NAMoments

Burma’s Shell Game

Than Shwe has opened the doors for outsiders to assist his struggling nation. One must realize this Mob Boss/Military Leader does not do things for humanitarian reasons. If he did, the doors would have been opened at the very onset of this tragic disaster. The reality of his humanitarian gesture is the fact he has groomed the disaster areas for Western observers.

Villagers have been ordered by the Yayaka (Ward Peace and Development Counsel) to keep out of sight from aid workers and in many cases they have been moved around the countryside. Some have been placed in labor camps, other have been moved back to their devastated villages with no means of survival. But the final outcome was the fact these suffering people did not receive the aid the world intended them to receive.

Irrawaddy News quoted Rangoon businessman Min Zaw;

“The Yayaka drove through town and announced by loudspeaker that nobody could stay in the street,” he said. “They said that if their leaders and donors saw people living in the streets, it would hurt their dignity.”

Union Solidarity and Development Association members were busy ordering donors not to give aid directly to the people. Their reason, “it would make the refugees lazy and dependant on aid”. The reality is, the junta wants this aid for their black market sales since this is common within the borders of this morally corrupt government. According to refugees I’ve spoken to, foreign aid never goes to the people it is meant for and the public at large are resigned to this reality.

Where ever Western aid workers go to, under the watchful eye of the junta, the place has already been groomed. Only complacent pro junta victims receive aid while secretly many others are starving to death. What aid they do receive is usually rancid, old and not the fresh supplies being airlifted from donor countries.

Quietly the ethnic cleansing of the Karen people moves forward while more and more opposition leaders disappear. It is business as usual as the world is offered a smoke screen and blatant lies from this criminal military junta. The citizenry is totally terrorized by this regime since death is the rule of thumb to maintain obedience from the populous. Starving to death is a much more humane way to die since they know the junta would torturethem to death in a ghoulish act of savagery if they disobey.

It is plain as the noise on a person’s face that Than Shwe is taking full advantage of this disaster to cull the masses who’ve opposed him for so many years. It is the silent death from disease and starvation the world will not be allowed to see. Cyclone Naris has become the death sentence for all who oppose Than Shwe, it is as simple as that. Be well aware that all the aid in the world will not help those who are truly in need. And it’s a sure bet most of the aid, materials and equipment will see the black market and fill the coffers of a corrupt and criminal government. With open and greedy arms, Than Shwe is welcoming outside help. Rest assured this is a calculated move and the world is being duped. Make damn sure your donations are going directly to the people. So I advice you contact the Free Burma Rangers, The Irrawaddy and agencies they identify as non-junta. You can bet your bottom dollar Than Shwe has a few bogus agencies around the world gathering money as we speak.

Here is a good place to start;

FBR
P.O. Box 14, Mae Jo
Chiang Mai 50290
Thailand
webmaster@freeburmarangers.org

The Irrawaddy
PO Box 242 Chiang Mai University Post Office
Chiang Mai 50202
Thailand
webmaster@irrawaddy.org

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

ONTARIO TOWN DECLARES WAR ON NATIVES

The mayor of Brantford Ontario Canada, Mike Handcock has requested military forces to silence impending Native protests. The issue is the development of sovereign land owned by the Six Nations. Though non Native documents foretell of an agreed land acquisition, Native history disputes this land deal dating back to January 18, 1841. According to Six Nations, back then the chiefs were coerced, deceived and intimidated into signing away the land in question. This has been common practice by settlers since time immemorial. Now, the local government of Brantford wishes to raise the stakes by implementing the use of Canadian military forces.

Imprisonment, violence and death have been the order of the day when Aboriginal issues come to play as it is. After all the aboriginal communities throughout the America’s has been the secret “third world” since conquest. From putrid E-Coli infested drinking water to the wholesale total disregard of treaties and business deals, Native’s have been under siege. Yet like the situation in Burma, the world looks on since this is just an internal matter.

The Métis of Black Tickle, Labrador only wanted clean drinking water and a road to connect them to the Trans Labrador Highway. Their dying community wanted just a piece of the budding tourist trade Canada wants to foster. Their location was a perfect travel, hunting and fishing location that would have improved the quality of this beleaguered fishing community. But Canadian corporate interests have other plans and relocation was the only option that was provided them. Why couldn’t these Natives own and operate hotels, restaurants and other tourist related interests in this pristine location? Now there is not a peep about their plight. Another humble Native community shall disappear from the face of the Earth.

