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Be not bummed
by The Canadian
| June 21, 2007 |
Re The pledge
Hey! First of all, don't be gettin' all "down and out". Being bummed out doesn't fix a thing! Staying intellectually awake and keeping your wits about you are more important.
I have read that a 3rd aircraft carrier strike force has joined the other 2 in the Gulf waters off the coast of Iran and that a 4th Carrier fleet is held in defensive reserve. This is interesting as strike force carrier fleets don't just appear out of nowhere; it takes time for the fleet to sail into position. get it?
The most recent meeting between Olmert and Bush, on the subject of Iran, again clearly emphasized that "all options are on the table". --a euphemism for military options, of course.
On top of this, the UN cancelled its latest round of negotiations with Iran. Iran refused to give the information the UN Nuclear watch-dog had requested as a precursor for the meeting.
The next UN review at the end of June or beginning of July, concerning Iran's nuclear aspirations, is shaping up to be quite interesting...
More so, will be the actions taken thereafter...
I see some of your readers are beginning to notice parts of the pattern. Good.
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I appreciate ya, sir. And the blues are rarely helpful unless they're sung by John Lee Hooker, so I shall endeavor to avoid depression. But I'll also ask, seriously, why is it good that we and some of our readers are aware that yet another war is almost certainly coming? There seems to be diddlysquat we can do to prevent it, so really, what's the value in our awareness of armageddon's approach?
How's that for the blues ...
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Sonic boom
by JS Magruder
| June 21, 2007 |
Interesting that the National Guard was forced to apologize for a loud sonic boom caused by an F-16 over the Omaha area yesterday.
Sonic boom startles residents in Omaha area
Just think how much it must suck for people in Iraq and Afghanistan -- I'll bet they don't get apologies.
We're so far removed from the suffering of others that the paper could only focus on how the noise frightened people without ever noting that those fighter planes are delivery systems for death. I dunno, maybe shaking a few pictures off the wall in Omaha is more newsworthy.
I didn't hear it, but we've got the roofers here -- God what a racket. As I type there is a creepy old man that bears more than a slight resemblance to William S. Burroughs climbing a ladder outside my window. It's in the 90's here today -- I really hope he doesn't decide to begin shedding clothing.
Tyler or Whitney or whatever
by Cassandra
| June 21, 2007 |
Re Am I allowed to say that>
I really hope that the gay Republican kid pulls his shit together. At 18
I believed pretty much everything I had heard at home as far as
politics, which did not include bigotry. By the time I was 20 I'd done
an about-face due to being female in the Reagan years. I think there's
more incentive for a gay teen to realize that gay bashing is a bad idea,
but I do know my share of Republican, war supporting gay people.
Tyler or
Whitney [he has one of those interchangeable names] is responsible for
his own actions, but he's young enough to change his viewpoint [although
humiliation on a national level has the effect of publicly changing and
privately cementing one's viewpoint... or sending one to rehab].
A dangerous Bush clone
by JR Mooneyham
| June 21, 2007 |
Giuliani is a dangerous Bush clone. This item merely highlights one more way
this is so.
Letters show deep value Giuliani puts on loyalty
Use our New York Times login unk.news and password unknown
* * *
Cheney proclaims himself fourth branch of US government, separate from (and
presumably equal to) executive, judicial, and legislative.
Cheney tells agency that Vice President's office is not part of the
executive branch
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And the media perpetually covers Cheney-Bush power plays, like this, as if it's something other than a charade.
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Helen & Harry
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Quick sticker
by Herb Ruhs, MD
| June 21, 2007 |
This system isn't working
Let's try democracy instead.
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Herb Ruhs, MD
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A diamond in the rough
by F.O.M.A.D.
| June 21, 2007 |
Re The pledge
Thanks for being sincere. That is one of the most important emotions there are. I
too am at the point that you have eloquently described. I am going to get married
Saturday. In the throes of trying to deal with a person who demonstrated characteristics
of someone with Bi-Polar disorder, it would appear that I found a diamond in the rough.
I
have been on a path that has been less than simple, now I have to deal with someone whom I
feel for, but who treated me as a possession. This person is the mother of my beautiful
children but she is not the one for me. That is hard to deal with.
The one that I am
about to marry is one who honors me, for who I am, not who I could be. I am elated. My
spirits fluctuate also. I have found that there are few people that are worthy of my
friendship, even at church... It is not that I am so good -- but I am not seeing people
who are true to themselves let alone others. It is hard to find friends with values...
I hate where we, as a nation, are going. I don't think we will recover. I don't see,
amongst my circle of acquaintances, anyone who would guide me to think that the best is
about to stand up and lead us to the right path, heck, I don't think that if I was to
stand up and say, "Follow me, I will show the way." that anyone would take me
seriously. So, ... I don't know what to say.
I've been following John Conyers, -- he's a
representative, but I will not call him a representative of the people. He was previously
calling for the impeachment of that person who is our president and he had made a very
strong case before November of 2006, then he told those that were following his blog that,
after the enstatement in January, that it would take some time, but that he would follow
what he has brought to this point ... and I sincerely get the feeling that he is only
marking time... that he is doing nothing for now, that he has alternative ideas. I feel
a little dirty backing him and signing on to his petitions.
So I get your meaning
about signing onto a petition in nothing other than blowing dandelions against the wind...
I don't know... signing this and that petition felt as if I were a part of solving the
problem. I had been the Roadside Rally Manager for Burt Linthicum, a Constitution Party
candidate here in the Tampa area, we got 35K votes but we lost. That gave me some power to
do more... I contacted the people running the Constitution party and sent my dues, they
sent me a membership card that was printed upside down.. I emailed them to complain,
didn't receive a reply.
