Haiku 073009

ducks crossing

I push the button

to cross

***************
Recently, we read the following:

Washington Post: “Obama Voices Regret to Policeman” by Michael A. Fletcher and Michael D. Shear

“President Obama, attempting to quell a mushrooming racial controversy that threatened to eclipse his top domestic initiative, expressed regret Friday for saying that police ‘acted stupidly’ by arresting black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home near Harvard University.

“Making a surprise appearance before reporters at the White House, Obama said that he had unwittingly fanned smoldering racial resentment with his response to a question at a news conference Wednesday night. The president said he conveyed that sentiment in a five-minute telephone call to Sgt. James Crowley, the police officer who arrested Gates after being called to the Harvard professor's home to check out a suspected burglary…

“The president said he continues to think the arrest was an ‘overreaction’ by the officer, but he said Gates ‘probably overreacted as well.’

" ‘My sense is you've got two good people in a circumstance in which neither of them were able to resolve the incident in the way that it should have been resolved,’ Obama said, adding that he hoped the controversy would become a ‘teachable moment’ for improving racial understanding…

“From the moment the word ‘stupidly’ slipped through Obama's lips Wednesday night, debate over Gates's arrest became a polarizing national issue. Obama's top advisers said the president quickly became aware that his words had been received in a way he had not intended…”

***************
And we thought:

… There’s the sub-culture of law enforcement, including its long history of racial profiling. And there’s the sub-culture of minorities, including their long history of being treated as second-class citizens. These sub-cultures -- characterized by different ways of thinking and different ways of doing things -- are part of America’s heritage of distrust.

Despite its election of the first black president, the U. S. isn't beyond race yet. One cannot simply wish away this aspect of American culture and the enmities it engenders. The roots of this heritage are much too deep.

In decades to come, one may reasonably expect that “race-related” stories will continue to be headline news. There will always be people who'll bleed these stories to death -- for their own ends. But, no doubt, there will be people in increasingly greater numbers to moderate this nation’s cultural differences. Multicultural peace is not a pipe dream …


a contemporary haiku and current events blog. occasional notes on [and pokes at] nature and society. and some of their maddening stuff…like the economy finance capital mergers energy health care insurers jobs retirement politics government congress courts conflicts united nations human rights lennon peace culture mores education alienation religion erving goffman artifacts history social change twitter scientific method sports travel environment wildlife carbon footprint global warming earth...

Haiku 072809

by the dock
he snacks on pound cake

lots of sunfish

***************

Recently, we read the following:

New York Times: “44 Charged by U.S. in New Jersey Corruption Sweep” by David M. Halbfinger

“A two-year corruption and international money-laundering investigation stretching from the Jersey Shore to Brooklyn to Israel and Switzerland culminated in charges against 44 people on Thursday, including three New Jersey mayors, two state assemblymen and five rabbis, the authorities said.

“The case began with bank fraud charges against a member of an insular Syrian Jewish enclave centered in a seaside town. But when that man became a federal informant and posed as a crooked real estate developer offering cash bribes to obtain government approvals, it mushroomed into a political scandal that could rival any of the most explosive and sleazy episodes in New Jersey’s recent past.

“It was replete with tales of the illegal sales of body parts; of furtive negotiations in diners, parking lots and boiler rooms; of nervous jokes about ‘patting down’ a man who turned out to indeed be an informant; and, again and again, of the passing of cash — once in a box of Apple Jacks cereal stuffed with $97,000...

“The authorities laid out two separate schemes, one involving money laundering that led to rabbis and members of the Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn and in the Jersey Shore town of Deal, where many of them have summer homes. The other dealt with political corruption and bribery and involved public officials mostly in Jersey City and Hoboken, where the pace of development has been particularly intense in recent years…”

***************

And we thought:

… Charged: several rabbis, a few mayors, a couple of state assemblymen. Just shows that the lure of easy money could make one gloss over the risks (shame, harm to one's name and family, imprisonment, etc.) inherent in illegal money schemes. Here's another proof that greed cuts across social lines. It's not unique to bottom feeders. Greed took down Madoff, too...


a contemporary haiku and current events blog. occasional notes on [and pokes at] nature and society. and some of their maddening stuff…like the economy finance capital mergers energy health care insurers jobs retirement politics government congress courts conflicts united nations human rights lennon peace culture mores education alienation religion erving goffman artifacts history social change twitter scientific method sports travel environment wildlife carbon footprint global warming earth...

