Chamblee54

This content was published September 1, 2013. … There was a feature in the Washington Post, 9 questions about Syria you were too embarrassed to ask. The WP is corporate media. The 9 questions had very little to say about Israel. This is curious. Israel is a powerful country that Syria is, technically, at war with. As conspiracy happy as the Middle East is, you would think there is something to say.
I did a search for Israel. Out of 2900 words in the article, Israel comes up twice. … “The Cold War is long over, and most of the region long ago made peace with Israel and the United States; the Assad regime’s once-solid ideological and geopolitical identity is hopelessly outdated. But Bashar al-Assad, who took power in 2000 when his father died, never bothered to update it.” · “Iran’s thinking in supporting Assad is more straightforward. It perceives Israel and the United States as existential threats and uses Syria to protect itself, shipping arms through Syria to the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and the Gaza-based militant group Hamas.”
As is often the case online, the comments are more revealing than the main article. · “You also left out the threat that Iran has made about using nuclear arms against Israel if the US intervenes in Syria. Israel is being used as a pawn in this stupid game of chess.” · “Regarding the chemical weapon attack, only two options appear to be being considered – that it was the Syrian Regime or the Opposition forces that discharged the weapon. What about the third alternative – that an outside force such as Mossad (Israel) or the Iranians discharged these weapons … to provoke the United Sates into retaliation and involvement.” · “… the rebels opposing Assad are not all civilians who took up arms; … most of them are former Syrian soldiers who deserted to join the rebels. And seriously, if you think that “most of the region long ago made peace with Israel and the United States”, you lose all credibility in writing about “the region” – you’re blinded by your love for Israel and don’t understand anything about the Arabs …”
Pictures are from Georgia State University Library. The social media picture was taken in 1946. “University of Georgia girls playing baseball, Athens, Georgia.” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah

This content was published June 7, 2016. … By now, most internetters know about the Brock Turner case. The Victim Impact Statement has gone viral. The 7140 words of polemic were probably not written by the accuser, known as Emily Doe. The statement is intended to motivate the court to give the defendant a more severe sentence. It was not intended to tell the truth. Was the statement made under oath? Was it subject to cross examination? How did it get such wide distribution?
The statement seems to disconnect from the truth. “I called myself “big mama”, because I knew I’d be the oldest one there. I made silly faces, let my guard down, and drank liquor too fast not factoring in that my tolerance had significantly lowered since college.” In contrast, the Stanford Daily reports: “Doe confirmed that she had previously experienced four to five blackouts in college as a result of drinking. Asked by Kianerci if the Jan. 18 blackout was different from prior ones, Doe said, “In previous blackouts I have never been half-naked outside.”
There does seem to be a bit of alcohol privilege here. Miss Doe went to a party, and got blackout drunk. (“Alice King — a supervising criminalist for Santa Clara County — … estimated that the Doe and Turner’s blood alcohol content (BAC) levels at 1 a.m. would have been .242 to .249 and .171, respectively.”) While at the party, Miss Doe was seen dancing with, and kissing, Mr. Turner. She then left the party with Mr. Turner. Emily Doe trusted a drunken stranger to get her home safely.
This is not an excuse for what Mr. Turner did. He should have known that she was not capable of consent. However, for an adult to go to a party, get blackout drunk, and assume that she would be able to get home safely … this is extreme privilege. In the Victim Impact Statement Miss Doe denies any responsibility: “Campus drinking culture. That’s what we’re speaking out against? You think that’s what I’ve spent the past year fighting for? Not awareness about campus sexual assault, or rape, or learning to recognize consent. Campus drinking culture. Down with Jack Daniels. Down with Skyy Vodka. If you want talk to people about drinking go to an AA meeting. You realize, having a drinking problem is different than drinking and then forcefully trying to have sex with someone? Show men how to respect women, not how to drink less.” (Force was apparently not a factor in the January 18, 2015, incident. It is tough to say who started the fooling around.)
The Stanford Daily had another tidbit, that has gotten little publicity. Craig Lee, a forensic biologist at the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office, “discovered a mixture of at least two individuals’ DNA on the underwear’s waistband. The DNA present in larger amounts matched with Doe, while the DNA present in smaller amounts did not seem to match with Turner, assuming that it represented the DNA of only one person.”
The assault on Miss Doe was wrong, and should be punished. However, it should be noted: “Turner stated that that he took off the victim’s underwear, fingered her vagina and touched her breasts. He said that he never took his pants off, that his penis was never exposed and that he did not penetrate the alleged victim’s vagina with his penis.” While Emily Doe suffered a devastating attack, she was not at risk of pregnancy, or contracting an STI.
