• 1,003 replies
    marye
    Joined:
    When our previous topic hit the 1,000-response mark, sleazy behavior by politicians was eliciting a certain amount of non-astonishment.

Comments

sort by
Recent
Reset
  • marye
    Joined:
    I think
    it is huge progress that the jury convicted on something that carried prison time, would stand up under appeal, and added the firearms enhancement which at least doubles the sentence. This is essentially without precedent. I would expect Oscar Grant's mother to say what she said, but she was not speaking from knowledge of the law (and also the family has been coopted by some really sleazeball opportunists as well, which was only to be expected). As the law is written, I do not think her son was murdered. For one thing I don't think Mehserle is bright enough to form intent. I also believe his shock in the video. He is stupid and ill-trained (the latter much attested to in the trial) and that goes bad very quickly in a volatile situation when your work culture involves pushing people around (and yes, I find a culture that rewards pushing people around reprehensible). To convict on any of the higher charges they would have had to essentially prove intent, and based on the videos and testimony, that would have been very difficult as the versions varied wildly. It is far better for Mehserle to go down on charges that stick and send a message that this shit carries painful consequences than to have a smart lawyer get him off because he could convince an appeals court the jury was overreaching. Also, what is not clear to non-locals was that this was not the Oakland PD. Not that the OPD doesn't have issues, but it wouldn't have hired Mehserle on a bet. This was the transit police, which tends to attract power-tripping police wannabes no reputable PD would have as a gift. (Another BART cop Tased some loser for jumping a fare gate the other week. That didn't play too well either.) I've seen a great many rants online blaming the OPD for this, but this ain't their crime.
  • starsleeper
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    good ol' BP
    British Petroleum, or Beelzebub's Partner? Ain't no friend of mine. Plug the damn hole, please.
  • Anonymous (not verified)
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Marye, I'm confused...
    You think it is progress that the jury convicted on a lesser charge? Because they haven't convicted a cop of anything in the last 15 years? I know you live in Oakland and I understand that locals should know better than anybody else. But, this is not a brave jury making an historic judgment here. This is a savvy prosecutor maneuvering for a conviction. Better than nothing but not justice for the mother of that man. I disagree with violence in any form, including property damage that scoundrels do in these kind of events. There should be an avenue for these people to channel their protests but there is no way for them to be heard unless they resort to something like this. Oakland knows what happens to the leaders of black people. The Dead did a benefit at the Oakland Aud.for the Black Panthers in 1970 or thereabouts. I guess you may be right from a longer term perspective but I'll wait till I see a trend before declaring victory.
  • marye
    Joined:
    I disagree, and I live here.
    You have to realize that this takes place against a backdrop of there being no known case for the last 15 years in which cops were brought up on murder charges and any of them was convicted of jack. This is the first instance I'm aware of in which a jury, and an L.A. jury at that, didn't just say, he's a cop, give him a pass. I'm really impressed with the judge and the jury on this case. The jury convicted him of manslaughter, to which he should have manned up and pled in the first place of course. AND they added a firearms enhancement which should at least double Mehserle's time. And they delivered a verdict on very solid ground that's unlikely to be reversed on appeal. Moreover, it will be invaluable to the Grants in their wrongful death lawsuit. In the world we live in, this verdict is an historic breakthrough of epic proportions, however much people who come into Oakland to seize the moment to loot stores may disagree.
  • Anonymous (not verified)
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    The riots in Oakland last night...
    ...were because a transit cop shot a bound black man dead at point blank range. The man was facing down on his stomach with his hands tied behind his back. The transit cop said he was going for his taser but pulled his gun instead. 80 people were arrested in Oakland last night for setting fire to shops and cars, there was sporadic looting. The insurrection started when the verdict was announced in LA yesterday: Involuntary manslaughter. The victim's mother could be heard on the news forcefully stating three times "My son was murdered!". Sometimes the public jumps to conclusions based on cell phone footage or some such but in this case we have the conclusion of a full jury trial of a cop-killing of an unarmed black man, bound, face down on the platform. What need is there for the cop to tase the guy in this position, never mind shoot and kill him? The error here is so egregious in so many ways that it was bound to provoke such a reaction. " ...can't we all just get along? Rodney King
  • Gr8fulTed
    Joined:
    Sunshine Daydreaming
    Welcome to the USA, Bob! Postage for the next vine package ought to be cheaper. Michigan jam....
  • johnman
    Joined:
    Bob is in the U.S.??!!?
    and when did this happen??...wow...i HAVE been out of touch!!!
  • marye
    Joined:
    I am so with you Al.
    Telling other people they can't have what we've got is bad behavior.
  • gratefaldean
    Joined:
    Gonzo...nukes
    First, I'll state that the world needs nuclear weapons about as much as it needs a black hole at the core of the planet. Get rid of them all, period, no exceptions. NO EXCEPTIONS! But, it does make me insane at times that we (the US "we", and others, but especially the only country that's actually used them as weapons) have the audacity to insist, for example, that Iran should not develop such a weapon. It's the right thing to put a stop to nuclear weapon proliferation...but the wrong thing to say, well, "It's ok for us to have them, but not you!" That huge disconnect between what we say and what we do just makes me shake, gnash my teeth, and pull out what little hair I have left. Damn, I think I just knocked out a filling!
  • TigerLilly
    Joined:
    Yes marye
    He packed up and moved-having never been there before in his life! Kudos to Bob the Brave! And we probably should all wish him luck in his new life adventure.********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Forums
When our previous topic hit the 1,000-response mark, sleazy behavior by politicians was eliciting a certain amount of non-astonishment.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

