Tuesday, February 27, 2007

More on the Astroturfing for Redress mess

I posted about this hoax earlier. Here's more.

Chickenhawk Express: Appeal for Redress Member Admits to War Crimes

One of the anti-war soldiers was Sgt Ronn Cantu. Cantu is not exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to his anti-war views. He started the website SoldierVoices.net. You can visit this link and read his gushing about getting interviewed for 60 Minutes and his "kiss on the cheek" from Lara Logan.Sgt. Cantu is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and has published several articles on the Net about his experiences in Iraq. Believe it or not he claims to have been a Bush-supporting conservative until he experienced the war while in Iraq. Cantu even had a Jimmy Massey moment according to his article "The Death of a Pro-War Conservative -or- The Day I got Away with Murder"...
You'll have to read the rest. The take-away:
We've got Marines being called "cold blooded murderers" by Murtha but here is an anti-war soldier admitting to killing an innocent civilian (knowingly) and to firing his weapon indiscriminately at homes and animals. Where's the outrage over this? Where's PETA? Where's Murtha? Have you noticed that most of the soldiers that speak out publicly about their anti-war views have an "I shot an innocent civilian at a checkpoint" type of story?
You can listen to for Appeal for Redress front man average Navy volunteer PO3 Jonathan Hutto on Between the Lines this afternoon.

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Let's look for the root causes


Smoke bomb thrown into Jewish kindergarten in Berlin
BERLIN (EJP)--- A tragedy was avoided on Sunday after a smoke bomb, thrown through a window of a Jewish kindergarten in Berlin, failed to ignite.

However, the school, located in a northwest neighbourhood of the German capital, was not spared by the spray painting of swastikas, other Nazi symbols and anti-Semitic phrases, such as “Auschwitz,” “Juden Raus” (Jews, get out) and “Sieg Heil”, on its outer walls, as well as on toys that had been lying around in the school’s playground.
Not translated in the picture above is "Scheiss Juden," which means "Jewish shit." The only appropriate response to this is Jewish guns.

Meanwhile, in Merrie Olde England:
LONDON (EJP)--- Police in London are appealing for information about a brutal anti-Semitic attack committed by three teenage thugs armed with baseball bats and rocks in one of the city’s most vibrant Jewish neighbourhoods.
Why any Jews would stay in Europe is beyond me.

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Sunday, February 25, 2007

No show today

It's the last Sunday in February, time for the annual Black History Month special program. I'll be back next week.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Astroturfing for Redress

Jonathan Hutto first caught my attention on January 27th, before I knew who he was. His rant on imperialism at an anti-war rally in Washington made me wonder why he was in the Navy.

As it turns out, he is a career activist. Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette has the details. NewsBusters has more, as does Media Lies.
When Hutto graduated from Howard, he worked for the ACLU and then for Amnesty International. Hutto has expressed disdain for President Bush, stating "[Bush's] agenda is not only anti African/African American, but anti-labor, anti-woman, anti-environment and anti-human rights", has called the Iraq war "illegal" and the United States "imperialist". According to Hutto, he joined the Navy (a very odd decision for a longtime anti-war activist) to start a new life.

Hutto is featured on Between the Lines this week promoting his Appeal for Redress web site. Don't expect BTL to give details about the muscle behind the movement. Their introduction to the interview:

Navy Petty Officer Jonathan Hutto, along with Liam Madden, were the initiators of this effort. Hutto served on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Iraq from September 2005 to March 2006. Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Officer Hutto, who explains how the Appeal for Redress began and how non-military opponents of the war can support their brothers and sisters in the armed forces to bring the war to an end and support veterans once they come home.

I haven't heard the interview yet, but it's likely Hutto's story is rather creative.

