Senate Considers Bill Authorizing More Torture

Britain to expel all Iranian diplomats or Are you recycling old Monty Python skits or something?

American Scofflaw

BRITAIN: "We are warning you to cease all development of nuclear weapons!

IRAN: "We aren't building nuclear weapons, We are building a power station."

BRITAIN: "This is your final warning to destroy your weapons of mass destruction!"

IRAN: "We don't HAVE weapons of mass destruction. We have electric lighting. See? Switch goes up, light goes on. Switch goes down, light goes off! We signed the NNPT and are allowed to have nuclear power stations. Actually, under Article IV, you're supposed to help us build them, remember?"

BRITAIN: "We are imposing harsh economic sanctions on you for your building of illegal nuclear weapons!"

IRAN: "Are you recycling old Monty Python skits or something? The IAEA has been all over us and didn't find anything! We don't build bombs, we don;t invade other nations. We mind our own business! If you want clandestine bomb factories, go down to Dimona!"

BRITAIN: "You leave us no choice; we are invading!"

IRAN: "what?!? You can't DO that! We haven't done anything wrong!

BRITAIN: "WE are allowed to invade anyone we think might not be happy with the idea that we can invade them any time we feel they are unhappy with the idea that we might invade at any time!"

They responded by closing ranks and blocking the Joughin family's escape

by William Norman Grigg

"That's why you shouldn't bring kids to protests."

This taunt, which issued from the sneering lips of an armored riot policeman, struck Don Joughin with the force of a billyclub as he tried to comfort his children – a three-year-old and a newborn – after they had been showered with a chemical agent by a riot policeman.

That assault did not take place during any of the recent "Occupy"-inspired protests. It occurred in August 2002, during a fundraising visit by then-President George W. Bush to Portland, Oregon.

In keeping with then-recently established "security" protocols, local police were deployed in riot gear to keep demonstrators confined inside "free speech zones" located several blocks away from the motorcade route. Joughin, who was accompanied by his wife and three children, was present when police unleashed a pepper-spray fusillade against a small group of protesters who had taken a few steps outside the designated protest zone.

After the police attack began, Joughin and his family attempted to leave, but found themselves penned in. Acting on the tragically innocent assumption that the police were present in order to keep the peace, Joughin politely asked the officer obstructing an exit how he and his family could leave the turbulent intersection. "He pointed and said to exit to the [northeast], into the spraying police opposite him," Joughin recalled.

With his family in danger of being trampled by protesters fleeing the chemical barrage, Joughin asked the officer to let him and his family through. "He looked at me, and drew out his can from his hip and sprayed directly at me," Joughin recalled. He didn't bear the brunt of that criminal assault, but his three-year-old caught some of the blast. The assailant then turned on Joughin's wife and the infant "and doused both of their heads entirely from a distance of less than three feet," Joughin testified.

As his children were screaming in agony, Joughin pleaded with the cops to allow him and his family to leave and seek help. They responded by closing ranks and blocking the Joughin family's escape. They didn't relent until someone in "authority" gave them permission to set them free. The last thing Joughin and his traumatized family heard as they left the scene was the sadistic taunt hurled by one of the tax-devouring thugs who had assaulted the children with a chemical weapon.

"That's why you shouldn't bring kids to protests."

One wonders if this is why BP has been given permission to resume drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, which happened in October of this year

U.S. officials have given BP the go-ahead to drill a new deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico, its first such permit since last year's catastrophic oil spill. Regulators said Wednesday BP has met strict safety requirements implemented after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The proposed exploratory well is located roughly 246 miles south of Lafayette, La., in water more than 6,000 feet deep. That's about 1,000 feet deeper than BP's Macondo well that blew out in April 2010, killing 11 rig workers and leading to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. This is BP's first permit to drill, but the company has been active in the Gulf for months. Other companies have also received deepwater permits in recent months.

Congress needs to quickly move to slash entitlement spending on programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid!?!!

The Gay Secretary

Whoever wrote this does not understand: Social Security and Medicare are NOT "entitlements": US citizens have been paying into these systems from the time they start to work until they retire.

The Federal Government has used up these funds, and now has nothing with which to pay back the taxpayers who paid into these programs. This is why these benefits are now being characterized as "entitlements."

The Federal government should simply say that there is no money left in the systems, they are becoming bankrupt, and that henceforward, the money we USED to think was coming back to us in Social Security and Medicare is simply another lousy tax, from which We the People will get...absolutely nothing!

There, THAT clears it up, doesn't it?!?

Gingrich must have his common sense up his ass!

The Gay Secretary

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. " -- Thomas Jefferson

The Founding Fathers of America, only a few generations removed from the religious wars that had rocked England, and even closer to the religious hysteria that led to lynching of accused witches in Salem, Massachusetts, recognized that whenever one religion gains civil power the first thing it does is attack all other religions. So, in order to preserve religious freedom for all, political power must be denied to all religions

The Federal government owes China one heck of a lot of money

The Gay Secretary

According to the Department of the Treasury/Federal Reserve Board, the United States government owes China $895.2 billion. This debt comes mainly in the form of U.S. Treasury Securities, or bonds. Read more: How much money does the U.S. government owe China? | Answerbag http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/2108195#ixzz1f7DmC2VG

That's a lot of zeroes, any way you slice it. The US government cannot possibly pay this money back.

By goading China into not a trade war, but a "hot" war, IF the US is successful in such a military misadventure, that debt goes away.

A trade war or worse won`t benefit China or the US. In order for America to get out of a recession and ensure global stability, economic not military engagement with China is the answer. Cooler heads need to prevail on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

I would like to hope that LAPD and LA Mayor Villaraigosa will keep things calm here, and not create any martyrs.!!!

American Scofflaw

As I mentioned the other day, there is both a lot of creativity and imagination in LA, but also a lot of pain, anger, and frustration which can boil over into civil unrest, sparked by any major upset.

