it's NOT classified

why throw fear into ORDINARY CITIZENS.

do your fucking jobs. the jobs include taking a NIGERIAN EXECUTIVE WHO STOPS BY A CONSULATE TO REPORT STRANGE GOINGS ON BY HIS SON (this is UNHEARD of by the way) seriously. you KNEW something was up.

really, patting someone down is NOT classified. and really, not letting someone relieve themselves for the last hour of a flight is FUCKING TORTURE (or it would be in MY case as i am on prescription diuretics)

steven and christopher, you have my sympathies. i'm sorry the cia or the tsa or homeland security or the fbi or WHOMEVER didn't do their jobs and now we can't have shite on our laps on a plane ride or get up for the last hour (how is THAT going to make a difference i ask you. it's STUPID)

ok, i'm going to stop now


TSA Threatens Blogger Who Posted New Screening Directive

By Kim Zetter

Two bloggers received home visits from Transportation Security Administration agents Tuesday after they published a new TSA directive that revises screening procedures and puts new restrictions on passengers in the wake of a recent bombing attempt by the so-called underwear bomber.

Special agents from the TSA’s Office of Inspection interrogated two U.S. bloggers, one of them an established travel columnist, and served them each with a civil subpoena demanding information on the anonymous source that provided the TSA document.

The document, which the two bloggers published within minutes of each other Dec. 27, was sent by TSA to airlines and airports around the world and described temporary new requirements for screening passengers through Dec. 30, including conducting “pat-downs” of legs and torsos. The document, which was not classified, was posted by numerous bloggers. Information from it was also published on some airline websites................

cia sat on underwear bomber report: blame game erupts

bottom pic: TSA Special Agent John Enright, left, speaks to Steven Frischling outside the blogger's home in Niantic, Connecticut, after returning Frischling's laptop Wednesday.
Photo: Thomas Cain/Wired.com

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to the family and friends of sgt 1st class ronald jay spino

my thoughts and prayers go out to you. i am so very sorry for your loss

Soldier with Waterbury tie reported slain by insurgent
BY MICHAEL PUFFER REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

A soldier who grew up in Waterbury and graduated from Holy Cross High School was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, according to members of his family.

Sgt. Ronald Spino, 46, of Fayetteville, N.C., was unloading supplies at a base Tuesday when an Afghan insurgent shot him in the back, according to his brother, Glen Spino of Avon. He said the insurgent wounded two Italian soldiers as well.

Various military spokespeople would not confirm Spino's death on Wednesday. The military is bound by law not to release names of casualties for 24 hours after a slain servicemember's family has been notified, military officials said.

Glen Spino said military counselors knocked on the door of the Florida home of his parents, James and Rita Spino, Tuesday night to give them the news.....................



pic: Sgt. Ronald Spino, 46, of Fayetteville, N.C., was unloading supplies at a base Tuesday when an Afghan insurgent shot him in the back. (Contributed Photo)

Army Sergeant, Waterbury Native Killed In Afghanistan

WATERBURY - A Holy Cross High School graduate and Army sergeant was fatally shot in Afghanistan Tuesday, his mother said today.

Sgt.1st Class Ronald Jay Spino, 45, was killed while doing his job, said Rita Spino of Venice, Fla. He was a paratrooper-nurse, she said.

He and his wife, Betty -- whom he met in the military -- have a house in Fayetteville, N.C, Rita Spino said. He joined the Army in 1993 at age 29.........

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hey da liebs

why don't we bomb the WHOLE FUCKING WORLD? deport everyone in the us who is of muslim faith.

sounds like a plan to me da liebs! you won't rest until you (well not YOU personally. why get YOUR hands bloody when our sons and daughters can do it FOR US?) kill EVERY ONE OF 'EM will you?

we're so beloved NOW, just think what THAT would do for our rep

Joe Lieberman: How About Another War?

posted by John Nichols

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who began openly and aggressively angling for a war with Iraq just weeks after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, and who has been the most ardent advocate for expanding the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, appears to be determined to use the thwarted Christmas Day attack on a Northwest Airlines flight as an excuse to launch another crusade for another war.

Lieberman, the neoconservative solon who wanted to be the Secretary of Defense in the administration of John McCain (his 2008 candidate for president) and who would gladly play the same role in the administration of a Sarah Palin or any other saber-rattling Republican, is proposing the launch of a new preemptive war on Yemen.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian accused of attempting to explode a plastic device aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Friday, has told authorities that he traveled to Yemen to link up with al-Qaida operatives.............

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cool car

merry christmas (eve that is)!!!

