Thursday, December 22, 2016
Friday, October 15, 2010
2010: Strange Times!
Conspiracy Theory
Hello. I have not posted on this blog for years but now I feel compelled to do so---not because I think anyone will read my writing but because I wish to "time capsule" some thoughts on conspiracy, Jesse Ventura, democracy, america, and so on... If you click on the words 'conspiracy theory' above, you will be re-routed to Youtube and you can check out Jesse Ventura's noble attempts to ask questions which could lead to re-opening the 9/11 investigation.
For anyone who takes the time to watch "Loose Change" the film by young genius Dylan Avery which exposes the well choreographed event of 9/11 and certainly puts the official 9/11 investigation into critical view---you will certainly end up scratching your head and wondering 'what happened?'
However, I do not think it is possible to 'prove' anything concerning the conspiracy theory even if it is true that 9/11 was an 'inside' job. Here is the reason why:
Inability to Prove that 9/11 was an 'inside job'
Barring confessions by the agents who undertook this event, the entire evidence rests on video material which is manipulable and may have been manipulated even on 9/11. Eyewitness accounts are fragmentary owing to the scope, speed and very chaotic nature of the event. If there were a demolition in the twin towers and WTC7, the evidence was routinely destroyed---save the video material which I grant you depicts an obvious demolition, but all you have got is video which is the property of the major media and it is very difficult to verify the homemade videos one finds on Youtube.
The problem is that the conspiracy theory, if correct, must necessarily implicate all of the key players---i.e.the pilots, the airlines, the security at WTC, the film crews, police, Mayor Giuliani, The FBI, CIA, IRS, not to mention Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Condi Rice, and George W. Bush. Every step of the event must have been choregraphed perfectly! You cannot say for example that WTC7 was demoed without also debunking the official view. Any one piece of evidence implies every other in a systematic fashion. This still does not mean that the conspiracy theory that 9/11 was an inside job is not true---it simply cannot be proven.
Who Guards the Guardians?
You see to whom are you going to press your case? Which court would hear such a global conspiracy against the US Government? One would have to seek justice outside the walls of America! And who could act in this role? Strange problem---strange times!
21 st Century Democracy
What binds this nation together organically? What is the 'united' in united states stand for? I for one would be less inclined to be loyal to a country whose own government attacked itself for political reasons! Wouldn't you? Democracy is by no means compulsory it is the consent of the governed. But what does this consent consist in after all?
#2 Citizens in a democracy must be up for their democracy! It is "of and by and for the people" or it is simply demagoguery. But are the American citizens "Up for" democracy at the present time?
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Who watches after the guards?
Juvenal's expression: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? sums up for me the insuperable problem of power and authority whether in the White House, the Attorney General's Office, The Pentagon, CIA, or in Juvenal's Rome, Plato's Cave.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quis_custodiet_ipsos_custodes%3F
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quis_custodiet_ipsos_custodes%3F
Friday, July 06, 2007
Vice Presidential Archives Subpoena
Vice-President Dick Cheney has graciously offered his executive records from the years '01--'03. We are certain to gather a great deal of light from these writings!
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Bhaga Boss and the Cuzzes
"We ain't gonna fix it. It ain't broken."
"We ain't gonna hide 'em, coz if we hide 'em then the folks will come looking for it. So we put it right there, right next to the grocery store!" "We've got visual confirmation. Fact. Data. Evidence. Whatever..."
"We ain't gonna hide 'em, coz if we hide 'em then the folks will come looking for it. So we put it right there, right next to the grocery store!" "We've got visual confirmation. Fact. Data. Evidence. Whatever..."
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Prime Time Livin' In the USA
"Hey what's the real future of democracy?
How're we gonna streamline the bureaucracy?"
and
"We had to burn the city 'cause they wouldn't agree that things go better with democracy."
