Today in History - October 30

On this day in 1938. Orson Welles went onto the radio airwaves with a fictional broadcast of a Martian invasion of Earth; War of the Worlds. The radio show, from Mercury Theatre on the Air, was written to sound like breaking news. The War of the Worlds was adapted from HG Wells' novel, written, directed and narrated by Orson Welles.
People were shot by fearful others. It caused caused panic in the streets. Aliens were seen everywhere, and even though the broadcast frequently issued disclaimers that it was only entertainment, Welles' script was so believable to the thousands who were tuned in that havoc ensued and in the succeeding days, turned to outrage over having been duped so convincingly.
Perhaps Orson Welles revealed how easily masses of people could be manipulated into fear.
And did Joseph Goebells, who was then Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany take notice too, that scary night in 1938? He perfected the Big Lie technique in propaganda, which is based on the principal that a lie, if audacious enough, and repeated enough times, will be believed by the masses.
Today many thousands suspect the prewar episode was updated for the 21st century, the action a little different, the alien characters changed, modern technologically enhanced, and repeated on September 11, 2001 with Dick Cheney in the Orson Welles part.

The people remain manipulated into fear and perhaps believing the big, audacious, repeated lie.

Jim Mars in 10 Minutes

Take just 9:49 minutes to listen to Jim Mars' point of view. He says everything you need to hear about 9-11 - - - ask yourself if he makes sense then start researching for yourself.

(with thanks to Jim Mars and YouTube)

Technology news

Wow, look at this news item from the technology section of ABC News:
Cell Phones on Airlines: Coming Soon to a Seat Near You?

More and more international airlines are offering in-flight cell services and it might not be long before calls are routine on domestic U.S. flights as well. Cathay Pacific has now announced that, starting in 2012, it will equip its entire fleet with an onboard cell phone system for GSM mobile phones. Virgin Atlantic announced a similar plan last month for its newest planes.
Here in the U.S. the Federal Communications Commission prevents domestic carriers from following their international peers, and legislation is pending in Congress to ban in-flight cell-phone conversations. But some in the industry say it's only a matter of time before American airlines start bringing voice communication to the friendly skies.

Aviation Week, in 2004 printed - 'Qualcomm and American Airlines are exploring ways for passengers to use commercial cell phones inflight for air-to-ground communication'. They did a test with the aircraft being equipped with a special antenna in the front and rear of the cabin to transmit cell phone calls to a small in-cabin CDMA cellular base station. This "pico cell" transmitted cell phone calls from the aircraft via a Globalstar satellite to the worldwide terrestrial phone network.
Randy Petersen, editor and publisher of InsideFlyer magazine said, "We will see this in U.S. airplanes in the near future."

In the future? WTF?
Don't these people who are on the cutting edge of modern cell phone technology realize that way back there in September of 2001, there were several cell calls made with 2001 technology cell phones from an aircraft at speed up there at altitude in the sky?
Didn't they hear Mark Bingham say "Hello Mom, this is your son Mark Bingham."? He also said, "You believe me, don't you?"
Did they miss Cee Cee Lyles saying, "I'm on a plane. I'm on a plane that's been hijacked. I'm calling from the plane." and "Tell my children I love them ..." Not naming her children.
And a whole mess of other cell phone calls, all purportedly from that tragic Flight 93 while flying way up there in the air.

And a note; cell phone calls are not to be confused with airphone calls.

Nice to think that someday we'll be able to call friends and relatives from a plane in the air from a cell phone! Wonder who made all those other calls on that day?

Haven't these advanced thinking techies ever heard of 9-11? Shanksville? UAL Flight 93? Well evidently not.

But we have, haven't we?

Is Obama a secret muslim?

The questions from the radical right and the so called Tea Party keep coming, Is Obama a muslim?

Spurred on by people like Glen Beck and Sarah Palin. It is a question that incites their redneck followers. Almost igniting them with the same vitriol the radical muslims display against Americans.

But President Obama has refuted the query time and time again. Of course the Republicans don't separate the idea that Obama's Christian pastor got into trouble during the election campaign for being too outspoken about Barak. They went after him then but now they have a new exciting bone to chew on, thereby conveniently ignoring the contradiction of Obama's Christian past. The mentality of those rapt listeners to Beck, Limbaugh and Palin cannot differentiate between Obama and Osama. Compounded by FOX News.

Perhaps a better question to ask might be: Is George HW Bush a muslim? Secretly or otherwise?

Take a look at his past;

- He has many connections through his oil industry companies to the Saudis and their money.

- While Director of the CIA, he provided training for the Saudi Royal Family Palace Guard.

- A connection through Osama Bin Laden bankrolled his son, GW Bush's first venture into oil.

- Part of the Gulf War agreements were to have the US Army in Saudi Arabia to protect the Royal Family, these troops were confined to the desert and never allowed off base or into towns. The Saudis themselves never even knew the hated Americans were on their soil to defend them against the so called threat of Saddam Hussein.

- George HW Bush was a close enough friend to visit the private Bin Laden family compound in Saudi-Arabia.

- There was a presidential briefing from the CIA in which Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda's aim of launching an attack against the US was mentioned. To this day, the George W Bush White House has refused to release the contents of that briefing to Congressional inquiries into 9-11.

- On the morning of 9-11, Bush Sr was at a meeting in Washington. Osama Bin Laden's brother was also at that meeting.

- Two days later, when every aircraft in the whole USA was grounded, 140 Saudi Nationals and 24 members of the Bin Laden family were allowed to fly out of the USA on eight planes without questioning.

