European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress.

Is he assembling things? or did you get up in the morning and find him in the middle of disassembling your furniture?

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 11:08:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

He's assembling things.

by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 11:09:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Be careful or social services will investigate you for child labour.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 11:10:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Reading his thoughts

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 11:21:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Castors like those are always breaking, so you're lucky to have a serious repair guy quickly on the job.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 11:27:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sesame Street Open Thread (4.00 / 10)

Shouldn't this thread be brought to us by a letter and a number? And seeing as this is ET maybe a graph too?

Some letters....

Money is a sign of Poverty - Culture Saying

by RogueTrooper on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 11:31:38 AM EST

Play that Bass, Doug!

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

by maracatu on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 11:55:56 AM EST

OK, in the spirit of things...

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

by maracatu on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 12:13:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Pretty snazzy, but play guitar already if ya wanna do that lead stuff.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 01:11:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I guess that marks me out as a trad music person, I like the strong rhythmic bass presence like Bootsy collins or Tal Wilkenfield

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 01:25:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Doug Wimbish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've always liked him as his part in Tackhead, and other Adrian Sherwood based On-U soundsystem things

he was hired together with guitarist Skip McDonald and drummer Keith LeBlanc to form the house rhythm section for Sugarhill Records. Although they did not play on the Sugar Hill Gang's famous song "Rapper's Delight" (the rhythm tracks for this song were played by the group Positive Force), they did play on many other famous tracks, for example "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, "New York, New York" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and "Apache" by the Sugarhill Gang.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:15:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Thanx. Was beginning to feel a bit out of place.

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

by maracatu on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 04:42:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Hey no. I wasn't criticizing your choice. That was just my first reaction to seeing a guy do lead guitar on a bass.

I'm just getting more reactionary these days, my current hero is Don ross

Tho' I still have a soft spot for this noise

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 04:58:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Au contraire! It was the lack of acknowledgment from the rest of the community that made me feel misplaced. Anyway, my generation worshiped at this shrine:

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

by maracatu on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 06:20:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Yea, that was a real breakthrough

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Nov 11th, 2009 at 03:37:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Take action: Stand up for your rice! | Greenpeace International

I never got Public Eemy till this

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Nov 11th, 2009 at 03:39:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Off-topic... (4.00 / 2)

Rice is daily food for half of the world's population. Genetically modified (GM) rice, on the other hand, is a threat to our agriculture, our biodiversity and a possible risk to our health.
At present, GM rice is not grown commercially anywhere in the world. But Bayer, the German chemical giant, has genetically manipulated rice to withstand higher doses of a toxic pesticide called glufosinate, which is considered to be so dangerous to humans and the environment that it will soon be banned from Europe. In just a few weeks, the European Union will decide whether or not this GM rice can enter EU countries, appear on supermarket shelves and end up on our dinner plates. If the EU approves the import of Bayer GM rice, farmers in the US and elsewhere may soon start planting it.

I am not sure about signing a call to stop field trials... I should be for, not against, experimental science...

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 12:15:14 PM EST

Re: Off-topic... (4.00 / 2)

This is where we have to question what exactly "science" is or what narrative it may be made to serve. Field trials are about plant density counts, yields, etc. They come up with results that are of use to technicians in advising farmers on GM cultivation methods. They serve to gain acceptance in local farming communities, because the technicians offer nice contracts and tie in farmers, and the fields look reassuringly similar to others and no catastrophes occur -- over a few growing seasons, resistance to the idea of growing GM crops lessens.

So this "science" mostly serves the agenda of the big biotech companies, including in communication terms. I'm not aware of any "crop science" company having sponsored long-term field research into potential problems caused by the use of GMOs or associated pesticides.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 12:35:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Off-topic... (4.00 / 2)

And just remember, if pollen infects any seeds in another farmer's fields, the company will come and prosecute them for copyright infringement.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 01:27:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Off-topic... (none / 1)

That's later on, when they've got the farmers well and truly bound by their system.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 01:44:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

The 'science' also leaves out (4.00 / 4)

effects on nutrition and other human health considerations - unless you meant to include those topics in "field research".

We're experiencing a parallel situation in the wheat-growing region of eastern Washington state. The Palouse has been a successful monoculture for several decades now, primarily due to deep topsoil and perfect winter-wheat-growing climate. Lately, various wheat diseases have made serious inroads. I haven't analyzed the remark fully as yet, but I saw an e-mail via the Ag&Rural Caucus of the state Democratic Party yesterday to the effect that 'they might as well have burned the wheat crop this year'. In it there was a reference to decreased yield.

First response has been for the pesticide/gmo industry/college complex to develop stronger fungicides alongside tolerant wheat varieties. No real research concerning potential problems of any sort - just get the yields up.

