The seven soldiers read the papers and mail
But the news, it doesn't change.
Swinging about through creepers,
Parachutes caught on steeples
Heroes are born, but heroes die.
Just a few days, a little practice and some holiday pay,
We're all sure you'll make the grade.
Mother of God, if you care,
We're on a train to nowhere
Please put a cross upon our eyes.
Take me - I'm nearly ready, you can take me
To the raincoat in the sky.
Take me - my little pastry mother take me
There's a pie shop in the sky.
Mother Whale Eyeless Brian Eno
best viewed not with IE, though I'm not sure why.
formerly "fifteen foot italian shoe" and "keoha pint."
At noon, when he arrived at Charlotte's apartment, a second guest was already present, a
television producer named Richard Wilder. A thick-set, pugnacious man who had once been a professional
rugby-league player, Wilder lived with his wife and two sons on the 2nd floor of the building. The
noisy parties he held with his friends on the lower levels -- airline pilots and hostesses sharing
apartments -- had already put him at the center of various disputes. To some extent the irregular
hours of the tenants on the lower levels had cut them off from their neighbours above. In an
unguarded moment Laing's sister had whispered to him that there was a brothel operating somewhere in
the high-rise. The mysterious movements of the air-hostesses as they pursued their busy social
lives, particularly on the floors above their own, clearly unsettled Alice, as if they in some
way interfered with the natural social order of the building, its system of precedences entirely
based on floor height. Laing had noticed that he and his fellow tenants were far more tolerant
of any noise or nuisance from the floors above than they were from those below them. However, he
liked Wilder, with his loud voice and rugby-scrum manners. He let a needed dimension of the unfamiliar
into the apartment block. His relationship with Charlotte Melville was hard to gauge -- his
powerful sexual aggression was overlaid by a tremendous restlessness. No wonder his wife, a pale
young woman with a postgraduate degree who reviewed children's books for the literary weeklies,
seemed permanently exhausted.
As Laing stood on the balcony, accepting a drink from Charlotte, the noise of the party came down
from the bright air, as if the sky itself had been wired for sound. Charlotte pointed to a fragment
of glass on Laing's balcony that had escaped his brush.
'Are you under attack? I heard something fall.' She called to Wilder, who was lounging back in
the centre of her sofa, examining his heavy legs. 'It's those people on the 31st floor.'
'Which people?' Laing asked. He assumed that she was referring to a specific group, a clique of
over-aggressive flim actors or tax consultants, or perhaps a freak aggregation of dipsomaniacs.
But Charlotte shrugged vaguely, as if it was unnecessary to be more specific. Clearly some kind
of demarcation had taken place in her mind, like his own facile identification of people by the
floors on which they lived.
THE LIST OF LOCATIONS chosen by the DC Metropolitan Police Department for its surveillance cameras makes it clear that the purpose of these devices is to monitor protests rather than to watch for terrorists. The 12 cameras, which have 360-degree views and magnify human sight 17 times, are located in places of little use for spotting terrorists but ideal for photographing and recording persons at public demonstrations. For example, generations of protesters, winos, and chess players have gathered at Dupont Circle, but no one has ever before imagined the statue of Admiral Farragut to be a potential target of the Al Queda. Similarly, a camera is to be placed outside the Banana Republic in Georgetown at Wisconsin and M, a popular place for revelers and occasional protests but one of the least likely terrorist targets. Other cameras are clearly position to record (and intimidate) those coming to Washington to exercise what’s left of their constitutional rights. The police department gave away its non-terroristic concerns when it noted that the camera at the National Gallery of Art was “For use only for special events.” The department also states in its internal documents that the will only be used for special events, such as scheduled rallies, protests and marches. [U]
This is creepy in so many ways.
I exulted in the Watergate hearings as I left high school. I've watched All the Presidents' Men somewhat compulsively over the years, partly because it was history I'd lived through, partly because it felt true, partly because it gave me hope.
So this story of how infatuated with lizardboy Bob Woodward is dwarfs any sense of betrayal -- I know there's not even the pretense of a membrane between journos, politicos and lobbyists anymore -- with a perversely sublime frisson like Alice Through the Glass. Or more accurately 9/11 was the Looking Glass and this was a sickeningly potent red herring out of Ubik, an emotional memory stripped and redesigned, like if Jack Nicholson as McMurphy was waterskiing beside Britney Spears in the Pepsi ad, Britney's presence emasculating and morphing Nicholson, so he exudes the non-presence of a throwaway extra who happened to get in the shot. And happy to be there, basking in idoru glow.
DVD (with extra footage) & VHS of William Gibson: No Maps for These Territories documentary out. [bb]
Soon, under Bush-appointed director Robert Reilly, VOA turned on Ms. Maiwandi. First she found insulting notes slipped under her door by anonymous coworkers, she said, producing a note that simply read:
"This is no longer your office. Move your big [expletive removed] out of here."
Then she was fired from the Pashto service, although in an Orwellian twist Reilly claims he gave her a promotion. "You are being given a temporary promotion," VOA's department of human resources wrote to Ms. Maiwandi. "This action is not a reassignment from your current position. Your position of record remains Chief of the Pashto Service," the note added, even though she would no longer run the service.
[...]
While we foolishly squander our word abroad, few Americans realize that censorshi While we foolishly squander our word abroad, few Americans realize that censorship blinds us at home. Not long after 9/11, Condoleezza Rice suggested to U.S. television executives that they should limit the air time given to Osama bin Laden. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer later claimed that the administration was worried about "hidden messages."
But as a result, Americans know far less about the master terrorist and his cohorts than viewers of Al Jazeera do, denying crucial information from the U.S. public debate. Consider the issue of bin Laden's ties to the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. This is still central to the question of whether the United States should attack Iraq. While many in the press have speculated about possible ties between the two men, Muslims who watch Al Jazeera have long known that bin Laden hates Saddam, or so he says on a videotape that his Al Qaeda organization released before 9/11.
Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night told the U.S. administration not to wait until there is calm in the territories before going ahead with its planned attack on Iraq. [link]
What a relief! Now that the Spiritual Leader of the shrub cabal has spoken, we can get on with the takeover of The Bush Freedom Oil Park, spreading terror, depleted uranium & regional destabilization The Light of Freedom in The Dark Folds of Islam. "The Light of God's Purpose has shined on me from above," claimed the Holy Emperor of the World American President.
Don't get me wrong -- Jews and Arabs are suffering now, as always. But Sharon/Netanyahu & the Bush advisors mentioned in the post below are in the driver's seat.
China's obviously ill-fated Three Gorges Dam shows cracks.
Between the environmental debacle, the dislocation of about a million people, the rife corruption that even the Chinese admit, and doubts as to whether it will even work, this project has "dead tech" written all over it.
The witch doctors, from a suburb of the capital Abidjan, were apparently hired by the sports minister before the 1992 Nations Cup final against Ghana.
The Elephants won the trophy after beating the Black Stars in a dramatic penalty shootout in Dakar, Senegal.
But the witch doctors complained that they were never paid for ther services and threatened to put a curse on the national side.
[...]
The country's Defence and Civil Protection Minister Moise Lida Kouassi has now asked for forgiveness for "the promises which weren't kept after the 1992 Nations Cup."
He offered the angry witch doctors a bottle of liquor and US$2,000 so that "the village, through the perceptiveness of its wise men, will continue to help the Republic and, in particular, the minister of sport."
Fair is fair.
Funny Barbara Ehrenreich piece on "airport security."
In a videotaped interview released in December, Osama bin Laden averred that terrorism would lead Americans into an "unbearable hell and a choking life." Darned if he hasn't succeeded; at least I'm choking as the security matron disassembles my submarine sandwich to search for switchblades hidden among the salami.
The appeals of Arab allies to rein in Sharon have fallen on utterly deaf ears. The lack of response to date suggests that the Bush White House has now fully embraced the rightwing view that Israel is the U.S.' only strategic ally in the region. And that the interests of Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, will have to take second place to the broader "war against terrorism."
[...]
Many of these sources favor the even harder line of Sharon's main Likud rival, Benyimin Netanyahu. They have not hesitated to attack Sharon himself when he has shown any hesitation in destroying the Oslo peace process -- an initiative they have opposed from the outset.
[...]
For example, the State Department's perspective -- which is shared by virtually all Mideast specialists in the United States, Europe, and even Israel -- sees the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a central factor in the region's politics. Bureau analysts argue that any effort by Washington to build Arab support for an attack on Iraq will be made far more difficult by an escalation of the conflict or, worse, the complete collapse of the peace process. Their view of Israeli actions is best summed up by Nicholas Veliotes, retired head of the Bureau and ambassador to Egypt, who told CNN that the situation "in the West Bank and Gaza is an obscenity," which will badly damage U.S. interests in the region.
[...]
Permitting Arafat to set up a Palestinian Authority "is only the latest example of how dealing with Mideast dictators has become a Faustian bargain, not just for Israel but also for the U.S.," wrote the Journal's editorial staff Wednesday. "American presidents have gambled for 40 years that these rulers can buy stability, and that the alternative is far worse; in the long run they come back to haunt us."
The answer, according to this view, is to invade Iraq and establish a democratic government that can serve as a model for the region. "Liberating Iraq from Saddam and sponsoring democracy would not only rid the region of a major military threat. It would also send a message to the Arab world that self-determination as part of the modern world is possible," according to the Journal, which dismisses Arafat as a petty despot rather than leader elected by the population of the Palestinian Authority.
I have to think about this, frankly, because this view of the Middle East realpolitik (surrealpolitik?) is such a radical departure from any US policy approach seriously considered in my lifetime, I'm taken aback. Now Bush seems more like Goldwater in his foreign policy and Harding at home. My instinct tells me the results will be disastrous. But I'll think on it. . . Don't wanna be a kneejerk whatever.
