What's Going On . . .

in . . .

*Ukrainian and Russian troops in standoff at Crimean military base Ukrainian

*PM warns of war in case of further escalation Russian senate approves use of Russian military in Ukraine

*China train station knife attack: police hunt suspects
Xinjiang separatists blamed for Saturday's attack at railway station in Kunming in which at least 29 people died

*Oscar Pistorius's family plead for end to media frenzy as trial begins
Uncle of Paralympian accused of girlfriend's murder begs press to end speculation on his personal life while court case is under way

*Gay British man deported from Uganda urges government to help his partner
Bernard Randall says ministers need to do much more for Albert Cheptoyek, facing seven years' prison on indecency charges

*Prime suspect in murder of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin is shot
Drug trafficker John Gilligan in hospital
(source:  http://www.theguardian.com/world/lead)


Harbor Noon
©2013 Raymond M. Jozwiak
from '2014'
available April 8, 2014 at http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak





What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html 

OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4 (and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD). 

My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Fascinatin' . . .

 Did You Know?
Paper generation has decreased by 17 million tons, or 20 percent, in the last 11 years? Virtually all of this decline came in paper grades such as newspaper and writing paper, due to the increased popularity of digital media.  [Source: Waste360, Nov/Dec 2013]

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html 

OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4 (and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD). 

My latest solo release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Black and White. . .

. . . or NOT?   (not to be confused with 'Black & White Then Back' [see below])


. . . all the hubbub about the smug Fox News reporter who said that both Jesus and Santa Claus were white would be laughable IF IT DIDN'T BECOME THE NEWS ITSELF!   (Yes Virginia, Marshall McLuhan was right- the media HAS become the message.

Personally, I don't put ANY stock in television news at all - let alone Fox News.  Nor does watching pretty, smug and snooty little egocentric blond girls on television do anything at all for me.

BUT, SANTA CLAUS.   Give me (I was gonna say effin', but will refrain) a BREAK!!   Adults, in the year 2013, are actually spending valuable time thinking about, listening to, watching television programs or debating the skin color of a mythical figure based upon a 13th century religious figure??

SOMEBODY give me some music PLEASE!!!!!!

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Progressive . . .

From: 


We hope your Thanksgiving was great -- and that your conversation with your Tea Party uncle went ok. :)

Today is Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. So we wanted to make sure you saw our progressive holiday gifts.

Click here to check out our limited-edition Elizabeth Warren hoodies, stickers, and more!

Thanks! -- The Bold Progressive PCCC Team

Earlier email:

Due to popular demand, progressive holiday gifts are here!

Give the gift of Elizabeth Warren this season (although we feel like it's Christmas every day she's in office). We've also brainstormed some other gifts -- progressive media, books, and more.

1) Give the gift of Elizabeth Warren. Our limited edition T-shirts, hoodies, bumper stickers, magnets, and onesies are American made and union printed. Shop here. . .

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Movie. . .

(from wikipedia.com)
Zeitgeist: The Movie is a 2007 documentary-style film by Peter Joseph. It presents a number of conspiracy theory-based ideas, including a version of the Christ myth theory, alternative explanations for the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the claim that bankers manipulate both the media and the international monetary system.

The film was released online on June 18, 2007, on zeitgeistmovie.com. While the film has been praised by some for the professional-level quality of its pacing and editing, and for its compelling narrative, it has been criticized for factual inaccuracies and the quality of its arguments, with critics describing it as "agitprop" and "propaganda".

Zeitgeist incorporates elements of the LaRouche movement. The film opens with animated abstract visualizations, film and stock footage, a cartoon and audio quotes about spirituality by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, followed by clips of war, explosions, and the September 11 attacks. This is followed by the film's title screen. The film's introduction ends with a portion of the late comedian George Carlin's monologue on religion accompanied by an animated cartoon. The rest of the film, divided into three parts, is narrated by Peter Joseph.

What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Dream . . .

This is the kind of bull-pucky that our 'friends' in the media provide daily; a recent article about 'The American Dream', chock full of what they produce best - NOTHING!!!

This little gem begins by reminding us that we too can achieve success.  Then they promptly tell us the definition of success,  "The big home in the suburbs, the luxury cars in the garage, the kids off to a good college and the retirement in a sunny locale."  Funny how Merriam-Webster views success in  more spiritual, less-tawdry and materialistic terms as "favorable or desired outcome; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence". 

From the stock, bullshit 'American Dream' teaser and half-assed success definitions, this fine piece of writing moves on to another constantly and frequently misrepresented concept, the economy, and says that the weak job market is thwarting the best efforts of good honest folk (like you and me) to 'get ahead', by which I PRESUME they mean attain the aforementioned (theirs, not Merriam-Webster's) 'success'.  Now I'm not unrealistic or particularly cold-hearted about the job situation and the difficulties some people are currently experiencing with employment and lack thereof.  But somehow I think that our journalistic scribes are providing us with third-grade-level oversimplifications of the situation.

The particular tome that provoked my ire went on to, in short, states that although many present-day citizens truly believe that Americans all have an  equal ability to achieve success if they merely (and that's a BIG merely) work hard.  It does not venture (at least I did not detect it) into any possibility that there exist many additional factors in education, employment, the economy and geography that exert substantial influence in the seeking, achievement and  maintenance of something called success.

The best, and most intellectually substantial,  part of the article was a quote from the academic world that, in summary, stated possibly Americans need to rethink the definition of the American Dream, putting less focus on having a huge house and lots of cars and more focus on building successful communities. Whiles supporting our families is certainly important, “we need to scale back what the American Dream means to us.” 

And may I add, we must be more critical of what we read in the news and not be so childishly willing to accept everything in print as true and factual.

What do you think?
Tell me at  
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Serious . .

 . . . candidate?. . . 

NO ONE should be placed on a pedestal.


From Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow, Media Matters for America (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-boehlert/ben-carson-fox-news_b_2998799.html)
". . . Obviously, if (Dr. Ben) Carson aspires to be a serious national leader and wants to groom himself for a possible presidential run he shouldn't have spent the last two months making nearly 20 appearances on Fox News. And he certainly shouldn't have teamed up with comically unserious Fox if one of his crusades is to help educate voters whom Carson thinks are being poorly informed by the press.

"You know, intelligent people tend to talk about the facts," Carson recently said, condemning those who reduce political disagreements to the kind you find on a "third grade playground." He urged partisans to "find some accommodation" and to "tone down the rhetoric a little bit."

He said these things while appearing on Fox News, the cable bastion of name-calling and blind partisanship.

So yes, it's difficult to take Carson's pontificating seriously when he treats Fox News, of all places, as a serious meeting place of ideas. Did Carson not think it was odd that people on Fox were constantly saying things like, "I would vote for you in a heartbeat." "This guy's a star." "Hallelujah. Amen. I don't think that anybody could have said it better." Is that what he considers to be normal political give and take, or did he knowingly sign up for hero worship duty?. . . "


(from Marcela Y., Odenton [MD])
"To say that, and I quote Daniel Rodricks, "Ben Carson had firmly developed, antiquated beliefs that he wants a wide audience to hear," is an understatement ("Ben Carson's conservative views are drawn from the Bible" Mar 30). Dr. Carson is an admirable man because of the contributions in pediatrics that he has made throughout his career, but as a human being and as a member of our society, he needs to educate himself and understand that this is 2013 and we, as a society, need to evolve. How sad to know that such an intelligent man is so narrow minded and ill informed."

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html


My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak3)



Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Totally. . .

. . . disgusted with Washington DC. . .

 (Source:  By Matt Stoller, Naked Capitalism | News Analysis - http://truth-out.org/news/item/13648-eight-corporate-subsidies-in-the-fiscal-cliff-bill-from-goldman-sachs-to-disney-to-nascar) Corporate CEOs expressed to the administration their agreement with modest increases of tax rates on the wealthy to tackle the deficit problem. In exchange for their support, they wanted “tax extenders” amounting to about $205 billion in tax breaks to be included in the fiscal cliff bill.  Few political operatives paid attention to this part of the bill. A few hundred billion dollars of tax expenditures is a BIG deal to overlook.

And what about our popular media?  Talk about overlooking!
And here are the winners. . .

1) NASCAR -  Anyone who builds a racetrack and associated facilities will get tax breaks on it. This is projected to cost $43 million over two years.

2) Railroads - Tax credits will be available to certain railroads for maintaining their tracks. The value of this one, around $165 million a year.

3) Disney - Will be allowed extension of special expensing rules for certain film and television productions. According to the Joint Tax Committee, was projected to cost $150 million for 2010 and 2011.

4) Mining Companies - Will get tax incentives to buy safety equipment and train their employees on mine safety.

5) Goldman Sachs Headquarters – "tax exempt financing for York Liberty Zone,” which rather than going to small businesses affected after 9/11 (originally intended). Michael Bloomberg actually thought the program was excessive at $1.6 billion in tax free financing for its new massive headquarters through Liberty Bonds.

6) $9 billion Off-shore financing loophole for banks –Basically allows American banks and manufacturers to engage in certain lending practices without having to pay taxes on income earned from it. This is well supported by GE, Caterpillar, and JP Morgan.

7) Tax credits for foreign subsidiaries –  Extends the “Look-through treatment of payments between related CFCs under foreign personal holding company income rules.” The cost was $1.5 billion from 2010 and 2011, and the US Chamber loves it. It’s a provision that allows US multinationals to not pay taxes on income earned by companies they own abroad.

8) Bonus Depreciation, R&D Tax Credit – Projected to cost $8 billion for 2010 and 2011, and the depreciation provisions were projected to cost about $110 billion for those two years, with some of that made up in later years.

What do YOU think?
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

You can NOW download your
very own copy of Ray Jozwiak's
newest release:
AMBIENCE & WINE

Please visit
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet