The Eegee Board Experiment

Over the past few days the open threads have been buzzing with brainstorming about a way for us to contact our fellow Eegian spirits across the time and space of the blogosphere. Kansas probably explained the situation best:

One day last week I realized that I'd left a question for James on three different threads over several days and he hadn't been around at just the right time to see any of them, nor was I around to nab him when he did appear. At the same time, Ductape was trying to chase Duke down and it took him two or three days to do it. I don't know why Duct didn't try email, but I didn't because the question just wasn't that big a deal to warrant adding to James' email pile, if that makes any sense.

So. . .I realized I had seen many situations, like over at Boo, where one person wanted to get another person's attention without using email to do it. Sometimes the email isn't available. Sometimes a person doesn't feel as if he knows the other person well enough to intrude into their home, etc. And I thought, hm, maybe we could make good use of a bulletin board. It will be (if it turns out this way) the blog equiv. of those cork boards that get put up in the lobby at conventions where people post little notes for people: "Catnip. Meet me in the cheesecake bar, 4:30. kansas."

With necessity being the mother of invention and all that, the collective wisdom of Eegeedom has started to formulate a solution: The Eegee Board.

The Eegee Board would be a central location where we could post up a message for a fellow Eegian that might be time sensitive, urgent or personal and could be missed in the flow of open threads. Here's what we've got so far:

The Eegee board would basically be a link to a semi-permanent Haloscan comment box that everyone could place on their homepage (or click on here at Man Eegee) to send and receive messages. At the present time it looks like it would be refreshed once a week, when all the old messages would be removed to make room for new ones (but the specifics are still to be worked out).

If you go to my blog and scroll down on the lower right you'll find some sample "buttons" we might use to access the Eegee board. The lower two gray ones are live and should bring you to the comments on this post. Please check them out make sure they work with your system/browser (there was already an IE problem that needed to tweak), and make any suggestions you have as to size, color, whatever… We could have a few different choices available to fit your blog style so if enough people want a white background w/black text, or a square one, or whatever it will be available. (we can also add new button styles over the course of time… which might be fun … like a clickable baby Tapir)

I guess the other thing we should discuss is Eegee Board etiquette…. Perhaps we should have a standard format for posting, just to make looking for messages easier. Something like:

• To: _______


• From:_________


• RE:___________


• Date___________

Anyway, lets use this as an open thread to discuss any ideas, improvements, suggestions, anything that you think would make the Eegee Board a better tool.

[UPDATE]: I've been informed that the use of the actual ouija board graphic might in fact be a copyright infringement and we would be best to not use it :(
... we still have the tapir, so that's a good thing :)
...and of course the regular text graphics

Sunday Touring!

If it's Sunday (and it is, no matter what some Aussies or Kiwis might say) then it's time to take a stroll around the Eegian (Eegeean?) neighborhood and see what everyone is up to. Um... and then remember to come back ;).

I'm one of those folks that doesn't "know a thing about art, but I know what I like", which is one reason I like Deano's ArtCrit site! He finds all sorts of interesting things, and then just lets you read into them what you want. Which is great, as I have no clue what some of it is... (although I think these are tonsils).

Michael (supersoling) suffers a loss and celebrates the life of a loved one. A love story, a story of family, life and trust, on many levels.

Olivia... well, what can I say? I was going to tell you how she's calmed down considerably (okay, well there was the Volcano, but still), but she's as racy as ever. She first lulls us with faerie ballarinas and their wings, and the most buttery Vying for Attention - then today she kicks it up a notch and hands us a flirty, windswept specimen that you can just tell is giving you an I'm-so-innocent--- NOT! look, with a broad wink and a smile. Definitely pretty in pink.

Imagine , catnip tells us, in heartrending and so true prose. Also, you can point in any direction of the Iraq debacle, and find someone to blame. Chalabi points at the fingers pointing right back at him.

Now, for this next you'll likely need a quiet room, your preferred beverage and a little time to recover your thoughts (and your power of speech, as this seems to have left so many speechless). Dove, in a powerful and powerfully simple essay, speaks on the On the Republic of Silence.

UPDATE! XicanoPwr picks up on Duke's powerful article on the new "internment camps" for immigrants and ties it in to Michelle Malkin's racist screed of a book, notices the similarity of language then and now, and lists some figures that many anti immigrant forces would rather ignore.

