Hollywood Obama

Page

'Credit card theft? There's an app for that'

Video

Adam Savage Builds His Own 'Blade Runner' Blaster

Blog

Vote One Zero Zero against climate inaction- by Tony Kevin

Game

Final Fantasy, Then and Now

Art

VIV Mag Featurette: A Digital Magazine Motion Cover and Feature for the iPad

Firefox 3

Recommended browser

Google Earth

View the planet.

Irfan View

A very cool free image viewer.

Super Obama World

Super Mario Flash Game Restyled for Obama

I Made This. You Play This. We Are Enemies

Dadaist deconstruction of new media, as a flash game.

Tardigrades

Everything you need to know about microscopic water bears

Slashdot

News for nerds

The Virtual Absinthe Museum

For lovers of the Green Fairy

Twelve Canoes

Stories and art from Australia's Yolgnu people

Greg Egan's Home Page

Australia's best science fiction author

Earthquake Watch

Did the earth just move?

Fair Go, Fairfax

Don't discount journalism

Warren Ellis dot com

Novelist and comic book legend's homepage

Maison d'Ailleurs

Museum of science fiction, utopia and extraordinary journeys

W3C Consortium

Developing tech to get the internet to its full potential

Pirate Party Australia

Free Culture, Open Government, Liberty

Wildmind

Online Buddhist meditation

Australian National Council on Drugs

Reducing harm from drug use

Hollywood Obama

Now you have a president whose knowledge of the tasks before him are the equal of a child in grammar school presented with a problem in theoretical physics. He¹s a Hollywood president. He¹s a man who might play the part in a television show and he only has to look the part. It¹s not the same as real life. In real life there are no convenient scripts where one only has to repeat their lines. There is no need here to understand the problems because the problems are all solved by the waving of a magic wand between commercial breaks.

Hope and change are the slogans of a product that promises results than cannot be delivered. They are a call to arms against an enemy who is yourself. Hope is best defined in the phrase, wish in one hand and shit in the other. Change and the promise of improvement are best understood in the belief that you can achieve different results by doing the same thing over again. But you do not want to hear this. This is like fingernails drawn down a blackboard. This provokes the rage behind your denial and though it is never different, you believe that this time it will be different.

Here we have a lawyer with no practical grasp beyond his profession who intends to change your world without either the tools or the skills to accomplish it. Therefore these tasks will be handed over to the very elements that have brought you to where you are today. His chief adviser is an on site representative of a foreign nation which is the greatest enemy your country has beside epidemic ignorance and a childish enthusiasm for magic wands and miracle products. You have my sympathies.

How many times and in how many lands have you been seduced by grand promises and stirring rhetoric? How many times have you been fleeced and led into penury? How many times have you been whipped by the fear of manufactured enemies?

Obama falls to his knees before the nation of Israel and you dance about with stardust in your eyes and think how fine a thing it is that you live in the greatest nation on Earth. How great can your nation be when those elected or appointed to serve you have their first allegiance to a tiny little country whose main industry is practicing genocide on their neighbors? What do you think of their representatives spying on your nation, attacking your nation under the guise of others? What do you think of their destruction of your financial system? Even your own propaganda mills of the main stream media report on the actions of these representatives every day from Jack Abramoff to Bernie Madoff. What do you think? You do not think. You cannot think.

How can your Hollywood president have your best interests at heart when his first concern is the commands and directives of a foreign power? What kind of a president is unable to speak out against the publicly performed murder and torment of one of the weakest peoples on Earth? You see it there as day follows day. You see it on the electronic altar of your real God which is your television set.

It is only fitting that you should have a Hollywood president for you are a Hollywood people whose lives have no more substance than the characters in the programs that you watch. You are manipulated by and enthralled with those whose primary intention is to deceive and abuse you and you have your fingers in your ears while you scream to blot out the voice of truth that must, perforce, find another means to inform you; those who cannot hear must feel.

A president who does not have the interests of his own country before all others cannot be a welcome or competent leader. A president who can see the truth but will not speak the truth is a compromised tool in the hands of others. Hope and change; we shall see what hope shall come. Change will come regardless and it will reflect the will of those empowered to animate it. It will come according to the understanding of those affected by it.

The popcorn, candy and soft drinks can be purchased in the lobby.

