Saturday, January 23, 2010
SUICIDE is a Permanent Solution to a Temporary Problem
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
ObamaRama
A couple of months ago, I was all excited and twitter-pated when Obama won the election. A big part of my "glow" came from the significance of his election to the African American community AND to those of us who have struggled against racism within our own circles of family and friends, for decades. His election felt like a huge and heavy page turning at last. Stopping McCain was good, that was good.....definitely felt good. I was represented in all of the "special interests" who voted for Obama, being anti-war, pro-choice, pro-Education, pro-Labor etc. His victory was great for me in that regard.
Since November, however I have been reading and researching and digging into some areas that have left me with a sense that all might not be as it seems or appears; the appointment of Rahm Emmanuel being the biggest clue. Also the retention of Robert Gates.
I am just hoping and praying (in my non-denominational way) that we won't be singing that old Who song, before long: "Won't be Fooled Again", the refrain being:
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
I've got the jitters.....and it's not just this big cup of Peets coffee I've been drinking. Time to do some major spiritual re-alignment or I could go into a permanent funk. Having just read in the BBC news that nervous, stressed out people tend to get dementia by a margin of 50% over people who are calm, I've got incentive!
Good luck to ALL of us! Peace and good will to all sentient and non-sentient beings! That includes YOU Mr. Obama, may your ObamaRama inspire you to the depths of your soul to really BE all that you can BE in service to the ALL in All.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
UK weighs in on Israel, the MPs of Parliament Furious
Cross-party fury of MPs at Israel
Published Date: 13 January 2009
By Gerri Peev
BRITISH MPs yesterday lined up to give their strongest condemnation yet of Israel's actions in Gaza, branding Ehud Olmert's government "mass murderers" and calling for the country to face sanctions.
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, faced cross-party demands for Israel's ambassador to be expelled from London and for Britain to recall its representative from Tel Aviv.
The strongest criticism in the one hour session, that followed a statement from the Foreign Secretary, came from Sir Gerald Kaufman, a former Labour minister, who is Jewish.
Directing his fury at the Israeli prime minister, foreign minister and defence minister, he said: "Olmert, (Tzipi] Livni and (Ehud] Barak are mass murderers, war criminals and bring shame on the Jewish people whose Star of David they use as a badge in Gaza."
He suggested the British government would have taken a more strident tone if it had been Hamas who had "slaughtered 900 Israelis".
Peter Kilfoyle, a former Labour defence minister, also accused Israel of "state-sponsored terrorism" and urged the government to ensure no arms were exported to the country.
Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader, said if any other democratic state had behaved in the same way, it would be faced with economic sanctions.
Michael Howard, the former Conservative leader, took a swipe at the outgoing Bush administration's lack of progress on the Middle East and said there was a "glimmer of hope on the horizon" with the election of Barack Obama, the US president-elect.
"It is only the president of the US who has the means to secure the concessions from both sides that are necessary to achieve a viable Palestinian state and a lasting settlement," he said.
Chris Mullin, a former Foreign Office minister, said "These are war crimes that we are witnessing in Gaza.
"Britain should start talking with EU allies about sanctions and "at the very least to stop selling them weapons and, perhaps, the withdrawal of our ambassador".
Mr Miliband rejected calls for severing diplomatic ties and imposing sanctions, saying this would simply isolate Israel. However, he called for abuse allegations made by both sides to be investigated.
He added that there was "no evidence" that UK weapons were used by the Israeli defence force in the latest attacks.
Protests in UK.....Our Media won't cover US protests
Jewish people, some friends of mine in fact, have turned to Buddhism as a philosophy, have been on Buddhist retreats in fact. I know of some Jews who have embraced Buddhism to the point of becoming nuns and monks and/or writing books about the practice. So many Jewish folks convert that they are affectionately called "Bu-Jews". Yesterday morning I was asking the question of the Universe: "Where are the Bu-Jews?" In fact, where are the protesters altogether?
