I want to show you some recent Public Service Announcements that were authorized by the New South Wales governmental premiership in Australia. The first three are separate YouTube videos.
The next two are a bit difficult to embed, so here are the direct YouTube links.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoSudhJJE58
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NLUSDlUvcE
Now here is a compilation of all three videos.
Now, if you did not know any better, you would think the sloth ads espousing the need to cut sodium from your diet, recognizing the signs of crippling depression and telling people that it is okay to come out of the closet were the real ads. Well, those ads were fake PSAs created with good intentions by YouTube user quolism. The Actual three ads in the 2 minute compilation are the ones which, I think still. are being shown throughout Australia.
Let it be known; I do not use weed, nor any other drug for that matter. None the less, weed is among the least problematic of drugs. At worst, weed is basically a crutch with little purpose: apart from having a craving for foods, getting momentarily buzzed, aiding some medical issues and slowly but surely making someone feel odd. I can think of far worse drugs and tranquilizers:
Tobacco one can find at a store, which causes cancers and health problems.
Alcohol, particularly if used daily.
Cocaine
Heroin
Meth
Quaaludes
Prescription medicines used beyond and above the needed amount; including over the counter medicines.
Crack cocaine
Indeed, the outdoor party commercial shows everyone except the sloth with an alcoholic drink of some kind. You would think the ad would have showed the problems of drinking a bit much.
Clearly, the NSW government have little idea of how to do effective anti-drug messaging. What should be sober ads are shown to be pretty damn funny. As I said, the Stoner Sloth campaign dropped the ball on these messages. And to think, the ads could have been more interesting and more worthy.
Last week, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced who were the five top vote getters in the Performers category for their class of 2016. This means these five artists are definitely getting inducted, with perhaps more to come in other categories. The five artists are:
N.W.A: This will be the first of two inductions for Dr. Dre; I expect him to get inducted on his own, probably as a Non-Performer in a couple years time. Also going in as part of N.W.A. will be Ice Cube, Eric "Eazy-E" Wright (1964-1995), MC Ren, DJ Yella and Arabian Prince.
Chicago: Including the inductions of Terry Kath (1946-1978) and Peter Cetera.
Deep Purple: Inducted would be Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Jon Lord (1941-2012), Roger Glover, Ian Paice, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Steve Morse, Don Airey, Rod Evans, Nick Simper, Joe Lynn Turner and Tommy Bolin (1951-1976). Not included is Joe Satriani; he was never really a member of Deep Purple and is more than likely to get inducted one day on his own, probably as a Sideman.
Steve Miller
Cheap Trick
Since the announcement, there have been a number of bone headed moves and odd reasons given for why this is the leading artists for induction next year, and other issues that come with the territory of the RRHOF. Indeed, on Sunday, the webmasters at Future Rock Legends posted on their blog page 20 questions regarding this year's named inductees and the future of the RRHOF. It is intended to be posted in public so that those that run the Hall of Fame (Jann Wenner, Jon Landau, Joel Peresman and Greg Harris to name four) can provide the answers and give transparency in their voting and induction methods.
I should come out and say this: I doubt any of the four, including Jon Landau but especially Jann Wenner, will answer these questions. For myself, having been a regular poster and participant in elections on the Future Rock Legends website, I figured that since no one in the leadership will likely respond; here then are my answers to these questions.
My assumption as to why there are only five Performers inductees instead of six, which is still small since we at FRL have inducted seven Performers per year into our Rock Hall Project: This may have been suggested by HBO along with Play Tone (Tom Hanks' production company) to have the telecast go within 3 and a half hours and attempt to lessen the editing of speeches and performances. The ceremony is not broadcast live. It does indeed revert back to a sense of creating a massive backlog that I had hoped was starting to ease since 2012.
Perhaps only having 5 inductees as Performers will in turn shorten the ceremony, subsequently fitting the time alloted for the HBO telecast.
The Barclays Center is quite the state of the art arena, one that is indeed expanding in importance since the New York Islanders have now called Barclays home. As well, Jay-Z owns a percentage of the arena; perhaps this is a second test run for when Jay-Z one day gets inducted in the arena he calls home turf.
I am rather aghast that Nick Simper, Steve Morse, Don Airey, Joe Lynn Turner and Tommy Bolin are not yet listed as inducted members of Deep Purple. I do think, if there are no goof ups, this was an intentional act by the hall of fame for a particular reason. Mark II and III are fully in, yet Mark I are 4/5ths in mainly as a way to somehow entice Rod Evans to show his face in public after 35 years. Well, that is not going to happen; and here is why.
