chuck kottke

Quebeck City. :D

The Spam chronicles

There we sat in the snow she was silent still If you love me won't you let me know know that Chris and Vi were sitting on heliotrope coloured violets! Superhero

> Yes, that's a big part of it - and the 1% earned it off the backs of the 99%. We do have enough for everyone, and if we were to make it possible for those in real need to earn a descent living, which is entirely possible, this world would be paradise on Earth. But there is this opening now, an opportunity for real change. A general strike is planned in Oakland over the police shooting of an Iraqi war veteran & member of Veterans Against the War, Scott Olsen, and Occupy Oakland will get stronger!;) Viva La Vida! We are all Scott Olsen: Occupy Oakland #OWS | OccupyWallSt.org

YAY!! 7 billion, we've hit a new milestone on the odometer! :lol: Now what would that look like in base 16?:P I'm thinking: self-regulation, has that ever worked? I mean seriously, our congress writing and passing a law to regulate themselves, where money is involved?, can anyone truly imagine that? Oh sure, they'll act like it's something, and pretend like they've done something, and they all know it's a dog and pony show. Maybe it's a real attempt, but then it's just that - an attempt, something to play with until they can switch subjects, or hope the crowds go away. Which we can't let happen. Better that we come up with the amendment, and put immense pressure on them to either pass it or be removed from office. Recall that the original amendments, the Bill of Rights, guaranteeing our rights as citizens, were not included in the original constitution, but the people demanded their inclusion before states would pass the constitution. Simple, strait-forward amendment guaranteeing a fair elections process through and through, and laws then to make it stick. Otherwise, it's just a bait and switch, when Daffy gets going.

I'm happily playing a new lindy hop on the piano, updated quite a bit. Should I release it?:laugh3:

Live Coverage and Twitter of Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street | September 17th | #OCCUPYWALLSTREET | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters > To Make Trade Fair we need a government which is accountable to us, for policy to follow sensible ethical thinking we must regain control of our government. We are the 99.9 %.

Tom Udall introduces an amendment to allow congress and the states to regulate campaign spending: c/o Huffington Post Citizens United Going Down? Democrats Introduce Constitutional Amendment To Overturn Ruling "The amendment has three main focuses: to authorize Congress to regulate the raising and spending of money for federal political campaign contributions and expenditures (including independent expenditures), to allow states to regulate that raising and spending at their level, and to permit Congress to pass campaign finance reform legislation that could withstand constitutional challenges. It does not specify what the reforms should be."

Good Work Nancy, for putting this up for all to see! I just wanted to add some images from Occupy Wall Street, the protesters and what signs they are holding: These are your Occupy Wall Street protestors [PICS] | Matador Network

Hamburg, Germany

remain human, be human, it's the only way forward for us all together. What moves one to act in unison with another isn't selfish, it's selfless, an act of giving up of oneself to become one with something greater. The higher principles resound like the echos of thunder within us; they are immutable and infinitely stronger than all the shallow whims of fancy we may be given to.

Hello Claire from France! :)

Here in the area called America.. It has been my experience that when a given agency, such as the DMV, gives bad service, it's because its budget has been cut, so the service centers cannot offer all the services they should, and the hours are trimmed. Of course, you've heard of the attempts by the powerful corporatists to hobble the services offered by the government, in order to make various agencies appear inefficient, in order to justify privatizing them? It's quite the gimmick, and it is being done. As for politicians not doing what their constituents want, bribery isn't the only way it is done - it is done through the buying of elections, through offering lucrative lobbying jobs to politicians once they leave office, and through insider investments. The illusions we're dealing with are those created by image crafters at work in the political - TV world, the spin doctors who cajole us into believing in the honesty and integrity of their candidates, or even more effectively, into believing all the negative things about all the other candidates. To Paraphrase the situation: "The line between corporate power and responsible government has steadily blurred, undermining our democracies and our economy. Politicians take money from corporations for their campaigns, make policies that reward them when in office, and then take high-paid jobs with them after they leave. It's corruption, plain and simple. The only way to get policies that protect jobs, tackle speculators and guarantee a fair future for us all is to kick back against the lobbies and pry our leaders away from corporate interests. Let’s tell all leaders that their future depends on ditching the sponsors now and agreeing to no more corporate capture of our governments." And so, we need to make it clear that money is not free speech, it can and must be regulated in campaigns to reduce the buying of elections and of elected officials. The public squares today are the modern broadcast media - TV & Radio - and each of these has exclusive use of the broadcast frequencies taken from our commons. And in return for granting that privilege, we have a right to have candidate airtime, equal and at no charge, for all registered candidates vying for office. For we are not choosing between which brand of corn chips we like best, we are selecting those individuals who will best represent us and protect our shared rights as citizens. To allow unlimited expenditures to dominate the political process is to reduce our democracy as a system for sale to the highest bidder. It is unethical, immoral, dysfunctional, and that is the crux of the matter plaguing us today.

*bump* Just thinking about Palestinian Statehood. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states clearly: Article 15. (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality. So I believe Palestinians have a natural right to their own country, and I wish my own country would recognize this right and support Palestinian Statehood. The US depriving UNESCO of funding is stupid; I am glad UNESCO has chosen to recognize Palestine, and I am supportive of UNESCO's efforts to protect and preserve these precious gems on earth. UNESCO World Heritage Centre And let the Palestinian people have their right to their own country, it's long overdue!

