Nov 2, 2008
Jul 30, 2008
A Texas doctor, not to be outdone said....
A Japanese doctor said, "Medicine in my country is so advanced that
we can take a kidney out of one man, put it in another, and have him
looking for work in six weeks."
A German doctor said, "That's nothing, we can take a lung out of one
person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in four weeks."
A British doctor said, "In my country, medicine is so advanced that we
can take half of a heart out of one person, put it in another, and have
them both looking for work in two weeks."
A Texas doctor, not to be outdone said, "You guys are way behind. We
took a man with no brains out of Texas, put him in the White House
and now half the country is looking for work."
we can take a kidney out of one man, put it in another, and have him
looking for work in six weeks."
A German doctor said, "That's nothing, we can take a lung out of one
person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in four weeks."
A British doctor said, "In my country, medicine is so advanced that we
can take half of a heart out of one person, put it in another, and have
them both looking for work in two weeks."
A Texas doctor, not to be outdone said, "You guys are way behind. We
took a man with no brains out of Texas, put him in the White House
and now half the country is looking for work."
Jul 17, 2008
Harper’s Magazine: Bush Admin. Worried About Possible Criminal Prosecution
By: SilentPatriot on Wednesday, July 16th
In a fascinating interview with Scott Horton, investigative journalist Jane Mayer talks about her new book, The Dark Side, which chronicles the Bush administration’s dealings with torture, and offers some incredible (and depressing) insight into her superb reporting over the past few years.
The reaction of top Bush Administration officials to the ICRC report, from what I can gather, has been defensive and dismissive. They reject the ICRC’s legal analysis as incorrect. Yet my reporting shows that inside the White House there has been growing fear of criminal prosecution, particularly after the Supreme Court ruled in the Hamdan case that the Geneva Conventions applied to the treatment of the detainees. This nervousness resulted in the successful effort to add retroactive immunity to the Military Commission Act. Cheney personally spearheaded this effort. Fear of the consequences of exposure also weighed heavily in discussions about whether to shut the CIA program down. In White House meetings, Cheney warned that if they transferred the CIA’s prisoners to Guantanamo, “people will want to know where they have been—and what we’ve been doing with them.” Alberto Gonzales, a source said, “scared” everyone about the possibility of war crimes prosecutions. It was on their minds.
I strongly suggest you read the entire interview, but this paragraph really stuck with me:
The sadistic treatment of Abu Zubayda also seems to have affected him psychologically in bizarre ways. Two sources said that he became sexually obsessive, masturbating so much his captors feared he would injure himself. One described him as acting “like a monkey at the zoo.” A physician was called in for consultation—one of many instances in which health professionals have played truly disturbing roles in this program. (I personally feel that the medical and psychological professionals who have used their skills to further a program designed to cause pain and suffering should be a high priority in terms of accountability. It has long been a ghastly aspect of torture, worldwide, that doctors and other medical professionals often assist. The licensing boards and professional societies are worthless, in my view, if they don’t demand serious investigations of such unethical uses of science.)
Mayer also says that although Bush officials feared prosecution and frantically sought protection via legislation like the atrocious Military Commissions Act, lawsuit are not likely because many of those in Congress who would spearhead such legal actions are themselves compromised:
An additional complicating factor is that key members of Congress sanctioned this program, so many of those who might ordinarily be counted on to lead the charge are themselves compromised. […] My guess is that the real accountability for President Bush will be in the history books, not the court room.
Jul 14, 2008
Lost in translation: A director's cut of 54
In 45 minutes of new (original, that is) footage assembled by Christopher -- using largely uncorrected, rough audio and video that was expertly edited -- we see Shane sleep with dozens of men and women, for career advancement or simply pleasure. Phillippe is in nearly every scene, and his performance is strong, sympathetic and seductive. It's also frequently nude, or barely dressed, and the camera clings to what one character calls his "body by David and face by Botticelli." And far from being merely a "love triangle," the slow, simmering sexual attraction among Phillippe, Meyer and Hayek -- especially an amazingly intense, evocative kiss between the two men towards the end of the film -- is equally as important as the queer family they make for themselves.
Even Mike Myers -- whose role as 54 owner Steve Rubell was widely touted as his brave bid to be taken seriously as a dramatic actor -- benefits from the re-cut. The '98 version made him a caricature, a wise-cracking, ass-grabbing dirty old gay whose eyes were always bigger than his mouth. He's more creepy in this take, but also more empathetic, more tragically addicted to the beauty of youth no matter the cost. For more infor click on over to popnography's full post.
Nine women arrested in oral sex competition
ATHENS (Reuters) - Nine British women were facing prostitution charges after being arrested at the weekend for taking part in an oral sex competition in the Greek holiday island of Zakynthos, police said on Monday. Six British and six Greek men, including two bar owners, were also charged in the incident, which took place at Laganas beach in the south of the Ionian island, which lies off the west coast of mainland Greece, police said. The women, who came to the popular resort on holiday, had been paid to take part in the competition, which was video recorded and was to be posted on the Internet, police said. Continue reading here...
Jul 11, 2008
Batman Gotham Knight
Batman Gotham Knight, like the Animatix before it, is both a bridge between installments of the live action movies and an experience all their own. Gotham Knight is a series of minisodes that explore this new Batman and are definitely worth checking out. Check out the official site here; the movie is also available for download on iTunes.
