Ok. This might become one of my better rants. It has to be, because I am fairly pissed. Seriously. That's doublespeak for ya. Yes I am angry, and Yes, most importantly, I am a little bit drunk ! But this might be my most important rant to date, as I am about to question the universally perceived reality.
Now I have to hurry this as I have spent the whole afternoon drinking and watching the quarter finals snooker (which was totally awesome) and I still want to do other things with my time left today. I have my spelling checker with me, so I should be alright and I am prepared to do a halfdrunk rant! Let's do this !
I've read a lot about it and seen a lot about it, though I don't claim to 'outexpert the experts' but I do feel as if I can take on Al Gore (another one of our "saviors") and his message.
So fuck Al Gore, here is how I Feel about it.
Ready?
Al Gore ignores the sun
If the rising CO2 levels are the cause of our climate changing so rapidly, why are all the other planets in our solar system experiencing the same changes in their climate ? (I have sources, not on mars, but guys with telescopes and longdistance temprature stuff right here on earth to measure this)
Who is driving their hummer on mars ? There are no hummers on mars. They haven't even got CO2! Yet, their climate is changing in the way ours is.
Sources for this bold and outrages claim are; NASA and the Russian space observatory in St. Petersburg. When the americans AND the russians agree, there must be some truth to it right?
At least Al Gore could have bothered to talk about the sun and the solar activity that real scientist measure for decades. Simply because it is the most important factor in our climate FACT. You can not rely on the sun as a stable factor, it's activity is ALWAYS changing. This is very important to understand and Al Gore managed to ignore this aspect of the sun in his "documentary". He never mentioned it ONCE. Claiming CO2 is the SOLE cause of the climate changes we are experiencing. I agree Co2 causes SOME of it.
But making co2 the sole cause of climate change makes us humans a bit guilty, thus turning it into a political issue, euh, movie, euh, documentary. Thus creating more government intervention. Thus braking my balls and controlling societies. Again, as I have said before in my other rants, it looks like this stuff is just about control. Which is what governments love to do, by it's very nature.
He based it all on a group of scientist who don't even agree with Al Gore's movie by the way. But still, we have to admire Al's work. In this day and age we embrace pseudo science and we give oscars to these film makers for spreading inaccurate messages as the truth.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL
So I'm critical of Al Gore, that doesn't mean that I deny climate change. No, that would be stupid, after all, it has always happened on earth and will always happen. The climate changed before we started to increase the co2 in our atmosphere and it even changed when us humans weren't even around !
How does this work ?
To use Al Gore's own statistics, in the first 30 years of the industrial revolution CO2 levels obviously increased massivly. But If you check out the graph that Al Gore shows in his movie you can see the temprature FALLING in those 30 years.
Ask your parents
weren't the same scientist warning us for global COOLING in the 70ies? If you weren't around, ask your parents, look up some old newspaper articles. It was very real at the time, and measures HAD TO be taken.
I don't know what it all means. I think it means we need to take another look at all the climate stuff they try to push down our throats. It's just another form of taxation/ socialism. Restricting human activity, that's what it is, and a tax is supposed to save us from this. Everything we do creates Co2. We exhale it, I'm exhaling it right now ! You want to tax my breathing ?
Well, what if we would tax Co2. Only western countries are going to comply, and others will eventually have to through force. What would happen ?
Well, think about it ? What would happen if in the western world we would start regulating our factories more and more, driving up the prices. What would happen ? Well, it's economics. When prices rise, the industry moves to other places in the world.. that are not affected by these rising prices. In fact, they don't have any regulations at all ! So not only will we increase our Co2 through this, we will also pollute the world more in other ways because those places don't have any environmental regulations at all !
To end with this note; it is shameful how we have treated this planet, but restricting Co2 isn't going to solve ANYTHING.
I hope you enjoyed my little outburst. I will now prepare myself for more drinking and the quarter final Barcelona - Chelsea and perhaps some more drinking later, you never know. All I know is that this is turning out to be a great week off !
Seriously, I am still a bit drunk, but I'm not talking crap. But as always, don't believe me. Here are some "documentaries" on the subject. They represent different points of view.
(AWARDWINNING) An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore
The Great Global Warming Swindle - Channel 4
Global Warming Doomsday Called Off - CBC
28 April 2009
20 April 2009
What's in the box ?
What's in the box is a short film made by some dutch guy for 150 euro's and a pizza. Next thing he knew, Hollywood production studio's are on the phone with him !
