The Brunette and I took a Sunday drive today out to the Post Oak prairieland east of Austin.

We saw some cool birds, like the juvenile Crested Caracara, Northern Flicker and an Eastern Bluebird. We then drove through Bastrop following the Old Camino Real, where we got some shots of the fire damage that raged through the area last month. We also some took photos in an old tractor graveyard and got a tour from the man who owns the land and restores them, including a rare fully restored 1940 John Deere. The full set can be found here.

Enjoy!

Ewen MacAskill/ Washington & Declan Walsh/Islamabad | Oct 23

The Guardian - Afghan president accused of hypocrisy and ungratefulness over remarks made soon after Hillary Clinton's visit to the region

The US reacted with dismay on Sunday after the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, said that he would side with Pakistan in the event of any war with America.

Karzai's remarks will be greeted with outrage by an American public already thinking him ungrateful for US military and financial support.

In an interview on Geo Television, Pakistan's largest satellite network, hours after a visit to the region by the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, Karzai said: "If there is war between Pakistan and America, we will stand by Pakistan." He put his hand on his heart and described Pakistan as a "brother" country.

The remark, which went further than other Karzai outbursts critical of the US, was viewed negatively not only in the US but in Afghanistan where opponents accused him of hypocrisy given Kabul's difficult relationship with Pakistan.

Katrina Manson | Nairobi | Oct 23

FT - The US is discussing how to assist Kenya militarily and financially in its fight against al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia, as Kenyan troops close in on southern rebel strongholds in its neighbour, a failed state prey to terrorism and piracy.

“We are talking with the Kenyans right now to figure out where they need help,” US ambassador Scott Gration told the Financial Times in an interview at his residence in Nairobi.

Kenya invaded Somalia in an unprecedented large-scale incursion last week following three separate kidnappings of foreigners holidaying or working in Kenya.

What started as an operation justified on the grounds of “hot pursuit” is rapidly expanding into a wide-reaching air and land offensive intended to wipe out Islamist al-Shabaab group, which is accused of running terror training camps.

The US embassy in Kenya noted “credible information of an imminent threat of terrorist attacks” at the weekend and warned citizens to avoid prominent Kenyan facilities, malls and night clubs.

Ankara | October 23

MSNBC - A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey on Sunday, collapsing dozens of buildings into piles of twisted steel and chunks of concrete. Desperate survivors dug into the rubble with their bare hands, trying to rescue the trapped and injured.

State-run television reported that 45 people were killed and 150 others injured in the eastern town of Ercis, but scientists estimated that up to 1,000 people could already be dead, due to low housing standards in the area and the size of the quake.

Ercis, a town of 75,000 in the mountainous province of Van close to the Iranian border, was the hardest hit. It lies on the Ercis Fault in one of Turkey's most earthquake-prone zones. The bustling regional center of Van, 55 miles (90 kilometers) to the south, also suffered substantial damage.

As mentioned before I'm leaving for Indonesia and Malaysia Monday morning. While I am away Agonist contributor Lex will be our guest Editor/Blogger in chief while I am away. We'll also be doing a book giveaway for best original diary while I am out in the jungle wilds of South East Asia. The winner will receive a book of their choice.

Have fun while I am away and play nice!

"It’s not acceptable to kill a person without trying him," said Louay Hussein, a Syrian opposition figure in Damascus. "I prefer to see the tyrant behind bars." New York Times, October 20

The New York Times reported that a NATO jet and drones disabled vehicles in a convoy carrying Muammar Gaddafi near the besieged town of Sirte on October 20. Loyalists in the remaining vehicles scattered becoming easy prey for the emboldened fighters of the new Libyan state.

Reuters expanded the narrative on the 21st by reporting that Gaddafi fled from his jeep, hid in a drainage pipe, and emerged with an automatic weapon and side arm. He was manhandled and slapped by the soldiers of the new Libya. He allegedly asked the crowd, "Don't you know right from wrong?" They took exception to the question and shot him twice in the head. He was transported to Misurata, scene of one of the few decisive victories by the former rebels. Gaddafi's corpse was placed on a bare mattress and put on display for the public on the 22nd. It remains there today, although it is now reportedly covered by a blanket (Reuters, October 23).

