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28 May 2004

 

More talk about a military coup in the US
Last December I posted a story about an article published by the US Army War College (where Bush gave his recent speech about Iraq). This article was titled "The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012". This paper was written in 1992, and awarded the prize for the strategy essay competition at the National Defense University. Colin Powell awarded the prize to Lieutenant Colonel Charles Dunlap for his 2012 future fantasy in which the US military had to stage a coup against an incapable civilian government.

After Bush gave his speech last Monday night, I noticed how carefully the Secret Service agents were scanning the crowd of officers who were trying to shake Bush's hand. It was an eerie sight, watching bodyguards on high alert when Bush was surrounded by military officers. I wonder if they have been reading the same stories about a coup that we have all seen circulating on the Net lately?

posted by Lorenzo 4:58 PM

27 May 2004

 

Thought for the day
19 terrorists in 6 weeks have been able to command 300 million North Americans to do away with the entirety of their civil liberties that took 700 years to advance from the Magna Carta onward. The terrorists have already won the political and ideological war with one terrorist act. It is mindboggling that we are that weak as a society.
-- Rocco Galati

posted by Lorenzo 2:58 PM

26 May 2004

 

Thought for the day
The only difference between the sane and the insane is that the sane have the power to lock up the insane.
-- Hunter S. Thompson

posted by Lorenzo 2:46 PM

25 May 2004

 

We are really in a lot of trouble here
Bush's speech last night was a classic exercise in self deception. Bush's total ignorance of his role in this sordid stain on our nation's honor and credibility is almost breathtaking.
-- Allen Roland

posted by Lorenzo 4:05 PM

24 May 2004

 

Thought for the day
The world is made up of stories, not atoms.
-- Muriel Rukeyser

posted by Lorenzo 10:35 AM

21 May 2004

 

The world has gone upside down
In today's climate of this complete disinformation and news turmoil, it is with extreme caution and a large pile of salt that one should approach news, especially those from the US/UK mainstream sources.
-- Pravda, May 14, 2004

posted by Lorenzo 1:27 PM

20 May 2004

 

Something to Think About
A Variety of Evils
So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill will, and a disposition to retaliate in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld; and it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country without odium, sometimes even with popularity, gilding with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.
-- George Washington, "Farewell Address"

posted by Lorenzo 4:28 PM

18 May 2004

 

Thought for the day
Here I had tried a straightforward extrapolation of technology, and found myself precipitated over an abyss. It's a problem we face every time we consider the creation of intelligences greater than our own. When this happens, human history will have reached a kind of singularity - a place where extrapolation breaks down and new models must be applied - and the world will pass beyond our understanding.
-- Vernor Vinge

posted by Lorenzo 12:04 PM

12 May 2004

 

How To Break Away from Wage Slavery
Fundamentals Of Entrepreneurship
Dr. Denny Eshee, Dr. Person Liddell, Jr., and Dr. Billy F. Brown

This new book by Rockwell Press directs its attention not only to the myriad functions involved in the operation of a successful business but directs its attention to the beginning point of all businesses – the entrepreneur. The authors of this book have had vast experience in the real-world context of forming, operating, structuring and managing many business enterprises.

This book focuses on the step-by-step examination and exploration into every detailed aspect necessary to effectively go into business. The authors have succeeded in accomp-lishing a masterful task in providing the reader, student and businessperson with a comprehensive treatise as a guide through the very heart of the business jungle. Everyone who wants to understand, originate, build and implement everything essential in establishing a successful business should read this book. We are very proud to introduce this book as your guide and map to business success.
-Rockwell Press, LLC-

[FULL DISCLOSURE: Dr. Billy F. Brown is an attorney and an Associate Professor at William Carey College on the Coast where he is also Director of the MBA Program and Associate Dean. He practiced law for 25 years advising, consulting and assisting those going into business. He has owned numerous businesses and brings his “hands-on” experience, training, application and practicality to the discussion of entrepreneurship. And he is a close personal friend of Lorenzo’s … caveat emptor :-).]
Publisher: Rockwell Press, LLC
Suite 1, 405 University Drive
Starkville, MS 39759

posted by Lorenzo 5:29 PM

11 May 2004

 

Something to think about
It began three and a half billion years ago in a pool of muck, when a molecule made a copy of itself and so became the ultimate ancestor of all earthly life.

It began four million years ago, when brain volumes began climbing rapidly in the hominid line.

