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<itemid>18044</itemid>
<eventtime>2006-08-06 03:10:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2006-08-06 07:07:17</logtime>
<subject>Ah Paradise.</subject>
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Yes, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060805/ap_on_re_as/china_schoolhouse_sweatshops;_ylt=AhQDv17JcGsfTuPKvSFwGSIDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDJjOXUyBHNlYwNtdm5ld3M-">China</a>, slowly growing in economic might, threatening economic power house. A government that cannot control its local provinces will very soon cease to be a government. This kind of thing is frequent. Local government officials steal the land, kill their dogs (literally) and treat their people like dirt. Capitalism without Democracy is HELL. On the other hand....China can do <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060805/wl_nm/retail_china_union_dc;_ylt=AjLy3cR4vdbERolHRQfFlNFvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-">some things we can't</a>.
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<entry>
<itemid>18333</itemid>
<eventtime>2006-08-14 17:36:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2006-08-14 21:42:50</logtime>
<subject>
The Book that Wasn't and why Harry Potter must die.
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One of the projects I have been working on for six months now, and in thinking a great deal before that, had finally been building steam. My research was not finished, but I had a definitive plan in mind. The title of the book was called "The Ecology of the Idea" and it was meant to look at the building science of Memetics from a fresh perspective. A lot of the logical conclusions I had come to in the book might not have been popular, but they would have made sense in the context of the anology I was using. I intended my research to be rather thorough, because on THIS book, I wanted to make sure I had proof that my ideas were correct. For example, after thinking of the nature of ideas and the like, I had become convinced that having a shorter copyright period of say....50 years, for example, was better for society and the corporations that hold these licesences....I had all kinds of places I planned to look. I was greatly looking forward to it. Because of the meticulous nature of the research, it was probably going to take years, but I was doing it because I wanted to do it. Yesterday, in fact, I drove home from Gencon with a friend of mine and we talked about all kinds of things, including the value of Copyrights. Don't get me wrong, Copyrights ARE good things for society, I simply made the arguement that the good and needs of society also had to be taken into account besides the individual needs of the artist. And then I read <a href="http://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=24140">this wonderful review</a> about the most recent work by Alan Moore. Alan Moore is a genius. He is very intelligent and knows how to provoke society. And he has done so here. Haven't read the book, but he meant to change how we think. And he has succeeded. Alan Moore has now completely, through this single act, convinced me entirely and utterly the need to not only make sure authors retain their rights for 125 years, but quite frankly forever. It's a bit of an extreme position, and while I might not hold it forever, it has effectively killed any enthusiasm I had for my project. When an author creates their work, there is something holy in it, something pure. It might be dark, evil, vile or rotten in theme, but more often than not it isn't. You can't have dark without light anyway. The world has room for all kinds of ideas, and it is in the freedom to express them that we are all made whole and better. While my works are sometimes slightly dark, my ultimate tone tries to at least be redemptive and uplifting. Not perfect at it, but that is in large part because the life experience from which I draw as an artist isn't either. So to the authors of the world I say not only 'Kill your Darlings' I say kill them all. I applaud you J.K. Rowling, kill Harry Potter. Kill Snape. Kill Hermione. Kill each and ever character good or evil you have ever paradared before us. Kill them all, and let the hat sort them out. Because if you don't, Alan Moore might find them, and put them in one of his own works. There are some fates worse than death.
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<entry>
<itemid>18475</itemid>
<eventtime>2006-08-28 16:32:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2006-08-28 20:28:15</logtime>
<subject>An Open Letter to CNN</subject>
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Maybe, just maybe, now that you realize you were played for fools by a man who merely wanted attention for JonBenet Ramsey, you might consider the fact that the other evening I saw that you had a **Security Consultant to discuss the transportation of the PRISONER**. This is not even the OJ Simpson Trial my friends. I understand that you cannot print only news about things that 'matter' like the activities of politicians in Washington or International affairs, but if you absolutely insist upon pedagogic insanity ala Jerry Springer for your content, perhaps you might at the LEAST consider A)Two to three DIFFERENT scandals/court cases at a given time instead of devoting 80% of the coverage to this topic. B)Actually not feeling the need to cover a stupid story just because everyone else is covering it to. C)Limiting the coverage of something this stupid to five minutes in an HOUR?! Where are you people getting your research? Even if somehow, millions of people are calling you every day demanding every hour on the hour coverage of this issue and you have the market research numbers to prove it....maybe you can SHOW the interest people have in this and similar topics, because otherwise it just makes you look idiotic and completely disconnected from reality. Just a thought.
