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<entry>
<itemid>97161</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-02 11:24:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-02 15:27:11</logtime>
<subject>Ominous Foreshadowing</subject>
<event>
If there is even a HINT of <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20090702/cm_thenation/917448105">truth to this</a>, then it is a VERY VERY bad sign.<br /><br />First, I want to point out that this opinion piece is from the Nation, which is hardly FOX news or PUMA territory. And second, no matter how much we like or trust Obama, he is one man, and he needs people to get things done. Well, Bush had the same problem in the sense that while he was bad, the snake pit that he surrounded himself was infinitely worse.<br /><br />If this is true, the accusation that the Washington Post is selling pay for access 'casual dinners' with key white house players then those white house players need to be LET GO right @#$@#$ now.<br />
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<entry>
<itemid>97418</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-05 15:48:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-05 19:50:01</logtime>
<subject>We need to end Legal Thuggery</subject>
<event>
Say something against the Church of Scientology, get threatened by a lawsuit.<br /><br />Say something against Sarah Palin, <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24521.html#ixzz0KMqAULUQ&C">get threatened by a lawsuit</a>.<br /><br />Any justice system where only the rich can afford years of protracted legal battles isn't really just at all.<br /><br />
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<entry>
<itemid>97782</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-06 15:32:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-06 19:34:15</logtime>
<subject>Happiness is Mandatory Citizen</subject>
<event>
Happiness is Mandatory Citizen.<br /><br />Failure <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/5757194/Workers-have-daily-smile-scans.html">to display happiness at all times </a>demonstrates that you are unhappy.<br /><br />If you are unhappy, then the computer has failed to make you happy.<br /><br />Implying that the computer is not perfect is treason.<br /><br />Please report to the nearest suicide booth for termination citizen.<br /><br /><br />
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<entry>
<itemid>97805</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-13 15:12:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-13 19:23:24</logtime>
<subject>China attacking India</subject>
<event>
This <a href="http://kopyme.com/2009/07/china-may-attack-india-by-2012/">article</a>, based on another article, is interesting not so much for some inevitable idea that China is going to attack India (though it might) so much as the fact about what it says about the internal attitude in India.<br /><br />For example, the Russian commentator a few months ago writing about the absolute collapse of the United States next year doesn't look likely to come to pass, and I dismissed him as an idiot. However, he was very useful in understanding that he was popular in Russia and being featured mainly in the Russian state media. His predicition was useful not because it was likely to come to pass, but because it showed the hints of Russia's internal psyche. Russia right now is lost, in my opinion, trying to find the future by retreating to the past, instead of making one of its own. You can understand this, because in the Soviet era, they defined their national story as 'the great communist power' which eventually,because of the highly more viral US story, 'The other super power opposing the United States' and then ' The former super power' which at first seemed to be a reform story, but as people were starving to death in the streets, they wanted their story to be something that they could take pride in, and 'the power formerly known as' wasn't going to cut it. But with communism formally dead (except to Kleptopopulists like Chavez and Republican necromancers) they needed another area to turn. Hence, their retreat to the past days of Czar Nicholas. <br /><br />Ah well, at least they might have more hope when Putin steps down. Which, as Prime Minister, he never ever has to do.<br /><br />But anyway, back to India. In "The Post American World" Farid Zarcharia makes a very good case about how India will be very reluctant to form NATO style alliances due to the powerful non alignment movement that they headed during the cold war. They are also diversity on steroids, which makes the regional difficulties of the US look pale by comparison. National parties in India largely aren't. This article may be an attempt to rectify this by the creation of an enemy in the Chinese.<br /><br />The question one must ask is, of course, whether or not the Chinese are actually serious about this. They certainly do need resources, and they certainly do have a lot of internal problems which the ruling party is absolutely obsessive about trying to cover up. Such efforts are traditionally a sign of weakness. The communist party in China act strong on the outside, but one must wonder about how much strength they really have when they go to such lengths to stifle internal dissent. Truely great powers just don't have to do that, at least not in the modern world.<br /><br />After all, we have FOX news and 40% Conversatives and we haven't fallen yet. Or is the belief that not letting Children Starve to Death or actually have decent health care too radical an idea?<br /><br />Regardless, I will be looking to India to see where this thought takes them, because if it does take root, it will in some ways be good (potentially firmly planting India in the camp of free democracies and liberal democratic thinking) and in some ways bad.
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<entry>
<itemid>98192</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-14 16:29:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-14 20:36:52</logtime>
<subject>A reasonable swap</subject>
<event>
You know, the thought just occured to me about how to totally solve the cost of health care in this country, and it was as I was pondering the nature of tax breaks on health care, which Republicans generally seem to favor. My perfect health care system would provide three tiers Basic tier is totally government funded for basic things such as antibiotics, vaccinations and basic emergency care. It is far more beneficial to society to make these things universal and free. Second tier is for ninety percent of all medical situations which is paid for by competing not for profits. Everyone must have one, but they are not subject to the whims of politicians (in case the Republicans get in charge again) but they don't operate on a for profit level so that they are designed on an institutional level to screw people, BUT you still get market competition to make them work better. Of course they can't reject anyone. EVER. Third would be supplemental private for profit health insurance like Aflac to supplement gaps in the not for profits and to protect for catastrophic illness. Government can't pay for the guy that needs a million dollars a year to keep alive, but if you want to pay $10 a year in case that happens to you, that's a reasonable thing for a company to do. But then I realized that those should be tax free. And THEN I realized that given the amount of money in the spiritual sector of the economy, I realized that it SHOULD be taxed, and that the thing that actually helps people out and society, medicine, should be tax free. The argument (the SECULAR) argument about why businesses should be tax free has been two fold: 1) Religions provide a tangible benefit to society. 2) Religions should be as separate from the government as possible. Well, I do think Religions provide a tangible benefit to a society, but they do not provide a MORE tangible benefit than medical care, and of the two, medical care makes more sense. People will always give money to churches, but they are not a matter of life and death. Tax churches to pay for health care. And as for separation from government....they already interfere in government anyway.
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<entry>
<itemid>98395</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-14 22:57:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-15 02:57:59</logtime>
<subject>You know on second thought....</subject>
<event>
Never mind. That's a terrible idea. Not so much because I think the larger churches can't afford it, but it would completely devastate the smaller ones who have become dependent on it for several centuries. Not to mention that it would be utterly moronic for a politician to try.
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<entry>
<itemid>98747</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-17 08:48:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-17 12:49:09</logtime>
<subject>China is Weak</subject>
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Any nation that must round up a bunch of human rights lawyers on trumped up charges because of the 'danger and sensitivity' coming to the 60th anniversy of their rule is a <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090717/ap_on_re_as/as_china_lawyers">WEAK state</a>.<br /><br />Don't fear China. Fear for the Chinese people.<br />
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<entry>
<itemid>99034</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-20 09:57:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-20 13:57:38</logtime>
<subject>My current contract</subject>
<event>
I have just been informed my current contract is ending in two weeks. It is ending amicably, but I still need to find something else. If you know someone who is looking for a tech writer (or a Project Manager) please let me know. :)
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<entry>
<itemid>99275</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-20 13:13:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-20 17:14:21</logtime>
<subject>The Irish Government is Weak</subject>
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Another sign of weakness is having to pass a law making <a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/07/20/1550224">'offending' </a>someone's religion Blaspheme.<br />
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<entry>
<itemid>99335</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-20 23:19:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-21 03:21:22</logtime>
<subject>Fox news Advocates killing our troops</subject>
<event>
No.<br /><br />Really.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001950/">http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001950/</a><br /><br />Paraphrased:<br /><br />"This guy is saying things that are causing problems for our troops...what if he deserted...if he did, we should hope they just shoot him."<br /><br />Of course, saying things that I've heard so far against our troops consists of "investigating Islam" and "I'm scared."<br /><br />Yeah, that warrants abandoning a US soldier.<br /><br />Right.<br /><br />
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<entry>
<itemid>99620</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-21 09:37:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-21 13:46:41</logtime>
<subject>The Media is a Joke</subject>
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CNN will print <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/20/news/economy/TARP_report/index.htm?postversion=2009072018">this story </a>about the concern troll who is 'worried' about the TARP program, without disclosing that he was appointed by George W. Bush. And yet there is still nothing about the US col that wants the Taliban to shoot our soldier who they captured.<br /><br />Yahoo can mention "Obama defends August deadline for health care bill" but nothing about the US col that wants the Taliban to shoot our soldier who they captured.<br /><br />MSNBC.com can have "Obama won't rule out tax on health care" but nothing about the US col that wants the Taliban to shoot our soldier who they captured.<br /><br />CBSNews has "Obama Battles Health Care Reform Critics" but nothing about the US col that wants the Taliban to shoot our soldier who they captured.<br /><br />On ABCNews they can have "Obama struggles to keep his bold domestic initiatives on the radar" but nothing about the US col that wants the Taliban to shoot our soldier who they captured. They can print a poll that attacks health care, but they can't attack someone that criticizes our troops.<br /><br />The Washington Post can have "GOP Rallies Reform Opposition" but nothing about the US col that wants the Taliban to shoot our soldier who they captured. They can print a poll that attacks health care, but they can't attack someone that criticizes our troops.<br /><br />Meanwhile FOX news has "Capture Kept Secret."<br /><br />So let me get this straight....the network that has the commentator that wants this guy SHOT is the only one mentioning anything about it on their front page of their website?<br /><br />Wow. How pathetic is that.
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<entry>
<itemid>99988</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-21 12:34:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-21 16:36:27</logtime>
<subject>If there was ever any doubt about Honduras</subject>
<event>
The <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090721/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_nicaragua_constitution">attempts by former Communist Dictator Ortega in Nicaragua </a>to change the constitution to become dictator for life show that it is in fact total garbage to think that Zelaya intended anything less.<br /><br />I support Obama on many fronts, and I am sympathetic to the fact that we need to repair our relations with central and south America, but we don't do it by pandering to people like Chavez. You do not cower in the face of evil, you confront it.<br /><br />
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<entry>
<itemid>100199</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-21 12:38:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-21 16:39:19</logtime>
<subject>Venezuela is Weak.</subject>
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When you have to keep removing the judge until you get the ruling you like, you aren't under the Rule of Law anymore, you are Officially a dictatorship.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090720/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_venezuela_anti_chavez_tv">Chavez's supreme court </a>has removed the judge in charge of a case against trumped up charges against a television station that criticizes him.<br />
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<entry>
<itemid>100358</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-21 13:49:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-21 17:51:14</logtime>
<subject>The Great Firewall of China</subject>
<event>
In the 14th Century, China had the highest level of culture, military power and technology in the world. Then the idiotic rulers turned them inward because they considered everything outside of their borders to be irrelevant. Now the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/21/china-blocks-websites-in-_n_241813.html">Great Firewall of China </a>is slowly cutting off bit by bit of the internet because its cowardly leaders don't want to be held accountable for their human rights violations or actually try to legitimize themselves by holding real elections.<br /><br />Keep it up China. Then fall behind the rest of the world as you are cut off from the natural flow of ideas.<br />
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<entry>
<itemid>100834</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-21 17:13:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-21 21:17:43</logtime>
<subject>Sometimes both sides are right.</subject>
<event>
