Venezuela: And while one man lives, another man dies

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One of the police officers assigned from the Miranda (Venezuela State region) police force to protect presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski was shot dead today. The following directly translated from this report:

"The Miranda police officer Edward Salazar, 26, who belonged to the security team of Henrique Capriles Radonski, was murdered at 05:30am this morning. Two criminals assaulted him (while he drove his car) and after robbing him of his belongings, among which was his regulation issued gun, shot him several times, according to Laverdad.com." continues here

Dare To Inquire

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Finally I have finished reading "Dare to Inquire?" by Bruce I. Kodish. Actually I finished it about a month ago but have been involved with other pressing projects so I couldn't get the time to write this review or other posts. I know the book has been reviewed already and the reviews have been glowing to say the least. My humble effort can't match the stellar luminaries who have already commented but my direction and focus may be somewhat different from theirs and some may find merit in this essay.
There is a basic problem with General Semantics. The theory is fine but slogging through "Science and Sanity" or any of the other Korzybski texts can be daunting. He (Korzybski) writes in a highly condensed style that not only takes some acculturation but focus. Maybe it's the nature of the subject. Trying to explain the nature of meaning and context using the focus of that meaning conceptually is kind of like licking one's own elbow. You can see it, touch it, bump it and do all kinds of things with it but you can't lick it. So using language to describe the nature of language and how that language both influences and reflects societal trends, morals, ethics, laws, assumptions and folklore while also being influenced by all of he above is a difficult undertaking. Kodish, in this sense, is kind of like a Carl Saganesque character who explains GS in a way that looks at GS from a task-orientation. Take "the meaning of life" which Kodish makes into a whole chapter more appropriately titled: "The Meanings of Life." As he points out, he follows the Frnkl inquiry not the Monty Python although both end with the same conclusion.
One of the nice things Kodish does is to step-by-step, walk through the question. He takes "What is the meaning of life" and breaks it down using GS so the question is transformed from a global question into a personal one. This is interesting. "What is the meaning of life" is transformed into "How can (I, you) define the meaning of life." This fits with the whole tendency of the book to rely on individual rather than global systems which is also part and parcel of GS.
A side note here: Ian Graeme Barbour is a scholar who writes about the interface and interactions between science and religion (sound familiar?) He has written several books but by far, the one I consider the most influential is called "Myths, Models and Paradigms" written in 1974. He basically attempts to make a connection with the nature of a scientific discovery and the country, society, religion, (or lack thereof) political system and climate, and ethics of the discoverer or theory proponent. A simple case would be where something like the uncertainty principle of Heisenberg (published in 1927) could only come out of a system where the political thought mirrored the theory. If Heisenberg has been born and lived in China, he could never have come up with a theory that stressed independence of action in the sense of the theory. Barbour uses several "discoveries" to make his point and basically infers that the whole of particle physics could only have derived from democracies founded on individual achievement rather than on other equally powerful political systems.
Kodish does something similar. Using "meaning of life" he outlines it in a way that is completely western in concept and principles. Someone living under a totalitarian system where the underpinnings is adherence to the state would never examine the possibility of "self" meaning any more than a modern Dutch thinker would come up with theories where collective thinking takes place. In those situations, the personal identity of "I" would be subjugated to the collective identity of "us." (Notice that our current president constantly refers to the "collective" in most of his speeches. He refers to collective salvation, economic benefit, law, ownership and property in a collective manner rather than an individual one. So when Kodish defines the meaning of life statement in a personal manner, he is showing one of the strengths of GS for a western mind. Yes, GS is a valuable tool to allow I, Me, You to understand on an individual level but not on a collective level. Yet, GS requires agreement of definition and understanding of specifics so that generalizations can be made. If I can communicate what life means to me, it gives anyone I talk with a better chance of understanding what I mean when I speak.
Global belief systems such as political religious systems hinder communication and understanding because they rely on a fixed set of principles when the reality we are constantly confronted with is one where everything bends or is flexible. Kodish takes this concept of and attaches it with the GS concept of Time-Binding. Time-binding is basically an accumulation of information transmitted over generations or over the span of a generation. Remember that the ability to transmit or receive information does not equate with using that information but Kodish follows the Korzybski model in that sense. It's one of the few areas of disagreement I have with the book.
Time-Binders are those people who through some method become aware of the continuity of the human flow regardless of what they are told or goes on around them. An interesting read that sheds light on this is "Cosmic Consciousness" by Richard Bucke. One would suspect that Korzybski would have little regard for a book with such a title but he would be wrong. CC basically points out people who have had some kind of experience that transcends day-to-day tasks and opens them to perceive a larger, more inclusive view of humanity.
Another thing that Kodish explains well is how belief systems can be deciphered and how belief in belief can be used against he believer. In this sense, there is no collective awakening founded on belief because as soon as the collective awakens to whatever they are told, they are no further along than before. I remember sometime in the past that I was having an argument about whether music was the universal language. Stravinsky wrote that music was inherently meaningless and couldn't transmit anything. We, of course, have music that makes us happy, sad, melancholy but this is because we have come to associate the music with the feeling. There is no way that the feeling would invoke the music without the association first. Feelings of any kind can't automatically invoke any kind of sound association unless that association is already established. Taking a long walk with a group doesn't cause someone to start conceptualizing and understanding "marching" music like that of John Sousa. Somewhere, one must have seen people marching to the music and voila the association is made. Kodish points this out but using other examples and it's one of the better aspects of the book.
So how well does Kodish represent GS? Very well. But he goes further. He shows how one can use information derived from reexamining some basic principles divorced from dogma to understand how real the real can appear without a way to ferret out the wheat from the chaff.
GS has its detractors but it would be hard to find much fault with the inquiries posited by Bruce I. Kodish.
FB

