September 2013 - TheTranscendenceDiaries

Talk of business

September 30, 2013

Tonight I had drinks with my good Buddy Lance from the office. spent most of the night talking about business. I will miss him. business is a fascinating concept. It is an utterly worthless adventure were it not for the necessity to earn a living. And yet even when we are absolutely floating in cash the talk of business is still quite intoxicating.

I have been a self employed man of business since I was in my teens for the most part. My first real successful company having been started when I was 21 as I have recounted numerous times here. lance on the other hand has always been more of a school man. Straight a student, then college, then law school, and now a happy and content lawyer. I recounted my adventures in business over the last ten years to him as he listened intently. How I have made and lost millions many times over in the course of my short career.

We determined that the differences in our choices in life were two-fold, one because I was raised by parents who were both business people, and he was raised by parents who were academics. And two, because he grew up in a modest middle class household, and I grew up rather well to do until my late teens when my parents lost their modest fortune to their seven year divorce that cost us all millions. So all I could think of from that point on was getting that money back so I could live the life I was used to once again.

I am watching the debates from a live feed on my laptop. I have spent four years protesting and lamenting gw. But there is an inevitability about him… it is deeper, more fated than anything of us can recognize consciously. I can feel it when I am watching him speak. He stutters, he stops short, he pauses and goes blank for ten seconds at a time. but there is just something underneath it all, a certain power that seems almost unstoppable. I believe at this point that he has a good chance of winning; that Kerry, for better or worse, is not as charismatic a character. He makes more sense. Certainly more honorable and honored of a man. More accomplished. More respected. More in charge of himself it seems. But just very serious. None of the handsome devilish swagger that worked so well for Clinton and gw.

Honestly I don’t even know what to believe anymore. Or who to vote for. I will continue to support the democratic side and promote the cause to my own little constituency, because at the least I believe them. I believe that Kerry and Edwards are honest men; as honest as politicians can be at this juncture in the American political system.

but honestly it isn’t an easy call after seeing the beheadings now.

Bas asks me in the car today why I wanted to watch them. ‘because I wanted to feel what they felt. I want to be there with those men. Those men just as easily could have been us. those were American guys just like us. and instead of us it was them. and that sucks for them and their families and I wanted to be there with them and see what they went through and I wanted to experience it as much as I could. That’s the heaviest shit going on anywhere on the planet. Period. Right there in those little fucking white rooms with those evil masked men cutting peoples heads off. That’s it man. It doesn’t get more human and inhuman as that. and I believe that it is important for all of us to experience it.

‘but why should other people watch that? we already know what’s going on,’ he says. ‘no man,’ I answer, ‘most people don’t know what’s going on. They hear about it and it goes in one ear and out the other. its just a little soundbite on CNN. The American people are not getting the news now because it is too homogenized and cleaned up and fastpaced and glossy. CNN has ruined the news. they have all ruined the news. they have turned the news into “the news,” instead of what it really is. ‘what is it?” “its fucking real life man. Its real shit happening to real people. and we don’t get that from the news anymore. We get a really cleaned up glossed over fancy high tech three second reading of fifty things in an hour. on the top they have a dressed up smiling puppet head talking about some stuff and on the bottom they run a marquise talking about other stuff. each item gets less than a minute. So it becomes a haze of meaningless data. Logged in, logged out. if you ask me, its bullshit.’

‘this shit that’s happening in the world right now is more important than three seconds on top while three seconds on bottom talk about who just hit 700 home runs. So I want to be there really feeling it with that guy. I think everyone should. For two reasons dude. Number one. so everyone can see what we started by going over there in the first place. we all need to not just know but to see and hear and smell and taste what invading Iraq has done. And two, because we need to be with those men at their deaths, we need to be with them in consciousness to help comfort their souls.

O.k. onto matters related but entirely different. Still studying the history of Israel every day. I read a page or two each morning and evening to really soak it in. basically the history of mankind. The history of the Jewish people has shaped all of our lives more than most realize.

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Iran and The West Making Progress

September 20, 2013

Pardon the rough shot copy and paste nature of this post but I felt that it was most important to just get this information out to as many people as possible in a timely manner. If one obtains their world news coverage via only American television they surely aren’t aware of much except the usual hype as entertainment disguised as news that the united states has become so adept at popularizing lately. Opined ideologies and corporate sponsored propaganda passed off as news. Political infighting followed by journalist infighting over the political infighting. It’s a sad and sorry state for American media.
That doesn’t imply that this piece below is any better. It is after all an NBC story. So be fair warned. But at least it is the newly elected Iranian president himself in the flesh speaking. An it does appear that there may be progress coming between these two countries. It’s really Israel obviously that we have to worry about. If there’s one thing that will prevent peace or lead us to war more than anything else it’s Israel. They seem awfully hellbent on the idea. But perhaps with all his blunders of late aside president Obama can help push or better put lead us down a path more peaceful and prosperous than Netenyahu proposed at the UN last year. Almost anything seems better than his stated goals. And lest we forget Obama is the first American elected official to formally and publicly reach out to the Iranian government in over 30 years. It was a bold and smart decision. Admirable.
Now if we could just talk him into ending those criminal crippling economic sanctions… That would be true diplomacy. Hell that would just be the right thing to do. Start there. Just start by being lawful and compassionate
Read on. More later. Peace and love as always.
The Ambassador
2 days ago Iran’s president Rouhani: We will never develop nuclear weapons
Iran’s president vows to never develop nuclear weapons
In an exclusive interview with NBC’s Ann Curry, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country is asking for peace, stability and the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction.
By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told NBC News on Wednesday that the country will never develop nuclear weapons and that he has the clout to make a deal with the West on the disputed atomic program.
“In its nuclear program, this government enters with full power and has complete authority,” Rouhani told Ann Curry, NBC News national and international correspondent and anchor at large, in his first interview with a U.S. news outlet since his election.
“The problem won’t be from our side,” he said at the presidential compound in Tehran. “We have sufficient political latitude to solve this problem.”
Asked whether Iran would ever build a nuclear weapon, Rouhani noted that the country has repeatedly pledged that “under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, nor will we ever.”
“We have never pursued or sought a nuclear bomb, and we are not going to do so,” he said. “We solely are looking for peaceful nuclear technology.”
Rouhani’s comments are the latest in a slew of signs that he is cautiously open to defrosting relations with the U.S., which were in deep freeze under the isolating leadership of his predecessor, the inflammatory Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.
He and President Obama have exchanged letters in which they traded views on “some issues.”
“From my point of view, the tone of the letter was positive and constructive,” Rouhani said of the note he got from the White House congratulating him on his June election, in which he defeated five hard-liners.
“It could be subtle and tiny steps for a very important future. I believe the leaders in all countries could think in their national interest and they should not be under the influence of pressure groups. I hope to witness such an atmosphere in the future.”
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that in the letter, Obama told Rouhani the U.S. is open to a resolution to the nuclear impasse in which Iran can prove its atomic program is peaceful.
But he also conveyed the need to act quickly because the window for a diplomatic deal “will not remain open indefinitely,” Carney said.
On another pressing topic, Rouhani was questioned about his views on Iran’s close ally Syria and its promise to give up chemical weapons under the threat of air strikes from the U.S.
He said he could give no guarantees on behalf of Syrian President Bashar Assad, just days after he was quoted by his country’s official news agency as saying he would accept any Syrian president elected by the people.
EXCLUSIVE: Iran president Rouhani says they will never develop nuclear weapons
In his first interview with a U.S. news outlet since becoming president, Hassan Rouhani told NBC News’ Ann Curry that he has full authority to strike a nukes deal with the west.
“We are not the government of Syria,” he told Curry when asked about the chemical weapons handover. “We are one of the countries of this region which is asking for peace and stability and the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction in the entire region. “
Asked whether he thought Obama looked weak when he backed off the air-strike threat, Rouhani replied, “We consider war a weakness. Any government or administration that decides to wage a war, we consider a weakness. And any government that decides on peace, we look on it with respect to peace.”
His answers underscored the shift in Iranian politics since Rouhani was elected with just over 50 percent of the vote. In his inaugural address, he spoke of engagement with the West to end sanctions over the nuclear program.
“The Iranian people voted ‘yes’ to moderation,” he said in his speech.
Rouhani’s appearance next Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly — where western diplomats regularly stalked out of Ahmedinejad’s fiery speeches — should provide more clues to just how moderate he is.
Among recent overtures from his administration: the head of Tehran’s nuclear program said Rouhani has a “more full-fledged … desire” to come to an agreement on nukes than the prior government, and his foreign minister tweeted Rosh Hashanah well-wishes earlier this month, in stark contrast to the anti-Semitic vitriol of Ahmedinejad.
Experts say Rouhani’s softer approach apparently has the support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On Monday, the new president said the Revolutionary Guards — who report to Khamenei and have been accused of backing hard-liners — should stay out of politics. The next day, Khamenei was quoted on state TV as saying, “It is not necessary for the Guards to have activities in the political field.”
Khamenei also spoke about the need for “flexibility.”
“I agree with what I years ago called heroic flexibility, because this is sometimes a very good and necessary move but with sticking to a basic condition,” he was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
“Sometimes a wrestler shows flexibility for technical reasons, but he doesn’t forget who his opponent is and what his real goal is.”
Still, the tension between the U.S. and Iran — which cut diplomatic ties in 1980 after the hostage crisis — remains palpable.
Earlier this week, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, Marzieh Afkham, criticized the tone of Obama’s letter to Rouhani.
“Unfortunately, the U.S. administration is still adopting the language of threat while dealing with Iran,” Afkham said, according to the New York Times. “We have announced that this needs to change into the language of respect.”
Western diplomats remain wary of Iran.
After Iranian energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi pledged more cooperation at the annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz sounded a note of caution.
“The proof will be in the pudding,” he said. “The words have to be followed by concrete action.”
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
– Posted by The Ambassador using BlogPress on an iPhone

