WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU

This in today's NYTimes -- "Scientists are finding enormous oil plumes in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico, including one as large as 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick in spots ... There's a tremendous amount of oil in multiple layers, three or four or five layers deep in the water column." (note that in the illustration above -- click to enlarge -- the subsurface oil plumes represented are nowhere near as massive as those being detected in the Gulf.)

The initial conservative estimate of oil volume being released from the wellhead following the British Petroleum disaster was roughly 5000 barrels of oil per day. The discovery of subsurface oil plumes raises the calculated rate of flow to between 25,000 to 80,000 barrels of oil per day. BP has consistently stonewalled appeals by independent oceanographers to sample and examine the actual flow at the well site.

In addition to oil contamination of the Gulf, adjacent beaches and wetlands, and both sea and land-dwelling wildlife, the dispersants being used by BP to break up oil into smaller particles are themselves contaminating the Gulf. Another effect has been the depletion of oxygen in the water. Since it takes oxygen a long time to circulate from the surface to the sea botttom (at the well site, a mile deep), we are face with the looming prospect of a dead zone of immense proportions (see sample map below).

The corporate and governmental shining lights, whose neglect and willful malfeasance have created this catastrophe, must be held accountable not only for the cleanup, but also for the restoration of both marine and shore habitat to its former state. Their decisions have been morally bankrupt and environmentally catastrophic. BP has promised to pay for all cleanup costs. I'm skeptical of the promise, since we're only beginning to understand the ongoing ripple effects of offshore drilling gone wrong. Corporate (BP, Transocean and Halliburton) and governmental agency (Minerals Management Service) behavior has been criminal, and fines are insufficient consequence. Prison time is called for, and let them drink crude oil-contaminated water with all their prison meals.

CIA DRONES / MONTANA WOLVES / MOVIES

CIA. "Under a secret program approved by this administration, you can now be killed by a CIA drone attack even if the agency can't verify you by name, or attest to your participation in extremism." So reports Jayne Lyn Stahl at the Huffington Post. She goes on to note that "in the past, the CIA was limited to taking out only those on an approved list, but now anyone 'deemed to pose a threat to the U.S.' is fair game, even if their identity is unknown."

The shock waves to my understanding of civil, criminal and military justice are seismic. To whom do we entrust the power of playing judge, jury and executioner, in the complete absence of evidence of wrong-doing? If I saw such a scenario in a book or movie, it would strain credulity. I'm no stranger to war, or Byzantine power politics, or human barbarity. That doesn't mean we should condone, much less participate in, the very terrorist acts we claim to be combatting. After all, we can't seem to get it right even with the minimal oversight of an approved list of targets for unmanned, missile-firing predator drones. An approved drone attack killed an American-born radical cleric in Yemen -- in effect, proving that the government can execute one of its own citizens far from a combat zone, with no judicial process and based on secret intelligence. The attack has roused debate, and rightfully so, regarding the legal and political limits of drone missile strikes.


















MONTANA WOLVES. For the first time since the once-endangered gray wolf was re-introduced to portions of the northern Rocky Mountains, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission is recommending that wolf populations actually be decreased by 8-20 percent. Last year in Montana was the first legal wolf season in decades, but for the region's hunters and ranchers, it didn't go far enough. They want the hunt quota to be increased dramatically, and unless public protest is loud enough, they may get their wish.

Historically, claims of predation on livestock have been exaggerated throughout the West. Even when substantiated, there are (or ought to be, as in Michigan) avenues for loss reimbursement from the Feds and from conservation groups. I find it troubling that just when these magnificent predators are reclaiming even a fraction of their former range, the blood lust of humans (notably hunters) won't let the wolves reach sustainable numbers. News flash -- the predator-prey relationship is dynamic and self-limiting. As natural prey numbers rise, so do those of predators. If predators overhunt their food resource, their own numbers dwindle, allowing prey populations to recover. The cycle has been well documented. It is noteworthy that only when humans interfere, slaughtering both predator and prey species and destroying their habitat, do things go haywire. They were here first. We are the interlopers. It is incumbent upon us to learn to coexist. We did not inherit the earth. We are the stewards of the earth, and all its creatures.