So, you see, I have no beautiful vision of a someone to save us
rather than Jesus. Please don't dump me because I believe in the Goodness of Jesus. It
is Him that has asked of me that I love each and every person. I can have my opinion of
what is right and what is wrong but I must love each and every person, crap... this even
means mr. bush-head. Somehow, I believe that this is right.
I have been blessed more than
I deserve. I honor others no matter who they are... My betrothed is less accepting than I am and she councils me on this -- but she trusts my heart. I love people. I
sincerely want to show them that love IS the answer. But! I cannot take all the credit
for something that the Bible tells me that Jesus did 2000 years ago... I just think that
He was right, -- Love one another... That is the only way we're going to get out of this,
to love all of those that reside on this planet with us... I have a good feeling in
following this edict... I pray that others can find this feeling also...
I love you and
those of you who make up Unknown News, and I hope some day, that our hugs will not be of an
electronic manner, that I will be able to see the smile on your faces and that you might
be able to see the smile on mine...
Son of Guy
F.O.M.A.D. (My Greatest
Accomplishment)
Father Of Matthew And Daniel
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P.S. - Do keep a stiff upper lip.....| |
Dang me, kind sir, yours is one of the sweetest messages we've received in a long while. Congratulations of the pending nuptials -- sounds like you've found the right person. And congrats on the love of Jesus, too -- I've known so many people who gained from their faith in God -- so many more than have gained from their faith in a lying Congressman. I'd never suggest faith is a bad thing unless it's mis-used (and hey, just about anything's bad if it's mis-used).
Meanwhile, don't stop doing what you can. Not only is doing what we can all we can do, I tend to think it's the only solution that ever really works.
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Helen & Harry
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Big-mouth Bush
Pre-emptive strike on terrorists? Bush policy.
Turkish PM says Iraq cross-border operation on table| |
Excerpt: Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called on the United States and Iraq to deal with Kurdistan Workers' Party terrorists based in northern Iraq, but said Ankara will take military action itself if necessary.
Turkey's government is under mounting pressure from the public and army to tackle terrorists based in mountainous northern Iraq who seek to establish a Kurdish state that includes parts of southeastern Turkey. Dozens of civilians and soldiers have been killed in recent weeks in PKK attacks across Turkey. |
What does big-mouth Bush have to say now?
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Is this a trick question? The answer is, always: He'll lie.
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LOL. He'd say He knows more than anyone else does and therefore everyone
isn't informed.
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And of course, that's one of his biggest lies. Give George Bush a simple test on geopolitical affairs, and I think he'd flunk it. He ain't the brains of that operation.
I'd bet every dime I've got that I'd score better on that test than GW Bush. I don't consider myself anywhere near an expert on world or national news or anything, but I read a lot of news items in putting together our website, and I make an effort to be informed. Bush makes an effort not to be.
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Helen & Harry
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Credentials
My name is Pilar D. and I am a journalist at a workshop in San Diego. I am using your website "unknownnews.net" as one of my sources and want to know how reliable you are. Where do you get your information from?
If you could e-mail me back as soon as you get this, that would be great.
Thanks for your time,
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That's a fair question. We are cranky amateurs, but every news item we present is accompanied by a link to a mainstream journalistic website -- a newspaper or wire service, etc. No Bilderbergs here, except occasionally in letters to the editor. |
Thank you! I really appreciate this.
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Pilar
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Life, if it has any deep meaning at all
by Herb Ruhs, MD
| June 20, 2007 |
Re Can bloggers help avert a tragedy?
I was very amused by this meaningful exchange between Helen and Harry regarding Ann's plea for help for her friend. My wife and I sometimes are reduced to conversing about touchy subjects by exchanging email. What ever works, I guess.
I am reminded of the problem of the Turing test. Turns out that the best evidence that we are dealing with an actual human being rather than a machine, or more significantly to my mind, a machine-like hack working for some public relations firm or propaganda mill, is the inclusion of contradictions. To err is human, to be without error is inhuman.
In the internet world it becomes very, very extremely difficult to know when one is dealing with authentic human beings vs. some constructed pseudo-reality so one comes to appreciate a degree of inconsistency.
I sympathize with both positions and am pleased by the tension that exists between them. Moderation in all things, including moderation. Intellect and feeling are like the two legs we stand on. Trying to honor one without the other is to fall victim to a lack of balance. Real strength is reflected in flexibility and a willingness to refuse to make up one's mind when you don't feel like doing it - yet.
Giving Ann space to plead her case creates a context where individual suffering counts. Turning over all space to individual sufferings discounts, to a degree, the individual sufferings of countless others. Hence the endless dilemma, the ever present and ever productive tension between the particular and the general. Neither has any meaning without the other.
Real reality is messy and unsatisfying, as opposed to the high-production-value false reality that confronts us continually in mass media and is continually recycled by our brains that have not been equipped to distinguish between actual reality and vividly constructed reality that assaults us modern humans continually. When we fall victim to this intuitive substitution of abstraction, whether it is video or textual, for immediate reality we unknowingly discount the actual reality of our ordinary lives and end up preferring the high definition substitute of story and spectacle.
In order to free ourselves from the cage we have entered by choosing to focus on perceptions of reality based on stories outside our immediate tactile reality, we need to re-focus on our immediate surroundings and personal contacts IN LIGHT OF understandings gained from other people’s stories told in print and in electronic media. In other words, if Ann's story causes us to look around us and become aware of the tragedies in our own sphere of experience, then we have made a good choice. If we choose to focus on Ann's story to the exclusion of awareness of painful stories connecting to our own lives we have chosen poorly.
Life, if it has any deep meaning at all, is about learning to make better choices based on the results of past choices. Choosing balance over adherence to any idea is always wise, in my arrogant opinion. Tattered and patched is better than neat and new. Choose life. It is messy. Anything that lacks humor is poisonous.