Fifty thousand years ago with the rise of Homo sapiens sapiens.
Ten thousand years ago with the invention of civilization.
Five hundred years ago with the invention of the printing press.
Fifty years ago with the invention of the computer.

In less than thirty years, it will end.

-- Eliezer S. Yudkowsky, Staring into the Singularity

posted by Lorenzo 4:00 PM

10 May 2004

 

The state of consciousness in America
A few days ago, I blogged a story to our "War on Iraq" section that was titled "Troops 'have been abusing Iraqis for a year'". Several comments have been posted to that story, one of which was by me. In it I quoted a story about how in Lynndie England's home town the people there thought she was a hero because they thought of Iraqis as sub-human. I find it a terrible tragedy that the level of consciousness in this country still has such dismal pockets of ignorance.

Subsequently, a reader who calls himself "A Curmudgeon" wrote a response that I believe should have a wider audience. Here is what he had to say:

I have to agree with the article - our society has devolved to the point where these demagogues such as Limbaugh and Hannity and Falwell and Robertson have created an atmosphere where if you show any respect for non-Americans, especially after 9/11, then you are outside the core of true American patriotism. They have corrupted the meaning of Patriotism to be only how they define it. The military has succumbed to this ultra-rightwing philosophy - thus the dehumanisation of all Iraqis and all Afghanis - all Muslims for that matter. The horrors committed by our military in the Vietnam action were pretty much kept under wraps, except for those instances like My Lai where they were forced to act. The problem today is that there are more independent reporters in Iraq - and then there is the fact that those spouting the uber-Patriotism (Nationalism) have created an atmosphere in the American lemmings that when the realities of warfare are exposed, they (society) are unprepared for it. They have been deconditioned regarding the violence and the horrors of war. But, that's what Little Bush and the Neocons wanted - a desensitized (uneducated/unknowing) society. Except that they thought they could control the media and keep the horrors of what was being done in our names under control. They couldn't. I do not condone the actions but I am a realist in that I know these things happen as there are always those in power who do not care how they accomplish their goals. And wars always provide these types of people the means to translate their deepest, darkest nightmares and sicknesses into actions on those who cannot defend themselves against overwhelming force. It is the nature of man. Otherwise, there would be no wars.

posted by Lorenzo 10:38 AM

08 May 2004

 

A Proper Apology
It seems to me that there actually might be a way for the US to properly apologize to the people of Iraq for all the horror we have inflicted upon them. We the People should order Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Powell to submit to being stripped naked and pose for humiliating photographs to be taken by Iraqi women. At least that would be a small step in the right direction.

posted by Lorenzo 10:02 AM

06 May 2004

 

Bush & Co. Are Responsible for Untold Carnage
To help wake up more Americans to the cost of Bush's war in the amount of US blood spilled, we post the current KIA and wounded totals on our home page. Just above those totals is a listing of the number of Iraqi civilians who have died as a result of Bush's invasion of their country. It is important, I believe, to remain aware of the horrible price the people of Iraq are paying for this oil-grab. A recent count by The Associated Press found that 1,361 Iraqis were killed in April. That is 10 times the figure of 136 U.S. troops who died during the same period.

posted by Lorenzo 3:45 PM

 

In 2002, US abstained on UN torture vote
To people whose main source of news is the Internet, the stories of torture by US troops is old news. But thanks largely to the Net and to digital technology, the truth finally forced its way into the mainstream media. If you go back to the days right after 9-11, you can find (as BuzzFlash did) discussions in the press about the justification of the use of torture. At the time, most Americans seemed to think it was justified. Of course, that was before they had to confront the grisly images of what our nation is actually doing in its torture chambers. As you can see via the link above, the US joined Bhutan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, and Zimbabwe in abstaining from voting for a UN resolution "to establish a system of regular visits by independent international and national bodies to centers where people were deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Sadly, we now know why the Bush Administration was against that resolution.

We the People of the United States of America are responsible for the atrocities of our soldiers and of our politicians. Since we claim to live in a democracy, then the buck stops with us, the voters. People who vote for Bush in November are no different than the US troops in the prison abuse pictures, and they will have even more blood on their hands.

posted by Lorenzo 11:57 AM

04 May 2004

 

Thought for the day
A vote for Bush is a character flaw.
-- Janeane Garofalo, Air America Radio

posted by Lorenzo 7:33 PM