But come to think of it, it's all really about creating a rationale for grabbing the oil making the Arab world safe for corporate oligarchical hegemony democracy and converting the saracens showing our monotheistic brothers and sisters the way to freedom and perpetual consumer anxiety, eating disorders and the wonders of botox injections all the modern conveniences.
Oxfam says 97% of the income generated by international trade benefits rich and middle income nations, leaving just 3% for poor nations.
[...]
The charity calculated that 130 million people could be lifted out of poverty if Africa, Latin America and poor parts of Asia were allowed to increase their share of global commerce by just 1%.
In Africa alone, that would generate $70bn a year - five times the amount the continent gets in aid, the report says.
[...]
Oxfam says one of the purposes of its campaign will be to dissuade the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) from imposing conditions to financial aid which require countries to enact painful and expensive reforms.
A "mythical city" off the southeastern coast of India called Seven Pagodas has been found by divers. Near Mahabilipuram, the site covers "many square miles" and is estimated to be 5000 years old.
Authors are complaining about amazon now -- because of the drop-off in book sales, and how easy it is to buy used books on the site. As with musicians and file-sharing, there's going to be a bumpy period til there's a system in place to remunerate artists & writers, etc. But the used books will keep selling, and music will be shared regardless. Books, like music, are over-priced, for one thing.
Excluding the families who "inherit" a boarder from their parents, other caretakers are initially motivated to take a patient for the supplemental income it offers and the work he/she will do with the family [The] policy of limiting the number of patients to two per family insures that it cannot be the sole source of income. Children and boarders develop attachments, the boarders become involved in family festivities and crises, and over time, emotional bonds develop which turn the boarder into an integral part of the family group. The boarders are considered to be a chronic population in need of supportive, long-term care, the majority of whom were referred from other traditional institutions.
Many of the boarders in Geelian families are severely mentally ill and retarded individuals who are not considered to be suitable candidates for the majority of community care programs in the United States. Taking into account the type of patient Geel attracts, mainly chronic patients with no viable family or community ties, these individuals would other-wise spend their lives on the back wards of state hospitals. To the dismay of professionals, Geelians just do not see the boarders as psychiatric patients. Boarders are included in the work and recreational activities of their families and are also free to participate on their own in the community sphere. [via U]
Sam Smith points out that the NYT article on how marrying your cousin is not that dangerous after all, doesn't mention that it's still statistically more risky than smoking, drinking or snorting coke during pregnancy. (Apr 7 issue)
Don't wanna stop anyone from getting married though. . .
Aside form a steady demand for its drugs, Colombia's dire economic -- and political -- state can be traced to IMF and World Bank policies initiated in 1990 which eliminated thousands of jobs in "austerity programs." Those policies proved a boon for exporters from other countries though.
The name of the defense system is SSST [Stealth Satellite System Terminator]. There are five different individual and unique defensive and strike capabilities of the system. The only portion that I have publicly spoken on is one frame regarding actual current orbiting satellites, which are not at this time owned by the US government. On advice of counsel I cannot discuss the other components.
This one component is a satellite system. Within the confines of the system there are multiple, deployable space/orbital EMP [Electromagnetic Pulse] missiles that are not aimed at the ground. They are targeted at everyone else's satellites. These would kill worldwide communications. The satellites of some countries that are shielded with titanium are protected from these weapons. The protected countries are Russia and China, but U.S. satellites are vulnerable and Putin has told Bush that the U.S. missile defense system doesn't work, and that Bush knows it.
OK, so maybe this helps answer my rhetorical, light-hearted comment below on spying on the Russians.
The following refers to Vreeland's claim (that I posted about a few weeks ago) that he informed the US government of the potential for the 9/11 attack in December 2000.
13. Your written warning contains the statement, "Let one happen, stop the rest." Who was going to let one happen? Who was going to stop the rest? I can't comment on the advice of counsel.
14.Does that statement imply that the U.S. or some other intelligence agency had achieved complete penetration of the terrorist cells? That goes without question. Sometimes certain governments design, create networks like Al Qaeda, which was really the government in Afghanistan. Those entities create specific problems at the creating government's direction.
15. Do you know who had achieved this penetration? I cannot comment on that.
16. Is it possible that the terrorist cells were being "run" without knowing by whom? Absolutely.
If true, this is scary stuff, and I can see why Vreeland is in a Canadian safe house.
The first Rom professor of "gypsy" language & culture begins tenure at Trieste U. in Italy.
Remember those old Merrill Lynch commercials where everyone leaned over to hear what the guy's ML advisor had told him?
Now they'd be leaning over to stick an icepick in his head.
New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer claims that, at the same time as advising clients to pour cash into buying shares in mainly hi-tech outfits, they were privately telling colleagues the firms were "a piece of crap", "a piece of shit" or valuable only for generating fees for the bank.
The "double dealing" has been uncovered after a 10-month investigation by Mr Spitzer. He described his findings as "a shocking betrayal of trust by one of Wall Street's most respected names".
Mr Spitzer's inquiries focused on the dotcom boom and the highly rated and even better paid team of analysts working on internet stocks. Chief among them was Henry Blodget, who became a household name and investment guru to millions of ordinary Americans.
