Because of this situation, a Congressional bill was introduced to create the Free Flow of Information Act, also called the federal media shield law.

A 2005 article in the Washington Post gave an excellent summary of what the bill would and would not do:

“Our bill works to solve this problem by setting national standards that must be met before federal officials may issue a subpoena to a member of the news media in any federal criminal or civil case. In the case of a confidential source, the bill provides that a reporter cannot be compelled to reveal the source. In the case of other information, it sets out certain tests that civil litigants or prosecutors must meet before they can force a journalist to turn over information.
Prosecutors must show, for instance, that they have tried unsuccessfully to get the information in other ways and that the information would be crucial to "an issue of substantial importance" in the case. If they were seeking confidential information in a criminal case, they would have to show that a crime had been committed and that the information being sought was essential to the investigation. These protections are enough to ensure that a whistle-blower's identity would be protected when he or she comes forward with information about corporate or government misdeeds, but they would still allow the courts and other federal agencies to do their jobs."

It is important to note what the bill does not do. It doesn't give reporters a license to break the law in the name of gathering news. It doesn't give them the right to interfere with police and prosecutors who are trying to prevent crimes. It leaves laws on classified information unchanged. It simply gives journalists certain rights and abilities to seek sources and report appropriate information without fear of intimidation or imprisonment, much as, in the public interest, we allow psychiatrists, clergy and social workers to maintain confidences.”

There have been four versions of this bill (with each of them found here), so the original language has not been perfectly preserved; nevertheless, the core intent of the bill remains and its passage is vital.
In the House of Representatives version, provisions were added to also protect bloggers from being coerced into divulging sources under specified circumstances.

“Instead of requiring journalists to be tied to a news organization, the bill now defines ‘journalism’ to focus more on the function of the job: ‘the gathering, preparing, collecting, photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing of news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public.’”

In the Senate version, the following language is included on the subject of who would be protected under the act:

(2) COVERED PERSON- The term `covered person'--
(A) means a person who is engaged in journalism;
(B) includes a supervisor, employer, parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate of a person described in subparagraph (A); and
←→
(C) does not include any person who is--
←→
(i) a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power, as those terms are defined in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801);
(ii) a foreign terrorist organization designated under section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a));
(iii) designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the Department of the Treasury under Executive Order Number 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701);(iv) a specially designated terrorist, as that term is defined in section 595.311 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor thereto); or
←→
(v) a terrorist organization, as that term is defined in section 212(a)(3)(B)(vi)(II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(vi)(II))

It is anticipated that the Senate version of the Free Flow of Information Act will be up for a vote on Monday, July 28, 2008. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has circulated a list of senators who are either still undecided on the bill or who belong to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) is included on this list; he is not named on the 2007-2008 list for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which means that he is undecided on how he will vote.

The leadership of SPJ is asking everyone to contact Voinovich to encourage him to vote “yes” on S. 2035. "It is critical this final push for Senate action has national support because a federal shield law will benefit the public as a whole," SPJ President Clint Brewer said. "The passage of this bill in the Senate is the final step in protecting confidential sources in federal cases, and the public's right to know."SPJ has provided the following phone number for George Voinovich: (202) 224-3353, along with his contact form: George Voinovich (R-Ohio).

Mientras tanto, la Dirección de Eroski, al descubierto en su estrategia demencial de trasladar al Estado la capacidad de decisión de la cooperativa, necesita mantener como puede sus apoyos y, de ser posible, implicar a algún despistado más. (Lo veremos muy pronto).

Los que reclaman al Consejo Rector que actúe no conocen la incapacidad, cobardía y falta de compromiso de estos gestores. No saben el miedo que tienen a las presiones de la Dirección. Es más que posible que, al contrario, continúen “pringándose” en el tema y diciéndonos que apoyan esta locura, que es de lo más cooperativo que hay, etcétera, simplemente para conseguir evitar el conflicto con la Dirección de Eroski.

¿Y después qué? ¿Qué pasa con Eroski? ¿Qué pasa con este país? ¿Quién va a devolver a los ciudadanos de este país todo el esfuerzo, todo el calor, todo el apoyo que han dado a Eroski como un proyecto que, de alguna forma, han sentido como propio?

Un cooperativista

But what really ticked me off was the ad saying that Manny is our national hero. Let me be clear that the ad said Manny IS OUR national hero, not Manny IS A National hero, as in one of many national heroes. National Hero? Last time I checked Jose Rizal was our national hero. What the hell are these guys trying to say? While I know that Manny should be considered a hero, it's really a stretch to say that he is our national hero. But I guess I should really be lambasting the people who made the ad whoever they are. And don't even tell me that they did not intentionally convey that Manny is our national hero instead of Dr. Rizal. I mean isn't it part of their jobs to check what message they are sending out there? Or do they just callously want to do whatever it takes to earn a huge payday. Sigh, such disappointment. I don't even consider myself patriotic but I feel this ad is offensive to us Filipinos.

