The Slide Continues....

We still continue to lose half a million jobs a week.

Micro-Managing Obama is now pulling forward demand for dishwashers...

The bailouts continue.

Bankruptcies continue.

The Fed says it needs to continue hiding financials or we'll know exactly how stinky the their pile of poop is. Not only that, we're still faced with the same threat that the banks will unleash a financial terrorist attack on us, if we demand fair accounting, and that existing laws be upheld. And I guess they could destroy the USA financially and the result would be many thousands of dead Americans, from secondary effects like malnutrition and diseases from not having money to buy food with.

And that fits neatly into my long time tinfoil hat conspiracy theory that after Peak Oil, the wealthy will own our government through the power of the money presses and they will divert our resources for their benefit alone.

We're evolving into a nation where a few banks owned by the same principles will own all of the financial transactions in our country. Legal small businesses will be crushed. The corporate giants will withdraw to serve only were profits remain, and serve their client base there poorly.

We're moving into an economy consisting of a few corporations in near total monopolies. they will be the few with the power to demand that the government print money and give it to them for free. They will continue to change the laws to benefit themselves.

They will utterly destroy industry in the USA, with their death throes.

Obama's plans to pull forward demand are going to wreak havoc on a number of industries. The Cash for Clunkers program brought out everyone that thought they might want to buy a car over the next few years, and drove a buying frenzy. Now new car sales will sink to incredible lows, never before imagined.

Now we have a cash for appliances program going forward. This will drive a spike in appliance sales, then over the next year, sales will drop to incredible lows, never before imagined.

I bet with the next pull demand forward programs, I could just create a template for blogging. Use the essentially the same text, say the same things...

I really wish that things weren't following this path. I wish that we truly had people in positions of authority that were highly intelligent, caring and wise. But we don't have that. What we have running the country are people no smarter than anyone else you meet in life, no wiser, but have an ambition to wield power. That is the only difference between them and folks you meet in neighborhood grocery stores.

They don't see the future. They don't even understand the present. They react day to day to circumstances that surprise them out of the blue. And like most Americans, they cling to their myths and their vision of how they wish things are, and they work as if those are the truth of things.

So what we see is the collective action of people seizing opportunities with no foresight or planning. Few have the vision to look ahead and work to enact their plans. And those that do, are constantly being derailed by those that see a short term profit in changing the strategies.

And this works to derail evil plans, like the PNAC or those serving some mostly honorable vision like the Super Conducting Super Collider.

So no conspiracy theories are needed to explain events. In a contracting industrial environment, the center fights to grow, and cannibalizes it's support systems. the wealthy fight to expand their wealth, and as wealth on the whole is contracting, they must steal wealth from others.

We've seen other civilizations do this. But we're a supercharged high energy civilization. Where Rome was powered by wood, charcoal and muscle, we're powered by oil. Our rise and our fall are highly accelerated. Events that took hundreds of years to evolve in Rome, will take only decades for us.

But we have one other distinguishing characteristic. There are no rising civilizations vying to usurp us. The whole world is going down together. When the barbarians at the gate arrive, it will only be us.

We still have a long way to fall. More war, maybe for Christmas would be a logical next step for an administration desperate to distract us.

Right now they are distracting us with the health care reform debate. And what did i say about desperate corporations changing laws? A big part of the plan being discussed is to make the purchase of health insurance mandatory. So if you lose your job and can't afford insurance, then you become a criminal. Many people may well be forced to become criminals out a need to eat.

Now the gov does plan to subsidize insurance, but we've seen how such programs are arranged. A small portion of the population will qualify, while most will not, due to some form of red tape. The Obama administration is already famous for designing programs so that almost no one qualifies, or it's tough to get the gov to follow through. Cash for Clunkers is an example. Many dealers have still not received payment and may go out of business as a price of success. Of course, they will likely go out of business anyway, with future sales going down the toilet.

If this mandatory insurance does pass, I think that most of the uninsured now, will not be able to afford it. They will face difficulties in qualifying for the subsidies. When Obama signs that legislation, he will be criminalizing the millions of victims, of our government's reckless economic policies.

You all know what to do. Keep your head down. Don't attract attention. Don't get shot while screaming slogans at a protest. Take care of you and yours, because you'll get no help from the government. And for those that believe in protesting and fighting the government, forgive me for disagreeing with you. I don't believe it will do any good, until the government beats the people down so far that they start shooting politicians to death. That is the path the government is taking us to, in destroying the US economy to benefit wealthy international bankers. I don't want any of my readers killed or harmed in such actions, no matter how noble, as no single death will change the course that our leaders are charting. We've seen it in other countries. It is coming to the USA. It's the path that Obama has charted for us. He's made it clear it's too hard to change course, so he intends to go faster. Do your best to cling to the railings. Rocks dead ahead.

Mercenary Assassins...

Still another Bush era war crime has come to light.

The CIA hired Blackwater to operate Assassination Squads. This is another violation of the Geneva convention and is a war crime.

"The Central Intelligence Agency hired the private security firm Blackwater USA in 2004 to work on a covert program aimed at targeting and potentially killing top al Qaeda leaders, according to a source familiar with the program."

"The program was outsourced to contractors to "put some distance" between the effort and the U.S. government."

I don't see how there could be any argument as to whether this is a crime or not. When mafia bosses pay money to have people killed or assassinated, in order to put distance between themselves and the crime, we still consider them guilty.

Further, hiring mercenaries is a war crime.

Part III : Methods and means of warfare -- Combatant and prisoner-of-war status #Section II -- Combatant and prisoner-of-war status
Article 47 -- Mercenaries

1. A mercenary shall not have the right to be a combatant or a prisoner of war.

2. A mercenary is any person who:
(a) is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict;
(b) does, in fact, take a direct part in the hostilities;
(c) is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party;
(d) is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict;
(e) is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and
(f) has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces.

This program doesn't differ substantially, from government programs paying settlers for Indian scalps. A practice that I think that most people would agree, wasn't exactly, moral, legal or Christian.

And how can anyone verify the work Blackwater did in killing people? Do they bring back scalps, heads, hands? Do they simply submit a form saying how many Al Quaeda members that they killed each day? How do we even know if they are killing members of Al Qaeda? It seems that anyone that chooses to take up the career of killing people for profit, might lie about their murder count.

And when did hte contract end? Did it end when Blackwater changed their name? Is this program ongoing with Xe? The corporation formally known as Blackwater?

In other news, CBO's Annual Social Security Update is out. Social Security is entering the red zone now. h/t Market Ticker

And finally the health care debate rages on while the Banksters continue to lose massive quantities of money but make it up in fantastically profitable Welfare Queen Bailouts.

Pete Sessions was in Irving last night (I didn't see him), and made the news. He non-answered questions on a variety of issues at a pep rally in a local High School. I'll post videos from YouTube later when I have a computer available with sound, so I can hear what's being said.

I watched a few videos and the news short this morning and I learned that the US Military plans to start using blimps to carry tanks to Iraq. I hope they buy extra patch kits. I also learned that Pete Sessions is telling folks that Obama plans to eliminate the insurance industry. That was news to me, as we see regular reports on how the insurance industry is writing his health care plan for him.

Pete has long record of avoiding the healthcare issue. He doesn't promote reform, but he makes it clear that he's against it, and he's for it. what a politician.

And as he gave his litany of non-answers, the crowd cheered. My fellow residents in Irving, sure love free flowing bullshit. They couldn't seem to get enough of the dissembling.

As all of this crap continues to unfold, I'm sure there are folks who would read this and tell me that I'm too pessimistic. But if that's the case, then why can I never keep up with the bullshit? Why is it that reality continues to make me look like a cock-eyed-optimist?

But on a lighter note... I'm still alive. I still have a roof over my head. Though I took a 20% pay cut, I still have a job. And now I soon get to see my sister and law and my niece again, after four years. They are unemployed, broke, with no car. So I'll be putting them up until they can get back on their feet. If they can...

Well, this post is toast. Time to get back to work, and avoid the news for a bit. For the weekend, I've got some gardening and band practice to look forward to.

Life goes on...

Mad City Chickens.

Earlier I promised a review of Mad City Chickens. After seeing it though, I don't have too much to say about it...