[...]
At the core of his allegations is that Merrill Lynch's supposedly independent analysts issued bullish recommendations on company stocks to ensure that the firm's bankers - who advise companies on stock market flotations and mergers and acquisitions - could secure lucrative deals. "Chinese walls" are supposed to separate the two arms of the investment banking community.
Mr Spitzer has made it clear he is not going to stop at Merrill Lynch. Sources on Wall Street believe that every one of the leading investment banks has been subpoenaed.
This could not come at a worse time for the financial services industry, which is facing questions about its integrity following the collapse of Enron.
I had to post this just because it mentions "strange quark matter."
Two bizarre objects found by an orbiting X-ray telescope may represent a new class of star and may contain a new form of matter, defying current theories of particle physics and astronomy.
[...]
This evidence "points to a star composed not of neutrons, but of quarks in a form known as strange quark matter," said Jeremy Drake of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the lead researcher for the RXJ1856 observations.
[...]
Strange quarks are much denser than up or down quarks. The group of quarks could have evolved from neutrons that were collapsed by the extreme density and mass of the star, Drake said. [link via drudge]
I could never be an astronomer. I couldn't say shit like this and keep a straight face.
Although the definition of SQM is an eerily accurate description of how I feel some mornings.
When I was a kid living near the Jersey shore, Seaside Heights/Seaside Park was the best place to go to the beach. Strong waves, best amusement boardwalk. Usually packed though.
'"It's just a sad time for the community," [Dover Township Police Chief Michael] Mastronardy said.'
Wayne Madsen on evidence of intelligence- and military- related links to the anthrax attack.
The Hartford Courant reported last January that 27 sets of biological toxin specimens were reported missing from Fort Detrick after an inventory was conducted in 1992. The paper reported that among the specimens missing was the Ames strain on anthrax. A former Detrick laboratory technician named Eric Oldenberg told The Courant that while at Detrick, he only handled the Ames strain, the same strain sent to the Senate and the media. The Hartford Courant also revealed that other specimens missing included Ebola, hanta virus, simian AIDS, and two labeled "unknown," a cover term for classified research on secret biological agents.
Steven Block of Steven Block of Stanford University, an expert on biological warfare, told The Dallas Morning News that, "The American process for preparing anthrax is secret in its details, but experts know that it produces an extremely pure powder. One gram (a mere 28th of an ounce) contains a trillion spores . . . A trillion spores per gram is basically solid spore . . . It appears from all reports so far that this was a powder made with the so-called optimal U.S. recipe . . . That means they either had to have information from the United States or maybe they were the United States." (author's emphasis).
Block also told the Dallas paper, "The FBI, after all these months, has still not arrested anybody . . . It's possible, as has been suggested, that they may be standing back because the person that's involved with it may have secret information that the United States government would not like to have divulged."
And what the government would not want divulged is the fact that the United States has been in flagrant violation of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. Article 1 of the convention specifically states: "Each State Party to this Convention undertakes never in any circumstance to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain: 1. Microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes. 2. Weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict." [link]
Insurance rates across the board are going up as a result of 9/11. This article debates the pros & cons of government aid.
I think the figures are being cooked (Does anyone really trust companies' figures, post-Enron?). The insurance industry hasn't been doing too well the last decade and some kinds of insurance may soon be a thing of the past. One catastrophic earth event and things will dry up fast. And the government won't be able to bail them out for ever.
"My dad told me James Earl Ray had nothing to do with the shooting other than to buy a rifle for them," said Wilson, a 61-year-old preacher and siding contractor who goes by "R.D."
"My dad was the one who shot Dr. King," he said.
[...]
"My dad and (a co-conspirator) believed Dr. King was a communist and was trying to cause an uprising and would damage the country, and that's why they wanted King (dead)," said Wilson, pastor of a non-denominational church near Brooker. "It wasn't a racist thing at all. My dad said even if King was white, they would have done it because of the communist affiliation."
[...]
In an hourlong recounting of the plot, Wilson gave many details he said he personally witnessed or was told by his father.
"I saw the rifle in the trunk of the car behind Mac's Drive-In," he said, referring to the former restaurant on E. University Avenue where he said the assassination was plotted. "I counted the $100,000 they had raised."
Wilson's information is intriguing enough to warrant further investigation, said Eric Hathaway, special agent with the Jacksonville office of the FBI.
But if you ask Glenn White, informants never got their hands on the cash. White represents a Mexican bartender whose signature appears on some of the tip receipts submitted by detectives in connection with dirty busts. But there's one hitch: White's client says that he had nothing to do with the arrests and that his signature was forged.
"They used him as a patsy or red herring to dilute their money trail," White said. "It's horrifying to think about these people strutting around the streets in their shiny boots and guns, and maybe they're dirtier than the people they're supposed to protect us from."
Since the bogus arrests came to light, the department's policies have been revamped. From now on, Bolton promised the City Council, all suspected narcotics will be shipped to a laboratory for analysis. "We will do whatever it takes," he said.
