A people, a nation or a civilization's collective wisdom is built out of its popular culture. We may deplore it, but the fact remains: most of us are not political activists, policy experts, media minders, academics or climatologists. Whatever 'sticks' with us, the masses, on any given question is what is diffused through pop culture. Not because we, the masses, are stupid - as snub, common-man hating Lefties often pretend - but mostly because we, the masses, have a day job and little spare time to thoroughly explore all the important issues. You may publish any number of the most accurate reports on guns and citizenry, or all the scientifically exact studies debunking anthropogenic climate change in the world; you will still have less impact than Michael Moore and Al Gore with a single fairy tales flick.
Friday, 31 August 2007
Damn Good Point
An excellent point by the Dissident Frogman can be found HERE:
Aw, Shit
P.J. McAuley, one of my favorite authors, has just released a pile o' crap. Well, it will probably be pretty good as a read but as politics we're talking total balls. Just read THIS:
I mean, gee. Jimmy Carter? This being Jimmy "I fucking lurve terrorists man. Lets not talk to the moderates, the realists and the nice people but to the fuckwits." Carter. Sure, America did a lot of dodgy stuff during the Cold War- who didn't? Sure they've got a lot of problems as a country- who doesn't? Can't we have criticism of someone else please? I'm bored of America this, America that when in reality there are much, much worse countries out there.
How about China for instance? They have the death penalty and kill hundreds a year. They censor the internet. They abuse the poor in record levels. They are committed to non-stop build of their military. Elections and multiple political parties are unknown. They have sponsored terrorism. They support many of the worst regimes in the world. They are a major arms manufactorer. They use torture. Etc.
Just makes me sad that some people spend so long looking at America they miss all the other nasty shit out there.
Kick ass and take no prisoners. Bust their chops. Let's Drop the Big One and See What Happens.
Welcome to Cowboy America. You might think you live in some other version of America, and maybe that's the case – at least in Paul McAuley's 'Cowboy Angels' (Victor Gollancz/ Orion Books ; September 2007 ; £18.99 HC / £12.99 RPB). McAuley's taken the good ol' multi-universe concept and used it to send more Americas than you’d care to imagine through the wringer. 'Cowboy Angels' is a fascinating exercise in dueling cowboys. On one side of the equation, you have Adam Stone and the Cowboy Angels, the men who essentially ride herd on the multiverse, protecting alternate versions of America where things don’t look so hot. At least according to the Cowboy Angels and the last three Republican presidents who took a little program involving Turing Gates and used it to spread democracy throughout the alternate Americas.
But as the novel starts, there's a new game in town. The last election brought a very different kind of gool ol' boy into power. Jimmy Carter, and he's not into any of this democracy as peanut butter bullshit. He's spreading peace through the multiverse, and the black ops folks that had their heyday helping foment revolution in an America where the god-damned Commies took over 1929 are finished.
Or are they? Imagine if the CIA had access to the multiverse, and was able to tweak history to its liking. That'll give you a sense of the plot at work here. They're not going to give it up without a fight, and you know, the word "fair" ain't a part of the word "fight". Mysteriously, the word "dirty" is. Who would have thought? Well probably your local spook recruitment outlet. I don’t recommend going there to ask.
Now you know earlier on I mentioned that this novel is cowboy vs cowboy, and I mentioned those on one side – the butt-kickin' bravos bringin' Democracy with a capital "R" to the multiverse. Those are the American characters in the novel. Set up against them is another sort of Cowboy Angel. That would be the all-powerful author, Paul McCauley, who has his own fish to fry, most of them American, most of them deserving the fryolator or something worse. One of the most delightful aspects of this novel is the cowboy sensibility of the writer, who pulls no punches and is not averse to kicking some self-satisfied American asses. The trick here, and McAuley mostly pulls it off, is to create characters who seem real enough to be likable in spite of the fact that they're essentially fascist pigs wearing the stars'n'bars. Well, you know, fascist pigs, they always have the same fashion sense, eh?
McAuley's other strength is of course the crackerjack plot he's devised. He's given himself so many U-turns, secret portals and popup whack-a-moles that the most surprising thing is how effectively and sparsely he uses them. Oh, there's plenty of fun to be had here. This is a thriller with a mirror-maze twist. It's also the kind of book that would be absurdly easy to make into a movie, and it really plays like one in your head. Perhaps somewhere out there in the universe, in the sheaf where Alan Turing nailed quantum computing and emigrated to America, they're watching it now.
I mean, gee. Jimmy Carter? This being Jimmy "I fucking lurve terrorists man. Lets not talk to the moderates, the realists and the nice people but to the fuckwits." Carter. Sure, America did a lot of dodgy stuff during the Cold War- who didn't? Sure they've got a lot of problems as a country- who doesn't? Can't we have criticism of someone else please? I'm bored of America this, America that when in reality there are much, much worse countries out there.
How about China for instance? They have the death penalty and kill hundreds a year. They censor the internet. They abuse the poor in record levels. They are committed to non-stop build of their military. Elections and multiple political parties are unknown. They have sponsored terrorism. They support many of the worst regimes in the world. They are a major arms manufactorer. They use torture. Etc.
