March 27, 2003
Best Use of Found Object
by csnyder on March 23, 2003
Location: New York, NY
March 26, 2003
US War Crimes
George Monbiot writes, "[Rumsfeld's] prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, where 641 men (nine of whom are British citizens) are held, breaches no fewer than 15 articles of the third convention. The US government broke the first of these (article 13) as soon as the prisoners arrived, by displaying them, just as the Iraqis have done, on television. In this case, however, they were not encouraged to address the cameras. They were kneeling on the ground, hands tied behind their backs, wearing blacked-out goggles and earphones. In breach of article 18, they had been stripped of their own clothes and deprived of their possessions. They were then interned in a penitentiary (against article 22), where they were denied proper mess facilities (26), canteens (28), religious premises (34), opportunities for physical exercise (38), access to the text of the convention (41), freedom to write to their families (70 and 71) and parcels of food and books (72)."
One rule for them
Five PoWs are mistreated in Iraq and the US cries foul. What about Guantanamo Bay
George Monbiot
Tuesday March 25, 2003
The Guardian
Suddenly, the government of the United States has discovered the virtues of international law. It may be waging an illegal war against a sovereign state; it may be seeking to destroy every treaty which impedes its attempts to run the world, but when five of its captured soldiers were paraded in front of the Iraqi television cameras on Sunday, Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary, immediately complained that "it is against the Geneva convention to show photographs of prisoners of war in a manner that is humiliating for them".
He is, of course, quite right. Article 13 of the third convention, concerning the treatment of prisoners, insists that they "must at all times be protected... against insults and public curiosity". This may number among the less heinous of the possible infringements of the laws of war, but the conventions, ratified by Iraq in 1956, are non-negotiable. If you break them, you should expect to be prosecuted for war crimes.
This being so, Rumsfeld had better watch his back. For this enthusiastic convert to the cause of legal warfare is, as head of the defence department, responsible for a series of crimes sufficient, were he ever to be tried, to put him away for the rest of his natural life.
His prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, where 641 men (nine of whom are British citizens) are held, breaches no fewer than 15 articles of the third convention. The US government broke the first of these (article 13) as soon as the prisoners arrived, by displaying them, just as the Iraqis have done, on television. In this case, however, they were not encouraged to address the cameras. They were kneeling on the ground, hands tied behind their backs, wearing blacked-out goggles and earphones. In breach of article 18, they had been stripped of their own clothes and deprived of their possessions. They were then interned in a penitentiary (against article 22), where they were denied proper mess facilities (26), canteens (28), religious premises (34), opportunities for physical exercise (38), access to the text of the convention (41), freedom to write to their families (70 and 71) and parcels of food and books (72).
They were not "released and repatriated without delay after the cessation of active hostilities" (118), because, the US authorities say, their interrogation might, one day, reveal interesting information about al-Qaida. Article 17 rules that captives are obliged to give only their name, rank, number and date of birth. No "coercion may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever". In the hope of breaking them, however, the authorities have confined them to solitary cells and subjected them to what is now known as "torture lite": sleep deprivation and constant exposure to bright light. Unsurprisingly, several of the prisoners have sought to kill themselves, by smashing their heads against the walls or trying to slash their wrists with plastic cutlery.
The US government claims that these men are not subject to the Geneva conventions, as they are not "prisoners of war", but "unlawful combatants". The same claim could be made, with rather more justice, by the Iraqis holding the US soldiers who illegally invaded their country. But this redefinition is itself a breach of article 4 of the third convention, under which people detained as suspected members of a militia (the Taliban) or a volunteer corps (al-Qaida) must be regarded as prisoners of war.
Even if there is doubt about how such people should be classified, article 5 insists that they "shall enjoy the protection of the present convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal". But when, earlier this month, lawyers representing 16 of them demanded a court hearing, the US court of appeals ruled that as Guantanamo Bay is not sovereign US territory, the men have no constitutional rights. Many of these prisoners appear to have been working in Afghanistan as teachers, engineers or aid workers. If the US government either tried or released them, its embarrassing lack of evidence would be brought to light.
You would hesitate to describe these prisoners as lucky, unless you knew what had happened to some of the other men captured by the Americans and their allies in Afghanistan. On November 21 2001, around 8,000 Taliban soldiers and Pashtun civilians surrendered at Konduz to the Northern Alliance commander, General Abdul Rashid Dostum. Many of them have never been seen again.
