jane fonda commencement speech

 caught the last few minutes of this on c-span. i thought it was quite good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPYKI67KOy8

zionists crying wolf(!)

a couple of days ago u.s. president trump ordered planes to bomb nuclear facilities in iran. this followed an unprovoked attack from israel using american supplied weapons on iran. as usual, the justification for such 'pre-emptive' attacks is to prevent a 'terrorist' nation from acquiring nuclear weapons. however, much like the case with the iraq invasion in 2003, this 'threat' is wholly contrived and used to conceal the surreal reason why the zionist alliance of israel and the u.s. are constantly threatening to go to war in western asia when they aren't in fact doing so: to eliminate any and all opposition in the region to their hegemony.

this recently published article from jeff sachs exposes this pattern going back for decades. below is an excerpt followed by the link to the whole article:

Since 1992, Netanyahu and his supporters have claimed that Iran will become a nuclear power “in a few years." In 1995, Israeli officials and their US backers declared a 5-year timeline. In 2003, Israel’s Director of Military Intelligence said that Iran will be a nuclear power “by the summer of 2004.” In 2005, the head of Mossad said that Iran could build the bomb in less than 3 years. In 2012, Netanyahu claimed at the United Nations that “it’s only a few months, possibly a few weeks before they get enough enriched uranium for the first bomb.” And on and on.

This 30-year-plus pattern of shifting deadlines has marked a deliberate strategy, not a failure in prophecy. The claims are propaganda; there is always an “existential threat.” More importantly, there is Netanyahu’s phony claim that negotiations with Iran are useless.

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/netanyahu-war-on-iran

doom is still in the cards

Since starting this blog the vast majority of my posts have been about some aspect of dystopia, the horribleness of our culture and especially of government and rulers or 'authorities'. Of course, the prospect of a great mass extinction of species and near term human extinction is arguably of much greater importance. Because our culture is so myopic, long term prospects get short shrift, if attended to at all. I myself only think of doom infrequently and fleetingly, but never forget that just because it's out of mind doesn't mean it's out of the picture. Understanding and come to grips with the many ways in which civilization is unsustainable, i've known for a long time that it's days are numbered and almost certainly far fewer than most sheeple, even those few with a rudimentary understanding themselves of it's unsustainability, might suppose.

most sheeple have no idea how imminent and fated the collapse is. but there were a few over a decade ago who followed and participated in a blog titled NATURE BATS LAST that were well aware of it and thought it important enough to ponder and discuss at length. Below is an essay from that time / blog  by a writer whose view of the fundamental problem and potential solution, horrific as it is / was, is shared by me. Here's a snippet from it, followed by the link to it:

The vast majority of civilized humans believe civilization to be a good thing, and see it as something to be protected, nurtured, and preserved. I strongly disagree with this point of view. To me, that is like saying you want to save the patient and the cancer, too.

https://guymcpherson.com/on-the-acceptance-of-near-term-extinction/

psychedelic therapy / the war on consciousness

 i so want to experience a psychedelic trip in a therapeutic setting. i believe it would make me much happier and more likable. less depressed by dystopia and doom.

just read a lengthy article that was published by the new yorker magazine over 10 years ago, authored by michael pollan, who has also written a couple of books about psychedelics. article titled THE TRIP TREATMENT, specifically dealing with psychedelic use to treat anxiety about dying in the terminally ill. then watched a short video in which one of these psychedelic patients talks about his experience, which is the first link below:

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/video-magic-mushrooms-healing-trip

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/09/trip-treatment

of course, psychedelics have long been prohibited by the dogmatic puritanical hypocritical and corrupt government that rules over me and my fellow americans. of course, many other governments are similarly oppressive. in the link below, a 'banned tedtalk', graham hancock decries this prohibition / oppression. it's aptly titled 'the war on consciousness':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0c5nIvJH7w

standing up to fascism

Masked Agents Snatch NYC Mayoral Candidate In Chilling Video

as shown in this video, at least a few rather prominent americans are trying to stand up to the authoritarian thugs who work as immigration law enforcement officers in this time of fascism under a president who openly aspires to be a dictator and who, like others like him in the past, demonizes some particular minority group and persecutes them. will their courageous resistance be enough to stop or deter such madness? i doubt it, but am glad they're trying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WsvzqpsJpM

pride videos

 below is a copy of a post from last year. i decided it's a good idea to repost it every june,

in honor of pride month here's a couple of great videos. the first is an eloquent TED talk, a short fact based case that homosexuality makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, by a proud father of a gay son. the 2nd is an old tv movie, Doing Time On Maple Drive about a family with communication issues with conservative religious parents, a gay son, a plot with very dramatic twists and turns, and the family's struggle to come to terms with the truth of their lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Khn_z9FPmU

https://vimeo.com/242773246

one nation under fear

 i find it a little fascinating that in the biblical creation story our species original sin was eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. assuming this is metaphor, it's meaning is still mysterious.

for one, what is good and what is evil? and why is knowledge of it forbidden us? isn't such knowledge of the most vital importance? isn't our whole punitive criminal (in)justice system predicated on the assumption that sane people know the difference between right and wrong?

as anyone remotely knowledgeable of christianity should know, 'the wages of sin is death'. this proclaimed by 'our lord and savior' jesus christ in the new testament, it's consistent with old testament god's admonition to adam and eve, that if they ate forbidden fruit they would surely die.

so, what's the surreal deal here, christians? are we supposed to have knowledge of good and evil, to know what's right and what's wrong, or should we leave such matters up to god?

i doubt anyone has a satisfactory answer.

returning to the question of morality or the discernment of sin and virtue, again, by what or whose definition? and aren't many such questions fraught with complexity and ambiguity, in the surreal world?

some think that morality is best left to be defined by 'authorities'. of course the ultimate 'authority' lies with the highest levels of government, those who make laws, interpret, and execute them. and it is painfully obvious that these 'authorities', at least in the usa, are a bunch of idiots and assholes!

now i'll get to the title topic of this post. fear has long dominated my life. especially fear of failure and of rejection. and as i've gotten more experienced and better informed, fear/conviction that this is a hopelessly dystopian world  

but the fear that i and others like me now confront with a fascist would be dictator with many fascist brutal ruthless supporters running things in the usa, is a much more visceral fear. the fear of running afoul of these evil sick bastards. the fear of being punished for trying to stand up against them. it's a very well founded fear, considering what has been and is being done to others who have tried and are trying, like in the case of a young man, a foreign student at nearby cornell university, who, after speaking out against the horrid genocide being committed against palestinians by the horrid state of israel with the full horrid support of the usa and most of it's 'western' allies,.... found himself facing persecution and likely imprisonment and deportation, if he didn't first decide to self deport himself, which he did... link below to an excellent youtube video put out by the socialist equality party, detailing not only this case but the horrid history of american suppression of human rights, in striking contrast to the hypocritical lies and propaganda put out by the american establishment about how virtuous it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XjO7RRKQPI

"My country is killing me"

 26 years ago i lived in san diego where i met steve mcwilliams, a medical marijuana user and activist. California had recently legalized medical marijuana, but it was still criminalized for recreational use in the state and criminalized under federal law (as it still is), so it's legality was somewhat contested. I myself at that time used it to treat depression and insomnia (as i still do). This was without a prescription or medical authorization. I had simply discovered on my own that it's use was beneficial, therapeutic, so i used it illegally. This was an easy choice. It was obvious that the law was stupid and / or unjust. By this time i was 40 years old and had learned that many laws were stupid and or unjust, as was the whole political and legal establishment in america, if not the world.

anyhow, that's how i came to meet steve. I was interested in finding a doctor who would authorize me as a bonafide medical marijuana patient. In addition to advising me in this matter with a reference, steve and i talked more broadly about our worldviews, which were fairly compatible. We were both anarchists vehemently opposed to state power over our bodies and intimate personal choices. Steve had even written a pamphlet outlining his views that called for revolution, if i recall correctly. I wish i had saved the copy of it he gave me. I wish i had spent more time with him, gotten to know him better, developed more of a relationship. But i didn't. I didn't remain in san diego very long either. After i left i didn't forget him and was saddened to learn some time later that he had killed himself, largely because the government he had so opposed had persecuted and prosecuted him for being an outspoken activist.

my most memorable time spent with him was at the gay pride parade that year (1999) in san diego. It was quite an affair, a fairly big parade to a fairly big and enthusiastic audience. We were in the parade as part of a small medical marijuana contingent. Steve's usage was for chronic pain and to treat it he smoked a lot more than i, who could get by well on just a 'hit' (single inhalation) or 2 a day. So i didn't smoke at all during the parade, while steve would stop briefly about every 10 minutes to light up / take a hit. I had never seen anyone do this so publicly without fear of being busted (arrested), and i thought it was pretty cool.

i wish i'd spent more time with him because maybe i'd have become more like him, someone with more courage and resolve, more likable and relatable and relevant to the world. Otoh, maybe i'd have also met a similar fate as steve and some other more prominent critics / victims of the establishment, like peter mcwilliams (no relation to steve), author of a popular and very well written book that was also very critical of excessive governmental interference / control over our private lives, titled AIN'T NOBODY'S BUSINESS IF YOU DO. Peter didn't commit suicide; his government killed him by persecuting / prosecuting and jailing him while also denying him access to medical marijuana.