In the past, suspects were jailed, indicted and encouraged to enter pleas, even when the "drugs," as in these cases, had only been identified by field test, a notoriously flawed chemical experiment done by detectives at the time of arrest. Those days are over. The new laboratory examinations are expected to cost Dallas an extra $1 million next year.
But that's nothing next to the sum the city could lose in civil litigation. Because one thing is clear: Somebody made money at the expense of people who didn't speak English, couldn't pay lawyers' fees and didn't quite know their rights. In other words, people who were unlikely to fight back.
"They preyed on ignorance and the inability to maneuver in the system," said Adrian Rodriguez, district director of the League of United Latin American Citizens. "They picked on easy targets, and they knew what they were doing."
No George, drilling in Alaska is just too stupid, and people are getting wise.
Republican leaders are close to abandoning a vote in the Senate on oil drilling in an Arctic wildlife refuge, believing they would fall well short of the votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster, congressional and administration officials said Monday.
Some senators believe they may have better success in getting the measure approved in negotiations later with the House, which already has voted for development of the refuge, these Republicans said. And a poor showing in the Senate could hurt those chances.
President Bush, meanwhile, sought to energize support for drilling, telling labor and business leaders at the White House that the oil there "is needed more than ever" in light of Iraq leader Saddam Hussein's plans to suspend oil exports for 30 days.
"He's going to try to cut off energy supply to affect the United States. I mean, what more reason do we need than to have good energy policy in the United States to diversify away from somebody like him?" Bush said.
We're still unsure about the meaning of that last phrase, sir. The President seemed to be weaving a bit and sliding down his chair.
The U.S. military hasn't tracked down Osama bin Laden during its six-month war in Afghanistan, but it has made it harder for his al-Qaida terrorist network to operate - and that's better than nothing, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said. [link]
A pretty expensive better-than-nothing, but that wasn't really the point, was it, you sexy powerful man? You and lizardboy just wanted to mobilize the country for an endless war that keeps everyone in their place, pumps up the War Business Machine, and makes sure we can all drive our Cherokees with good cheap Iraqi oil. I mean everyone knows we're really The Good Guys, right? Just do things our way, and nobody gets hurt. Not too bad anyway. I mean we liberated the Afghanis, right? For a few months anyway.
Pipeline? We're making the world safe for from terrorism boy. And don't you forget it.
I got this email from clairvoyant Gordon-Michael Scallion today and figured I'd share it for those who might be interested. I'm spurred to do this because I just read an item in the Defense News newsletter I get that the final exam at the US Army College this year is a scenario in which Iraq and Syria invade Turkey because it's a NATO member and a US ally. Hopefully, the following won't happen.
Dear Readers:
The current war in the Middle East has been in my visions once again. I now fear the worst will occur. For those of you new to our work, I would like to share with you a November 10, 2001 prediction on this subject.
"We tend to look at current events as causes for war. A dispute over borders, trade restrictions, economic restrictions, power, oil, religion,and of course world domination. My insights tell me that the reason for the current war is because of an accumulation over centuries, if not millennia, of anger, mistrust, violation and persecution, that has been going on throughout the Islamic world. None of this excuses terrorism but it does show how energy "karma" of nations in this case, can set the stage for negative actions. I have spoken often of the karma of both land and nations. What occurs in any land is that the thoughts and actions of its inhabitants become embedded into the psychic fabric of that land. One of the first skills I developed when I started in this field, was psychometry, the ability to hold an object and thereby know its owner and history. The vibrations of the person owning the object becomes a part of the object, and someone who is sensitive can pick up on those vibrations and tune-in to the emotions of the owner and events that occurred around the object. In the same way, people are affected, either consciously or unconsciously, by the vibrations of the area in which they live.
In the case of the Middle East there have been thousands of years of anger and hatred, all of which have become embedded into the very soil of the region. Generation after generation tunes into this land and absorbs part of this negativity. Most people born into this region have lived here in prior incarnations so the memory becomes even stronger. Even before the West had a role in the Middle East, there was tension going back to the time of Moses and the Israelites and later the Crusades, where Europeans attempted to return the holy city of Jerusalem to Christian rule. In Islamic eyes, this was an invasion. Later we see their countries controlled by Western powers like France and Great Britain. In the late 20th century we saw the U.S. supplying arms, money and advisors to the same people we are now fighting.
Karma is an amazing system of cause and effect. Karma knows no time limits. It only seeks balance. It can be instant or take lifetime after lifetime. What I am suggesting is that the energy behind our current war is about wealth versus poverty, persecution versus freedom, as well as a society that remembers the violations of the past, violations that are embedded in the very landscape of the affected regions. This war may be taking place in Afghanistan at the moment, but it is perceived by many in the Middle East as being waged against the whole Islamic world. As such, if prevailing issues are not resolved, the greater battles will take place in the Middle East. As I noted in last month's issue, " I see turmoil coming to, but not limited to, Turkey and the following regions of the Middle East: Israel, Palestine and Iraq."
