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Vermont Snarky Boy
Hey. I'm Snarky Boy. I live deep in the recesses of a sometimes fertile but most of the time juvenile mind. I don't take anyone seriously – especially myself. In fact, I long for a time when Vermont doesn't take itself too seriously. Hype is one thing, but believing it is quite another. It's okay to laugh while you're here. I'm laughing while writing.
Here were the two top headlines at the New York Times online today:
1) Senate, 100-0, Backs Budget for Pentagon; and
2) Democrats Seee Strength in Bucking Bush.
Now, please, am I the ONLY one who finds this funny? And you won't hear a peep about any of it on the good Dem sites. The motherfuckers will back the warmonger's budget but attack the warmonger. Democratic confusion. Pure and simple.
Posted by Snarky Boy at 2:16 PM
Banned and Not So Confused
Wow. That was easy. Snarky Boy has managed to be banned from most of the liberal Vermont blogging sites within a mere few weeks of operation. Ha! I'll put that on my resume. Frankly, I'm surprised this nest of ninnies allowed as many opinions to their left as they did. But, like the good cowardly liberals that they are, they've effectively donned their Stalinist tendencies and purged themselves of a need to heed anything to the vast left of the middle from which they stand – er, make that: sit. Standing would imply a bit too much action on their part.
The last of the ninnies to officially bounce Snarky Boy from his site is none other than Peter Freyne of Seven Daze. I guess he doesn't like to be reminded of his dopey past and lethargic present. Whatever.
Like the previous liberal bloggers who've so joyfully practiced censorship, Freyne did it quietly, without notice to his fawning readers. It's easier that way. While I know it's a piece of cake to rush the gates and post under different names, I'm not going to do it. I proved my point. Now they can have their echo chamber and their oh-so wonderful beliefs that there's nothing to the left of their pretty little opinions.
They will, for example, drool over Bernie, cream their panties over Lamont, and certainly get on the Hillary bandwagon when called to do so. Sadly, that's the Vermont liberal way. It's an insider's club that is more stifling than any liberal movement in America. As they've proven with their blogger-censorship, you either praise and get in line or you get banned – all in the name of political change!
Luckily, Snarky Boy's got some large national venues to play to – I'll let you in on those in the near future. I tried to play in Vermont with the understanding that it would not last due to the clubbish nature of liberalism here. And I was right. Vermont likes to pretend to be alternative but it's really all for show. The truth is that Vermont liberals are as scared and compliant as the sheep that used to roam here.
But I ain't knocking at that door no more.
Just Read It
Oh boy, Snarky Boy hates work. And I'm not talking about painting, either. I wish I were painting. Those were the good old days. I'd paint by day and come and kick your sorry asses around at night. No such luck now.
With a bum hand and newly acquired fear of all things sharp, I've now landed what most of you would consider a "real job." And it sucks. The good news is that it involves writing mostly, with some research thrown in for good measure. The bad news is that it also involves an insane timeline, requiring all too much of Snarky Boy's attention. But the best news is that it pays well. It would have to given the ownership of my mind that it requires. And Snarky Boy ain't cheap.
But to hell with that gossip. Let's talk politics. It's certainly no surprise that the only real race for elected office this year involves the one where no incumbents or currently elected federal politicians are involved. Yep, that would be the race to fill Bernie's seat being waged by the She-General Rainville and the Nerd Boy Welch.
The brainless partisans out there would have you believe that there is a good choice here. The good Republicans can't stop slobbering on themselves for landing Rainville as a candidate under their umbrella and the good Democrats can't stop slapping their own backs for getting behind such a "nice guy."
But the truth is that they both kind of suck. Rainville simply can't be trusted because she wasn't even sure if she was a Republican as recently as last year and now she's a gung-ho Republican. Worse, she still seems to think the Iraq war that she so proudly sent her charges to is a good idea. Fuck that.
Welch, on the other hand, is your typical mainstream Democrat who seemingly has his hand on the political weathervane more than his own beliefs and passions. He'll bitch and moan about everything Republicans do AFTER it's obvious that his polling data apparently confirm that what the Republicans did is, indeed, unpopular. Some leadership.
Like I said, the choice just sucks in this race. But it would be very hard to believe that Welch could blow it in an election year that should see widespread Democratic gains nationwide. And I think Welch got a huge electoral gift recently when Governor Douglas apparently lost his marbles and picked a fight with Vermont's congressional delegation over federally-protected forestlands.
Douglas was obviously trying to throw a bone to his far-right supporters but quickly realized that that's one flimsy branch to be hanging from. I mean, come on, have you ever heard the nutball at the Vermont Traditions Coalition, Steve McLeod, speak? Here's a hint: He's convinced that ATV riding is a long-standing Vermont tradition. Like I said, he's a nutball.
But Douglas' slip into the wacko never-never-land of right wing lunatics will certainly cost him some support come November, especially if Scudder Parker can figure out a way to coerce a camera or two to actually cover his campaign. And with the Douglas/Parker campaign tightening up a bit, that means shorter political coattails for Rainville to ride on. Thanks, Jim.
My prediction: Welch will win and we'll all be bored with him.
Hey Dems: Learn from the Small Dog
Vermont Media Incorporated; Graff Jumps for the Money, His Colleagues Say "Hooray!"
Did you catch the news that the former head of the Associated Press in Vermont and current host of Vermont Public Television's news weekly, Chris Graff, just accepted a high-paying job with the National Life Group in Montpelier? If you did, you no doubt read the fawning, uncritical version about his jump to feed from the corporate trough. You had to, because there were no other versions, not even in our state's so-called alternative publications. Surprise, surprise.
Unfortunately, it's another sad example of the tight-knit nature of Vermont's incestuous little media club. It's the media club that acts more like a cheerleader for the hype of Vermont rather than digging for the reality. It's the media club that never, ever asks a hard question of our incumbent politicians (and you wonder why they serve for life). It's the media club that rarely embarks on investigative reporting. And it's the media club that loves to backslap themselves and bring the *
And the good members of the club played along. You'd expect the bland reporters at the Times-Argus and Free Press to run with this story in the same way they run with most stories: print the press release and go back to sleep. But I can't seem to shake the naiveté that our "alternative" publications would dig a bit deeper on this story. Alas, they didn't. Peter Freyne at Seven Daze and Shay Totten at the Vermont Guardian covered the story just like you'd expect a butt-kisser to cover it: Yeah, Graff! Go, Graff! Our hero!
But wait, I can hear you saying, what's the story beyond washed-up media guy lunges for the golden parachute of corporate life? Well, try these lines of reasoning:
* It was only a couple of years ago that National Life laid off a slew of employees and sent their jobs to India. And they handled it very poorly, breaking promises with long-time employees and treating them as if they were lepers in their last days of work for a "local" company they thought they'd be with for their entire working careers. And the men who orchestrated it: Brian Vachon, the man Graff is replacing and Tom MacLeay, National Life's CEO, a man described by Graff as his "long-time close friend." Well, how about asking Graff about what he thought about his friends' treatment of their employees a couple years back? Or how about asking him if he would have handled it differently? Or if he had compassion for them?
* The Vermont media club also could have used the Graff announcement to question the ridiculous notion that the Vermont media is some liberal haven. If the head of the AP and the host of the state's most popular news weekly is best friends with Republican corporate honchos and quite comfortably takes a job with them, how liberal/lefty can he be? The answer: He's not, and the real problem with the media – other than their clubby nature – is their corporate mentality.
* What about the conflict of interest regarding Graff's announcement that he was hired by National Life but staying on as the host of VPT's show for several more months? It was only in July that environmentalists made an appropriate stink over Natural Resources Secretary Tom Torti's announcement that he was taking a job with the Chamber of Commerce but wanted to stick around with his current job for a few more months. And Freyne and Totten jumped all over that one. But why won't they jump on this one? Answer: They might not get invited back. If they've got no problem with a National Life executive hosting a news show, why not advocate that the head of GE edit the Free Press editorial page?
* The media club could also take the Graff announcement as an incentive to look into how many Vermont journalists do what Graff is doing: burning out in journalism and moving into corporate flack jobs. What does that say about Vermont's journalism jobs? What does it say about how current Vermont journalists behave towards corporate power when they know about this obvious career path?
The late, great Pulitzer used to say that "newspapers should have no friends." The folks in the Vermont media seem to have misread his quote, thinking instead that newspapers are a way to MAKE friends – not to mention money. But while they continue to backslap and cajole their way around their club, the rest of us are getting the shaft by the fact that they're not doing their jobs. Sadly, there is no muckraking in Vermont. There's only glad-handing and press release regurgitation. And there's absolutely nothing alternative about any of it.
Posted by Snarky Boy at 9:32 AM
News Flash: Chavez Attacks Bush; Bernie's Still Grumpy
[Photo: Chavez Promoting Chomsky at the UN]
Bravo to Chavez! How refreshing to see a public figure speak their mind about Bush. If you haven't heard, Venezuela's leader took the podium at the UN today and called Bush "the devil." Nice touch. But the best part was that he also took a copy of one of Noam Chomsky's books on US hegemony to the podium with him – and held it up as he referred to it!
Now the question is, what will Bernie say about all this? Being the fair-weather friend that we know he is, I'm sure the great wall of Bernie silence will greet this news. Bernie loves the photo-ops with Chavez's representatives when he can promise cheap oil but runs like hell when his friends out radicalize him (which ain't hard). Don't forget, Bernie's too tumid to even endorse a motion to impeach Bush, let alone call him the devil he really is.
Hey Bernie, guess what? There are poor people all over the world, and their suffering, too. You say you want to be different. So start being different.
Speaking of Bernie, I was out on the town last night and bumped into a few all-too-happy Bernie supporters. You know the kind, they're the ones who get all googly-eyed when they speak of him and rattle off the times they've spoken with him one-on-one and all but promising never to wash their hands after touching the old fuck. Ew.
They even got all misty-eyed when I told them about my bandaged hand and the impact it's having on my financial well-being. Hey, liberals are easy. If I could have just kept them on the tear-jerking train, I'm sure I could have had free drinks the whole night and probably some pocket change, too. Hey, liberals are even easier after a few drinks.
But Snarky Boy came to the fore. Fuck. Sometimes I just can't keep that bastard from taking over. And I proceeded with this line of questioning:
How can a grumpy, joyless, angry old bastard like Bernie make so many people so hopeful and happy? And I'm serious. The fact that he can pull this off is almost enough to convince me that the man's nothing short of magical. I mean, think about it, Bernie is the last person any sane person would want to hang around with for more than the length of a short stump speech. The guy's just all doom and gloom. Worse, he's always pissed and never happy. And yet he's got legions of people out marching around in their Bernie-red shirts, smiling from ear to ear, and acting like they're out promoting some modern incarnation of "Up With People." Sorry, but it's just fucking weird.
There's an old lefty political message about personifying the change you want to see in society. Now let's pretend for a second that Bernie's personifying the change he wants to see in society. How goddamn ugly is that? Bernie makes Castro look like fun for crying out loud; at least Castro goes to baseball games and even dances from time to time. Not Bernie. He's just pissed. Worse, he's pissed AND ineffective. Even worse, he's pissed, ineffective AND he compromises himself into irrelevancy.
Personally, I keep waiting for Bernie to break out of character and declare the last 20 years nothing but a grand act of guerrilla theater that he concocted during his pot-smoking Stannard days. You know, the days when he carried Chomsky books around and called presidents the devil, just like Chavez still does today. My guess, though, is that somewhere along the way he realized just how lucrative it is to con liberals. And now he's most certainly going to be the dourest U.S. Senator in history! And the angrier he gets, the happier his followers get.
