Old wounds sometimes open up, during times of stress, just as a cancer can sit benign for years, then suddenly, for the remotest of reasons, erupt and kill the host.
The attack on the WTC buildings in New York was indeed such a wound, and now it is opening, and as a complication, there appears to be a cancerous growth within.
With severe cancers, sometimes it is necessary to operate, even to remove entire limbs and organs.
When it comes to a cancer of the brain, or the lungs, little can be done, the vital organs are notoriously fine-tuned, and do not always survive surgery. Recovery is long and post-op function is often limited, but preferable to no function at all.
What then, if the attack really was a false flag operation, carried out with the aforeheld knowledge, compliance and direction of those at the very heart of American government.
Is there now a split between the generals, are they not all singing from the same score?
Were there military figures involved in the attack on the towers?
If those allegations are correct, then it would at least explain why some of the Admirals and Generals no longer seem to be in the command of the white house. There is dissent over the issue of attacking Iran, which seems to be delayed for some reason.
The Times of London reports on "The revolt of the Americans.".
But why would the Admirals and Generals not follow orders? Well the first and most obvious answer is that they would get their arses roasted and toasted.
The Iranians saw them coming, with their fleet of 40 knot battleships and carriers. Instead of building their own carriers and ancilliaries, they took advice from their neighbours, the Russians, and built up an arsenal of anti-ship rockets, including the Russian designed "Sunburn/Sunburst,", which travels at Mach 2-2.5, or just under 2,000 mph.
The US carrier fleet, compared to the weapons of Iran, has not much chance, and the senior officers know that if they start shooting, that the the sharks of the Arabian sea will be feasting on crisp and well-fried american sailors, not only the lower ranks, but also the braided ones.
The Iranians have missile capacity to eradicate completely the "Green Zone",( Details) which explains why the generals are reluctant to engage with Iran.
In fact, whilst America has spent billions on carriers and aircraft, Iran has spent millions on missiles to destry such weapons, one step ahead, at a fraction of the cost.
Asymetrical warfare, rather like the Iraquis. When the Americans arrived with million dollar tanks, they were promptly destroyed by hundred dollar roadside bombs.
Not just the weapons, but the actual cost...
In fact, the Iranians have been investing in missiles for many years, and have a "Missile for every moment and enemy movement."
Returning to the theme of 9/11, the division within the United States military is now coming into the light of day, with even more former ministers and officers calling for a further investigation.
"I find the facts against the official story of the [WTC] buildings' collapse more compelling than the case that has been made in behalf of the official story. I would like to see the issue debated by independent scientists and engineers,"
---Paul Craig Roberts, who was a Reagan Treasury man.
Then there is an experienced investigator of airplane accidents, a former Air Force colonel, George Nelson, who openly writes The Bush administration has provided no public evidence to support its claim that the terror attacks were the work of Muslim extremists or even that the aircraft that struck their respective targets on September 11 were as advertised. As I will show below, it would be a simple matter to confirm that they were - if they were. Until such proof is forthcoming, the opposite claim must be kept in mind as a precaution against rushing to judgment: the 911 hijackings were part of a black operation carried out with the cooperation of elements in our government.
In this day and age of Cellphones and e-mails, I would hope that there is a growing cabal of military plotters who are preparing the regime change that is so desperately needed in the United States.
Who knows, all those new detention centres built by Bush and Cheney might yet be filled, but with neocons and their fellow conspirators.
Bush and Cheney, and their fellow lunatics want war, maybe they hope that with perpetual war, their own crimes will go unpunished.
Maybe that is what they think. But the tide seems to be ebbing, and the shipwreck that was 9/11 is beginning to show itself.
Meanwhile, they continue to wage war, with weapons that are obsolete and with warriors, who once they find out just who really did bring down the Twin Towers, will surely follow the example of their superior officers, and tell the White House to simply go f^^k themselves.
Peace.
(Oh, yes, I finally got it, technically challenged I surely am, but it seems to be ......."The Links"..... so, to celebrate, I can now show just how the Russian soldiers cope with the downturn in the arms race. They have hobbies, one of which is choral singing, which can be infectious.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Infections, and infestations.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Much maligned, but still here.
Well here we are, monday morning.
There is a movement out there to highlight the uses of cannabis, so I thought I would add my tuppence worth.
Cannabis was made illegal in the 1930`s, with pressure from the Anglo/american oil and pharmaceutical industries.
Why indeed? When cannabis was at that time providing the main ingredient for over 50% of the worlds` medicines.
Of course, hemp/cannabis needs to be grown and tended, crude oil was freely available to those who controlled the deposits.
Close examination shows that the carbon signature of hemp oil and that of crude oil are similar, except that crude oil is not quite so "fresh and friendly". Most people have no idea that crude oil is used to manufacture "medicines".
I have even spoken with people who were unaware that polyester, nylon and rayon were made from crude oil. Which makes those clothes about 3 billion years old... ugh... disgusting.
Cannabis was used as an anaesthetic and pain relief, as an appetite stimulant, for muscle spasms, headaches, insomnia, and at the turn of the century, scientists began to realise that they could make plastics and fuel, as well as fibre and cloth.
But then all those things could be made from crude oil too!
So along came tales of reefer madness and stories of hate and horror, whilst the pharmaceuticals began to peddle their questionable wares, and of course, the internal combustion engine began to consume billions of tonnes of oil.
Rudolph Diesel,(1858-1913) the German inventor had perfected an engine that would run on vegetable oil, after showing his plans to the British and Americans, some limited production began, but after his mysterious "death/suicide/murder", the use of vegetable oil was discontinued in favour of mineral oil.
However, the German auto industry now produces diesel engines that will run on either vegoil or mineral oil.
In june this year, tired of chasing motorists who use tax-free vegoil in their cars, the British government decided to allow we brits to use up to 2,500 litres of vegoil per annum, without paying fuel tax.
(See press release: Customs and excise brief 43/07.)
I can vouch for the efficiency of using vegoil, having used it in my aging VW golf without problems for the last 6,000 miles. (no conversion kit, just 50/50 mix of veg and mineral oil.)
Hemp oil is sadly too expensive, so I tend to use sunflower oil, wonderful acceleration, and clean, oh so clean! (60 miles per gallon of cooking oil!)
WARNING, only use vegoil in your motor car after seriously checking the viability, best are German/Japanese diesel engines, on no account use in a petrol engine.
Burning fossil fuels has been a disaster, in terms of pollution, illness and wars.
The medicinal properties of cannabis are slowly emerging into the mainstream, in fact there is a prize awarded annually, the Ralph Mechoulam prize.
Last year over 400 papers were submitted, all from graduate-level writers, many of whom work for the pharmaceuticals, many of whom have research facilities in Israel.
Did you ever wonder, what was in that bottle that the Jesus fellow used as his magic annointing oil that would cure the sick?
Try a google search on "Kaneh bosom"!!!
It seems that one of the main arguments between Christ and the then mainstream Jewish establishment was that he, as an Essenian Rabbi, wanted to give the poor people free medicines and treatment, whereas the more conservative Rabbis wanted to maintain their lucrative practice of charging the sick for health care, not unlike the world today is it?
Jesus was also against the practice of money-lending with interest, but that is another topic.
For a full insight into the history of cannabis, there is a book by an American activist, Jack Herer, "The emperor has no clothes."
Available free online, it may well change forever any assumptions about cannabis being "bad".
To read today, or to save for later, click the title "Much maligned..." and that will give you a copy of his wonderful book.
The song, with its` composite artwork is the creation of an Israeli group, Boom Pam, who also do weddings and bar mitzvahs. Israel, suprisingly perhaps, is very tolerant, even supportive of the use of cannabis.
"Anything crude can do, hemp can do better... Hemp can do anything better than crude... yes it can... "
Peace.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
The voice of the people. Preguntas sobre Dios
When in my teens, life took me to Spain, where I perhaps first became aware of the similarities between all peoples.
I remember learning a song, sung by the miners and trade unionists of Asturias, in Northern Spain.
The song had come to them, from the miners and activists of South America, and is one that has stayed with me throughout my life.
This song waswritten by Atahualpa Yupanqui, (Argentina 1908-1992). Atahualpa was a poet, and a communist, who also took to arms against the government.
The song is sung by Victor Jara, (Chile, 1932-1973), also a campaigner and activist, who was tortured, (they broke every bone in his hands, then mockingly suggested he play the guitar.) and then brutally machine-gunned by pro-american forces during the coup de etat that toppled the socialist Allende.
An aproximate translation by Michael Friedman.
One day I asked:
grandfather, where is God?
My grandfather became sad
and didn't answer me.
My grandfather died in the fields,
without prayer or confession.
And the Indians buried him,
accompanied by bamboo flute and drums
In time, I asked,
father, what do you know of God?
My father became serious,
and never answered my question.
My father died in the mines,
with neither doctor, nor protection.
The color of miners' blood,
is upon the gold of the rich!
My brother lives in the woods,
yet has never seen a flower!
Sweat, malaria, serpents,
that's the life of a wood-cutter!
And don't bother to ask him
if he knows where God is.
By his house, has never passed
such an important man!
I sing my songs on the byways,
and when I'm in prison,
I hear the voices of the people,
who sing far better than I.
There is a theme on this earth
more important than God.
And it is that no-one should cough up blood
so another may live better.
Does God watch over the poor?
Maybe yes, and maybe no.
But he surely lunches,
at the table of the rich.
The images in the video seem to show exactly the sentiment sought by both the writer and the singer.
That religion and its proponents are no more than sychophantic parasites.
It is a song that has been with me for over thirty years, and I trust you will keep both the song and the sentiment alive, the spirit of the singer calls out to us all.
The words speak for the millions of poor who have died for the sake of the rich.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Corporate war.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The Empire is striking back.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Next.
Rosie got to New York, again. Back in 1983, the iconic adventuress took a small boat of plywood construction, and sailed from Britain to New York.Or frightening.. I met murderers, missionaries ... Nuns... Children by the ten thousand... Once or twice I had the blade of a knife pointed at me or a gun. Not often enough to count compared to all the thousands of sweet people I met. GRADUALLY THE SOLITUDE WAS ITSELF THE PATH TO MORE PRECIOUS HUMAN CONTACT THAN I could ever have dreamed Because I just happened to be there.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
We got hands.
Cheered myself up, when I saw this one, again the story behind the picture can be read after clicking the title.
Any students of body language?
Check the position of the hands and eyes of all the protagonists.
Somehow, I think that the Russians are sending a blunt message to the pentagon, the question is, will there be sufficient intelligence within the government of america to understand this "hint".
Mother and son.
Just an ordinary woman? Her full story, and that of her son can be read by clicking on the title.
Mahassen and Ahmed.
They were shot, and burned, almost beyond recognition, by blackwater thugs.
Their story made me cry, though my tears are nothing in comparison to the anguish suffered by Haythem, the husband and father of these two innocents.
I actively reject all goods made in the united states. I actively advise others to do the same.
America must be brought to submission, to be cast down into nothingness. America must crumble into fragments, be disarmed of all military power, and the perpetrators of this war must be brought to account.
(Edited to add.)
I trust that those who read the above will realise that I call for the end of corporate America, not the ordinary folk, the truck drivers and teachers, the tradespeople and shop workers, not the students and children, not the "subjects", but the "rulers".
The "experts" and "policy writers", the "establishment", the ones that direct the military and orchestrate the bombings and the building of more bombs. Fuck `em.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Ar Hyd y Nos
A little bit of Welsh here. An old song, still sung in these times.
The Welsh are Celts, having come to Britain before the Romans, originally from central Europe, loosely defined "tribes", that wandered from Switzerland to Russia , from Turkey to Afghanistan. Traders, farmers, pagans; never too inclined towards conquering the world, but preferring to sing, dance and hunt when hunger calls.
The song is for someone I have never met, a lady known as Louise.
Louise recently "lost" her mam.
But you know, in Celtic mythology, like the Christians, Jews and Moslems, there is an afterlife, "The Void", the celestial dimension where all spirits commune, where the souls of all those departed amass to become the angels and choirs of the Gods.
The language is old, the sentiment universal.
Sung by Meinir Gwilym with Anwen Jones, two women who obviously love the old language.
Holl amrantau’r sêr ddywedant
Ar hyd y nos.
Dyma’r ffordd i fro gogoniant
Ar hyd y nos.
Golau arall yw tywyllwch,
I arddangos gwir brydferthwch,
Teulu’r nefoedd mewn tawelwch
Ar hyd y nos.
O mor siriol gwena seren
Ar hyd y nos,
I oleuo’i chwaer ddaearen
Ar hyd y nos,
Nos yw henaint pan ddaw cystudd,
Ond i harddu dyn a’i hwyrddydd
Rhown ein golau gwan i’n gilydd
Ar hyd y nos.
In English:
All the star’s eyelids say,
All through the night,
“This is the way to the valley of glory,”
All through the night.
Darkness is another kind of light
To show true beauty,
The Heavenly family in peace,
All through the night.
O how cheerful smiles the star,
All through the night,
To light its earthly sister,
All through the night.
Old age is night when affliction comes,
But to beautify man in his late days,
We’ll put our weak light together,
All through the night.
Peace.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Of mice and men.
Thanks to Carlos Latuff for the sketch.
Rant begins.
I shall soon refrain from commenting on the Americans who go to Iraq in obedience of their government.
They are beneath comment, beneath contempt. Enough is enough.
The majority of americans see Bush as an arsehole and a madman, a murderous piece of foul and rotten trash, and his advisers and generals as lickspittle lackeys, liars devoid of compassion or conscience.
But what of the colonels and captains, the admirals, the lieutenants and sergeants, the pilots and marines, the privates and recruits.
Surely, by definition, in a non-conscripted force, those that serve, stand in agreement with those who command.
So at what point do the soldiers in the american war machine differ from their leaders?
Are they just nice guys who are simply obeying orders?
Or should they be considered as war criminals?
Or pitied as being pawns in a greater game?
The american military is a volounteer force, those who serve, do so because they wish to, they like it enough to consider their president a man for whom they are willing to die, or be maimed, or driven insane.
I really think that the world has had enough of war, and the parasites who thrive on the pain and suffering of others for material gain.
It suprises me that amidst all the protests that do take place in the U.S., that there has been thus far no blockades of military recruitment centres.
Here in the U.K. there are constant protests outside military bases, thankfully our government seems to understand that internal dissent is a good sign of intellectual freedom and not some attempt at overthrowing the entire state.
Yes, the world needs law and order, but we also need equality and justice, we need food and housing, education and employment, not nuclear bombs and laser guided missiles.
How easy it is for silly little fuckwits to destroy entire cities, even nations. Stupid arrogant animals who only survive by killing and bombing, "protected" by their state, perhaps not fully understanding that they are but hired guns in a war over resources and power.
It is beyond belief, that across the planet,so much money is spent on weapons and war.
Pipelines stride across the third world, delivering gas and oil to the West, but thousands of third world folks are dying,
every fucking day, from hunger and thirst.
How many of us, unthinkingly drive to work, with a tankfull of Iraqui fuel? Do we think about the Iraqui people, as we turn on the ignition, do we consider their lives and their rights as we fill our tanks?
In fairness to the americans, I did see one comment that was "on the button", which was that [sic].
...Only 25% of americans now support their govern-bent, trouble is, they have 99% of the guns and ammunition"
How many more american soldiers will die?
Do the soldiers care?
Do I care?
Rant over.
Peace.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Mazeltov
Mazeltov.
Now then, it might seem that this blog is a wee bit wary of certain uh...ahem... "neocons".
Well, yes I am, for obvious reasons.
I can`t even use that old chestnut, "Some of my best friends etc", mostly because there aren`t many jewish folk in West Wales.
Strangely enough, the last few years have seen quite a few immmigrating here, from Israel. As of yet, all seems most peaceful.
