Anti-Zionist African Babies?

Why should a malnourished child in Burundi, Africa, hate fatties Avigdor Lieberman & Bibi Netanyahu? Can men & women who selflessly work for gender equality suddenly become anti-Semitic?

Yes. Because American politicians always bow down and kiss the fat arse of Israel's Zionist extremists. When UNESCO allowed Palestinian representation, the USA along with Israel stopped paying UNESCO dues. It's now three years (under the "progressive" regime of Barack Obama), and the USA is many hundreds of millions of dollars in arrears. These would be funds for the poorest of the poor, assisting people in horrible difficulties.

Military and assorted other growing aid from the USA continues to flow to wealthy Israel -- billions of Yankee dollars, a tribute to one vocal minority whose suffering supposedly justifies any form of cruelty to other peoples.

Cameron Threatens Queen

UK Prime Minister David Cameron dislikes (link) how Europe selects leaders - but his outburst undercuts his own long-serving British sovereign, as Her Majesty ... "did not stand anywhere and was not elected by anyone."

The Tory PM might be invited to depart 10 Downing Street to reside in the Tower of London.

Cantor's Disgrace

US House Majority Leader Republican Eric Cantor lost his Virginia primary election to an underfunded, little known opponent. Republican Party spin-Meisters seek to pin the loss on a single issue - they're partly right: that issue is that Eric Cantor is worse than a pile of shit.

Too many people in America are disgusted as the Republican Party do nothing except reward the ultra-rich. The Republican mantra of "Just Say No" to policymaking is easy, and an empty chair costs almost nothing compared to the publicly funded riches Cantor has squirreled away.

Republicans waste our money. But so do professional windbags such as Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry & Hillary Clinton. Rather than reelect such knuckleheads, we'd do better electing a Hello Kitty doll.

Obama-Reinfeldt to Head EU?

The BBC slyly mentions (link) that lame-duck Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt is jockying to be appointed head of the European Commission.

This would be a mistake. The rightist Swedish PM is a slightly better choice than weasely Tony Blair, but either is too clearly Uncle Sam's willing tool. Reinfeldt has provided great service and he need never work again -- it's best he don't.

The European Commission should not be controlled by Obama or other puppet-masters. America has ample reason to undercut European competition and the euro -- they resent any counterbalance to Yankee domination. All rhetoric aide, the militarists hate Europe's newly peaceful coexistence. The EU has also tackled how multinationals abuse consumers, and has provided protections in other ways North American governments have failed to assist their citizenry.

Fishy in Korea

South Korea has a vibrant democracy. But democratic processes are seriously threatened by organized right-wing efforts to stifle & shift opinion.

Korea gave birth to one of the worst, most flagrant, anti-democratic efforts among advanced OECD nations -- when Korea's National Intelligence Service worked officially in late 2013 to create massive internet support for one party and presidential hopeful, and to vilify and smear another presidential candidate. This goes far beyond party politics - it's a stab to the heart of democracy that even partisan supporters should condemn.

Korea's Cyber Warfare Command, Psychological Warfare Division of the National Intelligence Service, have performed shamefully. Even if ordered by higher-ranked officials to comply with such illegal operations, they should have refused. There should be mechanisms and processes to prevent this type of outrage & sabotage: a vibrant & free press, an ombudsman system, protection for whistleblowers, etc. Instead, the press subsequently has been systematically threatened by the President's Office.

Don't believe that Korea lacks passionate and honorable people. There are many such hardworking people throughout Korea. But their nation is undermined by an arrogant and powerful minority. Such people of wealth & power are ultimately responsible for the Sewol ship sinking tragedy by ignoring safety measures, and behind Samsung's poor conditions for their armies of irregular workers. But we share responsibility if purchasing their blood-spattered products or honoring stooge leaders.

More on Korea's Psy-Ops Election Sabotage at:
http://askakorean.blogspot.jp/2013/11/presidential-election-and-spy-agency.html

Sad Samsung ?

Last week I visited the Samsung Electronics flagship showroom building in Gangnam, South Korea. Inside, it was cool and modern, with many high-tech gadgets and well-displayed top-line Samsung products. There were assorted 'experience' areas where we could enjoy super graphics. The staff was smiling & professional. Last Saturday morning there were very few other visitors.

The building itself was nice from the outside, but marred by being surrounded by police vans -- dozens parked bumper-to-bumper around the block, and hundreds of riot police spookily marching back & forth.

Like low Samsung prices? They come at the expense of the people working on Samsung products.

Samsung uses an army of irregular workers paid substandard wages. Labor is protesting corporate insensitivity. Many stories are pitiful, some have ended in suicide. Samsung management is reportedly highly vindictive, retaliating against activists. More about the worker struggle here (link).

Samsung is famous for demanding a lot from its workers (one Japanese potential new hire told me Samsung required working 13 of 14 days - every other Sunday off). Their products seemed to me overly shiny, but now the shine is dulled knowing Samsung megacorporation cares little for people.

But most giant organizations care nothing for regular folk. Until we citizens agree to reign-in corporate cruelty, welcome to reality: the Hunger Games.

Let's hope Samsung can manage to create a sustainably strong team that supports the aspirations and balanced living of their workers. A truly caring company can win admiration & loyalty from consumers around the world 

3D American Leadership

The poor performance of the Obama administration began in the reign of his predecessor, Emperor George W. Bush, when America's leadership collaborated to funnel trillions of public dollars to crony private interests in the banking, finance and industrial sectors. Disgusting!

Democrats were hopeful that Obama would institute change, but his reign is most marked by deceit.

Deceptive statements on spying & espionage, along with extrajudicial killing of US citizens, all with no accountability, demonstrate disdain for the American people and disregard for democracy.

Any idea these dipshits are defending us is absurd; they attract vermin & vendetta relating to their innocent victims. The problems stretch beyond incompetence - Bush, Cheney & Rice (for example) are perhaps guilty of war crimes. They themselves should privately fund their own defense.

Edward Snowden stepped forward with important information about "rotten government" - but thousands of government-paid collaborators continue revealing nothing due to confusion or fear. All criticism or feedback highlighting the secret police is suppressed. Dangerous!

Eurotrashing

The Anglo-American press smells blood, and has redoubled its trash talking of Europe, the EU, the euro, etc.

Recognize the European Union threatens Anglo-American hegemony. And the militarists hate Europe -- a new model for peace.

Before we bitch about costs and the EU parliament, think about how in the past we've had almost no input about national defense spending. Friendly relations helped cut that spending, and the dividend must include human lives snatched from the talons of militarism.

Most of our own government's activities are out of our hands, much kept top secret, regardless of democracy. We've had no leverage against huge multinational corporations. By minimizing internal borders, the European Union has brought huge savings by cutting bureaucracy. No more visas, getting rousted at 2AM on the train for passport checks and customs inspections. Many people easily commute everyday to work across borders. We're no longer gouged by predatory opportunistic firms in neighbor nations taking advantage of our foreignness - the EU seeks to upgrade and equalize treatment of all people.

Before trashing Europe, think of the alternative: visualize yourself on a battlefield. That's where you'll be dumped by right-wing chauvinism. Learn instead: the politics of hate profit none of us.

(The puppet-masters who do profit ain't us).

"Man Up" Mr. Kerry

John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, urges others to "man up" - while he himself peddles shit.

Kerry proved courageous in the Vietnam war, but since then grew fat & distant. He should spend a few months walking around Afghanistan and the Middle East, meeting people harmed by terror (which he himself partly unleashed). He can hitchhike to places complaining of misguided drone attacks, and better understand the problems of those not mega-rich American bluebloods. But of course he'll continue only meeting people vetted, screened and highly disinfected. He started life tough; Kerry's now a pussy.

Of course he'll continue deceiving the dumbest Yanks, but everyone else knows - his words are empty & foolish.  

Insider or Out

Just watched a string of TV show commercials, and saw a remarkable trend.

A lot of shows depict "public servants" - government workers of some sort (LAPD, CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order) often teamed with a non-conformist civilian (The Mentalist, Fringe). Government police & intel work are depicted attractively, though viewers are forewarned -- excitement has costs (Burn Notice). You must be an insider or you're caste ignorant.

(Needless to say, our "heroes" are not burdened by budget fundraising or much bureaucratic paperwork).

I'd like to write much more, but watch too little TV. Recall Nancy Reagan - Just Say No.

Poisoned Nature

Just reread a BBC article (link here) that looks at Chernobyl's radiation poisoning as a joyful bonanza for the animal world.

Headline: "Wildlife defies Chernobyl radiation" it's apologist rubbish. The author, Stephen Mulvey of BBC News, should take his family for alternate holidays to Chernobyl, Fukushima, and perhaps your local nuclear waste dump soon-to-be-disaster-zone.

  

Bent or Ambitious?

Another bit of news from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where four local-focused radio stations were recently bought by Clear Channel, "the largest owner of radio stations in the country."

Perhaps the new owners will introduce more local components, provide more jobs, or otherwise positively contribute to the communities on Cape Cod. The president of Quantum Communications, the former owner, put the purchase value in the tens of millions of dollars (Cape Cod Times, 16 May).

But what looks like a white knight could instead be an asset-sucking parasite.

When the big banks & financial groups of the USA were financially rescued with public funds, the bailout fundamentally undermined the US system -- it's now clearly crony capitalism.

The world of big business is often counter-intuitive. Lavishly-paid executives purchase first class services for themselves, but harangue staff members to work with less and for less. Clear Channel may be different, but they may be desperate debtors. The Times quotes Billboard magazine noting Clear Channel is $20.5 billion in debt. Should such a group be lecturing anyone on belt tightening? In their fancy suits they're worse than poor, they are mega destitute. But the American Way is now to look the prospect in the eye, smile and rumble onward. Clear Channel surely keeps a "finger in many pies" around the world, advertising, billboards, entertainment, transmission towers ('vertical real estate'), even bicycle sharing or 'mobile advertising' in nearly a dozen European cities. They're now tightly connected to Mitt Romney's old outfit, Bain Capital, which led them into private ownership in 2008.

Don't imagine the companies or individuals mentioned here are involved in any flim flam. But if they were, we couldn't know. The limited liability shell game relies upon the American s̶u̶c̶k̶e̶r̶s̶ people to fuel their party, too often supported by corrupt politicians. Remember the Enron meltdown? NASDAQ Former Chairman Bernard Madoff's wealth management operations? As with American hero Lance Armstrong, it looks pretty good till it shatters or explodes. Good Grief!

