February 21, 2011 archive

Today on The Stars Hollow Gazette

Our regular featured content-

And these articles-

The Stars Hollow Gazette

Dancing in Zurmat

In March 2002 NATO launched Operation Anaconda in Paktia Province, Afghanistan, and most of the heavy fighting played out in the Zurmat District of that God-forsaken wasteland, where the Haqqani Network and other militias still continue to attack NATO outposts and each other and virtually every other living thing, and NATO adds its fair share to the carnage.

We now understand that the men killed were only trying to protect their families,” Brigadier General Eric Tremblay, spokesman for NATO-led forces, said in the statement. The three women were killed during the shooting, NATO said.

NATO had earlier said its troops had found the women already killed, bound and gagged, but later acknowledged that this was untrue. Troops who visited the scene had made the mistake after seeing the bodies bound in preparation for burial, it said.

There are a lot of orphans in Paktia Province.

from firefly-dreaming 21.2.11

Regular Daily Features:

  • Cream starts the day in Late Night Karaoke, mishima DJs
  • Six Brilliant Articles! from Six Different Places!! at Six in the Morning!!!

Essays Featured Monday, February 21st:

join the conversation! come firefly-dreaming with me….

Naomi Klein On Why Wisconsin Matters: A Classic Example Of ‘Shock Doctrine’



February 19, 2011

UN Report: Green Growth is Better, Safer Growth

I just caught this a short while ago and just in time to stream most of the press conference, without even finishing my first pot of coffee.

Did some searching and found a couple of reports, more are being added as I type this, as well as the UNEP site page with the full report broken down in sections to download, read and study.

One doesn’t need to believe in ‘Climate Change’, using the label ‘global warming’ in a simplistic way to feed the detraction of the obvious, detractors of advancing technologies and individual advancements and dreams have always been around. Developing, long over due and argued about, the technologies and finding the possible new means to the goals of a cleaner planet and cleaner living are just the same as any advancements man has made as we’ve evolved.

Greening should help bring about cleaner living. Greening should stop many of mans conflicts {think national securities and the continued growth of hatreds} on his fellow man, who will go to war to try and control anothers sun or wind,or what other possibilities can be found to cleaner energy needs through other advancing technologies and not with fossil fuels or anothers mineral assets.

Advancing to green economies brings growth, everywhere, as well as the needed trades and expertise to be able to carry out the advancement needs. Developing and growing towards cleaner living, cleaner manufacturing, cleaner air, cleaner water and much more, a cleaner and possibly less hostile planet.

Six In The Morning

Gaddafi regime: We will fight to the end

 


Dictator’s son warns of civil war during rambling TV address as violent protests spread to Libyan capital

By Catrina Stewart and Kim Sengupta  Monday, 21 February 2011

In a a sign that the first cracks are starting to show in the Libyan regime, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son warned in a lengthy and rambling address broadcast live last night that the overthrow of the regime would lead to civil war and the break-up of the country.

The address by Saif Gaddafi, who is viewed as reform-minded in the West, came as the first major anti-government protests spread to the capital, Tripoli, striking at the heart of the regime and making Colonel Gaddafi’s 42-year hold on power appear increasingly precarious.

Exposing maggots, planting grass

A lot of people here are good at exposing maggots, and it’s scary to see what’s under the rocks.  Necessary, but scary. If we don’t know what’s under the rocks, we have no chance of defeating it.  And there are surely plenty of rocks to kick and maggots to expose.

But it’s not enough to expose maggots.  We must also plant grass.  Otherwise, our landscape will be just a lot of upturned rocks and dirt.

Most people aren’t devils or gods, they’re just ordinary shmoes trying to get along in the world, not thinking too much, just putting food on the table and themselves in a chair before a TV.  They listen to what their leaders say because it’s easy, and they don’t question because that’s hard.

Winning the hearts and minds of the leaders of the opposition may be impossible- the Koch brothers are not going to become liberals, Glenn Beck is not going to become sane; but winning the hearts and minds of these people – the ordinary people – is possible.  We just have to plant some grass.

