Pot Luck

Sunday night already? (4.00 / 4)

:(

Now I know why bears hibernate.  They have to face less Mondays that way.  Heh...

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 03:06:02 AM UTC

Here at Chez Youff, it's (4.00 / 3)

TGIF night!  Don't have to go back to the salt mines until Thursday, yippee!

Of course, that makes Thursday my Monday....

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. -- Calvin Trillin

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by: Youffraita @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 06:13:03 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Just finished watching The Oscars... (4.00 / 4)

So who else was fascinated by the tables turning? And btw, I know you're still crying over "Food, Inc' losing. ;-)

Act on Principles and make equality happen.

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by: atdleft @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 05:12:44 AM UTC

Well the winner sounds like a must see (4.00 / 4)

The Cove;

In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan lies a shocking secret that a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep hidden from the world. At last, the truth of THE COVE comes to the fore in an act of covert filmmaking that turns a documentary into a gripping action-adventure thriller . . . and a heart-pounding call for help from the worlds oceans.

THE COVE begins in Taiji, Japan, where former dolphin trainer Ric OBarry has come to set things right after a long search for redemption. In the 1960s, it was OBarry who captured and trained the 5 dolphins who played the title character in the international television sensation Flipper. But his close relationship with those dolphins the very dolphins who sparked a global fascination with trained sea mammals that continues to this day -- led OBarry to a radical change of heart. One fateful day, a heartbroken Barry came to realize that these deeply sensitive, highly intelligent and self-aware creatures so beautifully adapted to life in the open ocean must never be subjected to human captivity again.

This mission has brought him to Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonders and mysteries of the sleek, playful dolphins and whales that swim off their coast. But in a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and Keep Out signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. The nature of what they do is so chilling -- and the consequences are so dangerous to human health -- they will go to great lengths to halt anyone from seeing it.

Undeterred, OBarry joins forces with filmmaker Louis Psihoyos and the Ocean Preservation Society to get to the truth of whats really going on in the cove and why it matters to everyone in the world. With the local Chief of Police hot on their trail and strong-arm fishermen keeping tabs on them, they will recruit an Oceans Eleven-style team of underwater sound and camera experts, special effects artists, marine explorers, adrenaline junkies and world-class free divers who will carry out an undercover operation to photograph the off-limits cove, while playing a cloak-and-dagger game with those who would have them jailed.

The result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery that adds up to an urgent plea for hope. THE COVE is directed by Louie Psihoyos and produced by Paula DuPre Pesmen and Fisher Stevens. The film is written by Mark Monroe. The executive producer is Jim Clark and the co-producer is Olivia Ahnemann.

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by: Eddie C @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 05:30:02 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Cove has scenes with quite a lot of blood. (4.00 / 4)

And in some scenes  the desperate cries of the dolphins are heartrending. What I took from this film, though, was confirmation of my belief that the rich and powerful nations, including the USA, will stop at virtually nothing to get their own way, even when there is no good reason (food, shelter, economic survival) that nation should prevail.

There is no happy ending.

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by: caseyOR @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 05:54:44 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

What are they doing? (4.00 / 3)

Sounds like they're captive breeding dolphins for meat and live animals to sell?

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 15:19:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

AP article (4.00 / 3)

Japan dolphin hunt town shrugs off 'Cove' Oscar

By JAY ALABASTER, Associated Press Writer Jay Alabaster, Associated Press Writer - 1 hr 5 mins ago

"Everyone around here knows about it. The water nearby turns red during the hunt. The actual killing is done in a concealed area because it is unpleasant to look at, as is true of killing cows or pigs or any other animal," said Ryono, who says he was tricked into appearing in the film.
...

The Japanese government allows about 19,000 dolphins to be killed each year. Taiji hunts about 2,000 dolphins every year for meat - less than other places - but is singled out in part because of its "oikomi" method of herding and killing them near the shore.

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by: count @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 19:17:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That dolphin hunt is featured in Earthlings (4.00 / 3)

It's a  gut wrenching film. The whole thing is on video.google.com.

