tagged w/ Washington DC
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The brown goo oozed from the drill hole like a primordial porridge -- from 60 feet beneath the Jefferson Memorial, it was some of the muck that's under the Mall and part of the stuff that has been slowly swallowing the memorial's sea wall for years.
Centuries of Potomac River sediment and layers of dredged fill, it is the material engineers are drilling through to reach bedrock and anchor the famed memorial's sea wall, for the first time, on a solid foundation.
On Tuesday, crews working in a dewatered section of the Tidal Basin prepared to demolish the old concrete sections of the sea wall as part of the $12.4 million repair project that the National Park Service has been planning since it realized the wall was sinking in 2006.
The work is expected to keep the photogenic north face of the memorial partially obscured by construction equipment through the rest of the tourist season.
In a bit of engineering detective work, experts have discovered that the wall has been slipping away from the memorial's north plaza because the timber pilings that were used to support the wall were probably not long enough to reach bedrock when the memorial was built in the 1930s and '40s.
Studying old photos, engineers were able to determine that the piles were about 65 to 75 feet long, although bedrock starts about 80 feet down, National Park Service civil engineer Steven D. Sims said.
Did the workers cut corners? Did they make a mistake or incorrect assumptions?
"We don't know," Sims said.
The 32,000-ton Jefferson Memorial, on an 18-acre site, is solid, officials said, although it has shifted some since its construction and is monitored for movement.
Dedicated in 1943, the marble and limestone memorial was originally supposed to be in the middle of the Tidal Basin. It wound up along the south shore, and a man-made promontory was added to the man-made shoreline to accommodate construction.
The memorial, which honors the nation's third president and main author of the Declaration of Independence, rests on concentric rings of 634 concrete pilings and pillarlike caissons sunk to bedrock. At least one goes down 138 feet.The brown goo oozed from the drill hole like a primordial porridge -- from 60 feet... more
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Episode 2.7 - "Girlfriend?": Sarah, Maggie, Yasmine, and Hunter have a girl sesh in the kitchen - lots of OMGs and spoonfuls of yoghurt to help the gossip go down - and a revelation about one Mr. Adrian surfaces. Everything is quite delightful until Gwen calls the house looking for Sarah; everyone's confused and Sarah stumbles out after she stumbles over her explanation for leaving. No one seems too phased tho' since Maggie and Yasmine have some drama for drama queen Rox... and it's something she won't be pleased about.
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"Orange Juice in Bishop's Garden" (OJBG) is a fiercely local and independent web series set in Washington, D.C. about the lives of a group of teenagers in the summer of 1994.
Make sure to visit us at http://www.OJinBG.com/ to check out our episodes, blog, news updates, character bios, and more!
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/OJBishopsGarden/
"The bad things we do. The things we get caught for--and how they are never the same."
http://www.koldcast.tv/video/girlfriend_ep_27Episode 2.7 - "Girlfriend?": Sarah, Maggie, Yasmine, and Hunter have a girl... more
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5/13/10
We will never change anything in Washington as long as we liberals and conservatives blame one another for the problem. And then they place their trust Republicans and Democrats to make sure their agenda is being followed. Because it’s all just a big racket designed to keep them in power and give them unlimited power over us.
What we have had for the past thirty years is an unchecked orgy of debt and corruption masquerading as neo liberal economic theory that has just about destroyed this nation. Couple that with an unbridled desire to export our version of freedom upon any country we feel the need to by whatever means necessary.
And what you end up with is a huge mess and a broken system where all those that profit from it point their fingers at each other on tv and then laugh all the way to the bank. It’s time for the left and right to come together on a set of issues that will change the direction the country is moving and give back to the people more power over the decisions that are made.
How to Turn Congress Inc. Back to Just Congress
Here is a post written by Katrina vanden Heuvel of the Nation. It is about a bill in Congress that offers a partial solution both sides can agree on.
“It is clear that the kind of strong reforms we urgently need won't be achieved simply by electing a new president or new members of Congress. Despite the voters' mandate for change, the underlying problem of Washington -- what author and Washington Post reporter Robert Kaiser calls "so damn much money" -- remains unaltered and is in many ways more powerful than even before. In the wake of the Supreme Court's recent Citizens United decision -- which awarded corporations the rights of citizens when it comes to electioneering, allowing them to use their coffers to manipulate political discourse -- the prospect of a Congress "brought to you by (insert corporate sponsor here)" has only grown.”