There is a double standard here. Many comments about the attack mention “my daughters.” People seem to be defending the damsel in distress … even when she got to the .249% percent distress on her own. Her Victim Impact Statement goes on, and on, and on about her psychological problems after the incident. If a man was attacked while passed out, and he were to issue a victim statement about his hurt fee fees, then he would be laughed out of the courtroom.
Men and Women get robbed and beaten, while intoxicated, all the time. It is commonsense that if you go to an alcohol use facility, and get drunk, then you are in danger of being a victim later. This is especially true if someone is driving while drunk. (If a person is in an accident after drinking in a bar, the bar is liable for damages. Maybe a similar law for sexual assault is in order.) If a person goes to a bar, and gets robbed on their way home, they are seen as contributing to their own victimhood. Should sexual assault, where apparently the woman was not taken by force, be different?

This content was published September 10, 2019. … UCSB Alumna Chanel Miller Comes Forward As Emily Doe was the slow-news-day headline. The lady saw a payday coming out, and decided to publicize her book. The public reaction has been tepid. Maybe people have been outraged out.
@chamblee54 “My first reaction to the impact statement was that the victim did not write it. At the very least, she had help.” There is nothing wrong with using a ghost writer. The story belongs to the person who is telling it. However, some supporters of Miss Miller were offended by the suggestion. @VioletOlivine “There are many folks who have read and interacted with her work far before her survivor statement was published. I don’t know if you’ll be able to take my word for it since you can’t take hers.” This presupposes that Chanel Miller is the she we speak of.
“Totally written by Michelle Dauber.” The discussion had gone on for a while. I had never heard of Michelle Dauber. It seems as though she is a leader in the successful effort to recall Judge Aaron Persky. A bit of googling turns up a few tidbits about @mldauber.
“Dauber’s opponents, however, often speculate that the recall was an act of revenge because of her friendship with Emily Doe’s family. After Doe penned a … letter to Turner that quickly went viral, critics suggested Dauber had been the author. Dauber flatly rejected that accusation, and dismissed the notion that she’s out for personal revenge as “so ridiculous it doesn’t even deserve a response.”
“Stanford University law professor Michele Dauber is one of the leaders of the recall campaign. Dauber is a friend of the victim’s and was in the courtroom for Turner’s sentencing. She’s an outspoken on-campus activist who has helped push through more stringent sexual harassment and abuse reporting and investigation policies. Dauber also is an adept Democratic fundraiser who has organized a well-financed recall campaign with glossy mailers juxtaposing photos of Persky with President Trump and Turner’s booking mug shot.”
@onionringslut “chanel miller deserves to be @TIME person of the year. you can’t change my mind.” @mldauber “YES.” The twitter feed of Ms. Dauber has enthusiastically supported Chanel Miller. This would indicate that Chanel Miller is, in fact, Emily Doe. Rape shield laws protect the exact identity of the victim, and a big payday awaits. This would seem to be an opportunity for a fake Emily Doe to step in. However, Michelle Dauber is acknowledged to be a friend of Emily Doe. Her support of the upcoming book would seem to confirm the authenticity of Ms. Miller’s claim.
Researching this post turned up a tweet from this law professor at Stanford University. @mldauber “Hitler had lawyers. Loads of them. And everything that his government did had a busy beehive of lawyers working away on making sure it was all done legally. The same legal profession that blessed the Third Reich is blessing Trump now. Lawyers serve power not the people.”
Chamblee54 has written about Brock Turner before. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Gordon Parks took the social media picture in June 1942. Washington, D.C. Construction workman … Michele Dauber has deleted her twitter account under suspicious circumstances. She seems to be a controversial figure. ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah

This content was published October 6, 2008. … I made it back from the Fall Gathering, and knew, as Dorothy had before me, that there is no place like home. The Gathering was a delight…fabulous food, visual delights, mountain air … but returning to indoor plumbing was equally festive. The yellow jackets swarming on the porch, at lunch, will not be missed. How anyone could admire such a vile animal is tough to understand. … I did learn a thing or two this week. Setting your camera to a lower resolution will get you more pictures, but they will not be nearly as good. While this will provide plenty of editing fodder, sometimes you catch a good image, and wish for quality.
There is a formula for writing. It is ass plus chair. A lady told me that, about having the patience to move beyond blog posts into longer work. I got to talk to her because I asked permission before taking her picture. … When you walk in on a acting workshop, you are in danger of being cussed out. The fact that you did not know the playback theater was in progress does not matter. You will go the rest of the week wondering what it was you walked in on. When you are a veteran of Faerie Gatherings, you learn to take these things in stride.
