A friendly place for serious bloggers to freely discuss any problem.
definition: From Spanish and French libre (“‘freedom, liberty’”)
Leave your troubles outside! So - life is disappointing? Forget it!
We have no troubles here! Here, life is beautiful...
The girls are beautiful... Even the orchestra is beautiful!
From the 'fair-trading' MISSION STATEMENT: "Scams, rip-offs and frauds are becoming more and more commonplace. In Australia, state government Fair Trading agencies are becoming more and more impotent in tackling these matters," ...
Welcome to our neoliberalised, globalised 'what the market will bear' capitalism = un- and anti-democratic rip-off dystopia.
The 'how we got here' steps were 1st & foremost, 'unload' all unscrupulous agents of any 'social' responsibility whatsoever, i.e. 'beggar thy neighbour' policies at all levels from 1:1 personal, i.e. family through intimates to complete strangers all the way to supranational. Another name for this is "Pull the ladder up!" - or even shorter: "Bugger you!"
2nd, make it "The Law" that commercial entities = corner-shops to mega-corporations have as prime objective to maximise profit = promote 'shareholder value' at any and all 'costs,' such costs to be offloaded, along with all responsibilities, onto others = all externalities to be paid for by the dumbed-down sheople, either as voluntary customers, involuntary taxpayers or just innocent bystanders = hapless collaterals; 'best' = worst example = dumping toxic wastes into 'the commons.'
3rd, turn the world into a 'toll-booth' economy wherever possible = 'user pays;' prime objects here are public utilities such as water, sewage, elec., 'phone, roads & railways etc., aka all the modern *requirements* of civilisation, previously provided on an egalitarian, state-run basis to be privatised, leaned&meaned and max. profits extracted as per #2 (if such is still possible after interest-payment-gouging arising from leveraged buy-outs). Note, turn anything into 'for-profit' and you are guaranteed to get profit as 1st priority, often even at the expense of 'product,' particularly pernicious vis-à-vis provision of 'health services.'
4th, note that globalisation = off-shoring jobs = reducing the average worker income, at the same time as deliberately creating home-base unemployment; the feeble excuse of 'lower wages = lower prices' instantly defeated by producers charging 'whatever the market will bear.' A corollary to suppressing the wage-bill is paying sovereign-owners (we the sheople) the barest pittance for our mineral wealth, selling it at the highest possible price (often inflated by speculation) - then pocketing the lion's share of the proceeds as 'economic rent.' Not for nothing is Keynes hated - by the rip-off class, and don't forget the banksters as possibly the worst blood-suckers on the planet - and that by a long chalk.
5th & final step is triple; 1) damn unconditionally any government going into deficit, 2) continue to offer 'tax-cuts' to the dumbed-down voters as 'lure,' whilst effectively unloading the very rich from as much of the tax 'burden' as can be possibly be smuggled through under the disguise of 'tax reform.' Note here the scam of double-taxation, taxing (now mostly) the workers on their income, then the 2nd bite taxing their spending = GST (VAT etc.) = flat, regressive consumption taxes. Then 3) the obviously reduced ability of governments to pay for services means reducing such services, plus the flogging-off of the people's utilities, as per #3.
A final note here is that the system #1-#5 was largely foist upon us with at least tacit approval, where not active assistance, from our so-called 'leaders' = so-called 'representatives,' often bipartisanly so, where bipartisan = un- & anti-democratic (proof: bipartisan offers voters *no* effective choice), as is any policy 'smuggled through' without fully & fairly informing the voters beforehand, and asking those voters point-blank, on a case-by-case basis, for permission to implement. In case of so-far non-recognition, this para. describes tyranny.
-=*=-
Phew! Now enter the "Scams, rip-offs and frauds," etc., and the referred-to example of internet-ordered flowers. Seems to be a prime opportunity for abuse; the customer is striving to 'send a message' in an hoped-for effective way, so doesn't mind (too much) about being over-charged, and the recipient is often remote, so the customer can't (directly) control the timeliness and/or quality of the delivered 'product.'
An obvious situation to advise caveat emptor.
In the above #1-#5 frame, we see that the internet-ordered flowers business fits in quite well; from the greedy intent (rip-off margins) through to the possibility of low-standards of delivery. When, not if, things go wrong, the so-called 'consumer-protection agencies,' *formerly* government-provided as part of the general egalitarian & protective social-democracy framework, are now at least hampered by low funds whilst facing veritable avalanches of complaints - if not having been totally disbanded as a so-called 'balancing' = budget-cutting act of outright, anti-social and anti-Enlightenment vandalism = anti-democratic terror.
Fazit: I term this 'leadership-failure;' as well as the for-profits, the politicians have abandoned all responsibility to us, we the sheople, and they've done it by selling-out to those for-profits by deregulating them, a self-consuming spiral of venality & corruption. The proof of the perfidy is public: the very real and very significant 'upwards' shift of wealth = the already filthy-rich getting ever-more obscenely so. The other side of the rich-get-richer coin is the descent of ever more people into poverty in the US; 40+mio on food-support, no medical insurance etc.; approaching 99% of world to follow. As mentioned in my "tax-cut idiots," the main-stream media = corrupt & venal MSM, *also* including significant bits of publicly-financed, 'national' broadcasters, is involved in the #1-#5 frame as 'water-carriers,' since they bring us the lies, obfuscations and propaganda all tarted-up as 'news.' Hence to Eisenhower's warning vis-à-vis the Military Industrial Complex = (US) M/I-plex; we now add C = Congress (in the US; the 'best' that $s can buy! In Aus, parliament; so-called 'representatives' in general, who, also in general are failing to properly represent us, we the sheople), and the *traitorous* press = 4th Estate; we can identify the prime-perpetrators of our misfortunes as the M/I/C/4-plex, to which we also add the self-explanatory I/J/Z-plex.
-=*=-
The biggest question of all is Q: Where are the *responsible* people, those who can see the un- and anti-democratic rip-off evil, and could take effective steps to rid us of same evil? Or are there none left, *all* such having sold-out, gone dumbed-down themselves, or are otherwise incapacitated? Brrr!