Haiku 072609

she fans the coal
and keeps us cool
summer breeze

***************
Recently, we read the following:

London Times: “Rebiya Kadeer accused of being behind Uighur violence in East Turkestan” by Jane Macartney

"When I first met Rebiya Kadeer in 1998 she was a slim, dignified woman surrounded by fawning Chinese officials eager to hang on the coattails of the most successful Uighur entrepreneur in the country...

"At the height of her success in China her wealth was estimated at 270 million yuan (£24 million) based on her trading firm, a department store, property investments, interests in a leather factory in neighbouring Kazakhstan and a store in Uzbekistan.

"But she somehow fell foul of the authorities — possibly over suspicions involving the activities of her husband, who was living in the US and made no secret of his support for Xinjiang’s independence. She was arrested and stripped of her once prestigious position on one of China’s top advisory bodies…

"She has now been accused of being the mastermind behind the latest violence in her native region, known by independence activists as East Turkestan…. "

***************
And we thought:

... The Beijing overlord -- both fawning patron and heavy-handed mandarin. How should the majority nationality handle contradictions with minority nationalities? ...

a contemporary haiku and current events blog. occasional notes on [and pokes at] nature and society. and some of their maddening stuff…like the economy finance capital mergers energy health care insurers surplus labor jobs retirement politics government congress courts conflicts united nations human rights lennon peace culture mores education alienation religion erving goffman artifacts history social change twitter scientific method sports travel environment wildlife carbon footprint global warming earth...

Haiku 072409

gravediggers
wait for the sunset
blackbirds watch

***************
Recently, we read the following:


Washington Post: “Industry Cash Flowed To Drafters of Reform” by Dan Eggen


“As liberal protesters marched outside, Sen. Max Baucus sat down inside a San Francisco mansion for a dinner of chicken cordon bleu and a discussion of landmark health-care legislation under consideration by his Senate Finance Committee.

"At the table on May 26 were about 20 donors willing to fork over $10,000 or more to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, including executives of major insurance companies, hospitals and other health-care firms….

“As his committee has taken center stage in the battle over health-care reform, Chairman Baucus (D-Mont.) has emerged as a leading recipient of Senate campaign contributions from the hospitals, insurers and other medical interest groups hoping to shape the legislation to their advantage. Health-related companies and their employees gave Baucus's political committees nearly $1.5 million in 2007 and 2008, when he began holding hearings and making preparations for this year's reform debate….

“Top out-of-state corporate contributors included Schering-Plough, New York Life Insurance, Amgen, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield; individual executives such as Richard T. Clark, chief executive and president of drugmaker Merck, have also made regular donations. Most of these companies, particularly major insurers, strongly oppose a public insurance option, which is favored by President Obama and top House Democrats but has not received support from Baucus's committee….

“Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist for the Public Citizen advocacy group, said the continued fundraising by Baucus during the health-care debate is ‘very troubling…’

“During an interview earlier this year with the Missoulian newspaper, Baucus said that ‘no one gets special treatment.’ He added: ‘Your word is your bond back there.’ “

***************
And we thought:

…. Sen. Baucus’ word may be his bond, but he appears to be bonding with the wrong crowd. He’s playing a dangerous game with health care and health care-related firms and lobbyists who obviously have started a death watch over genuine health care reform legislation. It’s big-money politics as usual.

Who really cares about the health care needs of the poor, the middle class, the old and the children? It doesn't look like Sen. Baucus is one of them….

