Thoughtful Preparations: Media Spin Blog

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It is said, in war the first casualty is truth.

The world is sick with war, and world leaders need to take their medicine now. No one seems to like Carter’s Little Liver Pills, but give Jimmy Carter credit for serving up a cure in his recent Washington Post column: We Need Policies for a Real, Lasting Middle East Peace.

Now stop fighting and crying, and take your medicine, and grow up you big bad war babies!

Peace.

A recent newspaper article, Evangelicals militant when it comes to Israel, End of Days, in the local Sunday Contra Costa Times caught my attention. The author is a strange bird who seems to be pro Israel, but concludes his article warning of a coming religious apocalypse by putting down a Jew, and praising a televangelist:

‘The truth is, in this war, I’d rather be in a bomb shelter — or a foxhole — with Jerry Falwell than with Jerry Seinfeld.’

Maybe this is supposed to be funny, but who wouldn’t prefer to be holed up in a bomb shelter with Seinfeld, instead of a Bible thumping Rev. Falwell or the “ookie spongiform” author, Zev Chafets?

Much of the article gives credence to yet another religious genius from Texas, Rev. John Hagee and his Ministries of San Antonio. Hagee’s schtick is the fire and brimstone 10 Signs Of The Coming Apocalypse style of religious horror show. The truly scary part is that he raises lots of money, and has the attention of politicians such as Senator Brownback of Kansas, God’s Senator, the ever pious Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania (this guy’s really got to go into that pit with Falwell), and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.

Jerry, where are you when we need you?

See also: Anxious For Armageddon, Challenging Christian Zionism, Theocracy Watch, Seinfeld Shows, Birth Pangs of a New Christian Zionism by Max Blumenthal.

Everyone in Tinseltown is buzzing about the war Israel is waging against Hamas, Hezbollah, Syrians, Iranians, Moslems, and perhaps Scottish Highlanders. Hollywood news sources report that a single malted Mel “Braveheart” Gibson declared, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world, and Jews have just invaded Scotland! That’s it! I’ve had it!”

Could Braveheart 2 be far behind?

More blog news on malty Mel: Huffington, Markoe.

Caught Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young at Concord Pavilion on the last night of the 9 day heat wave in California. They held up well for a bunch old time troopers, playing two great sets and an encore of Woodstock. Neil Young is a force of Nature, balanced by the rest of the band. I especially enjoyed David Crosby's acoustic playing on Helplessly Hoping and Guinnevere, and it's not too often you hear a song like Let's Impeach The President at a concert, complete with sing-along lyrics on a video screen. Protest karaoke! The U.S. politicians have done a great job of pissing a lot of people off! Meanwhile CSNY are doing a great carrying on their music and message on this 2006 tour. Keep On Rockin' In The Free World!

For more info check out the CSNY web site. They are scheduled to perform at the former Woodstock Music Festival site later this summer. More Woodstock.

Neil Young's web site Living With War Today has his entire album Living With War online.

Newspaper Reviews: San Francisco Chronicle, Contra Costa Times

CSNY: Deja Vu, Neil Young: Living With War

Children of all ages, now it's fun time! Monkey Vortex is avant-garde Internet Radio Theater. Above is a Flash animation recently completed to provide visual shine to the Monkey Vortex chant. Need a new perspective? You'll find one in the Monkey Vortex.

Imagine you are writing a screenplay, let’s say for an animated feature film, such as Madagascar 2, or the next Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. What are the chances the creative writer would guide their sailing ships to land upon the shores of Israel or Lebanon? Or here’s another far out script idea, how about a Palestinian enters Jerusalem and many Jews worship him as a prophet and savior of humankind? What’s wrong with those pictures?

Crazy ideas, about as insane as the current wars and skirmishes going on in the fantasy Holy Land within the Middle East between vengeful factions, tribes, and sects. But what do I know? There are far better journalists and scholars following the new blockuster release, “ Operation Summer Rains .” Here are some of the top stories:

Ted Koppel Analyzes US Already at War with Iran

James Zogby: Willful Fantasies and Reality in Today’s Mideast Conflict

Robert Fisk in Beruit: Mass Punishment

Taking Newt Seriously – Newt Gingrich Pushes for World War 3

Ralph Nader: U.S. Carries “Inescapable Responsibility” for “Israeli Government’s Escalating War Crimes”

Tom Hayden: Things Come ‘Round in Mideast

Israel Set Up Current War Plan Over One Year Ago – S.F. Chronicle

Stop This Shit – Music Video quoting President Bush at G8

Link TV – Mosaic: World News Video Footage from the Middle East

A sane mind would think that this would be enough for now, but as we see… many of us standing by in shock similar to witnessing a train wreck… the pain and suffering of warfare continues.

In today’s news, Norman Pearlstine, a long time top manager at Time Inc., the magazine division of Time-Warner, will be joining The Carlyle Group a Washington, D.C. based global private equity investment firm with more than USD$40 billion of equity capital under management, as a senior advisor.

I briefly met Mr. Pearlstine while at Time Warner, when hired to work on their experimental “Full Service Network” interactive television effort in the early 90’s. When introduced as a technical lead for the New York office, he half jokingly asked me, “Are you the one who is going to save us?” I good naturedly replied that I’d try my best. We knew we were in over our heads.

The Time Warner Cable FSN project was a technical boondoggle in deep trouble and would not be able to launch their tests at Celebration, FL for the scheduled date 4 months away. From what I gather, something was launched over 2 years after our meeting, but by that time broadband internet was all the rage, and TW was eying AOL as their path to interactivity. Back in those days, I advised TW to use the Internet as a channel on their interactive cable TV service, but the idea was dismissed, although not by Pearlstine himself.

In the days leading up to the FSN’s proposed Spring 1993 launch date, I had a longer discussion with Walter Isaacson, who was then the Managing Editor of Time magazine. In order to protect my immediate superiors at Time Warner Interactive, I was not able to disclose to him how feeble the FSN effort actually was. How would that look in a Time magazine article!? Even if I had told Isaacson of the many flaws in the system, I’m not sure what good it would have done, but I regret not having a deeper, more honest discussion. So much for office politics and paranoia.

Today I continue to work as the consultant behind the consultants, advisor to the advisors. I spend more time in the real world, hands on in leading edge places, from which many of the upper echelon are insulated and unaware.

“You may leave here for four days in space,
But when you return, it’s same old place.”
– by P.F. Sloan, sung by Barry McGuire, Eve of Destruction

Welcome back to planet Earth NASA space shuttle Discovery STS-121. Mission accomplished!

Meanwhile, here at home, despite the fact that every day is a gift that Earth gracefully gives us, foolish humans cannot help themselves from their selfish goals of destruction.

P.S.  NPR ran a radio story about PF SLoan’s new CD and tour on August 20, 2006.  Link here.