Various
1. Last night was a fun gathering of bowling at Serra Bowl, with drinks at Martuni's afterward (powerful cocktails!) - friendly place, even if very much a Castro-adjacent pickup bar.
2. US 'contingency' war plans for Iran - you know, it's this sort of thing that really makes me wonder about this country. In just about any democracy, this sort of report following on the heels of a disastrous war would be enough to send the peasants/merchants/bankers with pitchforks into El Presidente's Palace to sack him (or put what's left of him into a sack). Some call it an 'essential stability' of American democracy, for me, it stinks of a Loyalist/servantile/fascist odour. A democracy of the people, for the people? Entrepreneurial individualism? I'm find less and less to believe in.
3. Maryland considering banning the death penalty - there's a restorative to all this war news. I do hope it succeeds - a completely barbaric act of revenge that doesn't serve justice. We really should move along from the the one-degree beyond the community stoning.
4. Belarus and Ukraine to join the 21st century in military footwear - Russia vows to keep its venerable 1930s shoewear technology...corns, trenchfoot, march casualties, and all.
5. Czech and Polish governments approve with US missile defence system placement - technically, it is only a radar system for early detection...a far cry from the mobile missiles running around central Europe from both sides in the 1980s. Still, I think the protesters have very valid points:
- It does move these countries past a degree of hypothetical common defence and makes them bona fide targets for some hypothetical enemy of NATO.
- It does present a degree of increased defensiveness towards Russia, no matter the rhetorical intention of the system. On the whole, I wonder if the Czech Republic and Poland think they can have it both ways - weaving into a NATO common defence, and engaging Russian business interests to bridge the possibility of perceived threats. Is this ever the historical role for these borderlands? Frankly, an altogether thankless and dangerous task, imho.
6. Virtual reality therapy for war veterans - I do wonder how many PTSD attacks are being provoked by the bevy of XBOX, PS3, and other FPS wargames available.
7. What is Hillary doing? Stirring up the political pot. Frankly, the NAACP is correct, given that the State flag is NOT "The Stainless Banner" - but this really can be left to the court.
On a related note: I want to see the 50 "Stars & Stripes" around the Washington Monument replaced with each State Flag in the Union.
8. Regarding Obama's "blackness" - as easy as it is for me to say, I'm altogether tired of race politics in this country, nearly as tired of it as I am racism, which still persists in plenty of places. Knowing the face of this enemy, racism, isn't static, nor entirely external to one's self. Politicising the issue locks people into hard views, and doesn't actually help alleviate the key social problems and perceptions that reflect and support racism.
Part of why I like Obama so much is that race hasn't been a focus of his politics - he is an American, moreso than an Illinoiser, a Democrat, a male, or black. He has interesting ideas, and he passes my gut-check like no other Democratic candidate. At the risk of sounding ageist, I think the Bush administration should be the book-end on the Boomer Generation's politics - and start retiring and stepping aside for younger political operatives to take their turn. They should step aside before they undo everything that they achieved in their hey-day.
9. Regarding female baldness, I wasn't aware of all that had transpired for Gail Porter.
10. One can only wonder how this premature baby, in the womb a mere 22-23 weeks, is going to turn out in life. A vitally important study to be sure.
11. Sexualisation 'harms' young girls - it's a fair issue to review, but I wonder how far wrong the Beebs has this. Yes, sexuality is an inherent part of the human experience that can start young, and is a continuous maturing aspect of life...and media influences are something to be concerned about. On the other hand, is a young girl going to understand the sexual aspects of toy fishnet stockings on her toy doll, beyond the very notion of a gendered doll for her to manipulate and imagine with to begin with? I bow to the expertise of 'experts' on this.
2. US 'contingency' war plans for Iran - you know, it's this sort of thing that really makes me wonder about this country. In just about any democracy, this sort of report following on the heels of a disastrous war would be enough to send the peasants/merchants/bankers with pitchforks into El Presidente's Palace to sack him (or put what's left of him into a sack). Some call it an 'essential stability' of American democracy, for me, it stinks of a Loyalist/servantile/fascist odour. A democracy of the people, for the people? Entrepreneurial individualism? I'm find less and less to believe in.
3. Maryland considering banning the death penalty - there's a restorative to all this war news. I do hope it succeeds - a completely barbaric act of revenge that doesn't serve justice. We really should move along from the the one-degree beyond the community stoning.
4. Belarus and Ukraine to join the 21st century in military footwear - Russia vows to keep its venerable 1930s shoewear technology...corns, trenchfoot, march casualties, and all.
5. Czech and Polish governments approve with US missile defence system placement - technically, it is only a radar system for early detection...a far cry from the mobile missiles running around central Europe from both sides in the 1980s. Still, I think the protesters have very valid points:
- It does move these countries past a degree of hypothetical common defence and makes them bona fide targets for some hypothetical enemy of NATO.
- It does present a degree of increased defensiveness towards Russia, no matter the rhetorical intention of the system. On the whole, I wonder if the Czech Republic and Poland think they can have it both ways - weaving into a NATO common defence, and engaging Russian business interests to bridge the possibility of perceived threats. Is this ever the historical role for these borderlands? Frankly, an altogether thankless and dangerous task, imho.
6. Virtual reality therapy for war veterans - I do wonder how many PTSD attacks are being provoked by the bevy of XBOX, PS3, and other FPS wargames available.
7. What is Hillary doing? Stirring up the political pot. Frankly, the NAACP is correct, given that the State flag is NOT "The Stainless Banner" - but this really can be left to the court.
On a related note: I want to see the 50 "Stars & Stripes" around the Washington Monument replaced with each State Flag in the Union.
8. Regarding Obama's "blackness" - as easy as it is for me to say, I'm altogether tired of race politics in this country, nearly as tired of it as I am racism, which still persists in plenty of places. Knowing the face of this enemy, racism, isn't static, nor entirely external to one's self. Politicising the issue locks people into hard views, and doesn't actually help alleviate the key social problems and perceptions that reflect and support racism.
Part of why I like Obama so much is that race hasn't been a focus of his politics - he is an American, moreso than an Illinoiser, a Democrat, a male, or black. He has interesting ideas, and he passes my gut-check like no other Democratic candidate. At the risk of sounding ageist, I think the Bush administration should be the book-end on the Boomer Generation's politics - and start retiring and stepping aside for younger political operatives to take their turn. They should step aside before they undo everything that they achieved in their hey-day.
9. Regarding female baldness, I wasn't aware of all that had transpired for Gail Porter.
10. One can only wonder how this premature baby, in the womb a mere 22-23 weeks, is going to turn out in life. A vitally important study to be sure.
11. Sexualisation 'harms' young girls - it's a fair issue to review, but I wonder how far wrong the Beebs has this. Yes, sexuality is an inherent part of the human experience that can start young, and is a continuous maturing aspect of life...and media influences are something to be concerned about. On the other hand, is a young girl going to understand the sexual aspects of toy fishnet stockings on her toy doll, beyond the very notion of a gendered doll for her to manipulate and imagine with to begin with? I bow to the expertise of 'experts' on this.