moc.llewsdnim.www Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 18:12:29 -0800 (PST)
From: <navila@xxx.xxxx
Subject: test
testing.....
testing....
testes....
testes.....1....2...3?
g
_________
Date: 4 Apr 1999 19:17:32 -0000
From: pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: Uh...OK
So everyone,
I see that there's of us. Which 5 of us are here?
Are there going to be any more people? Just what is our aim with this whole thing? Anyone?
Chris
_________
Date: Thu, 8 Apr 1999 07:16:19 -0700
From: boatman@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Ahem, 1,2,3,
Folks,
Just a qwik test to see if we are up and running.
Matt
________
Date: Thu, 8 Apr 1999 11:18:32 EDT
From: ZSchralper@xxx.xxx
Subject: Re: Ahem, 1,2,3,
Up and running captain....now where would you like my robot gear?
_________
Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 21:01:17 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: Ahem, 1,2,3,
shit, now that we've got this new age techno framework apparatus to
further our spoobulation communication....i think we've run outta shit
to say....damn
ideas anyone?!?
s
"everybody gets rich and everybody gets laid"
Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 21:25:34 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: something to say
ahh yes, i almost forgot....
birthday greetings go out to mr. matthew boatman(codename: grandma),
who recently celebrated his 63rd, uh, i mean 36th birthday.
congratulations on turning three dozen matt! just think, a few more
years and you'll be gettin that cool seniour citizen discount.
yeeehaw!!
s
__________
Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 18:49:31 -0800
From: Eric Peterson <crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: something to say
uh, until I get my T1 installed, y'all do me the favor of not including
all the shit that everyone said before, 'cuz i already received it once,
and uh, don't really need it twice, thrice, etc.
could be nicer, but it's really fuckin' hard.
thanks.
--
> mailto:crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
___
___
___ r i c d . p e t e r s o n
__________
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 09:17:14 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: something to say
e,
sorry about boggin down yer downloadin. unfortunately, i for one
have very little space to save messages as they accumulate in
discussions, and often like to be able to scroll down to previous
parts of the discussion as i am formulating my stinky replies.
i have, at times, found yer method of not including the message
that you are replying to to be a problem for me. seeing as sometimes
replies come in days after the original was sent, i have little or no
recollection as to what my original message was, and have on occasion
had no idea what you are talking about.
is yer hookup really that slow that it is a substantial drain?
that's shitty. hopefully this onelist thing will solve our problem,
as messages will be posted there (but unfortuantly not right away)
anyone else have an opinion on the matter? preferences? perhaps
we can call a vote here on how clean our replies should be....
democracy in action, action jackson mad cackin....
s
__________
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 18:26:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: <navila@xxx.xxxx
Subject: List stuff
'Swellers,
Seth brought up a good point, here is a list of everyone I invited to
subscribe, who am I missing?
boatman@xxxxx.xxx
brennan@xxx.xxx
chooch@xxxxxxxx.xxx
crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
navila@xxx.xxx nbuford@xxxxxxxx.xxx
pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxx
pshah@xxxxxx.xxx
shortpath@xxxxxxx.xxx
shticky@xxxxxxx.xxx
zschralper@xxx.xxx
g
You can get more with a kind word
and a buttload of cash than
you can with just a kind word.
-- Bob Roth
________
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 19:57:49 -0700
From: boatman@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: something to say
Folks,
I'd like to start off by thanking Seth for the birthday greetings that were sent out
to this particular homey. I'm already getting that discount, Seth...
I pay $135 every 6 months for auto insurance! One of the few perks.
I tell ya tho, I been feeling like 36 or 63 or whatever with a nasty-ass cold that
I'm just kicking.
'Nuf rambling. Do we have something to say on this newfangled contraption?
Tantric sex? Anal Orgasms? The plight of Kosovar refugees? The existence of a
new province in Canada? Gas prices? Jello Biafra? Rick and Julie finishing college
and having to settle down? Will Rick's head shrink to the size of a softball if he's
not power-studying? Where will Julie find new meat? What the fuck is with all the rain?
Does T-Dawg have a killer sense of sarcasm or what? Does Grandma B really have a
girlfriend? Will Chris come back in a year and a half with a French wife? How did Dre
and Brennan become what they always wanted to be (professional computer nerds)? What
the fuck is with all this jabber?
Just some ideas....
Matt
__________
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 21:38:56 -0700
From: boatman@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Fw: [Mindswell] List stuff
Julie Boolie, plays with toolies, is missing from the list:
jfallon@xxxxxxxx.xxxxxxx.xxx
matt
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 11:06:27 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: something to say
matt, et all,
well now, that was the most upbeat matt boatman that i have seen
in quite a while. the elder umong us seems to be enjoying his late
thirties more than his early thirties.... congratulations on yer new
wo-man matthew, it seems that she is doing you well.
sorry that i haven't replied of late, but this new job at
the Super 8 Motel is keepin me mighty busy. looks like i will be
movin into the upstairs apartment there next month, and be able to
save up some money in lieu of paying rent this summer.
yes there is alot to talk about, and lets talk.... the true,
original idea behind mindswell, before all the crazy, revolutionary,
semi-psychotic,
use-as-many-key-words-as-possible-and-see-if-i-can-get-the-cia-to-snuf
f-me-out-so-i-can-get-outta-this-mess-in-a-blaze-of-glory tomfoolery,
was, and is, a simple one: an online community of artists, writers,
musicians, and miscellaneous genius. thats it, and ya can keep yer
corporate jobs until i can pay ya to write, and create, and to be the
genii that i know you to be.....and i promise not to lose my temper
and bite anyone's head off anymore :>
i think that i can make this work, i really do. i think that i can
really make a living doing this....and i think that it will evolve to
a point where we can all make a decent living doing this...hell, i
think that there will come a point in the not so distant future,
depending on how well cyberspace survives the millenium, where we will
all have the opportunity to become rich or famous or both...or
neither...depending, of course, on individual taste.
i made a call on friday, to george, in nakanaka....he told me to
send him a business proposal....so he is still, as i hoped,
considering buying shares in the mindswell spoobulation
conglomeration....i just gotta get my shit together. like arin told
me after eric handed me a check for $1000.00, this means
responsibility now. cool. i need some of that in my life.
we have finally gotten, on the third try, a scanner that works!!
so i expect to start putting together mindswell html pages shortly,
but of course, everything i do is done shortly....ba-dump-bump.
alrighty then, i'm stoney like oscar meyer baloney so im gonna ride on
outta here on the tetrahydrocannabinol pony like chachie and jonie.
s
__________
Date: Fri, 23 Apr 1999 18:10:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: <navila@xxx.xxxx
Subject: Fact or Fiction
E-Homey's....
Since no one's posting I'll toss something out.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/9913/features-barcott.shtml
g
No matter what accomplishments you achieve,
somebody helps you.
-Althea Gibson
_________
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 10:50:36 PDT
From: "Christopher McAdamis" <pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Au revoir petit Christophe
Ok Kids,
Yours truly just purchased his airline ticket to France. I'll have one
full year there with (I hope) excursions to Italy and Spain.
So, I was thinking, especially after thumbing through that end o' the
millenium gem entitled The Millenium Bug: How to Survive the Upcoming
Chaos, what if a fairly bad scenario comes to pass and I'm stuck
there? France, while not as technoloically up-to-date as the US, still
has a super-advanced phone system, train system, and a crapload of
nuclear reactors. Au revoir means "at the next seeing" (of you
implied). Just when would I see all of you again? Guess I REALLY
better learn the National Anthem.
Other than rehashing all that doom, I was thinking that any of us who
manage to get over to Europe will have a place to stay chez moi. No, I
don't have an address yet. I'll be bumming for about 3 weeks myself
with various friends in different towns. Keep it in mind. I should
have access to email there.
Chris
__________
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 12:25:42 -0700
From: Eric Peterson <crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: Au revoir petit Christophe
Ah yes, you will be leaving in the fall, non? Mon ami, if we can visit,
we will! Oui, oui, it would be nice to enjoy champagne and escargot in
a rich garlic butter as the world goes to hell.
Don't forget to write.
--
> mailto:crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
___
___
___ r i c d . p e t e r s o n
__________
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 1999 13:13:28 -0700
From: Eric Peterson <crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: [Fwd: DrugSense Weekly, April 24, 1999 #95]
This edition of the DrugSense newsletter opens with a bomb editorial on
the importance of organizing to fight the war on drugs. Peruse the
teasers that follow and see if you follow the links to the articles. I
like this newsletter. Good stuff, and MAP Inc is doing a great job on
putting drug war information into one spot where people can go to get
informed on current events.
http://www.mapinc.org
> mailto:crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
___
___
___ r i c d . p e t e r s o n
___________
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 02:19:22 -0700
From: Eric Peterson <crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: assemblance
-From an interview with Michio Kaku:
Seven billion dollars have been spent to clean up Hanford, but for what? It was just
announced a few weeks ago that that money went down the rathole. It was essentially
welfare for the local Republican party.
Almost nothing was done with $7 billion, or $1 billion per year, for the cleanup of Hanford. The entire cleanup program, by the way, was
announced last week. It may cost up to $400 billion. That is a number
that defies the human imagination. We talk about balancing the budget.
No way are you going to be able to balance the budget with a $400
billion monkey on your back.
. . . .
No way an atomic bomb can detonate out of nuclear waste. But that's
because these people who are skeptical don't know the physics of
critical chain reactions. They don't know the fact that we've had about
a half a dozen accidental criticality incidences in the U.S. Just one
month after the bombing of Nagasaki, Harry Daghlian, a 26-year old
worker, was building a reactor with plutonium on a table top. One day,
he walked into the office and tripped. The tungsten carbide fell into
the plutonium. The neutrons were reflected. Critical mass was attained,
and an atomic bomb went off in his face. The atomic bomb created a
blinding blue flash of light. It was not a chemical explosion that
created the implosion, so it was like a stick of dynamite. He was taken
to Los Alamos hospital. He was hit with 5,000 rads of radiation, ten
times the amount that will kill an ordinary person. He literally
disintegrated in the Los Alamos hospital in about two weeks.
***
>From an interview with Noam Chomsky:
If you really look at the mantras, take, say, "Public sector bad". What
does that mean? Is there some evidence that privatization is a good
idea? It's just something you repeat because it's drilled into your
head. Sure, privatization makes things more efficient. Does it? There
are experiences. For example, we can look at Mexico. What privatization
did was rapidly increase the number of millionaires, accelerate the
decline of real wages and social conditions. Did it make things better?
Well, yes, for 24 billionaires.
You can say, that's Mexico, a corrupt Third World country. So let's take England,
which is a couple of steps ahead of us in privatization. Under Thatcher,
they privatized the water system. It was a public utility. So now, it's private. What's
happened? You can even read about it on the front page of the Financial
Times. You don't have to go to obscure publications anymore. And they're pretty irate.
What happened is, profits have gone through the roof, prices have gone way up, and the
service has gone way down.
In fact, sooner or later, it's not very far from now you'll be hearing
proposals from the private owners that it's not cost effective to
deliver water to scattered or small communities. What they ought to do
is go to a pump in the center of town and pick it up with buckets
because any smart economist can prove that that's more cost effective
and improves the GNP, and that's the best distribution of resources.
That's privatization. A private corporation is not in the business of
being humanitarian. It's in the business of increasing profit and market share.
Doing that typically is extremely harmful to the general
population. It may make some numbers look good. It may create what's
called an "economic miracle", meaning great for investors and murderous
for the population.
***
Ah yes, so you waded through all that? I got it from this link:
http://epitaph.com/antiweb_/anti-speak/confessions/
It's the web site for Epitaph Records, the label for Bad Religion, NOFX, etc. It's punk, I guess.
***
- L E O N - b y e r i c p e t e r s o n 30.4.1999
Wednesday, a man came to my door. He wore glasses, which were not very
clean, and he looked at me then the ground then me then the ground as he spoke.
"Heh-Hello, sir. My name is Luh-Leon and I am homeless. I am looking
to see if you muh-might have some wuh-work available as I am just trying to feed myself."
This was all less coherent than I have led you to believe. I asked him
if he was hungry. "No." I asked him if he had been drinking. "I had a beer this morning." Now it was almost noon, and I was on my way to the University of California, Riverside because Taos Hum was playing the nooner over there, and I felt like a piece of shit for not showing up at their gig the Saturday before. I had given myself even greater grief for not going over to Danny's the night before and it was his birthday that night and since he played percussion for Taos Hum, it was a two-birds-with-one-stone shot.
I asked Leon if he would like something from Del Taco because we didn't
have any work for him. He changed the no to a yes. We got in my car.
"Now, Leon. I don't know what it's like to be homeless, but I can
imagine it's not easy. I've always had a safety net provided by my
parents so when times were tough, and they've never really been, I could fall back on them.
"You show up on my doorstep, and I'm being honest with you here, drunk
and incoherent. Come on, man. Who's going to give you work if you're
drunk?
I asked him a few questions about himself, and told him a little bit
about myself, and bought him a couple of chicken soft tacos. That cost
me $1.70. I think that that's the last time I will buy food for or give money
to someone who is homeless.
Leon was sent to me by the universe. Tailor-made. I too am Leon.
There are a thousand ruts I'm stuck in, and although I don't get drunk
and then go look for work, and look at what this Leon got out of getting
drunk and pretending . . . pretending! to look for work - two chicken soft tacos.
For me, that $1.70 was about 15 minutes of labor, cleaning up after some slob,
pouring ice teas, taking orders, ringing on the cash register, and bagging pastries.
So I'm just pretending to look for a job, getting drunk before I go ask
around, so my chances of getting that job are nil. And even with that
pathetic effort, I'll still get a couple of chicken soft tacos along the way.
How's that for a life?
--
> mailto:crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
___
___
___ r i c d . p e t e r s o n
_____________
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 10:32:19 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: leon
e,
i am a bit perplexed here. you seemed adament about the point that leon was
pretending to look for work, but what do you base that on? he knocked on you door
looking for work. you said you didn't have any work for him, and then drove him to
del taco for lunch. if you had instead said, hey yeah man, i'll give you ten bucks
of you move that pile of ole bricks to the other end of the yeard for me, do you think
he would have refused the offer?
what were hoping to learn from leon by taking him to del taco, instead of handing
him the $1.70 and closing the door? was it not worth $1.70 to have had the experience
of eating lunch with him? Was he really that drunk, or was he in the ole
two-hours-after-a-one-beer-breakfast DT's that im sure many an alcoholic homeless
person experiences on a near daily basis since they dropped out of society so completely
that they now have to knock on doors to beg for lunch money door to door in the elite
mt rubidoux area of riverside?
s
ps- noam chomsky for president 2000
_________
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 11:07:50 EDT
From: ZSchralper@xxx.xxx
Subject: Re: assemblance
Many today lament the rise of "big government", but what is the likely
alternative? Well, obviously big business. You can see it
everywhere--consolidation of industries---concentrations of power. Who do you want
affecting your lives--public officials w/ at least some sembelance of accountability or
a board of directors w/ a bottom line? Couple that with the wishes of corporate America
for tort reform and you've a recipe for complete recklessness.
Honestly, what percentage of those sign toters would actually perform any labor?
I have a great newpaper cutout from a couple of years back. Title, "Telling it like
it is" from the P.E., it showed a picture of a fella w/a sign that read, "Why lie?
I need a beer!"
zz
__________
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 13:38:49 PDT
From: "Christopher McAdamis" <pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: leon
Seth,
No offense, but you might stop and consider that Eric is going to see things
the way he sees them. After all, he's the one who has to wake up every morning
and be Eric D. Peterson every day of his life and not you, not me, and not anyone
else can tell him what his experiences actually mean. I think it's a tad presumptuous
to sit there and tell him what he could have learned from this Leon guy. You may
have seen him one way, while someone may have seen it all totally different. No
personal experience can be drawn up in black and white terms.
Chris
___________
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 15:46:49 -0700
From: Eric Peterson <crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: leon
maybe that's how leon operates every day. wakes up, has a beer, then
stumbles around "looking for work." i was on my way to ucr, right
there, right then. my situation: studying for real estate, taking test
on saturday, leaving for pennsylvania on monday. i had no forseeable
time to offer this guy work. i could tell you my perception of him: a
drunk. on the way to del taco, i asked him if he was an alcoholic ...
"oh no." ok. maybe just numbing the pain on that one morning. i don't really
know, and am not willing to take the time right now to care more than i did.
so i fed him. native americans consider that an extremely important and
noble thing, feeding people.
however, when i this guy was there to make me question how many ruts i'm in.
how many times do i crack a beer before i try to deal or not deal with whatever
is going on in my life? how much shit do i do in a
half-assed way? answering this email! i didn't initially look at leon
and say, "what can i learn from this guy?" he told me he was homeless,
and wanted some work so he could feed himself. i take the motherfucker
to del taco, and feed his ass. end of story. it was on reflection
later that i realized i could have and probably have learned something
from him. but his picture was flashed in front of me, and i'm telling
you what i saw for the brief instant that i did.
if i seemed adamant about how he was pretending to look for work, i came to that
conclusion later. if he was really dealing with his shit, and drinking a beer
that morning and then going and knocking on doors, then that's cool. my take
on the situation is that most people are gonna see this drunk black guy standing
on their doorstep in an elite mt. Rubidoux neighborhood, and might very well
call the cops. of course, someone else might've had 'im move a pile of bricks
from one end of the yard to the other for $10. but that ain't the way it
happened, now did it?
--
> mailto:crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
___
___
___ r i c d . p e t e r s o n
___________
Date: Sun, 02 May 1999 08:56:18 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: three responses
well now,
zack, i read the whole interview with noam on the website that eric
pointed us towards, and his message mirrors what you said, the corporations
are taking over, and the "private tyrannies" are going to be almost completely
unaccountable to the public at large...and the picture is looking pretty fucking
bleak for us citizens. good thing corporate boards and ceo's love their phat juicy
steaks! that should help clean things up in the next few decades.
seriously, noam for president 2000!! now THAT would be a paradigm shift.
chris, i'm sorry if that seemed "a tad presumtuous", but ya see, eric and i
have conversations like that, usually on the top of mt. rubidoux smokin some weed,
and since i can't be there, doin that, i asked him the same questions via e-mail.
the truth is, i remember a time, about three years ago, while i was living in san
diego, when i called eric up on the phone, and asked wassup? his answer, "i'm just
working on my sadhana", well now, that made me step back and think for a moment,
what am I doing with my life? am i lost in the everyday shuffle of my suffering
to the point that i forgot the bigger picture? and that moment has stayed with me
ever since, providing perspective. so now, when he said "i think that that's
the last time that i will buy food for or give money to someone who is homeless"
it really upset me. i felt the need to provide an alternate perspective on the matter
of lunch with leon, because i know that taking him to del taco was much in the same
spirit as giving santa clause a ride home in san francisco. life is an experience,
might as well learn from it...and just because you don't like a particular lesson,
i believe you should still be able to see the positive aspect of having learned it...
god knows how much i have learned from the worst of times in my life...
and eric, you pointed out that you fed him, and that native americans
consider that an extremely important and noble thing, i agree, and i was just
suggesting that your time with leon was a positive thing, not a negative.
hope that clears things up.
s
ps - leon for vice president 2000
_______
Date: Sat, 01 May 1999 21:32:53 -0700
From: Eric Peterson <crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: Re: three responses
did i really say i was working on my sadhana? that was a state of
consciousness i'm not currently familiar with. however, when i was
doing yoga the other day ... but anyway, i think we all perceive seth to be a bit
on the confrontational side. and a bit on the black and white side too.
black and white, good and bad - this portrayal of a situation is usually employed by
politicians. it's good for the purpose of selling your shit in the media, but when
having a good, honest-to-god discussion of something, this black and white stuff, i
think it's not so wise. Of course, pushing for the extremes, and then using those
to clarify where one really stands, be it at one point, several points, or borrowing
from quantum physics, a range around a point or points, (this last option seeming to
be the most realistic,) seems to facilitate discussion. Hmm ... seth good? seth bad?
seth black? seth white? seth (or any one of us) a little bit of everything all rolled
into one (to quote a dawg) slap-happy package?
could it be that the impression one gets of being attacked is just a
misunderstanding of seth? that socrates guy sure took a lot of shit. I would like
to chris to elaborate on his attacks of black-and-white. We saw excellent
commentary/criticism from our educated hipster friend in the halpert debate, and i
often felt like i had nothing left to say
after chris got done with everything. i felt my intellect shrinking,
and realized i need to find out what all these contemporary philosophers have
been jawing about. hell, i need to find out what all those plato-to-freud fucks
have been talking about too.
i know that i want to change the world for the better, and it's not
happening by taking yoga classes. i'll have to wait for everyone's
thoughts on all this shit 'cuz i'm gonna be in pennsylvania until the
11th of may.
let's hear it for crass, no-holds-barred, knee-'em-in-the-nutz
argumentation!
--
> mailto:crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
___
___
___ r i c d . p e t e r s o n
________
Date: Sat, 01 May 1999 21:35:52 -0700
From: Eric Peterson <crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: chomsky 2000
i suggest we form a committe to elect chomskly as prez in 2000. other
countries only have a six-week campaign period, so all we have to do is
get rich before september 15, 2000, and then flood the fuckin' airwaves
with a write-in campaign, and organize those people who don't vote – now approaching
80% of the population. no fuckin' problem.
--
> mailto:crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
___
___
___ r i c d . p e t e r s o n
_________
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 01:04:06 PDT
From: "Christopher McAdamis" <pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: three responses
OK y'all,
All I was hoping to say about things not being black and white is that there is a
whole plethora of internal preconceptions and notions that shape one's view of life's
events. Eric has lived his entire life digesting experiences based on what his parents,
school, TV, his favorite books, music and etc. have given him. Now I haven't done or
seen or read or compiled all the info of just existing in my brain quite like E has
done. Therefore, I don't think there is any way I can understand his perception of
an event in quite the same way he would. If he thinks that Leon points out some of
the ruts in his life, then I would go with his word to a degree. I'm simply not
looking out of his eyes with his manner of thinking. Also, I wasn't there!
Basically, I think that life is much more subjective than a lot of us
think. By Seth saying that E could have learned such-and-such a thing, I tend
to disagree with him based on what I said above. Why should Eric have
learned anything? How do any of us besides him know what he feels when he
says he no longer wants to give money to or feed the homeless.
It's like saying we all want liberty, but the concept isn't a tangible
object we can pick up or build. Instead, it's a complex ideology assuming
a different definition for everyone that puts stock in it. Just go and read
the Chomsky interview to see how liberalism used to be defined! And for the
other stuff...I'm not saying that Seth's desire to change things or help Eric
is a BS dream impossible to ascertain, I'm just saying that we all envision
things in a slightly (sometimes radically) different manner.
That's why I took issue with Seth's reply. Hopefully, some of that made
sense. After all, it's 1am and my mind is moosh.
Chris
________
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 10:32:36 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: clarification
chris,
i think that the heart of this particular debate lies in the subtle
difference beween the letter s and the letter c....
"By Seth saying that E could have learned such-and-such a
thing, I tend to disagree with him based on what I said above. Why
should Eric have learned anything?"
well, i was suggesting an alternate perspective to what eric said in his leon
narrative, but i was not insisting that he "should" have learned anything. i am
learning that my straightforward approach often has a tendency to illicit a
defensive reaction, and perhaps that is the case here....
"I'm just saying that we all envision things in a slightly
(sometimes radically) different manner. That's why I took issue with Seth's reply."
i agree that we all invision things differently, and i believe that the
whole point of discussion is to share those viewpoints for the purpose of
learning to expand and enhance our own perspective based on the insights that
we gain from each other, and that is what i was trying to do, share an alternate
viewpoint on eric's experience with leon. after all, if it wasn't for the generosity
of eric and brennan, i would most likely be leon right now.
s
__________
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 10:52:06 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: chomsky 2000
e,
i like the sound of your timetable, especially because it placates my fear of
creating a noam-for-pres buzz before y2k. noam is simply the biggest threat to
the establishment right now, and to make the threat seem plausible, and then have
a period of mayhem and anarchy (even if only on new years eve) would open up a
dangerous window for the elimiation of that threat. i mean, what better time to
off someone under the cover of random violence than during the biggest party in
the history of mankind?
soon after the lights come back on, however, i suggest that we start calling
news organizations asking if the rumor is true that noam is running for president.
nothing like getting the corporate media hacks in a tizzy over the possibility of
a radical third party candidate with supporters that range from progressive intellectual
college professors to mohawk sportin punks from jello biafra's audience.
of course, we prolly should check with ole noam before starting any of this, and
as soon as i get settled at the hotel in a few weeks, i am going to try and secure
a phone interview with him for mindswell. anybody have one of those answering machines
that can record phone conversations?? that would be alot better than trying to hold
my little microcassete recorder against the earpiece.....
s
_________
Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 07:49:47 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: FW: important
>Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI)
>News Release
>28 April 1999
>http://www.rafi.org
** Terminator Technology Selected as one of Project Censored's **
Top Under-Reported News Stories
** RAFI Awarded "Pulitzer Prize of Investigative Reporting" **
Terminator Technology has been selected by Project Censored California,
USA) as one of the most important, under-reported news stories in the
mainstream media in 1998. Terminator refers to a controversial genetic
technology that renders farm-saved seed sterile, forcing farmers to
purchase crop seed annually.
RAFI's Pat Mooney and Hope Shand will receive an award on behalf of AFI in
New York City on April 29 for their article on Terminator Technology and its
impact on farmers and global food security. RAFI's article appeared in Pesticide
Action Network's Global Pesticide Campaigner, and in the Earth Island News.
The awards, commonly referred to as the alternative Pulitzer Prize of
investigative reporting, were selected by a panel of 25 judges. Of 25
issues selected, Terminator was deemed the third most significant. (The top two
under-reported stories were identified as the secretive Multilateral Agreement
on Investment and corporate profits from breast cancer)
Global Furor: The controversial patent on genetic seed sterilization was
identified and immediately dubbed "Terminator" technology by RAFI in March, 1998.
The specter of genetic seed sterilization has generated an avalanche of public
opposition, and now it's page one news in many of the world's leading newspapers,
including recent feature articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, Harper's,
and TIME. "In recent months, Terminator has gone from under-reported news to headline
news, and it's because of the hard work and cooperation of civil society organizations,
scientists and South governments who are working worldwide to ban the technology,"
said Pat Mooney of RAFI.
Over 10,000 individuals from 71 countries have written letters of protest
to the Food and Agriculture Organization and to the US Department of Agriculture
about Terminator. The USDA and a Monsanto subsidiary jointly hold a patent on
Terminator technology. Individuals and organizations are demanding that FAO protect
farm-based food security, and that USDA cease negotiations with Monsanto on the exclusive
licensing of the Terminator patent.
"Internationally, public sentiment is overwhelmingly against Terminator
because it's bad for farmers, global food security and the environment;
it's not about improving agriculture or helping farmers, it's only about increasing
seed industry profits," notes RAFI's Shand.
The Terminator technology has generated fierce opposition, especially in the South,
where one and a half billion people depend on farm-saved seed and local plant
breeding. Governments, civil society organizations and scientists are seeking a
ban on the Terminator technology at the local, national and international levels.
The world's largest international agricultural research network has
adopted a policy banning the use of Terminator technology in its plant
breeding programs.
African delegates to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture
Organization have said they don't want Terminator genes used on African soil.
India's agriculture minister says that he will ban the import of seeds
containing the Terminator gene.
Terminator is on the agenda of at least two United Nations agencies.
… Wageningen University of the Netherlands, the world's premiere
agricultural university, has vowed not to use Terminator technology.
"If governments are provided with the facts, they will reject terminator technology,"
concludes RAFI's Mooney. Under the World Trade rganization rules, governments may
reject patents in order to protect public morality and the environment.
