W.J. Astore
The Moon is the brightest object in the night sky. It has so many meanings in our lives, our history, our folklore and myths. Yet we always see it from one side. Until the beginning of the space age, we never saw its dark side. And that dark side presents us with a whole new idea of the Moon, as so:
I love seeing familiar objects in unfamiliar ways. Here we see the battered side of the Moon. In a sense, the Moon acts as a shield for the Earth, with some asteroids getting funneled into its gravitational well and striking its surface rather than possibly colliding with the Earth. Without a large Moon near us, life on Earth may have proved more precarious, with more mass extinctions due to asteroid strikes. (I think I’m right here, based upon my own reading on our solar system, which I admit was many, many moons ago.)
Can we also see the dark side of other objects? See the familiar in strikingly unfamiliar ways? How about America? It’s not easy, because those who try to help us to see are often punished for their probing in darker places.
Who are some of these “astronomers” who seek to show us America in a new light? I’d like to mention a few names here: Daniel Ellsberg, Daniel Hale, John Kiriakou, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden. And let’s throw an Aussie in there too: Julian Assange. And an outspoken Catholic worker by the name of Dorothy Day. Or how about an anarchist like Emma Goldman. These men and women (and many others) sought to shine a probing light on some of the darker sides of American behavior, and you won’t be surprised to learn that they suffered for it.
My point here is not to focus exclusively on the dark side of America. Rather, just as it’s an incomplete picture to see the Moon from only one side and perspective, so too is it a limiting experience to see America from only one side. And that “one side” is typically the one most favorable to America, the brightest one, the least cratered one, even the romantic one.
If we seek to understand the Moon in its entirety, we must see all its sides — especially its most battered one. The same is true of America.
Bracing Views 
I like your email today. Write more, please.
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The Chinese have had a lander and rover on the “far side” of the moon for over a year now and they experience the same 14 days of sunlight and 14 days of darkness as the “near side” of the moon (always visible from Earth) which regularly cycles from “full” to “crescent.” Just saying . . .
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I’m sure glad there are six American flags on “our” side of the Moon, Mike.
From Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17. America rules! 🙂
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Does anybody remember back then
how lots of folks were thinking:
“If Humans can put Humans on The Moon
when they make their minds up to it, then
We can do Anything.”
Remember that?
One of the problems is that We
have never figured out
what to put Our minds to
next.
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Jeff, here is some Stones lyrics for you today my man!
The Rolling Stones Lyrics
“Doom And Gloom”
I had a dream last night I was piloting a plane
And all the passengers were drunk and insane
I crash landed in a Louisiana swamp
Shot up a horde of zombies
But I come out on top
What’s it all about?
Guess it just reflects my mood
Sitting in the dirt
Feeling kind of hurt
When all I hear is doom and gloom
With all this darkness in my room
Through the light, your face I see
Baby take a chance
Baby won’t you dance with me
We lost all that treasure in an overseas war
Just goes to show you don’t get what you paid for
Bowing to the rich and you worry ’bout the poor
Put my feet up on the couch and lock all the doors
What’s that funky noise
It’s the tightening of their screws
Sitting in the dirt
Feeling kind of hurt
All I hear is doom and gloom
But when those drums go boom boom boom
Through the night, your face I see
Baby take a chance
Baby won’t you dance with me
Yeah!
Baby won’t you dance with me
Ah yeah
Fracking deep for oil but there’s nothing in the sump
There’s kids all picking at the garbage dump
I’m running out of water so I better prime the pump
I’m trying to stay sober but I end up drunk
We’ll be eating dirt
Living on the side of the road
There’s some food for thought
Gonna make your head explode
Feeling kind of hurt yeah
But all I hear is doom and gloom
With all this darkness in my room
Through the night, your face I see
Baby, take a chance
Won’t you dance with me
Yeah!
Come on
Baby won’t you dance with me
I’m feeling kind of hurt
Baby won’t you dance with me
Oh yeah!
Sitting in the dirt
Baby won’t you dance with me
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Sorry, i misplaced my response to You, Dennis. See it below Caitlin’s piece.
