What is it about Syria that had so seduced me? I suppose, I found in Syria something gripping - a people’s cry for their future, misery that is substantially more than what I am experiencing in my own life. They are a brave people living through experiences that are unacceptable, revolting and perpetrated by their own government.
With all that was happening in Syria, the last few weeks were spent surfing the web following the developments of the uprising and posting news on my Twitter account. No other war has ever been covered in the way that it has, from what could be gleaned from information available on the web, even as recent as the Gulf Wars. In those days, reporters working for networks were the only people who could afford expensive video recorders. After a day of taping, they would carefully edit their pieces so that images made available to the public complied with FCC rules or that of any other censorship organizations. Today, the video recorder comes with a cell phone and images could easily be downloaded to the world wide web. Whatever gets recorded during an event gets uploaded in its entirety. There’s also the social networking sites that make such things available to everyone.
My opinions about the uprising were shaped over the many months viewing amateur footage uploaded to YouTube, mostly by the participants of the events. Many of the images are too graphic to be shown on television and cable programs. They are raw, unedited and composed of extreme human tragedy. The individuals recording the events were rarely professional reporters, in most cases documenting the injury or death of someone they were close to. In a cruel twist of faith, they congregated to petition the government for a piece of their future that only personal liberty can provide to them. Before the day was over, they were recording on their devises the images of friends or loved ones for the very last time.
What it showed me, in terms that we in America rarely understand, are the potential dangers of government. The extremes to which it can bear down upon a population. The more than year-long popular uprising had unleashed on its people the power of force - trained soldiers, tanks and aircraft throwing down ordinance and destroying anything within its effective destructive range - mangling steel, turning cement into rubble, indiscriminately injuring and killing. It has turned into a lop-sided murderous rampage, there isn’t a fair court on this earth that would acquit the regime of murdering innocent civilians.
The evening before her death, Marie Colvin, a war correspondent from the Sunday Times of London, went on CNN to report on the events in Homs, one of the heaviest hit areas in Syria. She spoke about an infant in the lap of death, panting his last precious breaths of air after being struck by shrapnel. In contrast to the shaky videos on YouTube uploaded by residents, hers was a professional dispatch - articulate and succinct. Her voice had the quality that war correspondents have in spare, courage. I was drawn to what later became her last interview with Anderson Cooper, wondering how I might have missed the career of such an immense talent. Her words swirled in my head almost the entire evening:
The Syrian Army is basically shelling the city of cold starving civilians. (Marie Colvin, Sunday Times of London)
In my days as an indigent litigator I’ve spent many evenings cold, sometimes starving. I have experienced my government, through the actions of the FBI, take everything I have, evicted me from my home, taken my cars and forcefully remove me from the spot I chose to sleep that evening. Naturally, I commiserate with anyone who experiences hardships that are not of their own doing. I can hear you loudly, Syria.
RIP Marie Colvin, Remi Ochlick and Anthony Shadid
MARIE COLVIN’S LAST CALL - About a dying child
This is in response to an article that Alan Colmes recently posted via Twitter. Being a long-time subject of FBI operations myself, I can’t help but call attention to his naivete and that of the article he was quoting. In the last four years, the number of years I have been an indigent litigator, I have been a keen observer of the way the FBI conducts its work that I am almost expert at spotting their ridiculous buffoonery.
READ ALAN COLME’S ARTICLE
Alan - That's absolute hogwash. The FBI deflects blame by telling their people to pretend they are from another government agency for purposes of deniability. I know this to be a fact. Their favorite cover is the CIA. The fact is, the FBI, particularly the NY Field Office, have had a long and cozy relationship with Israel's Intelligence Service - the Mossad. There is disturbing information that suggests they’ve been effectively infiltrated by the masterful and crafty Mossad, to the degree that they’ve appropriated “carte blanche” standing to advance Israel’s agenda using FBI assets and resources. In view of its implications, I find that to be absolutely outrageous. For any other country, friend or foe, such actions would be considered “foreign influence” and subject to endless investigations by members of Congress.
What’s more, the FBI systematically turns a blind eye on actionable information that may appear to be Mossad operations on American soil. Their work is disturbingly blatant to suggest operational knowledge and protection at the highest levels of the US government. The facts are convincing enough that US Congressman Ron Paul alluded to the possibility of Israel being behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. There is also ample information in the public arena that points to a sanctioned attack on the Twin Towers by rogue elements of the intelligence and law enforcement community. The Fox interview of Prof. Morgan Reynolds (Economics, Texas A&M University) can be viewed below.
