MB Civic » Spirituality http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.- George Orwell Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:02:03 +0000 en hourly 1 Adbusters: Spiritual Insurrection, the Ultimate Culture Jam http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2012/01/31/adbusters-spiritual-insurrection-the-ultimate-culture-jam/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2012/01/31/adbusters-spiritual-insurrection-the-ultimate-culture-jam/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:35:44 +0000 Mike Blaxill http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=64402 We awoke one morning to the dark realization that humanity is being dragged into a black hole of ecological, financial and spiritual catastrophe … that our democracy has been seized by a corporatocracy … that every day two hundred species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become forever extinct … that a deluge of advertising is sleepwalking our civilization to the brink of insanity … and that unless we fight back in the most visceral and creative way possible all will be lost.

And yet, what sets our struggle apart in 2012 is that we are not fighting to save a distant future. We are not trying to prevent some terrible event that is still to come. This is not about our unborn grandchildren. Instead, many of us sense that the threshold has already been crossed; the tipping point has already happened and what we are fighting for is our present. We are living in that tragic moment of eerie stillness where the fatal damage has been done, widening cracks can be seen, yet the edifice still stands and business as usual continues … but for how much longer?

Our days may be shadowed by this dark realization, but there is reason to be deeply optimistic for “where danger is, grows the saving power also.” Never before has the tantalizing possibility of a Global Spring, a worldwide people’s insurgency for democracy, seemed as close. For perhaps the first time in human history, we just might be on the edge of an everywhere-at-once revolution against the financial fraudsters, corporate lackeys and the ideology of consumerism that has brought the Earth to the precipice of collapse.

In this, the era of the total and transcendent indignato swarm, we look to each other, not to the masters above, to find out what it will take to pull off the ultimate culture jam: spiritual insurrection.

for the wild,
Culture Jammers HQ - Adbusters ]]>

We awoke one morning to the dark realization that humanity is being dragged into a black hole of ecological, financial and spiritual catastrophe … that our democracy has been seized by a corporatocracy … that every day two hundred species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become forever extinct … that a deluge of advertising is sleepwalking our civilization to the brink of insanity … and that unless we fight back in the most visceral and creative way possible all will be lost.

And yet, what sets our struggle apart in 2012 is that we are not fighting to save a distant future. We are not trying to prevent some terrible event that is still to come. This is not about our unborn grandchildren. Instead, many of us sense that the threshold has already been crossed; the tipping point has already happened and what we are fighting for is our present. We are living in that tragic moment of eerie stillness where the fatal damage has been done, widening cracks can be seen, yet the edifice still stands and business as usual continues … but for how much longer?

Our days may be shadowed by this dark realization, but there is reason to be deeply optimistic for “where danger is, grows the saving power also.” Never before has the tantalizing possibility of a Global Spring, a worldwide people’s insurgency for democracy, seemed as close. For perhaps the first time in human history, we just might be on the edge of an everywhere-at-once revolution against the financial fraudsters, corporate lackeys and the ideology of consumerism that has brought the Earth to the precipice of collapse.

In this, the era of the total and transcendent indignato swarm, we look to each other, not to the masters above, to find out what it will take to pull off the ultimate culture jam: spiritual insurrection.

for the wild,
Culture Jammers HQ

- Adbusters

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2012/01/31/adbusters-spiritual-insurrection-the-ultimate-culture-jam/feed/ 2 Truthdig – Where Were You When They Crucified My Lord? – Chris Hedges http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/12/07/truthdig-where-were-you-when-they-crucified-my-lord-chris-hedges/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/12/07/truthdig-where-were-you-when-they-crucified-my-lord-chris-hedges/#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:05:44 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=62929 http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/where_were_you_when_they_crucified_my_movement_20111205/

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/12/07/truthdig-where-were-you-when-they-crucified-my-lord-chris-hedges/feed/ 0 Global Crises are Spiritual: A Time for Awakening | Common Dreams http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/11/02/global-crises-are-spiritual-a-time-for-awakening-common-dreams/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/11/02/global-crises-are-spiritual-a-time-for-awakening-common-dreams/#comments Thu, 03 Nov 2011 00:01:22 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=62013 http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/11/01-8?print

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/11/02/global-crises-are-spiritual-a-time-for-awakening-common-dreams/feed/ 0 Asia Zeitgeist Satire in the UK Financial Districts http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/10/17/asia-zeitgeist-satire-in-the-uk-financial-districts/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/10/17/asia-zeitgeist-satire-in-the-uk-financial-districts/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:36:41 +0000 Alexander Harper http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=61572 This is very funny. I am not sure that the police in the US would be so forebearing as the Brits.

