This blog is now read by more machines than humans: RSS robots, spam-laying insectopoids, echoes of blog-gathering .edu projects. This essentially is the state of affairs that all human activities w
Cleaning Up the Nation
Austin Bay:
If Air America were a conservative radio network its corrupt funding trail and cynical abuse of a poverty program would be front page news at the NY Times and full-time mega-scandal at
Rank Materialism
Freedom. I am now the proud new owner of a Gateway 6020GZ laptop, perfect for students and others with limited means. I can now go into a Starbucks or a Barnes & Noble and look like I'm doing some
Fallujah Fonda
Uh-oh. From the Telegraph comes this exciting news:
Jane Fonda is returning to anti-war activism and embarking on a cross-country tour to call for an end to US military operations in Iraq.
Acros
John Pilger: Partner in Terrorism
In an outrageous piece of terrorist propaganda appearing on the cover of today's New Statesman, John Pilger puts the blame for the 7/7 London attacks not on the terrorists, but rather on Tony Blair:
Aid Held Hostage
Maybe I'm being too argumentative here (I can be quite contrary), but Tim Blair posts this:
John Quiggin's dollar-per-comment tsunami aid drive (mentioned earlier here) has so far raised an insufficient $99. Go comment now! Link now! Do something now!
Tim refers to a John Quiggin post where John offers:
From now until midnight Sunday, I’ll give one $A to the Australian Red Cross tsunami appeal for each comment I receive on this post, up to a maximum of 1000.
While that's generous, I had to leave this comment at Tim's site:
Why doesn't John Quiggin stop with all the make-work and just donate the goddamned money to tsunami aid? Why must we act as his minions in order for him to give something?
Recently a yogurt-selling company in the US offered to give so much money to breast cancer research for every foil yogurt container lid that their customers mailed to them. I resented the patronizing attitude involved in that weird quasi promotional/advocacy program. My mom died of breast cancer in 1998. I care about this disease. But to beat this scourge I've got to jump through some arbitrary corporate-defined brand-loyalty hoops? Fuck that!
If you want to give money, give the fucking money! Don't tell me that you've got the money but will only donate it if I follow you[r] godamned fucking directions! Asshole!
Yeah, I'm angry damnit. Clearly John Quiggin (about whom I know nothing) and that yogurt company figured what the maximum amount they could give was, but they're abusing the public's apathy about their projects to give less. Why else would you tie the amount you're willing to give to some unrelated symbolic actions on the part of the public?
If you're going to say that you're prepared to donate up to $1000 Aussie dollars to tsunami relief provided that you get a thousand comments on your blog, well what the hell is that? If the blog-reading public doesn't do their "part" then disaster victims get less? And why does that yogurt company (or mega-corporation) tie its donations to the number of foil lids people mail in? It's all so stupid. (And self-promotional.)
I didn't give a whole lot to tsunami relief- fifty bucks- but I didn't tie what I gave to some arbitrary actions that I demanded from you, dear reader. Give of yourself or don't. But don't put it on someone else.
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Thanks, david. I guess that's my point- why the childish games with money that's supposed to helping people.
© 2002-2006
Brian O'Connell.

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