AMSTERDAM ART PAST AND PRESENT

From the collections of the Stadsarchief Amsterdam, the documents centre for the city - fascinating 1930s colour separation images by Bernard F. Eilers. Three samples of over 300 photos:

Herengracht



Albert Heijn grocery store, Kalverstraat 84



De Bijenkorf department store, Dam Square, 1937.




24oranges

The now infamous Vijzelgracht, a street in downtown Amsterdam where entire houses are sinking into the ground due to a series of major screw-ups in digging the new North-South metro line, was a sorry sight. Families were evacuated and their houses boarded up and declared ‘unfit to live in’.



Across the street, local artist Peter Doeswijk who lives and works on the Vijzelgracht came up with a cultural solution to poster up the boarded houses and hide the inevitable graffiti: by using famous artworks of Dutch Masters (Frans Hals, Vermeer and the likes). He has had other poster exhibitions on the Vijzelgracht during the actual construction and without his efforts, the street, which boasts famous manors such as the one of the Maison Descartes (French institute) would look even worse than it sounds.

Vijzelgracht photos taken by the Orangemaster.





Thanks to Prog Gold for the links to the Eiler's photos.

REMEMBERING BY VOLUNTEERING

UPDATE: Video: Alexander and Máxima today at MADD Day 2009




Today is the anniversary of the deaths of two Dutch queens. Queen Juliana died five years ago on 20th March. Her grandmother queen Emma died 70 years before. (see the photo on left taken at Soestdijk, soooo long ago!).

Today is also the start of a two-day event, Make a Difference Day, a program promoting volunteerism in The Netherlands. Members of the Dutch royal family will take part in MADD at various social service agencies throughout the land.


Last year Queen Beatrix made apple pies for volunteers at a nature center (photo at right). Tomorrow she will put her sculpting talents to work and will help the visually impaired create art at a center in Zeist.

I remember Juliana saying that if she had not been queen, she would have liked to have been a social worker. What a wonderful way for Beatrix to honour the exuberant spirit of her mother.

Volunteering comes in all shapes and sizes. In the US, there was a MADD last October. And Michelle Obama dished out mushroom risotto for the homeless at a soup kitchen earlier this month and promised she'd be back to help. The Dutch royals do the same and quietly return to volunteer, without fanfare, when the cameras are not around.

(Photos are copyrighted & courtesy of BV Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau ANP.)

IRAQ: 6 YEARS

Ten Percent

If you take a one second silence for every casualty of the Iraq invasion (on all sides) you will be silent for 15 days, 7 hours, 58 minutes & 7 seconds. You only get to the non-Iraq casualties in the sixth hour of the sixteenth day.

Last year as part of the blogswarm I wrote- Withdrawal, Reparations, Prosecutions. So what d’you reckon?

Withdrawal- Nope, unless you figure 50,000 troops are negligible and the various get out clauses won’t be exploited by the Pentagon or Obama.

Reparations- Sorry, the financial sector got all your cash for generations to come, Iraqis may be able to sell some of the bullets shot at them for (radioactive) scrap.

Prosecutions- Sorry folks but Nuremberg happened because of a victorious allied occupation, after all it excluded European colonialism and the American use of the atomic bomb. So unless the coalition countries are invaded and subjugated by some other power allied with Iraq, seems human society isn’t able to enact justice where the ruling classes are concerned, it’s all just fine words. Keep pushing of course, we may yet become civilised. Still, you can book some of the main criminals for several (hundred) thousands to give you a speech.

Muntazer al-Zaidi is now in jail for 3 years after being beaten and tortured, he threw his shoes at George Bush, Bush laughed it off, both the act and and I am sure the knowledge of al-Zaidi’s abuse and coming years in prison, he likes that kind of thing. Our media continues to shy away from calling torture torture and the few mea culpas over pimping the lies that led to war have not changed their behaviour significantly, one consequence of this is a likely attack on Iraq’s neighbour Iran and a spreading war in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The humanitarian disaster in Somalia goes almost unmentioned as does the particular involvement of the US. Also unmentioned mostly is the Neocon/Zionist axis, but perhaps it is coming into the open a little more.

Mostly I think we are in the invidious position of still many people do not regard this supreme crime as a crime- nationalism, militarism and tribalism remain unexamined, and as such many see no need to stop it, make recompense and punish the guilty. Until that changes we are in for much more bloodshed, empire is a recidivist and the pantry is bare.

SHOCKER: ISRAELI SOLDIERS ADMIT GAZA ABUSES

Guardian (19/03/09)

Striking testimony has emerged from Israeli soldiers involved in the Gaza war in which they describe shooting unarmed civilians, sometimes under orders from their officers.

One soldier described how an Israeli sniper shot dead a Palestinian mother and her two children, adding that fellow troops believed the lives of Palestinians were "very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers".

The testimony, published in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz today, gives a rare insight into how Israeli soldiers fought the war on the ground; reinforces Palestinian accounts of disproportionate Israeli force; and sharply contradicts the Israeli military's official version of events.

Haaretz

Another squad leader from the same brigade told of an incident where the company commander ordered that an elderly Palestinian woman be shot and killed; she was walking on a road about 100 meters from a house the company had commandeered.

The squad leader said he argued with his commander over the permissive rules of engagement that allowed the clearing out of houses by shooting without warning the residents beforehand. After the orders were changed, the squad leader's soldiers complained that "we should kill everyone there [in the center of Gaza]. Everyone there is a terrorist."

The squad leader said: "You do not get the impression from the officers that there is any logic to it, but they won't say anything. To write 'death to the Arabs' on the walls, to take family pictures and spit on them, just because you can. I think this is the main thing: To understand how much the IDF has fallen in the realm of ethics, really. It's what I'll remember the most."

It has been rare for Israeli soldiers to speak out about the killing of Palestinian civilians in the December war on the Gaza Strip. More soldiers' testimonies will be published in Haaretz over the coming days.

Analysis by Amos Harel in Haaretz:

Can Israel dismiss its own troops' stories from Gaza?

The soldiers are not lying, for the simple reason that they have no reason to. If you read the transcript that will appear in Haaretz Friday, you will not find any judgment or boasting. This is what the soldiers, from their point of view, saw in Gaza. There is a continuity of testimony from different sectors that reflects a disturbing and depressing picture.

The IDF will do everyone, and most of all itself, a big favor if it takes these soldiers and allegations seriously and investigates itself in depth. When statements came only from Palestinian witnesses or "the hostile press," it was possible to dismiss them as propaganda that served the enemy. But what can be done when the soldiers themselves tell the story?
...
If the IDF really never heard about these incidents, the reasonable assumption is that it did not want to know. The soldiers describe the reality in combat units, from the level of company commander down. In the debriefings, the participants usually include company commanders up. It seems that except for isolated incidents, the rule is "you don't ask, we won't tell."

(Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

THE AIG KERFUFFLE: DECEPTION IS PART OF THE PLAN

Michael Hudson in Counterpunch

There are two questions that one always must ask when a political operation is being launched. First, qui bono -- who benefits? And second, why now? In my experience, timing almost always is the key to figuring out the dynamics at work.

