...2009, promise...

...be better! ...do better!

Betty and Bob

Bob: You know Betty, I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy!

Betty: Oh Bob, you're such a cunning linguist!

Send lawyers, guns, and money

The shit has hit the fan



(Warren Zevon)

Blackwater

Blackwater's owner and founder Erik Prince, was an intern in George H. W. Bush's White House. Prince is a major financial supporter of Republican Party causes and candidates. Cofer Black, the company's current vice chairman, was director of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC) at the time of the September 11 attacks in 2001. After leaving public service, Black became chairman of the privately owned intelligence gathering company Total Intelligence Solutions, Inc., as well as vice chairman for Blackwater.

During his testimony before Congress, when the term
"mercenaries" was used to describe Blackwater employees, Prince objected, characterizing them as "loyal Americans".

A Committee on Oversight and Government Reform staff report, based largely on internal Blackwater e-mail messages and State Department documents, describes Blackwater as "being staffed with reckless, shoot-first guards who were not always sober and did not always stop to see who or what was hit by their bullets."

A staff report compiled by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on behalf of Representative Waxman questioned the cost-effectiveness of using Blackwater forces instead of U.S. troops. Blackwater charges the government $1,222 per day per guard, "equivalent to $445,000 per year, or six times more than the cost of an equivalent U.S. soldier," the report alleged.

There are a variety of ongoing controversies involving Blackwater Worldwide. It has alternatively been referred to as a security contractor or a mercenary organization by numerous reports by the U.S. and international media. Critics consider Blackwater's self-description as a private military company to be a euphemism for mercenary activities. Jeremy Scahill points out that Chilean nationals, mostly former soldiers, whose country of origin does not participate in hostilities in Iraq, work for Blackwater in that country, thus those Chileans meet the definition of "mercenary." At least 60 Chilean Blackwater employees were trained during dictator Augusto Pinochet's regime. Author Chris Hedges wrote about the establishment of mercenary armies, referring to Blackwater as an example of such a force, asserting its existence as a threat to democracy and a step towards the creation of a modern day Praetorian Guard in a June 3, 2007 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Critics have suggested this may be going too far in putting political decisions in the hands of privately owned corporations.

In December 2006, an Iraqi politician, Ayham al-Samarie, escaped from a prison in Iraq, where he was awaiting trial for 12 criminal corruption cases. Blackwater, which he had hired for protection before his arrest, allegedly helped him escape. On September 22, 2007, U.S. federal prosecutors announced an investigation into allegations that Blackwater employees may have smuggled weapons into Iraq, and that these weapons may have been later transferred to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a Kurdish nationalist group designated a terrorist organization by the United States, NATO and the EU. The U.S. government was investigating Blackwater for these alleged crimes. On October 4, 2007, the FBI took over the investigation.

In January 2008, Marshall Adame, a Democrat running for Congress in North Carolina's 3rd District, took part in a live question-and-answer forum where he was asked a question about Blackwater. Adame, who had served as a State Department official in Iraq recounted, "I saw them shoot people, I saw them crash into cars while I was their passenger. There was absolutely no reason, no provocation whatsoever." He then stated, "There is no place in the American force structure, or in American culture for mercenaries, they are guns for hire; No more, no less."

This led Blackwater executive vice president Bill Mathews to send an internal corporate email to staff:
There is a man named Marshall Adame who is running for congress in our district. He just put a quote online which says he wants this company and all of us to cease to exist. Do you like your jobs? Are you sick and tired of the slanderous bullshit going on in DC? If so, would you all mind joining me in reminding Mr. Adame that he is running for office in our backyard. Tell all your friends and family too. We welcome their assistance in making this point very clear to Mr. Adame. Anyone who wants to send a letter may do so at the following address....His email is....He was too cowardly to put a phone number on the web. I ask that you keep your comments to Mr. Adame professional (well, mostly professional). We help him if our comments get threatening or too crass. Let’s run this goof out of Dodge...!

