Al Gore is not running for president
I had to think about Jared Diamond’s expansive book Collapse when thinking about Al Gore’s Nobel Prize Award. We are dashing into a strange conceptual territory hereabouts, connecting Global Warming with “Peace”: all good and well — indeed, just as sensible as the founder of the micro-loan, with its equal “two degrees of seperation” from the focus of “Peace” .
A fun game might be to google up (or search a blogging database) “Yassir Arafat” and “Al Gore” and see the slurring of Gore as “sharing the same award with Arafat”. It will be more than the number who did so with Jimmy Carter, merely due to the proliferation of the Internet — more blogs (even the greatest part of growth is spam-bots) — but with the same idea in mind. Arafat’s Award, alongside his two Israeli counterparts, was an effort in political prodding. Which brings to mind the charge of this being a political slight against the current American administration, purely a political hit — one can argure a bit more pursuasively that Carter’s was, and one can argue a couple others. But it is akin to stating that Martin Luther King, Jr’s award was an attack on the political maverns of the Southern United States — this too shall wear off.
Anyway, the trendline has the “skeptics” on global warming sidelined further and further into the margins, as effects move on from the poles (We watch Russia take renewed interest in claiming the North Pole for excavated oil deposits, for instance). And Al Gore won a Nobel Peace Prize.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:11 am
The rank and file of the party don’t support Gore and they didn’t last time he ran. The guy voted for NAFTA — I even think he voted for SUPER-NAFTA. He’s got the personality of a skunk. He had his pal Joe as veep. Gore’s a loser.
The global warming aside. I didn’t see the movie and am not getting into a global warming debate with the dreaded Skull and Bones squad — all three of them.
I bet you were thinking of Diamond’s book. Now I see where you’re coming from. He seems like a kook.
Energy shortages? Ever hear of fusion? Or is that some pie in the sky nonsense? Below if from that ever-credible source Wikipedia and boy oh boy is Diamond a pessimist. I wonder why he just doesn’t jump off a bridge himself.
Let me guess: there are too many human beings and not enough resources? Yep, it is #7…
Okay, who should die and who should live? Who will decide how many children I can have?
I get the anti-LaRouche bender you’re on now. You have a slight disagreement over the environment with the old geezer.
Russia didn’t go into the Arctic because of global warming. They have been developing Siberia for decades and are the only ones that have the competence to do so. You talked about Sputnik and whatever that rambling discourse was about Lord only knows. The only good thing about it was me mentioning Darwyn Cooke’s New Frontier — a time when JFK provide optimism. If anyone is optimistic about a future with Bush as president I’d like to meet that person.
Okay, onto the Wiki entry on Diamond’s Halloween scary story.
Diamond lists eight factors which have historically contributed to the collapse of past societies:
1. Deforestation and habitat destruction
2. Soil problems (erosion, salinization, and soil fertility losses)
3. Water management problems
4. Overhunting
5. Overfishing
6. Effects of introduced species on native species
7. Human population growth
8. Increased per-capita impact of people
Further he says four new factors may contribute to the weakening and collapse of present and future societies:
1. Human-caused climate change
2. Buildup of toxic chemicals in the environment
3. Energy shortages
4. Full human utilization of the Earth’s photosynthetic capacity
October 15th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
The guy voted for NAFTA
As opposed to Bill Clinton, who your cult leader claims as all his own, and who he somehow presupposes that the “same vast right wing conspiracy” who went after Clinton is now after Hillary Clinton and Larouche?
You talked about Sputnik and whatever that rambling discourse was about Lord only knows.
Sorry. Reading and re-reading and re-re-reading that entry, I am forced to the conclusion that the lack of comprehension is entirely on your end.
Speaking of Al Gore’s vice president selection: I did not much appreciate what the Larouchites did to help defeat Ned Lamont and re-elect Joseph Lieberman in the last election, acting like yahoos and thus giving Lieberman that smug answer to the question of “Who are those guys” “Oh, just some Ned Lamont supporters!” A net gain for Lieberman, albeit an “infinitisimal” one. Don’t the Larouchites know there’s a war going on I’d rather have stopped?
October 16th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Nice try Justin.
My cult leader would be more along the lines of Jack Kirby. Or as a second, I’d take Paul Weller or maybe Joe Ely — Tom Russell is a bit too gruff but I love his music. If we are talking female cult leaders I would submit to 100s, if not 1000s, before Frau Helga. If you want a list I couldn’t begin chose a favorite. It would be like picking out a favorite comic artist after Kirby. He’s the King!
You didn’t even answer me about Darwyn Cooke and the New Frontier and gee, I was hurt. I thought we could be pals.
My real cult leader is my wife. She’s brainwashed me to the point I do whatever she asks, like a zombie: “Take out the garbage” “Make the bed” “Peel me a grape”… I get some rewards (we’ll keep this a family website) but the honeymoon is over. It’s tough Justin… married life. Get it?
On Clinton, or any president: when someone becomes the most powerful person on the planet (and one could argue whether or not a president of the USA is the most powerful person on the planet by virtue of the economic and military might of the USA, admittedly declining) they get enemies and every president has had political enemies Justin. I don’t know where you went to school, and this is not an insult, but you should have learned that leaders have enemies. You know? Martin Luther King had many of them — one of which was the director of the FBI right? Right. Nixon had an enemies list and enemies. He had the sense to quit, unlike Bush.
So skip the cult baloney Justin. Your little blog here gets a ton of mileage out of LaRouche and without me you have no “cult” members (you only have the hangers on, the drop outs, the bitter ones that whine about 30 year old kidnapping plots, etc.) so please — a bit more respect toward me is in order.
Please realize I like to joke around and half of what I say is a poor attempt at a joke. I know I am not as funny as Colbert (another guy I would follow to the end of the Earth — he’d make a better president than Bush but not as good as LaRouche). That’s just my opinion. I’d vote for you over Bush.
Your analysis of the Lieberman race? Hmm. Sorry Justin you can write up this stuff but shucks we just don’t see eye to eye. I think Lamont blew it himself and Lieberman… well, gosh don’t call me an anti-Semite, or a Nazi, for saying this but Joe has Semite blood on his hands. Arabs are Semites too aren’t they? No? I must have read that wrong too. You can go to dictionary.com and read the definition. So if the Israelis bulldoze an Arab home and murder some innocent Arab children would it be factual to call the Israelis that did that anti-Semites? Ariel Sharon is wanted for war crimes someplace. I forget. Is that anti-Semitic to say? Hmm.
Joe also called Clinton “immoral” but isn’t murdering 100s of 1000s of Iraqi civilians immoral? Getting a blow job doesn’t really rank up there with mass murder. Joe does’t talk much about the Iraqi women, children, or elderly. I suppose it was all Saddam’s fault. The same Saddam that the US backed. Shhhh. That’s a secret. I am joking.
The US backed the dictator the Shah too and geez, don’t they teach this in school? You see the Shah’s secret police murdered innocent Iranians and gosh darn it — the US backed the Shah.
How come you don’t have a post entitled “Send Bread To Iraq”? The boys and girls in Leesburg will be fine Justin. The Iraqis? Not so sure…
You are against the war and on that we agree. You agree with LaRouche or he agrees with you! The irony.
You think the guys running for prez are gonna do it? End the war? Bush sure isn’t and the people in office right now seem to be lacking… guts?
Gonna let Cheney attack Iran?
I know you like to kid around too so I take your stuff tongue and cheek.
I look forward to your next riposte.
October 16th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Oh yeah, Justin are there too many people in the world? Diamond and Gore both think so. Who has to die I wonder? I’ve driven across the USA many times and let me tell you the place is pretty empty west of the big river. Africa is also quite empty of people — lots of resources though. I wonder who Gore and Diamond mean when they state population growth is a problem? White Europeans? If you look at population density Europe is pretty populated but I haven’t heard too much about that in Gore’s book — maybe I glossed over that page? People usually say “Africa” or “Asia” when they talk about over-population or sometimes “Mexico”…
I’d say the planet has one too many Al Gore’s but that would be cheating. Too easy for you to go “look at the crazy man” and call me a cult member.
People that still follow Malthus aren’t in a cult are they? Nah. I am confused. I admit it.
October 16th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
My analysis of the Lieberman race? Um. You seem to think I’m giving Larouche a whole lot more credit than I just did.
Your first point of reference “Sorry, Justin. My cult leader” suggests something I did not post in my response. You are on a sort of auto-pilot, which I see with your response to “Sputnik and Me” here. That is what I find most interesting. What about that post do you not understand? What about that post is worth being confrontational about?
October 16th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I left out anything about “Collapse” or Al Gore and Bill Clinton just now because I’d much prefer a response to your “Sputnik and Me” remark. Your point with that was… what? What did you not grasp about that anecdote?
October 17th, 2007 at 8:31 am
Darwyn Cooke and the New Frontier was what I came away with Justin.
The big oversize edition! It is pretty good isn’t it?
October 17th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Oh, yeah… sorry: besides the 3-4 folks that ever post here who else cares about your opinion on Ned Lamont’s loss?
I will stick with Darwyn Cooke. He’s a winner.
October 17th, 2007 at 8:46 am
And what I am left with from your first comment is this:
You talked about Sputnik and whatever that rambling discourse was about Lord only knows.
What about that anecdote do you not understand? I repeat: Reading and re-reading and re-re-reading that entry, I am forced to the conclusion that the lack of comprehension is entirely on your end. And I repeat: You are on a sort of auto-pilot, which I see with your response to “Sputnik and Me†here. (Witness your mis-read on my comment on the Larouchies helping out the neo-con agenda visa vie Ned Lamont, who the “3-4 folks” who frequent the category on Larouche have no concern regarding.)
October 17th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Also, why are you begging for respect? That’s not terribly dignified.
October 17th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
I am not begging Justin. I am the star of the show here. You post stuff and I see “no comments” a lot. You like having me here so show a little respect for your star.
I don’t give a damn about your Sputnik story. Harp away at it.
LaRouche helped the neo-cons, yeah and I ate a piece of steel today — like Matter-Eater Lad.
Justin try again but get some help from Rachel or someone because you don’t cut the mustard. Get some help from someone in/out the LC.
You’re bent out of shape on LaRouche because of the “environment” and your Diamond links told me that fair and square. You can squirm all you want but it gets you no place fast.
Like I said: you have few comments on this blog and I’ve given you more blog action than you’ve had for months — maybe years. When I go you can go back to whatever it is you do here. I see it as something akin to masturbation, except without the satisfaction.
The same people post. The same few people. Get the cavalry because you are not some LaRouche expert, not even close. Send bread to Leesburg… lol, send it to Iraq because they need it there. Leesburg is fine and so are all the folks there — except the ones that are getting foreclosed on.
http://www.larouchepac.com/news/2007/10/15/larouche-was-right-tax-revenues-plummet-ground-zero-loudoun-.html
I believe the resolution, whatever the name is, was even introduced in Leesburg this week. I could be wrong but I doubt it.
Irony after irony.
Blog away…
October 18th, 2007 at 6:12 am
Justin I’ve always been fascinated why cultures collapse. I was interested in the Maya, Aztec, and Inca in particular. I am leaving your very small band of bloggers today. You can do a piece on it or just quote my past posts. I looked over your blog and most of your posts have no comments, many of the ones with comments are related to me, or are months old. You don’t get enough traffic for me. I need a bigger audience to feed my gigantic ego. I am like the Living Planet of Fantastic Four fame — Ego (and please, not those horrid movies but the real deal by the King of Comics… Jack Kirby). I am going to stand out in traffic because I am terrified. Then after I do that for a few hours, because that’s what people that are terrified do – run into cars, I am going to look for a bridge — don’t worry — I like to fish. I am sure you can do something with this piece: link it to “Justice” or something and talk about the heartless cult. Your audience is waiting.
It’s been fun but now just boring. If you had a bit more give and take (answering simple questions) I’d hang out and give your spot on the web more traffic but no one answers anything.
You won’t even tell me if you think there are too many people on the planet. I know you think there are too many LaRouche supporters but what about the rest of the people? You’re against the war but don’t blog about it very often.
Take care and best of health to you.
October 18th, 2007 at 8:20 am
You appear to believe two things. #1: I thought about Lyndon Larouche when I wrote this post. (Um. No. I tend to compartmenetalize politics and Larouche, which are two separate things). #2: I treat Lyndon Larouche as a usual politician, sorting out items of agreement and disagreement — “Infrasturure Improvement – Yea; Anglo-Dutch Banking Conspiracy — Nay.” Which places the part for the fight for James Fennimore Cooper Day where, I do not know. I was going to get to your topic, because it does lead to an interesting area for Larouchies, and I will sooner or later — but now I no longer have any impetus for immediacy, so I’ll leave it dangling.
A little secret: I quit reading most of the comments a while ago.
You cared enough about the Sputnik post to offer a non-sensical ad hominem attack, which was an example of you flaying away.
As for Jarck Kirby — Devil Dinosaur and Kamandi are interesting enough; I have nothing to say about Fantastic Four or just about anything that you’d really care about. A snippy joke regarding “When Marvel lost its magic”: When Wolverton, Decarlo, and Krigstein left. (Well… Ditko’s “Doctor Strange” is good.)