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You sure do know how to squeeze insight out of the commonplace. Dang me, you wrung 12 fluid ounces of genuine meaning out of a conversation I thought was dry, and I was there when it happened. … |
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Helen & Harry
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Am I allowed to say that?
by Blanche D.
| June 20, 2007 |
Republican operative is too gay for war
by Richard Blair, All-Spin Zone| |
Excerpt:
Tyler Whitney, the webmaster for the right-wing antigay Colorado Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo’s presidential campaign, has been outed by the Michigan gay paper Between the Lines. [Michelangelo Signorile] had reporter Todd Heywood on the show today. Bay Buchanan, Team Tancredo Senior Advisor and sister of the fire-breathing Pat Buchanan, is defending Whitney, saying, “A person’s sexual preference is a personal matter and has nothing to do with the campaign.”
In other words, if he wants to work against his own kind - for a man who’s railed against gay rights and has a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign - we’re happy to have him! …
Last November, Whitney - whose father was a speech writer for former conservative Michigan Gov. John Engler, who was no friend to gays - went to a YAF-sponsored protest against a pro-gay, pro-trans human rights ordinance and held a sign that said, “Go back in the closet!” Other signs at the protest included “Straight Power” and “Faggotry.” … |
I'm ordinarily quite understanding of people at odds with who they are, but between this young man's outrageous behavior and my own lousy weekend, I certainly hope he's considering suicide.
Am I allowed to say that? Yeah, damn right I am. Cuz I know who I am, and I'd be happy if he shot himself in the head. I have little doubt that his anti-gay activism has already hurt or killed people.
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I don't usually go that far with my anger, but I find your statement quite inoffensive.
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Right, Rush?
by Kathy Fisher
| June 20, 2007 |
Exposed : Abu Ghraib - Sodomy and humiliation
Just your basic frat-house fun, right Rush? That’s all it was! No wonder the US is preparing for blowback -- they managed to make them really hate us!
* * *
400 stuck on jetliner for seven hours
Yet another reason NOT TO FLY! and tell the airlines to go to hell!
Stop being so gosh-darn COMPLIANT people.
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I saw an old movie on TV a few months ago, filmed way back before D.B. Cooper, where the star walked on to a jetliner without "going through security" and bought his ticket from the stewardess while the plane was in flight. Kind of like you might buy a long-distance bus ticket or train ticket en route. It was such a totally surreal scene, but when they filmed it in the mid-1960s that's what airplane flying was like.
When it's like that again, maybe I'll fly again, but not until.
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Helen & Harry
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Self-stalking
by Cassandra
| June 20, 2007 |
Re You have been blacklisted
That was an inordinately asshole-ish thing to do....normal people only block people who are stalking them. Or won't accept 'we have to agree to disagree, please go away'. I've only ever blocked one person's email account [in the 'we have to agree to disagree....etc' category] so I know whereof I speak.
Perhaps pittershawn's being stalked by his conscience.
* * *
Republican operative is too gay for war
by Richard Blair, All-Spin Zone| |
Excerpt:
Tyler Whitney, the webmaster for the right-wing antigay Colorado Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo’s presidential campaign, has been outed by the Michigan gay paper Between the Lines. [Michelangelo Signorile] had reporter Todd Heywood on the show today. Bay Buchanan, Team Tancredo Senior Advisor and sister of the fire-breathing Pat Buchanan, is defending Whitney, saying, “A person’s sexual preference is a personal matter and has nothing to do with the campaign.”
In other words, if he wants to work against his own kind - for a man who’s railed against gay rights and has a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign - we’re happy to have him! …
Last November, Whitney - whose father was a speech writer for former conservative Michigan Gov. John Engler, who was no friend to gays - went to a YAF-sponsored protest against a pro-gay, pro-trans human rights ordinance and held a sign that said, “Go back in the closet!” Other signs at the protest included “Straight Power” and “Faggotry.” … |
I first saw this at Dan Savage's column [which can be found and is not for
the faint of heart at thestranger.com] and did a search.
There are some people really worried about 'liberals' ruining this
'confused' young man's life. His myspace page now has a much better
photo and is set to 'private'. I'm not sure if he's looking for other
cute Republican gay kids or just freaked out. Probably both.
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Cassandra
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Eye-opener in Pakistan
Re Why I cry
Wow, i didn't know this was happening!! I have two children. My first i breastfed for 40 days. I just didn't have any milk. I was really disappointed. Then with my second child I breastfed for 3 months. My milk just finished. I HAD to resort to bottle feeding. It was such a disappointment. Like i missed out on bonding with my babies. I just wish that there was somewhere I could go to for help on how to make sure I have enough milk to feed my baby. I'm hoping that with my next child I will be able to breastfeed for 2 years.
Boiling bottles and making the formula is such an INCONVENIENCE. I can imagine women who don't have access to clean water or don't know about the hygiene and stuff.... that they probably think its trendy and easier to just bottle feed. Living in Pakistan I had such a problem and my doctor told me to boil the bottles in BOTTLED mineral water... and the only company we could trust was NESTLE!!! of all the ironies.. hunh?!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS EYE-OPENER.
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Mass-produced formula ought to be an available option for mums who need it, like you did. Serves a necessary purpose, no doubt. But marketing it in third-world countries as better than breastfeeding makes Nestlé one of the more obviously despicable corporate monsters of our time. I don't think prosecuting the executives for murder would be at all out of line.
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Helen & Harry
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Can't help but laugh
Sad as the situation is I can't help but laugh at the silly propaganda OFFENSIVE that is going to "win the confidence of the Iraqis". It's taken four long years to discover that walking will lessen casualties from IED truck attacks.
Some soldiers in Iraq prefer walking
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Wig
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"There won't be any major labels pretty soon"
Record sales are tanking, and there's no hope in sight: How it all went wrong| |
Excerpt: Overall CD sales have plummeted sixteen percent for the year so far -- and that's after seven years of near-constant erosion. In the face of widespread piracy, consumers' growing preference for low-profit-margin digital singles over albums, and other woes, the record business has plunged into a historic decline.
The major labels are struggling to reinvent their business models, even as some wonder whether it's too late. "The record business is over," says music attorney Peter Paterno, who represents Metallica and Dr. Dre. "The labels have wonderful assets -- they just can't make any money off them." One senior music-industry source who requested anonymity went further: "Here we have a business that's dying. There won't be any major labels pretty soon."
In 2000, U.S. consumers bought 785.1 million albums; last year, they bought 588.2 million (a figure that includes both CDs and downloaded albums), according to Nielsen SoundScan. In 2000, the ten top-selling albums in the U.S. sold a combined 60 million copies; in 2006, the top ten sold just 25 million. Digital sales are growing -- fans bought 582 million digital singles last year, up sixty-five percent from 2005, and purchased $600 million worth of ringtones -- but the new revenue sources aren't making up for the shortfall. |
Actually this has been going on for quite some time, since the 50s in fact. The record industry hit their peek in the 40s and if it were not for Rock & Roll, 45s and Top 40 radio, it may have happened sooner. The 70s and albums (which had previously been ignored for the most part) kept the industry going. Ipods are this generations version of the old 45 changer and singles are in again. But now artists no longer need big studios and record companies who will keep most of the profits for themselves. They can record their songs in their own studios and distribute them on the web etc. Oh and least we forget, the "Payola" scandals of the 50s were the big record companies attempt to put the small ones like Laurie, Cadence, Sun, Epic, Blue Bird etc out of business.
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The recording industry wants me to be all misty-eyed at its demise, and I'm not a big music buff, certainly not one of the eager downloaders or anything... but my general reaction is, good riddance. I hope the movie industry faces a similar collapse in the near future.
The corporate control of art has led to some nice common cultural heritage, so we can all hum "My Girl" or "Starry Eyed Surprise" together, but it's also led to a blanding-down of everything artistic about the art. Like American Idol -- good lord, that show is a musical abortion. It just makes me cringe. Every wannabe star comes on and just does an impersonation of previous stars. And the judges make sure that anyone who does anything outside of the ordinary is immediately sent home.
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Helen & Harry
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Ta, matey
by Ann in the UK
| June 20, 2007 |
Re You have been blacklisted
Pittershawn Palmer: thank you.
This has been a crap day. You cheered me up no end. Ta, matey.
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Ann in the UK
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Refreshed
Re Fed and the income tax
Thank you so much for your quick and thoughtful response. I am brand new at
expressing my opinion publicly and you are the first person who has simply
responded to me without having a hidden agenda (recruiting for a certain
candidate, etc.). I was refreshed by your setting me straight on the real
problems we Americans face. I had just finished watching a great video by
Aaron Russo called "Freedom to Fascism" and I suppose I tend to get a
single-track mind at times. I was focussed on the Fed and I sincerely
appreciate your gentle way of reminding me of our other contentious
problems. To think I almost forgot about the cold-blooded psychopath
sitting in the Vice President's office! Thank you again for putting me on a
more even keel. I am a Navy vet and sometimes I get subconsciously
nautical, hence the even keel metaphor.
Best regards and continued
vigilance,
P.S. I learned about the single-tax idea and the ideas of Henry George from
a website called BEarthright.com in an article about overpopulation. It is
what drove me to becoming "politicized". I'm new at it and clumsy and
you've been kind and effective at helping to be less clumsy. Thanx again!| |
I love the line about keeping an "even keel", and I try to, but don't be shy about stating your opinion. I like to think that the cordial bumping of opinions is how we learn -- that's how I evolved slowly from a Republican to Libertarian to a Democrat to ... well, to whatever I am now. And I'm sure I'll receive several emails telling me why the Federal Reserve is the cornerstone of every mistake America has made over past decades. We get those emails fairly regularly, and I think several of our correspondents believe that. I don't believe it, but believe me, I'm nobody important.
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Helen & Harry
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Golden Rule
Re The Fed and the income tax
FED IS NOT THE BIG PROBLEM ????????? Excuse me H/H --- Have we forgotten the "GOLDEN RULE" or do we prefer not to deal with it ???
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Sorry, I don't understand. The Golden Rule I learned is, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and I’d never send you a note that cryptic.
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Thank you for your reply --- Sorry --- no offense meant ---- I
misfired. HOWEVER ,as far as this observer is concerned, THE "FED" IS THE BIG
PROBLEM IN THIS COUNTRY. Nuff said, I am belaboring the obvious.
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Well, it's not obvious to me ... I see the Fed as a mid-level problem, but nowhere near the Top Ten, and certainly not "THE BIG PROBLEM".
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Helen & Harry
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Flat earth economics
It is like this: the internet and globalization are "arbitraging" the easy money on the planet, taking from the slow, stupid, lazy and ignorant and giving to the hungry, smart, industrious capitalist wannabes. No more can "Bubba" sit back in Bumfuck, Ohio and be guaranteed a future of the Good Life -- because to the extent that his life is good and easy, there are 1000 people looking to undercut him anywhere on the planet.
The U.S. is between the rock and the hard place. And the Demos will just make things worse because their "cures" don't address the problems.
Take this immigration law, for example. Many people are saying that the 20% approval rating for Congress is about the Iraq War. Well, partly, but I think a lot of Democratic/Liberal voters are pissed at the immigration deal going down... people care about their wallets, first, middle and last -- then they worry about beaners finding the good life in the U.S.
The Democrats are partnering with Bush to pass immigration "reform", but as a voter, I feel if Bush is for it then we ought to all be agin it -- so I hate the Dems for doing this deal now just on principle (and I disagree with the deal itself.)
So it goes...
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Yet another outrage, in an endless parade of outrages, all led by an essentially bipartisan leadership that's hell-bent on the New Orleansization of 'America'. There will be speeches and rallies and letters to the editor about this outrage, and none of it will amount to anything much, and none of it will slow the next outrage.
In ten years, India and China will be the world's dominant economic powers, in twenty years the coastal cities will be underwater, in thirty years a billion of us will have met violent deaths, and in forty years the future of thirty years from now will be the good old days. ...
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Helen & Harry
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Prominent poison
by Herb Ruhs, MD
| June 19, 2007 |
"Human beings are chimpanzees who get crazy drunk on power."Kurt Vonnegut
To hell with CO2, CH4, NO3, and all the rest of the poisons we
inhale, drink or ingest, for these are all dependent on the greatest
poison, the one poison that rules them all, Power.
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Straight to the point, sir. Straight to the point.
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Helen & Harry
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Capitalism: It takes a planet
by Mr. Chuckles
| June 19, 2007 |
Ultimately, reductio ad absurdium, capital no longer requires humans -- it becomes the great "I Am".
The greatest risk to the planet is without a doubt, limited liability corporations, which free capital from morality and caution.
If the $280 trillion derivatives market explodes causing a billion people to suffer, the executives still walk away rich. The system is designed to encourage risk taking and is supported by the too-big-to-fail syndrome (when a corporation becomes too important to be allowed to fail its risks are in effect socialized while its profits are privatized.)
In Charles Strouss' "Accelerando" the story reaches its inevitable climax, with AI's and uploaded consciousnesses controlling corporations -- ultimately ordering the demolition of Earth to use its raw matter to create more computing power ... [www.accelerando.org/]
The new capitalism
by Martin Wolf| |
Excerpt: It is capitalism, not communism, that generates what the communist Leon Trotsky once called "permanent revolution". It is the only economic system of which that is true. Joseph Schumpeter called it "creative destruction". Now, after the fall of its adversary, has come another revolutionary period. Capitalism is mutating once again.
Much of the institutional scenery of two decades ago - distinct national business elites, stable managerial control over companies and long-term relationships with financial institutions - is disappearing into economic history. We have, instead the triumph of the global over the local, of the speculator over the manager and of the financier over the producer. We are witnessing the transformation of mid-20th century managerial capitalism into global financial capitalism. ...
In 2005, the global stock of core financial assets had reached $140,000bn ...
Third, a host of complex new financial products have been derived from traditional bonds, equities, commodities and foreign exchange. Thus were born "derivatives", of which options, futures and swaps are the best known. According to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, by the end of 2006 the outstanding value of interest rate swaps, currency swaps and interest rate options had reached $286,000bn (about six times global gross product), up from a mere $3,450bn in 1990. These derivatives have transformed the opportunities for managing risk. |
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Mr. Chuckles
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It's mental
by JRMooneyham
| June 19, 2007 |
States face decisions on who is mentally fit to vote
Use our New York Times login unk.news and password unknown
Talk about ass-backwards...! America considers it a far higher priority to test its voters for decision-making fitness, rather than the politicians running for office!
So those of us who pull a voting lever are considered more potentially dangerous to the world than those with their finger on a nuclear button? I bet if politicians were tested for either lying OR general psychopathic traits, lots of those presently in office would never have made it there.
And just think: if our politicians themselves had to pass a truly independent and expert battery of psychiatric tests before they could qualify as candidates, we'd probably have much better (and safer!) choices in elections-- even if every single one of us citizens (crazies included) voted.
The pledge
by F.O.M.A.D.
| June 19, 2007 |
A pledge to keep it going: Here's something that might be an impetus to keep some moving forward. I signed the pledge and am looking for updates...
IraqMoratorium.org
Hope all is well...
F.O.M.A.D.
Father of Matthew and Daniel
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All is not well. All is the opposite of well.
My spirits fluctuate -- some days it seems like we're making a little progress, other days it just feels like three steps backwards for every two steps forward. And I don't see anyone anywhere near a position of power who seems at all likely to use that power to oppose the next coming war or the conflagration that's seems certain to follow. And in the face of all that, the pledge doesn't seem to me much more effective than saying "Stiff upper lip" or "The sun'll come out tomorrow ..."
Sorry if that's a downer, but no, all is not well.
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The Fed and the income tax
I just found you on the internet and am glad I did. It seems I am becoming "politicized" in these days of anxiety and fear. I am appalled at the ease with which we, the people, are so easily misled. Bush's cronies are not the problem. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Condi, Wolfowitz, etc., all of his political backers are not the problem.
The problem is the few, yet unknown, bankers who own the Federal Reserve. Having the word Federal in your name does not make you legitimate. Every one of us (we, the people) should refuse to pay any income tax until the I.R.S. SHOWS US the LAW requiring us to pay a tax upon our labor. They can't. The law does not exist. We are coerced into paying the income tax by fear and violence. The Republican candidate, Ron Paul is the only politician I have ever heard who comes close to saying this right up front.
I must agree with The Alchemist that the names Democrat and Republican are not any different than Gambino and Genovese or any other organized crime "family name." I went to Vietnam twice and then I began to question and learn. I dropped out of the Navy immediately and have been at odds with this nation ever since. Actually, not the nation, but the interests who control this nation. This Republic. This wonderful, freedom loving country of ours.
I advocate a total overthrow of the system as we know it. I would like to see the notion of land ownership destroyed. The land upon this planet is our birthright, it is our sustenance. It is OURS. We, the people. Land should be taxed (or rented, if you will) and there should be no other tax on anything. Anywhere. Anytime.
Abolish the Federal Reserve. I always wondered why I could never figure out finance and money and how it all works. Well no wonder. It is all a lie.
Thank you for your website. Thank you for letting me feel like perhaps there is a flicker of hope left in this old world after all!
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I've long been fond of the notion of public ownership of all land, and 'rent' as the primary or only revenue source for government. The idea made great sense to me last time I gave it serious thought (which was years ago), and it's a worthwhile proposition. If it's enacted and conducted properly it's a much better system than allowing ownership of "real estate".
And your kind words are cherished, dear stranger, and there's a lot wrong about the income tax and the Federal Reserve, and I want to be cordial here, but it's just ... out of proportion to suggest that the Fed is a bigger problem to America than the occupation and pending further attacks on the Middle East, than pre-programmed voting machines, than the cold-blooded, psychopathic monster in the Vice President's office, et cetera.
Abolish the Fed this afternoon, and we're still stuck with an administration that hates habeas corpus, that's killing our soldiers in a war that makes America weaker, that's speeding the destruction of the nation's manufacturing base, that's shuttling secret prisoners to secret torture prisons, and so on and so forth.
Cordially and kindly, the Federal Reserve is a rash on the butt of a dying cancer patient. It's inconvenient and unpleasant and it's a problem, but it's not the big problem. |
You have been blacklisted
by pittershawn palmer
| June 19, 2007 |
The user pittershawn@pittershawn.com does not accept mail from your address and will not
receive your message.
You have been blacklisted.
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We haven't heard from or sent anything to Pittershawn Palmer in almost a week, not since "Well, this was an enlightening discussion." So we're flattered that Pittershawn took the trouble to type us this note.
It makes me think back more than a few years, to a time when I lived on the back side of a run-down apartment building downtown, with just one small window that offered a view of three dumpsters on the ground below. The dumpsters were always full and overflowing with trash generated from a restaurant and other businesses in the building's first floor. On muggy or hot days the stench from the dumpsters was remarkable, a horrid scent that floated right in through my window if it was open.
Thanks for closing the window, Pittershawn.
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Chinese gold farmer
Note: two different "games", both real, but with different stakes. This couldn't get any better if it were written by Bruce Sterling.
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This is really interesting: 100,000 Chinese are employed in "gold farming", which is playing MMORPG's to win virtual goods that are sold by their companies to Westerners. The gold farmers earn 30 cents an hour and work 12 hour days...
The life of the Chinese gold farmer
The life of the Chinese gold farmer
Use our New York Times login unk.news and password unknown | |
Excerpt: It was an hour before midnight, three hours into the night shift with nine more to go. At his workstation in a small, fluorescent-lighted office space in Nanjing, China, Li Qiwen sat shirtless and chain-smoking, gazing purposefully at the online computer game in front of him. The screen showed a lightly wooded mountain terrain, studded with castle ruins and grazing deer, in which warrior monks milled about. Li, or rather his staff-wielding wizard character, had been slaying the enemy monks since 8 p.m., mouse-clicking on one corpse after another, each time gathering a few dozen virtual coins -- and maybe a magic weapon or two -- into an increasingly laden backpack.
Twelve hours a night, seven nights a week, with only two or three nights off per month, this is what Li does -- for a living.
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Coincidentally, Bloomberg reports today that Japanese housewives are kicking the asses of professional currency traders, confounding the pros by short selling the yen at every bounce:
Housewives outmaneuver UBS, Deutsche Bank trading yen| |
Excerpt: Japanese businessmen, housewives and pensioners betting against the yen in their spare time are wrecking the forecasts of the world's biggest currency traders. |
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Zebra
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School days
by Herb Ruhs, MD
| June 18, 2007 |
I am free for a few hours! My grandson started all day, five days a
week summer pre-school today. Hurray! Of course after the free
feeling wears off I will miss him.
Thought for today while listening to and interview with David Theo
Goldberg on my next to most favorite radio program, Against the Grain.
Skin color was a convenient excuse for enslaving a group of people.
The idea of "Race" came next.
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herb
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The "amending treaty"
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Excerpt: Tony Blair wants to hand the European Union radical new powers in his last act as Prime Minister, it emerged today.
The Prime Minister has welcomed controversial plans to bring back the troubled EU constitution by the back door -- totally bypassing the need for public referendums on sweeping new powers for Brussels.
German chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested ditching the name "constitution" from the title and instead calling it an "amending treaty" -- to avoid having to seek the approval of voters.
French and Dutch voters rejected the original plan -- which would hand Brussels the power to represent individual countries at the UN and change national laws -- two years ago. |
Wasn't something like this behind what started WWI and we cannot forget all the other attempts at this very idea both military and non military that quite literally went down in flames.
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Chris M.
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A slow, lingering death from toxic poisoning
by Ann in the UK
| June 18, 2007 |
You know what is the most terrifying part?
This:
Bracing for next wave| |
Excerpt: Over the next decade, the Pentagon plans to shift at least 8,000 Marines
[to Guam] from Okinawa, Japan, boosting the permanent U.S. military presence
on Guam to levels unseen since World War II.
The Air Force will expand its base by some 2,500 personnel and host a
constant rotation [that should prevent all those pesky little tell-tale
signs that give away a cancer cluster.] of long-range bomber squadrons to
help the U.S. deal with threats posed by a nuclear North Korea, a
fast-expanding Chinese military and Islamic terrorist cells in such places
as Indonesia and the Philippines ... |
So, if the world isn't the 'smouldering ash heap' you predict by then, the
best these guys and their families have to look forward to is a slow,
lingering death from toxic poisoning -- by their own government. Great. Maybe
they'd prefer the 'smoldering ash heap'..
* * *
George does it again. No, not that George! This one:
"Here we have been allowed to remain in an almost medieval state of ignorance".
Ahhh, a breath of fresh air running through the mainstream media, how refreshing.
Yes, I know this article relates to the UK. But it also relates to the US -
more so probably -- as the companies largely responsible for this mess are US
based and, you Americans are as much at their and your government's mercy
because of it as we are from them and ours.
