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

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  • Anna rRxia
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    Joe Smith (Capitol Records CEO) on the Grateful Dead
    Smith was on Morning Joe this morning talking about his interactions with different musicians in the 60s and touting his new book: Off The Record. He kept bringing up the Grateful Dead and how he was petrified of being dosed by members of the entourage to the point where he was freezing in NYC one evening as he got into the backstage area of a Dead show and Garcia offered him a coffee to warm up but he said -- "No thanks, I'll get my own coffee." This anecdote has been cited several times somewhere on this site. Apparently he got quite scared as he was told that he would never understand the music of the Grateful Dead unless he tried acid, which he was certain he would never do. The Grateful Dead, an American icon of the 60s still making the morning talk shows now and again.
  • Anonymous (not verified)
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    death having been revealed
    "Who did the council fight?""It split in two and fought itself." "That's suicide!" "No, ordinary behaviour. The efficient half eats the less efficient half and grows stronger. War is just a violent way of doing what half the people do calmly in peacetime: using the other half for food, heat, machinery and sexual pleasure. Man is the pie that bakes and eats himself, and the recipe is separation." "I refuse to believe men kill each other just to make their enemies rich." "How can men recognize their real enemies when their family, schools and work teach them to struggle with each other and to believe law and decency come from the teachers?" "My son won't be taught that," said Lanark firmly. "You have a son?" "Not yet." - from Lanark by Alasdair Gray.
  • Anna rRxia
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    20th Anniversary of 1992 LA Riots
    I just watched the special on the 20th anniversary of the LA Riots, the worst single riot in American history: 58 dead and 1 billion in damage in three days of rioting. It was brutal. I don't think enough attention was paid to our system of justice in this country that allowed the 4 cops to walk after the whole thing was on video for the world to see -- Rodney King being beaten by baton wielding maniacs. Rodney King, recently found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool shortly after the 20th anniversary of the riots... The footage in this video was gripping. Reginald Denny being pulled from his truck and bludgeoned with a brick. The mania that grips a crowd and turns it into a wild animal bent on blood lust. This is something that every person would rather forget and in forgetting we are doomed to repeat it in the future. Apparently corporate America decided that no white people would be interested in watching this special. The only sponsor of commercials was Burger King. In 1993 the Dead started to play the LA Sports Arena and did 9 or so shows there through the end in 1995. This venue is in South LA and borders the trouble area. There was a couple of years following the riots where everybody just chilled out and caught their breath. Race relations between the Koreans and the black community have improved. Race relations between blacks and whites remain largely the same. As long as we just spend money to contain pockets of poverty we will never be rid of this problem. Slaves brought from Africa become free, gain rights and are integrated into a social welfare system. A very few of the best and brightest and most athletically capable break out of this cruel segregation while the rest, including a large percentage of talented, above-average people, are doomed to lives of poverty and mediocrity based simply on the color of their skin. If ever there was a recipe for anger and frustration periodically over-boiling, this is it.
  • fluffanutter
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    The handwriting on the wall for baby-boomers
    While there are a lot of baby-boomers in their fifties who are already suffering greatly after being buffeted about by strong economic winds they haven't really felt the intense shock that will be surely be coming as they reach old-age and find that the social safety net is being pulled out from under them. Medicare cuts, higher retirement age and reduced social security benefits are three things that are surely coming. We shouldn't have our heads in the sand regarding these looming issues. Why? Because the national debt is soaring. The interest on the debt is now 250 billion diollars a year and will shortly shoot up to one trillion dollars a year unless drastic steps are taken. The Bowles-Simpson approach to cutting the debt will surely be adopted in some modified version by a bi-partisan commission. There will be many other cuts to social programs as well as deep cuts in the military. It'll be worse if these cuts come with a Republican president rather than a Democratic one but the crunch IS coming, no matter which is in power. An interesting thing to know would be what percentage of baby-boomers don't have steady occupational jobs till age 65 that would allow them to retire with social secuirty, 401k, pension and investment income... I would venture to guess that the figure is somewhere around 80% who don't have that kind of security. Probably another 30% have some combination of two or more of those. That leaves a probable 50% who are counting on a meager bank account and a social security check to see them through retirement. If the social safety net is cut, the age at which social security may be collected raised and the amount of social security reduced -- as well as section 8 housing and food stamps -- the vast majority of baby-boomers will be suffering greatly. Their ability to pay for rent, groceries, utilities and health care will be slight. If their kids are not in a position to help them for whatever reason, who can they turn to? This is going to be a horror show. This is something to think seriously about and plan for in the future. I could make predictions about what this 50% would do, but it would be dark and depressing. I don't see any way out of this for the people who haven't worked hard and scrupulously saved for their retirement.
