify with them, always be on their side.”
While Douglas Todd has been at the helm of the spiritual ship of Vancouver writers, columnists and editorialists for many years now and has written a book examining the spirituality of celebrity artists in which “he skillfully draws thoughtful responses from the most reluctant of atheists,” it has been on his watch that Vancouver has seen the extreme growth in numbers of the desperately poor and homeless. In that time, Todd has written hundreds of thousands of words about spirituality and religion and God and the church and so on. While counting angels dancing on the heads of pins, he has been enjoying what he describes as his “mini celebrity” and the poor right here remain hungry and homeless, sometimes using his newspaper as a blanket or in the absence of an open church, butt wipes in the bush.
And as to all this teddible world poverty, Douglas Todd writes recently about world leaders like Mandela, the Dalai Lama and now he generously includes Sir Geldof stating that “something about their spirituality calls them to overcome their human indifference to the many poor with whom we share the planet.” And Todd repeats a comment from evangelist Jim Wallis about sparing “a special moment for worship, always identify with them, always be on their side.”
While Douglas Todd has been at the helm of the spiritual ship of Vancouver writers, columnists and editorialists for many years now and has written a book examining the spirituality of celebrity artists in which “he skillfully draws thoughtful responses from the most reluctant of atheists,” it has been on his watch that Vancouver has seen the extreme growth in numbers of the desperately poor and homeless. In that time, Todd has written hundreds of thousands of words about spirituality and religion and God and the church and so on. While counting angels dancing on the heads of pins, he has been enjoying what he describes as his “mini celebrity” and the poor right here remain hungry and homeless, sometimes using his newspaper as a blanket or in the absence of an open church, butt wipes in the bush.
What's Missing in Todd's Lament
So those church pastors who read Todd and who comment today about the inconvenience of having their bathrooms used by homeless people, and those policepeople who harass the poor beggars who also have been exposed to Todd’s award-winning prose, and those publishers Todd knows personally have all been so uniformly unaffected by the plight of our homeless that one has to wonder what’s missing in Todd’s lament for the poor?
Might it be real passion? Do you know what the hungry people would like to say to you, Mr Todd, about "sparing a special moment for worship, always identifying with them, and always being on their side.” Drop dead. Where’s my home? Where’s my food? This is my country too. And fuck your mini-celebrity. And those celebrities you gush over.
End the shameful neglect of our poor and homeless by blowing the horn of justice for them every day.
Might it be real passion? Do you know what the hungry people would like to say to you, Mr Todd, about "sparing a special moment for worship, always identifying with them, and always being on their side.” Drop dead. Where’s my home? Where’s my food? This is my country too. And fuck your mini-celebrity. And those celebrities you gush over.
End the shameful neglect of our poor and homeless by blowing the horn of justice for them every day.
If the 40,000 year old shoe fits…
Faithful readers of the Banner will recall reading (scroll through all back issues, it’s there somewhere) that some of us believe that man has been around for a whole lot longer than modern archaeologists would have us believe. Well, wouldn’t you know that a recent discovery of fossilized human footprints have now skewed once again the commonly held theories of human migration to America and the timelines involved.
Written in Stone?
‘The existence of 40,000 year old human footprints in Mexico means that the Clovis First model of human occupation (crica 13,500 years ago) can no longer be accepted as the first evidence of human presence in the Americas,” states professor David Huddart of Liverpool John Moores University.
Can’t you just hear all those academic careers going klunkety klunk klunk down the school steps into oblivion? Stubbornly, and for decades, academics had clung to their theory that 13,500 years was definitely the age of human occupation after the ice age here in the Americas. So much for the value of their collective obstinance. And what happens when some of the other finds listed in the Banner’s story (browse baby, browse!) on this subject are finally concluded to be authentic backdating once again the time of existence of man on this planet?
Can’t you just hear all those academic careers going klunkety klunk klunk down the school steps into oblivion? Stubbornly, and for decades, academics had clung to their theory that 13,500 years was definitely the age of human occupation after the ice age here in the Americas. So much for the value of their collective obstinance. And what happens when some of the other finds listed in the Banner’s story (browse baby, browse!) on this subject are finally concluded to be authentic backdating once again the time of existence of man on this planet?
Darwin Befuddled
The appearance of man befuddled even Darwin who couldn’t explain at what juncture or evolutionary point did the light of intelligence descend upon the ape thus defining him as man.
