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I know that may be disappointing to hear, for a devout acolyte of Burke. But labels change, and the political compass has been turned. In 21st century America, you need only ask yourself two questions to determine if you are a true conservative.

First, do you believe that Jesus Christ ordained the US Constitution, and that there is no true understanding of that document except that one first believes in him? Second, do you believe it is America’s Christian destiny to save the world from the false religion of Mohammed? Since you clearly fail on both grounds, despite your lukewarm claim to believe in Jesus in some relativist, doubtful fashion, you are officially a liberal.

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Somehow, the first draft of George W. Bush’s recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal has been leaked and a copy posted to the internet. It is fascinating to see how his speech writers expanded upon Bush’s original thinking.

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From Overheard in New York.

Middle-aged Long Island lady thumbing through magazine: Look, there’s Stephen Colbert.
Husband: Who’s that?
Middle-aged Long Island lady: He’s a terrific Republican reporter on TV. You should watch him. He’s really great. Puts the liberals in their place.

The new 2007 Hooters calendar is out!

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From a chat session:

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< xxxxx1> i’ve got some news… i work at a freight company up in canada and we handle stuff for apple… this past week, we had 5x the usual volume of apple freight we handle
< xxxxx1> i guess they are coming out with something HUGE
< xxxxx2> xxxxx1: did u take a peak inside the apple boxes? smile.gif
< xxxxx1> xxxxx2: they were sealed inside crates
< xxxxx2> xxxxx1: darn, thought u could be an inside source wink.gif
< xxxxx1> xxxxx2: usually we are supposed to do an item/package count to make sure that the number on the packing list and the actual number of items match… we were not allowed to do that this time round
< xxxxx2> xxxxx1: damn, apple has control of everything smile.gif
< xxxxx2> xxxxx1: put it on an xray machine, see what is inside it
< xxxxx1> xxxxx2: we didn’t even get the packing list… alll we were told that there are supposed to be this many skids of these dimensions weighing this many pounds sad.gif
< xxxxx2> damn lol
< xxxxx1> xxxxx2: all of those are scheduled for monday evening delivery to the various stores… some even late night
< xxxxx2> xxxxx1: oh man, now we all know apple is announcing something
< xxxxx1> xxxxx2: i had exactly the same feeling
< xxxxx1> xxxxx2: and it’s gonna be HUGE
< xxxxx2> xxxxx1: I would sense that
< xxxxx2> xxxxx1: so it had the weight of it on the box?
< xxxxx1> xxxxx2: i have no idea how many boxes there were in the skids… usually we have that number to make sure nothing went missing in transit
< xxxxx1> xxxxx2: most of the apple freight we handle are less than 5 lbs. per piece

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The ‘IoS’ today reveals a draft for a new law that would give Western oil companies a massive share in the third largest reserves in the world. To the victors, the oil? That is how some experts view this unprecedented arrangement with a major Middle East oil producer that guarantees investors huge profits for the next 30 years

So was this what the Iraq war was fought for, after all? As the number of US soldiers killed since the invasion rises past the 3,000 mark, and President George Bush gambles on sending in up to 30,000 more troops, The Independent on Sunday has learnt that the Iraqi government is about to push through a law giving Western oil companies the right to exploit the country’s massive oil reserves.

And Iraq’s oil reserves, the third largest in the world, with an estimated 115 billion barrels waiting to be extracted, are a prize worth having. As Vice-President Dick Cheney noted in 1999, when he was still running Halliburton, an oil services company, the Middle East is the key to preventing the world running out of oil.

Now, unnoticed by most amid the furore over civil war in Iraq and the hanging of Saddam Hussein, the new oil law has quietly been going through several drafts, and is now on the point of being presented to the cabinet and then the parliament in Baghdad. Its provisions are a radical departure from the norm for developing countries: under a system known as “production-sharing agreements”, or PSAs, oil majors such as BP and Shell in Britain, and Exxon and Chevron in the US, would be able to sign deals of up to 30 years to extract Iraq’s oil.

PSAs allow a country to retain legal ownership of its oil, but gives a share of profits to the international companies that invest in infrastructure and operation of the wells, pipelines and refineries. Their introduction would be a first for a major Middle Eastern oil producer. Saudi Arabia and Iran, the world’s number one and two oil exporters, both tightly control their industries through state-owned companies with no appreciable foreign collaboration, as do most members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Opec.

Critics fear that given Iraq’s weak bargaining position, it could get locked in now to deals on bad terms for decades to come. “Iraq would end up with the worst possible outcome,” said Greg Muttitt of Platform, a human rights and environmental group that monitors the oil industry. He said the new legislation was drafted with the assistance of BearingPoint, an American consultancy firm hired by the US government, which had a representative working in the American embassy in Baghdad for several months.

