Friday, September 20, 2013

"Flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people's brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead." - Arundhati Roy








"There are no warlike people, just warlike leaders." - Ralph Bunche


"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt


"War is not the answer for only love can conquer hate." - Marvin Gaye


"Nonviolence, pacifism, that's the greatest thing that I think the human species has to aspire to, because otherwise it's not going to be around." - Martin Scorsese


"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing that it seeks to destroy." - Martin Luther King, Jr



"The worst forms of tyranny, or certainly the most successful ones, are not those we rail against but those that so insinuate themselves into the imagery of our consciousness, and the fabric of our lives, as not to be perceived as tyranny" Michael Parenti

 
"When faced with a choice between confronting an unpleasant reality and defending a set of comforting and socially accepted beliefs, most people choose the later course." W. Lance Bennett.

"... man's capacity to forget is unlimited."- Jacques Ellul, Propaganda





We will speak primitive...........so you may understand.   This is NIT my nature.







[239] Persecuting Patraeus Protestors, Does CFR Control Global Policy?



9/11 official story exposed with humor and with facts





GOP plan to make the hungry hungrier



Egypt's Military Regime Shuts Gaza's Main Border Crossing
Again human rights in american feel 4 u........... this does NOT represent mainstream america.
Only the vocal few.  The majority support Palestine here.  Time for jew exchange.

















Cops, The Badged Class Has Lost Control
Toledo Police Crazy Loses Mind

http://topconservativenews.com/2013/0...

High Cost of Philly's "Freedom Cage"

http://www.thedailychronic.net/2013/2...

Game Developer Accepts Bitcoin

http://www.coindesk.com/online-game-d...

CA Schools Spy on Kids

http://www.occupycorporatism.com/cali...

CT Judge: No One Should Have Guns

http://www.examiner.com/article/conne...


"I Expect My Senate Colleagues To Do Everything To DEFUND This Law!" John Boehner
CONFLICT OF INTEREST!  Bet none in senate or house EVER went to bed hungry all appear WELL FED.....pork diet


Too Poor To Prepare 


 ................................................................
 Democracy's Dropouts

The Quixotic Rise of German Non-Voters

With the help of intellectuals and celebrities, not voting has recently become de rigueur in Germany. But declining voter turnout harms democratic legitimacy, bolsters the power of those who prompted discontent and could sway Sunday's election.

 
Belgians Angered by British Spying

The hacking attack by Britain's GCHQ intelligence service on Belgian telecoms provider Belgacom has angered politicians in the country. Belgium plays host to the EU's top institutions as well as NATO, and Prime Minister Elio di Rupo is considering diplomatic retaliation.


 
Britain's GCHQ Hacked Belgian Telecoms Firm

A cyber attack on Belgacom raised considerable attention last week. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden and seen by SPIEGEL indicate that Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency was responsible for the attack.


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LCV logo header


Koch carbon pollution2
Don’t let big polluters and their congressional cronies stop us when we’re so close to a win.

If the fight to curb global warming were a baseball game, President Obama and EPA would be about to strike out one of dirty energy’s heavy-hitters.

Today, the Obama Administration announced a standard that will cut down carbon pollution from every future power plant in America. This is a game changer for climate change because power plants are our single largest source of carbon pollution.

But corporate polluters and their allies in Congress are determined to block this critical step. So we have to come out swinging right now.


You know how we can tell this is going to be a tough fight? Dirty Coal’s congressional lackeys already started attacking the EPA for this new clean air standard before they even saw it.

At a hearing on climate change in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy faced a crowd of climate change-denying congressmen who used all kinds of crazy arguments to try and prove why we shouldn’t tell Dirty Coal to clean up their act.

One climate change denier blamed carbon emissions from natural sources -- like plants and oceans -- to argue that human activity isn’t the problem. While another congressman just flat-out claimed that the earth isn’t warming.

Then yesterday, Senator Mitch McConnell tried to force a vote on a bill blocking the EPA from limiting carbon pollution from power plants.

Obviously, polluters and their allies will stop at nothing to delay, weaken and block the EPA from acting on climate change. That’s why we need your help to flood the EPA with positive comments to make sure this climate action on new power plants goes into effect as soon as possible.