  • fluffanutter
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    This summer's swan song
    I'll be doing two shows this summer: Furthur on July 5th and Mickey Hart's Mysterium Tremndum at Salisbury Beach on July 18th. Both are tour openers. They should be good shows. After that I've decided to call it quits on attending further Grateful Dead related acts. I've supported a lot of the post-Jerry acts in the past and for the most part haven't been disappointed but there comes a time to say "It's been a great ride! Thanks for the memories...". I think now is that time. I wish the younger fans and the older "young-at-heart" heads the best times in the future. My interests will now gravitate to folk and blues and bluegrass, looking for the best in each of those genres. Thanks for the memories!
  • Anna rRxia
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    Resupplying the troops in Afghanajam
    Since the US bombed a Pakistani troop position and killed 24 troops last October the Pakistan government closed down resupply routes through that country. (Speaking of which, Obama recently declared that any military age male in the vicinity of a Coalition air strike is an enemy combatant. Guess the Coalition is done apologizing and compensating for that class of collateral damage) Anyway, that left a huge pipeline filled with supplies backed up in Karachi. The US has been resupplying through northern routes, utilizing Turkey and Russia and other countries to the north of Afghanistan. There is one tunnel going under a mountain in Afghanistan that is now backed up for almost three days with thousands of trucks waiting to pass. The US Quartermaster Corps is crowing that they are moving even larger amounts of goods now than they were before, albeit at a much greater cost. Still, the US would be very grateful if Pakistan would reopen the routes through it's country. Not likely. The Pakistani government and people have basically told the US to stick it. The US has come, in return, to recognize that powerful elements within the elites in that country are the enemy. "A fine state of affairs, General Olllie!" "Don't start with me, General Stan. I've had quite enough of your fly-boys bombing the wrong people!"
  • Anna rRxia
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    So global warming doesn't exist in NC?
    Lets all stick our heads in the sand and pretend there is nothing wrong. That will certainly take care of the problem! Barnum-like con-men can continue to front for rich interests and swindle people who don't feel they need to pay attention to the news. I don't know how anybody can be that much in denial. I was outside for two hours yesterday at the peak of a bright, sunny day that might have been 75 degrees and I got a sunburn! I gather the newest topic at conservative think tanks is: How do we make money as the planet crashes and burns? They have to get that last load of gold bricks lowered into the survival bunker. The timing is quite tricky...
  • Anna rRxia
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    repugnant nc repubs
    Reserving the right to discriminate. Three cheers for those crazy no-ka-lah republicans.
  • gratefaldean
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    One more from NC
    What with the polar ice caps melting and sea level rising as a result, planning coastal develpment can get to be a little tricky. With predictions for as much as a meter rise in sea level by 2100, the last thing that you want to do is build homes, hotels, and roads in places that will be underwater in 20 or 30 years. Fear not, though. The NC legislature has figured out a nifty way around this pesky problem: a Bill currently making the rounds would mandate the method used to predict how quickly and how much the waters will rise, to the exclusion of all other means of projecting rising sea levels. Specifically, only historical (going back to 1900) trending data can be used for these calculations -- current data and extrapolations from those trends MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED. Not coincidentally, the "historical" method for making these projections shows only an 8" increase in water levels through 2100. Note that scientists who argue that our current climate warming trend is not the result of human activities, who argue that it is part of the natural warming/cooling of the earth and not due to manmade GHG emissions, generally do not deny that we ARE going through a warming period. Some politicians, it seems, disagree. I'm thinking that future Wishful Thinking legislation could be key in solving nearly all of our country's problems. If only we don't let the facts get in our way, the future is bright, my friends. Buy those sunglasses today! Matt Cain, what a game. I'm hoping for his sake, and the Giants, that he doesn't suffer the same fate as Phil Humber, who seems to have forgotten how to pitch since he tossed his perfect game. A lot less likely for that to happen to Cain, I think.