Occupy Wall Street's Success: Even Republicans Are Talking About Income Inequality | ThinkProgress "While critics deride the Occupy Wall Street protests for lacking clear policy goals or accomplishments, if the movement accomplishes nothing beyond fundamentally shifting the political discourse away from trumped up fears about the debt to real issues like inequality and jobs, then it has already succeeded. " But to make lasting change, the deleterious effects of the buying of elections must end. When money talks, democracy walks the plank.

Dangerous ideas, like freedom, liberty, and justice for all? A true democracy requires that it keep up with the times. Richard Wolff alludes to the same problem - when the money rolled in, the high rollers invested it into politics & political ads, and the workers- overworked, underpaid, having too much to handle - became disinterested in politics, starting in the 70's. Hence, guess where the policies went. I believe we must make the commons common to all again, make the election process fair, or else we will slide even further off the deep end, and when that happens, who knows what may happen. So instead, we have ample opportunity for reform and accountability, checks and balances, equal access to the broadcasting system, equal time on it, and without cost, as a return for licensee privileges taken from the commons. All candidates, including Ron Paul, all having equal access to disseminate their messages at no cost to themselves or to others, because we've turned over the use of certain frequencies to broadcasters, they owe it back to the public. Buying the spectrum is as absurd as buying the right to possess all the water, or to buy the air; Bolivians didn't put up with it, and neither should we. Take the big money out of politics, declare that money isn't free speech, corporations are not people, amend the constitution so it's plain for all to see. Make it a clear right to propose and vote on legislation by direct popular vote, so yet another check can be put upon power, and allow for direct democracy. Be bold, improve Democracy. As Jefferson Said, "I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors."

Welcome Pera! Hope you get your wish!!:)

Yale cranked out George Bush, what else is there to say! :laugh3: But to be fair, they also cranked out John Kerry, so they're batting .500 But now Harvard, that's another story. Thurston Howell III went to Harvard. Howell would call an inferior a "Yale Man". But hey, this is a guy worth only millions after the market crash, and he owned a coconut plantation..:P Can't we occupy Wall Street and Have a Little Fun Too??!:joker: All the world's a stage, it's time for the citizens to become their own superheros!!:elephant:

I dunno what that's all about. But let me tell ya, I made tea with the new album, and it made pretty strong tea, so it's definitely not weak! It does infuse a lot of flavour and offers excellent aromas.

That too - the blue sky and sun :sunny:made a difference, but getting the orchard mowed and cleaned up, putting in stakes for new trees to add down the rows too - dwarf and semi-dwarfs this time.

interesting, 2008 was an economic crash, the cover up by government officials was to prevent a widespread citizen panic from happening.. so people didn't run out into the streets going "AaaaaaaIiiiiieeeee"; and if the extra money these hedge fund buyers earned was plowed into politics & allowed this madness to happen, it seems more than obvious what we must do.

> Sometimes you feel like a nut, do de do do do, some times you don't.. :laugh3: Almond Joy's got nuts, mounds don't. Enjoy the discards, which actually sound great to me too!!:p > Hm, that does sound smelly! I always remember the jack-o-lanterns in town which smelled good actually because the candles were burning so long in them, the pumpkins was cooked!:laugh3: (and then they got such droopy faces:P)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvH8tl4y0KE&feature=player_embedded][/ame]This: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvH8tl4y0KE&feature=player_embedded]Dreamland trailer with subtitles - YouTube[/ame]

Hm, yes, that is misleading Jay, if that is the case. Not to say that there weren't any agent provocateurs there in Oakland or elsewhere, and if it's been used in Quebec, that may have been the trial balloon for other places around the world when protests occur. I wouldn't put it past the powers that be, because if they've gone so far as to assassinate the duly elected leaders of nations if and when those leaders wouldn't comply with the demands of the power elites, it seems quite possible they would use agent provocateurs - they've already shown there is no lower limit on their behavior. Listen to what an enlightened man who once was one has to say about that, if you have a concern: John Perkins Official Web Site But equally troubling is the growing sentiment that violence is the answer, which when you're trying to win people over, usually doesn't succeed, and so I take issue with these anarchists, for while we all want change, violence is generally not the way to go. John Perkins Recommends that we vote with our money: Q:"Demand that those who use your money-banks, companies, politicians -make socially and environmentally responsible decisions. "

There's no reason to feel guilty Kiame, sometimes we just don't know what to say in situations when someone we love is dying, we're sometimes too cerebral and relating to the moment can be so traumatic (or we're distracted as you were by the legal wranglings going on) I believe we can't always make the leap, and then the moment's gone. I've blamed myself for something similar, but the shock and strangeness of the moment made it hard to relate and realize in time, then the moment was gone. Your sister's love, her kindness, all the memories you have of her, they will never be lost - that is what her special gift was, the most precious gift anyone has to offer. To loose someone suddenly like that, I can relate - when my grandpa died, he was there and gone in just a day, lost because he escaped from the hospital and was attempting to walk home; he passed out and died on the way. We cried often from having lost him, because he was the most warm-hearted generous loving and full of life of anyone in the family, and he died so suddenly, it was hard to take, hard to believe. You know in your heart what really counts - her love and warmth is the most precious gift of all; if at last she may just have wanted to tell you that everything will be ok, everything will be all right - that was what my dad kept saying to me when he was dying of cancer and was drifting in and out of consciousness; they want us to feel comforted and know we are loved.