"Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid, it is true that most stupid people are conservative."
Courtesy of Sentado Frente al Mundo
Brilliant. Truer words were never spoken, Mr. Mill.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
QUOTE OF THE DAY: John Stuart Mill
I've seen this quote before, but coming across it again I just had to post it on my blog. It's by the 19th-century British philosopher and economist, John Stuart Mill:
"
Friday, January 25, 2013
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Cruising Cheetah
I came across this excellent photo today, which shows a cheetah riding atop the roof of a moving jeep in the Maasai Mara in Kenya.
According to the blurb in The Telegraph, "[Cheetahs] climb the highest point available, usually a termite mound, to spot their prey, but this clever cheetah was so determined to find food for her cubs that she thought nothing of jumping onto a moving Land Cruiser."
Photo taken by David Lloyd and courtesy of The Telegraph and Shakesville
Reminds me of a few felines that happen to reside in my home...
Simply stunning.
According to the blurb in The Telegraph, "[Cheetahs] climb the highest point available, usually a termite mound, to spot their prey, but this clever cheetah was so determined to find food for her cubs that she thought nothing of jumping onto a moving Land Cruiser."
Photo taken by David Lloyd and courtesy of The Telegraph and Shakesville
Reminds me of a few felines that happen to reside in my home...
Simply stunning.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Carl Sagan
The world-renowned and charismatic astronomer and writer Carl Sagan once said the following:
It is the very best of a pithy statement - at once amusing, even simple, yet ultimately profound.
It is quintessential Sagan.
Courtesy of The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
"If you wish to make an apple pie truly from scratch, you must first invent the universe."
It is the very best of a pithy statement - at once amusing, even simple, yet ultimately profound.
It is quintessential Sagan.
Courtesy of The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
IT SAYS IT ALL: Love Letter from Israel
In the week in which Israel held parliamentary elections and the rightwing warmonger Benjamin Netanyahu was predictably the victor, we need to all be reminded about just how utterly Zionist, expansionist and dangerous Israel has become over the years - and more so now than ever.
Below is a telling swipe at a convenient Zionist ploy, as done by my 2012 Cartoonist of the Year, Carlos Latuff:
Courtesy of Carlos Latuff at Latuff Cartoons
It really does say it all.
Below is a telling swipe at a convenient Zionist ploy, as done by my 2012 Cartoonist of the Year, Carlos Latuff:
Courtesy of Carlos Latuff at Latuff Cartoons
It really does say it all.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
A WORD FOR 2013: Cyberazzi
Having just ranted in my last post about a phrase too often hacked by too many people, I now came across a very interesting if chilling word being discussed at the excellent CorpWatch:
A play on the words 'cyber' and 'paparazzi,' this portmanteau will no doubt become an increasing part of our lexicon as more and more people discover just how very little privacy one has online these days.
And all the paparazzi do is make the lives of celebrities and the rich and famous a living hell with their constant prying and clicking away. To be honest, their work, vacuous as it is, can even be fun for the rest of us. But the work of the cyberazzi is anything but mindless pop culture in overdrive, snapping away at useless princes caught naked and ditzy reality starlets bonking on yachts.
It is far more sinister than that.
'Data mining' is the bland, innocuous-sounding term that gives these cyberazzi their blanket cover so that they can pry ever more into our tastes, purchases, opinions and very lives using software and cutting edge spy technology that grows in sophistication at a seemingly exponential rate.
And all of it at our expense.
Courtesy of Bright Base
What is their purpose? Why must so much of our cyber lives be up for grabs? To whose benefit? And why?
Forget Big Brother - this is Big Daddy. And he's the suspicious, devious and soulless type. Certainly not to be trusted or loved.
Do you get my point?
CYBERAZZI
A play on the words 'cyber' and 'paparazzi,' this portmanteau will no doubt become an increasing part of our lexicon as more and more people discover just how very little privacy one has online these days.
And all the paparazzi do is make the lives of celebrities and the rich and famous a living hell with their constant prying and clicking away. To be honest, their work, vacuous as it is, can even be fun for the rest of us. But the work of the cyberazzi is anything but mindless pop culture in overdrive, snapping away at useless princes caught naked and ditzy reality starlets bonking on yachts.
It is far more sinister than that.
'Data mining' is the bland, innocuous-sounding term that gives these cyberazzi their blanket cover so that they can pry ever more into our tastes, purchases, opinions and very lives using software and cutting edge spy technology that grows in sophistication at a seemingly exponential rate.