As Jamie Doran's film Afghan Massacre: Convoy of Death records, some hundreds, possibly thousands, of them were loaded into container lorries at Qala-i-Zeini, near the town of Mazar-i-Sharif, on November 26 and 27. The doors were sealed and the lorries were left to stand in the sun for several days. At length, they departed for Sheberghan prison, 80 miles away. The prisoners, many of whom were dying of thirst and asphyxiation, started banging on the sides of the trucks. Dostum's men stopped the convoy and machine-gunned the containers. When they arrived at Sheberghan, most of the captives were dead.
The US special forces running the prison watched the bodies being unloaded. They instructed Dostum's men to "get rid of them before satellite pictures can be taken". Doran interviewed a Northern Alliance soldier guarding the prison. "I was a witness when an American soldier broke one prisoner's neck. The Americans did whatever they wanted. We had no power to stop them." Another soldier alleged: "They took the prisoners outside and beat them up, and then returned them to the prison. But sometimes they were never returned, and they disappeared."
Many of the survivors were loaded back in the containers with the corpses, then driven to a place in the desert called Dasht-i-Leili. In the presence of up to 40 US special forces, the living and the dead were dumped into ditches. Anyone who moved was shot. The German newspaper Die Zeit investigated the claims and concluded that: "No one doubted that the Americans had taken part. Even at higher levels there are no doubts on this issue." The US group Physicians for Human Rights visited the places identified by Doran's witnesses and found they "all... contained human remains consistent with their designation as possible grave sites".
It should not be necessary to point out that hospitality of this kind also contravenes the third Geneva convention, which prohibits "violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture", as well as extra-judicial execution. Donald Rumsfeld's department, assisted by a pliant media, has done all it can to suppress Jamie Doran's film, while General Dostum has begun to assassinate his witnesses.
It is not hard, therefore, to see why the US government fought first to prevent the establishment of the international criminal court, and then to ensure that its own citizens are not subject to its jurisdiction. The five soldiers dragged in front of the cameras yesterday should thank their lucky stars that they are prisoners not of the American forces fighting for civilisation, but of the "barbaric and inhuman" Iraqis.
March 24, 2003
"This is where I heal my hurt".
Paul Mitchell writes, "Ultimately, it is not dancing, drugs and partying that are keeping young people attached to the rave scene. It is the possibility that they will have their hurts healed there, that they will experience true compassion, justice and love."
Faithless - "God is a DJ"
Following are the lyrics to dance act Faithless' track,
"God Is A DJ":
"This is my church
This is where I heal my hurt
It's a natural grace
Of watching young life shape
It's in minor keys
Solutions and remedies
Enemies becoming friends
When bitterness ends
This is my church
This is my church
This is where I heal my hurt
This is my church
This is my church
This is where I heal my hurt
It's in the world I become
Content in the hum
Between voice and drum
It's in the church
The poetic justice of cause and effect
Respect, love, compassion
This is my church
This is where I heal my hurt
For tonight
god is a DJ
god is a DJ"
This track has had solid airplay on Australia's Triple J toward the end of 1998. Its lyrics state outright what a writer on this site has intimated: the dance scene, most especially the rave scene, is a substitute religion for many young people, a pagan ceremony where their innate need to worship is made visible.
Faithless' track ups the ante, naming not only the dance environment as a "church" - a church which fulfils the needs that the actual church would say only it truly fulfils - but also that the DJ is in fact God.
No doubt there is tongue-in-cheek in these pronouncements. But it is perhaps an accurate summation of the spiritual energy vibrating in the rave and dance environment. Who needs conventional worship or religion when experiential spirituality is apparently on offer in the rave and dance scene
Christians will answer that hypothetical question with the pronouncement that, like New Age spirituality, 'rave spirituality' is ultimately self-focussed and will wear out when the buzz of drugs, partying and dancing wears off, as it inevitably does, when it takes the place of God.
But perhaps the key to engagement between the church and the dance/rave scene lies in Faithless' song: "This is where I heal my hurt". Ultimately, it is not dancing, drugs and partying that are keeping young people attached to the rave scene. It is the possibility that they will have their hurts healed there, that they will experience true compassion, justice and love.
As many a burnt-out raver will tell you, they will search in vain. But the church has often marginalised so-called pagan expressions of worship rather than made the necessary connections with the desire to worship so clearly expressed. And the desire to worship is ultimately a desire to experience the fullness of life....
