there's a line in robert newman's history of oil where he explains that the british are easily manipulated by bad propaganda because they are truly uniquely ignorant of their own history.
but, he meant recent history.
there's such a rich legal tradition in the common law, and it really is truly ancient, the last relic of a civilization that was ravagef by conquest and colonialism. conservatives like to be silly and claim we're under ecclesiastical law (which was still roman....) or even straight biblical law, but when liberals point to the romans they're only half right.
the truth is that we have our own damned law, and it's as old as any code is. but, we've passed it down orally over generations, through waves of persecution and destruction.
if we are to reconstruct what we were, tort law is a good place to start.
Friday, August 23, 2019
but, i mean, it's not the disincentive game that i'm focusing on. if bezos wants to kill his wife badly enough, he's going to do it, regardless of the consequences.
to me, there's just little justice in punishing somebody. retribution is some kind of blood lust; it's authoritarian, designed to keep a system in order for the benefit of the rulers. any crime is only wrong in this context because it's upsetting the order, and threatening the king's authority over the people. that's a fundamentally warped concept of law.
the common law, which centralizes tort, is more based on ensuring that people actually right the wrongs they commit. it's about undoing transgressions, about making sure that if somebody is harmed then they're compensated for it.
not retribution, but reconciliation, as best as is possible. just make it right; make it whole.
again: call me a barbarian. but, i know which side of the danube was free and which one wasn't.
to me, there's just little justice in punishing somebody. retribution is some kind of blood lust; it's authoritarian, designed to keep a system in order for the benefit of the rulers. any crime is only wrong in this context because it's upsetting the order, and threatening the king's authority over the people. that's a fundamentally warped concept of law.
the common law, which centralizes tort, is more based on ensuring that people actually right the wrongs they commit. it's about undoing transgressions, about making sure that if somebody is harmed then they're compensated for it.
not retribution, but reconciliation, as best as is possible. just make it right; make it whole.
again: call me a barbarian. but, i know which side of the danube was free and which one wasn't.
well, no, let's think about this.
let's say jeff bezos kills somebody. maybe his ex-wife. i'm just thinking out loud. nowadays, he'll go to jail for a few years, cost society a lot of resources while he's in there and get his money back when he comes out. it might even be worth it, if he can cut a deal for good behaviour.
now, let's say we take away 95% of his wealth, instead, and give it to the family of the victim. no jail time - just bankruptcy.
in which system do the rich get away with murder?
let's say jeff bezos kills somebody. maybe his ex-wife. i'm just thinking out loud. nowadays, he'll go to jail for a few years, cost society a lot of resources while he's in there and get his money back when he comes out. it might even be worth it, if he can cut a deal for good behaviour.
now, let's say we take away 95% of his wealth, instead, and give it to the family of the victim. no jail time - just bankruptcy.
in which system do the rich get away with murder?
and, i am being consistent, in the sense of the legal system i actually want - let's get rid of the cops and the jails altogether, and reduce everything to tort. it's a traditional, northern european legal order.
today, if you kill somebody, you're committing a crime against the queen. how much sense does that make?
traditionally, if you killed somebody, you'd be committing a crime against that person's family and/or loved ones, and you'd have to pay them directly. you wouldn't go to jail. you wouldn't do community service. you'd pony up to the victims.
so, people think this is nuts, or overboard or whatever, but i'm actually leading by example - this is the society i want, that i'm leading the way on and that i'm willing to fight for.
tort law for all.
today, if you kill somebody, you're committing a crime against the queen. how much sense does that make?
traditionally, if you killed somebody, you'd be committing a crime against that person's family and/or loved ones, and you'd have to pay them directly. you wouldn't go to jail. you wouldn't do community service. you'd pony up to the victims.
so, people think this is nuts, or overboard or whatever, but i'm actually leading by example - this is the society i want, that i'm leading the way on and that i'm willing to fight for.
tort law for all.
again: i signed that lease because i don't want smoking in my living spaces, something i have every right to demand. and, it's not a trivial concern - it's a serious, substantive quality of life issue.
he has the ability to pull out, but it's going to cost him.
if i knew he was going to be smoking, i wouldn't have signed the non-smoking lease....an absurd statement, on it's face. but, he set himself up. it's his own fault. and, it's not my problem, at the end of the day.
he has the ability to pull out, but it's going to cost him.
if i knew he was going to be smoking, i wouldn't have signed the non-smoking lease....an absurd statement, on it's face. but, he set himself up. it's his own fault. and, it's not my problem, at the end of the day.
yeah, it's this woman he brings over from time to time that's smoking.
i initially thought it might be the daughter. but this woman has been here repeatedly, and i thought i heard her mention once that she was his mother. she doesn't look that much older than him, though. without overhearing that comment, i would have assumed it's his ex-wife.
and, if that's right, and i understand the dynamic in the scenario, there's no possibility he's going to tell her to butt out.
whoever it is, she's breaking the lease. and, if i catch her...
i initially thought it might be the daughter. but this woman has been here repeatedly, and i thought i heard her mention once that she was his mother. she doesn't look that much older than him, though. without overhearing that comment, i would have assumed it's his ex-wife.
and, if that's right, and i understand the dynamic in the scenario, there's no possibility he's going to tell her to butt out.
whoever it is, she's breaking the lease. and, if i catch her...
so, i'm done the master document for october. it's a little shorter than september, but there aren't any scripts, so less of it will be removed. rather, it's mostly converted html documents - so there's a lot of essays, a lot of web pages. it's consequently going to read off more as a periodical...and it could quite easily top 600 pages.
well, i am calling it a journal. who says i don't publish?
i will also publish my first remaster at the end of the month, so i'll get my first liner notes up, too, for inri000, or at least the first approximation of them. i've resigned myself to this being an ongoing process, and that i'll have to periodically republish. i guess i'll have my first opportunity at a final close for inri000 in 2026, and we'll have to see whether i can actually do it or not. i'll publish this first one at the drive so you can see what i'm doing, but it's going to basically involve going through the music pdf and pulling out everything i can that's related to the recording, going back to the start of the current narrative in mid-july. then, as i publish further monthly journals, i'll go through for each release and add data to it. yes, that's very time consuming, but it's how it has to be, unless i want to wait until the end, and i don't.
but, i skipped a concept: installation files. there weren't any for july or august, but there's a quite a few for september. this won't take long, but i will need to update more or less everything for september before i stop to eat, and then get on to posting for october when i'm done.
well, i am calling it a journal. who says i don't publish?
i will also publish my first remaster at the end of the month, so i'll get my first liner notes up, too, for inri000, or at least the first approximation of them. i've resigned myself to this being an ongoing process, and that i'll have to periodically republish. i guess i'll have my first opportunity at a final close for inri000 in 2026, and we'll have to see whether i can actually do it or not. i'll publish this first one at the drive so you can see what i'm doing, but it's going to basically involve going through the music pdf and pulling out everything i can that's related to the recording, going back to the start of the current narrative in mid-july. then, as i publish further monthly journals, i'll go through for each release and add data to it. yes, that's very time consuming, but it's how it has to be, unless i want to wait until the end, and i don't.
but, i skipped a concept: installation files. there weren't any for july or august, but there's a quite a few for september. this won't take long, but i will need to update more or less everything for september before i stop to eat, and then get on to posting for october when i'm done.
that was another long sleep. i dunno.
i got halfway through my fruit salad last night and noticed the stink was coming out of the couch. that's a gross reality, but i have to accept it as some progress - it means the smell from the sewage leak has lifted enough that i can smell the consequences of it. but, it got me gagging enough that it may have knocked me out.
i've got the couch disassembled and the fan running. i may need to go over it with some dish soap. we'll try again tonight.
the landlord mentioned that it gets "humid" down here, and seems upset that i'm not running the dehumidifier, but i think he's misunderstood the problem. wetness on it's own doesn't cause musty odours, you need the presence of bacterial growth. that is, a humid apartment is only a smelly apartment if it is also a dirty apartment, so you don't solve mustiness by eliminating humidity, that's just glossing over the problem. you have to actually clean the bacteria out of the space. and, if you have sewage seeping in, the first thing to do is put a stop to it. in fact, the dehumidifier he appears to be running upstairs may be contributing to drying out the traps; it is probably making the problem worse. not only would running a dehumidifier down here at best cover up the problem rather than solve it, it would probably actually just make it worse.
if i've cut off the primary source of bacteria entering the space, that's a good start. now, i have to figure out how to actually clean up the mess....
so, i want to get that fan off, but it's the only source of moving air in the space, and is consequently probably going to need to stay on for quite a while, until i can get the place properly cleaned.
for right now, i've just got a few more html files to add to the master document, and should be posting relatively soon.
i got halfway through my fruit salad last night and noticed the stink was coming out of the couch. that's a gross reality, but i have to accept it as some progress - it means the smell from the sewage leak has lifted enough that i can smell the consequences of it. but, it got me gagging enough that it may have knocked me out.
i've got the couch disassembled and the fan running. i may need to go over it with some dish soap. we'll try again tonight.
the landlord mentioned that it gets "humid" down here, and seems upset that i'm not running the dehumidifier, but i think he's misunderstood the problem. wetness on it's own doesn't cause musty odours, you need the presence of bacterial growth. that is, a humid apartment is only a smelly apartment if it is also a dirty apartment, so you don't solve mustiness by eliminating humidity, that's just glossing over the problem. you have to actually clean the bacteria out of the space. and, if you have sewage seeping in, the first thing to do is put a stop to it. in fact, the dehumidifier he appears to be running upstairs may be contributing to drying out the traps; it is probably making the problem worse. not only would running a dehumidifier down here at best cover up the problem rather than solve it, it would probably actually just make it worse.
if i've cut off the primary source of bacteria entering the space, that's a good start. now, i have to figure out how to actually clean up the mess....
so, i want to get that fan off, but it's the only source of moving air in the space, and is consequently probably going to need to stay on for quite a while, until i can get the place properly cleaned.
for right now, i've just got a few more html files to add to the master document, and should be posting relatively soon.
i want polievre to bring a poutine to the house next time he wants to get up on his soapbox and display his moral superiority by yelling at the prime minister over something trivial. if he's going to be a ridiculous hypocrite, he should at least flaunt it with some flair.
what a farce.
parler, mentir, indeed.
what a farce.
parler, mentir, indeed.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
i had a weird scare a few hours ago, where the master document seemed to shrink, but i think it was due to a program error with the formatting. i don't think i lost any data.
there's a few extra html files to add, but it's actually done, which was quite fast. so, i'm going to stop to eat and finish up the last little bit when i'm done.
it's going to be a longer document, maybe even the longest, but i'm also going to have a lot less cutting and pasting to do to finish it up. there's already 152 posts here. in the end, there may be around 200, as i add some emails and txts. so, it's not the same kind of rebuild from scratch....
i could actually be mostly done by sunrise.
so, i'll let you in on a secret: there's a major plot twist. but, i'll have to post it here for you to figure it out.
there's a few extra html files to add, but it's actually done, which was quite fast. so, i'm going to stop to eat and finish up the last little bit when i'm done.
it's going to be a longer document, maybe even the longest, but i'm also going to have a lot less cutting and pasting to do to finish it up. there's already 152 posts here. in the end, there may be around 200, as i add some emails and txts. so, it's not the same kind of rebuild from scratch....
i could actually be mostly done by sunrise.
so, i'll let you in on a secret: there's a major plot twist. but, i'll have to post it here for you to figure it out.
look at these hits for this phrase:
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+america+should+be+in+the+future.&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b
americans see nothing but decline and desperation in the future.
so, no wonder they're obsessed with the past - across the spectrum.
this is the first hit:
Looking to the Future, Public Sees an America in Decline on Many Fronts
Majorities predict a weaker economy, a growing income divide, a degraded environment and a broken political system
https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/03/21/public-sees-an-america-in-decline-on-many-fronts/
and, they say punk rock is dead?
no
future
for
you.
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+america+should+be+in+the+future.&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b
americans see nothing but decline and desperation in the future.
so, no wonder they're obsessed with the past - across the spectrum.
this is the first hit:
Looking to the Future, Public Sees an America in Decline on Many Fronts
Majorities predict a weaker economy, a growing income divide, a degraded environment and a broken political system
https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/03/21/public-sees-an-america-in-decline-on-many-fronts/
and, they say punk rock is dead?
no
future
for
you.
i think this is a really profound observation, actually, that's become kind of fundamental in understanding the spectrum in front of us.
maybe, at some point, we had this left v right thing happening, where the right wanted to turn the clocks back and the left wanted to push deeper into the future. so, you had this struggle between people pushing for change and people pushing back, trying to resist it.
that's not what is in front of us, anymore. what we have today is a competition between different concepts of the past - on the right you have the trumpians, who want to go back to the conservatism of the truman-eisenhower years of the late 40s through to early 60s. and, on the left you have these kids that want to turn the clock back to the late 60s through to early 80s and think sanders is the way to do it (even if he actually lives more in the mid 30s through to mid 40s).
there is no future.
is it because we're already there?
do we need to reimagine what the future should be? is that it?
https://dsdfghghfsdflgkfgkja.blogspot.com/2013/10/i-think-im-starting-to-realize-that.html
maybe, at some point, we had this left v right thing happening, where the right wanted to turn the clocks back and the left wanted to push deeper into the future. so, you had this struggle between people pushing for change and people pushing back, trying to resist it.
that's not what is in front of us, anymore. what we have today is a competition between different concepts of the past - on the right you have the trumpians, who want to go back to the conservatism of the truman-eisenhower years of the late 40s through to early 60s. and, on the left you have these kids that want to turn the clock back to the late 60s through to early 80s and think sanders is the way to do it (even if he actually lives more in the mid 30s through to mid 40s).
there is no future.
is it because we're already there?
do we need to reimagine what the future should be? is that it?
https://dsdfghghfsdflgkfgkja.blogspot.com/2013/10/i-think-im-starting-to-realize-that.html
i think people are missing the point about nuclear power. they think it's a safety issue, or they're dealing with luddites that are afraid of technology.
the actual problem with nuclear is that the mining and shipping of uranium is so carbon-intensive as to defeat the point of using it. any issues you have with nuclear energy aside, it's just not an answer if you're trying to reduce carbon emissions.
further, we'll eventually run out of uranium, and then what? we'll need to shift to renewable energy, if we don't find ourselves back on coal in a pinch.