Al B

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/10/17/asia-zeitgeist-satire-in-the-uk-financial-districts/feed/ 0 Glenn Greenwald: Steve Jobs and Drug Policy http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/10/09/glenn-greenwald-steve-jobs-and-drug-policy/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/10/09/glenn-greenwald-steve-jobs-and-drug-policy/#comments Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:37:17 +0000 Mike Blaxill http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=61295 Glenn ..
from the NYT obituary of Jobs: "[Jobs said] that taking LSD was one of the two or three most important things he had done in his life" .. Unlike many people who have enjoyed success, Jobs is not saying that he was able to succeed despite his illegal drug use; he’s saying his success is in part — in substantial part — because of those illegal drugs (he added that Bill Gates would “be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once”). These quotes (first published by a New York Times reporter) have been around for some time but have been only rarely discussed in the recent hagiographies of Jobs: a notable omission given that he himself praised those experiences as an integral part of his identity and one of the most important things he ever did .. America’s harsh prohibitionist drug policies are grounded in the premise that the prohibited substances have little or no redeeming value and cannot be used without life-destroying consequences. Yet the evidence of its falsity is undeniable. Here is one of the most admired men in America, its greatest contemporary industrialist, hailing one of the most scorned of these substances as integral to his success and intellectual and personal growth
.. read more]]> Glenn ..

from the NYT obituary of Jobs: “[Jobs said] that taking LSD was one of the two or three most important things he had done in his life” .. Unlike many people who have enjoyed success, Jobs is not saying that he was able to succeed despite his illegal drug use; he’s saying his success is in part — in substantial part — because of those illegal drugs (he added that Bill Gates would “be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once”). These quotes (first published by a New York Times reporter) have been around for some time but have been only rarely discussed in the recent hagiographies of Jobs: a notable omission given that he himself praised those experiences as an integral part of his identity and one of the most important things he ever did .. America’s harsh prohibitionist drug policies are grounded in the premise that the prohibited substances have little or no redeeming value and cannot be used without life-destroying consequences. Yet the evidence of its falsity is undeniable. Here is one of the most admired men in America, its greatest contemporary industrialist, hailing one of the most scorned of these substances as integral to his success and intellectual and personal growth

.. read more

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/10/09/glenn-greenwald-steve-jobs-and-drug-policy/feed/ 1 Scott Atran: Living on the Cusp, Singularity or Nightfall in the Age of Terror? http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/09/10/scott-atran-living-on-the-cusp-singularity-or-nightfall-in-the-age-of-terror/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/09/10/scott-atran-living-on-the-cusp-singularity-or-nightfall-in-the-age-of-terror/#comments Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:39:38 +0000 Mike Blaxill http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=60574 Atran via Adbusters ..
I’m reasonably sure that whatever new forms arise, they will have to accommodate fundamental aspects of human nature that have barely changed since the Stone Age: love, hate, jealousy, guilt, contempt, pride, loyalty, friendship, rivalry, the thrill of risk and adventure, accomplishment and victory, the desire for esteem and glory, the search for pattern and cause in everything that touches and interests us, and the inescapable need to fashion ideas and relationships sufficiently powerful to deny our nothingness in the random profusion of the universe. As things now stand, I see a chance that political freedom and diversity will triumph, but also a chance that a brave new world of dumbing homogeneity and deadening control by consensus will prevail
.. read more]]> Atran via Adbusters ..

I’m reasonably sure that whatever new forms arise, they will have to accommodate fundamental aspects of human nature that have barely changed since the Stone Age: love, hate, jealousy, guilt, contempt, pride, loyalty, friendship, rivalry, the thrill of risk and adventure, accomplishment and victory, the desire for esteem and glory, the search for pattern and cause in everything that touches and interests us, and the inescapable need to fashion ideas and relationships sufficiently powerful to deny our nothingness in the random profusion of the universe. As things now stand, I see a chance that political freedom and diversity will triumph, but also a chance that a brave new world of dumbing homogeneity and deadening control by consensus will prevail

.. read more

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/09/10/scott-atran-living-on-the-cusp-singularity-or-nightfall-in-the-age-of-terror/feed/ 0 NYT (6): National News http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/09/01/nyt-6-national-news-126/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/09/01/nyt-6-national-news-126/#comments Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:57:17 +0000 Ian Alterman http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=60326 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/us/politics/01dream.html?scp=2&sq=california&st=cse

