Why Anonymous is Awesome

Why anonymous is awesome.

They are your brothers, sisters, cousins, mothers and fathers. They are anonymous. And, like it it or not, they are the most powerful organization on the planet with their   Membership and influence growing at an exponential rate on a daily basis.

We now live in a world where the entire wealth of knowledge of the human race is accessible via cell phone. The cat it is it of the bag and we know what the fuck is up.

They despise the  status quo and have a desire for change. Anonymous sees, hears and reads EVERYTHING.  We are  now, for the first time in human history, fully aware. A great awakening within the proletariat. Their goal is to expose and disrupt the machine that turns the cogs of today's society.

Knowledge is power and it is now in the hands of the people.

Question everything! And now know that we the people (the people of planet earth who all share  the same goals and aspirations) have the power. We have the goals, aspiration, and the power.

Fuck the status quo, embrace chaos! Our planet, our wealth, our time!

Snowden, Manning, Revere! Fight the thought police! Seek the truth and embrace chaos. For the only constant is change.

Protest: The Hero

Like most people I have been shook by the recent events in the Ukraine and Venezuela, particularly the footage of government soldiers gunning down their own people. The whole thing is a mess. An absolute mess. Speaking solely as an admittedly ignorant, far off observer, it doesn't matter who started it. What matters is how it finishes.

Images of protestors in the streets are not foreign to our TV sets and twitter accounts of late. What started with the Arab spring has spread across the planet. From anti government protests in Thailand to all out civil war in Syria, even our own "Occupy" movement here at home, the theme remains the same.

The citizen does not trust their government anymore.

And is it coincidence that this loss of faith in our governing bodies comes at a time when information travels around the planet faster and more freely than ever before? It can't be, can it?

If you plot the course of human history, you will notice that all great societal shifts occur at a time where knowledge that was previously hidden from the general public is suddenly distributed in vast quantities. The renaissance is often romanticised as a time of enlightenment and cultural expression, when in reality it was chaos. Especially in the beginning. Inventions like the printed press played a huge part in the redistribution of knowledge, which were  soon followed by wealth and power, creating a vacuum. Most efforts to counter act this vacuum resulted in violence. Check out Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast for some great examples.

The internet is our printing press. The cat is out of the bag. We've been lied to and man are we pissed.

I had a teacher who predicted this. Fourth period in my final semester of high school was spent in Mike Morrisette's 'World Issues' class. I had all my credits and football season was over, fourth period was the only reason I still came to school. While Mr. Morrisette did his best to enlighten a bunch of small town teenagers, I always left class with the same three themes: Russia can't be trusted, North-Korea is kinda scary, and the internet will be responsible unprecedented political reform around the world.

"Soon everyone around the world is going to see how you kids are living," he would say. "And soon they're gonna want a piece of that life too."

What I don't think anyone saw coming is what an effective tool social media can be to the reformist. There is nowhere to hide now. Everything is exposed, most of it in 1080 high definition pixels. Video of clashes are uploaded instantly, making anyone with an iPhone a battlefield reporter. Networking sites like Twitter are also extremely effective for co-ordinating masses of people on the ground.

Which brings us to a disturbing revelation; the lack of footage, photos and general lack of information coming out of Venezuela. While Kyiv has most of their communications infrastructure operational, internet and cell phone communications have been suppressed in many cities across Venezuela. I spent 3 weeks in Venezuela in 2006. Chavez had just started to intensify his squeeze on the people and even then the streets of Caracas were ripe with political graffiti and small groups of activists either protesting or listening to speeches. There was also what appeared to be a larger than needed military presence, almost a type of posturing. This all points to signs of a regime that planned ahead, and pre meditated murder of one's own citizens is super spooky.

The images coming out of Kyiv have made the international community aware of what's going on and governments around the world have already imposed sanctions. Some will say the international response is not enough, others will argue the opposite but the important fact is that they were informed enough to make a decision in the first place. Venezuela isn't getting that right now.

