New Orleans Slate has a great post and insight into the recent brutal murder of Addie Hall and some of idiot America's responses to it.
I was actually going to avoid commenting on it, but I feel somewhat obliged being a child of Dambala and a zombie and such.
So here's the quaint post about it...the macarbe venture into the depths of human depravity is forthcoming.
Blaming Miriam for this man's act is antithetical to the nature of the religion and her role in it. If Voudon had anything to do with Zack Brown's descent into madness...it would be a mounting (possession) of his own invitation. As with any mythology, if you don't invite it into your life or believe in it...it cannot affect you.
Our psychoses are always self-imposed....Christian guilt and fear included.
Perhaps Egungun crept into Brown's world...but the only way he crept into his mind is if he allowed it.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
A Story of Ogun
Part 2 of 2
In case I haven't mentioned it...I'm extremely fascinated with Yoruba Cosmology and it's diaspora in the Western Hemisphere: Voudun, Macumba, Santeria, Candomble', etc. I am by no means an expert or scholar, but the more I learn about the Yoruba tenet and pantheon, the more fascinated I become.
It should be noted that the religion is an oral tradition...there is no written word or "Bible" which defines the parameters of the religion. Therefore, there are many branches to the Yoruba tree of knowledge. There are parables and stories which have been passed down orally and of course with each passing the stories have been embellished or altered by the storyteller. There is no book or resource one can refer to that provides the "official" story.
But as with all myth, the basic elments and motif of the stories are what really matters...not the particulars. This is one intepretation of the deity Ogun and how he gained a seat among the Yoruba pantheon.
Ogun was a blacksmith...and a damn good one. He was a master of iron who created the finest crafted tools and weapons not only in his village, but in all the land.
Ogun was also a recluse. His blacksmith shop was located at the edge of the forest, on the outskirts of his village. His great talent was also a curse for Ogun. He loved nature but the magnificent tools he created were always used to destroy it. He could not deny his calling, but he always kept one foot in the forest. He was truly at odds with his genius and his identity...a scientist's mind with a Luddite's heart.
The elder men in his village were constantly nagging Ogun to forge an arsenal....one of superior weapons. Wary of their intentions, Ogun denied them time after time. But the elders were persitent, and convinced Ogun that they merely wanted the weapons as a deterrent to prevent the neighboring village from attacking them. They twisted their words and intentions to convince Ogun that by creating these superior weapons, he would be ensuring a peaceful existence between the villages.
Ogun conceded and built a series of weapons the likes of which had never been seen. He then turned the weapons over to the village elders...all but one...one weapon which was superior to all the rest. This one he kept hidden in his blacksmith shop for fear that this weapon was too deadly for any man to weild.
You can guess what happens next....riding high on the testosterone rush of having such superior technology, the elders stormed the neighboring village and slaughtered every man, woman, and child, leaving nothing behind.
They then returned to their village, threw a massive hoedown and got drunk as skunks.
Upon receiving the news of what the elders had done, Ogun went into an uncontrollable rage. He grabbed his ultra-weapon and stormed the village in a blind fury. It was a blood bath....he left nothing in his wrath.
Coming out of his haze and realizing what he had done, his remorse overcame him and he turned the blade on himself. For this he became Orisha (immortal, or a deity).
Being a master of metal, in modern times Ogun has become the "God of Techonology" in general. Cars, computers, planes...anything with metal is under his dominion. It's a pretty awesome metaphor that shows no matter how far technology is refined to create order...it cannot stop the process of entropy and destruction. More often than not...it accelerates it. Ogun's quest for perfect order, by altering matter, led to total destruction....including his own.
Surely, Oppenheimer wrestled with Ogun's torment. With an increasing number of tribes gaining access to Oppenheimer's toy, it is just a matter of time until the weapon is weilded.
America's drunken elders may very well be the first to do so. A drunken Cheney accidentally shot one of his friends....it's not a far stretch to imagine a semi-sober Bush lighting up Iran...or a bat-shit-insane Kim Jong il lashing out at Japan.
I would like to think that as a collective consciousness, the human tribe will one day transcend the mistakes of the past. Ironically enough, I think technology is the only way to accomplish this.
The internet is the first "global neural network". I believe it is the ultimate succession of human technological endeavor. The story of Ogun and the apprehension of Oppenheimer can now be cataloged and dispersed to every tribe on the planet....or at least the ones that are threatening it.