And all of it at our expense.
Courtesy of Bright Base
What is their purpose? Why must so much of our cyber lives be up for grabs? To whose benefit? And why?
Forget Big Brother - this is Big Daddy. And he's the suspicious, devious and soulless type. Certainly not to be trusted or loved.
Do you get my point?
TINAPA: "Coup de Gras"
There are misused words that drive me absolutely dilly; hence my introduction of 'TINAWA' (That Is Not A Word Asshole!) last year. One gets assaulted so often by them that one is almost numbed to it, whether they come flying out from e-mails, on the Web, or (my absolute pet peeve) even in supposedly reputable newspapers and TV stations (just unacceptable!).
But there are also phrases that also get mangled to an inch of their poor lives; hence my need to introduce 'TINAPA' (That Is Not A Phrase Asshole!).
I know - the use of the word 'asshole' is very déclassé of me, but I just can't help it, such is the impact on me when the English language is needlessly trashed - again and again and again...(and why the hell is Blogger underlining the word 'déclassé' as if it were incorrect?! Count to 10, Vittorio...)
My first TINAPA goes to one that crops up all over the place, and is one of my pet peeves - the use of a foreign phrase as if trying to be clever or sophisticated. I really hate those, because when a foreign phrase is ill-used all the person lands up sounding like is a clueless twat and rube.
Enter the phrase 'coup de gras'...used here in South Africa with wild, reckless abandon - especially reckless abandon, because there's no such phrase.
Which basically translates from the French into 'a stroke or blow of fat' - huh? Exactly.
It's coup de grâce, my little ones at sea, meaning a death blow or a decisive or finishing blow or flourish.
I think some people actually know how the phrase is spelled, yet assume that every last syllable in every single word in the French language must somehow always be silent...those pesky French and their inability to pronounce a word in its entirety! Which is how grâce mutates into gras, I guess...
This from the mouths of the countless proles that shuffle all around me I can (just barely) excuse, but from journalists, politicians and other people who should know better...it's simply inexcusable.
I know how difficult it is for some users of an Anglo-Saxon language to reconcile themselves with the fact that French was once the lingua franca of the civilized world, but that's what has made English such a rich language, grabbing words from all over the globe, bless it's poaching heart. But it's poaching we're talking about, not hacking.
"Coup de gras" be gone!
But there are also phrases that also get mangled to an inch of their poor lives; hence my need to introduce 'TINAPA' (That Is Not A Phrase Asshole!).
I know - the use of the word 'asshole' is very déclassé of me, but I just can't help it, such is the impact on me when the English language is needlessly trashed - again and again and again...(and why the hell is Blogger underlining the word 'déclassé' as if it were incorrect?! Count to 10, Vittorio...)
My first TINAPA goes to one that crops up all over the place, and is one of my pet peeves - the use of a foreign phrase as if trying to be clever or sophisticated. I really hate those, because when a foreign phrase is ill-used all the person lands up sounding like is a clueless twat and rube.
Enter the phrase 'coup de gras'...used here in South Africa with wild, reckless abandon - especially reckless abandon, because there's no such phrase.
Which basically translates from the French into 'a stroke or blow of fat' - huh? Exactly.
It's coup de grâce, my little ones at sea, meaning a death blow or a decisive or finishing blow or flourish.
I think some people actually know how the phrase is spelled, yet assume that every last syllable in every single word in the French language must somehow always be silent...those pesky French and their inability to pronounce a word in its entirety! Which is how grâce mutates into gras, I guess...
This from the mouths of the countless proles that shuffle all around me I can (just barely) excuse, but from journalists, politicians and other people who should know better...it's simply inexcusable.
I know how difficult it is for some users of an Anglo-Saxon language to reconcile themselves with the fact that French was once the lingua franca of the civilized world, but that's what has made English such a rich language, grabbing words from all over the globe, bless it's poaching heart. But it's poaching we're talking about, not hacking.
"Coup de gras" be gone!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
RANT: Barmy Bali Drug Rot
56-year-old British grandmother Lindsay June Sandiford was today sentenced to death in Bali for trying to smuggle $2.5-million worth of cocaine into the Indonesian island.
Yes, sentenced to death.
