Saturday, November 15, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Mircea Badea si politistu' de la Balea Lac
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
What Is Happening in America?
In the Western democracies in the last fifty years, we have grown accustomed to governments whose policies on specific issues may be good or bad, but which essentially institute incremental changes to the status quo. The major exceptions have been Thatcher and Reagan, but even their programs of dismantling systems of social welfare seem, in retrospect, mild compared to what is happening in the United States under George Bush-- or more exactly, the ruling junta that tells Bush what to do and say. It is unquestionably the most radical government in modern American history, one whose ideology and actions have become so pervasive, and are so unquestionably mirrored by the mass media here, that the population seems to have forgotten what "normal" is. George Bush is the first unelected President of the United States, installed by a right-wing Supreme Court in a kind of judicial coup d'etat. He is the first to actively subvert one of the pillars of American democracy: the separation of church and state. There are now daily prayer meetings and Bible study groups in every branch of the government, and religious organizations are being given funds to take over educational and welfare programs that have always been the domain of the state. Bush is the first president to invoke the specific "Jesus Christ" rather than an ecumenical "God," and he has surrounded himself with evangelical Christians, including his Attorney General, who attends a church where he talks in tongues. It is the first administration to openly declare a policy of unilateral aggression, a "Pax Americana" where the presence of allies (whether England or Bulgaria) is agreeable but unimportant; where international treaties no longer apply to the United States; and where-- for the first time in history-- this country reserves the right to non-defensive, "pre-emptive" strikes against any nation on earth, for whatever reason it declares. It is the first-- since the internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II-- to enact special laws for a specific ethnic group. Non-citizen young Muslim men are now required to register and subject themselves to interrogation. Many hundreds have been arrested and held without trial or access to legal assistance-- a violation of another pillar of American democracy: habeas corpus. Many have been taken from their families and deported on minor technical immigration violations; the whereabouts of many others are still unknown. And, in Guantanamo Bay, where it is said that they are now preparing execution chambers, hundreds of foreign nationals -- including a 13-year-old and a man who claims to be 100-- have been kept for almost two years in a limbo that clearly contravenes the Geneva Convention. Similar to the Reagan era, it is an administration openly devoted to helping the rich and ignoring the poor, one that has turned the surplus of the Clinton years into a massive deficit through its combination of enormous tax cuts for the wealthy (particularly those who earn more than a million dollars a year) and increases in defense spending. (And, although Republicans always campaign on "less government," it has created the largest new government bureaucracy in history: the Department of Homeland Security.) The Financial Times of England, hardly a hotbed of leftists, has categorized this economic policy as "the lunatics taking over the asylum." But more than Reagan-- whose policies tended to benefit the rich in general-- most of Bush's legislation specifically enriches those in his lifelong inner circle from the oil, mining, logging, construction, and pharmaceutical industries. At the middle level of the bureaucracy, where laws may be issued without Congressional approval, hundreds of regulations have been changed to lower standards of pollution or safety in the workplace, to open up wilderness areas for exploitation, or to eliminate the testing of drugs. Billions in government contracts have been awarded, without competition, to corporations formerly run by administration officials. In a country where the most significant social changes are enacted by court rulings, rather than by legislation, the Bush administration has been filling every level of the complex judicial system with ultra-right ideologues, especially those who have protected corporations from lawsuits by individuals or environmental groups, and those who are opposed to women's reproductive rights. It remains to be seen how far they can push their antipathy to contraception and abortion. They have already banned a rare form of late-term abortion that is only given when the health of the mother is endangered or the fetus is terribly deformed, and a large portion of Bush's heralded billions to Africa to fight AIDS will be devoted to so-called "abstinence" education. Most of all, America doesn't feel like America any more. The climate of militarism and fear, similar to any totalitarian state, permeates everything. Bush is the first American president in memory to swagger around in a military uniform, though he himself-- like all of his most militant advisers-- evaded the Vietnam War. (Even Eisenhower, a general