Monthly Archives: October 2004

Going down the drain

Sunday, October 10, 2004

So I just watched Cheney's daughter getting interviewed about his actions while with Halliburton. Watching her continues to convince me that this really is a “stupid versus smart” battle. Wolf Blitzer asked her whether Edwards' statements were true, and she said that anyone who wanted to know the truth should visit factcheck.org. Wolf even stepped in to say “now, that's factcheck.org, correct?” since last time they gave the URL (oops).

However, factcheck.org says “Edwards was mostly right.”

CNN of course knows this and have recently reported on it, so Wolf went on to play the clip of Edwards' accusations. Here they are again:

“While [Dick Cheney] was CEO of Halliburton, they paid millions of dollars in fines for providing false information on their company, just like Enron and Ken Lay. They did business with Libya and Iran, two sworn enemies of the United States. They're now under investigation for having bribed foreign officials during that period of time.”

So in the clearest of terms, in very recent history Cheney has supported terrorist states, has helped them fight the United States and its allies, broke US law resulting in his company being fined millions of dollars, and engaged in acts of government corruption. So basically not only could one make the case that he's a criminal in the US and a criminal internationally, but he's a man that's acted deeply against the national interests of the United States. These are the facts.

Wolf asked Cheney, “was Edwards lying?” one last time after playing this clip. She didn't deny it — couldn't, in fact — and simply said it was “unimportant” and a “smoke screen” by “the most leftist of liberals” (do people really buy this malarky?). Come on America. Look at his history. I understand that you're a puritanical nation that isn't turned off by his anti-woman and anti-gay action, but as of only five years ago he was an enemy of the United States government… and now you're thinking about giving him a second term as Vice President?

Wow.

I've been talking to another friend who lived in a poor third world nation, and for some time worked for their government. They started doing things in secret, doing stuff they weren't supposed to do, even though a famine was going on. Even though he'd served well and had public support, the government stripped him of his position and threw him in prison (he's out now, but has to “be very careful” with what he says). The crazy thing is though, on the whole, he seems to face less corruption than is expected in the West!

I've already mentioned how the Libertarian and Green Party candidates spent the night of the last Presidential debates in prison. However, you should know that the US is also starting to throw its own reporters in prison. Now, there are accusations of CIA and other US agents killing reporters in Iraq and Afghanistan, but this most recent case is domestic.

New York Times reporter Judith Miller has just been sentenced to 18 months in a holding cell (not even “real” prison with facilities) due to her refusal to name a government source (more). Arthur Sulzberger, her publisher, writes,

“The pending imprisonment of Judy Miller is an attack on the ability of all journalists to report on the actions of governments, corporations and others. The Times will continue to fight for the ability of journalists to provide the people of this nation with the essential information they need to evaluate issues affecting our country and the world.”

Miller herself added that she can't work as an investigative reporter “without the trust of my sources and their confidence that I would protect them. I must, and I will.”

For those of you who don't remember, this is about the public revealing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent after her husband, a former ambassador, spoke out against the government and revealed that they knew that the Niger nukes story was totally fraudulent. The disturbing part is that Judith Miller is not who broke the story or leaked the name. The name was leaked by Robert Novak, a conservative journalist — Plume is just believed to know who it was.

Novak, being on the “right” side of politics, has not been charged or imprisoned.

And that is what makes this very, very scary. That is another puzzle piece that shows you how interconnected “their” systems are. And that is why you need to think very carefully about what kind of America you are going to vote for in a few weeks. Vote now, before it's too late, because armed revolution, as noble as it may seem hundreds of years later, really sucks at the time.

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Numbers

Sunday, October 10, 2004

I mentioned yesterday how the US is throwing Presidential candidates that don't have a stamp of approval from the two mega-corporations-parties, into prison, even though they have the legal support of millions of disenfranchised Americans. To be very clear: the rights of millions of Americans to take part in the political process are being squashed as their candidates sit in prison, banned from speaking to the general public at the national debates.

Here's a piece of related trivia that you may want to add to your roster. It's an interesting fact to think about next time someome blathers on about “Saddam's rape rooms”. A woman in the US military has a far greater chance of being raped by a government employee than a woman living in Iraq. A quarter of women in the US military report being raped by fellow soldiers, and asking them if they've been raped has become a standard part of the discharge process (more).

Oh, and those numbers are from the Department of Veteran's Affairs for those of you who believe that everything I write here is some baseless liberal/libertarian/whatever scourge.