There is more life in the fingernail of God than in a million raves. But what exhibits more life, the church or the rave scene Yes, true sacrificial, selfless spirituality does not show the froth and bubble of pagan ritual, but in its disciplined approach to serving and loving God, need this spirituality be disconnected from, as Richard Foster put it (and the rave scene exhibits), the "discipline of celebration"
Related Links
Paul Mitchell
March 19, 2003
A Letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush on the Eve of War
Michael Moore writes, "So today is what you call "the moment of truth," the day that "France and the rest of world have to show their cards on the table." I'm glad to hear that this day has finally arrived. Because, I gotta tell ya, having survived 440 days of your lying and conniving, I wasn't sure if I could take much more. So I'm glad to hear that today is Truth Day, 'cause I got a few truths I would like to share with you:"
A Letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush on the Eve of War
by Michael Moore
March 18th, 2003
George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC
Dear Governor Bush:
So today is what you call "the moment of truth," the day that "France and the rest of world have to show their cards on the table." I'm glad to hear that this day has finally arrived. Because, I gotta tell ya, having survived 440 days of your lying and conniving, I wasn't sure if I could take much more. So I'm glad to hear that today is Truth Day, 'cause I got a few truths I would like to share with you:
1. There is virtually NO ONE in America (talk radio nutters and Fox News aside) who is gung-ho to go to war. Trust me on this one. Walk out of the White House and on to any street in America and try to find five people who are PASSIONATE about wanting to kill Iraqis. YOU WON'T FIND THEM! Why 'Cause NO Iraqis have ever come here and killed any of us! No Iraqi has even threatened to do that. You see, this is how we average Americans think: If a certain so-and-so is not perceived as a threat to our lives, then, believe it or not, we don't want to kill him! Funny how that works!
2. The majority of Americans -- the ones who never elected you -- are not fooled by your weapons of mass distraction. We know what the real issues are that affect our daily lives -- and none of them begin with I or end in Q. Here's what threatens us: two and a half million jobs lost since you took office, the stock market having become a cruel joke, no one knowing if their retirement funds are going to be there, gas now costs almost two dollars -- the list goes on and on. Bombing Iraq will not make any of this go away. Only you need to go away for things to improve.
3. As Bill Maher said last week, how bad do you have to suck to lose a popularity contest with Saddam Hussein The whole world is against you, Mr. Bush. Count your fellow Americans among them.
4. The Pope has said this war is wrong, that it is a SIN. The Pope! But even worse, the Dixie Chicks have now come out against you! How bad does it have to get before you realize that you are an army of one on this war Of course, this is a war you personally won't have to fight. Just like when you went AWOL while the poor were shipped to Vietnam in your place.
5. Of the 535 members of Congress, only ONE (Sen. Johnson of South Dakota) has an enlisted son or daughter in the armed forces! If you really want to stand up for America, please send your twin daughters over to Kuwait right now and let them don their chemical warfare suits. And let's see every member of Congress with a child of military age also sacrifice their kids for this war effort. What's that you say You don't THINK so Well, hey, guess what -- we don't think so either!
6. Finally, we love France. Yes, they have pulled some royal screw-ups. Yes, some of them can pretty damn annoying. But have you forgotten we wouldn't even have this country known as America if it weren't for the French That it was their help in the Revolutionary War that won it for us That our greatest thinkers and founding fathers -- Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, etc. -- spent many years in Paris where they refined the concepts that lead to our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution That it was France who gave us our Statue of Liberty, a Frenchman who built the Chevrolet, and a pair of French brothers who invented the movies And now they are doing what only a good friend can do -- tell you the truth about yourself, straight, no b.s. Quit pissing on the French and thank them for getting it right for once. You know, you really should have traveled more (like once) before you took over. Your ignorance of the world has not only made you look stupid, it has painted you into a corner you can't get out of.
Well, cheer up -- there IS good news. If you do go through with this war, more than likely it will be over soon because I'm guessing there aren't a lot of Iraqis willing to lay down their lives to protect Saddam Hussein. After you "win" the war, you will enjoy a huge bump in the popularity polls as everyone loves a winner -- and who doesn't like to see a good ass-whoopin' every now and then (especially when it 's some third world ass!). So try your best to ride this victory all the way to next year's election. Of course, that's still a long ways away, so we'll all get to have a good hardy-har-har while we watch the economy sink even further down the toilet!
But, hey, who knows -- maybe you'll find Osama a few days before the election! See, start thinking like THAT! Keep hope alive! Kill Iraqis -- they got our oil!!
