everyday is exactly the same

there is no love here.

this is in or around metal heart

It’s you, and Me. (subtitle: lies lies lies)

Salon has a wonderful review of ‘Hello, I’m Special‘, a book by Hal Niedzviecki that details why underneath we think we all have wonderful, glowing visions of ourselves and our futures.

That’s his argument in a nutshell: Those of us who grew up in the post-industrial, pop-culture-saturated West (and a whole lot of people who didn’t) have been raised to believe that we are unique individuals with special destinies. When it comes to imagining that destiny, however, all we have are the mass-produced images of fame and success that everyone shares: Donald Trump in his corner office with its vulgar but expensive furniture, Howard Stern partying joylessly amid pneumatic boobs, pop stars and movie actors trying vainly to imitate the more real-seeming pop stars and movie actors of the past.

Stuffed with half-baked philosophies of self-actualization and self-fulfillment, we also believe that we are ourselves primarily or even solely responsible for reaching that destiny. We have all embraced that e-mail from the cosmos assuring us that we’re VIPs — the Guaranteed Celebrity in the Building can only be us! — even though that requires pretending not to notice that everybody else got the same message.

Conclusion: you’re individuality is not different. You are the same as everyone else. And it makes me vomit. Think about it.

News to Turn Horses Into Glue (it’s true)

And I ran! Iran my nuclear testing straight into the heart of the Zionist pig! Well, in preemptive response to American action against it’s nuclear program, Iran has threatened to attack Israel. And for those of you short on your Middle East history, Israel has had no problem of attacking perceived threats in the past.

In seriously sad news, John Kenneth Galbraith died this week. Galbraith was one of the most progressive American economists, frequently critiquing the American system of capitalism and no fan of the militarization of the government. Some favorite quotes: “The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” and “If you feed enough oats to the horse, some will pass through to feed the sparrows.” – in relation to trickle-down economics. Though much has not been said, Salon has a wonderful appreciation on the man.

Oh, and more on the Colbert speech at the Press Corps Dinner. Check out Think Progresses report on Fox News covering the speech (quick insider glance: THEY DIDN’T LIKE IT!). What intrigues me is the speech really didn’t attack Bush, he was what I would term collateral damage. Yes, Colbert was mocking his intelligence and his policies. But he was really attacking the journalists at the event for allowing Bush basically to have his way in Washington. In short, Colbert, like many of us, was disgusted by the lack of journalism that has allowed the Republican controlled government to go unchecked. And if you think the MEDIA has some profound liberal bias, I suggest you check this Media Matters article on the press coverage of the Iraqi war, including the famous ‘Mission Accomplished’ incident.

That’s the end of my disgust for today. For a little humor, check out Apple’s new ad campaign.

RUSSIAN BEAR CRUSH FREE SPEECH!

The Jamestown Foundation, one of the leading anti-terrorism and all together best organizations regarding the movement of former Soviet republics, held a conference in Washington DC a few weeks ago. So what happens?

RUSSIAN BEAR GET ANGRY! That’s right, a few days after the event, the Deputy Foreign Minister sent a formal diplomatic protest to the US Ambassador:

WASHINGTON, DC (4/29/06)–On April 14th, The Jamestown Foundation held a half-day conference entitled “Sadullaev’s Caucasian Front: Prospects for the Next Nalchik” at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Subsequent reports by state-run Russian media falsely alleged that the conference and its participants promoted terrorist attacks in the Russian Federation. Those false allegations later sparked a diplomatic protest by Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Kislyak to U.S. Ambassador William Burns in Moscow.

The Jamestown Foundation today released a brief summary of the conference proceedings in order to further refute mischaracterizations by Russian officials and state-owned media. The summary also provides policy-makers and the public with information concerning the growing separatist insurgency in the North Caucasus and its implications for both regional and international security. Copies of the summary are available in PDF format by clicking here.

It’s bad enough that Russia is slipping away from democracy, but to try to inhibit free speech on others soil in an attempt to stop what it views as anti-Russian free discourse is draconian.

Mr. Colbert Goes To Washington (but ignored by the Press)

The WP has a great wrap-up on the Hub-Ub (spelling?) created by Colbert on Saturday that has seemingly gone unnoticed in the mainstream media (but we here on the internet pay attention!)

However, the best quote is not related to Colbert:

I’ll have more in tomorrow’s column about my own personal experiences on Saturday night. Short version: I met Karl Rove, but I didn’t feel good about it.

UPDATE TWO: Salon has a great article on this whole fiasco.