the news
OH BOY THE PREGNANT 'MAN' HAS GIVEN BIRTH
OH MY GOODNESS SOME WOMAN KIDNAPPED SOME OTHER WOMAN'S CAT
OH WOW JOE SCHMOE AT THE GAS PUMP THINKS $4.50 IS "OUTRAGEOUS"
OH GEEZ HULK HOGAN'S SON NICK IS STILL IN JAIL
OH MY CHRISTIE BRINKLEY'S HUSBAND IS A HUGE PORN ADDICT
OH YAY RINGO STAR WANTS ME TO FLASH A PEACE SIGN AT 12PM ON MONDAY FOR HIS BIRTHDAY
OH LOOK A DOG CALLED 911 AND SAVED HIS CHOKING OWNER
OH INTERESTING LARRY KING IS DOING YET ANOTHER AMERICAN IDOL INTERVIEW
right now anderson is babbling about leona helmsley bequeathing millions of dollars to dogs.
Everyone in news - everyone - whether it's Anderson, Bill, Keith, Nancy, Glenn, Larry, CNN, NBC, FOX, whoever - feel pressure to fill time slots for their shows/channels and therefore stupid irrelevant crap gets coverage, around the clock, and the media makes controversy controversy just because its in your face every 20 minutes of every hour of the day because the have nothing else to cover and need to run SOMETHING.
My personal favorite is CNN's segment called "BROKEN GOVERNMENT." Yes, we all know Washington is messed up. But let's not pass the buck too far and forget that this was a country founded on "By the people" - which is to say that WE are the ones who elect these bozos into office. And WE are the ones who buy off those politicians with special interests. Planned parenthood anyone? the NRA? What would *you* do in their situation? Probably the same. Look out for yourself and your family and play the game. It's not a Broken Government that just suddenly became Broken. It's a broken society that led to a broken government that's ALWAYS been broken. Iran Contra scandal? Nixon? Andrew Jackson? the native american genocide? oh but now we bitch like this is a contemporary problem.
Will either of these candidates really make a substantial change? Are we naive enough to think that? Look, the trend of society since the dawn of society is DOWNWARD. that will never change. ever. even the "bright spots" in history culminate here, in this messed up world in this messed up country under this messed up government and in this messed up society.
oh, but what about the antiquity of Egypt? or Rome? Or Greece? the greatness of the British or Persian or Ottoman or Alexandrian or American empire? All marked by greed, violence, incredible pride, and death.
can our life make a difference? will our CAUSES make a difference? Really and truly absolutely not. No one's going to lead us into this hypothetical promised land because it doesnt exist. Broken Government? No. Broken humanity. But broken why? Well, if at this point i switched it up and turned this into a universal message of "inner peace" and "karma" and socio-enviro-politically responsible eco-buddhist social idealist nonsense - many people would be on board. But you know what? it would take violence to force that upon the rest of society. which makes it just like its predecessors.
No. Broken Society means a Broken individual. As in, every single one of us. Which - if we're not LYING to ourself (which I do often, just to be able to live with myself) - is readily and easily visible in the shadows of our own inner hearts. I know I am broken because I know how ugly my heart is. And this, collectively, is why we're so fucked up. We're a bunch of ugly, greedy, selfish, proud, perverted, gluttonous, jealous, violent, evil people - even the best of us (SEARCH YOUR HEART AND TELL ME THIS ISNT TRUE ABOUT YOURSELF - SEARCH IT!!!!!).
We have brought this upon ourselves. Which is why we're in this crappy situation that we're in right now. It's culminated to a point where it can go on no longer. And none of our little pet causes are going to change a damned thing. Not solar power. Not a purge of Washington. Not a re-fundamentalizing of the American government in the image of the Christian Right. No. Nothing we can do can change this. It's just the way it is. And if there's no God that actually cares - this race is damned. Watch the news and tell me its not true. Better yet, turn on MTV for TEN stinking minutes. we're all damned. damned damned damned damned damned. damned in this life and worthy of being damned in the next (if there is one).
This. THIS is the pivotal point of humanity. But more importantly, this is the pivotal point in our life as an individual. our ideals are arbitrary. our truths are relative. these facts are inescapable. along with this next one:
I am a messed up, greedy, PROUD, angry, overly-critical, unforgiving sonofabitch and if there is a God and there is a way out of this earthen fiasco - I cannot escape that I need its forgiveness. I am just like the rest of the them.
I get selfish with my own wife (the most incredible woman in the world). I get angry and say nasty things to the people I love the most. I hate my neighbor. im a horrible friend. i am constantly seeking validation and recognition from people become i'm inwardly needy and extremely I'm proud.
right now anderson's re-babbling about leona helmsley. theyve got it on the rotation, last run was 45 mins to an hour ago. broken government? broken society. broken humanity.
broken me.
boy, ten years has got me thinking
THREE years ago, myspace wasnt yet a phenomenon. i had never even heard of facebook.
TEN years ago the internet wasn't even close to being the dominant form of media
THIRTEEN years ago i'd never been on the internet, people still used modems and were lucky if they could even access a chatroom.
there are still a few WWI veterans alive. theyre like 100 + years old, but theres like 1 or 2 left. and that war was in 1917. before the great depression.
when my mother was born it was the early 60s. which means that people who were alive during the time of the CIVIL WAR were still alive when she was born.
during WWII, people were still alive who had FOUGHT in the CIVIL WAR
during the Civil War, people were still alive who had fought in the REVOLUTIONARY WAR
ADOLF Hitler died 60 years ago. people are STILL ALIVE who lived through the nazi prison camps.
time is extensive only to individual man, which is why we feel these events so far off in the past. we have no concept of linear communal experience. the revolutoinary war was like 3 generations ago. the crusades probably like 10 or 12. the birth of christ maybe 20. which really is nothing.
nothing at all.
james 4:13Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
tomorrow is no guarantee.
the crisis of islam (more on iran...)
one of the most eye-opening things i ever learned about the islamic culture was this little tidbit that im going to quote from Bernard Lewis' "The Crisis of Islam." This book is relatively short, fast paced, broad scoped, and absolutely fascinating - written by one of the world's foremost scholars on Islam. Really, i dont plug books much but this book is highly pluggable, especially if you find this stuff interesting. its about the history, relationship, modernity, and worldview of Islam....... so good.
on the difference between middle eastern and western worldviews
"References to early, even to ancient history are commonplace in public discourse. In the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq war, for instance, both sides waged massive propaganda campaigns that frequently evoked events and personalities dating back as far as the seventh century, to the battles of Qadisiyya and Karbala. The battle of Qadisiyya was won by the Arab Muslim invaders of Iran against the defending army of the Persian shah, not yet converted to Islam and therefore, in Muslim eyes, still pagans and infidels. Both sides could thus claim it as their victory- for Saddam Hussein, of Arabs over Persians, for the Ayatollah Khomeini, of Muslims over unbelievers. The references to these battles were not detailed descriptions or narratives but rapid, incomplete allusions, yet both sides employed them in the secure knowledge that they would be picked up and understood by their audiences on both sides, even by the large proportions of those audiences that were illiterate. It is hard to imagine purveryors of mass propaganda in the West making their points by allusions dating from the same period, to the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy in England or the Carolingian monarchs in France. In the same spirit , Osama bin Ladin insults President Bush by likening him to Pharoah and accuses Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell (named together) as having wrought greater devastation in Iraq through the Gulf war of 1991 and after than did the Mongol khans who in the mid-thirteenth century conquered Baghdad and destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate. Middle Easterners perception of history is nourished from the pulpit, in the schools, and by the media, and although it may be - indeed, often is - slated and iaccurate, it is nevertheless vivid and powerfully resonant."
interesting. there's a lot more but i'll lose the little patience people have for a ranting, quoting, book-plugging dork like me.
morality police
these poor people. i know a 30 something year old cool-like-crazy christian missionary dude who ended up getting imprisoned in an iranian jail for months. he LOVES the iranian people and insists they're not the ppl you see on tv screaming 'death to america.' such a great story, he ended up befriending his iranian tormentor/jailer at the end of his imprisonment. God is great like that. dont trip over your own rolling eyeballs. and if you think christians are the complete douches, maybe you should move to the Middle East and learn something about the world. we're a bunch of spoiled americans who bitch too much
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police have launched a more extensive crackdown on "social corruption" such as women flouting Islamic dress codes, the Farhang-e Ashti newspaper reported on Monday.
"In its wider crackdown which has started from Saturday, police will confront those who appear in public in an indecent way and will also seal off shops selling un-Islamic dress," the newspaper said, quoting an unnamed police official.
The dress code imposed after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution requires women to cover all their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes to disguise the shape of their bodies.
Violators can receive lashes, fines or imprisonment.
The authorities usually launch crackdowns before the hot summer months when women like to wear lighter clothing such as calf-length pants and brightly colored scarves pushed back to expose plenty of hair.
But enforcement of strict moral codes governing women's dress became more strict since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad swept to power in 2005 with the backing of conservative clerics and the Basij religious forces who condemn such "un-Islamic" practices.
"Police will seize women with tight coats and cropped trousers and also men with Western-style hair cut will be arrested," the newspaper said.
Especially in the urban areas, many women ignore traditional head-to-toe black chadors. The Islamic dress code is less commonly challenged in poor suburbs and rural regions.
"Men with Western-style haircuts were confronted by police and also barber shops that gave them such haircuts were sealed off on Sunday," said the daily.
Some women, testing the boundaries of the law by wearing tight clothes were also confronted by morality police, located mainly at the affluent northern Tehran squares.
"Police also swept through popular shopping centers, where such outfits are sold and some of those shops were sealed off," the daily said.
time (a rebuttal)
-Augustine
Time
beginning of time = starting point
|------------------------------>
like a point at the beginning of a line in math class, continuing on into the future as represented by an arrow. *--------->
but an absolute beginning seems to imply two necessities- one; the thing itself that is beginning and, two; a FORCE that is pushing this thing into motion. Aka. What good is it for time to have a beginning if it were just standing still? I can't think of one example in nature that shows a beginning NOT being put into effect by some prior cause or chain of events - FORCE.
the newborn's life begins. Why? the parents did the nasty. the wind starts to blow? why? atmospheric such and such conditions. a star is born. why? a host of scientific explanations. you start to dance because you will it, you start to work because you need to, you start to play because you want to. But it seems there's always a force behind it.
So what was before the beginning of time to cause time except eternity or something eternal (something outside of time)?
If eternity exists, time is ultimately finite. And, again, based on natural observation - time runs out for everything eventually, where's the precedent to indicate that time will not run out in and of itself?
eternity is something that cannot be measured by time - even if time extended and ran continuously (...) , eternity would be, figuratively, one step to infinite steps ahead of it. FOR EXAMPLE: even if an extreme number of years passed, say, the number 1 follow by a jillion zeroes after it (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000...)
eternity would still be an INfinite number of times longer than this. All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.
If time is finite (which is the definition of time , it seems , because an infinite time would in itself no longer be classified as time but eternity) then the start and end of time must imply a force outside of time that put time into motion in the first place and end it at the last.
this force, then, by definition, must exist outside of time . therefore this force is eternal.
what is eternal cannot die because it always exists.
if it always exists, it is constant.
if it is constant, it is unchangeable.
if it is unchangeable, it is absolute
if it is absolute it is ultimate
if it is ultimate it is truth
if it is truth, all else is lie.
if it is a lie, it is not ultimate. if it is not ultimate, then not absolute. if it is not absolute, it is changeable. if changeable, not constant.
if not constant, not eternal.
if not eternal, then finite.
if its finite, it will die....
This is the cornerstone of the problem with evolutionary theory attempting to explain the complete origins of the universe. If time is infinite, aside from being an oxymoron, it would imply NO beginning but evolutionary theories ALWAYS assert beginnings or it would not be evolution. To admit eternity into the discussion is to jump from the naturalist to the supernaturalist camp, as in most atheists dont believe in eternity. And this of course poses a serious problem to one who's trying to assert a scientific explanation for the beginning of existence , when and if in fact there was no such thing as the beginning to explain scientifically, because there was technically never such a thing as the beginning.
and if thats the case, all these precious theories are shot to dust.
Therefore, the first event in the evolutionary theory MUST account for the beginning of time AND NOT just the beginning of matter. I mean, even if the beginning of time and the beginning of matter were two completely separate things - i suspect you'd have backed yourself into a corner when you realize that you're saying that SOMETHING just up and appeared inside of NOTHING. Matter just "up and appearing" inside of VOID time is about as likely as a cosmos, a cadillac, or a quark suddenly appearing inside of a completely sealed vaccuum that has not even the smallest particle of anything inside it. It's EMPTY. things dont appear for no reason inside of empty space. We're not talking magic tricks, we're talking evolution. and even evolution needs a base particle to grow. and this example is beyond empty space, its a VOID. and beyond a void, for its the FIRST AND ORIGINAL VOID, before all and anything that had fullness of any type could have possibly interefered.
So where did the big bang ball come from? It just always existed? Then why did it wait LITERALLY an eternity before spontaneously (without outside force, because there was no outside, because it was the first all-encompassing event, remember?) exploded? Are we being scandalous enough to propose that the big bang ball existed from eternity yet no longer exists? It had no beginning yet definitely had an end?!?!?!?!?!?!? How could something that had never begun, end?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? Thats like me saying my cousin Jigglypuff died. And when somebody asks me "Oh , that's too bad - how old was he?" I reply "Well, technically he was never born."
GIVE. ME. A. BREAK.
Is time even constant? As in, flows at the same rate always? Is time constant on Neptune? How bout in the Orion constellation? Oh, well how about on this same planet 300,000 years ago? time is a constant because we as men measure it as a constant but time theoretically and technically could shift and speed up dramatically in a one day span and you could wake up 90 years old tomorrow. and it need not have anything to do with something as relative as the earths revolutionary rate around the sun.
its amazing the things we think we know but really have no idea about. We claim "Those idiot creationists!!!" are stupid because we've evolved to outthink the concept of God, yet we can hardly tie our theoretical shoes because we have no idea - NO IDEA REALLY - about some of the most basic fundamentals and fabrics of our own existence.
and we haven't even approached the topic of LIFE generating from NON LIVING CHEMICALS and material. there is SO much we dont know. So i think its best we shy away from the poppy extremist super proud know-it-all notion of the left wing society of atheists and move towards a more humble position in the world. it only takes three words: "I" "Don't" "Know"
and when we're open to not knowing, we're open to hearing all sides of the argument. And if our ears are open - watch out - we might actually hear something we might not have expected and end up like this dude johnlanguage who once swore up and down there was no God and certainly no Jesus, yet ended up losing friends (yes, and a whole life) for refusing to roll over and blind his eyes again to the One that tore the rock away from the tomb of his heart and caused it to beat again with a Life he never knew.
Yes, the cost is high. But if its the TRUTH, isnt it worth it?
absolutely.
Obama 4 Prez
They wouldnt link correctly in my post so im going to reply to this post with them in a comment
drive me crazy
I'm sorry, but if I see one more fake uberliberal wanker waving a sign comparing ANYONE to Adolf Hitler I'm going to flip out. Why is it such an easy accusation to throw about? Are 10-15 million dead - 7-8 million of them in gas chambers and 'experiments' and deathcamps something so lightly tossed about like playtime in the bubblebath? Look, I understand you dont like Sheriff Joe Arpaio or George Bush or WHOEVER - any maybe neither do I - but last I checked these dudes didnt run the country with an impossible iron fist while committing full fledged genocide with the assent of the manipulated populace. Assholes, if Bush was Hitler you'd probably be on board with the final solution because apparently your stupid asses cant differentiate between stupid and evil, so whats supposed to make me think you can differentiate between right and a very eloquently delivered wrong. Adolf Hitler was ADORED - *ADORED* - and Bush is hated, wheres the comparison? Next time a Messianic anti-christ comes around to lead the world into the new frontier I'll have my eye on you to see if you're flag waving, pinned lapel havin' , full fledged supporters of the next third reich. Garbage.
hu'vay'e
i know this is all pointless crap but did you know Pompei was from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius which is IN modern day Italy? Yeah! I think its Naples, this huge ass city is perched right on the side of the volcano that already kicked at least one other city's ass. Just ask all the weird frozen ash people...
as for sandy beaches, go to Ka'uai......... its the shiznittlebamsnappy
temp agencyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yikes
yes, i said $160 million dollars. and its completely ridiculous. The outside is panelled with finish wood all the way around and underneath.... OH and its actually ten buildings instead of one house - one separate building for each room. his office, her office, master bedroom, kids room, humongous kitchen and dining room/hall , a nanny quarters, jacuzzi, two $40,000 outdoor stone bathtubs, a sweet gazeebo, like 6 spare bedrooms (huge), 3 basements, a crazy big lawn with a crazy spectacular view of the ocean, 2 swimming pools - 1 with big expensive water slide, and a host of other ridiculous crap 3 people could never possibly need. Seriously, they probably logged half of Thailand for that place, not to mention all the gas and other environmental atrocities committed in the name of their frivolousness.
The rafters are $900 EACH. EACH. there's like 30 full time construction workers there, with probably another 20 outside people. 9 painters. like 9 tile guys, 5 a.c. guys etc etc etc...
the couple shows up every now and then. she looks like an aged "Tennis Barbie" of like 50 years old and the dude looks like anatomically incorrect Ken . Sometimes I think about how cool it would be for some environmental extremist people to purposely go work for a construction temp agency in a place like Hawaii and get placed somewhere like this house, work a couple days on the job and wait til the owners show up . Then they could jump all over them about tacky tennis lifestyles, frivolous wastes of being, spoiled little zombie children, and the fact that they regularly took shits in the walls before sealing them up with drywall...
but in reality theyd probably just spraypaint "meat is murder" on the kitchen door in the first five minutes they're there and get their ass beat by some huge angry local hawaiian construction guy. Especially if the greenie is white.
sunday drive
Its funny. Sometimes I'm watching gameshows or something and I do a doubletake when they state their age at 27 or 28 and look at them again and SWEAR that to me these people look at least 35 years old. This has happened like 3 times in the past 3 days. you're 28? What the heck have you been doing?! I know 28 year olds who look like 28 year olds or younger but man is it depressing to watch someone else who you've already written off as middle aged come out and say they're the same age as you. Do i look that old?!?!?! Maybe its the bald spot i've had since i was 20.
anyway, the democrats are eating eachother alive and its painful to watch. im no johnny mac fan nor a republican by any means but its painfully obvious that if the press can roll out Jeremiah Wright quotes at will (ie - Italians as "garlic noses" and our white supremacist govt in charge of the Ku Klux Klan...) then its gonna be a loooooooooooooong and hard battle in November. What the heck is a garlic nose anyway?
On a side note, for any SWHS alumni reading this: What the hell WAS that barn in East Windsor anyway? You know, the one that was apparently a dance hall for awhile that was rumored to be the meeting place for the Ct KKK .... twostripe tim would know.... joe too maybe?
until next time, garlic noses...
did i really just go see annie get your gun?
yeppers. i'm kind of a stagehand/set designer kind of dork and me and the wife always talked about checking out a stage show down at the local theater. to tell you the truth, small town productions especially scare the crap out of me b/c their local pool of talent is generally about as deep as a kiddie pool. but we went, and i was surprised to make these stunning observations: annie get your gun is famous. like, that song there's "no business like show business" totally comes from that show. as well assssss "anything you can do i can do better........." Two songs i think the general american public would recognize but not be able to place. it belongs on a Who Wants to be a Millionaire question.. the show was alright, and i stress _alright_ , but the people who stole the show, a family actually, were the ones we were sitting next to. i dont wanna bash little chubby kids too much here - afterall, i kindof was one. But OH MY GOSH i thought it was all just a mean stereotype. This mother had three EXTREMELY overweight young kids, aged like 3 to 9, that she dragged to this 3 hour long stage show... Now, right off the bat any reasonable person that hears that is thinking "bad idea bad idea," but not this lady. Not only did she bring them, but she bought them - literally - 2 large sodas each to go with about 6 of the biggest, most fattening homemade cookies you can buy. EACH. the kids were freaking bouncing up and down on the chairs, sitting on top of the backrest, crying "how much longer momma?" , kicking the chairs in front of them, touching/hitting the heads of the people in front of them, fiddling with empty styrofome soda cups and making that HORRIBLE plastic straw-in-a-tight-space noise (for 20 minutes)... and the mom didnt do A THING!! At one point, she had the littlest one sitting on her lap chewing ice cubes for 15 minutes, loud as hell!!!! i mean, what's louder and more annoying that a 3 year old chewing ice cubes in a quiet theater??? it was totally unbelieveable and it got me thinking. Sometimes, and i mean sometimes: having super obese children is a sign of neglect. Watching the interactions between kids and mom you could see the virtual lack of parenting being replaced by the placating of every whine, cry, scream and complaint of the child. Kid crying in a theater? Buy him a cookie. Need to buy more time?? Buy him 6 cookies. Kid crying at home? Give him a ding-dong. Kid crying that he's thirsty? Give him a 64 oz jumbo coke to shut him the f#ck up for 4 1/2 minutes. Now i understand ritalin. in lieu of parenting, it's placate or opiate |
wal mart fun
its been awhile since ive been back east, but i remember last time i was there Wal Mart had yet to completely take over as the department store of choice. In L.A., it's Target. Wal Mart is in Crenshaw (the 'hood) and is literally shopped at by 99% black people. its 2 or 3 stories high, like a Super Duper Wal Mart mini mall or something and its packed all the time. But in Hawaii, it's all Wal Mart all the time. We have a K Mart but, like Ct, nobody really goes/went there. Wal Mart's the only gig in town around here. I bought a brita water filter yesterday, one of the kind you replace in your container once a month. it was a single pack and i opened it up and found that someone had craftily scotch taped the plastic packaging back together. Upon further inspection, someone had taped the outside box back together too. And (presumably) returned it to Walmart who promptly put it back on the shelves without question. The best i can figure, people are probably just returning their old, used filters for $8.00 a pop when they buy new ones. Or rather, completely tampering with the filters, filling them with cyanide and finely chopped ass hairs while WalMart is complicitly re-selling them because its cheaper than ordering new ones from Brita. Either way, they make it damned easy to return those things... that's like, buying a package of condoms and poking pinholes in all of them and then returning them... |
what i really wanted to say was:
since when did barack obama become the new hannah montana? he's already got the mass hysteria fainting spells, all he needs now is a blonde wig. when politics = ridiculously illogical frenzy over a candidate, people like adolf hitler take over based on the power of good public speaking ability and hype. Funny, the absolute worst thing that could happen in a democratic process is the exact thing every campaign manager holds as a best case scenario for their candidate.
not that barack is necessarily an evil dude. im just saying... there was such a thing as hitlermania at one point, too. |
post preview
| my posts havent been working and then i saw the little box to the left, the preview post box. i havent been here for awhile and maybe its just me, but its easy to not see that box and think that the post has gone through once you already hit the big publish post button on the bottom... anyway, |
had enough
sunbeam
small town open mic with neo-hippies.
C.S. Lewis (leads in to the following by speaking about the difference between looking at a sunbeam from the side, or from dead on - ie seeing dust floating in a ray of sun coming in a dark room through a crack in the door, or looking dead on the sunbeam and seeing trees and sky and grass or whatever else is outside the door).
"A young man meets a girl. The whole world looks different when he sees her. Her voice reminds him of something he has been trying to remember all his life, and ten minutes casual chat with her is more precious than all the favours that all other women in the world could grant. He is, as they say, 'in love'. Now comes a scientist and describes this young man's experience from the outside. For him it is all an affair of the young man's genes and a recognized biological stimulus. This is the different between looking _along_ the sexual impulse and looking _at_ it."
VIVA EL CHE (guevara on guevara) for dummies
And in case anyone's forgotten, commies are the kings of propaganda and censorship. I think we've all forgotten this. For anyone who's interested, there's boatloads of information on Cuban refugees and exiles who knew firsthand of Guevara. Afterall, Guevara was the author behind Cuba's secret police, and had at one point in time apparently taken to signing his name "Stalin II"
Or you could go look up bullsh!t stories perpetuated by the same propaganda machine that used his image to prop him up as an idol and great propagandic tool - after apparently sending him onto a suicide mission in bolivia. Castro was quoted as saying to a comrade going to meet Che in the jungle of Bolivia not to "offer even an asprin" to help him. Apparently Fidel was making sure Che couldnt steal Castro's glory... but whatever, right? rage against the machine is cool, and they say che is cool, therefore he's cool... right?
"To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary...These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail. This is a revolution! And a revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate. We must create the pedagogy (teaching) of the The Wall! (execution wall)" --Ernesto 'Che' Guevara
"Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any enemy that falls in my hands! My nostrils dilate
while savoring the acrid odor of gunpowder and blood. With the deaths of my enemies I prepare my being for
the sacred fight and join the triumphant proletariat with a bestial howl!"
"Hatred as an element of struggle; unbending hatred for the enemy, which pushes a human being beyond his
natural limitations, making him into an effective, violent, selective, and cold-blooded killing machine. This is
what our soldiers must become … " Che Guevara
180 DOCUMENTED VICTIMS OF CHÉ GUEVARA IN CUBA: 1957 TO 1959
From: Armando M. Lago, Ph.D., Cuba. The Human Cost of Social Revolutions, unedited
Manuscript pending publication. Information provided by the TRUTH RECOVERY ARCHIVE ON CUBA
an undertaking of the FREE SOCIETY PROJECT, INC.
The exact number of Che’s Cuban victims has not been verified, but include people he personally
executed and those put to death under his orders. Che’s biographers consistently report that he sent
thousands to the firing squad. Over 4,000 deaths are documented to have taken place in Cuba, mostly
firing squad execution, in the first three years after Fidel Castro’s takeover (1959-1962). Che Guevara
was one of the regime’s chief executioners during this period and is said to have acknowledged ordering
"several thousand" executions. All took place without affording the victims fair trials and due process of law.
The following list is not exhaustive and only includes cases for which historic reference is known. Names are
cited as reported; dates and additional details for most are available. Combat deaths caused by Che in Cuba
and killings in countries where he led guerrilla operations have not been tallied.
14 executed by Che in the Sierra Maestra during the anti-Batista guerrilla struggle (1957-1958):
1. ARISTIDIO 2. MANUEL CAPITÁN 3. JUAN CHANG 4. “BISCO” ECHEVARRÍA 5. ECHEVARRÍA BROTHER #1
6. ECHEVARRÍA BROTHER #2 7. EUTIMIO GUERRA 8. DIONISIO LEBRIGIO 9. JUAN LEBRIGIO 10. “EL NEGRO” NÁPOLES
11. “CHICHO” OSORIO 12. ONE UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER (“EL MAESTRO) 13.-14. 2 UNIDENTIFIED PEASANTS
10 executed in Santa Clara at Che’s orders in only two days (January 1959):
1. RAM"N ALBA 2. JOSÉ BARROSO 3. JOAQUÍN CASILLAS 4. FÉLIX CRUZ 5. ALEJANDRO GARCÍA OLAY"N
6. HÉCTOR MIRABAL 7. J. MIRABAL 8. FÉLIX MONTANO 9. CORNELIO ROJAS 10. VILALLA
156 executed at La Cabaña Fortress prison at Che Guevara’s orders:
1. VILAU ABREU 2. HUMBERTO AGUIAR 3. GERMÁN AGUIRRE 4. PELAYO ALAY"N 5. JOSÉ LUIS ALFARO
6. PEDRO ALFARO 7. MARIANO ALONSO 8. JOSÉ ALVARO 9. ANIELLA 10. MARIO ARES POLO
11. JOSÉ RAM"N BACALLAO 12. CEVERINO BARRIOS 13. EUGENIO BÉCQUER 14. FRANCISCO BÉCQUER
15. RAM"N BISCET 16. ROBERTO CALZADILLA 17. EUFEMIO CANO 18. JUAN CAPOTE FIALLO
19. ANTONIO CARRALERO 20. GERTRUDIS CASTELLANOS 21. JOSÉ CASTA'O QUEVEDO 22. RAÚL CASTA'O
23. EUFEMIO CHALA 24. JOSÉ CHAMACE 25. JOSÉ CHAMIZO 26. RAÚL CLAUSELL 27. ÁNGEL CLAUSELL
28. DEMETRIO CLAUSELL 29. JOSÉ CLAUSELL 30. ELOY CONTRERAS 31. ALBERTO CORBO 32. EMILIO CRUZ
33. JUAN FELIPE CRUZ 34. ORESTES CRUZ 35. HUMBERTO CUEVAS 36. CUNY 37. ANTONIO DE BECHE
38. MATEO DELGADO 39. ARMANDO DELGADO 40. RAM"N DESPAIGNE 41. JOSÉ DÍAZ CABEZAS
42. ANTONIO DUARTE 43. RAM"N FERNÁNDEZ OJEDA 44. RUDY FERNÁNDEZ 45. FERRÁN ALFONSO
46. SALVADOR FERRERO 47. VICTOR FIGUEREDO 48. EDUARDO FORTE 49. UGARDE GALÁN
50. RAFAEL GARCÍA MU'IZ 51. ADALBERTO GARCÍA 52. ALBERTO GARCÍA 53. JACINTO GARCÍA
54. EVELIO GASPAR 55. ARMADA GIL Y DIEZ CABEZAS 56. JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ MALAG"N 57. EVARISTO GONZÁLEZ
58. EZEQUIEL GONZÁLEZ 59. SECUNDINO GONZÁLEZ 60. RICARDO GRAO 61. BONIFACIO GRASSO
62. RICARDO JOSÉ GRAU 63. OSCAR GUERRA 64. JULIÁN HERNÁNDEZ 65. FRANCISCO HERNÁNDEZ LEYVA
66. ANTONIO HERNÁNDEZ 67. GERARDO HERNÁNDEZ 68. OLEGARIO HERNÁNDEZ 69. SECUNDINO HERNÁNDEZ
70. JESÚS INSUA 71. ENRIQUE IZQUIERDO 72. OSMÍN JORRÍN 73. SILVINO JUNCO 74. ENRIQUE LA ROSA
75. IGNACIO LASAPARLA 76. JESÚS LAZO 77. ARIEL LIMA LAGO 78. RAÚL L"PEZ VIDAL 79. ARMANDO MAS
80. ENERLIO MATA 81. ELPIDIO MEDEROS 82. JOSÉ MEDINAS 83. JOSÉ MESA 84. FIDEL MESQUÍA
85. JUAN MILIÁN 86. FRANCISCO MIRABAL 87. LUIS MIRABAL 88. ERNESTO MORALES 89. PEDRO MOREJ"N
90. DR. CARLOS MUI'O, MD. 91. CÉSAR NECOLARDES ROJAS 92. VICTOR NECOLARDES ROJAS 93. JOSÉ NU'EZ
94. VITERBO O'RREILLY 95. FÉLIX OVIEDO 96. MANUEL PANEQUE 97. PEDRO PEDROSO 98. RAFAEL PEDROSO
99. DIEGO PÉREZ CUESTA 100. JUAN PÉREZ 101. DIEGO PÉREZ CRELA 102. JOSÉ POZO 103. EMILIO PUEBLA
104. ALFREDO PUPO 105. SECUNDINO RAMÍREZ 106. RAM"N RAMOS 107. PABLO RAVELO 108. RUBÉN REY
109. MARIO RISQUELME 110. FERNANDO RIVERA 111. PABLO RIVERA 112. MANUEL RODRÍGUEZ
113. MARCOS RODRÍGUEZ 114. NEMESIO RODRÍGUEZ 115. PABLO RODRÍGUEZ 116. RICARDO RODRÍGUEZ
117. JOSÉ SALDARA 118. PEDRO SANTANA 119. SERGIO SIERRA 120. JUAN SILVA 121. FAUSTO SILVA
122. ELPIDIO SOLER 123. JESÚS SOSA BLANCO 124. RENATO SOSA 125. SERGIO SOSA 126. PEDRO SOTO
127. OSCAR SUÁREZ 128. RAFAEL TARRAGO 129. TEODORO TELLEZ CISNEROS 130. FRANCISCO TELLEZ
131. JOSÉ TIN 132. FRANCISCO TRAVIESO 133. LEONARDO TRUJILLO 134. TRUJILLO 135. LUPE VALDÉS BARBOSA
136. MARCELINO VALDÉS 137. ANTONIO VALENTÍN 138. MANUEL VÁZQUEZ 139. SERGIO VÁZQUEZ 140. VERDECIA
141. DÁMASO ZAYAS
*15 additional executions were reported by The New York Times (on 2/6/59, 2/8/59, 3/16/59, and 4/2/59),
but names are unknown.
Next time you rock your Che shirt, ask yourself - What do I really know about Che?
the devolution of evolutionary theory
evolution= any process of formation or growth; development.
big bang = a theory that deduces a cataclysmic birth of the universe (big bang) from the observed expansion of the universe
In other words, something that was once a WHOLE, exploded and from this explosion onward we find the absolute root of the theory of evolution. In other words, destruction as evolution - a seeming paradox.
Take a coffee mug, for example. Or for that matter, a cherry bomb. Both have certain qualities as whole objects. The mug holds liquid, the cherry bomb holds potential energy, in the form of explosive powder. But when we smash a mug to the ground, or light the firework and it explodes, is the logical process that we sense a type of EVOLUTION of the objects? Is the mug now a super-mug, able to hold more or hold hotter liquids or walk, talk, or make sandwiches? Does a broken, shattered coffee mug take a step towards becoming a coffee maker or an espresso machine? Does a detonated cherry bomb take a step towards becoming a grenade or a rocket ship?
Do they not, in fact, take steps backward? Does explosion not precurse a De-evolution or ENTROPY ; a decline from the previous state? The mug becomes REDUCED to ceramic shards, a cherry bomb to fragments of paper and dust. The big bang to exploded scraps, albeit large and relatively (to such small beings as men) powerful ones.
Now, the lay evolutionist has two options. One, evolution came from a single speck of space dust that later became the big bang ball. But if this were the layman's truth, it should follow suit that we'd have a much neater, clearer and more specific term for this than the 'big bang.' For certainly as it stands now, its not called the space dust theory, nor probably does the layperson have access to the "proofs" of such a position. We find our "proofs" for the big bang from the expansion of the universe, red and blue stars, etc. Option one leaves the evolutionist's concept of big bang as a theory to be re-worked.
Option two is not much better i'm afraid. It would imply that from spacedust came an "evolution" of sorts into a massive (complete and perfect?) ball of energy which in turn exploded (devolved?) into our present situation. This could be true, but again requires a reworking of the theory of evolution. Evoltuion would then consist of a microcosmic beginning (dust) to a macrocosmic peak (big bang) and then BACK TO a finite amount of microcosmic matter being spewed across space ON WHICH it were possible to "evolve" again from single cell to antelope to human mind. Evolution would no longer be evolution. It would be a theory half expressed. There would be no evolution so to speak without its opposite side, devolution ; or the decline unto death. And in fact, in light of the circumstances of the bang - it seems our universe's expansion will one day run out of force and energy and stagnate, much as a shattered glass rests in pieces after a moment of scattering.
So ask yourself; is the universe evolving or winding down? Why are humans considered the more evolved of apes? Apes never destroyed their own planet... birds never developed biological weapons.... who's to say intellect isn't a curse? Loneliness, depression, self-realized inadequacies??? You don't often hear of chimpanzees jumping off buildings in their self-conscious despair.
