From our good friends at the CIA

The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $37,800. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years 1994-2000 witnessed solid increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. The year 2001 saw the end of boom psychology and performance, with output increasing only 0.3% and unemployment and business failures rising substantially. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. Moderate recovery took place in 2002 with the GDP growth rate rising to 2.4%. A major short-term problem in first half 2002 was a sharp decline in the stock market, fueled in part by the exposure of dubious accounting practices in some major corporations. The war in March/April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq shifted resources to the military. In 2003, growth in output and productivity and the recovery of the stock market to above 10,000 for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were promising signs. Unemployment stayed at the 6% level, however, and began to decline only at the end of the year. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups.

More and more and more

Our recent conference call didn't go well. I didn't know you were listening at the time, but I do now. How many people were on the line I don't know.

If we had to boil this whole thing down to a few phrases I'd have to say that firstly, as long as you feel like you have to treat me for a disease or disorder that you can't confront me about you're wrong. Secretly treating someone for paranoid delusions without telling him that you're treating him is the fucking dumbest idea I've ever heard of. Anyone who thinks that makes sense if a fool.

You secretly decide that I have schizophrenia and then secretly treat me for schizophrenia and then somehow everyone "accidentally finds out" that you are secretly treating me for schizophrenia. How can you treat a person for paranoid delusions when everyone around him is sneaking around, lying and trying to prove that person has paranoid delusions. If you can't see the circular stupidity of that then you shouldn't be secretly doing anything at all.

Yes there were drugs in the food. Actually, I think it was the beer which is even a bigger problem because I have no clue how you did that. I am currently eating a sandwich that has been "dosed" with something. Its not my paranoia its real.

You are right about one thing. If this goes on for much longer I'll probably kill myself or hurt someone. Stop it.

The Drama Continues

My chat logs have been edited, and my copies removed. We are really pushing the limit here.

A few days ago the chatters had started accusing me of baiting people into arguments in chat. Now I see why. I haven't looked at the entire log because its over a thousand pages long but from what I've seen so far all offensive comments and indirect jokes have been edited out leaving it looking as if I just come in to chat rooms and start bitching for no particular reason at all. Its endless.

How much more

The quesiton is how much more of this do you think I can take. No matter what I try to eat its drugged. The constant barage of staged lectures about what a lazy abusive loser I am. The constant suggestion that if i worked hard enough this would all be over, or a cake walk, or whatever you're implying. How much longer is this supposed to go on before something gives? It will most likely be me.

Is that your big theraputic plan? "Lets isolate and harass him until he has a real psychotic break and then we can prove that he's a nut case and make him do what we want."

We'll never know because you'll never come out with it. You'll never come out with it because you can't really back up your accusations or suspicions. It doesn't make you right. In fact it makes you more wrong.

I originally ran across this wine while I was living in the Finger Lakes region of New York state in the early 90's. Its a very tasty wine, and in an industry where quality and competition are high, having a good story to go along with your product doesn't hurt.

I was reminded of the story recently and thought I'd share

For your eyes

When a woman mastrubates its a momment of self discovery. When a man mastrubates its an act of lonliness and desperation.

Questioner: When one encounters those who are caught up in the collective thought and mass psychology which are responsible for much of the chaos and strife around us, how can one extricate them from their mass mentality and show them the necessity of individual thought?

KRISHNAMURTI: First extricate yourself from mass psychology, from collective thoughtlessness. This extrication of thought from the stupidities of ages is a very difficult task. Thoughtlessness and stupidity of the mass exist in us. We are the mass, conscious of some of its stupidities and cruelties but mostly unconscious of its overpowering prejudices, false values, and ideals. Before you can extricate another, you must free yourself from the great power of those wants and fears. That is, you must know for yourself what are the stupidities, what are those values which condition life and action. Some of you are conscious of the obviously false values of hatred, national divisions, and exploitation, but you have not discerned the process of these limitations and freed yourselves from them. When you begin to perceive the false values that hold you and discern their significance, then you will know what a tremendous change takes place in you. Then only can you truly help another. Though you may not become a leader of great multitudes, though you may not accomplish spectacular reforms, if you really grasp the significance of what I am saying, you will become as an oasis in a burning desert, as a flame in darkness.

