Gaza July 6 vs. July 25

al-Atatra neighborhood

Beit Hanoun

Nuseirat refugee camp

Central Gaza City

Central Gaza City

Beit Lahia

early girl - monsanto labeling act (Facebook 11/23/13)

November 23, 2013 at 10:23pm

Visiting in Sebastopol last September, I stopped at the Farmer's Market.  Like the one in Arcata, it's a big community event, with food, entertainment, and mostly organic produce.  I came away with some great tomatoes - fine flavor, great appearance and texture.  They were 'Early Girl,' perhaps the most popular variety on display.


But hey, isn't Early Girl a hybrid?  No seed saving - you have to buy new seed every year.  So who currently owns the patent?  Monsanto?  Well, that's food for thought, isn't it?

I like these tomatoes very much.  But I do not like Monsanto.  So let's try some speculation (satire)...

A lot of people would like to know if they are buying products made or sold by Monsanto.  I'm not saying that there is anything BAD about Monsanto, but that people should have the RIGHT TO KNOW so they can make their OWN DECISIONS.   After all, the government requires the contents of MATTRESSES be labeled.  So that's why I support the Monsanto Labeling Act - to make sure that every relevant product and piece of produce is properly labeled... 

               "MONSANTO RELATED"

That's reasonable, don't you think?  I can't see how the growers at the Farmers Market could object.

For political newbies, the text in italics very closely mimics an argument recently used to try to convince non-organic food buyers to support mandatory GMO labeling.

cold feet on GMO (Facebook 11/6/13)

November 6, 2013 at 3:08am

a manifesto of sorts...

In 2012 I voted in favor of CA Prop. 37, which would have required labeling of products containing GMO's.  I have since changed my mind, not because of the arguments of the ag or food industries, but entirely because of positions taken by people in the anti-GMO movement.

1 - One can be anti-Monsanto, anti-seed monopoly, and pesticide-skeptical without being anti-GMO. Most of the arguments used against GMO's as a whole are unsupported by conventional science.  It has been a turn-off to see how readily people in the anti-GMO movement tout rumors, misinformation, and dodgy science.

2- GMO labeling doesn't serve MY labeling needs. I'm opposed specifically to pesticide-resistant crops.  But GMO labeling lumps them all together, as if we should regard them as equally harmful.  Sorry, but a lot of us disagree on that lumping.

3 - GMO products are easily avoided. For those who wish to avoid some or all, that goal can easily be achieved simply by buying organic.

4 - "Scarlet letter" vs. positive labeling. Since there is every incentive for manufacturers who wish to cater to the anti-GMO market to voluntarily label their products GMO-free, I am getting the impression that the main function of mandatory GMO labeling is to elevate their sectarian beliefs about "harmful" food to the same status as a government warning label.  Note that Jewish and Muslim groups use "approved" labels (kosher or halal) - they don't force "disapproved" labels on prohibited foods.

5 - Who reads labels? I suppose people with critical allergic reactions. I read labels frequently, especially for package weight, to anticipate how much sugar is in a product, and to check for adulterants.  Products are already required to show all sorts of potentially useful info.  But here's the kicker: I can't recall seeing anyone besides myself reading labels.  And suddenly, labeling becomes important enough to be worth an expensive election battle.  Hey, let's get real!   

[LL]  Some recent events helped gel my thoughts on the matter. 522, the WA labeling initiative was one factor. But more important was the environmental struggle in Hawaii, against the chemical-agriculture giants. I noticed that in at least two locations, some pesticide activists seemed to be resisting being co-opted by the GMO people. I had seen hardly any such push-back on FB, where anti-GMO posts are generally accepted and shared verbatim, w/o any critical response. 

One such comment from Kauai: 'Some ... have mistakenly labeled our struggle an "anti-GMO" movement, reducing our activism to mere opposition to a technology. ... Within the global movement that we are a part of, there are people who do not believe we should be influencing life at the fundamental level that GMO technology does. There are also a lot of people in the movement who are not strictly opposed to the science of genetic engineering itself. In regards to GMOs, what is being opposed is the direction and control of that science, and the resulting social and ecological devastation of how it is being used.

• 
  

  
  

  Kauai's Unwavering Determination

  
  

  
  

SuBaRuBlues - or any brand of older car (Facebook 9/15/13)

SuBaRuBlues - retrospective, re. any brand of older car

September 15, 2013 at 10:04pm

Today's cars last much longer than they used to, but - sure - there can be serious issues buying a high mileage vehicle.