Yours, Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
March 12, 2003
His Holiness the Dalai Lama's views on war and Iraq conflict
Today, the world is so small and so interdependent that the concept of war has become anachronistic, an outmoded approach. As a rule, we always talk about reform and changes. Among the old traditions, there are many aspects that are either ill-suited to our present reality or are counterproductive due to their shortsightedness. These, we have consigned to the dustbin of history. War too should be relegated to the dustbin of history.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama's views on war and Iraq conflict
http://www.tibet.com/NewsRoom/iraq1.htm
The following is the English translation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's views on war and Iraq conflict shared with Buddhist devotees and others on the first day of the Great Prayer Festival
11 March 2003, in Dharamsala
The Iraq issue is becoming very critical now. War, or the kind of organized fighting, is something that came with the development of human civilization. It seems to have become part and parcel of human history or human temperament. At the same time, the world is changing dramatically. We have seen that we cannot solve human problems by fighting. Problems resulting from differences in opinion must be resolved through the gradual process of dialogue. Undoubtedly, wars produce victors and losers; but only temporarily. Victory or defeat resulting from wars cannot be long-lasting. Secondly, our world has become so interdependent that the defeat of one country must impact the rest of the word, or cause all of us to suffer losses either directly or indirectly.
Today, the world is so small and so interdependent that the concept of war has become anachronistic, an outmoded approach. As a rule, we always talk about reform and changes. Among the old traditions, there are many aspects that are either ill-suited to our present reality or are counterproductive due to their shortsightedness. These, we have consigned to the dustbin of history. War too should be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Unfortunately, although we are in the 21st century, we still have not been able to get rid of the habit of our older generations. I am talking about the belief or confidence that we can solve our problems with arms. It is because of this notion that the world continues to be dogged by all kinds of problems.
But what can we do What can we do when big powers have already made up their minds All we can do is to pray for a gradual end to the tradition of wars. Of course, the militaristic tradition may not end easily. But, let us think of this. If there were bloodshed, people in positions of power, or those who are responsible, will find safe places; they will escape the consequent hardship. They will find safety for themselves, one way or the other. But what about the poor people, the defenseless people, the children, the old and infirm. They are the ones who will have to bear the brunt of devastation. When weapons are fired, the result will be death and destruction. Weapons will not discriminate between the innocent and guilty. A missile, once fired, will show no respect to the innocent, poor, defenseless, or those worthy of compassion. Therefore, the real losers will be the poor and defenseless, ones who are completely innocent, and those who lead a hand-to-mouth existence.
On the positive side, we now have people volunteer medical care, aid, and other humanitarian assistance in war-torn regions. This is a heart-winning development of the modern age.
Okay, now, let us pray that there be no war at all, if possible. However, if a war does break out, let us pray that there be a minimum bloodshed and hardship. I don't know whether our prayers will be of any practical help. But this is all we can do for the moment.
Translated and issued by:
The Department of Information and International Relations
Central Tibetan Administration
Dharamsala INDIA
March 11, 2003
819,000 Chinese Get Death Or Life In Prison Over Past 5 Years
Agence France-Presse reports, "A total of 819,000 Chinese were condemned to death or jailed for life over the past five years, the country's Supreme Court president said.
The figure represents a 25 percent rise over the previous five years, Xiao Yang said in his annual report to members of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing.
A total of 3.2 million people were condemned for various types of crime over the past five years, he said.
The Chinese legal system reserves particularly severe treatment for people found guilty of organizing themselves into "evil cults" such as the Falungong spiritual movement, or criminal gangs.
The same goes for crimes falling into the categories of drug trafficking, kidnapping of women and children, underground publishing, separatism, terrorism and subversion of state power.
Xiao also said said 83,308 officials have been found guilty of corruption over the past five years, the vast majority of them apparently small fry.
Only 2,662 were officials above the county level, one of the lowest administrative tiers in China's administrative system, Xiao said in his report.
"These results have testified to the intensified efforts by the people's courts in dealing with job-related crimes and those offering bribes to government functionaries," Xiao said.
The 2,662 public servants at or above the county level falling foul of the law represented a 65 percent increase over the previous five-year period, according to Xiao.
Copyright © 2002 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.
Billboard: Make Love Not War!
(via Luke Ford.)
March 09, 2003
New York Times Says No to War!
