redozdachs and I are MIA (or, rather in MIA) waiting for the 11 am bus to take us from our red-eye flight to the Ft. Lauderdale dock where the Coral Princess will sail to San Francisco.  The five-hour layover in baggage claim is 5 minutes shorter than the cross-country flight.

But, 15 days of post-tax-season relaxation sounds lovely. 



The bridge cam will show our progress to, through, and past the Panama Canal.  Better views of the locks are on the authority's site.

We'll be passing through next Wednesday (the 30th).  We'll hit the Gatun locks about 6 am Pacific time, I think, but it'll be a more reasonable time when we go through the Miraflores. Look for us... we'll be the ones on the deck waving.

Comments about Princess cubed are superfluous.

HomEland Security chief MichaEl ChErtoff said today that he understands the trauma caused by the government's crackdown on illegal aliens.  (AP story) 

He said he feels the pain of employers who are left short staffed when their workers are deported.

I am kinda not thinking of businesses when the subject of disruption due to sudden deportations comes up.  Maybe it's only because redozdachs and I are watching the first season of Ugly Betty on DVD.  Or, maybe it's my lefty liberal pinko commie bleeding heart upbringing.

I don't know.  Maybe I'm wrong?  I should have more compassion for those poor businesses who need undocumented workers so that they can pay sub-minimum wages to those criminals who entered our country illegally???

Naw.

I haven't seen this version of a phishing scam until this morning's email arrived. 

Crooks are now sending email claiming to be Google.  They're telling me that my pay-per-click ads are offline and that I need to put more credit card money into my business' Google AdWords account. 

This looks like a real Google AdWords notification, except instead of going to the URL that displays in the email, the hyperlink actually takes you to a site in mainland China (see the ".cn" at the end):  http://adwords.google.vaultpacket.cn/select/Login . 

(The real Google is at https://adwords.google.com/select/Login .)

I haven't clicked, but I suspect the site mimics the real Google site. It will ask for your credit card information to reactivate your account.  Once you type in your numbers, kiss that card good-bye!

It's a good fake and it's new to me.  Most of all I'm impressed that the crooks think that Google AdWords is used enough for their scam to attract enough suckers to warrant their time and energy. After all, it takes work to set up a phony site!
( Read the Fake Email supposedly from Google.� (It looks just like the real notifications... just the click destination is different. )

Tags: business

This is the latest propaganda inviting y'all to come to church on Sunday.

The ad on the left was printed in this week's BAR. 

The video below is on YouTube and on the church's home page.

The sermon title is going to be Giving Up Religion for Lent.  Come on down.

The Vigil to end the Iraq War last Sunday filled the church's pews and rows of folding chairs at the back. We turned people away at the door.  Television stations 2, 4, 7, 11, and 14 sent reporters and cameras.  It was a good public cry for a change in policy.

I used the occasion to dust of my old (2000) DV camera and take some shots.  Then I downloaded a trial of Ulead video editing software to produce the clip below.  It was pretty straight forward.

Most of the clip is of my minister, Rev. Greg Stewart, setting the tone for the day. Like Barack Obama, I don't agree with my minister on what he says... but I am glad he's standing up and saying what is in his heart.  Fortunately, Rev. Stewart is no rev. Jeremiah Wright!

And, if anyone knows another PC-based, low-end (around $100) video editor, please let me know.

I'm still vibrating from the directness of Barack Obama's speech this morning.  Unblinking and compassionate.  Calming and passionate. What I believe, phrased like poetry. 

Race isn't going away.  We cannot ignore it and hope it will go away.

Then the talking heads. We had Fox on (because CNN just doesn't stop talking about itself). 

Immediately Brit Hume says that Obama said that would carryout the agenda of the black community.

Huh? 

Assemblyman Mark Leno is running for Carole Migden's State Senate Seat.
I support Mark. He's hardworking, reasonable, and sane. I agree with most of his policies, too.
Not a bad TV ad.

A Vigil to Change the World

State Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), Actor Sean Penn, Senior Minister Rev. Gregory Stewart, Iraqi Veteran Specialist Joe Wheeler, Cindy Sheehan, and other peacemakers commemorate the 5th year of the war with a Peace Vigil 5 pm Sunday (March 16) at the Unitarian Universalist Church at Franklin and Geary. The public is invited to come and join the reflection and the call for action.

“I imagine this gathering to be one of preparation for the dismantling of the war industrial complex that feeds the anti-Muslim frenzy that grips the USA's power elite and many of its citizens,” says Rev. Stewart.

Additional confirmed participants in the Vigil include Vice Presidential candidate Matt Gonzalez, Bill Simpich of Iraq Moratorium SF Bay,  Justin Raimondo, the Editorial Director of Antiwar.com, and Ying Lee of the Watada Support Committee.  Nancy Mancias of Code Pink will sing for peace!

Speakers will show how individual San Franciscans can help change minds to change the world. “In the fight for peace and justice,” Rev. Stewart adds, “God is optional but you are not. You possess the hands and feet of justice.”

A short list of names of people killed in the war will be read to honor all those who have fallen. The peacemaking will conclude with a walk from the church to the steps of the War Memorial Building on Van Ness Avenue.

The Vigil to Change the World is co-sponsored by the Unitarian Universalists for Peace in coalition with the Iraq Moratorium SF Bay and other local peace, political, and religious organizations.

-- This is the latest press release I've sent out about Sunday's Vigil.  I'll be there ... come on down!
 

Why do we know of Cindy Sheehan?

We have heard of her because her soldier son was killed in the Iraq War on April 4, 2004.

That's her horrible claim to fame.  Since her son was killed, she had done a number of noisy things to capture attention. But, if her son was still alive, Cindy would be an unknown Central California woman.

Mothers of servicemen (and women?) killed in service of the country have been called Gold Star Mothers since at least 1918. The name came from the custom of soldiers' families hanging a banner in their windows. The banners showed blue stars for each active serviceman and gold stars for any soldier who was killed.

Cindy Sheehan is a Gold Star Mother. By definition. By tragedy.

But, I got my fingers slapped when I wrote a press release for this upcoming Sunday's Peace Vigil co-sponsored by my church.  I referred to her as "Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan".

Oh, no, no!  Don't call her that!

Apparently Cindy's tactics have angered the local (national?) Gold Star Mother's Club.  Supposedly the organization doesn't want Cindy to use the term "Gold Star Mother". If I were to identify Cindy as a Gold Star Mother, the San Francisco peace coalition organizers would first have to meet and come to consensus on using that title in face of the opposition of the official club.  So, the publicity poster and press releases call Cindy "Peace Mom".

Instead of employing the gut-wrenching powerful reminder that Cindy's son -- and other real people -- have died in this war, we use a wishy-washy flower-child-sounding term than will offend, or remind, no one.

Reason 125,047 why the war continues and Bush Republicans win too many elections.

We've  been getting sales calls directly to Geoff's cell phone.  The automated voice says she's calling about our car warranty is about to expire. (That's unlikely, since one car is new and the other is 16 years old.)

The calls have been from:
562 228-7160
502 894-0098
520 548-5300.

Today Geoff pushed "1" to speak to a representative. The guy immediately asked for the type of car and year we had.  Geoff parried with questions about who his company is. The guy said he was from Great Atlantic Warranty in Florida.

Geoff doesn't give out his cell number, and nothing forwards to it.  So... these call spammers are using some cell phone list.

Anyone know who/how to report them?