Join The Crowd

Your world is confusing

and imploding around you

you want to do something

but you don't know what

I know you feel lost

join the crowd

Wall Street Mafia

(excerpt from The New York Times)

By JULIE CRESWELL
Published: October 4, 2009

"For most of the 133 years since its founding in a small city in Wisconsin, the Simmons Bedding Company enjoyed an illustrious history.

Its recent history has been notable, too, but for a different reason.

Simmons says it will soon file for bankruptcy protection, as part of an agreement by its current owners to sell the company — the seventh time it has been sold in a little more than two decades — all after being owned for short periods by a parade of different investment groups, known as private equity firms, which try to buy undervalued companies, mostly with borrowed money.

For many of the company’s investors, the sale will be a disaster. Its bondholders alone stand to lose more than $575 million. The company’s downfall has also devastated employees like Noble Rogers, who worked for 22 years at Simmons, most of that time at a factory outside Atlanta. He is one of 1,000 employees — more than one-quarter of the work force — laid off last year.

But Thomas H. Lee Partners of Boston has not only escaped unscathed, it has made a profit. The investment firm, which bought Simmons in 2003, has pocketed around $77 million in profit, even as the company’s fortunes have declined. THL collected hundreds of millions of dollars from the company in the form of special dividends. It also paid itself millions more in fees, first for buying the company, then for helping run it. Last year, the firm even gave itself a small raise.

Wall Street investment banks also cashed in. They collected millions for helping to arrange the takeovers and for selling the bonds that made those deals possible. All told, the various private equity owners have made around $750 million in profits from Simmons over the years.

How so many people could make so much money on a company that has been driven into bankruptcy is a tale of these financial times and an example of a growing phenomenon in corporate America.

Every step along the way, the buyers put Simmons deeper into debt. The financiers borrowed more and more money to pay ever higher prices for the company, enabling each previous owner to cash out profitably.

But the load weighed down an otherwise healthy company. Today, Simmons owes $1.3 billion, compared with just $164 million in 1991, when it began to become a Wall Street version of “Flip This House.”

In many ways, what private equity firms did at Simmons, and scores of other companies like it, mimicked the subprime mortgage boom. Fueled by easy money, not only from banks but also endowments and pension funds, buyout kings like THL upended the old order on Wall Street. It was, they said, the Golden Age of private equity — nothing less than a new era of capitalism." (read more The New York Times)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now you see? The Mafia didn't go extinct, they just went "legit" and moved to Wall Street where robbery and greed have been made legal.

US COMMON MAN MANIPULATED LIKE CATTLE

The Obama Manipulation

Posted: Oct 11, 2009 Sun 07:34 pm

by M. ASADI


"The Obama manipulation: the rebelling masses, rebelling against the US system were pacified using symbolism of inclusion and real change in the person of Obama in the 2008 presidential elections. Obama's preplanned failure given the enormity of the crisis faced is supposed to deflect that rebelliousness against the system towards the direction of racial failure on the part of African Americans, fermenting the racial divide while at the same time preserving the status quo of the US permanent war economy. A very ingenious way of solving this systemic crisis by the U.S. elite, using the U.S. public as cattle prodded through the "vote" and slogans of "change" back towards their slaughter line-up where their personalities and identities are slaughtered by the corporations on a regular basis.

Read my article, The Barack Conspiracy, written before the Nov 2008 Presidential Elections, and see how each of its predictions are coming to pass."

Darkness

Alone in the darkness

we languish in our fear,

it is only in the light

that we can see the truth

Society of Love

Call me crazy. but I believe that no person should have to suffer.

And if any person shall suffer, let it be regarding his own choice.

Ignorance turns this world into a miserable place,

but we can resolve to love.

We should come together,

divisions kill and alienate.

No matter what the world says,

The Society of Love will take you in,

and show you the way to live.

No matter the general consensus,

those with the arcane knowledge of a life lived in love,

will be the ones to change the world for the better.

The Society of Love

is one to be reached for

For the Sake of Humanity

philosopher king

All You Need To Know

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,"

that is all Ye know on earth,

and all ye need to know.

...John Keats...

Nobel Peace Prize Winner

President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize today to the surprise of many. The award was a first in that Barack Obama is the first American president to win the award in his first year in office. Some noted that it was not so much because of his accomplishments up to date, but that it reflected an important change in the willingness to dialogue, a virtual slap in the face to "W", his predecessor. Any way you look at it, heartfelt congratulations Mr. President!