The Western Shoshone are under siege since a gold mining company wants to level a sacred mountain with total disregard for sovereign land and treaties, go figure. A corporate pig farmer wants to build a pig processing plant just outside of the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. With a half million swine producing hundreds of thousands of pounds of crap they will have massive containment ponds within the proximity of a Native school house on the other side of the reservations borders. And what is the deal with Brazil anyway? They used to justify the wholesale destruction of rain forests in order to pay off this bogus World Bank. Untold Native’s were murdered in the process. Now that Brazil has paid off their debt the Native’s are still under siege since now the government wants to build housing tracts in their pristine fishing and hunting land, villages and the like. There is even a dam proposed that will displace thousands of villagers from their native land. This is progress? Ah but who is paying attention anyway.

Well, more people will be imprisoned and even killed in Ontario since the Cavalry will be there to quell the Native problem with bullets. Native’s will die protecting the last scrap of sovereign ground they own and their bones will be crushed by bulldozers as construction of a new condominium and housing tract is built, all in the name of progress. And yuppers folks, it’s all about the money Paisan, it’s all about the money.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080522.wbrantford0523/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview

Your Devil’s Advocate

Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

DEATH IN PRISON CANADA STYLE

A prisoner bleed to death while guards did nothing. There was no first aid administered and prison officials failed to do a comprehensive investigation. Accuracy of the event was very sketchy at best. The prison was known for racism from both the staff and the prisoners. But official’s content there was no cover up, hmm. You’d think this was Burma or other totalitarian regime with a barbaric and total disregard for their inmates. But alas this event occurred at the Warkworth Institution, Trent Hills, Ontario Canada.

An Aboriginal inmate, Martin Blackwind, was successful in committing suicide by slicing an artery in his arm. He was doing a 17 year prison sentence for manslaughter when this occurred. The guards stood by as he bled to death and only after 10 minutes did the ambulance arrive but by then he had already expired. The guards involved directly with the incident were given time off without pay, imagine. If it were not for the efforts of Federal Correctional Investigator Howard Saper this crime would have gone unchecked like so may other questionable deaths that occurred in Canada’s Gulag. There was more than just a hint of racial bias reveled in the investigation of this institution as well.

Sadly this is not an isolated case. Ambivalence to crimes against minority inmates permeates the system through out Canada’s penal system. This should be of no surprise since police have allowed intoxicated Aboriginals to freeze to death in the elements rather than take them to jail in several communities I know of. The Crown is but a Crown of Thorns when the concerns of the Aboriginal population are concerned. The judicial system is bias at best and this event may very well not lead to criminal prosecution regardless of its discovery.

It still boggles the imagination how this inmate got the instrument to lacerate his artery in the first place. He was left alone in a cell, or was he? Did the guards simply watch as his life’s blood spilled onto the concrete floor? How callous and cruel could a group of guards be to allow a human being to die before their very eyes without event administering the basics of first aid? Maybe they just forgot. Then for the system to bungle reports and exclude important facts of the case was incomprehensible. But officials said there was no cover up eh.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080522.wdeath22/BNStory/National/Ontario/

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

WHILE BURMA STRUGGLES

Than Shwe and his merry band of thugs have taken full advantage of the chaos the cyclone has left his nation. With humanitarian aid filling the warehouses of his regime he will profit from black market sales of these goods, there is no question. His policy of distributing rancid food stuffs to villages, if at all, is common place. Why should he reward those who oppose him? So the great deception continues as millions continue to suffer. Now he wants 11 million dollars cash in aid. Guess he can’t wait for the revenue from his black market sales of all the goods Burma is receiving at this time.

In the smoke screen of this national tragedy he has found it most advantageous to arrest 12 more NLD members in an early morning raid in the Sanchaung Township. Their fate will most likely be year’s imprisonment as per the fate of most political prisoners. Did you know that military guards were shooting prisoners during the cyclone? It was easier to kill them rather than find shelter and safety for the inmates. He also ordered 8 journalists from The Voice Journal, Yangon Times and 7 Days News Journal arrested. Only after they agreed not to return to the stricken region were they set free and ordered to write only positive news stories.

To the joy of his military regime the cyclone has left many children orphans and the perfect candidates for military service. It has always been common practice for Ole Than Shwe to “recruit” children and there is no doubt these orphans will fill the ranks of his army.

With human carnage clogging water ways, streets and villages throughout the stricken region, only now they are being removed three weeks after the disaster. The epic struggle of 2.5 million survivors has only begun. They faced insurmountable odds to survive the tyranny of Than Shwe before the cyclone hit. Now there is an air of total hopelessness as they ponder a fate with absolutely nothing. When will the world have enough of this holocaust in motion?

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

FAREWELL TO THE INDEPENDENT TRUCKER

It may not seem like much of a loss, the independent trucking industry, but in all reality it is. There is not a shelve in any supermarket and store that is not filled with goods delivered by independent truckers. Fresh produce traditionally has been delivered by independents to warehouses across the US and Canada since time immemorial. Groceries as well as other common household needs also shared this priceless service. Men and women owner/operators have diligently delivered these necessities through rain and snow. Their sacrifice has been well recorded in ballads since they spent much of their lives on the road. The price for many was the loss of family life and in some cases the family itself.

When we are all safe and cozy in our warm beds with our children asleep in the next room independent truckers were burning up the diesel on long and lonely highways struggling to make appointments at warehouses. Through the harsh winter months trucks kept on rolling so the rest of the population could wake up to a fresh bowl of fruit and a glass of milk. The paper on the news paper was delivered by these independents as well as the ink. Dare we mention the toiletries as well as the cloth on the bedroom slippers we wear?

If you were ever to visit Salinas California in the wee hours of any morning you would find it filled with thousands of semi tractor trailers rushing to produce houses. As if they were massive shopping carts these behemoths of the road waltz their way from one produce house to another picking fruit and veggies for markets in Canada and around the USA. Trucks filled with lettuce, strawberries, corn, melons and every kind of produce imaginable rush to fill orders and ultimately the shelves of every supermarket across the America’s. The pride of the independent trucker was to deliver the goods as soon as possible so the consumer would have fresh delicious food at their dinner tables.

Clearly 80% of all goods shipped via truck were delivered by independents. But this will soon come to an end as soaring fuels prices and the cost of operation eliminates this industry. There are other hidden costs to the American trucker many of you don’t know about. Whence these trucks get to the warehouse they are hit with fee’s to load and unload their freight. A driver must hire a lumper at a cost ranging from $60 to almost $200. If they miss an appointment at warehouse they have to reschedule regardless of the circumstances such as weather or traffic.

Regulators, local and state officials have made trucks a target for revenue as they impose more and more rules and regulations in an attempt to cash in on these struggling small businesses. Regulators on the federal level have imposed unreasonable time constraints on drivers almost making it impossible for them to make appointments. Some warehouses simply take their time unloading trucks causing untimely delays forcing drivers to miss other appointments. The rules and regs have cost drivers their family time since they had to keep moving in order to make a profit. Delays on both ends of a trip cost them dearly.

With the price of fuel completely out of control there is little to no profits to glean since the oil companies have it all. Rail Road owned trucking firms simply wait for the moment to take over. They have taken over the lobbying efforts in Washington D.C. and have dealt a fatal blow to the independent trucker with unreasonable regulations. Ah but who cares anyway. These independent truckers have loud trucks and way to many lights on them. Imagine, there was a federal law restricting the number of lights on a tractor trailer. Communities have banned the use of the engine brake for the vanity of the rich. Many people do not realize this noisy device was a break through safety feature designed to slow trucks on steep mountain passes. It has saved lives and brakes as these men and women risked their lives with their 80,000 lbs. rigs on dangerous steep mountain passes. You see the sign in affluent neighborhoods; “Engine Brakes Restricted” Vail Colorado is such a place. Vail Pass has taken its toll on drivers since it was created. The use of the engine brake has curved the fatalities from drivers who could not hold the hill. But someone though it would be nice if these noisy trucks would stop using this safety device and so they did. Ironically it was at the steepest point of the grade. This has become common place in affluent communities who built along the interstates. “It’s just too noisy” Safety has been set aside for vanity. There are other mountain passes across the country that share this act of stupidity. If a driver uses this engine brake they are fined heavily and the community gleans a profit from a drivers concern for safety.

These railroad owned trucking firms have begun recruiting drivers from other countries. Of course they work for a fraction the American and Canadian drivers worked for. I meant a driver from Jamaica one day. He told me he only knew how to drive a bicycle a month ago. Then one of these corporate trucking firms ran him through a 2 week course on driving a big rig and now he is a truck driver. Another person I interviewed came from the Baltic Region and his concern was knowing how to read the English traffic signs. There is a case in Federal Court over one of these corporate firms *(Swift) who simply were handing out drivers licenses to foreign recruits. More and more trucks are burning up their brakes on mountain passes as this trend goes unchecked. But it’s all about the corporate bottom line and there is no doubt the quality of the driver on our interstates will diminish as inexperienced drivers take over the roads. As for the independents that’ve driven these roads with safety, well they will be nothing more than a statistic and a fond memory fore they will have been priced out of existence. It is a sad ending for the rugged individualist who helped forger a prosperous nation. Their sacrifice will have been for not. And another piece of Americana will die from corporate greed. Farewell Big Strapper.

Blink, Blink, Flash, Flash and all that other trucking trash.

*http://mexicotrucker.com/2008/02/25/fbi-raids-swift-transportations-memphis-terminal/

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

IT’S ALL ABOUT EXTORTION

It does not to matter how the oil executives and President George “Let Them Ride Bikes” Bush tries to hide it. The real game here is the extortion of a nation and the world. I’ve read reams of speeches and statements from oil goons and the prez and the bottom line is their lusting over Alaska’s oil. Their thinly veiled and utterly transparent desire to assault Alaska is all too obvious.

With major discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico, the US and Canada you’d think the greed machine would be happy with the untapped resources brimming with oil and gas. Such is not the case since it is pure ego that is fostering this mega fuel price increase. For all intents and purposes the War in Iraq was simply revenge for Pa Pa George’s failure in the first attempt to rob a nation by his son GW. Since the world allowed Georgie to murder his way into the hearts of millions it was a no brainer extortion was next on the list of crimes allowed.

Like a page out of the crime drama “The Soprano’s” extortion has become an excepted means to force a once free nation into accepting corporate rule. Though the fuel crisis is a major hit, the insurance racket as well as loan sharking have become common place with the blessings from the federal government. Now the world will face famine on a grand scale. Food riots are in every continent as human beings are simply being starved to death, all because the oil giants want to drill in Alaska. It is bad enough all the oil being drawn from Alaska does not see American shores. Yup, it’s all about the money Paisan.

Globalization is a world wide cancer. This New World Order is simply a new and elaborate form of thuggery. Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin do not hold a candle to the millions who will die because of this new crime against humanity. Of course this was a green light for the Mega Corporation’s world wide to open the flood gates of extortion as well. The needs of the people such as health care, education and the very core of freedom have been set aside for the bottom line of corporations and this bogus stock market.

It was almost laughable when George Bush made a stand for freedom in Burma though. Sure companies were band from doing business in Burma, well except for the Rockefellers Chevron of course. After all it is oil and gas over human life these days. And what is the deal with French President Nicolas Sarkosy anyway? Since his visit to the White House he declared war on the working class of France as well. Is it all about the money? The main stream media is controlled by the iron fist of corporations. We only hear what they want us to hear. Total Oil, the French shame, drills on in Burma along side Chevron. Ah but who is paying attention anyway.

The talking heads of Congress are questioning oil officials as we speak. Sadly most of them congressmen are invested in the Magellan Fund and Occidental Oil so it is business as usual. It’s only a show for the public’s benefit since the price of fuel will keep going up anyway. Soon millions will simply starve to death from nothing more than greed as oil companies glean a 250% profit margin. It is only a matter of time before corporate ruled countries point rifles at their own citizens to quell this unsightly disturbance. “Let Them Ride Bikes”, and the band played on.

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

UNTOLD STORIES 2

The American Nightmare has no boundaries as it were. I had just recently moved to a new domicile and was talking with the telephone technician working on my phone line. We were talking shop and I happened to mention I was a journalist. I told him of my exploits interviewing everyday people around the country. Then I mentioned the sad tales of the “New Homeless” and how their high tech and engineering jobs were being sent to third world countries. I also mentioned the foreclosure fiasco and all the people living in RV’s or traveling to family members or friends to live out this non recession. Then he looked at me with the all too familiar look of loss I’ve seen over these last few months.

I learned he was a veteran who served in Iraq and did two tours. He buried many friends who gave their lives in the hot desolate desert. Emptiness filled the air as he told me he was attending college and studying for the very jobs that were being outsourced to India and other third world nations. It was ironic his efforts to achieve the American dream appeared almost futile at this juncture. Further, he was loosing his home since it was in foreclosure at this time. After fighting in a foreign land with hopes and dreams for his future, if he survived, he was battling for his existence. His dream has become a night mare.

As we spoke he told me his plight was not an isolated one for he knew many soldiers who lost everything, home, family and peace of mind. Soldiers who were activated and sent abroad lost their careers, hopes and dreams whence they returned stateside. They came home to discover there was little future in a country that was busy out sourcing their jobs and closing plants for the corporate bottom line. Struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder they faced a bleak future at best. Suicide has become a very real option for some of the soldiers I interviewed. The reward for giving their all was an empty and uncertain future.

He was well aware of this new cancer called corporatism and knew first hand of its callous disregard for humanity. The voice of greed has overshadowed cries from this dying nation as well as the world around us. The reality of our existence was more a dark comedy since it was inevitable we would be consumed by the mongers of material wealth. It was only a matter of time before the world was in a death grip while greed squeezed the life out of mankind. It’s all about the money Paisan, it’s all about the money. With food riots breaking out on every continent on this planet it’s only a matter of time before corporate run governments aim their guns on their own populations. Feed them bullets.

As I traveled across the country I could not believe my ears. Fore on the radio there was an ad from an investment company. They were looking for investors who wanted to be on the ground floor of the new housing boom. They boasted about the boom in foreclosures and homes for nothing. The advertisement gleefully told of the abundance of cheap near new homes waiting for investors to gobble them up. I found the ad patently offensive since it was capitalizing on the loss of others. I still envision the glazed look of the engineer who lost his home and ultimately his family to corporate out sourcing and the bottom line. And now, the reward for fighting for your country was to face foreclosure and financial ruin whence you returned to the land of milk and honey. No one is safe from this cancer called globalization and its brother corporate greed, no one. And well boys and girls epic human suffering will soon grace a neighborhood near you.

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

AID TO BURMA, OR THAN SHWE?

As the world finally rallies to the aid of millions stricken by the cyclone there is a hint of caution they must know. Sources within Burma have said Than Shwe has and will take all aid and resell them on the black market. The truly needy will not see any aid what so ever. It has been a common practice for this criminal government to take any aid meant for the needy and peddle it to the highest bidder.

Already Shwe’s thugs are beating and robbing aid workers, stealing truck loads of needed supplies and thwarting the humanitarian efforts meant for the survivors. Boldly ambivalent to the cries of his citizenry Than Shwe and his followers simply stand by while starvation and pestilence begins its death nil on his countrymen.

Not since the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean has human suffering and death covered the once lush landscape in such magnitude. Navigation in all the waterways are hindered by bloated and rotting bodies. Like ghoulish and grotesque Christmas tree ornaments human carnage decorates the trees. The streets are littered with the remnants of a once proud people. Men, women and children walk aimlessly through death and disease with no direction. Their fate ominously awaits them. And the corrupt government does nothing. This is nothing more than an exercise in eugenics. It’s as simple as that. Than Shwe will finally rid himself of those who opposed his murderous military junta that enslaved a nation and stole her natural resources.

Water tables will soon be polluted with decomposed fetid flesh while cooking in the tropical sun. To drink from these wells will be a death sentence if they can bare the smell. What has to happen before someone steps up to bat and arrests Than and his merry band of thugs? Exactly how many people must die before the world intervenes in this epic human drama? Well the world did nothing while millions of Aboriginal people from the America’s were murdered. 6,000,000 Jews vanished before the worlds eyes. So what’s a few million Burmese anyway?

Sadly death will be the liberation of these poor lost souls who’ve survived insurmountable odds. Whence they cross from this putrid and greedy world they will be free at last. History will not be kind as it describes the cowardly conduct of today’s world leaders and corporations who sit and wait. Inaction is likened to living with one’s head in the sand fore a dark page in human history is unfolding before our very eyes. The legacy of death will be what is remembered not the corporate bottom line.

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY, OR IS IT?

As we prepare to celebrate Mothers Day across the Americas and abroad, for some this is a sad time. Within the Aboriginal communities in Canada, America and Mexico sorrow fills the eyes of those who lost their beloved mothers. In Canada alone over 500 Aboriginal women have been murdered and simply came up missing in the last 20 years. This statistic is shared throughout the Northern Hemisphere. This disproportionate figure is a clear sign the conquering people of the America’s have little regard for the Native populations as a whole. Of course other social issues go unaddressed as well and the “secret third world of the America’s” struggles to exist in this ambivalent world we live.

Both Native and non Native people shared a moment in grief and anguish in downtown Edmonton Canada yesterday during the Stolen Sister Awareness Walk. Without the assistance of the callous governments as a whole, human beings decided to stage a memorial walk to remember the fallen and lost Aboriginal women of the America’s. Tearfully they walked in silent protest for the total disregard for human life in this on going tragedy.

As an Aboriginal child growing up within the borders of America I saw first hand how non Native men treated my mother. I feel fortunate my mother is still alive with all the abuse she had to endure. Respect was not an option for her and she was constantly made a target by these repugnant swine. With 7 out of 10 assaults on Aboriginal women committed by non Native men it is hard for me to be objective. But I am since I know Aboriginal men are also to blame for this crime against women. Looking past race and culture I find it absolutely appalling women of any ethnicity are simply regarded as sexual object as a whole. Wage disparities are signs women are not welcome in the “Men’s Club” of the work place and other venues of employment.

Testosterone filled world politics has left the world in one hell of a mess for centuries. Sex sells only because Wall Street has conditioned the general population to except Bimbo Based Advertising as a norm. Yup. It’s all about the money Paisan. The negative side effect has become the total disregard for women. Show some tits and ass to sell a car or buy a health product. That’s the axiom of commercial advertising. With no regard for the consequences of targeting women to sell their goods the corporate world can share the blame for the ambivalence for the concerns of women everywhere. Add the Aboriginal aspect to this equation and it is easy to see why the plight of Aboriginal women has reached astronomical proportions.

Before conquest women within Aboriginal communities were held in high esteem. They were the givers of life, keepers of the home and the back bone of villages far and wide. Tribal decisions were discussed jointly by men and women. There was balance in the decisions that were made since both viewpoints were considered. Stories from long ago told of how the women used to run the men out of the Ti Pi to hunt so the women could do the daily chores like making hides for clothing, prepare food and tend to the children. Then came conquest, liquor and the total disregard for women. Such is life eh.