There's a new sheriff in town, NATO.

Sarah Morrison & Paul Carsten | Oct 23

The Independent - Deal is struck to stop poor nations becoming global dump

One of the most persistent and insidious pollution problems visited by the West on the developing world has taken a huge step towards a permanent solution this weekend.

A UN environmental conference in Cartagena, Colombia, attended by more than 170 countries, has agreed to accelerate a global ban on the export of hazardous waste, including old electronics and discarded computers and mobile phones, from developed to developing countries.

Environmental campaigners, who have been battling to broker a deal on the dumping of toxic waste for more than 20 years, said they were "ecstatic" about this "major breakthrough".
.
The ban will be introduced when 17 more countries ratify an amendment to the 1989 Basel Convention, a treaty aimed at making nations manage their waste at home. It is expected that this could be achieved in two to five years. More than 50 countries have already ratified it.
.
The US, the world's top exporter of electronic waste, is among nations that have yet to ratify the original convention. "Unless the US joins the treaty they are just going to be a renegade," Mr Puckett said, adding that the US has no rules for exporting electronic waste, which it sends mostly to China but also to Africa and Latin America.

Once again, just like the cluster bomb ban, we are on the wrong side of humanity.

Wow. Just wow. Talk about putting OWS in the proper frame! This man says everything I wanted to say, but just could not find the words. He most definitely found the words.

Hat Tip to Balloon Juice's Dougerhead.

No matter how you look at this it is good news. Period. Credit where credit is due: Obama.

. . . better fly to China, or Thailand or visit those damned cheese-eating surrender monkeys in France who have tEh soshulized medicines because you are not going to get it here.

Look, this is serious shit and I'm not making light of it. But the moron in the article quoted as saying, "Anybody who is sure they know the answer to this question is probably kidding themselves," said Peter Lurie, a senior adviser in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of the Commissioner, who works on public health issues, including drug shortages."

This is nuts. If you're seventy years old and a man and need to get a boner well, we have lots of drugs for you. But if your an elderly woman and sick, well, screw you. Find a rich husband I guess. Actually, this problem has a simple answer morally, but politically it is hard: the answer is to force the big pharma to oversupply critical, lifesaving drugs. Use regulations, legislation, fuck, use drones if need be.

This is just another big problem being slipped under the carpet by the shiny freedom bombing of peeps like Gaddafi and Awlaki. It's easier to kill than to heal.

October 21, 2011: Morning Update:

Wall Street Firms Spy on Protestors in Tax-Funded Center:

Wall Street’s audacity to corrupt knows no bounds and the cooptation of government by the 1 per cent knows no limits. How else to explain $150 million of taxpayer money going to equip a government facility in lower Manhattan where Wall Street firms, serially charged with corruption, get to sit alongside the New York Police Department and spy on law abiding citizens.

Read the full story.

Yet Another Obama Jobs Proposal Dies in the Senate

How to Make Banks Really Mad: Occupy Foreclosures

Occupy Wall Street's Neighbors Are Tired of the Drumming

Occupy Oakland Tells City And Media To Fuck Off

Exploring Occupy Wall Street's 'Adbuster' Origins

Wall Street Protesters ‘Occupy’ MoMA, Slam $25 Admission, Don Gorilla Mask

Occupy Wall Street supporters target REBNY over parks access

Occupy Wall Street, unions get their activism together

President Obama at war with himself over Wall Street

Needless to say, a link does not constitute an endorsement of any story posted.

Post the stories you are reading in the comments.

More as it develops.

We have cats today! A handfull of pics and one, a rare sighting of a cougar in a tree, after that jump that's almost NSFW, which Tina sent me! Enjoy!

More after the jump

. . . is dead. Can we move on now, please?