How could there be any question in any man’s mind as to the simple fact that we are each born into a vastly complex and intricately beautiful design which existed certainly before we did and will again after we die? This design has as its power and its force of continuity a divine mechanism (for lack of a more scientific term for now).
And it appears to the occasionally insightful that everything about this design was given in such a way as to permit the joy of the individual human being.
How could there be any question in any man’s mind as to the simple fact that we are each born into a vastly complex and intricately beautiful design which existed certainly before we did and will again after we die? This design has as its power and its force of continuity a divine mechanism (for lack of a more scientific term for now).
And it appears to the occasionally insightful that everything about this design was given in such a way as to permit the joy of the individual human being.
The Chortle of Elders
And why is it so far-fetched to consider that man may perhaps even participate with creation through his will operating in concert with goodness? Is that any more fantastic than what Christians already accept as our fate: the ultimate physical resurrection of our bodies; or as the atheist might believe in the wildly random and arbitrary mistakes of nature creating mankind?
In this argument mostly being popularized as being between the creationist and the evolutionist, there appears to be little room for the one who espouses that creation is designed by a personality and that even this personality may appear to adapt and evolve as humans continue to make their clumsy and unenlightened presence known. Godspeed the day that humans end their foundering submerged in their pretenses of God, entertaining their useless illusions of isolated grandeur.
Not so long away now to know that the triumph of the cosmos will be heard in the chortle of elders.
The Human Torch
The original Human Torch was not Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four. Although he went by the secret identity Jim Hammond, the first Human Torch was actually an android created by Professor Phineas T. Horton. The Professor labored for years on his creation, hoping to make a fully functional artificial man. He wanted his construct to be completely identical to a real human in every regard, right down to the blood that flowed through it's veins. When Prof. Horton completed his work, he invited top scientists from around the world and the news media to attend the unveiling.
The original Human Torch before being rendered by Jack Kirby and reintroduced by Stan (the man) Lee.
Unfortunately, as soon as his android was removed from its protective tube, it burst into flames. Amazingly, the android was not only not destroyed, it was able to control and harness the flames. Horton became a laughing stock over his 'failure' and returned the android to its tube. Refusing to give up on his artificial man, Prof. Horton buried the android in its tube in a block of cement. He had headphones attached to the android and fed it information, so that it could learn while it 'incubated.' Horton hoped to learn how stop the android from bursting into flames at the first contact with oxygen, but he never got the chance. A small crack in the cement allowed enough air into the tube to allow the android to "Flame On" for the first time.
The android escaped and became the Human Torch. The Torch fought for good against such menaces as the Sub-Human, the Asbestos Lady, and his future ally (but natural adversary) the Sub-Mariner. The Human Torch adopted the guise of Jim Hammond and even took a protege under his wings: Thomas "Toro" Raymond.
Once the war began, the Torch and Toro joined forces with the Sub-Mariner, Captain America, and Bucky in the Invaders. The Torch fought for the Allies throughout the war, but was always discontent with the fact that he was not a natural-born human.
He remained a crimefighter after the war in the All-Winners Squad but was deactivated in the late 50s by the Mad Thinker and buried in a cave. It was assumed many years later that the original android Torch was reactivated and reassembled as the android Vision of the Avengers. But in the late 1980s the aged Professor Horton revealed that the Vision was not in fact his construct. The original Torch was then discovered and reactivated.
During a battle with the Warrior Woman and Master Man in the early 90s, the Torch gave an emergency blood transfusion to Jacquline "Spitfire" Falsworth--just as he had in the 40s. Spitfire regained her youth from the transfusion but the Torch was at long last deprived of his flame powers. To protect him from any old enemies, members of the Avengers and Fantastic Four announced that the Torch had died in battle. In reality, Jim Hammond settled down with Toro's widow and at long last embarked on a normal human life.
First Appearance: MARVEL COMICS #1 (1939); First Modern Appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #4 Invaders Appearances: #1-41; Lost Powers In: NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER (vol. 2) #12 (1991)
-material derived from the Invaders main page
In this argument mostly being popularized as being between the creationist and the evolutionist, there appears to be little room for the one who espouses that creation is designed by a personality and that even this personality may appear to adapt and evolve as humans continue to make their clumsy and unenlightened presence known. Godspeed the day that humans end their foundering submerged in their pretenses of God, entertaining their useless illusions of isolated grandeur.
Not so long away now to know that the triumph of the cosmos will be heard in the chortle of elders.
