The Iraq/Iran end game.

If you have dealt with manipulative people in your life for a long enough period of time you begin to understand patterns, habits and techniques they use to get what they want or do what they want. The skilled manipulator is capable of formulating an end result they wish to achieve, forcing behavior or actions that enable them to achieve their goals and finally pulling it off with “I had no other choice” as their justification.

I’ve thought about the tactics of manipulators this past week, more specifically the manipulators that we all deal with, our political leaders. In this context of our political leaders I have focused on the ongoing war in Iraq and the still beating drumbeat of war in Iran. Let’s look at a few facts that can hardly be disputed:

1) The neo-con leaders and brain trust are dead set on a nuclear strike on Iran. Not a ground invasion, not a conventional air strike, a nuclear air strike. They make no secret of their feelings and this is openly discussed and defended by them on a daily basis.

2) If the efforts to date in Iran had been an honest attempt to democratize and rebuild a nation, this could only be considered an absolute failure of diplomacy and leadership. While it is true that even the brightest and best among us can fail and they are not above failure, the sheer number of failures in Iran are a sign that there was never an attempt to honestly democratize and rebuild the nation. The failures have been planned.

3) The current surge strategy is not and never has worked. You cannot play “whack a mole” with an enemy and expect to succeed. The number of troops that were assigned for the invasion and occupation of Iraq (Afghanistan as well) were woefully short in numbers. This set the stage for failure before combat began. This wasn’t a simply underestimation or a failure due to lack of good, hard intelligence or intelligence analysis; it was intentional.

4) There is now a complete absence of doubt that our armed forces are in a crisis mode. The loss of men and equipment, the burnout that is occurring within the ranks and a certain shift in mood by the foot soldiers on the ground in Iraq are obvious signs. Reports coming from some of the greatest rational military thinkers and strategists confirm these outward signs. Our military has been wrecked by a failure to properly lead it, and a failure to maintain it. This has had an even more dangerous impact than an intentional dismantling of the services.

Are all four of these points just random coincidences or the result of poor leadership and cloudy foresight? To simply write these things off to incompetence is to turn a blind eye to an obvious fact, the people who hold true power in this country and led us into this catastrophe did not attain those positions out of sheer good luck. They are extremely bright and perceptive people who have focused on a goal of recreating and redefining an Imperial United States. They were smart enough and capable enough to gain these positions, failures such as these do not fit the equation.

These are not failures they are intentional acts. The end goal is control over the Middle East and it’s resources. Africa has even become an official target of the current Military-Industrial Complex as well as gaining the attention of the neo-con theorists as we have seen the Pentagon officially create its first headquarters that is tasked with the monitoring and control of the African continent.

How would these people gain and maintain control over the entire Middle East or Africa? Depopulation is the only method that can be seriously considered. We are all aware of the infamous 2000 PNAC report, “Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategies, Forces and Resources for a New Century.” In which it is argued that a “New Pearl harbor” would be the impetus to enter a new world war, which addressed instability in the Middle East, our nation’s longstanding Imperial status and America’s need for a supply of oil. It is not beyond simple conjecture to question if other, far more sinister reports have circulated around Washington that take these ideas to a greater extreme and combine other connected ideas of the neo-cons. If reports do not exist, can we say with any certainty that the most extreme right-wing theorists have at least broached ideas of this nature at cocktail parties, think tank sessions and corporate retreats for quite some time?

Henry Kissinger once commented on US soldiers by saying, “Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.” This attitude is not isolated, Kissinger is one of the most powerful political, social and economic elites this nation has to offer. He is a fixture on the Council on Foreign Relations, The Bilderberg Group and is nothing less than a guru in international circles.

Prince Philip has made no secret of his feelings about population control, more specifically his support of the idea of depopulation of the world. A constant periphial but connecting idea that is shared among the neo-cons, globalists and Illuminati conspiracy theorists is the idea of a massive depopulation of the world at large.

Consider the environment in the Arabic, Persian and North African worlds at this very moment. Anti-American sentiment is at an all-time high. Support for the violent ousting of American troops in all those regions is extremely high. The true masters of world power have their eyes set on the wealth and resources of those regions. Oil, poppy, gold, diamonds, and every resource they have. The overt use of military support in the capacity of an occupying force from nations such as Britain and France was shown decades ago to be an inefficient and miserable means of controlling the resources of a nation.

What would be a more efficient and overwhelming means of controlling the indigenous population while assuming complete control of the resources of those nations? Complete and overwhelming destruction would work in the nations where a certain amount of western style civilization has a foothold. In the poorest of nations it would not work simply because those people know nothing but strife, suffering and violence in their lives. In the theoretically rich Muslim nations there is a threat of religious inspired violence for which overwhelming force is seen as a challenge and is historically in their realm of consciousness.

The way to control these nations, their people and their wealth, is to use complete and overwhelming use of force combined with strong methods of depopulation. Nuclear attacks on Iran would provide both of these qualities. The weapons themselves would provide destructive power; their fallout would curse the region with radiation sickness and generations of birth defects and cancer. Imagine if this were combined in nations such as Somalia, for which the US has been targeting with Naval Shore Bombardment in recent months, with highly infectious diseases with a staggering mortality rate?

We have seen strange and isolated cases of new and old diseases break out and disappear in the most rural and impoverished areas of the world and the most cosmopolitan and wealthy areas. The SARS virus, which oddly arose and then disappeared in Toronto. The spread of and implied human-to-human transmission of H5N1 (bird flu) in several sub-Asian nations such as Vietnam. The recent XDB tuberculosis patient who traipsed across Europe and North America with no restrictions and no manhunt. It is easy to look at these and many other cases such as West Nile virus in America, Acinetobacter Baumannii that has infected wounded US troops in Iraq, and realize that data can be gathered from these events to help plot an intentional outbreak of some deadly virus.

America and many, many innocent nations would of course feel the effects of such an attack (nuclear or Biological) but they would be minimal compared to what would be felt by the nations targeted. Never forget that all during the Cold War, American strategists theorized over Nuclear War, where Megadeaths, deaths in the millions, were used and considered as acceptable losses in the scenarios considered for Thermo-Nuclear Warfare. The tenants of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) would not come into play in such a scenario as I have presented because there would be no “other side” to fire back with identical weapons.

What would be the response from Arabic, Persian and African nations in such a scenario? They pose no military threat to the US mainland. The only “threat” to come of such activity would be terrorists’ attacks on American soil. Even if a terrorist organization held a single Nuclear weapon it’s effect on the nation as a whole would be small in comparison to what US weapons could do to those nations. Retaliatory strikes would be considered a chance to inflict even more damage upon the “enemy”. At what point would the risk, MAD, be too great to consider? The only point would be if another Nuclear power threatened to strike at us in a pre-emptive measure. But, the tenants of MAD would prevent that from occurring, so the threat is neutralized.

So, how does this relate to the subject of manipulators and the current situation in Iraq and Iran? The end goal that has been propsed by PNAC and the neo-con cabal has been to gain control of resources and people. They claim an end times type of threat from Iran. The military is incapable of a ground assault in Iran. The situation in Iraq is dire.

These facts would lead them to a scenario where the Nuclear option is not only feasible, it would be the only option. The condition of the US armed forces as well as a call for a greater “shock and awe” campaign would be the justification. Radiation? Well, oil prices would of course spike, but price controls could be used in conjunction with martial law to quell the public. Of course the Military-Industrial Complex would make an even larger financial killing creating new technologies to protect workers from radiation and selling new devices. The contractors would make an even larger killing with their fees for working in a radiation hazard environment. The oil companies would ultimately make an even greater killing since they would effectively have the oil rich lands all to themselves with no interference. A virtual ghost of a population in these nations would be easily controlled as they would be sick, in a minority and powerless.

When we consider the state of affairs concerning our involvement in Iraq the end game should be in our minds just as much as the current series of moves.

