Liberman pokes his finger in the eye of Democrats and will likely lose his committee seat.  So what.  The fact he showed up at the RNC speaks volumes to his character.  It is about the person, not the party.

Bush does not come to the convention - the first time that has happened since LBJ in 1964.  Hmmmm, methinks Bush has been told to stay low and shut up.  Good.  His time is over.

Oil dropping to near $100/barrel despite a direct hurricane assault from Gustav.  It is all about the market. 

A columnist in Philadelphia claims that if the US elects McCain that there will be a "full-fleged race and class war".  Nice.  Yet another example of the LSM trying to stir shit up for no reason.

A Grady Hospital worker gets arrested AGAIN for stealing personal effects of patients.  I hope when he is sentenced that the judge takes into account that fact that the victims were incapacitated and had no way to stop him.  What a loser.

37 million viewers watch Palin's speech - nearly as much as His Highness.  Yet, it has been pointed out by numerous sources that no one is talking about Obama's speech anymore.  Palin's on the other hand....

Now the LSM media is hyping the fact that Palin attended six colleges in six years.  Again, I ask WHO GIVES A SHIT?  90% of the people in government have not attended school to be in government service.  I could care less what her educational background is.  If she is smart and can reach consensus without raising taxes, go for it.

The Detroit mayor gets busted and sent to jail.  Can anyone say Marion Berry?  $100 says this guy will be back in office after he serves his jail term.

Heart "condemns" the use of their "Barracuda" song at the RNC.  Cry me a river.  Great music, yes.  But c'mon.  Get the royalties where you can Ann and Nancy.  I mean, Ann needs the money to keep up with her Weight Watchers program, right?

In the past three months, there have been more deaths in Chicago than in Iraq.  Um, Palosi and Reed?  Obama?  What happened to the surge is not working?

Gustav evacuees from New Orleans try to rob jeans from a boutique in Buckhead and get busted.  If you are from New Orleans and are reading this - go home.  You have all outlived your visit.  I am really tired of seeing the Lousiana cars on the road around here.  Is that insensitive?  Yeah, it is.

You know, I was thinking - if Republicans are so pro-business, then why does the US have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world?  Just asking.

Here is another thought - is Obama so popular because people believe he can actually bring change as he defines it or because he is not Bush?  In other words, if another Democrat was up there, would he (or she) be as popular?  (Shrillary, maybe?)

Actions = consequences.  A school in Illinois is considering banning students who fail core classes (like math) from attending the prom or football games.  AMEN!  Finally.  Bring it to Georgia.

Whew!  Take a breath!  Have a great weekend and keep an eye on Ike.  He looks scary.

"...I wish he would just say that the surge has worked. He doesn't have to give credit to John McCain or anyone else. He can give credit to General Petraeus and the troops who have carried it out. I wish he would acknowledge the surge is working, rather than changing his position on how and when we should exit Iraq, without acknowledging that these are changes of positions that are understandably based on conditions on the ground. A president's credibility is based on the courage of his or her convictions, his or her acceptance of reality, and consistency of views are critical elements of national leadership. A president who squanders those does so at our nation's peril."

His statements about the surge reminded me of something some ol' timey cotton-picking country joe somebody said somewhere along the road:

"If you step on a rattlesnake boy, there's two ways to deal with it. You can get out of its way or you can grab it by its head. Both will keep you from getting bit but one leaves ya sittin' with a snake in your hand."

The more common analogy is to a tiger by its tail, but you get my drift. What Obama has failed to acknowledge is not that the surge has reduced violence somewhat, but that the surge has changed the political situation in Iraq, of which its importance is equal to the militaristic situation. HuffPost points out that in his speech today:

Obama said his White House rival, Sen. John McCain, "has argued that the gains of the surge mean that I should change my commitment to end the war. But this argument misconstrues what is necessary to succeed in Iraq, and stubbornly ignores the facts of the broader strategic picture that we face."

The surge has been effective in controlling the more dangerous head of that snake Iraq, but in the end, we are no less committed to controlling that danger without other solutions.

I'd also like to address Lieberman's not so veiled shot at Obama's support of the troops. If Obama didn't think Petraeus and his troops� hadn't had some kind of success, do you think he'd be planning a visit to Iraq� to ask their advice?

