My blogs about
America's Wars
War on Iraq
War on Drugs
War on Afghanistan
War on Columbia
War on Philippines
War on Venezuela

More
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
US News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Matrix Masters'
SUPPORTERS

More about Lorenzo
Books

"Spirit of the Internet"
   Synopsys
   Read Online
   Chapter Highlights
   Table of Contents
   Reader Comments
   Award

Essays
Speaking
Consulting
Biography (c.v.)

Photos

Member of the
Digital Space Commons

My Tribe.Net profile

27 December 2002

 

Thought for the day
I'd like to live some place where the laws of physics are not so strictly enforced.
--Lorenzo Hagerty
The Cusp of Chaos

posted by Lorenzo 7:42 AM

21 December 2002

 

Highly Recommended Reading
I just blogged a story titled SF IMC Interviews Al Giordano on Venezuela, the media, and anarchism : SF Indymedia. I highly recommend you read the entire interview, as it provides excellent historical perspective, and in-depth, on-the-spot journalism of a caliber not often seen these days. If you are looking for the Big Picture on Latin America right now, this is an interview that should not be missed.

posted by Lorenzo 7:04 PM

20 December 2002

 

What's New — Posted on December 19, 2002
World Events . . . The name of the game is assassination . . . If Arabs mistrust America, there's good reason . . . Carlyle Group Buys Chunk of CSX . . . U.S. Broke Law in Use Of Cluster Bombs in Afghanistan . . . G8 Countries Call for Biometric Data of all Travelers to be Recorded and Stored
U.S. News . . . Information Awareness Office Website Deletes Logo . . . The Bush Administration's Dual Loyalties . . . Bush Nominates Himself to Chair 9/11 Investigation
Science & Health . . . A Supercomputer to Save Earth?
Palestine & Israel . . . The Price Of Israel
War on Iraq . . . ‘Brotherhood is trying to destabilize’ Saudi Arabia . . . Binladin factory gutted . . . Leaders of Army, Marines Doubt Early Hussein Fall . . . Saddam's sibling rivalry
War on Venezuela . . . AP’s One-Sided Venezuela Coverage

posted by Lorenzo 8:25 AM

 

Thought for the day
Our beliefs shape us as a person.
So who owns these beliefs?
If I do, then I am a freethinker, in charge of my own destiny.
If my beliefs own me, then the institutions that formulate and promulgate those beliefs own me.
--Lorenzo Hagerty
The Cusp of Chaos

posted by Lorenzo 8:07 AM

19 December 2002

 

What's New — Posted on December 18, 2002
World Events . . . Please Return The Radioactive Device: A Humble Message from the Canadian Authorities
U.S. News . . . The Office of Strategic Influence Is Gone, But Are Its Programs In Place? . . . Elcomsoft DMCA Case - Not Guilty . . . Eyeballing Total Information Awareness ... pictures of John Poindexter's House
War on Drugs . . . New Jersey Court Declares State's Civil Forfeiture Funding Scheme Unconstitutional
War on Iraq . . . Most Unconvinced on Iraq War
Free Speech . . . Alternative Media Censorship ... foundations fund phony 'left' media

posted by Lorenzo 8:41 AM

 

Thought for the day
The purpose of life
is not to reach a destination.
Nor is life a journey.
The purpose of life is to dance.

Here and now
Here and now
All else is but
Memory and fantasy.

--Lorenzo Hagerty
The Cusp of Chaos

posted by Lorenzo 8:35 AM

18 December 2002

 

What's New — Posted on December 17, 2002
World Events . . . Pentagon Plan for Covert Propaganda War Against U.S. Allies
U.S. News . . . Agencies see homeland security role for surveillance drones ... Big Brother takes to the sky . . . The Nazification of America--Step Three
Earth News . . . Oil's Not Well in Spain
War on Iraq . . . Sean Penn in Iraq -- His Statement
War on Venezuela . . . White House Venezuela Error Backfires . . . América Reborn: 32 Nations Back Venezuela
Free Speech . . . Electronic Frontier Foundation Rejects Broadcast Flag . . . Journalists are under fire for telling the truth

posted by Lorenzo 8:04 AM

 

Thought for the day
If the words 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' don't
include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the
Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on.
--Terence McKenna, 1946-2000

posted by Lorenzo 7:18 AM

17 December 2002

 

Thought for the day
Moments.
That is all we have,
a few good moments.
I'll bet you can't remember even one full day
that was so great you remember every single minute.
No, at best you remember a few big moments
that occurred on a few good days.
Thus the quantum theory of memory:
Time is measured in moments,
and a moment isn't very long.
--Lorenzo Hagerty
The Cusp of Chaos

posted by Lorenzo 11:18 AM

14 December 2002

 

Thought for the day ... from Douglas Rushkoff
The Bush regime is not simply 'in bed' with the oil industry. This is not a question of undue influence or corporate donations. The Bush regime is the oil industry. . . . These are not indications of some abstract "conflict of interest" that require our analysis. They are the very simply understood actions of a single, coordinated group. Not a "conspiracy," but a collaboration. The only real question unanswered about the invasion of Iraq, for example, is who will get which piece of the spoils. . . . Whichever method of maintaining public ignorance is utilized, the result is the same. Nationalism, xenophobia, and a surrender of power and influence to the wealthy. . . . As soon as people can understand this very simple equation:

Bush says Arabs bad.
Arabs says Bush bad.
Bush and Arabs make business deals together at the expense of their people.

