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Friday, September 26, 2014

Fish for Friday

Edited by Morris Dean

[Anonymous selections from recent correspondence]

This is one of the best Jon Stewart commentaries...EVER! "Must-see morning clip: Jon Stewart gloriously schools GOP on climate change." Excerpt:
John Holdren is Sisyphus, charged with the impossible task of pushing a million pounds of idiot up a mountain.


While countless environmental organizations in the U.S. and Europe have raised millions of dollars and paid their staff members and legal advisers lavish salaries, but have done little or nothing to actually save any of the Amazon rain forest, the people who live there have had enough and have started taking direct action: "Amazon warriors fight off loggers."









In motorsports, the new sound of power is...silence? From the deafening roar of NASCAR, to the high-rev whine of Formula 1 and Indy car events, to the distinctive note of MotoGP motorcycle racing, fans can tell their favorite sport from all others simply by the way it sounds. In the brave new world of Formula E racing, it may not be quite the same, because the cars are powered at speeds up to 150 mph by the whir of electric motors "Formula E Set To Electrify The World Of Motor Racing." Hardcore gearheads may be skeptical, but the low-end torque and rapid acceleration provided by battery power may make Formula E more exciting than fans can imagine.







In all the concern over human lives lost and the rampant spreading of the Ebola virus, has anyone considered that in the greater scheme of things, Ebola may be the miracle that conservationists have been praying for to save endangered wildlife in Africa?



The worth of a teddy bear. Hours after his birth, Breeze was found stumbling around by a farmer. The new-born foal had been abandoned by his mother so the farmer took him to the Devon-based Mare and Foal Sanctuary, where they cared for him. What happened next is heart-warming. One of the staff put a four-foot giant teddy bear called Buttons into the stall with Breeze.
    The foal was instantly attracted to him. He had found a comforting replacement for his mother. The two are inseparable. The caregivers expect Breeze to be fine, thanks to the farmer who rescued him and to those who cared enough to take this little cutie in.




School subjects: "Creationism is just the start: How right-wing Christians are warping America’s schools: Miseducation isn't only a red-state problem. Right-wing Christians are effectively writing our country's textbooks." Opening paragraph:
One of the biggest obstacles for the conservative movement when it comes to recruiting new members is, to be frank, reality itself. History, science, economics are all fields constantly churning out information that makes right-wing ideology look silly, nonsensical and even delusional. In response, the conservative movement has launched a massive media campaign against reality that spreads out on Fox News, talk radio and the web, but despite all this, conservatives are not satisfied. The kids are who conservatives really want. That’s why the right is relentless about its attempts to get into public schools, throw out actual information and replace it with false and misleading ideology. Whether or not they’ll actually be successful in tricking kids into becoming conservatives is up for debate, but in the meantime, they are doing a lot of damage to childrens’ ability to get a decent education.




These questions were posted on an Australian tourism website, and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a great sense of humor (not to mention a low tolerance threshold for cretins!)
Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia? (USA )
    A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia? (France)
    A: Only at Christmas.

Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
    A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.





Limerick-inspired verse of the week:
Aeroplane travel makes agita flare:
The stress of long flight I simply can't bear;
    the roar is the worst,
    list that one the first,
but second's rebreathing all the foul air.
Copyright © 2014 by Morris Dean

12 comments:

  1. Hold the phone! It's completely irresponsible to put out the inflammatory claim that there were 313 "extrajudicial killings" of black people in 2012 without saying more about "Operation Ghetto Storm" and explaining what criteria were used in determining "extrajudicial." The blog is affirming that 313 were killed by government authorities who acted illegally; that is, criminally. Even the fatal shooting in Ferguson cannot be counted as extrajudicial unless and until the police officer has been found guilty of a crime.

    Almost as bad is the box that follows with the words "Black Lives Matter." Is that an insight that the blog needs to impress upon any savages that might be in the audience?

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    Replies
    1. Ken I'm sorry, but I'm having a hard time understanding if you believe or disbelieve the article. I cannot say one way or the other as I believe it is more important to stop the illegal killing, even if it is one person, so the fact that one or 313 were killed, still points to a big problem. I also believe trial by cell-phone camera is unjust because it only tells the story through the eyes of the person running the camera. Police wearing body cameras would stop most unwarranted police violence and tell a truer story of the events.

      Delete
    2. Ed, I'm having a hard time, too. That's the point. It's a shocking claim. It's saying that law officers are killing hundreds of black people without legal justification. One can't say this and move on without a good deal of explaining.

      No, 1 and 313 point to completely different problems. They are orders of magnitude apart. 1 means we have a crazy cop. 313 means we have an epidemic of law officers committing racially motivated murders. Body cameras would not suffice to deal with a problem of that magnitude.

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    3. I hope that your illusion that arbitrary police behavior happens to "the other" continues to be true for you. Even here in the S.F. Bay Area to be Black, Brown, Homeless or Old is to be at risk.

      The increasing militarization of the cops is merely symptomatic of the degree that the U.S. remains a police state, maintaining white male privilege in which only "white lives matter".

      The true "savages" have badges, guns and impunity.

      Delete
    4. Tom, perhaps you could say why you think I believe that "arbitrary police behavior happens to 'the other'." I'm not aware that I said anything of the kind. Although I apparently did give you an opportunity to orate about "the increasing militarization of the cops" and the U.S. as a police state. I agree with some of that but, really, isn't the lack of proper documentation of such a serious subject quite a different topic? I just want to know who these accusers are and whether they're equating not-guilty verdicts with extrajudicial killing. Focus, man, focus.

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    5. Did you follow the events in Ferguson, Mo. ? "Lack of documentation" pretty sums up the official response. I'm more likely to trust community groups as a source than either local officials or media.

      As to whether your demographic is as "at risk" as a teen in East San Jose may be debatable, but the realty is not abstract for the grieving families and friends of the victims.

      Delete
    6. Yes, I've followed the events in Ferguson. The official response hasn't been registered. The grand jury isn't expected to report until November. You can imagine why they're being so deliberate. No, I take that back—you can't imagine. Not if you think that "lack of documentation" is an official response.

      Your second paragraph reads like a gibberish non sequitur. What are you smoking, Tom?

      Delete
    7. A couple of suggestions:
      Check the settings on your "reality filters", they may be a bit high.
      Take it easy. Carrying "the white man's burden" may be getting heavy for you in old age. Go take some photos, you're quite good.

      Delete
  2. do we have savages in our audience? if so,they rarely comment.

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    Replies
    1. I feel a little like one before my coffee, but I haven't killed anyone---yet.

      Delete
    2. Saying "Black Lives Matter" is condescending as hell. It presupposes that some of us might never have recognized their humanity. I think my father said much the same to me when I was 8 years old.

      Delete
  3. Thanks as ever to my thoughtfully witnessing correspondents for their fishy bits: unscientific ignorance among members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, extrajudicial killing of black people, direct action to try to save the Amazon rain forest, the self-interest of Dick Cheney, Norman Mailer on the social injustice of wealth, ineptness, Formula E racing, responsible selfhood, the silence of friends, moving forward whatever, tiger, lion & bear, teddy-bear mother to a young horse, more social damage by right-wing Christians, life there versus life here, humor, two burdens of air travel identified in verse....

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