15 years
Permalink

So the empty suit in the WH is afraid to expose himself, and express his honest opinion about the hugely insensitive plan by Rauf, the Ground Zero Islamofascist, yet in the Gates case, he couldn't wait to tell us the white cops "acted stupidly..." I guess they belong under the bus along with his "typical white" grandmother...and now Nutsy Pelosi wants to "investigate" me, and the other 70% of Americans who know what our enemy is up to...hmmm, I wonder if she's including Harry Reid...???
user picture

Member for

17 years 3 months
Permalink

as non-judgemental and informed as ever, I see.********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

Yesterday I commented on how much I'd have hated being on Blago's jury, boldly proclaiming that I'd prefer an armed robbery or murder trial anyday. In a "reap what you sow" moment, I arrived home last night to find a summons to jury duty in our stack of mail. I'm 55 yrs old, and this is my FIRST-EVER jury summons. This cannot just be a coincidence. Can it? I at first thought this was a case of cause-and-effect: I wrote this thing down, then out of the blue (postal uniforms are still blue, aren't they?) something quite related happened . Thinking about it some more, I realized that the summons was already in the mail when I was spouting off, so it looks less like cause-effect and a little more like clairvoyance to me. One shot deal, or the start of something new? How can I use my new-found power to do good, or at least to win scads of money?
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Congrats. Mr. Dean. You are about to find out what one of your sacred duties as a US citizen is. America needs more people on juries like yourself. I hope you serve honorably. I think you lose money an a jury, unless your vote is for sale. As it is said: "In America, we get the best justice money can buy." (More directed at the lawyers, I believe)
user picture

Member for

17 years 3 months
Permalink

Just cuz you're summoned doesn't necessarily mean you'll end up serving jury duty-I THINK anyhow! But congrats on being given the opportunity to do your civic duty!! Always wanted to play 12 Angry Men, but the summons never came :(********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

I'm 54 and have never been summoned myself. Like you I've been somewhat disappointed by that. You may find that the attorneys really don't want discerning folks on the jury and you may not get to serve anyway! Best of luck. Let us know how it goes!
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

My preferring a murder trial statement (as it relates to clairvoyance, that is), but I might get disqualified if I get questioned about the death penalty. As I'm anti- , I'd have a hard time voting conviction for someone who might end up on death row. I liked it much better when I lived in a no-death-penalty state...
user picture

Member for

17 years 3 months
Permalink

indeed a dilemma, and I would have the same problem!********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

I figure how would be asked my opinion on the death penalty and automatically disqualified by the prosecutor. If I actually got on the jury I think I could determine guilt or innocence independent of that but if I the jury determined sentence I could never vote to put someone to death.
user picture