To discuss this stupid and asinine move would be an essay in itself. Suffice to say, Ritchie Blackmore in particular became so incensed that he and the band's attorneys cut off Evans' royalties. Yes, Blackmore has a problem with most people but he does have a legitimate gripe against Evans. As do most Deep Purple fans.
Steve Miller, under himself or as part of Steve Miller Band, has always had the focus be upon him. This is most true once Boz Scaggs went on to do his own thing. I can hardly name off the top of my head every person involved in the Steve Miller Band, and neither in fact can most RRHOF voters. So, the easiest and most honest route is to induct Steve Miller, and not the backing Band whichever it may be.
It is absolutely certain that bands with complicated memberships seem to have more trouble getting inducted than bands with clear lineups, even if only classic lineups. It is perhaps one reason why King Crimson is not yet inducted, and the same goes with Megadeth. Those are just a couple examples.
I do not who these "experts" might be to determine honorees in a band. I wold not be surprised if these "experts" include someone's father's sister's brother's nephew's cousin's doctor's roommate. In other words, a complete unknown.
The fan poll, I think, is utilized as a way to determine who will be inducted. Since 2012, most of the Performers inductees per year from 2013 onwards has been determined by who eventually gets to be on the fan ballot. For 2013 and 2014, 4 out of the top 6 on each fan ballot was inducted. In 2015, it was 5 out of 6. In 2016, it is 4 out of 5. As well, each artist that led the fan ballot (Rush, Kiss, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, and Chicago) all got inducted. It appears that more often than not, the fan ballot is what determines the sort of inductees that will be presented in each class. It would not surprise me if the official 'experts" that receive a ballot also vote on the fan ballot.
As has been determined in post October 15th voting and voting on the Future Rock Legends website, Yes and Janet Jackson respectfully led each poll and by all rights should have gotten inducted. However, I believe it was determined that 2016 would be the year for classic rock and a high percentage of 1970s based acts. In particular, since Chicago, Steve Miller and Cheap Trick were first time nominees, lifelong fans of these artists who also are tech savvy elected to bot the voting. Most of the bot votes went to Chicago. Now, I do not have a problem with Chicago getting inducted, nor any of the named inductees so far. Yet I do think the RRHOF allowed the tainting of the vote to be enacted primarily to enforce a Peter Cetera reunion with Chicago at least.
As I mentioned before, the fan vote adds a lot more teeth if, and I think it has happened, people with an actual ballot get to also vote on the fan ballot. So that one vote on the fan ballot ideal gets tossed aside when Voting Committee members place their votes online on the fan ballot for all to see.
I do not think in past years this sort of chicanery was utilized. In 2015 though, it may have been used on an experimental scale in order to legitimize fan support for an induction of Paul Butterfield and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Since the Butterfield experiment proved a success (and mind you, I felt he should have gotten in before he passed away), it seemed that this experiment could be utilized to have fan support be named for at least a few of the nominees. The fact that by October 15 Chicago received some 20 million votes, most of it by bots, and two months later the inductees were announced shows that this ballot was completely flawed.
For the record, I do not receive a ballot and thus I am not on the Voting Committee. In truth, aside from known inductees who have a ballot and vote on it, along with several other names, I do not know every person who gets a vote. It very well could be hacks and lackeys. Sadly, I also do not see much gender diversity in who might be added to the Voting Committee. It is a bit sad, considering the gradual rise of female artists and pioneers in rock and pop music in the past half century.
I have know idea how and why Gary Dell'Abate received an official ballot. Being a Steely Dan fan and having an admittedly nice home theater does not say to me that this man needs a ballot.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a gender diversity problem. By comparison, our most recent projected Rock Hall Project inductees, while not as much as I would like, inducted Mariah Carey and Pat Benatar this past October. By the way, Ms. Carey and Ms. Benatar have not yet been seriously Considered by the Nominating Committee as of yet. I would request the RRHOF conduct a special election and ballot for this coming new year consisting solely of female candidates and female inductees. Indeed, if I had a ballot for 10 female inductees, mine would look like this:
Mariah Carey
Pat Benatar
Janet Jackson
Whitney Houston
The Runaways
Siousxie Sioux
Carole Kaye
Joan Baez
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Connie Francis
All were inducted into our Rock Hall Project, yet not the actual Hall of Fame. That is not right.
I tend to believe the NomCom should have final say on who will eventually be inducted. The Voting Committee apparently are best used as a recommendation body, not a voting body.
I would tend to believe that less than half of the 800 ballots were returned. Perhaps even lesser than years before after the fan vote bots locked in the fan ballot.
The voted were likely counted by a computer software of some kind. I also doubt that the voting ballot totals will be released to the public.
As mentioned before, it appears that the RRHOF wanted enforced reunions of three different groups (Peter Cetera with Chicago, Ritchie Blackmore with Deep Purple, Cheap Trick with their past drummer). The Cheap Trick reunion might happen, though it will not be easy. I doubt Ritchie Blackmore appears at the ceremony, and while Peter Cetera could entertain the idea of reuniting with Chicago for a final time; Mr. Cetera has not felt the need to reunite in the past 30 years. The Kiss reunion uncertainty in 2014 only involved One act. 2016 has Three acts that people want to see a reunion at any cost. As for N.W.A,, a reunion of surviving members, including Dr. Dre, has always been on the offering so no problem there.
We all assume the remaining inductees will be announced early in the new year. I am not sure who gets inducted through other means, though I assume they will generate a lot of needed buzz. I am guessing the RRHOF do not want a second Ringo Starr situation when the inductee that was not on a nominating ballot gets to be the headliner.
This may sound absurd, yet i think the RRHOF made the decision to scrap the Los Angeles location for one in New York due to the every several years weather pattern El Nino. A pattern in which the West Coast gets colder and wetter, and the East Coast remains wet yet far milder. We just noticed this peculiarity when on Christmas Eve, New York City was in the upper 60s. Fortunately, this will not last long and is expected to be considerably colder in the days and months and even years to come. I say years because after an El Nino there is a La Nina. Not to mention there has been a methane gas leak off the coast of California that has only been given nationwide attention on Christmas Eve: after 6 weeks of leakage! To give you an idea, methane is far more dangerous than carbon dioxide. So, environment, weather patterns and short sighted ideals have the ceremony now taking place in New York. Perhaps next year the ceremony will return to Los Angeles.
Well, since I doubt you will get official answers from Jann Wenner, Jon Landau and Co., I do hope these answers I gave will suffice. I was going to finish this before Christmas Eve; yet dinners, parties and a far amount of gifts I received made this get posted at this time, Leave it to the Holiday season to receive much desired gifts like new Roger Waters and David Gilmour films and albums, a new LP player, two more vinyl LPs and finally getting the Beatles on music streaming services like Apple Music. And that is just rock and roll and music related.
Any comments and/or questions are greatly encouraged and appreciated.
Some 12 years ago, a retired businessman and budding novelist was in the process of revising his political thriller "Bush 2004". His name is Dr. Lawrence Britt; the Doctorate was for political science. As a result of what the world was seeing in a rightward shift that was increasingly war-like and nationalistic, Dr. Britt wrote an article in Free Inquiry magazine taking notice of totalitarian dictatorships and adapted t what was happening in the US. The article, Fascism Anyone?, was posted and reposted to many different websites and was considered one of the defining political statements of 2003.
At its heart was what Dr. Britt considered the 14 defining characteristics of fascism. Interestingly, it was found that the Cheney-Bush administration had enacted all 14 characteristics. Although it would take another 5 years and the 2004 election to alter the course of leadership, people became aware of the growing nationalistic and fascist tendencies of the right wing in America. And now it appears we are witnessing this yet again; this time under the rubric of the Republican candidates for President. In particular, we focus on one Donald Trump; currently leading both the Primary and General Election polls (!). So, does Mr. Trump and his people and travelers define the 14 characteristics? Well let us have a look.
Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.
Well, the slogan for the Trump campaign is "Make America Great Again", which is also followed by massive generalizations of important topics. The same goes true for many of the other Presidential campaigns in the Republican field, and some in the Democratic field included. We see this often in campaigns and rhetoric that invoke the United States as being something it is not. Any time I hear phrases such as "greatest country" and "freedom" applied to the US, I tend to respond in more thoughtful approaches. In short, the US is not, has never been and could never be the greatest country. Why is that? It is because America is currently at war.
Disdain for the importance of human rights.
