For the first time in a dozen years, no one is quite sure where the Alaska Republican Party is headed. As a new chairman makes plans to take over, the…

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Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was perhaps the greatest singer of lieder of all time.

He passed away yesterday at the age of 86.

He was certainly the most important male singer of art songs of the second half of the 20th century.  He recorded all the lieder of Franz Schubert for male voice, in a legendary series with his longtime accompanist, Gerald Moore.

He sang operas and other vocal music in German, Italian, English, French, Hungarian, Hebrew and Russian.

He was the baritone soloist in many famous premieres, perhaps most notably, in Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, in 1962: I always show this amazing 1951 video of Fischer-Dieskau singing Franz Schubert's Die Erlkonig to my music appreciation classes at UAA: His earliest success with orchestra in the concert hall was with songs of Gustav Mahler.  Here he is, singing Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer in 1960, with the NHK Orchestra of Japan, performing in Paris, and directed by Paul Kletzki:

This is a compilation from many sources, some very recent, some from the past several months or weeks:

It should arrive Monday. My old one, kept from when I was volunteer fire department chief and harbormaster in Whittier, is locked in a room filled with the late James L. Acord's personal property, in Indianola, Washington. I've given up on getting it back.

Above, a rose in Gunma.

Below, a double-headed mutation from Nagareyama city Chiba. The area is known to be hot spot:


And a new plant, speculated to be a mutated canola plant:

Sakurajima is a very active stratovolcano on the southern end of  the most southerly of Japan's main islands.  The nearest well-known city is Kagoshima, which is less than 25 kilometers from the center of the volcano.  I believe Thursday's eruption was its biggest since March, 2010.

Alaska Edition Host Michael Carey

This week on Alaska Edition, host Michael Carey is joined in the studio by Steve MacDonald, of KTUU Channel 2 News, Kyle Hopkins, of the Anchorage Daily News, and Jill Burke, of the Alaska Dispatch. The stories up for discussion this week are: Gov. Parnell’s vetoes; Rumrunners; the Fairbanks militia trial; Randy Ruedrich retires as chairman of Alaska Republican Party; ASD teacher layoffs; update on the Kodiak Coast Guard Base homicides; Cook Inlet oil and gas update; “The Eskimo and the Oil Man” book.

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HOST: Michael Carey

GUESTS:

• Steve MacDonald, KTUU Channel 2 News
• Steve MacDonald, KTUU Channel 2 News
• Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News

KSKA (FM 91.1) BROADCAST: Friday, May 18 at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 19 at 6:00 p.m.

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ALASKA EDITION ARCHIVE

Yesterday, as a result of intense negotiations between attorneys for the plaintiffs and defendant, Federal District Court Judge John Sedwick issued the following order:
ORDER STAYING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
 
Pursuant to the stipulation of the parties, it is hereby ORDERED:

1.    Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. (Usibelli) will not conduct surface coal mining operations (as defined in AS 27.21.998(17)) under permits 01-89-796 and 02-89-796 at Wishbone Hill (except for any reclamation activities required by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, or any best management practices required under the stormwater permit) without 30 days prior written notice to plaintiffs’ counsel and without filing such notice with the Court.


2.    Plaintiffs, Friends of Mat-Su et al., (collectively referred to as “FoMS”)’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. 9) is stayed until such time as Usibelli provides the written notice described in paragraph 1. Concurrent with providing FoMS and the Court with the written notice described in paragraph 1, Usibelli shall file its opposition to FoMS’ motion for preliminary injunction. FoMS may file a reply in accordance with the local rules.
 
3.    The parties may jointly request the Court’s expedited consideration of FoMS’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction, following completion of briefing.
 
DATED this 15th day of May 2012.Friends of Mat-Su Executive Director Jeremiah Millen states:
Usabelli will not be allowed to conduct any surface coal mining operations while the briefing of the case moves forward.  This includes activities related to road building, topsoil or overburden removal, etc.

If Usibelli changes its mind, it must give 30 days notice of intent to re-commence operations, and reply to our motion for a preliminary injunction.Speaking for all the plaintiffs, Millen states further:
We believe that Usibelli Coal Company continues to operate without a valid permit at Wishbone Hill. If allowed to move forward, Wishbone hill will result in negative impacts to local residents, property values, fish and wildlife habitat and overall quality of life throughout the valley.  We are encouraged by this decision which guarantee that the interests of the public remain protected while our concerns about the validity of the permit is properly addressed.[note:  Philip Munger is secretary of the Board of Directors for Friends of Mat-Su]

