Can a dog have the Buddha nature?
I have always thought so.
Imagine this. Communities will almost have to be more self-sustaining in the future. How far away is that? Is that $4 bucks a gallon? Five? That could be next year...
Y'know, if we could trust everyone to act honestly and without regulation, then we wouldn't need prisons. The very fact that prisons -and punishment in general, as a concept- exist is testament to the idiotic nature of the Republican ideal of a "free market." They just want an excuse to act unethically.
Don't get me wrong: competition is not bad! It's natural, it's inevitable, it drives us to new heights of all kinds. That's not my point. I just think a lot of our problems would disappear if we reinstated the fairness doctrine. The arguments against it are absurd.
Senator Stevens, the American people think you're empty and ugly too, can we drill you for oil? We're not asking why there isn't enough energy (what??). We're wondering how control of all the energy ended up in such few hands. How about you start talking?
Sydney Blumenthal has a somewhat complicated, but complete, digest of the scandals beseiging George's pals and the Republican party. Essential reading for the politically perplexed!
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Sunday, October 02, 2005
"Amazing."
I can't NOT pass this along. The "Amazing" Randi runs away. What a prick.
And this is very interesting: it seems societies are worse off when they think God is on their side...
I can't keep track of all these Republicans under investigation/indictment anymore, the list just keeps growing too fast. Joe Conason wrote a great reader's digest update, though: check it out. Blows my mind. Staggering.
Who needs horror movies?
And this is very interesting: it seems societies are worse off when they think God is on their side...
I can't keep track of all these Republicans under investigation/indictment anymore, the list just keeps growing too fast. Joe Conason wrote a great reader's digest update, though: check it out. Blows my mind. Staggering.
Who needs horror movies?
Saturday, October 01, 2005
If Jesus was a computer,
If Jesus was a computer, this guy would have been his Paul, and this would be his bid to evangelize the world. What's so wrong with that? Ask yourself this: what happens WHEN they break? Cha-ching! goes the computer industry. What happens WHEN they need tech support? Cha-ching! goes the computer industry. What happens WHEN they wear out? Cha-ching! goes the computer industry, and Plop! goes the computer on a trash heap, where the heavy metals leach out into the area water supply and work their way up the food chain. Yum!
Y'know, when Marie Curie discovered Radium, everybody thought it was great. Someone then thought they had a great idea for how to use this new stuff: paint things with it so they'd glow in the dark. Until they realized it was killing the people who were closest to it. Oops! Too little, too late, for too many....
So here we are, with a new idea. We have a device at our disposal, which, like Radium and Uranium and the like, is so far out of our realm of normal experience that we have no precedent for it. Engineers built computers, then found that the things were, and became increasingly, so complex that they needed Scientists -specializing in an entirely new discipline- to help them understand what was going on. To date, Computer Science has been concerned in large part with the study of what computers do, as systems in and of themselves, with almost no research at all on the biological or social-behavioral aspects of their use. Some sparse research has been done on the effects of electromagnetic fields on human bodies, but so far nothing conclusive has really been shown. Just like in the early days of Marie Curie's research, non? Now what happens if we find, ten years down the line, that electromagnetic fields, when placed in close proximity to, say, immature reproductive organs, cause ...say... cancer? infertility? Hmmm? Will Dr. Negroponte's estate be paying for the cleanup? Will MIT? Or will we just turn our backs on the (now-infertile?) Third World (like maybe Appalachia, or bayou country?) like we did to the Radium painters?
Or maybe Negroponte's right, and computers everywhere will make everybody happy and apples will rain from the heavens -er, slowly, of course- and wine will flow in the -er, very clean streets, cleaned by um... robots!- and every computer geek will have a beautiful -and round-headed girlfriend. Who knows, right?
Y'know, when Marie Curie discovered Radium, everybody thought it was great. Someone then thought they had a great idea for how to use this new stuff: paint things with it so they'd glow in the dark. Until they realized it was killing the people who were closest to it. Oops! Too little, too late, for too many....
So here we are, with a new idea. We have a device at our disposal, which, like Radium and Uranium and the like, is so far out of our realm of normal experience that we have no precedent for it. Engineers built computers, then found that the things were, and became increasingly, so complex that they needed Scientists -specializing in an entirely new discipline- to help them understand what was going on. To date, Computer Science has been concerned in large part with the study of what computers do, as systems in and of themselves, with almost no research at all on the biological or social-behavioral aspects of their use. Some sparse research has been done on the effects of electromagnetic fields on human bodies, but so far nothing conclusive has really been shown. Just like in the early days of Marie Curie's research, non? Now what happens if we find, ten years down the line, that electromagnetic fields, when placed in close proximity to, say, immature reproductive organs, cause ...say... cancer? infertility? Hmmm? Will Dr. Negroponte's estate be paying for the cleanup? Will MIT? Or will we just turn our backs on the (now-infertile?) Third World (like maybe Appalachia, or bayou country?) like we did to the Radium painters?
Or maybe Negroponte's right, and computers everywhere will make everybody happy and apples will rain from the heavens -er, slowly, of course- and wine will flow in the -er, very clean streets, cleaned by um... robots!- and every computer geek will have a beautiful -and round-headed girlfriend. Who knows, right?
