(Possible) lying bastards

My fiance made an interesting comment the other day about the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the 1988 Pan Am airliner bombing that caused Flight 103 to crash into Lockerbie, Scotland. She pondered aloud about whether Mr. al-Megrahi was ill at all, and also the oil contracts that are pending between Libya and Britain.

I found her comment interesting in that I was thinking along similar lines–but then I can be a bit paranoid about such matters.

Scottish law dictates that compassionate release of prisoners requires, among other things, a medical diagnosis that indicates the patient have three months or less to live. The Scotsman is currently running a story indicating that the single doctor who made the diagnosis of terminal prostate cancer for al-Megrahi may not have been qualified to make the diagnosis or (more darkly) was in the hire of either al-Megrahi’s legal team or the Libyan government. At this time the Scottish government will not release details about the physician involved.

Homecoming for al-Megrahi

Homecoming for al-Megrahi

It appears that the decision to release the convicted murderer of 259 people aboard the airliner, and 11 people in the village of Lockerbie, was based upon a diagnosis by this single doctor, and Scottish parliamentarians on both sides of the aisle are demanding details. It also appears that the British government has traded a terrorist for favorable oil contract options with Libya.

Updates to follow…

Published in: on 28 August 2009 at 8:31  Comments (1)  

…it usually is

As if we don’t have enough rip-offs going on these days.

Craigslist in Minneapolis is getting hit with multiple listings for nice apartment and house rentals at great prices. This would be welcome, except that they’re scams. When I made an inquiry via email about a house for a friend, this is what I got back:

(from Phamr Thomas <phamrthomas@yahoo.com>) Hi,

I did get your response concerning the AD I posted on craigslist. The house is still available but presently I’m not around.. I did bid for a portion of petroleum land sometimes ago in West Africa and fortunately I won the bidding so I have to move quickly down to Africa to have my company set up because I will still have to rebid for it in the next 10 years. I came over here with my wife, we both built the house when we got married. As soon as we settle down here I had a thought of selling the house so I have to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my wife advised against that.. She said we may not be able to win the bidding next time, in other to keep our head when we return that we have to keep the house. I reasoned with her and accepted her advise. So I contacted the agent back and requested for my keys and documents. Later we decided to have the house rent out, we would have give the same agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with him later.  If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the  absolute care for the property. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the house because we won’t be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space. But I just had a  feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the house and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the house.

House Address: XXXX 29th Avenue S Minneapolis, MN 55406

First Month Rent:800
Refundable Security Deposit Payment:$800

Please if you are ready now to occupy the house kindly provide the information below for record purpose
You could give me a call as soon as possible so we could proceed asap..

Please note than you will only be able to drive by the house for now but not have a look at the interior until i have sent the keys and documents of the house to you..and the requirement for getting the keys and documents of the house is a fully refundable payment of $800 USD,which is the security deposit.

Please note that the deposit made is fully refundable should in case you finally gain entrance into the house after receiving the keys and documents and feel unsatisfied or uncomfortable with the interior,but i am giving you a benefit of doubt that you will love everything about this lovely home..

My Cell Number Is (+234-8083989796 OR 011-234-8083989796).

I Await your response so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the keys to you.

Best Regards
PHAM THOMAS R….
I don’t believe in redacting to protect the guilty, but I did eliminate the street address.

Look out for any “reply-to” address for an unbelievable rental offer on online realty listings that goes to yahoo.com or other free mail sites, and watch out for email responses in the vein of the above load of moose crap.

Published in: on 27 August 2009 at 11:30  Comments (2)  

If it’s too good to be true…

When I was first involved in buying a personal home, some 20 years ago, I distinctly remember the realtor telling me that adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) were bad news despite their outwardly-attractive facade. (I don’t believe sub-prime loans even existed then.)

Now cue up a story like this one. Would-be home buyers, attracted by the “pay-a-little-now-pay-more-later” siren song of ARMs and subprime loans, got in over their heads.

Worldly folk should have known better, period.

Even those less worldly buyers, who were sucked in by unscrupulous realtors and even less scrupulous mortgage houses, have no excuse for not questioning the wisdom of taking out loans that had even the possibility of causing financial ruin.

In most cases, those who wail and gnash their teeth about home foreclosures and resultant bankruptcies have no one but themselves to blame.

Published in: on 27 August 2009 at 9:16  Leave a Comment  

The right message to the right people

Those who follow GLBT political issues most all know what Mr. Obama thinks of gay marriage.

