Happy F*cking Earth Day…State of the Nation and Beyond

By Archytype

Introduction

I suppose many of you have heard my rants and ravings about these things for a number of years. Yes, I am a greenie. Perhaps not the absolute devout that some may be, but my biggest contribution I can make to the cause is to keep getting “smaller” as far the impact goes while getting louder (perhaps my biggest “asset”) where those that
need to hear will hear. There will be many chapters and all of them will be revisited from time to time. But this is to remove the veil and the passivity that pervades this discussion. Kid Gloves will not be employed here….

In the eyes of a vast majority of Americans, environmentalism is the realm for the pot-smoking vegans in Northern California who ride solar-powered bikes to the organic wine farms or the 60’s draft dodging cast offs who really hate America anyway (love it or leave it, man) and apparently want to destroy it by advocating for smaller cars and higher fuel standards….FUCKERS!

Well, ummm….perhaps not. Environmentalism is THE new economy. En Vogue! Tre Fab. Its HOT. Al Gore is making fucking movies for crying out loud so it must be real right? Leo-D drives a fucking Prius, shouldn’t we all? Well, hang on a moment. Leonardo DiCaprio and ESPECIALLY Al Gore isn’t in the position to change anything really. Al isn’t the President (he lost…or whatever the hell happened in 2000, the year we all got fucked!). He is a Hollywood shill now. So he is no more an influence for the environment than Michael Moore is at changing the auto industry practice of destroying communities that depend on their income. Remember he DID fucking FLY to the Live Earth Concert. So did Leo. And so did every "artist" that performed that day. They bought green carbon offsets though.

Ah….blood does wash off don't it?

So with that I will begin the (hopefully) regular piece to this blog with the open shot across the bow. Warning….I don’t censor (starting right after the title…). Fuck you. If you can watch my fucking planet rot in place as you get into your fucking SUV post-your 5 min yoga while sipping slave-waged-picked lattes from WhereeverBucks backing out of the driveway of a 4400 sf house you and your fucking yapper dog live in, then you sure as shit are in no position to curb my language.

And for Christ sake pick up after that little fucker!

Chapter ONE - Food For Fuel

Roger Cohen: Bring on The Right Biofuels (NY Times - registration required)

As I keep saying....apparently to the void, we (the collective jingo-centric A.D.D. voting stock of Americans) have absolutely no idea what we are doing anymore. Leaves on streams. Rice, soybeans, and corn are the most abundantly grown crops in the world. They are also a large part of the problem. They come at the expense of biodiversity, a key to the planets ability to combat a number of things including specie extinction (us included). But then again, at least its food for fuck sake. As soon as you begin taking farmland that should be dedicated to producing food for an ever expanding world population and giving it over to t producing a crop source for fueling our transportation and energy needs you begin to see why so many in the agricultural world and the organizations that deal with issues in third world countries are in full bloom panic right now. We cannot feed the world with what we currently grow, so let’s chop the food production by 35-40%? And this doesn’t alarm people?

"But wait are you saying that we should stick to oil?"

No. I am not saying this.

"So, Ethanol is good right?"

Indeed, it is a good thing to reduce the extraction of oil to burn in terribly inefficient cars, yes.

My turn to ask questions, so why do you think we should turn to ethanol?

"I dunno."

So burning our food, doesn’t this sound like a bad idea?

"Maybe….but what do we need with all that corn anyway?"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………!

The Boston Globe: Proposed Wind Farm Draws Few Foes In Hull

For the benefit of diversity (and economy competition, something that drives prices down…garsh!) we can look into a number of different and sustainable energy producing means such as the highly contested wind strategies and others like the tidal technologies that are now available and ever developing that may alleviate some of the major drawbacks from the wind powered infrastructure.

For one, I think the general public could use another option (and given our geographical and geological advantages, why not) and additionally competing technologies push for innovation to advance more quickly as well as gain access to a wider array of funding opportunities not to mention become more affordable.

These are good things in a world of perpetual increases in energy costs.

But worse is embracing any one idea that would rob Peter (oil) to pay Paul ("eco-fueling") in lieu of two major pieces of shifting:


1. Conservation.

  • Mandatory efficiencies for ALL forms transportation and not token responses to quell the eco-crowd roar. I am talking NO car under 60 MPG and Nothing BUT hybrids to start.

This is the REAL discussion that should be happening at every possible turn. Our ridiculous appetite for energy. I realize that this has been discussed in dribs and drabs but satiating the appetite only prolongs the illness. That illness is the REAL issue. The illness being our lack of restraint and conservation. As someone who was asked (on behalf of the Boston Society of Architects - Committee on the Environment) back in 2001 to review the forthcoming National Energy Policy, I was struck by the fact that there were no mandates for scaling back use (from the lack of public transportation funding to overall self-discipline measures). We just keep throwing money at ideas to deal with the ever expanding need. Things have not changed in the 7 years since its release. As we may already know things are much, much worse.

Of all things, that is the least sustainable strategy, no matter how "green" the technology gets.

Another HAS to be a look at how we do things. There is something absurd about sitting in two-hour traffic jams flying solo listening to NPR yelling, “right on” to reports on energy crisis and want to remove us from Iraq.

2. Localized Mass transit investment.

  • READ THIS: BUSES are bad. Why? They sit in traffic with everyone else. Why is this so hard to understand? Make transit actually efficient and people will use it. Cities will densify logically.

I know, trains are about as reliable as the ability for our President to properly read a teleprompter, but fuck is it not a good idea to put a bit more thought into your commute? That brings me to one of the tenants to a truly sustainable strategy, transit. Public transit especially. We collective look at the 3rd world as lesser, but they also have a lot right. They do not have access to capital the way we do so that has to be clever about it. Use mass transit to move people who cannot afford autos. It is their necessity. It is ours.

These were the two giant holes in the 2001 National Energy Policy. It was great at putting the “cards on the table” but very bad a advocating real solutions to the UN-sustainable thirst for energy. It started with the excused requirement for energy plants (particularly in RED states) to put scrubbers on the stacks. That was 2001; the requirements still have not been restored.

Chapter TWO – Green is Still Greed….and greed is still good.

Who Killed The Electric Car?


The Chevy Volt concept car, 2007

So GM wants me to believe that they never really killed the electric car they just thought the market wasn’t right? Hmmmm. Interesting, didn’t they CRUSH all the cars? They did. They didn’t give them to communities of the poor, to perhaps stimulate interest and educate the public at the roots about technology that could be extremely affordable for those who may be interested in things like, oh say, affordability.

Nope.

They Fucking crushed them.

Did I mention they crushed them? They fucking crushed them. Crushed. Am I clear? CRUSHED. Not donated, not gave away. Nothing. This is as fucking mind blowing as ANY network not picking up Arrested Development after that shit-stain network FX (Fox) dumped it. Destroyed any trace of them.

But wait, they are trying again. Oh its OK then. Forgiven. I want to give thanks for your advert in The New York Times magazine announcing how fucking green you are. I am sure it has nothing to do with the ever exponential quarterly losses you are taking for market share.

Since the 1970’s energy crisis, which looks like fucking child’s play compared to now our collective fuel economy has worsened. Worsened. How? Well, sure cars got bigger again. That’s what we Americans are all about, bigger, better faster. Like the environmental degradation. We are the best. But hey at least China is catching up and soon will pass us faster than the jobs our American companies gave away to them in the name of that all American capitalism.

Fuck, thank GOD (no, no please, thank GOD….) Wal-Mart is open 24 hours.

Still think we are free? I know, Bitter party of one?

No. I am not bitter, I love getting fucked in the ass with a steam locomotive and not given the courtesy reach around. I guess I just have standards. Jeffery, Love me.