This is exactly where science can be witnessed and seen for the frail, finicky old trickster that it is. Men claim allegiance to science as the Ultimate Explanation and then two weeks later, theories change and man's explanatory belief changes with it. YET he refuses to stop worshipping the concept of his own intelligence as Ultimate. The new scientific facts quickly become assimilated into our old collective understanding of science under the guise of an evolution of our knowledge and theories of how things work as a whole. But by this very definition, man will always be chasing His tail - we will never master the Perfect understanding or attain to the ultimate Knowledge and therefore our 'science' always has an "out." Science can be wrong one hundred out of one hundred times because it is never perfectly right, YET still be seen as infallible by all those men who ignorantly hold all those theories as Ultimate PROOF and Ultimate SCIENTIFIC FACT.
The only thing ultimate about science is that ultimately it will never be right because, ultimately, it depends on man's CURRENT and FLEXIBLE interpretation of his surroundings. Ultimately, man will never be perfect and therefore, science can never be as wholly reliable as men mistakenly believe it is.
protest parties
im sitting here watching cspan's live coverage of the protest in washington... been watching it for like a half hour or so.
there's a few things that strike me off the bat. One, it seems that much hasnt changed since my days of rolling around chicago with a gimungous beard and an african drum, marching with the wto protest that drew thousands of lefties at the time... trying to match the intensity or capture the "moment" of the wto protest turned incident in seattle.
fashion. its so damn fashionable to be at these protests. Im not discounting people's hearts for justice here, but its a commentary on the state of the mentality of the "movement." and i think its always been. the hippies of the 60s were cool as COOL in their time. if you werent with them , you were a "square." and its the same echoing now in a way. albeit not to that magnetude. but watching the cameras pan through the crowd, one can see the perpetuation of cool dripping off their outfits and their accessories. and if a movement is rooted about being cool, i think that its important to remember that coolness is a trend, always changing and never staying for long. even the big movement of the 60s, credited with ending the vietnam war, became tired and old and people moved on. by the time the 70s came through, i bet many of the same acid dropping hippies were running around doing trendy cokelines and listening to bullsh!t like funkytown and you can ring my bell.
its too trendy. thats why i went to the wto. everyone was doing it and there was a sense of perpetual boredom in our lives mixed with the possibility of impending excitement or change and I bought it. but, to me, it was more to be seen. more to check out the cute hippie chicks and be cool and play my drum and rock my cool beard and meet other dudes jamming out with drums and whatever. where else can you find that kind of a cross-section of like-minded people hanging out together in such numbers and in such proximity? its like the best party i'd ever went to.
the protest party.
anyway, aside from that i was listening to the speakers. God knows im not a Jon Stewart disciple or a Steven Colbare (sp?) spawn... and while i do view much of the left as being unknowingly influenced by media outlets like the daily show and colbare report, i wanted to hear something new or fresh or interesting or worthwhile from these supposed leaders of the protesting left. [who owns comedy central btw? its become the leftist version of the Fox News conservatorium for the perpetuation of right wing views.]
But they didnt have a whole lot to say. Every single speaker had a chant that was often times sounding longwinded and forced, receiving little crowd participation.
basically i learned this:
hugo chavez is apparently the new Che Gueverra.
george bush is the worst tyrant _EVER_. Well, number 3, behind napoleon and hitler.
the rapture is not an exit stategy.
no more US intervention anywhere ever.
1. Hugo Chavez has more bushisms than George Bush. I especially like the one about how "his only regret is never getting to meet [said author of an anti-america book] because he's dead." hmm. homedude was alive. I forget his name and am too lazy to look it up but if you've put up with my crap long enough, you should go to google and find it in two seconds if you're interested. its called harnassing support from the frustrated left. just "rank on" Bush like in an 8th grade studyhall and support is bound to flock by the drove. im going to be the first to put chavez's face in a communist beret style gueverra shirt. and then im going to a protest and just ring off the phone numbers.
2. thats great. ignorance disguised behind a socially acceptable propaganda trend. Whatever happened to Nero, Herod, Slobodan milosevic, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Lyndon Johnson (???), Josef Stalin, Mussolini, Franco, numerous pharoahs, numerous roman emperors, numerous conquistadors, numerous leaders of empires.... but yeah, lets grab two dudes napoleon and hitler and shove bush in there without thinking twice because we're damn ignornant and thats whats cool and thats what we've been told so lets regurgitate it.
3. heh
4. yeah no US intervention until the next time your country is being overrun by guerillas or somebody and people are being slaughtered by the hundreds for being islamic or christian or non-communist or whatver. then you bet you'll be on the phone all day trying to ring up the US ambassador to your country, crapping your pants with a feverish hope that they'll come to your rescue... if we went in iraq for the supposed reason of ending human rights violations (look up the statistics on the Hussein regime), tim robbins and susan serandan wouldve been so close to the white house people'd have thought THEY were vice president. hotel rwanda shows how the international world failed to stop the genocide in rwanda and lefties all agree we should have. but when we leave iraq and there's civil war and genocide, will we eventually have to go back in because of the left's oft changing mind and the idea that the stage is set for bloody civil war and genocide over there already? will we leave only to be back? will the left end up coming under fire for "voting" to leave iraq if it only ends up making things worse over there? what if people start holding up signs showing hollywood bighitters and accusing them of failing to stop a mass genocide when they had the chance? will the tables turn?
who knows. im tired and dont care. im not a republican. im just waiting for my exit strategy to come through.... (not really)
