Here is my sincere description of what’s in it, based on actually reading it, carefully, from start to finish. VOLUME I: RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE AND THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN Russian Interference was “sweeping and systematic” First, and most importantly, “The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.” There were two components…
x,y,z — Everything Else
Betty White, National Treasure, Just Turned 95; 10 Great Video Clips from 1954 until Now
Betty White through the years, in videos. Happy 95th!
February Facebook Archive
I’ve been posting a lot on Facebook (here is my page) and have decided to keep an archive of the posts here, just so they aren’t lost forever. Not that they are necessarily that memorable . . . but it’s been pretty intense since the new administration was inaugurated. Selected Facebook Posts from February 2017
Duterte: “I may disagree with what you say but I will defend your right to say it. We are in a democracy.”
Ever since it became clear that Rodrigo Duterte was likely to win the Presidency in the PHilippines, I’ve been having a two track reactions. One one track, I’m excited to see someone who is definitely not “more of the same” take the reins in the rambunctious Philippines, and hopeful that intractable problems may actually seem…
For the Record: The Shoes that Walked 2,700 Miles and Helped Me Lose 80 Pounds
Between April 2014 and April 2015 I walked 2,700 miles (an average of about 7 miles a day) wearing one pair of Nikes and over that period saw my weight drop 80 pounds from 276 to 196. I was cleaning up my office today and was about to throw out a bag that I…
America the Fearful? Spineless Yanks? That’s What Excluding Syrian Refugees Says About Us, So Own It
At latest count 24 states, including one with a democratic governor, have declared they will not host Syrian refugees. Why? Because one of the terrorists who attacked this past weekend in Paris apparently posed as a Syrian refugee. Am I the only one who just feels sickened at the lack of compassion and lack of…
Third Installment of Frank Kresen’s Biography of John Stewart
Frank Kresen and I share a deep, lifetime affection for unique songwriter John Stewart, who died six years ago on January 19, 2006. Frank is writing a book about John, and we will be publishing it here in installments. This is the third installment – enjoy! You can click on it and read it online,…
Part 2 of Frank Kresen’s Biography of John Stewart
Frank Kresen and I share a deep, lifetime affection for unique songwriter John Stewart, who died six years ago on January 19, 2006. Frank is writing a book about John, and we will be publishing it here in installments. This is the second installment – enjoy! You can click on it and read it online,…
Yolanda Journal: The Challenge of Getting Fishermen Back to the Sea
As the food, medicine, and shelter situation stabilizes (and it hasn’t stabilized yet) in the typhoon ravaged communities of Samar, Leyte, and the rest of the Visayas, the question of how to re-establish livelihoods destroyed by the storm is moving closer to the top of the list of concerns for those of us with displaced…
Latest NDRRMC Situation Report on the effects of typhoon Yolanda
Following is the latest NDRRMC Situation Report on the effects of typhoon Yolanda, December 5, 2013 (Update as of 6:00 a.m.) *From the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Effects Casualties 5,759 dead 26,233 injured 1,779 missing Number of affected areas 12,095 barangays in 44 provinces, 589 municipalities, and 57 cities of Regions IV-A,…
Philippine Air Force Taking Over Control of Typhoon Relief Air Operations
The Philippine Air Force announced yesterday that it will assume responsibility for coordinating humanitarian airlift operations, a move that no longer requires Joint Task Force 505?s assistance with command and control of air assets supporting Operation Damayan for Typhoon Yolanda victims. A U.S. Air Force C-130H aircraft delivered the last shipment of USAID to Tacloban…
Oops….we exceeded our bandwidth and were shut down for a few hours.
