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Blogmanac team
Jeannine Wilson (USA)
Veralynne Pepper (USA)
Pip Wilson (Australia)
Carpe diem!
Seize the day with more than 150 articles at Wilson's articles department
This blog is dedicated to the 353 victims of the SIEVX disaster,
and casualties of poverty and authority all around the planet
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Saturday, February 21, 2004
*Ø* Blogmanac | Hicks, Habib lawyers angered by Latham's retrospective law proposal
 Reporter: Hamish Fitzsimmons
"MARK COLVIN: Lawyers for the two Australian citizens being held at Guantanamo Bay are furious at Mark Latham's [Leader of the Opposition] proposal to change laws retrospectively so David Hicks and Mamdou Habib could be tried at home. Both lawyers say that such a move should worry every Australian. One even describes it as a move towards totalitarianism.
"And as for the legality of Mr Latham's proposal, constitutional experts say any retrospective law change would be fraught with danger.
"Hamish Fitzsimmons reports.
"HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: You'd expect the people fighting to have Mamdouh Habib and David Hicks returned to Australia would welcome any means to see that done.
"But Mark Latham's offer of Labor's support to the Government to change the terrorism laws to allow the men to be tried in Australia, has been attacked by the lawyers as unconstitutional.
"Mamdouh Habib's lawyer Stephen Hopper.
"STEPHEN HOPPER: The retrospective application of laws is an abhorrent concept and something that the Western legal system has resisted in the last few hundred years, and the reason being is that someone should know that they're committing a crime or going to commit a crime, because the laws are publicly stated.
"Now if someone's gone and done an activity that wasn't against the law at a certain time and later on a law's brought in to make that activity illegal, I think there's something fundamentally wrong. To convict someone of a crime they must have the mental element that they've committed a crime.
"Now, if they went there thinking they were obeying all Australian laws when they were engaging in some activity, and later on they're told they were breaking the law because it's some law made later on, I think it's a step backwards and a step towards totalitarianism.
"HAMISH FITZSIMMONS: The Federal Government says the men can't be returned to Australia because terrorism legislation here is not retrospective and they could not be charged.
But David Hicks's lawyer, Stephen Kenny is equally critical of the proposal to make laws retrospective ..."
Source: ABC Oz
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*Ø* Blogmanac February 21 | And today is ...
Day of Ishtar, Babylonia
Goddess of Love and Battle from the region of Mesopotamia (Greek for 'between the rivers', ie, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers), the area now known as Iraq, and from Assyria. Ishtar is the counterpart of the Phoenician Astarte.
Her name is said the be associated with the word 'Easter', because of her associations, like Easter, with springtime and fertility. The meaning of the name is not known, though it is possible that the underlying stem is the same as that of Assur, which would thus make her the ‘leading one’ or ‘chief’. She was known as Inanna in Sumerian mythology. She is a life-death-rebirth deity, daughter of Anu, the god of the air, mother and consort of the farm god Tammuz, who is similar to the Greek Adonis. She was usually described as an evil, heartless, women who destroyed her mates and lovers ...
* Ø * Ø * Ø *
 Language Martyrs' Day, Bangladesh
Language Martyrs' Day is a day remembered in Bangladesh for the killings of protesters seeking official recognition for the Bengali language in 1952.
When Bengal was divided in East and West during the partition of India in 1947, West Bengal emerged as a state of India and East Bengal (now an independent country, Bangladesh) became a part of Pakistan and was known as East Pakistan. As a state of Pakistan, Urdu was the language of government in East Bengal, but the population there primarily spoke Bengali.
In reaction to this, people from East Bengal started asking the government to make Bengali an official language of administration. But the Pakistani government of the time did not agree. Finally, on February 21, 1952, there was a huge protest of all ages of people, irrespective of caste and creed, with students of Dhaka University in the lead. Police ruthlessly fired to disperse the crowd, and many of the protesters were killed. It was not long, however, before Bengali was given right of an official language. Since then, February 21 has been remembered as Language Martyrs' Day in Bangladesh and West Bengal. The same date is observed by UNESCO as International Mother Language Day ...
These are just snippets of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
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Blogroll Us Friday, February 20, 2004
*Ø* Blogmanac | GODDESS BLESS AMERICA IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD
CO-BLOGGER'S NOTE: I know. I keep promising to shorten my blog posts; however, this article is so important at this moment, I couldn't justify cutting any of it, even to ask you to click on a link. This is the "must-read" of the month, for sure, and possibly of our lives. Read it a couple of times. Think about it, share it with everyone you know and read it again tomorrow. We've really got some serious thinking to do and some serious work ahead of us. -- Veralynne
Sending a Message to the Democratic Convention
By Stephen Dinan
stephen@radicalspirit.org
http://www.radicalspirit.org
For months, I have been sending out articles addressing the psychology of the Democratic campaign, attempting to shift the beliefs that people have around the electability of Dennis Kucinich. Some of these were provocative. Others were intended to inspire. But all were grounded in a fundamental challenge to the notion that Kucinich was not electable.
