The Front Fell Off

I don't mean to poke fun at something that should be taken serious, but here is a video of a Senator Collins, a member of the Australian Parliament reassuring the citizens that everything is under control. I can't help but think of Monty Python when watching this...

Our United States of Corporation

Hey everyone,

Sorry the posts have been pretty light. Been rather busy. I have been saving these two images I've stumbled upon from the internet. Tell me what you think of them. Do you agree/disagree? How do they make you feel?

Watch this interview from the Daily Show

To those who want to understand....

Please, watch this interview from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He interviews Elizabeth Warren who is the chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel on TARP. I know that a lot of this may seem confusing but I cannot stress enough how important it is that we understand what is going on right now.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/123385/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-elizabeth-warren#s-p2-sr-i1

Political Thursday - Freedom Tray

I don't have time to really go on a huge political rant...so I thought I would share with you guys something simple...something truly American...THE FREEDOM TRAY.

http://freedomtray.com/

Is this the new definition of freedom? The freedom to carry 3 Large cokes, fries and nachos without the worry of it spilling over? I can't believe this will be the last thing on my mind before I go to bed...

Weekends almost here folks...hope you are ready for it.

Serg

Political Thursday

Здравствуйте - pronounced "ZDRAVST-vwee-tye" ("hello" in Russian)

Lobbying: To try to influence the thinking of legislators or other public officials for or against a specific cause.

"hmmm....could you use it in a sentence please?"

When the health insurance companies found out the government was going create a public option they began to lobby against in order to protect themselves from losing profits.

Etymology: "One story states that the term originated at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, where it was used by Ulysses S. Grant to describe the political wheelers and dealers frequenting the hotel's lobby in order to access Grant, who was often found there, enjoying a cigar and brandy." (source: Wikipedia)

Now, not all lobbying is bad. There are plenty of lobbyists who represent respectable causes such as environmental protection, marijuana legalization, or a public option. But what happens when a corporation with millions upon billions of dollars recognizes that certain laws will hurt their profit margin for the quarter, for the year, or for even several? Rather then adapting for the benefit of the society, they decide to focus on themselves.

Corporations are entities. Entities that carry this instinctual survival where any threat to its demise, must be eliminated. Its hard for me to imagine people running a corporation. Rather a corporation, once fully established, begins running itself. And that is where it gets dangerous. Some corporations don't know the difference between right and wrong*: Enron, AIG, Halliburton, etc. And so, on the painful day when the people are impacted by actions without ethics, do we learn how to rectify their deep and willful ignorance. To stand up against them, together.

This week I read an article about the recent policy change on lobbying.

"The policy change, described by the White House as the next step in President Barack Obama’s drive to limit influence-peddling in Washington, could affect hundreds of lobbyists who serve on the panels, which were created by Congress in the 1970s to provide private-sector advice to the government."

Now I know that the biggest fear of full government control takes us to an Orwellian future, but I for one believe that should not be a worry on our minds. To few forget that, we the people, are in control of the government...just as long as we get up and prove it, and always remember the difference between right and wrong.*

Thank you,
Serg

*The discussion between right and wrong can be very thought provoking. After all, different cultures, societies, people have different view points on what makes right, right and wrong, wrong. "The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong." Carl Jung

Political Thursday - Public Healthcare

So we just got back from a huge investigation. Its 5:00 AM. I decide to have a cup of the ol' green tea before I go to sleep...

...waiting for it to brew I decide to check my email and browse the internet...

I hop on the reddit to see whats happening on the Interweb and I find a Congressman who has the balls to say what others are thinking. What I am referring to is Florida's Rep. Alan Greyson. He presents a clear plan that the Republicans have regarding America's Heathecare: 1. Don't get sick. 2. If you do get get, die quickly. Below you will find the videos you should watch as this story unfolds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-usmvYOPfco&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCAPX0RKwDU&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H3gND4M9HA

I find it completely hypocritical of the Republican Congressmen who one, compared Rep. Alan Greyson to Joe "the Douchebag" Wilson, but two cannot comprehend the idea of freedom of speech. What I respect about Greyson's actions is that he is not letting a good idea fall through the cracks. The American people really need to understand how important this issue really is. Look at the various sources of information that are out there and educate yourselves. PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES! YOU WILL NOT FIND ALL YOUR INFORMATION FROM FOX NEWS!

Key take away points:

-The study that Rep. Greyson is referring to states that as many as 44,789 deaths a year are a direct result from lack of health insurance. So let's do some simple arithmetic here:

year: 44,789
month: 44,789/12 = 3,732
week: 44,789/52 = 861
day: 44,789/365 = 123
hour: 44,789/8670 = 5

So between the three hour drive back home, 15 people passed away.

-Rep. Greyson brings another good point to the table: the private insurance companies don't want the change because they know their profits will decline (one of the finer qualities of capitalism - money always takes priority over people). Currently, all the health insurance companies are spending as much as $700,000 daily on lobbying against health reform. Yea, read that line again. Per day, $700,000 is spent. I'm not even gonna do the math on that because I'm afraid I might throw up when I see the annual number. For a full press release about this number, visit here.

Final Note

Ever since Obama won the election I began to pay attention to politics just a little bit more. Catching the news on TV periodically, or reading interesting articles that I find floating around...anything really that I can make a note to see how our society evolves. What I find is that, as more and more truth is revealed about how this world works, I start to feel sick. Unfortunately, a visit to the doctor, even if I could afford it, would not make be feel better. This is the kind of sick where you find yourself questioning, at what point can "humane" no longer fit to be associated with "human." This idea that I want to distance myself from all the people of the world because of the greed, jealousy, vengance, hatred that I see flows in their blood. And then there is bursts of hope, that there are good souls on this planet who are fighting for a worthy cause. A cause that I can support. A cause, that I know, will make me feel better about being human.

Thank you for reading,
Sergey Poberezhny

Collection of Photos from Tehran Street Protest

Post note:
Just something I want people to know. Some of the links below take you to graphic images and videos. This is a lot to take in, so I am just throwing this out as a warning. Be strong, believe.

With what has been happening in Iran this week, I would like to take part and help spread the message. Due to what many believe was a rigged election, the people of Iran have taken the streets with peaceful protests. Their request for a recount has been, instead, met with violent police and military action.

Here are some very powerful photos from protests throughout this week.

Pray for peace.

Links from comments below:

http://www.atlargely.com/atlargely/2009/06/iran-protest-update.html

http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/20/iranian-protesters-defy-ban-clash-with-police-in-streets/

http://mashable.com/2009/06/20/iran-youtube/

More photos can be found at:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/19/744656/-Tehran-Street-PhotosOn-the-Brink

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/06/irans_disputed_election.html

Change: We can believe in.

So how did you all feel last night? 

Its amazing how yesterday had such an important impact on our lives. How will your life be effected? 

By working together we can do so much. But where do we start? It starts... with you. Yep, that one person who thinks they can.  As we count down the days till the inaguration what will you do? Will you loathe the results and stew in negativity, or wait and grow stale? Or, will you start to do? To make yourself a better person and make this world a better place? 

Who can I become?

There is a change unfolding,

Who can we become?

Perhaps it is time we start to part ways from an individualistic idealogy. Forget the me, myself's and I and start to consider the us, together and we. What will happen when we start to work together? What will happen when we start to do something positive?

This is the change that I believe in.

This is what I got from Obama. What did you?