net.casting

what appears here?
...
a selection of items of interest that I come upon in my online peregrinations; or things i've contributed to the web
...
for which extended commentary
may be found at
the free radical.
other tumblrs:
    ☯ Alex
    ☯ Janvi
    ☯ Jean
    ☯ Nate
    ☯ Sarah
    ☯ Tania
    ☯ TIC
September 28
“ President Bush sees himself as a divine messenger of freedom and liberty. On his watch, a great and ancient people have risen up to shake off the chains of oppression. They look to America and its leader for help and encouragement. And what do they find? He ignores them. He is too busy with his plans for wars–past and coming. The democratic moment is on the world stage now. It is played out in Burma. And Bush and his crew turn a blind eye on it.

—Scott Horton, in Harpers.org, “Burma in Agony.”
September 27

Had never heard of this guy—Sxip Shirey: Composer, Performer, Storyteller, Curator—whose music-making is just phenomenal. He employs many unusual instruments, and transforms typical ones into very strange-sounding devices. Extraordinary.

A few more videos here.

September 26
“ It really ought not be that difficult to understand that a country which rules the world by military force; invades, bombs and occupies other countries far more than anyone else; overthrows other countries’ governments — including their democratically elected ones — and openly debates what other governments it should change; and issues endless lectures to the world about the evils of tyranny and nuclear weapons while constantly violating those sermons (and encouraging our allies to do so) with actions, is going to trigger rather intense and substantial hostility around the world, particularly in those regions where we are doing the invading, bombing, occupying and controlling.

As George Washington explained quite clearly a couple hundred years ago, that is precisely why it is so ill-advised to engage in that behavior.

—Glenn Greenwald in Salon.com today
September 25
Meteor crash leaves 66-ft. crater—and hundreds feeling sick

Meteor crash leaves 66-ft. crater—and hundreds feeling sick

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“ Every way of trying to tell a story this vast carries with it blind spots, reveals its own assumptions and biases. Ken Burns’ “The War” is no exception. But this magnificent 15-hour series will stand as one of the most extraordinary accounts of war ever made. Panoramic in its sweep, unflinching in its openness to all the faces of war, crafted with rare intelligence and sensitivity, “The War” is an epic achievement.

—Ken Burns’ documentary on World War II: Review by Gary Kamiya | Salon.com
September 24
Burmese Monks Protest, Defying Junta’s Warning - New York Times Vivian, who’s of Burmese extraction, writes about this development in Myanmar.

Burmese Monks Protest, Defying Junta’s Warning - New York Times

Vivian, who’s of Burmese extraction, writes about this development in Myanmar.

September 23
“ Thirteen CIA agents and contractors are currently under indictment by German prosecutors for the kidnapping and mistreatment of a German greengrocer, Khalid el-Masri.

The CIA says it was an innocent case of mistaken identity and the United States refuses to extradite its personnel and contractors. Under pressure from the United States, German prosecutors are close to a decision to drop the case, and are facing strong criticism from around the world over failure to prosecute the case.

—Scott Horton’s Media Alert.
September 22

Seen via Kass. In the face of their certain death, some people live more fully than most who putatively still have the rest of their lives before them.

September 21
“ …when you consider the prospect of a Clinton-Giuliani race next year, you know that in wartime, the major parties will be far more interested in tearing this country apart for their own Rovian purposes than in uniting us against a deadly and increasingly successful foe.

This is how democracies perish - by picking short term polarization over long-term strategy, by deciding to fight each other as a distraction from intelligently fighting our real enemies. And when the next attack comes, it will divide us more profoundly than ever before. If that’s what you want, then Rudy and Hillary are your candidates. They will keep this cycle going; in fact, they need it to succeed.

It is a cycle to hell.

—Andrew Sullivan today: The Fruits of Polarization
September 20
An animated GIF starts with a blank subway map and draws each line in the sequenc in which it was built, fr.: Appealing Industries: Animated History Of NYC Subway

An animated GIF starts with a blank subway map and draws each line in the sequenc in which it was built, fr.: Appealing Industries: Animated History Of NYC Subway

September 19
“ …here’s the thing: new polls by CBS and Gallup show that the Petraeus testimony had basically no effect on public opinion: Americans continue to hate the war, and want out. The whole story about how the hearing had changed everything was a pure figment of the inside-the-Beltway imagination.

What I found striking about the whole thing was the contempt the pundit consensus showed for the public—it was, more or less, “Oh, people just can’t resist a man in uniform.” But it turns out that they can; it’s the punditocracy that can’t.

—Paul Krugman, in the NY Times: What I Hate About Political Coverage
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Unprecedented melting of the Arctic sea ice opens the Northwest passage.

Unprecedented melting of the Arctic sea ice opens the Northwest passage.

September 18
“ My behemoth Voices project… started so unassumingly as a desire to keep the Pokechat alive more often has grown into a enormous tangle of code and intention. Despite my various attempts to quit while I’m ahead, every now and again someone will just say something in the chat that triggers a veritable lightning bolt through the heart and to the brain, renewing my motivation for continuing to work. It has been difficult to get all the nuts and bolts in place, but every single moment will be worth the end result. And, of course, let’s not forget… the journey itself is a reward all its own.

So don’t just be smart, because smart can’t make anything by itself. Be inspired. Be unafraid. Be curious.”

—Kass, in her weblog post today: Curiosity.
September 17

A chance to feel patriotic… AND good about it. Choked me up a bit. (Saw the link on Sullivan’s weblog today.)

September 16
fr. WIRED magazine: Blowing the Top Off Mountaintop Mining“Mining companies clear forests from mountaintops, dynamite the peaks, excavate buried coal, and dump the waste into nearby valleys. It’s cheaper and more efficient than old-fashioned mining, but the effects of mountaintop removal — or MTR — are devastating. In just two decades, hundreds of mountaintops, more than a thousand miles of stream, and hundreds of square miles of forests have been obliterated by the practice. Opponents say the pollution is also dangerous to people who live in the region.”

fr. WIRED magazine: Blowing the Top Off Mountaintop Mining

“Mining companies clear forests from mountaintops, dynamite the peaks, excavate buried coal, and dump the waste into nearby valleys. It’s cheaper and more efficient than old-fashioned mining, but the effects of mountaintop removal — or MTR — are devastating.

In just two decades, hundreds of mountaintops, more than a thousand miles of stream, and hundreds of square miles of forests have been obliterated by the practice. Opponents say the pollution is also dangerous to people who live in the region.”