I remember back in the 70’s in a major Colorado city two women were hired onto a police department. This action caused a furor in the men’s club behind the blue line. One evening one of the women officers made a call for assistance. She called and called franticly since the situation was dire. Her calls were not answered and she was subsequently beaten to death while the men of the PD drank coffee and ignored her pleads. I remember the story well since I dated the other woman officer. She also told me of other secrets behind the blue line but I will save those tidbits for another story. But this was a classic example of how ingrained this disregard for women has permeated society, even in law enforcement. Dare I mention the issue of spousal abuse within the confines of the blue line fore it is another “secret issue”.

In any event, enjoy your mother no matter what culture you hale from. Everyday should be considered Mothers Day though.

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

BURMA AND A HILL OF BEANS

Gleefully Than Shwe counts the votes in his bogus Constitutional Referendum after taking full advantage of the enormous loss of life. Granted the dead would have voted against this fetid piece of paper anyway. But what ticks me off is the fact it took a cyclone to get the worlds attention in the first place. As usual it required dead bloating bodies in numbers hard to ignore before the main stream media addressed the brutality this military junta. Where is China and their wealth of resources in this time of crisis? Oh I guess they made nice by climbing a mountain to promote their Blood Olympics.

Before it is all said and done I venture to say at least a half million will have been killed with more to follow when disease spreads through out the population, there is no doubt. The air is thick with pestilence and disease. The putrid smell of rotting flesh is inescapable and soon another storm will add to the misery of these innocent people. Than Shwe has taken full advantage of the chaos by using donated food to promote his agenda. He’s rewarded or extorted the population into voting for this referendum. Junta thugs have taken to hi-jacking relief shipments while millions suffer with no homes or food.

His purposeful downplaying of the impending cyclone lead people to their watery grave with the blessings of China, maybe now the world will pay attention. Hmm, MAYBE. For the tribal people of Burma its death as usual. I wonder how the political prisoners have faired through this catastrophe. There is no question pro referendum thugs were given ample warning and most likely they are living it up with an abundance of supplies and food stuffs. With no watchful eye on the ballot boxes the referendum was a shoe in. After all, who could make it to the polling places with total devastation in their midst. Oh well, its all about the money anyway. Chevron, Daewoo, Total Oil and other investors of death are hurriedly making repairs to their drilling platforms to keep the gas flowing. And there sits Than Shwe, in hiding, wallowing in all that money.

The rice basket of Burma has been devastated and soon starvation will kill more and more. This will be a boom for speculators who’ve already boosted the price of rice, wheat and corn world wide. Like the oil speculators who’ve crippled economies and paralyzed nations, these stock market goons will push up prices even further. Hunger will be a marketing ploy and humanity will soon carry a price tag. It is criminality at its finest as food speculators rally to gain massive profits from hunger. Their goal will be to garner the unprecedented 250% profits like the oil companies have. All to line the pockets of the absolute minority who enjoin in profiteering from death and destruction. Of course the world will fast forget this turn of events. The march for a lucrative bottom line will over shadow the suffering of human beings. The Olympic Torch will soon shine bright in China as world corporations promote their wears to brain dead consumers. And all will be good on Wall Street.

But I just have to wonder how the growing food riots will be down played by the main stream media as a hungry world begins to revolt. Fruits and veggies are rotting in the fields in the US since they cleaned out the migrant farm workers. The quality of the produce has begun to falter as inept and inexperienced farm hands plop marginal products on the shelves. Ah but who is paying attention anyway? Soon we will reap what we sow as the price of everything we use begins to climb out of sight. Globalization has become the pocks of mankind but a boom for global corporations and this New World Order. It is only a matter of time before every nation feels the squeeze of corporate greed anyway.

My dark prediction is when people get hungry enough they will not fear bullets. Like the tales of the French Revolution, with nothing left to loose people will drag corporate goons to the gallows or stoned them to death by an angry mob. Money will become worthless to the masses and countries will aim guns at their own populous. The seeds of dissention have been planted and there is no turning back the clock fore it is only a matter of time. Oh well, let them eat cake.

Your Devil’s Advocate
Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

CORPORATE SWINE FEVER

With total disregard for the residence of the Yankton Sioux South Dakota residence who live near the proposed site as well as surrounding communities, Big Sky Farming Group has filed for a permit to build a mega pig farm to raise a half million hogs a year. The environmental impact will be disastrous to say the least since the animals will produce 200,000 pounds of pig crappola a month.

