http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Mon, 25 Jul 2005 12:57:16 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/25/125716.php ParaphernaliaIn 1994, Mexico suddenly announced that its currency would not longer be fixed against the US dollar, thus triggering what would later be know as the "tequila crisis". Today, Mexico is once again facing a major crisis, yet again caused by the country's alignment with a different type of American currency, known as the war on drugs. After decades of failed attempts to prohibit American citizens to consume substances they obviously like a lot, American governments have increasingly resorted to blame foreign countries for the failure of prohibition. Vincente Fox surrendered to US pressures, culminating in the launch of "Operation Safe Mexico" (not point for originality here!). Beginning June 11, the Mexican government began a series of raids in a number of provinces, aiming at gangs linked to the drug trade between the United States and Mexico. To the surprise of Mr. Fox, Mexican drug entrepreneurs did not take this intervention lightly, especially since a bunch of them are part of Mexico's police force. Overall, during Mr. Fox's administration, 90 soldiers and 18 federal agents have lost their lives in drug violence, while more than 46,000 people have been arrested on drug charges, and numerous landing strips and thousands of acres of poppy and marijuana fields have been destroyed. While it did nothing to stop the flow of drugs to the US, this surge in violence had somewhat of a negative impact on tourism to Mexico, a situation not necessarily made better by a US State Department warning its citizens not to visit Mexico (nice ally, as always!). How successful is Mexico's compliance with the requirements of the US war on drugs? Well, let's just say that Fox administration have taken to consulting with authorities in, of all places, Colombia! Given the well documented failure that is Plan Columbia, this seems to indicate a level of despair not unlike the one experienced by paraphernalia after a night of shooting Jose Cuervo Especial. Of course, Mr. Fox can do a Karzai. Unfortunately, it also seems that the yet unnamed Plan Afghanistanhas not been meeting the objectives of the US either.What's a drug warrior to do? Well, since legalization means "surrender" in drug warrior speak, not much can be expected from the US. However, maybe it is time for Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Mexico to utter a collective "No Mas!" and refuse to take responsibility for what is an American problem. In the meantime, pour 1/2 oz of tequila some orange juice in a Collins glass over ice, trickle Grenadine on top and watch Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell and Raul Julia slugging it out in yet another drug classic from 1988. Plus ca change...... Politics32810@blogcritics.org Mon, 25 Jul 2005 12:57:16 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/14/142241.php ParaphernaliaDrugs, unless produced by pharmaceuticals companies supporting political parties, kill (then again, even the ones allowed by our good politicians do so, as exemplified by Vioxx, Bextra, and other Xcetera).Interestingly enough, while the DEA has the power to declare pretty much any substances illegal, people all over the world are using "alternative" medicines with, allegedly, some degree of success.Dr. Jamil Ahmed, (doubtless also guilty of practicing medicine while having an Arabic name) appears to be a recent example of such activist shamanism (to paraphrase Scalia, if he was smart enough to be a MD). A doctor at Erie County Medical Center, Mr. Ahmed treated a severely brain-damaged man for 2 1/2 years, recently prescribing unnamed neuro-stimulants, an antidepressant and a medication used for Parkinson's. The patient, who has not spoken for nearly a decade, was able to communicate with his family for 14 hours, before going back to sleep. A spokesman for the doctor refused to disclose the treatment, stating that: "we have a lot of medical issues to sort through."Of course, single-minded paraphernalia can only conclude that Dr. Ahmed's magic potion might just be a mix of Schedule 1 substances, meaning illegal substances having a "high" potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the USA and for which there is a lack of accepted safety for usage under medical supervision. A cursory look at the Schedule 1 list should suffice to convince you of the medical wisdom of Karen Tandy, (no, not that dump blonde)Paraphernalia is thus forced to guess what may have worked for the comatose firefighter mentioned above, using only Schedule 1 substances. Hum...Tough one! Let's start with pot. Yes, boring indeed! Despite its obvious dangers (reefer madness, anyone?), some people do think a joint works for Parkinson's. So much so that this dangerous and evil substance is now being sold by the Canadian government. Of course, paraphernalia, learning from George W. Bush, believes that