Takeaway-1: Blue Book price does not reflect inherent defects.

Every Subaru built in a particular set of years was due for head gasket failure after 100,000 miles or so.  Used car buyers rarely anticipated the problem - and the replacement cost was not factored into the sale.  The actual cost, after repairs, could easily be 150% of the selling price. 

Takeaway-2: Change engine oil seals before they leak.

A year or so after the head gaskets were replaced, my Subaru got "totaled" because of a sudden, massive oil leak (not even preceded by a tell-tale drip).  The oil seals should have been replaced along with the head gaskets.  If you need head gasket work on a high-mileage car, make sure the mechanic recommends also replacing the seals - otherwise consider replacing mechanics!

Likewise, if the car is over 100K, have those seals replaced with the next timing belt change, along with the belt tensioners.  And when the clutch or auto-transmission gets removed for service, that is an appropriate time to change the rear-main seal. 

Is the M running? (Facebook 1/26/13)

January 26, 2013 at 9:53pm

"Is the M running?" That is the question of the moment, Friday night at Essex Street, the ancient underground portal to Williamsburg.  The service change board shows no scheduled issues for the M, but at least two J's have already gone by.  A woman uses her phone to check the MTA website - nothing there.  A guy yells across two tracks to the station agent, and I catch the first three words of the reply: "Where ya going?". Ooh, that's a bad sign.  "What he say?"  "Says he just came on duty."

We know it's going to be freezing, but the consensus among our ad hoc group is that we take the next J to Myrtle Avenue, an elevated station, where the M line branches off.

The platform at Myrtle Ave. is packed with people waiting on the middle track for an M.  What's up? The J conductor mumbles something about "broken rail," and then slides out sideways into the darkness.  A guy says to me, "Did you hear him?  What's THAT supposed to mean?"  I respond, "Can't be too bad.  These people seem to know what's going  on."  Then I notice the inch of snow on the rails.  There hasn't been a train in hours, WTF? I gotta go check with the station agent.

Below, the heated waiting area is packed with "ladies-and-gentlemen," and churning with impatience.  A woman blurts out, in broken Chinese immigrant English, that the station agents are looking into the situation.  Yeah, I can see them on the phones.  Just then, we hear "thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP," and through a gap in the structure, we see a train creeping in on the middle track.  "POW," it releases its air.  Explanation no longer required.  Check the clock.  We've been waiting so long, they've started running the late night shuttle. Everyone files upstairs to wait in the warm train.  The 45 minute trip is turning into 2 hours - but after the shuttle pulls out, most of them will be home in 15 minutes.

payoff (Facebook 3/4/13)

payoff

March 4, 2013 at 10:06pm

He got into his car and found a sticky flier blocking the view.  It was from the nearby Payday Loan.  He got out and peeled it off.  In hand, he proceeded across the lot, through the door, and to the person behind the counter.  He reached across and stuck it on the screen of her monitor - relieved to discover an alternative to planting it on her eyeglasses.  He didn't wait for a response.  As he walked out, he heard her say, wryly, "Good Morning".

 

[comment] The Payday Loan in Uniontown has since given up, and been replaced by a Cheaper Cigarettes.

ENTITY - the movie (Facebook 1/6/13)

January 6, 2013 at 9:52pm

prologue... (a Facebook dialog)

ES: "The Arab freedom revolutions are the real threat to the Zionist Entity, not Hezbollah's missiles, not Iran's nuclear weapon"
NY: Whats an "Entity"?
LL: ...It's like a "thingie," only bigger.
KAB: I'm getting flashbacks of the 80s movie 'The Thing'.
NY: Great movie!
ES: It's kind of a non-entity, actually. ... think there'll be a sequel called, "The Entity"?

 (YES)

THE ENTITY

Two billion years ago, the Earth was their home. Now they've come to reclaim their birthright.

Because of the roughly similar history, the Aliens solemnly appoint Israel as their emissary to the Earthlings. But will the Chosen Ones be able to convince the rest of the planet to surrender?

The Aliens think so, however, the Israelis increasingly find themselves uncomfortable with this role. When their moral dilemma reaches a climax, they decisively reject their own special status, turn the tables on the Aliens, save the World, and are gratefully welcomed back into the Community of Nations.

The Israelis - and the rest of the World - learn that the entire planet is indeed the true homeland for all its peoples.