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Thank Mammon!
George is a cruel, greedy sonovabitch, whose first decisions about what to do about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina hinged upon the question, "how can I be sure that the money goes to 'higher, tighter, and righter hands'*?
(*Actual quote from Poppy (GHW) Bush)
Billions of dollars go missing from Iraq after we take charge. Negligence? Hell no. Try complicity. Sorry George, but I believe in responsibility, and further, that responsibility and command go hand in hand. So yeah, you are responsible for whatever you command. And so yeah, you are complicit in this mess. So take some fucking responsibility, dumbass. Make your buddies hand back the goods. Don't you think they have enough? Don't you think you have enough?
But it won't stop there, oh no. And this will be the future of New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulf Coast: billions in "recovery" funds lost, missing, or "mis-spent" by Karl Rove's pals. That's right, Karl Rove -political operative who's never held a real job in his life- is directing the reconstruction. You asked for it, America: you f-ing got it. The biggest, baddest racket ever. Enron? Pshht. WorldCom? A trifle. Baghdad? That was just practice. Just watch.
We watched Slaughterhouse Five last night, and one of the characters mentioned Communism. So I started thinking about our situation, how ironic it all is. I mean, since right after WWII, America's raison d'etre has been to fight Communism, because Communism meant that all the money and power would be consolidated in the hands of just a few. And yet, here we are, money and power neatly consolidated (in "higher, tighter and righter hands," remember)... and it's just getting worse. But gosh, aren't we lucky we aren't Godless Communists? Thank Mammon!
Oh, and what the heck, let's talk about Basra. Where two British soldiers, dressed as Arabs, driving a car loaded with explosives, fired on Iraqi police. Where these two British soldiers were arrested and held -but not for long (anxious Occupation Authorities didn't want their secrets getting out under torture, apparently), as the British army drove a (or maybe seven?) tank(s) through the perimeter wall to release their men ...along with over 100 other criminals, coincidentally.
But why talk about Basra just now? Because it was a false flag operation gone wrong: this was to have ended in a massive explosion, blamed on "insurgents," in order to prolong the occupation. Because as long as there's an "insurgency," then we "need" to be there. And apparently Tony Blair needs to maintain a presence there too. I hope you at least get a kiss, Tony, coz this has to hurt. No, let me correct that: I hope it hurts. A lot.
And we want to prolong the occupation because only in such chaotic circumstances could so few unworthy souls make so much cash so easily. So long, New Orleans.
No politics too slimy for Republicans. Never mind "right" and "wrong," or "good" and "bad:" for these guys, it's all about winning. The 2008 election will be decided by a bare-fisted brawl. The DNC will allow the RNC to write the rules, of course.
What's that behind the curtain? Abramoff and other of
George's pals are BUSTED.
OH, and meanwhile: we still don't know who sent the anthrax to news anchors and Democratic congressmen in the fall of 2001,
...and we still haven't caught Osama bin Laden. But he's not really a threat: 911 was an inside job anyway. Sleep well, Osama! You're safe as long as the US needs an enemy to excoriate. (look it up).
Finding my politics hard to swallow? Just ask yourself, whenever you hear about a disaster and it's subsequent reorganization: who benefits? (cui bono?). Follow the money, honey.
"Higher, tighter and righter hands"....
(*Actual quote from Poppy (GHW) Bush)
Billions of dollars go missing from Iraq after we take charge. Negligence? Hell no. Try complicity. Sorry George, but I believe in responsibility, and further, that responsibility and command go hand in hand. So yeah, you are responsible for whatever you command. And so yeah, you are complicit in this mess. So take some fucking responsibility, dumbass. Make your buddies hand back the goods. Don't you think they have enough? Don't you think you have enough?
But it won't stop there, oh no. And this will be the future of New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulf Coast: billions in "recovery" funds lost, missing, or "mis-spent" by Karl Rove's pals. That's right, Karl Rove -political operative who's never held a real job in his life- is directing the reconstruction. You asked for it, America: you f-ing got it. The biggest, baddest racket ever. Enron? Pshht. WorldCom? A trifle. Baghdad? That was just practice. Just watch.
We watched Slaughterhouse Five last night, and one of the characters mentioned Communism. So I started thinking about our situation, how ironic it all is. I mean, since right after WWII, America's raison d'etre has been to fight Communism, because Communism meant that all the money and power would be consolidated in the hands of just a few. And yet, here we are, money and power neatly consolidated (in "higher, tighter and righter hands," remember)... and it's just getting worse. But gosh, aren't we lucky we aren't Godless Communists? Thank Mammon!
Oh, and what the heck, let's talk about Basra. Where two British soldiers, dressed as Arabs, driving a car loaded with explosives, fired on Iraqi police. Where these two British soldiers were arrested and held -but not for long (anxious Occupation Authorities didn't want their secrets getting out under torture, apparently), as the British army drove a (or maybe seven?) tank(s) through the perimeter wall to release their men ...along with over 100 other criminals, coincidentally.
