Yesterday the news is existing home sales are up 7%. Today the news is new home sales plunged 11%. The lower end is still being re-acquired. Empty houses don't produce new home buyers when they're sold.
Gold dropped 200 bucks an ounce. Health insurance stock is skyrocketing. You don't have to own gold, but you legally will have to be insured. Good for business. And no Government option competing to screw up profits. I have no idea why gold dropped in value...unless the dollar strengthed a little on the international market.....Gold was only rising in price if you were buying in dollars. Tell you something?
Al Qaeda is now threatening the world in Yemen. It may be necessary to go to Yemen to fight Al Qaeda now. Somalia is next door to Yemen so we can expect to go there after Yemen, I suppose. It astounds me that the endless war goes on still. Furthermore, when I think of all the hard evidence there is to prove that those two planes did NOT bring down the WTC, ...and that the American people just don't get it, I am dumbfounded.
The brilliance of the sham. One puppet President after another, And the beat goes on. By the way, the latest " terror threat level " is bankruptcy. .
If a man works fifty years, and makes fifty thousand dollars a year, He'll make two and a half million dollars in his lifetime. If that man pays 30% of his income to the Government in taxes it will amount to approximately 800,000 dollars. Two men just worked their entire lives so the government could spend a million and a half dollars on studying the sex habits of rats on hard drugs. At twenty five thousand a year it took four men's taxes. I'm not gonna go there on the sex habits of rats on hard drugs.
There was a Blackberry Blackout. Then there was another one. If all this talk about 2012, and the poles reversing, and the world ending as we know it, is true, it's going to be exciting, isn't it ? And to think it might have all started with a Blackberry Blackout.
Balloon Boy's dad got ninety days. He should have put the kid in the balloon. Dummy.
Oh, and high tech computer camera's are having trouble tracking minorities for video . The final insult, or, ..... are you kidding?
Just kidding
Showing posts with label Somalia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Somalia. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sympathy For The Pirates
To quote a friend, responding to my declaration that Pirates walk the Plank, ..... "...or get splashed by SEALS...poor folks just trying to get by..."
According to a Somalian official interviewed on CNN, these pirates are thugs. Armed robbers and kidnappers. However the idea that the Somali people are " just poor folks trying to get by..." , victims of nucler waste dumped in their waters, and foreigners overfishing their coastline, stealing their livelihood which has led to these desperate times, is a contention that I only recently became aware. (I don't study this stuff)
In all of the news coverage about Somalia, or rather Somali Pirates, not once was the topic broached that Profit, foreign profit, was responsible for this desperate state. Not once. Only this Somali official brought it up, and he was quickly cut off.
Thugs are thugs, Pirates are thugs, Pirates walk the plank. But what of the rest of the country? The American experience in Somalia, at least as portrayed in "Blackhawk Down" was not a pleasant one. But Knowing how the American public is fed and led by the media , in effort to be fair, I have to ask if these pirates are fighting for survival, poor folks just trying to get by, and it is necessity that makes them so bold.
And they are Bold. That is the story that captures the imagination. In the small world we live in, it is astounding the success these Pirates have enjoyed. Until recently, when a few had their heads blown off their shoulders, they have acted with impunity and great profit. Almost a romantic adventure , their defiance of the Empire. Even after the three shots , the pirates boldly declared French and American hostages would be killed when captured. A high seas declaration of war. Bold.
Wouldn't this be a great story if there was something more involved than greed and thievery? A little Captain Jack Sparrow , or Robin Hood , or maybe saving a nation?
A little pirate background from an article by Johann Hari:
If you became a merchant or navy sailor then – plucked from the docks of London's East End, young and hungry – you ended up in a floating wooden Hell. You worked all hours on a cramped, half-starved ship, and if you slacked off, the all-powerful captain would whip you with the Cat O' Nine Tails. If you slacked often, you could be thrown overboard. And at the end of months or years of this, you were often cheated of your wages.
Pirates were the first people to rebel against this world. They mutinied – and created a different way of working on the seas. Once they had a ship, the pirates elected their captains, and made all their decisions collectively, without torture. They shared their bounty out in what Rediker calls "one of the most egalitarian plans for the disposition of resources to be found anywhere in the eighteenth century".
They even took in escaped African slaves and lived with them as equals. The pirates showed "quite clearly – and subversively – that ships did not have to be run in the brutal and oppressive ways of the merchant service and the Royal Navy." This is why they were romantic heroes, despite being unproductive thieves.
The words of one pirate from that lost age, a young British man called William Scott, should echo into this new age of piracy. Just before he was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, he said: "What I did was to keep me from perishing. I was forced to go a-pirateing to live."
Is this these pirate's story?
Abdmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury – you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Mr Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention."
At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by overexploitation – and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m-worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are being stolen every year by illegal trawlers. The local fishermen are now starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters."
This is the context in which the "pirates" have emerged. Somalian fishermen took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least levy a "tax" on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia – and ordinary Somalis agree. The independent Somalian news site WardheerNews found 70 per cent "strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence". -j.hari@independent.co.uk Johann Hari
So, Both sides have now had a say , huh mate ? But let's not forget the CODE................Pirates walk the Plank!
According to a Somalian official interviewed on CNN, these pirates are thugs. Armed robbers and kidnappers. However the idea that the Somali people are " just poor folks trying to get by..." , victims of nucler waste dumped in their waters, and foreigners overfishing their coastline, stealing their livelihood which has led to these desperate times, is a contention that I only recently became aware. (I don't study this stuff)
In all of the news coverage about Somalia, or rather Somali Pirates, not once was the topic broached that Profit, foreign profit, was responsible for this desperate state. Not once. Only this Somali official brought it up, and he was quickly cut off.
Thugs are thugs, Pirates are thugs, Pirates walk the plank. But what of the rest of the country? The American experience in Somalia, at least as portrayed in "Blackhawk Down" was not a pleasant one. But Knowing how the American public is fed and led by the media , in effort to be fair, I have to ask if these pirates are fighting for survival, poor folks just trying to get by, and it is necessity that makes them so bold.
And they are Bold. That is the story that captures the imagination. In the small world we live in, it is astounding the success these Pirates have enjoyed. Until recently, when a few had their heads blown off their shoulders, they have acted with impunity and great profit. Almost a romantic adventure , their defiance of the Empire. Even after the three shots , the pirates boldly declared French and American hostages would be killed when captured. A high seas declaration of war. Bold.
Wouldn't this be a great story if there was something more involved than greed and thievery? A little Captain Jack Sparrow , or Robin Hood , or maybe saving a nation?
A little pirate background from an article by Johann Hari:
If you became a merchant or navy sailor then – plucked from the docks of London's East End, young and hungry – you ended up in a floating wooden Hell. You worked all hours on a cramped, half-starved ship, and if you slacked off, the all-powerful captain would whip you with the Cat O' Nine Tails. If you slacked often, you could be thrown overboard. And at the end of months or years of this, you were often cheated of your wages.
Pirates were the first people to rebel against this world. They mutinied – and created a different way of working on the seas. Once they had a ship, the pirates elected their captains, and made all their decisions collectively, without torture. They shared their bounty out in what Rediker calls "one of the most egalitarian plans for the disposition of resources to be found anywhere in the eighteenth century".
They even took in escaped African slaves and lived with them as equals. The pirates showed "quite clearly – and subversively – that ships did not have to be run in the brutal and oppressive ways of the merchant service and the Royal Navy." This is why they were romantic heroes, despite being unproductive thieves.
The words of one pirate from that lost age, a young British man called William Scott, should echo into this new age of piracy. Just before he was hanged in Charleston, South Carolina, he said: "What I did was to keep me from perishing. I was forced to go a-pirateing to live."
Is this these pirate's story?
Abdmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury – you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Mr Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention."
At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by overexploitation – and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m-worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are being stolen every year by illegal trawlers. The local fishermen are now starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters."
