Celestial Buffet: Seen

Postings are in chronological order, with the most recent entry at the top. The tunes come from flashkit.com.

And surprisingly... the Iraqi forces are fighting back. Imagine, we go to the trouble of invading their country and they're not grateful! The unmitigated nerve of these people! Don't they know that we're liberating them? Haven't they heard that this venture (a.k.a. the hot poker up the ass of American ideals) has been named, "Operation Iraqi Freedom"? Come on! What more do they want?! Don't they appreciate the expense of this endeavor? I don't think so, not really, if they knew how much one of those precision guided missles cost, they'd be shocked and awed for sure. They might finally appreciate the lengths we Americans go to to kill people. When we set ourselves to a task, we don't mess around. Killing is no exception. Just take a look at the number of people the state of Texas has killed, three hundred as of last week. Yes siree, we know how to kill people all right. Now give the fuck up already so that we can get back to watching our usual prime time schedule of "reality" fucking tv!

This is what I've been surfing this past week:

The Independent: click here

Independent voices and good media analysis:
http://www.mediachannel.org/

MediaChannel gets a lot of its stuff from GlobalVision News Network, I especially liked this article: click here

GlobalVision's articles on the war are here:
http://www.gvnews.net/html/Crisis/abs873.html

For protest news:
http://www.indymedia.org/

This is MediaChannel's media scrutinizer, I like what he has to say: click here

For a glood list of articles:
http://www.buzzflash.com/

For progressive (what used to be called "liberal" before it was turned into a bad word) articles:
http://www.commondreams.org/

Michael Moore's war info update page: click here

A map of the region we've invaded: click here

And there's always:
http://www.cynics4peace.com/

Might as well throw this in... Clear Channel Communications is sponsoring pro-war rallies. Clear Channel is a mongo U.S. media company, they own all the hip radio station's y'all groove to on your way to work and whatnot... Yeah, those big media companies, they don't influence opinion - they're just objective businessfolk, tryin' to make a buck - no media bias over those airwaves. Nope. Click here for more info.

And, because laughter is necessary in even the bleakest moments:

This is an excellent spoof of ready.gov: click here

Heh - this one too: click here

Lefty cartoons!: click here

I like this Mark Fiore Flash animation: click here

Can't say it any better than this:

Arrogance of Power
Today, I Weep for my Country...

by US Senator Robert Byrd
Speech delivered on the floor of the US Senate
March 19, 2003 3:45pm

I believe in this beautiful country. I have studied its roots and gloried in the wisdom of its magnificent Constitution. I have marveled at the wisdom of its founders and framers. Generation after generation of Americans has understood the lofty ideals that underlie our great Republic. I have been inspired by the story of their sacrifice and their strength.

But, today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned.

Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination. Instead of isolating Saddam Hussein, we seem to have isolated ourselves. We proclaim a new doctrine of preemption which is understood by few and feared by many. We say that the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any corner of the globe which might be suspect in the war on terrorism. We assert that right without the sanction of any international body. As a result, the world has become a much more dangerous place.

We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. We treat UN Security Council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split.

After war has ended, the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America's image around the globe.

The case this Administration tries to make to justify its fixation with war is tainted by charges of falsified documents and circumstantial evidence. We cannot convince the world of the necessity of this war for one simple reason. This is a war of choice.

There is no credible information to connect Saddam Hussein to 9/11. The twin towers fell because a world-wide terrorist group, Al Qaeda, with cells in over 60 nations, struck at our wealth and our influence by turning our own planes into missiles, one of which would likely have slammed into the dome of this beautiful Capitol except for the brave sacrifice of the passengers on board.

The brutality seen on September 11th and in other terrorist attacks we have witnessed around the globe are the violent and desperate efforts by extremists to stop the daily encroachment of western values upon their cultures. That is what we fight. It is a force not confined to borders. It is a shadowy entity with many faces, many names, and many addresses.

But, this Administration has directed all of the anger, fear, and grief which emerged from the ashes of the twin towers and the twisted metal of the Pentagon towards a tangible villain, one we can see and hate and attack. And villain he is. But, he is the wrong villain. And this is the wrong war. If we attack Saddam Hussein, we will probably drive him from power. But, the zeal of our friends to assist our global war on terrorism may have already taken flight.

The general unease surrounding this war is not just due to "orange alert." There is a pervasive sense of rush and risk and too many questions unanswered. How long will we be in Iraq? What will be the cost? What is the ultimate mission? How great is the danger at home?

A pall has fallen over the Senate Chamber. We avoid our solemn duty to debate the one topic on the minds of all Americans, even while scores of thousands of our sons and daughters faithfully do their duty in Iraq.

What is happening to this country? When did we become a nation which ignores and berates our friends? When did we decide to risk undermining international order by adopting a radical and doctrinaire approach to using our awesome military might? How can we abandon diplomatic efforts when the turmoil in the world cries out for diplomacy?

Why can this President not seem to see that America's true power lies not in its will to intimidate, but in its ability to inspire?

War appears inevitable. But, I continue to hope that the cloud will lift. Perhaps Saddam will yet turn tail and run. Perhaps reason will somehow still prevail. I along with millions of Americans will pray for the safety of our troops, for the innocent civilians in Iraq, and for the security of our homeland. May God continue to bless the United States of America in the troubled days ahead, and may we somehow recapture the vision which for the present eludes us.

This and other articles of note can be found at:
http://www.commondreams.org/

Weather forecast for 3.14.03:

A sunny start to the day is expected over the region during Friday. Increasing cloudiness develop between midday and early evening. Continued unseasonably cold. High 31 to 36. Mostly cloudy with the chance of a few snow showers or snow flurries Friday night. Low 20 to 25.

The average high temperature for the date is 45 degrees.

I don't bother with reading horoscopes - not when the weather predicts my day ten times more accurately.

I recently heard that the Europeans fear what they call the "American culture of death." By this they mean all of the gun violence in our society and the extreme violence depicted in our films.

I find this curious... when I read about children toting firearms to school and blowing their classmates away, or children leaning from car windows and blowing their peers away - I don't think to myself, "There's another instance of the American culture of death." I think, "There's another example of the American culture of fear."

We have a deeply ingrained culture of fear in this country. It lurks just under our deeply ingrained veneer of independence. It has manifested itself in glaring technicolor since 9/11. We are threatened and understandably so; there's a well organized group of anti-western, anti-American fanatics who are determined to do us harm. Our state of fear is easily manipulated, however, as witnessed by our government's reflexive passing (the virtually unexamined), Patriot Act.

And now, when they start this war with Iraq (any minute now), they think we'll be even more afraid and prepared to toss even more of our rights to the winds of fear and they'll try to pass Patriot II (a nasty bit of legislation with a nasty pedigree if there ever was one).

What we're witnessing is a consolidation of power. And the more afraid we are of losing our habit of purchasing cleverly packaged plastics... I mean, "our way of life", the more rights and protections they'll be able to take from us. Soon, we'll be willing to do just about anything to remain "safe". This includes allowing the government, without a warrant, to monitor our credit card purchases, video rentals, library card activity and e-mail - hello Big Brother.

(I'm on a role here - coming up to my latest and greatest conspiracy. Which is, namely, that we're being manipulated by a bunch of right wing fundamentalists into a religious police state. Yup, that's where I'm going with this.)

With the tremendous sucking sound of the economy rushing down the toilet (with what hope of it being plunged back up, nobody knows), our ability to buy cleverly packaged plastics is way crappy anyway. Our feelings of vulnerability will not be quelled by an invasion of Iraq. If anything, we'll have to be ever more vigilant after having invaded an Arab country. And how convenient - we'll have Patriot II all ready to go (crafted by none other than the Attorney General himself - who elected him to write legislation?.. oh yeah, his unelected boss did, that's who...).

We're being set up people. Are you as afraid as I am? Which eventuality do you fear more? That terrorists will kill more people? Or that our fear of terrorists will cause us to surrender our "way of life" (whatever that means to you)? And that in the process we'll kill as many Iraqis as we have to in order to prevent the violence we claim to want to avoid!?

If you think I'm under the impression that these folks sit around in darkly lit chambers gleefully plotting the ever diminished freedoms of the citizenry, you're mistaken - I don't credit them with that much intention or imagination. Their ideology leads them to believe that only they can truly be trusted with power and liberty, and so they will attempt to gain as much as they can and share as little of it as possible. These are aristocrats masquerading as common men - these are religious fundamentalists masquerading as leaders of a secular government. This is not how they think, it is how they react - "from the gut" as our President is fond of saying.

I would rather that my tax dollars were not used to kill people because of someone else's gut reaction to their feeling of vulnerability.

Have a nice war.

Yes!!! Listen to this interview with Philip Taubman from NYT on Fresh Air - articulate (real audio 03.13.03): click here

ACLU information on Patriot II: click here

Good discussion on the law and terrorism! The Connection (real audio 03.02.03): click here

Articles on civil liberties from the Village Voice: click here

This article in particular on Patriot II: click here

You want a daily liberal rant? Try this guy out: click here

I love this disgusting tidbit the rant guy commented on from the news: click here

A little info on how the government is developing it's online information gathering arm for the TIA program (Total Information Awareness): click here

For more info you can also check out the Electronic Freedom Foundation: click here

As I'm already on a roll... remember that White House press conference the night before Hans Blix gave his talk at the UN last week? The one that was broadcast on all channels, etc.?

By some miraculous twist of fate... (maybe all of the planets were in strict alignment or some equally mysterious force that governs the odds of probability in a country where the press likes to refer to itself as free...) all of the questions were about... Iraq! Can you imagine the odds of a press conference in a free country where all of the questions just happened to be about one thing? That's uncanny.

"But no," you say. "They weren't all about one thing, there was a question about North Korea too." Oh... okay, another question about a country we may or may not have to test ordinance on. Well, okay, I see your point, you're right, there was a stunning variety of issues covered at that press conference and the fact that the entire White House press corps forgot to ask about unemployment rising and the economy flushing... that's understandable... after all, it only concerns our day to day lives, it's not like terrorism that consumes our every fearful moment, so maybe they'll get to that at a later date... like after the next couple of wars maybe... maybe then, someone will remember to ask about it at an unscripted White House Press conference.

Like I said, have a nice war.