The End.

image credit: http://media.salon.com/2009/11/larry_david_from_hbos_curb_your_enthusiasm_and_the_spaceship_from_abcs_v.jpg

never agree to debate a creationist. (Facebook 10/8/12)

"Never agree to debate a creationist." (a election debate insight)

October 8, 2012 at 9:43pm

 

... something I read online long ago.  Why not agree to debate a creationist?  Because it automatically elevates his ideas to parity with yours.  And in this kind of venue, he has everything to gain, but you can only lose stature.  You think it's a given that your facts are superior to his conjectures, but you won't be able to prove it to the satisfaction of his audience.  Perhaps, if you were a master in the art of debating, you might be able to destroy the guy - but it's not likely.

Looking back to Wednesday night, it seems that something very much like this happened to Obama.  Obama came armed with facts - but in this kind of venue, Romney's "facts" could seem just as credible as Obama's.  The only way Obama could have "won," would have been by devastating Romney.  But apparently, he didn't think he needed to do that.

comments from a developer of anti-virus software (Facebook 3/20/12)

comments from a developer of anti-virus software

March 20, 2012 at 6:15pm

So far, ClamWin does not have on-access scanner, so you need to be careful and scan a suspicious file before opening it. 

If you do that, you will be as safe as with a commercial antivirus. User awareness is sometimes better than automatic protection, as it may be easier to break the automatic protection than to fool an educated user.

However, for an average user with little knowledge about online and computer security, the on-access component is a must, and the ClamWin should be used only as a complimentary scanner. We are developing it and will release it in the next major version update.

20 years ago in Israel/Palestine (Facebook 11/4/11)

November 4, 2011 at 2:16am

http://www.palestineonlinestore.com/books/palestine.htm

I got my political education from comic books... Journalist/cartoonist Joe Sacco depicts incidents of torture during Israeli detention - as they were doing it back in 1991/2. Compare conditions, the Palestinian and the Israeli attitudes back then with what you know about the present. Some things have not changed. "Palestine"; 288 pages; introduction by Edward Said; ninth printing March 2007.  Sacco covers a lot of ground, mostly letting people speak for themselves. Near the end, he offers an illustrated comment of his own:

...and I remember another time in Jerusalem, a month later. a group of Israeli soldiers stopped a Palestinian youth of 12 or 13...

The soldiers took cover under an awning and they made the boy remove his kaffiyeh and pointed to where he should stand - in the rain...

Perhaps for the boy it was one of dozens of humiliations, bad enough in his personal scheme of things, but no worse than others he'd experienced... I don't know...

and I'd come for the occupation and I'd found what I came to find, and here it was again, and something else, too...

The boy stood there and answered their questions, and what choice did he have? But what was he thinking?

Was it, one day it will be a better world and these soldiers and I will greet each other as neighbors? or was it simply, 'one day - one day!'

and beyond the particular abuses of this time and place, beyond the really big questions - the status of Jerusalem, the future of the settlements, the return of the refugees, etc. - which much be raised and then hurdled if there is ever to be peace here, is something else-

a boy standing in the rain, and what is he thinking? and if I'd guessed before I got here, and found with little astonishment once I'd arrived,
what can happen to someone who thinks he has all the power, what of this- 
what becomes of someone when he believes he has none?

no more conspiracy theories? (Facebook 10/19/11)

October 19, 2011 at 11:31pm (updated 1/28/14)

For the sake of better communication and understanding, I propose we change the term Conspiracy Theory to Superior Theory.

In that way, 1) the targets of our criticism will feel more respected, and 2) they won't be able to confuse our critique for a denial of the concept of "conspiracy".

e.g., "Your superior theory s__ks, because..."

occupying our Constitutional Rights (Facebook 9/28/1)

September 28, 2011 at 12:25pm

RF: How much longer will this go on? There has to be action to protect the constitutional rights of the people protesting. Where are those protections?

LL: Which constitutional right are you talking about?
- The constitutional right to have a demonstration anywhere you want even if the cops say no? 
- Or the constitutional right not to be attacked by police supervisors going berserk in front of dozens of cameras?

California dreamin (Facebook 9/5/11)

September 5, 2011 at 8:07pm

"...on such a winter's day," sing the Mammas & Poppas on the sound system in this way-north coastal California coffee house. 

Must have read my mind.  It's 9/5, but winter-chilly fog overcast outside.  Also winter-chilly inside, because when I walked in both doors were wide open.  (The staff are hot-behind-the-counter.) 

