Deer in Garden of the Gods Park on the drive to the run this morning
Sunday, March 06, 2005
AP - Afghanistan Now Nearly 'a Narcotics State'
Afghanistan Now Nearly 'a Narcotics State' :
"More than three years after a pro-U.S. government was installed, Afghanistan has been unable to contain opium poppy production and is 'on the verge of becoming a narcotics state,' according to a presidential report.
The report said the area in Afghanistan devoted to poppy cultivation last year set a new record of 206,700 hectares, more than triple the figure for 2003.
The Afghan narcotics situation, 'represents an enormous threat to world stability, said the report, issued Friday.
It listed opium production at 4,950 metric tons, 17 times more than second place Myanmar.
Opium poppy is the raw material for heroin.
The massive study, covering the illicit narcotics situation in 2004 in virtually all countries, was transmitted to the Congress by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on behalf of President Bush."
"More than three years after a pro-U.S. government was installed, Afghanistan has been unable to contain opium poppy production and is 'on the verge of becoming a narcotics state,' according to a presidential report.
The report said the area in Afghanistan devoted to poppy cultivation last year set a new record of 206,700 hectares, more than triple the figure for 2003.
The Afghan narcotics situation, 'represents an enormous threat to world stability, said the report, issued Friday.
It listed opium production at 4,950 metric tons, 17 times more than second place Myanmar.
Opium poppy is the raw material for heroin.
The massive study, covering the illicit narcotics situation in 2004 in virtually all countries, was transmitted to the Congress by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on behalf of President Bush."
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Stikine River @ National Geographic Magazine
Stikine River @ National Geographic Magazine: "What do you call an unforgiving land whose beauty can be fatal? The people of the Stikine River Valley call it home."
Someday I will visit Canada's Stikine River Valley in remote British Columbia. Nearly 30 years ago I made my way up the Inside Passage along BC's west coast in a 26-foot cabin cruiser. My partner was a 65-year-old crusty fisherman. We left Seattle bound for a summer of fishing in the waters near Excursion Inlet, Alaska, in the panhandle of SE Alaska.
A few years ago I renewed my interest in this remote area with a reading of the fascinating memoir by Edward Hoagland: Notes from the Century Before: A Journey in British Columbia. Hoagland, who John Updike calls "our greatest living essayist", in this book first published in 1966, recounts his explorations and encounters with the people of and around the Stikine River.
More recently I engaged with a wonderful account of a couple who kayaked the inside passage from Glacier Bay to Seattle: Byron Rick's "Homelands: Kayaking the Inside Passage". Also, Jonathan Raban, as he tooled around the inside passage in a motorized canoe and muses on Captain Cook and other historical personnages in "Passage to Juneau: A Sea and its Meanings". Speaking of Captain Cook, beckoning on my bookshelf waiting to be read is "Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook has gone before" by the irrespressible Tony Horwitz. One of my all time favorite books is his "Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War": his account of a wild and woolly whirlwind trip through the South.
Someday I will visit Canada's Stikine River Valley in remote British Columbia. Nearly 30 years ago I made my way up the Inside Passage along BC's west coast in a 26-foot cabin cruiser. My partner was a 65-year-old crusty fisherman. We left Seattle bound for a summer of fishing in the waters near Excursion Inlet, Alaska, in the panhandle of SE Alaska.
A few years ago I renewed my interest in this remote area with a reading of the fascinating memoir by Edward Hoagland: Notes from the Century Before: A Journey in British Columbia. Hoagland, who John Updike calls "our greatest living essayist", in this book first published in 1966, recounts his explorations and encounters with the people of and around the Stikine River.
More recently I engaged with a wonderful account of a couple who kayaked the inside passage from Glacier Bay to Seattle: Byron Rick's "Homelands: Kayaking the Inside Passage". Also, Jonathan Raban, as he tooled around the inside passage in a motorized canoe and muses on Captain Cook and other historical personnages in "Passage to Juneau: A Sea and its Meanings". Speaking of Captain Cook, beckoning on my bookshelf waiting to be read is "Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook has gone before" by the irrespressible Tony Horwitz. One of my all time favorite books is his "Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War": his account of a wild and woolly whirlwind trip through the South.
