Dear Wafers,
We have a serious situation developing for this blog, namely an avalanche of spam. It began about two weeks ago; today there were nearly 100 spam messages. If I were truly paranoid, I'd say it was an attempt to destroy the blog. But the messages seem to be commercial (websites for handbags, e.g.) and computer-generated. The problem is, they may well destroy the blog, because I don't have the time to wade thru 100+ messages every day and weed out the garbage, now approaching 95%. It also invalidates any data I have on number of hits a day, since this spam attack renders the data meaningless. But that's a minor issue, really; the crucial one is what the hell I can do to ward all this off. The system doesn't have a spam filter, as far as I can see. Anyway, if you guys have any suggestions, pls send them in, and I'll try to find them amidst the forest of spam.
Many thanks,
mb
Adding someone's email address to a spam list is a classic harassment technique. How else would a blog submission address get into those lists than deliberate action by a third party? Are you posting it to message forums somewhere? Looks like one of those EST fans or other "buffoons" decided to get revenge.
ReplyDeleteBut this can't be the first time such a thing has happened. Surely blogger.com has seen this before and allowed for it somehow. You need to do some research, ask other bloggers for help, etc. Maybe there are some filters in the system somewhere and you haven't looked in the right place yet.
I'll have the answer after I post this comment, but have you tried turning "word verification" on in the "Posts and comments" section of "Settings"? It won't help with human spammers but should cut back on the computer generated ones.
ReplyDeleteHello Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteI've been lurking on here for quite a while. I stumbled onto your work a few years ago while reading something by Ivan Illich. Since then, I've read most of your work and I drop by here several times a week.
Needless to say, I'd hate to see some spammers wreck what you've got going here. Not sure if you've seen it already but this link has some information that might help:
http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=187141
Hi Morris,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your books since 1994, and I would be very disappointed if the spammers made you stop blogging.
Have you seen this page in the Blogspot Help section.... http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=187141&ctx=cb&src=cb&cbid=9gj8ue4z27b7&cbrank=2
It says they do have a spam in-box facility in the comments section, so you should be able to activate this, and most of the spam should then be diverted to a spam in-box.
Regards,
Peter Archer
New Zealand
Thank u all for various suggestions re: spam (some of which I didn't post, but thanks anyway). Tim Lukeman volunteered to step in and do comments cleanup for the time being, bless his soul. Of course, at the pt that we start getting 1000 spams a day, we might hafta think of other strategies. I'm still puzzled as to why this is happening.
ReplyDeleteMB
ReplyDeleteI'm here with money to help hire someone if this is getting to be a pain in the neck....anything to keep the blog going
dg-
ReplyDeleteThat's very kind of you. When I originally set up this blog, I had to pay someone a huge amount of money to do it for me. He's long gone, of course, but there may be other professionals I can consult. Meanwhile, Tim's going to work in the trenches; and who knows, maybe the spam will eventually stop. We'll hafta see...
jab, Peter-
I passed the link on to Tim, to check it out.
Man, I hate this shit.
mb
I'm no expert in this but to put the spamming in context, I'm on a motorcycling website (uncontroversial) and they say they get around 20 spam hits an hour, average.It comes from bots, or automatically generated spam.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that it's got so bad as to threaten the site. How commerce poisons everything.
I hope others more knowledgeable can help.
Cathar
Cath-
ReplyDeleteYeah, this strikes me as purely commercial; I don't think it's politically motivated at all. Some computer is just randomly blasting these things out, probably to 1000s of websites--the extreme edge of the hustling culture. Problem is, unless we can deal w/this successfully, the blog will be overwhelmed to the pt that I can't run it anymore. I feel like I shd probably hire some very sophisticated computer person to deal w/this, but I don't know anyone in that category, sad to say.
mb
Same old bull s**t (spam)! I am so, so tired of this sickening hustler capitalist world. You would think that all blogs would be affected by storms of spam mining for a few cents of profit. Oh well, there is nothing that can be done long term but suffer between the bookends of the security state and profit, until momma Earth shakes off its disease of humanity. I remember writing a short essay in the 60's pointing out the vicious nature of humanity and the innumerable ways of death we create compared to any other single disease.
ReplyDeleteFOR REFRESHING NEWS, THERE IS NOW SOMETHING CALLED BLACK AGENDA T-V. HERE IS EPISODE 2 OF SEASON 1.
HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=S5OIDNMJRQA
PLEASE WATCH ESPECIALLY, 1:03 - 4:50 WHERE GLEN FORD TELLS IT LIKE IT IS IN 4 SHORT MINUTES ABOUT THE "BLACK MIS-LEADERSHIP CLASS", AND REVEALS A NEW TERM: "THE FEBRUARY 30TH MOVEMENT", COINED BY THEIR RESIDENT POET NAT TURNER. THIS IS THE MOVEMENT THAT PROMISES "REAL" CHANGE: WHEN FEB. 30TH ROLLS AROUND.
Priceless and accurate for ALL politicians, judges, elites, politicians, court jesters, murderers, capitalist pigs... and (fill in the blank).
I don't want to break your heart, Dr. B, but this spam is probably the source of your sudden upsurge in readers i.e. they're mostly bots.
ReplyDeleteAlthough you might also find this a comfort, I suppose.
Just a thought - no response needed. You may have friends in academia who can perhaps wander along to their IT area and ask if some computing whizz kid there who is sympathetic to your ideas/blog can look in/advise?
ReplyDeleteYou can't spend money on this problem, nor can you spend much time either. You have more important things to do.
I find it ironic that US/EU govts devote so much time and our money on hackers who blow the whistle on them, yet do nothing against generated spam which corrodes websites everywhere. As far as I'm aware this has been going on for years.
I get two or three a day on personal email, and tho' I mark them as phishing scams, many come back because (as far as I've heard) they change their name by a digit or two and appear as a fresh mail.
I mentioned the M/cycling website; they like others, ask you a simple question on registering to ensure you're not a robot. It's not total protection, but it has some effect or they wouldn't demand this. But they still get attacked. Google usually asks for posters on a site like this to type the numbers and letters which it puts in front of you. This site of yours doesn't do that. Significant? I don't know.
I am afraid to think that this could end badly.
Cathar
I've turned on the word verification option after cleaning out another load of spam. Hope this will help. Thanks to my fellow WAFers for the info, as I'm about as low-tech as you can get!
ReplyDelete" unless we can deal w/this successfully, the blog will be overwhelmed to the pt that I can't run it anymore."
ReplyDeleteMB
If enough WAFers reach into their wallet is it going to help?
HINT HINT
I think the suggestion re: Word Verification (thank you guys!) may have worked. Tim turned it on, and when I got up this a.m. there were 5 nonspam messages. Keep fingers crossed, I guess.
ReplyDeleteGolf Pro-
Heart still intact; the upsurge of readers (to 1400/day) preceded the spam attack. I never checked the stats after the spam attack, but I'm guessing it rose to 1500/day or more. Maybe I shd check again.
mb
ps: 1752 hits yesterday...It shd now return to normal.
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy to help out too if necessary MB.
ReplyDeleteHere is a little more George Carlin to lighten the mood a bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7LvUDCcNss
"The American Okeey-doke..."
That's the thing I was trying to describe - the word/number verification!
ReplyDeleteI usually try to keep up with things, but I admit falling behind in IT.
We can't have shitbags drowning a site like this. I'm glad MB mentioned this and thanks to Tim L.
Let's give it a try now.
Cathar...(not a great name - they were crushed!)
Yea for Tim Lukeman!
ReplyDeleteEx-police officer suspect in California killing spree
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/ex-police-officer-suspect-in-california-in-killing-spree/article8331016/
MB,
ReplyDeleteIt's great to learn that Tim Lukeman has turned on word verification, as John D. Wheeler also suggested. And, I second the suggestion by "dg" that your readers might reach into their wallets to pay for an improved website.
I suggest that you consider converting from BlogSpot to WordPress under the domain name MorrisBerman.com (which you already own). There are utilities and plug-ins that can pull your BlogSpot content into WordPress. There are some minor technical issues, but not a concern to you because WordPress gurus are inexpensive.
It will cost about $5 a month to host a WordPress account. WordPress is a far more powerful content management system. It's open source and there are many free plug-ins and utilities, including comment managers and spam blockers. It will be money well spent because you will see an increase in traffic and also more book sales.
I have managed websites for a half-dozen writers. The most successful of these sites was for Joe Bageant (http://www.joebageant.com). Based on the number of comments on your posts, I am surprised that your daily traffic is not much higher.
Thank u all. I think the Word Verification thing may have done the trick. What a relief.
ReplyDeletemb
Saw this on the Truthdig comments on a Chris Hedges article. I think your bloggers you would be interested in seeing this.
ReplyDelete"The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater." - Frank Zappa
Never underestimate the power of denial.
Brainwashed America has a VERY difficult time accepting the current sociopolitical reality because of manufactured consent, and being raised on 'exceptionalism' mythology. You'll not find a people whose collective opinions on matters of governance, ideology and totalitarian values further from their true mark ..they've swallowed the poison jive from TV for the last three decades, and have come to accept the overarching deception as being legitimate ..and sadly, I really don't think it's necessarily contingent upon their want of feeling safe/secure. It's deeper, sicker. Americans celebrate an un-reality that is reinforced via familiarity and a sense of strength in numbers (which is why they often attack serious critics in a pack/hive mentality on internet forums), and even as, eventually, that figurative brick wall at the back of the theater, that Zappa alluded to, reveals itself, it will only drive many in-denialers further into denial. Most people are as of yet wholly unaware that the Bill of Rights has been legislated away.
People in European countries don't scoff and/or become unhinged, frothing at the mouth, when presented with info/data that reveals criminal collusion within the highest levels of govt because many there have a not-too-distant past experience replete with corrupt governments, so they have a better grasp of how violent states are, and how Power operates, what it seeks, and the various methods employed to bring about what it wants.
Conversely, reactionary Americans are long conditioned to immediately castigate and lash out at anyone who dares question the official explanation of damn near any/everything (there are people who do nothing but devote their time to attacking and name-calling so called "conspiracy theorists" on the internet) ...unless of course it's SAFE criticism i.e. this side vs that side platitudes, 'election' cycle BS that is presented in familiar sports-type event packaging, etc ...but never anything that revolves around Deep State/National $ecurity State motives/actions, which is what governs the corp/state nexus that owns the US, and its accompanying puppet representative govt. Most people haven't any background or 'voice' for that as it's obviously not encouraged via popular corp culture pastimes, and hence will either ignore or attack info and viewpoints that do not gel with the TV Reality.
I'm glad the spam situation seems to be under control for now. Glad I could lend a hand!
ReplyDeleteBut this does remind me that there are a lot of people out there who do quite consciously & maliciously attack others online, often at blogs or message forums. It's not always for ideological/political reasons, either -- some simply enjoy the anonymous power.
Just as the military has happily admitted that they love having a generation of kids grow up on videogames, as it's perfect training for war at an online remove, it also occurs to me that the sort of people who would attack others online for "fun" have the perfect mentality for the coming age. Who better to be a drone controller, for example? Or to simply disrupt the life of anyone deemed a "troublemaker" or some such? Reality is nothing more than the digital cocoon for such people. Anything outside of that cocoon really isn't "real" at all.
Back in the 1960s, the Situationists called attention to the way the image, The Spectacle, mediates between human beings & reality. Spam, even commercial bot-spam, is a perfect example. Some products used to boast of products "untouched by human hands" -- now they can expand that to "untouched by human souls" & have done with it.
Whew, thank you Tim Lukeman and word verification! I don't know anything about spam but it does strike me that your site has to have a certain level of activity before bots will find it. So, I think you do have an upsurge in readers.
ReplyDeleteWhether that's a good thing or a bad thing, quien sabe? Anyway, I'm glad the spamtide has ceased rising, at least on your blog.
Reggie might like the theatre of Bertolt Brecht, who worked to break the illusion of theatre as real.
ReplyDeleteCathar
Dear MB,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to chime in and echo what Ken Smith suggested about switching over to WordPress, should circumstances become desperate. (Now it appears it has been allayed.)
I spoke with a friend of mine who is expert at website design and so on. The advantage of Word Press is that a plug in provides a box you must check. This cannot be done, apparently, by robotic response, and is simpler than "word verification."
Tim-
ReplyDeleteThanks again for coming to the rescue. I hope we have escaped the bots. They were even worse than the trolls and the buffoons. I remain depressed, however, that I never heard from the Latvian Orthodox Church, or Jason Alexander.
Check out cartoon in recent New Yorker: parents sitting on a couch, w/their 2-yr-old daughter standing up on it, pressing her fingers against the window above the couch. Mother says: "She thinks it's a touchscreen."
mb
Dr. Berman- In reading "A Question of Values", and the sad state of Guatemala, I'm reminded of Martin Prechtel's beautiful and heartbreaking works on the effects of Christianity on Santiago de Atitlan. "Secrets of the Talking Jaguar", I think. Do you know of him? He paints a picture of the spiritualy rich and complex pagan peasant culture there before the right wing takeover of the '80's. You'd appreciate it, I think. Doug Carhart, Santa Rosa, CA
ReplyDeleteDoug-
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll check it out. The online description does remind me a bit of the central character in Vargas Llosa's "The Storyteller," which is rather hilarious (gringo becomes shaman for indigenous people).
mb
Why am I convinced that these 3 items are related?:
ReplyDeletehttp://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/07/lutheran-pastor-apologizes-for-praying-in-newtown-vigil/?hpt=hp_t3
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t3#/video/us/2013/02/07/dnt-ga-dogs-thrown-to-pitbulls.walb
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/07/politics/brennan-confirmation-hearing/index.html?hpt=hp_bn3
Greetings Dr. Berman and fellow Wafers,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that the spam invasion has been resolved. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed against future invasions. Many thanks to Tim Lukeman and the others who helped with the issue. Needless to say, losing this blog to a variety of commercial spam would be a tragedy.
Jeff
I've been relatively lucky in that my blog doesn't get hit with spam very often.
ReplyDeleteThis week, I have gotten some. But one of the offending spams started off with the line, "Paragraph writing is also a excitement," which was so cool that I approved it.
Are the bots getting by the Captcha you have for the comments?
WAFers,
ReplyDeleteI know we’ve all been somewhat negative about the outlook of the Empire lately, but let’s not forget that there’s still a lot of lovin’ going on around here. For example:
“Killer of 2 NYC officers impregnated guard”
http://news.yahoo.com/feds-killer-2-nyc-officers-impregnated-guard-191159882.html
At this time it is unclear whether the photograph is of the “killer” or the guard…
I'm very relived that the blog is functioning well, again, as it is a true respite for me at the end of my day ... I would so miss it!
ReplyDeleteTim Lukeman, you are now on my very short list of heroes, thank you :)
Tim:
ReplyDeleteToday, the blog.
Tomorrow, the world.
Yeehah!
mb
4614I would just like to comment that the long downward slide towards the present situation, the "extreme edge of hustler-ship" that we have experienced here in the past day or two, began with the transition that you so ably describe in "Wandering God", from the HG "vertical" concsiousness to the agricultural "horizontal" consciousness, step by step culminating in the present "dullard" consciousness, which you so ably describe, Reggie.
ReplyDeleteAnd, as you often say, MB, there is probably nothing that can now arrest this slide into chaos. We will just have to go through it, though I do think that your "21st century monastery option" offers the most hope of eventually emerging from it with some kind of reasonably worthwhile future.
Regards from New Zealand,
Peter
Just another crazed rampage by an ex cop/military. Par for the course, sigh. Thought WAFers might want to discuss
ReplyDeleteO&D
http://news.yahoo.com/mountain-manhunt-ex-cop-accused-killing-3-020231479.html?.tsrc=attmp
This is an interesting article, but not because it presents anything WAFers didn't know for ages, but rather because it comes from that mafia organization that usually hides behind the acronym of AMA (American Medical Association):
ReplyDeletehttp://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1556967
It's funny how the AMA is now writing about this issue, as if it's something new. As if, they just head about the disaster that the medical system is in this country, with nearly 100 million uninsured or underinsured, and third world level treatment outcomes and infant mortality rates.
My question is, where were these greedy doctors 4 years ago when there was a once-in-a-century opportunity to change this criminal medical system, before we got stuck with this monstrosity called Obamacare? But Karma has its way, because I understand doctor salaries in America have been decreasing dramatically across the board. Serves them right! Hustlers! I hope the bank repossesses their yachts asap.
Meanwhile, the solution to this is obviously: More Drones!
Shane-
ReplyDeleteA pretty gd example of the system eating itself alive, I wd think. We are slipping over the edge into complete insanity. At that pt, events like this may be so common that they might go unreported.
Peter-
Yeah, altho HG consc. is horizontal, ag consc. is vertical (the Sacred Authority Complex). The NMI option is a gd one, I think, for those who can't emigrate, and who see the current self-destruction in terms of a larger picture--something that so-called 'progressives' are apparently not able to do. I suspect that looking back on the US, 40 yrs from now (maybe even 20), many will realize that by the early 21C, if not b4, we had entered what Robt Bellah calls "path dependence," whereby the fix is in: the vectors are clear, and the system can now move in only one direction. One possibility is that it will self-destruct completely, and put us into a long-term dark age. Another is that there might be light at the end of this late-phase capitalist tunnel: green, decentralized, eco-sustainable, etc. But if Rome is the model here, the alternative civilization won't happen on US soil; it will for the most part emerge elsewhere. I'm still pulling for Europe, but hey, I don' have a crystal ball. I do think, however, that most of the world will, by 2030 or so, regard America as having been a bizarre, if very interesting, experiment. They may even hold us up as a counter-example: here's what not to do.
mb
"They may even hold us up as a counter-example: here's what not to do."
ReplyDeleteThat's likely, although I would consider that to partially be a shame. We could have offered a great deal to the world, not ALL of American culture is bad, even if the bad parts have pretty much obliterated the good parts by now.
For example, I rather enjoy the idea that marriage should be based on love and the joys of mutual companionship (such as my parents' and grandparents' several-decades-happy-marriages), rather than having your spouse picked out for you in advance based on how rich he can make your family, even if your spouse turns out to be an asshole (remember, it used to be impermissible for wives to divorce their husbands for ANY REASON, even if they were drunk wife-beaters).
That was Wilhelm Reich's opinion too; indeed, he thought most of humanity's hang-ups that kept leading to fascism originated from having their natural "love" instincts suppressed.
His work, "Listen, Little Man" goes into some detail on the role of sexuality (or lack thereof) that keeps leading to human misery; it's one of my favorite works of all time. (You have to take some of it with a grain of salt, though.)
And I rather enjoy the idea that you're allowed to speak the truth you discovered by (for example) simply taking a telescope and looking into it as Galileo did, although admittedly that kind of open-minded attitude is far more reminiscent of old Europe than modern America with its anti-intellectual, anti-curiosity nonsense culture.
I'm a little worried that once America's place in the world goes down, after we stop being able to export trash and violence, we won't be able to export the GOOD parts EITHER.
I dunno, does the idea that America has some good parts we might actually mourn after those good parts are gone make me an evil imperialist murderer?
Smith-
ReplyDeleteAs u yerself pt out, the Scientific Revolution was European in origin, not American. And neither were non-arranged marriages: Europe is not India or Japan, and the idea of romantic love originated in the south of France in the 11thC. Reich was Austrian. Etc.
mb
Shane wrote: "Just another crazed rampage by an ex cop/military. Par for the course, sigh. Thought WAFers might want to discuss Q&D"
ReplyDeleteDr B wrote: "A pretty gd example of the system eating itself alive, I wd think. We are slipping over the edge into complete insanity. At that pt, events like this may be so common that they might go unreported"
When you compare the fate and wealth of Lance Armstrong to the fate and condition of Christopher Dorner, you will begin to notice a pattern in USA. The pattern fits the analyses of Dr Berman in his books and articles. One man cheats via use of power-enhancing drugs, lies, bullies others, and is rewarded with great wealth. The other man wanted to do the right thing by telling the truth; he is fired from his job; yet his country sent him to wars to fight and die for freedom of conscience. This is highest form of violence to the human soul! The system is such that you must cheat, lie, or sell your soul to get ahead, everything we are not supposed to teach our kids. But when the aggrieved person applies the same violence as the system, he is labeled insane, deranged, and misguided.
If you have some time, read the following (they are really, really interesting and thought-provoking):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/08/1185511/-Christopher-Dorner-The-Left-s-Timothy-McVeigh
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/08/1185500/-LAPD-Dorner-Why-Revolutions-Are-Messy
Greetings from the lock down state of California,
ReplyDeleteShane w and Dr. Berman-
America's media culture finally got what it has always wanted... a *live* Rambo in the form of Christopher J. Dorner. This guy is basically the product of the U.S. military, the LAPD, and American culture in general. A line-backer sized military trained sharpshooter hell bent on murderous "revenge" and rampage for alleged "crimes" against him. As I talked with my neighbors about this event, and the fact that the bizarre seems to be happening on a daily basis all over the nation, I basically received shrugged shoulders. My attempt to place this into a larger pattern simply did not register. It's as if these events are taken as the new normal now. I'm waiting for general Petraeus to be summoned to the mountains of Big Bear to talk Dorner down.
Jeff
MB, that's pretty extreme, no? *Nothing* good out of the US? I'm reading Neil Postman's "Building a Bridge to the 18th Century" right now, and he makes a case for the positive side of some of our founding father types. Anyway, I recommend it to Smith since his comments bring it to mind.
ReplyDeleteMy comments about "Curb yr Enthusiasm" got lost- are u (& nilla wafer eaters) a "fan"? I devoured it like a pathetic void when I discovered my library had it on DVD. The 8th(?) season where they reunite the Seinfeld cast, who play "themselves", was esp. good. I suppose being on "cable" Larry David could be more abrasive and acid even. One fascinating part of it to me was the (intentionally, slyly?) offhand flaunting of the wealth of the world he moves in- the poor and middle class seem almost not to exist in the show (or as a subject the chars prefer to avoid.) And he portrays himself as brutally indifferent to the cosmic calculus arranging things in this way.
Ken Smith- Why does Wordpress cost $5 a month? I'm still not clear on what it does that blogspot can't do. I have a blogspot blog so I am interested, since I do have to fight it (esp. w/ my slow comp.) BTW- I bookmarked your blog to check out later, looks like some interesting content and resources.
Smith,
ReplyDeleteI share your desire to somehow preserve the good portion that came out of American culture. What's odd & sad is that most of that was almost always in opposition to the mainstream of American culture, and usually came from the despised, dismissed, ignored margins. From Thoreau & Melville & Dickinson, to blues & jazz, to the Beats, to the tiny fraction of genuine hippies (as opposed to countless hedonistic hangers-on), to Mumford & Berman -- everyone here can list dozens of examples, I'm sure!
Other nations & cultures had no problem admiring & embracing all of that, but it's had to struggle to survive here in its birthplace, and has had very little impact on the cultures as a whole. Of course, bastardized & homogenized imitations of it have pervaded the culture, but that's only after being reduced to the lowest common denominator.
Yes, this is definitely a sweeping generalization, completely without nuance -- but there's more than a kernel of truth in it, I think.
Be afraid, very afraid, WAFers.
ReplyDeleteToday in Europe, on RT television (satellite) I saw that in the US they are now passing a law, NDAA, which gives the govt the right to jail you with no lawyer, no charge, no trial for as long as they wish.
No mainstream (or any) journos were present at a court hearing in NY. Only RT.
I am not from the US but I felt a chill at this news. People were interviewed in front of the courthouse where there was a small demonstration - they'd never heard of this NDAA thing.
Yes WAFers it may indeed be time to pack your bags and go. While the gun nuts are screaming about whatever amendment is under threat over guns, this lethal law is soon to be enacted, on the quiet.
Maybe you'll find it online, but DO find out more on this. It's a nightmare.
Cathar.
Cathar-
ReplyDeleteYr a bit late. Obama signed the NDAA into law on 31 Dec 2012.
TimR-
I didn't say nothing; I just said that the Scientific Revolution and romantic love were not part of the American legacy.
mb
Shane-
ReplyDeleteWe have a somewhat loose, one-post-a-day policy, so maybe you cd re-send the last one you sent today, tomorrow. Thanks.
mb
Dr. B. and Cathar-
ReplyDeleteActually, I believe the NDAA was signed Dec. 31st, 2011. I learned about this through Chris Hedges (a favorite of WAFers), who actually sued Obama and Panetta over this.
Cathar,
ReplyDeleteThe article you saw was probably the renewal of NDAA for 2013, but it was first signed into law in January 2012. Obama renewed it again last month.
That most americans know nothing about it is no surprise. In fact, it'd be MUCH easier to list what americans DO know as opposed to what they don't know, since the latter list would stretch on forever. The former would be extremely short.
Here's what Wiki hasta say:
ReplyDelete"The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012 is a United States federal law which besides other provisions specifies the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense. The bill passed the U.S. House on Dec. 14, 2011, the U.S. Senate on Dec. 15, 2011, and was signed into United States law on December 31, 2011, by President Barack Obama."
mb
Dear Dr. B et al.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see the spam problem was resolved and the call out to the readership did the trick -- kudos to those who came to the rescue.
Being new to this blog, I'm not totally familiar with the protocol here, but if it isn't out of line I'd like to pick up on something from the previous post concerning the supposed DoJ's 7 day supply of food terrorist designation.
I hadn't pursued the issue any further than what I came across on prepper and survivalist sites -- although I did come across another reference not related to the purported DoJ designation. This one too seems to have originated out of the red-state/patriot realm -- it was an email decrying the number of executive orders issued by President Obama. One of which was EO 10998 "[sic] allows the government to take over all food resources and farms."
Well from there EO 10988 wound up in a gamut of survivalist websites and videos cautioning people of the nefarious edicts being pushed by the government. As a fact-of-matter there are plenty of laws, edicts, orders etc. coming out of government that are indeed odious, but is EO 10988 - Assigning emergency preparedness functions to the Secretary of Agriculture?
The last sentence of the Executive Orders email post read: "Feel free to verify the "executive orders" at will... and these are just the major ones..."
So I did as the email suggested with a websearch for EO 10988 -- something most people receiving that message wouldn't -- they'd read the little blurb after EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998, or whatever one was on the list and precede to cuss out the cocksucker Obama. IF, they had taken the time, less than 5 mins., they would have found out EO 10988 was signed on Feb. 16, 1962 by then President John F. Kennedy. A little deeper search, taking again less than 5 mins., they would have learned that EO 10988 was revoked by EO 11490 on Oct. 28, 1969. So yeah, Obama deserves to have his Gucci's pissed on, but not for shit he's not responsible for.
EO 10988 was signed in the heat of the cold war and its rationale was based on that historical reality -- not on present conditions of resource depletion and the unfolding decline of the empire. The government could conceivably fashion such an order, but why bother? The laws are many and voluminous, making the state's control absolute, total, and complete to fuck with us in anyway they damed well please -- regardless of how many MREs and pickled pigs feet are on the shelf in your pantry.
Suffice to say there is no need to arouse mistrust of government with fallacious information, there's plenty of the real thing available to pick and choose from.
Bonus item for those of you have read this far. Watch This Shit Has Got To Go - Jacques Fresco, runtime is only 2:45, check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZGpzDWwKG8&feature=share
And while the NDAA is being passed, the ex-president is making paintings of himself in the shower and bathtub. No joke. Could anyone have written such a strange scenario?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/08/what-critics-are-saying-about-george-w-bush-s-hacked-paintings.html
These paintings are so strange on so many levels.
Mr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteI can't find the video of the dogs thrown to pitbulls. Is that what it was? As for the story of the Brennan confirmation, I think the headlines along the right margin are more interesting, especially the one about the civilian uses of drones. It reads something like, "If manufacturers get their way the skies above our heads will be filled with these things", as if the current level of air traffic wasn't obnoxious enough. Now we can look forward to someone hovering over us while we try to relax in our back yard or get thermal-imaged while taking a shower or dump. And just think of the opportunities for criminals! The best part is the quote that says that it's no different than having a police helicopter overhead or a security camera trained at you. Well, yes and no; the COPter eventually goes away and security cameras are limited to one specific spot on the owner's property whereas the drones are made for continuous monitoring of a wide area with a stealth factor built in. Either way the effect is to render the persons watched as prisoners. And we're supposed to be okay with that. Apparently it's a real "growth" industry and, unfortunately, a lot of European companies are getting in on it so it appears that the surveillence state is happening in Europe as well. Gawd, as if they didn't get enough with Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Franco... I guess the real issue is how to maintain one's dignity and sanity in such a scenario especially as the majority of people succumb to the idiocy and brutishness. How do you keep your spirits up when each successive generation of people becomes less empathic, more emotionally flattened, and less inclined to critically examine their circumstances?
jml-
ReplyDeleteIt's beyond strange, really; but keep in mind that Bush Jr. is a vacuous douche bag. Not so different from late-Roman-Empire emperors, who were often children or literal morons (like Bush). I can't figure out which is more massive: the violence of the US, or the sheer stupidity of the place. I get dizzy just thinking abt these things.
mb
Dr. B,
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda surprised Obama hasn't used the drones against Dorner yet. I'm waiting for it.
Joe-
ReplyDeleteWhy stop w/Dorner, really? There are 315 million people out there that need to be attacked by drones, if only to test out the technology. Why Obama or the Pentagon continue to exercise this type of restraint is beyond me.
Meanwhile, here's a possible description of how the NMI movement might work:
"The rise of Christianity and other religious movements in the Roman Empire is an example of a new gossamer spreading over a rotten civilization; though outwardly emperors and armies continued to give orders as though nothing had changed, individuals, feeling that official institutions were ceasing to be relevant to their needs, sought their consolations from each other."
--From Theodore Zeldin, "An Intimate History of Humanity"
mb
Even if the war on terror was legit, what are the chances that our knowledge of who’s doing what in some dusty part of the world is accurate? How much of this “intelligence” comes to us from local sources that may have purely personal interests in seeing their age old enemies killed courtesy of a US drone strike? There’s lots of evidence that our intelligence agencies don’t know what they're doing even in our own country, let alone on the other side of the planet. Here’s a case where the FBI was sued and lost $4 million for wrongful arrest. If Americans in their own country who try to save forests can be so quickly and wrongly judged as terrorists, what hope is there for the people in Pakistan or other places Americans can’t find on the map?
ReplyDeletehttp://whobombedjudibari.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judi_Bari
Winter in America:
ReplyDeleteThose pictures of Bush in the shower deserve a little bit of psychoanalysis. You see, he’s not really taking a shower; he’s waterboarding himself. And he does so because, being the good Christian that he is, he firmly believes in “an eye for an eye.”
I am surrounded by Dolts!!
ReplyDelete"As the insidious Herpetis stupidus virus races & spreads through the populace, creating severe mental deterioration in its wake, more and more citizens are ignoring the death of the planet and everything that is good in this world."
Yes fern,
ReplyDeleteEuropean States are all into the drone disease - it suits their wishes and there's also the arms race factor. China and all other nations do the same.
The next step will be anti-drone systems and so on ad nauseam.
I don'tknow whether it's only because I've found out more, but the creeping militarism/fascism, surveillance, control, illegal wars, starvation, bankster fraud, and varieties of govt corruption seems to be on a massive increase, and without sanction or punishment for the few who are exposed. I mostly, but not exclusively think of EU/US govts.
I'd like to cover my ears/eyes/ to get some relief, but I must refuse to do that. As Lenin chillingly said "You may not want to know about politics, but politics wants to know about you". So I'm sure to get down about all this. It's linked to a feeling of frustrated helplessness, common to many. Of course the dumbed down manipulated majority don't know and don't care. And some actually support all this.
I have been severely disappointed (or naive) to see that the European Trades Union movement haven't organised EU-wide support of Greek, Spanish, Portugese, Irish workers in face of the financiers onslaught on them. They are fighting solitary battles alone, unco-ordinated.
MB recently mentioned Goya's painting of someone devouring their children. That image comes to mind at each new revelation of our collective madness.
What will become of us all?
Cathar
Dear Dr. Berman and WAFers:
ReplyDeleteWhile reading your article at Counterpunch (fabulous-thank you) I also happened to read “Sex, Violence and Propaganda at the Military-Football Complex” about the Super Bowl.
It was so funny because I had said about the same things to my husband, and even though he knows the truth he thought I was being a little crazy: The Super Bowl is the equivalent of the Circus Maximus with its gladiator contests and beast hunts (and if the tour guide was right, throwing Christians to the lions), with its exploitation of the Sandy Hook children, the pornographic half-time show with its strong undercurrent of Satanism, the glorification of the military, and the main attraction of a truly violent sport. Paul had it on so he could say he watched it, but I knew the program, chapter and verse, and read a book instead. We did, however, interrupt it at 9:00 and switched to Downtown Abby (a weakness, I admit, and about the only show I do watch).
Anyway, are we being programmed or what? At the very least it’s meant to distract the hoi polloi from the on-going evil, and indoctrinate the young as to the acceptability, even grandeur, of violence and militarism. Yikes!!!
Please, please that I may be granted the gift of good health so we can get the hell out of here. I like the idea of Costa Rica, especially since we now have over 2’ of snow in the Hartford, CT, area. O&D!
I keep urging u guys to emigrate, and yr sitting around--why?:
ReplyDeletehttp://rt.com/programs/breaking-set-summary/ndaa-urgent-action-abby/
An interesting piece about the Orwellian aspects of the drone program from Andrew O'Hehir:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.salon.com/2013/02/09/how_do_you_explain_drone_killings_with_post_orwellian_newspeak/
O'Hehir still has too much forlorn & fading hope that Obama will ultimately doing the right thing, but his analysis is pretty much on target.
Sarasvati,
The militarization of society continues at a frighteningly swift pace, along with the glorification of & unquestioning obedience to the military.
I still occasionally check out the comic book scene, and have watched traditional superheroes not only become "dark & edgy" in the worst way, but very willing tools of the government, especially the military. Even with their miraculous powers, many now carry & gleefully use grotesquely oversized guns. The only thing larger than those guns are the inhumanly immense breasts of the heroines, neatly clinching the Reichian equation of warped sexuality, sadistic violence & fascism.
And that's the model of "heroism" that boys get today, and not merely from comics, either. Slather it up with some weepy-eyed kitsch & you've got another generation of flesh-&-blood drones ready for service.
WAFers should organize a "National Rampage Day", where we give every enraged, frustrated American we know who's sitting on the edge that small push they need to snap, along with an assault weapon. Just think of all the enraged Americans going on rampage at once. I know tons of people who wouldn't need much assistance. National Rampage Day is something WAFers could really get behind.
ReplyDeleteO&D
Zosima: The drone strikes are often made based on a "pattern of life" analysis, which means, in the words of an anonymous official, when the CIA sees "three guys doing jumping jacks", they assume it's a terrorist training camp.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there is the policy of the "double tap". This means that after the drone strikes its target, it hangs around and waits for emergency first responders, concerned neighbors, etc to congregate - and then strikes the same area again, killing these people in addition to the initial target.
(This is all detailed in Living Under Drones, a very detailed report on the drone policy).
Point being, the policy is not and never has been based on "intelligence". Its purpose appears to be to spread terror and hatred, perhaps the better to extend the "War on Terror" indefinitely.
ReplyDelete7 typical days in your America (Lord, save these people for they are lost):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/09/1185866/-Another-day-in-the-gun-crazy-U-S-A
Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteRe: Emigrate -- if I had the means to permanently exit this open-air-nuthouse I would -- unfortunately I'm too boxed-in.
Re: the RT report on the NDAA. Nothing gets my head shaking more than when I hear activists discuss the need to challenge some piece of repressive legislation as was reported on by RT. It blows my mind that these folks, who are so well versed in the sinister deeds/misdeeds of the empire, are so clueless about what time it is.
The era of challenging the beast came and went a looooong time ago. I cringe when they get their hackles up about our rights being eroded, or chipped away as a result of the Patriot Act or NDAA type legislation.
All one has to do is go back to Article VI 2nd clause of the US Constitution to get a firm grip or understanding about how seriously the U.S. government considers its own laws.
The 2nd clause reads:
"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land..." Stop right there!
If, "Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land..." and this is a republic that holds in high esteem the rule of law -- how is it that such an honorable and noble country that was a signatory to 371 treaties with various indigenous nations abrogate every single one -- if in fact treaties are the supreme Law of the Land?
How can anyone yammer on about how their rights are being eroded when the supreme law of the land, having been violated right out of the gate doesn't mean shit?
Article VI is the yardstick I use to measure the integrity of the empire. Obviously, these activists are delusional about this sick degenerate country -- when all they have to do is look at its history. What befell the indigenous nations when they demanded respect for their treaty rights? It is a quintessential lesson that shouldn't be lost on anyone, never mind the activist who should know better, but think they can go head-to-head with the beast to eventually reform the system the beast itself created. Truly stultifying!
Winter-
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know yr rt. At the same time, I admire Chris Hedges for his lawsuit vs. Obama re: the NDAA. I mean, somebody's gotta do it. The question is, To what end? Chris cd win the lawsuit and the govt wd covertly continue to round up, torture, and assassinate people it doesn't like, because they don't give a damn abt the law. I suspect Chris knows this, in fact. The reason I support such efforts is not because I think they'll change anything, but because at this pt we need a record of America in its death throes. The one thing I think we--whoever that is--shd not tolerate is the destruction of history itself. This is why, e.g., Nick Turse's recent bk on Vietnam is so impt: what we did has to be exposed for all to see. If future generations are able to read, at all, I want them to be able to study our late-empire self-destruction, such as the NDAA. And in addition, such material can provide object lessons for other societies: this is what not to do. The contradiction between our rhetoric and our actual behavior is so great: let Chris and others turn up the heat, embarrass the govt, show them up for what they really are. They'll still keep doing it; but to be able to do it and hide it--that's more criminality than I can bear.
mb
Okay, I gather from a quick look at google that you discussed the NMI option most extensively in "The Twilight of American Culture". That is the path that makes the most sense to me. In addition to that book and this site, do you or anyone else discuss it elsewhere? Is there some kind of support group for people on the NMI path?
ReplyDeleteMaestro,
ReplyDeleteI am not spam. Just sayin'. Just wanted to prove the humanism of my presence.
Shane w-
ReplyDeleteEvery day is National Rampage Day in America--for capitalism. But people’s posts of the latest murder in America do not cheer me up as they should, because I know that our country’s murder rate is still too depressingly low to enable Americans to wipe themselves out like we hope they will. Did you know that only 58% of men and 42% women even own guns? Though many of them own multiple guns, it would take a Sandy Hook an hour to truly lift my spirits, these meager shootings people are posting just aren’t doing it for me.
People aren’t going to like this, but I find the emphasis on drones also to be a bit futile. Once you’ve given your leaders the power to declare war against everybody forever, what difference does it matter to then start complaining about the methods they use. Drones may actually save lives because if they didn’t have them, they would just napalm the whole village like they did in Viet Nam.
Bingo- Interesting point about Bush’s paintings. I’m surprised at the introspection he shows. I actually think he’s a pretty typical American. People looked for some sign of the monster in Hitler’s paintings, but I think these leaders weren’t all that different from the ave person. Sometimes I think Americans would have made better Nazis than the Germans, we always seem to be looking for new ways to test that theory.
More evidence of decline :
ReplyDelete"Actor Steven Seagal trains Arizona posse on school security"
Article in the Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-rt-us-usa-arizona-seagalbre91901j-20130209,0,6951242.story
Z-
ReplyDeleteI agree: overall, there's far too much restraint. The Pentagon keeps ignoring my letters re: let's nuke Toronto and Paris, when Canada and France continue to refuse to get on the same page as the US. Talk about depressing...
John-
To my knowledge, bermanicmonasteries.com has yet to coalesce. And I look in vain for an NMI Institute of Inner Emigration. Here's what I suggest:
1. Buy a used copy of Twilight off of Amazon for 74 cents.
2. Read it for inspiration regarding the New Monastic Option.
3. Start placing ads for a support group.
4. Hold 1st meeting at yr house.
5. Plan future meetings, and future support groups.
6. Start manufacturing, and selling, T-shirts with slogans such as O&D!, CRE/Not, etc.
People keep telling me, You can't change the world!; yet here is the recipe in 6 easy steps.
Good luck! (and let me know how it turns out)
Joe-
We are equally interested in the presence of your humanism.
mb
TimR asks: "Why does Wordpress cost $5 a month? I'm still not clear on what it does that blogspot can't do. I have a blogspot blog so I am interested, since I do have to fight it (esp. w/ my slow comp.)"
ReplyDeleteThe $5 a month is for a hosted WordPress site using your own top-level domain name. There is a free version of WordPress, but it has the same limitations as BlogSpot.
WordPress is used by millions worldwide. No matter where you live, you can likely find a friend or neighbor who knows the basics of WordPress and can get you started. Or, there are thousands of WordPress developers who are fast and inexpensive.
i won't take up space here with reasons why a switch from BlogSpot to WordPress is a good idea. But, I will point to two large websites that have recently converted to WordPress.
Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/
CounterPunch
http://www.counterpunch.org/
I will gladly try to answer any questions you might have. Email: ken@kvsmith.com
From a previous posting on this blog: "Actor Steven Seagal trains Arizona posse on school security"
ReplyDelete--
The police department of a West Michigan town recently staged for the amusement and edification of students, faculty and administration of a local community, a demonstration of how they would deal with a lone gunman on a rampage. Television footage shows a police officer in the role the maniac wearing a towel around his head in Middle Eastern fashion. Sandy Hook should never make us forget who the real villains are.
Anon-
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't post Anons. Pls pick a handle and try again. I suggest Rufus T. Firefly.
Thanks,
mb
There seems to be only four alternatives to dealing with this insanely, ridiculous world.
ReplyDelete1. Emigrate to: Bolivia is the best bet to me to actually survive. Witness Evo Morales' Manifesto.
2. NMI where u are.
3. Vigilantism in the spirit of Harry Brown.
4. Suicide.
Doom-
ReplyDeleteYou forgot #5: dedicate your entire life to chopped liver. This has become harder in the wake of the collapse of the Temple of Chopped Liver, namely the Stage Deli on 7th Ave between 52nd and 53rd Sts.--tragically, it closed its doors last November, after 75 yrs of delicatessen service to NY. But victory can be snatched from the jaws of defeat: the emergence of a New Church of Chopped Liver, a phoenix rising from the ashes, around which pastrami-lovers can organize their lives. Bummed out by a genocidal war marchine run by a corporate plutocracy? Never fear: chopped liver is a balm for all of your political wounds. Make the commitment, and never look back.
mb
Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeletenuclear warfare should begin at home, forget Paris or Toronto, in honor of Sherman, Obama should declare that any state that considers seceding will be subject to nuclear attack.
Dr. B:
ReplyDeleteThanks! You answered my question very well. I wanted to make sure before I ordered that that book was the best source for inspiration for the NMI option. (I splurged and went for the $2.49 very good condition hardcover; I did order through the box below so hopefully you'll get a little affiliate commission.)
I think I'll pass on bermanicmonasteries.com, but you know, I love the NMI Institute for Inner Emigration!
nincompoop said...I am surrounded by Dolts!!
ReplyDeleteIt’s not all bad, here’s some good news. It looks like sympathetic comrades and NMI’s have spread to the animal world. Henri declares himself surrounded by morons, he has a nemesis cat he calls “the white idiot” who is always begging for cheeseburgers. This is an obvious reference to Americans. For some reason, I prefer watching without the sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q34z5dCmC4M
Shane-
ReplyDeleteNo, I have too many friends in Vermont, and that will probably be the first to go. What Mr. O might do, b4 Toronto and Paris, is--nuke DC! Yes, why not? Have the Pentagon bomb itself! (OK, it's in Virginia, but let's not quibble.) Right now the US is committing slow suicide, I think everyone here will agree. Is there any reason not to speed the process up?
I must dash off a letter rt away...
mb
Zosima,
ReplyDeleteRe. Bush’s paintings: Indeed, “the banality of evil” (Hannah Arendt).
Re. your disappointment with our meager acts of civilian violence and measly drone killings, I am pleased to inform you that NDAA 2013 requests a report about the feasibility of using nuclear weapons against China. I say it’s about time our peace prize winner kicks the AfgIraq Syndrome once and for all, darn it!
http://rt.com/news/usa-china-ndaa-tunnels-970/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElaKYjceKzs
I've just read that one of the troops who killed the unarmed Bin Laden in a cowboy style raid is complaining that he has been left without a pension and that he has trained his kids to share his neurosis and jump into the bathtub when they feel attacked. He is now divorced - his wife wanted no more to do with him.
ReplyDeleteI think of John Lennon's 'Instant Karma' and sigh.
Cathar
Cath-
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if we'll ever know the vast misery this country is inflicting on its own citizens (let alone the rest of the world) on the personal level. What a sad, painful story that wd be. And meanwhile, the citizenry actually cheers on the folks who are doing this to them. You hafta hand it to the US, really: no magician has ever pulled off a greater sleight-of-hand, that I know of (Houdini included).
mb
What do WAFers make of the news that the Pope is retiring? I didn't think a Pope could retire. Such a short papacy, too. I thought he was awfully old when he became Pope, I remember thinking "he's as old as the man he's replacing" when he ascended (?) the papacy. What are the odds of a non-white, non-european replacement? And, more importantly, how does this tie in to American end of empire?
ReplyDeleteGreetings from the lockdown state of California,
ReplyDeleteCathar-
Sounds like a Dorner 2.0 version in the making. Imagine the weapons this guy has stowed away.
Bingo and Zosima-
Maureen Dowd is also intrigued by Dubya's brushwork. What else are you gonna do after running the empire I suppose. Obama will probably take up ice sculpting after he's put out to pasture. Please forgive me if you guys don't like Dowd or the NYT. I can certainly understand your criticism.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/opinion/sunday/dowd-im-begging-dont-hack-the-hacks.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130210
Dr. Berman-
A Corned Beef and Pastrami sandwich with a side of Potato Knish at Canter's Deli in LA is about all that's left. You know, it's not too bad with a Dr. Brown's Cream Soda and maybe a bit of Miles Davis.
Cheers,
Jeff
Ken Smith- Thanks for that info.
ReplyDelete----
Paul Craig Roberts has posted someone's anonymous article on Counterpunch that purports to explain the practical implications of Obamacare. Doesn't look good. (Under the section on "MAGI", line "d" looks to shed a little light on the effect on expats, but I can't decipher its jargon.)
Jeff, Shane-
ReplyDeleteLogical development now wd be a Jewish pope who distributes delicatessen meats to the masses (pun intended). I also look forward to the resurrection of the Stage Deli, but now with a huge cross above it.
In other developments, check this out:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1941167757/silenced-a-new-documentary-from-oscar-nominee-jame
mb
MB,
ReplyDeleteI admire the Kickstarter project & feel it will be a vital record of these times to whatever civilization supersedes ours. At the same time, I recognize how easily dissenting voices are marginalized. The endless flood of the digital world effectively swallows & drowns everything of import & value in sheer crud. For those Powers That Be who want to maintain a civilized public facade, allowing such marginalized voices enables them to boast that the system still works, that there's still hope for real democracy, etc. and if those voices become a little too loud & threaten to attract real attention, there are countless ways of cracking down on them, many without even appearing to do so.
So does that mean people shouldn't even try? I don't think so. There is such a thing as bearing witness. And future historians will be grateful for those voices.
John Wheeler,
It's a bit of a paradox that any NMI suport group will have to be very unofficial & under the radar. As MB has pointed out, once any idea becomes a recognized movement, it all too easily becomes a commodity. Plenty of people will happily jump on the NMI bandwagon if there's profit to be had.
I think it's largely a matter of becoming a monastery of 1 or 2. It may be that personal connections between such mini-monasteries -- mini-steries, if you like? -- will lead to an invisible web of connections.
Frankly, I'm still working it out ...
Look what's going on in places where they educate their children.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flixxy.com/volkswagen-levitating-car.htm#.URlarKX7KDI
MB,
ReplyDeleteA Jewish Pope ? Say it ain't so, Joe !
So, instead of the, you know...wafer with the tag line, "The body of Christ", now we can look forward to a harder pill to swallow (w/o the wine, anyhow) with the incantation "The matzoh of Murray" ??
Doom 'n' gloom,
Vigilantism in the spirit of Harry Brown ?
How 'bout in the spirit of John Brown ?
Bothayas,
I don't see any problem with the idea of incorporating MB's #5 into Doom 'n' gloom's #2. Who sez NMI's can't be gourmets ? Brown rice and seaweed (with or w/o Dylan's dirty hot dog) are probably irradiated from Fukashima anyway, so leave the hair shirt in the closet and break out the good sherry to drizzle into that pan of sauteed chicken livers.
For any John Brown wannabes: forget raiding the local armory on Saturday night and get some quality hot artillery while you still can.
Lower your ammo cost and have a party with the savings.
http://tracking-point.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88i4-m93068
The Pope is retiring because he wants to spend more time with young Boys......
ReplyDeleteDear Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteShane W.---I think this is why our Dear Representative of Christ on Earth wants to retire.
From Alternet:
"Citing age and infirmity as his reason for leaving the papacy, Benedict's action comes just weeks after he opened his celebrated Twitter account -- and less than a month after the decades-old child abuse scandal drew nearer to the pope's door, with revelations published in the Los Angeles Times earlier this month that Cardinal Roger Mahony, then Archbishop of Los Angeles, sought to evade the law in cases involving the sexual abuse of children by the priests in his charge by sending them to treatment facilities in states that did not require health professionals to report the crimes to authorities.
At the time that Mahony was covering up the crimes of his priests, Benedict, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, led the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that oversaw such matters.
In archdiocese documents released under a court order earlier this month, Mahony is revealed to have taken actions deliberately contrived to avoid legal prosecution of priests who had sexually abused -- and even raped -- children. The documents were so damaging that Mahony, now retired and once thought to be a contender for the papacy, was publicly rebuked by the current Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose Gomez, and stripped of any public duties, an unprecedented censure of a cardinal archbishop by his successor."
As a member of the flock (such as it is) I was disgusted he was elected Pope in the first place. I've been a Catholic all my life but have no faith in The Church whatsoever. The priests, bishops, etc say "you can't pick and choose or--most importantly---think for yourself" but this scandal has rightly diminished their credibility as spiritual leaders; but that's a reality they don't want to face. A chilling documentary on one such case is Deliver Us From Evil.
The article is on Alternet today as
News & Politics
AlterNet / By Adele M. Stan
comments_image 77 COMMENTS
Pope Benedict Stepping Down in Shocking Abdication
Tim L. --- Thank you for all your work on the blog. We really do need to have a Tim Appreciation Day soon.
Tim-
ReplyDeleteI can see it now: NMI T-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers, the works. The attraction won't be just money: lots of people will decide it's cool, and once that happens we're fucked. Maybe we shd call the movement Losers United; that shd keep the chic and the trendy away.
As for Papa Razzi, as the Italian newspapers sometimes referred to him: sounds like he was a class-A douche bag. Clearly, his Guccis need a yellow drenching. Another reason to join the Latvian Orthodox Church, I guess, and also to elect a Jewish pope. In saecula cornedbeeforum, amen.
mb
An offensive song from Tim Minchin to celebrate Ratzinger's retirement--he wouldn't be going if the dirt wasn't surfacing faster than they could bury it:
ReplyDeletehttp://vimeo.com/11338327
(apologies in advance for any offence taken)
MB,
ReplyDeleteI think we should also consider a Mormon pope. This way he can have a large harem of women, and hopefully stop abusing innocent neighborhood children.
This unavoidably brings the discussion back to Mittney. Why can't we just elect him pope and emperor of the world?
Bingo
BTW MB everytime I go into a library or Barnes & Noble I ask for your books. B&N has to order them delivered to a particular branch. The library maybe thinks about stocking it rather than having to get from another branch. I already own your books but I hope that it increases circulation of your books. I encourage other WAFers to do the same.
ReplyDeleteHi MB do you remember about 40 years ago Transactional thinking ("I'm OK You're not OK") took off and it was offered by the armed services and in certain psychology departments as an actual class? It was one of the top bestsellers of all time. At the same time Nathan Kline published "From Sad To Glad" which gave the green light to psychiatrists to cash in on the Pharmacopeia scam. Depressed, anxious sexually dysfunctional? Take the Blue-pill. The DSM manual doubled in size; everyone is on something; our children as well. What all of this liberation from uncomfortable feelings has wrought is a mass of people who find it all but impossible to "think" for themselves. Not to worry though. We'll do the thinking for you.
ReplyDeleteJulian-
ReplyDeleteOf course, speaking personally, the election of Mittney to the office of pope wd do wonders for the sale of my 5-vol. "Cornerstones of Mittnism," esp. when published by the Vatican Press and given the Holy Imprimatur. But you know, I could have dreamt this, but I seem to recall that at some pt in the Middle Ages there was, in fact, a Jewish pope, and this fascinates me. It's long overdue for the Church to have a Pope Sam Schmeck, or Bernie Schwartz, who would then walk thru the slums of Naples, tossing pastrami sandwiches to the huddled masses. The day that happens, I'll know there's a god. Plus, altho there wd be no call for my works on Mittnism in that case, I would use my knowledge of Yiddish slang to contact Pope Schwartz and ask that my American empire trilogy be printed on caraway-seed rye bread (aka kimmel rye), and sold with side orders of cole slaw w/Russian dressing, such as was done at the Stage Deli for 75 years (may it rest in peace). Is this really any weirder or more demented than a former president and universally (except in the US) recognized war criminal painting pics of himself in the bathtub? I mean, if the world is going to be fucked up, let it be fucked up all the way, no?
mb
Someone needs to start the Evacuation of the Few Intelligent Americans Fund (EFIAF), so individuals like Morris Berman and Chris Hedges won't suffer from internal humanitarian crises. The public service announcement could go like this:
ReplyDelete"You're living in a shitty-ass society that values money and narcissistic indulgences above all else. It's turning into a neo-feudal, plutocratic, corporatist police state. And there is no redemption now anymore. Act quickly, and you and/or those close to you can join the rest of the sane world before Uncle Sam's dementia does him in. Donate and solicit our services, so we can help you and other like-minded people settle down in an actual civilized place. And remember, when ignorance is killing your patria, it's time to get the f out of there."
Too bad it would at least be shouted down by just about the entire cultural-political mainstream.
I suppose we should be thankful for how much God and his right hand man (or should I say, right-wing man) were able to accomplish in ending hunger and bringing world peace--oh and of course, child welfare.
ReplyDeleteBingo, as heartwarming as it would be to most Americans for us to attack China, I somehow passed enough graduate school history courses to recognize a trend when I see one. The US has attacked weaker and weaker countries consistently since WWII. We’ve gone from fighting second rate military powers(Korea/Vietnam) to fifth rate military powers(Iraq) and still we can’t win a war.
This trend could continue very soon if the College of Cardinals were to do something foolish like follow Dr. B’s or Shane’s advice and choose an insufficiently right-wing successor. They could get a visit from the 82nd Airborne--and with our army’s Iraqi museum looting experience, somebody’s going to get very rich. The Swiss guard may be routed, but as always, we’ll be forced to withdraw eventually, probably by insurgent Jesuits.
Hey Tim, if NMI is about to become a commodity, maybe we should stake out claims. Can I have the Jersey territory?
Z-
ReplyDeleteHow wd u feel abt an American pope, then? Perhaps one from NJ? (and speaking Latin w/a Joisey accent)
Martin-
I've already been evacuated, as it turns out, so not really suffering too much. And Chris is fighting the good fight from w/in, tho I'm guessing that 10 yrs from now we'll be even deeper in the shit than we are now, regardless of what he or anybody does to arrest the juggernaut. But a truly futile project, wh/I particularly favor, is CRAP: the Cranial-Rectal Appleby Project. If successful, this wd be a major turnaround for the US. The idea is to get the Appleby restaurant chain to donate millions of dollars so that we could hire thousands of proctologists to go door to door and extract Americans' heads from their rear ends. (It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.) Imagine performing this operation on 315 million people, until the nation as a whole wd rise up and declare, "Man, what a pile of shit they fed me!" This revolution wd not require arsenals of AK-47's; no, only warehouses full of crowbars and K-Y jelly. I'm talking true liberation here, folks. So the next time u dine at Appleby's, have a talk w/the manager, and tell him he cd be part of a movement to save America. Remember, you read it first on this blog.
Mike-
Thank u, but until CRAP goes into effect, the American people are just not going to be rdg WAF. All the more reason to join the movement today; or perhaps, enroll in med schl w/a specialization in proctology. As for "I'm OK," there was a satire of it published a year or so later entitled, "I'm OK, You're Not So Hot." That, I really enjoyed. Of course, since everything takes place in a hustling context, Americans go thru one psychological fad after another like candy, thinking the latest one will make them rich or famous or whatever. I say to them: CRAP is the answer!
mb
When suitable, let us know how the spam problem is going?
ReplyDeleteCathar.
This is the greatest Saturday Night Live blog in the Universe!
ReplyDeleteInfant:
Me thinks John Harry Chris Dorner Brown has arrived, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on whether or not ur one of the pissed on people in this fine world. At least someone who is speaking out is getting a bit of press.
Just ordered W.E.B.'s book on John Brown!
O&D
A WAF-er movie recommendation, Bobcat Goldthwait's "God Bless America" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1912398/)
ReplyDeleteIn a nutshell, two people disgusted with a vacuous and mean American society decide to start killing all the assholes. Personally, I didn't like the violence even though it is satirical and in the extras Bobcat talks about how if he didn't make this a vigilante flick, no one would see the movie.
Tim L,
ReplyDeleteMaybe the "monasteries" need not be limited to one or two people, the important factor being that they remain small, informal, non-evangelical/deterministic, and more focused on moral support and perhaps the occasional small neighborhood project. That's probably about as good as it's going to get.
p.s. Thanks for saving the blog!
Cath-
ReplyDeleteThanks to Tim L., we are now spam-free. Also happy to report that as of late, the trolls and buffoons have abated as well. For the moment, at any rate. As FDR once said, the four things you can be sure of in this life are death, taxes, trolls, and buffoons.
Gloomy-
The greatest tragedy of my life is that I didn't marry Tina Fey. I'm serious.
mb
America Loves Drone Strikes !
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-11/guest-post-america-loves-drone-strikes
By a margin of 62 for : 28 against,
no other country surveyed approved!
WAFers,
ReplyDeleteI second JWO's recommendation of God Bless America.
If you just want the ultra-condensed version, you can see it on one of the trailers that is available on Youtube. It's about 5 seconds long and ends with the word "Awesome!"
In case a buncha y'all missed Mike Sosebee's clip posted in the previous thread, I also recommend a visit to Guy McPherson's blog Nature Bats Last. Take the time to view one of his 45-minute or so presentations (most recent one just below here) and you should come to the conclusion that in the near future (probably a lot nearer than you would have thought) there will be NMI's and corpses. Get some backup to your grid power and start (pardon the expression) cultivating your green thumb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ina16XSJQvM&list=FLbXK5JLR1fZL-WIzoKtGYFQ&index=8
If you need rhythm to help focus while you're reading that book on permaculture, here's a starter kit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqIQorTXIkk&list=FLbXK5JLR1fZL-WIzoKtGYFQ&index=1
Trout-
ReplyDeleteMore than anything, a poll like this tells u who Americans really are. Wd they feel the same, do u think, if they were the target of these strikes?
mb
Just posted on youtube.com, an oldie-but-goldie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCYqUTEjRt4
ReplyDeleteAlan Greenspan was the latest Jewish pope.
ReplyDeleteDrone Strikes II
ReplyDeleteMB,
Now that the precedent of ex-judicial killing US citizens has been established abroad,
it is only a matter of time before this or next President uses Drones to kill American citizens domestically, without regard to the US Constitution. After all, what's the difference whether you're in Yemen or say, Idaho ? Even then, the American people would strongly approve because...well... he's the President.
Trout-
ReplyDeleteWriters like Mary Douglas and Norman Cohn have written abt the phenomenon whereby after you make war on the 'heretics' without, u then began to find them w/in--a fifth column. This was certainly the case w/war on communism, where (w/Joe McCarthy) we began to eat ourselves alive. We are now starting to do that again, tho I predict that there will be no Senate censure of the offending parties, and no Edward R. Murrow to challenge the govt. My guess is that Chris Hedges will lose his lawsuit vs. the NDAA (but the govt will continue to assassinate 'undesirables' even if he wins, of course), and then the gloves will be off: anyone and everyone cd legally be a potential enemy of the state. Which will eventually include Chris, of course, and maybe even blogs such as this. Fascism may only be a few yrs away, maybe less. With most of the American public cheering it on, of course. What dummies; what utter dummies.
Sanc-
Gd pt, but I want a Jew right in the Vatican, not at the Fed; and I want him to wear that little red beanie and speak in Latin. Habemus Papam Pastramiam! Agnus dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis choppedliveram! Etc.
Capt.-
Who is that dashing young man? I vaguely recall him...
mb
Would somebody please give grandpa a drone:
ReplyDelete“3 dead, 2 wounded in Del. courthouse shooting”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/11/delaware-courthouse-shooting/1909075/
Julian-
ReplyDeleteThese shootings seem to be happening at a rate of 2 or 3x/wk, by now. One wonders if they'll eventually drop off (until the next Newtown), or become a daily event. And if the latter, whether the media will stop reporting them.
mb
Here is yet another "America in a nutshell" moment: a video of "competitive eater" Takeru Kobeyashi at a Superbowl party woofing down an entire 12 inch pizza in one minute. I don't know what's more appalling, that we actually have professional eating competitions in this country (and they have their own "sports" league) or that this guy has plenty of fans eagerly snapping his picture as he consumes more calories in 60 seconds than many starving third worlders will see in a week.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk328_QjjHU
@ellen - I love that Tim Minchin video. Too perfect.
Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteThe 62% approval rating for drone strikes on American citizens REALLY made me realize how dire this situation is. I mean, would 52% of these people still agree if it was on American soil? I think I was still having a false sense of hope something, even radical, could be done. But alas, it's time to watch the demise and maybe be able to help the next civilization which rises from the ashes.
Joe-
ReplyDeleteHere's my preferred scenario: 50 yrs from now, Chinese historians are writing about how and why the US collapsed, and they run across my work. "Omigod," they exclaim (but in Mandarin); "look, here's the answer: the country failed because it was composed of violent, moronic douche bags! Why didn't we think of that?"
Dude-
It's like a fractal: in a single vignette, you get all of the country.
You see the problem w/'progressive' analyses of the country, as evidenced on Truthdig or The Nation or whatever: they just can't face the fact that the average American is dumb as a stick, because once u admit that, then there's really nothing to be done.
I hope all of u guys have your post-it stickers mounted on yr bathrm mirrors, in any case. In troubled times, we need daily inspiration.
mb
Dear Morris,
ReplyDeleteTo change the topic....
Did you see the open letter, published in the Washington Post, from a retiring high school teacher, to college professors...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/02/09/a-warning-to-college-profs-from-a-high-school-teacher/?tid=pm_pop
As you are a frequent critic of the inability of the education system to produce college students with a basic level of knowledge and ability (it is much the same here in New Zealand as in the USA), I would be very interested to hear your comments on this.
A particular section of Ken's open letter caught my eye...
"I blogged, I wrote letters and op-eds for newspapers, and I spent a great deal of time speaking with and lobbying those in a position to influence policy, up to and including sitting members of the US House of Representatives and Senate and relevant members of their staffs. Ultimately, it was to little avail, because the drivers of the policies that are changing our schools—and thus increasingly presenting you with students ever less prepared for postsecondary academic work—are the wealthy corporations that profit from the policies they help define and the think tanks and activist organizations that have learned how to manipulate the levers of power, often to their own financial or ideological advantage."
Regards,
Peter Archer
New Zealand
In all fairness, "takeru kobeyashi" sounds like a Japanese name to me...
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I sent in a link to the NPR talks shows I am constantly listening to. This one is fairly representative.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that private debt is even larger than public debt, and threatens to sink the economy -- again. But listen to these guys explain that the entire scenario from the previous crash could be replayed at any time, because the causes were not dealt with. Unlike previous crashes, there has been no punishment for the bad actors and reform to prevent it happening again...
Radio Times: The Next Financial Crisis
Are we missing the forest for the trees by focusing on government debt and not private debt? According to a recent report, “How to Predict the Next Financial Crisis” (link to pdf), there is about $24 trillion in consumer and business debt held in the United States today, much more than the federal debt, our money supply, and the nation's GDP. The report is the product of a collaboration between STEVE CLEMONS, Washington Editor-At-Large for The Atlantic, blogger at The Washington Note, and senior fellow at the American Strategy Forum at the New American Foundation, and RICHARD VAGUE, Philadelphia venture capitalist and managing partner of Gabriel Investments. The co-authors join us in studio before their talk next door today at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and they will also discuss the economic policy options before President Barack Obama in advance of his State of the Union address tonight.
Dear MB, Mike et al,
ReplyDeleteOn the syndrome of "I'm OK and You're OK" psychologies, their appearance and rapid demise in N. American culture.
There is, I think, something to be said for a maverick not-completely-within_-the fold psychoanalyst like Eric Berne, who took Freudian doctrine and practices, de-mystified them a lot, and made them accessible for many who needed them (including myself). Perls also "democratized" and streamlined psychoanalysis with his "gestalt" approach. The problem is that such popularizations become too easy to consume, and Americans unaccustomed to swimming upstream towards the source and font of ideas (and in another language) are too lazy to make the trip.
Berne did have wit and style, and was quite the realist in what I think could be called an NMI sense. I recall his remark:"There is no hope for the human species, only for enlightened individuals of it." This appears at the conclusion of his first book on transactional analysis.
Greetings from the lockdown state of California,
ReplyDeleteI am awaiting president Obama's state of the union address on CNN. An eerie visual is on screen as I write to all of you. Indeed, CNN has a split screen. On one side is a shot of the House Chamber filled with smiling Congresspeople (well, the Dems. at least) waiting for Mr. Smooth; the other is a cabin in the mountains of Big Bear, California engulfed in flames and surrounded by SWAT personnel. Christopher J. Dorner, former LAPD and Rambo aficionado, is apparently holed up at this location. Between Obama's verbal fictions and what will probably be a live killing, CNN has a choice to make. What will it be? Looks like they decided to go with Mr. O. Stay tuned...
Jeff
Hohos said, “I think I was still having a false sense of hope something, even radical, could be done. But alas, it's time to watch the demise and maybe be able to help the next civilization which rises from the ashes.”
ReplyDeleteI, too, was there, in a fuzzy sense, up until a few months ago; however, I suspect that you, like me, have known differently for a very long time. When you are an Island with no one (or only a weak few) to collaborate with; no one to take your beliefs, theories, documentation, evidence or critical analysis seriously enough to even engage in intelligent dialog, you question yourself at times. No more!
I am fortunate to have the will, a plan, and the opportunity to immigrate; a plan in place before I found this blog (the blog helped clarify why I chose to immigrate in the first place!) I’m also a minimalist and naturalist by nature, so if life should throw me a spin ball (like the Gov’t steals my retirement plan, health care, SS, or prevents me from fleeing with the clothes on my back), I’m also ready to pursue the NMI-Plan-B.
Mark-
ReplyDeleteIt's the last line of "Games People Play": "there is no hope for the human race, but there is hope for individual members of it."
This was certainly Freud's position, and Plato's; and in his more sober moments, the Buddha's. Of those 3, only Freud experienced America; which he labeled "a gigantic mistake."
Peter-
Well, No Child Left Behind was the 'brain' child of GW Bush, who is a mental defective; so what else cd we expect? But it was bad way before that, of course. By the mid-60s higher ed entered a period of corporate and consumer modeling, and that was really the death knell. Last Sept. I was at a party in Vermont, and a local college prof said to me: "You know, it's quite amazing: students show up at age 18 and they know absolutely nothing. And when I say that, I don't mean they know a little; I mean Nothing. All they've been doing for the last 18 yrs is playing video games." There is now a huge, informal law that permeates this country: "Every Child Is a Behind."
mb
Reader-
ReplyDeleteCongratulations; we're rooting 4u. I think the one single thing that made it clear to me that I had to get out was that I had abs. no one to talk to. I call the Emigration Plan: "Every Buffoon Left Behind."
mb
re: competitive eating, see http://jennydrumgoole.com/wingbowl/
ReplyDeleteWhat a bizarre place.
Drone III
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of my early readings of Thorstein Veblen, who wrote "The Vested Interests and the Common Man" in 1919.
Quoting from the book...." Back of it all is the nation's divine right to carry arms, to support a competitive military and naval establishment, which has ceased, under the new order, to have any other material use than to enforce or defend the businesslike right of particular vested interests to get something for nothing in some particular place and in some particular way, and the common man pays the cost and swells with pride.’ He knew then that Americans were doomed.
Veblen just may have been the first to understand the economics of hustling. The titles of his books alone offer confirmation : "The Theory of the Leisure Class", "The Higher Learning In America: A Memorandum On the Conduct of Universities By Business Men" , "The Engineers and the Price System" and "The Vested Interests and the Common Man". And some classic phrases from him : conspicuous consumption, conspicuous leisure, conspicuous waste, pecuniary emulation, the economics of predation, these ideas are at the heart of WAF. Dr. Berman, you are standing with giants.
the flesch-kincaid readability test measures the grade level of politican's speeches. according to recent tests, obama's are around the ninth grade reading level. there is a graph which shows the reading level of speeches back to madison, which, i think were the highest.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/feb/12/state-of-the-union-reading-level
how difficult is it to immigrate?
Let's not forget that it was the great liberal lion, Ted Kennedy, that provided political cover for Bush's No Child Left Behind As a public school teacher I deal with that repulsive law every day. Standardized testing never stops and schools do little more especially from January than teach test taking strategies. Meanwhile, there is a system of abuse that I could only describe as psychological torture as downtown abuses principals, principals abuse teachers and of course teachers abuse students. September to January is not much better as teachers are required to follow scripted lessons and every class needs to be more or less on the same page everyday. In short, there is no education in the Greek sense of learning as a social construct.
ReplyDeleteMB,
ReplyDeleteRe. the US being a lonely place, one must be strong minded in order not to become depressed in this place. What helps is knowing the reality, and a blog like this helps with that.
Taking the “red pill” (harsh truth of reality) leads to psychological strength and stability, however, it can be painful. On the other hand, the “blue pill” (blissful ignorance of illusion) leads to depression and eventual mental breakdown, as we see happening on a wide scale in American society today.
This is important for those who are choosing the NMI option. NMIs will have to learn how to maintain their sanity in a lifestyle that provides little meaningful human contact for very long periods of time.
Trout-
ReplyDeleteWell, on their shoulders, at any rate.
mb
Some might be interested in this -
ReplyDelete"We have come to realize that the knowledge that we have gained these past years is starting to be sought by many so we have decided to offer a 7-month Apprenticeship for 2 people starting this April. It will be all-inclusive and cost $7,500. I wish we could offer it for free but I still do engage in the cash economy and know many do have the means to pay.
The nature of coming here to live, work and learn is intimate so there is no room for a lot of personal baggage … we are not therapists. We approach this work from a point of hope for the future, not despair for the past and present. You need to be in good physical condition but do not need to have any experience in Homesteading.
We will interview applicants to try to ensure that the chemistry will work between us. We encourage you to check references from folks who have worked for us in the past and we will ask you for personal references." Please check out the Apprenticeship Website at http://sustainableapprenticeship.weebly.com/
Michael-
ReplyDeleteIt was 'good' to watch this. This is what Americans are concerned abt, this type of stuff. What cd be clearer? This is the most degraded, most debased population on the face of the earth.
mb
This video of Cornel West contains nothing but truth. He is forever in that mode.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dd16ZyGQLo
I am not the least religious but I add that, in my opinion, he is the current MLK, Jr. and the next to be assassinated.
Today in the Guardian, I read that there is "an epidemic of sexual diseases sweeping the USA".
ReplyDeleteIf sex and reproduction are the fundamental base line of life and future in any society, this trend strikes at the core of life and living, and points to a psychic and somatic morbidity of a nation.
Barometers don't only foretell the weather.
Cathar
Cathar-
ReplyDeleteBetter to send messages to most recent post, since folks tend not to read the older ones. Also, if you cd lead in w/Cathar, instead of Anonymous, it wd help me a lot, sorting-wise. Thanks. As for morbidity in the US: foregone conclusion, esp. around issues of the body. (See "Coming to Our Senses".)
mb
Dear Dr. Berman, you wrote:
ReplyDelete"I keep urging u guys to emigrate, and yr sitting around--why?"
Well, I am going back to Europe on March 20 after 32 years in the USA (of which 23 in Alaska) I made the mistake to leave Alaska and go to the "states." For the last year or so I have been writing a book about the real situation in the US, this book is for the Dutch market and is called “Amerika Uber Alles.” I have been warned not to be in this country when the book is published, which really scares me.
To finalize my stay in the US I had to go to the local Social Security Office and there I was reminded of the decline in progress. The people you see there is for sure a “culture indicator,” a clochard looking individual was wearing a Harvard T-shirt and one obese lady wore a T-shirt saying: “I used to care but I take a pill for that now.” And these people can vote.
I agree with Dr. Berman that you should get out if you can.
Hans van Hoek