there has been plenty written about both of these men and their tragic deaths. to find out more all u need to do is google them. Here is a link to an article about the persecution (but not the death by suicide) of steve mcwilliams:

https://marijuananews.com/articles/federal-prosecution-of-activist-steve-mcwilliams-for-just-25-plants-relevant-to-american-refugees-in-canada-being-outspoken-is-the-real-crime-being-deprived-of-medication-is-the-real-punishment/legacy

and taken from that article, another link to a much less prominent  (and thus more representative) medical marijuana user and his own troubles relating to wanting to use a natural drug or medicinal plant which our incredibly callous, cruel, and corrupt government (acting partly on behalf of a greedy pharmaceutical industry which sought / seeks to eliminate competition against it's own very expensive patented and often less effective artificial medications) has saw fit to make war on (which in effect is of course a war on all who use it). This article ends with the statement which is the title of this missive: "My country is killing me"

https://marijuananews.com/articles/a-medical-marijuana-user-says-that-marinol-rescheduling-is-worthless-for-him-he-simply-cannot-afford-it-my-country-is-killing-me

i just composed this because this is pride month, and being so made me think of that parade i marched in with steve 26 years ago. I think victims of the war on drugs have much in common with those who suffer from the persecution of the LGBTQ (and some more letters) community. In fact, all civilized sheeple / people are victims to some extent by having to live under arbitrary repressive ignorant and bigoted authoritarian attitudes, laws, and regimes the world over; products of dogmatic puritanical cultures designed to facilitate the oppression and impoverishment of the masses and the enrichment / empowerment of the elites who rule over us.

this is the best article i've read about the very determined, courageous life and death of a largely unknown american martyr, steve mcwilliams. No doubt there are others like him we aren't aware of:

https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/steve-mcwilliams-medical-marijuana-activist-fallen-warrior.85905/

___________________________________________________________

epilogue (or should this be a prologue?) to this post: the first time i slept after posting the above, i had the following dream:

i'm at home, with the company of a few select guests, fellow potential activists i hope to educate. My guests are outside my home, while i'm inside. I look out a window and see an enormous tornado, sky to ground, very nearby on the opposite side of the house from where my guests are. I rush out to warn them but am so frightened i have great difficulty getting out the words (or maybe the difficulty is from being asleep dreaming): "Tornado!!! Get inside, take cover now!" They rush to follow me indoors, while i think of the best place to take shelter in my small home without a cellar. I decide it's in the bath tub. I look out the same window where i'd seen the tornado and now it appears to be right by it, a dark cloud of wind whipping madly by from one side to another, and am terrified as i take shelter among my guests, 1/2 expecting to die momentarily. But we don't die, as the danger just misses and spares us. Could this be a clear warning or admonition from a god whose existence i'm firmly agnostic about? I and my guests are enormously relieved to have been spared. Perhaps they, like me, are taking this harrowing brush with death as an omen to be extra careful about how we should proceed as activists seeking to radically change our world.

christianity / worthy of consideration

 christianity is a crock of creature crotch!

president trump might be the worst american who has ever lived. that's saying a lot, considering there's been serial killers, mass shooters, robber barons, and war criminals galore. at the very least, he's worthy of consideration for this infamous title. he's such a stupid, cruel, narcissistic prick!

the nation he leads, replete with tens of millions of his ardent supporters, might be the worst nation in the history of this sordid world. that too is saying a lot. at the very least, it's worthy of consideration!

the bible just might be the most ridiculous and repugnant 'holy book' ever created. it's worthy of consideration!

in consideration of pride month, this fine documentary about the fight for gay marriage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFNSo353XdE

a truly sick and depraved society!?

 this (video link below) is a very provocative pov one never sees in lamestream western media, which is zealously zionist. the description and depiction of common israelis is truly shocking. is it accurate? poll statistics, a well documented genocide with daily war crimes by israel, along with video examples of israelis talking and acting like sick nazis does make a pretty strong case against them in my view.

from c. j. werleman's youtube channel, about 2:20 into it he quotes a former israeli president as saying that israel is a truly sick and depraved society, about as strongly condemning as a statement can be. i can't help but think that the same can be said about israel's most staunch supporter, the hyper militarized and imperialistic usa, which is somewhat like israel in it's 'conservative' authoritarian religiosity and racism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGL8ZCd9Tao