But why talk about Basra just now? Because it was a false flag operation gone wrong: this was to have ended in a massive explosion, blamed on "insurgents," in order to prolong the occupation. Because as long as there's an "insurgency," then we "need" to be there. And apparently Tony Blair needs to maintain a presence there too. I hope you at least get a kiss, Tony, coz this has to hurt. No, let me correct that: I hope it hurts. A lot.
And we want to prolong the occupation because only in such chaotic circumstances could so few unworthy souls make so much cash so easily. So long, New Orleans.
No politics too slimy for Republicans. Never mind "right" and "wrong," or "good" and "bad:" for these guys, it's all about winning. The 2008 election will be decided by a bare-fisted brawl. The DNC will allow the RNC to write the rules, of course.
What's that behind the curtain? Abramoff and other of
George's pals are BUSTED.
OH, and meanwhile: we still don't know who sent the anthrax to news anchors and Democratic congressmen in the fall of 2001,
...and we still haven't caught Osama bin Laden. But he's not really a threat: 911 was an inside job anyway. Sleep well, Osama! You're safe as long as the US needs an enemy to excoriate. (look it up).
Finding my politics hard to swallow? Just ask yourself, whenever you hear about a disaster and it's subsequent reorganization: who benefits? (cui bono?). Follow the money, honey.
"Higher, tighter and righter hands"....
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Curioser and curioser!
From the cryptozoology corner (I guess?): Dragons. No, really: here, over Tibet, and here, over China. I'll just say I'm a wide-eyed agnostic, so far.
And from the heresy corner: No Arabs on American Airlines flight 77 (9-11-2001)? Not on the official passenger manifests, anyway. Or the seating chart. And no Arab faces on the videos, for that matter. Old news maybe, but worth checking out. So... where did those "evil-sounding" Arabic names come from?
Another red-hot letter from my current shordurpersav, Congressman John Conyers (D, MI), calling for a congressional investigation in addition to Fitzgerald's FBI investigation. Go, man, go! I wish I could vote for him.
And from the heresy corner: No Arabs on American Airlines flight 77 (9-11-2001)? Not on the official passenger manifests, anyway. Or the seating chart. And no Arab faces on the videos, for that matter. Old news maybe, but worth checking out. So... where did those "evil-sounding" Arabic names come from?
Another red-hot letter from my current shordurpersav, Congressman John Conyers (D, MI), calling for a congressional investigation in addition to Fitzgerald's FBI investigation. Go, man, go! I wish I could vote for him.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Who's the boss?
Strong words.
"They rode into office in a highly contested election, spouting a message of bipartisanship but determined to undermine the federal government in every way but defense (and, after 9/11, one presumed, homeland security). One with Grover Norquist, they were determined to shrink Washington until it was "small enough to drown in a bathtub." Katrina has stripped the veil from this mean-spirited strategy, exposing the greed, mindlessness and sheer profiteering behind it."
Yep, time to go, George.
I actually think Rumsfeld is more central to the command structure than the President. I believe he has been positioning himself as such since the early 1970's, with the cooperation of one Dick Cheney. But, er, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, of course. Of course.
"They rode into office in a highly contested election, spouting a message of bipartisanship but determined to undermine the federal government in every way but defense (and, after 9/11, one presumed, homeland security). One with Grover Norquist, they were determined to shrink Washington until it was "small enough to drown in a bathtub." Katrina has stripped the veil from this mean-spirited strategy, exposing the greed, mindlessness and sheer profiteering behind it."
Yep, time to go, George.
I actually think Rumsfeld is more central to the command structure than the President. I believe he has been positioning himself as such since the early 1970's, with the cooperation of one Dick Cheney. But, er, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, of course. Of course.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
2008
Paul Krugman wonders, given that the last three elections were essentially stolen, what makes us think the Republicans won't steal the next? He thinks they will.
I'm not so sure. A fourth dubious election would likely put the Republican party in such a shadowy light that investigations -and most likely indictments- would be inevitable. It's difficult for me to imagine high-level Republican strategists endorsing something like that. Rather, it's much easier for me to expect them to throw the next Presidential election (maybe even using that as an excuse to campaign harder for Congressional seats).
On the other hand, recent news is showing us that the Republican party isn't so simple. In fact, results from the last nation-wide election suggest that Republican Party Central might not have had complete control over their minions, and that those minions got their own squirrely ideas into their heads, each one of them trying to be The Hero of 2004, by cheating and conspiring to send Democratic votes to Republican candidates.
Actually, either of these scenarios could work in their favor, if they play their cards right. In the first scenario, Republicans could dismiss such charges as "conspiracy theory," and the media would lap it up like pigs at a trough. And the second scenario would just allow them to dismiss all the charges as "isolated incidents" (sound familiar? it should).
As far as the Republican Party goes, whatever your suspicions are, they're probably well-founded.
I'm not so sure. A fourth dubious election would likely put the Republican party in such a shadowy light that investigations -and most likely indictments- would be inevitable. It's difficult for me to imagine high-level Republican strategists endorsing something like that. Rather, it's much easier for me to expect them to throw the next Presidential election (maybe even using that as an excuse to campaign harder for Congressional seats).