Regarding qui bono, what does [sic] Sen. Schumer, Rep. Frank, Pres. Obama and other Wall Street sponsors gain from this public outcry? For starters, it depicts them as hard taskmasters of the banking and financial sector, not its lobbyists scurrying to execute one giveaway after another. So the AIG kerfuffle has muddied the water about where their political loyalties really lie. It enables them to strike a misleading pose – and hence to pose as “honest brokers” next time they dishonestly give away the next few trillion dollars to their major sponsors and campaign contributors.

Regarding the timing, I think I have answered that above. The uproar about AIG bonuses has effectively distracted attention from the AIG counterparties who received the $183 billion in Treasury giveaways. The “final” sum to be given to its counterparties has been rumored to be $250 billion, do Sen. Schumer, Rep. Frank and Pres. Obama still have a lot more work to do for Wall Street in the coming year or so.

To succeed in this work – while mitigating the public outrage already rising against the bad bailouts – they need to strike precisely the pose that they’re striking now. It is an exercise in deception.

The moral should be: The larger the crocodile tears shed over giving bonuses to AIG individuals (who seem to be largely on the healthy, bona fide insurance side of AIG’s business, not its hedge-fund Ponzi-scheme racket), the more they will distract public attention from the $180 billion giveaway, and the better they can position themselves to give away yet more government money (Treasury bonds and Federal Reserve deposits) to their favorite financial charities.

OBITUARY

Montreal Gazette

Actress Natasha Richardson, the wife of actor Liam Neeson and part of the Redgrave acting dynasty, has died after suffering a head injury while skiing this week in Quebec, a family spokesman said Wednesday.

"Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time," Los Angeles-based spokesman Alan Nierob said in a statement.

Neeson was at her bedside after accompanying her on the flight from Canada Tuesday, as was her mother, legendary actress Vanessa Redgrave.

THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS!

Film info

VERMONT CLERGY DIVIDED ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL

UPDATE: GREEN MOUNTAIN DAILY - Marriage Equality: Images from the Statehouse

FROM VERMONT FREEDOM TO MARRY:--

Day 3 of Senate Judiciary Hearings

WE WILL BE STREAMING THE HEARINGS LIVE ON OUR WEBSITE TONIGHT!

In the run-up to tonight's public hearing, from 6:00 - 8:30pm at the State House, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from clergy across the religious spectrum regarding their perspective on the marriage debate. Video footage of the hearing is available on our website.

Episcopal Priest David Hall read a statement on behalf of The Right Reverend Thomas C. Ely, Episcopal Bishop of Vermont. Bishop Ely was unable to attend because he was out of state. Through Rev. Hall, Bishop Ely testified that S.115 "has the possibility to strengthen our understanding and appreciation of marriage as we witness the love and fidelity of gay and lesbian couples alongside that of straight couples."

AMSTERDAM REMEMBERS JOHN & YOKO'S BED-IN

Yoko Ono and John Lennon in room 902 of the Amsterdam Hilton. Photo Nico Koster

NRC/international:-- The Amsterdam Hilton is opening up to the public the bedroom where John Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed in 1969 as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of their famous "bed-in for peace".

In all fairness, the Lennon bedroom in the Amsterdam Hilton has always been available to the public. At a price: a one-night stay costs 1,750 euros. But on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the "bed-in", the hotel has decided to relax its policy. Beatles fans can visit the suite - though not to stay in - from March 21 to 29 when a number of Lennon-related events will be taking place.

Closer to home - Imagine: John & Yoko's pacifist anthem: a second bed-in was held at The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada, from May 26 to June 2, 1969. (Hilarious 1969 CBC interview with John & Yoko here.) To commemorate the event, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts , in collaboration with Yoko Ono, has curated an exhibition which will run from April 2 to June 21, 2009.

USA - NEW AMSTERDAM - NEW YORK - 400

Today, Queen Beatrix will open the 60th jubilee edition at De Keukenhof, the largest and most beautiful garden in the world.

This year"s theme is "USA - New Amsterdam - New York - 400," and a contingent of New Yorkers has gone to Holland as part of a a yearlong celebration of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s arrival in New York Harbor in 1609 aboard the Half Moon. There's a tribute included in the Keukenhof display, a likeness of the Statue of Liberty made out of 51,000 tulips!

Queen Beatrix today at Keukenhof.
Photo courtesy © PPE Agency/Buys.

UPDATED: More of today's photos here.

The photo (courtesy Keukenhof) below shows tulips asleep in their beds; the bulbs were planted last October.

FAUX GESTURES OF OUTRAGE

Yesterday on Democracy Now! in its news recap:-- The failed insurance giant AIG is preparing to pay out $450 million in bonuses to top executives and other employees despite receiving a $173 billion government bailout.
...
On Sunday, Lawrence Summers, the director of the White House National Economic Council, described the bonuses as outrageous, but he said the bonuses are part of a contract:--

Lawrence Summers: “We are a country of law. There are contracts. The government cannot just abrogate contracts. Every legal step possible to limit those bonuses is being taken by Secretary Geithner and by the Federal Reserve system.”

Eli Stephens writes, Funny how that objection to abrogating contracts and the "very, very destabilizing consequences" doesn't come up when the contracts being abrogated are those with GM and Ford workers, or San Francisco Chronicle workers, or anyplace else where it's the workers who are suffering. Au contraire, it's precisely those cases where members of Congress actively call for the abrogation of contracts.

Just like "freedom of speech" belongs to those who own the presses and the airwaves, the "law" belongs to those who own the country. For the rest of us, it's a thin layer of ice which can be shattered at any moment.

On the car radio, I've listened to some of these call-in programs (c.f. "On Point"), and surely people are outraged, but the discussion doesn't go beyond that.

Richard Estes, telling it like it really is and what we might expect, Allow me to translate this for you: everything is going according to plan, right down to the faux outrage expressed by Geithner and Summers. Summers' reliance upon pre-existing contracts to justify inaction is particularly mendacious.
...
We are entering the early stages of this process, with capital retaining as many privileges as possible, despite the catastrophic failure of those who managed it, while the workers who have already been victimized, are called upon to sacrifice, even those with the contractual protections commonly utilized by bankers and investors. Will we eventually rebel? There is no sign of it. But if we do, how will Obama respond? Well, the Pentagon is already anticipating the deployment of troops to deal with domestic unrest.

STORIES OF OUR TIMES

"I was taken to another room where I was made to stand on tiptoes for about two hours during questioning. Approximately thirteen persons were in the room. These included the head interrogator (a man) and two female interrogators, plus about ten muscle guys wearing masks. I think they were all Americans. From time to time one of the muscle guys would punch me in the chest and stomach. Here cold water from buckets was thrown onto me for about forty minutes. Not constantly as it took time to refill the buckets. After which I would be taken back to the interrogation room.

