It would always have taken something nearly momentous to have me pick up the regular reigns of blogging again. With finishing up school, work, and just the daily rigors of life, sitting down at the cpu and writing was coming in fourth and fifth to a lot of things.
Even so, some things are always worth of mention. In fact, sometimes you don't even necessarily have to say anything. Some times there really is nothing you can say to adequately sum up the feelings and emotions that you go through following a historic changing of the guard.
In what has to be one of the closest elections Jamaica has ever seen, the JLP edged the PNP in the popular vote - 405215 vs. 402275. A lot is going to be said about the circumstances surrounding the election, and a lot is going to be made of the current Prime Minister's refusal to concede last night.
However, in some situations you just have to admit that the writing is on the wall...
Much ink has been spilled following the Supreme Court's turn to the right this week. I know it's summer and most people are busy, but if you've got 30 minutes, take the time to read through the Court's opinion in Morse v. Frederick. It's fascinating.
Of course, given my own political leanings I was always going to side with the kid in this dispute, and given that stance, Justice Steven's dissent, and the hope that some future Justice will pick up on it's brilliance, is all I've got left to hold on...
. . . The current dominant opinion supporting the war
on drugs in general, and our anti-marijuana laws in particular, is
reminiscent of the opinion that supported the nationwide ban on alcohol
consumption when I was a student. While alcoholic beverages are now
regarded as ordinary articles of commerce, their use was then condemned
with the same moral fervor that now supports the war on drugs. The
ensuing change in public opinion occurred much more slowly than the
relatively rapid shift in Americans’ views on the Vietnam War, and
progressed on a state-by-state basis over a period of many years. But
just as prohibition in the 1920’s and early 1930’s was secretly
questioned by thousands of otherwise law-abiding patrons of bootleggers
and speakeasies, today the actions of literally millions of otherwise
law-abiding users of marijuana, and of the majority of voters in each
of the several States that tolerate medicinal uses of the product, lead
me to wonder whether the fear of disapproval by those in the majority
is silencing opponents of the war on drugs. Surely our national
experience with alcohol should make us wary of dampening speech
suggesting —however inarticulately — that it would be better to tax and
regulate marijuana than to persevere in a futile effort to ban its use
entirely.
. . . In the national debate about a serious
issue, it is the expression of the minority’s viewpoint that most
demands the protection of the First Amendment. Whatever the better
policy may be, a full and frank discussion of the costs and benefits of
the attempt to prohibit the use of marijuana is far wiser than
suppression of speech because it is unpopular.
. . . Given the tragic consequences of teenage alcohol consumption—drinking causes far more fatal accidents than the misuse of marijuana—the school district’s interest in deterring teenage alcohol use is at least comparable to its interest in preventing marijuana use. Under the Court’s reasoning, must the First Amendment give way whenever a school seeks to punish a student for any speech mentioning beer, or indeed anything else that might be deemed risky to teenagers? While I find it hard to believe the Court would support punishing Frederick for flying a “WINE SiPS 4 JESUS” banner—which could quite reasonably be construed either as a protected religious message or as a pro-alcohol message—the breathtaking sweep of its opinion suggests it would.
Damn, you think after spending all day either in court, or working on legal matters, I wouldn't have the time or energy to read 60 pages of material that I'm not being tested on or something...
When Paris Hilton is the lead story on CNN or Fox News, or MSNBC, or NPR (for crying out loud!), you might do well to remember this;
This week, the Iraqi parliament "passed a binding resolution that will
guarantee lawmakers an opportunity to block the extension of the U.N.
mandate under which coalition troops now remain in Iraq when it comes
up for renewal in December." But if you didn't read that in an exclusive alternet.org story by Raed Jarrar and Joshua Holland,
or if you didn't get an email from a friend (as I did) saying, Didja
see this?, you might not know that a majority of Iraqi lawmakers has
now fashioned a two-by-four to thump President Bush on the head and end
our occupation. But no doubt you would know about the girl locked in a tiny room in Connecticut.
You know, sometimes you wonder what you have to do to get your sport recognized on the World Wide Leader...
Some would think it would be enough that a major championship final is 2 days away. Unfortunately you'd be wrong. You need a scandal.