and a war hero, never wore his uniform while he was president). In the airports of provincial cities, there are frequent announcements in that assuring, disembodied voice of science-fiction films: "The Department of Homeland Security advises that the Terror Alert is now . . . Code Orange." Every few weeks there is an announcement that another terrorist attack is imminent, and citizens are urged to take ludicrous measures, like sealing their windows, against biological and chemical attacks, and to report the suspicious activities of their neighbors. The Pentagon institutes the "Total Information Awareness" program to collect data on the ordinary activities of ordinary citizens (credit card charges, library book withdrawals, university course enrollments) and when this is perceived as going too far, they change the name to "Terrorist Information Awareness" and continue to do the same things. Millions are listed in airport security computers as potential terrorists, including antiwar demonstrators and pacifists. Critics are warned to "watch what they say" and lists of "traitors" are posted on the internet. The war in Iraq has been the most extreme manifestation of this new America, and almost a casebook study in totalitarian techniques. First, an Enemy is created by blatant lies that are endlessly repeated until the population believes it: in this case, that Iraq was linked to the attack on the World Trade Center, and that it possesses vast "weapons of mass destruction" that threaten the world. Then, a War of Liberation, entirely portrayed by the mass media in terms of our Heroic Troops, with little or no imagery of casualties and devastation, and with morale-inspiring, scripted "news" scenes-- such as the toppling of the Saddam statue and the heroic "rescue" of Private Lynch-- worthy of Soviet cinema. Finally, as has happened with Afghanistan, very little news of the chaos that has followed the Great Victory. Instead, the propaganda machine moves on to a new Enemy-- this time, Iran. It is very difficult to speak of what is happening in America without resorting to the hyperbolic cliches of anti-Americanism that have lost their meaning after so many decades, but that have now finally come true. Perhaps one can only recite the facts, and I have mentioned only some of them here. This is, quite simply, the most frightening American administration in modern times, one that is appalling both to the left and to traditional conservatives. This junta is unabashed in its imperialist ambitions; it is enacting an Orwellian state of Perpetual War; it is dismantling, or attempting to dismantle, some of the most fundamental tenets of American democracy; it is acting without opposition within the government, and is operating so quickly on so many fronts that it has overwhelmed and exhausted any popular opposition. Perhaps it cannot be stopped, but the first step toward slowing it down is the recognition that this is an American government unlike any other in this country's history, and one for whom democracy is an obstacle |
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
CERN inaugurates the LHC
Geneva, 21 October 2008. Swiss President Pascal Couchepin and French Prime Minister François Fillon were joined at CERN1 today by science ministers from CERN’s Member States and around the world to inaugurate the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most complex scientific instrument.
“Today is a day for CERN to thank its Member States for their continued support for basic science, and for providing the stable framework that makes science of this kind possible,” said CERN Director General Robert Aymar. “It is also a day for CERN and the global particle physics community to take a sense of pride in the achievement of bringing this unique facility from dream to reality, a process that has taken over two decades of careful planning, prototyping and construction, culminating with the successful circulation of the machine’s first protons in front of a global audience on 10 September this year.”
The inauguration ceremony consisted of speeches, exhibitions and a new audiovisual concert, “ORIGINS”, an adaptation of “LIFE: A Journey Through Time”, featuring the imagery of National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting and the music of Philip Glass, performed by the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande conducted by Carolyn Kuan.
“The younger generations target their ambitions on what they experience while growing up,” said President of CERN Council, Torsten Åkesson. “Science and technology need flagships that stand out and catch the eye, excite fantasy and fuel curiosity. The LHC is one such flagship.”
The ceremony was followed by a buffet of molecular gastronomy presented by Chef Ettore Bocchia, and was made possible thanks to the generous support of a range of sponsoring companies and organizations2, most of which have contributed to the construction of the LHC.
“The LHC is the largest and most sophisticated scientific instrument ever built. There have been many challenges along the way, which have all been overcome one after the other,” said LHC Project Leader Lyndon Evans. “We are now looking forward to the start of the experimental programme. The adventure of building the LHC will end and a new adventure of discovery will begin.”
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Alba ca Zapada (varianta mea)
A fost o data ca niciodata,ca daca nu ar fi fost nu s-ar povesti.A fost un imparat.Si imparatul acesta era insurat cu….Scufita Rosie.Imparatul si Scufita Rosie nu aveau copii desi isi doreau foarte mult.
Intr-o iarna statea Scufita in geam si croseta ciorapi de lana aspra..si a intepat in deget si o picatura de vin….pardon o picatura de sange a cazut pe zapada de pe pervaz.Atunci Scufita isi dori sa aiba o fata cu parul negru ca noaptea si cu fata ca zapada….si….asa a si avut o fata cu parul ca noaptea cand se facea dimineata era cheala si cu fata ca zapada cand baga tigarea in gura i se topea fata.Dupa ce a nascuto pe Alba ca zapada si cheala ca Britney ca asa au numito(eu o sa ii zic alba ca zapada)Scufita Rosie a murit.Imparatul pe care il chema Tarzan se insura cu fata mosului .In fiecare zi ea se ducea in fata oglinzi si zicea:”oglinda oglinjoara cine e cea mai sexy din tara??”.si oglinda ii zicea ca ea este cea mai frumoasa.
Cand crescu Alba ca Zapada mare era mai frumoasa decat fata mosului si cand aceasta intreba oglinda cine este cea mai frumoasa din tara oglinda ii spuse ca alba ca zapada.Fata mosului il cema pe Robocop si ii spuse sa o duca pe Alba ca zapada in padure sa o omoare….Acesta a duso in padure si i-a dat drumul.Si pleca Alba ca Zapada prin padure si tot merse si merse pana cand se intalni cu ursul pacalit de vulpe si ursu asta nu avea coada ca era pacalit de vulpe. Alba ca zapada il intreba pe urs unde este casa piticilor.Acesta nu stia,dar ia zis sa mearga la Palatul de Jad sa vorbeasca cu Vrajitorul din Oz.Pleca Alba ca zapada si a mers vreo 20 de min pana la gara si de acolo lua trenul spre palatul de Jad. Cand ajunse acolo si intra in palat se intalni cu Terminator 2 care ii zise:”Vrajitorul nu e acasa dar don’t worry he will be back”.Astepta Alba ca Zapada ce astepta cand auzi usa ca se deschide si cand se uita a vazut-o pe Cenusereasa,care i-a zis sa mearga cu tramvaiul 24 pana la ultima statie si acolo e casa piticilor.Pleca Alba ca zapada si cheala ca Britney si ajunse lacasa piticilor.unde pitici o asteptau si i-au zis:”Poi bine Alba ca Zapada,la ora asta se vine te asteptam de 2 ore”.Si Alba ca Zapada l-ea raspuns:”Poi stiti nu am avut bani de Taxi si a trebuit sa vin cu tramvaiul”.
Trecura vreo 2 zile dupa care afla fata mosului ca Alba ca Zapada traieste,sa enervat la demontat pe Robocop si la trimis la fier vechi,dupa care se dete de 3 ori peste cap si sia rupt o mana,ca nu era atleta,se prefacu intro baba urata,adica si-a luat un batic pe cap,si porni spre casa piticilor,ia facut ceva lu’ Alba ca Zapada si aceasata cazu jos lesinata.Cand venira pitici acasa si o vazura incepura sa planga si sa ii scoata marul din gat.Si se chinuira ei asa doua ore pana cand aparu printul Tutankamon si ia intrebat ce a patit Alba ca Zapada si pitici i-au raspuns ca i-a ramas marul in gat….si se chinuie ei cu bormasina, cu levieru,si nu pot sa ii scoata marul din gat,pe urma isi dau seama:”Stati mai ca asta e marul lui Adam”.Ii scoasera piaptanul din par si isi reveni si se marita cu Tutankamon,iar fata mosului se angaja la zoo sa aiba grija de animale si Alba ca Zapada si Tutankamon traira fericiti pana la adanci batraneti.
SFARSIT
