Well, well, I've seen poor losers before, as have we all. But these Republicans have been poor losers since President Obama took office and now that their strategy of being the "party of NO" has failed to serve them so far as sinking the Health Care Bill, just look at their behavior. However, they've now gone beyond their trademark of "poor losers" to the status of national security threats and homeland terrorists. For all of their screaming and bullying and noise making in the Senate and House during this past year in their efforts to sabotage the Health Care Bill along with anything from the Obama administration, we would now be more than foolish to misinterpret what's really taking place in front of our eyes: These clever but cowardly Republicans have given the green light to their minions to attack their fellow countrymen who voted in favor of heath care reform in retaliation for their inability to defeat this bill.
These Republicans have, in essence, raised a call to arms against their own countrymen and women during a time when this country continues to fight a war started by Republicans for bogus reasons, a fact which we must never forget. Representative Michele Bachman from Minnesota screamed to her constituents recently, "I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous ... Having a revolution every now and then is a good thing."
Representative Steve King yelled, "Let's beat that other side to a pulp! Let's take them out. Let's chase them down."
And then there's one of my favorite carnival barkers, Congressman John Boehner, "Take Steve Dryads, for example. He may be a dead man." Ah, yes. Now, how does one go from being a live man to a dead man, Congressman Boehner? Are you hinting that you or one of your cohorts are arranging for a hit man to show up at his door? Is that what you're saying here? Are you telling those of us who don't knuckle under that death threats are what we can expect from Republicans? Apparently.
Let's just consider what the Bush/Cheney administration would do to Democrats or "liberals" who tossed a few bricks into the office windows of Republican congressmen, for example. They would be arrested and labeled as "terrorists", no doubt about it. Anyone uttering threats to a congressman or woman would be immediately and without mercy tracked down like a fox on a hunt. And who knows where the poor fox would end up, if you know what I'm referring to by that comment. (Remember those concentration camps the Bush/Cheney administration set up overseas for torture in Poland and a few other countries?) And can you even imagine what would happen to a liberal (or any astute American) who tossed out a comment to, oh, say, Rove, such as, "Hey, appreciate your shredding the Constitution. Good job, there. Only thing you did well." Hum ... My guess is that person would end up with a hood over his or her head and never be seen or heard from again. I could be wrong but my memories of the Bush/Cheney love of torture, threats, bullying, lies, and negotiating the law are still all too clear. I live in fear and dread that these monsters will regain control of the White House - a nightmare that just does not stop replaying itself in my dreams. I call it "post traumatic Bush/Cheney Syndrome" and I see symptoms of this syndrome active in many people throughout the country. People are still afraid to speak out, lest they find themselves arrested for being anti-patriotic.
Continuing, I wonder what would happen to someone like that coward who accidentally cut the wrong gas line? He was aiming for Virginia Congressman Tom Perriello's house but ended up at the congressman's brother's house instead. That guy must feel like such a silly goose, going to the wrong house and all. I mean cutting a gas line is like "Vandalism 101" and he blew it. It's obvious what happened, though. This guy has the same sharp memory as Palin, only unlike Palin, he forgot to scribble the correct information on his hand. Next time you want to vandalize someone's home, buddy, use lipstick to write down what you need to remember. Pigs love lipstick. I think that's how the saying goes, isn't it? Well, whatever.
As for Sarah Palin, our Republican Court Fool, here's a sweet quote from her: "In Alaska, you know what we do with people like that? We hunt 'em down and shoot 'em between the eyes." Note that she is busy trying to backtrack on that remark and a few others like, "Don't retreat, reload", saying that she was actually referring to "voting 'em out at the polls". What? Since when is "shoot 'em between the eyes" a slogan for inspiring voting? Is this woman insane or what? Or does she think we are? Or is she coming very close to committing sedition? I remind you that this nation is still at war and inciting acts of violence against the government while the nation is at war borders on sedition. This may not be an anti-war protest in its purest sense but at its core, the ambition to weaken this government is crystal clear.
Further, do I sense a threat in these words or am I just reading between the lines? Nope, I think the word "shoot," means exactly what it says. Is she rallying the troops and suggesting that people plan the murders of their opponents? Is she supporting the assassination of Senators or Congressmen and women who are on the opposing team or, even the President? Exactly what, in her hysterical, arrogant lunacy, is she saying? Her website instructs her fan base: Don't retreat, reload.
The recent visitation of a busload of Tea Party Brown Shirts to Senator Harry Reid's home state of Nevada, threatening to oust him in the next election, revealed a crowd of angry, raging people on the verge of a fight. All they needed was a lighted match - the right or wrong word said by an opponent and all hell would have broken out. Apparently these Tea Party Brown Shirts are traveling across the country, taking their rage state-to-state, led by Court Fool Palin - or is she now a Reality Talk Show Host? (I can't keep up with all her avenues to fame and fortune, but it's obvious she'll use anything and everything to keep her face in the camera.)
Here's the bottom line, folks: The Republican right-wingers are dangerous. They should be considered homeland and homegrown security threats and we - those of us who live and vote on the other side of the aisle - are their targets. How do I know if one of these gun-toting hysterics won't let loose and "shoot to kill", following the orders of their leader, Sarah Palin? And, if Palin's too busy because of her upcoming Reality television series, I can easily imagine Michele Bachmann or John Boehner giving a "shoot to kill" command to their Tea Party followers.
Think about it - do you really feel safe in Michele Bachman's state of Minnesota any more? I'm not sure we should assume we're safe anymore at all in our own country. You better check your car bumper stickers to make certain you don't have one that reveals that you voted for Obama. After all, Bachman's encouraging her constituency to become "armed and dangerous" Americans. Last time I checked, Minnesota was not a state full of Al Qaeda terrorists, which means if armed and dangerous Minnesota folks are in the mood to go target hunting, people like you and me are in big trouble.
I have to laugh when Democrats tell their Republican counterparts to tell these right wing upstarts that they need "adult supervision" in order to quell this behavior. Adult supervision? These people need a lot more than adult supervision. These people need to be arrested - Bush style. You Republicans right-wingers love the Republicans? Try being on the receiving end of Republican justice and see how much you love your Republican Party then. Oh, and here's a solution to your angst with the Health Care Reform Bill: You tell your insurance company about all your pre-existing conditions that would have previously disqualified you from health care insurance and STAY disqualified. And keep your kids off your health care plan once they turn age-21. Adult supervision - honestly. You're assuming these Brown Shirt Tea Party hysterics are lucid, educated adults! You forget - lucid, educated adults are exactly what the Republican Party finds most threatening, which is why Republicans love the "No Child Left Behind" program. Their intention is to dumb down Americans for the sake of control - and that is no joke, people.
As if all of this brutality we are witnessing across our nation and within the Houses of government is not a horror show in and of itself, the greater truth is that what we are viewing is the authentic underbelly of the Republican Party. Lies, deceitful propaganda (remember death panels?), endless spin devised to contaminate the public mind and continually chip away at public and higher education, and use of brutality and homeland terrorism - this is the true Republican Party. This is a party who loathes the middle class much less the lower middle class and seeks to wage war legally on all Americans that they consider to be free thinkers or free loaders - "free" being the operative word. What we are looking at as we view their constant verbal and now rising physical attacks on anyone they view as an opponent/enemy is just a preview of what these people intend to do to all good Americans - Americans who believe in the rights of this nation and how this government should and must work. Should the Republicans get back into the White House (God forbid) or get control of the House and Senate again, they will initiate legislation to limit the rights of the individuals. Any and all individual rights stand in opposition to the Republican corporate creed. Just review the legislative history of the Bush/Cheney administration and then reflect upon the short and long-range consequences of the recent Supreme Court ruling that gives corporations the right to back candidates with endless financial resources. If that is not a Republican coup, what is?
