Primary Sources- I'm a big fan

From The Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/bush-torture-memos-releas_n_187867.html



Holy shit!



The media...




...the POWER...




... THE MEDIA'S POWER TO SHAPE OUR THOUGHTS!






[I wish I controlled the media!]


Check the spin:




On some sites, these are referred to as "Obama's Torture Memos."

Other sites say, "Bush Torture Memos released by Obama."

Objective sites refer to, "Torture memos."












Wow. I wish I controlled the media. No, I wish our 2 party system would GET OVER THEMSELVES AND THEIR CHILDISH WIN-LOSE WORLDVIEW!






Anyway, I think they're all here, for those of you who are interested in forming your own opinions from primary sources.

Worth a listen

from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvFz8ghX4Gs

Aluminum can crusher, Non-apology # 2, "Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds."

When the first atomic bomb in the history of mankind was dropped from a the Enola Gay to utterly and completely destroy a city and all living things within it, the pilot uttered a quote, "Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds." I would like to think he uttered these words with tears in his eyes, comprehending the full extent of pain and suffering he had unleashed. Unfortunately, it was probably just preplanned quote arranged with some consultation, similar to "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind..."

Anyway, I have an aluminum can crusher featuring a variant of the atomic bomb dropping quote:




Of course, someone pointed out to me that this is totally tasteless and offensive.

No, it is not. I interpret that reaction to mean, "I am not courageous enough to think about troubling issues."

Words are just words. It is the act associated with these words is horribly brutal and offensive.

PLEASE DO ME A FAVOR AND TRY TO PAY ATTENTION. This t-shirt is meant to be provocative! Wait, haven't we been over this before once already?! (see post from Wednesday, April 23, 2008, entitled, "brunch, bbq, t-shirt non-apology."


Provocation is needed, especially as we enter an era of a nuclear armed world run by kids who did not live through the cold war, while simultaneously paranoid former Soviet, first-strike advocate generals still hold positions of influence.


"Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds."

worth watching

nice to see some talking before we jump to fighting:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14547.htm

Wow this guy is quite a politician. Talk about playing both sides!
"Death to America,' or, "Today is the era of thoughts, dialogue, and cultural exchanges."

tippity tappity tap tap dance!

I don't know if I should be encouraged by this amicability, or utterly terrified, because this reminds me of the peace talks of November 1941 with Japan before they hit us at Pearl Harbor.

FINALLY, all the power of a nuclear warhead, but without those pesky side effects!

How many times have you said to yourself, "I want to cause mass destruction and carnage, but I've had it with those yucky, radiation-related side-effects?"

Well, you're prayers have been answered:

The main destruction is inflicted by an ultrasonic shockwave and an
incredibly high temperature," the reports said. "All that is alive merely
evaporates."
Rukshin said: "At the same time, I want to stress that the
action of this weapon does not contaminate the environment, in contrast to a
nuclear one.

From Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL1155952320070912?pageNumber=2

Pick a punchline, or write your own:

1. FINALLY, an environmentally friendly way to blow shit up!
2. All the carnage... without the guilt!

celebrate war... good times!

Not!

Something has really been bugging me, but I haven't been able to compose a blog-worthy (although as I type this I realize my blogworthiness standards are low) analysis. A couple weeks after reading Slaughterhouse-Five, viewing The Fog of War, and immediately after watching the HBO documentary film, White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007), I am disturbed enough to share my unpolished thoughts.

It has often occurred to me that war is usually, if not always, NOT a smart move. Especially when one considers the human cost, the long-term cost (read: blowback) of the bad-will generated by the conflict, and the eventual resentment held by the defeated (how's that Afghanistan reconstruction going? And how are the losers of the United States Civil War faring in comparison to the winners?).

Seriously, starting an unnecessary war is just intellectually lazy. The action itself indicates that it has not been thoroughly considered. We understand this about nuclear war: No one wins, so no one starts global nuclear wars. Good for us.

I mean, the violence of warfare is about as glamorous as a multi-fatality motor vehicle accident. If high-tech civilization & society are a organisms, then war is our cancer. See what I'm saying?

OK- we all agree: war sucks. I think everyone who has seen first-hand death & violence knows that, right? Sure, military might is cool (awesome toys), but destroying lives is not. So why do we keep fighting throughout recorded history? Certainly powerful men are well versed in history. So am I naive? Or perhaps I lack a certain predatory gene or brain region?

Or am I the only sane one around here?

What if a nation took the unprecedented action of sending a ton of diplomats to live in a rogue state, rather than tons of destruction?

If we can all agree that generally humans want (1) to survive and (2) to not hurt, then why do we still fight wars? Well, someone has to start them, right? Who? Maybe the leaders who are also starters of war lean more towards the socio/psychopathic than true representation of the will of the population?

kill you

Confucious said something like, "Good people order and arrange." Wise advice, considering we've only got one brain each.

Let's start with:

• nuclear weapons, especially suitcase nuclear weapons (aren't a dozen or so unaccounted for?)
• acid rain
• carcinogens
• disease (this and the above category can be expanded. Analisa can probably help_)
• gang initiation killings
• earthquakes
• fire
• flood
• Snakes on a Plane (contributed by Steve Cowles)

What happend to the Acid Rain??

What the heck ever have happen to acid rain? I mean, when I was a kid, I was as scared of acid rain as I was nuclear annihilation. The cold war was in full effect, and acid rain was all over the tv and news media.

As of late, I haven't heard anything about it in years. So what happened to Acid Rain? Was it part of someone's political platform? Or a scary-sounding label put on a not-so-scary threat to get people to watch more TV/advertisements?

End of an era. I win.

Dude- is anyone else out there "out of fear?" I mean, London, Glasgow... I'm just no longer alarm-able. Sure, I'm vigilant and aware of my surroundings, but terrorism has lost it's power.

Life's too short for much fear, and this old story is tired. I sure do hope that "Joe Public" agrees with me. Know why? Because that would mean that it's not so easy to cause fear enough to affect our economy. And that means that terrorism loses. So the GWOT (Global War On Terrorism) is over!

Not afraid- I win!

real security vs. a sense of security

3/21/2007: Revision: Looks like we should all panic... IMMEDIATELY! Lock bumpers will break into your house and eat your babies.

---

this is my second mobile blog entry via MMS... although the future is yet to provide me with flying cars or even personal aircraft (how about a jet-pack?), this connectedness is cool (although thumbing is silly... when I can dial by voice, why can't I dictate messages, too? Still, all things considered I give the state of technology a thumbs up... hooray!

Know any good locksmith blogs? After surviving the past three days protected only by a mini sticky-note deterrent, I am pondering the various symbols we cling to in order to feel a sense of security. I mean, what good is a deadbolt when I have barless windows all around my house? Real security comes from one's societal environment, I believe. Specifically a stable society following rules of law. Only then can my sticky note protect me.