Tragedy & Hubris

The recent sinking of the MV Sewol in Korea (세월호침몰사고) was a terrible disaster. Over 260 people drowned unnecessarily. Most of the trapped were young people; some no doubt survived in air pockets for minutes or hours before succumbing in the cold & darkness. 

Korea celebrates her achievements alone, and now perhaps believes this tragedy is hers alone. But we live in a global world - any of us could have been a passenger on the doomed ship. I've myself traveled six times to Jeju (not yet by boat), but also often travel on cruise ships (across the Baltic, around Japan, touring the Adriatic, etc.). Many travelers have faced danger from overloading, poor management, inadequate safety planning, etc. Many around the world pray for those lost & their families, and we hope the lessons of the Sewol tragedy are not soon forgotten.

Part of the problem was poor oversight. It's too easy for this type of accident to occur in Korea's "hurry-hurry" society. Leadership is often untrustworthy. Revealing contempt & distrust of authority some days after the Sewol sinking was a Seoul subway accident on 2nd May (link here). The BBC reported "A witness said many passengers ignored an onboard announcement telling them to stay inside and forced the doors open, escaping on to the tracks." They probably put themselves in added danger, but preferring to act somehow and take care of themselves. 

Are Koreans so different from the rest of the world? Surely there are many people elsewhere who foolishly trust their leaders. Government transparency and strong regulatory safety are essential elements to continued success. Unfortunate cheating endangers us all. Insensitive corporations often abuse government officials to advance private profits over public health.

Humanity mourns those lost. They could have contributed widely, but...

Goodbye Internet?

The FCC is presently under the control of Tom Wheeler, a former industry lobbyist. Wheeler's trying to eviscerate & destroy the concept of net neutrality in the USA, hoping to allow content discrimination and censorship by broadband service providers.

These corporations are already ominously powerful. In many regions of the USA, a single company has monopoly provider position. They enjoy protected profits, with privileged access to government.

Already, former FCC chairman Michael Powell serves industry as President & CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (one of Wheeler's old lobbying posts). When Wheeler was to be appointed FCC Chairman, a key industry insider noted (link) "Wheeler undoubtedly will have a light regulatory touch in all matters" -- and that forecast has been all too true. Wheeler's reportedly a nice person in a difficult position. Could anyone expect him to strongly resist Washington's wholly-legal revolving door between lobbyists and policy makers? Thus far his services to industry greatly outweigh any effort at public service.

If corporations dictate what information you can receive, your choices will be far fewer. Allowing businesses & politicians to mess with content is a huge mistake. The internet is a public utility that should not be controlled by political parties or corporations. Surely you'll not be allowed to read non-profit low budget output such as this blog. You can be certain griwdhndn47//#v

Wasteful Riches

I can sympathize with an argument that creative & productive people should be paid for their efforts, and how society vitally needs such people.

But that ain't all we need. There is far too much waste and underutilization of people and materials because of stockpiled wealth among the mega-rich.

How many millions of people are unemployed?  How many billions of people are under-employed? These are social costs. Richy doesn't care at all...

Sometimes only a few drops of oil are necessary to fix a sticky machine. But fail to lubricate -- and a few small parts can bring the whole factory and system to a halt.

We need living wages. We need social investment.

Less militarism, more humanity.

Vote for the Pimp?

There's reportedly an upswell in Egypt against US/UK-trained  military strongman Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Surely the violence el-Sisi unleashed at Rabaa (14 Aug 2013) was terrible, butchering thousands. CC also demanded the heavy-handed mass death sentences imposed on his many enemies.

Who's pulling el-Sisi's strings? Those powers behind him don't care for Egypt. Surely these harsh cycles of violence and polarization have deeply wounded Egypt with scars to last for decades. The tourist industry is in shambles. The upcoming "election" is a stage-managed joke. Soldier/murderers roam the streets & seek to control all public interaction. Journalists are "detained" for months without bail. The world seems to have abandoned Egyptians to their captors, though there's some hope (link) the continuing repression might be investigated by the International Criminal Court. Common citizens of Egypt try to survive this newly-imported brutality & fear.

Film clips (here) allow a taste of official savagery. Terrible!

A wonderful culture and caring people reduced to tearing at itself...

انتخبوا العرص

Democracy?

Like a dumb kid prodding at his or her injury, I look again at the U.S. Government.

Certainly there are hundreds of thousands of government employees (including military and intel people and secret police) who faithfully do their jobs. Each is a career worker who cares.

But there are also elected officials who control the lot. Even when not fairly elected, each is sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution and serve the nation's people.

How could a shithole like George W. Bush get elected? He'd not have finished high school if not for family leverage.

Maybe he didn't get elected. Someone 'cooked the books' and Bush was appointed. Twice.

Then it was so clear nobody was voting Republican, so Obama was appointed.

The only way 'our democracy' could support the huge fascist apparatus of secret police and torture camps and worldwide militarism is when it ain't democracy at all. Does secretive US spy pharaoh James Clapper support democracy?  It's his enemy !

The Comfort of Loss

A beautiful Spring day - birds chirping, smells of grass & flowers on a soft breeze.

