The Utopian Capitalist

An intermittently maintained placeholder for random clips, bits, observations, paranoid fantasies, links, quotes, and other stuff which would otherwise emailed randomly. Pseudonymous to respect the fiction of internet anonymity. Who am I? A somewhat disgruntled (not yet curmudgeonly) fellow, inconsistent, contrary, generally optimistic, still idealistic (some say naive) explorer of the world and its wonders. Sometimes it's hard to know what to do - is this Blog a mere substitute for real action?

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Great Musical Animation About Wiretapping

This is very funny. Be sure your sound is on.

This Just in - What a Relief!

Breast Implants Back
On Canadian Market
A WALL STREET JOURNAL NEWS ROUNDUP
October 21, 2006 12:34 a.m.

The Canadian government Friday licensed the sale of silicone gel breast implants, reversing a partial ban that was in place for more than 13 years over health concerns.

While Irvine, Calif.-based Allergan Inc. was granted a medical device license to market its Inamed silicone-filled breast implants, Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Mentor Corp. received a license for its silicone MemoryGel breast implants. Both licenses are subject to certain conditions, Health Canada said.

Until now, only saline-filled breast implants have been licensed for sale in the Canada.

Mentor said the license will allow it to sell the implants for use in augmentation, reconstruction and revision procedures.

The terms and conditions both companies must meet include updates of long-term clinical trials, patient focus groups in Canada, a long-term study involving tens of thousands of women, a survey of Canadian plastic surgeons on labeling and brochures, and implant retrieval and analysis studies, Health Canada said.

The companies also must provide updated sales and marketing histories, including any reported problems or recalls, and provide implant registration cards, the agency said.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

World Net Daily – what is this?

Check it out: World Net Daily

1) “Conservative” politically – self-proclaimed
2) Promotes book bashing Cindy Sheehan, with approving reviews from Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and David Limbaugh
3) Other books promoted:
a. “Conservative are from Mars, Liberals are from San Francisco”
b. Pat Buchanon’s “State of Emergency”
c. “The Truth About Muhammed” – his “bloody life and vicious teachings”
d. “In Mortal Danger”, Tom Tancredo’s anti-immigration screed

4) Other Items/Ideas promoted:
a. Sponsor a child in Jesus’ name
b. President Bush to blame for high oil prices? A fake poll to get you to give your name and email address
c. Conservative t-shirts
d. Help Persecuted Christians
e. Zion Oil & Gas – promoting a company exploring in Israel “in the land of Asher and Dan’s tribes”
f. The world was created in 4004 BC – per Bishop Usher
g. “Nukalert” 24-hour radiation monitor and alarm
h. “Fear no Man” – secrets of military martial arts training
i. Secret World Government conspiracy
j. Promoting the self-styled “Minutemen”

To sum up, the views promoted are:
1) Pro-Israel, anti-Muslim
2) Extremely fearful of foreigners
3) Ostensibly Christian, of the literalist, punishing, simple-minded variety
4) Extremely anti-‘liberal” – and anti-fag. Basically, Liberal = Fag
5) Pro-Republican, pro-GW Bush
6) Fearful of a “world government” – basic paranoid xenophobia about globalization

Interestingly, there are some common threads with the “left” – notably the anti-globalization attitude, fueled by a fear of global world government, rather than of global corporatism, yes, but very similar. If these guys weren’t really shills for the corporatist agenda, there might be some discussion. But, IMHO, at heart these guys are not sincere, but rather promoting a hidden agenda. I mean, Ann Coulter is a self-created character, spouting views which are designed to promote herself, regardless of whether she believes them. Ditto Rush Limbaugh – who is a moral degenerate, taking 20 oxycontin a day (procured illegally using his immigrant housemaid), and loading up on Viagra (also obtained illegally) to vacation in the Caribbean on an island known for the availability of teen prostitutes.

The question is, who is behind this? Using classic, extremely sophisticated divide and rule tactics. To confuse and to manipulate and to advance their corporatist agenda. The only solution – real leadership. Committed to uniting rather than dividing. There are differences in interests, yes. But much better to work things out than to retreat into screaming isolation.

Monday, October 16, 2006

On Dissent

Dissent is what rescues democracy from a quiet death behind closed doors.

-Lewis H. Lapham, editor (1935- )

Editor of Harper's - a very good magazine.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Psalm 94 - Hates America

O Lord God to whom vengeance belongeth;
O God, to whom vengeance belongeth,
shew thyself.
Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth;
render a reward to the proud.
Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked glory?
How long will they mouth haughty speeches,
go on boasting, all these evildoers?
They crush your people,Lord,
torment your very own.
They kill the widow and alien,
the fatherless they murder.
They say, "the Lord does not see,
The God of Jacob takes no notice."

Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
Or who will stand up for me
against the workers of iniquity?

Can unjust judges be your allies,
those who create burdens in the name of the law,
Those who conspire against the just
and condemn the innocent to death?
No, the Lord is my secure height,
my God, the rock where I find refuge,
Who will turn back their evil on them
and destroy their wickedness.
Surely the Lord our God will destroy them!

Psalm 94

Monday, October 09, 2006

Sage advice from Ben Franklin

Be civil to all, sociable to many, familiar with few, friend to one, enemy to none.

-Benjamin Franklin, statesman, author, and inventor (1706-1790)

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Great Video About "War Corporatism"

A Brit video, a little overwrought but nonetheless mostly accurate in portraying how Neo-COnservatism = War Corporatism = Neo-Fascism.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Bush Administration Neo-Cons are really Neo-Fascists

Take a gander at an extract from Wikipedia's article on Fascism :

Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victim-hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion."

Paxton [Columbia University Professor Robert Paxton] further defines fascism's essence as:

"1. a sense of overwhelming crisis beyond reach of traditional solutions; 2. belief one’s group is the victim, justifying any action without legal or moral limits; 3. need for authority by a natural leader above the law, relying on the superiority of his instincts; 4. right of the chosen people to dominate others without legal or moral restraint; 5. fear of foreign `contamination."

Sound like members of the Bush cult?

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

On Power

Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is doubly dangerous.

-William Proxmire, US senator, reformer (1915-2005)

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

No need for words......

This is a ceiling mural in a smokers' lounge.

I used to work with an old computer guy (he learned to program on the night shift at Los Alamos in the 60's) who would smoke unfiltered camels outside the office back door in large quantities (2-3 packs a day). I said to him in passing one fine day "those'll kill you, Kurt". His reply - "I was hopin'."

Freedom is just that - including the freedom to harm ourselves (but not others).

Peter, Paul and Mary - More folk music

Puff the Magic Dragon

Get out your hankies.......

Leaving on a Jet Plane - Cool video, great song

Peter, Paul, and Mary, plus John Denver singing in three and four part.

Pax = Love. Peace can't live without love.

I hope you enjoy this great, lovely, loving performance. I cried to hear it this morning, what a stark contrast to the hate and shouting and lies and war being done in our name.

We need more music like this. And the really nice thing - you can sing it at home, in your back yard, in yer front room, anywhere voices can resonate together in love.

TV sucks. It sucks life out of us. Burn your TV, display its shattered empty gaze as a trophy by your garbage can, piss on it when you're drunk

Monday, October 02, 2006

In honour of National Teachers' Day - Oct 5

"In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilization along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honor and the highest responsibility anyone could have."

-Lee Iacocca, automobile executive (1924- )

Seventh Day Adventists believe that the highest two vocations in life are teaching and medicine.