"On one occasion during the interrogation I was offered water to drink, when I refused I was again taken to another room where I was made to lie [on] the floor with three persons holding me down. A tube was inserted into my anus and water poured inside. Afterwards I wanted to go to the toilet as I had a feeling as if I had diarrhoea. No toilet access was provided until four hours later when I was given a bucket to use. Whenever I was returned to my cell I was always kept in the standing position with my hands cuffed and chained to a bar above my head." — New York Review of Books- US Torture: Voices from the Black Sites
By Mark Danner
ICRC Report on the Treatment of Fourteen “High Value Detainees” in CIA Custody by the International Committee of the Red Cross

"We need to get to the bottom of what happened—and why—so we make sure it never happens again."
— Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee

VERMONT: MICHAEL COLBY ON MARK JOHNSON'S SHOW

UPDATE: Michael Colby will be on the Mark Johnson program tomorrow at 10:15 a.m. EDT.
Michael Colby emailed me this morning to say that he's appearing on Mark Johnson's radio call-in program tomorrow, Tuesday 17 March. Tune in on WDEV AM 550 or FM 96.1 or listen to the live stream during the show's 9-11 a.m. time slot. Alternatively, you can listen later to the podcast.

While residents of the Queen City get their panties in an uproar over Burlington city council president's calling the cops on two elected councilors at last Thursday's city council meeting, what seems to be lost on residents and provoking very little discussion is the landmark ruling last week by the Vermont Supreme Court. Charges were dropped against Michael and his cohort Boots Wardinski for interrupting a speech given by John Negroponte at his son's graduation from St Johnsbury Academy (VT) in June, 2006.

Photo credit: AP/Toby Talbot.

LOCAL: CITY COUNCIL LEADERSHIP CHILDISHNESS AND HYPOCRISY

John Odum writes a remarkably astute - and not very benign - diary on Green Mountain Daily concerning the continuing discussions surrounding the contrariness of last week's Burlington City Council meeting:-- In any event, it should be plain that ten minutes of Roberts-rules-neener-neenerisms before an incompetent Chair do not merit that Chair compounding his failure by calling the police. Such a decision was not simply ridiculous, it was unethical. So why are so many self-identifying lefties on the internet so eagerly defending the action (and, in the process - or as part of the process - so badly mischaracterizing the supposed transgressions of a few City Councilors)?

It's all Partisan Derangement Syndrome. Otherwise sensible people getting caught up in the mass hysteria of partisan groupthink. What we've got is a few lefties who identify with the Progressive Party - as well as some die-hard Republicans - absolutely losing their shit because of their contempt for Democrats (or their personal animosity towards Ed Adrian). Honestly, after looking at that video, its all I can figure, and its all very childish.

I'll tell you one thing, though. This whole embarrassing dustup is another reminder that Burlington City Politics is in serious need of an enema. Some Progs & Repubs would do well to take a lesson from folks like Rama and see it for what it is and not for the mass indictment of the Democratic Party they'd desperately like it to be.

Predictions on what's in store at the next City Council meeting (from a commenter on the Odum piece):-- So here is my prediction -- Some of the same folks who supported the use of police force over the use of democracy & the rule of law will start singing the "victim song" when Wright's "Height Vote" is repeated.

Prepare to hear them say "they [insert random (Adrian/Brezniak etc.) Democrat here] made us screw up the meeting and now they are making us take the vote all over;" or some variation on that theme.

Here is the collateral problem for the citizens of Burlington who need to live with Kurt Wright's antics. Wright poisoned Thursday's vote to the point where no developer, landowner, lender, residential or commercial builder will rely on the new zoning law. It's now too expensive a proposition becuase of the risk of ending up in court on a permit appeal. Who wants to go to court and waste months or years on a screwed up law? Developers know they will end up with an appeal before they find themselves on a new top floor with a view of the lake. Savory, huh?

Still, do not expect Wright to take responsibility for poisoning the change in building heights. Instead he will say "they made me do it" and wimp out of acknowledging his own failure when the re-vote occurs. Similarly, some of the folks who advocated the use of dictatorial conduct and police force instead of respecting lawful, orderly (or even disorderly) parliamentary process, will also blame council members other than Mr. Wright.

Hypocrisy watch will be looking for those blaming council members who were following our established civic traditions and who were advocating within the established rules (Adrian, Brezniack et al.) rather than looking to Wright and his enablers who abandoned bedrock rule of law & order principles over a zoning amendment.

COMMENT: I've lead public meetings and can say from experience using Robert's Rules effectively can be unwieldy. Ed Adrian and David Berezniak - elected councilors for their respective wards - were representing the interests of their constituents and used proper means to question procedures at the meeting. Kurt Wright's decision to call the police on them was just plain pathetic and unethical.

Having read a lot of the comments about what happened, I'm convinced that Burlington's citizenry is ignorant about government. And when you factor in that only 28% of registered voters participated in the last city election, they really don't give a shit about electing our democratic representatives. Easy to complain and name-call, but when it comes to active civic engagement: fagetaboutit!

LOCAL NEWS: CITY COUNCIL MEETING - SPARRING SAGA CONTINUES

Shay Totten has added several updates to his original post about the March 12th city council meeting. The discussion has continued on BurlingtonPol and Green Mountain Daily, too.

The majority of the comments on the blogs and Free Press coverage were made the day after by people who were not at the meeting - most of them had relied on the coverage in the Free Press:

Police called to City Council meeting

You'd think Steve Ekberg had streaked around Contois, disrupting the proceedings. But it was council president Kurt Wright who'd called BPD to quell what he claimed as possible unruly behavior by councilors Adrian and Berezniak.

I was not at the meeting. But from the reactions on the BFP site and the buzz on the blogs, I was expecting Adrian's and Berezniak's behaviour to be worse than was reported. What amazed me was that the police being called and their presence at the meeting was acceptable to people. I would even say that the Free Press encouraged this response with its headline.



After viewing Channel 17's rebroadcast of the Downtown Use and Height Ordinance segment - where Adrian and Berezniak questioned the procedural aspects of the agenda - it is very clear there was no reason for Wright to phone the police. He was flustered, but he was also over-reacting. As a mayoral candidate he bragged how he was a conciliator in working with opponents on the council. Calling the cops was an inappropriate remedy if we take seriously democracy in our municipal government. Councilor Berezniak is correct in making a formal complaint to city attorney Schatz.

I agree with Jack McCullough's (GMD) comments after having seen the council meeting video:

1. The entire period of the so-called disruption and confrontation regarding the points of order and points of information lasted maybe five minutes or so.

2. It appears that there were a number of different points of order and points of information that the Democrats were raising. As I could make them out, they included whether the Council was holding a new meeting or a continuation of the previous meeting; what agenda they were working from in light of the fact that the clerk had issued a new agenda but Councilor Knodell initially seemed to be addressing an item on the original agenda; whether it was in order to take up the ordinance without its first having gone through the ordinance committee; and whether the current Council was bound by a resolution that laid out a special process for this ordinance, notwithstanding the fact that there had been a change of council membership since the adoption of the original resolution. (I may be missing one or two points, but I think that's the gist of it.)

3. From what I could tell, the Democrats tried to get rulings on their points of order (or information ), but I didn't see them pushing any particular point of order once there was a ruling from the Chair on it.

4. There were a number of times when the Chair tried to reject or rule a point of order out of order before hearing it.

5. The Chair eventually informed the objecting members that they had the right to appeal his rulings and seek a vote on their point of order if they disagreed with his ruling; they never did so.