Why can't I just keep my fucking mouth shut? I can't even stay in character long enough to get a free beer. Some people never learn. Oh yeah, baby, I'm the leader of that pack.
Posted by Snarky Boy at 12:55 PM
Bernie Fucks Over a Friend (Again)
Fuck. I hate when I agree with Republicans. But here it goes: Why is the mainstream Vermont media letting Bernie Sanders completely off the hook when it comes to the fact that his leading national spokesperson, Willie Nelson, was just busted for possession of pot and 'shrooms? Please, don't get me wrong, I love the altered state more than most, but the hypocrisy of letting Bernie walk scott-free on this one is beyond ridiculous. It's another reason why I want to be a Vermont incumbent politician when I grow up, mostly because the watchdogs of democracy – the media – in this state seems to think their job is to make icons out of our elected officials rather than covering their dastardly deeds and poking around in their nefarious affairs.
Imagine, for example, if Tarrant, Rainville, Welch, Parker or Dunne were found to be running commercials that featured a recently arrested pot-possessor? The shit would be hitting the fan and their campaigns would be spiraling into the realm of the McMullen zone. But not with incumbents. And, please, spare me the "Bernie's not the Senate incumbent" crap. He's the one running with the nice federal paycheck and, thus, he's considered the incumbent. And if incumbent is too strong a word for you, try this instead: power elite. Yep, swallow that one, Bernie's a member of the power elite, mostly because he's been a federally elected politician for eons and he's worth ten times the rest of us average folk. Deal with it.
If Bernie had balls, he'd come out right now and declare his support for Willie, the guy who came to Vermont to lend his support for Bernie. But Bernie ain't that kind of a guy. Instead, Bernie will ignore Willie and probably pull the commercials featuring him faster than you can say "fair-weather friend." And that's the Bernie that Vermonters should know more about before we stumble into the voting booth in November.
Bernie could also stand up now and talk about the ridiculous nature of the drug laws his friend Willie was just busted under. But that's not what Bernie's about, either. That would be truly alternative. And that would mean sticking to his principles when his principles might endanger his political career – a place Bernie's never, ever gone before.
The Bernie Show is about one man and one man only: Bernie. He won't go to the mat for anyone unless he knows the cameras are rolling and it's going to benefit his angry-ass more than anyone else in the room. And he won't stand by a friend when a friend needs his support most.
Don't believe me? Just try to find a word of support or concern for the man standing next to him in his commercials.
As a working painter to the left of Bernie's nonsense, I think his political career can be summed up quite simply this way: Bernie hates people but loves himself. And we, as Vermonters, are stuck with his charade of care until the Vermont media wakes up, realizes what they're supposed to be doing, and provides the same kind of coverage for incumbents that it provides for challengers to high elected office.
Hey Vermont media – especially Fryene – stop kissing Bernie's ass and start kicking it once in awhile. It's called democracy. And if it's good enough to export to Iraq, it should be good enough to be practiced here in Vermont.
Middle Finger Mishap
Yo. I'm back. And don't even ask what that little break was all about. Because, if you do, I'll just say it was weird. Really weird. But suffice it to say that I'm typing with a fucking gauze wrapping on my stitched-up middle finger. I know, I know, the first thing that comes to your warped minds when I say middle finger is the infamous one-finger salute. Your sick minds want to think that Snarky Boy got cocky with my middle finger and one of those Harley fellows at my favorite watering hole took offense. Well, sorry about that, but it didn't happen that way. Nope. It was a stupid goddamn painting accident. And let this be a lesson: When flesh runs across metal flashing, shit happens. And if those pussy Democrats would have actually passed a healthcare plan that mattered, the whole thing wouldn't have cost me nearly two thousand dollars to stitch up. Yeah, two thousand dollars, mostly because the Doc at the radar station (that's a Captain Beefheart reference, for those of you in the great musical void) was worried about bone damage. Bullshit. He was more worried about his medical license than any bone in my body. Trust me on that one.
There. Aren't you glad you didn't ask?
But I send heartfelt Snarky thank-yous to the fine folks who crammed my email box with notes of wonderment about my whereabouts. And, yes, I even enjoyed the large number of inquiries that went something like this: "Ha! I knew you'd run out of steam. I'm glad you're gone and I hope you never come back."
You gotta love that shit. I mean, these folks are the ones obsessively check, check, and checking to see if Snarky Boy is posting anything new but then they take more time to send me a note expressing their pleasure with what they assume is my demise. Oh baby, feel the logic.
Typing, as you can imagine, absolutely sucks now. I feel like a monkey with a mitt at a keyboard. And, no, not one of those purple-assed-baboons I liked so much at the zoos of my youth. I'm just a regular old monkey, if there's such a thing, with a bandaged hand, an anxious mind and a throbbing hand that won't allow me to work like I should be in this most busy time of year for painters. Good thing it's the middle of the month because I've got a couple of weeks to ponder how in holy hell I'm going to pay the bills.
But the torture of the financial pinch was nothing compared to the torture of being forced to read – and not respond to – the sophomoric nonsense of the Vermont blogosphere. I'm sure, for example, you all witnessed the sheer ninniness of all the "Fred Tuttle" write-in crap. Volumes of bullshit were spilled on this one, with the great boring pontificators (especially Odum and his crowd) lecturing from on high about the merits and demerits of democracy, open processes, more processes and some more merits on the processes of democratic processes. Sorry, but that's what they sound like to me when you get into their echo chamber of irrelevancy. Are they just trying to imitate Charlie Brown's teacher? Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha.
I am, however, getting worried about Baruth. It's been nearly 10 days since he posted a photo of himself on his site (besides, of course, the one that stares you down every time you visit). What's up Phil? Getting shy over there? Remember, it's all about you, baby. You and you alone. Don't let us down. Because there is NO story without YOU in the center of it, Phil.
And the primary yesterday was a total fucking bore. Even though every blogger without an original thought pondered and fretted over the possibilities of "cross-over" voters in the primaries, it didn't happen. And I knew it wouldn't. Political elitists from all stripes have one thing in common: they don't trust the common man and woman. But the common man and woman never pay attention to political elitists and their meaningless worries and, so, went and voted like they always do. Ho-fucking-hum.
The best irony of the primary day was that if there was any "rigging" of the ballot by anyone it was Bernie Sanders and the Democrats. They played out their little charade of letting Bernie on the primary ballot just to keep it "clean and clear" for the November ballot. And then Bernie did his famous smack down of the Dems this morning by thanking them for the 94% support but "no thanks." Do they really think we're all that stupid? I guess so.
The relationship between Bernie and the Dems is not too dissimilar to the relationship between the wife-beater and the wife. The wife-beater does the smack down one night and then gets all kissy face the next morning. The relationship is totally toxic but the wife is seemingly stuck for a myriad of reasons, not least of which is the comfort of the familiar – even when the familiar is so goddamn abusive. And what's the best advice we all give the wife: Run! So, listen up Democrats: Run!
Or, if you're not going to run, at least start asking him some serious questions. I'd suggest questions like these: What legislation have you introduced or supported that would end the Iraq war now? What legislation have you introduced or supported that would lead to the impeachment of Bush now? Why are you so joyless? If you had your way, would we all have to be as angry, humorless and just plain grumpy as you always are? And, finally, when's the last time you begged for a hot-oil hand-job?
That would make things interesting, no?
Speaking of the primary, congrats to Eddie Munster –er, I mean – Matt Dunne for his victory in the Lite-Guv race. It must not have been easy to take on and defeat a man as popular as Huey Lewis. Huh? What? Are you serious? Oops, I was just informed that that was NOT Huey Lewis he defeated, but John Patrick (add a few more waspy names) Tracy. Sorry about that.
The best post-campaign coverage of the day came from the Burlington Free Press this morning. It was the photo of Tracy walking forlornly by Dunne at a busy Burlington intersection yesterday morning after realizing that he had been beaten to the coveted spot. And Tracy lives in Burlington! So not only did Tracy have to wake up as a loser this morning but he also had to see himself completely portrayed as a loser in the above-the-fold photo in the state's largest newspaper. Bummer.
But now Dunne gets to face the Mr. Magoo of Vermont politics, Brian Dubie, in the general election. Worse, Dunne had to wake up on his victory day to find a headline in the morning papers touting the fact that Dubie has been called to service in Iraq as a member of the Vermont National Guard. Too bad Dunne won't use this as evidence that Dubie's in complete support of Bush's stupid war. I mean, come on, how much more can a guy or girl support the war than show up for duty in Baghdad with nary a word of complaint?
And to hell with you if you believe for one second that this Dubie deployment is anything but staged. Come on. And the timing! Dunne should also start asking why regular joes are being forced to go sweat their asses off in Baghdad for 18 months while Dubie gets a ONE WEEK deployment. The joke's on us -- and the mainstream media for lapping this up like it's not the political stunt that it so obviously is.
Besides, how cruel is it to offer to send a Dubie to help the troops and it turns out to Brian Dubie? That's hardly the Dubie those poor fellas need about now. But, just like a good high, he'll be gone before they knew it.
I've got more to say – surprise, surprise – but my finger hurts.
I'll be back soon.
Rummy Don't Matter No More
Shhh. Be still. Real still. Do you hear that? Yep, that's the hum of nonsense spilling forth from all the mainstream Democrats in their never ending attempts to fuck up an election.
You can hear it in a Peter Welch campaign ad. You can hear it in a Peter Freyne love letter masquerading as a newspaper column. And you can hear it in all the blind little Bernie supporters who keep screaming about some boogie man lurking when all I ever see is an obnoxiously rich opponent making a complete ass of himself (that would be Tarrant, folks).
Let's face it, Democrats don't know how to win. In fact, I'm convinced that they've convinced themselves that it's not politically correct to win. Kind of like the folks in the Burlington 'burbs who've convinced themselves that they shouldn't let their kids keep score at their soccer games. Get over it, already.
Oh sure, the Democrats will almost certainly gain seats in Congress and even make some headway here in Vermont. But for those of us who actually care about essential issues like the war, the impeachment of Bush and health care, we've got nothing but more frustration ahead no matter which party is in control of Congress next January.
We always know where the rightwing stands. They're all too fucking clear about their lust for power, world dominance, abuse of our civil liberties, and just sheer greed. And, in a way, it's a relief to come up against such honesty, especially when you try to figure out what it is the mainstream Democrats stand for.
And what do the Democrats stand for? I don't think they know the answer to that question. If you don't believe me, consider all the nervous prattle going on right now about the Democratic call for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. This half-measure of near-nothingness is about as typical of Democratic action of late as anything.
It is an absolute no-brainer that Rumsfeld is a complete ass. In fact, I don't even think Rumsfeld would argue that point since he seemingly takes such pleasure in the role. But he's basically irrelevant. It wouldn't matter if Donald-fucking-Duck were the head of the Pentagon right now because the Bush White House would be telling him where to take his stupid quacks.
But that hasn't stopped all the electoral-season Democrats from getting up on their silly hind legs and making the removal of Rumsfeld issue number one for the week. Why? Because it's easy. And the mainstream Democrats of today love to take it easy. Because if they ain't taking it easy, they're having to take a real stand. For some strange reason, that really sucks for today's Democrats.
If the goal is to stop the war and get rid of Bush, why can't the Democrats call for an end to the war and the impeachment of Bush? This "remove Rumsfeld" stuff is just busy work, yet another half-measure from a party that continues to be afraid of boldness and apparently confused by what it wants or believes.
