Clipmarks | debbyski's clips

Rove's Third Term

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:02:34 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Al Gore never claimed that he invented the Internet. Howard Dean didn’t scream. Hillary Clinton didn’t say she was staying in the race because Barack Obama might be assassinated. And Wesley Clark didn’t impugn John McCain’s military service.

Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary, titled his tell-all memoir “What Happened.” But a true account of modern American politics should be titled “What Didn’t Happen.” Again and again we’ve had media firestorms over supposedly revealing incidents that never actually took place.

Yet the Clark affair did reveal something important — not about General Clark, but about Mr. McCain. Now we know what a McCain administration would represent: namely, a third term for Karl Rove.

Will Rovian tactics work this year?

In 2002 and 2004, Republicans were so successful at playing the patriotism card thanks to a combination of compliant media and cowering Democrats.

Looking For Liberty

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:57:00 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

ACCORDING to the film “National Treasure,” the Declaration of Independence is a document of such far-seeing sagacity that it has secret codes and treasure maps hidden in the parchment. You just have to know how to look for them. But that poses the question: which document, precisely, is the Declaration of Independence?

Most of us would answer that it’s the manuscript written on vellum, dated July 4, 1776, now displayed in a baroque case at the National Archives, where it is protected by bulletproof glass, argon gas and the 55-ton underground vault it is lowered into every night. But like everything connected to the Declaration, the situation is complicated, for that document was not written on July 4; it was a handwritten copy that Congress ordered later that summer and post-dated. The version that was in the room as the vote was taken has never been seen since then.

Beauty And The Release

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:45:32 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "All they've ever been is shut down in their lives, and now they have this chance to verbally emote," said Joe Loya, a senior staffer who works at several of the Walden facilities throughout the state.

Like any beauty pageant, it was also about primping. Just half an hour before it started, the upstairs hallway was full of dark red lips and masses of hair as women hurriedly tugged at borrowed dresses and pulled on strapped heels. "

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Stepping to the front of the makeshift stage, she rolled up her essay on "What Independence Means to Me" into a tight cylinder in her hands. "I'm not going to read my essay," Darlene Escalante said, her eyes watery, her voice a husky whisper.

"I'm just going to talk to you from my heart," said Escalante, 25, eyes rimmed in dark liner, lips outlined in dark pencil. "Independence means breaking the cycle of three generations of incarceration. It means independence from three generations of drug addiction. It means independence from living a gang life."

Her voice grew stronger. "My independence means getting myself together and living for my kids." The room erupted in applause. In a treatment facility where tears and anger and angst are the rule of the day, a beauty pageant was an opportunity to let self-esteem flourish.

Tags: now, this, is, what, i, call, a, beauty, pagent

Alive In Independence Hall: The Declaration of Independence

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:46:25 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: DO NOT MISS THIS!!!

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Adopt A Scientist Program

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:39:29 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: If you can afford to be involved , it could be fun, oh, and educational.

Clip Source: www.seti.org

Anyone can adopt a SETI Institute scientist and become part of the adventure!

Each of our scientists offers a compelling journey of discovery. When you adopt a scientist, you help lead the way towards answering profound questions regarding our place in the universe.

The SETI Institute’s Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe and Center for SETI Research are home to more than 90 scientists. Their work covers a broad spectrum of research dedicated to understanding the origins of life and the extent to which life may be present beyond Earth. Traditionally, each scientist, or principal investigator (PI), has had many partners who sponsor his/her work including NASA, the National Science Foundation, and major universities. However, current trends in government funding are making it increasingly difficult for astrobiologists to depend on those sources of support.

Tags: science, is, expensive

The Luckiest Girl

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:49:52 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "The cash from the milk accumulated, and Beatrice’s parents decided that they could now afford to send their daughter to school. She was much older than the other first graders, but she was so overjoyed that she studied diligently and rose to be the best student in the school.