The facts are clear: unlimited carbon pollution from power plants is a key contributor to climate change, which is fueling more frequent extreme weather events and more asthma attacks. But if LCV supporters like you stand up and demand the strongest possible climate change safeguards, we can ensure a cleaner, healthier future for everyone.
By submitting a public comment to the EPA today, your voice will be part of the official record. Don’t miss the chance to help make a historic impact on the fight for our planet’s future -- submit your public comment in support of this critical climate change action here.
Thanks
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Column: Sonali Kolhatkar on Disobedience to Wall Street
"Searching for Sustainable Models of Activism, Two Years After the Occupy Movement" -- While economists are celebrating a tenuous recovery five years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, this week’s U.S. Census Bureau report on poverty provided a sobering statistic.
Truthdig Radio
"WikiLeaks Lawyer on American Imperialism" -- This week on Truthdig Radio in association with KPFK: Julian Assange’s attorney, Michael Ratner, has a front seat to history. Also: Is this the golden age of the black quarterback? And a feminist explains why women can love Eminem. Plus: Robert Scheer on the pope.


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The Other American Gulag: Bagram Prison's Legal Black Hole Locks Detainees in Nightmarish Limbo
Samira Shackle, AlterNet
Is Bagram Prison about to become the next Guantanamo? READ MORE»
10 Reasons Why Americans Opposed Bombing Syria
Janet Weil , AlterNet
Opposition to attacking Syria wasn't limited to the traditional crowd--it drew in progressives, libertarians and Americans who simply wanted nothing to do with the civil war. READ MORE»
Egypt Joins Israel As Gaza's Jailer
Medea Benjamin, Pam Bailey, AlterNet
The Egyptian military's takeover in July has lead to dire consequences for the 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip. READ MORE»
It's Time To Put a Stop To U.S. Drone Attacks Against Kids
By Robert Greenwald, AlterNet
Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan have children too, and they are being killed by our drones READ MORE»
How Progressives Won Four Important Victories in 10 Days
By Phyllis Bennis, Sarah Anderson, Tiffany Williams, Sam Pizzigati, AlterNet
Are there some lessons here for future fights? READ MORE»
By Mark Weisbrot, The Guardian
The Brazilian president's canceled visit over revelations of NSA spying ought to jolt the US out of its arrogant disrespect for Latin America. READ MORE»
By Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service
Foreign policy pundits are wrong when they say opposition to striking Syria is evidence of a growing isolationism. READ MORE»















I often speak about the nation’s “unsustainable debt”.  That isn’t just a phrase; it’s a reality that the politicians in Washington simply refuse to face.
If we needed proof, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office this week released a report that described the growing national debt in precisely those terms.

 CBO said, “President Obama and lawmakers have been cutting the wrong kind of federal spending as they try to avoid the unsustainable buildup of debt that is projected in the coming decades.”
While CBO puts it a bit more politely, what they really said is that Obama and Congress are nibbling around the edges with temporary sequestrations and “cuts” in programs while refusing to do anything about the real causes of a debt that is on the verge of hitting $17 Trillion. 
 Those real causes, of course, are Medicare and other “nondiscretionary” expenditures that are literally consuming the private economy.
So what are the President and Congress doing? 

 They are taking to the airwaves for  “made for TV” political posturing about raising the debt ceiling and playing chicken with threats to shut the government down at the end of the month.

  Nowhere in all this drama are any real efforts to reduce the size of the government -- and therefore its cost...or any mention of the entitlements that are the true drivers of that “unsustainable” debt.
Instead, we are getting the same old song:  We aren’t going to touch Medicare or Social Security, and we aren’t really going to cut defense spending, but we HAVE to get the budget and deficits under control.  Friends, it can’t be done!  You know it, I know it, and the American people know it.
We have to call them out.  Republicans and Democrats alike.  We have to say, “Quit playing games with our financial future. Quit pretending you are doing something when you aren’t.  And take a break from the Fox News and MSNBC appearances and get to work.
Calling the politicians out is up to us.  It is up to the Our America Initiative to be a powerful voice -- and it is up to liberty-minded supporters such as you to make that voice heard. 

