Alt-Media-Commentary @ shazzerspeak.blog-city.com

Money Talks: The Troops are Saying 'Vote Obama'

Shazzer — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:13:00 GMT

From Alternet:

“…new analysis finds that the U.S. military is increasingly rejecting John McCain as its spokesman. Obama has received nearly six times as much money from soldiers deployed overseas. Even anti-war libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), who has suspended his campaign, has received more than four times as much as McCain…”

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IF Obama wins, it will be no thanks the "liberal media"

Shazzer — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:55:00 GMT

Alternet points out the painfully obvious double-standard in media coverage between Barack Obama and John McCain.

Why Obama Could be in Trouble

By Robert Parry, Consortium News

Instead of acting like journalists, the mainstream media have become McCain’s personal assistants, regurgitating his B.S. without question.

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Did you vote for Bush? Pay up!

Shazzer — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:51:00 GMT

Mark Morford has a great column in the SF Gate that suggests some ways that Bush voters can begin to make amends for saddling the world with 8 years of dangerous incompetence in the White House.

Among the gems:

…the sooner you realize that the world is, in fact, not America’s bitch, that it’s actually a living, humming organism, interconnected and interdependent in ways and on levels no organized religion or fear-based neocon political agenda can possibly comprehend, much less bomb into submission, well, the sooner we can get our collective s— together and move the human experiment forward once again.

And after what you’ve put us all through, it’s the very least you could do.

The full column can be read here.

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This bumper sticker would SO be on my car if I owned one…

Shazzer — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:49:00 GMT

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Even Republicans Don't Want to be Associated with the GOP

Shazzer — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:12:00 GMT

From AlterNet:

More Republicans decide that they don’t have time for their own convention.

Is anybody actually surprised?

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CA Prop 8 supporters sue over blunt ballot language

Shazzer — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:39:00 GMT

This photo of a hand holding a teeny, tiny violin comes from Pam Spaulding at Pam's House Blend, an "Online Magazine for the Reality-Based Community." (Love that!)

Seems the California Attorney general's office has re-written the title and summary of Proposition 8 (a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage) so that it accurately reflects what the measure will do: Eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Supporters of the amendment are unhappy because the language no longer matches what was circulated in the petition to put the measure on the ballot, which read: "to provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

Why the change? Well, the original petition was drafted and began being circulated BEFORE the California Supreme Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was unconsitutional.

Meanwhile, the L.A. Times is reporting that political analysts on both sides of the issue believe the language change could significantly reduce the chances of it passing, primarily because voters will likely be much more reluctant to pull the YES lever on measure that takes away an existing right.

Pam sums it up beautifully in her post:

The rewording does not make the initiative inaccurate in any way. What [supporters are] objecting to is the conservative frame being tossed out the window ("protecting marriage") for the blunt bigoted intent of the amendment. It so sucks to be called out for what you are, fundies, doesn't it?

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One Picture Says it All: Feel the McMentum!

Shazzer — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:04:00 GMT

One Picture Says it All: Feel the McMentum!

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Knox and Viv: Test Tube Twins?

Shazzer — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:36:00 GMT

“Jolie apparently didn’t want to deal “with the stress of trying to get pregnant,” otherwise known as HAVING SEX WITH BRAD PITT.”

- Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt used in vitro to conceive twins - Celebrities - NJ.com

Personally, I would have had no problem at least going through the motions of trying to get it done the natural way. (Yes, I used the phrase "going through the motions"...get it? Sometimes I slay me!)

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I want my BPP! redux

Shazzer — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:31:00 GMT

Okay…maybe this is just wishful thinking on my part, but the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail is running an article that specifically mentions the rumours that NPR is now reconsidering it’s crappy decision to cancel my beloved Bryant Park Project.

This is supposedly because of the outpouring of disappointment from fans, most of whom listen online or via podcast (like me), rather than on one of the five (yes, you read that right) local NPR affiliates that carry it live during morning drive.

