Virtual hookup connects grieving Haitian father to Miami family

A Haitian man tried and acquitted on terrorism charge is denied admittance into the United States to attend the funeral of his teenage son struck and killed by a vehicle on I-95.

BY JAY WEAVER AND JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@MiamiHerald.com

PORT-AU-PRINCE – Lyglenson “Levi’’ Lemorin, sitting inside a Cyber Café Saturday, waited patiently for technology to connect him to the heartbreaking scene unfolding some 700 hundred miles away inside a Miami Liberty City church.

“You sitting next to my mother?’’ he asked, fighting back tears as he spoke to his 13-year-old daughter, Lauren, over a cell phone. “Stay strong, alright Baby? Baby, don’t cry.’’

Lauren and the rest of the Lemorin clan were grieving, crying not just for 15-year-old Lukenson “Lil Luke’’ Lemorin, killed on April 1 by a passing vehicle, but also for Lyglenson Lemorin.

A Haiti native who lived in Miami most of his life, the elder Lemorin, 36, has been on a painful odyssey since his arrest in June 2006 on terrorism charges, his acquittal, then his eventual deportation back to Haiti - country he left 24 years ago when he moved with his family to Miami.

Now, in the Port-au-Prince café, his grief is even more searing because he cannot physically be there with family members to mourn the death of his only son.

“There is no way my son would have been on the streets at 11:30 p.m.,’’ he said of his son, who, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, was struck by a vehicle as he and two cousins pushed their disabled car off I-95 into the median.

Lemorin was a member of the Miami-Dade group that became known as the Liberty City 7, who federal investigators charged in a highly publicized terrorism case accusing them of conspiring with al Qaeda to blow up Chicago’s Sears Tower and federal buildings in Miami. The indictment was built on a sting operation, with a government informant playing the role of an al Qaeda financier directed by the FBI.

The seven defendants, investigators say, took an oath to the terrorist group.

A Miami federal jury found that Lemorin had distanced himself from the group, which worked together in a stucco business and hung out in Liberty City.

On Jan. 20, Lemorin was among 27 Haitians sent back to that country, after U.S. immigration authorities resumed deportations. He was shipped out in the dark of night and arrived in an earthquake-ravaged country that was fighting off a deadly cholera epidemic. Having heard about the tents cities, he said, “I prayed to God I didn’t have to live in one.’’

On Friday, another 19 deportees arrived in Port-au-Prince amid protests from immigration activists.

“I am so sorry this happened to his son and to him,” Lemorin’s immigration lawyer Charles Kuck of Atlanta said. “His case is a classic example of government-assisted human tragedy."

Although Lemorin was acquitted, immigration authorities still deemed him a “national security” threat under the U.S. Patriot Act passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Now, he lives with the guilt over his son’s death, a son who went from a well-mannered kid to one in and out of juvenile detention center, and out late at night – a sign of defiance, Lemorin said, because he wasn’t there.

“I believe he acted up because I wasn’t around,’’ he said. “When he got arrested three times, I thought, ‘Does he actually think he’s going to end up the same place with me?’”

Since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied his request to enter the United States to attend his son’s funeral, Lemorin was forced to view the Saturday service at Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church via Skype.

It took 55 minutes and multiple tries, but Lemorin was to finally connect to see images of the service where more than 200 mourners paid their respects to “Lil Luke,” whose body lay in a silver casket draped with white flowers. “Don’t show me inside the coffin,’’ he said as he heard his mother wailing in the background.

The virtual hookup with Lemorin in Port-au-Prince and mourners in Miami was organized by Michelle Karshan, Executive Director of Alternative Chance, a Haiti-based re-entry program for criminal deportees in Haiti.

In Miami, Debbie Carter, a California woman who has come to the aid of Lemorin and his co-defendants, carried a laptop around the church enabling Lemorin to connect with his wife, see the flowers and make out his son’s casket.

Lemorin’s family has been struggling to raise the estimated $10,000 to help defray the cost of his son’s funeral and burial. So far, they have raised about one-third of the money and are seeking donations from the public.

Meanwhile, Lemorin has been struggling to find meaning in his son’s death and the uncertain future he has been dealt in the country of his birth.

As for being able to attend the funeral – even through the Internet - Lemorin said he’s grateful.

“I got to hear my family,’’ he said.
Link to article: http://tinyurl.com/3vn6mr2

Miami Herald Staff Writer Kathleen McGrory contributed to this story.

This material is copyrighted by its original publisher. It is reprinted by Red Wolf Redux without permission, solely for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting, in accordance with the Fair Use Guidelines of copyright material under § 107 of U.S.C. Title 17.

Georgianne Nienaber on US troops in Haiti.

This is a must read article. It is well written, and comments on the excessive external military presence in Haiti, where a day or so ago, President Elect Martelly, (though not yet sworn in) pointed out there is no war in Haiti. He also stated very distinctly, Haiti has its own army. To read Ms. Nienaber's excellent article, click on the link below.....wayyy below.
Thanks,
T.R.W.

Ralph Nader's Open Letter to President Obama

"President Obama Treats Tax Dodging GE's Immelt Better than Consumer Protecting Elizabeth Warren"

TAKE NOTE:OUR PRESIDENT HAS BEEN ABDUCTED AND SPIRITED AWAY TO ANOTHER PLANET.

WHAT ELSE COULD EXPLAIN HIS ABANDONMENT OF THOSE LONG AGO PROMISES THAT GOT US TO EMBRACE HIM SO WHOLEHEARTEDLY, AND PUT HIM INTO OUR WHITE HOUSE?

YES, THE WHITE HOUSE IS OURS.

THE MAN YOU SEE GIVING AWAY THE FARM IS A ROBOTIC RINGER, NOT THE BARACK OBAMA WE ELECTED. OR, IS HE?

READ THE OPEN LETTER FROM RALPH NADER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW.

Source:
www.opednews.com

The Rude Pundit Once Again Reads My Mind

Go get your valued toys reassessed by the rational. Be my guest.

China confirms Briton's execution, despite UK plea

More "justice" Chinese style.

Dec 29, 3:35 AM (ET)

By NG HAN GUAN

URUMQI, China (AP) - China brushed aside international appeals Tuesday and executed a British drug smuggler whose relatives say was mentally unstable and unwittingly lured into crime.

Britain's prime minister quickly criticized the execution - China's first of a European citizen in nearly 60 years.

"I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms, and am appalled and disappointed that our persistent requests for clemency have not been granted. I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken," Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

The press office of the Xinjiang region where Shaikh had been held confirmed the execution in a faxed statement.

Shaikh, 53, first learned he was about to be executed Monday from his visiting cousins, who made a last-minute plea for his life. They say he is mentally unstable and was lured to China from a life on the street in Poland by men playing on his dreams to record a pop song for world peace.

Brown had spoken personally to China's prime minister about his case. Foreign Secretary David Miliband also condemned the execution and said there were unanswered questions about the trial.

"I also deeply regret the fact that our specific concerns about the individual in this case were not taken into consideration ... These included mental health issues, and inadequate professional interpretation during the trial," Miliband said in a statement.

China defended the case and criticized Brown's comments, saying drug smuggling was a serious crime.

"We express our strong dissatisfaction and opposition to the British accusation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news conference.

Jiang said she hoped the case did not harm bilateral relations, and called on London not to create any "obstacles" to better ties.

Shaikh was arrested in 2007 for carrying a suitcase with almost 9 pounds (4 kilograms) of heroin into China on a flight from Tajikistan. He told Chinese officials he didn't know about the drugs and that the suitcase wasn't his, according to Reprieve, a London-based prisoner advocacy group that is helping with his case.

He was convicted in 2008 after a half-hour trial.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Shaikh was put to death by lethal injection. China, which executes more people than any other country, is increasingly doing so by lethal injection, although some death sentences are still carried out by a shot in the head.

The Beijing-based lawyer for Shaikh's death sentence review, Zhang Qingsong, said Tuesday he never got to meet with Shaikh despite asking the judge and the detention center for access. He said China's highest court never evaluated Shaikh's mental status.

According to Reprieve, the last European executed in China was Antonio Riva, an Italian pilot who was shot by a firing squad in 1951 after being convicted of involvement in what China said was a plot to assassinate Mao Zedong and other high-ranking Communist officials.

"The death of Akmal Shaikh is a sad indictment of today's world, and particularly of China's legal system. ... We at Reprieve are sickened by what we have seen during our work on this case," said Sally Rowen, legal director of Reprieve's death penalty team.

Reprieve issued a statement from Shaikh's family members saying they expressed "their grief at the Chinese decision to refuse mercy."

---

Associated Press reporters Alexa Olesen and Cara Anna in Beijing contributed to this story.

