EVIL vs. GOOD
or
(How to Boil A Frog)
by CodeWarrrior

There's an old saying that if you throw a frog in boiling water he will jump out, but if you put him in a pot of tepid water and slowly increase the heat, you can boil him before he notices the difference. This is the technique called "incrementalism", or, making very small, progressive changes in things so that the changes are not noticeable enough to make the subject react.

I was thinking, how could a strong, individual rights country, become transformed into an evil, fascist state ?

Well, one thing one must do is to attack constitutional rights which protect the individual from being under the thumb of the State. An obvious first target would be the Bill of Rights. You know, freedom of speech , the requirment for a warrant before searching your premises, the protection against being stopped and searched for no reason...those kind of things.

We have seen students who have spoken out against the government, who suddenly become targets of investigation by government investigational bodies. We have seen the establishment of so-called "free speech zones" , wherein protestors must stay if they are going to speak out against the government. We have see five states now legalize warrantless searches of private residences. The Supreme Court has ruled that now, even without probable cause, we all must be ready to "show your papers".

Little changes, here and there, which are said to be instituted in order to further the "war on terrorism". And, how about that right to a speedy trial, and being able to confront your accusers. A lawyer was recently arrested as a "material witness", and under the Patriot Act, can be held without being charged, for basically, an indeterminate period.

We are seeing the dirty little secrets coming out of ABU GHRAIB, which makes the USA look like some dirty, third world nation ruled by a dictator.

The great irony of all this is that our president touted that we were in Iraq to free those Iraqis being raped, murdered, and tortured in ABU GHRAIB...and now, under our
"liberation" we are seeing pictures of torture, and allegedly, there are videos showing murder and rape. And so, how are things better in ABU GHRAIB now that the USA has come to town? Now, some may say, yes, but we are torturing them for a GOOD reason. You really think God looks at this and says, oh, that's the GOOD torture, but Saddam, that was the bad torture?

I typed in the word "torture" in Google, and right there in the top ten, is the United States. When did any of us think that if you typed in "torture" in a search engine, our country would be in the top ten making the news. Now, sure, there have been worse tortures(History Channel rebroadcast their show on the history of torture today), but, allegedly, the videos not shown yet, show rape and murder!

And, one act of torture does NOT make another act of torture correct or understandable. Torture is torture.

Are we at a point in this country that , under the guise of fighting terrorism, that torture of foreigners is OK? And, in that same vein, is it now OK to torture American citizens to "fight terrorism" ?

But, what else is going on. There are right now, efforts to get rid of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.
"POSSE COMITATUS ACT" (18 USC 1385): A Reconstruction Era criminal law proscribing use of Army (later, Air Force) to "execute the laws" except where expressly authorized by Constitution or Congress. Limit on use of military for civilian law enforcement also applies to Navy by regulation. Dec '81 additional laws were enacted (codified 10 USC 371-78) clarifying permissible military assistance to civilian law enforcement agencies--including the Coast Guard--especially in combating drug smuggling into the United States. Posse Comitatus clarifications emphasize supportive and technical assistance (e.g., use of facilities, vessels, aircraft, intelligence, tech aid, surveillance, etc.) while generally prohibiting direct participation of DoD personnel in law enforcement (e.g., search, seizure, and arrests). For example, Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETS) serve aboard Navy vessels and perform the actual boardings of interdicted suspect drug smuggling vessels and, if needed, arrest their crews). Positive results have been realized especially from Navy ship/aircraft involvement."

Dovetailing with the above, General Tommy Franks, in an interview with Cigar Aficionado magazine, revealed that, should another large terrorist action happen here, they would be declaring Martial Law, and that it would probably be made permanent. Martial Law effectively gets rid of our constitutional rights.

http://www.propagandamatrix.com/211103martiallaw.html
"Tommy Franks: Martial Law Will Replace Constitution After Next Terror Attack

Newsmax

Gen. Tommy Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government.

Franks, who successfully led the U.S. military operation to liberate Iraq, expressed his worries in an extensive interview he gave to the men’s lifestyle magazine Cigar Aficionado.

In the magazine’s December edition, the former commander of the military’s Central Command warned that if terrorists succeeded in using a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) against the U.S. or one of our allies, it would likely have catastrophic consequences for our cherished republican form of government.

Discussing the hypothetical dangers posed to the U.S. in the wake of Sept. 11, Franks said that “the worst thing that could happen” is if terrorists acquire and then use a biological, chemical or nuclear weapon that inflicts heavy casualties.

If that happens, Franks said, “... the Western world, the free world, loses what it cherishes most, and that is freedom and liberty we’ve seen for a couple of hundred years in this grand experiment that we call democracy.” "
From an article two years ago, at
www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/27/1027497418339.html
we read :
Foundations are in place for martial law in the US
By Ritt Goldstein
July 27 2002

Recent pronouncements from the Bush Administration and national security initiatives put in place in the Reagan era could see internment camps and martial law in the United States.

When president Ronald Reagan was considering invading Nicaragua he issued a series of executive orders that provided the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with broad powers in the event of a "crisis" such as "violent and widespread internal dissent or national opposition against a US military invasion abroad". They were never used.