To read more from Smoking Mirrors click on the view button below

Tags

america

barack obama

politics

10 jun | President Obama has admitted that America was part of the illegal and violent overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iran in 1953 (with Britain). Never before has an American president admitted this publicly. It was in the first of Barack’s speeches to focus solely on America’s relationship with the Islamic & Jewish worlds. The speech, essentially the Obama Middle-East Doctrine, certainly changes the old dynamic of the last 28 years. . . read more

Repeal of the "Global Gag Rule" - From Judith Faucette

2 feb | On January 23rd, one day after the thirty-sixth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the case that legalized abortion in the United States, President Obama rescinded the "global gag rule." Also known as the Mexico City policy, this regulation put a restriction on U.S. government funding to international organizations and American NGOs working abroad based on their abortion-related policies. Organizations that provided abortion-related services or lobbied foreign governments in hopes of easing restrictive abortion policies were ineligible for funding under the rule.

This regulation has been tossed back and forth between presidents since Regan created it in 1984. Bill Clinton rescinded the rule on the twentieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade in 1993, and George W. Bush reinstated it immediately after taking office exactly eight years later. Obama promised to rescind the rule during the campaign, and made many women's rights activists nervous when he did not do so on January 22nd. However, the decision to rescind the rule a day later was not without reason - Obama explained that his intention was to respect pro-lifers who see the 22nd as a "day of grief," and while issuing a strong statement on his intention to protect a woman's right to choose and his commitment to women's rights in general, he did not want to mix a change in family planning policy up in the emotions of the day.

So far, Obama's record on women's rights as President is something of a mixed bag. In addition to rescinding the global gag rule, he also signaled his intent to restore funding to the U.N. Population Fund. President Bush has not spent any of the money authorized for the fund over the past eight years, due to his belief that the fund indirectly supports Chinese coercive abortion policies. However, Congress continues to authorize spending for the fund, which operates in 140 countries around the world and provides reproductive health services, education, and other services. In addition to trying to prevent sexually transmitted diseases including HIV and reduce poverty through family planning, the fund has programs aimed at reducing maternal mortality and closing the gender gap in education.

Obama also signed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which takes away the 180-day time limit on women's differential pay claims. McCain notoriously referred to the act as a "trial lawyer's dream" in justifying his opposition during the campaign, but those in support of the act have pointed out that it can be very difficult to pull together a case in 180 days. The clock starts ticking when the employer makes the decision to pay a woman less than her male counterpart, and women may not be aware of the discrimination right away or be able to get information quickly.

On the other hand, once again showing his desire to keep the Christian right in the political picture and not alienate those across the aisle, Obama convinced House Democrats to drop a provision in the stimulus package that would provide $200 million for education and contraception. This was a politically hot topic, with conservatives decrying the inclusion of "condoms" in a stimulus package and liberals pointing out the financial benefits to the country in the long run in preventing unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Despite resistance from his base, Obama chose to advocate dropping the provision to avoid ruffling political feathers.

Only time will tell whether President Obama can support women in the long run despite his political goals of maintaining bipartisan support, including the support of those opposed to family planning, sex education, and abortion. Some other policies that he may choose to rescind include a last-minute Health and Human Services "conscience" rule that allows health care providers at every stage to refuse to provide services including birth control for religious or moral reasons and a bevy of funding policies that require abstinence-only education, objection to sex work (even in countries where it is legal), and other moral tangents in order for domestic and international organizations to receive funds. Often, these provisions apply to funding that has a broad reach, extending to poverty reduction and increasing opportunities for women in developing nations. There is also a lack of logical correlation in many cases between the funding restrictions and their goal, for example in the case of AIDS in Africa where many infections are transmitted within marriage, making abstinence-only education pointless. Another action Obama might support is repeal of the Hyde Amendment, a law that bars federal Medicaid funding for abortion except in cases where the woman's life is in danger or she is a victim of rape or incest.

In my experience working for nine months on policies related to financial access to abortion, I learned that lack of access to abortion, and to other family planning services, can be dangerous to the woman and expensive for the state. Women on Medicaid, for example, may induce abortion in an unsafe environment because they do not qualify for coverage under the Hyde Amendment and cannot afford to support another child. This can lead to permanent damage or death, as well as costing the state much more than the cost of an abortion. Pregnancy is also very expensive for the state, as is the cost of supporting a woman who has more children than she can afford.
These are also not always "elective" abortions. Women can be faced with a very difficult choice when the fetus has an abnormality that will make it unlikely to survive or ever be a healthy child. Women whose health is endangered by the pregnancy also may not have access to a safe abortion if their state does not choose to provide Medicaid funding.

The same issues come up in the context of the global gag rule - women in developing countries, especially, may turn to unsafe abortions if their state does not allow or fund abortion. By taking away funding from organizations that help these women, the policy not only made it more likely that women would turn to unsafe funding because underfunded clinics could not help them, but also made unwanted pregnancies more likely because organizations could not afford to provide contraceptives and other reproductive health care services. In areas where AIDS runs rampant, contraception and education programs are absolutely crucial, and have nothing to do with abortion, but funding could be cut off from these programs if the same organization was involved with abortion services.