Courtesy of 3 News, New Zealand
She claims that she did it because she was forced to do so when a drug gang threatened to harm her family if she did not, a not altogether unfeasible story, even if difficult to prove. But even the prosecution was seeking just 15 years imprisonment for her smuggling.
Instead, she may face death by firing squad.
This in a country where you don't get the death penalty for raping a woman or even torturing a woman or child. But bring drugs onto a (reportedly) drug-saturated island like Bali and - wham! - you could die for that.
It has been claimed that she is hardly a drug kingpin and, according to the Associated Press, "she has no money to pay for a lawyer, for the travel costs of defense witnesses or even for essentials like food and water."
I find all of this unacceptable. Death for drug smuggling? It's ludicrous, even if Mrs. Sandiford should have known better.
And I do NOT accept the argument that a country has the right to pass the laws it wishes. Not when those laws are as barbaric and medieval as condemning someone to death for what is clearly small-time smuggling. Yes, Indonesia - barbaric. And that goes for Singapore, Thailand, and all the other Asian nations who espouse these outrageous drug laws like some sick badge of honour.
The 'war' on the international trade in drugs is flawed to the hilt. Whilst there is no denying that the international drug trade has spawned a disgusting legacy of international gangsterism ruled by some of the most vicious and vile thugs on the planet, there is also no arguing that the 'war' to fight this drug scourge is often hypocritical, futile and even downright ludicrous at times.
I feel genuinely appalled by this case. Not because I believe drug smuggling should go unpunished or because I think Mrs. Sandiford should walk free with a mere slap on the hand, but because so outrageously penurous a penalty such as death is so uncommensurate with the act and so utterly morally warped as to make a mockery out of any sense of civilization.
Sentences such as these are the very epitome of the uncivilized.
I do not accept unjust, unduly harsh law of any kind. And I never will.
Do you get my point?
Yes, sentenced to death.
Courtesy of 3 News, New Zealand
She claims that she did it because she was forced to do so when a drug gang threatened to harm her family if she did not, a not altogether unfeasible story, even if difficult to prove. But even the prosecution was seeking just 15 years imprisonment for her smuggling.
Instead, she may face death by firing squad.
This in a country where you don't get the death penalty for raping a woman or even torturing a woman or child. But bring drugs onto a (reportedly) drug-saturated island like Bali and - wham! - you could die for that.
It has been claimed that she is hardly a drug kingpin and, according to the Associated Press, "she has no money to pay for a lawyer, for the travel costs of defense witnesses or even for essentials like food and water."
I find all of this unacceptable. Death for drug smuggling? It's ludicrous, even if Mrs. Sandiford should have known better.
And I do NOT accept the argument that a country has the right to pass the laws it wishes. Not when those laws are as barbaric and medieval as condemning someone to death for what is clearly small-time smuggling. Yes, Indonesia - barbaric. And that goes for Singapore, Thailand, and all the other Asian nations who espouse these outrageous drug laws like some sick badge of honour.
The 'war' on the international trade in drugs is flawed to the hilt. Whilst there is no denying that the international drug trade has spawned a disgusting legacy of international gangsterism ruled by some of the most vicious and vile thugs on the planet, there is also no arguing that the 'war' to fight this drug scourge is often hypocritical, futile and even downright ludicrous at times.
I feel genuinely appalled by this case. Not because I believe drug smuggling should go unpunished or because I think Mrs. Sandiford should walk free with a mere slap on the hand, but because so outrageously penurous a penalty such as death is so uncommensurate with the act and so utterly morally warped as to make a mockery out of any sense of civilization.
Sentences such as these are the very epitome of the uncivilized.
I do not accept unjust, unduly harsh law of any kind. And I never will.
Do you get my point?
RAVE: Lancing the Armstrong Myths
I came across an excellent article today on Yahoo! Sports' ThePostGame. Written by Lisa Hoehn of the Active Times, and entitled "Lance Armstrong Myths Debunked," it provides very believable evidence of just how many myths have surrounded the entire Lance Armstrong doping scandal.
Courtesy of The Observer
Many of these myths were created and brandished by Armstrong and his handlers, of course.
The five myths debunked included:
I wish upon Lance Armstrong an endless tide of legal writs, financial ruin and ever diminishing returns on his so-called 'legacy' and undeserved celebrity. He deserves nothing less.
Do you get my point?
Courtesy of The Observer
Many of these myths were created and brandished by Armstrong and his handlers, of course.
