I was wanting to make a rousing argument about the hypocrisy of the right via a quote by Huckabee (judge man judge – you’ve obviously earned that right, and you’re an idiot)…but again…can’t be arsed…So here’s some unrelated link instead:
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/denial-science-chris-mooney
So the right likes death panels as long as they’re on the panel…
sick of republicans…
An interview with Mark Pauly, father of the individual mandate
(G.W. Bush administration)
http://voices.washhttp://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2011/02/an_interview_with_mark_pauly_t.htmlingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2011/02/an_interview_with_mark_pauly_t.html
and one of the articles linked from that article….
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2010/February/23/GOP-1993-health-reform-bill.aspx
is it really Friday already?
That was the fastest week ever!!! I guess I was busy at work…Love it!!!
So this week it seems that everyone is suddenly in favour of the bush doctrine (even if Bush wasn’t – see palestine 2006, or Condi’s latters comments re: Mubarek)…I keep finding that in my attempts to elevate conversation about current events I end up unintentionally killing conversations. I’m pretty sure this is cuz I know more about US foreign policy than anyone I’ve chatted with of late 🙂
I don’t often praise myself, but I think I’ve earned it with my genius insight…
Of course I’m quite in favour of Democracy, and as usual am sick of US hypocrisy in foreign policy…as I’ve always been…Not just this week (which just this week seems to be the rule)…
Anyways I say give ’em all democracy along with sex, drugs and rock n roll!!!
oh and…Free Palestine…power to the people!!!
if I don’t make an entry for a few days I think my mom assumes I’m dead…
It doesn’t matter how boring it is, I just have to post something…
So Wednesday was a holiday (Random Holiday Generator – beepboopbeep…bllliiiiiiiiiiippp….Immaculate conception…awesome!!!)
Random holiday generator can only mean Tuesday is a big night…it started with raw sausage (yeah…it’s a local specialty I’m told) and ended with me crashing at a friends…in between there was cooked meat…a horribly halfhearted smash-stab attempt in the street, followed by some dude getting slapped in the street by some cuban girl, and then we visited a possible mafia hangout ;).
People seemed to be angry on Tuesday night…luckily I was only a witness…but it was pretty funny!
Here’s the raw pig…
someone smash-stabbed this pig...
Also went to a cafe show with Daniele and Leo. The guy was really really good. I’ve seen two cafe shows and both times the guitarist exhibited his (Italian) mastery of pedals. This guy had a suitcase full of pedals for a solo show. They are fond of effects that loop a riff so they can solo.
There’s still something a bit fake to it for me…but he was quite good and playing solo so I’ll forgive him. After the show I was kind of depressed because he was playing only covers and I had to wonder why he wasn’t playing his own stuff. It was sad that he couldn’t get a gig playing his own stuff…or maybe he chose not too…
Other than that there’s nothing…Berger is coming for a visit en
d of the month. I wonder how long until he starts asking where he can buy fireworks 😉
Also a great week for American politics…Bernie Sanders is my hero…If I ever have to live in the states again I hope it’s Vermont.
Putin calls for Assange to get the Nobel…classico!!! I assume it’s Hillary with the tough stance. If they want to make a martyr of Assange (by that I mean any attempt at prosecution) I don’t think it will bode well for America. By their hypocrisy they’ve already lost face. No more credibility on human rights, free press, dissident persecution, no more lecturing Iran, no more lecturing China, no more lecturing Russia etc…I assume Obama will overrule Hillary (I’m not sure what I’m basing that on) and pullback a bit…
I’d love to have some great music to post here, but unfortunately I only have a great song attached to a controversial video…you probably won’t like this unless you’re a MM fan…
Jefferson defends Assange…
Cherry picked Jefferson quotes:
“No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions.” –Thomas Jefferson to John Tyler, 1804. ME 11:33
“I am… for freedom of the press, and against all violations of the Constitution to silence by force and not by reason the complaints or criticisms, just or unjust, of our citizens against the conduct of their agents.” –Thomas Jefferson to Elbridge Gerry, 1799. ME 10:78
“[This is] a country which is afraid to read nothing, and which may be trusted with anything, so long as its reason remains unfettered by law.” –Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Milligan, 1816. ME 14:463
“Our people, merely for want of intelligence which they may rely on, are become lethargic and insensible of the state they are in.” –Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1777. ME 4:288, Papers 2:19
“The materials now bearing on the public mind will infallibly restore it to its republican soundness… if the knowledge of facts can only be disseminated among the people.” –Thomas Jefferson to Archibald Stuart, 1799. ME 10:104
Shouldn’t it be the right who is upset about “the government” commiting crimes and keeping secrets from its peoples? Instead it seems they are pushing america down the path towards being another Islamic republic. Ron Paul excluded (of course)…
Ron Paul: “In a free society, we are supposed to know the truth. In a society where truth becomes treason, we are in big trouble.”
who doesn’t love an uninterrupted 50 minute in-depth interview?
I enjoyed this interview way more than I thought I would. At least enough to embed it here…I’m sure my european friends won’t understand, but for the yanks have a look…
not sure this is interesting…
so this week I saw a doctor and an optometrist…Apparently Italian law dictates that if you have a job the company has to handle getting you an eye exam and a half-physical at least once every two years…ummm OK….The only thing I can think is that if you go to your own Dr. for a visit there’s some kind of Dr./Client privilege, but if the company handles the arrangements then the company gets to know what the doc finds…Okey Dokey…the optometrist was not interesting, but the GP type doc was pretty cool…he’s some kind of crazy hippy. He spent 5 minutes talking with me and then listened to my heart, lungs, asked me to Aaaahhh while he shined a light down my throat and did the same with my eyes. I’m not sure how that really benefits the company…but allright…I was being paid for the visit since it was during the workday.
I’m seeing Mel in Florence this weekend…that’s pretty cool. I’m excited…Mel’s a friend from Frankfurt (via Oz)…
My favourite opening to a song that I heard this week:
Frida Hyvonen: “One day I wasn’t drunk and the sun was shining straight…”
That’s one of my favourite opening song lines ever!!! That’s awesome…
In America democracy is the tyranny of a half minority (old white folk)…(as opposed to the idea that democracy is the tyranny of the majority). Man I dislike America…Of course with Burlesque Tony’s antics (fucking 17 y.0. whores…and I suppose 18 y.o. whores, and 19 y.o. whores…etc… – as well as his general crookedness – changing laws for his own benefit etc) I couldn’t exactly say I’m fond of Italian politicians either…Maybe the Greeks really did have it right…picking random people to run for offices…i.e. Pick random people off the street to run for Senate, councils, prefectures, firemen, judges, engineers etc…
I’m sure I don’t have that exactly right 😉 but go with it…
pick 100 random people off the street (non-politicians) and let the voters choose between these 100 random people as to who would be the best fit for a particular office…no career politicians here…
In fact I think I proposed a long time ago that there should just be some kind of questionnaire/test that determines your fit-fullness for office and just give voters the scores and details of that test (to determine tempermant, openess to new ideas, willingness to compromise, conservativeness, etc) without identifying the name of the person they’re voting for or how they feel about certain specific issues…Just vote for the person who you think would be best for a specific post based on their test scores…
No politicians (what kind of loser actually wants to be a politican anyways?), no BS, no campaigning…
“The people” might actually end up with the Best and Brightest of society instead of pandering, unthinking idiots…but then again if we were voting according to my plan then most people would just continue to be ignorant and vote according to what their TV, or religious figure, or boss, or neighbours told them too…
I guess that means I can conclude the problem isn’t the people running for office, but the people voting for the people running for office…You suck americans!
Day of the dead and all that…
Busy weekend I think…tomorrow going to the Comics and animation fest in Lucca (with a probably sleepover at Matteo’s) and then to Florence on Sunday for halloween (party at some hostel “filled with American girls”). Followed be a sleepover at Leo’s.
Nevermind that I don’t find american girls at hostels interesting…and I suppose they feel the same about me…
I’ll have a go anyways…Back here on Monday or Tuesday…
Monday is a holiday…November 1…Day of the dead (I think it’s called). I guess it’s another Catholic thing…When I was still in Portland I had a Mexican colleague and he told me that it was a day of remembering your ancestors. The families all go to the graves of the dead ones and pretty much throw a party…food…drinks…candles…memories…etc…etc…etc…et al.
I have noone to celebrate, but if I wander upon a cemetary I’ll stop in…I am fond of cemetaries.
I will have both cameras with me (I was told that at the comic fest there will be lots of pictures to be had)…cemetery pics are probably more exciting, but time will tell 🙂
On a completely unrelated note…
I found this interesting: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/11/01/101101fa_fact_hersh?currentPage=1
but it’s a topic I like to follow…
I don’t really have the energy of focus to tie this into the “internet kill switch” (which may or may not have anything to do with national security) and then to even further tie this into a joke about americans who are oblivious to important issues (such as the link, or terrorism, or climate change, or hypocrisy) until something critical happens at which point said americans would find a way to assign blame to someone “else”…These are the same people who blame our fine President Obama for the economy but it has never even crossed their mind that they should blame Bush for 2001…
The single biggest single-payer socialist medical system in the world is in the United States: Medicare. Untouchable. Defended by Republicans. But it’s more socialist than the German health care system.
and a couple articles
http://www.salon.com/books/nonfiction/index.html?story=/books/feature/2010/08/25/german_usa_working_life_ext2010
I don’t like this articles cuz it sort of makes Obama sound like something other than a republican…
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2013683,00.html?xid=huffpo-direct
At some little pub down the street they had an amazing jazz singer and guitarist. In Italy I’ve seen exactly 3 shows. 2 Jazz bands I stumbled onto (both of which were quite good) and 1 irish band that sang 90% in Italian and 10 percent in English (I guess the 10% were Pogues covers tho).