ckaihatsu
18th June 2009, 08:03
Petros,
Not only is this a more incredible concoction than anything a comedian could come up with as a parody, but it also happens to cut to the heart of the ongoing American identity crisis.
The telltale sign of societal / showbiz desperation is the reliance on themes of either nature or religion. From a stylistic point of view these are old, hackneyed forms that reflect the tiredest of cliches.
The Americanist storyline has long since run its course, as evidenced by the lack of an American hero myth in the present day. (The most recent possible candidate I can think of would be the Bruce Willis / Kevin Smith characters in "Live Free or Die Hard" -- *they* were legitimately representing the best interests of the populace by foiling a one-of-our-own-gone-bad renegade who threatens the country's civil infrastructure -- definitely more of a *populist* hero theme than the '80s' Rambo.
Accompanying us on the deindustrialization downslide has been the transformation of the nation-engine into the nation-cult. The late '90s brought us the Information Revolution, with the result that the information has emerged the winner. The vestiges of a corporate controlled commercial mass culture hang on by their fingernails as *no one* complains about "information overload" anymore -- hacks saying it these days wouldn't be listened to anyway now that the Internet has matured and become an everyday, taken-for-granted household appliance.
I assure you, the revolution will *not* be televised -- it will be open-source!
Comradely,
Chris
--
--
___
RevLeft.com -- Home of the Revolutionary Left
www.revleft.com/vb/member.php?u=16162
Photoillustrations, Political Diagrams by Chris Kaihatsu
community.webshots.com/user/ckaihatsu/
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myspace.com/ckaihatsu
CouchSurfing:
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-- Of all the Marxists in a roomful of people, I'm the Wilde-ist. --
On 6/18/09, Petros Evdokas <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> "Clones of 9/11 hero dog unveiled in Los Angeles"
>
> Gag me with a pitchfork. Please.
> Petros
> ________
>
>
> Clones of 9/11 hero dog unveiled in Los Angeles
> June 19, 2009
>
> LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Five clones of a search and rescue dog which helped
> locate people trapped in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks were formally
> presented to their ancestor's former handler.
>
> James Symington, a former Canadian police officer, choked back tears as he
> formally took possession of the five descendants of his beloved German
> shepherd named Trakr, who died in April.
>
> Symington was presented with Trakr's offspring after winning a competition
> organized by California firm BioArts International -- the "Golden Clone
> Giveaway" -- to find the world's most "cloneworthy" dog.
>
> Symington said he hopes the puppies -- Trustt, Valor, Prodigy, Solace and
> Deja Vu -- will go on to follow in Trakr's footsteps.
>
> "We're here to celebrate that Trakr's legacy lives on in these five
> beautiful puppies," he told reporters. "If they have the same attributes
> Trakr did, then hopefully they'll develop into world class search and rescue
> dogs."
>
> Symington and Trakr arrived at the site of the World Trade Center collapse,
> commonly referred to as Ground Zero, on September 12, 2001 and were one of
> the first K9 search and rescue teams on the scene.
>
> After working nearly non-stop for 48 hours, Trakr located the last human
> survivor found in the rubble of the twin towers.
>
> "Trakr was an extraordinary search and rescue dog. His work at Ground Zero
> was the culmination of his career," Symington said.
>
> BioArts International, which says it offers the world's first commercial dog
> cloning service, partnered with South Korea's SooAm Biotech Research
> Foundation to clone Trakr under the direction of scientist Hwang Woo-Suk.
>
> BioArts International chief executive Lou Hawthorne said canine cloning
> would remain beyond the reach of ordinary pet lovers, with cloned dogs
> costing an average 144,000 dollars each.
>
> Hawthorne defended the right of people to clone their dogs instead of
> obtaining new pets from rescue shelters.
>
> "I think 99 percent of the time people should get their pets from shelters,"
> he told AFP.
>
> "But can we agree though that one percent of the time if you have a one in a
> million dog and you have the money to pay for it, you should be able to go
> to either a breeder or a cloner?"
>
> Hawthorne said Trakr had been chosen for cloning because of his heroics on
> 9/11. "We received many very touching submissions to our contest, describing
> some truly amazing dogs," he said. "But Trakr's story blew us away."
>
> Symington meanwhile said that one member of his new litter -- Trustt -- was
> an exact replica of Trakr.
>
> "The physical similarities are uncanny," he told AFP. "He's the spitting
> image of the Trakr that I first met in 1995. He has exactly the same
> markings, the way he moves, everything. Very alert, very intelligent and
> intuitive.
>
> "I respect that cloning's not for everyone. But there are few dogs that are
> born with extraordinary abilities and Trakr was one of those dogs," he said.
>
> "I look forward to the day that these puppies can follow in Trakr's
> footsteps and play an important role in other rescues, like Trakr did."
>
> From:
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090618/ts_afp/healthusskoreacloneanimal_20090618030617
> Photo:
> http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Hwang-Woo-Suk/photo//090618/photos_ts_wl_afp/2585c5ee1a8278fe79ebd71d9fe98d58//s:/afp/20090618/ts_afp/healthusskoreacloneanimal_20090618030617;_ylt=Ao59 4jVxjwmhOGaiLV5pD52GOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTE5OGJwYTlkBHBv cwMxBHNlYwN5bl9yX3RvcF9waG90bwRzbGsDY2xvbmVzb2Y5MT Fo
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
>
>
Not only is this a more incredible concoction than anything a comedian could come up with as a parody, but it also happens to cut to the heart of the ongoing American identity crisis.
The telltale sign of societal / showbiz desperation is the reliance on themes of either nature or religion. From a stylistic point of view these are old, hackneyed forms that reflect the tiredest of cliches.
The Americanist storyline has long since run its course, as evidenced by the lack of an American hero myth in the present day. (The most recent possible candidate I can think of would be the Bruce Willis / Kevin Smith characters in "Live Free or Die Hard" -- *they* were legitimately representing the best interests of the populace by foiling a one-of-our-own-gone-bad renegade who threatens the country's civil infrastructure -- definitely more of a *populist* hero theme than the '80s' Rambo.
Accompanying us on the deindustrialization downslide has been the transformation of the nation-engine into the nation-cult. The late '90s brought us the Information Revolution, with the result that the information has emerged the winner. The vestiges of a corporate controlled commercial mass culture hang on by their fingernails as *no one* complains about "information overload" anymore -- hacks saying it these days wouldn't be listened to anyway now that the Internet has matured and become an everyday, taken-for-granted household appliance.
I assure you, the revolution will *not* be televised -- it will be open-source!
Comradely,
Chris
--
--
___
RevLeft.com -- Home of the Revolutionary Left
www.revleft.com/vb/member.php?u=16162
Photoillustrations, Political Diagrams by Chris Kaihatsu
community.webshots.com/user/ckaihatsu/
3D Design Communications - Let Your Design Do Your Footwork
ckaihatsu.elance.com
MySpace:
myspace.com/ckaihatsu
CouchSurfing:
tinyurl.com/yoh74u
-- Of all the Marxists in a roomful of people, I'm the Wilde-ist. --
On 6/18/09, Petros Evdokas <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> "Clones of 9/11 hero dog unveiled in Los Angeles"
>
> Gag me with a pitchfork. Please.
> Petros
> ________
>
>
> Clones of 9/11 hero dog unveiled in Los Angeles
> June 19, 2009
>
> LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Five clones of a search and rescue dog which helped
> locate people trapped in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks were formally
> presented to their ancestor's former handler.
>
> James Symington, a former Canadian police officer, choked back tears as he
> formally took possession of the five descendants of his beloved German
> shepherd named Trakr, who died in April.
>
> Symington was presented with Trakr's offspring after winning a competition
> organized by California firm BioArts International -- the "Golden Clone
> Giveaway" -- to find the world's most "cloneworthy" dog.
>
> Symington said he hopes the puppies -- Trustt, Valor, Prodigy, Solace and
> Deja Vu -- will go on to follow in Trakr's footsteps.
>
> "We're here to celebrate that Trakr's legacy lives on in these five
> beautiful puppies," he told reporters. "If they have the same attributes
> Trakr did, then hopefully they'll develop into world class search and rescue
> dogs."
>
> Symington and Trakr arrived at the site of the World Trade Center collapse,
> commonly referred to as Ground Zero, on September 12, 2001 and were one of
> the first K9 search and rescue teams on the scene.
>
> After working nearly non-stop for 48 hours, Trakr located the last human
> survivor found in the rubble of the twin towers.
>
> "Trakr was an extraordinary search and rescue dog. His work at Ground Zero
> was the culmination of his career," Symington said.
>
> BioArts International, which says it offers the world's first commercial dog
> cloning service, partnered with South Korea's SooAm Biotech Research
> Foundation to clone Trakr under the direction of scientist Hwang Woo-Suk.
>
> BioArts International chief executive Lou Hawthorne said canine cloning
> would remain beyond the reach of ordinary pet lovers, with cloned dogs
> costing an average 144,000 dollars each.
>
> Hawthorne defended the right of people to clone their dogs instead of
> obtaining new pets from rescue shelters.
>
> "I think 99 percent of the time people should get their pets from shelters,"
> he told AFP.
>
> "But can we agree though that one percent of the time if you have a one in a
> million dog and you have the money to pay for it, you should be able to go
> to either a breeder or a cloner?"
>
> Hawthorne said Trakr had been chosen for cloning because of his heroics on
> 9/11. "We received many very touching submissions to our contest, describing
> some truly amazing dogs," he said. "But Trakr's story blew us away."
>
> Symington meanwhile said that one member of his new litter -- Trustt -- was
> an exact replica of Trakr.
>
> "The physical similarities are uncanny," he told AFP. "He's the spitting
> image of the Trakr that I first met in 1995. He has exactly the same
> markings, the way he moves, everything. Very alert, very intelligent and
> intuitive.
>
> "I respect that cloning's not for everyone. But there are few dogs that are
> born with extraordinary abilities and Trakr was one of those dogs," he said.
>
> "I look forward to the day that these puppies can follow in Trakr's
> footsteps and play an important role in other rescues, like Trakr did."
>
> From:
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090618/ts_afp/healthusskoreacloneanimal_20090618030617
> Photo:
> http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Hwang-Woo-Suk/photo//090618/photos_ts_wl_afp/2585c5ee1a8278fe79ebd71d9fe98d58//s:/afp/20090618/ts_afp/healthusskoreacloneanimal_20090618030617;_ylt=Ao59 4jVxjwmhOGaiLV5pD52GOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTE5OGJwYTlkBHBv cwMxBHNlYwN5bl9yX3RvcF9waG90bwRzbGsDY2xvbmVzb2Y5MT Fo
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
>
>