Cleanliness has long been next to godliness for the hygiene-conscious Japanese, but fortune-tellers are now advising those who want to succeed in life to start by scrubbing the smallest room.
"Cleaning the toilet to attract luck" published this month is the latest in a series of books advising readers on how to attract good fortune using a brush and an array of cleaning fluids.
"Don't just wipe the floor, polish it," the book instructs. "It's important to maintain a positive mood while cleaning."
The books are inspired by Buddhist teachings and feng shui, a traditional Chinese belief that people's fortunes are determined by their surroundings.
The idea that Lady Luck may be hiding in the lavatory has been taken up by magazines and television programs.
"I won the lottery! I married my ideal person! I got pregnant!" read some of the claims on the cover of another book on the topic, published last year.
The idea that a clean toilet can bring good fortune, or even make you more beautiful, has existed in Japan for many years, according to Yuka Soma of Makino Publishing in Tokyo, editor of one of the toilet books.
But she is still waiting for a big stroke of luck.
"I've always cleaned my toilet every day, so it never really gets dirty," she said. "At least it's easy that way and it probably helps keep my family healthy," she said.
Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Baby finds $1,300 in 25 cent book
Rhiannon Barnes is a shy 15-month-old.
She doesn’t speak much except to her pet German Shepherd Callie or to say hello or thank you to everyone else. And like others her age, she enjoys playing with uncomplicated objects like boxes, balls, and books.
Still, there is something about this blue-eyed toddler. She is either prophetic or lucky, says her mother.
Two weeks ago, Rhiannon discovered about $1,300 in cash between the pages of a used book her baby-sitter Sheila Laughridge purchased for 25 cents at the Goodwill Store in Stockbridge.
“I was just bored that day, and we rode up there,” said Laughridge, whom Rhiannon affectionately calls Nanna. “We started walking around (the store), and she saw the book and started to pitch a fit.”
She said she only decided to buy the book because of Rhiannon’s insistence to have it. It is an old white hardback book, distinguished only by a sailboat on the cover.
“It’s not even a readable book,” Laughridge said, adding that Rhiannon held the book the entire day.
And later as Rhiannon flipped through the pages, the toddler found a small brown paper bag tucked inside the folds of the book.
“It kind of scared me, because I didn’t have any idea what it was,” Laughridge said. But the bag’s contents included much more good fortune than bad. She found several torn and tattered dollar bills — $100s, $50s, $20s, and $10s.
She took the money, dated as far back as to the 1960s, to a local bank and attempted to run the serial numbers but says she could not trace where the money originated.
Laughridge, who bought the book, received about $300 cash back from only the tattered bills she took to the bank. She said the rest of the $1,300 were in pieces and will be sent to the U.S. Treasury Department.
“I was shocked,” said Shirley Barnes, upon finding out her daughter Rhiannon’s discovery. “I thought it was really interesting. I don’t often take her to the store to do that. She points and screams for things she wants, but she’s generally pretty quiet.”
Barnes added, half-joking: “What I want to do is put pieces of paper with number on them out on the table and have her pick them so that maybe we can win the lottery.”
http://www.henryherald.com/
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She doesn’t speak much except to her pet German Shepherd Callie or to say hello or thank you to everyone else. And like others her age, she enjoys playing with uncomplicated objects like boxes, balls, and books.
Still, there is something about this blue-eyed toddler. She is either prophetic or lucky, says her mother.
Two weeks ago, Rhiannon discovered about $1,300 in cash between the pages of a used book her baby-sitter Sheila Laughridge purchased for 25 cents at the Goodwill Store in Stockbridge.
“I was just bored that day, and we rode up there,” said Laughridge, whom Rhiannon affectionately calls Nanna. “We started walking around (the store), and she saw the book and started to pitch a fit.”
She said she only decided to buy the book because of Rhiannon’s insistence to have it. It is an old white hardback book, distinguished only by a sailboat on the cover.
“It’s not even a readable book,” Laughridge said, adding that Rhiannon held the book the entire day.
And later as Rhiannon flipped through the pages, the toddler found a small brown paper bag tucked inside the folds of the book.
“It kind of scared me, because I didn’t have any idea what it was,” Laughridge said. But the bag’s contents included much more good fortune than bad. She found several torn and tattered dollar bills — $100s, $50s, $20s, and $10s.