The past can be healed, karma set right, and a new holistic society can emerge but, as is so often the case, a healing must occur. Here is what my insights tell me would have to happen in order for peace to exist in the Middle East -- where I believe the war is headed.
1. The creation of a Palestinian state. 2. A greater effort on the part of wealthy nations to share more of their wealth with poor nations through trade partnerships and medical, technological and agricultural exchanges. 3. The beginning of a new spiritual movement, where children are cherished and land is considered sacred.
Alternatively, the other choice is not pleasant. It requires an actual cleansing of the land and its people. In this case one or more of the four primary elements would be used to bring it about -- Earth, Air, Fire or Water. Should this occur I sense that all elements will be used, not just one. Watch for terrorist activities in Israel and Turkey as precursors to this, signaling an escalation of the war. Sadly, should this occur, I believe that if chemical or biological weapons (Air) of mass destruction are used against Israel, Israel will retaliate with nuclear weapons (Fire). Earth changes will also come to this region in the form of floods (Water) and earthquakes (Earth). As to when this will all occur, the only window I have seen is that the war in the Middle East, (not Afghanistan which will be over shortly) lasts for four years -- ending in 2004. Hopefully I will receive additional information on this for our annual Predictions for 2002 next month. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, I see Russia eventually taking a leadership position in the region that will bring about great positive changes in the future."
Monday, April 08, 2002
The class action lawsuit against Enron has grown to include nine Wall St Banks.
The revised lawsuit, 500 pages in length, accuses the firms not only of participating in deception but of profiting from it, too.
"This fraud was worldwide in its scope, years long in its duration, unprecedented in its size," said William Lerach, the lead attorney representing the plaintiffs.
[...]
In mounting their latest legal manoeuvre, the plaintiffs have implicated some of Wall Street's most prestigious investment banks with the hopes of recouping some of the billions of dollars they have lost.
The named banks include Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, CSFB, Lehman Brothers, Bank of America, JP Morgan and Canadian Imperial Bank.
The mouths of babes. 12 year-old Charlotte Aldebron on The Flag.
The American flag stands for the fact that cloth can be very important. It is against the law to let the flag touch the ground or to leave the flag flying when the weather is bad. The flag has to be treated with respect. You can tell just how important this cloth is because when you compare it to people, it gets much better treatment. Nobody cares if a homeless person touches the ground. A homeless person can lie all over the ground all night long without anyone picking him up, folding him neatly and sheltering him from the rain.
School children have to pledge loyalty to this piece of cloth every morning. No one has to pledge loyalty to justice and equality and human decency. No one has to promise that people will get a fair wage, or enough food to eat, or affordable medicine, or clean water, or air free of harmful chemicals. But we all have to promise to love a rectangle of red, white, and blue cloth.
Betsy Ross would be quite surprised to see how successful her creation has become. But Thomas Jefferson would be disappointed to see how little of the flag's real meaning remains. [link via U]
Susan and I have been repulsed by Rudy Bakhtiar's strangely dissociated and chilly vibe since we first saw her. "Why watch Headline News at all?" you might ask. Indeed. Yet you find yourself watching some of it even while flipping channels, and though I pay even less attention to American mass media since 9/11 than I did before, I still find myself on news stations, because the rest of TV is just so bad. Just the few minutes a week of Rudy's frightful visage is disturbing enough. Looks like we're not the only ones.
WHY IS THAT WOMAN SMIRKING? Watching Rudi Bakhtiar on CNN Headline News is like watching a film with the wrong sound track. While we are as impressed as she clearly is with her natural beauty and carefully honed sultriness, Bakhtiar lacks only a fundamental understanding of what the hell she is talking about. The ill-placed smirks, flirts, and eyebrow quirks appear at random, sometime accompanying the most dire reports. It admittedly becomes hypnotic once you notice the schizophrenic contrast between her face and her mouth, but it doesn?t seem to have much to do with news. [Sam Smith in Undernews 4/4]
Now this description reminds me of the unsettling dissociative simulacra in Phil Dick books. I'm afraid we'll have to turn pro soon, because all these Orwell and Dick phantoms and McGuffins in real life are just getting a little too weird. . .
Nevada's Governor vetoes the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site as a last resort. Congress will now decide the issue in 90 days, and Guinn hopes to sway undecided Senators. Because of the law involved, only 51 Senators are needed to pass or block the choice (instead of 60, and a filibuster is illegal). The waste would be transported through 43 states if Yucca is chosen.
Problem is, the waste has to go somewhere and nobody wants it. At least the issue is being acknowledged now that shrub and his energy Dark Lords are talking nuclear again. And the '02 elections are coming up. . .
Independents work on a smaller scale, though, and this appears to be encouraging a higher degree of experimentation. Film critic and essayist Phillip Lopate traces the recent crop of innovative films to hits like "Pulp Fiction," "The Matrix," and "The Usual Suspects," which attracted vast audiences despite unconventional styles.