Y'all might be aware that canola could be the perfect solution for this kind of wheat problem via crop rotation. Idaho, WA, and other state college research has shown that brassicas, including canola, tend to destroy various wheat diseases that infect the soil after multi-year monocropping.

I tried to promote a 40 acre experiment for this year in western Idaho, but it didn't happen. Will try again next year.

paul spencer

by paul spencer (spencerinthegorge AT yahoo DOT com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 01:31:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The 'science' also leaves out (4.00 / 2)

paul spencer:

effects on nutrition and other human health considerations

I wasn't even daring think that far! :)

Rust is an increasing problem with wheat, in Europe too. Crop rotation is certainly the right thing to do (it is anyway), but I fear the rust problem on the high-performance wheat varieties is here to stay, it has now spread too fast and far. They may have to go back to more robust but lower-yielding varieties.

If that means we stop subsidising our wheat for export that destroys the agriculture of poorer nations, that's not such a tragedy.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 01:43:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The 'science' also leaves out (none / 1)

I fear the rust problem on the high-performance wheat varieties is here to stay, it has now spread too fast and far. They may have to go back to more robust but lower-yielding varieties.

whoa!

Any idea of what cultivars are being affected?

No one could have predicted

by ATinNM on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:04:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The 'science' also leaves out (none / 1)

No names offhand. But this has been coming on for several years now, and the only answer offered by petro-farming is more applications of fungicide. It raises costs and still doesn't always work.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:16:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Not specifically - (none / 1)

but the vast majority of the crop in the Palouse is soft white winter wheat.

paul spencer

by paul spencer (spencerinthegorge AT yahoo DOT com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 03:58:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Not specifically - (none / 1)

Guess that strikes out "Let them eat cake."

No one could have predicted

by ATinNM on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 08:41:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The 'science' also leaves out (none / 1)

i've heard people say in italy that the strain of wheat most used now was selected for its shorter stem, making it easier to combine harvest. they also allege that this strain is less healthy to eat, and could be responsible for the high numbers suffering from celiac disease, which affects one's ability to successfully metabolise wheat gluten.

anyone else hear anything else like this?

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do." Jim Hightower

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 04:16:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The 'science' also leaves out (none / 0)

You're right that the preferred varities have short stems, but that makes it harder to combine harvest, not easier, cos you have to keep the blades below the head but above stones and other obstructions in the field; this is harder with a short stem.

the idea of short stem varieties is that more plant energy goes into the seed head and less into growing and sustaining a long stalk.

No idea about the other stuff

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 04:35:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The 'science' also leaves out (4.00 / 2)

Not only are short-stemmed cultivars used, but plant hormones are sprayed to restrict stem growth. This is to keep wheat (barley etc) standing even when heavy applications of nitrates are made. While increasing yield, these also increase stem length and propensity to flatten (stems bend and fall, the combine harvester can't harvest them properly).

This is a classic example of more chemicals to solve a problem created by chemicals.

I don't know (ie am ignorant of) a connection between short-stemmed wheat cultivars and gluten intolerance.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Nov 12th, 2009 at 04:32:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: The 'science' also leaves out (4.00 / 2)

not to mention the spread of cereals into marginal lands with insufficient rainfall to keep the ground wet when the crop has been taken. So, over time it blows away.

The Middle East, N Africa & US Dust bowl are three examples of marginal lands destroyed by inappropriate agriculture. We're doing it again in australia and more to come.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:44:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Off-topic... (4.00 / 5)

"Field trials" by Bayer in the US have resulted in a persistent if low level contamination of Arkansas rice with the GMO trait. This has impacted the value of the rice, especially as it makes it ineligible for export to the EU under current rules. A lawsuit is in process. A decision by the EU to allow that rice into the ECM would make that suit moot. Arkansas produced the largest rice crop in the USA before this fiasco. I don't know about now.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer at eurotrib.com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:39:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

by maracatu on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 12:21:25 PM EST

Remember when Ernie wanted to learn to play the saxophone?

"Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark." Cheyenne

by maracatu on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 12:25:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Classical cloture - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com

Apropos of nothing: for travel reading, I'm currently working my way through Tom Holland's Rubicon: The Fall of the Roman Republic. And it turns out that back when men were men and women were property, they had ways of dealing with obstructionist tactics from the legislative opposition:

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 12:24:26 PM EST

Klassikal Kloture (4.00 / 2)

This method can be increased excrementally as needed.

Skennah Kowa

by Crazy Horse on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 12:37:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Klassikal Kloture (none / 0)

and if necessary followed up by firm application of the bucket.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 12:41:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Klassikal Kloture (none / 0)

Unfortunately, Gentle Ben is the closest we come in the USA to a pontifex maximus, and I don't think he could be trusted dump the bucket on the right head, or on any head, for that matter.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer at eurotrib.com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:44:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Missing the USSR (4.00 / 5)

Via poemless come BBC World Service/GlobalScan poll results finding the Free market is flawed and the Soviet Union is missed by some.

