Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The End I am finally giving in to the Diaspora here... and will be swimming in Open Salon, where there is a community building, rather than shrinking, and the software is seriously more friendly. New blog, new name, but no forwarding address. A new beginning. 1:31:25 AM    humor me... ~~

Saturday, March 08, 2008

5:14:06 PM    humor me... ~~

Monday, March 03, 2008

Another way to support Black Flag Week without putting up a complete post... would be just to use one of the above logos on your blog or website. And then... please let us know at AchievingOurCountry.blogspot.com -- about your efforts and particpation -- in the comments. 10:18:23 PM    humor me... ~~

Sunday, March 02, 2008

from ondolette: Next week, March 9-15, is Black Flag Week in Pakistan. The lawyers in Pakistan will carry black flags. And they will probably march, as they have done since November, for the reinstatement of the judiciary, for the rule of law, and for the return to the Constitution and democracy in Pakistan. The head of the lawyers, Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, has been knocking heads with the government over the rule of law during multiple dictatorships going back to Zia ul Haq and Ayub Khan. Pakistan has not had a steady democracy, but rather military dictatorships alternating with often corrupt democratic rule, for most of its history. Brief History of the Lawyers Protests The current military government took power in a coup in 1999 at the end of a standoff with India at the line of control, the separation between the two countries in Kashmir. Pervez Musharraf rewrote the Constitution, and ruled as both the head of the military and the president, and has staged rigged elections to maintain power. When the Constitution forbade him to run again this year, he fired the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudry, hoping to get a better decision on running. Ominously, he had also been apprehending and interrogating terrorism suspects, holding them without charge, and allegedly turning them over to the Americans for interrogation. The Court released many of them, and demanded that the government either bring charges against the others and arraign them in court, or release them. The rest of the court did not go along with Musharraf’s move, and reinstated Chaudry. On November 3, 2007, Musharraf declared an Emergency, and suspended the Constitution. He placed many thousands under house arrest, he sacked the entire Supreme Court and judiciary and made signing an oath to support the rules he replaced the Constitution with a precondition to reinstatement. He created a packed court, but most of the original justices refused to sign, and many justices and barristers were placed under house arrest. As well, many human rights workers, in particular Asma Jahangir, the Pakistan Human Rights Commissioner, were put under house arrest, as were political candidates, including Benazir Bhutto. With his permission to run in hand, Musharraf scheduled elections, but there were many flaws, and many protests. Musharraf, under both domestic and international pressure, lifted the Emergency, but many remained under house arrest, especially many lawyers, including Aitzaz Ahsan, and Justice Iftikhar Chaudry (who still are). Most of the world knows that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007. This led to postponement of the elections, many realignments, and the issues of democracy, the Constitution and the judiciary coming to the fore. On February 18, opposition parties delivered a crushing defeat to Musharraf’s party, and a new government is forming around the Pakistan People’s Party, the Pakistan Muslim League - N (Nawaz), and the Awami National Party in the FATA region. There was an overwhelming vote in this referendum for the return to the rule of law, to secular government, and to reinstate the Constitution and judiciary. The Pakistani Parliament has two houses, the lower house, and the Senate. Musharraf’s people maintain a majority in the Senate, although it is weakening (6 senators broke with the majority last week bringing his lead there to 51-49). But although the incoming coalition has the two thirds majority it needs in the Lower House, it does not in the Senate, and therefore impeachment or a restoration of the 1973 Constitution (the last completely ratified) will wait until the necessary votes are there. Most observers believe this is only a matter of time as long as the pressure is on, and hopefully not too much longer. Stunningly, the government of the United States is continuing to treat Musharraf as if he has not suffered such a massive defeat. If democracy is to mean anything, the will of the people cannot be thwarted, and the U.S. support has brought criticism and suspicion of Americans in Pakistan. Where does it go from here? Throughout the crisis since November 3rd, people who watched the news in Pakistan have seen pictures of the lawyers, dressed in their trademark black suits, demonstrating for reinstatement of the judiciary and the return to the rule of law. These haven’t been the most peaceful of demonstrations, lawyers have been beaten, some arrested, there are allegations of harsh interrogation, in one case a lawyer’s kidneys failed during imprisonment, and tear gas. These lawyers have persevered, and continue to demonstrate. For those paying attention, this has been a drama that is at once uncomfortably violent, and inspiring in the courage shown by the lawyers, by the people who attend the demonstrations where it is not unheard of for people to be injured or die at the hands of bombers, by the people who went out to vote, by the bloggers and press, who maintained the flow of information both internally and out of the country and shot down concocted stories and propaganda that governments use when they are in trouble. Before the elections, the new military chief, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, ordered the army to vacate all government positions, and to maintain a separation between the military and the government. This move was instrumental in keeping the level of vote rigging low enough for the will of the people to be heard during the February elections. So the signs are right for a real return to democracy, for a real return to the rule of law, and for reinstatement of the Constitution and the judiciary in Pakistan. A healthy secular democracy there is an outcome that will benefit the entire world, and as we have learned in many countries over the past two decades, the real basis for a healthy democracy is respect for the Constitution, and the rule of law. On Black Flag Week, there is an opportunity to show solidarity for the Pakistani lawyers and their struggle for the things that we in this country hold to be fundamental — civil rights, democracy, law, and a Constitution. It isn’t there yet, and it won’t be unless the pressure is kept on. Even once it comes, it will be a slow climb out of corruption and broken rule, and the country has many problems including poverty, religious militancy, and illiteracy. The new government will more than have its hands full. It will have a much easier job if the laws of the country are secure. Please help show support for these lawyers. Please wear a black armband or other black clothing during the Black Flag Week, and please take the time to educate others on what that clothing or armband means. If the rule of law is fundamental, then it is never too unimportant to grow and strengthen it, anywhere in the world. 9:19:01 PM    humor me... ~~