Clues in the honeybee mystery begin to come to light

The mystery of the missing honeybees is still providing new clues and insights. After the mass media rush to cover the story, more curious information has come to light. To read more of my posts on the missing honeybee mystery, click this link and you will find all of my posts which include links to news and industry websites that provide a wealth of information on this story that go far beyond what you saw on the evening news or on cable TV.

While browsing for new stories on the missing honeybee mystery I found an extremely interesting comment from a representative of the Michigan Beekeepers Association who blames the colony collapse on bee food,

“The high-fructose corn syrup these commercial guys are feeding their honeybees
is made from genetically modified corn, which is made to hurt insects."

This is quite a significant statement. We have all been reading for years about the dangers and health threat that high fructose corn syrup can be to human health. The introduction of GM corn syrup into the colony collapse mystery is quite an eye opener for me and one I had not thought of.

We need to pay a lot of attention to farmers and small agri-businessmen such as this beekeeper. Their concerns and wisdom about such things are based on real world experience and the necessity of sustaining a long and healthy means of earning a living. Big agribusiness concerns such as ConAgra and Monsanto are only concerned with the bottom line and getting away with as much as possible. If the land is left barren, they could actually care less as long as they are able to maximize their profits before the last seed goes to waste.

In this article from the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul thinks the crisis is over in their state and that things have stabilized. Several comments in the article from beekeepers in Minnesota give two interesting points of view. One beekeeper said he was certain the cause of the collapse was mites, tracheal mites to be exact, while another stated that he has noticed the situation seems to have only effected commercial beekeepers and not the hobbyist. Once again, these comments concern what these beekeepers have seen in their state and do not reflect what has happened worldwide.

To add to this theory that commercial beekeepers are being hit the hardest, this article has several comments from organic beekeepers who say their colonies were not at all effected by the crisis. I think it would be very interesting to see some statistics on this once the USDA get’s through investigating it, if they will provide the public with a good scientific report without bias, I should add. If we could see a good survey of the number of hives that were effected, broken down by sector (local commercial, interstate commercial, hobbyist, etc..) and methodology of maintaining livestock (fructose corn syrup based feed, organic, etc..) we could probably see some very clear cut facts arise.

FEMA says it is ready for hurricane season, residents say they aren't.

A recent poll discovered that 88% of the respondents who live in hurricane prone areas said that they have taken absolutely no steps to fortify their home, 61% have no hurricane survival kit and 16% said they would defy orders to evacuate to safety.

There has always been a certain amount of individualism that has caused folks to ride out storms they should run from. I saw that in the 4 years I lived on the gulf coast when I was in the Navy. We used to go to sea and ride the storms out, the locals just bought beer and drank it out. But in light of the government’s indifference and stories that have come out of Katrina, I can’t help but wonder if resignation is more of a cause to these poll findings than anyone is thinking right now.

At the height of the Katrina disaster I became quite calm. The cause was a sudden realization that we really are on our own from now on. Before Katrina, we could at least expect food shipments and the FEMA adjusters making their way to the scene to get financial assistance going for the victims so they could begin to rebuild their lives. With Katrina we saw an overt apathy, our government shrugging it’s shoulders and wiping it’s hands. The folks who live in hurricane prone areas saw this too and I can't help but wonder how many of them thought the same thing as well.

This is the way of the future. Let the poor suffer and die, let the wealthy take care of themselves, and when a mass of death rains down onto a concentrated area it’s to be considered a cleansing of souls. Let the weakest die and the fittest survive. When I saw the government’s inaction instead of becoming angry, I became calm because for the first time in my life I realized all those stories we conspiracy theorists have read for years about depopulation were true.

It’s a stunning feeling when theories you didn’t put credence into suddenly become true. Life changing epiphanies are made from even smaller events and this one illuminated (pardon the pun) many conspiracy theories that I had brushed aside for years. I try to be much more cautious and thoughtful before I dismiss a new theory or take a second look at an old theory because of this experience.

So, pardon me if I am a bit underwhelmed when I read that FEMA has announced that they are ready for the hurricane season. Now I wonder when they say ready if it means they have Blackwater on call, know how to more readily cause a media blackout and how to make the celebration of death a less than public affair.

We are all on our own, folks. Remember that.

More tainted food details

My posts will be a little slow to come this week as my time and energy are in short supply for the blog. There is more news on the contaminated Chinese food product front. These stories can be found with a little searching but you have to move away from the big 5 of mass media to find them.

Another feed product has been found to be contaminated with melamine. A Pennsylvania company that makes feed for shrimp has recalled it product.

The Chinese government is calling the warning to American consumers about imported toothpaste, “unscientific, irresponsible and contradictory.” This, after hundreds have died in Latin America and the Caribbean after using toothpaste imported from China that contained diethylene glycol, a poisonous chemical compound found in anti-freeze. It’s what gives anti-freeze it’s sweet taste. It’s good to see the Chinese are learning more about capitalism than just raking in the dough, now they can add Doublespeak to their resumes.

A Texas laboratory has found more than just melamine, cyanuric acid and diethylene glycol in products coming from China, they have now found acetaminophen in dog and cat food. It looks like we are going to keep finding toxic and banned chemicals as well as drugs in foods coming from China, I wonder if we will ever find some food in there too?

Bon apetite!

What’s the name of this? Badge?

I heard one of the classic summer pop songs of all-time yesterday afternoon while I was driving back from lunch. “Hot Fun in the Summertime” is one of those wonderful Sly Stone classics that shows just how great of a songwriter he really was. That incredible moment when Larry Graham delivers the verse, “first of the fall and then she goes back” is always one of those melting points for me.

The whole structure of that verse acts like a bridge in a song that actually has no bridge. This has made me think a bit about the greatest bridges and I thought I would put up a small personal top 5 list of great bridges that come to mind.

Writing a great bridge is one of those songwriter skills that is so important and overlooked, especially in this day and age of music, pop, rock or otherwise. The bridge, when it's done well, can move a song into a new territory or enhance/change the mood that a song creates. If done with a particularly strong sense of melody the bridge can break your heart or make your crazy dance more intense.

So, here is a list of this paranoid’s top 5 bridges, in no particular order:

“I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles. The moment the song shifts down a gear in tempo and key when the verse “and when I’m with you..” it’s obvious that they understood the structure and power of pop music. This is great on two levels (1) it’s placement in the song which gives it a new color and vibrancy, and (2) it foreshadows the songcraft skills the band will show in the explosion of growth and creativity they will have over a short handful of years.

“Invisible Sun” by The Police. I think I can start an argument over this choice, especially over what I define as the bridge. Technically the bridge would be the instrumental part after the second chorus where Andy Summers is bending the strings on his Telecaster while “whoa-o-a-ohs” are being sung in the background. But, I think the true bridge to this song is that great descending chord, crescendo section that connects the verse to the chorus. It’s that off-key delivery that get’s me, especially with Stewart Copeland’s fantastic snare snap just before the chorus begins.

“Georgia On My Mind” and “Stardust” by Hoagy Carmichael. I had to put both of these songs together. To this day Stardust can stop me in my tracks whenever I hear it played or performed and I have to admit that Brother Ray’s version of Georgia On My Mind with that lush orchestration of the bridge fills me with longing for something I can't define. Carmichael was such an amazing songwriter...and his stuff is damn fun to play on the ukulele!

“Say Goodbye to Hollywood” by Billy Joel. I’ve always wished that this song had been a big hit for Ronnie Spector, especially since it was written for her. I think it’s a great bridge not only in the structure of the song itself but it has a certain symbolism to me, with it’s dated late 70’s quality being inserted into a crafted in the style of a Ronettes song, structure. If Ronnie had had a hit with this she would have been sitting pretty as the 80’s dawned. I don't care if Ronnie Spector is as crazy as a bed bug, to this day I wish I could have the chance to meet her.