It was a good film. Pretty typical of what we've seen the last few years as a documentary on various social movements. It covered a few different aspects of backyard chickens from McMurray hatchery to some folks trying their hand for the first time in keeping chickens.

The film focused on Madison Wisconsin and the surrounding towns and contained interviews of some folks that are keeping chickens illegally.

It also had a little short interspersed of a mad scientist and a giant chicken, rampaging the city. I don't know that this added any value to the film. I wouldn't have missed it, if it had been left out.

Overall the film is worth seeing. For myself it was a good excuse to go to a local nursery, meet some folks and pick up a few herbs.

Home Defense

UPDATE:

I just discovered why this person is angry with me. I once made some remarks about the Scientology Cult and the dangers of the Narconon treatment program. This is why I'm a bad and evil person.

****************************************************************

I got myself into what I consider a strange discussion on another blog.

I have a few blogs linked that sometimes delve into home protection. Some of my online friends are ex-military or live in countries where day to day activities have an element of danger to them.

In that discussion, someone pointed out that if a burglar broke in, they would sit them down, talk to them and likely offer them a temp job. If pushed, this person said they would think for a bit about what the law allowed and act accordingly.

When I read that, I thought I was reading the script for Grand Torino. There is a scene in the movie where the neighbor teen breaks in the Clint Eastwood's home to steal is his. The teen has been pushed into it by a gang that wants to recruit him. Clint let's him go, then later finds him work to do at the urging of the teen's family.

It's a nice story, and logical, within the framework of the setup. But if it were changed slightly. If Clint had cornered the four gang members in his garage, the outcome would've been significantly different. In the movie, the teen ran away and Clint let him go. Had it been the gang members, they likely would not have run and would've decided to have eliminated Clint as a witness. Whether he could have taken them out or not is a line of thought I'll leave up to the reader.

But in this alternative line of thinking, offering them a job or appealing to reason or emotion, would not have been a strong strategic move. From their perspective, this would reek of opportunity and weakness.

Now in that other conversation, I argued that if faced with a burglar, I am likely to be confrontational. Burglars usually work in teams, so like my grandma used to say about snakes, 'If you see one, there's one you don't see.'

As an example I gave, we had a team of home invasion burglaries working the next county over a few years ago. Sometimes folks were home when they broke in. When this was the case, they murdered the families.

I commented that years ago, I did some kickboxing. And we went full contact often in our sparring matches. And that taught me that I do not want to get hit outside of a controlled environment. In sparring, if you take a disabling blow, your opponent will stop. In a real fight with a stranger, you don't know what they'll do. So I know if confronted in my home, I will seek to disable them, then call the police. After all, I'm older now, softer, and out of shape. If I must fight, I will not fight fair.

I pointed out that in my state, deadly force is legal if it's the only way to stop theft or injury. That law was tested to the limits a few years back when a man fired into a car pulling out of his driveway. The four men in the car had stolen his hubcaps. Two were killed and two wounded. The man that shot them was acquitted by a grand jury.

Now as a rebuttal, I was informed that I'm a bad person, and that I'm only getting away with such horrible deeds because I make such things sound so reasonable. I was chastised for not understanding that burglars may be on drugs, or be engaging in crimes for other reasons that I need to understand. On that note, I'm not sure what I've actually done, beyond stating intent to protect my life and loved ones against intruders in my home.

Perhaps in those home invasions, where families were murdered, the victims had a chance to get to know their soon to be murderers, and came to understand them? But does it matter?

I've never actually had to harm anyone in self defense, and I hope I never have to. But I've come close a few times. I have also confronted would be burglars, outside my home. Both times I was doing yard work and caught them peeking into my windows. I simply walked up to them and asked them if I could help them with something, and they ran off.

I've been in a number of other situations where things were iffy, and bull and bluster got me through. So at least I already know how I'll react in the face of fear. I just haven't yet had to cross that line, of actually harming anyone.

But I believe that without hesitation, I would fight to defend my wife and loved ones, without a single thought as to whether the law permitted my actions or not. I can survive the legal process, but I can't bring my wife back from the dead.