Today, I will write from the opposite premise, assuming that most people are right for a moment: Kucinich is not electable this year, even if we love him and what he stands for. Where do we go from there?
Let's assume that you are one of the many people who is nervous about the prospect of a second Bush term. You are now faced with a situation in which the race has narrowed to two candidates who are deemed electable: John Kerry or John Edwards. The first question you need to ask yourself is this: is there a fundamental difference in terms of electability between these two candidates?
Edwards is charming, eloquent, and smart. He's got very upbeat messaging. He has lived on both sides of the tracks and can operate smoothly in both worlds. He is effective at connecting emotionally with voters. Less experience inside the Beltway can be an asset for him as a voice for change.
Kerry has the war hero past and much of the powerful machinery from inside the beltway behind him. He's got some statesman-like gravitas and foreign policy experience, as well as a fairly presidential look. He is wealthy but also seems to connect with the concerns of the working class. He can go toe-to-toe with Bush on military matters and he seems tough in general.
A lot can shift between now and November, so I maintain that there is virtually no way to guess who would be more electable versus George W. Bush right now. Opinion polls shift quickly. Youthful charm versus seasoned experience? North versus South? Rags-to-riches success story or war heroism? It's impossible to tell. The majority of Democrats would vote for either.
Thus, if your main focus is beating Bush, voting for Edwards or Kerry in your primary isn't going to matter much. They both qualify as Anybody But Bush and both represent solidly middle-of-the-road Democratic positions.
However, there is another factor that you need to consider in this race and that is: to what extent is the Democratic party able to keep the progressive wing actively engaged? The real election-killer will be if the progressive wing loses interests, stops rallying, or starts to splinter off with a Nader candidacy. The hints of this are already rumbling around the internet, with talk of Republicrats, media conspiracies, and a single system of power in Washington that we need to fight.
In other words, if your main focus is beating Bush, the game has now shifted. Either of the two leading candidates are fine. The MAIN danger now is if the progressive wing decides that the two-party system is actually a rigged, one-party system and that the game is stacked against candidates who advocate for peace, sustainability, justice and against the Iraq war, NAFTA and corporate domination of politics. If cynicism builds, feeding on the disillusionment of Dean backers, it could cost Democrats the election. [Emphasis added. -v]
So your challenge in voting strategically now is NOT to decide between Kerry and Edwards. The challenge in voting strategically is to keep the progressive wing of the party fully engaged. This is true even if you belong to the Lieberman camp: without the more radical wing of the party, you lose the election.
The real issue now is what is the BEST strategy to keep the progressive camp actively involved in a real and meaningful way for as long as possible in this race. Kerry and Edwards, by virtue of their platforms alone, are not going to do it. Both voted to support the war, for example, which is a deal-killer for those who see the Iraq war as the main evil right now.
I maintain that the only viable strategy to keep the progressive wing of the Democratic party actively excited about this election now is to make sure that the candidacy of Dennis Kucinich becomes a much more powerful force in shaping the remainder of the race. The more powerful his candidacy by the time of the convention, the more progressives will feel they have an authentic, shaping influence on the party platform and an active role in the race. If not, they will splinter away.
Virtually all Greens and progressive Democrats love Dennis' platform but have simply been afraid to rally behind him because of the climate around electability. They have felt a split between their head and their heart. Their heart loves him, their head says, "unelectable" and therefore "dangerous." Heads have largely triumphed in this matter. However, I have good news to all the closet Kucinich-lovers: it's now safe! It's safe to vote your heart, safe to vote your conscience, safe to express your authentic views! The results have been coming in from across the country and we're approaching the point at which it is impossible for Dennis to win the nomination.
You can relax now and rally behind what you really believe in, without running the risk of jeopardizing the race. You can have fun again! In fact, if you don't do this now, you may be contributing to the loss of the progressive wing of the party and, possibly, the loss of the election.
There are some that think a vote for Dean's suspended campaign will still make a difference in terms of keeping the progressive movement engaged. I believe this is faulty logic for a number of reasons.
1.) Dean was never that progressive, especially when you look at his track record. It was precisely the combination of his perceived electability AND his anti-war stance and progressive rhetoric that got people excited. Now that he has been removed from contention, the only question is how effectively can he carry the torch of the progressive movement? The answer is "not very." I do honor him for bringing the war front-and-center and for activating the movement. But now that the movement is giving up on having an actual presidential candidate to represent it, it needs to turn to a candidate who best expresses its values and views. Instead of a president, we are now looking for a torchbearer. Dean was compelling as a potential president but much less interesting just as a torchbearer.
2.) Dean has already had his time in the spotlight. He has triggered important and substantial changes when seen as a legitimate, powerful contender. He will continue to have influence. However, in order for the progressive movement to find a more amplified voice in this election, we need a new and stronger progressive voice on the stage. Dean is no longer newsworthy. It is time to shift to the next wave of change, farther from the mainstream. That means Kucinich.
3.) The media interpretation will be that any votes for Dean are the votes of those who are simply attached to him. The votes won't be perceived as a positive statement but a negative one: folks who refuse to move on. Thus, a vote for Dean would lack any sort of a media punch.
4.) The media loves drama and positive surges. Edwards will be riding a crest of momentum and attention now because of his Wisconsin finish. If we can create that same surge of momentum around Kucinich, the media will be very excited since it will keep people much more engaged in the race (and buying more newspapers and watching more TV). Once Kucinich is in the spotlight, that means that his policies and platform will get that much more attention and thus be that much more influential in shaping the Democratic platform.
A quick note about Sharpton. I really like Sharpton: he's insightful, brave, honest, and very funny. He helps keep the voice of the non-white-male majority on the stage. However, I don't think he's the right person to rally behind as a torchbearer for a number of reasons. First, he doesn't have any actual influence in legislative processes, whereas Kucinich is co-chair of the progressive caucus in the House. Second, he doesn't have as much experience as a politician so his stances are not as well-articulated and grounded in practical politics. Third, Kucinich tends to see our potential future better, leading us towards such things as a Department of Peace, universal health care, and 20% sustainable energy by 2010.
Sharpton's campaign can also keep running by virtue of media coverage alone, even if he doesn't have the influence on the ground. Sharpton doesn't need a ground campaign. He just needs a pulpit to speak the truths he is there to speak. Kucinich, by contrast, actually has a strong grassroots support base. Until January 1st, for example, he had more people donate to his campaign, most in small amounts, than anyone but Dean. In terms of mobilizing the progressive base at a grassroots level, Kucinich's infrastructure is more valuable.
Now that Kucinich's chance of an actual nomination have shrunk to 200 to 1, according to one London betting house, Americans can look at him through the lens of being a torchbearer -- a powerful messenger to the established order. And there is no better torchbearer than Kucinich. He:
1. Led anti-war efforts in the House and has a strong motto of "U.N. in and U.S. out"
2. Challenged the Weapons of Mass Destruction evidence from the beginning
3. Advocates for Universal Health Care
4. Has a 98% voting record for unions
5. Is opposed to NAFTA and WTO and even marched in Seattle
6. Supports gay marriage fully
7. Advocates for 20% renewable energy by 2010
8. Has "no strings attached" by virtue of taking no special interest money
9. Has a proven ability to challenge corporate corruption (and even pay the price for that)
10. Is willing to call Bush a liar and expose contradictions and deceptions, much more so than any candidate besides Sharpton
11. Has a deep appreciation of the spiritual dimension of life, which brings in people who have been alienated from progressive politics.
12. Knows what it is like to grow up in poverty.
13. Is an exceptionally talented speaker who has the capacity to really "wow" people with his insights.
14. Has an uncanny ability to speak to conservatives and win them over to the Democratic party and progressive views. In his home district, for example, which started quite Republican, he has swung momentum strongly to the Democratic party. In this way, he's a very good bridge to Reagan Democrats.
15. Has Nader's respect. Nader has said he would not run if Kucinich were to get the nomination. So long as Kucinich has a strong voice in the process, that may keep Nader out.
In short, Kucinich is the perfect torchbearer for the progressive message to be carried all the way into the convention and to keep it blazing all the way into the election. The more delegates we get him, the more influence he will have in the process. And if we can win California and perhaps a few other states, which I believe is quite possible if the Dean and Kucinich camps join forces, then we will have a significant voting block at the convention to influence the platform.
Finally, even if you are committed heart and soul to Kerry or Edwards, it is to your advantage to bolster the race of Kucinich. Why? He is willing to take on risky subject matter that might provide fodder for Rove to attack with his $200 million war chest. In other words, you can leave some of the risk and heavy lifting to Kucinich when it comes to challenging Bush on his lies. The party as a whole benefits by having this stance publicly witnessed but not necessarily seen as attached to the nominee. In fact, the more a Kerry nomination looks inevitable, the more beneficial a strong Kucinich-led movement will be to the campaign to remove Bush.
So breathe a sigh of relief! No more split loyalties. You can bring your heart and head back together and get passionate for Kucinich, knowing that this can only strengthen the effort to remove Bush from power.
