The Bush Six

Watching the O'Reilly factor tonight, I got the distinct impression that this O'Reilly guy was trying extremely hard to convince me that Spain is wrong in indicting "The Bush Six". O'reilly was over the top, going as far as threatening Spain about "the American response" to such action. O'Reilly was indignant about Spain pursuing violations of international law forbidding torture against the Bush Six. I applaud the Spaniards. IF the Bush Six did not break international law they have nothing to fear. Justice is Justice.
On the other hand, Law is Law, and if others in the world cry foul and point the finger at America, they cannot be wrong simply because we are America, it is International Law that must be the deciding factor, and we must avoid that arrogance of which Americans are so often accused. Thus, it is a shame that the Spaniards are doing America's dirtywork.
Here's the Bradline though, and here is the real danger to those whom are pulling O'reillys strings, for he obviously is somebody's puppet ; If a real investigation of the Bush administration were to be made, it could reveal far reaching criminal action back to, and before, 9\11. ( Of course , I am of the belief that it takes so much preparation to implode a 105 story building that flying a plane into the side of the structure could not possibly drop it perfectly in it' s own footprint,........ Turning all it's concrete to dust......Twice on the same day. )
Remember Watergate, one thing led to another , someone got a sniff of the true story, and the rest is History. That is the danger to Bush and Cheney and the Empire of this indictment. And that is why we're being told to reject Spain's accusations of crimes against high level Bush administration officials. It might lead to something bigger. Like the guillotine. I encourage Spain to help US keep our government accountable. America should be doing everything she can to prevent another hijacking of the peoples money and will , like that suffered during the Bush years.
Which brings us to The Obama Administration increasing the number of troops in Afghanistan. Time to stop the witch hunt and bring the troops home. Heroin is cheaper than a six pack of beer in the Northeast US. Capiscete ?
Ain't no Afghani ever done nothing to me, and if American oil companies need a pipeline to India, let India secure the route. American borders need to be secured first and foremost, and there are pirates in Africa, but chasing ghosts in the mountains bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan ?
C'mon . it is absolute bullshit these wars have drug on for years at the expense of the common man, and for the profit of the elite. Do they not fit into the definition of Privatizing profits and Scializing losses.? And One way to stop the bullshit is for America to be held accountable for her actions .
Again, I applaud Spain, and challenge the Obama administration to drop the " let's look forward " bullshit, and prosecute the criminals of the Bush era, whomever they may be, torturers or bankers.
Unfortunately....the criminals of the Bush era just work for another frontman now. Can We Believe things have changed? Hell no, they just change the label on the can of bullshit.

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!

Pirates

PBS Moyer's Journal w/ William Black

Artman sent me this today. I watched it. I'll watch it again. It is hand and glove with the Obama administration and the bankers, according to this interview. Interesting. Our boy McCain is mentioned too. If you are interviewing for a job and were asked to watch Zeitgeist Addendum, this interview might help too. I must admit I still haven't watched the addendum.
In Zeitgeist , it was religion's astrological roots, and the treachery of 9\11 that interested me most. Money , Avarice, and the deceit inherent in those that are addicted to the dollar, from my perspective, is no different than any other addiction. Individually, we all have different appetites for wealth, but at some reasonable point we should be satiated. Money is the drug to some, and they will do much worse harm for dollars, than an addict does for their fix. Take the time to watch the interview. We can believe it's the same old bullshit , same old Rock and Roll.

True Masters

On the Occasion I toured Buckingham Palace, and was first introduced to a True Master's work, I was impressed. I remember there was a long hall of Portraits. Life-size family portraits of the royal families . Each successive King throughout the centuries portrayed on canvas in oil, and all done by the best painters of the time . All of the paintings were works of fine art . All were worth a fortune . Only the best painters were chosen to paint the King, so looking at the portraits , I not only began to understand Britain's Love of her Royalty, and how they are interwoven in England's history, but additionally it was a walk among centuries of the best work on Canvas in oil, in the world.
Pretty heady stuff for the uncultured descendant of one of the bastard sons of King Richard the Lion Hearted. oops. The Lionheart. Don't want to screw this thing up with the royal side of the family
Buckingham Palace is full of Antiques, Fine Art, the best of the best. Which brings me to the True Master, and back to the hall of royal portraits, and when I was impressed. It was because of this impression that I now must admit I was wrong. But first the True Master... In the middle of the Hall there hung a painting by Rembrandt, " The Shipbuilder and his Wife". If the other paintings were worth a fortune, then this defined priceless. Centuries of artwork, the best the King could buy, and that Rembrandt stood out like it was alone. In that hall, on that day, "The Shipbuilder and his Wife" was the only Masterpiece, and the other paintings paled in it's presence .
Now, I was wrong when I told that other idiot, " a man can do anything in five years if he's capable and smart" (Nihilism 3/2/09 ). Unfortunately, "capable and smart" doesn't cover everything.
The hall of portraits is an example of centuries of talent, and only one True Master. This is not to say the others weren't Good, Accomplished, Dedicated, but a lifetime of work could not elevate them to Rembrandt's level.
I was thinking of the Movie 'Amadeus' and the jealousy of the other composer whom knew, despite his hard work and talent , he would never be Mozart. In all things there is no substitution for hard work, but in some, talent to go with hard work cannot be substituted. Really, " talent" might be hard work at a young age, evolved into adult capability, and a lifetime of work . However, some "Talent" can only be defined as a gift.
If every Goose can lay a golden egg, I'm eating the wrong grain.
I have come to the conclusion that there are some things a man can do for a lifetime and never be very good at . I was thinking about this today while playing harmonica.. If one has no background in music, no talent, and no gift, It is not easy to sound good to others playing music, and I'm not sure five years of hard work would make the difference.
Searching for that Golden egg-

Empire

First,
On the edges of Empire there is always turmoil, a life and death struggle for profit and gain. As an Empire expands or contracts there is friction. People die where Empire's grind.. One side wants progress, the other tradition, or, maybe a religion. Profit wants natural resources, so do the natives. Profit wants a route through the neighborhood, Profit versus the Natives. One competitor versus another competitor, profit versus profit, Church versus church, has it not been this way since the beginning of time?
Isn't that what's happening in Mexico right now? Life and Death to snuggle up and feed the Empire? Drug Empires grinding at the border?
I bring this up because I don't like what I see in the rest of the world. ( Careful, I'm informed primarily through the sound-bites that I'm fed.) Valenzuela and Russia holding joint military exercises, North Korea launching a ballistic missile, China challenging US ships in international waters, Iran pursuing The Bomb, Brazil's president blaming the "blue eyed" leaders of the world for current economic woes, and protests in Europe denouncing American greed.
That's aside from two Imperialistic wars in the Middle East . Wars where oil profits and pipelines, and lies, have overshadowed any illusion of righteousness. Damning to our image, burying the country in debt, enpowering our enemies Bad, bad, bad. Fuel for anti-American sentiment world-wide. . Watching the news, it would seem the new cold war is the World vs the US, and it's preparing to heat up.
Now,
Say I'm crazy, but you know how you are about Your money. You want it. When people owe you money you want to be paid, with juice. Normally, you don't want to loan more money until you're paid what you're owed. And loaning money so you can be paid interest on money already owed, probably a bad investment. Insolvency can lead to unpleasantness. People want their money. It is the same in all languages, in all countries, in all cultures. Isn't money money?
We owe a lot of money world-wide. Worse yet for the people we owe, the Government keeps printing more money which makes the money worth less. We ran out of money to use because all the money left the country. It really is a great scam. We import everything we need for dollars, then print more dollars when we run out.. Something for nothing. Of course, someday, when the world realizes dollars are worthless, there will have to be a war to settle the debt because, People want their money.
The only way we'll be able to repay them is to have a war, and bill our opponents for reparations.
All war is for profit, this one will be no different; Everybody will expect to be paid, Nobody will have the money, Somebody will get angry, Anybody whom can make a profit will get involved. We'll call this next war "the honest war". No bullshit about the axis of evil, or Liberation , or God, just the plain old truth, " we owe you money and we can't pay it, oh, and we'll print more money so we can have some too, despite that making your money worth less. " .............. That's why I don't like what I see, the deal isn't fair, and you know how you are about Your money, The rest of the world is the same way.

Hang Mrs Madoff too

Back in early February I wrote an E about Victims gathering to protest in front of homes of bankers they felt were responsible for the predatory loans leaving them homeless. Paupers, shaking the gates of the castle at the servant's quarters, never realizing Lord Banker lived in the great hall further behind the gates where he was never aware of their presence.
I quote from that E
" Remember this desperate day, The victims are forecasting an attitude and frustration that is going to explode nationwide."
" Predatory Bankers better hide now. It would appear when the guillotines are dragged out their heads will be the first to roll."
Add AIG executives to the list next. At least that's what the current threats that AIG executives are receiving would indicate. The ones allowed on TV call for death to them....and their families.....for several generations. After reading a few of the air-able threats on TV, the newscasters will then give a short discourse on how the threats are over the line and reason must be restored. Three newscasters, three discourses.
The Irony is; As we're told that these death threats are unreasonable, We watch totally unreasonble acts that will help bankrupt us all, be rewarded with bonuses. Or, A guy steals 50 billion and awaits his court date in a multi-million dollar Penthouse. That's reasonable? His family, in the same business, and his wife, both, want to keep their fortune .That's reasonable? No wonder there is a Mob mentality brewing.
What a crock. If this was China these clowns would be swinging. Mrs. Madoff too. I might agree. I think that hanging is a much better deterrant to white collar crime than a bailout, or bonus, for that matter. How unfair that we can't waterboard Madoff until every hidden nickel is recovered, and then watch the floor pulled out from under his feet with a noose around his neck. Good thing he didn't have any of my money. Where is all this leading? The final result of the Endless Crisis will be the American people holding the paper on a country so far in debt it enslaves them. While the people who put us there have taken the money and left for more desirable diggs, where they await their bonuses.
Anyway , what really pisses me off are the newscasters. Newscasters are Employees told what to say. Then, once the talking head is loaded, We're told What to think. How to act. How to be reasonable. I think it's time for some unreasonableness to go with the unreasonable mess. I think it's time to decide not to be gentlemen. Not to be civilized. Not to go along as we're told.
If righteous indignation leads to a call for heads, so be it , but don't try and tell us how to act because people should be angry enough for a revolution. People should be outraged, and defiant about being reasonable! All those reasonable bastards in Washington , maybe that's the problem.
Remember, these are the same people that sold you Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Keep your Money in the market and ride it out (to nothingness), and now, they're telling us it's a great time to buy into the market for the long run. Didn't a whole bunch of long run people just lose everything?
Which brings me to the last scam of the day, 4000 additional "military advisers" to Afghanistan. Sounds more like Viet Nam everyday. The American people should feel totally betrayed the way Obama has fallen right in step with the bullshit in Afghanistan. We need to secure our own southern border, yet we pursue securing the Pakistani-Afghan border? Totally Unreasonable. Obama is chasing Osama Oil profits.
Bring all the troops home now.