COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Red men no longer walking. Vintage photos of first Americans.

After watching the Hillary 1984 clip, I wondered about the process that allowed anyone to put together a video and show it to the world. For good, for fun, for profit or for evil, the vehicle is here. With no experience, my Mac lap top, some sophisticated but inexpensive software, I put this together in three hours. It is rudimentary, but with practice and more time, it could be improved by several factors.

I could be a jihaddi or anyone anywhere. Now this is freedom of speech. Where will it lead?


72 comments:

  1. ot
    I've never understood the tendency at Belmont to act as if corruption of critical govt functions happens elsewhere, (Mexico, Phillipines) but not here, in the face of examples brought up to the contrary.
    I can't see how the security of the citizens/the country is not of critical importance, and to pretend it is not being seriously compromised by corruption (Saudis, Illegal lobby, selective enforcement even when national security is at stake etc) in THIS Country.

    Denile is not just...

    Used to regularly talk about France/Europe, and act like we don't have any problems.
    Right now it's Mexico and the Phillipines.
    What's up w/that?

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  2. Maybe it's all just brilliant deception as part of the poker player's master plan?

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  3. Kaneohe Marines are LAVA DOGS!
    (Caller to Bennet)
    ---
    Dennis Miller is getting a talk show gig, guests this week to include Rudy, and Dana Carvey.

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  4. In the United States, customarily the uniform has most certainly made the man, until by indictment that specific man is proved unworthy of the honor. Americanism forbids projecting the abhorrent flaws of a single person onto a whole class of people, e.g. John Kerry or John Murtha. We Americans do not typically assume that a policeman, fireman, or soldier is a murderer, rapist, extortionist, or mercenary. It has been the American way to respect the uniform; indeed, making of the uniform, the man.

    For those whose personal lack of honor and/or atypical life’s experience makes them distrustful of those wearing the uniform, there is Code Pink. There is also immigration.

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  5. Another mercenary tale:

    Tillman's friend, ex-NFL player, deployed to Iraq

    “He had discussed his plans for the future with his pastor, Terry Crist, including his decision to join the Marine Corps.”

    “According to the online newsletter Marines.cc, Staat always had a desire to join the military. When Tillman was killed in April 2004, "That was the turning point for Jeremy," said Janet Goodheart, Staat's mother.”

    "‘He wanted to serve and help," Crist said. "The issues for him are clear-cut. He is clear that he should be there and that this war can be won. He is concerned for his safety, but he has an iron-clad conviction that he can make a difference.’"

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  6. Sowell likes to point out how much more good is done in the world for mankind by all the mercenaries doing their jobs than is done by do-gooders proving their good intentions.

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  7. If only Milton had been in charge of Educational Policy for the last 20 years!

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  8. We are beginning to see the new age of communication open before our eyes, and ears.
    Entry level video production is pretty easy and inexpensive. It's not IMAX quality nor even Star Trek, but messages can be delivered to a wide audience or a targeted niche.

    Truth becomes lies and lies truth, and if you disagree, we'll see you in Court? Can we all say macaca?

    Like that Sailor indicted in CT, because that is where the server was. Hard to take civil action in CT, against a fellow in WA, if you live in FL.

    Civility will become all the more important, those who stoop to rudness will become pariahs amongst the civilized.
    Barbarians to be sure.

    Words have no real meanings, trish, not when two thoughts collide in a small mind.

    Professionals are really amateurs.
    Pay and allowances, really charity or a stipend for staying off the streets, not monies owed for a job done.
    Merit promotions, another way to say Time in Grade.

    Why would a Marine need money, do not they exist on Honor and Glory?
    Does not a Ranger thrive on danger?

    The US Military is absolutely career oriented. The marketing campaign, Army Strong, consists of promoting self improvement, over 150 career opportunities, and educational advancement.

    Not a word about sacrifice, the "Greater Good" or patriotism in the Army Strong campaign.
    It's about fathers seeing their boys become men.

    The Marines, they market a challenge, a test to see if the applicant "Can make the Grade".

    Uniforms can be flashy, but mean nothing. Dress up a pig, it's still a pig. I believe Hitler wore a military uniform, he had the "look" of Command.

    Put a medal on a whore and you'll still have a whore. Dress a patriot and hero in dungerees and a t-shirt, he'll still be a hero and a patriot.

    Whether a union fireman in NYC or an amateur soldier on weekend Drill.

    Train conductors wear uniforms, as do bell hops in fine hotels.
    Uniforms indicate service work, a brand of uniformity, a herd instinct, a lack of individuality.

    In fact the uniform is designed to elimiate individuality, to create a "new" man.
    It is a hallmark of Socialist desires, uniformity of look, thought and deed.

    No out of the box thinking for those that are uniform, and in the 21st Century, no victories or even marketable success.
    Some career soldiers hate to admit those simple truths, flying as they do, in the face of their self portrait.

    Viva Basra!

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  9. The preferred use of mercenary as either an adjective or noun is pejorative, the honorable Dr. Friedman’s obvious tongue-in-cheek game playing notwithstanding.

    Ex:
    Adj. ___ Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain.
    Noun__One who serves or works merely for monetary gain; a hireling.

    Ex:
    ___one that serves merely for wages; especially : a soldier hired into foreign service

    Ex:
    ___ 1. derog
    Excessively concerned with the desire for personal gain, especially money.
    Thesaurus: greedy, avaricious, acquisitive, selfish, grasping, materialistic, money-grubbing, venal.

    Ex:
    ___ adjective
    Ruthlessly seeking personal advantage: corrupt, praetorian, venal. Informal: crooked. See self
    noun
    A freelance fighter: adventurer, Hessian, soldier of fortune.

    Ex:
    Part of Speech adjective

    Pronunciation muhr sE ne ri
    Definition 1. interested only in money and material gain.
    Synonyms greedy (1)

    Crossref. Syn. hack , sordid

    Similar Words venal , grasping , grabby , avaricious , covetous , acquisitive , selfish

    Definition 2. doing military service for pay alone, esp. in a foreign army.
    Synonyms hireling

    Similar Words bought {buy (vt)} , paid {pay (vt)}


    Related Words miserly , commercial , greedy



    Part of Speech noun
    Inflected Forms mercenaries
    Definition 1. a soldier who fights for pay in a foreign army.
    Synonyms soldier of fortune (1)

    Similar Words Hessian , legionary , hireling

    Definition 2. one who will do nearly anything for money; hireling.
    Synonyms hireling

    Crossref. Syn. hack

    Similar Words menial , tool , hack2 , instrument , prostitute


    Related Words adventurer


    I’ve always considered it, with considerable justification, akin to whoring. It does not surprise me, however, that some readily admit having such a self-perception.

    Mean men measure the world from the circumscribed boundaries of their tiny reality. If they are greedy, then, all men must share equally this vice. Since they have never lived the creed of “Duty, Honor, Country”, they deny the virtue of their betters by endlessly pecking away inanities at their keyboards.

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  10. I said, in the beginning that Marines were, in part motivated by money, that the Military saw this and adapted, using bonuses to drive both enlistments and reenlistments.

    It was YOU, allen, that equated military bonuses and thus the Marines to mercenaries, not me.

    It was you who said that mentioning money and Marines dishonored the Marines.
    What foolishness.

    What kind of Socialist are you?

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  12. We should cut the troopers pay then, allen.
    They work for Duty, Honor, Country, no? We could just give 'em room & board, think of the savings.

    Get a grip on reality.

    You and your wife, Federal double dippers, right?

    Or do you just get by on the retirement check and the Mrs's full pay and bennies?

    Double dip after she retires.

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  13. Tell US this, allen

    About 35000 non-citizens are currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces,

    Mercenaries all?
    They are not US patriots, they are in it for what?
    So by your definitions the US hires mercenaries, to work side by side our amateur patriots.

    Viva Basra!

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  14. The civilian contractors, in Iraq, over 800 of them KIA.
    Are they Mercenaries?
    Seem to be, by your definitions.
    Again the US is hiring mercenaries to work side by side our Amateurs.

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  15. Your going to not take those retirement checks, right?
    Since they are just a deferred payment on 29 years of low paid service.
    Send those monies back, you didn't serve because of it, so please, give it back. You do not deserve it, no honor in it, just cash for services rendered, a long time ago.

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  16. I speak for an army of one. I joined the military because it was the law. I was patriotic and never considered I would not join. I enjoyed the adventure. My later servive evolved to where I was not to wear a uniform. The money and security allowed me to do it without financial worry. I had obligations only to myself.

    At GI BS sessions, I recall every possible point of view being discussed. None of us were political. The guys who came from working-class families, the tough neighborhoods and big cities were Democrats. College grads, officers and farmers from the west seemed to favor the Republicans. The Southerners mostly hated Kennedy, regardless of party.

    We were more worried about girl friends, what we we would do when we got out or what color Pontiac we would get with the re-enlistment bonus.

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  17. Exactly, duece.
    And some would re-up because of the bonus, some would not.
    But that bonus COULD make a difference in a fellows decision.

    Usually did, amongst those I knew.

    Today, the Army and Marines offer $10,000 pretty routinely to re-up. To some people a sizable amount of cash, to others a day or two's worth of cash flow. A couple of weeks worth of net.

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  18. I used the word "mercenary" as bait. Several resident bottom feeders bit and ran with the lure, savoring it, making it their own. Its too late, now, to try the usual disassociation technique. It's also dishonorable.

    Yes, indeed, words have meaning. "Mercenary" is a word, almost always used derogatorily, adjectively. When referring to American service members as a class, it is important to choose wisely, lest one give the impression of an unpatriotic, fault-finding, nit-picking crank.

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  19. Check out the new tech we've got for electronic flip publishing,
    Real Estate guide
    Click, hold and flip each page.
    No downloads, it's server based.
    Only two years and $20,000 to get it figured out.

    It'd be a little better if the original work was formatted to fit the screen.
    Next generation of products...

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  20. We had a post on Mercenaries.

    My comment then was this:

    2164th said...
    The word mercenary is in reality a good word as in the traditional sense it was a hire for a reward or money as opposed to someone that has patriotic or civic reasons. It becomes confused when as an adjective it is use to define a cynic doing something for money.

    Then you have the "Black Jack" Shramme type.
    "Contractor" or DOD civilian have no poetry.

    It probably rings wrong to American ears, like the British use of the word "scheme", which means plan as opposed to a scam in Americanese.

    Why does that make me a bottom feeder?

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  21. Not many patriots would be happen missing too many payrolls.

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  23. DR wrote:

    "The Government and all it's people are symbiotic parasites"

    Are you calling all military folk parasites?

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  24. No patriot needs money, those that need money are not patriots.

    Seems simple enough.
    Bottom feeders, that be folk that work for the Government. They produce nothing, just live off the leavings of those above, that do produce economic gains for US.

    The Government and all it's careerists are symbiotic parasites, who have hobbled the host, but not yet killed it. Try though they may.

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  25. He who controls the carbon offsets, controls the Universe.

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  26. That's just simple AlGoreRhythm.

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  27. Exactly, trish, so far beyond.
    The Forest Service and Border Patrol guys, along with the TSA all wear uniforms, and are inept, at best.

    Meanwhile our ally in Pakistan has to crack down, becoming more General than President.

    LAHORE, Pakistan -- In the rapidly unfolding crisis in Pakistan, no matter what happens to President Pervez Musharraf -- whether he survives politically or not -- he is a lame duck. He is unable to rein in Talibanization in Pakistan or guide the country toward a more democratic future.

    Since March 9, when Musharraf suspended the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, public protests have escalated every day -- as has a violent crackdown by the police and intelligence agencies on the media and the nation's legal fraternity.

    The legal convolutions about Chaudhry's dismissal boil down to one simple fact: He was not considered sufficiently reliable to deliver pleasing legal judgments in a year when Musharraf is seeking to extend his presidency by five more years, remain as army chief and hold what would undoubtedly be rigged general elections.

    Musharraf's desire to replace Chaudhry with a more pliable judge has badly backfired. After just 10 days of protests, lawyers around the country have made it clear to the senior judiciary that they will not tolerate further legal validations for continued military rule or tolerate Musharraf remaining as president. At least seven judges and a deputy attorney general have resigned in protest.


    I guess that not having a Gonzo to shield him really is a disadvantage to the General President.

    Moreover, Musharraf is losing control of three key elements that have sustained his rule but are now either distancing themselves or turning on him completely. The first is the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Party, which has acted as the civilian appendage to the military but faces an election and knows that going to bat for the unpopular Musharraf will turn off voters. Party leaders and cabinet ministers are already distancing themselves from him.

    The second element is the country's three intelligence agencies, which are at loggerheads over control of Musharraf, Pakistan's foreign policy, its political process and the media. Military Intelligence and the Inter-Services Intelligence are military agencies, while the largest civilian agency, the Intelligence Bureau, is now run by a military officer. Ironically, Inter-Services Intelligence, the most powerful agency in the country, has been the moderate element urging Musharraf to open up the political system to the opposition parties. The other two agencies are the hard-liners and are urging Musharraf to adopt even tougher measures.

    The third loss for Musharraf has been the unqualified international support he has received since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Anger in the U.S. Congress and media, and particularly among members of the Republican Party, toward Musharraf's dual-track policy in Afghanistan -- helping to catch al-Qaeda members but backing the Taliban -- is making it difficult for President Bush to continue offering Musharraf his blanket support.

    That was the tough-love message that Vice President Cheney delivered to Musharraf in Islamabad last month: Unless Musharraf goes after the Taliban, the Bush administration can no longer protect him.

    Any loss of Western support will be critical to the army, which is on an arms-buying spree and depends on annual U.S. military aid of about $300 million. Musharraf has balanced the pro- and anti-American factions in the army's officer corps, but if both sides see him as a lame duck, unable to deliver the goods or stabilize the country, their support will dwindle. ..."


    Where else could the General President find $300 Million USD to retain control of the Army?

    Why from the Sauds, of course.
    Who is going to need 100,000 men under arms for internal and external security? The Sauds, again.

    Years of half stepping have brought US to disaster in Pakistan, the Taliban gaining more control each day, according to Bill Roggio, anyway.

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  28. "In a conversation with this reporter in October 2001, Gen. Gul forecast a future [Pakistani] Islamist nuclear power that would form a greater Islamic state with a fundamentalist Saudi Arabia after the monarchy falls."
    --Arnaud de Borchgrave, August 2004

    General President Gul?

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  29. Deuce,

    re: mercenary

    I wasn't referring to either you or your use. In your thread, “Mercenaries”, you were in fact speaking of actual, honest-to-goodness “mercenaries”. Unless I missed something, I don’t believe you used “mercenary” to address the service of American troops. Yes, mercenaries have been used for millennia; indeed, the army of Xerses depicted in the movie “300” had a substantial complement of mercenaries, as did his navy. The Spartans opposing Xerses received wages or rewards for service to their king; however, I have never heard them called “mercenary”. In fact, I suspect most people would instantly find such an epithet derogatory and insulting to their heroic service.

    My referencing by name Mr. Arkin and his derogatory use of the word "mercenary" was purposeful. As you will recall, Mr. Arkin does unabashedly use the word "mercenary" with precision, i.e. American troops are whores fighting for money. There are people commenting here who are so obsessed with making the Bush administration look bad (as if Mr. Bush needs the help) that they will now stoop to using a word in reference to American troops which, by DEFINITION and MR. ARKIN'S recent notorious use, is almost exclusively derogatory (bottom feeding). In my opinion, this is a purposeful, despicable escalation of rhetoric to score cheap points at the expense of the honorable service of most military members.

    Our troops are professionals. They follow codes of conduct, tradition, and professional standards unique to military service. They enter and serve voluntarily. For performing a service within the military profession, they are modestly remunerated. How this could be construed by any reasonable person as "mercenary" is baffling. Why people persist in the misappropriation of a perfectly well defined word is equally baffling, but may go to the question of motive, e.g. Disreputable Troops = Bad Bush.

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  30. Which, as a private citizen, consists of what so many refer to a fine whine.

    And legal action, all of which are avenues of action we have persued, in defense of US interests, as defined by the Law.

    Have yet to resort to the patriotic shooting a Forest Service employee, though some may be considered deserving.

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  31. Yes, allen, you created the Strawman arguement, then foound it to be used to beat you around the head and shoulders.

    No one defended Mr Arkin, just the practical use of cash to retain US troops. Which YOU described as mercenary.

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  33. The worst thing, allen, is that you attribute your own cocksucking ways, to others. Those that do not partake of your brand of pleasures in the barracks.

    Don't tell, though. We won't ask for details

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  34. Greater in impact, rufus, if the infrastructure can be maintained, then the printing press.

    via threatswatch
    Yesterday the U.S. Air Force reported to Congress their plans to elevate its new Cyberspace Command to “major command” status, putting a command dedicated to the defense and security of the virtual world on par with that of the commands dedicated to those same missions in the physical world.

    The pronouncement is merely the first step in a long series of hurdles, including manning documents, a budget and physical location, which must be overcome before full operating capability is achieved.

    Posted on March 22, 2007 11:15 AM

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  35. Deuce,

    re: mercenary

    I will add something that has not heretofore been addressed, but which is, in my opinion, of singular importance.

    Killing merely for money is dangerously close to murder. This aspect of mercenary service may go far to explaining why mercenaries have been viewed historically with distaste.

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  36. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  37. That would be part of your sexual proclivities, allen, the distaste.

    Such joy you must bring to the other patriots, when their cash runs low and they cannot afford professionals.

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  38. "... 3 to 7 million pilgrims traveled to Karbala in central Iraq earlier this month for a Shiite celebration that took place without violence.

    Which is not entirely accurate.

    There was that firefight, the one where 250 to 300 somebuddies were killed by either US or the Iraqi Army, then another hundred or so killed in car bomb attacks.

    That may be considered some form of success, that under a five or six hundred people died, but the Event cannot be describe as violence free.

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  39. They did in Turkey. Shut down the whole shabang, until the offensive to Turkey videos were removed.

    They did so to Ms Malkin, Youtube itself, censoring the content by exclusion, before there was Governmetal input.

    The path ahead is not free of obstacles.

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  40. Those killed by the car bombs were returning home from the Carnival. They were direct victims of the violence.
    Those killed in the firefight were said to be laying in ambush, for the pilgrams. They would have been directly associated with the Event, if not preemtively attacked.

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  41. ___Question (allen):
    “So, Arkin was right, hey: the troops are nothing but mercenaries…(sic)

    ___Answer (DR):
    Even the Military makes the case for the need of reenlistment bonuses to retain the troops.
    Upwards of $40,000 USD for some specialties. They offered Jr. $10,000, with the threat of recall added in.
    It's a cash & carry world.

    Oh, "strawman" has a definition.

    By the way, DR, enlisted troops live in barracks. I thought an old hand like you would know that.

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  42. Isn't that where you service their needs, or do you have them cum in your quarters?

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  43. I guess the Military is decieving US when they say those bonuses are important part of their retention packages, aye?

    Just more lies from the Federals?

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  44. Panel to release Olmert's Lebanon war testimony

    “In an interview broadcast on Thursday by the BBC, John Bolton, who was the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. during the Lebanon war, said Washington had delayed calling for a ceasefire so that Israel would have more time to try to defeat Hezbollah.

    ‘What was wrong with that?’ Bolton told BBC Radio 4.
    He said Israel had acted in self-defense, ‘and if (that) meant the defeat of the enemy, that was perfectly legitimate under international law, and frankly, under good politics.’

    Asked if the United States deliberately frustrated diplomatic attempts to end the fighting during what became the final two weeks of the war, Bolton replied: ‘I was damn proud of what we did.’”

    […]

    “One survey this month found that just 3 percent of Israelis would vote to re-elect the centrist Kadima party leader him if a ballot were held now.”

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  45. Allen,

    But none in the Knesset would vote for a no confidence vote in the Government and a new election, because all these political Pepe-le-Pukes would be skunked out office.

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  46. “Most of the songs, both text and music, have been recorded by Frances Densmore, who has been working in this field for forty-five years, and whose collections of Indian music number more than fifteen volumes (three of which have been published elsewhere), each of the fifteen devoted to a different tribe. Besides the printed text and music, she has usually taken phonograph records as well, and these are part of the immense collection of Indian songs, folk songs, folk tales, and other oral literature held by the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress.”

    “Over and above its musical interest, Miss Densmore’s work is also possibly the largest body of primitive lyric poetry in the original language and in translation in existence. As such, it is of tremendous importance to the student of literary origins, to the aesthetician or critic, and especially to the practicing poet. In spite of this her work is almost completely unknown among literary people, and only one American poet of any importance — Yvor Winters — has ever mentioned her in print or shown any sign of her work’s influence.”
    American Indian Songs
    Link

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  47. Mat,

    Sorry to hear that.

    Maybe the publication will move things along. The report must be truly bad if Olmert’s legal actions to have it quashed are predictive.

    For whatever it is worth, I glanced at a report recently, wherein the Syrians claim to have been negotiating with Olmert. That is troubling.

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  48. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  49. BAGHDAD, Iraq – The U.S. military Wednesday released a senior member of Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki

    The decision, officials said, was made with the hope of easing tensions between al-Sadr's al-Mahdi militia and U.S.-led forces in Iraq. Sheik Ahmed Shibani, who had been in prison for 2 1/2 years, was handed over to the office of the Shiite prime minister.

    "In consultation with the prime minister and following his request, coalition leaders determined that Sheikh Shibani, who was detained since 2004, could play a potentially important role in helping to moderate extremism and foster reconciliation in Iraq," U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said in a statement.

    Al-Sadr's militia repeatedly had demanded the release of Shibani, a onetime spokesman to al-Sadr who was jailed by U.S. forces in September 2004 in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf, after a month-long uprising by the militia against the Americans. ..."


    Is this another good reason to continue to sacrifice more US lives?

    Releasing the local Commander of the month-long uprising against US Marines.
    Two and a half years, more than enough penalty for killing Marines, a POW in prison for the duration of the War, seems the War's duration is over.

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  50. Sorry, Allen. There's nothing "BBC News" puts out that I would care to consider as reflective of reality.

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  51. rufus,

    I thought you and Bobalharb might like that.

    It stuck me that people separated by time, distance, and ethnicity make music about much the same things.

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  52. Mat,

    re: BBC

    Ordinarily, I would completely agree, but this is the Olmert government.

    You are going to love this.
    Syria’s Minister of Culture explains that the US and Israel were behind the July 2005 London bombings

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  53. That part was not in any of the four articles I read, rufus.

    If it had been, I'd surely have included it. All the more reason for US to leave the Iraqis to their own means.

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  54. Can I have him for five minute. A pair of bolt cutters and a propane torch to stop the bleeding.

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  55. But Allen, hasn't he heard? "Crime" is merely a Jewish mental construct, created by the Zionists in order to stifle natural Arab instincts.

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  56. The battle for eyeballs begins

    March 22 (Bloomberg) -- News Corp. and NBC Universal Inc. are leading a group of media companies building an online video service designed to break the dominance of Google Inc.'s YouTube.

    NBC and News Corp. will create a new Web site that will feature full-length films and television shows, the companies said today. Yahoo! Inc., Microsoft Corp.'s MSN and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, Google's biggest rivals, will distribute the shows on their sites.

    NBC Universal, with a TV network and movie studio, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., owner of the MySpace Web site and Fox television, are seeking to reclaim the users who watch clips of their shows on YouTube, and who create their own videos. The media companies are up against a site that attracted more than 130 million visitors in January, mainly because of the user- generated clips.

    ``It really does seem like everyone is taking sides against Google and YouTube,'' said Greg Sterling, an analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence in Oakland, California.

    News Corp. and NBC Universal said they will devote ``a significant'' marketing and promotional budget to the new site, which will start in the U.S. summer ...
    ...
    The venture also highlights a split among broadcasters. CBS Corp., which isn't part of the group, has chosen to partner with YouTube and this month is showing ``March Madness'' basketball clips on the site. CBS, chaired by Sumner Redstone, said today it will continue to pursue its own online video initiatives.

    Viacom Suit

    Viacom Inc., the New York-based owner of the MTV and VH1 cable-TV networks, sued YouTube last week, claiming $1 billion in damages, for allowing users to post copyrighted material on its site. Viacom said clips of its shows have been watched 1.5 billion times on YouTube.

    Time Warner, the world's largest media company, and News Corp. publicly supported New York-based Viacom in its fight to protect copyrighted content, and News Corp. has also forced YouTube to take down clips of some of its shows.

    Viacom, which is also chaired by Redstone and isn't part of the new site, said the venture is a ``welcome addition.'' Viacom Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman has said the company is working on online video initiatives of its own.
    ...
    More than 133 million people visited YouTube in January, 14 times more than a year earlier, according to Reston, Virginia- based Web-use tracker ComScore Networks Inc.

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  57. You can’t lie to the itsy-bitsy spider.

    There are people who will die under extreme torture and never talk. There are people who can resist physical torture for days on end before breaking. As gratifying as hurting the bad guys would be, it can sometimes have limited intelligence gathering utility, not to mention the risk of the snooping of the insufferable Patrick Leahy. So, how do you get the most feathers from the goose with the least squeals?

    EVERY human being carries a bundle of emotional baggage over which he has no real control. Take a candidate into a room, hook-up the right equipment, and run film or stills. Within minutes, said candidate will begin to involuntarily reveal his loves, hates, strengths, weaknesses, and fears.

    In this way, it will be found that a fanatic able to resist excruciating pain and waste precious interrogation time will go absolutely bonkers at the sight of an arachnid, spilling his guts like a hysterical child.

    You can’t lie to the itsy-bitsy spider.

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  58. Hopefully we will see continued competition for content on these free video sites. I've heard that YouTube is considering some form of payment to producers of vids because there are a could of sites out there doing it already and the concept is compelling:

    http://one.revver.com/revver

    http://www.metacafe.com/producer_rewards/

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  59. Oh, and Ahmed is unlikely to go before the cameras and admit that those horrible Jews stimulated his gag reflex by placing a single of maggot under his nose. Moreover, how many holy warriors will fess up to wetting themselves at the sight of a tiny, common house spider?

    Get in; get it out – no muss, no fuss.

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  60. Excellent work boss man. You beat me to youtube. I was proud of your technological prowess. Not bad for an old timer!

    I was thinking that it would be fun to record events as they're happening, upload them to youtube and download them to the EB. We recently had a major Horse Trials in my little town. It had occurred to that eight to ten minute clips could be of interest to the horse people who couldn't attend. I'm sure DR is already ahead of me though.

    As for the thread today; Whew, got a little lively in the old bar. Maybe Deuce should have stopped pouring drinks for a couple of the regulars who I think are both patriots but misunderstand one another.

    Life is like a blog thread; You never know what you're gonna get.

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  61. rufus,

    How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm?
    ;-)

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  62. Mat,

    re: Arab natural instincts

    That is why we will win: primitive, superstitious, misshapen minds. The struggle will be unnecessarily prolonged and bloody, in no small part due to leaders like Mr. Olmert.

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  63. Allen,

    You stupid simpleton! Always seeing things in simple black and white. Have Ash explain to you the varied shades of gray here.

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  64. Midget Mercenary:

    At just a hair over 17 inches tall, the miniature horse is more inclined to walk under fences than jump them.

    As the world's smallest horse, 5-year-old Thumbelina, weighing in at 57 pounds, has a bigger mission: to raise $1 million for children's charities this year.

    Midget

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  65. "will go absolutely bonkers at the sight of an arachnid, spilling his guts like a hysterical child."
    ---
    ?
    How scarey could spider vomit be?
    Rather lacking in volume, I would think.
    It would be worth watching a hysterical spider, however!

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  66. Mat,

    re: Ash the teacher

    Yeah, that's going to work.

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  67. You gotta figure we need Algorythms.
    (or, you gotta have Algorythms to figure)

    We need the Al-Mighty Goracle to lead us.

    ReplyDelete