Just something that's been on my mind....now back to our regular programming :)
In case I haven't mentioned it...I'm extremely fascinated with Yoruba Cosmology and it's diaspora in the Western Hemisphere: Voudun, Macumba, Santeria, Candomble', etc. I am by no means an expert or scholar, but the more I learn about the Yoruba tenet and pantheon, the more fascinated I become.
It should be noted that the religion is an oral tradition...there is no written word or "Bible" which defines the parameters of the religion. Therefore, there are many branches to the Yoruba tree of knowledge. There are parables and stories which have been passed down orally and of course with each passing the stories have been embellished or altered by the storyteller. There is no book or resource one can refer to that provides the "official" story.
But as with all myth, the basic elments and motif of the stories are what really matters...not the particulars. This is one intepretation of the deity Ogun and how he gained a seat among the Yoruba pantheon.
Ogun was a blacksmith...and a damn good one. He was a master of iron who created the finest crafted tools and weapons not only in his village, but in all the land.
Ogun was also a recluse. His blacksmith shop was located at the edge of the forest, on the outskirts of his village. His great talent was also a curse for Ogun. He loved nature but the magnificent tools he created were always used to destroy it. He could not deny his calling, but he always kept one foot in the forest. He was truly at odds with his genius and his identity...a scientist's mind with a Luddite's heart.
The elder men in his village were constantly nagging Ogun to forge an arsenal....one of superior weapons. Wary of their intentions, Ogun denied them time after time. But the elders were persitent, and convinced Ogun that they merely wanted the weapons as a deterrent to prevent the neighboring village from attacking them. They twisted their words and intentions to convince Ogun that by creating these superior weapons, he would be ensuring a peaceful existence between the villages.
Ogun conceded and built a series of weapons the likes of which had never been seen. He then turned the weapons over to the village elders...all but one...one weapon which was superior to all the rest. This one he kept hidden in his blacksmith shop for fear that this weapon was too deadly for any man to weild.
You can guess what happens next....riding high on the testosterone rush of having such superior technology, the elders stormed the neighboring village and slaughtered every man, woman, and child, leaving nothing behind.
They then returned to their village, threw a massive hoedown and got drunk as skunks.
Upon receiving the news of what the elders had done, Ogun went into an uncontrollable rage. He grabbed his ultra-weapon and stormed the village in a blind fury. It was a blood bath....he left nothing in his wrath.
Coming out of his haze and realizing what he had done, his remorse overcame him and he turned the blade on himself. For this he became Orisha (immortal, or a deity).
Being a master of metal, in modern times Ogun has become the "God of Techonology" in general. Cars, computers, planes...anything with metal is under his dominion. It's a pretty awesome metaphor that shows no matter how far technology is refined to create order...it cannot stop the process of entropy and destruction. More often than not...it accelerates it. Ogun's quest for perfect order, by altering matter, led to total destruction....including his own.
Surely, Oppenheimer wrestled with Ogun's torment. With an increasing number of tribes gaining access to Oppenheimer's toy, it is just a matter of time until the weapon is weilded.
America's drunken elders may very well be the first to do so. A drunken Cheney accidentally shot one of his friends....it's not a far stretch to imagine a semi-sober Bush lighting up Iran...or a bat-shit-insane Kim Jong il lashing out at Japan.
I would like to think that as a collective consciousness, the human tribe will one day transcend the mistakes of the past. Ironically enough, I think technology is the only way to accomplish this.
The internet is the first "global neural network". I believe it is the ultimate succession of human technological endeavor. The story of Ogun and the apprehension of Oppenheimer can now be cataloged and dispersed to every tribe on the planet....or at least the ones that are threatening it.
Just something that's been on my mind....now back to our regular programming :)
Friday, October 13, 2006
How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer's deadly toy?
Part 1 of 2
"Now, I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
Those were the words that ran through the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer on July 16, 1945 shortly after the Trinity explosion lit up the New Mexico desert. The words came from the Bhagavad Gita and were originally attributed to Vishnu, a manifestation of "God" (Krishna) in Hinduism which represents destruction...quite often on a cosmic scale.
It was an apt thunk.
In under 4 years, Oppenheimer and his incredibly talented brain trust which composed the Manhattan Project took a purely theoretical concept: the possibility of a neutron driven chain reaction, and turned it into a physical reality. Some would argue it was the greatest scientific/engineering accomplishment of the century...possibly ever. An entire city was built from scratch in Los Alamos in under a year. The Army Corps of Engineers built the city under total secrecy. It housed a compendium of intelligentsia the likes of which this country had never seen before and hasn't seen since. Teleologic misgivings aside, it was a herculean accomplishment. In my opinion, it even dwarfed the moonshot.
Among Los Alamos' first residents was Hungarian physicist, Leo Szilard, the true "thinker of thunks" who first proposed the possibility of a neutron-driven, fission reaction which could release more energy than was required to initiate it.
Most folks think Einstein was the first "neutron" which split the minds of men...setting off the chain reaction of government and scientific cooperation which lead to the Trinity explosion. In a relative manner, it was actually Szilard with the help of Enrico Fermi, who served as the catalyst for the Manhattan Project. Einstein was actually used as a figurehead to draft a letter to F.D.R which "enlightened" him to the possibility of an atomic "super weapon".
Scientific American has a great essay which can be purchased online that details how Szilard spent an entire afternoon wrestling with Einstein and his conscience; persuading him to write the letter to Roosevelt which would instigate the beginning of the Manhattan Project and ultimately lead to "Little Boy" being dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
When I worked full time for the Smithsonian, I was asked to videotape the 1995 Enola Gay exhibit at the Air and Space Museum before it's official opening for security purposes. I actually stood in the fuselage of the plane, right where the bomb hung before it was released...I still get goosebumps thinking about that.
As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Oak Ridge along with Hanford, Washington were the first American sites to enrich Uranium-235, the fuel which powered the first nuclear blasts. Post WWII a plant was built on the Ohio River in my hometown of Paducah, Kentucky. This is where the uranium was (and still is) sent by rail from Oak Ridge to be enriched into the plutonium which rests in over 90% of our nuclear warheads today. The Paducah plant is a story unto itself, but I will save that for another post.
As I was driving down I-81 today, I was listening to NPR which was reporting the recent North Korean nuclear test and the impending threat the rogue country poses to the civilized world. It made me think of Oppenheimer's reference to Vishnu after the Trinity blast. It also made me think of another myth from Yoruba Cosmology which I think is even more apt than Oppenheimer's mythic analogy.
I give you the story of the Yoruba deity, Ogun, in part 2.
"Now, I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds."Those were the words that ran through the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer on July 16, 1945 shortly after the Trinity explosion lit up the New Mexico desert. The words came from the Bhagavad Gita and were originally attributed to Vishnu, a manifestation of "God" (Krishna) in Hinduism which represents destruction...quite often on a cosmic scale.
It was an apt thunk.
In under 4 years, Oppenheimer and his incredibly talented brain trust which composed the Manhattan Project took a purely theoretical concept: the possibility of a neutron driven chain reaction, and turned it into a physical reality. Some would argue it was the greatest scientific/engineering accomplishment of the century...possibly ever. An entire city was built from scratch in Los Alamos in under a year. The Army Corps of Engineers built the city under total secrecy. It housed a compendium of intelligentsia the likes of which this country had never seen before and hasn't seen since. Teleologic misgivings aside, it was a herculean accomplishment. In my opinion, it even dwarfed the moonshot.
Among Los Alamos' first residents was Hungarian physicist, Leo Szilard, the true "thinker of thunks" who first proposed the possibility of a neutron-driven, fission reaction which could release more energy than was required to initiate it.
Most folks think Einstein was the first "neutron" which split the minds of men...setting off the chain reaction of government and scientific cooperation which lead to the Trinity explosion. In a relative manner, it was actually Szilard with the help of Enrico Fermi, who served as the catalyst for the Manhattan Project. Einstein was actually used as a figurehead to draft a letter to F.D.R which "enlightened" him to the possibility of an atomic "super weapon".
Scientific American has a great essay which can be purchased online that details how Szilard spent an entire afternoon wrestling with Einstein and his conscience; persuading him to write the letter to Roosevelt which would instigate the beginning of the Manhattan Project and ultimately lead to "Little Boy" being dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
When I worked full time for the Smithsonian, I was asked to videotape the 1995 Enola Gay exhibit at the Air and Space Museum before it's official opening for security purposes. I actually stood in the fuselage of the plane, right where the bomb hung before it was released...I still get goosebumps thinking about that.
As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Oak Ridge along with Hanford, Washington were the first American sites to enrich Uranium-235, the fuel which powered the first nuclear blasts. Post WWII a plant was built on the Ohio River in my hometown of Paducah, Kentucky. This is where the uranium was (and still is) sent by rail from Oak Ridge to be enriched into the plutonium which rests in over 90% of our nuclear warheads today. The Paducah plant is a story unto itself, but I will save that for another post.
As I was driving down I-81 today, I was listening to NPR which was reporting the recent North Korean nuclear test and the impending threat the rogue country poses to the civilized world. It made me think of Oppenheimer's reference to Vishnu after the Trinity blast. It also made me think of another myth from Yoruba Cosmology which I think is even more apt than Oppenheimer's mythic analogy.
I give you the story of the Yoruba deity, Ogun, in part 2.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
time to pull the plug?
this whole fucking thing is getting too weird even for me. this ain't fun no mo'
G-Girl...the whole thing about bloggin' to me is that it's fun....this ain't fun. Now it's turnin into a job. I got so much crap coming in I don't know what to do with it, or what to believe. the grafix and writing is fun....the editing isn't.
I keep asking myself what the fuck i've gotten myself into...and more importantly why. no one in this city (who could do anything about it) gives a crap anyway.
Short of taking up arms and running these fucksticks out of town....i don't hold much hope of anything productive coming out of this crap. it's the negative energy thing....starting to wear on me.
G-Girl...the whole thing about bloggin' to me is that it's fun....this ain't fun. Now it's turnin into a job. I got so much crap coming in I don't know what to do with it, or what to believe. the grafix and writing is fun....the editing isn't.
I keep asking myself what the fuck i've gotten myself into...and more importantly why. no one in this city (who could do anything about it) gives a crap anyway.
Short of taking up arms and running these fucksticks out of town....i don't hold much hope of anything productive coming out of this crap. it's the negative energy thing....starting to wear on me.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Q: What do these two men have in common?
Mayor Ray Nagin
Dickie BrennanThey are both New Orleans restaurant tycoons. Mayor Ray Nagin along with business men David White and Hicham Khodr are all partners in a company called AFO Investments. What does AFO investments do? Apparently they are a real estate/restaurant venture with at least two known properties: Byblos and Table One on Magazine Street (and a newly posted billboard on the earhardt bridge).
While Byblos was open before the storm, Table One is another story. The property was renovated and opened as an upscale restaurant about a year before the strorm. After it's original renovation it was called The Living Room. Sometime between Hurricane Katrina making landfall and the city allowing the residents of 70130 to return to their homes, the restaurant was purchased by David White and became Table One.
I got a post from an Anon which states that AFO stands for All For One....which flows nicely with Table One, huh? Nagin being "The One". Ray must really be a multi-tasking demi-god....to handle the responsibilities of a devastated city and open an upscale restaurant on the side. It reminds me of Neo in the Matrix fighting a thousand Mr. Smiths.
This anon also states that Nagin's Director of Housing, Alberta Pate, became a restaurateur during the Katrina exodus and stealthily openend Alberta's on Magazine in order to bypass protests from local neighbors who didn't want the restaurant in their neighborhood. Interesting prioritites for a city Housing Director who was on the cusp of facing the greatest housing crisis in the history of the United States.
Now comes word that Hicham Khodr is putting together a deal with Emeril Lagasse to purchase the still down and out Camellia Grill in the Riverbend area. BAM! One more asset for "The One"
Transparency Ray? Let's pull out the windex and polish the glass. You're a sitting mayor investing in real estate in your own city...that's a conflict of interest even in the best of times, much less in the current situation our city is in.
Keep your eyes on potential "ripe" properties around the city which are up for sale.....Cafe Sbisa, Oswalds, etc. I'm wondering just how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that Nagin appointed David White to the BNOB board immediately following the storm? Convenient.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Is Meffert a Scientologist?
I ignored this originally but it just keeps coming back up. I had two Anon's claim that Mefffert is a member of the COS. Now Ashley is claiming that Earthlink is run by Scientologists. Very Strange, indeed.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Earthlink response...
Thanks to a proactive Anon, we have a response from Earthlink:
I just wrote to ceo@earthlink.net (the address I was provided for the CEO) and got the following response to my concerns about this deal:
Thank you for passing this along to us. I’ve put it in the hands of the chief executives involved.
While obviously I can say little, I can say that our agreement is with the City, and is based on our having met the published wireless requirements documents. I’m afraid this may be, at least in our case, a case of unfortunate appearance rather than actual substance.
Again, thank you.
Bob
Bob McNamara
Executive Relations Manager, Asst. to the CEO
EarthLink Inc.
(404) 748 7205
With all due respect Mr. McNamara....your executives are fully aware of the potential conflict, and have expressed their concerns with Meffert and the city from the beginning. This is hardly a case of unfortunate appearance, and most definitely shouldn't come as a surprise to you unless you're not communinicating with the Earthlink executives and attorneys involved in the deal. Only after Meffert's attorney assured your attorneys that hiring Netmethods would be "legal", did your company put it's concerns to bed. Even if it is "legal" (and if Meffert is hired by Netmethods or any subcontractor of Netmethods, it is not legal) it is most certainly not ethical.
But hey man, you're the Executive, I'm just a Snake God....what do I know? If you want to put the reputation of your company (a company which I personally think is incredible and one of the great survival success stories of the dot com bust) on the come line over a deal like this...it's your call.
I just wrote to ceo@earthlink.net (the address I was provided for the CEO) and got the following response to my concerns about this deal:
Thank you for passing this along to us. I’ve put it in the hands of the chief executives involved.
While obviously I can say little, I can say that our agreement is with the City, and is based on our having met the published wireless requirements documents. I’m afraid this may be, at least in our case, a case of unfortunate appearance rather than actual substance.
Again, thank you.
Bob
Bob McNamara
Executive Relations Manager, Asst. to the CEO
EarthLink Inc.
(404) 748 7205
With all due respect Mr. McNamara....your executives are fully aware of the potential conflict, and have expressed their concerns with Meffert and the city from the beginning. This is hardly a case of unfortunate appearance, and most definitely shouldn't come as a surprise to you unless you're not communinicating with the Earthlink executives and attorneys involved in the deal. Only after Meffert's attorney assured your attorneys that hiring Netmethods would be "legal", did your company put it's concerns to bed. Even if it is "legal" (and if Meffert is hired by Netmethods or any subcontractor of Netmethods, it is not legal) it is most certainly not ethical.
But hey man, you're the Executive, I'm just a Snake God....what do I know? If you want to put the reputation of your company (a company which I personally think is incredible and one of the great survival success stories of the dot com bust) on the come line over a deal like this...it's your call.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
An open plea....
How many Netmethod employees are on city payroll? How many were on city payroll when the Earthlink deal was cut?
If anyone is listening out there...and I think you are....please go look at city payroll and find this out.
Also be aware that Netmethods may be set up as a subcontractor under another LLC, called Veracent....billing from the city may be coming through Veracent and then to Netmethods. Both companies are registered under Mark St. Pierre's name.
If anyone is listening out there...and I think you are....please go look at city payroll and find this out.
Also be aware that Netmethods may be set up as a subcontractor under another LLC, called Veracent....billing from the city may be coming through Veracent and then to Netmethods. Both companies are registered under Mark St. Pierre's name.
Monday, October 02, 2006
How the snake eats itself
It's called the Ouroboros. It is a mythological symbol of a snake eating it's own tail...a cyclical process of reflexivity and self-consumption...a continuum. It's been found in cultures thoughout the globe from the Aztec to the Ashanti, and yes it has even been used to represent the master of serpents himself, Dambala.
Being a serpent God, Dambala has dominion over all things slithering and serpentine. Even Ogun, the Yoruba God of technology, lends his serpentine knowdedge to Dambala...often in the form of electronic communiques.
It just so happens that Ogun, shared with Dambala, a reptilian conversation 'tween a techonology powerhouse and one of our own New Orleans serpents, Greg Meffert.
The Atlanta based ISP, Earthlink, recently was awarded a city contract to install a public wi-fi system for the City of New Orleans. The contract was doled out by Greg Meffert, who was the city CIO at the time the contract was granted.
The following Insant Message transaction between Meffert and the Earthlink executive was mystically snatched from cyberspace by the Vodun God, Ogun, and bestowed to Dambala....it should of course be viewed as a an item of IMAGINation:
techplayboy69: Hey man r u ther?
dcoustElink: Hi Greg, how r u?
techplayboy69: whoa man....hangin'. had a blowout on the boat last night. I'll send you pix...but don't open 'em at work...if you know what I mean (wink)...anyway, You guys ready to trick out my city?
dcoustElink: Yeah....Earthlink is really excited about this whole project. We think it will really benefit the city to have a public wi-fi network. Aside from being a great business attractor, it could provide valuable communication needs during another hurricane.
techplayboy69: Yeah Yeah...hurricane smurricane. We actually got a grant for 7 mill from the Dept. of Justice, or some Fed. org. back in 2003 to build a hurricane-proof communication system.
dcoustElink: Right...I heard about that. A lot of competent national companies bid on that contract, but it kind of just disappeared...I can't imagine how many lives it would have saved if it would have been built....what happened.
techplayboy69: Let's just say...we couldn't find a contractor who would play ball in our court.
dcoustElink: What do you mean?
techplayboy69: N.O. plays by a different set of rules, bro....if you're gonna do biz with us, you gotta use our playbook and our refs.
dcoustElink: Not sure what that means...but along those lines, I have a question for you...why isn't the contract we're being awarded being put out for an RFP? Isn't that standard operating procedure for government contracts?
techplayboy69: HAH!....you know what RFP stands for down here?
dcoustElink: Request for Proposal?
techplayboy69: Ripe for the Pickin'! Ha...get it? Ripe for the pickin'! damn...don't make me laugh, my head is killing me....
techplayboy69: So listen here's the deal...you guys got the contract, don't worry about that...but I got this local company you need to bring on as a sub to do this whole thing...capiche?
dcoustElink: Well...are they qualified to do the work? We'll need to assess what our needs are before we do the job or hire any contractors.
techplayboy69: I don't think you understand...I've already assessed what your needs are to get this contract. You're gonna hire a company called NetMethods as a sub to do this. It's not optional...
dcoustElink: what do you mean by not optional?
techplayboy69: figure it out...you're a smart guy...you work for a software company..
dcoustElink: Actually Earthlink isn't a software company, it's an ISP.
techplayboy69: Yeah yeah....I had a software company too...whatever, it's all silicon stuff right? Just like my boat...Silicon Bayou. Sounds cool, eh? The chicks really dig it.
dcoustElink: uh...yeah. Who is this company NetMethods?
techplayboy69: It's this new comany out of N.O. They do exactly what you need.
dcoustElink: How do you know what we need?
techplayboy69: Because I will tell you what you need if you want this contract....you need this software company NetMethods.
dcoustElink: We don't need software.
techplayboy69: Yeah yeah...software, hardware...whatever. You need these guys.
dcoustElink: Who are they?
techplayboy69: It's owned by Mark St. Pierre.
dcoustElink: Isn't that the guy you're currently sub-contracting for city IT services?
techplayboy69: yeah...he's really good. He's starting this new company NetMethods....and guess who is gonna be the CEO of that company come Fall?
dcoustElink: I'm afraid to ask...
techplayboy69: Yeah you right....me. Your's truly! Pretty cool, huh?
dcoustElink: Actually no...it sounds illegal.
techplayboy69: No way brah....my lawyer has it all under control...Hakuna Matata! No one will even question it. This city loves me...they think I'm a tech. God...all i gotta do is say "software" and all their eyes glaze over, it's great. My lawyer has it all worked out...don't fret.
dcoustElink: This makes me really uncomfortable.
techplayboy69: I told you don't worry. Listen we'll talk about it when you come down tomorrow. We're havin' a party in a suite at the IH...make sure you bring lots o' cash for the poker game.
dcoustElink: Well...I don't gamble.
techplayboy69: HA! HA! You do now my friend....you do now.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
In the beggining there was the Logos...in the end there is Newspeak
Time for another Zombie wake-up call.
Our wise men on the Hill in the District of Columbia recently re-defined the definition of an "enemy combatant". Previously, an enemy combatant was defined as someone who was "captured during an armed conflict".
Now an enemy combatant is defined as someone who "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States."
Wow, I'm no longer scared of Al Qaeda...I'm scared of my government.
Being a New Olreanian, I've written and verbalized some rather scathing criticisms of my government in the past year. Is the 1st Amendment protected against this new definition? Am I now an enemy combatant? What is the semantic interpretation of "hostility"?
There are specific milestones which become apparent on a country's path to Fascism. One of the most important milestones is a shift in the use of language and an intent to use language to confuse the populous. Case in point, the recently branded meme "Islamofascism". The semantic construct of the word is impossible....a religion is a component of a government and a nation and hence a component of the brand of governance of "The State"....it is NOT the state itself.
Fascism is most commonly summarized by Mussolini's quote “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.” It is usually supplemented by a later quote he made, “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power”.
The key element is that you must start with "The State." The rise of a Fascist inferno is kindled by vehement notions of nationalism. Religion is used as a tool to manipulate the populous into a national fervor...Hitler consciously weaved Christianity and Arthurian legend to delude the German masses into a mindset of Aryan dominance. Yes that's correct, Hitler used Christianity as an impetus to create the Third Reich...as a matter of fact, without it, he would have never risen to the level of power he did.
So I ask you, if there is truly such a thing as "Islamofascism" is there such a thing as "Cristofascism"
or "Judeofascism"? No...of course there isn't...none of these semantic constructs exist. There is no ubiquitous Islamic nation which constitutes a fascist state. As a matter of fact, one could merely look at the Sunni/Shiite hostility in Iraq as a clear example that Islam is not a unified state with a single direction. The borders which carve up the Middle Eastern countries quite often represent clear ideological and political differences which supercede Islam. Saudi Arabia is starkly contrasted to Iran in their political views, alliances, and most importantly in their interpretation of Islam.
Once again, there is no single "Islamic State". To suggest that Islamofascism actually exists, we would have to turn to our own country and ask "Are we Cristofascists?". Religion is a TOOL used by fascists to invoke a sense of uber-nationalism and indignancy among the nation's populous, much like Chistianity has been used in America in the past 6 years by our current administration.
One of the great guidelines we have for identifying fascism is Umberto Eco's essay on how to identify a black hat (fascist). If you have the time it is well worth the read.
Please note his reference to Orwell's construct of "Newspeak"...then flip on Fox News for about 15 minutes (if you can take that much of it). Also, look at the 14 points reflexively as an American.
As I said before, there are milestones on the dark path to Empire...we've just reached one and the words carved in the stone are these, "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States."
...and the Zombie moans.
Our wise men on the Hill in the District of Columbia recently re-defined the definition of an "enemy combatant". Previously, an enemy combatant was defined as someone who was "captured during an armed conflict".
Now an enemy combatant is defined as someone who "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States."
Wow, I'm no longer scared of Al Qaeda...I'm scared of my government.
Being a New Olreanian, I've written and verbalized some rather scathing criticisms of my government in the past year. Is the 1st Amendment protected against this new definition? Am I now an enemy combatant? What is the semantic interpretation of "hostility"?
There are specific milestones which become apparent on a country's path to Fascism. One of the most important milestones is a shift in the use of language and an intent to use language to confuse the populous. Case in point, the recently branded meme "Islamofascism". The semantic construct of the word is impossible....a religion is a component of a government and a nation and hence a component of the brand of governance of "The State"....it is NOT the state itself.
Fascism is most commonly summarized by Mussolini's quote “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.” It is usually supplemented by a later quote he made, “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power”.
The key element is that you must start with "The State." The rise of a Fascist inferno is kindled by vehement notions of nationalism. Religion is used as a tool to manipulate the populous into a national fervor...Hitler consciously weaved Christianity and Arthurian legend to delude the German masses into a mindset of Aryan dominance. Yes that's correct, Hitler used Christianity as an impetus to create the Third Reich...as a matter of fact, without it, he would have never risen to the level of power he did.
So I ask you, if there is truly such a thing as "Islamofascism" is there such a thing as "Cristofascism"
or "Judeofascism"? No...of course there isn't...none of these semantic constructs exist. There is no ubiquitous Islamic nation which constitutes a fascist state. As a matter of fact, one could merely look at the Sunni/Shiite hostility in Iraq as a clear example that Islam is not a unified state with a single direction. The borders which carve up the Middle Eastern countries quite often represent clear ideological and political differences which supercede Islam. Saudi Arabia is starkly contrasted to Iran in their political views, alliances, and most importantly in their interpretation of Islam.
Once again, there is no single "Islamic State". To suggest that Islamofascism actually exists, we would have to turn to our own country and ask "Are we Cristofascists?". Religion is a TOOL used by fascists to invoke a sense of uber-nationalism and indignancy among the nation's populous, much like Chistianity has been used in America in the past 6 years by our current administration.
One of the great guidelines we have for identifying fascism is Umberto Eco's essay on how to identify a black hat (fascist). If you have the time it is well worth the read.
Please note his reference to Orwell's construct of "Newspeak"...then flip on Fox News for about 15 minutes (if you can take that much of it). Also, look at the 14 points reflexively as an American.
As I said before, there are milestones on the dark path to Empire...we've just reached one and the words carved in the stone are these, "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States."
...and the Zombie moans.
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