“Love Reign O’er Me” by The Who – The way the song becomes more poignant, heart breaking and open as Pete Townshend delivers that descending scale and then the bridge kicks in with “On the dry and dusty road..” with Pete playing an ascending scale on that Gretsch, always shows me just how well this band understood the power of not just the ideas that rock could create, but they understood the common dreams that rock fans shared. It adds to the overall power of the song, one of The Who’s greatest, and in the structure of Quadrophenia it just adds to the detail and sense of personal connection that I, and many other people, feel to the album. I try very hard to not find a personal identification with songs and albums because it's a dangerous way of appreciating art. Like reading poetry, you take great risks when you too closely identify words to the writer or selfishly to yourself, but Quadrophenia is one of the 3 albums I relate to on a deeply personal level. Mike Watt’s “Contemplating the Engine Room” and Jeff Buckley’s “Grace” being the other two.

How about it? Any additions you can think of for great bridges?

The TB scare - A real time example of how conspiracy theories are born.

How do conspiracy theories begin? This is a question that has received some serious study but very little of it has been done from the point of view of conspiracy theorists. The TB scare is a prime example of how certain mechanisms begin to work which lead to a theory being produced. The mechanisms are almost always related to lack of information, conflicting information or a breakdown in processes that occur in a pattern that simply should not occur. Coincidence always plays a part in any of these mechanisms, coincidence or synchronicity is a central component of any conspiracy theory.

Let’s look at the details that are too strange to not overlook and which seem suspicious at least on the first look, if not on a more deep investigative level:

1) There is a great deal of conflict in the statements being made between the CDC, Fulton County Health Department officials and the patient himself. The father of the patient is even saying that he recorded a meeting with these people where he asked questions to explicitly define what the health officials considered to be his options for traveling on a plane.

There will always be two ways of looking at and interpreting conversations and events, its simply a part of human nature that we all see things differently. However, with health officials and lawyers being at the center of this fiasco, some clarity should shine through and in this case the facts seem muddy and unfocused.

2) The father-in-law of the patient is not only a CDC employee, he is a microbiologist who’s area of professional specialty is the spread of TB. The father-in-law made a strange and surprising news conference yesterday in what appears to have been the front of his home. He stated that he did not give his son-in-law TB, that he did not speak with his son-in-law as a CDC representative and that he had no control over his actions.

This is very odd on several levels and the first thing that comes to mind is exactly what he and his son-in-law did talk about in relation to this situation. I cannot believe that this Dr. would not have been extremely interested in the details of his son-in-law’s health situation and most especially would have been interested in his plans to travel. His strongly worded statements that he, and the CDC, did not give his son-in-law TB are strange in that it has not even been suggested that he or they did in fact give him the disease. This kind of heading off at the pass strategy is peculiar.

3) The patient claims that he did not fully understand the risk involved in this little adventure and that he was convinced he was not contagious. Even though it was not discovered until after he had left the country that the form of TB he has was the XDR strain, he was still aware that he had a multiple drug resistant strain of the bacterial infection.

On a regular basis we are made aware of the ever increasing problem with drug resistant illnesses. I, and many others find it odd that this fact alone did not concern this young man more seriously when he was diagnosed. Just the term TB alone is enough to frighten most people, treatable and low level of contagiousness or not. To get on a plane and set off to Europe with your new bride is actually unfathomable. Even if you consider the point of view that he was selfish and did not want to waste the money spent on this trip there is still the fact that family, most certainly the father-in-law, would have been alarmed at the intention to travel in that condition.

With these inconsistent and almost unanswerable questions and answers, the attention of people is caught. When things do not add up, and in the TB scare case many things do not add up, people will begin to dig into the connections and facts much more deeply. Things do happen around us for which there is no explanation. Coincidences that seem improbable can and do happen. But when a breakdown of process occurs on a level this great, and involving a system that is fairly well defined and tested, suspicions will arise.

The inaction by the border officer who let this man pass is almost too unreal to be true. Here you have an employee who has been chosen for their ability to follow rules and orders unquestionably, who sees before him a computer screen that tells him to don protective clothing, isolate the suspect and notify officials immediately and his response is to let the man pass because he “looks healthy”? These things do not add up, human error rarely compounds itself to these levels, and I cannot think of an instance where the errors have been so widely spread where there was not something behind the scenes, guiding the outcome.

Now, I am not saying that the TB scare is a conspiracy theory. To be honest I can only see signs of a possibility, but I can see no real connecting string to each phase of this event. But the fact that the coincidences and errors all indicate a resemblance to known aspects of conspiracy theory (Revelation of Method for one) should be enough to concern the CT researcher and enthusiast, as well as leave the non-CT with a sense of uneasiness.

While the information is still developing and this is extremely fresh in your mind you should take note that the surrounding facts and oddities of this case are exactly how a conspiracy theory starts. Whether you believe all, some or no conspiracy theories it should still be something that you note.

The yearly Bilderberg news vacuum

Here is a brief roundup of news coming from the periphery of this year’s Bilderberg Group meeting in Istanbul:

Prison Planet is reporting that the meeting is being held at the Ritz Carlton after the group tried to throw reporters off the trail by telling them that the meeting would be held at the Klassis Hotel in Siliviri, Turkey. They are also reporting that Kissinger has asked the international community to cooperate with the US in the Iraq conflict in a speech given before the group.

An Austin TV station is reporting of criticism over Texas Governor Rick Perry’s attendance at the meeting, who’s expenses are being paid for by Perry’s campaign fund and PAC, “Texans for Rick Perry”. One of the criticisms being drawn against Gov. Perry is the Bilderberg secrecy which “..defeats the purpose of open democracy.”

In a Pro/Con style of editorials, the Turkish Daily News has offered a scathing anti-conspiracy theorist article regarding the meeting. Just days ago the paper offered a surprisingly frank and honest appraisal of the meeting. I guess Hank Kissinger didn’t like the tone of the earlier piece and made a few calls to get better PR.

"Our country's destiny"

Georgie Anne Geyer of The Dallas Morning News published a very well argued article on Thursday about the current state of terrorism. Included in the article was a quote from several friends of the President who claim that in a recent meeting he is beat his chest, with a wild eyed look and declaring he is the President. The mention of the President's imitation of a silverback gorilla has garnered all the attention, but there was another statement that should have rang alarms worldwide. According to these friends of Bush, the President said that he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of "our country's destiny."

What sort of sneaky and evil little plan would keep us from leaving Iraq even after this President leaves office? In April I posted my thoughts on the subject that President Bush may not step down from office, as he is Constitutionally required to do at the end of this term. Since the war in Iraq is becoming less and less popular with the public each day, and the feelings of anger and being duped increase with each sunrise it is almost impossible to see how Americans would stand for such a thing, especially if there were a Democrat in the White House to match Democratic control of both houses. How would Bush setup Iraq so we would not leave after his Presidency?

There are really only a limited number of ways that this could be done. A false flag attack on US soil or a mass casualty on the troops who are deployed, in theater to Iraq, which could finger Iran or al-Qaeda would probably turn the tide of public opinion to regain support for our presence in Iraq. An outbreak of war between two gulf nations, with one of them pleading for our support could also be a possibility. The bottom line is that there are only a few reasons why Americans would stand for a continued presence in Iraq after this President leaves office.

While my theory that the President will stay in office well beyond January 2009 is an outside possibility at best and I know it’s a reaching theory with many holes, I can’t help but be amazed with how his statement and this possibility do have a point of meshing. With Bush recently signing the Natiional Security Presidential Directive/NSPD 51 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-20, he has yet another tool to use in doing this.

I think it would behove all of us to keep a close eye on not only the President but also to consider the possibilities of what may be in store for us in the upcoming months. This week’s TB patient saga has brought to light a glaring and inexcusable hole in the systems that are supposed to keep people on watch lists out of the country. Remember, the border guard who let the infected TB patient back into the country said he did so because the guy “looked healthy”. This event should be viewed as a Revelation of the Method in how a false flag attack could be perpetrated. The eventual patsy/fall guy could be said to have used a similar method of gaining entry to the country and we will look back at this TB event and nod our heads “yes, I remember that.” without seeing the larger, underlying setup.