  • gratefaldean
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    More news from NC
    Maybe this tells you what you need to know about the North Carolina Republican party...Article III from the party's platform: "Government should treat all citizens impartially, without regard to wealth, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sex, political affiliation or national origin. We oppose all forms of invidious discrimination. Sexual orientation is not an appropriate category." I'm so glad that the authors oppose all forms of invidious discrimination, except the forms that they don't oppose. Come on folks, don't be shy, tell us what you REALLY think. Note that the first qualifier is "wealth?" Maybe I'm reading too much into that one. Naaahhh...
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Nuclear power! Carcinogenic cell phones! The Stanley Cup! and the usual parade of kids dancing and shaking their bones, politicians throwing stones, etc. Discuss.

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Rupert Murdock, worldwide media mogul and owner of FOX in the dock in Parliament almost gets pied in the face except for the vicious right hook from his 40 year year junior wife. This decrepit piece of shit had the temerity to allow wiretapping of cell phones and turns out to be Australia's answer to J Edgar Hoover (except for the gay part). He had everybody in his pocket and everybody was afraid of him. What a bunch of tools: Fox, Wall St. Journal and others in America all owned by the great and might OZ. The only interesting debate is if there is any such thing as a fair and biased media. My vote is, and always has been, NO! The editor has an opinion which is why I do not opine the decline of the powers of great newspapers of this country..
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I agree....Editors are allowed their own opinions, as are we all, but it's their job to ensure unbiased reporting of the news, not to twist facts to suit what they want people to believe, and certainly they shouldn't be using tactics that rival the world's best intelligence agencies.
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and "editorials" are theoretically the only part of newspapers where expressing opinions should be taking place********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde
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I liked how his wife tried to spike pie guy's head like it was a volleyball. give 'er a cookie
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I liked how his wife tried to spike pie guy's head like it was a volleyball. give 'er a cookie
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displays unexpected versatility...
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I did hear she used to be a good volleyball player.
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And hopes that no one was hurt, and that cleaning up the bomb chaos goes well. Also that they figure out very fast who did it.********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde
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The pastry violence must stop... I'd hate to see a day where pastries are banned in any country...
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yeah TL, really bad. In NORWAY. Sheesh!!
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to Oslo and anyone who is suffering from losing a loved one or two.
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One man kills over 80 people. Oslo streets are shredded worst since WWII by one native Norwegian who then takes a machine gun to kids on an island camp-out? I agree with Linder, prayers, healing vibes to that nation.
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eight and a half minutes... last shuttle landing: stomach pit and the congregation cheers. silver dust high; liquid heat and billowing disperse. four-bolt intensity and last call for the platform guys. rapid drop a thousand times and counting; ten feet exclusion for a quarantine Mind. external cocoon against eleventh-hour stall; walrus check and a ribbon on the key. last check for four Always! weight dropped from the throttle passed. Smiles. hands+provisions passed; eight days until the curtain falls. Learn your Maths! Learn your Science! Revolutionise the tragedy. Titus-reduced, thirty-three years; waxed and ready to seek. adrenaline for others but business for me. four around a table; three years old - indifference; five years old - laugh; relationship - relief. I Fly On Gliding Splinters. It's come to a Final Stop. Welcome Deep Space.....................................................................................