As a result of the letter writing campaign Adame stated, "I feel very strongly about how extensively organized Blackwater has become, and I will do everything I can as a congressman to look into that, to find out whether or not the things they're doing are even legal. Ultimately however, Adame was defeated in the 2008 Democratic primary by Craig Weber.

Overall, Blackwater has received over $1 billion USD in government contracts, of which two-thirds are no-bid contracts.

Enchanté

.a thank you to Oberon for inviting me here.

.this finds me at a time where i feel i am on the edge of understanding.
since i was very young, in my crib, i have had an inner sense and connection
with nature and i've held a most tender heart.
i would hear the crickets chirping while i lay in my crib and i would think...
"this is how night sounds"

i am unfulfilled. there is something i have to do for humanity
and it isn't coming to me. i've known about it and told certain people
about it...but it evades me.
the little things i do, i hold to myself
i do these things on my own but it's not enough.

i don't know if i am supposed to wait for it to come to me
or if i am to seek it out.
i'm happy to be here, because i was found
and perhaps more inspiration will point me in the direction i need to be.

i have a fair vocabulary but i often find it difficult to express
feelings for which i can find no words
if some things i say make no sense, then i apologize.

love, amber

Addiction

for a few weeks in the fall i went along to a local church - their speciality is addicts, they have "programs," people introduce themselves to the congregation by announcing their addiction - but when it came to my turn i said nothing

because if i stood up i would have had to say that it is money i am addicted to - and i think they would have thought i was putting on airs

the joke's on us all eh?

The neverending hatred

The Truth

Even if you are a minority of one......the truth is the truth.

..........Mahatma Gandhi..........

Happy Xmas

(WAR IS OVER)

Money Money Money Money

Got to have it.....really need it.

..........O'Jays..........

Take (all) the capital

Lose the capitalism!
Those untrustworthy with money,
deserve no access to resources!

Merry Christmas 2008!

So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year over and a new one just begun. And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun; the near and the dear one, the old and the young.

A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year! Let's hope it's a good one without any fear.

(click)

The Art of Peace

As soon as you concern yourself
with the good and bad of your
fellows you create an opening in
your heart for maliciousness to
enter. Testing, competing with and
criticizing others weaken and defeat you.

The Art of Peace that I practice
has room for each of the world's
eight million gods, and I cooperate
with them all. The God of Peace
is very great and enjoins all that
is divine and enlightened in every land.

The Path is exceedingly vast.
From ancient times to the present day
even the greatest sages were unable
to perceive and comprehend the entire truth.
The explanations and teachings of
masters and saints express only part
of the whole. It is not possible for
anyone to speak of such things
in their entirety. Just head for the
light and heat, learn from the Holy Books
and through the virtue of devoted
practice of the Art of Peace
become one with the Divine.

..........Morihei Ueshiba..........

Romans 12

Remember Romans 12:19-21........where we are admonished not to seek vengeance........retribution is beyond the purview of Man.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

God made Man in His image.......but then.......Man made God in his image.

Merry Christmas

No advertising today for my blog.

So have a good one!

The Day My God Died

According to the United Nations, thousands of women and children throughout the world disappear each day to be sold into sexual slavery.

In Bombay alone, 90 new cases of HIV infection are reported every hour, and the victims are getting younger: two decades ago, most women in India’s brothels were in their twenties or thirties. Today, the average age is 14.

The child sex trade is a highly organized syndicate that rivals the drug trade in profitability. Recruiters capture them, smugglers transport them, brothel owners enslave them, corrupt police betray them and men rape and infect them. Every person in the chain profits except for the girls, who pay the price with their lives: 80 percent become infected with HIV.

Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins, THE DAY MY GOD DIED puts a human face on these abstract numbers as it recounts the stories of several Nepalese girls who were forced into the international child sex trade.

This heart-wrenching documentary provides a glimpse into the corruption and evil behind the curtain of the global sex industry, a world seldom seen by outsiders. But it is also a reminder that of the over one million women and girls who are sold, transported and forced into sexual slavery each year, 50,000 are in the United States. THE DAY MY GOD DIED exposes crimes that not only occur far away, but also far closer to home than we may have imagined.