i'm not anti-nuclear; i think there's a place for nuclear power, and i think that research should continue to be funded around the potential use of fusion power. but, it's just simply not an answer to the climate crisis, and sanders is at least right to point that out.
the actual problem with nuclear is that the mining and shipping of uranium is so carbon-intensive as to defeat the point of using it. any issues you have with nuclear energy aside, it's just not an answer if you're trying to reduce carbon emissions.
further, we'll eventually run out of uranium, and then what? we'll need to shift to renewable energy, if we don't find ourselves back on coal in a pinch.
i'm not anti-nuclear; i think there's a place for nuclear power, and i think that research should continue to be funded around the potential use of fusion power. but, it's just simply not an answer to the climate crisis, and sanders is at least right to point that out.
it's interesting, though.
because the actual reason that canada exists is gridlock in the colonial parliament. we had an upper and lower canada (quebec and ontario) united in a parliament that just produced an array of tie votes. so, they couldn't govern. to fix this, they brought in the maritime provinces, which were at the time separate colonies. and, then there was a westward expansion, and the final inclusion of newfoundland in 1949. i think the closest we've come to expanding since then are these frequent requests from jamaica.
and, i have to remind america that we have our own history and our own prerogatives, which opens up a set of interesting questions. i mean, i'm pointing out that the american political spectrum would be permanently altered by swallowing canada; it would be more like when the romans tried to conquer the greeks, and the greeks conquered them from the inside, instead. america would find itself slowly conforming to the traditions of it's british origins. might we even redistrict the country into provinces? you'd save a lot of money by getting rid of all of the redundancy in these little states. why not have a northeast, a midwest, a southeast, a northwest, etc?
so, there's a narrative and outcome here that is consistent with the arc of canadian history.
it's just not the narrative anybody is expecting.
because the actual reason that canada exists is gridlock in the colonial parliament. we had an upper and lower canada (quebec and ontario) united in a parliament that just produced an array of tie votes. so, they couldn't govern. to fix this, they brought in the maritime provinces, which were at the time separate colonies. and, then there was a westward expansion, and the final inclusion of newfoundland in 1949. i think the closest we've come to expanding since then are these frequent requests from jamaica.
and, i have to remind america that we have our own history and our own prerogatives, which opens up a set of interesting questions. i mean, i'm pointing out that the american political spectrum would be permanently altered by swallowing canada; it would be more like when the romans tried to conquer the greeks, and the greeks conquered them from the inside, instead. america would find itself slowly conforming to the traditions of it's british origins. might we even redistrict the country into provinces? you'd save a lot of money by getting rid of all of the redundancy in these little states. why not have a northeast, a midwest, a southeast, a northwest, etc?
so, there's a narrative and outcome here that is consistent with the arc of canadian history.
it's just not the narrative anybody is expecting.
this would be the end of the two-party system, and lead to a massive transformation of the american political spectrum.
i used to think that the democrats would eventually do it, and the republicans never would (it would destroy them). but, i don't even think the democrats want us any more.
and, i confidently speak for the country when i say this: i don't want to be an american. at all. sorry.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.5253191/forget-greenland-this-politics-prof-thinks-the-u-s-should-buy-canada-instead-1.5253196
i used to think that the democrats would eventually do it, and the republicans never would (it would destroy them). but, i don't even think the democrats want us any more.
and, i confidently speak for the country when i say this: i don't want to be an american. at all. sorry.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.5253191/forget-greenland-this-politics-prof-thinks-the-u-s-should-buy-canada-instead-1.5253196
i needed to sleep today, clearly.
after i finished the facebook part last night, i spent the overnight pushing myself to stay awake while sorting through google takeout options over various old accounts, looking mostly for youtube comments. i just wanted to be sure i've got everything, as i move into a final push over the 2013-2018 phase, which i suppose will end up being period 5 in the end. it won't let me download data from two old accounts unless i use a phone, which i don't actually have. i mean, it's telling me to use the hardware i usually log in from, but the fact is that this is the hardware i've logged into from the most over the last two years, anyways, and probably, on the balance, over the last ten years. i think it's the only hardware i've logged into these accounts from since this time in 2017. the fact is that the accounts are over ten years old, and i don't remember what computer i created them on, although i am sure that i created them in ottawa.
a google search indicates that this is a problem for a lot of people, but that nobody has an answer.
i would put out a request to google to stop doing this. frankly, this is stupid: i'm giving you a valid password from a machine i've logged into repeatedly over a long period of time, and you're telling me i can't access my own data because i can't prove i'm not a thief. there's not even anything useful in there. i don't even have a credit card. i didn't sign up for an extra layer of security, and if i could i'd opt out of it. maybe, instead of forcing unwanted security measures on a large number of people that keep dummy accounts for various reasons, google could make enhanced security a paid feature for corporate clients, or something. my concern is not security; i don't have anything worthwhile to secure. my concerns is that i want my data, and i want google to stop making it so difficult to get access it.
as it is, i think i've already cleared these accounts out, so what i'm missing out on is just triple-checking that i didn't miss anything. and, i'm moving on.
in the meantime, i got the facebook data - txt messages. some comments. some pictures. - into the master document.
moving forwards, i'm going to add another redundancy check, just to make sure the data is consistent. this is going to be a cross-reference between each of the blogs as they exist, before updating them, with the master document, from the start. so, i'll be able to pull any stray posts into the master document before i redistribute. that's going to be my task for the evening...
i'll then be able to move any remaining data i have from the filing into the master document, and properly distribute it into the blogs and docs from there.
the humidity and temperature have crashed outside, but it's still a little damp in here, so i'm going to wait until i get through october before i take a serious look at doing a thorough clean. it's hard for me to tell what the background smell is. is it the smell of sewer gas on the walls, and some of my furniture? can i clean it off? is it seeping up from under the flooring? would some cheap rugs help? and, was this the "smoke" i was smelling that was making me sick? if i give it a few more days to kind of settle, i may have a better idea. it might not be obvious what the best approach is for a while, though...
for now, if i can get to posting before sunrise then i think i'm doing well.
after i finished the facebook part last night, i spent the overnight pushing myself to stay awake while sorting through google takeout options over various old accounts, looking mostly for youtube comments. i just wanted to be sure i've got everything, as i move into a final push over the 2013-2018 phase, which i suppose will end up being period 5 in the end. it won't let me download data from two old accounts unless i use a phone, which i don't actually have. i mean, it's telling me to use the hardware i usually log in from, but the fact is that this is the hardware i've logged into from the most over the last two years, anyways, and probably, on the balance, over the last ten years. i think it's the only hardware i've logged into these accounts from since this time in 2017. the fact is that the accounts are over ten years old, and i don't remember what computer i created them on, although i am sure that i created them in ottawa.
a google search indicates that this is a problem for a lot of people, but that nobody has an answer.
i would put out a request to google to stop doing this. frankly, this is stupid: i'm giving you a valid password from a machine i've logged into repeatedly over a long period of time, and you're telling me i can't access my own data because i can't prove i'm not a thief. there's not even anything useful in there. i don't even have a credit card. i didn't sign up for an extra layer of security, and if i could i'd opt out of it. maybe, instead of forcing unwanted security measures on a large number of people that keep dummy accounts for various reasons, google could make enhanced security a paid feature for corporate clients, or something. my concern is not security; i don't have anything worthwhile to secure. my concerns is that i want my data, and i want google to stop making it so difficult to get access it.
as it is, i think i've already cleared these accounts out, so what i'm missing out on is just triple-checking that i didn't miss anything. and, i'm moving on.
in the meantime, i got the facebook data - txt messages. some comments. some pictures. - into the master document.
moving forwards, i'm going to add another redundancy check, just to make sure the data is consistent. this is going to be a cross-reference between each of the blogs as they exist, before updating them, with the master document, from the start. so, i'll be able to pull any stray posts into the master document before i redistribute. that's going to be my task for the evening...
i'll then be able to move any remaining data i have from the filing into the master document, and properly distribute it into the blogs and docs from there.
the humidity and temperature have crashed outside, but it's still a little damp in here, so i'm going to wait until i get through october before i take a serious look at doing a thorough clean. it's hard for me to tell what the background smell is. is it the smell of sewer gas on the walls, and some of my furniture? can i clean it off? is it seeping up from under the flooring? would some cheap rugs help? and, was this the "smoke" i was smelling that was making me sick? if i give it a few more days to kind of settle, i may have a better idea. it might not be obvious what the best approach is for a while, though...
for now, if i can get to posting before sunrise then i think i'm doing well.
good.
this is what the planet needs to hear: america needs to lead on this.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/22/climate/bernie-sanders-climate-change.html
this is what the planet needs to hear: america needs to lead on this.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/22/climate/bernie-sanders-climate-change.html
we've seen this before, in world history.
you had the great game for control of india. you had the scramble for african resources.
the arctic is the next piece of the earth that is going to be up for grabs, and, in this case, trump is right: the great powers are going to be vying for control of greenland any day now, so coming in and buying it out makes some sense, if it keeps everybody else out.
i'm not sure the russians would be so polite as to ask.
you had the great game for control of india. you had the scramble for african resources.
the arctic is the next piece of the earth that is going to be up for grabs, and, in this case, trump is right: the great powers are going to be vying for control of greenland any day now, so coming in and buying it out makes some sense, if it keeps everybody else out.
i'm not sure the russians would be so polite as to ask.
i just want to remind everybody that the united states has, in fact, illegally invaded and occupied greenland, in the past. further, this discussion has come up before; this isn't as random as a lot of people are suggesting.
one might even argue that it's inevitable. this is prime real estate, moving into a warming world, and it's not clear what role the danes think they can play in the region. it's going to end up american or russian.
but, donald trump doesn't believe in climate change. right.
one might even argue that it's inevitable. this is prime real estate, moving into a warming world, and it's not clear what role the danes think they can play in the region. it's going to end up american or russian.
but, donald trump doesn't believe in climate change. right.
so, it's becoming clearer and clearer at this point that the plumbing problems in here are not a coincidental or secondary point but at the root cause of pretty much everything bad that is happening down here.
now that the humidity is crashing, probably for the year, i'm going to see if i can clean up around the walls in the morning, to see if i can gain any insight into the situation.
is there a broken pipe under the floor?
i don't expect the landlord to be of much assistance, or even to present an honest response when questioned about the situation, but i'll happily call a plumber and send him the bill, which is my legal right and will likely send him into a fit. he thinks he has "property rights". but, more importantly, i think he thinks he has some kind of dad authority over me, or at least isn't used to being challenged, due to dad status. but, i didn't listen to my own father, and i wouldn't listen to him, even if he was more than 5-7 or so years older than me (i don't think he realizes how old i am, either). so, we may be in court relatively soon, after all. and, he doesn't really have a leg to stand on, if that's how it turns out.
i mean, hopefully he reacts more reasonably, but i expect him to have a hissy fit. he doesn't seem to accept that he has any responsibility as a landlord, here. and, the reality is that that's legally completely unacceptable, and i'm not interested in his emotional reaction to his lease responsibilities - he'll do what he must, or i'll force him to do it via court order.
so, if i find a plumbing leak under the floor, he's going to need to pay to fix it. and, if he fights that, i'll nail him on a rent reduction.
i don't think this string of catastrophic situations is unique. renters across the continent are dealing with one useless landlord after another - this is normal, it's the status quo. what's unique is that i know my rights and i'm not afraid to fight for them.
i'm not certain, yet. but, i'm having a hard time guessing at what else it might be.
now that the humidity is crashing, probably for the year, i'm going to see if i can clean up around the walls in the morning, to see if i can gain any insight into the situation.
is there a broken pipe under the floor?
i don't expect the landlord to be of much assistance, or even to present an honest response when questioned about the situation, but i'll happily call a plumber and send him the bill, which is my legal right and will likely send him into a fit. he thinks he has "property rights". but, more importantly, i think he thinks he has some kind of dad authority over me, or at least isn't used to being challenged, due to dad status. but, i didn't listen to my own father, and i wouldn't listen to him, even if he was more than 5-7 or so years older than me (i don't think he realizes how old i am, either). so, we may be in court relatively soon, after all. and, he doesn't really have a leg to stand on, if that's how it turns out.
i mean, hopefully he reacts more reasonably, but i expect him to have a hissy fit. he doesn't seem to accept that he has any responsibility as a landlord, here. and, the reality is that that's legally completely unacceptable, and i'm not interested in his emotional reaction to his lease responsibilities - he'll do what he must, or i'll force him to do it via court order.
so, if i find a plumbing leak under the floor, he's going to need to pay to fix it. and, if he fights that, i'll nail him on a rent reduction.
i don't think this string of catastrophic situations is unique. renters across the continent are dealing with one useless landlord after another - this is normal, it's the status quo. what's unique is that i know my rights and i'm not afraid to fight for them.
i'm not certain, yet. but, i'm having a hard time guessing at what else it might be.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
i didn't know that pat robertson's father was a senator.
