Monday, March 31, 2003
I attended the Palestinian Land Day Rally at Piedmont Park, Atlanta yesterday. Followed by Al's surprise birthday party at our place. He's 28 - Love you, bro. We've also added Christie (sp?) as a room-mate on short notice. Welcome to the neighborhood, Christie.
19:33
WarFilter has kicked off. I signed up, so should you.
15:58
Saturday, March 29, 2003
Because the U.S. corporate media has been desperate to report that in fact there are people in the United States who support the war on Iraq, Clearchannel Media Conglomerate has resorted to organizing their own pro-war rallies across the U.S., in order to have something to cover. I went to check out the one in Centennial Park a couple of weeks ago, down by CNN center. The speakers consisted of a variety of right-wing radio jockeys, some far-right wing radio jockeys, some extreme far right-wing radio jockeys, and veteran soldiers from WWII and Korea.
The crowd was 100% white, middle-aged, small-town types. They held signs up that said things like "Give War a Chance", "W. is a Hottie", and "First Iraq...then France". They denounced the communist media-conspiracy spearheaded by CNN. They demanded that "sissy" protesters be treated as traitors and prosecuted. And they tended to dress their kids like the one whose picture I took below. I think he'll make excellent Canon Fodder for the Marines for the invasion of Iraq in 2019, or decide to screw the whole system altogether.
I think Larry Wax, one of the right-wing jockeys, summed it up best when he shouted out to the crowd: "They will make us seem like a dwindling mob of yokels from the hills making a last-ditch stand against global enlightenment." I couldn't agree more!
15:44
From Mike: Daily military analysis of the war from the Russian imperialist perspective, relying on Russian intelligence sources. A lot more interesting than CNN.
12:15
Have the Protests Made a Difference?
11:31
JOURNALIST EMBEDDED WITH FOX NEWS
Assigned to Cover “Fair and Balanced” Network for Duration of War
As part of an experimental new program initiated by the Defense Department, a journalist has been embedded with the Fox News Network, giving him unique access to the “fair and balanced” network for the duration of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
David Peterson, a reporter for the Akron Beacon-Journal, will be the only journalist living, working, and eating with Fox News staffers in the weeks to come.
Mr. Peterson said that although he felt very much “like an outsider” at the beginning of his stint with Fox News, he said that a mutual respect has grown between him and his hosts.
“I think at first it was weird for them to have a journalist around,” Mr. Peterson said....[More here]
10:28
System of A Down have released the video for Boom! - a collage of footage from global anti-war protests. [Real Media Stream]
09:08
Friday, March 28, 2003
My friend Osage wrote some things that are very honest, and very beautiful, about activist life in New York City. I really like the bit about re-discovering things through someone else's eyes.
17:32
This just in: Halliburton has been asked to wait a while for it's share of the pie. But then there's always Bechtel. [Google Link - pick a link, any link]
16:19
A funny thing happened on the way to the war... check out The Onion's coverage of Operation Piss Off The Planet. And of course, there's always The Daily Show. [Quicktime Required]
And everyone should take the Pop Quiz.
16:05
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Al Jazeera is still down. They've been under attack by U.S. hackers for over 12 hours now. Freedom of the press, anyone? Where are the revolutionary hackers who will mirror the site? But I suppose I know that hackers, as most techies, are deeply rooted in individualism anyway.
21:05
Zack De La Rocha and DJ Shadow have just released an anti-war song as a free download. R.E.M. have one as well. And Chris Martin of Coldplay has come out against it too...
20:31
One of the major objectives of the invasion of Iraq was accomplished yesterday. Halliburton was awarded a "rebuilding" contract for $400,000,000! The very first "rebuilding" contract of many will get those oil wells gushing again! I think the national priorities are clear. I would personally like to congratulate the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States and the United Kingdom for risking and sacrificing their lives (and the lives of millions of Iraqis) for this noble cause. Good job, guys! And keep up the good work...
10:07
I've added a permament link to Iraq Body Count. Since Tommy Franks refuses to account for civilian casualties, they will.
Also, there's a new commenting system - please click on the link below each post.
08:58
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
In Atlanta, there will another Demonstration tomorrow, Wednesday March 26 at Peachtree & Marietta Streets (MARTA: 5 Points) at 5:00 PM.. It's been called by NION and others... more on this as I find out.