Check it out ! (definitely select the High Quality option and full screen mode!)
The amazing thing about it is for me that the video is shot all in first person, which makes it look like a video game. Mind you, this is just a preview. A demo. A test. There is a movie coming.
Check it out ! (definitely select the High Quality option and full screen mode!)
The amazing thing about it is for me that the video is shot all in first person, which makes it look like a video game. Mind you, this is just a preview. A demo. A test. There is a movie coming.
13 April 2009
The seven ages of Rock, a BBC documentary
"A definitive landmark series charting the emergence and re-emergence of rock music as a global force, told through the musicians who have shaped this most enduring of genres."
How could I forget this series ! I remember when the BBC showed it I loved it to death ! I have tried to find all the parts online so you can see it. This post is for those of you who love music.
Episode 1: The Birth Of Rock - Blues Based Rock (1963-1970)
The rock revolution of the 1960s seen through the life and music of Jimi Hendrix. The first doomed icon of rock, Hendrix was the synthesis of everything that had gone before him and all that was to come. The Birth Of Rock also explores the influence of rhythm & blues on a generation of British musicians such as The Rolling Stones, Cream and The Who, and how the song-writing of Bob Dylan and studio developments of The Beatles transformed the possibilities and ambitions of rock.
Episode 2: White Light, White Heat - Art Rock (1966-1980)
The story of how artistic and conceptual expression permeated rock. From the pop-art multi-media experiments of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground to the sinister gentility of Peter Gabriel's Genesis, White Light, White Heat traces how rock became a vehicle for artistic ideas and theatrical performance. We follow Pink Floyd from their beginnings with the fated art school genius of Syd Barrett through to the global success of 'Dark Side of the Moon' to the ultimate rock theatre show, 'The Wall'. Along the way, the film explores the retro-futurism of Roxy Music and the protean world of David Bowie.
Episode 3: Blank Generation - Punk (1973-1980)
A tale of two cities, London and New York and the birth of punk. Each city created a bastard child that marked the biggest and fundamental shift in popular music since Elvis walked into Sun Studios. Blank Generation unpicks the relationship between the bankrupt New York and the class and race-riven London of the mid-1970's and explores the music of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, The Damned and Buzzcocks.
Episode 4: Never say Die - Heavy Metal (1970-1991)
The story of the longest surviving and certainly the loudest genre of rock, heavy metal. With no sign of disappearing, metal has been the most controversial and misunderstood of all rock genres. Emerging at the tail end of the hippy dream from the rust belt of industrial England, heavy metal would go on to secure the most loyal fan base of all. With Black Sabbath as the undisputed Godfathers, we follow their highs and lows, and, along the journey, meet Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Metallica.
Read about this episode
See this episode
Episode 5: We Are The Champions - Stadium Rock (1965-1993)
We Are The Champions follows the development of some the biggest names in Rock, among them Queen, Bruce Springsteen, The Police and Dire Straits and shows how, through events such as Live Aid and the rise of MTV, rock achieved a global influence on culture and politics. The film concludes in the early 90s, as U2 effectively brought the era to a close by reinventing the big rock show so completely, that fifteen years later most major rock tours are still pale facsimiles.
Read about this episode
See this episode
Episode 6: Left of the Dial - Alternative Rock (1980-1994)
The rise of alternative rock in the USA. From its early underground days where bands like Black Flag drew inspiration from the DIY ethos of punk, Left Of The Dial traces the history of the network of fans, clubs and fanzines that sustained the scene and launched the careers of bands like R.E.M., The Pixies and Hüsker Dü. The film takes a fresh look at the explosion of the Seattle scene, culminating in the success of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' and the tragic loss of Kurt Cobain, an artist whose triumph and tragedy continues to cast an inescapable shadow.
Read about this episode
See this episode
Episode 7: What the world is waiting for - Indie (1980-2007)
The story of British indie, beginning with The Smiths, the archetypal indie group.
How could I forget this series ! I remember when the BBC showed it I loved it to death ! I have tried to find all the parts online so you can see it. This post is for those of you who love music.
Episode 1: The Birth Of Rock - Blues Based Rock (1963-1970)
The rock revolution of the 1960s seen through the life and music of Jimi Hendrix. The first doomed icon of rock, Hendrix was the synthesis of everything that had gone before him and all that was to come. The Birth Of Rock also explores the influence of rhythm & blues on a generation of British musicians such as The Rolling Stones, Cream and The Who, and how the song-writing of Bob Dylan and studio developments of The Beatles transformed the possibilities and ambitions of rock.