Andy Greenberg, editorializing at Forbes, sums it:
Since WikiLeaks first released its flood of classified State Department memos in December of 2010, the secret-spilling site’s critics have been searching for evidence that Julian Assange’s disregard for official secrecy would directly hurt some innocent bystander. On Wednesday, those critics seemed to have found their best evidence yet of that harm. Nevermind that the facts didn’t agree with them. In a story Wednesday morning, The Daily Mail headlined a story“WikiLeaks cable ‘led Iran to hang kick-boxer it claims was Israeli spy who assassinated nuclear scientist,’” a story that was soon picked up by other sites in Israel and around the world, finally ending up on the Drudge Report with the headline “REPORT: ‘Mossad spy’ hanged by Iran was doomed by WIKILEAKS…” linking to a story at the Times of Israel. Those stories point to the execution of Majid Jamali Fashi, a kick-boxer who was hanged in Iran Tuesday for allegedly assassinating Iranian nuclear scientist Masoud Ali-Mohammadi in January of 2010. The Daily Mail story cited a redacted cable released by Der Spiegel and WikiLeaks in December 2010 described a briefing between a State Department official in the Iranian town of Baku and an unnamed ‘licensed martial arts coach and trainer’ who opposed the Iranian government’s attempts to recruit local militiamen. Though the cable doesn’t mention Israel or any assassinations, Fashi, a martial artist who had been in the town of Baku days before the cable was released, was soon arrested. But here’s where the Mail’snotorious snafu last summer that led to the accidental publication of its entire database, names that martial arts trainer and State Department informant. His name, though I won’t cite it here, is not Majid Jamali Fashi. And his branch of martial arts, which was also redacted in the initial release, is not kick boxing. story falls apart: The unredacted State Department memo, released after WikiLeaks’ and the Guardian’s Listening to midweek coverage of the story of why Fashi was hanged, there has been a noticeable absence of denial from the Israeli government of any relationship to Fashi.  Take it for what it is worth. The Drudge Report coverage of this inspired commenters at blogs hooked on Ziocane to go nuts. One commenter at Weasel Zippers seems to want Manning's and Assange's flayed skins, uh, available to be crafted into something that has been made lampshade by others:
Would love to remove his skin with a pair of pliers, then let him bleed to death. The Mossad should take him out as an enemy of the people.Another commenter was more detailed in his loathing:
I hope bridget Manning and Ass-flang both get put down for dirtnaps. Lil fag boy was pissed off he couldn’t be openly flaming, so he’ll have hundreds or thousands of other people killed, indirectly to soothe his ego. As I said before, most faggots are narcissists. Please, let’s put this chocolate cha cha dancer in general population in leavenworth. I’m trying to figure out how the guys in his unit didn’t deal with him “indirectly” before it got to this point. I know some of the stories I”ve been told by my brother of things that happened during his 2 tours in Iraq and 2 in Afghan, NCOs have been known to be creative in their NJP. Now, all that said.. Manning should have been room temperature a long time ago and the morons in his chain of command who enabled him and toleratd him sitting in prison. Too bad they ddn’t leave him at the Marine disciplinary barracks. I knew 2 guys when I was in the military who were busted in Turkey. We didn’t have a Correcional Custody Facility and the one in Germany was too far away, so they were sent to the one in Spain… run by the Marines. They came back “changed men” in more ways than one. As for Assange, I’m sure he’s one of Oblowhole’s secret campaign contributors. It’s the only reason he hasn’t been extraordinarly renditioned. Nothing would make me happier to see him in an orange jumpsuit on trial in Cuba.The comments at the post lack charity, let alone common sense.  It is appalling how many consecutive remarks propose illegal responses to the premise that Assange or Manning might have had a role in how this has played out.

Lack of interest in the illegal war the United States and Israel are actually carrying out against Iran in news reports and blog posts on this from the Right isn't surprising.  Nor is incuriosity by the legacy corporate media.

More progressive outlets need to beat back against the meme that Assange or Manning are responsible for the execution of Majid Jamali Fashi.

A few young Canadian men sitting around, wondering about the ramifications of Fukushima on their internet radio program: I watch a lot of Fukushima videos. What is unique and quite good about this one is the depth and shallowness of dialogue. I suppose part of their schtick is parodying Canucks. The point of view of their exchanges and rhetorical questioning drew me in.

These guys are good, eh?

They are fairly new - just over a month old.   Here's how they introduced themselves on Youtube on April 14th:
Welcome to our very first podcast. The Free Radio Revolution team are: Dave B. Greg M. Paul M. and Jeff. C. We invite you to join us as we discuss all important issues facing our world today. We are located in Canada and have a very open perspective on what is transpiring globally (especially in the USA)I've bookmarked their Youtube niche.

