The Agonist - Miscellany

Real Independence for All Americans

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:23:13 -0700

I have been wondering of late where it is on the political spectrum that I would feel comfortable? There was a time when I considered myself to be a Democrat. This wasn’t because I believed in the party’s platform; it was because I disagreed with the Republican point of view. The last seven years have reinforced my view of Republicans, but at the same time my fondness for the Democrats has also waned. The truth is that frankly, I don’t see much of a difference between the two; both the Republicans and the Democrats are financed by the same entities.

Who are the people behind the curtain, so to speak? Well, they are basically the same people and organizations that have always ruled in this country (with periodic breaks from time to time). These are the captains of industry and the bankers that back them, and lately, religious groups (that pop-up occasionally). The government claim that the people are behind the government and they are responsible for electing their government is patently untrue. The only thing that the people are responsible for is rubber-stamping the candidates that are selected for us. The two political parties, the Republicans and Democrats, seem to be the only game in town, so to speak. While it is true that this nation has other political parties, in national elections, there are basically only two parties that matter.

News from a place I love near the Big Sur firestorm

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:18:20 -0700

Esalen: Daily Updates From Gordon Wheeler

Thursday, July 3, 2008
Fire Conditions Here

Last night we went to bed after watching from the bridge as flames made their way down Hot Springs Canyon—still over a half mile away, roughly near our water source. Fog rolled in and the fire banked down around 2 a.m., at which point a strong glow in the sky from the southeast told us that the backfires from Dolan Ridge, two miles to the south of Esalen, had been lit and were doing their job.

This morning we woke to somewhat worsened smoke conditions, and the sun fiery red in a brownish sky—as well as the news that the fire had jumped the firebreak at Dolan, but had been contained by emergency firefighter teams to the south. At last report, the southern perimeter Dolan line is holding—and sending the fire this way.

much more at the link

Nebraska Beef expands recall to 5.3 mln lbs: USDA

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:54:14 -0700

July 3

Reuters -

Nebraska Beef Ltd expanded its voluntary recall of material used in making ground beef to 5.3 million lbs, 10 times the initial recall, because it may contain disease-causing bacteria, the U.S. government said on Friday.

Forty illnesses have been reported in connection with ground beef subject to the recall. The recall was expanded based on investigations of the illnesses in Michigan and Ohio.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service said it concluded production practices used by Nebraska Beef, based in Omaha, Nebraska, were insufficient to control E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in beef products intended for grinding.

E. coli O157:H7 bacteria can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in severe cases, kidney failure.

For more information on the Kroger recall, click here.

Bush Administration: We Said It, Therefore It's True

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:42:23 -0700

Another absurd tale from down in the rabbit hole. In the first court review of the Bush Administration's secret evidence for holding a detainee at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, it was revealed that the government claimed the accusations presented in its secret documents should be considered truth — not because there were hard facts backing them up — but because the accusations were repeated in multiple government documents.

Thankfully the federal appeals court has unanimously ruled that the claims supporting Huzaifa Parhat's six-year detention in Guantanamo were “bare and unverifiable.” The absurdity of the Bush Administration's argument was not lost on the court. Reports the New York Times: “The court compared [the government's argument] to the absurd declaration of a character in the Lewis Carroll poem 'The Hunting of the Snark': 'I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true.' 'This comes perilously close to suggesting that whatever the government says must be treated as true,' said the panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.”

Pentagon Inspects KBR, but Don't Hold Your Breath

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:30:26 -0700

Call it a qualified victory.

On July 1, the Pentagon agreed to investigate the showers built by KBR, a private military contractor in Iraq. More than a dozen U.S. soldiers have been fatally electrocuted by faulty wiring in the showers. There has been a lot of blogger commentary and reporting about the electrocution, including several items I wrote for Progressive Future.

So, who's winning the war?

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:47:04 -0700

Bin Laden didn't become the king of Saudi Arabia but he got $144/barrel/oil. Of course he had the help of our wonderful politicians. (Posted here originally).

From the New York Times, Oct. 2001.

...

''If bin Laden takes over and becomes king of Saudi Arabia, he'd turn off the tap,'' said Roger Diwan, a managing director of the Petroleum Finance Company, a consulting firm in Washington. ''He said at one point that he wants oil to be $144 a barrel'' -- about six times what it sells for now...

The End Of Civilization

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:28:54 -0700

I found this on the net today. Says a lot I agree with. Consider it food for thought. dhfjr.

I had a mild epiphany the other day: it’s not President Bush who’s living in a fantasy world, it’s most of his critics who are. I’m no apologist for Bush – I neither like nor dislike him. He’s no more significant to me than a fly buzzing around outside my window. So permit me to explain my reasoning.

Read it at the link.

'What it means to be faithful' blurred in modern world

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:22:40 -0700

USA Today - We used to know what infidelity was: sex with someone other than your mate.

But the 21st century seems to have blurred those clear-cut lines. Is having lunch every day with an opposite-sex work friend a breach of marital trust? What about a flirtation online? If there's no sex, is it really cheating?

