a call for urgent action ...

 .. all else is commentary (or worse; see WD, say)

-=*=-

It should not take a Newton or a Galileo to realise that doing nothing is not an option - except in the possible case of someone who's merely waiting for Godot.

But in case an appeal to authority is thought desirable, consider Newton's 1st & 2nd laws as describing aspects of momentum[1]; easily understood as a body at rest tends to stay at rest; it will move if shoved hard enough, and ever faster with more push. The intermediary case of a body already moving is analogous; lacking any push it will continue on unchanged.

Going back to the case of doing nothing, we see that without a push, no change is possible. But change is definitely needed - IMHO, as usual and of course; any dissenter may now leave, tschüss!

For any lingering die-hard, the 'why?' change is needed are at least three:

1. The moral environment - reflexive altruism required.

2. The business environment - stop all the rip-offs required.

3. The physical environment - greedastrophe® must be averted.

The order is arbitrary; life as we know it will become increasingly difficult - outright impossible is the fear - without a sustainable biosphere operating within our 'comfort-zone.' Resource-restrictions are becoming apparent; skyrocketing oil-prices are a good indicator, but large food-price increases, even shortages - in Western markets - are the shock of the week.

Business rip-offs are causing trouble across the world, as already obscenely rich (so-called) élites gorge themselves ever richer - creating starving multitudes with their greed - and crime.

Morally, the sheople® have been thrown to the wolves. One doesn't need a Jesus or a Gandhi[2] to recognise the universal applicability of the Golden Rule and its corollary 'do no harm' (my attempted formalisation the chezPhil morality), nor the sad fact that such morals are being honoured mainly in the breach.

The time for arguing any of this is gone; anyone seeking details may find them elsewhere, but also somewhat scattered on this website.

I have already suggested my action plan at save the planet; in a nutshell it means getting a (proper!) morality, and lobbying our representatives to properly represent us. The most important reform is to make our morality scaleable, the same rules for us sheople and our so-called rulers: no lying, cheating, theft or murder. Sounds simple and it is, really just a matter of getting active. This plan is eminently doable[3] and what's better, it's been proven to work - but sadly, not for us, we the sheople, but for a minority, and even sadder, to crooked purposes. (I refer here to the M-W reported Israel Lobby.)

-=*=-

Once more around the loop: immorality and criminality are rife; our once jewel-like planet is under attack by the forces of darkness. To wit, the US is murdering for oil, Israel is murdering for land and water, and the mainly these days US-inspired capitalist system is raping the planet for resources - most often without sufficient recompense, in fact nowhere near. And these forces of evil don't care a fig where they drop either their murdering bombs, shit or pollution, hence the coming excess CO2-caused greedastrophe.

The 'greed is good' school just described (greed is neither good nor desired - except by the evil perpetrators), i.e. the rippers-off and murdering thieves will not listen. Since they only understand force, a countervailing force must be called forth - over to you, dear sheople.

-=*end*=-

Ref(s):

[1] momentum

«The question has been much debated as to what Sir Isaac Newton's contribution to the concept was. Apparently nothing, except to state more fully and with better mathematics what was already known. The first and second of Newton's Laws of Motion had already been stated by John Wallis in his 1670 work, Mechanica sive De Motu, Tractatus Geometricus: "the initial state of the body, either of rest or of motion, will persist" and "If the force is greater than the resistance, motion will result..."»

[wiki/Momentum]

[2] Seven Blunders of the World

« .. is a list that Mahatma Gandhi gave to his grandson Arun Gandhi, written on a piece of paper, on their final day together, not too long before his assassination. The seven blunders are:

Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Science without humanity
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principle

This list grew from Gandhi's search for the roots of violence. He called these acts of passive violence. Preventing these is the best way to prevent oneself or one's society from reaching a point of violence.

To this list, Arun Gandhi added an eighth blunder:

Rights without responsibilities»

[wiki/Seven Blunders of the World]

[3] doable
adjective informal within one's powers; feasible: none of the jobs were fun, but they were doable. [Oxford Pop-up]

last ray of Iraqi hope ...

 .. all but extinguished?

  - or obliterated, thanks Hillary.