Today I found that I no longer possess the strength to do a "chin-up" exercise, I could barely even hold myself up, I think just hanging there I strained my abdomen of all places. Coupled with my other physical degradations (have you seen my mention cycling recently? how often do you see me mention doing anything physical? this is why) I can only view this as the beginning of the end. I am not surprised by this, ever since I lost my full range of motion I knew that things would never be good again for me physically. But I didn't think this is how my life would play out.

I lived through quite a bit and it definitely took its toll on me. Now standing here facing my own mortality I can reflect on how lucky I was to make it this far, how much I really did see that can never be put into words or communicated to another person. My odyssey was my own and it must be fated to remain that way. There are a lot of things I wish I had done, that I doubt I'll ever get around to at this point. Most of them are silly little things, of no consequence, and so I am left with only one regret. I won't be leaving anything behind. In a way this is the ideal state to be in for death, to have nothing encumbering you. Oh certainly there will be people, and there are the things I've accumulated over the years, but only now do I appreciate how little that all means.

Maybe that is just me. I have always been a sort of absolutist, a perfectionist, and my curse was to be that way but remain incompetent and curious. Really it has been a miserable life. If only I had let myself be more easy going when I was a child perhaps life would have been more fun. Then again it is not as if I had anything to do with the beginning of the Holocaust. Perhaps after that a pall was just cast over the entire last century and I ended out bearing a large brunt of it. I can't tell you. But it is a strange thing. I think if I would only change one thing about it all is that I'd have just died as a child instead of living this whole way. If I could have died while I was still innocent of the world...

But I did not. I lived until this point and in all likelihood there are two or three, perhaps even five if I would go see a doctor, years left for me to be a twisted person. I'll never know if I was just born this way or if my experiences made me become what I am today. It probably doesn't even matter that much.

As to how I plan to spend the rest of my life, at least for now I will continue making my way through math. I have already gotten quite sick of it since I will never be able to do anything of consequence with it at this point. But learning math is as good of a way to spend your time while dying slowly as any don't you think? I suppose some might joke that to learn math is to die slowly. Or at that rate that the proper learning of math is dying out slowly. But perhaps that is just the way it is.

Until then.

Barack Obama may beat John McCain in November to be the next president of the United States. But if Europeans had a vote in this year's race for the White House, Mr Obama would be a shoo-in. Opinion polls show that Britons prefer him by three to one over Mr McCain, Italians by five to one, the French by eight to one and Germans by a landslide 10 to one. Perhaps after the Bush years Europeans would embrace any half-decent successor with this level of initial enthusiasm. But Mr Obama's popular appeal, here as in America, is a more positive phenomenon than that. His life story and his sure touch define him as something more than Mr Anyone-but-Bush. No American politician since John Kennedy - the comparison is inescapable - has provoked such widespread hope on this side of the Atlantic. No wonder that Mr Obama's tour of European capitals - Berlin Thursday, Paris Friday and London this weekend - has (not unfairly) been compared to a travelling rock extravaganza. What else is one to make of 200,000 Berliners turning up to hear a man who, whatever his hopes, is still only the senator for Illinois?

For that very reason, therefore, it is vital to be realistic as well as excited. The focus in Europe's relationship with Mr Obama needs to be on goals not gush and on doing rather than just feeling good. That means recognising that the main reason Mr Obama has come this week is not for our benefit but for his own. He is running for election in his country, not in ours, and he is concerned above all to send a message to Americans rather than Europeans. In domestic political terms Mr Obama has sought to use this foreign trip to show the voters that he has strong foreign policy credentials, to signal he is ready to be America's military commander-in-chief and to show that he would open a new chapter in America's relations with the rest of the world. How he handles himself will in the end be at least as significant for Americans as what he says. The size of the travelling press corps and the presidential-style choreography of the week-long trip are reminders that Mr Obama is here to talk to Americans above all. Source Article

b.) Did they pledge the, (10), HIPPOCRATIC or, (1), HYPOCRITICAL OATH ?

c.) How close, in historical ranking, are these "people" to Joseph Mengele ?