12:55
Finally, a chance to post a story a about the National Demonstration in London on March 22. About 250,000 - 500,000 people attended (depending on who was counting), with two feeder marches gathering at Embankment and Gower Street at noon, meeting at Picadilly, and moving West to Hyde Park. It was called for by the Muslim Association of Britain, Stop the War Coalition, and others.
Despite a major governenment propaganda offensive, once the bombings began, of "Support our Boys!" in the UK last weekend, few people were buying it. As someone summed up : "They talk about a [War] 'Coalition of the Willing', but it is really a 'Coalition of the Bullied and the Bribed'." Absolutely. And as the BBC pointed out, all that bullying and bribing got the U.S. such strategic members as the Marshall Island and Ethiopia, plus about 15 countries too embarrassed to be named.
I caught up with the protest between Hyde Park and Picadilly. The Underground had closed many key stations along the route, including Euston and Hyde Park, so I got out at Green Park, into a large police presence. All in all they'd deployed about 3,500 cops, and by 5:30 pm the Metropolitan Police began clearing Hyde Park - quite brutally. But the remaining protesters kept outflanking the police lines, determined not to get trapped. A guy next to me was attacked for no reason I could detect, but you'll be happy to know that shortly after the picture below was taken, the cops were fought off, and he got away.
Briefly, the cavalry was brought in, but they didn't attack. A smaller group of about 2000 of us then marched through Picadilly Circus down to Parliament Square, where a permanent vigil had been held since the war started.
More pictures:
Demonstration Scene
A Reference to Orwell
We Still Need to Change the World!
11:38
Friday, March 21, 2003
Before I launch into a whole thing on the BASTARDS who started this war, here's something completely different from Seneca Bray, my close friend and world-reknown expert on Maternal Defamatory Analogies (MDA). Over the last few years, Dr. Bray has assembled an impressive, comprehensive summary of examples of MDA.Please click here to see this important work!
03:54
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
War is about to start. It's time to up the ante. I'm in the U.K. for moment, and will go to the National Demo in London on Saturday! See you there, or...
If you are in Atlanta, do this:
* THE HOUR THE WAR BEGINS GO TO 5 POINTS, DOWNTOWN ATL.
ALSO
THE SAME DAY THE WAR BEGINS AND THE FOLLOWING 2 DAYS
Mass demonstration at Five Points in downtown Atlanta from 5-7 p.m.
Bring signs and candles.
* Interfaith service in the King Chapel at Morehouse College at 7:30
on the THIRD evening after war begins.
* The FIRST SATURDAY AFTER THE WAR BEGINS.
Mass demonstration Five Points, downtown at NOON.
To get the most up-to-date local information, check
www.notinourname.net/atlanta
or call Refuse & Resist! 404-239-8054
Anywhere Else: Look here!
01:48
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Keily got an e-mail from Jerry with a rather appropriate quote by Goering. Now where have we seen this before? Thanks, Jerry!
21:41
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
I checked into a hotel in Laguna Niguel, CA (South of L.A.) for a couple of days of work, and it's unexpectedly beautiful. I haven't actually managed to leave the hotel yet, but the view is magnificant, see a picture I took below, and one more here. Ken also took some pictures of me hard at work. Just to prove we're not having any fun. On top of all that, I miss Keily, wish she was here, and I think she'd love the beauty of the place, but would probably hate the fact that I'd be hunched over a laptop the whole time...
18:15
Monday, March 10, 2003
Ah, the good old days of the Google! Search Engine
11:44
Saturday, March 08, 2003
"I think you should defend to the death their right to march, and then go down and meet them with baseball bats." -- Woody Allen, on the KKK
14:46
Themes in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy as Reflected in the Work of Monty Python. Lots of Links to Python sketch transcripts. Hilarious and provocative. This reminded me of the days when I was taught Ethics by the excellent Prof. John Granrose. My apologies to Professor Granrose for what follows:
Granrose used to play tapes of comedy routines and monologues in class sometimes, all of them on the topic of "Philosophy". Comedians deriding the absurd character of overly obscure or dramatic intellectuals debating how many angels can dance on the top of a pin. But comedians are also philosophers, breaking down the vast contradictions of life, provoking the audience, not just entertaining them. The latter often best done by the Richard Pryors, George Carlins, Andy Kaufmans, Lenny Bruces, Woody Allens, Eddie Izzards, Lily Tomlins, John Cleeses, and Bill Hicks of the world.