Today is a Sad Day for the NASA Space Program

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Today is a sad day. America has abrogated it's leadership role in space by turning away from a more advanced system and returning to a spiffed up version of the lunar Apollo program. This is akin to turning our back on all the work done to make automobiles last longer and require less service and adopting a 1953 Chevy BelAire as the foundation for all cars in the future. But wait, NASA isn't in the space business anymore. NASAs new charter is to make Muslims feel better about their contributions to the very same space program we are trashing. I think, unless we make some radical changes in our thinking, that historians will use the date July, 20 1969 as the date when America declines into just another sad socialist country begging for scraps from the more robust societies and looking to someone else for safety.
We need a radical change of thinking on the same level as militant Islam if we want to move the American dream forward and bury, for at least 100 years, this idea that collectivism is better.
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No Fly Zone

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I've been to Libya. Actually if one looks at the country name, it has similarities with Dubya, our last president. There are a lot of flies there. There're lots of camels too and camels tend to attract flies. Getting rid of them would be a daunting task indeed. Similarly with the Libyan Air Force.
Some years back, the now venerated, by the Obama administration, Chairman Mao instituted a no-fly program in China. It was every citizens duty to kill at least one fly per day. They had contests, honors and benefits for the most killed (flies) and the most diligent. Soon, there were few flies in the cities. This was, of course, preceded by the crow shoot. The reason there were so many flies was because previously, China had declared the "War on Crows." So many were killed, to protect crops, that the insect population exploded. So the great fly swat was under way. Soon, the cities were nearly fly free. Now the result of this was that fly larvae, commonly known as maggots, didn't populate in the garbage and disease ran rampant. No amount of acupuncture could help when diseases ran rampant in the garbage fills. In essence, China had established a "Fly Free Zone."
We now have the administration positing a "Fly Free Zone" in Libya. This, of course, is so totally naive as to be foolish and will be damaging in both the short and long run. Why? Shouldn't America heed the call of the UN and throw our troops in harms way at their whim? Shouldn't we do the humanitarian thing and waste the lives of our troops to stabilize the region? In a short word, no. We should do nothing.
Does this sound crass? Maybe, but read on and I'll explain. What would we be doing if we send troops into an area? We would be reinforcing the structure of a nation that may be completely the imagination of one person. I posit the country of Yugoslavia as an example. Here is an artificial country borne in the mind of Tito. To keep it whole, Tito was a brutal dictator. There are many places in the world which are nothing more than political divisions established by people who DO NOT LIVE IN THE AREA and are not of the culture.
The world in a cultural geographic sense tends to seek it's own level just like flowing water. It's one of the reasons Islam will fail as a world religion. Right now, it's all the social rage and young people flock to militant Islam because there is little else to hold their interest that has potential global impact. Many of the people supporting Islamic causes are, in fact, supporting a system that would deprive them of the rights to support a system other than Islam.
The world needs to change. It has changed since the beginning of organized societies however small to however large. To be in a position to constantly reinforce the existing structure denies the reality of people: Too much consistency and people stagnate. Societies that once had brave and challenging ideas and systems become trapped in their own success and the ideas that founded the society are sacrificed for those that keep it safe and consistent. As we demand more consistency and sameness, we sow the seeds of our own destruction.
Regardless of whether we like war or not, it is a fact of being human. Human engage in war. It's part of the nature of being human just as it is the nature of a honey bee to gather honey.
We shouldn't be involved in the effort to keep the status quo. We did it in Kuwait with the disastrous results that we now have a major presence in Iraq. Kuwait was a province broken off of Iraq and given to a monarchy because that monarchy guaranteed cheep oil to England. The only way they can defend themselves is with the threat of America coming to their rescue or with America actually sending troops to defend them. What kind of a country is that? After all, natural law kind of says you can keep what you can defend and when you can't defend it, you lose it.
So we, in my opinion, should absolutely have nothing to do with the establishment of any kind of military action in Libya. It may seem brutal but these things have a way of working themselves out. The only road a no-fly zone can lead to is one where American boots and finally bodies hit the ground.
FB

Battlefield Resolve and the Seeds of Defeat

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The Army has announced a new rifle. It's spectacular and guaranteed to give American soldiers a giant leap forward in personal armament. But this begs a question: Who cares what armament we have? We can have the best guns, best trained troops, best support systems and best planners and officers. We can have a mighty force that, on paper, cannot be defeated by any present foe. But without the will to use that power, it's no better than masturbating to sire children. Oh, a stray sperm might somehow find it's way to an ovum, but the chances are slim indeed. There's a book written by General Rupert Smith called "The Utility of Force." In reality, it should be called "The Futility of Force" because there is nothing quite as futile as having the ability but not the desire. That's the position we find ourselves as a nation. Our military force is without peer but we dare not use it because someone may die because of the use of that very force. In other words, we're too good for our own good.
One wonders if the Roman army stationed at Hadrian's wall felt the same. They too had overwhelming force, a solid command structure, an incredible supply and resupply line and the ability to move fast, bring to bear superior arms and superior tactics yet they were defeated by marginally trained smaller forces who were not unwilling to use and apply the force they had at their command. I guarantee you that the Taliban do not file AA Reports, account for casualties they inflict or property they destroy. If a commander fails, he is replaced. They do not have to worry about gay rights, women's issues, promotion schedules or rotating troops out. Most of them are armed at 1/10th of the typical American soldier. They have no body armor and no personal communication capability. They do not need to get permission to engage the enemy. They do not have to be fired on first and to get wounded is a badge of honor. Yet these people take on forces that overwhelm them in every capability and they are winning in some areas. They can't take us on in a head-to-head fight because regardless of how good they are as a light infantry, they have no air support and none carry enough ammunition to engage in a sustained fight.
There is a distinct possibility that without air support, we would be hard pressed to achieve the accomplishments we have done to date on the battlefield and there is only one reason: We absolutely will not use the resources at our command to guarantee an outcome in our favor.
In many ways, our current state of operations in the Mideast, make Vietnam look like a colossal success. Force is useless if one doesn't use it and we don't have the strength of resolve or belief in the righteousness of our cause to be effective in the field. Individual soldiers, are, of course, gallant and serve with distinction. But the overall lack of a plan and the variance of ROEs which change on a daily basis in some cases, sap the development of any cohesive core of actionable plans and/or paradigms that have, as their outcome, the total victory by the American Military Forces and the total subjugation of any and all enemy forces.
The famous treatise ascribed to Lao Tsu called "The Art of War" goes completely unheeded by our administration. One of the main points brought out in the book is that an Army cannot fight both an enemy and it's leaders. To do so is to curry defeat. We are currying like crazy and now positing the establishment of another AO that will be populated by American troops with no plan for victory. Doesn't this administration have any regard for the military men and the zeitgeist of both the military and the command structure tasked with operating in these areas? It appears not.
FB

