Posts from — September 2011

Charlie Pierce had a look at what’s going on in New York City: Occupy Wall Street: More of a Movement Than the Tea Party

I’m not sure what the people now occupying Wall Street ultimately will accomplish, but I’m a little tired with the argument that, because we don’t know what they may or may not accomplish, the entire exercise is doomed and useless. There has to be something to be said for people who at least direct their anger at the people who deserve it. The president has not been interested in doing that, unless he’s been flogging Tim Geithner in the solarium without our being aware of it. The Democratic party doesn’t seem overly concerned any more. Among the Republican presidential candidates, the issue is largely invisible, except when one of the candidate stands up courageously and applies a soothing balm to millionaires whose fee-fees have been wounded because the president has taken to talking about them in less than complimentary ways.

Reading reports from people who are actually at the location and have talked to the people involved it becomes clear that the main immediate goal was create the infrastructure and procedures to sustain an extended effort. They aren’t using the old ‘tried and failed’ American model, they are using the model that worked in North Africa, and is being applied in Europe.

It is already showing results, as the Airline Pilots Association took their demonstration to Wall Street, and a number of local unions have announced plans to join in the process.

This was never designed to be a one-shot protest over a specific issue, it is a movement against what Wall Street has done to the US. There is no point in talking to the ‘servants’ in Washington – you need to confront the real power on Wall Street.

Executive Lunch

Again with the box …

[Editor: The Big Tipper is unconcerned as the alpha tom, Blaze, and the alpha female, Tonto [with her back to the camera] meet over lunch at my neighbors. As a result of the latest ‘election’ for his position, Blaze has acquired a scar over his left eye to match the one over his right.

Friday Ark

Position: 24.0N 46.4W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [320°] near 9 mph [15 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 50 mph [ 85 kph].
Wind Gusts: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 85 Miles [140 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1004 mb.

Currently about 1255 miles [2020 km] East-Southeast of Bermuda.

Philippe is beginning to encounter the outflow from Ophelia, which is providing wind shear that will weaken it.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 26.2N 63.1W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North [360°] near 17 mph [28 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 120 mph [195 kph].
Wind Gusts: 150 mph [240 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 205 miles [335 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 40 miles [ 65 km].
Minimum central pressure: 956 mb ↓.

Currently about 435 miles [ 700 km] South-Southeast of Bermuda.

This may be the peak for the storm. The good news is that it is turning and will be passing to the East of Bermuda, striking with its weak side.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Bermuda.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Friday Cat Blogging will be delayed until I can get a new USB cable for my camera. My trusty old cable disappeared from its hook this afternoon, and I don’t feel like moving a lot of furniture to attempt to find it.

I did that looking for the charger for my cell phone a couple of years ago, but still haven’t found it [and, yes, I looked under the refrigerator].

The Journal of Improbable Research awarded the 2011 Ig Nobel Prizes tonight at Harvard. The BBC covered the event: Beetle’s beer bottle sex wins Ig Nobel Prize.

As strange as some of these projects are, some are actually serious science [well, not the mayor of Vilnius having cars run over with a tank, or the whackos who keep predicting the end of the world].

Position: 21.2N 44.0W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [320°] near 13 mph [20 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph [ 75 kph].
Wind Gusts: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 85 Miles [140 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1004 mb.

Currently about 1195 miles [1925 km] East-Northeast of the Leeward Islands.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 21.9N 62.3W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North-Northwest [335°] near 9 mph [15 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 85 mph [140 kph].
Wind Gusts: 95 mph [155 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 175 miles [280 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 30 miles [ 45 km].
Minimum central pressure: 979 mb ↓.

Currently about 735 miles [1185 km] South-Southeast of Bermuda.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Bermuda.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

… And let the judge decide.

Apparently whoever is in charge of the NYPD response to the Occupy Wall Street demonstration is using a variation of: “Caedite eos! Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.”, the order given by Abbé Arnaud-Amaury of Citeaux to the troops at Béziers during the Albigensian Crusade against the ‘Catharsian heresy’. It is translated roughly as ‘Kill them all. G*d will recognize His own.’

Despite what the MSM are reporting, there is no selection process in who gets arrested, they simply scoop up groups of people on the sidewalk.

Ellroon has the reporting of John Farley, WNET [PBS] Observations of a Jailed Journalist. Along with Mr. Farley they scooped the employee of a local business, and a woman who was shopping in the area.

Susie Madrak has the Lawrence O’Donnell video, in which he thoroughly castigates the NYPD for their actions. He has the videos and makes several points about what the police are doing.

Susie also has a nice take-down on NPR’s failure to cover the event.

From what I’ve seen, the regular patrolmen are doing a good job of maintaining order, and then some ‘maroon’ in a white shirt creates the problems. It is rather difficult to claim that the demonstrators are ‘obstructing pedestrian traffic’, when it is obvious that people can just walk along until the police bring everything to a screeching halt with their orange netting.

Happy 5772!

At sunset Rosh Hashanah begins, so get your honey, challah, and apples ready.

Position: 17.4N 40.8W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [300°] near 13 mph [20 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 45 mph [ 75 kph].
Wind Gusts: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 175 Miles [280 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1005 mb ↓.

Currently about 1115 miles [1795 km] West of the Cape Verde Islands.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 19.4N 60.7W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [325°] near 6 mph [ 9 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph [110 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 105 miles [165 km].
Minimum central pressure: 995 mb ↓.

Currently about 180 miles [ 285 km] East-Northeast of the Leeward Islands.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

If the tropics calm down I will be upgrading to the latest version of WordPerfect WordPress to get rid of the nagging banner in the admin area. If things go seriously wrong I’ll let Steve ‘Bates know.

Some new additions to the blogroll.

I finally added the great geek cartoon site, xkcd. They update Monday – Wednesday – Friday.

Another blog that should have been there for a while is Earth-Bound Misfit, that I first encountered a while back at Badtux’s, but inertia sets in, and stuff happens.

A new blog is Charlie Pierce, who is handling the politics blog for Esquire magazine. Charlie has been a journalist for years, but more people probably recognize him as a frequent guest at Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me!, the comedy news quiz on NPR.

Position: 18.4N 59.5W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [305°] near 3 mph [ 6 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 35 mph [ 55 kph].
Wind Gusts: 50 mph [ 85 kph].
Minimum central pressure: 1009 mb ↑.

Currently about 235 miles [ 380 km] East of the Leeward Islands.

After taking some time off to recuperate, the storm is going to make another try at being a tropical cyclone.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]