These issues are not only moral - they concern the health, safety, and lives of women. Family planning services can reduce poverty and the gender gap. They can also decrease maternal mortality rates, increase female education, and make pregnancies safer. For these reasons, I hope that Obama will continue to support reconsideration of these policies and a legal framework that empowers women in the U.S. and around the world.

Judith Faucette is a JGRJ Student Writer. JGRJ is University of Iowa College of Law's forum for editors & student writers of The Journal of Gender, Race & Justice to express their personal views concerning topical issues. . . read more

Tea Party: The Documentary Film

1 dec | Tea Party: The Documentary Film . . read more

Senator Shelby on Pres Obama "You Have To Be Born In America To Be President"

24 feb | Alan Keyes isn't the only one keeping alive rumors that Barack Obama isn't a natural born citizen.

At an event last week in Alabama, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) said "Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate. You have to be born in America to be president." . . read more

How Obama Got Elected... Interviews With Obama Voters

15 jan | www.HowObamaGotElected.com looks at how media coverage of the 2008 election impacted what Obama voters knew (or thought they knew) about the campaign. . . read more

Competing For Al Gore's Endorsement

17 apr | The voicemail messages of Nobel Prize winning former Vice President of the United States Al Gore reveal that there's a heated battle on for his endorsement. . . read more

Black or white, might is right – From The Alchemist

18 feb | Millions worldwide
rejoiced in January when
Obama entered the White House
and said torture would cease

In February his Attorney General
endorsed "renditions"
(global kidnap+torture)
and continued the Bush policy of
refusing to recognise the jurisdiction of US courts
should legal proceedings arise

Obama supports the denial
of Geneva safeguards to "enemy combatants"

a label which could apply
(should circumstance offer the chance)
to any noble soul who tries to thwart an illegal CIA kidnap

Well, wouldn't you?

within days of his inauguration
Obama re-authorized the serial assassination
of "suspected militants" and their extended families
and neighbours by unmanned US drones
dispatched from a military base near Las Vegas
by teenagers on computers
who set off the missiles then
"go down to the Taco Bell for lunch"
not caring to know the names of the women
and children crushed in the rubble

a few days ago in a tribal area in Pakistan,
supposedly an ally,
30 were killed and seven more wounded,
while others were buried alive by the blast

Obama's first war crime

two days later, as I write this,
another 30 or so no-names are bombed

Down at the Taco Bell there's a buzz
during lunch hour
and the White House remains tight lipped
but it isn't a change to believe in.

. . read more

Lies, Campaigns & Timelines - From Robert Fantina

18 aug | Does Bush believe that ‘victory,’ which to him is apparently an Iraq with a western-style democracy, forced upon it against the will of the people, has been achieved? That is too much of a stretch even for the intellectually-challenged Mr. Bush to believe. But using Hitler’s ‘Big Lie’ theory, perhaps he hopes that U.S. citizens will buy it.

The ‘Big Lie’ theory comes from Mein Kampf, Hitler’s autobiography, and is this: "in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation… more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” So if Mr. Bush would have us believe that a new democratic Iraq is dawning, he is telling ‘the big lie.’

But perhaps neither of these explains the president’s apparent willingness to accept a troop withdrawal timeline (he calls it a time ‘horizon,’ apparently believing that the U.S. citizenry is too stupid to know he means timeline). The youthful, dynamic Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is ahead in the polls; his Republican opponent, the awkward, elderly and decrepit John McCain, has not been able to spark any excitement on the campaign trail. McCain is a stalwart supporter of war, any war it seems, and foresees the U.S. occupation in Iraq lasting for generations. Perhaps it has finally dawned on Bush that this is not what the American people want; perhaps someone has finally gotten through to him; perhaps someone has penetrated his inner circle of yes-men and women, and has made him realize that a campaign platform of more of the same death, blood and destruction, is not selling too well even in middle America. [More] . . read more

Previous | Next

State Elections Show an Interesting State of Affairs- by Birgit Lang

With two States waiting weeks for election results, the political culture of Australia seems decidedly messy and confused.

In Tasmania, a large vocal minority of Greens will have the balance of power in a hung parliament, there will be infighting and bickering until the Liberal Opposition claims a minor majority and thrusts forward its impotent Premier into the melee.

In South Australia, Rann will win, but his bravado and virility will be curbed as his ability to nonchalantly wave around his policy penis becomes hampered.

