Vitriol

Vitriol

© 2000 by Andersen Silva (01-30-00)

Last updated 6-28-2022  


Time for another installment...

Go, Chechens! I've given up on calling for the Russians to end their ridiculous vendetta 'war.' Putin has obviously not figured out that they're going to lose big again, as the reality of Russian casualties is starting to come out and Western and Muslim countries continue to express their concern and displeasure. And in case the Russians have forgotten: they did take Grozny in the last war. But they couldn't hold it.

I have added a link on my Links page to the Chechen fighters' Web site. I'm neither a Chechen nor a Muslim, nor do I support terrorism. On the other hand, Russia has not been able to prove that Chechen-based terrorists were responsible for the bombings that supposedly led Russia to invade Chechnya. Anyway, I think it's obvious that Moscow has other motives for occupying this breakaway republic, but they've brought the jihad upon themselves... I don't take everything on the Chechen site at face value; they're fighting a propaganda war just as the Russians are. But the 'rebels' don't have the same access to the media that Russia does, so I think it's great that they have this forum at least. Interesting to see the Internet used in a war...

The fact that we're still discussing the future of Elián Gonzalez saddens me. The boy should be with his father, end of story. Yes, his father is a believer in Castro's Communism. No, Elián's life in Cuba probably won't be up to the standards it could be in the U.S. But he is his father's son, and his father should make the decision.

Great, I'm probably coming across as pro-terrorism and pro-Communism. ;) I'm not. Chechnya has been independent since the last war ended in 1996, even if the Russians don't recognize that. (Actually, the Taliban government of Afghanistan recently became the first to recognize Chechnya as an independent nation.) Moscow just used last year's bombings as an excuse to try to take it back, and that is not justifiable. And Elián's father is the man who should decide what is best for his son, and if he thinks it's life in Cuba, then who is the U.S. government to overrule him? So many Cubans try to escape the island every year, and get within sight of Florida before being turned back by the Coast Guard. We send home the ones who want to come here, but we're going to force a little boy to stay, separated from his father?

I'm going to England at the end of this month. If the Brits would like, I will offer to escort Pinochet to Spain myself. I don't think, given his age and health, that the courts would be overly harsh in sentencing him, but I firmly believe the man should stand trial for his policies. The problem is that this will establish a precedent unthinkable to the governments of the world: you may be held accountable for your despotic behavior if you ever leave your own country. Saddam Hussein would love to get Clinton in a Muslim court. Maggie Thatcher would probably be prosecuted by the Argentines. However, I don't think there's much doubt that Pinochet is truly guilty of crimes against humanity, and so I hope he does eventually stand before a judge.

My initial reaction upon hearing of the lawsuit against mp3.com (one of the hosts of my digital music) was that the record companies were justified, were only trying to protect their interests and their artists. But after looking into the matter, and reading mp3.com's position, I've changed my mind. mp3.com is providing a unique service in allowing its users to listen to music they've already purchased, in the form of a compact disc, over the Internet on their computers. The fact that the company offered to show the lawyers their equipment and technology suggests that they're confident in the system's ability to thwart piracy and illegal copying. The music industry is going to have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the new age...

Valentine's Day. Blecch. Hallmark doesn't make cards for the situations I find myself in... 'Course, that's probably a good thing.

I'm really tired of the snow, guys. Maybe I shouldn't have blithely remarked, a few weeks back, about what a mild winter we'd been having. Supposedly, we're getting more of the white stuff a few hours from now. I seriously hope not. Hey, Mister, maybe I'll join ya in Florida... ;)