The way I see it Politicians todays are full of shit. Take McCain for example, He talks about doing things for the working class but then forgets and talks about helping the rich. Then talks shit about Obama and his ways. Why doesn't he focused on his own agenda? Stop worrying about what the other is doing. They all make themselves look like idiots when they are running for office. Trying to make the other look bad. I really do not care who has what to say because when it comes down to it they really don't do anything about shit. They always seem to be focused on other countries instead of their own. We have problems as well. Why not focused on their own Country? That is why our economy is going to hell.

All I know from what I see, Obama seem to the only one that really cares in his own way. But if McCain becomes President of this already fucked up Country – thank you pres. Bush – we are done. As I watch him on TV I honestly think he is Racist. But some, his supporters, will say different. Remember no matter what you might say this is my opinion.

]]> http://doctorpus.wordpress.com/?p=27 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:55:23 +0000 decoydoctorpus http://doctorpus.wordpress.com/?p=27 Do you remember a time when it was just the non gaming public that got itself whipped up into a whirlwind of outrage every time a new game came out? When a hack newspaper called Grand Theft Auto a 'columbine murder simulator' or whatever phrase was being bandied around at the time it was easy to ignore them because they don't have a clue what they're talking about right? That's still the case. We can laugh at crazy right wing bloggers claiming Mass Effect is some kind of alien butt rape adventure because, hey, if fark has taught us anything (aside from the fact that putting your name on everything is incredibly irritating. Something graffiti taught us long ago) it's that the hysterical mass media is here for our own personal enjoyment. But now it seems the garden variety gamer, once happy with simply a new Mario game every few years and enough cheetos and mountain dew to keep him/her alive has now decided that 'they ain't gonna stand for it anymore', 'it' in this case being any and every issue they can get their grubby little minds round.
All of a sudden Resident Evil 5 is racist because it's set in Africa, Ubisoft is the new face of misogyny for marketing games about babies and horses to little girls (common mistake, little girls hate babies and horses), and, of course, Fat Princess has portly feminists up in arms because it has the gall to feature a character that is both a girl, and fat. The humanity.
Now don't get me wrong. There's plenty of things wrong the gaming industry today, especially on the gender front(literally 'front') . I mean at the current rate soul Calibur's Ivy won't actually be wearing any clothes by the 5th game and sure, just about every game marketed towards girls happens to be complete crap but I can't help think that perhaps we're... you know... taking this all a bit too seriously.

So before we all march down the avenue of no return and end up with T shirts that say shit like "The princess owns this castle Sister!" or we all join the goombah suffrage movement let me give you a few examples of issues that weren't accompanied by an explosion of internet rage.

1:So you want to talk about unrealistic body types...

Ok. So porn gives young men a very distorted version of an ideal woman about as far from an actual woman as it's possible to get without the use of electrodes and rubber skin. I agree. I watch a whole shitload of porn but I think I I understand that perhaps what I'm seeing isn't exactly 'reality' per se (although I challenge you to find anything more horribly 'real' than 2 girls 1 cup) but plenty of guys seem to think it is and honestly expect the hot chick they met at the office dance to be perfectly happy about being anally ravaged by four guys then thrown out of a moving bus. I also agree that the images in pop magazines give young girls very bad examples to follow.
But it works both ways.
Unfortunately we club swinging males either don't care or we're too stupid to notice.
Now I'll be honest, I'm closer to this than I am to the ruggedly handsome stars of my favourite action games but I'm god damn lightyears away from the guys in the ever popular Gears of War

Even if I was a perfectly healthy, slim young man rather than a gelatinous swamp creature there's still no chance in hell of me looking even remotely like a character from Gears of War. Yeah, teenage girls going for waist measurements that sound more like wrist measurements is terrible but Jesus, Marcus Fenix's forearms are thicker than his god damn head. Hell even if I loaded myself up on the juice WWF style and lifted a couple of Volkswagens a day I'd be nowhere close. I could have testicles the size of ball bearings and acne so bad It looked like I had the black death and I'd still look like Christian Bale in the Machinist standing next to one of these guys.
Unrealistic body shape? They don't even have shapes. They're just quivering masses of muscle. Living billboards for steroid abuse that whisper sweet nothings into young men's ears in the universal language of testosterone. We can't even to begin to imagine the effect this has on a developing teen's mind because we're too lazy to do any tests because we're too busy chainsawing equally muscled monsters in half. Damn.

2: Feminists do the smart thing and ignore japan.

If you just happen to believe in gender equality then congratulations Luke, you've just found your Deathstar. It's a small island in the pacific, home to about 127,433,494 people, at least half of which is gainfully employed making games about Octopi (not to be confused with the wild Doctorpus PHD) having forceful sex with pre pubescent girls. And often pooping on them.

