A Wee Bit of Scotland

Enjoyed a fine Burns Supper at our friend's Östermalm home
w/ poetry, music & all the trimmings.
Lord Be Thanket !

http://thoughtsmart.com/SelkirkGrace.mp3

Dislike Forcefeeding?

I don't like being herded, or forced into disagreeable procedures.

Most people may be more accepting, or insensitive...

In many cases, half the battle is to properly define the problem. Help is often near if you know the correct terminology.

An example:

Using my Electrolux EMS2020 microwave oven to warm or heat items, I'll typically do something else while it operates. When its procedure ends, it stops moving, and a bell softly chirps. Wonderful.

However, if I do not attend to it immediately and the door is unopened, after some seconds a reminder bell chirps.

I hate that reminder.

Unfortunately, I bought my microwave when living in Korea, and the interface is all Hangul. There may be an override to the reminder bell, but I've not found it yet (and because a bypass may exist, I'm perhaps more irritated).

Do you use Windows 10 ?

Microsoft is typically OK in allowing adjustments - and while not always making settings simple or intuitive, they've now had long experience with user angst. Some will remember their talking paperclip, Microsoft's 'Clippy' ...

I've recently been troubled by the Windows lockscreen time. Go away for a minute, and the Windows login screen appears. I don't mind typing my password once or twice a day, but not more often.

I tried unsuccessfully to find an adjustment in Windows settings.

So I searched for adjust time Windows login screen in my favorite search engine, only to find the procedure is hugely & unnecessarily complex. Why? It's rude forcing the world to live with a mandatory & inflexible timeout after one-minute. To what purpose?

1) sometimes, Microsoft, you suck
2) your own Microsoft help page put me in the Registry searching for a setting that did not exist - weird ("ScreenSaveTimeOut string value item). It claimed default timeout is 15 minutes (900 seconds) when in fact it is one minute... 
3) if you are bothered by this Microsoft imposition, here's how to change the timeout:
https://www.howtogeek.com/267893/how-to-change-the-windows-10-lock-screen-timeout/
two-step, complex procedure -- but successful.

Redesign Your Life !

Scottish rain

Two-Headed Dog : Orthrus USA

American Public Servants ?

NO

Creatures of the Swamp

UKCHUCK

Brexit promises, often bollocks, had pie-in-the-sky funds for the NHS.

The better betrayal tag:  ukchuck

Hawai'i's Traitor List

Who took up arms against the Kingdom of Hawai'i and her native people?

The newly-formed Republic of Hawaii Army included 458 officers & soldiers.

We also know who was active in the so-called "Citizen's Guard" because the coup plotters made certain to publish each of the 740 names - to share the burden of guilt. Some of these paramilitary mercenaries were only briefly in Hawaii, but they carried a rifle and kept the locals from gettin' uppity.

Thus 1198 poisonous snakes not to be forgotten.

http://thoughtsmart.com/hawaii/atrocity-america.pdf

Sandcastle Suffering

Sandcastle Day School sounds wholesome, but Principal Turpin is now accused of chaining & torturing the kids. Both he and his wife face charges of child endangerment.

Today the California Department of Education continues to advertise the school (link). But Sandcastle's two administrators are held in jail pending their posting a combined bail of $26 million.

The State of California has almost no functional oversight of such schools (according to CNN - link), but eleven other US states are worse - with no reporting requirements at all.

Child-focused schooling in America greatly suffered from Reagan-era deregulation, through US Sec. of Education neocon Bill Bennett, to multi-billionaire Betsy Prince DeVos (older sister of Blackwater USA's Erik Prince).

America's communities are disintegrating.
No money for skoolin - its all gon 4 guns.
We suffer from Galactic Empire!

Sandcastle Day School Principal David Turpin

Public Use / Official Use ?

Chinese characters are widely used in Japan. But after divergent usage over many hundreds of years (often over a thousand years), meanings became slightly different.

I've become intrigued by the characters 公用

In China, it seems this consistently means "public use"

In Japan however, it's often "Official Use Only - Stay Away!"

Very different, almost opposite meanings...

Of course, Japan's paradise for officialdom, with many cumbersome administrative processes, and an army of paper-pushing bureaucrats (each convinced their own non-productive work is essential).
 

I'm still getting to grips with this difference; further reports as I discover more.

Pissing on Stockholm

Stockholm needs more public toilets.

How to best say this, or illustrate the problem?

It seems substantive change will only come from embarrassing our community leadership.

-- sell adult diapers as cruise ships dock at the quay
-- find older folk who've suffered
-- ask those w/ medical issues for their horror stories
-- distribute each tourist a "piss cup" ... etc ...

Stockholm needs more public toilets.

It's basic humanity.

Uninvited

US-backed overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, 17 Jan 1893, led to 125 years of careless vacationers, cultural genocide & military occupation. Restore Native Hawaiian illegally-diminished inheritance. Peace, Land, & Aloha.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL

Please don't insult the host

'Āina is a very important word for Hawaiian culture. Hawaiian lands are permeated with the hope, sweat, bones and Aloha of native people. 

Hawai'i is infused with great energies; respect local kuleana, please walk carefully.

