Blowback
Bob Morris @ Oct 4th 2004 09:32 - Category: Unfiled ;
“Blowback” is the unintended consequences of action. coined in WWI when poison gas launched by one side, blew back on that side when the wind shifted.
Archive for October 4th, 2004
Tantrums in the Streets
Bob Morris @ Oct 4th 2004 09:24 - Category: Unfiled ;
We take peaceful elections for granted, but maybe we shouldn’t.
Violence associated with U.S. elections mostly occurred during campaigns and was precipitated by fraudulent electoral abuses.
The current election campaign
With respect to voter rolls and registration, the situation may be much worse. Reuters reported last month the complaints of civil rights and legal experts: “Millions of U.S. citizens, including a disproportionate number of blacks, will be blocked from voting … because of legal barriers, faulty procedures and dirty tricks.”
President Carter, who has organized many such <voter> monitoring efforts <said> “Some basic international requirements for a fair election are missing in Florida,” he wrote.
This election could end peacefully, as most U.S. elections have. But there are troubling signs: We have never had a close election whose outcome might appear fraudulent in a time of war when we could be struck by outside forces within our borders.
If Republicans attempt to steal the election again like they successfully did in 2000, millions of people can and should get in the streets. It won’t be a “tantrum” either, rather a legal and quite justified explosion of protest.
Troubled Water
Bob Morris @ Oct 4th 2004 09:21 - Category: Unfiled ;
This excellent book details the water shortage problems that are occuring worldwide, shortages made much worse by predatory multinationals who wish to privatize water.
Over 1 billion people worldwide have no access to clean water within a 15 minute walk of their homes.
The three largest water corporations will control 70 percent of the water in Europe and North America by the end of the decade.
Authored by Anita Roddick of The Body Shop, with aid from blogger extraordinaire Brooke Shelby Biggs this is a clear, highly readable explanation of the scope of water problems now facing the planet.
You can get the book at a discount by ordering via Brooke’s blog, The Bitter Shack of Resentment.
We’ve had a water page here for quite a while, with lots of useful links.
Even in one of the wealthiest areas of the planet, the American West and Southwest, water has always about the biggest and most hardball of the political issues. However, as the 5 year long drought continues, it is becoming even more so.
As reservoirs recede, fears of a water shortage rise
The seven states that rely on the Colorado River confront the possibility of inadequate supplies.
Dilbert’s Ultimate House
Bob Morris @ Oct 4th 2004 08:57 - Category: Unfiled ;
Dilbert’s Ultimate House (DUH) “is the product of the combined wisdom of thousands of Dilbert readers, plus the help of real world experts” and is 3-d interactive. Check it out!