Once upon a time, there lived a group of middle-Eastern = ME olive-grower/shepherds, peacefully tending their land & animals. We can call this group 'erstwhile legal owner/occupiers' = ELO/Os.
Along came a group of immigrants = people not from there = alien invaders = AIs - who chased off most of the ELO/Os, improperly dispossessing the ELO/Os by, among other 'questionable' practices, using deadly force.
In the process, many ELO/Os were killed; the process may be termed ethnic cleansing via genocidal attacks, otherwise termed 'murder for spoil' = M4S; where the spoil here = soil. Altogether, alien invader-murderers for spoil = AIMs4S.
-=*=-
*All* of the land/property 'occupied' by this certain ME 'entity' that was *not* obtained by voluntary sale (recall that a fair exchange is no robbery) - may be considered to have been improperly alienated, aka stolen.
That the dispossession was improper is *proven* by the claim of the ELO/Os (formalised = validated by a certain UNGA resolution), to the said ELO/Os' 'right of return.'
The facts of the improper dispossession cannot be disputed, and the result is 63+ years of injustice inflicted on those hapless ELO/Os.
The entire action of improper dispossession can be considered as a premeditated burglary/home-invasion; no such burglars could hope to 'unilaterally' declare themselves 'independent' of justice.
In ... Criminal law, 'means, motive, and opportunity' is a popular cultural summation of the three aspects of a crime needed to convince a jury of guilt in a criminal proceeding.
The premeditation was published in the public realm = proven, the methodology of soliciting 'protection' (think Mafia) = acquiring the 'cooperation' of certain 'great powers' (aka accessory-support) is in the public realm = proven, and the arms used were 'openly' financed by donations by and large from a certain 'ethnic' group; the crime can only persist in a state of corruption of justice = the 'entity' is illegitimate.
The illegitimate 'entity' has itself acknowledged the above mentioned UNGA resolution, at the same time promised to abide by the rules, yet openly persists not merely in improper possession of ELO/Os' land & property, but the 'entity' continues to extend that improper possession - in direct violation of the rules. No burglar may continue in possession of stolen land/property, and no burglar may legitimately defend such stolen land/property.
-=*=-
Fazit; Q: Why is this injustice = vile criminality allowed to endure?
I grew up 'unconscious' of the circumstances = facts of the improper dispossession which lies at the heart of the ME crime = AIMs4S vs. ELO/Os, as described above. My 'normal' source of news was a certain publicly-funded, national broadcaster. They lied to me, at the very minimum, by omission. They continue to so lie, whenever they propagate propaganda, instead of sticking to proven facts. That's the sole reason for their existence, after all - that is, to fully and fairly inform the electors in a democracy.
There can never be peace without justice; time to make a move on the criminal AIMs4S, to bring them to justice, to revest the stolen land/property - and so enable a fair & just peace.
1st corollary: "It is not simple ..." - but it is Oh, so bloody obvious, that IF you want something, anything, THEN it must be paid for - and who better to pay, than those who *can* pay? (Der ... )
Subtitle: "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité!" a leitmotif of "the Enlightenment"
Murphy's lying furphy (my paraphrasing): "Whatever can happen, eventually will."
The furphy[2] lies not so much in the truism, but that it is used as an 'excuse' to claim some deliberate act as coincidence - however, contrary to conspiracies, we just don't 'do' coincidences:
2nd corollary: "Sufficient stress can hardly be laid on the advantages of simplicity ..." - now turning to Sherlock Holmes: "In solving a problem of this sort, the grand thing is to be able to reason backward."
Comment: Reasoning backwards can save a lot of time and effort; IF we have some bad result THEN the precursor-process was faulty. And so it is with the so-called 'new-world order' = NWO aka globalisation + 'neoliberalism' = 'voodoo economics.' A common name/term is 'Washington consensus,' comprising almost exclusively of 'what the US-regime wants' = hegemony, in this case US$-hegemony, and how they go about getting it = Bretton Woods, World Bank, IMF etc.. Apropos the latter, see Perkins' "Economic Hit Man."
3rd corollary: The IMF *forces* SAP-conditionalities on its targets, a way of *forcing* US$-hegemony onto hapless, mostly 3rd-world countries. Q: Why then, do some politicians apply IMF-SAP-type budget-options *apparently* voluntarily? The obvious example is drastic cuts to welfare, others privatisations, and herein one, if not the biggest problem: IMF SAP-conditionalities are reversing the previous, +ve trend towards increased "the Enlightenment"-inspired social justice. Why; cui bono?[3] - quite obviously not us, we the sheople.
-=*=-
Trigger article:
Euro zone debt crisis escalates By Europe correspondent Emma Alberici, wires Updated April 19, 2011 07:05:00 «The European debt crisis deteriorated overnight as Irish banks were cut to junk status, Greece was rumoured to be struggling to pay back its loans ... ... As EU and IMF officials arrived in Lisbon to set the terms of the Eurozone's third bailout in a year, Portugal found itself facing a veto from Finland after an anti-Euro party won more votes than expected in Finnish elections.» [AusBC/justin]
Comment: 'bailout' = loan them *more* money.
Comment: The Euro is a 'conjured' currency; it replaced multiple other currencies and its 'value' was arbitrarily assigned - primarily, it seems, with its relationship to the US$ in mind. The 1st error I saw was that it was set at approx. 2:1 DM:Euro ('new' price-tickets showed about ½ of what 'old' ones did) - leaving the opportunity for price inflation, which duly - ultra-cynically - occurred ("Euro = teuero!") In stark contrast, any old enough to recall the significance of 14Feb'66 (old £AU1 = new $AU2) may also recall the used-car dealers' wailing and teeth-gnashing.
-=*=-
1. An Aus-leitmotif: "Fair go, ya mug!"
Aussie workers spent a lot of time and effort fighting for fair wages, fair conditions and a fair 'democratic covenant:'
"Eight hours to work; eight hours to play: Eight hours to sleep; eight bob a day!"
"No taxation without representation!"
The latter was another lying furphy: little did we know that our so-called 'representatives' would one day sell us out - as has now well and truly happened.