New York Times Editors write, "Within days, barring a diplomatic breakthrough, President Bush will decide whether to send American troops into Iraq in the face of United Nations opposition. We believe there is a better option involving long-running, stepped-up weapons inspections. But like everyone else in America, we feel the window closing. If it comes down to a question of yes or no to invasion without broad international support, our answer is no."
Even though Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, said that Saddam Hussein was not in complete compliance with United Nations orders to disarm, the report of the inspectors on Friday was generally devastating to the American position. They not only argued that progress was being made, they also discounted the idea that Iraq was actively attempting to manufacture nuclear weapons. History shows that inspectors can be misled, and that Mr. Hussein can never be trusted to disarm and stay disarmed on his own accord. But a far larger and more aggressive inspection program, backed by a firm and united Security Council, could keep a permanent lid on Iraq's weapons program.
By adding hundreds of additional inspectors, using the threat of force to give them a free hand and maintaining the option of attacking Iraq if it tries to shake free of a smothering inspection program, the United States could obtain much of what it was originally hoping to achieve. Mr. Hussein would now be likely to accept such an intrusive U.N. operation. Had Mr. Bush managed the showdown with Iraq in a more measured manner, he would now be in a position to rally the U.N. behind that bigger, tougher inspection program, declare victory and take most of the troops home.
Unfortunately, by demanding regime change, Mr. Bush has made it much harder for Washington to embrace this kind of long-term strategy. He has talked himself into a corner where war or an unthinkable American retreat seem to be the only alternatives visible to the administration. Every signal from the White House is that the diplomatic negotiations will be over in days, not weeks. Every signal from the United Nations is that when that day arrives, the United States will not have Security Council sanction to attack.
There are circumstances under which the president would have to act militarily no matter what the Security Council said. If America was attacked, we would have to respond swiftly and fiercely. But despite endless efforts by the Bush administration to connect Iraq to Sept. 11, the evidence simply isn't there. The administration has demonstrated that Iraq had members of Al Qaeda living within its borders, but that same accusation could be lodged against any number of American allies in the region. It is natural to suspect that one of America's enemies might be actively aiding another, but nations are not supposed to launch military invasions based on hunches and fragmentary intelligence.
The second argument the Bush administration cites for invading Iraq is its refusal to obey U.N. orders that it disarm. That's a good reason, but not when the U.N. itself believes disarmament is occurring and the weapons inspections can be made to work. If the United States ignores the Security Council and attacks on its own, the first victim in the conflict will be the United Nations itself. The whole scenario calls to mind that Vietnam-era catch phrase about how we had to destroy a village in order to save it.
President Bush has switched his own rationale for the invasion several times. Right now, the underlying theory seems to be that the United States can transform the Middle East by toppling Saddam Hussein, turning Iraq into a showplace democracy and inspiring the rest of the region to follow suit. That's another fine goal that seems impossible to accomplish outside the context of broad international agreement. The idea that the resolution to all the longstanding, complicated problems of that area begins with a quick military action is both seductive and extremely dangerous. The Bush administration has not been willing to risk any political capital in attempting to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, but now the president is theorizing that invading Iraq will do the trick.
Given the corner Mr. Bush has painted himself in, withdrawing troops even if a considerable slice remains behind would be an admission of failure. He obviously intends to go ahead, and bet on the very good chance that the Iraqi army will fall quickly. The fact that the United Nations might be irreparably weakened would not much bother his conservative political base at home, nor would the outcry abroad. But in the long run, this country needs a strong international body to keep the peace and defuse tension in a dozen different potential crisis points around the world. It needs the support of its allies, particularly embattled states like Pakistan, to fight the war on terror. And it needs to demonstrate by example that there are certain rules that everybody has to follow, one of the most important of which is that you do not invade another country for any but the most compelling of reasons. When the purpose is fuzzy, or based on questionable propositions, it's time to stop and look for other, less extreme means to achieve your goals.
Oral Sex
The Young Fellow Was about to Be Married and Was Asking His Grandfather about Sex. He Asked How Often You Should Have It. His Grandfather Told Him That When You First Get Married, You Want it All the Time....And Maybe Do it Several Times a Day.
Later On, Sex Tapers off and You Have it Once a Week or So. Then as You Get Older, You Have Sex Maybe Once a Month.
When You Get Really Old, You Are Lucky to Have it Once a Year....Maybe on Your Anniversary.
The Young Fellow Then Asked His Grandfather, "Well How about You and Grandma Now"
His Grandfather Replied, "Oh, We Just Have Oral Sex Now."
