Happy Weekend!

con•tempt |kənˈtem(p)t|

noun

the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn : he showed his contempt for his job by doing it very badly.

• disregard for something that should be taken into account : this action displays an arrogant contempt for the wishes of the majority.

• (also contempt of court) the offense of being disobedient to or disrespectful of a court of law and its officers : several unions were held to be in contempt and were fined.

• the offense of being similarly disobedient to or disrespectful of the lawful operation of a legislative body (e.g., its investigations).

PHRASES

beneath contempt utterly worthless or despicable.

hold someone/something in contempt consider someone or something to be unworthy of respect or attention : the speed limit is held in contempt by many drivers.

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin contemptus, from contemnere (see contemn ).


It was a great movie. However, when officials of the Executive Branch show contempt for the laws of the land and the Constitution itself, and then show contempt for the elected officials with oversight of important governmental functions performed by the Executive Branch, that form of contempt can and should lead to punishment. David Addington and John Yoo appeared before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, and their testimony was nothing short of contemptible. These two men are at the center of a series of illegal operations by the Bush Administration, possibly including war crimes. But if you were expecting contrition from these two, think again.

To read about yesterday's testimony, please see here, here, and here. To listen to the hearing and some commentary, please go here.

I truly hope that Addington and Yoo suffer for their crimes.



Inequality in America. What are your neighbors doing? Here's one way of finding out - one big drug test. Remember what Deepthroat said: follow the money. A surprisingly large number of Americans think torture is A-OK... 24 has served it's purpose. Is Obama just another politician? Let's hope not. Nothing is more twisted than this. Where did the ice go?
Ummm... not for my kid.
Leaving Tokyo for some relaxation at a ryokan.

Bear-ish.

A resurgent Russia flexes its muscles, while things don't look so good on Wall Street... but somehow, things seem to usually work out for this guy.

Untitled

Lies, damned lies, and John McCain. Ken Gude on how to close Gitmo. A discussion about Darfur from GUERNICA. Rotating skyscrapers. It's us... versus nature.

Where the hell is Matt?
The only thing being compromised by the new FISA legislation is our civil rights. See here, here, and here. Don't let the knuckleheads in Washington shred the 4th Amendment!

Don't miss this tomorrow - Gavel to gavel coverage of the Addington-Yoo hearing, covered by Larry Bensky and Scott Horton.

In other news...

In the UK, massive indoor farming is planned - welcome to Thanet Earth. One guy crunches numbers. What? I can't hear you!

What's old is new again.

Magnetic Fields


Magnetic Movie from Semiconductor on Vimeo.
A new vehicle from Japan runs on water. Beat that! Of course, this will drive the price of water sky-high once speculators get involved.
Interesting photos from Nick Veasey.

In Memory of George Carlin

"The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A Death! What’s that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you’re too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You do drugs, alcohol, you party, you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating …and you finish off as an orgasm."

George Carlin - 1937-2008
The Hedonists of Power.

sandals, tevas, and flip-flops

Summer is here. The Silly Season has almost arrived, and EURO 2008 has some silly balls. Of course, on this side of the pond, it's always silly season, isn't it? This sounds hopeful, but I'll believe it when I see it. Electro-shock therapy. A new urban legend used by fear-mongering types. The bad stuff in Zimbabwe required a plan, and now Tsvangirai has pulled out of the race to prevent more bloodshed. Inside an interrogation, minus torture. You haven't forgotten about Afghanistan, have you? The real McCain? Only his hairdresser knows for sure... Flip-flop, flip-flop, flip-flop - that's the predominant sound out of Washington, D.C. Perhaps they should enforce a stricter dress-code? How Darwin won the race (he wasn't wearing sandals).
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