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The News never ceases to amaze me. Another excuse, thanks to that terrible tragedy in Norway, to blow hot air about "multiculturalism" and it's apparent failings. David Cameron and Angela Merkel say it's failed; it just doesn't work. Lazy journalistic reports of the rise of the right-wing in Netherlands, Denmark, Finland; Close The Borders! Immigrants Out! Did that Norwegian fool have links to the English Defense League in the UK? Does anyone care? Does it really matter? Funny that, Mr. Cameron; i look outside my window and then creep fearfully around the corner and.....oh, we're getting along just fine, thank you very much. What a relief! London, especially, has a great history of different cultures getting along like the proverbial house on fire (not due to petrol bomb thrown by the way). Polish, Jewish, Afro-Carribean, Indian, Turkish, Chinese, Tamil, English all enjoying each other's company and sharing ideas, food, art; exchanging laughs and handshakes, better someone who is black, yellow, brown or any other colour moving in next door than a fellow Englishman. Far less trouble. True, plenty of difficulties have arisen; the odd riot here and there, some racism, certain individuals and families made to feel very unwelcome. Some may have never gotten over it and that breaks my heart. But on the whole, we get along. Until that is the newspapers, new stations and other idiots decide to stir shit up, rubbing their grubby little hands with glee. Yes, Mr. Cameron, multiculturalism DOES work. It works just fine until people like you bring up minor differences and apply them with broader and broader brushstrokes to the country at large. Keeps you from working for your pay, doesn't it? Heaven forbid you actually have to DO something. Get on the pulpit, toss out casual remarks then stand back and retire to the comfort of sycophants and watch it burn. You do not speak for me or the country as a whole. You speak for yourself. In fact, you'll speak for anyone, anytime, anywhere; tell 'em what they want to hear and by the way, who has the largest cheque book? Fantastic, let's talk... There is a minority of people taking things to the extremes and there always will be. Will the recent killings in Norway trigger copycat behaviour? No, i doubt it. It may do if you keep fucking going on about it though. Is anyone else surprised at the distinct lack of reportage about the guy being a Freemason? A full scale investigation into the various Masonic Lodges, not just in Norway, but across Europe and the U.S. would seem to be in order. Huh, huh, yeah, right, ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Bigots come in all shapes, sizes, temperatures, colors, boxes, cans, shoes, buses, fishsticks, and candles....might as well look into Freemasonry....I'm kinda curious about the Oddfellows, and the Pythian Knights...oh.....and a box of cookies..
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...must have got lost. In the rest of the world there is heinous crime, but it usually happens with some sane (insane) reason, like Milosevic and and his whacky Serbs. Or tribal violence like the the Hutus and Tutsis. Random, senseless violence is the specialty of the US.culture and itt's citizens. Who needs to enumerate these incidents? I just hope we are not exporting our violent psychological trash to other peaceful countries or our insane campaign against a whole culture, except for the ones we like as of present. I wanted to mention the French and their banning the burka, but alas, in time they'll understand respect or shall be taught the meaning of it by people like the Norwegian guy. Will he claim the Anti Peace Prize?
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that the guy sees himself as a Crusader ridding Europe of the Muslim Menace. Having specialized in that particular period in grad school and found a different aspect of it most relevant to what was even then going on in the Haight and such, I didn't expect this particular thing to be front and center again, as it were. Amplified by Twitter.
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..do tell us more Marye!!! By the way the crusades were not only against Muslims. My area of SW France still bears the scars of the Albigensian Crusades in which up to a million 'heretic' Cathars were murdered in 20 years of terror by so called Crusaders seeking a short cut to heaven at the behest of Pope Innocent (yup innocent!) III. "The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history". Friedrich Hegel
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well, the part I was studying was less about the Crusades though obviously the resulting cross-cultural influences had a lot to do with it, than the period known as the 12th Century Renaissance, which, not to be too literal about the timeline, encompassed various things including a lot of Arthurian stuff in French and German, the Carmina Burana, Chartres Cathedral, and paradigm shifts on a number of fronts. During my PhD orals (I am one of millions of people who never wrote their dissertation and never regretted it for a second because God knows I am not an academic...), the biology professor who had been put on my committee to keep everybody honest (this being the comp lit department) asked whether I thought Eleanor of Aquitaine was like fluorocarbons in the ozone layer. This being 1972, my immediate answer was along the general lines of "Buh?", but he explained that, this being 1972, they were noticing that as people in the Southern Hemisphere took to using aerosols, for the first time the ozone layer in the Southern Hemisphere were showing traces of the stuff, which had previously only appeared in the north. Was similar cultural transmission going on here? Well, duh, yeah, it was a funny way to look at it, but I love questions like that, and we had a fine old time. And yeah, between being at the court of her Albigensian, poetry-writing daddy and her history of romantic involvement with powerful dudes and her distinct mind of her own and her largeish sphere of influence, one could have fun with this notion. Innocent III was a bad man. Although there were not exactly any countries being ruled by angels in that era either. But one of those periods where a lot of cultural stuff changed really fast after not changing much for centuries.
