-> SMOKE & MIRRORS
 KATRINA & THE LOST CITY OF NEW ORLEANS by Rod Amis
New Orleans is the Lost City of America.A portion of the proceeds of this book will go to the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Fund. The cooks, servers and restaurant workers of New Orleans have provided fabulous times and memories for millions. Now we must remember them in their time of need.
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SMOKE
"Where there's smoke, there's fire ..." Popular Adage.
3 November, 2005: There can be no doubt any longer that the man sitting in White House, to employ the term made famous by former President Richard Nixon, is a crook. It is patently impossible, unless one is in denial, to ignore the compelling evidence in the public record today that points to the President and His Men violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. In other words, this White House acted deliberately "to interfere with, impede or obstruct a lawful government function by deceit, craft or trickery, or at least by means that are dishonest."
If the much-touted "Rule of Law" obtains in the United States of America, these phonies must now be exposed in our courts and our Congress and removed from office. As former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega makes painfully and directly clear in her essay for the 14 November issue of the Nation magazine ("The White House Criminal Conspiracy") the record of violations of the law is now there for all of us to read and remember and we are compelled as a nation to act upon those crimes.
As I write this entry, protests are taking place around the country under the rubric "The World Can't Wait," in two hundred cities where our fellow citizens have taken to the street demanding just this. The United States Senate went into a closed session over this issue this week because the so-called opposition party was pushe d to show some backbone by the growing outrage of the American people.
Was this a political maneuver? Yes. Was it also an action that was called for? Again, yes. The stink coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the capital city of the United States is so noxious that it has begun to spread across the land.
Broadcaster Mike Malloy, now with Air America radio, has long referred to the coterie occupying the executive branch as "the Bush Crime Family." His rhetorical appellation now takes on new meaning as we are faced with not just the suspicion but the veritable certainty that we the people were defrauded into going to war -- while simultaneously giving over the wealth of another sovereign nation to cronies and their associated corporations -- by this President and his minions.
If the American people had the same grit as their ancestors, the lot of them would be driven out of town riding a rail.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands have been killed or maimed, and our national wealth squandered in pursuit of a criminal enterprise. If you are not outraged, you simply are not paying attention.
In the last edition, we published an article by H. SCOTT PROSTERMAN honoring the late Rosa Parks. Am I the only person who noticed that the sitting President of the United States was noticeably absent from her memorial services?
7 November, 2005: Former Senator Tom Daschle (Dem.-S.D.) went to Iowa this past weekend.When a politician goes to Iowa, we all know what is on his/her mind. This man thinks he should be President.
Wait a minute. How many people are there in South Dakota? Maybe eight? How can anyone from South Dakota believe that they can be representative of the interests of a nation of over 250 million people?
That's what amazes me, frankly, about these people. When I hear names like Daschle or Brownback bandied about as Presidential candidates, I can only be amazed at the amount of delusional thinking that has become the stock and trade of the civic discourse in this country.
Which, of course, leads me to another political point, the weakened position of the United States in world opinion.
COMMENT on SMOKE Intro 10 November.
Argentina!
President Bush's visit to Argentina last week to push the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) led to massive protests in the cities of South America. Many South American countries, in fact, balk at the notion of the U.S. pushing through its agenda of forcing a deadline to ratify another "free trade" Agreement down their throats.For those of us paying attention to foreign policy and international relations, this was simply more evidence of the loss of international political capital by the United States of America.
Looking at this country from the outside, particularly after the Hurricane Katrina debacle and the on-going news from Iraq, the rest of the world is certainly looking at an empire in crisis. The crisis is political, as indictments begin to be the highlight of the Bush second term, and spiritual, as we are clearly a country divided.
Sadly, this crisis is not as clear for Americans themselves. We are too busy watching the latest episode of CSI on television and kvetching about gasoline prices. But the crisis is very real. Start to believe your "lying eyes" for a change and you'll see it immediately.
As your government pushes the interests of corporations toward privatization of basic services and infrastructure, hold onto your wallet. Watch out for your future. This is not only true in New Orleans but all over the United States.
As the reaction in South America illustrates, it's easier to see it from outside the United States than from inside the United States - where the propaganda machine operates 24 and 7.
8 November 2005: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, Amy Goodman's DemocracyNow! ran exclusive footage from a documentary by RAI News 24 television (Italy) that provides compelling evidence that last November, the United States government used chemical weapons in its assault on Fallujah.What was one of the Talking Points for the United States in its run-up to the war in Iraq? Wasn't it that Saddam Hussein was an evil tyrant for using chemical weapons against the Iraqi people?