The site is registered to J.E. Glick, of 803 North Main Street, Goshen, Indiana.
A quick check of online white pages reveals that's the address of The Fourth Freedom Forum. (You can also read about the group here).
This would seem to confirm the point in the Sun story quoted above:
A staff member at Fenton Communications who requested anonymity said his company was approached last week by a longtime peace activist and former director of the anti-nuclear proliferation front known as SANE/Freeze, David Cortright, to
publicize Appeal for Redress. Mr. Cortright is now president of an Indiana-based nonprofit group, the Fourth Freedom Forum And Jennifer Glick (J.E. Glick), actual "owner" of the Appeal for Redress web site, is listed in the Fourth Freedom Forum contact page as Director, Information Services.
The Fourth Freedom Forum's opposition to war pre-dates Iraq and Afghanistan.
They are a well funded, very professional organization. But the group is not listed among the sponsoring organizations on the Appeal for Redress web page. (Those groups are Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and Veterans For Peace.)

More on Hutto and Cortright here.

The idea that an active duty sailor could independently decide to speak out, despite a military culture that considers it verboten to do so, is startling. So who is Jonathan Hutto? A courageous man standing against the machine? Not exactly. Hutto is led, supported, financed and promoted by longtime anti-war activists, chief among them Mr. Cortright.

Things are not always what they appear. In this case, it becomes obvious that the left's "grassroots" effort is every bit as disingenuous as commercial "astroturfing."

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Friday, February 23, 2007

Hell Yeah! Goalie Fight!

Sabres vs. Senators. Best hockey fight this season. Now if we could only get Senators Clinton & Obama to put on the skates & sweaters.

Well-fed rats


The Gothamist reports on the New York TV news swarm upon the discovery of rats in a Taco Bell-KFC location on Sixth Avenue at 4th Street. I'm shocked, shocked to see rats in a New York restaurant!


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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Pass the popcorn please

JammieWearingFool reports on a nasty battle shaping up between the Pantsuit and the Prophet.
A nasty battle between the two leading Democrat hopefuls in 2008 has erupted and there's nothing to do but stand back and enjoy the fireworks.

Barack Obama hit the Hollywood circuit last night and then the war of words erupted.
Woohoo! I love it when they eat their own.

Jewish Music Cafe: ANDY STATMAN and His Trio

ANDY STATMAN and His Trio
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24th
DOORS AT 8:30pm $18

Jewish Music Cafe
401 9th street (btw. 6th 7th ave.)
Park Slope Brooklyn
more info at http://www.jewishmusiccafe.com

(Hat tip: Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn)

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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Prisoner of War


I posted earlier about the state of war between the rats and me. Yesterday I caught my first prisoner. She was a female with what appeared to be a broken back. I don't know how she was injured. She was sitting on the floor, shaking, either too scared or in too much pain to move. I put her in a cage with some food, water and a towel for nesting. She died a few hours later.

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Monday, February 19, 2007

The false incitement campaign as reflected in Syrian cartoons


Cartoons and more.
Anti-Semitic expressions in the Syrian media as part of the false incitement campaign about the earthworks at the Mugrabim Ramp in Jerusalem. This is yet another example of anti-Semitic incitement in Syrian government-controlled media. The Syrian regime makes no distinction between anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic incitement.
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Birds

Temperature: 11°F

While I was watching the large breakfast crowd this morning, I caught a flash of brilliant red in the bush. Mr. Cardinal was in the neighborhood, and much to my delight, landed on the snow. He flew away quickly, but almost immediately after I received another surprise: a large patch of rust in the bush. Robins don't usually hang out near the feeder, but for some reason there was one today.

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Sunday, February 18, 2007

Playlist, February 18, 2007

Set One
John Hicks; The Things We Did Last Summer; Sweet Love of Mine (2006 JazzDepot)
The Leonisa Andizzone Quartet; Anthropology; Afraid of the Heights (2006 Ardijenn)
Chad Rager Groove; Squid Cakes; 21st Century Groove (2006 Strokeland)
Reuben Wilson; Wait A Minute; Movin' On (2006 Savant)
Ken Nordine; Cat and Bird Blues; A Transparent Mask (2001 Asphodel)
Ondar; Kargyraa Rap; Back Tuva Future (1999 Warner Bros.)
Neville Brothers; Fever; Live at Tipitina's (1999 Rhino)
[mic break 10:40 a.m.]