- The George W Bush Administration refused to place several Saudi charities and individuals on the terror watch list. The names were classified by GW Bush and never made public.

- Even certain CIA agents with Middle East experience have questioned the close relationship between the Bush family and the Saudi elite which led to the intelligence failure that culminated in the attack of 9-11.

Perhaps there is only conjecture here about the Bush family connections to the Saudis. But one must conclude that the Bush Family are far more worthy of scrutiny and suspicion of being muslims than Barak Obama.

Today in History - - - September 4

Google, the search engine to become it's own entity, was introduced by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998. Google now has it's own definition in Websters.
We have our own reasons to like Google.
The Patriot Act was rushed through congress only 45 days after the horrendous actions at the WTC on September 11, 2001. And many believe that it allows federal authorities, including the FBI and CIA to spy on US citizens without their knowledge. They can do secret searches of your home without telling you, for instance.

What is also suspicious to some, is the fact that the government under George Bush Jr and then Attorney General John Ashcroft started selling the act only 11 days after September 11, 2001, causing the idea that it was part of the same preparations long before any planes crashed.

To be specific about why we like Google - Homeland Security under the Patriot Act, allows the FBI to obtain records from businesses, including hospitals, bookstores and libraries, and permits federal agents to ask financial institutions whether terrorism suspects have accounts with them, all in secret and without the knowledge of the persons being investigated.
This includes all your email transcripts, all your web surfing records, and all your internet search quests! And without warrants and by the new law, your web Internet Service Providers are forbidden under penalty of law to advise you your web records have been compromised!
Literally all the search engine companies complied without a whimper ...

Except Google, who resisted the government and said they would allow no such thing without warrants and proper legalities by the government. Google's lawyers were bristling for a fight. But alas, we're not sure what ensued in this regard because it all went quiet after this initial rebeliousness.
But we are right to suspect that the same actions might have been implemented as against Microsoft to get the government's way. (see that post here)

At any rate, we wish Google continued antagony against government control of any part of the web.

Way to go Google! Happy Birthday!

Just a few thoughts

Imagine, if you can, what would have happened in Iran had the US not invaded and killed Saddam Hussein?
We all seem to agree today that there were no weapons of mass destruction as defined by Bush and Cheney. And we all know that Saddam hated terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda. And we all know he had a strong army in the Revolutionary Guards. Maybe not against American air power and might, but certainly capable to keeping Iran and Syria at bay.
As a matter of fact, when one goes back into the history of George Bush Senior's 1991 war, we see that it was the US who betrayed Saddam, not the reverse. All for the advantage of a Kuwaiti Sheik.
So what can we expect in the future of that area because of these events? Well if you carefully glean the truth out of what some of the few independent reporters like Michael Ware say, we can wonder why the US is losing control even with the huge US military presence. Aggressive and bold action by opposing forces in Baghdad is keeping foreigners pinned into their bunkers and barracks. Car bombs are no longer the weapons in the countryside, they are daily occurrances within the supposedly controlled cities.
Embedded reporters only tell you what is approved to tell you.
(by the way, up until 2008, over 47 so called independent reporters have mysteriously been killed)
So assuming a scenario where the US did NOT kill Saddam, therefore sending the country into it's present chaos, what would have happened?
I believe that Saddam would have become a staunch and serious ally to the peaceful interests in the Middle East.
Iraq was a buffer between Iran and Syria, crucial now with the unknown nuclear ambitions of Iran. With American help, (much less costly than the present situation) Saddam would have had a strong influence in the region and would likely have deterred any aggressive plans against Israel. The spark of a potential conflagration.
Instead of daily bombings in Baghdad and other towns, we would have had Iraq as a showcase for peaceful negotiations and sensibilities with a dynamic economy.
Saddam Hussein would have been been a strong and feared opponent of terrorist plans in the Middle East and how they seep into the Western democracies. A model to other countries like Pakistan that co existence with the West IS a realistic option.
One can reason that in spite of Saddam's methods of controlling his own people, and his excesses, hundreds of American and alliance soldiers would be alive today.
The war in Iraq will never be seen as futile. That part of history will never be written by those involved, but that doesn't mean the thoughts are not in the minds of millions on both sides of the equation.

Are you eating cloned beef?

They are in Britain. Apparently some beef from a slaughtered steer, which happened to be the offspring of a cloned cow got into the food chain. And someone actually ate it!
I have no idea what this means.
But isn't this what happens to people who become Spiderman? Or Stoneman or Hellboy or other Superheros. They get stung by a radioactive spider and go from there with strange powers. But the comic books only show you the good guys.
Are we gonna get Steerman? Some creepy snorting guy with steel horns and cloven hooves and bad bull breath who is pissed off because he ate cloned beef full of chemicals and stuff and became a SuperANTIhero?
How could it happen that this beef wasn't more carefully controlled?
I tend not to trust the beef industry anyway. It's too important. To them cattle people. And MacDonalds even.
The talk/scare of Mad Cow Disease has died down. I was told that there were only 3 or 6 cases in all of Canada.
If that is true how come I know two of those who died this terrible death personally? Do you believe the industry would tell us?
I think everyone is lying about it. The Canadian beef industry needs to sell in the US. And the US doesn't want to send out any more bad alarms like previously when billions was lost on spooked hamburger eaters and backyard steak BBQers.
Now we have to worry about engineered beef joining the long list of fruit and veggie Frankenfoods.
Perhaps we should gather up those Brits who ate this beef and stop them from breeding.
I am scared already.
Where's kd lang when we need her?