If ever there was a reason to rally support around this administration to ensure it stays in office for two terms, it's not only because President Obama is a visionary saddled with cleaning up the mess of a post-Fascist administration, but you are now witnessing the true Republican creed in action: When they don't get their way, they get violent. They believe in the use of threats and they order their constituents to "shoot 'em between the eyes".
Here's a warning to all freethinking Americans: You Could Be The Next Republican Target. After all, this is the party that introduced homeland spying, the Patriot Act, and the end to all personal privacy. Given those achievements, it's not all that far-fetched that they would incite another Civil War, is it?
Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Some of my favorite quotes
If your not taking a risk in life, your just taking up space!
-H. Rifkin
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." Einstein
"Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true." -- Martin Luther King,
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
-MLK,. jr
Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.
-MLK.Jr.
One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.
MLK.Jr.
Ignorance and political apathy are the two gretaest threats to democracy
-H. Rifkin
When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always. - Ghandi
You enable an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees! ~ Gandhi
"What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." -- Martin Luther King Jr."
Why is that, those with "Simple Minds" who often lack Compassion, try to find Simple narrow answers that usually don't address the Complex questions?
-H. Rifkin
Through time people who lacked vision, feared change, and were mired in ignorance tried to block progress and enlightenment, but fortunately those with courage, vision, patience and sted-fastness, prevailed for the general benefit of humanity.
-H. Rifkin
You cannot experience love and fear at the same time! May every step you take be one of forgiveness!
-Attitudinal Healing
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Many people have ideas on how others should change; few people have ideas on how they should change.
- Tolstoy
"An eye for an eye" leaves the whole world blind.
- Mahatma Ghandi
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
- Albert Einstein
An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice eveywhere.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Man invented god, not the other way around.
-Carl Reiner
All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry.
~Edgar Allan Poe
-H. Rifkin
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." Einstein
"Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true." -- Martin Luther King,
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
-MLK,. jr
Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.
-MLK.Jr.
One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.
MLK.Jr.
Ignorance and political apathy are the two gretaest threats to democracy
-H. Rifkin
When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it--always. - Ghandi
You enable an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees! ~ Gandhi
"What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." -- Martin Luther King Jr."
Why is that, those with "Simple Minds" who often lack Compassion, try to find Simple narrow answers that usually don't address the Complex questions?
-H. Rifkin
Through time people who lacked vision, feared change, and were mired in ignorance tried to block progress and enlightenment, but fortunately those with courage, vision, patience and sted-fastness, prevailed for the general benefit of humanity.
-H. Rifkin
You cannot experience love and fear at the same time! May every step you take be one of forgiveness!
-Attitudinal Healing
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Many people have ideas on how others should change; few people have ideas on how they should change.
- Tolstoy
"An eye for an eye" leaves the whole world blind.
- Mahatma Ghandi
Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
- Albert Einstein
An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice eveywhere.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Man invented god, not the other way around.
-Carl Reiner
All religion, my friend, is simply evolved out of fraud, fear, greed, imagination, and poetry.
~Edgar Allan Poe
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Rage on the Extreme Right
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/spring/rage-on-the-right
What is scary about most of these extremist groups is that are not well educated, are not critical thinkers, and are fueled by their intense fears and overt or latent racism. They have a tendency to get their information from each other, extreme religious dogma, or “Infotainment” hosts like Beck, Coulter, and Limbaugh. I could give them more credibility if they could put aside their hate, fear, and racism and perform some real objective intellectual research into the facts. The operative words are “Intellectual”, “Objective”, and having the brain power, and the will to question and think critically. Unfortunately the above can be said for people on any spectrum of the political scale who is ill informed, not informed, or lacks the intellectual skills to critically and abstractly understand the issues.
What is scary about most of these extremist groups is that are not well educated, are not critical thinkers, and are fueled by their intense fears and overt or latent racism. They have a tendency to get their information from each other, extreme religious dogma, or “Infotainment” hosts like Beck, Coulter, and Limbaugh. I could give them more credibility if they could put aside their hate, fear, and racism and perform some real objective intellectual research into the facts. The operative words are “Intellectual”, “Objective”, and having the brain power, and the will to question and think critically. Unfortunately the above can be said for people on any spectrum of the political scale who is ill informed, not informed, or lacks the intellectual skills to critically and abstractly understand the issues.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
WSJ-How Europe Sees America
Our Survey on Attitudes About U.S. Cultural and Political Influence..By ADAM COHEN
Ask people what they think of America's cultural and political influence in the wider world and you're sure to get a mixed response, even from Americans.
What They Said
See highlights from the survey.
See the full results of the survey
.One thing is clear: Most Europeans think America's political influence in the world was negative over the past five years, but say it has taken a sharply positive turn since Barack Obama's election as U.S. president.
When it comes to culture, Europeans' view of America's contributions is more complex. Some aspects are loathed, others are loved. Large numbers of Europeans say they detest American food, but cite films and television shows as the country's best exports.
To study this issue and broader questions about what the world thinks of America and what Americans think of themselves, The Wall Street Journal asked market-research firm GfK to poll more than 18,000 people in 18 countries -- 16 European nations, plus the U.S. and Russia. GfK polled respondents about the facets of American culture they admire and those they dislike and asked them whether they viewed U.S. political influence in a positive or negative light.
View Full Image
Adam Niklewicz
.Some of the results fit well-established stereotypes. For example, French respondents didn't like the Bush years and voiced a stronger distaste for American cuisine than any other country surveyed. But other features of the poll proved surprising, particularly when Americans were asked how they view their own country's role in the world and its contribution to global culture.
"The views of American political influence show a very, very positive change with the election of Obama," said Mark Hofmans, a managing director in GfK's Brussels office, who analyzed the survey results. "Attitudes toward American cultural influence are far more nuanced."
GfK asked respondents to rate, in broad terms, America's cultural influence in the world. It then identified several categories -- movies and television, fashion, food, sports, music, architecture and literature -- and asked respondents to identify the best and worst aspects of U.S. cultural influence in the world. Respondents were also given the option to say "other" or "nothing."
In total, more respondents (39%) said America's cultural influence in the world was negative than those who said it was positive (22%). Among European respondents, 32% said U.S. cultural influence was negative, compared to 26% who gave a positive response. Americans were slightly more downbeat than average, with 46% of those surveyed saying their country has a negative cultural influence in the world, compared with 33% who describe it as positive.
AFP
.Several countries surveyed had more positive than negative votes. In Italy, 39% of respondents had a positive impression of U.S. cultural influence, compared with 25% who gave a negative answer. The U.K. (38% to 31%), Poland (32% to 24%), Bulgaria (29% to 25%) and Romania (29% to 26%) also logged more positive than negative responses.
Luigi Mattirolo, an Italian civil servant in Rome, said it isn't specifically books or movies that he likes most about American culture, but the country's ethic of initiative and free enterprise.
The American "way of thinking makes it possible for the people who really believe in something to achieve their goals. At least [in the U.S.] it happens more frequently than in Europe," Mr. Mattirolo said.
The most negative impressions of U.S. cultural influence were found in Greece, where 58% criticized America's cultural influence. Americans were the second-most critical group, followed by Russia (45%) and Hungary (40%).
In the breakdown of what people like best about American culture, a total of 30% of those surveyed cited movies and television shows, making this by far the most popular category. Among Europeans, the number was even higher: 40% said movies and TV were the best American cultural export. Sports (12%) and music (11%) were the only other categories that received high marks (each was the choice of 13% of Europeans). American fashion, literature and food each were given positive marks by only 4% of all respondents, while 21% of those surveyed said "nothing" or "I don't know" when asked about the best American contribution to world culture.
View Full Image
AFP
.Greeks, who gave American political and cultural influence some of the most negative reviews in the survey, were the most enthusiastic admirers of American movies and television, with 52% citing these as America's best exports. Hungarian (51%) and Dutch (50%) respondents, who also gave U.S. political and cultural influence negative scores, also professed admiration for Hollywood.