One only has to remember the events leading to the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles to understand that. The Rodney King Riot of 1992 occurred in response to a highly publicized incident of police brutality. Rodney King, who had worked as a Dodgers Stadium usher, was arrested on charges of speeding, driving while intoxicated, and failing to yield.

Memo to US joint chiefs of staff General Martin Dempsey

The Gay Secretary

I don't want to hurt a soul; I am a published sacred choral composer, and the most radical thing I would ever ask a musician to do is sing an augmented fourth!

That being said, sir, a very responsible segment of the online community has been bringing the truth to those ready to handle it, and forced government, in some way, to respond more truthfully than it has ever had to do in the past. I do not see this at all as a bad thing, whatsoever.

Yes, the game has changed because of the internet, and those netizens responsible for this have no apologies to make. But any attempt to silence those telling the truth out there, via some kind of "firewall" will be met with disdain, contempt, and an ultimate workaround. You can take that to the bank, sir.

The truth is "hate speech" only for those with something to hide.

Modern equivalent of Hitler's "Enabling Acts."

American Scofflaw

Remember that debate between Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, where Mr. Gingrich suggested we should expand and strengthen the Patriot Act in the name of protecting US citizens from terrorists? Mr. Gingrich indicated that there exists a line between criminal law and the war on terror, and that we need not worry the government will overstep its bounds.

While Americans enjoyed the Thanksgiving weekend and joined the annual running of the bulls celebration at malls and retail outlets, something sinister was taking place in Congress – and it should scare the hell out of you. If the President and Senate have their way, your front lawn will soon become a battlefield, and you’ll be subjected to military, not criminal, law.

HERE IT IS, PEOPLE:

The Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself.

The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.

The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.

Mythbusters did a show on this very idea and even used a high-powered linear amplifier

American Scofflaw

Actually, Mythbusters did a show on this very idea and even used a high-powered linear amplifier to boost the signals from the portable electronic devices and could not detect any effect on the aircraft instruments. As this article correctly points out, if the signals from cell phones could actually damage a plane, some idiot would have already tried using it as a threat. The airlines (like the TSA) do what they do to prove they are in control of you. We drive where we need to go and not have to bother with airplanes and TSA any more.

An Open Letter to Simon and Schuester CEO Carolyn Reidy

by Sebastian Marshall

Hi Carolyn,

Sit down before you read this.

We’ve got to talk.

Look. This is going to piss you off. This is going to look like I’m causing problems.

I’m not causing problems. I’m just pointing out where problems already exist.

Your publishing company has treated me like a bitch over the last year. This is partially my fault, because I’ve let S&S treat me like a bitch. But it’s also your fault, because you nurture and work with artists, and artists really really really deserve to be taken good care of by their publishing house.

I’m not naturally an artist. I’m kind of sort of a businessman. That’s why I’ve finally got the nerve to write what I’ve been thinking for a year now -

Your company fundamentally mistreats its editors, writers, and all its staff. If you don’t change course, you’re fucked and out of business very soon.

I don’t say that as an artist. I say that as a businessman. Your company is stuck in the year 1850 or whatever, when ships came from England with books to sell to the New World.

Your company (and indeed, whole industry) is stuck in slavery-era thinking.

And it’s bad business.

So, we’ve got to have a chat.

The Backstory Starts in Southeast Asia

After you read this, I suspect you’ll be saying, “How the fuck did we get in this position? WHOSE FAULT IS THIS?!!”

So, for your convenience, and for the entertainment of the reading public, let’s go through how we got here.

On 23rd December 2010, your publishing house agreed to sign me with a $65,000 advance.

I’m under the impression that’s pretty good for a first-time author, especially one as raw in writing quality as I was. But I really hit it off with the signing editor, Matthew Benjamin, and my agent, Jim Levine.

(Sidenote: Guys, I’m really fucking sorry to put you in the position I just did. You guys are both great, and I’m going to explain that you’re great and that the industry as a whole is fucked in a moment. But sorry for the tidal wave this is about to unleash.)

This was good news. I’d been panicked a little, to tell you the truth… my chief project had been consulting on high technology for the hospitality industry. My partner, Yifei Zhang, was and is incredibly brilliant, one of the most talented people I know.

Yifei and I built out processes for hotels to increase occupancy and revenues, and he was going to come meet me in Southeast Asia once we were ready. He designed a beautiful site (reachadventurers.com) that was about half-finished, and we had various creative and brochures and things like that.

This was happening in parallel with Jim Levine selling the book to various publishers, including your house.

Now, I’ve always been tenacious. If something important has to be done, give it to me.

Thus, I started “commando’ing” my way into high end hotels by just showing up and insisting that something really important was happening. I met the Director of Sales and Marketing at Caravelle in Saigon (I totally embarrassed myself with a terrible pitch) and I met the General Manager at the Sheraton (who was really cool, and we talked for three hours and he referred me to their head office in Singapore along with useful information about the whole industry).

We weren’t selling yet, but we had enough money for six months. Yifei was ready to quit his job, and we’d work full-time, starting in Malaysia and then moving to Singapore.

Yifei gave notice, and… his boss recognized he was a genius, and offered to triple his pay to stay, along with letting him hire six people and run his own skunkworks mini-division.

That motherfucker. What a smart move.

Yifei asked. He felt guilty. I told him take the offer. Amazing opportunity. And he’d never made real money before.

So Yifei was out, and I didn’t want to run Reach by myself. I’m not sure what was coming up.

And then – two days later, Jim lets me know we’ve got agreement and I’m publishing with you guys!

Title: for contract – How to Make a Self-Made Man; but final title subject to mutual approval of Author and Publisher
Length: 50,000 – 60,000 words
Delivery: July 1, 1011

Advance: 65k
Territory: world rights, all languages

Payout:
1/3 on signing
1/3 on D&A
1/3 on first publication (which would probably be somewhere between January – June 2012) but no later than 12 months after Publisher’s acceptance of the manuscript

Staring At The Harbor

Our “due date” was July 1st. Cool! Let’s work fast, and bang this out of the park!

Carolyn, I was really excited to work with you guys.

Really, really excited.