Extremely toxic, this Ka Ka will not only smell bad it will also generate deadly gasses such as 375,000 pounds of hydrogen sulfite, an estimated 8.4 million pounds of ammonia annually just to name a few. It is totally outrageous they would consider building such a mega structure in such close proximity to the Yankton Reservation in the first place. Also, there will be massive containment ponds to handle the sludge making this a hazardous waste facility as well because of the volume of pure sewage these animals will produce. And only a few short miles away miles away is a school.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs stand ambivalent to the cries of this community and they are fending for themselves. Well, it’s all about the money and progress and its business as usual for the federal government. The corporate dollar and its proverbial bottom line take precedents over human life once again in the good ole USA boys and girls. Like the Shoshone/Paiute struggle to keep the Cortex Mining Company from mining for gold on their sacred site, The Yankton Nation needs the support of the world at this juncture.

It is bad enough Native American’s must live as the secret “Third World” within this land of plenty. But to built a toxic hazardous waste facility as well as a mega-hog facility in such close proximity to a populated area is pure arrogant. It simply staggers the imagination to realize the size of the proposed facility in the first place. This will not go un-noticed since now the world knows about this horrendous act. We can make a difference if we all act together. By finding out who this company will sell to, locate them in the stock exchange and ultimately wage a world wide boycott of their products. We can assault them on a level they never thought possible, their pocket book. Public opinion is a very powerful tool and if we find out who their distributors and retailers are we can alter the course of this proposed plant.

Did I mention the devastating effects to the ground water this plant will have? And did I give you the name of the person who is responsible for this? Well his name is Ron “Let Them Eat Swine” Achs, owner of Big Sky Farming Group and resident of Ketchum Idaho as well as a Blaine County Developer. He is not hard to find. I know he would like to hear your comments. And I know the people who will ultimately buy his pork products would not want to be connected to this fiasco whence they are discovered.

As I read this story I was struck with the total disregard for the Yankton Nation. Imagine having bazillion gallons of liquefied pig poop in your back yard. Ah the aroma would be sumptuous to say the least eh. Well, I have to thank my brother Si for giving me the heads up on this story. And of course, I will make sure the world knows what is happening to my fellow Native brothers and sisters in the State of South Dakota.

For more information and support contact;

Oi Zephier

Ihanktonwan Dakota
Yankton Sioux Tribe
Marty, SD 57361

Zephiero@hotmail.com

(605) 454-8355 (Cell)

Your Devil’s Advocate

Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind

HEARTLAND PART 2

While on my sabbatical of sorts, I interviewed many people on my journey. Recently while traveling in Nebraska I stopped at the Shoemaker Truck Stop along I-80. It was a classic truck stop and it was obvious to see it’s been around for many moons. The trucker was still revered in this vintage haunt. The walls were covered with pictures depicting the golden age of trucking, farming, Ole Route 66, and other forgotten or ignored aspects of humble USA history. Curios of a wide variety filled the shelves, all depicting Americana from the early years to the present. From trucking to farming this place had history and memories for all to see.

As I sat in the drivers lounge I could not help but listen to the drivers and other travelers discuss their personal plights. The primary subject was the steady rise of fuel costs. Drivers complained about the unfairness of rail road owned trucking firms and all the subsidies they got from the government. The land that once expounded and personified the “rugged individual” now turned on these independent truckers making it all but impossible for them to operate against the corporate owned firms. One driver told us that when he finally ran out of money to operate he was simply going to but a sign on his truck, “Out Of Fuel” and walk away. Others hoped America would take notice of their situation if the rally and protest in Washington D.C. got any media attention at all. Sadly I heard barely a peep about this demonstration. Fact is, the media poked fun at these desperate American’s.

The farmer faced an equally daunting challenge with these corporate farms as well. The price of fuel has placed them on the endangered species. It took fuel to turn the soil, plant the seed, harvest the crops then ship to market. Sadly, speculators have entered the arena of produce futures and will soon devastate this industry as well. As we all know, speculators, not supply and demand has dictated the steady rise of fuel costs and food is on its way up also. The farmer does not see a dime of the inflated prices, investors do. The corporate farm buys fuel in such bulk the little farms have no competitive edge what so ever. The American Dream has turned into the American Nightmare as farms belly up erasing a once proud and competitive industry. Like dominos, small town after small town across America fill with tumbleweeds as coops and cottage industries fold up in the wake of corporate greed. It reminds me of when the government decided to build the interstate system. With no regard for the townships that made their bread and butter along all these trucking lanes, super highways were built. Eventually all that remained was the skeletal remains of townships that once flourished. All that remained where stories of Route 66 and other highways. Sure the interstate system streamlined commerce but they should have included the Americans who made their living along the older route. Ah what the hell, it was all about the money and progress eh. One should have asked, “Progress for whom?” for it was not for the people, it was for budding corporations and the bottom line. If only we would have heeded the warning. What a fateful sign of things to come a half century later.