6. At no point did the Chair as for a vote on whether the Democrats were obstructing the proceedings and should be removed.

I think #6 is an important point. There is a parliamentary process for removing members who are obstructing the work of the body, but they don't involve the Chair calling the police. There may have been people other than Kurt Wright and Jane Knodell who were annoyed at the objections of the Democrats, but we didn't hear from them. We can't know what they would have done if it had been put to a vote, but it is at least possible that members of the Council who would need to maintain a working relationship with the minority might take a different view of how to proceed than the lame duck Council President and Councilor.

In law there is a process to ask the judge to allow you a continuing objection when you know you will need to make the same objection repeatedly in the course of a witness's testimony, but it doesn't apply to an objection based on different grounds. As far as I could tell, these were new objections based on different grounds, so each time an objection was made it was the first time it was being presented to the chair.

Either way, it just boggles my mind that a presiding officer would call the police and threaten to remove elected officials trying to represent their constituents, even if they were in the minority.

A VERMONT VICTORY FOR FREE SPEECH & CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

Victory!

In June, 2006, Boots Wardinski and Michael Colby had been arrested for disorderly conduct (it was really civil disobedience) in interrupting a speech given by warmonger John Negroponte at his son's graduation from St Johnsbury Academy (VT).



This morning Michael emailed me to say that in the case State vs. Colby and Boots Wardinski, the Vermont Supreme Court dismissed the charges. The court says the activists were acting within their free speech rights. Michael was ecstatic in his email, "Look out world, our record is clean..."

For now. Michael and Boots take their activism seriously.

Michael (owner of the blog Broadsides) writes, This is fantastic news for activists. It means that the state cannot arbitrarily arrest and prosecute those who simply stand to voice their political opinions. It sends a clear and unequivocal message to all levels of law enforcement to think twice before engaging in the speech-chilling activities exhibited by the multiple levels of police that day.
Read all of it here.

Kudos also to their attorney, David Sleigh.

The Vermont Supreme Court's ruling can be read here.

Media coverage so far: from VPR, Fox44 and on the Free Press blog, Blotter. Next stop, WDEV's Mark Johnson Show?

Photo credit: AP/Toby Talbot.

(Crossposted at Antemedius.)

LOCAL NEWS: ABOUT LAST NIGHT.....

Shay Totten writing in Blurt:--

About 50 people were inside Contois Auditorium tonight to hear The Burlington City Council debate a host of issues related to downtown development and on-campus housing and development at the University of Vermont and Champlain College.

Three Burlington City police officers were called to Contois Auditorium after a testy exchange between two Democratic city councilors — David Berezniak (Ward 2) and Ed Adrian (Ward 1) — and Republican City Council President Kurt Wright (R-Ward 4) threatened to put a halt to yet another evening of debate on several major issues.

Councilors Berezniak and Adrian made repeated requests for "points of order" and "points of information" which angered Wright and clearly frustrated other councilors. Wright and otehrs were convinced the Democrats were pulling procedural stunts to derail discussion on whether to publicly warn a hearing on changes to the city's zoning rules.

The furor continues. Today Shay updates his post and provides the text of the BPD police report:--

Here, in its entirety, is Lt. Emmett Helrich's incident report (I've confirmed the veracity of this report with Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling):

"City Council President Kurt Wright called to say that he would like police presence as there had been some disruptive behavior on the part of some in attendance prior to the break. Cpl. Edwards and I went to Contois. Wright told me that Councilors Adrian and Bresniak [sp] had been disrupting the council meeting to the point that he might be compelled, as a point of order, to have them removed from Contois. Some in attendance had said that it had been quite disruptive prior to our arrival. Nothing happened after we got there and remained orderly until after the proposed amendment in question had been voted on. (raising the height of buildings in the city) At one point Councilor Adrian asked President Wright why the police were there and Wright told him he had called for police in case the members continued to be disruptive.

"After the vote we left as it was clear our presence was not needed."

Adrian said he was circulating the incident report to show that Wright called the police for no other reason than "to remove councilors that he thought were disruptive ... in particular myself and Councilor Berezniak."

Adrian reasserted his belief that Wright was "manipulating the police to intimidate city councilors from speaking and asserting their parliamentary rights."

As I noted last night, I think this is very, very far from "end of story."

The intimidating games people play. Remember, these are our elected representatives, all adults.

STRANGE INTRUSION

Exciting news from Owen Mulligan!

Today I spent over 5 hours editing my 1st film project Strange Intrusion with my editor Greg Tracy. We had been working on the editing of the film for the last several months. I am proud to announce that the film is finally done and ready for it's release on April 17th, 2009!!! The film will be aired before that date though on Vermont's channel 15...

Strange Intrusion will be distributed on the web by Green Comet Pictures, and Owen plans to enter it into film festivals.

SILICON DAIRY GOES BYE BYE

Joel Banner Baird in the Free Press:--The sudden departure of Vermont's home-town-styled Internet provider and Web host, Silicon Dairy, has a lot of folks puzzled.

And a lot of folks vexed. Overnight, many of its longtime and loyal clients lost Web sites, databases and email lists.

The evaporation of Silicon Dairy sounds out of character. Any clues?

What's surprising is that their clients stuck around at all. I speak from experience: Silicon Dairy's service sucked. Unprofessional. Inefficient. I dropped them over a year ago. Better service & rates elsewhere.

TIMES ARGUS: HATE DRIVEN MEDIA ADVOCACY

Green Mountain Daily:-- The Times Argus' toxic and divisive poll is a reminder to our legislative leaders that the responsibility to enact priorities carries with it the responsibility to publicly advocate for those priorities.
...

The Times Argus' "poll" ** is nothing more than a direct, in-your-face, jab at gays and lesbians specifically, and the majority of Vermonters, in general, who value equal protection of the law.

The TA's behavior has the effect of pitting Vermonter directly against Vermonter. The poll's not-too-subtle message to its readers is "Your interests are necessarily mutually exclusive from the priorities of other Vermonters' interests when it comes to legislative priorities."

This is just plain untrue. It is toxic thinking. It creates a false, media generated, and media perpetuated conflict of priorities where none exists.

Is the TA afraid too much consensus is building around equal marriage rights? Seriously, what is the inspiration for this?

Here is the problem. When a newspaper asks:

Do you think same-sex marriage should be a top priority for the Legislature?

What it is really telling its readers is "are the issues that are important to gays and lesbians more important than the issues that affect you?"

If that's the questions they are really asking, then want to know what the real answer to that question is? The answer is Bullshit! It's bullshit because the implication is false. The conflict is non-existent.

If the Times Argus really wants to play those games, what's stopping them from pulling out all the stops and pitting the rest of "us" (whoever "we" happen to be) against each other and against our neighbors? Let's see the TA put up a poll that pits children against farmers or the elderly against working people. Why only imply to your readers that it stops with marriage rights? Certainly there are other groups that can fight to trump each other?

MYSTERY SOLVED: DNA - DETECTIVE IN THE GRAVES AT YEKATERINBURG

The Independent:-- Scientists have pieced together DNA evidence from two graves near Yekaterinburg and have conclusively shown that Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, the Tsarina Alexandra, died with all five of their children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and their haemophiliac son, the crown prince, Alexei. The only remaining mystery is whether the girl buried alongside Alexei in a separate grave from the rest of the family was Maria or Anastasia...

