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Dream of Euripides

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
The Dream Of Euripides Is Dying
By Jim Kirwan
January 22, 2009
The symbol for Ecology was created by Euripides; it was a simple circle with a single horizontal line through the middle. In this version of that idea the world is portrayed in two extremes: in the upper portion of the painting the world seems almost idyllic; proportional; and livable with breathing room, clean water, and real possibilities without apparent limits.
The Death of Euripides Dream

The Death of Euripides Dream

In the lower half, concealed from what we think of as our opportunities; we can see what we have made of that bright vision of that fantasy world above. Pollution, oil pumps, the roots of the world amid the chaos of our failures and the trash we so abundantly produce in mega-volumes. That is what we have allowed ‘the developed world’ to become:
A world composed of “NO” and “DON’T” and “STOP.” It is a world without light or grace or freedom of any kind. It is the underbelly of unchecked capitalism as we practice it and as we worship the material- philosophy with an incessant and nearly religious ‘consumerism.’
The tarnished ring and its crossbar, hold three-hundred and sixty writhing bodies; one for each degree in the circle of life, which this tired photograph barely indicates. The smaller circle that interrupts the horizontal is about the quality of life which this new ‘ecology’ creates for individuals…
On the left is the architecture of the world in Orwell’s “1984″ in poverty, with a permanent television screen overseeing every vital facet of everyday breathing. On the right is the world of Norman Rockwell and the Christian ideal of home and hearth and love that almost never was.
There was such promise for the human race, had we but left the roads of simple commerce and chosen to make our own paths while deciding for ourselves, about what kind of world we could inhabit. But most did not do that-instead we followed the pre-planned roads and highways designed for us by the most corrupt; the greediest among us that have lead us-into what is now becoming almost a living hell on earth.
Long after Vietnam the public became outraged when it finally discovered what Agent Orange really was, beyond the simple herbicide that it was billed as. That took twenty years to become a reality for most Americans;but when you realize how much damage is done by Depleted Uranium bullets and shells and bombs as well as phosphorous and DIME weaponry along with “tactical battlefield nukes” that are being used by the US and Israel in all their various wars-it’s clear that Agent Orange was almost harmless by comparison.
460,000 have come back from Afghanistan and Iraq with some form of damage, much of it due in some measure to either our policies or the vaccines, not to mention the policies of the Pentagon that still fail to treat or care for most of those that have come home broken in some way. This too thoroughly destroys the ecology of life on this planet, as surely as pollution can kill, and the toxins can destroy the body from within while the black-ops policies and programs destroy concentration and thought along with sanity in many cases. Ecology is not something that can be compartmentalized and treated as one might try and treat a headache. Ecology is balance pure and simple: between the planet we depend on for our lives, and the way we use or abuse that world, all of this becomes part of the ‘ecology’ that will determine both the quality and the length of life for most of us that are still alive today.
In addition to everything else, we now have Chemtrails and all those horrors which that continuing-crime bestows upon the global population. Under the weight of all these new barbaric poisons, human immune systems around the globe are beginning to break down.
“This winter of discontent, the New England states have been hit with one after another particularly strange snowstorms. The previous 2007-08 winter was also similar. The snow smells full of chemicals, as it comes down uniformly and looks like manufactured snow that is used on ski slopes (i.e., fluffy, packed powder).
Sometimes, the falling snow stops abruptly, and does not trail off, as it used to do. It is definitely not the same snow that, for millions of years, used to be provided by Mother Nature, in all her magnificence.
Snow is now provided by the US military, the Pentagon, and commercial planes especially equipped to dump on us highly toxic aerosols, from various altitudes. No doubt, these chemical mixtures are created in some secret US bio-weapons laboratory. With enormous egotistical hubris, the Air Force is already on record as saying that they “want to own the weather by 2025.” No longer a Star Trek or Star Wars movie fantasy, some of this is already a reality with the now more than 60 Clandestine Weather Modification programs that assault us daily. Despite this, there is a weather news blackout about Chemtrails. The exception is meteorologist Kevin Martin who reports Chemtrails on his website.”
There is also this devastating eight minute video that outlines the crimes of the last eight years, in which there are a number of major references to the ecological damage that has played such a huge part in the entire criminal-enterprise, which the corporation that is the United States, has now become. It is writ large in these last eight years, as described so well by Keith Olbermann.

To look at the nineteen-sixties is to remind ourselves of the central role of ecology in life itself: It just seems like such a short time to go from dreaming about a world of balance and ecological sustainability; to the dung-heap and toxic waste-bin that this planet has become today, in every area that counts!
Empires have been with us almost from our earliest beginnings, and yet it seems that empires, and the mindless thugs they breed, have never had much use for sustainability in any form. Apparently this is what will finally reduce the species back to near extinction; and perhaps the greatest crime of all was that none of this was ever really ‘necessary.’
kirwanstudios@sbcglobal.net

Source

Vanishing legal aid?

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

Interest Rate Drop Has Dire Results for Legal Aid

By ERIK ECKHOLM
Published: January 18, 2009
Pedro Luis Beato of a legal aid society, left, representing a client in Housing Court in Lynn, Mass.

Pedro Luis Beato of a legal aid society, left, representing a client in Housing Court in Lynn, Mass.

BOSTON — Scores of legal aid societies that help poor people with noncriminal cases — like disputes over foreclosures, evictions and eligibility for unemployment benefits — are being forced to cut their staffs and services, even as requests for help have soared.

In an odd twist, the societies have been hit hard by the Federal Reserve’s steep reduction of its benchmark interest rate, which finally plunged last month to near zero.

The rate decline, though generally welcomed as a blow against the recession, has had an unplanned and severe effect on legal aid societies, which depend heavily on revenues that are tied to the federal funds rate. As recently as 2007, the rate was more than 5 percent and legal aid agencies reaped more than $200 million for their operations.

Now, for many legal aid groups across the country, cutbacks in staffing are expected to reach 20 percent or more over the coming months, even as requests for their services have risen by 30 percent or more.

Legal aid groups have long benefited from little-known programs that draw interest earned from short-term deposits that lawyers hold in trust for clients during, for example, real estate transactions or personal injury payouts. The interest is mainly donated to legal services for the poor.

But as the federal funds rate declined along with the number of real estate transactions, the payout has fallen precipitously. And beleaguered state governments are also curbing their aid.

The director of Connecticut Legal Services, Steven Eppler-Epstein, said that local agencies were already giving out pink slips and that 50 of 150 legal positions statewide might be lost.

Equal representation under the law is a myth. The poor have never had a fair shot when it comes to the law. We all know that the person who can afford the most or best lawyers always wins in this country.

Even when the world knows they did it, the rich get to walk away from the messes they make all the time. Hell, Cheney shot a guy in the face, and wound up being apologized to for it. I don’t care how rich and powerful you are, if you shot me anywhere, I would shoot your ass back and go to prison. It would be worth it.

Media Monkeys…

Monday, January 19th, 2009

I love that phrase, “media monkeys”. That’s the picture from Paul Craig Roberts in this piece from Rense.com.

News networks media monkeys.

News networks media monkeys.

Here are a few quotes from “Difficulty Of Being An Informed American”By Paul Craig Roberts:

…If people intend to be informed, they must turn to foreign news broadcasts, to Internet sites, to foreign newspapers available on the Internet, or to alternative newspapers…
…A person who sits in front of Murdoch’s Fox “News” or CNN or who reads the New York Times is simply being brainwashed with propaganda.

Before conservatives nod their heads in agreement, I’m not referring to “the liberal media.” I mean the propaganda that issues from the US government and the Israel Lobby.

It is the same propagandistic American print and TV media that have rationalized Bush’s illegal invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan based on seven years of lies and deception.

It is the same media that today provides only Israeli propaganda as “coverage” of the Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

It was the New York Times that spiked, for one year, the leaked information from the National Security Agency that the Bush regime, in violation of US law, was illegally spying on Americans without warrants. The “liberal” New York Times agreed to suppress the story so that Bush would not face re-election under the cloud of his outlaw behavior.

Conservatives think the Washington Post is “liberal media” despite the fact that the editorial and commentary pages are controlled by neocons and their sympathizers.

Conservatives still blame the “liberal” media for losing the Vietnam war, when in fact all the media did was to provide some truthful reports that opened some American eyes.

When the truth cuts against the position of the US government, conservatives see it as “liberal.”

When propaganda supports the government’s lies, conservatives see it as “patriotic.”

Journalists disappeared from media management and were replaced by corporate advertising executives

The function of editors is to make certain that no uncomfortable information reaches the public.

People ask me where they can get reliable information. I tell them that their goal cannot be reached without their commitment of time.

…English language foreign broadcasts, such as Iran’s Press TV, Russia Today, or Al Jazeera, can get get news and insights from those parts of the world demonized by the US media.

The BBC World Service still reports facts while covering itself by providing the views of the US, UK, and Israeli governments.

Both the Asia Times and Israeli newspapers, such as Haaretz can be read online in English. There are other such newspapers, and all of them provide information that Americans will never see in their own media.

The free press Americans have today is online and in the alternative media.

The function of the “mainstream media” is to sell products and to brainwash the audience for the government and interest groups. By subscribing to it, Americans support their own brainwashing.

Paul Craig Roberts was associate editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, columnist for Business Week, and columnist for the Scripps Howard Newspapers.

Blunt and honest, that’s how I like it. People do seem to be waking up, but way too many Americans still believe in Faux News. Until everyone gets the truth, democracy is never going to work the way we idealize it.
Roberts mentions the time commitment needed to be well informed, but the truth is a great many Americans simply don’t have the time to hunt down the truth. They watch a few minutes of Fox/Faux News while getting themselves and/or children ready for the day. By the time they get home from work (if they don’t have to head to a second job) there’s dinner to make, homework to help with and housework still to be done. We have to trust our media to inform us, because honestly, most of us are simply too tired to spend hours each day looking for the truth.
Faux/Fox News logo

Faux/Fox News logo

Martial Law?

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Even though we’re coming up on the inauguration of our first African-American POTUS, the state of our country, our freedoms and ideals continues to come under attack. If you think we live in a truly “free” country, you obviously aren’t paying attention.

For instance, did you know we were hiring ex-KGB personnel to serve in our Homeland Security? I didn’t know that, and I don’t think I like it. Here’s what Jim Kirwan had to say over at rense.com:

BART serves nine Bay-Area counties in Northern California that together comprise the fourth largest population center in this country. People in these nine counties are now under Martial Law; at least when they board a BART train. The Bay Area Rapid Transit District is not a transportation agency it is a commuter service, owned and operated by the federal government. Consequently BART’s rules for keeping order do not come from city or county officials, but from the State and from the Federal government. Bart Police have modeled themselves on the worst components of the thugs that work for HOMELAND Security. Peace officers are not “Troops.” Bart police have copied the Nazi SS in manner, in demeanor and now in their public behavior toward the American people.

The federal connection here is important: “It should be noted that on March 17, 2003 Bush hired “the former head of the KGB (the secret police of the former Soviet Union), General Yevgeni Primakov,” as a consultant to the US Department of Homeland Security.

Primakov with Madeleine Albright

Primakov with Madeleine Albright

Primakov joined another Russian, Oleg Kalugin, KGB (Ret) with the Department of State Security, also as a part of Homeland Security. On January 1, 2005 Kalugin was replaced with the infamous and sinister Silver Fox himself (his former CIA code name), Gen. Markus Wolf. “Wolf was the head of the  international intelligence gathering arm (HVA) of East Germany’s Ministry for State Security, or Stasi.”

This went a long way toward perfecting the spying and wiretapping of the entire USA, and insured that Americans would become the next victims of State Terrorism ala the USSR and Communist East Germany.”
(1) Read the rest of Jim’s article here.

Well now, isn’t that a nice warm blanket to wrap yourself up in on a cold night? Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, oh wait, maybe that’s the free kool-aid kicking in now.

help yourselves and your bosses is more likely

The Passing of Green Party Leader Bill Holloway

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
Texas Green Party's Bill Holloway

Texas Green Party's Bill Holloway

The Green Party of Texas mourns the tragic loss of Bill Holloway. Bill was a dedicated leader who was currently serving as the Co-Chair of the Travis County Green Party in Austin, TX. He will be missed as a mentor and a friend.

Through his kind-hearted activism, Bill touched the lives of so many people. He was an active Green Party contributor at the local, state and national levels. Bill served on numerous committees in the Green Party and in other organizations as well.

Bill Holloway passed away unexpectedly last weekend at his home in Austin, Texas. Given the unexpected nature of his death, we know many will have questions regarding details. Out of respect for Bill, his family, and his lengthy legacy of community service, we hope you understand our reluctance to speculate and request that others will also be circumspect in their communication.

Our heart-felt condolences go out to all of Bill’s friends and family. Bill was a very special person who will be sorely missed.

There will be a memorial service in Austin, TX, on Friday, January 16, and his funeral will be in Oklahoma City, OK, on Wednesday, January 14.

For the memorial, a book is being compiled for his parents. If you would like to contribute, please write down a story or memory of Bill, with a photo if you have one and send it to Sondra - lonestarsondra@gmail.com by January 15th. His family never met most of his friends and, we suspect, had no idea of the difference he made in so many lives. The book is being put together to let them know how many people were touched
by and loved him. If the photo and the text can be pasted onto one page, that would be ideal, but whatever people can contribute would be appreciated.

Whatever your beliefs, please keep Bill and his family and vast network of friends in your thoughts, prayers, and/or rituals.

In solidarity,

kat swift
co-chair
Green Party of Texas
210.471.1791 - txt okay
kat@txgreens.org

In memory...

In memory...

About Left News and Views

As a life-long progressive, I have always supported those whose goals are to promote social justice and work for political reform. I believe America should work with other nations to promote peace in the world rather than bludgeon those who would disagree.

My goal in Left News and Views is to expose abuses of our rights as citizens, spotlight hypocrisy in government, and most important in today's world, push to get us out of Iraq and bring our troops home.

Left News and Views Author(s)

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