Friday, March 04, 2005
NRDC: The Bush Record
NRDC: The Bush Record
"This administration, in catering to industries that put America's health and natural heritage at risk, threatens to do more damage to our environmental protections than any other in U.S. history. Here is NRDC's account of what the Bush administration has done and is doing on environmental matters."
"This administration, in catering to industries that put America's health and natural heritage at risk, threatens to do more damage to our environmental protections than any other in U.S. history. Here is NRDC's account of what the Bush administration has done and is doing on environmental matters."
The New York Times > Washington > Senate Intelligence Chairman Opposes C.I.A. Abuse Inquiry
Republicans covering up for CIA torture:
The New York Times > Washington > Senate Intelligence Chairman Opposes C.I.A. Abuse Inquiry: "Senate Intelligence Chairman Opposes C.I.A. Abuse Inquiry
By DOUGLAS JEHL
Published: March 2, 2005
WASHINGTON, March 1 - The Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is opposing a request by the panel's top Democrat to investigate possible misconduct by the C.I.A. in the treatment of terrorism suspects, Congressional officials said Tuesday.
The chairman, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, is insisting that any review be conducted only as part of the committee's standard oversight role, not a broader inquiry, an aide to Mr. Roberts said."
The New York Times > Washington > Senate Intelligence Chairman Opposes C.I.A. Abuse Inquiry: "Senate Intelligence Chairman Opposes C.I.A. Abuse Inquiry
By DOUGLAS JEHL
Published: March 2, 2005
WASHINGTON, March 1 - The Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is opposing a request by the panel's top Democrat to investigate possible misconduct by the C.I.A. in the treatment of terrorism suspects, Congressional officials said Tuesday.
The chairman, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas, is insisting that any review be conducted only as part of the committee's standard oversight role, not a broader inquiry, an aide to Mr. Roberts said."
Waterkeeper Alliance: EPA Factory Farm Pollution Rule Illegal
A bit of good news:
Federal Appeals Court: EPA Factory Farm Pollution Rule Illegal
Waterkeeper Alliance
3/1/2005
NEW YORK (February 28, 2005) – A 2003 Bush administration farm pollution rule violates the Clean Water Act by allowing large-scale livestock farms to apply manure to land without federal or state oversight or public input, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York ruled today. The ruling in Waterkeeper Alliance v. EPA was the result of a lawsuit filed by three conservations groups, which charged that the rule shielded factory farms from liability for damage caused by animal waste pollution.
The groups, Waterkeeper Alliance, Sierra Club, and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), filed the suit in March 2003. The Environmental Protection Agency had issued the rule in February 2003 under a 1992 consent decree between the agency and NRDC. It went into effect in April of that year.
Federal Appeals Court: EPA Factory Farm Pollution Rule Illegal
Waterkeeper Alliance
3/1/2005
NEW YORK (February 28, 2005) – A 2003 Bush administration farm pollution rule violates the Clean Water Act by allowing large-scale livestock farms to apply manure to land without federal or state oversight or public input, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York ruled today. The ruling in Waterkeeper Alliance v. EPA was the result of a lawsuit filed by three conservations groups, which charged that the rule shielded factory farms from liability for damage caused by animal waste pollution.
The groups, Waterkeeper Alliance, Sierra Club, and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), filed the suit in March 2003. The Environmental Protection Agency had issued the rule in February 2003 under a 1992 consent decree between the agency and NRDC. It went into effect in April of that year.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
t r u t h o u t - Ray McGovern | Attacking Iran: I Know It Sounds Crazy, But...
t r u t h o u t - Ray McGovern | Attacking Iran: I Know It Sounds Crazy, But...:
" For a host of good reasons -- the huge and draining commitment of U.S. forces to Iraq and Iran's ability to stir the Iraqi pot to boiling, for starters -- the notion that the Bush administration would mount a 'preemptive' air attack on Iran seems insane. And still more insane if the objective includes overthrowing Iran's government again, as in 1953 -- this time under the rubric of 'regime change.'
