A Thought Starter on the Creation of Car-free Communities for the 21st Century http://ping.fm/wchM5
7/1/11
Lest we forget transparency is among the cardinal obligations of a democratic government
E. coli only needs to contaminate a single seed
It is constitutional and moral to require Americans to pay something for their health care
Why Amazon and Facebook and Google Rule
MySpace has a true value now. Someday Arianna and LinkedIn will join the awakened.
Triadic Notes - Bob Dylan's "Shelter From The Storm"
I remember when Blood on the Tracks came out.
Then an album was an album.
And this was among Bob Dylan's best.
There are few songwriters
whose words have the power
to attract referents
who happen to be us.
But this is the gift
that rises from the freedom
to work with the hard wonders
of Reality.
We take songs
like this
and weave our own
signs
indices and
symbols.
It is a gift.
Let us be givers of the same.
Triadic Philosophy
encourages thinking in threes
using the root triad
Reality Ethics Aesthetics
The wonder is that it works
find more at
Dear President it's time for you to cease your war on transparency
Obama Takes a Hard Line Against Leaks to Press -- Sic Transit Transparency - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com: Dear President it's time for you to cease your war on transparency. Transparency does not mean revealing everything as in the killing of Osama. It means being honest about what you have done in time for us to see whether things worked well or did not work well. Decisions need to become more democratized. We are not just dumbing down because our education is awry. We are dumbing down because the keepers of the keys will it.
Global Online Privacy
A poetic brief for full transparency now
Uncle Sam Has Conniptions -- Tells All (The Wikileaks Scandal) - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com Poetry does not lie. Reality unfolds. It is now time for full transparency. It will not bite. It will not kill. It will not do all the things people feared it would do. And no, it will never be full. It should be what the people insist on being told about.
Global Online Privacy
Hypothetical Joran van der Sloot self-justification
Joran Van Der Sloot Contemplates His Options (Exclusive) - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com: "I'm creepy but my life is narrowing / What's two less in a world where children starve" Hypothetical Joran van der Sloot self-justification.
Global Online Privacy
An elegy for BP victims the grief goes on.
Thad Allen Says the Oil Will Keep on Leaking into Fall - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com: "Thad Allen says the oil will keep on leaking into fall It took a month to let the truth leak out" An elegy for BP victims the grief goes on.
Global Online Privacy
Marijuana is good for us in some situations
Govt. entity that controls access to research-grade marijuana in U.S. not open to possible medical benefits, critics allege | The Washington Independent: "The American Independent has long reported on inconsistencies in federal acknowledgment of marijuana’s medical benefits."
Global Online Privacy
Grim statistics of idiocy annals of avoidable wars
Joe Conason: Four Trillion for War—and Rising - Truthdig: "According to them, “an extremely conservative estimate of the toll in direct war dead and wounded is about 225,000 dead and about 365,000 physically wounded in these wars so far”—including those in Pakistan, which is embroiled in war just as lethally as Afghanistan." Right and how many died in 9/11. And how much is one life worth. And how many are required for satisfaction. We are culpable. War profiteers all the more so.
Global Online Privacy
Diana's only 50 the world is young
Happy Birthday, Princess Diana: 50 Rare Images of an Icon - Photo Essays - TIME The world is younger than we think if we measure it in terms of the human adventure which is a mere mille-something on the timeline of the planet
Global Online Privacy
Prosser appears to have a temper problem
Prosser Grabs Reporter's Microphone, Quickly Hands It Back (VIDEO) | TPMMuckraker: "Wisconsin state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, who has been publicly accused of putting Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in a chokehold, had another flare-up on Thursday -- this time with a reporter." Maybe he should be recalled. Or whatever they do to ballistic judges.
Global Online Privacy
Only Governor Cuomo has the will to shut down nuke plants
Jellyfish shut down British nuclear reactor | The Raw Story: "LONDON — A nuclear power station in eastern Scotland had to shut down its reactors after 'high volumes' of jellyfish were found on its seawater filter screens, the operating company said Thursday." It's good to see the jellyfish win a round. Only Governor Cuomo in NY State seems to have the will to shut down plants even when jellyfish are not menacing.
Global Online Privacy
My goodness Florida is actually making strides
Some States Still Leave Low-Income Students Behind; Others Make Surprising Gains - ProPublica: "All told, half the public-school students in Florida qualify for subsidized lunches. Many are the first in their families to speak English or contemplate attending college." Hey. Credit where credit is due.
Global Online Privacy
Scotus up big name philosophers down - Peirce agreed
Part II: Scotus On the Harmony, Beauty, and Consonance of a Moral Act | Per Caritatem: "his emphasis on the beauty of moral acts and the creativity and practical skill of the moral agent" One of my favorite sites. And nice to see her agreeing with my man Peirce.
Global Online Privacy
USA the metrics of decline keep coming up
Obsidian Wings: You Are Now Leaving the First World: "For life expectancy to decline in a developed nation is rare. Setbacks on this scale have not been seen in the U.S. since the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918" When we reverse the decline it will be because our brains moved a tad away from what is to what could be.
Global Online Privacy
Obama kept his oil swap promise
PolitiFact | The Obameter: Release oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve: "'Will swap oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cut prices . . . a limited, responsible swap of light oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for heavy crude oil to help bring down prices at the pump.'" The more we use now the less we will have when the stuff finally runs out. This is not exactly promising. Unless Obama keeps his promise to move beyond oil.
Global Online Privacy
Who says Communists cannot be corrupt?
After 90 Years, Graft Threatens China's Communists : NPR: "As China's Communist Party celebrates its 90th anniversary, President Hu Jintao has warned that its long rule has led to grave corruption. With 80 million members, it's now the world's largest political party. But facing rampant corruption and growing dissatisfaction, can this revolutionary party survive?" Corruption knows no party. It is a feral mix of individual and group lassitude and negation.
Global Online Privacy
Eve of destruction in North Dakota
North Dakota, Oil, and the Energy Crisis : The New Yorker: "One day a few months ago, beside a trailer parked near the center of the basin, half a dozen men prepared to send enough explosives underground to dismantle an armored tank. The firepower consisted of twenty-four “shaped charges”—little cone-shaped shells housed in foot-long metal cannisters called perforating guns. When the charges were detonated by an electrical signal, each shell would explode into the surrounding rock, forming corridors through which oil could flow into the well." Fracking is bad. Natural gas is the Wizard of Oz. Humbug.
Global Online Privacy
Next time Scott Walker runs, run the other way
Minnesota Government Shuts in Budget Fight - NYTimes.com: "CHICAGO - Minnesota began what is expected to become the broadest shutdown of state services in its history early Friday, after Republicans and Democrats there failed to agree on how to solve the state’s budget woes in time for the new fiscal year." This is a reprise of a nightmare and the best argument yet for the election of Democrats by persons who are not on odd and injurious regimens such as GOP thinking.
Global Online Privacy
Strauss-Kahn annals of sick behavior and wealthy solutions
Sources: Strauss-Kahn case near collapse - US news - Crime & courts - msnbc.com: "The sexual assault case against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is near collapse, sources said Thursday." This guy hires F. Lee Bailey-squared to defend him and simple eternities come into play like she lies. This guy is a found-out droit de seigneur predator who does what all the sorry race of men do when given the chance. He will go free because that is what happens when the guy chasing the woman around the room puts on a tie and suit and hires F. Lee.
Global Online Privacy
A little bit of fairness never hurt the wealthy
Obama: Deficit deal must end tax breaks for wealthy | McClatchy: "'And the revenue we're talking about isn't coming out of the pockets of middle-class families that are struggling,' he explained. 'It's coming out of folks who are doing extraordinarily well...'" This is so simple. Most get it. Save for the elected representatives of the GOP. The real crisis is unfolding behind all this. What we actually are going to do to deal with the inexorable rise in the cost of energy and the likely effect it will have on our habits and rules.
Global Online Privacy
Study of the historical Jesus has never been as intense as it is in the present
Historical Jesus Theories: "Study of the historical Jesus has never been as intense as it is in the present, and with this resource the reader can quickly get a feel for the countours of the field and find additional resources with which to come to his or her own conclusions on the historical Jesus." This page is excellent. It reminds us that Jesus is not transparently what the church has said he is. He might instead be a force for peace and justice by changing individuals and moving them beyond religion.
Global Online Privacy
Scratching the surface of liberal hypocrisy
Political theology and liberalism « The Immanent Frame: "Liberalism as a theory of the political fails when political practice turns to killing and being killed, whether that violence is turned inward in the form of revolution or outward in the form of war. We will dismiss the high political rhetoric of sacrifice as dangerous, because it is unreasonable. But only according to liberal theory must the state be a “reasonable” enterprise. Political theology reminds us that apart from reason there remains faith—dangerous as that might be."
Global Online Privacy
I blame the patriarchy always on the case
Spinster aunt answers eternal question “when should I dump him?” « I Blame The Patriarchy: "Reluctant to completely change your life based on the exhortation of some random Internet feminist? Then at least try out youarenotcrazy.com for some No. 1 Verbal Abuse Information. Tragically, the entire website suffers from gratuitous Flash, which makes it challenging to navigate (and copy text from), but slog through it anyway, because I promise you, you don’t deserve the shit that asshole is dishing out."
Global Online Privacy
China's lead poisoning denial flagged by HRW
“My Children Have Been Poisoned” | Human Rights Watch: "This 75-page report draws on research in heavily lead-contaminated villages in Henan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, and Hunan provinces. The report documents how, despite increasing regulation and sporadic enforcement targeting polluting factories, local authorities are ignoring the urgent and long-term health consequences of a generation of children continuously exposed to life-threatening levels of lead."
Global Online Privacy
When deregulators get it wrong
Hullabaloo: "I haven't heard any of the other deregulators from that era even attempt to explain what they were thinking much less admit they got it wrong. And yet that's what academia is supposed to be all about."
Global Online Privacy
Will China arrest the head of Sudan? Do pigs fly?
China: Sudanese President Bashir’s Visit Raises Eyebrows · Global Voices: "The visit by Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir - a fugitive from the International Criminal Court since being charged in 2009 with crimes against humanity and war crimes in his country's western Darfur region - to China this week is proving to be a controversial one, at least online."
Global Online Privacy
In Latin America water is becoming ever more precious
Latin America getting used to paying for water - Acciona exec, Chile,Regional,Peru, Water & Waste, news: "'It's clear that for a community, living without water poses a far greater impact than not having phone service. So in countries like Chile and Peru, which are beginning to have water scarcity problems, the population will support that lack of resource with sustainable water rates,' López said."
Global Online Privacy
Gallup Gives Bachmann the name recognition nod
Bachmann in Strong Position as She Enters 2012 Race: "PRINCETON, NJ -- Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who formally announced her presidential candidacy Monday in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, enters the race with 69% name recognition among Republicans and ties for the highest Positive Intensity Score of any GOP candidate Gallup tracks."
Global Online Privacy
Bachmann Lie Number One
Bachmann’s Waterloo | FactCheck.org: "Bachmann falsely claimed that she and her husband 'have never gotten a penny' from a family farm that received federal subsidies. But she reported income from the farm in 2006, 2008 and 2009 — the most recent year available — on her congressional financial disclosure statements." There's a whole mess more at FactCheck. I don't fault her. Presidential candidates are not running to be truth tellers. There are other measures of virtue. Such as whether they believe in denying some people universal rights and in offing other people in the name of oil and other tawdry things.
Global Online Privacy
Good old-fashioned class warfare. Bring it on!
Daily Kos :: State of the Nation: "On his Fox Business show, Lou Dobbs said, 'Did you hear the president today talking about millionaires, billionaires, and corporate jets? I mean, that's straightforward class warfare.'" I love it. Lou knows that even his cushy days are not eternal. Bite the rich.
Global Online Privacy
Is there any universal formula for a way ahead?
The End Times | Common Dreams: "What strikes me is the growing recognition, in so many quarters, of the unsustainability of our global culture and the need for, and inevitability of, profound change." My universal formula. Decide on four values and act on them. And work to move beyond all fossil fuels, to give everyone a job and to recreate face to face community. The values are non-idolatry, democracy, tolerance and helpfulness.
Global Online Privacy
Geithner actually seems to like his job
Geithner: I'm in job for "foreseeable future" - CBS News: "'I live for this work. It's the only thing I've ever done. I believe in it,' Geithner said when questioned about his plans by former President Bill Clinton onstage at a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative." I like this. More people should do things they like. Wake up to a near depression. Crunch numbers. Keep your cool. Testify. Yes dear, I had another great day. All this says is different strokes and it's a big world. Find your niche.
Global Online Privacy
Gay pride will not be harmed by a bit less media coverage
White House Gay Pride: An Oxymoron? — BagNews: "I’m sorry the LGBT Gay Pride event at the White House on Wednesday received so little press coverage, just a handful of pictures and no shots of Obama interacting with the crowd (if he even did). I also can’t tell if there were any women in attendance."
Global Online Privacy
Most people should not get married
Online Dating: Sex, Love, and Loneliness : The New Yorker That's my conclusion from reading this. We are trying to conjure up a society from the wreckage of traditional institutions and social orders. Best to have a society that recognizes stages not as life stages but as activity stages. Ecclesiastes type. A time for this and a time for that. The emphasis of more or less two things, love and money, eliminates about ten other things that one could find most helpful to the task of letting life become your school
Global Online Privacy
Modesty is the best thing since chopped liver
Shocker: Is the US Military Sick of War? | World | AlterNet: "That the United States should avoid wars except when absolutely necessary no longer connotes incipient isolationism. It is once again a sign of common sense, with Gates a leading promoter. Modesty is becoming respectable." So we are weary of war. It is actually bigger than that. We are canny folk and we know we can go thus far and no farther. This century is for picking up the pieces.
Global Online Privacy
Trinity not the one in Connecticut, the one in DC
The Washington Monthly - The Magazine - The Trinity Sisters: "Many of America’s most powerful women went to a college you’ve never heard of." A good argument for using freedom to forge something that will not appeal to everyone. Diversity is sometimes liberating.
Global Online Privacy
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A Setting for a Poem "Denial" Beloved by the Greek People by the Nobel Prize Winning Poet Giorgos Seferis http://www.youtube.c... -
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