Do me a favor: If you resonate with this article and decide to support the Kucinich campaign financially as a result (which is the only way we're going to win more delegates and have more influence), log your donation through my network fundraising site. This will help me be able to activate a very cool roadshow for the movement as the primaries progress (as well as maybe win me an autographed guitar. ;-))
More information on the campaign
Americans, register to vote and vote!
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Blogroll Us Thursday, February 19, 2004
*Ø* Blogmanac | Hear! Hear!
 Move over, God, it's time to make room for a real power
By Peter FitzSimons
"Honestly now, what would you think if before our politicians got down to the nitty-gritty of Parliament every day - steering the great affairs of state and working the machinery to make the country run - they paused to ask an imaginary spirit for some guidance on what kind of decisions they should make?
"I know. I'd think the same.
"Why then, do federal and state parliaments ? in 2004! ? still begin with a Christian prayer session?
"With minor variations, it goes like this: 'Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to vouchsafe Thy special blessing upon this Parliament, and that Thou wouldst be pleased to direct and prosper the work of Thy servants to the advancement of Thy glory and to the true welfare of the people of Australia.'
"This is followed shortly afterwards by the Lord's Prayer.
"And it's 2004! Here we are with one of the most central planks of our democratic system being the 'separation of church and state' and yet every parliamentary session begins with a formal doffing of the lid and humble beseeching of the church ..."
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Would that they were only beseeching the church, which actually exists. Thanks Baz le Tuff for this one. Baz has been a great help to the Blogmanac since I pawned my sense of humour. He sent in this one, too: Modern Drunkard Magazine.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Home sweet home
I moved to Repton (near the mouth of the Bellinger River, NSW, Australia) in December. This photo shows the environs. This is my place and this is the fishpond. The pond has a guardian, an Eastern water dragon (Physignathus lesueurii) named Leonard, rather like the one pictured. Leonard is about 50 cm long, I think, but they do grow bigger and while fishing on the river I've been startled to find several behind my back, one of them looking twice as big as Leonard. I've learned today that the males can grow to about one metre and females about 60 cm. I'm able to hand-feed Leonard, which I only do occasionally, and she comes even as far as up the stairs and to my back door for tucker. I think this superb creature seems as intelligent as a mammal, but it's hard to tell.
Leonard has had at least one baby, which is now about the size of a little garden skink and growing. We have a non-venomous snake by the pond sometimes and I'm hoping that it doesn't eat the Leonardette.
I've set up a webcam for the birdlife here and as soon as the birds start coming to the feeder, I'll post the link. I'd actually like to have Leonardcam but can't just yet afford the extra cord required to get it downstairs. That's a goal, though.
It's 33 degrees (90 Fahrenheit) and damn humid. Good weather for Leonards.
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*Ø* Blogmanac February 19, 1847 | The Donner Party rescued
 1847 The first rescue party reached the Donner Party.
On April 15, 1846, the families of James F Reed and George and Jacob Donner, 31 people in nine wagons, left Springfield, Illinois. It was the commencement of the Donner Party, the most famous group of American emigrants ever to attempt the cross-country wagon journey to California. Almost ninety wagon train emigrants were unable to cross the Sierra Nevada before winter, and almost one-half starved to death. However, it was noted that some of the survivors seemed to be remarkably well-fed considering their ordeal. In 2003 near the modern city of Truckee, California by Lake Tahoe, near Alder Creek, archaeologists found a campfire pit and solid evidence that cannibalism took place ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Too easy
----- Original Message ----- From: Alejandra To: almanac@acay.com.au Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2004 9:06 AM
Subject: Ignorant
To whom it may concern,
I accidentally stumbled on your site and your ignorance is obvious. I didn't even need to read anything. The titles say it all. Calling Mary a goddess, relating Jesus to others people and converting heathen myths to truth is twisting lies to conform to your own pathetic view. Faith is what it is FAITH. If you knew Salvation history you wouldn't write such rubbish. Look at the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. If she were a "goddess" as you say would she be facing down? Look at the position of her hand: in prayer. Praying to who? God. Near her neck the sign of the cross. In her womb the light of the world: Jesus the Christ. She has no divinity on her own. God chose her from the beginning to be true God yet true man. He receives his human body from Mary's Fiat, her yes. She is preserved from any stain of sin in advance because she is destined to be Jesus's mother. And Jesus being God, it would be unthinkable that he would be born from a sinner. She has no divinity, no power unless it is given to her by God. Look at what she says during her apparitions: Pray not to me but to God through me. Jesus gave us his mother at the foot of the cross not as a goddess but as a mother. She is a mother leading us to her son. People like you full of ignorance, you give Catholics a bad name. People think we adore Mary and that is by no means allowed. Ever. Yes, she has a very important role in Salvation history, but she is not, I repeat, not a goddess. We adore 1 God: Our Father (who created us), Son (Jesus who died for us)and the Holy Spirit ( who keeps making us better). Research Catholicism history especially the Cathechism. I challenge you to. It's easy to see things from the surface and come up with unbased ideas, it's not so easy to dig and research. Your theories and parallels are based on your own ignorance. I will pray for you.