The Romanov study used three different ways of analysing DNA to determine family relationships within the graves – and the relationship, if any, to living relatives of the Russian royal family. Mitochondrial DNA, inherited only down the maternal line, was used to assess the relationship of Prince Philip, who is related to the Tsarina through his mother, with bone fragments found in the grave. This helped to determine that the Tsarina and her four daughters were indeed buried in the two graves. DNA known to be inherited only from fathers by sons on the male Y chromosome was used to determine the relationship between the crown prince, Alexei, and his father, Tsar Nicholas II. And finally, DNA from the rest of the chromosomes was used to find out who was who in the mass graves – separating family members from three servants and a doctor.

For your information here are the latest published articles, which discuss the DNA investigations conducted on the skeletal remains found in Yekaterinburg: 1. Michael D. Coble 2. Dr E. Rogaev (opens PDF)


In the photo, the Romanovs visiting a regiment during World War I. From left to right, Grand Duchess Anastasia, Grand Duchess Olga, Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarevich and Grand Duke Alexei, Grand Duchess Tatiana, and Grand Duchess Maria, with Cossacks regiment.

(Photo credit: Romanov Collection, General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.)

LOCAL NEWS: THE NO ACCOUNT RECOUNT

Now is the Spring of our discontent....

Haik Bedrosian/BurlingtonPol.com had it first about Kurt Wright's call to end the IRV Mayoral Recount. The reasons for stopping the count last night are given in today's Burlington Free Press/Briggs story.

City Councilor Kurt Wright called off a recount Tuesday night and conceded his instant-runoff loss to Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss.

With about half of the wards tabulated, Wright congratulated Kiss on his victory and asked for the recount to be halted, Chief Administrative Officer Jonathan Leopold said late Tuesday.

Leopold said that with about 43 percent of the votes recounted, the difference between the hand count and the March 3 machine count was about five votes.

“It was clear that the totals were coming in so accurately compared to the machine count that it wasn’t going to affect the outcome,” Leopold said.

Wright said earlier in the day that he requested the recount, “not for me, but at the request of a tremendous amount of citizens who really strongly urged me to do it. I was ready to move on.”

Wright, a Republican, lost to Kiss by a final margin of 252 votes, 4,313 to 4,061 on March 3. That difference amounted to 2.8 percent of the 8,976 valid ballots cast, well within the 5 percent difference in votes established by the Legislature as the threshold for recounts. Only 27 percent of registered voters participated in the election.

Wright called for the recount, in part, to test the accuracy of the instant-runoff system that propelled Kiss, a Progressive, to re-election.

“I hope the recount will confirm the integrity of the process and give citizens a level of comfort with how the system works,” he said.

Huh?

This report doesn't jive with Wright's email to Haik last Friday:--

... I do agree with people like yourself Haik who believe this is the right opportunity to take a close look at how the system worked. This is not about me, it is about the process. I accept the result and am gratified to have come so close...

If Kurt had already accepted the results of the vote on March 3, why did he concede last night? He didn't think the recount would change the outcome. Clearly in his email to Haik, he wanted the recount to test the process. But how can we be contented with the process when when the recount was called off before completion? 43% is not "about half."

“It was clear that the totals were coming in so accurately compared to the machine count that it wasn’t going to affect the outcome,” Leopold said.

When the recount was halted, we were told that the difference was 5 votes. How can it be claimed that "the totals were coming in so accurately"? How does this compare to other recounts when an IRV recount has never before happened in Burlington? The votes from Wards 4 and 7 have been left uncounted; it is from these wards where Kurt received most support. Why weren't those crucial votes recounted?

LOCAL NEWS: IRV RE-COUNT BEGINS AND ENDS EARLY

Shay Totten/Seven Days reported about the Burlington Mayoral IRV Re-count which started on Monday evening. At just about Midnight, Haik Bedrosian informed us...

The count is on!

...And the count off. [Republican candidate Kurt}Wright calls off recount after only wards 1,2,3 and part of 6 are counted. Knodell left early. Russ Ellis stayed late.

We'll probably learn more about the Wright decision tomorrow, but I think it was the wrong decision. After all, Kurt had stated that he wanted to see how the IRV counting process worked. And a lot of us wanted to be assured it was legit. Now, we've lost our chance.

LOCAL NEWS: UP, UP AND AWAY

Burlington Free Press:-- Burlington’s City Council argued Monday night over a proposal to permit developers to build about 20 feet higher — to a maximum height of 127 feet (10 stories) — on commercial buildings in downtown Burlington.

The council never got around to voting on whether to vote on the proposal at its March 30 meeting. Councilor Joan Shannon, D-Ward 5, proposed to reduce the height limit to 105 feet. The council rejected Shannon’s amendment, 8-5.

Haik Bedrosian has an informal poll at BurlingtonPol.com - "Should Burliington's maximum allowed building height be raised to 127 feet?"

I didn't participate in the poll, but did comment at Haik's blog:--

To paraphrase Kurt Wright, this is not a question that can get a straightforward yes or no answer.
If I'm thinking of more affordable housing developed downtown, then I would pick "yes" (even mixed-use - businesses and housing - buildings would be a "yes" as my choice). If it's just for more business development downtown, I'd go with "no." If increased height allowances happen, we must remind city council and the governing committees/boards of their shameful role in the horrible Westlake/Marriott fiasco and its ultimate outcome with no affordable housing.

VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY ENTERS GAZA!

Al Jazeera English:-- A British convoy carrying medical relief for the impoverished residents of the Gaza Strip has crossed into the territory from Egypt.

Gazans cheered and waved Palestinian flags as the convoy finally entered the territory through the Rafah border crossing on Monday, after being stranded on the Egyptian side of the border for two days.

WAR WINTER / OORLOGSWINTER WINS TOP FILM AWARD

DutchNews.nl:-- The film Oorlogswinter (War Winter) was the big winner at the annual presentation of the Rembrandt awards in Amsterdam on Monday evening.

The film, based on Jan Terlouw's novel about a boy who finds and hides an English pilot during World War II, was voted best film by the public.

Martijn Lakemeier and Melody Klaver won best actor and actress for their roles in the film.

Oorlogswinter official website (Dutch) and on IMDb.

Official trailer (English/Dutch):

NAOMI KLEIN SPEAKS ON ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK

Naomi Klein speaks on Israeli Apartheid Week from NOW Magazine on Vimeo

(Thanks to General, Your Tank is a Powerful Vehicle.)

SALTWATER ENERGY

ecoWorldly:-- A new proposal to improve a 75-year-old dike, the Afsluitdijk, in The Netherlands could make it the world’s leading site for generating saltwater power— a clean, renewable energy source which is 30-40% more efficient than burning coal.

The breakthrough process, which is called reverse electrodialysis, captures the energy created when freshwater becomes saltier by mixing with seawater. Although scientists in the 1950s discovered that electricity could be generated this way, no one knew just how efficient the process could be until a recent study proved that a remarkable 80% of the energy could be recovered.

(Thanks to Progressive Gold.)

You may also like: Brilliant Water Recycling in The Netherlands

MAINE TOWN PUTS ITS WATER IN COMMON TRUST

After Downing Street:-- The citizens of Shapleigh, Maine voted at a special town meeting to pass a groundbreaking Rights-Based Ordinance, 114 for and 66 against. This revolutionary ordinance give its citizens the right to local self-governance and gives rights to ecosystems but denies the rights of personhood to corporations. This ordinance allows the citizens to protect their groundwater resources, putting it in a common trust to be used for the benefit of its residents.

Shapleigh is the first community in Maine to pass such an ordinance, which extends rights to nature, however, the Ordinance Review Committee in Wells, Maine is considering passing one in their town. These communities have been under attack by Nestle Waters, a multinational water miner that sells bottled water under such labels as Poland Springs.

Communities have opposed the expansion by Nestle Waters, but the corporation will not take no for an answer. The town of Fryeburg, Maine has been in litigation with Nestle for six years. . . .

The concept of a rights-based ordinance was pioneered by environmental attorney Thomas Linzey, founder of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund of Gettysburg, PA. Linzey has assisted the town of Barnstead, New Hampshire with their rights-based ordinance, which was passed in 2006 and with another in Nottingham, New Hampshire, which passed in 2008.

To date there have been no legal challenges to these ordinances. Linzey also crafted Ecuador's new Constitution, which also gives the ecosystem rights. Ecuador is the first country in the world to protect its natural resources from corporate exploitation.


(h/t to Undernews)

I'M PIMPIN'

Yeah, my friend Owen has started a new blog, a very off-beat commentary on whatever is on his mind. I've added it to the sidebar. Go check out Blabulous and say hey!.

'HICH' YEZZA JAILED FOR 9 MONTHS

I've been following the arrest and trial of writer and Nottingham University grad student Hicham Yezza. From Lenin's Tomb we have learned that he has been 'sent down for nine months.'

THE COST OF EMPIRE: $663,000,000,000.00

While Obama has promised to increase troop recruitment levels, he has hinted that he wants to cut some spending on some as-yet-unidentified weaponry.

"We need to run an empire."

In the Real News Network video clip below, Miriam Pemberton, a Research Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, cites the demand of some in congress to keep the F-22 Raptor, despite escalating production expenses.

The major contractor for the F-22 is Lockheed Martin, but pieces of the program have been farmed out to companies in "44 of 50 states to create a political constiuency for the plane," says Pemberton. Burlington's General Dynamics Armament Systems is one of them, and they can thank Sen. Patrick Leahy for that prize.

PHARMA ETHICS, AGAIN

If this week's SCOTUS ruling on Wyeth vs. Levine wasn't enough, there are two New York Times stories by Duff Wilson about the influence of corporate pharmaceutical companies on faculties - and their veiled threats on students - at Harvard Medical School.

One is about the ethics of faculty being paid consultants of pharmaceutical companies:-- In a first-year pharmacology class at Harvard Medical School, Matt Zerden grew wary as the professor promoted the benefits of cholesterol drugs and seemed to belittle a student who asked about side effects.

Mr. Zerden later discovered something by searching online that he began sharing with his classmates. The professor was not only a full-time member of the Harvard Medical faculty, but a paid consultant to 10 drug companies, including five makers of cholesterol treatments.

“I felt really violated,” Mr. Zerden, now a fourth-year student, recently recalled. “Here we have 160 open minds trying to learn the basics in a protected space, and the information he was giving wasn’t as pure as I think it should be.”

Mr. Zerden’s minor stir four years ago has lately grown into a full-blown movement by more than 200 Harvard Medical School students and sympathetic faculty, intent on exposing and curtailing the industry influence in their classrooms and laboratories, as well as in Harvard’s 17 affiliated teaching hospitals and institutes.

This is all to reminiscient of the commotion in 2006 about pro-fluoridationist Dr. Chester Douglass, a professor of Dentistry at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, who also served as editor of one of COLGATE's company publications and was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Delta Dental Foundation of Massachusetts, a trade organisation. Harvard did indeed investigate Dr Douglass' questionable ethics, but it was a whitewash. We'll have to wait and see what comes of the med students' protests.

In 2005, a scientist at NIH was punished by that government agency for asking that pharmaceutical companies' payments to academic researchers be made public.

The second article concerns Pfizer photographing Harvard Medical School student protesters:-- ... David Tian, a first-year Harvard medical student, said he found it “strange and off-putting” last fall when a man who identified himself as a Pfizer employee took a cellphone photo of students as they demonstrated against pharmaceutical industry influence on campus. “We could only assume he intended to share this with his company,” Mr. Tian said.

The students did not get the man’s name, but they took his picture.

Asked about the mysterious Pfizer man on campus and shown his picture, a company spokesman said he had recently contacted the employee and concluded that he had done nothing wrong. Declining to name him, the spokesman, Ray Kerins, said the employee had photographed the students for personal use.

Mr. Kerins preferred to talk about Pfizer’s support of the medical school, which, according to Harvard officials, includes private payments to at least 149 faculty members, corporate donations of $350,000 to the school last year, $234,000 for continuing medical education classes, and two Pfizer-financed research projects on campus.

QUESTIONS: What are the pressures of pharmaceutical companies put on students, researchers and faculty UVM's College of Medicine and the Dartmouth Medical School? Which members of their respective faculties are paid consultants of corporations and trade organisations? Is there a code of ethics in place against such influence?

(Thanks to The Cockroach Catcher for the heads-up about the NYT story.)

OBAMA PULLS U.S. OUT OF UN RACISM FORUM - CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS SHOULD ATTEND ANYWAY

Cynthia McKinney in Black Agenda Report:--

“This morning [Monday], I sent the following message to the White House:

‘Mr. President, it was with great disappointment that I read of your decision to pull out of Durban II. Even the Bush Administration, under pressure from the Congressional Black Caucus, provided some funding for the United Nations effort and sent staff to support the Congressional delegation that attended the Conference. I was there. I was head of the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force that negotiated Congressional and Administration engagement on this issue. There is still time for the U.S. to participate. Your decision is not irrevocable. I would encourage you to please reconsider this decision and not only attend the Conference, but also provide funding to ensure its success.”

I implore the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus to spearhead the participation of the United States in the United Nation's World Conference Against Racism: to boldly go where we have gone before. Dr. King reminded us that "the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.' ”

A TOUCH OF TEXAS CLASS

An Appreciation by Robert Leleux in The Texas Observer:--Eleanor Tinsley—the only person I’ve ever met who was also a park and an elementary school—died Feb. 10. For anybody who doesn’t already know, much of what’s best and most beautiful about the city of Houston was a gift of Tinsley’s imagination. As a public servant and civic leader, she was a figure of great guts and dignity. She was also a very nice lady.

Houston, my hometown, is that strange place on the map where New Orleans manners meet western wildness, and where white-gloved refinement so often collides with cowboy coarseness and bigotry. White gloves never graced finer hands than Tinsley’s. A soothing presence in cupcake colors, she gave every impression of being the well-born Baptist matron she was (her great-grandfather, Dr. Rufus Burleson, was a president of Baylor University). But she was also one of those trailblazing women of the ’60s and ’70s who helped define our state as surely as any man at the Battle of San Jacinto.

