one of my fav love songs

José Padilla - Adios Ayer

just the music, no good vid up on youtube. but the song rocks.

Inspiring stuff

troubleinchina

Fat talk free week

Andrew Sullivan
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Info here

Hmm...

48 - Greenland - 13 Oct 08 - Part 1

In the first show of the new series Amanda Palmer and her crew visit the remote territory of Greenland home to a largely Inuit community of just 57,000 people.

48- Greenland - 13 Oct 08 - Part 2

Fun, fun, FUN!

PLAYLIST Episode 1 - part 1

PLAYLIST travels to Morocco to meet some bands that are mixing it up there, as new musical styles and trends emerge all the time. Traditional sounds, beats and vocals are punctuated with elements of rock, reggae, roots, metal and hip hop. Among those genre-breaking bands are Hoba Hoba Spirit, Darga and Elam Jay.

PLAYLIST Episode 1 - part 2

Were out of Africa with a pair of musicians Gambias Juldeh Camara and Britains Justin Adams whose sounds echo the days of the slave trade. PLAYLIST tells the story of how the African blues sound really came into its own.

Iraqi metalheads rocks Istanbul - 22 Dec 07

It's not the country's most well known export or even - depending on your musical taste - its best. But a heavy metal band from Iraq has been building a steady international fan base. The group was forced to flee Baghdad during the war. And though they're now seeking refugee status in Turkey, their ultimate goal is to jam back home.

Scary POC alert!

Inside USA - Angela Davis - 03 Oct 08 - Part 1

Put on the FBI's 'Most Wanted' list when she was just 26, Angela Davis became an enduring symbol of 1970's Black Power. She joins Inside USA to discuss incarceration in the land of the free, capitalism in a time of economic crisis and what it means to be the face of Black Power in a supposedly post-racial US.

Inside USA - Angela Davis - 03 Oct 08 - Part 2

Inside USA - The Other Hawaii - Sept 26 - Part 1

This week Avi Lewis visits the people behind the native movement for self-determination in Hawaii. Well over 200 years old the movement has recently been gaining on strength. Archive footage courtesy of www.namaka.com

Inside USA - The Other Hawaii - Sept 26 - Part 2

More Angela Davis

Angela Davis: How Does Change Happen? February 07, 2008

From radical rebel to university professor, Angela Davis has dedicated her life to social activism. In this talk, Angela Davis reflects on her successes and shares her insights on the strategies for change that have made -- and will make -- history. Sponsored by the Women's Resources and Research Center at UC Davis [1/2007] [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 12069]

Angela Davis: Wars Against Women- Past Present and Future? Jan 31, 2008

Angela Davis, now of UC Santa Cruz, returns to her alma mater to deliver an engaging talk on "Wars Against Women - Past, Present, and Future?" [4/2000] [Public Affairs]

[Show ID: 4865]

University of California Television

International Criminal Court and Opposition to the Court

Arthur N.R. Robinson, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, talks about the historical aspects of the attempts and the unified action of the international community to establish rules of behavior and the need for an International Criminal Court. Then, Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, John Burroughs, talks about the opposition that the George Bush administration has shown toward the International Criminal Court and the specific criticisms that have been levied against the ICC and the impact of this opposition to the ICC on global and American security. Series: Voices [2/2003] [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 7070]

Oncology 101 and Colon Cancer in 2008

Dr. Andrew Ko of the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center explores how research and advances in technologies are impacting clinical care of colon cancer. Ko's research is in the development of new treatment strategies, including molecularly targeted therapies, for patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public [8/2008] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 14831]

(no subject)

The New Food Wars: Globalization GMOs and Biofuels

Across the world, food riots are taking place. Scientist and activist Vandana Shiva explores whether the future will be one of food wars or food peace. She argues that the creation of food peace demands a major shift in the way food is produced and distributed, and the way in which we manage and use the soil, water and biodiversity, which makes food production possible. 17th Annual Margolis lecture at UC Irvine. [7/2008] [Public Affairs] [Science] [Show ID: 14509]

Global Warming and Atmospheric Brown Clouds

The growth of Chinese and Indian economies is improving their well being, but at a very high environmental cost. Widespread air pollution and greenhouse gases are having a range of complex effects on both regional and global climate. Join Scripps Oceanography atmospheric science researcher V. Ramanathan as he explains that while science can offer practical solutions, the effectiveness of these strategies will hinge on global cooperation and immediate implementation. Series: Perspectives on Ocean Science [7/2008] [Science] [Show ID: 14349]

(no subject)

Equilibrium Dynamics

Dr. Loma Flowers explores how to achieve balanced emotions, clear focus and good judgment to achieve the best performance. Dr. Flowers has over 30 years of professional experience teaching and working with a broad range of clients on the link between emotional issues and everyday life. She uses her expertise to train clients how to improve their performance as individuals or organizations and to analyze and solve problems. Series: Womens Health Today [9/2007] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 13320]

HemiScope: Andes Crisis

Host Peter Smith and guests look at the U.S. plan to combat Colombian drug trafficking and the shaky political situation in Peru following the ouster of dictator Alberto Fujimori. Series: "HemiScope" [1/2001] [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 5468]

(no subject)

The Prison: A sign of Democracy?