Dole drums

Sanford Ballard Dole, 48 years old and a member of the Queen's Privy Council, was "President" after the illegal US-backed coup (16-17 Jan, 1893) aggressively overthrew Hawai'i's government.

Dole is now symbolic of treachery for theft of Hawaiian inheritance.

Fak Dup Nation

The USA has become horrendous.

The "boiled frog phenomenon" helps Americans overlook or ignore cruelty & heartlessness. These failures are clear to any objective visitor.

The US prison system's heavily populated by people with mental health issues. Others w/ psychological problems roam the streets, homeless. They belong to a class of people widely known as Fakm.

Sure, foolish Yankee constructed cruel communities requiring almost everyone to suffer and work hard. But for people where minimum level's impossible, our system only says Fakm.

Yes Virginia, it's a Dangerous World

Rereading a history of newspaper self-censorship in service to American Empire (link)  

"Freedom of the press" in America is mirage, PR & bullshit.

Is it reasonable The New York Times still is patting itself on the back after publishing the Pentagon Papers 47 years ago? Thanks, but a long time's passed - (generations back, to the days of Brezhnev, and when gas in America cost 40¢ a gallon) - what have you done for us lately?   Far too little - this century's NYT bosses spinelessly serve America's ruling elite...

A key quote comes from Bill Keller of his stint as Executive Editor of The New York Times:

"Three years after 9/11, we, as a country, were still under the influence of that trauma, and we, as a newspaper, were not immune. It was not a kind of patriotic rapture. It was an acute sense that the world was a dangerous place."

Yes, the world was (and is) a Dangerous Place.
Our secret government is very dangerous.

Keep the citizenry ignorant, and you steal away our oversight capability from us.

Treating the public as ENEMY extended the corruption of Bush & Obama governments. We continue enriching the officials as individuals, and rewarding their corporate & military support systems.

Disregard and contempt for the public by media giants is unsurprising. Expect the Ochs-Sulzberger family and The New York Times to feed you sugar-coated bullshit... and the Murdochs & Fox / News Corp are even worse. Corporate media has steadily eliminated experiments with public interest oversight: The Washington Post ombudsman was eliminated in 2013, The New York Times public editor was axed mid-2017.

Neither has corporate media done enough to secure unimpeded public access to worldwide news & information, now threatened by recent FCC surrender of "net neutrality" ... Media & big ISP (internet service providers such as Verizon, Comcast, Spectrum or AT&T) work to build their mega-corporations. Allowing internet repackaging by the ISP carries our nation of sheep substantially closer to the slaughterhouse.

Media Make Weather

Commercial media, the US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, and the National Weather Service have whipped-up a frenzy over the past 48-hours predicting bombogenesis and "bomb cyclone" weather for New England...

Stay Safe !

Now this morning CNN 'teased' on New England's overnight bomb cyclone weather, eventually serving up the number four news slot at 22 past the hour -- repeatedly promising the extreme weather report was coming, but first showing viewers a Trump exposé, and then reports on North Korea and then Pakistan ... First they tie our knickers in knots, then they play us like fish on a line

image from GoodMorningSkillsaw

Murky Empires

Hawaiians are studying how "powerful" nations deal with very distant colonies.

96% here voted to remain in the European Union, but...

(27 Dec 2017, Gibraltar border)

Ignored Inheritance

Native Hawaiians received an apology from the USA for overthrow of the Kingdom (US Public Law 103-150). 

But without compensation for illegally seized lands & property, Native Hawaiian inheritance is hugely and wrongly diminished. 

Chief beneficiary of this aggressive crime is the US Federal Government, who occupy far too much of the 1,800,000 acres of crown, government & public lands of the Kingdom of Hawaii taken without the consent of or compensation to the Native Hawaiian people or their sovereign government. 

Until legal reconciliation is achieved, Native Hawaiian descendants should not be liable for US Federal taxes or duties.

Han Sang-gyun, political prisoner in Korea

South Korea continues to imprison Han Sang-gyun (한상균), the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions KCTU President. He was arrested for leading demonstrations against the corrupt Park Geun-hye administration. Although a new government is now in power, he's still held behind bars as a political prisoner.

Amnesty International (link) as well as the global Public Services International (link) trade union federation, and many others monitoring global injustice demand Korea release Han Sang-gyun. President Moon Jae-in, a positive force in many ways, could pardon Han Sang-gyun immediately. Non-violent civil disobedience should be cherished in South Korea... instead, we see resurgence of controls & democracy suppressed.

Corruption & chauvinism in South Korea must be stopped.
Free Han Sang-gyun !

American Accounting

When a person is kidnapped, beaten, and forced to work many months or years without pay, there should be criminal liability; surely businesses or individuals profiting from forced labor should pay compensation. Simply to free the slaves is not enough.

 

Much ado abo

Why's Democracy Bullshit? Count the Days

US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died 13 Feb 2016.

As required by the US Constitution, the President nominated Scalia's successor, but while Congress was in session the Republican-controlled Senate took no action for 326 days.

Another nominee from the new President was eventually confirmed -- but the important US Supreme Court seat was vacant for 420 days.