So a “friend of a friend” of mine is at a county fair with his daughter, who is sitting on his shoulders as they walk around. He's approached by a guy, who says to him “don't you think it's a wrong for you to be touching your daughter like that?”

He's a bit confused for a moment, tells the guy to leave him alone, and continues on his way without changing anything. Half an hour later he sees the guy again, and he's got cops with him. He's arrested — turns out the guy he had a run in with was a child protective services officer.

Now he's sitting in prison awaiting trial as a child molester.

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God on our side…

Saturday, October 9, 2004

How would you feel if government candidates managed to get popular and national (rather than simply regional) support, but were then put in prison to keep them from debating the “officially approved” party candidates and surrounding media? Do we need to send out troops to assure democracy in that nation? Should the UN get involved to protect the people's rights?

Last night before the US Presidential debate, Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party and David Cobb of the Green Party showed up to speak to the media, as well as to serve the CPD with a (legal) Order to Show Cause related to electoral corruption. To be very clear, these two men are on the ballot in 48 states. These aren't some fringe candidates; these are people who millions of Americans support (although millions is still a small minority). To be clear on that: millions of people support these candidates.

Millions.

Upon their arrival, the Secret Service threw them into the back of a van and kept them imprisoned until not only after the debates, but until after the reporter pools had left for the night. Not letting them into the debate is one thing, but escalating it to the point where they're not even allowed to protest and take part in the political process or even talk to the media is chilling.

 

Click on either of the two images to jump to that candidate's press release on the subject. As should be no surprise, this has received effectively zero mainstream media attention, and I expect the regular lot of “the sky's not falling” yaysayers will pipe up in the whatever forum about how these people with millions of Americans supporting them aren't “real candidates anyway”.

Because disenfranchising millions of Americans is no big deal, right?

Who cares — they're in the minority.


The Bush statements about Canadian drugs last night were bizarre — remember where he said he was worried Americans would start dropping dead if cash-strapped seniors had access to inexpensive “unregulated” Canadian drugs that could be from any third world country? That was sort of a “huh?” moment because not only are most of those drugs being made by US companies, the Canadian version of the FDA is often more restrictive than its US counterpart…

It's another one of those really obvious lies where you really have to wonder why people buy it. Do Americans really believe that Canada has “third world” drugs that are killing our citizens left and right? According to the CIA factbook, Canada has a life expectancy of 80 years, whereas Americans only live to be 77 on average. But the good thing about supporting Bush is you don't have to worry about facts, because you've got God on your side.

After watching the movie Belly (more), I've had the idea implanted in my head that I really could just pick up and move to Africa if I really wanted to. But it's such an alien place. I know quite a few South Africans (part of my family lived there as well), and a couple people who've done missionary and other aid work, and some tourists, but I don't really know anyone who's lived at length in the heart of Africa… until now.

I've been so thrilled over the last week to be interviewing someone who does live there, with a amazing background and a very rich story that will be told in my new book. It's looking like we're going to be legally blocked from US residence after all, so we have yet another “what's the latest country going to be” debate in what must seem like a “can't you guys ever make up your mind” tale. So now dreams of moving to near Swakopmund (a little German town in Namibia described as “a charming seaside village at the foot of desert dunes”) are running through my head.

Internet access is totally available in Africa (satellite usually; better coverage than the US in many ways), it's inside our financial capabilities… I'm being told to come and see for ourselves (more).

Other than that, Rachel is in NYC on a shoot. You'd think that would mean I get more work done, but it tends to in fact just make me a bit aimless. When she's here, I talk to Rachel all day long (much to her chagrin I suspect) and it keeps me on target. Anyway, her flight was early on Wednesday morning, so an alarm clock was set for 5:45 AM. I never use alarm clocks, so when it went off the next morning I didn't know how to turn it off. I just pushed all the buttons on top and after a moment it turned off.

When I woke up today I saw that it was already 10:30 in the morning! I'd totally overslept — it was weird though, because it was quite dark out and really foggy and dim. I thought to myself what a strange day it was, but it was late and I needed to get to work. It wasn't until I was already thoroughly awake before I realized that I hadn't hit a “snooze” button on the clock — I'd simply set the time to three hours in the future. So it wasn't an overcast day, it was just very early in the morning.

Well, let's hope that getting whacked out of bed helps with my daydreaming.

