sumtitled

Mt. Hood

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:43:43 -0800

Gorgeous day

Studs Terkel's FBI File Unearthed, With A Few Surprises

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:14:14 -0800

CHICAGO — Long before the FBI identified him as a suspected communist and spent decades watching him and talking to confidential informants about him, late Chicago author Studs Terkel came to the agency for a job.

That’s just one of the revelations – and maybe the most surprising one – contained in a thick FBI file that the NYCity News Service posted on its Web site over the weekend after obtaining it under a Freedom of Information Act request.

The release of the file marks the most extensive look into Terkel’s work and activities as viewed by federal authorities, particularly by the FBI when it was headed by J. Edgar Hoover.

That the FBI kept such a file is hardly a surprise. Terkel was an avowed liberal who supported the civil rights movement and opposed the Vietman War. His books and radio interviews stand as a tribute to working people and the downtrodden. Terkel spoke and wrote openly about being blacklisted during the McCarthy era, when studios – fearful of being accused of sympathizing with communists – refused to hire actors, writers, directors and others suspected of having pro-communist sentiments.

Terkel, who wrote the best-seller “Working” and Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Good War, died last year at the age of 96.

Andre Schiffrin, who edited all of Terkel’s books, said Terkel was “very proud” that FBI started a file on him, although he had applied for work at the agency as a “student fingerprint classifier” in 1934, according to one document.

“He was proud of the fact that when he applied for work at the FBI … Hoover (was) saying, ‘He’s not our kind of guy, not our kind of boy,’” said Schiffrin, a longtime friend of Terkel.

Documents in the FBI file date to 1945 and most are from the ’40s and ’50s. But the file also contains some documents from the 1960s and ’70s and, for some unknown reason, a copy of a 1990 Wall Street Journal article about junk bond king Michael Milken, in which Terkel was quoted.

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The news service reported that it received only 147 pages of what it said was a 269-page file. It said the FBI refused to hand over the rest for “privacy and other reasons.”

Most of the pages are devoted to the FBI’s effort to determine if Terkel was a communist.

Some references – such as one about a confidential informant telling the FBI that Terkel had agreed to give a “short talk at the Red Army Celebration” – seem laughable now. But they are the types of accusations that resulted in scores of people in the entertainment industry being blacklisted in the late 1940s and into the 1950s.

One confidential informant reported that Terkel appeared to take inspiration from the New York-based communist newspaper “Daily Worker” and that he once said blacklisted actor and singer Paul Robeson “is a product of all the people fighting for freedom, for justice for all.”

A 1950 file states that Terkel “reportedly has been Master of Ceremonies at various functions from 1945 to 1949 sponsored by the American Youth for Democracy, Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, civil Rights Congress and International Workers Order, which have been designated by the United States Attorney General as Communist Organizations.”

In at least one instance, a person whose name was redacted said Terkel was a member of the Communist Party of America.

Yet nowhere in the file does the FBI assert point-blank that Terkel was a party member.

And Schiffrin said Terkel wasn’t.

“He was certainly sympathetic to a lot of their causes, but he never did join,” said Schiffrin. “He used to boast that he never met a petition he didn’t like.”

Schiffrin said Terkel might have been disappointed to learn of one notation in the file: that he was discharged from the Army in 1943 because he was too old.

That wasn’t the reason, said Schiffrin. “Military intelligence got him out because he was subversive,” he said.

via huffingtonpost.com

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Change that makes a difference?

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:32:51 -0800

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Corsi peddles "America for Sale"

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:21:59 -0800

via c-spanvideo.org

For a well credentialed, alternative viewpoint, you may like to check out Corsi. It’s a bit on the grim side, but he gives some suggestions to remedy, at the end, which I always appreciate, as opposed to pure dissent.

And of course, we pray for our leaders and enemies and that God’s will is done.

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Oregon morn'

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:16:10 -0800

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The Beginner’s Guide To Minimalist Travel

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:27:05 -0800

Sent to you via Google Reader

The Beginner’s Guide To Minimalist Travel

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Karol Gajda of Ridiculously Extraordinary.

“Is that all your stuff?”

While embarking on my current 100+ day sojourn I’ve been asked that question almost daily. Most people take more stuff for a 3 day weekend break than I’ve taken on this long trip.

If you’ve struggled to pack what you need in a carry-on I will show you the light. It’s not difficult and you don’t have to do everything at once. Remember the old cliché, slow and steady wins the race.

1) The first step to minimalist travel is to use a smaller carry-on.

If you don’t have enough room to pack all your stuff you’ll be forced to eliminate the unnecessary.

Personally, I use a 32L backpack, the Deuter Futura 32. If you can’t grasp the small size of a 32 liter pack, it’s about the same volume as most school backpacks.

I also carry a small messenger bag just large enough to fit a paperback book, an iPod, a small bag of almonds, and my Asus Eee 1000HE, a 10″, 3 pound netbook PC.

I can actually fit all of my things in my backpack, but the messenger bag is great to take out while exploring during the day.

The biggest benefit of a backpack vs a rolling carry-on is a backpack is much easier to carry around.

2) No matter how long your trip, pack no more than 3 shirts in neutral colors so everything matches everything else.

This way you never have to think about what to wear. If your shirts, pants, and jacket always match you simply wear whatever is clean.

I have 2 black T shirts, 1 orange T shirt, and 1 pair of khaki colored convertible pants (which I obviously wear on the plane and everywhere else).

