24.11.05

Kali-tuga A Idade Do Ferro, por Christopher Jones e Ron Hilton

According to the ancient Hindus, we are now in a period known as "kali-yuga" or the Iron Age. It is known for its breakdown in spirituality, and the complete degeneracy of the human race. Kali-yuga is characterized by a shift in human attitudes away from intelligence, and traditional values towards lust, greed and the dominance of money. This degeneracy is instrumentalized by the a secretive group of the powerful to subjugate and enslave the majority of mankind with among other things, promiscuous sex. (read:pop culture+globalization). Abortion, the tolerance of homosexuality, and transvestitism are considered degenerate practices. In particular, abortion is a sign of the breakdown in the traditional role for women, who during the kali-yuga become greedy prostitutes. It is amazing just how closely our western societal breakdown has followed the descriptions of kali-yuga and the secret war to ensalve mankind by th One-worlders, like Bernard Baruch.

RH: Well. In my ignorance I read up about kali yuga, and, as usual, found the most lucid acount in Wikipedioa:
According to most interpretations of Hindu scriptures, including the Vedas, the Kali Yuga (lit. Age of Kali , also known as Iron Age) began at the end of Krishna's bodily lifespan (approximately 5100 years ago, 3102 BCE) and will last exactly 432,000 years ­ placing its conclusion in the year 428,899 CE (it began with a year 0). Kalki, the 10th and final avatar of Vishnu, is expected to appear at this time, riding a white horse and wielding a flaming sword with which to strike down the wicked. Kali Yuga is the last of four Yugas­upon its conclusion, the world will 'reboot' into a new Satya Yuga (Golden Age). This involves the end of the world as we know it and the return of Earth to a state of paradise. Kali Yuga began at midnight (00:00) on 18 February 3102 BCE according to the Surya Siddhanta, which is an astronomical treatise that forms the basis of all Hindu and Buddhist calendars. Kali Yuga is sometimes referred to as the Iron Age because it was also the time when forging iron was discovered. Throughout the Kali Yuga, human civilisation degenerates further.

RH:Christopher is trying to show that the present evil of globalization is part of kali yuga, the period which began in 3102 BCE and will last until 428,899 CE. In other words, the world went to the dogs a very long time ago, long before the present dogs of globalization and pop culture. While I cannot make sense of Christopher's chronology, I agree with his argument about pop culture as a manifestation of the contemporary world, but I do not bring the Vedas into the argument. I am surprised that Vishnu will return on a white horse, like Napoleon. I prefer Christ's donkey. Perhaps the white horse is the source of the four horses of the Apocalypse, but they were horses of a different color.

23.11.05

How a White House "Cabal" Hijacked U.S. Foreign Policy, by Colonel LAWRENCE WILKERSON

COL. LAWRENCE WILKERSON: Well, it just reinforces my position that we cannot afford to be, as a country, as a people, seen as tolerating torture in any way, fashion or form, or unusual and degrading punishment as the International Convention Against Torture delineates it. It just undercuts our image. It undercuts our credibility. More important than that, it undercuts our political values and who we are.
And let me just give you a broader context for why that is so important. This is not a conflict of bombs, bullets and bayonets. This is not a conflict where the military should be the leading instrument. Yes, we had to go to Afghanistan because we had no choice. Al-Qaeda was resident there. The people who actually plotted and the people who planned the 9/11 tragedy were resident there. We had to go after them. The Taliban would not give them up. We had to go after them. The military instrument was appropriate there.
But the military instrument is not appropriate to this wider conflict, because this wider conflict is a conflict of ideas. It is our ideas, which are the political values upon which America is based, indeed, upon western liberalism is based, and the ideas of Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other evil people like those. And if we think that this conflict can be won with bombs, bullets and bayonets, we are sadly mistaken. I was a soldier for 31 years. You do not fight ideas with bombs, bullets and bayonets. You fight them with your ideas, because your ideas are better. And so, when you detract from the better of your ideas, when you give people in the world, especially the millions of moderate Muslims who might be sitting on the fence right now in this conflict, when you give them reason to doubt your credibility, to doubt your ideas, give them reason to criticize you, you're actually defeating yourself. And we just can’t continue to do that sort of thing, because this is a war of ideas, and we're going to win it with our ideas, triumphant over the ideas of people like bin Laden and Zarqawi.