All this reinforces the fact that the BPP is clearly a huge hit with exactly the “new media consumers” that NPR was hoping to attract when it was launched a scant nine months ago as a morning radio program with an integrated web presence (streaming audio, multi-media blog, twitter feed, facebook group, etc.)

The reprieve rumours seem to focus on the BPP continuing as a scaled-down, web-only program that would be slightly “less-polished” (fine by me) than NPR’s usual over-the-air offerings. This makes SO much sense that I don’t understand why it wasn’t the original game plan when NPR cited the “downturning economy” as the reason for the BPP’s demise.

Here’s hoping that this particular rumour happens to be true, in which case I stand ready to make a financial pledge to support the venture.

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I want my BPP!!!

To hell with luggage limits!

Shazzer — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:37:00 GMT

Where do I sign-up for THIS flight?!!!

Okay, but incredible eye-candy aside...I've been thinking about this new U.S. airline industry strategy of charging customers to check their luggage, which in my experence, most savvy flyers avoid doing anyway. Business travellers and backpackers alike know how much more quickly you can get in and out of an airport if you limit yourself to a carry-on. (Not to mention the fact that you significantly reduce the chance of an airline losing your luggage if you don't check any in the first place.)

But from what I can tell, any efficiency and savings that passengers and/or the airlines gain via the new rules will be lost when virtually everybody who boards a plane does so with a carry-on bag. Security checkpoints will take longer to clear and the boarding process itself will be even more chaotic and time-consuming.

And even if the airlines in question actually enforce their own carry-on luggage limits (something that most of them have not bothered to do before now), you don't need to be a math wiz to realize that there isn't enough overhead compartment space to accomodate every passenger on a fully-booked flight. If you're among the last couple rows to board, forget it...your regulation carry-on is going to be taken by the flight crew and checked anyway.

So my new strategy is to fly with the absolute bare necessities: my iBook, a clean pair of undies, and a toothbrush. And if the pilot looks anything like this guy, even the iBook and underwear will be optional.

Mobile post sent by Shazzer using Utterz. Replies.

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Nancy Pelosi has the "tough love" thing down...

Shazzer — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:56:00 GMT

“God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States — a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi: Bush ‘a total failure’ - CNN.com

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Holy crap! The Queen is ripped!

Shazzer — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:23:00 GMT

I've long admired British actress Helen Mirren for her acting chops, but today I'm admiring her for her washboard stomach.

Defamer has a couple more pics from Her Majesty's recent beach romp...as well as a bunch of irreverently admiring remarks from their usually snarky commenters. (I can say that with some authority as I'm one of them.)

Please God, let me look HALF this good when I'm 63.

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If the rest of the world had a vote...

Shazzer — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:05:00 GMT

Barack Obama would win in a landslide. So says an article currently posted at Alternet.

This issue has extra resonance for me as an ex-pat:

If Americans want to improve their country’s image abroad, there is a clear choice between candidates.

There’s been a lull of late in the frequency of state polls of the Obama-McCain race to examine. So, in advance of Barack Obama’s international travel, I took a look at public opinion in other countries. In short, most countries would give Obama a landslide victory over McCain:

Belgium: Obama 74%, McCain 12%

Britain: Obama 53%, McCain 11%

France: Obama 65%, McCain 8%

Germany: Obama 72%, McCain 11%

(Click on the link above to read the full article at Alternet.)

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I want my BPP!!!

Shazzer — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:36:00 GMT

Mondays are rarely anyone's favorite day of the week, but yesterday sucked even more than usual when I was greeted with the news that NPR is pulling the plug on my favorite program, The Bryant Park Project.

Granted, the two-hour morning news show was considered an experiment from the start, but it was by all accounts one that was working. The idea was to draw in a younger demographic with a more casual, conversational delivery style than is usually found on NPR programs, as well as capture listeners who are increasingly getting their news and info fix online.