[Unsigned]
* Ø * Ø * Ø *
Dear Alejandra,
Thank you for writing. I note that you write: "I didn't even need to read anything." You are very honest to admit it, and a braver person than I, to write such a letter under these circumstances.
If you should happen to read anything on my website, I would be happy to discuss your impressions.
Carpe diem,
Pip Wilson
More letters to the Almanackist
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Woman Lived with Sister's Corpse
 Dublin (Reuters) - "An elderly Irishwoman shared a room with her sister's corpse for up to a year and sometimes slept with it in the same bed, newspapers reported Tuesday.
"Mary Ellen Lyons never told anyone that her sister Agnes had died, the reports said. Even their brother Michael, who lived in the same remote bungalow in rural western Ireland, did not know. An inquest heard Monday that Agnes probably died in 2002 -- possibly in September -- at the age of 70 ...
"'There is no way that Michael would open the door of a woman's room,' a neighbor told the inquest. 'They wouldn't even watch the television if there was a woman on it. They were from a different era.'"
Full text
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Blogroll Us Wednesday, February 18, 2004
*Ø* Blogmanac | BUSH STARTS WEAPONS INQUIRY:
 "Who supplied the faulty intelligence I asked for?"
"WASHINGTON D.C., Wednesday: George Bush will set up a Presidential Commission to investigate the decision to go to war against Iraq, and establish who he can blame for it during this year’s election.
"Yesterday, the US admitted it may never have gone to war if it had known those in the intelligence community could not be trusted to ‘find’ illegal weapons.
"'We told David Kay to "find" some weapons," said defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld. 'Now I don’t know what "find" means to you, but the fact that he didn’t "find" anything demonstrates a complete lack of initiative. After all, we "found" tons of evidence beforehand, if you know what I mean.'
"White House aides said that as the search for illegal weapons wound down, the real search – to find someone to blame – was only just ramping up. They said an internal inquiry had already been conducted and the person who made Mr Bush’s Magic DecisionBall had been detained, 'But it doesn’t stop there.'
"Insiders denied that the President was using the inquiry to deflect attention away from the lack of success in Iraq. 'No, no. We’re using other things to deflect attention, like terror alerts and immigration laws.'
"Mr Bush lashed out at claims by anti-war protestors they are vindicated by the lack of WMD. 'It’s very easy for them to be wise in hindsight about the fact they were right at the time.'
"But in announcing the inquiry, Bush denied that he came up with the idea following Tony Blair’s total vindication in the Hutton inquiry.
"'This will be a completely different type of whitewash.'
"Meanwhile, the President will also establish an inquiry into who borrowed the money that he requested in his budget that has created a $500 billion annual deficit."
Source: The Chaser
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*Ø* Blogmanac February 18 | Spenta Armaiti, ancient Persia (Zoroastrianism)
 “ … due reverence for the divine, verecundia, spoken of as daughter of Ormazd and regarded as having her abode upon the earth.” Wikipedia
Festival of women, dedicated to the earth and fertility goddess Spenta Armaiti (Spandarmat; Spandarmad) (picture), the fourth Amesha Spenta created.
Zoroastrianism recognizes various classes of spiritual beings besides the Supreme Being Ahura Mazda (literally: ‘the Wise Lord’ like the Sanskrit ‘Asura Medha’; later transcription: Ohrmazd, Ormazd or Ormus). These beings, or ‘Emanations’, include the Amesha Spentas (Amahraspands), ‘Bounteous Immortals’, each of which personifies an attribute of Ahura Mazda as well as a human virtue. In early Zoroastrianism they were spirits of light and may be considered divine aspects of Ahura Mazda. Later they attained status as independent deities.
These deities are:
“Vohu Manö, good sense, i.e. the good principle, the idea of the good, the principle that works in man inclining him to what is good;
Ashem, afterwards Ashem Vahishtem … the genius of truth and the embodiment of all that is true, good and right, upright law and rule – ideas practically identical for Zoroaster;
Khshathrem, afterwards Khshathrem Vairim (dwouia), the power and kingdom of Ormazd, which have subsisted from the first but not in integral completeness, the evil having crept in like tares among the wheat: the time is yet to come when it shall be fully manifested in all its unclouded majesty;
Armaiti, due reverence for the divine, verecundia, spoken of as daughter of Ormazd and regarded as having her abode upon the earth;
Haurvatat, perfection;
Ameretãt, immortality.
Other ministering angels are Geush Urvan ("the genius and defender of animals"), and Sraosha, the genius of obedience and faithful hearing.”
Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911
The word Spenta, difficult to translate, can be equated to ‘increasing’ or growing (connotation of goodness, holiness, and benevolence); ‘progressive.’ Armaiti is even harder to translate into English. Her name might be seen as meaning ‘divine wisdom’; ‘devotion’; ‘piety’; ‘benevolence’; ‘loving- kindness’; ‘right-mindedness’; ‘peace and love’; ‘tranquillity’; ‘progressive serenity’ (Zoroastrian anthropologist and linguist Dr Ali Akbar Jafarey’s suggestion); universal bountiful peace’, or even ‘service’ ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
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Blogroll Us Tuesday, February 17, 2004
*Ø* Blogmanac February 17 | Happy birthday, Bazza, you poncie bastard!
 1934 Barry Humphries, Australian comedian and poet, best known for his characters, Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.
 Dame Edna Everage housewife, megastar, investigative journalist, social anthropologist, children's book illustrator, diseuse, chanteuse, swami, monstre sacré, polymath, adviser to British royalty, grief counsellor, spin doctor and icon is arguably the most popular and gifted woman in the world today ...
Source: Dame Edna’s newsletter
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
Serious name-drop and sincere fawning greetings
[I'm going to do a serious name-drop here. I spent half an hour with Barry Humphries in Sydney once. We discussed poetry and Oscar Wilde (Humphries, a fine poet, is a Wilde freak) and BH excitedly retrieved from his room a photocopy of an original letter that he had just bought at auction in London. It was a typically vitriolic correspondence by The Beast, Aleister Crowley, who didn't like Wilde one bit and said so in the letter. I remember that Crowley's letter referred to Wilde as a "sodomite" – by coincidence, just last night I finished Lawrence Sutin's wonderful biography of The Beast, Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley, and if there was ever a man who shouldn't dare to call another a bugger, it was the detestable fraud, Crowley.
I must add that the brief chat I had with Mr Humphries I count as one of the greatest privileges of my life. I hold no artist from history in higher esteem, given his genius and prolific oeuvre. I had met him once or twice (he will not remember those meetings) and expected him to be fearsome. People often expect him to be so, probably because Dame Edna can be so harsh on latecomers to her shows. He is not harsh at all. A warmer and more friendly man I have never met. As Edna would say, it was spooky!
Many Ozzies agree that Barry Humphries is Australia's greatest living treasure and I wish him a very, very happy birthday (and many more) and hope that I meet him and his delightful wife Lizzie again. I trust my simpering obeisance will be noted by the Great Man.]
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*Ø* Blogmanac February 17 3102 BCE | The Evil Age
 3102 BCE It is a Hindu belief that the Kali Yuga, or Evil Age, began on this day, which was established by the Indian astronomer Aryabhata of Kusumpara. It is remarkable that Aryabhata lived in the 6th century CE concurrently with the Roman Dionysius (or, Dennis) Exiguus, the creator of the calendar we use today in the West. Kali Yuga is considered the last and most sinful of the four ages of man and is supposed to continue for 432,000 years. Then the world is supposed be destroyed by the goddess Kali. The cycle then begins again with Krita Yuga, the Golden Age of Truth.
The two astronomers, Dionysius and Aryabhata, both experienced on May 31, 531 CE, one in Rome and the other in India, a celestial conjunction that repeats itself every 3,600 years, and drew similar conclusions. Because of this common sidereal event, and the observations of these two astronomers, the Indian and Western calendars have many congruencies.
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
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Blogroll Us Monday, February 16, 2004
*Ø* Blogmanac | Children to study atheism at school
"Children will be taught about atheism during religious education classes under official plans being drawn up to reflect the decline in churchgoing in Britain.
"Non-religious beliefs such as humanism, agnosticism and atheism would be covered alongside major faiths such as Christianity or Islam under draft guidelines being prepared by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, which regulates what is taught in schools in England ..."
Source: Guardian
Thanks Baz le Tuff for sending this. As I remarked to the Mighty Tuff, more or less, I'm all for agnosticism and atheism, and also alternative world views. However, I can't help but notice there seems a remarkable lack of welfare institutions (hospitals, soup kitchens and crisis accommodation included) bearing such signage as 'Atheist', 'Agnostic', 'Anarchist', 'Marxist-Leninist', 'New Age', 'Hippie' or 'Pagan'. Apparently I live in the wrong town.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Medical evidence does not support suicide by Kelly
The Guardian, Letters
12 February
"Since three of us wrote our letter to the Guardian on January 27, questioning whether Dr Kelly's death was suicide, we have received professional support for our view from vascular surgeon Martin Birnstingl, pathologist Dr Peter Fletcher, and consultant in public health Dr Andrew Rouse. We all agree that it is highly improbable that the primary cause of Dr Kelly's death was haemorrhage from transection of a single ulnar artery, as stated by Brian Hutton in his report.
