• 1,297 replies
    marye
    Joined:

    Nuclear power! Carcinogenic cell phones! The Stanley Cup! and the usual parade of kids dancing and shaking their bones, politicians throwing stones, etc. Discuss.

Comments

sort by
Recent
Reset
  • Anna rRxia
    Joined:
    Thank you Seals
    One year ago the Seals took out OBL and made our world a little safer. Rough men are made so we walk free. Never forget to say thank you.
  • Anna rRxia
    Joined:
    Footnote to Opiates Story
    A drug-dependent baby, mostly to opiate painkillers, is born every hour in this country. It takes months to carefully wean them off with methadone to avoid any complications. This is a powerful statement about addiction. You can quit! You have the power. Keep breaking the damn things in half then trail off with Tramadol and lots of saunas and something to occupy your time and mind. Hate to sound like a Nike commercial but Just Do It! Especially any expecting mothers out there...
  • fluffanutter
    Joined:
    27,000,000 Americans addicted
    Talk about an epidemic that is out of control! If you find yourself on a crowded subway car in a large American city (that holds about 100), look around closely -- 8 or 9 of the people around you are addicted to opiate painkillers. I live near a city of 100,000 that is under siege by petty criminal addicts that will do anything for a quick buck to feed their habits. While the problem should be looked at in terms of legalization, voters and politicians are instead rising up in typical American harshness and demanding tougher enforcement. Basically, voting to build more prisons. Infinite sorrow and sadness are indeed correct terms to describe this, from the addicts to their families to the victims of their stupid crimes and the human beings with a heart who have to go out and put handcuffs on them and then process and guard them. Everybody is a victim here. What is the cause(s) of this insatiable desire?
  • Anna rRxia
    Joined:
    Opiates For The Masses
    Hydro & Oxy are being so over-prescribed (or gotten in other ways) these days that Americans, alone, are consuming over 4,000 lbs of these painkillers annually. If you care/need to know, oxy is beating hydro 2 to 1. One reason for this is the sheer effectiveness of these medicines. They work extremely well and are as devastatingly addictive. As much as your first snort of heroin or cocaine. Tragic in the extreme. If your Dr. prescribes it you should ask yourself, seriously, "Do I really have the pain needed to go there?" The DEA busted 2 large chain drug stores in Florida for outright selling these substances for cash. Hey,I guess if you're in the line-of-fire (as a pharmacy-tech) and corporate doesn't care about you, you'll do whatever not to face the constant threat of armed robbery. I don't blame Dr.'s as much as I blame Big Pharma and the plain mental weakness or quiet desperation that drives people to find escape from the reality of their lives. Still, it is so utterly sad to see people being put on the hook like in China centuries ago. At least it was all organic back then, not the souped-up versions that leave no room for escape. You want a sure-fire profession these days? Hang out a shingle as Suboxone (opioid dependent drug treatment) counselor and your schedule will be booked to overflowing within three days. No joke, for real -- for sorrow :(
  • fluffanutter
    Joined:
    Odds on Favorite
    Although it seems to be playing out as some high stakes drama, the current presidential election has already been decided. The serious Republican players have stayed on the sideline this year. To unseat an incumbent president is nearly an impossible thing to do. The serious money and candidates are biding their time. The serious betting money in Vegas is on Obama. He has to seriously screw up between now and the election to lose. You have to bet about $140 to win $100 if you pick Obama, at this time. The odds should narrow a bit as we go to the post. All bets are off if the Israeli's nuke iraq, otherwise I'll take Obama and give you Romulans 33 basis points -- if I were a betting man. "Scottie, Spock, take their bets!"
  • fluffanutter
    Joined:
    Apparently you read the same story as I did, Ted
