tvashtarkatena

Welcome to the propaganda circus. Please check your memory at the door.

Oooo. At ease, soldier. Somebody's got a big red button. Didn't think such a cool, expert cucumber such as yourself would snap so easily under my interrogation techniques. It's just a damn good thing there are guys like you here to keep the conversation on the high road. I guess my mention of the rule of law and the well documented ineffectiveness of torture really put this conversation in the sewer.

Trip: Big Chiwaukum - The Rimatorium Date: 12/10/2007 Trip Report: Big Chiwaukum 12/6-7/2007 “Wow. Avalanche swaths punching right through thick forest. You don’t see that every day,” I thought to myself as I skied up Pine Creek . Moderate avalanche and weather forecasts prompted me to give Big Chiwaukum another shot, given that I missed that target by more than a mile a couple of weeks ago. This time I opted for skis rather than snowshoes. The road wasn’t plowed, so I logged a few extra miles each way over “pillow snow”, a 60 grit crust over heavy powder; really one of the worst snow surfaces I’ve ever had the pleasure of skiing. I quickly snapped one of my ski poles in half and replaced with a stick. Arriving at 5400 feet just after dark, I threw down my extra long zero degree goretex lined bag; a real monster (the down collar is alone is probably bigger than my summer bag) and settled in. I awoke for the midnight bathroom break and checked the altimeter; a moderate 23 F. I started the following day at 7:30; perfect for sunrise photos. I traversed beneath the peak; it looked as though everything above me had thoroughly avalanched; a good thing. The snowpack was awful; an inch of powder over a rock hard, bumpy crust. At least it was stable. Up higher, more 60 grit crust over ankle to knee deep powder. Comically awful. The going was slow. Too slow. Long story short, I hit an empasse on the ridge 100 feet below the summit; rimed over cliffs all around. Probably an easy 4th or 5th downclimb in summer, but with tely boots and stick, not the best option at the moment. The wind was blowing 15 mph in a full white out. It was getting late. Bailing was never so easy. I skied about a mile and a half of road and, to my great pleasure, the rest had been plowed. Every once in a while, you get a break. Big Chiwaukum at dawn Sunrise panorama Sunrise, looking west Morning alpenglow Lichen hatching from a rime egg Avi gulley coming down from the summit Big Chiwaukum panorama, from the west Miniature rime forest. These 4 inch long crystals grew straight up (summit ridge) Rime closeup Rimed rock (summit ridge) ‘Furry’ rocks (summit ridge) Frozen world (summit ridge) Cheney-faced at my high point, 100 feet below the summit The way home (summit ridge) Parting shot: A well avalanched mountain ‘Pillow snow’ on the road out Gear Notes: Tely skis Approach Notes: Pine Ck to Wildcat Ck trail. Be prepared to ski most of the road.

I'm way too ugly to produce such a daughter.

We have no idea what your role has been in your 'special operations' capacity, but experts in the area of interrogation, including many higher ups in both the CIA and FBI, disagree with your assertion that torture produces reliable results. Yes, you'll get an answer. No, the quality of the information isn't very good. It is good for getting confessions, however. That I find very interesting. Informants are what really get the big results. It's against our laws, period. Its also against military regulations, which have been normalized with the Geneva conventions, but you knew that, of course. You are apparently suggesting that the rule of law should be thrown out the window. I should also mention this; how do you 'know' if a person is a high value suspect before you torture that information out of him? I'm calling bullshit on your bullshit: All of the detainnees at Guantanamo have been tortured (we have many, many released prisoners who've testified to this in great detail), and yet over 400 of those detainees have been released without charges. Only 10 of the remaining 400+ have been charged at all. What were you saying again about 'only high value' suspects being tortured. What a fucking tired line that one is at this point, my friend. So, what, exactly, are the 'freedoms' we're supposedly fighting to protect/bestow/other bullshit justification-of-the-week-for-this-failed-adventure? Yes, the rest of the world does read the papers; a primary reason why it now thinks, correctly so, that America doesn't give a shit about human rights. It's one of the number one recruiting tools 'our enemies' have got. Hey, just wanna say thanks for 'improving' the national security situation. As for your 'foiled plots' line, yeah, we've all heard that one before, from Bush on down...but the details never seem to be forthcoming, somehow.

