A couple attempts to kiss. Across Mexico more than 1,300 people were tested for suspected swine flu infection and 400 were taken to hospital for checks. Health officials believe that tens of thousands, and possibly more, have been infected but have since recovered. Photo: ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP / Getty

Notes from an alternative red universe that is on the edge of reality:

While I expect the right wing to be wistful about their departing hero[Pres. Bush], it’s clear they aren’t going anywhere, managing to accomplish the following over the last 24 hours: The Wall St. Journal forgets about the 2001 anthrax attacks, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) thinks it’s “bizarre” that Obama can say his middle name at the inauguration but he can’t say it the rest of the time, blogger Pam Geller describes Bush as the “last American president” because Obama does not love his country, did not grow up in America, and might have been the son of Malcom X, Grover Norquist thinks the corporate tax rate is “torture” for businesses, Fred Barnes isn’t too bothered by a caller referring to the president-elect as a “monkey boy,” a new viral email claims that “the radical homosexual movement” (rescinding DADT) will destroy the military, the American Life League somehow links doughnuts to abortion, and the South Carolina state house has a bill pending that would make it “unlawful to communicate profanity” in a public place.

Photo by Ashraf Amra from AP Photo

I initially have kept quiet and to the center on this conflict because it is an extremely difficult situation to dissect. The cultural, religious and political background runs deeper than the blood being spilled. Yet it pains me every day it continues on because the apex of moral justification has come and gone. Wednesday’s talk of a cease fire truce cannot happen fast enough

via NYT:

JERUSALEM — As the Gaza death toll passed an estimated 1,000 people and concerns about the humanitarian situation inside Gaza grew, Egypt announced on Wednesday that it was making progress toward an interim cease-fire, with some officials predicting that one could be five to six days away.

Photo by soulsvillefoundation via flickr

Urban public schools have had a systemic issues reaching all the way back to the baby boom era. The problems are known to be rooted in desegregation/segregation as well as the strict drawings of constant redistricting as suburbanites find new “hot spots”. So my interest was high today as confirmations began for ED designate Arne Duncan.

via NYT:

Arne Duncan, the Chicago schools chief, told the Senate on Tuesday that he would work for “real and meaningful change” in the nation’s schools if confirmed as education secretary and said he hoped President-elect Barack Obama’s example as a model student could inspire millions of American children. “Never before has being smart been so cool,” Mr. Duncan said. But in a confirmation hearing before the Senate education committee, Mr. Duncan did little to resolve the curiosities of educators and policymakers…

Errr…uhhh. Not much there. Change is great and hope is grand, but I believe communities have been asking for both for 40 plus years.

Granted, Duncan has done great work with the nations third largest school system. With a focus on charter schools and “outside” thinking, things have improved in urban Chicago.

I don’t know, maybe I’m seeking too much improvement after years of wasted money and grandious intentions.

Color me skeptical for now with a last dash of optiism for flavor.

Photo from Reuters via daylife.com

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama prepares to step aboard a military plane at Chicago Midway Airport, January 4, 2009, before flying to Andrews Air Force Base near Washington. Obama is moving to Washington 16 days before being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on January 20.

Just ran across this bad ass Star Warsesque western video from the English rock band Muse.

Great song to get amped to while on Interstate 405.

Click on the video window to see full view.

Photo by photomastergreg via flickr

If 2008 seemed to drag on like never before, we now know why:

This weary/manic/glorious/tragic/bizarre year will last one second longer than you think. As 2008 circles the drain, here comes the pithy news item about the “leap second.” It’s exactly what it sounds like. Tonight, timekeepers will slide an extra second into the world’s clock. Tick tock tick tock TICK TOCK.

It will happen here, in Washington, a stroke before 7 p.m. The clock on the front lawn of the Naval Observatory will linger at 18:59:59 for two seconds instead of one. Then it will proceed, as if nothing happened, to 19:00:00.

Funny. All along I thought the cause was the longest election season ever. Happy New Year everyone!

God created man and woman. And saw that they were good.

Then came the advent of texting and civilization as we know was on the path of total destruction.

Enjoy the video!

Photo by Malocks via flickr

I’ll never know how it feels to see through the eyes of law enforcement.

Scratch that…Let me start from the beginning.

I grew up in South Los Angeles at the apex of gang activity and police brutality. The LA Riots in ’92 literally happened in my back yard. I saw the before and after effects of a community frustrated and ignored by both city council and LAPD.

My inner city upbringing still has its control on me. The sights and sounds of flashing red and blue lights provoke an awkward reflex that makes me tense instead of relived; living here in Orange County, Ca. has not calmed those nerves.

On the other side, I believe that any civil society needs an arm of law and order. Crimes are committed and your peers enact punishments; it is a given necessary.

The gray area between those two dynamics is what troubles me. The unprovoked situations that leave both a citizen murdered and an officer pushing pencils for 6-12 weeks.

Inglewood, Ca – Like any urban area, is no stranger to the gray area. It’s just that their gray area is leaving no room for the black and white side of things.

via LA Times:

One summer evening in 2005, an Inglewood police officer stood with his gun aimed at a schizophrenic man who had been stopped for drinking beer in public.

The officer ordered Jule Dexter to put his hands on the hood of the police car, but Dexter’s baggy pants started slipping. “Please let me pull my pants up,” Dexter pleaded, according to a witness’ sworn testimony. “Don’t move!” the officer yelled.

But Dexter, 27, reached to pull up his pants, witnesses said. The officer fired four shots into Dexter’s back and head, killing him.

Over the last six years, Inglewood police officers have repeatedly resorted to physical or deadly force against suspects who were unarmed or accused of minor offenses, a Times investigation found.

Photo by lafrancevi via Flickr

Money, guns and respect have been offered to Afghan leaders by American military agents in hopes of persuading them to help the cause of capturing Taliban insurgents. In the past, it was a 50-50 crap shoot in hopes that the leaders would understand the larger goal of a “free” Afghanistan.

Then came the blue pill of magic and suddenly the leaders have something worthwhile to smile and chat about.

Lesson learned? Sex sells:

The Afghan chieftain looked older than his 60-odd years, and his bearded face bore the creases of a man burdened with duties as tribal patriarch and husband to four younger women. His visitor, a CIA officer, saw an opportunity, and reached into his bag for a small gift.

Four blue pills. Viagra.

“Take one of these. You’ll love it,” the officer said. Compliments of Uncle Sam.

The enticement worked. The officer, who described the encounter, returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception. The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes — followed by a request for more pills.