Neural Gourmet Archives | Feed Your Brain
Neural Gourmet Archives | Feed Your BrainWhen I first heard that Democratic Candidate Dennis Kucinich wanted GOP Candidate Ron Paul as his running mate, I expected an out-of-context quote to be given undue prominence. However this is not the case. Cleveland Plain Dealer has recent audio of Kucinich clearly expressing his wish to an audience of seventy people for Ron Paul to be his running mate.
This may not be of great consequence, since either candidate has little chance of winning. But it does indicate a severe error of judgement on the part of Kucinich. Ron Paul is one of the most socially conservative members of Congress, as well as a darling of the far-right, from conspiracy theory entrepreneur Alex Jones to the white supremacist Stormfront website.
Kucinich's like of the "good doctor" is emblematic of a wider misinformed attitude on the left. Ron Paul has been lauded by many on the US left as the "good Republican" who is anti-war and anti-PATRIOT Act. These two platform positions mask a frightening agenda of far-right lunacy, as mentioned in a June 2007 article at Daily Kos.
This story also illustrates that Dennis Kucinich may be not what he is cracked-up to be. Kucinich's infatuation with new age woo, and pseudoscientific nonsense like "chemtrails" make it difficult for a sceptic to take him seriously as as an administrator or a legislator. It can be argued that Ron Paul is the woo "yang" is Kucinich's "yin", given Ron Paul's own wooish reputation for global warming denial and creationism.
Loose Change, a 9/11 conspiracy theory film made by Dylan Avery and Jason Bermas has been through three incarnations already: the first edition, second edition, an unfinished final cut, before the release of their proclaimed 'Final Cut.'
The film through its various incarnations has made its name through accusing the US Government of orchestrating the 9/11 attacks itself via an "inside job." The information the film creators used to support its arguments included utilising sources from the Far-Right American Free Press, as well as heavy-use of quote-mining and confirmation bias.
Much of the worst-offending disinformation has been dropped in the process, and the Loose Change film has backed away from many of its earlier more outlandish claims (but not all). Loose Change has quietly dropped much of the information sourced from anti-Semitic organisations, due to an outcry by sceptics groups and critics.
Loose Change and its creators are not entirely clear of the links with hate groups. Jason Bermas is promoting LCFC at the "2007 Texas Justice, Peace, and Freedom Conference" (16-18 Nov) run by the 'Freedom Law School' which is anti-tax far-right group with links to anti-Semitic organisations. The 'Freedom Law School' is on the ADL's and Southern Poverty Law Center's watchlist. The conference is sponsored by the fascist American Free Press. The 'Freedom Law School' is supporting the Ron Paul campaign, as are other right-wing and far-right organisations.read more »
The relative success of Trutherism has peaked and is now on the decline. Its genesis lies in right-wing populist conspiracism that was repackaged post-9/11 to appeal to left-of-centre consumers who felt traumatised and disenfranchised as a result of GOP dominance of US politics to 2006. An explanation of 9/11 as a plot masterminded by Bush or his associates appealed to some on the left, as another example of the illegitimacy of the Bush Administration and an example of their evil.
One of the greatest blows to the Troof Movement was when the Democratic Party took Congress in the 2006 Mid-terms. It destroyed the notion of "BushCo" as an all-powerful clique that controlled space-time, controlled all media, and could steal any elections it wanted. As Katrina, Iraq, and Afghanistan have unfolded, the capability of the Bush Administration to orchestrate the greatest deception of all time has been severely dented.
Since 2006, Trooferism is returning to the right-wing populism from which it was originally-derived. Trooferism's love affair with Ron Paul(1) is rather indicative of this, as well as Trooferism's bolder assertions that the Democratic Party was also "in on it". On the progressive messageboard DemocraticUnderground, resident Troofers are becoming bolder in smearing leading Democrats such as Bill Clinton and John Kerry.read more »
The Carnival of Feminists is held on the first and third Wednesday of every month, aiming to showcase great feminist posts from the blogosphere. The Carnival particularly welcomes posts which celebrate women's lives and female contributions to society across history to the present day. Founded by Natalie Bennett a Green Party (England & Wales) activist in Britain, the blog carnival is already upto No.39 which will be held at Laurelin in the Rain on June 6.
It is worth a read if you're like me a feminist, and/or if you are interested in reading about contemporary feminism thought at the grass roots. If you're producing blog posts of your own which are relevant to the experiences of women in a patriarchal society then please get your submissions in and get the word out about your blog!
By now you may have heard that Dennis Kucinich will investigate a narrow element of discrepencies in the 9/11 Report. Many 9/11 Truthiness seekers are celebrating excitedly about this but I think this will come back and hit them in the face.read more »
Is it possible that we are seeing the start of a new realignment of American politics since Nixon's Southern Strategy and the rise of the New Left, as well as an end to a Republican attempt of social engineering?
It took the events of September 11 2001 to allow the philosophy of neo-conservatism to come to the unopposed forefront in the Republican Party. The philosophy dictated that the financial and military apparatus of the U.S. nation-state be aimed towards eliminating perceived foreign threats to American interests, and to raise U.S. power and prestige. However, there was indeed an interesting domestic agenda to go along with it. The modern conservative economic philosophy of 'small government' and fiscal balance had long been in decline but the neoconservative-dominated Republican Party gave it the last shove in the back off the GOP wagon. read more »
There’s a popular game that has been sweeping the internets over these past five years. The object of the game is to achieve the highest number of points as possible whilst discussing the events surrounding the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on 11th September 2001. The winner in any given debate wins a prize and that prize is the self-satisfaction you feel knowing that you’re not in on the conspiracy that 99% of the world is in on. Remember you’re never wrong and if you can’t twist events to fit your viewpoint then you’re a “shill for bushco.”read more »
All my made-up predictions this time are related to government and the nation state, and I guarantee that they are up to 100% true.
2007: (Society, U.S.A.) President Bush speaking to a PTA group announces his plans to strip away US citizenship from suspected "pedagogiphiles."
...and more stuff inside!read more »
All my made-up predictions this time are science-related and I guarantee that they are up to 100% true.
2008: (Medicine, U.S.A.) A brain scan of Tom Cruise is leaked to the press showing that he has a severely-diminished frontal lobe. Cruise threatened to sue the press citing "Thetans are evil and are distorting reality to make it seem that I am not sane."
...and other interesting predictions. read more »
I grazed my knee on a sharp cupboard door. From the pattern of the wound, I saw into the future and here are my predictions.
2014: (Economics, U.S.A.) The Federal Reserve reports that the U.S. dollar had been ‘misplaced, perhaps stolen.’ The Mexican Peso is immediately issued as an emergency back-up currency.
...and many more interestingly made-up predictions. read more »
Firstly I need to emphasise my credentials as a progressive, I hate the Right too. However fearing the extremism of the right is not enough, we need a purge of the Left because there is a 5th Column in our midst, namely Pastafarian extremists. For although people are mostly good, extremists exist everywhere, including in the FSM movement.read more »
My dog barfed today. I looked at the mess on the floor, examining the patterns; and it is from this method that I make my predictions today.
2035: (Entertainment, Cuba) The Republic of Cuba is purchased by GE NewsCorp (US$412bn) to stage a massive multiplayer reality television show.
...and other fascinating made-up stuff.read more »
2010: (Culture war, U.S.A.) The Discovery Institute release a study linking a rise of homosexuality in domestic cats with the rise of PBS viewing figures. Leading scientists dispute the methodologies used in the study.
…and other fascinating made-up predictions about the future.read more »
2009: (Constitutional affairs, U.S.A.) In an attempt by Congress to the service the U.S.’ public sector debt, the U.S. Supreme Court becomes the “U.S. Supreme Court, brought to you by Walmart. Walmart – always low prices!”
…and other fascinating made-up predictions about the future.read more »
2015: (Society in conflict, Britain) The Daily Mail is sued by the Pirate Anti-Defamation League for allegedly whipping up anti-pirate sentiment.
...and other fascinating made-up predictions about the future.read more »
There are many things that annoy me about what theists say about atheists. The one thing that irritates me the most is the suggestion that atheists lack morals and are ethically-inferior to their theistic counterparts. read more »
This morning I ate some flapjack. I looked at the pattern of the oats and it looked vaguely like a guy with a beard, surely it was Jesus. I knew this was going to be special day indeed.read more »
I originally posted this on another forum in reply to a CT, who insinuated that Israel is and was the dominant partner in US-Israeli relations.
The very nature of the patriarchal nation state requires that there be diplomacy, international agreements and relations to conflict. The amount of which one nation can influence and affect change in the policies of another country are extremely varied, for better or for worse.read more »