"What's Oral Sex" the Young Fellow Asked.
"Well, " Grandpa Said, "She Goes to Bed in Her Bedroom, and I Go to Bed in My Bedroom. And She Yell, 'Fuck You', and I Holler Back, "Fuck You, Too".
Too Soon To Surrender
Mike Hamilton (UK Sunday Mirror) reports from Camp Coyote in Kuwait, "TERRIFIED Iraqi soldiers have crossed the Kuwait border and tried to surrender to British forces - because they thought the war had already started."
The motley band of a dozen troops waved the white flag as British paratroopers tested their weapons during a routine exercise.
The stunned Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade were forced to tell the Iraqis they were not firing at them, and ordered them back to their home country telling them it was too early to surrender.
The drama unfolded last Monday as the Para batallion tested mortars and artillery weapons to make sure they were working properly.
The Iraqis found a way across the fortified border, which is sealed off with barbed-wire fencing, watchtowers and huge trenches.
TESTING TIME: British Marines are preparing for war
A British Army source in Kuwait contacted me to explain how the extraordinary surrender bid unfolded. The source said: "The British guys on the front-line could not believe what was happening. They were on pre-war exercises when all of a sudden these Iraqis turned up out of nowhere, with their hands in the air, saying they wanted to surrender.
"They had heard firing and thought it was the start of the war.
"The Paras are a tough, battle-hardened lot but were moved by the plight of the Iraqis. There was nothing they could do other than send them back.
"They were a motley bunch and you could barely describe them as soldiers - they were poorly equipped and didn't even have proper boots. Their physical condition was dreadful and they had obviously not had a square meal for ages. No one has ever known a group of so-called soldiers surrender before a shot has been fired in anger."
Last night the Ministry of Defence officially denied the incident had taken place, but the story was corroborated by an intelligence source.
Meanwhile Saddam Hussein has ordered thousands of troops back to Baghdad as he turns the city into a fortress.
It is believed that two rings of steel are being established around Baghdad. The outer one consists of regular Iraqi army soldiers and the inner one is made up of Republican Guard fighters - thought to be the only troops that will put up fierce resistance.
Western Civilization
Mr. Horst from Germany (via resnse.com) writes, "It seems very obvious to me the people in our beautiful Western Civilization have become like maggots in a piece of rotten meat.
"So, tell me, how has America allowed this to happen. Have Americans been too busy watching Fox News and reading the New York Times to notice the truth about their country. Are the folks of America so brainwashed and frightened by the propaganda and lies coming from the likes of Ashcroft and Cheney that they wont leave their sanitised, plastic sheeted, duct taped living rooms to find out what's really going on Please, someone let me know. What the hell is going on in America at the moment"
They have become drugged by their luxury - they are hooked on it like the junkies on heroin. To sustain this way of living they gave up all their spiritual values.
I remember a woman who's child had problems at school with math lessons.
She sat down and studied the schoolbooks, studied math herself, in order to
be able to teach her child then. Today, parents don't spend even half an hour
a day with and for their children, they leave them in front of the TV instead.
They made their children not out of love but because their hormones demanded
it.
I don't doubt that there is a NWO group, but as great doctors always said -
the bug has no significance, the environment is everything - this applies to
societies as well as to organisms. We, all those who value their luxuries more
than spiritual wealth, the corrupted people of the rotten West, we are the environment out of which the NWO was growing. They wouldn't have had a chance in a healthy society. By now, this social organism has become so sick there is almost no chance of survival, and i am not so sure if a survival is even desireable.
At any rate, the cure will be very painful and the healthier cells of the organism will suffer along with the sick ones.
Regards,
Horst
March 08, 2003
The "CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION ACT" Has Been Struck Down (Again)
The Associate Press (via CNN.com) reports, "PHILADELPHIA (AP) --A federal appeals court has ruled that a law meant to safeguard children against Internet pornography is riddled with problems that make it "constitutionally infirm."
A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the Child Online Protection Act restricted free speech by barring Web page operators from posting information inappropriate for minors unless they limited the site to adults. The ruling upheld an injunction blocking the government from enforcing the law.
The court said that in practice, the law made it too difficult for adults to view material protected by the First Amendment, including many non-pornographic sites.
The law, signed by President Clinton and endorsed by President Bush, has never been enforced. It is one of several relating to Internet decency that courts have struck down.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which initiated the legal challenge, praised Thursday's ruling.
