Social Media and the STASI

I can’t wait till Facebook dies a screaming, plague-ridden death covered in abscesses and boils.  Interesting article in TechDirt about how the East German STASI collected metadata and used social media analysis.  Of course they were helped immensely by the hundreds of thousands of East Germans who VOLUNTARILY helped report on each other. For a candy-bar or a pack of cigarettes the most banal conversations were monitored by the STASI and sifted for anti-Gov. sentiment and blackmail worthy dirt. 

See the picture? Click to embiggen. Count every seventh person including the kids – they reported on each other.  Count the Soldiers too, it was their Pflicht – they had to do their Duty.   It was the biggest “Social Network” in history at the time, and it was cool too – I mean everybody was doing it!  …Counting part-time informers, the Stasi had one informer per 6.5 people… (Wikepidia)

Blogging with its zero-reward game and Linked-In is as close as I ever came to “Social Media,” and now that I’m retired I think I’m going to cancel the Linked-In account.  As far as finding work or networking it was never any kind of success or worth a dried fart – and was mainly interesting because their offices were “down the street” from me in Mountain View in an area where I frequently rode my bicycle. But we’re SO not there anymore.

Gods of the Copyright Tailings

In ancient times primitive people worshiped the Gods of Nature and sacrificed upon a stone altar the most precious things they had: beautiful fair maidens, beautiful young men, and children – and the priests who conducted those ceremonies were more than happy to oblige.  Blood was shed and the most precious killed to appease the Gods – from the Inca to the Maya to the Polynesians to the Babylonians to Minoans on Crete and Etruscans in the hills where thousands of years later Rome would stand, “The Gods” (or their Political-Priestly emissaries on Earth) demanded Sacrifice.

Today modern primitives worship Golden-Gaia, and are eager to sacrifice to the fierce Sky-God CO2 the most precious thing they have, the ONE thing that affords them such a bountiful luxurious life that ten-thousand years has not seen – just so they can contemplate the Mysteries of the Art History and the Divine Poet-Puppeteer — they will sacrifice ALL that they have: a functioning economy.

They say “Let us sacrifice upon the brutal faux-stone and oil-rubbed bronze altar all that works and functions, those who work to make it so!”  And the Political Priests who intercede among Humans for the Idea-Gods themselves, are more than happy to oblige.  The Political-Priest says, “Vote for me and I will make the Ideas you Wish Upon themselves bless you with untold riches!  I will make the sky blue and straighten out the rivers, and make the flood-waters recede!  I will do the Gods bidding and reduce (some of) the High and Mighty to penniless beggars (except me of course), and I will give all they have to the Always Poor and Forever Needy amongst you (and keep the 99% remainder for myself).”

In between these two eras there was a Renaissance and an Enlightenment when people made beautiful things and their minds awoke to new horizons and the hairy old stagnant Gods themselves melted before Reason and Science.  But those far-gone days are now dimmed in the minds of the Peoples, people who have not learned from the History of People, and who’s children are taught once again to worship the trees and rocks – and stay attuned to the capricious Sky-Gods.

And before those two eras there was a Prophet who came and said, “Man-up my people, don’t fret and worry so damn much!  The birds don’t worry and you need not either, and don’t go around hating and killing your neighbor for while his wife may appear fair, she is likely to be just as big a bitch as your own – and his jackass too, it’s just a damn jackass.  And when the Gov. comes to collect it’s not for God who they are collecting – it’s just an asshole with a badge and a sword.  Give him his silver but do not build an altar to his greed, because he is a crap-head and has made many enemies, and they will kill him soon enough.”  And stuff like that – but like all Prophets he was outside of his time and the Peeps did not hear all that He said because they did not have You-Tube or Facebook.

Just sayin’…

McConnell’s Gun Iconography

Susan Walsh/AP Photo

I guess I would have liked it better if he’d brought an AR, or even a M1 Garand – but under no circumstances does this constitute “brandishing” despite ABC news’ headline. And speaking of fact-checkers, how about some grammar checkers? What in the following sentence does “touch” mean? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., came onto the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference today brandishing some touch a long gun.

