The Global Musings of an Educated Man.................vol.139
Dead birds falling from the sky in Arkansas, Louisiana and now Sweden? There is massive flooding in the dry arid land of Australia, and a bible group from Pennsylvania announced on Monday that the Rapture would take place on May 21st 2011, and that the end of the world would occur 5 months later on October 21st, 2011, my wedding day. Coincidence? I'm just saying. I believe that maybe the birds flew into an invisible UFO, or maybe it's just the wrath of God is all, it's no big deal. Anyhow, if we are at the last days and these are signs of whatever it is, whoever it is, where it is coming from, who the hell knows, way of telling us to batten down the hatches, get some gasoline, grab some batteries, some canned goods, grab some hard liquor and party like it's 1999, I say why the hell not? Anyhow, keep a look out for more falling stuff, but it will probably only be white stuff around here. Just had to get that out there. Peace, Love and happiness. Stay strong and continue to try to prosper in the new Global Economy.
Some call me crazy, but as Tom Waits once said, "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a Frontal Lobotomy." The man's got a point. Cheers.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Monday, December 20, 2010
Do you hear what I hear?
The Global Musings of an Educated Man..........vol.138
In just two days and two years from now, the world as we know it, just may end. That's right, December 22nd, 2012.
It seems to me that it is quite possible the birth pangs have already begun contracting. There have been mssive mudslides in California, 20 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada's, tragically cold weather across Europe and Great Britain; and all of this after a year of Earthquakes in Haiti, Volcanoes in Indonesia, floods in Pakistan and India, again, and so, this past year 250k people have died from natural disasters, which is minuscule when compared to those that die worldwide from cigarettes, and yet we are more concerned as to whether homosexuals can openly serve in the military?? 250,000 people, that is the largest yearly total for deaths caused by natural disasters in a generation, and that's not all we have to worry about. North Korea continues to display how unstable they are by firing missiles and artillery shells in South Korean islands while China sits by and says basically "we don't want to have to deal with them, they're crazy," Iran is leaving the world no alternative except invasion if they continue on the path toward nuclear power, we are still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, which sucks up more of governments tax payer taken money, and for what? Terrorists will just raise their arms and give up if we stay there long enough and spend enough American lives and treasure? Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank,thus enraging the Arab world, and the United States is visibly financially bankrupt, along with Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Greece. But still, the gap between the richest 1% in the world that controls 90% of our wealth and that of the growing smaller by the day percentage of those who can consider themselves middle class and the increasingly growing numbers of lower class poverty stricken members of the global community who can't find clean drinking water or an education that is provided by a Madrassah continues to grow. Across the United States and the world, pensions are being slashed, our social security safety net is considered to be on the chopping block, and we still don't have a decent health care system. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is still doing business and appointing Treasury Secretaries and henchmen into the Obama administration along with Bank of America, while a man name Julian Assange who received classified government information from someone, some believe to be Bradley Manning who is already in solitary confinement on a US military base in Virginia for his criminal act, releases it onto his WikiLeaks website in the guise of "Freedom of Information" is considered to be a terrorist destabilizing our government and governments around the world, who is then wanted for rape in Switzerland, accused by two young ladies who objected to having sex with him without a condom, and government's anywhere have never done anything nefarious that would consider these two women to possibly be on the payroll of a certain government's intelligence agency? But it's okay for the LA Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Le Monde and other newspaper sources to print the same material and go unscathed. Something has to give, and yet I look onto the students rioting in England and Greece with a cynical belief that it would take quite a lot more for that to occur in America, because that would mean becoming angry instead of complacent, educated instead of walking around in a pharmaceutically enhanced stupor treating the unhappiness of your private parts inability to provide happiness to your spouse, and instead get up get active and get involved. But I do remain optimistic that the end isn't near, because if it is, all of the time I will have currently spent on my book will have been for naught, and so I remain naively hopeful.
"A mystery wrapped inside a riddle, inside an Enigma. Even the shooters don't know, don't you get it?" David Ferrie portrayed by Oscar winning actor, Joe Pesci-----the film, Oliver Stone's masterpiece.... JFK
Happy Holidays, warm seasons' greetings, Merry Christmas, post Chanukah and pre-Kwanzaa. Drag out the aluminum pole from the attic, celebrate Festivus and prepare yourself for the feats of strength.
