Last Update: September 16th, 2001
||Musings||Archive||
A wave of hate crimes and terrorist acts against muslims and other Americans of middle eastern
descent is spreading around the country. Complimenting this irony, the US is about go slaughter
*even more* innocent people (who don't have any fighting chance against us) in the name of
"Justice". Might does not make *right*. If we were such a great country, you'd think we could show
our patriotism in ways that didn't involve hate, murder, and cruelty. Just a thought.
Oh, and for the record, BUSH IS A MORON.
"The greatest triumphs of propaganda have been accomplished, not by doing something,
but by refraining from doing." - Aldous Huxley
"Great is truth, but still greater, from a practical point of view, is silence about truth."
...No excuses or justifications? I see a list of them!
'Tuesday's atrocious attack will not go unpunished! We shall kill these third world
barbarian animals!! their primative tribal cultures must pay for their insolence against
our land of *peace* and *freedom*! ANIHILATE, KILL, KILL, KILL!!!!!!!'
Does anyone see the beautiful irony? lol. This is why I'm a pacifist.
'6. All Iraqis are not Saddam Hussein; all Serbs
aren't Slobodan Milosevic; all Afghanis (or
Saudis) are not Osama Bin Laden.
7. Killing innocent people in retaliation for the
sins of other people isn't justice; it is
terrorism. The terrorists were wrong to kill
Americans to satisfy their grievances against
American foreign policy. And to react to them by
killing innocent foreigners would also be
terrorism.
8. You can't make productive decisions at a time
when your mind is clouded by anger, resentment, or
thoughts of revenge.
"Don't tell me to 'stop the hysteria'. This
event merits hysteria, anger, sadness, and fear. I
will be hysterical because it is the only thing I
can do to show my countrymen that I mourn them."
Hysteria creates lynch mobs and more killing of
innocent people. Grief, anger, and resentment are
all natural reactions to what happened. But
letting your emotions make bad decisions is not a
productive reaction.
"We must deter the next attack with the fiery
sword of vengeance, not some limp, liberal,
why-can't-we-be-let-alone weak response."
We have done that already -- bombing Libya,
invading Panama, bombing a perfume factory in the
Sudan, bombing Afghanistan. Did those "fiery
sword[s] of vengeance" deter the next attack?
"Bomb Kabul into oblivion."
As I recall, Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan,
which is run by the same "Freedom Fighters" to
whom our government gave so much money and
military hardware in the 1980s. Before we run off
bombing innocent people (or is every Afghani
guilty of the World Trade Center bombing?),
shouldn't we question the American foreign policy
that put those people in power in Afghanistan? Or
is it bad timing to bring that up now?
"Once you know the face of your enemy, destroy
him completely and you will never need fight him
again. America is at _war_. To win a war it must
be fought in totality."
A war against whom? Against people like the one
million Iraqis who have died of starvation or
disease because of the American blockade? Against
people like the innocents who died in the bombings
of the Sudan and Afghanistan?
Everytime our leaders say, "We must make sure this
will never happen again," they do something to
assure that it _will_ happen again. I wrote my
article in the vain hope it might help people to
think twice before demanding the wrong action.
"I put my Harry Browne for President stickers
back up in my dorm room yesterday."
Please -- take them down before you get lynched.'
-- from When Will We Learn? - Part II, by Harry Browne
http://www.harrybrowne.org
(AP) - The Rev. Jerry Falwell and religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said the
United States was vulnerable to this week's terrorist attacks because the nation
has insulted God and lost divine protection. ``God Almighty is lifting his protection
from us,'' Robertson said. Falwell said Thursday on Robertson's religious TV
program ``The 700 Club'' that he blames the attacks on pagans, abortionists,
feminists, homosexuals, the American Civil Liberties Union and the People for
the American Way.
Here is an exerpt from an article called "The Speech George W. Bush Could Give", by Doug Morris.
You can find the article in its entirety at http://www.zmag.org
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...make no mistake, my fellow Americans, the Pentagon IS the center of world military violence and terrorism. The US is the world’s leading exporter of tools of death and destruction. Let us be honest, we have been committed to violence as a way to address international conflicts for many, many years. And a PARTIAL list of the results of our commitment to violence includes: Korea – millions killed. Vietnam – millions killed. Cambodia – hundreds of thousands killed. Laos – hundreds of thousands killed. Iraq – hundreds of thousands killed. Guatemala – hundreds of thousands killed. Hiroshima and Nagasaki – hundreds of thousands killed. East Timor – hundreds of thousands killed. Nicaragua – tens of thousands killed. El Salvador – tens of thousands killed. Colombia – tens of thousands killed. Dominican Republic – thousands killed. Somalia – thousands killed. Haiti – thousands killed. Yugoslavia – thousands killed. Panama – hundreds killed. And let us not forget the ways in which we have mistreated the Cuban people for over 40 years now with our embargo and repeated acts of terrorism. Let us remember my father’s words during the buildup to the US attack on Iraq: “there will be no negotiations…what we say goes.” “No negotiations” simply means we prefer violence. “What we say goes” expresses the arrogance, chauvinism and mystique of invincibility that has separated the US from the world. Both views express the notion that the US is above international law and the UN Charter, outside the family of nations. Is it any wonder that Harvard professor Samuel Huntington said that in the eyes of most of the world the US is seen as “THE rogue superpower,” considered “THE single greatest external threat to their societies”? The world quakes in its boots wondering when we will attack, and what form of violence will ensue: cruise missiles, helicopter gunships, chemical or biological agents, nuclear bombs, F18’s, F22’s, B52’s, fumigation campaigns, IMF/World Bank “Structural Adjustment Programs,” or “Austerity Programs,” embargoes, sanctions, disappearances, assassinations, massacres, tortures, cultural cooptation or erasure, etc., etc., etc.
The Bible warns us: “what ye sew, ye shall reap.” Today, sadly, we have experienced what we have sewn on much of the world. Today, as a country, we have learned that raining death and destruction on another country creates a toll far higher than simply destroyed buildings and dead bodies. Today our freedom came under attack. We thought we were free to impose military and economic violence anywhere we chose, with impunity. The freedom from impunity appears to no longer exist.
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"To die but not to perish is to be eternally present." - Lao Tse
Most of the page works with Netscape now.
But it still doesn't look nearly as good as with Internet Explorer.
Oh well. =)
'The Garden' is a parallel of Epicurus' school of philosophy.
When it is finished, it will be a self-contained word-garden
and virtual pantheon.
For those curious, Epicurus was not a purveyor of fine foods or
hedonistic pleasures. These things were attributed to him via the christian
church. For those interested in epicurean history, click the link below:
Epicurean History
"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the Earth,
and no culture is comparable to that of the garden."
- Thomas Jefferson
Happiness isn't a goal, it's a by-product. - Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)
"My style is unorthodox, but effective." - Paraphrase of Enter the Dragon
"If knowledge is power... And power leads to corruption...
Then study hard and be EVIL."
Clarke's Third Law:
"Any sufficiently advanced technology
is indistinguishable from magic"
Texan Culinary Maxims:
"Vegetables arent food. Vegetables are what food eats..."
"If a cat has kittens in an oven- do you call them biscuits?"
"You may call me a dreamer, but you never know, i might surprise you!" - Paraphrase of John Lennon
Death is nothing to us; for that which has been dispersed into elements
experiences no sensations, and that which has no sensation is nothing to us.
- Epicurus
For those curious, the emeralds on the front page are a representation
of immortality and the goddess Venus.
Some men spend their whole lives furnishing for themselves the things
proper to life without realizing that at our birth each of us was poured a
mortal brew to drink.
- Attributed to Epicurus
"PB: Which is just what Barbara Carlson, the former governor's ex-wife,
told Mirabella about you: ``He can dish it out but can't take it, and that's
going to be his downfall.''
JV: Consider the source. This is a woman who struck the former governor
with a frying pan, who had a name for his private parts. So you have to take
that with a grain of salt. She's also a woman who's had her stomach cut out
so she doesn't eat as much. What happened to willpower? I love fat people.
Every fat person says it's not their fault, that they have gland trouble. You
know which gland? The saliva gland. They can't push away from the table. "
"PB: How do you feel about protesters who burn the American flag?
JV: If you buy the flag it's yours to burn. "
"Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who
need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in
other people's business. I live by the golden rule: Treat others as you'd want
them to treat you. The religious right wants to tell people how to live."
- Jesse Ventura, Playboy Interview, 1999
Okay. I finished the Flashes of Dark section, more or less.
I was inspired to do it after watching Fifth Element for the umpteenth time. ;)
It is a showcase of human "evil" (i hate using that word) in picture form. Enjoy.
There was a great sketch on The Daily Show about Jesse Helms. heheh.
I'll try to find it =)
He is an evil bastard you know.
Anywho, Im putting up a bunch of new sections on the site,
look out for them =)
I'm feeling confused.
Which is different from being confused mind you.
The haves. The richest fifth of the world's people consumes 86% of all goods
and services while the poorest fifth consumes just 1.3%. Indeed, the richest
fifth consumes 45% of all meat and fish, 58% of all energy used and 84% of
all paper, has 74% of all telephone lines and owns 87% of all vehicles.
The three richest people in the world have assets that exceed the combined
gross domestic product of the 48 least developed countries.
Africa. The average African household today consumes 20% less than it
did 25 years ago.
The super rich. The world's 225 richest individuals, of whom 60 are
Americans, have a combined wealth of over $1 trillion--equal to the
annual income of the poorest 47% of the entire world's population.
Cosmetics and education. Americans spend $8 billion a year on
cosmetics--$2 billion more than the estimated total needed to provide
basic education for everyone in the world.
The have-nots. Of the 4.4 billion people in developing countries, nearly
three-fifths lack access to safe sewers, a third have no access to clean
water, a quarter do not have adequate housing, and a fifth have no
access to modern health services of any kind.
Meat. Americans each consume an average of 260 pounds of meat a
year. In Bangladesh, the average is six and a half pounds.
Ice cream and water. Europeans spend $11 billion a year on ice
cream--$2 billion more than the estimated annual total needed to
provide clean water and safe sewers for the world's population.
Pet food and health. Americans and Europeans spend $17 billion
a year on pet food--$4 billion more than the estimated annual
additional total needed to provide basic health and nutrition for
everyone in the world.
$40 billion a year. It is estimated that the additional cost of achieving
and maintaining universal access to basic education for all, basic
health care for all, reproductive health care for all women, adequate
food for all and clean water and safe sewers for all is roughly $40
billion a year--or less than 4% of the combined wealth of the 22
richest people
--
From Kofi Annan's Astonishing Facts
"My love, my dreams, and you... I won't let those go, no matter what." -- ols
-- It's just like life; know that you're Dreaming.
+ +
Hyp.: Ownership doesn't exist, only Control.
+ +
"Leave it all behind."
1 out of every 3 Americans will get Cancer.
"You, in particular, are going to die: no matter what you eat,
how you exercise, or how much money you have."
-- Michael Ventura
A man walking across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger chasing
after him. Coming to a cliff, he caught hold of a wild vine and swung himself
over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Terrified, the man looked
down to where, far below, another tiger had come, waiting to eat him. Two
mice, one white, one black, little by little began to gnaw away at the vine.
The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand,
he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!
--- Zen Parable ---
wow, its fidel castro's 75th birthday.
die capitalist pig-dogs! yea for despotism!
=|
{this site is best viewed on trance music}
Weekly Cut-&-Paste: 8/10/01
Personal freedom is absolute until it infringes on either the freedom or safty of others.
Standardized censorship is not a part of my ideology.
"There was a time, not so long ago, when the prospect of transplanting human hearts
was seen as proof of science run amok - doctors playing God, prolonging life after
God had said it should end." -- Article on Stem Cell Research
Existential philosophy is desperately lagging behind technology and now
we are paying the price through our ignorance.
"To not judge means to not assess the world around you, make distinctions between objects,
and take appropriate action based on what you know. To claim one doesn't judge is either
an evasion or a confession of stupidity." -- Jesus.com
"Shame is an ignoble social effort to compel conformity to convention, though without any
basis except a desire to control. If you wish for me to be ashamed in hopes that I then repeal
and retract the expression of myself, that is unlikely to occur. However, you are welcome to
pray for external forces to change the world in your image. " -- Jesus.com
"Agnostics are typically people who approach life theoretically and justify their behavior.
As those adept in social science are aware, using a foundation of justification is a Judeo-
Christian trait, which is also to say it is an error. An agnostic dwells in maybes and "what if"
but doesn't commit to possibilities of any sort or take any practical action. Thoughts that do
not conclude with action and consist wholly in negating popular belief systems rather than
creating new systems are both an intellectual and practical dead end. The agnostic flogs a
dead horse and dwells in the stench of decay with defensive self-satisfaction instead of climbing
mountains and building a new future in the open landscape of possibility. " -- Jesus.com
"Atheists dabble in negating the hanging fruits of modern theology but create nothing new.
This is ineffective in the modern era where illogical feelings and desires are considered
legitimate and sacrosanct. The correct approach they should take is to show the historical
reasons for the creation of Judeo-Christianity and its effects, rather than attempting to
critique its claims in a purely logical way. Judeo-Christianity anticipated being proved wrong,
so it attempts to evade all logic by making claims about a supernatural world, invisible forces,
an omniscient and omnipotent cosmic entity, and a variety of effects and spiritual outcomes
that are indemonstrable. This is perhaps best understood by attempting to tell a young child
that there are no monsters under his bed." -- Jesus.com
"I am not imposing on your space or interested in demanding that you conform to my values,
so please do not attempt to impose your beliefs on me.
Those who are of noble values understand this, while those who live of mendacious moralities
created by the slave classes of Rome often feel compulsion to dominate and crush all hope
(in themselves and in others) through their deterministic world view. " -- Jesus.com
The fact is that just because judeo-christian morality is the dominant force in american "culture",
doesn't mean that they have the right to infiringe upon the freedom of the minority. As is always
the case in our culture, non-mainstream beliefs are suffocated by a manufactured consensus.
"To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield"
All of us were once newborn and infantine, alone and helpless,
terrified of a new and foreign creation.
We had a sustaining will to explore, - to learn.
Life is far too short to waste on despondency & hoplessness,
as we are alone; crying to our helplessness in the midst of night.
"My light shall be the moon and my path - the ocean . . .
My guide the morning star as I sail home to you . . . "
Challenge yourself to impossibility
For those who are wondering, ive updated the anime gallery
with images from final fantasy: the spirits within. for those of you
who havn't seen it, GO. As long as you can ignore the minor
philosophical propoganda, it is a really fucking sweet movie.
(hey, at least the christians didn't get it)
And the sand-castle virtues are all swept away
in the tidal destruction
the moral melee.
The elastic retreat rings the close of play
as the last wave uncovers
the newfangled way.
-- Jethro Tull
"monkeys... they're all fucking monkeys!"
i refuse to believe that some farcical anthropomorphite in sandals
is responsible for the inception of the universe!
-- Euphorion
"Lord, what fools these mortals be."
--Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream (Puck)
Frankly, i think that we're screwed. but there's no harm in trying...
-maybe I should just start a religion.
=[
What is this life that we cast upon ourselves??
i mean we are so chained to our limits;
mostly by fault of ourselves --
I mean, i try to keep optimistic,
but somedays hedonism just seems like a more logical philosophy, and that is scary--
=) =|
-- Me
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun-