And I'm dreamin' of findin' a warmer California dreamin' coffee house - because my legs are getting cold.

how we deal with the 9/11 conspiracy (Facebook 9/2/11)

September 3, 2011 at 1:52pm

WK: I haven't had a lot of time to consider conspiracy theories. Sometimes the obvious explanation is good enough. People flew airplanes into the buildings and they collapsed.

LL: Yes, this explanation works for me, too, but that's largely because I have a paranoid mistrust of architects and construction companies.

"The explanatory power of an American conspiracy is, I think, rather low, because all this might easily have occurred without an American conspiracy." (Wayne Kraft)

"Whenever possible, substitute constructions out of known entities for inferences to unknown entities." (Bertrand Russell)

"Never ascribe to conspiracy that which can be adequately explained by incompetence." (Hanlon's Razor)

Are you good without God? (Facebook 9/1/11)

"Are you good without God? Millions are." (Spokane transit bus advert)

September 1, 2011 at 5:42pm

What's with this militant atheism rot?  What this nation really needs is more Situational Ethics:

Are you a sinner?

Then we bring good news! 

Learn how SITUATIONAL ETHICS can help you make peace with God. 

 We are...

Chapel of the Blessed Expediency  

How sweet it is! - Jackie Gleason
I just love the way the pastor EXPLAINS our problems! - Sarah Palin

brain-eating amoebas causing West Bank settlement expansion (Facebook 8/17/11)

August 17, 2011 at 11:37pm

Researchers from New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine have discovered that the paranoid aggressiveness typical of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and their supporters in Israeli government is the result of a widespread yet previously unnoticed epidemic of brain-eating amoebas.

"I'm appalled," said Abe Foxman of AIPAC. "Defending the Jewish settlements seemed like the right thing to do. We never considered that we were witnessing the behavior of sick people."

simple secret trick for fast fluffy oatmeal that will make the quaker guy angry (Facebook 8/15/11)

August 15, 2011 at 9:16pm

Bring a small amount of water to a rolling boil, then toss in a couple handfuls of generic regular rolled oats.

Froth will rise and threaten to boil over.  If it does, curse and reduce the heat slightly, but keep the froth as high as possible.

After a minute, add a small handful of dried raisins or similar.

Boil for another minute, reduce to a simmer, and continue until the water is absorbed.  Result - fluffy, chewy, non-gummy oatmeal.

Serve with chopsticks and dental floss.  Enjoy!

beggarman on the Q train (Facebook 8/2/11)

August 2, 2011 at 4:32pm

The conductor spots the beggar boarding the train, and activates the pre-recorded anti-beggar announcement.

Three minutes later, the beggar appears in our car. He is big, hairy, and odorous, and delivers his pitch like a Shakespearean actor, in careful, measured tones.

Someone hands him what looks like a bread and butter sandwich.

He stops in his tracks. Expressionless, he stares down at the object in his hand .

And after a few seconds, he intones a sincere-sounding - Thank you.

Winehouse and the news (Facebook 7/27/11)

July 27, 2011 at 2:35pm

‎ 
a comment to a friend who felt overdosed on Winehouse in the news

'News' is product. Yet people discuss it as if it is an objective sample of current reality.

Perhaps you think what just happened in Norway [Anders Behring Breivik] is more important than Amy Winehouse.

But me, I suspect that the massacre portrayed at the start of the fiction movie "Slum Dog Millionaire" is even more important than what just happened in Norway.

nonetheless ...

 

the futility of comparing products online (6/18/12)

revisting the futility of comparing products online

June 18, 2012 at 10:39am

I regularly forget how futile it can be to try to compare products online before buying - you may be missing the essentials... 

This time I was needing a small band saw.  There is a Harbor Freight store nearby, so I check the product reviews online.  Customer reaction is bi-modal:

a) "Cheap ones are junk, they don't work right." 
b) "Learn how to properly "set-up" the saw, replace the stock blade with a good one, and you'll be fine." 

I then visit the store for a reality check.  Object of my desires is army green, steel and cast iron retro.  Also some plastic - but hey, it's the space age now, no longer the long march.  I try "hands-on," which doesn't mean I actually use it to saw.  I mostly do idiot things, like turn a knob and make the blade guide go up and down.  But I am curious about how the blade rides on the guides.  So I push the guide sideways with my index finger - and am surprised how easily the whole assembly displaces, apparently because the sturdy metal guide holder is mounted in a piece of non-rigid plastic.  

DOH! (enlightenment in reverse)   The guy talking about proper "set-up" must have been full of hot air.