How about the credibility of U.S. Senators who buck their caucus to launch undeserved attacks against the caucus candidate?

-Marc-

El cantante Cristian Castro acusó a su aún esposa Valeria Liberman de haber creado durante su matrimonio una empresa con nombre ficticio, sin enterarlo de ello, motivo por el cual demandó que presente toda la documentación del negocio.

La exigencia es una más de las mociones presentadas en una contrademanda del equipo legal de Castro en el proceso de divorcio en la corte de familia de Miami, en donde este jueves se canceló una audiencia para dar tiempo a Liberman a reunir los papeles requeridos.

De acuerdo con información de la corte, Cristian dice que no sabe qué clase de negocios y los ingresos que está ejerciendo Valeria con esa corporación ficticia, según un reporte de la cadena Telefutura.

Agregó que el artista sólo tenía conocimiento de dos corporaciones formadas durante el matrimonio: una conjunta y otra que ella utilizaba para los ingresos de las regalías por los derechos de las canciones que tiene a su nombre.

Cristian ha contrademandado a Liberman con una serie de exigencias que incluyen estados de cuentas bancarias y por lo menos una decena de tarjetas de crédito, pues desea mantener los activos que tenía antes de casarse en el reparto de bienes que deberá decidir un juez.

De manera irónica, muchas de esas exigencias fueron hechas primero por Valeria a Cristian, y ahora el cantante afirma que esos documentos están en la casa que ambos compartían en Miami, de acuerdo con la cadena de televisión.

En una primera etapa del proceso legal, el juez Gerald Bagley debe decidir sobre una petición de manutención temporal solicitada por Liberman, quien ha señalado que cuando vivían juntos ella tenía determinado estilo de vida porque él recibe muy buenos ingresos por ser un cantante famoso.

Después el juez tendrá que definir sobre la manutención y custodia de sus hijos Simone y Mikhail, y la repartición de bienes.

Lieberman, who won reelection to the Senate as an independent after losing the 2006 Connecticut Democratic primary, still caucuses with Democrats. But he has endorsed Republican John McCain's presidential bid, and said yesterday that McCain reflects the legacy of John F. Kennedy.

McCain, he said, is "a reformer, somebody who understands ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country and remembers the other part of the Kennedy inaugural, which said that we will bear any burden, pay any price to assure the survival and sustenance of liberty. That's John McCain."

Lieberman also blasted Senator Barack Obama for voting against a resolution to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group and gave Clinton credit for supporting it.

Lieberman has simply entered a state of self inflicted delusion about the U.S.'s role in the Middle East: the U.S. should do anything and everything to protect Israeli interests.

Nobody wants Barry Bonds. Hooray!

Florida fucks up another election, and they were barred from participating in the primaries for , you guessed it, fucking up. Hillary wants the votes counted there and in Michigan even though the competition wasn't on the ballot. Hmmmmm, that's one way to pull a win out of your ass.

Joe Liberman whispering sweet nothings and correcting McCain on a little Foreign Policy. Very Vice Presidential. Yeah, 4 more years of this indepth foreign policy is just what we need.

4000 of the good guys dead in Iraq. Thats enough. Bring them home. We're bankrupting this country in to sub super power status and the Republican leadership wants to dump billions of dollars more that we don't have into that quagmire. The surest way to get domestic Iraqi forces ready to handle that mes is to throw em in the fire.

Right to bear arms in Washington DC is threatened. Gosh, if theres ever a place where the citizens should have guns it's DC. You just can't say the hell with the constitution. As it's presently worded we are allowed to have guns. However, it is my guess that the intent was to have a well armed militia (like the ones who fought the British in the American Revolution) made up of farmers, business men, private citizens who were ready to fight in a minute. Since that's no longer how we assemble an armed force, the 2nd Amendment needs a little re-working or, leave as is and we all keep our guns. I've said it before, the US Constitution is the best in the world but it was written for its time (1700's).

