something of a jack of all trades.
ex-lawyer, some gov. now i play music and work with spinal issues.
i try often to look at the big picture - mostly from the viewpoint of us being primates in the middle of an energy orgy, and the mass psychology of it all. I find people like yourself to be in the vast minority - both curious and rational. while i find society (especially american) to most often inspire the opposite.
I like this site tho, typically really good minds here. i learn a lot.
cheers!

In reply to this comment by Diogenes:
thanks back at ya =)

i'm a china analyst serving overseas for the state dept

and you?

In reply to this comment by criticalthud:
thanks. i like your style and your depth of inquiry/understanding.

thanks. i like your style and your depth of inquiry/understanding.
what do you do?

In reply to this comment by Diogenes:
@<a rel="nofollow" href="http://videosift.com/member/criticalthud" title="member since February 15th, 2010" class="profilelink"><strong style="color:#008800">criticalthud
man, i honestly think it's a hopeless can of worms... and imho, i believe that the continued advance of technology means that even our best efforts in "regulation" or making "fair" the process of political advocacy... well, i think we're always going to be lagging behind

first off, to even discuss the matter we need to divorce ourselves from our partisan political leanings (conservative talk radio, liberal press, wingnut internet content)

next, we need to avoid where possible the all-too-convenient labels, such as "corporatism", as it's much too vague - better to just understand that "big money" will inevitably lead to undue influence peddling in our political process

we should also understand the types of regulations or statutes that were tried (and failed) in the past, i.e. fairness doctrine, equal-time rule, and even the implications of miami herald publishing co. v. tornillo

we also need to reach some kind of concensus on both relevant first amendment provisions, e.g. freedom of speech and and freedom of the press (the latter being a certain candidate for the "big money" moniker) - any tinkering we do here carries disturbing implications

and finally, what the heck are we to do with the internet, where both the speed and pervasiveness of political advocacy easily avails itself to abuse from "big money" - just try imagining how we'd regulate big money from filtering through pacs to banner ads, popups, blogs and web-hosting

all that said... dude, i feel lost as to where to even begin forming a coherent solution - sorry

Great name btw

One of my favorite people of all time was Diogenes.

so that was jigga and qm's point!
was tryin to figure what they were on about.
guess thats cuz i didnt see that as being the main point.

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Indeed you're correct that gregorian chant is monophonic, so, strictly speaking, this isn't gregorian chant. However, Biebl most certainly used gregorian chant as an inspiration for the piece. The first 30 seconds or so are gregorian chant, and so are the solos. Thanks for bringing music theory into this with the great comment.

In reply to this comment by Diogenes:
beautiful

not sure about the 'gregorian chant' tag, though... this was a polyphonic performance - and if i'm remembering correctly, gregorian chant is/was monophonic

anyway, nice sift

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nice job on illuminating the specifics on my comment.my comment was long enough as it was.but added context never hurts.good job.

this is interesting and has me thinking about this: same sex rape is a side effect of captivity. it wasnt designed this way by the power structure. its happened through out time, it happens in nature. it just is.

but, have we designed our prison system (intentionally or unintentionally) to promote and perpetuate this? are they doing anything to curb it? (i honestly have no idea)

personally i think the prison system needs to be completely revamp or abolished. but im a complacent anarchist and realize noone agrees with me.

is fear of punishment really a deterent to crime for real criminals?
(id say a nonviolent drug offense is not a crime. but since it apparently is, i certainly think being locked up and made someones bitch for a few years is NOT an appropriate punishment, this needs to change. immediately)
im trying think if fear of the law has ever stopped me from doing something? i dont think so. my own sense of morality has. and fear of how the people who matter in my life will feel has. but not the law. (and i have done some horrible horrible things)
"oh judge, your damn laws, the good people dont need em and the bad people dont follow em" - ammon hennacy
thats a pretty good summation.

so, have we designed our prison system to promote and perpetuate rape? or are we just not creative enough to think of ways to prevent this? i definently get the feeling that society feels its an appropriate punishment for criminals, its even a huge joke.

as far as threats of buttrape being used to intimidate suspects by the legal system. i can answer this with a yes. absolutely it is. my exhusband was "threatened" with this, old "associates" have been threatened with this during interrogations. in different counties, districts, states.

and it happens in lady prison as well. i know girls who went to prison for drug offenses and had been raped with broomsticks, tampons, plungers, hair brushes, fists .. you name it.. by fellow inmates.

i feel like male on male rape is more disturbing to people than its female equivolent.

so... hmm.. yes i feel institutionalized rape is being used as a silent, omnious threat to criminals and society as a whole by the institution by the media and by the public itself and deter criminal activity.
this may not seem so terrible but think of non violent relatively benign things you can be imprisoned for. yep. its a problem.


as far as the situation of your intervention perhaps the threats from DA were inappropriate, but your mommy im sure was just trying to save your life and the DA was just trying to help his friend. hyperbolic, inappropriate.. it doesnt really matter when a moms trying to save her son.
In reply to this comment by Diogenes:
im not trying to condone the subject of this video at all...

but as an aside, do you think that male-on-male rape in our own western prisons is a form of 'corrective' punishment, or at least a very real threat in imposing proper comportment and coercing us to bide by current legislation?

as an example... in my college days i got in a bit of trouble with cocaine - not in the buying/selling/etc part, but in simply becoming addicted to it and having my family find out...

my mom was a well-known lawyer in a long-time relationship with a powerful district judge, and the district attorney was my grandfather's former law partner -- so together they held a drug intervention for me...

aside from the shame i felt, nothing made as strong an impression on me at that meeting as having all three: mom, judge and da... tell me how if i didn't quit and enter rehab, that they would catch me, throw the book at me, and have me locked up in the local prison - they went on to detail how a cute, slim white boy like myself would be anally and orally sodomized while being a ward of the state's penal system

now, i realize that my circumstance was rather unique... but do you think that the same sort of threats, even tauntings, are being used casually by our own police forces, states' attorneys, judges, and correctional officers with the 'strangers' they deal with in the course of their work?

if you can imagine that the above is possible and even probable, then haven't 'we' consentually institutionalized such barbarity as a likely punishment for those who may have fallen afoul of some state or federal statute?

i dunno... maybe im off-base -- but as ive grown older, and not gotten in any other trouble, i still look back on that situation and wonder if such threats were: A. hyperbolic or fallacious (i neither consort with law enforcement nor frequent criminal court cases, but i have seen/heard these sorts of threats made in the media), B. worthy of the trust i had in those individuals (and that we all should have in our government), and C. inappropriate in that applying illegal punishment for illegal behavior doesn't exactly send the right message

thoughts?

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Apparently, you don't know me well enough yet to realise that the title is a joke.
I was going to name it "Super military happy dance fun video" but it didn't quite seem to fit.

In reply to this comment by Diogenes:
omg, soldiers acting like ordinary people and dancing for 3.5 minutes... probably not a bad way of relieving stress during a well-deserved break

what's next? video of soldiers "wasting" our tax dollars by eating and sleeping??