Amig@s de ElBaraMetal, siempre es un gusto postear materiales de bandas propositivas dentro del metal y el hard rock que se consideren visionarias, audaces y sobre todo, innovadoras, pero en el buen sentido de la palabra, no siguiendo ese cauce “trendy” de voltear hacia el Indie rock y eso, sino en otros caminos más oscuros, menos transitados pero que igualmente ofrecen alternativas sonoras de interés marcadísimo para los asiduos rockeros de cepa.

Uno de esos grupos es 3, una banda que ya cuenta con amplia experiencia y bastantes discos en su haber, estos son unos cuates que se han distinguido por navegar indistintamente en diversos géneros musicales con gran éxito, entre ellos el bossa, el reggae, el funk, el progresivo, el metal, el pop rock y demás por mencionar algunos.

Pues bien, este desarrollo musical diverso, casi siempre fundado en las bases del rock, es lo que ha llevado a 3 a tocar con grandes exponentes del metal progresivo como Dream Theater, Opeth y Bigelf entre muchos otros, y precisamente el lanzamiento hace unas semanas de su último material es lo que nos concierne revisar.

Después de varias minuciosas sesiones de escucha del álbum puedo llegar a la conclusión de que este es uno de los mejores trabajos de 3, aunque carece de estructuras extremo progresivas que han dado un sello único al grupo, me explico: Revisions es un disco que se compone de canciones y rarezas que nunca se terminaron de grabar o de concretar durante los últimos 10 años.

Debido a esto es que se escuchas estructuras más sencillas, más musicales, pero definitivamente estructuradas en forma y contenido de tal suerte que se han convertido en canciones con alto contenido melódico y de muy buena manufactura en el arreglo y la ejecución.

Yo destacaría dos canciones: Lexicon of Extremism, una instrumental de tamaños considerables, y la abridora Anyone Human, pero en general el disco cumple su cometido, nos entrega canciones más accesibles sin perder la esencia de 3, que lo mismo se mueve en el rock suave que en el rock más pesado por momentos: todo se mezcla y se consigue un disco elaborado y accesible al mismo tiempo.

Este material, para aquellos que se quieran aventurar más en los límites del rock pesado y otras cosas, está de este lado.

Carpe diem.

From the Rural Blog

While most people will likely look forward to the upcoming holiday as a chance to see family and take a break from work, “Country Real Estate” columnist Curtis Seltzer hopes the vacation time will see more hunters helping to control a growing problem: deer overpopulation. “Unlimited hunting reduced America’s white-tail deer population to about 300,000 in the 1930s,” Seltzer writes. “Today, the herd is estimated at about 30 million, and much of our hunting focuses on big bucks with big racks.”

To control the deer population, Seltzer says, hunters will need more incentive to kill does, and he proposes tax incentives for hunters who donate unwanted doe meat to programs to feed the needy. He acknowledges that hunting for population control, especially near suburbs, is not without risks, but writes, “The alternatives — habitat management, fences, bioengineering, repellents, etc. — are usually too costly, unwieldy or ineffective.”

This blogger will be doing his part to help control the deer population tomorrow morning. Wish me luck folks.

Download:friskyRadio – Channel Nine – November 2009 – Miss Nine – 24.11.2009

Mirror1:friskyRadio – Channel Nine – November 2009 – Miss Nine – 24.11.2009

Mirror2:friskyRadio – Channel Nine – November 2009 – Miss Nine – 24.11.2009

Nima Nas

01 Kid Massive – Touch Me (Carl Tricks Remix) [Stealth]
02 Dream City – Loving You (Freaknizm Remix) [Pm Music]
03 Syke N Sugarstarr & Dbn – My Belief (Dbn Mix) [We Play]
04 Bep – Boom Boom Pow (Unknown Mix) [Unsigned]
05 Gnekow & Norm – Chicago (Ruben Alvarez Remix) [Caballero]
06 Temper Traps – Sweet Disposition (Dirty South & Axwell) [Infectious]
07 Lewis Ryder – The Oh Nien Groove (Einmusik Remix) [Bigger Deer]
08 Benny Royal – It’s A Jungle (Nima Nas Edit) [Unsigned]
09 Daniel Portman – I Never Sleep [Starlight]
10 Audiowhores And Haze – Stay (Shik Stylko Dub) [Defected]

Hoxton Whores

01 “zulu Dawn” (original Mix) – Hoxton Whores [Hoxton Whores]
02 “disco Aint Dead” (original Mix) – Hoxton Whores [Hoxton Whores]
03 “back To The Front” (original Mix) – Kevin Andrews [World Sound]
04 “music Is The Answer” (muzzaik Remix) – Kid Massive [Caballero]
05 “dance Revolution” (ka Signature Instrumental Remix) – Kevin Andrews Feat One [Subliminal]
06 “latin Fever” (original Mix) – Wolfgang Gartner [Kindergarten]
07 “king Without His Crown” (original Mix) – Hoxton Whores [Hoxton Whores]
08 “faceless” (whelan & Discala Remix) – Kevin Andrews And Felix Baumgartner [World Sound]
09 “speak The Secret” (thomas Gold Dub) – Pete Griffiths Feat Neve [Toolroom]
10 “staunch” (joe Le Groove Remix) – Hoxton Whores [Star 69]
11 “probably” (main Mix) – Hoxton Whores [Hoxton Whores]
12 “friday Saturday Love” (hoxton Whores 2009 Remix) – Hoxton Whores [Hoxton Whores]
13 People Hold On (original) – Felix Baumgartner [Refrakt]

Download:Star 69 on Proton radio 2009.11.24 – Hoxton Whores, Nima Nas

Mirror1:Star 69 on Proton radio 2009.11.24 – Hoxton Whores, Nima Nas

Mirror2:Star 69 on Proton radio 2009.11.24 – Hoxton Whores, Nima Nas

]]> http://feelingmnml.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/duca-pure-fm-radio-mix/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:10:18 +0000 feelingmnml http://feelingmnml.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/duca-pure-fm-radio-mix/

Dusan Sekic aka Duca is a producer of electronic music from Belgrade, Serbia.