Set Two
Count Basie; Seventh Avenue Express; Brand New Wagon (1990 BMG)
Art Tatum; Tea For Two; The Complete Capitol Recordings Volume 1 (Capitol)
Stan Getz & the Oscar Peterson Trio; Ballad Medley; Stan Getz & the Oscar Peterson Trio (1958 Verve)
Oscar Peterson; Teach Me Tonight; Oscar Peterson and the Bassists (1977 Pablo)
Oscar Peterson; Teach Me Tonight; Oscar Peterson and the Bassists (1977 Pablo)
[mic break 11:17 a.m.]

Set Three
Oscar Peterson Jam; Perdido; The Jam Sessions (Montreux '77 various artists) (1977 Pablo)
Dizzy Gillespie Jam; Here 'Tis; The Jam Sessions (Montreux '77 various artists) (1977 Pablo)
Count Basie Jam; Freeport Jump; The Jam Sessions (Montreux '77 various artists) (1977 Pablo)
[mic break 11:48 a.m.]

Set Four
Dizzy Gillespie; Cool Eyes; Diz Big Band (1954 Verve)
Dizzy Gillespie; Confusion; Diz Big Band (1954 Verve)
Dizzy Gillespie; Pile Driver; Diz Big Band (1954 Verve)
Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Orchestra; Con Alma; Dizzy's Business (2006 MDG jazz)
Mingus Big Band; Wham Bam; Live in Tokyo (2006 Sue Mingus)
Mingus Big Band; Opus Four; Live in Tokyo (2006 Sue Mingus)
[mic break 12:31 p.m.]

Set Five
Mingus Big Band; Celia; Live in Tokyo (2006 Sue Mingus)
The Ed Palermo Big Band; Dwarf Nebula Processional March & Dwarf Nebula; Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance (2006 Cuneiform)
Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Orchestra; Blue "N Boogie; Dizzy's Business (2006 MDG jazz)
Jeff Baker; Billie's Bounce; Shopping for Your Heart (2007 Origin Arts)
Jeff Baker; In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning; Shopping for Your Heart (2007 Origin Arts)
Andrew Distel; The Window Across the Way; Stepping Out of a Dream (2007)
The Bobs; Through the Wall; The Bobs (1983 Kaleidoscope)
[mic break 1:18 p.m.]

Set Six
Jeff Baker; All Blues; Shopping for Your Heart (2007 Origin Arts)
Wycliffe Gordon; Shhh!!! (The Band is Trying to Play); Cone's Coup (2006 Criss Cross Jazz)
Kenny Garrett; Tsunami Song; Beyond the Wall (2006 Nonesuch)
Yonder Mountain String Band; Girlfriend is Better; Mountain Tracks Volume 4 (2006 Frog Pad)
[2:00 p.m.]

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Friday, February 16, 2007

Let's Learn about Other Countries

Yes, it's really the title of a book published in Korea.
This book, in the form of a comic book, introduces 8 keywords that will help understand the way Americans think and act, such as Constitution, election system, 50 states under 1 federal government, and the power of Jews.

Great choice for anyone who wants a fun-to-read, informative book to help better understand everything about Americans!
Here are some pictures and translations. This one sums it up.

I get it...the Jooos control everything. I didn't realize Der Stürmer published in Korea.

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Thursday, February 15, 2007

State of war

A state of war now exists between the rats and me.

The upstairs rats are adorable pets for the wife & kids, but the downstairs rats are destructive beyond belief.

