And so we bid adieu to Newt Gingrich. What will we miss most? His creepy grins during the 6,594 presidential debates? His failed attempts to market himself as something other than a career politician with more connections than the Mayflower Madam? His sudden jump to the far, FAR right in order to pander to crazy people who think President Obama is a socialist Muslim? I know what I will miss. His patriotism.

Think about it. Newt Gingrich said during an interview with The Christian Broadcasting Network that he loved his country so much, it made him cheat not once, but twice, possibly more. Newt's patriotic penis, wrapped lovingly in a condom emblazoned with the American flag, standing at half mast, was responsible for his adultery. (Note: I have no idea if you can actually buy condoms with an American flag design, but given the right's penchant for putting the flag on everything from shirts to belt buckles to beer cozies, it would not surprise me in the very least.)

Newt Gingrich loves America so deeply and with such hot, fiery passion that he was unable to control himself. Folks, it wasn't his fault! Yes, he got himself into a few sticky situations, but being such a cunning linguist, he saved his reputation and his campaign for leader of the free world was never deflated. What caused the demise of Newt's campaign? Well, amazingly, he ran out of money, support and at some point last week, a reporter for Weekly World News, sorry, World Net Daily asked "Newt who?"

He tried, bless his heart. Newt tried to be nuts, he tried to say things that would rile the fringe. When he said Palestinians were not actually people, I thought he would be the Republican candidate. When he whined so emotionally about the make-believe war on religion, most of us who are still allowed to play with sharp objects believed he was a shoe in. He just didn't sell it.

As we wave goodbye to Newt, we can begin to focus on the presumptive candidate, Willard Mitt Romney. Ann and Mitt have a long road ahead of them, but luckily, they have a staff to carry them along.

The evolution of Halo's most compelling character.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/04/27/the-rise-and-fall-of-cortana-in-halo-4.aspx

via Game Informer:
Most fans have noticed Cortana's prominent placement on the cover of the latest issue of the magazine. The new Halo team at 343 Industries is aiming to build her up as both a pivotal character in the plot and as a showcase for the new technology behind the scenes. We talked with Frank O' Connor about the evolution of Cortana throughout the series, why she chooses to be a naked blue lady, and how the impending end of her life affects both Master Chief emotionally and the overall story of Halo 4. 

The real war on women is in the Middle East.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/04/23/why_do_they_hate_us


An incredible article from Foreign Policy by Egyptian-American journalist Mona Eltahwy.

"Even after these "revolutions," all is more or less considered well with the world as long as women are covered up, anchored to the home, denied the simple mobility of getting into their own cars, forced to get permission from men to travel, and unable to marry without a male guardian's blessing -- or divorce either."

Blizzard opening Diablo III beta for stress test this weekend.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/04/blizzard-opening-diablo-iii-beta-for-stress-test-this-weekend.ars


Anyone else planning to play the hell out of it? I know I am. Sleep and social lives are for the weak.

Your tax dollars at work (with hilarious results)

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/04/f35-videos/

From Wired's 'Danger Room' blog:

"YouTube is full up with jet-porn vids of F-35s flying at night, blasting off from a simulated carrier deck or pleasing its pilots, all set to a bombastic modern-rock soundtrack. The idea, apparently, is that when you hear a generic version of the Killers, you'll forget all about sticker shock and engineering mishaps and soar into the air, borne on the back of a fifth-generation fighter jet and propelled by a whammy bar."

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, to put your fears to rest about the F-35's exorbitant price tag and enormous technological hurdles, Lockheed Martin has assembled a series of laughably horrible viral videos. Kudos to whoever put together that cheesy music video, it's magical.

On Ted Nugent.

Recently, professional has-been Ted Nugent (y'know, the guy who wrote songs in the 70's about getting pussy to cope with the fact that the only pussy he was capable of getting in the 70's was the kind that today would land you in prison for serial pedophilia) has been making headlines for his remark at an NRA rally promising to either 'be dead or in jail' if Barack Obama were re-elected as President of the United States (the clear implication being that he would attempt some kind of violent coup; you can't really read that any other way). This gaffe has landed him in hot water with everyone from the Secret Service (investigating his remarks) to his homeboy Mitt Romney (whose campaign has denounced the aging rocker) and even his beloved National Rifle Association.

I have a question, regarding the brouhaha surrounding this.

...why are we giving this man attention?

Because that's what he wants. That's exactly why he made the remark- do you actually think this draft dodging, three-chord-playing, lolita-screwing elderly walking delusion of grandeur  has the balls to even attempt to think about possibly putting down assassination plans on paper? C'mon now. He wouldn't even contemplate actually going through with anything that could actually get him in trouble. That leaves a single reason (apart from the fact that he is utterly batshit) as to why he said this: he wants to be back in the spotlight again. He misses that brief but happy time when anyone not dating their sister gave a fuck about him. Why are we giving him this? 

He wants to be considered some big, badass rebel. He wants to be that rock star he's always wished he was capable of being, the kind of sloppy, oversexed musical god giving a middle finger to the establishment. He's not that, he's never been that...but we're giving him a shadow of the sort of attention he craves, and even that little bit is going to ensure that he'll stick around for a while, making the occasional dumbass remark about shooting this or that Democrat for the sole purpose of whipping the media into a frenzy and winning that fleeting moment in the spotlight he so desperately needs to stay even remotely relevant.

So, I ask again...why are we giving this man attention?

Just a couple of reviews to pass the time!

Couple of movie reviews I wanted to share real quickly. I'm not gonna get into anything densly worded so I'm just gonna come out and say it. THE HUNGER GAMES: Very long (about 2 hours and some change), epic, brutal, captivating action, compelling story, great supporting cast; Not TOO violent, so don't look for anything too gory. But the film does the exceptional trick. If you're not one for campy romanticism then you won't have to worry too much about that. But very great love story, very emotional, full of energy and well worth the price of a ticket.

THE RAID: REDEMPTION, from the same people that brought you MERANTAU...saw this one last weekend. Trust me, if you are any kind of action film fan, you may very well enjoy yourself with this one; Police corruption is uncovered when a raid into a criminal mastermind's apartment building goes awry, leaving the team to fight for their lives and bring a just-end to an already failed mission. There are deep story arcs about family, duty and honor, and the action is where it belongs. Director Gareth Evans is obviously perfect at what he does, and so are the amazing cast and stunt members, including action star Iko Uwais who lights up the screen, and doesn't just let the fighting speak for his talents. Great story, great soundtrack by Joe Trapanese and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park...this one's a win.

Hopefully I'll get to see a few more films this summer, busy schedule notwithstanding. But go see these in the meantime! They don't disappoint!

Peace!

Battleship Clip

Found this puppy over at ComingSoon.Net.

This is gonna be interesting to look at. It stars Taylor Kitsch (who played Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and the recently released John Carter), Rihanna, and Liam Nesson among others.

On a seperate note, I can't wait to see what's what with Taken 2!

Anyway, what do you think of the clip? Will John Carter redeem himself with this one?

What's up!?

Hey people! Name's Lee, I'm an amateur blogger living in the Big Apple, I work everyday, I play very little, I discuss politics on Facebook on a daily basis as long as I can afford internet access, I share liberal viewpoints while accepting of *some* mindful conservative views from other people (as long as those views are founded on honesty and are grounded in reality).

I used to be a gamer many years ago, but life caught up and now I'm a clothing salesman. Not exactly a dream job of mine, but it's independence for me. My dad built it and during its conception, it became a family effort. It's a small, growing business that has seen its share of success, and, especially, hardship. The recession made things difficult, and things still are.

But the recession was also what politically woke me up. It also woke me up socially and economically over the past few years, and it made me pay attention to the political discourse in this country. And not for nothing-I had always wondered if we would ever see a black president. However, context became more important...hence, why I place emphasis on discourse, particularly on television and in print media.

I baulk at the idea behind anyone who discusses politics claims they became "conservative" because of something they so fatuously say they "learned". Ha!

Well, not to burst anyone's bubble or anything, but personally, I'm very proud to be on the more side that's more prone to reality than anything. ;-)

And yes, I am an Obama supporter, and I though I support the critical arguments and conversations being had about the last four years, make no mistake. For all the egriegious, deleterious and acrimonius positions taken by his critics on BOTH sides, ESPECIALLY by some useful idiots who are supposed to be more mindful about their progressive views (IMO anyway) I support him, for the accomplishments he continues to achieve, and the compromises his opponents refuse to make, and then some...

...you know, for the sake of their "principles".

*smdh

Anyway, that's it for now. You know where I stand. Friends and mindful conversationalists, feel free to follow me!