Who wants to think about politics? So dirty, increasingly obscene. Big government crushing people in favor of a small elite. Shameless deception driving nations to senseless wars. Receiving a flag for your fallen family member, or a $211 payoff for loss of a limb, and belatedly understanding it's all a scam.

Economics is no better. Work hard, pay your bills, steadily get ahead? But a speculative bubble suddenly engulfs your home equity. You lose everything, yet you watch big government bailout wealthy bankers and industrialists. Or perhaps your retirement fund depreciated due to 'bad investments' that favored insiders, or maybe corporate reorganization allowed new (lower) pension calculations?

The bottom line? You're fucked. To ask an elected representative for help is an option. But it's as likely to flag your file as a troublemaker as to generate justice. Eat grief - and more misery is coming.

Recognize now - the domestic war already began; your side lost. Reason, justice, fairness, are words our masters use to wipe their butts. Your best option is organizing strategic retreat.

The USA created a chain of torture sites, illegal concentration camps, around the world. The USA is shamelessly killing its opponents & also its own citizens extra-judicially with drone weapons. Spending on military, on police, and on prisons is unlimited. Big industry says the nuclear waste dump built beachside is perfectly safe. They lie. There is no oversight - the torturers & murderers & profiteers answer to no one.

Find a bit of peace if you can. Retreat to the hills. Don't worry anymore about rising Fascism - it's already at the helm.

War & Weapons Winners

Yesterday Japan began construction of a new military base some 6o miles from Taiwan on Yonaguni Island (link), roughly 400 miles southwest of the Japanese mainland. Forward deployment of troops, weaponry and intelligence gathering functions are planned for Yonaguni base, which is also about 6o miles from the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands.

Munitions makers and arms dealers are surely cheered by the news. As tensions cooled around the European Union, many large markets for weapons systems dried up. But Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea can raise huge amounts of money for "security" expenses. Taxpayers in those nations have no leverage to resist -- it's all patriotic and grand.

Japan is Bad

This is a follow-up to my earlier post, Japan is Good (link)

After two weeks in Japan, here are some negative findings:

-- Most bus stops in Tokyo are without roof cover or benches.

-- Such extensive plastic packaging! Wasteful layer on layer...

-- Rather scuzzy apartment buildings take ultra-grand names:
    zzzz "Royal Heights" or "Palace" or "Grand Villa" ...

-- Use of gauze face masks by public workers has increased.
    Perhaps 50% of such people are masked.
    It's difficult to hear a voice through a mask.

-- Noise pollution. Too many announcements continuing too long.

-- Employers require a standard health check - 健康診断.
    I had to push hard at the clinic to get a copy of my own data.
    It's as if the population are lab rats. We are not 「 マルタ 」 !

-- (Positively, there is great care in food presentation, but : )
    Negatively, behind the form, can be horrible fabrication.
    I've received thin tiny slices of processed frankenfoods.
    Pleasing to the eye, but poor taste & maybe even dangerous...
    Some food & drink coloring agents are unnaturally garish.
 
-- Fabrication is too often of poor substance. Surface finishing of
    buildings and public works is good, but substandard materials 
    soon deteriorate. Instead of wood & brick, it's fancy plywood
    and artificially concocted thin veneers that flake away to soon
    expose rust & cheap filler products. Surface beauty, with
    doubt inside.

-- Japan remains a monoculture in a multi-ethnic world.
    It's still very tribal here, perhaps racist. Imperial Japan
    promoted itself in the late 1930s as putting "all corners of
    the world under one roof" and for Co-Prosperity, but the
    reality then & now puts non-Japanese Asians as inferior
    (other peoples & races are valued as zoo critters).
    Not everyone feels or acts negatively if a non-Japanese
    human is near, but it's tough to swim against the tide...

Japan is Good

After two weeks in Japan, here are a few positive impressions:

-- So many flowering trees! In the parks, in people's gardens, along many rivers & streams. Great!

-- Food preparation care is typically high-quality. Attention to detail is really nice.

-- I had my first real smell of Spring the other day. Wow!

-- Tiny kids are commuting by themselves. It's weird but reassuring seeing such minis out & about.

-- There's much kindness here in the midst of crush & hurry.

I'm sure to remember more & add them later.
Japan's bad points will go in another post (link)...

Left Wing Snot

Reading masses of arguments & 'reports' by left-wing journalists & candy-ass lefty bloggers,  99% boils down to being clueless.

It's a jungle out there. Can lefty wake up in time?

America is beautiful, but we're deadly. We kill & torture. We pry, we spy & we lie. Deal with it. 

Lab rats live brief lives. We kill chickens & pigs & lots of cute critters - good eating. One day you folks could become the next meal option. Supersize it all.

Our rich folk own the rest of us. You'd better kiss ass to get along. 
Even the more well-off had best know their place.

In God's eyes, most of us are semi-precious...

Work hard & dream! But we're in a race for survival. Imagine the 100m where the favored start 90m ahead; they win, take the prizes, and also make the rules & laws.

Enjoy the natural world. B'fore Mr. Richy rapes it dead.

Japon toujours

La brièveté et ...
Une belle histoire collective
Maintenant, sakura !
 

Question of Need

We "must do this" and "need do" that
say the lying sacks of shit

Hired lips in Washington

Bernie Madoff billions

Whoever can you trust
It sure ain't them.

Spend our money
That's the least of it

Take your life
Enslave your kids
To militarize the world

Each suffering elder
Learns indignities
Before an early death

Lonely
Unavengable

The Master Race
is unconcerned

Erosion of the beach
A point of interest
Njoy while you can

The Greatest Target

Muhammad Ali.  Cassius Clay.  He surely riled The Man.

Listen (*) to his political speeches & banter.

Then, Ali was struck-down. 
Unnaturally convenient...

Where might someone leak a truly dark story?

Suffocation Torture

It's terrible the USA admittedly tortures people.

It's illegal to torture convicts. It's worse torturing people not yet charged or convicted, using torture to punish and intimidate. Torture is always illegal.

The 'waterboarding' euphemism is a deliberate fun park phrase. Let's be clear - suffocation is horrible, forcibly restrained, fighting for air, suffering pounding heart & quaking panic, knowing death by suffocating murder is within seconds.  Torture.

The torturers and those who protect them are criminal.

Swedish people believe our government should follow international law & condemn crime. We expect bold complaints, as we see ourselves as law-abiding & neutral. Sadly, our present Government of Sweden is corrupted by empty dreams of power - Swedish leaders say little and do nothing about continuing torture programs by the USA.

Moderate Swedish Tiger

Color my World

BBC editors map the Crimea (link) and color-out Russia, which is also clipped-away as peripheral. The map looks different if simply changing the color layout -- especially when the Crimea nears the color of Russia...

Here's the BBC map, and a recolor (without needed recropping):

(With poor understanding of events in the Crimea, Ukraine and Russia, I'll sadly know less if looking to US media or the BBC for perspective).

Formerly the BBC tried, somewhat reliably, to maintain a level of neutrality with their reporting. But since the deceitful reign of Tony Blair, the editorial slant has swung decidedly to the right -- in support of an (imagined) resurgent British Empire, "justified" militarism, and comprehensive corporate power, while no longer providing counterviews.

Right-Wing Hungers

Right-wing thugs in the Crimea push the rest of the people towards Russia - which is actively intervening.

Similarly, right-wing thugs seek to ignite national change in Venezuela. Global oil and the USA happily feed the fires of treason & insurrection.

The Russian gambit combines boots on the ground with democratic choice. Yankee South America continues the Dulles-Kissinger tradition and favors espionage & death squads.

Common folk hunting for food get caught underfoot as fierce hungry brutes maraud for enhanced resources, blood & power.

Camera Cap ?

Haiku by Genki :

Welcome to breakfast !
Webcam without lens cover
Window to the Soul...

Cubicle farm spy
Master of the Universe?
Snowy spilled the beans

Target Sweden?

The U.S. National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee was meeting at the White House with Vice President Cheney on 19 June 2002 with Cheney describing US cybersecurity partnerships (IEEE Spectrum, Dec. 2013, p27). The "Five Eyes" of the USA, UK, Canada, NZ,  & Australia were reported obvious partners, but as Dick Cheney began to describe a further partner that would "really surprise you" -- a security alert suddenly evacuated the room as an unidentified plane broached government-restricted airspace. The alert passed, but the conversation never continued. In "Writing the Rules of Cyberwar" author Kark Rauscher claims to have built his life's work around discovering Cheney's further suggestion. Is the cyberwar ally an Asian power? or Israel? ... or perhaps Sweden? ...

Sweden's leaders are very chummy with America, while posturing as neutral. Eager politicians in Stockholm want to be global players, and they trade Sweden's services for a few crumbs from Yankee's table. Can a mere nine-million Swedes truly secure a place at the global main table? Are Sweden's politicians naively trading national security for personal aggrandizement? Sweden gained leverage from neutrality in past world wars, and from being a (continuing) key member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission monitoring the Korean truce. Sweden was a leading Cold War critic of US intervention in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, but also negotiated secret US military security guarantees against Soviet aggression. The strident anti-imperialism of Olof Palme brought Sweden much attention, but those years ended abruptly. The Cold War melted to a new mercantilism, and Sweden is open to trade. Can we, should we, play & fight with the big boys?

Sweden's Prime Minister & Foreign Minister -- Great Success ?!

On Sweden's end the butt-licking has continued from Social-Democrat to Moderate, from US Republican to Democrat. Försvarets radioanstalt, Sweden's National Defence Radio Establishment or FRA, has been subsequently widely reported an eager tool of US signal intelligence operations (see this link or a Pirate Party critique here). Of course, this brings Swedes into the cross-hairs and adds danger ...

Exciting?  Swedish foreign correspondent Nils Horner's murder this week in central Kabul cast a chill over many in Stockholm, who believe (believed) Swedish people were above the fray. This sudden tragedy shows a danger to becoming involved in big geopolitical games.

Can the USA protect us always?

Nuclear Waste Depository

Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station and Nuclear Waste Storage Facility are too similar to Fukushima.

It's a recipe for disaster.

People are foolishly unaware of the problem.

D I S A S T E R  !

Could it be more clear?

We can at least demand truth in labeling: 
 - nuclear generators &
- nuclear waste depositories
should be properly indicated.

