Fear- Not a Science, Unquestionably a Method

Allow me to completely rip off Camus. I will get to HIS point after a brief introduction.

Having always hand-selected who it is that I learn from, Camus, since early childhood, has been my only hope in honesty and passion for humankind when putting words and thoughts to the page.

Forward thinking and often indisputable solutions behind every stance, every word chosen, all from the heart, and powerfully clear. The opposition toward those he did not respect is delivered with such diplomacy.

The near perfection of his communication, generously given free of ego for us to learn from is something I admire greatly. Strength and conviction, with such clarity and passion moves me, propels me to quietly assist, as I do not possess his talent for conveying my notions.

Without further adieu, I give you Camus, never surface.

Some of what he presented in the underground newspaper COMBAT during the 1940's:

POLITICS

Replacing politics with morality-not moralism.

Open dialogue, a yes and no as simultaneous answers to all questions - saying both answers with "the same seriousness and the same objectivity" which leaves space for questioning, doubt, and critical judgement.


FEAR - A POLITICAL METHOD - HOW SO >>

Quick note: I feel it is important that all of us understand why we are in fact always spouting that we live in fear, that the papers are made to print spoon-fed news and topics, and that there is no real journalism due to advertisers and so on. I give Camus the credit for being the first to recognize this concept of fear as a method in politics long before we could merely repeat it.

To take his thoughts in a condensed form and not take any credit for this level of brilliance, I sum it up this way:

After the Nazi's were gone the oppression, torture, deportation, and mass murder were painful memories of the very recent past for Camus when he determined November 19, 1946 that it was "The Century of Fear."

He saw first hand, so unfortunately for a man with this type of compassion, that the reign of terror continued and that the method served a political purpose. Terror silences the opposition. Two sides presented in black and white, freedom or enslavement, justice and injustice, ultimately people are forced to choose between "Good" & "Evil" which prevents all dialogue.

Fear was presented as more insidious postwar by Camus and this was due to it spreading across the political spectrum.

To quote, terror thrives in "a world of abstraction, a world of bureaucracy and machinery, of absolute ideas and of messianism without subtlety...among people who believe they are absolutely right."

DESCRIBING DEMOCRACY

He describes democracy as an exercise in modesty. To be just, always.

To know that freedoms set in place do not exist and can be reversed, and that injustices can increase at any given moment, especially when there exists a person that cannot be persuaded.

JUSTICE

He discusses the failure of the free press. That justice was never served as opportunistic and ideologically committed collaborationist journalists and intellectuals, along with important as well as insignificant officials were never dealt with for crimes we know are of the worst kind, and admitted back into society. This was not the Liberation of France he could see well. Victims paid an absolute price for resisting tyranny and the criminals being pardoned would not reunite France, but further divide everyone. Justice.

POWER OF WORDS & POLITICAL JOURNALISM

Camus defended the power of words, of responsible political journalism which plays a crucial role in resisting the conspiracy to silence us, to make us choose between only two sides presented, and so swiftly.

Importantly and humbly he described journalists as historians of the moment with a demanding job which entails pointing out the limitations of ideas and political actions. This translates directly into one having to be aware of their own limitations, thus having to adhere to a few basic principles. Easier said than done, a journalist may cross the very boundary of morality and moralism. Morality can easily be degenerated into moralism due to the fatigue or negligence of the writer reporting the news.

Quick Note: I personally find taking responsibility for one's position a form of care that few acknowledge or respect, and instead only enjoy the attention such a position brings. Admirably, it was Camus' greatest strength in my opinion.

You can sense that he wanted more, a greater life, one in which we see each-other, connect, grow, and do nothing other than...all we can, for everyone.

SOCIAL BEINGS MUST WORK TOGETHER

I do admire that he incorporated passion, and in the truest sense of this word. His passion for the human race can be seen, with too many instances to begin here now, through a simple mentioning that we cannot live without dialogue and the friendship of other human beings. That we should not be delivered entirely into the hands of history, and to persuade and confront the beauty of the world and people's faces. : : Angie Seegers : :

Joe the Plumber (without a license, named Samuel, and a tax evader.)

Joe the Plumber, sort of. Bad thing about 15 minutes of fame....GOTCHA.

Obama / McCain

Academy of Art San Francisco founded 1929

The Academy of Art San Francisco was kind enough to have me on as part of their Board of Directors for Film Festival. Just made public in Movie Maker Magazine is press on Jonathan Fung. I work directly with Jonathan, pictured right, and he brings the touch that draws out the talent.


2009 will be my third year and I would like to add that aside from the politics, *not blind to legitimate negative press that the school receives for purchasing too much real estate in this beautiful city and the effects...staying focused on the student body is what matters to me.

