Cellphones, iTunes, iPod : iDistracted

Many are anticipating the imminent ( possibly Sept. 7, 2005) introduction of the cellphone-music player-made by Motorola and Apple. Who will pass the oppotunity to upgrade their next cellphone with iTunes capability. Driving is boring and high gas prices only make it worse. Distraction will help. Never mind the near misses with cellphone use. Now music can be added with the help of earphones. With that added cocooning listening experience, honks from other motorists, screams from pedestrians or needless conversations from passengers will not be noticed.

Technology has brought many benefits with one hand and has taken a proportianate amount of human relevance with the other. Is there a better use of one's time ? Use a tool lose your place-or a fender.

Gaza Defeat Because of Israel Population Decline: Another Massada ?

In 2004, a record low of 21,000 Jews immigrated to Israel. During that same period, 20,000 Soviet Jews immigrated to Germany . In the past several years, 70,000 former Soviet Jews have left Israel because of " adjustment problems "- going back to Russia and some going on to Germany. Israel's newspaper Haaretz reported that the Jewish population of the "greater Israel"( including occupied lands) has fallen below 50%- there are more non-Jews in Israel. Israel is experiecing a net population loss.The withdrawal from Gaza was forced by this reality.

On August 24, 2005 Israel announced a new seizure of Palestinian land that is contiguous to Jerusalem. The land will be sequestered behind the seperation wall. Walls in history have all been breached- China's Wall, Athen's redoubts, Maginot Line, Siegfried Line, Berlin Wall etc. Equilibrium, not a wall is the force that determines where things or people start and end.

In 70 A.D., Roman legions under Vespasian surrounded 1,000 Jewish Zealots on the heights of Massada which is just outside of Jerusalem. Rather than be caught, the Zealots committed collective suicide. Does history repeat itself ? Today Israel has 200 nuclear warheads and state of the art delivery systems compliments of the US. Would Israelis' do a collective suicide by launching nuclear attacks on 200 targets ?

The Middle East should be nuclear weapon free. Start with Israel.

Creationist John Bolton vs. "respect for nature"

John Bolton hints at being an oddball without saying a word. One look at the white-drying-mop moustache with the incongruity of a full head of dark hair begs the question if he owns a mirror or does he use one? He is America's UN Ambassador who was pushed by Lynne Cheney ( Dick's wife ). I guess if you can marry Dick then don't bother to question her about matters of taste.

Bolton is a creationist. He believes in the Bible as it is written. Among those beliefs is the dictate of the Bible that man has dominion over the earth's flora and fauna to do with as man chooses. This belief underlies his recent action as US Ambassador.

The UN on Sept. 14, 2005, is having a summit on Millenium Development Goals which were APPROVED by world leaders 5 years ago. Bolton submitted a last-minute list of 500 amendments to a draft document that the diplomats have been nogotiating for the past 6 months. I am no fan of the UN. They are just another layer of mostly unneeded bureacrats. But symbolically one of the changes Bolton wants is to delete " respect for nature " from the " core values " principles that unite the UN. When Ric Grenell of the US mission to the UN was asked why the request for deletion, he said " the phrase was to broad a subject."

Oh. God is a topic that is easier to limit and capture.

Base Closings (BRAC) : Rumsfeld's Real Estate Deal

Sec. Rumsfeld wants to close or downsize 800 military bases in 50 states. He says this will save $ 2.5 billion per year. That is an insignificant amount when one looks at the FY 2006 Defense budget of $ 600 billion-less than 1/2 %. Iraq and Afhganistan cost over $ 6 billion in ONE MONTH. Communities around the nation are going to lose a significant amount of business. The military payroll alone will be reduced by 26,000 people. The private business's that serve those bases will suffer proportionatley and will have to downsize also. In Keynesian terms, all those bases were net winners for local communities and the federal tax roles. The so-called savings turns out to be a loser in the bigger picture.

Strategically closing the bases seems to go againt the Homeland Security mission. Those bases are logistically and psychologically valuable. Opening inflammatory occupying bases in the Middle East and closing homeland response strike bases in the US doesn't make sense.

So base closings don't make sense in net economic or a military sense. Maybe the real reason for the closures have nothing to do with US efficiency or security. Suppose the real reason is the greatest transfer of wealth since the Indians sold Manhattan for some trinkets. Here is how it would work. After the bases are closed, the prime real estate would be sold to politically connected- investors at " fair market value". " Fair market value" in government terms always ends up being below market prices and only insiders know the price and terms.

In my state of California a few years ago, Sen. Diane Feinstein and her money-grubbing husband Dick Blum almost sold the Naval facility at Long Beach to the Chinese- Blum would have got a commission. Only when the public became aware of the pending deal was it killed. Sen Barbara Boxer, our other Senator kept silent during the whole scheme.

Feinstein, Blum, Madeline Albright, George I and Frank Carlucci of Carlyle Group and other major players in the windfall of Iraq and Afghanistan contracts will certainly take part in this new legal swindle.

Intelligent Design: Do Christians or Cretins Have Good Judgement?

Our cretin ( 18th century corruption of French word for Christian which also means fool) president took time out from his many exorcising bike rides . He addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars yesterday in Utah. He said, " We owe them (dead/wounded Americans in Iraq/Afghanistan) something. We will finish the task that they gave their lives for."

Americans died for WMD that didn't exist. Americans died for an al-Qaeda/Iraq/9/11 connection that didn't exist. Now Bush has finally come up with a fact. But it still is not a reason for the Iraq war. Welcome to the mentality of a cretin.

Speaking of cretins. Televangelist and founder of the Christian Coalition, Pat Robertson was in the news yesterday calling for the assassination of the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez. Robertson mentioned that Venezuela was a breeding ground for communists and Muslim extremists. He said, " You know I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he [Chavez] thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

Hey, with his ruthlessness and brains, he would do a better job than Rummy at the Defense Department. So much for the both of those guys having any moral authority in representing a righteous America.

Current TV , Podcasting and America's Future

Current TV has carved a niche for itself. It has postioned it's programming sails to capture the podcasting winds. By soliciting low-cost podcast production and having viewers participate on what will be shown, it seems fool-proof. Also the real time tabulation of viewing preferences will point to ideas for possible full length productions. Motion picture industry results show that the cost of a production of a motion picture is not recouped in theater presentation. DVD sales and tv broadcasting license fees make the whole venture profitable.

The fact of a small screen preference leave open enormous possibilities. Unknown ensemble actors or internet news bureaus connected by able producer/director podcasters will swamp the motion picture , network broadcasters and newspaper monopolies.

When those monopolies go so will the political agendas that accompanied them. For better or worse America will be less cohesive. Whereas podcasting productions in Britain, France, Italy etc. would still have a basic culture ( including language ) to draw from . America's fragmented and special interest marketes will be catered to in any number of languages. America will suffer even more special interest friction. This dynamic will lead inexorably to less federal-centered power and more state's rights power.

Intelligent Design : What Purpose and Who's God ?

Any design that reflects intelligence must have a purpose. The I.D. advocate has to answer the question what was god's purpose for his/her creation? Also since there have been so many gods, which god and which policies are the true design-oriented message?

The evolution advocates have no such burden of proof in their theory. They merely observe that their research has shown that the goal of evolution is simply for a species to adapt and therefore survive. Darwin and evolution advocates don't preclude a god.

Religious clases are available to the curious or faithful. Introducing I.D. discussion in science class goes over the line seperating science from non-science.

Able Danger Cover-Up ?

What an interesting development on Aug 17. Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer had worked on the intelligence gathering system called Able Danger. He stated on Wednesday that in 2000 their work produced the name of Mohamed Atta and others involved in the 9/11 attack. Atta was the Egyptian ringleader . The original report was highly classified. The names and the report were not shown to the 9/11 Commission in 2004 which was led by Thomas Kean.

Was there a cover-up? A highly classified document in 2000 having Atta's name just doesn't get overlooked. The question is who and why was there a cover-up? There are two possible explanations. The first could be a cover-up based on embarrassment of Pentagon personnel- Atta identified but no follow-up. Or the second could be that the same people who were rushing to find reasons to do an Iraq invasion saw the gathering threat of a hostile act by Atta and Al-Qaeda as a means to their end.

What has Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith have say ?

Intelligent Design : Symmetry in An Asymmetrical War

On Aug. 18, 2005 in Fort Bliss, Tx. , Pfc Willie V. Brand was convicted of assault, maltreatment and maiming an Afghan prisoner. The prisoner died weeks later. The crime had taken place at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in Dec. 2002. The jury's sentenced was to demote Pfc Brand to Pvt.-no prison time and no discharge.

On Aug. 18, 2005 near Kabul, Afghanistan 1 American soldier was killed with a roadside bomb.

The chaos of an asymmetrical war showed symmetry in results. Are these the results of intelligent design?

Arizona & New Mexico :State Laws Draw Illegal Immigrants

There is a land rush of illegals in Arizona and New Mexico. Both states on August 16, issued emergency declarations. That procedure will free up government money for border patrol expansion. But they are treating the symptons. Both states are too liberal in their treatment of illegals.

Gov. Bill Richardson proudly remarked, " I have the most migrant friendly state(New Mexico)." He went on to cite New Mexico's policy of issuing drivers licenses without regard to immigration status. With a driver license an illegal can go a long way in his state and America. Maybe the migrant can even vote.

Gov. Janet Napolitano is even more impaired. In may, 2005 she vetoed responsible legislation that would have made English the state's official language. In the same month she vetoed two other laws that would have prohibited illegals from receiving child care assistance, attending adult education classes and paying out-of-state tuition to state universities like American citizens from other states have to pay.

This whole scene in these border states reminds of the run-up to the Battle of the Alamo. But don't expect political wimps like these two Govs. to be among the last standing.

AIPAC/ PNAC and US Intelligence Access

The espionage charges against two former reps. of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is turning up some embarrassing and potentially damaging facts about people very close to the Bush administration. It looks like a senior fellow of the contraversial and politically connected Project for the New American Century ( American empire advocate) received that stolen information also.

PNAC was founded by contraversial and politically connected people like Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Jeb Bush and William Kristol. Kristol is also the director of PNAC. He is the son of Irving Kristol, godfather of the "neocons" and world culture designer at American Enterprise Institute.

Armed Service Rivals: Halliburton & Army; Northrup Grumman & Navy

The inter-service rivalry has just evolved a new tactic. The military-industrial complex has now further divided and made more expensive American defense policy. They are using their respective political muscles to get civilian business contacts that support grand strategies and/or pet projects appointed to strtegic government postions.

The model for this new tactic is V.P. Cheney and his old firm of Halliburton outsourcing for the Army. Cheney ran for office for his company and then help start a war for his company.

Well here comes the Navy. Dubya just nominated Donald "Nuclear" Winter ( has doctorate in physics) a Northrup-Grumman executive to be Navy Secretary. Northrup plays a leading role in developing the DDX. It is the new contraversial warship that has come under fire by Congress. The developmental costs are triple the costs originally estimated. Also the ships useability is being challenged by the realities of America's new different threats. With his new position Mr. Winter will now be able to make a stronger case for it's survival.

Madonna Injury : Horses are Harder to Ride

Madonna recently suffered a broken collarbone, broken hand and three cracked ribs. No, she is not dating those missing-links at the NBA again. She was riding a horse. Horses are harder to ride!

Horses are negatively- sensitive to people who don't understand the nuances of an equestrian relationship. At first chance, the horse may try to lose that rider. Good equestrians have a subtle, thoughtful and effective relationship with horses. Madonna has never been subtle. And any thoughtfulness has been confused with doing the unthinkable.

Special Interests are Expensive and a Kind of Lie

Lobbyists by definition are representatives of minority/special interests. Those special interests would not do as well or survive in the real world without the intercession of government.

Lobbyists and special interests are the main forces that run America's government.

Therefore America's government policies are titlted to supporting laws, regulations and programs that would not do as well or survive in the real world.

A recent example shows the power of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in successfully fighting better fuel economy standards for the past 30-plus years. What the automakers profited in sales of high-margined SUV's and trucks they lost in market share to automakers that built cars that people could afford to buy and operate.

Another example are recent test scores in California schools. Only 40% of students were "proficient" in English and 35% were "proficient" in Math. Lobbyists from the National Education Assoc., American Trial Lawyers , ACLU and other civil rights groups sacrificed the object of education to the social/political goals of schooling equality. Equality has still not been achieved but the overall level of "proficiency"' has been reduced.

The fiasco in Iraq has clearly demonstrated the cost of supporting the lies and ambitions of the military-industrial complex, Evangelicals and Zionists. Their respective lobbying organizations are the most powerful in America.

Special interests are a kind of a lie or denial of reality. Therefore they are expensive and do not last.

Bush Threatens Iran: A Loser Still Looking for Trouble

It was Dubya's lips moving but the message was a repeat of Dick " Svengali " Cheney's threat of an Israeli first use nuclear attack on Iran. Cheney gave that message on " Imus in the Morning " show on Inauguration Day 2005.

Bush was on Israeli TV this past Friday, August 12. He said, " The United States and Israel are united in our objective to make sure that Iran does not have a [ nuclear ] weapon." He continued," if diplomacy fails, all options are on the table. The use of force is the last option for any president. You know, we've used force in the recent past to secure our country."

Well, Lonsome George (38% approval of Iraq war) we all noticed how you rushed to your" last option" in Iraq. And the world or America is not more secure for your behavior. And as for Israel, they just lost Gaza to the Palestinians. One wonders if they are up to taking on Iran ?

This kind of bluster by the administration borders on being suicidal. Bush and Cheney should be removed from office.

Legal & Illegal Immigrants to America's New Land Rush

History repeats itself. Albeit sometimes unnoticed because different names and places obscure. For example, the Oklahoma Land Rush of the 19th century in America opened up newly conquered Indian lands to eastern settlers.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 along with the massive liberal legislation of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society were the events that opened American borders to the legal and illegal immigration invasion. The Immigration And Nationality Act took policy out of immigration. In other words, the original ethnic mix of America was abandoned and liberalized to the point of almost no refusable grounds for applying aliens. The Great Society's uncoupling of obligation ( work ) from entitlement ( pay/subsidy ) created the vacuum of Americans who decided to work less or not to work and legal/illegal aliens who came to America to do the work.

Texas recently became the 4th state to have a nonwhite majority. By 2050 America will be 50/50 whites to nonwhites. At that point there will be no debate on amnesty or immigration whatsoever. It will be a matter of how quickly foreign relatives can be granted access to the US for a bloodless coup. The land rush of the 21st century will make the 19th century land rush look like proper equestrians exercising their horses in a Sunday park ride.

What can one do ? Some states in America have stronger anti-immigration laws and more importantly less immigrants. Ergo, move to those states.

Goebbels:Would Podcasting Have Helped Him ?

" The Goebbels Experiment " film opens today in Manhattan. It is a narrated documentary that uses Goebbels own personal diary from 1924-1945-it uses Goebbels own words. " The revolution is inside me ", he wrote. Joseph Goebbels was Hitler's minister of propaganda. He was what Karl Rove is to Bush and what Carville was to Clinton. Goebbels dreamed the big dream of a master race and a German Reich. But Hitler and Goebbels' hubris ended badly. Goebbels peculiar charm is the failure of a brilliant man to understand a simple truth. People are different. This fact precludes master-race philosophies and empire.


How would Goebbels have done today with the internet, podcasting and the limitless access to huge populations. Probably he would not be as effective . The odds would favor him ending up as a crank podcaster who would be lost in the "white noise" of todays communication world.

America is also going to learn that a democratic empire is not doable. America's own diversity seems to stand in the way of education, healthcare, legal reform etc.-too many special interests that cost too much money to achieve equal results. So how are we going to export that political model , particularly to poorer countries?

Iraq Postwar Chaos Created by Pentagon

David Rieff, author and Iraq correspondent, did a good review in the latest edition of " The Nation ". He reviewed " Losing Iraq: Inside The Postwar Reconstruction Fiasco "by David L. Phillips. The book traced the events in postwar Iraq to the seminal moment/decision when chaos began. That moment was when Bush signed National Security Directive 24. This decision gave control of postwar Iraq to the Pentagon. The original plan was for the State Department to take control with an immediate pass off to an Iraqi- run intermediate government. Instead Iraq got an occupation, loss of lives and destruction of infrastructure. Mr. Phillips mentions Douglas Feith ,then Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy as the de facto head of Iraq policy. Paul Bremer, CPA and the occupation mess flowed from Feith and the Defense Department.

Douglas Feith's name rang a bell. He has been talked about by Senator Carl Levin of the Senate Armed Services Committee in his " continuing deception of Congress ". Congressman John Conyers has also made similar comments. This " deception " referred to Feith's part in the bogus intelligence of WMD and an al-Qaeda connection in Iraq.Whether charges will ever be formally made remains to be seen. The recent indictments of AIPAC representatives and Pentagon analyst Lawrence Franklin may lead back in Feith's direction.

Douglas Feith and his father Dalck have been honored by the Zionist Organization of America as " pro-Israel activists ". Douglas Feith has also authored/co-authored papers that seemingly conflict with stated US goals in the Middle East. For example, he advised the Prime Minister of Israel to abandon the Oslo Accords and to avoid a two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.One wonders how someone with less of a pro-Israel attitude would have handled things in Iraq? An occupied Iraq is a postive for Israel and a negative for the US.

Cindy Sheehan Needs Help

" Bring 'em on " Bush is holed-up on his Crawford, Texas ranch " Prarie Chapel ". No. It's not an al-Qaeda threat. It's Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, Ca. She is the mother of the late Spc. Casey Sheehan who lost his life on April 4, 2004 in Baghdad. Ms. Sheehan is a one-women juggernaut opposing the Iraqi war. Bush has been ducking her. She is being kept at bay by Texas Rangers ( "One Riot One Ranger") and Secret Service personnel. She only wants to confront Bush with one plea. "Bring home the troops now". She has earned that right.

It is hot in Crawford, Texas this time of year. She needs support. I am going to try to get a credit set up for her at a nearby food delivery or lodge. I invite and urge others to do the same. If you live nearby you should join her vigil and cause.

Video Games & Machinima : Art in Search of Life

Art reflects life. Music, paintings, theater, books etc. are products of the artistic creators experience and talent for communicating it through the chosen medium. People don't live in vacuums. They are organic and in sum are a composite of every person and experience that they have encountered. Some classical periods like Greece or Rome's were more fertile for artists than others. For example, art produced in Communist Russia paled in comparison. Art is about life. But is also about the creators soul. Like a songbird with an inspiring trill, artists have to feel good about producing their work.

Art has taken a new direction in video games. With the abilities afforded by technology, worlds can be recreated in graphic form. Manipulation of characters and scenes within " off the shelf " video games by able machinima ( a combination of machine and cinema ) artists are producing crude motion picture experiences. It seems to be following the motion picture experience in reverse. From silent films to big screen talkies and animated films back to silent videos. But now the machinima directors are adding dialogue to the video characters.

One cannot have only technical ability in producing art. In pursuit of better videos with dialogue, the machinima artists will have to have rich layered real life experiences to draw from. They should be the hero of their own lives and then they can write more persuasively about their video characters. Also an acquaintance with philosophers and great authors will help.

Video games may have their place. But there is no substitute for the challenges of the real world.

Rumsfeld : Confused, Liar or An Old Fool ?

What a choice, is our Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld confused, a liar or an old fool ? Last week in a speech in Los Angeles to the World Affairs Council, Rumsfeld rejected as " nonsense " the notion thet terrorists attacks in London were in retaliation for Britain's troops being in Iraq. This " nonsense " remark ( in more ways than one ) was made almost simultaneously with a video broadcast by Al-Qaeda's second-in command Ayman al- Zawahri threatening the U S and Britain with more terrorist attacks if they don't withdraw from Iraq.

Rummy probably is all three.

Partition of Palestine and Israel's Scant Historical Legitimacy

In 1947 the U N paritioned historic Palestine-it passed by one vote. This created the state of Israel. The U N vote was delayed several times until an Israeli-favored tally was assured. Bernard Baruch, super-Zionist and a stock market operator, played a large role in orchestrating American government intimidation and acquistion of reluctant voters. These voters included France, Liberia, Philippines, Greece, Haiti and others. Notably Baruch also had a large part in writing the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I. Many historians blame the burdensome terms of that treaty on Germany for World War II. The U N did not have the power of eminent domain over Palestine. Sure, a staged democratic vote could deliver the Israeli state. But the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland only sowed the seeds of the barbaric response of the inarticulate and politically unconnected suicide bomber.

So now, 48 years after the vote charade , some Zionists like the Shalem Center are trying to discover and/or justify a basis for Israel's existence. The Shalem Center is funding a dig that is trying to line up any archaelogical facts that will fit the biblical record. But that is not really going to fix the credibility problem of Israel's past .

A book " The Bible Unearthed " which was written by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman has already done a lot of serious archaelogical research.Their work points to the possibility of Jerusalem and the historic Jews occupying scantly more than a hill top in those biblical times. And thats the real problem. Today Israel is the size of New Jersey and historic Palestine doesn't officially exist. This is probably the mirror image of the realities of biblical times.

America's support of a mythical super-sized Israel at the expense of Palestinians and world peace is not worth it. Israel would be more suitably sized as a theme park- without nuclear weapons.

Glass House Discipline vs. Low-Cost War Producer

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw preemptive rocks.America lives in a kind of glass house-we are exposed and have a lot to lose.

Google recently offered a free 3-D mapping product. The service offers satellite images of earth. This includes America's cities and infrastructure. For $ 400 one can have high resolution photos. These photos are similar to the quality of America's Blackbird spy aircraft ( readable license plate numbers at 15 miles ). This is the kind of data that our Pentagon uses in armed forces intelligence( on a good day, one could even see what a moron was grilling in Crawford, Texas while he was leafing through the Bible) . Simply, terrorists can view prospective American targets for a pittance. The US Department of Defense will spend app. $ 600 billion in FY '06 in developing and maintaing a war machine that the terrorists will refuse to engage. Example. Will terrorists target an American aircraft carrier or a crowded subway ? So why are we building the aircraft carriers and a lot of non-relavant war machinery? Because there is money in war production. War and the resulting reconstruction is good for business. A defense and construction company industry motto is "In Growth We Trust ". Terrorists are the low-cost producers of war. America's outdated business and war-making model can't compete. America should try to promote more glass houses for our potential enemies so they would have someting to lose from war. To that end, the US should not try to redraw the map of the Middle East again for the purpose of Israeli security and to nurture our addiction to oil. Bring the troops home.

Literacy & Common Language :Minimum Citizen's Obligation

On August 6, 2005, The Voting Rights Act of 1965 will have its fortieth anniversary. This legislation was key to changing the political balance of power in the South. Large amounts of blacks were effectively denied the right to vote because of literacy tests. The Act changed that.

Georgia recently passed state legislation that requires it's voters to have a government-issued photo ID. Sounds reasonable. With 9/11 and illegal immigration having grown to such a destabilizing and costly problem, ID s would be of some help. The federal government has to approve Georgia's legislation before it can take effect ( provision of Voting Act 1965). Civil rights activists are concerned that Georgia's requirement will hurt minorities more than majority voters. What's the logic? This is about an ID. The feds should approve Georgia's initiative and it should be a model for the rest of the states. This is a small step in getting control of the heart of a democracy-a legitimate voting process.

There has to be some responsibilities of the American citizen. A photo ID is a minimum requirement. While we are there, the decoupling of literacy from the right to vote was a mistake. If one did not have the interest to learn how to read or write then it would be only a short step to not even learning the common language. And that's where we are today-multiple language ballots. And from there America has experienced illegal votes being cast . What's an American citizenship worth ? If illegals can vote, attend school, receive healthcare and get legal assistance, why bother to be legit?

The real error in America's democracy was allowing non-property owners to vote ( original Constitution had property owners as only voters). This was the classic error that the Greeks and the Romans also made. When that dynamic is unleashed it is only a matter of time before a democracy becomes a kleptocracy. More states rights and less federal power is somewhat of a foil against that threat.