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On the Edge of Yet Another Meltdown

September 19, 2013

The gold market went insane today! like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Before the markets even opened gold dropped from 128 to 124 and falling in a matter of minutes. In anticipation of Fed chairman Bernanke speaking today. Then after the Fed announced there’d be no taper of the $85 BILLION dollars a month they’re currently printing and pumping into the US economy to keep it from collapsing the whole damn market went nuts. As if every investor on planet earth had dropped LSD and it kicked in for EVERYONE all at the same time.

It was insane. Gold ran from 123 to 129 in less than a minute. The numbers were moving so fast on my computer that I thought any minute the processor was going to freeze up or burn out shooting sparks and a whiff of smoke out of the back of my laptop. I caught a few seconds of it on video. Boy was it a site to see.

A little later CNBC was showing the ticker across the top of the screen as it always does for all the various equities and commodities including gold and silver. Went to the bathroom and came back and out and WTH?!?! Gold was showing it was back down to $1308. It had ben at 1362 for hours now. Every two minutes for hours, $1362. And then BAM it just switches to $1308. Silver too. Had lost all it’s value. I had seen them do this before. A few weeks back. Only with gold and silver mind you. It was a glitch that lasted about three minutes. But this time it went on and on for about forty minutes. So I was freaked out. Went online to confirm it and sure enough they had it wrong. Gold was right where it should have been.

So what’s up with CNBC?!?! Seriously? What the f is going on? We already know the big institutional houses and banks do NOT like gold. It’s real. It’s a safe haven hedge against sloppy and let’s face it fraudulent monetary policies that have caused more than their fair share of economic crises over the last 100 years for Americans. And in 2008 one that effected the whole world. They’ve got their conspiracy against the one last real hard asset that can’t be manipulated and fucked with. It’s easy to magically disappear trillions of wealth in dollars and computer blips and bleeps as they did in ’08. But it’s impossible to go into every persons home and fuck with their gold. That’s the one asset class that they can’t screw up with hedge funds and Fred default swaps and derivatives et al. And they hate it. So frankly if you ask me, that little glitch that happened on CNBC tonight was no accident. Something accurately happened. Deliberately. For all we know there could have been a few million people tuned in right during that 39 minutes and saw gold down that much and ran to their computer to sell out of their GLD holdings. Out of fear it was dropping again. You just never know.

I posted a query online to see if anyone else noticed it and had any idea what was going on. WHO could pull off such a stunt? We know WHY. But who has that kind of power? Only a few. I received the usual plethora of comments both good bad and comical. And Then the last one caught my eye; Laurie Childers suggested that perhaps we just stay away from the shiny yellow rock that makes white man crazy altogether. Frankly I wouldn’t care either way. It’s not a foodstuff or a basic need item, nor is it necessarily a luxury that I enjoy immeasurably like say making music or love or learning or writing. So it’s not like we’re addicted to it. She may have a point.

So i told her, Hey Laurie, that is one original out of the blue an out of the box viewpoint. Kudos for that. And thank you. It’s refreshing to hear an idea so out of left field like that once in a whole when we get caught up in something. Can always count on you for that.

But I’ll tell ya, the problem is… we have to have “some” form of fungible currency that is real and can’t be manipulated by higher ups, 1, AND 2, a safe place to keep it (cash in US currency is not safe as today’s 20% drop showed or 2008 showed) and 3, a way to make money from our money in order to make a living or eventually retire or simply safely care for yourself and your love ones, i.e. investing what you have for a profit so you don’t end up a burden to society or your loved ones when we’re old.. This is the reality of being human on earth. Safe investments… As in days of old — even good old bonds– are gone. 2% return?!?! Minus inflation and you’ve lost money not made it. It’s an upside down economy. All cockeyed.

Precious metals are the closest thing to real currency we have left in our global society. Paper money is just too manipulated now. We don’t think about it too much in the US — more people should– but we hear about it everyday as it happens in various other countries all over the world around us — their paper currency loses its value completely. Greece Spain Egypt Iceland… Iran is going thru it now due to the US’s wicked sanctions. They carry around BRIEFCASES full of cash just to buy groceries. It’s sad and scary. India is going thru it too. The Rupee has become nearly worthless in a few months.

This is actually happening in the US too. But it’s being artificially propped up thru the deal the US has with the Saudi dictatorship and their oil. We give them military support of their dictatorship and protect their oil fields and they in turn give us the right to force all nations on earth to have to buy all oil in US dollars. It’s a very evil scam.
And that’s just ONE way it’s being artificially propped up. Try googling “price of house or car or men’s suit in 1983” and you’ll see how much value the US dollar has lost. It’s scary.
Not to mention the market manipulations that we saw in 2008. Trillions were lost overnight. Trillions of OUR money. Depositors money. Gone.
If we could stop all that or at least regulate it a bit… I’d be happy not to mess with the yellow OR the silver metals. I’m quite happy w a debit card and PayPal. But alas not if the money ain’t there.

Hope this makes sense. It’s late and I’m kind of just touching on the issues… But therein lies my personal reasons for having a relationship w gold and silver. It’s responsible survival. For ourselves and for the people we love and their futures.

More later. This battle is in full swing now but I dare say it has just begun. We will get to the bottom of it.

– Posted by The Ambassador using BlogPress on an iPhone

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Rebuild America or White House Jihad?

September 11, 2013

It seems a strange coincidence that today as the nation mourns the 12th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Centers in 2001 that the last, most recent image we have of our president is of him giving an internationally televised speech attempting to explain to the world America’s dire need to militarily attack yet another country in the Middle East; an irony uniquely American.

I usually refrain from posting in the Transcendence Diaries on September 11th, or making any major or minor statements about it one way or the other; precisely because of the reason that compelled me to do so this year. The day is as memorialized in the national consciousness of the United States people as any major national holiday at this point. 9/11 is as deeply embedded in the American psyche as Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July. But unlike other stand-out days of the year, like Christmas or Easter for instance, September 11th cuts across all races and religions and touches every American heart in a profound way. But the reasons why, now, twelve years later, may be different for some people as compared to others; which is what has transformed the day into such a controversial and contentious topic.

This morning as I contemplated these ideas, I realized that there is no better way of illustrating this point personally than to simply do what I always do every year on this day, but with a few slight changes and additions. Every year on September 11th our record label marks the occasion by posting the music video of the song “Rebuild America” on a wide variety of websites across the internet and on social media, as well as emailing it to our fanbase and releasing a national press release. We recorded the song the week after the attacks and released it soon after. The song became an instant favorite with our fans, an emotional touchstone that helped express the grief and desired hopefulness that many were feeling during that time. The following year we decided to begin donating the proceeds from the sales and downloads of the song to The Robin Hood Foundation, a New York City non-profit that has a special chapter solely dedicated to helping the families of 9/11 victims.