Iran and The Economist: Silent no more
NINE years ago, Ahmad Batebi appeared on the cover of The Economist. He was a 21-year-old student, one of thousands who protested against Iran’s government that summer. He was photographed holding aloft a T-shirt bespattered with the blood of a fellow protester. Soon afterwards, he was arrested and shown our issue of July 17th 1999. “With this”, he was told, “you have signed your death warrant.” During his interrogation he was blindfolded and beaten with cables until he passed out. His captors rubbed salt into his wounds to wake him up, so they could torture him more. They held his head in a drain full of sewage until he inhaled it. He recalls yearning for a swift death to end the pain. He was played recordings of what he was told was his mother being tortured. His captors wanted him to betray his fellow students, to implicate them in various crimes and to say on television that the blood on that T-shirt was only red paint. He says he refused.
He was sentenced to death for “creating street unrest”. But after a global outcry, the sentence was commuted to 15 years in jail. He speculates that his high profile made it hard to kill him without attracting negative publicity. For two years, he was kept in solitary confinement, in a cell that was little more than a toilet hole with a wooden board on top. He was tortured constantly. Only when he was allowed to mingle with other prisoners again did he begin to overcome his despair.
He suffered a partial stroke that left the right side of his body without feeling. He needed medical attention. The regime did not want to be blamed for him dying behind bars, he says, so he was allowed out for treatment. Three months ago, on the day of the Persian new year, he escaped into Iraq. On June 24th he arrived in America.
He spoke to The Economist on July 7th. Looking at the picture that sparked his ordeal, he says that another man in his place might be angry, but he is not. Mr Batebi is a photographer himself. He says he understands what journalism involves. Had we not published the picture, he says, another paper might have. Looking at the same picture, his lawyer, interpreter and friend Lily Mazahery says she is close to tears: in it, the young Mr Batebi’s pale arms are as yet unscarred by torture.
The protests Mr Batebi took part in nine years ago frightened Iran’s rulers. The students were angry about censorship, the persecution of intellectuals and the thugs who beat up any student overheard disparaging the regime. Mr Batebi thinks Iran could well turn solidly democratic some day. In neighbouring states, religious extremism is popular. In Iran, he says, the government is religiously extreme, but the people are not.
He is cagey about how exactly he escaped. But he says he used a cellphone camera to record virtually every step of his journey, and will soon go public with the pictures and his commentary. Meanwhile, he seems to be enjoying America. He praises the way “people have the opportunity to become who they want to be”. Shortly after he arrived, he posted a picture of himself in front of the Capitol on his Farsi-language blog, with the caption: “Your hands will never touch me again.”
source economist.comJul 10, 2008
Senate Passes Unconstitutional Spying Bill And Grants Sweeping Immunity To Phone Companies
Yesterday (7/9/08), in a blatant assault upon civil liberties and the right to privacy, the Senate passed an unconstitutional domestic spying bill that violates the Fourth Amendment and eliminates any meaningful role for judicial oversight of government surveillance. The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 was approved by a vote of 69 to 28 and is expected to be signed into law by President Bush shortly. This bill essentially legalizes the president’s unlawful warrantless wiretapping program revealed in December 2005 by the New York Times. Continue reading here...
Jul 9, 2008
Jul 6, 2008
DIY cassette tape lamp
The cassette tape is probably just a fuzzy memory for those of you who grew up with Compact Discs and MP3s. But for us born before the 1980s, we have to figure out what to do with all of those old tapes. Why not turn them into a lighting fixture? That’s exactly what the guys over at Transparent House are doing with their cassettes. The designers make each lamp from dozens of individual cassette tapes, arranged into visually appealing patterns. Not only do they look cool as a sculptural piece, they cast dramatic shadows onto surrounding surfaces. For more information and pics click here to visit technabob.
Jun 30, 2008
Jun 29, 2008
NYC Waterfalls
Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has installed four waterfalls, ranging in height from 90 to 120 that will appear from June 26 to Oct. 13 and run from 7am. to 10pm around New York City. The falls are located at Pier 35, under the Brooklyn Bridge (above), on Governor's Island, and between Piers 4 and 5 on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The NYT talked to Eliasson also check out their slidwshow of the warerfalls here.
You can find out more information about The New York City Waterfalls at The Public Art Fund.
Animation: The Hillary-Barak Meeting
Check out this great Walt Handelsman animation: The Hillary-Barak Meeting
Jun 28, 2008
Jun 23, 2008
Jun 22, 2008
Jun 20, 2008
Jun 18, 2008
Gore endorses Obama
Last night in Detroit, former Vice President and Nobel laureate Al Gore voiced his support for Barack Obama for President of the United States. Watch the video...
Jun 15, 2008
Thomas Beatie is less than a month away
Pregnant transgender man Thomas Beatie is less than a month away from giving birth and a slew of new images of Beatie at home and about have been published by the UK tabloid News of the World.
After 2 long weeks...
So, after two long weeks I finally have cable and internet in my new apartment.It really is a completely new world we live in; I honestly didn't care so much about not having cable TV, but not having internet made me crazy.
I literally had resorted to picking up an intermittent wifi signal on my ipod. I had to stand directly in front of one of my bedroom windows and could not move an inch or I would the signal in order to answer my email or get my daily dose of facebook. Oddly enough I missed podcasts the most. I get almost all my news in the form of podcasts and felt very out of touch...
Well the two weeks of information black out are now over and I couldn't be happier :)
Jun 11, 2008
Jun 6, 2008
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