When you leave a tent open with food inside, a goat might go inside and look for a snack. If you have your camera ready, it can be a photo opportunity. The goats did appreciate the weeds that I fed them. There was a stone staircase that had fallen into disrepair, and I spent Friday pulling weeds off the stones. This is a place where men are men, and the goats are happy. … Friday night, there was an Indian dinner prepared by Frenchmen. Somebody took the kitchen and turned it into a Belle Epoque nightclub, and took a long time talking it up at the dinner circle.
Finally you get inside, walk past the can can dancers, and get your meal. I thought it all a bit much, so I went to the fire outside, and talked to a young man. After a while, I went back to the kitchen, and joined the chorus dancing to “Save all your love for me”. Life is good. Late Saturday afternoon, I was bored before dinner, until I saw a drum without a fresh handprint. Drumming is tough to do wrong, and takes almost no practice. The energy was soon there, through another fabulous meal, more drumming, and a techno dance. At one point a burst of synthetic basstones formed a lightening bolt that ignited the lumbar region. At that moment, I was no longer in control.
This content was published October 8, 2008. … During the debates, JSM has repeatedly touted Nuclear Power as a solution to our energy needs. Perhaps this talk needs a second look. There is a lot of money involved in Nuclear Energy. The plants are very expensive to build. There is a lot of potential for profit, and opportunities for moneylenders to earn interest. With this much at stake, it is not unreasonable to think that someone is paying JSM to promote Nukes. The capital intensive nature of Nukes brings up another problem. Nuclear Power=Big Government With billions of dollars invested, the banks are going to make sure they get a return on their investment.
With this much money involved, Big Government is going to get involved. The safety issue is also a factor. Yes, Nuclear Power is safe. However, there is a need for constant oversight. The potential for disaster is immense. The process needs to be heavily regulated. With the companies trying to show a profit, the temptation to cut corners, and bribe the regulators, is going to be there. With global … and potentially domestic … terrorism a fact of life, the nuclear fuel needs to be constantly watched. Again, this is a job for Big Government.
While Nukes are nominally safe if handled properly, the potential for disaster is huge. There are stories of materials so toxic, that a mass the size of a softball could give the world cancer. While the systems can work well, the potential for corruption, corner cutting, and old fashioned human error cannot be forgotten. … Did someone say that Nuclear Power is expensive? Money is not the only scarce commodity required in bulk by Nukes. Water is also required in vast quantities for a Nuclear Power Plant to operate. The energy from a nuclear reaction is converted into electricity by boiling water to power steam turbines.
This is the same steam technology that has been used since the start of the industrial revolution. The nuclear reaction produces vast amounts of heat, which water is used to cool. With water an increasingly scarce commodity, the allocation of vast amounts for a Nuclear Power plant must be questioned. … It should be noted at this point that I am not a scientist. I am just a slacker with internet access. It is also true that coal fired power plants have horrendous environmental issues, and pump millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. I honestly don’t know what the answer is.
I recently spent a week at a community with solar power. There were constant reminders to use the juice sparingly. I tried to recharge my cell phone, and the system was not strong enough to do so. While solar can reduce the dependence on “the grid”, it is not going to completely replace it. But then, maybe we could do well to use less energy. We have gotten spoiled, like the man who wants an emerald green lawn in October. We can live simply, so that others can simply live.
This content was published September 25, 2009. … Sometimes, the “legitimate” newspapers make the tabloids look tame. Blogs can cover both “real” news and tabloid trash with equal lack of profits. … The mayor of East Cleveland (presumably in Ohio) is a man named Gary Brewer. He is in an election, and somehow pictures of him in drag have been inflicted on the population. The man is too ugly to be seen in public, no matter what gender his clothing was intended for.
Mackenzie Phillips was promoting a book on the Oprah Winfrey show. Miss Phillips opened her mouth, and her lips moved. A sordid tale of incest and drug abuse came forth. … One night, Papa John said to honor Mama Cass by making a ham sandwich. … Mackenzie’s step mother, Michelle Phillips, said that Mackenzie was probably lying. Michelle Phillips had previously sent a letter to People magazine, where she expressed the hope that Papa John’s attempt at rehab number nine would work better than the previous eight. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Russell Lee took the social media picture in October 1939. “Main building at trailer park containing cafe and grocery. North Beach section, Corpus Christi, Texas” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah