Today's www.atol.com forum posts:

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Other dude: Pepe Escobar is my most favourite writer bar none. I have quite a few favs but no one holds a candle to pepe. Just wanted to say what a great writer he is. Although in quite a few respects he is a bit ahead of the times.

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Biff: Pepe Escobar is just another conspiracy theorist. There is nothing too improbable, as long as it's politically correct, that he won't swallow and parrot. He strikes me as just another journalist who values safety in numbers. Does he ever do his homework on the issues? Does he ever read a book? He strikes me as being completely inert and incapable of thinking for himself. He has never displayed an original thought in any of the articles of his I've read. And all of his pious feelings are retreads that were already thousands of years old by the time the Pharaohs arrived on the ancient scene. How can someone who wears his heart on his sleave and who is devoid of original ideas be ahead of his time? His only value to me is as a weathervane pointing to the latest alleged moral combat explaining world events: i.e. the latest conspiracy theory propounded by moralizing armchair generals for whom systems of ideas are too complex. It's half-wits like Pepe who give the free press, and the left wing especially, such a bad name with those in the know. Relying on the press for one's opinions is a disaster.

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Other dude: At least pepe has the guts and will to go where white trash dont dare. Where the story is at... And when you are the only one there, guess you can make up the stories since there is no one else who can challenge you on the facts.

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Biff: There are reporters dime-a-dozen in practically every location Pepe's gone to. Everybody and there dog who graduates with a bachelor of arts wants to be a reporter. That's why there are so many all over the planet (and why they work for so cheap). And since book writers are also dime-a-dozen, there are books covering literally every subject he's ever covered as well. Pepe does nothing original. He's incapable of originality. It shows in every post of his.

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And it takes no guts to trot out a leftist line in the year 2004. Left-wing politics have a long, long history. Jack London gave socialist speeches and wrote editorials in the nineteen-teens. Helen Keller was arrested in the 1920's campaigning for socialism. Since the Great Depression of the 1930's, left wing politics have been VERY popular with the educated 'white trash' of America. They still are.

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We can agree or disagree with Spengler, but he tries to be original. He has guts. When Pepe does something like Spengler, then I'll respect him.

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But Pepe won't, because he can't. Anyone who can, does. Originality in almost any form is potentially highly lucrative in the media, whether it's the press, Hollywood, radio, or whatever.

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Michael Moore must be worth over US$100 million by now. Why? Because he did something original. He 'invented' left-wing docu-comedy. The earlier left-wing stuff was tear-jerking material. He brought out the comedic side of what he considers tragedy (I think he's full of it, but that's for another post).

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If Pepe had guts he would have done something like this by now. It's the obvious thing to do.

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But it takes more guts (and more confidence and maturity) to mock people (particularly if you do it gracefully) than to commiserate with them or screech to the heavens at their sides in anger. Leftist writers like Molly Ivins of Texas, or Al Franken of the east coast, who have a sense of humor do very well for themselves. Both are 'white trash' types unless you take exception to Al Franken who I believe is/was jewish.

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Other dude quotes John Perkins new book at length and approvingly.

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Biff: A quick survey of John Perkin's books is worthwhile as he seems to have some choice advice on time management and saving airfare: from http://www.johnperkins.org/

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John's earlier books have been published in 14 languages. They include:

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Psychonavigation: Techniques for Travel Beyond Time

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Shapeshifting: Shamanic Techniques for Global and Personal Transformation

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The World Is As You Dream It: Shamanic Teachings from the Amazon and Andes

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The Stress-Free Habit: Powerful Techniques for Health and Longevity from the Andes, Yucatan, and Far East

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Spirit of the Shuar:Wisdom from the Last Unconquered People of the Amazon

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And of course, given the above, Perkins has the full endorsement of the lunatic fringe on the left: Democracy Now!(http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/09/1526251)

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Somehow the following review seems more likely to be somewhere near the mark: From Publishers WeeklyPerkins spent the 1970s working as an economic planner for an international consulting firm, a job that took him to exotic locales like Indonesia and Panama, helping wealthy corporations exploit developing nations as, he claims, a not entirely unwitting front for the National Security Agency. He says he was trained early in his career by a glamorous older woman as one of many "economic hit men" advancing the cause of corporate hegemony. He also says he has wanted to tell his story for the last two decades, but his shadowy masters have either bought him off or threatened him until now. The story as presented is implausible to say the least, offering so few details that Perkins often seems paranoid, and the simplistic political analysis doesn’t enhance his credibility. Despite the claim that his work left him wracked with guilt, the artless prose is emotionally flat and generally comes across as a personal crisis of conscience blown up to monstrous proportions, casting Perkins as a victim not only of his own neuroses over class and money but of dark forces beyond his control. His claim to have assisted the House of Saud in strengthening its ties to American power brokers may be timely enough to attract some attention, but the yarn he spins is ultimately unconvincing, except perhaps to conspiracy buffs.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Other dude: Why don't you look up general smedly... Maybe you can drag that punks name through the dirt since it wont fit your world view..

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Biff: I know about smedly. And about U.S. Grant's comments about the Mexican War. And about Thucydides slamming of Athens in ancient Greece. But you need to check the people you quote before quoting them. You linked to John Perkins at Democracy Now! in another thread. The guy's a nut who believes in psychic transportation. He's written an entire book on this. And several other nutty volumes too. Do a google search and brace yourself.

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Have you watched the democracy now interview on video yet? Check out his rationalization of how he gave in to serial bribe-taking. He ought to do standup.

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I used to toe the left-line somewhat, but I realized I was being hustled after I hit the stacks at the library. There's a lot of hustlers out there. On both the left and the right. All I'm trying to do is base my world view on something broader than journalism and internet links.

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Biff Cappuccino