Now I've met more than one person who thinks I'm evil for thinking like this. For being able to say that I will defend my loved ones against harm, using deadly force if necessary. And that's fine by me. If that makes me a bad person in your book, I can live with that. I hope that those that would never fight to defend themselves, or their loved ones, are never tested. I don't wish them any harm. I also wish that I could believe we live in a world, where bad things don't happen to good people. But in my personal experience, I've seen it happen too many times to believe that.

If I'm a bad person for this, so be it.

Is It Time For Karl To Ban Himself?

He's gone tinfoil on us, in his recent post, DAMNIT, STOP THE LOOTING NOW!

ALL OF THESE AGENCIES HAVE INSTEAD TURNED A BLIND EYE AND IN FACT IN SOME CASES (OTS IN PARTICULAR) THEY HAVE ACTIVELY CONSPIRED WITH THE BANKSTERS THEMSELVES!

And Karl has a policy against posting conspiracy theory crap.

Remember, people never get together and plan crimes. That never happens in Karl's world. Al Capone acted alone. Bonnie and Clyde never met each other. Nixon never had friends or accomplices, not even that Ben Stein guy. Bush and Cheney hardly knew each other and never talked. Well that might be true.

Watch out Karl! You might have to ban yourself!

Chickens!

These photos were taken by Paco Romero. He came out last Saturday and took these photos for a class project in photo journalism. I was impressed with how fearless he was, getting down at eye level with my birds, even lying prone in a white T-Shirt. :)

Here is a sampling of the photos he took.

Chicken Photo Journalism

I've been contacted by a photojournalism student, that is doing a project on backyard chickens. He made a point letting me know that he's 50 years old. I guess it's never too late to learn new skills.

He's coming out to my place on Saturday to do an interview and take some photos. I'll have rights to post pics and such here on my blog.

When I go out in my backyard, I see the same familiar stuff. So when out working in my yard yesterday, I wondered what is really worth the effort to photograph. But then I look at my birds and the trees, the trellises, gardens, goldfish ponds and remember how people react when they see it all. So maybe this will reopen my own eyes.

Tomorrow I'm also going to a Dallas screening of Mad City Chickens. I'll post a review later.

Anyhoo, photos to come...

Palin's Lawyer Serves Up Some Juicy Rumors

From the Alaska Post

FBI Is Raiding Banks

In addition to the report below, there is word that the FBI is hitting other banks.

I'm awaiting word that my big post peak financial conspiracy theory has been disproven. I have argued that the largest institutions will use legal and illegal means to wipe out their smaller competitors. If these raids only hit the smaller chains and doesn't lead to the break up of the likes Goldman Sachs, then this becomes another data point, proving out my thesis.

Though Karl and the rest are celebrating this, I worry that it's one more step towards a corporate monopoly on finance.

h/t The Market Ticker

Downtown building raided by FBI

Updated: Monday, 03 Aug 2009, 1:27 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 03 Aug 2009, 12:07 PM EDT

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - - FBI agents from the Washington, D.C. field office have raided a building in downtown Orlando.

The building raided is the Colonial Bank building on Pine Street. The FBI is working with the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program which was established by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

FOX 35 has a crew at the scene. Check back for updates.

Less Dead Than Expected

The Disassociated Press
Le Morte, Texas

Fan's expectations rose today, on news that Michael Jackson's corpse is decomposing at a slower rate than expected. "Though, there is no word yet on when a comeback tour can be expected, Michael is definitely showing signs of recovering", said a close family friend.

Obama is said to be looking forward to the pop star's comeback and is planning to unveil a stimulus package to overcome the effects the powerful pain killers that are said to have ended the pop star's life.

"This is not the time for half-measures.", said Obama in a news conference Monday morning, "If we want to see Michael dance again, then we can not give into the naysayers, and those that see the glass as only half full."

Obama unveiled the 2.8 trillion dollar plan, before lawmakers in a thrilling late night session on Friday.

When asked if spending alone is enough to wake the dead, Obama replied, "We're already seeing signs that this works in our current bailout plan. One of my alternative energy proposals will be looking into harnessing the energy of our founding fathers, that researchers have shown, to be spinning in their graves."