There is even talk of building a Kibbutz in the Welsh hills near Carmarthen. Oiveh, a Kibbutz in Wales!!
We shall see.
Some of my comic and entertainment heroes are Jewish. The Rabbi, Jackie Mason is one, incredibly dry, but always on the ball.
Composers and musicians, the list goes on and on... Berlin, Bernstein, Gershwin... and many thousands more. One could go on for ever about the joy and pleasure that these people have brought to the human race.
Then there were the Marx brothers, pure genius. Mind you their cousin, Karl, was not so good at the comedy, couldn`t sing or dance and ended up preaching politics.
The short clip above is of a duo with a somewhat obtuse talent, I have no idea if they are jewish or not, but I`m sure you will enjoy a new if somewhat unusual rendition of a old favourite.
Danke.
The dirty dozen.
__Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, Scooter Libby
John Bolton, Eliot Abrams, Robert Kagan, Michael Ledeen, William Kristol, Frank Gaffney Jr__.
The neocons. Lets stop fooling around with words shall we? These guys are zionists. Pro-israeli politicians, with control of the american war machine.
Not one of these little putzes has done anything constructive in their miserable time.
Not one of them ever held a hammer, or a saw, or a trowel, not one of them ever drove a truck, served food, or collected a wage for an honest weeks` work.
The only things these arseholes have held are extremist views. Their policies and purpose are evident, to establish control over the people of America through fear and lies.
Enough already, Meshuga, when will America awaken?
Friday, August 31, 2007
Opression and Resistance.
Sometimes, as well as writing, one has to listen to the words of others.
The following was written by Dr. Dahlia Wasfi .
This Iraqui american woman is a speaker and activist.
Born in the United States to an American Jewish mother and an Iraqi Muslim father, she lived in Iraq as a child, returning to the U.S. at age 5. She graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Biology in 1993 and earned her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. Dr. Wasfi has made two trips to Iraq since the 2003 “Shock and Awe” invasion to visit her extended family. She returned from a three month stay in Basrah in March 2006. On April 27, 2006, she testified at a Congressional Forum to provide her eyewitness account of life in Iraq. Based on her experiences, Dr. Wasfi is speaking out in support of immediate, unconditional withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and the need to end the occupation “from the Nile to the Euphrates.”
Her website is www.liberatethis.com.
Here is an excerpt from a recent article.
And do you know what Iraqis are saying? I don’t speak Arabic, but I can translate for you. They’re saying, “Get out!” They’re saying, “NO way - you’re staying for 60 years.” They’re saying, “Get your oil the old-fashioned way - pay for it!” And why are they saying this? Because they have a dignity and self-respect rooted in 7000 years of civilization.
Iraq is the center of Arab nationalism. Actually, this is what my father says, and I would argue that my father is the center of Arab nationalism. Modern-day Iraqis are the descendents of ancients who devised the first system of writing, the 24-hour day, the bases of mathematics, law, science and medicine. Once corrupt American corporations, the U.S. military, and its death squads, prisons, and bombings are out of the picture, true reconstruction by Iraqis can and will begin.
Perhaps we don’t embrace the Iraqi resistance because its fighters are killing American soldiers. What other choice have we given them? From Vietnam to Lebanon to Somalia to Iraq, we have taught our victims around the world that the only way to effect a change in American foreign policy is to spill American blood.
The full article can be read by clicking on to the title of this page.
Incidentally, a firm thankyou to "Today in Iraq", a website found within the "links" part of this blog.
Given that soon, the world will soon be getting the american "Report from Iraq", this article represents another side, a balance if you like, to the grim picture that has been crafted by the neocon warmongers of Washington.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Sad, sick, subordinate.
Many years from now, people will ask.. Who were the neocons, who were the architects of war , never ending war.
Who were they, who wished to seize control of the middle east, and ultimately the whole world. With a single currency, a single set of laws and all ruled by one group.
With names like Abrams,Feith, Kristol, Perle, Wolfowitz, Zakheim...
One thing I do know, they sure as fuck don`t sound like no fucking mexican names to me.
(Respect to Carlos Latuff, for his cartoons and forthright stance on Iraq are an inspiration.)
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Every distance is not near.
Bob Dylan wrote that ...
They say ev'rything can be replaced,
Yet ev'ry distance is not near.
So I remember ev'ry face
Of ev'ry man who put me here.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.
I guess the song means different things to each of us, as does a lot of art.
Geography is like art, isn`t it? The world itself could be considered the ultimate artistic creation..
Ask the average person, ask yourself even:
"How far away is Africa?" In terms of miles? From Spain?
11 miles. Just eleven miles. People and goods travel back and forth daily in small boats, large boats, airplanes, and already, there are plans and contracts in place to drive a rail tunnel under the straights of Gibraltar.
Progress indeed, direct train links from Casablanca to Copenhagen, from Marrakech to Moscow.
By hydrofoil, even now the journey takes only a few minutes, from the "Enlightened West", to the "Dark Continent".
Perhaps one could be forgiven for thinking that after leaving "Caucasian" Europe, that suddenly all those whose homes are made in Africa are dark-skinned, and given to nomadic herding and tribal living.
No, not at all, though as one travels towards the South of Morocco, skin tone darkens, and almost magical encounters begin with Bedouin and other tribes people.
"Mealtime in Morocco"
The University of Al Karaouine in Fez, Morocco is the oldest university in the world with its founding in 859.
One should note also that the people of Morocco are not physically dissimilar to those of Portugal and Southern Spain.
As is well chronicled, Portugal and Spain were both a part of the Moorish Empire (from the eighth `till the fifteenth century.)
Often hidden from history is the interaction at that time between the Celts of Western Europe and the Moors of the Barbary coast. Many are the "red haired Algerian", or the "dark-skinned Spaniard".
Slaves were captured and traded between the Seafarers of North Africa and medieval Europe, amongst sailors and the peasantry, there was at times little formality in the question of procreation.
As often as not, a case of lust and opportunity , rather than love and marriage.
Absolutely nothing to do with governments or religion, just good old-fashioned animalistic procreation.
So it seems (imo) a good thing that the Moroccans have begun the process of application to the European Union. Perhaps Algeria will follow suit, I understand Libya is also interested, and that the Turks are well on the way to joining up.
Is there a downside? Is all this a plot to produce a single global government/currency? Who are these people who wish to see the Political and Social union of Africa and Europe?
Should my taxes help to fund the infrastructure/people of the "third world"?
Well it`s fine by me. Beter than war isn`t it?
After all, the human race originated in Africa, it is the ancestral home of every human being on this planet.
Africa is my long-ago ancestral home, your home, we should care for it, nourish it and protect it.
The picture shows part of the Al Karaouine university and Mosque, which still serves the population of Fes.
Bless `em all, Amdullah.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Depleted Uranium, and birth defects.
It`s a fuck of a thing, having children. Mine are almost grown up, but yeah, I will always worry and think about them.
I was blessed with two lovely daughters, even though I`m probably not the best dad, they have stuck with life, and are now both working and enjoying the world and its` treasures.
The early years are always a struggle, wondering how they will do at school, or if they will turn out "O.K.".
Worrying if perhaps they will develop anomalities, always worrying about accidents or disease.
For many parents in Iraq, there is no such worry, they know, at the moment of birth, that their precious child is cursed to a life of pain and suffering.
And all because the Brits and Americans wanted to use depleted uranium.
Our goverments tell us we are civilised and progressive, that they exist only to protect us. What an absolute crock of bullshit.
Ah well, it is said that the soldiers themselves, as a result of their exposure to DU, are just as likely to father deformed children.
Poetic justice perhaps, but of no comfort to the children.
What the fuck are we doing, letting scumbags manufacture weapons like these?
Just who are the assholes who work in the factories making these bombs? What kind of sick retarded fuckwit claims that manufacturing weapons is a job? It isn`t a job you silly cunt, it is a conspiracy to terrorise a civilian population.
War is stupid, manufacturing weapons is plain ignorant.
Walk away from war, walk away from the factories of war.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Freeway Blogging For Truth on CBS News
Some people pray for peace, some march for peace.
Some write letters, or telephone politicians, others refuse to pay taxes.
Some brave arrest and imprisonment to heckle the militaries.
Was it Aristotle who said that any fool can get angry, but to use the right amount of anger, at the right time, in an appropriate place, ..that is more difficult.
"Freeway Blogging", is so far an american idea. Respect these guys!
Just as interesting is the fact that CBS has chosen to show the clip, and its` all too obvious implications.
Notice that the newscaster doesn`t call the protesters "nutjobs", nor does he call into question, the subject of their blog, "9/11= inside job".
The truth is that peace sometimes requires an effort, the freeway bloggers made that effort.
Fight for peace, fight, at the right time, in the right place, with the right weapon.
But we have to fight.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Iraqui Resistance. Top 20 hits.
So, today, Britain has a new leader,(Gordon Brown). A few weeks earlier, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales also chose new leaders. (Ian Paisley, Alex Salmond and Rhodri Morgan).
With the possible exception of Paisley, none of these men support the war in Iraq.
So we can expect some changes soon, regarding the use of British soldiers overseas.
The Iraqui resistance meanwhile, have come up with a new way of motivating their troops.
Ansar al Sunnah, is a leading group of highly organised resistance.
Each month they post videos of what they consider to be the top twenty hits against the occupation of their nation.
The resistance is divided into regions and groups, and are invited to submit videos of their operations against the invaders.
Points are given for the cunning of the attack, the proficiency, the number of americans killed, or of resources destroyed. Overall camera work is also taken into account.
The end is near for the americans, who lie constantly to their own people, calling the resistance "Al Quaeda", or "Foreign fighters".
The short clip above really is propaganda, but at least it is a real-time account of the activities of the Iraqui people, and not a sychophantic fawning fox newsreader quoting some whitehouse putz.
Allthough it is propaganda, it (imo) merits viewing, not for the violence shown, but for the camera work, the music,(Beautiful) and for what it represents in organisational terms, the planning, construction and positioning of the attacks: the ability to film those attacks, and above all, the ability to bring those films to public sight.
The subtitles are in Arabic and English, and are concise., to say the least.
The Iraqui people have held together as a tribe and a culture for over 5,000 years.
Long before Islam, before Christianity, and before Judaism.
These are the people that gave us mathematica, caligraphy, and even "organised government".
The resistance began planning their attacks back in the `90s, stockpiling the explosives and detonators, they knew of american plans long before the "false flag" of 9/11.
It is apparent that soon the only "invaders" left in Iraq will be americans. How many more will die or be grusesomeley mutilated before they withdraw.