    Not only are NH hospitals turning away some medicaid patients but they are taking some of the medicaid reimbursement money from the feds and throwing it into the General Treasury fund (or whatever they call it). You have to remember that in the "Tax Free Or Die" State they will do anything to avoid imposing a state income tax. ANYTHING! Even if it means killing poor people whose hospital bill the Feds have already paid! This is what prompted me to write yesterday but I took a different tack. This whole issue is so beyond the pale. Health care is one of the most profitable industries in our country today. There is no rhyme or reason to any of it. A widget for a medical implant at one hospital can be billed at $72 while at the next it can cost $72,000. This is an exaggeration, but not by much. Then there is the way that doctors are reimbursed by insurance companies -- this whole system of "medical coding". There are conferences that medical coders go to to learn the bible of coding so that they can get paid the maximum possible amount -- in other words they are teaming up with doctors so they both use the greatest possible number of codes to receive the greatest possible reimbursement. What in the world does ANY of THIS have to do with people receiving reasonable health care at reasonable costs? The more I look at it the more I think we need a Canadian system style of universal health care with the upper-middle class forced to go to Thailand for reasonably priced first-world healthcare if they don't want to wait. The rich and privileged, like Cheney, will always get theirs when and where it is convenient.
  • Gr8fulTed
    Joined:
    State funding has been slashed
    Good topic to bring up Fluffanutter: New Hampshire has cut their medicaid funding and are looking to the feds for help. Meanwhile, the poor and uninsured are getting arguably less quality care or are being turned away! From a physicians viewpoint, a doctor is not likely to want a reduction in compensation for services given. I'll read more about Medicare and Medicaid to see how the tug of war is developing between payments to doctors with the quality of care given.
  • fluffanutter
    Joined:
    Turned away at the hospital for lack of funds
    The local community hospital is turning away medicaid patients because of low reimbursements from the Federal government. This even as this hospital takes medicaid funds and is thus bound by Federal mandates to accept these patients. If you don't have private health insurance you might want to think seriously about this. Despite the law people with non life-threatening emergencies are being sent packing. Those with just medicaid or medicare are being given rationed health care. Not having health insurance or not making it a priority is starting to look more and more like playing Russian roulette. The chances are are that your number is going to come up sooner or later. And this is not a choice for a lot of people, If it was at all possible to be insured, they would be. Rather, they choose to eat and have a roof over their head and drive a car. The head administrator (CEO) of my local community hospital makes $500,000 a year and all his staff do everything they can to preserve their salaries and perks at whatever cost to the patient. This is not the main or only problem. But it is one of them. With the health industry it's hard to know what is the greatest obscenity these days. How can this happen in the wealthiest country on the planet?
  • Hawaiidove
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Fresh Jam Radio playing fresh Furthur
    Awesome station for any Deadhead .... they are playing a bunch of Furthur from last weekend now ! www.freshjamradio.com
  • fluffanutter
    Joined:
    @Harrington
    I'm not a veteran basher. I'm a war basher. Returning vets have directly effected my immediate family. I don't need to say how. You can use your imagination. I don't blame them, I blame the politicians who sent them to war. I don't mean to say that the majority are the ones who pose with dead bodies or body parts or desecrate enemy bodies through various methods. Clearly, they are not. But this is a snapshot of a minority of those who have served. It may not be you as a veteran, but it is some veterans. Then we have politicians that seem to excuse this behavior by saying we don't need to try any better because this is the nature of the beast. Whatever the horrors of war, don't we have a responsibility to hold ourselves to a higher standard? I live near a large, regional VA Hospital and there are always stories in the newspaper about the lack of care and run-around being received as well as the lack of funding for much needed programs. The reality kind of breaks my heart, War is the monster, not the small number of veterans who have become monsters through the experiences they have been through. I hope this clarifies my sentiment
user picture