She took the money, dated as far back as to the 1960s, to a local bank and attempted to run the serial numbers but says she could not trace where the money originated.
Laughridge, who bought the book, received about $300 cash back from only the tattered bills she took to the bank. She said the rest of the $1,300 were in pieces and will be sent to the U.S. Treasury Department.
“I was shocked,” said Shirley Barnes, upon finding out her daughter Rhiannon’s discovery. “I thought it was really interesting. I don’t often take her to the store to do that. She points and screams for things she wants, but she’s generally pretty quiet.”
Barnes added, half-joking: “What I want to do is put pieces of paper with number on them out on the table and have her pick them so that maybe we can win the lottery.”
http://www.henryherald.com/
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Monday, February 12, 2007
Mistake: Canadian Police Promotes Gangs!
TORONTO — The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have pulled online job recruitment advertisements that mistakenly appeared on websites with links to a prominent Los Angeles street gang.
Canada's renowned police force removed the ads after it learned the RCMP brand appeared alongside "inappropriate material that belonged to the 18th Street gang," Sgt. Martin Blais, a media spokesman for the Mounties in Ottawa, said Monday.
"It was extremely inappropriate — poor language, everything you can imagine," he said without providing further details.
The Mounties responded after being alerted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. late last week that its recruitment ads were running on Internet sites run by the notorious 18th Street gang, thought to be one of the largest and most violent gangs in the world.
On one message board, violent messages and death threats to gang rivals appeared as if they were endorsed by an RCMP logo that invited youths to apply to the force, the CBC reported.
At the top of another page on a different site, a banner ad of a smiling female Mountie showed up above a dedication to slain gang member "L'il Creeper," the CBC said.
Blais said the ads — which were supposed to target youths frequenting entertainment websites — were on the gang-related sites for about 46 hours and popped up about 62,000 times.
Although the Mounties made efforts to ensure the ads did not go on sites that contravene its "core values," the Internet company Lycos placed the ads by mistake, Blais said.
"We have strict values that we operate by and we want to make sure those values are reflected in the materials we're providing to the youth community," he said.
LATimes.Com
Canada's renowned police force removed the ads after it learned the RCMP brand appeared alongside "inappropriate material that belonged to the 18th Street gang," Sgt. Martin Blais, a media spokesman for the Mounties in Ottawa, said Monday.
"It was extremely inappropriate — poor language, everything you can imagine," he said without providing further details.
The Mounties responded after being alerted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. late last week that its recruitment ads were running on Internet sites run by the notorious 18th Street gang, thought to be one of the largest and most violent gangs in the world.
On one message board, violent messages and death threats to gang rivals appeared as if they were endorsed by an RCMP logo that invited youths to apply to the force, the CBC reported.
At the top of another page on a different site, a banner ad of a smiling female Mountie showed up above a dedication to slain gang member "L'il Creeper," the CBC said.
Blais said the ads — which were supposed to target youths frequenting entertainment websites — were on the gang-related sites for about 46 hours and popped up about 62,000 times.
Although the Mounties made efforts to ensure the ads did not go on sites that contravene its "core values," the Internet company Lycos placed the ads by mistake, Blais said.
"We have strict values that we operate by and we want to make sure those values are reflected in the materials we're providing to the youth community," he said.
LATimes.Com
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Funny Crime
A funny thing happened on the way to Manalapan.
A tractor-trailer loaded with 10 Medjool date palms destined for The Ritz-Carlton was stolen before it could make its delivery from the Groundworks Nursery west of Boynton Beach.
The trees, valued at $50,000, were scheduled to arrive Monday.
"Can you believe it?" hotel spokeswoman Crissy Poorman said. "We want them back."
According to Poorman, the truck has been recovered, but the trees are missing.
Each of the 10 palms is 30 feet tall and weighs 4,000 pounds.
"They're beautiful. They're very graceful," she said.
The Medjool variety originated in Morocco and was favored among royalty. The hotel plans to make them part of its $60 million expansion and March 5 reopening.
"We are fond of our fronds," Ritz-Carlton general manager Brad Cance said in a statement released Friday. "We hope the local authorities catch the palm poachers as soon as possible.
"We would love to see them make their way home," he said Friday evening.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is handling the case.