(Should you wish to embed/send the video, the title acts as link to the original site).
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Hunger drives us all.
Gypsies are sometimes seen as less than equal, undesirable.
The gypsies or Roma are said to have been a himalayan tribe, given to wandering, horse-trading, music and dance, and much other myth.
When a gypsy gets hungry, it is said he can always find food faster than most, somehow....the video runs for just 20 seconds, but it left me smiling for a considerably longer time.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A poem, to soothe and search the self.
Here is a poem, that has long been a favourite.
Ever reviled, accursed, ne’er understood,
Thou art the grisly terror of our age.
“Wreck of all order,” cry the multitude,
“Art thou, and war and murder’s endless rage.”
O, let them cry. To them that ne’er have striven
The truth that lies behind a word to find,
To them the word’s right meaning was not given.
They shall continue blind among the blind.
But thou, O word, so clear, so strong, so pure,
Thou sayest all which I for goal have taken.
I give thee to the future! Thine secure
When each at least unto himself shall waken.
Comes it in sunshine? In the tempest’s thrill?
I cannot tell — but it the earth shall see!
I am an Anarchist! Wherefore I will
Not rule, and also ruled I will not be!
— JOHN HENRY MACKAY.
Mackay, the author is someone about whom I must confess to knowing little.
He was born in Scotland in 1864, and died in Germany on May 16 1933, it is said he moved to Berlin, because of the then permissive attitude towards homosexuality and as a pederast he felt safer there than in Scotland.
He died just as Hitler was beginning to single out minorities for persecution, no doubt this poem would not have been to the taste of the Reich.
It is, I submit, a poem that should be remembered and read in moments of self-doubt.
Post operative trans sexualism.
Subjects are sometimes seen as taboo.
Some topics are off limits.
Some phrases are not used, some truths, whilst obvious, are never spoken.
Post-op trans sexualism, is not usually a topic for working class poets.
Here are Goldie Looking Chain, a group of lads from Wales.
Not perhaps a glitzy and glamourous group, at least they are raising an issue that is little aired in public.
A fellow gets seduced by his friends mother, who to his suprise...
This is what happens in a nation that has no airforce, no navy, no soldiers to call their own....perhaps irreverent, but not irrelevant.
Thank heavens for small mercies.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
A queen and a dick.
The Queen of England meets dick. Dick has met many queens, but this one has got him twitching and squirming. Undoubtedly it appears that she has recognised dick for what he is.
One can imagine that if there are "other truths" about 9/11, or the war in Iraq, then this is one woman who knows the full facts.
Then again, maybe as well as being ugly, dick just has bad breath.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Knowing nothing, the way to Barcelona?.
I`m not sure about the copyrights to this article, but it looks like the EU funded it, so maybe it is free to citizens, or no?
I found it over at "Iraq war.ru", but there seem to be quite a few similar threads "floating around".
Maybe the Russians or the Iranians are closer to Europe than is measured in miles.
Clinical and concise I`d call it. still at least there is no mention of the war in Iraq, or the olympic games, or global warming, the war on drugs, just following the money, that`s all.
Painfully feasible, as some might say, and a predictable agenda, as others may well have forecast.
After reading it, I think I`ll go for a walk, spring is almost sprung, and the trees are slowly showing their bonnets.
A Chronicle of America's Very Great Depression – Two growing trends: A historical reversal of global financial balances / An implosion of the US society
- Public announcement GEAB N°14 (April 16, 2007) -
America's 2007 Very Great Depression has indeed begun; and represents the US dimension of the phase of impact of the global systemic crisis LEAP/E2020 anticipated early 2006, knowing that the US are the central pillar of the global order created after 1945. The structural weakening of the US is therefore both the cause and consequence of the global systemic crisis, international trends directly influencing the US domestic situation. At this stage, LEAP/E2020 researchers identify that two aspects of this « very great depression » are now established and emerge clearly from the current statistical, economic, financial and strategic chaos:
I- A historical reversal of global financial balances: For the first time since 1913, the US lost their status of world's largest financial centre
II- An implosion of the US society: The middle class is sacrificed between the endless collapse of housing prices and a revenue disparity ratio now above that of 1928.
All along the year 2006, LEAP/E2020 described many times the characteristics of the on-going global systemic crisis. On various occasions, our team highlighted the link existing between this crisis and the place of the US on the international arena, given that today's world is to a large extend shaped up by forces inherited from the after-WWII, characterised by the fading away of Europe and the ascent of USSR and USA. The collapse of USSR between 1989 and 1992 then left the US unrivalled until today, this country thus literally becoming the keystone of our current global system. The global systemic crisis initiated in 2006, one extensively detailed by LEAP/E2020 along the GEAB's various issues, and which entered its phase of impact in 2007, is hitting the US full stride, with two trends of high historical velocity now appearing: on the one hand, a fast change in the US relative position on the global scale; and on the other hand, a radical reorganisation of US society's internal balances that prevailed since 1940/1950.
