Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Osvaldo Romo and me. By O. Torres

The following was written by Osvaldo Torres, my father by any definition of the word least of all that he is married to my mother (I was the luckiest kid with 2 moms and 2 dads). He has been an integral part of my life, made better by his proximity. I can say that a large part of the passion I feel to politics and justice are due to the words I heard from him in my childhood. I cannot pretend to understand what it may have been like for him and my mother to have an entity, a tyranny, that calls itself your government steal you and torture you.

Osvaldo Romo was the human vise that Pinochet used to brake the people of Chile. Here Osvaldo Torres remembers the now dead Osvaldo Romo, the primate that took his fellow Chileans and tortured them. Below is the link to the complete article and an attempt by me to translate the first 2 paragraphs.

Osvaldo Romo interrumpió en mi vida apuntándome con una metralleta AKA, la madrugada del 30 de enero de 1975. Sin orden de detención un comando de la DINA me arrestó junto a mi compañera Nubia Becker, mi amigo y dirigente socialista Eduardo Charme y Marcela Bravo. Dejaron aterrados a los dueños de casa y al hijo de Nubia, Hernán A. Jaramillo de sólo 4 años.

En Villa Grimaldi Romo se hizo cargo personalmente de torturarme junto a Krasnoff, el Teniente Pablo, el Troglo y toda esa fauna de funcionarios del Estado que cumplían con sus obligaciones. No fui el único, ni el más torturado por esos equipos; tuve la suerte de salir vivo.

Osvaldo Romo burst in into my life pointing an AKA machine gun, the dawn of the 30th of January of 1975. Without a detention order a commando of the DINA arrested me, my compañera Nubia Becker, my friend and socialist Eduardo Charme, and Marcela Bravo. They left terrified the owners of the house and the son of Nubia, Hernán A. Jaramillo of only 4 years.

In Villa Grimaldi Romo made sure to personally torture me next to Krasnoff, the Lieutenant Pablo, Troglo and all the fauna of civil employees of the State who only performed their duties. I was not the only one, nor the most tortured by that team; I had the luck to leave alive.

I do not like to think of people that I love having gone through such unfathomable terror. I do know that I am shamed by our potential for such inhumanity. That shame and the knowledge that torture lives is part of what drives me to get involved in, and keep an eye on our government that is still supposed to be ruled by us the people.

Additional reading here, and here.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

A Repetitive Voice Can Sound Like a Chorus

I think this study sheds light into why so many of us believe in all kinds of unbelievable/unproven stuff. From Saddam working with the 9/11 terrorists, to supernatural beings who spend their whole day keeping an eye on our behavior.
In a nutshell it makes the point that humans will confuse the repetition of an idea, no matter its basis in reality, as a widely held belief which gives it credence. Even if the repetition comes from only one source. Now that is pretty powerful if you think about it. Read the study here:
The present studies test these hypotheses and provide the first evidence that repetition of the same opinion gives rise to the impression that the opinion is widely shared, even if all the repetitions come from the same single communicator.

So remember: Dune Messiah is the best blog.
Dune Messiah is the best blog.
Dune Messiah is the best blog.
Dune Messiah is the best blog.
Dune Messiah is the best blog.

H/T to Ian Welsh

Friday, July 06, 2007

Deeper Moats Make Better Neighbors

Yes our grand experiment in Irag now requires that MOATS be built to protect the citizens. F'ing MOATS!!! Freedom is on the march alright.
I wonder if Cheney's Halliburton has a moat division? Blackwater can provide the sharks with laser beams attached to their heads.
Go read it for yourself at the McClatchy Newspapers website.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

On Ron Paul... again.