The RAI report includes some very graphic footage that it says documents the use by U.S. forces of not only white phosphorous bombs (a chemical weapon that burns through human skin while not affecting clothing at all, all the way to the bone.) Don't look at this report if you can't handle graphic images of human death.
The report further asserts that while napalm, used to such effect in Vietnam, has been banned, the U.S. military now uses a weapon called MK 77 that does exactly the same thing as napalm and your government has used this weapon in Iraq.
As reported in this space earlier, we have incontrovertible evidence that the U.S. has been using depleted uranium weapons for over a decade now, including in the former Yugoslavia and most recently Iraq.
Ask yourself a question: How do you define evil?
COMMENT on "Argentina" and the RAI News 24 Story
Cities in Space II
I'm the one who is supposed to be snarky here. Nonetheless, I got a few SN comments from some of my Loyal Readers about the "Cities in Space" piece last time out.Well, in my own defense, let me say I'm not the only person thinking this way. Even the U.S. National Space and Aeronautics Administration (NASA) have been working on the same idea for years.
Wikipedia has this to say:
A space habitat, also called space colony and orbital colony, is a space station which is intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple waystation or other specialized facility. They would be literal "cities" in space, where people would live and work and raise families. No space habitats have yet been constructed, but many design proposals have been made with varying degrees of realism by both science fiction authors and engineers.A space habitat could serve as a proving ground for how well a generation ship would function as a home for hundreds or thousands of people. Such a space habitat could be isolated from the rest of humanity for a century, but near enough to Earth for help. This would test if thousands of humans can survive a century on their own before sending them beyond the reach of any help.
You might want to check out these two URLs in your spare time: Stanford Torus, More on Standford Torus and Space Colonies
When I was a child, I would look up into the sky at night, at the stars, and have what we would call today "a Spielberg Moment." I would know in my heart of hearts that one day, one day we would be there among those shining specks and part of the greater part of the cosmos. I still believe that, rather than the eschatological dream of the end of our species.
I do not see the great war between the forces of Light and Darkness -- the Eschaton -- but rather a move onward to something brighter and more challenging. Life rather than Death as the fate of humanity. And, in the process, allowing our great grandmother Earth to be healed, to repair herself from the damage which rapacious consumerism and the European ethos has perpetrated upon her.
In this dream of mine, the White Man's Way is repudiated and we go back to a pre-Christian love of our world.
MIRRORS
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New Orleans is the Lost City of America.A portion of the proceeds of this book will go to the New Orleans Hospitality Workers Fund. The cooks, servers and restaurant workers of New Orleans have provided fabulous times and memories for millions. Now we must remember them in their time of need.New Orleans has disappeared as surely as the lost city of Atlantis or the lost city of Pompeii, which former mayor Marc Morial and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA.) have compared us to in their statements.
That New Orleans, the New Orleans I mean to tell you about, that will never, ever, exist again--that city of love, lust, death and sex--will never exist again.
Buy the book or get a downloadable PDF Copy now!
To order on Amazon.com, go here!
There were too reasons I couldn't sit through "Sideways."
These two facts were so maddening that I couldn't watch the film.
- This was a California movie trying very hard to pass itself off as a New York movie. Paul Giamatti was doing the Woody Allen role. Thomas Hayden Church was doing the wild side-kick role made famous by Tony Roberts. I kept waiting for them to start calling each other "Max."
It simply doesn't work with California as the backdrop because most people in California are more shallow than that -- especially most people from southern California. Phony.
- Going to the San Barbara area and saying you're in the Wine Country is an insult to anyone who knows and loves California wines. The best varietals outside of France come from northern California in the famed Napa and Sonoma valleys NOT from the San Joaquin valley or anywhere near Santa Barbara. Again, phony.
I simply couldn't abide Giamatti's pretense of being a wine snob while staying around the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo area. Anyone from California who really knows wine could not but be insulted.
10 November, 2005: As predicted, I did not find myself among the lucky six getting a Kiplinger Fellowship this year. I received the letter yesterday while editing here. I simply continued working as toasting the wisdom of the committee.Rod's Photo Album
This time out, I'll share another pic from DC. He sent me this one while capping on fathering without the benefit of wife. I had to admit that IF I had personally had any children, they would very likely have ended up like these tykes.
I used to joke about the children of friends that when Uncle Rod came over they should be capable of mixing martinis and lighting up cigars.
I know two young men up in my former home, Connecticut, who took me up on that prediction.
So playing poker, downing pints and smoking cigars? Rod's kind of kid.