Member for

15 years 10 months
Permalink

Unless you are unemployed and have nothing better to do. As far as the death penalty goes that is about as controversial as it gets. If someone harmed my daughter or any family member for that matter I'd have a hard time feeling sorry for them being put on death row. But yes I know in the grand scheme it is a very touchy subject. Don't worry - you may not even be picked for one thing and the chances are if you are picked it will be a snoozer trial for shoplifting or something. "The dire wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire"
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Watching the news on Friday is always interesting. They put stuff on that would otherwise get buried. They know that a lot of people aren't paying attention. Last Friday the news about the flood was frightening. They took a plane over the flood and there was nothing but water (with small islands) for 25 minutes. The worst thing was the sound bites. I've never heard people who are starving begging for food before. OMG! I'm making a small donation today. My wife dug up a picture on the internet some time ago of buzzards following a starving child in Eritrea (N. Africa). The photographer committed suicide shortly after taking the picture, some time after the child just fell over and died. These images can haunt you. I guess some things should be censored from the news (and I thought I'd never say that). Not the fact that people are starving, but the live images.
user picture

Member for

17 years 3 months
Permalink

German news was talking last night about how aid reaction is so small and so late. They showed some heart-rending scenes as well. Now cholera is breaking out. The Pakistanis are soo desperate they accepted aid from their arch-enemy India. One tiny ray of hope in that awful situation, I suppose; if neighbor India is reaching out in Pakistan's hour of need.********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

16 years 10 months
Permalink

that 1/3 of Pakistan is underwater.....I just can't imagine that. why are we not seeing more in the news? I've always had a problem with the media, but this is ridiculous.
user picture

Member for

15 years 9 months
Permalink

The Pakistan government turned their heads on their own people before, during and now after the floods. It's sad but I can also understand why the people there are ready to start a revolution. "The dire wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire"
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

They are supporting all kinds of dark things, including the Taliban. They see India behind every tree, trying to take over their country. The governments of the world have thus far contributed $800,000,000, including Nepal, the thirteenth poorest country in the world. Still, it is nothing compared to the cost of rebuilding most of the country's infrastructure. No wonder Gandhi was so pained by the partition of India in 1947.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

The 110 (not the Harbor Freeway in LA) has been backed up for more than 10 days. It is taking drivers three days to get through. The traffic is backed up all the way to Inner Mongolia. The jam is expected to last another 30 DAYS!! Jeez, how do you explain that one to your significant other? "Uhhh, honey? Yeah, the trip to Mongolia went well but I've got a small problem now... I just cleared the Great Wall and won't be home for three days because of traffic." The Chinese are blaming everything but the real reason, there are simply too many cars and lorries for the road to handle. They are getting strangled by their own prosperity. This is not just a problem in China. It is all over the developing world. China is a more than interesting example of an economy run amok on unbuckled capitalism. Where will it all lead? I think the winter weather patterns this year may give us part of the answer.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

14 years 2 months
Permalink

I have searched for good news can find nothing we got floods bp afghanistan and the rest of the shit.Old lady in sheffield uk got a hip replacement free on the nhs thats all igot. I will take this opportunity too say hell send you good blessings and wish you peace. Smiles.
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

Found alive in Chilean cave-in. That's the great news!! The I-can't-imagine-it news is that it could be 4 months before they can be rescued. FOUR MONTHS!! That mining company must be a BP subsidiary.... Sorry, Gonzo, the best I could do this morning.
user picture

Member for

17 years 3 months
Permalink

2This August marks the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four’s debut 48-night stint at Indra, a strip club on Große Freiheit, a notorious side street that runs off the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's infamous red-light boulevard." The Local (Germany's news in English) ********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

16 years
Permalink

And the Midwest baby....also Red ROX!!!!!♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥ Twirly Banner
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Will continue looking for good news to bring here. Happy for miners, Beatles & Furthur coming to Chicagoland.
user picture

Member for

16 years 10 months
Permalink

You dear folks know I'm EXTREMELY non-partisan (hate' em all, greedy bastards), but I'm wondering why Pelosi wants an investigation into who's funding the anti-mosque ads in New York, but doesn't seem concerned with who is funding the cultural center itself? Is dissent now illegal? Doesn't that put the shoe on the other foot? And why is the cost of chocolate going up? Dang...i need a cookie
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

...you might seem to be in league with Rauf, the Ground Zero Islamofascist, along with Nutsy (Pelosi) & Harry -- characters to which Dewlover has introduced us. (Sorry, couldn't resist that :) :) :)) Actually, we got your cookies, J'man. The good ones. We give'em out in the parking lots of churches after AA meetings. The first one is always free!
user picture