«Obama to set timetable for Baghdad
From correspondents in Washington April 28, 2008
DEMOCRATIC Senator Barack Obama warned overnight that if he is elected president he will set a performance timetable for the Iraqi government and not sit aside "while they dither".
...
"What I will not do is to continue to let the Iraqi government off the hook and allow them to put our foreign policy on ice, while they dither about making decisions about how they're going to cooperate with each other".»

[theAus/Breaking News]

My decode: "set a performance timetable" refers to exercising a conqueror's (assumed = by murdering force) right to kick their quisling puppet around, "dither about making decisions about how they're going to cooperate" means that the kick is aimed at the Iraqis passing the 'the oil-law,' which (ostensibly) has to do with revenue sharing on the way to (futilely hoped-for?) reconciliation, but in reality has to do with parcelling out PSAs (so-called 'production sharing agreements'), which are the actual 'nuts and bolts' by which the oil-theft intention (Obama's "our foreign policy") is to be enabled.

In summary, the US expects the Iraqis to 'voluntarily' (with US guns at Iraqi heads) kiss their 'patrimony' goodbye.

-=*=-

Long story short: Obama wants the oil too; i.e. he wants to be a murdering oil-thief.

I reckon that's 3 out'a 3 now, and 'game over' - as they say in despised Ameri-speak (spit!) No surprise, perhaps; but riddle me this, Q: why does the rest of the world roll over for the Yanks? A: Most probably, because the US threatens to nuke anyone who doesn't. Including us in Aus, perhaps, but we 'escape' because we're already giving 'em all they want, specifically land for bases and the great bulk of our resources. We the sheople® are 'allowed' only wages plus 30% after (disgustingly generous?) pre-tax concessions from our vast resources boom; the rest is swallowed up by the insatiably ravenous gaping maw of neoliberal, mainly US rip-off capitalism.

Oh, well; look on the bright side: at least the Yanks aren't killing us Aussies (directly, but wha'da 'bout the greedastrophe®, eh?).

Addendum: the penny drops!

Of course, Obama has to say that, otherwise he'd be unelectable. But not because the sheople wouldn't vote for him, Oh, no - rather, the US M/I/C-plex would ensure Obama's unelectability. Neat, eh? - And so much for the much vaunted US 'democracy.' Boo! Hiss!

hapless, helpless ...

.. or just feckless[1]? All three?

-=*=-

One can use words like the above on various 'targets.'

What started this particular round was an article cited by Bob Wall (g'day) in a comment on my 'You must be Joe King!' - Sy Hersh on the bombing of a Syrian facility by Israel last year.

The story is once again in the news[2,3] - but by someone's choice; my suspicion is: it's a psyop. (What else, and add the usual qualifiers: filthy, lying etc.)

The title of the Hersh article is "An Act Of War." Which is correct, an aggressive act of war by Israel (possibly, most probably, with US assistance) against Syria.

The first thing to note about 'aggressive acts of war' is that they should be punished by hanging all perpetrators by the neck until dead. And yes, that means GWBush&CO, along with any poodles and lap-dogs. Note also that the US armed forces, aka the Pentagon, are not innocent order-followers, they are in it right up to their dishonourable necks. Actually, lower lips: "Don't make a wave!"

The next thing to note about 'aggressive acts of war' is that they are forbidden by the UN charter. Q: Where's the UN on this? A: Missing in action. (As Bob also points out someone from the UN did complain, about possible 'destruction of evidence.') Back to the 'mainline' UN, it was said by some smart-arse in the run-up to Iraq (illegal invasion thereof): "The UN is as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike." (Possibly paraphrased, or as a chocolate teapot.) Q: Why is this? A: Because the UN has been corrupted - mainly by USrael.

As I said in my 'You must be Joe King,' USrael is the combined entity formed from the US and its M/I/C-plex plus Israel and its I/J/Z-plex, 'melded' by the neoCon cabal, say, and M-W's Israel Lobby etc., and is the worst criminal/terrorist entity the world has ever seen, and is ever likely to see.