Why?????????????????

Why are a million young girls being sold into sexual slavery every year?
Why do immigrants want to come here?
Why aren't their own countries as well off?
Why are 18,000 innocent children dying each and every day from starvation?
Why is our water full of poisons and phamaceuticals?
Why is plastic the bane of our age?
Why do they cut fins off of sharks and throw them back?
Why are young girls subjected to genital mutilation?
Why do they fly airplanes into buildings?
Why are all the ice caps and glaciers melting?
Why do they stone girls who've been raped by their brothers?
Why are all the rainforests being destroyed?
Why is one religion the "real" one and another is not?
Why are Jews and Arabs fighting when they are brothers?
Why are priests molesting children?
Why are corporations being allowed to buy our government?
Why is my penis a pornographic thing?

Forgiving the Unforgiveable

Could you forgive someone who killed your family and contributed to making your life and the lives of thousands a living hell? I don't know if I could but this lady did. She's one of my new heroes. (The list gets longer every day.) Get to know Immaculée Ilibagiza and discover that forgiveness has the power to change not only the person who forgives, it has the power to change the world.

Be a better person

What's the difference

between an asshole and a real asshole?

The asshole knows he's an asshole,

the real asshole has no idea.

"Luis Pérez Photo": Pic-of-the-Day:

"Luis Pérez Photo": Pic-of-the-Day:

Neat!!!

I Got You

You wanna change the world?

Sacrifice your life for your Gold Promise.

Create a Tradition of Solution for the world's sake.

Revolutionize your Mind, think openly.

Let Good become Entropic, away with Evil.

click the title for more

Mewwy Kwissmass Ewybowwy

declaration of human rights

play on brother. play on sister. let's make this world the best we can imagine it to be.

Rock Me

She asked me maybe I could share her sorrow
For all the men that tried to treat her wrong
Though just a baby, awaiting her tomorrow
It's rock me baby, rock me baby, all night long

She needs an answer to her confusion
Someone to guide her with tenderness
But when she's askin' for a solution
All that she gets, you know, is something like this

I don't know where we come from
Don't know where we're goin' to
But if all this should have a reason
We would be the last to know
So let's just hope there is a promised land
Hang on 'til then
As best as you can

Ev'rybody's ills, you know it fills her with compassion
That's why she tries to save the world alone
She helps the needy in her own fashion
And tries to give them all her own

She needs an answer to her confusion
Someone to guide her with tenderness
But when she's askin' for a solution
All that she gets, you know, is
Something like this

I don't know where we come from
Don't know where we're goin' to
But if all this should have a reason
We would be the last to know
So let's just hope there is a promised land
Hang on 'til then
As best as you can

It's rock me baby, rock me baby, all night long
rock me baby, rock me baby, all night long

......Words and music by John Kay-Steppenwolf......

Sock and Awe !

Mission Accomplished!

Why so crazy?

"Everyone knows there ain't no sanity clause."
~ Chico Marx

Food for one week

Germany : The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

United States : The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week $341.98

Italy : The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

Mexico : The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

Poland : The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

Egypt : The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

Ecuador : The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

Bhutan : The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

Chad : The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

The Ambiguity of Fact

Michael Scherer breaks down the Obamanomics of Gay Marriage:

He suggests that laws preventing gay marriage are as unjust as laws preventing interracial marriage, the very union that led to his own birth. But he further argues that the best way to fight this injustice is to indefinitely cede the central moral argument--that in America all men (and women) must be treated equal--and rather score incremental victories that push the nation in the right direction. In Obama's formulation, it would have been indefinitely acceptable for interracial couples to be denied the rights of civil marriage, if other progress was being made to advance racial equality. In the same way, it is indefinitely acceptable for gay couples to be denied the right to civil marriage, if other progress is being made to give gay couples similar rights. There is an unstated assumption here: If Obama is successful he will clear the way for a subsequent politician to support gay marriage, just as the broader civil rights movement cleared the way for an end to anti-miscegenation laws in 1967 by the (activist?) U.S. Supreme Court.