Our Ally Kuwait, Printing Money and Bribery

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Didn't we sent troops over to the Mideast? Didn't we build staging areas in Saudi Arabia? Didn't we amass a force and attack the feeble Iraqi army occupying Kuwait and in essence, return rule back to the Kuwaiti monarchy? Didn't we do that stuff and aren't they our "ally" because of those actions?
Well, it appears not. To bolster it's own economy, the Kuwaiti Dinar was "unpegged" from the greenback in 2007. The reason they did it was that because of American debt, which was miniscule at the time compare to today, was costing the Kuwaitis too much when conducting currency exchanges.
This begs a question: Should a country remain an American ally and operate with American interests economically if America sends troops and pays to free them from an oppressor? The Kuwaitis may ally with the west because it make financial interest for a time but in fact, the average Kuwaiti has contempt for America on a par with the average Saudi. We come and help them keep the status quo then as soon as it's convenient they work against American interest. So why are we in such a hurry to repeat similar military actions around the world? What great advantage do we get by propping up corrupt governments with American cash, equipment and lives if the general core of the country has contempt for America.
Don't get me wrong here. I'm not against humanitarian aid when disasters hit. I'm not against sending military advisors to help train troops and I'm not against supporting an opposing force in a land that oppresses its people. But I am against the deployment of American troops to support regimes to try to gain favor in ruling groups who have nothing but contempt for America and things American.
For as long as I can remember, American foreign policy has rested on the fact that we don't want to fight battles here. It means becoming involved with less than savory characters and governments because it is easier than dealing with a democracy that doesn't happen to agree with the American way. I still think that battles should be fought on foreign soil. I have seen war on three continents and can say with some authority that we don't want that here.
It seems to me, however, that a promising policy has become one based on bribery and payoffs to ensure the illusion of stability when, in fact, it is only illusion. Oh, a strong leader can rule with an iron fist as is the case with many of our allies, but there is limited upward potential in this kind of arrangement. We can support the tyrant with bribes, foreign aid and military aid so he/she can stay in power but what is the long-term benefit? The more I see the outcome of these matters, the more I think we are taking the wrong path. If one looks closely enough, the path we are taking really costs far more than benefits we get from the relationship. The country that stands for freedom and individual rights is often caught in the position of supporting a country extolling exactly the opposite. As an interesting exercise, take a survey of American allies in the Mideast and you will find that more often than not, we aren't support the people but a tyrant. Is this a practical, long-term program that will bring us the benefits we think it will? Does supporting a tyrannical system because that system allows us to station troops on its shores really harm Americans and American interest?
Years ago, I would have thought the payoff worth the trade. After all, it's American first, right? But as I look closely at the ramifications of our actions, I have to think that Machiavellian policies are too short sighted. While they give one a momentary breather, they do nothing when trying to build a lasting policy based on American ideals. We have, in a sense, become what we hate to be what we think we are.
FB

Porter Stansberry's The End Of America 2011, the scam and unions.

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There is a video/promo that goes under the title: theendofamerica2011.com. It is a voice-over powerpoint presentation filled with facts that lead to the ultimate conclusion: Continue on our spending path and America is doomed.
Well, this is hardly news. I don't think there is a person living in America, who is so deluded as to believe we can simply print money and assume debt forever, who doesn't understand that financing a life on debt really gives one very little freedom. You can amass things but the price you pay may not be worth the limited joy derived from the things. Everyone knows we are in a financial crisis but depending on self interests, place what to do about it at a different priority level.
So here is a self-anointed Investment Guru painting a picture of real financial gloom and doom then offering solutions that, if one heeds his commentary, would have little value when the "end" comes. In a funny way, his spiel sounds a lot like Mormon survivalists who have been cautioning the loyal to store food, water, defense mechanisms and other miscellanea against the day when all of society breaks down. There are many companies established in Utah primarily that specialize in products to survive "end of the world" scenarios. One wonders whether Porter is one of their ilk.
I listened to his spiel and each time he made an argument based on real events to support his position, I checked it out. Surprisingly, many are factual in part. Yes, certain economies have collapsed, OPEC countries have met to discuss whether to start using different currencies as the "reserve" currency and there are other factual statements too.
But when we get to the end, Porter suggest reverting back to the Gold Standard which was abandoned by America in 1971. In fact, during that time we broke our currency from any commodity. Dollars used to be "Silver Certificates." Now they are "Federal Notes." These are two completely different things.
Let's give Porter the benefit of the doubt and say that he's right on about the ramifications of continuing the current policy of spending by government on all levels. The days where we used to elect federal offices based on the ability of the candidate to get to Washington and "Bring Home the Bacon," are over. The reason? We're running out of pigs.
Just as England suffered in the 1970s with the winter of discontent based on liberal government spending policies, we will probably suffer something similar. Ben Franklin cautioned about assuming national debt as did many other founders. But we have a situation where we have a system based on redistribution of wealth, reparations for past sins, guaranteeing an equality of outcome and out-and-out bribery, class warfare and coercion to get votes. America has changed from a country of, by and for the people to a country of, by and for special interest groups. This change is killing us and our ability to grow into the next phase of the republic.
Unions are a good thing in principle. When workers were slaving in factories run by greedy, self-interested barons who fancied themselves rulers of the people in their workplace, we needed unions to give the worker some kind of leverage. But, recently, we have unions moving into the public workplace. Why shouldn't government workers also be allowed to unionize and negotiate for benefits? What could be the harm? Unions helped establish a strong middle class for a lot of people in private industry. Why not the same for government? But more important questions go unanswered: In what way do private sector unions relate to public sector unions? What does a public sector union offer in mobility, job safety and promotional considerations?
There is more than one reason why government workers should have unions but those unions should be restricted in what they represent. There are a couple of reasons for this. First and most importantly is: Government workers do not produce anything and are not involved in capitalism in any other way than controlling business and enterprise, assessing fees and fines and limiting one's ability to start a business. The businesses they are controlling are paying the taxes for their salaries. Some government workers work for organizations that get operating budgets from fines levied against the people over which the organization has power. The Water Boards in California are such entities. We have seen other examples of this in Sakharov's and Solzhenitsyn's descriptions of "People's Committees." But these people are supposed to be working for the public good not to find ways to fine offenders to generate operating capital. And each of these organizations has a staff of lawyers hell bent on levying as many fines as they can and generate as much money as they can. After all, their promotions depend on success of their actions. So incentive is not on serving the public good but on generating capital. They work for the government which is supposed to be us. But where they are supposed to assist they have become punitive. This type of thinking permeates all government workers and work. The idea was that they would have safer jobs because they wouldn't be competing with private sector workers. To offset high salaries, they would get good benefits. The unions have perverted this so that private sector workers are destroying the very system they are supposed to be supporting. And they do not care. Interviews with them and casual discussions show a total indifference and even hostility towards anyone trying to start, run and manage a private business. We have thousands of government workers who despise the very people they are supposed to be assisting. How can that work out well?
Public sector unions, who were losing private sector members due to the rise of the Hi-Tech sector, saw a golden opportunity to get new members and dues. You see, government unions do not give you the right to not join. The way the contracts are written, your union dues comes right out of your paycheck which is administered by the government entity you happen to be working for. You don't have to be a member of the union but dues comes out at any rate. Supposedly, if you don't join the union, your dues doesn't go to the union. But where does it go and why does government take money out of your check without your approval? Does this sound like freedom? Does it sound like a principle on which America was founded? It doesn't to me.
Now we have several states operating with a huge deficit. The public unions in these states have empowered their members to strike. Now, I have a simple question: If you are a fireman and you go on strike and my house catches on fire and burns down can I sue you for striking instead of being at your workplace and responding to a fire? In another vein: You are a teacher. You go on strike. Because you are not in class, I miss a vital part of something you were teaching and I have to take the SAT test before your strike is resolved. I miss a better score on the test because you were not at your workplace doing your job. Do I have the right to sue you for dereliction of duty?
What I am doing here is tying Porter's video which is partly correct without the sales pitch with one of the reasons his video is correct and that is public service unions who have so overwhelmed the system that they have helped create a government class which is not working for the benefit of Americans but for the benefit of Government Workers and Government. Porter's facts lead one to question the direction we are taking as a country and what role government will play in competition with the private sector and the picture isn't pretty. Unfortunately, parasites like Porter Stansberry use crisis times like this to profiteer from the very people he purports to inform.
FB