This song from 1977 is even more prophetic than 'American Pie'
Here are the lyrics:
Well this is life, this is Prime timeThis is livin' in the U. S. A.Well this is life, this is Prime TimeThis is livin' the American way
I was ridin' on the subway in the afternoon
I saw some kids 'a beatin' out a funky tune
The lady right in front of me was old and brown
The kids began to push her, they knocked her down
I tried to help her out but there was just no way
A life ain't worth a damn on the street today
I passed the ambulance and the camera crews
I saw the instant replay on the evening news
Well this is life, this is Prime timeThis is livin' in the U. S. A.Well this is life, this is Prime TimeThis is livin' the American way
Well will you take the car, or will you take the trip?
Remove annoying hair from your upper lip
What's it really worth? Does she really care?
What's the best shampoo that I can use on my hair?
Hey what's the real future of democracy?
How're we gonna streamline the bureaucracy?
Hey, hey, the cost of life has gone sky-high
Does the deodorant I'm using really keep me dry?
Well this is life, this is Prime timeThis is livin' in the U. S. A.Well this is life, this is Prime TimeThis is livin' the American way
Well spin the magic wheel and try to break the bank
Think about your life when you fill in the blank
Here's a game that's real if you wanna try
One spot on the wheel that says you must die
American roulette is the game we play
But no-one wants to have to be the one to pay
You get to pass "GO", you get to pass away
But before we start our show, here's our sponsor to say:
"Well this is life, this is Prime timeThis is livin' in the U. S. A.Well this is life, this is Prime timeThis is livin' in the U. S. A.Well this is life, this is Prime TimeThis is livin' the American way"
Well down in Mexico, the laundry's on the line
There's where you can go if you land on the nine
Canada is nice if you're fond of ice
If you land on the two then we'll send you there twice
We interrupt this game for a news release:
A man has gone insane and been killed by police!
Now back to the game, that's a dangerous play
'Cause if they see you in C-U-B-A you must pass away
Well this is life, this is Prime timeThis is livin' in the U. S. A.Well this is life, this is Prime TimeThis is livin' the American way
My supper's on the stove, the war is on the screen
Pass the bread and butter while I watch the Marine
The shot him in the chest--Pass the chicken breast!
The general is saying that he's still unimpressed.
"We had to burn the city 'cause they wouldn't agree
That things go better with democracy!
"The weather will be fair, forget the ozone layer,But strontium showers will be here and there
Well this is life, this is Prime timeThis is livin' in the U. S. A.Well this is life, this is Prime TimeThis is livin' the American way
Well livin' in the country watchin' shadows fall
My reception ain't too good in a power stall
Bombers in the air, missiles in the sea
Chemicals in everything, including me
They don't keep their promise in the promised land
It's getting mighty hard to find an honest man
But coming very soon, a show you'll die to see
It's called "The End Of The World", on channel "C"
Well this is life, this is Prime timeThis is livin' in the U. S. A.Well this is life, this is PrimetimeThis is livin' in the U. S. A.Well this is life, this is Prime TimeThis is livin' the American way
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Time_%28Don_McLean_album%29
Monday, June 25, 2007
Emphasize the Individual
While eating dinner this evening at McDonald’s I noticed a $.34 “eat in tax”. Don’t be alarmed, there is also a “take out tax” for those of us who do drive through window meals. One reflection led to another, and I came up with the idea that I would jot down a few remarks about the U.S, which may or may not be apparent to you.
1.The United States is a technological nation state---one of the most advanced and organized in the world. Certainly our history did not begin this way, nor was this even a goal of the founding fathers. They did not know what a nation state was because the ‘nation state’ did not properly exist then, being a product of the twentieth century. The nation state depends upon a certain level of technological mastery over nature and social praxis.
a) If the U.S. did not begin as a nation state, nor did aspire to such, how is a seamless historical record possible, such that there is a continuity of the hallowed traditions, so-called values, and concept of what it means to be a ‘citizen’?
Frankly speaking, these ‘constructs’ must be legitimated on a second order of ‘social reality’ since they have outgrown their ‘natural’ life.
In short, patriotism, the flag, national pride, the national anthem: all of these ‘realities’ had to be supported, bolstered, educated, invented, and marketed to the “citizen” in order that he/she might feel part of this great nation state.
b) If democracy was actually practiced by the founding fathers it was in a representative form and not an actual form as practiced in Athens where a ‘vote’ required a voice of a citizen present in an assembly. Well you will say that what existed in a ‘demos’ is not possible in a large colony, city state, or nation state. Having said that, we note that however pure you deem the early American democracy to have been, the present state is a ‘virtual’ (or make believe) democracy. Allow me to explain: as a member of my blood family, I possess some love and pride in being part of a clan and family---this is a first order reality---the feelings are real. Another example of a family is that some companies state that all of the employees are like one big family. This is a second order ‘reality’. The employee cannot be expected to ‘love’ this company more than his/her family, but in a sense, they agree to participate in this ‘family feeling campaign’ because, if they don’t they will no longer be able to hold their job. Investors talk of families of funds, etc… Frankly I believe that such loose metaphors are very poor poetry and that they end up doing great harm to human beings. After all “peacekeepers” have almost nothing to do with peace, but act as a global police force to further the nation state’s hegemony.
To sum up: democracy today is a virtual thing, no longer in its native soil. Memorizing dates of presidents’ birthdays, and going K-12 does not a citizen make.
c) This explains at least some of the malaise the U.S. citizen now faces. We are expected to hold all sorts of feelings which are ‘virtual’, unreal, like a saleswoman really caring for a customer and wanting to help them out. U.S. citizens are ready to defend the flag on the drop of a dime, and yet, in most cases are completely unaware of what the flag stands for in a nation state. If these citizens were ever to express their authentic and real feelings it would become clear that this large mass of people has nothing to unite them. They are in no way similar, their unity is a hoax.
d) Then how can we be expected to wage and fight wars? The virtual nation state ensures that perpetual warfare continue as it somehow consolidates citizens’ national pride---it depends upon this warfare to continue.
e) The crisis we are facing as a nation state is unavoidable, since the nation state is contrary to human truth. The best sort of citizen in a nation state is one of the worst type of human beings because first of all, they prefer lies to truth---for example, as a poet I can identify a sort of local pride in my birthplace and its environs. I even have feelings for the state in which I live. But the only feelings I have for the nation state are those beliefs and teachings which were placed into me through forced (compulsory) education. The national boundaries are arbitrary! Canada and the U.S. are one land! The warbler nests equally well either side of the border.
f) This explains the current administration’s obsession with border control. This administration is a type of reactionary---a ‘virtual’ reactionary, if you will. What I mean is that they have no more access to tradition, value and history than do you or I, however, the conservative Republicans claim that these values are their domain. Hence, they must project, market, amplify these so-called values which do not and probably never existed!
The virtual reactionary is so fixated on the nation state’s sovereignty, that he/she believes that they own or in some sense are entitled to the best things of this land for their family and friends.
g)The greatness of this country, is not in the flag, or government, and it never was. Whatever greatness may have existed in this melting pot, resided in flesh and blood individuals. The same sorts of valor and dignity which are recognized and respected by people everywhere. To invent, or show great courage is not an American virtue but human virtue. Truth is not a human possession but relies upon a transcendent confirmation and anchor---2+2=4 not because a mathematician wrote this down, but because when you put four apples on a table and three pears, we can see that there are four red objects, and three yellows. If there were four squirrels in a forest before man ever came there it does not mean that man had to discover the number four in order to be able to grasp these four very agile and gray-brown mini-mammals, and so on.
I could continue adding points and will but for now I want to emphasize that this manner of looking at the nation-state is fruitful in describing a root to the problems this nation now faces, and a clue as to what will follow.
1.The United States is a technological nation state---one of the most advanced and organized in the world. Certainly our history did not begin this way, nor was this even a goal of the founding fathers. They did not know what a nation state was because the ‘nation state’ did not properly exist then, being a product of the twentieth century. The nation state depends upon a certain level of technological mastery over nature and social praxis.
a) If the U.S. did not begin as a nation state, nor did aspire to such, how is a seamless historical record possible, such that there is a continuity of the hallowed traditions, so-called values, and concept of what it means to be a ‘citizen’?