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<entry>
<itemid>18769</itemid>
<eventtime>2006-08-29 01:19:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2006-08-29 05:25:01</logtime>
<subject>One way to stop people from talking about</subject>
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Political points you don't agree with....leave. <lj-cut> Now, there is nothing wrong with ending a conversation, especially if you wisely believe you will say something that you will regret....BUT... In one of my circle of friends, we routinely play games. Many topics of conversations are discussed on a routine basis, but this evening, the topic of 9/11 and the current administration came up. One of the inviduals who disagreed with the situation left, quietly. First they went outside and then 'to the bathroom'. For fear of hurt feelings, all talk of politics ceased immediately. Honestly....while I respect people's opinions (and I did not bring up the topic of politics nor did I become the most ardent advocate of any particular position in this situation) and also do not believe people should be subject to political discussion when they don't want it (it was a friendly game night after all), there is an informal nature of the grouping which allows such.... Furthermore, on numerous other occasions, the individual in question has engaged in witty banter and biting sarcasm against other people. Indeed, later on when the subject of entertainment came up he was incredibly opinionated, and obstinately stubbornly so. Thus, I am quite convinced that this disappearing tactic had nothing to do with emotional sensitivity to the subject, rather a deliberate desire to not be confronted by the illogical nature of their position. Now, I will admit that there are certain areas that I have now reached a point where I cannot have rational conversations with people. I try, but the illogical of their position is such that I simply say nothing. I do not, however, leave, and I politely try to change the subject as I can with the ebb and flow of conversation. My point is, it is becoming appearant to me that there are certain ideological elements that are entering into 'seige mode' and battening down the hatches. They are not discussing things anymore, and of those of my aquiantances that ARE discussing the current Pro-Bush side of things, I very rarely find that they go out of their way to examine view points that they disagree with. There is only, in fact, one person I know of who is somewhat Pro-Bush who is actually informed, and I respect him a great deal because of it (Well the truth is that I respect him a great deal in general). But if you can't even talk to them, how can change ever be acheived? Their numbers are high....REAL change about hunting down and holding the people who have raped our country for the last six years responsible is difficult until 90% of the population realizes what they have been doing, but you can't FORCE people to listen to the truth...they have to actually want to hear it. Once the house or senate changes sides, one can at least hope for a wide array of subponeas, which will of course be stonewalled and denied by the current administration. Two years might not be enough time to winnow through the courts...AND....the makeup of the Supreme Court is...troubling in that vein. But it is at least a start. </lj-cut>
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<entry>
<itemid>19151</itemid>
<eventtime>2006-08-29 11:51:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2006-08-29 15:49:23</logtime>
<subject>Normally I don't pass on emails I get</subject>
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But this one from Mom pretty much sums up why I call myself a democrat. I went from Republican to Independant to Democrat to 'At the forefront of the mob with pitchforks to bring these people to trial even if it takes 40 years' democrat. MY beliefs are the same.....not those of the hypocritical bastards. To anyone reading this that says, 'There are corrupt Democrats as well', I say that you are either a paid conservative, someone who doesn't care about the truth, or not very observant of the situation. There are exceptions. You probably aren't one of them. Yes, there are corrupt democrats, but the difference in magnitude is just sickening. SICKENING. <lj-cut> http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/analysis/102 Think GOP Corruption Stops With Bush and DeLay? Here are 14 More Hacks You Should Know About, and that's Just for Starters! Submitted by BuzzFlash on Mon, 08/28/2006 - 10:38am. Analysis A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS We all know about the various laws Tom DeLay has broken, but not everyone is aware of many of the other examples of corruption by other Republican officials across the country. Most of them don't even come from the White House, although the Bush Administration certainly has its share. For