Of Saints & Scarecrows

Tell me that L. Frank Baum didn't see this painting at least once in his life! Sano di Pietro (Italian, active by 1428–81) Saint Anthony Abbot Tormented by Demons, ca. 1435; Tempera and gold on panel, 18 11/16 x 13 1/2 in. (47.5 x 34.3 cm) Yale Art Gallery

Floral Erotica

Artist Katinka Matson has taken scanner to nature, and created something of infinite beauty. Look at the thumbnails, pick one, then go deeper by using the enlarge link. You'll be amazed at the depth of color & beauty. Floral erotica.

For contrast, here are white Calla Lillies taken with a standard digital camera by Philadelphia photographer Greylensman. 

Five Calla Lillies by Katinka Matson 

From the Facts & Fancies File

This is about as fanciful as it gets. Eleven Moons Realty. Yes, it's an entire page of banner ads. But, look closely. The rest of Bryce artist Frogspot's site is well worth an hour of your time.

The Destruction of Cities: Babylon

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's defense Ministry has denied charges that Polish troops in Iraq had damaged the site of ancient Babylon, one of the world's most famous archaeological treasures, while using it as a military base.

"Neither Polish troops, nor any other troops under Polish command, ever carried out any projects violating historical monuments or causing their devastation," defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Piotr Pertek said on Sunday. "Our soldiers never engaged in any efforts to strengthen the security of Camp Babylon without consulting Iraq's monument preservation authorities."

The statement followed a British Museum report alleging that U.S. and Polish troops had caused "substantial damage" to the ancient city during their combined 21-month occupation of the site. Scotsman

Was it damaged? Possibly. Regrettable? Certainly. But... the facts of life are that you can't preserve anything forever. Babylon, the former site of one of the reputed seven wonders of the ancient world - the hanging gardens of Babylon - isn't immune to occupying armies, plagues of Texas locusts, erosion, or infidels.

During the reign of Sennacherib, Babylon underwent a constant state of revolt, which was only suppressed by the complete destruction of the capital. In 689 BC its walls, temples and palaces were razed to the ground and the rubbish thrown into the Arakhtu the canal which bordered the earlier Babylon on the south. (Wikipedia entry)

Babylon has been occupied by Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, and defaced by Saddam Hussein - he had his name inscribed on bricks on the site, as well as having part of it rebuilt. (Which itself horrified archaeologists.)

Oddly, I ought to feel outraged about this, and I don't - yet. I remember being furious at the destruction caused by the Taliban of ancient sites in Afghanistan; in Cambodia, where ancient temples were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge; the destruction of Belgrade during the 1990's, and the purposeful and deliberate bombing of the Stari Most Bridge in Mostar, and I was outraged at the U.S's failure to plan for, and prevent looting in Iraq when we started this war. But this? Incidental damage of armies? No outrage. Now, if the Polish and U.S. armies were being accused of driving their tanks down the ancient streets, and deliberately plowing down walls or deliberately destroying the Gates of Ishtar, then I'd be pissed, and will be calling for their heads on silver platters. I guess we'll see.

Could the Polish and U.S. armies have done more damage than was done by the "excavations" that were done by archaeologists up through the 1930's, or the armies of Alexander? Cities - even archaeological ones - are evolving things. Not living, but evolving to the politics, religion, and people around them. They rise, they fall, and sometimes they're defaced or destroyed.

Dr. Darko Radovic postulates that the cities of Yugoslavia, "were attacked and destroyed because they were cities, because they embodied the pluralist, cosmopolitan, inclusive culture that ridiculed the narrow particularism and xenophobia of nationalistic exclusiveness." If that holds true for the destruction of armies world-wide, and it makes sense that it does, then our armies in the middle east need to take heed. Commanders in the field need to educate and control, and not allow their troops to destroy ancient sites in lieu of destroying the "enemy." It just doesn't help, and tends to piss off the people.

The epitome of "abandoned." This is from Woodgrange Cemetery, London. 

We All Fall Down

Maybe a bit different than the London you're used to seeing, but London, nonetheless. Derelict London Check out the abandoned railway line in particular, and think what a little renovation could do to that area. Love the Green Man sculpture coming out of the brick wall! Also, don't miss cemeteries, murals (the Shoreditch one is hilarious,) and hospitals.

Part of Yahoo! UK's people's choice awards for best finds in 2004.