AH-HEM.

ACORN ladies and gents, is an evil, radical liberal organisation that breaks the laws, and Obama is a part of that (and we need to question his judgement)!

Um. Well. Okay. So what explains THIS I wonder? Are organizations only radical when Democrats are attached to them? Are only Democratic judgements questioned when they hook up with these orgs.?

In which the media decides to write its own narrative in defiance of the facts.

Media Matters

Which seems as good a time as any to look back at Howard Fineman's admission that the news media "want[ed] a race" in 2000, and was unwilling to allow the last weeks of the campaign to consist of Al Gore's "triumphant march to the presidency."
Here's a September 21, 2000 exchange between Brian Williams and Howard Fineman:

HOWARD FINEMAN: The media pendulum swings, as you were pointing out before, Brian. Bill Clinton can resurface in this campaign in a way that might not necessarily help Al Gore. And Al Gore himself has a tendency to begin - when he's ahead especially I think - talking down to the country like he's the kindergarten teacher talking to the class. I think all those factors are at play right now as Bush has really had probably the best week he's had since his convention speech. And Gore has had his worst.
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Howard, I don't know of any kind of conspiratorial trilateral commission-like council meetings in the news media. But you bring up an interesting point. And boy, it does seem true over the years that the news media almost reserve the right to build up and tear down and change their minds and like an underdog. What's that about?
HOWARD FINEMAN: Well, what it's about is the relentless search for news and the relentless search for friction in the story. I don't think the media was going to allow just by its nature the next seven weeks and the last seven or eight weeks of the campaign to be all about Al Gore's relentless triumphant march to the presidency.
We want a race I suppose. If we have a bias of any kind, it's that we like to see a contest, and we like to see it down the end if we can. And I think that's partly the psychology at play here.

UPDATE: A reader points out that New York Times reporter Adam Nagourney made a similar statement in today's paper:

Campaigns have rhythms, and inevitably swing back and forth for all kinds of reasons, including mistakes by candidates (think Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants) and the news media’s desire for a competitive race and tendency to find the “underdog is surging” story line irresistible. The pendulum theory is certainly one that Republicans are grabbing onto these days.

Huh. So basically, if reporters get tired of reporting reality, why, they'll just go off and make up stuff. Good to know.

Ill Doctrine gets to the point.

And isn't it funny how this dovetails so neatly with palin and mccain calling obama a terrorist sympathizer?

In the meantime a dose of reality regarding the ACORN organization

When we say we need more and better dems?

This idiot is a prime example.

Republicans and ACORN

And Paul Krugman won the Nobel Peace Prize for Economics. Which is hilarious, considering such gems like this, not too long ago.

In the meantime, Private sector loans, not Fannie or Freddie, triggered crisis

Subprime lending offered high-cost loans to the weakest borrowers during the housing boom that lasted from 2001 to 2007. Subprime lending was at its height from 2004 to 2006.

Federal Reserve Board data show that:

* More than 84 percent of the subprime mortgages in 2006 were issued by private lending institutions.

* Private firms made nearly 83 percent of the subprime loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers that year.

* Only one of the top 25 subprime lenders in 2006 was directly subject to the housing law that's being lambasted by conservative critics.

...
Fannie, the Federal National Mortgage Association, and Freddie, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., don't lend money, to minorities or anyone else, however. They purchase loans from the private lenders who actually underwrite the loans.

It's a process called securitization, and by passing on the loans, banks have more capital on hand so they can lend even more.

This much is true. In an effort to promote affordable home ownership for minorities and rural whites, the Department of Housing and Urban Development set targets for Fannie and Freddie in 1992 to purchase low-income loans for sale into the secondary market that eventually reached this number: 52 percent of loans given to low-to moderate-income families.

...

Between 2004 and 2006, when subprime lending was exploding, Fannie and Freddie went from holding a high of 48 percent of the subprime loans that were sold into the secondary market to holding about 24 percent, according to data from Inside Mortgage Finance, a specialty publication. One reason is that Fannie and Freddie were subject to tougher standards than many of the unregulated players in the private sector who weakened lending standards, most of whom have gone bankrupt or are now in deep trouble.MORE

Also,

( The conservative history of conflating racial equality with communism and socialism )

Wedding Dresses Part 51: Pretty In Pink!

They're Back!!!


St. Valentino

Wedding Dresses Part 52: Have some More St Valentino!

Purple and white with beautiful purple jacket? Sign me up1
ANd this red and black number is just divine.

Wedding Dresses Part 53: Short, sexy, red-hot

St. Valentino strikes again.
So I was looking at offbeatbridem and they highlighted the emerging trend of short, ruffly dresses. I wasn't too impressed, but this? This is gooooodddd. Yum.

help?

Okay. So when I want to save a picture, I click "save as" and name it and move it to my computer. But when I want to upload said pic to LJ directly from the comp files, the pic comes out looking smaller and awful. What the prob here?