"It's clear that the law would make it a crime to communicate a whole range of information to adults," said ACLU associate legal director Ann Beeson.
Calls to the Justice Department, which had argued in favor of the law, were not immediately returned. The government may ask the 3rd Circuit to rehear the case or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Previously, the 3rd Circuit had ruled the law unconstitutional on grounds that it allowed the legality of Internet content to be judged by "contemporary community standards."
On appeal, the Supreme Court said that evaluation standard alone did not make the law unconstitutional, and sent the case back for further evaluation.
In Thursday's opinion, the court said that in seeking to define material harmful to minors, the law made no distinction between things inappropriate for a 5-year-old and things harmful to someone in their early teens.
The judges said that while the law sought to get around free-speech arguments by making the restrictions apply only to Web operators who posted material for "commercial purposes," it didn't address what level of profitability was required.
The court also said screening methods suggested by the government, including requiring Web-page viewers to give a credit card number, would unfairly require adults to identify themselves before viewing constitutionally protected material such as medical sites offering sex advice.
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fallout Shelters All The Rage...Again
(Contact Lance Gay at gayl(at)shns.com or visit SHNS on the Web at http://www.shns.com.)
March 07, 2003
Giant Chee-to Spurs Online Frenzy
Jeordan Legon (CNN) reports, "It's believed to be the largest Chee-to in the world. The cheesy glob of fried cornmeal that Navy Petty Officer Mike Evans found last week in a bag of the snacks is about the size of a small lemon and weighs in at about half an ounce."
Evans, 41, a fervent user of online auctions, posted his find on eBay. He never expected the flurry of attention that followed.
Radio stations from around the country interviewed Evans, a Gulf War veteran stationed in Pearl Harbor who patiently explained that he bought the bag of Chee-tos for his 3-year-old son. Giant Chee-to T-shirts and Chee-to puppet auctions sprung up online. And pranksters bid up the Chee-to into the millions of dollars -- so much that eBay cancelled the sale and a frustrated Evans donated the Chee-to to a good cause: a sleepy farming community in Iowa.
"I was absolutely astounded that something like a Chee-to could become a pop icon," said Evans. "It's international. I've even seen it online on a Russian site."
Putting it on display
The folks in Algona, Iowa -- a one-movie-theater town with 5,970 residents -- can hardly wait to get their hands on the giant Chee-to. They plan to shellac it, lay it on plush velvet and put it under Plexiglas.
"This giant Chee-to could be a boon to our local economy," said Tom Straub, owner of Algona's Sister Sarah's Bar. "Anything we can do to attract visitors to our town would be good."
Though no official records are kept of such finds, a spokeswoman for Frito-Lay said she doesn't recall such a big Chee-to ever making it through the rigorous quality control process since the company began making them 55 years ago. A rare thing indeed because snackers devour billions of Chee-tos every year. More than 3 million bags are made daily, making the tasty treat almost synonymous with America.
"We have very high standards and practices in place," Frito-Lay's Lynn Markley said. "It's never happened before. Not in our lifetime."
Making a giant Chee-to
So how did this one Chee-to get to be a behemoth Chee-tos Development Manager Kevin Cogan's job is to ponder such mysteries. He believes that some of the cheddar seasoning in the company's machines built up and plopped out in a big blob that sneaked past inspectors.
"We call it Seasoning Accumulation," Cogan said. "If you love cheese, this is the Chee-to for you. It's beyond dangerously cheesy."
Bryce Wilson, the radio station disc jockey who headed the campaign to bring the Chee-to to Algona, said no one in the town would dare think of tasting it. Town residents raised $180 to bid on the Chee-to, but when Evans found out, he decided to send it to them for free. The $180 -- along with another $1000 pledged by Frito-Lay -- will go to a local food bank.
"If you take a big chunk of food out of circulation, you should put some food in circulation," said Wilson, 24, who has contacted the folks at Guinness World Records to see if the Chee-to qualifies. "Best of all, in these uncertain times, having something to laugh at is a really good thing."
March 04, 2003
Now playing: First notes in 639-year-long concert
The Associated Press reports, "HALBERSTADT, Germany (AP) First there was silence 1½ years of it.
But that was just a brief lead-in for Friday's playing of the opening notes in what's planned as the world's longest concert, a 639-year piece being performed in a former church in east Germany.
With 72 years already mapped out, the concert inspired by the American avant-garde composer John Cage challenges the creativity of future generations to keep the music playing.