As always, here is that music video:
</p> <p> There is no need to go into any of the details of my own personal experiences on that day or that week as many are apt and justified to do today, as all of it has already been written about extensively here in the pages of the Diaries of previous years. [a simple search for 9/11 would bring up all the entries from the last 12 years related to this day, the tragedy, and the song]. By the spring of 2003, many Americans had shifted their attention from mourning the tragedy of 9/11 to protesting and demonstrating along with the rest of the free world the United States’ government’s stated plan to invade the country of Iraq. I participated in several demonstrations across the country that season, from Miami to New York to Washington DC. One thing was certain if anything: though the world grieved and sympathized with us for our losses, they were unanimous in their opposition to our government militarily attacking another country with no direct connection to the 9/11 attacks. The month of March saw the world break every record in humanity’s history books related to the massive numbers of attendees at these demonstrations. Some cities clocked in over two million people marching through the streets carrying signs and banners begging or demanding the United States to not invade Iraq.</p> <p> Needless to say, democracy did not prevail in that mammoth global endeavor; democracy had been trumped by sheer force of political will and military might. The event had the unfortunate effect of triggering a reversal of the sentiment of the people of the world in regards to the United States of America, from sympathy and empathy to a very palpable anger and resentment, and worse yet it more brightly illuminated the stated reasons the attackers used to justify their attack than any flag burning or jihad message ever could, i.e. the United States was a heartless bullying global superpower with no respect for the sovereignty of other countries and no appreciation for the sanctity of human life; like many empires before it it was an imperialist arrogant and elitist killing machine that deserved to be attacked and stopped at any cost. It was hard to argue with this idea when confronted with it while traveling to other countries over the next few years. The image of George W. Bush had become the face of a new kind of corporate controlled war monger; the American flag the new symbol of 21st century evil. It was an inescapable sentiment that spanned the globe no matter where I traveled over the next few years. Planet earth had found its new villain that the world loved to hate.</p> <p> By the fall of 2004 a cheap independently produced film entitled LOOSE CHANGE was making its way through the underground and the cognoscenti that portended a seething theory about 9/11 through asking a series of questions about the myriad inconsistencies and mysteries surrounding many of the events before during and after that fateful day. Many of the inconsistencies were just too obvious and eerie to easily dismiss or deny. At the same time hundreds of videos were beginning to appear all over the internet from a variety of different countries that were pointing out the same problems with the official story and asking the same questions. There are now three full length feature films in the LOOSE CHANGE series. And they are only the tip of the iceberg in regards to the vast quantity of films that have been produced now all proposing similar theories… that there is more to the 9/11 story than what was originally reported officially by the American government and media. If you haven’t yet seen these films it would be difficult to think of anything else more important to suggest that one do today. No matter what you’re viewpoint, if any, SEE THESE FILMS, if you care in the least about America or the world and it’s people.</p> <p> In 2004 it was ludicrous to suggest to anyone outside of your own family that you had any doubts about the official story surrounding 9/11. It was too close, too soon, too sore still. And besides, are you not a patriot? Do you not love America? Have you no shame? Or pride? Flash forward to 2012 and one is hard pressed to not find that at least half of the people you know aren’t skeptical of the official 9/11 story or harboring their own suspicions that something just doesn’t feel right about it. (I hesitate to say this and only do so in order to prove a point, with no egoistic intention whatsoever, despite what it may sound like), but it is not often that I personally encounter anyone who knows as much or more than I do about any so-called underground knowledge or conspiracy theories or unreported facts or truths that haven’t yet reached the mainstream, let alone have anything to teach me or new to share with me. This has nothing to do with any particular gift talent skill or advantage I claim to possess as much as it does the simple fact that I have more desire to study and learn and can afford to and am willing to give up more time attention and effort for it than anything else. It may be the one thing I personally excel at, if anything, being that learning is the one thing besides making love and music that I am more passionate about than anything else in this particular lifetime.</p> <p> The reason I mention this is because over the last few years, millions of people have surpassed me in their quest to research and collect data regarding the alleged “terrorist attacks” of September 11th. It seems that everyone has their own personal storehouse of unreported details and facts about the event, and their own personal theories as to what exactly happened; millions of people all over the world, from every race, nation, class, economic background and of every age. The hearts and minds of the people of the world have slowly transitioned from shock, sadness and sympathy over that day to doubt cynicism suspicion and skepticism, a lurking uneasy feeling that won’t leave one’s thinking once started on the path of researching the events of that day, that week, that month, that year. It has gone from underground conspiracy theory to mainstream common knowledge that the events as they were officially reported are downright impossible to believe.</p> <p> As the years wore on, it became more and more challenging to defend the United States of America and its dubious so-called foreign policy. Even if the events of 9/11 as they were officially reported were indisputably true and trustworthy, it was becoming more and more apparent to the world that the United States had metamorphosed into something ghastly inhumane and deadly on a global level. Fear and anger rather than patriotism and envy filled the hearts of many when the subject of the good old USA came up in conversation. In 2005 I had already written and released the music video for the song “White House Jihad”. The stark contrast between this song and “Rebuild America” couldn’t have been more striking. The sentiment of the songs couldn’t be more different. It wasn’t a conscious thing. I’ve never written songs like that; in fact I’ve never done anything with much consciousness or conscience. As anyone can attest, I am more a seat of the pants type. I tell it do it call it as I see it, in each moment, without foresight or regard for consequences. </p> <p> That video is here:<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qDLj5WYiIcs" width="420"/></p> <p> Just like “Rebuild America”, “White House Jihad” seemed to resonate strongly with a certain group of people. The innocence and blind patriotism of “Rebuild America” had long since dissipated and given way to a new-found realism and self-consciousness that each of us had an inherent responsibility to attempt to stop the bloodshed and madness, whether American or any other nationality. Watching the horrors of war, if one is compassionate, is a grueling experience. Whether it’s the hundreds of thousands killed in the country under attack or the thousands killed or tens of thousands maimed and injured of one’s own country, it doesn’t matter. The horror of war is the most unpleasant aspect of the human condition to consider and behold. I knew “White House Jihad” was a controversial song. I knew it was the furthest thing from patriotism during a time when tens of thousands of our fellow brothers and sisters were in harms way and risking their lives and the welfare of their homes and families. But at the same time I felt like I had to do something, to say something. Marching demonstration protesting wasn’t working.Talking about it wasn’t working. Hell, singing about it didn’t work any better.</p> <p> But as artists we put it out there, no matter what “it” is, when we feel it. It’s a statement of purpose, a mass, a vigil, an act of defiance and protest, a mission statement. Years pass. Critics have condemned me for the insensitive and disrespectful sentiment of “White House Jihad”, just as others have criticized me for the seemingly ignorant and blind patriotism of “Rebuild America”. It’s a classic “you can’t please everybody all of the time” catch-22. I find it funny now when music critics doing their research to review one of our new albums come across “Rebuild America” and not “White House Jihad” and assume that I am nothing more than the simple naive American flag waver given voice in that song, as if that alone sums up a person. And vice versa. Surely we are all, every single one of us, much more than the momentary feelings and ideas we express in any given hour on any given day. Especially in the context of the state that we live in, as confused and convoluted as it is. It isn’t easy being American in this day and age. Perhaps it never has been.