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Though shalt not dissent against King George (including factual t-shirts) So Bush gave his State of the Union (or rather State of the Onion, for all the tears it induces) address, and peaceful anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who lost a son in Iraq, was ARRESTED in the gallery of the House of Representatives for WEARING A T-SHIRT that said how many US soldiers had died in Iraq ("2245 dead - how many more?"). Even though she had made no disruption, even though she was there legally and had been helped to her seat by the same people that minutes later threw her out, she was arrested, actually arrested for being a 'protester'. The wife of a Republican politician was also ejected for wearing a T-shirt that read "Supporting the Troops, defending our Freedom". Not arrested, though, oh NO. There may be laws prohibiting protests in Congress (which is bad enough, as this law can be read in many different ways), but these do NOT include wearing T-shirts. The Capitol police have been forced to apologize to them both and drop the charges against Cindy Sheehan (SF Gate). I mean, the woman has suffered enough, has she not? Losing her son in Iraq because of the arrogance of politicians, continually slandered and dismissed by right-wing supporters (such as our old friend Bill O'Reilly) and now to be publicly humiliated in this way? You can read her own account of the events on dailykos.com: "That's when the enormity of my loss hit me. I have lost my son. I have lost my First Amendment rights. I have lost the country that I love. Where did America go? I started crying in pain. What did Casey die for? What did the 2244 other brave young Americans die for? What are tens of thousands of them over there in harm's way for still? For this? I can't even wear a shirt that has the number of troops on it that George Bush and his arrogant and ignorant policies are responsible for killing." As for George's State of the Onion, well you can just guess what he said. |
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2.2.06 20:13 |
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don't shoot me, i'm just the tracer... Oh my God! If I can still say that. What is happening in ffice:smarttags" /> A newspaper in No British newspaper has yet published the cartoons, but you can see them on the website of The Brussels Journal (tagline: “We Are All Danes Now”). Now some are pretty good, some funny, some badly drawn, and others are clearly drawn intending a strong reaction (such as the one with Mohammed wearing a bomb on his head). This may seem unnecessarily provocative, but bear in mind the cultural climate in a The wholesale anti-Scandinavian fever that has been whipped up in the Arab world is shocking. This hasn’t been seen since the Vikings! The flag burning is pretty sad, not just because it shows how people can be taught to HATE very quickly for no solid reason other than the fuzzy logic of 'blasphemy' (a religious term meaning 'you're taking the mick and i can't think of a comeback'); but because the Dannebrog is the world's oldest flag. Can't they just draw a cartoon of it being burnt instead? Show some manners. I have to laugh though when I see that an International Muslim Intellectual group has called on Muslims around the world to boycott Danish products. So, no more Lego, and certainly no more bacon – hang on, no, they were boycotting that anyway... Of course, I’ve not seen any of this reported here in the |
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3.2.06 06:57 |
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ffice" />|
Week Nineteen: The Clock Strikes Thirty Two cakes, several beers, a few glasses of wine, a couple of margaritas, a lot of food & chocolate and some fantastic company. So I have celebrated my thirtieth, and I do not have a goatee. I haven't had time to write a proper entry, so I will cobble one together, just a quick post, and see where it goes! On Saturday my wife drove me to San Francisco as a surprise, and there we went to a swanky restaurant in Ghirardelli Square where I was surprised to meet a group of friends, including one of my best friends from London (you know who you are dude), out here on a surprise visit, organised in secret by my amazing wife - to say the least, it was a brilliant evening (and I did something I've never done before - eat shark. It was niiiice), and we spent the weekend in San Francisco, which was unusually sunny and warm. It's such a great city, with such character. So was the weekend; though I think I have it all sussed out, I still totally love nice surprises. My actual birthday was today, the 7th, and my wife, my friend and I went to Chevy's, a cool Tex-Mex restaurant where we had Margaritas and Enchilladas. It's such a fun restaurant, we love it! The thing about Chevy's though is that on your birthday, the waiting staff come out and sing a fast 'Happy Happy Birthday' song to you, clapping their hands quickly, putting a straw sombrero on your head and giving you a free ice cream. I was, I think, the fourth birthday boy/girl in there, and there were others after me. It wasn't even that busy! I wonder if people lie about it actually being their birthday just to get the hat and the moment of special attention? I don't know, but those waiters probably get sick of birthdays after a while. But I don't! I love a birthday. I met my wife at my birthday party four years ago, in Aix. I always tried to get me mates together in Camden every February to celebrate the extra candle. And though I get embarassed & a little nervous when I'm centre of attention, when I'm the Birthday Boy, I do appreciate everything everyone's done for me, especially this year (if y'all are reading, you know who y'are, many many big big thanks!). Miss me family in London; though I have new family here, it's hard being so far away. But enough of the personal stuff. Anyway it's late, I'm tired, I've lost the ability to write, and I'm thirty and feeling it. All I can say now is that even if it is all downhill from here (as another friend in London keeps saying to me, despite being just a month younger and vastly balder - you know who y'are), it's all part of the mystery of science. And so the blog turns back to poor politics, bad art and a lot of complaining. But right now, I am pretty flippin' happy. |
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8.2.06 09:08 |
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What? An Iranian paper is holding a cartoon contest in revenge for the Danish cartoons? It sounds like a much better idea than torching embassies - except that the subject is 'the Holocaust'. It's logic is that it is a taboo in the West that would not be breached - except that it is breached fairly often anyway by extreme right wingers across Europe, because freedom of the press is also extended to fascists in democratic countries like Denmark. Despite being one of the most liberal and free-thinking nations on Earth, the extreme-right-wing is still the third largest party in Denmark. Another topic of the competition was to do with America's war crimes. I'm thinking of entering in that category myself, but will face stiff competition from hundreds of far better American cartoonists who draw on this in newspapers daily over here. I don't think anyone criticizes American foreign policy and government practise more than Americans themselves - despite the NSA spying and the utter corporate corruption at every level of government, especially the neo-right-wing leadership, this is still a free and vocal society. Meanwhile, in riots protesting at twelve badly drawn cartoons published in a regional Jutland newspaper, people are dying. This whole situation is really starting to pen and ink. |
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8.2.06 09:57 |
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He'll kill ya to death I always suspected it, but Rocky III is always better when you're drunk. An amazing film. "Hey Woman!!" It's great. And Roshe is drunk on the sofa right now... And he is snoring (though he'll kill me to say so) "I pity the fool..." It's the eye of the tiger... |
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13.2.06 09:22 |
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My house-guest and most excellent friend R has left the country, carrying wine and new clothes back to cold and frosty England, and life chez Pete goes back to normal (ie, not going down the pub, getting really drunk, coming home and watching Rocky III). And today just happens to be FOUR YEARS since a certain late birthday party at my flat in Aix-en-Provence, when I met my wonderful wife A, and lived happily ever after. So much has happened in those four years, and so much more is yet to come. I can't wait!!!
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16.2.06 23:09 |
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Week Twenty: Forgive me, I have Zinned The level of alcohol consumption chez scully rocketed over the past two weeks, when I received an unexpected house-guest/Best Man from London, and also unexpectedly turned thirty years old. Californian beers are pretty special, and one of my favourites is the Davis local brew, Sudwerk Märzen. Underneath the sink many empty bottles attest to our late-night hanging-out, which resulted in watching lots of films such as Rocky III or Revenge of the Sith and subsequently getting online, BUI (Blogging Under the Influence). Bacchus strikes again, or was it BA Baracas? Last Friday, though, we took a far more civilized approach to the Bacchinalean tradition. My wife, my friend, my mother-in-law and myself deove up into the wine country of Sonoma County, in glorious sunshine through one of the most beautiful regions of America. A far cry from the flatlands of Yolo County, we were transported into an echo of Tuscany - but with SUVs instead of mopeds. I had been wine-tasting before, but I am hardly a connoisseur, and like most others who take the day-trip to the vines, I left telling myself that I would make an effort to develop my pallatte. But first I need to learn how to spell it. We first visited Hop Kiln, a great little winery situated in an old converted hops barn. Having previously told me he didn't like white wine, and loved a nice meaty red, R was so impressed he bought a bottle of the 2005 Thousand Flowers, a white blend that was, I think, pretty fruity (though my vinocabulary is limited to 'it was nice' and 'mmm, fruity'). Hop Kiln, as do many wineries, also sold a range of seriously delicious flavoured mustards, such as Zinfandel and Garlic, or Tropical Mango. More wine-buying and tasting followed at the Mazzoco, Dry Creek and Quivira wineries, and though I took notes on each wine I sampled, I admit I was really just copying what I overheard. Was the Quivira 2002 Zin really 'chocolatey'? I haven't the foggiest idea. Following a brief visit to the spectacularly Italianate Ferrari-Carrano winery, we ambled down to Healdsburg, and dined at the Bear Republic brewpub. Ah, much more common ground: micro-brewed local beers, cold and fresh, and even 'mmm fruity'. I tried a 2006 Hefe Weizen, good nose, light on the tongue, great with chicken, while R tried the Racer 5, which I think he quite liked. He didn't spit any out, at any rate. Oh yes, though in the vinyards we may be lost for original thoughts, but in some fields we are true connoisseurs. |
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16.2.06 23:45 |
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dick huntin'
Felt pen. Dubya declines Cheney's offer, but sends thousands of young American troops in his place. Each of them are shot in the face several times by mister Cheney, who later claims that he's having a bad day. Poor little mister Cheney. |
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19.2.06 23:10 |
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he does look like Elmer Fudd, though It was an event almost too crazy to be true, and it's taken me this long to blog about it, but Dick Cheney shooting his huntin' buddy in the face until he had a heart attack is pretty gigantic stuff. The Dick is getting a lot of flak over here for ever so slightly delaying publicizing the tragic accident (to be fair to Jabba, it's not the sort of thing you'd run out and tell the world about), but when you hear that he let his friend go to hospital, and decided not to accompany him, but go to dinner instead, and then when you hear that the Dick may have been drinkin' before goin' a-huntin', you start to think, yeah that sounds about right. That's the Cheney we know. That's the Cheney who didn't care about sending thousands of Americans and Iraqis to their deaths in a war based on lies and profits. That's our Dick. He has since been on TV - on Fox of course, with a hand-picked interviewee who had no intention of asking the tough questions - to admit that he had 'one beer' at lunch that day, sounding every inch like a drunk driver telling the traffic cop he'd 'only had the one'. Is it illegal to go huntin' after drinkin'? Can't they just go watch Rocky III like, er, normal people? No, they have to go play with guns. I tell you what though, if the Dick is that bad a marksman, it's a good job he got out of going to Vietnam five times - he'd have brought 'friendly fire' to new levels. But I reckon that when he shot that guy Harry Whittington, he thought he was actually shooting at a member of the Bin Laden family. After all, they are known to hide behind the Bushes, too. |
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20.2.06 03:41 |
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dick-tater
Potato, pen, photography. The Dick Tater looks on at the State of the Onion, before reloading his Spud-Gun and hunting some Quayle. If things go Cheney's way, America will soon be a Dick-Tater-Chip. |
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21.2.06 02:19 |
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