I- A historical reversal of global financial balances: For the first time since 1913, the US lost their status of world's largest financial centre
LEAP/E2020 already described many of the trends at work in the decreasing role of the US in the field of international trade or in the field of wealth production. For instance, GEAB N°6 detailed the now dominant place of the EU (1) in the external trade of oil-producing countries: « One just needs to know that in 2005 the EU represented more than 50% of Russian foreign trade, 65% of Algerian foreign trade, 31% of Iranian foreign trade (followed by Japan with 12%), 78% of Norwegian foreign trade, more than 55% of the foreign trade of Gabon, more than 40% of Nigerian foreign trade, more than 50% of the Congo foreign trade, 20% of Saudi Arabian foreign trade (against 16% only in the United States), nearly 30% of the foreign trade of Kuwait (against 11% only in the United States) and more than 20% of the foreign trade of the United Arab Emirates (against only 6% in the United States) ». In the decades following 1945, the US held this first place by far; and not only with regards to oil-producing countries.
This example, as well as the fact that China has now surpassed the US as first importer in the EU (2), illustrates clearly a historical trend of which another facet was recently identified by the British consultants Absolute Strategy Research (ASR): according to the findings of Thomson Financial, at the end of March 2007, European financial markets surpassed in value their US counterparts. Such a change constitutes a major systemic break, putting an end to a century-long tendency initiated during the first World War. According to Ian Harnett (managing director of ASR and former UBS-Warburg's Head of European Strategy) who identified this change, it is indeed a « seismic tremor » for the global financial markets as it shows a displacement in the centre of gravity of the global financial sphere out of the US and towards the Old Continent. For instance, at the end of March 2007, European markets (including Russia) totalled up €11,819 billion against €11,760 billion only for US markets. In the past few years, they grew by 160% while US markets only grew by 70%. Of course the US dollar's depreciation contributed to strengthen this trend (3).
According to the LEAP/E2020 team, the trends at work in this disruption of global financial markets' hierarchy are profound and sustainable: relentless and durable decline of the US currency, decreasing share of the US in international trade and the production of global wealth, geographic remoteness of the US compared to the « Old Continent's » Eurasian economic centres, impoverishment of the US consumer, collapsing competitiveness related to collapsing quality of education, … Due to these reasons, the trend identified by Absolute Strategy Research will amplify throughout the year 2007 and the whole decade. The consequences for financial and stock players are considerable, as they turn upside down all reflex actions acquired for nearly a century. LEAP/E2020 will come back later in GEAB N°14 on the practical consequences of this seism for market players.
II- An implosion of the US society: The middle class is sacrificed between the endless collapse of housing prices and a revenue disparity ratio now above that of 1928
A remarkable work conducted by Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez on the evolution of high revenues in the US (4), shows that the revenue disparity ratio is now comparable to what it was on the eve of the Great Depression at the end of the 20s. According to this work, the revenue ratio between the richest 0.01% richest and the poorest 90% lingered around 170/180 all along the years 1950 to 1980, and lept to 880 in 2005, i.e. about the same level (891) as in 1928. The chart below clearly illustrates the return of the US society to the level of income disparity that prevailed during the pre-1929 period.
US top decile total income share
According to LEAP/E2020, beyond the mere economic analyses, such a situation corroborates the idea that 2007 will signal the entry of the US into the « Very Great Depression » because it conveys tremendous social and political tensions, already illustrated by the amount of foreclosure evictions (5) that the economic recession will multiply even further. The US society is being split into two groups, one poor and the other very rich, with the middle class about to fall in the poor group.
Thus, according to our researchers, the on-going economic trends, because they relate to heavy historical trends affecting all social and economic balances for many decades (cf. GEAB N°11, 12 and 13), convey a increased devastating impact. As we indicated in the previous issue of GEAB, the 1929 crisis happened in a historical context of US ascent. Underlying fundamental trends were therefore favourable to the United-States. The current depression takes place in the opposite historical context. In April 2007, as we pass by the tipping point of the global systemic crisis, trends speed up and their impact intensify and become visible to each and everyone.
The recent example provided by Circuit City Stores, second largest U.S. consumer electronics retailer, leaves no hope for the contrary. Indeed, at the end of March, the company announced that it would lay off 3,400 sales workers, or 8.5 percent of its in-store staff, due to excessive salaries (10-11 USD per hour) and hire an equivalent amount of lower-paid workers (8 USD per hour) (6) : downgrading the middle class to the lower class, this type of process also presents the statistical advantage to raise employment figures.
In GEAB N°14, LEAP/E2020 will describe four other trends that will preside over the coming quarter:
1. On-going explosive contagion of the subprime crisis to other types of home loans and other sectors of the economy
2. The return of stagflation: Towards a US growth falling beneath 1 percent by this summer
3. Sharp increase in US public deficit by mid-2007
4. Intensification of the geopolitical oil crisis in May 2007 – Iran and Venezuela on the frontline: Oil on the rise (100 USD) and Dollar on the fall (1,50) by summer 2007
Will there be music in Spain tonight?
The blackthorn and elder are well in leaf, with the thorn showing an early flower, whereas the oak has just in the last few days begun to caress the sun with her leafen fingers, the ash still a little reticent.
The birds sing well these past few weeks, the jackdaws and crows are busy searching out twig and moss.
Friday, April 06, 2007
No title.
So there it is, shame we can`t all see things in the same light
.
However, remembering the old adage, of not throwing out the baby with the bathwater, here is a quote from the current Dalai Lama.
'Your prime purpose on earth is to help one another. If you can't help one another at least don't hurt one another.' - Dalai Lama
Because we shouldn`t forget that whilst religious organisations have often abused the unwary, and exploited the innocents, there have been those whose lives and works have indeed been exemplary, not all have sought the velvet cushions and golden thrones of hiearchal rule.