Written Pictured Seen Once were: Current events links	Postings are in chronological order, with the most recent entry at the top. The tunes come from flashkit.com. And surprisingly... the Iraqi forces are fighting back. Imagine, we go to the trouble of invading their country and they're not grateful! The unmitigated nerve of these people! Don't they know that we're liberating them? Haven't they heard that this venture (a.k.a. the hot poker up the ass of American ideals) has been named, "Operation Iraqi Freedom"? Come on! What more do they want?! Don't they appreciate the expense of this endeavor? I don't think so, not really, if they knew how much one of those precision guided missles cost, they'd be shocked and awed for sure. They might finally appreciate the lengths we Americans go to to kill people. When we set ourselves to a task, we don't mess around. Killing is no exception. Just take a look at the number of people the state of Texas has killed, three hundred as of last week. Yes siree, we know how to kill people all right. Now give the fuck up already so that we can get back to watching our usual prime time schedule of "reality" fucking tv! This is what I've been surfing this past week: The Independent: click here Independent voices and good media analysis: http://www.mediachannel.org/ MediaChannel gets a lot of its stuff from GlobalVision News Network, I especially liked this article: click here GlobalVision's articles on the war are here: http://www.gvnews.net/html/Crisis/abs873.html For protest news: http://www.indymedia.org/ This is MediaChannel's media scrutinizer, I like what he has to say: click here For a glood list of articles: http://www.buzzflash.com/ For progressive (what used to be called "liberal" before it was turned into a bad word) articles: http://www.commondreams.org/ Michael Moore's war info update page: click here A map of the region we've invaded: click here And there's always: http://www.cynics4peace.com/ Might as well throw this in... Clear Channel Communications is sponsoring pro-war rallies. Clear Channel is a mongo U.S. media company, they own all the hip radio station's y'all groove to on your way to work and whatnot... Yeah, those big media companies, they don't influence opinion - they're just objective businessfolk, tryin' to make a buck - no media bias over those airwaves. Nope. Click here for more info. And, because laughter is necessary in even the bleakest moments: This is an excellent spoof of ready.gov: click here Heh - this one too: click here Lefty cartoons!: click here I like this Mark Fiore Flash animation: click here Can't say it any better than this: Arrogance of Power Today, I Weep for my Country... by US Senator Robert Byrd Speech delivered on the floor of the US Senate March 19, 2003 3:45pm I believe in this beautiful country. I have studied its roots and gloried in the wisdom of its magnificent Constitution. I have marveled at the wisdom of its founders and framers. Generation after generation of Americans has understood the lofty ideals that underlie our great Republic. I have been inspired by the story of their sacrifice and their strength. But, today I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned. Instead of reasoning with those with whom we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten recrimination. Instead of isolating Saddam Hussein, we seem to have isolated ourselves. We proclaim a new doctrine of preemption which is understood by few and feared by many. We say that the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any corner of the globe which might be suspect in the war on terrorism. We assert that right without the sanction of any international body. As a result, the world has become a much more dangerous place. We flaunt our superpower status with arrogance. We treat UN Security Council members like ingrates who offend our princely dignity by lifting their heads from the carpet. Valuable alliances are split. After war has ended, the United States will have to rebuild much more than the country of Iraq. We will have to rebuild America's image around the globe. The case this Administration tries to make to justify its fixation with war is tainted by charges of falsified documents and circumstantial evidence. We cannot convince the world of the necessity of this war for one simple reason. This is a war of choice. There is no credible information to connect Saddam Hussein to 9/11. The twin towers fell because a world-wide terrorist group, Al Qaeda, with cells in over 60 nations, struck at our wealth and our influence by turning our own planes into missiles, one of which would likely have slammed into the dome of this beautiful Capitol except for the brave sacrifice of the passengers on board. The brutality seen on September 11th and in other terrorist attacks we have witnessed around the globe are the violent and desperate efforts by extremists to stop the daily encroachment of western values upon their cultures. That is what we fight. It is a force not confined to borders. It is a shadowy entity with many faces, many names, and many addresses. But, this Administration has directed all of the anger, fear, and grief which emerged from the ashes of the twin towers and the twisted metal of the Pentagon towards a tangible villain, one we can see and hate and attack. And villain he is. But, he is the wrong villain. And this is the wrong war. If we attack Saddam Hussein, we will probably drive him from power. But, the zeal of our friends to assist our global war on terrorism may have already taken flight. The general unease surrounding this war is not just due to "orange alert." There is a pervasive sense of rush and risk and too many questions unanswered. How long will we be in Iraq? What will be the cost? What is the ultimate mission? How great is the danger at home? A pall has fallen over the Senate Chamber. We avoid our solemn duty to debate the one topic on the minds of all Americans, even while scores of thousands of our sons and daughters faithfully do their duty in Iraq. What is happening to this country? When did we become a nation which ignores and berates our friends? When did we decide to risk undermining international order by adopting a radical and doctrinaire approach to using our awesome military might? How can we abandon diplomatic efforts when the turmoil in the world cries out for diplomacy? Why can this President not seem to see that America's true power lies not in its will to intimidate, but in its ability to inspire? War appears inevitable. But, I continue to hope that the cloud will lift. Perhaps Saddam will yet turn tail and run. Perhaps reason will somehow still prevail. I along with