Ciao!

Can You Raise a Thoughtful Voter?

Do any of you readers out there want to raise your children to be interested and involved in the political system from an early age? I would like that for my children, but it is a daunting task to tackle. I remember growing up-- as long ago as that may be-- and I always found the news on television to be mind-numbingly boring. In fact, I didn't grow out of it until I was in my late twenties.

The news, especially political news, is a bland, dull dish to someone who doesn't have the background knowledge and education to understand the significance of what is being reported. Although I was a somewhat late bloomer when it comes to my deep interest in the political environment, I always wanted to be involved in society and considered it my civic duty to be involved. I was interested in environmental and social justice causes from a young age; it was just that I did not see individual issues that I found compelling in the frame of the big picture.

I did vote reliably as soon as I was eighteen years old, and spent at least the afternoon closely perusing the description of each candidate in the free guide available by the League of Women Voters before making my decisions. Still, once that was over, I went about my everyday life and ignored the news and never saw if the candidates who won (whether I voted for them or not) were making a difference, for better or worse, in our communities.

So, how do we make politics palatable to our children at a younger age so they become involved participants in their government earlier on? I have an idea for one possibility--music. Maybe it's not for all kids, but most young people I know are very interested in popular music.

For better or worse, I was raised on Mtv, back when it actually was music television. I was very nearly obsessed with music-- and here's the important part-- memorized the lyrics to an enormous amount of songs. Granted, many songs, especially pop songs, are meaningless fluff on the whole. However, there are also a decent amount of musical artists who write thoughtful lyrics concerning the most controversial and pressing issues in the world, or at least their own nations, at the time they are written.

There are enough examples of this that I have considered writing at length on different musical artists and their positions on social issues. I have only neglected to do so because I am not sure if there is a sizable audience interested in reading such things. However, when it comes to my topic du jour, the audience is already there: your children.

So, what I am saying here is that music is a fantastic way of introducing your children to politics and societal concerns and nurturing them to be active participants in their government. For example, if you hear your child singing along with a song on the radio or their mp3 player, etc., strike up a conversation. Ask them if that is one of their favorite artists or songs. If so, ask what they like most about it. Listen to or look up the lyrics. If it is a band or song that doesn't have a message that can be used in a discussion about larger issues in society, try and find something about the artist or song that sounds similar to a band or piece that you know and ask them if they have heard of it.

No, this is not a one-time discussion. Yes, it take some effort and time to communicate with your children about their musical interests and then segue it into discussions about politics. However, I believe it is a fun and insightful way not only to raise your child into an aware and franchised young adult, but also to understand what cultural influences are affecting your child and who they are as a person.

It's not as complicated or difficult as I may have inadvertently portrayed, seriously. Here's an example:

Hey Devin, whatcha listening to? Oh yeah? I hear they're from Ireland. Do you like them a lot? You know, when I was young, there was a popular singer from Ireland named Sinead O'Connor. In fact, she's still around. She was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live back when I was in high school. After she performed, she ripped up a picture of the Pope on camera. Everyone freaked out about it. She did it as a protest against sexual abuse in the Catholic church. Maybe Irish musicians are more prone to speak out against things they think are wrong. Both U2 and The Cranberries are from Ireland. U2 is famous in part for a song about pacifism and civil rights and the band members are activists for causes such as relief for those suffering from famine or unemployment. The Cranberries have a song protesting civil violence in their own country between groups of people who were bombing each other and other atrocities for decades.

Yeah, I tried to cram a whole lot of information there in the one example, but I think you get my point. You have the time to ease into these conversations with your children at home. The above example could actually be the content of two or three conversations with more or less detail, dependent upon the age and apparent interest of the kid.

So, take it for what it's worth to you. If you want your children to be informed and interested in current politics and social issues, maybe the music they are listening is the open door to introducing them to these sometimes onerous topics. Cheers!

How to Identify an Agent Provocateur

By Occupy Taketothestreets Asheville in Occupy Asheville INFO Group

As governments around the world, including our own, face more and more popular resistance, we’re witnessing a revival of the use of agent provocateurs. An agent provocateur is the well-used tactic of using undercover military or police to join a dissenting group or protest in order to provoke others in the group to carry out illegal actions and violence. The goal is to discredit the group from the inside. Sometimes the group gets discredited with those outside. Other times the group is enticed into internal divisions and collapses.

-Drawing from several sources, experienced observers have suggested some tips for identifying such agents. They’re not foolproof, but they’re a start.

-Agents will often lack background connections or references. No one in your circles or related groups will know them.

-Agents try to keep discussions and action unproductive and still. They’ll spend plenty of time debating issues, with little action. They focus on ideas over people.

-They tend to create messes in groups and between group members. They leave chaos in their wake.

-They tend to gravitate toward people in the group who are dissatisfied. Once relationships with those folks grow, the dissatisfaction spreads.

-Some agents have been former prisoners who do this work as part of a deal. These folks tend to jump from organization to organization in a relatively short time.

-Agents don’t have known sources of income. They might have a job that doesn’t match their spending or claim their money comes from prior savings.

-They tend to provide gifts for key figures at first. This helps them build trust with the group.

-When confronted, they will get defensive and start making their own accusations.

-They act like zealots, but they don’t have the fruit of it. They have passion but don’t truly care.

-Of course, good but immature people can do all these things. Discernment involves sound judgment calls. Protection from agent provocateurs increases as your group matures. If your group has rich relationships and trust, you won’t as easily fall prey to cheap provocateurs.

For more info on Agents Provocateurs Please see our other links on ALGG that discuss Anarchists and their tactics such as vandalism and attempts to hijack the marches etc.

O'Keefe apparently has no problems breaking his probation.

                                         
       You may remember James O'Keefe from such incidents as the maligning of an ACORN official, the maligning of NPR executives, and , most notable, his attempted wire tapping of the phones of the New Orleans Senatorial office of Senator Mary Landrieu. The former landed him a felony conviction along with Robert Flanagan, the son of William Flanagan, acting U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Louisiana. He was sentenced to probation, court ordered to live with his parents in Westwood, New Jersey. But this hasn't stopped O'Keefe from attempting to malign the occupywallstreet movement. This isnt the first time he has appeared in New York or Washington D.C. If O'Keefe is allowed to break his felony convicted probation, I would love to know what his probation officer thinks about it. Would you?
Darrel Naquin Federal Probation Officer New Orleans 
United States Probation Office 
New Jersey Federal Probation Supervisory Officer
Patrick Hattersley - (973)-357-4080
-humanstruggle

#OCCUPY POSTERS: NIXON STYLE

Click through each image to download hi-res versions! Based on the Poster Issues by OBEY/GIANT. Remixed by Psychological Industries. Do what thou wilt with them in a non-profit way!

Original OBEY Posters Here

Portland Pisses off Anarchists trying to incite violence

Excerts from the Occupy Seattle Forums:

We just got back from the opening march for Occupy Portland, and were even more disappointed by how liberal, reformist, and nonthreatening it was than we had expected. The website for Occupy Portland had promised that "proper actions" would be taken against "instigators" of any "illegal activity (property destruction etc.)," which we can only interpret as a threat to snitch to the cops, so we went with low expectations, but this was by all means a massive disappointment even taking into account our pessimism from the get-go.


We attended the opening march for Occupy Portland because we are some angry-ass proles who really hate capitalism. Although Occupy Wall Street (and the various off-shoot occupations) have few official defined goals or positions, there is a general opposition to "corporate greed" and "corrupt politics". As anarchists, we seek to expose and destroy the roots of these problems - as long as capitalism and the state exist, there will be greedy corporations and corrupt politicians. Capitalism and the state cannot be reformed into something kinder, gentler, or more humane, it is exploitative by nature. We wished to push the discourse at Occupy Portland in a more radical, explicitly anti-capitalist and anti-state direction.

Why are these guys always trying to take over while complaining about how no one should be in charge in the same breath? Dont you just love cognitive dissonance?

Although Occupy Wall Street and the offshoot occupations are supposed to be leaderless movements, we found that there were most definitely leaders who managed everything, from the route to the chants to who was allowed to be at the front of the march to who was allowed up on the microphone at the rally at the end of the march. To be clear, this was a hierarchical, authoritarian event. These leaders/organizers, especially the wannabe-cops wearing blue "peacekeeper" armbands, are not our comrades in any way, shape, or form. When the march stopped at Pioneer Courthouse Square, the "peacekeepers" (whose role it was to de-escalate any conflict should it arise) chanted to the bike cops something along the lines of "Thank you cops, we love you!" It should be self-evident to anyone who doesn't have their head stuck up their ass that the police are not our allies. The police protect property over people and enact violence daily along lines of oppression. The police exist to protect and serve capital. The police uphold the very institutions that the Occupy movement is supposedly fighting. When we brought out the usual anti-cop chants ("All cops are bastards, ACAB" and "No justice, no peace! Fuck the police!") we were shouted over and told to calm down. One of the peacekeepers called out on the megaphone, "we need volunteers to block the anarchists because they're being negative and this is a positive event!" We were repeatedly told that "cops are the 99% too!", which made us very sad that so few people have any understanding of how class society functions. Cops are class traitors and the enemy.