In a conversation with a friend yesterday I discovered that yes, there ARE protests going on, it is just that OUR US MEDIA DOESN'T DEEM IT NEWSWORTHY to cover it, in print or broadcast. They learned that lesson in Viet Nam. "Don't show actual wars, don't show people's outrage." Have glossy graphics with new scrawl as a talking head describes a white wash version, the official party line slant on it all. In passing they'll mention that some people were protesting but they always cast the protesters in the light of "kooks" "fringe" "extremists", all descriptions being pejorative AND they'll always mention ANY violence on the part of the protesters, even if it is one window broken. The whole idea being that Americans are so damned attached to "private property" that any damage that may occur to this holy of holies de-legitimizes ANY intent or purpose or message of the protesters. It's sort of an innoculation process; TV news viewers are supposed to be so put off that they'll NEVER take the protests seriously EVER.
I went on the hunt for news stories about protests that DID get broadcast and I found one in London, UK, where a former UK Ambassador to Uzbakistan, Craig Murray grabs a loudspeaker and speaks his mind and heart. I've posted it here:
Saturday, January 10, 2009
How to Create MORE Islamic Extremists....
For the slow learners in the Republican party, any straggling Neo-Con sympathizers out there I offer below, an excerpt from today's NY Times article on the anger in Egypt. It's growing. It's predictable and it's understandable.
I have railed against Israel's blatant military blitz on the Palestinian people in other posts, so I will assume my position on that is clear and a given on the prison camp that is Gaza. What I want to say is that in my opinion, the Palestinian plight is THE issue of this century. Unless and until the Palestinian people have their OWN SOVEREIGN nation in their own land, going back to the 1967 borders, there will be no Peace possible in the Middle East. Period. THAT is the crux of the matter. Forget oil, forget "strategies" of the West and it's military fantasies about bases, control of resources etc. It's about Palestine.
US support and funding of Israel makes us a TARGET. Period. WE are part of the problem and the Muslim world KNOWS it. Iran knows it. Syria knows it. For sure, the people in the streets of Egypt KNOW it. Now they also know that their government, being allied with Israel is part of the problem too. From the NY Times:
Nowhere in the Arab world is the gap between the street and the government so wide as here in Egypt, which has a peace treaty with Israel and has refused to allow free passage of goods and people through its border with Gaza, a decision that has been attacked by Islamic and Arab leaders and proved deeply troubling to many Egyptians. And so the government of President Hosni Mubarak appeared to lean back on its standard formula for preserving authority at Friday Prayer, relying on its security forces to keep calm on the street and government religious institutions like Al Azhar to try to appease public sentiment, in this case by lashing out at the Jews in response to Gaza.
“The pressure is mounting on Egypt,” said Abdel Raouf el-Reedy, a former Egyptian ambassador to the United States. “How come you keep the Israeli ambassador here? How come you keep the Egyptian ambassador in Israel? How come you still export gas to Israel in spite of a court order to stop? The system is on the defensive. Public opinion is more clearly on the side of Hamas.”
The mood on the streets of Cairo feels somber, dark, dejected. There is a heavy security presence. Armed riot police officers are massed outside of professional organizations, like the Doctor’s Syndicate, that are often run by members aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, the officially outlawed but tolerated Islamic movement. Massive troop carriers clog small side streets.
Over three days of interviews here, people seemed deflated about the public criticism their country had received, let down by the failure of their own government to help the Palestinians and sickened by the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians, not only combatants but many women and children as well. Over and over, Egyptians said they felt the only ones they could trust were the Islamists — not their government.There you have it. The Islamic religionists are going to rise to more prominence. They are the only ones speaking out, forcefully against the actions of Israel. They are earning more and more legitimacy and respect everyday. Is that what we want? It's not what I want; being a woman, I have to say the idea of Medieval religionists seeking to create a Caliphate gaining more power is not in MY best interest or the interest of women everywhere. However, I can understand how this is happening. Our greedy, stupid, callous, paranoid Western stance on Israel/Palestine is the fuel for the propulsion of Islamic fundamentalism. It IS that simple.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Oxford Professor and Former Israeli Military Man Speaks Out about Gaza
I wish the incoming Obama administration would meet with this guy. Condi Rice and the Busheviks should get out of this picture NOW. For further reading, here is link to article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-palestine
Friday, December 5, 2008
Saving the Big Three for You and Me
Saving the Big 3 for You and Me...
A Message From Michael Moore
by Michael Moore
Friends,
I drive an American car. It's a Chrysler. That's not an endorsement. It's more like a cry for pity. And now for a decades-old story, retold ad infinitum by tens of millions of Americans, a third of whom have had to desert their country to simply find a damn way to get to work in something that won't break down:
My Chrysler is four years old. I bought it because of its smooth and comfortable ride. Daimler-Benz owned the company then and had the good grace to place the Chrysler chassis on a Mercedes axle and, man, was that a sweet ride!
