War is a Lie.

There is no argument that the men and women who have fought for their respective countries over the last 200 or so years. Soldiers are taught to murder, taught to kill a stranger. Never their fault.

Those who order the killing of strangers, based on a lie, are the true sociopaths. The amount of money involved to change young people's mindsets to kill, based on absolute lies, would feed an undeveloped country for 10 years. Murder is a lucrative affair.

Our soldiers are never taken care of after the war.

Our government(s) simply can't look at them. They have killed for the reason that was never told: Terrorism, Al Qaeda, ISIS, etc., No. This is about a game, a $ making game, and they require our people to fight for their goals—a lie.

We do not fight for FREEDOM but only profit for the few.

By and while, these soldiers come back from war, lost, and disconnected from society. It's not like the movies. Our government forgets them. Why? Because it is all a lie. These bribed officials simply are in denial. And our soldiers are on the streets.

The prissy one's want more war cause they are paid to say so. Along with the mainstream media. (They are paid handsomely, too)

I repeat: Our government is bribed to vote for war.

The propaganda is rife. Remember, people are people, no matter what race or religion. And war is not an option for any human being.

Say no to War.

Culture Shock and the Island (P. 2)

 

To call the watercraft that brought us to the island a “small ferry.” is misleading. A more accurate description would be a large motorboat with wooden, built-in seats. The crossing felt like a continuous launch over the waves to then crash, smacking the surface. This violent movement left my guts in chaos. Once arriving, after helping my wife off the boat, I turned away and vomited into the blue sea. The pretty indigenous woman, dressed in a light blue polo shirt and white shorts, our greeter to the island paradise, covered her face and grinned. My wife seemed embarrassed, grabbing my arm in an attempt to prevent me from falling off the peer.

“Are you alright, Craig?” she asked.

The crowd of eight of our fellow motorboat travelers bursts into laughter as I raised my hand in the air and bowed to them! This action for me, at least, relieved the self-disdain that I felt at that moment.

Our pretty greeter, led my wife and me to a beautiful little bungalow set close to the ocean. The room was large, and the bed covers and prints on the walls were all quite colorful. Collapsing on the bed, I said, “Well, that was a good start to our vacation.”

She began to unpack our bags and said, “Don't worry about it. Take a shower and meet me at the main bar.”

This didn't happen. I fell asleep immediately and didn't wake up until 9:30 that evening to an empty room.

At first wondering where the hell I was for a second, I immediately hit the shower as my body was drenched in sweat from the thick humidity in the air. Dressing in jeans and a new Apple polo shirt that a fellow-worker gave me, I exited the room for the nearest pub. This was around the time that the Apple corporation came to Australia. The shirt is black with an Apple insignia emblazoned on the front. The first bar I came across was only a short distance from our bungalow. Entering the place, it appeared empty, except for two elderly gentlemen seated at a table in the corner... I ordered a beer when the younger of the two men invited me to join them from across the room.

“Did you arrive today?” the young one asked.

“Yes, this afternoon,” I said.

The older man, distinguished in manner, said, “So you're the young American fellow who lost his lunch on the peer.”

I laughed instantly to hide my embarrassment. “Yep, that's me, the experienced sailor of the crowd. I mean, really, word gets around.”

“It's a small island, and there's not much to talk about.” the distinguished gentleman said.

Our conversation steered towards the rise of technology around the world. This was the late 80's when Apple Mac hit the international market. I told them I didn't work for Apple, but for the AGE Newspaper in charge of the entertainment advertising. The younger man, once discovering my employer, began to be a bit stand-offish. Both men turned out to be Australian investment bankers, who had lost plenty of money in the crash of 87. When I was about to excuse myself to leave, the younger man brought out his business card, writing something on the back, and handed it to me.

“Bring your wife to brunch tomorrow. My room number and phone extension are on the back. I hope you can join us.” he said.

I left in search of my wife. On the back was written much more than his room number, but in small print, a brief description of a club he was a member celebrated wife swapping every year. Later I discovered that this group would meet every year on a different south sea island to swap partners. Needless to say, we didn't meet them for lunch and, for the most part, avoided their company for the rest of our stay.

I wandered around the island for about 30 minutes, to finally hear loud rock music blasting from the south. I walked through the saloon type swing doors to absolute mayhem. The place was packed with many more women than men, all pissed, loud, where a few girls are dancing on the bar. Making my way to the bar, I ordered another beer to turn around to see my wife playing pool with some pretty rough characters. Once my wife saw me, she screamed and jumped into my arms like she hadn't seen me for years.

“Where have you been?” screaming over the music of Jimmy Barnes' “Working Class Man”.

“Never mind,” I said. “Did you manage to have any dinner?”

She seemed to not hear me, and returning to the pool table, made a magnificent shot, pocketing the 8 balls in the side pocket. “Drinks on you!” she yelled to the burly dude in the sleeveless jean jacket. He didn't appear too pleased about losing to a 4 foot 10.' girl in her early 30's. My instincts told me to grab my wife and make a quick exit. I whispered to her that we needed to go. At first, I could feel the resistance in her body, soon to agree to my request. We soon found our way back to the bungalow to where my wife collapsed on the bed. Finding the mini bar, found a tiny bottle of vodka and turned on the TV. Of course, there was no reception. After finishing the drink, falling to sleep, I must have left the TV on because my dreams were of lost souls crying from another dimension, begging to escape their static prison, wanting to come home.