I was a regular NPR listener AKA news junkie until I relocated to Sweden six years ago. (I actually worked for an NPR-affiliated station when I was in college.) Since moving abroad, my only option for consuming any kind of U.S.-produced mainstream media content is the web. And it was, in fact, a blog that introduced me to the Bryant Park Project. (Heather Armstrong of Dooce.com is a fan.)

The BPP has been a regular staple on my iPod Nano from the moment I learned of its existence, and I regularly interact with the program's staff and other fans via the the show's blog and it's twitter feed. But it appears that this relationship was doomed to be short-lived. The program will air for the last time on July 25...a mere nine months after it debuted. I don't understand the logic at all...especially since the show seemed to be meeting all of the goals that NPR asked of it.

I've written to NPR protesting the decision, and I've offered to support the program directly if they would just provide a mechanism for me to donate online. But sadly, that seems to be part of the problem. NPR is only set up to accept pledges to local affiliate stations, and guess what? There isn't one in Sweden.

There's a movement online to save the show, and I'd love to see that happen. This blog entry is part of that effort.

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It's a hard Knox life...

Shazzer — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 07:09:00 GMT

Actress Angelina Jolie has given birth to twins at a hospital in France.

The Lenval hospital in Nice told a local newspaper that a healthy boy and girl were delivered by Caesarian section on Saturday evening.

Nice Matin reported that Jolie and her partner, actor Brad Pitt, have named the boy Knox Leon and the girl, Vivienne Marcheline.

Actually, I think the name Knox is quite cool…but why on earth would they saddle the kid with the middle name Leon? I’m not sure even Brad Pitt’s son can overcome that moniker.

In any case, best wishes to my favorite rainbow family...and as usual, I'm grateful for any excuse to post a picture of Angelina. Enjoy this shot of her...and the twins. (Did I actually type that or just think it?!)

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The chorus demanding Bush be prosecuted for constitutional abuses is getting louder

Shazzer — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:29:00 GMT

From an article in the UK newspaper The Guardian:

“…the idea of holding our leaders accountable for the crimes and constitutional violations of the past seven and a half years isn’t ridiculous in the least.

We are less than a decade removed from impeaching a president and nearly relieving him of office because of a lie in a civil deposition about blowjobs. Yet when congressman Dennis Kucinich recently attempted to impeach Bush over torture, extraordinary rendition and other grotesque constitutional abuses, Kucinich’s embarrassed fellow Democrats couldn’t kill the measure quickly enough.

Why? Top Democrats are so complicit in what has happened since 9/11 that my guess is they dare not travel down that road.”

The full piece can be read here:

Dan Kennedy: Should Bush be tried for war crimes?

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So how are YOU spending your economic stimulus check?

Shazzer — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:09:00 GMT

I’d heard some rumblings about this a couple days ago, but thought it was just a joke.

Turns out that there has been a measurable upswing in paid subscriptions to internet porn sites since the checks started arriving Americans’ mailboxes in May.

I’m sure that’s just what the Bush Administration had in mind!

Jezenomics: Stimulate This!

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Spain is having one hell of a summer!

Shazzer — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:34:00 GMT

First the European Cup, and now Wimbledon. Olé!

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Bush tours US to survey damage from his disastrous presidency

Shazzer — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:21:00 GMT

Bush tours America to survey the damage of his disastrous presidency

(Another classic from The Onion.)

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Why haven't CA gay marriages destroyed society yet?

Shazzer — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:39:00 GMT

There’s a great column posted to the CBS News website yesterday that asks, among other things:

What is going on here? I was promised calamity and catastrophe and the end of all things good and decent.

California was supposed to drop into the sea while all those who dared look back were turned into pillars of salt.

Why hasn’t this happened? Why is the world more or less going on with its business?

Is it possible that gay men and women getting married is not an extraordinary moral and social disaster? Is it possible that after all this time its really just not a big deal at all?

Column: Why Haven’t Calif. Gay Marriages Destroyed Society Yet?, - CBS News

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