NO video, but click the link for a VERY good christmas song: with special commentary

our christmas menu

everything homemade (unless i note otherwise)

lasagna (i didn't make the noodles this year. i do NOT have the time)
meatballs (separate from the lasagna i have a vegetarian niece)
applesauce
cranberry sauce
vegan lasagna with added vegetables; mushrooms, butternut squash, eggplant, and whatever else i find in the fridge
mushroom tarts (some vegan some with cheese)
glazed carrots
cauliflower cheese tart (and something cauliflower vegan for me)
creamed corn (big bub won't eat any other kind of vegetable)
yukon gold spuds (i don't know how or what i'm going to do to them yet)
sweet potatoes (i don't know how or what i'm going to do to THEM yet either)
green bean casserole with HOMEMADE mushroom sauce and HOMEMADE fried onions
pickles - store bought
olives - store bought
italian bread-store bought

then my sister brings a GIANT salad and a roasted beast and some other kind of meat. she also brings a ton of desserts. one of my neice's husbands brings a big ol' ham. my OTHER (non cooking) sister makes ice. oh, and she bought an ice cream cake too.

ummmmmmmmmmmmm

i'm not even sure i have ANYTHING to say here except yeah, that's bambino and yeah, that's a bottle of mad dog 20 20 and yeah, it's a connecticut story

Woman Arrested for Demanding Three-Way Sex With Couple - Anna Bambino

this is what we woke up to this morning in connecticut

oh my goddess, this is WONDERFUL!!!

from move on via dependable renegade

i may pack my bags and move to mn

this is NSFW (language)

and i HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE (the) rap music with a passion (as if you couldn't tell)

BUT i think this wicked christmas song is wicked funny



via

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first of all you GIANT asswipe

STFU. if you're NOT from connecticut you don't get to yell at us. I AM from here so I CAN yell at us (and so can rose delauro)

i didn't effing vote for him. i voted for ned lamont. WE, the good (and obviously sometimes not too very bright) citizens of connecticut ARE responsible for da liebs but we're NOT responsible for your big fat mouth (i have one too so that's why i'm saying it about YOU). so once again michael MOORE we don't want you we don't need you. fine. see what your boycott does. no rich peeps from parts unknown invading our towns for summer, winter, fall and spring vacations? believe me i can live with that. does that include YOU? do YOU have a home here? hope not. i don't like you in the least. oh sure, our sentiments are similar but mine are genuine. you spew all of this kumbaya stuff yet you live like DA MAN. you're NOT fooling me. where do you live? where does your child (or is it children, i really don't know) go to school? (hint, i bet it doesn't have a p.s. in front of it). do you fly coach? do you stay in holiday inns? hmmmmmmmmmmm


you're a GROWN man michael moore. stop using 2 for two, to or too and stop using u for you. you're not prince or sinead o'connor

i have an idea! why don't we, the good (if not somewhat stupid) citizens of connecticut boycott michael moore! let's BAN his ass from our state as well. not even flying OVER it will be allowed. jodi, what say you?


Michael Moore ‘holds Connecticut responsible’ for public option failure

By Daniel Tencer
Progressive filmmaker has called for a boycott of the state of Connecticut if voters there don't start an effort to unseat Sen. Joe Lieberman.

"People of Connecticut: What have u done 2 this country?" Moore asked in a Tweet Wednesday afternoon. "We hold u responsible. Start recall of Lieberman 2day or we'll boycott your state."

Lieberman has been the focus of progressive anger since he announced late last week that he would vote against the Senate health care reform bill if the bill included a Medicare buy-in provision that would allow some people aged 55 to 64 to buy into the government-run seniors' health care program............

and you big bag o' wind get this...............

................."Memo to Michael Moore and any other frustrated lefties out there: There is no such thing as a congressional recall. So until 2012, we're all stuck with Joe," writes Eric Kleefeld at TalkingPointsMemo..................

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i am seething with anger

black and blue square has ruined the town of west hartford for ME. i no longer go anywhere near the center (with the exception of every once in a while that whole foods if i can't get to the one at bishops corner). the area is now full of scenesters (you know who i'm talking about). i just described them as having designer suvs, designer dogs, designer kids and designer friends. anyone know what the rents of the center stores and/or black and blue square are? i'm sure they're NOT pretty.

plus where am i gonna park my new designer suv any damn way?

i am not a fan of malls either by the way. but westfarms never should have settled.

Westfarms' Owners Agree To $34 Million Settlement With Blue Back

By BILL LEUKHARDT The Harford Courant
WEST HARTFORD — - The owners of Blue Back Square are getting $34 million in compensation for lost revenue, increased financing costs and other losses as a result of the yearlong construction delay caused by a blizzard of 11 anti-Blue Back lawsuits bankrolled by a retail competitor.

Taubman Centers Inc., the corporate parent of Westfarms mall and the mall's majority owner, agreed in an out-of-court settlement last week to pay its $26.8 million share of the money by today.

Pictures: Blue Back Square

The negotiated settlement — Blue Back lawyers were seeking more than $40 million — resolves Blue Back's 2007 lawsuit seeking damages. There is no admission of liability or fault in the settlement by Taubman, which owns 79 percent of the mall, or its four Westfarms partners, who own 21 percent.

The settlement money is being split by the private developers of Blue Back: Raymond Road Associates, BBS Development LLC and Blue Back Square LLC.

The lawsuits postponed Blue Back construction, resulting in a 2007 opening, just as the national economy began to shrivel.
.........