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by: Crider @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 23:03:46 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yeah (4.00 / 1)

after I wrote that question I did some research and this hunt apparently has been going on for quite some time.

My question, why is everyone upset at the Japanese, but I don't hear anyone upset at the people in the Faralon Islands, and all the other places around the world where whales and dolphins are harvested like in Japan?

Personally, and this may get me flamed, but I'd have more of a problem if the hunt at Taiji resulted in the doplhins being wasted, or if so many were being killed and captured that there were almost no dolphins left, as has happened to some tuna species.

The animals look like they're being killed as quickly and humanely as possible.

As to the agrument about intelligence, dolphins and whales are extremely intelligent. So are pigs, and if you really spend some time with them and open yourself to learning their ways, so are chickens. Some fish even show signs of intelligence.

The point I'm trying to make is that it's no worse, at least in my mind, to kill a dolphin than it is to kill a pig, and this isn't something that has just started happening. When I was a kid, 40 years ago, there was the annual pilot whale hunt in one of the nordic countries, I forget which one, but there was an article on it in one of the Time/Life books we had on the sea, and it was way more involved than the hunt in Taiji, the whole village was involved. They waded into the surf after the whales had been herded into the shallows, killed them, and then slipped ropes over the tail flukes to pull the whales (actually large members of the dolphin family) up onto the shore to dress the carcasses. That was a hunt that had been going on for a long, long time.

Seeing slaughter like that can be quite shocking to people who have never done any slaughter themselves. It's bloody, it's messy, it's incredibly dangerous for the people doing the slaughter, and of course the animals being slaughtered absolutely don't want to die, are afraid, and try to get away. No animal want's to die, they all struggle if they can, fish, frog, dolphin or cow. They all feel pain, they all feel fear, and if threatened will defend themselves or try to get away. Ya don't have to have a lymbic brain for that.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Tue Mar 09, 2010 at 11:36:19 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I missed that part of the show (4.00 / 3)

friend/client called. But I have seen snips from The Cove. Heartbreaking what happens. . . .

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by: nycstray @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 05:56:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hey, when is moving day for you? (4.00 / 4)

It's coming up isn't it?

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by: caseyOR @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 06:00:05 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Anytime I get asked that question (4.00 / 4)

I have a panic attack, lol!~

About 2 weeks at the latest (pray it's the latest!). I just decided today I want to fly in on the 20th and wake up on the 21st (first full day of spring) in Ca. I have to call my mover tomorrow and finalize things . . . and finish a 3 person job on my own and finish packing up my home/studio/office/etc OY. Ya know, being sustainable is great until you have to move. My kitchen has much more stuff than if I just bought food, lol!~  Luckily, my CSA group is mtg Sunday, so I'm going to alert the group I may have extra canning jars/dehydrator/etc. Mom can pass some of her stuff on to me. I booked the move with both of my freezers (etc) and the price is good, so I'm happy there. BUT, I forgot about all my bolts of fabric, so I may ditch a freezer to a CSA member to keep the fabric  . . . Cool thing is, I'm contacting some seed co's tomorrow to get good sauce seeds for my area. I can't wait to plant. All storage produce planned :)

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by: nycstray @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 06:16:25 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

How much lower can we go... (4.00 / 4)

Before we ravage our planet to the point of making ourselves extinct?

Act on Principles and make equality happen.

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by: atdleft @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 06:19:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Monsanto watch: Targeting American farmers with lawyers, fear and money (4.00 / 3)

http://bit.ly/aKFX1U

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by: LeeN @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 13:48:14 PM UTC

Discovery (4.00 / 2)

The article reads exactly like an anecdote from the movie Food Inc.

I wonder why Monsanto is so secretive about their contracts. I suppose they'd be too embarrassed to have critical authors analyzing them in Salon or the pages of The Nation or Atlantic Monthly.

In another patent infringement suit, discovery is the process that revealed Monsanto deleted unfavorable test data from a registration application for one of its products.