The Human Torch
The original Human Torch was not Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four. Although he went by the secret identity Jim Hammond, the first Human Torch was actually an android created by Professor Phineas T. Horton. The Professor labored for years on his creation, hoping to make a fully functional artificial man. He wanted his construct to be completely identical to a real human in every regard, right down to the blood that flowed through it's veins. When Prof. Horton completed his work, he invited top scientists from around the world and the news media to attend the unveiling.
The original Human Torch before being rendered by Jack Kirby and reintroduced by Stan (the man) Lee.
Unfortunately, as soon as his android was removed from its protective tube, it burst into flames. Amazingly, the android was not only not destroyed, it was able to control and harness the flames. Horton became a laughing stock over his 'failure' and returned the android to its tube. Refusing to give up on his artificial man, Prof. Horton buried the android in its tube in a block of cement. He had headphones attached to the android and fed it information, so that it could learn while it 'incubated.' Horton hoped to learn how stop the android from bursting into flames at the first contact with oxygen, but he never got the chance. A small crack in the cement allowed enough air into the tube to allow the android to "Flame On" for the first time.
The android escaped and became the Human Torch. The Torch fought for good against such menaces as the Sub-Human, the Asbestos Lady, and his future ally (but natural adversary) the Sub-Mariner. The Human Torch adopted the guise of Jim Hammond and even took a protege under his wings: Thomas "Toro" Raymond.
Once the war began, the Torch and Toro joined forces with the Sub-Mariner, Captain America, and Bucky in the Invaders. The Torch fought for the Allies throughout the war, but was always discontent with the fact that he was not a natural-born human.
He remained a crimefighter after the war in the All-Winners Squad but was deactivated in the late 50s by the Mad Thinker and buried in a cave. It was assumed many years later that the original android Torch was reactivated and reassembled as the android Vision of the Avengers. But in the late 1980s the aged Professor Horton revealed that the Vision was not in fact his construct. The original Torch was then discovered and reactivated.
During a battle with the Warrior Woman and Master Man in the early 90s, the Torch gave an emergency blood transfusion to Jacquline "Spitfire" Falsworth--just as he had in the 40s. Spitfire regained her youth from the transfusion but the Torch was at long last deprived of his flame powers. To protect him from any old enemies, members of the Avengers and Fantastic Four announced that the Torch had died in battle. In reality, Jim Hammond settled down with Toro's widow and at long last embarked on a normal human life.
First Appearance: MARVEL COMICS #1 (1939); First Modern Appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #4 Invaders Appearances: #1-41; Lost Powers In: NAMOR THE SUB-MARINER (vol. 2) #12 (1991)
-material derived from the Invaders main page
Tall Ships at English Bay Recall Meares’ Arrival at Nootka
Captain John Meares, after whom Meares island on Vancouver Island's west coast is named, arrived at Nootka Sound in 1778. He was surrounded by hundreds of Nuu Chah Nulth natives, an intimidating sight at first.
Hundreds of Singers
But on this spectacular day in the mists of the Sound, he was sang a welcome song by the natives all painted with red ochre and with the down of birds in their greased black hair.
Paddles in Unison
Their paddle strokes in unison with their singing, they traveled around his ship in their 27 foot red cedar canoes offering this wonderful and colourful ceremony for his pleasure and to increase the happy memories of his crew. Meares wrote about this experience in his log, describing the occasion as more beautiful than any concert he had ever attended even at the finest houses in Europe.
For a splendid and brave adventurer a splendid and thoughtful welcome.
If we could turn the clock back to those thrilling days, would we really miss Tim Horton’s?
A Journalist Jailed
THE JAILING of New York Times reporter Judith Miller yesterday in an attempt to force her to testify about a source is a damaging blow to the press's ability to do its job. Ms. Miller has refused to testify before the grand jury investigating the leak of Valerie Plame's identity as a covert CIA operative, and the federal courts have ruled against her claims of privilege. Yet while special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald was legally entitled to take action against her, his judgment in doing so is highly questionable. We don't yet know how compelling are the facts underlying this extraordinary sanction. They are still mostly secret. But unless Mr. Fitzgerald is preparing to bring a case of great public importance to which Ms. Miller's testimony is indispensable, her jailing will appear as a serious abuse of prosecutorial discretion and a gratuitous assault on press freedom.
The New York Times' Judith Miller refused to testify. Time magazine's Matt Cooper agreed to testify.
Mr. Fitzgerald is charged with investigating whether the leak of Ms. Plame's identity by one or more administration officials to columnist Robert D. Novak two years ago constituted a criminal act. Yet so far the only person to actually face jail time in his prolonged investigation is a reporter who never wrote a story about Ms. Plame, let alone revealed her CIA affiliation. While an investigation of the leak was justified, it is far from clear -- at least on the public record -- that a crime took place. The threshold for criminality under the law protecting agents' identities is relatively high. Moreover, Mr. Fitzgerald has already heard from journalists whose sources have waived confidentiality -- including two from The Post. And he will now hear from another. Yesterday, Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper, who has already testified about one source, agreed to testify about another after this second source personally released him from his pledge.
Ms. Miller's attorney said she did not have such a release from her source and did not consider the general waivers obtained by Mr. Fitzgerald from several public officials to be sufficient. She is right on that point: Commitments of confidentiality by journalists to their sources will have little value if they can be invalidated by waivers obtained by prosecutors or demanded by senior government officials from their subordinates. In such cases, journalists are obligated to protect their sources even if the law is against them. Indeed, reporters have been willing to face jail to protect confidential sources for decades; few have been regarded by the public as criminals.
For these reasons, the Miller case should make plain that the legal authority that Mr. Fitzgerald relies on must change. Almost all states recognize some form of privilege for reporters, either an absolute privilege or a qualified one. Federal law, which recognizes no privilege in the grand jury setting, is the outlier. Congress has before it bipartisan legislation to provide an appropriate shield. Post officials have lobbied in favor of this legislation, and The Post, along with other media organizations, filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the Miller case.
In situations in which solemn professional obligations require silence, legislators or the courts have relieved people of the burden of choosing between honoring their word and going to jail. Congress needs to make that happen here, too. -from an editorial in The Washington Post
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For a splendid and brave adventurer a splendid and thoughtful welcome.
If we could turn the clock back to those thrilling days, would we really miss Tim Horton’s?
A Journalist Jailed
THE JAILING of New York Times reporter Judith Miller yesterday in an attempt to force her to testify about a source is a damaging blow to the press's ability to do its job. Ms. Miller has refused to testify before the grand jury investigating the leak of Valerie Plame's identity as a covert CIA operative, and the federal courts have ruled against her claims of privilege. Yet while special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald was legally entitled to take action against her, his judgment in doing so is highly questionable. We don't yet know how compelling are the facts underlying this extraordinary sanction. They are still mostly secret. But unless Mr. Fitzgerald is preparing to bring a case of great public importance to which Ms. Miller's testimony is indispensable, her jailing will appear as a serious abuse of prosecutorial discretion and a gratuitous assault on press freedom.
The New York Times' Judith Miller refused to testify. Time magazine's Matt Cooper agreed to testify.
Mr. Fitzgerald is charged with investigating whether the leak of Ms. Plame's identity by one or more administration officials to columnist Robert D. Novak two years ago constituted a criminal act. Yet so far the only person to actually face jail time in his prolonged investigation is a reporter who never wrote a story about Ms. Plame, let alone revealed her CIA affiliation. While an investigation of the leak was justified, it is far from clear -- at least on the public record -- that a crime took place. The threshold for criminality under the law protecting agents' identities is relatively high. Moreover, Mr. Fitzgerald has already heard from journalists whose sources have waived confidentiality -- including two from The Post. And he will now hear from another. Yesterday, Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper, who has already testified about one source, agreed to testify about another after this second source personally released him from his pledge.
Ms. Miller's attorney said she did not have such a release from her source and did not consider the general waivers obtained by Mr. Fitzgerald from several public officials to be sufficient. She is right on that point: Commitments of confidentiality by journalists to their sources will have little value if they can be invalidated by waivers obtained by prosecutors or demanded by senior government officials from their subordinates. In such cases, journalists are obligated to protect their sources even if the law is against them. Indeed, reporters have been willing to face jail to protect confidential sources for decades; few have been regarded by the public as criminals.
For these reasons, the Miller case should make plain that the legal authority that Mr. Fitzgerald relies on must change. Almost all states recognize some form of privilege for reporters, either an absolute privilege or a qualified one. Federal law, which recognizes no privilege in the grand jury setting, is the outlier. Congress has before it bipartisan legislation to provide an appropriate shield. Post officials have lobbied in favor of this legislation, and The Post, along with other media organizations, filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the Miller case.
In situations in which solemn professional obligations require silence, legislators or the courts have relieved people of the burden of choosing between honoring their word and going to jail. Congress needs to make that happen here, too. -from an editorial in The Washington Post
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Sunday, July 03, 2005
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