Member for

17 years 7 months
Forums

Nuclear power! Carcinogenic cell phones! The Stanley Cup! and the usual parade of kids dancing and shaking their bones, politicians throwing stones, etc. Discuss.

user picture

Member for

16 years 11 months
Permalink

I could do BOTH jobs....post spam and DELETE it, TOO!!...Who wants to hire me??
user picture

Member for

16 years 11 months
Permalink

I REFUSE to trade SPAM for COOKIES!!
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

I am big boy in the casino. When Google give me offer to post spam I go all in! Right CoCo? Now you got to deal with me every day I not in the casino. You can call me Chen or Zue or asshole. I don't not care. Just keep hitting my links you dumb American twits!
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

for piece rate spam remover. The poor guy needs a job and nobody hates it more than him. C'mon Rhino/Dead.net! Hire Johnman for .10 cents per strike and free up MaryE for other, more important issues on this site. If he goes power-mad with the spike you can always chop him off at the knees, though i don't see that as a problem.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

...while the Brits and French try to get a little government moving in Tripoli. It seems like they'd rather sit back and drink until Khadaffy is rounded up in the Southern part of Libya. I don't think the new rebel government is at all AQ. Libya has really moderate Muslims. But they sure are taking their sweet time to get to Tripoli while they might still have to dodge a few sniper rounds. What is more unbelievable about the whole Libyan fiasco? Obama and company started the rebels on the path to victory and then threw the whole flap into the hands of NATO and they proved they were stumbling all over themselves trying to fly close air support, You can say whatever you want about America's empire, but the fact is we are first rank world-class ass-kickers and everybody thinks really hard if they want to go up against us.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Laura Carlsen, Op-Ed: “In the 1930s, a church group commissioned a film ‘to strike fear in the hearts of young people tempted to smoke marijuana.’ But it was not until the 1970s that Reefer Madness—billed as ‘the original classic that was not afraid to make up the truth’ due to its grotesque portrayal of the supposed dangers of marijuana—obtained cult status. After the scare tactics of the 1930s, U.S. marijuana policy varied depending on the political climate, even as scientific research consistently debunked extreme claims that the plant caused uncontrollable violent behavior, physical addiction, and insanity.” READ the rest at nationofchange.org.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

A little bit FURTHUR than you've gone before! I'll check in from time to time. ~ The sails are fillin', the wind is willin' & I'm good as gone again ~
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

...or a threat !? LOL Gimme a buzz if yer passin' thru the heartland (I-70)
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

No matter where you stand on the subject of the death penalty in the US, the following list should not exactly make you stand up and cheer for the good ol' US of A (note, I see different rankings from different sources, but the general idea doesn't vary much), given our inclusion on this list of apparently like-minded nations.... Most executions in 2010 by country: 1) China (blows away the rest of the world, no pun intended) 2) Iran 3) North Korea 4) Yemen 5) USA
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

makes you think, doesn't it Dean?********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Yeah, but where does Texas rank? Where does the US rank without Texas? Food for thought....
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

It's been in the news a lot lately. Obama said recently: "It's math, not class war." when he was referring to his jobs proposal. I tend to throw the term around a lot. I'm an old lefty. Class war was first talked about in this country around the end of the 19th century with the advent of Karl Marx. The rise of union organizers used the term a lot. It grew out of favor with the rise of McCarthyism in the 50s. Nobody wanted to be associated with it. Also, most people in the USA believe there is mobility between the classes and therefore the concept is really not appropriate. It has also been a non-starter for those organizing social justice movements. However, NPR also had another story about how many millionaires are members of Congress. About 250 out of 535. It makes you think if any of this class of people will ever vote to dismantle the Bush tax cuts.... In my opinion there is a "class war" going on out there. The rich are struggling as hard as they can to hold on and pass down their wealth as America's piece of the pie shrinks. Some people have an understanding that these people must be made to share with their less fortunate. Thus we have Boehner and Cantor (Repub. leadership) screaming Obama is waging class war. That is not the way to create jobs! We need to get the lazy off welfare and on the tax rolls. I definitely say we need welfare reform, change the incentives to get people to work. But we also need the other side -- corporations used as shields for rich people to hide behind, pay little or no taxes and influence Congress in a way the middle class can not. THIS method of organizing our society needs to be changed first You can not believe class war is real and/or choose not to use the term. You can ignore the analysis between capital and labor but the reality is these are life and death issues in a democracy. Just yelling "Vote or don't complain!" or "Vote the bums out!" IS NOT the extent of our civic duty. OK, rant over (for now)
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

thanks for the invite Ted. I'm due Northeast of you a couple hundred miles tonight. I'll take a raincheck. Or if I see you on this tour the beer is on me! Gonz
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

I'll be at the 3rd Red rock show....staying in Lakewood, west Denver, 10/2
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

I gave some thought to breaking out Texas as a separate "country," but was too lazy to pull up the stats. But yeah, good point. Hope your trip is going well!
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

Do anything at all? I thought it would attach a message to the original. Guess not...
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

CO2 levels have rose from 280 parts per million to 369 ppm in just the time since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Global temperatures rose 1.1 degrees in the years 1900-1999. The Arctic summer ice cap has shrunk to half it's usual size and is expected to vanish by the year 2035, give or take, I like to watch Globe Trekker on Public Television and you rest assured that the Antarctic is melting also, though the rate of acceleration is less than in the Arctic, it doesn't seem to matter much. The import of the article was that Americans that consider themselves conservative-minded are falling into a dangerous morass of DENIAL on this issue. While liberal-leaning people remain 70% convinced global warming is real. To talk about this debate is surrealistic in that the handwriting was on the wall in about 1980. That was the deciding point. If the world had stood together and said "We're shit**** in our own nest. It's time we all stopped and agree to a human rate of self-destruction. But, nations didn't do it even at Kyoto climate talks in 1997. Nor are they doing it now. India, China, Brazil and many other countries where many reserve the right to catch up to the most advanced nation. You can read the rest of the article by Charles Hanley of the Associated Press. I read this in the Sunday Eugene Register-Guard newspaper
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