Beyond Terminator: In early 1999 RAFI revealed that virtually all of the world's
largest seed and agrochemical corporations are working on the goal of genetic
seed sterilization. Over two dozen new patents reveal that engineered seed sterility
is not an isolated research agenda. The new generation of Terminator patents
describe techniques involving external chemical "inducers" to turn on and off a
plant's traits. RAFI calls it "Traitor Technology." Crops are being engineered
so that they won't grow properly unless exposed to the company's proprietary
pesticide, fertilizer or herbicide. "Remote control of a plant's genetic traits,
triggered by proprietary chemicals, is a brilliant marketing strategy for companies
who sell seeds and agrochemicals, but it's grim news for farmers and the environment,"
explains Edward Hammond of RAFI. "We want to make sure that
Traitor Technology is not one of the most under-reported news stories of 1999,"
adds Hammond, who played a major role in investigating the new technology.
For RAFI's newest report on Traitor technology, and in-depth background on
Terminator, visit RAFI's web site: http://www.rafi.org
For Further Information:
Pat Mooney, Executive Director, RAFI, tel: 204 453-5259 rafi@xxxx.xxx
Hope Shand, Research Director, RAFI, tel: 717 337-6482 hope@xxxx.xxx
Edward Hammond, Program Officer, RAFI, tel: 206 323-7378 hammond@xxxx.xxx
RAFI is a non-profit international civil society organization headquartered
in Canada. For more than 20 years, RAFI has worked on the social and
economic impact of new technologies on farmers and rural communities.
RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation Int'l.)
110 Osborne St., Suite 202
WINNIPEG MB R3L 1Y5
CANADA
Tel: (204) 453-5259
Fax: (204) 925-8034
E-mail: rafi@xxxx.xxx
Internet: www.rafi.org
_________
Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 20:55:06 PDT
From: "Matthew Richardson" <shortpath@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: voices from the silent
Hi all,
I've been silent on all of these topics, playing the observer or silent
spectator if you will, for a number of reasons. The most important being
that Eric and Chris voice their opinions before I do and more often than not
I find myself in agreement. No need to clutter bandwidth with "yeah, me toos."
Anyway, not really responding to any subject this time, just wanted to give a shout
out to all those I haven't talked to in a while. Chris, have a great time abroad,
smuggle all sorts of stuff back for us. Seth, your idealism, while frustrating at
times, is great to hear amidst all the cynicism. Brennan, I'm still interested in
the bay area....hey how about a hook up with those web sites you were telling me
about, computer graphics related?
The Waterman Canyon gang, we should get together soon.
E, saw you last night. Now the swiss cheese brain I have (probably from eating
cheeseburgers and loading myself with prions) is starting to fail me. I can't
remember who else is on the list, so I'll leave it with this: merry christmas
to all and to all a good night.
oops, Matt my evil twin, expect a call soon, loads to talk about and maybe
we can decide on a date to go out fishing or drinking or some such foolishness
on the boat.
later, matt
Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 08:22:00 -0700
From: "chooch" <chooch@xxxxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: Rulicon98
Hello peoples,
Just incase I missed a few of you on my personal 'Everyone' list I just
wanted to let you know where yer asses should be Sat Nite, May 29.
All yer asses are gonna be rockin out with yer schlock out at the 2262
pad get yer mad drink 'ON' at the 'RULICON 98'
It's been too damned long since we've had a mass gathering of the
Old School IE Bastages getting LIT like Bob Schlitz. Here are some
of the hilites:
Mass Chug Groggery (Keg Action)
DJ Playin' yer favorite drinkin music (different DJ than last year)
BBQ (Bring yer meat)
Swim Action + Diving Board, Pool Slide & Jaccuzzi (bring yer suits or go
nekkid, it's been known to happened)
Lotsa people achiving drunk factor: Nut-Bag
Bring friends, bring yomoma.. hell, bring Leon if ya want..The man doesn't
even know how much press he's getting, he's practically a celebrity. It's
funny how that works.
Anyway, take it sleazy...
If ya need dirs, email me or call my assy at home.
dre'nootz out
nigel@xxxxxxxx.xxx
714.xxx.xxxx
___________
Date: Wed, 05 May 1999 08:54:30 PDT
From: "Matthew Richardson" <shortpath@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: beer nuts and dre nutz
Ahhhhhhhh, how could I have forgotten to jump on drenutz and give him a big
dry hump? Must have been later than I thought, oh well. Little news flash
in the life o' Matt. Some of you know that I've had an internet honey for
months now and she's coming in from Australia for five weeks. Her name's
Tash and she'll be kicking it in the IE at my pad beginning June 3. Anyway
to make a tie in with dre's party, I'm considering having one within two
weeks of his...could be an extended binge, who knows. Been awhile since
we've had a gathering at my pad and it's about time dammit. Keep you posted
on the plans.
Brennatch, I have to sit down and think about all the relevant stuff that I
could put in a resume', as I haven't had to write one in oh about 4 years.
I'll sit down tonight and hack something out.
later,
matt
|
_________
Date: Sat, 08 May 1999 11:56:11 PDT
From: "Christopher McAdamis" <pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Hoorah for NATO
Hi kids,
I'm sure we've all been keeping up on the whole disaster NATO has been
carrying on in Yugoslavia. Today's paper cheerfully informs us of 2 dead due
to missles that struck the Chinese embassy. It wasn't enough to have Russia
pissed. Many Yugoslavian civilians have died as well. It's Ok, though, 'cause
as the LA Times article informs us, the Pentagon's policy is to discourage
civilian casualties while Milosevic inflicts them.
Checking out Le Monde (a French political mag), a great article in there talks
about just how dangerous this NATO operation is. NATO doesn't answer to the
United Nations. It has had an identity crisis since 1991 or so, and now has
apparently found its niche. It also asks why Kosovo? Kurds are still dying
and the Palestinians find themselves with less and less land everyday. The
organization also left 160,000 Greeks to be butchered in Turkey back in '74.
Hm. Where was NATO then?
Just as scary is the fact that these European nations buy in wholesale
to the US governemnt line. French journalists can complain about the American
homogenization of the world, but their leaders are supporting the Kosovo operation
too. Tony Blair was the one primarily pushing for ground troops a few weeks back.
Luckily, Congress turned the idea down...for now.
But wait... the most laughable is that Clinton is calling a summit together for
ways to stop child violence in the wake of Littleton. The entertainment and
computer gaming industry has come under fire in recent weeks from Gore and Billy.
I'm sure that the artists are to blame and not the fact that the govt. spends next
to nothing on education, paying decent wages to teachers, or programs to help parents
be parents. Let's just blame it all on movies and games. Oh, and don't mention
the drug war causing death in ghettos, barrios, and white bread suburbia. I
certainly think more prisons are the answer! And let's certainly not blame the
violence this moronic country INFLICTS (to borrow the pentagon's word) on the rest
of the world.
Walk softly and carry a big gun as Teddy Roosevelt would now say.
Chris
__________
Date: Sat, 08 May 1999 16:39:19 PDT
From: "Matthew Richardson" <shortpath@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: if we all had descriptive names....
...then Chris would be called Chris the Cynic...laughs. But that's ok,
'cause I would venture to say that more often than not, Pequeno Chris is on the money.
Why should NATO flex some muscle in Kosovo when it has failed and continues to fail
other people within in its sphere of influence? Yugoslavia happens to be in NATO's
own backyard, so a leader bent on "strongly discouraging" (my quotes, imagine a
hint of sarcasm) a certain ethnic group from remaining in the country could cause
some serious refugee problems to nations that don't want to deal with that kind
of thing. Refugees are an African thing, not a European thing, right? (don't
forget to put a sarcastic inflection upon that line) So at a time when a large
portion of Europe is unifying their economies to become a stronger force in the
world marketplace, no one wants the destabilizing effect of suddenly having to
deal with hundreds of thousands of people in need of basic necessities.
Why not help the Palestinians? 'Cause their persecutors are our allies
against those unfriendly Arab nations. Why not help the Greeks in Turkey when
they needed it? Turkey is an important ally in the region (read: they let us
keep air force bases there). Don't want to piss them off and get kicked out.
And if I recall correctly, they are a NATO member, but I'll have to check on that.
Do I think that the NATO effort is worth it? Is there going to be any
positive result from this or is an Eastern European nation at the ass end of
the technology train going to end up far worse than before? My opinion, and
you know what they say about opinions, is that the operation is being pursued
in the wrong manner. Certainly something needs to be done if even a small
percentage of what atrocities we hear about are true. Genocide can't be tolerated,
and I don't buy the argument that if we didn't do it in Rwanda, we shouldn't do it
here. We should have stepped in in Rwanda, but we didn't. Its a shitty situation
and people are going to die. Probably lots and lots of people are going to end
up on the wrong side of a bombing raid, or step on landmines, or get caught in
crossfire. Sad to say, but that's life. People who shouldn't die, do, and some
who should, don't. This bombing campaign, despite precision guidance systems,
is fucking some people up who don't have much to do with any of this. Dammit,
I'm losing the plot, so let me just say that for this to finish in a manner where all
those displaced Albanians get to go home (and leave New Jersey and
Cuba....which is an interesting aside, if you didn't want people to stay, where
would you send them?) ground troops are going to have to go in and do the job.
People will still die that shouldn't, but hopefully far less will die or
be maimed (amputations have drastically increased since the operation started).
I think that all we can do is try to minimize casualties in this situation; if
Milosevic were left alone, Albanians die, if we continue, Serbs die as well.
Turning the rant mode off, this issue is way too complex for half a hangover.
Hope I didn't ramble too much, although I suspect I did. This could be an interesting
thread, so fire away pequenochris and the rest of
those with swelled minds.
later,
matt
___________
Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 15:33:30 -0700
From: Eric Peterson <crux@xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: my anxiously awaited return
greetings, my fellow passengers on spaceship earth. i bring important
news from a worthy source i encountered during my travels in the great
green state to the north.
http://jesusisback.com/
all we need is to get master thomas (see above URL) to back us and we'll take over
the world! he could help us end genocide and nato stupidity in
yugo-whatever-the-fuck-that-place-is-called. we could pray to him for a
miracle so we can all go on eating 10oz. burgers (i saw one in corvallis)
without swiss-cheese brain effects. drug prohibition? y2k?
itchy butt crack? not a problem ... follow all of master thomas' links
and find his handy prayer for letting the light of god enter your soul.
i've already put it to music so we can sing it the next time we're
sitting around a campfire.
so pequeno is another hip subscriber to le monde. rarely heard of by
the press enterprise readership, but recently cited in either the week
online (http://drcnet.org) or drugsense (http://www.drugsense.org/).
the citation? america is now exporting zero tolerance to the euros.
they may not like our meat and produce, but "tough on crime" lawmakers
are falling over each other to enact legislation just like those
liberty-lovin' americans.
travel is nice. i didn't do a fuckin' think 'cept hang out with cousins and
other distantly related relatives that we don't have words for, and had a great
time doing it. saw the oregon coast - pretty fuckin' pretty. met some cool folks
- are they friendlier up there? had a good fuckin' time. anyway, i've returned
and was slightly disappointed to not see more raging debates on the email. the
most inflammatory thing was andre changing his party date. come on you pussies!
shock me or something.
[late]
__________
Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 16:31:07 PDT
From: "Christopher McAdamis" <pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Transmetropolitan
Hey y'all,
This is going to be a repeat suggestion to many of you, but it needs
restating. Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis is the science fiction comic
book guaranteed to rock many a lame ass. Nanotechnology, drugs, evil-as-fuck
politicians (surpise), and Spider Jerusalem as the world's most cynical
journalist/bastard. And yes, the most pleasing part is for all of it's futuristic
elements, it's really set in a world where the problems aren't to different from our
own. The only difference is that apparently, if Ellis has it right, technology will
truly prove to be the biggest optiate the masses ever saw whether it's people
downloading themselves onto electronic communes or having molecular machines
constantly cleaning people's systems to allow them to chemically stimulate
themselves from here to next Friday. Plus, as I already said, it's chock full
o' snide-ass cynicism.
Pick it up for a smile.
Chris
___________
Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 21:03:53 -0700
From: boatman@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: How to Live Life?
How to Live Life?
I have been pondering recently what the best way to live one's life is.
It's not like me to ponder; introspection has always been a weak point of mine.
But, we can all learn, so here goes.
Everyone's life is full of trade-offs. No one can have everything, be
everything, or try everything. But how do we live our lives? What do we
want out of life and how do we approach it? I know that I still have a lot of
time left to live, yet I can see that there are many opportunities that have
gone by that I will never have again. Maybe this is partly because we are all
so inculcated that youth is good and you should try to be youthful and do all
things youthful.
Just an example of this is the reverence we hold for youth in relation to
sexuality. We've all seen that attractive young woman or man walking down the
street. We're taught that a beautiful young golden-haired lad or lass is the
ideal of desire.
For some of you, it is not unreal to expect that you might have a chance for a
relationship of some type with that person. I know, have realized over the past
couple of years, that such a person is not for me. Youth befits youth, and while
a moment of passion might be fun, I'm probably better suited to be with someone
more my age. Besides, in ten years, that person won't be the ideal of beauty he
or she was, and then what would the desirer be left with?
So this is an example of an opportunity that I consider to be in the past.
Just an example…I won't be staying at any youth hostels anytime soon, etc.
I don't consider myself old and don't hold prejudice against the young; I
simply know I am not 18 or 21 anymore.
The reason I discuss all this is because as we look at how life has been lived
we naturally want to avoid the pitfalls of the past, so we look backward. But it's
not so easy to learn from the past. It's not like learning 2+3=5 and having that
as an absolute truth for eternity. So what have I learned? Are there any eternal
truths that have been revealed? Well, not many.
I have learned that hate destroys the hater while the hated person lives on
unaffected (Thank you for at least one thing, Chris Keleher). So let hate go
and replace it with disinterest or whatever works for you. Otherwise you'll use
all your energy hating someone else.
It's what I haven't learned that keeps life a mystery, and sometimes a
goddamned difficult and frustrating one.
I know that to many of you, it seems as if I have really mellowed out a lot in
the past few years. I'm happier, more contented. It's true. Having a good-paying
job helps. Up until the last year or so, I have always had money worries either
because I didn't have any or didn't know how to handle what I did have. It really
gnawed at me a lot the time and now that worry is gone.
Time and experience help. Experiencing some bouts of intense unrequited
love engrained in me at some level not to get so caught up in the idea of
love and companionship. This doesn't mean I don't want that, just that I don't
peg all my emotional energy to it.
Homer Simpson once used the phrase "the dizzying highs and terrifying
lows" in reference to his life. That's how life used to be with me but it's
now pretty much on an even keel, with smaller and less frequent emotional shifts.
This is better, right? Well, I am genuinely not sure.
Did I take all the chances I should have?
What harm did I do taking chances I shouldn't have?
Would I be better off risking rejection and damage to my self-esteem by
trying to go meet someone?
Or is it better to be content in my present life with the friends I have now?
Should I keep that old plate with the chips around the edges and those
shoes that are getting uncomfy?
Or should I go get a new set of stuff that will someday be familiar to me?
Should I ponder all these things to see if I can live a fuller life?
Or should I immerse myself in things I know keep me busy and contented now?
Is there a middle road? No life is perfectly lived. No life can be lived without
mistakes, regrets, failures, missed opportunities. But how best to live it? Some
cardinal rules apply: try your best not to harm others, help those whom you can,
be as kind as possible.
But those rules are external, and one's own existence and life are what are inside
one's head all the time, and so must be dealt with. One must find one's own truths.
I don't have many of my own and you all need to find your own.
There are some things that are making me introspective. For example, a
while ago I got a phone call abut a friend of mine, Laura, from
Pennsylvania. It was a woman wanting a reference for a job. I answered all her
questions until the last one when she asked me what motivates Laura. I couldn't
answer even tho I had known her for more than 2 years. That kinda made me wonder
what kind of person I am – apparently not very perceptive or observant when it comes
to other people's motivations. I think this was partly because I am not by nature
an introspective person, an also because there is very little artifice in me, so why would I suspect such in others?
Recently something else happened to me to cause me to wonder about this. I won't go into it here; the details aren't important. At any rate, it was an experience that made me actually stop and examine the other person's motivations and see if they jived with the stated truth. I still haven't decided and probably will never know the truth because each of us reveal to others only what we want to reveal and attempt to veil the rest. But it has nonetheless forced me to look at life, myself, and others with a more critical eye.
This event also made me ponder my own life, hence this missive. It
frustrated me a good deal, which has set me to wondering how frustration, anger, or other negative emotions (if they really are) can be turned into positive ones (Don't worry folks, I am not turning into Leo Buscaglia). Is there a way to use these draining emotions? What can we do other than learn to keep ourselves out of the situations that caused them?
Enough rambling on my part for now. Feel free to respond, support me, slice 'n' dice me, or whatever. Share your thoughts, anyway. I am gonna go re-read Silas Marner, a hell of a good book.
Love,
Matt
___________
Date: Sat, 29 May 1999 10:25:01 PDT
From: "Christopher McAdamis" <pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: How to Live Life?
Uh...
So I haven't really pondered the LIFE QUESTION in a long time, but there is some stuff that I have realized.
I don't know if existentialism is the right medicine for people desperatley looking back on everything and wondering where all the pieces fit, but it makes a lot of sense to me. I can't see life other than a series of choices we make. We're also free to do whatver we want as long as we can live with ourselves afterward. But of course, we're always free to choose when life should end.
There's no right life. We've only got what we've done to work with. I think Camus had it right in The Stranger. The part where Mersualt cries, "I had been right, I was still right, and I was always right" says it all for me. Of course, you have to read the book to see exactly what I'm getting at, but basically it breaks things down to where there is no longer a right or wrong. There's just what there is.
I'm trying to live by this notion that things need to be seized now. I may perfect before I die, but I slip every now and again into regret.
Chris
__________
Date: Sun, 30 May 1999 10:44:36 PDT
From: "Christopher McAdamis" <pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Alternative News Sources
Hey kids,
Tired of biased, soft news on the networks owned by companies like GE?
Convinced that CNN is a joke? Looking for a news source opposed to the war in Kosovo and not run by granola munching hippies clad in Birkenstocks?
Check out Antiwar.com. Everything from the far right to left is there. I just read an editorial by Bucchanan. He actually made a lot of decent points against the war except for where he gets nutty and paranoid about China. Aside from his ranting about choosing the right enemy, it's worth checking out.
Chris
__________
Date: 4 Jun 1999 18:08:46 -0000
From: boatman@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: Life, living it, etc...
All,
Well, I didn’t know that my ramblings constituted a particular philosophy other than the Survival and Perseverance of Matthew P., but what the hey. I was just giving my point of view on a few things in my existence. Fortunately, I can quote literary types right up there with Chris:
There are in our existence spots of time,
That with distinct pre-eminence retain
A renovating virtue, whence--depressed
By false opinion and contentious thought,
Or aught of heavier or more deadly weight,
In trivial occupations, and the round
Of ordinary intercourse--our minds
Are nourished and invisibly repaired;
A virtue, by which pleasure is enhanced,
That penetrates, enables us to mount,
When high, more high, and lifts us up when fallen.
This efficacious spirit chiefly lurks
Among those passages of life that give
Profoundest knowledge to what point, and how,
The mind is lord and master--outward sense
The obedient servant of her will.
Hmm...Wordsworth is saying that the special, meaningful, educational (traumatic?) moments in life can help us overcome the bad moments, working even subconsciously. Even that the worst moments, by giving us "Profoundest knowledge," are inherently uplifting.
Where am I going with this? I guess when you go through the shitty parts of life, you’re supposed to learn a lot. Of course, you have to learn to learn, or learn how to learn first. It doesn’t do someone any good to suffer through something if they are gonna turn right around and make the same mistake again, or if they can’t even (or won’t even) see their mistake. So this is all part of being more introspective…to learn to learn from my mistakes.
Does this tie in with regret? Well, Chris, I don’t really believe in regret all that much either. Obviously, it is going to affect all of us once in a while (or is that guilt?) but one can’t hinge one’s life on it. So past experiences should be used didactically, not mulled over as miserable mistakes. QED…one way of turning frustration or anger into positive action.
All right, enough bullshit, how does this tie in with daily life? I can talk all I want, but how to effect the changes? Sitting on my ass watching reruns of Friends isn’t gonna cut it. Well, Eric is a big believer in journals, and I think they’re a good idea, too. Guess I gotta learn how to really keep one. Thing is, most of my thinking is done in my cubicle at work since I am confined to a chair all day. So I guess I’d better start carrying the book to work.
Anyhoo, enough additional rambling for one day….see you folks at the party tomorrow.
SWAK,
Matt
___________-
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 09:23:20 GMT
From: seth aronson <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Fwd: LA drivers
GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA DRIVER'S LICENSE APPLICATION:
Name:______________ Stage name: ________________
Agent:______________
Attorney:__________________
Sex:___male ___female ___formerly male ___formerly female > >>
If female, indicate breast implant size: ____
Will the size of your implants hinder your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle in any way? Yes___ No ___
Brand of cell phone: ________. (If you don't own a cell phone, pleaseexplain.)
Please check hair color:
Females: [ ] Blonde [ ] Platinum Blonde
Teenagers: [ ] Purple [ ] Blue [ ] Skin head
Please check activities you perform while driving:
(Check all that apply)
[ ] Eating
[ ] Applying make-up
[ ] Talking on the phone
[ ] Slapping kids in the backseat
[ ] Applying cellulite treatment to thighs
[ ] Tanning
[ ] Snorting cocaine
[ ] Watching TV
[ ] Reading Variety
[ ] Surfing the net via laptop
Please indicate how many times: a) you expect to shoot at other
drivers, and b) how many times you expect to be shot at while
driving.
TEST
If you are the victim of a car-jacking, you should immediately: a)
Call the police to report the crime; b) Call Channel 4 News to report the crime, then watch your car on the news on a high-speed chase; c) Call your therapist; d) Call your attorney and discuss lawsuit against cellular phone company for 911 call not going through
In the event of an earthquake, should you: a) stop your car, b) keep
driving and hope for the best, c) immediately use your cell phone to call all loved ones, or d) pull out your video camera and obtain footage for Channel 4?
In the instance of rain, you should: a) never drive over 5 MPH, b) drive twice as fast as usual, or c) you're not sure what "rain" is.
Please indicate number of therapy sessions per week: ____.
Are you presently taking any of the following medications? a) Prozac;
b) Zovirax; c) Lithium d) Zanax; e) Valium.
If none, please explain: __________________.
Length of daily commute: a) 1 hour; b) 2 hours; c) 3 hours; d) 4
hours or more.
When stopped by police, should you a) pull over and have your
driver's license and insurance form ready, b) try to outrun them by
driving the wrong way on the 405, c) have your video camera ready and
provoke them to attack, thus ensuring yourself of a hefty lawsuit?
don't ya just love la?
____________
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 16:16:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: <navila@xxx.xxxx
Subject: Paying bills
Mindswell,
Check out what I've been working on lately, it's kinda cool.
http://www.sportsline.com/u/soccer/wwc1999/soccerreplay/index.html
g
When I was young I used to pray for a bike.
Then I realized that God doesn't work that way,
so I stole a bike and prayed for forgiveness.
-- Dan Gadino
__________
Date: Sun, 27 Jun 1999 11:04:37 GMT
From: seth aronson <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Fwd: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #96
The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #96 -- June 25, 1999
A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination Network
-------- PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE --------
1. Governor of New Mexico Calls Drug War "Failed" -- Calls
for Discussion of Alternatives
Gary Johnson, Republican Governor of New Mexico, ignited a
firestorm in his state on Wednesday (6/23) by calling for a
re-examination of the failed drug war and a discussion of
alternatives, including decriminalization.
"It (the drug war) needs to get talked about," he said in an
interview, "and one of the things that's going to get talked
about is decriminalization. We really need to put all
options on the table."
Johnson, who said that the drug war was a "miserable
failure" that "hasn't worked," noted that "the drug problem
is getting worse. It's not getting better."
The suggestion became a big story in the New Mexico media,
with the state's largest newspaper, the Albuquerque Journal,
running it as the lead story the following day (see
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/3news06-24.htm) and local
news stations interviewing DARE officers and others for
reaction.
Steven Bunch, President of the New Mexico Drug Policy
Foundation, commended the governor for bringing the issue to
public debate.
"Governor Johnson is absolutely correct about the failure of
the so-called drug war. Prohibition has caused more
problems than the policy has solved. It has corrupted our
nation and it insures that our children have access to
substances that we cannot possibly control in a black
market."
Predictably, not every New Mexico elected official was
receptive to the idea.
A spokeswoman for Rep. Joe Skeen (R-NM) told the Journal
that the congressman's views "can be summed up in three
words: 'Just Say No.'"
Johnson, who is 46 years-old and is the father of two
teenage children, has previously acknowledged that he had
used marijuana, and occasionally cocaine while in college.
Now an avid triathlon, he stopped using drugs in his early
20's and has not used alcohol in 12 years.
"What I did was criminal," he said, "and yet those people
that I knew that did the same and those that still do it
today, I don't consider them criminals."
MAKE A DIFFERENCE: Write to Governor Johnson and let him
know that you appreciate his political courage -- especially
if you're from New Mexico. If you have family or friends in
New Mexico, urge them to call. The Governor's number is
(505) 827-3000, or you can write to Governor Gary E.
Johnson, Office of the Governor, State Capitol Building,
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87503, or comment through the net at
<http://164.64.43.1/opinion/Opinion.htm>. His office needs
to hear from people, especially constituents, so Governor
Johnson will know there is support for what he is trying to
accomplish.
Submit letters to the editor to the Albuquerque Journal at
opinion@xxxxxxxxxx.xxxx fax to (505) 823-3812, or
mail to: Letters to the Editor, The Albuquerque Journal,
P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, NM 87103. Your letter needs to
include your name, address and phone number, and your
signature if using fax or snail-mail. It should probably be
under 200 words, to have the best chance of getting printed.
================
2. Hyde's Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act Passes House
Easily
(press release from the Drug Policy Foundation,
http://www.dpf.org)
WASHINGTON, June 24 -- The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act
of 1999, a bill sponsored by Reps. Henry Hyde (R-IL), John
Conyers (D-MI), Bob Barr (R-GA) and Barney Frank (D-MA),
sailed through the House of Representatives by a 375-48
margin at 5:05pm today.
"This is the most important property-rights legislation to
come out of the House this year," said Drug Policy
Foundation Senior Policy Analyst Scott Ehlers. "Americans
are a step closer to being protected from some of the worst
abuses of police power."
Ehlers said that proponents of the bill were hoping that it
would pass by a wide enough margin for the Senate to take
notice. "The House has clearly and resoundingly said that
property rights are important and that the Senate should
pass this bill."
An amendment by Reps. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) and Anthony
Weiner (D-NY), which would have watered down H.R. 1658 and
strengthened civil asset forfeiture laws, failed by a 268-
155 vote. H.R. 1658 would make numerous changes to civil
forfeiture law, including:
* Forcing the government to prove that seized property is
related to a crime, as opposed to the current practice of
the owners' having to prove that their property is not
guilty;
* Creating an "innocent owner" defense, whereby property
owners unaware of criminal activity occurring on their
property could recover their property;
* Providing indigent defendants with appointed counsel; and
* Eliminating the cost-bond requirement, which currently
requires property owners to pay up to $5,000 or 10 percent
of the seized property's value in order to contest the
seizure in court.
(Thanks to the many of you who responded to our asset
forfeiture alerts. We will alert you when there is a bill
to lobby for in the Senate. Visit http://www.fear.org for
further information.)
================
3. Vancouver's Cannabis Cafe, Hemp BC Closed
- Peder Nelson, nelson@xxxxxx.xxx
The Cannabis Cafe and Hemp BC of Vancouver, British Columbia
were closed by court order on Wednesday, June 9. The
closing came after Supreme Court Justice Thomas Melnick
upheld a city council decision denying the businesses an
operating license. At the same time, Melnick granted an
injunction to Vancouver city council lawyers to close the
two proprietorships.
Marijuana activist Marc Emery, who stirred up local,
national, and international politics with his outspoken
views, founded the stores in 1994. In 1998, Emery sold the
shops to Shelly Francis, who operated them until the
shutdown. Both the shop and the cafe were raided several
times by local police, and were the subject of an
investigation run jointly by local authorities and the US
Navy.
The city council held a special show-cause hearing on May
17-18, 1999, to determine whether a business license would
be granted to Francis. Her request was denied. The council
cited reasons such as lack of cooperation with local police,
patrons smoking while in the establishments, and the
degradation of the community. Nevertheless, local merchants
and community members attended the meeting armed with 10,000
signatures on a petition in support of the Cannabis Cafe and
Hemp BC. The denial prompted an application for relief by
both parties directed to the BC Supreme Court.
In his decision, Justice Melnick noted that the city
attorney's demands of Francis at the show-cause hearing
"would make the expression 'red tape' appear
inconsequential," but that in the end, "the city faces
losing credibility in enforcing its licensing scheme" if the
injunction were not granted.
The closing of the businesses represents a victory for
Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen, who had publicly vowed that the
stores would be "toast." A spokesman for the mayor told The
Week Online he had no comment for this story.
"I guess they've won," Francis said in an interview with the
Vancouver Sun. "[But] I will always continue this fight to
decriminalize marijuana. It's one that has to be fought."
Her lawyers said Ms. Francis is planning an appeal.
Read DRCNet's earlier coverage of this story at
<http://www.drcnet.org/wol/061.html#hempbc>. The Hemp BC
website is still online at <http://www.hempbc.com>.
================
4. Activist Banned From Talking About Marijuana
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ordered a medical
marijuana user to stop speaking publicly about marijuana, or
face a two year prison term. Joe "Hemp" Kidwell was
sentenced last week by Judge Albert Matthews for cultivating
fourteen marijuana plants in a storefront office in Venice
Beach in 1998. Kidwell, whose doctor testified in his
defense at his trial, is protected under the state's laws
barring prosecution of people who use marijuana medicinally.
But the judge also restricted him from using marijuana
anywhere but inside his own home.
Kidwell has been an outspoken and controversial marijuana
activist. Before his conviction, he operated First Hemp
Bank Distribution Network, a Venice buyer's club. He was
arrested two other times last year, once for offering a
police officer a joint, which resulted in a misdemeanor
conviction. The other arrest, resulting from a report that
he was smoking marijuana on a public promenade, will go to
trial next week.
The Week Online spoke with Kidwell's attorney, Ronald
Richards, who said Kidwell will appeal the probationary
restrictions under statutory and Constitutional grounds.
Kidwell also criticized the government's continued reliance
on prohibition, saying, "The definition of insanity is doing
the same thing over and over again and thinking it's going
to solve a social problem." "Locking everybody up and
making them criminals for simply growing some marijuana, not
for sale, is insane."
================
5. NEW YORK: Staten Island Assemblyman Wants Needle Exchange
Banned
- Taylor West, jtw5@xxxx.xxx
A bill that would effectively ban legal needle exchange in
the state of New York has been introduced into the state
assembly by Eric Vitaliano, a Democrat from Staten Island.
The legislation comes on the heels of recent plans to launch
a needle exchange program in that borough and New York
governor George Pataki's appointment of Dr. Antonia C.
Novello as Health Department Commissioner.
Vitaliano's bill would rescind the provision in New York's
state code (Title VII, Section 3381) that allows the
Commissioner to grant exemptions for individuals and
"classes of persons" from the state's law against the
possession or distribution of hypodermic instruments. That
provision has allowed for the establishment of 12 state-
licensed needle exchange programs throughout New York since
1992.
Kristine Smith, a spokesperson for the Department of Health,
stated the department's opposition to the bill. "We do not
support this legislation. We feel that our needle exchange
programs have been very successful in reaching out to
individuals who otherwise may never come in contact with
treatment and prevention opportunities. It is important
also to stress our commitment to gaining community support
before we establish each exchange." Newly confirmed
Commissioner Novello has also publicly stated her personal
support for New York's needle exchange programs.
The Staten Island AIDS Task Force recently requested
permission from the Health Department to begin a mobile
needle exchange program on the island. The final decision
has not yet been made, but the Task Force is moving ahead
with planning stages while awaiting the state's approval.
Vitaliano wrote a letter to Governor Pataki opposing the
program, but received no direct reply.
Elsewhere in New York, needle exchange activists' response
to Vitaliano's bill was critical. Donald Grove, director of
development for the New York-based Harm Reduction Coalition,
remarked that the introduction of such a bill "shows just
how little science and the reality of microbes and viruses
has to do with elective politics."
Grove also related Vitaliano's campaign to those of others
attacking needle exchange in the Empire State. "There has
been a malicious movement to misinform the New York public
about needle exchange programs," he told The Week Online.
"This is another example of political goals obscuring the
facts about a practice that has been proven to save lives
and protect the public health."
The bill is not expected to advance far in the legislature,
but Grove acknowledged that it may still affect the needle
exchange cause. "Vitaliano's bill is like a Pat Buchanan
campaign," he explained. "It is fairly clear that it won't
succeed, but it will serve to yank the discussion and the
agenda further in his direction. Instead of talking about
preventing the spread of viruses and improving the public
health, we'll be hearing the same unsubstantiated hysteria
from the same parade of people. Every time this happens, it
results in more scurrying around within the Health
Department, more regulations and restrictions in order to
protect public relations."
Meanwhile, Vitaliano's camp maintains its anti-needle
exchange position. "There are better ways to prevent
exposure to deadly diseases," the assemblyman stated in a
press release. The press release did not elaborate on those
ways.
================
6. IDAHO: "Drug Bust: The Longest War" TV Special Preempted
by Drug Testing Speech in Boise
- Peder Nelson, nelson@xxxxxx.xxx
On Sunday, June 20, television viewers across the country
watched an NBC special report, "Drug Bust: The Longest War."
The program, hosted by Geraldo Rivera, highlighted many of
the failings of current US drug policy. But viewers of
KTVB-TV in Boise, Idaho saw a speech by US Chamber of
Commerce President Tom Donohue promoting drug testing in the
workplace instead. The program was aired as part of "Enough
is Enough," an anti-drug campaign the station is sponsoring.
DRCNet learned of the preempting when subscribers in Boise
wrote us to complain. Local resident Russ Belville wrote
that he had spoken earlier with reporters from the station
who were concerned that KTVB's involvement with the campaign
could cause a "conflict of interest" for the newsroom.
"Seems to me there's no conflict at KTVB's newsroom at all,"
Belville wrote this week. "If it doesn't follow the 'Enough
is Enough' agenda, it doesn't get aired on KTVB -- even if
it is a special report from one of their parent network's
news department."
Doug Armstrong of KTVB-TV told the Week Online that the
station pre-empted the NBC show because it needed a
primetime run for the final episode of "Incredible Idaho," a
local nature program. He added that the station had a
previous commitment to air the Donohue's speech.
John Brine, a spokesman for NBC, said that while the Idaho
station's choice to replace the Geraldo special with a pro-
drug war speech was "interesting," there was nothing unusual
about an affiliate choosing not to air it. "The show was
picked up throughout the nation and broadcast at about the
same rate as other shows," he said. Local stations
generally have the option of preempting network programs for
local shows when they have other obligations or needs.
A summary and excerpts from Drug Bust can be read online at
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/281474.asp>. Enough is Enough
has a web site at <http://www.ktvb.com/program/enough.html>.
================
7. News in Brief
- Jane Tseng, jane@xxxxxx.xxx
Former D.A.R.E. Officer Sentenced in Cocaine Case
A former D.A.R.E. officer in Wisconsin was sentenced last
week to five years in prison for selling cocaine. Kenneth
Dodge, an employee of the Menominee Tribal Police Department
since February 1983, was fired in June 1997 after selling
cocaine to an undercover agent on three occasions while he
was a bartender at a local tavern. In addition to the five-
year prison sentence, Circuit Court Judge Earl Schmidt
revoked Dodge's driver's license for three years and fined
him $302 in court fees and fines.
Swiss High Court Rules Ecstasy Sales Not a "Serious" Crime
On Tuesday June 15, the Swiss Supreme Court overturned a
one-year prison sentence given by the State Court of Bern to
a man convicted of selling 1000 tablets of Ecstasy. In its
ruling, the Supreme Court classified Ecstasy as a "soft
drug," saying that while Ecstasy was not a harmless
substance; it did not pose a serious health risk.
Rick Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association
for Psychedelic Studies, told The Week Online, "It's a link
between honest medical research and objective risk
assessment, both of which the we could use more of in the
United States." The court also rejected a plea from a state
court for a harsher sentence for a man convicted of selling
more than 1,300 tablets of Ecstasy. Drug offenses
classified as "serious," such as dealing cocaine or heroin,
carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison under Swiss law.
On Sunday, the Guardian printed an editorial in support of
the Swiss Court decision. The editorial can be found at
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/>.
Scottish Public Health Docs Call for Marijuana Legalization
This week, the British Medical Association's Scottish
committee on public health medicine called for the
legalization of marijuana for recreational and medical use.
The doctors, who plan to put forward a motion at the
association's annual conference in Belfast next month, are
the first medical professionals to advocate a measure
supporting the legalization of recreational use of
marijuana. The doctors said they hope the legalization of
marijuana will cut down on the use of more dangerous drugs
such as heroin and cocaine. George Venters, the chairman of
the Scottish Committee, has said he feels confident that the
committee will easily win public support after all the facts
are out. A spokesperson for the BMA would only comment that
the ideas presented by the committee do not represent the
ideas and policies of the association as a whole.
================
8. Supreme Court Roundup
- Jane Tseng, jane@xxxxxx.xxx
Court Refuses to Hear Singleton Appeal
This week, the Court refused to hear an appeal concerning a
ruling last year in which prosecutors offered leniency to
witnesses in exchange for testimony. By refusing to hear
the case, the Court effectively ruled that the common but
controversial federal practice of offering leniency to
witnesses in exchange for testimony is still acceptable.
The controversy arose after the January decision by the 10th
US Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the conviction of
Sonya Singleton in a cocaine trafficking case. Singleton
had appealed her conviction, saying that the prosecution's
witnesses were offered leniency for his testimony, which
helped convict her and other defendants. Singleton's lawyer
argued to the court of appeals that the testimony provided
by the prosecution's witness could not be used because of a
federal law forbidding the exchange of anything of value for
testimony.
Singleton's lawyer commented that "the government's practice
of buying testimony" will "eat away at the integrity of the
judicial system." The Court reasoned that if Congress had
written the law to make it illegal for prosecutors to
continue their long-standing practice of offering lesser
sentences in exchange for testimony, they would have worded
the law in such a way as to eliminate doubts. More detailed
information on the case in question can be found at
<http://www.drcnet.org/wol/074.html#singleton>.
Dyson Traffic Stop Ruling Overturned
The Supreme Court reversed a ruling by a mid-level Maryland
appeals court this week that had ruled that searching a
vehicle without a warrant is unlawful. The decision upholds
an exception to the 4th amendment dating back to 1925 that
states that police do not need a warrant when searching a
vehicle. The case came before the court after Kevin Darnell
Dyson's conviction of conspiracy to possess cocaine with the
intent to distribute. The police stopped Dyson on July 3,
1996 and searched his car after an informant told them that
Dyson would be on his way home from New York City, where he
had allegedly gone to buy cocaine. The police found 23
grams of crack cocaine in a bag in Dyson's trunk.
Dyson appealed his conviction, saying that the search was
unlawful because the police had had time to obtain a warrant
before searching Dyson's car. The justices noted that
previous rulings in 1982 and 1996 affirmed that police do
not need a warrant in order to search a vehicle if they had
cause to believe there was evidence of a crime.
Court to Hear Case on Juror Removal
The Supreme Court also agreed to hear an Arizona drug case
this week which will determine whether or not some criminal
convictions would have to be overturned because of jury
selection errors. The case concerns Abel Martinez-Salazar,
who was arrested in Phoenix and was later convicted for
possession of heroin with the intent to distribute and using
or carrying a firearm during a drug crime. During the
trial, Martinez-Salazar's lawyer used one of his automatic
challenges to remove a juror. Martinez-Salazar later
claimed that the juror was biased and that his lawyer should
not have been forced to use one of his 11 preemptory
challenges to remove that juror. The 9th US Circuit Court
of Appeals decided that Martinez-Salazar's due-process
rights were violated because under federal law, defendants
are not required to use their automatic challenges to remove
prospective jurors if they show bias. The prosecution
argues that because a biased-juror was never allowed on the
jury, the conviction still holds.
================
9. WASHINGTON: Free Video and Lunch-Talk Series
The Institute for Policy Studies' Drug Policy and Foreign
Policy in Focus projects invite you to attend their
RETHINKING THE DRUG WAR: A FREE SUMMER VIDEO AND SPEAKER
SERIES. Films (with experts to speak following film) will
be shown weekly though August 19th. Cosponsored by the
Progressive Challenge and the Social Action and Leadership
School for Activists.
RETHINKING THE DRUG WAR:
A Free Summer Video and Speaker Series
Thursdays, noon to 2:00pm
Institute for Policy Studies, 733 15th St., NW, Suite 1020,
Washington, DC
Sponsored by IPS' Drug Policy and Foreign Policy in Focus
Projects Brown Bag lunch series. Drinks and dessert
provided. For information, contact Samara or Jenny at (202)
234-9382, ext. 220.
Thursday, June 24:
Video- "The Drug Dilemma: War or Peace" (Walter Cronkite)
Drug War 101: Overview of US Policy
Speaker: Paul Lewin (Research Director, Common Sense for
Drug Policy)
Thursday, July 1:
Video- "Seeds of War" (Australian documentary)
A History of the US War on Drugs
Speakers: William Chambliss (Author and Professor, GWU) and
Carol Bergman (Research and Policy Reform Center)
Thursday, July 8:
Video- "America's War on Drugs" (America's Defense Monitor)
Addicted to Failure: the US Drug War Overseas
Speakers: Coletta Youngers (Washington Office on Latin
America) and Peter Zirnite (DC-based journalist)
Thursday, July 15:
Video- "Unholy Alliance" (The CIA,the Afghan War, and heroin
trafficking) Covert Operations and the Drug Trade Speaker:
Bob Parry (Editor and Publisher, I.F. Magazine)
Thursday, July 22:
Video- "Sex, Drugs, and Democracy" (The Dutch Model)
International Drug Policy and Alternatives
Speaker: Scott Ehlers (Senior Policy Analyst, Drug Policy
Foundation)
Thursday, July 29:
Video- "Snitch" (PBS Frontline documentary)
How the System Operates: Police, Prosecutors, and Drug Laws
Speaker: Eric Sterling (President, Criminal Justice Policy
Foundation)
Thursday, August 5: Video- "The Corner" (Nightline program
on a Baltimore drug market)
Race, Poverty, and the Drug Economy
Speaker: Cheryl Epps (DC-based drug policy expert)
Thursday, August 12:
Video- "Women of Substance" (Mothers and Addiction)
Other Casualties of the Drug War: Women and Students
Speakers: Diane Riley (invited)(International Harm Reduction
Network) and Adam Smith (Associate Director, DRCnet)
Thursday, August 19:
Video- "The Legacy" (PBS documentary)
Three Strikes and Other Legislative Hysteria
Speakers: Vincent Schiraldi (Executive Director, Justice
Policy Institute) and Rep. Barbara Lee D-CA (invited)
Visit http://www.ips-dc.org for information about the
Institute for Policy Studies and links to the programs
that are sponsoring this series.
================
10. EDITORIAL: Can't Keep a Good Idea Down
Adam J. Smith, Associate Director, ajsmith@xxxxxx.xxx
File this in the "You Just Can't Keep a Good Idea Down"
folder. New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, a Republican,
sparked controversy this week by proclaiming the drug war "a
failure" and advocating a wide-ranging debate on
alternatives, including decriminalization. Governor
Johnson's remarks came exactly one week after his GOP party-
mates in Congress compared drug policy reformers to child
abusers, rapists and pedophiles and even went so far as to
urge the criminal prosecution of reform advocates under
federal RICO statutes.
Governor Johnson, a 46 year-old father of two and an avid
triathlete, has previously admitted using marijuana and
occasionally cocaine while in college. "What I did was
criminal," he said in an interview, "and yet those people
that I knew that did the same thing and those that still do
it today, I don't consider them criminals."
There is no question that New Mexico is a long way from
Washington, DC. But do not think for a moment that it will
go unnoticed within the Republican leadership that one of
their governors has broken party ranks on the drug war. The
very fact that Congressional hearings were held last week,
convened by Republican John Mica of Florida, is testament to
the fact that the party is both concerned about the growing
calls for reform and determined to do all that it can to
discredit them.
Despite the rabidity of the most ideological drug warriors,
the issue of drug policy, and particularly the realization
that what we are currently doing is disastrous, is gaining
currency across the nation. Nevertheless, it is telling
that Governor Johnson created a political firestorm by the
mere suggestion that we discuss all viable alternatives.
Such reaction, along with the ugliness of last week's
Congressional hearings, show that even pointing out that the
emperor has no clothes is still an act of extreme political
courage.
It will be interesting to watch the Republican party as the
ideological split over this issue continues to emerge. The
drug war is an issue upon which many GOPers have staked
their reputations, and filled their campaign coffers. But
it is an issue that is beginning to create a chasm that will
soon become impossible to ignore. For Republicans, already
struggling with internal divisions over abortion, gun
control and censorship of the popular culture, there might
not be a tent big enough for this one.
----------------------------------------------------------
DRCNet needs your support! Donations can be sent to 2000 P
St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036, or made by credit
card at <http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html>. Donations to
the Drug Reform Coordination Network are not tax-deductible.
Deductible contributions supporting our educational work can
be made by check to the DRCNet Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-
exempt organization, same address.
PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the
contents of The Week Online is hereby granted. We ask that
any use of these materials include proper credit and, where
appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If
your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet
requests checks payable to the organization. If your
publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use
the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification
for our records, including physical copies where material
has appeared in print. Contact: Drug Reform Coordination
Network, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036,
(202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail
drcnet@xxxxxx.xxx. Thank you.
Articles of a purely educational nature in The Week Online
appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise
noted.
***********************************************************
DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet
***********************************************************
JOIN/MAKE A DONATION http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS LIST http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html
DRUG POLICY LIBRARY http://www.druglibrary.org/
DRCNET HOME PAGE http://www.drcnet.org/
GATEWAY TO REFORM PAGE http://www.stopthedrugwar.org
__________
Date: Sun, 27 Jun 1999 11:13:07 GMT
From: seth aronson <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: stuff
howdy folks,
just sent ya'all a copy of this weeks drc net, interesting reading when you get
some free time, if there is such a thing as free time these days....
and speaking about mindswell, my father is putting together pages as we speak,
and hopefully a beta version of the monster will be up and running in a month or so,
which leads me to my next point:
i cordially invite all of you to put together your own personal
webpages...and when you are ready, we'll link to them from the mindswell homepage.
it will be your own personal "room" in the hallowed halls of mindswell.
hope that everyone is doing well, and i look forward to seeing the lot of you
at the big drebash on the 10th....
s
_________
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 14:59:55 PDT
From: "Matthew Richardson" <shortpath@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: back on the net....dammit
Hi All,
The list has been pretty quiet as of late, so I thought I would drop a line.
Had a good time at Dre's party, it was good to see you guys. I was really glad
that Big Daddy Dre decided to throw another party right before Tash split for home.
She really wanted to meet all of you, put faces to the names and dirty stories I've
been telling her...laughs. I've been staying off the net and spending as much time
as possible with her the past five weeks, but now she's on a plane for Brisbane
and I'm missing her already. How sad is that....Anyway, Tashy thought you guys were
great and can't wait til we can do it all again in January when she comes out again.
Rick Barton and I are headed to the illustrious Roberto Carlos Hernandez's house for a
barbecue, so I'm not going to waste anymore space with my ramblings. I will leave you
with this, we don't need to use this list strictly as a means of debating issues.
Being spread all over California as we are, mindswell is a good way to keep in touch
during the dry spells between Dr Dre's kegatron exmortus parties.
late,
matt
____________
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 11:25:18 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Fwd: The Village Voice Features:The FBI and Flight 800
Yeah, the party was cool. it was great to see all of ya fools who made it there for
the drugs and the beer....but after all the fun is said and done, theres nothing like
a good conspiracy theory to keep ya weary.....
Check this one out:
http://www.villagevoice.com/features/9928/davey.shtml
_____________
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 11:31:41 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: more good news
some more good news:
http://www.charlotte.com/observer/pub/031100.htm
s
ps - anyone know how much C4 you can buy with $50 million?!?
________
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 13:05:11 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: strike three, down goes another kennedy
7/19/001999 - 4:36 am
i am writing this letter tonight quite stoned, a little drunk, and truly saddened,
so please excuse me if i get off on a tangent or two....
i am sending this out to both of the online discussion groups that i am a party to,
in hopes of encouraging dialog on both if them. now, by dialogue i don't mean the
typical bullshit paradigm posturing that ususally follows an accusation against the
almighty powers that be...i mean serious, honest discussion....
i believe it all comes down to one fundamental question. the question is a simple
one, yet accepting the answer that lies in the truth of your heart is quite a complex
step to take. we find ourselves in uncertain times at the close of the second millenium
since the "messiah" graced us with his bewildering presence. i mean, who the fuck was
that guy anyway? more people have died is name than in hitler's, and yet our entire
society is based on the fact that he existed....i wonder, is it possible, as theory
suggests, that jesus christ was a set-up? that mother mary was inseminated by someone
connected to (if not one of) the holy men who marched in on their horses 9 months later,
from the east, proclaming the baby in the manger to be "the anointed one".....and without
getting into a tangent on that martryed leader, i'd like to get to my point. it is this:
do you think that lee harvey oswald acted alone on that cold day in november, 1963?
if you do, if you really think that the warren commission was nothing short of unbaised
TRUTH, then scroll back up to the top of this message and delete it now, because if you
believe that, there is no point reading on.
now, lets assume that the people who killed John Sr. and Bobby learnd a thing or two
over the years. if you assasinate a leader, you make him a martyr, but if he dies in an
accident, or as an "act of god", then nobody gets too riled up....
now, if you, like me, find suspicious the deaths of both bob marley and jimi hendrix,
two black genii who used their gifts of music to transcend many barriers, and who both
died under suspicious circumstances at the pinnacle of their careers (hendrix HEADLINED
woodstock don't forget), right when they were poised to make the leap from simple
musician to outright leader (of the counterculture and of the black zionist movement
respectively), then you have to be a bit suspicious of the latest tragedy to befell
the "cursed" kennedy family.
the thing that upsets me most i think, other than the fact that one of my heros
is dead, is that even though his plane has been missing for days now, we have not
seen one single blip from the establishment media about even the "possibility" of
foul play. I mean, this guy could have quite possibly gone for the democratic
nomination next year....imagine if the convention was at a stalemate between gore
and bradley, as the democrats once again found themselves having to choose which
person to anoint to the position of being the sure loser in a landslide republican
victory in the general election....and 39 year old John John walked out and gave
a speech the way his father used to!! the delegates would come in their collective pants!!!
So, while however possible, and even likely it was that this was simply an
"under-experienced" pilot who just happened to get disoriented in the "haze" of that
near moonless night, losing his composure, panicking, forgetting how to read the complex
dial of the altimeter (after all, he only passed the WRITTEN test for flying "with
instruments only", not the actual in flight hours needed for the certificate)....it is
also quite possible that the Leaders of the "New World Order" that we find ourselves in
might have felt a bit threatened by the prospect of a kennedy who was, besides being
honest and genuinley caring...squeaky clean!! All of his father’s charm and charisma,
with none of the womanizing!! He would have blown george jr. OUT OF THE WATER!!!
But, we never will know will we?
and as we head into the uncertain new millenium, we see the son of the former
chief of our secret police (and vice president under king reagan, oh yeah and he
held the reigns as the poster boy for the military indusrial complex for a term
there himself, now didn't he)is poised to become the leader of the "free" world.
It is a sad time for the world indeed.
seth aronson
american citizen #028-XX-XXXX
"I hope that people everywhere will see this movie and make up their own minds.
JFK is our alternative myth to the Warren Commission myth, an opportunity for people
to rethink history. I hope that they will become more aware of how politics are
played out and how kings are killed...and i hope the film inspires them to be
politically active, determined to shape a better future, to improve upon the past.
These are my fondest wishes"
- Oliver Stone
"How long shall they kill our prophets, while we stand aside and
look/some say it's just a part of it, we've got to fulfill the book..."
- Bob Marley
"redemption song"
___________
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 16:42:48 EDT
From: ZSchralper@xxx.xxx
Subject: Re: strike three, down goes another kennedy
zzzzzzzzz. C'mon Seth. That shit sounds tired. zz
___________
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 23:31:05 -0700
From: "Matt Boatman" <boatman@xxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: strike three, down goes another kennedy
My take:
Look, this guy was just a little too confident for his own good. You note that he
had passed the written test for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) but just hadn't had
the in-flight hours...that was precisely the problem. I've heard mentioned that he
had 100 flight hours since he got his license; I've also heard 300. Neither one of
these is a huge amount of hours and none of them were IFR. On a hazy night with no
moon it is near impossible to see the horizon, to distinguish where the water ends
and the sky begins. If he didn't know how to fly totally by his instruments, he
was screwed. There is no substitute for experience. When your plane is dropping out
of the sky you need to nreact our of reflex.
I don't see JFK Jr getting elected president as a threat to the New World
Order. With his youth and lack of experience he would have been eaten alive in Washington.
Which brings me to a point about the media. They've all been hyping this guy
as "America's Prince." What's he ever done besides have a famous name? How many
other publishers of semi-successful magazines can you name? "America has watched
him grow into a man and pins her hopes on him," etc, yadda yadda yadda...just a
bunch of media hyping. Who among us has thought about JFK Jr. other than when
you saw him on the news?
Don't get me wrong, he seemed like a hell of a nice guy and it's really sad what
has happened to the Kennedys, but this guy was just a very rich (he got $20 million
from Onassis) kid who bought his way into publishing and was so-so successful at
it (Sales of George were down quite a bit lately).
I must say, though, Seth, it's fascinating how you managed to weave in so
many people/conspiracies all at once. But somehow I just don't think that George
Bush (either one) had anything to do with this guy's death.
Matt
____________
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 11:31:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: <navila@xxx.xxxx
Subject: A chance to make a difference. (fwd)
I got this from another list I'm on, but if this doesn't scream
Mindswell...
g
Beware the man of many arguments, but of only few books.
-- Socrates
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Brooks Talley" <Brooks_Talley@xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
A friend and I have the whitehouse.org domain name, and it's getting to be that
time again. Last election cycle we ran a series of parody sites
(buchanan96.org, dole96.org, wilson96.org, whitehouse.org/clinton96.org,
and several others). We worked hard and (I think) did a good job; we got press
coverage everywhere from the NYTimes to CNN to a newspaper from Asia (whose name
I don't recall, though they were kind enough to send us clippings which we have
no hope of ever reading). We even received a cease and desist letter from the Dole
Fruit Company, and many pleading/threatening phone calls from the campaigns themselves.
This year, we've got several small businesses in addition to day jobs,
a band (in theory), and numerous other little projects. Sometimes we even eat.
We want to concentrate on whitehouse.org, and make it the central site for campaign
parody in this election cycle. It will be a nonpartisan (or, rather, antipartisan)
site, skewering all those who so richly deserve it, be they Republicrat, Demoblican,
Perot Loony Party, or even the Dogmatic Libertarians. Like last time, the flavor
will be absurd while still trying to achieve actual social commentary ("Pete Wilson
proposes combining schools, jails")
We've got unlimited server space and bandwidth (well, as near as can be). We've got 24
hour monitoring, maintenance, and all sorts of good
infrastructure. We've got a database backend, Front Page/Interdev
extensions, etc. We can provide secure remote access. I imagine we'll even find
the time to write, some. What we need is volunteer project
managers/webmasters/writers/artists/etc to help bring it together and keep it
rolling through the next 18 months or so.
Any volunteers?
-b
_________
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 1999 23:52:07 PDT
From: "Matthew Richardson" <shortpath@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: an addition to our community
Being unsure of how to add someone to the list, much less tell them how to
do it, I'd like one of you with the knowledge to do me the favor of adding the
love of my life to this list. I can assure you that her answers will be
entertaining and thought provoking (besides, with the addition of Tash to the list,
we can brag that mindswell has gone international). Her email address is--
hera49@xxxxxxx.xxx
Next item of business, the Kennedy tragedy/fiasco....
I don't fall into the conspiracy theory camp that Seth finds comfortable, nor do I fall
into the "another tragedy to America's royal family" camp. I find myself in the middle
ground of "well, it sucks three people died in a plane crash, but people die every day"
camp. Fact of the matter is it could have been prevented. John-John wasn't qualified
to fly by instruments (probably shouldn't have been qualified to fly with a nickname
like John-John) and since conditions dictated that he have to fly by instruments, he
should have known better and stayed on the ground. I realize that he passed the written
test for instrument rating, but he didn't have much time in the cockpit flying by
instruments. In fact, he only had something like 100 hours of flight time by the news
reports I heard, which is next to nothing. Most people need between 40 and 70 hours
to get their license in the first place. OK, I'll cut this short, it's a tragedy
for the Kennedy family to be sure, but for the rest of us, life goes on as if
nothing had happened.
tt
__________
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 19:41:29 PDT
From: "Matthew Richardson" <shortpath@xxxxxxx.xxxx
From: "tash dent" <hera49@xxxxxxx.xxx>
A woman walks into a supermarket and buys :
- 1 bar of soap
- 1 toothbrush
- 1 tube toothpaste
- 1 loaf of bread
- 1 pint of milk
- 1 single serving cereal
- 1 single serving frozen dinner
The guy at the checkout looks at her and says, "Single, are you?"
The woman replies very sarcastically, "How did you guess?"
He replies, "Because you're ugly."
___________
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 03:50:42 PDT
From: "Christopher McAdamis" <pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Travels of Doom...
Hey all,
I know I should be sending postcards of the Eiffel Tower to you all, but I couldn't
pass up the chance to email!
The flight sucked! We left LA an hour late, got just pass Barstow and had to
return to LAX due to an engine problem. The plane had interspaced monitors
showing a map, a tiny white plane, and a red 'line tracking the plane's progress.
It was rather comical to watch the tiny line, towards Vegas, then the turn,
then a circle as the plane dumped fuel over the desert (poor K-rats), then a
figure 8, and finally the return. We stayed on the plane while the problem was
fixed and then took off with no further problems other than the Americans' inability
to comprehend that the French airline attendants truly possess no clear definition
of customer service!
Paris was incredible. I met Chantal and her brother. After a month of
travel, they weren't exactly thrilled with each other. I (like an ass) tried
to negotiate the metro with my huge 3 ton suitcase. No escalators, just a lot of
stairs and misery. Let's just say I took a taxi to the train station.
Now two of the 4 wheels are destroyed (not due to the metro, but much
rolling).
I'm now in Nîmes. Laurence rescued me because I couldn't go to Grenoble like I had
planned. I was gonna end up living in the damn suitcase! Massive Attack is playing
here this Friday! Things always seem to work out...
Anyway, plenty more adventures to come!
Chris
________
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 11:20:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: <navila@xxx.xxxx
Subject: Carl Sagan ???
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/19990821/us/sagan_marijuana_1.html
g
My definition of a free society is a society
where it is safe to be unpopular.
-- Adlai Stevenson
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 02:29:42 EDT
From: Marydominant@xxx.xxx
Subject: Introduction to all, from Marydominant
Hi to all. Please e-mail me privately rather than through the list. I'm at
Marydominant@xxx.xxx
I'm seeking eventual marriage with a rare agnostic, atheistic male. I joined
this list, because the kind of man I'm looking for is so hard to find. Perhaps
such a man is participating in a list like this. I'm very introspective,
intellectual and philosophical regarding the nature of knowledge and thought;
and I've been into personal growth and development all my life. I'm
existentialistic; I believe that I'm responsible to create the meaning in my own
life. I'm looking for someone who, except for his own self-esteem, needs a
lasting love relationship with one woman more than anything else in order to be
as happy as he wants to be; who loves to do whatever it takes to meet the needs
of his lady; who knows that he needs a woman who is wise, gentle, strong and
assertive in the relationship; and who knows that he needs a woman who can teach
him what he needs to learn. The reason I say that I'm a dominant woman and that
I'm looking for a submissive man is that I'm willing and able to help a man grow
and learn to be capable of the kind of relationship I seek. I'm not into BDSM
or anything stereotypically associated with domination and submission. I'm
looking for a man who can ultimately, like me, be totally honest and open in
friendship, gentle, faithful and able to make a lasting commitment eventually.
The partner I want loves friendship first, communication, mental and emotional
intimacy, fun and laughter. I seek a man for whom sex is ideally to be shared
with only one person for a lifetime. I need a man who wants to take care of a
woman; that is, who will treat me like a princess in the nicest sense of the
word. I'm a much-younger-looking, 47-year-old, attractive, divorced woman. I
have a personal web page with more information and more photos, to which I can
direct you after you e-mail me. Please send me an e-mail rather than an instant
message. In your e-mail, please include your age, and tell me whether
you're agnostic and/or atheistic. If you can attach a photo, I'd appreciate it.
Looking forward to hearing from you if you're what I seek,
mary
http://members.aol.com/marydominant/index.htm
(my personal web page, which includes four photos)
_________
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 03:00:36 EDT
From: ZSchralper@xxx.xxx
Subject: Re: Introduction to all, from Marydominant
Wow. You just eliminated all the guys I know. Good luck honey.
Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 11:49:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: <navila@xxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: Introduction to all, from Marydominant
And with that, let me be the first to officially welcome you to Mindswell.
g
When a man learns to understand and control his own behavior as well as he is
learning to understand and control the behavior of crop plants and domestic animals,
he may be justified in believing that he has become civilized."
-- E. C. Stakman
Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 08:48:19 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Fwd: yummy
frustrated wife decided her sex life needed a
little spicing up. After work, she went shopping and picked up a pair
of crotchless panties. She went home and donned the new garment and
selected a short skirt to go with it. She greeted her husband when he came home
from work and sat across from him as they had a drink. She slowly spread her
legs.... "Honey would you like some of this?"
"Hell no, look what it's done to your underwear!"
_____________
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 07 Oct 1999 09:16:14 GMT
From: "seth aronson" <shticky@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Fwd: one more...
i don't know if it is the beer or what, but all three jokes that my aunt
fwded to me seemed pretty damn funny tonight....i apologize in advance if
they aren't quite as entertaining in the sober light of morning.....
s
A man walks up to the bar with an ostrich behind him, and as he sits,
a small cat jumps up on the stool beside him. The
bartender comes over, and asks for their order.
The man says, "I'll have a beer" and turns to the
ostrich. "What's your's?"
"I'll have a beer too" says the ostrich. The cat
says "I'll have a half beer,
but I'm not paying for it."
The bartender pours the beer and says "That will be
$3.40 please," The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out
exact change for payment.
The next day, the man, ostrich and cat come again,
and the man says "I'll have a beer," and the ostrich says "I'll > have
the same," and the cat says "I'll have a half glass of > beer but I'm not
paying for it."
Once again the man reaches into his pocket and pays
with exact change.
This becomes a routine until, late one evening, the
trio enter again. "The
usual?" asks the bartender.
"Well, it's close to last call, so I'll have a large
scotch" says the man. "Same for me" says the ostrich. "I'll have a
small scotch but I'm not paying for it" says the cat.
"That will be $7.20" says the bartender.
Again the man pulls exact change out of his pocket
and places it on the bar. The bartender can't hold back his
curiosity any longer.
"Excuse me sir. How do you manage to always come
up with the exact change out of your pocket every time?"
"Well," says the man, "several years ago I was
cleaning the attic and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it a Genie
appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had
to pay for anything, I just put my hand in my pocket, and the right amount
of money will always be there."
"That's brilliant!" says the bartender. "Most
people would wish for a million dollars or something, but you'll
always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!"
"That's right! Whether it's a gallon of milk or a
Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there." says the man.
The bartender asks "so, what's with the ostrich and the cat?"
The man replies "Well, my second wish was for a chick
with long legs and a tight pussy."
|
__________
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1999 09:53:39 EDT
From: ZSchralper@xxx.xxx
Subject: Re: Fwd: yummy
Sup Trick? What's up with the Mindswell site?? zz
____________
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 04:56:06 PDT
From: "Christopher McAdamis" <pequenocristo@xxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Whatever happened to Chris, if anyone cares...
Hey all,
I know that I haven't been the best at writing, but I just received my
laptop from customs in Paris today.
to be brief, I have a studio to live in, making friends, made the silly
error of falling in love with a French girl (now there's a certain pressure
greater than before to find a job here), and waiting for classes to start.
Obviously my email hasn't changed. All snail mail and the like can be
directed to: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Toulouse, 31000
FRANCE
Phone number in case you magically become rich or stumble upon an economical
way to call: 033 x xx xx xx xx
So, once I get email chez moi, you can all expect my dopey voice chiming in again
in the group. Quel plaisir!
Chris
____________
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 06:43:00 -0700
From: "Matt Boatman" <boatman@xxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Something to think about
This is why I live in California...
On eve of Alabama lottery vote, ministers hold prayer vigil
October 11, 1999
Web posted at: 5:53 p.m. EDT (2153 GMT)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Ministers opposed to a referendum allowing a
state lottery held a 24-hour prayer vigil outside the state Capitol Monday,
warning that gambling goes against God's will and would hurt the poor.
"Father, I pray that the answer be clear in the hearts and minds of the people of
Alabama ... that they will see that gambling in any form is violation of your word,"
said Republican state Sen. Albert Lipscomb, as he led 20 people in prayer.
"God is telling us we have to stand for something," said Lillian Farmer, who prayed
while she sat in a folding chair.
A day before Tuesday's referendum on a constitutional amendment to allow a lottery,
Gov. Don Siegelman toured the state, arguing that it was needed to pay for college
scholarships, public school programs for 4-year-olds and school technology.
He said the vote will determine "our children's future. What's at stake is
Alabama's future. Tomorrow we have a chance to change education forever."
Siegelman, a Democrat, won election on a campaign to establish a lottery to fund
education programs. Though early polls found a clear majority for a lottery, the
state's church ministers have united against it and polls lately have showed a tight race.
The governor held news conferences in support of the lottery in Huntsville,
Birmingham and Mobile.
_______________
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1999 02:50:55 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: FW: cybersex
Subject: Ad campaign for a Brazilian internet company
http://buzz.bazooka.se/buzz/braz/
them brazillians sure know how to party
s
_____________
Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1999 03:28:04 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: funny
I know, you don’t have time for another fwd, but these were so funny I just had
to share them….
S
"Happiness can't buy money." - Bob Hope
Men are like bank accounts. Without a lot of money, they don't
generate much interest.
My parents were soooooo poor, they got married for the rice.
"Credit cards are VERY dangerous. Every time I try to use one
somebody starts chasing me with scissors." - J. Bothne
The best things in life are free.... or have no interest or
payments for one full year.
Give 'til it hurts... then have your accountant calculate the
write- off.
We were soooooo poor, we went to Kentucky Fried Chicken to lick
the other kid's fingers.
"People are always asking me how much I'm worth. Well, all I can
say is, I've got enough money to last me the rest of my life.
As long as I die in the next 20 minutes." - George Burns
I'm as broke as the ten commandments.
Money can't buy everything... but then again neither can no
money.
Money takes the sting out of being poor.
It doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor as long as you
have money.
We were sooooooo poor... we would eat beans for breakfast,
water for lunch, then we'd swell up for dinner.
Money can't buy happiness, but it can help you look for it
quicker, in a convertible.
____________
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 05:23:42 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: your'a peein stuff
But seriously, what would we do without those wacky Europeans?
Some examples:
advice from the dutch:
SPECIAL PROBLEMS?
Be honest with yourself: do you have a bad breath? Ask someone you trust, If
you can’t figure it out yourself. It could mean your hotshot letting you down ... Try
odol or lemon.
Bad teeth? Go to the dentist! Think about the day you will have
pearl-shining and healthy teeth one day because of it! Have you got a brace?
Your lover won’t mind as long as you keep them clean!
Do you smoke? That non-smoker you have been trying to get, will probably turn
you down. Think about what is more important: you two or the cigarette. If the other
one smokes, then do NOT start smoking because he or she does!!! YOU will be stuck being
broke and addicted if your lover leaves you. It is hard to quit.
Some boys and girls need dentures or artificial teeth long before others. Believe us:
he or she won’t notice!!
... Say the scouts ... Every day you run the risk of ‘falling’ into French kissing
with a girl or boy you could meet. If you do, then you GOT to be prepared! So make
sure that:
You brush your teeth every once in a while. YES by yourself!
You are not walking to school eating your peanut butter sandwich.
You have some fresh chewing gum with you.
Try and forget about the garlic suppers.
licking
Finally the time is there, you can start licking. WAIT-STOP! You can't do it just
like that! As you know we will first tell you what you should know. Although there
are separate columns for "him" and for "her", it should actually say "the licker"
and "the one who gets licked". Because girls also can lick!
What is it precisely, licking?
Liking is noting more than stroking your tongue over a pussy. But a real licker
knows that it is more than just licking, it is giving joy and pleasure! To be able
to lick the right way, you first need knowledge of the pussy. Maybe you think that
you are so great that knowledge isn't necessary. Believe me, it is important!
A pussy normally has two large lips and two small ones. Those names are no good
actually, because the smaller lips are often even bigger than the big lips, that
is normal.
The small lips come together at the upper part of the pussy and there they make
a hat together, under what you can find the clit. You can only see the clit when
you pull the pussy lips from each other (very carefully) and when you push them up
a little bit. There appears a little bump then. This bump is very sensitive and
some girls really can't take it when you touch that! But with most girls you will
be lucky if you lick them right there, or around it.