An American visiting the school was impressed and wrote a children’s book, “Beatrice’s Goat,” about how the gift of a goat had enabled a bright girl to go to school. The book was published in 2000 and became a children’s best seller — but there is now room for a more remarkable sequel.

Beatrice was such an outstanding student that she won a scholarship, not only to Uganda’s best girls’ high school, but also to a prep school in Massachusetts and then to Connecticut College. A group of 20 donors to Heifer International — coordinated by a retired staff member named Rosalee Sinn, who fell in love with Beatrice when she saw her at age 10 — financed the girl’s living expenses.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

This year’s college graduates owe their success to many factors, from hectoring parents to cherished remedies for hangovers. But one of the most remarkable of the new graduates, Beatrice Biira, credits something utterly improbable: a goat.

Beatrice’s story helps address two of the most commonly asked questions about foreign assistance: “Does aid work?” and “What can I do?”

The tale begins in the rolling hills of western Uganda, where Beatrice was born and raised. As a girl, she desperately yearned for an education, but it seemed hopeless: Her parents were peasants who couldn’t afford to send her to school.

A dairy goat in Heifer’s online gift catalog costs $120; a flock of chicks or ducklings costs just $20.

One of the goats bought by the Niantic church went to Beatrice’s parents and soon produced twins. When the kid goats were weaned, the children drank the goat’s milk for a nutritional boost and sold the surplus milk for extra money.

The Imprecise Meaning Of War

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:45:18 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Unless Congress closes a gaping hole in the law against war profiteering, companies ripping off taxpayers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars may never be fully prosecuted. This is because the latest conflicts are not declared wars.

The anti-fraud law dating to World War II allows prosecution of contractors up to three years after a war ends. But this statute of limitations was omitted from the resolutions authorizing military force in Iraq and Afghanistan, which carried no formal war declaration.

Investigators say that current war fraud runs into untold billions, including faulty ammunition and vehicles and not-so-bullet-proof vests. Investigative officials and the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction have testified that they’re hampered by the ongoing conflicts and need more time to catch contract thieves after they end.

A Supreme Court On The Brink

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:43:52 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

In some ways, the Supreme Court term that just ended seems muddled: disturbing, highly conservative rulings on subjects like voting rights and gun control, along with important defenses of basic liberties in other areas, including the rights of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The key to understanding the term lies in the fragility of the court’s center. Some of the most important decisions came on 5-to-4 votes — a stark reminder that the court is just one justice away from solidifying a far-right majority that would do great damage to the Constitution and the rights of ordinary Americans.

Corporations fared especially well in this term. The court reduced the punitive-damages award against Exxon Mobil for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill from $2.5 billion to about $500 million, a pittance for the energy company

The court was teetering on the brink in this term. Voters should keep that firmly in mind when they go to the polls in November.

Understanding Rape in India

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:23:37 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: www.truthout.org

"The truth, however, is that the male is the enjoyer and female a thing to be enjoyed ..."

- Manu Smiriti

Sweden - Social and psychological discrimination appeared in an Indian courtroom on April 3rd, 2005, when minutes before sentencing was due, a convicted rapist offered his victim a marriage proposal. The man, who said he was offering to marry the woman because the stigma of rape in India meant no one else would, was convicted of raping and seriously injuring a 22-year-old nurse in September 2003 at the hospital where they both worked. The survivor was asked in court whether she would accept the proposal from her attacker, who had hoped it might lower his sentence. The judge postponed sentencing until the next day, when the rape victim told the court she had rejected his petition.

So many questions come to any sane person's mind, most importantly: did the court, as a "law-making" institution, even consider the dangers such a precedent would pose to women?

Tags: different, cultures, why, so, hard, on, women

Japan's Booming Sex Niche: Elder Porn

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:54:43 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: Any entrepreneurs here in the west, might take a lesson from the Japanese business world. Instead of paying our elderly their measly social security payments, perhaps we could offer them jobs in the porn industry. The money is great, and they can work mostly on their backs.