Just makes me sad that some people spend so long looking at America they miss all the other nasty shit out there.
Iran's War On Drugs
A little known part of the current tea party in the M.E. is Irans losing fight with...the Taliban. Iran has one of the highest addiction rates in the world, mostly for Heroin which is flooded into the country by the Taliban. This incidentally is one of the big problems their dear old leader has completely ignored whilst he built nuke plants.
Now when we said fight, we goddam meant it. According to orbat.com they've lost 1,500+ border guards (armed with Austrian kit) since the 2001 invasion. Thats a lot of blokes, more than the whole of NATO's casulaties, and the Iranians aren't even operating in a real warzone. We're just talking smugglers and their mates.
Drugs have in general been one of the biggest problems in Afghanistan so far. Not only do they fund the Taliban but they are also exported all round the world. Furthermore they provide fantastic propaganda for the Taliban who can portray NATO as wanting to stop the crops.
But to all this there is a fairly simple solution: Morphine. Opium not only makes the exceedingly dangerous heroin but also the medicinal Morphine. An' right now there is a morphine shortage in the world. Should the MoD or NATO choose they could buy the Opium from the farmers, gaining their support, process it and flog it to medical companies where it would serve a useful purpose. Whilst profits would be less than if they sold it as heroin (which is why there is a morphine shortage) you'd still make money. Furthermore you could offer to buy it up with Iran who would hopefully be glad to help and therefore make money as well as help their own country.
Now even if this could be pulled off, providing black economy demand isn't enough to outprice the MoD, it won't solve the Taliban. But it will go a major way towards helping, not to mention being of enormous social benefit to the world as a whole.
Now when we said fight, we goddam meant it. According to orbat.com they've lost 1,500+ border guards (armed with Austrian kit) since the 2001 invasion. Thats a lot of blokes, more than the whole of NATO's casulaties, and the Iranians aren't even operating in a real warzone. We're just talking smugglers and their mates.
Drugs have in general been one of the biggest problems in Afghanistan so far. Not only do they fund the Taliban but they are also exported all round the world. Furthermore they provide fantastic propaganda for the Taliban who can portray NATO as wanting to stop the crops.
But to all this there is a fairly simple solution: Morphine. Opium not only makes the exceedingly dangerous heroin but also the medicinal Morphine. An' right now there is a morphine shortage in the world. Should the MoD or NATO choose they could buy the Opium from the farmers, gaining their support, process it and flog it to medical companies where it would serve a useful purpose. Whilst profits would be less than if they sold it as heroin (which is why there is a morphine shortage) you'd still make money. Furthermore you could offer to buy it up with Iran who would hopefully be glad to help and therefore make money as well as help their own country.
Now even if this could be pulled off, providing black economy demand isn't enough to outprice the MoD, it won't solve the Taliban. But it will go a major way towards helping, not to mention being of enormous social benefit to the world as a whole.
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Your Kid Will Grow Up To Be Stupid
You'd think this was ironic:
New, "agressive" gestures. Oh deary me. How can they peddle that filth.
Initially, I was pleasantly surprised. Together we played Fifa 03, mother and son bonding over a football game lost to his expert childish thumbs jabbing x buttons to pass and o buttons to shoot. But when the new Fifa 07 game was unwrapped – a modern version rated at an unbelievable 3-plus (what mother is going to let a toddler go from Teletubbies to PlayStation?) I was shocked. In a matter of a couple of years, there were new aggressive gestures to the referee, nasty pushing and shoving between footballers after fouls, close-ups of angry grimaces at the ref’s decision. The unacceptable face of football.
New, "agressive" gestures. Oh deary me. How can they peddle that filth.
Future Private Eye Material
Fuckin' stupid:
Two points to be made here. First is that if politicans and celebrity children are to be shielded then obviously the system is fucked. After all if it worked they wouldn't need the extra protection. The second point is the difference between the political classes. Whilst the politicans children are guarded those of ordinary folk are royally fucked. In other words we are looking at a two class system.
What a bunch of wankers, eh?
Senior social workers have given warning of the dangers posed by a new government register that will store the details of every child in England from next year.
They fear that the database, containing the address, medical and school details of all under-18s, could be used to harm the children whom it is intended to protect.
The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ACDS) has written to officials outlining its “significant” concerns about the new system, called ContactPoint, The Times has learnt. Confusion over who is responsible for vetting users and policing the system “may allow a situation where an abuser could be able to access ContactPoint for illegitimate purposes with limited fear of any repercussions”, Richard Stiff, the chairman of the ADCS Information Systems and Technology Policy Committee, said.
The security fears are fuelled further by the admission that information about the children of celebrities and politicians is likely to be excluded from the system.
Two points to be made here. First is that if politicans and celebrity children are to be shielded then obviously the system is fucked. After all if it worked they wouldn't need the extra protection. The second point is the difference between the political classes. Whilst the politicans children are guarded those of ordinary folk are royally fucked. In other words we are looking at a two class system.
What a bunch of wankers, eh?
A Cunning Ploy
A rising Jewish film star who plays the son-in-law of Saddam Hussein in a British Broadcasting Corporation drama faces a possible ban on performing in Israel for acting with an Arab in the film.
Actor Yigal Naor, now shooting in Tunisia, ran into trouble when his union learned that Arab actor Amr Waked is playing the role of the ousted and executed dictator in the drama about his life.
Naor, who appeared alongside Hollywood star George Clooney in the 2005 blockbuster Syriana, defended his position, telling several Israeli papers he did not know an Arab was involved until after he signed the contract.
He also said the film was pro-Israeli, and criticizes Iranian foreign policy, according to the Israeli Mail.
"The position of the union is clear in its rejection of normalization [with Arab countries], and requires that members abide by this position," Ashraf Zaki, the head of the union, said.
"Yigal Naor is playing the role of the husband of Saddam's daughter opposite an Arab who plays Saddam ... Yigal will be facing an investigation as soon as he returns [from filming]," Zaki said.
Fucking disgusting eh? Can you imagine it, the Jews discriminating against an Arab. Even refusing to be in the same film? Racist bastard eh? As for his scumsucking Israeli union- how dare it be political.
Do you feel really revolted? Eh?
Well good because every word done in bold there has been changed. If you'd like to see the original look HERE.
Guns Motherfucker
What with poor Rhys gaining new head ventilation gun crime has been in the news a lot. So we've had thousands and thousands of journalists writing the following:
So lets break it down. Why does gun crime happen? The answer is easy: because of people. Guns are essentially a tool, though a dangerous one. Cracking down on guns will never eliminate gun crime for two reasons:
1. Guns are a commodity. If stores won't sell them then the black economy will. They will therefore always be available.
2. Humans sometimes want to kill people. Only total elimination of humanity or radical brainwashing would stop humans wanting to kill each other.
We can see therefore that gun crime occurs because of humanity and that gun crime cannot be eliminated. However there are ways to reduce gun crime. The obvious answer is to ban guns and crack down on them. In reality though this method is flawed. The black economy will always have some guns to sell. This method also promotes illiberal measures (cracking down would involve new police powers) and is of dubious values: Switzerland has a much smaller rate of gun crime than the UK. The reason why? Values.
Guns are an essential part of the bastardised gang culture here in the UK. The reason for the popularity of these gangs can be surmised HERE. The best way to combat guns is to get rid of gangs. To get rid of gangs we need to do what George says.
Simple really? Well writing it might be but turning that into policy- thats a whole different world and not one I'd feel capable in.
I have no idea. But my uninformed opinion is...
So lets break it down. Why does gun crime happen? The answer is easy: because of people. Guns are essentially a tool, though a dangerous one. Cracking down on guns will never eliminate gun crime for two reasons:
1. Guns are a commodity. If stores won't sell them then the black economy will. They will therefore always be available.
2. Humans sometimes want to kill people. Only total elimination of humanity or radical brainwashing would stop humans wanting to kill each other.
We can see therefore that gun crime occurs because of humanity and that gun crime cannot be eliminated. However there are ways to reduce gun crime. The obvious answer is to ban guns and crack down on them. In reality though this method is flawed. The black economy will always have some guns to sell. This method also promotes illiberal measures (cracking down would involve new police powers) and is of dubious values: Switzerland has a much smaller rate of gun crime than the UK. The reason why? Values.
Guns are an essential part of the bastardised gang culture here in the UK. The reason for the popularity of these gangs can be surmised HERE. The best way to combat guns is to get rid of gangs. To get rid of gangs we need to do what George says.
Simple really? Well writing it might be but turning that into policy- thats a whole different world and not one I'd feel capable in.
Word Switchin'
Read this:
Now replace "Cube" and "Allspark" with "Graphics Card" and "Hard drive". Then replace "Transformer comics" with Apple Macs.* Seems awful close to all those geek-wank posts of the Devil aout Macs don't it, is The Nameless One sure he wanted to post that...
Oh yeah and Steve Jobs is a dick. With a messiah complex.
*Not that I'm so fucking stupid I don't know what a graphics card is. Problem is as I don't know computer geekery I don't have the words to use. Similarly one should not imagine I know shit about Transformers. I mean who the fuck watches Transformers? Cowboy Bebop beats it to death and shits in its neck.
Or how about the sack of shit beginning, filled with waffle about the Cube and the Allspark, without actually explaining what those fucking things actually fucking are to those in the audience who haven’t spent their adult lives shut in darkened bedrooms, reading Transformer comics over and over again?
Now replace "Cube" and "Allspark" with "Graphics Card" and "Hard drive". Then replace "Transformer comics" with Apple Macs.* Seems awful close to all those geek-wank posts of the Devil aout Macs don't it, is The Nameless One sure he wanted to post that...
Oh yeah and Steve Jobs is a dick. With a messiah complex.
*Not that I'm so fucking stupid I don't know what a graphics card is. Problem is as I don't know computer geekery I don't have the words to use. Similarly one should not imagine I know shit about Transformers. I mean who the fuck watches Transformers? Cowboy Bebop beats it to death and shits in its neck.
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