This is the time to be asking Democrats -- especially Bernie -- what they've done lately to stop the war and to get rid of Bush. That's what we want, isn't it? Instead, we let them off the hook easy by simply calling for the removal of Rumsfeld. Sorry, but that's a no brainier.
The truth is that Bernie hasn't done a thing to end this war. And he's very publicly refused to endorse efforts to impeach Bush. But the Vermont liberals -- led by the Freyne cheerleading squad -- are refusing to demand that he (and other top Dems) listen to, respect and ACT UPON these deeply felt opinions of Vermonters.
Think about it, when the Republicans wanted to stymie the Clinton agenda (whatever the hell that was) they didn't ask for the removal of his Health Secretary because of the blowjob he received, they asked for Clinton's removal. Likewise, the Dems shouldn't be wasting their time on Rumsfeld and, instead, aiming for the main man himself.
Let's face it, Bernie's got the easiest campaign in the nation for U.S. Senate. Tarrant is a fucking idiot, we all know that. So instead of doing the obvious and jumping on the bandwagon that can barely hold anyone else, wouldn't it make sense to start pushing Bernie to do more than he has for the left that he proclaims to be a part of? Because, as it stands now, he's taking us for granted and completely getting away with it.
Yo Democrats, the next time you're yucking it up with Bernie, why don't you ask him these simple questions: 1) What legislation have you introduced to stop the war? 2) If Bush is as bad as you say he is (and we know he is), how do you plan to remove him?
And, please, enough with this Rumsfeld nonsense. It's not going to happen and -- even if it did -- it wouldn't matter.
Trust me, the Democrats are going to fuck this election up. They may win, but they won't know what to do if/when they do. And we only have our weak-kneed activist left to blame for it because we've been letting them all off the hook by cheering all the stupid shit they're saying and not demanding REAL answers to the VERY REAL problems this nation is facing.
Mark my snarky words.
Pom-Pom Patriotism
That was weird. The weekend, that is. It's called Labor Day but, from my humble snarky perspective, I didn't see much by way of celebrating anything close to labor. I saw commerce, plenty of that. I saw faux-patriotism, oh-so-goddamn much of that. And I saw more consumption and more patriotism. America is one big fucking party, people!
Or maybe not. Here I come, the dark force of reality once again.
Let's start with the parade I got totally snookered into participating in. Yeah, you read that right; the Snarkmaster was actually in a parade over the weekend. And it wasn't just ANY parade, it was the Northfield Labor Day Parade, the granddaddy of Vermont Labor Day parades, right there under the shadows of Norwich University, home of tomorrow's killers – er, I mean – soldiers.
My involvement in this little debacle is a long story and, of course, it involves beer and the late night consumption of, well, more beer. You see, Snarky Boy's got a bit of drumming in his past. And my drumming prowess gets really exaggerated with each beer and each hour that passes on a Saturday night out. Hell, on some weekends, by midnight I could almost convince myself that I was Gene Krupa. Oops, that reference might have dated me a bit. Let me retract that last reference and, in its place, insert Dave Krusen (that would be the drummer for Pearl Jam, folks).
Well, Snarky Boy got to drinking and talking on Saturday night and the next thing I knew I was confronted by the absolute, immediate and necessary need for someone with rhythm to sit on a Labor Day float and thump a drum for a float that will remain unnamed. In a haze of happy thoughts and inflated rhythmic prowess, I accepted the offer and even promised to attend a most ridiculous "practice session" the next morning. And here, for honesty's sake, were the same seven words bounding about my throbbing head while I was on my way to that rehearsal on Sunday: "What in the fuck am I doing now?"
Let's get one thing straight right now: Snarky Boy doesn't even go to parades, let alone participate in them. Modern parades in America – especially in this "time of war" – remind me a little too much of 1930s Germany for my tastes. It's that uniformity of thought, worship of symbols and the near-delirious cheers for all-things-American that I find more than a bit uncomfortable, especially while bullets and bombs are flying in our nation's name.
But to actually BE in a parade is a whole different ballgame. Well, that's not really true, because it's the same ballgame. So, let's put it this way, to be in the parade is like being in the same game but only on steroids. Oh yeah. You're really, really, really in the fucking game.
As you know by now, Snarky Boy finds himself in a lot of rather odd social situations. But let me say right now that parade participants are the most bizarre human beings this odd duck has ever – ever – come across. If the Titanic had cheerleaders, these folks would have volunteered for that duty. They'd have stood there with happy smiles and pom-poms, cheering the wonders of the ship as the son-of-a-bitch filled with icy water. Go team, go!
And the happiness of it all! Ah, the joy of obliviousness! The freedom of nothingness! The weightlessness of pure, simple thoughtlessness! The blessings of mental blankness! The ecstasy of the uniformity! The sheer fucking euphoria of the conformity! Shut up and wave those flags! Loose yourself in the pomposity of it all!
And, whatever you do, don't even think about honoring the poor laboring bastards serving you the hot dog you're still going to bitch about. Or the underclass kid sweating his ass off in a stupid desert thousands of miles away, wondering if he's going to take a bullet for this nonsense or make it home to serve you your next hot dog. Don't, don't, don't think these thoughts. Because this is a time to celebrate. To wave the flag. To cheer the (sinking) ship. To swim in the delightfully shallow waters of all things Democratic or Republican. It's really that simply, you know? And, besides, it's more of that us vs. them thing that really makes us special.
Nope. We're not going to think about any of that on Labor Day. This is a celebration. And in modern America we have two times: non-celebration times when we don't think about things that matter and celebration times when we don't think about things that matter. So there. Deal with it. And stop thinking, you commie prick.
So, there I was, banging out a ridiculous rhythm for this unnamed float while the crowd literally went wild in a rather ill defined fit of patriotic joy. And it would seemingly never end. But since my float was among the few without a military theme, I could sense the disappointment in their applause. We were like the child who didn't quite live up to their parent's expectations. Oh sure, the applause was still there, but the disappointment was palpable.
I only got caught up in one spot of bother, too. It happened in one of those all-too-frequent occasions when the parade stops for too long while the goddamn Shriners take their time going on and on with their motor vehicles and silly hats. What, may I ask, do the Shriners do anyway? If I were an alien and forced to watch a parade and then guess their function (which is damn close to my reality anyway), I would guess this: they're a bunch of happy-go-lucky drunk bastards out on furlough from the mental unit to entertain the rest of us out of our beliefs that this whole thing is all rather ridiculous. And I bet I'd be right. I mean, come on, what do a bunch of fat bastards riding go-carts over obnoxious SUVs have to do with helping children? The joke's on you.
But that has nothing to do with my spot of bother. Not at all.
I got in a bit of a verbal pickle during one of those Shriner stops when I wasn't drumming and, thus, thinking. And when I looked up and saw all the people waving their flags I couldn't help thinking of the cowardice of it all. I mean, how much courage does it take to wave the American flag in America? We're all fucking Americans, aren't we? I think we all know where we live. It's not like they need to remind us that Vermont is still a member of the United States of America. So where's the courage in flaunting the flag?
So the Snarky Boy got in a whole heap of trouble by asking a rather brawny bunch of dimwit flag wavers this simple question: If you're so proud of that flag, why don't you wave it where it's not safe to wave it? You know, some place like downtown Baghdad?
But before it got too ugly, the Shriners started moving again and all Snarky Boy got was a Coke can thrown my way and more than a few middle-finger salutes. Whatever.
I did my duty, though. I entertained the mindless masses. I visited the belly of the beast and left with a rather simple-minded assessment: We're fucked.
I hope enjoyed the break. There's nothing but joy ahead.
A Novel, a Day, and Us
Thank goodness Snarky Boy came home to some messages of interest in the novel I'm working on. I was about to give up on all hope for humanity. But then – oh the glorious "then" of it all – one of those calls showed up on my little snarky machine: "We like the first chapter, please send more."
And it's Friday to boot. Hey gang, drinks are on me tonight. Well, let's get reasonable here. Make that: first drink for the first three who say "Congrats, Snarky," get a free drink. I have, as you know, been on a goddamn ladder all day.
My work for the state is about to end and I've been hustling around at lunchtime and the early evening to bid on more paint jobs for the privileged. Like the bizarre fixation on people mowing their lawns shorter and shorter until the brink of lawn death, people are painting their fucking houses way more than they should. And, in case you didn't notice, Snarky's got a thing or two with offering opinions.
I went to a house today, for example, in one of those all-too-popular streets in Montpelier to look at a possible job. If I wasn't super sure about the address, I would have never believed that this house needed anything – not least of which a new paint job. But, sure as shit, these folks came bounding out of the house like I was Santa Claus or something, offering refreshments and giddy as all hell about throwing money my way.
"Thank you so much for coming," declared the little lady. "We're so excited about getting on your list."
What the fuck? List?
I guess this is what it comes to in moneyed suburbia – even in Vermont. Somewhere and somehow the sense of accomplishment amongst the middle classes got totally perverted. Instead of being proud about something you're doing that actually matters, you hire people to do things that matter. Yep, you hire a guy to trim a tree, a different guy to mow the lawn, an even different guy to paint the house, and then another clueless fucking stranger to – what? – wash the windows. And then they act like they're "getting things done" by crossing off some list they've simply called to do the shit they should be doing in the first place. Oh, poor bastard, you need a vacation!
The relationship between the hired guy and the guy who's hiring (and, please, get over the sexist nature of this, I'm only talking about the guy-on-guy hiring here) is as odd as it gets when it comes to the things like painting, mowing and the like. These are, after all, the kinds of things their fathers tried to teach them to do for themselves. But now they're slackers. They'd rather pull the blinds so you don't see them watching television while you're scraping the goddamn lead paint off their windows than ponder what their fathers taught them.
But, let's be honest here, it's a dick thing, you know. To hire a man to come to your house and do the so-called manly chores is to a wonder if your dick is smaller than it should be. You're obviously giving up a bit of your manliness and – quite honestly – the first thing most men do in such a situation is check the bulge in their pants. Trust me, I've been working for these fellas for years. It's agonizing for most men. It's worse than asking for directions, you know, because not only are they asking for something they're also paying for it!
The best part for those of us on the other end of the dick dilemma is that these guys seem to get it in their heads (their big heads, that is) that the more they pay us the less the chance that they could have done the job themselves. That's a bit of pathology that they've brought from their "day jobs," and the more us worker-fellas understand that, the more beers we get to buy our friends on Friday night.
Okay, let me make that even simpler: The less you charge the man of the house, the smaller you're saying his penis is. It's totally fucked up, but it's true. These people rely on experts all day long and when they call you up to do something like paint a fucking wall, you've got to act like the expert and – even more importantly – charge like the expert. It's that kind of bullshit that they respect. And so be it.
But the good news is that I think I landed two big house jobs for the month. It's good news for Snarky's wallet but bad news for my writing projects and my interest in harassing – er, make that, covering – the political campaigns and issues of the day.
And then there's that novel. I think you'll like it. It's about a painter-guy who is obsessed with politics, social change and the need to get people to be real and unafraid of pleasure. Worse, he lives in Vermont, a place where the thick coat of denial can run deep, where the hype of all-things-perfect can lead to most-things-being-false. I think you'll like it. And I hope to finish it soon.
Sorry to ramble. It's the excitement. Shit's happening. And we're all in this together. See you in town, my friends.
Snarky Boy
Vermont Media Incorporated; Graff Jumps for the Mo...
News Flash: Chavez Attacks Bush; Bernie's Still Gr...