At 12:24 UTC there was an earthquake in South Texas. Here is the location on googlemaps.

Was it due to fracking? Fracking has been proven, in multiple cases, to cause quakes. But we don't know yet the cause of this one. The quake is in the vicinity of the Balcones Fault, but there is also a great deal of fracking in this area: see this photoset (start at this photo and move forward) of mine taken just outside of Karnes City and Kenedy, Texas.

Whatever the cause, ask yourself what kind of unseen damage it takes to create an earthquake? Is it worth it?

I want to talk about expectations. I want to talk about Occupy Wall Street.

Hundreds of attorneys, law students and other legal minds are volunteering their skills to protect the rights of protesters in the Occupy movement, according to the National Lawyers Guild.

In New York alone, dozens of people have stepped forward to act as legal observers at marches in the past month. They don luminous green hats at rallies and document the names of those arrested in confrontations with the NYPD, and they also can be found in court.

It makes eminent sense to use wastewater for industrial purposes:

Shivaji Deshmukh says his sewage treatment plant just south of Los Angeles makes designer water, too.

SHIVAJI DESHMUKH: We're designing the water to fit the needs for our customers.

Those customers range from golf courses to a Chevron refinery that uses the water for cooling towers.

DESHMUKH: We can do it cheaper than their alternative supply.

And thus, industrial customers help fund the plant. It "makes" 47 million gallons of water a day by squeezing out waste solids -- those can become fertilizer -- then chemically treating and filtering the water that's left. Eco-friendly, yes. But the process, not so pretty.

Furthermore, it makes sense to use wastewater for just about everything. After all, as the story notes, "wastewater recycling [is] really just a technological take on the natural water cycle."

No one likes the idea of reusing, much less drinking the water you flushed down the toilet, but that's what nature does every day: recycles it. Get used to it. Water is finite.

One consequence of the Occupy Wall Street protests that cannot be denied is this: the protests have changed the economic debate in the country. Obama has been forced to at least rhetorically address the protesters and so have the Republican presidential candidates. No one is talking about the Tea Party, except in the sense of the similarities between Occupy Wall Street and the animating original anger of the Tea Party at Wall Street, the bailouts and the US government's ineffectual response. Coddling the bankers is a no win for politicians right now. Everyone is on the defensive. This alone is a huge success. The question now is, "Will it last?" I don't know, but I am hopeful.

This thought came to me yesterday as I listened to this interview of Todd Gitlin on NPR. I encourage you to listen in, it's well worth your time.

by Phil Sloan

Just as the words in the title say, we know about yesterday, but we can only guess about tomorrow. Investors, however, must be able to look into the future and anticipate what’s coming. A smart investor bases his bases his opinions on history. You can read continuously about statistics or charts that prove whatever the author is espousing, but remember what Mark Twain said about “ Lies, damn lies and Statistics.” Good writers alter reality with statistics to prove their case. I frequently read about how markets are cheap based on low perceived P/E’s, (price to earnings ratios) low perceived P/B (price to book value ratios) or other perceived metrics that demonstrate that markets are cheap. How many can predict with any certainty what earnings for the next year are going to be, or what GDP growth rates will be? In fact, given the records of most analysts over the past decade, you might as well put your finger up to see which way the wind is blowing.

A woman in a supermarket is following a grandfather and his badly behaved 3- year-old grandson. It's obvious to her that he has his hands full with the child screaming for sweets in the candy aisle, for biscuits in the bread aisle; and for fruit, cereal and pop in the other aisles. Meanwhile, Granddad is working his way around, saying in a controlled voice, "Easy, William, we won't be long . . . easy, boy." Another outburst, and she hears the granddad calmly say, "It's okay, William, just a couple more minutes, and we'll be out of here. Hang in there, boy." At the checkout, the little terror is throwing items out of the cart, and Granddad says again in a controlled voice, "William, William, relax buddy, don't get upset. We'll be home in five minutes. Stay cool, William." Very impressed, the woman goes outside where the grandfather is loading his groceries and the boy into the car. She said to the elderly gentleman, "It's none of my business, but you were amazing in there. I don't know how you did it. That whole time, you kept your composure, and no matter how loud and disruptive he got, you just calmly kept saying things would be okay. William is very lucky to have you as his grandpa." "Thanks," said the grandfather, "but I'm William ...the little shit's name is Kevin." from FB

:D

Shocker, of course...

