For any south Floridians reading the blog……….

PRESS RELEASE - MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2008 - UPDATED INFO

10TH ANNUAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA BENEFIT CONCERT

AT TOBACCO ROAD

HOSTED BY

PLOPPY PALACE PRODUCTIONS

On Saturday, January 19, 2008 Ploppy Palace Productions and Tobacco Road will be hosting the 10th Annual Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert to raise funds for FL NORML’s (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) medical marijuana campaign and the protection of patients- rights. As part of this four stage extravaganza, some of South Florida’s top bands, spoken word artists and community activists will join together for patients- and physicians- right to use medical cannabis.

As a testament to the diversity of supporters for this cause, there will be a broad variety of musical styles including jazz, rock, reggae, folk, vocal harmonies, hip_hop, funk, experimental, tribal rhythms, world beat fusion, psychedelic grooves and various interactive jams.

Johnny Dread, Sweetbone, Jahfe, Kuyayky, Aurapool, Addax, Day Music Died, Miami Creative Music Collective, Under No Order, Oriente, Carl Ferrari & Friends, Four Shillings Short, The Tribe, Ana Kanpa, Togen, Elisa Melendez, Erica Sommer, Robby Hunter, Minimal, Mug, Radar O Reilly, Outereach, The Cornerstoners, The Seeds Of Evolution, Angel Ocean, Mr. Grim Reapa, Rayko/KRB, January, Fudakochi, Demetrius Brown, Lisbeth Lynn, Pepe Alva, Pat De Leon, Robert Lusson, Andrew Bayuk, Gus Coronel, Val C. Wisecracker and more will be showcasing original music.

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The USS Kearsarge, the first to pull into Port Everglades for “Fleet Week.” It’s a helicopter landing and dockage ship that carries about 1,500 Marines.

A US Navy V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft sits on the flight deck of the carrier-like Kearsarge.

Below: The USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) pulls into Port Everglades as part of Fleet Week.

The USS Ponce (LPD-15) pulls into Port Everglades.

When a subject comes along that doesn’t fit with what a republican represents, what do they do? They take away the right of free speech. And, from all places, right there on capitol grounds! Am I shocked? No. Sickened? Yes, but not shocked.

IOL-North America:

Gore’s ‘Live Earth’ concert gets opposition

Washington - Republicans in Congress are trying to bar former vice-president Al Gore’s anti-global warming mega-concert from its planned venue on the steps of the US Capitol building.
[...]

But some Republicans have balked over the cost of providing police for the event, while others insist that the concert is a partisan Democratic event and as such, not allowed on Capitol grounds.

One outspoken opponent of the concert is Senator James Inhofe, a longtime debunker of cataclysmic climate change, which he has derided as a “hoax”.

“Senator Inhofe objects to having any events on the Capitol grounds that are either highly partisan or politically controversial - and the proposed Gore concert is both,” said his spokesperson Marc Morano.

Inhofe and Gore locked horns last week at a standing room only Senate hearing on global warming.

Morano said formal moves to block the concert have been lodged by Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Isn’t it kinda early in the year for such severe weather?

ENTERPRISE, Ala. - A system of powerful storms packing tornadoes passed from Alabama into southwest Georgia, hitting a hospital and causing at least nine deaths statewide, a state official said early Friday. The burst of tornadoes was part of a larger line of thunderstorms and snowstorms that stretched from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast.
In Georgia Thursday night, the storm caused six deaths in Baker County, according to a fire chief there, said Buzz Weiss of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. -AP

Photo Gallery (click image to enlarge)

Is this man serious? We’re going to tell China what it can or cannot do? Of course not! A day without a republican sounding a false alarm would be like a day without breakfast. Know this: Without any alarms to sound or sins to battle, there would be no republicans.
I suppose Hu Jintao could look at Jon Kyl and ask; “You, and what army?”

Senator urges robust U.S. stance on China space moves

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China’s test of an anti’satellite weapon this month was a “wake-up call” that should make the United States get serious about threats in space, a Republican senator said on Monday.

Jon Kyl of Arizona said China’s destruction of an aging Chinese weather satellite with a ground-based ballistic missile underscored the vulnerability of U.S. security and communications assets in space.

“Chinese military doctrine and numerous writings make it clear China does not believe space can or should be free of military capabilities,” said Kyl.

On January 11, China used a ground-based ballistic missile to knock out an aging Chinese weather satellite about 537 miles above Earth, scattering dangerous debris that could damage other satellites for years.

China confirmed the blast 12 days later but denied it was seeking an arms race in space.

Kyl told the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank that China posed a multifaceted space threat with broad capabilities. Russia, Iran, North Korea and other states with missile capabilities also could destroy satellites, he said.

Source: WashingtonPost.com

We at Blue Herald - News You Can Abuse wish Sen. Johnson a speedy recovery.