Japan has reached that perfect critical mass of horrifying weirdness where they're so bizzare people aren't actually surprised by this stuff any more. So when we're confronted with a game that offers us two options, RAPE/DO NOT RAPE (jokes on you though, if you select DO NOT RAPE you get a short cutscene and are brought back to the same menu) we just kind of shrug and think "Those crazy Japanese people. What will they think of next?" World domination probably.
Now I could go on about the adventure game market forever, because there's just a billion and one little horrors in this particular toybox. From games that are all about peeing on people to games where you get turned into a girl by a random chemical spill in your highschool lab and subsequently end up raped horribly by like a hundred guys on a bus. But in the end what's the point? This is a purely Japanese thing right?

Wrong. Plenty of companies are hard at work translating and exporting fine titles like this to the west where they're finding larger and larger audiences (not to mention the already large audience that already download the games illegally and use fan made translations) and judging by the west's newly found obsession with all things Japanese it won't be long before young Jimmy down the street trades in his copy of GTA 4, in which you can beat a prostitute to death in order to get your money back, for Lovely selection 3, where you have to rape a girl until she submits to your will and convinces herself that she loves you.

Great...

3: Heterosexuals and old dudes not offended by JRPG stereotyping

Go play a couple of JRPGs. See you in a few months.

...
...

...

Ok you're back. Now you might have noticed a few details about all the protagonists and antagonists in the games you've just played. Long wispy hair, slim borderline anorexic physiques, feminine features, a lack of body or facial hair and a snazzy brightly colored wardrobe that matches anything you've seen on Queer eye for the Straight guy. Yes sir. They're all metrosexuals. Not a plaid shirt or a hairy back in sight. In the land of JRPGS the classic heterosexual hero has gone extinct.

Seriously, do a quick check here. Do you have a six o'clock shadow? Short hair? Deep Voice? If so run like a mother fucker because you're probably about to get killed by the bishonen villian so he can show the protagonist how powerful he is. If you happen to be on the other side, chances are the hero will turn up and murder you as you're busy raping/pillaging/whatever it is us straight people are supposed to do in these games.
Oh and god fucking help you if you happen to be over 20, you're just as screwed as the straight guys are. The only chance you have of living longer than 20 seconds past your introduction is if you happen to be both old and incredibly hairy. Old guy with beard is proven to have a much longer life than generic masculine henchman. Chances are you could live all of oh.. 20 or 30 minutes until the villian kills you to set the plot moving again.
I don't know who these JRPGs are aimed at. The smalll homosexual gaming community maybe? Or just girls? Because they sure as shit aren't aimed at me. (The harry footed Neanderthal demographic that makes up most of the world's gamer population) I mean am I actually supposed to identify with Tidus from Final Fantasy 10? I identify more with the square brick from tetris than I do with Tidus. Now I know how women feel when they play tomb raider. Or black people when they watch horror movies.

Disclaimer: This article is meant to be taken with a pinch of salt. Just because these issues may seem ridiculous doesn't mean others in gaming aren't. Oh and before you start sending me links detailing a 300 page debate about Male stereotypes in games on a political website of your choice remember, these are just issues that I think don't have much of a hubub about them. Still I'd be glad to see any links where these issues are discussed in a civil manner. Peace.

Extra special Bonus! Rorschach dating sim by Atlus!

I don't know why... Every time I look at this picture, I feel both fun and disgusted at the same time...

* * * * *

Do you know what else that is fun for me, but at the same time made me feel disgusted?

Tom Tom Bak, that is...

Haha... I don't hate kids... They're innocent, funny and entertaining... I just despise how the showbiz are exploiting these kids... How the showbiz (maybe indirectly) implants hedonism to audience of such a very young age...

To discover young talents they say... Huh, I'm skeptical...

Being a brother to two li'l kids... I just have to endure this torment... And sometimes, even when I'm alone, I still can't change the channel... The show is at least, enjoyable (benda lagha, biase la kan?)... Just like watching main stream news... When we all know that the stories aired are just propaganda and a lot of bollocks, but we still watch it till it finishes nonetheless, rather than choosing to hit the damn*d button on the remote control and switch to other channels... Talking about choice... Do we really have a choice?

I prefer Ultraman, if I have to watch a kids channel... Because at least, Ultraman promotes bravery and then saves the world from evil... Tom Tom Bak?

De entrada fui con mi mejor amigo, pero antes tuvimos q ir al Gamerush/Blockbuster para dejar unos juegos, de ahi a comprar la entradas, hasta las 9:30 era la funcion asi q fuimos por un checo mientras cai una ligera llovizna. Despues de un rato pudimos entrar a la sala y de ahi a chutarnos casi 15 minutos "datos" en presencia de la sensualona voz de Fernanda Tapia y otro wey q no me acuerdo del nombre.

