h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Pay attention to this development:

Updated: 09:15 PM EDT
Al-Qaida Claims Killing of Egyptian Envoy in Iraq.
By BASSEM MROUE, AP

At the start of last week, Iraq dominated concern; hence: the National Address.

At the start of this week, the Supreme Court dominated concern; eclipsing the other.

"Blighty" reached a pinnacle this week with the multi-tasking Blair(reelection, EU
President, G-8 Chair) and the Olympic Win; and the Live 8 shows.

This has all changed on par with recent events.

A true human rubato as none seen.

The rock concert's been forgotten.

The anti-globalists that converged and trashed GlennEagle(G-8) are
nowhere to be seen.

Does anyone care about Lance Armstrong's race?

The economy and the outgoing and now, somewhat less revered Greenspan are on
the back burner.

But pay heed to the envoy issue.

This thing could very well be the thing that actually derails the Iraq government experiment
as Egypt is a key operational ally in Western Asia(with Turkey - Jordan is more of
an ideational partner).
Their diplomatic team has been withdrawn.
This will have shock waves.


The American world has heard of bombings since 9/11: Bali, Casablanca, Istanbul, Moscow, Madrid.
But this one dead set square center in the Anglo-American world has raised the ears
higher than ever since.

London has had terrorism readiness for decades.

In Tony Blair's words: "In these acts, they express their values; in our response,
we express ours."

The symbolic significance is keen. The G-8 is hosted in the land that launched modern commercial culture and the industrial age.
All leaders that have converged here have a diabolical finger pointed right at them.
If any of the attacks are suicide, then it's a precedent of the first order for the Western world.
These disillusioning events markedly alter the game plan of the civilized powers.
Uncomfortable steps are now on the dossier; a dossier, written by
civil authorities who now seem to have certain endorsement, due to the sad turn of events, on both their prescriptions and civil prognosis-making faculties.

The current trend(NY Times reporter) towards critiquing the police and the powers-that-be can be expected to encounter resistance for the near term.

This time the chord was struck.

And we are not quite the same America of chutzpah"Seinfeld"(point show) up to 2001 that met
the first volley.

The silence and lack of anthems are deafening.


[And there's a category 3 hurricane(130 MPH) winds that is en route
with no attention from the otherwise occupied media.

It's going to be a bumpy ride.]

Hi DeepScroll1,

Do you have a link to the source for all this, please?

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GRA749687.htm

Well, that's *a* source carrying the same information.

That the predators are at the door can in no way now be of doubt to the American world.
Look at the etymology of the word: "predator" -- pre - dating.
Before writing, noting, and accounting.
These are primeval manifestations of social exclusionary impulses.

Great Britain's urban areas, as multicultural, are among the most racially and ethnically diverse areas, not only in the First World but the planet.
They are the ultimate blueprint society for the future.
Any step they take; we the rest shall have to pass; though in our own
unique, reckoning way.
The only European power to survive the Great Collapse of 1914-45(hot) - 89(cold) - with its power lineage intact.
Churchill: "I do not intend to preside over the end of the British Empire."
To his chagrin, he got to do so - but only Britain as a "hard power".
The "soft power" of globalism looks to the UK as a reference point.

To Americans, this incident is particularly attuning in regards to their shared public world praxis.
The reason is cultural.
As Wittgenstein said: "The limits of my language are the limits of my reality."
Most Americans, like most people in the world, though not, inexcusably, pace with other first world cultures, are bilingual(barely).
Attacks in remoter areas, geographically or linguistically do not engender full sympathy. Even Madrid.
This is human.
The disruptive changes yesterday struck a shared cultural space of English speakers.

The modulation of popular mood from high energy elation to sheer coping and determination is unprecedented in world-history in the space of a day in a society of this magnitude; and Shakespearean.

The above remarks of the renown cyclist are for perspective purposes only and do not denigrate his true accomplishments.
Indeed, they are a beacon for us in these times.

And let us hope that the apprehension of the perpetrators does not go with a bang, instead of a whimper, like the 3/11 strikers/scum.

These writings are to be considered as essay.

Effectively I am the source for the material written by myself.
It is in simple essay format.

I draw information generally from the common outlets.
I cull it for my own purposes. I quote quips from renown authors
from memory.

Is this a problem?

'Shakespears true accomplishments are a beacon for us in these times?'
Please explain.

"The modulation of popular mood from high energy elation to sheer coping and determination is unprecedented in world-history in the space of a day in a society of this magnitude; and Shakespearean.

The above remarks of the renown cyclist are for perspective purposes only and do not denigrate his true accomplishments.
Indeed, they are a beacon for us in these times." DeepScroll1 (2005)

Hi DeepScroll1,

I have read your posts with interest and wonder...

Are you familiar with Alan Sokal (the author of 'Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity')?

I wonder if I am alone in not neccessarily understanding what you've written. Forgive me, but what's a "praxis?" I thought I had a good vocabulary, but apparently not.

I thought what you had to say about English speaking was interesting. I disagree slightly, however. I would say that most Americans are not bilingual. In some areas many people do at least speak Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Tagalog, etc as well as English, but quite a few people only speak English, and not even well at that. Those people are often natives of another country or immediate descendants of immigrants. For a long time I have admired the French and German (those are the ones I know of) public school systems for starting language education early, as opposed to grades 7 and 8 in America. We would be better and more varied linguists if we did that. As it is, most of us get by Americanizing the words of other languages, that's it.

I do agree that the plight of London's English speakers certainly has more significance to us because we can hear people's descriptions in our "heart" language...we understand immediately what they mean, rather than having to read their expressions and lose the real meaning of their words in translation. But people are people, aren't they? And are .

Anyway, I may not be all together this afternoon because that was really all I could hold on to...

Sorry, bad editing. My mistake:

Refering to "Those people are often natives of another country or immediate descendants of immigrants."

It should read "Those people 'who do speak more than one language' are often natives of another country or immediate descendants of immigrants."

Forgive me!

A line correction due to misphrasing is in order:
"Most Americans, like most people in the world, though not, inexcusably, pace with other first world cultures, are bilingual(barely)."
The idea intended for conveyance ought be:
The majority of Americans have the potentiality for bilinguality.

At minimum. Three or four ought be an ideal standard for a reach to the far corners of the globe.
As it turns out they are not even pace with some of the remoter cultures(Eskimo), whom have adopted the burden of learning for purposes of vigor; much less other First World societies.

The substantive adjective: "and Shakespearean" joins with
"unprecedented" in modifying the preprepositional phrase: "in world-history
in the space of a single day" and not: "in a society of this magnitude".

This is important in that a false impression of roteness(cultural), or even whimsy could be perceived.

It is not the case as "turning the universe over on its head" is the main ideational thrust here.