While the rule of law is essential to a functioning society, it is also important to provide a forum for change. Take the analogy of a dam. If a little bit of water is allowed to trickle through, the dam holds up, society more or less functions. If you do not allow the  water to pass through the dam, the pressure builds, the dam bursts, chaos ensues. When a government opens fire on their own people, the dam is gone, all bets are off.  

This government needs to go.

For every protester that falls at the hands of a corrupt government, he is replaced by 2 more. The fastest way to turn political protest into all out civil war is to kill unarmed civilians. Today's protester will be histories revolutionary. We are now in an era of a worldwide collective knowledge. Knowledge is power, power to the people.

Back with a Vengeance

After an almost 6 year hiatus, the kid is back!

I started this blog on the advice of college professors (shout out to Otte Rosenkrantz) as a bright eyed, naive 21 year old journalism student. Now after 6 years, countless pints, a few girls and some heavy duty life experience; I'm  fresh  with material to rant and rave about.

In the years since my last post I've dropped out  of school, worked in the oil fields,  lost my father, returned to education , graduated,  struggled to find meaningful employment, found a perfect mate and currently in the process of 'settling down'.

It's been  an interesting few years . I'd say my experiences in the first half of this decade have been defining moments in my life and  shaped who I am today and who I will continue to be in the future.

This post itself was born out of boredom and a result of the most narcissistic of practices, the self google search. I completely forgot I wrote any of this shit and reading it was a trip back in time. I'll be posting a few other articles I've written for some other sites. Feel free to give em a read.

As in the past, feedback is welcome. I'm excited to make a triumphant return and I hope you, the reader, will return as well.

Cheers

UFC 83 Predictions

April 19. Bell Centre. Montreal, Quebec. Its going to be a goody.

UFC 83 "Serra / St. Pierre 2" sees the UFC's first ever trip north of the 49th and with 21 thousand tickets sold, its the biggest event in mixed martial arts history.

Here are my predictions:

In the main event its heavy handed Brazilian Jui Jitsu expert, Matt Serra taking on Montreal's own George "Rush" St. Pierre in a rematch. In their last bout Serra caught St. Pierre with a right hand and pounced on the champ, taking his title. Since then St. Pierre has beaten the likes of Josh Koscheck and Matt Hughes. Matt Serra suffered an injury in training camp following his coaching role on the Ultimate Fighter series and has not fought since his last bout with St. Pierre.

I'm taking St. Pierre in this fight, his incredible well rounded abilities in the cage make him one of the most exciting fighters in the sport today. He is in his home town and hungry for his title back. Serra hasn't had a fight since the injury, and personally I think the guy got lucky in his first win.
Prediction: St. Pierre TKO.

Rich Franklin vs Travis Lutter is an interesting match up. Franklin and Lutter are both coming off of losses to Anderson Silva and if their performance against the current champ is any indication of their next fight, I've got Lutter in an upset. Franklin is on his way out, his last two losses to Silva look to have demoralized the former champ.
Prediction: Lutter by submission.

Nate Quarry vs Kalib Starnes sees another middleweight match up on the card. Quarry is 14-2 and 36 years of age, while the 33 year old Starnes is 10-3-1.

Quarry is coming of a win against Pete Sell in Septmber and Starnes a loss due to a cut againsr Alan Belcher in October. Both fighters love to stand. All of Quarry's UFC fights, win or loose, have ended in a knockout. I'm taking Starnes in this fight. Although Quarry has fought Rich Franklin, and lost in a highlight reel knockout, I think Starnes has seen a wider variery of opponents. Starnes has fought the likes of Yushin Okami and Cris Leben.
Prediction: Starnes in a descision.

Up next is Charles McCarthy vs Micheal Bisping. This is the Count's first fight at 185 and I'm looking forward to see him at this weight. His opponent Charles McCarthy earned the nickname "Captain Miserable" at the Ultimate Fighter house. McCarthy is 1-1 in the UFC with a win against Gideon Ray and a loss to David Louiseau.