I can’t even tell you how excited. Jim thought my first book wouldn’t be a good fit, so I was going to write a new one from scratch from the outline I was given.

No problem! You know Nietzsche wrote Zarathustra in only three sets of one day each of manic writing?

I’m cyclothymic too. Like Nieztsche and Byron and those guys. Albeit, much less talented; I’m just saying I got the same affliction.

What’s a cyclothymic? It appears that we feel emotions more strongly than other people, and cycle through them. I’m fucking awesome when I’m manic, I can rapidly invent, experiment, implement, advance science, build systems, recruit and hire people, and just massively do unhumanly large amounts of stuff. Cyclothymic mania is when the SPIRIT OF GOD is within you.

Most people wouldn’t get it. Couldn’t get it.

Anyways. It’s pretty fucking awesome when it’s going on. SPIRIT OF GOD WITHIN YOU. Imagine that, eh?

There’s just one problem.

I need to feed the mania to keep it going. If I can chain manic successes together, it grows and I can go through multiple year-long mania runs where I travel through 60+ countries, explore the world, do massive deals, get invited to stay in mansions and villas and go to top nightclubs and parties and whatever.

Jut one rub – it’s a Faustian Bargain – crashing is… well, “hell” is a cliche, so I can’t use that. I’ll try to explain.

The more structured my life is, the better people around me, and the more resources I’ve deployed intelligently, the less likely I crash. But when a convergence of bullshit strikes, then I crash hard and I’m fucking useless for a while. It’s a real bummer, I’ll tell ya. All you think about when crashed is drowning. I mean, literally drowning, I’ll stare the harbor in Hong Kong and think it’s be pleasant to be under the water. I have to just remind myself that when I’m uncrashed I’ll be glad I’m still alive, and someday I’ll probably be manic again, and then I can get back to serving humanity.

Anyways.

July 11th! Woohoo!

But then… your publishing house kind of drops the ball.

There’s some back and forth talk, but I didn’t a copy of the final contract to sign until 1st March 2011.

But fine, I signed quickly. Let’s get to work!

Never Have Only One Thing Going

Now Carolyn, I’ve got to explain something. When someone doesn’t do what they say, and you keep soldiering on, you’re letting them treat you like a bitch.

You guys had already dragged ass for more than three months after we had agreement in principle. Then we sign, and the contract calls for payment “Immediately.”

Now, how immediate is “Immediately”?

I’m sure it’s a settled question in American legal law, but I’m not going to bother researching it. I’m sure it’s not –

– wait! Let’s play a game!

Carolyn, how long do you think it took your publishing house to pay me your contractually obligated “immediate” payment?

C’mon, guess before I tell you.

C’mon, c’mon, c’mon! Guess!

Three hours? The same day? The next day?

The same week?

Carolyn, do you think your publishing house paid me the same month? We signed on the 1st of March. Do you think you paid in March?

Hmm. I bet you know where this is going.

And it’s not like we’ve got any surprises coming up. We had agreement in December of the previous year, and you already dragged ass.

You paid me on 18th April 2011, six and a half weeks after “immediate” payment was due.

Unfortunately, I just accepted this nonsense.

At that point, I had demonstrated that I was a bitch that would accept table scraps from your company, and I started subsequently being treated like a bitch.

The Downward Spiral Begins

So, I’m not entirely sure, but I think your company signed me because I have interesting ideas, and I know how to market them. The team at Simon and Schuester’s Touchstone division (who are great btw, sorry S&S Touchstone team for causing you a headache right now) – well, I was on the phone with THE WHOLE TEAM right away.

You guys were serious and ultra-professional in December. And you were excited with me. Particularly my marketing savvy – the Touchstone team commented that I was extremely prepared (and they were impressed with that), clearly I understood marketing very well (and they were impressed with that), and they thought I had a chance at being “the next Tim Ferriss” (!!!!). (Sidenote: I think Tim Ferriss is much better at marketing than me.)

So yeah, you guys wanted my writing and marketing ability.

But now, shit’s about to get ugly.

Subject: Has there ever been a moneyback guarantee on a print book?

I had an idea that might be interesting. Moneyback guarantees are pretty thoroughly proven to increase conversions and sales online. What if we printed this on the first or second page of the paper book?

This Book Rocks Your World, or It’s Free

To the best of my knowledge, this has never been done before.

I think this book contains excellent insight and guidance in it. The whole thing is tested and has been effective with a variety of people. But if you buy it, try the ideas, and they’re not worth what you paid, I’ll buy your copy from you. Go to:

http://www.selfmadebook.com/guarantee

And there’s instructions on how to sell me your copy of the book. I’m leaving this offer open for all of 2012.

I’m confident that I can serve you with this writing. If I can’t, you’re not out any money. So, read on and enjoy. Thank you.

Your loyal strategist,
Sebastian Marshall

–

On the terms and conditions of the guarantee, we specify that they’ve got to read some of the book, that it applies for only 2012, and then we set up a way that isn’t a headache to deal with it. (Maybe they submit proof of purchase and proof of donation to a library or something? Screwing around with return inventory is a nightmare, probably much cheaper just to let them keep it) In the guarantee T&C, we also specify that it only applies if the store they ordered from doesn’t offer their own guarantee first.

I think this could spur an increase in buying definitely, but more importantly I think it could be a really nice angle for the media and for people to talk about.

Could we try to do something like this? I think this could be really a boon for our marketing and PR.

Sebastian

I don’t know Carolyn. Maybe it’s a bad idea. But it is an idea, and it got no play from you guys.

Okay, whatever. At least you spent some time implementing the three hour long design brief I wrote for the cover, giving specific recommendations and historical comps?

Alas, no. When I got the cover, they totally ignored everything about my audience, my goals, my notes I gave you guys, and whatever else. I re-wrote notes, and they were ignored. So much for “meaningful consultation”!

I’d list more, but it’s all the same sort of thing. Suffice to say, I kept coming with ideas that might or might not work, and getting back nothing or less than nothing in return.

But The Worst Part…

…is that I kept being given pseudo-deadlines, meeting them, and then whoever would be on vacation and wouldn’t reply for a couple months. I burned fucking hard in Tokyo to meet my deadlines, BRUTALLY working on nothing else to get some stuff to Matthew…

…and then he’s on vacation, and didn’t tell me. On the supposed very important deadline day.

So I kind of crashed. Hard.

I was pretty invested in this emotionally, and I’m usually able to will things to work. But here? It’s not happening. I’m being blown around in the wind, and I can’t figure it out.

It’s Not The Editor’s Fault. It’s Your Fault.

It’s not Matthew’s fault. Matthew’s fantastic, he pushes me, he’s very intelligent and well read, and I like him a lot. (Sidenote: Sorry for doing this, Matthew.)

Here’s the thing – it’s the year 2011, and you guys lack basic technology calendaring. Your editors don’t work with your marketers. There’s no rudimentary project management system in place. There’s no consistency or fairness or transparency in the author’s contract process. You guys don’t keep your own promises.

It’s not Matthew’s fault. Matthew’s overworked, underpaid, and I imagine he’s somewhat frustrated with your company’s bullshit as well. In fact, I think everyone is frustrated with your whole industry’s bullshit, which is why traditional publishing is dying.

You need better tech.

You need to pay your people better, equip them better, give them better tools and resources, and kill as much of the bureaucracy and paperwork they do. Matthew spends all his damn time dealing with internal bullshit, doesn’t work hands-on with marketing people very often (your marketers and editors don’t work together Carolyn! Do you know how fucking stupid that is in 2011?!!), and his authors wind up pissed off and disrespected.

I’m not much of an artist, really.

But let’s play pretend. I’ll be a pretend artist. You too, Carolyn. Pretend you’re an artist.

You’re kind of up and down, which is a common temperament for art-making people, especially weird-paradigm-shifting-art-making-people. You’re really excited, since you’ve dreamed for forever of getting published.

All you do is work on the project, highly motivated.

They keep jerking you around and treating you like a bitch.

You’re kind of afraid of them, because the contract you signed gives them all the power and you none.

(Sidenote, Carolyn: Fix that. Less draconian contracts will make it easier to build the goodwill and collaboration necessary to make art. The Sword of Damocles hanging over the writer’s head doesn’t help. Really, I promise it doesn’t help. Trust me on this if you can’t understand me.)

So, do you think you can make great art in those working conditions? Where you’re being mistreated, not cared for, ignored, lied to, and having your “great marketing ideas” just fall into dust?

C’mon now. And mind you, I’m a hell of a lot less sensitive than most artists; I’m not even an artist, really.

This is 100% not the editor’s fault, who is great. Jim apologized to me. He said, “Sebastian, I’m sorry, it’s just how the industry works… I’m sorry, I wish I could say more, but it’s how it operates!”

Carolyn, that’s a fucking problem. It’s 2011, you’re running a sinking ship, and it’s “just how it operates.”

Matthew’s not a problem.

Jim’s not a problem.

Your designer (who is good – I bet he’d have done good work if he ever saw my design brief) is not the problem.

I don’t think I’m the problem.

Maybe I’m just a problem, and should be really grateful you were maybe going to publish me, and should just accept that I have to play by your rules, be ignored, be lied to (yes, lied, Carolyn – when you said you’re going to do something and sign your name to it, and don’t do it, we call that lying), and otherwise just be jerked around?

But I don’t think I’m the problem.

I don’t even think you’re the problem, really. Maybe it was rude of me to call you out personally. It’s not your fault, you took over the ship in 2008 and you’re trying to keep it on course in a disinterested corporate conglomerate that’s all about P&L and various draconian bureaucratic bullshit.

I think the system is the problem, it’s broken, and should be fixed.

Not Afraid Any More

Carolyn, I’m sorry for calling you out. I hope I didn’t ruin your Wednesday too badly.

I’m not here to make you feel bad. I wanted you to see it from my perspective.

See, I stuck with you because I was afraid.

I was scared.

Not love.

Fear.

I thought I needed you as recently as ten days ago.

Ten days ago, a catalystic process happened. I’m back on the insane upward trajectory I was on a couple years ago. I just signed a business contract that pays me $40,000 to $700,000 in 3 months based on performance. It’s 54 times the highest 30 consecutive days net profit, on high dollar products – the equivalent of 4.5x annualized. If you plug some numbers in, it comes out pretty big pretty quickly. I’m willpowering a business to exist that didn’t before, just hired seven top-notch people at top of market pay plus fantastic benefits, and I’m arming them to the teeth with a top designer, a market researcher, tons of resources, and all sorts of great things.

And you know what? It’s not even all that expensive!

I’m building so fast with so little money… it’s amazing what you can do when everyone is in sync with no politics, no bullshit, everyone committed, and pure love and support.

Anyway, taking this position put me over capacity. From now until February, I’m at 180% to 240% of my maximum possible capacity at the current rates, obligations, coordination, and resources I have.

So you know what? I just told everyone in my life that they’ve got to do better to stay in my life. Not just be more professional or work harder or coordinate better.

But really do better, on a philosophical level.

I called out one guy who has always been difficult that I worked for. Whenever I had a great idea for him that would make his business run better, he’d drag ass on implementing it, make me explain myself 10,000 times, I’d have to press him and he’d complain about the littlest expense or commitment.

And this, despite the fact that I’ve made him tens of thousands of dollars!

So I told yesterday, “Hey! You don’t appreciate me enough! Every time I have a good idea for you, you get pessimistic and stupid and whine. STOP IT AND BE MORE GRATEFUL THAT I’M MAKING YOU MONEY.”

He starts to say, “Well, I’ve got to be carefu–”

And I say, “No you don’t! How much money have I made you?”

And he says, “A lot.”

I say, “Yeah. At least 20 grand you wouldn’t have. So STOP BEING A BITCH WHEN I WANT TO MAKE YOU MONEY. AND BE MORE GRATEFUL.”

And he starts to dislike that, and I say it again, but louder. And then he offers me equity in his company worth something like $180,000 to $360,000 if I implement all the ideas he’d been demurring on.

