No BIO they aren't transposed. But thank you for reading. The dissonance is intentional. I'm not very good for link hounds. It's meant to highlight a much larger blind spot that is at the source of our current dilemma. We can't see what's going on because we are so used to our conventional scripts. The police are good and just doing their job, while anyone carrying a gun and daring to fire on officers is clearly insane. Have you ever stopped to ask why a man would do such an obviously insane thing? What the fuck was he thinking? Aside form the cliché formula of “he's criminal” or “there is simply no excuse for resisting arrest or killing police officers” has anyone looked into what the fuck is going on over there in Oakland, or the country, that this level of insanity occurs. We won't mention that the army is requiring soldiers to register private weapons they have off base. Or that soldiers are being targeted for gun confiscation upon return from service.

This article is based on the following premise: the primary evolutionary impetus for street gangs is their need to defend themselves from police. The level of gang violence, organization and tactical and strategic sophistication directly mirrors the escalation in militarization of the police force they encounter. So that when one sees a 4:1 kill ratio it is a cause for concern. But the primary question is what the fuck are the police doing in Oakland to instigate that level of violence?

Saw some shit today I hadn't seen since I was young. Not a good sign when the police go rabid. What was it Sarah said? "I don't give a damn about financial records or postings." Of course not. Why would the reality of housing scandals, corrupt police, inner-city drugs, and financial take over be of any significance? As Matt Taibi so eloquently put it “we're officially, royally fucked .”

What had brought us to the brink of collapse in the first place was this relentless instinct for building ever-larger megacompanies, passing deregulatory measures to gradually feed all the little fish in the sea to an ever-shrinking pool of Bigger Fish.

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." -- Joseph Goebbels

HELLO did we forget about the IMF audit that is coming? Alabama is a third point in trend. It happened in Baltimore and Toledo and now, as they say, the third time is the charm.

I saw this news article about troops "policing" in Alabama. didn't these folk get the memo that posse comitatus is dead? The Military Comissions Act is now in force.

“On March 10, after a report of an apparent mass murder in Samson, Ala., 22 military police soldiers from Fort Rucker, Ala., along with the provost marshal, were sent to the city of Samson,” Harvey Perritt, spokesman for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Monroe, Va., told CNSNews.com on Monday. Link

Doug From Boston writes:

This will cause the residents of Gaza to suspect Hamas even more, and spread paranoia between Hamas members.

Viva Israel!

Jerry From New York:

I can only surmise that Ms. Hass` piece was passed the the Israeli censors. Should it have slipped by, she should be tried for treason. If the methods she has described are true, then she has placed some very brave men`s lives at risk for the sake of her political views. Will she offer her condolences to the mother of this or that undercover agent, explaining that it was more important to demonstrate how unfair the war against Hamas is and that she is unfortunately responsible for the death of this mother`s son, done purposely to ease the suffering of the Palestinians, a plurality or perhaps a majority of whom would slit her throat as well if given a chance of getting away with it. Her views would in no way have saved her skin if Hamas had been the successful combatant in this conflict.

With the invasion of Gaza Israel has become the poster child of the modern terror state, occupying land and resources through a combination of integrated, coordinated manuvres in real and psychological space. The combination of Mind War with Ground War is the shibboleth of modern conflict. Just so we’re not confused. I let the news speak for itself –

Interesting observation by Craig Murray former British Ambassador to the Central
Asian Republic of Uzbekistan. He writes:

I watched BBC World News for a timed hour yesterday. In that time I saw:
Pro-Israeli (including US government) speakers - 17
Pro-Palestinian speakers - 2

Mentions of Hamas Rockets as reason for war - 37
Mentions of illegal Israeli settlements - 0
Mentions of Palestinians killed by Israel during "ceasefire" - 2
Mentions of Sderot - 12
Mentions Sderot used to be Palestinian - 0 Link

While Vast and Sarah search for moral balance in the land of broken clocks …

I’m going to remain firmly entrenched in the realist camp and assume, like all wars, this is about resources. Anybody want to place a bet that when this is over Israel gets a great deal on Palestinian oil and natural gas? I could be wrong. Who ever heard of bombing the shit out of a country to destabilize it in order to get control of its oil?

I watch the discussions on healthcare policy and think about Sisyphus. While the ideas are passionate, well researched and thought out I can only help thinking – this is a fool’s errand. Nowhere in the discussion of policy have I seen any discussion of implementation. I see the why, but not the how. I’m not talking about budgeting and funding, or even logistics, or implementation – what I’m talking about is the actual work of passing a vote.

When was the last time you looked at the comprehensive annual financial report,

Your Tax dollars at work:

Photo by Adel Hana AP

The silence is deafening.