Speed limitations, increased fault rate and operating costs, and a lengthy co-existence period are among the consequences of the Government's much-touted mixed technology rollout for the National Broadband Network (NBN), according to NBN Co chief Bill Morrow.
In a new position paper, seen by ARN, Morrow has outlined the technical basis for a number of the service issues experienced by end customers of the network, much of which stems from the legacy infrastructure being used under the Federal Government's preferred multi-technology mix (MTM) model for the network's rollout.
"While the use of the existing copper and pay TV networks has led to a faster network build and a lower cost-per-premises, there are consequences to this approach," Morrow said in the position paper.
"The first and most notable consequence is the maximum speed limitations of copper versus the previous fibre-based model.
"A second consequence of the use of copper in the last (approximately) 1km of the network is the increased fault rate and operating costs versus the all-fibre alternative," he said, stressing that these costs remain less than those of a mostly-fibre alternative, and that the incremental fault rate was felt to be within reason.
A third consequence of the Government's expanded MTM rollout, according to Morrow, is related to the 'co-existence period' – a contracted period that begins when NBN Co declares an area ready for service.
"While in the co-existence period, NBN Co is responsible for operating and maintaining all services over the network, including any Telstra legacy services provided by that portion of the network," Morrow said.
"While this is all technically achievable, the sharing of the spectrum requires NBN Co to adjust and plan for earlier network capacity enhancements," he said.
The trade-offs of using existing infrastructure to reduce the cost and the time of the NBN rollout do not stop there, with Morrow also suggesting that, for each of the pre-existing infrastructures, the physical condition of the network is sometimes worse than anticipated.
"Additionally, the databases of what exists and where each network is located are sometimes absent or inaccurate. These factors have created additional challenges," Morrow said.
The comments, which arrive just weeks after Morrow announced his resignation from the leadership of NBN Co, come as the network and the company behind its rollout weather heavy scrutiny by the public and other stakeholders due to ongoing connection and performance issues.
Morrow's latest position paper appears to make an effort to illustrate the key reasons behind some of the core issues raised by consumers while defending many of the decisions behind the network's technology footprint and business model, both of which have met with criticism from certain quarters.
A largely optical fibre-based network drawing heavily on Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) technology was the previous Labor Government's preference for the project as it was initially introduced in 2007.
The move away from a fibre-heavy network to an ostensibly more affordable MTM approach was a major point of difference between the incumbent Labor Government, and the Liberal-National Coalition, which ultimately won the country's vote.
In late 2013, at the direction of the then newly-appointed Australian Government, NBN Co conducted a strategic review to assess and select alternative approaches that would improve the commercial viability and time to complete nationwide access to high-speed broadband.
While the original design had three access technologies in the mix, NBN Co and the newly-appointed Australian Government decided to add two additional access technologies: Fibre-to- the-Node (FttN) and Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial (HFC).
As reported by News Limited, the new position paper sees Morrow highlight the speed limitations arising from the use of Telstra's existing copper network in the FttN footprint.
The HFC network, meanwhile, has experienced problems of its own, with Morrow announcing late last year a temporary pause in new HFC network services due to technical issues.
However, despite highlighting the intrinsic drawbacks of the MTM's reliance on legacy infrastructure like Telstra's copper and HFC networks, Morrow remains optimistic that the rollout will meet its key objectives.
"Whether NBN Co uses the former three-technology MTM or the current seven-technology MTM, the nation will have universal access to the minimum defined service levels," he said.
At the same time, Morrow cautioned that, as Australians opt for higher performance services, a technology-determined divide may emerge.
"As NBN Co compares the high end of the available services, there will be a greater level of difference. This difference depends on which technology is serving an end-user's home or business," he said.