But Bush administration policy toward the Middle East is being run by men -- yes, only men -- who were routinely referred to in high circles in Washington during the 1980s as 'the crazies.' I can attest to that personally, but one need not take my word for it."
" For a host of good reasons -- the huge and draining commitment of U.S. forces to Iraq and Iran's ability to stir the Iraqi pot to boiling, for starters -- the notion that the Bush administration would mount a 'preemptive' air attack on Iran seems insane. And still more insane if the objective includes overthrowing Iran's government again, as in 1953 -- this time under the rubric of 'regime change.'
But Bush administration policy toward the Middle East is being run by men -- yes, only men -- who were routinely referred to in high circles in Washington during the 1980s as 'the crazies.' I can attest to that personally, but one need not take my word for it."
Bill Moyers: A Great American
In the words of a true patriot, Bill Moyers: “This war was sold to us as a means of containing terrorism and has actually created more terrorism. It's inflaming the Muslim world…. A war is too terrible to undertake on a mere suspicion.”
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Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Bizarro World in Colorado Springs
Sometimes I find it hard to believe that Colorado Springs is as backward as it is. This town is truly beyond the pale, beyond radical right, and into the tinfoil hat zone. I finally got around to reading this week's Colorado Springs Independent with two items so unbelievably stupid that it's hard to imagine them even being part of the public discourse anywhere else in the world.
First we have District 11 school district elected officials likening Planned Parenthood to the KKK and intimidating them from speaking at schools on both abstinence and contraception (though they have been invited for the last 17 years). John Hazelhurst has a pithy column on the "new Bill of Rights". A must read. See also Case dismissed: Planned Parenthood ejected from District 11 Schools . See also Public Eye Extra: Email Message sent to school board members
And second on the agenda for the public debate is whether or not citizens should be allowed to openly pack heat into county buildings. Yes, you heard it right. Pressing issues like prison reform or economic development have to be put on the back burner while this is addressed. Unbelievable. Truly bizarre indeed.
First we have District 11 school district elected officials likening Planned Parenthood to the KKK and intimidating them from speaking at schools on both abstinence and contraception (though they have been invited for the last 17 years). John Hazelhurst has a pithy column on the "new Bill of Rights". A must read. See also Case dismissed: Planned Parenthood ejected from District 11 Schools . See also Public Eye Extra: Email Message sent to school board members
And second on the agenda for the public debate is whether or not citizens should be allowed to openly pack heat into county buildings. Yes, you heard it right. Pressing issues like prison reform or economic development have to be put on the back burner while this is addressed. Unbelievable. Truly bizarre indeed.
The New York Times > Maureen Dowd: W.'s Stiletto Democracy
The New York Times > Opinion >W.'s Stiletto Democracy:
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: February 27, 2005
WASHINGTON
It was remarkable to see President Bush lecture Vladimir Putin on the importance of checks and balances in a democratic society.
Remarkably brazen, given that the only checks Mr. Bush seems to believe in are those written to the 'journalists' Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and Karen Ryan, the fake TV anchor, to help promote his policies. The administration has given a whole new meaning to checkbook journalism, paying a stupendous $97 million to an outside P.R. firm to buy columnists and produce propaganda, including faux video news releases."
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: February 27, 2005
WASHINGTON
It was remarkable to see President Bush lecture Vladimir Putin on the importance of checks and balances in a democratic society.
Remarkably brazen, given that the only checks Mr. Bush seems to believe in are those written to the 'journalists' Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and Karen Ryan, the fake TV anchor, to help promote his policies. The administration has given a whole new meaning to checkbook journalism, paying a stupendous $97 million to an outside P.R. firm to buy columnists and produce propaganda, including faux video news releases."