The individual components of USrael have been more or less (criminally!) rampaging across the world since before, from and after a) the (illegal!) A-bombing of Japan and b) the (illegal!) establishment of Israel. One says 'illegal' vis-à-vis the A-bombing since a) it simply was not necessary (despite any such claim) and b) the 'targets' were overwhelmingly civilian. Again as still, the (ugly) 'collaterals.' 'Ugly,' because were talking about mass-murdering largely innocent civilians, and 'illegal' vis-à-vis Israel because the UN cannot simultaneously be a) the source of legality and b) corrupted by directly, repeatedly contravening its authority - as Israel does, both. 60 years long, with no end in sight.

In case it needs another mention, both the US and Israel are conducting wars of aggression, the US in Iraq (murder for oil) and Israel against the former legal owner/occupiers of (now sadly mostly ex-)Palestine, murder for land and water. In case it needs yet another, separate mention, the reason why all this has largely been disguised is that the 'news' we get via the venal MSM is polluted, heavily polluted, by propaganda. (What else, and add the usual qualifiers: filthy, lying etc.)

-=*=-

Q: Does any of this matter? A: IMHO, yes. US claims to be 'the land of the free (etc)' and Israel claims to be 'the only ME democracy.' Both are, effectively, lies, when one considers that even if their elections were 'fair and free' (demonstrably not, see discussion elsewhere with special attention to venal MSM), no matter who gets elected, the wars of aggression do and will continue. (Unless we finally stop them, that is.)

Then, many other 'indicators' have moved 'into the red:'

1. The most obvious/contentious is the oil-price, Murdoch 'promised' us that invading Iraq would keep the oil-price low, this claim is itself remarkable as it's the same form of argument that Howard used vis-à-vis interest rates. The oil-price has gone from mid- to high-20s in 2002/3 to well over $100 now. Both claims were/are hubristic, as were "slam-dunk" and "cake-walk," etc. What was not hubristic but rather outright criminal was "Shockin' Whore," a truly precedent-setting infamy.

2. House-prices (across the Anglo-world) have doubled, if not redoubled since the mid-90s, say.

3. Food prices are now sky-rocketing, grains etc. Japan has run out'a butter(!), and in NZ the price for some dairy is up 50%(!) Last night on AusBC TV news, they showed film of food riots.

4. Oil continues to be burnt as if there's no tomorrow (keep it up, there won't be.)

5. Ditto coal.

6. Ice is melting. The Arctic sea is now navigable, Antarctic ice-shelfs are disintegrating, most glaciers are in retreat.

All this screams at me: "No more of the same!" We need a new plan; we need urgent and effective action. Yet, when I try to point this out (at some other place, say) I'm assaulted by nay-sayers whose basic premise must be "No change needed. Just stay tuned to your TV-soma, relaxed and comfortable."

Oh, yeah; relaxed and comfortable, while our once jewel-like planet burns up - or down, or wherever (the hell!) the excess CO2-caused greedastrophe® is dragging us.

-=*end*=-

PS To the antidestinationists: I only hope some agent (your (mythical!) g*d[4], say) will help you, save you; you're obviously too stupid to help yourselves.

Ref(s):

[1] feckless adj. 1 feeble, ineffective. 2 unthinking, irresponsible. [Scots feck from effeck var. of *effect] [POD]

[2] Also cited by Bob: Cheney camp 'behind Syrian reactor claim'

[3] AusBC justin: N Korea helped Syria build bombed reactor: US

[4] myth n. 1 traditional story usu. involving supernatural or imaginary persons and embodying popular ideas on natural or social phenomena etc. 2 such narratives collectively. 3 widely held but false notion. 4 fictitious person, thing, or idea. 5 allegory (Platonic myth).  mythical adj. mythically adv. [Greek muthos] [POD]

mythology n. (pl. -ies) 1 body of myths. 2 the study of myths.  mythological adj. mythologize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing). [Greek: related to *myth] [ibid.]

As is often the case, a bit'a 'dictionary roulette:'

myxomatosis n. viral disease of rabbits. [Greek muxa mucus] [ibid.]

Comment: As in a pox on criminals everywhere - and add the usual qualifiers: filthy, lying etc.

and, in the end, the love you take -

 is ee-e-equal to the love you make[1].

-=*=-

One thing is 'for sure;' you can't take it with you. (Think of all the 'dead' stuff you must leave behind, like your humongous wide-flat panel TV. Eff'n bloody useless.) And more to the point, any evil is *not* buried with your bones, but will live on.