I've been meaning to post these pics I took at the Obama thingy. What was up with these Ron Paul supporters trolling Obama's stop in San Antonio? I did not get the significance of the masks, and I'm not going to watch V for Vendetta to find out either. Oh don't forget the real Mr. Paul.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

July Fourth Celebration at Woodlawn Lake

July Fourth Celebration at Woodlawn Lake, 1103 Cincinnati. Parade lineup begins at 10 a.m. starts at 11 a.m. followed by entertainment in the park and fireworks at 9 p.m. No alcoholic beverages allowed. Free admission. Sponsored by the San Antonio Parks Foundation and the Parks and Recreation Department. 212-8423.
Update: San Antonio is officially a rain forest. The rain does not stop.

Friday, June 29, 2007

This I Want To Go To... Sicko

Here's where Sicko is playing near you this weekend:
Santikos Bijou at Crossroads
4522 Fredericksburg Road San Antonio, TX Phone: (210)737-0291
Friday: (11:00 AM), (1:50 PM), (4:40 PM), 7:30 PM, 10:20 PM
Saturday: (11:00 AM), (1:50 PM), (4:40 PM), 7:30 PM, 10:20 PM
Sunday: (11:00 AM), (1:50 PM), (4:40 PM), 7:30 PM, 10:20 PM

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Crier Wire-Haters Drool-Coulter Is A Man

Here is Catherine Crier of Court TV telling it like it is. I thank her for addressing the coulter/limbaugh/right-wing-hate-machine. I don't think I'll be watching Hardball for a while. It was sad to see Matthews lose so much credibility by giving her the hour.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Events: Botero Family Days

Events: Botero Family Days
Sail into the world of artist and sculptor Fernando Botero.
Paint a portrait or still life inspired by Fernando Botero Learn about Botero's Colombian heritage and culture Make a Colombian musical instrument and play along.
Saturday, June 30
Cody @ 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
All ages welcome · FREE · No Reservations Needed. The Botero Library Family Days are part of the city-wide celebration of Botero's work, with exhibits and programming May - July, 2007

Drinking Liberally San Antonio


Quick reminder time: Drinking Liberally San Antonio will be meeting Thurs, June 28 at 6 pm at the Blue Star Brewery, 1414 S Alamo St (1st building on the right as you enter the Blue Star arts complex).

Monday, June 25, 2007

Obama In San Antonio

My Wife, some friends, and I went to see Obama on Sunday. It was a great time, better than expected. The mood was festive, the dancers and drummers were on, and the crowd was cool. One of the most attractive parts of the event was the great diversity of people. Definitely something you wont see, unless totally orchestrated, from the family/war values side.

The music was quite good and so was the weather. The pre-Obama speakers were brief and engaging. A surprise to our group was Bruce Bowen introduced Obama. You cannot go wrong with a Spur on your side.

Then Obama took the stage and he did not lose any points on this crowd. His delivery is quite impressive, I can see how his campaign has garnered such a following. The whole speech went by in a flash. It never dragged and I bet he could have spoken for another hour and the crowd would have loved it.

Personally I came away more confident if he were the candidate. So I guess he scored with me. Although, I may just be a glutton for hope and positive speeches. I do know I'm sick of all the warmongering, and "they'll follow us here" bull.

I have seen Edwards and now Obama. I'm looking forward to Hillary coming in to town. Nobody has my vote yet, but my wife and I are leaning one way. Actually I was completely undecided and she had an opinion, so there you go.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio

Here is a good report:
Joint Report by The Center for American Progress and Free Press June 21, 2007; Updated June 22, 2007.

I think the key point is not whether Progressive Radio makes less money compared to Conservative Radio. They compete just fine if allowed to. It is that the radio stations are the property of a few mostly conservative owners who control the lions share of the stations and programming. Meaning that the free market of ideas is being controlled by a few idealogues.

(h/t to the AnimationArchive for the pic)

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Barack Obama In San Antonio

San Antonio Kickoff
Sunday, June 24
Doors Open at 12:45 pm; Program begins at 1:45pm
Lonestar Pavilion at Sunset Station
1174 Commerce Street

5 of us are going, so is my neighbor.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Sir Charles says things...

"everybody knows the Republicans are screwed up" - Charles Barkley 2 minutes ago on Late Show with David Letterman
Update - oops it was a rerun... 'cause he just said Detroit was going to beat the Cavs, and Utah would beat the Spurs...