Semantics, folks. Semantics.

The recent story about our local TB patient who went globe trotting with his new wife while carrying what he knew to be a drug resistant form of tuberculosis is pretty odd and troubling on many levels but there is something to be gleaned from this that smacks of Doublespeak. The patient stated to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had complied with the CDC and Fulton County Health Department officials on everything, "except the solitary confinement request" in Italy.

So, medical isolation for a contagious and highly dangerous disease is now considered "solitary confinement"? Really? I thought solitary confinement is a form of punishment given to prisoners, or used as a torture tactic.

It's all in the semantics, folks. When you feel you've been given a raw deal, the best way to call yourself a victim, without outright saying it, is to use words that evoke the belief that you've been victimized. I'm sure our TB patient would not like to experience solitary confinement in it's actual form which is served in prisons and CIA run rendition locations.

What this man has done is provide us with an excellent example of how Doublespeak really works and how using the word war to manipulate others into being sympathetic/empathetic to your situation really works. Politicians aren't the only people who know how to manipulate emotions based on words and their usage.

The masters of propaganda fully understand how to use Doublespeak and how to manipulate us with words. Marketing and advertising gurus have this same knowledge and they also use it to manipulate us in ways of separating us from our money. Religious leaders also understand this craft and look toward the James Dobsons and Pat Robertsons of this world to see how they twist words and definitions to make their flock conform.

When medical isolation becomes solitary confinement to a self described "well educated, intelligent and successful" person it's a sign we should all keep in mind that the tricks of the trade that propagandists use are around us every day.

Bilderberg Group begins meeting today

It's that time of the year again. The Bilderberg Group has begun it's yearly meeting, today in Istanbul. Among the expected American attendees this year are Grand Poobah Henry Kissinger, Paul Wolfowitz and Donald Rumsfeld. I find the Wolfowitz attendance particularly interesting because of the recent scandal at the World Bank which has driven him out of that office with a fat, golden parachute. As is usual for this event, the mainstream media are subdued and the ever present attempt to debunk Conspiracy Theorists can be relied upon to hog up a sentence or two when it is reported.

One website that features a particularly long and eyes wide open article about the meeting is online version of the Turkish Daily News. One particular passage of their article is quite refreshing for it's honesty and candor,

"One may choose to believe or not, but the secrecy of the meetings – no cell
phones, no getting out of the hotel during three days, no notes, no interviews –
creates fertile ground for conspiracy theories. When senior representatives of
media giants such as the FT, the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post
attend the meetings every year and next to nothing is printed in the same papers
about Bilderberg, one starts to wonder."

Even the Village Voice has a small, 7 paragraph article about the meeting which skims over the right-wing fear of Bilderberg that rose quite strongly in the '90s. While I think the far right-wing's response to the group during the '90s is an integral part of the American public's reaction to the Bilderberg Group, focusing on that aspect does a disservice to the study of the Bilderberg Group as a whole. Fear and loathing from the right is only one aspect of this subject.

The mechanisms and presence of secret societies has always fascinated me, as it has virtually every Conspiracy Theorist. At times this fascination can lead to the professional risk of going 'round the bend, so to speak, and full blown paranoia can cause the researcher or enthusiast to become radicalized. It's been my experience to notice that the main cause of this reaction is research into secret societies rather than government coverups/conspiracies or conspiracy theories of the religious or business world.

I've often thought that secret societies expose true fears and truths of human nature and the way things really work in this world. Getting too close to that truth can be overwhelming to the point where a complete overhaul of ones belief system is necessary. An epiphany can be small or massive and looking into the shadowy world of secret societies is guaranteed to generate a moment of clarity where the world changes on it's axis in front of your very eyes.

With the Bohemian Grove meeting just around the corner as well as the day to day discussions of the Bilderberg Group, the high weirdness websites and message boards will be in full swing, as usual. If anything extraordinary pops up I'll be certain to write about it a bit. In the meantime, hit Google, especially the Google News engine, and don't forget the sites that focus primarily on this subject, such as Alex Jones' Prison Planet.

Don't go 'round the bend!

More news on the melamine tainted food scandals

The safety of Chinese imports is a still developing story. The latest round of items contains a quite disturbing story. The former regulator of the Chinese food and drug agency has been sentenced to death after he was found guilty of accepting bribes to the tune of over $850,000. His harsh sentence isn’t nearly as disturbing as the vulnerability of Chinese regulators are to bribery. If the head regulator can be bribed to look the other way for such a relatively paltry sum, with not only his own life but the lives of innocents at stake, there is no way we can guarantee that local inspectors cannot be bribed as well. This of course deepens the concern we should have over any food, hygiene or health related product that is imported from China.

Chinese government officials have now stated on the record that US producers who get their raw materials from China should be cautious, “U.S. companies doing business with Chinese companies must also be very clear about the standards they need, and don't just look for a cheap price," says Yuan Changxiang, a deputy director in the ministry charged with inspecting imports and experts, in a USA Today report.

More melamine is still showing up in new dog food on the shelves of stores. Either this was caused by a factory not cleaning all of the tainted gluten from their food processing equipment, an unknown bag of contaminated gluten still being in their stockpile or an entirely new lot of gluten was used that is still showing signs of contamination. The bottom line is that the contaminated gluten is still showing up in the food supply several months after the story first broke.

The American Meat Institute thinks we should all just shut up and eat what ever they damn well want to give us. In a letter sent to Rosa DeLauro and Sen. Herb Kohl, who both chair Agriculture subcommittees at the Food and Drug Administration, the AMI states, “"Unfortunately, some groups have public policy positions supporting mandatory county-of-origin labeling for red meat that are solely for the purpose of erecting trade barriers, especially directed at Canada and Mexico - our two largest export markets for red meat."

"The claims made in that letter are irresponsible at worst and at best misleading - with respect to the handling and inspection of imported meat products," said Boyle. "To assert that any country-of-origin labeling regime would have an impact on food safety or the integrity of a food product is absurd."

So, we once again see an instance where a special interest group that works for big business really doesn’t give a damn about the safety and health of their customers. Screw you, AMI. It’s groups like yours that make me realize I made the right decision when I became a vegetarian 10 years ago.

We are slowly being poisoned, have been for decades, by big agri-business. The purpose of this mass murder is profit, culling of the human race and the maintenance of control over the masses (you and me).

The War on Terror, post Memorial Day

On the heels of a Memorial Day that has left 8 American soldiers dead in Iraq, this would be a good time to compare the operational and political methods that al-Qaeda used in 2001 and where they stood as an organization at that time to where they are today in 2007. A review of where things stand at this point in time, a "snapshot" as our President would say, can be illuminating. The information in this posting has come from various independant government reports that are freely available on the web, reports from journalists who have specialized in al-Qaeda and various books written about the organization over the last 10 years.

In 2001, al-Qaeda was organized under a strict hierarchical design. The planning , financing, leadership and operational responsibilities were centralized at the top level, with regional Lieutenants working under close supervision of the Captains of bin Laden. Training en mass was confined to Afghanistan with graduates of these training programs being sent to a handful of regions around the world without orders to train others. Instead they were sent to these places to carry out the technical aspects of their missions with support of locally recruited sympathizers who acted as soldiers.

The organization was considered outside the mainstream to Muslims in the African, Arabic and Persian cultures. Recruits for soldiers were targeted in the most susceptible environments of poverty and chaos. Recruits for positions as Lieutenants came from extremists backgrounds who had skills and educational backgrounds that could be exploited from bin Laden’s Captains. The Captains were long-term mercenaries of the Jihadist movements and virtually all shared experience in combat against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan or as covert militants in nations such as Egypt. Most of the Captains had exposure to CIA training or methods of operation that had been learned from CIA operators.