But with the looming possibility of a US invasion of Iraq, recent pronouncements by President George Bush's domestic security chief, Tom Ridge, and an official with the US Civil Rights Commission should fire concerns that these powers could be employed or a de facto drift into their deployment could occur.

On July 20 the Detroit Free Press ran a story entitled "Arabs in US could be held, official warns". The story referred to a member of the US Civil Rights Commission who foresaw the possibility of internment camps for Arab Americans. FEMA has practised for such an occasion.

FEMA, whose main role is disaster response, is also responsible for handling US domestic unrest.

From 1982-84 Colonel Oliver North assisted FEMA in drafting its civil defence preparations. Details of these plans emerged during the 1987 Iran-Contra scandal.

They included executive orders providing for suspension of the constitution, the imposition of martial law, internment camps, and the turning over of government to the president and FEMA.

A Miami Herald article on July 5, 1987, reported that the former FEMA director Louis Guiffrida's deputy, John Brinkerhoff, handled the martial law portion of the planning. The plan was said to be similar to one Mr Giuffrida had developed earlier to combat "a national uprising by black militants". It provided for the detention "of at least 21 million American Negroes"' in "assembly centres or relocation camps."

I think, any of us, remembering the days after 9/11 can easily see how , if the President said that Martial Law must be in effect, the Congress would probably rubber stamp it like it did the Patriot Act , which they didn't even read before passing.

Concurrently, with all the other things going on, are the globalist pressures on the USA to act in a "Hive Mind" with the rest of the world. WIPO, FTAA, WTO, GATT, NAFTA, all pulling us into the globalist movement. Outsourcing, regardless of whether a lot of jobs are going overseas, or just a little, is not really as important long term in the amount of jobs that are lost overseas, as it is in getting John Q Public, to get used to the blurring of national boundaries. In Austin Texas, people calling for help with Medicaid, who ask how to get to the Medicaid office, will be talking to someone in India who has no clue how to tell someone to get to the physical office. Our goods are made in China, our tech support is done in India. It's all about blurring the sense of self, the sense of national sovereignty, the sense of solidarity that made our country great.

And, at the same time, to destroy a strong country, you need to polarize the people.
A unified American people who care for each other and who are working in harmony, is tough for a fascist state. So, what you must do is polarize the people. Get them arguing over religion, racial matters, abortion, war, whatever....just so you divide them and keep them suspicious of each other. Then, implement a system in which you encourage citizens to spy on each other. Call it something benign like "Total Information Awareness", and have a military person, and a felon at that, head up the program (someone like they actually picked, John Poindexter). Try to get cable installers, electricians, apartment managers, to be little snitches and report "suspicious activity" to the "authorities". But, when people get concerned, when they catch on, rename it quickly to "Terrorist Information Awareness".

And, by all means, keep the people afraid, because we all know that FEAR is a great weapon of control. I would suggest a "Terrorist Threat Color Code". By that, you can keep people on edge just by announcing occasional color threat upgrades.

And, by all means, you need to keep track of as much as possible about citizens. In Soviet Russia, some of the secret police had large warehouses of bottles, and in these bottles, were items that belonged to different people they were keeping tabs on (they were keeping tabs on a LOT of people). These items like a sock, a shirt, a handkerchief, etc., were kept in airtight jars/bottles to "concentrate the scent" of the person, so if they ever needed to track them, they could expose the items to bloodhounds that could then, follow the scent.

But, thank goodness for technology. Now, the new cellphones have GPS chips so that you can be located anywhere you take your phone (the system works even when the phone is just turned on). And, Wal*Mart is set to lead the way in tracking with the RFID chips that will be implanted in the items they sell. The UPC (universal product code) will give way to the RFID chips (for more see http://www.nocards.org ). Our voting will be much easier to control with touch screen electronic voting (see http://www.blackboxvoting.org).

So, If I were trying to turn this fine country into a fascist state, what would I do?

I would do just what is being done. You attack the constitutional rights of the people. You make people feel paranoid, afraid, like scared frightened children begging for protection, and suddenly, you present as the strong but stern, paternalistic leader, who must take some of their liberties in order to protect them from the undefined boogieman that you assure them is just beyond the edge of the light...just a step into the darkness.

Here in Texas, more and more, stores are being step up to fingerprint you. Already, to renew your driver's license, you must give your thumbprint. I reported not long ago that a "brain fingerprinting" company is being set up here in the United States.

Those of you who find your machine constantly being pinged by corporations and companies around this country and around the world, are seeing the very smallest tip of the data mining iceberg. All around this country, databases are being integrated to give the Government an astounding amount of information about you...your buying habits, your occupation, your home address, your credit scores, and much much more, such that, theoretically, given the GPS locator device on your phone, you could be located just about any time they want to find you.

Of course, they could also enlist the assistance of the "AMBER ALERT" system as well, like something out of a Phillip K. Dick novel from which movies like Paycheck , Minority Report, and Blade Runner were taken, in which they could enlist the public to look for you in every mall, highway, office building...etc.

Lately, I feel like I am holding onto my constitutional rights with my fingertips, and watching them one by one, eroding, or outright being taken away.

Just stop a second and project all these changes to their logical conclusion. The globalist movement, the attempt to getting everyone to snitch on each other, the reporting of our government troops engaging in torture, rape, murder...and the surveillance cameras, Echelon, Carnivore, and more.

"Watch them, limit their freedoms, gather information about them, control them, get them used to losing a national identity, get them used to subjecting themselves to scanning, biometric identification, presenting their papers, being searched without a warrant, being held without being charged ..."

One of the first things tyrants do is try to get control of the news media, and locate the guns which private citizens have. We are seeing renewed efforts at gun control, gun registration, etc..

I feel the water is getting hotter all the time...bubbles are even rising to the surface....but where can we jump, because, we are surrounded with other country/pots in which the water temperature is slowly rising...

Like rust, evil never sleeps.
~CodeWarrior

Apocalypse Again

The recent revalations in Iraq and Afganistan are unacceptable... I came a cross a French article that some will find objectionable, but probably sums up the mood of the rest of the world.

http://bellaciao.org/en/article.php3?id_article=948

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/pdf/0505041report.pdf
53 page report about the torture.

another even worse...

http://www.americanfreepress.net/03_19_04/US_Concentration_Camp/us_concentration_camp.html

Well said. I couldn't agree more.

One way I think we can turn down the heat a little is to dis-integrate the collusion between government and corporations. Make campaign contributions to political candidates by corporations illegal. Several countries already do this.

Orrin Hatch does not introduce absurd, draconian legislation because he thinks it will benefit his constituents. He doesn't do it because he thinks it's right. He does it because he was paid to do it.

I agree. President Eisenhower, in 1961, in his farewell speech to the nation said...
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. "
http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~hst306/documents/indust.html

Actually I believe you forgot 1 other point, keep people so busy with work/keeping up with the Joneses/taxes/etc that they just don't care anymore, they are so busy trying to keep thier heads above water that they don't have time to look into the issues seriously. The last I checked the US was the most overworked country in the world (most hours per week per employee). That more then anything is what dumbs us down as a culture.

Ok I have seen this time and time again and it is honestly starting to bother me, saying "America" did that crap to the prisoners is the equivilent of saying all of Islam flew the planes on 9/11 and not just some fringe players. The fact is that 99.9% of the people there and here hate what happened and it was a failure on specific individuals not on the US as a whole. My god we have become a country of self haters and loathers, always so quick to blame ourselves for things that others do that we have no control over. No wonder this country has so many issues, we want everyone to love us. I remember after 9/11 everyone was like 'What did we do wrong? Why did they do that to us?' and I was so disgusted by that. Anyways sorry about that little rant but I am tired of seeing "America did x y or z" Not all Christens were at Waco, not all hippies were part of the Manson family, not all of Islam flew planes into our buildings and not all of America tortured prisoners. God we love to pigon hole, makes for good sound bytes.

I agree with most of what you say though Code, especially the part about martial law. I always thought it would be war on drugs though, mind you I had the concept of national martial law pry 10 years ago when terrorism wasn't the issue it is today and drugs were the big bad wolf.

I honestly think we need to start holding the politicans more accountable and tell them to stop the partisan crap. They are dividing us more then anyone else, we hire them to fix problems and maintain the country, not to whine back and forth about what each side is doing to the other. I remember when I was in HS (many moons ago) watching CSPAN for 3 hours while they were discussing extending unemployment benifits. Not once in that 3 hours did I hear one person from either side put forth an idea/concept or anything remotely constructive. It was nothing more then what the Rep saying what the Dems had done wrong since the begining of time and the Dems saying what the Reps had done wrong from the begining of time. So basically we pay them to have a dick swinging contest. This was pry 12 years ago when I saw that and its gone downhill since then, god I wish we had more independents running and people didn't lemming with thier party.

I think the people need to take the power back, look at our history "our ancestors blew peoples heads off because they wanted to tax thier morning beverage" -- Dennis Miller -- we are so easily coaxed into just accepting what the government does anymore without batting an eye. TV is the heroin of the masses and we abuse the hell out of it.

I agree...and I have a friend in Iraq in the Marine Corps right now. He would never do this kind of thing...but many of the troops will be stigmatized by this.

USA is still a much better country to live than most others in the world.

For someone who despises intellectual property as much as I do, it sure pisses me off that George W. Bush has gone out and totally fucked up our brand name. Being American used to have some favorable name recognition and it looks like it is being pissed away without any return at all.

We used to be the sole, lone superpower. That didn't last too long. Now we are third rate thugs who can't even lie well.

Code, that article was very well done. It's so damn frustrating... what can we do? Are we doomed?

Sorry didn't mean to come off as hypersenstive there, but I get tired of the double standard with us. Americans are supposed to realize that the acts of a few are not the beliefs of the many but it only seems to run one way. When I see this stuff its always "America" or "American Soldiers" as opposed to a "few US soldiers".

I don't condone it by any means and I do hope that this blame goes up the chain and lands where it should, some heads will and should roll for this. The soldiers were in the wrong but I am totally disgusted that these actions were known about and not stopped asap. That is the black eye, if they had stomped down on the first instance it would have stopped then and there. The whole system insulted all those that are over there doing good things day in and day out, but then again that seems to be the media standard. We always get the body count but rarely what the soldiers are doing that is good for Iraq.

Hope all goes well for your friend also and hope he knows some people don't lump em all together

Martial Law = let-out-your-anger-time

Sorry George & Tommy, but if you would both kindly step down and go fuck yourselves so we can move on with our freedom enriched lives that'll be fine.

I'll give up no liberties in the name of security. And don't try to convince me that I'm wrong if I disobey a law that says I should. It was in your country that I learned to hold such ideals, and I guarantee I am only one of millions. A big pre-emptive "Go fuck yourselves" for both of you. American troops aren't the only ones that are willing to die for my freedom.

I feel the same way you do. And, I fear that it will affect the way our citizens/soldiers will be treated if they get captured.

When friends of mine came back from Nam, they didn't get a heroes welcome, and some of them were called "babykillers", even though they didn't do anything wrong.

I am trying to be that voice, hollering , trying to warn others that we are losing this country to those who want to put us ALL in a form of slavery.

My friend Mike knows that we support him, and he abhors this kind of thing like you and I do.

lordperrin
Thank you so much. I honestly don't know what to do. We can write our congress people, but to be honest with you...people are even getting afraid to do that, for fear they will be secretly targetted for speaking out.

I guess, one reason for writing this, was to see what everyone else is thinking, and what their suggestions are.

Code,

All that can be done is going outside and protesting in a way that draws attention.

Nobody will stumble upon this site one day and decide that the wool has been pulled over their eyes. They will simply find a reason to discredit this website whether it makes sense or not.

If you aren't standing outside with a sign yelling the truth at people, then you aren't doing your job. I'm not doing mine. I just don't know if I want to know what it will take before I do.

Of course we are losing this country. This isn't conspiracy theory stuff. All you have to do is begin to question what you hear on FoxNews and CNN and it just won't connect. There's no "reading between the lines" to be done in my opinion. The infomation is available.

In Frank's defense, he didn't say he wasn't in favor of implementing martial law. He explained how it would happen. Given that, I retract one of my "pre-emptive fuck you's."

From: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/11/20/185048.shtml

"Franks ended his interview with a less-than-optimistic note. “It’s not in the history of civilization for peace ever to reign. Never has in the history of man. ... I doubt that we’ll ever have a time when the world will actually be at peace.”'

In many ways, Americans are freer now than they were fifty years ago, or twenty years ago.
In the 50's it was communists, in the eighties it was drugs, so terrorism is the boogeyman du jour.

Code's paranoia is based on an error in logic, assuming that things are linear, whereby we constantly move towards a final endpoint of either freedom or oppression.

In reality, it's cyclical, freedoms exist and non-exist based on a variety of variables,(tehnology, population density, external threats, etc.)

In our grandparents' time you couldn't be gay, inter-racially married, belong to a non-mainstream religion, have unmarried sex, or say anything that could be construed as "unpatriotic" without the whole town coming down on your ass.

Our descendants will marvel at the freedoms that we take for granted today, while we, in turn, envy the apparent freedoms of their generation.

The American culture and economy are geared in such a way as to make the Orwellian police state nightmare situation totally impossible so relax.

If some fanatic gets lucky and pulls off a major strike on US soil, like 9/11 or worse, a state of martial law may be declared, it would in any country, and the populace will look upon that not with suspicion, but with relief.

If you think it's rough here try living in Israel, where you don't feel safe UNLESS you see tanks in the streets.

Raoul, Americans had a reputation for being ill-mannered, obnoxious, brash and aggressive, possessing no awareness as to the affairs of those beyond it's borders for decades now, so don't blame Bush, for he is the living incarnation of every annoying American blowhard asshole that ever demanded ketchup at a Chinese restaurant.

This B.S. about the pictures though...There has never been a war where this sort of stuff didn't happen, even the Iraqis shouldn't be surprised,(would they do any less?), but feigning shock and outrage makes good political sense so whatever.

Code,

I think your quote of Eisenhower was appropriate and you should also look at the background of the man who said it. He was a soilder. Franks was a soilder and is worried about what will happen too.

Military officers study history forward and backward (not just military history) looking for the positives and negatives of governments throughout. They are some of the most educated on what can happen in martial law and because of this are very wary of it.

If the hint of martial law was ever proposed, I have a pretty good feeling the senior leadership of the military would have a hard time with it. If ordered to do it, resignation letters would quickly follow.

My 2 cents.

Anyway,

SCREW THE RIAA!!!!

Demonchild-good writing! You said it very well.

Cigar Aficionado? This is a real mag?

Sherm, I'm with you. Let's all go outside, or somewhere, and protest so loudly and in such way to draw attention that even the deaf and blind notice.

Here's a lighter story along the same vein - a prison story and a bad reputation, except it's the guy in prison with the bad reputation..not the jailers.
It should be put in perspective that the jailed Iraqis were not political prisoners or drunks whose only crime was partying too much. No condoning here, just a little bit of perspective.

