Happy Birthday Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin…The Godfather of “ecstasy”

And sorry Sasha- I know you hate the slang “Ecstasy” for what should be properly called MDMA…

Today is the 88th birthday of the magical wizard Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin. The chemist who rediscovered MDMA and helped popularize it- especially in the psychological/therapy communities. He also created and tested (on himself) dozens of other gems- 2C-b, 2C-I, 2C-E, 5-MeO-MIPT, 5-MeO-MIPT, and many, many more.

The man could have been a multi millionaire if that was is interest- instead he and his wife Ann decided to publish their work in Pihkal and Tihkal – expressely opensourcing the chemistry of all these magical substances (along with the many more that proved not worth the time).

And, as some of you know, and as I’ve blogged on before, Sashas health is not good. He requites round the clock care- and it is a major struggle for him and Ann.

So I strongly urge anyone who has benefitted from this mans magical work. Or anyone who is or knows a rape victim, a soldier, or other person who may suffer from PTSD and will likely benefit from the astounding work MAPS is doing using MDMA to treat PTSD to consider making a dnoation to ANN and Sasha:

Donations can be made via credit card or PayPal at:www.shulginresearch.org/home/donate/

Cash, check, or money order can be sent to:

Sasha Shulgin
c/o Transform Press
PO Box 13675
Berkeley, CA 94712

Or buy one (or more) of their books. For yourself. For a friend. For a parent. For your local library.

So…The NSA and FBI have been Spying on us…

…and that’s news? Worthy of sudden outrage?

Let’s face it- massive intercept of communications has been going on since at least “the cold war”. Yes, maybe it died down a bit…or simply seemed to, in the lull between “the cold war” and “the war on terror”.

And clearly Bush helped ramp things up to new levels, which have been continued by Bush. But what has really changed is the method and volume of communications in our world. And hence- the methods of intercepting them.

This new outrage reminds me of a friend from the “gray hat” hacker world. They had gotten one of those t-shirts that says “I Read Your E-Mails” . To which he added to the back “And God You’re Boring”.

In other words- the government is not interested/doesn’t have the resources to do anything with the bulk of the information. Have you seen such things come into play in the Boston Bombings? The School shootings? Various hate crimes? Drug cases? No- because for better or worse virtually all resources have been moved to the “war on terror”.

Not to imply these new “revelations” are trivial- the potential for abuse is real. But this has been going on for decades. And is very much reminiscent of the “First they came…” quote from Martin Niemoller….

Really- the bigger concern for people should be the very companies the NSA and FBI are getting the data from. The very companies whose business models are often not providing you with a service- but providing you a service to collect your data. Data that is sold on the open market with few if any restrictions. Companies that legally track you around the web. And using the location data from your smartphone or laptop- around the world.

Google, Yahoo, Facebook etc- they know far, far more about you then the government does.

Let’s see- just this site alone. How much info did you give WordPress? Your real name? Your real birthdate? An email address that you actually use for other things? Besides WP, Google Analytics is tracking your activity here. As is Quanticast, As is Kiss Metrics. As is Gravity.  As is Optimizely. and…well- you get the picture.

Sorry- but I really don’t get the sudden outrage. Except to note that is coming from two fronts- the left and libertarians who have been tilting at windmills over this issue for decades. And the right- who embraced such actions for decades- until a black, kenyan, msulim, communist/socialist/facist became president. How many times have I heard the same people feigning outrage say “if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about”?!

1,983 Listings for “Bulletproof Vests” on Ebay

And another 40 for “bulletproof backback”.

Not quite sure what inspired me to seach for this on ebay. But I find the results rather disturbing. Disturbing in both that we live in a society where there is so much gun violence that there would be such a demand for these items. And that anyone can purchase such an item- including those whose intent is on offering themselves protection while comitting violence.

Yes, apparently the answer to gun violence is wrapping oneself, or ones child in kevlar. Not in dealing with the prevalence of firearms or the underlying issues of economics, of fear, of hate, and of vilence that pervade our society.

North Carolina Moving to Ban Sales of Tesla Electric Cars

I guess it doesn’t fit within the Republican narrative for a green car manufacturer to actually turn a profit, and have their car receive the highest ranking from Consumer Reports.

Yes, good ole’ North Carolina which last year passed a bill prohibiting state agencies from reporting that, well yes, sea levels ARE rising.

Last week the North Carolina State Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted to pass a bill barring automobile manufacturers from selling directly to consumers. And of course, Tesla is the only US automaker that does this and doesn’t rely on a network of dealers.

Article at Slate here

The IRS Targeted the Tea Party? Quit Your Whining

First- let me point out something I have not seen mentioned in ANY of the coverage of this issue. Namely, that the FEC (Federal Elections Commission), which *should* be the group looking into whether non-profits registered as “social welfare” are using that registration illegally to hide donors while illegally engaging predominantly in political work- is for all intents and purposes non-existent. Because the conservatives have blocked Obama from making any appointments to fill the vacancies.