A couple of days ago I noticed water on my basement floor. I quickly figured out that it was coming from the condensate pump on the furnace. After making a call and finding out it was $99 for a tech to come out, I took a closer look at the pump. The drain tube leading from the furnace to the pump had been chewed away above the pump, no doubt by a varmint looking for a water supply. It was an easy repair, and I had the right tube on hand.

As Bugs Bunny (and Groucho Marx) was known to say, "Of course, you know, this means war."

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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Birds

Temperature 24°F
  • WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST THURSDAY
  • ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM EST THIS AFTERNOON, WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NO LONGER IN EFFECT
  • WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST THIS EVENING
Nasty weather, but it's not stopping the birds from visiting the feeding station.

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Just because you can doesn't mean you should

Robot plays Coltrane
Here we have a creepo, many-fingered Japanese robot playing John Coltrane's solo from "Giant Steps." Sure, he's got the chops, but just doesn't seem to capture the emotion of the piece. After the robots dominate the human race will they torture us with such lifeless renditions of all our once-sacred tunes?



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Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Birds

Temperature: 16°F, winter storm warning tonight.

The little gray songbirds are out in force today--several nuthatches are loading up on food, along with the chickadees and titmice.

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Monday, February 12, 2007

The Old Jewish Quarter of Nineveh/Mosul

A Jewish Chaplain from the 101st Airmobile Division discovers the old Jewish section of Mosul/Nineveh.
Climbing over the rotting garbage, I realized I was the first Jew to enter this holy place in over 50 years. I am writing to you from Nineveh, the city of the prophet Jonah. Its present name is Mosul. I have had the privilege of seeing its ancient walls, of touching its stones, of going to the grave. Islamic tradition says is the prophet Jonah’s. There is a mosque at the site; but hundreds of years ago, the Iraqis we work with tell me, it was a synagogue. They tell me the reason the site is so sacred is because of the sacredness in which the Jews held it. Presently, there are no signs of this ancient synagogue.

Hat tip: Kesher Talk

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Playlist, February 11, 2007

Set One
Grateful Dead; Weather Report Suite; Dick's Picks 14 (1999 Grateful Dead Productions)
Renaissance; Things I Don't Understand; Turn of the Cards (1974 Sire)
Dar Williams; Comfortably Numb; My Better Self (2005 Razor & Tie)
Bethany & Rufus; Samson and Delilah; 900 Miles (2006 Hyena)
Coinrag Herwig; Seven Steps to Heaven; Sketches of Spain y Mas (2006 Half Note)
[mic break 10:57 a.m.]

Set Two
Dave Holland Big Band; Happy Jammy; Overtime (2005 Dare2)
Eliane Elias; Nostalgia in Times Square; Everything I Love (2000 Blue Note)
The Persuasions; Ain't No Sunshine; A Cappella Dreams (2003 Chesky)
Ellas Fitzgerald; Night and Day; The Cole Porter Songbook vol. 2 (1984 Polygram)
Bob Dylan; Rainy Day Women #12 & 35; The Best of (2005 Columbia)
Dr. John; It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing; Duke Elegant (2000 Blue Note)
Tonty DeSare; Kiss; Last First Kiss (2007 Telarc)
Lou Lanza; Break On Through; Opening Doors (2004)
[mic break 11:44 a.m.]

Set Three
West Montgomery; Twisted Blues; Impressions of Paris (2000 Recall)
Jackie McLean; I Can't Get Started With You; Nature Boy (2000 Blue Note)
Coleman Hawkins; April in Paris;
Chick Corea; Tones for Joan's Bones; The Best Of (1993 Blue Note)
Hendrick Meurkens; I Can't Get Started With You; New York Samba Jazz Quintet (2007 Zoho)
[mic break 12:26 p.m.]

Set Four
Vic Juris; Dancing Shadows; Blue Horizon (2004 Zoho)
David Hazeltine; Somewhere; Modern Standards (2005 Sharp Nine)
Mike Dillon's Go-Go Jungle; The Blame Game; Battery Milk (2007 Hyena Records)
Dr. John; Caravan; Duke Elegant (2000 Blue Note)
Mike LeDonne; Could It Be I'm Falling In Love?; Mike LeDonne
Sonny Stitt; You Are The Sunshine of My Life; Work Done (2005 Highnote)
[mic break 1:23 p.m.]

Set Five
JC and the Jazz Hoppers; Our Delight; Chillin' at Home (2007Jazz-Hop)
Easy Star All-Stars; The Great Gig in the Sky; Dub Side of the Moon (2003 Easy Star)
Mothers of Invention; What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?; We're Only In It for the Money (1995 Rykodisc)
Stravinsky; The Augurs of Spring: Dance of the Young Girls (Le Sacre du Printemps); Michael Tilson Thomas/Sanfrancisco Symphony
Frank Zappa; Reagan at Bitburg; Civilization Phaze III (1993 Barking Pumpkin)
Grateful Dead; Stella Blue; Dick's Picks 14 (1999 Grateful Dead Productions)
[2:00 p.m.]

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Thursday, February 08, 2007

Separated at birth?



Morris O'Brian and Squidward Tentacles

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Birds

Temperature: 19°F. The air may be arctic, but the bright sunshine and blue skies of winter high pressure makes this one of my favorite times of year.

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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

24

Oh my heck. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Jack can torture his brother Gray Romano, but after an Elaborate Ruse, his father actually killed him. Hard core. I wonder what The Company really is, and what the nature of Jack's falling-out with his family was. If Gray loved his country, he sure had a funny way of showing it.

Squidward O'Brian is in big trouble, after being lured out of the CTU building and being abducted by McCarthy and the bimbo. One has to wonder if Milo, who gave Chloe the message about Squidward's brother, is the mole.

Sandra McKinney convinced Palmer Lite to refuse to sign the Scary Executive Order that would have apparently shredded the Constitution. In this hour, we meet the Even Scarier Vice President, who has no neck! Next week's two-hour extravaganza holds a lot of promise and adventure: things that explode, hostiles that escape CTU perimeters, and unexpected twists. Oh, with Rena Sofer and the Idiot Bastard Son going to CTU for "protection," you know something bad is going to happen. Let's hope CTU has installed extra cougar protection.

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Monday, February 05, 2007

Song for a deserter

Some delusional folksinger has written a song for noted military disgrace Ehren Watada. Janet Bates writes:
Ehren Watada's court martial trial begins on Feb 5th 2007. He needs our support to send a message to all, for it takes great courage to stand up for what is right when you are being ordered to do what is wrong, We must stand up and support those of such great moral strength.
Maybe you can join him on his long vacation in Ft. Lewis.

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Oy

Tonight on Counterpoint, Scott Harris is interviewing Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies. Phyllis usually spends her time denouncing Israel and U.S. support thereof, but tonight she'll be denouncing "the Bush administration's possible plan to launch a new war with Iran."

Never mind that Iran is already at war with us. No doubt these "progressives" want Iran to survive long enough to destroy Israel.

The one problem with an alternative radio station such as WPKN is that sometimes this is the sewage we broadcast. On the other hand, isn't it good to know what the enemy is saying?

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Birds

Temperature: 16°F
I have one starling picking relentlessly at the suet today. These guys can make short work of a suet cake when they get together. He has a bright yellow bill, but some spotting on his plumage. It's hard to tell if he's breeding or not.

It's not quite 55°F in my basement office, and I am going to have to abandon it for upstairs where it's warmer. It's just too hard to type down here.

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Sunday, February 04, 2007

Playlist, February 4, 2007

Set One
Sonny Stitt; How High the Moon; It's Magic (2006 Delmark)
Daniel Smith; Sister Sadie; Bebop Bassoon (2006 Guild)
Michael Rabinowitz; Star Eyes; Bassoon on Fire (1995 Cats Paw)
Woody Shaw; Bye Bye Blackbird; Live Volume Four (2005 Highnote)
[mic break 10:34 a.m.]