 Your contribution at OurAmericaInitiative.com  today makes it possible to reach more and more people via the Internet and the media, and mobilize those Americans to put the heat on Washington, DC.
I less than two weeks, Congress and the President will make some kind of deal to avoid another budget “crisis”.  Of course, that deal -- whatever it is -- will actually do nothing about the real crisis. It will just put the hard work off to another day, and our financial security will just keep disappearing.
We can’t let them get by with another back room deal that risks our economic freedom.  Go to OurAmericaInitiative.com and help us call them out.
It’s important.
Thanks, as always, for your generous support of liberty -- and for joining me in this fight for America’s future.

Gov. Gary Johnson
Honorary Chairman

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On 5-Year Anniversary Of Mortgage Meltdown, Those Responsible Are Doing Just Fine

By September 13, 2013
Don't worry about former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, because he probably doesn't worry about you.
Don’t worry about former Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis, because he probably doesn’t worry about you.
On Sept. 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers became the largest bankruptcy filing in the history of this country. It was the first domino of many to fall, followed by the likes of Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Countrywide, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, and many other banks and investment firms that had bet too much money on the subprime mortgage market, only to have it collapse when people realized many of those bad loans would never be repaid. These events ripped apart the American economy and left people out of work for extended periods of time. But not most of the bankers responsible for the mess.

In honor of the five-year anniversary of the Lehman disaster, the Center for Public Integrity has been publishing a series all week called “After the Meltdown,” which includes some follow-up looks at how various executives at failed banks and subprime lenders have survived in the post-bubble world.

First up is this rundown of CEOs at failed and bailed-out banks, former Lehman CEO Richard Fuld, who walked away from the largest bankruptcy in history with several hundred million dollars in his pocket (not literally in his pockets; no one has pants that baggy). He’s got home in Connecticut, Florida, and Idaho, and he’s now running his own consulting firm, Matrix Advisors, presumably because he’s a massive Keanu Reeves fan. Read More
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Syria:  Whodunit?
By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich
Benjamin Netanyahu regards the initiative as a precedent for dealing with Iran's civilian nuclear program.
Chemical Weapons Expert: U.S. Deadline for Syrian Chemical Weapons Is Contrary to International Law
By WashingtonsBlog
The deadline of 2014 might be desired, but it's not necessarily going to be a reality.
Were Videos Depicting Victims Of Sarin Attack Faked?
By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya
One nun puts entire US intel community to shame over 'stage-managed' Syria footage.
Interview of Fox News with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
Video
In an interview on the Fox News channel, the Syrian president said the destruction of the country's chemical weapons would take about a year, and would cost $1bn (£600m).
American Empire: A Glass House Built By Stone Throwers
By JP Sottile
The sad fact is that American hypocrisy runs deep on the issue of non-conventional warfare.
Taking Exception to Exceptionalism
By Bernard A. Weisberger
Our national origin myth is that the United States was born in a state of immaculate innocence.
In an Age of 'Realists' and Vigilantes, There is Cause for Optimism
By John Pilger
When Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain commit crimes with US collusion and weapons, their impunity and Obama's hypocrisy are pure Kissinger.
The Thistle and the Drone:
The Real Story Behind the War on Terror
By Joe Wolverton, II, J.D.
U.S. foreign policy since September 11, 2001 has been purposefully crafted to create threats where there were none and then use the ostensible danger posed by those threats as the justification for the abandonment of the Bill of Rights and the corresponding expansion of the surveillance state.
'I' Is for 'Impeachment'
By Philip Giraldi
Arming terrorists while asserting the right to go to war without constitutional process; targeting and killing citizens; declaring a state of war worldwide using robot death machines; -Not exactly something to be proud of, is it?
The Looting of America
By Andre Damon
With every passing year, it becomes increasingly clear that the so-called economic "recovery" is nothing but the transfer of wealth upwards, from the great majority of the working population to a handful of financial oligarchs who gorge themselves at society's expense.