I'm talking to the 'black-hats' in WD. Rue the day, daaarlings!

[1] "The End"

«... is the penultimate song to appear on the album Abbey Road by The Beatles. Composed by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney), it was the last song recorded collectively by all four Beatles, and is the final song of the medley that dominates side 2 of the LP version of the album.»

[wiki/The End (The Beatles song)]

You must be Joe King!

 Subtitle: I never joke about my work...

-=*=-

This is, as some say, zum Brüllen:

«The United States says crime groups operating as "mobsters without borders" have gained significant footholds in global markets and provide logistical support to terrorists.»

[AusBC/justin]

I mean, things like 'the pot and the kettle,' 'the blind leading the blind[1]' etc. all pale into utter insignificance, just no sense of irony at all.

You'd have to laugh - except for one tiny, little detail: the combined entity formed from the US and its M/I/C-plex plus Israel and its I/J/Z-plex[2], 'melded' by the neoCon cabal, say, and M-W's Israel Lobby etc., altogether USrael, is the worst criminal/terrorist entity the world has ever seen, and is ever likely to see.

-=*end*=-

Ref(s):

[1] "Uninformed and incompetent people leading others who are similarly incapable." ...probably inherited from the Upanishads - the sacred Hindu treatises, written 800-200 BC. From Katha Upanishad we have:

«Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like blind led by the blind.»

[The Phrase Finder]

[2] Extending Eisenhower's warning;

M/I/C-plex = military/industrial/Congress, plus the venal MSM.

I/J/Z-plex = Israeli/Jewish/Zionist, a truly evil constellation.

Epilogue: the world is teetering on the precipice, with the excess CO2 caused greedastrophe® drawing ever nearer. The criminals in Washington and Tel Aviv, plus the associated multinational resource rippers-off are plundering the world as never before (aka murder for spoil.)

Who or what, short of the ultimate calamity, can or will stop them?

nowhere near paranoid enough ...

 .. but foolish in the extreme, to boot

«My nine year old daughter has a friend who passes along lots of chain stuff, games to play, etc, with extollations [sic] to send to everyone on your list. I opened a couple, so the best I could do was explain what I thought was going on to her little ladyship and teach her not to pass things on. Am I being paranoid?»

[An obvious internet naif[1]]

For any- and everyone: By definition, there are new viruses being created all the time. Ergo, also by definition, not all viruses will be detected, no matter how good you may think your anti-virus/net-nanny set up may be.

The obvious conclusion is that anyone opening a couple puts their PC into grave danger.

Our rule is open nothing, not even from friends, without proper checking (I have my own ways), and, most importantly open nothing, ever from unknowns. An unknown, in this case, includes any child/teenager.

The behaviour of the naif is termed unsafe internet, and is equally as dangerous as unsafe sex, PC's or you can die from it.

-=*end*=-

Ref(s):

[1] naif
adjective naive or ingenuous.
noun a naive or ingenuous person.
ORIGIN from French naïf. [Oxford Pop-up]

message to x:

I have never called you personally an oil thief.

But if I had the evidence, I would not hesitate for the tiniest part of a pico-sec to do so.

However, you did get some things right; I would also not shy away from the terms liar, fraud, propagandist and/or charlatan when applied to you. If the shoe fits, matey.

What you undeniably are is an oil theft denier, and I do not hesitate to allow, in fact I would actively encourage, the comparison to holocaust denier, for the illegal invasion of Iraq etc is exactly equivalent, and 'run' by the same order of criminals; further, and also not just BTW, the illegal etc. now turned brutal occupation has become an equivalent genocide.

Having got me going, you can have some more, here comes the second barrel (haw!): BLAM! Defenders of criminals make themselves criminals - of the same order, and that means equally guilty - by the accessory mechanism. GWBush&Co deserve exactly the same treatment as handed out at Nuremberg. Think about where that might get an oil theft denier. Even more: many people - quite cruelly, but nevertheless, blamed then, and blame to this day, the 'ordinary German people' for the Nazis' horrendous misdeeds. You could possibly contemplate, Mr x, what the enlightened world's population now think of the 'ordinary Yank.'