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Lame

Saturday, October 9, 2004

I don't have too much to say about the debate last night. Assuming you're not just a selfish millionaire (and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that), at this point a commoner would have to be insane or imbecilicly gullible to keep voting Bush — the debate consisted of Kerry making reasonable and pointed statements, and Bush countering them with strings of talking points and tired old discredited jokes. Personally I think it's insulting that he would treat the US people as such idiots.

Remember by the way how Bush has been talking about how he has had over ten million Afghani citizens registered to vote… and I've been pointing out that there are under ten million eligible voters in the entire country? Well, the election “happened”, and, as I and others warned, it flopped — the only candidate that didn't boycott the election was CIA approved current dictator Hamid Karzai (more). Bush calling it a “victory for democracy” not withstanding, the whole pack of lies is beginning to collapse.

If you haven't yet watched it, check out Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry, a documentary about his Vietnam service. Since a large part of the campaign against him has been painting him as wishy-washy or weak, you may want to watch this to get an idea of what he's really about. You can download it for free here, or you can get the DVD or see it in theatres.


“This is not a struggle of one day or one month or one year or of one war — it is a struggle and an effort and a contribution which we make for the rest of our lives. And though men of small minds and less character may project themselves onto their fellow citizens and suggest that an America that admits its mistake will turn into a craven hollow place, we will continue this struggle, because this country is bigger than they are, and bigger than any of us here.”    - John Kerry, April 1971

People need to watch this. I know it must be hard to vote against something you've been conditioned your whole life to believe is “your team”, but sometimes that's what you have to do when your democracy starts to stumble off into corrupt territory. Sometimes standing up against your government, first and foremost by voting, is required to save your nation.

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Heh

Friday, October 8, 2004

I post this article exclusively for my friends on the review team:

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TV time

Thursday, October 7, 2004

First, this article, Jeremy has the biggest cock in Britain is c/o Ronin — it will improve your day. I've got another article to link to as well, Sensual Steel, on “erotic body modification”. I'm quoted, along with others in it. Here's the part with me (hey, it's my diary):

Shannon Larratt, editor and publisher of online body modification publication BMEZINE.com, explains that it has only been recently that cosmetic surgery has been accepted by mainstream society. In the recent past, performing liposuction and breast implants ostracized a doctor, he says.

“We did eventually collectively decide that making someone more beautiful is a form of medicine and allowed it to go public, but moving toward the cultural norm, as cosmetic surgeons tend to do, is a much smaller step than moving toward a personal ideal that is different from the cultural norm,” Larratt says.

He adds that he believes cosmetic surgeons will begin performing hard body modification procedures within the next 10 years.

[Regarding doctors who say people shouldn't have atypical mods]

“What kind of sick person tries to deny another person's private happiness, because it's not what they want to do themselves?” Larratt wonders. “If someone cutting their wiener in half makes them happy, let them — it's not as if they're telling you that you have to do it as well.”

That last quote is a reference to Jon Stewart if you didn't catch it — he made a very similar comment, but about gay marriage. Anyway, other than that I'm painting, making supper, and watching Survivor. Thank the god of television (Hermes that is) that I've got a PVR with a dual tuner — Extreme Makeover tonight (8PM EST) stars XxTHREExX, elisa day, Eroxthis, tattooedgirl, and abaddon (seriously).

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Vegan survey…

Thursday, October 7, 2004
I just got this email and thought it was one of the odder press inquiries I'd gotten in a while so I'm sharing it hear (partially censored, sorry):

Hi Shannon, I am contacting you from (a major TV music station) and have obtained your details from an article on circlist about the use of the Tara Klamp circumcision device (c1999). At the bottom of the article you claim that have, or at least had access to such units, which as you also state and as I am finding, are hard to get hold of. I am hoping to use a Tara Klamp as a prop in one of our upcoming shows and was wondering if you still had access to the product or might be able to point me in the directing of someone who does?

Regards
(name)

So… a TaraKlamp being used as a prop in a music video show? That'll be amusing…

Just did this survey for Ashleigh Danielle; if you're a vegan, feel free to send her a copy as well.

1. What is your definition of vegan?

A vegan is a person who doesn't consume animals or animal byproducts.

2. What impacted you to become vegan? Was it an easy transition?

I became vegan for environmental and health reasons. It was a very easy transition. I think people have trouble with the transition because they just try and cut the meat and dairy and egg out of their diet, instead of just trying to build a complete new diet from scratch using different ingredients. I chose an additive path rather than a subtractive path.

3. How long have you been vegan, at what age did you start?

I have been eating a vegan diet for about two years.

4. Were you Vegetarian before? If so, how long?

The only contact I had with vegetarians was my maternal grandfather. I grew up on a beef, goat, and dairy farm and have eaten meat, cheese, and so on for most of my life. I have at times eaten largely vegan diets in the past due to circumstances (living across the road from a vegan supermarket in Philadelphia for example), but it was never a conscious or complete choice until more recently.

5. Do you feel you get your daily nutrition requirements?

Easily. I eat a complete diet — as I said, it's not as if I just “cut out meat”.

6. What type of foods do you eat?

Everything; I eat a wide range of food. Other than the obvious, there's not much that I can't enjoy.

7. Do you cook your own food?

Yes, but I always have.

8. Is animal rights/liberation a big deal to you?

Personally, yes, but in terms of activism, I'm more concerned with larger functional environmental issues than ethical fine details. We can debate endlessly what our moral duties are in terms of treating animals, but the cause-and-effect issues of things like global warming, pollution, microbial extinctions, and so on, are much more clear and less open to personal interpretation.

That said, I think it's clear that whether you attribute this to God or luck of the draw, we humans are the stewards of the planet and its inhabitants. I believe that we are dishonoring those duties by the way we treat animals and the planet in general, and in more grounded terms, I believe we are acting suicidally — in a way that will eventually leave us with a planet that can no longer sustain us.

9. What do your family/friends think of your choices?

They support them but very few personally take the same stance, although many have taken a “first step” in the same general direction. Personally I find running easier than walking, but I understand that most people prefer to learn to walk before learning to run. However, my friends are all extremely supportive and have gone out of their way to accommodate me when they've had to and I should say here how much I appreciate that and thank them for it.

10. How many other vegans do you know personally?

Less than five that I see on any sort of regular basis, and I don't think I have any vegan friends that are as “absolute” about it as I am.

11. Do you find anything negative about being a vegan?

Sometimes if you're at a restaurant it can be hard to find something to order. It's really amazing how many places put cheese or butter in recipes that really don't need it… unless of course they're not very well prepared and they're looking for a cheap way to punch up the flavor (but really, that's just a MSG-style crutch).

12. Do you feel that is a healthier choice?

I think that's fairly obvious — so yes, of course!

13. Do you drink and/or do drugs?

Yes, but I drink much less than I did in the past.

14. Rumor has it kissing a vegan is better than kissing a meat eater, True or False?

I can't see why that would be, except in some silly “hippies are more loving” way?

15. Are your shoes made of leather?

I hope not, but I didn't actually buy them so I don't know!

16. Are you pleased with your commitment to veganism? Or do you feel like therere things you could still be doing better?

I don't know if “pleased with myself” is the right way of putting it. I know it's the right decision. But I'm not more “pleased” with my veganism than I am pleased with the fact that I don't throw garbage out my car window… It's the right way to live, nothing more, nothing less.

In terms of doing better, I don't think I could be any more “hardcore” or anything. Personally I don't think it's a sliding scale — you're either eating a vegan diet or you're not. And I'm eating a vegan diet. There are certainly other things in the same vein that I could improve upon (such as my cars!), but my diet is quite good.

17. How do you feel about fast food chains? Do you ever eat at any?

On my own I don't eat fast food or order food or go out to eat, other than the occasional sushi (yes, I can make it myself as well, I know). I go out with friends regularly enough though, and when I do I order vegan items. I don't have a problem with the restaurants — they're responding to market demands. By ordering vegan items, their menu slowly becomes more responsible.

18. Do people ever get offended and/or defensive about your veganism?

Sure, but that's their problem, not mine. When I was in school, occasionally people got offended by my high grades. Again: their problem for having bad grades, not my problem for having high grades. I can't think of any reasonable person having a problem with someone else eating a vegan diet — it's about the most harmless thing a person can do!

19. Do you take a multi-vitamin?

Not regularly, but yes, as well as a number of enriched products and things like nutritional yeasts. I also eat dulse and sea vegetables and other sources of vitamins and nutrients. I have a more healthy and more “complete” diet than the average meat eater.

20. Do you feel that meat-eaters are obnoxious towards veganism?

Yes, but when you step back and look at how they treat themselves, I think it's pretty clear that they're not thinking rationally about either their own survival and health or the planet's — so really, I don't take their ignorance that seriously, and just do my best to give them resources to inform themselves so maybe they eventually realize their errors. Given that it took me 28 years to figure it out, I don't see how I can fault anyone else for being equally lethargic in their reasoning.

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