The argument I hear most often in support of Monsanto is that its technology helps to mitigate starvation in poor and developing nations. Fair point...

It would be a fair point, if only it were true.

I check the "users logged on" link often. I used to see Tom from Monsanto here frequently, but I haven't noticed him for quite a while.

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by: count @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 15:33:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

In defense of Monsanto, as much as it pains me to do so (4.00 / 3)

contracts with clients are proprietary information. I don't blame Monsanto for not sharing their contracts with the public, I wouldn't share the information on my contracts with clients with the public either, and if you were to ask to see my contracts I'd politely, or perhaps not politely, tell you to go pound sand.

Contracts are privleaged information and are private. Certain information has to be filed with public agencies, and made available to the public, but contract info ain't in that class, at least the details of the contracts.

Law suits, however, are a different environment, but I think even in that situation, some information sought in discovery will still be shielded from public disclosure. The lawyers and the court may see it, but not you and me unless we're parties to the lawsuit.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 15:57:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

You're right. (4.00 / 2)

I already knew that, but Monsanto's secrecy regarding all their activities is pathological, and it's dangerous for a company with so much market control.

Contracts between integrators and their growers also are extremely secret. I don't normally object to contract secrecy in the course of ordinary business, but sometimes it fosters very bad public policy.

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by: count @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 16:26:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

There were 3 of them, I think... (4.00 / 1)

Weren't there like 3 of them?  Or at least two.  I remember two of them used to tag team in a Good Cop / Bad Cop manner on Monsanto diaries.  That was hilarious, especially when the 'Bad Cop' character got smacked so hard on his first foray here that he never came back again.  I imagine his bosses in the PR department berating him for being a historically bad internet troll, and assigning him to the mail room or something.  Heh.

Wish I could remember their names.

I think one was Brad...

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Tue Mar 09, 2010 at 01:34:07 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Spirit rover (4.00 / 2)

NASA scientists agreed, more than a month ago, that the Mars rover Spirit was irremedially bogged down, even though the plucky robot still was transmitting.

Maybe not!

Mars rover Spirit could rise again

02 March 2010 by David Shiga

In April 2009, Spirit's wheels broke through a thin surface crust and got mired in the loose sand below. After months of trying unsuccessfully to free the rover, NASA declared on 26 January that Spirit would henceforth be a stationary lander mission rather than a rover.

But the announcement was "a little bit premature", rover scientist Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, told researchers at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, on Monday.

Spirit and Opportunity are into their 7th year. They soon will surpass the Mars longevity record, now held by the Viking I lander (six years, 116 days.) Amazing and inspiring.

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by: count @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 17:37:44 PM UTC

TSA nominee (4.00 / 2)

Text blurb accompanying C-SPAN video of Napolitano's announcement:

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced President Obama's nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration. Robert Harding is a retired Army Major General who formerly served as Operations Director at the Defense Intelligence Agency. The President's original nominee Erroll Southers withdrew from consideration following objections by Senate Republicans.

A crazy Republican Senator* from Dixie torpedoed the nomination of Southers, and the campaign against him was ugly. Extremist right-wing bloggers loved them some gimmicked images of Southers in whiteface.

Funny thing, General Harding also is African-American. Let's see what happens to his nomination.

*Which crazy Republican chowderhead from Dixie led the campaign against Southers?

This guy.

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by: count @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 18:58:55 PM UTC

Such a jerk... (4.00 / 2)

That DeMint is. I hope more Americans are waking up and realizing why we can't give these GOoPer @ssholes any more power. All they do is f*ck us over so they can enrich themselves.

Act on Principles and make equality happen.

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by: atdleft @ Mon Mar 08, 2010 at 21:29:55 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What a book cover... (4.00 / 1)

Where'd he get the image from?  

One of the countless US prisons that currently hold hundreds of thousands of nonviolent drug 'offenders'?  "Saving freedom", indeed.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Tue Mar 09, 2010 at 01:40:09 AM UTC

[ Parent ]