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The internet and the internet search engine – easily the most important thing we put our minds to next. Some argue the greatest invention mankind has ever made. Ever.
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i agree, Dennis, that the Internet certainly ranks right up there with the printing press, telescope and microscope, steam engine, electricity for lights and motors and then radio, television, and radar, x-ray, anesthesia, and antibiotics and vaccines, among other greatest inventions ever, at least at their time.
But i’m not sure we put our minds to creating the Internet in quite the same way that we put our minds to getting to the Moon.
i don’t think anybody involved in the earliest stages of the development of the Internet had any idea whatsoever about what it could and ultimately would become. Initially, it was conceived totally as a means to facilitate communications in government and scientific research, and that’s about it.
There was no “Vision” of what the Inet could be used for ~ and by whom ~ beyond that. Nor was there any specific, ultimate, end-Goal other than for bureaucrats and researchers to be able to directly communicate with each other. Nor, again, was there even a clue as to what it could ~ and in time would ~ become.
But getting to the Moon by the end of the decade required a very definite Goal, with enabling Objectives along the way to be able to reach that Goal within the specified Timeline. A totally different way of putting one’s mind to something.
In sum, the Internet just sort of happened; but the Moon Landings were MADE to happen.
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Great post Jeff, a lot to chew on here.
I’m going to argue that the internet did not just sort of happen with no vision.
The DARPA Scientists and University researchers certainly had a vision of what they were inventing. Sergey Brin and Larry Page had a definite goal of what they wanted to achieve with the Google search engine. These people MADE the internet happen.
And one other thing Jeff that answers a question you have oft asked. The internet is an example of something that was a direct result of a government private enterprise joint venture. Just like landing on the moon was.
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Glad You found something to chew on, Dennis. That always makes my day when it happens to me.
As far as i understand, those folks at DARPA, etc, were looking to create that Search Engine for the bureaucrats and scientific researchers who would be plugged in to whatever it was that they eventually came up with; and not for everybody on the Planet who had access to what the Internet became and is today. Their “vision” did not include things like Amazon, Facebook and Twitter, Streaming, Spam, and especially, the Blogosphere.
Had somebody known that things like Social Media, Chat Rooms, Comments Sections, and especially “alt” News and Views sites, etc. would become standard fare, whoever was funding them might have seriously re-thought whether this “Internet” thing was such a good idea after all.
Are You aware of any definitive histories of the Internet that explore those early days? i’m sure it is a fascinating story.
And i have no problems with “joint ventures” between the government and private enterprise. In many ~ if not most cases ~ that’s the ONLY way government can get anything done in the real world.
What i object to are all those “Cost-Plus Contracts” that characterize many, if not most dealings between the government and the private sector.
You know: That’s where the contractor gets reimbursed for all Expenses, and then gets a certain percentage of those Expenses as pure profit. Even if ~ ESPECIALLY if ~ those expenses go far, far beyond the terms of the original estimate of Expenses and Total Cost for the project in the contract between the government and the contractor.
Given Your 40+ years in and around the MICC, You may have at least some cursory knowledge of what i’m talking about.
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Speaking of the “Dark Side,” why does this sound like the start of something distressingly familiar…?
While reading about the terrorist attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, the following paragraphs caught my immediate attention:
“The attack on the hotel is the first major terror incident in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took over in May.
“Somalia’s previous president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, avoided any major confrontation with al-Shabab. But Mohamud has said HIS GOVERNMENT WILL TAKE THE OFFENSIVE AGAINST THE GROUP’S THOUSANDS OF FIGHTERS, WITH THE BACKING OF RETURNING U.S. FORCES.” [ https://apnews.com/article/al-qaida-africa-somalia-mogadishu-shabab-d252c94ee7f73019939b03c223dca093 ] [EMPHASIS added.]
Ehhh.,,, WHAT returning U.S. forces? Which led to this:
BIDEN APPROVES PLAN TO REDEPLOY US TROOPS TO SOMALIA by Natasha Bertrand
(CNN) May 16, 2022 – President Joe Biden has approved a request by the Pentagon to redeploy US troops to Somalia in an effort to counter the terrorist group al-Shabaab, a senior administration official said on Monday.