Local people are misled by the hidden & mislabeled Nuclear Waste Depository.

Demand appropriate & separate labeling.

No euphemisms, no disguise.

Nuclear waste bottles-up the gateway to Cape Cod.

Vacation at your peril. Accident means NO ESCAPE

Feast of the Jackals

We hear of trouble only

     when they feed on each other ...

Senate investigates CIA "intimidation of investigators"  (link)

Feinstein accuses ... CIA torture  (link)

Costly SPI

SPI, Secret Police Investigations, have infiltrated almost every computer. The shadowy American secret police can reportedly monitor most of our conversations.

Aside from the disagreeable image of Barack Obama, General Alexander, Admiral Rogers, General Clapper, General Petraeus & CIA Chief Brennan worming & sneaking like furtive rats into my bed & my crapper (along with ghostly buddy Reichsführer-SS Himmler) -- it's a highly costly effort.

They tell us these secret police investigations are necessary, and don't hurt at all. 

But the programs take funds from school lunch budgets, highway safety and public health. Spying cultivates a fundamental distrust. Lesser class people recognize powerlessness. We have allowed the bosses to construct an intrusive government, without sufficient protections against brutality, error and corruption.

Hårvård ? Harvard? Harvard®

Hårvård  Harvard  Harvard®  rah rah rah

Hårvård is Swedish for "hair care" -- with nearly a million (link) web mentions. But Swedes commonly drop their Swedish characters when using internet, substituting the Latin alphabet's "a" or "o" for Swedish letters å and ä or ö.

Swedes may laugh if visualizing a hair care university, but there's no true confusion with the great US institution of higher education. Trademark lawyers might salivate if imagining their billing for reconciling "easily confused" terminology. But it's the merchants, lawyers & private interests who deliberately infringe on our common heritage by re-purposing keywords and trading on generic goodwill.

It's a topic to lampoon, but language becomes tricky when generic words clash with multi-billion dollar trade names. Apple® Inc. uses the imagery of an apple - a conscious choice. Maybe the industry wonks now feel the humble fruit infringes on their business? An apple for the teacher has become more expensive.

A Picture of Pehr Kalm

I've enjoyed reading Travels in North America, an English translation of Pehr Kalm's En Resa til Norra America.

Also known as Peter Kalm or Pietari Kalm, he wrote of his research & travel along North America's east coast from 1748-1751. A protégé of Carl Linnaeus, and in the close scientific lineage of Johannes Palmberg, Kalm was commissioned in 1747 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to explore and report about the natural sciences in the New World, with a special eye for agriculture that might prove promising for Sweden - notably, mulberry for the silk industry. He was then a 31-year old professor, both highly skilled & energetic enough to succeed on a multi-year voyage. He subsequently returned to Sweden and served as professor and three-time rector of Turun Akatemiaan (Royal Academy of Turku; Kungliga Akademien i Åbo), until his death age 63 in 1779.

Kalm met & worked alongside many key scientists of the day, including Benjamin Franklin.

I'd like to find pictures or drawings of Pehr Kalm - the image in his Wikipedia entry is reportedly disputed. Surely such an influential person would have drawn attention...

 

Figure skating fiasco?

The Sochi Olympic Women's Figure Skating finished yesterday, with Adelina Sotnikova of Russia winning gold, and defending champion Yuna Kim of Korea winning silver.

Korea's newspapers today are full of criticism about the competition. Some reports very precisely cite bias & error (link). Some in Korea now call this the "Suchi" 수치 Olympics, using a word for humiliation or black eye. There's a great global search for allies abroad - people & reports who reconfirm: Yuna Kim and the people of Korea were robbed.

I know the extent 김연아 is beloved by the Korean people. And she surely gave a very strong performance. But good sportsmanship at minimum requires we also consider Sotnikova's performance - which surely was excellent, and perhaps she had more sparkle.

Kim seemed a bit tired and bored - not wholly the dynamic elegant brilliance we've much enjoyed in the past.

Consider Kim's short program:
"Send in the Clowns" is a dark song, full of regret. It talks of farce, fools, and "Losing my timing this late in my career..."

Sorry. Not an uplifting theme.

Was Ms. Yuna Kim predicting -- even forcing -- her own rejection?
"Making my entrance again with my usual flair.  Sure of my lines. No one is there..."

Here are additional analyses: for Sotnikova (link)  and for Kim and here's an NBC scored & annotated video comparing their performances (search for sotnikova-kim-free-skate-routines-side-side if link is dead).

Congratulations to all Olympic competitors !

Here's one further great analysis, by Joe Posnanski (link).

I prefer track & field. Athletics measures time, distance and height objectively, with far less subjective judgement and minimal potential for referee interference (events hotly contested in Olympia 2800 years ago). Perhaps, in present form, figure skating & synchronized swimming should not be Olympic sports at all. Should we add further medals for aerobics & square dancing, pottery & violin?

Sắm? mua sắm

I've never studied Vietnamese.

If born a few years earlier, I'd perhaps have been sent
by my government to Vietnam as  (choose one):
  · an emissary of peace
  · a pawn of imperialism
  · fertilizer

Anyhow, we in America now enjoy hard-fought freedoms won in part by the Vietnam carnage:  We've no required military servitude (draft, selective service) thanks to the sacrifices of Vietnam. No longer can America's wealthy, aging evil arseholes use federal funding to beat & brainwash our youth - shipping them abroad, forcing conflict with local enemy young'uns to battle unto death.