Jesus. Where was all this when I was being nice?

Most Artists Aren’t Businessmen, And Thus…

…you know, Carolyn, or whoever, I’d like you to treat me better, appreciate me more, and use my talent so we’re all very successful.

But that won’t be enough.

Most artists aren’t businessmen. So they’ll stay afraid, desperate, clinging to your company like a life-raft in a sea of obscurity and toil.

But your raft has holes in it. It’s sinking.

It’s sad.

It’s really, really sad.

Artists expect to do art with you, and they instead get bullshit.

We can’t work like this.

I don’t know. Maybe other people can take being disrespected by a gigantic corporate clusterfuck, but you’re missing like 90% of my talent.

Matthew wrote me. The last batch of my writing is apparently up to snuff. Quite good, even!

I’m almost done.

But you know what? The book isn’t right. It’s like, 20% mine, 20% Matthew’s, 10% Jim’s, and 50% corporate clusterfuck.

I could put my head down and just grind, get it done at 4AM before I go to work, and whatever.

But you know what? You’re now the people in my life who treat me the worst.

I mean, you’ve really treated me like dogshit. And I stuck around because I was afraid.

Who am I? Well, fundamentally I’m just some dude. If I’m saying anything that doesn’t make sense or doesn’t jibe with your experience, and the publishing industry is actually doing awesome, then go ahead and write me off and go back to your process.

But okay. You already know your industry isn’t healthy. So you should very carefully evaluate how reality-based I am before making any decisions. Does what I’m saying make sense?

You’ve got a couple options:

Option 1: If you still want to publish me, I’ve got to know that things are going to get better.

Yes, you’ve got to do better by me. Clearly.

But not just me. Everyone you work with, everyone’s whose lives you touch.

You need to do some sort of audit of all of S&S looking for stressful bureaucracy, unfriendly things for editors, lack of modern collaboration and technology, and unfriendly hostile terms to authors.

At a BARE MINIMUM, you establish basic project management, basic calendaring, drastically simplify the standard S&S contract, and provide plenty of paid time for knowledge share between different branches of the company so that editors and marketers work more intimately together and get in sync. Then start treating your editors like GOLD, kill their stupid bureaucracy requirements and let them run more freely.

That’s the bare minimum.

I have other suggestions. I think you should get together with the other publishers and lobby Congress to let you automatically turn all paper books into digital form and pay a 3x higher royalty to any author who doesn’t opt out of the deal.

I think you really ought to speed up. It’s not so hard. Modern businesses run fast, there’s people who know how to make that happen. Three months from agreement in principle to contract, followed by a six week breaching-of-contract delay? Not okay. Amazon’s publishing wing doesn’t make mistakes like that.

Oh, and you really need some new angles on marketing and distribution. You guys don’t get my generation at all. You need to let your bright authors try crazy things. You’re in a hits-based business, stop being so damn conservative. You need more big winners, which requires letting abstract creative thinkers try weird crazy stuff.

Option 2: Cancel My Ass, And Do Whatever Bad Things You Can To Me

I wouldn’t blame you after this stunt I just pulled!

Look, I’m sure you’re all unhappy with me. I’m not saying pleasant things.

But here’s my basic message:

*Your industry is fucking slow
*Your industry disrespects authors
*Your industry under-equips and disrespects editors
*Your industry is lacking basic modern technology
*Your industry uses draconian contracts with artists which destroy goodwill
*Your industry is conservative about trying new things despite being in a deathspiral (this is the most confusing one to me)
*Your industry doesn’t foster a good enough collaboration among basic functions like editing and marketing
*Everyone knows this, and thinks it’s okay “because that’s how publishing is”…
*…but it’s not okay, and we all know that deep down…
*…so, do something about it before it’s too late.

Respectfully Yours,
Sebastian Marshall

Congress to Vote on EXPLICITLY Creating a Police State

or

If You Thought Police Brutality Was Bad … Wait Until You See What Congress Wants to Do Next Week

The Gay Secretary

This bill S-1867 should send chill down the spines of all people no matter what the political persuasion is.

Under the ‘worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial’ provision of S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is set to be up for a vote on the Senate floor Monday, the legislation will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who supports the bill.

S-1867 is going to a full vote on the floor of the Senate next week after passing a cloture procedure vote. This bill was passed by committee in secret behind closed doors without a public hearing. I can see why the secrecy. It is because because these men see the American streets as a battlefield because they see the people as the enemy now because we threatens their power. Why because these politicians have sold their soul and their country out for power. This bill is an act treason.

This bill also repeals the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 that prohibits US Military to be deployed on the streets of America to be used as a police force. Now I know why the founders were so dead set against having a standing army. It is because of this reason the Army, can be used to oppress the American people. Abe Lincoln used the Union Army to arrest journalist, state legislators and even shut down the congress. Suspending the right of habeas corpus should be real frightening to everyone. To the governors, mayors, county sheriff, police officers. all local politicians and state legislators should really pay attention. They better find out really fast that none of them are safe if this bill becomes law. We can see Soldiers or Marines coming to arrest any local or state politicians that stands in the way.

What really should have every person's hair stand on the back of their neck is no one is safe. Not only will the Army, Marines and foreign troops be used to arrest dissidents. These powers could be expanded to even arrest Obama's useful idiots who supported this madness. In any tyranny, no one is safe. Not even the troops or the enforcers. This power could be used to remove people from their homes in rural areas and relocate them to the big cities under UN Agenda 21. Washington DC is now becoming unhinged because the people are waking up and if they do not try to send a chilling effect into the population, they all could be going to jail for treason and fraud.

I know it sounds incredible. New powers to use the military worldwide, even within the United States? Hasn’t anyone told the Senate that Osama bin Laden is dead, that the president is pulling all of the combat troops out of Iraq and trying to figure out how to get combat troops out of Afghanistan too? And American citizens and people picked up on American or Canadian or British streets being sent to military prisons indefinitely without even being charged with a crime. Really? Does anyone think this is a good idea? And why now?

But there is a way to stop this dangerous legislation. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly Congressional review of detention power. The Udall Amendment will make sure that the bill matches up with American valuues.

The solution is the Udall Amendment; a way for the Senate to say no to indefinite detention without charge or trial anywhere in the world where any president decides to use the military. Instead of simply going along with a bill that was drafted in secret and is being jammed through the Senate, the Udall Amendment deletes the provisions and sets up an orderly review of detention power. It tries to take the politics out and put American values back in.

Now is the time to stop this bad idea. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Pepper Spray Boy: A new cultural icon for the 21st Century!

WOE IS ME!!! I need to lie down. Maybe on this public beach, with this shirtless hunkAUUAHAGHAGAGAGHHGHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

What, you don’t understand the word ‘no’?? Its a really simple wordAUUAHGHAGHGAGHGHAGAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

“Allright, allright!! He says ‘Wrapped up like a douche’!! Whatever you say, Cass. I mean Mohammed. Whatever. Just stop hitting me! If you don’t want to accept that there is an earlier version of the song where you can clearly hear the word ‘deuce’ then fine. I’ll agree with you if you just stop bashing on meAUUAHHAGHAGAHAGAHAGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

“Man this game is RUFF. I think I’ve just gonna have a seat on the grass for a minute and rest up. I’m dog tired! These defensive tackles are coming after me like pitbulls! What? You want me to ease up on the dog puns? Jesus will you all just lighten upAUUAHAGHAGAHAGHGHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

AUUAHHAGHAGGAGAGHGHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

O’Reilly: No right to second-guess the police

The Gay Secretary

Well Bill, maybe you are too much of a pussy to stand up to tyrants, but the fact is that use of pepper spray is ILLEGAL in California except in cases of self defense. Nobody was attacking that police officer. His use of pepper spray is therefore a criminal violation. It is assault if not battery, and he should be in jail.

And Bill, if you are going to be such a clueless idiot regarding the law and the Constitution please resign your job because you are making the rest of the corporate media presstitutes look really bad.

TSA Protestor ; The Bikini Girl

Potted plant predicted to win in 2012. Honest, I'm only repeating what the reporter said..

Of course, here in the US, drugs are simply making too much money!

The Gay Secretary

This is absolutely twisted.

Portugal did a very intelligent thing some years ago, and decriminalized small amounts of drug use, pointing people in the direction of rehabilitation rather than prison. The result? A well documented fall in drug usage.

"Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success," says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does." Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html#ixzz1ekOZ5WZx

Of course, here in the US, drugs are simply making too much money (and particularly when it comes to the banks laundering the drug money) for decriminalization to ever have a chance here.

Holiday card free to analyze off to!!

Cops Bust Open Face of Black Friday Grandpa

Yes, Virginia, there really are conspiracies!

American Scofflaw

When discussing conspiracies like the JFK assassination, or 9-11, one of the most often arguments one hears from the protectors of the orthodoxy is that conspiracies large enough to assassinate a President or fake a terror attack at the World Trade Towers simply cannot exist.

There required size makes it impossible, or so goes the non-reasoning. The players include the scientists given millions of dollars to provide fancy looking graphs that politicians like Al gore used to scare us all into agreeing to carbon taxes and a one-world government, officials in the US, the UK, and at the UN's IPCC, and financial players intending to reap rich rewards off of quite literally hot air, such as Goldman Sachs.

Climate scientists are to real environmentalists what tele-evangelists are to faith.

But the sheer scale of Climategate proves that vast conspiracies not only do happen, but are the normal course of events. For every one that stands exposed, such as this one, expect ten more not yet revealed.

Climategate proves that such vast conspiracies do exist!!

Pepper Spray Cop tries to stop raising of the flag at Iwo Jima and JFK

American Scofflaw

All Hail the Pepper Cop Sprayer

Russian news anchor shows Obama the middle finger

MF Global - 1.2 BILLION Missing from Clients accounts - yet NO One has been arrested or accused of Stealing!?

The Gay Secretary

This is so unbelievable and it is hard to understand how it is possible. How is it the most blatant stealing of money by a Wall Street Broker out of it's clients accounts and there have been no arrest or charges filed against anyone?

It is being found 1.2 Billion has been stolen from people's accounts at MF Global, not 600 Million!


The amount of customer money missing from the collapsed trading firm MF Global may be more than $1.2 billion — double previous estimates — the trustee dismantling the firm’s brokerage unit said on Monday.
Regulators currently suspect that MF Global — at the time run by Jon S. Corzine, the former Democratic governor of New Jersey — improperly used customer money for its own purposes in the days before filing for Chapter 11 protection on Oct. 31.

Investigators are considering two possible situations. One is that MF Global used the money to meet trading partners’ demands for extra cash, which could come back. The other is that it was used to cover trading losses, which would mean that the money cannot be recovered.

I wrote about MF Global - in detailing who they are and who the board of directors are. It is everything about MF Global

I also wrote about the Bankruptcy judge giving them 8 million to keep them going.

If anyone questions Main Stream Media and them being controlled by the banks and corporations, you need not question it anymore. There has been no mention of MF Global and their stealing of clients money since Oct. 31st and the filing of bankruptcy. CNBC has mentioned it as they have to, they are a financial network.
Most people do not even know about MF Global as the networks have not said a single word about it.

From the fact MSM is ignoring MF Global, proves it is big news and the media is completely controlled, they are not actual news networks but propaganda networks. Otherwise they would be giving people the real news that affects them.

It seems they are afraid people would get smart and realize Wall Street has been given the green light to blatantly steal money out of people's accounts and are not held accountable for it.

If I went to the bank and stole One Dollar out of someone's account, I would be charged with a Felony and thrown in jail! BUT a Wall Street broker can literally STEAL 1.2 Billion and NO One is arrested or charged with theft?!

*Coughs* this is from Murdoch's Sky News. One does apologise.