Haiku 072209

bugs lay siege
on the street lamp
summer night

***************

Recently, we read the following:

International Press Institute: “Russian Editor-in-Chief Fears Killers of Human Rights Activist and Journalist Won’t Face Justice”

“A Russian editor-in-chief has expressed concern that the killers of a prominent human rights activist and journalist brutally slain on 15 July will never face justice.

“ ‘Unfortunately the Russian authorities, although using hard wording to condemn such crimes, do almost nothing to find their organisers, bring the cases to court and punish the killers,’ Galina Sidorova, editor-in-chief of the Russian monthly Sovershenno Secretno, and a member of the IPI board, told IPI researchers.

”Natalia Estemirova, known for her fearless exposure of human rights abuses in Chechnya and a regular contributor to the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, was abducted on the morning of 15 July in the Chechen capital, Grozny, while she was on her way to work. Witnesses saw her being forced into a car by four men and heard her shout that she was being kidnapped. About nine hours later, her lifeless body was found in the neighbouring province of Ingushetia. She had been shot twice in the head at short range.

“ ‘Estemirova is the fourth journalist to be killed in Russia this year, in what appears to be a concerted move to eliminate critics of the government,’ said IPI Director David Dadge.


***************

And we thought:

…. The more things change, the more they remain the same. Still, in non-communist Russia, to write about human rights abuses is to live dangerously. Journalists have become victims themselves of the mindless violence they report to the world....

Haiku 072009

the park benches
are half melting
a summer storm

***************

Recently, we read the following:

Los Angeles Times: “Israel backs East Jerusalem housing construction despite U.S. opposition” By Jeffrey Fleishman and Batsheva Sobelman

"Calling Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem indisputable, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today rejected U.S. demands to stop plans to build 20 Jewish-owned apartments in the eastern part of the city that Palestinians regard as key to their future state.

"The decision to allow new housing on land annexed by Israel after the 1967 war probably will further agitate relations with the Obama administration, which has been pressuring Netanyahu to halt the expansion of settlements in hopes of reviving the Middle East peace process and enticing Arab nations to normalize relations with Jewish state...

"While refusing to rule out natural growth in existing settlements, Israel has pledged not to build new settlements and not to confiscate more land. But Israel doesn't consider projects in East Jerusalem to be settlements, but rather legitimate expansions in a section of the city it captured in the Six-Day War…

"Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Netanyahu's comments were a distraction from the peace process and that East Jerusalem, like the West Bank, would one day be freed from occupation to become part of a Palestinian state. Washington and the international community hold that Jewish expansion in disputed East Jerusalem is a major deterrent in solving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis…

"The Israeli activist group Peace Now said construction in East Jerusalem is not supported by all Israelis and ‘undermines the chances of the city becoming the joint capital of Israel and the future Palestinian state…’ "

***************

And we thought:

...Is this a bargaining ploy to exact some concessions from the U.S. and Britain? Or some deadpan design to actually put the brakes on the restarted peace process?...

Haiku 071809

bugs watch
the lamp grow brighter
waning crescent

***************

Recently, we read the following:

Associated Press: “GOP senators weigh options in Sotomayor's wake” by Jesse Holland

"Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor won her first public pledge of support from a Republican senator Friday, after a smooth performance at her confirmation hearings that has placed her firmly on track to become the high court's first Latina and the first Democratic-named justice in 15 years.

"Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., announced that he would vote for Sotomayor, calling her 'clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court,' after four days of Judiciary Committee hearings in which he said she showed 'a judicial temperament.' Lugar, who previously voted to confirm Sotomayor to her current spot on a federal appeals court, was just the first of what is expected to be a number of Republicans who back Sotomayor….

"The GOP's leader at the confirmation hearings, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama has said he has no interest in stopping or even delaying Sotomayor's confirmation vote as the country's 111th Supreme Court justice….

" 'Your judicial record strikes me as pretty much in the mainstream of judicial decision-making,' said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Added Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: 'You have, as a judge, been generally in the mainstream….'