Friday, November 23, 2007

So, apparently, I had a net loss of 9 or 10 pounds from last year's doctor's visit to this year's. I honestly don't recall the specific gains/losses in between, but I do remember buying some larger pants more than once. My doctor was pleased, since patients don't always lose weight just because he suggests that they might benefit... I had heard what he said last year, but there was also the issue of having to buy new clothes, plus wondering what was happening to my teeth after consuming all of those butterscotch candies and pony-size cans of root beer. So I finally eliminated them, having more or less satisfied that craving for satisfying and rounded tastes (resulting from no more wheat or dairy). Now I'm in between my smallest and largest pant sizes. What I meant to say to him-- and to the nurse who was wishing she could just stop eating something and get results-- was that I think it may have been due to paying more attention to my essential fatty acids, both the intake and the ratio. It seems to me that it really made the difference. * * * Speaking of food... check out this story by Blake Fleetwood at Huffington Post on the rapidly increasing costs of groceries. He cites an article by the New York Daily News by Pulitzer Prize winner William Sherman: "Sherman shows that there is not much for us to be thankful for in terms of the cost of food we put on the table this week. Consumers are getting slammed with the biggest increase in food prices in a decade -- fueled by a perfect storm of rising grain prices and a falling dollar. Poultry -- including your Thanksgiving Turkey -- along with dairy products have risen the most. A glass of milk costs New Yorkers up to 42% more than last holiday season. The wholesale price of eggs has soared 86% compared to last fall, at one point. "I'm spending $50 to $80 more a week on food than last year", according to one Harlem shopper. The surge is driven by a ripple effect -- the Iraq war, the rise in oil prices, the growing deficits -- and a confluence of factors beginning with corn and wheat crops diverted to ethanol production, according to economists." 7:24:42 PM    humor me... ~~

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The Ultimate Omega-3 Diet by Evelyn Tribole... Apparently, it is not enough just to add Omega-3 fats to your diet... you must also try to limit the Omega-6 fats. Otherwise, an imbalance can cause inflammatory conditions... So much for all of those heart-healthy fats the food-police have been urging us to eat. Maybe they're not so good for us, after all. I've already been doing some of this on my own, but blindly, without enough information. Now, I have a bit more data. 9:41:23 PM    humor me... ~~

Thursday, June 21, 2007

From an online chat at the Washington Post yesterday... Oakland, Calif.: Mr. Cohen, do you sincerely believe that when "practicing the dark art of politics," "it is often best to keep the lights off," and if so, how do you reconcile your view with the Fourth Estate's responsibility to serve as the public's watchdog against the abuse of power? Richard Cohen: I think my responsibility is not the same as a politician's responsibility. I think there are a lot of things that are done in any line of work that you may not want to see exposed. Everyone in their life is a hypocrite of some sort, we all have areas of our lives we aren't particularly proud of, we cut a corner here or there. Politics is probably the most open of all endeavors -- it's on the public record, it's covered by the press, and people engaged in it can't keep their mouths shut anyway. But there are elements of politics -- leaks, anonymous sources -- have been done for years and years and years. And while some of this can be abused -- anonymous sources need to be limited more in my opinion -- they can be extremely useful. The reader was apparently trying to follow up on a column by Mr. Cohen from the previous day, in which he wrote: With the sentencing of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Fitzgerald has apparently finished his work, which was, not to put too fine a point on it, to make a mountain out of a molehill. At the urging of the liberal press (especially the New York Times), he was appointed to look into a run-of-the-mill leak and wound up prosecuting not the leaker -- Richard Armitage of the State Department -- but Libby, convicted in the end of lying. This is not an entirely trivial matter since government officials should not lie to grand juries, but neither should they be called to account for practicing the dark art of politics. As with sex or real estate, it is often best to keep the lights off. Really? 7:37:34 AM    humor me... ~~