In the meantime, we got Whitlam; his then 'Medibank' universal single-payer 'health insurance' - actually socialised medicine available to all - survives as 'Medicare,' albeit in crippled & reduced form, thanks, but "No, thanks!" to troglodyte-regressivees, mainly (mean) Liberals.
-=*=-
2. The 1929 stock-market crash on Wall St. was followed by a worldwide depression. It is not a must that the one should automatically follow the other; effectively some capitalists went on a capital-strike and started large-scale sacking, which by reducing demand then forced the process onto others and into a downward-spiral.
Welfare programs got a boost - since the alternative was to let people starve to death, never a 'good look' (well, that was then.)
The US and world economies began recovering, helped by so-called 'make-work' programs which, coincidentally or not, produced some durable infrastructure. Deliberately stimulating demand was written about by JMK = Keynes, hence Keynesian economics - hated by troglodyte-regressives, mainly (mean) Republicans.
Another US-erring-ideology-hate is communism, in all its 'lesser' variations, all typified by/as 'people cooperating with/helping other people.' Welfare of any type, unionisation, minimum wages, regulation (to ensure the safety of people and/or the economy), almost all government functions with the outstanding exception of 'defense' = offence = kill! - all are to be reduced, by sell-out internal politicians or external force, see Libya as latest victim.
In other words, US erring-ideology is driving "the Enlightenment" reversal.
Q: Why does the rest of the world allow this?
-=*=-
3. There are some things that governments can do better/best; using SH's 'reasoning backwards' explains why things developed as they did; a water collecting & distribution network (single, non-duplicated), a sewage disposal network (single, non-duplicated), an electricity generation & distribution network (single, mostly non-duplicated), roads and railways (some initially private and then nationalised), post & telephones etc. - you get the picture. Airlines seem to be a bit of an exception; few were nationalised and fewer remain so, but they are nevertheless prone to monopoly-type rip-off pricing, vs. lately some 'cheap' races to the bottom, and wage/conditions depression policies are now rife.
Then there are the 'office'-type functions like welfare, regulatory, licensing & taxation. Undoubtedly some of these suffer from 'near to completely useless, time-wasting bureaucrats[*],' such complaints are heard the world over, and some - like multiple-taxation scams are exactly that. A great, even monumental case can be made for tax-*simplification*, but - to return to a headline-theme - only idiots can think that all taxation (recalling required services), or even merely most taxes - can be cut, and then often mostly to the benefit of the already filthy-rich. But that's what's happening, espoused first & foremost by politicians calling themselves 'liberal' - when they're absolutely not so = the opposite. And now to add insult to injury, the nominally-progressive parties (Aus-Labor, US-Democrats etc.) are actively joining the tax-cuts/service-cuts/welfare-reductions/neoliberal rip-offs of us, we the people.
*[Mini-update: Slagging-off bureaucrats can be thought of as a pastime and/or sport (both cruel); the quality of any collective work depends primarily on the leadership. Guess where this might take us?]
'Natural' service monopolies have been and continue to be privatised, looong after the error of this idiotic policy has been demonstrated, namely by increasingly rip-off prices, service degradation and the resulting unemployment created by 'leaning and meaning.' It's sooo obvious - but it is persisted with, worst-case is 'privatised medicine;' for-profit anything will always produce profit before, even instead of, any other result. IF privatisation produced on-balance +ve results THEN one could understand its continuance - but again the opposite prevails. Hence my screech: "Idiots!"
Q: Why do so many of the people tolerate this, let alone vote for parties that inflict it upon us?
Possible A: The country is full of simpletons?
-=*=-
4. Now, to the PIIGS; Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece & Spain. With variable exceptions, these are all considered to be problem-economies and/or are accused of having over-spent (mainly on welfare), are all considered to be bankruptcy-candidates, all are to be pilloried - before being heroically 'rescued' - by the EU and the IMF.
Consider the expression: "they have form ..."
Just as some of us get very sceptical when we hear that F+UK+US+NATO are Shock'n Whore Mk2-ing = invading Libya for humanitarian = altruistic reasons, so some of us get very sceptical when we hear that the IMF (with or without the EU) will 'rescue' any PIIGS, especially when we hear that the rescue is to be by (further! higher interest, even!) loans.
Sounds a bit like offering a drowning person a glass of water.
None of this 'voodoo economics' passes the 'smell-test.'
Q: Why are so many so-called 'leaders' lying to us?
-=*end*=-
PS
The 'rescue' of the PIIGS, by more loaned money at higher interest will impose a 'repayment requirement' far greater than currently exists, and with the imposed welfare cuts means that the people will have to find more money to be 'harvested' (to be shipped out of the country) by the government, all the while getting less income. Now three questions:
Q: How is that supposed to work, like cut spending and buy less food?
Q: This 'rescue' = deliberately *creating* depression entry conditions?
Q: What did *any* people do to 'deserve' this *shit* neoliberalism?
PPS
The expression 'taxation is theft' could - and will be by me soon - compared to 'interest is theft,' as tangentially referred to in my "save the planet."
-=*=-
Ref(s):
[1] simpleton n. gullible or halfwitted person. [POD]
[2] A furphy ... is Australian slang for a rumour, or an erroneous or improbable story. [wiki]
[3] cui bono The principle that the ultimate initiator of an action is likely he who stands to gain from the action. [wiktionary]
-=*=-
Update, 20Apr'11
Note: I set out on the impulse to add a few URLs, but then I thought a bit more... 1st, the URLs:
Comment 1: UNSCR1973 specifically excludes ground troops; the UK (at least; F, US/NATO, EU?) is in breach = requires being disciplined = brought to justice.
Comment 2: 'Murder for oil' was never in doubt (by truth & justice seekers at least), but always bare-facedly denied by B, B & H et al.. Q: What do we know about lying denialists?
Comment 3: Details the *deliberate* depredations of IMF SAPs + neoliberalism. Perkins' "Economic Hit Man" tells us that if the IMF 'cure' is refused by some country, the next step is likely to be the CIA and/or the Pentagon. Denial, attempted before (by liars), now not at all possible.