This type of tactic is improper; it taints semi-Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Expect the same delaying tactic with the recent democratic election of Doug Jones as US Senator for Alabama. Because Republican control of the Senate will be negatively impacted, they'll go slow.

Senator-elect Jones will only be able to take-up his seat after any recount is conducted, and "either campaign could request a recount. As long as that campaign is willing to put up a bond and pay to cover the cost, the state will recount the votes. Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.), who had been appointed to fill the seat until the special election, will remain Alabama's junior senator as long as the process takes." (link)

Rich scum ignore democracy as long as possible.

Withdrawal Method May Fizzle

The UK government under Theresa May seeks to favourably re-position the nation by withdrawing from the European Union.

Some segments of the populace may indeed benefit. But many others will suffer grievously.

Can Britain setup as a wholly independent player in a world where teamwork offers the many benefits of lower transaction costs and economies-of-scale? Much alarm has been generated by xenophobia - but surely the UK has much more to offer than deliberately painting itself out of a diseased world.

Decent people should be worried by Theresa May & Boris Johnson manipulations, and especially spiritual leader Nigel Farage and his UK Independence Party. The Theresa May government's use of half-truths is shocking. Sudden pie-in-the-sky assurances and gross dishonesty may keep them in office for more weeks, but the nation and even the world are put at risk by their deceits.

After months of vague & secretive backroom bunco, PM May's sudden explicit assurances are so much hot air aimed to save her job -- wholly unreliable. This historic process needs attention far beyond partisan politics or the conceit of a handful of individuals.

Mr & Mrs Anglican, please confirm from any Roman Catholic older & wiser: forget WITHDRAWAL -- it's both unfulfilling & unsafe.

Yes ICAN

Congratulations once again to ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

As reported here before, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was agreed last July. To a large extent, this was a response to nuclear non-proliferation agreements, where the nuclear powers pledged to cut-down and eventually eliminate their nuclear arsenals but instead have boosted them.

Here's a summary from the Nuclear Threat Initiative

UN links are confusing & incomplete; here's their best (PTNW)

Overview from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists noting media bias

Unfortunately, the nuclear weapons states tried to deflect attention from the UN Treaty efforts & boycott proceedings. The USA also pushed junior partner states such as Australia, Japan & Norway to help rubbish efforts toward nuclear prohibition. (Here's how the Treaty stands now - link)

This ignorant stance continues, as reportedly the US, UK and French ambassadors callously skipped last night's Nobel banquet in Oslo which honored ICAN.

They failed to disarm as promised. Now they hide.  SCUM ! 

Two final links: on lapdog media and PTNW (treaty text)

Swing to the Flim Flam

The Sandwich, Massachusetts, Heritage Museum drove a flim flam now being challenged by local Cape Cod residents.

First -- Heritage Museum shouldn't be in the aerial adventure zipline business. Could the museum leadership have a dark plan to expand operations into off-topic activities, then cut-back & liquidate, taking away Cape Cod treasures? The zipline park attracts additional people, but strangely defines HERITAGE...

A big problem has become destruction of trust. Heritage initially listed the wrong permit application address (67 Grove Street), resulting in no neighbor notifications. The actual address for the aerial park is 0 Shawme Road and 0 Pocasset Road. Nearby neighbors & abutters had minimal chance to challenge the project. 

Terrible! ...this stinks. The adventure park is operated by Outdoor Venture Group of Connecticut, with a pattern of Continental trickery. The Connecticut firm partnered as well with TreeTop Adventures of Canton, MA whose address was also misrepresented, and for which their license to operate was subsequently ordered withdrawn (link). Many people reportedly are both distrustful and disgusted.

Make no mistake, Cape Cod justice should not be fooled

Any improper application should be rejected when incomplete or false (even if mistakenly first permitted).

(Here's a recent news link)

Trump Puppet

Congratulations Finland !

Promises promises

Keywords: President Trump, Native nations, Hawai'i, Land management, resource extraction, pipeline, Koch industries, US militarism, lying sack o' shit, forked tongue

Livestock Nation

Louise Hay (British muzungu aka Louise Linton; in $635 leather gloves) w/ U.S. Treasury Secretary husband & newly-printed Steven Mnuchin dollars

Cape Wind Greased

The Cape Cod Times reports the end of Cape Wind offshore renewable energy project. They quote Director of Public Policy Jack Clarke from the Massachusetts Audubon Society (which supported the project) "Over 50 lawsuits were filed by opponents, led by Bill Koch" - the Osterville property owner and primary financial backer of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound (link)

The New York Times identifies Koch as "a billionaire industrialist who made his fortune in fossil fuels."

Greenpeace is considerably less kind, labeling the Koch fortune "dirty money" (link to .pdf report)

Could Koch influence the many other people such as fishermen or the local Native American tribe who came to believe Cape Wind was problematic?

Sure!

How many of these people want to breathe coal smoke everyday? How many wish Cape Cod beaches were covered by the ooze of an oil spill, or hope to completely lose their homes & communities to rising seas or horror storms from global warming?  Not a single person wants such suffering from any Koch industries.