In just two days and two years from now, the world as we know it, just may end. That's right, December 22nd, 2012.
It seems to me that it is quite possible the birth pangs have already begun contracting. There have been mssive mudslides in California, 20 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada's, tragically cold weather across Europe and Great Britain; and all of this after a year of Earthquakes in Haiti, Volcanoes in Indonesia, floods in Pakistan and India, again, and so, this past year 250k people have died from natural disasters, which is minuscule when compared to those that die worldwide from cigarettes, and yet we are more concerned as to whether homosexuals can openly serve in the military?? 250,000 people, that is the largest yearly total for deaths caused by natural disasters in a generation, and that's not all we have to worry about. North Korea continues to display how unstable they are by firing missiles and artillery shells in South Korean islands while China sits by and says basically "we don't want to have to deal with them, they're crazy," Iran is leaving the world no alternative except invasion if they continue on the path toward nuclear power, we are still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, which sucks up more of governments tax payer taken money, and for what? Terrorists will just raise their arms and give up if we stay there long enough and spend enough American lives and treasure? Israel continues to build settlements in the West Bank,thus enraging the Arab world, and the United States is visibly financially bankrupt, along with Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Greece. But still, the gap between the richest 1% in the world that controls 90% of our wealth and that of the growing smaller by the day percentage of those who can consider themselves middle class and the increasingly growing numbers of lower class poverty stricken members of the global community who can't find clean drinking water or an education that is provided by a Madrassah continues to grow. Across the United States and the world, pensions are being slashed, our social security safety net is considered to be on the chopping block, and we still don't have a decent health care system. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is still doing business and appointing Treasury Secretaries and henchmen into the Obama administration along with Bank of America, while a man name Julian Assange who received classified government information from someone, some believe to be Bradley Manning who is already in solitary confinement on a US military base in Virginia for his criminal act, releases it onto his WikiLeaks website in the guise of "Freedom of Information" is considered to be a terrorist destabilizing our government and governments around the world, who is then wanted for rape in Switzerland, accused by two young ladies who objected to having sex with him without a condom, and government's anywhere have never done anything nefarious that would consider these two women to possibly be on the payroll of a certain government's intelligence agency? But it's okay for the LA Times, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Le Monde and other newspaper sources to print the same material and go unscathed. Something has to give, and yet I look onto the students rioting in England and Greece with a cynical belief that it would take quite a lot more for that to occur in America, because that would mean becoming angry instead of complacent, educated instead of walking around in a pharmaceutically enhanced stupor treating the unhappiness of your private parts inability to provide happiness to your spouse, and instead get up get active and get involved. But I do remain optimistic that the end isn't near, because if it is, all of the time I will have currently spent on my book will have been for naught, and so I remain naively hopeful.
"A mystery wrapped inside a riddle, inside an Enigma. Even the shooters don't know, don't you get it?" David Ferrie portrayed by Oscar winning actor, Joe Pesci-----the film, Oliver Stone's masterpiece.... JFK
Happy Holidays, warm seasons' greetings, Merry Christmas, post Chanukah and pre-Kwanzaa. Drag out the aluminum pole from the attic, celebrate Festivus and prepare yourself for the feats of strength.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Short and Sweet
The Global Musings of an Educated Man....................vol.137
With the fall semester close to being over, there will be more time in the coming weeks for me to pursue my passion of creative writing and critical thinking. So I will leave you with just a taste of what is sure to come.
How long will it be, before we find on our nightly news channels that the leader of WikiLeaks Julian Assange turns up dead in a single car accident on a lone dirt road, or dies in a commercial plane crash or is shot by a crazed lone gunman? He's got more targets on him than a Osama Bin Laden right now, and he's got a major U.S. bank in his crosshairs next. I'm just saying. The man's a dead man.
Happy Holidays and remember, the 17th annual Old Spaghetti Factory Holiday get-together, Saturday the 11th, 6:30pm cst. Viva la tradicion'!
