chuck kottke

Szia! :sunny:

Welcome Home! ;)

> Sounds like Canada has gone down the unfortunate path the U.S. has gone down, and with similar results. It's almost as though George Orwell's world is becoming a reality.. I had always admired Canada's honest stance, especially towards the environment, and now that's slipping into the abyss... Where will it all end? It seems like these giant global corporations are at the root of so much that's wrong in the world, and putting the beast back in it's place will take a great deal of work. I just never imagined this would happen.. There is no safe place to go to, if we don't check the tide of corruption in North America - because what happens here will become a tsunami wave when it reaches other countries.

^ I agree, we set a bad example when we celebrate someone's death, no matter how glad we might be that this person is gone - it is immature, and sends a message of disrespect around the world. > I think the right thing we should have done was to first try and apprehend Osama, his associates, and obtain witnesses. There needed to be a normal trial, preserving the rule of law and upholding our highest principles of equal justice for all, not lowering ourselves to the level of frontier gunmen with no respect for the rule of law. We did this with the Nazis war leaders, with the Balkan war leaders, and played a role in getting other accused leaders to trial; this execution sets a bad precedent, and defiles our highest principles.

Ecology is for everyone, and provides the only hope for our future. Straw bale houses, stucco interiors, post and beam construction answers much of the questions here, other designs work well in other parts of the globe. Simple things like window insulator kits, sealants for cracks in homes, basic insulation made from common materials exists (such as shredded newspaper), and the list goes on.. And transportation is a matter of good design, so if cars are to be sold, they can be ecologically sound in design from beginning to end, and at less than current costs. In art, less is more, and so it is with autos too - smart design is the answer. If I lived in a city, I would be delighted to take trains, but living in the country necessitates some auto transportation, though I plan on getting a bike for summertime use. If we remove limits upon our minds, we might discover the true possibilities - population pressure is indeed a real issue I agree, but then the answer must be improved living conditions; improved standards of living in truly meaningful ways. For families often are large as an insurance policy in old age when economic instability exists; part of the answer is in education and opportunity for women, part of it is women's rights issues, if my understanding is correct. So taken as a whole, the answer is multi-faceted for sure - from better economics and an end to corrupt government, fair market practices and social guarantees, access to food, health, education, clean water, meaningful work, smart planning and good transportation options. But we will build cars, and cars are good, often essential in some places. The better we can make them, the better off we all will be - an we have a lot to improve upon! They will be bought, so if someone of more modest means cannot afford a new car, then at least if new cars are made the way they should be, then second and third owners will reap the benefits of better, ecologically conscious designs.

There's a Zither in one 'Moody Blues' song - does that count?:P The best 6-seconds of autoharp ever heard.. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGEye0b5JXw]YouTube - "Departure" / "Ride My See-Saw" - The Moody Blues[/ame]

Anyhow, I did see some of the wedding, they look like a happy couple who should have a couple dozen children in a few years! :) (all that privacy should help a bit.. ) seems like I did meet them somewhere, perhaps escaping from the royal super-duper secret guards... ;)

I'm very saddened to hear that you lost friends and co-workers in the World Trade Center, Christa :( My heartfelt sympathy. I just think it's a matter of If we could have used torture to prevent it, but that's not the answer. To torture is to lower ourselves to the savagery of people like Bin Laden. In truth, the reason those young men turned into loyal cult followers of Osama Bin Laden and devoted their lives to extreme terrorist acts is because of their being alienated in modern society, and from seeing the plight of their brethren in "failed" states suffering needlessly and cruelly so, sometimes at the hands of dictators propped up by the U.S. government, or through the unfair deals wrought by some corporations based in the West. Granted the hijackers were in the minority, and the arrogance or ineptness of those heads of agencies responsible for stopping such acts failed miserably in doing their jobs, but when a combination of poor 'foreign' policy choices creates an upsurge in anger, and agency heads fail to do their job, the result is tragic. What we didn't see were those people being tortured in countries where our government and some large corporate interests (controlling the policy) backed dictators & hard line governments, and caused great suffering. Terrorists find recruits in places where people are suffering, hungry, disenfranchised, or feel pressured by cultural norms alien to them. And of the hijackers, they empathized with those suffering elsewhere, and they themselves felt alienated and disenfranchised in the countries they were living in. Frustrated and searching for an answer, they turned to an extremist who brainwashed them to do the unthinkable, and take the lives of many innocent people. The antidote is to regain control of our own government, so it acts on our behalf, and in a just and equitable manner both domestically and abroad - following our highest principles as a nation. This and alleviating poverty, opening up real opportunity, would cure the illness that leads some to acts of extreme harm, and instead lead to progress and a new global renaissance.