</p> <p> It is certainly a privilege to be American; the country and its chosen mode of governance offers tremendous freedom and holds great potential. But it is also a heavy burden. Of course we wanted and want to rebuild our America; just not at the expense of others weaker than ourselves. Regardless of what we eventually discover or determine caused the tragic events of 9/11, innocent lives were lost. And that’s a sad thing. The wind got kicked out of us for a few minutes there. Hope was all we had, along with a very human ability to work hard, see beyond our momentary grief and persevere. On the other side of the coin of course we are embittered and angered by the atrocities committed in our name over the last twelve years. Anyone seeing and hearing clearly sees the dire need we have as a country for change and transformation; it’s hanging around our collective neck like a “kick me” sign or a noose. Perhaps it is nothing less than White House jihad that we need to rebuild. A full on revolution of the whole set up. A full cleaning and clearing of the whole house, top to bottom. We don’t say these things out of being unpatriotic or unaware or unappreciative of our many blessings as citizens of this country. Rather we say them out of that same hope and love and pride we felt for the country on the first September 11th all those years ago. </p> <p> I am sure I am not the only one who harbors this same set of confusing and contradictory beliefs and ideas. They echo through our collective conversations as a country on a daily basis now in every form of media and dialogue available to us. Our emperor lost his wardrobe many years ago and I think almost all of us would do just about anything to see the poor glorious bastard clothed once again. This is what makes today so difficult and challenging for many of us. His nakedness is ours; and in the seat of our soul we long for that pride and respect and sense of honor that we vaguely remember feeling once a long time ago to return. We just aren’t sure how to get there, which makes days like today even more painful than just the mourning and pain over innocent lives lost. The day has taken on a new meaning for us all, not because of what transpired on that day, but on the days and years that immediately followed it since. Somewhere in our future, if we are to have one at all, is a path that will take us to a new-found sense of self respect honor pride and patriotism as American citizens, but more importantly as responsible and respectful citizens of the world.</p> <p> The Ambassador</p> <div style="clear: both;"/> </div> <div class='sfsi_Sicons' style='width: 100%; display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; text-align:left'><div style='margin:0px 8px 0px 0px; line-height: 24px'><span>Please follow and like us:</span></div><div class='sfsi_socialwpr'><div class='sf_subscrbe sf_icon' style='text-align:left;vertical-align: middle;float:left;width:auto'><a href="http://www.specificfeeds.com/widgets/emailSubscribeEncFeed/dUVGeFVoNE4zbElJOGVEcWRBWEJxZjN6TU96UnhRb3ArOWdkbm02aVZxMEJnVDduU1pqTnZyZmxpN1BTblBwQkNTd3hPeHl0bGJEVHN5dXRzaGZBZ3duWWJkRE9neitqUGhPcGk1bG0rbUxZcDE3enBkYVNVSm5yZVdqcE5zc2R8eTNOdm1LS0xGcTBxTzNMUlNTT09MS2k1NjFZbVFyNGlYMHk1TEd3WkIyMD0=/OA==/" target="_blank"><img 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href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/america/" rel="tag">America</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/conspiracy-theories/" rel="tag">Conspiracy theories</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/invasion-of-iraq/" rel="tag">invasion of Iraq</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/labels-9-11/" rel="tag">Labels: 9/11</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/loose-change/" rel="tag">loose change</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/obama-plans-to-strike-syria/" rel="tag">obama plans to strike Syria</a> </div> </article> <article id="post-286" class="post-286 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized tag-cheney tag-drone-strikes tag-iran tag-labels-bush tag-obama tag-presidential-election-2012-2008 tag-syria tag-war-monger tag-world-war-iii"> <header class="entry-header"> <h2 class="entry-title post-title"><a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/2013/09/09/coming-down-off-the-chocolate-high/" rel="bookmark">Coming Down Off the Chocolate High</a></h2>   <div class="post-details">  September 9, 2013 </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-686667365684005125" itemprop="description articleBody"> In one of the strangest geo-political twists the United States has ever seen, the president of Syria, yes that Syria, manages to appear on American television this morning, BEFORE the president of the United States, to discuss the recent allegations (by the United States) that the government of Syria inadvertently used chemical weapons against its own people in the civil war the country is experiencing. I can tell you as an American that it was more than a bit surreal to see Syria’s president beat our own to the punch in messaging the American people. I’m not sure if Obama is high or stupid, but not since the Iran-Contra Affair has the world seen such a blunder as this plan to attack Syria threat has been. Not only has it confused the hell out of the American public but it’s sent the economic markets rocking back and forth on an almost daily basis. No one knows what the hell is going on, especially the president of the United States.</p> <p> In an even stranger twist still, just hours later, it was announced by the mainstream media that Russia has been brokering a deal with Syria and the United States for over a week to allow Syria to turn over its chemical weapons to a neutral third party in the international community. President Obama admitted in an interview today on CNN that he has been discussing this option with Russian president Putin since the G20 Summit. Which means that all this recent blustering by Secretary of State John Kerry has been what? A ruse? A bluff? Was the carpet pulled out from him at the last minute? The voting in the Senate and in Congress?</p> <p> Many in America and around the world would agree that there was nothing as purely evil AND fool-hearty at the same time in American history as the Bush-Cheney years. This was pure selfish war mongering in the traditional old-fashioned imperial style of pre WW II years. Compounded with Bush himself who never quite seemed to be aware of what he or his administration was actually doing, let alone the world at large. It was one of the first times the whole world got to see firsthand just how little the president of the United States actually does besides just being a charismatic figurehead. But the last few years of the Obama presidency have been starting to make look GW look not half as dumb and foolish, nor as mean spirited and evil as some have been led to believe prior to Obama’s ascendancy to the White House. Words like fumble, foible, farce, mockery, sham, gaffe, mess and more have all been used in recent days to describe the lone wolf president’s handling of this Syrian conflict; a conflict we must remember that has absolutely nothing to do with us.</p> <p> From the moment Obama inserted himself into this tragic affair by boisterously announcing his “red line”, the Syrian government’s civil war has become an American problem, with myriad prospects for future problems for us now that his proverbial foot has been placed in his mouth.Watching him attempt to pull it out over the last few weeks has been an agonizing affair for all. It isn’t easy to see the emperor parade through town without any clothes, even if you aren’t a fan.</p> <p> Which is where I, like many, find myself. Never being a fan of Obama, it isn’t as difficult for me it’s been for many; those who are liberal in the media are admittedly stumped, disappointed and confused. For me, besides the very basics — e.g. the excitement around the US electing its first half-African American president, I was not an Obama fan as much as just a non-Romney fan. from the start there were too many aspects of the man and his mysterious past that I just didn’t and don’t like. I couldn’t vote for him in 2008 because of this, so I gave my vote away. It was obvious he was going to win. I personally did not feel comfortable being a part of electing him. To be perfectly frank I can still remember seeing his face on several occasions and remarking to Princess Little Tree that “I don’t know why yet, but every time I look at him I feel this strange eerie intuitive flash inside that HE is actually the man who is going to be responsible for starting World War III or something like it; can’t explain it. But it’s there… He just doesn’t seem to be on the up and up.” </p> <p> Once it was revealed that this “man of peace” was secretly assassinating more people with drones than any previous president, or that more immigrants have been deported under his watch than any other prior administration — while he pretends to maintain a “pro-immigrant” stance to the unknowing masses, or that more people have been arrested and imprisoned for drug possession during his administration than any other — again while he himself benefits from a “mr. cool factor” for admitting to doing drugs in college, or that he was in the pocket of Monsanto and signed a deathly no-labeling of GMOs law behind the backs of his most ardent liberal followers, or that he’s been consistently and covertly bombing both Yemen and Pakistan for over a year — killing hundreds of innocent civilians in the process, OR that he was the first president to single handedly order an assassination of an American citizen for “threatening to commit terrorism”, it became very clear to me that, like most US presidential candidates, he was just as corrupt as he was charismatic. And therein lies the key to why it is ridiculous for so many of our friends around the country, men and women alike, to be so blindly gaga over him — as if he were some kind of “new brand, never before seen hero of mythic proportions, an enlightened leader who’s going to do things differently”.</p> <p> As compassionate liberty-leaning people, yes we must commend him for his stance on gay marriage equality. That has been a highly transformative shift in our culture in a very positive direction. But besides that, the high is wearing off. In light of this new Syria debacle, combined with last year’s Libya debacle (which, let’s face it, he got away with just through being very crafty and charismatic), I am sadly starting to fear that Barack Obama may turn out to be one of the worst things we as a nation have ever done (besides Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, etc… Obviously that’s a big list….) It is starting to appear as though we sacrificed experience boldness intelligence and skill for “fulfilling America’s dormant MLK Dream”. And to be sure that WAS a great achievement in and of itself. I’m glad we did it, glad we were capable of it finally, glad I saw it transpire in my lifetime. I am sure in and of itself it has and is going to change tens of millions of lives around the world for decades to come: in increasing racial equality and tolerance, in helping lead by example on that front and in helping to bolster the self opinion of so-called minorities worldwide, but especially in America. No one can ever again utter the words “Yeah but we’ll never elect a black president…” Those days are now gone once and for all. So good on us for that.</p> <p> BUT… and this is a BIG but… what will be the cost of this smaller picture achievement in the big picture? How much worse is it going to get? How many more foibles or blatant acts of deception will we be forced to endure for this accomplishment? As in what’s next? Has the man (and his entire administration to be fair) no clue what he’s messing around with here? Has his head just become so big that he forgot that we need to actually do our homework in order to make those straight As? Or is it simply the blind power that corrupts absolutely when one notices how big their stockpile of missiles is? This is after all Syria we are talking about here. The heart of the Middle East and the dread of every sane person’s worst nightmares when it comes to radical extremist terrorism. This is THE Damascus, the oldest continuous city on planet earth and coincidentally the legendary Damascus of numerous World War III prophecies. Besides Iran? Russia? China? Not to mention the Egypt/Palestine/Israel/Jordan consequences inherently attached at the hip of it all.