Watch the Trees

 

Fall has arrived.

When summer turns to fall, that precise moment when the trees change their color and the cold becomes a little biting, knowing it is time to wear a coat, a scarf, and one's nose, once in the warmth of home, stings, as you enter a heated room, you know autumn has truly arrived.

It maybe the temperature of the morning, the crisp air against your face as you walk briskly in the golden light of sunrise, though the day turns hot once again, you know Fall hasn't quite happened, but very close.

We know when the season's change because it is the trees that tell us so.

It is not noticeable unless you pay attention, because once the leaves change from green to yellow, orange, violet or red, it is only a matter of time when they fall, and if you are not there in the moment, you will miss it.

There have been some years where the leaves changed their color, and caught up in the day to day routine, have missed their mystical falling.

Waking up one morning, finally calm, awake and aware, 'my' tree next to the balcony had lost all its leaves; and because of my self-centered-ness, not being in the moment, mindful, missed this important transformation.

She was bare...and winter certainly was near.

Today was special because we were in the moment, the leaves beginning to turn and mindful that their beauty was only minutes, hours, or days away.

Summer to fall is a beautiful time as the earth moves around and ever so slightly, tilts away from the sun.

Then the cold will move in soon; the trees dropping their last leaf; the snow falling and the pure joy of an open fire as you cuddle with your loved one under the covers, knowing that spring is next.

Watch the trees...

Simone de Beauvoir – Letters to Sartre - Review

The relationship between Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, the most famous of the French existentialists' was a love affair of the heart, body, and soul; one of the most infamous relationships of the 20th century.

These letters reveal a caring, loving Simone and her intellectual concerns between 1930 and 1963. What makes these letters interesting are the many characters one meets in her novels are mentioned by their real names rather than their novelist pseudonyms.

De Beauvoir is known more as one of the first driving forces for the ideals of Feminism. However, she was also a prize-winning novelist, political activist, philosopher, and diarist. She also loved Sartre beyond measure.

The relationship between them, as written in the Introduction by de Beauvoir's daughter was a "...notorious `morganatic union.' allowing contingent loves." They had an `open relationship,' one where other lovers were permitted yet, they remained a lifetime companions and lovers are until Sartre died in 1980.

What the letters also reveal, aside from her contemporaries actual names, was the couple's intellectual and relationship jealousies. As to there `self-created myth' of open relationship bliss, nothing could be farther from the truth...these jealousies existed.

As a professional writer, de Beauvoir, wrote every day. In one of her letters, she mentions that one day during the week, she didn't have time to put pen to paper; she writes, "A day without writing tastes of ashes." She was an incessant scribbler, as her large body of work reveal.

Interestingly, as I've written somewhere before, reading letters, especially love letters make me feel like a violator or voyeur. That said, these letters are an important contribution to philosophical history, therefore, from a historical standpoint, that feeling of voyeurism is irrelevant.

If you are interested in the philosophy of existentialism and beautifully written love letters (a vanishing art form) this text is highly recommended.

Culture Shock and the Island. (P.1)

 

In the last several decades, mainly with my little family, we traveled by car to Queensland, crossing NSW and into the state's northern parts. We would visit my Russian in-laws, both in their late 70's, and settle into an old Baptist Church that my father-in-law renovated into a comfortable living space. This was my first trip into the State, and really had no preconceived notions about it. It was only after visiting the town, eating out at a few restaurants, and walking amongst the living natives, that the differences in culture stood out to me. But when my wife and I traveled to a little island, a resort, off the coast off the mainland, that the notion of cultural differences became clear.

Only a few years before this trip, I had landed in Melbourne with only an overnight bag and my guitar. Anyone who has visited LA or has lived there understand that the sheer energy level of the place is off the charts. I loved LA. So traveling to Melbourne was a considerable cultural shock. I not only had to learn the Australian slang but, in some cases, couldn't understand the check-out girl at the grocery store. Most of the time, over the few months since my arrival, I made a conscious effort to listen with intent. But really, it was all hit and miss. Sometimes I'd piss off the waitress in a restaurant while charming a woman at a club with my California accent. I needed to work, so really, it was a steep learning curve.

My strong belief in 1988 while living in Melbourne, is that at least 1 and 5 Australians despised the “Yanks,” and the rest intrigued or neutral. In my first months in the city, I would run into the former more often than the latter. I'd be having a beer in the pub with my stepfather, and someone would hear my accent and the “Aussie stirring” would commence. This “stirring” was a new phenomenon to me. Of course, American's give other Americans a hard time, but the Melbourne “Stir” was altogether a different species of animal. I would take offense when none was justified, and it would escalate from there. It was only after I connected-up with a woman from the local theatre group in town that I truly began to understand Australian culture's specifics. She taught me the slang and even bought me a book about words and the native Aussie's subtle innuendos. (The the book does exist) She was a great help. But like politics, it would take me years to learn the ropes and feel generally comfortable in my new home.

In the first week of my arrival, I decided to travel to the city alone and see the sights. If you have never been to Melbourne is a beautiful city, a combination of the old and the new. In the late '80s, however, we didn't have the Casino, and parts of the town needed a serious upgrade. It was in an older part of town that I entered an ancient bookstore.

Talk about experiencing culture shock, as I was casually browsing the overstocked shelves, enjoying the scent of old books, I realized all of the merchandise had a socialist and communistic slant. Biographies of Lenin and Marx, and a full shelf of Marx and Engels, “Communist Manifesto.” Looking up, the walls were draped with posters of famous communists, including Mao, Ho Chi Min, and Trotsky. Let me say, I froze like a deer in the headlights. My first thought, no kidding, as if I was being followed! My pure emotion was absolute fear. It was then I left the store as stealthily and as humanly possible.

 A few years later, I realized the extent of my cultural brainwashing, the extent to which I had been schooled in the evils of communism and socialism, growing up in the US. It became clearer to me once I returned to university and learned the history of ideas across time. I had learned that I had been systematically conditioned to believe the political ideas of socialism and communism were the roots of all evil. Of course, The Stalinist era in Russia, after the revolution, didn't run by the tenets of Marx, but the rules of fascism and totalitarianism. My awakening about culture and politics, like my understanding of Australian culture, continued on a steep learning curve.

Now, leaving our baby son behind in the care of my Russian in-laws, we launched on a small ferry, bouncing over the waves from the shores of Queensland, to a resort island, that in hindsight, was another steep learn ing curve in my understanding of culture and Australia.

Diary entry – early 1992. The Uninvited

 

My At the time of this extraordinary event, son, Sam was just under two years of age. It was a Saturday afternoon at the beginning of the autumn months, and unusually cold for that time of the season.

Because the night before was “festive,” drinking heavily with clients and workmates, an afternoon nap was essential. In a panic state, my then-wife rudely woke me out of a much-needed slumber.

“Sam is being taunted by the ghost!”

Some background information is needed here to grasp the unexplained uncleanliness of the event.

For many reasons, my wife and I had been separated for approximately nine months, really not relevant to this narrative. We decided to try again and rented a house in Brighton and KNEW, the house was haunted. We saw the same apparition of a woman sitting by the bedroom French windows on separate viewings of the house. Considering my extensive past with the paranormal, I should have known better but decided to rent the old house despite the warning.

As I stood up from the couch, Sam literally jumped into my arms. He pointed to the hall next to his bedroom, uttering, “Bad, bad… girl.” My son was looking at something invisible to my wife and me but was there in his eyes just the same.

I said, “Tell her to go in the name of God! Tell her to go away!”

Sam then said, “Grandpa, grandpa…” pointing in the direction of my study. We got to the study, and he grabbed my grandfather’s rosary beads from the wooden cross that stood in the middle of my desk. We returned from my study to the hall, and he shook the rosary beads, his hand extended, saying, “Go, go, go…” In seconds, I felt Sam relax in my arms – the “spirit” that was taunting him had gone.

At the age of 18 months, Sam knew nothing of my grandfather, who, by the way, was a very religious man and had died in 1964. How? There is no rational explanation, but my son knew how to rid himself of the uninvited guest.

Michael Crichton – State of Fear - Review

 

Michael Crichton's concerns throughout his career never much changed. In fact, most of his novels focus on this concern in one way or another. This concern is the arrogance of science, or more specifically, those individuals or political organizations behind the institutions of science, establishing their authority, pushing their "scientific." findings in the guise of altruism, but it is no more than a ruse to fulfill some personal or political agenda in reality. He believes that society is in great danger because of the intermixing of science and politics.

In appendix 1 of this novel, he cites a chilling example, supported by prestigious institutions, leading minds, politicians, and writers at the time in the promulgation of eugenics. This was a concerted an effort to rid society of their "undesirables," that is, Jews, illiterates, the feeble-minded, foreigners as well as blacks. As is well known, WW2 Germany took the eugenics ball and ran with it, to the tune of ten million exterminations.

Crichton cites this example, I believe, because when science gets into the hands of ideologues and zealots, or particular individuals with a personal agenda, science becomes a weapon of the strong to fetter the weak. It becomes a tool to create fear in the ignorant masses, in order for those in authority to maintain control over them. The theory of Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect he uses as an example in his newest novel.

As an avid reader of Dr. Crichton for over twenty years, some of his books are spot on the mark, works of uncanny foresight in some cases, while others fail miserably. Personally, I would categorize "State of Fear" as one of his more researched and better efforts.

Environmentalism is a highly contested issue around the planet. The topic of Global Warming has become a part of every middle school curriculum in the Western world. We teach a simple definition. When students finally understand what the Greenhouse Effect actually is, after hearing the topic pushed in the media for so long, they become quite pleased with themselves. However, as part of the humanities, it is necessary to show all perspectives of a subject; therefore, students are shown other studies claiming Global Warming as fiction or simply a theory at best. They then set out on their individual research projects and are expected to argue their chosen perspective with evidence. The better their presentations are argued, and the more evidence they provide to back their claims, the better their grade.

`State of Fear" attempts to cover the many divergent views on this subject, and Crichton does so with multiple references, making this not only an enjoyable ride from a fiction perspective - a well-crafted thriller - but also from an educational standpoint. Dr. Crichton should get top marks for this one.

As always, when reading a Crichton novel, one invariably learns something, whether quantum mechanics, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence or climatology, one can be certain that the learning the experience will be worthwhile and entertaining.

Why Australia won't Stand-Up for Julian Assange

 Over the last two weeks, since the second round of Julian Assange's extradition hearings, there has been noise on certain web sites, as to why Assange, as an Australian, has not been protected by his own government. The reason(s) run across international lines, and reveals a powerful deep-state that silences the individual Rights of a citizen in a sovereign nation or any western nation around the world.

Firstly, Australia is a member of the five eyes (FVEY) that include Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. All are bound by the multilateral agreement, UKUSA Agreement; this is a joint cooperation of all military and intelligence information gathered and shared. This includes each country's “spook” operations around the planet. The NSA and CIA in the U.S., ASIO in Australia, CSIS in Canada, SIS in New Zealand, and GCHQ in Great Britain. There is no doubt that other Intel organizations exist like MI6 in the UK, but this covers the main entities.

You may ask that these organizations should be under governmental oversight. It is the elected government who direct these agencies to their various tasks around the planet. I believe that nothing can be further from the truth. These agencies are essentially rogue arms of the government and tell the politicians what to do. You see elected politicians come and go, while those in these agencies have been installed and calling the shots for decades. In the last 12 or so years, Julian Assange and Wikileaks have revealed the illegal machinations of these agencies, including war crimes, and the Australian government, even if they wanted Assange brought home, have been ordered to stand down, in the name of “National Security.”

In a Blog wrote last year, “The Rise of Fascism in Australia” I wrote - https://sychronicity1.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-rise-of-fascism-in-australia.html

Quote: “In 2018, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) stormed a news corp journalist's home, after an article was published, revealing new powers of the Australian Intelligence Agencies to spy on its citizens without due process. These new laws were ratified in secret and the Australian people would not have known about this draconian law, if not for a whistle-blower contacting the News Corp. journalist.

A day after the raid on the journalists home, the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) in Sydney was again stormed by the AFP, over the series of stories covering the unlawful murders by the Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan. These are actual War Crimes committed that the government wanted to keep from the public and the world.

Early 2017, an Australian Tax Office (ATO) whistle-blower, Richard Boyle, revealed severe malpractice within the powerful institution, and could be sentenced to as much as six life terms; this exceeds the sentence of Australia's most prolific serial killer, Ivan Millat. Certainly a huge red flag for anyone concerned with justice and the truth. The government is sending out a terrifying message to all future whistle-blowers: reveal our crimes, and you'll pay for the rest of your life.”

We in Australia, too, are experiencing a major crackdown on Freedom of the Press, particularly when publishing classified information that reveals brutal war crimes committed by the military and the government. Let's be clear, revealing war crimes has never put any operative or military personal in harm's way. This fact was proven just last week in London at Assange's extradition hearing.

Since WWII, Australia, has been a vassal state of the US. We have followed America into unnecessary wars like Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq 1 & 2, and joint bombing raids over Syria. America orders Australia to jump, and our response is, “how high?!”

Similar to the corporate media in the US., we have News Corp (Murdoch) as well. Through this medium, the intelligence agencies will “leak.” a story about national security. For example, China is hacking our National Data Infrastructure. And without a shred of evidence, the masses will believe the hype, and suddenly China is Australia's number 1 enemy. Ironically, however, China is our major trading partner – so go figure?

The public was lied to about Vietnam, both Iraq wars, Afghanistan and Syria. All lies. And with this knowledge, as a public, we continue to believe the propaganda.

Are we that stupid?

Julian Assange has revealed the crimes of the military and the intelligence agencies across the planet. So is it any wonder that they want him and Wikileaks silenced for good?

Australia is a member of the Five Eyes: these are the true movers and shakers of the planet leading us to war after war. This is the reason the government will not stand-up for Julian Assange.

The Assange case in London is the most important precedent regarding press freedom in the western world's history.

Australia's silence and lack of action are simply pathetic.

Jeffrey Meyers – Orwell: Wintry Conscience... - Review

 

Jeffrey Meyers is a biographer of some renown. An accomplished writer of criticism, his works focus mainly on literature, covering subjects from 'Homosexuality and Art' to studies on the mechanics of biography itself. He has published portraits of many literary figures - Robert Frost, D.H. Lawrence and Ernest Hemingway, displaying an uncanny genius for research. ~Orwell - Wintry Conscience of a Generation~ is one of his more recent contributions that has given us a new and more down to earth portrayal of one of the most admired literary cult-figures in English letters. This book is not a hagiography, a monument-chiselling-exercise, creating more myth than fact: in this biography we are introduced to a human being, at times dark and disturbing, who received the calling to write somewhat late in life, and who showed a staunch integrity that today is quite rare.