Now- when I first heard this story break- my first thought was “live by the sword- die by the sword”. Because overwhelmingly- these self-same conservatives are the same ones who for decades have at best turned a blind eye, and at worst been responsible themselves- for just this, and far worse, government harrasment. These are the people who insist muslims should be racially profiled (and the only ones searched at airports). Who believe it is fine and dandy to stop hispanics and ask them for their papers. Who despite their blather about gun rights are fine with “thugs” and “gangsters” types being stop and searched for weapons. Who infilitraded and harrassed the envronmental movement- even labeling some comitted to non-violent action as domestic terrorists. Who have long supported anyone “different” (ie: blacks, hispanics, hippies, ravers, goths, gays, etc being stopped and searched for drugs. Who were quiet as the Bush administration harrassed, arrested, and even added to the no-fly list anti-war protesters and peace activists.

And of course this morning Salon is running an excellent article pointing out that: “…the groups were not targeted in a political vendetta — but rather were executing a makeshift enforcement test (an ugly one, mind you) for IRS employees tasked with separating political groups not allowed to claim tax-exempt status, from bona fide social welfare organizations.“

And then going on to the very real political harassment by the IRS under Bush of groups ranging from liberal antii-war churches, to the NAACP, to Greenpeace.

And yet they are outraged that someone may think they are breaking laws that they rail against?

Umm…sorry if I don’t cry for you. I spent well over a decade of my life going through this harassment. And far worse. And it was these type of people who supported and perpetrated it.

So- I don’t support what apparently a few local offices of the IRS did. And I hope they get crucified. But I am not going to fell sorry for you. And I’m not going to listen to your whining. Because you really don’t give a damn about the issues at hand- you a give a damn because it was you that was the brunt of it. And sadly, I don’t believe for a second this will change your willingness- indeed your desire, to do this to others when you have the power.

Right-Wing(Nut) Conspiracy of the Week: “Obama Threatens 14 Governors w/ Treason over State Defense Forces

Oh my. Actually- a quick search reveals this cospiracy theory goes back 3 years to 2010, virtually unchanged.

So…basically the story goes like this: Obama has served 14 state governors with NSL’s (national security letters) over their forming “State Defense Forces”. Because of course he’s afraid of the states overthrowing the evil tyrant (him). Brave ole’ Tim Pawlenty and Rick Perry are the governors leading the charge.

And mingled in with all this is the claim Obama has been “nationalizing” the national guard of many (particularly red state) states.

Oh boy. So first- this claim has been going on since 2010, which a simple goolge search will show you. Hell, even Ron Pauls forum confrimed this story as a hoax on may 27, 2010. But of course we are to believe this has been going on, whether for a few days or a few years with none of these brave republicans speaking out? Running to the media?

Then of course there’s the tiny issue of the NSL’s. These are in fact nothing more then requests (well Demands) for information related to national security/terrorism. They are not arrest warrants, or threats thereof- nor are they for the presidents use.

Then there is the issue of the state defense forces themselves. Which are codified into federal law 32 USC § 109 , and as such could not be grounds for treason.

And of course, the issue of Obama “nationalizing” the national guard? You see the word national there? They were effectively nationalized, and started receiving federal funding in 1903- long before Obama was born. Obama has done nothing to further nationalize them- indeed the only president who has in recent times was Bush who demanded their use for his two wars.

And of course- the mention of Tim Pawlenty- who is no longer governor. And whose state has no state defense force. (Perry’s state of Texas does)

And of course, no state has started, nor disbanded, a state defense force since at least 2005.

 

And these are the peope who insist they will restore our country to greatness?!

Reagans History: Guatemalan Dictator Found Guilty Of Genocide

Rioss Mont, the former dictaor of Guatemala has been found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. A man Reagan met with, and described as “A man of great personal integrity and commitment”. He oversaw some of the bloodiest years of the Guatemalan civil war, and it’s scorched earth policy that saw the rape, murder, torture, and dissapearing of tens of thousands of guatemalans.

Of course- what has been largely missing from the limited coverage of this conviction, is our countries role. Nixon and Ford had certainly played a large role in supporting the military dictatorship of Guatemala, before Jimmy Carter became president and ended these policies.

But then Reagan, the great republican saint, restarted US aid and support. And coincidentally, the worst of the atrocities followed.

Virtually as soon as he took office Reagan gave them nearly 15 million dollars worth of attack helicopters and trucks and jeeps. He also authorized more then $2 million worth of “covert CIA aid”. As well as delivering more then $35 million worth of tanks. And of course the training of key players at the good ole’ “School of the Americas”.

According to the human rights department of the Catholic Church the offensive launched with Reagans aid, an offensive designed to “de-populate” and “instill terror” in regions where the insurgency was popular, saw 11,000 civilians brutally murdered in just 8 months time.

Just another page in the sad book that is the decade plus long Reagan / Bush policicies of supporting brutal dictators throughout south and central america (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador…) because they were more willing to play ball with US economic interests, were less socialist or communist then the insurgents, or the elected leaders we helped assassinate or overthrow.

A book that is sadly part of a series- starting largely with Dwight D Eisenhower. And with the most gruesome chapters comprised of Republican administrations. Whose appendix should well include the names of the hundreds of thousands of innocents tortured, raped, and murdered for nothing more then trying to choose their own path, their own destinies, their own governments…in their own countries. But who made the simple mistake of running afoul of US interests.