Chapter THREE – I love my country, but I don’t trust our government.

Here is all the evidence we need that our government and George Bush (who doesn’t just hate black people, he hates all people) is out to get us. And by us I mean anyone NOT invested in carbon-based fuel investments.

The Boston Globe: EPA Scientists Compliain About Political Pressure

So the EPA was strong-armed? Huh, really? Come on? This is all very shocking. America (and the rest of the sycophants that emulate us) continues to have that 4 year old mentality, if I just pull the covers over our heads the big bad stuff will just go away. Well, guess what? It won’t. But at least they won’t have to do much to wrap up the bodies, just look for the television sets in their homes.

Yeah, it’s the fat lump in the barker lounger that was reaching for the remote when they gasped their last breath.

Chapter Four – So where do we go from here?

I know, I know….this sounds horrible. I am being an alarmist. How terrible of me, please allow me to apologize. Oh wait, its fucking true. These things are our future.

FUCK THE CHILDREN, Whitney!

Its not being an alarmist, its just plain ole fucking alarming how little we ALL COLLECTIVELY DO NOT GIVE A SHIT about our own well being and future. NONE. How inspiring are we all that we ALLOW the government WE ELECT to strong arm the very oversight bodies charged with protecting our and the planet's health, safety and welfare for the sake of glossing over how bad they have fucked us over the years?

How proud we all must be….a government of the people...for the people….by the people.

Wow.

We suck.

Where is the fucking ribbon for that to put on my fucking car?

Hey, someone cue Lee Greenwood!

GTA IV Trailer Wrap-Up

As 9 million copies of GTA IV are sold, and over $400 million in revenue will be collected, we want to review the 4 trailers used to promote the game during the last year. This is because I don't own a PS3. And these trailers are good. And the second one is simply great.


Trailer # 1: "Things Will Be Different"
When this trailer was released last summer, it seemed that GTA IV would be ready for Christmas. I was at South Street Seaport waiting for a ferry to Sandy Hook beach in Jersey. I was looking up at a monitor at a Game Stop store, and my jaw dropped. I'm sure Rockstar took care of Godfrey Reggio, Philip Glass, and Ron Fricke for this.


Trailer # 2: "Looking For That Special Someone"
Like the latest Star Wars trilogy, the second trailer is usually the better one, or in this case, the best. The editing is impressive for a video game trailer. The music is perfect. The song is "Arm In Arm (Shy Child Mix)" by The Boggs, a Brooklyn punk/electronica/rock band. Can't get it out of my head now after downloading it.

Walking arm in arm, and we're on our way.
Dressed in my best lest you guess my age.
Let your fingers linger through the coming day.
We're on our way.


Trailer # 3: "Move Up, Ladies"


Trailer # 4: "Good Lord, What Are You Doing?" A.K.A. "Everyone's A Rat"

Victories!!!1!


The Yankees lost Friday and Saturday to Baltimore.

The Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Newcastle United defeated their arch-rivals, Sunderland, 2-0 Sunday. And Kevin Keegan is still hungry for more victories before the season ends in 3 weeks.

The Bruins forced a seventh game against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Game 7 to be played Monday night in Montreal.

And she finally did it. Danica Patrick won the Indy Car race at the Twin Ring Motegi. It is the first victory by a female driver in any major racing series.

And Australia's Will Power won the final Champ Car race in Long Beach. An era of turbocharged, open-wheel racing has ended. Remember that CART was the most watched motorsport in the US back in 1995.

Catching Up With TIVO

Bill Maher, New Rules, February 15th 2008.

Bill Maher, New Rules, February 22nd 2008.

Bill Maher, New Rules, February 28th 2008.

Bill Maher, New Rules, March 7th 2008.

Bill Maher, New Rules, March 21st 2008.

Bill Maher, New Rules, March 28th 2008.

Bill Maher, New Rules, April 4th 2008.