MOVIES. By chance, within the past few days I watched two powerful, transformative movies. The first was a paean to the generosity of the human spirit, Monsieur Ibrahim. This quiet, transcendent film explores the evolving relationship between a French Jewish orphan and an elderly Turkish Muslim storekeeper. It is an uplifting work of subtle art.

The second fim, The Stoning of Soraya M., takes the viewer to a much starker place in the human soul -- but no less real, for it is based on a true story, one instance among many thousands around the world. This is not an easy movie to watch, but it is one of the most important to appear in many years. We tend to view ourselves and our culture as civilized, living beyond the incomprehensible ancient laws which allow a woman or man to be legally stoned to death. Yet I believe that a mob mentality, and the capacity for grotesque murder, lie latent not only in every culture, but also in every individual. It only requires the right provocation at the right moment to turn any of us to the dark side. Most of us never experience that confluence, so consider ourselves immune. But just as every soldier never knows how he/she will respond until actually in combat, so every person never knows how he/she will respond to a gut-wrenching moral dilemma with no good choices, only bad ones. This is especially so when one surrenders ethical decisions to a religious, military or political authority figure.

OIL SPILL / MONSTER AIRPLANE

OIL SPILL. So why does it come as no surprise that the current Gulf of Mexico oil debacle, orchestrated by the geniuses who run British Petroleum, is turning into not merely an environmental train wreck, but also a political melodrama complete with corruption and ineptitude? On the corruption side, the Minerals Management Service routinely overruled its own staff biologists and engineers, not to mention Federal law, by allowing BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first acquiring permits from an agency that assesses the threat to endangered species. Do I smell large sume of money changing hands? Trips to the Bahamas for MMS officials, perhaps? Or is that just the stench of crude oil being spewed into the Gulf from a monumentally bungled drilling operation?

Speaking of spewing, it turns out (on the ineptitude side, or is it the CYA side) that estimates of the size of the oil leak by both BP and government officials were wildly inaccurate. Their figure of 5000 barrels per day grossly underestimates the actual flow, according to both oceanographers and environmental groups. (For reference, a barrel of crude oil holds 42 gallons.) Those same oceanographers and environmental groups have made themselves available for consultation ever since the initial April 20 explosion which released the leak, but have not been approached for advice. Is it just me, or does it seem like we should be gathering all the information we possibly can, when the subsurface oil reservoir now gushing out of control holds at least 50 million barrels of oil?

David Letterman has suggested (sarcastically) that we simply drain all the water from the Gulf and allow it to fill with oil. Anyone who needs an oil change can simply drive to the beach.

MONSTER AIRPLANE. In one of those viral urban myths that take on a life of their own on the Internet, photos of the Kalinin K-7, an experimental aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in the 1930s are making the rounds. The actual plane (see image above) was 91 feet long with a 173 foot wingspan, and was designed primarily for carrying passengers within the capacious airfoil itself, even though the bus-sized landing gear were said to house machine guns.

In the urban legend (see image below, click to enlarge), the craft bristles with a wild assortment of cannons and machine guns. Aerodynamically speaking, the weight of the ammunition alone would have been prohibitive, since the plane was constructed of heavy steel and had poor handling characteristics -- essentially flying like a brick. Proof lies in the fact that the prototype crashed on its second flight, due to structural failure of one of its twin tail booms.

CAT'S EYE NEBULA / HALO

Easily one of the most recognizable formations in the night sky, the Cat's Eye Nebula is normally seen through visible light telescopes as it appears in the image above. Today's APOD image shows a vast cloud of faint gaseous material, three light years across, surrounding the nebula. (Click on images to enlarge, and click on the links for further information.)