Screening Still a Pain at Airports, Fliers Say

The Johnson family threatened to sue History Channel, which is why this segment, preserved at this link

American Scofflaw

This is the final segment of "The Men Who Killed Kennedy" that claims Lyndon Johnson was part of the group that assassinated John F. Kennedy. The Johnson family threatened to sue History Channel, which is why this segment, preserved at this link, is not included in the DVD set or aired when the rest of the segments are broadcast.

Johnson's motive for wanting Kennedy killed was not just to become President, but because Johnson had learned from one of his staffers, who roomed with Kennedy party-girl Mary Jo Kopechne (later to die in Ted Kennedy's car when he was run off the road at Chappaquiddick), that John F. Kennedy was going to replace him as Vice President in the second term, which would have ended Johnson's White House aspirations.

The Use of Pepper Spray On Peaceful Protesters Is Illegal … And Can Seriously Injure Or Kill

Trust, me this was no accident, but a brutally logical response by police

The Gay Secretary

When police believe they have the right to kick, run a bicycle into, and pepper-spray a pregnant woman, who miscarries as a a result of this abuse She claimed that police hit her in the stomach twice before pepper spraying her. One officer struck her with his foot and another pushed his bicycle into her. it is obvious that they believe that there will be no consequences for their actions.

Police who believe they are empowered to maim and kill even people desperately attempting to get out of the way of demonstrations, to the point of killing their unborn children as well.

The police are not legally allowed to use force unless they themselves are under attack. So all these photos of police spraying pepper spray on peaceful protesters are cases of assault and battery by the cops, who should be in prison right now.

Mr. President, I would really rather that the US government not find out the hard way on this issue

The Gay Secretary

Unfortunately, just because a potential military attack against Iran by the US and/or Israel, would be the most catastrophically stupid, ham-fisted, short-sited, and ill-considered action they could take, individually or collectively, is absolutely no guarantee that they won't do it!

Obama knows his numbers are crashing in the polls; the economy is tanking; people are still losing their homes and their jobs in record numbers, with no end in sight. Bottom line: Obama has absolutely NOTHING concrete and positive upon which to run in 2012.

He is desperate to have AIPAC deliver the Jewish vote in the country to the Democrats at every level, so may cynically decide that such an attack would be a "game-changer", going in to the 2012 elections.

But I would caution him that such a military attack may go horrifically wrong, and we could well lose this one, for the following reasons:

1. Our manufacturing infrastructure has been largely offshored. This means that critically needed parts will not get into the supply chain for our military in time to be useful.

2. No lender in their collective right mind, understanding that the US government has a 13 trillion dollar deficit, would ever lend the US government the necessary money to pursue such a war, no matter how much interest they could charge, and you can bet that would be usurious.

3. Our military is already overstretched and stressed, due to current commitments.

4. Russia, which has sent warships off the coast of Syria in order to prevent another NATO-style "intervention" as it did with Libya, may well join the fray on the side of Iran.

Russia and China have really been the adults in the room, geopolitically, for some time now. But there is going to be a point where both countries are going to say "Enough!" to the US's pre-emptive wars without end.

The question is, when such a moment will happen,, and would an attack against Iran be the tipping point in this equation?!?

Mr. President, I would really rather that the US government not find out the hard way on this issue; both Russia and China are nuclear-armed countries, and would suggest to you that war with either - or both - China and Russia is a really, extraordinarily bad idea.

Girl manhandled - We noticed that cops were pulling the girl by her hair

American Scofflaw

Perhaps the sisterhood could AVENGE this girl?!

Lieberman, Brown Launch Probe Into Congressional Insider Trading

The Gay Secretary

If Lieberman is involved, then this is Israel's way of guaranteeing that Congress will go along with sending your kids off to die in a war with Iran!

I was rather surprised when 60 Minutes covered the insider trading story especially just ahead of an election year, but now I see why they did it. It's the warning shot across the bow of Congress that their careers are over if they dare refuse to do support the war agenda!

If you want to know how Israel controls the US Government, this is a textbook example. Ignore, even encourage high level crimes, then use those crimes as leverage to force their actions.

Was millionaire's lover knocked out before she died?

American Scofflaw

As it turns out, there was a news helicopter over the crime scene almost immediately and a photo taken from the chopper shows the woman's lifeless body on the ground, BUT THE PINK ROPE THAT SHE SUPPOSEDLY HUNG HERSELF WITH THAT APPEARS IN LATER CRIME SCENE PHOTOS IS NOT YET THERE!

As a side note, the claim that she was bound, and then hung herself is only possible if she sat on the top rail of the balcony, swung her legs over, then dropped. While that balcony rail might hold her weight, it certainly would not halt a drop of that much weight that far without deforming.

If this had been a classic case of sexual asphyxia gone wrong, there would be no need for a cover-up. So, I agree this is a murder.

Young computer whiz disabled more than 100 cars from his computer

If we told you that a young computer whiz disabled more than 100 cars from his computer, you'd probably think "Man, this Hackers remake is gonna suck." That's the sort of wildly impossible feat that could only come from Hollywood's ridiculous conception of technology ("Oh no, the hackers have taken over our cars using their cache matrix nodes!") And yet, it happened. And here's the guy who did it:

Via Washingtonexaminer.com
The real-life Angelina Jolie.

Twenty-year-old Omar Ramos-Lopez was an employee for an Austin-based car dealership until February of 2010, when he was let go from the company and his passwords were revoked. His former coworker's passwords, however, were not. This was a problem for the customers of the Texas Auto Center.

You see, part of Ramos-Lopez's job involved using a system a called WebTeckPlus to remotely turn off the cars whose owners were late on payments -- basically, there's a little box installed inside every car that, upon receiving a wireless signal, can disable the ignition system. You can see where this is going.

Photos.com
That is, nowhere.

Using someone else's password, Ramos-Lopez logged in to the system and shut down the cars of more than 100 random unsuspecting customers, who then proceeded to flood his former employer's office with angry calls since, you know, they weren't actually behind on their payments at all. Some of them even reported horns going off incessantly in the middle of the night, which was also within Ramos-Lopez's newfound powers and could only be stopped by going out and removing the car's battery. We're guessing that most of these people weren't even aware that something like this existed (we sure didn't) and assumed some sort of demonic possession was involved.

This caused a variety of problems. While the system can't shut down cars that are already in movement, anyone who was driving to work and stopped to buy a falafel suddenly found themselves stranded in the middle of the street. It took two days for Texas Auto Center to figure out what was causing this -- in the meantime, people missed work, missed school and had to spend money on tow trucks because of a jobless IT guy with too much time on his hands.

Photos.com
They should feel lucky that he didn't activate "self-destruct" mode.

Employees at the dealership first noticed something weird was going on earlier the same month, when they were billed for $130,000 in GPS equipment no one remembered ordering. Also, Tupac Shakur had apparently purchased a 2009 vehicle from them, which would require either a time machine or enormous forethought on his part. Turns out Ramos-Lopez had been going over the company's database, changing names and messing with the records like a common Wikipedia vandal.

Eventually, the police tracked down Ramos-Lopez's IP address and charged him with breach of computer security and with being a dick. Which would be a terrible injustice if it turned out Ramos-Lopez was innocent and that Tupac's ghost was responsible for everything.

Read more: 5 True Stories That Prove You Shouldn't Piss Off The IT Guy | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/article_19528_5-true-stories-that-prove-you-shouldnt-piss-off-it-guy.html#ixzz1eMYbIDId

Is the U.S. goading China in the South China Sea dispute?

The Gay Secretary

Memo to President Obama; sir, you have domestic economy in ruins; infrastructure crumbling; homeless Veterans sleeping in our streets; and 32% of this country's children now live in poverty.
In 2010, the Census survey indicated that over 32 percent of children across the country were living in poverty, compared to nearly 31 percent in 2009, bringing the number of poverty-stricken US children to 15.7 million from the previously recorded 14.7 million, Reuters reported on Thursday.

When I supported you, marginally over John McCain in 08, I really thought you understood what the agenda was the American people wanted you to tackle. But the track that this country has taken under your watch, both domestically, and internationally, has been the same, if not worse, than what I would have expected from the McCain administration.

Wars have been expanded exponentially; extrajudicial assassinations, without any hint of due process, have been institutionalized; the alleged "transparency" you promised us has been just about as transparent as squid ink; and the incredible debt into which borrowing to support these wars grows every second, courtesy of compound interest.

The bottom line is, you haven't remedied any problem you faced when you took the Oath of Office; but you have managed to exacerbate all of those problems, by making some absolutely catastrophically bad decisions. You have nothing to run on but serial failures in foreign and domestic policy issues, so how are you trying to deflect the genuine - and well-deserved - anger of the American people?

By finding another war,ANY WAR, to stop Americans from thinking, "Is my life better than it was 4 years ago?!?" And sir, the answer to that question, on the part of all but the one percent in this country, is a big, fat, hairy, resounding "HELL, NO!!"

Campus police said the officers had been surrounded by protesters and commanders have defended their actions

American Scofflaw

Very nasty, indeed!!!

Sadly, we are entering a very bloody time in the nation's history, with the government willing to spill the people's blood to protect the Street

American Scofflaw

Despite an iron-fisted shut down of overpasses to block protest signs, Asia has heard the people of the United States cry out that they will no longer pay for US Government mistakes or Wall Street's crimes.

As a result, Asia will buy no more US debt, and is openly worried about repayment of the debts they currently hold. Obama's insults to China show that he has thrown a tantrum, and desperate to borrow more money, he has to show the rest of the world that the people of the United States are chained down and unable to refuse to pay for the costs of Wall Street's Mortgage-backed Securities fraud, the biggest financial swindle in history, which is what has brought the global private banking network to the edge of collapse.

I expect the police will be given orders to really start beating up the protesters before more of the world's financial centers realize that the US Government cannot make good on its promise, made and demonstrated during the S&L Bailout of the 1980s, to always have the taxpayers cover Wall Street's losses.

"I'll show YOU who I really work for, Barack!"

Mike Tyson Plays Herman Cain in Parody Ad

Florida State trooper hated by cops for pulling over Miami cop doing 120mph finds her cruiser covered in shit!

Please share this with everyone falling for the "Attack Iran" crap.

The Gay Secretary

So here we are again. Israel is desperate to get the invasion of Iran going right now, before the Americans get kicked out of Iraq and leave the road from Iran to Israel wide open for a retaliatory invasion. And once again the presstitutes of the US media are assuring us there is good reason to destroy Iran, just as they assured us there was good reason to destroy Iraq.

The IAEA report states clearly that they did not find any evidence that Iran has diverted fuel for their power station to weapons.

What the IAEA found is that Iran is testing explosives, which has non-nuclear military applications, and Iran is in possession of Krytron switches, which are used in may industrial applications including photocopier machines.

All the other claims in the report and secondary accusations stemming from the "Laptop of Death", a computer literally handed to the US by the MEK in 2004 containing all sorts of incriminating materials.

But there are many reasons to suspect this is another fraud like the forged "Yellow Cake" documents referred to be George W. Bush in his 2003 State of the Union speech. For one, many of the documents from the "Laptop of Death" are in English, a rather strange language to use on what are supposed to be top secret Iranian government documents. Second, while the IAEA was under Elbaradei, and much less politically driven, a request was made for the US to share the actual laptop and its contents with the IAEA for examination and verification. The US Government refused. The IAEA under Elbaradei refused to accept the word of the US Government that the laptop and its contents were genuine and the provided summaries accurate.

Now, of course, Elbaradei is gone and the IAEA under new leadership is considerably more pliant and agreeable to the pro-war agenda, as evidenced by their willingness to refer to the 2004 "Laptop of Death" without any proof that the contents actually came from Iran, or that the information provided by the US Government is an accurate portrayal of the contents. After the lies about Iraq, such gullibility is stupid and dangerous.

People not only is this not true, it isn't even what the IAEA report said.

Please share this with everyone falling for the
"Attack Iran" crap.