Frankly speaking, these ‘constructs’ must be legitimated on a second order of ‘social reality’ since they have outgrown their ‘natural’ life.
In short, patriotism, the flag, national pride, the national anthem: all of these ‘realities’ had to be supported, bolstered, educated, invented, and marketed to the “citizen” in order that he/she might feel part of this great nation state.
b) If democracy was actually practiced by the founding fathers it was in a representative form and not an actual form as practiced in Athens where a ‘vote’ required a voice of a citizen present in an assembly. Well you will say that what existed in a ‘demos’ is not possible in a large colony, city state, or nation state. Having said that, we note that however pure you deem the early American democracy to have been, the present state is a ‘virtual’ (or make believe) democracy. Allow me to explain: as a member of my blood family, I possess some love and pride in being part of a clan and family---this is a first order reality---the feelings are real. Another example of a family is that some companies state that all of the employees are like one big family. This is a second order ‘reality’. The employee cannot be expected to ‘love’ this company more than his/her family, but in a sense, they agree to participate in this ‘family feeling campaign’ because, if they don’t they will no longer be able to hold their job. Investors talk of families of funds, etc… Frankly I believe that such loose metaphors are very poor poetry and that they end up doing great harm to human beings. After all “peacekeepers” have almost nothing to do with peace, but act as a global police force to further the nation state’s hegemony.
To sum up: democracy today is a virtual thing, no longer in its native soil. Memorizing dates of presidents’ birthdays, and going K-12 does not a citizen make.
c) This explains at least some of the malaise the U.S. citizen now faces. We are expected to hold all sorts of feelings which are ‘virtual’, unreal, like a saleswoman really caring for a customer and wanting to help them out. U.S. citizens are ready to defend the flag on the drop of a dime, and yet, in most cases are completely unaware of what the flag stands for in a nation state. If these citizens were ever to express their authentic and real feelings it would become clear that this large mass of people has nothing to unite them. They are in no way similar, their unity is a hoax.
d) Then how can we be expected to wage and fight wars? The virtual nation state ensures that perpetual warfare continue as it somehow consolidates citizens’ national pride---it depends upon this warfare to continue.
e) The crisis we are facing as a nation state is unavoidable, since the nation state is contrary to human truth. The best sort of citizen in a nation state is one of the worst type of human beings because first of all, they prefer lies to truth---for example, as a poet I can identify a sort of local pride in my birthplace and its environs. I even have feelings for the state in which I live. But the only feelings I have for the nation state are those beliefs and teachings which were placed into me through forced (compulsory) education. The national boundaries are arbitrary! Canada and the U.S. are one land! The warbler nests equally well either side of the border.
f) This explains the current administration’s obsession with border control. This administration is a type of reactionary---a ‘virtual’ reactionary, if you will. What I mean is that they have no more access to tradition, value and history than do you or I, however, the conservative Republicans claim that these values are their domain. Hence, they must project, market, amplify these so-called values which do not and probably never existed!
The virtual reactionary is so fixated on the nation state’s sovereignty, that he/she believes that they own or in some sense are entitled to the best things of this land for their family and friends.
g)The greatness of this country, is not in the flag, or government, and it never was. Whatever greatness may have existed in this melting pot, resided in flesh and blood individuals. The same sorts of valor and dignity which are recognized and respected by people everywhere. To invent, or show great courage is not an American virtue but human virtue. Truth is not a human possession but relies upon a transcendent confirmation and anchor---2+2=4 not because a mathematician wrote this down, but because when you put four apples on a table and three pears, we can see that there are four red objects, and three yellows. If there were four squirrels in a forest before man ever came there it does not mean that man had to discover the number four in order to be able to grasp these four very agile and gray-brown mini-mammals, and so on.
I could continue adding points and will but for now I want to emphasize that this manner of looking at the nation-state is fruitful in describing a root to the problems this nation now faces, and a clue as to what will follow.
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