"This is a project that conveys optimism," said Michael Betzle, a businessman who helps run the private foundation behind the concert. "When you start something like that, you're counting on people's creativity 200, 300 years down the road."
The three notes being played Friday G sharp, B, and G sharp are the debut for an organ built for Cage's music, with keys being held down by weights and with organ pipes to be added over the years for new notes.
The project, driven by a group of German music experts and an organ builder, is centered around a Cage piece called "Organ2/ASLSP" or "Organ squared/As slow as possible."
An unused church in Halberstadt, a town with a proud organ-building tradition dating to the Middle Ages, serves as the performance space and the inspiration for extending the piece over centuries.
As the idea took shape in 2000, backers counted back to the 1361 inauguration of a famous organ in the Halberstadt cathedral 639 years earlier.
They then stretched Cage's piece from a 20-minute piano concert to last just as long.
The concert actually began Sept. 5, 2001, the day Cage who died in 1992 would have turned 88.
But since the composition starts out with a rest music language for silence the only sound inside the church has been the tap-tap of the organ builders and the sound of air driven through the pipeless organ by an electric fan.
It's a concept that Cage surely would have appreciated. Born in Los Angeles in 1912 and a student of avant-garde composer Arnold Schoenberg, he once wrote a piece consisting of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence.
Other Cage innovations included "prepared piano" performances, using a standard piano altered with noisemaking items like screws and wood placed between the strings.
Like with Cage, stretching the meaning of music is on the minds of the Halberstadt organizers.
"Others have eternal flames," Betzle said. "We have the eternal sound or at least 639 years."
The foundation is seeking sponsors to fund the organ's estimated $215,000 cost. People can choose a year to sponsor with a $1,080 donation.
Anyone who misses Friday's gala, which will include Germany's culture minister, has plenty of time to hear the opening E major chord, which will play continuously through August 2005. The next notes will be added in July 2004.
German music scholar Heinz-Klaus Metzger, who knew Cage and was one of the project's advisers, said he thought his friend would have loved the concept.
"I imagine he would have been amazed," Metzger said. "Then he would have said: 'Yes, do it."'
On the Net: http://www.john-cage.halberstadt.de (In German)
© 2003 Associated Press All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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March 02, 2003
Thoughts for the New Year
This is to wish you a most wonderful New Year for the Year 2003.
(March 3rd is the beginning of Losar, [Tibetan New Year])
What a nice thing this concept of New Year.
We have a chance to make a new beginning.
We have a chance to leave some bad habits.
At least we can make a promise.
What a nice thing this concept of a New Year.
We can rejoice of the promises we kept.
We can forgive the breaches we made.
At least we can make another beginning.
Put off the burden on your mind.
Revive and refresh your inspirations..
Put a song in your heart and smile on your face.
"This year I will do something good for me
and something good for others."
Let us clebrate a Happy New Year.
Ringu Tulku
Gangtok, 30th Dec. 2002
March 01, 2003
Bought and Sold
Dar Williams writes:
Well we're heading for a past that you leave not defend
Where the downtowns hold the sadness of you can't go back again
It's there you'll find the rust and debtors
Motel signs with missing letters
Cause there's a monster on the outskirts
Says it knows what your town needs
Then it eats it up like nothing and it won't spit out the seeds
And we can be the super shoppers
We can say we're really smart
We can say our town is doing fine without a beating heart
We can even say the money saved is all our own
It's bought and sold, it's bought and sold
And we're heading for a nasty business, keeps our country growing
Where the weapons that we're selling are the only seeds we're sowing
You get to blow the fruits of all your labors
Sell F-16's to all the neighbors
And we know that it's for money
And that's how the west gets bargained
You the know the last time this happened
Even Vietnam got jargoned
And you can say they're out to hunt you
You can say they're out to fish you
You can join a gang of restless boys
Or start your own militia
You can even say your violence is all your own
It's bought and sold, it's bought and sold
Well I look up to the people who are less bought than I
You can show them what you're selling
And they'll only ask you why
And their paychecks don't have lots of zeros
They're my friends and they're my heroes
And the TV sets are angry 'cause they just can't make 'em pay
But I like the way these people read the signs and walk away
And we can call ourselves the makers
And the keepers of the times
We can spend our sand dollars
And sand nickels and sand dimes
We can even say prosperity is all our own
It's bought and sold, it's bought and sold
We can even say our loneliness is all our own
It's bought and sold, it's bought and sold
It's bought and sold, it's bought and sold