</p> <p> The relative ease and casual stance he seems to be taking when talking about our country entering into military conflict with the second two largest countries on earth is alarming. He now speaks and acts exactly like many presidents who came before him, with the same kind of blind hubris and arrogance as if he truly believed that the United States divinely inherited the title of “world’s greatest ruling empire” and has the right to bark commands and ultimatums at anyone it damn well pleases just because it has the biggest ego and pile of weapons. We can all more than vaguely remember the Obama of just a few short years ago stating unequivocally that he did NOT adhere to this ideology and that he would do his best to attempt to fix our country’s fouled reputation because of such misguided ideas. Where is THAT Barack Obama?</p> <p> Allegedly, at least according to his words and actions until today, he plans on going all in against ALL of them, regardless of their protests and none to subtle suggestions that we dare not tread in those waters. And at the same time no less? It’s one thing to invade a little country like Grenada, or Iraq when you have a coalition of larger nations on your side. It’s another thing entirely to butt heads directly with the bloody four horsemen of the apocalypse. Especially when HE won’t actually be doing any fighting. Like Bush before him, Obama hasn’t and won’t see any action on the field if we were to enter yet another bloody military conflict. While he’s playing basketball, living breathing American men and women will be doing the fighting. And that’s precisely the reason why the man was elected in the first place, i.e. to get us out of those kinds of scenarios once and for all. Lest we forget that while Senator John McCain has now become Obama’s main and nearly only supporter in this new fantasy, it was HE who Obama ran against in his first presidential election, his win based in large part on the promise that “I’m not going to give you four more years of Bush”.<br /> <br /> We also need to remember that this week just happens to mark the one year anniversary of the attack on our embassies in Benghazi, Libya. This is still a painful thorn in the side of every American citizen who care about each other. In this case, four actual American’s were actually killed. We were attacked. As in “perhaps we should take some kind of defensive military action” attacked, in our own home-base and territory. That issue was just covered up and brushed aside as if it never happened. Never before have we seen an administration make so little out of something so big before. But here we are being led to believe that “Syria poses a major threat to our national security” according to the president. Whereas Libya was…. what? Ironically, this afternoon during his interview on CNN, Obama told Wolf Blitzer that “it is inconceivable and just not credible that Assaad’s government can pose any real threat to the United States militarily.” So then WHY exactly are we going to attack them?</p> <p> Another disturbing element of this farce has been Kerry’s and Obama’s consistent assertions that “this isn’t just we here in the United States who are upset about Syria’s use of chemical weapons and who feel the need to take action against the Assaad government”. The problem with these statements is that so far it IS just the United States who is claiming that they need to attack Syria. It’s not like we’re standing a long line to get our punch in. For whatever reason, the U.S. government feels a sudden and desperate need to attack the Syrian government. As is always the case in geo-political events of this magnitude, we won’t find out the real reasons for this new so-called Syrian crisis for months or even years when it comes out in the back pages of newspapers or in future New York Times Bestsellers. By then Obama will be a former president and lo and behold we will discover that the details of the situation are far different than what we are currently being told. The Obama White House is counting on that fact. One hopes that for once we discover the true reasons for this before years have passed. We deserve it. The people who voted for him deserve it.</p> <p> Of course, we aren’t even talking about the economy yet… I have found it very disturbing that Mort Zuckerman, the billionaire tycoon publisher and economy expert, has stated on many occasions that he’s a “life long voting democrat” who has visited the White House numerous times on the president’s invitation to try to talk sense to the Obama administration about the economy and how to handle it and according to him “they just won’t listen; I fear for the country if they continue down this path and make the same mistakes they’ve been making” he has stated. And the man is Jewish. Jews don’t vote Republican traditionally. But he just doesn’t see how the economy is going to turn around if the Obama administration doesn’t start making more fiscally intelligent decisions. This is a frightening idea, a Jewish democrat saying he can’t in good conscience vote for a president he was in love with four years prior because his fiscal policies don’t make common sense.</p> <p> There’s more of course. Much of which we’ve already discussed here in the past and much that we’ve never mentioned. (Sandy Hook is one such “unmentionable”…) But what still puzzles me the most about all this is now that the curtain has been pulled back regarding so many aspects of the great and powerful O, and now that he has flip-flopped on the major issue that distinguished him from his opponents — unilaterally and militarily attacking other sovereign nations who have not attacked nor even threatened us, HOW on earth can people still feel so ra-ra about the man or continue to defend and commend him? What exactly are people waiting for? What do they need to see before they come back down to earth and start seeing him as he really is? Yes, he’s our first black president and that’s amazing. Sure he’s a cool and good looking guy who can give one hell of a speech and that feels good after eight years of bumbling Bush and the dark heart of Dick Cheney clogged our airwaves. But it is past time for us to stop the hero worship and start rolling up our sleeves and taking to the streets the same way we would if it WERE Bush/Cheney planning an attack like this. Many already are. And that’s what makes America such an incredibly admirable country. And with 59% of the people overtly against any kind of military action towards Syria, that speaks volumes about the heart and mind of our country. Let us hope that we continue to grow as we apparently have and that we can somehow help our president do so with us.</p> <div style="clear: both;"/> </div> <div class='sfsi_Sicons' style='width: 100%; display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; text-align:left'><div style='margin:0px 8px 0px 0px; line-height: 24px'><span>Please follow and like us:</span></div><div class='sfsi_socialwpr'><div class='sf_subscrbe sf_icon' style='text-align:left;vertical-align: middle;float:left;width:auto'><a href="http://www.specificfeeds.com/widgets/emailSubscribeEncFeed/dUVGeFVoNE4zbElJOGVEcWRBWEJxZjN6TU96UnhRb3ArOWdkbm02aVZxMEJnVDduU1pqTnZyZmxpN1BTblBwQkNTd3hPeHl0bGJEVHN5dXRzaGZBZ3duWWJkRE9neitqUGhPcGk1bG0rbUxZcDE3enBkYVNVSm5yZVdqcE5zc2R8eTNOdm1LS0xGcTBxTzNMUlNTT09MS2k1NjFZbVFyNGlYMHk1TEd3WkIyMD0=/OA==/" target="_blank"><img src="http://transcendencediaries.com/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/images/follow_subscribe.png" alt="error" /></a></div><div class='sf_fb sf_icon' 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rel="tag">drone strikes</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/iran/" rel="tag">Iran</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/labels-bush/" rel="tag">Labels: Bush</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/obama/" rel="tag">obama</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/presidential-election-2012-2008/" rel="tag">presidential election 2012 2008</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/syria/" rel="tag">syria</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/war-monger/" rel="tag">war monger</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/world-war-iii/" rel="tag">World War III</a> </div> </article> <article id="post-287" class="post-287 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized tag-basecamp tag-iphone tag-laptop tag-new-york-city tag-sir-richard tag-tablet"> <header class="entry-header"> <h2 class="entry-title post-title"><a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/2013/09/04/protecting-usernames-and-passwords-sir-richard-style/" rel="bookmark">Protecting Usernames and Passwords Sir Richard Style</a></h2>   <div class="post-details">  September 4, 2013 </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-449995660604804192" itemprop="description articleBody"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://devops.diaries.waybackdownloads.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/passwords-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://devops.diaries.waybackdownloads.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/passwords.jpg" width="320"/></a></div> <p> A while back on a visit to New York City, a buddy of mine, one Sir Richard, sadly relayed to me how his laptop/tablet/phone had just been stolen and through that slight the bandit(s) were able to walk away with all his usernames and passwords for nearly everything in his life, in effect stealing his identity and more than their fair share of his money and other assets. It was a fairly traumatic experience for the old boy as it would be for anyone. Like many I too kept a running list of my own usernames and passwords in my various devices. How can we not in this day and age?</p> <p> That evening, unable to sleep, I decided that I needed to take some preventative action in order to prevent the same from happening to me and mine. First I used an encryption app to mask all the data; but I also needed to change the name of the file I keep that data in. But what should I NAME this new file? Certainly “Passwords” wasn’t the smartest idea. So many people I know have a file or a Note in this phone called “Passwords”; just as poor Sir Richard once did. Probably not the smartest move. But as with all things negative in life, everyone is SURE that “that’ll never happen to ME”. Until it does. That’s life. Funny how that works.