"Sotomayor's hearings were as much a prelude for future Supreme Court fights as a battle over the judge herself. Republicans criticized Obama's assertion — made before nominating Sotomayor — that he was looking for a justice with 'the quality of empathy,' and an earlier statement when he was a senator that some decisions depend on what's in a judge's heart…."

***************

And we thought:

….Whatever’s in Sotomayor’s heart, her presence in John Roberts’ Supreme Court will remake the latter. The dialectics will change….

Haiku 071609

summer dawn
thick fog hides
unmowed grass

***************

Recently, we read the following:

New York Times: “Cheney Is Linked to Concealment of C.I.A. Project” by Scott Shane

“The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

“The report that Mr. Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy.

“Mr. Panetta, who ended the program when he first learned of its existence from subordinates on June 23, briefed the two intelligence committees about it in separate closed sessions the next day….

“The disclosure about Mr. Cheney’s role in the unidentified C.I.A. program comes a day after an inspector general’s report underscored the central role of the former vice president’s office in restricting to a small circle of officials knowledge of the National Security Agency’s program of eavesdropping without warrants, a degree of secrecy that the report concluded had hurt the effectiveness of the counterterrorism surveillance effort….

“In the tense months after Sept. 11, when Bush administration officials believed new Qaeda attacks could occur at any moment, intelligence officials brainstormed about radical countermeasures. It was in that atmosphere that the unidentified program was devised and deliberately concealed from Congress, officials said….

“In the eight years of his vice presidency, Mr. Cheney was the Bush administration’s most vehement defender of the secrecy of government activities, particularly in the intelligence arena. He went to the Supreme Court to keep secret the advisers to his task force on energy, and won….”

***************

And we thought:

….Eventually, the sun burns off the morning mist. Similarly, public opinion will force the shedding of Cheney’s burkha….

Haiku 071409

baseball fans
cracking sunflower seeds --
gray squirrels

***************

Recently, we read the following:

Washington Post: “AIG Is Preparing to Pay Millions More in Bonuses” by Brady Dennis and David Cho

“American International Group is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments four months ago set off a national furor.

“The company has been pressing the federal government to bless the payments in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage….

“AIG doesn't actually need the permission of Kenneth R. Feinberg, who President Obama appointed last month to oversee the compensation of top executives at seven firms that have received large federal bailouts. But officials at the troubled insurance giant, whose federal rescue package stands at $180 billion, have been reluctant to move forward without political cover from the government….

“AIG's proxy statement filed last month explains why AIG initially instituted the retention payments. The company stated that after the federal bailout began in September, ‘we needed to confront the fact that many of our employees, perhaps the majority, knew that they long-term future with us was limited, and our competitors knew that our key producers could perhaps be lured away ... Allowing departures to erode the strength of our businesses would have damaged our ability to repay taxpayers for their assistance…’

“The recent discussions between the company and Feinberg illustrate how politically sensitive the bonuses have become, both for AIG and for the Obama administration. No development in the government's bailout of financial firms has angered lawmakers and ordinary Americans more than the disclosure in mid-March that the global insurer was paying more than $165 million in retention bonuses. Those were aimed at retaining 400 employees at AIG Financial Products, the troubled unit whose complex derivative contracts nearly wrecked the global insurance giant….”

***************

And we thought:

… How can AIG strengthen its ability to repay taxpayers by retaining the very same people who wrecked AIG? In fact why weren’t they fired in the first place? How can you bring down your company and still be offered more money to stay?

This retention deal smells. Why are AIG officers and employees being allowed to snack on their bailout seed funds? Makes one wonder if the so-called retention bonuses are really hush money. Are the bonuses supposed to keep people from spilling the beans on a bigger scandal?

Are there silent players -- "insiders" -- being protected who made a bunch of money on the "complex derivative contracts"? Maybe top AIG executives and officials of the past administration?

Coffee shop talk....