Surprisingly, when asked to identify America's worst contribution to world culture, 32% of Americans pointed to film and television, a far higher proportion than in any other country and the single most popular response among U.S. respondents. It turns out Americans see their films and TV shows, which broadly are admired around the world, as having a negative cultural influence.
Still, 18% of American respondents cited films and television shows as the country's best contribution to world culture, followed closely by food (11%) and sports (10%). The most popular response, however, was "other," showing that Americans likely have a far more nuanced view of their country's cultural worth than others around the globe.
Other countries all singled out American food as the country's worst contribution to global culture. Sixty-five percent of French respondents gave this answer, the highest in the group. Swiss (56%) and German (52%) respondents were close behind.
View Full Image
AFP
.The French numbers are interesting, considering that McDonald's is virtually ubiquitous in the country and another U.S. edible export, Starbucks, has been spreading around Paris over the past few years.
"I think that in France we are not influenced by American food," said Amaury de Saint-Ours, a business consultant in Paris. "We don't have a good opinion of it. We think of McDonald's hamburgers." He explained that people go to McDonald's in France because it is cheap and quick, not because the food is good. "We are lucky in France. We have great cheese, great meats and great wine."
When it comes to politics, almost two-thirds of those surveyed said the U.S. was a negative influence in the world over the past five years. The most downbeat country was Greece, where 88% of respondents said U.S. political influence was either "negative" or "very negative." Other countries, including the Netherlands (80%), Switzerland (80%) and Belgium (78%) also had predominantly negative views of American political influence.
Maybe this result isn't surprising, given that over the past five years the U.S. presence in Iraq -- never popular in Europe -- has continued, with regular reports of violence. But some of the sharply negative views are colored by other factors, including history.
In Greece, for example, the U.S. backed a military junta between 1967 and 1974 that curbed civil liberties and used harsh tactics against dissenters. U.S. President Bill Clinton later expressed regret for U.S. involvement in this era of Greek history, but suspicion and anger still linger.
"There is a very strong and common belief in Greece, especially among young people, that the USA, being the leading capitalistic country, has a detrimental impact on every affair or situation it tries to solve or influence," said Yannis Loizos, a lawyer in Athens.
View Full Image
AFP
.None of the countries included in the survey gave U.S. political influence more positive than negative marks for the past five years. But some countries were less negative than others. Thirty-two percent of Romanian respondents said U.S. political influence was negative, the lowest level in the survey. Bulgaria (40%) and Poland (41%) were close behind.
The largest share of positive votes in this category was in Poland where a total of 22% of respondents gave the U.S. "positive" or "very positive" marks. Romania (19%) and the U.K. (19%) trailed in the category, but still were more complimentary than the Americans polled. Only 18% of U.S. respondents praised their country's political influence in the world over the past five years.
Countries in Central and Eastern Europe have tended to be more pro-American than other parts of the globe in recent years. Many cite the U.S. as a positive force against a resurgent Russia, which shrouded the region under Communist rule only a generation ago.
"During the cultural gulag and oppression [of the Soviet years], America was a beacon of hope and light to Romanians. America symbolized the land of the free," said Eugen Babau, a Romanian who until recently worked for an energy company. Many Romanians, he said, "still aspire to America as the promised land."
Even though the U.S. war in Iraq continues and President Obama has promised to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, the survey respondents were clear: The Obama era marks an about-face for U.S. political influence in the world.
Europeans are even more optimistic about Mr. Obama's presidency than Americans. In Belgium and Sweden, 84% of respondents believe America's political influence in the world will change in a "positive" or "very positive" way as a result of Mr. Obama's election. In Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, 82% of respondents gave the same answer. In the U.S., 61% of those surveyed gave a "positive" or "very positive" reply.
Elsewhere in Western Europe, Greece (59%), Spain (63%) and France (68%) gave the same reply about U.S. political influence since Mr. Obama's election, showing that while most of the world sees the new U.S. president in a positive light, countries aren't uniformly elated.
Many of the countries that had a less negative view of U.S. political influence over the past five years were among the least enthused about Mr. Obama's presidency. In Poland, 45% of those surveyed said Mr. Obama's election marked a "positive" or "very positive" change in U.S. political influence. Romania (47%) and Bulgaria (48%) were close behind.
Russia led this category, with only 27% saying Mr. Obama's election marked a "positive" or "very positive" change. This result could be skewed, however, since 32% of Russians surveyed gave no answer to the question, by far the highest level among the countries polled.
"In Central and Eastern European countries, the response to Obama has been a little less positive, but on the whole, the 'Obama effect' is very noticeable," Gfk's Mr. Hofmans said. "I hadn't expected such overwhelmingly positive figures."
Write to Adam Cohen at adam.cohen@dowjones.com
Ask people what they think of America's cultural and political influence in the wider world and you're sure to get a mixed response, even from Americans.
What They Said
See highlights from the survey.
See the full results of the survey
.One thing is clear: Most Europeans think America's political influence in the world was negative over the past five years, but say it has taken a sharply positive turn since Barack Obama's election as U.S. president.
When it comes to culture, Europeans' view of America's contributions is more complex. Some aspects are loathed, others are loved. Large numbers of Europeans say they detest American food, but cite films and television shows as the country's best exports.
To study this issue and broader questions about what the world thinks of America and what Americans think of themselves, The Wall Street Journal asked market-research firm GfK to poll more than 18,000 people in 18 countries -- 16 European nations, plus the U.S. and Russia. GfK polled respondents about the facets of American culture they admire and those they dislike and asked them whether they viewed U.S. political influence in a positive or negative light.
View Full Image
Adam Niklewicz
.Some of the results fit well-established stereotypes. For example, French respondents didn't like the Bush years and voiced a stronger distaste for American cuisine than any other country surveyed. But other features of the poll proved surprising, particularly when Americans were asked how they view their own country's role in the world and its contribution to global culture.
"The views of American political influence show a very, very positive change with the election of Obama," said Mark Hofmans, a managing director in GfK's Brussels office, who analyzed the survey results. "Attitudes toward American cultural influence are far more nuanced."
GfK asked respondents to rate, in broad terms, America's cultural influence in the world. It then identified several categories -- movies and television, fashion, food, sports, music, architecture and literature -- and asked respondents to identify the best and worst aspects of U.S. cultural influence in the world. Respondents were also given the option to say "other" or "nothing."
In total, more respondents (39%) said America's cultural influence in the world was negative than those who said it was positive (22%). Among European respondents, 32% said U.S. cultural influence was negative, compared to 26% who gave a positive response. Americans were slightly more downbeat than average, with 46% of those surveyed saying their country has a negative cultural influence in the world, compared with 33% who describe it as positive.
AFP
.Several countries surveyed had more positive than negative votes. In Italy, 39% of respondents had a positive impression of U.S. cultural influence, compared with 25% who gave a negative answer. The U.K. (38% to 31%), Poland (32% to 24%), Bulgaria (29% to 25%) and Romania (29% to 26%) also logged more positive than negative responses.
Luigi Mattirolo, an Italian civil servant in Rome, said it isn't specifically books or movies that he likes most about American culture, but the country's ethic of initiative and free enterprise.
The American "way of thinking makes it possible for the people who really believe in something to achieve their goals. At least [in the U.S.] it happens more frequently than in Europe," Mr. Mattirolo said.
The most negative impressions of U.S. cultural influence were found in Greece, where 58% criticized America's cultural influence. Americans were the second-most critical group, followed by Russia (45%) and Hungary (40%).
