Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Saturday, September 08, 2007
It's "Back to School" Season
hello everyone (and future prez!)
prob wont be back on pc till monday now but on the two topics raised today.. i liked this one from noam that i put at the start of an old article. he was accused of ‘betraying the intellectual tradition’ and he replied…
“That’s true, I agree with him. The intellectual tradition is one of servility to power, and if I didn’t betray it, I’d be ashamed of myself.”
(article here.. http://tinyurl.com/rdubv )
a for prez - when i was in school i said i wanted to be the first president of an independent scotland.
there was two things in that, first the independence part and also the president=no king or queentut tut, a little radical even then.
Posted by michael on from scotland 09/08 at 06:30 AMHi Mickey...good topic, good words...I especially like what the ‘Little Dragon Sez’
I’ll add this to that…
“All authority of any kind, especially in the field of thought and understanding, is the most destructive, evil thing. Leaders destroy the followers and followers destroy the leaders. You have to be your own teacher and your own disciple. You have to question everything that man has accepted as valuable, as necessary.
-- J. Krishnamurti, Freedom from the KnownPosted by joe of maine on from 09/08 at 09:29 AMHi michael, Mickey, joe, and those yet to arrive…
joe, you are right about the necessity to be our own teacher. Now-a-days we also have to be our own doctor, lawyer, brother, and friend.Good topic, Mickey. About learning and education -it seems that Osama has been learning more wherever he is than most people in the usa. In his previous video he commented on Blum and in the new one he mentions Chomsky.
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 09/08 at 01:04 PMahh so thats their game....putting words of the “left wing” thinkers into the mouth of public enemy number one!
latest adventures of Osama bin laden:
http://tinyurl.com/3dnk3gamazing how he could have breached the multi-million dollar “rabble-proof fence”:
Looks like these summits are not only good business for world team security....but by just leaving the fences and barricades in place we will have safe green zones in every major city around the globe. The new world order looks like a planet of slums…
Returning now to meditate with the fushias....Posted by frances on from bc land of most awesome september days 09/08 at 01:26 PMThese quotes are always appropriate, and give me an opening for Today’s Campaign Lesson: like applying formal education, staying on-message requires ignoring whatever context is presented, in favor of the intended idea. For instance, MZ, public works: if someone asks you if ending the genocide in Palestine is part of your program, stress the fact that you’re sick of seeing chewing gum stuck to the sidewalk (or vice versa, which makes as much sense).
I’m tired of seeing mediocrity stuck to our institutions. It’s time to break out the Goo Gone and putty knives.
Chris Hedges’ “American Fascists” is worth reading. His conclusion is strong, and includes these crucial passages about his college mentor’s experience in Nazi Germany: “...[W]atch closely what these new fascists accuse their opponents of planning. For radical movements expose their own intentions and goals by tarring their enemies with their own nefarious motives,” and “[effective resistance] would not arise from the institutional church or the liberal, secular elite...They had no stomach for a battle that might cost them their prestige and comfort.” The first bit is surely the grandest conspiracy theory of all (ouch, the irony hurts) and the second part is central to the deflation of mass participation in alternatives.
Formal greetings to all the Expendables, and I’m grateful to Mew for her foreign influence yesterday.
Posted by Zen Prole on from Urth 09/08 at 01:37 PMSo, who will the war mongers outsource the war against america to...I don’t mean staged terrorism to keep americans frightened...I mean the new frontier for war...simply making money from creating and sustaining war with no intended outcome but to prepare the foundation for bulldozers. Bulldozers are very expensive these days. Who will own the bulldozer factories...the Rockefellers? And rebuilding america by the new owners, workers? I feel there is nothing too low for WarProfits Inc. Selling the planet by the pound.
Does this sound absurd...how absurd is what do we have now? We’re constantly being warned of attacks by the attackers. The attackers might be the deciders.
Posted by joe of maine on from 09/08 at 01:55 PMHello Expendables...from muggy, humid Astoria. Where did they come up with the word “bulldozer”? And Zen, FYI: Mew is a “he.”
Time to re-arrange my cabinet choices. The soba noodles are too hard to find behind the pita chips.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/08 at 02:01 PMHi Mickey, I couldn’t find the origin of the word bulldozer. Bully...I included a very nice photo of a bulldozer. This model might be the same one used to run over activists and level homes. You can use them to plow snow, ram the governors mansion. Very useful...pretty color.
Posted by joe of maine on from 09/08 at 03:42 PMHELp...I am getting an increased volume of mail telling me that I am wrong and “weak” for not joining in with those who are absolutely sure that 9/11 was a government conspiracy. Basically my position is that I don’t have a position on that topic - just a question: “Why would Osama have confessed if they did not do it, and why would all of those who have been victims of usa policies not attempted any retaliation?” One reason for the increase in interest in this topic is the Air Force “mistake” with the nukes this week when they lost the nukes and then found that they had been accidentally flown around the U.S. The rumor that the usa is planning on nuking the usa is growing.....don’t blame me. I didn’t do it. I will give only name, rank, and serial number.....
Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 09/08 at 04:10 PMRMJ...who said Osama confessed to anything...who verified he is alive or was alive. At least 2 people feel he’s been dead since 2001.
My position is we have war criminals playing in our backyard...we live in a violent society and I’m not fully conscious.
Posted by joe of maine on from 09/08 at 04:35 PMjoe...you make an important point - I have been getting a lot of e-mails that agree with your comment. This is starting to remind me of the conspiracy tales about the moon landing. Maybe the safe position to take is that nothing is believable or verifiable but then you would have to assume that the usa didn’t really kill 500,000+ children in Iraq. I guess I think sometimes it is better to error on the side of what seems most likely.
Maybe Mickey could take a poll here to see how many believe that 9/11 was government orchestrated conspiracy. It is a topic that has filled my e-mail box and I have not been that interested in conspiracy theories.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 09/08 at 04:50 PMRMJ...My position is...america is a grand lie...politicians are pathetic and not believable...I have never had a star spangled day in my life...and don’t need one.
Posted by joe of maine on from 09/08 at 05:09 PMHello everyone. I think I’ll pass on that 9/11 poll idea because it could bring in lots of new foks who’d only want to talk about 9/11. There are plenty of sites dedicated to such discussions and I’d rather keep this place more diverse and friendly.
Btw, RMJ, you and I should interview each other about our “candidacies” and send it out as an article. Whaddya think?
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/08 at 05:15 PMMickey...you are right. Those 9/11 folks are really very highly motivated. Yes, we should interview each other.
joe #12...I have had one or two star-spangled days in my life - neither brought to me by the government.Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 09/08 at 05:50 PMRMJ: Let’s touch base later tonight or sometime tomorrow to start the interview, okay? No rush.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 09/08 at 05:54 PMHead’s up: This is Mickey (on Michele’s computer). My computer is going into the shop so this blog is on hold for a while. Updates soon.
Posted by michele on from kitchen table 09/08 at 07:19 PMYou people are proud of your ignorance.. and you have plenty to be proud of!
bin Laden worship is particularly pathetic amongst the very people he intended to kill.
RMJ, your signature says - “Churchill 4 Prez Headquarters.” Why should you and Mickey get anyone’s vote when Churchill expresses your brand of furious idiocy so much better? If had delusions of grandeur like you vicious morons, I’d prefer to choose the real deal rather than the pale imitation.
Posted by Fuck You on from 09/08 at 10:00 PMSome excellent quotes on education. I liked what Zack said.
Later.
Posted by Ehtesham on from Canada 09/08 at 11:18 PMFor all those who have yet to see the reality of the US public school system, and those who want to make a difference - See John Taylor Gatto’s works… Mandatory reading for all Americans…
Posted by notime on from mn 09/09 at 01:06 AMDear #### You,
No, #### you.
Sincerely,
#### You Too
Posted by JOS on from Oak Park 09/09 at 08:31 AMKudos to Zen for not assuming an unknown netizen was male.
I left school at 14. Can’t say its been plain sailing, but I still count it as one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.Posted by Mew on from clophill 09/09 at 01:33 PM“Labor for learning before you grow old because learning is better than silver and gold. Silver and gold can vanish away but a good education will never decay.”—Tapper Zukie (?)
Saying good-bye to the silver:
Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco, California 09/09 at 04:21 PMMatt Damon’s quote is the best.
Wow! Krishnamurti. As my grandmother would have said, that’s rich.
I believe there are many reason to debunk 9/11 conspiracy theories RMJ. Counterpunch ran a good series on it by Alexander Cockburn and Dr. Manuel Garcia, Jr., a physicist. The two best reasons I think 9/11 conspiracy theory is a crock of crocodile crap - setting aside just now that it is a diversion that ignores prima facie evidence of atrocity - is that the Bush Regime is too incompetent to pull it off. It would have taken thousands of people, using the term loosely, to effect such a calamity, none of whom has spilt the beans. And the Bush regime simply would have no need to take such a risk. They didn’t need to.
I agree with Noam Chomsky that 9/11 should have been treated as a criminal act, not an act of war. It was only six months earlier that the Bush regime had given the Taliban - this was after they had blown up the irremedial treasure of a 5,000 year old Buddha - $45 million to fight the poppy trade.
“The power of a country can be measured more in the learning of its citizens than in the force of its arms.”
-Khalil GibranPosted by Tracy McLellan on from Chicago 09/09 at 10:13 PMThanks for the link, Robert. I didn’t know The Spoof existed.
Nice to meet you, Tracy. Treating 9/11 as a criminal act would have been the sane thing to do. Regarding conspiracy, I have to disagree with the ‘cast of thousands’ notion for an inside job. Daniel Ellsberg who, unlike nearly all marquee leftists, has served in the military and the government, explains briefly in his book “Secrets” about the nature of official secrets (page 248, I think). In short, open secrets in/among the powerful are as common as subway tokens, and the reasons for their lack of exposure can range from very mundane to quite terrifying. (Captcha sez ‘groups’)
I don’t claim to know what the truth is about 9/11, but I found it very amusing that Dr. Manuel Garcia, who spoke with such authority on the turn of events, is employed at the Lawrence Livermore National High-Yield Munitions Research Center. http://tinyurl.com/33bmdq
A more convincing secret is how the American left has avoided accountability for repeatedly failed strategy and tactics. I’d pay money to read about that.
Posted by Zen Prole on from Urth 09/09 at 10:50 PMTracy 23, Zen 24...I also have no idea who did the trade tower act...I have never believed the ‘popular’ explanations and never had a reason to believe our authorities. I have seen controlled demolitions, that have been mentioned by many. I think what might be important is we are a violent society...I think our authorities make it clear, they don’t care about americans or anyone from any country.
Notime 19 education, poor quality life experiences and human relations can lead to buying stuff as a diversion. We are not people of flesh and blood and thoughts and feelings, yearning for greater understanding, we are workers and consumers.
Posted by joe of maine on from 09/10 at 05:49 AM
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