Bill Maher, New Rules, April 11th 2008. This will go down as his best New Rules of the Spring season. He attacks the Catholic Church aggressively, or, as Bill Donohue would say, he engaged in 'Catholic Bashing.' Go Bill! That's Richard Clarke laughing hysterically during the Magic Johnson bit.
Copyright 2008 Time Warner / HBO.

The US Has No Plan To Defeat al Qaeda

Yes, that's the title.

So there you have it. This report was released today by the General Accountability Office. It couldn't be more plain. The report is drawn from several government agencies. Although the primary role of the GAO is to track government expenses, this extraordinary report details hhow billions have gone to Pakistan to help us exterminate al Qaeda, and virtually nothing has been done to accomplish that goal.

The executive summary couldn't be more plain:

The United States has not met its national security goals to destroy the terrorist threat and close the safe haven in Pakistan's FATA region.

FATA is the region along the 373-mile-long Pakistani-Afghan border. It stands for Federally Administered Tribal Region. It is over 10,000 square miles. It might where Osama bin Laden is hiding.

The report concludes:

We conclude that the National Security Advisor and the Director of the NCTC, in consultation with the Secretaries of Defense and State, and the Administrator of USAID, the intelligence community, and other executive departments as deemed appropriate, implement the congressional mandate to develop a comprehensive plan using all elements of national power to combat the terrorist threat and close their safe haven in Pakistan's FATA region.

Bush and Rice had six years to exterminate al Qaeda. Six years. We have seen the largest, most inexcusable failure to defeat an enemy of the United States in this country's history.

And the wingnuts think we're 'winning.' And they boast the we liberals want to offer al Qaeda counseling and therapy, rather than destruction. The truth is now clear. The Bush administration never had a plan to win. What say you now, wingnuts?

UPDATE: Emptywheel has an excellent timeline outlining the failures of Bush's War on Global Terrorism.

This Used To Be My Playground


Just wanted to make a comment about the Mets home opener on Tuesday April 8th. Besides the fact that the Mets weaknesses in the bullpen revealed themselves, in addition to some mismanagement by Willie, the home opener was marred by a mean-spirited atmosphere.

Or to put it another way - the Mets fans are bitter. There were several fistfights in the upper deck, resulting in at least 12 arrests. There was a lack of support from the 56,000 fans who braved cold winds as the sun went down. Most of the fights I saw were cases of Met-on-Met violence. And as my friend D said, "This place has become Yankee stadium."

I know what he meant. Shea used to be a positive, friendly place to see a ballgame. But as this year's home opener proved, 2008 is going to be a year of anger, bitterness, booing, and sadness. It's going to be a long season, friends. My local National League team is in a world of hurt.

And to add insult to injury, the Mets were Rickrolled. That's right. Victims of a British-born Internet prank.

Paging Congressman Waxman, Part 2

On Monday I reported that government employees spent thousands outside of the offical procurement process. Well, Hope Yen of the AP has written a follow-up story, revealing that the improper purchases go beyond the VA and Homeland Security. Unauthorized purchases occurred at the GSA as well. Remember, the GSA is the government's procurement agency, manging government real estate, buying government cars, and responsible for buying all technology hardware and office supplies. It's not thousands anymore, it's millions of dollars wasted.

Didn't Congressman Waxman call for GSA chief administrator Lauita A. Doan to resign a year ago?

"Stop Being A Bitch And Pitch!!"


That was my man, D, yelling at Mets relief pitcher, Aaron Hellman at the home opener on Tuesday afternoon. Hellman kept trying to pick-off Carlos Ruiz at second base. Regardless of what he was trying to do defensively, he still gave-up 3 walks, 2 hits, and 2 runs in that inning which sealed the Mets' fate on Tuesday. At least he knew that Ruiz would score, which he did on an RBI single.

Me Loves The French




I have never been to France. But I have heard time and again an interesting, little-understood fact. While it is true that the French tend to be snobs, somewhat condescending, and have a bit of an attitude problem, they are wonderful people compared to a minority group found in their major cities. That group is Chinese nationals, or to be more specific, Chinese businesspeople, or, as the Chinese government calls them, "Patriotic Capitalists."

We should re-familiarize ourselves with the Chinese flag. The big yellow star represents the communist state. The four smaller stars represent peasants (farmers), laborers (manufacturing workers), petty bourgeoisie, and "Patriotic Capitalists." It is the Patriotic Capitalists who have the privilege to do business overseas, representing their state and their businesses all over the world. One place they have found opportunity and prosperity is France. And without getting into a long post solely about them, I have been told time and again that Chinese businesspeople in France are monsters. They might be rudest, nastiest, least likable people found in all of Western Europe. Taking over the VIP section of clubs and ordering Cristal is expected when you are wealthy and have a healthy ego. I hear these people make Kanye West look like a quiet college professor.

So keep an eye out for stories about them. If what I hear is true, then the Wingnuts have gotten it all wrong. The monsters in France are not Muslim youths in housing projects. They are these Chinese millionaires shitting on and in Paris, Lyon, and Nice.

The French have demonstrated their dislike of this small minority, which I applaud. And today, I have an even bigger reason to applaud the French. Today, they clearly showed their dislike of the Chinese communist state. They snuffed-out the Olympic torch. Actually, they force the officials protecting the torch to extinguish the flame 3 times. Note that they did not extinguish the Olympic flame, which is enclosed in a protective, transparent lantern. But still, this moght be the first time than an anti-Olympic protest snuffed-out an Olympic torch. The Parisians did what the British protesters yesterday could not (they deserve kudos nevertheless):

And as of 14:00 New York time, Reuters and UPI report that the 17-mile Paris torch relay was aborted before it reached its end point. It had been nearly 3 hours behind schedule due to the protests.

Paging Congressman Waxman, Part 1

Oh, dear:

Investigators review VA credit charges

Seems a few bad apples at the VA partied in Baltimore and Vegas while vets are waiting for care. Surprised? But this bit was interesting as well:


After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the GAO estimated that 45 percent of Homeland Security purchase card spending during a six-month period was improper and included iPods, designer rain jackets and beer-making equipment. The credit-card bills are directly payable by Uncle Sam.

Heads need to roll over this. Oh sure, it's just thousands and not billions. Whatever. And surely this sort of thing will happen under the future Democratic president as well. But this simply does not look good in the context of supporting anyone's troops.

2007 Overdue Post # 2: Goodbye Afla Nose




Just wanted to tip my hat to the short-lived Alfa nose on Subaru automobiles. In a failed effort to give Subaru's a recognizable face, the company hired Andreas Zapatinas as its design head in 2005. Mr. Zapatinas had designed the Alfa 148 hatchback. His admiration of Alfa Romeo led to an inverted Alfa Romeo nose being given to at least five Subarus: the Impreza, R1, B9 Tribeca, and the B9 Scrambler and B11 concept cars. But this past winter, the final batch of Imprezas with the Alfa nose were sold. They were special editions of the Impreza in the UK, the Impreza RB320. That model completed production of the GDx / GGx Impreza (2002-2007).

The nose was hated at first. Later it was loved. And now it is missed.


 

 


We haav to pay our respeck.

2007 Overdue Post # 1: Congratuations Timo Glock




Congratulations to Timo Glock! I had meant to post this months ago. But now I have the time. Timo is the German race car driver who had a disappointing stint working for the Jordan F1 team in 2004. Then he excelled in his brief Champ Car career in 2005. Then he went back to Europe and won the GP2 championship in 2007 (no small feat). And now he is back to being an underdog F1 driver at Toyota. But for winning the GP2 championship, I want to acknowledge it here. A very belated congratulations, Timo!