Project365 day 020

Project365 day 020
Originally uploaded by thepetecom.

I'm on the way to Groundwork in Hollywood where I worked on my novel and

met with fellow NaNoWriMo vet, Chris.

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Orignal From: Project365 day 020

MORE TROOPS TO IRAQ, BUT NO NUDE ONES!!

What America needs is an excuse to keep soldiers in, not fall back on old-fashioned bullshit reasons to kick them out. What am I referring to? Well, it turns out that the US Air Force has discovered that a very hot female staff sergeant has posed in the newd for Playboy Magazine. According to [http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0112PlayboyMilitary12-ON.html|a January 12, 2007 article] from AP.org available at AZCentral.Com, Michele Manhart has been "relieved of her duties while the military investigates". Investigates WHAT? That's she's hot as hell? You can tell that just by looking at the pics (which you can find on the 'net if you do your own investigating). Now, I understand that it's against the military code of conduct to pose nude on active duty, so in that sense, I understand that she'd be in trouble for doing it, but I think in today's world when the military can exceed their recruitment quota only by lowering it first (at least that's what I heard on the Daily Show last week) and when they need to [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDUxNzIwJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==|look to immigrants (some illegal) to boost recruitment levels, you'd think the US Military would be changing the more conservative (and stupid) rules that take people out/off of active duty. I'm starting to wonder if the US Military really wants to kill all the terrorists, after all. What I'm saying is this: CHANGE YOUR OVERLY CONSERVATIVE MILITARY CODE OF CONDUCT!! I mean, come on--which is more important? Killing 50,000 Al Qaeda guys or keeping the image of the American military "pure". On that front, I think the US Mil has already lost the battle. Seriously--US soldiers have been caught torturing innocent people, killing loads of innocent civilians (raping at least one of them first), and of course, failing to capture Osama after 5 years (and don't get me started on the friendly fire thing). They've been on the front lines as Iraq descended into violent chaos and as the Taleban began their return to power in Afghanistan and these guys are upset about some staff sergeant posing nude and partially nude (with the clothed part being her uniform) in Playboy? If I was her commanding officer I'd say to her: "Thanks for posing nude, I thought I'd have to sexually harass you before I'd get to see you nude!" I'm not being unfair to the military when I make the above joke, either. If you haven't heard of Suzanne Swift's case, you might want to [http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/64/22458|read a bit about it]. But I'm getting off track. Even giving her the day off because of posing nude is absurd. I think it's is like the time they kicked out a gay guy because, well, he was gay or like when the FBI fired gay Arabic interpreters because they were gay. People, we've really got to chill about this sex stuff. Homosexuality has been around for as long as heterosexuality and BOTH are natural. If anything, killing is the abnormal, unnatural thing to do, yet American society glamorizes it everywhere you look. Movies, TVs video games--it's great to kill, but pose half-out of your uniform and IT'S TIME TO INVESTIGATE! Well, I'm going to go investigate those pictures of her as well... Very, very, closely... ...if you know what I mean.

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Orignal From: MORE TROOPS TO IRAQ, BUT NO NUDE ONES!!

SOCIAL INCLUSION: A POWERFUL THING

I was waiting for my bus the other day and at the bus stop I saw a homeless guy I've seen around town for a couple years. He was talking to someone else whom I didn't recognize but could tell was not homeless. He was one of those chatty homeless guys who will approach you and start talking about things he thinks you might care about. I've never heard him ask for money, but I've overhead him talking about not having a home and he sure dresses as though he doesn't make much money--not that I'm some fashion plate, mind you. You know what I mean--he wears a jacket with a high school logo on it that suggests he went to school in a city far from California or a pair of stone-washed jeans from the 1980s. One thing he had on his person struck me as very interesting--he had, hanging from his belt, a fake leather cell phone case. The thing is, it was empty. This is how immensely powerful the feeling of inclusion is. The dude is homeless, jobless, probably found his clothes in a dumpster or at best an "Out of the Closet" charity thrift shop. He can't afford a cell phone, but he wants to look like everyone else so bad, he carries around an empty cell phone case. This seems like a pretty good example of how society programs us all to believe that status symbols are important, and that even if we don't have the means to obtain them, at least the trappings are better than nothing. Now, I like a cool gadget, but I don't believe I like a cool gadget because of the "status." Hell, I don't own a car and take the bus around Los Angeles. It's pretty obvious I don't give a crap about status. Still, I'm glad I have a job, a home and something to put inside my cell phone case.

