Friday Open Thread

by afew Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 12:02:31 PM EST

While the sun is still shining...

Friday Open Thread | 32 comments (32 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

It is here, anyway.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 12:02:53 PM EST

Spoiled southeners. You have taken all our sun that we worked so hard and thrifty for. We want it back with interest with payments starting no later then this springs equinox.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

by A swedish kind of death on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 12:59:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

I solemnly promise you'll get more sun after the spring equinox.

What's more, you'll get more sun each day than we do. That'll be the interest.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Nov 3rd, 2012 at 02:56:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0)

According to dKos, last night the half hour evening news consisted of 22 minutes of political ads.

So, I think Richard Tisei deserves some credit for this ad, even if he is a republican

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 12:08:57 PM EST

Re: Friday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Obama and Romney make young girl cry (VIDEO) | The Ticket - Yahoo! News

After months of buildup leading to the presidential election in November, 4-year-old Abigael Evans has had enough.
The Fort Collins, Colo., girl broke down in tears after listening to yet another report on the radio about the race between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, a local NBC TV station reported.
"I'm tired of Bronco Bama and Mitt Romney," said the sobbing girl, who lives in a battleground state.
She's probably not the only one.

I posted it in the Salon but maybe it fits better here.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

by A swedish kind of death on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 12:56:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 1)

A little bit of 60s pleasure

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 12:11:07 PM EST

Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0)

That song, combined with a viewing of Casablanca at Smith College, triggered another one of my disastrous youthful overseas holidays... Ah, to be foot-loose and fancy-free, with all your belongings in your backpack, flat broke, sick, and stuck in a nasty third world youth hostel...

by asdf on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 03:22:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

If you see her, say hello (none / 1)

She might be in Tangiers

(this is my better half we're talking about, currently over that way visiting her parents. she should be back next weekend)

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 03:34:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: If you see her, say hello (none / 1)

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 03:38:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: If you see her, say hello (none / 0)

that sounds so exotic and romantic.

by stevesim on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 03:54:03 PM EST
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Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0)

Yea, they never actually mention the bit where they're traveling first class with a stack of $100 bills to ease their passage

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 05:50:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0)

Los Endos:

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.

by Bernard on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 02:16:07 PM EST

Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0)

A million years ago in another life entirely, I used to go to the UMIST heavy rock disco and regularly danced to that track

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 05:21:45 PM EST
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Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 1)

So, out of curiosity, I google UMIST heavy and find a facebook group. And there's two guys I knew from back in the day.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 06:20:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (none / 1)

I know, I know. It's an American holiday and I'm weeks early but that's not the point. By this time next week we'll be in the throws of legal battles over voting crap which will eventually end up at SCOTUS who will anoint our first genuine Emperor Willard I. And here's little old me, planning to go to the local grocery store tomorrow and drive home with enough milk, eggs, oj, pasta, relatively fresh veges, bananas, etc., all paid for by the cash I accrue from doing what I love, teaching/tutoring. I am thankful, I'm a lucky shit and I know it. And by this time next week that will all start to change, like a shiny helium party balloon which slowly loses its gas over a few days. Yes, the reign of Emperor Willard I will begin the US experiment in having established royalty, just like you Brits, but ours will have muscle. And people like me will be slowly but surely crushed under the corporate machine. So this weekend I celebrate my current good fortune which I know will begin to die starting next week. All good things come to an end. The important thing is to appreciate them while they're here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wp4O7v5320

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 05:02:07 PM EST

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (none / 0)

ha ha, that's a little paranoid even for you.

I don't doubt that it's something that would be arranged if it were closer, say Bush/Gore close, but it ain't close. It never was close.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 05:19:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (none / 0)

Remember this day, a week from now. See what you say then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wp4O7v5320

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 05:32:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (4.00 / 2)

Well, enjoy your last weekend of freedom before the black helicopters swoop in to sell you to the chinese

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 05:47:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (none / 0)

Nothing that dramatic. Tomorrow I head to a local grocery store loaded with a huge area devoted to (relatively) fresh produce, aisles and aisles of pasta, this and that, milk, cheese (which I age), eggs ... you name it. Five years from now all of these small grocery stores will be boarded up and the only source of food will be Walmarts with huge lines of people. That's the "corporate strategy" ... cut off the food supplies. Just watch, starting next week. So I celebrate the food supply and my freedom. Will California be gutsy enough to "opt out" and take care of its citizens ... we'll see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wp4O7v5320

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 06:04:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (4.00 / 4)

that reminds me of a story I saw on French television tonight. Farmers are getting orders from customers online for fruit, veggies and even poultry and the customers drive up to a certain pre-ordained spot to pick up their orders. Farmers make more money than they usually would selling to food wholesalers, and the consumer pays less than buying in a supermarket.