On the other hand, recent news is showing us that the Republican party isn't so simple. In fact, results from the last nation-wide election suggest that Republican Party Central might not have had complete control over their minions, and that those minions got their own squirrely ideas into their heads, each one of them trying to be The Hero of 2004, by cheating and conspiring to send Democratic votes to Republican candidates.
Actually, either of these scenarios could work in their favor, if they play their cards right. In the first scenario, Republicans could dismiss such charges as "conspiracy theory," and the media would lap it up like pigs at a trough. And the second scenario would just allow them to dismiss all the charges as "isolated incidents" (sound familiar? it should).
As far as the Republican Party goes, whatever your suspicions are, they're probably well-founded.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Hoist the black flag...
Is this creativity? Consciousness?
Good essay on the Strategy of Tension, from the Moscow Times (take it from me: if you're gonna read a Russian paper, Moscow Times is a good place to start. Pravda is still crap). Chris Floyd is often a very interesting observer.
The Rove scandal explained
If you're at all unsatisfied with mainstream media news, this seems like our best place to start. Take back the airwaves.
Oh I'm sorry- the election wasn't stolen, it was bought.
"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
-H L Mencken
Good essay on the Strategy of Tension, from the Moscow Times (take it from me: if you're gonna read a Russian paper, Moscow Times is a good place to start. Pravda is still crap). Chris Floyd is often a very interesting observer.
The Rove scandal explained
If you're at all unsatisfied with mainstream media news, this seems like our best place to start. Take back the airwaves.
Oh I'm sorry- the election wasn't stolen, it was bought.
"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
-H L Mencken
Monday, July 04, 2005
Zombie dogs
Zombie dogs.
Hello! Asia wants to know when we'll have our stuff out. And they're not just asking. It's a demand. From Russia and China, no less. Tell us, Dr. Brezinski, is this check, or mate?
Cool letter from London, re: the recent bombings. We're through the looking-glass here, folks, but I'm warning you: we're not dreaming ...in any ordinary sense, anyway...
Hey everybody, it's filmstrip day! Yay! Watch, it's only about ten minutes. When was the last time you watched a filmstrip?
Having just watched it myself, I'm struck both by how cheesy and pedantic it seems, and also, ironically, by how radical the information seems today. That's bad. Bad, because the cheesiness of it makes us presume that it's dated, and therefore not relevant anymore. Bad, because it makes us feel we're being talked-down-to, and we tend not to repeat information that we recieve like that. Bad, because the original viewers (who probably also laughed at how cheesy it was) are now teachers and parents (grandparents, even), who are now passing along that affected ennui to their children and students, thereby encouraging further submission to Authority- the authority of Marketing and authority of State. Ironic.
Fear is the mind-killer. Submission is mental death.
Hello! Asia wants to know when we'll have our stuff out. And they're not just asking. It's a demand. From Russia and China, no less. Tell us, Dr. Brezinski, is this check, or mate?
Cool letter from London, re: the recent bombings. We're through the looking-glass here, folks, but I'm warning you: we're not dreaming ...in any ordinary sense, anyway...
Hey everybody, it's filmstrip day! Yay! Watch, it's only about ten minutes. When was the last time you watched a filmstrip?
Having just watched it myself, I'm struck both by how cheesy and pedantic it seems, and also, ironically, by how radical the information seems today. That's bad. Bad, because the cheesiness of it makes us presume that it's dated, and therefore not relevant anymore. Bad, because it makes us feel we're being talked-down-to, and we tend not to repeat information that we recieve like that. Bad, because the original viewers (who probably also laughed at how cheesy it was) are now teachers and parents (grandparents, even), who are now passing along that affected ennui to their children and students, thereby encouraging further submission to Authority- the authority of Marketing and authority of State. Ironic.
Fear is the mind-killer. Submission is mental death.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Mmmmm... gravy
Mmmmm... gravy. What'll really be fun is when our water supply is fully privatized, too. Picture Pickles Bush astride her jetski in the midst of a drought, saying -with that patent-leather smile- "the people can't afford water? Well, let them drink Pepsi!"
Oh and- where the hell is Robert Novak in all this? Why are Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper going to jail when Robert Novak gets off scot-free? If he has already cooperated with the prosecution, and the identity of the leak is already known, then this judge admits he's deciding against precedent. If he didn't cooperate, then -ahem- why the hell isn't he in the same hot water, or worse? It was he, after all, who originally published the offending name. Would someone please explain, what the hell is going on here?
George is a complete embarrassment. I'm reminded of the story his mother told, about how she made him sit at the far end of the table from Queen Elizabeth on Her Majesty's visit to the GHWBush White House way back when. Because she was afraid he'd embarrass himself, of course.
Oh and- where the hell is Robert Novak in all this? Why are Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper going to jail when Robert Novak gets off scot-free? If he has already cooperated with the prosecution, and the identity of the leak is already known, then this judge admits he's deciding against precedent. If he didn't cooperate, then -ahem- why the hell isn't he in the same hot water, or worse? It was he, after all, who originally published the offending name. Would someone please explain, what the hell is going on here?