That American process is now open solely to volunteers  (and this season they're battling elsewhere).

But back to the word sắm - a word for the war we fought and lost - "SHOPPING"  - (sắm means "shopping" in Vietnamese).

Better shopping than suffering... But we were told the Vietnamese people were threatened with hell. That's why America & its allies bombed everywhere, and killed with abandon.

Why did we fight?   Did the average shopper win?   An online image search for  sắm  (link) shows scenes that might highly disturb the 50,000+ Americans (and 5000+ South Koreans, and 500+ Aussies) sent to horrible deaths in Vietnam. We killed over a million people in Vietnam, and badly lost (!?)   Was it simply corn-fed Daddy Warbucks vs. Tycoon asiatica? President Nixon & Nobel-laureate Henry Kissinger warned of horrors and fed us lies. Travel to Vietnam -- see for yourself. The shadow of war is unpopular with Vietnam's youth. But asking questions is vital to us, because America still fights elsewhere. Every American should examine the perversity of U.S. government deceit & understand it extends well beyond Dirty Dick Cheney. Our history of slavery, and genocide (native Americans), should indicate a need for careful checks-and-balances to counter psychopathic abuse of weaker folk.

"sắm" and "mua sắm" -- let's go shopping ...
It seems we fought for consumerism, for shopping, for love of profit and glitz.

Let's pray our leaders don't mislead us.
But expect they do & will....

sắm.com

Social Disgrace

Last Friday my former school district (where I was a student) decided to layoff 42 staff members, including eleven regular teachers, due to lack of funds. It's now the middle of the school year - an outrageous time for layoffs.

America funds overseas adventurism and costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We keep huge permanent military bases in Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Germany, etc., and give bountiful aid monies to Egypt's puppet military rulers and to Israel...

The local school district claims the cause of budget problems is "special education" for children diagnosed with irregularities. More reasonably, such funding should come from the national budget, but social services are also threatened there.

Thus we've not enough money to run decent schools in America...

Education of the average kid now comes from Fox News, CBS, Disney, MS-NBC, etc.

The result is permanent subservience. Sure, a local child might secure success as a hip-hop artist or pro golfer. But for most onward opportunities, the public school kids won't be competitive with kids from more proper private schools.

Our communities create more & more restless proles, shut out from the elite workforce.

But this "elite workforce" is actually insecure. Employers typically cannot be loyal to staff. A business downturn or supply source recalculation may mean any worker might suddenly be told to clear their desk and escorted from the workplace. 

So in fact we must help train young people to become more self-reliant, more entrepreneurial, and more independent. It's either that or our youth is only prepared to be mired in low-wage service jobs.

GOP Dunderheads

The Republican Party of the USA treats people as idiots.

They gave us Vice-President Dan Quayle, who dreaded travel to Latin America cause he never studied Latin. We were saddled with George W. Bush, an idiot & asshole who only advanced past 8th grade cause Daddy was rich and Grampa could get you fired. Sarah Palin is another washout - an icy drip to fade away unless summary justice finds her first...

Republicans offer shit, then beg us to forget: Nixon, John Mitchell, Robert Bork, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, Palin, Mitt Romney. Each a scumbag loser no more momentous than yesterday's trash. They each fade to rich retirement while the typical American gets nothing but grief. Thank Republicans each time you're reamed (& Democrat dogs won't help - Wake Up - to the cost of apathy!).

Don't Sit Back

      Complacency  =  Consent  =  Captivity

Conquer Babylon!

Corruption & blackmail are cunning, quick-growing, costly parasites.

Americans today are taught it's discourteous to talk politics; meanwhile, politicians steal our wealth. Our kids are shipped abroad by the military: to kill & die for some asshole's greater profits.  

Grey grit, icy stairs
The world outside is frightful
Conquer Babylon!

"引蛇出洞"

Blizzard!

It's foolish to slowly release the "Snowstorm snippets" of Edward Snowden.

Snowy and his cohorts could be terminated any time.

Spread the information now around the world. Let's see how we've each been raped.

Show Us the Information.

Super Bowl Tuesday?

What if 2 teams forever challenged the Super Bowl?

Their fans choose the lineup.

Seems like a bad idea? Welcome to politics USA, where Election Day offers Republican Dickwad vs. Democrat Dork. Both funded by (and fully indebted to) Richie Rich.

Keep telling yourself -- it's the best system possible.
Baaaa--

 

Poisoned Trust - NSA

Let's assume the NSA is well-meaning and truly trying to promote public welfare.

(In fact, I'm skeptical - I believe the NSA and its private contractors serve corporate interests and other paymasters before they get around to helping us common folk, but...) Let's assume the costly secretive spying is non-political, public-spirited, purposeful and professional.

A key problem is that comprehensive monitoring and data accumulation by the NSA shreds & dirties the provider-customer compact. If a firm asks us to take a survey or seeks feedback, we must assume our responses are copied to government databases and ultimately not confidential. Participation increases our secret police files. As threatened in elementary school - "it goes into your permanent record!"