</p> <p> Nope. The name of this file needs to be something that no one would ever be the slightest bit interested in if my device were ever lost or stolen. In days gone by when wanting to hide certain personal or confidential communications from the wandering eyes of overly curious busy-bodies in college, I would name the documents something like to dat.bin.cache01901 or some other meticulously boring and random name. This is a particularly brilliant idea that I highly recommend to anyone who has something/anything that they would prefer to keep private… It might be personal diary entries, or it might be the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe that you’ve been saving for just the right occasion. The file name should be something that sounds as if it’s just a system file; that usually does the trick. Hell, I don’t even want to click on files with those types of names.</p> <p> But what of this new file name for all my usernames and passwords? It too should be cryptic random and boring and NOT contain the words “username” or “password” in it even once. But it also had to be something I myself would remember… In the end, I decided on renaming this file RichardElliot, HIS name. No stranger is going to click on some random name if they find someone’s laptop or phone… And best of all if I ever forgot the name of the file where I keep my usernames and passwords I figured, I would still be compelled to click on that Note now and then just to see why the hell I had created a Note called RichardElliot in the first place, in which case I would then be reminded what it was and where all my usernames and passwords were.</p> <p> A few minutes ago, after creating yet another new online account necessitating a username and password, this time on Basecamp (an excellent app if you aren’t yet familiar with it), I opened up my RichardElliot file to make a note of this new username and password and was reminded why nearly ten years later I am still typing data into a Note with the old boy’s name on it. It’s funny how one minor event in one person’s life can lead to another in someone else’s so haphazardly. And what an odd thing it is now, these words; to him they are one of the most personal things a person can be associated with, besides a body one guesses, his name. To me, those words have transcended nameness entirely. Without thought, they’re boldly etched in my mind now, solidly demarking a file I access on a a nearly daily basis, sometimes several times per day, ingrained in my consciousness as deeply as my own social security number or birth date. Yet in reality this is someone’s name. A living breathing individual 5000 miles away….</p> <p> An added bonus is that I don’t believe a day has gone by in the last ten years that I have not thought at least once about Sir Richard. In a way it might be construed as “cheating” a bit I suppose. When Sir Richard receives a seemingly random call text or Facebook message from me asking how he’s doing, he expresses feeling “pleasantly surprised” and thanks me for “always thinking of him.” Little does he know from whence the thought came… He might end up being that one friend on earth I stay in contact with the longest in my life simply due to this strange twist. But hey I can think of much worse things people could do with our name. So in the bigger picture it’s probably not such a bad thing. And if in the end it saves me from suffering the same fate as he all those years ago God love him, then I shall certainly be forever in his debt.</p> <p></p> <div style="clear: both;"/> </div> <div class='sfsi_Sicons' style='width: 100%; display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; text-align:left'><div style='margin:0px 8px 0px 0px; line-height: 24px'><span>Please follow and like us:</span></div><div class='sfsi_socialwpr'><div class='sf_subscrbe sf_icon' style='text-align:left;vertical-align: middle;float:left;width:auto'><a href="http://www.specificfeeds.com/widgets/emailSubscribeEncFeed/dUVGeFVoNE4zbElJOGVEcWRBWEJxZjN6TU96UnhRb3ArOWdkbm02aVZxMEJnVDduU1pqTnZyZmxpN1BTblBwQkNTd3hPeHl0bGJEVHN5dXRzaGZBZ3duWWJkRE9neitqUGhPcGk1bG0rbUxZcDE3enBkYVNVSm5yZVdqcE5zc2R8eTNOdm1LS0xGcTBxTzNMUlNTT09MS2k1NjFZbVFyNGlYMHk1TEd3WkIyMD0=/OA==/" target="_blank"><img src="http://transcendencediaries.com/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/images/follow_subscribe.png" alt="error" 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href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/basecamp/" rel="tag"> Basecamp</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/iphone/" rel="tag">iPhone</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/laptop/" rel="tag">laptop</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/new-york-city/" rel="tag">New York City</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/sir-richard/" rel="tag">Sir Richard</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/tablet/" rel="tag">tablet</a> </div> </article> <article id="post-731" class="post-731 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized tag-al-awlaki tag-america tag-assad tag-general-wesley-clark tag-iran tag-israel tag-mainstream-media tag-msm tag-potus tag-saudi tag-syria tag-united-states tag-washington"> <header class="entry-header"> <h2 class="entry-title post-title"><a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/2013/09/02/syria-another-piece-of-the-puzzle-coming-together/" rel="bookmark">Syria: Another Piece of the Puzzle Coming Together</a></h2>   <div class="post-details">  September 2, 2013 </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="shortcode-content"></p> <p>It took a while. Getting to the truth isn’t a simple one off affair. We usually cannot get there sitting in front of the tube listening to what employees of giant corporatocracies have been ordered to report or recite, i.e. newscasters, anchormen, et al. One can say the same about mainstream magazines and newspapers as well, though print journalism usually comes the closest to revealing some truth about most subjects compared to any other form of MSM (mainstream media).</p> <p></p> <p>When US Secretary of State John Kerry and president Barack Obama appeared on international television vehemently announcing their grand plan to take military action against Syria we all got the feeling we’d seen this before. And in fact we had. This time the reasoning was “The leader used chemical weapons on his own people.” Neither of them bothered to mention that it was the US who originally sold the chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein that led to his manhunt and execution by public hanging; nor the millions of pounds of Napalm that the US military dropped all over the countries of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.</p> <p></p> <p>Still, there was something quite odd about how the whole thing went down this time. Usually a US president becomes very resolute when he’s ordered to invade another country. They make their case and hop to it, as the above photo collage illustrates. Obama the man campaigned as a peace making presidential candidate. He quickly erased all hopes of that hollow rhetoric when it was discovered that he had quickly risen to be the all time world record holder for ordering targeted assassinations using drone strikes. He comes off cool and laidback, plays basketball, hangs with celebrities and rappers, smokes ciggies, admits to being a pothead in college. But from nine to five he’s one of the most calculated and ruthless killers the White House has ever been home to. His assassination of Al Awlaki AND his young son (on separate occasions), both being American citizens, without due process or trial, was an unprecedented event in American history.</p> <p></p> <p>Now he’s announced he’s after Syria, just as he went after Libya and Qaddafi and his predecessor went after Iraq and Afghanistan. The American people were warned of this plan years ago by General Wesley Clark [<a href="http://youtu.be/r8YtF76s-yM" onclick="__gaTracker('send', 'event', 'outbound-article', 'http://youtu.be/r8YtF76s-yM', 'see video footage here]');" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">see video footage here]</a>, that as far back as ‘2001 the United States had already drafted a list that contained a total of 7 countries in the Middle East that it was planning on invading and taking over. Syria was one. Iran will be next.</p> <p></p> <p>Because of the strange way that the tag team of Kerry/Obama handled this latest invasion announcement I felt the need to spend some time researching the events led up to it. There was much that did not make sense. Why would a US president make the announcement publicly and ruin the element of surprise? Why did he renege on his tough talk in the final hour and pass the ball to the US Congress but without even calling them in for an emergency session when this was such a “vital matter of national security” as they’d been stating? The British did. And they quickly voted to have no part in this latest American coup lucky them. What of that? How could Obama or Kerry or anyone on earth with half a brain not clearly see that invading Syria when the rebels their government are fighting are comprised of Al Quaeda and other Muslim extremists groups would cause even more uncertainty and chaos in that region and just might be the worst thing for America that could transpire out of all possible outcomes? Or that attacking Syria in any way will certainly involve killing hundreds of innocent civilians there and if anything cause a unification of the Sunnis and Shiites by reminding them of their traditionally vitriolic disdain for America?</p> <p></p> <p>For the last few weeks I set about researching the facts and rumors to get a better understanding of what was really happening. CNN MSNBC and FOX News are the three primary 24 hour news sources in the United States at this time, for the record. None are real news services. Unfortunately not even close. Glamorized mouthpieces for various large corporate/banking/government cartels, each with their own slightly different agenda. None try very hard to disguise this fact at the time of this writing. So regardless of how many hours they need to fill all three networks repeat the same two to three bites of data over and over again ad nauseum, offering nothing new or insightful and usually not even coming close to reporting any actual truth or facts about these kinds of events. It’s as horribly frustrating as it is frightening if you’re the least bit educated or knowledgable about world affairs or well traveled. For the time being we’ve the internet and plenty of sources outside the US to gain access to actual news and facts.