Trip: Lillooet - Marble Canyon Date: 12/9/2007 Trip Report: Lillooet 12/8–9/07 2:30 am: The grating beep of my travel alarm gouge my eyelids open as I emerge from a dream wherein I’m running from a mob as their village burns in the background and somehow it’s all my fault. By 2:28 Scott, Stewart, and myself are tucked into a 4Runner headed for Lillooet and its promise of icy goodness. After one aborted Tim Hortons and two McDonalds stops, we zero in on the parking lot for the Rambles. There is a squeaky, ceramic crust over powder snow that alternately resists body weight and breaks threw with promises of ankle lacerations. Fortunately, someone has broken a crude trail up. My hands loose all sensation. “It’s gotta be in the teens out here” Stewart says. That evening, after wettish day at the Rambles, we rendezvous with Jens, Emily, Eric, and Sondra for the requisite beer and drunk dodging at the Reynolds. The temperature in Lillooet has dropped to -14 F. “Guess it wasn’t in the teens” Stewart says. The following morning we all head out to Marble Canyon. “3 degrees” Jens reports. Much warmer than the day before. The ice varies all over the place from ultra brittle chandelier to wet plastic overlaying flowing water. Despite the early season conditions and lack of ice in spots, it was, all in all, a pretty damn good weekend: Eric on the Deeping Route Scott on Icy BC Stewart on Icy BC Crouching Tiger: Stewart on Icy BC Snowflake Jens on the far left Ice feathers Emily Scott honing his ice tool Alien pods Sondra Pouty lips

You're missing the whole point, here, as you always have on this issue. This is not a partisan issue, it's a rule of law issue. Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which we ratified into law and which has been tested by our Supreme Court, specifically and explicitly forbids waterboarding and all other forms of humiliation and inhumane treatment of detainees. Every time we waterboard...or kill or maim detainees (waterboarding is a smoke screen issue, hello), we throw our own laws out the window and take one more step towards totalitarianism.

Rob, Just got this after being out for 4 days. We're all praying for your dengue to get better. Cassie, what were you thinking when you let Rob out loose on the town in Bankok alone? I guess this gives the phrase "love you long time" a whole new meaning. Bone crushing fever indeed. I love you, man!

I swear, we might need to go to Kuala Lumpur. The guy's amazing, I tell you.

Well, gotta get some sleep so I can bring you little bitches some photos of white goodness.

Can't tell. FW won't see me after our 'encounter'. Maybe he's sore at me. Or just sore. The squeelers really get me going, and I can be kind of rough. Plus he wanted 'The Prospector', an appliance with the geometry of a oil drilling bit. I fed four feet of pipe before he yelled finally "Fire in the hole!". Boy, did I! The guy's amazing. That gets me to thinking; me and my new avatar working together could really make him air tight.

I'm here all week. Actually, no I'm not. I'll have a ski report for the Chiwaukum on Fri.

your welcome. perhaps it's not compliments that causing your breast to swell. Um, Fairweather's having MY ass baby, I'm not having his.

History in the making. Good stuff.

I just made those two really fuckin stupid jokes up, and I'm not so sure I'm proud of it.

Wee bowls wobble but they don't fall down.

How can you tell the difference between a Dubliner and a wee bowl?

There is no bottom here. Unless one refers to FW halfway up Tiger Mt, but that was at his request.

About 3 hours.

What's the difference between an Irishman's paycheck and a bucket of piss?

I've been inned.

I never did figure out what their beef was with terrists. What's wrong with loving the earth?

The current GOP's motto: Fucking the many for the benefit of the few. Sounds like something a bunch of guys would say. except that this bunch of guys just seem to fuck each other.

Do not compliment me, grass shopper. It makes my breasts swell. Thank you for the venerable song from my youth.

This is an important case for anyone concerned about preserving the right to mount a defense when incarcerated. NYT