JAGUARS AND ARCHAEOPTERIX

JAGUARS. I'm not certain why it takes a quarter century for this sort of thing to make the news. As a student in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona in the mid-1980s, one of many debates concerning wildlife habitat was whether it was more effective to have many smaller areas of wilderness set aside for wildlife, or to have fewer, larger areas. (Subsequent research reveals that larger areas are more conducive, especially for migrating ungulates and for larger predators -- the more such areas, the better.) What was not questioned was the need for protected corridors for migrating between areas -- thus allowing a better mixing of the gene pool. A recent study not only confirms this principal, but notes that, at least in the case of big cats, it is entirely possible for human residents to accomodate themselves without undue disruption to the movement of feline predators. Big cats are, by and large, active nocturnally -- this is certainly true for the jaguars of Costa Rica and other Central American countries. With a little common sense and understanding, it is perfectly possible for humans and predators to coexist.

ARCHAEOPTERIX. Similarly, it is not news that the iconic fossil Archaeopterix represents a vital transitional link between dinosaurs and birds -- possessing jaws with sharp teeth, three fingers with claws, a long bony tail and ..... feathers. Now comes further evidence of the link to birds. Using hair-thin Xrays, researchers have mapped the body chemistry of Archaeopterix, confirming what fossilized bones and feathers had indicated. The film Jurassic Park had it right.

GLACIER PARK CENTENNIAL

On this day in 1910, Glacier became the eighth member of the National Park System. The movement to set aside areas of wilderness and natural beauty is well-documented in Ken Burns' series The National Parks: America's Best Idea. It was a bold venture, initiated by President Ulysses S. Grant when he proposed Yellowstone, the nation's first national park. The concept started a global trend. Currently there are 58 U.S. National Parks, along with numerous national military parks, historic parks, lakeshores, monuments, recreation areas, wild and scenic rivers, and nature preserves.

Glacier Park is unique -- together with Canada's Waterton Lakes National Park, the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park is the first of its kind in the world. Both sites are listed as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, and their union is a World Heritage Site.

Encompassing over 1 million acres, Glacier spans both sides of the continental divide. To the east of the Divide rainfall and glacial melt drain east and south into the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, thence to the Gulf of Mexico -- or, at Triple Divide Peak, east and north into the Saskatchawan River to Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean. (Montana is the only state in which this tripartite drainage occurs.) To the west, rivers run into the Columbia River basin and on to the Pacific Ocean. Glacier's natural habitats range from prairie, to alpine forests and lakes, to tundra. It is home to over 1100 plant species, 260 species of birds, and 54 species of mammals. It's signature U-shaped valleys flanked by rugged granite mountains were carved by the glaciers of the most recent ice age.

The remnant, eponymous glaciers have been shrinking drastically in recent decades. In my boyhood they numbered in the dozens, and were easily visible from one of the world's most spectacular scenic drives, Going To The Sun Road. Now, due to global warming, the size and numbers of intact glaciers are dwindling.

In the summer of 1962 I was one of a group of teenagers who set out on a week-long, 50 mile hike through the back country of Glacier (one of many camping trips into the Park during my youth). We waded icy glacier-fed streams, paused at mountain passes to behold heart-stopping views seen by few others, and encountered a sampling of Glacier's wildlife -- mountain goats, grizzly bears, Canadian Lynx, and more. And, we traversed one of the smaller glaciers in the park, at a spot where one misstep would send the hiker sliding inexorably down a steep snow-and-ice slope into the frigid waters of the lake below.

Since those days I've traveled the continent, and enjoyed many other national parks. Glacier will always remain among my three favorites -- the centerpiece in the "Crown of the Continent" ecosystem. (Click on images to enlarge.)

LENA HORNE 1917-2010

Initially because her face allowed her to pass as white in a racist society, Lena Horne became the first black performer to be signed by a major Hollywood studio. She went on to become one of the most successful blues and jazz singers in the world. Her dazzling smile and sultry voice charmed listeners, especially when she performed Cole Porter songs.