Features: With a view to bridge the digital divide in developing countries, a Hong Kong based company, Asiatotal.net has come up with a unique business model to provide free computers to communities. The company has developed a simple, portable desktop computer called iT, which has features to connect to the Internet, home entertainment devices, printer and USB card reader.
What sets this low-cost or free-cost computer model is that iT will be distributed free of charge to individuals and small businesses through the participation of sponsors and partners.
iT's keyboard includes around fourteen hotkeys which enable features like music, entertainment and e-mail with the touch of a single button. Judy S Chen, Asiatotal.net's president and CEO, hopes that this would attract partners and sponsors in areas like telecommunication, retail, financial services, entertainment, health care, media and others to establish brand loyalty and target new markets. "Ten hotkeys will be solely owned by sponsors while the rest would be for generic purposes like financial services or health care."
The software on iT would be available in Hindi and English.


text:
Civil Brand is a 2002 feature film written by Preston A. Whitmore II and Joyce Renee Lewis, and directed by Neema Barnette. It features Da Brat, N'Bushe Wright, Mos Def, LisaRaye McCoy, and Monica Calhoun. The film is about a group of female inmates fighting back against their abusers and taking over Whitehead Correctional Institute, where they are incarcerated. It won four awards and received 1 nomination.

Synopsis
Frances, the new inmate at Whitehead, befriends a circle of inmates, and together they rebel against the prison's abuse and exploitation. After several failed attempts to stop the harsh working conditions along with the rape and death of their friend Lil' Mama, Frances and the other inmates decide to take action and take control over the prison to stop the abuse and stand up for their rights.

Plot

Sabrina Downs (Da Brat) narrates an experience that she had while serving time as a convict in the Whitehead Correctional Institute. Her story begins as she meets Frances Shephard (LisaRaye McCoy), a timid woman that is new to the prison system, during their bus ride to the correctional facility. The women arrive at the prison, where they meet Captain Alan Dease (Clifton Powell), who proceeds to line them up and exclaim the rules of the prison and consequences for not abiding by them.

As Frances is escorted by an officer to the jail cell she will be living in, she enters to a scene of female convicts gambling, smoking, and talking amongst themselves. She attempts to move in with her cellmate Nikki Barnes (N'Bushe Wright), who is presumed to be the leader amongst the convicts, but is denied and instead lives with Lil' Mama (Lark Voorhies), a 17-year-old pregnant convict who is deeply involved in Christianity and befriends Frances. Lil' Mama introduces Frances to another inmate named Wet (Monica Calhoun), who informs her on the different crews in the prison. When asked what crime she committed, Frances confesses that she accidentally murdered her abusive husband in an effort to protect herself. The next day, Frances is familiarized with the inmates' daily routine of hard labor in what the other convicts refer to as a "sweatshop."

Michael Meadows (Mos Def), a law student who is hired as the new correctional officer at Whitehead, enters Dease's office and introduces himself. They have a brief conversation before Dease is called to stop a fight that has occurred between Nikki and Aisha (Tichina Arnold), who the other inmates claim to be Dease's secret mistress and informer. After two officers take Aisha away for starting the fight, Dease has an intimidating conversation with Michael, informing him that he runs the prison, not Nelson (Reed R. McCants), the warden. Nelson approaches Dease and they collaborate about their plans to increase their profit off the prison.

Aisha enters Dease's office to discuss her fight with Nikki and Dease slaps her in the face, telling her how unimportant she is. He presents Aisha with a gift, but refuses to give it to her until she provides him with any information about the other convicts. Dease then turns off the surveillance camera and forces Aisha to perform oral sex on him. After she leaves the office, Aisha finds Frances, punches her in the face as reprisal for confessing that Aisha caused the fight, and steals her necklace. Aisha leaves around the corner and is surprised by Nikki, who stabs her and takes one of Frances' necklace back. After the incident, Michael takes Frances to Dease's office where Nelson questions her, but Frances provides no information about what she saw and is let go. Later that night, Dease and the other officers enter Nikki's cell and beat her, claiming that they know she stabbed Aisha. According to Sabrina's narration, however, Dease secretly loves Nikki and abuses her because she does not return the feelings.

Michael enters the break room where Dease and the other guards are. They begin to discuss the possible closing of the prison and John Banks (Robert Archer Lynn), a white officer, is concerned about finding a new job. Dease claims that the loss of jobs is associated with untrained students, such as Michael, stealing their jobs, which creates tension between the other officers and Michael. As Michael attempts to defend himself and the mistreated female inmates, Dease proceeds to yell at him that these women have no respect for society and therefore, deserved to be treated poorly. Later, Michael does his own research on the prison system and discovers that these female convicts are being exploited for cheap labor.