Clip Source: www.time.com

Shigeo Tokuda looks like any other 74-year-old man in Japan. Despite suffering a heart attack three years ago, the lifelong salaryman now feels healthier, and lives happily with his wife and a daughter in downtown Tokyo. He is, of course, more physically active than most retirees, but that's because he's kept his part-time job — as a porn star.

A WHO report released in March found that 1 in 4 married couples in Japan had not made love in the previous year, while 38% of couples in their 50s no longer have sex at all.

the country has seen a surge in demand for pornography that has turned adult videos into a billion-dollar industry, with "elder porn" one of its fastest-growing genres.

Director Gaichi Kono says the eroticism of elders is captivating to younger viewers.

A popular young actress can earn up to $100,000 per film, while a mature actress is paid only $2,000.

The market for elder porn has doubled over the past decade, according to Kadowaki.

I Will Follow You

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:15:10 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: Click on source

Clip Source: www.imeem.com

I Will Follow You Into The Dark

The Dresden Dolls

Amanda Palmer

Amanda Palmer singing I Will Follow You Into The Dark originally by Death Cab For Cutie.

Oh My Sweet Carolina

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:02:48 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: what, compels, me, to, go

A most unlikely hero: a Fascist who saved Jews - Giorgio Prelasca

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:02:38 GMT

clipped by: Lexica

Clip Source: findarticles.com

Perlasca had named himself Spanish consul, without any authorization whatsoever, on December 1, 1944, when the real Spanish ambassador fled to Switzerland. For the next two months, Perlasca would be in charge of the embassy, and his management of Spain's protection program for Hungarian Jews would save some five thousand of them from certain death in the gas chambers.

Perlasca's diary of his two-month consulship

recounts the extraordinary exploits of Perlasca and a small group of collaborators on the embassy staff: churning out thousands of false documents, setting up and defending eight "safe houses"under Spanish jurisdiction, finding food and medicine on the black market, negotiating with the Hungarian authorities, and, together with Wallenberg and representatives of other neutral countries (Portugal, Switzerland, and the Vatican), pulling innocent victims from freight cars bound for the death camps

an ingenious organizer, a convincing "diplomat,"and a truly magnificent impostor

Tags: history, heroes, war

Someday You Will Ache Like I Ache

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:28:21 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: I want to be the girl with the most cake . . .

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: i, understand, it, all, too, well, baby

'The Cube', by Jim Henson (rare colored version)

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:39:23 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes
clipper's remarks: This '69 version by Jim Henson is more mysterious, psychological & philosophical and lacks the violence of the later sci-fi/horror films: The Cube, Cube 2: Hypercube and Cube Zero.

It's supposed to be in better quality than the original black/white version, but I doubt that since it's in .flv.

I included some links to wikipedia & imdb should you be curious for more.

Clip Source: video.google.com

[Video]

The Cube- rare color version (1969)

Created by Jim Henson, this made for tv movie broke new grounds. This is an extremely rare color version of the typically black and white film. Also, the quality is significantly better.

Jim Henson

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

The Cube

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

The Cube film series is a series of three Canadian science fiction/horror films directed by Vincenzo Natali, Andrzej Sekula and Ernie Barbarash respectively.

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Cube

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Cube 2: Hypercube

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Cube Zero

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

The Cube (1969) (TV)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Cube (1997)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Cube 2: Hypercube (2002)

Clip Source: www.imdb.com

Cube Zero (2004)

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

The Cube was an hour long teleplay that aired on NBC's weekly anthology television show NBC Experiment in Television February 23, 1969. The production was produced and directed by puppeteer Jim Henson, and was one of several experiments with the live-action film medium which he conducted in the 1960s, before focusing entirely on the Muppets and other puppet works. The screenplay was co-written by long-time Muppet writer Jerry Juhl (who also appears in a cameo).

Tags: jim henson, video, cube, film, movie, rare