George is a complete embarrassment. I'm reminded of the story his mother told, about how she made him sit at the far end of the table from Queen Elizabeth on Her Majesty's visit to the GHWBush White House way back when. Because she was afraid he'd embarrass himself, of course.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Let the howling begin
What does Karl Rove's comment say about the Republican party? To refresh your memory, he said: "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."
Now think about that a second. Let's parse it:
"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war..."
--Forget that old "innocent until proven guilty" bullshit, of course. Investigation? Bosh! Investigation schminvestigation.
Clearly, then, someConservatives knew who did it, without even looking. How might they have been so sure? Considering the evidence that the various 911 commissions couldn't cover up, complicity or willfull stupidity seem the only options. And only complicity could leave one so certain: stupidity would just leave you saying "huh?"
Then he went on, "...liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."
--In other words, it wasn't enough for him to say "Conservatives don't give a shit about your stupid constitution," he wanted to say "those stupid liberals are soft (i.e. compassionate)."
Karl's little comment says so much about the conservative mind-set: it says not only that "We knew who did it even before it happened," (or more generously, "We're so certain of your guilt that we don't even have to investigate," which is just as dangerous) but also, and perhaps more importantly, that "violence is an appropriate first resort."
Kinda reminds me of the Godfather. Except, he had a conscience.
Let the howling begin.
Now think about that a second. Let's parse it:
"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war..."
--Forget that old "innocent until proven guilty" bullshit, of course. Investigation? Bosh! Investigation schminvestigation.
Clearly, then, someConservatives knew who did it, without even looking. How might they have been so sure? Considering the evidence that the various 911 commissions couldn't cover up, complicity or willfull stupidity seem the only options. And only complicity could leave one so certain: stupidity would just leave you saying "huh?"
Then he went on, "...liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."
--In other words, it wasn't enough for him to say "Conservatives don't give a shit about your stupid constitution," he wanted to say "those stupid liberals are soft (i.e. compassionate)."
Karl's little comment says so much about the conservative mind-set: it says not only that "We knew who did it even before it happened," (or more generously, "We're so certain of your guilt that we don't even have to investigate," which is just as dangerous) but also, and perhaps more importantly, that "violence is an appropriate first resort."
Kinda reminds me of the Godfather. Except, he had a conscience.
Let the howling begin.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
what could be worse than wal-mart?
So..... what happens if --no, when- prisons-for-profit start to lobby Congress? Yesterday you couldn't protest the President at an official event. Sure, the penalty isn't severe, but we're not in a time of crisis. Doubtless, anti-presidential demonstrations would be tolerated much less gracefully in such times as 9/12/01- it doesn't take much to imagine protesters on such a day being arrested and detained. Today the House passed an anti-flag-burning amendment (House: "you can't say that." ahem). It has to pass the Senate, and be ratified blah blah blah, which is to say it's ultimately not very likely, but still, it represents an incremental encroachment on true, responsible, freedom of expression. I'm not sure what the penalties would be, but imprisonment would certainly not be a surprise. What's tomorrow, then? Ever-increasingly draconian legislation, that's what. To the point, eventually, where people like you and I will no longer be officially US anymore. Maybe I'll dress wrong. Maybe you won't be able to pay your debts. Use your imagination: watch Brazil, read 1984 or Brave New World- as natural resources dwindle, the Power Elite will find more reasons to exclude those they don't like, and those definitions will be made in the halls -and sewers- of power. For the powers behind Corporate Prisons: the more people in prison, the better. More prisoners, more money. Longer terms! Put those dangerous pot smokers away for good! And how might they go about getting more prisoners? Lobbying Congress -or maybe Alberto Gonzales- for heavier sentences, broader definitions of federal crimes, easements on use of inmates as labor, silly things like that.
Think about it. All conscious critters -I think- naturally divide the world into US and them (in various and shifting ways, as circumstances and needs change). On a societal scale among humans, the sides are determined by our purportedly impartial leaders and ruling class of politicians and judiciary. Let's not be coy: the socio-political elite.
As resources threaten to dwindle, it should come as no surprise when the ruling class narrows the definition of what's legal and acceptable -eventually to a point at which you and I are their them.
Now taking bets on when that point will come...
Think about it. All conscious critters -I think- naturally divide the world into US and them (in various and shifting ways, as circumstances and needs change). On a societal scale among humans, the sides are determined by our purportedly impartial leaders and ruling class of politicians and judiciary. Let's not be coy: the socio-political elite.
As resources threaten to dwindle, it should come as no surprise when the ruling class narrows the definition of what's legal and acceptable -eventually to a point at which you and I are their them.
Now taking bets on when that point will come...
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
How long can "last throes" last?
Very good short flash thingy explaining the Downing Street memos.
If you have a credit card, you should read this. Thanks, Washington. Good stuff from David Sirota.
This is rich: "During a White House press conference, journalist Terry Moran asked Scott McClellan whether the insurgency in Iraq was in its "last throes," as had been claimed by Vice President Dick Cheney, or was not. McClellan gave a vague answer, so Moran repeated his question five more times. "Is there any idea," he finally asked, "how long a last throe lasts for?""
more here
Hmm. Must be nice to have affordable healthcare, eh? Fuck you, Saxby Chambliss, you ass-sucking election thief. (Oops, did I just say that?)