Set Two
Cedar Walton; Skylark; Underground Memoirs (2005 Highnote)
Cedar Walton; Every Time We Say Goodbye; Underground Memoirs (2005 Highnote)
Cedar Walton; On Green Dolphin Street; Underground Memoirs (2005 Highnote)
[mic break 10:57 a.m.]

Set Three
Paquito D'Rivera; A Night in Tunisia; The Jazz Chamber Trio (2005 Chesky)
Clarinet Summit; Perdido; Southern Bells (1987 Black Saint)
Eric Dolphy; Densities; Vintage (1994 GM Recordings)
Kahil El'Zabar & David Murray; One World Family; We Is (2004 Delmark)
Benny Goodman; I Got Rhythm; Live at Carnegie Hall (1938/1988 Columbia)
Benny Goodman; I Got Rhythm; Live at Carnegie Hall (1938/1988 Columbia)
Duke Ellington; Red Shoes; Jazz Party (1959/1988 Columbia)
Duke Ellington; Red Carpet Part 1; Jazz Party (1959/1988 Columbia)
David Murray Latin Big Band; Blue Muse; Now Is Another Time (2003 Justin Time)
[mic break 11:51 a.m.]


Set Four
Dave Valentin; Easy Street; Come Fly With Me (2006 Highnote)
Hubert Laws; Windows/Fire and Rain; At Carnegie Hall (1973 CTI)
Yusef Lateef; Love Theme from The Robe; Eastern Sounds (1961 Prestige)
Yusef Lateef; The Three Faced of Balal; Eastern Sounds (1961 Prestige)
The Jazz Crusaders; Latin Bit; The Young Rabbits (1975 Blue Note)
[mic break 12:31 a.m.]

Set Five
Steve Turre; My Funny Valentine; Keep Searchin' (2006 Highnote)
The Jazz Crusaders; Congolese Sermon; The Best Of (1993 Capitol)
New Yorkestra Big Band; One Finger Snap; Urban Soundscapes (2002 Sea Breeze)
The Brecker Brothers; Dream Theme; Collection Volume One (1990 BMG)
Flat Earth Society; Anthem 2004; Psycho Scout (2006 Rykodisc)
Michael Murray; Prelude in C major ("Fanfare"), BWV 531 (J.S. Bach); Bach Organ Blaster (1995 Telarc)
Radam Schwartz; Serenade In Blue; Conspiracy for Positivity (2004 Blue Ark)
University of Kentucky Mega-Sax; It's Lovely Once You're In; Full English Mower (2004 Sea Breeze)
McNeely/Sill/Spencer; Ernie Banks; Boneyard (2007 Origin)
[mic break 1:23 p.m.]

Set Six
Groove Holmes; Minor Inconvenience; Blues All Day Long (1989 Muse)
Duke Ellington; Tymperturbably Blue; Jazz Party (1959/1988 Columbia)
Brian Melvin Trio; Tokyo Blues; Standards Zone (1990 Global Pacific)
Pat Metheny; Sirabhorn; Bright Size Life (1976 ECM)
Frank Zappa; RDNZL; You Can't Do That On Stage Any More, vol. 2 (1988 Rykodisc)
[2:00 p.m.]

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Friday, February 02, 2007

Yum-o!

I'm concerned about what my children eat for snacks.



Exhibit A: Oreo Snack Packs. Exhibit B: Mr. Hankey, the Christmas Poo.

Separated at birth? You decide.

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Thursday, February 01, 2007

Maariv and Munchies

In the Wee Hours, Worship and More
A 24-hour synagogue has transformed a corner of Brooklyn into a bustling all-night center of prayer and commerce.
What's fascinating is the spill-over effect on the neighboring businesses.