together

> All those are good reasons why torture should be made strictly illegal everywhere - no special 'off-limits places' where suspects are tortured. The U.S. government had worked some shady deal with Egypt's former government (and we all know at least some of the cruel things they did) to do the torturing there in Egypt on suspects flown in - and in my mind (a) supporting dictators that do nasty things is something no free country has any right to do, and the imperative to prevent in the spirit of natural human rights, and (b) if it's illegal in your own country, then one should never export behaviors that would not be permitted in one's own country - there are no "other places" where anything goes - human rights know no bounds. There are truly effective interrogation methods, so torture looses on the practical level as well. The only motives for the crime of torture are when someone wants to make the case for something and wants to force the evidence to fit the desired effect (to get a false confession), or out of some mad desire to hurt someone - an excuse to be abusive, a power trip, ego gone to excess and mad with anger or frustration, directed at someone who looks the part, and someone who can be used as a scapegoat. Torture is a crime, and those engaging in it should be brought to justice.

Had a challenging driving experience? It can be quite harrowing out there - what happened?

> Yes, that too - and here as well - people might come to see others just as they would view themselves or their neighbors, if given the opportunity. Unfortunately our government works for those who 'invest' heavily into it, hence the wealthy and insulated run the show from behind the scenes (the Koch's, Walton's, Gates', Buffets, Murdoch's and on and on). I pondered the problem we have of wresting control again of our own nation, which will free not just ourselves here, but also the oppressed citizens in Egypt, Bahrain, and elsewhere - for reigning in the power emanating here will ripple freedom throughout the globe. Yes, we the people need to be in charge here, then many of the current conflicts can be put to an end as well! And how true that is as well - we have more freedom than citizens do in places like Indonesia, Bahrain or Egypt (though that's changing with each passing day), such that if they could experience it (and they are trying their hearts out!) they would want more of it too. I suppose I take for granted the freedom I have, but then it's simply normal to enjoy what is already present.. and to be ever vigilant to maintain and improve our rights as citizens.

Exquisite Rendition - when the canary sings under duress, it's often not the real tune. But when someone wants that tune to justify some action, it may be exactly what the torturer is seeking.. therein lies one of the problems. Not to mention an abandonment of due process and basic human rights, for which free nations should hold dear, as these are the higher principals upon which free nations are based. Once bad precedent is set, it's a slippery slope to degrade our protections against the whims of those who hold power. Even the killing of Bin Laden is devoid of due process - while in all likelihood he may very well be guilty, dropping due process sets a very bad precedent, and a war on an amorphous criminal organization is ridiculous - taking on crime is the responsibility of international police cooperation, not a matter of state war. What we do unto others we do unto ourselves - which means a loss of freedom here, justifying war to fit any circumstances that those in power can spin it into, and giving excessive power to the executive branch (king elect under corporate controllership) is dangerous in tempting those in power to overreach their authority and further degrade our freedoms and our democratic republic's system of checks and balances. As the maxim goes, "What you see in others is a reflection of how you behave and act", even Pooh Bear knows this! I agree, poverty, inequity, and disrespect are the key issues driving people to the extreme acts they commit, and makes them easy converts to terror cults. To stop the fire, we must remove the tinder-dry fuel and open up the floodgates of opportunity and equality, then all citizens of the world will have the chance to flourish.