BASIC RULES OF LIFE
7 November, 2005: Have you ever noticed that one of Basic Rules of Life seems to be that person (in a relationship) who loves the most always loses? It's true. You see any two people, the one who is most in love is cruising for a bruising. Period. I've never seen it fail.I've been on both sides of this equation and have to admit that I felt better when I was on the winning side. It's marvelous to be adored and just plain scary to be the one doing the adoring. If you're the adorer, you're always wondering if someone might come along who does a better job of it than you do.
You're always looking over your shoulder, wondering when you'll be overtaken because you know that it is INEVITABLE that you will.
No matter what anyone tells you, people in relationships are always looking to trade up.
It leads to the Hot Chick Syndrome, constant paranoia.
I developed this reputation after my divorce of only going out with bimbos. I didn't personally agree with the characterization but it was hurled at me by certain of my friends. I was thinking, What does it say about you if you have an unattractive date?
What did this lead towards for me? Every time I went out to a club with my woman, I go to the bathroom, I come back and find three other dudes competing to chat up my woman.
How am I to know whether one of these bozos managed to come up with just the right line? How do I know if she's slipped his cell phone number into her handbag while I was gone?
I know you know what I mean. Being the one who is grateful and adoring, who wakes up every day thinking, How did I get so lucky? also means you are the one waiting to crash and burn.
But the alternative is just sucky. Again, period.
I keep thinking that ONE DAY I'll run into a literate lioness who is ready to settle down on a cliff side in Rio and make cups of Earl Grey or Irish Coffee while I pound out the next book. I don't take her out to the club, I don't deal with the three chat-up droogs who appear while I'm off taking a leak. It's possible.
A FEW RANDOM NOTES: The rioting in France should serve as an object lesson. It's probably not the best idea to refer to angry people outside of your house brandishing Molotov cocktails as "Scum."
Tuesday, 8 November's elections in the United States suggest that the Governator in California is loosing his charms and Republicans all over the country might want to consider learning how to play nice.
The lack of serious relief for the victims of the earthquake in South Asia is a bad sign for people faced with the future effects of natural upheaval. People living in places prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and earthquakes should take note.T hanks for coming back this week. Keep me in your prayers as I keep you in my own.
COMMENT On MIRRORS 10 NovemberTHINGS I WANT THIS WEEK
1 - Getting a focus on the writing and editing projects.
2 - That my stress level goes down.
3 - The success of the book project and some genuine, rather than lip-service, cooperation from my publisher.
"Work like you don't need the money,
"Love like you've never been hurt,
"Dance like no one is watching ... "
Love,
Rod
ROD AMIS has published this magazine since 1990. It first appeared as a hardcopy 'Zine. In March, 1996, he launched it here on the Web. Rod was a Contributing Editor at Suite101.com, where he wrote the " 'Net Publishing" feature. His work has been featured in the San Francisco Bay Guardian Online, NRV8, and at the (U.S.) Public Broadcasting System (PBS's) WebLab's Reality Check site. Rod was a contributing writer on technology for Faulkner Information Services. He wrote on Web issues for MethodFive.com's Hyper newsletter.Rod was a columnist for the Andover News Network, where he wrote over two hundred articles on web design and development issues. He was principal writer and Editor for IT Manager's Journal, where he reviewed technology issues weekly, producing 383 editorials. He became the Managing Editor for Electronic Mail/Newsletter Publications at Andover.net at the end of February, 2000, and left in September of the same year. He was a contributing writer for ACCESS Internet magazine, which appeared both on- and offline for 10 million readers in 100 newspapers like the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Post, Boston Herald, Austin American-Statesman, Denver Post and Orlando Sentinel, among others. Rod was the US reporter for Silicon.com, a division of Network Multimedia Television in London, UK, reaching 3.5 million European readers, until May, 2001.
In 2002, he worked as Assistant to the General Manager of a Big Easy company that does restaurants and nightclubs. He did stints as the Resident Philosopher at three separate gin mills in that city in the French Quarter and the Marigny, earning his stripes during two successive Mardi Gras seasons. Oh yeah, Rod's had Day Jobs working construction. Mostly renovations of old New Orleans structures, houses and a bar. Sometimes he designs Web sites for other people so that he can get his creative juices flowing the way he can't at a staid publication like this one. And he's been the instructor in Editing for Internet Publications at the Novi Sad School of Journalism in Yugoslavia.
Our Resident Philosopher has exchanged his legend mobility for a means of keeping your World's Magazine. Now he must become earnest about gaining a financial underpinning for this enterprise. (Read: Buy back his freedom and then go home.}.
In his spare time, he chases women in the manner that a fly pursues a spider.
He continues to be committed to integrity,
chastityand a dose of humility.
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