Their financial support was derived from bin Laden’s personal fortune and supplemented by running a variety of bogus religious charities worldwide, including a presence inside the US. This fund raising was apparently too small or too well run to bring attention to US authorities as this network was not exposed until well after the 9/11 attacks had occurred. They were politically marginalized, finding their only state support from governments that operated outside accepted channels of the world political stage. Sanctuary could only be found in nations of utter chaos such as Yemen and Ethiopia or a nation which rejected all norms of society and operated in it’s own bubble, as they found shelter in the Taliban government of Afghanistan.

Their strategic capabilities were severely limited although they did display an uncanny ability to organize attacks in a methodical, clockwork process. Their primary and only method of attacks were the use of bombs even though they were researching and experimenting with the use of non-conventional weapons such as poison gas. Their MO involved car bombings of buildings, vest explosive type suicide bombers and an interest in using civil aviation as a tool. The only members who had combat skills were the Captains. They had no understanding of the tactics, weapons and methods used by armed forces and no knowledge of those same subjects in how they were used by the US military.

Now, in 2007, they have altered this entire overview of their organization. Some of this was forced as Captains and Lieutenants were captured or killed, the majority appears to have been a conscious effort on their part to evolve and adapt in response to the changing environment in which they operate.

The organization is no longer operating in a rigid hierarchical structure. The planning , financing, leadership and operational responsibilities have moved away from the top down approach and it is now comprised of regional leaders who operate as independent Captains that are interconnected with one another and receive support from the top echelons of their chain of command. Regional Captains are now have autonomy. The Lieutenants now carry out the commands of the Captains, which allows them more freedom to train others, plan and lead attacks as well as creating operational relationships with sympathetic groups.

The organization is now mainstream in not only the African, Arabic and Persian cultures, it is now gaining the sympathy and empathy of Muslims residing in the First World countries of western Europe and the Americas. Soldiers once had to be recruited among the vulnerable populations using methods related to mind control and conditioning, now the organization has educated and intelligent sympathizers coming to them for membership. al-Qaeda can now pick and choose among candidates and a wider range of skills and academic backgrounds have integrated into their toolbox.

Financial support is much easier to gather, from a wider source of contributors, with a greater pool of wealth to draw upon. The actions of the current administration have forced even the polemic moderates around the world to condemn American actions, if not sympathize with the goals of al-Qaeda.

Their strategic resources have expanded, deepened and become very advanced. Combat experience has been gained as well as and understanding of how to adapt in crisis. Their chain of command appears to be robust with experienced and capable leaders able to rise as various managers and leaders are killed or captured. The entire organization appears to have evolved to a point where it is self-healing and adaptable. Their combat against US forces have given them an enormous boost in the arts of gathering, analyzing, classifying and disseminating intelligence gathered from combat missions. It also has given them real-world skills at being able to create, implement and evolve strategy based on that intelligence based on the activities seen in Iraq.

Instead of decapitating the leadership of the organization, instilling feelings of defeat and the sense of facing an unbeatable force as the war in Afghanistan began; the current administration shadow boxed with the top levels of power in the organization and brought a meager sized force to the theater of operations. While al-Qaeda was dealt a small blow at the onset and the Taliban was utterly defeated by 2003, the war in Iraq gave them a chance to regroup and prioritize their movements. al-Qaeda has since grown and become a more well defined organization and now even the Taliban have not only re-emerged but are now threatening to regain control of not only Afghanistan but possibly expand in Pakistan.

al-Qaeda operates freely in Iraq, many north and east African nations, is fortifying cells in Afghanistan and now have another government sponsored safe haven in the area of western Pakistan. The sub-Asian regions where they are actively hunted are still active and now they have created relationships with Sunni and Shiite militias that would have been unthinkable even two years ago.

The way this organization has grown and survived over the past 6 years, in spite of two declared war fronts and an undeclared front in southern Pacific nations, one cannot help but wonder if the abject failure of this administration to contain the organization is because of incompetence, or an intentional act. Following the fall of the Soviet Union the US had no clear-cut and terrifying enemy with which to base it’s military strengths and budget against. The War on Terror has seen a massive increase in defense spending and the usual suspects are the ones who have made a financial killing. Should we view the War on Terror and al-Qaeda’s growth as being a symbiotic creature, with one sustaining the growth of the other?

The angry American on Memorial Day weekend

Looking at my recent postings to the blog I’ve noticed that my tone has been decidedly pessimistic, cynical and angry. By nature I am none of those things. Am I wary of those with big white smiles, fake folksiness and promises that they hold the answer to our ills as a nation? Most decidedly, I am wary. But I’m not pessimistic, cynical or angry as a man. I do have faith in my fellow man, maybe not all of them but I believe that by and large most people are good people, who try to do the right thing and be their brother’s keeper.

What makes good people make bad decisions? For this century to date, fear mongering has clouded our judgement. We are hammered with propaganda and the hard sell on a daily, hourly and by the second basis. Watch TV and you’ll be confronted with angry people yelling that death and depravity lurk ahead on the dark path. In between angry fake rants we are told to buy, buy, buy and the medium’s masters know how to use psychology to make us feel unloved, unwanted and unsuccessful if we don’t plunk down the plastic for this or that.

It’s no wonder we make stupid choices and can’t understand why we made them to begin with. Critical thinking is an obscenity in the current environment and thinking critically will get you ostracized. We are a nation that was founded by radicals and free thinkers of who’s descendants we have become pliable clay, afraid of our own shadow and the common sense of a child in the throes of the “Terrible Twos”.

I detest the hypocrisy and lies of the powerful leaders of the evangelical movement in this country, but I have known more good Christian men and women who do not deserve such God forsaken leaders, than you can imagine. Growing up and living in the south puts you in very close quarters with the most decent, devout and faithful you can imagine, those for whom Wise Blood is an apt description, if I may shamelessly steal from the great Flannery O’Connor.

If James Dobson had to live like and with the common mill worker, who is trying to stay afloat and survive, he would never make it because he doesn’t have the real faith in God that it would require. And chartalins like him manipulate the most vulnerable among us. Dobson is a truly evil little demon who has and will continue to poison our waters. He and his ilk plant the seeds of hate, cruelty and apathy for God's children.

But I still have faith in the men and women who live in small communities in the hills and valleys of Appalachia, who struggle with faith, temptation and doing the right thing every single day. I have no faith in the creatures that would take advantage of those good folks. Faith and empathy for your fellow man are traits that the sociopathic leaders of the evangelical movement only understand as tools to enslave their flock.

I still have faith in some people running for public office because they feel that they can actually change things and make the system fair, and expose those who control that system for the evil crooks they are. Those people are so hard to find today, but they are out there.

How can a political leader maintain their office when raising funds for elections is more important to them than voting and discussing a war in the middle east, as John McCain has recently shown with his absence from the hill? I feel that if the John McCain of 1967, the one who survived the Forrestal flight deck fire, only to be shot down and tortured as a POW, would be sorely disappointed in the John McCain of 2007. 40 years have shown the John McCain of 2007 that the sweet teet of public office bears power and money for those who can maintain their false image.

With the way our society and the world itself has evolved, we have no more use or need for the way things have been, just because that’s the way they always have been. We, the people of this nation, have evolved and changed, our leaders have devolved. And only a few have the bravery and intelligence to admit that basic truth of the matter.

To steal once again from another great southerner, who understood the human nature and faith better than our political, religious, business and economics leaders, till things get better, my posts will be in black.

Rock is dead they say.

In a post a few weeks back, I asked where the danger has gone in rock music. I’m sure that quite a bit of the danger that surround rock and its fans and its musicians, transferred to the hip hop scene some years ago and has transformed into an implied violence of an entirely different nature. There was a time, and a certain number and type of bands, that once elicited the possibility of a fan riot, especially if the police got too hostile or made a show of force. This happened many times at punk shows in LA during the early 80’s.

I don’t believe that the possibility of physical violence was an essential component to the spirit of what was rock and roll, but the danger subtext was always a central and essential component to the music. When I say danger I mean the word in more ways than a simple description of the possibility that people will be harmed. Danger, depending on the era and tone of the community, could mean many things.