So, for the first time maybe ever, cricket was the headline on ESPN.com briefly last night. Here it is in all its .jpeg glory: the one time cricket will be a major headline on ESPN.com.
Before I get into the gist of this post, let me first say that this is the finest example of Jack Thompson's budding insanity. Seriously, just read through it. That complaint is an embarrassment to every lawyer in the United States. You can follow the entire sordid saga of Kotaku's fight against idiocy here, but here are a few of my favorite highlights from the complaint itself:
Thompson has been a human piñata gleefully whacked by defendants herein, and he has had enough of it.
... and when you have to include a paragraph like this;
What has been demonstrably done to Thompson is not some “wild conspiracy theory about The Bar” and others conjured up by Thompson in some paranoid’s delusion. If anyone is paranoid, it is the defendants named herein who can’t seemingly “get” the concept that the public square is for everyone, not just gamers and liberal thought police.
... you know things aren't going well for you.
Anyway, on to more pressing matters.
Here is the scenario. Walk into most supermarkets around the country and you're likely to encounter the following;
Fresh produce is to the outer parts of the market, while the processed foods are stacked to the center of the market. Furthermore, the processed foods are, for whatever reason, cheaper than the fresh produce (whether they be meats or fruits and vegetable).
Have you ever asked yourself why that is? Would you ever have guessed that the price differential is largely due to the Farm Bill...?
Among other things, it (the Farm Bill) determines which crops will be subsidized and
which will not, and in the case of the carrot and the Twinkie, the farm
bill as currently written offers a lot more support to the cake than to
the root. . . the current farm bill helps commodity farmers by cutting them a check
based on how many bushels they can grow, rather than, say, by
supporting prices and limiting production, as farm bills once did. The
result? A food system awash in added sugars (derived from corn) and
added fats (derived mainly from soy), as well as dirt-cheap meat and
milk (derived from both). By comparison, the farm bill does almost
nothing to support farmers growing fresh produce.
You don't even have to take his words for it.
First, certain commodity crops are subsidized by direct fixed payments. . . Direct payments are available to farmers who produce specified or "covered" commodities. . . subject
to a few limitations: farmers may not plant fruits or vegetables, must
maintain agricultural uses, and must comply with their conservation
obligations.
Erin Morrow, Agri-Environmentalism: A Farm Bill for 2007, 38 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 345, 352 (2006).
So, it's pretty clear that American farmers are being encouraged to grow commercial crops which are then used to produce Twinkies, as opposed to growing apples or oranges for local consumption.
What's the solution then? Mr. Pollan offers his...
Doing so starts with the recognition that the “farm bill” is a
misnomer; in truth, it is a food bill and so needs to be rewritten with
the interests of eaters placed first. Yes, there are eaters who think
it in their interest that food just be as cheap as possible, no matter
how poor the quality. But there are many more who recognize the real
cost of artificially cheap food — to their health, to the land, to the
animals, to the public purse. At a minimum, these eaters want a bill
that aligns agricultural policy with our public-health and
environmental values, one with incentives to produce food cleanly,
sustainably and humanely. Eaters want a bill that makes the most
healthful calories in the supermarket competitive with the least
healthful ones. Eaters want a bill that feeds schoolchildren fresh food
from local farms rather than processed surplus commodities from far
away.
Sounds like a good start. Yet, an agricultural policy focussed less on providing an out for farmers, and more on encouraging a healthier lifestyle of the populace itself. Well, that's going to be a hard sell.
Not that I'm in disagreement, but people tend to vote on what they know, and something tells me that it's going to be difficult to convince the average American voter that docking farm subsidies for commercial crops is a good thing in the long run. Heck, try getting that particular legislation past whatever lobbies have a particular stake in maintaining the current "Farm" Bill.
Meh, I guess we'll all have to continue dreaming of a day when fresh produce s as cheap as Little Debbie's snack cakes.
Apparently, it isn't going to get any better either:
“We’re going to see more delays and those delays translate to
cancellations, mishandled bags and unhappy passengers,” said
Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group
for the major U.S. carriers. “It’s not a pretty picture.”
