Grateful Dead

has really blown up, at least if one believes the international rather than US-controlled TV news. Every head of state in South America, regardless of politics, is seriously po'd, pointing out that this never would have happened to, say, Obama's plane or Putin's or Merkel's, and that this is a grave insult to South America as a whole. They're throwing the word "colonialism" around a lot. Morales himself, interviewed on TV, seems quite bright. This could get interesting.

Condemned to play the character in that movie who lives the rest of his life, identity- less, in the transit lounge of an airport. Why? Because Putin, while allowing Snowden the room to claim asylum in Russia, has warned him that he can't release any damaging documents regarding the US. Crooks of a (the US & Russia) feather bed down together... The US, meanwhile, is tightening the screws on Snowden. As he is identity-less, and unable to move on from Moscow's airport, his list of 20 countries from which he will ask to be given asylum have all stipulated that he must be on their soil for them to entertain his request. Quite a Catch 22. But what about all the copies Snowden has given out? Not important, the Texas Rangers always get their man. What this has resulted in is a US NSA op. to make sure that he does not leave that airport, after they came to some kind of understanding with Putin about what he could and could not do on Russian soil. What Putin got for this is not clear. Perhaps immunity for stealing Bob Kraft's Patriots Superbowl ring? (Bob, this a truly patriotic thing you are doing for your country, giving up that ring!). The NSA op. has already produced blowback. Eva Morales, President of Bolivia, en route to Le Paz from Moscow, had his private plane diverted to an Austrian airport and searched for the fugitive. Mr. Morales went bananas. A sovereign head of state subject to an NSA shakedown? I wonder which judge from the FISA Court signed that order?? Obama said that he wouldn't scramble two jets to go after a 29 year-old hacker. In reality he has given wide-sweeping powers to the NSA to spend billions to apprehend this whistle-blower and any person's human right anywhere in the world can be trampled without consequence. Has Obama officially taken on the mantle of Darth Vader, speaking with that heavy, nasal voice similar Dick Cheney's? The US has now become the #1 human rights violator in the entire world. All heads of state are our vassals and must bow before us. All this for a 29 year-old whistle-blower who started the conversation Obama wanted to have in the first place... OMG!!! Has Obama completely lost it? Come on dude, take your "teachable moment" medicine like a man. You sure could dish it out when it was your friend who was having his rights trampled...

I'm going to chill on this story. Anybody can follow on the Beeb if they want. It is just so out there... Obama is losing it, now on Morsi's removal from office in Egypt.

Evo Morales, who is a guy. No?

In my neighborhood: Has anyone seen my Constitutional rights? My, my. Hey hey. Live Free Or Die is here to stay,

A supernatural being in folklore and children's stories, typically portrayed as small and human-like in form, with pointed ears, part of the Mr. Spock strain I predume,

In less than a week, Kim Deal has left the Pixies and been replaced by Kim Shattuck, and the band's released a new song--"Bagboy"--and are going on a tour of Europe beginning in late September. 2013 is apparently not the death of the Pixies but instead their rebirth. The buzz on the internet is that the band has been and is continuing to work on new material. Whether this is a handful of new songs or the long-awaited new album remains to be seen, but this band is producing again for the first time since 1991 (2004's "Bam Thwok" doesn't count). Is anyone else here a Pixies fan? Y'know, besides me...?

"Make no mistake, with the recent Supreme Court rulings, since Dubya's appointments, this country is moving in a big way toward fascism. This is not an exaggerated overstatement." No, it's not an exaggerated statement; it's one I've been saying since before the end of W's first term.

Just came in off the press wires. Putin is paraphrased as saying that Russia has never extradited anybody and that Snowden is welcome to live out his glory years with Putin himself, the old KGB Colonel wanting to poke his finger in the eye of Uncle Sam. Uhh, Ed? I'd rather take my chances with a layover in Havanna making small talk with Raoul over pretty latinas, cigars and cognac -- on to your next stop in Caracas. Check the Lima itinerary there in Venezuela with Nick Maduro. The Galapagos Islands might start looking awfully tempting at that point. No more computers. Just rice & beans and okra and plaintains. Just saying -- Uncle Vladimir has been known to have a mean streak when he starts on the rails and Stoli shots. He might take a punch at you with Bob's superbowl ring. Just keeping it real, Ed.

As Newmann said on Seinfeld: "He who controls the mail controls the world -- Information!" Herbert Hoover was a cross-dressing gay freak (Not that there is anything wrong with that, if thats what you're into ) that controlled a vast government apparatus, the FBI, that collected secret files on everybody. Consequently, everybody was afraid of the guy and even though they knew about his vices that in the 60s would have resulted in a jail sentence, they were afraid of his files and said nothing. Similarly, people in the Congress and especially people in the Press (who just had the FISA court make a ruling for the NSA to bug their phones) are scared to death of the NSA outing them because of the vast storage of information in the mega-zeta-byte facility at the Utah Data Center. They will shut up and keep their jobs and vices and obediently spout the party line, inglorious bastards! What happened with the press and the Boston Bombings was disgraceful. The country went into a mass interlude of denial in which the third explosion was covered up as well as the deaths of first responders. This happened when the Feds stepped in and called it a terrorist incident. Up to that point there was all kinds of coverage from the first press briefing to footage of the 3rd explosion at the JFK Library all over the the three local news channels. Reporters who tried to ask questions were stared down and ignored by grim-faced FBI spokespersons. The reporter was dragged from the room Nazi goon style, yelling that he had the right to ask questions. Well, to that point, he used to. Even the national news (CBS) had to continually deny the third explosion because everybody in a three-state area all saw the third explosion on local channels 4, 5 and 7 and the repeated views of the blackened facade of the JFK Library. After Snowden did his thing with the press conference in Hong Kong there was an immediate move to spin it. Morning Joe Scarborough and sidekick Mica B. said that only 14 people agreed with Snowden and everybody else thought he was a traitor. Then the polls came out and showed that Americans by a 5 point margin do not want the fucking NSA spying on every aspect of their life, though they do want the NSA spying on every aspect of a terrorist's life (read dark, swarthy complexioned Arab/Muslim people.) Then Feinstein, liberal Senator from California sitting on the select committee of the Senate Intelligence Committee went on TV requesting Snowden's head which started a cascade of government officials all wanting Snowden for theft of government documents. Admittedly, that he is guilty of and he will pay a price. How big a price? He is himself writing the pre-sentencing report by releasing all this highly embarrassing information of the US spying on it's allies, never mind the Chinese and Russians. And then Obama and other officials are just outraged that extradition laws are not being followed. The distinction in the press seems to be that if he was a whistle-blower and credible he would be doing this from an arrest/awaiting trial pose rather than the "Traitor who kept the memory sticks for leverage." Forget about the press. There are a few mavericks out there but they are being muzzled if they have an audience of any size at all. Acid-addled freaks like us aren't intelligent enough or have enough audience to be concerned about... moving to Make no mistake, with the recent Supreme Court rulings, since Dubya's appointments, this country is moving in a big way toward fascism. This is not an exaggerated overstatement.