Hmmm... I probably shouldn't mention that katiebird is planning on committing more public lolling on vibrating beds, but I can mention her question about laughter! The health benefits of laughing have been noted... but what about the weightloss benefits? Also, don't forget the nightly Exercise Club (pom poms provided for those who prefer to just cheerlead!).

On the Left End of the Dial, James marks a day that will live in infamy. Sadly, there are way too many of those lately.

UPDATE AGAIN! You guys drive a hard bargain, but here it is, finally: Cheesecake!



Some can't access the blogger comments (at some sites), but this can be a discussion thread of whatever strikes your fancy, as well as an open thread.

More to come!

Presidential appreciation late night open thread

We should take this time to reflect upon the surefooted, sober and steady leadership that has been provided by our President through these trying and turbulent times.

Ok, how about we just have a late night cheesecake snack instead?

BlogArt Conspiring - final touches

We are almost ready to have our first conspiracy! There are just a few details to work out (such as length of each conspiracy, entrants limits per topic, lead time and so on).

There is, however, progress! We've voted on the first two topics, and we'll just decide on the others as we go. Having at least two, though, will give us and participants a bit of time to plan.

First topic, on the strength of 6 votes is Roads. Second, with 3 votes, is Oneness.

Now... how it will work (let me know if you think it's too complicated). On each successive day of the conspiracy, all involved (and anyone else who wants to) will put up a post on their blog (if they have one, unblogged people also welcome to participate)similar to this:

The BlogArt Conspiracy
Topic 1 -Roads
Day 1 Conspirator BLOG NAME

Q&A

Q: What do you want people to know about you? A: Blah, blah and lots more blah.

Q: Another fun and insightful question. A: Another brilliant answer.

2 more questions and answers, including what medium they choose (writing, painting, poetry, etc) and why.

previously featured Conspirators

Day 1 link
Day 2 link
And so on

So... What do you think of that format? And, how many entrants per topic (this will determine the length of each conpiracy). How often ... every other month? Every month? And anything else I've forgotten.

Friday Bud Blogging

It's better than a siren to de-lurk the lurkers

Immigrants of Every Color of the Rainbow

Living in the Southwest, when the topic of immigration comes up, it usually rests in the context of the relationship between the U.S., Mexico and Latin America; but since today is St. Patrick's Day, lets shift the focus for a moment from brown to green, and honor the activism of some of the Irish immigrants who are using their cherished holiday to take a stand for human rights.

At St. Patrick's Day parades in San Francisco and Chicago last weekend, activists with the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform wore white-and-green T-shirts saying "Legalize The Irish" and passed out fliers urging people to call their elected representatives in support of allowing undocumented workers to earn legal status as guest workers. Similar activism is expected at parades in other cities in coming days.

Adding heft to the immigrants' message, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, who visited San Jose on Tuesday, plans to push President Bush for legal status for illegal Irish immigrants when he visits the White House on Friday, St. Patrick's Day.

[snip]

"They are in as dire straits as any other ethnic group," said Kennelly, who estimates there are 3,000 to 4,000 Irish illegal immigrants in San Francisco, most working in construction, in restaurants or as nannies and caretakers for the elderly. "They cannot get driver's licenses, it's harder to open bank accounts, they cannot travel home and return again. ... The relationship between Ireland and America is so long and fantastic, but it's in danger now."

San Francisco Chronicle

As Duke1676 pointed out yesterday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is laying the foundation for a new era of domestic concentration camps, designed to herd unwanted human beings into the shadows of society. A large-scale "dust under the rug" strategy, if you will.

A good litmus test to determine the morality of any policy decision is to ask yourself "Why?" What is the motivation for taking a particular course of action?

In the case of egregious moves to seal off the country by wingnut Republicans like John Sensenbrenner, Arlen Specter, Jon Kyl and John Cornyn, the motivation is xenophobia, racism, and greed. No one on the left or center of the political spectrum should support their efforts, but sadly there are enough liberal and moderate Americans who have bought into the propaganda against the scary, eeeevil "aliens" invading their Manifest Destiny-imparted land.

The Irish immigrants demonstrating for their freedom today carry on the torch of all human beings who are seeking a better life. They are hard-working people who are merely satisfying the instinctive need to care for their own. As they rally today, clad in green, may their message of equality and human dignity be spread across the country with the vibrancy of a rainbow, and may the pot of gold found at its end be Freedom.

Accept this Irish Blessing today as a call to Solidarity.

We're on this Earth together,
And if we would be brothers,
Fight not just on your own behalf
But for the sake of others.

Technorati: immigration, St. Patrick's Day, Irish

The Best News I've Read All Day

If this turns out to be true, a Charro Dance is in order

Capsaicin, the component that gives jalapeno peppers their heat, may also kill prostate cancer cells, a new study suggests.

Initial experiments in cancer cells and mice show that capsaicin causes prostate cancer cells to undergo a kind of suicide. Researchers speculate that, in the future, pills containing capsaicin might be used as therapy to prevent prostate cancer's return.

According to their report, capsaicin caused almost 80 percent of prostate cancer cells in the mice to die. In addition, prostate cancer tumors treated with capsaicin were about one-fifth the size of tumors in untreated mice.

linkage

This is an Open Thread. Has anyone seen my bottle of Tums?

Internment of undocumented immigrants to begin.

On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that DHS would be opening detention facilities in the next few weeks to house thousands of Chinese immigrants who have been denied immigration to the United States, yet were refused readmission by the Chinese government. Currently there are an estimated 39,000 undocumented immigrants caught in this diplomatic limbo, but if the more punitive immigration legislation passed in the House back in December, and now being debated in the Senate, was to become law perhaps millions more would join them.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Chertoff said that China last year readmitted 800 people. But that made only a small dent in what he described as a backlog of thousands illegally in the U.S.

"The math is pretty easy — at that rate, we wind up with increasing numbers of migrants who, if we're going to detain them, we're going to have to house at enormous expense," Chertoff said.

He added: "We can't be in the position any longer where we are paying the burden and bearing the burden for countries that won't cooperate with us and take their own citizens back."

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately return a call for comment.

Currently, 687 Chinese are being held in federal detention facilities, at a daily rate of $95 each, while some 38,000 have been released on bond or under a monitoring program, such as wearing an electronic surveillance bracelet, the Homeland Security Department said later Tuesday.

-snip-

Chertoff also said Homeland Security would open detention facilities in the next few weeks to house entire families of illegal immigrants who hope to bring their children along in order to avoid jail time. "It'll be humane, but we're not going to let people get away with this," he said.

Chertoff's remarks comes as the Homeland Security Department aims to end its "catch and release" immigration policy by Oct. 1. After that date, all illegal immigrants will be held in U.S. detention centers until they can be returned to their nation of citizenry.

AP

Japanese-American internment camp during WWII

The Department of Homeland Security's decision to end the "catch and release" immigration policy by Oct.1 comes on the heels of last month's announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers that a $385 million contract had been awarded to Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Root and Brown to build "temporary immigration detention facilities".

Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Contract to Add Temporary Immigration Detention Centers
New York Times

Feb. 3 - The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract worth up to $385 million for building temporary immigration detention centers to Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary…

KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space…

A spokesman for the corps, Clayton Church, said that the centers could be at unused military sites or temporary structures and that each one would hold up to 5,000 people.

"When there's a large influx of people into the United States, how are we going to feed, house and protect them?" Mr. Church asked. "That's why these kinds of contracts are there."

-snip-

In recent months, the Homeland Security Department has promised to increase bed space in its detention centers to hold thousands of illegal immigrants awaiting deportation. In the first quarter of the 2006 fiscal year, nearly 60 percent of the illegal immigrants apprehended from countries other than Mexico were released on their own recognizance.

Domestic security officials have promised to end the releases by increasing the number of detention beds. Last week, domestic security officials announced that they would expand detaining and swiftly deporting illegal immigrants to include those seized near the Canadian border

As the Senate Judiciary Committee takes up immigration reform this week they will be debating provisions that may increase the number of incarcerated undocumented immigrants into the millions. Both the current Senate proposal, "The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006", sponsored by Sen. Arlen Spectrer, and it's House equivalent, the "Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005"(HR4437) would criminalize almost any immigration infraction and leave the entire undocumented population vulnerable to incarceration. Both bills, in theory, call for the arrest and possible detention of all undocumented immigrants.

Mandatory Detention
Under current law, individuals who arrive without documents, including asylum-seekers, are subject to mandatory detention. Again this applies mainy to those arriving at airports or by sea. 60% of detainees are held in local jails under contract to the federal government, where they are generally not segregated from the criminal population even if they are asylum-seekers and others with no criminal record.