To read the entire post from CommonDreams click here.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/05/12-9
War? Or Peace?
And here from last year one of our Mindsi2 videos we show Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich. Who are two men on opposite ends of the political spectrum coming together on the issue of war. And hey a bill whose main sponser is a socialist passes 96-0 maybe there is hope for the future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPdjlrsNHCM5/13/10
We will never change anything in Washington as long as we liberals and... more
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WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia Council approved a measure on Tuesday that would allow people with certain chronic illnesses to obtain medical marijuana from a handful of dispensaries regulated by the city.
The 13-member Council voted unanimously to allow doctors to recommend marijuana for people who are infected with H.I.V., as well as people with glaucoma, cancer or a “chronic and lasting disease.”
The legislation permits Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to establish up to eight dispensaries where patients could receive two ounces of marijuana a month. The measure gives the mayor the option of raising the amount to four ounces without further council action.
Some doctors say marijuana helps relieve nausea, vomiting, certain AIDS symptoms and some side effects of chemotherapy. For glaucoma patients, the drug is believed to help lower eye pressure.
The measure, which Mr. Fenty is expected to sign into law, thrusts the debate over medical marijuana into the hands of Congress and the White House, which must decide within 30 days whether to allow the city to proceed with the plan. To block the law from taking effect, the House and the Senate must pass a joint resolution and President Obama must approve it.
If federal lawmakers do not intervene, Washington will join California and 13 other states that allow residents to use marijuana for medical purposes.
David A. Catania, a sponsor of the measure, said he was confident it was “a thoughtful approach toward implementing a medical marijuana program that will be a model for other states that will be defensible before Congress.”
The measure requires patients, their caregivers, dispensaries and cultivators to register with the city, restricts dispensaries to a maximum of 95 plants, and prohibits district agencies from arresting medical marijuana users or denying them other services.
The Council rejected amendments that would have spelled out patient protections, limited dispensaries to nonprofits and permitted patients to use recommendations from doctors in Maryland and Virginia.
Nikolas Schiller, the secretary of the D.C. Patients’ Cooperative, a nonprofit group that advocates legal medical marijuana, said the amendments would have clarified ambiguities in the bill. He pointed to an example of a Wal-Mart worker in Michigan, where medical marijuana is legal, who was fired in March after he tested positive for the drug, which he used to cope with sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor.
“We asked the Council to introduce the protection for that and they refused to,” Mr. Schiller said. “And it was very infuriating to sit and watch the best practices from other states, other jurisdictions be ignored.”
Dorothy Brizill, the executive director of D.C. Watch, a local government watchdog, expects a fight over where to locate the dispensaries and raised concerns about medical marijuana ending up being illegally sold on the streets.
“I don’t have confidence in the district’s ability to carry out the regulation," Ms. Brizill said. "I hope to be proven wrong."
Sixty-nine percent of district voters approved a 1998 ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana. Congress blocked the money needed to create a medical marijuana program until it lifted that ban in December.
In October, the Justice Department urged federal district attorneys to back off of prosecutions of people in possession of medical marijuana who are acting in accordance with state law.
Public support for medical marijuana has remained constantly high in recent years. In an Associated Press-CNBC poll conducted in April, nearly two-thirds of the respondents supported legalizing medical marijuana.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/us/05marijuana.html?hpwWASHINGTON — The District of Columbia Council approved a measure on Tuesday that... more
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Pres. Obama Cheating Scandal…”Mistress” Vera Baker Exposed!!! PHOTOS
National Enquirer
UPDATED: Reports out of Washington, DC: PRESIDENT OBAMA in a shocking cheating scandal after being caught in a Washington, DC Hotel with a former campaign aide.
Click here for Full Story …”Mistress” Vera Baker PHOTOS!!!, VIDEO...http://ctpatriot1970.wordpress.com/2010/05/01/pres-obama-cheating-scandal-mistress-vera-baker-exposed-photos/
A confidential investigation has learned that Obama first became close to gorgeous 35 year-old VERA BAKER in 2004 when she worked tirelessly to get him elected to the US Senate, raising millions in campaign contributions.Pres. Obama Cheating Scandal…”Mistress” Vera Baker Exposed!!!... more
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"Barack Obama's right-wing opponents cast him as a socialist failure. His left-wing hecklers see him as an overcautious hedger. But, critics notwithstanding, the President is on a path to be a huge success by the time of November's midterm elections."