"The crime occurred outside of our jurisdiction," Manalapan Police Chief Clay Walker said. "If they [the trees] had been in Manalapan, they never would have been stolen."
Investigators ask anyone with information to call their local police department or Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-8477.
The nursery is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the palms, and The Ritz-
Carlton is offering a VIP dinner at Angle, its new specialty restaurant.
The reward meal would, of course, include hearts of palm.
PalmBeachDailyNews.Com
A tractor-trailer loaded with 10 Medjool date palms destined for The Ritz-Carlton was stolen before it could make its delivery from the Groundworks Nursery west of Boynton Beach.
The trees, valued at $50,000, were scheduled to arrive Monday.
"Can you believe it?" hotel spokeswoman Crissy Poorman said. "We want them back."
According to Poorman, the truck has been recovered, but the trees are missing.
Each of the 10 palms is 30 feet tall and weighs 4,000 pounds.
"They're beautiful. They're very graceful," she said.
The Medjool variety originated in Morocco and was favored among royalty. The hotel plans to make them part of its $60 million expansion and March 5 reopening.
"We are fond of our fronds," Ritz-Carlton general manager Brad Cance said in a statement released Friday. "We hope the local authorities catch the palm poachers as soon as possible.
"We would love to see them make their way home," he said Friday evening.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is handling the case.
"The crime occurred outside of our jurisdiction," Manalapan Police Chief Clay Walker said. "If they [the trees] had been in Manalapan, they never would have been stolen."
Investigators ask anyone with information to call their local police department or Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-8477.
The nursery is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the palms, and The Ritz-
Carlton is offering a VIP dinner at Angle, its new specialty restaurant.
The reward meal would, of course, include hearts of palm.
PalmBeachDailyNews.Com
Monday, May 22, 2006
Contraband Detector Device
The M600P is a hand held device which can positively detect anomalies packed in a scanned item, etc (including the detection of contraband such as drugs, explosives, weapons, currency and much more). This is a fast and effective way to detect contraband concealed in objects such as tires, cargo, doors, walls and any other object or substance that may contain contraband. The principle of operation for the M600P is the measurement of the difference in density between contraband (drugs, explosives, weapons etc.) and the object in which the contraband is hidden.
Contraband Detector Device
The M600P uses low level microwave energy for detection, yet is completely safe. Since it does not use x-rays or nuclear radiation, it is much safer than many other devices in use today. The portability makes it very convenient for rapid searching.
The M600P is a highly effective search tool, handheld and easy to use. The complete kit includes probe, earpiece, battery pack, full instructions and carrying case. Training is available.
Typical Operation The M600P is held in the hand with the opening placed against the material to be measured. The unit is turned on, producing a very Low-Level microwave signal that is absorbed in the test material and also reflected back into the M600P. The M600P compares the signal it produces with the reflected signal. The results are given both audibly and digitally on a meter on the rear panel of the M600P.
Technical Description The M600P Portable Dielectric Tester utilizes patented nearfield microwave technology to measure the dielectric properties of materials. This technology has made possible a very compact and easy to use instrument.
For materials which are the same throughout (homogeneous), a change in reading will indicate something is in there which should not be. This will give a reason to investigate further or to let it pass.
The depth of penetration for the M600P is about 4 ft. in air and is correspondingly less depending on the dielectric properties of the materials being tested. For example, for a bale of wool the depth is about 30" and for a water slurry 6".
Typical Search Scenarios:
In a shipment of asphalt or cement blocks, all will normally look the same. Hidden items will show up as differences from normal readings. Readings are taken from the same points from block to block. Frozen shrimp or fish blocks with items frozen in the center will give different readings from normal. Readings are taken from one or two points in the center of the block. Sealed bottles of wine, whiskey, or any drinkable fluid can be tested without opening. Water based fluids (drinkable), give a markedly different response than explosives or drugs. In a shipment of similar boxes of ceramic fixtures or other commercial items, boxes can be screened to find those which are different from normal. This can be done from outside the unopened box. Tires should be uniformly empty. A tire with drugs in it will show changes from normal. Many other search scenarios have been tried with success. Consult our security professionals.
Advanced Search Scenarios: A user can collect data about the known response of a particular product, and use that from search to search. For example, wine bottles of a known size will always read similarly. A sharply different reading in a new carry on bag would indicate a different substance. In the same way, asphalt blocks will always give the same response. A change should trigger a closer look.
Specifications
(specifications are tested using factory procedures at sensitivity setting of X1)
Operating Frequency 600-650 Mhz
Operating Wavelength 50 cm. (19.7")
Measured Parameter Coefficient of Reflection
Output Device Digital meter/audio
Output Power Less than 10 microwatt/sq. cm. @5cm.
Accuracy/Repeatability "+/- 5% DPM reading
Sensitivity Can display changes +/- 10ml
Response Time Less than 2.5 milliseconds
Safety Less than 1/100 of gov't safety level for microwave ovens (1mW/sq. cm @ 5cm)
Primary Power 12V battery pack; 120 or 220 VAC supply
Weight 4.5 lbs.
Contraband Detector Device
The M600P uses low level microwave energy for detection, yet is completely safe. Since it does not use x-rays or nuclear radiation, it is much safer than many other devices in use today. The portability makes it very convenient for rapid searching.
The M600P is a highly effective search tool, handheld and easy to use. The complete kit includes probe, earpiece, battery pack, full instructions and carrying case. Training is available.
Typical Operation The M600P is held in the hand with the opening placed against the material to be measured. The unit is turned on, producing a very Low-Level microwave signal that is absorbed in the test material and also reflected back into the M600P. The M600P compares the signal it produces with the reflected signal. The results are given both audibly and digitally on a meter on the rear panel of the M600P.
Technical Description The M600P Portable Dielectric Tester utilizes patented nearfield microwave technology to measure the dielectric properties of materials. This technology has made possible a very compact and easy to use instrument.
For materials which are the same throughout (homogeneous), a change in reading will indicate something is in there which should not be. This will give a reason to investigate further or to let it pass.
The depth of penetration for the M600P is about 4 ft. in air and is correspondingly less depending on the dielectric properties of the materials being tested. For example, for a bale of wool the depth is about 30" and for a water slurry 6".
Typical Search Scenarios:
In a shipment of asphalt or cement blocks, all will normally look the same. Hidden items will show up as differences from normal readings. Readings are taken from the same points from block to block. Frozen shrimp or fish blocks with items frozen in the center will give different readings from normal. Readings are taken from one or two points in the center of the block. Sealed bottles of wine, whiskey, or any drinkable fluid can be tested without opening. Water based fluids (drinkable), give a markedly different response than explosives or drugs. In a shipment of similar boxes of ceramic fixtures or other commercial items, boxes can be screened to find those which are different from normal. This can be done from outside the unopened box. Tires should be uniformly empty. A tire with drugs in it will show changes from normal. Many other search scenarios have been tried with success. Consult our security professionals.
Advanced Search Scenarios: A user can collect data about the known response of a particular product, and use that from search to search. For example, wine bottles of a known size will always read similarly. A sharply different reading in a new carry on bag would indicate a different substance. In the same way, asphalt blocks will always give the same response. A change should trigger a closer look.
Specifications
(specifications are tested using factory procedures at sensitivity setting of X1)
Operating Frequency 600-650 Mhz
Operating Wavelength 50 cm. (19.7")
Measured Parameter Coefficient of Reflection
Output Device Digital meter/audio
Output Power Less than 10 microwatt/sq. cm. @5cm.
Accuracy/Repeatability "+/- 5% DPM reading
Sensitivity Can display changes +/- 10ml
Response Time Less than 2.5 milliseconds
Safety Less than 1/100 of gov't safety level for microwave ovens (1mW/sq. cm @ 5cm)
Primary Power 12V battery pack; 120 or 220 VAC supply
Weight 4.5 lbs.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Two Students Spike Teachers' Tea With Laxatives
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Two students were charged with insult or abuse to a teacher after allegedly putting a laxative in tea that two teachers drank before the prank was uncovered.
Harry Lee Keek and Bradley William Parham, both 18, were cited with a misdemeanor count, police said Monday. The two face a hearing May 16 in Hot Springs District Court; two others also could be charged.
The Lakeside High School seniors are accused of tampering with the tea as a prank. Two teachers drank the tea and suffered from cramps afterward.