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a heads up

do NOT 'cook' chestnuts in a microwave

NO i didn't attempt it. i bought some chestnuts for my pops the other day and left them. he's always scored the X in them and roasted them IN THE OVEN

today when i stopped at his house i could SMELL the burnt OUTSIDE. dang


pic from: kyotofoodie.com/donabe-yakiguri-gohan/

da liebs. can't stand 'em. don't want 'em

am embarrassed by 'em. he's NOT my senator. i did NOT elect him. is he thinking of his constituents OR is he being a vindictive steamin' pile? well i know what i think

Joe Lieberman the man who personally killed Health Care Reform

Posted by Rack Jite in Politics


Just when we all thought there was a watered down health care compromise that would work - tossing out the public option in lieu of allowing 55 year olds' and up to buy into Medicare - Senator Joe "Droppy Dog" Lieberman on Sunday said NO WAY. This after months of bragging he would personally filibuster any public option in a health care bill.

Lieberman may very well go down in history as the man who killed health care reform out of spite. He is a vindictive little shit of a man who needs to be RECALLED, today.

This being the end of the year it is time for me to decide who gets the Shithead of 2009 award. Not much doubt on who will win, but it is also time for the Shithead of the Decade award. I think he is going to get it. Sure there's Cheney, Rove, W, Beck, Limbaugh, Dobbs to choose from, but I have say all of them were following their ideology.............

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i was out an about yesterday

it was raw out and it definitely was rainy. at first it TRIED to snow but it couldn't so it just rained and rained. the windshields were not freezing and i saw cars moving easily up and down the street (from the safe and cozy inside of the half door. when i did go outside for a butt, i saw what appeared to be some kind of accident on the sidewalk. a bicyclist was prone on the sidewalk and not able to get up. the fire department and an ambulance (eventually) arrived to assist. the sidewalks WERE a sheet of ice. i saw a lot of people who were walking about the neighborhood slipping and sliding. i guess some of the roads must have been packed with black ice too. i proceeded home with much caution..........



Mangled Mess in Shelton after 50 Car Pileup

By MIKE SPRINGER and BEN SOSENKO

A 50 car accident closed Route 110 between Wheeler Street and Leavenworth Road in Shelton for over five hours Sunday.

Police say about 50 vehicles were involved in an accident along Route 110 near Indian Wells Road just before 12:30 p.m.

Steve Arena of Shelton's wife was driving one of those vehicles. She told him that she was driving 20 mph when she lost control of her car on the ice and slammed into the car in front of her. She was able to get out of her car, and watched the next car slam into her. Arena arrived moments later.

"As I got around the turn to approach, I thought I was seeing things in a movie," said Arena. "Just cars every which way, mangeled. I mean I've never seen anything quite like this."

Sixty-two people reported minor injuries and six of those people were transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, said police. ..............

Photo courtesy of Joseph Martinka of the White Hose Fire Co #5 in Shelton.

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the flock

st joseph's college. taken a couple of weeks ago.

noms............

if y'all are in the hood today (hartford), stop by the half door for their banging brunch. today it's cashew and berry stuffed toast of france. thick sliced white bread with a filling of homemade chunky style cashew butter, egg battered and griddled served with a three berry coulis and fresh strawberries, blueberries a...nd rasberries. erin will be your lovely bartender, brian will be your lovely manager, matt, maria, martin and louis will be your lovely cooks/chefs and the grrrrls, molly - amy - jess will be your lovely servers. (sorry for the crappy pic. but it looked WONDERFUL. unfortunately i couldn't eat it being vegan and all)

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to the family and friends of cpl. Xhacob LaTorre

my thoughts and prayers are with you. i am so very sorry for your loss. i thank cpl latorre and everyone else who is serving their country. their service is much appreciated



Waterbury Marine Dies Four Months After Bomb Blast

By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY

On Monday, in his Texas hospital room, the gravely ill Cpl. Xhacob LaTorre of Waterbury received a Purple Heart for the wounds he suffered in August from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, he died of his injuries.

The Marine leaves behind his wife, Frances, and a 1½-year-old son, Javier. A 2005 graduate of Crosby High School in Waterbury, LaTorre was in the ROTC program. He would have turned 21 Saturday.

LaTorre's legs were severely injured when an improvised, explosive device detonated in the Helmand province of Afghanistan on Aug. 10. The bomb instantly killed a fellow Marine who had been on foot patrol with LaTorre, said his aunt, Carmen LaSalle.

His legs had to be amputated, LaSalle said. LaTorre had made progress, though, and was talking and eating at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio within weeks of his injury, she said.

Then infection set in, and his condition worsened, LaSalle said. When he was conscious, he screamed in pain, she said..................

as always the courant has a link to the war dead from connecticut

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coyote on fern street in west hartford

on my way to work yesterday about 2:30 or 3:00 am, i saw a coyote on FERN STREET RIGHT NEAR MORLEY SCHOOL. really. so if you have a cat, i'd NOT let it stay outdoors overnight. REALLY

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