"On February 10, Dr Rouse wrote to the BMJ explaining that he and his colleague, Yaser Adi, had spent 100 hours preparing a report, Hutton, Kelly and the Missing Epidemiology. They concluded that 'the identified evidence does not support the view that wrist-slash deaths are common (or indeed possible)'. While Professor Chris Milroy, in a letter to the BMJ, responded, 'unlikely does not make it impossible', Dr Rouse replied: 'Before most of us will be prepared to accept wristslashing ... as a satisfactory and credible explanation for a death, we will also require evidence that such aetiologies are likely; not merely 'possible'.'
"Our criticism of the Hutton report is that its verdict of 'suicide' is an inappropriate finding. To bleed to death from a transected artery goes against classical medical teaching, which is that a transected artery retracts, narrows, clots and stops bleeding within minutes. Even if a person continues to bleed, the body compensates for the loss of blood through vasoconstriction (closing down of non-essential arteries). This allows a partially exsanguinated individual to live for many hours, even days.
"Professor Milroy expands on the finding of Dr Nicholas Hunt, the forensic pathologist at the Hutton inquiry -- that haemorrhage was the main cause of death (possibly finding it inadequate) -- and falls back on the toxicology: 'The toxicology showed a significant overdose of co-proxamol. The standard text, Baselt, records deaths with concentrations at 1 mg/l, the concentration found in Kelly.' But Dr Allan, the toxicogist in the case, considered this nowhere near toxic. Each of the two components was a third of what is normally considered a fatal level. Professor Milroy then talks of 'ischaemic heart disease'. But Dr Hunt is explicit that Dr Kelly did not suffer a heart attack. Thus, one must assume that no changes attributable to myocardial ischaemia were actually found at autopsy.
"We believe the verdict given is in contradiction to medical teaching; is at variance with documented cases of wrist-slash suicides; and does not align itself with the evidence presented at the inquiry. We call for the reopening of the inquest by the coroner, where a jury may be called and evidence taken on oath."
Andrew Rouse
Public health consultant
Searle Sennett
Specialist in anaesthesiology
David Halpin
Specialist in trauma
Stephen Frost
Specialist in radiology
Dr Peter Fletcher
Specialist in pathology
Martin Birnstingl
Specialist in vascular surgery
Source
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*Ø* Blogmanac February 15, 1748 | Jeremy Bentham is watching you
 1748 Jeremy Bentham, English philosopher who pioneered utilitarianism and extolled the philosophical tenet of “the greatest good to the greatest number”
His body is still on display
Blame Bentham for office design?
Bentham is also known for a particular invention that affects our lives very much today, the ‘panopticon’. He proposed it as a model prison, whereby the prisoners’ activities could be seen virtually at all times by the prison warders. By the same token, the inmates could not see the guards, and never know when surveillance was upon him. The psychological uncertainty was in itself part of the control and discipline of prisoners.
Westerners and many in non-Western countries live today in a panopticon world, through hidden cameras mounted almost everywhere we go, the increasing government surveillance of every phone call, website, email and telephone text message, and by the arrangement of offices, furniture and partitions in the workplace as well as in shops and public buildings. Next time you’re in a bank, a government office lobby, waiting in line anywhere indoors or outdoors in any city – remember the Almanac’s birthday boy for the day, Jeremy Bentham.
Next time you’re at work, have a look where the boss sits and where you sit. Notice how high the partitions are, where the water cooler and tea room are placed, and where the cameras are positioned. When you go to a movie, and are waiting in line for a ticket, check the camera inside the foyer, and outside on the wall, somewhere high up. It might be that little hole, barely visible.Tomorrow there will be even more panopticons, and the next day, some more. The panopticon owners will send alerts to justify them, but perhaps their messages about duct tape and body searches, and closing down websites, will not sink in, because you will be thinking of something else. You might be thinking of Jeremy.
The French philosopher, Michel Foucault, identified the panopticon as a significant metaphor in modern society, and described its implications in Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975) ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | Stephen's eating just a tiny bit of crow
Addendum to Bush, Kerry, or World 5.0?
by Stephen Dinan
stephen@radicalspirit.org
After further reflections on my article of yesterday, I want to provide an addendum, which I would be grateful to you to circulate wherever the article is circulating (or attach this if you are sending the article). Internet forwarding can be a blessing for outreach but a problem when people think I'm a neo-fascist or, on the flip side, that I speak for the campaign or for Dennis Kucinich. Neither are true. Kucinich has stated unequivocally that he would support whatever nominee is chosen. I spoke only for myself and I now realize that I was doing some manipulating in the article that wasn't about truth but instead about my own fear. For that I apologize.
The thing which made some folks angry about my article was my suggestion that we might be better off in the longest-term view with four more years of Bush than of Kerry. They read that as me championing Bush and telling people to vote for him. I slipped over a certain line here and I see now how I was being provocative rather than just truthful. I stated the case more strongly knowing that it would provoke people, not because I thought it definitively true but because I wanted to detach people from the fixation on Kerry. In my mind, I am more worried about Kerry getting the nomination than a Bush victory because I think Bush is going to lose to whomever runs. It would be a very sad day for me to watch Kerry be sworn in instead of Kucinich, who I think can lead us to another level as a country. It would feel like a lost opportunity and I would take little pleasure in it. It would feel like a small hop rather than a leap
To be clear, I would vote for Kerry against Bush if it came to that (which I hope it won't). And it is true that I wouldn't be as impassioned about it for many of the reasons I outlined.
But here's where I got manipulative in that article. I was trying to tip the momentum towards Kucinich by undermining Kerry and playing the division card that has so wracked the Democratic party and resulted in Nader being the scapegoat for so much anger. In doing so, I was manipulating the state of heightened fear about the possibility of Bush's second term and the disasters it could bring to undermine the establishment candidate. The underpinning logic was, "Oh yeah, if you want to trot out a the same old kind of establishment candidate, then maybe I'll quit playing for the team." Which is manipulative, no matter how much other stuff I pad around it.
In reality, I'm personally not worried about Bush having a second term because I don't think it's going to happen and, if it did, I think the World 5.0 forces will be much more active, engaged, and exposing of the lies and corruption and thus catalyze a pop the next time around, just as I wrote. Whether true or not, that is my reality; I am more worried at the moment about a Kerry nomination than a Bush victory.
What I should have done in the article is be more direct and transparent about my actual goal, which was to dissolve the ABB fear-fixation. I think ABB is putting in danger the possibility of the Democratic party doing anything bold or interesting this year, when we've got an enormous opportunity.
The psychology of ABB is a form of personal disempowerment because it orients our power around the other, in this case Bush. There is no positive declaration of what we want in the world, no advocacy for what we see as true, right, and beautiful. We become so wrapped up in the oppositional stance, driven by fear, that we lose our sense of who we really are and what we believe in.
I think the ABB psychology reinforces a sense of weakness in the Democratic party rather than strengthening it. Swing voters and those who are typically unengaged are turned off by the ABB stance because it seems so negative (and it is). If anything undermines a victory this year, it will be the ABB stance, which also tends to make people more risk-averse, retreating to the center, hovering over polls, and generally being reactive, even attacking others in the party who voice alternative opinions because those are signs of division. In this way, I believe that the ABB psychology leads us to be more out of alignment with our democratic principles. I thus think it needs to be challenged in order for people to open to their deeper truth.
Nonetheless, I do have compassion for the ABB stance. For most, it comes out of personal suffering or an acute attunement to the suffering of others. And I know that there are a lot of very real people in very real pain. However, I think that when we set our compass by ABB, which is mostly what seems to be happening around John Kerry right now and the whole electability question, we undermine our very foundation and the positive, creative potential we have in us. And we could well elect someone who offers very little in the way of fundamental change.
So my article was meant to challenge the ABB worldview but I did cross over the line from speaking my truth into provocation. I have been afraid that we aren't going to make that deeper shift this time, even though we have a legitimate shot at creating World 5.0 leadership in America this year, which is what I personally really want. There is still an opportunity to make that happen but the horizons are short.
I apologize if my article tweaked you rather than provoked a better understanding, especially the parts where I went from truth into provocation.
All I really ask is for you find the truth in your heart and set your compass from there, working for the world you want to create. If Kerry is your man and gets the nomination and you feel passionate about him, then support him with everything you've got!
The thing I want us to remember, though, is that we do not yet have a Democratic nominee. We have a front-runner and 75% of America has yet to tally their vote. Before this month, people assumed it was all over and Dean was the nominee but campaigns can change quickly. We can still nominate Dennis Kucinich, not just for our country but for the new operating system for the world.
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*Ø* Blogmanac | EFA slams IP clauses in US-Australia trade deal
 ""Australians are likely to face legal action from multinational media companies according to from [sic] the intellectual property clauses of the recently announced US-Australia free trade agreement, Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) said today.
"In a statement, the group, a non-profit national organisation representing internet users concerned with online rights and freedoms, said it was dismayed over the IP clauses which represented a massive step backwards for Australian IP law.
"'The US has one of the worst systems of intellectual property laws in the world," EFA board member Dale Clapperton said. "Their Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has been widely condemned by civil liberties and users groups throughout the world, and now the Howard government has committed itself to implementing its worst, most insidious, provisions.'
"EFA said US copyright terms had been extended numerous times after pressure from lobbyists and now extended to 120 years from publication, a period which it said 'had no purpose but to protect the vested interests of large corporate copyright holders' ...
Source
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