Obama has kept the warrentless wiretapping, which is absolute garbage. He has also let congress cow him into not just moving a bunch of prisoner's to US prisons with funding or without it. Guantanamo is a blight and should be shut down.<br /><br />But the signing statement nonsense that Bush did was just a joke.<br /><br />Obama says he's going to use signing statements only in cases where Congress tries to tie his executive authority under the constitution, and he HAS to do that to a degree otherwise the executive is meaningless.<br /><br />Conversely, congress HAS to be able to attach strings to things otherwise what's the point of laws? If congress can't make some funding conditional then that causes real problems.<br /><br />So when <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTUXZ57-4A_UnsbDtQDPlUwZlbIQD99J2DQG1">the two disagree about the world bank</a>, Obama has some justification in saying, "I reserve the right to negotiate something besides what these funds stipulate to maintain credibility." It is the EXECUTIVE not the legislative that negotiates foreign policy. Congress only ratifies.<br /><br />Having said that congress, as mentioned by Obey in the article is also clearly within its rights to say, "Well that's fine, but we're not going to fund it anymore."<br /><br />Checks and balances are awesome.<br />
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<entry>
<itemid>100871</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-21 18:42:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-21 22:50:40</logtime>
<subject>Hurricanes on the Horizon</subject>
<event>
While I was a missionary in Venezuela, I once had a very smart individual (a bit nuts but also very nice) "If the US went to war with Venezuela would you go?"<br /><br />At the time, LDS doctrine dictated one must obey the laws of their country, so I unhesitantly answered yes, but I would do so reluctantly.<br /><br />Now, I would have to say I'd probably do so unless I knew that it was an illegal war like the Iraq war. In that case, I'd probably just go to jail if drafted. Fortunately, I'm probably too old now unless we get WWIII.<br /><br />Having said that, I've noticed two interesting articles on Venezuela recently. First, the US is putting military bases in Colombia to help fight drugs. Second, Venezuela is <a href="http://trendsupdates.com/is-venezuela-becoming-a-narco-state/">becoming a narco state</a>. This actually makes COMPLETE sense. Chavez doesn't really give a flying flip about the United States. Its like when North Korea conterfits US money and uses it for their illegal activities abroad. In their mind, its all fair game.<br /><br />Also bear in mind that since Venezuela is a petro state, and Chavez's legitimacy and popularity largely depend on how much money he can shovel at people, then you've got a potential problem. It could happen with Obama, but WORSE, since history tends to move in cycles, if a Republican wins the 2012 (unlikely) or 2016 (at the least 45% chance, possibly more depending on who Obama picks as VP for his 2012 run), and the Republican party doesn't change its nature much (likely given the fact that the machinery is now in place to keep the above and below rigidly locked into current dogma) then they'll be itching at a chance at a war and an excuse to slap 'socialists' around.<br /><br />Or in other words, US military bases in Colombia + Crazy Chavez + Crazy US Republican President X = War in South America.<br /><br />Based on existing power blocks, Chavez would have most of central America on his side with heavy backing from Russia. There is also some chance he could get Brazil on his side since they have an election between now and then, which means a potential small scale guerilla nightmare or large region wide war the likes of which we would not have seen since Vietnam. <br />
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<entry>
<itemid>101145</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-22 12:12:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-22 16:20:21</logtime>
<subject>Israel</subject>
<event>
Alright...look.<br /><br />The Holocost is the third largest mass slaughter of human beings of which I am aware of in history. However it is distinctly unlike them in important ways:<br /><br />*The Mongols were a rampaging hoard of blood thirsty barbarians. The Nazis were cold, ruthless efficient killers using modern techniques. The Mongols killed everyone. The Nazis killed very specific targeted segments of the population.<br /><br />*Stalin killed massive amounts of his people, but he did not do so for ideological purity and he certainly didn't do so for the declaration of a master race. He just killed lots of people to maintain power. He was a bloodthirsty bastard, but he did not rise to the level of sheer unadulterated unambigulous absolutely clear level of EVIL that the Nazis did.<br /><br />So. The Holocost is so bad, so horrific that every school child MUST learn about it lest it be repeated. I agree. One of the things that makes Achmedinijerk a horrible human being is the fact that he wants to pretend that it doesn't exist.<br /><br />And yet....<br /><br />Just because only thousands of people died when Israel was created as compared to millions in the Holocaust, doesn't mean that erasing the fact that it happened and that Arabs WERE killed and ARE being killed does not make hypocrisy about <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090722/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_arab_textbooks">KEEPING IT OUT OF YOUR TEXTBOOKS </a>any less disgusting.<br /><br />History is a story, a narrative, and when you deliberately leave out parts of it, you weaken the parts you emphasise in the long run. <br /><br />Christopher Colombus was an amazing man. He was a visionary explorer, but he's going to be known as a slave making psychopathic herald of genocide for probably close to a hundred years before some balance is found between the two...why? Because well meaning but stupid white history teachers taught one side of history and not the other.<br /><br />Sooner or later Arabs in Israel will outnumber European jewish settlers. And when that happens, the parts of history that they are going to remember are NOT going to be the courageous founding of a nation based on exiles escaping from a horror beyond imagining...they're going to remember those same victims turning around and doing exactly the same thing to their anscestors for four or five generations.<br />