The move reverses a decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw all US troops from the country in 2020.
The US will reposition US forces in east Africa and move to restore a US military presence in Somalia in consultation with the Somali government, the official told reporters on Monday. The official said “under 500” troops will be sent back into the country but declined to provide a precise number. He emphasized, however, that the Pentagon “will not be restoring the full contingent of operators present in Somalia before” the previous administration’s withdrawal, which was about 750 military personnel.
Continued at https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/16/politics/somalia-troop-redeployment/index.html
i wonder if there’s a MAACA: Military Advisory and Assistance Command, Africa.
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Heh. We don’t need no stinkin MAACA; we’ve already got AFRICOM…
CORPORATE MEDIA MOSTLY MUM AS US STRIKES KILL AT LEAST 20 IN SOMALIA by Brett Wilkins
Conflict monitors on Friday drew attention to a series of U.S. airstrikes in Somalia in recent months, attacks that have received relatively little attention in the American corporate media despite having reportedly killed more than 20 people.
“If you were unaware that we were bombing Somalia, don’t feel bad, this is a completely under-the-radar news story, one that was curiously absent from the headlines in all of the major newspapers this morning,” wrote Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, a senior adviser at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
On Wednesday, Antiwar.com’s Dave DeCamp reported that U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) launched its second strike on Somalia in a week. AFRICOM said its initial assessment found the attack, which occurred in Beledweyne and killed 13 fighters belonging to the al-Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al-Shabaab, and that no civilians were harmed.
“Bottom line, it’s been a long time since the United States was not bombing Somalia.” Continued at: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/08/19/corporate-media-mostly-mum-us-strikes-kill-least-20-somalia
Does anybody think there’s any linkage whatsoever between AFRICOM’s strikes, American troops being sent back to Somalia, and al-Shabaab’s seizure of that hotel?
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THEY LIE TO US by Caitlin Johnstone
They lie to us all our lives about what soldiers do,
about what cops do,
about what journalists do,
about what presidents do.
They lie to us all our lives about how laws are made,
about how kings are made,
about how culture is made,
about how norms are made.
They lie to us all our lives about what our minds are for,
about what our hearts are for,
about what our neighbors are for,
about what foreigners are for.
The world is confusing
and they make it more confusing,
on purpose,
because they thrive in confusion,
and now we watch as the world turns to ashes
carried on the back of confusion
made by news men and corporate creatures who eat ashes.
And we stumble in confusion,
eyes darting behind lenses made of confusion,
trying to understand with minds made of confusion,
trying to feel our way through with hearts shackled by confusion.
Searching for an angel egg we know is there
but can’t seem to find
because who turned out the goddamn lights?
And why can’t I figure out which way is up?
And oop off we go chasing distractions again
for the next news cycle
the next election cycle
the next spin cycle
the next amnesia cycle.
They lie to us all our lives,
and then when we catch them in a lie they just say,
Oh, the person who gave you that information is bad,
or,
Oh, that came from Russian hackers,
or,
We made a mistake but we don’t do that anymore,
or,
Don’t be a conspiracy theorist,
or,
Hey! Look over there!
or,
We already knew that, it’s no big deal.
And then everyone forgets,
and the confusion churns on.
But the angel egg is there in our mind’s eye,
in our heart of hearts,
haunting our dreams,
calling us home,
the embryo holding our original eyes
for whenever we are ready to claim them.
They lie to us all our lives about what our country is,
about what our government is,
about what money is,
about what nature is.
They lie to us all our lives about where the answers are,
about where our friends are,
about where our enemies are,
about where our claws are.
They lie to us all our lives,
and they make the world confusing,
and beneath that confusion we are watching them
with our original eyes,
with our primal eyes,
with our natural eyes,
with our uncivilized eyes.
Watching them,
like lions watching a gazelle,
and waiting,
with primordial patience,
until it is time
to make our move.
https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/they-lie-to-us
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Heh. That’s funny, Dennis.
When i saw the title of Bill’s latest article, i thought that maybe he was going to link Pink Floyd’s smash 1973 album THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON and recent and current events here and around the world.
[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Side_of_the_Moon ]
But Thanks for the Stones’ rant. Over the years, i have found the following far more applicable and appropriate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kl6q_9qZOs
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LOL. Jeff, with your oft too pessimistic outlook on human nature…
I would have thought this would have been more your theme song…
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i’m sure You would have, Dennis.
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Having watched it a couple of times. Dennis, that is a very neat and powerful video.
Not sure i follow all the lyrics, but the pix are perfect for the beat, music, and whole idea. How many of those “Losers” can You identify?
FYI: THE STORY BEHIND THE FAMOUS PHOTO OF JOHNNY CASH AT SAN QUENTIN PRISON by Allison Johnson [ Includes a video of the song “San Quentin.”
Besides the picture of him standing outside Folsom Prison, the image of Johnny Cash giving the middle finger to the camera at San Quentin is the most iconic photo of Johnny Cash there is. The story goes that during his legendary performance at San Quentin Prison — his second live prison recording after Folsom — music photographer Jim Marshall asked Johnny Cash to take a picture for the warden. JOHNNY DECIDED THAT FLIPPING THE BIRD WAS THE MOST APPROPRIATE GESTURE TO MAKE FOR THE WARDEN, and it was that moment that the iconic photo was born. It’s not a surprise: Johnny Cash used country music to voice his concerns about those who were dealt a bad hand in life, and struggled with many demons himself. Next time you find yourself singing along to “The Man in Black,” you’ll surely hear lyrics that sympathize with all walks of life.
Source: https://www.wideopencountry.com/johnny-cash-middle-finger/ [EMPHASIS added.]
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With all due respect to Caitlin Johnstone’s many talents, her concept of “poetry” reminds me of something Robert Frost said to the effect that “free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.” For my part, I would address the same subject matter with an ear towards a White House orchestral dance number from the 1995 film, “The American President,” directed by Hollywood “shit-lib” (as Jimmy Dore calls him) Rob Reiner:
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Thank You, Michael, for sharing Your take on the subject at hand.
i think Ms Johnstone’s concept of poetry is more along the lines of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s POETRY AS INSURGENT ART, which begins as follows:
I am signaling you thru the flames……
The North Pole is not where it used to be.
Manifest Destiny is no longer manifest.
Civilization self-destructs.
Nemesis is knocking at the door.
What are poets for, in such an age? What is the use of poetry?
The state of the world calls out for poetry to save it.
If you would be a poet, create works
capable of answering the challenge of
apocalyptic times, even if this means
sounding apocalyptic….
…an American or a non-American, you can
conquer the conquerors with words.
If you would be a poet, write living
newspapers. Be a reporter from outer space
filing dispatches to some Supreme
Managing Editor who believes in full
disclosure and has a low tolerance for
bullshit.
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That’s interesting, Bill, that You included Emma Goldman in America’s roster of Truth Sayers from Ellsberg to Snowden, Manning, et al, and Assange.
One of her most more profoundly accurate disclosures was “If voting could actually, really change anything, it would be illegal.”
That goes right along with one of the very few things Joseph Stalin ever said that was and still is true: “It’s not who votes that counts; it’s who counts the votes.” Particularly appropriate re America’s Election2020, eh?
And i have little doubt that she would have whole-heartedly endorsed George Carlin’s: “Don’t vote. It only encourages the mother fuckers.”
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Yes, I love that quote from Goldman.
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“So long as elites and powerful forces are able to concoct wars and geopolitics in secret, we, the people, will never see a day of peace on Earth. Not even a single minute in fact … likely not even a second. Aggression, hatred, greed, jealousy and fear may be the ingredients of war, but secrecy is the heat that it needs to rise … the fuel that turns the disapproving into blind followers. So long as secrecy prevails as a fundamental right of states, peace, unity and brotherhood will always remain dreams … increasingly jaded ones.”
“If we are ever going to escape the 21st century with less bloodshed than the 20th century, we’re going to have to strip our governments of the right to lie to us citizens. In this information age, where gigatons of information zip around the globe each second, and where the geopolitical, financial, and ecological stakes are high, we need a new human right… .”