They poison us and blame the trial lawyers who defend our rights for their greed. Everyone should see Hot Coffee for further explanation--but in the meantime, go watch this heartbreaking Nightline report on Yaz.

OCTOBER 16: While in Portland, Maine to give a talk on race and
social justice at First Parish Portland Unitarian Universalist
Church, I visited on Sunday with Occupy Wall Street participants
(above) who have camped out at a downtown park. It was an unseasonably
warm day, their spirits were high, and my sense was that they are highly
organized (e.g., they have a media coordinator) and that they feel
very connected with Occupy Wall Street groups elsewhere.

(NYC PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP)

John Ngirachu | Oct 19

AllAfrica - Kenya's Parliament has gone into a private session to deliberate on the military operation in Somalia.

MPs unanimously voted to have all strangers- anybody that is not one of them- withdraw from the chambers at 3.55 pm to receive a statement on the security situation on the Kenya-Somalia border.

The presentation of the statement by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the subsequent questions by MPs was deemed sensitive enough to warrant locking out the public.

This also meant that the live transmission of proceedings was interrupted.

The proposal to hold the session in camera was made by Ikolomani MP Boni Khalwale, and it was unanimously approved when Speaker Kenneth Marende posed the question.

Members of the public and the media are normally locked out of committee meetings where sensitive matters are discussed but this is the first time the meetings in the chamber have been held in camera.

It is however provided for in the Standing Orders- the rules under which the affairs of Parliament are managed.

The relevant Article 214 says: If at any sitting of the House or in a Committee of the whole House any Member shall move that strangers be ordered to withdraw, the Speaker or the Chairperson shall forthwith put the question, no amendment, adjournment or debate being allowed and upon such question being resolved in the affirmative, all strangers shall be ordered to withdraw from the Chamber.

UPDATE 9/20 Parliament approves war against Somalia

Do you think they will escalate their offensive against Shabaab?

On Monday morning I leave Austin for the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Once we arrive there, via Kuala Lumpur and Penang, my father and I will trek into the jungle for a couple of days and seek out orangutans in the wild. I'll be blogging while I am away, but only on topics related to my present travels.

Then again, if I wanted to blog about primates I could stay home and write about the GOP presidential primary, although that might be an insult to primates the world over.

I do hope I'll have time to revisit Lake Toba, but father and I have left our itinerary open except for our time around Bukit Lawang and a visit with some friends in Malaysia (an old Australian army vet I met in 2008) and pals from Singapore.

In the interim--two weeks to be exact--there will be at least one guest editor and we'll have a prize for best diary post while I am away. So, getting your typing fingers ready. More on the guest editor(s) once the slot(s) are finalized.

. . . familiar with these plugins? They are designed to disconnect tracking from sites like Facebook? Are they safe? Are they legit? Do you use them and if so what, if any, bugs are there? Do you use them on a Mac or a PC? I'm personally very interested in installing them.

This is huge. For a large metropolitan area like Austin to impose such restrictions is drastic, to say the least. But the spillover effects will be no less disastrous: the (permanent?) loss of vegetation and its follow on effects, the dust, the loss of businesses and manufacturing that need water security. I remember several years ago when USAA threatened to leave San Antonio, where it is headquartered, if they did not lock down their water supply for at least forty years. San Antonio did this by going out and buying a lot of water from the LCRA, which just happens to provide Austin will all its water. These are costs people rarely take into consideration..

And in the meantime the wealthy water hogs in Austin continue to water their yards. See this for a non-wealthy yard and this from a rich street in Austin for comparison.