Month: February 2011

The thousands of workers presently demonstrating in Wisconsin over the blatant efforts of that state’s governor to suppress the unions, have more in common with the Arabs on the streets of Tripoli and Cairo and Amman, than may be obvious to a casual observer.

Egyptians, Libyans, Jordanians, and other Arab populations, have long been under the thumb of dictatorial regimes imposing harsh measures to ensure their citizens toe the line. Now, the wire holding the pin in the grenade of revolution has finally rusted through; an explosion of civil unrest is echoing around the Arab world.

In America, the tide is flowing in the opposite direction. Americans are used to freedom. Indeed, they’ve lauded the virtues of freedom far and wide. Yet, even while so doing, the freedoms of the American people are being steadily eroded, and it’s been happening since the 1980s.

On August 5th 1981, then President Ronald Reagan sacked 11,345 striking air traffic controllers, members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, for daring to strike in favor of better pay and conditions. Reagan argued that the law of the time banned strikes by government workers. But it was more than that. It was the first move, initiated by a corporate sponsored world leader, designed to set a precedent that would snowball and eventually break union power throughout America, and ultimately, the world.

Greed is the potent force driving the corporate controllers of political power in this country along a route many have taken before. Throughout history, the lust for power and wealth has caused kings and dictators to lead their nations into catastrophe. America is somewhat different. America has the means, not only to destroy itself, but the rest of the world.

The gap separating rich and poor in America has never been wider, and it’s growing ever broader. At a time of crisis in this country, its elected leader appears to concern himself more with the constitutional vagaries of same-sex marriage, than the events occurring before his eyes in the nation he supposedly leads.

Arabs are finding their way forward out of dictatorship and into the light of democratic freedom. America is about to extinguish its light. And, if it does, it may never burn bright again.

Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin, says he needs to balance the state budget. Through a clever ruse, it was revealed that Walker’s aims go much further than that. Walker is just part of an organized, nationwide, scheme devised by top corporate controllers like the Koch brothers, to bring the workers of America to their knees, to subjugate them by a steady decline of wages and living standards in this country.

Meanwhile, the wealthy will become ever richer and more powerful.

There is little doubt the main factor fueling this process is climate change. Our corporate controllers have ample access to scientific facts. They are well informed. They know climate change is a scientific reality, despite protestations to the contrary.

The global warming ‘debate’ is just another concoction of the corporate controllers. Like the ‘Tea Party’, it was invented for a purpose. The truth is there is no ‘debate’ about climate change. Global warming is real; scientifically proven. It’s happening.

By casting doubt on the scientific evidence, those at the top knew sufficient numbers of the less-educated populace would leap on that bandwagon and perpetuate it for them, thus providing them with the excuse to block all efforts at environmental legislation. While their factory chimneys are belching carbon dioxide, and other even more noxious chemicals; while the mountains of Virginia and Tennessee are being blown apart for more coal to fire them, they – the corporate controllers – continue to make vast sums of money.

When the effects of climate change really begin to bite, food resources will be limited. Areas of the globe, particularly around the equator, will become uninhabitable. Vast numbers of economic migrants will begin to move around the planet. Life for the ordinary, middle class (or, more accurately, ‘working class’) citizen will become extremely difficult, if not downright dangerous.

For those with vast fortunes, life will be much easier. Enclosed within gated communities, their huge quantities of hoarded supplies hidden underground and guarded by private armies, they will expect to live out the crisis in luxurious ease. It won’t last forever. After all, when half, or three-quarters, of the world’s population is dead and those who survived are forced to live a primitive existence, the climate will probably begin to right itself fairly quickly – within a few lifetimes.

It started in the early 1980s. When it will end is anyone’s guess. Unless, of course, the citizens of the world do something to prevent it.

They are already, in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Wisconsin. Yet, they don’t even realize what they’re doing.

But, don’t take my word for it. Listen to what Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University said on ‘The Last Word’ this week.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

He doesn’t quite speculate the future to the extent I do, probably because he didn’t wish to be viewed as totally mad. I am less concerned about what others think of me, but remember this:

Back in June 2006, CommonDreams.org ran an article entitled, “New American Century Project Ends With A Whimper”. The thrust of the piece was that the PNAC was ‘dead in the water’ following the failure of the invasion of Iraq.