I think McCarthy is in trouble this fight. After his loss to Evans, Bisping has something to prove at 185 and could one day take on the seemingly invincible, Anderson Silva.
Prediction: Bisping KO

Ultimate Fighter winner , Mac Danzig drops down to 155 to take on Mark Boeck. This fight sees a 5-1 fighter, Boeck, taking on a veteran, Danzig, who is 18-4-1. I think Danzig's experience will give him the edge in this bout, the same way it helped him defeat the freakishly strong Tommy Speer.
Prediction: Danzig submission.

In an all Canadian contest Joe Doerksen fights Jason MacDonald. Doerksen is two years younger than MacDonald at 30 years old with a record of 39-10. MacDonald is 20-9. Both men are coming off of losses, Doerksen has four in a row. The longer this fight goes the better the chances are for Macdonald who has a slightly better submission game and conditioning.
Prediction: MacDonald decision.

In the undercards I've got:

Alan Belcher KOing Jason Day.

Demian Maia submitting Ed Herman.

Sam Stout KOing Rich Clementi.

Brad Morris ground and pounding his way to a victory against Cain Velasquez.

Kuniyoshi Hironaka eking out a decision over Jonathan Goulet and his ridiculous haircut.

Sylvia? C'mon!

By now we have all heard the rumours of the Sylvia / Fedor fight, and like many other fans, I'm left scratching my head.

Why Sylvia? The guy is only 2-2 in his last four fights with wins coming against the less than stellar Jeff Monson and Brandon Vera. Hes gone up against the number three and number two ranked fighters in the division and lost to both. So what makes him think he can beat the arguably best pound for pound fighter in the world? Some don't even rank Sylvia in the top 10 anymore.

There is no doubt in my mind that if this fight goes through, the 28 - 1 Emelianenko will hand Sylvia his second loss in a row.

Perhaps this is the only one for Fedor to fight though. The heavyweight division (especially in the UFC) has been suffering recently. He has already beaten the current UFC champ, Nogueira, twice. His last fight with Hong Man Choi was one sided in the size department, but Fedor's trademark duribility and superior technique made quick work of the Korean giant. This super human Russian cyborg has not lost a fight since 2000, and that one was called because of a cut.

Now an eight year run is very impressive, but Fedor's descision to fight Sylvia instead of Couture (who I realise is in contract disputes) intrigues me. How much longer till Fedor is accused of dodging fights?

Either way, I'm excited to see Fedor fight again. It will be interesting to see how a slumping Sylvia does as well.

This week's headlines in the world of Mixed Martial Arts

Experts say Vasquez’s death was fight related.

In a fight with Vince Libardi on November 30, Sam Vasquez was knocked unconscious and later hospitalized. While in the hospital, Vasquez suffered a stroke and passed away. Now medical examiners have determined Vazquez’s death to be the result of “complications from blunt trauma to the head with subdural haemorrhage.”

Vazquez, who is survived by his wife and seven year old son, is the first MMA fighter to die of injuries from a professional fight.

Elite XC tests clean.

Tests by the California State Athletics Commission administered to all fighters competing in the Elite XC March 29^th event in San Jose all came back clean. The CSAC tested for both performance enhancing and abuse drugs.

The CSAC currently has two fighters under suspension for drug violations. Total Fighting Alliance’s Bobby Green and King of the Cage’s Evan Thompson both tested positive for Marijuana. They were each fined 500 dollars and have not fought since March of 2008.

Ultimate Fight Night results.

April 2^nd’s Ultimate Fight Night from Broomfield Colorado lived up to its hype as only two of the twelve scheduled bouts went to decisions. Winners on the card were Kenny Florian, Thiago Alves, Matt Hamill, Nate Diaz, James Irvin, Gray Maynard, Josh Neer, Marcus Aureilo, Manny Gamburyan, Clay Guida, George Sotiropoulos, and Anthony Johnson. As for my predictions, I was 7 and 5.