Haiku 071209

a lady bug
slips down the sink --
a garbage chute

**************

Recently, we read the following:

Los Angeles Times: “Sarah Palin's exit as Alaska governor stuns, puzzles observers” by Mark Z. Barabak and Robin Abcarian

"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's abrupt announcement that she was quitting her job unleashed widespread speculation: Some said she was ready to launch a 2012 bid for president. Others suggested she had destroyed her chances with her startling decision.

"Palin, speaking from the backyard of her lakefront home in Wasilla, Alaska, said Friday that she had ruled out seeking a second term and, for the good of the state, would step down at the end of the month and hand the job to her lieutenant.

"In disjointed and cryptic remarks, she intimated that she would stay active in national politics. 'We know we can effect positive change outside government at this point in time on another scale and actually make a difference for our priorities,' she said, flanked by her husband, Todd, and members of their family -- whom she described as exuberant supporters of her resignation....

"Given her rough last few months and less-than-heroic return to Alaska, some suggested Palin's resignation may not be such a bad move.

" 'She needed to shake things up, and this announcement has no shortage of drama,' said Scott Reed, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with any prospects in the 2012 field. 'It allows her to have a brand-new day, a fresh start, and she can shake all those cobwebs from the last campaign and her term as governor and start over....' "

***************

And we thought:

… Maybe she thinks the proceeds from her book deal and the lecture circuit would somehow make things different this time. Maybe they would now bestow on her the status she was aspiring for when she bid for the vice-presidency last year.

Maybe, in some ironic way, she thinks she can now put the brakes on her further slide from popularity and credibility.

This lady may have found a way to escape the mess and stink she has gotten herself in so far -- and even profit from it. She may have the last laugh after all. In her mind….

Haiku 071009

she flits among
the rose bushes next --
butterflies

***************

Recently we read the following:

New York Times: "U.S. Considers Curbs on Speculative Trading of Oil" by Edmund L. Andrews

“Reacting to the violent swings in oil prices in recent months, federal regulators announced on Tuesday that they were considering new restrictions on “speculative” traders in markets for oil, natural gas and other energy products…

“Since Mr. Obama took office, the Justice Department has stepped up antitrust enforcement activities, abandoning many legal doctrines adopted by the Bush administration…

“The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it would consider imposing volume limits on trading of energy futures by purely financial investors and that it already has adopted tougher information requirements aimed at identifying the role of hedge funds and traders who swap contracts outside of regulated exchanges like the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“ “My firm belief is that we must aggressively use all existing authorities to ensure market integrity,’ said Gary Gensler, chairman of the commission, in a statement. He said regulators would also examine whether to impose federal ‘speculative limits’ on futures contracts for energy products…

“Mr. Gensler appears focused on two basic goals. The first is to limit the volume of trading by purely financial investors, the “speculators,” as opposed to businesses like airlines or oil companies that consume or produce oil and want to minimize their exposure to big changes in price…”

***************

And we thought:

…To ordinary consumers, moderating the oil speculators’ feeding frenzy at this time will be a welcome move. Already financially-burdened households need some relief from rising gas and energy costs and their effects on the price of consumer goods. The industries that use oil products heavily need some relief, too. Long-term goals before short-term gains...

Aberrant yarns*

1.
Nature --
in the pages of history
man’s greatest friend
man's greatest foe.

To survive, our putative mandate has been
to study and shape and harvest Nature --
for the sake of all men at all times.

“From each according to one’s talents
to each initially according to one’s labours
to each ideally according to one’s needs.”

3.
In fact our minds have largely been dulled
by a persistent paradigm of alienation –
about the nature of Nature and the nature of man
about the fruits of Nature and the fruits of man’s labour.

Our social nature has grown aberrant
long hostage to the cultural lies
of the court's weavers of sand.

4.
We have to write our own history
of Nature and man.





*Chapter 5, Fractured Memories

Haiku 070609

blackbirds crowd
the lidless trash bin…
summer picnic

***************

Recently, we read the following:

New York Times: “G.M. Stock Advice: Expect Zero Value” by Jack Healy

“Major corporations are not known to advise investors that their stock is essentially worthless. But on Wednesday, after several days of high-volume trading of General Motors shares, the automaker warned traders that its stock would have no value when it emerged from bankruptcy.