At night, Lil' Mama becomes very ill and the other convicts are concerned about her and her child's health. No officers come to help and Frances, who was a nurse, takes care of Lil' Mama throughout the night. During that night, Frances has a connecting conversation with both Nikki and Wet about why they were in jail. Wet shot a track runner who was sleeping with her boyfriend/husband in broad daylight and in front of 12 witnesses. Frances is then asked why she is in there and she explains that her husband was beating her, so she had finally had enough and shot him, landing her in prison. As Wet argues Frances' innocence, Nikki comments on why she was locked up for protecting herself.  The next day in the sweatshop, Nikki thanks Frances for helping Lil' Mama and returns her necklace. The ladies receive bad news that Frances was denied an appeal, Nikki's children would not come to visit, and Wet gets a citation for creating a petition to end the prison's harsh working conditions. Also, Aisha returns after recovering from being stabbed. She and Nikki have an exchange of words when Aisha makes an insulting comment about Nikki's mother, tempting Nikki to fight her but is quickly broken up by close guards.

Frances, Nikki, Wet, and Lil' Mama now friends, sneak off to the kitchen where they share food and wine. They witness Dease secretly place a small bomb in the kitchen which goes off and alarms the other officers. As a result, Dease blames the incident on the inmates and has the kitchen rebuilt. After placing the prison on lockdown, Nelson approaches Dease, angry about the explosion and Wet's petition. Nelson states that he was informed that Dease created the explosion and threatens to fire Dease if he attempts any secret plans again.

During a cell search, Officer Banks enters Wet's room and begins to damage her belongings, causing an altercation between Wet and Banks and Wet being taken to solitary confinement. When she returns, Wet and the other inmates collaborate and create another petition in a few days to present to Miller (Chris Dodson), a man that Nelson hopes will invest in the prison's cheap labor. When Miller arrives to the workstation where the inmates are, Frances stands and reads the inmates' demands for better working conditions and Nikki proceeds in giving the petition to Miller. Dease and Banks begin to hit Frances and Nikki and take them to solitary confinement where they stay for 6 days. During this period, they share stories and Frances helps Nikki overcome the temptation of snorting the cocaine that Dease takes to her room. They are let out and return to their routine. During a visit from her sister, Frances discovers that her daughter Maxine has been killed in a gang shooting.

After returning from suicide watch, Frances and the other inmates devise a plan to get back at Dease with the help from Michael and Aisha, who is fed up with Dease for beating her. While Lil' Mama cleans Dease's office, Aisha enters and seduces Dease, who kicks out Lil' Mama and turns off the surveillance camera. After Lil' Mama returns briefly and turns the camera back on, Aisha makes it appear as if Dease is raping her. Caught on video, the ladies plan on giving the evidence to the governor. When Lil' Mama attempts to take the tape in Dease's office, Dease harasses and rapes her. When she returns to the jail cell, bleeding profusely and in terrible pain, the other inmates rush her to the infirmary where she suffers a miscarriage and dies. The inmates, who are violently upset, attack the doctor as he attempts to call Dease to have them escorted back to their jail cells. They hold the doctor at gunpoint and handcuff Michael to a chair. Wet shoots Dease as he enters and he in return fires a shot and hits the doctor. Nelson, informed of the situation, refuses to call the governor for assistance and instead orders the officers to be ready at the scene. In the infirmary, the convicts release Michael, handcuff the wounded Dease, and call Nelson, telling him he has one hour to get the governor on the phone. Nelson demands to speak with Dease in order to ensure that he is alive. The inmates put Dease on the phone and force him to tell Nelson that he raped Lil' Mama. When her back is turned, Dease attacks Frances and Nikki shoots Dease several times, killing him and avenging Lil' Mama's death. Sergeant Cervantes (MC Lyte), the officer in charge, orders the inmates to surrender and Wet goes outside and kills an officer, after which Wet is shot and killed. After much thought, Frances and Nikki decide to exit the infirmary and they are killed by the officers.

Meanwhile, Aisha sneaks into Dease's office and retrieves the tape. During her final narration, Sabrina explains that after taking the evidence to a lawyer, the women file a lawsuit against the prison for their abuse and win the case. The prison is shut down and Nelson is indicted for making corrupt business deals and using the prison for his profit. Aisha is killed in a prison fight shortly after. Sabrina, now free, dedicates the inmates' victory to Nikki, Frances, Lil' Mama, and Wet for their courage.

Cast
Tichina Arnold as Aisha
Monica Calhoun as Wet
Da Brat as Sabrina
Chris Dodson as Miller
Jerry Foster as Doctor Moss
LisaRaye McCoy as Frances
Robert Lynn as Banks
Reed McCant as Warden Nelson
MC Lyte as Sergeant Cervantes
Clifton Powell as Captain Alan Dease
Mos Def as Michael
Lark Voorhies as Lil' Mama
N'Bushe Wright as Nikki Barnes

Themes

Prisons as business
Civil Brand's most recognizable theme is the use of the prisoner for a means of profit. Director Neema Barnette sought to expose the elements of the prison industrial complex and its effect on the inmates within a prison. Using relatable characters, she shows the inmate's perspective on working under harsh prison conditions in an attempt to persuade the audience to sympathize with the cast as they are exploited by the officers that run the prison. Barnette replaces the idea rehabilitation, a concept that is commonly associated with the US prison system, with the idea of exploitation, which, as her depiction of Whitehead Correctional Institute portrays, has become the norm in many facilities. Because the main concept of the film was harmful to the reputation of US prisons, Barnette stated that she had a difficult time having her film approved, which motivated Barnette to push forward with the film.

In order to carry out the idea of exploitation replacing rehabilitation, Barnette focuses on the interaction between characters Warden Nelson (Reed R. McCants) and Captain Dease (Clifton Powell), the officials in charge of the prison. For example, Dease asks Nelson if the prison should be locked down after Aisha's stabbing, to which Nelson responds that the prisoners must keep working.   Rather than find the culprit who stabbed Aisha to ensure the future safety of the prisoners, Nelson prefers that the prisoners keep working in order to continue making money. The importance of making a profit has taken over the prison's regulations and has caused the prison to be operated like a business at the expense of the prisoner's rights. The prisoners, aware that they are being exploited for cheap labor, face harsh working conditions they refer to as "slave labor," yet they are helpless because they have nobody to express their grievances to. In this film, the officers evidently place the business deal over the prisoners' human rights as they go to great lengths to comfort Miller (Chris Dodson), a businessman that takes an interest in investing in the prison's cheap labor. For example, when the prisoners attempt to protest the working conditions to Miller as he arrives to the workstation, Nelson does what he can to control the riot in order to salvage the possible business deal he has with Miller.  Nelson hides the unhappiness of the inmates in order to provide his business partners with the guarantee that they are investing in a reliable source of labor. Neema Barnette's characterization of Nelson and Dease reflects the growing issues surrounding the privatization of the prison system. She states in an interview that more companies are taking their business to prisons for a cheaper source of labor, leading to a limited source of jobs for American workers and the creation of regulations such as the three strikes law, which keeps prisoners in jail after their sentences.   By incorporating this idea into her film Civil Brand, filmmakers attempts to raise the question: when is labor taken too far?

Man versus woman
The female inmates struggle with the abuse by men in their previous lives prior to their crimes as well as inside the prison walls. The director depicts the man's need for control over the woman by abusing her mentally and physically helps the audience favor the female inmates' self-empowerment as they take control of their bodies and put an end to their mistreatment. Barnette creates an idea that these women are battling against their male suppressors, creating an underlying feminist tone in the film.

Before they enter the prison walls, Barnette portrays these women as the weak victims who were punished crimes provoked by the abuse from the men they were with. Frances was incarcerated for accidentally killing her husband in an effort to protect herself from his physical abuse, Lil' Mama for killing her stepfather after being raped and impregnated, Nikki for stealing cars at the request of her boyfriend, and Wet for shooting her ex-boyfriend's mistress. These women committed crimes that were in response to a man's abuse of power and creates a sense that these women, although criminals, are innocent women who were manipulated and taken advantage of in a man's world. As they attempt to stand up against their male opponents, Barnette demonstrates that these inmates were dismissed by the prison system and treated unequally.