The balance of power issue has me wondering something though. If Sen. Johnson cannot fulfill his duties, why is it the Governor of SD who gets to decide who the successor will be? Why not Johnson himself?

Senate control hangs on hospitalized member’s health

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota was in critical condition Thursday after undergoing brain surgery, a George Washington University Hospital source told CNN.

David Boyd, in the nursing supervisor’s office, confirmed Johnson’s condition.

Johnson, 59, was out of surgery at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, a source close to the senator told CNN. He was hospitalized Wednesday morning after he appeared to suffer stroke-like symptoms. The surgery was described as “successful.”

There was no formal announcement of the South Dakota senator’s condition, The Associated Press reported, but a person in the hospital’s media relations office, who declined to be identified, said the hospital was preparing to announce that Johnson’s condition was critical.

Should Johnson not be able to complete his term, which ends in 2008, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, would appoint his replacement, which could shift the balance of power in the Senate.

Source: CNN

Road comedy, drugs drama lead indie film nominees

The hit road comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” and the acclaimed drugs drama “Half Nelson” led the list of contenders on Tuesday for the Independent Spirit Awards, the American art-house world’s version of the Oscars.

Each film scored five nominations, including best feature and best director. Another contender in the latter category was Robert Altman, who died last week. He was cited for his work on “A Prairie Home Companion.”

Four films, none of them with much widespread name recognition, landed three nominations each: “American Gun,” “The Dead Girl,” “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” and “Man Push Cart.”

The Spirit Awards, in their 22nd year, honor low-budget films based on such criteria as original, provocative subject matter and degree of independent financing. Winners will be unveiled on February 24, the day before the Academy Awards.

continue reading

CAROL EISENBERG
Newsday Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Imams, ministers and a rabbi staged a “pray-in” here at Reagan National Airport yesterday morning, demanding an apology from US Airways for removing six imams from a flight last week.

They also called on Congress to combat religious and racial profiling.

“Whether it’s driving while black, flying while Muslim or traveling with a Torah, racial and religious profiling is not acceptable in America,” said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Falls Church, Va.-based Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation. “I believe we can protect the safety of our nation and still treat our Muslim citizens fairly.”

The removal of the six imams from the Minneapolis-to-Phoenix flight after several passengers reported “suspicious” behavior - and US Airways’ refusal the next day to let the men board another flight even after police had cleared them - has become a cause celebre in the civil liberties and civil rights communities.

One of the detained imams, Omar Shahin, has called for a boycott of the financially beleaguered airline. Two Muslim advocacy groups are asking for congressional hearings on religious and racial profiling. And US Airways and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties are reviewing the incident.

Article here

“Imams, ministers and a rabbi…” Sounds like the beginning of a bar joke. hehehe

Writing at CommonDreams, David Benjamin gives us his list of Top Five Pseudo-Events Of The Bush Regime:

5.Plastic Turkey for the Troops. On the first Thanksgiving of the Iraq war, Dubya surprised the troops with a turkey dinner. Except, well, the turkey, which photographed beautifully, was fake. And Dubya didn’t actually hang around for dinner. Nice uniform, though.

4. Dubya’s Ground Zero Grandstand Play. Bush got years of media mileage for showing up at ground zero in New York three days late. Dressed like a manly man and yelling through a megaphone as firefighters cheered and cops wept, Bush promised to hunt down Osama bin Laden and avenge this outrage. Since then, Bush has exploited the victims of Sept. 11, cut funding for first responders (firefighters and cops) and, um … Osama? Still out there.

3. Bush v. Gore. The perfect TV pseudo-event. Talking heads suffered a case of the collective vapors while reading the Supreme Court decision that handed the 2000 election to George W. Bush. You could cut the suspense with a knife, but only if you neglected to note that all the justices on Dubya’s side (except, of course, for William Rehnquist, proud product of Tricky Dick) had been appointed by administrations in which Bush’s father was president or vice president.

2. The Jackson Square Light Show. Three days late (again), Dubya coptered into the Big Easy. Stagehands set up a thrilling array of klieg lights, powered with giant generators. Dubya knitted his brow, clenched his fist, made a speech and blew town. Then the stagehands packed up the lights and took away the generators. Rescue teams went back to hunting for dead bodies in the dark.

1. “Mission Accomplished.” Ah, the USS Abraham Lincoln. The glorious landing. The flight suit. The boyish smirk. The banner. The declaration of triumph in Iraq, with only 2,500 more American kids (give or take a thousand) left to kill. Brilliant! Dazzling! Mwah!

Not long ago a friend from Portland, OR (the coolest city in the country, mho) told me about a musician he had heard during Alberta Fest (Alberta St being the coolest area in the coolest city) and he knew I would love the music, which is original and described as a blend of Mid-East and Indian and Gypsy flavas and hypnotically beautiful. It’s just by accident that I discovered the two Adam Hurst videos on youtube…and my friend was right!

Alberta Street Fair
adamhurststudio.com

Adam Hurst…Cello