With co2 emissions rising unabated and the two global poles melting at an alarming rater it seems that we have started the experiment to see how we will adapt. As there will be no arctic summer ice in 2035 we will see if the Polar bears and other species who rely on summer ice flows will change their habits. The chances aren't good. Anybody have any happy news on the environment. I could use some.
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

Denial works. As "intellectual" as human beings are, we're still slaves to our senses. CO2 is colorless, odorless, tasteless, so is it real? And greenhouse impacts occur so slowly that without some kind of inborne equivalent of stop-action photography, it's tough for people to get a visceral sense of the changes that are happening. Thus easy to disbelieve, especially as humans are also notorious for not accepting things that they just plain would rather not be true. Add those facts to the raft of knucklehead "leaders" whose vision extends only about as far as the end of their outstretched hand ("alms for the deniers! We'll make the enviro boogeymen go away!")...not good at all. Time for a slew of big-ass volcanic eruptions to cool things down for a while...
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

...is currently trending. How can we most easily adapt to the REAL global changes that are upon us?
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

12.8% of the terrestrial part of the planet (outside Antarctica) now falls within some official type of proteted area (nature reserve, national park etc) compared with 8.8% in 1990. That's more than 100,000 sites in almost every country in the world. And although there is still much to do to achieve really good protection of many of these sittes. their overall management effectiveness is increasing too. The picture is not so good with marine protected zones, but 7.2% of territorial waters are now protected. Still much more to do on the open ocean and on planning the future network to adapt to climate change.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

15 years 2 months
Permalink

Oh yeah baby, the American drone death of Anwar al-Awlaki eliminates a leading figure in Yemen's branch of al Qaeda...Obumma has taken out yet another "brown-skinned" Islamofascist !!! I guess the "Deadheads For Obama" t-shirt wearing cats I was so disgusted with at some shows back in '08 may have been onto something afterall...If he keeps up the "W"-like pressure on those warriors of peace i just may join them and vote for this empty suit next time around...
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

nice banner, south korea at the football game: "Let's celebrate Japan's big earthquake".apparently it was by "an indiscreet spectator, not by our supporters". you mean like the monkey faces and gestures by a large section of the crowd and by that idiotic player in your national team, looking straight into the camera? your planting of a slogan on a japanese tv drama, in code which everyone knows means "fuck Japan"? "whaaaaaaaaaa, we suffered such harsh colonial rule from 1910-1945, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..........." get over yourselves and get out of the Japanese government.
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

Happy German Holiday Today "Tag der Deutsche Einheit" or Reunification Day. The jury seems to be still out whether this day is for celebrating or mourning.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Which will be in Panama City. These preparations set the stage for the Durban talks later this year where, supposedly, treaties can be signed by delegation leaders from 196 countries. These are the nation signatories (as well as those who didn't sign) to the Kyoto Protocols which are set to expire in 2012. Of course, we know which large and developing nations did not sign on to that treaty -- The US, China, India, Brazil. I again reiterate the surreal nature of these talks. It is like going through the looking glass and coming into Alice's wonderland, which I have been doing a lot lately. Meanwhile certain Pacific island nations are desperately fighting off fresh water well contamination from rising ocean levels.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Without Dewlover's gleeful mirth, I also am somewhat heartened by the passing of this American born person from New Mexico. To the extent that he had the power through the web to recruit and mobilize, he was a traitor and enemy who wished to kill thousands of Americans in terror attacks. Will that stop AQ on the net. No, but one major component is gone. DL? Glad you're voting for Obama 2012!
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

it's all in your mind, guys. the real terror begins at home. major component.... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha........ oh COME ON!!!! get a grip. some people will swallow more than Debbie, a resident of Dallas.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Christy doesn't want to runMichael Jackson's Doctor hid his his illegal use of propythal Ahhhhh!!!!! I know there are other things going on in the world. WTF? Has CNN been outclassed by the BBC and Al-Jazeera? Why don't the American people get news? You want NEWS? I want the NEWS! You can't handle THE NEWS!!!!
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

touching, really. thank God (the white, long-haired male kind, naturally.....) i was born in England. pulse? check. critical faculties? check. discernible gagging reflex? check. almost adorable in it's sweetness; wide-eyed innocence wrapped in cotton wool swaddling; a Linus blanket to ward off reality's nasty cough mixture. naivety, almost a blessing. i'll take your news and double it. or add some hard-fought, limp-wristed protective sugar and gulp it all down. go back to sleep, little baby. all is well. seriously. honestly. you believe me, right?
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

‘The Taliban are running out of bullets. Operation ‘Get our troops to absorb them with their bodies’ is finally paying off. The Taliban are finding it impossible to get hold of essential supplies – at last we’re fighting on equal terms. But let’s not get complacent. Just because they’re running out of bullets we mustn’t assume our boys won’t get shot. Remember, the US troops have still got plenty.’ MC FB to the AD/BC.
user picture

Member for

15 years 11 months
Permalink

So much for the extra security measures ehhh??
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

to what we were seeing last week, this is a vast improvement. It's slowed down by at least an order of magnitude. Whether it will ever be perfect is questionable, as the bad guys have a strong incentive to devise workarounds. That said, we'll stay on it. Also, it is not necessary to exclaim over spam all the time. For one thing, I will have it cleared out within hours of its appearance. For another, your remark will look strange forever after sitting there out of context.
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

Not that I love spam, or even talking about it, but I noticed that Steve Earle's website shut down its forums because of spam attacks, directed everyone to Facebook. I'm hoping that doesn't happen here...
user picture

Member for

15 years 11 months
Permalink

that was my first ever comment regarding spam... people comment on it all the time .. i could care less if there is spam on here or not other than the fact that typing in the security words prior to posting is a pain especially if it doesn't work. again I apologize for saying anything..
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

it's not that big a deal, but the best thing to do with the jerks is ignore them as their departure is most efficient that way and leaves no traces, so to speak. Are you getting the captcha every time you post?
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

believe me, that is not the intention here. And it's not like the spammers haven't discovered Facebook, too... I have to chase them off of people's pages there also!
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

Captcha with every post. Even when you're editing an existing post. Apparently the mod has super-security clearance, gets to bypass the long line at the screening checkpoint?
user picture

Member for

17 years 7 months
Permalink

hm. I encountered it on a non-mod account, but I rarely use it. Interesting, thanks.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

how much longer do you search and destroy terrorists?tick tick tick....... mmm, probably time to go now. Wall Street is all very well, but is anyone occupying Obama's head?
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

sure, we're all idiots here.every one of us. whatever you've got, we'll swallow it. idiots. every last one of you. so consumed with retardation that a decent humbug fails you. an Iranian plot? oh, now, really? an insult that we've brought upon ourselves. throat muscles super-taut and a stomach to infinity. the FBI, pathetic fucks who fabricate for the hungry masses. luring into existence the disenfranchised then claim a foil of terrorist proportions. wouldn't exist without the sting. Iran as much of a threat as my soiled trousers. still, keep swallowing. Congress owned by Israel. let's see Iran GONE! go for it, America. Start on Iran and watch the Islamic world own you. again. paranoia breeding paranoia. you haven't got time to lie about averting mass casualties in Washington; enough on your plate killing your own in Afghanistan. never mind. passes the time doesn't it? children banging toys on a picture of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. makes us all feel better doesn't it? having a villain; keeps minds off poverty and social disintegration. well, most of them are black anyway, so what the heck. right? and the rest of the world laughs.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

a simple reminder of what escapes us on a daily basis.UnkleSleazy from the future.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

that's irony for you.or should that be irany?
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

or should that be farce, from the articles I've read. I'm more worried about the negative influence fatcats like the Koch brothers have on American media and politics. President Obama will have a tough time weathering the next year or so.
user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

Hmmm, more strange site weirdness...but anyway: With the flap over this "Mormonism as a cult" nonsense, it makes for an interesting reading to find these tidbits on Romney's election website: Mitt has developed a lot of his values as a person and leader from his Mormon faith, but he decided before ever running for political office that he would never impose those values on his constituents. Mitt is one of the greatest champions of religious freedom the United States has seen in modern history. Mitt and Ann Romney were awarded the Becket Fund’s highest honor, the Canterbury Medal, for their contribution in expanding religious expression in the public square in 2008. So, maybe the "greatest" statement is a bit of campaign hyperbole, just a bit, but it is interesting to see on the same FAQ page this statement: Governor Romney opposes the construction of the mosque at Ground Zero. The wishes of the families of the deceased and the potential for extremists to use the mosque for global recruiting and propaganda compel rejection of this site. So by "religious freedom" do we mean leave MY (cult or not) religion alone, but those Muslims are fair game because they are all, apparently, potential extremists? Extremists, as we all know, are evil and as such have seemed to have forfeited their right to freedom of religion. Both these quotes are on the same FAQ page from 2010 (the ground zero quote is easy to find at the bottom of the FAQs, the religious freedom statement is in the LDS section, last question concerning the affect of Mormonism on Romney's decisions as POTUS): http://mittromneycentral.com/?s=mosque+ground+zero
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