Mark Halperin takes stock of President Obama's performance heading toward the mid term elections.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1984460,00.html?xid=huffpo-direct#ixzz0mFluDbhL"Barack Obama's right-wing opponents cast him as a socialist failure. His... more
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Ayesha Fleary from Black Is Back speaks out against the continuation of a history of terror carried out by the U.S. Government against indigenous tribal groups as well as others around the world. Kim Baglieri from The Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines passionately speaks out against the true costs of war and how the blood of the Filipino people is on U.S. hands through the support of the corrupt Gloria Macapagal Arroyo regime. Stephanie Diaz, a 10th grader at the Facing History School explains how the 700 million dollars taxpayers spend every day on the criminal war in Iraq results in a class war here at home waged by the rich against the poor. She has a message for the leaders of the nation…Go Fight Your Own Wars!
To learn more about this event go to:
http://www.answercoalition.orgAyesha Fleary from Black Is Back speaks out against the continuation of a history of... more
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In Washington DC on March 20th, 2010 as part of the National March on Washington DC, Ramsey Clark spoke about how the imperial presidency of America is destroying any chance for peace in the world and what we can do to change that. Then Cindy Sheehan talks about how to bring about real change and quotes Mario Savio from the 60s in his speech about putting your body upon the gears and making the war machine stop.
For more information about this event go to: http://answercoalition.orgIn Washington DC on March 20th, 2010 as part of the National March on Washington DC,... more
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In Washington DC on March 20th, 2010 as part of the National March on Washington DC, Ralph Nader spoke about how to shut down the imperial presidency and hold congress accountable for the funding of the military-industrial complex.
He also mentions how Obama is virtually the same as Bush regarding foreign policy including refusing to stop the funding for Israeli occupation of Palestine and the brutal siege of Gaza.
To learn more about this event go to
http://www.answercoalition.orgIn Washington DC on March 20th, 2010 as part of the National March on Washington DC,... more
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Eco-warriors do more than just chase down whaling ships or chain themselves to redwood trees; an equally vicious battle is taking place on Capitol Hill. Lobbyists, protesters and legislators descend on Washington, D.C. to hash out the merits of the controversial American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which some say is the first step in reversing global warming, while other are convinced it's the death knell for the U.S. economy.
This is Part 2 in a four part web series where we follow this controversial bill through the House of Representatives. What does it take to pass climate legislation? What deals need to be cut? What parliamentary tricks have to be pulled?
Part 3 will be posted online tomorrow at 3ET/12 PT.Eco-warriors do more than just chase down whaling ships or chain themselves to redwood... more
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Eco-warriors do more than just chase down whaling ships or chain themselves to redwood trees; an equally vicious battle is taking place on Capitol Hill. Lobbyists, protesters and legislators descend on Washington, D.C. to hash out the merits of the controversial American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which some say is the first step in reversing global warming, while other are convinced it's the death knell for the U.S. economy.
This is Part 1 in a four part web series where we follow this controversial bill through the House of Representatives. What does it take to pass climate legislation? What deals need to be cut? What parliamentary tricks have to be pulled?
The full 30 minute documentary airs tonight on Current TV at 9:30pm. Part 2 will be posted online tomorrow.Eco-warriors do more than just chase down whaling ships or chain themselves to redwood... more
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Lynne Jackson with Project SALAM (Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslims) speaks out on how Muslims are treated in American society today, followed by Mickey Huff from Project Censored talking about how people in America can't get factual knowledge about what is going on in the world. Gene Bruskin from U.S. Labor Against the War speaks on Iraqi Unions. Joe Lombardo from The National Assembly explains why globalization leads to perpetual war and Juan Jose Gutierrez from Vamos Unidos U.S.A. talks about Immigration Reform and the fight against the war at home and abroad.
This was part of the National March on Washington DC on March 20th, 2010.