With the fall semester close to being over, there will be more time in the coming weeks for me to pursue my passion of creative writing and critical thinking. So I will leave you with just a taste of what is sure to come.
How long will it be, before we find on our nightly news channels that the leader of WikiLeaks Julian Assange turns up dead in a single car accident on a lone dirt road, or dies in a commercial plane crash or is shot by a crazed lone gunman? He's got more targets on him than a Osama Bin Laden right now, and he's got a major U.S. bank in his crosshairs next. I'm just saying. The man's a dead man.
Happy Holidays and remember, the 17th annual Old Spaghetti Factory Holiday get-together, Saturday the 11th, 6:30pm cst. Viva la tradicion'!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Because you may not know.......
The Global Musings of an Educated Man...................vol.136
We can't afford to fund our schools, health care, social security, but we can do this???? What are we getting out of this?
We can't afford to fund our schools, health care, social security, but we can do this???? What are we getting out of this?
AMERICAN CASUALTIES
· US soldiers' deaths under Bush [2001-2008] in Afghanistan: 630[i]
· US soldiers' deaths under Obama [2009-Oct. 2010] in Afghanistan: 693[ii]
· Total US soldiers' deaths in Afghanistan: 1,323[iii]
· Total US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan: 5,748[iv]
· Total US contractor deaths from 09.01.01 through 09.30.10 30: 2,400[v]
· Total US soldiers wounded in Afghanistan: 8,530[vi]
· Total US soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan: 40,464[vii]
· Total US contractors wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan: 44,152[viii]
· Total US military suicides during 2001-2009: 1,985[ix]
AMERICAN CASUALTIES TAX DOLLARS SPENT
· Direct costs/month in Iraq: $12.5 billion[x]
· Direct costs/month in Afghanistan $16 billion[xi]
· Total direct cost, Iraq: $737.5 billion[xii]
· Total direct cost, Afghanistan: $354.4 billion[xiii]
· Total projected direct and indirect costs, Iraq: $3 trillion+[xiv]
· Total projected direct and indirect costs, Afghanistan: $1 trillion+[xv]
Published by Tom Hayden, The Peace Exchange Bulletin is a reader-supported journal, critically following the Pentagon's Long War in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, as well as the failed U.S. wars on drugs and gangs, and U.S. military responses to nationalism and poverty around the world.
Monday, October 11, 2010
I have some questions to ask you.
The Global Musings of an Educated Man....................vol.135
Where are the catchphrases for today's society? Where are the "Squeal like a pig boy!", "You're gonna need a bigger boat," "Make'em an offer they can't refuse," "Use the Force", and "Is it safe?" Where is the shock and awe in what was once considered a maverick industry? Where's the beef? Where is the weird, the scary, the off-the wall? "Are you talking to me?" In fact, where has our society's Travis Bickles driven off to? What happened to creative cinema, creative writing, and the counter-culture that could stir things up from the working class all the way to the upper class? Where is the earth shattering inability to accept the status quo? Instead we've seen our society's focus dropped from a tall building and shatter into a million pieces, unable to focus our concentration on anyone or anything for longer than the fifteen minutes of fame they so preciously desire. We get celebrity game shows that hold no meaning other than to sell us a product every ten minutes. We may be the last generation that actually holds books in their hands to read. The scary thing is that although there will no longer be the need to burn books, they'll simply hit the delete button instead. We get sixty minute football games with two hours of commercials. But no one seems to notice, no one seems to care. We are most the time unknowingly and unwittingly pawns in the game constructed on Madison Avenue so that we consume more and think less. The alcohol industry floods the market, distilling sex, fame, fortune and fantasy, all in a twelve ounce bottle. But perhaps we should be thankful; at least they're still made in America.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Food for thought.