...things could get interesting.

posted by Lorenzo 7:03 AM

 

Thought for the day ... from Douglas Rushkoff
The Bush regime is not simply 'in bed' with the oil industry. This is not a question of undue influence or corporate donations. The Bush regime is the oil industry. . . . These are not indications of some abstract "conflict of interest" that require our analysis. They are the very simply understood actions of a single, coordinated group. Not a "conspiracy," but a collaboration. The only real question unanswered about the invasion of Iraq, for example, is who will get which piece of the spoils. . . . Whichever method of maintaining public ignorance is utilized, the result is the same. Nationalism, xenophobia, and a surrender of power and influence to the wealthy. . . . As soon as people can understand this very simple equation:

Bush says Arabs bad.
Arabs says Bush bad.
Bush and Arabs make business deals together at the expense of their people.

...things could get interesting.

posted by Lorenzo 7:03 AM

13 December 2002

 

Writers Monthly Interview with Matthew Pallamary
Matthew Pallamary is a San Diego writer of short fiction and novels. His novel, Land Without Evil, is a genre-defying mystic novel dramatizing the confrontation between Jesuits and native people of the South American rain forests� two and a half centuries ago [see our recommended books section] won a San Diego Book Award in 2000. . . . He recently won The Independent e-book award in the horror/thriller category for Dreamland, a novel about computer generated dreaming that he co-authored with Ken Reeth. . . . Pallamary teaches at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and the San Diego Writers Conference. . . . "I know how to work with my subconscious very well and feel I have a very deep understanding of its mysterious workings that I trust in. I have written over fifty short stories and I am presently at work on my eighth novel in about twenty years time, so I know this process very well. I even have house and office cleaning rituals that I always follow before embarking on a big project. One of the reasons I can't stand to watch television is that I am having so much fun being a creator myself -- way more fun than the crap they are putting out." . . . Matt Pallamary tells how he goes to the rain forests as often and as long as he can, to work with various shamans in different cultures, from Mexico to Guatemala to Peru. . . . Pallamary tells about staying three weeks in a hut, alone, his diet little more than a selection of plants provided by the Shaman he has come to study with. . . . "I was after visions. It was a vision quest. My mission is to tell the truth, but for those who would argue, I will qualify that statement to say my truth, then I'll qualify that and say that the roots of truth are Universal. If they want to argue more, then I would like to talk to them at their moment of death to see what they have to say about THAT truth. . . . I haven't watched television for fifteen years. If I turn it on and see about thirty seconds of a commercial, then I turn it off, because I am quickly reminded of why I don't watch it. I do march to the beat of a different drummer�my beat. Wherever everybody goes, ninety nine percent of the time I go running in the opposite direction."

[Hagerty Comment: Matt is one of my closest friends and one of today's great writers. I highly recommend Land Without Evil as well as his other works.]

posted by Lorenzo 6:56 AM

12 December 2002

 

Think, Act, Vote!
Click this link for an interesting flash presentation.

posted by Lorenzo 11:01 AM

10 December 2002

 

Alex Grey Exhibition
If you are anywhere within 100 miles or so of New York City between now and December 20th, I highly recommend that you visit the Alex Grey showing at the Tibet House (22 West 15th Street). Several of his works for the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors are on display, along with many others. (Alex will be there on the 13th and 20th to give guided gallery tours.) I was thrilled to find so many of my favorite Alex Grey paintings on display. To experience these works in person is a truly transcendental experience.

posted by Lorenzo 9:19 AM

05 December 2002

 

