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Saturday, April 22, 2006 |
Dear Mr. President
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why
Lyrics
2:04:39 PM 
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SaveTheInternet: "Congress is pushing a law that would abandon Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment. Network neutrality prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work the best - based on who pays them the most. Your local library shouldn't have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer.
Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn't speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online."
1:02:24 PM
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As long as your hair looks good... you can get away with anything.
A general election is coming up on May 5.
Guardian: "Britain's two prime ministerial hopefuls will vie for the green vote today as David Cameron visits a retreating arctic glacier and Gordon Brown delivers his first major speech on climate change, in an address to the United Nations in New York."
Independent: "So today at the UN in New York, Britain will call for the first global emissions trading scheme to cut carbon emissions.
Tomorrow at the G7 meeting in Washington I will tell the world's richest countries that Britain will invest in a private-public institute for new research into alternative sources of energy and new environmental technologies - and ask other countries to join us in a global network researching into better uses of energy."
Gordon Brown will tell, will ask and will pay money to a private institute to do some research. Great. That is already a big step forward... but not really.
Guardian: "Gordon Brown last night called on the Opec oil producers cartel to help bring down the cost of fuel for British motorists after a week in which the rise in the cost of crude to record highs has taken unleaded petrol to the brink of £1 a litre."
Wonderful! Gordon Brown is asking the oil producers to bring down their profits. How sweet of him.
There are plans enough to tackle the great problems of our world.
Independent: "The most potent threats to life on earth - global warming, health pandemics, poverty and armed conflict - could be ended by moves that would unlock $7 trillion - $7,000,000,000,000 (£3.9trn) - of previously untapped wealth, the United Nations claims.
The price? An admission that the nation-state is an old-fashioned concept that has no role to play in a modern globalised world where financial markets have to be harnessed rather than simply condemned."
What I am seeing is that globalisation is creating problems, promoting war and economic and financial exploitation and increasing pollution.
And then there's plan B.
AlterNet: "Plan B has three components: (1) a restructuring of the global economy so that it can sustain civilization; (2) an all-out effort to eradicate poverty, stabilize population and restore hope in order to elicit participation of the developing countries; and (3) a systematic effort to restore natural systems."
Looks great. But how are you going to do that when everything (including governments) is in the hands of neocon corporations which not only own the oil industry but also the alternative energy sources? Corporations decide how our world is going to look. Their prime motive is profit. And profit comes before reason, humanity or welfare; the profit urge may even be opposed to these and it is in most cases. Neocons have no morals, they are not a social service institution, they have no national or international responsibility.
ConsumerWatchDog: "The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights released a new study today of rising gasoline prices in California that found corporate markups and profiteering are responsible for spring price spikes, not rising crude costs or the national switchover to higher-cost ethanol, as the oil industry claims."
Wars are fought for economic gain. Oil is a major incentive for invading a country. But even when the prospect of war is weighing down on the energy costs, it is reason to rejoice for the oil companies, as the prices of oil and oil company stocks will go up. So, whichever way you look at it, the neocon economy thrives on war, catastrophe and poverty. And when governments are the speaking-tube of corporations, they - at best - ask the corporations to be nice and do the right thing. Of course, nothing comes off it. They simply deny global warming.
Guardian: "Britain's scientists are drawing up a plan to fight renewed attempts by sceptics and industry-funded lobby groups to derail international action on climate change.
The oil company Exxon Mobil has tried 'to influence public opinion about the threat of climate change'. 'Concerted efforts' were made in 2004-05 to change the way the UK media covered climate science after Tony Blair declared that global warming was one of his priorities."
Tony Blair and his likes can declare whatever they want, they know it is not going to be remedied. So they can launch out liberally about global warming and poverty. It's only blahblahblah to impress gullible and well-meaning people before elections.
Gordon, remember this in your campaign: as long as your hair looks good...
12:43:24 PM
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