I work with Jonathan and he and I have to realize that not all decisions can be influenced and share the same opinions on some of the ongoings, but all that...is what it is. He cares about the students tremendously, to select a ridiculous yet fitting term. He knows what it is they are creating, and how far they can go expressing themselves through film. To draw out talent that individuals did not know existed within themselves previously is a process that is so exciting. Growth is the result of nurturing. The vision that makes this world change-- yes-- that is the stuff. I am there to support, encourage, inspire, and sincerely enjoy viewing the films being produced by incredibly talented people.

These graduates go straight to work for the very best and also become the best in their field if taking a look at Chris Milk's career. They appreciate the education as well as the lifelong connections made. Working alongside of those they attended with is a comfort when on the outside, and personal selections and calls made to collaborate can be so complimentary when you realize someone was paying attention to your work and they contact you down the road. I love it. The successful come back to the academy and address those aspiring, completely guiding and sharing their experiences, all in order to help others do the same.

Meet Jonathan- he's a good man: http://www.moviemaker.com/education/article/academy_of_art_university_jonathan_fung_20081009/

_______________________________

Accidental Friend

Talk about a surprise for me at the AOA annual film festival at the historic Castro Theatre--I made a new friend there attending.

He can talk family and art anytime, day or night---overflowing with energy and exhilaration for life. I am referring to none other than Martin Landau.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner and he is the most gentle and intelligent man I have met, defining the word gentleman itself. Peter O'Toole defines gentleman for the young emperor in "The Last Emperor" as, "a man that says what he means, and means what he says." That's all that kept running through my mind so I shared. I hadn't seen the movie in years, nor met someone I thought fit the description. When the time came, the reference was there.

Aside from the craft, Martin stood out to me as a human being only, really. That evening, I selected to not go solo as I always do and bring my friend that owns a coffee shop, is involved in several communities outside of his own as a volunteer, ensuring that community based organizations thrive, and works with children. I love coffee and reading so you can imagine that I know him wellllll. I seek to find those that change the world from a lesser known stance. I meet, due to my work, 'known' people often in music, film, literature, art and so forth. What really can you do with credentials, education, titles, diplomas from Harvard---degrees from who cares---as nothing holds importance more than what you say, and the things you do not speak which can be observed. Being in tune with yourself first, then people, and really knowing who you are is what I seek before I make one sound. Martin is so aware of his surroundings that that is all I could see or sense in him.

The wonderful career pales when engaged in conversation and life. The intelligence and wit are first class. His artwork that we went over for about an hour, deco and indelible in my mind, also floored me. Pen and ink. So much fun this man. Lots of laughing - completely on.

Vague compliments do him no justice. I wish I could tell you more about the friendship, and everything since that dinner...but life is a private thing unless you're present...the recipient of the gorgeous moments, the instances and words.

A toast to us all meeting people that are like-minded. To Jonathan and Martin, thank you for being the way you intend and desire. Its effect is good on others and generous. How beautiful.

Angie
__________
: : Angie Seegers : : San Francisco : :

Former Finnish President Wins Nobel Peace Prize

I opted to post an article by ---- Sarah Lyall/London
I'll give it a little art work however. Enjoy this picture of Mr. Ahtisaari on his bicylcle.




Dadang Tri/Reuters

By SARAH LYALL
Published: October 10, 2008
LONDON — Former President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, who has worked to end conflicts in troubled spots around the world for more than three decades, won the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

Hazir Reka/Reuters
No pic, yet....Martti Ahtisaari at a news conference in Kosovo in 2006.
In its announcement, the Norwegian Nobel Committee called Mr. Ahtisaari “an outstanding international mediator” whose efforts “have contributed to a more peaceful world and to ‘fraternity between nations’ in Alfred Nobel’s spirit.”

Mr. Ahtisaari’s work — as a Finnish diplomat, a United Nations envoy and the representative of various negotiating groups — has taken him to Namibia, Kosovo, Indonesia and Northern Ireland, among other places. He has led humanitarian missions, presided over contentious talks between sworn enemies and helped resolve disputes involving delicate matters of ethnicity, religion and race.

Mr. Ahtisaari has said that the highlight of his career may well be his work over 13 years in helping Namibia make the transition to independence after years of violent conflict with South Africa.

But he has done much more. His work in the former Yugoslavia during the war of the late 1990s, and then in 2005-07, helped work toward a solution of the question of Kosovo’s future. As the head of his own organization, Crisis Management Initiative, he organized unpublicized meetings earlier this year in Finland between Iraqi Sunni and Shiite Muslims. His work in 2005 set the stage for a peace agreement between separatists in Aceh Province and the Indonesian government, after years of bitterness and fighting.

“This is wonderful news,” Muhammad Nazar, a former rebel leader who is now the acting governor of Aceh, said in a statement. He credited Mr. Ahtisaari with “bringing an end to 30 years of violence and conflict.”

To outsiders, Mr. Ahtisaari, 71, a portly man who is stiff with rheumatism, can seem undemonstrative and aloof.

But Gareth Evans, president of the International Crisis Group — of which Mr. Ahtisaari was chairman from 2000 to 2004 — called him “a brilliant negotiator and mediator, with a tremendously effective personal style that combines charm and good humor with an iron determination.”

In a book published by the Brookings Institution, Mr. Evans wrote that Mr. Ahtisaari “combines, to great effect, immense personal charm with a tough, no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to conducting negotiations.” The book quotes one of the negotiators in the Aceh conflict as saying: “His method was really extraordinary. He said, ‘Do you want to win, or do you want peace?’ ”

Former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright said in an interview that she could not “think of a prize that is more richly deserved.”

Mr. Ahtisaari’s role in Kosovo, she said, far exceeded his appointment in 2005 to represent the United Nations in “final status” talks to determine the future of what was then a Serbian province. She said he was also deeply involved in the region during the 1996-99 Kosovo War.

“He was part of a whole set of diplomatic maneuvers we had during the war itself, in terms of trying to sort out how to deal with the Russians and a host of issues to do with carrying out the actual ending of the war,” she recalled.

As special envoy of the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, to Kosovo from 2005 to 2007, Mr. Ahtisaari presided over contentious talks. When they bogged down, he devised his own settlement proposal under which Kosovo would have independent status overseen by international institutions.

The proposal was stymied by Russia in the Security Council and ultimately overshadowed by Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence in February. Kosovo has since been recognized as an independent nation by the United States and most European countries, but still not by Russia or Serbia.

Ms. Albright said Mr. Ahtisaari had been instrumental in creating “a glide path” toward a final resolution that underpins Kosovo’s independence.

“When I talked to him just last week, he thought things were moving in the right direction,” she said. “He has done a remarkable job.”

Mr. Ahtisaari, whose name was selected from a list of 197 nominees, told a Finnish television station that he was “very pleased and grateful” at receiving the prize, which is worth $1.4 million and is to be awarded in a ceremony in Oslo on Dec. 10.

“I hope this will bring positive attention to Finland, and that it tells about our society and what is important to us,” he said.

Mr. Ahtisaari was born in Viipuri, Finland, which is now part of Russia, in 1937. Multilingual — he speaks English, French, German and Swedish, as well as Finnish — he worked as a primary school teacher before becoming a diplomat in 1965, focusing on international development and then becoming the Finnish ambassador to Tanzania.

He worked as United Nations commissioner for Namibia from 1977 to 1981 and served on and off in the region through 1991. As the special representative in charge of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, or Untag, he helped smooth along Namibia’s transition to independence.

For his efforts, Mr. Ahtisaari was named an honorary citizen of Namibia and was honored in South Africa for “his outstanding achievement as a diplomat and commitment to the cause of freedom in Africa and peace in the world.”

Mr. Ahtisaari also served as president of Finland from 1994 to 2000.

Nobel Peace Prizes have been won in recent years by people whose work is less traditionally peacemaking, but can be seen to have broadly contributed to world peace.

Recent prizes have also gone to a Kenyan environmentalist, Wangari Maathai, and to the Bangladeshi “banker to the poor,” Muhammad Yunus.

Stein Toennesson, director of International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, praised the decision to return to a more traditional candidate.

“It’s important to make clear to the world that this prize is a peace prize and not just a prize for doing good,” Mr. Toennesson said. “For several years the committee has widened the prize. They have not always provided a good enough justification for doing it, and they’ve done it too often.”

When he was a child, Mr. Ahtisaari’s home region was swallowed by the Soviet Union, and he and his family had to move from place to place before finally settling in a strange community. He said that experience had given him a lifelong sympathy for the “eternally displaced” and a “desire to advance peace and thus help others who have gone through similar experiences.”

In an interview on Friday that was published on the Nobel Foundation’s Web site, Mr. Ahtisaari said that the international community should not allow conflicts “to become frozen” or intractable.

“Every conflict can be solved,” he said.


Reporting was contributed by Walter Gibbs from Oslo, Alan Cowell from Paris, Johanna Lemola from Helsinki, Finland, and Celia Dugger from Johannesburg.

Gay Marriage Legal in Connecticut - Oct 2008

The Article in NYT

Bush Administration and the Swiss

Here is the predictable line in this obvious pattern and transparent strategy:

"WASHINGTON – News that the Bush administration is considering taking part ownership in a number of U.S. banks...

The joke:

"helped restore a relative calm over global financial markets Thursday."

No need to type another word.

The only two important lines that were within paragraph after paragraph of numbers and nonsense reported by Martin Crutsinger and Jeannine Aversa
AP economics writers, along with contributions made by writers Joe Bel Bruno and Anne D'Innocenzio of the Associated Press in New York, AP writer Christopher S. Rugaber in Washington, and Pan Pylas in London...are right there, above.

SIFT. Love the sift.

: : Angie Seegers : :

Saturday Night Live / Full (SNL) Versions - Amusement

Have you ever seen someone shout out campaign phrases and four different topics as a response to ONE question? (*If you are short on time, cue it up to the half way mark at 3:00minutes.) Watch as Tina Fey & Amy Poehler illustrate on Saturday Night Live >>

Federal Reserve(d) - Who is Bailing out Whom?

Our treasury receives 700billion and it rightfully has angered people. Wall Street stays paved with gold, comparatively speaking, in relation to the side streets we live on about to become nothing but potholes and collapsing overpasses. Numbers really never add up. Printed versus what is actual - always an astronomical difference.

WE ARE BAILING OUT BANKS, PERIOD.

The following is merely a breakdown not for those that are in the know, but
those that have no idea the corruption of Wall Street or knowledge of how trillions of dollars that do not exist are lent. So please excuse me in advance if the information seems oversimplified. It is the purpose, for now.

PROBLEM NUMBER ONE--CONGRESS IS NOT AWARE:
There is no actual money in said Federal Reserve. This is reminiscent of Enron's numbers and fake profits that drove the stock up in such absurd ways you would think all of America simply knew everything was amiss, not just something, everything. Wall Street was bigger than Gray Davis as well. Look into it. Reasearch the cause of rolling blackouts in California. He was to blame in the eyes of the public. Information delivered to the public encased around witticisms and finger pointing can bring one man down, but to not grasp the bits to retain and piece together is a common shame.

Getting back on track THERE IS NO ACTUAL MONEY IN THE FEDERAL RESERVE. Here we begin the invention of available funds. The money supply, invisible money that is, is referred to as BANK CHARTER (money as debt-the borrower's pledge of debt), this MonopolyGame money shall increase, invisible increasing of course, while the economy...increaseth not. The value of every dollar is now less. It is as INFLATED as the processed foods Americans consume. The value stripped. Inflation is detrimental taxing. To state what is generally known is to say that now China benefits.

TRANSLATION:
The, not actually FEDERAL (yes, true), Federal Reserve, less the reserve, has just learned the pin number to access your savings account. Thanks for your hard work. Kinda tricky --- That thinly veiled $700Billion in air-dollars to Wall Street is air-pocket-change allowing an enormity of theft. Speaking of which, it was pulled out of thin air as being a number that they just wanted to be a "big" one, and that's to quote. Placate this.

PROBLEM NUMBER TWO--THE ACTUAL NUMBERS IN ONE WEEK--TRILLIONS:
Round up from over one and a half trillion dollars and one can call it the last week of September's Sweet Two Trillion in loans from America's central bank, "Federal Reserve", to Wall Street. Champagne? Yes, thank you. Pork is the new caviar.

PROBLEM NUMBER TWO CONTINUED--The forgotten PENTAGON TRILLIONS:
There is 2.3 trillion the Pentagon left in their other wallet. They can't find it. It's misplaced? Oh good one. That equates to a generous donation, just this Pentagon issue, of 10 grand by every living body, including infants, in our country.
Side Note: I look at information as a predictable pattern. In my not so terribly long life I am still able to see a pattern of burning paper trails at any expense. In terms of this missing money, I am only going to type the name Rumsfeld here, and if you are unaware of all the coincidences with tragedies and paper trails, I cannot take that on, but take note. Not to say he engineered the doings, but the association will help you find the events. He was often in the hot seat with the mic when these more recent occurrences in history transpired, things to not even put under a microscope or deliberate over as the facts available solidify the matters supposedly in question.

Q: Being that it is October...Opportune Headlines anyone? What I mean >>

PROBLEM NUMBER THREE, NOT KIDDING, $$$ONE QUADRILLION$$$ - DERIVATIVES
The term derivatives is basically leveraging out the same assets hundreds of times over, creating fictional wealth.
The reality is that all assets of we humans in every country in the world combined is an estimated 100Trillion. This is not liquid worth, this is asset worth. We should not be tricked into believing we have ten times more, the world combined, or we are in severe trouble to say the very least on the matter. We could potentially make the worst kind of history, surpassing the very Black Tuesday in October of 1929.

: : Angie Seegers : :