Robots (scary). We're on the road to obsolescence, folks. In the meantime, you might consider a career in tech support insurance...
Former Chief Economist in Bush's Labor dept, declaring that the Official Story of 911 is BS. Good solid stuff.
So why isn't anyone asking the officials at FEMA about why they broke the law after 911 by destroying evidence and a crime scene? This is outrageous. Nothin' makes me think "coverup" like -um- covering up the evidence. DUH Looking for the banal? Here ya go. Nothing outlandish about it at all: Someone at FEMA said "clean this up." Who gave what orders, and why?
A Sherlock Holmes Type Twist To The 9/11 Murder Mystery. Verrrrry interesting...
Shell Chairman sez we're in trouble: "The boat is sinking, and we have to use everything that we possibly can." and "We have roughly 45 years. And if we start NOW, not in 10 or 15 years' time, we have a chance..."
If you have a credit card, you should read this. Thanks, Washington. Good stuff from David Sirota.
This is rich: "During a White House press conference, journalist Terry Moran asked Scott McClellan whether the insurgency in Iraq was in its "last throes," as had been claimed by Vice President Dick Cheney, or was not. McClellan gave a vague answer, so Moran repeated his question five more times. "Is there any idea," he finally asked, "how long a last throe lasts for?""
more here
Hmm. Must be nice to have affordable healthcare, eh? Fuck you, Saxby Chambliss, you ass-sucking election thief. (Oops, did I just say that?)
Robots (scary). We're on the road to obsolescence, folks. In the meantime, you might consider a career in tech support insurance...
Former Chief Economist in Bush's Labor dept, declaring that the Official Story of 911 is BS. Good solid stuff.
So why isn't anyone asking the officials at FEMA about why they broke the law after 911 by destroying evidence and a crime scene? This is outrageous. Nothin' makes me think "coverup" like -um- covering up the evidence. DUH Looking for the banal? Here ya go. Nothing outlandish about it at all: Someone at FEMA said "clean this up." Who gave what orders, and why?
A Sherlock Holmes Type Twist To The 9/11 Murder Mystery. Verrrrry interesting...
Shell Chairman sez we're in trouble: "The boat is sinking, and we have to use everything that we possibly can." and "We have roughly 45 years. And if we start NOW, not in 10 or 15 years' time, we have a chance..."
Monday, June 20, 2005
They thought no one was looking.
A new 767-page book is out, called Did George W. Bush Steal America's 2004 Election? Essential Documents. Apparently someone wants us to think that there's some doubt. The documents, however, don't leave much room for that. The link (if you haven't followed it yet) is to an article about the book.
As I've been saying for five years now, IMPEACH already, geez. How many crimes does he have to commit before someone holds him accountable?
What's the matter with Ohio? They thought no one was looking.
Memos show British Fretting Over Iraq War Troops' families aren't too happy about it, either, says this article in Stars and Stripes
US tries to derail G8 hearings on climate change: memos leaked
I have to say, sometimes politics -even just following it in the news- gets discouraging. I'm a radical, I won't lie about it, so I don't ever expect to hear my views on the news, or to read them echoed in some editorial somewhere; I can deal with that. Lately, though, I have felt so far out there that I don't even feel like I'm in the same political galaxy as Washington (hell, even Topeka).
The Republican party has been working toward a stranglehold on Washington and national politics for over twenty years. Having achieved control of both houses of Congress and the White House, some republicans -in statehouses and Washington alike- are actually devising ways to control -or make irrelevant- our judicial branch.
It's getting ugly.
As I've been saying for five years now, IMPEACH already, geez. How many crimes does he have to commit before someone holds him accountable?
What's the matter with Ohio? They thought no one was looking.
Memos show British Fretting Over Iraq War Troops' families aren't too happy about it, either, says this article in Stars and Stripes
US tries to derail G8 hearings on climate change: memos leaked
I have to say, sometimes politics -even just following it in the news- gets discouraging. I'm a radical, I won't lie about it, so I don't ever expect to hear my views on the news, or to read them echoed in some editorial somewhere; I can deal with that. Lately, though, I have felt so far out there that I don't even feel like I'm in the same political galaxy as Washington (hell, even Topeka).
The Republican party has been working toward a stranglehold on Washington and national politics for over twenty years. Having achieved control of both houses of Congress and the White House, some republicans -in statehouses and Washington alike- are actually devising ways to control -or make irrelevant- our judicial branch.
It's getting ugly.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Sad times for Democracy
Tempers flare in the House this is getting good...
Another damaging memo from Downing Street ...really good...
Betcha won't see this in the Washington Post. How the mighty have fallen: after Watergate, the Post might have been as important as the New York Times. These days, however, it's all too clear that they (i.e., the publisher, who calls ALL the shots) are happy to act as a propaganda organ for an illegal junta. Sad, sad times for democracy.
Another damaging memo from Downing Street ...really good...
Betcha won't see this in the Washington Post. How the mighty have fallen: after Watergate, the Post might have been as important as the New York Times. These days, however, it's all too clear that they (i.e., the publisher, who calls ALL the shots) are happy to act as a propaganda organ for an illegal junta. Sad, sad times for democracy.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Don't tell me boycotts don't work
Don't tell me boycotts don't work: I'm tired of hearing those self-defeating arguments. DON'T SHOP AT WAL-MART, YO. Fuck the man. It's easier than you think.