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Great story Marye. So did those 12th century renaiisance folks make good use of ergot to inspire themselves? Chartres Cathedral is one of the most uplifting inspiring spaces I have ever been in. Albi Cathedral is one of the most oppressive places, a temple to power and subjugation.
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wasn't part of my branch of study, though as a migraine sufferer I would have taken a lively interest. Yup, I do love that Chartres Cathedral. For the colors alone.
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and the Manicheans, and dualists in general, hoo boy, that is a whole other thing. The need to go around stamping out people who disagree with you (or rather, people who are disadvantageous to you for some reason, trumping up some disagreement as a pretext, more likely) has been around for quite a while though. Let's go get those nasty dualists (and their very nice land) was kind of the flavor of the month.
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if you were a medieval knight interested in the spiritual rewards promised to you for going on a crusade (not to mention the possible material rewards) would you if given the choice a) go to palestine and likely die of disease, in a shipwreck or in battle with a formidable enemy b) go to the south of France, drink wine and kill bewildered peasants Not really current affairs, but it is telling that the language of the crusade (and its counterpart the jihad) is still so very much with us today. The justification of senseless violence by claiming a higher calling is .a recurring tragedy.
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and the willingness of people to fall for it is really depressing.
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I'd love to visit France and the rest of Europe, someday, but tonight the Allman Bros Band is live on XM Sirius, Deep Tracks, to raise awareness for Hepatitis C. Phil Lesh will be a guest. Greg Allman had a liver transplant 13 months ago.
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random, senseless violence here in the U.S., I wouldn't call it OUR specialty...not while there are sports fanatics killing each other over soccer games in other parts of the world. Of course, we have idiot gangbangers killing each other on the streets, too....but maybe I should just be quiet....sorry,,
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you should most certainly NOT be quiet!!!! You always have interesting, kind, and or humorous things to say!!!!!!! That was a fascinating discussion marye & badger, especially after having seen that part of the world for myself. Have photos of the cathedral in Albi somewhere, and it is something else alright. ********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde
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...the moment George W. Bush used the words "crusade" against terrorism. Followed by.... ...God Bless America. awesome. Talking of Chartres Cathedral; i don't think you'll be able to watch BBC iPlayer in the US, but i think you can in Europe. Maybe on BBC America soon? Anyway, great programme last night called "The Code"; an investigation by mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, revealing how significant numbers appear throughout the natural world. It's in three parts.