It's the constant, trapped cycle we're held hostage by thanks to religion: the ceding of real-world, fact-based truths in response to the moral absolutist outrage of the faithful. Time and time again, we're asked to add nuance and ambiguity to an issue because of the belief of someone with no empirical evidence to support their claim.

Some things in this world are proven (beyond a reasonable doubt) and some are not. There is no ambiguity about the theory of evolution thanks to years and years of research and testing; there is no ambiguity about the reality of global climate change and there is no reasonable justification for the abridging of civil rights for a large percentage of the population. While Obama's position is politically savvy, it's still a compromise based on a false premise.

This is the crux of the dubious "bi-partisan coming together" mantra. You ultimately cannot find genuine "middle ground" with those whose beliefs paint the world in a stark black and white of good and evil. At some level, either the believer is remiss in her/his duty by not championing the cause of "righteousness" or we, the reality-based thinkers, are asked to sacrifice dignity for the sake of magic.

Excuse me if I have trouble with that idea.

The problem is that the believers can't be asked to sacrifice anything because they're unwilling; the moral absolutes of their systems of thought prevent such compromises; so it's always the victims of their bullshit that have to suffer through "compromise" for the sake of perpetuating their absurdity.

For more, visit Rants, Raves and Rethoughts

A Short Love Story in Stop Motion by Carlos Lascano

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

Writings of Ryu: Anime Movie Review - Adolescence of Utena

Writings of Ryu: Anime Movie Review - Adolescence of Utena

Peanuts

Robert Indiana

Perspective

Truth

There are only two ways of telling the complete truth: anonymously and posthumously.

- Thomas Sowell

The truth hurts

Humans are stupid.

Practicality in Education

"No issue is more pressing than education. ... It is the civil rights issue of our generation" - Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education Designate at today's press conference in Chicago, Ill.

I spend a lot of time in schools talking with students and what I'm forced to conclude is that anyone who finds themselves in the incongruous maze of today's public education system for as many years as our children would be hard pressed to emerge a healthy, contributing member of society who looks back fondly on their time spent there.

There are a plethora of problems: deteriorating infrastructure, an outdated bureaucracy, over-worked and under-qualified teachers, and a pervasive sense that no one's paying attention or listening.

While I value the post-ideological pragmatism exhibited by the Obama Cabinet appointments, I think the place where a pragmatic re-evaluation is needed most is the American education system. I frequently ask groups of students the question: "How many of you feel that what you learn in school is not at all related to your everyday life". Every hand has gone up every time I ask it. What it tells us is that content is dated, unimportant and a big fat waste of time. Students are given materials they care little about as the prism through which to learn the skills necessary to survive in the world. The discerning student brain discards both out of sheer boredom.

And can we blame them for that? Humans naturally look for what's essential. If we can't see it, we ignore it.

Education needs to be relevant again. Every student needs to learn to read, think critically, know logic, basic computation and the ability to intelligently and thoughtfully express her/his thoughts in a variety of forums. Content is ultimately irrelevant, and so it ought to be selected based on the interests of students, rather than academics in ivory towers.

That's real pragmatism.

We'll see who has the stomach for it.

For more, visit Rants, Raves and Rethoughts

The Death of Consumerism

Reich begins to paint the new picture of our economy with a clarity that's been lacking as of late while addressing the underlying assumption of the new found love of Keynes:

The first assumption is that American consumers will eventually regain the purchasing power needed to keep the economy going full tilt. That seems doubtful. Median incomes dropped during the last recovery, adjusted for inflation, and even at the start weren’t much higher than they were in the 1970s. Middle-class families continued to spend at a healthy clip over the last thirty years despite this because women went into paid work, everyone started working longer hours, and then, when these tactics gave out, went deeper and deeper into debt. This indebtedness, in turn, depended on rising home values, which generated hundreds of billions of dollars in home equity loans and refinanced mortgages. But now that the housing bubble has burst, the spending has ended. Families cannot work more hours than they did before, and won’t be able to borrow as much, either.