During WWII, she took a courageous stand in refusing to perform for segregated audiences at USO shows, leading to her being blacklisted for a time. Her convictions remained firm, and she became very active in the civil rights movement.

She was also the first black person to buy a home in then-segregated Hollywood, using a white acquaintance as an intermediary. When her new neighbors found out, they initiated a petition to prevent her taking up residence -- an effort foiled by another resident, Humphrey Bogart, who raised so much hell with the petitioners that they dropped the whole thing.

A woman of talent and principle, Lena Horne was a trailblazer for generations of black singers and actors, and an inspiration to the world. Here's a brief sample of her talent.

LAS MUERTAS DE JUAREZ

"As a result of NAFTA -- The North American Free Trade Agreement -- corporations from all over the world have built factories in Mexico along the U.S. border. Taking advantage of cheap labor and no tariffs, these companies manufacture goods at low cost to be sold in the United States. In Juarez, where there are about 1000 of these factories called maquitadoras, every three seconds a television is produced, every seven seconds, a computer.

"The maquitadoras hire mainly young women because they work for lower wages and complain less about the long hours and harsh working conditions. Most maquitadoras operate 24 hours a day. Many women are attacked while traveling to and from work in the late night and early morning. The companies provide no security for the workers."

~~ prologue from the film "Bordertown"

In point of fact, the situation for maquitadoras workers is one of desperation -- violence, rape, and murder. Femicide, the killing of women, is an epidemic. At least 400 women have been confirmed abducted and killed, with another 5000 missing and presumed dead. I first learned of this horror when I read Diane Washington Valdez' expose "The Killing Fields: Harvest of Women." While her coverage (courageous since she put her own life at risk in gathering information) is set in Ciudad Juarez, this barbaric behavior repeats itself all along the border.

Official crossing points between Mexico and the U.S. generally feature pairs of cities across the border from each other -- e.g., (California) Tijuana and Tijuana, Mexicali and Calexico; (Arizona) Nogales and Nogales, Agua Prieta and Douglas; (Texas) Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Nuevo Laredo and Laredo, Matamoros and Brownsville. It is at these sister ci

ties where most maquitadoras are clustered. And it is at these same cities on the Mexican side where violence against women workers is concentrated. (see map above, click to enlarge)

Most workers are recruited from central and southern Mexico. There is a pattern of collusiion between the factories and the governments of the U.S. and Mexico. The Mexican government has appropriated land belonging to many rural and small town families, forcing the residents to seek employment elsewhere to feed, clothe and educate their children. They emigrate north, to the border maquitadoras as well as across the border into the U.S. in search of simple survival. Thus the Mexican government establishes a de facto perpetual supply of young women workers to border factories, and the U.S. government clamps a lid on journalists who would publicize the situation and jeopardize relations between the two countries. Local Mexican police making little or no effort to intervene. It has taken brave journalists and human rights organizations like Amnesty International to shine the light of day on this brutal aspect of capitalism. Yet the rapes and murders continue, the bodies left in shallow graves in the desert.

I believe that if more flag-waving xenophobic conservatives who rail against illegal immigrants knew the fuller human story, their opinions might soften. But perhaps not. Even though we are all immigrants, it is always the last ones in who want to close the door on those still outside. Free trade? No, slave trade. Hypocrisy, thy name is patriotism.

MORALITY / IMMIGRATION / FOX NEWS

MORALITY. As delineated in Wikipedia, morality has several fundamental components:

1. Descriptively, morality refers to personal or cultural values, codes of conduct, or social mores that distinguish between right and wrong in human society. This usage is expressed in a system of beliefs.

2. Normatively, morality refers directly to what is right or wrong, regardless of what people think. This usage is expessed as separate and distinct from the beliefs of a given time or place, superceding those beliefs with the conduct of an ideal moral person in a given situation.

3. Situationally, morality refers to the philosophical examination of particular issues in private or public life that are matters of moral judgment. This usage is expressed in the application of moral or ethical codes to the real world.

