When FDL was down I was still able to get in through ixquick and startpage by clicking on the proxy access.

Then it would let me read; however, since I was using a proxy server it couldn’t verify me, or let me sign in, or post. It didn’t look like the outage was complete.

The quest for escape hatches has gotten tiresome for so long. I prefer bridges, and would enjoy jogging over this one

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323372504578467040204852174.html

Well, touché. And O spoke on TV a moment ago.

We still don’t know where this one’s going. That is, it still seems implausible to me that higher ups at IRS could be as reckless. They’re smarter that that. I’m still banking on a handful of rogue lower level individuals who expected not to be held accountable.

To be cynical, I suppose the risk of eventually getting caught wasn’t considered in play, which could have legs. What else could have gone on?

A side issue perhaps. . .

Homeland Security just effectively shut down BitCoin. My hunch, there may be a concern it’s too easy to move virtual money that way . . . for any purpose at all, and few effective ways to monitor it. Not surprising, I’d say, except what took so long?

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2013/05/bitcoin-panic-department-of-homeland-security-shuts-down-dwolla-payments-of-mt-gox-video-2648278.html

And BTW Fatster, I’m still working on those links you gave me on East Central Africa. Lots of moving parts to ponder, thanks again.

I’m also fetching that book by Gerard Prunier as mentioned my mafr two or three days ago.

I think there was a problem at Verizon accessing FDL for the last day or two. Link to FDL would break after just few minutes, then I could access via ixquick, it’d work awhile and go down. Only FDL is affected. This comment just tried to xmit by itself. . . With a 2007 date!

Isn’t Halloween in Oct?

Anyhow, another topic, just heard the following on ABC radio in Boston while on lunch break.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/05/14/7-cited-for-trespassing-at-quabbin-reservoir-patrols-stepped-up-across-state/

There is something implausible here, I think.

Targeting conservative groups would assume they are an electoral threat going forward; otherwise, why bother, and why take the risk “going after” them?

But judging from the last election, and the Tea Party’s failure to get any significant amount of their agenda accepted by anywhere near a tipping point, the TP has failed within a time window necessary to get a toe hold on things. Instead they remain annoying, like a buzzing gnat, but not much more.

Having the TP around might even be useful to Progressives to have a braying, perverse example of what’s wrong with the Right, and what could be wrong in the future. For Progressives the TP can be a, “There, You See?!” example. Even better, TP is feckless, and useful in that way.

Even more significant, look at RMoney’s collapse. How could anyone have thought his followers would have gotten into control? During the Repub primary it should have been obvious these people weren’t going anywhere.

I think for the left the bad election results in 2010 had progressives, liberals, well meaning conscientious boosters of government programs, etc. — all of them were on edge. By well before the 2012 election all that should have been in the past, and would pretty much have been the case.

The IRS isn’t doing anything they shouldn’t be doing. The story is getting twisted, by gleeful GOPers, and that needs to be answered. It’s part of the 2016 campaign season — you’d think they’d leave us alone just for one glorious summer season to enjoy instead of starting this circus over again so soon.

Thanks for the links Fatster & mafr. It’s a lot to pour through, and I’ll get busy this evening and some more tomorrow.

I’d distinguish between the urgencies and assets to respond, though. They have to mesh properly, and they don’t. Yesterday’s Salon seemed to me mostly a racing engine with the clutch disengaged — sorry, but it was my impression.

I don’t think the US military will be a game changer over there for reasons I stated above, except as a limited participant among a comprehensive UN effort — if it chooses to act. Even then it seems a lot of the problems aren’t solvable by military involvement.

I don’t know where it goes from here. I hope I’ll see a ray of light in those links, and promise to look for such.

I found it! Searched by author’s name, and there are other related titles by him.

Well said. The description sounds like a quagmire.

For those who missed it yesterday’s Book Salon was about Army of God (the LRA), and Joseph Kony’s War.

http://fdlbooksalon.com/2013/05/11/fdl-book-salon-welcomes-david-axe/

Later on I found the Book TV video interview of the author from March. It mentions purchase, but they don’t charge to watch the video, which is about one hour long. I haven’t watched all of it.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311798-1&buy

I read through yesterday’s Salon comments and think it’s a useful humanitarian alert. However, importantly, it stops short of organized, specific recommendations of what to do, how to assign responsibilities, pondering the nascent Chinese presence there, etc. It could have continued easily a couple of more hours, and gotten deeper into those.

Obama sent an expeditionary force to Kony’s region a year or two ago. It is one of those ongoing efforts which by definition is a failure until it succeeds, kind of like the hunt for Bin Laden. There’ve been descriptions of the US’ Kony mission as not involved in combat, but for reconnaissance and as advisors only.

Not sure I believe that one. Regardless, Kony has not turned up yet despite formidable US capabilities and time.

The Salon began some interesting discourse on who or what is funding Kony and other belligerent groups like M23. This discussion stopped way too soon, and it’s important. It got as far as the splitting up of Sudan and money having come from N Sudan, and some renewed interest by N Sudan which has practically no money of its own, by itself. So. . .?

A related issue is the illicit mining of rare, conflict minerals, such as coltan and rare earths (important for manufacturing computers) and what were US corps up to? Where was that money going?

I thought it was odd that the Salon did not broach Chinese interests and activities there at all. China has money, and an abiding interest in corralling the rare earth sources in Africa to secure a monopoly to supplement its own domestic hoard, and an interest in fomenting trouble in Africa and lure the West into that.

The glove seems to fit. So if LRA and M23 and N Sudan comprise a Chinese cat’s paw, which is my hunch, it changes everything discussed at yesterday’s Salon, I think. The whole premise of the discussion slips down some rungs of reality.

There also was no discussion about the future use of a shrinking US military, and only limited discussion of US foreign aid (both military and civilian types). The reality will be a significant drawdown of US military assets paired with a lower US profile and footprint upon the world. That’s as it should be, but it will affect all facets of what the military does, not just a select few.

I read about this almost every day as a military retiree. There won’t be much flexibility to mesh into expeditionary missions and proxy wars. Other countries will be expected to do much more on their own. The UN will be expected to do more but with a smaller share of the military burden contributed by the US.

So I’m afraid yesterday’s was, in part, an excursion down the rabbit hole.

Here’s an NPR piece about Colorado setting up a tax and regulation framework for sales of MJ . . .

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/09/182604241/colorado-lawmakers-set-taxes-and-rules-for-marijuana-sales

Next. . . In response what might the Feds do to state and local officials caught managing this program? Charge them with trafficking or as accessories and seize their property, apprehend and prosecute? Who knows? It could be a situation tailor made to set an example.

It seems to me it could turn out that tolerance for MJ at the state level could be pursued only by state and local withdrawal from the issue. That is, legalization without regulation or taxes, since those would involve official acts by gov’t workers, and inevitably expose them individually to Fed sanctions.

them

Regarding, “Turkey says. . .”

It’s hard to verify what Erdogan claimed, even if chemicals were used, without apprehending someone in the act when it was committed. That’s the dilemma.

At least with sarin, which seems to be the chemical of choice there, it’s not too hard to produce the stuff and activate it. Any actor there, including Erdogan, is at risk of calculating the cost/benefit of a fabricated incident, and would have the tools to make it appear something it is not. We can’t rely simply on trust dealing with Erdogan or any of the others, or with just remnants of a site after an incident, or even with patients streaming into a hospital.

And there could be a contrivance in play where one entity commits an act unobserved and tries to make it appear it was done by another side. The level of urgency could indeed drive Erdogan, Assad, or any of the others to do such, and every one of them is capable of it. Even contaminated “missile parts” could be mocked up at a scene.

Erdogan has a severe problem and needs help. He can’t be assumed immune to taking desperate measures himself. His motives have to be taken into the mix of considerations, as well as Assad’s and all the others.

The level of required verification may need to be bumped up substantially, nearly to the caught-in-the-act level with apprehension.y

Regarding the weird Mars craters. . . They look like artwork.

Send a robot first. Sending a human. . . what, 95 % of the cost would be to keep our traveler alive? That could pay for 19 more robotic missions. I haven’t heard what a human could do there that today’s advanced rovers can’t do as well and for less money.

A human’s gonna go, though, eventually. It’ll be hubris of today’s youngest generation taking the reins, and they’ll be ready before we know it. Cheer them on, it’s their choice.

Regarding AFL-CIO’s “Death on the Job” report. . .

I am surprised by how small OSHA actually is. It’s hard to imagine how they have the assets to inspect and enforce workplace safety nationwide. It’s an enormous responsibility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_Safety_and_Health_Administration

I wonder what sequester is doing to this effort.

It’s way too soon to know Hillary’s future. A lot can happen before 2016.

She may end up having less to worry about from the GOP than from other Dems hungry for the Oval Office.

Or John Kerry might want another try.

I think Biden’s way too old, and looks it. Clinton is too old, doesn’t look it, but may be damaged goods now.

Feingold, maybe?

My beef with this story is that it’s not actually clear whether the deduction was allowable or not. If not, then the IRS should get busy, and should have done so years ago — go after Gomez and his tax preparer.

That deduction is not chump change, and could not have slipped through unnoticed as a red flag. A lot of money due the IRS could be recovered from all the facade deductions taken nationwide for years, after all, and we should remember every other taxpayer has been essentially subsidizing this perk for wealthy taxpayers.

So the IRS calling something a “tax scam” while taking no specific action suggests, for some unknown reason, that the IRS can’t act here. Why? The IRS job is to collect revenue rather than subjectively tint various deductions as worthy or not.

Outside the innuendo-driven world of politics I’d maintain Gomez absolutely should have taken the deduction if he were allowed to. The story “hopes” he’s not entitled to it, and so make hay, which is OK, but is it correct that he can’t have it?

Still, what’s allowable may not be prudent if it can be framed and upended during a campaign — that process is a cottage industry in Mass, and the electorate here are usually lemmings anxious to be beckoned. It’s not that predatory pols here are by nature evil, it’s just that there are so many of them, and there’s so much money awash in this state.

Supposing there were a mortgage on the property. . .

Wouldn’t the lender have to sign off on a new easement of any sort, particularly if it reduced the property’s value? Would a lender be likely to concur if the IRS or a court had characterized the maneuver as some sort of scam?

It seems to me that only someone owning a property free and clear could do this, since there’d be no incentive for a lienholder to concur.

The kitty flick is marvelous.

I have five of them, two are siblings. The two siblings came from my granddaughter’s litter next door in 2009. The litter was an accident.

The vet warned us to be sure to exclude all adult male cats from the area near the litter, as any male (even the father) may instinctively attack the litter to conserve space and food for its own future offspring. They’re all well and have homes not far away.

There are too many. It’s best to neuter, and adopt. My oldest is over 18 and gets a thyroid pill twice a day, and is still spry.