I have some ideas.  But not nearly enough.  I need your help – this community’s help.  Together we do have the brains, the talent, and the wherewithal to plant a lot of grass. The seeds are there.

I have sometimes played a game with myself:

Suppose you had a fortune.  A Gates-like fortune.  What would you do?

One thing I’d like to do is start rewarding acts that promote a civil society.  What do I mean?  What acts would promote such a society?  It could be a lot of things.  Here are some examples


      NOT IN OUR TOWN is the inspiring documentary film about the residents of Billings, Montana who responded to an upsurge in hate violence by standing together for a hate-free community. In 1993, hate activities in Billings reached a crescendo. KKK fliers were distributed, the Jewish cemetery was desecrated, the home of a Native American family was painted with swastikas, and a brick was thrown through the window of a six-year-old boy who displayed a Menorah for Hanukkah.

      Rather than resigning itself to the growing climate of hate, the community took a stand. The police chief urged citizens to respond before the violence escalated any further. Religious groups from every denomination sponsored marches and candlelight vigils. The local labor council passed a resolution against racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia. Members of the local Painters Union pitched in to paint over racist graffiti. The local newspaper printed full-page Menorahs that were subsequently displayed in nearly 10,000 homes and businesses. The community made an unmistakable declaration: “Not in Our Town.” Since then, no serious acts of hate violence have been reported in Billings.

You can buy the film here

There are other people like that police chief.  People we don’t hear about.  Let’s find them.  Let’s reward them.  Let’s give them publicity.  

Or what happened to the people in a small town in Tennessee where one person decided they didn’t know enough about differences: I wrote about the great film that came out of this.  I really hope you’ll click on that story, but, briefly, a school principal in a small, all-white, all Christian town in TN decided that she, and the teachers and student in her school, didn’t know enough about differences.  They decided to collect a paper clip for every person who died in the concentration camps.  What happened next…..well….read the diary and see the film.

Let’s distribute those films. Buy a copy or two.  Send them off to someone somewhere.  

Sometimes the acts are mind-blowingly heroic – like those of Irena Sendler (don’t know who she is?  The answer is a click away).  But sometimes they are the simple acts of random kindness that go on each day, that we see, here and there. Good acts.  Acts that promote tolerance.  Acts that promote a civil society.

These people are rare, but they aren’t unknown.  Even if only 1 in 1,000 Americans are like that – well that’s 300,000 people.  We can find them.  We can publicize them.

It’s necessary, of course, to expose the maggots.  I applaud the work that many kossacks do to expose them.  But, while it is necessary to expose the maggots, it is our own act of bigotry to assume that everything that lives under the rock is and always will be a maggot.  Some are just people who have never seen light.  

Another is the simple acts of random kindness that go on each day, that we see, here and there.  Good acts.  Acts that promote tolerance.  Acts that promote a civil society.

Thanks for reading

Muse in the Morning

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Muse in the Morning

Time for a break from poetry…in order to create some art.

But don’t be satisfied with stories, how things

have gone with others. Unfold

your own myth, without complicated explanation …

–Rumi



Pattern

from firefly-dreaming 20.2.11

Regular Daily Features:

Essays Featured Sunday, February 20th:

come firefly-dreaming with me….

Late Night Karaoke

From Egypt to Wisconsin with Love

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Michael Moore has asked that we spread this message from the trade unions and workers in Egypt to the unions and workers in Wisconsin. Also, wear something RED today in support of the Wisconsin state workers.

‘We Stand With You as You Stood With Us’

The poster in the background shows photographs of some of the recent young victims of the Mubarak government. The writing says they are among the martyrs of the 25 January Revolution.

KAMAL ABBAS: I am speaking to you from a place very close to Tahrir Square in Cairo, “Liberation Square”, which was the heart of the Revolution in Egypt. This is the place were many of our youth paid with their lives and blood in the struggle for our just rights.

From this place, I want you to know that we stand with you as you stood with us.

I want you to know that no power can challenge the will of the people when they believe in their rights. When they raise their voices loud and clear and struggle against exploitation.

No one believed that our revolution could succeed against the strongest dictatorship in the region. But in 18 days the revolution achieved the victory of the people. When the working class of Egypt joined the revolution on 9 and 10 February, the dictatorship was doomed and the victory of the people became inevitable.

We want you to know that we stand on your side. Stand firm and don’t waiver. Don’t give up on your rights. Victory always belongs to the people who stand firm and demand their just rights.

We and all the people of the world stand on your side and give you our full support.

As our just struggle for freedom, democracy and justice succeeded, your struggle will succeed. Victory belongs to you when you stand firm and remain steadfast in demanding your just rights.

We support you. we support the struggle of the peoples of Libya, Bahrain and Algeria, who are fighting for their just rights and falling martyrs in the face of the autocratic regimes. The peoples are determined to succeed no matter the sacrifices and they will be victorious.

Today is the day of the American workers. We salute you American workers! You will be victorious. Victory belongs to all the people of the world, who are fighting against exploitation, and for their just rights.

Foreclosure of the Apocalypse Ranch

Much as I would love to relay stories of the marvelous horses and family times at the Apocalypse Ranch said Ranch is now entering the foreclosure process.  We have already given away the kids toys stocked up for the Easter egg extravaganza and we are entering the survivalist move to God knows where.  No sense crying over spilt suburbia I guess.

Want a scary link?  A techno-enabled god fuckingly scary one?

http://www.businessinsider.com…

It has been a hard yet rewarding saga in my life to care for and often rescue these most noble animals.  I have taught them and they have taught me.  Watching the vet sew up Moon’s wide open forehead before pulling out the bone fragments or nursing Mater’s chest wound twice a day when Mr. Studly decided to assert his herd dominance thing.

With horses you learn things about yourself and the world at large.  In my earlier days with Mr. Stud I did sense he would have no problem simply jumping over that log in the path.  At the time I happened to suck at the whole horsemanship thing, ie, surely doubted my survival possibilities at such a proposal and pulled back on the reigns.  Yea, he did listen even though he has “taken me for several rides” in his more spirited, hey, it’s a warm spring day rides.  Yet I love him.  Tags my jacket for a treat and sips beer from my hand.  We vie for the lead on the trails.  Myself on Mater and my daughter on Studly, Mater sees an open path, I tap him, saying go for it and he pulls ahead.  Does wonders for his former show horse ego.  He is after all named after that tow truck Mater from that kids movie featuring Lightening McQueen.  He has a long stride so it’s only smooth in a full out lope and he will tow stuff with a rope dally without flipping out.

All of these and countless other days of family and extended family bliss are to be wiped out due of course to the Illuminati Plan to Destroy America.  I mean to do all the shit I have done with horses 20 miles north of the People’s Republic of Cambridge in the state of Marxachusetts(with profound apologies to those of the lower veils who still subscribe to the falsehoods of left/right political institutions) is just short of a Jesus Christ frigging miracle.  We have shit disturbing shitheads up in our neck of the woods who can and do think it is their God appointed purpose in life to get you into an approved, certified can’t do nothing else with your life unit 12 piece of shit condo with granite countertops.  Shove the granite counters, the Iphone apps and let me take my grandsons fishing on the river.  I mean you drive your cars past me and marvel at the wonderous sight of a grey haired man riding a horse down this modern community street.

Rude awakening all of us are in for.  The kids think I should do seminars as I relayed my thoughts on everything from Hopi Indian prophecies to recent experiments with atomic clocks at sea level compared to those placed on airplanes.  I ended the discussion with the more positive aspects of the 2012 Doomsday date by citing Ben Rich’s deathbed quote of “We can take ET home” meaning in the lifetime of these kids may they see the Back to the Future flying cars.  

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