The ending of the &'8216;I&'8217; process is the beginning of wisdom which alone can bring intelligent order and happiness to this chaotic world.

Questioner: As a living example of one who has attained liberation, you are a tremendous source of encouragement to us who are still involved in suffering. Is there not a danger that in spite of ourselves this very encouragement might become a hindrance to us?

KRISHNAMURTI: I hope I am not becoming an example for you to follow because I speak of the process of suffering and ignorance, the illusion of the mind, the false values created by fear, the freedom of truth. An example is a hindrance, it is born of fear which leads to compulsion and imitation. Imitation of another is not the comprehension of oneself.

To know oneself there can be no following of another; there cannot be compulsive memories which prevent the &'8216;I&'8217; process from revealing itself. When the mind has ceased to escape from suffering into illusions and false values, then that very suffering brings understanding, without the false motives of reward and punishment. The center of action is ignorance and its result is suffering. The following of another or the disciplining of the mind according to the authority of an ideal will not bring about plenitude of life nor the bliss of reality.

HHDL: Sleep is the best meditation.

Questioner: Is there any way in the world by which we can end the stupid horror which again we see perpetrated in Spain?

KRISHNAMURTI: War is the problem of humanity. How are we going to end mass and individual barbarities? To arouse mass action against the horrors, cruelties, and absurdities of the present civilization, there must be individual comprehension.

Begin with yourself. Root out the appallingly cruel prejudices and wants, and you will know a happy world. Root out your personal ambitions and subtle exploitations, acquisitiveness and the craving for power. Then you will have an intelligent and orderly world. As long as there is cruelty and violence in the individual, collective hatred, patriotism, and strife must continue.

When you realize your individual responsibility in action, then there will be the possibility of peace and love and harmonious relationship with your neighbor. Then there will be the possibility of ending the horror of strife, the horror of man killing man.

HHDL: There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness.

Questioner: If I am in conflict with family, friends, employers, and state laws, in fact, with the various forms of exploitation, will not seeking liberation from all bondage make life practically impossible?

We are well acquainted with the obvious forms of exploitation, but there are the many subtle forms of which we are unconscious. If you would really comprehend exploitation in its obvious and subtle forms, you must discern the &'8216;I&'8217; process-that process which is born of ignorance, want, fear. All action born of this process must entail exploitation. Many people withdraw from the world to contemplate reality, and hope to bring the &'8216;I&'8217; process to an end. You should not withdraw from life to consider life. This escape does not bring the &'8216;I&'8217; process of ignorance, want, and fear to an end. To live is to be in relationship, and when that relationship begins to be irksome, limited, it creates conflict, suffering. Then there is the desire for the opposite, an escape from relationship. One does very often escape, but only into a shallow, and life of fear and illusion, which intensifies conflict and brings about slow decay. It is this escape which is impractical and confusing. If you would strip life of all its ugliness and cruelty you must, through right effort, bring the self&'64979;sustaining process of ignorance to an end.

Questioner: How can we solve the problems of sex?

KRISHNAMURTI: Where there is love the problem of sex does not exist. It becomes a problem only when love has been displaced by sensation. So the question really is how to control sensation. If there were the vital flame of love, the problem of sex would cease. Now sex has become a problem through sensation, habit, and stimulation, through the many absurdities of modern civilization. Literature, cinemas, advertisements, talk, dress-all these stimulate sensation and intensify the conflict. The problem of sex cannot be solved separately, by itself. It is futile to try to understand it through behavioristic or scientific morality. Artificial restrictions may be necessary, but they can only produce an arid and shallow life.

We all have the capacity for deep and inclusive love, but through conflict and false relationship, sensation and habit, we destroy its beauty. Through possessiveness with its many cruelties, through all the ugliness of reciprocal exploitation, we slowly extinguish the flame of love. We cannot artificially keep the flame alive, but we can awaken intelligence, love, through constant discernment of the many illusions and limitations which now dominate our mind&'64979;heart, our whole being. So, what we have to understand is not what kind of restrictions, scientific or religious, should be placed on wants and sensations, but how to bring about deep and enduring fulfillment. We are frustrated on every side; fear dominates our spiritual and moral life, forcing us to imitate, conform to false values and illusions. There is no creative expression of our whole being, either in work or in thought, so sensation becomes monstrously important and its problems overwhelming. Sensation is artificial, superficial, and if we do not penetrate deeply into want and comprehend its process, our life will be shallow and utterly vain and miserable. The mere satisfaction of want or the continual change in want destroys intelligence, love. Love alone can free you from the problems of sex.

Me: Yeah, that's it.

Tonight I am wearing the pants that you made for me. I can remember picking out the fabric, and you making the pattern. Its the only thing that hasn't been taken or destroyed yet. They must like you, or they don't know. Hope you see this.

Weyco

I guess what I'm saying in this blog is that not only do my own circumstances seem unusually odd, oppressive and down right un-American, but the whole country seems to have gone facistlite. Suddenly rights have become privileges for people, and regulations have become rights for corporations.

The newest story of Weyco telling its employees to quit smoking or find new employment seems to be part of a pattern of the erosion of respect for individual freedom in this country. What's more shocking and depressing is that not many people seem to care. Only three Weyco employees actually left the company after it announced its new policy. While that might be more an indication of the health of the current job market in Okemos, MI it doesn't bode well for a healthy respect for civil liberties in the population in general.

Weyco Inc., claims to be looking at the bottom line. Apparently, cigarette smoking costs the company money in higher health care costs. That point is entirely debatable, but the more germane question seems to be "So what?" Its not as if the health care offered by most companies is actually care. In most instances its cost management for the company, and the individual worker not only does not receive quality health care, but in the event of a serious illness will most likely end up penniless, as well as unable to work. (see Get Sick in the US...)

The quality of health care had been declining for most Americans since the 80's amid claims by employers that they just can't afford the costs. The companies get larger and larger, and it seems the citizenry gets poorer and poorer, and the quality of life becomes less and less. Will we have company curfews next, so that employees are properly rested for work? Will speeding tickets and DUI's become a cause for termination. And again does anyone care?

How much are American's willing to bear for the illusion of human perfection and security?

Monday, February 7, 2005 2:56 PM

I'm at a loss for something to write about. I think about a topic for a half hour and then think "Who gives a fuck." In my current situation the only reason I write anything at all is to fool myself in to believing someone other than me gives a damn.

You might be able to tell from earlier posts that things where I am suck pretty royally. If you've ever eaten food that has a lot of garlic in it you know how it can linger in your body. Hours after you've eaten it you can smell it on your breath, taste it on your tongue. That's how I feel with the drugs that are in my food. I can smell them, taste them; I can actually feel them in my brain. Today it feels almost like I'm tripping, only its not good or fun or pretty, which tripping can be.

So, I guess that's a subject I can write about. There are drugs in my food. Your might as why do I eat it if I know there's drugs in it. Well, there is no food in my house that isn't drugged. Once food is bought it is immediately unpackaged and torn to small pieces, drugged, and put in the freezer. Sounds crazy, huh? Try living it. If I had money I might buy my own food, but I can't seem to find a job. My guess is for whatever reason they drug my food they are afraid for me to work with other people.

I actually tried not eating. Its possible that I'm on several drugs because on the second day of my fast I was so constipated it felt like I had a cinder block coming out of me. It took me three hours to move my bowels. As soon as I started eating again things got better. I could actually handle not eating for quite a while, but the constipated is pretty painful to the point that I imagine prolonged periods of it could be permanently disfiguring, so that's out.

I could leave, but where would I go. Without a job or a place to live, the only option is to lay down in the street, and that's not legal here so I'd be in a shelter. If you want I'll tell you some stories about shelters. There's reasons people choose not to go to them, and they are very good.

Probably the worst part is that I have no say at all in what is happening to me. They don't ask or tell, and if I confront them they say I'm crazy. Pretty funny huh? Drug my food and then when I protest say I'm crazy and need to be on drugs. Its the kind of logic that made the Thrid Reich and any number of other fascist regimes.

If that isn't mad twist enough for you the one that gets me the most is the expectation that I be pleasant. That all of this can go on, and more that I haven't written about yet and I am expected to be pleasant. Frankly its maddening, which of course is more proof that I need to be on drugs. But I'm only assuming, because no one ever talks to me about it.

The Buddhism Channel

The Buddhist Channel (BC) was officially launched on October 25, 2004. The BC is actually a "rebranding" exercise which culminated from the demise of the old "Buddhist News Network" (BNN), which began operations in May 8, 2001. Using the latest web technologies on content publication, the BC remains the world's only dedicated Buddhist news servcies, providing daily updates and in-depth coverage.

From the good people at Wikipedia

Get Sick In The US, You Might Go Bankrupt

By Staff Feb 2, 2005, 18:14

If you get ill in the United States, you just might go bankrupt. A Harvard University study found that about half of all personal bankruptcies in America are caused by illness and medical bills.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Harvard Law School analyzed federal court records of 1,771 personal bankruptcy filers in five American states in 2001. The researchers interviewed 931 of them about their finances.

About half of the personal bankruptcy filers cited illness or injury as the reason for their debt.

"Unless you're Bill Gates you're just one serious illness away from bankruptcy," said lead researcher Dr. David Himmelstein.

More than 75 percent said they were insured at the start of their illness, but 38 percent had lost coverage, at least temporarily by the time they filed for bankruptcy.

The researchers said health insurance policies, with high deductibles, co-pays, and many exclusions, offer little protection.

Among those whose medical bills contributed to their bankruptcy, the study found out-of-pocket costs averaged $11,854. Those with cancer had average medical debts of $35,878.

The study's authors said between 1.9 million and 2.2 Americans experienced "medical bankruptcy" in 2001.

Writing in the journal Health Affairs, the researchers said, "The low rate of medical bankruptcy in Canada suggests that better medical and social insurance could greatly ameliorate this problem in the United States."

Halifax Live

The State of the Union

I just realized that its supposed to be given tonight, and I know that some of my secret fans are wondering if I'm going to write about it. If you're really a fan you probably don't expect me to. Its not that I'm not political. I probably have an opinion about everything under the sun; even stuff I've never heard of before.

I have opinions about the State of the Union, and of course the President of the United States, but with this particular President in these particular times what's the point of expressing them? Suppose you were to get into an a discussion with a vegetarian; a real reactionary vegetarian who believes that everyone should stop eating meat tomorrow. I'm not a dietician or even amateurishly adept in the sciences but my personal opinion is that if everyone stopped eating meat tomorrow tens of millions of people would die, and all the animals that would supposedly be saved by the sacrifice would die anyway because they're not prepared to survive in any natural setting. Without the income from eating them we couldn't afford to keep them alive. I don't know how to discuss/debate or exchange ideas with a person who doesn't see that stark reality. My opinions about our current political landscape are equally entrenched. Apparently there is a majority of people who think the current administration are doing a great job, and the previous administration was abysmal. As far as I'm concerned they might as well be saying rocks make good pudding.

I won't be watching.

The Soapbox Papers

The Soapbox Papers - I couldn't resist the urge to post this, and Taran if you come back I hope you don't mind. Taran is the author of KnowProSE and he was kind enough to say hello below. This is his mother's Blog. I'd like to thank both of you. Its nice to know some people are still having normal relationships.

Toynbee Connection

Just thought I'd post this for my own future reference. For some reason the Toynbee mystery interests me. As far as I can tell these tiles have been found in 10 major cities in North, Central and South America between 1996 and December of last year. Whatever they're made of they can't be removed without digging up the street or sidewalk that they are invariably bonded to. You can surf this stuff on Google, but it won't bring you to any conclusions as to what the messenger could possibly mean, although I haven't read the book myself.

This is a note to you:

A note that I know you will get even though I'll never send it to you. That's how much I know.

I can feel the drugs you put in my food tonight working in my head, and I know that I'll never be the same again. I just wanted to take this time to tell you, while I'm still relatively myself, what you're doing and have been doing is wrong. What you are doing will add to the scars of my life, not heal them, and I know this is true. I was never sick, but I will be now, probably forever doing the throazine shuffle, and you put the nail in my coffin. Any normal person would be angry about this. God I hate you.