19.11.05

Balada Triste para o 1 º de Dezembro, por André Bandeira


(Fernando Botero, mujer llorando)

1 – Não chores Maria, Mariazinha de Portugal, porque já não tens nada, nem um tostão ( só tens o cartão). Não chores sobre a enxada, não quero ver a tua cara triste ao lado da figueira partida pelo relâmpago. Tantos anos a trabalhar, a bulir, a limpar chãos, a virar frangos. Tens as mãos secas. Tudo só para poderes ter uma casinha, e dois filhitos e um pouco de piedade do teu homem. Talvez umas fériazitas na praia e um Natal feliz.
Não chores Maria, Mariazinha de Portugal, que já nem há horizonte para crestares mais a tua pele modesta e humilde na esperança de amealhares uns tostões.
Segura, segura o teu filhinho, não vá ele comer a granada que terás que dar ao Sultão para chegares cada vez mais cansada e cada vez mais tarde. Não virá um Emir bom que, no meio da caçada, se condoa da tua fadiga...

2 – Os valores não são as constantes da conjuntura mas as constantes das constantes. Se um Homem, na sua vida, puder lutar em campo aberto, por um único valor que seja, já se pode considerar afortunado.
Se alguns de memória curta (ou por ignorância deliberada ou por encobrimento) julgam que “Valores” é apenas vencer a próxima curva de uma corrida sem partida nem chegada, onde os atletas entram e saem a qualquer momento, então é porque é um bicho... e um bicho encurralado no seu próprio uivo.
Os valores implicam Ordem mas a Ordem não é uma coisa que alguém se lembra de repente. Ela já existia antes, apesar da Autoridade que se ridiculariza, da desolação dos Soldados, da venalidade dos Juízes. O país tem uma Ordem de há nove séculos, não fomos nós que a inventámos. Sim, connosco os Antepassados também votam.
Depois, a Ordem implica uma batalha (do Toro) interior. Que ninguém pense que, sem auto-disciplina e um certo número de renúncias, poderá alguma vez adquirir a Ordem (ou o que resta dela) nacional.

3 – “Valor” significa invejar aquele que se atirou à água para salvar alguém e não se salvou a si mesmo. E invejá-lo como quem se apaixonou e nem consegue dormir.
O princípio de que nenhum ponto se dá sem nó, que tudo o que se pensa tem intenções pérfidas, que de tudo se faz uma história sórdida, é apenas a falta de ar com que nos pretendem fazer cavalos dum motor de explosão, por saturação. Respira fundo, pois. Eles vêm aí. Levanta-te da cama, pois. Eles estão dentro do perímetro.
A Ordem de Portugal é municipal mas o país ficou reduzido ao município de Lisboa e os outros municípios são pequenas Lisboas. Por isso, é preciso partir para a Serra, fazer Serras levantarem-se do subsolo das cidades.

4 – O dia-a-dia não é neutral. Os dias cada vez ficam mais curtos e a noite do olhar não amanhece. Nem o trabalho, nem o modo de vestir, nem o convívio de homens e mulheres que nada têm a ver uns com os outros, às vezes 18 horas por dia, são neutrais. O trabalho, o dia-a-dia é já uma batalha onde a derrota (a despromoção, o despedimento, o ostracismo, a doença profissional) são veras resistências à tortura.
É preciso algo que una todos os infantes nesta frente. É preciso criar redes de apoio, de socorro, santuários e covas de lobo. O dia-a-dia já é ardente. Quando nos olhamos ao espelho, de manhã, tenhamos a coragem de dizer: “ meu nome é Combate”.

5 – É preciso enfrentar a venalidade moral e o luxo asiático que alguns continuam a exigir. Não tomemos o repente pela coragem, nem a seita pelo abrigo. Depois do ciclo dos Fundos Comunitários há que aprender o que só um povo de 9 séculos sabe: que tudo ainda é verde e novo e que só no Desconhecido o Sol aconchega a Memória.