What all this seems to show is that Labor is slipping, the Greens and the environment movement are gaining a lot of traction and Australia is divided.

Hopefully not to the point where Red and Blue States form which look at each other with systemic suspicion, but it does seem that these divides are becoming increasingly irreconcilable.

Bet Labor wishes they could turn back the clock two years when they controlled every government at State and Federal level and do things a bit differently.

The Catholic Church and Biscuits: How to Avoid a Priest's Finger- by Sean Maguire

At a recent lecture given by long time subversive artists Gilbert and George, there was a fantastic point made which highlighted the absurdity of institutionalised religion and the anomalous status it's given in today's society.

They said something along the lines of....

"Imagine if a biscuit company was able to sell itself the way the church does. The biscuit company would probably be able to do a lot better if it was able to offer eternal life (in addition to biscuits) as a reward for your money"

Now the idea also works in reverse.

Imagine if there was a company that didn't pay tax, had little or no oversight from the state legal system, was found to be fingering children- had tried to hide it- their leader and the leader's brother were both implicated and they still refused to open themselves up to public scrutiny.

You probably wouldn't buy their biscuits would you.

NTEU Strike at UNSW Today

As mentioned on HPD last Saturday, there will be a strike at UNSW today by the NTEU.

The strike is centred around expired Enterprise Agreements that the Management are refusing to re-sign leading to negotiations having stalled.

Unfortunately, the power of this strike seems limited.

Around campus most students are either: going to come to class because their lecturers said they were coming, treating it as a holiday, or completely ignorant of why the NTEU is striking.

The problem is high-lighted when we consider that for most people a strike seems like an inconveniance.

A not all together unpredictable state of affairs, but one that shows the gulf that has grown between students and staff and the work that may need to be done to bridge it.

Jesus Christ! Blasphemy in Ireland- by Sean Maguire

At the beginning of the year it was reported around the world that Ireland had introduced laws against blasphemy- a seemingly bizarre reversal of the times as the country moved to becoming a more pluralistic society.

Yesterday it was announced that a referendum will be held on the laws, with the hope from securalists and the divisive group Athiest Ireland, that they'll be rescinded.

Don't hold your breath.

It wasn't too long ago that Ireland voted down the Lisbon Treaty because of fears of a loss of sovereignty on social issues- primarily regarding laws on marriage and abortion.

So on this St Patrick's Day let's say thanks to the man who brought catholocism to Ireland (and got rid of the snakes) and hope that one day the Irish will be able to say fuck you to the pope in peace.

Keating breaches the Abbott-Proof-Fence- by Sean Maguire

For even the most casual watcher of Australian politics the last few months have been depressing.

Tony Abbott, the self-styled ideological love-child of Bronwyn Bishop and John Howard has been playing some pretty petty party politics; stone-walling any Labor policy, regardless of its merits.

So step up Paul Keating, the ideological love-child of a brick wall and Jack Lang.

He has launched a vicious and burning attack on Abbott calling him an "intellectual nobody [with] no policy ambition", and the "poor man's John Howard".

Hard to disagree with, and hard to see how Abbott will slip out of the shadow of the anodyne if he doesn't start voting with Australia's, and not his interests in mind.

A culture of hate- by Simon Moore

In the last few days I have been researching a political organisation known as the nationalist alternative. From their ideologies it is not hard to jump from ultra conservative white-only party to radical neo-nazi party. I realised that many opposed to such racist groups are looking into a violent mirror. The nationalist alternative was attacked aggressively at an anti internet censorship rally in South Australia, a video on slackbastard depicted multicultural groups stomping the white only protestors heads, the lyrics to a song by Skarharrper called "nazi scum" has the lyrics "we gotta beat em in the street, there's a time to fight and that time has come, we're comin for ya nazi scum". How does one defend minorities by violently attacking one?

HPD Salutes: "When We Were Kings"

Today we salute "When We Were Kings", the 1996 film that depicts the "Rumble in Jungle"- the infamous 1974 fight between George Foreman and Muhamad Ali.

With hypnotic chants of "Ali Bomaye", scenes of Foreman smacking dents into boxing bags, and the epic mental and physical strength of each boxer, this is a film that shows the real golden age of boxing.

So here is our salute to a vicious, viceral and sometimes beautiful sport and two men that stunned the world with their athleticism, bravery and spirit.

Feedback

4 mar

The HomepageDAILY community likes to co-create both content and process. What are you thinking right now about what we do and how we do it? Tell us about the news, videos and stories and anything else you see on HPD. What you like, what you don't like, what you'd like to see in future. Recommend a website, video or article; send us pix, new stories - share it with us and by so doing you are giving us permission to share it with the world.

Leave Feedback here

*********************************

Why has homepage started running so many nameless 100 word eds? Names are good for intellectual continuity, honesty and non-hypocrisy. - Terry McGee

*********************************

Re: Bale de Rua

We thought the Bale de Rua was aweful. Choreography was terrible - set design, music and costumes were lacklustre. The dancers however were very athletic and graceful. - Jules

*********************************

Re: In Praise of Mediocrity

I just wonder who decides if what ever you chose to do in life, is mediocre or not. Sounds like with standards like yours, this article with its poor structure and soap box appeal may also be considered by many as, in-fact, mediocre. - Khedra

*********************************

Re: The Assassins of Langley

Yes, Mr. Neville. Odious, heinous assassins sold body and soul to Luciferian entities who pull the strings (the last of them, I want to believe) from the shadows. Philip Aggeee and John Stockwell portrayed them quite well. They are NOT heroes, nor are the gangbangers of East Los Angeles who spray grafitti in Iraq, where they most certainly train for urban warfare on our streets. Good riddance to them all!

*********************************

Re: Hairy Legs: A Study of Female Art, Feminism and Femininity

Looking forward to more of her articles. Hope she does plenty of Art Theory at SCA. Barbara Kruger and Judy Chicago are certainly powerful artists and it would be interesting to see what they are doing now.

*********************************

A hero's welcome for the famous Iraqi shoe thrower

Terrorist! Please do your research first before writing such dangerous things, we was insulting Bush by throwing the shoe as he was disgraced with him, not trying to topple the largest super power in the world by throwing a shoe. I cant believe you have put those words up. Ashamed

*********************************

Re: How to Report the News

Having worked as a TV news reporter I found Charlie's piece very amusing - some of us have long believed reporting like this is a rubbish way to do things! But even if a journalist wants to tell stories in a more authentic and engaging way, the constraints of the so-called "house style" in many news organisations make it difficult to achieve. What's needed is a massive culture shift and a complete re-think of what we understand quality broadcast news reporting is. And guess what? That's exactly what's happening, though you'd never believe it from what we're still mostly seeing on TV. Anyway, the new digital technologies, and shake up of "old school/old mainstream" journalism means new platforms and styles of "news" storytelling can now emerge. Let's hope fresh and appropriate ways of funding appear too, so we can kill off this dreadful formulaic reporting and delivery, and clear the way for more natural and interesting ways to treat stories and content.

Much love, Ian Aspin.
www.twitter.com/ianaspin

*********************************

Re: Pushing 60 With Pot

You're pushing 60, well I'm pushing 70 and still having to scrounge around for my pot. It's tragic that when I first came to Australia it was $30 an ounce, and now I have to pay nearly $350 - Peter

*********************************

Re: Textbook publishers dream of the tablet

Why can't this just be a program for PC and Windows? Why do they have to make us buy more hardware that's just going to disappoint? - Tyler J. Wilson

*********************************

Re: Killing Indian Students: Australia's Favourite New Sport!- by Sean Maguire

How about the indian guy who slashed his wife's throat, is still australia to blame for?..may be , for accenpting them to move over!I am an immigrant myself but I love this country, there is no perfect place on Earth but australia is one of the best! - Michael

*********************************

Re: Killing Indian Students: Australia's Favourite New Sport!- by Sean Maguire

This entire fiasco is an incredible over reaction. Australia is an easy target. Why? because we are honest, transperant and we talk about our failings. Is there aggression and iolence in Australia? Sure, like any country. But we face it head on and we work to eliminate it. What about the stories of the 100’s of thousands of Indian workers who are treated as slaves in the middle east and nobody says anything? What about the fact that India still has entrenched pedophilia in terms of child brides? What about the crushing poverty embraced by more than 60% of the Indian people while this nation runs around building nuclear warheads? A storm in a teacup, an over reaction, and a diversion from some the really bad issues facing India. What is really happening here is that students are being unnecessarily frightened. meaning they will miss out on what could be the opportunity of their lifetime. - Daryl

*********************************

Re: Killing Indian Students: Australia's Favourite New Sport!- by Sean Maguire

I couldn't agree with Sean Maguire's article more on the recent Indian attacks. For all those who like the pretend the attacks are merely based on coincidence, try to imagine how we would react if the boot were on the other foot and an uncharacteristic number of Australia's had been murdered in India. Would you push for a travel ban? Would you be scared for your children in a seemingly hostile environment so many miles away? - Kara Jensen-Mackinnon

*********************************

12 sep

10 aug

More feedback...

Tags

Related Stories

Feedback