Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A Few Quotes On Facts (or some such nonsense)

Facts and truth really don't have much to do with each other
- William Faulkner

The truth is more important than the facts
- Frank Lloyd Wright

Simple people... are very quick to see the live facts which are going on about them
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

The facts of life are that a child who has seen war cannot be compared with a child who doesn't know what war is except from television
- Sophia Loren

Those who forget good and evil and seek only to know the facts are more likely to achieve good than those who view the world through the distorting medium of their own desires
- Bertrand Russell

The theory that can absorb the greatest number of facts, and persist in doing so, generation after generation, through all changes of opinion and detail, is the one that must rule all observation
- Adam Smith

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts
- Abraham Lincoln

If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts
- Albert Einstein

Thursday, December 23, 2010

On finding a balance and breaking down false divides.

Speaking truth to power. A revolutionary thought, or just a lost ability in a world of extraordinary rendition, torture and fear?

Always speak truth to power. It is the best and easiest way to expose those that seek to benefit from the ignorance, fear and blind trust of the masses. Too many times in the recent past have we stepped aside to let the powerful make the decisions that our children will have bare the brunt of. Our society seems to headed towards some sort of boiling point where we'll find many dividing issues, arguments and petty rivalries leading people in all directions except down the road to peace, justice and balance. Our never ending stream of tanks, pipelines, spies, dirty secrets campaigns and mass media propaganda have made enemies for us all over the world, and especially so since the end of WWII. Some of us have been trying hard to create friendships and links towards bringing the world together at the same time.


Most in our society recognize all this and have decided to sit back and watch it all unfold, sitting on the fence so to speak. Some have decided to pick up arms and fight a war against an undefined enemy that is supposedly rising to bring down what their mothers and fathers struggled so hard to build. That is a false war only created to further divide people and allow the powerful to continue their exploitation of the earth and its resources. They somehow think it will give them more power, more control. What they don't realize is that the earth is much more powerful and unyielding than they are. This is what their ego's fail to recognize, it is the same now as it has always been with people. So sad.

Murder, assassination, brutal torture and hate have all been part of mans history. As have peace, love, forgiveness and understanding. Which do we see more of on the evening news? Which is more a part of your day to day life? How does the media affect your ability to find the balance you seek? Does it help or hinder? Does it strike a chord with you that it might be there to hinder you from finding a balance? Think about that. Turn off your TV. Visit a neighbour. Plant a seedling. Breath. Stretch. Instigate a revolution against oppression, hatred, and divisiveness. Do whatever you can to bring the world into balance in your day to day life, it is needed today more than it has been for a very long time. Live.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

A wise old farmer speaks

The most alarming sign of the state of our society now is that our leaders have the courage to sacrifice the lives of young people in war but have not the courage to tell us that we must be less greedy and less wasteful. Wendell Berry

I Love CBC

             

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Competitiveness

Hmmmm. Wonder if Stevie let Danny in on this little ditty? Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Competitiveness

The Americans are backing in behind their borders and trying to get all our power tied into their grid before pulling the plug. Makes sense. The US is scared, and they're creating a fortress around them.

Sad. In a world where most people want openness and freedom, the place that espouses the rhetoric the loudest is the worst offender. Doublespeak seems an apt description indeed for what's unfolding.

01/15/2011. Just found this additional ditty. Here's Tim Powers talking about Harper and Williams getting together for our collective energy's sake at http://www.thepolitic.com/archives/2009/08/20/timpowers/. Now that's a tell if I ever saw one. Not so well played there Timmy boy, not so well played at all. i wonder if we can call up your records with a subpoena since Williams torched his?