This concept will soon spread to the whole of France.

by stevesim on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 06:10:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (4.00 / 9)

That's almost like... a market, or something.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 08:08:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (4.00 / 4)

Or a locavore association...

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Nov 3rd, 2012 at 03:01:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (4.00 / 2)

My favorite food blogger mentioned this idea. I wish we had something like it around here!

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2012/10/la-ruche-qui-dit-oui-paris/

by ElaineinNM on Sat Nov 3rd, 2012 at 10:39:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (4.00 / 2)

Having gone through their website, I'm put off by the fact that La Ruche qui dit oui is evidently not an association but a commercial venture surfing on the system used by locavore associations (CSAs) -- and they are not transparent about it. The site has no "About" page or other definition of who they are, what their legal structure is, whether they are profit-making, etc.

That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with new forms of commercial activity, but I'd like them to be upfront about it.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sun Nov 4th, 2012 at 03:27:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (none / 1)

In fact, looking at their Legal page (that they are obliged to post in France), I see that they are a commercial company of the LLC type called Equanum, run by three partners.

Equanum is listed as a company engaged in "business and management consultancy", and at least one of the partners is also a partner in another consultancy-type business, Mounir & Simon, of which Equanum may be a subsidiary.

Looks to me like some bright young communications fellas had a bright idea...

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sun Nov 4th, 2012 at 03:46:04 AM EST
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Re: This weekend I celebrate Thanksgiving (none / 1)

Mounir & Simon, communications agency. "Simon" is a robot, the agency belongs to Mounir Mahjoubi, Sorbonne/Science Po/Columbia, formerly of l'Oréal Marketing. Bobo, trendy, entrepreneurial, "modern left" (Socialist Party, on François Hollande's campaign, probably 3rd Way), @mounir, where he links to advertising agency betc life, subsidiary of Havas, one of the world's largest advertising agencies.

La Ruche Qui Dit Oui is billed as one of his start-ups (he is one of the three partners).

The business plan is fairly obvious: use the operating mode of the AMAP (CSA in France) but funnel the money flow through the enterprise...

OK, it may be a smart commercial idea, but for voluntary workers in the no-profit associations (like me) who work to support small high-quality farming (whereas La Ruche doesn't, and I could argue that point), it's nothing to rave about.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sun Nov 4th, 2012 at 06:21:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Open Thread (4.00 / 4)

Chart: Almost Every Obama Conspiracy Theory Ever | Mother Jones

Barack Obama's presidency has been an inspiration to many Americans--especially nutjobs. Ever since the first-black-president-to-be appeared on the national political stage, a cottage industry of conservative conspiracy theorists has churned out bizarro, paranoid, and just plain racist effluvia--some of which has trickled into the political mainstream. Below, we've charted some of the Obama-baiters best (i.e., worst) work. (Scroll down for more detailed descriptions of the conspiracy theories in the diagram.)

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 10:31:33 PM EST

Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0)

That kept me entertained for a while!

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Sat Nov 3rd, 2012 at 05:05:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 1)

Wow. The Washington Post flat-out savages Romney today - says his only consistency is "contempt for the electorate" | Democratic Strategist

Wow. The Washington Post flat-out savages Romney today - says his only consistency is "contempt for the electorate"
Here's the key section of today's editorial in the WaPo:

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Fri Nov 2nd, 2012 at 11:00:56 PM EST

Re: Friday Open Thread (none / 0)

Funny how they've just noticed whilst talking him up for the last 6 months

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sat Nov 3rd, 2012 at 04:32:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Friday Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

What the media want from the election is weeks of breathless stay-tuned horse-race commentary.

If one of the contestants is a three-legged arthritic nag, it doesn't work.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Sat Nov 3rd, 2012 at 04:38:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

One of the Contestants (4.00 / 4)

Is a three-legged arthritic nag.

For more... War On Women

"The Suffragettes said, `Deeds not words,'" says June Purvis, a professor of women's and gender history at the University of Porstmouth, United Kingdom, whose collection was featured on Brain Pickings this summer. "They used a lot of legal tactics like campaigning to Parliament, putting up posters, and speaking at meetings. And they also engaged in a lot of illegal tactics, like destroying postboxes, cutting telephone wires, and setting fire to empty buildings. But the aim was never to kill anybody."
When arrested, Suffragettes would go on hunger strikes. Often, they were force-fed in prison, a form of torture that often made them ill and even killed some. To save face, the British government passed the Prisoner's Temporary Discharge of Ill Health Act (commonly called "The Cat and Mouse Act") in 1913, which released women when they were ill to die outside of jail. If they recovered, they could be re-arrested.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sat Nov 3rd, 2012 at 06:56:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Friday Open Thread | 32 comments (32 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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