Nate Diaz had the submission of the night, surviving a first round beat down to sink a beautiful triangle choke on Kurt Pellegrino. The shocker of the night was James Irvin’s highlight reel knockout of Houston Alexander in just eight seconds of the opening round. Irvin’s first shot hit Alexander on the button, dropping the 205 pounder who would later protest referee Herb Dean’s decision to stop the fight.

Fedor vs Sylvia a very strong possibility.

The saga following the world number one ranked heavy weight Fedor Emelianenko continues. In an interview with sherdog.com, Fedor confirmed a July 19^th fight between him and former UFC champ Tim Sylvia.

Sylvia’s camp has yet to confirm the signing of a deal for this fight but claims it has been verbally agreed upon. In earlier interviews, Sylvia has been quoted as saying, “I have the utmost respect for that guy. He’s ranked No. 1 in the world. I want to challenge myself, and I want to fight him. No doubt in my mind. It’s the best fight out there for the both of us right now. You know he hasn’t fought any No. 1 contenders in a while and I think he needs to be tested and I want to be tested. I think it’s a great fight for me, it’s a great fight for him, and I think we need to make that fight happen.”

MMA Weekly reports that if the fight does indeed get signed it will more than likely take place at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas Texas. This fight would be broadcast on HD Net, owned by Mark Cuban.

Don’t mark your calendars yet though. With all the smoke and mirrors surrounding the Russian superstar, this writer wouldn’t be surprised if this fight ends up not happening.

A busy week of big news for MMA fans.

Le defeats Shamrock at Elite XC Strikeforce.

In what was dubbed the “Battle of San Jose”, Saturday night’s Elite XC middleweight title fight did not disappoint. Rising star, Cung Le was the challenger against champion Frank Shamrock. Both fighters hailed from the San Jose area and put on a show for 16 000 plus at the HP Pavilion.

The first round saw Shamrock stay true to his promise to stand with Le. The two traded shots for five straight minutes with Le barely winning the first round. A more aggressive Shamrock came out for round two, but again Le’s unorthodox kicks kept distance between the champ and challenger. Round three was much of the same until a stiff right by Shamrock had Le against the cage. Le fought through Shamrock’s barrage of strikes and threw a monster high kick that broke Shamrock’s arm. Shamrock could not answer the bell for round four and Le was crowned “King of San Jose” as well as Elite XC’s new middleweight champion.

This fight was one of the best I have seen in recent memory. If you are an MMA fan and haven’t seen this fight yet, watch it!! This fight and others from Saturday’s event are available online. Elite XC has put on some impressive and exciting fights in their past two shows. With fighters like Cung Le, Kimbo Slice and rumours of Tito Ortiz joining the ranks, the future looks bright for this organization.

Fedor officially a free agent.

In a press conference on March 28, M1 Global CEO Monte Cox announced an agreement with number one ranked heavyweight, Feder Emelianenko. Fedor will be released from his contractual obligations and once again become a free agent. “There is so much going on in the world of mixed martial arts right now that we have decided it is in our best interest if our company and Fedor go our separate ways,” says Cox.

This move will make Fedor the most sought after fighter in the MMA world. Front runners for the Russian superstar include the UFC, Mark Cuban’s HD Net Fights, and new Japanese promotion DREAM.

Fedor’s release also means the end of M1 Global. Differences between the American and European sides of the organization have caused the two sides to split. Monte Cox has now announced a new promotion, Adrenaline MMA.

Sylvia released by UFC, signs with Adrenaline MMA.

Former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Silvia has been released by the UFC and signed with new promoter’s Adrenaline MMA. Silvia says the release was a “mutual agreement” between himself and the UFC and looks forward to fighting with Adrenaline. The current number five ranked heavyweight, still has one fight left on his UFC contract and has expressed his intention to one day return to MMA’s biggest stage.

Adrenaline MMA was conceived out of the ashes of the now defunct M1 Global by Monte Cox. Cox says Adrenaline will be an organization that targets exciting, up and comers. The new fight promotion has a date set for their first event, June 14 in Chicago.

Check next week’s issue for my UFC 83 predictions.