del 17 de març al 19 d'abril de 2008

Exposició de treballs i tapissos de

Mónica Liberman 

Inauguració: 18 de març, a les 20.30 h

més informació

Ein solcher Ausgangspunkt in die Richtung ist zum Beispiel die Behauptung, die westliche Wissenschaft wäre durch unsere Kultur so geformt worden, wie sie heute ist, und dass darum Wissenschaft eben nur kulturelles Konstrukt sei: aus einer anderen Kultur entstanden, hätte sich auch eine ganz andere Begrifflichkeit und damit ein ganz anderes Verständnis wissenschaftlicher Zusammenhänge ergeben. Nun mag es durchaus sein, dass zum Beispiel christlich-aristotelische Irrlehren über das Seelenleben des Menschen eher Ballast waren für die wissenschaftliche Beschäftigung mit Geist und Gehirn. Aber schon an dem Beispiel kann man sehen, dass die eben nicht auf Dauer die Neurowissenschaften nach ihrem Bild geformt haben, sondern irgendwann durch fortschreitenden Erkenntnisgewinn selbst als überholt betrachtet werden müssen und anschließend auch aus der Kultur verschwinden könnten, zumindest als populäres Konzept.

Sollte sich unsere Kultur irgendwann so verändert haben, dass sie die Bilder zukünftiger Gehirnwissenschaft so radikal in sich verinnerlicht hat; dann würde vermutlich der zukünftige Postmodernist kommen und sagen: "Aha, wer hat's erfunden...? Die Kultur hat mal wider die Wissenschaft geformt." Damit würde er dann nur seine eigene Geschichtsvergessenheit beweisen und weiteres Zeugnis darüber ablegen, dass man im faktenfreien Raum alles behaupten kann, um sich damit dann auf die eigene Schulter zu klopfen.

Unmöglich oder viel zu übertrieben?

Mark Liberman vom sehr informativen (wenn auch für deutsche Interessen öfter etwas abseitigen) Language Log untersucht heute eine alte, aber vielzitierte Veröffentlichung von Bejamin Lee Whorf ("Science and Linguistics"), in der dieser über Sprache und ihre Auswirkungen auf wissenschaftliche Begrifflichkeiten philosophiert. Der indo-germanische Sprachgebrauch sei praktisch wie geschaffen dafür gewesen, die Newtonsche Mechanik hervorzubringen. Demgegenüber hätten zum Beispiel die Hopi in Arizona (ein offensichtlich sehr mysteriöser Indianerstamm, auf den man an allen Ecken stößt: vom esoterischen Ramschladen an der Ecke mit ihren Traumfängern bis zu Erich von Däniken) wohl eine ganz andere Physik geschaffen, gibt es doch in ihrer Sprache kaum vergleichbare Begrifflichkeiten für Zeit oder Geschwindigkeit. Um fair zu sein, ich habe das Paper nicht gelesen, und es scheint auch nicht zwingend so, als würde Whorf persönlich in den postmodernistischen Fehlschluss verfallen, dass die tatsächliche Physik eine andere wäre: nur deren Beschreibung würde sich deutlich von unserer unterscheiden, vermutlich durch einen anderen mathematischen Formalismus. [2]

Erst mal zeigen sich beim Linguisten hier schon ein paar Missverständnisse über physikalische Begrifflichkeiten. Der physikalische Begriff Geschwindigkeit beschreibt nämlich im Formalismus eben das, was Whorf als I ausmachen will: die Geschwindigkeit ist da keine zeitliche Veränderung, sondern die Eigenschaft eines Objekts zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt; Whorf umschreibt also nur einen vermeintlich indogermanisch geprägten Begriff mit der eben schon geltenden physikalischen Begrifflichkeit, weil ihn sein indogermanisches Englisch über die wahre Bedeutung täuscht. Und dieses Missverständnis soll dann beweisen, wie gut unsere Physik unsere Sprachgewohnheiten widerspiegelt?