the benefit of our readers, BuzzFlash has compiled a list of just a few of the most recent and egregious offenders. Please note that this collection is hardly comprehensive, as it would take a full dissertation to justly examine Republican transgressions. Gov. Ernie Fletcher (KY) Exercised blatant favoritism in state employment hiring based on partisan loyalties. Many top Republican officials were indicted in the scandal, including the Transportation Secretary and Deputy Secretary, State GOP Chairman, and Fletcher's Personnel Advisor, Deputy Personnel Secretary, and Deputy Chief of Staff. Fletcher was issued 29 indictments, including for conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination. He issued a blanket pardon to everyone involved in the case so that they would not testify against him, which may have led to the deal he got last week dropping the charges. Gov. Bob Taft (OH) Promised wealthy donors giving $25,000-50,000 to the Ohio GOP that they would get "access to key GOP officeholders," seats in his private box for football games, and full anonymity. He called this club of participants "Team Ohio." Taft was convicted for failing to disclose $5,800 in gifts from lobbyists, and his approval rating dropped as low as 6.5%. Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (OH) During 2004 presidential election, was co-chair of Committee to Re-elect Bush in Ohio despite being Ohio's Chief Elections Officer (think Katherine Harris, but better looking in a dress). Responsible for massive vote suppression through uneven machine allocation and exclusion of provisional ballots, as well as his refusal to accept voter registration forms printed on anything lighter than 80-lb paper (such as normal typing or copier paper). Rep. Bob Ney (OH) Used his power to grant favors to the Jack Abramoff lobbying team in exchange for gifts, including a free trips to the Super Bowl, Northern Marianas Islands, Scotland, the use of luxury boxes at sporting events, and concerts and meals. Under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for bribery, he recently decided not to seek reelection. Ralph Regula (OH) Earmarked more than $2 million as senior member of Appropriations Committee to create the First Ladies National Historic Site in his district, to be headed by his own wife. He also accepted thousands of dollars from Abramoff and Rep. Ney. GOP official and fundraiser Thomas Noe (OH) Funneled $45,400 to Bush's 2004 campaign using two dozen people as conduits, for which he later pled guilty to several counts for illegal campaign contributions. Central figure of "Coingate," where he was given $50 million to invest for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation through rare coin funds, of which he lost $13 million. Gov. Frank Murkowski (AK) Appointed own daughter, Lisa Murkowski, to complete his Senate term after becoming governor. Bought a private jet with government funds after being denied by the legislature and told not to by the federal government. Allowed BP to not maintain their oil equipment, leading to the leaks and corrosion that caused the recent shutdown of an oil field. He was just creamed in GOP gubernatorial primary, coming in third with just 19% of the vote. Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham (CA) Pled guilty to accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes and underreporting his income for 2004. He also pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion. He resigned in disgrace last year. Rep. Jerry Lewis (CA) Used position as Appropriations Committee chairman (and formerly Defense Appropriations Subcommittee chairman) to steer hundreds of millions of dollars to clients of the lobbying firm of his good friend. These clients have given the firm millions of dollars, and hundreds of thousands to Lewis' campaign and political action committees (which he used to buy the support of his colleagues to attain the Appropriations chairmanship). Rep. John Doolittle (CA) Pays his wife 15% commission for fundraising for his own reelection campaigns. During the last two election cycles, she has received this commission for every dollar raised, and in total has been paid nearly $180,000 so far. Also, Jack Abramoff and his clients have given tens of thousands of dollars to Doolittle and his wife. Rep. Richard Pombo (CA) Spent $68,081 in taxpayer money to send partisan leaflets to swing states just before the 2004 election. Charged the government $5,000 for a two week family vacation. Paid 25% of campaign funds raised to wife and brother over last two election cycles, totaling $357,325. His staff has tried to remove critical information about his ties to Jack Abramoff from Wikipedia. Rep. Ken Calvert (CA) Earmarked $9.5 million in federal funding to improve land near property he had owned for less than a year, and then quickly sold the property for nearly double what he paid for it. Arrested for solicitation