“Three outside groups have had far more opportunity to scrutinise this legislation than most Iraqis,” said Mr Muttitt. “The draft went to the US government and major oil companies in July, and to the International Monetary Fund in September. Last month I met a group of 20 Iraqi MPs in Jordan, and I asked them how many had seen the legislation. Only one had.”

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I recently spent an afternoon on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, atop the mount where Jesus is believed to have preached his most famous sermon. It was an infernally hot day, and the sanctuary was crowded with Christian pilgrims from many continents. Some gathered silently in the shade, while others staggered in the noonday sun, taking photographs.

As I sat and gazed upon the surrounding hills gently sloping to an inland sea, a feeling of peace came over me. It soon grew to a blissful stillness that silenced my thoughts. In an instant, the sense of being a separate self—an “I�? or a “me�?—vanished. Everything was as it had been—the cloudless sky, the pilgrims clutching their bottles of water—but I no longer felt like I was separate from the scene, peering out at the world from behind my eyes. Only the world remained. The experience lasted just a few moments, but returned many times as I gazed out over the land where Jesus is believed to walked, gathered his apostles, and worked many of his miracles.

If I were a Christian, I would undoubtedly interpret this experience in Christian terms. I might believe that I had glimpsed the oneness of God, or felt the descent of the Holy Spirit. But I am not a Christian. If I were a Hindu, I might talk about “Brahman,�? the eternal Self, of which all individual minds are thought to be a mere modification. But I am not a Hindu. If I were a Buddhist, I might talk about the “dharmakaya of emptiness” in which all apparent things manifest. But I am not a Buddhist.

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As a critic of religious faith, I am often asked what will replace organized religion. The answer is: many things and nothing. Nothing need replace its ludicrous and divisive elements. Nothing need replace the idea that Jesus will return to earth wielding magic powers and hurl unbelievers into a lake of fire. Nothing need replace the notion that death in defense of Islam is the highest good. These are baseless, dangerous, and demeaning ideas. But what about ethics and spiritual experience? For many, religion still appears the only vehicle for what is most important in life—love, compassion, morality, and self-transcendence. To change this, we need a way of talking about human well-being that is as unconstrained by religious dogma as science is.

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Criticism of massive payouts for chief executives is no longer only for union activists and investors. The phenomenon now has professors of ethics asking what it says about modern human behavior and politicians looking to curb excesses.

Many say the trend is only growing more extreme. While business leaders have always done well — the 19th century robber barons like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie amassed huge fortunes — those tycoons actually owned big parts of their companies. They also ultimately gave much of their wealth away.

Today, soaring executive pay “offends most people’s sense of fairness,” said Archie Carroll, a recently retired business ethics professor at the University of Georgia.

It “symbolizes more than anything else how out of touch corporate America, particularly CEOs and boards of directors,, is with the rest of American society,” he said.

The abrupt departure of Home Depot Inc. chief Robert Nardelli this week, with a $210 million exit package in hand, shows how skewed CEO pay can be, ethics experts say.

Nardelli’s exit package, which includes $20 million cash severance as well as a pension, deferred stock awards and stock options, equals the annual incomes of about 10,000 retail stock clerks making an average $21,000 a year.

Home Depot has about 2,000 stores in the USA. Each store could have had 5 extra employees helping you – so if you’ve ever waited in line, blame the CEO.

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cyclist hits the road with the Thrustpac – a petrol-driven propeller which enables bicycle users to hit speeds of up to 130kph (80mph).

The device is controlled by a special glove which allows the rider to accelerate or slow down simply by flexing their index finger.

Inventor Don Burgess said it can do 240km (150 miles) to the gallon, making it one of the most-fuel efficient modes of transport. Except, you know, actually cycling.

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De EMI Music Group is gestopt met het toepassen van kopieerbeveiligingen op nieuwe cd-releases. Dat betekent dat geen enkele platenmaatschappij op dit moment cd’s uitbrengt die beveiligd zijn tegen het maken van digitale kopieen. Macrovision is inmiddels ook gestopt met de ontwikkeling en verkoop van haar systeem TotalPlay (voorheen CDS).

Platenmaatschappijen gebruikten de kopieerbeveiligingen op cd’s om illegale verspreiding van de muziekopnamen – met name via het internet – tegen te gaan. Volgens het internationale vakblad ‘Billboard’ is het echter nu duidelijk dat de kosten voor het gebruik van de technologie niet opwegen tegen de resultaten.

Mooi. Als jullie dan ook nog even de honden van de RIAA en brein terug in het hok stoppen, kan ik wellicht overwegen weer naar jullie producten te gaan kijken.

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Husband: “Wow, there’s a one hour movie on TV with no commercials!”
Wife: “What is it?”
Husband: “The History of the iPod”

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When the US-led invasion of Iraq promised to replace Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime with freedom and democracy, nearly half of the country’s population was under 21.

‘Iraq: The Lost Generation’ opens a window onto the hidden world of Iraqi youth, revealing the brutalisation and psychological trauma of living under military occupation. It reveals how the people with whom the future of Iraq rests, are reacting with anger, aggression and, in some cases, violence.

Operating at great personal risk, a local Iraqi journalist and crew travelled widely throughout the country, outside the safety of the green zone, to document the lives of a range of young people whose hopes and dreams have been shattered by the occupation. This film highlights how the radicalisation of a generation has taken place — it’s not just the Americans who are the only enemy now there is civil war in Iraq.

We meet, amongst others, 19 year-old Haydar, who lost his right leg after being shot by an American patrol, which had been ambushed. His sister, whose husband is bodyguard to a powerful Shia militia leader, proclaims she would be willing to die for her country. Muhammad, a newly qualified doctor and soon-to-be first-time dad, is struggling to work amidst the danger and deprivation of modern, lawless Iraq — from the lack of medical supplies to personal threats from the police and army.

We hear from an Iraqi army recruit serving with an elite unit in Baghdad. Then there are the teenagers fighting to shape the future outcome of Iraq: Sunni insurgents and the notorious Shia militias. Young men so politicised they are prepared to kill and be killed for a greater cause. Many see no future at all and those that can have chosen to flee abroad to escape the daily violence, kidnappings and killings.

It can be seen here.

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Longtime war correspondent Chris Hedges, the former New York Times bureau chief in the Middle East and the Balkans, knows a lot about the savagery that people are capable of, especially when they’re besotted with dreams of religious or national redemption. In his acclaimed 2002 book, “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning,” he wrote: “I have been in ambushes on desolate stretches of Central American roads, shot at in the marshes of Southern Iraq, imprisoned in the Sudan, beaten by Saudi military police, deported from Libya and Iran, captured and held for a week by Iraqi Republican Guard during the Shiite rebellion following the Gulf War, strafed by Russian Mig-21s in Bosnia, fired upon by Serb snipers, and shelled for days in Sarajevo with deafening rounds of heavy artillery that threw out thousands of deadly bits of iron fragments.” Hedges was part of New York Times team of reporters that won a 2002 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting about global terrorism.

Given such intimacy with horror, one might expect him to be aloof from the seemingly less urgent cultural disputes that dominate domestic American politics. Yet in the rise of America’s religious right, Hedges senses something akin to the brutal movements he’s spent his life chronicling. The title of his new book speaks for itself: “American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America.” Scores of volumes about the religious right have recently been published (one of them, “Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism,” by me), but Hedges’ book is perhaps the most furious and foreboding, all the more so because he knows what fascism looks like.

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I don’t think [the evangelicals] are up for grabs [politically] because they have been ushered into a non-reality-based belief system. This isn’t a matter of, “This is one viewpoint, here’s another.” This is a world of magic and signs and miracles and wonders, and [on the other side] is the world you hate, the liberal society that has shunted you aside and thrust you into despair. . . . And now they believe that Jesus has a plan for them and intervenes in their life every day to protect them, and they can’t give that up.

First Chapter
‘American Fascists’

…We were taught that those who claimed to speak for God, the self-appointed prophets who promised the Kingdom of God on earth, were dangerous. We had no ability to understand God’s will. We did the best we could. We trusted and had faith in the mystery, the unknown before us. We made decisions – even decisions that on the outside looked unobjectionably moral – well aware of the numerous motives, some good and some bad, that went into every human act. In the end, we all stood in need of forgiveness. We were all tainted by sin. None were pure. The Bible was not the literal word of God. It was not a self-help manual that could predict the future. It did not tell us how to vote or allow us to divide the world into us and them, the righteous and the damned, the infidels and the blessed. It was a book written by a series of ancient writers, certainly fallible and at times at odds with each other, who asked the right questions and struggled with the mystery and transcendence of human existence. We took the Bible seriously and therefore could not take it literally.

…We are saved, in the end, by faith – faith that life is not meaningless and random, that there is a purpose to human existence, and that in the midst of this morally neutral universe the tiny, seemingly insignificant acts of compassion and blind human kindness, especially to those labeled our enemies and strangers, sustain the divine spark, which is love. We are not fully human if we live alone. These small acts of compassion – for they can never be organized and institutionalized as can hate – have a power that lives after us. Human kindness is deeply subversive to totalitarian creeds, which seek to thwart all compassion toward those deemed unworthy of moral consideration, those branded as internal or external enemies. These acts recognize and affirm the humanity of others, others who may be condemned as agents of Satan. Those who sacrifice for others, especially at great cost, who place compassion and tolerance above ideology and creeds, and who reject absolutes, especially moral absolutes, stand as constant witnesses in our lives to this love, even long after they are gone. In the gospels this is called resurrection. . . .

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Over 1000 people gathered in Nancy Pelosi’s district, on Ocean Beach in San Francisco, to spell out the message “IMPEACH!”

Somebody did a lot of work creating this.

It looks like Bush wants to paint schools over there so he doesn’t have to paint them over here…