Hard News  
   
At least 39 people killed as Syrian towns rocked by deadly bombings :
Activists said 20 people were killed on Thursday in a car bombing of a government building in the town of Zamalka, near the capital Damascus. Elsewhere in Syria, a roadside bomb struck a bus in a village in the central Homs province, killing 19 people, according to a local government official.
Al Qaeda fighters battle Syrian rebels in border town:
Fighters linked to an al Qaeda-affiliated group overran the Syrian town of Azaz near the Turkish border on Wednesday after fighting broke out with Free Syrian Army units, according to local opposition activists.
Most of the reported deaths in Syria have not been committed by government forces:
Syrian rebels have "massacred" over 45,000 Syrian regime or paramilitary forces.
Syria: US helping al-Qaida:
The remarks were made in a letter addressed to the United Nations, in which Damascus complained that "Washington, France, Britain, Turkey, and some other countries' funding and arming the terrorists in Syria constitute a flagrant violations to principles of the international law and the UN Security Council's laws pertaining combating terrorism."
Russia Calls U.N. Chemical Report on Syria Biased:
Russia sharply criticized the new United Nations report on Syria's chemical arms use on Wednesday as biased and incomplete, hardening the Kremlin's defense of the Syrian government even while pressing ahead with a plan to disarm its arsenal of the internationally banned weapons.
Russia: UN inspectors ignored evidence on Syria chemical attacks:
UN inspectors ignored evidence on chemical weapons use in Syria secretly passed to them by Damascus, said Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister in an exclusive interview to RT. That is why the UN report is biased and needs reinvestigation, he said.
Russia says it has proof rebels behind deadly chemical attack in Syria:
A senior Russian official Wednesday said that Syria had handed over new evidence showing that rebels had used chemical weapons in a deadly attack near Damascus last month.
Propaganda alert:
U.N. Data on Gas Attack Point to Assad's Top Forces:
Details buried in the United Nations report on the Syrian chemical weapons attack point directly at elite military formations loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, some of the strongest findings to date that suggest the government gassed its own people.
Syria: Full Text Of French Declassified Intelligence Report Into Assad's Chemical Weapons Capability:
The French Defense Ministry has released an English translation of its declassified intelligence report into Syria's chemical warfare program.
Putin 'confident' on chemical weapons plan:
Russia's President Vladimir Putin says he is "confident" Syria's chemical weapons can be destroyed under a US-Russian plan, but not "100% sure".
Syrian students rally for Assad while NATO upholds military option: Video -
Students in Damascus are denouncing potential military action against Syria, an option the head of NATO says must stay on the table when dealing with the country's chemical weapons program
Iraqi children find 10 blindfolded corpses:
Unidentified young men were apparently killed by gunshots to the head, police in Baghdad say
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani NBC INTERVIEW
Ann Curry - Rouhani told Curry, "We have never pursued or sought a nuclear bomb. We are not going to do so. " - When Curry pushed him to make that a promise, Rouhani said, "We have time and again said that under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, nor will we ever."
Nigeria: 23 killed, 100 houses, shops burnt in Borno:
Barely a day after the military authorities claimed that its troops had killed more than 150 Boko Haram terrorists and lost 16 of its personnel in an encounter in Maiduguri, no fewer than 23 persons were, yesterday, slaughtered in separate attacks in Kaga town, headquarters of Beneshiek Local Government Area of Borno State
General killed as Egyptian forces raid pro-Morsi town:
Security forces fought gun battles in the town as they searched for the killers of 11 police officers in the town last month. At least 55 suspected militants were arrested, police say.
Egypt returns $2 billion to Qatar:
Cairo's relations with Qatar deteriorated after the Egyptian army deposed President Mohamed Mursi on July 3. Qatar had been a firm backer of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood and lent or gave Egypt $7.5 billion during the year he was in power.
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi transfer for Tripoli hearing blocked:
The militia holding the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, has refused to transfer him to the capital for a pre-trial hearing.
Chaos in Libya:
The Libyan authorities appear to be toothless in the face of the disturbances, though Zeidan, in a bid to calm the situation, revealed that he was awaiting the recommendations of a fact-finding mission conducted by a 13-member crisis committee set up by the Libyan legislature to find a way out of the crisis.
Taliban kill 23 Afghan police, abduct 24 others in Badakhshan:
Taliban attack Afghan police convoyAccording to local authorities in north-eastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, dozens of Afghan police officers were killed or injured and several others were kidnapped following an ambush by Taliban militants.
NATO to investigate drone strike after Afghans say killed civilians:
Afghanistan's NATO force has launched an investigation into an attack by a drone aircraft on an al Qaeda member which a senior Afghan official said killed eight women and children.
Afghan politician defects to Taliban:
A former Afghan senator and district governor has defected to the Taliban in the northern province of Sar-e-Pol, officials have told the BBC.
Five Pakistanis killed in firing by Afghan forces:
Five Pakistanis were killed and three others, including a Levies Force soldier, were injured in firing by the Afghan security forces in the Pakistani area of Qamaruddin Karez of Zhob district on late Tuesday.
'Jihad' suspect held in alleged plot to bomb military office:
The bomb he's accused of trying to detonate was fake and had been provided by an undercover FBI agent. "There was never any actual danger to the public during this operation this morning," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said Wednesday. "That's because the FBI was controlling the situation."
Will the Supreme Court Stop Cops From Reading Your Text Messages?:
In many states, police can rifle through your smartphone-even if you've just been arrested for not putting on your seat belt.
Former Halliburton Employee, Charged With Destroying Gulf Oil Spill Evidence:
Also on Thursday, a federal judge accepted a plea agreement that calls for the Houston-based company to pay a $200,000 fine for conduct related to the charge against Badalamenti.
JPMorgan Chase to pay $920M over 'London Whale':
JPMorgan Chase will pay $920 million in penalties and admit wrongdoing over a $6 billion trading loss last year that tarnished the reputation of the largest bank in the United States.
Surprise From Fed: No Pullback in Bond Purchases: Video -
In a surprise, the Federal Reserve has decided against reducing its stimulus for the U.S. economy because its outlook for growth has dimmed in the past three months.
Ron Paul "Bernanke Is Literally Saying Is WE'RE IN BAD SHAPE!" :
Video
Study: Black People are Worse Off Financially Than Any Other Group in America:
The most recent U.S. Census report reveals that minorities have the highest poverty rates in the richest nation in the world. 27.2 percent of African-Americans and 25.6 percent of Latinos are at or below the poverty threshold. African-Americans, collectively, are the poorest of all ethnic and racial groups in America.