of prostitution in 1993 but still voted to impeach Clinton. Sen. Bill Frist (TN) Fined by FEC for failing to disclose a $1.44 million loan in his 2000 reelection campaign. (Incorrectly) diagnosed Terry Schiavo based on old, edited videotapes. Claimed not to know if his blind trust contained stock from HCA (the lucrative health care company founded by the Frist family), when he was in fact provided with regular updates on the status of his assets. Sold his HCA stock two weeks before a negative company report caused a substantial drop in share price, leading to investigations over insider trading. To avoid paying estate taxes, he transferred $2 million in inherited HCA stock to own nonprofit (of which Frist and his wife are the only trustees), whose only substantial contribution was a $877,000 to his old elite Nashville high school, which now has a building bearing his name. Started a charity, World of Hope, saying it was for AIDS treatment, but did not hire experts or professionals. "Instead, World of Hope served as a resting place for Republican political staff and Frist campaign alumni," according to the DNC. State Treasurer Lorelee Byrd (NE) Wrote 12 government checks totaling $300,000 and stashed them in her safe before voiding them after the Legislative session ended so nobody would notice. Forced to resign. As we noted, these are just a few of many examples of recent Republican corruption. And this doesn't even include the White House! For a party that continues to use Bill Clinton's personal indiscretions as a scapegoat for all their failures, no matter how unrelated, the Republican party has an appalling number of its own transgressions. But is anyone really surprised? A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS </lj-cut>
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<entry>
<itemid>19334</itemid>
<eventtime>2006-08-29 15:31:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2006-08-29 19:36:25</logtime>
<subject>Dr. Mr. Rumsfeld</subject>
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<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/29/rumsfeld.ap/index.html">Rumsfeld calls critics delusional and cowardly</a> Dear Mr. Rumsfeld, <lj-cut> I am not confused. I am not cowardly. I am not under any delusions about the fact that Saddam Hussain was a genocidal madman bent on obtaining weapons of mass destruction. He may not have had them, but he wanted them. Iran is a threat to the world and definately wants nukes as well. So what? The reason people are upset about the war in Iraq is, among many other things, not just because you lied about intelligence....and you DID lie, you know it and we know it, but because you have bungled it so badly. Let us be clear, the array of people that despise you is vast and legion. There are those who believe that violence is never the answer and that one should never go to war to prove a point. They are not cowards. Most of them are the bravest people I have ever met. It takes great courage to use no violence whatsoever when there are others who will kill you for failing to act. There are those who believe that we were justified in going into Iraq, but that you lied about the intelligence and our reasons for going to war, so the honor of our nation is stained. These are not cowards or delusional, but patriots who are offended that you have sullied our good name and fooled them with your lies. They will not be fooled again. Just because they were fooled once by you does not make them 'delusional'. There are those who think the Iraq was was justified, and do not CARE about the WMD claims, but instead think you have handled the entire affair with such complete ineptitude that you should be tried for treason, or certainly removed from office. Indeed, even among the most ardent Bush supporters, there are still many who call for YOUR removal Mr. Rumsfeld, because, quite frankly you are idiot. The men you command hate you. That does not make them delusional or cowardly. There are those who think everything Bush says is the word of God, and they STILL think that you should be fired because you treat our men as FUNGIBLE and have secret side deals with Haliburton. They might be delusional about Bush, but that does not make them Delusional about YOU. Finally, there are those who think that we should not be wasting our time in Iraq, where there AINT no NOOCLEER WEPUNS cause the crazy people that do have them are Iran and North Korea....and we're wasting our time in Iraq. They certainly aren't cowards...and sadly, aside from their potential support of Bush, I don't think they're delusional either. None of that has jack to do with Iraq. As for looking weak by 'cutting and running'....see my comment about the Band Saw in my live journal earlier. The only person delusional and cowardly is you, and the men in thine posse. Sincerely, Thomas Ricks </lj-cut>
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