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And no, the US most certainly does not have a monopoly on senseless violence; America is somewhat of an easy target unfortunately, because of the sometimes, staggering stupidity of a minority of it's citizens.But indeed, johnman, it's alive and kicking all over the globe. The UK has more than it's fair share of hateful behaviour. Unfathomable idiocy. Africa, Asia and Europe too. It's just ingrained in the culture sometimes. Old grudges passed down through the generations. Understandable in a certain light. Recently watched Bruce Parry's Tribe series where he stayed with four different tribal, neighbouring groups in Southern Ethiopia's Omo Valley; the Suri, the Nyangatom, the Hamar and the Dassanech. All individually open and friendly; all trying their best to survive, all protecting their families, all displaying incredible community. But they HATE each other; killings of adults and children alike. Appalling barbarity; boasting of slaughter. When told of where he was going next, they all worried that he would be killed instantly. All described each other as barbaric; monsters and demons. And yet each tribe was wonderful in their own way; the West and it's much-trumpeted "civilised" societies could learn a huge amount from them on many levels. The beauty of fear and paranoia i suppose; each frightened that if the next Tribe sees them they'll kill and mutilate on sight. All in case they do it to them first which is highly likely. They have so much in common and benefit each other in the most wondrous ways but the roots go too deep. Same with Israel and Palestine. Same with the IRA. Same with the Catholics and Protestants. Same with the Christians and the Muslims. Same with the Crips and the Bloods. Same with the Jets and the Sharks. Same with the US Government and the rest of world it seems. Abuse leads to getting burned in sometimes spectacular fashion. Keep the head down and proceed quietly or speak up and go around in the circle? I don't know. Let's hope this Norwegian mess isn't exploited. It will be of course but the fingers are itching to cross. The worrying thing is that a white guy plotting just about ANYTHING has a better chance of staying under the radar. Especially when there's Freemason fools behind it. Obama is a Freemason too isn't he? The word "coconut" springs to mind here. Let's hope not, eh? Butch Trucks' new blog has some great posts about politics and a recent ramble on ol' Barack if anyone is interested. I like his style. Reminds of the funny FB musing; he has a name somewhere between Iraq and a bomber. They might as well have called him Muslim O'GunBomb in the Republican's eyes. "He has to get in with the majority of Americans. When he did his first public speech, they put all that bulletproof glass in front of him. I think that shows you how racist America still is; just because he's black doesn't mean he's going to kill anybody...". And why should you be quiet when mentioning gangbangers, johman?!!! Just what IS your real name, you ol' Witness Protection Poster Boy! ha ha!! Can just picture you chilling in the crib with the homies, pants around the balls, dusting off some rhymes! johnizzy-to-the-manizzy, G! You're fooling no one with the beard the tattoos the beer and the Dead fixation. Straight up Gangster ha ha ha!!!!!
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sometimes I can't articulate the point I'm trying to make so I come off as a dyed in the wool, shoot 'em up nutcase, and it's easier to jus' back-off and try to collect my thoughts. Usually I'm unsuccessful, however. There are many intelligent, thoughtful people that post here and sometimes I'm just plain humbled by the input, most of which I can't even come CLOSE to, but I try. ....We are all just human, I guess...small communities, big communities, it's all the same. Sometimes it's family units, or tribes, or just like-minded people. And we're all violent by nature, unfortunately. Often there is no choice, often there is nothing BUT choice. I try to believe that the ideals the US was founded on really mean something, at least in thought, if not in practice, but I have yet to see an administration that lives up to those ideals. As far as I can see you can't trust ANY of the bastiges, so I have to live as I see fit, and hope I do the right thing. If I'm lucky..I can drag a few folks with me.
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You're absolutely right, and don't you DARE apologise for any of your posts or thoughts!!! Have you seen some of mine?!!!!! The ramblings of an idiot mostly ha ha!!! You say what you mean and you say it WELL johnman and don't you forget it!! We all feel exactly the same way; i look at others or i watch speeches and the like and feel hopelessly inadequate. No such thing as grammar or vocabulary. It's the INTENT and what's in the heart that matters. I'd say you heart is bigger than most's. And i bless you for it. And i strongly believe that your approach is the right one; you have to do as you see fit, listen to others and take things on board if you get the chance, but ultimately it's up to you. Ya do the best ya can. I reckon a few more could follow your path, man. And yes, the original ideals the US were founded on are pretty honourable; well, apart from the wholesale ransacking and destruction of it's original inhabitants of course (I do have to say though, that many left-wing, oleaginous liberals LOVE to lambast the US for the pillaging, rape and oppression of the Native Americans/Red Indians/call them what you will; In England we're particularly greasy. Oh, we pat ourselves on the back and revel in our smugness pointing out what you did, but it's what WE did!!! English, Danish, Irish, all sorts CAME to America!! WE shoved it to the Native Americans OURSELVES. Whites in America=OUR forefathers!!!). Digression over. And i agree, we have yet to see an administration that upholds those ideals. There's plenty evidence that Abraham Lincoln wasn't the civil rights activist and champion he's made out to be; John F. Kennedy and his family were not particularly pleasant. JFK made out to be the young, snappy, hip President while suffering from multiple health problems and popping pills-a-go-go; Reagan, the narcoleptic pinhead? The Bush's? we'll skip over those retards. Clinton? no, thank you, you or your bitter wife. Obama? Mmm, jury is still out. Not sure how much weight he (or ANY President or Politician for that matter) holds in the US or around the world. They say he got around 200,000 people in Berlin when he made a speech. But let's not forget that the last time 200,000 people gathered in Berlin, it was to listen to the most evil man in the world. David Hasselhoff.
