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2012-07-31
Yeah once and for fucking all ...
... http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13634
•Privatization has generated large profits for new owners but these have not been shared with the general public.
•The potential benefits of privatization are often outweighed by high contracting costs and opportunism.
•Most privatization programs appear to have worsened the distribution of assets and income, at least in the short run.
The private sector has been a complete disaster for the American public in a number of areas -
2012-07-29
A little deaf today.
I had the misfortune of attending an outdoor circus event yesterday afternoon. That in of itself wasn't bad, except for my left ear being subjected to constant exubarantly stupid ranting by some fat elderly grandma of a right-winger sitting directly behind me and going on and on about how great things were. That and her grandkid constantly coming back and forth between the grass and the grandstand where she'd sit on her lap and try to pull my hair.
I like attending events, but this is why I don't like attending events with idiots around. They cannot contain themselves, let alone others they are semi-responsible for.
I like attending events, but this is why I don't like attending events with idiots around. They cannot contain themselves, let alone others they are semi-responsible for.
2012-07-26
It's true - how come no one questions the impact of religion in American gun violence?
http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13629
Yes the points raised in the post are key, but there's a piece missing as described here -
"Faith in god? A Christian witness? I don't see either in the church's lack of leadership on the gun issue and neither does the rest of the world. The bottom line is that American-style Christianity is a big part of the problem, not the solution."
"The Christian Right is Neither"- Indeed.
Yes the points raised in the post are key, but there's a piece missing as described here -
"Faith in god? A Christian witness? I don't see either in the church's lack of leadership on the gun issue and neither does the rest of the world. The bottom line is that American-style Christianity is a big part of the problem, not the solution."
"The Christian Right is Neither"- Indeed.
2012-07-25
If there is one thing I cannot stand ...
... it's people who think that because they are pet owners they're somehow above the law.
Case in point.
I took the family to a city park this past weekend. It has a playground, a beach area, and an off-leash park area for dogs. Dogs (leashed or otherwise) are only allowed in the latter area, not the two former areas, as noted by this picture -
So when the kids decide they wanted to take a break from the playground and see about finding shells along the shore and we go, what do I find?
Some stupid fuck tossing driftwood with an even stupider dog. Naturally the dog comes bounding forth and the kids - not really knowing any better - get in on it. All good clean fun!
Except for the part about dogs not supposed to be on the beach - now I wonder why that is?
The person can probably read. And I'm sure if I confronted them, they'd just say it's no big deal or something equally asinine.
Perhaps it has something to do with the huge pile of doggy-donuts this dumb mutt left in the sand, that I almost stepped in, and the fact the owner was too irresponsible to even pick it up.
Yeah, he was a dumb-fuck, and so was his dog. Needless to say, I got the kids to eventually move on.
We found a number of shells, including a bunch of oyster shells - likely no pearls.
But it goes back to something I said some time ago - "there is a strong correlation between a stupid pet and a stupid owner." Combine that with the arrogance of being an idiot and you have another stupidiot on your hands.
It'd be funny if it wasn't me dealing with it - but I find a great similarity between these kinds of people and smokers. That is, a fairly large lack of rational thought permeating from their heads on most everything, such that it starts to fuck up others in life, like me.
They seem to pop up everywhere - like weeds.
Case in point.
I took the family to a city park this past weekend. It has a playground, a beach area, and an off-leash park area for dogs. Dogs (leashed or otherwise) are only allowed in the latter area, not the two former areas, as noted by this picture -
So when the kids decide they wanted to take a break from the playground and see about finding shells along the shore and we go, what do I find?
Some stupid fuck tossing driftwood with an even stupider dog. Naturally the dog comes bounding forth and the kids - not really knowing any better - get in on it. All good clean fun!
Except for the part about dogs not supposed to be on the beach - now I wonder why that is?
The person can probably read. And I'm sure if I confronted them, they'd just say it's no big deal or something equally asinine.
Perhaps it has something to do with the huge pile of doggy-donuts this dumb mutt left in the sand, that I almost stepped in, and the fact the owner was too irresponsible to even pick it up.
Yeah, he was a dumb-fuck, and so was his dog. Needless to say, I got the kids to eventually move on.
We found a number of shells, including a bunch of oyster shells - likely no pearls.
But it goes back to something I said some time ago - "there is a strong correlation between a stupid pet and a stupid owner." Combine that with the arrogance of being an idiot and you have another stupidiot on your hands.
It'd be funny if it wasn't me dealing with it - but I find a great similarity between these kinds of people and smokers. That is, a fairly large lack of rational thought permeating from their heads on most everything, such that it starts to fuck up others in life, like me.
They seem to pop up everywhere - like weeds.
2012-07-24
Sometime I wish
... this blog could write itself for me.
I mean do all the research on all the things I'm interested in and write them up in an insightful and entertaining way.
Such is the way with getting information out on the Internet.
I mean do all the research on all the things I'm interested in and write them up in an insightful and entertaining way.