Police Cpl. Chris Chapmond said Monday that the charge is punishable by a fine ranging from $100 to $1,500 in addition to any disciplinary action taken by school officials.
According to a police report, Parham bought the laxative and Keek shook the tea to blend it in. The two others believed to be involved will likely be cited this week, Chapmond said.
via Yahoo!News
Harry Lee Keek and Bradley William Parham, both 18, were cited with a misdemeanor count, police said Monday. The two face a hearing May 16 in Hot Springs District Court; two others also could be charged.
The Lakeside High School seniors are accused of tampering with the tea as a prank. Two teachers drank the tea and suffered from cramps afterward.
Police Cpl. Chris Chapmond said Monday that the charge is punishable by a fine ranging from $100 to $1,500 in addition to any disciplinary action taken by school officials.
According to a police report, Parham bought the laxative and Keek shook the tea to blend it in. The two others believed to be involved will likely be cited this week, Chapmond said.
via Yahoo!News
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Things That Make You Go Hmmm....
Trying to figure out what made Kent Johnson interview Ben Lerner for Jacket.
I sent out a few of Lerner's "sonnets" from The Lichtenberg Figures to my PotD list this morning, and while I find the poems mildly of interest, I do not know what in them gave Kent the idea to interview him. There are a few reasons I can come up with, but I want to look more closely at the poems themselves. I'm already open to them because of its formal imposition as a "sonnet series."
Some from Conjunctions.
Will get back to this. To work...
I sent out a few of Lerner's "sonnets" from The Lichtenberg Figures to my PotD list this morning, and while I find the poems mildly of interest, I do not know what in them gave Kent the idea to interview him. There are a few reasons I can come up with, but I want to look more closely at the poems themselves. I'm already open to them because of its formal imposition as a "sonnet series."
Some from Conjunctions.
§
When a longing exceeds its object, a suburb is founded.
Goatsuckers spar in the linden. The redskins are hunted.
When the hunt exceeds its object, the past achieves
pubescence. History pauses
for emphasis. After these poems are published,
money will be no object.
Money will be a gray bird known for mocking other birds.
The stars will be adjusted for inflation
so that the dead can continue living
in the manner to which they've grown accustomed.
When a dream of convenience begins to dream itself,
the neighborhood's last bamboos reel in their roots.
The children make love `execution style,'
then hold each other like moments of silence.
§
My death was first runner-up at the 1996 Kansas State Wrestling
Championships (157 lbs).
My death is the author of The Complete Posthumous Poetry of César
Vallejo.
My death was the first death in my family
to ever graduate from college.
My death graduated from The University of California, Berkeley.
Your death was the 1996 Kansas State Wrestling Champion (157 lbs).
Your death is the author of César Vallejo's Trilce.
Your death was the third death in your family
to deliver a commencement address
at The University of California, Berkeley.
Her death doesn't care about your death's fame or physique.
Her death is the author of Tungsten, César Vallejo's social realist
experiment.
Her death likes to run her hands through what's left of my death's hair.
Her death would like to start a family.
§
The sky narrates snow. I narrate my name in the snow.
Snow piled in paragraphs. Darkling snow. Geno-snow
and pheno-snow. I staple snow to the ground.
In medieval angelology, there are nine orders of snow.
A vindication of snow in the form of snow.
A jealous snow. An omni-snow. Snow immolation.
Do you remember that winter it snowed?
There were bodies everywhere. Obese, carrot-nosed.
A snow of translucent hexagonal signifiers. Meta-snow.
Sand replaced with snow. Snowpaper. A window of snow
opened onto the snow. Snow replaced with sand.
A sandman. Obese, carrot-nosed. Tiny swastikas
of snow. Vallejo's unpublished snow.
Real snow on the stage. Fake blood on the snow.
Will get back to this. To work...