4. Psychologically, morality refers to how moral capacity or moral agency develops, and what its nature is, which verges into meta-ethics, the philosophical discussion of what defines the concept of good or bad.

All of which is prologue to an article by Sam Harris (author of The End of Faith), titled "Toward A Science Of Morality. The article is noteworthy in that it removes the definition of morality from control by any political or religious group, and posits that morality can (and must) be arrived at through rational examination and testing. It is a provocative read.

IMMIGRATION. With regard to Arizona's notorious "Show Me Your Papers" immigration law, in previous posts I've pointed out both the inherent racism and the inherent abrogation of federal powers by the state. There is another, equally insidious consideration. Greg Palast points out that Arizona Republicans are terrified that growing numbers of Latino registered voters may threaten their stranglehold on state politics -- and thus are resorting to their own form of state-sponsored terrorism by making life so miserable for Latinos (both legal residents and illegal immigrants) that they hope to stimulate a Latino exodus from the state. There is evidence that their rotten tactic is working, at least superficially. News reports document that many neighborhoods once occupied by immigrant Latino families are seeing more and more "For Sale" signs popping up, as those families seek a more tolerant cultural climate in neighboring states. One hopes that most Latinos will stick it out, and stick it to the Republicans in future elections for such heinous behavior, even more amoral and insulting to the electorate than the practice of gerrymandering.

FOX NEWS. Finally, delightfully, here is a video clip of Detroit Mayor Virg Bernero ripping into a Fox News anchor over the network's complicity in its selective "reporting" (aka commentary) on conservative issues in Washington and on Wall Street. It's far past time that more people grew a pair, and started challenging the irrational, reactionary and inflammatory editorializing that is the hallmark of the Fox organization. Oh look, the emporer is wearing no clothes !! Tell it like it is, Virg.

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, and just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear,

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I marked the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

CANCER RISK MAP

This is a very brief post, but an important one. Above you can see a national map showing the risk for cancer, broken down by states and counties. No one is totally immune from risk, since there are both environmental and genetic components to the disease. Still, if you live in one of the darker blue or black counties ..... give serious thought to getting the hell out !!! (Click on images to enlarge)

Below you will find graphic breakdowns of the most common cancers, among men and women respectively.

LABELS / OIL / SEX

LABELS. This was a rather pleasant surprise to me -- a recent poll found that, when presented with an array of words which summarize a range of political values, Americans respond more favorably to the word "progressive" than to the word "capitalism" -- and that this held true for Democrats, Independents and Republicans. It's probably too soon to tell if this is a hiccup response to the scandals on Wall Street, but it represents a tiny glimmer of hope in the face of the knee-jerk "throw the bums out" mood which the media claims has siezed the country. If indeed more people are gravitating toward electoral reform, environmental conservatism, pollution control, same-sex marriage, universal health care, affordable housing, elimination of the death penalty, renewable energy, and rational urban planning (in any combination), this can only be a good thing. Alas, it is only one poll. Call me a hopeful cynic.

OIL. In an interview on the PBS News Hour last night, venerable marine biologist Sylvia Earle pointed out the dangers posed by the Gulf oil spill, not only to humans and wildlife habitat along the coast, but also to the deep sea itself. From the surface to a depth of 300 feet the sea teems with life, an intricate web ranging from invisible plankton to fish, shellfish and marine mammals. For many species, including a number of endangered ones, this is the season for spawning young. Catastrophic decimation of marine populations may be inflicted not only by the surface oil slick, but also by tinier particles of oil broken down by chemical dispersants (and by the toxic dispersants themselves). And it's not as if this is a new threat. As Timothy Egan notes in his description of the Exxon Valdez spill in the Gulf of Alaska, "Amnesia is the American way."

SEX. Thanks to poet and essayist Jayne Lyn Stahl for turning me on (as it were) to the LiveScience website, and specifically to an article called "10 Surprising Sex Statistics". Of the ten, I was intrigued (though not surprised) by numbers 5 and 4, and genuinely surprised by number 3 -- which I thought would be significantly higher. Hmm.

CINCO DE MAYO 2010

Today is a day for celebrating Mexican heritage and pride. Cinco de Mayo is not, as some mistakenly think, Mexico's Independence Day -- that happens on September 16. Rather, the holiday comemorates the Mexican army's victory over occupying French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. The battle did not end the war, but it marked a turning point in the resolve and cohesiveness of Mexican resistance to the occupation.

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated primarily in the Mexican state of Puebla, and in the United States. I was exposed to Mexican/Latino culture (and Southwest Indian cultures as well) during my twenty years living in southern Arizona. Over the years I've experienced the holiday in other parts of the country, but nowhere is the celebration as colorful and meaningful as it is in the states bordering Mexico. Que fiesta !!

A note on the national flag of Mexico (see below) -- as currently interpreted, the field of green, white and red stands for hope, union, and the blood of heroes, respectively. The central emblem is the Aztec pictogram for Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City), the hub of the Aztec Empire. An eagle holding a serpent in its talon, perches atop a prickly pear cactus which is situated on a rock or island rising from a lake. The image derives from an Aztec legend in which their gods told them where to found the city.

I miss my Latino/Latina friends. I miss hearing Spanish every day. I miss the vibrant mix of border cultures. I miss the Sonoran Desert. While Tucson has grown to the point of potential urban claustrophobia for me, I would still love to be living nearby. Until then .... Feliz Cinco de Mayo !!

KENT STATE MASSACRE

On May 4, 1970, during the height of public protest over US involvement in the Vietnam War, a group of students gathered at Kent State University in Ohio to protest President Richard Nixon's recent escalation of the war by invading Cambodia. Members of the Ohio National Guard were sent by Governor James A. Rhodes to control the demonstration.

The gathering was the most recent in a series of protests, both at Kent State and nationwide. According to Rhodes, the protestors were un-American revolutionaries bent on destroying higher education in Ohio. He angrily compared them to brown shirts and communists.

Shortly after noon, a contingent of 77 National Guardsmen, wearing gas masks and with bayonets fixed to their rifles, advanced on a portion of the protest group. At first the students retreated and the Guardsmen followed. Then the Guardsmen halted, conferring in apparent indecision, and retraced their steps to the top of a rise, where they abruptly turned to face the students. 29 Guardsmen aimed their rifles and fired into the gathering of unarmed protesters, unleashing 67 rounds in 13 seconds. Four students were killed, and an additional nine were wounded. Here is a series of slides portraying that day's events in graphic detail. (Note: digital analysis of a sound recording from that day clarifies the unison of the guardsmen's halting, turning and firing -- they were responding to a command, presumably from an officer. This alters the event from firing in panic, to ordering premeditated murder.)

The Kent State killings provoked national outrage and mourning. A strike by 4 million students closed hundreds of universities, colleges and high schools nationwide, and public opinion was further polarized against the war. Poems were written, speeches made, and songs composed -- probably the most famous was Neil Young's anthem "Ohio" -- heard here.

I recall vividly the moment when I heard the news. I was living in Houston, TX, rooming with a married couple and their children -- the couple and I were attending a computer programming school. I pulled into the driveway on my green 1963 Triumph Bonneville, and the man whom I'd regarded as my friend came striding outside to gloat over the student massacre, saying words to the effect that all those protestors should be shot. I was stunned, mortified. My first coherent thought was, "We're killing our children."

Ours has always been a country of diverse opinions and conflicting views. The hallmark of a true democracy is the ability to debate those views respectfully, relying on reason and evidence, rather than rage and invective. In no instance is military or police violence justified (except in legitimate self-defense), whether during an antiwar rally, an anti-abortion demonstration, or a march over immigration policy. I still mourn that day, and that passage in our nation's history, when we lost any claim to innocence or rational discourse.

MUSIC / ASTRONOMY / POLITICS

Documentary on music. Last night while watching a DVD on the life of master guitarist Chet Atkins, I was reminded once more why he is one of my musical heroes. His smooth, relaxed mastery of the guitar is legendary among musicians, a style which became known as "the Nashville sound". In a career that spanned six decades, Chet developed a personal playing style which has been imitated by many, but never surpassed. His playing was as complex as that of the most intricate classical guitar. In addition to being an instrumentalist and vocalist, Chet became a producer in the 1960s, and was influencial in the performing careers of Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, the Everly Brothers, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Charlie Pride, Connie Smith, Bobby Bare, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, and John Hartford (among many others). Chet had a keen ear for original talent, and his generosity of spirit and personal modesty endeared him to musicians and audiences alike. (I was fortunate to attend one of Chet's concerts, at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, in 1990. The evening was nothing short of magic. Chet's self-deprecating humor and dazzling talent made for a heady mix. He passed away in 2001, and is sorely missed.)

Here are links to two video performances -- the first is a duet with one of Chet's proteges, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, playing Chet's first hit single "Yakkety Axe". The second is also with Mark, playing a medley which shows the instrumental talents of both guitarists.

Astronomy. From NASA's APOD website, a striking image of the sun viewed at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths (that band of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths just shorter than visible light), taken by a camera aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Check the APOD link for a fuller description of the image.

Politics. Things just keep getting more interesting in Arizona. A friend on Facebook noted that Christ would be arrested in Arizona based on his appearance (a prospect now faced by every non-white resident, unless the law is eventually found to be unconstitutional) -- "swarthy, walking in the desert, no money, no identification papers, long haired." Not to mention being accompanied by a dozen equally swarthy henchmen, all with no visible means of support, all speaking a foreign tongue, and all wearing huaraches (sandals). Kinda makes you think, "Hmmm .... "

TIMES SQUARE BOMB SCARE

Last night at Times Square in New York City, an amateur car bomb failed to detonate. A street vendor had noticed suspicous activity and smoke coming from a parked vehicle, and called police. The investigating officer called a bomb disposal unit, which discovered canisters of propane, cans of gasoline, fireworks and clocks with batteries. The bomb was successfully disarmed, and an immediate search for the suspect was launched by NYPD, the FBI, and US Homeland Security.

At the time of this writing, nothing is known about the would-be bomber or his/her motives. Already there is a blogstorm of speculation, calling for everything from restraint, to deportation of all non-citizens, to nuking suspected muslim terrorist strongholds.

So far I have not seen any mention of the possibility that this might be an act of domestic terrorism, similar to the Oklahoma City bombing, perpetrated by US citizens. This glaring omission is consistent with our culture's rampant xenophobia, as reflected in the recent "Show Me Your ID" law passed in Arizona. There is another word for xenophobia in our case -- racism. For a penetrating look into the slimy (and paranoid) Republican politics behind this law, check out this report.

Whether of domestic or foreign origin, terrorism is intolerable. What I find puzzling is the surprise and outrage expressed by flag-waving, militant "patriots" -- who seem to have no clue why so many in the world are sick and tired of American imperialism and war-mongering. As a thought experiment, let's turn the situation around. If another powerful country decided to invade US soil, whether to sieze control of a natural resource (as we did with oil), or to spread their idea of an ideal system of government (as we did with a rather twisted notion of democracy), or to spread their idea of an ideal system of economics (as we did with an even more twisted version of capitalism) -- would not US citizens rise up in revolt? Would they not attack the invaders at every opportunity, even carrying the war to the invader's home soil?

So why on earth should we pretend astonishment or shock when, after decades of mostly-Republican-sponsored intrusion and hegemony, other nations take exception? Athough the most powerful nation on earth militarily, we can no longer claim to be a beacon of morality, or even a beacon of freedom. Until the election of Barack Obama, every President since FDR (with the possible exception of Jimmy Carter) has espoused American supremacy, American manifest destiny, American superiority in all things material or philosophical. Of these leaders, the most egregious have been Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Bush -- all Republicans.

