JJG Journal

We are killers. Women and children are killed in my name  and your name over in Afghanistan on a regular basis. I wonder what it feels like to loose your daughter, you son of you wife in a U.S. bombing raid. You can check these facts for yourself. Read Chris Hedges commentary and summary of facts here.

Excerpt:

Do the cheerleaders...Continue Reading »

It’s incredible how things have changed in the last couple of hundred years, or so. Up until that time, mankind thought that it was the crown of creation, the sole purpose for the existence of the Universe. Then came the realization that mother earth is not the center of the solar system and that things don’t literally revolve around us. Oh well, we were still pretty important. Then came the insight that we humans are just the most recent link in the chain of Primate Evolution and that in fact Primates themselves evolved from little rodents, etc. But the least we could do is name...Continue Reading »

Yes, that includes yours. It is in the nature of any government to spread miss-information and lies when doing so is in its interest. It is our duty as well-informed citizens to listen to what our government says and then fact-check these statements using the one corrective agent that’s supposedly available in a pluralistic society: The free press. In the U.S., the press is not completely “free” but bound by commercial and political constraints. It is also owned to a large extend by corporate interests that have their own agenda. To get the best picture of what is really going...Continue Reading »

“Operation Scheduled Departure” was a program rolled out by the Bush administration last month that encouraged undocumented immigrants to turn themselves in, in exchange for a 90-day period during which they could get their affairs in order before being deported. Sounds like a good plan, does it not? Imagine doing the same for common criminals: Please turn yourselves in and in exchange we’ll give you 90 days of freedom before you get your due punishment.

Turns out that of the 457,000 estimated undocumented workers that currently live somewhere in the U.S. eight (8)...Continue Reading »

Here a short rant about political labels and how vapid these have become….

What does it really mean when someone says he/she is politically conservative? What does it mean when someone says they are “left-leaning”? Labels like these have no predictive power and are thus completely meaningless.

Traditionally, “conservatives” have this agenda: Limit government, fiscal restraint, conserve resources. Yet, the current U.S. administration has expanded he role of government like no other, has put you, your children and grandchildren in debt like no other...Continue Reading »

In between some programming tasks today, stumbled upon this insightful article written by one of John McCain’s fellow POWs. This person was held as a prisoner of war for a couple years longer than McCain and brings an interesting perspective to the choice for President that we face pretty soon. Highly recommended reading.

As per yesterday’s post, all Presidential candidates have filed their monthly campaign contribution reports with the FEC yesterday. These reports cover the period of July 2008.

Barack Obama’s campaign reports total receipts of US$ 51,449,094.39

John McCain’s campaign reports total receipts...Continue Reading »

The U.S. policy in Afghanistan has been a failure and things are starting to go from bad to worse. This topic has been discussed previously in this journal on several occasions and it seems that the predictions were correct. The U.S. public is currently distracted with the Olympics, the Presidential rat race, the conflict in Georgia and the uncertain situation in Iraq. This piece in the LA Times paints a truly grim picture of the worsening violence that is the result of a failed...Continue Reading »

I fully support that EVERYONE on this planet should be able to understand one common language, in addition to whatever native language that person happens to be born into. English is an ideal common second language everyone can share, because it is simple to learn, yet powerful enough to express most ideas. In addition, chance has made English the language of diplomacy and science at the end of the 20th century. That’s essentially why I write this in English. BUT, if you have some attachment to another tongue (e.g. Chinese, German, French, Russian, etc.) amuse yourself by clicking on one...Continue Reading »

Are there any similarities between George W. Bush and John McCain? What is your take? Both are white, wealthy men who did not have to do any work to earn much of the money they now enjoy. Both have terrible academic records and, I am afraid to say, both have enough brains to have a pilot’s license, although Bush never flew any combat missions, unlike McCain, who has been shot down and captured during one of his first Vietnam missions. CNN Commentator Jack Cafferty draws some more similarities in ...Continue Reading »