....just like george hw bush's.
mmmmmhhmmmm.
it's especially curious, given just how similar hw looked to his father, prescott.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absalom_Willis_Robertson
....just like george hw bush's.
mmmmmhhmmmm.
it's especially curious, given just how similar hw looked to his father, prescott.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absalom_Willis_Robertson
i want to be clear that this is why i got off of facebook.
yes, i found the hive mindset to be a little bit scary. and, while i think that the premise that the russians are all over facebook is in truth a lie that the cia paid rachel maddow a lot of money to propagate, i do think there are legitimate concerns about local governments eavesdropping on their own citizens. that feinstein report disappeared about the same time that the russian narrative hit.
but, the real reason i had to get off is just that the site sucks. it's slow, it's buggy, it's impossible to navigate...
yes, i found the hive mindset to be a little bit scary. and, while i think that the premise that the russians are all over facebook is in truth a lie that the cia paid rachel maddow a lot of money to propagate, i do think there are legitimate concerns about local governments eavesdropping on their own citizens. that feinstein report disappeared about the same time that the russian narrative hit.
but, the real reason i had to get off is just that the site sucks. it's slow, it's buggy, it's impossible to navigate...
again: this is just embarrassing.
we're essentially legislating child abuse. and, all of these parents that want to keep their children ignorant and sheltered until they end up pregnant and/or diseased because they didn't know any better should be ashamed of themselves. i may even support a policy that bans adults from welfare if they didn't get sex ed when they were kids: send the bill to the fucking mosque.
what's next? a waiver for science class?
public education is paramount. and, as parents, you should not have the right to control what your child learns at school - that should be a collective decision, and should be shaped by experts, because a big part of what public education is is about undoing the nonsense that is being taught at home.
i'm not even angry. i'm distraught. i'm grieving. rip, ontario.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-new-sex-ed-curriculum-1.5254327
we're essentially legislating child abuse. and, all of these parents that want to keep their children ignorant and sheltered until they end up pregnant and/or diseased because they didn't know any better should be ashamed of themselves. i may even support a policy that bans adults from welfare if they didn't get sex ed when they were kids: send the bill to the fucking mosque.
what's next? a waiver for science class?
public education is paramount. and, as parents, you should not have the right to control what your child learns at school - that should be a collective decision, and should be shaped by experts, because a big part of what public education is is about undoing the nonsense that is being taught at home.
i'm not even angry. i'm distraught. i'm grieving. rip, ontario.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-new-sex-ed-curriculum-1.5254327
please.
polling is clear that canadians view this as the biggest electoral issue on the table. and, the reason he's going to lose the balance of power, if he doesn't lose outright, is that he has consistently refused to take real, tangible actions to reduce emissions.
the only loser, here, is justin trudeau.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/wherry-book-trudeau-climate-change-election-1.5243737
polling is clear that canadians view this as the biggest electoral issue on the table. and, the reason he's going to lose the balance of power, if he doesn't lose outright, is that he has consistently refused to take real, tangible actions to reduce emissions.
the only loser, here, is justin trudeau.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/wherry-book-trudeau-climate-change-election-1.5243737
are you confused by this?
there's a reason that most drag queens identify as gay men, and don't have the slightest interest in transitioning. the routine is a way for them to carry out their male desires for control. so, the whole thing is a misnomer; it's not really about men impersonating women, so much as it's about men being men. it's a male thing through and through.
the transgendered side tends to avoid all of that kind of stuff.
there's a reason that most drag queens identify as gay men, and don't have the slightest interest in transitioning. the routine is a way for them to carry out their male desires for control. so, the whole thing is a misnomer; it's not really about men impersonating women, so much as it's about men being men. it's a male thing through and through.
the transgendered side tends to avoid all of that kind of stuff.
no, it's actually not that i have some kind of problem with nudity. almost nobody in this world has seen me naked, and there's almost nothing anybody could do to convince me to undress for them, but i would feel comfortable enough in a nudist colony, or on a nude beach or something, so long as they were matter of fact about it.
and, burlesque actually involves very little nudity, from what i understand about it. it's not about taking your clothes off, it's about keeping them on...
what actually bugs me about burlesque and stripping and other things of the sort is that it's about controlling people. i don't enjoy being manipulated like that, nor do i have any desire to manipulate others in that way. and, i'm not able to see past the basic monetary exchange and erect something exciting about it; i don't fantasize about being taken advantage of, and i'm not naive enough to suspend disbelief and forget it. even if there's not actual money involved, it's still about control, and it's consequently still gross. and, i don't think there's a way to really sanitize it and make it fun without removing it from the public arena.
some people are going to talk about female empowerment, but i think this is taking the wrong approach to equality. i mean, it's easy to understand why a capitalist society would want to focus more on empowering women than it does on emasculating men, sure. but, when your end point is the abolition of all hierarchy and exploitation, this is actually kind of a massive step backwards. two wrongs don't make a right, sort of thing.
like i say: i'm not going to go out and protest it or anything, but i don't want to be anywhere near it.
and, burlesque actually involves very little nudity, from what i understand about it. it's not about taking your clothes off, it's about keeping them on...
what actually bugs me about burlesque and stripping and other things of the sort is that it's about controlling people. i don't enjoy being manipulated like that, nor do i have any desire to manipulate others in that way. and, i'm not able to see past the basic monetary exchange and erect something exciting about it; i don't fantasize about being taken advantage of, and i'm not naive enough to suspend disbelief and forget it. even if there's not actual money involved, it's still about control, and it's consequently still gross. and, i don't think there's a way to really sanitize it and make it fun without removing it from the public arena.
some people are going to talk about female empowerment, but i think this is taking the wrong approach to equality. i mean, it's easy to understand why a capitalist society would want to focus more on empowering women than it does on emasculating men, sure. but, when your end point is the abolition of all hierarchy and exploitation, this is actually kind of a massive step backwards. two wrongs don't make a right, sort of thing.
like i say: i'm not going to go out and protest it or anything, but i don't want to be anywhere near it.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
yeah, it's time to stop to eat, and october should be super fast. i spent the beginning of the month doing a lot of writing, so it's mostly going to be about archiving writing posts to the blogs. no scripts. no files, even. the rest of it is mostly posted, although we're also going to see the first actual dtk posts, too.
i don't think it'll take more than 24 hours to finish the master document. and, it's just going to be pictures, page updates and emails, mostly with the initial landlord. the only other thing to add will be messenger posts, but october is the point where those break up, too.
for what it's worth, as the alter-reality has been rewound from 20 to 30 years as a consequence of getting bogged down with various things, the first half of 2013 will not be posted until 2043, if i even make it that long. i'll be 62 at that point. so, these characters are fading out now, and it's going to be along time before they're worked back in.
if i make it, most of them will probably be dead.
but, i'm over the hump with this, i think, and it should be a lot faster from here on in.
i don't think it'll take more than 24 hours to finish the master document. and, it's just going to be pictures, page updates and emails, mostly with the initial landlord. the only other thing to add will be messenger posts, but october is the point where those break up, too.
for what it's worth, as the alter-reality has been rewound from 20 to 30 years as a consequence of getting bogged down with various things, the first half of 2013 will not be posted until 2043, if i even make it that long. i'll be 62 at that point. so, these characters are fading out now, and it's going to be along time before they're worked back in.
if i make it, most of them will probably be dead.
but, i'm over the hump with this, i think, and it should be a lot faster from here on in.
so, i slept a fair amount today, and that's ok. i seem to have developed a habit of not really sleeping when i get back from detroit, and needing to wait a few days to catch up. so, if i'm up and ready for the week then that's a quick turnover.
the rotting smell has at least passed, from what i can tell, although it's lifting has brought back a bit of a musty smell. i'm going to tone it down and wait a few days before i take the next step on this. my old fender bass amp has a carpet around it, and it seems to pick up smells fairly quickly. it's also directly in front of me. so, i might need to air the place out more than anything else. it's way, way, way better.
it's almost time to finish laundry, and make something to eat. but, i'm going to be filing october for the night, and could potentially be posting in a day or two.
the rotting smell has at least passed, from what i can tell, although it's lifting has brought back a bit of a musty smell. i'm going to tone it down and wait a few days before i take the next step on this. my old fender bass amp has a carpet around it, and it seems to pick up smells fairly quickly. it's also directly in front of me. so, i might need to air the place out more than anything else. it's way, way, way better.
it's almost time to finish laundry, and make something to eat. but, i'm going to be filing october for the night, and could potentially be posting in a day or two.
Monday, August 19, 2019
they should raise property taxes and loudly blame it on doug ford.
call it the "doug tax"
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ontario-cuts-health-care-child-care_ca_5d5a7ac5e4b056fafd0e9295
call it the "doug tax"
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/ontario-cuts-health-care-child-care_ca_5d5a7ac5e4b056fafd0e9295
i think the smell has mostly lifted, at this point. the final test will be to shower, and i'm just about to hop in. i just wanted to wait for the heat to come down a little, and to get my sheets & blanket out of the laundry, first.
how was the show?
i was, as usual, a little late, and missed both the jazz show and the tomato fest. and, i mixed myself a stronger than normal pre-drink, so i was a little bit tipsy from the getgo.
the route i take to hamtramck took me past the russell, which was having a marijuana festival, which was headlined by the wutang clan. they were also having a marijuana festival on the 7/20 weekend, which was headlined by sunsquabi. there's even a section of the complex nicknamed "dab alley". so, i may prefer my russells with a side of bertrand, but this place dispenses with the ert and caters more to the brand side of russellphilism. i think i speak for a lot of the area when i say i'm just glad the complex is actually being used. it's about time they fixed the probably hundreds of windows that were broken in a tornado back in 1999, though. hey, this is why i came here.
i was hoping to just bump into a session as i biked by on the way to the show, but i managed to find some friendly michiganders that gifted me a couple of pre-rolls. so, i knew i was going to be there overnight from the start.
i missed most of the first act, partly because i was just walking in at 20:00 and partly because sitting down was kind of key, and there was only standing room in the place. they seemed to be mixing up some horns with some math-y patterns, but the fact is that i didn't catch a lot of it.
i was most interested in the second act, which came in from boston with an array of vintage 70s synthesizers. there were people in the crowd talking about "elp spliced with santana", but i think a better reference point is something like chick corea; they dabbled in prog and funk, but they were fundamentally a jazz fusion act, complete with a guitarist making generous allan holdsworth references. so, if you've ever enjoyed a record by the band uk, you might have loved this. they're called "space junk forever".
earth engine were a little less adventurous. they had moments, but i actually found them to be a bit generic. that happens sometimes when you take a lot of different ideas from different places without really crafting them into your own ideas. so, you get this shifting array of cliches in an unexpected order. i'd like to hear them build on their sound a bit more.
and, just plurals were, likewise, fairly predictable math, if enjoyable enough at that time, with that beer.
i got to the diner around 4:00, got some eggs and caught the early bus home...
...and then spent the day cleaning. now that the smell appears to be contained, i had the task of cleaning the smell out of the general area. in fact, it seems to have lifted pretty quickly, but i wanted to lysol all around there, anyways.
so, i'll be doing laundry all night, and if i don't get back to work before i sleep next, i should be on it right after i wake up.
how was the show?
i was, as usual, a little late, and missed both the jazz show and the tomato fest. and, i mixed myself a stronger than normal pre-drink, so i was a little bit tipsy from the getgo.
the route i take to hamtramck took me past the russell, which was having a marijuana festival, which was headlined by the wutang clan. they were also having a marijuana festival on the 7/20 weekend, which was headlined by sunsquabi. there's even a section of the complex nicknamed "dab alley". so, i may prefer my russells with a side of bertrand, but this place dispenses with the ert and caters more to the brand side of russellphilism. i think i speak for a lot of the area when i say i'm just glad the complex is actually being used. it's about time they fixed the probably hundreds of windows that were broken in a tornado back in 1999, though. hey, this is why i came here.
i was hoping to just bump into a session as i biked by on the way to the show, but i managed to find some friendly michiganders that gifted me a couple of pre-rolls. so, i knew i was going to be there overnight from the start.
i missed most of the first act, partly because i was just walking in at 20:00 and partly because sitting down was kind of key, and there was only standing room in the place. they seemed to be mixing up some horns with some math-y patterns, but the fact is that i didn't catch a lot of it.
i was most interested in the second act, which came in from boston with an array of vintage 70s synthesizers. there were people in the crowd talking about "elp spliced with santana", but i think a better reference point is something like chick corea; they dabbled in prog and funk, but they were fundamentally a jazz fusion act, complete with a guitarist making generous allan holdsworth references. so, if you've ever enjoyed a record by the band uk, you might have loved this. they're called "space junk forever".
earth engine were a little less adventurous. they had moments, but i actually found them to be a bit generic. that happens sometimes when you take a lot of different ideas from different places without really crafting them into your own ideas. so, you get this shifting array of cliches in an unexpected order. i'd like to hear them build on their sound a bit more.
and, just plurals were, likewise, fairly predictable math, if enjoyable enough at that time, with that beer.
i got to the diner around 4:00, got some eggs and caught the early bus home...
...and then spent the day cleaning. now that the smell appears to be contained, i had the task of cleaning the smell out of the general area. in fact, it seems to have lifted pretty quickly, but i wanted to lysol all around there, anyways.
so, i'll be doing laundry all night, and if i don't get back to work before i sleep next, i should be on it right after i wake up.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
there was this one time...
it was my friend's 18th birthday. i'm born at the beginning of the year, so i was always a little older. and, there was a third party driving that was a little older than both of us. he was a weird character; he stayed with several of my friends for long periods, on couches, at the time, and was known for handing out large amounts of free mushrooms.
the older one picked us up somewhere near my place (near pius) after school and initially didn't tell either of us where we were going. but, it was obvious once we got over the bridge and on to the 50.
even then, i didn't feel comfortable about it. so, i pretended i forgot my id and smoked a joint by myself out in the car, instead.
it was my friend's 18th birthday. i'm born at the beginning of the year, so i was always a little older. and, there was a third party driving that was a little older than both of us. he was a weird character; he stayed with several of my friends for long periods, on couches, at the time, and was known for handing out large amounts of free mushrooms.
the older one picked us up somewhere near my place (near pius) after school and initially didn't tell either of us where we were going. but, it was obvious once we got over the bridge and on to the 50.
even then, i didn't feel comfortable about it. so, i pretended i forgot my id and smoked a joint by myself out in the car, instead.
apparently, it's all about what the meaning of if is.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/08/18/spare-me-the-hpony-apologies.html
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2019/08/18/spare-me-the-hpony-apologies.html
and, frankly, when they hear these white folks come down from new york, and they be all talkin' about bringing drugs into the community, they have reason to interpret that as a red flag.
because they do know that it's always been white folks from new york that are behind this. some with last names like delano, in fact.
because they do know that it's always been white folks from new york that are behind this. some with last names like delano, in fact.
what your average church-going black woman in southern georgia wants to hear is what it is that you're going to do to keep drugs out of her community. she wants to know how you're going to protect her and her family from the pushers and predators.
she might not want her kids or grandkids in jail, granted. but what she really wants is to keep the drugs away from them.
and, while the science is obviously paramount, any policy designed to win southern black voters has to be designed with this in mind.
she might not want her kids or grandkids in jail, granted. but what she really wants is to keep the drugs away from them.
and, while the science is obviously paramount, any policy designed to win southern black voters has to be designed with this in mind.
what is the war on drugs?
because if you're going to oppose it, defining it first is important.
where i come from, it's been generally understood that the war on drugs - much like the war on terrorism after it and the war against communism before it - was mostly just an excuse to advance american geostrategic interests, mostly in latin america. to the extent that much of anything associated with the war on drugs had anything to actually do with drugs, the focus appears to have mostly been to control the supply, in order to inflate the price. and, there seems to be good evidence that the drugs were introduced into specific communities by the government itself, in an attempt to control and in some cases enslave certain segments of the population. from that perspective, talking about ending the war on drugs in 2019 is somewhat of an anachronistic position - the war on drugs largely turned into the war on terrorism, in the sense that the propaganda shifted.