I've been banging on about this issue for literally years now -- well over a
decade -- thanks to my underlying belief that our respective Governments have
"allowed [us] to remain in an almost medieval state of ignorance" as to the
true meaning of that tired old mantra 'breast is best'. That "we are held in
a state of perpetual, medieval ignorance" about it is actually a phrase I've
used, time and time again, particularly when trying to persuade health care
professionals, mothers, fathers, grandparents... that they have ALL been
hoodwinked as to the 'similarities' between breast milk and formula. Few
believe me. Few believe that such a 'conspiracy' would be possible. But it
is. And it's been possible and happening for the last 150+ years.
As some of the responses I get when I post comments on this issue testify,
hardly anyone ever realizes what a political football this issue is. Or what
a ticking time bomb it is in terms of our own personal health and well
being. Or what it means for the current state of health in our respective
families, communities and nations. Or, more importantly, how enmeshed our
successive governments, our health governing bodies and, our leading
healthcare practitioners are with the whole damned thing.
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Ann in the UK
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Ripe
DEM vs. REP -- Tweedledumb vs Tweedledumber -- they are all politicians and all ripe for the buying -- // just let me control your fiat currency and I'll buy your pols // -- Rothschild
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rjc
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Country X and Country Y
by Madeline Zane
| June 17, 2007 |
State Dept nut-job says Iran is arming Taliban| |
Excerpt: Afghanistan's defense minister on Thursday dismissed claims by a top U.S. State Department official that there was "irrefutable evidence" that the Iranian government was providing arms to Taliban rebels. On Wednesday, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said in Paris that Tehran was directly supplying weapons to the Taliban. He told CNN there was "irrefutable evidence" that arms shipments were coming from Iran's government. The State Department later appeared to step back from Burns' assertion, but stressed that the United States has proof that weapons from Iran were reaching Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. |
Saying that weapons from country X are ending up in country Y is in no way proof that the government of country X is sending them there, you yahoos. And Iranians sure are busy: "supplying weapons" to Iraq insurgents, "supplying weapons" to Taliban insurgents, and pulling within weeks of developing nuclear weapons that experts said would take them at least ten years to put together. Plus, Iran is causing all the global warming, they're the ones who kidnapped that cute little blonde girl on vacation, and it's their fault that Jericho got cancelled.
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Surgeon General Nominee claims to "cure" gays| |
Excerpt: [Surgeon General nominee James] Holsinger has a long history of prejudice against gays and lesbians, including founding a church that "ministers to people who no longer wish to be gay or lesbian." In 1991, Holsinger wrote a document titled "Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality" for the United Methodist Church's Committee to Study Homosexuality. The graphic document argues that gay sex can lead to "lacerations, perforations and deaths." |
By all means, sign this brilliant medical mind to be in charge of America's public health service.
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Madeline Zane
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A world that is imploding
Re Human beings
In my world I do talk to people and encourage people to write to the
editors of their local papers and talk to groups of teens so they are not so
hopeless in this "insane" world. It is a world gone mad.
As a counselor I mainly work with sexually abused children and adults (as
well as the more "normal" radical behaviors). I try and understand how a
child's life gets so irrational and how those behaviors get carried through
to the adult life. So, I agree with you 100% that the men and women in
charge are out of their minds.
When I was young I used to get on a soap-box, go on marches etc. I really
believed a grass roots movement was possible and worked toward that goal.
It just seems that globally we are a world that is imploding. It is not
going to take much for a hair trigger ruler to sound an alarm and set off a
nuclear war.
It is sad because we have a beautiful planet that is being abused and
eventually all life may be destroyed.
Thank you for the ear, Keep in touch. I will pray.
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We're marchers and picketers from way back ourselves, and I'll bet you and I have marched for the same causes.
And even that's sad to me, because I come from a time when our leaders paid perhaps scant attention to protests, but paid at least some attention. If nothing else, they wanted the appearance of popular support.
By comparison, when millions protested world-wide against the very idea of attacking Iraq, Bush and Cheney not only ignored the crowds, they belittled them. Bush, I remember well, made a crack about not letting "focus groups" determine war. I think of that as one of their more devilishly clever moments -- it came across as a real kick in the pants to public protest, a clear statement that protests, no matter how huge, meant nothing to these leaders. Seeing and understanding that public opinion is irrelevant to this White House, a lot of "protest people" have given up -- and there have been no large-scale protests since then.
Nobody says it out loud, but it's understood: The public simply isn't invited into Bush-Cheney's thought process. These leaders get the support they need by lying to their most loyal, most brain-dead followers, so broad-based public opposition doesn't mean diddlysquat to them. 'Cuz that's old-fashioned "democracy" thinking, and they're truly disinterested and opposed to America as a democracy.
Sorry to seem to pessimistic. And I've been praying too. |
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Helen & Harry
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U.S. military toxins on Guam
by Ann in the UK
| June 17, 2007 |
Shit. Don't you ever wish you'd kept your head in the sandpit?
Remember my concern about what, if anything, caused my friend's leukemia? I've been doing a little digging and, have just had a reply from a guy I'd emailed about the toxins on Guam where, courtesy of the US military, they used to live. He's been -- voluntarily -- documenting cases and information on this subject, largely on behalf of US veterans, for years. Needless to say, none of it is taken seriously by anyone in authority (or to use his words, it's "swept under the rug").
I'd given him the background and, in addition (almost as a post script, actually) happened to mention some of the myriad of health problems that her family have suffered over the last 5 years.
Guess what he said:
"Most or all of those symptoms can be related to the various chemicals used/stored on Guam ... and have been reported over the years by the people who lived there".
Shit. Shit. Shit.
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On the bright side, I wouldn't be surprised if the world is a smoldering ash heap before military toxins in Guam can cause too many more deaths.
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Ohh, you're such a Pollyanna... ;)
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Ann in the UK
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When imaginary worlds collide
by Lexy Lady
| June 17, 2007 |
'Creation museum' sued by fellow creationists| |
Excerpt: There is trouble in paradise, with a fight of biblical proportions raging between a Kentucky-based creationist group and the Australian group from which it sprang. ...