When it would start.
More than a dozen times in these years, the car has simply died. Batteries have been replaced, but that wasn't the problem. My dad drives the same model. His car has died many times, too. Just won't start, for no reason at all.
A few weeks ago, I took my Chrysler in to the Chrysler dealer here in northern Michigan -- and the latest fixes cost me $1,400. The next day, the vehicle wouldn't start. When I got it going, the brake warning light came on. And on and on.
You might assume from this that I couldn't give a rat's ass about these miserably inept crapmobile makers down the road in Detroit city. But I do care. I care about the millions whose lives and livelihoods depend on these car companies. I care about the security and defense of this country because the world is running out of oil -- and when it runs out, the calamity and collapse that will take place will make the current recession/depression look like a Tommy Tune musical.
And I care about what happens with the Big 3 because they are more responsible than almost anyone for the destruction of our fragile atmosphere and the daily melting of our polar ice caps. Congress must save the industrial infrastructure that these companies control and the jobs they create. And it must save the world from the internal combustion engine.
This great, vast manufacturing network can redeem itself by building mass transit and electric/hybrid cars, and the kind of transportation we need for the 21st century.
And Congress must do all this by NOT giving GM, Ford and Chrysler the $34 billion they are asking for in "loans" (a few days ago they only wanted $25 billion; that's how stupid they are -- they don't even know how much they really need to make this month's payroll. If you or I tried to get a loan from the bank this way, not only would we be thrown out on our ear, the bank would place us on some sort of credit rating blacklist).
Two weeks ago, the CEOs of the Big 3 were tarred and feathered before a Congressional committee who sneered at them in a way far different than when the heads of the financial industry showed up two months earlier. At that time, the politicians tripped over each other in their swoon for Wall Street and its Ponzi schemers who had concocted Byzantine ways to bet other people's money on unregulated credit default swaps, known in the common vernacular as unicorns and fairies. But the Detroit boys were from the Midwest, the Rust (yuk!) Belt, where they made real things that consumers needed and could touch and buy, and that continually recycled money into the economy (shocking!), produced unions that created the middle class, and fixed my teeth for free when I was ten.
For all of that, the auto heads had to sit there in November and be ridiculed about how they traveled to D.C. Yes, they flew on their corporate jets, just like the bankers and Wall Street thieves did in October. But, hey, THAT was OK! They're the Masters of the Universe! Nothing but the best chariots for Big Finance as they set about to loot our nation's treasury.
Of course, the auto magnates used be the Masters who ruled the world. They were the pulsating hub that all other industries -- steel, oil, cement contractors -- served. Fifty-five years ago, the president of GM sat on that same Capitol Hill and bluntly told Congress, what's good for General Motors is good for the country. Because, you see, in their minds, GM WAS the country.
What a long, sad fall from grace we witnessed on November 19th when the three blind mice had their knuckles slapped and then were sent back home to write an essay called, "Why You Should Give Me Billions of Dollars of Free Cash." They were also asked if they would work for a dollar a year. Take that! What a big, brave Congress they are! Requesting indentured servitude from (still) three of the most powerful men in the world. This from a spineless body that won't dare stand up to a disgraced president nor turn down a single funding request for a war that neither they nor the American public support. Amazing.
Let me just state the obvious: Every single dollar Congress gives these three companies will be flushed right down the toilet. There is nothing the management teams of the Big 3 are going to do to convince people to go out during a recession and buy their big, gas-guzzling, inferior products. Just forget it. And, as sure as I am that the Ford family-owned Detroit Lions are not going to the Super Bowl -- ever -- I can guarantee you, after they burn through this $34 billion, they'll be back for another $34 billion next summer.
So what to do? Members of Congress, here's what I propose:
1. Transporting Americans is and should be one of the most important functions our government must address. And because we are facing a massive economic, energy and environmental crisis, the new president and Congress must do what Franklin Roosevelt did when he was faced with a crisis (and ordered the auto industry to stop building cars and instead build tanks and planes): The Big 3 are, from this point forward, to build only cars that are not primarily dependent on oil and, more importantly to build trains, buses, subways and light rail (a corresponding public works project across the country will build the rail lines and tracks). This will not only save jobs, but create millions of new ones.