His story began at his age of 12 when he started going to Belgrade techno events and clubbing soon became his way of life. Since his first party he has had a little doubt about what he wanted to do in his life. Around that time he began collecting his first music making gear and started creating some loops and melodies of his own.

Year 2004 was the turning point for this young artist as he finally made his debut release. He dabbled into everything – from acid trance through techno to goa trance – only to reach progressive house and techno, which are the genres he is most into these days. At 2007 he made contact with renowned label Tribal Vision Records, soon became one of their artists and in September 2008 released there his debut album entitled After Dark. The album was an instant success and Duca became well-known name on the progressive and techno scene.

During the last couple of years he has released a big amount of singles and EPs on number of top progressive/techno labels such as Flow / Flow Vinyl, Iboga, Spiral Trax, Lo Kik and many others. He has performed worldwide with his live and DJ sets, including countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Israel, Czech Republic, Germany or Switzerland. He has been much honored to be part of Sao Paulo’s Virada Cultural line-up and considers this festival to be the pinnacle of his career.

Duca – Pure.Fm Radio Mix

As I researching for my English paper on the Progressive Movement, I came across Franklin Roosevelt’s 1944 State of the Union address. I was deeply appalled that any president, especially one that is often portrayed as one of the greatest ever, would propose something that’s so against the America’s foundation. Below I will copy the address and highlight his new “rights:”

“It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights—among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.

As our nation has grown in size and stature, however—as our industrial economy expanded—these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.”

These are so blatantly radical, unconstitutional, and socialist. It gets a whole lot worse. According to an article on www.forbes.com, Cass Sunstein (Head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs) is a strong supporter of these rights. Sunstein wrote a book, published in 2004 titled, The Second Bill of Rights: FDR’s Unfinished Revolution and Why We Need It More than Ever. If you believe in the constitution, the founding of this nation, and capitalism than you should be nervous that he has such a high position. These “rights” would astronomically grow the size of government and result in excessive taxation to fund all the programs.

It seems clear that’s exactly what progressives want, the growth of government, the death of capitalism and the rise of socialism. “Obama calls himself a progressive, as does Hillary Clinton” (http://www.newsweek.com/id/189122). Al Gore also considers himself a progressive, you know the guy who’s not a scientist and cares so deeply about the environment/global cooling, err I mean warming, and thinks he knows global warming inside and out.  Now, either these liberals, progressives, which ever you prefer to call them are either unaware at the extremely radicalism of their titles or they intend completely to uproot America and “Fundamentally transform” America.

SIDE NOTE: A couple scientists got their emails hacked and proves that global warming figures have been distorted. Shocking huh? http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/21/science/earth/21climate.html

descarga el tema

So yeah, I’m a nut for MMA. I started getting into it 2-3 years ago and my interest continues to grow to the point where I haven’t seen a full Notre Dame game this year because it has lost a bit of its luster for me (no, it’s not their lack of national titles you wise guys). One thing that is unique about MMA is that it wasn’t the sport we played on the playground when we were kids. Sure, I got in a few fights here and there, but never anything like this. So while I can appreciate a beautiful catch on a football field because I played in many backyard games, or I can respect the arm of a catcher who nails a runner stealing 2nd because I played a few summers behind home plate, I really can’t identify that closely with what it takes to compete in a sport I’ve really grown to love.

One thing that has helped me some is to watch videos which teach technique. My favorite part of MMA is the submission game, so I spend a fair amount of time goofing off and watching videos from Submissions 101 which is a group that teaches Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. This helps me understand what is happening when I watch matches and I’ve seen enough that I can sometimes anticipate a move before it happens on the TV.  Here’s a video to demonstrate what I am talking about:

I definitely believe that MMA is going to continue to grow. Dana White, who is the UFC’s president, uses this analogy a lot: If you have a 4-way intersection and there are people playing a different sport on 3 corners (basketball, football, soccer) and a fight breaks out on the 4th corner…everyone will go watch. In this way he is explaining that combat is a universally understood concept. Of course this also means that fans will have to become better educated about the sport and their enjoyment will grow.

