The decline and fall of real estate investors is a boon to anybody looking to buy a house for the price of a condo.
The Petworth market is taking a real hit right now because of the foreclosures. There are about two hundred of them. But keep in mind the huge mall that is opening at 14th & Irving is going to have a cascading uplift to properties north of Columbia Heights. And the huge redevelopment of Georgia Avenue and Sherman Avenue from Howard University to the Georgia Avenue Green Line stop will only enhance that.
Check it out! The lawns are nice and you can still own a home for less than the price of a condo. And that includes a yard. Any Realtor should be able to help you locate something.
10.26.2007
Delhi: Monkeys on the Payroll
For a mere $19 a month in bananas, larger langur monkeys are being used by the Indian government to chase away smaller rhesus monkeys that are causing problems at tourist sites and temples. The rhesus monkeys are also crowding around the entrance to a new subway and need to be chased away.
We take a lot for granted in this country. We don't have the fights with wildlife that other places do. I remember being in New Delhi and being told of the family of monkeys that live in the museum for the last few hundred years. We just don't have these problems.
The thought of monkeys in the lobby of an office building is cute, I'll admit. But you don't know these buggers. They throw things at you, try to steal your food and water bottles, and enjoy causing trouble. Then they laugh at you. Try dealing with that every time you enter your building.
So in bringing in other monkeys, the Indian government is setting itself up for trouble, I think. Who's to say that THOSE monkeys won't start to be a nuisance?
This reminds me of the wild elephants terrorizing villages in Africa. American animal rights people want those elephants to be safe from being killed. But then none of their children have been stomped to death by an elephant living on the edge of town.
There's a lot to be taken for granted in how we've tamed our wildlife. Sometimes I think we should let 1000 elephants loose in California and see how wildlife-friendly they are then.
We take a lot for granted in this country. We don't have the fights with wildlife that other places do. I remember being in New Delhi and being told of the family of monkeys that live in the museum for the last few hundred years. We just don't have these problems.
The thought of monkeys in the lobby of an office building is cute, I'll admit. But you don't know these buggers. They throw things at you, try to steal your food and water bottles, and enjoy causing trouble. Then they laugh at you. Try dealing with that every time you enter your building.
So in bringing in other monkeys, the Indian government is setting itself up for trouble, I think. Who's to say that THOSE monkeys won't start to be a nuisance?
This reminds me of the wild elephants terrorizing villages in Africa. American animal rights people want those elephants to be safe from being killed. But then none of their children have been stomped to death by an elephant living on the edge of town.
There's a lot to be taken for granted in how we've tamed our wildlife. Sometimes I think we should let 1000 elephants loose in California and see how wildlife-friendly they are then.
10.21.2007
Socks the Cat v. Clinton in the White House
Talk about soccer moms will pale in comparison to the pet lover's lobby. It is an untapped political steamroller.
So our new Clinton candidate took poor little Socks the Cat and got rid of her after she served no more political purpose. That poor cat. When people determine character, it is the treatment of their pets that they look at. Among other things.
What would it have taken to just keep the cat? Hillary needs to answer this. I'm sure many of you are laughing now, but just wait.
So our new Clinton candidate took poor little Socks the Cat and got rid of her after she served no more political purpose. That poor cat. When people determine character, it is the treatment of their pets that they look at. Among other things.
What would it have taken to just keep the cat? Hillary needs to answer this. I'm sure many of you are laughing now, but just wait.
10.18.2007
Stop Worshipping the Brain
James Watson is a bright guy. He helped unravel the DNA code, or something. And I'll bet he got straight A's in high school and even college. So what? And yes, of course, there is that Nobel Prize. Still, so what?
He comes out with some racist blather this week about intelligence and race and the whole world gets upset. OK, he can figure out some weird science stuff that none of us could get. Fine. But that doesn't make him a prophet or seer. That doesn't give him leadership abilities, and God knows it doesn't give him political ones.