2. You could buy ALL the common shares of stock in General Motors for less than $3 billion. Why should we give GM $18 billion or $25 billion or anything? Take the money and buy the company! (You're going to demand collateral anyway if you give them the "loan," and because we know they will default on that loan, you're going to own the company in the end as it is. So why wait? Just buy them out now.)
3. None of us want government officials running a car company, but there are some very smart transportation geniuses who could be hired to do this. We need a Marshall Plan to switch us off oil-dependent vehicles and get us into the 21st century.
This proposal is not radical or rocket science. It just takes one of the smartest people ever to run for the presidency to pull it off. What I'm proposing has worked before. The national rail system was in shambles in the '70s. The government took it over. A decade later it was turning a profit, so the government returned it to private/public hands, and got a couple billion dollars put back in the treasury.
T
his proposal will save our industrial infrastructure -- and millions of jobs. More importantly, it will create millions more. It literally could pull us out of this recession.
In contrast, yesterday General Motors presented its restructuring proposal to Congress. They promised, if Congress gave them $18 billion now, they would, in turn, eliminate around 20,000 jobs. You read that right. We give them billions so they can throw more Americans out of work. That's been their Big Idea for the last 30 years -- layoff thousands in order to protect profits. But no one ever stopped to ask this question: If you throw everyone out of work, who's going to have the money to go out and buy a car?
These idiots don't deserve a dime. Fire all of them, and take over the industry for the good of the workers, the country and the planet.
What's good for General Motors IS good for the country. Once the country is calling the shots.
Yours,
Michael Moore
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
"Religion is Killing the Republican Party"
Kathleen Parker wrote a piece for Washington Post where she does a post-mortem on the bleached out, bloated cadaver that is the current GOP. I couldn't agree more....
Exerpt:
As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.
Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.
I'm bathing in holy water as I type.
To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn't soon cometh.
Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth -- as long as we're setting ourselves free -- is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Mormon Church Should Lose Its Tax Exempt Status
Where is the separation of Church and State?? The Yes Campaign says that they were very careful NOT to distribute leaflets or talking points on church property to avoid the APPEARANCE of church involvement in politics, but come on......that is the slimmest of slim technicalities. We all know this was a church based initiative; we're not willing to let them off the hook with an "oh, okay then..." Now the Mormon Church is upset that people are well..upset. After all of the fear and deception, lies, mean-spirited bigotry they are crying "foul" when gays, lesbians and their supporters are protesting on behalf of Civil Rights. It boggles the mind!
From today's NYT article (linked below) :
Mr. Otterson said it was too early to tell what the long-term implications might be for the church, but in any case, he added, none of that factored into the decision by church leaders to order a march into battle. “They felt there was only one way we could stand on such a fundamental moral issue, and they took that stand,” he said. “It was a matter of standing up for what the church believes is right.”
That said, the extent of the protests has taken many Mormons by surprise. On Friday, the church’s leadership took the unusual step of issuing a statement calling for “respect” and “civility” in the aftermath of the vote.
“Attacks on churches and intimidation of people of faith have no place in civil discourse over controversial issues,” the statement said. “People of faith have a democratic right to express their views in the public square without fear of reprisal.”
Except that you didn't just EXPRESS YOUR VIEWS, you pulled out all the stops and placed your church members and their ideologies smack in the middle of our political process. Your missionaries, flush with cash, proselytized our electorate with your religious dogma and doctrine to directly influence the outcome of the vote. Now you want people, whose Civil Rights have been abridged by YOUR efforts, to simply "play nice" and walk away saying "oh okay, guess we lost then....bye bye now..." ????I hope there is such a brouhaha following this smackdown of Civil and HUMAN rights that there will be AT LAST a serious reexamination of the Tax status of many of the religious organizations (AND cults, let's get real) who are entwining themselves like Poison Ivy into so many of our public and secular institutions.
LINK to NYT article:
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Can't let the Passage of Prop 8 Pass....
Living here in CA in Santa Cruz; Berkeley by the beach, it was a real buzz kill to learn that Prop 8 passed.
While gay marriage was legal in CA, what, precisely has happened to heterosexual marriage? Did couples awake in the night in terror? Did they suddenly question their fidelity, ability to continue the commitment? What?? No longer able to feel "saved" and special quite like before?