Many people have long since died who were overlooked by the federal government back then. But I remember the uproar they made over the destruction of their way of life. The media played it off and their pleas were simply ignored. They simply lost everything they owned while insiders and their cronies bought the property for pennies. Corporatism has been here for a long time.

Like the Romans did, divide and conquer, the USA seems to be at odds with one another these days. Smokers against non smokers, the racial circus, environmental and progressives, the list goes on and on. And here sits the media fanning the flames of dissention. Like the instigator, the media has played up every story to foster hatred. We have declared war on smokers since they can cause cancer with second hand smoke. The sad part of this story is the real culprits of pollution keep on polluting and causing cancer. But boy oh boy we sure got them smokers on the run. Los Angeles has the worse air quality on record. You can get your fill of carcinogens by simply walking down the street. That whiff of a cigarette may be offensive but it surely will not kill you, lets be honest. The real killers are laughing all the way to the bank as we fight amongst ourselves over trite and trivial things. The pharmaceutical companies and their bogus drugs are killing every day. The processed poisoned food industry has been pushing their crappola down our throats causing cancer, diabetes and other deadly ailments. That reminds me, I wonder if the FDA finally weeded out the drug testers who were also being paid by drug companies. Hmm, I wonder. We must realize the media has become the operative of corporations. News stories are strategically places to keep us divided as a people. This is not only an American issue, its world wide. After all, its corporations who are running the show these days.

If only I could take you on a cross country trip. You would hear how American’s from all cultures are dismayed over the American government’s love affair with corporations. Though you might not interview the people along the way, you would listen to the local radio stations. From the Heartland of Nebraska I heard radio shows speaking as if they read my stories. Fact is they were much more radical with their total hatred for the corrupt government we have today than yours truly. From the pork belly and harvest reports to the closure of more local businesses, Americans are up in arms. Divide and conquer has become the axiom of the corporate run government. Keep them at odds with one another and we can do as we wish. Toss in some mind altering drugs like fluoride and there you have it, the perfect corporate stew. Remember the Ka Ka Water story?

The scars of corporate globalization are apparent everywhere. City after city are filled with the skeletal remains of industries that have moved to other countries. They are the industrial ghost towns of hidden America. The new homeless are everywhere and they struggle to maintain their dignity in the face of absolute poverty. Once on the top of their game they find themselves jobless with their unemployment running out. With foreclosure just around the bend they are on an odyssey they never fathomed. Yet an absolute minority is gleeful as their strategically placed stocks rise. We the people listen on the news how the USA is dumping cash in Iraq. But the stark reality is the money is going into the pockets of corporations, not the country as the news alludes to. The money goes into the pockets of Halliburton, Boeing, Big Oil and the like. What ever…

Then there was Lori, a waitress at the truck stop I mentioned. She fed many Americans who’ve lost it all simply because she did not like seeing people go hungry. Ironically she fed people with her tip money, people who’ve looked down their noses at a “mere waitress” at one time. Get over it, you know the deal. People looked down their noses at truck drivers, farmers, waitresses, dock workers and the like for many years now. People have become superficial for the most part and image has become their axiom. “Got to look good”

Lori told me she never had big money nor did she ever consider it. She liked her job since it paid the rent and all her bills. She enjoyed life and appreciated the simple things. She could not bear to see anyone go hungry so she shared her tip money to fill a few bellies. For me, she was a breath of fresh air because she was a genuine human being. I ordered the veggie omelet by the way, and it was to die for. To me, Lori was the epitome of what America used to be, she was a picture of a foregone era. She possessed something called humanity.

Don’t you find it odd our politicians are always finding new and more restrictive laws? Every day we are loosing more and more civil liberties, “for the greater good” This culture has become unforgiving with absolute rule garnished with heavy penalties and no room for forgiveness, for the common man. BUT, if you were one of the elite class you were forgiven or simply censored. Remember our bathroom romance, toe tapping senator (Craig) or the other disgusting and infidelitous antics of the elite class? They get a slap on the hand. Others would have lost their jobs, paid big penalties and incarcerated. Remember the African American kid who won some contest only to have the prize removed because he was busted years back for smoking pot. Quite a double standard, don’t you think? It’s in your face, how arrogant is that eh?

Then there are the politicians who’ve taken to raising speeding tickets and other municipal infractions simply to bolster the cities coffers. I think it is in Virginia where a speeding ticket was raised from $300 to $3000 bucks a pop simply to get more monies from the taxpayer. Some whizz-bang politician in California wants to raise the liquor tax 1400% to offset the states budget crisis. But do we really pay attention to what is actually happening around us. For the most part, naw who cares, it only happens to others. Be forewarned, totalitarian rule has already taken hold. We’ve been divided and conquered. And it’s all about the money Paisan, it’s all about the money, Capice?

Your Devil’s Advocate

Buffalohair
_________________
Creativity is the byproduct of a fertile mind