The great Wayne Cochran built a reputation of putting on energetic, emotional and wild shows in certain clubs and during a certain time where he pushed boundries that weren't supposed to be pushed. Cochran, the man for whom the term “Blue Eyed Soul” was created to describe, often crossed over to the chitlin’ circuit clubs in the south at a time when not only was segregation was the norm, but also at a time when dogs, black jacks and bullets were used on the black community with little care or concern. This was dangerous. Add in a massive, platinum blonde pompadour haircut and it’s a wonder the man was never beaten half to death by the rednecks with badges.

The act of pure physical expression by young people at shows and their styles of dancing were dangerous to the status quo. Pete Townshend recently posted a quick description of something to his biography blog, which makes this point even more tangible in this regard. Townshend described a woman dancing at an early Who show and this was what he had to say,

“At an all nighter at the Club Noreik I noticed a very sexy blonde girl dancing in front of the stage. She wasn’t a Mod. She looked more like an art student, and was dancing like a lunatic, all arms and boobs.”

If you’ve been to enough shows in your life, you know exactly what Pete is talking about. You’ve seen it, you’ve done it yourself, you’ve probably dated a girl who danced exactly like he’s describing. Maybe you married her. Maybe you were that girl. Whenever I have imagined in my head exactly what describes the essence of rock music, in all it’s flavors, what Pete describes is an image I’ve always drawn upon among others. I even have my own stories where what he described was something I personally experienced. The girl who was a few rows down from me at a James Brown show in 1986, who wore a tight black sweater, and whom I wished was my girl when I saw her letting it go. The girl I dated briefly in Virginia, who danced like that at a Smithereens show we went to in Virginia Beach in 1988 or 89. This girl made other guys give me the eye of envy and anger. It’s an iconic image and so very powerful on levels beyond what you first imagine.

I’ve been feeling very sentimental of late regarding music. Not the syrupy sweet form of sentimentality. I’m talking about the sentimentality that comes from looking back while asking questions about today and tomorrow. The curse of getting older and coping with middle age is looking back with eyes that still see the past as though it happened only yesterday.

I don’t want to go back and live it all over again. I don’t want to be young again today. I simply wish there was a touchstone that I could see which reflected what it is to be a person in middle age today, that spoke to me in the same way that The Minutemen’s “This ain’t no picnic” or Alice in Chains’ “Got me wrong” spoke to me back then. Sometimes the real danger that embodied rock wasn’t violence or girls shaking for all they were worth or young men with pumped fists in the air. Sometimes the real danger of rock was when it spoke of the realities of life and the fans responded with, “Thank God someone said what I’ve been feeling and thinking!”

The dirty bird has been caught

It's official. The bird who did a #2 on the President at his news conference yesterday has been caught. The Department of Homeland Security has released the mugshot of a lovebird known as Tweety. Officials state he is on his way to Gitmo as of this afternoon.

High Weirdness Drifter

Let's take a look around and see what has been posted and linked of late to the sites and blogs I visit regularly.


Kent Steadman appears pretty steamed about the current political belly flop that has all of the progressive bloggers in an uproar, myself included in the uproar demographic. Give 'em hell, Kent! He also has a nice round up of Ron Paul links on the front page today.

Mack White has posted some poignant and heart felt messages to his blog this week about the passing of his Father. I lost my beloved Grandmother last spring to cancer and Mack's postings about his Father's hospitalization was quite heartbreaking to me. It brought back memories of my Grandmother's hospitalization and the hell loved ones must go through in times like that. Much respect to Mack and all his work.

The reviews for Michael Moore's latest film, SiCKO, have been glowing. Regardless of your thoughts about his documentary filmmaking skills or approach, you cannot argue for the current health care system in this country unless you are milking the insurance and health care cow, or are a complete imbecile.

Mad Cow Morning News has run some outstanding investigative reports of late. Their most recent article about the late Jerry Falwell's connection to the Florida flight school at the center of the 9/11 hijackings is amazing. Make sure you check out their "Dusty and the boys" series for an eye opener.

Speaking of Jerry Falwell, the LA Times posted a very good op-ed piece by Larry Flynt about his relationship with Falwell and the Supreme Court ruling that he won and which was famously referenced in "The People vs Larry Flynt".

John Amato's Crooks and Liars blog has really upped the anger quotient over the recent Iraq Supplemental bill passage. The anger that is bubbling out over this unbelievable nose thumbing is maintaining speed and direction.

The excitable and always fun until someone get's poked in the eye message boards are rolling along at their usual pace. Elaine over at Alien-Earth has recently updated her FAQ which made me smile. Elaine is the embodiment of the "doesn't suffer fools gladly" philosophy and I've been a fan of hers since the early days when she took over the message board from Kent's website. For entertainment purposes, and words to live by, here is Elaine's updated FAQ:

Official Censorship Policy for Alien-Earth

I delete cut & paste from rense.
I delete cut & paste from worldnetdaily.
I am tempted to delete posts from FOX, because they are starting to sound like weekly world news.
I delete posts with incoherent ranting about ethnic groups.
I delete posts with personal info on them.
I delete posts that are boring.
I delete posts that piss me off.
I delete posts that I consider a "waste of space".
I delete posts when I'm in a mood, on the rag, or didin't get laid lately.
I delete posts sometimes just to fuck with you.
I delete posts at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the High Weirdness roundup for today.

What will the Friday news dump bring?

Considering the week that the White House has had, this would be a good day to slip as many stories they want to downplay as possible to the press. Between the Democrats turning into overcooked spaghetti and a long 3 day Memorial Day weekend they have a lot of room to work within.

The fired US Attorneys scandal deepened, even if the press doesn't want to connect dots and fill in between the lines for the average American. Goodling admitted that she did in fact break the law and based on her flimsy and amateurish argument on semantics, she admitted so before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The press seems to not want to make the big summation on the list of attorneys to fire. No one who has testified has admitted that they wrote the list or who they know wrote it. The lists didn't just appear out of thin air and they have all dodged the question of where it came from.

The tainted food and health products from China seems to have fallen off the face of the earth in the media's eyes. The FDA did admit yesterday that they are looking closely at toothpaste that was imported from China to see if any can be found which is contaminated with diethylene glycol (a highly poisonous substance found in antifreeze and brake fluid). All imports of toothpaste from China have been halted until the investigation is completed.

Good old-fashioned sex scandals just don't get the response they once did in the press. Palfrey who? Even after two extremely high ranking Administration officials were caught in the web of the scandal, an instructor at the Naval Academy was named as being an escort, many DC power brokers were among those clients on the list of patrons and rumors about VP Cheney's use of the service came to light a big yawn came from the Fourth Estate. The old adage of being caught in bed with a live boy or a dead girl must really apply, I suppose.

At a press conference with the President yesterday, our fearless leader warned us to expect a long brutal summer in Iraq. The "surge" will involve over 200,000 troops on overlapping rotations and he said August is a time we should be prepared for high casualty rates. The bird that evacuated it's intestines on him seemed to draw more response than these comments.

It happens to all of us

The New York Post is reporting that the girlfriend of disgraced World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, has left him. We all know that part of the firestorm which forced him to resign was his cronyism in getting her a job and massive pay increases. So, Wolfowitz is now stuck without a job, without a girlfriend and the still stinking corpse of that Iraq albatross around his neck. It couldn't happen to a more deserving dickweed.

Maybe this will give him some motivation to work on those personal grooming issues?

Profile of the sociopath

I got an email in the overnight hours last night, from someone who thinks I'm going to an extreme by describing certain politicians, namely our President and the Governor of Georgia, as sociopaths. The email's author said they believe I do more harm than good to my arguments by taking such an extremist and insulting position, and anyhow, if I'm not a psychologist I'm making nothing more than armchair calls.

This was an easy email to answer but I think the author of the email has hit upon something I probably should address here on the blog because it helps to further my description of those people as sociopaths. I found a web page not too long ago that put up by someone at CalTech that lists the most common descriptions and behavior of sociopaths. Here is the link to the list, I'll paste the points made by the author below but take a good close look at these behavioral traits and honestly answer this question to yourself. How many of these traits do our leaders not display? Very, very few. In fact it's easier to list how many of these traits that they do not have.

