Wednesday, September 30, 2009

On the other hand...

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"Global Capitalism or something..."



This is what Mr. Obama thinks:



"I was always a big believer in -- when I was doing organizing before I went to law school -- that focusing on concrete, local, immediate issues that have an impact on people's lives is what really makes a difference; and that having protests about abstractions [such] as global capitalism or something, generally is not really going to make much of a difference."

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

You decide...

The Voice of Reason

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The question here, really, is what have we done to democracy? What have we turned it into? What happens once democracy has been used up? When it has been hollowed out and emptied of meaning? What happens when each of its institutions has metastasized into something dangerous? What happens now that democracy and the free market have fused into a single predatory organism with a thin, constricted imagination that revolves almost entirely around the idea of maximizing profit?


Read the whole article: The U.S. and Europe Have Propped Up So Many Corrupt "Democracies" That the Word Is Losing Meaning | AlterNet.
Arundhati Roy can also be heard on a recent DemocracyNow broadcast, and has recently published:

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Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Now, I see...


One of the interesting things (good) about growing old is that what was just gossip when you were adolescent becomes verifiable history by the time you're sixty.

"Manhattan Project spies who met in Santa Fe changed the balance of the world" from The New Mexican 26 Sep 2009


Dorothy McKibben - much younger than when I knew her, but very much the same - with J. Robert Oppenheimer, somewhere in secret Los Alamos, some time before 1945.


Saturday, September 26, 2009

Wilhelm Kåge (1989-1960)

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Earlier this month, DN (Dagens Nyheter, one of two Swedish national broadsheet newspapers), featured the artist best known for his Gustavsberg ceramics, mentioning his graphics. Now John Coulthart { feuilleton } helps bring his poster work to a wider audience, directing readers to the collection at Kunliga biblioteket (the Royal Library) of his graphic design.

Until seeing all this, I hadn't realized how instrumental Kåge was in creating what has become a near-ubiquitous Swedish style, more perhaps than even Swedes realize: simple, "honest," three-color clarity. It has strong and, in Kåge's case, deliberate associations with the welfare state's common man. Even in this post-modern period, it continues to have an influence on the straight-foreward directness of Svensk advertising and product design.

All of the posters in this collection seem somehow familiar. Many were on display in kiosks and on bulletin boards when I was here as a child (1957). Most just have a kind of synonymous aura of familiarity. They are, for me, the archetype of ephemeral public statements on paper.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

How to get there...

Vägbeskrivning Stockholm - Bolaget



Starta på Sergels torg Sväng höger i rondellen till Sergels torg fortsätt 270 m. Kör vidare in på Klarabergsgatan fortsätt 150 m. Kör höger in på Klara Norra kyrkogata fortsätt 60 m. Kör vänster in på Mäster Samuelsgatan fortsätt 110 m. Kör vänster in på Vasagatan fortsätt 310 m. Kör av via avfart och fortsätt rakt fram mot Centralbron fortsätt 1.1 km. Följ skylt mot Nynäshamn fortsätt 70 m. Kör vidare in på Söderleden fortsätt 1.5 km. Kör vidare in på Johanneshovsbron fortsätt 1.0 km. Kör vidare in på Nynäsvägen fortsätt 1.2 km. Kör vidare in på Nynäsvägen (73) fortsätt 28.1 km. Kör rakt fram i rondellen till 73 (73) fortsätt 13.7 km. Sväng vänster i rondellen till 73 (73) fortsätt 10.0 km. Kör vänster in på fortsätt 410 m. Kör på färja Nynäshamn - Visby fortsätt 0 m. Kör av färja fortsätt 350 m. Kör vidare in på Färjeleden (140) fortsätt 1.2 km. Sväng vänster i rondellen till Söderväg fortsätt 1.4 km. Sväng vänster i rondellen till Solbergagatan fortsätt 450 m. Kör vänster in på Peder Hardings väg fortsätt 100 m. Kör höger in på Kung Magnus väg fortsätt 0.6 km. Kör vänster in på Österväg fortsätt 90 m. Stopp på Österväg


How to get from Central Stockholm to Storatorget, Visby & Bolaget



"Start at Sergel Square. Turn right at the roundabout at Sergel Square continue 270 m. Continue onto Klarabergsgatan continue 150 m. Turn right on Clara North Church Street continues 60 m. Turn left onto Master Samuelsgatan continue 110 m. Turn left onto Vasagatan continue 310 m. Run through the exit and continue straight on towards the Central Bridge, continue 1.1 km. Follow the signs to continue Nynäshamn 70 m drive into the South Trail continues 1.5 km. Drive into the Johanneshovsbron continue 1.0 km. Drive into the Nynäsvägen continue 1.2 km. Drive into the Nynäsvägen (73) proceed 28.1 km. Drive straight through the roundabout at 73 (73) proceed 13.7 km. Turn left at the roundabout at 73 (73) proceed 10.0 km. Turn left into the future 410 m (Drive onto) a ferry Nynäshamn - Visby continue 0 m. (Drive off) the ferry continue 350 m. Continue onto Färjeleden (140) proceed 1.2 km. Turn left at the roundabout to Söderväg continue 1.4 km. Turn left at the roundabout to Solberga Street continue 450 m. Turn left onto Peder Harding road continues 100 m. Turn right on King Magnus road continues 0.6 km. Turn left onto Österväg continue 90 m. Stop at Österväg"


Translated by Google

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Luncheon

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Chili

The world's best chili recipe:


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W E S T E R N - C H I L I

Joseph P. MacCarthy noted that, to be happy in
New England, one must make sure in advance that his
obituary appears in the Boston Transcript - and eat
beans' on Saturday night.


The western version of a Boston Saturday night is chili.
It's eaten in the kitchen in winter and in the patio in
summer. Great kettles of it are lugged to the mountains
or the desert or the shore. Or to an ailing friend whose
digestive tract is still in order.



1 pound ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, mashed

1 grccn pepper, chopped, seeds removed

2 one-pound. cans red beans

1 #2½ can tomatoes


1 cup tomato juice

2 bouillon cubes

½ teaspoon each basil, oregano, cumin, and thyme

1 tablespoon chili powder (or more to taste)

1 cup chopped ripe olives

salt to taste



Brown the beef in a little oil, adding the onion, garlic,
and pepper when the meat is about half done. Dump
everything into a large kettle and simmer, covered, at
least an hour. If the chili is made ahead and reheated, it's
better. Look, sniff, taste, and stir from time to time, and
see that the mixture doesn't get too dry. In which case
add coffee in preference to water.


This is a no-panic recipe, for the ingredients can be
varied every which way. Furthermore, it will feed up to
twelve. if it's served over macaroni, rice, or corn chips.
A big green salad is called for, as well as hard rolls and
red wine.


Is from this book:

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Ⓒ1966 Ann Rogers
Charles Scribner's Sons

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Change is illusory, Belief is a waste of Reason.

"While millions who voted for Obama hoped the self-declared candidate of “change” would represent a break from the Bush administration, Obama has pursued a reactionary agenda in every aspect of domestic and foreign policy.
"...According to New York Times columnist David Brooks, no newly elected American president has ever seen such a rapid and steep decline in the polls."

Obama’s poll numbers plummet