The person who spoke on the microphone before us said something along the lines of "this is a revolution that started in Egypt and is now sweeping the globe!" The Occupy Portland organizers conveniently forget that in Egypt, they actually fought the cops. Again and again, past movements are rewritten as nonviolent and nonconfrontational, and anyone who dares to draw clear lines in the sand with the cops on the other side is silenced and branded divisive and a threat to the movement.

Obviously these cats think they can rail road the movement to obey their twisted demands to go against all civilized actions straight to murder, arson, and depraved chaos. But as you can see Seattle organizers dealt with the situation properly.

http://forum.occupyseattle.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=36

EFF on Digital Privacy Rights

Stickers and Posters here. Proceeds donated to the EFF

In a recent Washington Times editorial titled “Internet trolls, Anonymity and the First Amendment,” Gayle Falkenthal declared that “the time has come to limit the ability of people to remain anonymous” online.* She argued that any benefit to online pseudonyms has long since dissipated and anonymous commenters have polluted the Internet “with false accusations and name-calling attacks.” Newspapers, she wrote, should ban them entirely.


This argument is not only inaccurate, it's also dangerous: online anonymity, while allowing trolls to act with impunity, also protects a range of people, from Syrian dissidents to small-town LGBT activists and plenty of others in between.


Unfortunately, many newspapers have already banned anonymous comments, and while not all have offered an explicit reasoning for their policies, "civility" is often cited as justification in discussions on online anonymity.


Of course, online civil discourse is something to strive for. Anyone who’s spent time reading YouTube comment threads is aware of the vitriolic bile spewing from the keyboards of largely anonymous masses. And it is a truism that when people speak using their true identity, they are more likely to think about the consequences of their speech.

SOURCE LINK

Kate Danley on OCCUPY Wall Street

What They did not want you to ever find out is that your generation, the gener...ation born between 1980-1995, actually outnumbers the Baby Boomers. They knew that if you ever turned your eye towards political reform, you could change the world.

They tried to keep you sated on vapid television shows and vapid music. They cut off your education and fed you brain candy. They took away your music and gave you Top Ten pop stations. They cut off your art and replaced it with endless reality shows for you to plug into, hoping you would sit quietly by as They ran the world. I think They thought you were too dumb to notice.

Indeed, I thought They had won.

But I watched you occupy the capital of Wisconsin. I see you today as you occupy Wall Street. And I see a spark, a glimmer of the glorious new age that is yours. A changing of the guard, a guard that has stood for entirely too long and needs your young legs to take his place.

I watch you turn away from what is easy and stand up for what is right. I see you understand we as a society are only as strong as our weakest link. I see you wise beyond your years. And I am proud. Give ‘em hell, kids. You are beautiful. -Kate Danley

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Henry Rollins on OCCUPY Wall Street

Progressive Counter-balance to the Tea Party movement born out of #Occupywallstreet

Today when I was checking my Facebook feed I stumbled across an episode of Up w/ Chris Hayes on msnbc.com and he had Van Jones on his panel and Jones gave an interesting plug. Van Jones's Rebuild the dream movement is planning to launch a Progressive Campaign movement in 2012 out of the #Occupywallstreet protests.

To me this is music to my ears how great would it be if we had a government with values like putting kids through college, actually stopping climate change so we don't get screwed like in the Day After Tomorrow. Make the outsourcing corporations bring their jobs back to America. I think if Occupy Wall St. & Van Jones rebuild the dream movement succeed we could be on the verge of a new America and a better one for the good of the people.

http://rebuildthedream.com/blog/2011/10/06/lets-make-history-solidarity-with-occupy-wall-street/

We Are the 99%.

#OCCUPY: Cool Photo by Lee Ranaldo

SOURCE LINK