If you're a New Yorker rather than a Londoner, there's a similar site, Forgotten New York. It's more extensive than Derelict London, and it looks like they've got three new photo galleries to explore for 2005. I can't quite decide which one to explore first.

Oh, please. You should look so good.

Michelangelo's David, far from representing the epitome of male physical perfection, was a wreck, according to a posture expert. An analysis by pilates pioneer Alan Herdman found David would have had a bad lower back, a weak hip and ankles, hammer toes and poor flexibility. Mr Herdman said that the beautiful young man in the statue in fact has very poor posture. BBC

Of Human Bondage

... you probably already know about this site, but I found it this morning on someone's blog, and had fun checking out the "bondage" covers from comic books.

Welcome to Comic Book Bondage Cover of the Day, the web's foremost reference site for bondage covers on mainstream comic books. All of the cover scans on this site are from comic books which were sold on newsstands to the public. Accordingly, this site is open to all ages, although parental guidance is recommended. Comic Book Bondage Cover of the Day

We're not talking nasty stuff here, we're talking Supergirl tied up by a villan, damsel in distress, Marvel, DC, Amazing, Batman, all mainstream stuff. I haven't found one yet that wouldn't be work-safe. Click on the archives link, to see an enormous list of images. Browse, and have fun!

Irreverent & Irrelevent: Jerry Springer: The Opera

More than 1.7 million viewers watched Jerry Springer - The Opera on BBC Two on Saturday, despite the objections of protesters.

At least 45,000 people had contacted the BBC to complain about swearing and religious themes in the opera. Most opera broadcasts attract an audience of about 1 million viewers, a corporation spokesperson said.

BBC

Stephen Green, National Director of Christian Voice, a UK-wide prayer group, says they will sue the BBC for blasphemy. "Having seen the thing, if this is not blasphemy, nothing is. There will be nothing sacred if we cannot successfully prosecute the BBC."

Rocky Flats Part II

A lot of the damage was done long ago - the incidence of certain cancers in the residents of that area - as well as the former RF workers - is disporportionately high. Every building and stick of furniture onsite has to be cleaned, dismantled, wrapped, and disposed of as radioactive waste. Now, radioactive material that's removed from the facility is [censored] ... uh... disposed of in another state. Underground pipelines are not being dismantled and removed.

However, they're still finding "surprises" on the grounds, as recently as two years ago. In April of 2003 a buried waste incinerator as tall as a three story building was discovered, that no one knew was there.

Hazardous and radioactive contamination at the site is permanent. Despite the DOE's assurances that all's well, no one really believes that, except perhaps the DOE.

I did err in a few of my facts about Rocky Flats in the first post. It started production in 1952, not in the 1970's, (post 1 has been corrected) and was in business for some 37 years. Oh... and did I mention the fire in one of the containment buildings in 1969 that sent a plume of radioactive smoke over the Denver area? Or the plutonium deposits east of the site that were 100 times more than the fallout from atmospheric nuclear weapons tests? When confronted with this information, the plant operators informed the public that the plutonium likely didn't come from the 1969 fire, but from one in 1957, or else from leaks from thousands of drums of plutonium-contaminated waste that was stored outside. This is how we (the public and the state) found out what was really going on out at Rocky Flats.

How do you decomtaminate 6,500 square acres of land, and insure that nothing is missed? You can't. The public and the DOE can't even agree on the definition of "clean," and clean doesn't even mean clean, it means "acceptable levels at maximum exposure for humans," which isn't very reassuring, considering they are making it into a wildlife refuge, and not a housing development.

Maybe this only matters to the people of Colorado. But if you read this document, you'll see why folks here have been concerned ever since we found out what's going on a mere 16 miles from here. Just think: this is the one we know about. There are probably similar facilities all over the states that were never found out, or that are still leaking radioactive contamination into the soil, water, and air around you. 

The author of the above-mentioned paper recommends that Rocky Flats be declared off-limits for a minimum of two centuries, while the full effects of the plutonium contamination are studied.  Instead, we'll be sending our children on school field trips to the "wildlife refuge."

Fortune Turns Her Wheel by Edward Burne-Jones 

Throwaway Kennedys

I knew little about Rosemary Kennedy, oldest sister of JFK, other than her name and that she was "mentally retarded." She died yesterday, at age 86.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rosemary Kennedy, the oldest sister of President John F. Kennedy and the inspiration for the Special Olympics, died Friday. She was 86.