Personally, reading Orwell is similar to sitting in the principal's office, being told in no uncertain terms the hard facts about the world, to then come away with a much firmer hold on reality. Orwell is a wake-up call, shattering any illusions you might have of a so-called just and fair society, revealing the numerous machinations of power under superficial propaganda that those in a position of influence want us to believe. While others were band wagging, blowing any which way the political and philosophical breeze was heading at the time, Orwell held fast to what he knew to be the truth - and eventually paid the price.

It's interesting that Eric Blair (Orwell) suddenly dropped his career as a colonial policeman in Burma, (a truly detestable job for any man of conscience) to become a full time writer without having really written anything of significance. From the point of this 'calling', until his early death from tuberculosis at 47 years of age, wrote some of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, not to mention a myriad of essays, articles and reviews, which scholars, historians, and political scientists are pouring over to this day. Another interesting point - Orwell believed that if a writer produced anything less than 100,000 words a year, they were not doing their job. Anyone who writes professionally or other wise, knows this to be a daunting task.

At the beginning of Orwell's writing career, his actions showed considerable courage, a self-imposed guilt, believing that a rough, tramp-like existence was absolutely necessary: "...Every suspicion of self advancement, even to "succeed" in life to the extent of making a few hundreds a year, seemed to me spiritually ugly, a species of bullying...My mind turned immediately towards extreme cases, the social outcast: tramps, beggars, criminals, prostitutes...what I wanted, at the time, was to find some way of getting out of the respectable world altogether." As Meyers simply explains, "Living rough and becoming a writer were part of the same route out of the respectable world." (p.79)

One of my favourite novels, 'Down and Out in Paris and London', describes this conscious escape from the privileged Victorian middle class into the dark recesses of working class poverty. Orwell is of that particular writing school where, in order to write about it, you have to live it - and he did so, plunging himself continually into personal and political conflict.

Jeffrey Meyers has done us all a big favour, giving us a gritty astonishing portrait of a man of letters, who fought for social justice, informing us through his actions and writing the importance of personal and political integrity - Orwell is a true prophetic moralist.

Lynne Truss – Talk to the Hand... - Review

This book was given to me by a fellow worker before Christmas a few years ago. A artistic and well spoken man from the Emirates. In front of our company peers, he handed the book to me and winked, as if to say, "I put some thought into this gift, and I know you get my meaning." What constitutes "good manners" and accepted behaviour, once believed to be sheer rudeness, has changed immensely over time. I guess it also depends on where you come from, too.

Truss' book is a (attempted) funny diatribe on Western modern manners or lack there of. Our current "help-yourself-society" and the disappearance of bend-over-backwards costumer service in most areas of commerce, has indeed fallen. When I landed in Australia in the late 80's, after living in LA for 10 years, costumer service was a new concept. It truly felt the shop assistant or waitress was doing me a favour, "You should be thankful I'm even serving you at all - you dumb yank!" Once the 21st century arrived, the Aussie's "got it" and service improved. Even now, Mortgage Brokers and Australian Banks in TV advertisements all hail that, "If you deal with us, you talk to a "real person" and not a machine!" Truss writes prolifically on computer and automatic services, on the surface, an easy way to buy, however, in the end, wholly frustrating and not very effective.

Although written from a Brit's perspective, I did find myself grinning from time to time, having had similar experiences with passive parents and their foul-mouthed children in grocery stores. Really though, Truss did not lay down any tried and true rules of behaviour, leaving the reader wondering, where all this clever whining is going.

Finally in the last pages she offers her notions on basic manners in public.

Aristotle had it right over 2 thousand years ago, when he asked us to practice to be virtuous, aspects of personality we are not born with, and need to put into action to attain it. Truss proposes practising empathy and basic respect for one another. It truly is a skill to attempt to feel what another is feeling - it does take practice and at least, forces us to reflect for a moment, and not react.

Somewhere in the last five pages Truss quotes a 19th century American novelist that, to me, sums up the entire project on manners and so-called appropriate behaviour:

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind."

Henry James.

If you enjoy British dry humour and a fresh perspective of our current techno-modern world, read "Talk to the Hand" - it certainly will not take you long.

 

The Vanishing Fourth Estate

 

Real journalism is a dying profession. Main-stream media has become conduits for the powerful, mouthpieces, rather than calling them into account. The purpose of the fourth Estate is quite clear: it is the fourth leg of power in a democracy; the Legislator, Judiciary, and the Executive – the free press is vital in a healthy democracy, calling the powerful to answer for their actions – and it seems this vital arm of democracy is vanishing.

Since the media has been bought up by corporations; their journalists have been forced to promote that said corporation's political views. Many of these mainstream journalists will deny this point. One only needs to watch television news to see certain sides of a political stance promoted as truth. In the United States, generally, the two sides of the political coin are MSNBC and Fox News. This pseudo-journalism The so-called Right and Left is nothing less than entertainment and propaganda, pitting their audiences against each other in knee-jerk fashion. The Right will scream about the immigration invasion, illegal aliens taking American jobs away from its citizens. On the Left, they will tell you that all Americans' problems are because of Russian influence. Anyone opposing their neoliberal corporate nonsense is Russian. This “journalism” is not challenging power, but serving power through distraction from the real issues confronting the population.

In Australia, the problem is a little more grey, clouded, but the end-game is the same. Sky News and other major publications such as the Herald Sun in Melbourne, and The Australian Newspaper nationally, are politically right-wing bent, to an obvious and embarrassing extent. This media mentioned is Murdoch owned. Since the Melbourne lock-down, headlines like Andrews is a Dictator, (Labour Premier of Victoria) Victoria has become a Police State, and today, a well-known shock-jock-Murdoch-gimp, Alan Jones, declaring that the pandemic is a hoax! This is not journalism, but propaganda tools for the corporate elite. Unfortunately, this type of irresponsible “journalism” is taken on face value, truths, by their listeners and readers.

So what has happened to journalism? Where are the writers speaking truth to power?

The disappearance of the fourth estate has always been on my mind. It has only become a face-plant issue for me, since the second round of the Julian Assange extradition hearings in London.

Mainstream media are all but silent on the Assange hearings. It is only now that I have the time to read independent media, that I can follow this attack on the fourth estate, the attack on a journalist, Assange, who had the gall to place the powerful to account, by revealing their corruption and war crimes.

The mainstream, understanding their powerful masters, know, witnessing the appalling treatment of a truth-teller, a journalist, Assange, is maintaining their silence. “If we tell the truth, we too will be put into chains and solitary confinement, And hell, I need to keep my job, right?”

The Assange hearings in London is the biggest and most important trial against the fourth estate. The powerful desire to silence and ultimately destroy the press. Yet, again, the MSM is virtually silent, getting the message: speak out, and you'll lose your job and end up in jail.

I always thought it ironic and quite clever, that main-stream “journalists” started a campaign, calling Assange a fake, and not a journalist. What a shit-storm of absolute rubbish. When others knew the truth and refused to print it, Wikileaks did so, and the mainstream news, like The Guardian, printed his revelations to betray him under pressure from their corporate masters. These “journalists” should be hiding in absolute shame.

The Fourth Estate has been systematically destroyed by the oligarchs, the corporate elites. Their relentless disinformation campaign against Wikileaks and Julian Assange, for the most part, have been successful.

The second round of Assange's extradition hearings is a joke. We will only see a semblance of true justice, when it moves forward to Appeal in the higher Courts.

We are at a crossroads, a crucial time in history. The fourth estate is essential to a working and healthy democracy. The powerful and wealthy desire to destroy this important arm of a working and free civilization.

Do not let them win.

The Honey Trap (short story)

 

Our online overseas relationship began with all the romance one can possibly have without actually seeing the person, and had all the signs of a true connection, though, in the end, this story is now being written from a jail cell.

Facebook has its good points, contacting old friends, old lovers, and surrogate families; sending music, writing one's thoughts, but when one receives a “friend request”, from a total stranger that happens to be living in a war zone, in this case, the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in twenty-twenty hindsight is not a good idea.

What a fool.

My political persuasion is, well, really, apolitical. (In reality, no-one can be “apolitical.”) America's invasion of Iraq was executed by the then Bush government, with utter precision. I believe the attack of 9/11 was a “Black Flag” operation. In other words, the war on “Terror” had been escalated because the government organized the entire operation: a perfect ruse and excuse to invade Afghanistan. You can believe what you want, but the evidence is too compelling to ignore; and to brush it off as a fringe, idiot's conspiracy theory reveals brainwashing and false patriotism. The operation worked, and NATO troops are still there fighting a war for drugs, oil, and precious minerals over the last 10 years. When, if ever, NATO does leave, the Taliban will move in, and the Afghani people will be living under theocratic fanatics.

This belief put me in a lot of trouble.

Our exchange on FaceBook began with wholly innocent messaging, exchanging love songs, etc. Then we started talking politics. My Facebook page became a c-grade 'still.' movie of a true romance. My Achilles Heel, so to speak, is romance, and I was pulled in like trout on a fishing line.

How could I have been so stupid?

Because of “love” and empathy for her plight, I began posting anti-Americanism, and Israel reports. Over-posting would be a more accurate description. Only within three weeks my computer started doing strange things: not properly booting up, not letting me post certain ideas, then paranoia set in. But like a puppy in -love, I truly believed I was right in my actions, and put the “Big Brother” paranoia out of my mind: a very, very, bad move on my part.

At two in the morning only a month ago, my apartment was raided by black helmets with big guns. I was blindfolded and taken to an undisclosed location. I was sleep-deprived for a week, the best form of torture. Now, they say, I’m awaiting trial for treason.

I love America and Australia, but certainly not their governments.

What I'm really being put on trial for is foolishness and believing the written love of another.

My life as I knew it is over, sitting in a jail cell for “Love?”