January 18, 2008

Israel blocked shipment of food, fuel and all other supplies into the Gaza Strip on Friday and intensified airstrikes on the Palestinian territory, calling the steps a response to increasing rocket attacks into Israel. Ellen Knickmeyer, Washington Post

December 27, 2008

Hospitals crowded with people, civilians rushing in wounded people in cars, vans and ambulances. "There are heads without bodies .... There's blood in the corridors. People are weeping, women are crying, doctors are shouting, "

I just ran into some folk who know some folk, and got word on Michael Vick … the absurdity and hypocrisy of it all is just unbearable. Michael Vick gets annihilated for dogfights, and Cheney and Gonzales get cut loose for torture and genocide. Kill a dog go to jail kill a nation get a bonus. Fuck it, nobody said life was fair. I miss you Mike. Remember baby, nobody can hold out indefinitely. Keep your head up.

Now, on to the Gulf. I’ve been hearing chatter all over the motherfuckin’ bubble (globe for those of you in need of translation) about this oil thing. Except in the Mainstream Media.

I’ll be real quick about this. First you need to secure the vote. Second, remove slavery as a part of our constitution. But as for Illinois remember that deal to sell, I mean lease, the Chicago Skyway? Well here is a post from a while back about what that same program did in Britain. Meanwhile, while presidential nominee Sen. Obama is planning a http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/us/pol... ">public works project we need to ask do we really want government and corporations owning or leasing our infrastructure.

One of the great things about a blogg is that it allows for memory. I posted this back in August of 2007. It’s time for a reassessment. There is no social security, there is no pension plan, there is no Medicare or Medicaid. There is only Empire.

First, I want to give a big shout out to the whole Corrente Clan! Lambert love the new look. Yes I still live. Yes I will be on the low low a little while longer. At least until the systemic anomaly known as “THE ONE” has resolved itself. It seems Justice Thomas has found cause to scrutinize the allegation that “THE ONE” may not be eligible for POTUS status.

It seems all his mom’s anthropological jet setting may have jeopardized his status as a natural born citizen of the United States of America. Now, to be sure, I can’t imagine someone running for president wouldn’t have considered this. So, of course, it must be far fetched. But, out of all the allegations hurled against “THE ONE” this one has grown some legs.

Obviously very few of you have ever read a automobile magazine, a motorcycle magazine, or have ever heard of AFX, Moose Racing, Dennis Kirk, Arctiva, Arvin, Altimate, HJC – seriously. Am I the only one that has seen chicks with guns or car porn. Guess what? Governor Palin, the beauty queen, fits the bill and she is using it; the sexy girl who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty routine, to draw public opinion. Get over it. It’s not mean (though BIO I appreciate the very diplomatic way you addressed you concerns) it’s the truth.

Believe me I’m not surprised. Right now I’m just trying to get out of the way. I was never a fan of the Obama candidacy but, as I travel and listen to people outside the US I realized how crucial this election is. The rest of the world really wants to believe in America. They want to believe the hype, excuse me, I meant the dream. They want to believe in opportunity, equality, justice, freedom … I listen, I smile, and I think, you don’t know shit about America.

The folks up at Stanford ran an http://www.startribune.com/politics/2869... "> AP-Yahoo News poll found that 40 percent of white Americans and one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks.

IF only this were a joke! I suggest you go see Uncounted.

"When the final report on the risks of the US financial system is released in 2010 — and it is likely to cause a stir internationally — only one of the people in positions of responsibility today will still be in office: Ben Bernanke."

I have to watch the election from a distance, the Potemkin village that is our political system is no longer funny or charming. Who the next President is, is largely irrelevant. Why such a negative disposition?

Because the IMF is going to subject the databases of major financial institutions in the USA to a stress test. Yeah, oh shit is right.

Sorry, I couldn't let it slide. I don't even like Obama. But, the thunderous righteous indignation coupled with hypocritical silence is just too much. Sweetie? Really? You got your panties in a bunch because somebody called you sweetie? *@#&! Nobody said a mumbling word about http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo... ">Michelle Obama. For real, hands off.

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Perhaps it’s about time to start thinking about secession when the organs of government are arrayed against you. First the secret service – this one breaks my heart, reminiscent of a Chekist.

The message, about a missile striking an airplane in which Mr. Jackson and his wife were traveling, concludes, it “certainly wouldn’t be a great loss and it probably wouldn’t be an accident either.” Link

First, I just wanted to give a shout out to Xan, the comments were a bit much and … well… just wanted to say hey, good to see ya.

Will Barack and Hillary be the political Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon   Read more…

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