This is shown in spades. Donald Trump, along with many right wingers, have managed to alienate and belittle any and every person that is not a white rich man. For myself, the Trump campaign has not shown even One ounce of dignity and support toward people with special needs, including individuals with Asperger's Syndrome and/or are on the Autistic Spectrum. Indeed, we have seen utter ridicule and belittling when these issues are brought forth. If this is how Asperger's Syndrome are perceived by Trump, other groupings are clearly given worse considerations.
Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
The easiest sorts of scapegoats we have seen these past 14 years have been Arabs, Muslims, Islamists and Middle Easterners. At any point a false flag occurs, Arabs are given the immediate blame, particularly by the Republican Party. The knee jerk reaction these past weeks has been to tell any Muslim they are not welcome into the US. Donald Trump has been the sole candidate mentioning this proposal; yet you can bet your sweet bippy that Every Republican candidate is agreeing to this, even if they will publicly be against such proposals.
The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
The political class on the whole have never met a war they did not want. The Trump campaign seems intent on altering the current and future international policies of the US. Shockingly, there are worse Republican candidates that feel war is the first option of foreign policy. Rest assured, if we get a Republican president; we will be at war within one year of the election.
Rampant sexism.
Each and every campaign for the presidency on the Republican side has espoused anti-abortion, anti-women and sexist rhetoric. Donald Trump is obviously not someone that understands women. Being on your third wife is a big giveaway. This is to say nothing of espousing anti-abortion views that would easily reverse 100+ years of women's equality.
A controlled mass media.
We often hear that the mainstream media is liberal minded. Well, for each liberal minded viewpoint, I notice two conservative viewpoints given longer time to be presented. To provide a more potent example: Sen. Hillary Clinton, or any Democrat for that matter, may get a mention and some air time on the news channels if Sec. of State Clinton is on a campaign stop. Donald Trump, along with other Republicans, will have an entire half-hour at least devoted to whatever speech they are giving; and if not a speech, news coverage will be devoted to live footage of Trump attending the opening of a napkin. I would not be surprised if some form of payola among news organizations for access to the Trump campaign has been approved.
Obsession with national security.
An unfortunate rule of thumb present in ideal lacking campaigns is when your domestic policy is horrid or, worse, invalid; it is time to whip up the threat of the boogeyman luring at your front lawn. I find it disgusting that a great deal of people willingly fall for this malarkey; only temporarily gaining their sanity back when their money runs out. And as I mentioned before, it is easy to put blame on the other when the problem is and has always been the self.
Power of corporations protected.
Donald Trump has had the gall to put his name on most services and goods, including bottled water! While it would not be a surprise to see The Trump Organization expand in a Trump presidency should it happen, corporate expansion and claims of corporate person hood will be front and center in any Republican presidency. What is worse is many of these corporations provide non-informational goods and services that only provide benefit for the corporations. And none of these corporations give a flying fig about either you or me.
Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
The labor movement as it is now is rather fractured, as we see in unions and trade organizations splitting their endorsements for whom their leadership want to see become president. However, it is certain not one of the labor unions will support a Donald Trump presidency, and with good cause. Mr. Trump's business practices, or lack thereof, has caused stagnant wages and at least 5 businesses going bankrupt, while the Donald expands his riches.
Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.
Donald Trump currently leads the polling demographic in people willing to vote for him that were never university educated; to say nothing of those without a formal education of any sort. Incidentally, a dumb person tends to be far more religious than a smart person. Mixing those two, negative feelings arise when confronted with intellectuals and people involved in the arts; which also incidentally happen to coalesce as well. I should know, because for someone that is on the Spectrum, I do happen to think of myself as an intellectual and a patron of the arts in the limited scope I may have.
Obsession with crime and punishment.
This also extends to disdain for attorneys and simplification of laws and regulations to mere children's tantrums. The sorts of laws that are in the likeness of "well, if I cannot do this, then Nobody can!" Indeed, there will be an increase in people being charged for one thing while it is really for a matter of ignorant plebs wanting to be rid of someone that reminds them of their collective guilt.
Rampant cronyism and corruption.
With a name like Trump, we could expect nearly every member of the family to gain an executive cabinet level position. Not only that, we could expect business people to be appointed to governmental offices or even downright elected who have no clue whatsoever about public policy. As it is now, Donald Trump has no damn clue what he is talking about.
Fraudulent elections.