The Rude One Speaks

The Rude Pundit, one of my fave savages of all time, has this to say regarding that "hot button issue".

Can you guess what it is?

Oh, think real hard now honey, you'll get it.

What is it that's been giving the conserves a total hissy fit for as long as they could grunt?

And what has fueled their evil engines since they learned to piss, moan, and do their best to squelch anything that has to do with a woman's right to control her own life?

Whew, I didn't think it was going to take you THAT long. I thought you were smarter than that.

We must be rusty. But now chickadees, you've got it.

Let's say it loud, and say it in unison. Ready? Okay, here we go. 1 2 3

Legalized Abortion!

Excellent! Read the Rude One Here.

Pinch Me ...a message from Michael Moore

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Friends,

Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair.

In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea. The racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth. But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime.

There was another important "first" last night. Never before in our history has an avowed anti-war candidate been elected president during a time of war. I hope President-elect Obama remembers that as he considers expanding the war in Afghanistan. The faith we now have will be lost if he forgets the main issue on which he beat his fellow Dems in the primaries and then a great war hero in the general election: The people of America are tired of war. Sick and tired. And their voice was loud and clear yesterday.

It's been an inexcusable 44 years since a Democrat running for president has received even just 51% of the vote. That's because most Americans haven't really liked the Democrats. They see them as rarely having the guts to get the job done or stand up for the working people they say they support. Well, here's their chance. It has been handed to them, via the voting public, in the form of a man who is not a party hack, not a set-for-life Beltway bureaucrat. Will he now become one of them, or will he force them to be more like him? We pray for the latter.

But today we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I know, pinch me.

We may, just possibly, also see a time of refreshing openness, enlightenment and creativity. The arts and the artists will not be seen as the enemy. Perhaps art will be explored in order to discover the greater truths. When FDR was ushered in with his landslide in 1932, what followed was Frank Capra and Preston Sturgis, Woody Guthrie and John Steinbeck, Dorothea Lange and Orson Welles. All week long I have been inundated with media asking me, "gee, Mike, what will you do now that Bush is gone?" Are they kidding? What will it be like to work and create in an environment that nurtures and supports film and the arts, science and invention, and the freedom to be whatever you want to be? Watch a thousand flowers bloom! We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective first thought of this new era, it is this: Anything Is Possible.

An African American has been elected President of the United States! Anything is possible! We can wrestle our economy out of the hands of the reckless rich and return it to the people. Anything is possible! Every citizen can be guaranteed health care. Anything is possible! We can stop melting the polar ice caps. Anything is possible! Those who have committed war crimes will be brought to justice. Anything is possible.

We really don't have much time. There is big work to do. But this is the week for all of us to revel in this great moment. Be humble about it. Do not treat the Republicans in your life the way they have treated you the past eight years. Show them the grace and goodness that Barack Obama exuded throughout the campaign. Though called every name in the book, he refused to lower himself to the gutter and sling the mud back. Can we follow his example? I know, it will be hard.

I want to thank everyone who gave of their time and resources to make this victory happen. It's been a long road, and huge damage has been done to this great country, not to mention to many of you who have lost your jobs, gone bankrupt from medical bills, or suffered through a loved one being shipped off to Iraq. We will now work to repair this damage, and it won't be easy.

But what a way to start! Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Wow. Seriously, wow.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
MMFlint@aol.com

JOY IN THE MORNING

YES!

Click image to enlarge.

For the first time since the voters concluded George Bush was fit to run the United States, I am proud to be an American. It certainly has been a long time in coming...the winds of change are stirring. Rise to the occasion sisters and brothers.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Click image to enlarge.

Nude Buttocks May Cost ABC $1.4 Million

Does a herd of half-asses equal a whole ass?

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $1.4 million fine against 52 ABC Television Network stations over a 2003 broadcast of cop drama NYPD Blue.

The fine is for a scene where a boy surprises a woman as she prepares to take a shower. The scene depicted "multiple, close-up views" of the woman's "nude buttocks" according to an agency order issued late Friday.

ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Co. The fines were issued against 52 stations either owned by or affiliated with the network.

FCC's definition of indecent content requires that the broadcast "depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities" in a "patently offensive way" and is aired between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The agency said the show was indecent because "it depicts sexual organs and excretory organs - specifically an adult woman's buttocks."

The agency rejected the network's argument that "the buttocks are not a sexual organ."