Comment (general): In case it's been somehow missed, news: Guns kill people. Then there's the (non-clever) retort: Guns don't kill people; people kill people (with guns, or bombs; whatever (Einstein: ... rocks!)) In addition, bombs/wars destroy things other than cynically-termed 'military objectives' - like totally innocent people, and things like buildings (homes, flats, humpies even) & infrastructure = whole cities, aka artefacts of civilisation, see Libya post-UNSCR1973, only the latest of many (when one is already one too many). Not for nothing, does the detested US-speak lexicon include "We'll bomb you back to the Stone Age!" - As we have seen, can see again. Troglodytes.
1st major conclusion: Wholesale destroyers of the artefacts of civilisation are themselves viciously un- & anti-civilised. Then, of course, there's their hypocrisy; damn to Hell the primitive savages in Afghanistan for blowing up two ancient stone carvings - whilst almost simultaneously demolishing most of Iraq's life-supporting infrastructure (water, sewage, elec. & phone, roads & bridges, whole towns/cities (Fallujah; WP/DU-HE 'shake'n bake')), and 'allowing' the looting of Iraqi museums (all the while plotting to loot Iraq's oil).
Now, to the results of the thinking:
*Proving* c-theories:
Needless to say, I'm distraught {adj. distracted with worry, fear, etc.; extremely agitated. [POD]}. It's not enough that Fukushima has blown up, approx. 25 years after Chernobyl, it's not enough that the excess-CO2 climate-change catastrophe gets ever more imminent (soon to be immanent) - but the more I dig (= read, internet), the more I find = mostly *bad* things, seldom if ever any good things - more than just a bit depressing. My digging started in earnest in the run-up to Shock'n Whore Mk1 = illegal, aggressive invasion of Iraq = murder for spoil (spoil = oil [see URL#2 above] by alien invaders = AIMs4S) - a massive, blatant war crime, 'hung' off a piss-weak 'excuse' based on (filthy! Deliberate!) lies = the non-existent WMD scam / imbroglio / scandal. In the meantime, I 'discovered' the illegitimate basis of another aggressive alien invasion, namely the Zs vs. hapless mostly Palestinian erstwhile legal owner/occupiers = murder for spoil (spoil = soil, also by alien invaders = AIMs4S again vs. ELO/Os).
So much is *now* obvious (and indisputably so), and the 'now' stimulated the "Ah ha!" moment. Actually moments (plural); one thing led to another:
The minor "Ah ha" resolves into two parts, an observation/conclusion and a question;
Following 'needless' above, we observe a *pattern* emerging, typified by AIMs4S vs. ELO/Os; we see a series of wretched, invasive = aggressive wars by obscenely armed *alien* powers against hapless, innocent victims, under the aegis of the UN - the very organization primarily tasked with *eliminating by prevention* of all war. Clearly, fail*2 = outlaw, rogue-regime perpetrators & incompetent preventers, all corrupt & criminal.
2nd major conclusion: Murdering theft by an individual justifiably causes uproar (one is already one too many), but the so-called 'major powers' - from my 'save the planet' headline US+Z, F+UK, NATO+EU, with RUS & CHN (occasionally) abstaining - are *deliberately*, *routinely* murdering to steal, as *pre-planned policy*. Utter outrage!
Q; often deployed by our (sadly missed) co-blogger Ern: How do they get away with it? The answer to this is *the key*, since it leads directly to ...
A; the major "Ah ha:" Tip: See 'contrary to ... coincidences' above, one thing that distinguishes humans from monkeys = humans make detailed *plans*. Well, well, well (three holes in the ground (oil wells)); guess what - 2nd tip, consider this definition: conspiracy n. (pl. -ies) 1 secret plan to commit a crime; plot. [POD].
-=*=-
C-theorists are mocked and denigrated (mostly by right-whingers)[*]; my 1st recall of such happening was when some idiot started accusing me of believing in some "flying spaghetti monster" (note that 'believing' is done by people in the absence of evidence; as a consequence, both in principle & practice, I do *not* believe (at all). I work on the balance of probabilities, based wherever possible on my own direct observations, or reports by trusted others.) A more 'normal' c-theory is that "Elvis is alive" etc., and another is some "alien invader" rubbish - interesting, because that's *exactly* what the victims of US+ wars in general are suffering from (*external* to US = aggressive), and in particular, the hapless ELO/Os of Palestine, via the continuing Deir Yassin-type attacks by the overwhelmingly not-from-there Zs. Then, there's 9/11 (denialist tasks: Explain 'pulling' WTC7, explain *all three* falling Oh, so neatly into their own 'footprints;' explain *all* the "known unknowns" ...) Perhaps the 1st noteworthy c-theory kerfuffle I'm aware of was that over the JFK assassination, try this and/or this.
*[Mini-update, 21Apr'11: Slagging-off c-theorists could well be a deliberate 'black-hat' strategy, along the lines of 'offence as defence.' We know that both the CIA & Pentagon have 'offices of disinformation' [n. false information, propaganda.[POD]], i.e. 'Total Information Awareness' & 'perception management' (... cover and deception, and psychological operations) etc., and it only makes sense to muddy the waters as much as possible, if not deliberately 'seed' nutty conspiracies - so that people seriously doubting the Iraq 'excuse' or the official 9/11 line, say (the latter both risible & 'beyond physics') - can be negatively equated with the real nut-jobs. That the PPP = pushed-propaganda paradigm is coordinated is actually another brick in the conspiracy-wall. A deployed trick is 'the narrative,' a method employing a fictional-framework to keep all the lies flying in close formation. This in turn implies the 'black-hats' briefing the (corrupt & venal) MSM - observe for yourself; yet another brick. Note that deceiving voters is a deadly, undemocratic & anti-democracy crime; only fair & fully informed voters may make rational voting decisions.]
Penultimate tip is dual, and comes as a pair of Qs: 1) In context, exactly what would be 'unspeakable,' and 2) is secrecy a problem in a (proper) democracy?
Answer(s) as a riddle:
"The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason."