Romney and Huntsman shouldn't have to be worried about their religious faith in a run for president of the US. What could be relevant is what the LDS Church is about in Disney/Technicolor terms, or perhaps 3D? If you can believe in that stuff you could be convinced of anything -- any little reason the sky is about to fall. Having said that, Romney & Huntsman are fine candidates, just nobody I'd vote for.
user picture

Member for

15 years 11 months
Permalink

Been meaning to throw this out there. Why the hell is he targeting MMJ dispensaries?? There was less scrutiny with Bush in office. One less vote for you Obama, you haven't done anything anyway and now this??? Impose your federal tax, take your money and then back off and let the states handle it.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

I wouldn't worry about Obama, Gr8fulTed. remember, he isn't in charge anyway. two good things news-wise this morning; one was seeing footage of the occupy wall street congregation cleaning up after themselves after being told by the mayor they would have to leave the area temporarily for tidying purposes. just can't beat a toothbrush between cracks in the pavement. secondly, the story of Jon Fishman & his wife Briar planning to help their community in Lincolnville, Maine - http://bangordailynews.com/2011/10/12/news/midcoast/as-general-store-pr… one (just one? surely you jest, pancake...) piece of bad news; the U.S.'s plans for their naval base in south korea. you know, i'm real glad about this occupation thing and the nation wide marches; you know, you folks in america (and not just you, intelligent human beings everywhere - the UK could sure do with a heck of a lot less complacency and apathy) really do need to get out there and make a change, because, not for the first time, there is a creeping tide of anti-american sentiment coming up the beach. if you really want to make yourselves loathed worldwide, then you're going the right way about it. people must realise that they are in charge, not the monkeys in government or the corporate clowns. the people of america are getting tainted again, with the colour of brown. and it's beginning to get a lil' ripe in here. other countries are getting sick of occupancy by your military. sick of the bullying and sick of the sight of you. which we all know is a travesty. on many levels. others countries can do their bit, certainly, but we need you to do yours (which in many under-advertised ways, you are). let's hope these marches are the start of a continuation; don't let the momentum drop, because once you do, you, and by association, us, will be back up that creek with a turd for a paddle. a lot people just sigh and build that wall of resentment when they hear the words "america" or "the U.S.". which is doing a massive, monumental disservice to the millions of damn fine folk who live, breathe and create in there. don't mistake this for being patronising; this is coated with optimism and a tingling in the heart, a stirring in the Soul for more enlightened times. one way to make change is to peacefully demonstrate; one way to make change is bypass their "products" (material and moral); one way is to do what the Fishman's are doing and invest, inspire and nurture that community in your own towns and cities. spreading gradually for the future. anyone know the closest venue the Dead played to Lincolnville? i feel a theme for my listening habits today.
user picture
Default Avatar
Permalink

not really current affairs, although i could (tenuously? no, i don't see why?!!) link it through the vibration that is community. i know i'm a little late in mentioning this documentary (oh, come on, only 8 years off...); but i saw it this morning and what with the blue sky shining again in London, it made me feel aglow with positivity. it is a programme about Trey Anastasio and Dave Matthews visiting Africa to play with Orchestra Baobab - how wonderful to see two people so humble, borderline terrified! poor ol' Dave looked like he was going to be sick, bless him! and all the more wonderful for it. how exciting to continue and encourage such connections on a regular basis. imagine other performers in the family scene; Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mike Gordon, Les Claypool, Warren Haynes, Railroad Earth, String Cheese, Galactic, (Chali 2na & Senegalese rappers? you betcha!! hey, it worked for Positive Black Soul and the mighty KRS-One) and many many more. some production company start a documentary strand and series here right now! the artists go to Africa, the African artists come to the U.S. each sitting in and improvising, visiting the local towns and exchanging culture that only the joys of music can provide. there has been cross-pollination before, of course there has; i remember some guy called...oh, what's his name?......Dickey Bart or something............ Bela Fleck too amongst many others; but this documentary is very heartening in it's rawness. no big budget, slick production values or cloying "world music" (whatever that is) blandness. just local performance and immersion in the creative language. the weekend is looking good for the human race!!