"Flip-flopping away!"

"Flip-flopping away!"

I wonder if Mr. Obama himself knows how he stands on gay marriage.

Or, more pointedly, is he counting on people to have short memories?

Published in: on 26 August 2009 at 10:40  Leave a Comment  

Minnesota Wingnut Alert

Ms. Bachmann is at it again–spreading disproved myths, joining North Carolina representative Virginia Foxx in a “teletownhall” sponsored by the badly-misnomered Susan B. Anthony List to spread anti-choice spew, and invoking the presence of the Supreme Invisible Sky Fairy by calling for “prayer and fasting” to defeat health care reform. Maybe we should read the entrails of a chicken or two to predict the future, while we’re at it.

Could someone please defeat her in the next election? PLLEEEEEEASE!!

Published in: on 25 August 2009 at 13:38  Leave a Comment  

Rational self-interest and Randroidism

“We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals”–Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1937.

Note the use of the word “heedless”. Heedless (non-rational) self-interest would dictate that the extra money in my pocket be spent on a new electronic toy. Rational self-interest would dictate that I put that money to savings for my child’s college fund. I would still be acting in my own self-interest, since it is in my best interest to ensure that my children (who are my responsibility until they come to majority age) attain the best possible education. It is a case of “doing the best job possible”.

I don’t consider myself an Objectivist; I do not walk in lock-step with the official Objectivist party line.  I do find most of Ayn Rand’s philosophy rationally derived, and unlike most systems of philosophy it is internally consistent with human nature. It is easy to derive workable rules of living from it.

(I’m particularly intrigued with her system of aesthetics; I’m particularly disgusted by her abject misuse of that system to label art “pro living” and other art “anti-life”. Stating that Beethoven had a “malevolent sense of life” is absurd.)

Published in: on 25 August 2009 at 9:30  Leave a Comment  

I’m a celebrity–trust me

You want to know why your prescription bills are so high?

In 2004, American drug companies spent 24.4% of their sales revenue on promotion, versus just 13.4% for research and development.

So, the next time some apologist for Big Pharm whines about the high cost of developing new drugs and how they need to recoup those costs with your prescription bill, ask ‘em how much Sally Field got compensated for her Boniva ads.

While you’re at it, ask them about bisphosphonates and osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Published in: on 24 August 2009 at 8:14  Leave a Comment  

“Talk abot youse mixt messages!”

Michelle Bachmann, the attention-grabbing wingnut that Minnesota should be ashamed to reelect, let a big one slip on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Tuesday, August 18:

“That’s why people need to continue to go to the town halls, continue to melt the phone lines of their liberal members of Congress and let them know, under no certain circumstances will I give the government control over my body and my health care decisions.” (emphasis mine)

Er….that message sounds awfully familiar, but not from Bachmann and her ilk.

Published in: on 21 August 2009 at 12:44  Comments (2)  

Health care, fundamentalism, and UHG

“When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movement become headlong — faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thought of obstacles and forget that a precipice does not show itself to the man in a blind rush until it’s too late.”

Thus spoke Paul-Muad’Dib’s mother in Frank Herbert’s Dune. It’s good advice, especially for United Health Group that has pulled horseshit like this, especially the bit about pushing employees to attend meetings run by fundie wingnut crazies like Dave Daubenmire.

I dodged a serious bullet when I didn’t get a job with those sleezeballs.

Published in: on 21 August 2009 at 8:32  Leave a Comment  

I wonder if she needs a cleavage consultant

Michelle Obama says she needs 26 staffers, at an annual taxpayer cost of $1.75 million in payroll; double that to include the benefits.

(As a civics refresher, keep in mind that the First Lady has no official duties, is not paid by the government, carries no diplomatic weight, is not answerable to Congress as to her activities, and is at a best a symbol to selected causes. Mamie Eisenhower had to spring for the salary of her own secretary–the only member of her staff.)

Published in: on 20 August 2009 at 20:34  Comments (2)  

“Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts”

I’ve often wished I could make a living publishing a blog/factsheet/newspaper/whatever that gave facts about newsworthy items. Just the facts–no opinions, no speculation, no gossip, no features, and no agenda. Pure news.

Of course, I’d starve.

Today’s Huffington Post contains an interesting article about health care myths vs. health care facts. A poll was taken with 805 people, and the responses were interesting.

1. 45 percent said it’s likely the government will decide when to stop care for the elderly.

2. 55 percent expect the overhaul will give coverage to illegal immigrants.