millions of Americans will pray for the safety of our troops, for the innocent civilians in Iraq, and for the security of our homeland. May God continue to bless the United States of America in the troubled days ahead, and may we somehow recapture the vision which for the present eludes us. This and other articles of note can be found at: http://www.commondreams.org/ Weather forecast for 3.14.03: A sunny start to the day is expected over the region during Friday. Increasing cloudiness develop between midday and early evening. Continued unseasonably cold. High 31 to 36. Mostly cloudy with the chance of a few snow showers or snow flurries Friday night. Low 20 to 25. The average high temperature for the date is 45 degrees. I don't bother with reading horoscopes - not when the weather predicts my day ten times more accurately. I recently heard that the Europeans fear what they call the "American culture of death." By this they mean all of the gun violence in our society and the extreme violence depicted in our films. I find this curious... when I read about children toting firearms to school and blowing their classmates away, or children leaning from car windows and blowing their peers away - I don't think to myself, "There's another instance of the American culture of death." I think, "There's another example of the American culture of fear." We have a deeply ingrained culture of fear in this country. It lurks just under our deeply ingrained veneer of independence. It has manifested itself in glaring technicolor since 9/11. We are threatened and understandably so; there's a well organized group of anti-western, anti-American fanatics who are determined to do us harm. Our state of fear is easily manipulated, however, as witnessed by our government's reflexive passing (the virtually unexamined), Patriot Act. And now, when they start this war with Iraq (any minute now), they think we'll be even more afraid and prepared to toss even more of our rights to the winds of fear and they'll try to pass Patriot II (a nasty bit of legislation with a nasty pedigree if there ever was one). What we're witnessing is a consolidation of power. And the more afraid we are of losing our habit of purchasing cleverly packaged plastics... I mean, "our way of life", the more rights and protections they'll be able to take from us. Soon, we'll be willing to do just about anything to remain "safe". This includes allowing the government, without a warrant, to monitor our credit card purchases, video rentals, library card activity and e-mail - hello Big Brother. (I'm on a role here - coming up to my latest and greatest conspiracy. Which is, namely, that we're being manipulated by a bunch of right wing fundamentalists into a religious police state. Yup, that's where I'm going with this.) With the tremendous sucking sound of the economy rushing down the toilet (with what hope of it being plunged back up, nobody knows), our ability to buy cleverly packaged plastics is way crappy anyway. Our feelings of vulnerability will not be quelled by an invasion of Iraq. If anything, we'll have to be ever more vigilant after having invaded an Arab country. And how convenient - we'll have Patriot II all ready to go (crafted by none other than the Attorney General himself - who elected him to write legislation?.. oh yeah, his unelected boss did, that's who...). We're being set up people. Are you as afraid as I am? Which eventuality do you fear more? That terrorists will kill more people? Or that our fear of terrorists will cause us to surrender our "way of life" (whatever that means to you)? And that in the process we'll kill as many Iraqis as we have to in order to prevent the violence we claim to want to avoid!? If you think I'm under the impression that these folks sit around in darkly lit chambers gleefully plotting the ever diminished freedoms of the citizenry, you're mistaken - I don't credit them with that much intention or imagination. Their ideology leads them to believe that only they can truly be trusted with power and liberty, and so they will attempt to gain as much as they can and share as little of it as possible. These are aristocrats masquerading as common men - these are religious fundamentalists masquerading as leaders of a secular government. This is not how they think, it is how they react - "from the gut" as our President is fond of saying. I would rather that my tax dollars were not used to kill people because of someone else's gut reaction to their feeling of vulnerability. Have a nice war. Yes!!! Listen to this interview with Philip Taubman from NYT on Fresh Air - articulate (real audio 03.13.03): click here ACLU information on Patriot II: click here Good discussion on the law and terrorism! The Connection (real audio 03.02.03): click here Articles on civil liberties from the Village Voice: click here This article in particular on Patriot II: click here You want a daily liberal rant? Try this guy out: click here I love this disgusting tidbit the rant guy commented on from the news: click here A little info on how the government is developing it's online information gathering arm for the TIA program (Total Information Awareness): click here For more info you can also check out the Electronic Freedom Foundation: click here As I'm already on a roll... remember that White House press conference the night before Hans Blix gave his talk at the UN last week? The one that was broadcast on all channels, etc.? By some miraculous twist of fate... (maybe all of the planets were in strict alignment or some equally mysterious force that governs the odds of probability in a country where the press likes to refer to itself as free...) all of the questions were about... Iraq! Can you imagine the odds of a press conference in a free country where all of the questions just happened to be about one thing? That's uncanny. "But no," you say. "They weren't all about one thing, there was a question about North Korea too." Oh... okay, another question about a country we may or may not have to test ordinance on. Well, okay, I see your point, you're right, there was a stunning variety of issues covered at that press conference and the fact that the entire White House press corps forgot to ask about unemployment rising and the economy flushing... that's understandable... after all, it only concerns our day to day lives, it's not like terrorism that consumes our every fearful moment, so maybe they'll get to that at a later date... like after the next couple of wars maybe... maybe then, someone will remember to ask about it at an unscripted White House Press conference. Like I said, have a nice war.
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