I'm not going to rail all over the airline industry, but I will propose this 'solution' for the continental United States. I know this may be difficult, but follow the French and the Japanese. Implement an effective train system. Utilize the emerging new breed of bullet trains. In effect, eliminate the need to have air travel for domestic trips, especially short ones. Heck, considering that California is already on route to to establishing a State-wide system, I really don't think it is that radical of an idea.
Leave air travel to international passengers, and generally for situations where overland travel is simply impractical. I don't know if I can make the claim that the market wants an alternative to airline travel, but hell, I need it.
In what foreign policy experts believe to be a direct response to the
hit American movie “300,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today
declared war on Sparta. . . .
. . . At a press conference in Tehran today, President Ahmadinejad directed
his most barbed comments at the 300 Spartan warriors depicted in the
film. “So you think you are a match for the entire Persian army?”
Ahmadinejad said. “Well, let’s see if you’re a match for Iran’s nuclear
program!”
First things first... well done Jamaica LOC, and all the volunteers that made the opening match of the 2007 ICC World Cup a success.
Sometimes it's the little things, like getting to a car park, parking quickly, getting on a bus promptly, being taken to your destination (Sabina Park), getting out and entering the stadium with very few hitches. Good job all around.
This was especially enlightening because you know, third world country; lots of money spent; but you're still not sure if you can pull it off. Well, we pulled it off so far.
As for the main festivities of day.... the game itself, holy hell. I love cricket. You don't know how much you've missed something until you get it back, and being at Sabina Park with friends made it all the sweeter as the Windies led by Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, and Jamaica's own Marlon Samuels beat Pakistan by 54.
1. I got a tour of the 'New' Sabina Park late on Saturday evening after flying in, and while impressed, I couldn't help but notice all the things that still had to be completed. Carpeting, tiling, piping, and other things had yet to be lain in some places for instance. Even so, I was assured that everyone I saw there then (and there were more than a few workers still around at 7pm on Saturday) would be there all day, everyday until the site was ready to host the World on Tuesday.
They were right, and I have to commend all the men and women that broke their backs to get the Park ready for today. You did a fantastic job, and the ground, with the new North Stand (name the thing after Michael Holding already) looking resplendent in the morning sun.
2. By far the best moment of the game. West Indies bowling in the afternoon. Mohammad Yousef and Inzamam-ul-Haq batting for Pakistan who have already lost 3 wickets in relatively quick succession. Though adopting more of a one day approach, they've managed to settle the Pakistan innings and frustrate the uncharacteristically consistent bowling performance from the West Indies.
A small group of Pakistan fans in the temporary stands to the south of the KCC stand starting chanting, IN-ZA-MAM, IN-ZA-MAM to the chagrin of the West Indies supporters in the stands.
Of course, the Jamaicans in the stand were having nothing with it, and for the next 15 minutes we got to most sustained period of singing, dancing and chanting that we had all day. 4 full circles of the Mexican wave, supporters urgingbegging forcing the band to get up and play, and loud, loud chants of GO WINDIES GO - GO WINDIES GO - GO WINDIES GO.
You could see the team get hyped, and what happens next. Yousef, one of the great batsmen of the modern game, is caught behind. The crowd goes wild, and while there is no sound on this video (I'm poor/cheap... crappy camera...) I'm sure you can appreciate what the combination of horns, screaming, music, trumpets, drums, stamping feet, and joy must have sounded like.
It was freaking awesome.
3. On another note, I would like to give a shout-out to someone I'm going to dub, "Jesus-Freak". This man, dressed in towel, prayed for us all for the entirety of the Pakistani innings. Arms held high, chest proudly held out, he told us all that Jesus does indeed love us all.
Oh, when I say he stood like that the entire Pakistani innings, I mean all 4 hours of it.
. . . . But we don't write dialogue, and we don't rehearse it. We get an
outline, and that's it. The outline is really for production purposes,
so that we know the whale's going to take a long time to build, we've
got to trigger it to blow, we need the hottest topless chick we can
find, she needs to speak a foreign language so it gets us to the beach
not knowing there's a whale there. But we don't rehearse. We just hire
people we know are going to be funny.
Really, do you need any more reason to go watch Reno 911: Miami...?
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