thieves beware

england, 1802

It is not to be thought of that the flood
Of British freedom, which, to the open sea
Of the world's praise, from dark antiquity
Hath flow'd, 'with pomp of waters, unwithstood,'
Roused though it be full often to a mood
Which spurns the check of salutary bands,—
That this most famous stream in bogs and sands
Should perish; and to evil and to good
Be lost for ever. In our halls is hung
Armoury of the invincible Knights of old:
We must be free or die, who speak the tongue
That Shakespeare spake; the faith and morals hold
Which Milton held.—In everything we are sprung
Of Earth's first blood, have titles manifold.

~Wordsworth

abe kaoru

Live, 1977. . . . and then his soul screams.

orange ripper

Start with a large, preferably chilled, champagne glass;

Add:

1 oz. sharp gin, e.g. Bombay Sapphire East,

one squirt agave nectar or other unprocessed sweetner,

3–5 dashes Peychaud's Bitters,

Vigorously stir ingredients until thoroughly mixed;

Fill glass 3/4 + full with dry champagne,

Top off with 1 oz. orange juice and a small ice cube:

Enjoy.

See also the orange zipper.

jaun williams

On the Zimmerman / Martin trial:

The New York Times has referred to [Zimmerman] in unique racial terms as a “white Hispanic." The terminology was necessary to have the story fit into a well-worn news narrative throughout American history from the Scottsboro Boys to Emmett Till to Rodney King – the black victim of white racism. Hispanic people can be as racist as black or white people in a country with a deep history of racism. But, apparently for the Times, Zimmerman's whiteness was important. It fit their good versus evil tale of a white racist killing an innocent black man.

. . . .

Martin, the 17-year-old, is dead. But he has not escaped the racial slander attached to this case. Zimmerman’s backers note that Martin had smoked marijuana – as if that is unusual among American teenagers. They seem delighted to find online messages in which he took on a rapper, street-thug persona and posed as a tough guy.

These are all caricatures of two real people caught in a tragedy.

Zimmerman should have listened to the 911 emergency dispatch operator who told him to stop following Martin.

. . . .

Why didn’t Martin just walk away from Zimmerman?

. . . .

Whatever the final verdict on Zimmerman, the media is clearly guilty of playing on the most primitive racial divisions in our society to fuel racial animosity and boost ratings.

true words in egypt

snowden on us

From Edward Snowden's latest statement:

In the end the Obama administration is not afraid of whistleblowers like me, Bradley Manning or Thomas Drake. We are stateless, imprisoned, or powerless. No, the Obama administration is afraid of you. It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised—and it should be.