Finalmente la sala se semi oscurecio y de ahi comenzaron los "obligatorios" trailer de las nuevas peliculas q estan por estrenarse, de las cuales solo las de Clone Wars y Bajo la Sal se me hicieron interesantes.

De ahi por fin empezo la pelicula, la escena primaria es de gran envergadura, el Wason hace ver a Maquiavelo como un novato, con cada plan, con cada moviento q el maldito payaso hacia.

Despues hubo un bajo de intensidad, pero al mismo tiempo sirvio para mostrarnos como estaba la situacion, las actuaciones de los demas fueron esplendidas. Y tambien la manera en como todo se iva embonando. Llego un momento en q senti una especie de Deja Vu respecto a la situacion del heroe q la ciudad no quiere, esto de Spiderman 2, incluso no se por q pero Maggie Gyllenhaal tiene cierto parecido con Kirsten Dunst, en fin.

Hay gente q dice q ciudad gotica se ve mas oscura q las q representaba Tim Burton en sus peliculas, difieron con ellos pues rara vez pones atencion en la ciudad, cosa q en Batman y Batman Returns era obvio por q la arquitectura, la oscuridad y demas de la pelicula de hace años era como mas representativa.

Hay q decir q Heath Ledger se lleva las palmas en esta pelicula, hijole.. no se bajo q concepto trabajaron el personaje y haya interpretado el al Wason, pero queda claro q nunca volveremos a ver con los mismos ojos al enemigo numero uno del murcielago. Este Wason queda fuera de los conceptos q teniamos sobre el, es todo menos un guason, es frio, calculador, incluso hasta te hace reir sin intentarlo, pero lo q lo diferencia del personaje interpretado por jack Nicholson es q uno es un psicopata, q disfruta de todo el desmadre q causa, mientras q otro es mas un payaso, no hay punto de comparacion, andan en contextos distintos, ninguno es mejor q el otro. Aunq si hay q decir q el Wason de  Heath Ledger se ha convertido en un verdadero badass!!

Despues de un rato llega un momento en q la pelicula empieza a levantar, rayos!! tenia ganas de ir al baño y no podia por q una accion llevaba a la otra, no habia descanso, hasta el final. Otro punto q me gusto es como el personaje de Harvey Dent interpretado por Aaron Eckhart sufre una transformacion al estilo de Anakin a Darth Vader o de Naked Snake a Big Boss, cuando pierde algo q amaba, claro q con una ayudadita del Wason.

Desgraciadamente Bruce Wayne fue opacado por todos en esta pelicula, Chrstian Bale estaba tan gris como el traje de Batman de la serie de los 60's. Te pasabas viendo mas lo q hacian o dejaban de hacer los demas personajes.

Desgraciadamente al final un problema de sonido ( fuimos a un Cinepolis) arruino la experiencia.. asi q como q me cuatrapie en la parte final...

Solo me resta decir q es muy recomendable, hay quienes la han visto una y otra vez, asi q si no haz tenido chance de hacerlo, apurate por q vale mucho la pena.

PD: La voy a hacer de profeta Heath Ledger va a ganar un Oscar por esta actuacion... se los dice el señor 100% seguro :P

Tonight we ate out, again.  This being grocery night, we didn't shop yet, so with the meager offerings of our little pantry, and because I was...*gulp* guilty.

Guilty of being LAZY!    Okay, I just don't like cooking, K? 

 I don't have an appreciative customer base here, and well, cooking on a Friday night?  NAH!

We took off toward Pizza Hut, but ended up at La Mesa, a local Mexican Restaurant in Leavenworth, KS. 

It was certainly doing good business when we arrived, always a good sign.  The restaurant had very color

ful carved  booths and benches.   Everything was business as usual for a combination menu ranging from 5-15 dollars a plate and a 3.99 kid's menu. 

  I really wanted a Margarita but i didn't push it. 

 I ordered a  simple taco, beans and rice. 

Doug had stuffed chile, and enchiladas, Little A had her usual chicken lumps, and Big A had taquitos. 

  They gave us plenty of warm chips and salsa before serving the entrees.  The waiter was attentive even though the restaurant was busy.

I don't know about Doug's food , but my chicken taco was DRY and rice was DRY, the taco shells disintegrated in my hands too.  So no kudos there, but this IS KANSAS, not say... California or Texas, or somewhere good like that, IS there good Mexican food in Kansas? 

  But it was an outing.  An outing that went fine with no fighting.  Something to be said for that right???