private sources may indeed prove to be more efficient in delivering the product (well, in a more potent form, at least). However, that leaves us with the neurostimulant, anti-depressant thing used by Dr. Ahmed. Well, paraphernalia would opt to try ecstasy. After all, it does appear to relieve parkinson's symptoms. In addition, even the FDA seems to think that dropping some X might be useful for depression, especially for the US of A heroes, AKA soldiers .Sorry, Dr. Ahmed, but paraphernalia thinks it knows what your magic potion is. Too bad you are not working for Merck or that your alternative methods are much less scientificic than the one used by Schiavo videoMD specialist Frist! In any case, given your name, it's unlikely you stand a chance against the DEA brownshirts. Take it from us: Candy is to Tandy what Jessica is to Karen...As for readers who don't like paraphernalia and still cannot make it to medical school, well, you can always try your luck as Special Agent Mulder (assuming the X-Files are about ecstasy!) by filling this quiz. Equal opportunity employer indeed.....Good luck, but please try to remember the words of Jose Ortega Y Gasset (you won't hear about him from Karen!) about "the learned ignoramus, arrogant in his illusion that because he knows one small thing, he is therefore qualified to pronounce upon all things."Then again, who is paraphernalia to talk? Time for a Tylenol... Politics31019@blogcritics.org Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:22:41 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/10/023340.php ParaphernaliaJudicial activism has been a popular cause amongst both republicans and democrats over the last few years. The expansion of federal powers to the detriment of state rights is a familiar lament of conservatives. At the same time, democrats huff and puff that a takeover of the Supreme Court by the "right" is certain to lead to a rapid deterioration of civil liberties. Hence all the wonkish talk about "nuclear option", "filibuster", and "up or down" votes.While this line of argument is generally valid (give or take a lie or two), the recent Supreme Court's judgment on the legality of medical marijuana is a powerful reminder that, when it comes to drugs, traditional labels, as well as the Constitution, don't really matter. In theory, the US Constitution has 27 amendments. In practice, it is also subject to what can only be called the 28 Amendment. Still unwritten, paraphernalia can only guess that it reads like this: "In matter relating to the consumption of substances qualified as illegal drugs, Congress shall make any laws it wants, and all other sections of the Constitution shall be ignored by the Supreme Court."The medical pot decision is a case in point. After years of conscious expansion of states' rights by what can only be described as a coalition of conservative judges, the Supreme Court suddenly switches gear to endorse the expansion of federal powers. The majority decision states that the regulation aiming to effectively eliminates the medical marijuana legislation adopted by California is squarely within Congress's commerce power. Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, stated that Congress can regulate purely local activities that are part of an economic 'class of activities' that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce (if that does not cover anything under the sun.....). In a more interesting variant, Justice Scalia (the well known conservative duck-hunting buddy of Dick Cheney and supposed supporter of the integrity of the Constitution) stated: "Where necessary to make a regulation of interstate commerce effective, Congress may regulate even those intrastate activities that do not themselves substantially affect interstate commerce", a fine example of the Road to Serfdom in action, and a stance adopted by the Court in the 1940s to support the expansion of federal powers to implement FDR's New Deal, for Reagan's sake!!! (sorry, but paraphernalia needs to invoke the right God here). Amazingly, the dissenters are known as pretty staunch conservatives, namely Rehnquist, O'Connor and (gasp!), Clarence Thomas.....So, while John Walters will surely enjoy his power to put even more people in jail, Mrs. Raich, one of the plaintiffs, will continue to puff, stating: "I don't have a choice but to continue because if I stopped I would die". For the rest of us, let's keep in mind that 28th Amendment. When it comes to drugs, it's usually beyond Constitution, labels and politics.As for born-again judicial activist Scalia, well, it may be good for him to remember that, if the Constitution is not a living organism, Mrs. Raich is (for now anyway). Politics30816@blogcritics.org Fri, 10 Jun 2005 02:33:40 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/05/31/021530.php ParaphernaliaAmazing! Like the eponymous race, it seems America loves a cheat better than it likes a treat (unless accompanied by a trick, of course)!As all kids are told from the moment they step to the plate to try to compensate for the failure of their father(s) to make it to the Big Leagues, what matters is to win. Even corporate icon Jack Welch, of GE fame, admits as much is his new best seller titled, what else? WinningThe lesson is well learned, and is by now ingrained in the culture. We are not even talking about Enron. Marc McGwire, baseball legendary figure, might not make it to the Hall of (in)Fame(y). Why? Because he may have cheated by taking supplements (if not steroids) that may have helped him to improve his performance. Yet, because Mr. McGwire served baseball's entertainment purposes in a "responsible" manner, sport writers are willing to cut him a lot of slack. See Stark's rambling on this topic for ESPN. This compassionate attitude towards cheating to win was also adopted by Kevin Towers, the San Diego Padres general manager, to excuse, well, his own behavior. You see, as he admits himself, Mr. Towers was benefiting from Ken Caminiti's cheating. It's OK though. He was trying to win, Halliburton-style. What's a little overcharging if you meet the numbers? Are you a winner or a loser???? Do you want to be Dubya in Florida or Gore with a beard?Actually, paraphernalia notes that cheating for performance is encouraged in many fields. Increasing your SAT scores by using Ritalin , friendly killing allies on speed while wearing a US army uniform, or popping Ambien to make your business trips more effective - see March 28, 2005 international edition of Newsweek, p.60 - are considered entirely honorable activities. Of course, the holier-than-though crowd is harder on bad winners like Barry Bonds. Barry's black, and does cry on TV. Obviously not a team player, it's OK to pound on him. In any case, Mr. Bonds' fate is not as bad as the fate of those who dare to take drugs just to have fun. These are the real losers. Examples are plentiful. From Tom Sizemore's recent jail sentence to the so-called Robert Downey Junior problem, to Bhatia in Singapore it seems that popping for fun is not as socially acceptable than injecting for performance, even if your name is Bush (Noelle, that is). Interestingly enough, Mr. Towers never mentioned Mr. Caminiti's cocaine use in his soul searching testimony (Hey, even Jack Welch himself was not shy to cheat a little bit). In any event, since Mr. Caminiti is dead, while Mr. Towers still has a good job, we all know who the loser is...... Politics30346@blogcritics.org Tue, 31 May 2005 02:15:30 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/05/27/233226.php ParaphernaliaParaphernalia was amazed to realize how popular Trivial Pursuit® remains, even after all these years. Once an avid player, paraphernalia somehow got distracted, and went on a binge of school, travel and work fuelled by all kind of memory altering devices. Having learned a lot (and forgotten even more!), it is nice to see that the game is as good as it was. However, a sinister version seems to have been introduced while paraphernalia was nursing its hangover.As many other wholesome enterprises, it seems that the game has been co-opted by politicians. Re-branded as Trivial Politicizing™, the emphasis of the new game is quite different. In this updated version, politicians provide the answer first (a la Jeopardy®), only to emphasize the trivial in the pursuit of votes. Knowledge is left out of the game altogether.A good example is John McCain, self-anointed Moralizer-in-Chief of the USA. The use of steroids in baseball, certainly one of the most fundamental drug issues of our time, is prompting him to push for the intervention of Congress. Well, paraphernalia loves baseball, as the national pastime provides countless examples that the use of illegal substances for recreational purposes does not prevent talented individuals from having productive lives. Of course, Mr. McCain's concerns are different. For him, the GAME is more important than the people. Sorry Mr. Senator, but some of us would like Congress to care more about the repealing of the "3 strikes you are out" legislationand of mandatory minimum sentencing than about fulfilling your childhood fantasy. Indeed, paraphernalia is sorry you did not make it to the Big Leagues. Actually, the minor leagues would have been fine too. Everybody loves Crash Davis more than they like you anyway.As usual, GW Bush is in a class of his own, as rules of the game never apply to him. Dubya, in yet another surreal moment, actually created a law that grants rights to one family (and one family only!), in order to (and we quote) err on the side of life. History seems to show that Dubya has been erring a lot lately, though rarely on the side of life. While paraphernalia likes to focus on drugs, it still knows that GWB's actions rarely match his words. From civilian deaths in Iraq , to the electric chair in Texas, or the killing of people while in custody of the troops we are all supposed to blindly support, mini-Bush trigger-happy finger speaks volume about where he stands on issues. Even on tube theory, the president disagrees with himself. Feeding tubes forcibly inserted into the navel of a woman lying in a vegetative state is fine now; but it was bad then; in any case, talking about providing clean tubes to drug addicts to protect them from HIV infections is wrong. Is this the culture of life or the culture of lies? Well, it does seem that we are back to Trivial Pursuit®. Question#1: Who is the politician who came out in support of Michael Jackson during his child molestation trial?Bored already? Fine, let's watch some Reality TV. Hopefully, we can vote Bush off the island one day... Politics30252@blogcritics.org Fri, 27 May 2005 23:32:26 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/05/26/020947.php ParaphernaliaWe are all familiar by now with the stereotypical image of the drug addict, that wretched creature forever enslaved to some chemical or another, and forced to deal, steal or kill to feed the unshakable monkey off his back. However, the addict can at least satisfy himself with the knowledge that he is suffering from a disease, albeit a criminal one (more on that topic another day!) For example, The Nation Institute of Drug Abuse, in a paper titled: Oops: How Casual Drug Use leads to Addiction: describes drug addiction as a "brain disease". As per this paper, "such brain diseases as stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, and clinical depression all have their behavioral and social dimensions. What is unique about the type of brain disease that results from drug abuse is that it starts out as voluntary behavior." Interesting theory! Now, paraphernalia has its own view on this issue , and it is not exactly in synch with the good folks at the NIDA. In any case, the addict, despite being in jail, can take comfort in being called a sick person in need of treatment (well, she or he will be sick eventually, given the conditions prevailing in most prisons).The people who have it tougher are casual drug users. On this topic, drug warriors are quite adamant. Sir Ian Blair, new head of Scotland Yard said, earlier this month, that "there were an increasing number of people who saw no harm in having the odd "wrap of charlie" at the weekend". He also promised to make an example of casual users in an attempt to show that no one is above the law: "People think it is okay to use cocaine but I do not think it is okay. We will have to do something about it by making a few examples of people so that they understand." See Guardian's article (refer to paraphernalia).This aggressive view towards casual drug users has been expounded before by several drug warrior luminaries. William Bennett, former Drug Czar once said: "Users who maintain a job and a steady income should face stiff fines...These are the users who should have their names published in local papers. They should be subject to driver's license suspension, employer notification, overnight or weekend detention, eviction from public housing, or forfeiture of the cars they drive while purchasing drugs." Paraphernalia never read Bennett's Book of Virtues, but presumes the chapter on compassion was pretty thin.... Of course, Mr. Bennett had big shoes to fill. Famous conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh was pretty clear on this topic: "Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. And the laws are good because we know what happens to people in societies and neighborhoods which become consumed by them. And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up." The fountainhead on this topic remains famed former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates, who recommended that drug users "be taken out and shot." After inventing SWAT, overseeing the LA riot, giving the LAPD one of the worst reputation in the US, and leaving in disgrace, Mr. Gates now work for Sierra, designing police video games (you cannot make this stuff up!).Don't forget that casual users are also helping terrorists as per the President of the United States. Interestingly, several of the people mentioned above have faced some form of drug or addiction problems. Mr. Bennett used to gamble a lot , but gambling is OK in his case, as he had it under control. Mr. Limbaugh used massive amount of oxycontin, but he is not a criminal; he is only fighting addiction. Mr Gates, upon learning of his son's arrest for drug possession, mercifully decided not to kill him. You see, his little boy was an addict, not a dangerous casual drug user like you. As for GWB, his alleged use of cocaine has never been formally denied.....So, casual users, it seems that the message from the authorities is quite clear. Become an addict fast; you might at least get some health benefits; free drugs in certain states and you won't get shot by Mr. Gates, unless you are in one of his video games.Ah! the logic of drug warriors..... Maybe the NIDA's article should be titled: "Ooops, I Did it Again!" Politics30155@blogcritics.org Thu, 26 May 2005 02:09:47 EDT