fields

Apostrophe’s: Oh, the horror

Fri, 22 May 2009 15:34:29 -0400

Fuck this.

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:02:33 -0400

This isn’t “self defense”.
This is murder of women and children and families.

These aren’t “terrorists” and “extremists” … these are unarmed civilians.

This isn’t a justified response to the similarly atrocious actions of terrorists. This is wholesale retaliation upon a civilian population for the actions of terrorists.

There is no excuse for this kind of shit … and we, the United States, are SENDING THEM BILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER YEAR TO SPEND ON WEAPONS. No one who considers themselves to be a christian or to have a living conscience should be in support of “Israel”, which is what people usually say when they mean the actions of the Israeli army. If you don’t want to hear this, look for yourself and show me how it’s right.

This article is just the tip of the iceberg. This barely even scratches the surface of this slaughter.

Why isn’t everyone screaming about this?

— matt

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7952603.stm « ( the BBC, not some “wacko liberal media”, just to forestall that argument.)

Excerpts:

An Israeli military college has printed damning soldiers’ accounts of the killing of civilians and vandalism during recent operations in Gaza.

One account tells of a sniper killing a mother and children at close range whom troops had told to leave their home.

Another speaker at the seminar described what he saw as the “cold blooded murder” of a Palestinian woman.

The army has defended its conduct during the Gaza offensive but said it would investigate the testimonies.

The Israeli army has said it will investigate the soldiers’ accounts.

[ My input: You don’t trust a criminal to be responsible for “investigating” their own actions. ]

[ …]

The climate in general [was that] lives of Palestinians are much, much less important than the lives of our soldiers
Soldier testimony
Analysis: Operation Miscast Lead? Gaza war crimes probes

“[The testimonies] conveyed an atmosphere in which one feels entitled to use unrestricted force against Palestinians,” academy director Dany Zamir told public radio.

Heavy civilian casualties during the three-week operation which ended in the blockaded coastal strip on 18 January provoked an international outcry.

Correspondents say the testimonies undermine Israel’s claims that troops took care to protect non-combatants and accusations that Hamas militants were responsible for putting civilians into harm’s way.

[…]

One non-commissioned officer related at the seminar that an old woman crossing a main road was shot by soldiers.

“”The climate in general… I don’t know how to describe it…. the lives of Palestinians, let’s say, are much, much less important than the lives of our soldiers,” an infantry squad leader is quoted saying.

FROM THE BBC WORLD SERVICE
More from BBC World Service

In another cited case, a commander ordered troops to kill an elderly woman walking on a road, even though she was easily identifiable and clearly not a threat

“I don’t know whether she was suspicious, not suspicious, I don’t know her story… I do know that my officer sent people to the roof in order to take her out… It was cold-blooded murder,” he said.

[…]

Defence Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio that the findings would be examined seriously.

“I still say we have the most moral army in the world. Of course there may be exceptions but I have absolutely no doubt this will be inspected on a case-by-case basis,” he said.

Medical authorities say more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed during Israel’s 22-day operation, including some 440 children, 110 women, and dozens of elderly people.

and more:

Israeli military T-shirts mock palestinian murder

Dead babies, mothers weeping on their children’s graves, a gun aimed at a child and bombed-out mosques - these are a few examples of the images Israel Defense Forces soldiers design these days to print on shirts they order to mark the end of training, or of field duty. The slogans accompanying the drawings are not exactly anemic either: A T-shirt for infantry snipers bears the inscription “Better use Durex,” next to a picture of a dead Palestinian baby, with his weeping mother and a teddy bear beside him. A sharpshooter’s T-shirt from the Givati Brigade’s Shaked battalion shows a pregnant Palestinian woman with a bull’s-eye superimposed on her belly, with the slogan, in English, “1 shot, 2 kills”

and more:

UN report says Israel soldiers used boy as human shield

Israeli soldiers used an 11-year-old Palestinian boy as a human shield during the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, U.N. human rights experts said Monday. The Israeli Defense force ordered the boy to walk in front of soldiers being fired on in the Gaza neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa and enter buildings before them, said the U.N. secretary-general’s envoy for protecting children in armed conflict. The boy also was told to open the bags of Palestinians - presumably to protect the soldiers from possible explosives - before being released at the entrance to a hospital, Radhika Coomaraswamy said.

and more:

Israeli troops shut down press conference with injured American’s parents; beat activists

A woman and journalist were among those beaten by Israeli troops during a press conference held by the parents of critically wounded American peace activist Tristan Anderson Monday afternoon. Anderson had an Israeli tear-gas canister shot at his head in Ni’lin on 13 March, his skull shattered and several surgeries have left him semi-conscious in a Tel Aviv hospital. His parents arrived shortly after Tristan was hospitalized. Israeli troops detained 11, including Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, and Khaled Zabaka, in addition to three foreign activists

and more:

IDF soldiers ordered to shoot at Gaza rescuers

“Rules of Engagement: Open fire also upon rescue,” was handwritten in Hebrew on a sheet of paper found in one of the Palestinian homes the Israel Defense Forces took over during Operation Cast Lead. A reservist officer who did not take part in the Gaza offensive believes that the note is part of orders a low-level commander wrote before giving his soldiers their daily briefing. One of the main themes in news reports during the Gaza operation, and which appears in many testimonies, is that IDF soldiers shot at Palestinian and Red Cross rescuers, making it impossible to evacuate the wounded and dead. As a result, an unknown number of Palestinians bled to death as others cowered in their homes for days without medical treatment, waiting to be rescued

"When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government..."

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:25:28 -0400

““When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes… Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain.””

- Napoleon Bonaparte, 1815

Replacing Cell phone service with Android / VOIP

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:35:53 -0400

This is just a snip from an email discussion with a friend about possibly getting rid of the cell phone (as we know it) and transitioning completely to data/text/email/voip. My thoughts on the subject:

For my personal use, I at least need the Data Service package… I might get by with out the voice and text. If I can use Skype effectively or some other VoIP app, than I might consider dropping the voice and text plan, which is about $30/month. I’m not even sure if that is an option. I might look into it. I’ll let you know.

Skype is like $3 a month for unlimited* (basically) voip-to-phone. For some additional fee, you get a personal number, forwarded to voice mail when you’re not logged in. Pretty awesome.

I’d personally love to be without a “real” phone number. I think there is going to be a backlash in this direction. There are some considerations to be ironed out before going this way, but we’d be well ahead of the curve.

I’ve found that, generally, I can reach the people with whom I care to communicate via text message / email / some combination more effectively than phone, most of the time. For those few I do need to call - they generally can wait till the end of the day when I’m at home. I hate voicemail, so I keep it full (& thus effectively deactivated).

So, main issues I can immediately think of:

Emergency calling. This one’s always a big deal. Ideas about solutions on this? I might consider keeping a $20 prepaid phone for this purpose - would be worth the $40 / 6 months.
Jobs / business - I’d have to have a call-in number available for this if I was doing anything serious. Voicemail could do it for most things, so I guess I could suffer it if need be.
Old people - Old people can’t stand different things. Mom/grandpeople/etc would need a way to contact via phone. Again, could be solved with voicemail if you called em back.
Wifi/computer/network goes out - Hm… this might be more of an issue if you’re struggling with internet fees.
Not being around a network - Yeah, it’s easy now because I am always at a computer one of two places with constant network access. Could theoretically change.

My questions:

How much is [Android] data package?
Who is service provider? Can I use any major company?
Can I use it just as a wifi device? (I mean, no subscription whatsoever?)
Does it connect to data network via standard cell tower range? I just realized I was somehow assuming that it was only wifi.

Your thoughts?

Michigan cop shoots unarmed, 20-year-old marijuana "activist" IN HIS OWN HOME

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:56:13 -0400

Michigan cop shoots unarmed, 20-year-old marijuana "activist" IN HIS OWN HOME:

A 20-year-old university student in Michigan is hospitalized and in serious condition after police shot the man Wednesday while serving a drug warrant. He was unarmed, investigators said. Coming through an apartment’s back door, an Ottawa County deputy allegedly shined a flashlight into the student’s face, causing him to raise his right hand in front of his eyes. The officer, whose name was not released, fired a single bullet into Derek Copp’s chest. The 20-year-old Grand Valley State University student, who survived the shooting, said he had no idea the man was an officer.

"Today, the religion, culture, language and identity, which successive generations of Tibetans have..."

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:55:08 -0400

“

Today, the religion, culture, language and identity, which successive generations of Tibetans have considered more precious than their lives, are nearing extinction - in short, the Tibetan people are regarded like criminals deserving to be put to death.

Dalai Lama

”

- Dalai Lama says in a recent speech that Tibetan’s lives under china are “Hell on earth”. That’s some pretty strong language for such a peaceful guy, so I imagine that it’s something pretty seriously bad going on there.

Tibetans’ lives ‘hell on Earth’

Homeland Security's Space-Based Spying Goes Live

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:40:50 -0400

Homeland Security's Space-Based Spying Goes Live

Gordon Brown: We need international regulation of the world's economy

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:52:08 -0400

Gordon Brown: We need international regulation of the world's economy:

Great. Just what the world needs. Seeing as our governments are doing such a smash-up job of running our own economies, let’s put them in charge of the whole world.

Gordon Brown is promoting his plan for an international regulator to oversee the international financial markets and prevent further economic turbulence during talks with world leaders in New York.

Blah blah, and so on, meaning: These economic tremors are scary, so we need to put ourselves in charge of the world governments to keep you safe.

Brown believes the IMF, working with the Financial Stability Forum - a group of central banks, regulators and international bodies - “should be at the heart of an early warning system for financial turbulence affecting the global economy”.

Now, are all those one-world government IMF nuts seeming quite so loony now?

US Airstrike in Pakistan, Kills six women and children

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 03:47:46 -0400

US Airstrike in Pakistan, Kills six women and children:

Angry protesters took to the streets today as a US airstrike early this morning near Miramshah reinforced anti-US sentiment in Pakistan. The strike, which Pakistan’s military confirmed occurred at 5:30 AM this morning, hit a residence and a former government school in a village in North Waziristan, not far from the Afghanistan border. The strike killed at least 14 people and injured 12 others. Residents said the shuttered school had been used by militants, but the home belonged to a local tribesman with seemingly no connection to any militant groups. The owner of the home was among those killed, along with at least six women and children. This was the second US drone strike around Miramshah this week. On Monday, US drones attacked a religious school in the same area founded by a veteran mujahideen commander, killing at least 23.

Microchips in medication to monitor patients

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:25:52 -0400

Microchips in medication to monitor patients:

Holy crap. But move on down to line two…

Other microchips could also be placed under the skin…

and more:

Separately, a Silicon Valley company called Proteus Biomedical is developing what it calls the Raisin system of microchipped pills to help to tackle the problems of patients forgetting or refusing to take medicines.

Each pill contains a microchip that can send data to a receiver in a patch or under the skin. This can then be analysed to alert carers if a pill has not been taken.

"Big Brother" Presidential Directive: "Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security"

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:11:16 -0400

"Big Brother" Presidential Directive: "Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security" :

This is a pretty major step. The wording of this new citizen-spying program says that anyone who could be “a threat to national security” can be tagged and tracked- and this is outside of the definition of the usual “potential terrorist” label.

Again: Done Outside of Congressional approval.

If something like this needed to be done, why would it be done in private?

The latest Big Brother police state measure emanating from the Bush administration, with virtually no press coverage, is NSPD 59 (HSPD 24) entitled Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security [Complete text of NSPD 59 (HSPD 24) in Annex below] NSPD is directed against US citizens. It is adopted without public debate or Congressional approval. Its relevant procedures have far-reaching implications. NSPD 59 goes far beyond the issue of biometric identification, it recommends the collection and storage of “associated biographic” information, meaning information on the private lives of US citizens, in minute detail, all of which will be “accomplished within the law”: “The contextual data that accompanies biometric data includes information on date and place of birth, citizenship, current address and address history, current employment and employment history, current phone numbers and phone number history, use of government services and tax filings. Other contextual data may include bank account and credit card histories, plus criminal database records on a local, state and federal level. The database also could include legal judgments or other public records documenting involvement in legal disputes, child custody records and marriage or divorce records.”(See Jerome Corsi, June 2008)

"War is Peace"

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:39:00 -0400

“War is Peace”

- Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace."

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:38:38 -0400

““I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.””

- George W. Bush, June 18, 2002

World Prison Population Map via www.libertyforlife.com

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:48:00 -0400

World Prison Population Map

via www.libertyforlife.com

Palm tree grown from 2,000-year-old date stone

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:37:00 -0400

Palm tree grown from 2,000-year-old date stone:

Cool nuts!

"The best way out is always through."

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:48:09 -0400

“The best way out is always through.”

- Robert Frost

Bomb diggity. =) This speech is absolutely awesome. This guy...

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:40:29 -0400

Bomb diggity. =)

This speech is absolutely awesome. This guy is a Jedi of independent media.

“It is up to you to fight for the freedoms that makes all other freedoms possible”

Legendary journalist Bill Moyers address the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis, June 7, 2008.

The Real Cause Of Famine In Ethiopia- the IMF & the World Bank

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 01:07:00 -0400

The Real Cause Of Famine In Ethiopia- the IMF & the World Bank:

Strategy to own the world:

Coerce weak nations to stop producing food and switch to exporting trade products. We take those products at fractions of their value, sell them at high markup for huge profits, and turn around and sell their food back to them.

When they cannot feed themselves, we trigger economic crashes to force them to keep selling product to us for less money, in return for enough emergency aid to survive.

When famine strikes, we sell them genetically engineered seeds under the guise of “Miracle Seeds that Produce More Food!” … but, oh yeah.. they DON’T REPRODUCE. As in, you can’t use last year’s plants to grow more this year, like nature intended… You have to buy more seeds from us each year. They’re patented.

When people cannot feed themselves, they become slaves.

Israel: Bush's Iran attack in months

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:53:00 -0400

Israel: Bush's Iran attack in months :

Israeli officials claim that US president George W. Bush intends to launch a military attack against Iran before the end of his term.

"On several occasions our convoys came upon bodies that had been lying on the road, sometimes for..."

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:31:00 -0400

““On several occasions our convoys came upon bodies that had been lying on the road, sometimes for weeks,” said Marine Corps veteran Vincent Emanuele, who served in al-Qaim near the Syrian border in 2004 and 2005. “When encountering these bodies standard procedure was to run over the corpses, sometimes even stopping and taking pictures, which was also standard practice when encountering the dead in Iraq,” he told the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which organized the hearing.”

- Iraq Veterans Describe Atrocities to Lawmakers