Out on Neklason Lake yesterday afternoon.  Looking toward Lazy Mountain and Matanuska Peak.  Below, Strider sees something in the water:

It was some kind of little kid's ball, in the water.  I picked it up.
Back ashore, we looked at some moose poop, fertilizing the upcoming rhubarb crop:
A row of tomatoes, growing in the greenhouse:
Soy beans, fava beans, red Chinese long beans and corn, getting big.  I'll transplant them into the garden next week.
Three kinds of green beans, growing for transplant:
Lettuces, mustard greens, arugula and beet greens, outside the greenhouse:

Although I am providing brief daily synopses of the Schaeffer Cox Militia Trial on the dedicated static page, the testimony given by Michael Anderson on May 15th, 2012 deserves special attention. Not only is Anderson one of the men initially arrested with the others, but Anderson, who was testifying for the government in exchange for immunity from future prosecution, revealed that the second snitch, William Fulton, was more than just a snitch. Fulton was also a provocateur who tried to bully the group into committing illegal activities.

Neither the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner nor Alaska Dispatch mentioned the testimony about Fulton. This information came from a comment by someone identified as Reader appended to the Dispatch story. Reader was in the courtroom observing the proceedings; here's the pertinent part of Reader's comment:

Of a "plan" the Far North Tactical incident involving Bill Fulton was referenced. Michael shared with the court an incident where a crowd had gathered at Far North Tactical. Bill Fulton, an arms dealer from Anchorage, working unbeknownest to Cox and his associates as an undercover government informant, was present. After the events for the gathering (I don't remember the purpose of the event), Bill Fulton told those in the crowd that Cox was going to share a plan he and Bill had been discussing. Michael related that Bill kept asking Schaeffer for a plan. "What's the plan? Come on, tell em the plan." When Cox said there was no plan, Michael related that Bill confronted Les Zerby, a member of the militia command staff, with a knife and began shouting profanities at Les, with a knife to him saying, "What?! NO plan?!" I don't remember the rest, but Michael became quite animated as he related Bill's reaction to Schaef including the profanities in his testimony. Michael described Bill as a drunkard and when asked by the prosecution if he ever encountered Fulton again, he said, "No, thank God."

In cross examination, Nelson Traverso, Cox's attorney, asked Michael if he ever felt pressure to testify for the Grand Jury against Cox. This met with several objections by the prosecution. Finally Traverso was permitted to ask Anderson how he felt in regards to a Grand Jury hearing against Cox/Barney. He said, "I felt pressured." Traverso asked, "Why?" Anderson replied, "I felt like they wanted me to say something incriminating against Cox."

As his testimony wrapped up, it was determined there was no list, there had been no "plan" and that those in the "database" consisted of about 5 state troopers, 5 local police officers, and a couple of OCS officers. None of the names collected, other than the one previously mentioned belonged to Federal employees, and Michael testified that none of it was for violent purposes.
In case Alaska Dispatch gets cold feet and flushes the comment down the memory hole, I've published a screenshot of it at the end of this post. But it sure explains why the prosecution did not put Fulton on its witness list, although they said they'd make him available if the defense wanted to call him. The defense would be stupid not to call him and expose his perfidy before the entire world.

Note that William Fulton was a voluntary informant; he committed no crime to be pressured into becoming a snitch. But this block of testimony, if corroborated, shows that without the two informants, Fulton and Gerald Olsen, there'd be no case, no arrests, and no trial. It was Fulton ,and perhaps Olsen, who kept upping the ante and prodding for further action. These are the type of scum the Department of Justice crawls into bed with in order to make cases.

There's no way a sane jury could possible convict the defendants on conspiracy charges now.

[As translated here]

Dr. Miura, the director of Iwase general hospital conducted health checkup for people in temporary dwellings in Sukagawa city Fukushima. The result showed 6 in 10 children under 12 years old have diabetes.

Dr. Miura states this is abnormal situation, but is guessing it’s because of the lack of exercise or stress.

Strontium90 (half life time 28.79 y) has beta decay to become yttrium90 (half life time 64 h).
Strontium90 and yttrium90 come to have radiative equilibrium within a month and strontium90 : yttrium90 becomes 3900 : 1 stably.
Yttrium90 is stocked in pancreas to cause pancreatic cancer or diabetes.

Dr. Miura is concerned about the mental problem of children in Fukushima, but the hospital is recruiting doctors and medical staff. The slogan is “To let citizens live longest in Japan.”


福島県須賀川市の公立岩瀬病院の三浦院長が行った健康診断によると、須賀川市内の仮設住宅に住む小学生以下の子ども十人のうち六人が糖尿病になっていることが分かりました。三浦院長は異常事態、とコメントするものの、運動不足やストレスが原因と推測しています。

ストロンチウム90は半減期64時間のイットリウム90にベータ崩壊します。純粋なストロンチウム90は徐々にイットリウム90の比率を増やし、およそ一ヶ月で放射平衡になります。その結果、ストロンチウム90とイットリウム90は3900:1を定常的に保ちます。　このイットリウム90はすい臓に蓄積し、すい臓がんや糖尿病を引き起こすことが分かっています。

三浦院長はまた、子供たちの精神状態を心配していますが、公立岩瀬病院はスタッフ不足から医師、薬剤師などの職員を募集しています。また、日本で一番長寿のまちをつくるというスローガンを掲げています。