"A cat is worth a groat (four pence). At birth she is worth a penny, two pence after she has opened her eyes, and a groat if she has caught a mouse. "
Suprisingly the above was an actual law in Wales, during the tenth century (A.D.), there were few principal laws in Wales, not many of them relating to religion.
The King at that time, Hywel Dda, or "Hughie the good", was particularly fond of hunting and feasting,(and beautiful women).
He saw little use for a kingdom that would require a large percentage of its` people to be engaged in law and religion.
Instead he preferred a kingdom of mountains, oaken forests, well-ordered farms and healthy flocks of sheep, fit and hardy goats, herds of full-fleshed cattle, happy pigs, contented chickens and ducks, wild boar, pheasants, fat geese and granaries that were full, with surplus for those in need.
He also decreed that women could own property, and that all children, who were born "outside" of marriage had all the rights of those born "inside" marriage.
He did once, it is said, visit the Vatican, but there are conflicting stories as to the purpose of his trip...But that is another tale.
Ah well, since then have been some changes. (Click on the "No title", for an insight into the laws and the man who wrote them, more than ten centuries past, and ruled that in his land, women would be equal to men.)
Note: I have slightly amended this post, since first writing. Especially the link at the title, which now shows a slightly more balanced insight into tenth century Britain.)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Rosie runs the world.
Rosie set off a few years ago. "I`m going to run around the whole world".
That was the 2nd of October 2003.
So she packed a few things, and started running. She ran across Wales, then across England.
A quick ferry trip to Europe, the Rosie ran across Holland, then into Germany and Russia.
Running Russia, blizzards and ice, and the trans-siberian railway, along which Rosie ran. Day after day, night after night. Running, running, running...
Rosie set off, to raise funds for a local hospital, where her late husband Clive had been treated. Rosie is like that, she loves a challenge, and a good cause.
Well, she made it across Russia, raising money for a Russian orphanage as well, as she said, "They needed it".
Across the Bering straits, running Alaska, and then Rosie ran into Canada. People often line the roads, handing her money, she collects it, often just running into the next town to find a worthy recipient. Selfless.
A few days ago she got to North Dakota, so if you live in that part of the world, why not take a few moments and run with her.
What a woman, running the world. An example to us all, a story that needs to be celebrated and never forgotten.
This is how she wrote of her dream....
On 2nd October 2003 my 57th birthday, I'm going to set off to run around the world. Making my dream come true and practical necessity, go together. I shall be solo, self supporting and on a very low budget. I couldn¹t afford back up teams, luxury, or flights to different continent and stages across wide oceans.
My dearest wish anyway, is just to do a complete circle of the earth, planned to keep me on as much land mass as possible, This is also the coldest, hardest, most fascinating way, and includes almost 7,000 miles of Russia and Siberia. I shall go across Europe through Holland, Germany, Poland and Moscow, before hitting the Trans Siberian Railway route. Then go on to the Bering Straits, Alaska, America, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland and England, before returning to the start and finishing line at Tenby, my home in Wales. It will be my world voyage on two feet.
A link to her website should be working, fascinating tales, about a lady from Wales.
The title of this post also acts as a link to her website, which truly inspires.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
IBM, and the holocaust.
(Click on the title to see more)
What was it about the Jewish people that made Hitler want to collect them all into camps?
How was he able to round them up like cattle, without even a whimper from the "rest of the West"?
Were there others involved? Has the truth been told?
Are there truths in the allegations that American business interests supported and even armed Hitler with the weapons and machines to aid in the gruesome task of subjugating Europe, and at the same time, killing off the Jews, or driving them to emigrate.
Let`s not forget that as well as the Jews, there were several other groups who were being targeted. The Gypsies, gays, the mentally ill, communists, and so many more.
How was it done? How did it become so efficient?
The answer lies, in part, with a firm, still known as IBM.
Taken from elsewhere....
Only after Jews were identified -- a massive and complex task that Hitler wanted done immediately -- could they be targeted for efficient asset confiscation, ghettoization, deportation, enslaved labor, and, ultimately, annihilation. It was a cross-tabulation and organizational challenge so monumental, it called for a computer. Of course, in the 1930s no computer existed.
But IBM's Hollerith punch card technology did exist. Aided by the company's custom-designed and constantly updated Hollerith systems, Hitler was able to automate his persecution of the Jews. Historians have always been amazed at the speed and accuracy with which the Nazis were able to identify and locate European Jewry. Until now, the pieces of this puzzle have never been fully assembled. The fact is, IBM technology was used to organize nearly everything in Germany and then Nazi Europe, from the identification of the Jews in censuses, registrations, and ancestral tracing programs to the running of railroads and organizing of concentration camp slave labor.
Apparently, the German government still keeps all of these records, along with the names of the American citizens who advised and worked with the Nazis.
Ah well, one day, a lo mejor...perhaps.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Fodder for cannons.
(Grateful thanks to the artist, who has definitely got the gist of bushies madness.)
What the public needs to understand is that cannons need feeding, they need blindly patriotic young people to sacrifice themselves on the blood altar of cannon factories.
All across America there are wealthy middle class shareholders who need their factories making cannons and profits.
Americans need to understand that without war there are no profits, damn, this nation, like England before it was built on the profits of war.
It is a fine tradition, that the rich people manufacture cannons and start wars, and poor people die in war.
This is one tradition that is no longer fit for human purpose.