The votes and opinion polls are completely rigged for a number of candidates. Donald Trump has been polling at the top of national polls since July, and it is usually anywhere between 27% and 40% of the vote. Extend this to general election mode, and Donald Trump can pull off an election miracle at the last minute using e-votes and effectively buying his way into the presidency. Sure, it could be done by all sides, and we have seen this time and again most recently in the 2012 election when both sides used e-voting tactics to inflate votes. Yet, a man like Donald Trump with nothing to lose will stand to do anything to win a race and claim his perceived kingdom.
In short, of the 14 defining characteristics of fascism present in our lives; Donald Trump, his campaign, and much of the Republican field has sadly been confirmed to invoke all 14.
In a related matter, in the 10 years since Idiocracy was completed, some 30% of Mike Judge's observations and inferences have come true. This seems to be not a coincidence that we are witnessing a potential presidency of Donald Trump which may be just as problematic as a Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho presidency.
Knowledge will be our awakening. Ignorance, and will ignorance, will be our undoing. And yet, so few care about the ills and needs of our planet.
On a positive note for the moment, a worldwide treaty was drafted to reduce carbon emissions and reduce the impact of global warming. We now need to initiate the next important step and have a carbon tax. I say this because right now, it is night in the lower 50s in December. December weather needs to be below zero with snow. Otherwise, our children and their children will never know what Christmas was like.
I will be writing more sooner than later. Indeed, I will have a lot to say on my favorite movies, music, events, TV shows, websites and books for 2015 as soon as can be. Hope you are looking forward to these opinions, and you might be a bit surprised.
In my most recent post, I had expressed concern over what we have been seeing with respect to the elites of this world wanting to initiate a war against Syria, and eventually Russia. In all fairness, I was hoping most people would start waking up to the obvious false flags and emotional manipulation being used against them. And yet, days after another inside job, this time in San Bernardino, California; it appears that Americans, particularly the uneducated and gullible, are willing to get their war and violence mindset into full view. In response, functions in world governments and financial institutions, to say nothing of certain factions of the US Government, are more than willing to give them the rope to destroy themselves.
Many of you may be thinking "Robert, why is it you look at these events and think we are not told the truth?" I have ample reason to conclude these recent IS/Daesh/Muslim purported attacks are not what we are being told. When you look into any one of these purported acts of terrorism, the most important question to ask only consists of two words:
Who Benefits?
In each of these cases, it is never the people and groups publicly blamed for any such tragedy that will benefit. Indeed, the result is either their deaths or their arrest. Such is the matter of the married couple that supposedly were the perpetrators of the San Benardino shooting. So, with that out of the way, what and who is leading you to the abyss? By that I mean, since there are more gullible people than smarter free thinking people, their answer for their problems will become our problemsif left unchecked.
The more I think of this, the more I come to believe these false flags we have seen this year: the Charlie Hebdo shooting, Charleston, Chicago, San Bernardino, Paris, and others, are being managed and conceived not entirely by the current Obama leadership. No, I think much of these inside jobs have the hallmark of the New Conservative movement; alongside the financial dynasties and the ever omnipotent Mossad peeking by. The same sorts of groups and financiers that financed and authorized 9/11. It pains me to say this; yet I think these false flags are to continue until election day in the US next year. And in response, someone is getting the propaganda of being the savior of us all, yet again. Do I have to spell him out?
D-O-N-A-L-D T-R-U-M-P, oh no:(
Now of course, Mr. Trump is only one person, and cannot be the only person instigating these matters. Yet, every move to a fascistic and xenophobic nation, which is where we are at now, needs a public face. And that face is typically an educated loudmouth male who promises the moon and says stuff without consequences.
Pretty soon, within a day or so, I am going to do a retrospective commentary on a Lawrence Britt essay from 2003, "Fascism, Anyone?" I find that in 12 years the ideas presented therein apply at this time than it may have even less than a year ago. It is my hope that at least one person reading this will be certain to review their incorrect beliefs, and to think twice at least once more. In my lifetime, the world survived a number of politically conservative leaderships with our faced and lives intact. I honestly do not think we and the rest of the world can survive a Trump residency (pun intended).
Here is what I referenced in a section of the essay.
Quite honestly the best John Lennon song not by John Lennon. 35 years since Lennon died; 14 years since George Harrison died. If they were alive today, what would these two men think of us now?
My commentary o the Lawrence Britt article appears shortly,
Robert
PS. I just recently found out John Venditto won the recount to his 2015 Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor election bid. Why in the hell am I not surprised? Well, here is hoping Venditto is indicted post haste. It also says a lot about those that voted for this ne'er do well.
