Clinton Divides Obama Unites

The Brooklyn Optimist has endorsed Barrak Obama but decries the attacts on Mrs. Clinton . The vitriol that is hurled at Mrs. Clinton now is just the tip of the iceberg that awaits her should she become the nominee.

The attacks on her husband will look like a cake walk, and he had to face impeachment.
The fact is the Clinton’s ended their time in office as a divisive force that has the potential to rip this country apart should she win the election.
Obama, on the other hand has the potential to establish a dialogue that could bring opposing views together to argue and debate our differences in a civil manor.
IMO – Mrs. Clinton should remain in the senate and assume the Kennedy mantle of spokes person for the left and let Mr. Obama set the tone for the nation.
Either way we cannot let an evolution denier or a pandering hawk into the white house.

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Listen One More Time

August 28, 1963

Time to listen on more time

1/20/09

Yes folks it's just one year, and a short one at that, from today that the "SHRUB" will be shown the door and we have the chance to start undoing the damage.
Two of the three Republicans are evolution deniers and McCain wants to stay in Iraq for a hundred years.
Edwards is on his last legs and no one knows where his supporters will go.
So...
Hilary or Obama?

POLLS!!!

Hillary don't need no stinkin' polls!


The news orgs. won tonight as they will have many hours of empty punditry to fill thier air times.

Obama Wins Iowa

No matter what happens in the general election, as of last night a black man has a chance, not a small chance a real chance, to be the leader of America.

A state of 92% white people (Iowa) has given Barak Obama a decisive victory over his Democratic opponents and the Democrats have overwhelmingly out distanced the Republican Party.

It’s time to get off the divisive issues of black vrs. white in our neighborhoods and realize that America could take a huge step toward in bringing us all together by electing the first black American, President of the United States.

I voted for Jesse Jackson in the NY primary just to keep his voice in the mix but he was never going to be elected.

Now we all have the opportunity to vote for a black man who has an honest chance to lead this country.

Benazir Bhutto

"If it means sacrificing our lives, if it means sacrificing our liberties to save Pakistan, then we are prepared to risk our lives and we are prepared to risk our liberties, but we are not prepared to surrender our great nation to the militants," - Benazir Bhutto.

The Windows at Bergdorf's

If you only see one set of windows this season, see the windows at Bergdorf Goodman’s
on the west side of 5th Ave. Bergdorf’s windows throughout the year are consistently the best but these are totally over the top.
Made to celebrate the art of Tony Duquette they are wonderfully exuberant.



Titled “Fire”, Water, Air, with a floating elephant, Earth and Light they are dense in detail and fantasy.
The tree at Rockefeller Center is better this year with the LED’s, powered in part, by solar power and Lord & Taylor’s windows are a delight as always but the Bergdorf windows are in a league by themselves.
Along with the tree at the Met my holiday viewing is complete.

The tree at the Metropolitan Museum

JFK on Religion And The Presidency

With Mitt Romney's speach the other day on his religion it might be helpful to see JFK's speach to a room full of Southern Ministers on his being Catholic.

It is intersting to see the introduction. I can't imaging any candidate subjecting himself to that.

Prospect Park Fall 2007

The Daffodil Project

Our community just planted 1000 daffodil bulbs in the new trees that line our main shopping street, see the The Flatbush Gardener for photos and info. The daffodils were donated by a wonderful project called the The Daffodil Project.

The Daffodil Project was originally created to commemorate September 11. Now in its fifth year, the annual effort-led by New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P) in cooperation with the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR)-not only brings together volunteers and raises the spirits of New Yorkers, but also draws attention to the needs of neglected parks and open spaces citywide.

The Daffodil Project is made possible in part by the generosity of a Dutch bulb supplier, Hans van Waardenburg of B&K Flowerbulbs, who has pledged to donate 500,000 daffodil bulbs to the project each year as long as there are volunteers willing to plant them. More than 20,000 volunteers have responded to his challenge so far.

This is a great addition our community in that it brought neighbors together and will enhance the look of the new trees. But also it connects our community to the trest of the city in a remembrance of 9/11.

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All Elections Count

The elections here in NYC seemed to be, as commented on by another blog, a "NON" election. But a closer look saw that the entire State (NY) electorate had the fate of a few in their hands.

This election has been described as a "NON" election. Well...

There is a proposal for the use of State forest preserve that we, the electorate, must approve or disapprove.

“The proposed amendment would allow the State to convey one acre of forest preserve land to the town of Long Lake for public use as the site for drinking water wells and necessary related equipment for the municipal water supply for hamlet of Raquette Lake. In exchange, the State would receive at least twelve acres of land that is at least equal in value to the land conveyed to Long Lake. The land the State receives would be incorporated into the forest preserve. The Raquette Lake reservoir would be abandoned as a source of drinking water supply. Should the proposed amendment be approved?”

What is interesting is the fact that this cannot be done without the approval of the electorate. That would be us.

On its face of it looks like a net gain of 11 acres of forest preserve what I was unsure of is the value of losing the Raquette Lake reservoir.

Well after a little research it turns out this is crucial to a very small town of 125 people. The Saratogian (saratogian.com) describes the Raquette Lake reservior as being "amber colored" and unsafe to drink.

The 125 people of this little town want use a well for their drinking water but cannot do that because of the "Forever Wild" provisions in the State law governing the forest preserves. So our vote will allow this little town to trade one acre of land for 12 other acres and they will be able to sink a well that will give them clean drinking water.

So get out there and vote and help these people out.

Newspaper article at ; http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18963769&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=602469

IMHO There are no “NON” elections. Every pull of the handle counts for something.

Work Begins on Atlantic Yards

The folks over at Gowanus Lounge have their knickers in a bunch over the work that is getting under way at the Vanderbilt Rail Yards which will be part of the Atlantic Yards development.

Yes work is starting on Atlantic Yards and will continue. Neither No Land Grab, or Atlantic Yards Report will have any effect on the progress.
The naysayer’s will wail and cry but Brooklyn will get a development that will change the borough for the better.
Brooklyn is the future of New York.
Having lived in Manhattan since 75’ I saw the island transformed from a broke dirty mess to one of America’s top locations. Those that say that it lost its fun haven’t frequented 2nd Ave by Tomkins Sq. park or scene on Ave. A. The waterfront above Battery Park was long overdue.
Now it’s Brooklyn’s turn.

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*Thanks to Tracy Collins at www.3c.com for the photo above.

Stop The Nuclear Bailout - NukeFree.org

I saw China Syndrome just 5 days before Three Mile Island and turned against the nuclear power industry. The “dirty power dirty, players” mentioned in the video built quite a few of the power plants with flaws. Money talks nobody walks. Read the post below on Biofuels.
But now 70% of our power comes from CO2 producing fossil fuels. There is no plan to reduce those emissions anytime in the near future. Nor is there a plan to reduce consumption in any meaningful way.
This is not a black and white issue and needs to be looked at closely.

Italy Travel: Florence: City of the Renaissance

I can't believe it, while looking for videos for my Mothers trip to Italy I found the little, wine bar where I hooked up with an ex-pat and another friend for a night in Florence.
Great trip, great city.

As the summer slowly drifts into fall we have had a great warm weekend that I was able to take advantage of. I got on Peregrine on Saturday and didn't get off till Tuesday night.
Not much time left but it has been a glorious summer.

My Second Post Ever

Sure I am blowing my own horn but in't that what a blog is all about?

I wrote the following on April 8, 2003. I am not prescient but I think I did have a good handle on what was going to happen in Iraq.

Check out the archives for other thoughts on sailing, art and politics

Cradle of civilization.

Between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates (in Arabic, the Dijla and Furat, respectively), the first writing gave birth to history as we know it. The rule of law was written down and the three great monotheistic religions trace their origins there.

In 1992 Michael Wood hosted a series called “Legacy” on PBS. In the film he is found at dusk perched on a mound with the sun setting behind him, as the camera booms down a plain filled with mounds as far as one could see becomes visible. All of them tells, the first cities. The film carries that archaeological past into the present of Islam, showing the cultural continuity from past to present. Included are scenes from the Gulf War and how Saddam Hussein used the Iraqi past as foundation for his dominance. It leaves the question of what’s next unanswered. Latter in 1995 after the Americans were long gone he went back. He made “Saddam's Killing Fields” an award winning account of the destruction of the Marsh Arabs of South Iraq and their cultural history. It pieces together evidence of the systematic destruction by the Iraqi government of the Shia Marsh Arabs - whose way of life goes back 5,000 years. “Saddam's Killing Fields” claims that the Shia and the Kurds in northern Iraq were encouraged by the US to rise up against Saddam's regime at the end of the Gulf War and then left with no support. In retaliation, more than 300,000 Shia are believed to have been killed, risking the ruin of an entire culture. At the end of this war Iraq is going to be a pretty broken country. Between the policies of Saddam and the punishing way the west dealt with the end of the 1991 war with sanctions depriving the people of anything but poverty, there will be a certain amount of anarchy that no one will be able to quell. The surrounding country’s have their knives close at hand if America gets too possesive. America now has it’s hands around a significant part of the Arab world. First “saving” Kuwait from the evil doer and Afghanistan from the evil doers. Pakistan is a wildcard with little control over the fundamentalists and the army. Their hatred for India could be a terrible spark and nukes ARE involved.

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The Fallacy of Corn Based Biofuels

David Suzki the Canadian scientist wrote the following in his Science Matters column.

Proponents of biofuels, which are often made from plants such as corn or sugar cane, often point to their many advantages over fossil fuels like gasoline. Biofuels are less toxic or non-toxic in comparison to fossil fuels. They are a renewable resource, whereas once fossil fuels are gone, they're gone. And biofuels can be grown just about anywhere you can grow crops, reducing the need for giant pipelines or oil tankers, and potentially helping to reduce conflicts in areas like the Middle East.
So far so good. But things start to get complicated when you look more closely. Much has already been debated about the energy requirements to produce some biofuels, especially corn-based ethanol. Ethanol made from corn only contains marginally more energy than what is needed to produce it. ... Many people argue that making corn-based ethanol is more of an agricultural subsidy for farmers than it is a sound environmental policy.
Things get even dodgier for biofuels when you look at the land area that would be needed to grow fuel crops. We use a lot of fossil fuels. Switching to biofuels would not reduce the demand for fuel, just change the way we get it. And that would require a lot of land. In fact, substituting just 10 per cent of fossil fuels to biofuels for all our vehicles would require about 40 per cent of the entire cropland in Europe and North America. That is simply not sustainable.
Of course, reducing the amount of fuel we use, no matter what the type, is very important. But the authors of [a] recent article in Science say that if our primary motive in switching to biofuels is to reduce global warming, then we have to look at all our options for the land that would be needed to grow fuel crops. ...
In other words, biofuels alone are not the quick-fix answer to global warming. In fact, strong legislated policies to improve the efficiency of our cars, homes and industries is a much more effective strategy. In the longer term, biofuels may certainly play an important role. Some technologies, like cellulosic ethanol, which is made from woody debris, are very promising and they need to be supported by government and industry now, so they can be available on a larger scale in the coming years. Biofuels have many advantages, but we have to look at all our options and make sure we make the best choices to ensure a more sustainable future."

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John Edwards Feeling Pretty

As a follicley challenged person I watched this with bemusement and a touch of envy.
Enjoy.