Eelke Kleijn- Outside the box

Mirror

Mirror

Mirror

Tracklist:
01 – Linoleum
02 – Mortar grind
03 – If you wait
04 – Gone
05 – Bonus track B
06 – Yellow raven

::dl(”http://hotfile.com/dl/16308266/6aa38e8/www.NewAlbumReleases.net_Pain_Of_Salvation_-_Linoleum_(2009).rar.html”, “Pain Of Salvation – Linoleum 2009 part 1″)::

Track List:

1. “El Camino de la Muerte” – 0:42
2. “All of the Dreamers” – 3:36
3. “Burn Your Name” – 3:52
4. “A Fight About Money” – 5:08
5. “Sail the Wildest Stretch” – 4:09
6. “Poison In Your Mind” – 2:51
7. “Iberian Dream” – 4:16
8. “Jewel” – 2:57
9. “Think It Over” – 4:20
10. “Awake” – 4:23
11. “Stand Yourself” – 3:52
12. “Golden Rule” – 4:48
13. “See You Again” (iTunes Deluxe Bonus Track) – 3:44
14. “See Me Coming” (iTunes Deluxe Bonus Track) – 3:27
15. “waiting For The Sun (Live)” (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track) – 5:40
16. “My Kind Of Scene (Live)” (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track) – 6:13
17. “Nobody Sees (Live)” (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track) – 4:44
18. “Sweetlip (Live)” (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track) – 4:02
19. “Bless My Soul (Live)” (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track) – 5:48
20. “Lost And Running (Live)” (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track) – 4:24
21. “JC (Live)” (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track) – 3:29
22. “Trading Places (Live)” (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track) – 6:41
23. “These Days (Live)” (Deluxe Edition Bonus Track) – 5:52

pass: nuggets

Download Powderfinger – Golden Rule 2009 part 1:

Tracklist:

Matt Darey
01. Arty pres. Alpha 9 – Bliss (original mix) [Flashover Recordings]
02. Inpetto – Catwalk (original mix) [Big & Dirty]
03. David West & Inkfish – Burn-in (original mix) [Tolerant]
04. Luiz B – Song Of Life (club mix) [Silk Digital Records]
05. Asthma – Lion (Bjorn Small remix) [Bonzai Music]
06. Stan Kolev – Routts (Beat Factory remix) [Ready Mix Records]
07. Daniel Mahuad – Cerro De La Silla (original mix) [Silk Digital Records]
08. Incognet & Jeter Avio ft. Natasha Yakovleva – Something (Gai Barone remix) [Silk Royal Records]
09. Sydney Blu & Abigail Bailey – Hit You (original mix) [Blu Music]
10. Moby – One Time We Lived (Sharooz remix) [Little Idiot]
Exclusive Telepopmusik Set
01. Telepopmusik – Ghost Girl (Jesse Rose vocal dub remix) [Green United Music]
02. Radiohead – Everything In It’s Right Place (Gigamesh & Discotech remix)
03. F*kkk Offf – I’m A Freak [Coco Machete Records]
04. Tiga – You Gonna Want Me (Tocadisco mix) [[PIAS] Recordings]
05. Mark Knight & Funkagenda vs. Laurent Garnier – Man With The Face [Toolroom Records]
06. Panash – Jack 2 Jack (Jesper Dahlback remix) [Turbo]
07. Booka Shade – Mandarine Girl [Get Physical Music]
08. Coburn – We Interrupt This Program (Einmusik remix) [Great Stuff Recordings]
09. John Acquaviva pres. Swen Weber – First Stroke [KNM Special Marketing]
10. Liebe Is Cool – Hymn
11. Moodmusic – In And Out (Thirsty Monk mix)
12. Paul Raymond Series – Our Darkness
13. Moguai – Kick Out The Jams (Punx remix) [iO Music]
14. Scissors Sisters – Comfortably Numb (Paper Faces mix) [Polydor]
15. Solee – Different [Le Bien Et Le Mal]
16. The Ting Tings – Great DJ (Calvin Harris remix) [Columbia]
17. Petter – Some Polyphony [Border Community]
18. Hot Chip – Ready For The Floor (Soulwax dub) [New State Music]

Download Matt Darey – Nocturnal 222 part 1:

Roma, 26 novembre 2009 ore 10 Campidoglio, Sala della Protomoteca Il Terzo Obiettivo del Millennio “promuove l’uguaglianza di genere e l’empowerment delle donne”, due temi che l’IPS ha scelto di mettere al centro dell’intera produzione giornalistica, attraverso il programma “Communicating for Change: Getting Voice, Visibility and Impact for Gender Equality” (http://www.ips.org/mdg3/ e http://ipsnews.net/genderwire/).  Il seminario, organizzato durante i 16 Giorni di Attivismo contro la Violenza di Genere (25 Novembre-10 Dicembre), darà voce a giornaliste ed esperte di genere provenienti da tutto il mondo per parlare di come l’informazione e la comunicazione possano contribuire a fermare la violenza contro le donne.  Rappresentanti di Association for Progressive Communication (APC) e del Global Media Monitoring Project, (monitoraggio globale della società civile su come i mezzi di informazione trattano i temi di genere) presenteranno metodi innovativi di trasmissione del messaggio sulla violenza. Fra i giornalisti, saranno con noi Laila Al Shaikhli, anchorwoman di Al Jazeera; Najiba Ayubi, direttore della più importante agenzia di informazione afgana, The Killid Group, e Francesca Caferri, inviata del quotidiano La Repubblica. Insieme alle tante ONG e agenzie ONU presenti (fra cui Aidos, Action Aid, U.N. Millennium Campaign, UNIFEM, CAWTAR, FAO, IFAD, WFP) si parlerà di quali sono la responsabilità dei media, quando si comunica la violenza di genere.  Con l’occasione, sarà presentato e distribuito il manuale per i media dal titolo “Reporting Gender Based Violence”, appena pubblicato da IPS Africa. Uno spazio speciale sarà dedicato al trentesimo anniversario della Convenzione per l’eliminazione di tutte le forme di discriminazione contro le donne (CEDAW). L’introduzione sarà a cura di Emma Bonino, vicepresidente del Senato.

Common Dreams,  November 16, 2009

Biggest State Party to Obama: Get Out of Afghanistan

By Norman Soloman

This week begins with a significant new straw in the political wind for President Obama to consider. The California Democratic Party has just sent him a formal and clear message: Stop making war in Afghanistan.

Overwhelmingly approved on Sunday by the California Democratic Party’s 300-member statewide executive board, the resolution is titled “End the U.S. Occupation and Air War in Afghanistan.”

The resolution supports “a timetable for withdrawal of our military personnel” and calls for “an end to the use of mercenary contractors as well as an end to air strikes that cause heavy civilian casualties.” Advocating multiparty talks inside Afghanistan, the resolution also urges Obama “to oversee a redirection of our funding and resources to include an increase in humanitarian and developmental aid.”

While Obama weighs Afghanistan policy options, the California Democratic Party’s adoption of the resolution is the most tangible indicator yet that escalation of the U.S. war effort can only fuel opposition within the president’s own party — opposition that has already begun to erode his political base.

Participating in a long-haul struggle for progressive principles inside the party, I co-authored the resolution with savvy longtime activists Karen Bernal of Sacramento and Marcy Winograd of Los Angeles.

Bernal, the chair of the state party’s Progressive Caucus, said on Sunday night: “Today’s vote formalized and amplified what had been, up to now, an unspoken but profoundly understood reality — that there is no military solution in Afghanistan. What’s more, the vote signified an acceptance of what is sure to be a continued and growing culture of resistance to current administration policies on the matter within the party. This is absolutely huge. Now, there can be no disputing the fact that the overwhelming majority of California Democrats are not only saying no to escalation, but no to our continued military presence in Afghanistan, period. The California Democratic Party has spoken, and we want the rest of the country to know.”

Winograd, who is running hard as a grassroots candidate in a primary race against pro-war incumbent Rep. Jane Harman, had this to say: “We need progressives in every state Democratic Party to pass a similar resolution calling for an end to the U.S. occupation and air war in Afghanistan. Bring the veterans to the table, bring our young into the room, and demand an end to this occupation that only destabilizes the region. There is no military solution, only a diplomatic one that requires we cease our role as occupiers if we want our voices to be heard. Yes, this is about Afghanistan — but it’s also about our role in the world at large. Do we want to be global occupiers seizing scarce resources or global partners in shared prosperity? I would argue a partnership is not only the humane choice, but also the choice that grants us the greatest security.”

Speaking to the resolutions committee of the state party on Saturday, former Marine Corporal Rick Reyes movingly described his experiences as a warrior in Afghanistan that led him to question and then oppose what he now considers to be an illegitimate U.S. occupation of that country.

Another voice of disillusionment reached party delegates when Bernal distributed a copy of the recent resignation letter from senior U.S. diplomat Matthew Hoh, sent after five months of work on the ground in Afghanistan. “I find specious the reasons we ask for bloodshed and sacrifice from our young men and women in Afghanistan,” he wrote. “If honest, our stated strategy of securing Afghanistan to prevent al-Qaeda resurgence or regrouping would require us to additionally invade and occupy western Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, etc. Our presence in Afghanistan has only increased destabilization and insurgency in Pakistan where we rightly fear a toppled or weakened Pakistani government may lose control of its nuclear weapons.”

Hoh’s letter added that “I do not believe any military force has ever been tasked with such a complex, opaque and Sisyphean mission as the U.S. military has received in Afghanistan.” And he wrote: “Thousands of our men and women have returned home with physical and mental wounds, some that will never heal or will only worsen with time. The dead return only in bodily form to be received by families who must be reassured their dead have sacrificed for a purpose worthy of futures lost, love vanished, and promised dreams unkept. I have lost confidence such assurances can anymore be made.”

From their own vantage points, many of the California Democratic Party leaders who voted to approve the out-of-Afghanistan resolution on Nov. 15 have gone through a similar process. They’ve come to see the touted reasons for the U.S. war effort as specious, the mission as Sisyphean and the consequences as profoundly unacceptable.

Sometime in the next few days, President Obama is likely to learn that the California Democratic Party has approved an official resolution titled “End the U.S. Occupation and Air War in Afghanistan.” But will he really get the message?

Norman Solomon is a journalist, historian, and progressive activist. His book War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death has been adapted into a documentary film of the same name. His most recent book is “Made Love, Got War. ” He is a national co-chair of the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign. In California, he is co-chair of the Commission on a Green New Deal for the North Bay; www.GreenNewDeal.info .

It took me a long time to decide on a name for my blog.  After all, it provides you the reader with the first impression of who I am and will undoubtedly provide a whole host of pre-conceived notions about me.  Since this blog is about my exploration of my points of view on various subjects, I would encourage you to read through my text as I will invariably include a definition or two so that you are clear about the foundation from which I am exploring a particular point.

There are a lot of challenges facing our nation.  I am hoping for some good solid discussions and debates on the subjects about which I blog – it’s one of the reasons I’ve decided to do it. I’m very open to learning about views that differ from mine and I’ve got no problem with healthy discussions that are based on reliable documentation and logic. I’m hoping to discuss things a specific as line items in regulations to loftier philosophical concepts surrounding the development and current state of affairs not just in the United States but the world.  However, disrespectful and inflammatory content is not okay with me and you can be sure that I’ll let you know when I think you have stepped over the line and we need to get back to a controlled debate.

It’s probably best to start out with a few definitions as a basis for discussion.  These definitions were all found online in the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary.

 re·pub·lic:
1 : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president;
2 : a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law;

 de·moc·ra·cy

1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

 con·ser·va·tism: 

2 a : disposition in politics to preserve what is established b : a political philosophy based on tradition and social stability, stressing established institutions, and preferring gradual development to abrupt change; specifically : such a philosophy calling for lower taxes, limited government regulation of business and investing, a strong national defense, and individual financial responsibility for personal needs (as retirement income or health-care coverage)
3 : the tendency to prefer an existing or traditional situation to change

 lib·er·al·ism:

b : a theory in economics emphasizing individual freedom from restraint and usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market, and the gold standard c : a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties (freedom from arbitrary governmental interference (as with the right of free speech) specifically by denial of governmental power and in the United States especially as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights); specifically : such a philosophy that considers government as a crucial instrument for amelioration of social inequities (as those involving race, gender, or class).

 Progressive:

b : one believing in moderate political change and especially social improvement by governmental action

I’ve got to say, based on these definitions I am a quasi-conservatively liberal republican – in other words, there are pieces of these definitions I would associate with, but there are also pieces with which I completely disagree.  For instance, under Liberalism, I’m good with the definition right up to the point where the definition identifies “government as a crucial instrument of amelioration of social inequities (as those involving race, gender, or class).”  I’m pretty much of the mind that government, as an entity for the last 100 years, has been the cause of much of the social inequities in the United States.  But more on that later.

Likewise, I’m also good with the conservatism definition right up to the tendency to prefer an existing or traditional situation to change”.  I don’t have a problem with change, but my comfort level and agreement with the change is entirely dependent on the nature of the change, the forethought and analysis that occurred to initiate the change, and the change control utilized to affect the change.

I am definitely in line with the definition of republic, and hence, I guess I can call myself a republican.  When it comes to government, I believe less is more.  I have some strong feelings about the role I believe that government should play, and I’m sure that I’ll get to a blog post sooner than later on what the role should be, but for now, it’s enough that I can identify myself as a republican under this definition.  The rub?  I don’t think that this definition is the one that is associated with Republicans nowadays. 

Likewise, I can’t disagree with the definition of democracy, although I think that the inclusion of the “absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges” is a tad naïve.  Class distinctions and privileges have been around for millions of years (if you believe the scientists, even cave men had hierarchies of command and control – probably the result of mimicking wildlife – and I challenge anyone to point me to a country, state, area, region, or other entity that encompasses more than 1 person and DOESN’T ACTUALLY have a hierarchy based on gender, race, or socioeconomic conditions).  It seems to me if we haven’t been able to breed it out of the human race by now, it’s not likely to happen.  Not that we haven’t tried – and tried hard here in the United States – but at this point, it’s just the definition of insanity.  Of course, I’ve got some thoughts on WHY there are still such disparities between classes and how they should be handled, but that’s another blog, too.

What I do find interesting is that the definitions of liberalism, conservatism, democracy, and republicanism are so close; all four revolve around the same core values of that the purpose of our government is not to run our lives for us, but to protect our freedoms and rights so that we can collectively create opportunity, sustain self-responsibility, and find our own brands of happiness.  You would think that since we are all so much alike, we could get along better.  But, power DOES corrupt, eh?

And progressivism?  I’m not in agreement with any of that.

So beware when judging my blogs – know under what definitions I am working.  Since it’s my blog, I’ll assume that when you use these words, you’ll do so utilizing the definitions I’ve outlined here or provide me with a new definition that is your basis.

This post from Geeky Mom got me up on my soapbox this weekend.

Long-time readers might recall stories where I was asked to help with hooking up DSL, sort email folders, or upload documents in response to my reporting on the latest research in teaching with technology. No matter how academic I sounded, what people often saw was the mechanical side of my work. Sigh.

GeekyMom’s dilemma is that her work in technology is not seen by many of her peers as true academic work. They just see her as a computer geek and mostly rely on her for IT advice…ugh. Obviously the academic world functions much different than the business world in about a hundred different ways. What’s become painfully apparent to me in the last year or two is the ways in which business is superior.

While academic professions are often built on constant scrutiny and criticism of people’s abilities, businesses are very good at finding your talents and wedging you into jobs that exploit them for maximum profit (hopefully they will pay you accordingly). At the same time you will get very, very good at this job because you will A) Have to stay current to remain in your employer’s good graces B) Do this job over and over C) Share your knowledge with others in the company and teaching a subject is the best way to master it. 

With two ‘academic’ degrees under my belt, in history and anthropology respectively, I spent a total of about 5 years working for scraps in ”academic’ jobs while also paying the bills with a very ‘business’ oriented position that I referred to as my ‘get-me-through-college-job’. Next March I will have been at that job for 10 years and I haven’t worked in an academic setting for 3 years or so. I thought I would miss it but I find I don’t that much.

The problem I have run into is that after 10 years in a very conservative, very large company, I’ve begun to understand that big companies become big companies because they are very efficient. In academic circles efficiency is akin to kryptonite and nothing can be done without a committee. I have watched non-profits be incredibly poorly run by administrators who were brilliant but had no talent for administration. It’s examples like this that have forced me out of academia and I don’t think I’ll ever go back. 