This is the context in which the "pirates" have emerged. Somalian fishermen took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least levy a "tax" on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia – and ordinary Somalis agree. The independent Somalian news site WardheerNews found 70 per cent "strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence". -j.hari@independent.co.uk Johann Hari
So, Both sides have now had a say , huh mate ? But let's not forget the CODE................Pirates walk the Plank!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Terrorist Within
A very interesting story today about young Somali-American men disappearing from their American homes only to re-appear in Somalia, where they are being trained as islamic jihadists. The implications of this intelligence are obvious; terrorist jihadists raised in America, that know America, will likely become American 'cells' for the organization in the future. Some of the young men have actually called home to tell their parents what they're up to, and to wish them good-bye declaring, "[they] will see them in Heaven."
I remember a long time ago in a secret room, in a building that is classified and thus requires a security clearance to enter, watching a film that was titled 'The Enemy Within'. The thrust of that film was the danger of traitors within the Intelligence world. These young men would probably not be admitted to the Intelligence world; their backgrounds too closely tied to their immigrant roots: too many overseas relatives, etc. But they could become the 'terrorists within' by simply returning to the US and waiting for their orders.
I'm sure in the future the issue will come up as to whether or not these young men should be allowed to return to the United States. Is it against the law to be kidnapped/ run away to Somalia to fight in a holy war? Under any circumstances should these men be allowed to bring that fight here?? Have they renounced their citizenship, or declared America the great Satan?
Unfortunately, there is no reconciliation between Islam and Christianity, or any other religion, I imagine. You either believe in the savior for the chosen religion, or you are an infidel and doomed to hell. Not much room for negotiation. Therefore militant jihadists should be denied entry to the country. But...
IF I was an American who spoke English as my first language (or at least without a noticeable accent) and I wanted to return to America without being noticed, could America keep me from crossing the Mexican-American border?
We better spend some of that recovery money on a real border with Mexico, or be prepared for horror stories from abroad.
'Terrorists within' are like paratroopers that don't have to be dropped from the sky. Their use bring forth visions of the worst. Especially since these brainwashed religious warriors could be controlled by anyone, are willing to do anything, and as God's warriors need show no conscious in their self-righteousness. Who knows what doom will befall us in a move to change policy, sway American opinion, or (God forbid) if we are actually attacked from a Foreign source from a cave.
Regardless of who the true perpetrator is, you can be sure of this; future terrorist attacks are coming. The jihad is not going to go away, religious zealotry is not going to suddenly disappear, and devastating acts done in the name of God are not going to end in the near future.
ZEITGEIST...SEE IT TWICE
I remember a long time ago in a secret room, in a building that is classified and thus requires a security clearance to enter, watching a film that was titled 'The Enemy Within'. The thrust of that film was the danger of traitors within the Intelligence world. These young men would probably not be admitted to the Intelligence world; their backgrounds too closely tied to their immigrant roots: too many overseas relatives, etc. But they could become the 'terrorists within' by simply returning to the US and waiting for their orders.
I'm sure in the future the issue will come up as to whether or not these young men should be allowed to return to the United States. Is it against the law to be kidnapped/ run away to Somalia to fight in a holy war? Under any circumstances should these men be allowed to bring that fight here?? Have they renounced their citizenship, or declared America the great Satan?
Unfortunately, there is no reconciliation between Islam and Christianity, or any other religion, I imagine. You either believe in the savior for the chosen religion, or you are an infidel and doomed to hell. Not much room for negotiation. Therefore militant jihadists should be denied entry to the country. But...
IF I was an American who spoke English as my first language (or at least without a noticeable accent) and I wanted to return to America without being noticed, could America keep me from crossing the Mexican-American border?
We better spend some of that recovery money on a real border with Mexico, or be prepared for horror stories from abroad.
'Terrorists within' are like paratroopers that don't have to be dropped from the sky. Their use bring forth visions of the worst. Especially since these brainwashed religious warriors could be controlled by anyone, are willing to do anything, and as God's warriors need show no conscious in their self-righteousness. Who knows what doom will befall us in a move to change policy, sway American opinion, or (God forbid) if we are actually attacked from a Foreign source from a cave.
Regardless of who the true perpetrator is, you can be sure of this; future terrorist attacks are coming. The jihad is not going to go away, religious zealotry is not going to suddenly disappear, and devastating acts done in the name of God are not going to end in the near future.
ZEITGEIST...SEE IT TWICE
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