Nearly two years later, I wrote an article on Sparrow Chat in which I contested the views of the writer, Jim Lobe. Here’s one paragraph from my post:

CommonDreams was probably accurate, so far as concerted action by the group was concerned, but a large number of individuals were involved with the PNAC, and when one delves beneath the surface, to those areas the US media fails to visit, a picture emerges suggestive of a more vaporous, but still highly active and subversive force for world dominance.^[1]

That “still highly active and subversive force for world dominance” now has a new name. It calls itself the “Foreign Policy Initiative”. Behind the scenes, though, is another much more powerful organization. It has no name, and no face. It has no known leader; it is bound by no law. Yet, it is real, and a threat to us all.

^{[1] “Dead In The Water? Hardly…” Sparrow Chat, April 11th 2008}

Filed under: The faceless ones

It will come as no great revelation to most of us when I write that television programs are fast becoming worthless, inept, and utterly banal vehicles designed merely to market the products of the corporations that own the TV companies making such crap. And, what’s more, they expect us to be entranced by them.

But, do they?

These days television is aimed at only one market: the young. People of mature years (those of us who’ve had to suffer the insulting and crass label, ‘baby boomers’ – a phrase no doubt originally invented by a twenty year old with a brand new degree in ‘social psychology’, or some other equally inane and worthless qualification) are no longer of interest to TV programmers. Unless, of course, the sponsor is marketing incontinence pants, or ‘senior citizen’ cruises to the Balearic Islands.

Kids today, and by ‘kids’ I mean anyone under thirty, have no idea what quality entertainment is about. Those of us who have dried out behind the ears, remember when comedy was actually funny. Yes, even American comedy.

Admittedly, Americans of any age have missed out on top British comedy shows like ‘Eric & Ernie’, or ‘Only Fools And Horses’, but they still managed to produce and export some of the funniest shows on television.

Not least among these was, ‘Cheers’, with Ted Danson and Rhea Perlman – and, Kelsey Grammer who went on to star in the equally long-running and hilarious sit-com, ‘Frazier’.

Today’s generation know nothing of these classics. They’re fed a diet of cheap, cliched, often badly acted, rubbish because today’s market is all about profit. Quality is irrelevant. And, if you’ve never known quality, you never miss it.

Marketing TV programs in the 21st century, however, is about more than churning out tat. First, get your audience hooked. How many American comedy series start off promising quality, only to deteriorate into dross by series two?

When a new comedy sit-com starring Jane Leeves (she played Daphne, the English live-in physiotherapist in ‘Frazier’) was advertised, I hoped the writers would do her justice.

‘Hot In Cleveland’ got off to a good start. The tale of three women from Los Angeles marooned in Cleveland, Ohio, didn’t sound promising, but the first series managed to maintain a well-scripted plot-line, leaving viewers ready for more.

Sadly, though oh-so-predictably for American television, series two rapidly dived into a toilet bowl of cliched one-liners, coupled with scripts unworthy even of that most dire of all US soap operas, ‘Days Of Our Lives’.

‘Hot In Cleveland’ Series one was merely the bait. From now on it’s just thirty minutes of cheap tat, and that includes the commercials.

Today’s kids probably won’t even notice any deterioration in quality. Why should they? They’ve never known anything different.

Filed under: Not so classic comedy

Posting has been light of late as I’ve been involved with other projects. Not the least of which was attempting to sort out a reputable removal company, to shift all our belongings north to the Michigan Upper Peninsula, this coming June.

Surely, not a difficult task, I hear you say?

Don’t believe it. It appears the moving trade is now riddled with snake-oil salesmen and scam artists, all out to relieve you of your hard-earned cash, and quite possibly, your most valuable possessions in the process.

The first mistake I made was using one of those, “Get three instant quotes” websites – “Orbitz Moving”, I believe it was. You know, one of those bright, shiny, websites with lots of happy, smiling, faces reminiscent of satisfied customers. Distantly reminiscent, in the case of this bunch, at least, judging by the vast numbers of dis-satisfied customers airing their grievances about the companies contracted to this outfit.

I’d used ‘Orbitz’ for many a flight booking in the past and always been satisfied with the service. Mistake number two was assuming some connection. First rule of the internet these days: never assume anything!

‘Orbitz Moving’ doesn’t move anybody. It simply passes information on to any nefarious moving firm prepared, no doubt, to cough up a percentage of the takings if you’re daft enough to sign with them.

Of course, my email inbox was inundated with offers, phony contracts, crazily low ‘estimates’, and voicemail messages from hard-hitting sales staff determined to entice me into their web.

It didn’t take too much research before I hit the ‘delete’ button on every one.

After eight hours or so of total time-wasting I eventually short-listed two that seemed reliable. I would have preferred a choice of three, but in today’s ‘make a fast buck and to hell with customer service’ America, there wasn’t one other I could find that didn’t have a host of complaints laid against them.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

Watch this space.

Filed under: Conmen on the move