Both groups believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, that the earth and everything else was created in six days around 6,000 years ago.
But in the last several years, they have increasingly feuded about finances and power. |
The devil made them do it. I don't know who is in the right here, or if there is a right. Just passing it on.
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Lexy Lady
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Killing more Arabs
Israel plans attack on Gaza| |
Excerpt: According to senior Israeli military sources, the plan calls for 20,000 troops to destroy much of Hamas's military capability in days.
The raid would be triggered by Hamas rocket attacks against Israel or a resumption of suicide bombings.
Barak, who is expected to become defense minister tomorrow, has already demanded detailed plans to deploy two armored divisions and an infantry division, accompanied by assault drones and F-16 jets, against Hamas. |
Oh, you mean like they "destroyed" Hezbollah??? That kind of "destroyed"? Just checking.
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Chris M.
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Something optimistic
by Angry Annie
| June 17, 2007 |
As we approach armageddon, brought to you by an insane American administration, a prostituted press, and a sou8nd asleep American public, I search my heart for something optimistic, and the best I can come up with is this:
It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and Jerry Falwell has been roasting in Hell for a month.
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Angry Annie
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Only three weeks remaining
by Ann in the UK
| June 16, 2007 |
Re Can bloggers help avert a tragedy?
You two. You did good.
This is an ordinary kid, from an ordinary working class background, living
in a pretty dismal part of the UK. She also happens to be from an ethnic
minority. What do you think her chances are of finding a matching donor and
getting that lifesaving transplant in the next four weeks? (Sorry, make that in the next 3 weeks - that story is over a week old now.) As it was, that
link came from a regional page of the BBC website, rather than the
national/international pages. Hardly what you'd call global coverage is it.
I just wanted to, as they say, 'do something'. So I did. Not much, was it?
But thanks to you two 'doing something' not much too, at least a few more
people know about her than would have done. I happen to think she is worth
the try.
Helen, I really appreciate your support and kind words and for fighting my
corner so fiercely - and winning (sorry Harry, but your girl did good!).
Thank you. x
And Harry, I do think this raises an issue that isn't covered, or covered
enough, in the mainstream media: if her family were moneyed, we wouldn't
even know this kids name. How many rich kids have you ever seen, or heard
of, who've required help from the media to get them a donor for a lifesaving
operation? I can't even think of one. Maybe their kids never get illnesses
like leukemia.?
And both: I think you are good, quality people too and, as I've said before,
I think you're doing a great job. Thanks.
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Re Quit yer pointless yakking
If H&H will permit me: the point of Unknown News is to report "News that's
not known, or not known enough." I won't speak for the other issues you
commented on, but your inane comment certainly proves one thing: the
breastfeeding issue certainly falls into this remit; otherwise you wouldn't
have made it.
Congratulations Helen and Harry, Tim has demonstrated perfectly how
important it is that you keep on doing exactly what you're doing: raising
awareness about the issues that concern -- or should concern -- us all. It's
not your fault if some people just don't -- won't -- get it.
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Gads, I love you, girl. :)
I briefly thought you might be miffed if we published all that, but I was pretty sure you'd be cool with it. I can usually see Harry's side *even* *when* *he's* *wrong* and thanks for not hating him. He's a good fellah *even* *when* *he's* *wrong*.
And the breastfeeding issue is very much within our purview, certainly, totally, and absolutely.
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Helen & Harry
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What is known as 'intelligence'
by Cassandra
| June 16, 2007 |
Re The patter between Helen and Harry
Y'all make me laugh [which was not the original point] and helped me
understand the pittershawn thing. I must've blocked Squango from my memory.
* * *
Re Mental health?
I saw something online the other day [which I can't find now] about how military personnel are reluctant to request mental health services because it can block some career avenues, perhaps in what is known as 'intelligence'. [Obviously, not the an avenue that leads to presidency]. Changes are being made in the programs where a previous request for therapy would hinder a career.
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Cassandra
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My two cents belatedly
Re Thank goodness for meditation and a peace-loving spirit
I know H&HH are uninterested, and they probably want the Pittershawn parade to fade away, but I was away for a few days and I need to add my two cents belatedly. I like the way H&HH handled it, not responding point by point by point, because the subject really isn't up for discussion among decent human beings. "Bigotry is wrong. The end." God, I loved that line, you did good there.
Pittershawn asks: "Why does a jab at the behavior of a group, which many can see is collective, even though we know it isn't EVERY single one of them, considered hating?"
That's a pretty easy question, and here's a pretty basic answer: Because bigotry is a bad thing. Because it insults and infuriates people. Because it's unfair to blame the children for the sins of the fathers. Because judging an entire race, religion, or ethnic group by the behavior of some is wrong. There are more becauses, a long list of becauses, but it all boils down to, Because decent human beings know better.
To me, Unknown News is for decent human beings. Others like Pittershawn Palmer butt in now and then, but always end up embarrassing themselves. Your website is for people who aren't idiots, people who've already figured a few things out. It's for people who understand things like bigotry is bad freedom is good and Jerry Falwell was a turd and habeas corpus shouldn't be ended, etc. There are endless websites from USA Today to the Republican Party for people who don't understand or don't agree with such basic principles, but thank you for not letting Unknown News become one of those places.
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Helen & Harry
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My prayer
Re Bad language
I guess I do have a problem with
gratuitous profanity - -- I think it shocks and thereby takes away from the message
without adding anything of substance to the message. To my mind the message
and idea that my once grand and glorious republic is and has been imploding and
self destructing right before my eyes for twoscore years is a hugely sad
and sobering idea. Profanity just adds more sadness to that experience. It is
time for prayers, not profanity, because only HIS MIGHT can right the
outrageous wrongs that is being done to our beloved land and in our country's name.
God bless America and God bless all |