6 – Não chores Mariazinha de Portugal, olhando envergonhada a renda humilde, na orla da tua saia. Eles apregoam e gritam na feira, voam as mãos dos vigaristas sobre os copos trocados e retrocados, mas quem vai contar a história és tu, mesmo do teu último fôlego. Se cais sobre a enxada, o coração não pára. O Sol, a bendita chuva e a santa neve te levantarão.
Hão-de vir quarenta, Maria. Hão-de vir quarenta cavaleiros, do estertor da desolação e da vergonha. Os pés nus dos peões no campo de Aljubarrota hão-de, a uma ordem misteriosa, fixar-se todos ao mesmo tempo, no chão, quando no silêncio não se ouvir senão o tropel.
Hão-de vir quarenta, Mariazinha. Como um feixe negro no meio da seara. Como um souto de pinheiros queimados, no alto do monte.

13.11.05

Who is who against Bush, by Robert Whealey

There were a number of voices against Bush,and 21 others in the Senate as of October 2002 including: Senator Robert Byrd,Senator Ted Kenndey,Senator Carl Levin,Senator Russell Feingold. Since then Sen John Kerry is calling for U.S. withdrawal. In 2003-2004 other opponents were:Rep Dennis Kucinich, Rep, Jim McDermott, Rep. John Conyers,Gov. Howard Dean,Gen. Wesley Clarke,Scott Ritter, USMC, Gen Scowcroft of the NSC, Pres Jimmy Carter, Gen. Odom.
By 2005,Col. Lawrence Wilkerson (C/S to Colin Powell.} Military strategist Anthony Cordesman. The opposition is growing every day. The Democrats in 2002 to 2004 were
mostly frightened mice, but they were never "pro Bush." In 2005, some Democrats are discovering that they do have a backbone. They may take the House of Representatives in 2006.

11.11.05

Stockmarket, by Tor Guimaraes

In an effort to forecast whether a market or stock price will go down or up, people have availed themselves of a wide collection of tools and methods which fall in
three different categories:

Fundamental Analysis (FA)
FA uses financial accounting methods and tools, and a thorough understanding of a company's business model to establish the value of a company and the price of a share. It looks at a large collection of factors which may impact the present value of a share. Some of the professionals in this group are Cody Willard, Jim Cramer, James Altucher, Chris Edmonds, Arne Alsin, Tero Kuytinen. Many people in this group see TA as voodoo analysis because they don't understand it.

Technical Analysis (TA)
TA in its purest form completely ignores FA because it assumes that at a given time it would be impossible to know all the relevant factors determining the value of a share. Instead, TA looks at the footprints that the share price has left in a graph against various units of time such as weekly, daily, hourly, etc. To validate the movements in price, TA looks at volume of transactions at various price levels. Also, TA seeks to identify recognizable patterns such as Cup-and-Handle, Head-and-Shoulders, Bull-Flags, etc in the price charts which indicate likely movement and a
particular direction. Some patterns such as the formation of triangles in price channels may indicate forthcoming price volatility in either direction. Some of the professional in this group are Gary Smith, James de Porre, Dick Arms, Ken Wolff, Chris Schumaker, Alan Farley, Dan Fitzpatrick, and Jeff Cooper.

Indicator Analysis (IA)
IA is based on a large collection of measures deemed relevant as indicators of direction for various market indices, market sectors, and ETFs. Some of these measures are the number of stocks making new highs/lows, overbought/oversold oscillators, the Arms Index, the put/call ratio, and the VIX. Many indicators are used to complement TA thus many of the professionals in this group also use TA, including Dick Arms, Helene Meisler, and Richard Suttmeir-

5.11.05

Israel prepares next US President: Hillary

Hillary Clinton to visit Israel: Senator Hillary Clinton will travel to Israel next week and meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss security issues, her office said Wednesday. The trip is her second to the country since becoming a senator. Her husband, former president Bill Clinton, is scheduled to visit next week as well, and will be a featured speaker at a mass rally marking the 10th anniversary of the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Senator Clinton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is traveling as part of the U.S. delegation to a conference beginning November 11 to discuss relations between the two countries. She also plans to tour a portion of the security fence near Jerusalem. The fence has been the focus of international debate, and Clinton has supported Israel's right to construct it.