A battle for authority and respect is created with a division between the men, who are officers holding a powerful position in the prison, and the women, who are the inmates subjected to abuse and harsh labor conditions. Because the officers of this film abuse the women and are the antagonists in this film, the men that play these roles are cast as the enemy against the female inmates who are depicted as helpless victims. When these women attempt to defend themselves, they are resisted and "put back in their place." For example, when Nikki begs Dease not to take her back to solitary confinement after protesting a time-consuming job she was required to do, Dease forces her to state that she will be a "good bitch."  Forcing her to state these words creates a sense that Dease has obtained power over her and she is to follow his demands. Using physical and mental abuse, these women are taught to have a mentality that they are less of value than the men that control the prison.

Neema uses the character of Sergeant Cervantes (MC Lyte) to emphasize the importance of unity and trust amongst the female against their male officers. There is a feeling amongst the female inmates that Cervantes, also female, has betrayed them for their male enemies. Sabrina states that the inmates, who attempted to confide in Cervantes because she was a female, realized that she was not on their side and therefore not to be trusted.   Cervantes is depicted as a character caught in between male in female enemies, fitting into neither role. Her masculine characteristics and lack of trust amongst the inmates demonstrates that she is on the male's side, but the lack of respect that she receives from Dease and Nelson demonstrates that she does not share complete power with the males in the film.

Good inmate, bad cop
Irony plays a part in Civil Brand, as the roles typically seen in an actual prison are flipped during this film. Law enforcement, which is commonly viewed as a positive element of the community, takes on the opposite role in which they are portrayed as the antagonists who abuse their authority and exploit their prisoners. The criminals, who are commonly outlawed by society, are portrayed as the protagonists because they are the victims being abused. Because of this impression she gives in the film, Neema Brand persuades the audience to side in this case with the criminal as they "fight the system" to earn back their human rights. Michael Meadows, the new officer at Whitehead Correctional Institute, gives off a feeling of innocence since he has yet to be converted into an abusive cop like the other cops. His care for the inmates and lack of similarity to the other cops, who have many more years of experience, gives a sense that individuals who are given power learn to take advantage of it and the prison system has the ability to transform outsiders like Michael into abusers such as Dease and the other officers in this film.

Production
Prior to shooting the film, director Barnette researched the female prison complex in order to determine the style of inmates and film she wanted to create. She interviewed women inmates from Los Angeles and North Carolina, forced the actresses to go to prison to research their roles, and attempted to highlight the biggest issues that the inmates addressed regarding their abuse.

Neema struggled with finalizing the location for filming the movie because of the complex issues that she chose to address. Civil Brand was originally intended to be filmed in North Carolina but the original script was denied by North Carolina correction officials who were afraid of the message the film depicted about the prison complex.   As a result, Neema Barnette was forced to eliminate disputed elements in the original script and submitted a watered-down script to Tennessee officials, who approved the new script and allowed filming to begin in December 2000 at the Tennessee State Penitentiary.

Once allowed to film, Barnette struggled with several production issues, including a smaller budget and restricted shooting schedule that was cut from 30 days to 15 days.   After being shut down after 14 days of shooting, there were a total of 21 scenes missing from the film and Barnette waited for a year to receive extra shooting time only to receive 1 day, which was used to film 41 set-ups needed to piece the movie together.   Lions Gate gave her a week to edit the final version of the film and in order to piece the scenes together and create fluidity, Barnette had Da Brat narrate more and cut out some original scenes she had.
While filming, she used strategic camera techniques to hide missing elements of the film. Because of the reduced budget, Barnette was forced to shoot the cell block scenes in a static frame rather than complicated frames requiring a wheelchair camera, which she did not have. To hide the emptiness of the prison courtyard and lack of extras to play inmates, the director used camera techniques to section off one area of the courtyard and avoided shooting any reverse angles.

Awards
Civil Brand won four awards and received one nomination. At the 2002 American Black Film Festival, director Neema Barnette received an award for Best Film and actor Clifton Powell won Best Performance by an Actor for his role as Captain Alan Dease. During an interview, Barnette stated that she was shocked to have received the award and it was amazing to be congratulated by her idols Robert Townsend, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and Chris Tucker.

At the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival, Neema Barnette won an Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize for Civil Brand,  where "she thanked Urbanworld for supporting independent cinema, hailing it as "the way of the future.'"

Mos Def received a nomination for Best Independent Actor at the 2003 Black Reel Awards for his role as Michael Meadows. The awards went to actor Eriq La Salle for his role in Crazy as Hell, and actress Erika Alexander for her role in 30 Years to Life.

Release dates
Civil Brand was first premiered at the American Black Film Festival on May 26, 2002, and was released by Lions Gate Films in limited theatres on August 29, 2003.    Besides its premiere at the American Black Film Festival, during 2002, the movie was shown at the Urbanworld Film Festival on August 9 and at the AFI Film Festival on November 10.   During 2003, Civil Brand made an appearance at the Sundance Film Festival in January and the Pan African Film Festival on February 6.  After 20 months of making an appearance at film festivals and in theaters, on January 27, 2004, the movie was released on DVD, which included "an audio commentary running throughout the film that features the film's director Neema Barnette and Writer Joyce Renee Lewis."

Critical reception
The film received generally negative evaluations by critics despite the positivity it received at film festivals and in audience reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 16% based on reviews from 19 critics. On Metacritic the film has a score of 29 out of 100 based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Critics on Yahoo!Movies gave the film an overall grade of C−.

Amongst the negative comments given, critics targeted Da Brat's narration, the cast's acting skills, and the indirect focus on the main issue of exploitation. They point out that this film is too similar to other films done in the past and that the filmmakers do a bad job of focusing the audience's attention the main issue of prison exploitation by instead pursuing the inmates' revenge against Clifton Powell's character, Dease.   While some cast members have positive performances, critics point out that they are masked by the overacting by other characters.   Critics were also bothered by the narration of Da Brat's character Sabrina, which they felt was unnatural and "gives the film a comedic tone, but Civil Brand doesn't want to be a comedy; it wants to be a thought-provoking message movie."

References

External links

2002 films
2000s prison drama films
African-American drama films
American prison drama films
Social realism in film
Lionsgate films
2002 drama films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Dell is mulling to tap the Indian startup culture. The $300-million venture fund arm of Dell-Dell Ventures- is likely to invest in new-age disruptive startups.
In an interview to ET, a top company executive said this move will be a part of its broader push into Asia.
"We're investing to innovate in India, to innovate in Asia, to create an outreaching ecosystem in Asia which is different. We announced Dell Ventures in China, we announced a $125-million investment in China and we've also announced a continued expansion in India, from a 27,000-people perspective," Amit Midha, president of Asia-Pacific and Japan at Dell, told ET.
In 2013, Dell had created a Strategic Innovation Fund, which was a welcome move by experts.
"What we are interested in is furthering our strategy in India. We are not a hedge fund, we are not a VC firm - what we are interested in is, as and when an opportunity comes that fits in with our strategy, we will be interested in backing. And not only commercial relationships, but also financial relationships," Midha told ET.
Dell is also looking to partner with the new-age startups building disruptive solutions with newer technologies.
"We are looking at cloud, IoT (internet of things), big data and security. We like to look at startups that have gone beyond the 5-people operation stage. Otherwise it becomes too much of a headache for us. The company needs to have some sort of momentum, some customer traction - we are not an accelerator, we are more interested in companies that are growing their businesses. And our involvement will help them grow even faster and also give them credibility points," said Midha.
Next StoryFlipkart and Snapdeal have to really be wary of this age-old online company!
2Flipkart and Snapdeal have to really be wary of this age-old online company!


These stylish Antique Frames are supplied by KENRO who have supplied the Photography Trade since 1973. All Antique Frames are fully assembled with backs, glazing & Hanging hooks. All Frames can be mounted in a landscape or Portrait Orientation (Horizontally or Vertically). Kenro frames are excellent quality and will last a lifetime.
4x6" / 10x15cm Piazza Light Ash hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame. Wood Stain Finish. Flat Profile: 36mm Wide x 20mm deep.
4x6" / 10x15cm Piazza Dark Oak Ash hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame. Wood Stain Finish. Flat Profile: 36mm Wide x 20mm deep.
5x7" / 13x18cm Piazza Light Ash hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame. Wood Stain Finish. Flat Profile: 36mm Wide x 20mm deep.
5x7" / 13x18cm Piazza Dark Oak Ash hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame. Wood Stain Finish. Flat Profile: 36mm Wide x 20mm deep.
4x6" / 10x15cm Jadu Hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame (Vintage Grey). Vintage Wood Finish. Flat Profile: 45mm wide x 17mm deep.
4x6" / 10x15cm Jadu Hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame (Vintage White). Vintage Wood Finish. Flat Profile: 45mm wide x 17mm deep.
6x8" / 15x20cm Piazza Light Ash hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame. Wood Stain Finish. Flat Profile: 36mm Wide x 20mm deep.
6x8" / 15x20cm Piazza Dark Oak Ash hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame. Wood Stain Finish. Flat Profile: 36mm Wide x 20mm deep.
8x10" / 20x25cm Piazza Light Ash hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame. Wood Stain Finish. Flat Profile: 36mm Wide x 20mm deep.
8x10" / 20x25cm Piazza Dark Oak hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame. Wood Stain Finish. Flat Profile: 36mm Wide x 20mm deep.
5x7" / 13x18cm Jadu Hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame (Vintage Grey). Vintage Wood Finish. Flat Profile: 45mm wide x 17mm deep.
5x7" / 13x18cm Jadu Hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame (Vintage White). Vintage Wood Finish. Flat Profile: 45mm wide x 17mm deep.
Jadu Hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame Triple 4x6" (Vintage Grey). Flat Profile: 45mm wide x 17mm deep.
Jadu Hand Crafted Wood Picture Frame Triple 4x6" (Vintage White). Flat Profile: 45mm wide x 17mm deep.