People are looking to intelligent people for answers that they can't give. James Watson is a homophobic, racist jerk. There's a lot of them out there.
The problem is with us. We expect that he has some Universal Truth instead of being really good in a narrow field. The relevance in James Watson's beliefs is in looking at how few blacks there are in major research institutions.
He may be smart, but he's also an idiot.
He comes out with some racist blather this week about intelligence and race and the whole world gets upset. OK, he can figure out some weird science stuff that none of us could get. Fine. But that doesn't make him a prophet or seer. That doesn't give him leadership abilities, and God knows it doesn't give him political ones.
People are looking to intelligent people for answers that they can't give. James Watson is a homophobic, racist jerk. There's a lot of them out there.
The problem is with us. We expect that he has some Universal Truth instead of being really good in a narrow field. The relevance in James Watson's beliefs is in looking at how few blacks there are in major research institutions.
He may be smart, but he's also an idiot.
10.14.2007
Yes, We Are Torturing People
Let me ask you a question. Suppose you picked up a gun and shot someone and then claimed that you did not shoot him. Instead you say you were poking his internal organs with a projectile piece of metal, but weren't shooting him at all. Would that be enough to absolve you from charges of shooting someone? No.
So, too, do the claims of this Administration fall short of convincing in the area of toture.
Let me ask further what would happen to the lawyers who advised you that the above legal theory was sound? They would be brought up on ethics charges and possibly disbarred. That's what WILL HAPPEN to the lawyers who advised our men and women in uniform that waterboarding prisoners is legal. Even if we call them detainees.
Now I can hear all sorts of lawyers shrieking about legal definitions and what tests apply, etc. But I would caution anyone about to commit a Federal crime that such distinctions, as between "prisoner" and "detainee," don't often last very long. And when detainees are recognized as prisoners, the interrogators will become torturers in law as well as life.
So, too, do the claims of this Administration fall short of convincing in the area of toture.
Let me ask further what would happen to the lawyers who advised you that the above legal theory was sound? They would be brought up on ethics charges and possibly disbarred. That's what WILL HAPPEN to the lawyers who advised our men and women in uniform that waterboarding prisoners is legal. Even if we call them detainees.
Now I can hear all sorts of lawyers shrieking about legal definitions and what tests apply, etc. But I would caution anyone about to commit a Federal crime that such distinctions, as between "prisoner" and "detainee," don't often last very long. And when detainees are recognized as prisoners, the interrogators will become torturers in law as well as life.
10.10.2007
Bush: Killing Counter-Terrorism
George Bush's Administration is not in the least interested in fighting terrorism. They just want to be seen doing it. Whenever they get a juicy terror tip, the first people they call is the Fox News Channel, thereby compromising the source.
And remember when a computer guy in al Qaida was turned and working in place? They announced it to the world. That guy could have been good for years.
But, no. It's more important to strut around and thump your chest. That's what you get for electing a cheerleader for President.
Click on the title to this post for the source information.
And remember when a computer guy in al Qaida was turned and working in place? They announced it to the world. That guy could have been good for years.
But, no. It's more important to strut around and thump your chest. That's what you get for electing a cheerleader for President.
Click on the title to this post for the source information.
10.04.2007
Terror Attack with Chili Peppers
A restaurant in Britain triggered a terror alert when its very hot chili peppers caused an alarm to be raised. A "noxious cloud" and "eye-watering stench" caused panic among Soho shoppers and the area was sealed off for Hazmat and possible terror attack inspections.
That guy's Thai food is nothing to play around with, it seems. "The restaurant, which has been open for 17 years, is considering putting up posters to warn the public during future chilli cooking sessions."
Click on the title to this post for the Guardian story in full.
That guy's Thai food is nothing to play around with, it seems. "The restaurant, which has been open for 17 years, is considering putting up posters to warn the public during future chilli cooking sessions."
Click on the title to this post for the Guardian story in full.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)