*************
Oh, F.C.C., you cheeky beggers, you've thrown me into a tizzy.

I am loath to display so much ignorance of human anatomy, but for all these years, I've been laboring under the delusion buttocks are to sit on.

I simply can't figure out how to excrete anything at all through my buttocks! Perhaps I am deformed.

Now since I know what they're for, what should I rest upon while seated? My laurels?

Jimmy Carter Faces Down Darfur Officials

Oct 3, 9:51 AM (ET)

By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU

KABKABIYA, Sudan (AP) - Former President Carter got in a shouting match Wednesday with Sudanese security services who blocked him from a town in Darfur where he was trying to meet with refugees from the ongoing conflict.

The 83-year-old Carter walked into this highly volatile pro-Sudanese government town to meet refugees too frightened to attend a scheduled meeting at a nearby compound. He was able to make it to a school where he met with one tribal representative and was preparing to go further into the town when Sudanese security officers stopped him.

"You can't go. It's not on the program!" the local security chief, who only gave his first name as Omar, yelled at Carter, who is in Darfur as part of a delegation of respected international figures known as "The Elders."

"We're going to anyway!" an angry Carter retorted as a crowd began to gather. "You don't have the power to stop me."

U.N. officials told Carter's entourage the Sudanese state police could bar his way. Carter's traveling companions, billionaire businessman Richard Branson and Graca Machel, the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, tried to ease his frustration and his Secret Service detail urged him to get into a car and leave.

"I'll tell President Bashir about this," Carter said, referring to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

Carter later agreed to a compromise by which tribal representatives would be brought to him at another location later Wednesday. But the refugee delegates never showed up.

The Darfur conflict began when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government, accusing it of decades of neglect. Sudan's government is accused of retaliating by unleashing a militia of Arab nomads known as the janjaweed - a charge it denies. More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in four years of violence.

Most refugees appeared too frightened to speak in Kabkabiya, a North Darfur town that has long been a stronghold of the pro-government janjaweed militia.

Branson said some refugees had slipped notes in his pockets. "We (are) still suffering from the war as our girls are being raped on a daily basis," read one of the notes, translated from Arabic, that Branson handed to The Associated Press.

The note said that on Sept. 26, a group of girls had been raped, and a refugee had also been shot two days ago. Branson said it had been handed over by an ethnic African man.

The visit by "The Elders," which is headed by Nobel Peace laureates Carter and Desmond Tutu, is largely a symbolic move by a host of respected figures to push all sides to make peace. Tutu visited a refugee camp in south Darfur, but the U..N. Mission in Sudan deemed it too dangerous for Carter to make a similar visit.

Carter instead flew to a World Food Program compound in Kabkabiya, where he was supposed to meet with refugees, many of whom were chased from their homes by pro-government janjaweed and Sudanese government forces.

But as the meeting was set to get under way, none of the nongovernment refugee representatives arrived, and Carter decided to walk out into the town to try to talk with them.

"We are in the security field. We're not that flexible," said the security chief, Omar, after the confrontation ended. He said Carter already breached security once by walking to the school and would not be allowed to breach security again.

"This illustrates the challenges that communities and humanitarian workers face in Darfur," said Orla Clinton, spokeswoman for the U.N. Mission in Sudan who witnessed the incident.

Carter later returned to the North Darfur capital of El Fasher and where he was planning to meet with community representatives later Wednesday.

"The Elders" delegation is trying to use their influence at a crucial time - with peace talks due to start in Libya and the deployment of a 26,000-strong hybrid African Union-U.N. peacekeeping force to begin later this month.

Tensions are running high after rebels overran an AU peacekeeping base in northern Darfur over the weekend, killing 10 in the deadliest attack on the beleaguered force since it arrived in the region three years ago.

Carter said he felt the trip was proving effective. He said al-Bashir told him this week that Sudan has committed $100 million to a fund for Darfur's reconstruction and another $200 million has been pledged by Chinese diplomatic allies.

Carter said the main goal of the three-day visit to Sudan was to seek guarantees for free and fair elections throughout the country in 2009. Observes fear the elections could be postponed and warn this would imperil the fragile peace in southern Sudan and worsen the conflict in Darfur.

The 2009 vote would be the first democratic election in Sudan since al-Bashir came to power in a military and Islamist coup in 1989. Carter said al-Bashir vowed to allow the election to take place during a private meeting between the two in Khartoum.