It's what's been missing from all these haphazard calculations in talking about the recovery packages that Congress and the Treasury have been passing and it's a big part of the reason that everything remains frozen: people have changed. Americans have wizened far quicker than anyone thought to the new era of what Thomas Friedman calls the Climate-Energy-Era, the death of consumerism and the new birth of frugal living and conscientious buying. We're certainly not completely there yet and educational outreach will be needed to fully prep the public for the coming shake-up of a system built on living beyond one's means, but it's a good sign.

What's not so good is that all of the assumptions about what will get this economy moving again have to be rethought; freeing up credit won't matter if people are cautious about using it (as they should be).

People have gotten smarter. Now the economy needs to catch up.

For more, visit Rants, Raves and Rethoughts

Head

What's that on the moon?

Has it ever occurred to you.....that you might have been lied to?

Unidentified Lunar Objects have been found in NASA photographs of the moon.

Visit Lunomaly Research Group and see more photographic evidence of unusual structures found on the moon.

Noonan's Reinforcements

She gets it, my core argument for the relocation of the theatre and our greatest source of untapped potential in these dismal days:

And people want to belong to something. If you’re a vibrant member of a church in America, or a casual member of a vibrant church, you’re part of something. If you’re a member of a family that’s together, you are part of something. A lot of Americans do not have these two things.

But she also seems to exhibit a typical conservative, irrational revision of history:

There’s something else going on, a new or renewed sense of national shame. Or communal responsibility. Or a sense of reckoning. Whatever it is it’s a reaction to the excesses of the O’s, a reaction against the ways of those who caused the mess on Wall Street and Main Street. It is a reassertion that there actually are rules, and that it is embarrassing to break them in a way so colorfully damaging and destructive to everyone else.

Ahem.

Pardon me, Ms. Noonan, but were you not part of the Reagan Administration that brought us this mess through the castration of effective government as a market motivator and regulator? The "rules" she cites are the very same "rules" that the Reaganites worked to remove or neuter.

The task at hand now is to revive government as an effective tool in motivating people to make the changes in their lifestyle necessary to ensure our survival; that means a smarter, larger and more demonstrably results-driven Washington.

For more, visit Rants, Raves & Rethoughts

I like the truth

because it's much

more disturbing than lies.

Boy Soldiers

In over twenty countries around the world, children are direct participants in war. Denied a childhood and often subjected to horrific violence, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 children are serving as soldiers for both rebel groups and government forces in current armed conflicts.

Don't Do It

What is the amount

of money in "Gift Cards"

that went unredeemed last year?

$Eight Billion (8,000,000,000) Dollars!

Okay, so that's FREE money for corporations?

I think I'll give CASH.

fuel for thought?

The most logical support for the US auto industry is from
the oil companies and their record profits.
Have you heard anyone imply this connection?

I'm listening...

I can hear you crying...



And I'm sending love...♥

Paradoxymorons

The asset holes dumped on their food.
So . . to start a new garden, of budding credit,
plow all debt under, as educational statistics,
and encourage tending the weeds as mulch.

"I like to watch" ~ Chauncey Gardener~Being There

You eat poison

Your world is poison.......

Greeting from Tough Times

...

I don't know about you Bernie,
but I'm not giving
a Bone to Betsy
this holidays.

Mix Media by C.L.DeMedeiros

A Citizen

A "Citizen"

has the courage

to make the safety of the human race

their personal responsibility.

Starship Troopers.

Desired things........

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let not this blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams; it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

--- Max Ehrmann, 1927

The Corporate Myth

They don't pay any taxes........they pass the taxes on to you.

It started with price fixing........then it evolved into supply manipulation.

And then they get tax breaks........for paying no taxes.

Call your doctor

Call your doctor if

you experience an erection

lasting longer than four hours.

POW!

Prisoner of War.




You're next.

Lovers seeking for their other half

Us

All we need to do is think outside of the box.

To be above conventional thought is to win.

A universal Revolution of The Mind.

To win, against evil, for ourselves, for the world,

For The Sake Of Humanity

There is no enemy

Is this the enemy?



Remember...............

You don't hate....people

You hate what they........do.