For more information go to:
http://answercoalition.orgLynne Jackson with Project SALAM (Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslims) speaks out... more
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Pam Africa Speaks Out for Mumia Abu-Jamal and Against the War, Followed by Mounzer Sleiman from The National Council of Arab Americans
and Hodari Abdul-Ali from the Muslim Alliance of North America
For more information go to:
http://answercoalition.orgPam Africa Speaks Out for Mumia Abu-Jamal and Against the War, Followed by Mounzer... more
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Support - Women - Arts - Now. SWAN Day is an international event held every year in March and April to celebrate the contributions of women in art! Check out some of the women's art at DC's SWAN day 2010.Support - Women - Arts - Now. SWAN Day is an international event held every year in... more
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Kevin Zeese from Voters for Peace, Heidi Boghosian from The National Lawyers Guild and Rev. Graylan Hagler Speak Out Against American Empire and Imperialism with Enormous Passion!
For more information go to:
http://answercoalition.orgKevin Zeese from Voters for Peace, Heidi Boghosian from The National Lawyers Guild and... more
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Ibrahim Ramey from the American Muslim Society, Frances Villar and Edward Pages from the Party for Socialism and Liberation talk about how to defeat American Empire and Imperialism.
This was part of the March 20th, 2010 Anti-War Rally in Washington DC. The National March on Washington DC brought more than 10,000 people out in the streets to demand and end to American Wars for Empire!
For more information go to:
http://answercoalition.orgIbrahim Ramey from the American Muslim Society, Frances Villar and Edward Pages from... more
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A passenger was subdued by a federal air marshal during an incident aboard an airliner flying from Washington to Denver on Wednesday night, sources told NBC News.
Federal authorities say a disturbance aboard a United Airlines flight from Washington to Denver, Colorado, Wednesday night occurred when a passenger apparently tried to set a shoe on fire.
The passenger may have said he was putting out a cigarette on his shoe.
United Flight 663, a Boeing 757 with 157 passengers and six crew members aboard, landed safely at Denver International Airport, airline and airport officials said.
More: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/07/us.airliner.disturbance/index.html?hpt=T1A passenger was subdued by a federal air marshal during an incident aboard an airliner... more
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HIGHLY CLASSIFIED MISSILE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERRED TO CHINA “BY PRESIDENTIAL SIGNATURE”
SOLD THROUGH FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS…IRAQ REDUX
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER/Senior Editor
“I actually believe he was a Blackwater contractor, I was not afraid of this contractor, he just made me mad. I realized at this point, something’s wrong, terribly wrong here…… this was because of a meeting in Washington DC regarding an arms deal with China (summer 2007). I believe this is the problem, after incidents did link XXXXXXX and Carlyle Group, to United Defense…..missile stability technology…..Chinese Nuclear Scientist“
This is just a story, none of it is real, it is too incredible to be real. Were it real, the FBI would have arrested dozens, maybe even an American president and members of his family. As many as 60 companies doing business with the secret Chinese military company named “502″ would have been investigated. The story is about an American president signing off on the transfer of highly classified missile guidance technology to China. First, maybe we should talk about what this technology can do.
America spends billions each year maintaining a navy. Our navy is based on the carrier battle group. Our nuclear carriers are fast moving platforms that can project American power around the world, giving us domination from the air, a vital component of our defense strategy. Part of these battle groups are defense systems designed to protect our carriers from attack by missiles. Missiles like the Silkworm or Exocet, essentially “Cruise/Tomahawk” type missiles can be destroyed easily. Ballistic missiles cannot be destroyed by our existing systems. Our protection, of course, is that technology to hit a ship at sea with a long range ballistic missile with a conventional warhead has not existed, or did not, not with any foreign power anyway.
WHAT ARE WE BEING TOLD
We are told that the FBI had been informed of illegal transfers of missile technology by companies working with China on, of all things, rail systems. The technologies are guidance systems. You wouldn’t think a train would need a guidance system, would you? You know, they are on rails and all, they don’t fly, they just stop at stations, pick people up and ramble on down the tracks to the next station.
The story has all the components of a typical Hollywood thriller. It involves a a conspiracy, spying, high ranking government officials, major threats to US security and even an assassination attempt made against a whistle blower. What is lacking is an investigation, arrests, new stories and someone, anyone, looking out for the security and well being of the people of the United States of America.