"If the CPA fails to fulfill its commitment to free and fair elections and democracy in this country, all other efforts will be futile," Carter said, referring to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended 21 years of civil war between the government and Christian and animist rebels in the south.

Report: Millions Wasted on Gov't Travel

Does this come as any surprise?

Oct 2, 6:07 PM (ET)

By HOPE YEN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal employees wasted at least $146 million over a one-year period on business- and first-class airline tickets, in some cases simply because they felt entitled to the perk, congressional investigators say.

A draft report by the Government Accountability Office, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, is the first to examine compliance with travel rules across the federal government following reports of extensive abuse of premium-class travel by Pentagon and State Department employees.

The review of travel spending by more than a dozen agencies from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006, found 67 percent of premium-class travel by executives or their employees, worth at least $146 million, was unauthorized or otherwise unjustified.

Among the worst offenders: the State Department, whose employees typically fly abroad on official business.

Many of the cases involved high-ranking senior officials or political appointees who claimed exceptions to federal travel rules by citing old medical records or questionable approval from a subordinate employee.

Investigators found that senior officials often flew business- or first-class because they felt entitled to the perk.

The higher airfare for traveling in one of the premium classes resulted in expenses often five to 10 times more than what was authorized under government travel rules.

"With the serious fiscal challenges facing the federal government, agencies must maximize their ability to manage and safeguard valuable taxpayers' dollars," investigators wrote, suggesting agencies recoup the extra cost from those who abuse travel policies.

Under federal rules, government employees generally must fly coach for both domestic and international travel unless the flight takes 14 hours or longer. A few exceptions apply when the employee receives agency approval based on a medical condition, security concerns, lack of availability of coach seats or when required "because of agency mission."

Government investigators found that employees openly flouted the rules and agencies did little to check their abuses. Among the waste cited:

_An Agriculture Department executive took 25 premium-class flights costing $163,000 and said the extra expense had been authorized by a subordinate. In 10 of those trips, the traveler claimed exceptional circumstances to justify the pricier travel to western Europe, even though agency policy forbids premium-class travel unless the flight time is longer than 14 hours.

_Thirty-two State Department employees flew from Washington to Liberia in premium class over a six-month period. Five of those travelers did not have authorization for premium class; three had duplicate tickets and no evidence that the duplicates were refunded; and 17 were not properly justified, as their trips did not meet the 14-hour rule. These flights cost $293,000 and comparable coach-class tickets would have cost $124,000 - a difference of $169,000.

_At the Pentagon, a political appointee took 15 premium-class flights and cited a medical condition as justification for the $105,000 in expenses. However, the only evidence of a medical condition was a note signed by a fellow Pentagon employee, not a physician, attesting to surgery from several years earlier. The Pentagon did not have a doctor's certification from the employee as required by agency policy.

_Nine Justice Department employees charged the agency $35,000 for premium-class air tickets to Frankfurt, Germany, claiming the flight time was over 14 hours. Investigators found the employees added a separate flight to their calculations to reach the 14-hour total, a practice not allowed under government travel rules. Also, two of the flights were not authorized.

The GAO, Congress' investigative and auditing arm, said it was referring all cases it found of improper and abusive travel to the respective agencies and inspector general's offices for possible administrative action and repayment of the difference between premium-class and coach-class travel.

The report comes as some lawmakers are pressing to strengthen government sunshine laws by requiring agency disclosure of business-class travel to Congress. Currently, business-class travel accounts for 96 percent of the premium travel claimed by federal employees.

"No one disputes the fact that government officials need to travel, as not all work can be done behind a desk. Nor should all premium-class travel be eliminated. But the rules are there for a reason and the federal government should enforce them," said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.

Coleman noted that after a 2003 GAO report uncovered abuses in Pentagon travel, the department tightened policies and has since dramatically reduced its use of premium travel.

"We simply need the necessary oversight mechanisms in place to ensure that taxpayers' dollars are spent properly," he said.

The latest GAO report noted that several government entities are not subject to government rules on premium-class travel - among them, the U.S. Postal Service, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. - opening up more opportunities for unnecessary waste.

Those entities often allow members of their board of governors to travel business or first class for shorter flights overseas and sometimes domestically. In one case, a deputy director of FDIC flew business class from Washington to London and back at a cost of $7,200, while a coach- class ticket would have cost $800.

My my, what a long time it's been...

Aw, you know how it is, it flies when you're having fun.

Fun these days consists of the acquisition of toys varying in price from pennies to dimes. Latest toy: a nice external hard drive. What more could a girl want? Maybe two external hard drives.