~The DVD

Okay so the title is deceiving.  I wish someone woulda told me Little Miss Sunshine is chock full o' cuss words!  I thought it was a nice family movie... oH geez I should tell you... cussing not-withstanding  the story was heeelarious, and a little sad and a whole lot touching at the same time.

 As some of you who read this blog who understand me by now, I loved this movie because it gives the kudos to the underdogs of the world.  I loved "Olive" as most of you who've seen the movie probably do by now.... see it, but don't bring the kids if you hate cussin'

8/21 vs EHC Munchen
8/22 vs EV Fussen
8/24 vs ERC Ingolstadt (DEL)
8/26 vs EV Ravensburg
8/29 vs Ausburger Panther (DEL)
8/31 vs ESV Kaufbeuren

あと、以前ここでも書いた、アジアリーグから日程の正式発表がありましたね。全チーム６試合総当りはフェアなので、とても良い方式だと思います。 私の情報源が結構正確で安心しましたｗ

There is no information that I can find on John Bult. Just this lasting impression, plastered all over the 'net. I can't say what hasn't already been said about the creepy impression this album gives me, and the incredulity that an album cover like this would actually be thought to sell records.

All I can do now is to say that this blogger seemed to put it best (get your Irish accent on as you read this quote):

Julie looks like a happy birthday girl, doesn't she? Who wouldn't want to be the object of John Bult's inappropriate lust?

He's doing this right, though. He took her to a nice place with a piano and tablecloths, he had a mug of beer to steady his nerves, and he's holding her hand as he whispers to her "Whatever you do, don't tell your dad."

What can I possibly add to that?

Now for this next album, I wouldn't bother mentioning the legendary 1983 album by Joyce Drake, simply titled, "Joyce", if it were not for the fact that it was deemed #1 on their list of crappy album cover of all time by the (UK) Guardian. This blogger says that this one is considered the Mona Lisa of bad album covers. And that is the only thing that makes the record legendary and worthy of any mention. Personally, it doesn't grab me either way.

I am hesitant to make intelligible comments on the record or the cover, for the first and foremost reason that it was most likely a vanity pressing. Joyce Drake, according to the most reliable sources, is a preacher's wife, and lives in Sealy, Texas; and has not released another record after this one. This album did not pass by a focus group; it also shows signs of having no makeup artist; nobody did her hair; nobody told her how to dress up. She simply posed for a photo and sang the songs on the record.

We make fun of it because of its profound lack of pretense. We are so awash in Photoshop-retouched images of perfection that when confronted with a record like this, we don't know how else to react. We recoil whenever someone is not seen to "get with the program", and to stick to the impossibly high standards we make of all those who put a photo of themselves out to print. Face it: if a person finances their own record, they are likely not going to follow the typical marketing path that succeeded for, say, Madonna. Such a thought may never have occured to them.

I think other possible (and compelling) album titles that would go well with this photo would be: "Can I borrow a shirt?" (look at the one he's got on), "Can I borrow 20 bucks for a haircut?", "Can I borrow 20 bucks until I get back on my back again (I'm almost there!)?", "Would you like fries with that?", or "Can I get something started for you?" to borrow from Starbucks.

Some guys are poets so they can attract women. Some guys have such musical power that they can summon scantily-clad women with just a little string accompaniment with a 6-string ukelele. Such is the miracle of Dinky.

Maybe she is not so much being summoned so much as that she was always there and with that music he's playing, she just can't keep her clothes on.

No information on this album cover. I could very well have my head up my keester and Dinky might actually be the name of the female. I've seen both in my online searches.

I've also seen such women rise from harmonicas. Dick Marris has a little woman right here. It must be real, since this album was recorded before the days of Photoshop and personal computers. Those were the days of miracle and wonder, when giants walked the earth. Certainly giant harmonicas were among us back then (either Richard is blowing a giant harmonica or his head and hands are small -- but then again, it has to be large enough to seat a "little lady", if you know what I mean).

A search for Dick Marris also turned out to be unfruitful.

Saya juga masih ingat, dulu dalam rangka memperingati hari anak nasional, ada acara di TV yang berjudul "Anak Seribu Pulau", sebuah film dokumenter yang menceritakan kisah keseharian anak-anak Indonesia dari berbagai pulau di Indonesia serta keindahan alam Indonesia (untuk yang kangen atau penasaran dengan film ini, beberapa rekaman videonya bisa dilihat di sini). Menurut saya film dokumenter karya Garin Nugroho dan Mira Lesmana ini merupakan salah satu film terbaik yang pernah saya tonton.  Kepolosan dan keceriaan anak-anak Indonesia, Indonesia dengan keindahan alam dan keanekaragaman budayanya semuanya tersaji dengan baik dalam film ini. Rasanya sangat emosional sekali dan banyak pertanyaan yang muncul dalam benak saya ketika saya menonton kembali beberapa potongan episode dari film ini. Bagaimanakah kondisi anak-anak yang ada di film ini sekarang, bagaimana kondisi alam tempat tinggal mereka, dan berbagai pertanyaan lainnya. Sungguh terharu saya melihat keceriaan anak-anak ini, tapi juga merasa sedih jika teringat banyak anak-anak Indonesia yang terancam masa depannya.

