First Looks category archive

Update: Date corrected.

Note: During the election season, meeting day has been moved to Thursday.

Drinking Liberally is a gathering place for liberals. Socialize and laugh in a friendly atmosphere.

When: 6 p., Thursday, August 9.

Where:
Lola’s Caribbean Restaurant
328 W 20th St (map)

Details here. Meetup page here.

They keep changing their name, but the John Law keeps tracking them them down.

Blackwater Xe Academi was assessed $7,500,000.00 in fines for violating arms regulations.

The charges unsealed Tuesday included two counts of exporting satellite phones to Sudan and four counts of violating arms trafficking laws, in part by providing body armor and ammunition to Iraq and Afghanistan without U.S. approval.

There also were six counts of violating federal firearms laws regarding possession of unregistered automatic weapons and five counts of lying to authorities about the ownership of weapons given to the king of Jordan or his entourage.

Ah, the challenges of making a living as hired guns in this modern age..

Olympic twits.

The controversy started Sunday when the account of Guy Adams, a correspondent for The Independent and a vocal critic of NBC’s Olympics coverage, was suspended after he tweeted a corporate email address for a network executive, which Twitter claimed was a violation of its privacy rules.

Twitter restored his account Tuesday, admitting that “we did mess up” when its staff encouraged NBC — which Twitter is teaming with for Olympics coverage — to file the complaint that resulted in the suspension.

Tempest in a twitpot.

Six months from now, no one will remember this.

Six years from now, no one will remember Twitter (CompuServe, anyone?)

Radio Times investigates the builder and the building of the S. S. United States. From the website:

“Getting there is half the fun,” is rarely a desire of the modern traveler, but back when the S.S. United States made its maiden voyage, this passenger luxury liner was built for speed and comfort. It has been 60 years since Harvard College-drop out and self-taught engineer William Francis Gibbs’ technological masterpiece was launched. She carried dignitaries and Hollywood starlets, her image has been featured in high-profile films, and her top-secret speed broke many nautical records in her time. Now the ship’s two red, white, and blue funnels’ peeling paint is an image peering out from its docking on the Delaware River in South Philadelphia, a memory of America’s postwar maritime greatness. Historian STEVEN UJIFUSA tells the story of Gibbs and his dream ship in, “A Man and his Ship: America’s Greatest Naval Architect and His Quest to Build the S.S. United States.”

Follow the link to listen or listen here (MP3).

See pictures of the liner as it is today at my boating site.

Excerpt:

The Joe Paterno statue was the only thing that was eleven years old that Penn State tried to protect.

Off to drink liberally.

Hanlon lays down his razor.

Wish him well.

Fun and fellowship for liberals. Join us and help our chapter leader celebrate her birthday.

When: Tuesday, July 24nd, 6 p.

Where New Location:
Yard House Virginia Beach
4549 Commerce Street (Map)

More here.

Join us for a special bonus summer session.

When: Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 6:00 PM

Where:
Greene Turtle
1401 Greenbrier Pkwy, # 2260
Chesapeake, Va. (map)

The findings of the Freeh investigation into Penn State comes as no surprise.

The powerful tend to protect their own (see “Church, Catholic” and “Bankster, Wall Street”). An excerpt from Freeh’s public statement:

“Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State,” Freeh said. “The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.”

Addendum, Later that Same Day:

What Shaun Mullen said.

Off to drink liberally.

Drinking Liberally is a support group for liberals, where you can realize you are not alone.

When: 6 p., Tuesday, July 10.

Where:
Lola’s Caribbean Restaurant
328 W 20th St (map)

Details here. Meetup page here.

Home improvements.

Poked a hole into the dead space at the base of the stairs and installed a cabinet door.

The local rag has posted some pictures of the lightning show last night.

We were asleep at the time.

Break time.

Off to drink liberally.

For the full-sized version, go here.

H/T Susan for the link.

Fun and fellowship for liberals. Join us.

When: Tuesday, June 26th, 6 p

Where:
Lubo Wine Tasting Room
1658 Pleasure House Road (Map)

More here.

At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Ruth Ann Dailey considers two significant trials that concluded with guilty verdicts last week: the case of Monsignor Lynn, charged with covering up and facilitating pedophiles, and the case of Jerry Sandusky, charged with serial pederasty. A nugget:

The Monsignor Lynns of Penn State have yet to answer for their failure. University police learned through their own investigation in 1998 that Mr. Sandusky’s conduct with an 11-year-old boy fit a “likely pedophile’s pattern,” but officials did nothing until 2001, when grad assistant Mike McQueary reported he saw Mr. Sandusky assaulting a boy in locker room showers.

And all they did then was take away Mr. Sandusky’s keys.