i would oppose the war on drugs in this sense, which basically means no longer propping up dictatorships in latin america. i bet bernie could have a long discussion about this, giving that he lived through it and i don't really remember it, first hand. but, if that's what he meant, he may have confused people.
if you're referring to abolishing actual domestic drug laws when you talk about the "war on drugs", which i think is what the term is likely to mean to a contemporary audience, then you're moving into the libertarian right in a way that is going to lose a lot of people. and, it's a strange thing to hear from a guy that's threatened to put pharmaceutical executives in jail as a corollary of the opiate crisis. there are certain drugs - opiates, methamphetamines, crack/cocaine - that are just an absolute scourge on society and that a war truly needs to be fought against. while i may agree that we should take more intelligent tactics in our war against these drugs, which may require changing certain laws, the idea of ending that war is not something i'm in favour of at all.
i just think this is a language thing: that term, war on drugs, may not mean the same thing to you as it does to bernie sanders, or it does to me. and, some clarification is required on everybody's behalf.
because if you're going to oppose it, defining it first is important.
where i come from, it's been generally understood that the war on drugs - much like the war on terrorism after it and the war against communism before it - was mostly just an excuse to advance american geostrategic interests, mostly in latin america. to the extent that much of anything associated with the war on drugs had anything to actually do with drugs, the focus appears to have mostly been to control the supply, in order to inflate the price. and, there seems to be good evidence that the drugs were introduced into specific communities by the government itself, in an attempt to control and in some cases enslave certain segments of the population. from that perspective, talking about ending the war on drugs in 2019 is somewhat of an anachronistic position - the war on drugs largely turned into the war on terrorism, in the sense that the propaganda shifted.
i would oppose the war on drugs in this sense, which basically means no longer propping up dictatorships in latin america. i bet bernie could have a long discussion about this, giving that he lived through it and i don't really remember it, first hand. but, if that's what he meant, he may have confused people.
if you're referring to abolishing actual domestic drug laws when you talk about the "war on drugs", which i think is what the term is likely to mean to a contemporary audience, then you're moving into the libertarian right in a way that is going to lose a lot of people. and, it's a strange thing to hear from a guy that's threatened to put pharmaceutical executives in jail as a corollary of the opiate crisis. there are certain drugs - opiates, methamphetamines, crack/cocaine - that are just an absolute scourge on society and that a war truly needs to be fought against. while i may agree that we should take more intelligent tactics in our war against these drugs, which may require changing certain laws, the idea of ending that war is not something i'm in favour of at all.
i just think this is a language thing: that term, war on drugs, may not mean the same thing to you as it does to bernie sanders, or it does to me. and, some clarification is required on everybody's behalf.
it's the dealers and manufacturers of dangerous drugs that i want to put in jail, not the users of them, whom i would consider victims of an industry that should be shut down with extreme force.
in a single-payer healthcare system, supervised injection sites are useful because they reduce the deadweight costs associated with drug users. and, i consequently support them as a cost-cutting measure. that is the actual reason that liberal governments have allowed them in canada - as the actual reason that we have a single-payer system (as designed by and brought in by the liberals) is that it makes us more economically competitive.
further, the idea of capital punishment is anathema to most canadians. it's not even thought about. it's insane that america still does this.
but, he doesn't think this is going to win him black votes in the bible belt does he? they don't want less incarceration, there. they want a stronger police presence to keep their communities safe, more action to keep drugs off the street and more retribution in the system, to ensure that the evil doers get what's coming to them.
it's a policy that might be popular in chicago or detroit or new york, but it's political suicide in the southeast.
https://www.apnews.com/6d4cf74fef0b4b36a086682780ac8937
in a single-payer healthcare system, supervised injection sites are useful because they reduce the deadweight costs associated with drug users. and, i consequently support them as a cost-cutting measure. that is the actual reason that liberal governments have allowed them in canada - as the actual reason that we have a single-payer system (as designed by and brought in by the liberals) is that it makes us more economically competitive.
further, the idea of capital punishment is anathema to most canadians. it's not even thought about. it's insane that america still does this.
but, he doesn't think this is going to win him black votes in the bible belt does he? they don't want less incarceration, there. they want a stronger police presence to keep their communities safe, more action to keep drugs off the street and more retribution in the system, to ensure that the evil doers get what's coming to them.
it's a policy that might be popular in chicago or detroit or new york, but it's political suicide in the southeast.
https://www.apnews.com/6d4cf74fef0b4b36a086682780ac8937
it my be true that whites are projected to be a minority in the total voting population some time in the middle of the century, but that observation, however relevant it actually is, doesn't help you win the election in 2020. the united states does not elect a president with the popular vote, and i'm not aware of any projections suggesting that whites are going to cede control of the electoral college, the thing that matters, any time soon. so, this democratic strategy of trying to win minority voters in red states is a tentative strategy in the distant future, not a realistic one in front of us today.
this is, in truth, not a controversial point, and the fact that it's being seen as one is just reflective of the delusions underlying the campaign. the entire discourse is stuck in 2008. but, why did clinton lose to trump? it's not because she didn't do well enough with minorities.
and, if you're making a serious run at the democratic nomination in 2020 - not 2070. 2020. - the calculation is crystal clear and obvious: winning minority votes is easy, while winning white votes is hard. and, it's the hard task you have to accomplish to actually win.
but, there's a more cynical problem underlying this strategy i'm talking about of relying on minority voters to overpower white voters. even if it were to work, is that what a responsible politician would want? that's a dangerous path, one that's going to lead to a lot of problems. again: one would expect a politician of the left to try and move past race, not try and exploit it as a wedge issue. this isn't a society i want to live in, and there's good reason that white voters aren't reacting very well to it: it's an algorithm for another civil war.
bernie remains a lesser evil in a field full of pretty evil candidates. his policies are far and away the best on the table and if, like me, you're mostly concerned about policy, then he has no serious competitor in the primary. but, i think i've been clear that i wish he did have one because his temperament and personality is a problem. he has this me v. the world attitude that liberals usually associate with the right, but that i know from experience is a pretty endemic problem on the pseudo-left. these people just don't accept criticism of any sort - you are with them or against them, like politics is some kind of sport rather than a process of consensus building. they've fundamentally lost the plot.
so, i can keep trolling bernie if you want, and i no doubt will, but i think the more important lesson is to realize how easy it is to set him off, and to ask yourself whether you want this guy with his finger on the button or not. a successful president is going to need to be less defensive, less authoritarian and more willing to listen to the views of people that disagree with him. these kneejerk reactions and strong arm tactics don't seem to be that different than the guy they've got now.
this is, in truth, not a controversial point, and the fact that it's being seen as one is just reflective of the delusions underlying the campaign. the entire discourse is stuck in 2008. but, why did clinton lose to trump? it's not because she didn't do well enough with minorities.
and, if you're making a serious run at the democratic nomination in 2020 - not 2070. 2020. - the calculation is crystal clear and obvious: winning minority votes is easy, while winning white votes is hard. and, it's the hard task you have to accomplish to actually win.
but, there's a more cynical problem underlying this strategy i'm talking about of relying on minority voters to overpower white voters. even if it were to work, is that what a responsible politician would want? that's a dangerous path, one that's going to lead to a lot of problems. again: one would expect a politician of the left to try and move past race, not try and exploit it as a wedge issue. this isn't a society i want to live in, and there's good reason that white voters aren't reacting very well to it: it's an algorithm for another civil war.
bernie remains a lesser evil in a field full of pretty evil candidates. his policies are far and away the best on the table and if, like me, you're mostly concerned about policy, then he has no serious competitor in the primary. but, i think i've been clear that i wish he did have one because his temperament and personality is a problem. he has this me v. the world attitude that liberals usually associate with the right, but that i know from experience is a pretty endemic problem on the pseudo-left. these people just don't accept criticism of any sort - you are with them or against them, like politics is some kind of sport rather than a process of consensus building. they've fundamentally lost the plot.
so, i can keep trolling bernie if you want, and i no doubt will, but i think the more important lesson is to realize how easy it is to set him off, and to ask yourself whether you want this guy with his finger on the button or not. a successful president is going to need to be less defensive, less authoritarian and more willing to listen to the views of people that disagree with him. these kneejerk reactions and strong arm tactics don't seem to be that different than the guy they've got now.
guess i'm awake.
it doesn't appear to have rained here tonight after all, in fact it's very nice out, but i'm doubling down on there not having been anything really worthwhile to actually do. i would have had a few beers at villain's, talked about nothing of substance, and then gone out to try and figure out if this place down the street is an after hours club or a strip club (i don't actually know, and it might even be both).
i've never entered a strip club in my life, and don't really want to enter one now.
it's too early to tell if the smell is really lifted or not. there's a faint background, but i don't know if it just means i need to clean or if it's indicative of a lingering problem. at the least, i think i've finally actually identified what the problem actually is.
so, i've got tonight left, but do i actually want to go anywhere or not? i don't want to force myself out if i don't want to actually go.
i've been out a lot this summer, but when the introversion hits, it hits hard and lasts a long time. i will go weeks or months without talking to anybody. i'm careening in that direction, but am i actually there yet?
it doesn't appear to have rained here tonight after all, in fact it's very nice out, but i'm doubling down on there not having been anything really worthwhile to actually do. i would have had a few beers at villain's, talked about nothing of substance, and then gone out to try and figure out if this place down the street is an after hours club or a strip club (i don't actually know, and it might even be both).
i've never entered a strip club in my life, and don't really want to enter one now.
it's too early to tell if the smell is really lifted or not. there's a faint background, but i don't know if it just means i need to clean or if it's indicative of a lingering problem. at the least, i think i've finally actually identified what the problem actually is.
so, i've got tonight left, but do i actually want to go anywhere or not? i don't want to force myself out if i don't want to actually go.
i've been out a lot this summer, but when the introversion hits, it hits hard and lasts a long time. i will go weeks or months without talking to anybody. i'm careening in that direction, but am i actually there yet?
Saturday, August 17, 2019
no.
it's disingenuous.
if you want to beat trump, south carolina offers you nothing of any value. the reason is twofold. first, the democrats have no chance of swinging the state. second, the party can take at least 90% of the black vote for granted.
if you want to beat trump, you need to focus on states you can actually win, like nevada, iowa, new hampshire, wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania...
...and winning those states means the party needs to perform better with white voters.
so, you need to make that choice: do you want to win or not? campaigning against white supremacism in south carolina is just tilting at windmills.
it's disingenuous.
if you want to beat trump, south carolina offers you nothing of any value. the reason is twofold. first, the democrats have no chance of swinging the state. second, the party can take at least 90% of the black vote for granted.
if you want to beat trump, you need to focus on states you can actually win, like nevada, iowa, new hampshire, wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania...
...and winning those states means the party needs to perform better with white voters.
so, you need to make that choice: do you want to win or not? campaigning against white supremacism in south carolina is just tilting at windmills.
actually, i think i just needed to understand how the system worked a little bit better. i went to university for a long time, but i'm not a plumber, and i don't actually know anything about plumbing. but that's how you learn, right.
so, there's a p-trap beside the cleanout (i think i said dugout previously) and apparently it can evaporate, thereby releasing sewer gas. and, the guy upstairs likes it cold and dry, so he was no doubt running a dehumidifier down here. and, i like it hot, at least, even if i'm struggling with the dry air. so, the conditions for evaporation were present.
what you're supposed to do is fill it up with water, so i untaped it and then i did that.
but, then i taped it back up again to try and lock the moisture in. maybe i can put a ziplock bag over it or something; crazy glue the tupperware.
i still need to lysol the fuck out of it. and we'll see if it even works or not. but this at least makes sense.
then, why did running the water stop the smell? i guess it must have been blocking the gas from coming back up the trap.
if it works, i'm probably at least mostly right.
so, there's a p-trap beside the cleanout (i think i said dugout previously) and apparently it can evaporate, thereby releasing sewer gas. and, the guy upstairs likes it cold and dry, so he was no doubt running a dehumidifier down here. and, i like it hot, at least, even if i'm struggling with the dry air. so, the conditions for evaporation were present.
what you're supposed to do is fill it up with water, so i untaped it and then i did that.
but, then i taped it back up again to try and lock the moisture in. maybe i can put a ziplock bag over it or something; crazy glue the tupperware.
i still need to lysol the fuck out of it. and we'll see if it even works or not. but this at least makes sense.
then, why did running the water stop the smell? i guess it must have been blocking the gas from coming back up the trap.
if it works, i'm probably at least mostly right.
ok, so, i left the fan on for groceries, but turned the water off, and i came home to the most disgusting stench i've ever smelled, distributed over the entire space. i had to open up the closet and see what the fuck is going on in there.
is it the gas after all? well, i started by turning it off and draining the tank. what i was experiencing was that the smell came back after i turned the water off, so what happens if i turn the gas off?
there does not appear to be any odor coming from the heater, but there's a dugout beside the main that is just rank. i suppose that the right answer is probably that there is in fact something rotting in there, like i thought in the first place. but, i can't just run the hot water 24/7.
what i'm going to try and do as a stop-gap is just tape the dugout up and lysol the space. if that doesn't work, i'm going to need to get the landlord to call a roto-rooter....
is it the gas after all? well, i started by turning it off and draining the tank. what i was experiencing was that the smell came back after i turned the water off, so what happens if i turn the gas off?
there does not appear to be any odor coming from the heater, but there's a dugout beside the main that is just rank. i suppose that the right answer is probably that there is in fact something rotting in there, like i thought in the first place. but, i can't just run the hot water 24/7.
what i'm going to try and do as a stop-gap is just tape the dugout up and lysol the space. if that doesn't work, i'm going to need to get the landlord to call a roto-rooter....
is marijuana legalization actually....
....population control?
listen, i just want the ability to choose when i'm stoned and when i'm not. that's what it comes down to. and, that should be a fundamental right.
and, i shouldn't have to send a thug with a gun after you to get you to respect that, either.
i tried to turn the water off a few hours ago and i just got swamped. *shrug*. so, i've got something up at reddit asking what it means when the water from your your water main reeks and running the hot water flushes out the smell. i mean, it's almost like a crude boil water. is it just a function of the bad water supply? is the water here really that gross?
but, now that i'm starting to get a better grasp of what's happening, i can hardly turn the water off and deal with it.
fwiw, it did rain here early this morning, which is when i'd have been trying to enjoy the overnight. and, they're officially calling for rain this evening @ 90% certainty. i'm actually kind of relieved about it as i don't think i'd have that much fun at villain's. and, that means i'm officially staying in, and hoping it clears up for tomorrow.
i've started on october, as well, and i think it's likely a pretty quick job, relative to the last few. that's not to say that it's less data, overall (it might be more), but that most of it is already done. and, that should be the norm moving forwards, too. if i'm in for the month, i could get through 2013 before september 1st.
so, i'm going to step away, take a quick grocery run before the rain hits, make some eggs and then hop in the shower. if it doesn't clear up tomorrow, that might be my last step outside the house this month. at the least, i'm planning for a long slog through the rebuild.
i guess i have two modes. and, i'm potentially swinging back to hermit mode, now, as i push back into getting some work done.
....population control?
listen, i just want the ability to choose when i'm stoned and when i'm not. that's what it comes down to. and, that should be a fundamental right.
and, i shouldn't have to send a thug with a gun after you to get you to respect that, either.
i tried to turn the water off a few hours ago and i just got swamped. *shrug*. so, i've got something up at reddit asking what it means when the water from your your water main reeks and running the hot water flushes out the smell. i mean, it's almost like a crude boil water. is it just a function of the bad water supply? is the water here really that gross?
but, now that i'm starting to get a better grasp of what's happening, i can hardly turn the water off and deal with it.
fwiw, it did rain here early this morning, which is when i'd have been trying to enjoy the overnight. and, they're officially calling for rain this evening @ 90% certainty. i'm actually kind of relieved about it as i don't think i'd have that much fun at villain's. and, that means i'm officially staying in, and hoping it clears up for tomorrow.
i've started on october, as well, and i think it's likely a pretty quick job, relative to the last few. that's not to say that it's less data, overall (it might be more), but that most of it is already done. and, that should be the norm moving forwards, too. if i'm in for the month, i could get through 2013 before september 1st.
so, i'm going to step away, take a quick grocery run before the rain hits, make some eggs and then hop in the shower. if it doesn't clear up tomorrow, that might be my last step outside the house this month. at the least, i'm planning for a long slog through the rebuild.
i guess i have two modes. and, i'm potentially swinging back to hermit mode, now, as i push back into getting some work done.
"marijuana cures cancer".
riiiiiight.
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/throwback-thursday-when-doctors-prescribed-healthy-cigarette-brands-165404/
riiiiiight.
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/throwback-thursday-when-doctors-prescribed-healthy-cigarette-brands-165404/
it's funny that he doesn't realize that marijuana is just the next entry in the list, though.
when we get the data in on cancer rates for "medicinal" users, a lot of people are going to have a lot of egg on their face.
"fool me once..."
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/20/15328384/opioid-epidemic-drug-legalization
when we get the data in on cancer rates for "medicinal" users, a lot of people are going to have a lot of egg on their face.
"fool me once..."
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/4/20/15328384/opioid-epidemic-drug-legalization
i mean, i've pointed this out before.
the police are there to moderate the drug trade, rather than shut it down. and, at the end of the day, they're also there to protect the drug dealers from the wrath of the anger in the community about the effects of addiction.
so, there's this weird thinking on the libertarian right that removing the state would lead to a society that is more lax on drug use. but, i'd rather argue that, in an actual anarchist society, when the police are no longer there to protect the pushers, what would actually happen to people pushing hard drugs like meth, crack or heroin is that they'd be strung up in a tree by an angry mob.
and, if you were the fucker that sold my daughter her last hit before she overdosed, and the cops weren't there to protect you, i can tell you that i'd be looking for your head on a pole.
it was genesis p'orridge that pointed out that heroin is only less dangerous than capitalism. and, you really can't make sense of hard drug use outside of a capitalist paradigm - only a society rooted in the naivete of free markets would allow for such a thing.
the police are there to moderate the drug trade, rather than shut it down. and, at the end of the day, they're also there to protect the drug dealers from the wrath of the anger in the community about the effects of addiction.
so, there's this weird thinking on the libertarian right that removing the state would lead to a society that is more lax on drug use. but, i'd rather argue that, in an actual anarchist society, when the police are no longer there to protect the pushers, what would actually happen to people pushing hard drugs like meth, crack or heroin is that they'd be strung up in a tree by an angry mob.
and, if you were the fucker that sold my daughter her last hit before she overdosed, and the cops weren't there to protect you, i can tell you that i'd be looking for your head on a pole.
it was genesis p'orridge that pointed out that heroin is only less dangerous than capitalism. and, you really can't make sense of hard drug use outside of a capitalist paradigm - only a society rooted in the naivete of free markets would allow for such a thing.
see, i'm in a shitty situation.
i would not hesitate to call a meth lab in. the stuff is literally poison, and if he's cooking meth then he definitely belongs in jail. i categorize meth with opiates, and i have zero tolerance for it. how many kids has he killed or otherwise damaged for life? i'm actually really not very "liberal" when it comes to drug laws - i'm a socialist before i'm a liberal, and the fact is that the far left has really never had much patience for this kind of thing. and, i actually think we need to be writing very strict bylaws around residential marijuana use. if this confuses you, check your strawman.
but, if i call in the narcotics squad, they're going to seize the place, and i'm going to end up homeless. nor do i want to approach him about running a meth lab.
what i need is for the fucking oversight body to get the report in already so i can launch my legal action, get my settlement and get out of here.
i'm stuck, until then.
but, he's not going to like the cost of his water bill.
i would not hesitate to call a meth lab in. the stuff is literally poison, and if he's cooking meth then he definitely belongs in jail. i categorize meth with opiates, and i have zero tolerance for it. how many kids has he killed or otherwise damaged for life? i'm actually really not very "liberal" when it comes to drug laws - i'm a socialist before i'm a liberal, and the fact is that the far left has really never had much patience for this kind of thing. and, i actually think we need to be writing very strict bylaws around residential marijuana use. if this confuses you, check your strawman.
but, if i call in the narcotics squad, they're going to seize the place, and i'm going to end up homeless. nor do i want to approach him about running a meth lab.
what i need is for the fucking oversight body to get the report in already so i can launch my legal action, get my settlement and get out of here.
i'm stuck, until then.
but, he's not going to like the cost of his water bill.
yeah, i guess the unavoidable conclusion is that there is something in there. bacteria. a blockage. even a broken pipe. i don't know.
running the water gets rid of the smell, so what does that mean? if it was a partial block, you'd think running the water wouldn't be very effective. so, do i just try to use more bleach?
the other thing is that it was fine, yesterday. so, why did it come back today?
i'm going to let the hot water run for a long time and periodically run the rest of that bottle of bleach through.
but, i'm starting to more seriously suspect a meth lab upstairs, and am beginning to wonder if that's what his no smoking lease clause was really about, given that he does seem to smoke. i mean, i've been wondering why the fuck somebody signs a no-smoking lease, then starts smoking. that might be the answer....
maybe it's coming from under me because he's dumping something into the water table via the pipes.
running the water gets rid of the smell, so what does that mean? if it was a partial block, you'd think running the water wouldn't be very effective. so, do i just try to use more bleach?
the other thing is that it was fine, yesterday. so, why did it come back today?
i'm going to let the hot water run for a long time and periodically run the rest of that bottle of bleach through.
but, i'm starting to more seriously suspect a meth lab upstairs, and am beginning to wonder if that's what his no smoking lease clause was really about, given that he does seem to smoke. i mean, i've been wondering why the fuck somebody signs a no-smoking lease, then starts smoking. that might be the answer....
maybe it's coming from under me because he's dumping something into the water table via the pipes.
yeah. so, the bleach didn't help in the long run.
if i run the hot water for a while, the smell goes away, but then it comes back. if i run the bathtub, the hot water runs out. so, i'm going to try to run the sink instead.
it might be sewer gas backing up, then, rather than bacteria in the pipes. i don't know if that means something is broke or what....
if i run the hot water for a while, the smell goes away, but then it comes back. if i run the bathtub, the hot water runs out. so, i'm going to try to run the sink instead.
it might be sewer gas backing up, then, rather than bacteria in the pipes. i don't know if that means something is broke or what....
so, if there's a late party in detroit tonight, i can't find any evidence of it - which isn't to say it isn't happening, or even that i don't know the spot, but just to say that i can't confirm it. there's the usual options at the goth club and the gay club, but i'm not feeling it, really. or, at least, not yet. the gay club is the more likely option but i think it's pretty remote...
there's another possibility i could try, which is an after hours club not far from here, but i'm not even sure they still exist and, if they do, i suspect it's fucking dubstep. that seems like such an obvious option, i know, but i really just don't like the genre. there's also something at villain's, but it's almost certainly going to be people sitting and chatting rather than dancing and grooving, and i tend to find that kind of thing painfully boring. i don't want to sit and chat. sorry. i might drop in for a beer once in a while, but villain's is kind of a bourgeois place. i'd actually bet that most of the regulars are going to go to the comic book convention.
(i've never "read" a comic book in my life.)
i'll check the weather in a few hours, and if it looks like tomorrow is a wash and tonight is nice, i might flip the thing over and do the villain's/x bit after all. but, for right, now, i'm looking at this:
13:30-14:30 - oopapada @ ripe records. grosse pointe. free.
14:30-18:00 - bike to hamramck, and get a beer somewhere.
18:00-20:00 - tomato fest @ outer limits. hamtramck. free + cost of food.
20:00-???? - prog & math show @ ghost light. hamtramck. $10 + cost of beer.
the last sunday bus is 00:30. if i miss it, i guess i'm hanging out until the morning.
there's another possibility i could try, which is an after hours club not far from here, but i'm not even sure they still exist and, if they do, i suspect it's fucking dubstep. that seems like such an obvious option, i know, but i really just don't like the genre. there's also something at villain's, but it's almost certainly going to be people sitting and chatting rather than dancing and grooving, and i tend to find that kind of thing painfully boring. i don't want to sit and chat. sorry. i might drop in for a beer once in a while, but villain's is kind of a bourgeois place. i'd actually bet that most of the regulars are going to go to the comic book convention.
(i've never "read" a comic book in my life.)
i'll check the weather in a few hours, and if it looks like tomorrow is a wash and tonight is nice, i might flip the thing over and do the villain's/x bit after all. but, for right, now, i'm looking at this:
13:30-14:30 - oopapada @ ripe records. grosse pointe. free.
14:30-18:00 - bike to hamramck, and get a beer somewhere.
18:00-20:00 - tomato fest @ outer limits. hamtramck. free + cost of food.
20:00-???? - prog & math show @ ghost light. hamtramck. $10 + cost of beer.
the last sunday bus is 00:30. if i miss it, i guess i'm hanging out until the morning.
so, i mean, i would prefer a system where you let the immigrants buy the new houses, and let the white people stay in the poor areas. and, i'm actually even happy to let the housing decay, if it reduces the cost of rent.
but, that means you need to cut the number of refugees coming in in favour of more wealthy immigrants, so they're not creating all of this pressure at the margins.
but, that means you need to cut the number of refugees coming in in favour of more wealthy immigrants, so they're not creating all of this pressure at the margins.
and, no, the answer isn't to build more new houses and then try and push people up "the ladder".
i am a white person with a decent education, and i don't want to own a new house in the suburbs with a picket fence, where i need to spend hours of my time in a car to get back and forth from downtown. i reject that vision of western civilization. what i want is a small, affordable apartment in the heart of the city, where i am within bicycling distance of everything i need, and can rely on public transit in a pinch. that means i want a space in an old building in a centralized location, not a new house in the middle of nowhere.
in that sense, i'm happy to let wealthy immigrants come in and buy up the new housing, although i might criticize them on their carbon footprint. what pisses me off is when i'm forced to compete with a bunch of refugees for basic shelter, which should be my right as a citizen of the country.
so, the point that the liberals aren't grasping is that these policies that are designed to clear white people out of the low income areas by moving them into middle class areas in order to make way for refugees in the low income areas are running into the basic problem that we're living in the low income areas because the kind of class mobility being hinted at requires lifestyle choices that we don't want to make. i'm an artist. i don't want an office job. i don't want a trade union job. i don't want to buy a house or to be in the middle class. what i want is cheap rent in the slum and the freedom to create. and, if i have to compete with people for that as a consequence of some liberal politicians' vision about class mobility, i'm going to get pissy about it.
i am a white person with a decent education, and i don't want to own a new house in the suburbs with a picket fence, where i need to spend hours of my time in a car to get back and forth from downtown. i reject that vision of western civilization. what i want is a small, affordable apartment in the heart of the city, where i am within bicycling distance of everything i need, and can rely on public transit in a pinch. that means i want a space in an old building in a centralized location, not a new house in the middle of nowhere.
in that sense, i'm happy to let wealthy immigrants come in and buy up the new housing, although i might criticize them on their carbon footprint. what pisses me off is when i'm forced to compete with a bunch of refugees for basic shelter, which should be my right as a citizen of the country.
so, the point that the liberals aren't grasping is that these policies that are designed to clear white people out of the low income areas by moving them into middle class areas in order to make way for refugees in the low income areas are running into the basic problem that we're living in the low income areas because the kind of class mobility being hinted at requires lifestyle choices that we don't want to make. i'm an artist. i don't want an office job. i don't want a trade union job. i don't want to buy a house or to be in the middle class. what i want is cheap rent in the slum and the freedom to create. and, if i have to compete with people for that as a consequence of some liberal politicians' vision about class mobility, i'm going to get pissy about it.
they're focusing on the refugees, but i care more about low-income canadians. and, it's a circular problem: the more you increase demand without addressing the supply issue, the worse the problem gets.
i'll state what i've been saying for years: if the government wants to admit all of these refugees, it is going to need to build the infrastructure for them. and, if it won't build the infrastructure, if it's just going to let the market deal with it, then it's going to face a backlash.
so, do you blame it on the government? do you blame it on the refugees? at the end of the day, it's the mismatch between the immigration policy and the housing policy that's at the root of the problem. but, when some poor white person - be they a struggling artist or a heroin addict - points out that the cost of living is rising because of market forces being driven by immigration policy, they're not wrong, and the political spectrum needs to get their head around it.