Hope for Peace

International perspective allows that
just the removal of Military-Industrial
cheerleaders from office, a huge step
to recognizing what President Eisenhower warned
about appearing to look criminal by bullying.

When Senator Obama demonstrated how well
Senator Clinton could dialog when debate was expected,
he was much more subtle a peacemaker
than many will ever appreciate.

The End Of Childhood

The childhood of mankind

has come to an end

it is time to tell the truth

They have always been here

Shortly after midday on 16 January 1958, a series of photographs were taken from a ship anchored off Trindade Island, about 650 miles from the coast of Brazil.


The photographer, a Brazilian named Almiro Barauna, claimed to have seen a dark grey object approach the island, fly behind a mountain peak and then turn around and head back the way it came, disappearing at high speed over the horizon.


The object glittered and was surrounded by a green mist, and it displayed an undulating motion, changing to a tilted position as it passed over the island. On board the ship with Barauna were some 300 other crew, and around 50 of them are claimed to have seen the object.

April 11, 2008

Harvest Of Fear

For centuries—millennia—farmers have saved seeds from season to season: they planted in the spring, harvested in the fall, then reclaimed and cleaned the seeds over the winter for re-planting the next spring. Monsanto has turned this ancient practice on its head.

Monsanto developed G.M. seeds that would resist its own herbicide, Roundup, offering farmers a convenient way to spray fields with weed killer without affecting crops. Monsanto then patented the seeds. For nearly all of its history the United States Patent and Trademark Office had refused to grant patents on seeds, viewing them as life-forms with too many variables to be patented. "It’s not like describing a widget," says Joseph Mendelson III, the legal director of the Center for Food Safety, which has tracked Monsanto’s activities in rural America for years.

Indeed not. But in 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court, in a five-to-four decision, turned seeds into widgets, laying the groundwork for a handful of corporations to begin taking control of the world’s food supply. In its decision, the court extended patent law to cover "a live human-made microorganism." In this case, the organism wasn’t even a seed. Rather, it was a Pseudomonas bacterium developed by a General Electric scientist to clean up oil spills. But the precedent was set, and Monsanto took advantage of it. Since the 1980s, Monsanto has become the world leader in genetic modification of seeds and has won 674 biotechnology patents, more than any other company, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

(excerpts from Vanity Fair - read more)

(americanbuilt.us)

ART ?

I've been wondering lately about what exactly, or generally, to consider the definition of "ART".

I am leaving the question open and collecting opinions, including my own, in an effort to coagulate thought and suggestion into a workable definition.

Oddly enough,since I have begun thinking about this, I have noticed references to this question in the media that I am usually exposed to. Pops up in newspaper, magazine, and even cartoon jottings. It's uncanny but probably just that I am noticing these coincidences when I normally wouldn't see them.
But to consider presentations of painting, metalwork, photography, mixed media,sculpture,printmaking, wood, ceramics, fiber, digital renderings, and glass; not to mention music, theater, dance, and building construction -- we must consider the possibility for each to be an exhibit of artistic value either to us alone or to us all in general.

The above art by Camille Rose Garcia from Subterranean Death Clash series ,2006

Let it roll around in your head for awhile and please let me know anything that collects in the corners,

Theocratic Myopia

"This was a portrait of the Republican Party fully in the grip of its right wing: almost exclusively white, overwhelmingly evangelical, fixated on abortion, homosexuality, and abstinence education; resentful and angry; and unable to discuss how and why it had become this way. Noticeably absent from the convention were moderate Republicans. Senator Lincoln Chafee, legatee of the moderate Republican tradition in Rhode Island, was defeated in the 2006 midterms, and he was endorsing Obama. The last Republican House member from New England, Representative Chris Shays of Connecticut, would lose his seat in two months. None of the great Republican families of the past, from the Rockefellers to the Eisenhowers, were there either. Both of Ronald Reagan's natural children, Ron and Patti, endorsed Obama. President Dwight Eisenhower's granddaughter, Susan, addressed the Democratic National Convention in Denver just moments before Barack Obama appeared to accept his party's nomination. How did a party once known for its "big tent" philosophy become a one-ring circus? How did a Republican Party that had dominated American politics for over twenty-five years become so marginalized?" (read more)