Wither computer repair

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:53:54 -0700

IN 1979, I began my personal computing experience with Tandy aka Radio Shack. Over the next few years I learnt the ins and outs of various protocols and languages and learnt how to connect cassette players, printers and disk drives to the likes of Timex, Sinclair, Apple and Commodore machines. I spent many $ on computer magazines and books. I provided support to many people, fixing software and hardware issues. In the 1980's Atari and IBM compatibles added to my knowledge base. I also wrote programs which were published and provided a little bit of extra income.

In the mid 1980's I became a database programmer for various friends and organisations, which increased my supplemental income. Over the past 10 years I have removed viruses from many windows boxes, and troubleshooted many hardware problems, as well as helping people get up to speed with variouse software proggies. I became a Microsoft Beta tester over the past 13 years as well.

Professional qualifications: NIL. I have no interest in being a private investigator, 18 months working for the government as a Social Security field officer sated any interest.... > Now I know I cannot work in Texas.

Yes, it's about the oil (Now, what was your question?)

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:39:26 -0700

The test of a prophet is this: If what he or she says comes true, they pass the test. It's now been four years since I first read Matt Savinar's treatise on Peak Oil. This morning I revisited the front page of his site. While it has been updated to include new and ongoing events, the original information presented is all there.

When Matt first produced this report, most that read it thought it was looney tunes apocalyptic bull shit. Increasingly the headlines of our newspaper look more and more like what he had to say.

This is the biggest story of our time. And Matt's on-line book, offered free to the world, is the most concise, comprehensive and easiest to understand compilation on the subject.

RIP General Hammond

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:25:44 -0700

Don S. Davis, the character actor who portrayed Gen. Hammond on the Sci-Fi series 'Stargate SG-1' died yesterday

Disorderly Dollar Drop Can't Be Ruled Out, BIS Says

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:49:36 -0700

Kim-Mai Cutler | NY | June 30, 2008

Bloomberg - June 30 -- A disorderly decline in the dollar remains a possibility as losses on U.S. assets pile up and the current-account deficit triggers ``a sudden rush for the exits,'' the Bank for International Settlements said.

A plunge in the currency may happen even after its ``remarkably orderly'' 14 percent slide against the euro in the past year, the Basel, Switzerland-based BIS said in an annual report today.

``Foreign investors in U.S. dollar assets have seen big losses measured in dollars, and still bigger ones measured in their own currency,'' the BIS said. ``While unlikely, indeed highly improbable for public-sector investors, a sudden rush for the exits cannot be ruled out completely.''

Am Dent Assoc Admits: Fluoride of Concern to Kidney Patients

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:52:30 -0700

Sally Stride | June 29, 2008

OpEd News - On June 19, 2008 the American Dental Association updated its website reporting that fluoride is a concern to all kidney patients, not just those on dialysis.

Along with false assurances of safety, fluoride chemicals are added to some public and bottled water in the unscientific belief it reduces cavities.

Fluoride-induced bone damage could occur in kidney patients who consume even "optimally" fluoridated water because malfunctioning kidneys do not properly sift fluoride from the blood and out of the body. Fluoride can build up in bones making them brittle and fracture

For this reason, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) withdrew its fluoridation endorsement in October 2007, which they made public in a fluoride paper dated April 15, 2008 with advice that “individuals with CKD [Chronic Kidney Disease] should be notified of the potential risk of fluoride exposure. ”

Jay James

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:41:45 -0700

If you’ve read Ruminations from the Garden, then you’ve met Abraham.

Abraham brought home a kindred spirit a few months back. The man showed up in Seguin carrying all of his worldly possessions on his back. He walked with a limp in oversize tennis shoes bearing the name of some NBA all-star. I don’t think Lebron James pictured Jay James when he signed his name to shoes with supercharged spring loaded soles.

I found Jay in the hull of a building we are renovating. He took one look at me and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be moving along.”

I offered my hand, “Don Ford. What’s your name?”

Obama: Walking a Thin Line

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:13:03 -0700

I can’t remember a time when the political landscape has been as bleak and littered by crackpot ideas than it is now. The two representatives of the duopoly that share power in this nation have consistently changed positions and both have endorsed the use of force (including first-strike nuclear attacks) on nations that are opposed to U.S. foreign policy. These positions would have been anathema to a presidential race just a few years ago, but now statements supporting pre-emptive nuclear strikes are talked about with hardly any eyebrows being raised, or indignation expressed.

This presidential race has become a “gotcha” fest of the lowest moral caliber. Instead of portraying themselves as morally worthy of holding the highest office in the land, the two major party candidates have consistently raised the bar of what is considered acceptable to Americans. Time and time again, ideas and policy statements that would have been unthinkable in the 20th century are now commonplace rhetoric on a planet that has seemingly forgotten the horrors of nuclear warfare, and now has become inured to scenes of death and destruction of civilian populations in the name of bringing “democracy and freedom” to the corpses that litter the streets and back alleys of Iraq and Afghanistan.