Veterans Against The Iraq War
If you are convinced that a U.S. invasion of Iraq is wrong, then you are confronted with a choice: You can ignore the growing crisis, dismiss it as another political conflict beyond your influence, or you can try to stop a war. You can band together with other veterans and give voice to what all of us know is wrong: a war with Iraq. . . . While others pontificate and theorize about war, veterans know about its realities. The present Administration is led by men and women who chose not to go into the military and today have little understanding of war and no comprehension of its consequences. They do not know what you know, or feel what you feel. For all too many of them, war is little more than an abstract exercise in geopolitics. . . . Whether you fought in a war, performed your duty in a support capacity or served our nation during a time of peace, it's all the same: America needs you, again! Whether you are liberal, conservative, libertarian, centrist, green or whatever -- our country needs you. Once, you put your body on the line in the service of our nation. You can now serve our nation with your experience and your wisdom. . . . This website [Veterans Against The Iraq War] will be a source for information and analysis, and in the coming weeks, a robust forum for discussion and debate. Please read the Statement of Purpose below, if you agree with it, fill out the form and submit. There is a separate form for family members. When Congress returns in January, this Statement with the list of signatories will be delivered to Congress and disseminated to the media.

posted by Lorenzo 12:21 PM

04 December 2002

 

Books: Zig Zag Zen
(Douglas Cruickshank, Salon, July 11, 2002)
According to "Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics," a new anthology, many Western Buddhists arrived at their adopted religion via a decidedly nontraditional route: psychedelic drugs. In essays and interviews, Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics looks at the intersection of Buddhism and mind-altering substances over the past 35 years or so . . . The book's more than two dozen contributors and interview subjects range from writer and ordained Zen priest Peter Matthiessen and Esalen Institute co-founder Michael Murphy to one-time Timothy Leary cohort and author of "Be Here Now" Ram Dass and Richard Baker Roshi of the Tassajara Zen Monastery. It's a unique, intelligently compiled collection � part history, part philosophy, part inquiry . . . "It is undeniable," Batchelor writes, "that a significant proportion of those drawn to Buddhism and other Eastern traditions in the 1960s (including the present writer) were influenced in their religious orientation by experiences induced by psychoactive substances such as marijuana and LSD." . . . Psychedelics lurk in personal histories of most first-generation Buddhist teachers in Europe and America, yet today many teachers advise against the path they once traveled." . . . Still, many learned people insist that there is something more to psychedelic drugs than simply a cheap, visually spectacular high. . . . Once when I saw Watts speak at an Esalen-sponsored seminar, he was asked a question on this very topic. "Which way is the best way to achieve enlightenment," the person asked, "through meditation or psychedelic drugs?" Watts laughed a little and thought for a moment, then said, "Well, I don't know about a 'best' way, but perhaps you want to think of it like this, you can walk to New York or you can fly."

posted by Lorenzo 6:16 PM

 

Fighting for Our Minds
(Romi Mahajan, CounterPunch, November 22, 2002)
As the Bush war machine attempts to plant the flag of imperium wherever its over-sized jackboot takes it, Americans must fight to reclaim that most precious ground, ceded to the forces of the right after long wars of attrition: our minds. . . . No less than the collective fate of humanity hangs in the balance. . . . the moment we acknowledge the simple fact that our minds have been colonized, the colonizer's modes and methods, its purpose, its theology become ever so clear. . . . For more than a year now, the Bush administration has been calling for war on Iraq, claiming that this forlorn and broken country poses an immediate and fundamental threat to the safety of the world's citizens. . . . The colonizers' argument is pathetic, clumsy, obfuscatory, and entirely dependent on our mental inaction. . . . The arguments put forth by the colonizer are ever changing and specious. Once we start the battle of reclamation, we see them for what they are. And once we see them for what they are, we must resist the colonizer with all the forces we can muster. . . . The importance of this battle is not academic. Its about two very important, very real things- freedom and humanism. . . . Dismantling empires has always started with the crucial and epic struggle for the one territory that is truly ours: our minds.

posted by Lorenzo 4:20 PM

 

TalkSpace is coming soon!
As many of you know, these past few months I have been working with Bruce Damer and other members of the Digital Space Commons to bring the dimension of voice to a website near you. Those of you who participated in the beta test already are aware of the clarity TalkSpace brings to voice-over-the-Web communications. Over time, our plan is to build a "collapsible" voice network, which will provide a wide variety of content that is written, produced, and performed by We the People. In concert with other organizations, such as the Creative Commons, we aim to unlock the shackles of creativity imposed upon us by multi-national corporations who pull our politician�s strings. . . . Watch this space for more information about this project in the weeks ahead.

posted by Lorenzo 8:22 AM

02 December 2002

 

The Memory Hole - Keeping Track
(The Memory Hole, December 2, 2002)
[Links on this Memory Hole webpage] will take you to some of the best sites keeping constant tabs on US/UK bombings of Iraq, bishops and priests who are in trouble, the US national debt, the amount spent on the War on Drugs this year, and more.
U.S. Bombing Watch . . . Head Count of Ousted Bishops . . . Priest Database . . . U.S. National Debt Clock . . . Layoff Tracker . . . Doomsday Clock . . . Drug War Clock . . . Gun Defense Clock.

posted by Lorenzo 5:46 AM