Monday, February 14, 2005
What's Worse?
a.] Monica-gate?
b.] Gannon-gate?
b.] the lack of Plame-gate?
b.] Iraq-gate? You know, spending $200 billion on the invasion of Iraq to imprison Saddam Hussein (a despot who had no weapons of mass destruction, while losing thousands of American and Iraqi lives and handing over the government to Shites?
b.] the lack of Condi-gate? Former NSA who received 52 -- once again, FIFTY TWO -- briefings between January and September 10, 2001 that stated Osama Bin Laden was looking into using airplanes as missiles to strike US targets on US soil. 52. Read it yourself. But the man's got capital...
b.] Gannon-gate?
b.] the lack of Plame-gate?
b.] Iraq-gate? You know, spending $200 billion on the invasion of Iraq to imprison Saddam Hussein (a despot who had no weapons of mass destruction, while losing thousands of American and Iraqi lives and handing over the government to Shites?
b.] the lack of Condi-gate? Former NSA who received 52 -- once again, FIFTY TWO -- briefings between January and September 10, 2001 that stated Osama Bin Laden was looking into using airplanes as missiles to strike US targets on US soil. 52. Read it yourself. But the man's got capital...
delivery
I do not know what I'd do if I did not receive real mail.
Today, PIEROGI PRESS, NO. 11, arrived. Eleven was guest edited by Rick Moody and with the chief edit herself Susan Swenson. As one would expect, another great production. Susan and Joe do nothing half way. The issue, dedicated to the spirit that infused Mark Lombardi's work is perfect bound, printed on quality stock, and covered with a screen of Martin Wilner's Making History: July 2004. Looking forward to some time with it.
And, in memory of Francis Crisley, I still receive THE CATHOLIC WORKER. One of its cover strories leads with the following: "On February 3, 2003, long-time Catholic Worker and Plowshares activist Ciaron O'Rielly and four other Catholic activists, Irish citizens Deirdre Clancy and Damien Moran, American Nuin Dunlop and Scotswomankaren Fallon (both of Irish extraction), in a challenge to law, custom and the consciences of the Irish people, breached security at Ireland's Shannon Airpor and did extensive damage to United States Navy transport plane en route to the Persian Gulf. Fully two years later, in an environment in which the fury of the US occupation of Iraq is preceived as little more than a sad fact, they will be tried in Dublin on March 7. The criminal damage charge potentially subjects them to up to ten years in prison. The action, its context and some ramifications are set out in what follows." I can always rely on the Worker for news. Get thee a subscription: Copies are a $.01 a piece. (That's not a typo) Write to 36 East First Street, NY, NY 10003.
Lastly, I did not say why I came back to this. Two reasons: I scanned the archives. I cringed at most of it, but I liked some of it. After thirteen months of googoogaga, I desperately need a place to go.
Canada phone cards India phone cards France phone cards Russia phone cards UK phone cards USA phone cards Bizon phone card Jupiter calling card Mozart calling card Continental calling card
Today, PIEROGI PRESS, NO. 11, arrived. Eleven was guest edited by Rick Moody and with the chief edit herself Susan Swenson. As one would expect, another great production. Susan and Joe do nothing half way. The issue, dedicated to the spirit that infused Mark Lombardi's work is perfect bound, printed on quality stock, and covered with a screen of Martin Wilner's Making History: July 2004. Looking forward to some time with it.
And, in memory of Francis Crisley, I still receive THE CATHOLIC WORKER. One of its cover strories leads with the following: "On February 3, 2003, long-time Catholic Worker and Plowshares activist Ciaron O'Rielly and four other Catholic activists, Irish citizens Deirdre Clancy and Damien Moran, American Nuin Dunlop and Scotswomankaren Fallon (both of Irish extraction), in a challenge to law, custom and the consciences of the Irish people, breached security at Ireland's Shannon Airpor and did extensive damage to United States Navy transport plane en route to the Persian Gulf. Fully two years later, in an environment in which the fury of the US occupation of Iraq is preceived as little more than a sad fact, they will be tried in Dublin on March 7. The criminal damage charge potentially subjects them to up to ten years in prison. The action, its context and some ramifications are set out in what follows." I can always rely on the Worker for news. Get thee a subscription: Copies are a $.01 a piece. (That's not a typo) Write to 36 East First Street, NY, NY 10003.
Lastly, I did not say why I came back to this. Two reasons: I scanned the archives. I cringed at most of it, but I liked some of it. After thirteen months of googoogaga, I desperately need a place to go.
Canada phone cards India phone cards France phone cards Russia phone cards UK phone cards USA phone cards Bizon phone card Jupiter calling card Mozart calling card Continental calling card
"...your dream was your ticket out..."