So, when something is new you try to destroy it with over-use as the implement. Enter...transferring files.

In the process of moving files, one does catch up with a lot of total junk and razzmatazz. Some good dirty pictures too. The one of Minnie with her boobs over Ashcroft's shoulder being a particular favorite.

Ashcroft who?

Yeah...lots of flotsam over the dam. A few nasty dead guys, and some time to reflect.

Here then is an old letter to friends right after a fateful event:

A Howl, Not the Last

My friends,

I have received a couple of queries as to whether I have fallen upon my dagger, or slipped into a hot tub with a glass of hemlock tea and a single edge razor blade. Or thoughts to that effect.

No. Resoundingly, NO.

What I am at this point is angry. Better that than tears any day. We, the Democrat voters fought a good fight, but not good enough. Politics is like sex. Nice and gentle is alright, but harder, harder, faster, faster gets you to the howling point.

When did anyone ever fight in the trenches, and keep his nails clean?

The right-wing is filthy, and playing the game by the rules when you're the only one that does...well that's just plain stupid.

John Kerry has me pissed off bigtime because there will always be a doubt about Ohio in my mind. I think some investigation should have been demanded. I also feel his conceding so quickly, against the advice of his running mate, was a terrible blunder. He looks weak now, and that's another bouquet of roses we handed the King of Chaos.

Bush can now do what he wants to do. He's a lame duck that can, and probably will, shoot bullets.

Rehnquist is half dead, the majority of the Justices are so old they creak, and 3-4 new Justices will be selected by a religious fanatic with a very odd take on morality.

All the arguments have been made...why go on?

There is a reason. WE AIN'T DEAD YET! There are many elections at the local level that will take place in the next four years. VOTE. Don't roll over now, and don't fall asleep at the thought of politics. They run your life.

Start giving very serious thought to future candidates at any level. Look for the most progressive ones and do what you can to further their aims.

Frankly, what some say about the Democratic Party is too true. It is old, weak, conciliatory, right leaning, and generally indistinguishable from the GOP.

Watch Barack Obama. Learn from that fine man. And let's make the initials GOP stand for Grand Old Prat-fall in the coming years.

Screw them. And this time, fight dirty, just like they do.

"This time" is coming faster than you think. In 2006 Rick Santorum will be running for re-election. He wants to be Pope. Those of us here in PA have to "just say no". I have no doubt he would love to run for prez some day. 'Round about now, you should be saying something expressive like, ewwww.

I leave you with that thought.

For those who had the sensitivity to ask, I thank you. I am fine. Really pissed off, and that's fine too.

Wolf
Thursday, November 04, 2004 3:55 PM

Well, I think it's interesting....

Cheney, Bush, and Gonzo

In keeping with my credo, "Good Taste At Any Cost", I present three men with no lips. This may or may not affect their ability to taste good things, but assuredly, it doesn't affect their ability to behave tastelessly.

Click image for enlargement, to see what small really means.

Elizabeth Edwards

I am saddened to hear of Mrs. Edwards's medical report diagnosing her condition as being a return of the cancer she had been treated for.

I send my best wishes to the Edwards family, and my hope that somehow Mrs. Edwards triumphs over this disease, in spite of the odds.

Good luck Mrs. Edwards. My thoughts will be with you.

Oh Ji Ho and the Korean Caste System

Note: Oh Ji Ho is a Korean actor who has recently achieved much deserved acclaim in his country for his role in a TV romantic comedy/drama titled, Fantasy Couple, or at times referred to as Couple of Fantasy.

Asian movies and dramas have a certain liquidity when it comes to titles, an aspect that can be both frustrating and amusing.

I am a hard core fan of Oh Ji Ho's, so, when the news broke in The Korean Times, that his woman friend had committed suicide, I was horrified at the tone of the article by staff reporter,Chung Ah-young, and the often ugly response of the Korean public.

In the blogs that I publish having to do with Asian film/drama, I do not post the link to the article. It has already achieved it's purpose in slandering a newly, and vastly popular actor, who has been working hard at his craft for more than the seven years the author, Chung Ah-young, cedits him with.
Link to the article.

Here then, is a take on...
Oh Ji Ho and the Korean Caste System

"Judging from the many hits I’ve had here at the site, I feel it safe to assume the word about Oh Ji Ho’s lady friend committing suicide has hit the fan, and everyone wants to hear all about it.