To deflect blame, the FBI has a habit of pointing to the CIA to mitigate exposure - a very effective kind of identity theft. Because the Agency has a policy of neither confirming nor denying its activities, the public is always in the dark on such matters. That's why whenever an event of such magnitude occurs Americans are conditioned to apportion blame to the CIA when in fact the responsibility falls in the hands of the FBI, either by incompetent neglect or direct collusion. The fact is, the FBI works anywhere in the world and have 61 Legat offices worldwide.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not a fan of the CIA. In all, they’ve managed a net-negative result for this country in the last 50 years. They are from a bygone era when political assassinations and coup d’ etats were in vogue. If you want to know how behind the times they are, their website was recently hacked and they’ve been struggling to get it running properly ever since. In light of the fact that we are now living in the digital age, that interesting story is embarrassingly ridiculous. You may read the InfoWeek article below.
As far as the press goes, you are sometimes a part of that system of collusion that either ignores or varnishes over information important to the lives of Americans. As a consequence, the press is partly to blame for what many think is America's diminished standing in the world. The free-press is a critical part of that machinery that permits a genuine balance of power among the branches of government by holding individuals and organizations to account. It is a cornerstone of the Constitution. You are supposed to ask tough questions and report abuses in government. Instead, you occupy the marketplace of ideas with information that distract people from what really matters. Here’s a very short list to ponder and follow it to it's natural conclusion:
- 18 of our veterans commit suicide everyday
- 100 individuals die from prescription drugs everyday
- This nation has unfunded liabilities amounting to $117.7T
What say you, Alan Colmes?
FOX INTERVIEW OF PROF. REYNOLDS
INFOWEEK ARTICLE, CIA HACK
CDC ON PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE
VETERAN SUICIDES (Veterans for Common Sense v. Shinseki)
US DEBT CLOCK - Unfunded Liabilities
I had the money. I had cars. I had the house. I had a husband had the kid ... and none of it really feels ... was really that fulfilling. For a time I was happy. I was happy, but I needed that joy. I needed my joy back … that peace. (Whitney Houston in 2009, appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show)
Some of Whitney Houston’s interviews the last few years of her life were a glimpse into the life of a tormented soul. For someone who gave so much happiness to people through her performances, it seemed as though there was a disconnect, there was something wrong and deeply unfair. It seemed that what she offered the world was not bartered in exchange for exactly what she wanted or needed. She got what most people would have given an arm to receive. She had fame, affluence, countless awards from her peers and certain security but she could not find the peace that she longed for.
What an amazing talent she was, to be sure. She broke new ground for many singers who would follow the path she blazed. Who would have thought that a descendant of a slave would perform for us the most beautiful rendition of our national anthem? And for those of age, who would have forgotten the song for the 1988 Olympics - One Moment In Time - synched with the fluid and slo-mo struggles of athletes going for the gold, giving all that they had and leaving nothing on the field.
Valentine’s Day this year is bittersweet. She was a favorite feature on our Rich & Nina Series over the years. We lost someone whose songs, at least for many of us, were so inextricably connected to the memories of our youth - the friendships, the relationships, the romances, the heartaches and the varying degrees of happiness. In that decade, it seemed that everywhere there was a sharing of good times, one of her songs would be playing.
Her departure from this earth coincided with the freeing of another soul from a different kind of torment. The day of her death, the 11th of February, is also the anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. As if on queue, she took her bow and promptly exited stage left. If a picture tells a story, you might inquire what this moment meant to her - of her placing her head on Pres. Mandela’s shoulder with her eyes closed, in a sign of complete deference and kinship. I would argue that she found, if for a fleeting moment, the semblance of peace. (VIEW PICTURE)
Perhaps, the best way to celebrate her life is to enjoy what she left for us. We picked seven songs from a long list of her popular tunes to celebrate her work. We can’t tell you how much we’ll miss you. Happy Valentines Day, Nippy.
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU
HOW WILL I KNOW
I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY
WHERE DO BROKEN HEARTS GO
DIDN’T WE ALMOST HAVE IT ALL
ONE MOMENT IN TIME
GREATEST LOVE OF ALL
There are a number of reasons why I turn down offers by people to move into their homes. As mentioned before, I am now and probably forever be a subject of FBI Operations for as long as I have the desire and capacity to write about their misdeeds, misadventures and their predilection to violating the laws they have sworn to protect.
