Poisoned? You think?

Before and after photos of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko.

Photo from Boing Boing.

Renaming ‘Squaw’ Sites Proves Touchy in Oregon

From The New York Times:

“Squaw” originated in a branch of the Algonquin language, where it meant simply “woman,” but it turned into a slur on the tongues of white settlers, who used it to refer derisively to Indian women in general or a part of their anatomy in particular. The settlers liked the word so much that there are now more than 170 springs, gulches, bluffs, valleys, and gaps in this state called “squaw.” All must be renamed under a 2001 law that was enacted after two members of the confederated tribes persuaded the Legislature that the word was offensive to many American Indians and should be erased from maps. But only 13 places have been renamed so far. It is a problem familiar to Indians and government officials in several states where attempts to outlaw “squaw” have been caught in a thicket of bureaucratic, historical and linguistic snares.

In Maine, one frustrated county changed all “squaw” names to “moose” in one fell swoop to save on hassle, while in Minnesota, disgruntled residents suggested new names like Politically Correct Creek and Politically Correct Bay. But often the stumbling block has been questions over what Indians themselves would prefer instead of “squaw.”

New moon,
you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart,
without a love of my own

The new moon is today/tonight at 6:29 PM MT.

Could you explain in a few words what that means?

Tea time (update)

From CNN.com:

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court sided Friday with a New Mexico church that wants to use hallucinogenic tea as part of its Christmas services, despite government objections that the tea is illegal and potentially dangerous.

The high court lifted a temporary stay issued last week against using the hoasca tea while it decides whether the Brazil-based O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal is permitted to make it a permanent part of its services.

The legal battle began after federal agents seized 30 gallons of the tea in a 1999 raid on the Santa Fe home of the church’s U.S. president, Jeffrey Bronfman.

Bronfman sued the government for the right to use the tea and the church won a preliminary injunction, which was upheld by 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. The Bush administration then took the case to the Supreme Court.

Link via dangerousmeta! who’s staying on top of this tea story.

Best line of the day, so far

“If you are interested in Jon Stewart related merchandise (or as we here at SRWU call them: Holy Relics), then you should check this out.”

Something Requisitely Witty and Urbane

Not really a problem for me either

From Brad DeLong’s Semi-Daily Journal: A Weblog:

And then there was the sign I saw on a door in the twisty maze of little passages all alike scores of feet below the classrooms of Berkeley’s College of Chemistry:

     PLEASE HELP US TO BETTER SERVE YOU BY
     PROVIDING AT LEAST 24 HOURS’ NOTICE (48
     IF POSSIBLE) OF YOUR LIQUID HELIUM
     REQUIREMENTS.

I don’t know about you, but I am generally able to anticipate my liquid helium requirements more than 72 hours in advance…

It’s the birthday

… of Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The Nobel Prize winner (for Literature in 1970) is 86.

… of Rita Moreno. Anita is 73.

… of Tom Hayden. Jane’s one-time husband and co-founder of Students for a Democratic Society is 65.

… of John Kerry. The man who received the second most votes for president ever cast in one election is 61.

… of Brenda Lee. Little Miss Dynamite is (gasp!) 60.

It used to be the butler that did it

But now it’s always the nanny.

The 10 Best Books of 2004

From The New York Times:

The books we’ve chosen as the year’s 10 best — five novels, a short-story collection, a memoir, two biographies and a historical study — present a broad range of voices and subjects. What do they have in common? Each is a triumph of storytelling, and each explores the past, whether through research, recollection, invention or some combination of the three.

Gilead by By Marilynne Robinson

The Master by Colm Toibin

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

Runaway by Alice Munro

Snow by Orhan Pamuk

War Trash by Ha Jin

Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan

Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fischer

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt