Monday OT: June 17 is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (International)


June 17 is the 168th day of the Gregorian Calendar year,
Pungenday, Confusion 22, 3185 YOLD (discordian),
And let us not forget 13.0.6.10.9 by the Mayan Long Count


HareQuail


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Today is a very busy day in history and one on which I have received a summons to appear for jury duty and hence might be absent.

Fun coincidences

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In 1839 Kamehameha III issued an edict of tolerance, mandating religious tolerance in Hawaii, and in 1963 the Supreme Court did more of less the same thing in Abington School District v. Schempp. In Schempp, the Supremes declared state laws requiring bible reading in public schools, as well as, indirectly, requiring prayer in public schools unconstitutional; holding that the restrictions imposed on the US government by the First Amendment also applied to the states by application of the 14th Amendment. Ho, Hum. But, also in that decision, they put a stake in the heart of the argument that the government is only barred from favoring a specific sect, the "freedom of but not freedom from" twaddle one still sees spouted by religionistas. The court specifically stated:

"We repeat and again reaffirm that neither a State nor the Federal Government can constitutionally force a person 'to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion.' Neither can it constitutionally pass laws or impose requirements which aid all religions as against non-believers, and neither can it aid those religions based on a belief in the existence of God as against those religions founded on different beliefs."
~~Justice Clark citing Justice Black in Torcaso v. Watkins,

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The Statue of Liberty arrived on these shores to welcome future immigrants to this country well before the previous immigrants had finished with their wars of ethnic cleansing against the original indigenous population. The US was still actively conducting military operations against the Indians well past 1885, and war upon the indigenous people by other means was not only conducted well into the 1900s, but continues today. By strange coincidence, Lady Liberty's arrival coincided with the date of two Indian victories, The Battle of the Rosebud, a precursor to the Battle of the Greasy Grass, aka, The Battle of the Little Bighorn, and the Battle of White Bird Canyon. The history of the events leading up to the latter, including the attack by US troops on Indians approaching to parlay under a white flag of truce is worth a look if only because the Nex Perce were also on this date awarded 4 million bucks for the rip-off perpetrated upon them in 1863 that is at the bottom the events of 1877.
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Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift, look out kid, ...

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On this day in history:

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1579 – Sir Francis Drake claimed California for England.
1631 – Mumtaz Mahal died during childbirth
1673 – Marquette and Jolliet reached the Mississippi River
1775 – The Battle of Bunker Hill.
1839 – Kamehameha III issued an Edict of Tolerance, allowing the Catholics to practice their rituals in Hawaii.
1876 – The Battle of the Rosebud: Lakota and Cheyenne drove off attacking US toops accompanied by Crow and Shoshone warriors.
1877 – The Battle of White Bird Canyon: Nez Perce defeated attacking US cavalry.
1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York, to welcome immigrants to US shores
1922 – Portuguese naval aviators finished the first air crossing of the southern Atlantic
1939 – Last public execution by guillotine in France.
1958 – The Ironworkers Memorial Bridge collapsed while under construction
1963 – The Supreme Court decided Abington School District v. Schempp
1972 – Five White House operatives were busted for burgling the offices of the DNC in the Watergate office complex
1991 – The South African Parliament repealed the Population Registration Act, a keystone of Apartheid.

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This week only I am skipping birthdays except Igor Stravinsky in 1882, MC Escher in 1887, and Wally Wood (MAD, etc.) in 1927.
Likewise I'm skipping those deceased on this date except the Mughal princess Mumtaz Mahal in 1631, and Rodney King in 2012.

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Now, as to MUSIC -- those jonesing for a little Stravinsky will find The Firebird Suite (1919 revision) here: https://youtu.be/pHxstiIybz4 and the rite of spring here: https://youtu.be/YOZmlYgYzG4 (4 minute intro).

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It is the 17th. By numeric coincidence, upon the death of princess Mumtaz Mahal, her hubby, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, spent the next 17 years building her an appropriate and fitting mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. This is clearly a sign. When this album hit the streets in December 1968 we quickly proceded to absolutely wear it out, regardless of all the great music out there back then.

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Image is the author's, taken 03/31/2014 in the Anza-Borrego Desert (note the hare and quail ;-))

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It's an open thread, so do your thing

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The Aspie Corner's picture

I work out in the pool and at the gym in my apartment complex almost every day, alternating between the two to keep things interesting. Saw this one this morning and tried it out so I thought I'd pass it along.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgvklHZSsmE]

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

enhydra lutris's picture

@The Aspie Corner
otherwise. Beside not having a pool and not being willing to do the "go to the gym" thing, I have enough work here to keep me reasonably fit, if I'd do it more than lackadaisically. I do get in about 5 miles walking per day, not a directed walking routine, ut just all the walking I do around here plus maybe a trip to the store or something.;

Thanks for the video all the same, and thanks for reading.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

The Aspie Corner's picture

@enhydra lutris a golf cart community. After that, I gained quite a bit of weight and have been trying to shed the pounds since. Mobility issues make most workouts difficult and I've found that exercises in the pool work well. I don't do any sort of directed exercise necessarily as I'm in the pool by myself every morning (I usually go before the neighbors' kiddies are out and about).

It's not for everybody but it definitely works wonders for me, especially with foam resistance dumbells.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

enhydra lutris's picture

@The Aspie Corner
to a pool. The main thing is to keep exercising, n matter how. Good to see you're doing so.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@The Aspie Corner
I will incorporate the move with hand weights. Also appreciated the video below. Interesting history of the Uyghurs. He says no gulags as per the NYT and plenty of other sources (after a quick search).