He likens the best current American filmmaking to the 1960s in France, when New Wave directors revolutionized the cinematic rule book – and had a huge impact on Hollywood – with edgy stories and jagged editing techniques.
He also says the trend is here to stay, noting that the future filmmakers in the college screenwriting classes he teaches at Hofstra University in Heapstead, N.Y., are fascinated with novel approaches – especially ones that twist stories into unconventional shapes and combinations.
"They all want to monkey with structure," he says.
One reason is that young people often bring similar mindsets to movies and pop music.
They're happy to watch a film in a multiplex and then experience it in a different, less linear way with their VCR or DVD player, enjoying its overall look and atmosphere more than its moment-to-moment logic.
Another factor is the love of irony and parody that pervades today's youth culture, puncturing the pomposity of self- important Hollywood productions.
Argentina, in the midst of perhaps its worst financial crisis, has abruptly turned against its political class. Instead, the population is looking for leadership elsewhere, and in some unexpected quarters: the business community, the sports arena, and the church. [link]
Perhaps this is the wave of the future outside of Argentina as well. Once we get through the Berlusconi's and the Jesse Ventura's, people outside these classes will step forward. The more responsibility people take on themselves, the less politics will be about power, glamour and corruption.
In case you somehow figured it was just the Catholics and just the priests:
Despite headlines focusing on the priest pedophile problem in the Roman Catholic Church, most American churches being hit with child sexual-abuse allegations are Protestant, and most of the alleged abusers are not clergy or staff, but church volunteers.
[...]
The surveys suggest that over the past decade, the pace of child-abuse allegations against American churches has averaged 70 a week. The surveys registered a slight downward trend in reported abuse starting in 1997, possibly a result of the introduction of preventive measures by churches.
"I think the CMR [Christian Ministry Resources] numbers are striking, yet quite reasonable," says Anson Shupe, an Indiana University professor who's written books about church abuse. "To me it says Protestants are less reluctant to come forward because they don't put their clergy on as high a pedestal as Catholics do with their priests." [link]
New York Times columnist and Princeton University economist Paul Krugman reportedly "stuck out like a sore thumb," at the dinner by refusing to applaud President Bush, Vice President Cheney or any other Bush administration officials, according to people who attended the exclusive affair.
A senior White House official said on background that Krugman "applauded Sen. (Tom) Daschle and (Washington, D.C. Delegate) Eleanor Holmes Norton, but refused to applaud any of the military leaders who were announced, nor did he applaud the president, the vice president or any members of the president's staff. He just applauded for one party."
The official said he considered Krugman's behavior "contrary to the spirit of the Gridiron," and said if Krugman "has that much disdain for the people they cover, then don't go to the dinner."
The White House source also said when Bush received a standing ovation following his remarks, Krugman refused to stand or applaud.
[...]
"This is the thought police," said Krugman. "Next, they'll say there was something wrong with the expression on my face. This is ridiculous."
The surreal piece sounds like it was written by Dana Carvey's "Church Lady" character, some cold demented waterhead out of The Handmaid's Tale.
Think of a fridge abandoned in a field after some disaster, weeks ago, but the freezer door never opened. Imagine opening the door, the chill, the dry stale absence inside.
Over the last few years, executives at some companies released inaccurate earnings statements and, before correcting them, sold large amounts of stock at inflated prices. At others, executives insisted the recent recession would not much affect their businesses. By the time they acknowledged their error, some had sold millions of shares at prices that were just a memory.
It happened at major technology companies like Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. It happened at Guess Inc. and at Xerox Corp., at Dollar General Corp., a retailer, and at Providian Financial Corp., a credit- card company.
The discovery of similar practices at Enron Corp., Global Crossing Ltd. and other bankrupt companies in recent months has caused outrage everywhere from Internet chat rooms to congressional hearing rooms.
But the pattern - executives reaping rewards from their own mistakes, while shareholders suffer - is far more common than many people realize. And an analysis of company filings, which were provided by Thomson Financial, a research firm, shows that it is hardly limited to failed companies. [link]
Some people just don't get it. Step aside and let the big dog eat, as Hunter Thompson once put it.
Mozart-Listening Babies File: Korean parents are getting thier children's tongues surgically clipped so they can speak better English.
In this competitive and education-obsessed society, fluent and unaccented English is the top goal of language study and is pursued with fervor. It is not unusual for 6-month-old infants to be put in front of the television for as long as five hours a day to watch instruction videos, or for 7-year-olds to be sent out after dinner for English cram courses.
South Korean parents will spend the equivalent of a month's salary here on monthly tuition at English-language kindergartens and as much as $50 an hour for tutors. Between the after-school courses, flashcards, books and videos, English instruction is estimated to be a $3 billion-a-year industry - and that does not include the thousands of children sent abroad to hone their skills.
[...]
The most controversial aspect is the tongue surgery, which critics say is unnecessary. The procedure, known as frenectomy, has been used for years to correct a condition popularly known as "tongue-tie," in which the thin band of tissue under the tongue - the frenulum - extends to its tip. If the tongue can't easily touch the roof of the mouth, it is difficult for a person to pronounce some sounds.