so, we're not 'full'. but we lack the infrastructure and need to cut immigration levels until it catches up. it is true that it is in the benefit of low-income canadians to focus more on a housing strategy, and that's what the thrust of the policy ought to be about, but we need a two-thronged policy if we want to really get rents under control.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/homeless-newcomers-refugees-canada-studies-1.5242426
i'll state what i've been saying for years: if the government wants to admit all of these refugees, it is going to need to build the infrastructure for them. and, if it won't build the infrastructure, if it's just going to let the market deal with it, then it's going to face a backlash.
so, do you blame it on the government? do you blame it on the refugees? at the end of the day, it's the mismatch between the immigration policy and the housing policy that's at the root of the problem. but, when some poor white person - be they a struggling artist or a heroin addict - points out that the cost of living is rising because of market forces being driven by immigration policy, they're not wrong, and the political spectrum needs to get their head around it.
so, we're not 'full'. but we lack the infrastructure and need to cut immigration levels until it catches up. it is true that it is in the benefit of low-income canadians to focus more on a housing strategy, and that's what the thrust of the policy ought to be about, but we need a two-thronged policy if we want to really get rents under control.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/homeless-newcomers-refugees-canada-studies-1.5242426
Friday, August 16, 2019
and, also, about that stench.
there's a set of french doors across from my bed, behind which is a water closet with the the hot water heater, gas lines and piping going directly into the floor. that area definitely smelled bad, but it came and went, so i decided it probably wasn't a gas leak. last week, i decided to try and seal the doors a bit better to see if i could block the smell a bit to better understand what it actually was.
i ended up with two conclusions from this. the first is that there's actually two smells, and they were getting mixed up into one. the first is a garlic-y or onion-y smell that appears to be coming directly from upstairs, and is either food or meth. i learned enough about meth in the last house (and was never convinced she wasn't smoking it) to understand that, and he does appear to have a drug addiction, but i can't rule out food, and in context think it's rather more likely. the other smell seems to be of something rotting and is likely bacteria in the piping coming directly underneath me. and, i am convinced that there are in fact pipes from the shower to the water closet that go underneath the floor.
it always seemed like the smell was coming from below me rather than above me, and, so, i think i've got my primary problem: there's very stinky bacteria in the pipes. and, this is sort of consistent with the stinky sinks, which i think i've mostly fixed via bleach.
so, i ran some liquid bleach through the bathtub and we'll see if it works or not.
as for the onion-y smell, now that i can separate it better, i'm going to try and figure out when it's coming. if i notice that it frequently smells like onions around five or six at night, i guess that's just a diet choice and something i'll need to get used to. but, if it starts coming down at odd hours, i might have solved more than one problem....
i'm going to say this again: it always seemed like the smell was below me, even when it was clearly smoke. so, was i smelling the gaseous byproduct from the bacteria and deciding it was smoke? i'll have to keep at this with the bleach for a while and see how effective it is in the long run, but, for now, it seems to have cleared it up.
and, i actually think i'm going to take a nap.
there's a set of french doors across from my bed, behind which is a water closet with the the hot water heater, gas lines and piping going directly into the floor. that area definitely smelled bad, but it came and went, so i decided it probably wasn't a gas leak. last week, i decided to try and seal the doors a bit better to see if i could block the smell a bit to better understand what it actually was.
i ended up with two conclusions from this. the first is that there's actually two smells, and they were getting mixed up into one. the first is a garlic-y or onion-y smell that appears to be coming directly from upstairs, and is either food or meth. i learned enough about meth in the last house (and was never convinced she wasn't smoking it) to understand that, and he does appear to have a drug addiction, but i can't rule out food, and in context think it's rather more likely. the other smell seems to be of something rotting and is likely bacteria in the piping coming directly underneath me. and, i am convinced that there are in fact pipes from the shower to the water closet that go underneath the floor.
it always seemed like the smell was coming from below me rather than above me, and, so, i think i've got my primary problem: there's very stinky bacteria in the pipes. and, this is sort of consistent with the stinky sinks, which i think i've mostly fixed via bleach.
so, i ran some liquid bleach through the bathtub and we'll see if it works or not.
as for the onion-y smell, now that i can separate it better, i'm going to try and figure out when it's coming. if i notice that it frequently smells like onions around five or six at night, i guess that's just a diet choice and something i'll need to get used to. but, if it starts coming down at odd hours, i might have solved more than one problem....
i'm going to say this again: it always seemed like the smell was below me, even when it was clearly smoke. so, was i smelling the gaseous byproduct from the bacteria and deciding it was smoke? i'll have to keep at this with the bleach for a while and see how effective it is in the long run, but, for now, it seems to have cleared it up.
and, i actually think i'm going to take a nap.
there are things happening in detroit this weekend. i bet there's a 60 year old tatted grandfather in the 'burbs that's just totally psyched about neurosis on friday, followed by wu-tang on saturday, and may stay up all night drinking coke to do it. *satan symbol*. but, i'm not into either of those acts...
just for context, it actually wasn't that warm out last weekend. last weekend, i actually went for the shows, because it happened to fluke out into such a long fest. it warmed up nicely on saturday afternoon, but both the mornings dipped down to around 15 degrees, which is sub-60 farenheit. so, my comment about the 3rd/4th of august being the last hot saturday night this year lasted through last weekend, anyways.
as mentioned many times now, the one way out of the solar magnets this summer is if the ocean patterns overcome, and that's only going to happen due to cyclones. it is nice this weekend - excluding some potential issues with rain - and it's because there's a gigantic system in the pacific.
but, you can see in the long range that this weekend is an unusually nice blip.we're looking at a cold saturday morning, next week.
again: i know we're getting record global average temperatures right now, which means it's very hot in some places, but that's an average. i'm kind of making the flip argument that a lot of climate deniers make: i'm acknowledging the existence of record global average temperatures (which is what we call climate change actually is), while pointing out that the local weather in this particular region has been below seasonal for most of the year, and then blaming that on the sun. again: i don't argue in terms of false dichotomies. i'm not a conservative. i'm a socialist; i want dialectics. so, the fact is that you don't have to choose between the cooling effects of the current solar cycle (which is ending) and the greenhouse effect (which is continuing to run out of control). the dialectic, for this summer, is that both things are true: it is globally very hot (on average) while being cooler than normal, here, in this specific place, although the effects of all of these hurricanes might manage to balance it out better than i'm suggesting. that is, the averages here may end up being pretty "normal", as a consequence of these long cold stretches being overrun by these brief blasts of tropical air.
so, i do want to get out one more time. maybe. it's just, for tonight, the only real choice is crystal method--->goth club, and that's going to require something like two hours on the bus in the middle of the night. further, both shows are in air conditioned clubs. so, if the point is to go outside, it kind of fails.
i don't have a late show tomorrow, yet. i'm still looking. but, i think i have yet another path through hamtramck on sunday. they should just dig that city up out of detroit and airlift it to south of the 401....perfect...
in the medium term, while i can't predict when it's going to happen, we can expect that the winter jet stream is going to take over suddenly again, like it did last year. it's just a question of when. october? november? let's hope it isn't september, but highs in the low 20s for the last week of august is pretty ominous. if we don't get another hurricane, it won't swing back to the high 20s. i know it said it two weeks ago, and the hurricane fluked us out, but there's an even higher chance that this weekend is the end of serious summer.
that brutal jet stream pattern will lift when the magnetic field from the sun shifts, and while we don't have predictive solar science (we just don't understand it. nobody does. the science doesn't exist.), it's a coin flip whether we can get back to global warming here or not next year. and, when that happens, it could be pretty dramatic pretty fast. if that jet stream pulls back early in the spring, we could have a glorious summer....
or not.
we'll find out next year, right?
as mentioned many times now, the one way out of the solar magnets this summer is if the ocean patterns overcome, and that's only going to happen due to cyclones. it is nice this weekend - excluding some potential issues with rain - and it's because there's a gigantic system in the pacific.
but, you can see in the long range that this weekend is an unusually nice blip.we're looking at a cold saturday morning, next week.
again: i know we're getting record global average temperatures right now, which means it's very hot in some places, but that's an average. i'm kind of making the flip argument that a lot of climate deniers make: i'm acknowledging the existence of record global average temperatures (which is what we call climate change actually is), while pointing out that the local weather in this particular region has been below seasonal for most of the year, and then blaming that on the sun. again: i don't argue in terms of false dichotomies. i'm not a conservative. i'm a socialist; i want dialectics. so, the fact is that you don't have to choose between the cooling effects of the current solar cycle (which is ending) and the greenhouse effect (which is continuing to run out of control). the dialectic, for this summer, is that both things are true: it is globally very hot (on average) while being cooler than normal, here, in this specific place, although the effects of all of these hurricanes might manage to balance it out better than i'm suggesting. that is, the averages here may end up being pretty "normal", as a consequence of these long cold stretches being overrun by these brief blasts of tropical air.
so, i do want to get out one more time. maybe. it's just, for tonight, the only real choice is crystal method--->goth club, and that's going to require something like two hours on the bus in the middle of the night. further, both shows are in air conditioned clubs. so, if the point is to go outside, it kind of fails.
i don't have a late show tomorrow, yet. i'm still looking. but, i think i have yet another path through hamtramck on sunday. they should just dig that city up out of detroit and airlift it to south of the 401....perfect...
in the medium term, while i can't predict when it's going to happen, we can expect that the winter jet stream is going to take over suddenly again, like it did last year. it's just a question of when. october? november? let's hope it isn't september, but highs in the low 20s for the last week of august is pretty ominous. if we don't get another hurricane, it won't swing back to the high 20s. i know it said it two weeks ago, and the hurricane fluked us out, but there's an even higher chance that this weekend is the end of serious summer.
that brutal jet stream pattern will lift when the magnetic field from the sun shifts, and while we don't have predictive solar science (we just don't understand it. nobody does. the science doesn't exist.), it's a coin flip whether we can get back to global warming here or not next year. and, when that happens, it could be pretty dramatic pretty fast. if that jet stream pulls back early in the spring, we could have a glorious summer....
or not.
we'll find out next year, right?
unfortunately, noise trade did not work out as a hosting solution, and i never got a clear answer as to why. but, i decided in the end that the site was full of ads and unworkable, anyways.
the readable version of the september archive for this blog is now available as a standalone in the music journal package at bandcamp:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/09-2013-music-journal
...or as a component in the full first reconstruction phase archive, available in the following places:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1026660
https://www.lulu.com/en/ca/shop/jessica-murray/full-first-reconstruction-phase-travel-blog/ebook/product-nm4jeq.html
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13M7Vvz2hLiuGdywPL2oNRgUY3nmn26E6/view
stop.
one of these things is not like the other. one of these things doesn't belong. so, can you guess which thing is not like the other by the time i finish this song?
1. new hampshire
2. iowa
3. nevada
4. south carolina
scroll.....
those are the first four states. and, the answer is that three of them are swing states and one of them isn't.
one of these things is not like the other. one of these things doesn't belong. so, can you guess which thing is not like the other by the time i finish this song?
1. new hampshire
2. iowa
3. nevada
4. south carolina
scroll.....
those are the first four states. and, the answer is that three of them are swing states and one of them isn't.
and, maybe it's time to ask ilhan omar to go away so as to no longer be such a distraction.
maybe it's time to put some pressure on her to resign, or at least to resign from the party. i mean, this is the party that pushed out al franken for far less.
they should have distanced themselves from her from when they could. now, they have to ask her to step down. as it is, she's a gift that just keeps on giving, and the longer she's around, the more seats she's going to cost them.
maybe it's time to put some pressure on her to resign, or at least to resign from the party. i mean, this is the party that pushed out al franken for far less.
they should have distanced themselves from her from when they could. now, they have to ask her to step down. as it is, she's a gift that just keeps on giving, and the longer she's around, the more seats she's going to cost them.
do you know what you call it when a president alters his foreign policy based on how a foreign leader treats his friends?
that's called nepotism.
that's called corruption.
i would hope that, in the future, he's a little more cognizant of the fact that people are currently rating and judging him on his reasoning skills and on his temperament, as he's running for an important executive position.
that was a stupid comment that was no doubt suggested to him by the stupid people he has around him right now, and he should walk it back.
that's called nepotism.
that's called corruption.
i would hope that, in the future, he's a little more cognizant of the fact that people are currently rating and judging him on his reasoning skills and on his temperament, as he's running for an important executive position.
that was a stupid comment that was no doubt suggested to him by the stupid people he has around him right now, and he should walk it back.
israel is a sovereign country with absolute authority over who is and is not allowed to cross it's borders. they're fully in their rights. that said, i would hope that the openly racist representatives in question are afforded the opportunity to appeal the decision via the israeli judiciary, and are otherwise given proper due process in law. i would also hope that this kind of rash and poorly thought through kneejerk punitive reactionary policy is not reflective of how sanders would behave as commander in chief.
that said, i would take the opposite position: if israel insists on interfering in american politics, perhaps there should be a serious discussion about statehood. i don't want to be the 51st state. israel is a better choice.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/16/sanders-says-if-israel-wants-ban-members-congress-it-should-not-receive-billions-us
that said, i would take the opposite position: if israel insists on interfering in american politics, perhaps there should be a serious discussion about statehood. i don't want to be the 51st state. israel is a better choice.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/16/sanders-says-if-israel-wants-ban-members-congress-it-should-not-receive-billions-us
so, this is what i've got done so far on the two main blogs.
the politics blog is being built up from scratch, whereas the music blog is being edited in place. so, the politics blog is just jul 16th-sept 30th, 2013 and the music blog is from 1996-2018. both are typeset on 5"x8 paper, meaning they're intended for roughly novel sized publication. it also means there's a maximum page limit of around 1000 pages, so i'm looking at these four-month 'semester' subsets as the most realistic maximum publishing option.
i'm currently charging $1/100 pages on the pdf downloads at noise trade (or $3/journal, flat, at bandcamp, which is a more comprehensive package, including scripts and documents). and, i'm rounding. so, the first one would be $7 and the second would be $45. yeah.
in the long run, it might be comical to print the final product as a hardcover textbook, which would not be typeset to 5"x8" but may still be on the order of 5000 pages, anyways. if we can get a next-level optical disc that can take multiple terrabytes of data, maybe you put it in the sleeve, like they used to do in the 90s.
as posted previously, i want to get to the end of 2017 on the rebuild before i put this aside, and i hope this picks up soon. as for right now, i crashed hard after i ate last night, haven't really fully woken up yet and am not entirely sure why. i didn't smell any drugs. i think it might have more to do with not really sleeping off last weekend. i mean, i slept for a few hours on sunday afternoon, but i didn't get the kind of sleep i usually get after a two-day party. i might just be behind on my sleep, but if that's the case, i should be caught up soon, too, after having slept the better part of the last 15 hours.
as of right now, i legitimately want to stay in this weekend. what i was talking about has finally cycled around: i'm partied out, and keen to stay in and get a move on things. so, sunday's a distinct maybe....and i might start late on saturday, if it is.
for now, i still need to finish the stuff i was doing here locally, then switch into the travel account to update that.
the politics blog is being built up from scratch, whereas the music blog is being edited in place. so, the politics blog is just jul 16th-sept 30th, 2013 and the music blog is from 1996-2018. both are typeset on 5"x8 paper, meaning they're intended for roughly novel sized publication. it also means there's a maximum page limit of around 1000 pages, so i'm looking at these four-month 'semester' subsets as the most realistic maximum publishing option.
i'm currently charging $1/100 pages on the pdf downloads at noise trade (or $3/journal, flat, at bandcamp, which is a more comprehensive package, including scripts and documents). and, i'm rounding. so, the first one would be $7 and the second would be $45. yeah.
in the long run, it might be comical to print the final product as a hardcover textbook, which would not be typeset to 5"x8" but may still be on the order of 5000 pages, anyways. if we can get a next-level optical disc that can take multiple terrabytes of data, maybe you put it in the sleeve, like they used to do in the 90s.
as posted previously, i want to get to the end of 2017 on the rebuild before i put this aside, and i hope this picks up soon. as for right now, i crashed hard after i ate last night, haven't really fully woken up yet and am not entirely sure why. i didn't smell any drugs. i think it might have more to do with not really sleeping off last weekend. i mean, i slept for a few hours on sunday afternoon, but i didn't get the kind of sleep i usually get after a two-day party. i might just be behind on my sleep, but if that's the case, i should be caught up soon, too, after having slept the better part of the last 15 hours.
as of right now, i legitimately want to stay in this weekend. what i was talking about has finally cycled around: i'm partied out, and keen to stay in and get a move on things. so, sunday's a distinct maybe....and i might start late on saturday, if it is.
for now, i still need to finish the stuff i was doing here locally, then switch into the travel account to update that.
see, here's the sneaky thing about that.
what's going to happen over the next several months is that all of the media and all of the campaigns are going to try to create divisions between the candidates around their identity, and if the media pushes it down hard enough then it might become real after all. and, so we're going to see this boys v girls grade school spat, with bernie on the boys' side and one of the female candidates (probably warren.) on the the girls' side.
so, what if you made this gender fight inside the candidates' campaign?
it's not ideal, but it's maybe a way to co-opt the media's tactics.
what's going to happen over the next several months is that all of the media and all of the campaigns are going to try to create divisions between the candidates around their identity, and if the media pushes it down hard enough then it might become real after all. and, so we're going to see this boys v girls grade school spat, with bernie on the boys' side and one of the female candidates (probably warren.) on the the girls' side.
so, what if you made this gender fight inside the candidates' campaign?
it's not ideal, but it's maybe a way to co-opt the media's tactics.
so, is cardi b a bernie bitch? is that the idea?
bernie broad?
it's pandery and kind of cringey and sort of exactly the kind of thing that clinton was doing four years ago that gave people the chills. stay away from the hot sauce, bernie.
at least he tried to focus it on the issues. he's not trying to pretend he's a young black female (which is an empirical question.), he's just (consensually) grabbing hold of one for a few minutes to draw attention to himself.
i dunno. we'll see how people react, i guess.
but, don't be surprised if it's not so well.
bernie broad?
it's pandery and kind of cringey and sort of exactly the kind of thing that clinton was doing four years ago that gave people the chills. stay away from the hot sauce, bernie.
at least he tried to focus it on the issues. he's not trying to pretend he's a young black female (which is an empirical question.), he's just (consensually) grabbing hold of one for a few minutes to draw attention to himself.
i dunno. we'll see how people react, i guess.
but, don't be surprised if it's not so well.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
the dtk blog for 09/13 is up...
it's only about 25 degrees out right now, which is really not warm enough for air conditioning.
https://books.noisetrade.com//j/092013-deathtokoalas
unfortunately, noise trade did not work out as a hosting solution, and i never got a clear answer as to why. but, i decided in the end that the site was full of ads and unworkable, anyways.
the readable version of the september, 2013 archive for this blog is now available as a standalone in the music journal package at bandcamp:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/09-2013-music-journal
...or as a component in the half year archive at smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1026620
...or as a component in the first reconstruction phase archive, available in the following places:
https://www.lulu.com/en/ca/shop/jessica-murray/full-first-reconstruction-phase-deathtokoalas-blog/ebook/product-zrgr94.html
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10DbwOVdqWt73rHNzWJWgEfduzREogExX/view
it's only about 25 degrees out right now, which is really not warm enough for air conditioning.
unfortunately, noise trade did not work out as a hosting solution, and i never got a clear answer as to why. but, i decided in the end that the site was full of ads and unworkable, anyways.
the readable version of the september, 2013 archive for this blog is now available as a standalone in the music journal package at bandcamp:
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/09-2013-music-journal
...or as a component in the half year archive at smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1026620
...or as a component in the first reconstruction phase archive, available in the following places:
https://www.lulu.com/en/ca/shop/jessica-murray/full-first-reconstruction-phase-deathtokoalas-blog/ebook/product-zrgr94.html
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10DbwOVdqWt73rHNzWJWgEfduzREogExX/view
the third
entry in the music journal series, which is the month of september, 2013
and is 134 pages long. i am not going to summarize the story, but it is
available on the web over here: musicofjessicamurray.blogspot.com/2013/09/.
this is a compilation of written correspondences that occurred around me over september, 2013. it includes facebook posts, messenger chats and emails with friends and family members, in an attempt to tell the story of how i set my studio back up in windsor after relocating from ottawa. the contents of this download are the dummy track, a word doc file and a pdf file, both written in a more readable, chronological ordering. i've also added the respective files for my other three blogs, for general interest, as well as 82 separate txt documents (essays, notes, scripts and web pages) that are referenced in the journal.
the events documented in this journal occurred in september, 2013 and were compiled into a narrative in several stages over the years 2014-2019. journal completed on july 30, 2019. released and finalized in doc and pdf format on aug 15, 2019. doc0913.
credits
released October 1, 2013
this is a compilation of written correspondences that occurred around me over september, 2013. it includes facebook posts, messenger chats and emails with friends and family members, in an attempt to tell the story of how i set my studio back up in windsor after relocating from ottawa. the contents of this download are the dummy track, a word doc file and a pdf file, both written in a more readable, chronological ordering. i've also added the respective files for my other three blogs, for general interest, as well as 82 separate txt documents (essays, notes, scripts and web pages) that are referenced in the journal.
the events documented in this journal occurred in september, 2013 and were compiled into a narrative in several stages over the years 2014-2019. journal completed on july 30, 2019. released and finalized in doc and pdf format on aug 15, 2019. doc0913.
credits
released October 1, 2013
j - editing, participant
esa - participant
nana - participant
the surviving uncle - participant
the initial landlord - participant
teksavvy technical support - participant
dr. robert clarke, dentist - participant
https://jasonparent.bandcamp.com/album/09-2013-music-journal
so, here's the noise trade smashwords link to the music blog in readable format.
https://books.noisetrade.com//j/092013-music-journal
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1026600
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1026600
it's looking like i'm going to have to leave late to avoid the rain, and then the point is lost.
i'm also not really feeling like i want to be around cigarettes tonight. it's just not that appealing, right now.
i'd rather finish what i'm doing (and the music file should be posted soon), take a hot shower and get a start on october.
i'll take another quick run through weekend shows some time tomorrow, but i'm pretty sure that we're down to a maybe on sunday afternoon.
i'm also not really feeling like i want to be around cigarettes tonight. it's just not that appealing, right now.
i'd rather finish what i'm doing (and the music file should be posted soon), take a hot shower and get a start on october.
i'll take another quick run through weekend shows some time tomorrow, but i'm pretty sure that we're down to a maybe on sunday afternoon.
so, here's the noise trade smashwords link to the sept, 2013 archive for this blog.
https://books.noisetrade.com//j/092013-dsdfghghfsdflgkfgkja
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1026603
i'm fairly certain that that's done.
next, i'll need to construct the one for the music blog.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1026603
i'm fairly certain that that's done.
next, i'll need to construct the one for the music blog.
the romanticization of labour - call it the protestant work ethic if you'd rather - is a bourgeois position designed to maximize surplus value by warping the minds of workers. it's propaganda, and it's necessary for the system to function; in turn, leftists need to stop buying into it if they have any kind of meaningful revolutionary ambitions.
i've always wondered why politicians make that pilgrimage to auschwitz. is it to push this idea of never forgetting? or is it far more nefarious than that? because the protestant work ethic, the romanticization of labour, has another formulation, namely work will set you free. and, those work camps are merely the idea taken to it's most violent, brutal conclusion.
the orientation of the left should not be to romanticize work. it should be to help construct the conditions that allow us, one day, to walk away from it.
i've always wondered why politicians make that pilgrimage to auschwitz. is it to push this idea of never forgetting? or is it far more nefarious than that? because the protestant work ethic, the romanticization of labour, has another formulation, namely work will set you free. and, those work camps are merely the idea taken to it's most violent, brutal conclusion.
the orientation of the left should not be to romanticize work. it should be to help construct the conditions that allow us, one day, to walk away from it.
so, i don't want to have wasted this week. my sleeping patterns are screwy right now, and it's partly because it's unpleasantly cold in here. all i want to do is wrap myself up in a nice, warm blanket, which is making me sleepy.
so, i'll tell you what, then.
if i finish publishing for sept, i'll hit the punk show. if not, i'll stay in and finish it.
so, i'll tell you what, then.
if i finish publishing for sept, i'll hit the punk show. if not, i'll stay in and finish it.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
and, yes: in the long run, anarchists don't believe in borders. but, tearing down borders is something you do between countries with comparable economies.
so, in theory, i would support a schengen-type zone over nafta, and i was hoping the last round of renegotiation would address the point. but, we'd be talking about taking steps to implement it eventually, not doing it right away. mexico's gdp per capita is 15% of that in the united states, which is far too low for this kind of discussion. and, it has absolutely no security at it's border at all...
but, yes, that should be the end point, eventually, once mexico has raised it's living standards. and, that should be the focus of american workers, as difficult as it is: they have to stop seeing mexico as a competitor, while continuing to see individual mexican workers for what they are. a tricky task for the best of us...
a schengen-type agreement, if passed today, would result in an incredible race to the bottom for everybody.
so, in theory, i would support a schengen-type zone over nafta, and i was hoping the last round of renegotiation would address the point. but, we'd be talking about taking steps to implement it eventually, not doing it right away. mexico's gdp per capita is 15% of that in the united states, which is far too low for this kind of discussion. and, it has absolutely no security at it's border at all...
but, yes, that should be the end point, eventually, once mexico has raised it's living standards. and, that should be the focus of american workers, as difficult as it is: they have to stop seeing mexico as a competitor, while continuing to see individual mexican workers for what they are. a tricky task for the best of us...
a schengen-type agreement, if passed today, would result in an incredible race to the bottom for everybody.
i just want to point something else out about deportations, though.
something you very frequently hear from the bourgeois left is that people should only be deported when they commit "serious" crimes. they never finish their thought, though - the idea is that their campaign donors (big agriculture, and other industries that rely on migrant labour) don't want criminals in their work force, so it's ok to get rid of them.
but, what are you really doing when you deport a criminal? you're essentially sending that person back to their country of origin to continue committing crimes, which is just a push factor on continuing the flow of people. is it really a good idea to send a rapist back to guatemala where they can rape people with impunity?
rather, it seems to me that the people who ought to have the best arguments against deportation should be the criminals, but that they should also be tried and sentenced for the crimes, as is appropriate, and then rehabilitated as is best possible inside of the country. and, if anybody should be working sub-minimum wage jobs, it's the criminals, not the law-abiding migrants. so, you put the ones that break laws other than immigration law in jail, and you process their immigration papers as is appropriate while they're in there. then, they get their decision when they get out: either they're approved and allowed to work for proper wages and benefits, or they're denied and sent home.
regarding the people that are being rounded up for no reason other than entering the country illegally, i'd present more or less the same argument. there are laws in place, and perhaps they ought to be changed, but they are in place, and they were democratically enacted and the ice is carrying out a legitimate function with them (so long as we have habeas corpus). if you've overstayed your visa, for example, then you've broken the law, and enforcing the rule of law means you need to pay the price for it. but, what that should mean is that your citizenship status should be determined while you're being processed, not that you should be deported offhand. so, maybe somebody that's overstayed their visa has to carry out a thirty-day jail sentence (which is probably appropriate for a crime of that nature), but they should be being processed while they're in there, and should have a clear answer when they get out.
but, protesting something like this doesn't make sense, and would be leaning more towards a concept of ochlocracy - that is, mob rule - than anarchy, which is supposed to maintain a concept of democratic decision making, whatever it is.
something you very frequently hear from the bourgeois left is that people should only be deported when they commit "serious" crimes. they never finish their thought, though - the idea is that their campaign donors (big agriculture, and other industries that rely on migrant labour) don't want criminals in their work force, so it's ok to get rid of them.
but, what are you really doing when you deport a criminal? you're essentially sending that person back to their country of origin to continue committing crimes, which is just a push factor on continuing the flow of people. is it really a good idea to send a rapist back to guatemala where they can rape people with impunity?
rather, it seems to me that the people who ought to have the best arguments against deportation should be the criminals, but that they should also be tried and sentenced for the crimes, as is appropriate, and then rehabilitated as is best possible inside of the country. and, if anybody should be working sub-minimum wage jobs, it's the criminals, not the law-abiding migrants. so, you put the ones that break laws other than immigration law in jail, and you process their immigration papers as is appropriate while they're in there. then, they get their decision when they get out: either they're approved and allowed to work for proper wages and benefits, or they're denied and sent home.
regarding the people that are being rounded up for no reason other than entering the country illegally, i'd present more or less the same argument. there are laws in place, and perhaps they ought to be changed, but they are in place, and they were democratically enacted and the ice is carrying out a legitimate function with them (so long as we have habeas corpus). if you've overstayed your visa, for example, then you've broken the law, and enforcing the rule of law means you need to pay the price for it. but, what that should mean is that your citizenship status should be determined while you're being processed, not that you should be deported offhand. so, maybe somebody that's overstayed their visa has to carry out a thirty-day jail sentence (which is probably appropriate for a crime of that nature), but they should be being processed while they're in there, and should have a clear answer when they get out.
but, protesting something like this doesn't make sense, and would be leaning more towards a concept of ochlocracy - that is, mob rule - than anarchy, which is supposed to maintain a concept of democratic decision making, whatever it is.
it's interesting to see just how debased certain ideas have become on the left.
i would expect an action of this type to be mostly focused on political prisoners, i.e. people that are being imprisoned unjustly, perhaps by being framed, or perhaps by being held without charge. while i don't want to make the same error that i'm about to throw out there, i strongly doubt that much of anybody in attendance has done any meaningful research on anybody they're holding at all. while i am aware that there have been cases of american-born citizens being deported because they have latin-sounding names (which is horrifically egregious, obviously.), i think a better assumption is that at least almost all of them have entered the country illegally, meaning they are not actually political prisoners, or being framed, or being held without charge. further, a good number of them could be being held on much greater charges. so, this is just a situation where these particular protestors happen to dislike the legitimate law that the migrants are being legitimately charged under, and it's consequently difficult to argue with a straight-face that this is a democratic way to approach the situation as there's no breach of constitutionality, no breakdown in the rule of law, no abuse of power...
i mean, that's the point of direct action: when citizens are convinced that the state is breaking the law in a way that harms people, and there is no oversight body to stop it, it becomes our responsibility to step in, even if the best we can do is a symbolic gesture. but, there is no credible argument, here, that the state is breaking any laws, except maybe some hokey concept of "natural law", which is in truth not law at all.
it's really just these peoples' opinion that the law should be changed, and they do have that right to their opinion. but, if they were to act independently of a collective like this, they'd be thrown out of it. it's an undemocratic demand.
and, what is the demand, exactly? to drop the charges? to release them on bail? i suppose that's another question: they certainly have the right to habeas corpus. but, that doesn't seem to be the argument being presented; rather, they just want them to drop the charges and release the prisoners because they say so, despite potentially clear evidence of breaking the law.
....because arresting them and deporting them is a "genocide" against the migrant community. there's another debased term.
i don't like jails, and i don't like deporting people, but these people were arrested legitimately under legitimate laws and need to prepare their legal cases, so this kind of thing is at best disruptive and pointless and at worst has potential to stimulate a backlash. and, if you don't like these laws, there's only one way to change them - and it's not by using the tactic we use when the state is overstepping it's bounds.
further, leftists usually use these tactics with comrades that they expect to welcome back into their communities. it's strange to make the case that they should be used for people that are working sub-minimum wage under the table and thereby undercutting the region's labour force, to the extent that this is actually true (which is quite a bit).
the point i want to a make is just about the debasement of these ideas. i think if you were to run something like this by historical anarchist revolutionaries from proudhon forwards, you'd get a lot of pushback on it. they'd be criticizing the migrants for accepting sub-minimum wage jobs and undermining workers, as well as questioning the appropriateness of working outside of democratic channels
but, i guess you know that capital has won when it's co-opted the voices against it.
https://www.facebook.com/events/374487699875224/
i would expect an action of this type to be mostly focused on political prisoners, i.e. people that are being imprisoned unjustly, perhaps by being framed, or perhaps by being held without charge. while i don't want to make the same error that i'm about to throw out there, i strongly doubt that much of anybody in attendance has done any meaningful research on anybody they're holding at all. while i am aware that there have been cases of american-born citizens being deported because they have latin-sounding names (which is horrifically egregious, obviously.), i think a better assumption is that at least almost all of them have entered the country illegally, meaning they are not actually political prisoners, or being framed, or being held without charge. further, a good number of them could be being held on much greater charges. so, this is just a situation where these particular protestors happen to dislike the legitimate law that the migrants are being legitimately charged under, and it's consequently difficult to argue with a straight-face that this is a democratic way to approach the situation as there's no breach of constitutionality, no breakdown in the rule of law, no abuse of power...
i mean, that's the point of direct action: when citizens are convinced that the state is breaking the law in a way that harms people, and there is no oversight body to stop it, it becomes our responsibility to step in, even if the best we can do is a symbolic gesture. but, there is no credible argument, here, that the state is breaking any laws, except maybe some hokey concept of "natural law", which is in truth not law at all.
it's really just these peoples' opinion that the law should be changed, and they do have that right to their opinion. but, if they were to act independently of a collective like this, they'd be thrown out of it. it's an undemocratic demand.
and, what is the demand, exactly? to drop the charges? to release them on bail? i suppose that's another question: they certainly have the right to habeas corpus. but, that doesn't seem to be the argument being presented; rather, they just want them to drop the charges and release the prisoners because they say so, despite potentially clear evidence of breaking the law.
....because arresting them and deporting them is a "genocide" against the migrant community. there's another debased term.
i don't like jails, and i don't like deporting people, but these people were arrested legitimately under legitimate laws and need to prepare their legal cases, so this kind of thing is at best disruptive and pointless and at worst has potential to stimulate a backlash. and, if you don't like these laws, there's only one way to change them - and it's not by using the tactic we use when the state is overstepping it's bounds.
further, leftists usually use these tactics with comrades that they expect to welcome back into their communities. it's strange to make the case that they should be used for people that are working sub-minimum wage under the table and thereby undercutting the region's labour force, to the extent that this is actually true (which is quite a bit).
the point i want to a make is just about the debasement of these ideas. i think if you were to run something like this by historical anarchist revolutionaries from proudhon forwards, you'd get a lot of pushback on it. they'd be criticizing the migrants for accepting sub-minimum wage jobs and undermining workers, as well as questioning the appropriateness of working outside of democratic channels
but, i guess you know that capital has won when it's co-opted the voices against it.
https://www.facebook.com/events/374487699875224/
ok, so i have cut it down to a small number of shows tonight (wednesday) and thursday that i'm still sorting through and will post thoughts on to the dtk page. the crystal method is here friday, but there's almost no chance i'll actually go. there's nothing scheduled saturday. but, i could see myself out on sunday afternoon to see a jazz band and a prog band and hopefully something in between....
for right now, i'm going to get to finalizing as i listen to what i pulled out as a shortlist for this week.
for right now, i'm going to get to finalizing as i listen to what i pulled out as a shortlist for this week.
if gun control is a waste of time in the united states, it's even more pointless in canada.
contrary to popular opinion, we don't actually have strict gun control laws in canada. what we have is a different culture around guns. for example, i'm 38 years old and i've never even seen (let alone held or shot) a gun before in my life, nor do i expect to see one in the future. i would think that this is rare in the united states, where guns occupy a central part of the culture and national identity.
we have no equivalent to the second amendment, and "gun rights" are a vague and mostly undefined concept.
but, the reality is that around 90% of the guns used in crimes in canada are imported illegally from the united states. that's what the facts are: insofar as we have a problem, it's entirely on the black market. so, any meaningful crackdown has to occur at the border, or in the black market, and not in the market for new weapons.
but, people are stupid and this is an easy way to send him out all foggy-eyed and whatnot. it's a great scam, and if the conservatives play it badly enough, it might work.
contrary to popular opinion, we don't actually have strict gun control laws in canada. what we have is a different culture around guns. for example, i'm 38 years old and i've never even seen (let alone held or shot) a gun before in my life, nor do i expect to see one in the future. i would think that this is rare in the united states, where guns occupy a central part of the culture and national identity.
we have no equivalent to the second amendment, and "gun rights" are a vague and mostly undefined concept.
but, the reality is that around 90% of the guns used in crimes in canada are imported illegally from the united states. that's what the facts are: insofar as we have a problem, it's entirely on the black market. so, any meaningful crackdown has to occur at the border, or in the black market, and not in the market for new weapons.
but, people are stupid and this is an easy way to send him out all foggy-eyed and whatnot. it's a great scam, and if the conservatives play it badly enough, it might work.
so, the liberals are running on gun control and the ndp is running on "corporate accountability" and all of the tiresome & boring old tory talking points around it. it's just empty distraction, all around.
i'm going to need to look at my specific candidate, but i've already decided that i'm either voting green or not voting at all.
i wouldn't expect much from me on the canadian side. the three major parties have identical positions on just about anything that actually matters, leaving the debate up to these fringe issues that nobody actually really cares much about, and that really aren't in the proper scope of government in a liberal democracy.
and, in a sense, if the liberals won't get rid of trudeau on their own, maybe putting the conservatives back in office by voting third party is the only way to do it, and the right tactic to try and wake them the fuck up. they're almost identical in terms of substantive policy, anyways. and, the liberals probably need to clean house pretty seriously if they want to find their way back to where they used to be.
so, i'm not going to get into these petty debates about these petty things that these petty parties want to distract away from substantive concerns like carbon reduction, and don't expect me to. when we wake up in november, nothing much is going to change, either way - unless we can get the greens the balance of power, somehow.
i'm going to need to look at my specific candidate, but i've already decided that i'm either voting green or not voting at all.
i wouldn't expect much from me on the canadian side. the three major parties have identical positions on just about anything that actually matters, leaving the debate up to these fringe issues that nobody actually really cares much about, and that really aren't in the proper scope of government in a liberal democracy.
and, in a sense, if the liberals won't get rid of trudeau on their own, maybe putting the conservatives back in office by voting third party is the only way to do it, and the right tactic to try and wake them the fuck up. they're almost identical in terms of substantive policy, anyways. and, the liberals probably need to clean house pretty seriously if they want to find their way back to where they used to be.
so, i'm not going to get into these petty debates about these petty things that these petty parties want to distract away from substantive concerns like carbon reduction, and don't expect me to. when we wake up in november, nothing much is going to change, either way - unless we can get the greens the balance of power, somehow.
this is something i've pointed out before, though, in a number of circumstances.
first, why do i think the cops are on me? well, have you read much of this? it's less the general thrust of the site - there's lots of people like me out there - and more that there's certain, specific things posted here and there that aren't supposed to be posted. afghanistan, for example - i'm just not supposed to put up a web page that states that there's no intended end date. that's contradicting something that a lot of effort was put into.
the cops have a mandate to keep people safe, and they do carry it out, they just often forget to mention which people that they keep safe. i'm threatening to the power elite on an information level. i get it. and, you only laugh because you don't, and that's ok - it keeps me safer.
so, to an extent, the surveillance doesn't bother me. what bothers me is how poorly it's being done, because if i was somebody else, an actual member of an actual group, then i'd have figured it out a long time ago and left already.
i can often hear the echo on my sound card, indicating that there's something working at a hardware level. and, i can hear them drop out when i cut the service off. it's not subtle, either. if they're going to hack a terrorist's machine or phone with audio firmware to capture the signal, don't you think it's important that they hire capable enough programmers to fix the echo cancellation? is that not budgeted?
likewise, if you're carrying out a stakeout upstairs for a suspect in a small non-smoking duplex, don't you think it's important not to smoke? 'cause it's pretty easy to find you if you're smoking undercover. kind of a dead giveaway.
if the spies were capable, i wouldn't know they're there. and, in a real way, it's realizing how unprofessional the cops are that is what is bothering me more than the surveillance, itself.
...because if i was a pakistani or saudi on the brink of something incomprehensible, i'd have ditched them years ago on my way to blowing up the world. and, if i was a russian operating inside the country, i'd be long gone by now. as it is, i'm just a simple canadian expressing myself in the written medium that is essentially being harassed by officers that should be out there bothering actual criminals, such as drug pushers and addicts and illegal immigrants, and that is still able to rather effortlessly outsmart them.
we need better forms of collective security than this, where they turn a blind eye to the criminals and target the victims.
first, why do i think the cops are on me? well, have you read much of this? it's less the general thrust of the site - there's lots of people like me out there - and more that there's certain, specific things posted here and there that aren't supposed to be posted. afghanistan, for example - i'm just not supposed to put up a web page that states that there's no intended end date. that's contradicting something that a lot of effort was put into.
the cops have a mandate to keep people safe, and they do carry it out, they just often forget to mention which people that they keep safe. i'm threatening to the power elite on an information level. i get it. and, you only laugh because you don't, and that's ok - it keeps me safer.
so, to an extent, the surveillance doesn't bother me. what bothers me is how poorly it's being done, because if i was somebody else, an actual member of an actual group, then i'd have figured it out a long time ago and left already.
i can often hear the echo on my sound card, indicating that there's something working at a hardware level. and, i can hear them drop out when i cut the service off. it's not subtle, either. if they're going to hack a terrorist's machine or phone with audio firmware to capture the signal, don't you think it's important that they hire capable enough programmers to fix the echo cancellation? is that not budgeted?
likewise, if you're carrying out a stakeout upstairs for a suspect in a small non-smoking duplex, don't you think it's important not to smoke? 'cause it's pretty easy to find you if you're smoking undercover. kind of a dead giveaway.
if the spies were capable, i wouldn't know they're there. and, in a real way, it's realizing how unprofessional the cops are that is what is bothering me more than the surveillance, itself.
...because if i was a pakistani or saudi on the brink of something incomprehensible, i'd have ditched them years ago on my way to blowing up the world. and, if i was a russian operating inside the country, i'd be long gone by now. as it is, i'm just a simple canadian expressing myself in the written medium that is essentially being harassed by officers that should be out there bothering actual criminals, such as drug pushers and addicts and illegal immigrants, and that is still able to rather effortlessly outsmart them.
we need better forms of collective security than this, where they turn a blind eye to the criminals and target the victims.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
and, as soon as i mention that the smoke clears out, it starts back up again.
do you know what i honestly think? i think that there's a cop up there with a fucking pathetic attitude towards life (not to mention a really fucking shitty job) that is so worthless to the world that they enjoy harassing me.
and, i also think that that worthless, piece of shit cop up there should put a fucking bullet through her own worthless, piece of shit head. the world would be better off.
do you know what i honestly think? i think that there's a cop up there with a fucking pathetic attitude towards life (not to mention a really fucking shitty job) that is so worthless to the world that they enjoy harassing me.
and, i also think that that worthless, piece of shit cop up there should put a fucking bullet through her own worthless, piece of shit head. the world would be better off.
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