Tiga hari yang lalu saya membaca berita ini. Lagi-lagi sebuah kisah tentang seorang anak yang dipaksa oleh keadaan untuk melepaskan mimpi dan cita-citanya. Hal yang kembali mengingatkan saya pada tokoh Lintang dalam novel Laskar Pelangi. Masalah keterbatasan biaya untuk melanjutkan pendidikan adalah lagu lama di Indonesia. Tiap tahunnya ada ribuan anak Indonesia yang terpaksa putus sekolah karena tidak memiliki biaya. Tiap tahunnya negeri ini kehilangan bibit-bibit berpotensi yang seharusnya di masa depan nanti dapat membangun negeri ini. Ini masalah serius bung! Masalah ini bukan hanya tanggung jawab pemerintah saja, tapi ini juga tanggung jawab kita bersama. Well, saya akui memang saat ini saya belum dapat berkontribusi dengan penuh untuk mencari solusi bagi permasalahan ini. Paling tidak, lewat tulisan ini saya ingin mengingatkan diri saya pribadi dan kalian semua tentang masalah ini. Mari bersama-sama mengatasi masalah ini sesuai dengan kapasitas yang kita miliki. Kita dapat membantu dengan menyumbang dana beasiswa melalui LSM-LSM, menyumbang buku-buku pelajaran, dan lain-lainnya. Semoga di masa yang akan datang, kita semua memiliki kapasitas yang lebih besar lagi sehingga dapat memberikan solusi yang lebih kongkrit lagi.

Selamatkan anak-anak Indonesia..!!

I e-mailed my editor that I find it strange a state-wide political rally doesn't want the attention of the media. She said they're saying it's actually an "organizational strategy meeting."

Regardless of the reason, I'm not happy. This was my chance to cover my goal beat - politics - and truly put my favorite element of good journalism to the test - objectivity.

People will always have opinions - that's what makes them human. Contrary to what you may believe, journalists are human too. However, it's their responsibility to both report and write objectively, especially when it comes to politics.

Lord knows I have strong opinions on several issues, but my articles are not the forum to voice them. My job requires me to get and share accurate information.

This would have been a great opportunity to finally test my political objectivity. At least I still have the local elections coming up next month.

Enjoy your weekends. And please remember Randy Pausch: "CMU prof whose 'last lecture' moved millions dies."

Quiero que sepa que yo estoy completamente confundida y así hay un gentío. Esto está que arde, pero cada quien anda por su lado. Son muy difíciles las coincidencias y cada sector lo que busca es su acomodo.

A nadie le importa luchar por lo que es de todos que es el país que hoy están destruyendo como les da la gana sin que ninguno de nosotros podamos hacer nada por impedirlo. Y eso por una razón muy sencilla, no nos hemos organizado, por lo mismo de que cada quien anda en lo suyo. Y cuando se plantea la organización salen a relucir otras cosas como los programas o planes que se van a poner en práctica para adelantar una lucha con objetivos claramente definidos.

Yo le digo, mientras no cambiemos nuestra manera de actuar estaremos apoyando la permanencia o continuación del régimen que nos tiene pisoteados.

¿Y qué responder a esta exposición que es una síntesis del drama político que vivimos? Lo único que se nos ocurrió fue comentar las partes del discurso, guiado por la espontaneidad y la sencillez que acabábamos de escuchar.

AQUÍ LA CONFUSIÓN Y EL PRAGMATISMO SUSTITUYERON LA IDEOLOGÍA Y LA POLÌTICA

Lo primero es registrar como rasgo fundamental de este momento la confusión que proviene de la falta de objetivos claramente definidos en la lucha política. De allí que surja una multiplicidad de posiciones que se corresponden con los muchos grupos. Y se trata de posturas que poco o nada tienen que ver con alguna identificación política e ideológica. Esto es algo a lo que la gente en general le huye. Se prefiere sumar esfuerzos por el logro de reivindicaciones.

Pero a nivel de dirigentes se va un poco más allá: se asume la política como una simple práctica capaz de pagar buenos dividendos. Se prescinde, en consecuencia, de toda solicitud doctrinaria en lo político e ideológico. Se abraza simplemente lo que se ha dado en llamar pragmatismo.