Such is the way with getting information out on the Internet.
2012-07-22
Well I can at least send a note via my phone.
"This is a test of whether I can finally post to my blog from my phone. Wish me luck! "
Too bad I had to delete all the carrier crap!
Too bad I had to delete all the carrier crap!
2012-07-18
RIP Jon Lord (1941-2012)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Lord
"Lord died on 16 July 2012 after a pulmonary embolism. He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer"
You were the driving force behind Deep Purple. You will be greatly missed, but never forgotten.
"Lord died on 16 July 2012 after a pulmonary embolism. He had been suffering from pancreatic cancer"
You were the driving force behind Deep Purple. You will be greatly missed, but never forgotten.
2012-07-17
A viewpoint on Gandhi I didn't think of.
http://consortiumnews.com/2012/07/17/the-plot-that-killed-gandhi/
"At the trial, Judge Atma Charan blasted the police and security forces for their delay in using the Pahwa confession and Jain information to their greatest advantage. Tushar Gandhi believes that the real reason for this was that many in the police were secret members of either the RSS or Hindu Mahasabha."
That group listed above is the forerunner to India's present right-wing party, the BJP - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Janata_Party
Yeah - the right-wing and fanaticism; what a combo.
"At the trial, Judge Atma Charan blasted the police and security forces for their delay in using the Pahwa confession and Jain information to their greatest advantage. Tushar Gandhi believes that the real reason for this was that many in the police were secret members of either the RSS or Hindu Mahasabha."
That group listed above is the forerunner to India's present right-wing party, the BJP - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Janata_Party
Yeah - the right-wing and fanaticism; what a combo.
2012-07-16
I think if we ever truly adopted this, we'd grow as a species.
http://warisacrime.org/content/abolishing-war-one-last-step
Face it - until we as a collective species recognize this and move forward - we will never be in any position to face the real threat. That is, our own destruction of our own planet.
Face it - until we as a collective species recognize this and move forward - we will never be in any position to face the real threat. That is, our own destruction of our own planet.
2012-07-15
2012-07-14
2012-07-11
Now this is why I love cheering for our local team.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2012-07-11/arts/the-weekly-wire-this-week-s-recommended-events/
Is it wrong to continually cheer for any other team to beat the Mariners? Why do I get some sick twisted pleasure in watching them find new and innovative ways to lose games, while people continually fill Safeco Field?
"That a major-league baseball franchise produces a memorably productive starting pitcher only every dozen years is as sure a signal as any that the Mariners are one of the most poorly run organizations in the history of professional sports. If you still believe, you're a masochist. The draw here is the Texas Rangers (visiting through Sunday), who've risen from a similar run of futility to become everything the Mariners aren't: entertaining, cohesive, and consistently successful."
In the team's defense, at present the Rangers haven't won a championship either.
But wait - here's the best part, a grim reminder that the most public male image of the Pacific Northwest is so impotent, emasculated, and to a large extent dominated by latent misandry -
"Oh, and tonight there's a "Girls' Night Out" promotion at the park, with free manicures 'n shit."
Is it wrong to continually cheer for any other team to beat the Mariners? Why do I get some sick twisted pleasure in watching them find new and innovative ways to lose games, while people continually fill Safeco Field?
"That a major-league baseball franchise produces a memorably productive starting pitcher only every dozen years is as sure a signal as any that the Mariners are one of the most poorly run organizations in the history of professional sports. If you still believe, you're a masochist. The draw here is the Texas Rangers (visiting through Sunday), who've risen from a similar run of futility to become everything the Mariners aren't: entertaining, cohesive, and consistently successful."
In the team's defense, at present the Rangers haven't won a championship either.
But wait - here's the best part, a grim reminder that the most public male image of the Pacific Northwest is so impotent, emasculated, and to a large extent dominated by latent misandry -
"Oh, and tonight there's a "Girls' Night Out" promotion at the park, with free manicures 'n shit."
I love those great stats.
You know, the ones that say useful thing like this -
This has been shared 0 times.
It's a reminder of how important one is in the broader social media.
On the other hand, perhaps it's a good thing. I don't really care much for either of the big technologies that are trendy today.
For me, this blog represents what it always has - just some random human being spouting off about life on the planet and so forth.
This has been shared 0 times.
It's a reminder of how important one is in the broader social media.
On the other hand, perhaps it's a good thing. I don't really care much for either of the big technologies that are trendy today.
For me, this blog represents what it always has - just some random human being spouting off about life on the planet and so forth.
2012-07-10
But, what really can be done?
http://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.com/2012/07/boiling-frogs.html
But, what really can be done?
I mean really. People are conditioned to be lazy and presently are never truly ever going to change unless they have to (that this may be too late is another depressing subject for another day). Entities that represent the establishment (i.e. the 1%, corporations, government and militaries and so forth) ... they don't independantly think for the living. They function only to survive much like a cancer feeding on a host for profit and control, so they have no reason on their own to change, nor do they really have a motivation to change.
Why do I think this?
Practically speaking - Adapting our current transportation systems and attributes (automobiles/roads, airways/airplanes, sea routes/boats) to utlize a non-greenhouse gas-inducing form of energy - I think - would be the quickest way to put a stop to the damage we're causing. But the establishments that control any changes to said system would never allow something like that to be introduced. Something like that would be so broad, and would need to be so universally demanded. To do so would mean the loss of the change control, which would mean the loss of their dominant power over society.
But, what really can be done?
I mean really. People are conditioned to be lazy and presently are never truly ever going to change unless they have to (that this may be too late is another depressing subject for another day). Entities that represent the establishment (i.e. the 1%, corporations, government and militaries and so forth) ... they don't independantly think for the living. They function only to survive much like a cancer feeding on a host for profit and control, so they have no reason on their own to change, nor do they really have a motivation to change.
Why do I think this?
Practically speaking - Adapting our current transportation systems and attributes (automobiles/roads, airways/airplanes, sea routes/boats) to utlize a non-greenhouse gas-inducing form of energy - I think - would be the quickest way to put a stop to the damage we're causing. But the establishments that control any changes to said system would never allow something like that to be introduced. Something like that would be so broad, and would need to be so universally demanded. To do so would mean the loss of the change control, which would mean the loss of their dominant power over society.
2012-07-09
Monsanto and GMO to fuck up the food supply royally any day now.
Thanks to the Right-wing and corporate lobbying that bought and paid for the US House of Representatives.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/10210-the-monsanto-rider-are-biotech-companies-about-to-gain-immunity-from-federal-law?
"A so-called "Monsanto rider," quietly slipped into the multi-billion dollar FY 2013 Agricultural Appropriations bill, would require – not just allow, but require - the Secretary of Agriculture to grant a temporary permit for the planting or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, even if a federal court has ordered the planting be halted until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed."
Who loses - the article asks?
"Who loses if Monsanto wins this one?
Among the biggest losers if Congress ignores the DeFazio amendment and passes the "farmers assurance provision" are thousands of farmers of conventional and organic crops, including those who rely on the export market for their livelihoods. An increasing number of global markets are requiring GMO-free agricultural products or, at the very least, enforcing strict GMO labeling laws. If this provision passes, it will allow unrestricted planting of potentially dangerous crops, exposing other safe and non-GMO crops to risk of contamination.
As we've seen in the past, farmers who grow crops that have been inadequately tested and later found dangerous, or whose safe crops become contaminated by nearby unsafe crops, risk huge losses and potentially, lawsuits from their customers. Ultimately, the entire US agriculture market and US economy suffers."
The other losers are the rest of society.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/10210-the-monsanto-rider-are-biotech-companies-about-to-gain-immunity-from-federal-law?
"A so-called "Monsanto rider," quietly slipped into the multi-billion dollar FY 2013 Agricultural Appropriations bill, would require – not just allow, but require - the Secretary of Agriculture to grant a temporary permit for the planting or cultivation of a genetically engineered crop, even if a federal court has ordered the planting be halted until an Environmental Impact Statement is completed."
Who loses - the article asks?
"Who loses if Monsanto wins this one?
Among the biggest losers if Congress ignores the DeFazio amendment and passes the "farmers assurance provision" are thousands of farmers of conventional and organic crops, including those who rely on the export market for their livelihoods. An increasing number of global markets are requiring GMO-free agricultural products or, at the very least, enforcing strict GMO labeling laws. If this provision passes, it will allow unrestricted planting of potentially dangerous crops, exposing other safe and non-GMO crops to risk of contamination.
As we've seen in the past, farmers who grow crops that have been inadequately tested and later found dangerous, or whose safe crops become contaminated by nearby unsafe crops, risk huge losses and potentially, lawsuits from their customers. Ultimately, the entire US agriculture market and US economy suffers."
The other losers are the rest of society.
2012-07-07
2012-07-03
Well it's a start.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2012/07/02/sp-nhl-canadiens-carey-price.html
Canadiens reward Carey Price with 6-year deal
Canadiens reward Carey Price with 6-year deal
Quote of the day - 07-03-2012.
The Mound of Sound -
"All that matters is that you can fool enough of the people enough of the time on the stuff that really matters and you have effectively thwarted democracy. "
Context here - http://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.com/2012/07/god-damn-but-he-might-be-right.html
"All that matters is that you can fool enough of the people enough of the time on the stuff that really matters and you have effectively thwarted democracy. "
Context here - http://the-mound-of-sound.blogspot.com/2012/07/god-damn-but-he-might-be-right.html
Corporate Coup d'etat?
Coming to destroy an American Dream near you -
http://www.alternet.org/news/156059/trans-pacific_partnership:_under_cover_of_darkness,_a_corporate_coup_is_underway
http://www.alternet.org/news/156059/trans-pacific_partnership:_under_cover_of_darkness,_a_corporate_coup_is_underway
2012-07-01
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