Maybe we should start over

American Private Police Force

Private armies

Hired by private corporations

Let the healing begin

(read more)

The Voice of Reason

Kill the Monster

Unbridled capitalism

is a money machine

that will eat you alive,

kill the monster.

http://www.americanhealthcarereform.org/

The Voyage to the Moon

A Trip to the Moon (French: Le Voyage dans la lune) is a 1902 French black and white silent science fiction film. It is based loosely on two popular novels of the time: From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne and The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells. The film was written and directed by Georges Méliès, assisted by his brother Gaston. Méliès had intended to release the film in the United States to profit from it; however, Thomas Edison's film technicians secretly made copies of it and distributed it throughout the country. Méliès never profited from it and eventually went broke. (read more)

Shade grown

My friend Joey spends a lot of time in Indonesia helping coffee growers organize co-ops. He is surprised when he sees nature taking matters into it’s own hands. If a coffee grower isn’t practicing ‘shade-grown’ farming techniques ..elephants will actually appear at the edge of his plantation and eat whatever coffee bushes are growing in the deforested area. Occasionally he hears stories about tigers killing loggers who inadvertently cross over into federally protected forestland. When he mentioned this to the National Park Service in Sumatra, they told him it’s the law of the jungle ..when wild animals sense that their habitat is shrinking ..they begin defending their territory more aggressively. When he talks to the encroaching farmers however ..he gets another story. They believe that the tiger is a deity enforcing proper human behavior. They tell him the killing was more likely a punishment for breaking a tribal taboo such as adultery. “Maybe the victims did something bad, like sleeping with someone who was not their wife. Cutting the trees is OK. There's no problem with that.” They cannot conceive of the notion that the attacks are related to the destruction of the animal’s habitat.

Man attack

Women Rule The World

Lysistrata is one of the few surviving plays written by

the master of Old Comedy, Aristophanes. Originally

performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic

account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end

The Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata convinces the women

of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their

husbands as a means of forcing the men to negotiate

peace, a strategy however that inflames the battle

between the sexes. The play is notable for its exposé

of sexual relations in a male-dominated society and for

its use of both double entendre and explicit obscenities.

(read more)

Lunar Tide

Aurora Borealis sunlight play

Mirrored in Moon’s soft visage

Snow tuft dotted indigo backdrop

A Burning Bush to see directly

Planet’s Soul carries, sways

Gentle lapping, cooling, calming

Blue Beauty reflected, too

Sigh in unison with the earth

Chariot lays Sun to rest

Navy speckled starlit sky

Brilliant Moon come out to play

Silvery dancing lights the way

Silken blanket battles chill

Anticipation of the flight

Upheaval crashing rolling speed

Unity as Mother carries Eve

Tickling fizzing lighter than love

Racing flying flash of life

Yells both Man and Sea

Glorious dramatic climactic release

Gasps draw breath for smiles

An agreement has been made

Hands dip, clasp, give thanks

Sea holds close, lets go for play

Moon grins, drips its light to guide

Winds pass only to refresh

No longer riling fury waves

Allowing surfer girl to glide.

Happy Birthday

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
(2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948)

Streaming music

Investigators have uncovered a subconscious ‘stream of music’ running through my head. It contains mostly fragments of old songs I heard while I was growing up. Songs like “..doze eat oats and mares eat oats and little lambs eat ivy”. But it also plays some contemporary pieces like “..help I’m alive” or “gimmie a break, gimmie a break.” Some investigators tell me it’s purpose is to keep my brain entertained so I stay alert. Others tell me it was set in motion to supply my ego with a stream of self-images ..keeping me anchored in the culture and generation where I live. I notice that it pops into hearing range from time to time for no apparent reason. When it does, I can tell that the songs I grew up with are more prevalent ..I don’t hear too many Moroccan tunes ..although sometimes I’d prefer it. There is one thing investigators agree on however: they say if it pops up to often ..or stays on the surface too long ..it could become pathological. I ask them if that’s because of all the disturbing memories it might bring up. No, they say it’s because of all the disruption it would cause my ordinary stream of consciousness. It would sound like I had Tourettes or something. Either that, they say ..or it would become stagnant and block me from learning any new tunes. I tell them I’m not sure which is worse.