While I can tell you obscure facts about early Kentucky history and can dig a 1m X 1m unit with perfectly straight walls and date all the pottery that comes out of that unit…obviously those skills don’t exactly translate to the business world. What my employer and I sort of discovered together is that I have a knack for designing reports and for streamlining reporting processes. I work in a field that is very metric-driven and so we love our spreadsheets and graphs. My real talent has been moving onto existing accounts, reviewing their reporting processes and streamlining the heck out of them. We take a bulky and redundant 10-page report and reduce it to 3 pages that gives our customer all the info they need in an easier-to-digest format. I think I came to this ability by going through the editing process on dozens of long research papers in collage. The three R’s of writing also apply to reporting: revision, revision, revision.

Now I will freely admit that I don’t get nearly as excited about spreadsheets as I did about finding buried stuff at historic sites or in taking a group of interested tourists on a tour of some old home, but I know that in my current job I am accomplishing a lot more on a daily basis. At 34 that is strangely satisfying. On the flip side, I know my former colleagues in the academic world no doubt view me as a sell-out for choosing a paycheck over scholarly pursuits. It’s hard for them to see the good done by corporations. That’s unfortunate because we have a lot we could share with them and no doubt they could humanize us a bit.

The Return of Depression Economics

Paul Krugman on “The Return of Depression Economics?”

Authors@Google: Paul Krugman

Krugman: Fixing Long-Term Deficits Not Hard Economically, But Politically Impossible

Inside Look – How Did Paul Krugman Get It So Wrong? – Bloomberg

Krugman & Matalin Go Head-to-Head on AC360 Over Right-Wing Hate

Paul Krugman – Lecture Swedish kvalitetsmässan och politikerdagarna – Video 1

Paul Krugman – Lecture Swedish kvalitetsmässan och politikerdagarna – Video 2

Paul Krugman: $300B Job summit -Fresh Dialogues interview

Paul Krugman says “I’d blame Alan Greenspan and Phil Gramm”

Paul Krugman LRA Awards ‘09 Pt 1

Paul Krugman LRA Awards ‘09 Pt 2

All Your Decisions Are Belong to Us

News Hour – Dr. Paul Krugman & Diane Casey-Landry on new financial regulation

Paul Krugman Income Inequality and the Middle Class

News Hour – Paul Krugman & Donald Marron discuss Geithner’s plan, Part 1 of 2

News Hour – Paul Krugman & Donald Marron discuss Geithner’s plan, Part 2 of 2

Economic Expectations – New Toxic Asset Plan “Won’t Work” – Bloomberg

Krugman saddened by Obama economic moves-1/2

Clip of Tim Russert – Paul Krugman vs O’reilly

Paul Krugman: Getting out of the Financial Crisis

The Obama Depression: Lessons Learned–Deja Vu!

Background Articles and Videos

Paul Krugman

“…Paul Robin Krugman (pronounced /ˈkruːɡmən/;[3] born February 28, 1953) is an American economist, liberal columnist and author. He is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times.[4][5] In 2008, Krugman won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for his contributions to New Trade Theory and New Economic Geography. He was voted sixth in Prospect Magazine’s 2005 global poll of the world’s top 100 intellectuals.[6]

The Nobel Prize Committee stated that Krugman’s main contribution had been to explain patterns of international trade and the geographic concentration of wealth by examining the impact of economies of scale and of consumer preferences for diverse goods and services.[7] Krugman’s work on international economics, including trade theory, economic geography, and international finance[8][9] has established him as one of the most influential economists in the world according to IDEAS/RePEc.[10] Krugman is also known in academia for his work on liquidity traps and on currency crises.

As of 2006, Krugman had written or edited more than 25 books, 40 scholarly articles and 750 columns at The New York Times dealing with current economic and political issues.[11] Krugman’s International Economics: Theory and Policy, co-authored with Maurice Obstfeld is a standard introductory textbook on international economics. He also writes on political and economic topics for the general public, as well as on topics ranging from income distribution to international economics. Krugman considers himself a liberal, calling one of his books and his New York Times blog: “The Conscience of a Liberal”.[12] …”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman

Krugman: ‘Right-wing billionaires…manufactured’ tea parties

Paul Krugman Part 1

Paul Krugman Part 2

Krugman on the US housing bubble

Why You’ve Never Heard of the Great Depression of 1920

A Recipe for the Next Great Depression

Related Posts On Pronk Palisades

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Frederic Bastiat–The Law–Videos

Yaron Brook–Videos

Friedrich Hayek–Videos

Milton Friedman–Videos

Milton Friedman on Education–Videos

Ludwig von Mises–Videos

The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged and The Ideas of Ayn Rand

Murray Rothbard–Videos

Rothbard On Keynes–Videos

Peter Schiff–Videos

Schiff, Forbers and Bloomberg Nail The Financial Crisis and Recession–Mistakes Were Made–Greed, Arrogance, Stupidity–Three Chinese Curses!

L. William Seidman on The Economic Crisis: Causes and Cures–Videos

Amity Shlaes–Videos

Julian Simon–Videos

Thomas Sowell and Conflict of Visions–Videos

Thomas E. Woods, Jr.–Videos

Banking Cartel’s Public Relations Campaign Continues:Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke On The Record

Investors

Peter Schiff–Videos

George Soros: Government Interventionist and Global Socialist–Obama’s Puppeter Master–Videos

George Soros: Barack Obama’s Money Man and Agenda Puppeter

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Banking Cartel’s Public Relations Campaign Continues:Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke On The Record

Banking–Videos

Creature from Jekyll Island: The Federal Reserve System–Videos

The Monopoly Men: The Federal Reserve Bank Cartel–Videos 

M3 Money Meteorite Moves–Deep Impact–The Coming Inflation Tidal Wave–Wage and Price Controls Will Signal Radical Socialist Obama’s Failure!

Bailouts and Deficit Spending

The Obama Depression Has Arrived: 15,000,000 to 25,000,000 Unemployed Americans–Stimulus Package and Bailouts A Failure–400,000 Leave Labor Force In July!

The Obama Depression Has Arrived: 15,000,000 to 25,000,000 Unemployed Americans–Stimulus Package and Bailouts A Failure–400,000 Leave Labor Force In July!

Banking Cartel’s Public Relations Campaign Continues:Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke On The Record

Job Creating Businesses and CIT–Videos

The 12 Trillion–$12,000,000,000,000 Crime of The Century: The Decline and Fall of United States of America By Radical Socialist Spending–Look Before You Leap!

The Financial Crime of The Century: William K. Black On Massive Mortgage Fraud –Videos

Bailed Out Bank Trillion Dollar Derivative Exposure

The Mother of All Bailouts–2 to 3 Trillion Dollars–$2,000,000,000–$3,000,000,000!–Rewarding Greed, Arrogance and Stupidity–Pay for Play!

Federal Government Extortion Of Sound Banks–You Decide?–Take This TARP and Shove It!

Boycott Bailedout Businesses and Banks

Ban Bailouts–Stop Inflation Now (SIN)–Stop Socialism of Losses!

The United States is Broke!–Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Time For GM and Ford Is Now!

The Sovereign Wealth Fund Threat: Are Chinese Communists Behind Rush In Passing Bailout Bill?

Pelosi’s Porky Pigout Poison Package–Economy Wrecker and Job Destroyer–Have A Blue Christmas 2009!

Depressions and Recessions

Official Unemployment Rate Hits 10.2%–15,700,000 Unemployed American Citizens–Real Unemployment Rate Hits 17.5%– 26,950,000 Americans Seeking Full Time Jobs–Obama Depression Worse Than Great Depression

The Great Depression–Videos

The Obama Depression Continues–Official Unemployment Hits Rate 9.8% (15,142,000 Seek Full Time Job) and Real Unemployment Rate Hits 17.0% (26,181,000 Seek Full Time Job)!

The Obama Depression Has Arrived: 15,000,000 to 25,000,000 Unemployed Americans–Stimulus Package and Bailouts A Failure–400,000 Leave Labor Force In July!

Banking Cartel’s Public Relations Campaign Continues:Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke On The Record

The Big Economic Picture–Some Perspectives–Videos

United States Economic Depressions–The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly–Obama’s Depression–Over 15,000,000 Americans Seek Full Time Job!

The Triumph of Capitalism and The Power of Consumer Sovereignty Over Massive Government Failure–Bankruptcy of General Motors–Now Government Motors! 

BO’s Raw Deal: Obama’s Two Year Recession and Two Year Hyperinflation–Hopeless & Small Change!

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100% AWESOMENESS. Not quite as much of a banger as the Avicii edit, but still sick. Enjoy!
Tim Berg – Alcoholic (John Dahlback Remix)

If you’ve never read about Maslow’s heirarchy of needs theory, you should.  There’s a certain aspect of undeniable truth to it, which is likely why it’s taught not only as a theory of human psychology, but as a valuable marketing tool.  It’s also become intertwined with the “trickle-up” theory of economics, and rightly so.  Maslow surmised that, unless an individual’s basic needs were secure, that a person could never achieve self-actualization.  Self-actualization essentially means realizing your full potential and purpose.  Likewise, if a person’s basic needs were not secure, that person would compensate by seeking to further fulfill other basic needs that are perhaps already being met.

This can be applied to the trickle-up effect by observing the spending habits of consumers whose psychological and safety needs, according to Maslow’s heirarchy, aren’t being met.  These people are often from lower-class, low-income households which tend to spend a higher percentage of their income than higher-earning households, who tend to save more.  If you give the low income earners a tax refund, they will be more likely to spend it in an attempt to satisfy their needs (thus stimulating the economy).  Give the high earners a tax refund, and they are likely to save it because their needs are already being met.

One thing in the trickle up theory that I don’t agree with is that securing everyone’s basic needs would result in a weaker economy and less spending. Eventually there would be an equilibrium of sorts, because a person can only own so much stuff, but such a balance could be introduced gradually through fundamental restructuring of the various market systems that make up our economy.  Consider that many people who have to make choices from month-to-month whether they’re going to pay for housing or groceries could conceivably be guaranteed affordable access to both at once.  They could see a financial shortfall turned into a surplus, and imagine the things they would spend that newfound “pocket money” on!  I’m talking about people who perhaps haven’t purchased new clothing or shoes for themselves in years, whose homes are in disrepair because they simply don’t have the money for maintenance or improvement, or those who don’t have a home at all (a setback that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to find employment in a good economy).  These are the people who would spend money, were it put into their hands, not squirrel it away in offshore (tax haven) accounts where it does nothing but earn interest for someone who is probably already  wealthy by any standards.