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Orignal From: SOCIAL INCLUSION: A POWERFUL THING

Project365 day 018

Project365 day 018
Originally uploaded by thepetecom.

On the way back from The(Coffee)Bean with my favorite bevvy, the classic

iced coffee. Oh, I'm awake now! Oh yeah and in the BG you can see a

couple palm trees and the standard LA blue sky. No snow today, that's

for sure. Not that I saw any yesterday but the news said it snowed in

my neighborhood so IT MUST BE TRUE! :)

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Orignal From: Project365 day 018

IT'S THE OIL AFTER ALL

Remember those tired old slogans seen on placards at anti-war protests? "NO BLOOD FOR OIL" As someone who actually bothered to go to a bunch of these events I got bored of this sentiment especially since we never really saw much evidence of the oil being the motivation for the Iraqattack. Well, after almost 4 years, there finally is some pretty stunning evidence of America's corporatist motivations to go after that tasty Iraqi oil. Check out a few cuttings from [http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2979/|this January 15, 2007 article] at InTheseTimes.Com:

As the Bush administration stepped up its war planning, the State Department began preparations for post-invasion Iraq. Meeting four times between December 2002 and April 2003, members of the State Department's Oil and Energy Working Group mapped out Iraq's oil future. They agreed that Iraq "should be opened to international oil companies as quickly as possible after the war" and that the best method for doing so was through Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs). PSAs are considered "privatization lite" in the oil business and, as such, are the favorite of international oil companies and the worst-case scenario for oil-rich states. With PSAs, oil ownership ultimately rests with the government, but the most profitable aspects of the industry—exploration and production—are contracted to the private companies under highly favorable terms. ... When Bremer left Iraq in June 2004, he bequeathed the Bush economic agenda to two men, Ayad Allawi and Adel Abdul Mahdi, who Bremer appointed interim Prime Minister and Finance Minister, respectively. Two months later, Allawi (a former CIA asset) submitted guidelines for a new petroleum law to Iraq's Supreme Council for Oil Policy. The guidelines declared "an end to the centrally planned and state dominated Iraqi economy" and advised the "Iraqi government to disengage from running the oil sector, including management of the planned Iraq National Oil Company (INOC), and that the INOC be partly privatized in the future." Allawi's guidelines also turned all undeveloped oil and gas fields over to private international oil companies. Because only 17 of Iraq's 80 known oil fields have been developed, Allawi's proposal would put 64 percent of Iraq's oil into the hands of foreign firms. However, if a further 100 billion barrels are discovered, as is widely predicted, foreign companies could control 81 percent of Iraq's oil—or 87 percent if, as the Oil Ministry predicts, 200 billion barrels are found. ... The Bush administration and U.S. oil companies have maintained constant pressure on Iraq to pass the petroleum law. The administration appointed an advisor to the Iraqi government from Bearing Point to support completion of the law. And in July 2006, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced in Baghdad that oil executives told him that their companies would not enter Iraq without passage of the new oil law. Petroleum Economist magazine later reported that U.S. oil companies considered passage of the new oil law more important than increased security when deciding whether to go into business in Iraq. The Iraq Study Group, recognizing as it did the primacy of oil in its Iraq calculations, recommended that the U.S. "assist Iraqi leaders to reorganize the national oil industry as a commercial enterprise" and "encourage investment in Iraq's oil sector by the international community and by international energy companies." Put simply, U.S. oil companies want access to as much of Iraq's oil as they can get and on the best possible terms. The fact that Iraq is a war-ravaged and occupied nation works to the companies' benefit. As a result, the companies and the Bush administration are holding U.S. troops hostage in Iraq until they get what they want. Once the companies get their lucrative contracts, they will still need protection to get to work. What better security force is there than 144,000 American troops? ... The law adopts PSAs and not only opens Iraq to private foreign companies, but permits "for the first time—local and international companies to carry out oil exploration in Iraq."