The article proposes the following “amendment to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to every constitution of every country in the world,” including, especially, The United States of America:
“EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT SECRETS. THIS RIGHT INCLUDES:
FREEDOM FROM STATE DECEPTION,
FREEDOM FROM CORPORATE MISINFORMATION,
FREEDOM FROM FINANCIAL MANIPULATION,
AND THE RIGHT TO FULL PUBLIC DISCLOSURE ON ALL MATTERS
PERTAINING TO PEACE, SECURITY, ECOLOGY, AND FINANCE.”
From “Radical Transparency,” Adbusters, Issue #110, December, 2013
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You left out Howard Zinn.
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Yes — I left out a lot of people.
Think of MLK and Malcolm X, for example. James Baldwin. WEB Du Bois. Frederick Douglass.
America doesn’t lack perceptive critics. We lack an educational system that values such critics, and a culture willing to open itself to criticism.
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i’m curious, Bill. Whose fault is it that we have such an education system?
And can You name any culture that opens itself to criticism?
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Jeff: I taught college for 15 years, It’s obviously my fault.
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Hardly. The education system was screwed up long before You began teaching.
Seriously, Bill: What do You think is wrong with America’s system of educating its Citizens? And who and/or what is responsible for that?
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Hi Jeff: In 2009, I wrote about some of the problems I saw with higher ed. Here’s the link:
https://tomdispatch.com/william-astore-educating-ourselves-to-oblivion/
I’ve written a few articles at Bracing Views as well. Search under “education.” Thanks.
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Thank You.
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Here’s a reply from JG Moebus that the system blocked as “duplicate” (don’t ask me why):
Excellent article, Bill.
It’s interesting that Eisenhower originally included ‘academic’ [along with ‘congressional’] in the draft of his landmark, oft-quoted speech on the military-industrial-complex. [ https://www.routledge.com/University-in-Chains-Confronting-the-Military-Industrial-Academic-Complex/Giroux/p/book/9781594514234 ]
Here’s what Nick Turse had to say about the “Military-Industrial-Academic Complex” back in 2004:
Since 1961, thanks to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, we’ve all been cognizant of the “unwarranted influence” of the military-industrial complex in America. Later in that decade, SENATOR J. WILLIAM FULBRIGHT SPOKE OUT AGAINST THE MILITARIZATION OF ACADEMIA, WARNING THAT, “IN LENDING ITSELF TOO MUCH TO THE PURPOSES OF GOVERNMENT, A UNIVERSITY FAILS ITS HIGHER PURPOSES,” AND CALLED ATTENTION TO THE EXISTENCE OF WHAT HE TERMED THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL-ACADEMIC COMPLEX OR WHAT HISTORIAN STUART W. LESLIE HAS TERMED THE “GOLDEN TRIANGLE” OF “MILITARY AGENCIES, THE HIGH TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY, AND RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES.”
While we might intuitively accept the existence of a military-academic complex in America, defining and understanding it has never been simple — both because of its ambiguous nature and its dual character. In actuality, the military-academic complex has two distinct arms. The first is the official, out-and-proud, but oft ignored, melding of the military and academia. Since 1802, when Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy, America has been formally melding higher education and the art of warfare. The second is the militarized civilian university — since World War II and the emergence of the national security state, civilian educational institutions have increasingly become engaged in the pursuit of enhanced war-making abilities.
Continued at https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/4976 [EMPHASIS added.]
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Chris Hedges: The Importance of Howard Zinn
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That this RT “On Contact” show is no longer viewable on American TV is a modern tragedy for America.
This particular episode is brilliant stuff by Chris and Ray.
No American TV company could, or would, produce shows with this content.
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I protested vehemently to Bell for censoring RT I subscribed to and enjoyed watching.
I was even contacted by someone from their Executive Office who actually wanted me to believe RT quit Bell and not Bell cancelled RT under pressure by the US and it’s weak Vassal Trudeau, because it would make too many People in the West question the US/NATO anti-everything Russian Proscribed War Propaganda.
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Ray, RT television in New Zealand as of the current time: “RT is on a list of free-to-air DVB satellite services available in New Zealand. Most New Zealand homes already have a standard 60 cm satellite dish fitted which can pick up most of these channels, as these are also used (or have been used in the past) to pick up free-to-air and pay New Zealand television channels from Optus D1 (and historically, Optus B1). A frequency scanning (aka blind-scan) capable set-top box can be used to locate other services.”
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Performing an internet search I am confused now Ray.
Is it actually a fact the one cannot receive RT on ANY USA television feed. Direct TV has it apparently?
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Bell CanaDa is my Server for TV and Internet. Within Days of the War starting, RT was no longer available on my Bell Service. I used to have Bell Satellite with so many Free TV stations that are being charged for now.
Oddly when I type https://www.history.com from the link, it automatically changes to history.ca and I couldn’t find the same story. I abbreviated the link that was referred by another site. Maybe the whole link will work for you?
https://www.history.com/news/chamberlain-kahn-act-std-venereal-disease-imprisonment-women?cmpid=email-hist-inside-history-2022-0822-08222022&om_rid=&~campaign=hist-inside-history-2022-0822
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Does not work either Ray.
I just get a blank screen and ” “This content is not Available in your Area.”
Take care my good man.
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In the US “On Contact” is available from RT.com. Youtube (i.e. Google) seems to be censoring it, however. In the US it’s difficult for the government to exclude content and that apparently includes the internet (First Amendment and all that) although private companies can do what they want to. My impression is that in the Commonwealth government censorship is more allowed and thus is more prevalent. In the US though there is considerable support for “canceling”, especially among young “progressives”. So is that progress? They seem to think so.
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“Censorship is freedom.”
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Arbeit macht frei. So it was said.
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Amen!
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Serious question:
When a New Zealander views the moon standing in Auckland, New Zealand – does he/she always see a different side of the moon than an American standing in Columbus, Ohio, USA?
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Not to my knowledge, Dennis.
Though, since you’re ahead of us by almost a full day, could you please tell me tonight’s winning lottery numbers in the USA? 🙂
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hahahahah…but seriously, are these two celestial bodies in rotational synchronization?
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The moon is slightly egg-shaped and the bulge side is always facing the earth. They are basically locked together. Imagine a person holding a football with one hand as he grips the end of the football. Having the bulge face the earth maximizes gravitational attraction between the earth and moon. So whoever is looking at the moon is always looking at the same picture as anyone else facing the moon.
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“God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.” eh ALEX!
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Dennis, are you waking up to the Light?
The Bible says there would be a great falling away before the 2nd Coming of Christ and the Great Tribulation, the fullness of that Word in the Realities I don’t know as both the MSM and Alternate Media suggest this whole World may be at the precipice?
Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by, you can spend the night beside her
And you know that she’s half-crazy but that’s why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her that you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer that you’ve always been her lover
And you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind
And then you know that she will trust you
For you’ve touched her perfect body with your mind
And Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching from his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain only drowning men could see him
He said all men will be sailors then until the sea shall free them
But he himself was broken, long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him, and you want to travel blind
And then you think maybe you’ll trust him
For he’s touched your perfect body with his mind
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Sorry Ray, I am forbidden to discuss our diametrically opposed views on religion by our scribe here.
Take care.
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I prefer the title “Master and Commander” 🙂
Thanks for the restraint, Dennis!
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Bill, I’m not smart enough to know if this answers my question:
Synchronous rotation is an astronomical term that is used to describe a celestial body orbiting another celestial body in a manner such that the orbiting body takes as long to rotate on its axis as it does to make one orbit. Therefore, it always keeps the same hemisphere pointed at the celestial body it orbits around.
Another explanation for a synchronous rotation is that a celestial body may appear locked in the sky from a surface of another celestial body where it is observed. The moon is in synchronous rotation with the Earth, thereby it appears locked in the sky when we look at it. Most moons in the solar system are known to be of synchronous rotation with the planets their orbit due to what is called as tidal locking.