Under this new bill, the mandatory detention policy would be extended to all non-citizens who are detained at any port of entry or anywhere “along” the border for any reason.

“Illegal Presence” and “Aggravated Felonies,”
Section 203 of HR 4437 calls for the creation of a new federal crime of “illegal presence”. As defined in the bill it includes any violation, even technical, of any immigration law or regulation. Even if the immigrant was to fall “out of status” unintentionally, or do to paperwork delays. In essence, the bill makes every immigration violation, however minor, into a federal crime. As drafted, the bill also makes the new crime of “illegal presence” an “aggravated felony” for immigration purposes. This classification would have the further effect of restricting ordinary undocumented immigrants (including those with pending applications) from many forms of administrative or judicial review. Those convicted of an "aggravated felony" would be subject to indefinite detention and/or expedited removal.

Indefinite Detention
Indefinite detention currently applies to non-citizens ordered removed from the United States whose countries refuse to accept them or who have no country because they are stateless. Most often they come from countries without good relations with the United States.

Section 602 of HR 4437 would permit indefinite detention of an increased broad class of non-citizens, including:

• those with a contagious disease
  
• any non-citizen convicted of an “aggravated felony,” (see above)
  
• non-citizens whose release would pose foreign policy problems
  
• non-citizens charged even with very minor immigration violations who, based on secret evidence, are deemed a national security risk.

MORE

With the internment of undocumented Chinese immigrants and their families becoming a very real possibility, we need to start to look at the real ramifications of some of this proposed legislation. Homeland Security has already announced its intent to greatly increase the incarceration of undocumented immigrants and Halliburton is ready to supply the facilities to hold them. With HR 4437's provisions for indefinite detention and the reclassification of even minor offenses as aggravated felonies it is quite possible that all 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country could shortly end up in internment camps no different from the refugee camps we see throughout the rest of the world. We just never thought it could happen here.

Tag: immigration

Nightowl Open Thread

Hey lurkers, don't be shy! Drop a comment and say hello

Happy Birthday to Maryb! (what's left of it)

Telling Their Stories, One-by-One

...until these deaths are no more than a gut-wrenching memory.

Juan Cruz-Torralva crossed the Arizona desert with his daughter last week because he wanted a better life for her.

His daughter, 12-year-old Lourdes Cruz-Morales, will return to Mexico in a casket.

Near the last leg of their three-day journey, a U.S. Border Patrol agent ran over Cruz-Torralva and his daughter with his truck near Dateland.

The agent had spotted a dozen illegal immigrants and was following them in the truck, according to a report by the Yuma County Attorney's Office.

When the agent got out of the truck, he heard moaning and discovered that he had run over Cruz-Torralva and his daughter. At no time did he see the two, according to the report.

Yuma County sheriff's detectives ruled the incident an accident.

Shortly after his daughter's death, sheriff's deputies arrested Cruz-Torralva on charges of endangerment.

Sheriff's authorities argued that by bringing his daughter with him through the desert, Cruz-Torralva placed her within "risk of imminent death" and eventually caused her death.

My heart breaks every time I read these tales of desperation and injustice. My eyes well up with the tears of my people who are no longer able to release the pain and anger they hold due to a broken society. They are the silent victims of an ongoing war that has been waged in the southwestern United States for the past 158 years.

In the halls of power across the globe and especially in Washington, D.C., the suits and pearls play chess with the lives of people instead of commiserating on a better way to create a balanced system of cooperation and peace.

No wonder we often feel defeated and depleted. Hatred and divisiveness have been given the platform and throne. It has lead us to widespread death, destruction and distrust.

We are diminished as a human race because of it.

As liberals, we must see the brokenness for what it is, not the illusions that are spread by the screens and speakers of the corrupt Age of Technology. The uphill battle against the forces of war and greed often appears hopeless, but it is a necessary fight and we are called to carry on.

How do we find the right direction to peace and change?

It's simple, really. It is a path that has fared well over history. To create Movements requires the telling of the Truth. Through our stories we are able to ignite an inner-fire that keeps us moving forward, motivated with resolve, to keep working towards a better world.

There is a recognition of honor in the simple act of recognizing the humanity of a person regardless of color, race or creed. To take that small step, allows Peace to make a giant leap. That is why these stories must be told.

Part of the Una Identidad Sin Fronteras series, crossposted at BooMan Tribune and Migra Matters