Member for

16 years 10 months
Permalink

but i think what's good for the goose is good for the gander, so to speak.......er.................uh....but really, shall we silence dissent that we disagree with? are we only going to allow opinions that agree with our own?................AA meetings?......hmmmm...Deadheads anonymous, mebbe!!....heeheeeee!! Hi....my name is johnman...and I have Dead tapes at home.....
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

( & ) ; ~ }
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

14 years 2 months
Permalink

London uk weds this week woman filmed picking up a cat a locking it in a dustbin.I am naming and shaming this bitch Mary bale 45 from london.Poor pussy was in the bin for 15 hours but is well now. Mary said and i quote i really dont understand what people are getting excited about its only a cat.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

What are those wild and crazy guys in Iran up to these days? I mean besides celebrating the making of fissionable material to make nukes with? They are copying the US military's drones. Instead of coming up with a cool name like "reaper" or "predator" they came up with: Ambassador of Death! You know, I'm beginning to believe these sand flea bitten Persian camel jockeys are obsessed with death. Not that I wouldn't be if I was going toe-to-toe with the US & Israel. Yikes!! I think Obama needs to draft the Dalai Lama and launch him as an Ambassador of Peace...
user picture

Member for

16 years
Permalink

Maybe they just need some acoustic Dead? 10-10-80 Warfield Theater, San Francisco, Ca. (Fri) Acoustic: On The Road Again, Roses, Monkey & Engineer, Jack A Roe, Dark Hollow, To Lay Me Down, Heaven Help The Fool, Bird Song> Ripple Electric-1: Half Step> Franklin's, Me & My Uncle> Big River, Candyman, BIODTL, Row Jimmy, Minglewood, Althea> Jack Straw Electric-2: Scarlet> Fire, Samson, Big RxR Blues, Estimated> Eyes> Drumz> Truckin> Nobody's Jam> Black Peter> Around> Promised E: U. S. Blues "Jack A Roe" appears on "Dead Set" - last "Nobody's Jam": 08-13-79 [98] ♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥ Twirly Banner
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

~ let there be songs to fill the air ~ somehow I don't think ahdmadhinejad is listening though - but we can hope!!
user picture

Member for

16 years
Permalink

When he sayed "Imadinnerjacket" ahmendinasomething lol♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥ Twirly Banner
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

14 years 2 months
Permalink

A copy of reckoning and the dalai lama may help maybe we should introduce some white widow too this party.Seriously they are beyond help.I wish them all peace.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

DL: So, Ahhdie, whats up with the ambassadors of death?AHD: It's kind of a status symbol in our part of the world Really? Yeah, reigning down death and destruction on your enemy when he least expects it is all the rage these days. Well, uhh, do you think you might tone down the names a bit? What do you suggest? How about "Messenger of Gentle Persuasion" with a non-exploding warhead? No, no, no. In Iran we're all death to this and that and mother of all them and those. Ahhdie, whats this macho posturing all about? Death to infidels, Dolly! Maybe you guys just need to unleash your inner lambs Nahh, we kill them too - delicious!
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

My wife asked me this morning "Is marriage the end of hope?" -- I turned to her and said, without missing a beat, "No, Glen Beck is the end of hope!" We both got a good laugh on that one! Seriously, this former morning commute DJ doesn't deserve demagogue status, he deserves a freakin' Oscar for playing the role to the 9s. I do not believe this guy actually believes a word that is coming out of his mouth. He is rich beyond anyone's wildest imagination because he was in the right place at the right time. I don't blame him a bit. However, this vitriolic hyperbole about Obama is just plain dangerous. The lunatic right-wing fringe has descended on Washington DC en masse along with a lot of well-meaning people concerned about the defecit who are along as normal window-dressing for the crazies. They will rally at the Lincoln Memorial in DC tomorrow. If any rally ever deserved to be stink-bombed it is this one. The danger is that some freak will try to end Obama's life. And, Glen Beck is like the dog that told Berkowitz to do the killing. Chilling, isn't it?
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Picture two skeletons walking down a beach into a glorious sunset. We sure had a great time this summer. Hoping you are too! Enjoy!!
user picture

Member for

17 years 3 months
Permalink

How you been? Vid is great btw! :) ********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture

Member for

17 years 3 months
Permalink

"Iranian newspapers have been banned from publishing the names or photos of the leaders of Iran's green movement, according to a confidential governmental ruling revealed by an opposition website. The move is part of a new round of censorship, which follows the recent closure of a newspaper and the suspension of two magazines." Guardian.co.uk ********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

The meeting of 12 government ministers was held in scorching heat Friday in Gashuunii Khooloi, a sandy valley in South Gobi province, about 670 kilometers south of Ulan-Bator. GASHUUNII KHOOLOI, Mongolia – Top Mongolian officials donned dark green baseball caps reading "Save our planet" and set up chairs and tables in the sands of the Gobi desert for a Cabinet meeting aimed at drawing attention to climate change. The meeting of 12 government ministers was held in scorching heat Friday in Gashuunii Khooloi, a sandy valley in South Gobi province, about 415 miles (670 kilometers) south of Ulan-Bator, the country's capital. The ministers, dressed in suits and ties, arrived in the desert in jeeps after a 15-hour journey. Officials planted a Mongolian flag in the ground, set up long tables and chairs in the fine, golden sand and discussed climate change against the backdrop of a vast expanse of desert and a bright blue sky. "Mongolia is feeling the impact of global climate change," Prime Minister Batbold Sukhbaatar said at the one-hour meeting. Batbold pointed to the recent winter as an example of problems Mongolia faces. The winter was the harshest in decades and a fifth of the country's livestock died. The government blames global warming for a decrease in rainfall and says that rising average temperatures have caused many rivers and springs to dry up and snow cover to melt. It also says the frequency of natural disasters and drought has jumped. The site for the meeting was chosen because parts of it used to be arable land, said Badarch, head of social policy for South Gobi province, who like some Mongolians uses only one name. "Five years ago, there used to grow many edible plants in this valley and there were fewer sand dunes. Now look here," he said. "The valley is completely covered with sand. The sand dunes are moving and taking more space each year." Minister of Natural Environment and Tourism Gansukh Luumed said Mongolian herders' traditional way of life is under threat. "Global climate change accelerates the desertification process in Mongolia. Currently, 70 percent of Mongolian land is affected by desertification." In December, Nepalese officials held a Cabinet meeting at Mount Everest to highlight the danger global warming poses to glaciers. It followed an underwater Cabinet meeting in the Maldives in October to underline the threat of rising sea levels. The government said it hoped that delegates attending global climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, in November would reach a decision that is "favorable for landlocked, developing countries ... very much affected by climate change and desertification." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * What a spectacle! The poorest people in the world are holding meetings to point out the obvious to developed countries whose wealthy titans obfuscate and dither. The horror, the horror...
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

The Glenn Beck Magic Revival Hour is over now. The concession stands have sold out of "Freedumb Pop," while Believers shout hosannas and praise the "Word" as revealed to Beck from the burning sagebrush of John Wayne's sacred spirit. The great Oz Media has analyzed, punditized, commercialized and celebritized the Archie and Veronica of moral mediocrity, proving once again that if it sparkles like shallow water in sunlight it must be worth ratings. There is nothing new here, nothing even original. Joe Pyne did it in the late 1950s, Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson did it in the 1920s, and my friend's dad, Cleon Skousen, warned all of us, America's children and parents, that creeping Communism and Sputnik and rock 'n' roll would bring about the downfall of America unless we joined the John Birch Society. The country is awash in Commies and Sinners. The End Times are upon us. Again. Sing a hymn. Say a prayer. And send a dollar for God's profit - Glenn. The great American stupid goes on and on. People died in Afghanistan today. Equipment at a construction site for a new mosque in Tennessee was set on fire. Americans continue to lose jobs and houses with little relief on the horizon. The GOP plans to hold probes into possible impeachable offenses by the Obama Administration if they win the midterms. Or at least shut down government. But hey, a bible-thumping millionaire bunko artist set up his Chautauqua tent on television and spoke in tongues and that is twice as cool as life and death. God bless America. In the name of the Holy Trinity: Larry, Curly and Moe - Amen.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

15 years 2 months
Permalink

Thanks Lamagonzo, that has always been one of my favorite episodes of the 'Three Stooges'....I channel the spirit of Niagra Falls at least once a year and people look at me like I'm some kind of fool,heh heh....