Liberman geht das Ganze dagegen aus der anderen Richtung an, eben der des Linguisten. Und als solcher stellt er dann fest, dass die Hopi-Sprache so unterschiedlich von unserer nicht ist, dass sie sehr wohl Ausdrücke für zeitliche Abläufe und Geschwindigkeit hat. Zum anderen aber untersucht er die Sprachgeschichte der englischen Ausdrücke Geschwindigkeit, Schnelligkeit und so fort, die Whorf als Beleg dafür sieht, dass wissenschaftliche Begrifflichkeit nur Sprache widerspiegelt. Dabei sind die englischen Begriffe auch nur aus ihrer langen Entstehungsgeschichte verstehbar, haben mehrmals ihre Bedeutung gewechselt, und mussten sich am Ende so anpassen, dass die Sprache besser die Begebenheiten wiedergeben kann, die Wissenschaft gefunden hatte. Mithin ist das ein starker Hinweis, dass eben nicht Sprache und Kultur Wissenschaft formen, sondern umgekehrt Wissenschaft die Weltwahrnehmung und damit eben auch Sprache und Kultur verändert.

Vervollständigt wird das durch entsprechende Zitate, etwa von Hobbes, in denen der mit dem alten Sprachgebrauch rang, um die wissenschaftlichen Begrifflichkeiten verständlich machen zu können, weil über die neu erkannten Zusammenhänge die Sprache selbst fremd geworden war. Den ganzen Post gibt's noch mal hier: "Poor, arid, and, in appearance, deformed".

[1] das gesellschaftswissenschaftliche Gegenstück zur Weltformel. Während allerdings selbst die ambitioniertesten Physiker nicht davon ausgehen können, mit der Weltformel alle Vielfalt der Welt erklären zu können, weil es da ja noch diese ganzen emergierenden Phänomene gibt, die wir Alltag nennen, scheint das auf Postmodernisten nicht zwangsläufig zuzutreffen, die fortwährend dahinformulieren, als wären sie nur einen Schritt von aller Wahrheit entfernt. Man muss ihnen das nachsehen: mit einem Theoriekonstrukt, aus dem noch nicht ein nachweisbares Phänomen abgeleitet werden, geschweige denn formuliert werden konnte, kann man natürlich auch keine Erfahrungen über Tragweiten und Begrenzungen von Theoriebildung gesammelt haben.

[2] was übrigens auch nur mangelndes physikalisches Wissen ist: in Wirklichkeit gibt es in der Physik natürlich verschiedene, mathematisch unterschiedliche aber letztlich äquivalente Formulierungen für die Mechanik. Was man Schülern und (Nebenfach-)Studenten beibringt ist allerdings meistens beschränkt auf einen vereinfachten Newton. Eben weil es erst mal darum geht, wissenschaftliche Konzepte möglichst einfach und nach einem gewissen Standard zu vermitteln.

Some of the details of the bill are horrendous. Not only is the measure unconstitutional and economically infeasible, most of this money will be spent by corrupt governments. What does get spent legitly will be wasted because governments are almost always inefficient.

Liberman dice que la fórmula de territorios a cambio de paz es un error fatal. "Digamos que regresamos a las fronteras de 1967, que cada uno se pregunte que sucederá al día siguiente. ¿ Acaso concluirá el conflicto ? ¿ Acaso acabará el terror ? Nada de eso ¿ Saben lo que acontecerá, una vez que regresemos a las fronteras de 1967 ? Los árabes israelíes solicitarán la ciudadanía palestina pero seguirán cobrando el seguro social israelí".
"La solución debe pasar por un acuerdo de intercambio de territorios y de población", agregó el renunciante ministro Liberman.

Liberman había anunciado que abandonaría la coalición cuando comiencen las negociaciones por los temas centrales del conflicto, principalmente la división de Jerusalén y la solución al problema de los refugiados palestinos.

En reacción, los diputados árabes que representan en la Kneset a la minoría árabe israelí que constituye el 20% de la población, dijeron que Liberman enfermó del SIDA del racismo.

El próximo 30 de Enero, la comisión que investigó las fallas de la guerra del verano de 2006 contra Hizballah presentará sus conclusiones finales y las mismas serán la prueba ultimativa de la estabilidad de la coalición de gobierno de Ehud Olmert. Si las conclusiones son muy graves y el Partido Laborista abandona la coalición, deberá convocarse a nuevas elecciones.

Mientras tanto continúa el intercambio de golpes entre Israel y los palestinos en Gaza.

Tres civiles palestinos murieron en un ataque fallido de la Fuerza Aérea Israelí. El misil disparado desde un helicóptero erró el blanco e hizo impacto en el vehículo en el que viajaban los tres, entre ellos un menor, de 13 años.

Horas antes, los palestinos habían lanzado unos 30 cohetes Qasam contra el territorio israelí, causando daños.

'Same old you know,' I replied cheerfully, 'Jerkin off & shootin up & bitchin about the Government.'

It don't keep me Busy but it keeps me unemployed.

Yep. Unemployed. You know some highly influential Americans have been unemployed. Like Joe Lieberman.

Here in Vermont we pray for God to flick the state of New Hampshire off the face of the Earth like a booger.

We think barely more highly of Connecticut. Too pretentious to be Massholes. Too pansy-ass to live in Brooklyn. Home to America's most vocally self-described Centrist senator; the way Joe Liberman yelped & squaked at Howard Dean during the run-up to NH & Iowa in '04 reminded me of a football-sized canine-like creature who insatitably begs to get Kicked.

Joe Lieberman is a lot like a drop-kick dog who you were oddly elated to learn got finally Punted through a toilet hoop.

Denied his unassailable slot on the Democrat ticket, Joe threatens to run as an Independent. Which would be like a dog who's been drop-kicked through a hoop now requesting to be tied with string to a teather-ball pole. Tempting. But for what? Such dogs are drop-kicked out of loathing. Not because it's Fun. You want them to learn a Lesson. To not so mercilessly annoy. But when they come back for more you see they'll never Act Right.

Poor Joe.

I say I'm pleased as a bubbling crack pipe to learn Liberman was humiliated at the polls. I think what people in Connecticut did is Awesome. I think maybe you guys are a little better than the Massholes.

But I don't want to see it again in November any more than I want to see any Connecticut gweedos in Vermont on Vacation again. Ever. None of Yooz.

If Liberman continues with his Independent-bid lunacy I say we send Ralph Nader around with a ice cold whoop ass can to open in his dumb-lookin face.

Maybe I hope he does run as an Independent. I bet money he scores single-digit returns. I pay 2 to 1 if he breaks 11%. I'll take 2 to 1 that he tallies under 5.

All it is this: A candidate who represented the electorate's will snuck into contention & won. Lamant beat a system rigged against him; proved verifiably to us all that the system can be beat. For participants it was a Hoot. Imagine that. When was the last time you walked out from the Voting Booth & said hot damn -- soCOOL!

The Guardian says Power to the People. I say Right On.

People were getting involved in a new kind of politics: one that included them. Astonishingly, as Lamont’s candidacy grew, so did the voter rolls; over 30,000 people registered as new Democrats so they could vote in the party primary. Lamont’s message of change, combined with the rising tide of this new people-powered politics, took Lieberman’s strengths - incumbency, endorsements, and money - and turned them against him.”

My only regret is I bet no money on Lamont. Plus he hasn't a blithery clue how to bring about Peace.

I do. What can I say? I'm spectacularly fucking brilliant.

Peace is a Hot Ticket at the polls. Everybody wants some. Produce candidates who verifiably & proactively favor Peace. Ask them:

Will you support the involuntary induction into a National Service of every American between 18-25? Inductees shall be specially trained in misery eradication; at completion of basic training will transport among cohorts to a place in the world where help is needed. It will be a World Work Party. The Build a Block Party will put the United Stated back on the Rock & Roll map. It'll be expensive. But the 1 wealthiest % of Americans can afford it; it'll be by & large their treat.

Yeah -- and let's have the Boot[ie] Camp in New Orleans.

Win the battle for Hearts & Minds & America wins the Terror War. Had our Build a Block Party rolled into Iraq even a year ago -- who knows? Those kids surely by now would have the mind & heart of America, at very least, won.

I propose a technique for America's people to make peace with ourselves. Show Planet Earth we care. And turn the youth loose in a world they otherwise may never see.

Plus pick up chicks & get drunk in weird places. Better still -- they're paid fair wages to do it.

They'll jump at the chance. If not we Draft the bastages. For their own good -- they'll see

But most Kids want to. According to a 2002 circle.org poll: 81% favor a year of national or community service to earn money toward college or advanced training; 61% would favor a new draft that gives people a choice between civilian or military service.

That's 2 of 3 young Americans who wanna peel around planet Earth to make things better for everyone.

Hadn't we oughta help 'em?