Episode 2: White Light, White Heat - Art Rock (1966-1980)
The story of how artistic and conceptual expression permeated rock. From the pop-art multi-media experiments of Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground to the sinister gentility of Peter Gabriel's Genesis, White Light, White Heat traces how rock became a vehicle for artistic ideas and theatrical performance. We follow Pink Floyd from their beginnings with the fated art school genius of Syd Barrett through to the global success of 'Dark Side of the Moon' to the ultimate rock theatre show, 'The Wall'. Along the way, the film explores the retro-futurism of Roxy Music and the protean world of David Bowie.
Episode 3: Blank Generation - Punk (1973-1980)
A tale of two cities, London and New York and the birth of punk. Each city created a bastard child that marked the biggest and fundamental shift in popular music since Elvis walked into Sun Studios. Blank Generation unpicks the relationship between the bankrupt New York and the class and race-riven London of the mid-1970's and explores the music of The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, The Damned and Buzzcocks.
Episode 4: Never say Die - Heavy Metal (1970-1991)
The story of the longest surviving and certainly the loudest genre of rock, heavy metal. With no sign of disappearing, metal has been the most controversial and misunderstood of all rock genres. Emerging at the tail end of the hippy dream from the rust belt of industrial England, heavy metal would go on to secure the most loyal fan base of all. With Black Sabbath as the undisputed Godfathers, we follow their highs and lows, and, along the journey, meet Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Metallica.
Read about this episode
See this episode
Episode 5: We Are The Champions - Stadium Rock (1965-1993)
We Are The Champions follows the development of some the biggest names in Rock, among them Queen, Bruce Springsteen, The Police and Dire Straits and shows how, through events such as Live Aid and the rise of MTV, rock achieved a global influence on culture and politics. The film concludes in the early 90s, as U2 effectively brought the era to a close by reinventing the big rock show so completely, that fifteen years later most major rock tours are still pale facsimiles.
Read about this episode
See this episode
Episode 6: Left of the Dial - Alternative Rock (1980-1994)
The rise of alternative rock in the USA. From its early underground days where bands like Black Flag drew inspiration from the DIY ethos of punk, Left Of The Dial traces the history of the network of fans, clubs and fanzines that sustained the scene and launched the careers of bands like R.E.M., The Pixies and Hüsker Dü. The film takes a fresh look at the explosion of the Seattle scene, culminating in the success of Nirvana's 'Nevermind' and the tragic loss of Kurt Cobain, an artist whose triumph and tragedy continues to cast an inescapable shadow.
Read about this episode
See this episode
Episode 7: What the world is waiting for - Indie (1980-2007)
The story of British indie, beginning with The Smiths, the archetypal indie group.
The film follows The Stone Roses as the heirs to the indie crown, Suede's dark sexuality and the media saturation of Brit-pop's Blur v Oasis. What The World Is Waiting For explores how indie ultimately lost its once cherished intimacy and integrity in front of 250,000 fans at Oasis's Knebworth spectacle in 1996 and how, by returning to its roots in clubs and bars (and even front rooms) with bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines and The Arctic Monkeys, indie became respectable again.
Pentagon preps for economic warfare
I took this article from the website politico.com, I cut it up a bit because it was two pages long, If you want to read all of it, go here.
Pentagon preps for economic warfare
The Pentagon sponsored a first-of-its-kind war game last month focused not on bullets and bombs — but on how hostile nations might seek to cripple the U.S. economy, a scenario made all the more real by the global financial crisis.
The two-day event near Ft. Meade, Maryland, had all the earmarks of a regular war game. Participants sat along a V-shaped set of desks beneath an enormous wall of video monitors displaying economic data, according to the accounts of three participants.
“It felt a little bit like Dr. Strangelove,” one person who was at the previously undisclosed exercise told POLITICO.
But instead of military brass plotting America’s defense, it was hedge-fund managers, professors and executives from at least one investment bank, UBS – all invited by the Pentagon to play out global scenarios that could shift the balance of power between the world’s leading economies.
In the end, there was sobering news for the United States – the savviest economic warrior proved to be China, a growing economic power that strengthened its position the most over the course of the war-game.
The United States remained the world’s largest economy but significantly degraded its standing in a series of financial skirmishes with Russia, participants said.
The war game demonstrated that in post-Sept. 11 world, the Pentagon is thinking about a wide range of threats to America’s position in the world, including some that could come far from the battlefield.