Image by ~> Luana Silense
Based on notes taken during a lecture by ~> Oliver Sacks
If you get a chance, listen to the audio at the bottom. It will be worth it.

The Delicacy of Light

Dispatched from our generous star,
light gives texture to the most ordinary
and the most sublime,
it bears no prejudice,
it reserves no judgment.

Light gives meaning to the darkness
by dispelling it.

Light brings life to all
without respite,
a gift freely given,
sweet song of the ages.

Light exposes the
majesty and delicacy of the planet.

Dispatched from our generous star,
light is the keeper of all we possess.

Here's Your Wake Up Call

The "Phoenix Lights"

were a deliberately planned display

by alien visitors,

they want us to know they are here.



(watch movie)

The Latest economic news is that the gap between the rich and the rest of us is growing. This is further proof of the continued decline of the middle class in America. Those responsible for the current economic situation, due in large measure to unregulated speculation, may have seen their wealth diminish somewhat (they remain wealthy) while millions of Americans of lesser means have been catapulted into an exceedingly precarious economic situation. In a society that prides itself in punishing those who commit crimes, most of those who have propelled many of us into the economic abyss remain essentially unscathed. Not only have they escaped justice, they seem to be thriving.

While the President attempts to address the pressing issues that pursue and perplex the society at large, millions upon millions of corporate dollars flow into the hands of members of the Congress and the Senate from the bountiful pockets of a veritable sea of lobbyists. These monies have one primary purpose and that is to create obstacles to the reform that the majority of the people desire. Money and power have effectively corrupted democracy in this country to the point that real and substantial reform has become near impossible.

The purported values of the wider culture have been supplanted by the lure of money and power. There is no escaping this conclusion; the evidence for it is too overwhelming. Is this the nature of our politics?

Destroy Your Credit Cards

DESTROY

YOUR

CREDIT CARDS

NOW!

Fly

I used to think there was
A monster underneath my bed
Haunting while I slept
Spinning nightmares in my head

Every night before lights out
I’d search, crawling on my knees
Look, listen, and look again
I found no sign of this disease

But soon as my eyes closed
My thoughts began to race
His jagged breathing rattled me
My feeble heart began to race

Toss and turn and flail around
Weep and sigh; lament the day
Chaotic sounds filled up my ears
Help! I cannot get away!

One night, in fact, I saw this beast
Gnashing, hating, bleeding lies
Wicked decaying spindly wings
“Oh fuck,” I thought, “he flies.”

Some time later I decided
To steal his evil wings
“Ah ha!” I cried; it’s time to fight
“Victory for human beings!”

Bloody battle did ensue
His advantages were clear
But I had heart, and I would win
My sanity was dear!

So up, up, up he flew
As I straggled far behind
But I won, as heroes do;
I caught him with my mind.

I tore those ugly wings of his
Ripped them off his skin
I looked at them in awe and thought,
“I didn’t think I’d win.”

And, so, to ensure that I was safe
I took the wings upon my back,
Wrote a reminder to myself:
Fly, fly, fly away upon attack.

Pigs At The Trough

Provocative political commentator Arianna Huffington yanks back the curtain on the unholy alliance of CEOs, politicians, lobbyists, and Wall Street bankers who have shown a brutal disregard for those in the office cubicles and on the factory floors. As she puts it:

"The economic game is not supposed to be rigged like some shady ring toss on a carnival midway." Yet it has been, allowing corporate crooks to bilk the public out of trillions of dollars, magically making our pensions and 401(k)s disappear and walking away with astronomical payouts and absurdly lavish perks-for-life.

The media have put their fingers on pieces of the sordid puzzle, but Pigs at the Trough presents the whole ugly picture of what’s really going on for the first time—a blistering, wickedly witty portrait of exactly how and why the worst and the greediest are running American business and government into the ground.

From 1997 to 1999, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, the number of registered lobbyists in Washington grew by 37 percent, to more than 20,000, while the amount of money they spent reached $1.42 billion. Crunch the numbers: That's roughly 38 lobbyists for each member of Congress. Like a swarm of ravenous termites reducing a house to sawdust, they are making a meal out of the foundations of our democracy.

And what are we ordinary Americans doing about it? Not much-- at least not yet.

(excerpts from Powell's Books)