Here goes:

Glibness and Superficial Charm

Manipulative and Conning - They never recognize the rights of others and see their self-serving behaviors as permissible. They appear to be charming, yet are covertly hostile and domineering, seeing their victim as merely an instrument to be used. They may dominate and humiliate their victims.

Grandiose Sense of Self - Feels entitled to certain things as "their right."


Pathological Lying - Has no problem lying coolly and easily and it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. Can create, and get caught up in, a complex belief about their own powers and abilities. Extremely convincing and even able to pass lie detector tests.

Lack of Remorse, Shame or Guilt - A deep seated rage, which is split off and repressed, is at their core. Does not see others around them as people, but only as targets and opportunities. Instead of friends, they have victims and accomplices who end up as victims. The end always justifies the means and they let nothing stand in their way.

Shallow Emotions - When they show what seems to be warmth, joy, love and compassion it is more feigned than experienced and serves an ulterior motive. Outraged by insignificant matters, yet remaining unmoved and cold by what would upset a normal person. Since they are not genuine, neither are their promises.


Incapacity for Love

Need for Stimulation - Living on the edge. Verbal outbursts and physical punishments are normal. Promiscuity and gambling are common.


Callousness/Lack of Empathy - Unable to empathize with the pain of their victims, having only contempt for others' feelings of distress and readily taking advantage of them.

Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature - Rage and abuse, alternating with small expressions of love and approval produce an addictive cycle for abuser and abused, as well as creating hopelessness in the victim. Believe they are all-powerful, all-knowing, entitled to every wish, no sense of personal boundaries, no concern for their impact on others.


Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency - Usually has a history of behavioral and academic difficulties, yet "gets by" by conning others. Problems in making and keeping friends; aberrant behaviors such as cruelty to people or animals, stealing, etc.

Irresponsibility/Unreliability - Not concerned about wrecking others' lives and dreams. Oblivious or indifferent to the devastation they cause. Does not accept blame themselves, but blames others, even for acts they obviously committed.


Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity - Promiscuity, child sexual abuse, rape and sexual acting out of all sorts.

Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle - Tends to move around a lot or makes all encompassing promises for the future, poor work ethic but exploits others effectively.


Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility - Changes their image as needed to avoid prosecution.
Changes life story readily.

Other Related Qualities:


Contemptuous of those who seek to understand them
Does not perceive that anything is wrong with them
Authoritarian
Secretive
Paranoid
Only rarely in difficulty with the law, but seeks out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired
Conventional appearance
Goal of enslavement of their victim(s)
Exercises despotic control over every aspect of the victim's life
Has an emotional need to justify their crimes and therefore needs their victim's affirmation (respect, gratitude and love)
Ultimate goal is the creation of a willing victim
Incapable of real human attachment to another
Unable to feel remorse or guilt
Extreme narcissism and grandiose
May state readily that their goal is to rule the world


It's enough to scare the hell out of you, isn't it?

The death of the 100th Georgian in Iraq

A grim milestone has been passed, the 100th Georgia service member has died in Iraq. The most recent fatality was a Sgt. Brian Ardon from Acworth, who died this past Monday in Baghdad. Another of our fellow citizens, neighbors, family members and friends; who is gone forever. How many more are we going to lose in a war that was justified through intentional and blatant lies? The forged yellow cake documents that scream of being faked by someone who is or was from the Intelligence Community. The pack of bald faced lies that were created by the people in the Office of Special Plans in the Pentagon. All of those OSP members were placed in their position with the expressed reason of circumventing traditional methods of Intelligence Analysis.

In the Vietnam War we lost 1,584 Georgia citizens, another war precipitated on lies, fear mongering and corporate greed. A generation later and we are once again in a war that has the same foundational legacy. Lies, fear mongering and corporate greed. How stupid can we be to allow things like this to happen all over again, in almost the same way?

The Democrats that were elected 6 months ago with a true "mandate" in their hands, end this war now, have turned their backs on the will of the American public and the men and women who have died in Iraq. The numbers of the dead keep rising, American and Iraqi. The politicians hand wring and keep on raking in the dough for their campaigns, hand over fist. I guess there is no time for crying when there is money to be made.

I wonder how many of that 100 from Georgia who have died ever got the chance to stand in downtown Atlanta in front of the Capital building, look up through those trees at the beautiful gold dome and at the numerous statues that surround our state house, and feel a certain twinge of excitement and pride at what our system of government represents? Reality is brutal and the fake smile of the "way things are" is cruel. If only we could live up to our potential and see through the smoke and mirrors and bullshit.

Another day, another 100 men and women gone forever. We are the poorer for their passing.

Harbin speaks out - Expresses regret to the family of the utility pole he destroyed.

(photo of Rep. Harbin courtesy of the House website, I have no idea if he has a tall boy Budweiser in his hands out of frame. Anyone know what Harbin's favorite drink happens to be?)


Rep. Ben Harbin, the chairman of one of the most powerful committees in the Georgia State House, has finally issued a statement about his DUI arrest following a 1 AM car crash on Memorial Drive last Sunday morning. Excerpts from his statement with my comments accompanying them:

"Obviously, I would like to express regret over my accident on Sunday,"

Translation – Damn, I hated wrecking that car.

"I would also like to express my gratitude for the overwhelming support and
concern I've received from my family and friends."

Translation – My family and friends are now worried about my political viability and have talked with me about what in the hell I’m going to do now.

"I am thankful to God that I was not injured,"

Translation – Whew! That was a close call. What? Shouldn’t I be glad that I didn’t kill an innocent person when I wrecked? Hell no. Anyone who’s out on Memorial Drive at 1 AM on a Sunday can’t be up to something good. If I had hit ‘em, well, let’s just say my legal bills would be a bit more pricey.

"I pledge to continue my public service to my District and the people of
Georgia."

Translation – Resign from office? Are you nuts! This is one cushy job and I ‘aint givin' it up until ya’ll run me off.

News - The depressing round-up of today's news stories

A daily dose of doom and gloom to get us in the mood for the Memorial Day weekend. So much is happening right now it’s tough to keep track of who’s batting, let alone who is on deck:

As I type this posting, former DoJ official Monica Goodling is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The AP has reported this morning that Goodling broke down into tears in the office of a colleague shortly after the brouhaha over the fired US Attorneys broke, saying, "All I ever wanted to do was serve this president and this administration and this department," My only thoughts over this revelation are that it’s a sweet sentiment to have, hon, but the DoJ is a traditionally non-political and independent department from the White House. Goodling can squirt tears over her unrequited adoration of the President but I wonder how she would feel knowing that her slavish devotion to a man and not her nation or her sworn oath has damaged this country. I think Monica needs to spend more time at match.com than trying to please a sociopathic President.

The Democrats not only failed in their attempt to end the war in Iraq, they also rolled over and allowed the President to see their soft underbelly too. No word on whether or not he scratched their bellies. The President has infamously stated that being the President is hard work, now the Democratic leadership has proven to me once again that doing the only moral thing they can do as representatives of our nation, end the war in Iraq, is hard work if you aren’t willing to take responsibility. Don't go on Meet the Press and tell us we need a bipartisan plan, damnit we need to end that miserable lie and failure that is Iraq and try to pump the water out of this sinking ship called America. If you folks in DC don't have a pair give me a call. I'll loan my cajones out to you for a few weeks as long as they don't come back shaven or pierced.

In what can only be described as an overt threat, nine warships, including two aircraft carriers, entered the Persian Gulf yesterday for “training” in the full light of day. We now have three aircraft carriers in that sandy bottom bathtub known as the Persian Gulf. Transiting the Straits of Hormuz is tricky and dangerous to begin with. Masking operational intentions and maintaining OpSec has always looked at a nighttime transit of the Strait as a necessity. Doing so in broad daylight, in formation and with such sensitive ships as carriers is a pure double-dog dare you move by this administration and a terrifying scenario waiting to happen. The stakes are far too high and tensions too strained for this sort of bullshit bravado by the sociopaths of Washington. This story actually gives me chills and it worries me a great deal.

