MetaFilter posts tagged with Howard

You Say You Want a Revolution

billysumday — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:35:01 -0800

You Say You Want a Revolution -- "Despite some bravado, I myself was a cautious person looking to break the shackles of bourgeois detachment. I felt real relief in seemingly giving my all. But at the same time, I was terrified. Such existential 'acting out' does not ordinarily lead to political good sense. The importance of demonstrating revolutionary credentials or moral purity gets in the way of clear thinking about how to strengthen the movement or take advantage of political opportunities." Howard Machtinger, a founding member of the Weather Underground, provides a contemporary critique of his group's actions. [via]

Aunt Bee and Big Al say vote McCain!

miss lynnster — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:51:36 -0800

Okay, this election is officially weird. Opie, Andy, Richie and the Fonz apparently want us to vote Obama. Sadly, it's missing the kind of catchy songs featured in Fonzie's other PSA (NSFW).

S**tstorm

billysumday — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:38:55 -0800

China banks told to halt lending to US banks. Unemployment figures climb to a 7-year high. New home sales fall to 17-year low. Ruh-roh. Not everyone was caught so off-guard by this economic calamity and financial shitstorm. Everybody's favorite curmudgeon, James Howard Kunstler, outlined his vision of a resource-depleted and fractious America in his essay (and book) The Long Emergency in 2005. Also in 2005, James Fallows wrote a creative and intriguing essay called Countdown to a Meltdown (previously discussed here), in which a campaign staffer for a Presidential candidate in the election of 2016 writes a detailed memo outlining the paths by which America got itself into so awful a position. Is doomsday prophesy considered its own literary genre? If so, then certainly Joe Bageant would also have to be considered a member of the canon (with other curmudgeons discussed in this thread).

Howard Rheingold on cooperation, technology, and social dynamics

cortex — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:19:00 -0800

Technology of Cooperation (.gif map), from Howard Rheingold's Cooperation Commons project. Rheingold on Amish technology practices. More of Rheingold's writing on his homepage. An archive of (the hibernating? dead?) Cooperation Commons blog colletive. His Smart Mobs blog, apropos his book by the same name. Two more books, in full text: The Virtual Community, Tools For Thought. An excellent bullet-point distillation, The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online. [via]

The Lesser Of Two Weevils

Neale — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:45:22 -0800

Australia Votes. Polls have been predicting a Labor win for the past few weeks, and it's beginning to look like it just might happen. But that's not the real sport. The real sport is watching the seat of Bennelong, where our current Prime Minister, John Winston Howard stands the chance of losing his seat. This would make him only the second Australian Prime Minister to suffer such ignominy.

Australian Federal Election

wilful — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:58:55 -0800

The Australian Federal election is winding its desultory way towards resolution on 24 November. So far, it has failed to catch much of the electorate’s imagination, and the centrist Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd, retains his comfortable lead in the polls, indicating a change in executive government after 11 years of John Howard’s big-government conservatism. Rudd’s “me too” strategy suggests that ideology is dead in Australia. (Previously) There have been few surprises this campaign, and only the usual level of gaffes and cock-ups. There has been little attention given to the Senate race, despite some interesting horse trading such as Family First preferencing Pauline Hanson. The rise of psephological blogging has provided much-needed relief in the face of The Australian’s prostituting of itself to the conservatives. Personally I reckon Latham had a solid point, though it was easily ignored by the commentariat. It’s all about interest rates and the economy now.

WorkChoices: Fair or not, they're here to stay.

Effigy2000 — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:19:48 -0800

Australiafilter: The Australian High Court handed down its ruling today on the constitutionality of the Howard Government's new Industrial Relations laws, called 'Workchoices', deeming them constitutional by a vote of 5 to 2 (full text of the decision here). Two dissenters, Justices Michael Kirby and Ian Callinan, argued that upholding the laws changes the very nature of the Australian federal system and is "in contradiction of, what was intended and expressed in the constitution by the founders." Whilst bloggers and academics debate the nature of the laws and how fair or unfair they are, the simple fact now is that the laws are here to stay unless there is a change of Government at the 2007 federal election. Find out what it means for you as an employee from both the Howard Government's view and the Union's point of view so you can know your rights at work and decide for yourself.

We're coming to your town, we'll drag your budget down

EatTheWeak — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 14:54:51 -0800

On November 7th, Americans have much to decide. While the two major parties joust for control of the Senate and House, many a ballot initiative does not recieve the scutiny required. Consider Oregon's Rainy Day Amendment, Arizona's HOPE Amendment, California's Protect Our Homes Initiative or Idaho's Proposition 2. Examine the Taxpayer Bill of Rights in Maine and Proposal 6 in Michigan - weigh them against three bills in Montana. [more inside]

Imperator Howard's Tenth Year.

Effigy2000 — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 15:18:46 -0800

Today marks Australian Prime Minister John Howard's tenth year in the top job. The event has sparked the usual calls of when, if ever, he will step down to make way for his annointed successor, Peter Costello, and has also opened the flood gates on a range of editorial criticisms and praise from the usual suspects. But even with a new poll released today claiming that he is the most popular PM in Australia's modern political history, will the continuing AWB scandal (previously discussed in one of my own FPP posts here) and an unhappy Coalition partner finally end his seemingly endless run of political good fortune?

Oh, a wise guy! Curly Howard born 100 years ago

planetkyoto — Wed, 22 Oct 2003 03:03:28 -0800

Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. American comedy legend Jerome Horwitz, a.k.a. Curly Howard(sound) of The Three Stooges, was born 100 years ago today. All right, you knuckeheads, spread out.

liam — Sat, 23 Mar 2002 01:22:35 -0800

Harlan Howard is dead. The greatest American country songwriter outside of Hank Williams and Merle Haggard wrote more than four thousand songs, including Patsy Cline's "I Fall To Pieces" and Buck Owens' "Tiger By The tail", but "God May Forgive You (But I Won't)", performed by Rosie Flores and Iris Dement, is the one that turned me on. Known as the Dean of Nashville songwriters, Harlan had a permanently reserved barstool, and plenty of tips for aspiring songwriters, one of which was "country music is three chords and the truth". Old stool.