Thursday, January 19, 2006

The first rule about Right Club...

Posted by Mickey Z on 01/19 at 06:39 AM
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  1. morning all.

    JOS we need your blogging again!

    Posted by michael from scotland  on  01/19  at  07:09 AM

  2. Mornin’ All MZ’ers....JOS, we all send you hugs. Let us know how you are.
    Mickey, I just read the link you gave last night to your “Textbook” article. Thanks. That AID group is amazingly evil. I often see them on C-span. Textbooks are a real important source of misinformation in this country. All on this site already know that.
    Mudge, how is it going today?
    Joe, I’ll share my wet vac with you.

    Posted by RMJ from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  01/19  at  08:26 AM

  3. Good Morning, Michael and RMJ.

    I just want to clarify my suggestion, re: JOS. The idea is not just to say hello to him here...but to leave comments at his blog: http://www.wdthu.blogspot.com.

    I’m heading out soon. Got lots of running around to do in the city (as we New Yorkers call Manhattan). As captcha sez: “Later.”

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  08:32 AM

  4. Good morning MZ and the Expendables, JOS,

    Which version of Project Mayhem would you prefer:
    Tyler Durden’s?
    or the Right Club’s?

    Arundhati’s right again: plenty of examples everywhere of non-democratic elections, not least of all right here at home.

    Rock on indeed. Another busy day for me today but I’ll check in as I can.

    From yesterday - all the comments made for interesting conversation I’m sorry to have missed out on.  I know Youngfox was glad to see you enjoyed his site RMJ. I’m hoping that it’s a good and water-free day for you.
    Mudge if I win the lottery you can pick out whatever abode suits your fancy - my fingers are crossed.
    Joe I hope clean up is going as planned and James, when does the job start?

    “Ready”, set, go!

    Posted by Amelopsis from Canada  on  01/19  at  08:32 AM

  5. Having emerged from my airtight container in the fridge, I have to say I love today’s post, but one thing puzzles me - the combination of Bill O’Reilly & Anne Madwoman.  Not an alien?  An alien?  Who the fuck knows, but if any geneticists are reading, please, for the love of god, do not splice those two.  My bile valve won’t take the pressure.

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  08:55 AM

  6. Not sure what I meant with the alien image, Chris...except to illustrate two rights making some kind of wrong. Who knows?

    Btw, thanks to RT, you’ll be glad to see some Bill Hicks added to the original post.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  09:08 AM

  7. Hi everybody...last post for a while.  The computer’s gonna get disassembled for the move later today, and I need to packpackpack.  Not to mention wash clothes.  Not to mention...you know the drill, right?

    I might use the host’s computer to check in on Friday night, assuming I don’t just say “screw it” and get in the old station wagon and drive as far as it will go then start life anew wherever that is.  I think I’ll steal Tyler Durden’s identity.

    Ciao for now, more as soon as I can get back.

    Posted by Mudge from Dear, dead Austin  on  01/19  at  09:20 AM

  8. There´s no such thing as right or left, it´s a tool of political manipulation that most people use without even knowing. George Orwell called it ´blackwhite´, a phoney argument to obscure the fact that there are more than two sides to an argument. Time to evolve beyond imposing geographical coordinates on something as slippery as an opinion.

    P.S. you can´t have too much Bill.

    Posted by Owen from Barcelona  on  01/19  at  09:24 AM

  9. All kidding aside, Mickey actually brings up an important issue. Those people really are in one big club of priviledge, unconcern, belligerence, and business. I’m trying to remember which of the Michael Moore films it is in which there’s footage of Yeltsin and Clinton laughing their asses off. Or what about that lovely picture Mickey has posted here before with Bush (the First) and Clinton preparing to play tonsil-hockey? All those scumbags eat at the same restaurants, buy their suits at the same places, invest what tax-payers pay them in the same kinds of morally-reprehensible corporations and pocket shit-loads from very similar “special interests” (a phrase coined to disguise straight-up bribery political bribery). With occassional exceptions they’re the same in every country and after a good dishonest day’s work making or inventing news I’m sure they love to get together and drink the same fine wine and 30-year-old malt whiskey, smoke the same expensive cigars, tilt their heads back and cackle like the super villains that they are. I cannot stand those photo ops (like the recent one of assembled secretaries of state) when supposedly ideologically opposed leaders shake hands and pat each other on the butt like it was a football match and not my planet they made their career screwing royally.

    captcha = problem

    Posted by Keir from The Hague  on  01/19  at  09:44 AM

  10. Okay, back for one second to share a quote from yesterday’s AWAD:

    Whoever imagines himself a favorite with God holds others in contempt.
    -Robert Green Ingersoll, lawyer and orator (1833-1899)

    The word of the day for yesterday was “vincible”—capable fo being defeated.

    Oracle, oracle, on the Web....

    Posted by Mudge from Dear, dead Austin  on  01/19  at  09:58 AM

  11. Totally agree about Hicks - can’t have too much of the guy.

    Captcha says “world” - too right

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  10:04 AM

  12. did anyone see democracy now today??

    the bit about UCLA?

    thats nuts

    Posted by michael from scotland  on  01/19  at  10:08 AM

  13. This is a fucking riot:

    Ten Top Trivia Tips about James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady!

    There are more than two hundred different kinds of James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady.

    James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady has a bifurcated penis.

    If you lace James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady from the inside to the outside, the fit will be snugger around your big toe.

    James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady is actually a vegetable, not a fruit.

    South Australia was the first place to allow James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady to stand for parliament!

    A lump of James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court.

    Owls cannot move their eyes, because their eyeballs are shaped like James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady.

    James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady is incapable of sleep.

    Koalas sleep for 22 hours a day, two hours more than James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady!

    Olympic badminton rules say that James the Hell’s Kitchen Cat Lady must have exactly fourteen feathers.

    Posted by James from Hell's Kitchen  on  01/19  at  10:16 AM

  14. Afternoon everyone.

    My favourite description of the ‘two-party system’ (sic) is “they’re two cheeks of the same arse”.

    I guess that makes the UK parliament a 3-cheeked arse. What a pleasant image.

    Gave blood today, feeling drained. A random tangent - my mate has very useful O Neg blood, but the Blood Service won’t take it as hes gay, never mind that hes strictly monagamous. Are other expendable’s countries so blessed with surplus blood stocks they can discriminate like that?

    Posted by Mew from England  on  01/19  at  10:27 AM

  15. Mew, my country also discriminates and I can no longer donate because I lived in the UK (mad cow threat).  They don’t care that I don’t eat meat!

    Captcha says “power”...all the more to you Mudge.

    Posted by Amelopsis from CAnada  on  01/19  at  10:47 AM

  16. Mew re 14 - I think the Lib Dems are more like the bit in the middle!  Actually, mustn’t run them down - locally they have a good record round where I am. 

    (I guess in the US the bit in the middle would be Ross Perot - fair nuff - but Nader?  Hmmm)

    Great way of putting things, btw.  And as we’re in Hicks mode, can I remind people of his comparison:

    “I think the puppet on the left is my choice.”

    “No, I agree with the puppet on the right.”

    “Hey, there’s one guy holding up both puppets ...”

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  10:51 AM

  17. As to the blood donating, I totally agree.  Why discriminate?  Some bits of it I can understand (unprotected sex with multiple partners - fair nuff) but that part is just nuts.

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  10:53 AM

  18. Hello everyone. At the risk of hijacking the discussions going on here today, I find myself in need of some Expendable Advice:


    How do you go about figuring out what the correct path in life is? A little background: I just returned home from what should have been my second day on the job working for the City (L.A.). I hustled to get this job, mainly for the bennies and the implied security. But the incredibly strict structure and the reality of being hyper-supervised (folks were actually more concerned with the color of my footwear and the jewelry in my one earlobe than the strength of my character as someone else once put it) got me feeling so depressed and even suicidal that when I dragged my butt out of bed this AM after a second night of no sleep, there only seemed to be one option that wouldn’t require copious amounts of self-medication. A friend once called me process averse but I prefer to think of myself as bullshit intolerant. Perhaps this wasn’t a good time to be reading Fight Club with all of its themes about personal freedom and such. If anything, I proved to myself that one can’t marry for money.


    But anyway, back to the question, oh wise ones (or would that be wise guys? or wise persons?): How do you find “True North?” Particularly when the only path before you that is clearly marked is the one you know you do not want to take, for fear of losing your spirit? Thanks in advance for indulging me - I wouldn’t ask if I weren’t in dire need.


    The oracle says “single,” but I think I’m having enough of this “ man, alone,” BS.

    Posted by Rev Joe from   on  01/19  at  11:46 AM

  19. Good morning, y’all

    MZ: Thanks—just thought Bill’s words would add even more character to the post (and maybe something for our collective third eye wink

    Owen and Keir: Duly noted. Yet perhaps more fitting is Chomsky’s analysis: that the folks currently in office are at “the extreme end of a narrow policy spectrum”, where even the smallest differences can have a huge effect. Abortion, gay marriage, creationism in schools, the death penalty, labor rights, and other domestic issues, for example.

    RMJ: Wishing you dryness.

    Weather in the Buyou City: 67F (19C), Cloudy, and polluted

    Posted by RT from The Buyou City  on  01/19  at  11:47 AM

  20. Tim Ireland has made a fantastic little animation. If you think some if is too close to the bone then read the bit at the end. It’s a couple of minutes long.

    watch it (you need sound)

    http://tinyurl.com/8ota4

    Posted by michael from scotland  on  01/19  at  11:48 AM

  21. Heh, read the Guardian Sport section someone left on my train home. Apparently the nice Mr Ancram (Conservative Secretary for Whocares) suggested that Iran should be barred from the World Cup this summer.
    The Guardian sports columnist pointed out that if non-nuclear status and a clean bill of health from Amnesty was required, we’d be left with a single match between Holland and Costa Rica.

    Revjoe, my beard isn’t nearly long enough to dispense any sage advice. Sorry. Wish it was, cos I’m in a similar fix meself.

    Posted by Mew from England  on  01/19  at  12:04 PM

  22. Rev Joe re#18,

    I can only say that for myself, if the compromises demanded are merely superficial then I can do my best to bite it and comply to the necessary extent. 
    If the compromises demanded are extensive to the point of THINKING in lockstep, and are counter to my beliefs, or infringe unduly on those principles important to my life and lifestyle or valued personal activities; then I would have to reconsider and attempt to find a more suitable employ.

    I empathise with your predicament and can only say that NO JOB IS WORTH FORFEITING YOUR LIFE!
    Hang in there and don’t let your current challenges overshadow your own faith in your abilities.

    (I hesitate to offer such ‘life’ advice (who am I to direct another’s path??), but if you’re in dire need, I hope my 2 cents serve you well)

    Posted by Amelopsis from CAnada  on  01/19  at  12:04 PM

  23. Rev. Joe, my quick 2 cents-- I hear ya more than anyone about hating having selling your soul for a job steady enough to pay a high rent with, but don’t underestimate how bad for you soul unemployment is either. Easy for Tyler Durden to go around talking shit when he’s (spoiler alert) just a figment of a schizoid mind and doesn’t actually need to earn a living.

    Posted by James from Hell's Kitchen  on  01/19  at  12:14 PM

  24. I guess what I meant if nothing else, was make sure you have something to fall back on before quitting a steady gig no matter how hellish it is!

    Posted by James from Hell's Kitchen  on  01/19  at  12:32 PM

  25. RT, you (and Chomsky) have a point. But my feeling--and it’s only a feeling--is that there are very few principled people in the halls of power. George Bush would be talking about reproductive rights and universal health care if his base and his donors and his handlers told him that’s what it takes. And let’s keep our ears open for Hillary’s subtly-metamorphosing rhetoric in the coming 2 years too. Or not.

    Rev Joe: totally sucks, I know. If this doesn’t cheer you up, well, that’s okay too. My opinion: some things just suck. A bit of patience helps. Listen: a little more than two years ago I was dead broke (still am) and jobless. So I agreed to a short-term job cleaning offices for bankers and insurance people and so on. Joined the ranks of the little Eichmanns, I did. I hate the job, I hate the way the rich men glance down their noses at me and feign interest in my life by occassionally recognizing my existence. But I can pay my rent, and I come home, wash up, and forget about it. That’s not me. It’s just a friggin’ day job. 

    On this planet, at this moment, freedom is only inside, I guess. Throwing oneself into the arduous task of changing that makes one feel good. If you can do that and pay your rent with a crap job, hang on to it. But if you can’t, if it’s really as bad as you say, you have to quit and find something else.

    There’s my 30 cents.

    Posted by Keir from The Hague  on  01/19  at  12:42 PM

  26. Good morning, Mickey, and all you expendables, i.e. Michael from Scotland, Amelopsis, RMJ, Chris, MUDGE from Texas, Owen, James with all those interesting details about Hell’s Kitchen, Keir, Mew, Rev Joe and RT!  Phew - quite a handful, and I hope I have not forgotten anyone .. I am not lying if I say that you have all become friends, even if most of you are not ‘lesser evil’ people, as is clear from the rogues’ gallery at the top of today’s post .. However, if one scrolls down, up pops Arundhati - do you heart her, Mickey?  She swept all before her when she visited Australia a while ago - I liked reading ‘War Talk’.

    Another hot day ahead - we’ll be getting close to 100 today, so avoid the sun.
    Auf Wiedersehen,
    Helga at 6:16 am on a Friday morning in sunny Daylesford

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  01/19  at  02:16 PM

  27. I’m back. My sojourn through Manhattan saw me on the N, B, 2, R, 6, and W train lines. Fortunately, it’s another mild January day. It’s “true.”

    Hello RMJ, Mudge (good luck), RT, Owen, Keir, James, Chris, Michael, Mew, Helga (yes, I heart Arundhati), and Rev. Joe (I’ll get to you in the next comment).

    Love the “two cheeks of the same arse” line, Mew. I sometimes use: Our political system is like a plane: a right wing and a left wing...but one pilot. Gore Vidal wrote that the truest conspiracy theory is that they all think alike.

    Rev: I’ll add my 31 cents (sorry, Keir) to follow.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  02:22 PM

  28. And good moving, Mudge!  I for one know the drill only too well.  Moving is one of the more upsetting experiences especially if one arrives at one’s destination and then cannot find certain stuff - I hope that doesn’t happen too often in your case.

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  01/19  at  02:24 PM

  29. Rev. Joe, I do not have a good answer for you…but that’s never stopped from talking or writing before.

    Karl Marx sez: “The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write for the purpose of making money.”

    Bukowski sez: “I always resented all the years, the hours, the minutes I gave them as a working stiff. It actually hurt my head, my insides…it made me dizzy and a bit crazy. I couldn’t understand the murdering of my years.”

    I wrote about a book based on that Bukowski line and it got me invited to places like Yale and Sarah Lawrence to talk. Imagine me giving career advice at Yale…

    What I said in the book and in my talks is that we’re stuck in this society and that means compromise. As the Empress said above, we each must decide how much we’re willing to compromise. All I can say, Rev, you can certainly take solace that you’re not alone. Not even close. Below are three excerpts from Murdering of My Years

    #1: Don’t quit your day job. The tough part about quitting the rat race and becoming an artist, or whatever, is that even if you have talent, it often takes an inordinate amount of time for anyone to appreciate your talent or, more importantly, for you to be able to make any money from it.  There’s not much point starving yourself into submission and climbing back onto the rat race ladder but in an even worse position.

    #2: You are probably not going to become famous. I know you don’t believe me, because you’re different, right? You’re really talented, and really dedicated, and really special. Well, the truth is, that’s what everyone thinks. Truth is, you are really not special. You’re subject to the same universal laws as everyone else: odds are you will not be canonized or recognized on the street or showered with adoration and wealth. However perhaps, not in the middle of your life, but at the end of your life, you will look back and see that fame, fortune, and accolades do not matter. What matters is that you have given the time you had on earth to the pursuit of living meaningfully, to shedding some light on this strange and hurtful human existence, to making the world a better place. You have not passed your time on earth simply acquiring as much stuff as possible, staring blankly at a TV screen, converting products to garbage, producing junk that no one needs, tricking people out of a buck or two, or letting your intellect and talents rot.

    #3: Each person has to decide what’s most important to them: money, security, autonomy, free time, health, routine, spontaneity. We start out programmed to some degree or another, making choices we’re steered to, or trained to make. It takes time and luck to be able to discover what your preferences are, what really motivates you, and then to arrange things so that these can be honored or lived by.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  02:25 PM

  30. Mew:  I think Australia discriminates against gays wanting to give blood in the same way as the UK.  However, when it comes to gay rights, your neck of the woods is actually miles ahead.  And how come the powers that be have no problem taking blood from straight people?  They are known to be quite promiscuous at times, no?

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  01/19  at  02:29 PM

  31. Re Gore Vidal, Mickey:  he said in an interview in 2000 which was recently rebroadcast in Australia that ‘if nothing makes sense, you know you’re in America.’ Not only in America, I should add ..

    No advice for Rev Joe but my fellow expendables are so much better at dispensing same.  However, I think that most people are caught in unsatisfying jobs - not that that’s much comfort.

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  01/19  at  02:37 PM

  32. Btw, in case any of you were wondering, my spammer name is:
    Ingenious T. Flash
    (http://thesurrealist.co.uk/spamname)

    Pump up the “volume”

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  02:44 PM

  33. Helga, yup, and not only promiscuous but engaging in all the high-risk activities comfortably ascribed to gays.

    We’ve had to move 3 Mews on 4 seperate occasions just this year. Its a pain in the bum, even if you’re just the muscle (hah!) loading the van.

    Herpes U. Centipede???? I’M Herpes U. Centipede? Wait, that means I’ve been spamming myself these last few years…

    Posted by Mew from England  on  01/19  at  02:47 PM

  34. It’s a good “idea” to be careful what you Google:
    http://tinyurl.com/9kq8c

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  02:59 PM

  35. Thanks to everyone who took time to respond to my query so far. Perhaps I need to be a little more precise. My question is not so much about accepting a less than desirable position in order to pay the bills, but rather how do you find your way when you come to a crossroads and decisions have to be made that will affect how your life will look in the days/weeks/years to come?


    I already know from the experience of the past few days how to recognize the wrong path - the job in question brought with it insomnia, anxiety, upset tummy. and that was before I’d even worked the first shift. My body and psyche were rejecting this job, even though my conscious mind was trying to override the red flags with logic. As soon as i walked in this morning and handed them back the keys and the ID I felt normal again. And within the first hour of my new unemployment I secured, with the help of a good friend, a job that pays almost as much and includes benefits, and will teach me new skills that I’ve always wanted to learn.


    So the real question is I suppose more mystical in nature: How do each/any of you discover the true path you need to be on for the next little part of the journey?


    And to Mickey: I bought, read and enjoyed The Murdering of My Years and I suppose it can be partly to blame for my present condition, though not really; it actually helps to confirm that I am not alone nor particularly crazy, despite the insistence of my cvil service friends that there is indeed something terribly wrong with me, so I thank you so much for creating that project and sharing it with us all. It has brought comfort to my troubled mind very often.


    Oracle says, “through,” as in I need to work through this?

    Posted by Rev Joe from   on  01/19  at  03:08 PM

  36. Keir - dear oh dear, who would’ve thought details of Cheney’s discomfort so amusing?  Imagine how many hits a “football in the groin” vid featuring that fucker would raise?  Quite a big market! 

    I myself know I broke into a broad grin ... which faded when I realised he wore a ski hat to an Auschwitz ceremoney - I mean, what the fuck is wrong with his head?  I mean, what’s wrong with his head that you can fix with a ski mask?  Cowboy hats didn’t exactly instill Ronald Reagan with any particular code. 

    Anyone read “Freakeconomics”?  I’ve had it recommended recently, but only by one person.

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  04:02 PM

  37. I have heard good things about ‘Freakeconomics’, Chris but haven’t read it.
    Btw:  I haven’t forgotten that I am supposed to order more books from you, Mickey!

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  01/19  at  04:51 PM

  38. Just seen the news ... a new tape from Bin Laden the CIA “believes” is genuine, offering “hints”... White House says “unacceptable”...

    Bin Laden is our Goldstein.

    Captcha says “night”

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  05:20 PM

  39. William Blum just e-mailed me to say Osama bin Laden mentioned his book, Killing Hope, in his (Osama’s) latest audiotape. Blum may be on CNN tonight: Wolf Blitzer.

    Spread the word…

    Rev. Joe: Corny as it sounds, I don’t believe there is one true path. Your conundrum deserves more attention than I give now. More later, okay?

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  05:23 PM

  40. Also, President’s daughter wears trashy dress ... come on MZ, let’s not neglect the REAL news!

    What approach does Killing Hope take?

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  05:27 PM

  41. http://www.killinghope.org

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  05:29 PM

  42. Hi ALL...I like Rev Joe’s question about which path in life to take. I think that sometimes it is best to ask yourself which decision you would be most happy with when you look back on it in 20 years.  When I look back on my life, I am saddened by having had to spend so much of it (almost all) just making money to support my little family. I often fantasize about the other more important things I could have done, but it was worth it because I was doing it for my daughter.  I often think of that old quote, maybe from Kibran.  It goes something like this, “They think me mad because I will not sell my days for gold. I think them mad because they think my days have a price.” For those of us with a fire burning in our belly, it is especially hard to sell our days. Most jobs these days are mind numbing. The work place is an anti-people, anti-family, toxic wasteland.

    OFF TOPIC.... Osama has just offered the USA a truce. It is interesting watching the media spin and misinform the people about what he has said.

    Posted by RMJ from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  01/19  at  05:31 PM

  43. >shudder< just seen a pic of Condi Rice & Laura Bush in “Queen” like hats.  Can’t say I’ve ever admired the Queen, but these two look fucking sinister:

    http://tinyurl.com/82dso

    >bleh!< They look like members of some terrible, twisted cult who might whip out butcher knives any moment.  Honestly, ladies!  A less obvious “hands on” look next time, if you please!

    PS Can anyone tell me why the Queen is considered ladylike when she has a passion for bloodsports?  I (currently) work with a woman who has less feeling for people than anyone I’ve ever worked with - and she goes hunting too!  (You can still fox hunt legally in England without dogs!) Doh!, double doh! and fuck.

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  05:32 PM

  44. Re Mickey #39...sorry we were typing at the same time.  I want to read the whole Osama transcript.

    News just said that Vermont will get some oil from Venezuela. Thank you’s to our friends in the south. We need the foreign aid now that the USA is a 3rd world country.

    Posted by RMJ from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  01/19  at  05:39 PM

  45. Sorry for cross posting just then.  Thanks for the link, MZ, will read when less tired. 

    Did notice this, though:

    “I bought several more copies to circulate to
    friends with the hope of shedding new light
    and understanding on their political outlooks.”
    Oliver Stone

    Didn’t know Oliver Stone knew Bin Laden?  heh heh heh

    (PS That’s a joke, Feds)

    BTW, Mudge, I’ve ordered a couple of Dennis Cooper books after checking his website.  Some amazing writing!  Methought I could do with seeing more, so thanks for the tip. 

    Can I echo comments some people have made about feeling a little awed at the breadth of reading on display here?  A lot of these authors I haven’t read, but it’s great to have a forum with (seemingly) endless useful links.  Not endless perhaps, but certainly far more than I could hope to follow up in a short time frame. 

    So if any lurkers are afraid to comment, I assure you I’d be amazed & staggered if everyone here had read all the authors referred to. 

    One review of Blum’s book (on American Amazon) states:

    “I certainly don’t agree with all of our foreign policy tactics but realize that some of them are necessary for our national security” - from a reviewer who gave it five stars. 

    Anyone want to expand on that?

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  05:45 PM

  46. I just found the mention. It wasn’t Killing Hope:

    Osama sez:

    If you (Americans) are sincere in your desire for peace and security, we have answered you. And if Bush decides to carry on with his lies and oppression, then it would be useful for you to read the book “Rogue State,” which states in its introduction: “If I were president, I would stop the attacks on the United States: First I would give an apology to all the widows and orphans and those who were tortured. Then I would announce that American interference in the nations of the world has ended once and for all.”

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  05:45 PM

  47. Seems like somebody is trying to discredit the best critics ... I smell bullshit.  Surely the tape’s a phony, unless the CIA just haven’t thought of checking Osama’s account at Amazon.

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  05:52 PM

  48. Hey MZ, how’s this for an idea?  Now you’re on Forbes, why not try doing a mailshot of your books to various cave networks in Afghanistan!  He could start quoting one of yours next - think of the sales! 

    Maybe Oprah should invite Mr O. onto book choice:

    “Yes, Oprah, and the CIA wants to discredit this guy as well ...”

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  05:54 PM

  49. Weird, huh? If it’s a fake tape (and who really knows?), what would make the tapemakers choose Blum and not Zinn or Chomsky or even Michael Moore?

    This will be interesting to watch it play out.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  05:58 PM

  50. OK two things:

    Mickey, your spammer name’s spammer name is Posse F. Intermediary.

    Rev Joe, I’m with Mickey in that there’s no one “true path” or whatever, but in a fix, go with Vonnegut: “Strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.”

    Posted by Keir from The Hague  on  01/19  at  05:59 PM

  51. In my view, Bill Blum, is the greatest historian of our time. That quote about what he would do if he was president, is my favorite. It says it all. 
    Now, right now, is the perfect time to rally around a demand for the USA to accept the truce offer. The news speakers are trying to hide that portion of the transcript and are warmongering.
    CNN just reported that the White House has answered the offer of a truce with the statement, “Go to hell”.

    Posted by RMJ from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  01/19  at  06:02 PM

  52. MZ re 49, I have no idea why him - maybe he’s the best target for whatever reason, but I honestly don’t have a clue.  Just contemplating the ifs!

    Does Blum have prominence?  Are his advocates less credible?  Has Moore been discredited enough (for certain things to be blindsided) & so onto the next?  We’ll just have to see!

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  06:13 PM

  53. Link to text of Osama
    http://tinyurl.com/b6fya

    Chris, maybe it is the clarity of the Blum statement that caused Osama to use it. Will be interesting to see how all of this falls out. I, too, am not 100% convinced that the tape was authentic but it is fun watching the scrambling that it has caused the politicians etc. They now have been backed into a corner where they have to either accept the truce or else go on record as wanting war at any price. Of course, in the end, maybe none of this will matter because we know that war is necessary to enrich Halliburton and the others.

    Posted by RMJ from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  01/19  at  06:25 PM

  54. Hello all - sorry I’ve not been back online since weekend, been reading through the posts and Mickey’s blog entries and there’s lots of interesting stuff to look into / digest.

    It’s just that my office job is very busy just now, and when I return home I don’t want to be on a computer again for lots of hours. So I go on for a short while and scan over stuff…

    Keep up the questioning / debating / loving / striving and hopefully I’ll join in more soon..too tired to write an intelligible post tonight..!

    captcha word - england?

    Posted by Paul M from Scotland  on  01/19  at  06:41 PM

  55. RMJ - sadly I agree.  The warmongers will blanket the media as per usual, same old techniques, same denials, accusations & bullshit promises.  But at least we should have some theories as to the origin of these tapes - I still maintain Bin Laden is (whether alive, dead, if the tapes are real or whatever) being paraded as a Goldstein figure. 

    You certainly have a point about that statement’s clarity - I found it very moving.

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  06:42 PM

  56. TV ALERT
    Mickey’s info was correct. Blitzer just announced that Blum will be on sometime within this hour on CNN, The Situation Room.

    Posted by RMJ from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  01/19  at  07:17 PM

  57. On the google bit…

    A New York Times editorial observes:

    At a North Carolina strangulation-murder trial this month, prosecutors announced an unusual piece of evidence: Google searches allegedly done by the defendant that included the words “neck” and “snap.” The data were taken from the defendant’s computer, prosecutors say. But it might have come directly from Google, which - unbeknownst to many users - keeps records of every search on its site, in ways that can be traced back to individuals.
    This is an interesting fact—Google keeps records of every search in a way that can be traceable to individuals. The op-ed goes on to say:

    Google has been aggressive about collecting information about its users’ activities online. It stores their search data, possibly forever, and puts “cookies” on their computers that make it possible to track those searches in a personally identifiable way - cookies that do not expire until 2038. Its e-mail system, Gmail, scans the content of e-mail messages so relevant ads can be posted. Google’s written privacy policy reserves the right to pool what it learns about users from their searches with what it learns from their e-mail messages, though Google says it won’t do so. . . .
    The government can gain access to Google’s data storehouse simply by presenting a valid warrant or subpoena. . . .


    This is an important point. No matter what Google’s privacy policy says, the fact that it maintains information about people’s search activity enables the government to gather that data, often with a mere subpoena, which provides virtually no protection to privacy—


    ASIDE from that

    i know i always do it but did anyone actually look at the little vid i posted on number 20?

    if you did you r either

    1. upset
    2. bored
    3. worried

    what did u think? its a brilliant (if scary) piece of work

    or maybe i have “opened” a can of worms

    Posted by michael from scotland  on  01/19  at  07:23 PM

  58. Did anyone see Blum? Wolf Blitzer made no effort to hide his disdain, but it was still great to hear a truly opposing viewpoint on CNN.

    Michael: I tried to watch the video but it took sooooo long to load, I had to quit.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  07:57 PM

  59. the impatience of youth!

    just being cheeky

    honestly, leave it loading and get back to it.

    getting back to it will be what i am doing tomorrow cos is late here but if anyone wants to comment cos i thnk its superb.

    crunch meeting with landlord in 8 hours

    i may be homeless tomorrow

    oh well, i will console myself by saying that activism only counts when it hurts: even tough that is only a partial truth and what mickey said in post #29 is quite correct

    Posted by michael from scotland  on  01/19  at  08:07 PM

  60. I couldn’t get on TinyURL, but here’s an interview I did with Bill Blum for those not familiar with him:
    http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=1&ItemID=6702

    Michael: Chilling stuff about Google. “Could” anyone suggest a safer search engine?

    Welcome, Paul.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  08:07 PM

  61. Missed your last one, Michael. I will try to return to the video later. In the meantime, good luck with your landlord. It seems too many of us Expendables are having shelter issues.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  08:09 PM

  62. Still online, meant to go to bed ages ago - damn internet (I was actually reading this after someone linked to it: http://tinyurl.com/7l1m and thinking - hmm, true. Feeling very cynical about people today).

    Hi Michael, had a look at that - no sound but it was very powerful all the same. Could that be downloaded as an attachment? Would love to show that to people in my work, but we don’t have net access as you know. I think that clip has the potential to affect/engage a lot of people not normally interested in these issues.

    Having it from a child’s point of view in their style of drawing made it resonate at a deep level for me. Made me sadder and angrier. And that is a good thing...it is creepy as fuck and terrifying too, but then so is torturing people and blowing them up in illegal wars. In other words, it’s perfect.

    On a general note something has to be done about all this torture/rendition shit...I read edjogs stuff on his site about contacting MPs and reading up on the law and challenging the fuckers that way - something to look into..just feel like the time is over to sit back and just watch all this unfold. how many times have i said that to myself and i never do anything of any substance...???

    captcha word: school - hmmmm....

    Posted by Paul M from Scotland  on  01/19  at  08:10 PM

  63. Michael, if it’s that serious - give me a email/call, whatever. Had no idea!? I can’t help out monetarily as you know I have severe cash flow problems myself, but will help in all other ways I can. Drop me an email / call me tomorrow in work if anything goes down.

    Won’t be in tomorrow tonight, playing football and then going out with my brothers and sister-in-law for a meal.

    But be in touch anyway regardless of the outcome, hope to see you soon…

    Posted by Paul M from Scotland  on  01/19  at  08:18 PM

  64. Yes, I watched Blum on with Blitzer. Bill was great. Blitzer seemed confused to me. It appeared that Wolf had never heard ideas like that before.
    Michael...another privacy issue. I recently read something that said that if you send someone something that was composed in “Word”, and changed or deleted something from it, the deleted portion could somehow be brought back by the recipient.  Anyone else ever hear anything like that?
    Tonight I my thoughts will be with Jill Carroll.

    Posted by RMJ from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts  on  01/19  at  08:21 PM

  65. Michael, that is an outstanding, profound and sickening point of view.  Paul M, the video is excellent but the soundtrack is quite stunning & incredibly well synced. 

    Strongly urge everyone to watch it, preferably with sound. (MZ, I had no problem once it had downloaded & mine is a bog standard Mac).

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, England  on  01/19  at  08:45 PM

  66. G’night, all…

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  01/19  at  10:23 PM

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