While at lunch with some friends last week, I was surprised to hear that both of my lunchmates missed this site. Since last I posted, I have added father and property owner to the list of my accomplishments...if one can call them that.
George is thirteen months old and the three of us will be moving to Broadway between 123rd and LaSalle some time in April. Change never ends.
George is thirteen months old and the three of us will be moving to Broadway between 123rd and LaSalle some time in April. Change never ends.
Friday, May 09, 2003
Jim Crow Revived in Cyberspace
By Martin Luther King III and Greg Palast
(Martin Luther King III is head of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, Greg Palast is the author of the bestseller "The Best
Democracy Money Can Buy."
Originally published May 8, 2003
Baltimore Sun: http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/oped/
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Astonishingly, and sadly, four decades after the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. marched in Birmingham, we must ask again, "Do
African-Americans have the unimpeded right to vote in the United States?"
In 1963, Dr. King's determined and courageous band faced water hoses and
police attack dogs to call attention to the thicket of Jim Crow laws --
including poll taxes and so-called "literacy" tests -- that stood in
the way of black Americans' right to have their ballots cast and counted.
Today, there is a new and real threat to minority voters, this time from
cyberspace: computerized purges of voter rolls.
The menace first appeared in Florida in the November 2000 presidential
election. While the media chased butterfly ballots and hanging chads, a
much more sinister and devastating attack on voting rights went almost
undetected.
In the two years before the elections, the Florida secretary of state's
office quietly ordered the removal of 94,000 voters from the registries.
Supposedly, these were convicted felons who may not vote in Florida.
Instead, the overwhelming majority were innocent of any crime, though
just over half were black or Hispanic.
We are not guessing about the race of the disenfranchised: A voter's
color is listed next to his or her name in most Southern states. (Ironically,
this racial ID is required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a King
legacy.)
How did mass expulsion of legal voters occur?
At the heart of the ethnic purge of voting rights was the creation of a
central voter file for Florida placed in the hands of an elected, and
therefore partisan, official. Computerization and a 1998 "reform" law
meant to prevent voter fraud allowed for a politically and racially
biased purge of thousands of registered voters on the flimsiest of
grounds.
Voters whose name, birth date and gender loosely matched that of a felon
anywhere in America were targeted for removal. And so one Thomas Butler
(of several in Florida) was tagged because a "Thomas Butler Cooper Jr."
of Ohio was convicted of a crime. The legacy of slavery -- commonality
of black names -- aided the racial bias of the "scrub list."
Florida was the first state to create, computerize and purge lists of
allegedly "ineligible" voters. Meant as a reform, in the hands of
partisan officials it became a weapon of mass voting rights destruction.
(The fact that Mr. Cooper's conviction date is shown on state files as
"1/30/2007" underscores other dangers of computerizing our democracy.)
You'd think that Congress and President Bush would run from imitating
Florida's disastrous system. Astonishingly, Congress adopted the
absurdly named "Help America Vote Act," which requires every state to
replicate Florida's system of centralized, computerized voter files
before the 2004 election.
The controls on the 50 secretaries of state are few -- and the
temptation to purge voters of the opposition party enormous.
African-Americans, whose vote concentrates in one party, are an easy and
obvious target.
The act also lays a minefield of other impediments to black voters: an
effective rollback of the easy voter registration methods of the Motor
Voter Act; new identification requirements at polling stations; and
perilous incentives for fault-prone and fraud-susceptible touch-screen
voting machines.
No, we are not rehashing the who-really-won fight from the 2000
presidential election. But we have no intention of "getting over it." We
are moving on, but on to a new nationwide call and petition drive to
restore and protect the rights of all Americans and monitor the
implementation of frighteningly ill-conceived new state and federal
voting "reform" laws.
And so on Sunday in Birmingham we marched again as our fathers and
mothers did 40 years ago, this time demanding security against the
dangerous "Floridation" of our nation's voting methods through
computerization of voter rolls.
Four decades ago, the opposition to the civil right to vote was easy to
identify: night riders wearing white sheets and burning crosses. Today,
the threat comes from partisan politicians wearing pinstripe suits and
clutching laptops.
Jim Crow has moved into cyberspace -- harder to detect, craftier in
operation, shifting shape into the electronic guardian of a new
electoral segregation.