Gotti's son alleges discrimination against family
Saturday, May 8, 2004 Posted: 6:26 PM EDT (2226 GMT) NEW YORK (AP) -- The son of late mobster John Gotti is suing the federal Bureau of Prisons, claiming the government is keeping him behind bars because of his infamous last name.
John Gotti Jr. said in court papers that he is not being allowed to move to a halfway house because of "his father's notoriety with the criminal justice system."
Gotti, 40, who filed a federal lawsuit Monday in Syracuse, N.Y., is serving six years and five months for racketeering. He has been at Ray Brook Prison since September 1999 and was eligible for early release to a halfway house last month.
A panel at the prison ruled to keep Gotti incarcerated. He would have been monitored electronically at a halfway house.
Dan Dunne, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, declined to comment on Gotti's request but said placements in halfway houses are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Gotti's father, who was head of the Gambino crime family, died in prison two years ago while serving a life sentence on murder and racketeering charges.

CODEWARRIOR YOU ARE EVERYTHING YOUR NAME SAYS!

I followed your links and this NEWS makes "1984" look like

Mary Had A Little Lamb or worse yet...

Little Bo eep: Who Lost Her

WELL, I'M MAD AS HELL AND I JUST AIN'T GONNA TAKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ELECTRONIC VOTING!!!!!

In a way, though, while I do not in any way condone the acts of those few soldiers in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, we are seeing a vicious "collective guilt" smear campaign being directed against the entire U.S. military and ALL U.S. soldiers by the likes of Kennedy, Levin et al., as not too dissimilar to the continuing gangbang and pile-on against P2P technology.

Also . . . let's not forget that those in the media putting these pictures out for the world to see, are the same ones who claim that the photos of people on the top floors of the World Trade Center on 9 / 11, or the photos of the four American contractors brutally murdered and mutilated in Fallujah are "too graphic" for you or I to see (and if that excuse doesn't work, then they can always fall behind the ol' "copyright protection" cop-out).

I was starting to think nobody felt as I did. I can't believe that companies can continue to run unchecked, and that they are allowed to send as many jobs overseas as they want.

And about all that torture stuff... My first thoughts are to give the people who did that to the Iraqis but then I have to wonder, why this is such a big thing in the news... I don't mean to say that it wasn't bad or horrible, but honestly speaking, if something like that happened, you would have the criminals sent to jail as in any other case and all would be normal (or as close as it gets) again.

But with the media all up on the torture and occasional sasser worm, how do we know something else isn't going on that we just aren't seeing? When I think of media being taken over, that's how I would see it done - taking their eyes off what you were doing wrong.

When I was on duty the other day, me and the OOD (officer of the deck) were talking about where we stood in politics and agreed we were both neither republican or demicrat. As I ask around, I find that more and more people feel the same way. So why are we still only voting on those two parties?

I think it has something to do with laziness. A lot of people don't care what happens with laws. To them, it is their representative's responsibility, and they are mostly willing to just believe/do what the government says without asking why.

(Why is this starting to remind me of Rome?)

mad-sailor: Actually I have no problems with corps sending jobs over seas, my problem comes from tax incentives to do so.

We are still talking about it cause the media keeps pushing it on us. That is the issue for me. I understand its a big news story but that is all that we heard about for 3+ days (so far). They need to report on it, keep me updated on anything new and move onto other things, I don't need to hear about this for 6 hours a day.

shoshidge - I agree with you for all intents and purposes. I do think we are still the best country in the world, by miles and miles not fractions, but with that in mind I think the government does need to back off a bit. My government parinoia is more like going thru an intersection in my car, not overly concerned but always being aware that some moron may not see that he has a red light and slam into me.

Rockandrollwoman - yes its a real magizine http://www.cigaraficionado.com

People think that the Constitution--and in fact all our laws--are static. Our legal system is designed to evolve. If 100 million people want something changed, it will change very fast, especially in an election year. But most people are happy to let others "think" for them. They do not get informed. MY president and MY congress do not speak for me. They are tired old fools whose main job is to keep their jobs. They have very little understanding of technology, or the lives of normal citizens. These are the same fools who gave us the Patriot Act and the DMCA, the same fools who are trying to shove TCPA down our throats, the same fools who think US Encryption Export restrictions are a good idea. If more people were informed (and cared) we could do a lot to make things right.

This is still our country. And if all we can do is complain, I make the motion that we move the complaint from this forum to thiers.

Can I get a second of that motion?

number 9 ..... number 9 ...... number 9 .....

that's how they get ya, bit by bit

nice article code

but in all fairness Shoshidge has a good point, if there was a serious strike on the U.S. martial law would be our protector, people would want martial law

why want the goverment focus all this energy and resources toward the terrorist instead of the american people, well I will give you my answer, if they do that and happen to fix this problem, they will have no reason to keep on creating a more controled system that will some day lead to the end of the United States and it,s peoples freedoms. I guess we are a bit like that poor frog, we need to realize whats happing but as citizens of this country we do not seem to be able to change the direction we are headed, and the ones leading just want more and more power.

I just learned from my wife that the gov does not supply toothbrushes, toothpaste, condiments (like catsup, pepper,etc) and some of the MREs are hard to eat. The troops, because of all the grit in Iraq, are going through toothpaste and toothbrushes like crazy, and the soldiers have to buy all that themselves...they are not furnished by the government.

We are sending some care packages to my friend Mike and others over there, and if folks really want to support our troops in a meaningful way, look into organizing sending some of the things they need, and are having to buy themselves.

I may be paranoid as some say, but I do support our guys and gals over there putting their lives on the line, enduring rough living conditions, and doing it for each other and for us.
~CodeWarrior

Nice post CW. Hello all from Brussels, Belgium. I'm glad 2 see that many Americans are more conscious of what's happening 'out there'. I've been so surprised (not in a pleasant way) to see how fast all what i always loved in your country was soiled in a couple of years and only by one man ... I've been stunned to see the few opposition this moron got until this electric shock. When almost all European countries (you're closest allies) were begging this guy to stop, when a dozen million of us were walking the streets (early 03) to ask only for peace, it made no difference. Don't you want 2 know if legitimate US citizens could make a difference, or if it is too late already for your civil rights? Sorry to be so rude guys but its how i see things. And the pain is just worse because I used 2 think the US was leading us to a new civilised era.
Things are not getting just warm; the situation looks more like catastrophic. From my point of view the frog is fried. The Middle East has crossed the line of no-return and i believe we will all see in no time a major crisis in the oil industry, leading to a global economical recession. That would be causing much more damage worldwide than any WMD. I believe this could lead to a new cold war, between North & South. It could last for centuries. What do you think?

Code,

They aren't supplied these directly, but get a subsistance allowance to purchase them. It's tax free as is all their pay while they're in the gulf.

I'm sure they'd appreciate the care package though.

EUHost...first off, welcome my friend.
I am glad to have you with us. You expressed my feelings exactly, and very well may I say.

I do believe that this has become a global/international problem, and any solution will not be based here alone.

I hear from other folks in Europe and other countries, and I find that you guys are waking up to the coming situation in larger numbers than here in the US.

We must all work together and try to awaken others.

Thanks for the kind words!
~Code

Yeah, airider is right. I don't know where they must go to purchase their stuff, but they get money to buy necessities with.

As far as the MRE's, those are good =) Just stay away from the brownies.. er.. "brownies."

But also like airider said, they'd definitely like a care package. There is no way in hell they wouldn't.

"...I believe we will all see in no time a major crisis in the oil industry, leading to a global economical recession."

I believe you are 100% correct. I don't advocate alternate energy sources to save the trees, save the air or anything else. It's a great reason and everything, but the fact is that new technology takes time to develop and all we have is goofy looking and still half-gas-dependent expensive hybrid cars.

George Bush has a terrible environmental record, and just like the duty of the US is to blow up the entire middle east if they pose a danger, it is also our duty to be at the forefront of essentially preserving the good of the human race by developing new energy technologies (i.e. solar, wind power). Bush has no interest in this, and his children will likely pay.. as will the rest of the world.

This is a man who denies that climate change exists, while it is known that scientists have found at least one palm tree in Antarctica. The tree is upright, rooted, and burried in the middle of the ice cap. Yet he denies that it changes. Point being, that Bush has decieved America in basically every way possible when it comes to dealing with humans and our interaction with the planet. This obviously includes our use of limited resources.

A little pain now to develop new technologies asap will save us a lot of pain later. When I voted for Bush, I expected the Dems to keep him from doing things like sending the world head first into an oil crisis. But the Dems are babies and don't do anything.

This is a little bit of a lengthy response to just one line of your post, but it's still a problem and it's part of a larger explanation about one reason we are in trouble. We need oil. What an absolutely terrible time in the course of human history to put a man like Bush in power. It won't be long before it is too late. We should have taken his poor envronmental record more seriously.

in support of TheSherman: We are about to see a major crisis in prices of energy and food. Regular unleaded gas is now averaged at $1.96/gallon; and where i live it's now at $2.15 (still probably less than in CA, and still much less than in the UK.) What else? We are also experiencing a growing problem of increased prices for agricultural products -- primarily milk and milk products. Even veggies are expensive nowadays. Milk in NYC is said to be $3.99/gallon; though where i live it's still on sale at $2.79! We need OPEC to increase production of more oils. We need the price to drop. We need the price of downloadable music formats to drop. We need music players' prices to drop. We need computers to drop in price. We need to help our farmers. We need to get jobs. We need to generate cash and generate a strong economy without a rapid fire inflation. We also need to keep our eyes open for any latest developments about Kazaa and the Australian government officials and the Australian music industry group. We also need to increase our spendings. Not on RIAA music; but to increase consumer spending. We need to see higher mortgage rates. We need to see lower prices for real estate or houses. We may be bound to see another Wall Street shake-up; especially since we are approaching Presidential elections.... similar to what we saw from 2000 to 2001. We need to see what the future may hold us. We neeed to do something to boycott the RIAA, and we need to do something to make the RIAA music companies go into recession again. We need something. We need power. We need judicial power. We need help. I need to learn patent law fast!

Code: You come through again with some great political writing. You're definately right about what's going on. I've commented on it before in your posts, so I won't flood this forum with rhetoric. But let it be known that voting will do little to nothing to help the situation. I suggest anyone who is concerned to look into situation more, and to get involved with local activists. Voting is a nice perk to our system, however if history is any indication on how our system works...we all need to put our voices forth. Even then, we don't know what the future holds. Perhaps we may find ourselves redefining our system as our forefathers before us. It is sad, but it's inevitable. Hegel once wrote:

"The nation lives the same kind of life as the individual--in the enjoyment of itself, the satisfaction of being exactly what it desired to be, and the consequent abandonment of aspirations. The nation slips into a merely customary life (like the watch wound up and going on of itself), into an activity without opposition, and this is what brings on its natural death. Thus perish individuals, and thus perish nations, by a natural death."

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

The funny part about the milk and meat costs going up is you can thank the low carb diets (Atkins, etc) for that. Dairy farmers sell thier cattle for slaughter now since the demand for cattle is much higher than milk. This will only get worse unless people start building the dairy farms up again to make up for the sudden hike in meat demand

When people on the Atkins diet finally die from malnutrition, we'll be saved. They'll be nice and meaty.. and free.

Ah, I forgot to suggest some resources...Alex Jones, a wingnut conspiracy theorist with one of the most abrasive personalities I have ever encountered published a series of good documentaries on the subject entitled Police State. I believe their are 3, and if you can get past his obnoxious behavior, they are pretty informative. His website is www.infowars.com .

To others: We will indeed see an oil crisis, we've come to a moment that alot of people are calling Peak Oil. Peak Oil is when oil discovery and pumping has peaked, and while oil consumption grows, we are now running out of oil. As oil runs out, as our economy and our everyday personal lives become more and more dependent upon it, it's worth multiplies. However, our government is reluctant to encourage a roll over to other energy sources...as if they're trying to milk oil for all it's worth. Despite the inflation and inevitable economic crash that will ensue.

Supply and demand drives our market, and since demand for oil increases while supply decreases...profit increases exponentially. Take hemp or wheat for instance...both are easily grown sources of efficient, inexhaustable energy (hemp oil extracted from seeds and distilled wheat alcohol respectivly), however, corporations and politicians favor the bottom line, and oil is worth much much more.

It's also good to note that hemp oil and alcohol energy is much less hazardous to our enviroment. Tony Blair's science advisor has said that Global Warming is more important than the War on Terror. But why?
"In quick summary, if enough cold, fresh water coming from the melting polar ice caps and the melting glaciers of Greenland flows into the northern Atlantic, it will shut down the Gulf Stream, which keeps Europe and northeastern North America warm. The worst-case scenario would be a full-blown return of the last ice age - in a period as short as 2 to 3 years from its onset - and the mid-case scenario would be a period like the "little ice age" of a few centuries ago that disrupted worldwide weather patterns leading to extremely harsh winters, droughts, worldwide desertification, crop failures, and wars around the world." (How Global Warming Could Cause our Next Ice Age, Jan. 4, 2004 http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0130-11.htm )

Anyway...we definately need to curb our oil use!

While some are commenting on the economy

Our economies, both in the US and Canada are in a terrible state. In Canada we need to earn over $20.00 an hour and work at least two jobs at that, just to keep up with the rising costs of just about everything.

So, even though we get upset when we see prices rising, when stores like Walmart move in with cheaper prices thanks to outsourcing, we flood the place like crazy looking to buy those bargains. How can we expect to buy cheap Canadian (American) products, and still try to support the workers here who need to earn such high salaries to survive?

It's a catch 22 situation isn't it?

negatyve,


Just expanding on the quote you posted: It could be much quicker than 2-3 years, or much longer, of course. Global warming = global cooling. The gulf stream is driven by density differences in the water. When the warm, salty gulf water reaches Europe, it warms the air, cools off, then sinks. They believe it eventually resurfaces somewhere in the Pacific (Think of the ocean circulation like our atmosphere). If even a small portion of Greenland melts away, it will interrupt the gulf stream because it will deposit a large amount of freshwater right into the gulf stream. This will halt or slow the circulation.

Your "little ice age" happens if it slows. If it shuts down, then it'll be a lot colder. Climatology has taught us that while many changes on earth are very gradual and slow, catastrophic changes do occur. It is believed that the gulf stream has shut down before. Global warming has also happened before. It is not exclusively an oil/human-related phenomenon (water vapor is a MUCH MUCH more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Because earth's tilt varies, climate changes naturally, and warmer periods create their own even warmer periods due to the increase in water vapor that naturally accompanies warmer periods).

The only descrepency between climatology and what we see now is the future predictions, but none of our models do that accurately. That being said, carbon dioxide is still likely a contributing factor to what is occuring now, and what will occur in the near future. Mother nature has a grander plan though, and burning fossil fuels isn't going to change that. Bush has outright denied than any of this is possible when it not only appear that the stage is set for it to happen now, but we also know that it has already happened.

He has denied that climate change has or ever will occur. He has denied an oil shortage. He has failed to look into the relationship between burning fossil fuels and climate change. He has failed to look out for the good of Americans and the human race, as most of us are now dependent on oil every day of our lives. Our market is driven by supply and demand, but it is fueled by innovation. We need new energy sources.

Too bad some innovation is overlooked.

www.hempcar.org

ha. Funny, but also an important statement.

Speaking of overlooked innovation - the technology exists to equip vehicles with oil that never needs to be replaced, only the filter. The oil is more effective and has a viscosity similar to that of water. The big corps. will have none of that. Not when X car manufacturer has contracts with Y oil producer and [insert oil change place] needs to make money too (god forbid a company go out of business because they become obsolete).

Unfortunately there are no hemp cars that do not require oil changes in existance. We're too busy suppressing innovation so we can make money off the oil now, then bitch and moan later when billions of people are suddenly screwed.

also ethanol is great fuel. It has higher octane levels and made from grains. I also heard they can make it out of trash too, but not for sure. It burns cleaner than regular oil based gasoline too.

I agree with Pepe.. do not gripe about outsoucing and then say we need lower prices. It is a catch 22, but for myself i would rather work my mind than be laborer so i could care less where those jobs go. There always be new ones to take thier place, or maybe you can invent something that revolutionizes the world. So many things are possible nowadays than ever. Sometimes just like T.V. we like to focus on the negative instead of the positive. See I am not anti RIAA, just pro-filesharing, but if Cary Sue gets in my way i have got a big stick for his lips. I wonder what would fall out of those lips when you break them like a pinata? Subpeanos or DRM MP3's. Guys and girls keep the faith and keep listening.

I felt the same way in the 90's (early 90's)

Sherman that's a good point, I didn't know about the oil that didn't need to be replaced. There are plenty of technologies to make oil consumption practically nothing and decrease the ammount of polution drastically. But the oil baron's are too busy counting their money and exchanging high-fives to bother with it. Some scientists are estimating that with current usage, oil could run out within 50 years. Imagine the shambles it will leave our economy in. But I'm sure G.W. Bush doesn't really care since his daughters will be getting to screwed up to notice reality with the fortune he leaves them.

Ronnie: I don't really think that whether producing goods in the united states or not controls market price. Nike Shoes literally cost 25 cents per pair to produce, and are sold for over $100. If they were produced in the United States for $10 an hour, it would still only cost about $5 to produce a pair of nike shoes. Same thing with circuit boards and clothing. We need to regulate corporate greed to lower prices. Out sourcing just eliminates jobs so the corporate executives and investors can make more money. In a capitalist system, the goal is to make as much money using the least ammount of money...this idea is completely unsustainable if making more money means they ship work overseas. Eventually all that will be left is corporate office positions and service industry jobs. No more working class.

I just heard on our local news the other day that they are gong to relax the regulations on immigration to replace our aging, retiring population, so as far as the working class goes, they will make darn good and sure they have a good, solid tax base to support them. which leaves me to wonder what the majority of faces in this country are going to look like in twenty - thirty years. (if its all still around that is)

We have a wonderful little ski resort up here in Canada called Banff, Alberta, but in all honesty, I might as well be travelling to Japan, because they bought the resort out. I really, seriously have nothing against the Japanese people, love them to pieces, but I wish they had at least left the signs alone up there, cause I don't read Japanese.

ronnie71, I really want to start a new business. Sadly, there's so many stipulations and so much capital to invest that you become entrenched before you truly start.

I believe in Europe or Africa it's easier to find a niche that no one else has truly developed but US wise, the congress campaigning of the big boys kinda stops new business models from truly getting off the ground.

I NEVER want martial law...the very idea makes me cringe. What Code wrote is what I have been thinking ever since I broke away from my parents. I'm just not as good as he is at putting it into words. To solve this problem is hard, since corporate funding controls our legislatures. Raise a stink...throw a fit. Pass out letters to people. Yeah, you'll be called a conspiricy theorist, but you're doing the best you can. Our society is designed to make fun of what it doesn't understand, whether it's change or potential control. Cause trouble, sit-in, protest. Do it now before you can no longer do it. Once martial law is declared, your guns will be taken away, you won't be able to protest. Your opinions will no longer matter, because the gov't has control. As for me and my family, I have guns, I have freedoms. I am prepared to kill and be killed to defend my freedom and the freedom of my family. I will not tolerate my country becoming something I hate. I love my country, and fear my gov't. I shouldn't have to be that way. Keep up the work, Code and also, those soldiers were only doing the accepted thing to do. If their superiors weren't allowing it, it wouldn't have happened. We shouldn't make an example out of them because they did only what they were allowed to do! Especially you madsailor should see that.

JC123... what kind of business.. give me DMusic note and lets talk about it.. maybe there is someway to get you started... i have got a great business idea that not only will give power back to the people but will send a big FUCK YOU to the recording industry.. only one stipulation if they dont make it illegal then i can proceed.

i wonder if the Japanese or Germans gripe about outsoucing of thier jobs to America..