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<entry>
<itemid>101382</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-24 11:28:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-24 15:34:56</logtime>
<subject>A fascinating article</subject>
<event>
One scientific article does not a trend make, BUT <a href="http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2009/2008JD011637.shtml">this article </a>(sent from a friend) basically states that when one factors out near equator volcanic eruption, that global temperature fluctuations related to El Nino and this phenemona accounted for the majority of temperature increases in the last 50 years.<br /><br />This article is important for two reasons:<br /><br />First, it still leaves the possibility of the common sense test, which is to say that, yes, Man does affect the environment and can affect the global temperature, even if it isn't the majority cause. Anyone telling me that we aren't affecting the planet is just not someone I'm going to take seriously without VERY heavy evidence to the contrary.<br /><br />And two, this article is in a well respected peer reviewed scientific journal. I did some preliminary research into teh AGU, and it is not a front organization for Oil Companies. In fact, the primary reason I take them seriously is because of the fact that they previously DID rule that Anthrogenic Climate Change was the most likely cause for global warming. <br /><br />Now one article does not an end of the argument make, but it is the first SERIOUS refutation of anthrogenic climate change that I have yet seen. <br />
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<entry>
<itemid>101755</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-28 15:52:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-28 19:55:31</logtime>
<subject>Horizon Management Group Sucks</subject>
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These people are suing <a href="http://cbs2chicago.com/local/twitter.post.lawsuit.2.1103625.html">someone for saying something </a>disparing about them on twitter for $50,000.<br /><br />So I am saying officially that they suck. <br /><br /> I am sending them an email with a link to my live journal and this entry. If they sue me, I will counter sue for emotional distress, wasting my valuable time, legal thuggery and abuse of the legal system.<br /><br />Feel free to do the same.<br />
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<entry>
<itemid>102129</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-29 14:18:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-29 18:23:07</logtime>
<subject>Good things in the medical reform bill</subject>
<event>
You keep hearing about bad things.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/?e=9&ref=text2">Here are some good things </a>(Presidential email.)<br />
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<entry>
<itemid>102196</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-30 14:11:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-30 18:13:45</logtime>
<subject>Wow....Blatant Racism in a Kids show</subject>
<event>
You'd think that they wouldn't do <a href="http://sartorias.livejournal.com/354505.html">this kind of thing </a>anymore.<br /><br /><br />The American Anime "Avatar: The Last Airbender" has won quite a few awards, but much like with the Syphalis Channel's mangling of Ursala K. Leguin's "Earth Sea", they've 'whitewashed' the whole thing, and in this case turned two darker skinned heroes white and one lighter skinned villain dark.<br /><br />Right.<br /><br />Look, I'll accept creative casting for one or two parts in a series. If you've got someone who, regardless of race, just absolutely personifies the character, then I'm willing to allow some flexibility, but this is just stupid.
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<itemid>102582</itemid>
<eventtime>2009-07-31 12:13:00</eventtime>
<logtime>2009-07-31 16:15:35</logtime>
<subject>OK, I like Daily Kos</subject>
<event>
I really do. I share some of their political ideals, and I get counter talking points and info there that I just don't see other places, plus I like how Pro Obama they are.<br /><br />But really....their poll? <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/">62 Favorable toward Obama</a>? Really?<br /><br />If I make fun of Rasmussen for always being rediculously conservatively biased and Zogby for being 'whatever the hell will get me attention' biased, then I've got to call a spade a spade.<br /><br />Gallup has Obama at 52% right now.<br /><br />A 10 point difference is rather sad for one's credibility. You deal with information you don't like by strengthening your resolve and formulating a plan, you don't tweak poll numbers so that they tell you what you want to hear.<br /><br />That's what Republicans do.<br />
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