Dokkōdō

  1. Accept everything just the way it is.
  2. Do not seek pleasure for its own sake.
  3. Do not, under any circumstances, depend on a partial feeling.
  4. Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.
  5. Be detached from desire your whole life.
  6. Do not regret what you have done.
  7. Never be jealous.
  8. Never let yourself be saddened by a separation.
  9. Resentment and complaint are appropriate neither for oneself nor others.
  10. Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love.
  11. In all things, have no preferences.
  12. Be indifferent to where you live.
  13. Do not pursue the taste of good food.
  14. Do not hold on to possessions you no longer need.
  15. Do not act following customary beliefs.
  16. Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is useful.
  17. Do not fear death.
  18. Do not seek to possess either goods or fiefs for your old age.
  19. Respect Buddha and the gods without counting on their help.
  20. You may abandon your own body but you must preserve your honour.
  21. Never stray from the way.

feeling philosophical II noch

4 Practical Philosophies That Will Empower You

philosophies


Philosophy is a fascinating branch of wisdom. However these esoteric ideas are sometimes difficult to translate into practical application. What are all of those thoughts, suppositions and theories actually good for? How can an understanding of philosophy ultimately help you lead a better life?


Today I want to examine with you four philosophical ideas that have influenced my life in a very positive way. With the right twists I’ll be able to show you that they are indeed empowering. Let’s go!


1) Friedrich Nietzsche – Eternal Recurrence

The Idea

Several times throughout his works, Nietzsche talks about the thought experiment of eternal recurrence. Aphorism 341 of The Gay Science goes like this:
“What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: “This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence—even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned upside down again and again, and you with it, speck of dust!

Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: “You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.” If this thought gained possession of you, it would change you as you are or perhaps crush you. The question in each and every thing, “Do you desire this once more and innumerable times more?” would lie upon your actions as the greatest weight. Or how well disposed would you have to become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?”
Does the idea of eternal recurrence – that every moment of your life will repeat itself into eternity – leave you shivering with fear or with joy; whether you are living life fully everyday or just waiting for better times to come.

Let us take a look at the possible consequences of Nietzsche’s idea.

Heaven or hell, you decide

Let’s also assume that the life you are currently living is not simply one of the repetitions but is actually your first time around. This means that every moment that passes will be set in stone and repeat itself eternally. How does that sound to you?

If you are a ‘common man’, Nietzsche predicted that this would be the heaviest possible burden. On the other hand, be believed human greatness is achieved when you don’t want anything to be different, past, present or future. When you accept and love the present moment, you have won.

Practically speaking, Nietzsche is then suggesting that you choose the best action at every moment and always ask yourself whether what you are doing right now really is the best you could be doing. If you follow his advice and always act according to this knowledge, I’ll bet that you will have a life worth reliving.

2) Socrates – No One Does Wrong Willingly

The Idea

Socrates believed that we always do either what brings pleasure or diminished pain. In a sense, he argued that we always tried to get closer to ‘good’ (pleasure) and steer away from ‘evil’ (pain, and what is ‘wrong’). He was also a firm believer in human rationality. If you combine both ideas you get the Socrates conclusion: Since we are rational, no one would consciously choose pain over pleasure, which means that people only do wrong because they don’t know any better.

Ket’s taking cigarettes as an example. According to Socrates, if people really knew how smoking affected them, they wouldn’t smoke. Now comes the tricky part: if you ask, “Well, my friend does know and he still smokes,” Socrates would answer, “if he really knew, he wouldn’t do it.” This is tricky because you cannot prove him wrong – nor can he prove himself right.

But it doesn’t matter who’s right here. What does matter is that he could be right…

Learn your way to pleasure

What really matters is the knowledge that you’re most likely harming yourself without knowing. Sounds scary at first, but I find it cool. It triggers in me a desire to find out what I’m doing wrong and change it. It makes me want to grow.

For example, it is this idea that has pushed me to inform myself about health so that I know exactly what harms me and what is good for me.

If you care about yourself – and Socrates says that you do! – then let this idea infect you and let the search for pleasure motivate you to learn, change, and grow.

3) Jean-Paul Sartre – You Are Doomed to Be Free

L’idée

Sartre’s Existentialism as a whole is very interesting. He starts with the assumption that there is no God and then draws conclusions about what it means to be human. One of his conclusions is that we are doomed to be free. Let me explain:

Since there is no God, we are born without an essence. We have no divine purpose or predetermined path. This means that we are absolutely free to do what we choose and build our essence through our actions. Sartre goes as far as to say that we can’t not be free, since we are only able to limit our freedom because we are free and can thus never rid ourselves of our freedom.

And with the freedom comes responsibility: because we are free, we can only blame ourselves for our results since we are the cause of our actions. Thus, everyone is responsible for their own life.

Liberté et responsabilité

Again, we are faced with a concept that can either be burdensome or liberating. Being free is nice and all, but if that also means being 100% responsible for one’s life, then freedom is not to be taken lightly.

Whenever I think of Sartre, I am reminded that, ultimately, it is my job to lead the life I want. Of course there are factors that I can’t control, but I have learned to be grateful for what I am given and that I must earn the rest.

I think a more livable conclusion is that we are not 100% in control of our lives, but that doesn’t rid us of responsibility. While we might not be the direct cause of an unfortunate circumstance, it is always up to us to decide how to respond to them and how to feel about them. (I have written more extensively about responsibility here).

4) Dan Millman’s Socrates – Moderation No More

The Idea

Besides the eponymous Greek philosopher, “Socrates” – “Soc” for friends – is also the name of a character in Dan Millman’s Way of The Peaceful Warrior. While Dan Millman is not considered a philosopher, Soc has some very empowering life philosophies. About halfway through the novel, Dan — the main character — asks Soc, “What about moderation?” Soc replies:
“There is a saying when you sit, sit. When you stand, stand. What ever you do don’t wobble. Once you make your choice do it with all your spirit. Don’t be like the evangelist that thought about praying while making love to his wife and making love to his wife while praying.