In case it gets cold, I also have a black long-sleeved shirt in addition to my black jacket.

As for shoes, 1 pair of black shoes to wear and 1 pair of flip flops (in my case, Vibram FiveFingers) to pack.

Dark colors are also better for visible cleanliness reasons. If you spill sauce on light colored clothing it stands out. Unfortunately I couldn’t find dark colored convertible pants that fit me (I’m 6′5″), so I had to settle on khaki.

3) Multi-use soap minimizes your liquids considerably.

Dr Bronner’s organic fair-trade liquid soap can be used to wash your body, shampoo your hair, brush your teeth, and clean your clothes. Buy it in large bottles and fill smaller 3 ounce airline-approved bottles to pack in your carry-on.

3 ounces of Dr Bronner’s soap lasts me about 4 weeks and yes, I use it for everything.

If Dr Bronner’s isn’t available in your area you have 2 options:

First, check out your local health food store and ask them if they carry organic vegetable based soap. This will be similar to Dr Bronner’s.

Second, every outdoor/camping store I’ve been to carries somethi…

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Nasal Irrigation Using a Neti Pot: For the Common Cold and Congestion

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:09:14 -0800

http://ezinearticles.com/?Nasal-Irrigation-Using-a-Neti-Pot:—For-the-Common-Cold-and-Congestion&id=85143

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U.S. House of Representatives Roll Call Votes

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:16:30 -0800

Boehner’s amendment fails. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/index.asp

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health care abortion debate, live, now

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:13:54 -0800

Debating health care abortion ‘Stupak’ amendment to health care plan, live on CSPAN, now.

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Health care reform Pelosi, Dems lock up 218

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:54:55 -0800

Sources: Pelosi, Dems lock up 218 - Patrick O’Connor and John Bresnahan and Jonathan Allen - POLITICO.comHours before an expected vote on a sweeping health care bill, House Democrats believe they’ve secured the 218 votes they need to approve the bill, several party insiders said.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29263.html

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Apple to launch Verizon iPhone, 2010

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:44:19 -0800

Report: Apple to launch Verizon iPhone in Q3 2010

By Prince McLean
Published: 05:00 PM EST

—>

Related AppleInsider articles:

Bell, Telus provide new iPhone competition in…

AT&T 3G MicroCell to cost $150, require no…

AT&T deploying HSPA 7.2 mobile service ahead…

Apple happy with AT&T, indicates no plans for…

AT&T CEO lays out plans to improve 3G coverage…

A new report citing sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain says Apple has contracted to produce a UMTS/CDMA hybrid iPhone due in the third quarter of next year that will enable the company to sell a single global handset to all carriers, and specifically to Verizon Wireless in the US.

via appleinsider.com

Though all my Verizon pals are soooo very Blackberry, perhaps this will lure them to a more open email standard.

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iphone privacy

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:35:48 -0800

Rpost from Greg. We had just been discussing this.
> http://gizmodo.com/5398755/another-iphone-developer-gets-busted-stealing-phone-numbers
>

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Windows 7 surpasses Snow Leopard in under two weeks

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:31:10 -0800

http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/11/06/windows-7-surpasses-snow-leopard-in-under-two-weeks#comments

In only two weeks since the official commercial launch of Microsoft’s latest operating system,Windows 7 has managed to surpass Apple’s Snow Leopard market share. Snow Leopard has been on the market for three months while Windows 7 has only been on the market for two weeks.

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Little cunning world of elements

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:53:45 -0800

John Donne (1572-1631) Holy Sonnets: I am a little world made cunningly

I am a little world made cunningly
Of elements and an angelic sprite,
But black sin hath betray’d to endless night
My world’s both parts, and oh both parts must die.
You which beyond that heaven which was most high
Have found new spheres, and of new lands can write,
Pour new seas in mine eyes, that so I might
Drown my world with my weeping earnestly,
Or wash it, if it must be drown’d no more.
But oh it must be burnt; alas the fire
Of lust and envy have burnt it heretofore,
And made it fouler; let their flames retire,
And burn me O Lord, with a fiery zeal
Of thee and thy house, which doth in eating heal.

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Little cunning world of elements

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:44:12 -0800

John Donne (1572-1631)

Holy Sonnets: I am a little world made cunningly

I am a little world made cunningly

2Of elements and an angelic sprite,

3But black sin hath betray’d to endless night

4My world’s both parts, and oh both parts must die.

5You which beyond that heaven which was most high

6Have found new spheres, and of new lands can write,

7Pour new seas in mine eyes, that so I might

8Drown my world with my weeping earnestly,

9Or wash it, if it must be drown’d no more.

10But oh it must be burnt; alas the fire

11Of lust and envy have burnt it heretofore,

12And made it fouler; let their flames retire,

13And burn me O Lord, with a fiery zeal

14Of thee and thy house, which doth in eating heal.

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Apple, iPhone investigating Grab & Go simplified cross-platform sync

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:18:17 -0800

Apple could make the transferring of files between devices like Macs, iPhones and the Apple TV simpler with a new cross-platform, cloud-integrated sync service.

via appleinsider.com

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six days of rain

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:29:18 -0800

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good walk

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:56:01 -0800

Revelation 4:11 (King James Version)

¹¹Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Coffee Time

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:56:09 -0800

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Matthew Henry 1708

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:48:19 -0800

The joy of the Lord will arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks. “Commentary on the whole Bible”

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