75,000

Wow. Huge crowd for Obama in Portland, Oregon. Huge is an understatement. 75,000. Wow. Read More......

Roman Tunisia

The pride and joy of the Bardo Museum. This mosaic is from Homer's Odyssey as Ulysses' ship approached the Island of the Sirens. The mosaic was found in Dougga and dates to around 260AD. If you enjoy mosaics, this museum is something to see.


A variety of mosaics to fit every surface.

Just a small piece of a massive floor mosaic that must have been around 15' by 30' or more. Instead of carpets, the wealthy Romans would decorate their floors with mosaics.

A thin strip of a beautiful mosaic at the Bardo Museum in Tunis. People say it holds the best collection of Roman-era mosaics in the world. Most of the collection is from El Jem, Dougga or Carthage, Tunisia.


The El Jem Roman theater held up to 35,000 spectators and is in remarkably good condition. In the middle of the arena floor you can see where they opened up the floor to allow light down below.


A thick stone 'tile' of sorts that is at ground level, allowing light down into the storage cave below.


Same 'tile' as above, but from underground.


Walking below ground level at the El Jem Roman amphitheater built in the 3rd century AD. This is where the animals would have been kept until being moved above ground for the Roman events. They opened up the ground floor (overhead) to allow in extra light for visitors. Read More......

Apparently inflation isn't a problem

Wow, go figure. Another Wall Street writer dismissing record high gas prices and food prices. It's about time people get a grasp on the real world where such costs are in fact a problem. Not everyone in the world gambles trillions of dollars - paying outrageously high bonuses without any link to the ultimate end result - loses and then gets bailed out by the middle class who can hardly keep up with their own costs.

The only thing worse is that not only is there a steady stream of this nonsense, not a damned person in Congress is saying much about the bailout and it's long term consequences. I get the whole "we need to prevent a major collapse" thing but sheesh, do we really need to fund lifestyle choices for Wall Street? If they can afford to pay the likes of Tony Blair $1 million per year and keep shoveling over handsome bonuses, they don't get it. Either that or we're all just idiots for tolerating and condoning this behavior. Read More......

McCain's national finance co-chair/lobbyist gone

McCain's campaign is rife with lobbyists. They run the entire operation. Last week, two of them were dumped because they represented the brutal regime in Myanmar. Another one left over his involvement in an anti-Democrat 527.

This week, another one -- a very top fundraising official -- has already dropped. This one, Thomas Loeffler, McCain's national finance co-chair, not only represented Saudi Arabia, he lobbied McCain on behalf of Saudi Arabia -- after saying he didn't:

John McCain's national finance co-chairman has stepped down, becoming the latest adviser to leave the Republican's presidential campaign because of ties to lobbyists.

Former Texas Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler, one of McCain's key fundraisers, resigned after the campaign last week instructed staff to disclose all lobbying ties and to make certain they are no longer registered as lobbyists or foreign agents.

McCain's campaign on Sunday confirmed Loeffler's resignation.

Loeffler lobbies for the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., which with Northrop Grumman Corp. won a lucrative contract to provide air refueling tankers for the Air Force. McCain helped scuttle an earlier contract that would have gone to a competitor, Boeing Co.

Newsweek reported over the weekend that Loeffler's "lobbying firm has collected nearly $15 million from Saudi Arabia since 2002 and millions more from other foreign and corporate interests, including a French aerospace firm seeking Pentagon contracts."

Lobbying disclosure records also showed that on May 17, 2006, Loeffler listed meeting McCain along with the Saudi ambassador to "discuss US-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia relations," even though Loeffler told a reporter last month that he had not discussed his clients with McCain, Newsweek said.

The lobbying staff are dropping like flies at the McCain campaign. There's not going to be anyone left over there before long.

And, make no mistake: These lobbyists influence McCain. Jed has lots of background on McCain's Airbus connection, which will be a campaign issue.

So, when is McCain going to fire Charlie Black? Or is Black's work for brutal regimes okay?


Via Huffington, Charlie Black is unfazed by the criticism of his work for brutal dictators:

I'm not ashamed of anything the firm did," McCain adviser Charlie Black says of his days as the principle in one of Washington's most influential lobbying firms. "If they want to use it to fire up the left wing, well, that's fine."

No shame. That's fine. Read More......