Marx of course famously said: "Philosophers have only studied the World, the point, however, is to change it." So "good" comedians are also social agitators. But whereas their activist counter-parts focus on the tragic, they focus on the funny. To me, comedy and tragedy all flow from the human realization of absurdity. Which can be defined as a uniquely human reaction to grasping the discrepancy between the reasonable and the unreasonable. Or to put it another way: "Another World is Possible".
"Remember this: We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them.
Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing."
Arundhati Roy at the World Social Forum
10:27
International Women's Day is today.
09:25
Wednesday, March 05, 2003
Today is the Moratorium against the coming War. Lots of stuff happened locally, but one thing that struck me as particularly good was the walk-out at Decatur High, joined by students from Agnes-Scott! Here are some pictures, taken by a german exchange student.
"All reactionaries are paper tigers. In appearance, the reactionaries are terrifying, but in reality they are not so powerful. From a long-term point of view, it is not the reactionaries but the people who are really powerful."
from "Talk with the American Correspondent Anna Louise Strong" (August 1946), Mao Tsetung Selected Works, Vol. IV, p. 100.
16:28
Google bought Blogger hosts of this very page. Perhaps because of Google Bombs being proliferated via blogs?
15:31
Sunday, March 02, 2003
We just had a very lovely diner at a place called "Soleil" - sort of a southern french cuisine - with Graham, Dave, Manfred, Kristie, Reiner, Torbjorn, and Lilian.
20:37
I am proud to announce the premiere of Amber on Squash Pie - perhaps she can add some wit to these pages!
!
19:34
U.S. Diplomat's Letter of Resignation (you'll have to register for free access to the NYT website...)
"Is the Russia of the late Romanovs really our model, a selfish, superstitious empire thrashing toward self-destruction in the name of a doomed status quo?"
"Why does our President condone the swaggering and contemptuous approach to our friends and allies this Administration is fostering, including among its most senior officials. Has “oderint dum metuant” really become our motto? "
Indeed. That Latin bit translates to: "Let them hate as long as they fear", a favorite saying of emperor Caligula. And funny he should make an analogy to the last czar of Russia, because we all know what happened to him...
12:22
Saturday, March 01, 2003
So my Husband indulged me and went to see the chic flic (not ment in any sort of " " way) How to lose a guy in 10 days. It started off slow,slow enough I thought he would walk out and find another movie.However it picked up with a few very funny sterotypes and precided to continue with them in a heart felt way with the sentiment that all's fair in love and war and the fact that you can't really control love sometimes ,it could happen to any one at any time.Some of are favorite scenes include well no just rent it yall'sself.The soundtrack did include Carly Simons "You're so Vain' which I think if I remember correctly was written about James Taylor.(maybe) But in my opinion no one does a better rendition than Vic Chesnutt (A local musician in Athens) especially Live.
22:07
Keily bought some skates! They are very cool in a 70s retro kinda way. But before I go off on a rant (as she's playing the Eagles's 'Hotel California' in the background) - we've got ourselves a picture:
21:23
Today is Saturday.One of those rainy stay in your jammies comfort days.I made baked maccaronni and cheese.I think it turned out great.However today was'nt just a comfort day, it was a cleaning day.(a very small cleaning day) Thats all some of us can handle here.
"The God of Small Things" is finished and the book club is starting on "Things Fall Apart" by Achebe
15:27
I've added google as a search engine, and BlogOut as a commenting tool to the blog. Just click on "Shout Out" below any post to add to the stirring debate... leaving a name or any other information is optional.
I think we are going to go and see "10 ways to lose a guy" in a little while. Any idea what this movie is like? I'll post a review later....
14:48
We played Simpsons Clue last night, Keily's new favourite game (she won). I was Smithers in a maid outfit.
"Good morning, sir! To make up for my failure last night, I've alphabetized your breakfast; you can start with the waffles and work your way up to the zwieback. And, to prevent newsprint from rubbing off on your hands, I've laminated today's newspaper."
More on Smithers here.
12:04
![[Blue Ribbon Campaign icon]](http://br.eff.org/br.gif)