The five myths debunked included:
- Armstrong took up to 600 drug tests. False. He barely took over 200
- And he passed all his drug tests. False. He failed at least two - read the article for more
- Drug tests would have found PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) in his body. False. And it's not that difficult to pass one, so it appears
- Lance was still a winner amongst a field where everyone was doing it anyway. False. There were cyclists speaking out against all the doping. And is that really the point anyway?!
- He founded and is the heartbeat of Livestrong, a basically terrific charity for cancer patients and cancer research. Mostly false. Especially when one reads what journalist Bill Gifford has to say (read here) about the organisation and its (in)famous poster boy. And Livestrong, for all its good, hasn't donated to cancer research in years.
Boy, how all the you-know-what is flooding and stinking up all over the place since he was forced to show some contrition and confess all to Oprah Winfrey this past week. He basically had no choice, of course, and those endorsements were hemorrhaging big time.
Never mind the mounting lawsuits against ol' Lance - every single one of them very deserved and a classic case of poetic justice.
Never mind the mounting lawsuits against ol' Lance - every single one of them very deserved and a classic case of poetic justice.
I have no patience or a shred of sympathy for Lance Armstrong. He's a sporting fraudster and a moral charlatan, who smugly rode the high waves of celebrity and mega endorsements for many years, only to come crashing down on the rocky shores of his monumental ego and neverending lies.
He knowingly destroyed careers and played the moral high ground, even though he was the biggest liar and cheat of all. He is nothing more than a contemptible asshole.
I wish upon Lance Armstrong an endless tide of legal writs, financial ruin and ever diminishing returns on his so-called 'legacy' and undeserved celebrity. He deserves nothing less.
Do you get my point?
MY SAYING FOR 2013...
I decided at the beginning of this year that my go-to phrase for 2013 will be this:
Some may say that this is the cop-out statement, that it's all too fatalistic. For me it offers comfort in the now and reminds me that there is always another tomorrow...and that can be precious on certain days.
Other sayings will have other meanings for me in the future, but for now this is the one that resonates with me going forward into 2013...
Friday, January 4, 2013
IT SAYS IT ALL: Greece and the Blasted Euro
During my images research today for my post on my wishlist for 2013 I came across this quite revealing and quite brilliant photo of graffiti in Athens:
Courtesy of Bloomberg
The euro is indeed nothing less than a bomb threatening to blow up the Greek economy, never mind its society and very dignity as a nation.
Exit the euro in 2013 and save your nation, Greece!
It really does say it all.
Courtesy of Bloomberg
The euro is indeed nothing less than a bomb threatening to blow up the Greek economy, never mind its society and very dignity as a nation.
Exit the euro in 2013 and save your nation, Greece!
It really does say it all.
PREVIEW: A Wishlist for 2013
Here are some of my biggest wishes (and causes) for 2013...
NO WAR WITH IRAN:
Courtesy of Value Walk
Is it even possible? The world cannot afford it...
NO WAR WITH SYRIA:
Courtesy of World News Curator
This is even more likely than war with Iran, but, well...one can hope...
ANOTHER REVOLUTION IN EGYPT:
Courtesy of Political Humor
This time to overthrow the Islamic fundamentalist thugs that have usurped power.
A TRULY DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION IN BAHRAIN:
Courtesy of Kentoh as appeared in Dreamstime
A real Arab Spring success - to make up for the bitter disappointments of Egypt, etc.
GREECE TO EXIT THE EURO:
Courtesy of The Telegraph, UK
They must do it - to save their country and dignity. Portugal too would be great.
FREE TIBET:
Courtesy of alienangels, Germany
Will this country ever be free? Or is the world too scared of the mighty China?
SILVER TO GO THROUGH THE ROOF:
Courtesy of Bloomberg
Enough with worthless paper money and manipulation by JP Morgan et al - hi ho, silver!
THE COLLAPSE OF MAJOR BANKS:
Courtesy of TTC News
A few big bank collapses to expose the casino fraud that is international banking.
BRADLEY MANNING TO BE FREE:
Courtesy of RussBLib
JULIAN ASSANGE TO BE FREE:
Courtesy of The Telegraph, UK
To be really free.
PALESTINE TO BE (MORE) FREE:
Courtesy of Glittersnipe
To build on the (limited) UN recognition Palestine received in 2012 - it's a start...
EUROPE TO REGAIN ITS SECULAR GLORY:
Courtesy of England Today
It is NOT fascist or rightwing to want to defend a secular, democratic and free Europe!