When Tinsley was elected to the Houston School Board in 1969, the city was charged with the daunting task of racial integration—a cause to which she was unwavering. The Houston Chronicle reports that, during this tumultuous process, Tinsley was approached by a man made furious by the idea that his daughter might “catch something” from a black student.

“Perhaps, sir,” she replied, “she might catch tolerance.”
...
In 1979 Tinsley joined forces with Houston’s gay community to oust an outspoken homophobe from the City Council. That year, she became one of the first two women elected to the council, not to mention a champion of women’s and gay rights causes. By the time she retired in 1995, after 20 years in office, she’d played a major role in the creation of Houston Community College, Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston’s 911 emergency service, and literally hundreds of public parks. Former Councilman Jim Greenwood, quoted in the Chronicle, considers her “the most effective member of the City Council that Houston has ever seen.”

Oh, man, when I read this today, I realised that I really miss Houston. Eleanor Tinsley was truly one of the beacons of light during my 20-odd years in the Bayou City. I remember that incident with the homophobe on city council; I'd only been in Houston for three years. Tinsley cared about "quality of life" issues before doing so was popular. These were the years of Houston's unfettered growth, yet she worked on getting a 1980 sign ordinance to regulate billboards and championed green spaces and parks. R.I.P. Mrs Eleanor Tinsley.

Photo: Sharon Steinmann / Chronicle

BREAKING LOCAL NEWS: WRIGHT REQUESTS RECOUNT

I'm spreading the word -- Haik Bedrosian got the news first, this morning -- 'I just got an email from Kurt Wright. He WILL be asking for a recount. Kurt wrote: "...I have decided that I am going to request a recount--not because I expect it to change the result, but because so many people have literally begged me to do this.

In many ways, I would prefer to move on--for myself personally that is--but I do agree with people like yourself Haik who believe this is the right opportunity to take a close look at how the system worked. This is not about me, it is about the process. I accept the result and am gratified to have come so close and to have actually received the most 1st place votes--and even won on the second round as well. I also understood that this was the system we have in place and knew this result was a possiblity. If voters do not like this system they have the ability to change it--but that will not come from me..."

Developing story...'

PUBLIC MEETING: FUTURE OF LOCAL COMMUNICATIONS

Future of Local Communications Public Meeting
Thursday March 12th at 6 p.m. (until 8:30 p.m.)
Channel 17 Studios (294 North Winooski Avenue in Burlington)

Register here! or call in to the LIVE public meeting on Channel 17 6.30 p.m. (Call in at 802.862.3966).

Does the decline of local media outlets concern you? Are you frustrated by your monthly telephone and cable bills? Does it worry you that only two companies provide cell phone service in the whole United States? Do your children have access to meaningful tv and internet programs? How can local and community media better serve activists, nonprofits, educators and local government? What are your views on local and public ownership of our local communications system and media network? What else would you like policy makers and decision makers to know?

Here's a great OPPORTUNITY to give input as CCTV CHANNEL 17 plans for the future communications needs of our region AND identify community needs to inform upcoming public access TV negotiations with Comcast Cable. Help keep the flow of information free, local and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Lauren-Glenn Davitian at 802.862.1645 x12 or davitian@cctv.org

WATCH IT, BUD

Lenin's Tomb:--Informal spying on potential employees is understood to happen on a regular basis. I don't want to name any names, but temp agencies have been known to advise candidates to take care as to what information appears on their Facebook pages, Friends Reunited accounts, blogs or other potential sources of information. Employers scrutinise these sites when reviewing candidates details to see if they are about to hand a contract over to a weirdo or some sort of inflexible, awkward miserabilist. Your blog can get you fired, remember. If you are going to have a Bebo or Hi5 page that is accessible to the public, then the best bet is apparently to project the image of a smiley, outgoing, success-driven, active, sporting, party-hard, go-getting sort of narcissistic dimwit: a miniature celebrity, with friends apparently growing out of every crevice. Employers love that shit.

But this is a serious investment both in terms of the upfront costs and the risk of exposing the company to possibly steep fines. Think about how much profit they must have anticipated conserving just by keeping out 'troublemakers'.

LABEL: UNINTENTIONAL HUMOUR

For your immediate reflection, from the Guardian - "Is the recession David Bowie's fault?":- Who is to blame for the recession? Forget all that stuff about out-of-control bankers, negligent governments and sleepwalking regulators; instead, according to the BBC's Evan Davis, it's time to point the finger at David Bowie - a pioneer not only of experimental rock music and what used to be called "gender bending", but exactly the kind of financial sophistry that got us in this mess.

In yesterday's Daily Mirror, Davis laid out his theory as follows. In 1997, Bowie needed millions of pounds to buy back the rights to his songs from a previous manager. With the help of a financier named David Pullman, he thus created the so-called "Bowie Bond", through which investors would receive a share of the royalties from 287 Bowie songs over the next 10 years (£55m worth of them were sold to the Prudential Insurance Company).

OBAMA & HEALTH CARE "REFORM"

Some members of the health care "industry." including doctors, business owners and insurers, are taking part in a White House forum today to discuss with President Barack Obama the cost, coverage and quality of health care in the U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is expected to raise concerns about the $634 billion "down payment" for wider insurance coverage. Baucus is no friend to single-payer and had ruled it "off the table" - advocates of it had not been invited. After several complaints to the White House, the forum will include Congressman John Conyers, author of HR 676 single payer legislation in the House, and Dr. Oliver Fine, who currently heads Physicians for a National Health Program.

Obama has appointed Zeke Emanuel - brother of Rahm, so you know the implications of the appointment - as adviser to Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Emanuel, an experienced physician and health policymaker, is expected to help the administration enforce universal health coverage (read: insurance industry based) and lower health care costs.

MARIZA

Back in the 1960s my aunt and uncle had spent holidays in the Algarve and fell in love with Amália Rodrigues, the original "Rainha do Fado" -"Queen of Fado." During my school hols in NYC, they took me to see her at Lincoln Center and I've been hooked on Fado ever since.

Last night I saw an incredible, exhilarating and soulful performance by Mariza, the new queen of Portuguese Fado. "Fado," a musical genre indigenous to Portugal - with roots in Africa - is untranslatable; the closest in English is "fate" or "destiny." In fact, Mariza was born in Portuguese East Africa - now Mozambique - and has an ethnic Portuguese father and black African mother. The songs sometimes have that bittersweet of - saudade - lost love or an anticipation of love, but all have a lilting rhythm which will mesmerise you. I was captivated by two songs last night - one, to celebrate her African roots; the other had been sung by the great Amália. So it was a complete joy to see Mariza's show, with terrific back-up musicians - traditional fado mixed with a few jazzy musical numbers, plus a short lesson in Portuguese! Haha. I counted 4 standing ovations and 2 encores, the last being a fado accompanied by acoustic guitar and Portuguese guitarra. From where I was sitting, even in that last unamplified song, I felt the intimacy of being in a taverna in Lisboa! If only I'd had a glass of cool red wine to toast Mariza!

She's currently on tour in America - here she is on David Letterman in 2007:--

DEMAND A BURLINGTON MAYORAL IRV ELECTION RECOUNT!

Hey, I listened this morning to Mark Johnson's program and interview with Kurt Wright, too. And I'm for a recount, too. There are too many questions about how it's handled for IRV and I sure as fuck don't trust how it was done on election night in Burlington! Jonathan Leopold did a crap job explaining what was happening to those present after the polls closed. It was not at all enlightening. I could even see the confusion on the faces of the press in Contois Auditorium. During the day, I'd spent several hours outside one of the ward polling locations, and let me tell you, a lot of people were questioning the whole IRV system in Burlington. I'm for a recount and I phoned Kurt Wright to urge him to demand one. I'm not alone in wanting one. Do a recount to challenge the "system" and prove that the votes were counted correctly and to assure doubters .

US SUPREMOS RULE AGAINST WYETH IN VERMONT CASE

Maggie Gunderson in GMD:-- The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of Vermont resident Diana Levine in Wyeth v. Levine, Dkt. 06-1249 (3/4/09). Levine had won her case in Vermont, but drug company Wyeth had appealed the almost $7 million award all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Senator Patrick Leahy filed a "friend-of-the-court" brief to a Vermonter Diana Levine's U.S. Supreme Court case. Leahy was joined in his "amicus" legal brief, which was filed in August 2008, by 17 members of Congress, including Vermont Senator Bernard Sanders and Vermont Congressman Peter Welch and Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Sheldon Whitehouse, Tom Harkin, Dianne Feinstein, Richard J. Durbin, and Russell D. Feingold, and Representatives Henry A. Waxman, John Conyers, Jr., John D. Dingell, Frank Pallone, Jr., Bart Stupak, Zoe Lofgren, Linda Sanchez, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, and Maxine Waters.

DUTCH MEDIA STAR 'GROUNDED' FOR 90 DAYS AND 90 NIGHTS

DutchNews.nl:- Vicar's son and leading presentor on evangelical tv station EO, Arie Boomsma, has been suspended from work for three months for appearing scantily dressed in a magazine, reports ANP news service.

The photos are in a yet-to-be-published edition of the women's glossy Linda.

'This was a solo action by Arie and is damaging for the mission of the EO. We want the focus to be on the inner person in shows such as '40 Dagen Zonder Seks (40 Days Without Sex)' which Arie presents,' EO director Arjan Lock is reported as saying.

Boomsma is said to be sorry for his action.

Arie's grounding was even announced on his website and discussed on his blog.

Telegraaf features the photos - "Arie Boomsma bijna in adamskostuum": "Almost in 'Adam's costume'".

Telegraaf also reports today that Arie has been chosen as 1 of 4 Dutch "trendsetters" by jurors for TrendWatcher Of The Year (TWOTY) Award, adding that he'll still have to contemplate his "sins" at home (Dutch).

Lent is 40 days and 4o nights, but it's a bit OTT for him to be "grounded" for 90 days and nights, no? EO's being paternalistic, treating a man in his 30s as if he were a pre-teen kid! This Dutch Calvinist aversion to the human body is sick! Not only is the brouhaha ridiculous, but it's also hypocritical. Arie is the moderator of another EO television show ontopic where youth with completely different backgrounds debate current trends and news. In January, the topic was
Naakt in videoclips moet verboden worden! (Being naked on video clips should be prohibited). I know, I know, pure sensationalist titilation for the viewers, even on an 'evangelical' network. Here's the segment (in Dutch) of the program.

PLAINFIELD (VT) BANS FLUORIDE

FOX 44 TV:- PLAINFIELD, Vt. (AP) - The town of Plainfield has voted to remove fluoride from its drinking water.

In a voice vote after a lengthy floor discussion on Tuesday's Town Meeting Day, residents voted in favor of the ban.

Supporters say they want to have the choice whether or not to ingest fluoride and don't want to be forcefully medicated.

Great, disappointed as I was that Andy didn't win in Burlington, the news from Plainfield makes the 2009 Vermont Town Meeting Day one to remember. Now...after the Burlington BoH passed a resolution to remove fluoride from the tap water, the City Council and the re-elected mayor just have to get their asses in gear to make the right decision for our city, too.

BURLINGTON CITY ELECTION 2009 RESULTS

CITY OF BURLINGTON
MAYOR CANDIDATES

1st Round: Wright first, Simpson, Smith eliminated
2nd Round: Montroll eliminated.
3ndRound: Most of Montroll voters voted Kiss for second choice. Kiss elected.

Results on the 3rd Round OF IRV

Bob Kiss/P 4313
Kurt Wright/R 4061

http://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/elections/election-night-coverage-03-03-2009#Burlington%20Mayor

City Council winners:

Ward 1 Sharon Bushor I
Ward 2 Emma Mulvaney-Stanek P
Ward 3 Marissa Caldwell P
Ward 4 Nancy Kaplan D (Kurt Wright's old seat)
Ward 5 Joan Shannon D
Ward 6 Mary Kehoe (open seat that belonged to Andy Montroll)
Ward 7 Eli Lesser-Goldsmith D 618 Victor Dobra R 612 - RUN-OFF


The pundits are going to have a field day with the results.

Now let sugaring and mud season begin!

THE VEIL OF NORMALIZATION

Philip Rizk writes:- "At the police station this past week a few uniformed men returned my things to me. They pretended they had caught they had caught the thief who had stolen my things, he was locked away now, they laughed. The frenzy of my release has finally passed, things are meant to return to normal at this stage. But in Gaza- the reality of which had driven me to the street that Friday- nothing has changed.
...
"It is the mundane that reminds me of my abduction. Today on the bus i reset the settings of my ipod as they used to be after some employee of the Egyptian state security forces erased its content. I can’t express enough my gratitude to all those around me- far and near- who reached out, cooked a meal for my family, set up a site calling for my release, held a sign in the cold, brought me my class readings, uttered a prayer, welcomed me home. And these acts and voices somehow pulled me out of that cell and rescued me from beneath my shackles. But the voices for these others cry out into the void. Why are there not more, why can they not draw to freedom the bodies that deserve more than i do. Release them, release the bodies of those now in cells here calling out for their release, and release the ones so longing to breathe beyond the bounds of fear and death.

"I realized today that i too had forgotten Gaza. In these past days in the elation of freedom i forgot why i had marched, i forgot why i am- to live for the other. That other is still as is, kept from life and the gatekeeper retains her position at the gate and the world looks on.

"This cannot go on. No."

TODAY IS TOWN MEETING DAY

Polling stations in all wards in Burlington are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

'TRANSITIONAL FORCE'

From the Barack Obama speech on Friday, 27 February:- "We will retain a transitional force to carry out three distinct functions: training, equipping, and advising Iraqi Security Forces as long as they remain non-sectarian; conducting targeted counter-terrorism missions; and protecting our ongoing civilian and military efforts within Iraq.
...
We Americans have offered our most precious resource – our young men and women – to work with you to rebuild what was destroyed by despotism; to root out our common enemies; and to seek peace and prosperity for our children and grandchildren, and for yours."

(Video found at Lenin's Tomb and Dennis Perrin.)