In a continuation of a previous story, new revelation was made that was neither shocking nor unsual for FBI-NY. In fact, it was so predictable it was entirely expected. Some months ago, I wrote about a lady whose identity I have made enormous efforts to conceal. The reason is there are federal laws that protect even the most incompetent FBI agents from being outed by the public, no matter how egregious the effects of their actions.
READ THE PREVIOUS POST FOR BACKGROUND
She has been working on her scheme for a while now. An act of kindness, any other way, should be rewarded. Her offer was made around the Christmas holiday. First, she asked me where I was sleeping. To which I answered that I was still sleeping on the streets. Then, she asked me if I wanted to stay at her place for the next few days - the new place where she moved into. My reflex answer was a polite and grateful no. The number of scenarios and problems that are possible living with a woman under the employ of the FBI and tasked with destroying my reputation is enormous. It may come in a number of things that she may say after she has kicked me out of her place:
- I used to live with him. I had to kick him out. Things started disappearing at my house.
- I walked in on him doing drugs. I told him to get out. I didn’t want that around my son.
- He’s an ingrate. I was being nice and pulled him off the streets and bought him all these nice things. Now he owes me $2000.
- My friends do not visit me anymore. They say he has a very dark, sinister aura.
- I was scared of him. He would talk to himself about strange things sitting at the dinner table with lights turned off. I think he’s mentally ill.
- He’s creepy. He’s been making weird advances - wanting to sleep in my bed. I could only imagine what else he wanted to do to me.
- He told me he loved me and he wanted to marry me. I told him to get a job. He gave me this strange look that said, it wasn’t going to happen. He’s the laziest person I’ve ever met in my whole life.
The combination of unsavory and character smearing things that could be said about me are simply endless. None of which can be examined for accuracy or truthfulness because it will be a subject of rumors - quietly exchanged in private. There wouldn’t be a way for me to know what was said.
If it weren’t for a chance meeting with my son and nephew one afternoon, I wouldn’t have known that the jig was already going on. I was on my way to the local CVS when they rolled into the parking lot. We met inside and after a few minutes of catching up did our goodbyes outside the store. By happenstance, she walks past, catching my attention and allowing me to introduce her to my son and nephew. The recognition was instant. She and my son lived next door to each other. They turned out to be next-door neighbors.
So, the scheme was to have me move into her place one evening, unobserved, and the next morning be seen by the people whose opinion matter to me the most - my two children.
I would be interested to know what she has already told them. But knowing their sophistication, she would have already created a background story, some sort of build-up. She would have said something like this prior to my arrival: In about a week, I will be having a friend over. He’s a little mentally ill because he’s been living on the streets for a long time. So, I’m going to try to heal him back to health.
So, swirling in my children’s head will be an image of a lunatic - a social worker's casework - a person of uncertain stability that may pose a threat to their safety at some level. There may be some anticipation for an opportunity to pal around with someone potentially dangerous. So, on the morning of the introduction, the meeting will be subdued and awkward without the proper greetings to show a degree of normalcy. The man that she had painted in their minds will be no other than their father himself. Will there be a hugs to go around?
FBI Counter-Intelligence. It isn’t intelligent. It’s comedy.
A hundred and one years ago today a great president, Ronald Wilson Reagan, was born. A century seems like an eternity, yet in an odd way, we are still learning more about him today - finding, for instance, that his economic policies are still relevant in today’s global and real-time digital economy. To what extent and how it can be applied in today’s dynamics can be debated, but it’s usefulness certainly cannot be denied.
Below are a series of tweets that I posted on my personal account - @robertlacambra. The Time Magazine articles that are a part of this bundle were published a year ago. Timely or not, it depends on your perspective - I will leave it up to you to decide. But if you are in a position of influence, it may offer a perspective on some of the challenges that this country is grappling with today.
- THE REAGAN FISCAL: (1) Reduce Taxes (2) Reduce Spending (3) Deregulation (4) Stable Money - http://j.mp/xbp4Lo
- A YEAR AGO Obama was on the cover of Time Magazine. What did he see in Reagan? - http://j.mp/wBQfAJ
- TIME COVER FLASHBACK. A year ago President Obama was on its cover posing with President Reagan - Why Obama Loves Reagan - http://twitpic.com/8gigk6
- IS OBAMA MORE like Reagan or Carter? He cites Reagan while taking the country away from Reagan-era policies - http://j.mp/ye8oJk
- ANGER TOWARDS the government on the increase - Silents, Boomers and Gen Xers frustrated at federal gov't - http://j.mp/ysWC3d