Anyhow somehow I don’t believe the Kentucky Long Rifle helps the 2nd Amendment cause that much, and may even bolster the vision of many on the Left who see it as an archaic dead-letter.  In a “living” Constitution we should have AR’s and M14′s, and soon Mark VII Blasters.

UPDATE: And tanks and flamethrowers! Hell, artillery is what wins battles, not a bunch of rifles, and especially not a pistol – a single cannon *Ooga-booga Scary!*  (and a bunch of nerve) won California, from atop a hill in Hollister outside San Juan Batista.

Dominos falling, sandy-foundations crumbling…?

H/t to my buddy from the Gunblogger Rendezvous, Sebastien, the tide is shifting the riddle in the sands of an hourglass – or something.

The Second Amendment Foundation and The Calguns Foundation earned a significant victory today when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case of Richards v. Prieto, challenging the handgun carry license issuing policy of Yolo County, California, Sheriff Ed Prieto.

As Sebastien notes: The one dissenting judge in Peruta also noted he would have voted to uphold the “good cause” requirement, but agreed with the majority in this case because Pretua is controlling. The suit in Richards was against Yolo County, in the middle of the state.

Yolo county is a land-locked agricultural county who’s main population feature is the town of Davis that is predominantly Democratic-controlled and which numerically dominates the rest of the county’s voting record (since 1952), and where a branch of the University of California is located.  Yolo County is home to the multi-billion-dollar California tomato industry that dominates 90% of the canned and processed tomato market in the United States.  Who do you wanna bet controls that?

Meanwhile: “Today’s ruling reinforces the Second Amendment’s application  to state and local governments, and will help clear the way for more California citizens to exercise their right to bear arms,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “California officials have been put on notice that they can no longer treat the Second Amendment as a heavily-regulated government privilege.”

Thanks SAF and CalGuns!

Rain, rain, rain, gung hay Fat Tuesday!

Not enough to stave-off the drought unless it rains continuously until the end of April – which it wont, but good and soggy nonetheless.
Cleaning gutters is a NEW chore!
Been a long time since we rock’n'rolled into New Orleans on a University Financial junket-Seminar, I think in 200-whaa? Must be pics somewhere on the backup drive, damn there’s a lot of water under this bridge.

U-GOA First Steps to “Shall Own”

Billlls Idle Mind has alerted me to an important development on the International Gun-front: What The Angry Peasants Want. Amazingly but not surprisingly, as soon as the Dictator du Jour had left Kleptocrat Mansion for his new Undisclosed Dacha-in Hiding (on the Volga?), the Rocket-n-Molotov Peeps sally forth with an amendment to their Constitution – being that The Ukrainian Gun Owners Association has released a statement saying thusly:

“Today every citizen of Ukraine understands why our country has hundreds of thousands of policemen. Last illusions were crushed when riot police used rubber batons and boots at the Independence Square on peaceful citizens. After such actions we realize that it is not enough to only adopt the Gun Law. As of today Ukrainian Gun Owners Association will start to work on the preparation of amendments to the Constitution, which will provide an unconditional right for Ukrainian citizens to bear arms. People should have the right to bear arms, which will be put in written into the Constitution. Authorities should not and will not be stronger than its people! Armed people are treated with respect” (my emphasis)

So, let Sovereignty begin anew, congratulations Ukrainians!

Droughtland: The Rain Barrels

Part #2 – even a few tenths will fill these small ones, the big one in the under-story area is already full. At least they’re not too ugly, I could paint them if necessary and make them looked “distressed” and aged – to match the brickwork and the other Terra-cotta planters.

Meanwhile the Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis) is exploding in color, with great contrast between the new buds compared to the dried, leathery-like little leaves that have not pushed-off.

And finally, none of us knows yet what the weird fluffy fur-ball tree is called…but it was pink in the summer.