DenverPost.com - U.S. Deficit builds house of cards
You know we have serious concerns when the accountant in charge of the federal treasury is sounding the alarms. Those so called tax cuts are really "birth taxes", because they are saddling Americans just being born with an impossible debt.
DenverPost.com - The Nation:
"By John Aloysius Farrell
Denver Post Washington Bureau Chief
Washington - The tremors struck Tuesday. The wise guys and gals here looked to one another, eyebrows up, hearts skipping, silently asking like Californians: 'Is this the Big One?'
It was not. Not this time. Not yet.
The reports that tripped the capital's economic and political seismographs - that the central bank of South Korea was shifting reserves from U.S. dollars into sounder currencies - were denied.
The dollar plunged. The stock market wobbled. But at the end of the day, our Asian creditors showed patience. The house of cards trembled but did not collapse. The party carried on.
The U.S. economy is a funny thing, says David M. Walker, the accountant in charge of the federal government's books. You can be cruising along, with low unemployment and a soaring housing market, cutting taxes and spending like crazy, feeling quite pleased with yourself, king of the world.
And then one day, some gnome in Hong Kong arrives at work, looks at the numbers on his screen, gnaws on his fingernails and concludes you're not so safe a bet anymore. You're carrying too much debt, importing too much oil, getting old with nothing in the bank."
DenverPost.com - The Nation:
"By John Aloysius Farrell
Denver Post Washington Bureau Chief
Washington - The tremors struck Tuesday. The wise guys and gals here looked to one another, eyebrows up, hearts skipping, silently asking like Californians: 'Is this the Big One?'
It was not. Not this time. Not yet.
The reports that tripped the capital's economic and political seismographs - that the central bank of South Korea was shifting reserves from U.S. dollars into sounder currencies - were denied.
The dollar plunged. The stock market wobbled. But at the end of the day, our Asian creditors showed patience. The house of cards trembled but did not collapse. The party carried on.
The U.S. economy is a funny thing, says David M. Walker, the accountant in charge of the federal government's books. You can be cruising along, with low unemployment and a soaring housing market, cutting taxes and spending like crazy, feeling quite pleased with yourself, king of the world.
And then one day, some gnome in Hong Kong arrives at work, looks at the numbers on his screen, gnaws on his fingernails and concludes you're not so safe a bet anymore. You're carrying too much debt, importing too much oil, getting old with nothing in the bank."
Vet attained heights in career, recreation
A Colorado Life
I never met this fellow, but what a great spirit! We all know the risks we take when we venture into the mountains, but the rewards are so sublime we take them willingly.
DenverPost.com - OBITUARIES:
By Claire Martin
Denver Post Staff Writer
Veterinarian Henry E. Everding III died Feb. 19, fatally injured by falling rocks as he climbed in Chile's southern Patagonia region. He was 42.
The rocks fell as Everding and his longtime climbing partner, Clifford Leight, ascended a couloir near Puerto Natales in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. Leight was not injured.
Veterinarians throughout the Front Range knew Everding, of Littleton, as a consummately intuitive surgeon. People from Jackson, Wyo., to Katmandu, Nepal, cherished the care and attention he gave their pets."
I never met this fellow, but what a great spirit! We all know the risks we take when we venture into the mountains, but the rewards are so sublime we take them willingly.
DenverPost.com - OBITUARIES:
By Claire Martin
Denver Post Staff Writer
Veterinarian Henry E. Everding III died Feb. 19, fatally injured by falling rocks as he climbed in Chile's southern Patagonia region. He was 42.
The rocks fell as Everding and his longtime climbing partner, Clifford Leight, ascended a couloir near Puerto Natales in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. Leight was not injured.
Veterinarians throughout the Front Range knew Everding, of Littleton, as a consummately intuitive surgeon. People from Jackson, Wyo., to Katmandu, Nepal, cherished the care and attention he gave their pets."
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