NSA = Nothing Secure Anymore

Major telecom providers, hardware vendors, and software service companies have become untrustworthy. Their hands are tied. The upshot: our secret police implanted uncertainty & distrust into all our telecom relationships -- the insecurity is very costly for otherwise competitive American businesses.

Poisoned trust does far more damage than a few crazed zealots could inflict.

Transient or Immigrant?

I've been a transient, I've been an immigrant. They are different conditions.

Communities invest in themselves, which creates a prosperous society. Communities need not accept & support everyone around the world who demands access and use of local common or private resources.

By investing in local development, places become more attractive. Visitors are typically welcome as tourists. But this does not mean that transient visitors must be given part of the common wealth. If we're forced to accept all comers, and cannot make rules limiting support, we become swamped. With diminishing incentives to invest, our better communities are targets to deteriorate.

Our rules and laws on inheritance and immigration are not always fair. But lack of law is worse.

The Massachusetts legislature is considering an appeal to allow those in the state illegally to obtain an official Massachusetts driving license, typically used for identification (link). This is a big mistake.

Undocumented workers undercut & erode community. This isn't to say such people are uncivil or bad, but they ultimately assert we've no right to administer our systems -- that their personal saga supersedes law.

Illegal residents are difficult to protect -- their lack of status leaves them open to shakedowns & manipulation. Many become victims to sexual abuse & economic blackmail (link). To attract & encourage more illegal residents is reckless & costly.

We can encourage immigration and enforce our immigration laws.
Let's welcome proper immigrants & refugees, and respect the law.

Media Enslaved

Most media serves the interests of its corporate owners or our political masters.

There was no independent media in Nazi Germany or Fascist Japan. What existed was systematically crushed. Dissent was punished.

Today there are fewer concentration camps and summary executions.

We've more opportunities for independent media to operate. Sure, we've far too many secret police, with the inherent corruption of the corporate state. Not enough people recognize the domination and tyranny of big corporate media.

Look at news reports of Edward Snowden. Yesterday, Snowy was interviewed on German ARD TV; his comments were noted around the world.

Hundreds of international news reports described U.S. industrial espionage & NSA focused spying on individuals (such as tapping allied German leader Angela Merkel's phone).

But many U.S. media outlets avoided controversy & reported nothing. The Google news consolidator ("U.S. edition") failed to list the story, and search revealed another disturbing slant.

American media focused on Snowden's claims to be under personal threat. The private drama was the lead & headline for a large percentage of American news reports -- not state-sponsored espionage, blackmail, corruption, fundamentally-compromised data, and the tremendous waste of tax monies.

Wake up dum fux.

  

Our Poor

Our modern society is worse than the Victorians in terms of avoiding unpalatable discussions. They avoided sexuality, we avoid poverty & injustice.

Obama disusses "income inequality" -- not pain & hunger. 

BBC News recently reported on the municipal public showers in Toulouse (link). Wise readers will recognize they themselves might suddenly be pushed to poverty and need such public facilities.

But we avoid discussing the poor, though their numbers multiply around us. It is surely easier to imagine they are lazy or somehow fundamentally different. But reality is our whole system, our attitudes, and our infrastructure are inhumane -- yes, cruel.

Wasteful Social Darwinism threatens richy too.

POOR US

Fucking Americans?

Who is Stanley Fischer?

He's a highly trained economist & former MIT professor. He's a former Vice-Chairman of Citigroup Inc.

Who is Stanley Fischer?

He's the late PM Ariel Sharon's appointment to lead the Bank of Israel. He's a naturalized Israeli-American (link) born in Northern Rhodesia, who's been a successful advocate for boosted US aid & subsidies to Israel. He was Larry Summers' economics professor (who first gave Summers work, but now supplants).

Who is Stanley Fischer?

He's the dude Obama supports to be Vice-Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the US central banking system. He'll soon supposedly be working for the American people in a vitally critical financial & policy job, "in pursuit of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates." He's in the Trilateral Commission & Bilderberg Group. He's an exceptionally intelligent & motivated global leader. He's an extremely powerful unelected official. He'll likely be assertive in channeling business away from Iran (link), but does he know - or care - much about a typical American?

Who is Stanley Fischer?

Some white-haired smiley guy we're told everyone likes, who'll control our money & regulate our lives.

Threat and the NSA

Should the NSA be part of everything we do online?

I don't think so.

The pervasive secret police magnify any threat. The spy system is threatening because it's fundamentally corrupted by corporate & foreign interests with commercial spying & political espionage agendas. It's out of control. Only the treacherous support this huge & costly mistake.

Save Snowy

We read horrible news, of illegality, blackmail, corruption and espionage that reaches into every home & pocket in America and around the world.

Edward Snowden is now threatened from the dirt he uncovered. The corruption's not his story, the pollution ain't because of him; but the whistleblower is forced to pay.

Don't forget -- Snowden was not a government employee, but most recently worked for Booz Allen Hamilton and then previously for Dell. This highlights a dangerous & corrupt corporate-government alliance. Data collected is insecure: our information can be compromised or sold by business interests and recompiled by foreign agencies, as well as being misused by our own governments.

Snowy's not the problem. Compare his troubles with someone finding a polluted lake, river or seacoast, and telling us...  The sheeple can't handle the truth. Save Snowy!