Rick Santorum says that the Obama agenda is not based on the Bible

This is the United States of America. We are a constituti­onal Republic. We are not a theocracy. We have a founding document based on reason and logic. The Bible is an interestin­g series of books, a fantasy, beautiful poetry with some cogent advice but it lacks reason and defies logic. . . Live your religious life, Mr. Santorum. Become devout and celibate and leave your wife and family to pursue your religious beliefs, high-minde­dness and fantasies. Leave the others who are profane in your eyes to dabble in politics.

A short film review: The Baader-Meinhof Complex (streaming on NetFlix)

I remember the Baader-Meinhof "gang" only from the scant news reports at the time as they were presented in the U.S. press. Recently I was reading a John LeCarre novel, "Absolute Friends" and at the beginning one of the characters is involved with the democratic protests in Germany in the 60's and the names of Rudi Dutschke and Ulrike Meinhof were referred to. So having looked them up, I read a bit about them and then while reading about the RAF (Red Army Faction), I came across a reference to this film. So the film was quite arresting and engaging and provides a narrative to the events as reported over 10 years. All the events are supposedly factual.

According to the film we have a group of youthful activists whose parents lived through the Nazi era and opposed Nazism, quietly opposed Nazism, and these activists were concerned that the rise of fascism in Germany and especially the U.S. was taking place and they wanted to fight for a freer more democratic world. However, the group evolves or rather devolves into violent extremists whose plans for this better world goes completely haywire.

Still I found it impossible to completely dismiss their aims as "freedom fighters" though the film sort of does that, but at the same time it's impossible to embrace them as democratic political operatives who just went astray. They became murderers, unreasonable and no doubt totally crazed. Their message was clear but their means to achieve that message fit in with the insanity of the times which only allowed for either/or positions, no compromise nor clear-headed thinking and action. Their blows against the state inspired very few and certainly didn't cause the masses to rise up.

As I reflect upon this film, it becomes clear that the state was far more formidable then the RAF thought it might be, and if we pay attention to current events, today it should be clear that it is even more formidable. So what we have in this film is more a cautionary tale being told than just a thrilling entertainment or a historical narrative. Cinematically speaking excellent story, great action, terrific acting and direction. Some reviewers think less of this film because there are too many characters. Perhaps. But the best thing would be to read a bit about them before viewing.

Big Data

The Age of Big Data

By STEVE LOHR

Published: February 11, 2012

GOOD with numbers? Fascinated by data? The sound you hear is opportunity knocking.

Mo Zhou was snapped up by I.B.M. last summer, as a freshly minted Yale M.B.A., to join the technology company’s fast-growing ranks of data consultants. 

They help businesses make sense of an explosion of data — Web traffic and social network comments, as well as software and sensors that monitor shipments, suppliers and customers — to guide decisions, trim costs and lift sales. “I’ve always had a love of numbers,” says Ms. Zhou, whose job as a data analyst suits her skills.

To exploit the data flood, America will need many more like her. A report last year by the McKinsey Global Institute, the research arm of the consulting firm, projected that the United States needs 140,000 to 190,000 more workers with “deep analytical” expertise and 1.5 million more data-literate managers, whether retrained or hired.

The impact of data abundance extends well beyond business. Justin Grimmer, for example, is one of the new breed of political scientists. A 28-year-old assistant professor at Stanford, he combined math with political science in his undergraduate and graduate studies, seeing “an opportunity because the discipline is becoming increasingly data-intensive.” His research involves the computer-automated analysis of blog postings, Congressional speeches and press releases, and news articles, looking for insights into how political ideas spread.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/sunday-review/big-datas-impact-in-the-world.html?_r=1

I'm not troubled by the garishness of the Superbowl

I don't know if I'm troubled by any of the hoopla, the adverts, the laundry (as Jerry Seinfeld once put it. Uniformed professional sports is just laundry as the men in the uniforms constantly change though the uniforms stay the same. Whatever.). Seems to me that the Superbowl is just a loud, gaudy piece of Americana bordering on what passes for a holiday.  How different is it from the ridiculousness that a day like Halloween has become for adults or for that matter a holiday where people stuff themselves silly with a so-called traditional dinner or the white sales during  President's Week & (ironically) MLK Jr.s day or the exploding bombs on the fourth of July? and let's not forget the "religious" holidays. Symbolism you might think.  But symbolism representing what? The Superbowl is just the evolution of the hucksterism of a P.T. Barnum and all the boorishness, gratuitousness, vileness and expansiveness America has become heir to and has attached to all its holidays.  But hell if you love football you just go with the flow. . .

Why Neil Young Hates MP3 — And What You Can Do About It

From wired Magazine
By Michael Calore

Neil Young is right: Those songs on your iPhone do sound like crap, and it’s time we demand better-sounding alternatives for our digital music.
Speaking at the D: Dive Into Media conference Tuesday, the outspoken musician expressed his deep dissatisfaction with the MP3 format and called for an end-to-end reboot of the consumer digital audio ecosystem, from file formats to playback devices.
Young’s big beef: Digital music files download quickly, but suffer a significant loss in quality. Bitrates for most tracks on iTunes average 256kbps AAC audio encoding, which is drastically inferior to the quality of recorded source material in almost every case. By Young’s estimation, CDs offer only 15 percent of the recording information contained on the master tracks. Convert that CD-quality audio to MP3 or AAC, and you’ve lost a great deal of richness and complexity.
 Read the rest

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/02/why-neil-young-hates-mp3-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/

My comment:

As a long time music listener (almost 60 Years) and one who appreciates quality I'll just say this: I can't tell the fucking difference. Maybe I'm deaf.  Maybe I'm stupid. But the only time I have any interest in any of this is when some shithead like Neil Young decides to go on a rant.  Pack it in asshole and be grateful for the money you've made off us playing a fucking guitar and singing stupid lyrics.

Will Obama Issue an Order Exposing Big Corporate Political Spenders in Citizens United Era?

by Stephen Rosenfeld Alternet.org

January 10, 2012  |  

 

 

 

A executive order requiring that federal contractors disclose their electoral spending—by top officers and as corporations—is being reconsidered by the White House despite stiff opposition from the business lobby after it was first proposed last spring, according to civil rights attorneys working on the issue.

http://www.alternet.org/story/153729/will_obama_issue_an_order_exposing_big_corporate_political_spenders_in_citizens_united_era?akid=8109.321227.E_oQau&rd=1&t=5

Peak Money epitaph

We've come to live in a semi-post war

Post Modern

Post Consumerist

Peak Money world

Now drifting, drifting down

Cast a cold eye

As W.B. Yeats wanted us to look

Oh America the lost.