It’s better to make a mistake with the full force of your being than to carefully avoid mistakes with a trembling spirit. Responsibility means recognizing both pleasure and price, making a choice based on that recognition, and then living with that choice without concern.”

Go Full-Out

You might have doubts about certain decisions, but once you’ve taken them, you should act “with the full force of your being,” since it is the only way to truly live an authentic life. This translates to always focusing on the task at hand, doing everything the best you can, and sticking with your decisions once you’ve made them.

There is no point in doing things half-heartedly.
 please side with justice, Those with a conscience need to help this man
time served.


We are currently collecting letters of support to ask Judge Loretta Preska for leniency in sentencing.
You can find the template below, or you can download it in either Microsoft Word or PDF formats.

The deadline for submitting these letters is October 15, 2013.

Completed letters can be (1) faxed to 347-402-2014, (2) scanned and emailed to sarah at kunstlerlaw dot net, or (3) mailed to:

The Law Office of Susan G. Kellman
25 Eighth Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11217

Please do not send your letter directly to the Court – it will not be read.
If you have any questions, please call 718-783-8200 or email sarah at kunstlerlaw dot net.
Thank you for your continued support!
TEMPLATE FOR LETTERS OF SUPPORT FOR JEREMY HAMMOND 
Jeremy Hammond’s sentence is set for Friday, November 15 at 10am at the Federal District Court for  the Southern District of New York (address below).  We are collecting letters of support on his behalf. Please submit your letter by October 15, 2013 so that it can be included in our submission to the Court. Again, please do not send your letter directly to the Court – it will not be read. Below is a suggested template for support letters.
ADDRESS:

Honorable Loretta A. Preska
Chief Judge
Southern District of New York
500 Pearl Street
New York, NY 10007
DATE:
GREETING: Dear Judge Preska:

BODY OF LETTER: Briefly discuss yourself – who you are, your position in work or your role in the community. If you are not personally acquainted with Jeremy, tell the Judge why you are interested in his case. State that you are aware that Jeremy has pled guilty to a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Tell the Judge why you believe he should be treated with compassion.

If you know Jeremy personally, and can offer some personal observations, you will want to mention this in your letter.  It would be helpful to include:
  • How you know him and how long you have known him.
  • Jeremy’s character and compassion for other people (if possible, include concrete examples of things that he has done for you or others).
If you would like to address the disparate treatment of Jeremy’s co-defendants, or put his case in the context of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), you may want to mention some of the following points:
  • Jeremy’s co-defendants in Ireland will not be prosecuted  and in the United Kingdom, those who are already convicted will not spend more than 16 months in prison.
  • The disproportionate sentences associated with the CFAA, or that the protection the CFAA affords to corporations is greater than those it affords to individuals, who may be subjected to surveillance by private corporations such as Stratfor. (For more information on the CFAA, please visit the website of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, https://www.eff.org/issues/cfaa)
Whether you know Jeremy or not, you may want to mention that he had no financial gain from his actions, which he undertook as politically-motivated acts of civil disobedience. Do not try to argue that Jeremy is not guilty or was unfairly convicted. You are asking the Judge for leniency.
Sign the letter and include your return address.

The letter can then be sent according to the instructions at the top of this page.

Remember, please do not send any letters directly to the court, as they will not be read.


took a snitch, a well payed rat.......kos

FUCK Hector Monsegur, aka “Sabu”

I write this in advance of the sentence of Hector Monsegur, aka “Sabu” – a former Anonymous comrade turned FBI informant – scheduled to take place on August 23, 2013. It is widely known that Sabu was used to build cases against a number of hackers, including myself. What many do not know is that Sabu was also used by his handlers to facilitate the hacking of targets of the government’s choosing – including numerous websites belonging to foreign governments. What the United States could not accomplish legally, it used Sabu, and by extension, me and my co-defendants, to accomplish illegally. The questions that should be asked today go way beyond what an appropriate sentence for Sabu might be: Why was the United States using us to infiltrate the private networks of foreign governments? What are they doing with the information we stole? And will anyone in our government ever be held accountable for these crimes?








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