Anyway, I think everyone ought to be interested in politics because there isn’t a single issue being debated today that doesn’t have a profound effect on our future as a nation, and as individuals.  There are several factors we should all be aware of that influence people’s political ideology.  Two of the most important are income and education.  Lower income people are more likely to call themselves democrats or identify with the ideology of a democratic candidate, as do some of the more educated members of our society.  Yes, there is likely some overlap in those two demographics despite the fact that we are led to believe a college education always means you’ll earn more money than someone without a degree.  We only need to look to our nation’s public school teachers to see this is not the case.  When my own mother began teaching back in 1993, her starting salary was in the low $20,000 range.  I earned more than that as a restaurant/bar manager and as a pizza delivery driver, with no college degree.

So why do minorities and the lower-income element of our society vote democratic?  Some would say that it’s because they’re uneducated, but that isn’t true at all.  These are educated people who, despite their motivation and hard work, are simply having a hard time climbing to the top of the career ladder (or even getting their foot on the first rung, in some cases).  They vote based on their own experiences in life, which often give them firsthand insight into many of the social problems facing our nation that republicans just don’t offer realistic solutions to address.

I’ve been poor all my life and I consider myself something of an expert on living below the poverty line.   I also tend to agree with the “liberal” analysis of those problems and the “progressive” methods of solving them.  It really isn’t a matter of thinking “Oh, that sounds like a great humanitarian position for an elected representative to take”, but a matter of knowing, deep down what the issues are that face our nation’s poor – having lived those issues – and feeling that there are very specific ways that these issues could be addressed, realistically.  One thing that strikes me as particularly disconcerting about republicans is their willingness to ignore this class of people, as if by ignoring them they, and all their problems, will just magically disappear.  I also have a really hard time believing that giving money to the wealthy ever results in an improved disposition for the poor, especially in an economy like ours today – where everyone who has money seems to be hoarding it.  Again, I think it’s important to consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and how that translates into a “trickle up” effect, rather than the “trickle down” effect that hasn’t done much to put any wealth in the hands of the poor – and seems to have done more to widen the class divide than to narrow it.

Busy morning today. I don’t have any posts in the can and with a two-day work week this week (hoorah!) I need to make the most of my morning. I promise there will be a good post this afternoon. In the meantime, here’s the hunting report:

I went out Saturday morning to try and take care of my uncle’s deer problem. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL morning. Bluebird skies and temps around 42 degrees. No deer were seen, but I was treated to the view of over 100 geese buzzing the farm. This was exciting because the season starts this week and I will be out there hunting them in just a few days. They were flying so low I could hear their wings beating. I told Murphy all about them when I got home and he wagged his tail for a minute straight.

The other neat sight (and the one that made my morning) was a big coyote walking through about 100 feet from my stand. This was the biggest one I’ve seen to-date. He was moving pretty quick but cool to watch. I know a lot of people consider them a nuisance and shoot them on sight but I’ve yet to be convinced they are a problem in the rural areas of Kentucky so I leave them alone. They came to our state naturally and they have their place in the food chain. If I could eat them, fine, I’ll take one. But I refuse to kill simply because I can. I think that makes me a better outdoorsman and to hell with anyone who says otherwise.

Evolución, una simple palabra que engloba un concepto amplísimo y que, en verdad, pocas veces se puede aplicar al trabajo artístico de músicos, del género que sean.

Pues bien, Devin “The Madman” Townsend, vía The Devin Townsend Project ha logrado dar esos pasos hacia la evolución musical –uno a la vez- con sus diferentes materiales, el más reciente, una obra llamada Addicted, misma que goza de vertientes altamente pesadas pero no menos melódicas, con gran sentido de las armonías vocales y el manejo del tiempo para dejar a los fanáticos con el ojo cuadrado.

Lo que ha logrado Townsend en este disco es de admirarse, pues si bien se mueve en una métrica diferente al anterior, llamado Ki de excelente manufactura también, Addicted conjuga la experiencia pesada de su creador y la funde en amplios espectros sonoros bañados de teclados, ambientes más etéreos y guitarras potentes basadas en riffs que de primera suenan simples, pero que de composición resultan ser complejos.

Addicted, el segundo de una tetralogía programada de parte de Townsend, es un disco que maneja unos ritmos más accesibles, decirlo suena chafa pero de entrada son como más comerciales pero no menos intensos, esto lo hace sonar un poco a lo que hacen bandas como Nickelback, sin embargo la comparación es sólo de mención, ya que en ocasiones la verdadera naturaleza agresiva de Townsend se asoma entre los acordes de canciones como Supercrush!, Hyperdrive!, The Way Home!, Numbered! que por momentos suena a lo que hacia con Strapping Young Lad y obvio con la épica Awake!, una rolotota de más de nueve minutos de duración que cierra un gran disco.

Disco que, no se crean, necesita su buena dosis de paciencia para lograr discernir completamente los elementos que contiene, sobre todo, para encajar de buena forma las vocales de Anneke van Giersbergen, vocalista de The Gathering (ya de entrada, por este hint, pueden imaginar un poco a lo que suena en esa parte vocal), pero no se crean, no se renuncia a los poderosos growls de Townsend.

Creo que es un gran disco, habrá que esperar los restantes de la tetralogía, sin embargo van mejorando con entrega, de Ki a Addicted! hay material interesante, habrá que ver qué sucede con los restantes.

De mientras, consíganse este acá y en físico con la disquera de Townsend, HevyDevy Records, en su página lo pueden pedir.

Carpe diem.

You might not guess it on the first listen, but swedish progressive/psychadelic rock group Dungen (pronounced doon-yen) formed as recently as 1999.  This is the first track on their most recent (and certainly best titled) album “4.”

- kevin