Rantings of a Madman

This may sound like the rantings of a delusional schizophrenic; however this thought has run through my mind for at least a week.

Fascism’s basic definition is to do anything, force or otherwise, to capture and own the thoughts, minds, bodies and actions or trick the people to follow the mandates of those in power. The ancient Romans, 20th century Nazi’s and the 21st century Zionists all have/are using the same tactics: violence and, most of all, fear. To the fascist, the masses are sheep and NEED to be controlled because “we know no better.”

What these fascists are doing now is committing war crimes across the world, ignoring the wishes of the majority of people who only want peace. The “trick”, however, is they’re committing these atrocities in plain sight. Why? If the people rise up too hard, Marshall Law is declared then, slowly and perhaps suddenly, people will start disappearing. (Detention centres are currently in construction in the U.S.) Mass slaughter of innocent people will run rampant, (Syria) and the Zionist propaganda machine is currently running a campaign on the Net to cover their tracks – and throwing out viruses to all BLOGS, and areas of free speech so the Truth is covered.

This happened during the Vietnam War, when Henry Kissinger ordered B-52 carpet bombings over Laos over a 14 month period. No-one knew about this until the year 2000. More bombs were dropped on Laos, (a “possible” North Vietnamese haven) than all the bombs dropped during WW2! (By the way, before this was known, Henry Kissinger won the Noble Peace Prize for “peaceful” negotiations with China.)

The reverse terrorism is a covert propaganda campaign to create the illusion that those who speak out against war are terrorists and must be contained or detained.

I’ve seen anti-war net-sites simply disappear.

Please be vigilant, speak out because, I believe the truth will find its way out…it always does – eventually.

 

Jack Kerouac – Selected Letters - Review

For any biographer or historian the original letters of the subject is a valuable and extremely important source of information in order to gain insight into the time period, and/or the person under study.

In part 2 of Kerouac's Selected Letters, the text truly gives the student or curious, a penetrating look into this enigmatic and ultimately tragic American author. For many, Jack Kerouac represents an important shift in American literature but also a significant historical (literary) mark of an entire generation. Ann Charters, (Kerouac's first biographer) editor of this volume, has done a pain-staking and beautiful job with this book - we come to know him as a man, the artist and his concerns; generosity, relationships; his struggle with the demon drink and, most importantly, the development of his unique prose style, leading to his now iconic status.

The letters begin in the year (1957) when "On the Road" was published. At this stage of Kerouac's life, from the tone and content of his letters, he is excited, finishing incomplete manuscripts, organising "get- together s', writing his publisher and working on new projects. As the years progress, sadly, his drinking accelerates, he becomes more and more misanthropic and, in the end, paranoid. It is true - it was the booze that killed his body but it was fame as an author that murdered his soul. More than likely, it was both.

Ann Charters suggests that these letters were experiments in style and possible new ideas for future projects, his friends perhaps 'sounding boards' where the reader can see his development of what is famously known as "spontaneous prose".

Kerouac was also a prolific poet. Some call his "novel", Mexico City Blues, one long, epic poem. This particular book, for me, was difficult to read, until viewing the piece as poetry - it was then the penny dropped and the book became much easier to read.

An example of a little poem written for Stella Sampas to Gary Snyder from Japan:

"A poem to Stella Sampas?"

"After the shower,
Among the drenched roses,
The bird thrashing in the bath

After the shower,
my cat meowing
On the porch"

It has always been my opinion that Jack's poetry is underrated, but that's neither here nor there.

Kerouac wanted his letters to be published thus he kept copies in neat files by year.

Anyone interested in American literature, pursuing a research project or wanting greater insight into the man, these letters are an invaluable historical document revealing the inner workings of the "Beat Generation" that continues to affect most modern writing to present time.

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov- Biography – Review

A Summary of a Life

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov known to the world as Lenin created a form of Marxism that influenced revolutionaries throughout the twentieth century, including Castro, Mao and Ho Chi Mien. Leninism flies in the face of pure Marxism in so far as forcing capitalism to crumble through extreme violence and revolution. Marx would say that history would take care of itself, and capitalism would eventually whither away once the proletariat realised their plight and a class struggle would ensue, communism would emerge from this struggle leading to a type classless utopia. Lenin certainly forced the issue, believing capitalism needed a big push through revolutionary tactics and strategies. This fine biography of Lenin from the History Channel, adeptly describes the man's life, including new information that came to light after the fall of communism and the USSR in 1992.

Lenin was a star student as his father ensured that his family of six children were reared on the Russian classics. Right before his final examinations at the gymnasium (secondary school) his brother, Alexandra Ulyanov, a radical member of an extremist group intent on assassinating the Tsar, was eventually caught by the secret police, tried and executed by hanging. Lenin went ahead and sat for his exams despite this devastating loss, (Lenin's father had just died from a brain disease) passed and went onto university. It has been strongly suggested that Lenin's brother's death put Lenin directly on the revolutionary path.