PROOF
This isn’t fact, it is a total fiction. If it were fact, you would have seen a president doing a “perp walk.” Lots of documents exist, lots of names have been named, lots of dates, time, facts and testimony but it is all still fiction, it must be. None of this could be true, not in the United States.
HOW BAD?
If the United States went to war with Iran, the Straits of Hormuz would be closed by bases in Iran using Silkworm missiles and by high speed patrol boats operating from Iranian ports. Until the US secured the region with a land invasion, very little oil would move in the world and the economy of most nations would collapse in a month.
Missile systems with advanced guidance systems could attack our support ships, our carriers, from well inland, making any invasion impossible. In fact, our carriers could be hit from thousands of miles away. With the data on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter already in the hands of America’s enemies and our navy “sitting ducks” because we voluntarily and illegally transferred our most vital missile technologies to a country that would market it to our enemies in a flat second, one might wonder what the plan was?
THANK GOODNESS I AM ONLY MAKING THIS UP
With the best law enforcement agencies in the world, the best “mainstream press” and American so patriotic that no amount of foreign money could ever buy them, get them to betray their country, such things are obviously impossible. We spent trillions on defending America. Imagine an enemy trying to attack an American city by crashing airliners into buildings, for instance. Something like this is impossible, we have defense systems that would spot this and other threats in seconds, systems long in place to stop attacks on the Pentagon or nuclear power plants, much less our ships at sea.
No American would betray his country for money. Look at how we kept weapons from being transferred to Iran during the Reagan administration? Look at how we didn’t send 8 strains of anthrax to Saddam.
“A British expert of biological weapons and former UN inspector of chemical weapons to Iraq, David Kelly, confirmed that “Iraq purchased 8 strains of anthrax from the United States in 1985″.
This quote from Khourosh Ziabari is imaginary and the documents backing it up don’t exist either. If they did, there would be an extensive history of wrongdoing that America has covered up, a history showing massive treason by some of our highest government officials. I am only thankful that our law enforcement agencies are protecting us and our free press is telling the story.
MORE RUMORED NON-EXISTENT TESTIMONY
The FBI, when it learned that Bush family members had been hired to handle the imaginary transactions, immediately stopped all investigations and informed the whistle blower to stay quiet. Death threats after that continued.
The kind of imaginary testimony looks something like this:
I am not certain who in this (BUSH) family was working for XXXXXXXXX Inc…. I do know that after they hired this person, the FBI investigation was stopped. Thereafter, they started making more threats. President Bush did sign a release for more components for this company, the problem was they starting making allot of threats after the agent came to my home and said the investigation was stopped. This agent already knew these people were going to come after me, because he knew the investigation shouldn’t have been stopped. One reason I agreed to work with them is so someone would watch my back.
I know this came from a high level person, because several threats were made to me when I was working on other projects. I reported them to the SC FBI and they would not speak with me. In late 2008, I also sent information to XXXX SC FBI about intrusions in my email with proof attached. He would not respond.
I attended a meeting in Europe where the sales director was promoting the device as similar to missile stability system (That was the sales pitch). They were also trying to work a deal in Syria to provide this technology…. In fact, it was clear that some of these companies where pitching the inertial system as similar to missile stability technology. The components used were US and British made.
More and a must read at the link:HIGHLY CLASSIFIED MISSILE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERRED TO CHINA “BY PRESIDENTIAL... more
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On Saturday, thousands of people converged at the White House for the March 20th March on Washington—the largest anti-war demonstration since the announcement of the escalation of the Afghanistan war.
Following the rally, a militant march led by veterans, active-duty service members and military families made its way through the streets of D.C. carrying coffins draped in Afghan, Iraqi, Pakistani, Somali, Yemeni, Haitian and U.S. flags, among those of other countries, as a symbol of the human cost of war and occupation. Coffins were dropped off along the way at Halliburton, the Washington Post, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and other institutions connected to the war profiteering, propaganda, and human suffering. The final coffin drop-off was at the White House—the decision-making center of U.S. imperialism.The A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition Organized this event; Visit the A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition Website for More Information: http://AnswerCoalition.orgOn Saturday, thousands of people converged at the White House for the March 20th March... more
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The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual two-week event that celebrates springtime in Washington, DC as well as the 1912 gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the people of the United States and Japan.The National Cherry Blossom Festival is an annual two-week event that celebrates... more
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