Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Mira

Mira's Journal
Mira's Journal
December 27, 2011

A whole new dimension to the Moon Walk - at least that's how I see it

My grandson showed this to me and I was hooked

&feature=youtube_gdata_player
December 26, 2011

"My Declaration of War on Christmas", says Greg Palast

"My Declaration of War on Christmas"
Greg Palast

I don't usually watch Today or any American TV because my reports appear on the British Broadcasting Corporation, a network run by highly-educated America-haters.
But there I was, last Friday, in this hotel room in Atlanta, a city pretending there's no Depression, chewing my complimentary morning donut, and Today is telling us about the "new face of American poverty."

"More than 49 million Americans now live below the poverty line and a number of them like the family you're about to meet propelled into bankruptcy by a one-two punch of job loss and a catastrophic health crisis."
Wow! US television finally grabs the Big Issue.
This white suburban family called the Kleins have lost their home to eviction. They're completely broke, because one of their kids got a tumor in her face. They have no insurance so the $100,000-plus medical bills wiped them out.
They live with neighbors and they hoped to at least get their kids a couple pair of underwear as a Christmas gift.

But if you think America doesn't give a crap about the cancerous growth of poverty, just keep watching: The Today reporter takes the white family to WalMart where the bubbly journalist gushes, "The wonderful people of WalMart opened up their stores and their aisles and their hearts. The store is your oyster, Michelle!"
Then some WalMartian PR person tells the bankrupt mom to address the issue of long-term unemployment, "Let's go shopping!"
And you thought America was cold-hearted, just because the Republicans tried to block unemployment insurance this Christmas for three million families.

for how the shopping trip went down go to:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/My-Declaration-of-War-on-C-by-Greg-Palast-111225-974.html

December 23, 2011

I could say it's red and green and I'm posting it for Christmas - but that's a lie

I just found it in my archives and had forgotten I took it.
It's not what I usually photograph with any recognizable success, so I thought I'd show you.

December 22, 2011

Pvt. Manning and Imperative of Truth by Ray McGovern

Pvt. Manning and Imperative of Truth by Ray McGovern

A protester against Pvt. Bradley Manning's prosecution

When I was asked to speak at Saturday's rally at Fort Meade in support of Pvt. Bradley Manning, I wondered how I might provide some context around what Manning is alleged to have done.
(In my talk, so as not to think I had to insert the word "alleged" into every sentence, I asked for unanimous consent to using the indicative rather than the subjunctive mood.)
What jumped into my mind was the letter Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from the Birmingham City jail in April 1963, from which I remembered this:
"Like a boil that can never be cured as long as it is covered up, but must be opened with all its pus-flowing ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must likewise be exposed, with all of the tension its exposing creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured."

I suggested that this is precisely what Bradley Manning did when he saw the need to uncover war crimes like the indiscriminate murder of civilians and torture he witnessed in Baghdad and read about in cables.
What he had become witness to was the inevitable result of aggressive war, which the post-World War II Nuremberg Tribunal called the "supreme international crime," differing from other war crimes only inasmuch as it contains within itself the "accumulated evil of the whole." Was he to obey orders to keep his mouth shut? Or was he to follow his conscience and lance this ugly boil of accumulated evil?

What I especially admire in Bradley Manning is this: his ability, at the age of 22, to discern that there can be a hierarchy of -- sometimes conflicting -- values, and that from a moral standpoint some values dwarf others in importance.

for all of it go here:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pvt-Manning-and-Imperativ-by-Ray-McGovern-111221-771.html

December 21, 2011

Gingrich Plummets in Polls as Voters Start Remembering Who He Is - examined by Andy Borowitz

Dawning Awareness Threatens Campaign



DES MOINES (The Borowitz Report) – In a development that has imperiled his front-runner status in the Republican presidential race, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has plunged in the polls as voters have begun to remember who he is.

Mr. Gingrich had been surging in recent weeks, but according to pollster Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research institute, “That was before people's memories of who New Gingrich is started gradually kicking in.”



According to a new poll released today, Mr. Gingrich fared especially poorly among voters who agreed with the statement, “Wait a minute, that guy?  He was an enormous dick.”


“Newt Gingrich has got to do something fast to keep people from remembering who he is,” pollster Logsdon said.  “He might try growing a moustache or wearing an eye patch, but that might be too little, too late.”

On the ground in Iowa, Gingrich campaign strategists are working overtime to confront the challenge posed by voters remembering who he is, aides to the former House Speaker said today.According to one campaign source, the Gingrich campaign has begun seeking the support of people with mental disorders and other memory issues that make it hard for them to retain basic information.

“The problem is, most of those people are currently running for President,” the source said.
December 21, 2011

Twins in a Stroller warming to me - while waiting for Mom who's trying on clothes







I had my little Canon Powershot in my purse, and now I'll email these to their Mom. The little boys were 2 last week, and are not identical.
December 21, 2011

Bob Hope. For a long time that meant very special Christmases with the troops. A look back - Video

http://biggeekdad.com/2011/02/bob-hope-christmas/

Bob Hope Christmas
February 20, 2011
Bob Hope was without a doubt one of the greatest entertainers of all time. A wonderful look at some special moments Bob spent with the troops during his many Christmas performances.  

Profile Information

Gender: Do not display
Member since: Thu Oct 21, 2004, 05:06 PM
Number of posts: 22,469
Latest Discussions»Mira's Journal