In the breakdown of what people like best about American culture, a total of 30% of those surveyed cited movies and television shows, making this by far the most popular category. Among Europeans, the number was even higher: 40% said movies and TV were the best American cultural export. Sports (12%) and music (11%) were the only other categories that received high marks (each was the choice of 13% of Europeans). American fashion, literature and food each were given positive marks by only 4% of all respondents, while 21% of those surveyed said "nothing" or "I don't know" when asked about the best American contribution to world culture.
View Full Image
AFP
.Greeks, who gave American political and cultural influence some of the most negative reviews in the survey, were the most enthusiastic admirers of American movies and television, with 52% citing these as America's best exports. Hungarian (51%) and Dutch (50%) respondents, who also gave U.S. political and cultural influence negative scores, also professed admiration for Hollywood.
Surprisingly, when asked to identify America's worst contribution to world culture, 32% of Americans pointed to film and television, a far higher proportion than in any other country and the single most popular response among U.S. respondents. It turns out Americans see their films and TV shows, which broadly are admired around the world, as having a negative cultural influence.
Still, 18% of American respondents cited films and television shows as the country's best contribution to world culture, followed closely by food (11%) and sports (10%). The most popular response, however, was "other," showing that Americans likely have a far more nuanced view of their country's cultural worth than others around the globe.
Other countries all singled out American food as the country's worst contribution to global culture. Sixty-five percent of French respondents gave this answer, the highest in the group. Swiss (56%) and German (52%) respondents were close behind.
View Full Image
AFP
.The French numbers are interesting, considering that McDonald's is virtually ubiquitous in the country and another U.S. edible export, Starbucks, has been spreading around Paris over the past few years.
"I think that in France we are not influenced by American food," said Amaury de Saint-Ours, a business consultant in Paris. "We don't have a good opinion of it. We think of McDonald's hamburgers." He explained that people go to McDonald's in France because it is cheap and quick, not because the food is good. "We are lucky in France. We have great cheese, great meats and great wine."
When it comes to politics, almost two-thirds of those surveyed said the U.S. was a negative influence in the world over the past five years. The most downbeat country was Greece, where 88% of respondents said U.S. political influence was either "negative" or "very negative." Other countries, including the Netherlands (80%), Switzerland (80%) and Belgium (78%) also had predominantly negative views of American political influence.
Maybe this result isn't surprising, given that over the past five years the U.S. presence in Iraq -- never popular in Europe -- has continued, with regular reports of violence. But some of the sharply negative views are colored by other factors, including history.
In Greece, for example, the U.S. backed a military junta between 1967 and 1974 that curbed civil liberties and used harsh tactics against dissenters. U.S. President Bill Clinton later expressed regret for U.S. involvement in this era of Greek history, but suspicion and anger still linger.
"There is a very strong and common belief in Greece, especially among young people, that the USA, being the leading capitalistic country, has a detrimental impact on every affair or situation it tries to solve or influence," said Yannis Loizos, a lawyer in Athens.
View Full Image
AFP
.None of the countries included in the survey gave U.S. political influence more positive than negative marks for the past five years. But some countries were less negative than others. Thirty-two percent of Romanian respondents said U.S. political influence was negative, the lowest level in the survey. Bulgaria (40%) and Poland (41%) were close behind.
The largest share of positive votes in this category was in Poland where a total of 22% of respondents gave the U.S. "positive" or "very positive" marks. Romania (19%) and the U.K. (19%) trailed in the category, but still were more complimentary than the Americans polled. Only 18% of U.S. respondents praised their country's political influence in the world over the past five years.
Countries in Central and Eastern Europe have tended to be more pro-American than other parts of the globe in recent years. Many cite the U.S. as a positive force against a resurgent Russia, which shrouded the region under Communist rule only a generation ago.
"During the cultural gulag and oppression [of the Soviet years], America was a beacon of hope and light to Romanians. America symbolized the land of the free," said Eugen Babau, a Romanian who until recently worked for an energy company. Many Romanians, he said, "still aspire to America as the promised land."
Even though the U.S. war in Iraq continues and President Obama has promised to send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, the survey respondents were clear: The Obama era marks an about-face for U.S. political influence in the world.
Europeans are even more optimistic about Mr. Obama's presidency than Americans. In Belgium and Sweden, 84% of respondents believe America's political influence in the world will change in a "positive" or "very positive" way as a result of Mr. Obama's election. In Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, 82% of respondents gave the same answer. In the U.S., 61% of those surveyed gave a "positive" or "very positive" reply.
Elsewhere in Western Europe, Greece (59%), Spain (63%) and France (68%) gave the same reply about U.S. political influence since Mr. Obama's election, showing that while most of the world sees the new U.S. president in a positive light, countries aren't uniformly elated.
Many of the countries that had a less negative view of U.S. political influence over the past five years were among the least enthused about Mr. Obama's presidency. In Poland, 45% of those surveyed said Mr. Obama's election marked a "positive" or "very positive" change in U.S. political influence. Romania (47%) and Bulgaria (48%) were close behind.
Russia led this category, with only 27% saying Mr. Obama's election marked a "positive" or "very positive" change. This result could be skewed, however, since 32% of Russians surveyed gave no answer to the question, by far the highest level among the countries polled.
"In Central and Eastern European countries, the response to Obama has been a little less positive, but on the whole, the 'Obama effect' is very noticeable," Gfk's Mr. Hofmans said. "I hadn't expected such overwhelmingly positive figures."
Write to Adam Cohen at adam.cohen@dowjones.com
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
California penal system has improper priorities
Our present priorities and focus in our penal system is too costly and unrealistic. “An eye for eye”, is an outdated Biblical myth.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/us/24calprisons.html?pagewanted=1&hp
The prison guards union has way too much influence on the California budget.
Solution:
Release all non-violent prisoners and have them perform positive public service
Change Three Strikes Law
Focus more on substance abuse programs, rehabilitation & vocational training
Send all lifetime and long term prisoners for private incarceration in other less costly states
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/us/24calprisons.html?pagewanted=1&hp
The prison guards union has way too much influence on the California budget.
Solution:
Release all non-violent prisoners and have them perform positive public service
Change Three Strikes Law
Focus more on substance abuse programs, rehabilitation & vocational training
Send all lifetime and long term prisoners for private incarceration in other less costly states
Monday, March 22, 2010
Cheney & Pelosi - alike or different
Dick Cheney and Nancy Pelosi share many of the same attributes.
There are both:
(1) Very Intelligent,
(2) Focused and Steadfast
(3) Single minded in pursuit of their goals
(4) Will do what it takes to get the job done
(5) Have great leadership skills
(6) Perceived by some to be dictatorial and arrogant
Where they differ is in their moral compass:
Pelosi is not perfect, but she never egregiously lied or conspired to orchestrate “911”, or invade Iraq and ultimately cause the death of 4,000 soldiers, 600,000 civilians, and rack up a cost of over a Trillion dollars for a devastating useless war. I can’t believe that wanting to extend health care to 40 million people is a malicious or destructive act.
Those who resist Health Care Reform use words such as “Socialism”, Ruining this country with too much debt”, “Communism”. To be fair let’s look at all the line items in the Federal Budget for Revenues and Expenses and start cutting: “Corporate Welfare”., “Subsidies to oil companies”, “Tax cuts for the Super Wealthy”, “Big Agra Business Subsidies”, “ Military waste and unnecessary spending”.
There are both:
(1) Very Intelligent,
(2) Focused and Steadfast
(3) Single minded in pursuit of their goals
(4) Will do what it takes to get the job done
(5) Have great leadership skills
(6) Perceived by some to be dictatorial and arrogant
Where they differ is in their moral compass:
Pelosi is not perfect, but she never egregiously lied or conspired to orchestrate “911”, or invade Iraq and ultimately cause the death of 4,000 soldiers, 600,000 civilians, and rack up a cost of over a Trillion dollars for a devastating useless war. I can’t believe that wanting to extend health care to 40 million people is a malicious or destructive act.
Those who resist Health Care Reform use words such as “Socialism”, Ruining this country with too much debt”, “Communism”. To be fair let’s look at all the line items in the Federal Budget for Revenues and Expenses and start cutting: “Corporate Welfare”., “Subsidies to oil companies”, “Tax cuts for the Super Wealthy”, “Big Agra Business Subsidies”, “ Military waste and unnecessary spending”.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Why we go to war. Iraq the latest mistake?
http://world911truth.org/the-iraqi-holocaust/
Just remember no war has ever been started because of Democracy its always about natural resources or industrial assets:
People with an interest in controlling the economics of a certain region, through their intelligence agencies, will create a horrific incident, which will incite the common people to war. The wealthy and powerful are not going to spend a lot of money just to defend human rights, it’s never happened in modern history.
Vietnam -drugs
Iraq/Kuwait – oil
Chile -copper
Kosovo/Serbia – precious metal mines & smelters
Iraq 911- Oil
Afghanistan – drugs & gas pipelines
Do you ever ask yourself why Iraq not North Korea. North Korea has no strategic economic resources.
Anywhere from $500 Billion to 1.5 Trillion of US economy relies on the cash income from illegal drugs. Banks, Wall Street, Corporations, Income spent by drug dealers, Prison guards, Lawyers all benefit from illegal drugs. When politicians tell you that the US wants to wipe out illegal drugs it makes no sense economically for the fore mentioned players. The CIA uses drug money to purchase arms that create disruption in other countries that therefore give us reasons for military spending. As long as the average American sees the world through their “honest principled eyes” they will always be able to be duped by powerful people in high levels of government.
How many “Honest Patriotic Upstanding” Americans risked their lives to protect the assets of big corporations and governments. Only the wealthy and people who know how to work the “Conflict Torn System” benefit from wars. How many wealthy people died in Vietnam and Iraq. The problem is if you want “To Catch a Crook, you need to think like One”. Seeing the world through Eyes of Integrity and Principle, without understanding the greedy motives will always setup the common man for being used as a pawn in the dangerous game of war. It must be very painful for those who risked their lives in many wars with the best principled intentions to find out that they were “Duped Big Time”. How many Senators and Congressman’s sons and daughters died or were injured in Iraq compared to the general population. The guy that owns’ the coal mine, chemical plant, or steel mill never gets hurt or dies, it’s always the guy on the line.
Thank you,
Harvey Rifkin
Just remember no war has ever been started because of Democracy its always about natural resources or industrial assets:
People with an interest in controlling the economics of a certain region, through their intelligence agencies, will create a horrific incident, which will incite the common people to war. The wealthy and powerful are not going to spend a lot of money just to defend human rights, it’s never happened in modern history.
Vietnam -drugs
Iraq/Kuwait – oil
Chile -copper
Kosovo/Serbia – precious metal mines & smelters
Iraq 911- Oil
Afghanistan – drugs & gas pipelines
Do you ever ask yourself why Iraq not North Korea. North Korea has no strategic economic resources.
Anywhere from $500 Billion to 1.5 Trillion of US economy relies on the cash income from illegal drugs. Banks, Wall Street, Corporations, Income spent by drug dealers, Prison guards, Lawyers all benefit from illegal drugs. When politicians tell you that the US wants to wipe out illegal drugs it makes no sense economically for the fore mentioned players. The CIA uses drug money to purchase arms that create disruption in other countries that therefore give us reasons for military spending. As long as the average American sees the world through their “honest principled eyes” they will always be able to be duped by powerful people in high levels of government.
How many “Honest Patriotic Upstanding” Americans risked their lives to protect the assets of big corporations and governments. Only the wealthy and people who know how to work the “Conflict Torn System” benefit from wars. How many wealthy people died in Vietnam and Iraq. The problem is if you want “To Catch a Crook, you need to think like One”. Seeing the world through Eyes of Integrity and Principle, without understanding the greedy motives will always setup the common man for being used as a pawn in the dangerous game of war. It must be very painful for those who risked their lives in many wars with the best principled intentions to find out that they were “Duped Big Time”. How many Senators and Congressman’s sons and daughters died or were injured in Iraq compared to the general population. The guy that owns’ the coal mine, chemical plant, or steel mill never gets hurt or dies, it’s always the guy on the line.
Thank you,
Harvey Rifkin
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Silverstein Owner of WTC gets $7Billion Windfall
Larry Silverstein ("Lucky Larry Sliverstein")
You’ve got to be lucky to make $4 Billion killing on a 6-month investment of $124 Million.
Larry Silverstein is the New York property tycoon who purchased the entire WTC complex just 6 months prior
to the 9/11 attacks. That was the first time in its 33-year history the complex had EVER changed ownership.
Mr. Silverstein’s first order of business as the new owner was to change the company responsible for the
security of the complex. The new security company he hired was Securacom (now Stratasec). George W.
Bush's brother, Marvin Bush, was on its board of directors, and Marvin’s cousin, Wirt Walker III, was its CEO.
According to public records, not only did Securacom provide electronic security for the World Trade Center, it
also covered Dulles International Airport and United Airlines — two key players in the 9/11 attacks.
The company was backed by an investment firm, the Kuwait-American Corp., also linked for many years to
the Bush family. KuwAm has been linked to the Bush family financially since the Gulf War. One of its
principals and a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, Mishal Yousef Saud al Sabah, served on the board of
Stratesec.
Now, consider: The members of a small cabal owned the WTC complex, controlled its electronic security, and
also controlled the security not only for one of the airlines whose aircraft were hijacked on 9/11, but the
airport from which they originated.
Another little “coincidence” -- Mr. Silversten, who made a down-payment of $124 million on this $3.2 billion
complex, promptly insured it for $7 Billion. Not only that, he covered the complex against “terrorist attacks”.
Following the attacks, Silverstein filed TWO insurance claims for the maximum amount of the policy ($7B),
based on the two -- in Silverstein's view -- separate attacks. The insurance company, Swiss Re, paid Mr.
Silverstein $4.6 Billion — a princely return on a relatively paltry investment of $124 million.
There’s more. You see, the World Trade Towers were not the real estate plum we are led to believe. From an
economic standpoint, the trade center -- subsidized since its inception by the NY Port Authority -- has never
functioned, nor was it intended to function, unprotected in the rough-and-tumble real estate marketplace.
How could Silverstein Group have been ignorant of this?
The towers required some $200 million in renovations and improvements, most of which related to removal
and replacement of building materials declared to be health hazards in the years since the towers were built.
It was well-known by the city of New York that the WTC was an asbestos bombshell. For years, the Port
Authority treated the building like an aging dinosaur, attempting on several occasions to get permits to
demolish the building for liability reasons, but being turned down due the known asbestos problem. Further, it
was well-known the only reason the building was still standing until 9/11 was because it was too costly to
disassemble the twin towers floor by floor since the Port Authority was prohibited legally from demolishing the
buildings.
The projected cost to disassemble the towers: $15 Billion. Just the scaffolding for the operation was
estimated at $2.4 Billion!
In other words, the Twin Towers were condemned structures. How convenient that an unexpected “terrorist”
attack demolished the buildings completely.
WTC Building 7 was a part of the WTC complex, and covered under the same insurance policy. This 47-
storey steel-framed structure, which was NOT struck by an aircraft, mysteriously collapsed 8 hours later that
same day into its own footprint at freefall speed — exactly in the manner of the Twin Towers.
How could this have happened? Mr. Silverstein gave the world the answer when he slipped up during a PBS
television interview a year later, on 9/11/2002:
"I remember getting a call from the...er...fire department commander, telling me that they were not sure they
were gonna be able to contain the fire, and I said, 'We've had such terrible loss of life, maybe the smartest
thing to do is pull it.' And they made that decision to pull and we watched the building collapse."