Raves: Hope for America Isn't Dead

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Almost everyone has heard about, read about or seen reports about raves. What are they? Raves are unsupervised concerts that usually take place in empty warehouses. The music is provided by DJs who spin moods and create a musical environment. Hundreds of people crowd dance floors and dance in various states of undress, intoxication and most are involved with any number of mind-altering substances. Sometimes there are painters working on group paintings and there are any number of other activities going on. Remarkably, most people are respectful and stay in their own groups. People do get out of control every so often and the promoters have ways of dealing with them. Rowdy drunks and stoners are driven home. All in all it's a system that works and there are few problems arising from raves other than individual problems with excessive drug or alcohol use. But violent crime is virtually nonexistent and when you have audiences as large as 50,000 people, that is quite a feat!
Now you're probably wondering why such activity shows hope for America. I'm not writing about the Obama or the Clinton kind of hope which is nothing more than hollow campaign rhetoric. I'm referring to real hope for grass roots movements that can reach out and change the current direction of politicians stealing our present and future. Why and how? Let me explain.
My son recently started a game console fight league based on the Play Station and Xbox games. He contacted someone who knew of a warehouse they could use and all they would have to pay is a small amount to cover the electricity. It sounded like a great deal. So the day of the gaming event, he shows up and discovers that there had been a rave in the warehouse the night before and a lot of people were still there in various states of intoxication and drug stupor. My son was upset because he had to wait until they cleaned up and cleared out before he could start setting up all the gaming stations. He had people coming from 40 to 50 miles away to attend this thing and it was his first real solo event. He asked me to video the whole thing to be posted on Youtube and on his Facebook page. Now I don't know about you but twenty to thirty years ago, concepts such as Google, Youtube and Facebook would have brought reams of laughter from even computer professionals. Now they are as much a part of life as a library card; maybe more so.
While I was setting up my video equipment, I started talking with some of the ravistas (My term for people who go to raves.) Here's what I found and why I think that the whole concept is positive rather than the negatives these events are usually cast as.
This group started three years ago with six or more people going into the woods to drum, commune with nature, sample the herbs and taste local mushrooms, etc. From that they started sending out flyers with phone numbers that had information about the next event or gathering. But what is interesting is that what started with six people now draws 350 to 700 people. They have had problems getting sites, people moving in an out of the prime group, marriages, transportation, communication, police and a host of other problems. However, they persevered. They kept putting the events on and rolled with the punches, problems and roadblocks any group like this encounters while growing as an event organization.
As I talked with the promoters who were now actually cleaning stuff and moving things to accommodate my son's event, I got the feeling that they were an enterprising lot. As we talked, I was impressed that while they understood government and government problems, they were hardly supporters of government solutions. They wanted to be left alone but were savvy enough to know they had to appease the powers that be to avoid scrutiny that could lead to censure, harassment and arrest. They weren't making anti-government statements but their statement were obvious indications that they were as fed up with government actions as the harshest conservative critic; yet, these people were hardly religious zealots or zealots of any kind except possibly for a hint of hedonism.
So, I'm talking with them and I get a nagging feeling that I had met them or their type before and just didn't immediately get a handle on it. Finally, it hit me. These guys and gals who were into music, art and all kinds of self-expression reminded me of the Tea Party members I had met. Of course, there were some huge differences. One of the major ones was age: The average Tea Party member is 45+, the average ragista was 27. But they reeked with hope. Both the TP and the ragistas absolutely were the most hopeful people I have met in a long time. These are people who actually think they can take control of their lives and do something guaranteed by our founders.
The TPers were trying to get the government and government systems off of their shoulders and out of their pockets. The ravistas weren't waiting, they were acting. Of course, they cooperated with police but in every other way, they were doing something on their own without approval, financing, support or anything from anyone in the government. In fact, they were the antithesis of government; they were people acting in their own best interest for their own self-interests.
As long as there are people like this who are willing to act without waiting to be told to act or given permission by some mindless, soulless bureaucrat, we have hope for the spark of individuality that has become at the same time the American dream and the American myth. The ravistas more closely represent America and American dreams than either of the monolithic political parties who almost exist as governments within governments. We have hope as long as there are pioneers willing to toil uphill for years to build a concept. Hope for the American way isn't dead. We have allowed the media to propagandize us into a belief system that is against our best interests. Ravistas may want weed and eye shadow but that is a milestone of freedom considering how Republicrats have and are turning us into a police state based on catering to self-interest groups who have the goal of getting government to do their bidding.
FB

Where was Nero when Rome burned?

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North Carolina is devastated by tornados and Texas is completely aflame. These are natural disasters on a level of Katrina yet nobody and I mean nobody is holding Obama's feet to the fire so to speak. Why has the press ignored Obama's trip to fundraise in Los Angeles when several states are suffering incredible disasters. Oh, I know, these states are Republican bases. In addition, there is no large ethnic population of color in these areas that can be exploited for political purposes. In other words, the less Obama does to address these matters, the better.
Where was Nero while Rome burned? Well, contrary to popular opinion and mistaken historical record, he was helping fight the fires. So, Obama doesn't even raise to the level of Nero in his self-interested manner of governing. He's probably closer to Caligula. Our president has abandoned America and presiding for the benefit of a fund raiser among his political supporters from the ultra-left of Hollywood.
When will we wake up? Probably never.
FB

Wisconsin Recall Sputters.......

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With everything going on in our country - this just goes to show you how Unions DO NOT CARE about the consequences of their actions. Walker wants to save money and save programs for the future. Make everyone - I repeat - EVERYONE have skin in the game.....only....Unions don't want THEIR skin in the game...They only want to ride on the backs of yours....

That sound you hear may be the sputtering of Wisconsin Democrats and public-sector unions’ campaign to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker. On Tuesday, Democrats went to the polls to choose a candidate to square off against Walker in next month’s recall election. But the union-led opposition’s hopes that the standard bearer would be a Big Labor darling were dashed with the election of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, rather than the unions’ preferred candidate, Democratic operative Kathleen Falk. Falk’s defeat marks only the latest setback for a recall campaign that is increasingly running out of steam.

The Fairness Delusion....

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Democrats have been bludgeoning the Reagan Administration with "the fairness issue" since 1981. The fairness issue covers a variety of sins, generally falling under the headings of rewarding the rich and cutting programs for the poor. For those who have been raising the clamor, citing specifics has often seemed unnecessary. Every fair-minded person should be able to see, we are given to believe, that the Administration has been palpably, obviously "unfair."

Justice Dept. Plans to Sue Arizona Sheriff Arpaio .......

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Very much like have the "Party Man" watching your every decision, ey? keep thinking we're beginning to resemble Russia & the Politburo.....

 The U.S. Justice Department has been seeking an agreement requiring Arpaio's office to train officers in how to make constitutional traffic stops, collect data on people arrested in traffic stops and reach out to Latinos to assure them that the department is there to also protect them.

Arpaio has denied the racial profiling allegations and has claimed that allowing a court monitor would mean that every policy decision would have to be cleared through an observer and would nullify his authority.

New Nationwide FEMA Camps Should Raise Eyebrows....

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Of all the rumors flying around on the internet, one just refuses to die, and it concerns America's FEMA camps.

In a nutshell, there seems to be a solicitation of bids occurring for the staffing of FEMA camps within 72 hours of implementation by an order from either Homeland Security or the president. This situation begs to be investigated, with special consideration paid to the motives of the present administration.

President Obama's former doctor claims that the president lacks passion, feeling and humanity .......

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\In a revealing new book, The Amateur, author Edward Klein interviews President Barack Obama’s physician, Dr. David Scheiner, MD, who blasts the president’s health care plan and says that President Obama has an “academic detachment” that he could never break through.

The doctor fears that if the health care plan is “the failure” he believes it will be, because of runaway costs and other problems, then any health reform will be set back for years to come.

Underwear bomb plot: British and US intelligence rattled over leaks .......

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Another football spike?

Detailed leaks of operational information about the foiled underwear bomb plot are causing growing anger in the US intelligence community, with former agents blaming the Obama administration for undermining national security and compromising the British services, MI6 and MI5.

The Guardian has learned from Saudi sources that the agent was not a Saudi national as was widely reported, but a Yemeni. He was born in Saudi Arabia, in the port city of Jeddah, and then studied and worked in the UK, where he acquired a British passport.

Occupy Wall St. Evicted: What Now? [My 2 Cents]

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Thing of it is... while browsing the Facebook newsfeed last night, I got the heads up from Punk Patriot that the protestors occupying Wall St. were, at that very moment, being evicted. I watched the live stream last night...  Watched people being herded, having their belongings confiscated and those belongings - everything from tables, tents and chairs to lap tops - being trashed.


Click here for links to all Occupy Live Streams



Many of us, who have followed the Occupy Movement, realize this eviction has little to do with health concerns. Mayor Bloomberg, his buddies and girlfriend, Diana Taylor former New York State Superintendent of Banks is on the board of directors for, Brookfield Properties, the company that owns Zuccotti Park. They all want to put and end to the protests. Simple as that. These are people who value things, money, profits - over people. They probably thought, that kicking people out and trashing their stuff, would do the trick. Everybody likes and needs their stuff. Americans can't do without their stuff.... Right?

Unlike, the one percent, many of the occupiers all ready know what it's like to lose everything. I certainly do. It's happened to me twice, in my lifetime. And I don't mean losing everything, in the sense that you have to ride the bus instead of driving. I mean losing everything to the point when I had nothing left but the clothes on my back. Some people take that hard and want to sit and cry about it. Others, think immediately, "Okay. What's my my next move?" OWS did the latter. I admire their self-control. It could have easily turned into an all out riot. It did not...

If there's ever a moment, when  you realize you've got nothin' left to lose - and your eyes are open -  it can be the most powerful moment, you'll ever have in your lifetime. 
Emotions ran high during the eviction. But the occupiers,  as a group, kept their heads and regrouped. When I woke up this morning and found they'd remained together and gathered again in Foley Square, vowing to re-take Zuccotti, I felt both relieved... and so proud too. Proud to see that humans, despite all our shortcomings as a species are capable, as a group, of keeping it together and not giving up, when giving up is not the thing to do. 




New York Police Trash Occupy Wall Street | TDHundreds of New York police officers rolled into Zuccotti Park just after 1 a.m. Tuesday with a dump truck and orders to clear the park, arrest the defiant and throw away their possessions. The New York Times reported that more than 100 protesters had gathered in “the kitchen,” singing and refusing to leave.I asked The Brooklyn Ink, which has reporters on the ground, what the plan is and was told, “There seem to be a few plans right now. Some are calling for occupying Union Square. Some are meeting at Broadway and Fulton. The whole protest has spread out and it seems everyone is still getting their bearings on what to do next.”This is a video of police tear-gassing the kitchen.Tweets are pouring in and it is not entirely clear as of this posting what has happened or what will happen next, but this much is certain: The capital of the Occupy movement is under attack.  —PZS Photo of Eviction Notice served to Occupiers: Adam Gabbatt

Photo: Robert Stolarik for The New York TimesProtesters signaled resistance to the police as the officers entered the park.

Police Clear Zuccotti Park of Protesters

NYT By JAMES BARRON and COLIN MOYNIHAN
Published: November 15, 2011

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday defended his decision to clear the park in Lower Manhattan that was the birthplace of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, saying “health and safety conditions became intolerable” in the park where the protesters had camped out for nearly two months...


.... One protester, Nate Barchus, 23, said the eviction from Zuccotti Park was likely to galvanize supporters, particularly because a series of gatherings had already been planned for Thursday, the protest’s two-month anniversary.


“This,” he said, referring to the early-morning sweep, “reminds everyone who was occupying exactly why they were occupying.” Read more: NYT

Occupy Wall St.  

UPDATE: Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- “Occupy Wall Street” protesters lost a bid to overturn their eviction earlier today by New York City police officers from a lower Manhattan park where they had been demonstrating for eight weeks.
“The movants have not demonstrated that they have a First Amendment right to remain in Zuccotti Park along with their tents, structures, generators and other installations to the exclusion of the owners reasonable rights and duties to maintain Zuccotti Park,” New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman wrote in a ruling issued today.

New York City police pushed into the park early this morning to remove demonstrators who had been camping there for more than eight weeks to protest inequality of wealth, unemployment and the financial industry.
“This was not about public health and safety. This was a pretext to shut down the occupation two days before a large protest is planned,” said Yetta Kurland, a lawyer for the protesters. She said they haven’t yet decided whether to appeal.

“I’m gratified Judge Stallman recognized the right of Brookfield to have rules that allow Zuccotti Park to be a clean, safe and fully accessible place,” said Douglas Flaum, a lawyer for Brookfield Office Properties Inc., which owns the park. More

CURRENT: In a Special Comment, Keith contextualizes Mayor Bloomberg’s actions against Occupy Wall Street at Zuccotti Park and how they have – unintentionally – vaulted the movement from a local nuisance to a global platform for the disenfranchised.

My 2 "What now?" Cents:
Eviction might be the best thing to happen to OWS, at this particular point in time. In every disadvantage, there's an advantage, waiting to get out... And nothing like a little cold water thrown in one's face to keep the juices flowing. This is not the time to get distracted by all the suppressing and those behind it. 
In the beginning, Occupying on Wall St., made a point because of what Wall St. is and represents. During the past two months people all over the world have occupied where and when they can. The message is what matters. Not so much the particular piece of real estate, you're standing on when you're broadcasting it.
Now that the occupiers have been evicted, they could use this time to take stock - make adjustments in planning and logistics. Now, that with winter on the doorstep - maybe find a bigger, better and possibly a more comfortable place, [as in, a place with less concrete], to occupy. The message itself, is more important than the point on the map it's coming from.
Maybe... just maybe, the time for tents is over and done. Maybe it's time for direct action. More homeowners foreclosing on banks and stuff like that. Maybe occupying in places, big corporations don't want the public to know about, like Goldman Sachs' secret aluminum storage warehouses that allow, "Major aluminum producers to make out like bandits under the Goldman warehouse regime". We have the internet. OWS has live streaming video... And no matter where the occupiers plant their tents, they can still march if they so choose... Just sayin'

Goldman Sachs is getting in the metals market, in a way no one expected.

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Retired Police Capt. Ray Lewis Arrested at OWS Protest [MSNBC Interview Included]

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"You should, by law, only use force to protect someone’s life or to protect them from being bodily injured. If you’re not protecting somebody’s life or protecting them from bodily injury, there’s no need to use force. And the number one thing that they always have in their favor that they seldom use is negotiation–continue to talk, and talk and talk to people. You have nothing to lose by that. This bullrush–what happened last night is totally uncalled for when they did not use negotiation long enough."Ret. Capt. Ray Lewis, referring to the eviction of OWS from Zuccotti Park, during which protesters were maimed and their property confiscated and probably destroyed.

Ret. Capt. Ray Lewis, arrested via Occupy Wall St. on Facebook

 NY Observer: This amazing image comes to us via tipster Lauren Thorpe, who wrote in ” I’ve been down at OWS all morning and am heading back down there again now,” with an attachment of former Philadelphia police Captain Ray Lewis, who was arrested today in conjunction with the Occupy Wall Street protests. There is simply nothing more bizarre than looking at images of a man in police uniform arrested and handcuffed by people wearing lower-ranking NYPD garb. Read more: NYObserver

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Fake Rubber Bullet Wounds: Not Helping!

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Thing of it is... the photo above, was posted by the Occupy Events group on Facebook, claiming the woman pictured is Elizabeth Ritter and this is a rubber bullet wound, she received while peacefully protesting. Ms. Ritter did indeed protest and receive more than one rubber bullet wound. It is also true that the police, laughed about it.

However, the woman pictured is NOT Elizabeth Ritter and that is NOT a rubber bullet wound. In fact, it is not a wound at all. Nor, does this have anything to do with Occupy Wall Street:

"Videos made by police photographers show officers laughing after a woman attorney, dressed in a red business suit, was shot five times with rubber bullets during a November 2003 protest of the Free Trade Summit in Miami. The woman, Elizabeth Ritter, had arrived for a court appearance and found the Miami Dade courthouse closed for security reasons. She was carrying a hastily made sign that read "Fear Totalitarianism." A video made by a Miami television station shows her being shot in the leg and the head. Police videos made later show deputies laughing and cheering about "the woman in the red dress." A sergeant is seen saying, "I don’t know who got her, but it went right through the sign and hit her smack dab in the middle of the head." The video was made public by the Miami Civilian Investigative Panel which found "demonstrators were profiled, unlawfully searched, detained and/or arrested." Read more: ABC

The image posted by Occupy Events has been cropped so the watermark doesn't show. I do not know if Occupy Events intended to fool people, or if they simply reposted this fakery from another site.This same comment about Ms. Ritter, with the link to the video of cops laughing, is posted on Current, with a note that says, "The image is not from the actual victim."

Image Source: http://lyzius.deviantart.com/art/This-is-What-s-Left-192118436 

OWS has enough real problems to deal with. Anyone on any side of the movement, cooking up fake shit DOES NOT HELP. It gives detractors, fuel for THEIR fire.
Rubber bullet wounds can indeed cause serious injury - even fracture bone and cause internal bleeding. In some cases, enough injury to lead to death. I seriously doubt, anyone with a hole this big in their face wouldn't be standing, calmly, having their picture taken. If you look closely, you can see nice neat threads in that hole, pictured, as if a screw was used to shape the hole - which was probably made with gelatin, just like in the movies.

OCCUPY THE HIGHWAY: March from OWS to DC

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MOVEON.ORG: On November 23, the so-called “Super Committee” in Congress will decide on the future of America’s middle class – and whether it will stand with the 99% or the 1%. So a group of everyday heroes from Occupy Wall Street embarked on an incredible journey.

"A heroic group of occupiers is marching the 230 miles from Occupy Wall Street to Washington, to call on the Super Committee and Congress to stand with the 99%."

Use of Force: Protesters vs Law Enforcement | Excessive Force Defined

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Daily Mail UK: Police have launched an internal investigation after a 19-year-old woman claims she suffered a miscarriage after being pepper-sprayed at an Occupy Seattle protest.
Jennifer M. Fox says police kicked her and hit her in the stomach with a bicycle at the encampment on November 15 and also doused her with pepper spray.  She says she was three months pregnant at the time.

Thing of it is... the Occupy protesters have been pepper-sprayed in the face - even while seated on the ground, shot with rubber bullets, beaten and shoved with batons and dragged by the arms and hair - sometimes while handcuffed. Police have also confiscated, destroyed and trashed protestors' property.

Nearly everyone who defends police actions, in almost very case says something similar to, "To be fair, we weren't there so don't know what everyone was experiencing or feeling. We have no way of knowing what happened before. Police are people too." 

Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, 84, after being hit with pepper spray during an Occupy Seattle protest. (Joshua Trujillo/AP). Click here for video of Dorli Rainey on Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Police need to be and are supposed to be, held to a higher standard than other citizens. Police are trained and armed. It is neither the role or the duty of law enforcement to punish. Consider the following:

"Every day, police professionals decide and act while balancing competing and conflicting values and interests, frequently with incomplete or inaccurate information, often in highly emotional and dynamic circumstances, and typically under pressure.

Police officers are held to a higher standard of behavior by society, because they are stewards of the public trust and are empowered to apply force and remove constitutional privileges when lawfully justified. They take an oath of office, are expected to comply with professional codes of ethics, and are subject to various laws, rules, and regulations.
An officer develops his or her moral compass, character, or ethical base, from interacting with other individuals and studying ethics. Ethics training for police professionals helps them do the following:

• Readily recognize an ethical problem or dilemma
• Identify various options to address the particular issue involved
• Make a rational and ethically sound choice of which option to choose
• Take prompt action based upon that choice
• Accept responsibility for the outcome

Police professionals cannot simply think ethically; they must also act ethically. Ethics training provides tools for addressing ethical problems, but the police professional must have the courage to act.

Responding to a particular situation has two components: reaction (emotions and thought) and action. The law typically focuses on the action, that is, so long as the action complies with the law, the reason is generally irrelevant.

But ethics considers not only the action but also the motivation for the action. Thus, doing the right thing for the wrong reason is not ethical. Police professionals aiming for ethical excellence must also consider motives behind behavior."

The above was not by a civilian, a public defender or an ACLU lawyer. It was taken from Police Chief Magazine, Ethics Training for Police By Tag Gleason, Captain, Seattle Police Department​, Seattle, Washington

I think, part of the problem is, law enforcement has no particular set of rules, or training to deal specifically with non-violent people in large groups. I looked and couldn't find a thing. Police - at least, in NY - also feel they have the permission of the city to do whatever they feel is necessary. Blue shirts are in the streets and so are their white shirted supervisors and law enforcement has become just as emotional as the people they're trying to keep under control. What's worse - from law enforcement's point of view - when they shut down an occupation, the protesters come right back. Well, of course they come back... They have to come back. The protesters are out there fighting for what they - and others - believe to be wrong; for their livelihoods, homes, families... their country and way of life. Law enforcement is doing a job... and that's why, the more force the police use, the more they lose for the people and entities they represent.

"Nonviolent action tends to turn the opponent's violence and repression  against his own power position, weakening it and at the same time strengthening the nonviolent group.  Because violent action and nonviolent action possess quite different mechanisms, and induce differing forces of change in the society, the opponent's repression. . . can never really come to grips with the kind of power wielded by the nonviolent actionists." [ThePolitics of Nonviolent Action, Part II.  Pp. 111-113 by Dr. Gene Sharp].

Some protesters have been hospitalized because of injuries inflicted during these incidents. The violence carried out by police - in almost every case and in my opinion - has been unprovoked, excessive and disproportional to any threat against the police themselves and the public, in general. Emotions run high. Police have the training and a duty to the public, "because they are stewards of the public trust and are empowered to apply force and remove constitutional privileges when lawfully justified." 
Question is, what is justification? Does a person deserve to be beaten, sprayed, etc., at all, in a non-violent protest? At what point is a protester no longer non-violent? Can and do the police consider being yelled at by a protester, threatening? Is being yelled at, cause for use of non-lethal force? 

UC Davis Police's Ruthless, Ragtag Approach Toward Demonstrators: 

"In a shabby spectacle, an officer empties his pepper spray canister at close range on a small group of seated individuals. The victims, mostly students, bury their heads in their shirts for protection, eventually incapacitated enough to be easily carried away. As the nearly-ten minute video progresses, though, it becomes clear that the group of officers has no exit strategy. With guns drawn, they are nearly surrounded by the overwhelming group of (still peaceful) protesters. In a rousing show of solidarity, a "mic check" is called. The protesters inform the police: "We are willing to give you a brief moment of peace; so that you may take your weapons, and our friends, and go. Please do not return. We are giving you a moment of peace." Thankfully, the cops take the hint, and slink away to the chant "you can go"". Read more: East Bay Express

Is there any reason for a police officer to pepper spray a person who has already been detained, is handcuffed and sitting on the ground, in the face? For what purpose? And in a situation like that, does it matter what happened before the person was detained? Let's say, for the sake of argument, the officer was called an ass hole. Is that a justification for non-lethal force?

The information that follows comes from the Institute of Justice and the FBI and all seems say, in so many words, that police are supposed to use the least amount of force needed and that less lethal technologies, like pepper spray are, "an alternative to using other physical force options that potentially are more dangerous to officers and suspects."

Source:http://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/officer-safety/use-of-force/welcome.htm

Less-Lethal Technologies

Police officers sometimes need to control violent, combative people. Their actions under such circumstances are governed by use-of-force protocols.

Less-lethal technologies give police an alternative to using other physical force options that potentially are more dangerous to officers and suspects. The technologies currently in use include conducted-energy devices (such as Tasers), beanbag rounds, pepper spray and stun grenades.
NIJ Focuses on Making Arrests Safer

The goal of NIJ's less-lethal program is to provide law enforcement and corrections officers with equipment that protects them and the public, reducing the possibility of injury or death. NIJ collaborates with international experts from various fields (for example, medical, scientific, military) when conducting or coordinating research. See Less-Lethal Technology Partnerships.Prominent areas of inquiry include:

• Enabling law enforcement and corrections agencies to safely deny individuals or groups access to areas.
• Making projectiles safe at any distance by modeling the technology and techniques that officers can use to deliver less-lethal force.
• Understanding the human health effects of less-lethal technologies, including chemical, kinetic energy and Conducted Energy Devices such as Tasers.
• Analyzing information about incidents of the use-of-force against humans, including the nature of the force applied and the nature of injuries suffered.

See Technology Research, Development and Evaluation Process. Go to Deciding When and How to Use Less-Lethal Devices. Source:http://www.nij.gov/nij/topics/technology/less-lethal/welcome.htm

Report Civil Rights Violations

• File a Report with Your Local FBI Office
• File a Report over Our Internet Tip Line
• Visit Our Victim Assistance Site

Resources

• Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law Statute
• Principles for Promoting Police Integrity (pdf)
• Addressing Police Misconduct Brochure
• Law Enforcement Misconduct FAQs

Source: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/civilrights/color_of_law

See also, elsewhere:

UC Davis agrees not to punish student protesters | SignOnSanDiego.com
www.signonsandiego.com/.../uc-davis-agrees-not-to-punish-student-...UC Davis agrees not to punish student protesters. Comments ( ) ... Officials at the University of California, Davis have agreed not pursue disciplinary ...

UC Davis Pepper-Spray Cops Punished, Also Defended by Ex-Cop ...
inagist.com/carr2n/138385099870846976/1 day ago – UC Davis Pepper-Spray Cops 'Punished,' Also Defended by ... sfnewsnow : UC officials to review Occupy protest policies: Two UC Davis police ...

198 Methods of Nonviolent Action These methods were compiled by Dr. Gene Sharp and first published in his 1973 book, The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Vol. 2: The Methods of Nonviolent Action. (Boston: Porter Sargent Publishers, 1973). The book outlines each method and gives information about its historical use.  http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations103a.html


Norm Stamper: Police Brutality: Deal With It: As a rookie cop, why did I abuse the very people I'd been hired to serve? Law enforcement, for the most part, doesn't pick bad apples. It makes them, and not through academy training.... Not to get too psychological, I did it because the power of my position went straight to my head; because other cops I'd come to admire did it; and because I thought I could get away with it. Which I did--until a principled prosecutor slapped me upside the head and demanded to know whether the U.S. Constitution meant anything to me. It comes down to this: real cops, those with a conscience, those who honor the law, must step up and take control of the cop culture. Read more: HP



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Thing of it is...: Fake Rubber Bullet Wounds: Not Helping!Nov 18, 2011"Videos made by police photographers show officers laughing after a woman attorney, dressed in a red business suit, was shot five times with rubber bullets during a November 2003 protest of the Free Trade Summit in Miami. ...Thing of it is...: Occupy Wall St. Evicted: What Now? [My 2 Cents]Nov 15, 2011Hundreds of New York police officers rolled into Zuccotti Park just after 1 a.m. Tuesday with a dump truck and orders to clear the park, arrest the defiant and throw away their possessions. The New York Times reported that ...
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https://www.commondreams.org/further/2011/11/14-1#.TsRnkE_Qj-1.facebook

"Justice without force is powerless; force without justice is tyrannical." ~Blaise Pascal