It’s hardly science fiction
China recently shook the value of the dollar in global currency markets merely by questioning whether the recession put China’s $1 trillion in U.S. government bond holdings at risk – forcing President Barack Obama to issue a hasty defense of the dollar.
“This was an example of the changing nature of conflict,” said Paul Bracken, a professor and expert in private equity at the Yale School of Management who attended the sessions. “The purpose of the game is not really to predict the future, but to discover the issues you need to be thinking about.”
“Why would the military care about global capital flows at all?” asked another person who was there. “Because as the global financial crisis plays out, there could be real world consequences, including failed states.”
The event was unclassified but has not been made public before. It is regarded as so sensitive that several people who participated declined to discuss the details with POLITICO. Said Steven Halliwell, managing director of a hedge fund called River Capital Management, “I’m not prepared to talk about this. I’m sorry, but I can’t talk to you.”
Participants described the event as a series of simulated global calamities, including the collapse of North Korea, Russian manipulation of natural gas prices, and increasing tension between China and Taiwan. “They wanted to see who makes loans to help out, what does each team do to get the other countries involved, and who decides to simply let the North Koreans collapse,” said a participant.
There were five teams: The United States, Russia, China, East Asia and “all others.” They were overseen by a “White Cell” group that functioned as referees, who decided the impact of the moves made by each team as they struggled for economic dominance.
At the end of the two days, the Chinese team emerged as the victors of the overall game – largely because the Russian and American teams had made so many moves against each other that they damaged their own standing to the benefit of the Chinese.
Bracken says he left the event with two important insights – first, that the United States needs an integrated approach to managing financial and what the Pentagon calls “kinetic” – or shooting – wars. For example he says, the U.S. Navy is involved in blockading Iran, and the U.S. is also conducting economic war against Iran in the form of sanctions. But he argues there isn’t enough coordination between the two efforts.
(added this picture myself)
And second, Bracken says, the event left him questioning one prevailing assumption about economic warfare, that the Chinese would never dump dollars on the global market to attack the US economy because it would harm their own holdings at the same time. Bracken said the Chinese have a middle option between dumping and holding US dollars – they could sell dollars in increments, ratcheting up economic uncertainty in the United States without wiping out their own savings. “There’s a graduated spectrum of options here,” Bracken said.
For those who hadn’t been to a Pentagon event before, the sheer technological capacity of the Warfare Analysis Laboratory was impressive. “It was surprisingly realistic,” said a participant.
Still, the event conjures images of the ultimate Hollywood take on computer strategizing: the 1983 film “War Games” in which a young computer hacker nearly triggers a nuclear apocalypse.
Pentagon preps for economic warfare
The Pentagon sponsored a first-of-its-kind war game last month focused not on bullets and bombs — but on how hostile nations might seek to cripple the U.S. economy, a scenario made all the more real by the global financial crisis.
The two-day event near Ft. Meade, Maryland, had all the earmarks of a regular war game. Participants sat along a V-shaped set of desks beneath an enormous wall of video monitors displaying economic data, according to the accounts of three participants.
“It felt a little bit like Dr. Strangelove,” one person who was at the previously undisclosed exercise told POLITICO.
But instead of military brass plotting America’s defense, it was hedge-fund managers, professors and executives from at least one investment bank, UBS – all invited by the Pentagon to play out global scenarios that could shift the balance of power between the world’s leading economies.
In the end, there was sobering news for the United States – the savviest economic warrior proved to be China, a growing economic power that strengthened its position the most over the course of the war-game.
The United States remained the world’s largest economy but significantly degraded its standing in a series of financial skirmishes with Russia, participants said.
The war game demonstrated that in post-Sept. 11 world, the Pentagon is thinking about a wide range of threats to America’s position in the world, including some that could come far from the battlefield.
It’s hardly science fiction
China recently shook the value of the dollar in global currency markets merely by questioning whether the recession put China’s $1 trillion in U.S. government bond holdings at risk – forcing President Barack Obama to issue a hasty defense of the dollar.
“This was an example of the changing nature of conflict,” said Paul Bracken, a professor and expert in private equity at the Yale School of Management who attended the sessions. “The purpose of the game is not really to predict the future, but to discover the issues you need to be thinking about.”
“Why would the military care about global capital flows at all?” asked another person who was there. “Because as the global financial crisis plays out, there could be real world consequences, including failed states.”
