Prepare for Change

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2009/10/28/propaganda/index.html The Russian invasion of Afghanistan, seen from our perspective, was a horrible travesty of aggression. But the Russians soldiers seem to have seen it as a liberation and protection for suffering Afghans. Gee, kind of like we see our mission now? Maybe war is not the way to help people? Also, NPR reported yesterday that it costs the US $1 million per solider per year in our "aid" to Afghanistan. What if we gave just $1 million per school per year and see what that accomplishes?

The Supreme Court will soon rule on whether corporations should be treated as persons and allowed to donate as much as they want to political candidates. But for-profit corporations, if they are a "person," are psychotic. By law, their only goal in life is profit for their friends and contributors. They have no concern for the environment or laws except for not getting caught doing something illegal. The book "The Corporation" by Joel Bakan is a stunning indictment on how far astray this legal entity can go from what is good for society. Once you read this book, you'll probably agree that there is just too much negative compared to positive in having corporations. Partnerships, sole proprietorships, and such work just fine.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-07-15/dr-deans-second-opinion/full/ We already HAVE socialized medicine with the VA hospitals and medicare. What's the fear? That we will become a socialist country? Well, then we'll have to say that the entire rest of the world is socialist then. If we can afford the $1 trillion useless war in Iraq, I think we should be able to afford health care for ourselves.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/ You might not agree with their politics, but there's some good stuff here otherwise.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8133329.stm I often wondered if Scientology had the power to arrest and torture me, would I still be a critic? Actually, I don't think so. I'm not that brave. But these Iranians are amazing. I hope they succeed in freeing their country. I read that the revolution that put Khomeni in power took a year. So this is not over yet. Most Iranians are young and educated, and they are learning from other successful protests how best to go foward. I wish them all the best. http://iran.whyweprotest.net

http://www.wired.com/dualperspectives/article/news/2009/06/dp_web_wired0630 When your friends know where you are, that makes planning for social interaction easier to do. But it also can mean that non-friends also know where you are.

http://iran.whyweprotest.net Project Chanology, the movement to help expose the Church of Scientology, has partnered with the democracy activists in Iran to provide a voice to Iranians seeking freedom in their country. I think we'll be seeing more and more of this, where one online community helps another online community, simply because they share a common goal or ideal. There is power in numbers.