Love ya Keith Olbermann and your Special Comment last night, but the real question is this:
Are gays and lesbians full citizens of the United States or not? Are they full citizens of the state of California? If they ARE, then they have identical rights as everyone else. If NOT, then it must be spelled out legally and no half-baked measures will do. We will then know precisely what we are up against.
By we, I mean all people living in 2008, mentally as well as physically, not those living in the Bronze Age.
Southern Strategy for Winning National Elections: Buh Bye! don't let the door hit you in the...
Race was a strong subtext in post-election conversations across the socioeconomic spectrum here in Vernon, the small, struggling seat of Lamar County on the Mississippi border.
One white woman said she feared that blacks would now become more “aggressive,” while another volunteered that she was bothered by the idea of a black man “over me” in the White House.
Mr. McCain won 76 percent of the county’s vote, about five percentage points more than Mr. Bush did, because “a lot more people came out, hoping to keep Obama out,” Joey Franks, a construction worker, said in the parking lot of the Shop and Save.
Mr. Franks, who voted for Mr. McCain, said he believed that “over 50 percent voted against Obama for racial reasons,” adding that in his own case race mattered “a little bit. That’s in my mind.”
Many people made it clear that they were deeply apprehensive about Mr. Obama, though some said they were hoping for the best.
“I think any time you have someone elected president of the United States with a Muslim name, whether they are white or black, there are some very unsettling things,” George W. Newman, a director at a local bank and the former owner of a trucking business, said over lunch at Yellow Creek Fish and Steak.
Don Dollar, the administrative assistant at City Hall, said bitterly that anyone not upset with Mr. Obama’s victory should seek religious forgiveness.
“This is a community that’s supposed to be filled with a bunch of Christian folks,” he said. “If they’re not disappointed, they need to be at the altar.”
Finally, these under-educated Confederates can no longer determine the direction of our country and our society. They are the dinosaurs of this era and a meteor has just landed in their backyard. Woo hoo! Here's the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/us/politics/11south.html?th&emc=th
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Our joy; our sentimental Wednesday...messages from loved ones
From my friend Chelsea when I said "President Obama" sounds so great:
"Damn right, that feels great! I haven't felt this way since I was a
little kid and I saw Bobby Kennedy in my hometown. Hopefully, Obama
will survive his two terms as president. I have to confess I'm a bit
worried for him, just because it only takes one crazy person and one
slip up on the security.
But today I won't think about that. I'm celebrating like everyone
else!
You go girl. I love your blogs.
Voicemail from Elizabeth: "Dude! We are sooooooo happy! Yay!! Oh god, it is so great! Call me!"
Voicemail from Millie: "Hello my beloved friend...I want to say thank you for working so hard, thank all of us....now we have to work to reach out to those who have been on the other side....."
Phone call from John: "Heh, heh...heh.....wooo...heh....heh...."
Phone call with Roxy: "This is so great but now I want to see Bush, Cheney and all of them, not just kicked out of office, but put in jail!"
(Ah well, some of us are still mightily pissed....:-) )
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Don't Speak for me, Sarah Palin by Hockey Mama for Obama
This gal also has a great soprano voice. Check her out:
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Mecca Lecca High Mecca Hiney Ho....Mecca Lecca Chi Mecca Chiney Ho...
I want to experience the collective psychic joy of the globe, when he is pronounced the winner for Leader of the Free World.
Amen
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Sometimes the Blogs' commenters are even better
"

Hey, Can I be in McCain's cabinet?
I could probably handle a couple of positions.
Interior-I garden, can use a shovel, have one each, Native American and African American neighbor. So that covers agriculture, mining, Indian Affairs
Defense-My father was a Marine in WW2, My son was in the army in Afghanistan (and I had to buy stuff to send to him so I know about procurement), I own two guns (one of them is from WW1 so I have knowledge of the history of conflict)
Treasury-I pay my bills, can use Quicken (and I'm a quick study so QuickBooks should be no problem) Subscribe to the Economist (but I wouldn't play that up for fear of looking elitist)
Attorney General-my sister and her two daughters are lawyers
Commerce-I buy stuff in several states, Europe and Japan.
State-I've had a passport since 1975, I've been to three Canadian provinces, England and San Francisco. My husband has been to Taiwan and India. My daughters have been to Ireland. I've had trouble with my neighbors so I know about conflict.
Wait, never mind a cabinet post, I'm running for President."
Hawwwww!