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@The Aspie Corner love, love, pool workouts. In my other life, I was a fish.

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not my strong suit.

Ferdinand De Lesseps did many things, including formally present the Statue of Liberty to the US. One of his descendants, a count( for whatever that's worth in 2019) married one Suzanne, making her Countess De Lesseps. When their marriage got rocky, she got herself a gig as a Real Housewife of NYC, a position that, AFAIK, she still holds. Only those who watch the inane "Real Housewife of {wherever} know this sort of meaningless minutia like this, so please don't ask me how I know. (-;

So, in 1963, the Supreme Court of the United States reached a level of enlightenment comparable to the one that King Kamehaha had reached about a century and a quarter earlier--possibly as a result of missionaries trying to convert the subjects of the King since 1820?

Then again, that was a very different SCOTUS than we have today. Thank you, Justices Warren, Douglas, Brennan, et al.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@HenryAWallace
she cook as well as the "barefoot contessa", whose name I forget, I wonder? I ws a count once, Count MeOut, as was my response to the military, the war machine and the MIC. Heh.

Yeah, I think Kamehameha was actually somewhat enlightened by our standards, but, who isn't?

Have a great one and thanks for reading.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

The Aspie Corner's picture

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

enhydra lutris's picture

@The Aspie Corner
tropes and techniques of the propaganda/narrative control folks that have become pretty well established among most of the populace.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631 in Burhanpur, Deccan (present-day Madhya Pradesh), during the birth of her fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhar Ara Begum. Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built as a tomb for her, which is considered to be a monument of undying love.

I had an abortion when I was 17... that's it, that's all. No undying love tombs will be built honoring the fertility of my birth canal, that's fine too.

it all fine
PEACE

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enhydra lutris's picture

@eyo
one of those "quiverfull" fundagelical cults, except, I guess that she maybe kind of was anyway. I decided early on that I probably wouldn't be all that good of a parent and that this would not be a good place to bring a kid into.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

et al...

Thanks for the OT. Marine layer here is dripping this morning. Thick. Lovely. Keeps the weeds growing and the tourists down. Which keeps me outside and near the home front.

Here's rabbit that I saw on my walk at wilder ranch the other day. There were a bunch of them munching along the side of the trail. Lots of green, lots of critters, both on the ground and in the air.

Bunny at wilder.jpg

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enhydra lutris's picture

@magiamma
because I didn't get outside until later. Wilder Ranch looks cool, but we've never been there. Driven by a lot, usually with trailer in tow, looks like it goes for miles. Your rabbit looks like a baby Jack - they're actually "black tailed hares". Most non-domestic rabbits in this state are "brush rabbits" and "desert cottontails", both pretty much on the small side.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

magiamma's picture

@enhydra lutris
It is maybe a half a mile out to the cliffs which are stunning. Lots of life and flowers atill because of the marine layer moisture in the mornings and the hot afternoons. You can also hike uphill a way from the ocean quite a way. Great views. The old lime kilns are still up there. Very cool.

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dystopian's picture

Love yer desert pic with the Quail and 'rabbit'. Yes a hare those Lepus are, not a rabbit. Jackrabbit are hares. The constellation is called Lepus in honor of Hares. As we see it just lower right of Orion and kind of on its side. When I was in my late teens first on my own in L.A. area, rabbit was common in the supermarket, was good and cheap too. Been decades since I saw it. Do they still have rabbit's foots? They were dyed various colors, and a dime in the 60's.

from wikipedia:
Hares are precocial, born relatively mature and mobile with hair and good vision, while rabbits are altricial, born hairless and blind, and requiring closer care. Hares (and cottontail rabbits) live a relatively solitary life in a simple nest above the ground, while most rabbits live in social groups underground in burrows or warrens. Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with ears that are more elongated, and with hind legs that are larger and longer. Hares have not been domesticated, while descendants of the European rabbit are commonly bred as livestock and kept as pets.

The most impressive hare is that Antelope Jackrabbit of southern Arizona, which is huge, even bigger than a Black-tailed Jack, with white sides. My wife thought it was a dog when she first saw an Antelope Jack it was so big.

This the Black-tailed Jackrabbit, which is a Hare. Silly wabbit.
btj081118a_0.jpg

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

enhydra lutris's picture

@dystopian
Jack. My wife and I volunteered for several years at a wildlife rehab place and have released rehabbed Black Tailed Jacks on multiple occasions. My wife also helped raise some brushies up to releasable size. which is really tricky, the little shits are prone to suicide by repeatedly running headfirst into stationary objects. The Hayward Shoreline Park used to be lousy with Jacks, but we haven't been down there in a while so I can't say. The Mojave and Anza-Borrego deserts, however, have tons of them, as well as scattered populations of desert cottontails. Anza-Borrego is also lousy with quail.

Recently went to Spain and had a lesson in preparation of, as well as a meal of classical traditional paella. It is chicken and rabbit, not seafood, plus 4 kinds of beans and, of course, rice. First time I've ever had rabbit. I have seen it here in the east bay in specialty meat shops now and then. Sonoma county too iirc.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

crop:
(good for nopales and scrambled eggs {you could stick a rabbit in the dish as well, or better yet, a rattlesnake})

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enhydra lutris's picture

@randtntx
and tostadas. Probably good in omelets and scrambles too, but never tried it.

Thanks for the clip.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --