You know how when we were all kids and we all had that one friend (or more) that had somehow gotten one of those Leisure Suit Larry games that we weren’t suppose to know about (much less play), but somehow this particular kid found a way to get a copy and showed you and it was a big secret contraband deal?
So with that knowledge in mind, does anyone else also get the feeling that the lead singer of this song was definitely one of THOSE kids? 🙂 Still can’t stop listening to the song though, kudos to you and all of the nerds/pervs I used to know…
It’s really discouraging to see the reaction from Washington regarding the revolution in Egypt, but hardly surprising to me either.
My personal opinion is that Washington is really hoping to keep Mubarak in power and desperately trying to figure out a way to keep him in place. It’s just a matter of whether or not they can convince themselves that the Egyptian people will believe a really well constructed bullshit story or not. Since said story will have to involve Mubarak’s stay in power, I’m guessing it’s not going to work; and judging by the reaction I’ve been seeing on TV, I’d say that after thirty years, those people have pretty much heard it all by now.
Shutting down the internet was completely chicken-shit, and has only made things worse. All the people want is truth, transparency, and an end to senseless brutality and corruption. Cutting off their communication is only causing confusion, unnecessary violence, and showing how desperate and out of touch this dictatorship is. Hey Mubarak, you want to win your people back? Why don’t you turn the net back on and start answering questions like; was all of the tyranny necessary over the last thirty years? Did your people really deserve to be treated that way? Was it possible that they could have been freer and more prosperous? Why did you allow your people to live under harsh control for so long when you had the power to literally change it overnight?
Should Mubarak be pitied instead of prosecuted? Since Groundhog Day is coming up, I’m reminded of the movie and starting to wonder; if Mubarak switched places with Bill Murray’s character from the movie, and he had to keep redoing the same period of time over and over (just before the protests), how long do you think it would be before he finally got things right?
I think it would be very difficult to guess because it could go on an extremely long time. I’m not saying that to try to be mean or funny, my reasoning is because I think Mubarak’s mind is so far removed from reality, that his natural instinct would most likely be to keep trying to perfect his dictatorial control until he got things “right” (and by right, meaning he had the perfect system in place to stay in power).
However you view it though, Mubarak wasn’t alone. What could we, as American allies, have done differently?
Unfortunately, our government isn’t exactly the role model of the world anymore. Most likely our view was; who cares if he’s a horrible dictator? And who cares that the Egyptian police were hated for being notoriously cruel and corrupt? As long as their country helped to serve OUR military and economic interests, and could keep their people under control, who really cared about their rights and personal freedoms?
Don’t believe me? Or maybe you’re wondering why I feel this way? Because I’ve got news for you; your government has been in bed with corrupt dictators and nefarious foreign economic and military policies for decades, and we the people have been turning a blind eye towards it in the name of false security and cheap foreign goods and labor for quite a long time.
I want to introduce you to a man named John Perkins. He is a self-described “economic hit-man.” According to him and his book, he was one of the guys sent by our country to persuade world leaders to play ball with us, or else… but I’ll let him explain this concept in this very informative and thought provoking attached video.
Whether we share some of the blame or not with the events in Egypt, there is a truth about America’s dark side of foreign policy that they do not want the world to see.
I hope the Egyptians and the good people of the Middle East can forgive us for our country’s misbehavior and realize that it is not us everyday Americans that are their enemy.
Like Mubarak, our American leaders also have some serious questions to answer, and all good people are going to have to unite and stand together against this corruption if we ever hope to create a better world.
Pandora song of the day: I’ve been meaning to share this tune for so long that it’s actually starting to haunt me every time I hear it now. What can I say? I liked everything about both the song and the video, I just couldn’t think of a good way to turn the available facts and ideas I had about it into an interesting attachment.
However, upon hearing it again this afternoon, it finally reached that point with me where I was going to have to force myself to share it in order to protect my future sanity… 😉
Since there is no story, I’m just going to stick to the facts and keep this simple:
1. Cool dancing robot.
2. The robot is called a “Keepon.” They are available for sale, even though they are primarily used to study social development and communication in children (at least according to the current Wikipedia page). It also lists the robot’s cost at $30,000!
3. According to me, the song is damn good.
4. Since I’m technically a few years behind, I hope this isn’t all old news to everyone.
I don’t personally like guns, and I think we would both agree that we don’t like the idea that unstable people can sometimes have access to them.
However, there are a few points that I think we differ on, so let’s take a look at the video:
For example, at 4:45-5:05 You say “The realization that the only reason that the alleged shooter was able to kill and wound so many people is because he could fire thirty bullets before he stopped to reload, because he had a high capacity magazine that would not have been legal for him to buy had the ban on that not expired in 2004…”
Let me be clear Rachel, that’s YOUR realization. My realization is that is certainly not the “only” reason. The reality: It doesn’t take a gun expert to know that with a gun like that, it only takes a few seconds to unload and reload a new clip. Or to un-holster a second gun, how about a third?
Alright, so you get into your point about 5:30 that “We can’t do anything about guns?” Why not? There is always time for healthy, logical debate. How about instead we try not to rush to judgment since this just happened. A radical assertion? So if you were dictator for a day, would you have passed a gun ban last Tuesday without warning?
I would think that putting hasty new restrictions on gun laws during a time of record-level national dissent and distrust of government could end up becoming the powder keg that starts a very confusing and unnecessary revolution.
6:30 – 7:55 here are three men’s opinions I completely agree with. However, you refer to their opinions as a radical view? And that they are “radicals” on gun policy? Our forefathers put the second amendment in the constitution for a reason.
“No Free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” –Thomas Jefferson
“…to disarm the people – that was the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” –George Mason
“The Constitution shall never be construed….to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms” –Samuel Adams
“To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike especially when young, how to use them.” –Richard Henry Lee
6:45-7:05 here is something I have a huge problem with: Representative Broun clearly says the word, “protect.” And you deliberately twisted that into the word “overthrow.” You even smugly read it off your own notes, and even emphasized the word! You openly lied! Not only did you LIE, we see your true colors on this issue, and it’s far from an objective view now isn’t it?
So at 8:44-10:00ish, you begin to make your big point that is so far-fetched and idiotic that I actually felt a little embarrassed watching you go through that with a straight face. Are you under control by the powers that be Rachel? Or do you really believe your own BS? You actually say (at 8:44) that anyone with the “radicals” like Rep. Broun, Ron Paul, or Alex Jones wants to overthrow the government?
At 9:04 you also said “…because in their view, to do right by the constitution, you and I need to be able to defeat the U.S. military in battle! We need to overthrow the U.S. government!” Rachel, since you didn’t give us any examples, I’m curious; is it even possible to support the second amendment without being a radical revolutionist?
These men are not radicals, but you’re certainly trying very hard to make people think they are. However, your argument is so absurd that you literally have to lie to try to make them look bad!
What happened in Arizona was a horrible tragedy, but like it or not, guns are here to stay.
I don’t like the idea either, but I have a solid understanding of history, and our forefathers created the second amendment for very good reason. When a country’s government is corrupt, and its people have no ability to protect themselves, history shows that tyrannies have a tendency to emerge.
Therefore, looking at history, and looking at the rest of the world in the present, it could be said that the primary reason we are not under a tyranny right now is because of the Bill of Rights. This document is what made America great, and this is what made our forefathers great. Not only did they put a system in place that relied on checks and balances between the three branches of government, but we can almost think of the Bill of Rights as a system of checks and balances between the government and its people.
The history of human government is so tyrannical, that our founding fathers literally had to escape from Europe and start their own country! And they still had to have a revolution to keep it! Then they wrote the Bill of Rights to protect the people so that they would never again be subjugated to the horrors of an oppressive regime!
Rachel, maybe you trust the government and believe your own BS, but I think the majority of the rest of us do not. Not only is it quite clear to me that these “radicals” seem to know a little bit more about history and American patriotism than you do, they don’t need to make things up and lie to make their points about it.
I suppose I should note that I strongly disagree with the solutions the creator of this piece alluded to (the “medieval” solution earlier on, as well as the ending). I also want to point out that it’s also not because I’m afraid of being targeted by the pathetic, politically driven witch hunt that has recently emerged out of the latest national tragedy either.
The simple reason why I don’t agree with the solution is because I believe it could potentially lead to our society turning into a real life version of the book/movie, “The Road,” and none of us want to live like that.
Times have changed, and instigating overly dramatic ‘old-school’ solutions to age old problems is the most likely way to create the kind of nightmare future that no one wants to deal with, not even the “conspirators.” I for one would find it unwise to frighten or threaten people that have the means and power to push a red button, and I hope I’m not alone in that regard.
Even though this video isn’t perfect, the information is spectacular, and confirms so much of what I’ve researched independently over the last decade.
Most of us are intimidated by the complex financial workings of the economy, but it is so important for everyone to start paying attention to it now, and the creator of this video did an excellent job making a video that makes banking entertaining and easy to understand.
So for all of you that wanted to know how our banking system really works (but thought it would be too time consuming and complicated), and/or wanted to know what all the fuss is about concerning the Federal Reserve, it’s probably not going to get much easier to understand than this video, and since time is no longer a luxury, the time to get informed is…
All I ask is that if you agree with the creator’s solution, please watch “The Road,” and maybe think twice.
“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana
There used to be a time 8-10 years ago when I thought Olbermann was a good guy, and Fox News was a sick joke on the American people. Looking back now though, I think my opinion was completely unfair and unbalanced…
Why? I think it’s because Bush and Cheney were so horrible, and I was so opposed to the wars and almost everything the republicans said and did during those years, that ANYBODY that openly stood up against the republican establishment looked good by default… even Olbermann and MSNBC.
Since there’s been a regime change now however, I’ve been able to put together the bigger picture; Obama and Pelosi are also horrible (although at least Pelosi is now in the background), and I’m opposed to almost everything the democrats are saying and doing too!
So what does this all mean?
1. The leadership of both political parties is horrible.
2. I’m opposed to almost everything BOTH sides do.
3. It’s really easy to look good when you oppose tyrants.
4. It’s really easy to look bad when you defend them.
5. MSNBC never turned into the “liberal Fox News,” it always was the “liberal Fox News,” it was only the ruling party that changed.
Last thought: Is there any reason for the Southern Poverty Law Center to cherry-pick information out of a horrible tragedy, and then use it to create a potential witch hunt? I had heard the SPLC was bad, but it’s hard for me to accept that conclusion without actually seeing it. After watching the first few minutes of this video though, I now completely understand what the critics were saying. What a couple of wieners these two are…
This is what a musical masterpiece sounds like… that and I’m pretty sure (despite the limited sample size) that this proves that Roy Orbison’s voice does in fact come from another dimension…
DEA: How are we supposed to take you seriously when you go on TV like this and blatantly lie to us and keep trying to sell us your tired bullshit story like we’re all brainwashed or stupid enough to keep believing that shit? This is absolutely unacceptable and completely absurd behavior! Why should we continue to listen to you much less keep funding you?
And who is this ass that I keep seeing from Fox and Friends? I actually feel sorry for this guy. What a shining example of what a propaganda spewing, phony, corporate news clown looks like. I’m not suggesting that he’s an evil conspirator by any means, but he’s such an obvious “company” man. How can anyone take this guy seriously?
And now a followup, and proof our country has been taken over by criminals…
Eccentric Perspective 