Hot Links

[pan]

A thread to post resources of all sorts.

International Socialist Review is a magazine featuring critical cultural critique of American policy and history. Extensive archives at site.

Recent articles include Why Ron Paul isn't a Friend to the Left
Progress in Iraq?
and
The Coming Meltdown

[curt]

This link won't help you get through a power outage or a worldwide financial recession but it's a pretty cool site to go to to get some good listening going on your pc or laptop while you work on other stuff. You do have to register to gain access to the music and the site does send members a few e-mails a month to announce new additions (can be turned off) but other than that, this is a no hassle, free of charge source of damned good music on the web:

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/

[curt]

you're welcome. Try out Ry Cooder.

[pan]

Scott Ritter's latest on America in Iraq

Any analysis of the current state of the ongoing U.S. occupation of Iraq that relied solely on the U.S. government, the major candidates for president or the major media outlets in the United States for information would be hard pressed to find any bad news. In a State of the Union address which had everything except a “Mission Accomplished” banner flying in the background, President Bush all but declared victory over the insurgency in Iraq.

[waldopaper]

Kitchen Gardeners International:
http://www.kitchengardeners.org/

looks reeeally good... might be a good place for the ladies present (who know MUCH more about growing stuff) to start another rbc group... soz we don't starve after the goons take over... just sayin...

[Gavin]

This is just cool. I'm gonna' make me one!

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/02/cctv-busting-in.html

[pan]

Beyond wikipedia - 19 internet resources for basic research in various topics.

[waldopaper]

Thanks pan... will give this to the groups... so as to not come empty-handed: Jean Pain and composting experiments in Mother Earth News. Gavin- I think having a halo-head would draw more heat than a hoodie... and not the kind you can heat your house with, either.

[Gavin]

That would only be on camera, the IR is invisible to the eye.

Besides, I was thinking about other aplications for personal privacy...

How 'bout ir lights for yer lisence plate so no cop cameras can get ya'?

Huh?

And there are probabally a lot more uses.

If a lot of people were using IR "shielding" then you would be simply one of hundreds of "halo heads".

[pan]

Affordable zero carbon home debuts in the UK

[pan]

I thought I had already posted this but couldn't find it. Helpful when going back and forth with a sloganeering Paulista. Non-Libertarian FAQ

[curt]

http://gadgetroll.com/

thx for the IR headband tip. Have made LED-clad garmets before, just 4 fun. Even made an LED headband once, just 4 fun and to attract attention at a party. Years ago. The IR LEDs cost a pretty penny but it's better to get them while before the price goes up any further or before the registry of purchases begins. Imagine the effort required to revamp existing cctv systems to override this loophole. These things will be outlawed by next week, of course. A bag of weed and a few IR LEDs in your Rucksack and you're up shitcreek.

[waldopaper]

Really interesting article, Lara! I always thought FPRI was kind of a "front group,"
"The most potent force in this architecture of power is the package of cultural, economic, political, and military ideologies propagated by the right’s think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, Hudson Institute, and Hoover Institution. Less prominent think tanks that advance neoconservative views on foreign policy include the Jamestown Foundation, Foreign Policy Research Institute, and the Manhattan Institute."

however-- they present their case well. Here, they challenge the "unwinnable" meme. and perhaps rightly so... but to speculate... a "victory" in Vietnam would probably resemble the "victory" in Korea... a divided land and an occupation (to this day). As to the "cost outweighing the benefit," what the hell was the "benefit," other than getting commie-bashing cold warriors "elected?" The fog of history is one question that fascinates me more than most others... which is why I have devoted so much time to study of the US Civil War and Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany is a unique case, partially because the the "ruling elite" were so quickly destroyed and records and documents were taken largely intact. Few historical events have been picked-over and sifted as much as the US Civil War... and we STILL don't completely understand. Where the two ideas (Nazi Germany... US Civil War) merge is "World War I," which remains a huge enigma to this day, and if we understood the causes and results better than we do now, we might not have our heads so far up our ass.

I've read lots of scholarly booyah on WWI too... and lectured about it extensively to son Zeke (to his great annoyance)... but those lectures bore fruit... Zeke (so far) has produced the best encapsulation of WWI I have ever heard... which is this: "...because if WE had a red ball, YOU might try to take it." And so the same "pro-active" bullshit mental frame continues to this day... which is why I am now so interested in Lincoln'ts"reactive genius."

As far as Vietnam goes... I can speak as a "'60s type" who was "involved" with the "anti-war" movement" and I believe this with near certainty: the "protests" didn't "stop" the "war..." they didn't even slow it down. My own pet theory is that it was the beginning of revolution within the military. As I get older and crabbier, I am becoming a fairly hardened "Marxian," which seems to be the rich fatties' worst-fucking-nightmare for the past 140 years for what seems to me are obvious reasons.

When the "mission" becomes bullshit... even for mercenaries... (and the lads in VN were NOT mercenaries... as opposed to the people in Iraq and Afghanistan who ARE... thanks to the "all volunteer" military... and I ain't crackin' on mercenaries... they- too- know how to "cut their losses")... when the "career" executive (or officer) becomes more of a threat than the competition (or enemy)... the best thing is to pull the plug on Cinderella and see what the dipdunks send down the line next... and if it's just as dumb... pull the plug on them too.

These days are the last stand for the rich fatties. They have either taken their boodle and booked in hopes of setting up their neo-feudalist fiefdom... or they're laying down ideological smokescreens in hopes of doing so. Fuck them... they aren't the problem any more. The problem is their dupes and stooges... people just like us... who will do the rich fatties' bidding because they believe the bullshit. The polarization is happening now... just as it always has.

Who can guess what shape it will take?