Here is the methodology and the countries polled:

by Magnifico on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 01:48:18 PM EST

Re: Missing the USSR (none / 0)

Interesting.

I'm a little surprised by the German result in the second.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed Nov 11th, 2009 at 07:49:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sesame Street Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

The UK Home secretary Alan Johnson has had his meeting today with the Advisory council on the misuse of drugs, in the wake of his sacking and the resignation of one of its members.

As a result of this meeting, three further members of the comittee have resigned. More as it turns up.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:08:46 PM EST

Three more resignations from the ACMD « Dr Evan Harris MP

I've just heard that three more ACMD members have resigned, after the Council met with Alan Johnson.
The latest resignations represent a deepening in the crisis of confidence of scientists in the Government - in particular, in the Home Secretary. That they come after Alan Johnson met the ACMD demonstrates that he just doesn't get it when it comes to the importance of respecting the academic freedom and integrity of independent, unpaid, science advisers.
Ministers are entitled to their own opinions, but not to their own facts.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:23:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Facts !! Facts !! We don't need no steeenking facts !!

We're politicians, we're better than that.

this quote from an article about Bush;-

''This is why he dispenses with people who confront him with inconvenient facts,'' Bartlett went on to say. ''He truly believes he's on a mission from God. Absolute faith like that overwhelms a need for analysis. The whole thing about faith is to believe things for which there is no empirical evidence.'' Bartlett paused, then said, ''But you can't run the world on faith.''

Seems Johnson is running on stale Blair

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:37:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Science is merely one opinion among others.

It's what happens when politicians are drawn almost exclusively from the ranks of arts graduates whose understanding of the desireability of demonstrable truth is somewhat strained

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:28:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sesame Street Open Thread (4.00 / 3)

I wouldn't be surprised if he understands the science perfectly.

Unfortunately it's not politically expedient to admit the science in public.

That's what politics is - professional dishonesty, pandering to whoever pays your expenses.

The resignations are unfortunate, but as far as Johnson is concerned advisers can always be replaced - so this isn't a crisis so much as a rather understated purge of dissidents.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:35:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Slight error

That's what politics is - professional dishonesty, pandering to ~~whoever pays your expenses~~ the Daily Mail.

There !! Fixed

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 02:40:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sesame Street Open Thread (4.00 / 5)

Incidentally, today I volunteered a few hours to teacher aide duty at the Militant Electrician's school. The period covered two groups (home room classes) of fifth graders (aged 9-11) tackling a composition assignment, devised by the Language Arts/Social Studies staff. (Subject matter personnel are said to implement curricula as a team.) The theme was thanksgiving, the format a formal letter. As is typical of many a job description, the scope of my duties exceeded proofreader mark-up.

The range of skills demonstrated by students within each cohort was remarkable. I alood to social and technical facilities.

Nonetheless, I believe, I was helpful and enjoyed myself.

Only the Militant Electrician will say for sure.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

by Cat on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 03:18:48 PM EST

12 reasons why the just-announced nuclear power stations will never be built in the UK

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 03:30:26 PM EST

nuclear (none / 0)

not a very convincing list, as far as I'm concerned.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 05:06:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Interesting stats on US homes etc.. (none / 1)

Modern conservatives engage in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy: the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.Galbraith

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 05:08:56 PM EST

Re: Interesting stats on US homes etc.. (none / 1)

more interesting stuff here

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 05:31:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Equal pay on youtube (4.00 / 6)

Here is the film I produced.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 05:27:17 PM EST

Re: Equal pay on youtube (4.00 / 3)

Cool. well done

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 05:42:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Equal pay on youtube (4.00 / 2)

it's really good, great job.

"Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do." Jim Hightower

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 10:00:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Holy damn shit (from dKos):

This is actually the cleverest thing I've seen in a month of Sundays.

She doesn't mention Senator Chuck Grassley directly, but she outlines the case she will make against him. Career politicians in Washington have lost their independence. Iowans were left behind when banks got bailed out and their top executives got huge bonuses. Grassley voted for the Wall Street bailout, which Conlin mentions twice in this video. No doubt we'll hear more in the coming months about Grassley's ties to various special interests and his votes for tax breaks companies use when they ship jobs overseas.

Hopefully Coglin can take Grassley's TARP vote and shove it up his ass. Grassley is at 51% approval, been running to the Right, and Iowans don't like ideologues. If Coglin runs a smart and savvy campaign she's got a chance.

No one could have predicted

by ATinNM on Tue Nov 10th, 2009 at 09:18:03 PM EST

I hope so, just to see Grassley go would be nice. But Darcy Burner in WA-8 was as good a candidate as you could get and she still lost.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Nov 11th, 2009 at 04:01:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]