Martin Luther King III is president of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference. Greg Palast is author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy,
and his investigation of computer purges of black voters appeared in
Harper's Magazine.
By Martin Luther King III and Greg Palast
(Martin Luther King III is head of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, Greg Palast is the author of the bestseller "The Best
Democracy Money Can Buy."
Originally published May 8, 2003
Baltimore Sun: http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/oped/
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Astonishingly, and sadly, four decades after the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. marched in Birmingham, we must ask again, "Do
African-Americans have the unimpeded right to vote in the United States?"
In 1963, Dr. King's determined and courageous band faced water hoses and
police attack dogs to call attention to the thicket of Jim Crow laws --
including poll taxes and so-called "literacy" tests -- that stood in
the way of black Americans' right to have their ballots cast and counted.
Today, there is a new and real threat to minority voters, this time from
cyberspace: computerized purges of voter rolls.
The menace first appeared in Florida in the November 2000 presidential
election. While the media chased butterfly ballots and hanging chads, a
much more sinister and devastating attack on voting rights went almost
undetected.
In the two years before the elections, the Florida secretary of state's
office quietly ordered the removal of 94,000 voters from the registries.
Supposedly, these were convicted felons who may not vote in Florida.
Instead, the overwhelming majority were innocent of any crime, though
just over half were black or Hispanic.
We are not guessing about the race of the disenfranchised: A voter's
color is listed next to his or her name in most Southern states. (Ironically,
this racial ID is required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a King
legacy.)
How did mass expulsion of legal voters occur?
At the heart of the ethnic purge of voting rights was the creation of a
central voter file for Florida placed in the hands of an elected, and
therefore partisan, official. Computerization and a 1998 "reform" law
meant to prevent voter fraud allowed for a politically and racially
biased purge of thousands of registered voters on the flimsiest of
grounds.
Voters whose name, birth date and gender loosely matched that of a felon
anywhere in America were targeted for removal. And so one Thomas Butler
(of several in Florida) was tagged because a "Thomas Butler Cooper Jr."
of Ohio was convicted of a crime. The legacy of slavery -- commonality
of black names -- aided the racial bias of the "scrub list."
Florida was the first state to create, computerize and purge lists of
allegedly "ineligible" voters. Meant as a reform, in the hands of
partisan officials it became a weapon of mass voting rights destruction.
(The fact that Mr. Cooper's conviction date is shown on state files as
"1/30/2007" underscores other dangers of computerizing our democracy.)
You'd think that Congress and President Bush would run from imitating
Florida's disastrous system. Astonishingly, Congress adopted the
absurdly named "Help America Vote Act," which requires every state to
replicate Florida's system of centralized, computerized voter files
before the 2004 election.
The controls on the 50 secretaries of state are few -- and the
temptation to purge voters of the opposition party enormous.
African-Americans, whose vote concentrates in one party, are an easy and
obvious target.
The act also lays a minefield of other impediments to black voters: an
effective rollback of the easy voter registration methods of the Motor
Voter Act; new identification requirements at polling stations; and
perilous incentives for fault-prone and fraud-susceptible touch-screen
voting machines.
No, we are not rehashing the who-really-won fight from the 2000
presidential election. But we have no intention of "getting over it." We
are moving on, but on to a new nationwide call and petition drive to
restore and protect the rights of all Americans and monitor the
implementation of frighteningly ill-conceived new state and federal
voting "reform" laws.
And so on Sunday in Birmingham we marched again as our fathers and
mothers did 40 years ago, this time demanding security against the
dangerous "Floridation" of our nation's voting methods through
computerization of voter rolls.
Four decades ago, the opposition to the civil right to vote was easy to
identify: night riders wearing white sheets and burning crosses. Today,
the threat comes from partisan politicians wearing pinstripe suits and
clutching laptops.
Jim Crow has moved into cyberspace -- harder to detect, craftier in
operation, shifting shape into the electronic guardian of a new
electoral segregation.
Martin Luther King III is president of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference. Greg Palast is author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy,
and his investigation of computer purges of black voters appeared in
Harper's Magazine.
Thursday, May 08, 2003
name that tune
Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civilization is decadent and our language -- so the argument runs -- must inevitably share in the general collapse. It follows that any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism, like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. Underneath this lies the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes.
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