</p> <p></p> <p>There are stories leaking out now from several sources about a visit to Tehran from several US diplomats to discuss the Syrian issue. This would explain the delay between when Kerry announced the plans to invade Syria and their next press conference nearly a week later. Evidently these meetings did not go well and despite their best efforts the US could not get Iran to agree to even a small military strike to at least save the face if the US president after all his chest beating. [Google it]. Personally I find this particular story hard to take in given the tough talk from Washington re Iran over the last few years AND the crippling sanctions they’ve foisted upon this nation and its people. But being more in the know than many about Iran I am aware of many such meetings between the US and Iran trough the years that have never made it to American mainstream media. That’s the key to understanding geopolitical affairs especially regarding. The United States. What’s really going on almost never gets reported on. What does get reported is usually a smokescreen or what is commonly referred to as a false flag operation. One can usually determine what is NOT truly important by simply paying attention to whatever the mainstream media is talking about.</p> <p></p> <p>They’re either the last to know OR they’re simply following orders and are deliberately not reporting what’s really happening. I don’t pretend to know which is fact. We just know at this time that they almost never report on or discuss anything remotely important or factual compared to the behind the scenes. Whether a full on conspiracy as some people suggest or just ignorance of the facts I cannot yet conclude.</p> <p></p> <p>Last week several global media outlets began reporting that Saudi go-to henchman Prince Bandar (read the book Sleeping With The Devil to learn about him and how important and involved he is in American geopolicital affairs and foreign policy) was actually the person who supplied re chemical weapons to Syria — a gift from the Saudi so called royal family — to the REBELS and it was THEY who actually used them, albeit unknowingly. A buddy of mine from the music scene, the Lone Ranger, one of the greatest singer songwriters of our time, or any for that matter, is a big Obama fan, God love him. His ignorance regarding world affairs belies his utter brilliance as a songsmith. He posted something to social media yesterday that was so innocently pro-Obama, touting his claim that he will wait for the US Congress to make the decision about whether or not to invade Syria or not, that you couldn’t help but smile, the way you do when you see your child take their first step or splash food all over the kitchen. I mean it was just cute at best. But then others began posting comments and links to his post that were more founded in reality. Much to his chagrin and dismay but hopefully elucidating for him at some point as well.</p> <p></p> <p>I posted the same articles yesterday and the day before about the leaks coming out that it was the rebels who actually used the chemical weapons. I’m glad this story is spreading. It appears as sad as it is for all of us that this was yet another Saudi/American false flag operation to further their agenda started with 9/11. Bandar supplied the necessary “problem” the Saudi/American cartel wanted to trigger the “reaction – solution” portion of the equation. I.e. “Assad used chemical weapons and we now need to take military action against Syria.” Surprise surprise.</p> <p></p> <p>Of course no one was counting on this inconvenient truth being discovered. Even though Assad himself told TIME magazine last week “it would defy elementary logic for us to use chemical weapons in an area where we have a heavy concentration of our own troops.” The white House believes the American people will fall for this story even thus. So it turns out the rebels actually used them but didn’t know what they were. Now we are forced to acknowledge that the US president and company know this fact and they r just following orders just as Bush and company did. Especially since General Wesley Clark revealed to us that Syria was on that initial invade and coup list along with Iraq Libya Iran and others. what about Afghanistan, Yemen and Pakistan? All countries where Obama’s United States is currently waging war.</p> <p></p> <p>What seemed like whacky conspiracy speak ten years ago is now happening right before our eyes just as the General said it would. As quaint and precious as The Lone Ranger and others are in their desire to see things thru patriotic high school textbook viewpoints, there is simply no way we can return to those naive eyes any longer. This was all planned. Unfortunately the reasons we now know and there doesn’t seem there is anything we can do about it but prepare for at least two more wars; Syria and Iran. Iran of course is already being terrorized by America through a brutal economic terrorism. The US will use Israel and the nuclear excuse to finish them off. What then? Only those heartless war mongers in Washington know.</p> <p></p> <p>When all is said and done history will show that the United States and its allies primarily the Saudi royal family and Israel will have manufactured excuses or reasons to invade 5 to 7 countries over the course of a 15 year period. That’s if they’re successful in this grand scheme of theirs. A desire to rule the world doesn’t necessarily guarantee its success. History has shown us that time and time again.</p> <p><br /> <br />  </div> <div class='sfsi_Sicons' style='width: 100%; display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; text-align:left'><div style='margin:0px 8px 0px 0px; line-height: 24px'><span>Please follow and like us:</span></div><div class='sfsi_socialwpr'><div class='sf_subscrbe sf_icon' style='text-align:left;vertical-align: middle;float:left;width:auto'><a href="http://www.specificfeeds.com/widgets/emailSubscribeEncFeed/dUVGeFVoNE4zbElJOGVEcWRBWEJxZjN6TU96UnhRb3ArOWdkbm02aVZxMEJnVDduU1pqTnZyZmxpN1BTblBwQkNTd3hPeHl0bGJEVHN5dXRzaGZBZ3duWWJkRE9neitqUGhPcGk1bG0rbUxZcDE3enBkYVNVSm5yZVdqcE5zc2R8eTNOdm1LS0xGcTBxTzNMUlNTT09MS2k1NjFZbVFyNGlYMHk1TEd3WkIyMD0=/OA==/" target="_blank"><img src="http://transcendencediaries.com/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/images/follow_subscribe.png" alt="error" /></a></div><div class='sf_fb sf_icon' style='text-align:left;vertical-align: middle;'><div class="fb-like" 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href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/al-awlaki/" rel="tag"> Al Awlaki</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/america/" rel="tag">America</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/assad/" rel="tag">Assad</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/general-wesley-clark/" rel="tag">General Wesley Clark</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/iran/" rel="tag">Iran</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/israel/" rel="tag">Israel</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/mainstream-media/" rel="tag">mainstream media</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/msm/" rel="tag">MSM</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/potus/" rel="tag">POTUS</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/saudi/" rel="tag">Saudi</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/syria/" rel="tag">syria</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/united-states/" rel="tag">United States</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/washington/" rel="tag">washington</a> </div> </article> <article id="post-288" class="post-288 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-uncategorized tag-christopher-reeve tag-hollywood tag-iphone tag-princess-littl tag-superman"> <header class="entry-header"> <h2 class="entry-title post-title"><a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/2013/09/02/superman-explains-the-transcendence-diaries/" rel="bookmark">Superman Explains the Transcendence Diaries</a></h2>   <div class="post-details">  September 2, 2013 </div> </header> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4879011283309321111" itemprop="description articleBody"> <p><a href="http://transcendencediaries.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/B2B3F3E7-4EDC-4D37-B644-C50E73E95E6F1378106361.498657.jpg"><img src="http://transcendencediaries.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/B2B3F3E7-4EDC-4D37-B644-C50E73E95E6F1378106361.498657.jpg" border="0" width="179" height="281" align="left" style="margin:5px"/></a><br />Tonight Princess Little Tree had the opportunity to watch Superman I and II. We had never seen them before but had heard about them for years. we were curious. I more than she of course. Both movies are considered American classics. They made Christopher Reeve an instant celebrity and household name and swept up at the box office. As you read this bare in mind it’s being written while another American classic, a James Bond film by the name of Goldfinger I believe, is playing in the background. This is another classic Hollywood flick that neither the Princess, who’s long ago fallen asleep by now lucky her, or I ever felt even a slight desire to entertain. The 20 to 30 percent of attention I can afford the movie while simultaneously composing this Diary entry on an iPhone is more than enough to be able to already see that these so called James Bond classics are no better than the aforementioned Superman movies. </p> <p>Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing more unbearable in ones disposition than to discover that what thrills entertains titillates excites and moves the majority of others in his species does absolutely nothing for him but bores and more often than not simultaneously annoys. It isn’t a pleasant way to live amongst ones peers, nor an easy way to feel that sense of belonging that scientists claim is one of the seven basic human needs. Luckily once we escape the socially emotionally and intellectually stifling and suffocating confines of what they call K through 12, we do tend to discover with pleasure that we aren’t as alone in the world as we once believed we were in our first 16 years of existence. It’s a more than welcome surprise. To learn that there are others who share our love for mental stimulation and our inherent disdain for most things pedantic and mainstream. </p> <p>But that doesn’t mean that adulthood is all pies smiles and magic carpet rides. One does have to interact with the masses regardless of what profession one chooses. Even rock ‘n’ roll. There’s a loneliness, a palpable sense of isolation that can be quite stifling if we allow ourselves to give into the temptation of deliberate hermitage due to not having enough in common with everyday people. I experienced it firsthand just out of the college years. I learned that I had to deliberately choose to mingle with the masses if I was to maintain what semblance of sanity I may have had. I would love to report that it was brutally challenging and nearly unbearable but truth be told it wasn’t half bad. Unlike many of my ilk I found it rather easy to bullshit with the working classes. Water cooler talk and all. The Tree God bless him used to plead with me how I managed to do it. He couldn’t bare to to do it himself and thus was often thrust into a world with himself as his only companion. I almost always replied “I either stay high or I have a few drinks old chap. It makes it more bearable. Try it. It’s not bad once you get used to it.” </p> <p>Of course I didn’t always need to be high or drink in order to wine and dine with the mainstream crowd. The first coupla years, sure. How else are we meant to endure the banal conversations about nothing and worse yet the barrage of mistaken propaganda for facts and statistics that are thrust into the air so casually and confidently. It’s no wonder the United States has gotten away with being labeled the land of the free and home of the brave when in reality it’s the most brutal killing machine of an empire the world has seen since Nazi Germany. No wonder at all. Flip on any network or cable news show for a few minutes if you can stomach it and you’ll see just how easy it’s been for this sham to be pulled off. </p> <p>But that doesn’t have much to do with Superman does it? Tsk tsk. So what does Superman have to do with the Transcendendce Diaries? Simply put, absolutely nothing. Superman can best explain the Diaries by the understanding that the author of said tome found Superman to be one of the worst movies I’ve ever had the displeasure to sit through. </p> <p>Okay I will confess here in the spirit of freedom beauty truth and love that I didn’t actually make it all the way through any of them. Almost made it through the first one. The second and fifth I merely skimmed at best. The third and fourth… I dare say are unnecessary for the purpose for which we first decided to watch them. </p> <p>(Seeing the look of disgust and utter boredom on the Princess’s face during the first half hour of Superman I, I attempted to give her a pep talk by standing up and dramatically waving my arms around the room to extol the virtues of viewing these films as a means to better understand the common man so we could relate with them better in the future. It was all I had. How else do you justify spending two and half hours of what under normal circumstances is a thrilling and precious life watching something so bereft of anything remotely interesting and at the same time so mentally insulting and mundane? Well it worked. She made it through the first one. As did i. The feeling in the room was more akin to if we had just finished a lengthy visit at a nursing home with an elderly lady with Alzheimer’s that neither of us knew out of the kindness of our heart and in the spirit of selfless service to others. But still, we did make it through.)</p> <p>Truth be told I cannot for the life of me now understand even a little why or how these films even get made let alone get viewed by anyone over the age of 6 or 7. I know for me personally these kinds of films, anything that was called action/adventure or comic book oriented, was my worst nightmare. I was far too gone into studying the worlds of earth sciences, electricity, chemistry, art and music. </p> <p>I got so bored with action adventure portions of films that I would either get up and leave which drive my parents crazy or I would bury myself in the little notebook I carried everywhere with me. Taking notes. Asking questions mainly. Or proposing myriad theories about the mechanics of the universe or the human mind or the prospect of God. This didn’t make me the most popular kid in school thats for sure. But for your average 6 or 7 year old which I learned early on I was not, I can clearly see that with the limited capacity for understanding the need to suspend disbelief or knowledge of the art and science of filmmaking that Superman movies or James Bond movies for that matter may be just their thing. </p> <p>What I can’t get is how anyone past that age can actually take them seriously. Christopher Reeve.. Okay, he was a struggling actor, he wanted to make a name or himself, he wanted to make money… Makes sense. The same can be said for any of the other actors on set or the crew behind the cameras. But for an audience member… How the hell does one even discuss movies like this without cracking up? The way we might when the words Sarah Palin pop up in the occasional conversation. This is the feeling we were left with. I still attempted to sit through Superman II, because it was in and because I had heard so much about the films all my life. Why not see what they’re all about? After all Christopher Reeve seemed like a nice enough chap. </p> <p>The same can be said about Sean Connery. He’s handsome enough. And one certainly can’t deny what a an enviable badass machine that Aston Martin is. But other than that, we don’t need to sit through an entire movie to marvel over the noble attributes of these basic earthly trappings regardless of their aesthetic appeal. Nope. Someone has to tell it like it is. Most box office Hollywood smashes are utter shite. Tripe if you will. The James Bond myth is as empty and hollow as the Superman one. This is children’s stories dressed up with a few adult clothes and some kissing scenes at best. And yet they’re national icons. International icons. Treasures. Cultural touchstones for entire generations. </p> <p>But there’s nothing transcendent about them. And therein lies the explanation of what the Transcendence Diaries is all about in a nutshell. They are NOT about things of that nature. Lucky for us all there IS plenty of valuable art and entertainment and noble goals and missions being created on planet earth on a near daily basis at this time in our history to discover and explore. And lest we forget still plenty of propositions about the mechanics of the universe consciousness human psychology and God even to keep us busy for a very long time to come. </p> <p>– Posted by The Ambassador using BlogPress on an iPhone</p> <div style="clear: both;"/> </div> <div class='sfsi_Sicons' style='width: 100%; display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; text-align:left'><div style='margin:0px 8px 0px 0px; line-height: 24px'><span>Please follow and like us:</span></div><div class='sfsi_socialwpr'><div class='sf_subscrbe sf_icon' style='text-align:left;vertical-align: middle;float:left;width:auto'><a href="http://www.specificfeeds.com/widgets/emailSubscribeEncFeed/dUVGeFVoNE4zbElJOGVEcWRBWEJxZjN6TU96UnhRb3ArOWdkbm02aVZxMEJnVDduU1pqTnZyZmxpN1BTblBwQkNTd3hPeHl0bGJEVHN5dXRzaGZBZ3duWWJkRE9neitqUGhPcGk1bG0rbUxZcDE3enBkYVNVSm5yZVdqcE5zc2R8eTNOdm1LS0xGcTBxTzNMUlNTT09MS2k1NjFZbVFyNGlYMHk1TEd3WkIyMD0=/OA==/" target="_blank"><img src="http://transcendencediaries.com/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/images/follow_subscribe.png" alt="error" /></a></div><div class='sf_fb sf_icon' style='text-align:left;vertical-align: middle;'><div class="fb-like" data-href="http://transcendencediaries.com/2013/09/02/superman-explains-the-transcendence-diaries/" data-send="false" data-layout="button" ></div></div><div class='sf_fb_share sf_icon' style='text-align:left;vertical-align: middle;'><a href='https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftranscendencediaries.com%2F2013%2F09%2F02%2Fsuperman-explains-the-transcendence-diaries%2F' style='display:inline-block;' > <img class='sfsi_wicon' data-pin-nopin='true' width='auto' height='auto' alt='fb-share-icon' title='Facebook Share' src='http://transcendencediaries.com/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/images/visit_icons/fbshare_bck.png' /></a></div><div class='sf_twiter sf_icon' style='display: inline-block;vertical-align: middle;width: auto;margin-left: 7px;'> <a target='_blank' href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Superman+Explains+the+Transcendence+Diaries+http://transcendencediaries.com/2013/09/02/superman-explains-the-transcendence-diaries/'style='display:inline-block' > <img data-pin-nopin= true width='auto' class='sfsi_wicon' src='http://transcendencediaries.com/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/images/visit_icons/en_US_Tweet.svg' alt='Tweet' title='Tweet' > </a> </div><div class='sf_pinit sf_icon' style='text-align:left;vertical-align: middle;float:left;line-height: 33px;width:auto;margin: 0 -2px;'><a href='#' onclick='sfsi_pinterest_modal_images(event,"http://transcendencediaries.com/2013/09/02/superman-explains-the-transcendence-diaries/","Superman Explains the Transcendence Diaries")' style='display:inline-block;' > <img class='sfsi_wicon' data-pin-nopin='true' width='auto' height='auto' alt='fb-share-icon' title='Pin Share' src='http://transcendencediaries.com/wp-content/plugins/ultimate-social-media-icons/images/share_icons/Pinterest_Save/en_US_save.svg' /></a></div></div></div><div class='sharedaddy sd-block sd-like jetpack-likes-widget-wrapper jetpack-likes-widget-unloaded' id='like-post-wrapper-161826676-288-5f321664517d9' data-src='https://widgets.wp.com/likes/#blog_id=161826676&post_id=288&origin=transcendencediaries.com&obj_id=161826676-288-5f321664517d9' data-name='like-post-frame-161826676-288-5f321664517d9'><h3 class="sd-title">Like this:</h3><div class='likes-widget-placeholder post-likes-widget-placeholder' style='height: 55px;'><span class='button'><span>Like</span></span> <span class="loading">Loading...</span></div><span class='sd-text-color'></span><a class='sd-link-color'></a></div> </div>  <div class="post-footer"> <i class="fa fa-folder"></i> <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/category/uncategorized/" rel="category tag">Uncategorized</a> <i class="fa fa-tags"></i> <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/christopher-reeve/" rel="tag"> Christopher Reeve</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/hollywood/" rel="tag">Hollywood</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/iphone/" rel="tag">iPhone</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/princess-littl/" rel="tag">Princess Littl</a>, <a href="http://transcendencediaries.com/tag/superman/" rel="tag">Superman</a> </div> </article> <div class="pagination-wrapper"> <div class="row"> </div> </div> </main>  <aside class="col-sm-4"> <aside id="secondary" class="widget-area" role="complementary"> <section id="text-2" class="widget widget_text"> <div class="textwidget"><p><em><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;">A private little world for me… a private little world for you. 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Month: September 2013

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Month: September 2013

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