Gas is..well..gas is like a Mylar “Happy Birthday” balloon that has broken loose and is soaring higher and higher.

The melamine and cyanuric acid story is off the radar. Apparently Americans think it’s okay and safe, otherwise, why would we be able to eat off Melamine plates if it wasn’t safe?

Barry Bonds is 10 dingers away from tying the Home Run record set by the great and beloved Henry Aaron. Aaron, I believe can be argued, was the greatest all-around pure hitter the sport has ever seen. This paper argues that it’s ok to root for Bonds, after all, he is innocent until proven guilty. I say bullshit because we the fans aren’t a sequestered jury and that defense just doesn't cut the mustard unless you are a lawyer or on trial. Bonds did the juice and we all know it so let's stop making excuses for him and call the damn strikes and balls like we see them. This pussy-footing around the issue insults the intelligence of even the casual fan and is a slap in the face for lifelong fans who have followed the sport for decades. Henry Aaron is still a great leader and has been a true gem as a pillar of the community in Atlanta since retiring from the sport. I’d wash Mr. Aaron’s car and not ask for a tip or recognbition. I wouldn’t let Bonds pump my gas.

Michael Vick has morphed from miracle working hero of Atlanta football into the worst kind of trash imaginable. If only Steve Bartkowski were 25 again.

On a positive note, Memorial Day weekend is upon us and the two greatest race spectacles known to man will be run, the Grand Prix of Monaco and the Indianapolis 500. My weekend will be spent at home this year, saving gas, watching the two races, doing damage to my “to be read” stack of books and posting to the blog. Hurry up and get here Friday!

Commentary - The political conspiracy of the Evangelical movement in America

Under the radar and away from the collective consciousness of Americans, there has been an open plot by the extreme evangelical movement to undermine and take control of American government. With Presidential elections a year away, the political commentators and pundits on both sides of the aisle talk about the Republican candidates and whether or not they can appeal to the Republican “base”. The “base” they are describing is not the traditional group of fiscal conservatives, the Republican party has morphed and the Goldwater conservatives are long gone as the demographic being catered to. Even the Reaganites who were created a generation ago have lost their luster and place within that party. The course of the Republican party is steering from a chart plotted by the evangelical movement.

This movement has not shirked away from their stated goals, to assume control of the American government, overthrow judicial rulings that do not conform to their theocratic ideals and to force all Americans to live under their vision of America and God. The conspiracy of this movement has never kept its goals a secret and the conspirators willfully and openly admit what they want to achieve. With the recent death of Jerry Falwell, the subjects being discussed among the Republican Presidential hopefuls and the scandal of the fired US Attorneys this is a good opportunity to look at a few aspects of this movement.

I have to admit to a certain amount of underestimating on my part about this movement. In the 1980’s when Pat Robertson’s cache grew within the political right and ministers such as he, Falwell and others openly discussed a future where evangelicals ruled the courts, I dismissed and scoffed at the claims. My sentiment at the time was that the evangelicals attempting to gain political control of the nation were sadly gullible. Time and time again they had attempted to make in-roads of gaining political clout, only to be disappointed by the actions of the leaders they had backed, Reagan included, when they were cast aside. I misjudged how sly these leaders could be.

Instead of putting all their eggs into the overt basket of one political leader, the leadership of the evangelical right-wing bet the farm on a covert, yet fully in the open plan of education and changing policy from within the structure of government. Universities such as Regent began churning out lawyers and a grass roots movement of evangelical lawyers began to grow. Their goals were clear and concise – turn the nation into a theocracy through an aggressive legal campaign. With a changing political landscape in the mid-90’s, one which they had a major hand in shaping and one in which fear and loathing became the modus operendi, the evangelical movement created and nurtured the political alliances that would allow them to inject their legal commandos for God into the upper tiers of the American judicial and legislative branches. With the election of George W. Bush to President, the third branch of power was the missing piece and full sympathy to their goals was found.

The most worrisome aspect of this conspiracy is that the stated goals of this movement are to literally turn America into a theocracy and they have been active in actually making this happen. They do not want to simply have freedom of religion, where all people are allowed to worship as they desire with no fear of retribution, they wish to change the fundamental way in which Americans are allowed to live.

Civil rights would vanish as even the most centrist of these leaders are violently opposed to gay rights, abortion and free speech. Abortion would not only be outlawed under their vision for America, sexuality would be criminalized outside the marriage between man and woman. Free speech would suffer as criticism of religion and religious leaders would be tantamount to blasphemy and the overall tone of adult discourse would be watered down as literature, film and music would be affected by classifying words and ideas that they consider obscene.

The hidden agenda of these leaders is far more dark and frightening than what they extol on the surface. Time and time again we can see that what most Americans would consider to be extremist beliefs are widely shared by these evangelical leaders and their followers. When confronted with their statements after they have been made, insincere apologies are made, but the cat has been let out of the bag. The comments made by Falwell after the 9/11 attacks are an example, but there are far more examples of this type of belief.

If the mainstream media ever decide to fully report this movement and report their beliefs, goals and actions in a serious, compelling tone then perhaps the public at large will recognize the danger that these sociopaths present to the nation as a whole. I fully support and wish that every person can worship and live their lives the way they feel is best. I do not condone silencing the extremists of the evangelical movement. I do however believe that when dangerous fools show their true nature, it is the responsibility of others to expose these frauds and hypocrites. The cultish quality of the modern evangelical movement and the hatred they display are dangerous, labeling their actions as religious freedom is an affront to Christians, Jews, Muslims, Agnostics and Atheists -- in other words, all people, all children of God.

Litvinenko assassin officially accused

Prosecutors in London are today making formal accusations in the Litvinenko assassination. This case has interested me on two levels since Litvinenko’s poisoning with polonium-210 was first announced. Most obviously, it deals with an aspect of how intelligence agencies work. Secondly, Litvinenko was one of the most prominent accusers that the Russian FSB was behind the Russian Apartment Bombings of 1999. The first time I can recall hearing the phrase “false flag operation” was in relation to his descriptions of this event.

While the prosecutors accusations will now enter a phase where the diplomats discuss the case and there will be the usual posturing between England and Russia over justice, it will still be a curious event to follow. My hope is that someone, anyone from the mainstream American press would discuss at length Litvinenko’s false flag claims. When his poisoning first made headlines here in the states, the press really only mentioned his accusations of the Russian government assassinating their critics but they failed to bring the apartment bombings the bright light of investigation.

When the mainstream catches on to a conspiracy theory.

First it was Kent Steadman who linked to this article, now Crook and Liars is also linking:

Bush Anoints Himself as the Insurer of Constitutional Government in Emergency

It's interesting to me that ideas which were once the domain of conspiracy theorists are now being addressed by more mainstream voices. Some highlights from the posting at progressive.org:

It defines a “catastrophic emergency” as “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function.”

This could mean another 9/11, or another Katrina, or a major earthquake in California, I imagine, since it says it would include “localized acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack-related emergencies.”

For those of us who have spent any length of time studying Rex 84, this new Presidential directive comes as no shock and the sweeping powers are something we foresaw many years ago. What was once a subject of "conspiracy nuts" is now being seen as a sinister and all too real possibility.

Far too often the critics of President Bush make light of his seeming lack of intelligence to give him credit for being a dangerous socio-path. Never underestimate those in seats of power, least of all, never underestimate their capabilities or their limitations. Occasionally I too wrestle with the question of what appears to be sheer incompetence and stupidity of the current administration, especially in light of failures as blatant as the Katrina debacle. Always remember that it isn't a case of incompetence or negligence, in all cases of crisis created by or exasperated by our government the crisis isn't accidental. The actions, or inaction is planned, condoned and intentional.