Kennedy, the third child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy, was born mentally retarded and underwent a lobotomy when she was 23. She lived most of her life in a Jefferson, Wis., institution, the St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children...

Born Rose Marie Kennedy on Sept. 13, 1918, in Boston, she was known as Rosemary or Rosie to friends and family. In her own diaries before the lobotomy, she chronicled a life of tea dances, dress fittings, trips to Europe and a visit to the Roosevelt White House.

But as she got older, her father worried his daughter's mild condition would lead her into situations that could damage the family's reputation.

AP

... perhaps most moving are the letters from Rosemary Kennedy, whose mild mental retardation stalled her development in the hypercompetitive Kennedy family. A year older than [Kathleen] Kick, Rosemary penned letters (at times, with help) that seem on a par with her sibling's, up to about age 16, when we suddenly start noticing Kick's breathless accounts completely overwhelming hers.

The last letter from Rosemary to her father was sent in April 1940, when Rosemary, 21, signed off with the postscript "I am so fond of you. And ... Love you very much. Sorry. To think that I am fat you . think)." It is unclear exactly where, or when, but some time in 1941, Joe Kennedy decided that Rosemary might benefit from a still fairly unknown prefrontal lobotomy, to help with her reported bouts of anxiety. The procedure, Smith writes, "failed," and there is almost no mention of Rosemary after late 1940 in the patriarch's papers.

Salon

BOSTON -- In a family where virtually every member's every move is subject to the scrutiny of an insatiable public, what might the diaries of a forgotten daughter's coming of age have to offer? 

Barbara Gibson, a Kennedy family secretary, says they seemed to be worth nothing to the family, and that she kept them rather than obey orders to throw them in the trash.

"Went to luncheon in the ballroom in the White House. James Roosevelt took us in to see his father, President Roosevelt. He said, 'It's about time you came. How can I put my arm around all of you? Which is the oldest? You are all so big."'
"Have a fitting at 10:15 Elizabeth Arden. Appointment dress fitting again. Home for lunch. Royal tournament in the afternoon."
"Up too late for breakfast. Had it on deck. Played Ping-Pong with Ralph's sister, also with another man. Had lunch at 1:15. Walked with Peggy. also went to horse races with her, and bet and won a dollar and a half. Went to the English Movie at five. Had dinner at 8:45. Went to the lounge with Miss Cahill and Eunice and retired early."

Ms. Gibson said she found the diaries about 18 years ago as she and Rose Kennedy sorted through an attic at the family's Hyannis Port estate. 

"(Rose) was throwing things out . . . We came upon these diaries," Ms. Gibson said in a telephone interview from her Jupiter, Fla., real estate office. "She said, 'They're Rosemary's diaries, I don't want them. Throw them in the trash.'

more

Ah well, she outlived them all - good for her!

Led to some interesting reading, anyway.

 

Saturday morning treatise - Rocky Flats

I don't know if I can adequately explain this story, or its' significance for the people out here, but it's one that needs to be told. And told again.

From 1952 to 1989, Rocky Flats was a nuclear weapons manufacturing facility, located just outside of Denver. They manufactured the trigger mechanisms for nuclear weapons. The facility provided lots of jobs for the area, and lots of secrets.

Long the site of anti-nuclear protests, the site was eventually shut down back in the 80's, but only because the need for more and more nuclear weapons waned. Protesters maintained that the facility was contaminating the area, including groundwater and the water table, with radioactive material. At first, everyone just laughed at the 'kooks', but eventually, with the advent of environmental organizations that had some political clout, people started taking them more seriously. Radiation was indeed leaking from the facility, and contaminating air, earth, and water, not 16 miles from a major metropolitan area, with approximately 3 million people.

Eventually, they were taken seriously enough, and there was enough evidence gathered by the state and city health departments that there was something bad going on, that the FBI raided the facility. This is a highly-classified, government facility, managed by Rockwell International, and it was raided by the FBI.

The investigation progressed, and was presented to a 23 member "special" grand jury in 1989. They spent 2-1/2 years investigating what was going on at Rocky Flats, including allegations that officials conspired to cover up the illegal handling and disposal of dangerous wastes at Rocky Flats.

Grand jury proceedings are secret, and grand juries are not allowed to breach that secrecy. What this grand jury learned, however, led them to taking several unprecendented steps. They became known as the Runaway Jury. They made allegations of organized crime on the part of the government, and Rockwell. When prosecutors balked at acting, the jury wrote their own report. They asked to make their report public, so serious was the contamination and subsequent cover-up, which request was denied by Judge Sherman Finesilver. They tried to return indictments against the Energy Department, and Rockwell International, but federal prosecutors refused to sign the indictments.

The result was an extraordinary behind-the-scenes constitutional confrontation pitting 22 ordinary citizens, determined to do their duty as they saw it, against Colorado's top federal prosecutor and his staff, the U.S. Department of Justice and Colorado's chief federal judge.

In this showdown, the jurors--most of whom had never served on any jury before or taken on any public official over so much as a parking ticket--stood their ground:

-When Norton told them he would not draft an indictment naming Rockwell or energy department employees, they drafted one themselves with the help of a lawyer on the jury and adopted it unanimously.

-When Norton asked them to approve an indictment he supported--which contained the charges Rockwell executives eventually pled guilty to--they refused. His indictment was a whitewash, they said, and they wouldn't be a part of it.

-When Norton discouraged them from drafting a "presentment," a document outlining the charges of criminal conduct that doesn't carry the force of law, they drafted one anyway and adopted it unanimously.

Westword

Seven days after the judge refused their request to publish their findings, excerpts from their report and details of their accusations were published in what was then a small local "alternative" paper, Westword. The major papers wouldn't touch the story, but Westword did, and it propelled the small paper into news and investigative legitimacy.

After reports that U.S. Attorney General Mike Norton had referred grand jury leaks to the Justice Department, U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder called for a new grand jury and an independent prosecutor to investigate Rocky Flats. "Frankly, Mr. Attorney General," she wrote in a letter, "it is not the grand jurors but the U.S. attorney who ought to be investigated. From what I gather, the U.S. attorney did everything he could to sweep the entire scandal under a rug. Worse, it was a Department of Justice rug." (1)

Instead of being indicted, Rockwell International was fined 18.5 million dollars, and the grand jury was disbanded. Told to go home, and keep their mouths shut.

Twelve of the original 23 grand jurors wrote to President Clinton, asking him to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the government's actions. In 1993, an edited version of the grand jury report was released. The full version of the grand jury report is available here., including portions the gov't did not approve for release. C'est la vie, you know? Can't keep a good grand jury down...

In 1997, at least six members of the special grand jury hired their own lawyers, and made a secret appeal for a hearing, to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, who ordered Judge Richard Matsch to give them one. They testfied about the 2-1/2 years they spent investigating 'environmental crimes' at Rocky Flats. They claimed that officials at the Justice Department blocked their attempts to indict Energy Department and Rockwell International officials. They asked for permission to make public their findings. That was denied.

Though closed to production for many years, Rocky Flats is still there, still operational (though only in terms of shutting the place down, which has been going on for all these years,) and still cleaning up the site. If I'm not mistaken, RF has gone through three operators since Rockwell was thrown out. "Clean up" is scheduled to be completed next year, some seven or so years ahead of schedule. For every year ahead of schedule they complete the cleanup, the current operators receive tens of millions of dollars in performance bonuses. Once it's done, the site is scheduled to become a "wildlife refuge" and recreation district, in 2007.

Grand jury foreman Wes McKinley, along with three other citizens has continued the fight to get the whole story told for all these years, and has now been elected to the state house. His book, The Ambushed Grand Jury, (How the Justice Department Covered Up Government Nuclear Crimes, and We Caught Them Redhanded) is available on his website. Right now, he's introducing a law that would require that all visitors to the site, including the anticipated school tours, be fully informed about the dangers of the site. "The federal government lied to the citizens of Colorado for years about the dangers of Rocky Flats," said McKinley, speaking at a news conference. "They're still lying, and now they want to take our schoolchildren out there on field trips."

So... what brought this all to mind, and made me spend the last two hours writing this post? News, of course, as usual.

The FBI agent who led the original raid of the Rocky Flats facility back in 1989 has taken early retirement from the FBI, specifically so he can "tell the truth about Rocky Flats"; how the government stymied his investigation, tampered with environmental monitoring, and hid the truth of the true extent of the contamination at Rocky Flats.

And there you have my Saturday morning treatise on my neighborhood. :)