Thursday, June 21, 2007

ABBA, Napoleon's Waterloo, a Crazy Dinosaur...

Here is a bit of background to prepare you for the awesomeness, yes awesomeness of this video. From Wikipedia:

The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, was Napoleon Bonaparte's last battle. His defeat put a final end to his rule as Emperor of France.




The Dinosaur gets the Tip Of The Hat.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

On Vaccines...

I have been wondering about shots. I was kind of freaked out when I learned about parents actually not vaccinating their kids for fear of autism. I don't know what to believe, but I do know this should be a pretty run of the mill problem for good science and honest research. I would expect that a pretty definitive conclusion could be made regarding any link to vaccines that autism may have.

Shot records have to be some of the most abundant records, surely enough to provide huge amounts data. Now make sure that you account for the changing criteria used to diagnose autism through the period being studied(my gut tells me this is the herring). Oh, don't forget to thoroughly discount all the other things that could be producing higher autism rates. Is there higher autism rates or higher rates of diagnosis?

Now its not that I don't believe there may be a link, and some people I respect say there is. One is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and others include the parents of children with autism. But I just cant shake the thought that parents are actually not immunizing their kids. It seems, I hate saying this... selfish. I guess what bothers me is the risk to the children who may not get the vaccine protection. I'd bet (if I had to) that this is probably worse than the possible risk of autism. Not just that but what about the rest of the population that is put at risk by non-vaccinated-Americans.

So then somebody else I respect, Michael Shermer, comes in with a great article from his Skeptic Magazine. As I had thought the Vaccine-Autism link may be a mirage that sadly plays on the fears of parents who may be blindsided by love and anguish over their children. The piece by Kennedy linked above is discussed on the Skeptic piece and I recommend reading both for all the angles that play on such a touchy subject.

Mercury Rising / Exposing the Vaccine-Autism Myth by Matthew P. Normand and Jesse Dallery

In this article we shall make five points concerning the relationship
between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism.
1. The dangers of mercury are well established, but this does not lead inexorably to a relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism.
2. A number of well controlled studies have failed to uncover any correlation between the delivery of the vaccines and the onset of autism.
3. Even if some correlation existed there are a number of possible explanations for the correlation that do not assume any causal relationship between the vaccine and autism.
4. Much attention has been given to a possible government cover up, which is certainly
of concern if true but is otherwise independent of the problems with the claims
of a link between thimerosal and autism.
5. The type of public hysteria manifested in the current controversy is not new and we would be well served to learn from similar controversies of recent times.


To make a short story long, I'll end with a bit of Shermers introduction to the story that kind of nails it for me:

Remember always that we are pattern-seeking primates who are especially adept at finding patterns with emotional meaning — in this case, the parents of autistic children are understandably seeking a causal link that provides them with an opportunity to right a wrong, in this case fixing the problem through changing the body’s chemistry, diet, nutrition, toxin load, etc. Sadly, it appears at this point that the causal vector(s) probably lie elsewhere.— Michael Shermer

Monday, June 18, 2007

On Books...

I'm trying to list the books I've read. I think I like Sci-Fi a little too much. I've got to get some more classics in there. So many to list... its going to take a while to finish.

Oh yeah go listen to The New Monastics. (h/t PortInExile)

This I Want To Go To...

Concerts Under the Stars
The San Antonio Botanical Garden presents its popular annual series "Concerts Under the Stars" every third Thursday of the month this summer. The cost is $5 per person, with members receiving complimentary entry as a benefit of membership.
Gates open at 6:00 pm and music starts at 7:00 pm. Concert-goers may bring lawn chairs and blankets but no outside food and drink. Beverages for purchase will include wine, beer, soft drinks and water.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

This I Want To Go To...

The Baroque World of Fernando BoteroMay 26 through August 19, 2007
...and for you parents:
Family Activity: The Rotund World of Fernando BoteroSaturday, July 14, 2 to 4 pmCowden Gallery. Free with museum and exhibition admission.
...at:
San Antonio Museum of Art; 200 West Jones Avenue; San Antonio, Texas 78215(210) 978-8100 info@samuseum.org

The Spurs Win and The...

...World Rejoices. The best part of this story is that one of the smaller influence teams gets the most viewers around the world. I think the US will catch up to the rest of the world... San Antonio SPURS 2007 NBA Champions!

Here from the NBA:

THE FOLLOWING IS A BY-THE-NUMBERS LOOK AT WHAT WILL TAKE PLACE DURING THE NBA FINALS IN BOTH GAME CITIES:
Global Reach

A record 128 broadcasters (breaking last year’s all-time mark of 112) will provide coverage of The Finals in a record 46 languages, including Arabic for the first time.
More than 250 international media members from 23 countries and territories will cover The Finals.

36 international television and radio networks and Web sites will converge in the two game cities.

11 customized international NBA television shows will shoot behind the scenes at The Finals, up from 5 last year, including, among others, Hoopark (China, CCTV), NBA Lin Ju Li (China, GDTV-Guangdong), NBA Zhi Zao (China, 32 telecasters), NBA Magazine (NHK, Japan), NBA Jam (RPN, Philippines), Basketball Tonight (ESPN Star Sports Taiwan, Pan Asia), NBA Time and American Dream (Canal+, France), Espanoles NBA (Canal+ Spain) and NBA Timeout (US, AZN).

A record 9 international players will be competing, including the Spurs’ Tim Duncan (U.S. Virgin Islands), Francisco Elson (Netherlands), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Fabricio Oberto (Argentina), Tony Parker (France) and Beno Udrih (Slovenia), and the Cavaliers’ Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Lithuania), Sasha Pavlovic (Montenegro) and Anderson Varejao (Brazil).



Thursday, June 14, 2007

This I Want To Go To...


Dear Dune,
Barack Obama will be in your area on Sunday, June 24th at 1:45 pm at the Lonestar Pavilion at Sunset Station for a San Antonio Kickoff event. Supporters throughout the region will be gathering to share their excitement and join our movement for change. Will you join Barack in San Antonio?

Purchase a ticket for the San Antonio Kickoff :

http://my.barackobama.com/sanantoniokickoff

Barack is bringing people together across the country, from all walks of life. I hope you will join us in San Antonio and become an important part of this special event.

Here are the details:

San Antonio Kickoff
Sunday, June 24
Doors Open at 12:45 pm; Program begins at 1:45pm
Lonestar Pavilion at Sunset Station
1174 Commerce Street

Purchase a ticket for the San Antonio Kickoff:

http://my.barackobama.com/sanantoniokickoff

We hope to see you in San Antonio,

Obama for America

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

“The Progressive Majority: Why a Conservative America Is a Myth”

Yes!!! I'm not weird, and I have the study to prove it. Thank you study.

The issues covered in this report include the following:

The role of government - Americans support an active government that tackles problems, provides services, and aids those in need.


The economy - Americans support increasing the minimum wage and strong unions, and believe the wealthy and corporations don't pay their fair share of taxes.


Social issues - Americans support legal abortion and embryonic stem cell research; opinions on equal rights for women and gay Americans have grown dramatically more progressive in recent years.


Security - Americans support a progressive approach to national security, emphasizing strong alliances and diplomacy over the indiscriminate use of military force. On domestic security issues, progressive approaches to crime and gun control enjoy wide support.


The environment - By enormous margins, Americans favor strong environmental protections, a core progressive belief.


Energy - Americans support energy conservation and the development of alternative fuels.


Health care - Americans clearly favor universal coverage and are more than comfortable with government solutions to the health care problem.


In short, a look across the scope of American public opinion reveals a public that holds progressive positions and supports progressive solutions on economic issues, on social issues, on security issues - indeed, on nearly all the key issues confronting the country. For years, the conventional wisdom has maintained just the opposite, but the facts are impossible to ignore.



Read More at Media Matters.