3. 54 percent said the overhaul will lead to a government takeover of health care.

4. 50 percent expect taxpayer dollars will be used to pay for abortions.

#1, 2, and 3 are flat wrong; there is nothing in any provision offered to Congress that would bring them about. Those with political agenda (Hello, Ms. Palin!) took certain provisions and warped them out of recognition. For instance, the entire “death panel” bullshit came about because most proposals would fund end-of-life counseling and living will creation, to be used by those who want it.

#4 is only partially correct; abortions would be allowed under some versions of the proposed bill, but they would be paid for by beneficiary premiums instead of government funding. Under current proposals, public funding for abortions would continue to be prohibited just as it is now.

There’s a concept in the information technology world called FUD–Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. It’s despicable when it’s used in marketing and sales; it should be an offense punishable by, say, lifetime lack of health care insurance, when it’s used to gain notoriety and/or political advantage.

Published in: on 20 August 2009 at 12:25  Leave a Comment  

You *can* go home again (sorta)

Thomas Wolfe once said you can’t go home again. I discovered several years that you can indeed go home–you just can’t stay long, and old friends often change to unrecognizable strangers.

When I decided several years ago to get myself out of a loveless, abusive marriage, I spent time and effort reconnecting with old school friends. The internet, which was just beginning to embrace social networking/annoy the bejeezus out of us with textual advertising, was helpful in finding some of them, including my first requieted love. She  is now a teacher in the southern U.S. and has had her share of life’s adventures, including two marriages, several children, and a history of military service and teaching. We chatted and exchanged email for awhile.

I discovered how much she has changed (or perhaps how much I changed); we are very different now. She maintained her faith in the Christian God; I haven’t. Her pride in her personal and familial history of military service (she served in the Air Force) has evolved into an almost jingoistic fervor; I support defense of our country and our allies, but not involvement in that rabid pitbull of a country (Afghanistan) or that object of  Saudi Arabia’s fear and loathing (Iraq). Our presence in both of those countries is inspired by economics and power grabs, not a genuine need for security.

I find this combination to be the social equivalent of dropping pants and crapping in the middle of a dance floor at a wedding reception, and I finally had to ask her to take me off her mailing list that was annoying the living crap out of me. It made me sad to have to do so, and I suspect she won’t take it very well, but I couldn’t continue to lend moral sanction to someone who espouses points of view I find repugnant and harmful.

Published in: on 17 August 2009 at 10:19  Leave a Comment  

“Heard the rumor? Choco rations going up!”

President Obama (“Change!”) is proving the Who to be correct.

Despite repeated statements that it wasn’t happening, the White House has sold us short to Big Pharmacy yet again.

The agreement calls for a paltry increase in Medicaid rebates (less than 20%), minimally increasing discounts of some drugs for some patients, and other measures that will cost the pharms up to $80 billion. In return, the White House will oppose importation of drugs from Canada, block efforts to increase rebates on Medicare D, oppose opening additional drug availability from Medicare B to Medicare D (which would make them cheaper), and no effort on the government’s part will be made to negotiate better drug prices.

The son-of-a-bitch sold us out, lied about it, and then got caught.

So. What are you going to do about this?

Published in: on 13 August 2009 at 9:51  Comments (1)  

Well, isn’t *that* interesting?

Back in this post, I mentioned that Kenneth Gladney was trying to raise money to pay for his medical bills stemming from injuries sustained during a scuffle at one of those bitchsessions…er, I mean town hall meetings.

Turns out the guy has medical insurance after all. So far, he’s scammed $1100.

Published in: on 13 August 2009 at 8:31  Comments (1)  

Socialized medicine? News flash: it’s already here

(thanks to James Burke for pointing this one out)

From Paul Krugman in NYT online:

There was a telling incident at a town hall held by Representative Gene Green, D-Tex. An activist turned to his fellow attendees and asked if they “oppose any form of socialized or government-run health care.” Nearly all did. Then Representative Green asked how many of those present were on Medicare. Almost half raised their hands.

Update and addendum–from one of my more favorite collaborative blogs:

Meet Kenneth Gladney, 38, of St. Louis. He recently disrupted a town hall meeting to complain about health care reform, got in a fight with some union members, and, in the process, got hurt. Now Mr. Gladney is looking for donations to cover the cost of treating his injuries.

Why? Because he has no health insurance.

Update to the update: it figures.

Published in: on 11 August 2009 at 8:41  Comments (2)  
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