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I just started reading a biography of Genghis Khan. The author..... ......John Man!
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I have sat through so many news stories about senseless single person inspired massacres in the US. I know our history through our beginning, oppression of Indians, "Wild West" atmosphere, prejudice against immigrants and blacks in the civil war//industrial era and what people faced who organized unions in this country through the McCarthy witchcraft trials. There was lots and lots and lots of senseless rogue (a word that hardly applies anymore) violence. Never doubt your right to disagree.
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Between Ghengis Khan and cookies (and beer, and the Dead)? Johnman never ceases to amaze...
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A fight worth fightingBut nobody cares enough, yet.... Who wants to engage these DC world-class jagg-offs anyway? Not me.
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I think johnman IS agreeing with you lamagonzo, no? Forgive me, but i don't see what you're sayin'. It's the "liberals" ya gotta watch too, don't forget. We're all complicit in one way or another. And this budget/debt nonsense is a farce. There is a way around everything. Always seek the alternative and pass it on.
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I guess like 200 and something members of congress have signed some stupid pledge never to raise taxes, what a bunch of losers. I hope that when they're kicked out on their asses in the next election and go into private business they will all sign pledges never to raise the prices of their products on their customers, the corporations are laughing all the way to therir banks.
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I think everyone has to rise above.It's all out of our control really; anyone honest will be spun out of all meaning. We need to remove ourselves from all the hot air and endless guff. Best way to combat all this is to live more simply. Concentrate on what really matters. None of us need spend money on pointless accoutrements. We can all live the lives we want to live if we're sensible about it. Recent anger from some parts regarding US companies shipping their manufacture and investment to overseas workforces are well founded. When such a large portion of US citizens are unemployed, i agree; it would be nice to think that the government would look after it's "own" first. However, if we turn our backs on the shit they make and aim "higher", a large part of the problem is solved. Like pressuring China over it's Human Rights issues (let's forget the US's own abuses for a moment); their economy growing rapidly (well, so we're told) at our expense. If we didn't buy the cheap shit they produce, their export growth wouldn't look so mighty. It's all our responsibilities, lest we forget. A reduction in our outgoings means more money for truly better quality of life. Unfortunately, a lot of people (usually the most sincere, honest and filled with genuine inner beauty), don't always have this knowledge at their disposal. And this is where we come in if possible. Strip back the fallacy of materialism; sneakers, pants and cosmetics don't mean jack. Pass it on like you would a joint to the kynd Head just because you can. Takes a lot of de-programming; it's an uphill struggle with at times, not a whole lot to show for it. But face it folks; government is looking after it's own. Sure, they'll blindside us a little; paper over the cracks and bring out the the ol' rose tint for our eager spectacles. But we know deep down which direction we should be heading. And it's going to involve sacrifices. If we choose to see it those terms of course. Dead weight is dead weight. You wouldn't carry excess baggage on a serious expedition; it would kill ya. Q: How do you know the CIA wasn't involved in the Kennedy assassination? A: Well, he's dead isn't he? Thanks Lemmy.