WIKILEAKS TO BOUNCE BACK:
Courtesy of Podopolog
They need to bounce back in 2013. We need them to bounce back.
RHINOS TO THE FORE:
Courtesy of African Wildlife Foundation
May the fight to save the magnificent rhino grow from strength to strength.
AND DON'T FORGET THE WHALE AND THE...:
Courtesy of National Geographic
More success in saving the whales...and the dolphins and every other maligned species...
CLIMATE CHANGE REALITY CHECK?:
Courtesy of Political Humor
2013: the turnaround year for global action on climate change? Will this ever happen?
MORE MAGIC FROM RUSSIA TODAY:
RT - the only 24-hour satellite news channel worth watching. Keep it up, RT!
MORE MAGIC FROM MAX AND STACY:
Courtesy of Max Keiser
Simply the best couple (and intellectual Bonnie and Clyde) on TV.
FERRARI TO BE F1 SUPREMOS:
Courtesy of Glitterazi
To really, really stick it to the damn Pink Cows and McCheats. And all the others.
A FERRARI WORLD CHAMPION:
Courtesy of Miami City Social
Felipe Massa or Fernando Alonso - either one will do. ;-)
MY OWN DREAMS TO COME TRUE:
Photo of me courtesy of Mandy Steenkamp
And I have quite a few of those! Here's to 2013 - I always did like the number 13...
NO WAR WITH IRAN:
Courtesy of Value Walk
Is it even possible? The world cannot afford it...
NO WAR WITH SYRIA:
Courtesy of World News Curator
This is even more likely than war with Iran, but, well...one can hope...
ANOTHER REVOLUTION IN EGYPT:
Courtesy of Political Humor
This time to overthrow the Islamic fundamentalist thugs that have usurped power.
A TRULY DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION IN BAHRAIN:
Courtesy of Kentoh as appeared in Dreamstime
A real Arab Spring success - to make up for the bitter disappointments of Egypt, etc.
GREECE TO EXIT THE EURO:
Courtesy of The Telegraph, UK
They must do it - to save their country and dignity. Portugal too would be great.
FREE TIBET:
Courtesy of alienangels, Germany
Will this country ever be free? Or is the world too scared of the mighty China?
SILVER TO GO THROUGH THE ROOF:
Courtesy of Bloomberg
Enough with worthless paper money and manipulation by JP Morgan et al - hi ho, silver!
THE COLLAPSE OF MAJOR BANKS:
Courtesy of TTC News
A few big bank collapses to expose the casino fraud that is international banking.
BRADLEY MANNING TO BE FREE:
Courtesy of RussBLib
JULIAN ASSANGE TO BE FREE:
Courtesy of The Telegraph, UK
To be really free.
PALESTINE TO BE (MORE) FREE:
Courtesy of Glittersnipe
To build on the (limited) UN recognition Palestine received in 2012 - it's a start...
EUROPE TO REGAIN ITS SECULAR GLORY:
Courtesy of England Today
It is NOT fascist or rightwing to want to defend a secular, democratic and free Europe!
WIKILEAKS TO BOUNCE BACK:
Courtesy of Podopolog
They need to bounce back in 2013. We need them to bounce back.
RHINOS TO THE FORE:
Courtesy of African Wildlife Foundation
May the fight to save the magnificent rhino grow from strength to strength.
AND DON'T FORGET THE WHALE AND THE...:
Courtesy of National Geographic
More success in saving the whales...and the dolphins and every other maligned species...
CLIMATE CHANGE REALITY CHECK?:
Courtesy of Political Humor
2013: the turnaround year for global action on climate change? Will this ever happen?
MORE MAGIC FROM RUSSIA TODAY:
RT - the only 24-hour satellite news channel worth watching. Keep it up, RT!
MORE MAGIC FROM MAX AND STACY:
Courtesy of Max Keiser
Simply the best couple (and intellectual Bonnie and Clyde) on TV.
FERRARI TO BE F1 SUPREMOS:
Courtesy of Glitterazi
To really, really stick it to the damn Pink Cows and McCheats. And all the others.
A FERRARI WORLD CHAMPION:
Courtesy of Miami City Social
Felipe Massa or Fernando Alonso - either one will do. ;-)
MY OWN DREAMS TO COME TRUE:
And I have quite a few of those! Here's to 2013 - I always did like the number 13...
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