Apologies to everyone who couldn’t get on the site here for the last 8 hours. The site exceeded its monthly bandwidth allocation a few hours ago and I only discovered the problem now. It’s been resolved. FYI when the typhoon hit the site had been pretty quiet for awhile, and was receiving a few hundred…
Another Perspective on the Anderson Cooper – Korina Sanchez Kerfuffle
Aireen Navaro Khauv, a retired Filipino executive and head of a multi-million dollar Japanese company, has written an open letter to Anderson Cooper that hasn’t quite gone viral — but it’s getting some attention and is a well-written, well-thought out counterargument. Here it is –worth reading to the end. Dear Sirs, I just wanted to…
Guinob-an, Samar Emergency Rice Shipment to Samar Leaves Manila
Update from Rena Sellers at Immediate Relief, Guinob-an, Philippines These are pics of our first shipment being loaded in Manila Sunday. It left Sunday at noon Manila time so it’s been on the road for about 12 hours. It will take 24 hours or more to get to Guinob-an, with some uncertainty about the length…
Philippine Government Publishes Relief Route Map
The Philippine government has published a relief route map designed to provide information to those attempting to get relief goods to the areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Aside from being useful information for those attempting to get aid in — this also helps those outside the Philppines get a sense of the huge area…
US Marine General Paul Kennedy on his Mission in the Philippines
Here is an interesting interview of General Paul Kennedy — the Marine General who was “first in” to the Philippines. He’s the one who had a number of important quotes in the early days that helped convey the scope of the problem. This interview provides a lot of additional information that hasn’t made it out…
Diocese of Borongan Publishes Ways to Send Donations for Eastern Samar Typhoon Relief
From Neil Gavan Tenefrancia and Lawaan.com Diocese of Borongan YOU CAN DEPOSIT YOUR CASH DONATIONS VIA THE DIOCESE OF BORONGAN THRU THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNTS: >>>DOLLAR ACCOUNT A. Crispin B. Varquez or Inocentes Abuda, Jr. 390-2-39000184-8 Metrobank-Borongan Branch Swift Code: mbtc.phmm >>>PESO ACCOUNT B. Roman Catholic Bishop of Borongan 0720-028012-030 Development Bank of the Philippines-Borongan Branch…
Eastern Samar Update November 13, 2013
Post by Favradio. Post by Philippine Star. The Rumor of a Mass Prison Escape is Inaccurate Eastern Samar jail prisoners DID NOT attempt any escape despite the typhoon damaging prison facilities. They are still in Jail and are not a factor in the security issues that have cropped up. Source: DZMM Getting Cash to Eastern…
Our Family’s Situation in Guinob-an, Lawaan, Eastern Samar
It’s been 48 hours since we finally got word from one of our relatives. I posted about it on Facebook and have been to busy to do anything with it here — so I’m going to just embed the Facebook post so friends who are not on Facebook will get the news. Here’s the post.…
VIDEO: Mayor Rody Duterte of Davao Tells it Like it Truly Is, After Seeing the Devastation Firsthand
Mayor Rody Duterte speaks vivid truth about the scope and nature of the devastation.
List of More than 100 Desperate Towns Ravaged by Yolanda / Haiyan — And This is Incomplete
Just how big is the problem in the Philippines? How big is the need? Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) raked a huge swath across the center of the country. Tacloban was the biggest population center and was hit very hard and it is getting 90% of the attention in the international media, so much so that…
Typhoon Yolanda — Eastern Samar Update for Nov 12, 2013
In an attempt to help spread the word about the status in Eastern Samar, we are going to provide Eastern Samar updates daily for the coming days. These updates are current as of Nov 12 mid-day in the Philippines. As a rule, we are trying to find meaningful updates in social media that are not…
Remembering An Army Dad on Veterans Day
It’s been 42 years since my father died. He was a career Army officer who was serving in Vietnam when the end came. Over the years it has evolved that it is this day — Veterans Day — when I pause and consciously spend hours remembering him and all that he meant to me. In…
Lawaan’s Achingly Sweet Theme Song
A few years back I came across this lovely theme song for Lawaan and had filed it away until this morning, when I went looking for it on Youtube and, watching it, just felt heartbroken about what is happening to Lawaan, Eastern Samar, and the rest of the central Philippines in the aftermath of typhoon…
Smart Communications Yolanda Update
Interview with Mon Isberto, Public Affairs Director for Smart Communications about what Smart is doing, and is planning to do, to alleviate the communications problems in the typhoon affected areas. http://anc.yahoo.com/video/smart-sets-libreng-tawag-stalls-032211403.html
Few Americans Realize That the US has Deep Historical Connections to Typhoon Ravaged Philippine Islands of Leyte, Samar
As the tragedy wrought by Typhoon Hainan (Philippine designation Yolanda) unfolds in agonizing slow motion, Americans find themselves looking at a region in the Philippines that bears a deep historical connection to America — yet it is a connection that is little known to the general population in the US. To Filipinos or students…
Resources for Typhoon Yolanda Information
We will add to this as new sources of information or opportunities to help are available. This is just a starter list. Google People Finder — Typhoon Yolanda Page If you are looking for a family member, or want your family to know you are safe. MGive Foundation MGive Foundation is Collecting donations from U.S.…
Now Here is a Comment Worth Sharing: “Time to get to know the hardy Filipino people”
If you go to CNN and scroll to the comments after their main article on Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda you will see that the following comment by dudesk001 has been voted to the top and is starting to go a little viral is this one: Time to get to the know the hardy Filipino people…unbelievably resilient, long…
Government Shutdown: Are the Republicans Gaining the Upper Hand?
In the government shutdown standoff, this morning there is evidence that Republicans are gaining traction in the standoff as far as public opinion goes. Democrats should be worried. When this whole standoff began, public opinion was clearly on the side of the Democrats as most people, even those who only casually follow politics, “got it”…
Who Hijacked the GOP?
I originally wrote this for A Hollywood Republican in 2011, where I am tolerated as a not-overly-inflammatory opposing view. A Facebook thread today reminded me of it, and I realized I’ve never logged it in here on my own blog — so here it is. Keep in mind the original publication date of May 17,…