Kittens and Kalashnikovs

No Satisfaction In Being Right

2005-09-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

There are times in my life when I temporarily forget about reality, and, maybe it is from talking to some right-wing friends of mine, or hanging around perpetual head in the sanders, and I think that the powers that be are benign and are actually trying to help us, albiet ineffiectively. But then I am luckily shocked back into the world of the real. Today it was by the most incredible radio program I know of. "This American Life" (located at www.thislife.org) today on the anniversary of the biggest government sponsored self inflicted terrorist event to date, September 11th,told of how armed officials in the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans, basically terrorized people and prevented them from saving themselves or others. As the horror stories unfolded, of the military lowering helicopters over makeshift rufugee camps in order to blow them apart and the local police shooting citizens prohibiting them from exiting the flooding city, it became utterly clear what the real agenda is. Don't believe the news. The goal of the administration is not to save people. It is to kill people. It always has been and it always will be. From the first days of the American Indian holocaust to the violent suppression of civil rights movement, to the firebombing of Waco, our government has been in the continual business of killing people. Mostly poor people and people of color at that.

Already the right wing media has begun conditioning us to accept violence against the citizens of New Orleans.

Example A: Glen Beck on WLAC saying that the people who have remained in New Orleans (note many of them have been prohibited to leave)are the "stupidest of the stupid" and we and the military should have no sympathy for them.

This is deplorable, almost reaching the point of HuTu radio in Rawanda.

Yet in the underground there has been a non stop flow of stories coming out about how FEMA has turned away planes, boats, busses, even Wal Mart trucks carrying relief supplies. They are inhibiting the Red Cross from delivering food. They have prevented the coast gaurd from delivering diesel fuel and have turned away morticians. They are not only allowing the disaster to continue, but aiding it. There have been several reports of FEMA cutting the emergency police communication lines. And there are now rumors spreading through the streets of New Orleans that the levees were blown open by explosives. Resident Andrea Garland, now re-located to Texas, wrote in her blog:

"Also heard that part of the reason our house flooded is they dynamited part of the levee after the first section broke - they did this to prevent Uptown (the rich part of town) from being flooded. Apparently they used too much dynamite, thus flooding part of the Bywater. So now I know who is responsible for flooding my house - not Katrina, but our government."

Another Testimonial from a citizen of New Orleans

I urge you to listen to the radio show mentioned above as it aired on NPR and is considered "legit" news, through the websitewww.thislife.org, the show is titled "After the Flood". Click the link above and use Real Player to listen to it.

Below is an article grabbed from Steve Watson:
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FEMA Deliberately Sabotaging Hurricane Relief Efforts

Multiple parishes revolt, use armed guards to defend against feds

Numerous credible sources have come forward with examples of how the Federal Emergency Management Agency is deliberately sabotaging Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans. This represents a ruthless attempt on the part of FEMA to impose a federal takeover of the area for their own benefit amid a tragedy that has already claimed anything up to 10,000 lives.

The mainstream media has picked up on this story but is whitewashing it as just another 'failure' of the federal government in dealing with the crisis.

In reality the actions are part of a coordinated campaign to deepen the scope of the disaster in order to force through bumper funding increases for FEMA.

Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard appeared on Meet the Press Sunday and broke down in tears as he described FEMA's criminal activities.

"We have been abandoned by our own country. Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as one of the worst storms ever to hit an American coast, but the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will go down as one of the worst abandonments of Americans on American soil ever in U.S. history."

We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water, trailer trucks of water. FEMA turned them back. They said we didn't need them. This was a week ago. FEMA--we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, "Come get the fuel right away." When we got there with our trucks, they got a word. "FEMA says don't give you the fuel." Yesterday--yesterday--FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards on our line and says, "No one is getting near these lines."

Why would FEMA, an organization supposedly tasked with helping in a time of crisis, deliberately cut police communication lines? This is a blatant example of sabotage and a sick push to make the disaster worse. In carrying out these actions, FEMA are no better than the animals who shot at rescue workers and helicopters.

Watch the video of the Meet the Press interview.

The mission of FEMA has never in reality been to bring people food and water and help in times of crisis. Alex Jones has attended numerous FEMA drills where the whole point of the exercise is to round people up, break up families and institute a brutal police state crackdown.

FEMA need to create a chaotic atmosphere in New Orleans so they can legitimize what they are doing.

We now have multiple reports of police being ordered to guard key infrastructures in order to defend them from FEMA federal agents. Sheriffs in numerous different counties are guarding highways to keep FEMA out. FEMA is being treated as the enemy because they are sabotaging key facilities in an effort to intentionally worsen the already desperate scenes of horror in New Orleans.

FEMA is sabotaging lines of communication so their activities cannot be exposed to the wider relief authorities and the media.

Commenting on the sabotage by FEMA of communication lines, Washington insider Wayne Madsen states,

"Jamming radio and other communications such as television signals is part of a Pentagon tactic called "information blockade" or "technology blockade." The tactic is one of a number of such operations that are part of the doctrine of "information warfare" and is one of the psychological operations (PSYOPS) methods used by the US Special Operations Command."

Radio host Carol Baker who has been tracking the FEMA sabotage stated that Plaquemines Parish Sheriff Jeff Hingle had his deputies patrol the county line under orders not to let FEMA in.

As is discussed in the Meet the Press interview, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee also has armed guards patrolling the county line in order to prevent the FEMA sabotage.

FEMA has a number of executive orders that outline the total federal takeover of any US city.

For a full synopsis of FEMA's executive orders in light of the hurricane, click here.

FEMA is clearly using this human catastrophe as a means of executing its decade long plans and providing the pretext for future takeover scenarios of all major American cities.

Amongst a litany of government inaction and outright dereliction, this is the most alarming evidence to emerge yet that clearly indicates an agenda for the federal government to profit and expand its power from exploiting the aftermath of the hurricane.

FEMA Blocking Relief Efforts Blog

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Ahh, many, including most my friends and assosciates will still not believe me. They call me paranoid and delusional. But one day soon, they will see that I have been all along, right. And it will not be of any satisfaction to me. Sigh.

Last Thursday Night's Writers Club Assignment: Persuasive Essay

2005-09-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

The best way to interact with the public is through the use of calculated talking points. The reason why this is true is obvious. It is clear that the American people understand that their leaders are very busy doing the best possible job that can be done, with twenty first century technology and in good faith. In fact, talking points act as a kind of glue that hold together the fabric of our society. I know this, Mister Rumsfeld and his staff know this and the American people know this. In fact, this truth is so evident, that aside from some fringe liberal groups and a few activist judges is not even questioned.

In addition, in this time of unprecedented danger at home and to our allies, it is vital that we remain vigilant about the freedom of talking points and the promise of democracy that they bring. Today we live in a society where the very basis of talking points is threatened from all sides, yet we shall prevail. For if we let ourselves turn tail and run from the value of talking points then those that oppose the ideas of liberty and free nations have already won. As Americans, we cannot and we will not let this happen.

On September eleventh this nation was struck with a devastating blow to the fundamental idea of talking points as voices in the liberal media began asking questions to answers we had not already presented in earlier talking points. These were voices of dissent, and while they do have a place in a freedom loving society they can also, in times of war, erode that society and are absolutely inappropriate. The value of talking points is something that we have taken for granted and it must be defended. These are our values, and their values are that it must not. As Americans we value their values because we value our own values our values we value. This cannot be! As I have said earlier, talking points are what make us free.

Some democrats would argue that talking points are nothing but repetitive brainwashing. They may say that it is a top down approach that plays on the fear and insecurity of people assuring them that if they think how we do then they too can enjoy the power of being right. The power of pride. They may say that none of us Republicans think for ourselves but are merely drones to the hive mind controlled by Rove, Cheney and Wolfowitz. They point to the talk show hosts and yell, "Look, they are rude and interrupt callers and hang up one people who have opposing view points. They are prejudice, ignorant boisterous hate mongerers who parrot the party line to the common folk. Those Demacrats would have you believe that talking points are a form of subtle manipulation crafted to foster acceptance for our policies and used as a weapon against anyone who tries to shed light on our dark secret power.

These thoughts are not only wrong, they are completely unamerican. I refer back to my original talking point. The best way to interact with the public is through the use of calculated talking points.

When the levee breaks we'll have no place to go

2005-08-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

I am watching the massive devastation of Hurricane Katrina on TV. The images are horrific. Panicked people screaming and crying for help. People looting through the flooded streets. People stranded on elevated interstates rising up and dipping back into the water like sea serpents. Masses of people wading waist high, wandering aimlessly , with no where to go. Without a home, without water and without food, most missing loved ones with no way to locate them. Desperation, exhaustion, hopelessness. It truly is a scene of Armageddon.

All of this is routinely interrupted by commercials. Commercials about wonderful butterfly like drugs to kiss you to sleep. Commercials about the newest coolest cell phones, and in what almost amounts to an insult in contrast to the swiftly rising gas prices, commercials for those new SUV's. The scenes of grown adults acting absolutely blissful about random consumer goods and services becomes almost sickening in the face of such a disaster. I remember feeling the same way on 9/11, watching the towers fall in one second and the next watching insanely happy beautiful people running with colorful cloths trailing behind them over peaceful rolling hills and unnaturally bright blue skies followed by a pharmaceutical logo or something similar.

Almost every person you see trapped inside New Orleans, with exception of the news reporters are obviously poor. Poor and black. It is a sobering thought to realize that many people have died from the lack of a mere forty dollars for a tank of gas to evacuate. One would hope that this would serve as a spot light to one of the most fundamental problems of our civilization: Poverty. Anyone who has ever stepped into a Sam's Club or Costcos knows, the reason for poverty is not lack of resources. Let's face it. Plain and simple, it is a lack of compassion. We are so concerned with terrorism and whether or not Iran has nukes, but we are ignoring the root cause that gives birth to all of this. The basic truth that life, as we have created it is not fair. Fix that, and everything else will follow.

Today's Plane Crash in Greece vs. Flight 77 Crash on 9-11

2005-08-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

Reports coming in from Grammatiko, Greece of a Boeing 737 crash. All 121 people on board are reported as dead. It is quite interesting to read what the crash site of such a large passenger plane looks like. The AP press describes the crash as “leaving flaming debris and luggage strewn across a ravine and surrounding hills.” The article also goes on to describe, “The only piece of the plane that remained intact was the tail section. Bits of human flesh, clothing and luggage were scattered around the wreckage, which also started brush fires around the area.”
Now this is all very interesting when compared to the crash site at the pentagon on September 11th, 2001. It was reported through all the media channels that Flight 77, a Boeing 757 had crashed into the Pentagon leaving no survivors. Here is a picture of the crash site as the first emergency vehicles arrived.

Not a very big hole for a 757 jetliner. Here is another picture AFTER the wall collapsed, which it did not do immediately.

It is also important to note that according to the official story the plane had “vaporized” upon impact. This definitely does not look like the scene outside Grammatiko as described by Mayor George Papageorgiou, saying "There is wreckage everywhere. I am here, things here are very difficult, they are indescribable…I am looking at back tail. The fuselage has been destroyed. It fell into a chasm and there are pieces."

Well, there are no pieces here. In fact the only photos ever released to the public that contained any wreckage of the so called passenger liner were these two.

Where are the seats, the landing gears, the gigantic engines, for that sake, the people???

Another interesting bit of information in the article about the recent Grammatiko crash: Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled shortly after the plane entered Greek air space over the Aegean Sea and did not respond to radio calls. It is standard Greek air force procedure to intercept any aircraft entering the country's airspace that do not respond to radio calls.

According to all reports of Flight 77 on 911 is that it was out of radio contact for over 45 minutes, and had disappeared from radar over West Virginia. It was known to have been hijacked, and was known to be heading toward the DC area, yet for some reason, no F-16 fighter jets were scrambled until 20 minutes before the plane hit it’s target. And the planes were not sent up from Andrews Airforce Base that defends the airspace around the capital, but from Langley which is almost 200 miles away in southern Virginia.

But I guess this is all the stuff of those damn leftist conspiracy nuts. Where would my patriotism be if I questioned when an orange falls out of an apple tree?

Question the Answers

My New Life....

2005-08-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

First off I should mention my old life. I was (still am technically) married to a beautiful woman whom I love immensely. We have a four year old daughter who is perhaps the most incredible person I know. We lived a pretty simple life in a small cabin like house next to an enchanted creek. In the winter I would chop wood and load the stove that we used to heat the house. In the spring I would plant our garden and by late spring we were already eating from it. My wife worked as a massage therapist and I had a number of various jobs usually working in produce at health food stores, but I did go through several periods of unemployment, where I was pretty much the stay at home dad. We had our differences, and perhaps things always seem better when being looked back upon, but I loved this life. I am a family man, and it is my natural desire to create a home and nurturing environment.

My new life is a bit different. I see my daughter on the weekends, and if my wife has her way, less than that. I live in a bigger house now that I share with my friend Stan. I also work in a restaurant with a pretty relaxed atmosphere. Beside all of the obvious negative aspects of “going through a divorce” as we have come to call it, there are some very positive things as well. First off, I am writing much more. I am a writer. I have always known that this would be my profession, but I have managed to avoid writing for many years. Why? Fear? I’m not sure really, but here I am, writing so….
Secondly, my life seems to be a lot easier and much less stressful now. I am more in tune with what I really want to do and be, and my wife has expressed similar feelings about herself. My relationship with my daughter has gotten better, as hard as that is to imagine. But we have a great time together. I only wish I could see her more often, but I am so busy in my life right now anyway so….

So last night. Writers night. Every Thursday. It was the best one yet. More people, better quality writing from all. It is a very good thing that we have created. And afterward, because I was over in East Nashville, I decided to take my friend up on her offer to come over to her bar The Family Wash and have a beer. This is not a thing I would usually do, but I thought, okay, let’s go anyway. So I did and met some wonderful people (Stinking Bush-Hating Libertarians. Yippee!!!) that ended up taking me around and buying me drinks, and I just had a fabulous time without getting drunk. (Two pints isn’t drunk right?) The amount of smoke did bother me, but what do you expect? It’s a bar. Although there is no smoking at the Family Wash, which is VERY nice. We sat outside and watched the train go by, crashing and squealing down the tracks.

Dark Skies Over Jordan

2005-08-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

This morning while dicing tomatoes and cutting lettuce I listened as the space shuttle Discovery touched down on a three mile runway in the Mojave Desert. Now I have some very strong feelings about NASA and it’s agendas, which I will rant about some other day, but I genuinely felt moved hearing the folks witness the event on the radio. I was happy for the crew and the folks who have worked to put this all together. It must be incredible, being in space orbiting the Earth. We are so used to thinking about the Earth as a million different places, all different and in various levels of cooperation and conflict with each other. But out there, it is just one utterly complete sphere. One place. Home.

And yet, back here in micro-vision, a dark storm seems to be brewing over the middle east. As Israel begins the first stages of it’s withdrawal from Gaza tensions are rapidly heating up between the “set-lers” and the government that has initiated the withdrawal. There is talk of absolute rebellion among many Jews living in the area that they have come to know as their home. In fact, it is much more than that. Most Israelis feel whole heartedly that God “gave” this land to the Jews and that it is not only their right, but their religious duty to remain there. This is an idea that to me seems so crazy, yet when I briefly recounted the history of the formation of the Israeli state to my co-worker, expressing that I was highly uncomfortable by the United States Government assuming the role of God by fulfilling the Biblical prophecy of returning the land to the Jews, he said, “That is God’s will through man.”

I said, “If that’s so, then aren’t the suicide bombings God’s will through man as well? I mean, what differentiates God’s will through man, and plain ole man’s will?”

It is so tempting to think that you are God’s chosen people, but come on. That is ridiculous. What does it say about God that he was only able to create a few that could “please” him? THIS is the CORE of the issue. No amount of government policy will solve what is happening with Palestine and Israel. It is because the political problem, which is an extreme problem beyond the conception of most Americans used to going home from work and watching TV and eating good food, having access to clean(?) water and not having to worry about bulldozers smashing down their homes and missiles blowing up their apartments, not to mention their families, no, these are symptoms of the larger problem, which is a spiritual problem. More specifically, it is a problem in their (both sides’) perception of God, or Allah. They both view God as a being that REQUIRES certain things, behaviors and actions, in order to be happy. They both believe that when this God, this silly emotionally unstable, nitpicking God is unhappy that he seeks revenge, actually requiring it. They both believe that God is “on THEIR side.” And they are both so concerned with the past, that they are unable to construct a future containing anything but violence to avenge the avenge of the avenge of the avenge…..

What ever happened to the golden rule? Love Thy Neighbor. How is it that after the Jews experienced such extreme suffering at the hands of the Nazis, that they themselves can cause so much pain now to others? One must ask, how much different are the isolated Palestinian towns of the West Bank and Gaza from the Jewish Ghettos? You would have thought that having such a fresh memory of the pain of such situations would create understanding and compassion. Yet it is not so, at least it seems not to be judging the action of the Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli policy. But now we have, at the same time a stated intention of a pull-out, but also a threat that if there is any trouble, the IDF will invade Gaza with ground troops.

I pray that the Palestinians will restrain themselves from launching any attacks, as it would be sure suicide for them and their cause, which the suicide bombers have already tarnished to say the least.

Now, my friend at work did bring up a very good point though, and that is that if Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and all the other mid east countries are so concerned with the Palestinians, as they say that they are, then why don’t they offer any land up to them? I feel it is because, governments being governments, as long as there is instability, they can use that as justification for, well, whatever really.

And finally one has to ask themselves, what is more important, a dirty little strip of land and some old buildings that some bastardized book says God gave to you, or the happiness and survival of your children? But then again, it is a symptom of religion to be willing to die to defend your idea of “right” rather than expanding it. Ah, such suffering we cause ourselves due to our petty ways.

Can we overcome this crazy behavior? I think so. I hope so. We better.

In the Begining

2005-08-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Staying up late again. Making a BLOG. Listening to Rancid. Drinking spring water, yes from a real spring. I bottled it myself. Well, not much news tonight. Peter Jennings died. Energy bill got signed by Bush. Gas prices still high. People still fooled. Night still dark. At least out here in the country anyway. Except for the red light on top of the cell phone tower in the distance. Other than that it has been a quiet night. I have been able to be highly productive lately. It is good. This blogging is fun. I think it will prove to be a good thing.