Neda: The Revolution will be on Youtube

A government that attacks it's own people isn't fit to govern them. Perhaps in a time not long ago, governments could sweep the terrible things that they do under the rug, but not any more. Not with cell phones with cameras and the internet. And youtube. There are a ton of videos on there that people have uploaded showing the horrific, and pointless violence. All these people wanted was a say in their government, and the freedom to live as they see fit, and to be free from fear of being arrested for mere words. But the Iranian government couldn't abide by their people being able to have a voice.

And people are dying because of it. And there are videos on youtube showing these people's last moments, with their friends and family members screaming in agony, wondering why their child, their brother, their father, or mother or their friend had to die. So, the government of Iran can't sweep it under the rug. There is a video of a girl whom they are calling Neda, which in Persian means "voice", who is shot in the chest and dies moments later. All caught on camera. I warn you if you click the link that is in her name that it is graphic. It is death. But you get to watch it safe at home, on your computer screen. These people are living with this day and night. With the police shooting at them for merely assembling and demanding their human rights. The government can't silence Neda. She may be dead, but she's all over everyone's computer screens right now. They may kill the people who are on their roof tops shouting "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Great), and thereby silence them, but they can't silence them. They're also on youtube. The harder the Iranian government cracks down, the more the voices of the disenfranchised Iranians will be heard across the world. And it will never go away. Their voices will ring out forever, as long as the internet lasts, demanding their right to be free from tyranny and fear.

"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof." --V. from V for Vendetta

Sometimes, We Need a Laugh

I don't know why I bother reading my friends' status updates on Facebook. Half the time they're stupid, and the other half of the time they're stupid and infuriating. I hate the damned news feed!

I truly have enough stress in my life, with work and everything else. I don't really need to know that your "opinions" coincide with the talking head you heard on the radio this morning or on the television last night. Lack of critical thinking skills are really what is hurting this country right now. No one is able to think anything through, and are most certainly not able to think for themselves. Some moron on television or the radio tells them that A=B whether it does or not, and all of a sudden it is the truth of the universe that A does indeed equal B.

I really need a vacation. In lieu of that, a laugh will work too:





So what am I pissed about? I'm sure you've heard by now how a report from the Department of Homeland Security warns that right wing wacko groups could potentially try to recruit veterans as they return home. Seems quite reasonable, commonsensical even. And then the right-wing talking heads get a hold of it, and start screaming that the government is calling their precious troops terrorists. Which isn't what it says at all. But you'd have to have half a brain, or half a thought in your head to figure that out, and those idiots obviously don't. Or maybe they do, and they see that they have a useful tool in their hands, one that can be used to stir up the masses with lies and deceit. We can't have people happy and peaceful can we? Not when there are democracies to destroy in the name of money and power. And it's working too. Because plenty of fools are screaming, in their status updates on Facebook and elsewhere, about how they support the troops, and how they don't think the troops are terrorists. Well, no fucking duh.

If all this makes you as mad as it makes me, watch the kitten. It will cheer you up, for a few minutes anyway.