Friday, June 08, 2007

I got sidetracked... come and check it out. 11:36:02 PM    humor me... ~~

Friday, May 11, 2007

The emphasis at Bread Crumbs... is going to shift-- to something about books-- but before I can make any major changes, I need to somehow archive whatever might be worth keeping... and then I have to re-work the side-bar. Some of those links will stay here; others will move to Lyssa Strada, if they're not already there. In the meantime, and because it makes sense in terms of the transition, I am featuring some books that deserve more attention, the kind of attention that causes one to actually purchase them. I was prompted to do so because of this particular post which actually documented something that has been discussed quite a bit in the blogosphere... that all of the pundits and journalists who were so wrong about the WMD/Iraq, etc., are still on super-achieving career paths. Ironically, those who were right about the manipulations and the fiasco that would follow, are not. On the same super-achieving career paths. So, just in case you might wish to support one or more of these prescient writers... I have provided some links. Robert Scheer's Truthdig. Okay, this one is not really a book, but an online publication started by Scheer after the LA Times fired him for telling the truth. In 2004, The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq, by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Robert Scheer, co-authored with his son Christopher Scheer and reporter Lakshmi Chaudury, [was] funded by readers of the website Alternet.org. Despite receiving little play in the media, the book, which describes the roots of the Iraq quagmire, received publicity via the Internet, alternative radio shows and word of mouth and landed on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list. [Now that's ironic!] William Lind, even though a conservative, still gets no respect, again, because he dared to tell the truth during the run-up to the war. "Still writing for a small audience. Lind is a contributor to The American Conservative and websites like Military.com, Counterpunch, and Antiwar.com." Jonathan Schell's book, The Unconquerable World, which effectively predicted the disaster in Iraq. "Schell's main audience is the committed group of lefties who subscribe to The Nation. He drily remarks that, 'There doesn't seem to be a rush to find the people who were right about Iraq and install them in the mainstream media.'" Scott Ritter's recent book, Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change. "When world leaders spoke confidently about Saddam's biological and chemical weapons, Ritter was a lonely voice, saying that the arsenals had been destroyed after the first Gulf War. Having spent several years in Iraq as a U.N. inspector, the former marine had experience to support his statements. As we now know, he was correct." 8:50:18 PM    humor me... ~~

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

On being MIA or AWOL... guilty. as charged. And, like any other missing or absent member of a cohort, I have been reconsidering my activities. To blog or not to blog? Especially, when comments and letters seem to draw more response? These questions are further complicated by having responsibility for two blogs, this one and another. Blogs that attract more readers usually contain much more original writing than I have produced lately, except, as I mentioned, in letters and comments, where the discussions can get pretty heated, but can also arrange for the meeting of minds. Bread Crumbs has usually trended more political than I originally intended, but to paraphrase... when the house is on fire, you don't stop to rearrange the furniture. Though still smoldering, the fire seems far less urgent right now. And in real life, we are planning some refurbishing, but that isn't necessarily great blogging fodder, either, at least not for me. Family and work are more or less out of the question... Off-line, I've started working on some personal stories, but they won't work here, either. Still awaiting a muse. Other things I have been considering writing about here include what I've been reading, cooking, eating, not necessarily in that order. I've been experimenting. Reading: in addition to Salon's letter threads, the latest Harper's, bits and piece of Nora Ephron's book about hating her neck (I'm trying to avoid the whiney parts), just finished Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, recently read: Calvin Trillin's About Alice, and Liz Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Cooking: mostly in the microwave, in single bowls, beginning with an individual packet of grits or oatmeal, to which I add one or two eggs (after initial cooking of grain), and other goodies, for a light, but nutrient-dense, and delicious one-person casserole, sans wheat/dairy/soy. A particular favorite, of late, includes pumpkin pie filling. Eating: see above, plus lots of Ricola elderberry drops (trying to avoid butterscotch), a moderate amount of dark chocolate (preferably Green and Black's). Ian's frozen dinners (intended for children, but they make some that are free of all major food allergens, and no one else does.) Various soups, usually potato & leek, with a can of sardines packed in olive oil, and usually for lunch. Brownies from Foods by George. (GFCF, i.e., gluten-free, caseine-free) 11:20:30 PM    humor me... ~~

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