The event was unclassified but has not been made public before. It is regarded as so sensitive that several people who participated declined to discuss the details with POLITICO. Said Steven Halliwell, managing director of a hedge fund called River Capital Management, “I’m not prepared to talk about this. I’m sorry, but I can’t talk to you.”
Participants described the event as a series of simulated global calamities, including the collapse of North Korea, Russian manipulation of natural gas prices, and increasing tension between China and Taiwan. “They wanted to see who makes loans to help out, what does each team do to get the other countries involved, and who decides to simply let the North Koreans collapse,” said a participant.
There were five teams: The United States, Russia, China, East Asia and “all others.” They were overseen by a “White Cell” group that functioned as referees, who decided the impact of the moves made by each team as they struggled for economic dominance.
At the end of the two days, the Chinese team emerged as the victors of the overall game – largely because the Russian and American teams had made so many moves against each other that they damaged their own standing to the benefit of the Chinese.
Bracken says he left the event with two important insights – first, that the United States needs an integrated approach to managing financial and what the Pentagon calls “kinetic” – or shooting – wars. For example he says, the U.S. Navy is involved in blockading Iran, and the U.S. is also conducting economic war against Iran in the form of sanctions. But he argues there isn’t enough coordination between the two efforts.
(added this picture myself)And second, Bracken says, the event left him questioning one prevailing assumption about economic warfare, that the Chinese would never dump dollars on the global market to attack the US economy because it would harm their own holdings at the same time. Bracken said the Chinese have a middle option between dumping and holding US dollars – they could sell dollars in increments, ratcheting up economic uncertainty in the United States without wiping out their own savings. “There’s a graduated spectrum of options here,” Bracken said.
For those who hadn’t been to a Pentagon event before, the sheer technological capacity of the Warfare Analysis Laboratory was impressive. “It was surprisingly realistic,” said a participant.
Still, the event conjures images of the ultimate Hollywood take on computer strategizing: the 1983 film “War Games” in which a young computer hacker nearly triggers a nuclear apocalypse.
11 April 2009
Who carried out 9-11 ?
This part is taken from Scott Roxborough
A Dutch TV jury has found Osama bin Laden not guilty of the Sept. 11 attacks. In the conclusion Wednesday night to the show "Devil's Advocate" on Dutch public broadcaster Nederland 2, the jury of two men and three women, along with the studio audience, ruled there was no proof bin Laden was the mastermind behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.
The show features star defense attorney Gerard Spong standing up for some of the world's worst criminals. In the latest show, Spong was able to convince the jury that bin Laden's connection to Sept. 11 was a product of "Western propaganda." The jury also ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove bin Laden was the real head of terrorist network al-Qaida. However, the jury did rule that bin Laden is a "terrorist who has misused Islam."
Again, check out the fairly mainstream awardwinning documentary THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES by Adam Curtis from the BBC which I wrote about and posted earlier. It's not specific about 9-11 but it is about the politics that is involved with 9-11. The stuff you read every day in the newspaper etc. MUST SEE.
I have just seen the show (and you can see it to by clicking here) Devils advocate, I hope you know the rules. In this show lawyer Spong stands up for the people who have already been convicted in the eye of the public. He makes a case, not a very strong one, to shift the blame away from bin laden.
Ask questions, demand answers
A Dutch TV jury has found Osama bin Laden not guilty of the Sept. 11 attacks. In the conclusion Wednesday night to the show "Devil's Advocate" on Dutch public broadcaster Nederland 2, the jury of two men and three women, along with the studio audience, ruled there was no proof bin Laden was the mastermind behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.
The show features star defense attorney Gerard Spong standing up for some of the world's worst criminals. In the latest show, Spong was able to convince the jury that bin Laden's connection to Sept. 11 was a product of "Western propaganda." The jury also ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove bin Laden was the real head of terrorist network al-Qaida. However, the jury did rule that bin Laden is a "terrorist who has misused Islam."
Now this is very important; who carried out 9-11 ?
Again, check out the fairly mainstream awardwinning documentary THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES by Adam Curtis from the BBC which I wrote about and posted earlier. It's not specific about 9-11 but it is about the politics that is involved with 9-11. The stuff you read every day in the newspaper etc. MUST SEE.
I have just seen the show (and you can see it to by clicking here) Devils advocate, I hope you know the rules. In this show lawyer Spong stands up for the people who have already been convicted in the eye of the public. He makes a case, not a very strong one, to shift the blame away from bin laden.
This piece of the puzzle alone need further investigation.
Ask questions, demand answers
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