Legislature in California Set to Pass a Dream Act

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http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/new-questions-and-old-surround-palins-iowa-trip/?pagemode=print

New Questions, and Old, Surround Palin’s Iowa Trip

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http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/buffett-investment-could-erode-confidence-in-wall-st/?scp=3&sq=buffett&st=cse

Buffett Investment Could Erode Confidence in Big Banks

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/business/energy-environment/solyndra-solar-firm-aided-by-federal-loans-shuts-doors.html?scp=2&sq=solar&st=cse

Solar Firm Aided by Federal Loans Shuts Doors

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/nyregion/racial-profiling-case-against-new-york-police-is-allowed-to-proceed.html?scp=7&sq=judge&st=cse

Judge Declines to Dismiss Case Alleging Racial Profiling by City Police in Street Stops

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http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/31/scientology-strikes-back-at-the-new-yorker/?pagemode=print

Scientology Strikes Back at The New Yorker

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/09/01/nyt-6-national-news-126/feed/ 0 A Platform for Retrieving the American Dream: The Pursuit of Happiness http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/08/28/a-platform-for-retrieving-the-american-dream-the-pursuit-of-happiness/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/08/28/a-platform-for-retrieving-the-american-dream-the-pursuit-of-happiness/#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:35:53 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=60254 http://www.truth-out.org/print/5029

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/08/28/a-platform-for-retrieving-the-american-dream-the-pursuit-of-happiness/feed/ 0 IANDS: Key Facts about Near-Death Experiences http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/06/06/iands-key-facts-about-near-death-experiences/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/06/06/iands-key-facts-about-near-death-experiences/#comments Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:25:42 +0000 Mike Blaxill http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=58017 this from IANDS (Int'l Association for Near Death Studies) ..
More than 15 common characteristics of an NDE [Near-Death Experience] have been reported by near-death experiencers. An NDE may include only one or two of these elements, and, in a few cases, all of them. These include: a sense of being outside one’s physical body, sometimes perceiving it from an outside position; a sense of movement through darkness or a tunnel; intense emotions; heightened perceptions; experiencing a great light or darkness; perceiving a spiritual realm, which may include vividly memorable landscapes; encounters with deceased loved ones, spiritual beings and/or religious figures; knowledge of the nature of the universe; a life review; a sense of oneness and interconnectedness; a border of no return; a sense of having knowledge of the future; messages regarding life’s purpose.
- mab .. read more]]> watched a movie last night called “Hereafter” (starring Matt Damon) where the question of life after death is explored from a scientific perspective .. made me want to get on the Google and find this from IANDS (Int’l Association for Near Death Studies) ..

More than 15 common characteristics of an NDE [Near-Death Experience] have been reported by near-death experiencers. An NDE may include only one or two of these elements, and, in a few cases, all of them. These include: a sense of being outside one’s physical body, sometimes perceiving it from an outside position; a sense of movement through darkness or a tunnel; intense emotions; heightened perceptions; experiencing a great light or darkness; perceiving a spiritual realm, which may include vividly memorable landscapes; encounters with deceased loved ones, spiritual beings and/or religious figures; knowledge of the nature of the universe; a life review; a sense of oneness and interconnectedness; a border of no return; a sense of having knowledge of the future; messages regarding life’s purpose.

- mab .. read more

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/06/06/iands-key-facts-about-near-death-experiences/feed/ 0 The Sense and Morality of Agnosticism http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/05/16/the-sense-and-morality-of-agnosticism/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/05/16/the-sense-and-morality-of-agnosticism/#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 22:54:14 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=57453 http://www.truth-out.org/print/2159

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/05/16/the-sense-and-morality-of-agnosticism/feed/ 0 Harry Potter and the Network of Neutrality http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/04/18/harry-potter-and-the-network-of-neutrality/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/04/18/harry-potter-and-the-network-of-neutrality/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:54:17 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=56789 http://truthout.org/print/1155