You can act like you are licking an ice cream, so with long strokes. It can also
be great if you are wiggling up and down over her clit. Or sucking or nibbling on
it very softly can be very horny. The licking of the shaft (her tunnel), is also
very horny, but the girl can't cum that easy when you lick her on that spot.
A good lover will change the attention for each body part now and then.
While you are licking (after a while of practicing you don't even have to hold
open the pussy lips anymore, but then you can feel where the clit is just like that)
you can use your other hand to slide a finger inside her pussy (softly). You can
also massage her anus or breasts. Coming is great, we all know that. But don't expect
an orgasm during this first time.
Unless you are together for a long time already, you got to get used to the
feeling of a tongue inside your pussy. The feelings are new, some girls are
ashamed a little bit. There can be a lot of things that can hold the girl from
coming. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT! Having sex is having fun! Do you
enjoy that tongue inside your pussy? Then let him do it. Even if you know that
you won't cum.
After a while you can tell him that is was great and that you might cum the next
time he does it. It doesn't say a thing about the fact whether the licker is doing
this right or not. Some girls just need time!
Licking during the RED' period is unsafe. That is because in blood can be the virus
that causes AIDS. During the rest of the month it is safe. Do you have a girlfriend
you can trust for 100%, or is she wearing a tampon, you can always lick her without
danger!
Masturbating (fingering/wanking) is the most safely form of sex. So if you
masturbate each other ... there is no risk whatsoever! You can touch each other
and do each other, but of course you shouldn't put your finger with his cum on it
in your pussy afterwards ... That is never safe!!
For him:
Do not squeeze her, but touch her with fine irony. Subtle touching turns most girls
on in no time. Girls’ bodies are naturally more sensitive than boys’. Also for boys
counts: Do not miss out on any part of her body or she will feel insecure. Let her
feel that you want every bit of her and that you are not averse to anything. The best
way to do this is to use both your lips, hands AND tongue. A tip: When you are using
your tongue just above the clit or just aside, she will be turned on after about 5
full minutes. Some girls even need 15 to 20 minutes, especially when they are
nervous! Now a VERY IMPORTANT tip: IF she tells you to stop doing what you are doing,
DO NOT feel ‘let down’. Stay enthusiastic and try something else, whatever you feel
like. If you stop and have a frustrated look on your face because she told you to
stop, she will be turned off as hell and it might be very hard to make up for it!
It is a learning process and NOTHING is ‘wrong’ and NOTHING is ‘right’.
Remember: every body is unique. Tell each other what you like beforehand,
as in ‘right before you start’.
For her:
Some boys like soft, and others like hard. Do whatever you feel like when you don’t
know him. If he likes it the other way, he will tell you. If you want to win him
to yourself, then spend time on every bit on his body, make him feel you accept him
and hug him well. A few tips: his balls are VERY sensitive so be careful with them!
Even if you touch them softly, he will feel it and might get hard very quickly.
Take for instance his balls with your left hand and ‘grab’ his dick with your right
and move it over his sensitive skin. Boys have a special place there too!!!
Want to know where? It is that tiny little tight string where the gland
stops and where the penis-stick ;-) begins. I found some pictures on which you
can see what I mean. You can wet your fingers and let them glide over it a couple
of times, softly. You can also touch his bottom and feel over it and let your
fingers go through in between his cheeks to stimulate his behind! To many guys this
feels even better when they are cumming. Quite a few things happen to the guy when he
is about to cum, for example, you cannot miss out on the expression on his face and
the way he tightens his muscles every now and then. The more the better! Make him go
crazy! Let him cum in your face, on your forehead, on your tits, wherever you please.
He will kick on that and get even hornier!
A Virgin...
A girl who still has that maidenhead (hymen) unharmed... That first time can be VERY
TIRING for both the boy and the girly virgin. It is not easy to have a very small
and tight hole stretched for a penis to get in!!! KNOW that! You will both need an
increadible amount of patience, because it might take half an hour before her
vagina finally lets your penis in! It might hurt her a lot. She might burst into
tears! It doesn't mean that she doesn't want it, but it means that she cannot bear
the pain! It is sort of like when you try to put a stick into your peehole! Deep
down ... Be careful: make it WET and WET and WET, again and again and again. After
every move ... Slowly and softly push your penis inside ... a little more and back
and a little more and back and ... Be nice to the girl!
Anal sex!!
Some grown-ups (men and women) can't live without it!
For sure it is not something to try out on a first date! But after a year or so,
when you trust each other completely and you know each other well, you will be
ready to go a little further. You anus is not really made for sex, so that is why
you have to be careful the first 12 times or so. After that, it gets easier and
easier ... They call it the Greek position ...
The anus is very sensitive,
it is full of blood vessels, and if the first time you push it too far, it may
bleed for a year, every single time you have a crap! So if you wanna avoid that:
be clean, use either spit or a lubricating gel. We have mentioned it in an earlier
part ... the right order to go ahead with it is A: spit anus and don't you dare
to miss out on every single edge of it (!!)and your penis, B: slowly push it in
for the first centimeter and get it out right away, C: repeat A, D: slowly push the
first 2 centimeters in and take it out quickly, E: repeat A,
F: repeat D
It gets boring even writing about it, but believe me, once you are IN it
(meaning the PROCESS!!!) then you are concentrating and you will not be bored!
The first time there is a big chance you might not even get half of your dick in
for the most. That means trying it again some other day! It does NOT mean you have
to keep on trying that same day! Be a little sweet for the girl, man! :) The girl
will tell you when she cannot take any more. Listen to her right that moment, and
STOP within a second. If you go on because it feels good, you might have spoilt it
for the rest of your relationship ...
Be prepared: she might not like the thought of being buggered. Then it is just a
one time try out. But, KNOW the difference between 'this' and 'her not being able
to take any more that one time', because if she tells you to stop abruptly, then
don't be pissed off with her. The girl is not to blame, neither are you. You have to
understand that the feeling of your penis in her anus is an unknown feeling ...
the combination of pain and pleasure....
________
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 00:07:49 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: FW: New breed of virus unleashed
This one's a doosey....
http://www.msnbc.com/news/333265.asp
____________
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 09:29:10 -0800
From: "nigel" <nigel@xxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: FW: New breed of virus unleashed
Heh, glad I run NT.
This virus is definitely real btw. All sales and accounting people at
Concentric use Win98 and OUTLOOK 98 as their mail clients that connects to an
exchange serve.
They all have a corperate email address book with a list of all 500
employees at Concentric. Someone sent the email with the virus to a few of the
employees who then opened the email. The virus then looked in the corperate
address book and sent email to the 500 employees and a chain reaction started
and when I got to my email I had over 850 messages in my inbox. Very nice. Gotta
love the hacker!
dre
___________
Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 11:37:19 -0800
From: "nigel" <nigel@xxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Mahir, Man, Myth, Legand
Check out the whole story... Mahir is the latest craze on the net.
He even has an MP3 dedicated to him. I want his children!
http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/primall/mahir/index.html
dre
____________
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 04:35:27 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: FW: THINGS THAT SOUND DIRTY AT THANKSGIVING, BUT AREN'T..
THINGS THAT SOUND DIRTY AT THANKSGIVING, BUT AREN'T..
"Talk about a huge breast!"
"Tying the legs together keeps the inside moist."
"It's Cool Whip time!"
"If I don't undo my pants, I'll burst!"
"Whew, that's one terrific spread!"
"I'm in the mood for a little dark meat."
"Are you ready for seconds yet?"
"It's a little dry, do you still want to eat it?"
"Just wait your turn, you'll get some!"
"Don't play with your meat."
"Just spread the legs open & stuff it in."
"Do you think you'll be able to handle all these people at once?"
"I didn't expect everyone to come at once!"
"You still have a little bit on your chin."
"Use a nice smooth stroke when you whip it."
"How long will it take after you stick it in?"
"You'll know it's ready when it pops up."
"Wow, I didn't think I could handle all of that!"
"How many are coming?"
"That's the biggest one I've ever seen!"
"Just lay back & take it easy...I'll do the rest."
"How long do I beat it before it's ready?"
_____________
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 13:05:11 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: the revolution will not be televised
are you ready?
some say that revolution is near
are you ready?
better get your mindswell!
-----------------
w w w . m i n d s w e l l . c o m
an online community of artists, writers, musicians, poets, filmmakers
mindswell needs your help!
with the holiday season now upon us
every man, woman and child can do their part
do you plan on buying cds? books? movies? toys? tools? electronics?
Follow the link to amazon.com
from the main page of www.mindswell.com <http://www.mindswell.com/>
and do your holiday shopping online!!
Save up to 50% on books, movies, music, toys, games, home improvement items,
and UP TO 15% OF EVERY DOLLAR YOU SPEND
WILL GO DIRECTLY TO SUPPORT MINDSWELL!!!!
Fiona Apple, Rage Against The Machine, Eurythmics, Santana, Charlotte
Will Smith, Savage Garden, The Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, Blink 182
for just $12.58 or less!!!!
(plus tax of course, gotta pay the gov’ment)
Buy a SKIL 5150 7-1/4 circular saw
for $41.99!!! that’s 52% off!!!!!
and for those of you that like to get gifts….
set up your amazon.com WISH LIST, so that your online relatives
can see exactly what you need this holiday season
on the day after thanksgiving
when everyone and their grandma
is trying to find a parking space at the mall
will you be one of the crowd
or will you be sitting snuggly in front of your computer
doing your shopping the easy way…
www.mindswell.com <http://www.mindswell.com/>
the revolution will not be televised
Want to do a REALLY good deed??
Send this message out to 10 of your favorite people
ain’t nothing like some good swellin’… mmmmmindswellin!!!
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 14:56:13 -0800
From: "nigel" <nigel@xxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: Re: the revolution will not be televised
Please say that the revolution will not be spammed either... :)
nootz
_________
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 16:28:11 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: RE: the revolution will not be televised
Amazing….first you complain that I am never gonna reach enough people with
Mindswell…..then you complain that I am e-marketing it to too many people…. I just
can’t win, can I?? Sure, I hate spam as much as the next person, but how else am
I going to get Mindswell out there? I posted fliers all over Sunset Blvd. in
Hollywood (photocopies of my headshot with www.mindswell.com <http://www.mindswell.com/>
- “the revolution will not be televised” stamped on my forehead), and while I got a
few hits out of it, I also ended up as the butt of a practical joke, seeing as someone
wrote a lovenote on the back of one of the fliers and put it on some guy’s doorstep.
I got an e-mail from the guy thanking me for my sweet note, and wanting to meet me!
#$%@$%^!
Within 3 hours of my sending out the mass e-mail, I have already
gotten two requests from poets asking to put their poetry on the site…. I only sent
it out to people I know, and e-dresses I snagged off of untrimmed fwds that people
have sent me…oh, and some e-groups that I am a member of…
if anyone has any ideas to help market the site, I’m all ears.
S
ps- ok, so I’m not ALL ears, I’ve still got arms, and a penis and stuff….but you get my point…
_______________
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 17:47:14 PST
From: "tash dent" <hera49@xxxxxxx.xxx>
Subject: RE: the revolution will not be televised
so you reached me!!!! What's your message????
________________
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 00:54:42 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: mmmmm, thanksgiving spam....free from mindswell!!
I’d like to start this message off with an apology: desperation and bad
judgment led me to an action that I had promised myself I would never do.
I spammed you. Somehow, in the heat of the moment, I convinced myself that it would
be a good idea….
I had just gotten the link to amazon.com working (it was stubbornly refusing to
cooperate for days) and I saw that THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING was looming on my
calendar, barreling down like a freight train. Dollar signs appeared in front of
my eyes. Should I just send a personal note out to friends and family on my personal
mailing list, asking for their support, and hoping that they would fwd the message to
all their cyberfriends….or should I raid the lists of fresh e-dresses on the untrimmed
fwds that I have been collecting? All those people… only two or three degrees of
separation away from me anyway, heck, they’re practically family!!! So I did it.
I sent out a capitalistic, uninvited, pathetic SPAM!! And for those of you who
were offended, please accept my humble apology.
The truth is, I believe in mindswell. I want it to be honest. I want to be proud
of it... But I’m broke. I am sleeping on my parents couch right now, after
spending the last three years crisscrossing the country looking for my home,
looking for myself… living the life of a starving artist, trying to figure out a
way to transmute into a successful artist. I believe that I can find a balance
with mindswell… not selling out to corporate interests, yet drawing enough money
to support myself and other artist, allowing us to focus full time on “the swellin’”…
If you are (or know) an artist, writer, musician, poet,
filmmaker, or other miscellaneously creative person….i hope that you will consider
becoming part of the mindswell family. I dream of a time, in the not too distant
future, when hundreds (even thousands!) of artists from around the world call
mindswell their home in cyberspace (provided, of course, that cyberspace survives y2k).
There is a lot of hate and suffering in the world…and many of those in power would
like to tighten the leash on artists…but without art, what is left?
Art can change the world. Art can save the world. It can only happen if we believe…..
S
ps- I will be sending out periodic newsletters, telling of mindswell’s
progress…if you would like to be removed from the mailing list, please let me know.
s
_______________
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 15:28:34 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: a response
Hiya,
Just thought that you guys would like to see one of the more
spirited responses that I have gotten… I will be posting this, along with the rest,
on the site soon…
s
-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Q. Servantez, D.V.M. [mailto:isuvet89@xxxxxx.xxxx
Sent: Saturday, November 27, 1999 5:57 AM
To: seth aronson
Subject: Re: [AGraphic-ClipartADay] mmmm, thanksgiving spam....free from mindswell!!!!
Seth:
Thanks for the email. I checked out your site and your artwork contained therein
. . . . I now fully understand why you are sleeping on your parent's couch,
your work sucks! Starving artist? An Ethiopian Picasso would make more money
selling art than you! You are pathetic!
Thank you for your time and your spam.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Art Critic
_____________
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 01:51:54 -0800
From: "seth aronson" <setharonson@xxxxxxxxx.xxxx
Subject: news
Hi all,
Just thought I’d share some news with you guys… Sharon and Carty
decided to lend me $3000. I will be moving to Hollywood in the next few weeks.
Onwards and upwards. Damn the torpedoes. Word up!
s