So, in other words, the Iraqi government is passing a law that would allow foreign companies to control most of Iraq's oil. In [http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=1106|an interview] with Uprising Radio the author of the above-linked article explained that foreign oil companies would get 75% of the profits from the oil and not get taxed on any of it. The reason for the Iraqi government passing this clearly harmful law? The IMF will refuse to give the country the loans they need to rebuild their country unless this law is passed. Turning down the International Monetary Fund is indeed an impossible mission for any country in desperate need of funds. OH YEAH, and isn't cool how the mainstream news isn't touching this story with a ten-thousand-foot pole?

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Orignal From: IT'S THE OIL AFTER ALL

Project365 day 017

Project365 day 017
Originally uploaded by thepetecom.

Me at the "Name of Show" stand-up comedy showcase tonight at the Westwood

Brew Co.



...sort of...

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Orignal From: Project365 day 017

Project365 day 017

Project365 day 017
Originally uploaded by thepetecom.

Me at the "Name of Show" comedy showcase at the Westwood Brew Co.



...Sort of...

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Orignal From: Project365 day 017

TED KOPPEL: BUSH MAKES IRAN SOUND ALL NEXTY

So, one of the things that's been rumbling around since the beginning of the Iraquagmire is a possible attack on Iran or Syria. Because of their close proximity to Iraq it makes sense from a lot of angles to consider them as possible next targets. The thing is that the US Military is stretched fairly thin. Most experts agree that an attack on Iran would be foolish--Syria not as bad, but not much smarter than attacking Iran. But is there evidence of such an attack out there for us to see? You bet and this doesn't come from some crazed Internet-type. This comes to us from veteran newsman Ted Koppel. Check out this cutting from [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6836561|his NPR commentary from January 16, 2007] available over at NPR.org:

It was easy enough to miss — buried, as it was, almost two-thirds of the way through the president's speech the other evening — but I think the United States is actively preparing for the possibility of war with Iran. ... He said that success in Iraq requires taking steps against Iran and Syria: "These two regimes are allowing terrorists and insurgents to use their territory to move in and out of Iraq. Iran is providing material support for attacks on American troops. We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. We will interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. Add we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq." Now, that is hardly a declaration of war; but then President Bush went on to list some of the other steps he has ordered: the deployment, to the region, of an additional aircraft carrier and the strike group that goes with it, and also the deployment of Patriot air-defense systems — none of it particularly useful for fighting insurgents in al-Anbar province or Shiite militias in Sadr City. But if you were expecting a showdown with Iran, now that's another matter.

Makes some scary sense, doesn't it? Now I'm not thinking a war with Iran and/or Syria is a good thing. I'm just saying it makes sense from a strategic/tactical standpoint. Too bad it doesn't make any sense at all from a logistical standpoint. Well, when I say "too bad" I mean to say "thank God." Sadly, it's also too bad that Bush won't let a stretched-to-thin-military stop him from invading a country. Scuttlebutt is that we'll see an Iranattack before April.

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Orignal From: TED KOPPEL: BUSH MAKES IRAN SOUND ALL NEXTY

Project365 day 014

Project365 day 014
Originally uploaded by thepetecom.

So, today was spent doing chores mostly, but in the evening I went to my

friend Paul's bday shindig. I did take a picture of myself there but it

was just me with his ceiling in the background. Very bleh. So I took a

pic of me in front of my desk after getting home. If you squint you can

make out some Ghost in the Shell trading figs as well as my favorite

Gamera toys on the top shelf there. I'm a geek!

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Orignal From: Project365 day 014

Project365 day 014

Project365 day 014
Originally uploaded by thepetecom.

So, today was spent doing chores mostly, but in the evening I went to my

friend Paul's bday shindig. I did take a picture of myself there but it

was just me with his ceiling in the background. Very bleh. So I took a

pic of me in front of my desk after getting home. If you squint you can

make out some Ghost in the Shell trading figs as well as my favorite

Gamera toys on the top shelf there. I'm a geek!

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Orignal From: Project365 day 014