The moon’s synchronous rotation was said not be like this during its earlier years of existence, however, the Earth’s gravitational pull made the moon’s rotational speed slower. Therefore, some 3-4 billion years ago, the moon was rotating its axis and revolving around the earth in a faster pace than what its present speed. Today, the moon rotates on its axis for 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes while it revolves around the earth. That is why we always see the same side of the moon facing us. Another factor influencing moon’s synchronous rotation is the asymmetrical distribution of its mass, allowing Earth’s gravity to only keep one lunar hemisphere permanently facing the earth.
In thousands of years to come, the moon is predicted to be closer than its present distance of 384,403 kilometers from the earth. At that time, the moon’s synchronous rotation may be faster than its present speed and during those times the tidal forces between the earth and the moon may cause some alterations in current sea levels.
BTW, did you hear about the Scotsman who this time was sure he was going to win tonight’s lottery. “How is that?” asked his friend. “Because this time I bought a ticket!”
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Yes, even down under, you see the same side of the moon as we “up over” types. Because astrophysics.
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From Dark Side of the Moon
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Us (us, us, us, us) and them (them, them, them, them)
And after all we’re only ordinary men
Me
And you (you, you, you)
God only knows
It’s not what we would choose (choose, choose) to do (to do, to do)
Forward he cried from the rear
And the front rank died
And the general sat
And the lines on the map
Moved from side to side
Black (black, black, black)
And blue (blue, blue)
And who knows which is which and who is who
Up (up, up, up, up)
And down (down, down, down, down)
And in the end it’s only round ‘n round (round, round, round)
Haven’t you heard it’s a battle of words
The poster bearer cried
“Listen son”, said the man with the gun
There’s room for you inside
“I mean, they’re not gonna kill ya
So if you give ’em a quick short, sharp, shock
They won’t do it again. Dig it?
I mean he get off lightly, ’cause I would’ve given him a thrashing
I only hit him once! It was only a difference of opinion, but really
I mean good manners don’t cost nothing do they, eh?”
Down (down, down, down, down)
And out (out, out, out, out)
It can’t be helped that there’s a lot of it about
With (with, with, with), without
And who’ll deny it’s what the fighting’s all about?
Out of the way
It’s a busy day
I’ve got things on my mind
For the want of the price
Of tea and a slice
The old man died
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Bill, we could run an experiment. You know, like that guy who was going to determine the speed of light. His buddy stood on an a faraway place with a rag over his lantern…he pulled his off… you saw it, and pulled your rag….oh never mind!
You stand on the moon waving your American flag. I will wait in Auckland and see if I always see you coming around! I’ve a few details to work out yet! hahahaha
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We’ll need a very big American flag but — no worries — America has plenty of them! I’ll steal one at the next NFL football game …
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Or we will steal one from that Chevy dealership I saw in Alabama!
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That was a Confederate battle flag, Dennis …
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Who knew, for all the US condemnation of Iran and their Morals Police, the US did it 1st?
America’s Forgotten Mass Imprisonment of Women Believed to Be Sexually Immoral’
For much of the 20th century in America, a little-known but widespread government program locked people up without trials simply for having sexually transmitted infections—and then forced them to undergo dangerous, poisonous “treatments.”
If they were women, that is.
https://www.history.com/news/chamberlain-kahn-act-std-venereal-disease-imprisonment-women
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Ray, this link is being censured in New Zealand.
Coming up as “This content is not Available in your Area.”
First time I have EVER run across this.
Dennis
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The Chamberlain-Kahn Act will freely download on WikiPedia thought.
Weird!
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Dennis I get that same message when I try to watch a SNL clip shown in some US news source. You’re smart. You’ll find a away around it. Try going to https://www.history.com/news/
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Nope, its that history dot com site that gives me ” “This content is not Available in your Area.”
But as I said The Chamberlain-Kahn Act will freely download in its entirety on WikiPedia though.
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Jotn Pilger – Such is the gross misreporting of the Russia-Ukraine war — Patrick Lawrence is spot-on when he writes that it has ‘stupefied’ the public — that I am posting my film, ‘The War You Don’t See’ from 2010. This film will help explain why.
The US/NATO MASS Media is MANIPULATING the MINDS of the MASSES in this US War with Russia using Ukrainians as the Sacrificial Lambs.
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Thank You for sharing that, Ray.
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