"I probably know as much about it as you do, but do you know…?

"Korea has a distinct caste system, although they are loath to call it that. Instead they excuse it by calling it tradition. I have despised it since I became aware of it, and I don’t excuse it on any grounds.

"There was an amusing piece about K-Dramas posted at K-PopVideo recently. I thought it was pretty funny and close to the bone, so I posted it at The Hyacinth Papers.

"Yes, it’s funny, but, there is something unfunny about the nasty truth it reveals.

"Exerpts:
8. When someone hits a subordinate, it is always on the head, and most often across the back of the head.

"My note: why feel so free to hit a subordinate?

9. The wealthy have contempt for those without, and those on the lower rungs kiss the feet of their superiors. Korean society treats the wealthy and the poor completely differently.

"This applies to those public figures that have achieved fame also. And it is a very powerful force in the culture of Korea, and within families where the bludgeon of guilt is useful.

"If a family doesn’t want a son or daughter to marry someone they don’t feel fits their idea of ‘correct’ in terms of status, for one thing, the marriage is almost impossible to achieve. (See My Lovely Km, Sam-soon for the perfect example, or if you can stomach it, see Memories of Bali, an unfunny terrible story of family, business, and propriety according to the omnipotent parents who lean on custom like a crutch, and wield it like a club, in order to control, and incidentally destroy, their younger son who loves a ‘common’ girl. Nobody wins in that one.

"Oh Ji Ho is a victim of this societal structure, this caste system. He is a Korean. He was raised with the customs, and has evidently buckled under their weight. You have to have seen Memories of Bali to appreciate just how intense that weight can be. It is The Irresistible Force.

"You have no doubt seen the news coverage regarding Oh Ji Ho. In a sense, it makes him look so guilty because he lied.

"Guilty of what? Self protection?

"Yes, he did not tell all when the news first leaked out. His career is in jeopardy now, and in fact it may already be in ruins because this unhappy woman killed herself, and initially he denied being involved with her.

"According to some articles I’ve come upon in a very conservative online version of the news(The Korea Herald), suicide has become almost a national pastime. I just typed the words korea suicides into Google, and got 1, 800,000 entries to choose from. It seems to have become the awful solution for so many woes.

"When I view this situation in that light I see it from a perspective that is very saddening, but also more understandable. I have trouble with Oh Ji Ho’s denial, but I also have a real problem regarding doubtless extreme blame that will be launched at him from so many sides.

"The bottom line is this though: This young woman made a choice. She took her own life. She was not murdered. She killed herself.

"I am not romantic enough to believe that love is something you kill yourself over.

"In my country, it would be viewed as a tragedy for all involved, definitely including Oh Ji Ho. He would be supported by those who care about him. He would very likely not be dumped alongside a cliff because he has become a financial liability. Actually, here he would not become one. We are not as a nation, so full of self-righteousness.

"He will feel guilt for the rest of his life because the culture has failed him as it has so many others. It has formed him; it has overburdened him with obligations to a skewed societal structure. The woman was a bar hostess. So what? If he loved her here, they'd be left alone to live their lives and flourish. That's called Democracy.

"The Korean culture creates people who are driven to be successful from the first minute they enter school. They are obligated the second they are born. Bucking up against the parental, scholastic, employer related, public related wall of demanded obedience to that society is to crash and burn.

"It will be easy for some to say things about him that are damaging to him because they have an image of this man that is not accurate in the least. It is a dream.

"He is imagined to be a hero of some sort. He is imagined to be a great lover. He is fantasized about as the rescuer who will ride in and take many women away from their drab lives. He is envisioned as a prospective husband to thousands of wishers.

"He is none of these things.

"He is human. He has his failures and flaws of personality. He has weakness and fear within himself. He is, simply put, just like me. And if you are honest with yourself, just like you too.

"I will continue to support him, and I will continue to give all my heart over to understanding the entire thing with clarity, and good judgment.

"There is a song sung by Tom Rush from a long time ago. One line always stands out in my mind. It is, “Don’t confront me with my failures, I’ve not forgotten them.” Right.

"And just before you say, “I would never have done what he did”, remember this: never is a long time, and you don’t know what’s around the corner."

Hyacinth
Posted at the Oh Ji Ho website.

If you wish to support Mr. Oh as an actor with a right to continue his career in peace, and hopefully, prosperity, you are requested to send cards or short notes of encouragement to Mr. Oh. See the site dedicated to him for details.