UN CUADRO IDEOLÓGICO QUE CORRESPONDE AL PASADO

Y cuando exploramos el cuadro de ideas que prevalece en el gran vacío de pensamiento que define este tiempo, advertimos que todo está determinado por el pasado. Es a tal punto grave el asunto que el mal llamado socialismo del siglo XXI surge como un intento de enfrentar el vacío sin ir más allá de lo que ocurre en "el otro lado": socialdemocracia y socialcristianismo, dos escuelas afines al liberalismo y al positivismo.

Es entonces el siglo XIX en el XXI, en el entendido de que ni siquiera quien dice levantar las banderas de un tal socialismo de avanzada asume el marxismo como teoría fundamental para guiar la acción social, económica y política en general. El PSUV dice responder a un invento ideológico que junta tres raíces, las de Zamora, Bolívar y Simón Rodríguez y ninguna tiene que ver con marxismo y sólo puede aludirse a algunas ideas que pueden calificarse como socialistas en el marco del pensamiento robinsoniano.

UN COMPENDIO DE VACÍOS

En la práctica no cuenta para nada una determinada doctrina revolucionaria. Y, en el mejor de los casos habrá que decir que lo que se exhibe como Socialismo del Siglo XXI es un compendio de vacíos que dan cabida a los mismos y gastados esquemas del liberalismo y el positivismo, que aquí sirven a las empresas de los mercaderes de la politiquería.

AQUÍ NO HAY UNIDAD SINO PACTOS-ACUERDOS-NEGOCIACIONES

Por ello cuando se habla de unidad se refiere una mentira. La unidad tendría que partir de una auténtica comunión ideológica y política en términos doctrinarios. Y aquí no hay nada de eso. Todo está dispuesto para los acuerdos y negociaciones que permitan en cada caso llegar a pactos-arreglos que impliquen el reparto de beneficios. En este sentido hay que recordar que la historia de este ex-país se identifica con el botín que ha servido para todo tipo de componenda a lo largo de la llamada vida republicana.

UNA SOCIEDAD DE INTERESES IRRECONCILIABLES

De modo que la historia de la unidad política es una mentira que tiene en el fondo un propósito: tratar de ocultar que esta es una sociedad de intereses irreconciliables, como es el rasgo de todas las que están regidas por las leyes del capital. De modo que aquí no es posible admitir que estamos y vivimos en unas condiciones diferentes a las que determinan el poder de decisión y realización que corresponde a las minorías. Y eso significa en sí y por sí mismo la existencia de estructuras sociales montadas sobre los privilegios y las desigualdades, con un Estado que hace valer su maquinaria de violencia para resguardar el orden que define y determina el capital.

UN SOCIALISMO POSITIVISTA Y LIBERAL

No hay, en consecuencia, la aplicación de una nueva fórmula o doctrina para la comprensión, manejo y transformación. Hoy se acentúa el peso del pasado para que prevalezca y gobierne el cuerpo de ideas que emana del liberalismo y el positivismo.

Aquí se difunde el proyecto del SS/21 sobre la base de un Estado llamado a cumplir la vieja función de guardián y benefactor del capital y la que corresponde al Capitalismo de Estado, mediante la cual se acumula la riqueza que debe manejar el autócrata petrolero para imponer sus planes de "Nuevo Libertador de América", llamado a enfrentar y derrotar a los EEUU que "parecen destinados por la providencia para plagar a la América de miserias a nombre de la libertad".

La misión histórica del hegemón consiste en forjar la nueva unidad latinoamericana que permita dar la batalla final planteada desde el surgimiento de la ‘Revolución Cubana' y que se ve ahora reforzada por la presencia de Venecuba y la compra de apoyos a través del Alba, Petrocaribe y las inversiones que están contenidas en la multiplicidad de acuerdos establecidos a nivel regional y mundial.

LA ‘LOCURA HEORICA' ANTIIMPERIALISTA

La improvisación, por no decir la ‘locura heroica' ha llegado al punto de empeñarse en hacer de este ex-país la vanguardia del llamado antiimperialismo, sin atender en lo fundamental a lo que significa hoy la global-explotación.

Pensar en una tal multipolaridad comprada a punta de barriles de petróleo, como arma para enfrentar ‘el imperio' no va más allá de una ilusión dirigida a justificar su propio reino de ambiciones materializado en el SS/21.Un vacío junto a muchos otros para que el liberalismo y el positivismo en sus novísimas versiones continúen rigiendo nuestro destino.

Fuente: Analítica.com