Is it mere coincidence that anti-American sentiment has been most vocal, sometimes most violent, during and immediately following the tenure of these men? Think about it. We invade Iraq, and in doing so create more opposition to the US, and by the way, many more terrorists. The subsequent 9-11 attacks were horrifying and tragic, but they were not only no surprise, they were preventable. The second Bush administration had the intelligence, had the resources, but failed to act. Rather, Bush and his cronies conspicuously hustled out of the country the very Saudi Arabian families who had financed the 9-11 attack. Black ops at their most insidious, with the added bonus (from the Bush perspective) of providing a pretext for an invasion of Afghanistan and a second Iraq invasion, creating yet more terrorists.

It is only the confluence of luck and geography that has prevented a subsequent attack on the US by Al-Qaeda or the Taliban. We remain vulnerable, however. Face it, no fences, no barbed wire, no racist laws are going to prevent any determined terrorist from entering this country. Our seaports are porous, with hundreds of thousands of cargo containers arriving and departing daily. Our land borders are equally porous. We might be able to make a small (and unjustifiable) dent in the influx of migrant workers from Mexico, but there are not enough human or technological resources in the country to prevent trained and determined terrorists from entering. The same holds true for our airports. Airport "security" in this country is a joke.

Besides, does this land of the free, home of the brave really want to descend into a siege mentality, hiding behind walls and guns?

A far more realistic and effective response would be to re-evaluate our assumptions about our place in the world. If we could learn to treat other nations and cultures with respect and tolerance, welcoming their views and lending assistance (with the participation of other developed countries) in education, food production, housing, water, transportation and other infrastructure, without imposing our economic, religious or political values upon their perfectly legitimate traditions, we would take the wind out of the sails of our detractors. Think Peace Corps, think any of a dozen United Nations relief efforts.

We are one nation in a world of equal nations. The sooner we start acting like it, the sooner we regain the respect and support of the rest of the globe. We had that respect and support immediately after World War II and after 9-11, and blew it immediately by turning into global bulllies. Who likes a bully? Yes, we must respond swiftly and decisively when attacked. And yes, we also prevent such attacks by adopting a more tolerant and humanitarian stance in international relations.

I'm just sayin'.

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

Seventy-nine years ago the Empire State Building in New York City was completed. At 1250 feet high, it stood as the world's tallest building for more than forty years, until the completion of the World Trade Center in 1972. After the tragic fall of the WTC in 2001, the Empire State Building once more became the tallest building in the city, though not the world. A flurry of global skyscraper construction in newly oil-rich nations has dwarfed (relatively) the ESB, so that now it is the fifteenth tallest building on Earth. (click on any image to enlarge)

The ESB retains a special place in my heart. When I first saw a picture of it in a third-grade geography book in 1956, I was enthralled. At the time I was attending a country school in Bynum, Montana -- two stories and three classrooms held the children in grades 1-8, all overseen by a visionary rancher and Renaissance man named Ira Perkins, the school principal. 'Twas he who insisted that rural kids become active in music, dance, gymnastics, and reading, in spite of a miniscule budget. He encouraged creativity and an unfettered imagination, balanced by firm but fair adherance to school rules. On one sunny winter's day during recess, as kids built snow forts and tunnels, and played fox-and-geese on a maze of paths through the snow, the sun was reflected off ten thousand white crystals on the ground. I was delighted, especially when Mr. Perkins told me that the points of light were snow fairies. That fanciful notion remains with me.

Those were idyllic times -- riding horses bareback in the warmer months, seeing herds of antelope leaping fences on the hillside near the school, listening to music and dramas on the radio (no TV back then), every moment a threshold of discovery. School was my oyster. I loved learning about the wider world, and still do. When I first visited New York City in the early 1990s, I was privileged to stand on the viewing platform atop the WTC south tower, with a 360 degree view of the city. Looking north up Manhattan, I easily picked out the Empire State Building -- a double thrill on a day of personal highs.