As anyone who knows anything about construction can tell you, “Pull” is common industry jargon for a
controlled demolition.
One thing is for sure, the decision to 'pull' WTC 7 would have delighted many people. Especially because it
has been reported that thousands of sensitive files relating to some of the biggest financial scams in history
— including Enron and WorldCom -- were stored in the offices of some of the building’s tenants:
US Secret Service Salomon Smith Barney
NSA American Express Bank International
CIA Standard Chartered Bank
IRS Provident Financial Management
BATF ITT Hartford Insurance Group
SEC Federal Home Loan Bank
NAIC Securities
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not quantified the number of active cases in which substantial
files were destroyed by the collapse of WTC 7. Reuters news service and the Los Angeles Times published
reports estimating them at 3,000 to 4,000. They include the agency's major inquiry into the manner in which
investment banks divvied up hot shares of initial public offerings during the high-tech boom. ..."Ongoing
investigations at the New York SEC will be dramatically affected because so much of their work is paperintensive,"
said Max Berger of New York's Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann. "This is a disaster for
these cases."
Citigroup says some information that the committee is seeking [about WorldCom] was destroyed in the Sept.
11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. Salomon had offices in 7 World Trade Center. The bank says
that back-up tapes of corporate emails from September 1998 through December 2000 were stored at the
building and destroyed in the attack.
Inside WTC 7 was the US Secret Service's largest field office with more than 200 employees. "All the
evidence that we stored at 7 World Trade, in all our cases, went down with the building," according to US
Secret Service Special Agent David Curran.
What a neat, complete, and fortuitous turn of events was 9/11.
Incidentally, it’s worth noting that one of Lucky Larry’s closest friends — a person with whom it’s said he
speaks almost daily* by phone — is none other than former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Sep 07, 2006 — By lifeforce@rockymountains.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited & added some important entries below: March 2008 by Mark: http://truthordenial.wordpress.com
*Prior to 9/11/2001: Silverstein and Netanyahu spoke at the minimum once a week on Sundays.
A heightened WTC security alert was lifted on 9/6/2001…
The World Trade Center was destroyed just days after a heightened security alert was lifted at the landmark
110-story towers, security personnel said yesterday [September 11]. Daria Coard, 37, a guard at Tower One,
said the security detail had been working 12-hour shifts for the past two weeks because of numerous phone
threats. But on Thursday [September 6], bomb-sniffing dogs were abruptly removed. [NY Newsday]
…there was a power down in WTC 2 the weekend before 9/11…
On the weekend of 9/8, 9/9 there was a ‘power down’ condition in WTC tower 2, the south tower. This power
down condition meant there was no electrical supply for approx 36 hrs from floor 50 up… “Of course without
power there were no security cameras, no security locks on doors and many, many ‘engineers’
coming in and out of the tower.” —Scott Forbes—WTC information technology employee for Fiduciary Trust
You’ve got to be lucky to make $4 Billion killing on a 6-month investment of $124 Million.
Larry Silverstein is the New York property tycoon who purchased the entire WTC complex just 6 months prior
to the 9/11 attacks. That was the first time in its 33-year history the complex had EVER changed ownership.
Mr. Silverstein’s first order of business as the new owner was to change the company responsible for the
security of the complex. The new security company he hired was Securacom (now Stratasec). George W.
Bush's brother, Marvin Bush, was on its board of directors, and Marvin’s cousin, Wirt Walker III, was its CEO.
According to public records, not only did Securacom provide electronic security for the World Trade Center, it
also covered Dulles International Airport and United Airlines — two key players in the 9/11 attacks.
The company was backed by an investment firm, the Kuwait-American Corp., also linked for many years to
the Bush family. KuwAm has been linked to the Bush family financially since the Gulf War. One of its
principals and a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, Mishal Yousef Saud al Sabah, served on the board of
Stratesec.
Now, consider: The members of a small cabal owned the WTC complex, controlled its electronic security, and
also controlled the security not only for one of the airlines whose aircraft were hijacked on 9/11, but the
airport from which they originated.
Another little “coincidence” -- Mr. Silversten, who made a down-payment of $124 million on this $3.2 billion
complex, promptly insured it for $7 Billion. Not only that, he covered the complex against “terrorist attacks”.
Following the attacks, Silverstein filed TWO insurance claims for the maximum amount of the policy ($7B),
based on the two -- in Silverstein's view -- separate attacks. The insurance company, Swiss Re, paid Mr.
Silverstein $4.6 Billion — a princely return on a relatively paltry investment of $124 million.
There’s more. You see, the World Trade Towers were not the real estate plum we are led to believe. From an
economic standpoint, the trade center -- subsidized since its inception by the NY Port Authority -- has never
functioned, nor was it intended to function, unprotected in the rough-and-tumble real estate marketplace.
How could Silverstein Group have been ignorant of this?
The towers required some $200 million in renovations and improvements, most of which related to removal
and replacement of building materials declared to be health hazards in the years since the towers were built.
It was well-known by the city of New York that the WTC was an asbestos bombshell. For years, the Port
Authority treated the building like an aging dinosaur, attempting on several occasions to get permits to
demolish the building for liability reasons, but being turned down due the known asbestos problem. Further, it
was well-known the only reason the building was still standing until 9/11 was because it was too costly to
disassemble the twin towers floor by floor since the Port Authority was prohibited legally from demolishing the
buildings.
The projected cost to disassemble the towers: $15 Billion. Just the scaffolding for the operation was
estimated at $2.4 Billion!
In other words, the Twin Towers were condemned structures. How convenient that an unexpected “terrorist”
attack demolished the buildings completely.
WTC Building 7 was a part of the WTC complex, and covered under the same insurance policy. This 47-
storey steel-framed structure, which was NOT struck by an aircraft, mysteriously collapsed 8 hours later that
same day into its own footprint at freefall speed — exactly in the manner of the Twin Towers.
How could this have happened? Mr. Silverstein gave the world the answer when he slipped up during a PBS
television interview a year later, on 9/11/2002:
"I remember getting a call from the...er...fire department commander, telling me that they were not sure they
were gonna be able to contain the fire, and I said, 'We've had such terrible loss of life, maybe the smartest
thing to do is pull it.' And they made that decision to pull and we watched the building collapse."
As anyone who knows anything about construction can tell you, “Pull” is common industry jargon for a
controlled demolition.
One thing is for sure, the decision to 'pull' WTC 7 would have delighted many people. Especially because it
has been reported that thousands of sensitive files relating to some of the biggest financial scams in history
— including Enron and WorldCom -- were stored in the offices of some of the building’s tenants:
US Secret Service Salomon Smith Barney
NSA American Express Bank International
CIA Standard Chartered Bank
IRS Provident Financial Management
BATF ITT Hartford Insurance Group
SEC Federal Home Loan Bank
NAIC Securities
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not quantified the number of active cases in which substantial
files were destroyed by the collapse of WTC 7. Reuters news service and the Los Angeles Times published
reports estimating them at 3,000 to 4,000. They include the agency's major inquiry into the manner in which
investment banks divvied up hot shares of initial public offerings during the high-tech boom. ..."Ongoing
investigations at the New York SEC will be dramatically affected because so much of their work is paperintensive,"
said Max Berger of New York's Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann. "This is a disaster for
these cases."
Citigroup says some information that the committee is seeking [about WorldCom] was destroyed in the Sept.
11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. Salomon had offices in 7 World Trade Center. The bank says
that back-up tapes of corporate emails from September 1998 through December 2000 were stored at the
building and destroyed in the attack.
Inside WTC 7 was the US Secret Service's largest field office with more than 200 employees. "All the
evidence that we stored at 7 World Trade, in all our cases, went down with the building," according to US
Secret Service Special Agent David Curran.
What a neat, complete, and fortuitous turn of events was 9/11.