Later, after becoming a lawyer, Lenin was exiled to a Siberian work camp for dubious political activities, being known to the police as a Marxist, where he wrote copiously, completing his magnum opus, `The Development of Capitalism in Russia." He was released after three years, later meeting his wife, a schoolteacher, who remained devoted to him until his death. The new information that finally came out of the Kremlin was Lenin's curious affair with a woman, a devoted Marxist, where Lenin, his wife and mistress lived happily together in the same apartment. This is not so shocking these days but scandalous in the early twentieth century.

This brilliant documentary summarises the man's life and fanatical drive to create a revolution in his homeland, destroying the Russian monarchy and establishing a socialist state. Probably the most impressive aspect about Lenin was his relentless drive of purpose despite towering opposition. In fact the man was so focused that he refused to listen to Beethoven, his favourite composer, because he thought the music made him soft.

For anyone interested in the Russian Revolution and the man who played the pivotal role in its success, this documentary is essential, it would also be an excellent resource for students studying the subject in Middle School and above.

 

Short Comment on 9/11 Anniversary

 

A few years ago, I posted the new Nike ad to discover what response would follow. Although there are more out there, the response is what I expected: Right wing talking points, Trump talking points.

It was a Green Beret who suggested to Kaepernick to kneel in order to protest racism, and police brutality of black Americans. All this false patriotic BS, is just that, brainwashed individuals who, refuse to see the world. And at bottom are scared and racist.

It is the anniversary of 9/11 today. This event, changed the world. These so-called "patriots" accept the main stream media explanation. Unfortunately, the main stream explanation is full of gaping holes. Rather than accept MSM, and Our governments' untruths, perhaps look outside the bubble. Perhaps question, and "think" for ourselves?

A good friend told me to stop writing and posting about the corruption of our governments and our MSM. To be truthful, I'm about to take her advice. In this world of fascism, right wing racists and absolute ignorance of history, these gimps hold on to values that were lost 19 years ago today.

The president of the US is not the "Leader of the Free World". American values are no longer accepted, that is, freedom, humanitarianism, and Righteousness. The world now, more than ever, understand what they stand for...and it's not the People.

Of course, I have lived in Australia more than half of my life. Australia has been good to me. Australia is right up the collective ass of American/Israeli fascism. Nothing more to criticise...it is what it is.

My heart goes out to the first responders during 9/11. Brave men and women. Although, you have not heard (maybe): thousands of these first responders now have died of cancer or currently are dying of cancer. Why? Something to consider.

My point: millions of people have died due to a false premise. Meaning all war, by the US, is presented as humanitarian or a threat to “National Security”...most if not all the wars in the last 100 years have been forged by lies.

I love Australia, America, Canada, UK, France, etc., because I criticise their respective governments, does not make me a "traitor."

On this terrible anniversary of 9/11,

PEACE.

Postscript: Building 7.

Jonathan Carroll – The Ghost in Love – Review

Carroll is a truly original author. I remember back in 2012, reading his daily blog concerning art, literature, and brilliant observations about normal people around his home in Vienna, Austria. The blog entries were real with a touch of magic about them. He is not necessarily a fantasy writer, nor would I call his work, magical realism. He has a style and approach to story-telling that is certainly unique – in The Ghost in Love , the writing is a view of existence where anything is possible.:logic is suspended for 320 pages, and all bets are off. That said, there is a intuitive logic; unreality meets reality, and the fantastic, more often, is more relatable than the surreal.

The Ghost in Love is centred around four characters: Ling (the Ghost), Ben (central protagonist), German Landis (Ben's girlfriend) and Pilot (the dog, co-owned by Ben and German). Ben has an accident, hit by a car and injures his head. He was meant to die, but something in the universal computer has glitched. Ling is assigned to Ben by the Angel of Death, to observe him under these unusual circumstances. The tale is told through the perspectives of all four characters. Pilot's point of view is the most cynical and funny, as a dog, we come to discover his world is much more complex and deep than any human could possibly comprehend.

From a surface reading of this Carroll tale, we might mistake this novel for the musings of a over-imaginative writer. As readers we are lulled into a sense of normalcy to then be taken to perspectives that make no sense. “Wait a minute, dogs cant talk or have a witty cynicism about their existence”? But like many great writers, through the images of a absurd parable, will address the important questions about the human condition. A good example is Orwell's Animal Farm, though a story about talking animals, it becomes a critique on totalitarianism and its hierarchies. Ghost is a tale about the human condition, and how our choices can change our fate, if only we honestly examine ourselves...

At the end of the novel, I was reminded about the psychology of Carl Jung. In modern times, we feel to be disconnected, shattered as a result of the unexamined life and materialism. Jung sought the goal if individuation, the coalescence of our unconscious, our numerous personas, and what he called the Shadow. Through therapy and self-analysis, we confront our childhood, our dreams and negative attributes, to then reach a greater understanding of ourselves and existence. Through this process, we become whole as a human soul.

It is the genius of Carroll to ask these universal questions in the setting of the modern world in such a simple and entertaining way.

Personally I loved this novel. I loved the characters (especially Pilot the mutt) and the journey they take to understand themselves and existence.

Brilliant.