John McCain's problem with women

This beating up women thing is becoming a bit of a pattern for John McCain. Temper temper. Calling his second wife the c-word. Leaving his first wife after she was permanently injured in a car accident. And now constantly beating up on Michelle Obama when the race is with her husband - I mean, what kind of a man gets into a fight with a guy and instead beats up his wife? What is John McCain's problem with women? What is his problem with his own manhood? Read More......

Dear Media, the White House TOLD YOU that Bush's Knesset speech was about Obama, so stop pretending like it wasn't

Stephanopoulos this morning repeated a lie that the White House has been putting out to the media - a lie the media knows to be a lie. Steph said that the White House denies that Bush was talking about Obama when he talked about Hitler appeasers before the Knesset. I've heard other journalists say the same thing. But the White House confirmed to multiple media sources that Obama is exactly who they meant. Here's John Yang at NBC (video link):

Mr. Bush didn't name any names. Privately, white house officials said the shoe fits the democratic front-runner.

And here's Ed Henry on CNN (video link):

While the president didn't name names, administration officials are privately acknowledging that this was a shot at Barack Obama and other Democrats.

Why didn't Stephanopoulos know that? Why did he repeat the White House CYA line that this wasn't about Obama when the White House has already admitted it was? It's not journalism when you simply repeat their lies. Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Looks like the Sunday shows are moving on to the general election -- not only for president, but Senate and House. It's great watching that smarmy Republican House leader John Boehner squirm these days.

I imagine we'll see some V.P> speculation today, too. Here's the lineup:

ABC's "This Week" — Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Gov. Charlie Crist, R-Fla.; Republican strategist Ed Rollins; former Govs. Mario Cuomo, D-N.Y., and Roy Romer, D-Colo.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.; former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.; Republican strategist Mike Murphy; Democratic strategist Bob Shrum.

___

CNN's "Late Edition" — Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez; former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn.; Rick Dutrow Jr., trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown.

Read More......

Snapshots from Tunisia

Over the May holidays we took a quick trip down to Tunisia to get away from the clouds and rain of Paris. It always is sunny in Tunisia though our timing was impeccable and we happened to arrive just in time for a late spring storm just as Paris warmed up and enjoyed non-stop sunshine. Lots of friendly people who enjoyed chatting about everything including the US election. Some loved Hillary (or at least Bill), others loved Obama though McCain or Bush remain about as popular there as at home.

Above is inside the old walls of Tunis in the souk. During the summer heat the ceiling above the streets protects you from the sun and during our rainy visit, it kept us dry as we enjoyed a wonderful mint tea in a sheesha cafe. What a great place to just relax and watch the world go by. I wished there was more sun - both for the photos and just to see the sun - but it wasn't in the cards this time.

More photos after the link.

Inside the inner courtyard of a stunning house in Sidi Bou Said. Lots of open spaces within the property which surely helped keep air flowing during the hot summer days.


The private prayer room inside a house previously used by the local Imam of Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia. The look is so different (for a Westerner, at least) with the various colors and designs.


At the grand mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia. This is the oldest mosque in North Africa and considered to be the fourth most important religious site in Islam.




Inside the Zaouia mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia.


A close up of the lovely wall tiles inside the mosque.


A Berber family arriving at the Zaouia of Sidi Sahab mosque in Kairouan with their young boy. The ceremony at the mosque was for his circumcision.


Little boys will often receive a little bag of sweets on this day.


A typical street shop with local goods such as shoes and handbags. Kairouan is well known in the country for lovely carpets.

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Mobile phone and baby behavioral problem link?

Yet another study that points to problems related to mobile phones. Years ago the industry could easily dismiss studies linking mobile phones to brain cancer since extended phone usage was still relatively new. Now research is suggesting that long term use of phones increases brain cancer risk. Across Europe more studies are also suggesting serious issues related to mobile phones and children and now this.

A giant study, which surveyed more than 13,000 children, found that using the handsets just two or three times a day was enough to raise the risk of their babies developing hyperactivity and difficulties with conduct, emotions and relationships by the time they reached school age. And it adds that the likelihood is even greater if the children themselves used the phones before the age of seven.

The results of the study, the first of its kind, have taken the top scientists who conducted it by surprise. But they follow warnings against both pregnant women and children using mobiles by the official Russian radiation watchdog body, which believes that the peril they pose "is not much lower than the risk to children's health from tobacco or alcohol".

Read More......