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/04/18/harry-potter-and-the-network-of-neutrality/feed/ 0 Grace Lee Boggs on Democracy Now http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/04/15/grace-lee-boggs-on-democracy-now/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/04/15/grace-lee-boggs-on-democracy-now/#comments Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:42:06 +0000 Mike Blaxill http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=56676 here's Grace Lee Boggs in a roundtable discusssion about the the budget plan ..
I think that we are at a very critical time in the history of the world .. I think people understand that the empire is dying, that the welfare state that it made possible is also no longer possible, and therefore that we have to begin recreating our relationships with one another and with the rest of the world .. [T]his is really the time to grow our souls, to begin making a life and not just a living, to begin talking about things not just in terms of budgets and how we can use this sum of money and that sum of money for that purpose. People are suffering economically, but I think they understand that the issue is not an economic issue. It’s a question of, how shall we live? How shall we continue the evolution of human beings? What does it mean to be a human being at this time on the clock of the world?
Boggs is 94 years old .. watch video]]> here’s Grace Lee Boggs in a roundtable discusssion about the the budget plan ..

I think that we are at a very critical time in the history of the world .. I think people understand that the empire is dying, that the welfare state that it made possible is also no longer possible, and therefore that we have to begin recreating our relationships with one another and with the rest of the world .. [T]his is really the time to grow our souls, to begin making a life and not just a living, to begin talking about things not just in terms of budgets and how we can use this sum of money and that sum of money for that purpose. People are suffering economically, but I think they understand that the issue is not an economic issue. It’s a question of, how shall we live? How shall we continue the evolution of human beings? What does it mean to be a human being at this time on the clock of the world?

Boggs is 94 years old .. watch video

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/04/15/grace-lee-boggs-on-democracy-now/feed/ 0 NYT (7+): Foreign Affairs http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/03/11/nyt-7-foreign-affairs-10/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/03/11/nyt-7-foreign-affairs-10/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:05:02 +0000 Ian Alterman http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=55671 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12japan.html?_r=1&hp

Devastation as Tsunami Crashes Into Japan

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/africa/12libya.html?hp

Qaddafi Forces Take Strategic Town as Rebels Flee

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world/africa/11diplomacy.html?hp

U.S. Escalates Pressure on Libya Amid Mixed Signals

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world/middleeast/11enan.html?scp=2&sq=pentagon&st=cse

Pentagon Places Its Bet on a General in Egypt

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world/middleeast/11saudi.html?scp=1&sq=saudi&st=cse

Saudi Police Open Fire to Break Up a Protest

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world/asia/11tibet.html?scp=1&sq=lama&st=cse

Dalai Lama Gives Up Political Role

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world/africa/11zimbabwe.html?sq=zimbabwe&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

Arrest Imperils Power-Sharing Government in Zimbabwe

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/03/11/nyt-7-foreign-affairs-10/feed/ 0 Tribes resume sacred ritual: Hunting bison – U.S. news – Life – msnbc.com http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/02/25/tribes-resume-sacred-ritual-hunting-bison-u-s-news-life-msnbc-com/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/02/25/tribes-resume-sacred-ritual-hunting-bison-u-s-news-life-msnbc-com/#comments Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:55:37 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=55192 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41762308/ns/us_news-life/#

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/02/25/tribes-resume-sacred-ritual-hunting-bison-u-s-news-life-msnbc-com/feed/ 0 Ronald Reagan, Enabler of Atrocities http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/02/06/ronald-reagan-enabler-of-atrocities/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/02/06/ronald-reagan-enabler-of-atrocities/#comments Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:47:25 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=54590 http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/102-102/4859-ronald-reagan-enabler-of-atrocities

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/02/06/ronald-reagan-enabler-of-atrocities/feed/ 0 Truthdig – In the Presence of My Enemy: A Reflection on War and Forgiveness – Ron Kovic http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/01/22/truthdig-in-the-presence-of-my-enemy-a-reflection-on-war-and-forgiveness-ron-kovic/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/01/22/truthdig-in-the-presence-of-my-enemy-a-reflection-on-war-and-forgiveness-ron-kovic/#comments Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:27:46 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=54090 http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/in_the_presence_of_my_enemy_a_reflection_20110120/

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2011/01/22/truthdig-in-the-presence-of-my-enemy-a-reflection-on-war-and-forgiveness-ron-kovic/feed/ 0 NYT Op-Eds (3) http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/12/31/nyt-op-eds-3-301/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/12/31/nyt-op-eds-3-301/#comments Fri, 31 Dec 2010 17:01:52 +0000 Ian Alterman http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=53396 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31krugman.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

The New Voodoo, by Paul Krugman

“Money for nothing, and your cuts for free.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31jacoby.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

REal Life Among the Old Old, by Susan Jacoby

“Are baby boomers prepared for the depredations of aging?”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31brooks.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

The Arena Culture, by David Brooks

“The subtle collectivism of everyday life.”

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/12/31/nyt-op-eds-3-301/feed/ 0 AlterNet: Harmony: Prince Charles Offers a New Way of Looking at the World http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/11/18/alternet-harmony-prince-charles-offers-a-new-way-of-looking-at-the-world/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/11/18/alternet-harmony-prince-charles-offers-a-new-way-of-looking-at-the-world/#comments Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:00:02 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=51948 http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/148902

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/11/18/alternet-harmony-prince-charles-offers-a-new-way-of-looking-at-the-world/feed/ 0 AlterNet: Why Atheists Are Better Prepared for Death Than Believers http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/11/13/alternet-why-atheists-are-better-prepared-for-death-than-believers/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/11/13/alternet-why-atheists-are-better-prepared-for-death-than-believers/#comments Sat, 13 Nov 2010 23:26:51 +0000 Michael Butler http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=51651 http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/148825

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/11/13/alternet-why-atheists-are-better-prepared-for-death-than-believers/feed/ 1 NYT (4): Foreign Affairs http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/11/07/nyt-4-foreign-affairs-30/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/11/07/nyt-4-foreign-affairs-30/#comments Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:25:31 +0000 Ian Alterman http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=51267 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/world/europe/07policy.html?_r=1&sq=russia&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

U.S. Vote Could Derail Russia Ties

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/magazine/07religion-t.html?sq=tao&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print

The Rise of the Tao

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/books/review/Sanger-t.html?sq=wars&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print

How Wars End: Why We Always Fight the Last Battle, by Gideon Rose

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/books/review/Jacoby-t.html?sq=amexica&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print

Amexica: War Along the Borderline, by Ed Vulliamy

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/11/07/nyt-4-foreign-affairs-30/feed/ 0 Bruce McEwen: The Great Marijuana Boom http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/07/29/bruce-mcewen-the-great-marijuana-boom/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/07/29/bruce-mcewen-the-great-marijuana-boom/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:02:41 +0000 Mike Blaxill http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=45641 McEwen on CounterPunch via Mendecino County's Anderson Valley Advertiser ...
With ever more people getting into the marijuana business, the pot market has become glutted. Prices are down. But two thousand dollars a pound still looks good to people fighting the economic downturn with outdoor agriculture. The “Green Rush” is on, and it's been building for a decade now ... Black is the color of the DEA. They wear black jump suits, drive black SUVs, and fly black helicopters. They had a whole squadron of little black choppers at the Ukiah airport a few weeks ago to train law enforcement personnel from all over in spotting and eradicating marijuana crops. The DEA also uses military choppers, and they had a big Blackhawk apparently working as flagship with the smaller choppers brought in for the training exercises. Some of the little black choppers are still around, as is a big CH 46, the one with the twin rotors and a tailgate that you can drive a Hummer into. It seems to be the mothership
.. read more]]> McEwen on CounterPunch via Mendecino County’s Anderson Valley Advertiser …

With ever more people getting into the marijuana business, the pot market has become glutted. Prices are down. But two thousand dollars a pound still looks good to people fighting the economic downturn with outdoor agriculture. The “Green Rush” is on, and it’s been building for a decade now … Black is the color of the DEA. They wear black jump suits, drive black SUVs, and fly black helicopters. They had a whole squadron of little black choppers at the Ukiah airport a few weeks ago to train law enforcement personnel from all over in spotting and eradicating marijuana crops. The DEA also uses military choppers, and they had a big Blackhawk apparently working as flagship with the smaller choppers brought in for the training exercises. Some of the little black choppers are still around, as is a big CH 46, the one with the twin rotors and a tailgate that you can drive a Hummer into. It seems to be the mothership

.. read more

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/07/29/bruce-mcewen-the-great-marijuana-boom/feed/ 0 Hedges: A Needed Antidote to the Worst of Commodity Culture http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/07/06/hedges-a-needed-antidote-to-the-worst-of-commodity-culture/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/07/06/hedges-a-needed-antidote-to-the-worst-of-commodity-culture/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:02:32 +0000 Bill Swiggard http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=44415 By Chris Hedges | Tuesday, July 6, 2010 | AlterNet.org

“…The more we divorce ourselves from nature, the more we permit the natural world to be exploited and polluted by corporations for profit, the more estranged we become from the essence of life….”

http://www.alternet.org/story/147431/hedges:_a_needed_antidote_to_the_worst_of_commodity_culture/