Enough o' this. See ya when I see ya. - A


April 2004 - The real final Vitriol, Howard Stern, Dubya, etc.
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March 2004 - Dining out with my baby, Virtual PC, and the end of Vitriol... or is it?
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February 2004 - Two weeks between jobs, three new songs, grabbing Panther by the tail
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January 2004 - Ice skating with Gina, sushi at my sister's wedding, war-riding, the pink slip
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December 2003 - Moving pains, goin' places with Gina, Christmas bells
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November 2003 - The looong month of October, finding an apartment, Ozzy's gone
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October 2003 - I'm in love with her and I feel fine, Boston, the Dalai Lama, apartment for rent?
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September 2003 - Andy, happy? it could happen!, taking time off from work, Ringo Starr, "Discworld," the blackout
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August 2003 - (W)here (M)ight (D)ose WMDs be?, gay marriages and the people who fear them, '80s metal bands, Computer Man to the rescue, Philadelphia freedom
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July 2003 - Boondocks.net is back!, rudeness on public transportation and elsewhere, "Hole in the Wall"
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June 2003 - Science fiction movies, where is Boondocks.net?, still no weapons of misconstruction...
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May 2003 - How 'bout them weapons of mass distraction, huh?, Def Leppard, Michael Palin, another Silva, wireless networking, and a damned good raspberry margarita
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April 2003 - They're still French fries, dammit!, a new guitar for Andy, music-music-music
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March 2003 - The buildup for, and the protesting against, war
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February 2003 - The destruction of the Columbia, the National Day of Poetry Against the War, hard and soft atheism, Pete Townshend, and the gift shop
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January 2003 - Christmas loot, "Swingin'," more war talk
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December 2002 - The year in review, moving again?!?, moving world leaders around, too
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November 2002 - "Scarlet's Walk" and Tori's penguin, jackasses, and killing in the name of...
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October 2002 - Boston, Aimee Mann, and Palpatine/Bush
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September 2002 - George Darius Bush and George Xerxes Bush
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August 2002 - Movin' out of Paisan-town, and far away from the Regal Beagle
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July 2002 - Church and state: you gotta keep 'em separated, Dubya still doesn't want to play nice with the rest of the world, John Entwistle's gone
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June 2002 - Movin' on from town to town, Dave Barry and the Rock Bottom Remainders
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May 2002 - Science fiction movies everywhere!, jail time for virus creators, Dubya finally learns to pronounce 'occupation,' Andy gets a promotion?!?
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April 2002 - Terrorism on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, people who don't interact with me or the Web site, "For Dana" to be released on a compilation CD
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March 2002 - Chip implants, the children of God and the followers of Christ commit murder in His name, ultranationalism American style
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February 2002 - Dubya says, "These pretzels are making me- ack!" Sharon continues playing Napoleon, and... the return of Foogar?
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January 2002 - Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne, and other Christmas-related items, stealin' cars, karaoke!
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December 2001 - George meets his sweet lord, terrorists EVERYwhere!, Tomb Raider II finished finally, and the Segway, finally!
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November 2001 - Anthrax (the band), WSOU rocks - but for how much longer? and a minute of silence?
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October 2001 - Osama bin Laden and anthrax and the women who love them
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September 2001 - Five days after the 9/11 attacks
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September 2001 - Governments and armies and the assholes who love them, more misspellings, and a large lack of feedback
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August 2001 - Dubya's isolationism, the Macedonians and Albanians search for peace the Israeli/Palestinian way, 2004 Olympics in Beijing
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July 2001 - Not the Sexiest Geek Alive, war (what is it good for?), murdering citizens American-style
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June 2001 - A dead hitchhiker, the Taliban, and an independent Senator Jeffords
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May 2001 - Joey Ramone's dead, and "Joey Ramone's Dead"
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April 2001 - Brazil (not the Terry Gilliam film), Dubya and carbon dioxide, Yugoslavia begins coming to its senses, Israel and the Palestinians still haven't come to theirs...
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March 2001 - New look for the Web site, upcoming vacation in Brazil!, the pig-headed Taliban, "Hannibal"
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February 2001 - Tomb Raider II, Dubya plays with his new toys, nature plays with El Salvador and India, and the inevitable Chechnya and Israel/Palestinians references
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January 2001 - Snow, a new year/decade/century/millennium, screen resolutions
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December 2000 - The iBook, "The X-Files," the Grinch, the pathetic turn of events in the U.S. elections...
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November 2000 - Got the iBook! the Village Parade, trouble still brewin' in the Mideast, the upcoming U.S. elections...
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October 2000 - Andy turns 30, the Middle East, the anniversary of the invasion of Chechnya...
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September 2000 - A random act of kindness, Great Adventure, new music, new iBooks?
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August 2000 - Palestine and the Israelis, Milosevic, Speight, and breaking the speed of light!
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July 2000 - Israel & the Palestinians, the missile defense shield, and (who'da thunk it?) Chechnya
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June 2000 - Um, Chechnya again, gun-totin' Charlton Heston, misspellings, and xenophobes
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May 2000 - Communism on the last May Day of the twentieth century, and Andy's life ("Don't talk to me about life...")
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April 2000 - Hold on, it's more Chechnya rantin', and an appeal on behalf of a friend caught behind red tape
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March 2000 - Hey, hey, Pinochet, Russia and China won't go away, "The X-Files," the American presidential race, and a prelude to vacation
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February 2000 - Again with the Chechens, and Elián, Pinochet, mp3.com vs. the recording industry, and snow
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January 2000 - Made it through January 1st, Syria and Israel, public transportation, and, er, Chechnya
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December 1999 - Indonesia comes apart, Chechnya (no shit), Seattle's burning, 'n Happy Xmas
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November 1999 - Halloween, my bad knee, Russians? in Chechnya?!? Buchanan and the Reform Party, NIN
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October 1999 - Hurricane on the East Coast, earthquakes in Taiwan, Turkey, and Greece, and Apple Computers
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September 1999 - I'm not getting you down, am I? I'd hate to think I was getting you down...

- - - the Dark Ages (reprise) - - -

April 1999 - the return of Vitriol, Kosovo, a foreshadowing of the Russian invasion of Chechnya (!), and Libya

- - - the Dark Ages - - -

September-November 1995 - the Underground Press Conference, a co-worker bites the dust, Rabin really bites the dust, Remington Bond, Win95, and the Sex Pistols
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August 1995 - the death penalty, the V-chip and violence in pop culture, and "TV Nation"
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June 1995 - Oklahoma City, 'zines, "The X-Files" and "V.R.5"
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March 1995 - I'm sick!, the space program (ha), alt.zines, "Star Trek" and "Voyager"
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February 1995 - the very first Vitriol! Newt Gingrich, political correctness, media overkill, Howard Stern, the Apple goon squad?
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Last updated 6-28-2022