The Global Musings of an Educated Man.......vol.134
As the weeks have progressed since the economic collapse began falling like dominoes in the late fall of 2007, we have heard over and over again that it is going to be a long, slow and tough road to recovery. I agreed with that philosophy for some time, but have recently begun to wonder, why was it so easy and so fast to bailout the banks that got us into this mess, and yet for companies that have returned to massive profits, have never resumed hiring new workers? Is there no such thing as Research and Development these days? Which brings me to my point today, and that is the fact that we are going through the largest redistribution of wealth since the Industrial Revolution. We live in a Global Economy. The World is Flat and we need to adjust. So, without telling it straight to our faces, our elected officials continue to walk the high wire act of choice vocabulary words in place of the honest truth. For instance, since 1973, the U.S. Economy has tripled in size, yet the average workers' salary has decreased from $32,135 (adjusted for inflation to 2007 dollars) to $31,528, according to the New York Times. For example, "wages amd salaries now make up the lowest share of the nation's gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947, while corporate profits have climbed to their highest share since the 1960's." What gives? I implore all of you to read Naomi Klein's book The Shock Doctrine for further education into the matter. We are being dumbed down with awe-inspiring technical skill by psychotic scientific reptile brained mass murderers masquerading as proponents of peace.
I will leave with an excerpt from Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, who writes for the Web Based News Site, Counterpunch, as some food for thought. Because if you thought the main stream media was going to give it you straight, your further from the truth than I thought.
"The kleptocratic rulers in the US, EU, and other debt-burdened countries know exactly what they are doing: to let the recession drag on, to take advantage of the crushing recession in order to extract "enough" concessions from the working people until welfare states are dismantled and labor costs in the more developed capitalist countries are made competitive with those of the less-developed countries. This explains why despite new signs of further global economic contraction, the reigning governments in these countries (whether they are nominally headed by Socialist, Social-Democratic, Labor, Democratic, Conservative or other parties) are maintaining their coordinated abstention from expansive or stimulating fiscal policies while continuing their brutal spending cuts on health, education, wages, pensions, and the like.
This is not to say that these governments do not want to have economic growth or job-creation--they do---but that they want them on their own (Neoliberal) terms, that is, through Neoliberal policies that would create jobs that would pay wages on a par with those of workers in less-developed countries. In other words, they prefer the kind of lopsided economic growth whose fruits would be reaped mostly by the wealthy--the so-called trickle-down or supply-side economic growth. As writer/reporter Patrick O'Connor points out, "In the US, Europe and other advanced capitalist economies, the aim is permanently reducing the living standards of working people."
Now cheer up, the stock market was positive today.
As the weeks have progressed since the economic collapse began falling like dominoes in the late fall of 2007, we have heard over and over again that it is going to be a long, slow and tough road to recovery. I agreed with that philosophy for some time, but have recently begun to wonder, why was it so easy and so fast to bailout the banks that got us into this mess, and yet for companies that have returned to massive profits, have never resumed hiring new workers? Is there no such thing as Research and Development these days? Which brings me to my point today, and that is the fact that we are going through the largest redistribution of wealth since the Industrial Revolution. We live in a Global Economy. The World is Flat and we need to adjust. So, without telling it straight to our faces, our elected officials continue to walk the high wire act of choice vocabulary words in place of the honest truth. For instance, since 1973, the U.S. Economy has tripled in size, yet the average workers' salary has decreased from $32,135 (adjusted for inflation to 2007 dollars) to $31,528, according to the New York Times. For example, "wages amd salaries now make up the lowest share of the nation's gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947, while corporate profits have climbed to their highest share since the 1960's." What gives? I implore all of you to read Naomi Klein's book The Shock Doctrine for further education into the matter. We are being dumbed down with awe-inspiring technical skill by psychotic scientific reptile brained mass murderers masquerading as proponents of peace.
I will leave with an excerpt from Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, who writes for the Web Based News Site, Counterpunch, as some food for thought. Because if you thought the main stream media was going to give it you straight, your further from the truth than I thought.
"The kleptocratic rulers in the US, EU, and other debt-burdened countries know exactly what they are doing: to let the recession drag on, to take advantage of the crushing recession in order to extract "enough" concessions from the working people until welfare states are dismantled and labor costs in the more developed capitalist countries are made competitive with those of the less-developed countries. This explains why despite new signs of further global economic contraction, the reigning governments in these countries (whether they are nominally headed by Socialist, Social-Democratic, Labor, Democratic, Conservative or other parties) are maintaining their coordinated abstention from expansive or stimulating fiscal policies while continuing their brutal spending cuts on health, education, wages, pensions, and the like.