Howard Dean rocks. We should all be so outspoken.
Downing Street Memo comes under Judiciary Committee scrutiny. My hat's off to Representative John Conyers for this. There's a man with cojones. Representative Moore, are you listening?
Howard Dean rocks. We should all be so outspoken.
Downing Street Memo comes under Judiciary Committee scrutiny. My hat's off to Representative John Conyers for this. There's a man with cojones. Representative Moore, are you listening?
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Culture of death
Culture of what?
Impeachable offenses. Excellent letter. Time to bring the bitches down. Approval ratings are so low right now, that many Republicans are jumping ship: now is the time to pressure your Representative to support the introduction of Articles of Impeachment!
Don't believe the network news: America is still fundamentally progressive. Religious conservatives only have the upper hand because they're loud and have a few charismatic leaders (who happen to have ingratiated themselves to the Bush cartel). WE ARE THE MAJORITY, we just need to raise our voice. Speak up! Time to be heard!
Contact your congressman
Sign Rep. Conyers' letter demanding Bush answer to the Downing Street Memo
Impeachable offenses. Excellent letter. Time to bring the bitches down. Approval ratings are so low right now, that many Republicans are jumping ship: now is the time to pressure your Representative to support the introduction of Articles of Impeachment!
Don't believe the network news: America is still fundamentally progressive. Religious conservatives only have the upper hand because they're loud and have a few charismatic leaders (who happen to have ingratiated themselves to the Bush cartel). WE ARE THE MAJORITY, we just need to raise our voice. Speak up! Time to be heard!
Contact your congressman
Sign Rep. Conyers' letter demanding Bush answer to the Downing Street Memo
Monday, May 30, 2005
kicking ass and taking names
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan may be getting close to making real trouble for the Bush administration. He needs your signature on a letter, that's all, just to show that we mean business. Check it out.
Does this monkey know something we don't?
Does this monkey know something we don't?
Saturday, May 28, 2005
I'd say "told ya!" because I saw this coming, ...but I don't think I actually said anything about it here. This rift is something that I've been predicting since November. I'll keep the rest of my prognostication to myself, lest I jinx it.
This might be a good time to learn Mandarin. China has been leveraging its position as the West's manufacturing bitch for some time now, and is on the verge of turning the tables. Very interesting article.
I've been reading a lot here recently. He covers a lot of territory, some of it troubling, some simply disturbing. He and I seem to share many interests, and seem to be approaching similar hypotheses about UFO-related phenomena, but I first got hooked when reading some of his research into the surprisingly widespread phenomena of ritual sexual abuse and pedophilia. This is scary, scary stuff. Listen: if your kids tell you something that sounds crazy, believe them. Believe them. They haven't learned how to use their cultural blinders, so they may well see more than we do.
In the words of Norman Brown, "all that is, is metaphor." Chew on that a while.
This might be a good time to learn Mandarin. China has been leveraging its position as the West's manufacturing bitch for some time now, and is on the verge of turning the tables. Very interesting article.
I've been reading a lot here recently. He covers a lot of territory, some of it troubling, some simply disturbing. He and I seem to share many interests, and seem to be approaching similar hypotheses about UFO-related phenomena, but I first got hooked when reading some of his research into the surprisingly widespread phenomena of ritual sexual abuse and pedophilia. This is scary, scary stuff. Listen: if your kids tell you something that sounds crazy, believe them. Believe them. They haven't learned how to use their cultural blinders, so they may well see more than we do.
In the words of Norman Brown, "all that is, is metaphor." Chew on that a while.
Saturday, May 21, 2005
I got a rock.
"Oh, that's where I left it..." Too weird for comment.
Everything you need to know about how Newsweek embarrassed the Bushistas
George Galloway (MP) kickin' ass and taking names! Did you hear this guy? WOW. I heard some of his testimony on AirAmericaRadio, and let me say this: our congress should be ashamed of itself. I have never heard such an eloquent and stinging (not to mention well deserved) dressing-down in my life. Transcript here.
The mainstream US press promptly dropped this story like a hot rock. Why? Because all the fingers the senators were pointing, eventually pointed back to their friends. Go figure.
B-b-but it's not racketeering when we do it...
*click*
Everything you need to know about how Newsweek embarrassed the Bushistas
George Galloway (MP) kickin' ass and taking names! Did you hear this guy? WOW. I heard some of his testimony on AirAmericaRadio, and let me say this: our congress should be ashamed of itself. I have never heard such an eloquent and stinging (not to mention well deserved) dressing-down in my life. Transcript here.
The mainstream US press promptly dropped this story like a hot rock. Why? Because all the fingers the senators were pointing, eventually pointed back to their friends. Go figure.
B-b-but it's not racketeering when we do it...
*click*
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
True Tales from the Underbelly
Harper's Weekly, it's just a column. "Just" a column. Check it out. Hang on to your hat.
True Tales from the Underbelly Halliburton: Your tax dollars at work!