Incidentally, it’s worth noting that one of Lucky Larry’s closest friends — a person with whom it’s said he
speaks almost daily* by phone — is none other than former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Sep 07, 2006 — By lifeforce@rockymountains.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited & added some important entries below: March 2008 by Mark: http://truthordenial.wordpress.com
*Prior to 9/11/2001: Silverstein and Netanyahu spoke at the minimum once a week on Sundays.
A heightened WTC security alert was lifted on 9/6/2001…
The World Trade Center was destroyed just days after a heightened security alert was lifted at the landmark
110-story towers, security personnel said yesterday [September 11]. Daria Coard, 37, a guard at Tower One,
said the security detail had been working 12-hour shifts for the past two weeks because of numerous phone
threats. But on Thursday [September 6], bomb-sniffing dogs were abruptly removed. [NY Newsday]
…there was a power down in WTC 2 the weekend before 9/11…
On the weekend of 9/8, 9/9 there was a ‘power down’ condition in WTC tower 2, the south tower. This power
down condition meant there was no electrical supply for approx 36 hrs from floor 50 up… “Of course without
power there were no security cameras, no security locks on doors and many, many ‘engineers’
coming in and out of the tower.” —Scott Forbes—WTC information technology employee for Fiduciary Trust
False Flag operations & 911 US Lies
High level people in the international intelligence community talk about the “Premeditated” plans of the US & International Intelligence Network that brought down the WTC Towers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GLxuXV9C7I&feature=related The more I dig into this “Horrendous Crime”, the more credible evidence and peopl...e I find who clearly conclude that “911” was an inside job by the high levels of US military and intelligence, and not Arab high-jacker’s acting alone. As an American I find this expanding stream of information supporting a US conspiracy to perpetuate and engineer “911” both credible and frightening, and a disgusting “Bad Mark” on our corrupt government leaders.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
41 U.S. Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Agency Veterans Challenge the Official Account of 9/11
41 U.S. Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Agency Veterans Challenge the Official Account of 9/11http://world911truth.org/41-u-s-counter-terrorism-and-intelligence-agency-veterans-challenge-the-official-account-of-911/
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Jessee Ventura Really Calls It!
Jesse really has a Grasp on Reality!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFIZwC6z4Kk&feature=related
“Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” - Hermann Goring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFIZwC6z4Kk&feature=related
“Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” - Hermann Goring
Friday, March 5, 2010
Hypocritical "Repub" gay politicians against gay rights
Republican state Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield has taken leave from his elected position until at least Monday, after a drunk-driving arrest here started a firestorm over his sexual orientation.
Ashburn, 55, has served in the Legislature since 1996 and consistently has voted against bills that would expand legal protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Californians. He is among those with the staunchest records against those issues. Ashburn is single and has four children.
Ashburn was arrested and booked into Sacramento County jail for driving under the influence of alcohol just after 2 a.m. Wednesday and a local television station cited unnamed sources in reporting that Ashburn had spent the evening at Faces, a large gay dance club a few blocks from where police stopped him. Ashburn was driving his state-issued vehicle.
While there has been no confirmation of Ashburn being at the club that night, some people have told The Chronicle that Ashburn has been seen regularly at gay clubs and bars near Faces. Capitol staffers say it is an open secret that Ashburn frequently visits Sacramento's gay establishments.
Ashburn could not be reached for comment. His staff said they have not had contact with him since the day before the arrest, although the office did release a statement from the senator regarding his arrest that read: "I am deeply sorry for my actions and offer no excuse for my poor judgment. I accept complete responsibility for my conduct and am prepared to accept the consequences for what I did."
In 2004, a reporter with Bakersfield Californian asked Ashburn directly about his sexual orientation and the senator said only, "I'm surprised you're asking that," according to the newspaper. A columnist there asked him again last year and he said, "I think there are certain subjects that are simply not relevant and this is one of them. It has no bearing on the job I do."
One person who said he has seen Ashburn out on several occasions is Christopher Cabaldon, the mayor of West Sacramento, who came out as gay while in office in 2006. Cabaldon said he has seen Ashburn at Badlands and The Depot, two gay establishments across the street from Faces, on multiple occasions and as recently as in the past few months.
"From my own experience I totally understand the fear and issues of being out in politics," said Cabaldon, adding that he did not know Ashburn's sexual orientation.
But, he said, "The hypocrisy - that's what's problematic. The notion that you think it's OK to live in the community and expect that you're going to be safe and protected when you are, during the day time, doing everything to deny those protections."
Equality California, the state's leading gay rights lobbying organization, has consistently given Ashburn a zero percent rating in its annual scorecard of lawmakers' votes on gay rights. Ashburn has voted against bills establishing same-sex marriage, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in businesses and strengthening anti-bullying and harassment protections for gay kids in public schools.
Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, said Ashburn has "one of the worst records of anyone in the Legislature" on expanding rights for LGBT people.
"It's sad for him on a personal level and it's frustrating that someone who is clearly comfortable with gay people would vote against the very rights of the people he associates with," Kors said. He said the organization had requested multiple meetings with Ashburn to discuss legislation but always had been turned down.
Charles Moran, spokesman for the Log Cabin Republicans, a national gay Republican organization, said it is common for conservatives who are not out about their sexual orientation to vote against expanding gay rights.
"A lot of people who are closeted homosexuals think it will give them cover, but instead it increases the heat," Moran said.
He said Ashburn needs to "be honest with his family first and his constituents about what is going on. It's not a crime that he was at a gay bar, the crime was his drunk-driving in a state-issued car. The scandal will continue as long as he continues to be dodgey about personal aspects of his life."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/05/BAF01CBFRT.DTL#ixzz0hM63XKQz
Ashburn, 55, has served in the Legislature since 1996 and consistently has voted against bills that would expand legal protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Californians. He is among those with the staunchest records against those issues. Ashburn is single and has four children.
Ashburn was arrested and booked into Sacramento County jail for driving under the influence of alcohol just after 2 a.m. Wednesday and a local television station cited unnamed sources in reporting that Ashburn had spent the evening at Faces, a large gay dance club a few blocks from where police stopped him. Ashburn was driving his state-issued vehicle.
While there has been no confirmation of Ashburn being at the club that night, some people have told The Chronicle that Ashburn has been seen regularly at gay clubs and bars near Faces. Capitol staffers say it is an open secret that Ashburn frequently visits Sacramento's gay establishments.
Ashburn could not be reached for comment. His staff said they have not had contact with him since the day before the arrest, although the office did release a statement from the senator regarding his arrest that read: "I am deeply sorry for my actions and offer no excuse for my poor judgment. I accept complete responsibility for my conduct and am prepared to accept the consequences for what I did."
In 2004, a reporter with Bakersfield Californian asked Ashburn directly about his sexual orientation and the senator said only, "I'm surprised you're asking that," according to the newspaper. A columnist there asked him again last year and he said, "I think there are certain subjects that are simply not relevant and this is one of them. It has no bearing on the job I do."
One person who said he has seen Ashburn out on several occasions is Christopher Cabaldon, the mayor of West Sacramento, who came out as gay while in office in 2006. Cabaldon said he has seen Ashburn at Badlands and The Depot, two gay establishments across the street from Faces, on multiple occasions and as recently as in the past few months.
"From my own experience I totally understand the fear and issues of being out in politics," said Cabaldon, adding that he did not know Ashburn's sexual orientation.
But, he said, "The hypocrisy - that's what's problematic. The notion that you think it's OK to live in the community and expect that you're going to be safe and protected when you are, during the day time, doing everything to deny those protections."
Equality California, the state's leading gay rights lobbying organization, has consistently given Ashburn a zero percent rating in its annual scorecard of lawmakers' votes on gay rights. Ashburn has voted against bills establishing same-sex marriage, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in businesses and strengthening anti-bullying and harassment protections for gay kids in public schools.
Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, said Ashburn has "one of the worst records of anyone in the Legislature" on expanding rights for LGBT people.
"It's sad for him on a personal level and it's frustrating that someone who is clearly comfortable with gay people would vote against the very rights of the people he associates with," Kors said. He said the organization had requested multiple meetings with Ashburn to discuss legislation but always had been turned down.
Charles Moran, spokesman for the Log Cabin Republicans, a national gay Republican organization, said it is common for conservatives who are not out about their sexual orientation to vote against expanding gay rights.
"A lot of people who are closeted homosexuals think it will give them cover, but instead it increases the heat," Moran said.
He said Ashburn needs to "be honest with his family first and his constituents about what is going on. It's not a crime that he was at a gay bar, the crime was his drunk-driving in a state-issued car. The scandal will continue as long as he continues to be dodgey about personal aspects of his life."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/05/BAF01CBFRT.DTL#ixzz0hM63XKQz
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Faith v. Science, Can they Coexist?
The purpose of this writing is not to attack or berate those who would choose to put the concept of “Faith” above “Science”. Trying to relate these two positions of choice is analogous to asking someone if they are “In Love”, to contrasting the determination of the “Atomic Weight of Iron”. One concept is an ethereal emotion, and the other is an empirical fact. Where I have a problem is when one chooses information from a book, that was written thousands of years ago, when there was little technology available, over today’s science that can properly measure and observe what is going on in the universe.
What is there in the emotional makeup of some individuals that causes them to trump definable logic with faith? Is it that some people take comfort staying with old world traditions? Is that we are living in a such rapidly changing society, that this rapid change is cause for some mistrust and lack of spiritual footing? Is that some individuals take comfort in clinging to conceptual traditions that came down from previous institutions of authority and culture, such as organized religion and family? Is it a way of saying to the “Neo” intellectual, permissive, individualistic, liberal, progressive, creative society of today, “We are not comfortable with your fluid type of culture”? We hearken for the days of yore!
Taking into consideration the above emotional reasons for wanting to stay locked in an intellectual “Time Warp”, why should the balance of society be held back by this “Blind Sided Ignorance” toward wanting to embrace science and fact? Over three hundred years ago the church accused Galileo of being a heretic for stating that the earth was “Round” and not “Flat”. Great critical thinkers of the time, such as Galileo also asserted that earth revolved around the sun and not the contrary, and that the earth was also not the center of the universe. Those faith based men who came before Galileo used the best knowledge that they had, coupled with man’s innate nature to be egocentric, and claiming “Earthlings” are the superior of all beings. The Christian “Inquisitor’s” traveled through Venice, the then center of knowledge, and confiscated any books that conflicted with the Church’s arcane teachings.
The evolution of scientific fact finding has not had a 100% perfect trail of discovery. Comparing the track record of science to the bible for seeking the truth is like comparing the Electron Microscope to a blind man for it’s ability to accurately observe physical phenomenon. Seeking the truth through the scientific method has won out exponentially over “Faith Based” assumptions.
Faith is a fall-back position when one may not be able to use reason and observe definable facts. Faith should be the last refuge for an intelligent person to find an answer or no answer, not the first and only choice. What is the issue with accepting “Evolution” as one of the reasons for the change and existence of living things. We are now able to track genetic material and map many genomes through various plants and animals and determine the age of things through “Carbon Dating”. The ape and man share 98% of the same DNA material. Man shares DNA with all living things to a lesser extent. Man and apes share all of the same similar organs, extremities, muscular/bone structure, and circulatory system. How can any logical person refute such major similarities between these two mammals, and say that there is not a relatively close relationship? These “Faith” based folks want to also teach “Creationism” as an equal and credible concept as “Evolution”. Comparing this ancient and modern concept is like saying that “Babies are delivered by a Stork”.
I do not want to totally dismiss the concept of “Faith”. Faith can be a very comforting emotional tool when we are feeling desperate, finding reality too painful, or feel that death is imminent and there is no solution to stop it. Faith to me is akin to optimism which can act as an emotional mass of momentum to keep us moving on our life’s various goals. Faith and optimism, when not used in moderation can set us up for proceeding down an incorrect dangerous path and great disappointment.
As the role of science and technology continue to expand, discover more, and mature, the “Faith” based assumptions of the past religious groups will be disproved and become as extent as an “Dinosaur”.
What is there in the emotional makeup of some individuals that causes them to trump definable logic with faith? Is it that some people take comfort staying with old world traditions? Is that we are living in a such rapidly changing society, that this rapid change is cause for some mistrust and lack of spiritual footing? Is that some individuals take comfort in clinging to conceptual traditions that came down from previous institutions of authority and culture, such as organized religion and family? Is it a way of saying to the “Neo” intellectual, permissive, individualistic, liberal, progressive, creative society of today, “We are not comfortable with your fluid type of culture”? We hearken for the days of yore!
Taking into consideration the above emotional reasons for wanting to stay locked in an intellectual “Time Warp”, why should the balance of society be held back by this “Blind Sided Ignorance” toward wanting to embrace science and fact? Over three hundred years ago the church accused Galileo of being a heretic for stating that the earth was “Round” and not “Flat”. Great critical thinkers of the time, such as Galileo also asserted that earth revolved around the sun and not the contrary, and that the earth was also not the center of the universe. Those faith based men who came before Galileo used the best knowledge that they had, coupled with man’s innate nature to be egocentric, and claiming “Earthlings” are the superior of all beings. The Christian “Inquisitor’s” traveled through Venice, the then center of knowledge, and confiscated any books that conflicted with the Church’s arcane teachings.
The evolution of scientific fact finding has not had a 100% perfect trail of discovery. Comparing the track record of science to the bible for seeking the truth is like comparing the Electron Microscope to a blind man for it’s ability to accurately observe physical phenomenon. Seeking the truth through the scientific method has won out exponentially over “Faith Based” assumptions.
Faith is a fall-back position when one may not be able to use reason and observe definable facts. Faith should be the last refuge for an intelligent person to find an answer or no answer, not the first and only choice. What is the issue with accepting “Evolution” as one of the reasons for the change and existence of living things. We are now able to track genetic material and map many genomes through various plants and animals and determine the age of things through “Carbon Dating”. The ape and man share 98% of the same DNA material. Man shares DNA with all living things to a lesser extent. Man and apes share all of the same similar organs, extremities, muscular/bone structure, and circulatory system. How can any logical person refute such major similarities between these two mammals, and say that there is not a relatively close relationship? These “Faith” based folks want to also teach “Creationism” as an equal and credible concept as “Evolution”. Comparing this ancient and modern concept is like saying that “Babies are delivered by a Stork”.
I do not want to totally dismiss the concept of “Faith”. Faith can be a very comforting emotional tool when we are feeling desperate, finding reality too painful, or feel that death is imminent and there is no solution to stop it. Faith to me is akin to optimism which can act as an emotional mass of momentum to keep us moving on our life’s various goals. Faith and optimism, when not used in moderation can set us up for proceeding down an incorrect dangerous path and great disappointment.
As the role of science and technology continue to expand, discover more, and mature, the “Faith” based assumptions of the past religious groups will be disproved and become as extent as an “Dinosaur”.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Growing American resentment against government
http://www.scrippsnews.com/911poll
The national survey of 1,010 adults also found that anger against the federal government is at record levels, with 54 percent saying they "personally are more angry" at the government than they used to be.
Widespread resentment and alienation toward the national government appears to be fueling a growing acceptance of conspiracy theories about the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
More info: 911truth.org
The national survey of 1,010 adults also found that anger against the federal government is at record levels, with 54 percent saying they "personally are more angry" at the government than they used to be.
Widespread resentment and alienation toward the national government appears to be fueling a growing acceptance of conspiracy theories about the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
More info: 911truth.org
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