Well, I was determined not to miss this week's Dynamic Duos Challenge #79, so I got right on it. This week is Black Tie Week with the dessert option of Christmas, and I chose the Joyful Christmas stamp set to showcase it.
Do you remember your first formal affair? Mine was a disaster! I had to borrow a dress because we couldn't afford a new one. I had been invited by a guy who was a year older than me so I was flattered, but when he started laying on the compliments right and left, I felt completely out of my element. Like a fish out of water, or a penguin in the tropics. Can you say, "Awkward!"
I quickly decided that I would wait a few years before doing the dating thing again!
This is basically a simple card except for fussy cutting the poinsettia. Basic Black card base, Whisper White background, strip of Silver Glimmer paper, Black Taffeta Ribbon and a sentiment from the same stamp set as the poinsettia, Joyful Christmas!
I stamped the flower in VersaMark ink twice on White Vellum Cardstock, then heat embossed it using Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder.
I cut out one poinsettia leaving it intact for the base, and then cut out the small middle petals of the other and mounted it on the base flower using a Dimensional.
The leftover large petals were then cut out in twos and added to the bottom of the base flower using glue dots, just to increase the fullness.
I stamped the sentiment, from Joyful Christmas, in StazOn Jet Black. Here's a tip for stamping you sentiment right on the panel as opposed to stamping it on a separate piece and adding it to the to panel: Do a test stamp on scrap paper to see if the sentiment is mounted straight. This one was just a hair crooked, so I was able to make up for that when I stamped right on the panel.
The poinsettia's center is a mixture of Basic Black Candy Dots and Rhinestones for some added bling.
I really like the outcome of today's stamping adventure, unlike my first formal date! Hope you do, too! Leave me a comment telling me about your first formal date! Was it great or a disaster like mine?
Thanks, Holly! I'm not sure you can live without this stamp set! Well done on the dating thing!
Yet another beautiful card...maybe I need this stamp set too? I don't recall any real formals but for my grad I had Farah hair & a peasant pant outfit,so cool lol!
Thanks, T! It's been so long! We've got to get together soon!
Thanks so much, Cornelia! I visited your blog and found it very artistic and creative!
What a gorgeous card!! Thanks for joining us at Dynamic Duos!!


The Emailserver profile is a very demanding 8K test with a 50% read and 50% write distribution. This application is indicative of the performance of the solution in heavy write workloads.
The Seagate delivers a tight average of 30,889 IOPS at QD256. The Toshiba sports an average of 30,748 IOPS, but suffers from significant variability.
The 1200 averages 5.53 Watts in steady state, compared to 6.2 Watts for the Toshiba SSD.
The Seagate closes out our testing with an impressive 5,628 IOPS per Watt, well ahead of the 3,110 IOPS from the Toshiba.


text:
US Poultry Industry Manual - feeding turkeys during a FAD outbreak
Mycotoxins can be a shot to the gut of poultry
Health & disease Treatments and prevention Gut health
APHIS to prepare environmental impact report for avian influenza control
Pirbright develops new tools to study infectious burial disease variants
Health & disease Diseases Infectious bursal disease virus
Markets & policy Market trends Climate change
VIV ASIA 2023 presents over 100 sessions from industry experts
SPONSOR Markets & policy Conferences and events
Company/products Hardware Equipment & innovation
Bank Backs Russian Company to Raise Output
RUSSIA - Sberbank is to fund the increase in poultry output by Cherkizovo, which will partially off set the drop in supplies following the present ban on US poultry meat imports.
According to Moscow Times, Cherkizovo has announced that Sberbank would fund its project to boost poultry output as Moscow seeks to show Washington that it can boost its own output and survive without imports from the US.
The statement from private London-listed meat producer Cherkizovo announcing the funding comes as Russia and the US are expected to begin a second round of talks to resolve a dispute over US poultry supplies.
Russia, which spent $800 million on US poultry in 2008, has banned imports from its largest supplier on concerns about the common U.S. practice of treating the meat with chlorine to kill bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
The government suspended imports from 19 January and has taken a hard line with Washington, accusing it of flouting food safety laws. The United States says its poultry is safe, and some critics say Russia's ban could be politically motivated.
Sergei Mikhailov, chief executive of Cherkizovo Group, said: "Cherkizovo welcomes the government of Russia's recent provisions aimed at stimulating demand for national poultry producers by reducing poultry import quotas and restricting the use of chlorine in poultry processing."
He added that Cherkizovo will double production at its Penza poultry cluster by building a new incubation facility, one of the largest in Europe, adding "state-of-the-art slaughtering facilities" and about 100 bird houses.
Sberbank will invest $83 million, while Cherkizovo itself will contribute $37 million. The project will be completed by the end of 2011, doubling the annual capacity of the factory to 120,000 metric tons of live-weight poultry meat, according to Moscow Times.
The US is allowed to export to Russia 600,000 metric tons of poultry meat this year under a government-issued quota equal to roughly one-sixth of Russian poultry consumption.
This means that new facilities at Cherkizovo could replace about one-tenth of US supplies.
Together with the previously announced expansion of its Bryansk poultry cluster, also co-financed with Sberbank, Cherkizovo expects to increase its total poultry production by 40 per cent in 2012.
Russia is currently the world's largest importer of meat but seeks to become more self-sufficient.
Analysts have said large US poultry imports to Russia have often become hostage to chilly political relations between the two countries, reports Moscow Times. Moscow and Washington have announced a resetting of political relations after US President Barack Obama took office but have yet to overcome obstacles to reaching a key deal on reducing Cold War arsenals of nuclear weapons.
Poultry, livestock output both rose
345 million face acute food insecurity globally

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What if we viewed our life and all we have not as possessions earned but rather as gifts bestowed?
"Thank you" — two words with meaning and impact far beyond their simplicity. "Thank you" — two words to express our gratitude and to acknowledge we are not the center of our universe. Two words not used often enough but are at the heart of our celebration today.
"Hi, how are you?" How many times a day do you hear this question? As if we really care about how another person is doing or feeling. "Well, the dog just died, my spouse left me, and the water heater is leaking. Oh, that's too bad. Have a nice day!"
While not your typical response, these words often result in a supportive counter comment such as, "Oh, you are a good guy. I'm sure you deserve the best." The conversation usually ends at this point, but it has presented an instant for reflection.
Why "Better than I deserve?" Well, sometimes I can be a bad boy, but this is true for all of us. At times our behavior can be less than desirable. We forward that juicy bit of gossip, flash the fickle finger of fate or pass judgment on those we may see as somehow different than us. What do we deserve for this type of behavior?
For that matter, what do we really deserve at all? Did any of us deserve to be born, yet here we are? Perhaps we think we deserve all of what we have because we worked so hard to get it. Well, there are millions of folks in this world who work harder than any of us, yet have trouble securing even their daily bread.
To feel deserving is to feel entitled to ownership, but consider this. Of all the things you think you deserve, how many can be squeezed into that tight little container along with the rest of your remains at the end of it all?
What if we viewed our life and all we have not as possessions earned but rather as gifts bestowed? Gifts given us for which we are to be eternally thankful? Gifts to be shared so we may all joyfully travel life's journey to its end and hopefully beyond.
All this talk of gifting then brings us to today — Thanksgiving Day. The day we say "thank you" for the gifts we have received beginning with the gift of life itself and on from there. "Thank you" for all that we have received without really deserving any of it.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving Day and "thank you" for sticking with this to the end.
David Moscinski is an Appleton resident. He can be reached at dmoscinski@new.rr.com.