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or so it would appear. I think the only REAL difference between the "now", and the way the world appeared in the original "Rollerball" (starring James Caan) is that we haven't progressed (regressed?) to using sports teams to settle matters...or have we? I agree, Gonz...but as jonapi pointed out, Jolly Olde England did their share of subjugation, or maybe that's not ENTIRELY what he was sayin'....and look at what Spain did, all in the name of the Church (yet another example of twisting the teachings of Christ). But, as I said....I believe in the IDEALS, and what they are/were supposed to represent, I jus' dunno how we are 'sposed ta implement them wiffa buncha dang politicians and tycoons in the way. I didn't vote for our current administration, and I'm still willing to give the President the benefit of the doubt, but he DID let the Patriot Act stand, and I'm still worried that he will try to disarm the common folk.....the jury is still out, right?
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It's out alright!And he ain't showin' respect for the marijuana either, so that's another thumbs down from ol' jonapi. The right to bear arms or the right to arm bears?! i'd love to see some furry double barrel action! You keep leaving the trash out at night, why shouldn't they protect their dinner?!!! Yeah, Olde England are the KINGS! "I'll take that country, this one, another one from here, one from over there....". Prince Philip for Prime Minister. Best quote was during the recent Royal Wedding when the News interviewed a German woman who "wished we had a Royal Family like that". You do! The Windsors!!! And you can implement alright! Ya just keep ya head down and go about ya business. You recognise those ideals, then go for it; you do what ya can and that's all one can ask.
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Are the original bankers of the Pope. They settled in Switzerland but through forward intelligence through Nordic peoples mapped and laid claim to the "New" World. As it wasn't practical (in that time) to start their own country they chose to openly set up their brand through free masons, as America was settled. Has anyone else heard that 25% of the interest paid on the US National Debt goes to the Windsors and Swiss banks? I thought this was loopy at the time I heard it, but as debt piles up with obvious solutions it strikes me that the real winners are the ones collecting the interest on 14.1 trillion.
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I read how the Spanish Bankia group may put Christiano Ronaldo up for collateral , to guarantee their solvency to the European Central Bank. For those who do not know-Ronaldo is a Portugese soccer player for Real Madrid (dislike but another discussion altogether). Anyhow, I find this to be completely absurd! Here is the link: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/football-legend-cristiano-ronaldo-be-used… ********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde
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Good old Ranaldo!One of the funniest things i saw was a member of the crowd shining a laser over his face and in his eyes before a free kick; he then proceeded to fluff the shot and damned near welled up with baby tears!!! Most amusing. Amazing talent though. Never a fan but ya just can't argue with his skill.
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:) he makes me wanna spit! But am very emotional in general about my soccer likes and dislikes. It's more fun that way!********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde
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Petrol £6.02 per gallon (never mind the sodding litres) or $9.27 in colonial coinageGas increased by 21% (as in heating not petrol, never understood the colonials idea that petrol is gas , but I digress) Electricity increased by 16% Food prices rising more than 5% BP make $8 million dollars in a quarter Centrica make £1.53 BILLION (they sell us the gas, no not the stuff for cars!!) BSKYB profits £1 BILLION for making crap television!!! Interest on my hard earned cash 0.48%..............................and we're all in this together, yeah sure! The public are being screwed and not in a nice way, from every angle and the fat cats get fatter and fatter and no one seems to be able to do anything about it. Footballers getting £200,000 a week, shit it's supposed to be entertainment, I can't afford to renew my season ticket for the first time in many years and these guys wages are going up! Something wrong somewhere. But we're all in it together. Health Boards making waiting lists longer in the hoe that you will die or go private before you need your operation, when the only people who can afford to go private are the very ones running the health service. But we're all in this together. 50,000+ jobs lost in the Defence Department but we are still trying to police the whole world, "that's it lads save the Empire and give it large to the darkies!!" Police forces being cut, coastguard stations closing, RAF bases closing, shops closing by the hundreds. But we're all in this together. Well sod it I'm off to bed and I'm never getting up again.................................well not until next week when the new Road Trips arrives, then life will be back to normal.
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Wife just slapped me on the head and said I was a very naughty boy and don't annoy these people again