George sez "Strip malls for everybody! If a crack develops in the integrity of another culture, American greed will be ready to fill it."
More and more every day, people are flocking to cities. The implications of this are huge. Go ahead, use your imagination: what do you think might change as this comes to pass? Among other things, short-term natural disasters like earthquakes or storms will have greater impact when they hit cities. Long-term natural disasters like droughts or El Nino may have greater impact too: both development of arable land, and the flight of rural populations to cities will leave us with a less flexible agricultural infrastructure, less able to adapt to change (like, say, long- and short-term climate change).
And that's to say nothing of this. What then?
True Tales from the Underbelly Halliburton: Your tax dollars at work!
George sez "Strip malls for everybody! If a crack develops in the integrity of another culture, American greed will be ready to fill it."
More and more every day, people are flocking to cities. The implications of this are huge. Go ahead, use your imagination: what do you think might change as this comes to pass? Among other things, short-term natural disasters like earthquakes or storms will have greater impact when they hit cities. Long-term natural disasters like droughts or El Nino may have greater impact too: both development of arable land, and the flight of rural populations to cities will leave us with a less flexible agricultural infrastructure, less able to adapt to change (like, say, long- and short-term climate change).
And that's to say nothing of this. What then?
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Irony: not for children
Here's irony for ya: Mainstreaming 'creation science' is evolution at work. Or more specifically, "In the long run, the teaching of 'creation science' to children will produce evidence of evolution."*
It's not newsworthy. Stories like this (Kansas Board of Education is having a hearing about including creationism/excluding science in the curriculum...) and the story about the girl in Florida who got cold feet on the day of her wedding (and then lied about it, telling cops she had been kidnapped...) are not newsworthy. We have instantaneous access to information from all corners of the world, every second of every day, and this is what we're told is news?
Hey, major media, listen: Fuck you.
We're expected to believe that nothing newsworthy is going on anywhere else in the world? We're expected to be that self-indulgent, that self-involved, that we would be more interested in whether or not some normal girl gets prosecuted at the local or state level for ditching her finace? Is that really our business? Why are we being told that it's news?
Because the rest of the world is reporting on things like this, or this, or -god forbid- this, and your handlers don't want you to get upset. You are theirs, their prey, as long as you watch.
*Here's how: The world is watching. The appearance of poor education in America will lead to waning confidence in Americans. Simple.
It's not newsworthy. Stories like this (Kansas Board of Education is having a hearing about including creationism/excluding science in the curriculum...) and the story about the girl in Florida who got cold feet on the day of her wedding (and then lied about it, telling cops she had been kidnapped...) are not newsworthy. We have instantaneous access to information from all corners of the world, every second of every day, and this is what we're told is news?
Hey, major media, listen: Fuck you.
We're expected to believe that nothing newsworthy is going on anywhere else in the world? We're expected to be that self-indulgent, that self-involved, that we would be more interested in whether or not some normal girl gets prosecuted at the local or state level for ditching her finace? Is that really our business? Why are we being told that it's news?
Because the rest of the world is reporting on things like this, or this, or -god forbid- this, and your handlers don't want you to get upset. You are theirs, their prey, as long as you watch.
*Here's how: The world is watching. The appearance of poor education in America will lead to waning confidence in Americans. Simple.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Agape
Amazing ants. This goes beyond simple "tool use."
Primate language acquisition research goes to a new level. This is exciting stuff- the days of trying to teach apes to speak English are gone: these researchers are trying to find common ground with Bonobos, while providing the Bonobos with innovative challenges and stimuli. What happens when we can no longer pretend that we're the only animals with emotions, culture, and complex motivations? Our awareness of the world, our consciousness, will be irrevocably altered. You watch!
Hippos are aggressive. They've been known to eat people. This one drinks coffee with them. I've read this story over and over, and I'm still slack-jawed: she drinks coffee, and nudges people out of the water. Amazing.
Primate language acquisition research goes to a new level. This is exciting stuff- the days of trying to teach apes to speak English are gone: these researchers are trying to find common ground with Bonobos, while providing the Bonobos with innovative challenges and stimuli. What happens when we can no longer pretend that we're the only animals with emotions, culture, and complex motivations? Our awareness of the world, our consciousness, will be irrevocably altered. You watch!
Hippos are aggressive. They've been known to eat people. This one drinks coffee with them. I've read this story over and over, and I'm still slack-jawed: she drinks coffee, and nudges people out of the water. Amazing.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Fork tongued, red handed
Hilarious: a call to Unitarian Jihad!
Condi Rice is BUSTED
Au revoir, rational politics. Frightening. Excellent essay though.
Wow! Some of FDR's radical ideas revisited. It's sick that the Neocons, having only been able to climb the American socio-political ladder because of FDRs policies, now want to dismantle them. "Burn the ladder behind you!" There's good thinkin'!
Condi Rice is BUSTED
Au revoir, rational politics. Frightening. Excellent essay though.
Wow! Some of FDR's radical ideas revisited. It's sick that the Neocons, having only been able to climb the American socio-political ladder because of FDRs policies, now want to dismantle them. "Burn the ladder behind you!" There's good thinkin'!
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