“ ‘G.M. management continues to remind investors of its strong belief that there will be no value for the common stockholders in the bankruptcy liquidation process, even under the most optimistic of scenarios,’ G.M. said.

“G.M. was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after it filed for bankruptcy protection in June, but its stock has traded over the counter for more than $1 a share.

“Investors holding common shares of General Motors are expected to be wiped out by the reorganization.”


***************

And we thought:

…Is there something those investors know that the public doesn’t? Of course, recyclers are known to make money out of waste...

Haiku 070409

he slaps bugs
while mowing grass --
tonight, fireworks!

***************

Recently, we read the following:

Los Angeles Times: "DEA looking for evidence of illegal drug activity in Michael Jackson’s death" by Josh Meyer

“The Los Angeles Police Department’s request for federal drug agents to join the investigation of Michael Jackson's death indicates that illegal activity may be suspected in the dispensing of painkillers, sedatives, antidepressants and other medications to the 50-year-old entertainer, according to a law enforcement official.

“Some of Jackson’s friends, family and confidants have come forward to say that he was abusing painkillers and other prescription drugs over a long period of time, and that perhaps others in his ever-changing entourage kept him supplied, which could be illegal. The Drug Enforcement Agency is investigating various possibly related activities, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing....

" ‘The problem is growing; prescription drug abuse... shady doctors, diversion [of drugs] from overseas, pill mills, online pharmacies, forgery, pharmaceutical theft, multiple prescriptions from doctors to separate pharmacies,’ the official said. ‘Doctors are not the biggest problems, the Internet is No. 1,’ in which people get prescription drugs from fly-by-night companies that operate under, or outside of, the DEA’s radar. “

***************

And we thought:

… Fireworks in the park on the 4th of July. Fireworks in a junkie’s head – on demand….

Haiku 070209

summer winds
skim the treetops...
the grill below

***************

Recently, we read the following:


Washington Post: “Madoff Sentenced to Maximum 150 Years in Prison” By Tomoeh Murakami Tse

"Bernard Madoff was sentenced Monday morning to 150 years in prison for conducting Wall Street's biggest Ponzi scheme, whose victims numbered in the thousands and spanned the globe.

"... When U.S. District Judge Denny Chin announced his decision inside a packed federal courtroom in lower Manhattan, some of the victims let out a loud cheer….

"Madoff's attorney, Ira Lee Sorkin, had asked the judge for a 12-year sentence ... saying that that his client was cooperating with authorities and that he had willingly given himself up when he informed his sons of a $50 billion scheme last December.

"But Chin, who described Madoff's crimes as 'evil,' 'staggering' and 'massive' over a 20-year period, said a message had to be sent that he was being punished accordingly. The magnitude of the fraud, Chin said, was 'off the charts' -- federal sentencing guidelines are for losses up to $400 million dollars. Chin also noted that Madoff's confession had come only after he knew his scheme was within days of collapse.

"In a prepared statement that showed slightly more emotion than his guilty allocution in March, Madoff apologized for his actions, turning around to briefly face his victims in the audience….

"Madoff also said that while he and his wife have been accused of being silent and unsympathetic, 'my wife cries herself to sleep every night....' "

***************

And we thought:

….The apologies and tears are really utterly empty gestures; the 150 years in prison, not nearly long enough. Madoff and his ring of thieves -- wife, children, friends and close business associates who profited from the giant Ponzi scheme – should have all their money and possessions forfeited.

The proceeds should go to a trust that would serve, first, to help meet the basic needs of the Madoffs’ most devastated victims – the retirees and their families who lost life savings. Second, to help restore the victimized pension funds and school endowments to viable levels. And, next, to help re-fund the charitable foundations and non-profits involved in social services and humanitarian work, so that they may continue their programs….