2.11.05

AMERICA ALONE - An evaluation by Ron Hilton


Loneliness , by MArc Chagall

Stephen Halper & Jonathan Clarke, AMERICA ALONE, The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order (Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp. 369) is an interesting case of trans-Atlantic cooperation. Stephen Halper, an American and a Stanford graduate with doctorates from both Oxford and Cambridge, is a Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and director of the Donner Atlantic Studies Programme in the university's Centre of International Studies. He served in the White House and the State Department under Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. The book is therefore not written by Democrats with a visceral hatred of Republicans. Jonathan Clarke, an Oxford graduate, served in the British foreign service and is now a Foreign Affairs Scholar at the CATO Institute in Washington, D.C. Their timely book has been well received because it expresses the annoyance of US conservatives that power has been seized by a group of secretive neo-conservatives who have their own agenda for the new global order. There is a list of leading figures (p. 14) beginning with I. Lewis Libby, who has hit the headlines. Among those listed is WAISer James Woolsey. He is described (p. 29) as "like Gingrich, more an ideological fellow-traveler than a founding member". Wolfowitz said the campaign against al-Qaeda would involve "removing or ending states·" (p 204). "James Woolsey was even quicker off trhe mark, saying that Iraq should be the target". . Does he have any comment about the book? The financial network is described, with the Hoover Institution enjoying the patronage of the John M.Olin Foundation. Both Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice are "Hoover alumni".
For WAIS, chapter 8, "America: Perception and Counterperception", has a special importance, since it documents the disparity between the US vision of itself anc the perception of it in other countries. Harsh criticism of America is nothing new, as is evident rom Frances Trollope, The Domestic Manners of Americans (1832). The excellent bibliography includes Paul Hollander, Anti-Americanism:Critiques at Home and Abroad, 1965-1990. The detailed index facilitates consultation,
This important book has created quite a stir. Its ultimate assessment will
depend on the turn of events. It discusses talk of a fourth world war, but
what that would involves is not quite clear. If the US succeeds in establishing solid governments in Afghanistan and Iraq, the neo-conservatives will boast that their policy was the right one. If not, this book will be regarded as prophetic. The danger is that, even though Afghanistan and Iraq may be stabilized, Iran will be there with its neo-conservatives and its president who wants to "remove a state". Then what will our neo-conservatives do, if they are still in power?

1.11.05

American Tragedy, by John Lapp


Last Friday we witnessed an explosion, an event that, like Watergate, will shape politics and the way we see government in America for years to come. This is a solemn time, and gives us a moment to remember what men can do when they abuse the power given to them by our nation. The first indictment was handed down in the investigation initiated by the CIA, and "Scooter" Libby, the right-hand man of the Vice President, faces five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with a profound betrayal of national security -- the outing of a covert CIA agent.
Karl Rove remains under investigation, and as Republican Senator Trent Lott put it this weekend, "If this is going to be ongoing, if he has a problem, I think he's got to step up, and, you know, acknowledge that and deal with it." It's easy to forget that President Bush long ago promised to fire anybody involved, a promise that undermines White House credibility every day Rove continues to work there.
The desperate spin and attacks from the Republicans have already begun, and we must remind America of the facts behind this case, and what makes these indictments so monumentally important. We've put it all into a video; we are asking you to watch it and spread the word by forwarding it to everybody you know:
Watch the Videohttp://whatcounts.com/t?ctl=F97F93:2AA074B

PS:
The White House announced on Monday the elevation of John Hannah to replace Libby as Cheney's national security adviser. Earlier in the day it announced that Libby would be arraigned Thursday in federal court on charges of perjury, making false statements and obstruction of justice. He was expected to plead innocent.
The White House also announced that David S. Addington, who's been Cheney's legal counsel, would assume Libby's duties as chief of staff. Like Hannah, Addington has played a quiet, though influential, role in the vice president's office. The Washington director of Human Rights Watch accused Addington of helping draft policies that led to the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.