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Celebrating freedom, in various ways

John Mark Ockerbloom — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:54:58 +0000

This week marks both the anniversary of Canadian confederation (Canada Day, July 1), and the anniversary of American independence (Independence Day, July 4, or should that be July 2?) This week I'm also finishing up subject cataloging of online books on both countries (or at least, all the ones for which I previously had less precise US and Canadian history subjects automatically assigned.) So if you'd like to read up on Canada or United States history, there are plenty of free online books in various relevant topics you can browse through.

There's a lot more that I could potentially index, so please suggest titles or topics you'd like to see. (I sometimes find suggestions myself, such as this book on India's history recommended in this blog comment, but it's generally quicker and more reliable to tell me directly.)

Even if I can't list the precise title you're asking for, it's often possible to find similar titles if I know what kinds of books you're interested in. I recently received a request for a few published diaries that are still under copyright and that I couldn't list, but knowing the person's interests, I could point them to this subject map, where you can browse through published diaries from all kinds of people, times, and places online, arranged by subject.

I'm very thankful to the folks who put the materials online that I list. You never know when something you post will suddenly become important or attract widespread interest. Who would have guessed, for instance, that a 1957 Air Force study of Chinese Communist techniques to extract false confessions would become relevant to present-day investigations of interrogations at Guantanamo? Thanks to the folks at PubMedCentral, we have not only that article, but the full journal issue on various aspects of Communist prisoner mistreatment (which I only wish were not so relevant today) in which this article appeared, and indeed, nearly the entire run of that medical journal. (I'll list the journal later today in the serials listings of The Online Books Page.) The articles in that joural issue remind us of some of the oppressions that Americans have fought against since our country's founding, and that I hope we can defeat again.

Sometimes the digitizers need a little help. A while back, legal threats led to the shutdown of the International Music Score Library Project, based in Canada and the US. The scores in the library were public domain in those countries, but cease-and-desist notices were sent based on the possibility of scores being downloaded by musicians in countries with longer copyright terms. I'm happy to hear that the library is back online, thanks in part to legal support from both Canada and the US. I'll be adding this library to my archives and indexes page today as well.

Increasingly, good information resources on just about any subject are freely and legitimately available online, or can be. As we celebrate freedom this week in much of North America, let's also remember and thank the folks who help free knowledge and culture online.

The Rockefeller File

ppjg — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:45:04 +0000

The Rockefeller File

by Gary Allen

Table of Contents

1 - The Multi-Billion Dollar Myth

2 - The Saintly Sinner

3 - The Family That Preys Together

4 - Profit x Philanthropy = Power

5 - Yes, Virginia, There Is An Establishment

6 - The Rockefeller Mediacracy

7 - Surrender By Consent

8 - Surrender By Conquest

9 - Building The Big Red Machine

10 - The People Planners

11 - The Great Energy Swindle

12 - The Eternal Power Behind The Throne

13 - Was Nixon Watergated?

Epilogue

http://www.mega.nu:8080/ampp/gary_allen_rocker/

This book is available online in its full length version. Valuable reading for those who wonder who is pulling the strings behind the scenes. LINK

Marti Oakley/PPJG

The Rockefeller File.......An online book.

ppjg — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:39:22 +0000

http://www.mega.nu:8080/ampp/gary_allen_rocker/

The Rockefeller File

by Gary Allen

Table of Contents

1 - The Multi-Billion Dollar Myth

2 - The Saintly Sinner

3 - The Family That Preys Together

4 - Profit x Philanthropy = Power

5 - Yes, Virginia, There Is An Establishment

6 - The Rockefeller Mediacracy

7 - Surrender By Consent

8 - Surrender By Conquest

9 - Building The Big Red Machine

10 - The People Planners

11 - The Great Energy Swindle

12 - The Eternal Power Behind The Throne

13 - Was Nixon Watergated?

Epilogue

http://www.mega.nu:8080/ampp/gary_allen_rocker/

VI - I hear the music

llhaesa — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:05:03 +0000

When Jahrae was well into adolescence, her musical interest was uncomplicated: loud and manic - much to the frustration of her parents. Oh, her parents were hardly skittish of genres of music that demanded to be played loud, it was just that there was loud, and then there was loud.

There was perverse pleasure in one upping otherwise progressive parents – quite a typical symptom of adolescent taking first steps towards independence. And really – really! Her parents were listening to some refugee from a Save The Planet convention, and that was the last thing she needed to start having conversations on at this point in life, school sociological dynamics were tough enough. Unfortunately for Jahrae, her parents were not adverse to using their music to make some this is a lesson in life point.

Even worse, this particular STP musician was not significantly older than Jahrae, which her parents would undoubtedly use to reinforce whatever their message happened to be. Ugh, what a sell out she must appear to be to her parents and their like minded friends.

Knowing the best defence in most things in life (including the lectures of over protective parents) was a good offence, Jahrae was sufficiently astute to understand that offence in this matter meant being sufficiently knowledgeable to overcome objections. “Best I begin to get that information now” she thought, moving towards the interface located in the work room.

Once comfortably seated at the interface (and for her, that meant one leg folded under her such that she was setting on the inside of her right foot) Jahrae set out to find out all she could on this admittedly rising young star. Searching the main library database repository – known to most as the athenaeum, the results were listed at 43,674,991.

Great. How to narrow the search? Ah… add biographical history to the name. Sure enough, this time the results were far closer to where her interest lie.

Raised by a single mother… began her music education at age 4… attended N’rellia Conservatory and graduated with honours… (‘wow’ and ‘pathetic’ scrolled unnoticed through Jahrae’s mind) earned the President’s award… As she read on through the lengthy biography, Jahrae came to an abrupt stop. “Banned from all government financed and supported entertainment facilities, and from all government funded schools…” she read quietly to the unhearing and empty room.

Jahrae knew nothing of this; her parents had never mentioned their suddenly favourite new artist was viewed as subversive by the government. And there was no explanation to be found, despite the changing parameters she entered into the athenaeum-connected interface. Failing to find what she sought, she returned to the now once-read biography.

As she pondered this information, Jahrae thought on why she had not heard of this ban. Her parents listened to an illegal broadcast station, and so they would not hesitate to share the story of such an artist. Viewing or listening to such broadcasts was not illegal, only the broadcast itself was banned under statute. In order to keep on air, those involved developed a mobile platform from which to get and keep their programmes on air. To accomplish this, they had to have quite sophisticated and undetectable technology.

Jahrae was familiar with only one of this artist’s songs, and amazingly, she had never seen what the artist looked like. Leaving the fact sheet portion of the biography, she moved on into the imagery section.

Within 15 minutes, Jahrae had shut down the interface and asked her parents to gain admission for all of them at the artist’s next private appearance – the only way this artist could now legally entertain.

For Jahrae, the happy go lucky, look on the bright side of life daughter of activist parents, something very deep inside and which she could not as yet understand, was screaming and reprising through her now disquieted mind. Not yet to adulthood, Jahrae knew beyond all rational doubt this artist – this rebel - would ultimately find her destiny completely intertwined with her own.