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/07/06/hedges-a-needed-antidote-to-the-worst-of-commodity-culture/feed/ 1 NYT (8): National News http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/05/30/nyt-8-national-news-34/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/05/30/nyt-8-national-news-34/#comments Sun, 30 May 2010 22:30:19 +0000 Ian Alterman http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=42477 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/us/30immig.html?sq=goddard&st=cse&scp=3&pagewanted=print

Foes and Supporters of New Immigration Law Gather in Arizona

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/us/politics/30ohio.html?sq=ohio&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

In Ohio, Gauge for Midterms, Economy Rules

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/health/30salt.html?sq=salt&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

The Hard Sell on Salt

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/business/30digi.html?sq=youtube&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

YouTube Wants You to Sit and Stay Awhile

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/books/review/Heilbrunn-t.html?sq=promise&st=cse&scp=3&pagewanted=print

The Promise: President Obama, Year One, by Jonathan Alter

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/books/review/Dershowitz-t.html?sq=secrets&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print

Necessary Secrets: National Security, the Media and the Rule of Law, by Gabriel Schoenfeld

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/books/review/Kristof-t.html?sq=nomad&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print

Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/books/review/Gray-t.html?sq=sex&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=print

The Second Sex, by Simone de Beauvoir

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/05/30/nyt-8-national-news-34/feed/ 0 NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (7) http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/05/26/nyt-editorial-op-eds-7-10/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/05/26/nyt-editorial-op-eds-7-10/#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 17:21:55 +0000 Ian Alterman http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=42265 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/opinion/26wed4.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

Politicized Curriculum in Texas

“These new requirements are more than symbolic. They can determine what is taught in the classroom, included on standardized tests, and written about in textbooks, many of which are sold in multiple states.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/opinion/25gyatso.html?pagewanted=print

Many Faiths, One Truth, by Tenzin Gyatso

“What I learned from Thomas Merton.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/opinion/26dowd.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

Of TopHats, Top Kills and Bottom Feeders, by Maureen Dowd

“A frustrated president says: ‘Plug the damn hole.’”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/opinion/26friedman.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

As Ugly As It Gets, by Thomas L. Friedman

“Making mischief with Iran.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/opinion/26yoo.html?ref=opinion&pagewanted=print

An Executive Without Much Privilege, by John Yoo

“Kagan’s writings betray a desire to trim back the presidency’s powers.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/opinion/25herbert.html?pagewanted=print

Following BP’s Lead, by Bob Herbert

“Obama’s unwillingness to take charge in the gulf.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/opinion/25brooks.html?pagewanted=print

Two Theories of Change, by David Brooks

“The Scots, the French and politics today.”

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/05/26/nyt-editorial-op-eds-7-10/feed/ 0 Joe Bageant: The Fearless Plain http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/05/15/joe-bageant-the-fearless-plain/ http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/05/15/joe-bageant-the-fearless-plain/#comments Sat, 15 May 2010 16:53:20 +0000 Mike Blaxill http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/?p=41701 Bageant ...
This great loom of media images, and images of images, is so many layers deep that it has replaced reality. No one can remember the original imprint. If there was one. The hologram is a hermetic snow globe, a self-referential circuitry of images, and a Möbius loop from which there is no logical escape... No thinking required, we just cycle and recycle through an aural dimension. Not all that bad, I guess, if it were not generated by forces out to fuck every last pair of eyeballs and mind plugged into it. The investing class has put thousands of billions into movies, TV and other media to keep the hologram lit up over the past six decades. Which is to say, keep the public in an entertained stupor, awed, mislead, and most importantly, distracted. But the payoff probably runs in the trillions
.. read more]]> Bageant …

This great loom of media images, and images of images, is so many layers deep that it has replaced reality. No one can remember the original imprint. If there was one. The hologram is a hermetic snow globe, a self-referential circuitry of images, and a Möbius loop from which there is no logical escape… No thinking required, we just cycle and recycle through an aural dimension. Not all that bad, I guess, if it were not generated by forces out to fuck every last pair of eyeballs and mind plugged into it. The investing class has put thousands of billions into movies, TV and other media to keep the hologram lit up over the past six decades. Which is to say, keep the public in an entertained stupor, awed, mislead, and most importantly, distracted. But the payoff probably runs in the trillions

.. read more

]]> http://www.michaelbutler.com/blog/civic/2010/05/15/joe-bageant-the-fearless-plain/feed/ 0