No statistics exist in South Korea about the number of such operations, which usually are done in private clinics. However, doctors say the procedure's popularity has soared along with the boom in English instruction. [link]
OK, this is a bit past choosing pre-schools for fetuses. But it's on the continuum, y'know?
So, add that word to your vocabulary!
Frenectomy -- is a bit of tongue too much to ask?
I'm not sure what to make of this, but shrub has OK'd $95million to No. Korea -- member of the "Axis of Evil" -- for replacing thier nuclear power program, and waived the condition that int'l inspectors visit research sites first. The Defense News I get from periscope.org quoted a BBC report from Friday which I can't find now, though Dawn had the story.
Perhaps just proof that shrub's rhetoric is not much more than that. Gotta thump the FearBible y'know, regardless of your real intentions. But notice this gives money to a country suspected of harboring nuclear weapons, and lets them off the hook of inspection to make sure they aren't. Is this because unless the North Koreans can finance a threat to the US -- financed by the US -- we can't demonize them and continue The Endless War?
The more the anthrax that was sent last fall is analyzed, the less scientists say they know about where it came from or who could have devised it. Of course there are those who want desperately to pin it on Iraq, but no theory is anything but that right now. [link]
On the other hand, maybe this is more fear-inducing disinformation.
Unidentified lights in Bavaria sky unsettle folks. [link via drudge]
I have a feeling that people are being referred to this site for info on archived pages that they're not being directed to. Problem is I'm posting archives myself since November, and the link goes to the current page. I can't get blogger archiving to work and haven't gotten answers about it, so I'm at a loss right now. I'm hoping my brother's blogging site is up soon so I can move there and things can be better organized.
I apologize for the confusion.
Facing the worst drought in half a century, and exacerbated by poor environmental policy, China's north is dealing with severe water shortages. The government's answer: another costly, long-term construction project that'll take a decade to begin diverting water from rivers to the south.
Neil Young interview in The Guardian, as his new Are You Passionate? album is due out. I'm reading Sylvie Simmons new Mojo Heroes bio Neil Young: Reflections in Broken Glass, which seems a well-written intro to this fascinating artist.
War protesters come to Crawford, (P)resident "doesn't understand."
[Their] manifesto declared that "our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food. Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food. ...This is what real culture is about: developing taste rather than demeaning it."
Over the last decade, the Slow Food movement, using the snail as its international symbol, has gradually exploded into a global coalition of 65,000 adherents, about half of whom are Italian. It is now a major force in promoting "artisan" cheese and wines. And it is spreading in America, building on this country's increasing interest in organic agriculture and farmers' markets.
Pittsburgh punk band Anti-Flag take a stand against lockstep hypno-patriotism.
Anti-Flag is almost alone in raising the banner of dissent these days. After the terrorist attacks last September galvanized a new patriotism in America, many rock musicians and fans alike have taken a closer look at their rebelliousness. From the newfound nationalism rampant in the charts, down to the minutiae of indie merchandising (Anti-Flag's current label, Fat Wreck Chords, withdrew a line of T-shirts denouncing Bush), the music biz has rallied around the flag -- right-side up. The political punk tour circuit has gone almost silent in the months since the attacks, with groups such as Propagandhi preferring to criticize U.S. policy from the Internet and the studio.
[...]
In a country where the flag has become ubiquitous, to be one of the few voices speaking out against that flag, against the status quo, is to shoulder a big responsibility. It's also Anti-Flag's career at stake. The band has gambled its entire future on a nationwide tour, dubbed the "Mobilize for Peace" tour, based on an opposition to the current war on terrorism. According to one band member, they staked the band?s finances, much of those associated with their band-run record label (A-F Records), and in some cases the members' individual savings in order to finance the tour. They did so with no reason to believe that their radical agenda would still sell in a post-9/ 11 America. As drummer Pat Thetic put it just weeks before leaving on the tour, "we haven't been out on tour since September 11. We could go out there and have nobody show up!
Finally caught Point Blank, after seeing the Boorman doc on Lee Marvin on AMC, I'd been jonesing for this. Pretty amazing, and it must have been a collaborative effort between Marvin and Boorman, because it's not really like Boorman's other films much. I didn't know that the Mel Gibson vehicle was based on the same "Richard Stark" (Donald Westlake) novel. Not that I'd bother watching it anyway.
The odd, sharp, abstract and disorienting style was bracing and tiring, but worth it. Despite the vivid colors, the darkness is always in the foreground. The emotional disconnect and some hints along the way point to this being in the tradition of American ghost tales, specifically ones seeming to take place as the protagonist is dying. Bardo stories, you could call them. But you're not even sure at the end, which makes it reward repeat viewing, and keep its freshness. One of the few 60s movies that hasn't aged at all, may even be more in tune with the zeitgeist now. And if you're a Marvin fan, it's one of his best.
I caught it on TCM boxed, don't bother if it's p & s. The first link above is to the amazon VHS page, don't think this is a DVD yet.
You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.
-- Jeannette Rankin
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