Ah yes, high petrol prices are back! :laugh3: I'll second that - keep that beauty of a car David! ;) Even my ancient cavalier get's around 40 MPG English / 33 MPG American, burning gasoline, so I still wonder how slow change can be when 26 years have passed, and CAFE standards here in the U.S. aren't even up to the dinosaur I drive.. Interesting how the Prius uses variable intake and exhaust valve timing to mimic a little of the Atkin's cycle, gaining 15% efficiency in the process. Which bumps the gasoline engine up into current Diesel efficiency, although still a long ways off of what is possible today though. Lightening up the vehicles dramatically is another part of the equation, since it requires about as much energy to make a car today as it consumes in fuel over it's lifetime. I took a look at a Chevrolet recently at a local dealership, and while it's good, it's still mighty heavy, weighing in around 3,860 pounds - about the same as my antique, with only a little better MPG rating. But we Americans have the answer when gas prices spike and our economy is in neutral - just drive less! Basically, most of the driving is for ridiculous things like going 50 miles to buy tacos, and with the economy the way it is, perhaps the environment gets saved in the process.. somehow we will have to marry a strong economy based on quality of life with an honest approach to our shared ecology and eco-conscience... We will always make the right choice, once we have tried everything else first :laugh3: Which makes me wonder if, as master marketers of addictive consumer culture, will we be able to reign in those behaviors before it's too late... or at least steer them in a positive direction.

> That really is good mileage David! Converting to U.S. volumes, that works out to roughly 47 MPG, and yes, for a 1.9 L Diesel that sounds good to me too. Perhaps though what we think of today as good mileage is really maybe half of what is possible with improvements with engine efficiency - since even the Diesel is somewhere in the 30 to 35% efficiency range, where Carnot theoretical maximum with conventional fuels may be in the 80 - 85% range. So doubling the fuel economy of the engine is quite possible, perhaps even being achieved in labs right now. I would have to say we often defer to the familiar readily when what is possible is quite nearer than one imagines and achievable with today's technologies. Fuller had no troubles in the 30's getting excellent mileage with his designs, so I often wonder what is holding us back.. It certainly can't be our technological ability, nor engineered materials, so it has to be something else.. And that is more human nature and cultural in nature.

One has to wonder about the whole matter all along. Let's see - Bin Laden :disguise: and Company were allowed to leave Afghanistan at night, head into Pakistan, and the U.S. Government was well aware of this, elements within the Pakistani ISI provided protection and cover (in exchange for what one might wonder?), and that just gets glossed over in the press; and then there were all the false rumors of Bin Laden's death within the cave complexes (that were built with U.S. assistance during the Mujahideen uprising against the Soviets) , and then he falls right off the radar screen for what seems like a decade - hey, wait a minute, it was a decade! I just have to wonder about everything we are told by "credible sources".. Perhaps Bin Laden is dead, but what leaves one pause to wonder is what the heck really went down in all the intervening years. Perhaps Al-Qaeda will try a revenge attack, but that's at least less of a threat since intelligence is so high post 2001 - or at lest, it ought to be!

We've been living life, inside a bubble... [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv6F5aZU34I]YouTube - High Speed - Coldplay[/ame] At the intersection of earth's life sustaining systems & our anthropogenic centered networks is a crossroads. To choose sensitivity and sensibility, peer into human nature deeply, & seek higher ground, and to choose the best path forward is essential. What is it that makes us want something, what are the real reasons. Go deep. What are the higher purposes? What makes us tick, where are we headed, what is it that we truly want, how can we feel good about our choices in light of the truth we all share and are now aware of? Some say we can do one thing very well, but not all things in concert - yet a concert has individuals in harmony, all fine musicians playing beautifully together with no difficulties, written, orchestrated, and conducted with mastery of the movement. So, to know what it is that we truly want, to be conscious of our choices, and to choose things that encompass the qualities we desire in all aspects, both for our own desire and for collective wellness, and of Earth's biotic systems, which we are fully integrated into, we would find the greatest good and enjoy the best of all possible outcomes. So, with that in mind, we all must choose - one cannot sit still on a moving train, or stall at an intersection. Let creativity, compassion, science, reason, ethic, art, and life blossom.

It's c-c-c-c-cold here Rudy!:laugh3: Enjoy the U. of Miami, or maybe U. of Hawaii or U. of California or Arizona.. Pennsylvania is cold, but bearable; if you choose Madison or Minneapolis, that's good too - but just bring plenty of warm warm clothes, like Eskimo wear - especially hats and gloves. Believe me, when you go through winters here, your metabolism adapts to the cold, but it is a shocker at first! We had a pretty good snowstorm about three days ago - winter is slow to go sometimes. But then summers start out mild, but can be broiling by July as well, so it's quite a temperature swing to live here. One thing though - the cooler the U, the more studious the place.

:) Happy Easter Nancy! A to Z People... how about Don Quixote ?

When in Venice, make glass art? Wabag, Papua New Guinea

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