This is not to say that these governments do not want to have economic growth or job-creation--they do---but that they want them on their own (Neoliberal) terms, that is, through Neoliberal policies that would create jobs that would pay wages on a par with those of workers in less-developed countries. In other words, they prefer the kind of lopsided economic growth whose fruits would be reaped mostly by the wealthy--the so-called trickle-down or supply-side economic growth. As writer/reporter Patrick O'Connor points out, "In the US, Europe and other advanced capitalist economies, the aim is permanently reducing the living standards of working people."
Now cheer up, the stock market was positive today.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
And now, a word from our sponsor............................
The Global Musings of an Educated Man......vol.133
On this last evening in August, 2010, our president, Barack Obama gave a speech to the American Public. I wondered, was anybody watching this tonight? Does the American Public even care anymore? Have we noticed that he just announced the end to U.S. Military Combat Operations in Iraq? Did you notice that there will still be 50,000 U.S. troops remaining behind in Iraq as a "transitional force?" After 7 1/2 years, 4,500 dead U.S. soldiers and estimated to be 150,000+ dead Iraqis, the time to "turn the page" is here. Someone, que the Bob Seger song of the same name. As I watched, disappointed in the fact that the U.S. troops will only be moved to nearby Afghanistan to continue fighting a war that will never end, "the war on terror," I was pleasantly surprised that 9/11 was only mentioned once, but I know that we must remain ever vigilant against that shadowy group of evil-doers lurking behind every corner in the middle east, Al-Qaieda. President Obama wishes for "lasting peace and long term prosperity" for Iraqis and so do I, but I find it very ironic, that after 7 1/2 years of the exact opposite, combat operations can be considered to be over. However, there is no government to take the reins in Iraq. What we are going to be left with is another vacuum to be filled with corrupt officials and bureaucracy. President Obama said that all U.S. military will be out of Iraq by the end of next year, but can you really believe it? He hasn't closed Guantanamo, he said that when he immediately took office he would pull the troops out of Iraq and that he would get out of Afghanistan as well. After spending 1 Trillion dollars in fighting endless wars these past 7 1/2 years, he is setting us up for disappointment once again. His slogan of "hope and change" still rings in my ears as empty promises from just another empty suit in Washington. He mentioned that we must help the Iraqis to "secure the dream." I only wish that it doesn't ring true like the deceased genius comedian George Carlin once said, "The American Dream, you have to be asleep to believe it."
On this last evening in August, 2010, our president, Barack Obama gave a speech to the American Public. I wondered, was anybody watching this tonight? Does the American Public even care anymore? Have we noticed that he just announced the end to U.S. Military Combat Operations in Iraq? Did you notice that there will still be 50,000 U.S. troops remaining behind in Iraq as a "transitional force?" After 7 1/2 years, 4,500 dead U.S. soldiers and estimated to be 150,000+ dead Iraqis, the time to "turn the page" is here. Someone, que the Bob Seger song of the same name. As I watched, disappointed in the fact that the U.S. troops will only be moved to nearby Afghanistan to continue fighting a war that will never end, "the war on terror," I was pleasantly surprised that 9/11 was only mentioned once, but I know that we must remain ever vigilant against that shadowy group of evil-doers lurking behind every corner in the middle east, Al-Qaieda. President Obama wishes for "lasting peace and long term prosperity" for Iraqis and so do I, but I find it very ironic, that after 7 1/2 years of the exact opposite, combat operations can be considered to be over. However, there is no government to take the reins in Iraq. What we are going to be left with is another vacuum to be filled with corrupt officials and bureaucracy. President Obama said that all U.S. military will be out of Iraq by the end of next year, but can you really believe it? He hasn't closed Guantanamo, he said that when he immediately took office he would pull the troops out of Iraq and that he would get out of Afghanistan as well. After spending 1 Trillion dollars in fighting endless wars these past 7 1/2 years, he is setting us up for disappointment once again. His slogan of "hope and change" still rings in my ears as empty promises from just another empty suit in Washington. He mentioned that we must help the Iraqis to "secure the dream." I only wish that it doesn't ring true like the deceased genius comedian George Carlin once said, "The American Dream, you have to be asleep to believe it."
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