Of course, since it's a riddle, the 'right deeds' under discussion are not right at all - but totally wrong, and criminal 'to boot;' there is no reason behind criminals except these two, a) the desire to take = steal something-not-theirs and b) naked, ultimate psychopathy - 'ultimate,' since they don't 'merely' lie, nor cheat *so much*, but rather as well and as a 'primary option,' they kill, here mass-murder, in order to steal. It just doesn't get any worse than that (with the possible exception of arbitrary killing for its own sake). The only thing in my (actually, TSEliot's) riddle that's true is "the greatest treason."
I've considered the thought, Q: Must I name names? A: No easy way out.
In the book review cited above ("Unspeakable"), the reviewer couldn't restrain him/herself; s/he gave the answer away, although reviews are not supposed to do that. One assumes that 'the answer' was/still is simply too important. Then, if there was a conspiracy going on - by definition secret, by definition criminal, a grave threat to the nation if not the entire world - whose actual job would it be, to find (and expose, even correct) such? A: DIY = do it yourself; both you the reader (identifying the prime-perpetrators) and they, the covert operators (who are themselves doing the dirty deeds). Last tip: Gamekeeper turned poacher.
Recall from above: "they have form ..." and we just don't 'do' coincidences.
One other thing, before we 'move on' from the prime-perpetrators (CIA, as if you hadn't guessed; possibly including FBI+), this:
«The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society[*]. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ...We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of ...» [wiki/Propaganda/Bernays]
*[Mini-update, 21Apr'11: The wording "is an important element" is wrong, probably deliberately, maliciously so. It's the result of a similar process whereby neoliberal = voodoo economics was *forced* upon us, and indicates that corrupt-academia is also part of 'the problem.' We are propagandised, partly because our so-called 'leaders' cannot trust us to vote the way they'd like us to (the other part is so we will 'accept' their crimes - by having them disguised); see Hamas, see most of the Arab/Muslim tyrant/dictators supported = encouraged, armed & trained by the US.]
Recall the definition: «conspiracy n. (pl. -ies) 1 secret plan to commit a crime; plot.»
*Exactly because* they attempt secrecy, AND they should be pretty good at it (after all, it's their business!) - THEN evidence will be scarce to non-findable; we turn to deduction, perforce:
Consider Eisenhower's warning vis-à-vis the Military Industrial Complex = (US) M/I-plex; partly because 'it is not simple,' things have progressed a bit since then; we now add C = Congress (the 'best' that $s can buy!) - and interestingly, *traitorously*, the press = 4th Estate, aka the (corrupt & venal) MSM, *also* including signifigant bits of publicly-financed, 'national' broadcasters.
Ta ra! - This now extends the prime-perpetrators by adding the M/I/C/4-plex, to which we also add the self-explanatory I/J/Z-plex.
Q: Is there really *no* evidence? A: No, look around.
The (US/Z, UK, F etc.) M/I-plex is obvious; they are attacking. Prediction: Wars - resource-wars, murders for spoil by alien invaders = AIMs4S - will get worse, much worse, before they get better, if ever at all.
C-example: Despite changing from 'Tweedledee' to 'Tweedledum' = supposed opposites; i.e. Aus Lib to Lab, US Rep to Dem, UK Lab to Cons, the wars go on = bipartisan = un- & anti-democratic = the voters have *no* effective choice.
4-example 1: I 'grew up' listening to the AusBC. I was *not* correctly informed vis-à-vis Israel, and was largely ignorant of the I/J/Z-plex depredations = vicious crimes (ethnic cleansing via genocidal attacks = outrages) against the hapless ELO/Os of Palestine. Bad, Aunty. Damnable = criminal, in fact.
4-example 2: Until recently (internet), *all* info came to us via the news 'gatekeepers;' it is obvious that we were and are still being lied to *by* politicians (amongst others), but the lies are often *assisted/augmented* by the 4th-estate itself (NYT/Judith Miller as definitive example, but see also most Murdoch rags, theAge/Parkinson, RN/B'fast - the list is as looong as it is infamous.)
4-example 3, actually a "mini-Ah ha!:" It has bothered me, as to how the AusBC can act so badly. Theory: They are in-like-Flynn on the conspiracy (*have* to be; 'news' is their (Uni-degree) business, but if *I* can see their lies ..) - but they're not so much so on the $s. Sooo, they can be cheeky to the politicians, knowing full-well that they have the 'perfect' blackmail backing them, and they censor truth&justice seekers' comment-inputs out of sheer, pathological spite. Repeat: Bad, Aunty. Damnable = criminal, in fact and deed.
[Mini-update, 21Apr'11: Again from the clandestine nature of 'the problem,' we are stuck with deduction (in the absence of a definitive leak, unlikely but possible); my list is sure to be incomplete. What of banksters, say? Must be involved, even if this triggers the 'Jewish banker' denigratory storm from the un- & anti-democratic r-whinger corps. Q: How else does a debt-crisis 'arrive,' unless constructed by banksters? This recalls 'no coincidences,' we can be sure that the massive crimes are coordinated (TINA = there is no alternative), and that the criminals must be combated - successfully.]
Fazit: I mooted a possible remedy; it's the same as previously mentioned in my 'save the planet.' Since things will not get better on their own, someone must do something to save us, soonest. That someone is me, you and our mates, i.e. almost everyone. A new political entity is needed; people-power to save our planet = PP2SoP. We all have to work together, cooperation instead of confrontation - the latter reserved for and aimed at our enemies, as identified in this article, all together they are the CIA (plus its illegitimate side-kick Mossad), the M/I/C/4-plex and the I/J/Z-plex.
Quite a lot arrayed against us - but we cannot, *must not* fail. The enemy, after all, are merely a tiny few; we are many. And the entire once jewel-like, life-supporting world is at stake = our lives, we the people, and our future. Must be worth a bit more than a try, push on to the win-win, for us and the planet? IF the will of the majority were to prevail - that's *our* will, we the people, THEN that'd only be (proper!) democracy in action?
Thesis/Subtitle: Things will not, now or ever, get any better 'on their own,' let alone at the 'tender, merciful' *rip-off* hands of any part (filthy-rich string-pullers, quisling-puppet politicians, sell-out facilitator/implementers) of the current political system.
We live in an ugly dystopia; little to nothing is what it's made out to be, we are being drowned in lies (the PPP = pushed-propaganda paradigm), our so-called 'leaders' are leading us nowhere except astray.
1st proof: F+UK, US+NATO+EU aggressive attack on the next oil-state, namely Libya (after recent Afgh/Pak, Iraq; Iran next?)
The US, plus lots of the corrupt 'West' seem unable to merely *buy* oil, they forcibly seize control of it and rip the 'resource rent' off the 'sovereign' (Arab, Muslim, other) owners = ELO/Os, also possibly preventing 'rival' access (Russia, China). Yet another war = murder for spoil = oil. Ditto the I/J/Z-plex vs. mostly Palestinian ELO/Os' land = murder for spoil = soil, and since all these attackers are alien invaders, it's AIMs4S vs. ELO/Os again & again.
2nd proof: Bob Brown's attack on one of his own, namely over BDS against Israel.
The Greens *would* be Aus' best hope - it's their field after all, namely 'Save the planet!' - but Brown's idiocy comes either a) in the futility of trying to work 'within the current system,' OR worse, worst b) he's been intimidated by the Zs himself - both (a) & (b) being basically only differences in degree, since we have a nefarious and deeply negative Z-influence on the politics of both the Lib & Lab 'mainstream.' Further, intimidation by Zs is itself both anti-Aus (cowardly, quisling, IL ~= Aus, and none of Aus' business), and un- & anti-democratic, since any Js in Aus *must* be Aussies 1st AND comprise a tiny minority everywhere, IL itself excepted.
3rd proof: Democracy *should be* of, by, for the people, it's clearly now not (assuming it ever once might have been).
The majority of our politicians are *not* properly representing us, we the sheople, but quite the converse; they are doing 'the dirty' on us in favour of the puppet-string pullers. Our so-called 'democracy' is *actually* of, by, for - the mostly already filthy-rich (possibly as few as 0.1%), the corporations, and all their scurrilous hangers-on = facilitator/implementers. This is a vile democracy/Egalité crime, against us, we the sheople.
4th proof: A properly functioning democracy *requires* full & free info-flows, utterly impossible when the corrupt & venal MSM conduit *and actively assist* vicious liars.
We see it vis-à-vis Libya/Gaddafi, the war itself was pre-planned - and the untested allegations fall out of the aggressors' mouths, *unfiltered* by any editorial intelligence, and the news-readers, also publicly-financed ones, look us in the eyes (via their cameras) - as they peddle their propaganda-lies.
5th the erring-ideology proof: The mostly already filthy-rich are getting demonstrably richer, as many/most of the rest of us get continuous reductions in living standards = transferring *our*, we the sheople's wealth to already hyper-fat cats.
The so-called 'NWO' aka globalisation + 'neoliberalism' = 'voodoo economics' is producing a world economy of increasing inequality; toll-booths appearing (= often bipartisanly forced upon us) everywhere as the people's utilities are privatised, resources drained of the people's value by the speculators and/or 'investor'-parasites, medical treatment costs sky-rocketing & jobs off-shored = disappearing. A real shocker, and the responsibility is sheeted back to so-called 'professional' economists, products of corrupted academia, plus the rest of the sell-out facilitator/implementers (CEOs, managers etc.; all those pocketing obscene 'remunerations' = extortionate $s for (almost) no effort). Recall (Honoré de Balzac): "The secret of a great success for which you are at a loss to account is a crime that has never been discovered, because it was properly executed." Me: Here, as everywhere, however some crime may be done, it is nevertheless still a crime. See the burglar analogy of Zs in Palestine, say.
6th current banking *can't* work, proof: *All* fiat money is borrowed, this produces two problems:
1) Compound interest is not magic but *impossible*, Q: Where does the interest come from? A: Only possibly out of the so-called 'productive surplus' - created by labour - and
2) The interest is a tax; why should society = we the sheople be forced to yield this to 'private' banks?
The solutions are also two, a) the 'central bank' of each country (economic unit) should be owned by *all* the people i.e. should be nationalised (any 'private' banks can work on strictly cost-plus), and *all* interest goes back to the people either directly or by services (utilities, infrastructure, medical & dental) and b) no money need be borrowed outside of any country - that only means having resources/incomes syphoned away.
7th last & most horrendous proof: The excess-CO2 climate-change catastrophe, getting ever less avoidable, literally by the second.
This illustrates the pathology of the whole. Our once jewel-like planet's life-supporting ecosphere could be so damaged as to cause a truly massive extinction-event, most humans included.
Consider the three castes of bees: queens, which produce eggs; drones or males, which mate with new queens and have no stinger; and workers, which are all non-reproducing females. [wiki]
The human queen-bee equivalents produce little except suffering for the workers, and the drones are a) traitors to the workers, and b) are themselves getting f**ked by the queens, all of us eventually going over the climate-catastrophe cliff together.
Consider the Enlightenment, typified by "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité" - almost totally lost, jettisoned.
Consider (repeat): «"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - for ever." - George Orwell.» [ICH/Arbuthnot]
-=*=-
Fazit: Since things will not get better on their own, someone must do something to save us, soonest. That someone is me, you and our mates, i.e. almost everyone. A new political entity is needed; people-power to save our planet = PP2SoP. We all have to work together, cooperation instead of confrontation - the latter reserved for and aimed at our enemies = the current obscenely-rich queen-psychopaths and their ugly, sell-out drone-perpetrators.
1. That the US responded to the 3rd Reich challenge - by effectively becoming its extension = 'the 4th Reich.'
Proof: From the vicious double war crime A-bombings to Afghanistan, Iraq, now Libya with Iran next(?) - via aggressive invasions = murdering-for-spoil (m4s), aka vile corruption which starts and continues with utterly filthy lies. See Memo PPS23, Blum & Chomsky etc..
2. That the UN was corrupted at/near birth, has now become a US-plaything.
Proof: Latest after Plan Dalet & the Deir Yassin massacre, the UN should have 'pulled the plug' on Israel. That the UN has 'allowed' Israel to prosper (cheats should never prosper, especially not amoral, immoral & illegitimate lying, killing-to-steal cheats), & worse, to continue to steal ever more Palestinian land shows that the UN is *not* interested in truth & justice, let alone war-stopping - it's supposed raison d'être.
3. That the US chose 'stability' (= corrupt, puppet dictators) over any possible democracy (however crippled, see #4) in the ME & other-wheres, that they 'divided in order to rule' (i.e. deliberately encouraging/inflaming Islam/Arab splits).
Proof: Their acts, backed up by their own statements (see WikiLeaks, say). Consider also continual 'covert war' = subverting, fomenting, corrupting, coercing, intimidating ... (Hersch; $US400mio "to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran" somewhat recently), that's after/since the 1953 anti-democracy coup = continuous US aggression.
4. That our so-called 'democracies' are total sham anyway.
Proof: A properly working democracy (of, by, for the people etc.) requires at least 3 things; an educated & involved electorate (but it's deliberately lied to = dumbed-down), a sufficiently wide choice of honest candidates (risible = haw!), and when elected, representatives who implement the will of the majority, protecting the rights of any minority (also risible = politicians do what *they themselves* want = un- & anti-democratic, worst case = bipartisanship = offers the voters *no* effective choice at all - see 'our' wars, continuing across our own 'regime changes').
Musing, 1: It wasn't GWBush who escalated the aggressive, murdering-for-spoil (m4s; oil), violence; Vietnam was associated with the assassinated Kennedy, then each US president since has contributed, including Clinton in the Balkans. Then came the Oh-so convenient 9/11 (we just don't 'do' coincidences); peace-prize Obama continued GWB's two wars and now has Libya all as his very own. The US M/I/C-plex aggresses for two main reasons; erring-ideology (primarily against the sheople getting any govt. assistance; communism = socialism = unions, welfare = health-care, unemployment support, pensions etc.), and outright, rip-off profits = theft (i.e. 'economic rents'), and the Zs (the I/J/Z-plex) do aggressive invasive war = murdering-for-spoil (m4s; soil), also = theft.
Musing, 2: It's a truism to say "Things only get worse!" - but it has to be said because some *vital* things "getting worse" must be *reversed* (like Zs stealing Palestinian land, say.) Usually, getting older should mean getting wiser; active observation reveals that youthful optimism is *not* supportable, as the perfidy of our so-called 'leaders' and the news-conduits (corrupt & venal MSM) is thus revealed.
Q: "Why is it so?" - Why is our (Anglo/Judaic++) world dominated by short-sighted, m4s-criminals?
Fazit 1: We simply cannot trust politicians ("All politicians lie!" - thanks, but "No, thanks!" to JW Howard), nor can we trust the MSM (J Miller NYT, T Parkinson theAge, etc.); we can't trust the UN (Israel vs. hapless Palestinians, to 'the West' vs. Libya in 62+ ghastly, bloody years), nor can we trust the ICC (asserting lies & rumour?) - and we certainly can't trust the US/Zs = lying, cheating, ripping-off & thieving murderers for spoil.
In addition, while US/Z-prompted/sponsored wars rage (widespread death & destruction), the excess-CO2 caused climate-change catastrophe gets ever less and less avoidable...
Fazit 2: The problems begin and are made worse by lies; lies can and do progress to murder for spoil (m4s).
An obvious effective action towards countervailing remedy is:
.. Stop the lies! (Then stop the rip-offs, NO WAR!)
-=*end*=-
PS Don't forget, that the mainly US-invented & sponsored new world order (NWO, incl. IMF et al. (see "Economic Hit Man")) - *pushed* upon us, often seemingly voluntarily by our so-called 'representatives,' involves globalisation & neoliberal, aka 'voodoo' economics. Globalisation *by definition* means shipping jobs to lower-income off-shore sweat-shops, also *by definition* reducing the average wages paid to us, we the sheople almost everywhere (the sweat-shops being the lowest-paid exception; often 'green-field' but higher polluting new developments.) A lower wage-bill might bring lower prices - but not so low, that corporation profits don't always go up = soar = increased rip-off (not 'fair prices,' but 'what the market can bear.') Then, neoliberalism (privatisation, down-sizing = lean&mean, mass lay-offs = sackings, reduced/loss of conditions, tax-cuts (mainly 'off' the rich) = reduced services & user-pays and pays and... etc.) - all contribute further to us, we the sheople, both qualitatively & quantitatively losing 'life-style' - if not actually life itself; privatised = non-egalitarian medicine = 'health' (actually sickness) insurance, for 40mio+ in the US utterly unaffordable. If any further proof were needed, look at these non-trivial two: Govts almost everywhere going broke & imposing 'austerity' - and the rich are getting demonstrably, *obscenely* ever richer. Recall that we just don't 'do' coincidences?
The proof of all of this is available, indeed obvious - to all with eyes to see.
*BIG* Q: Where are the *real* leaders, those a) clever enough and b) energetic enough, to see that we're headed = being pushed, over a (lying, cheating, murdering-theft = greed-driven) cliff, and could make this stick:
.. but in our 'real lives' & internet, just how free is free?
-=*=-
Short'n sweet, this: Being *unjustly* censored gives me the total and utter s**ts.
Blog moderation has its uses, namely to not-publish abusive or content-free comments, say - this blog uses moderation (in moderation) - due to bad people dropping 'comment-turds' on our doorstep, as has happened.
But when moderation is abused - to censor 'fair comment,' say, then the s**t truly hits the fan (always and as usual, IMHO.)
The AusBC 'unleashed' moderators are infamous for censoring true and fair comment aimed at a certain illegitimate, land-stealing-by-murder entity in the ME, and this blog has had similar problems on the same theme with google/blogger in the past. On one occasion, the problems apparently originated from some 'comment-turd' text submitted by a totally unscrupulous power-abuser, now largely water under the bridge - almost that is, except that PCs and the net have digital memories (safe except from 'the data black hole' - which we try to avoid falling into). During that incident, google/blogger wielded its censorship in two ways, a) by flagging certain searches (for 'comment-turd' text, say) as objectionable, and b) by classifying certain blog-objects as 'spam.' A follow-on problem was that certain blogs were then *blocked* by blogger, and required a long appeal process to be un-blocked. On the whole, wholly unsatisfactory.
The latest outrage from blogger is this: .. the 'key text' being this: "We have enabled automatic spam detection for comments" - something in this 'spam-process' stinks (blogger-auto or some human action?) because, apparently, it can lead to blogger-ids being *disabled*, as happened to this author. Not merely annoying; could be fatal to one's blog(s), since disabled blogger-ids can then lead to blocked blogs: .. message is misleading; the blog was blocked, not gone = total shock.
Assertion: Censorship is *not* the function of a 'common carrier' (or a publicly-financed broadcaster); it is un- & anti-democratic and google/blogger and the AusBC should keep their fiddle-fingers off all such censorship - leaving us to exercise one of our *very few actual* freedoms unhindered and in peace.
Musing: Anyone believing anything in the (corrupt & venal) MSM, incl. big bits of the AusBC, without detailed cross-checking and/or thorough verification, a) needs their head read, & b) should be disqualified from voting.
-=*=-
Trigger article:
The CIA, the Libyan Rebellion, and the President Posted: 03/31/11 01:57 PM ET «Obama made those assertions five weeks ago. He confirmed them by implication on Monday. The words were either false when spoken or else so misleading as to evade falsehood by a hair's-breadth equivocation. The appeal against armed violence, by the leader of a superpower who either has just approved or is about to approve the shipment of arms to a rebel force in a civil war, fits the common idea of mendacity. The affirmation that the U.S. and other foreign powers had no hand in the rebellion, to judge by the "several weeks" of CIA activity referred to by Mazzetti and Schmitt, was either already plainly false or was about to be falsified. Anyone in America or Europe who did not guess these things earlier is in a position to know them now.» [huffpo/David Bromwich]
Comment: Apologies, don't go to huffpo as a rule; was 'tricked' (by an encoded short-URL) - but this time, the journey was worth it - always & as usual IMHO.
-=*=-
Trigger article:
1 April 2011 Who da thunk it? «Cut taxes for the rich and wealth will trickle down like a gentle rain from heaven on the poor, remove taxes entirely from the rich and wealth will pour down on the poor like a Queensland rain storm. There is no such thing as too much individual wealth. All food should be GM food. If coal and oil ever runs out, and they won't, then nuclear is the next best wealth (oops, power) generator. Smoking is good for you, or at least not bad. Our sponsors never do anything wrong. There can never be too many people in Australia - or the world.» [AusBC/unleashed/David Horton]
Comment: Apologies twice; don't usually recommend anything by AusBC either, but this is an 'independent' contributor - and again the journey was worth it.
-=*=-
The two articles appear to have divergent themes, one the (continued) perfidy of the US *regime(s)*, and two the massive misinformation-tsunamis we are being swamped by - but of course, the one wouldn't/couldn't exist without the other.
-=*=-
Body:
The UNSC(10 for, 5 abstained), 'goosed' by the US, preceded by a massively misleading PR-campaign (see Bernays & 'propaganda'), 'sanctioned' a 'no-fly zone' over Libya, which turned out to be ultra-cynical *code* for a US+quisling-allies Nuremberg-class attack on Gaddafi and his forces. (Note that a no-fly zone would usually be interpreted simply as nobody flies, both target and aggressor.) The pretence was that the vicious tyrant Gaddafi was attacking civilians, actually untrue in that those whom Gaddafi was attacking were 'rebels without a (coherent) cause' who had (out of pattern, out of any good sense) started to attack Gaddafi's 'assets.' The rebels themselves were in turn most probably 'goosed' by the CIA (and/or a proxy; possibly UK, F and/or ?)
Note the situation now in another infamous den of inequity, namely in (pre-'48) Palestine. The ELO/Os (erstwhile legal owner/occupiers), are continually, 62+ bloody years long and no just end anywhere in sight, under vicious, genocidal and ethnic-cleansing attack by a marauding band of alien invaders (= people *not from there*), descended from and/or 'defended' by terrorist gangs such as Irgun and Lehi, the Stern Gang and Haganah, the latter now assuming 'military' uniforms as 'legal' (not!) disguise.
Q: Where is the UN 'no-fly zone' over the hapless & *totally innocent* Palestinian ELO/Os; where is the US+quisling-allies Nuremberg-class attack on the criminal murder-for-soil perpetrators, usually self-identified as Zionists?
-=*end*=-
PS
Some blogger (no names, no pack-drill) fell for the lying PR 'narrative,' for whatever reasons. When I gently tried to point this out ('IMHO'), my comments did not appear = were censored - that blogmeister's assumed privilege. But he was wrong, twice: wrong in fact, and wrong to censor.
Moral:
Anyone thinking they are clever by choosing to support what they may perceive as the lesser of two evils, forgets at least three things, a) any lesser is still & always was/is/will be evil, b) they may have falsely perceived anyway and worse, c) they may have fallen (or thrown themselves) into a false dichotomy; there may be - indeed *must* be, at least one choice that *is not evil*.
Warning:
Any 'blogspot' blogger posting comments to another 'blogspot' blog should be aware of an incredible danger; if the target 'blogspot' blogmaster should flag your comment(s) as "spam," you could have your 'blogspot' blogger-id *disabled*. Anyone valuing continued use of their 'blogspot' blog should take this warning *seriously*. The danger is such that I recommend *not* commenting using a 'blogspot' blogger-id; the consequences could be *fatal* for your own blog.
PPS
Anyone claiming History "as it Really Is" could afford to pay better attention to facts. Oh! IMHO.
"Do unto others ... " is both necessary and sufficient ("do no harm" added to stymie any kooks); 'enlightened altruism' works in any size group, providing most members unite to 'enforce' it. Just as eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts - when those (human) parts cooperate. "Me, me me!" is a recipe for eventual disaster; any and all rippers-off must be rejected. Truth is more beautiful than brutal; lies are deployed only to deceive - all liars must be identified, and immediately thereafter any communication with such liars terminated. Note Lakoff-framing and avoid the negatives; merely conversing with a propagandist will extend his/her/its platform - simply point 'em out, then turn 'em off. Our future depends on eliminating most/all error and becoming strictly sustainable.
