I guess that subject line could apply to a lot of places, couldn't it? Well, I went to a temple of Kali today, the goddess of death. She is normally depicted as being black with severed heads on necklaces and what not, and holding another severed head and standing on the body of a smiling god or person. I went there, because I thought I would see some interesting artwork or something, but, the only interesting artwork I saw was in the streets outside of the temple, and I could have seen that anywhere. I was a bit disappointed to say the least, but, I heard the better temples are not in Calcutta anyway. This just reaffirms my earlier suspicions that Calcutta is a British Imperial construct with little or no meaning or purpose other than to be a capital city. I'm getting out of this place soon.
The merchants love to overprice things because your white, but, if you know the price and tell them point blank that you know the price, and you don't have time to fuck around with them, they normally give in pretty quickly, if not, you simply walk away to another shop, they will usually come and stop you and ask you how much your willing to pay, and then you tell them the price, and normally they will agree, if they hesitate, then just keep on walking, because the point still hasn't sunken into their head yet, and probably won't until later that night when they are rhuminating upon it, if they ever bother. However, with equal doses of patience, and forced humor, you can normally get what you need quite cheaply, and you can ask other Indian people near to the market how much things are before you go there, and then you can argue about the price, because you will know the local price, and since everyone sells the same stuff, you just have to find one who realizes that he's not going to screw you today.
I don't blame the people for being this way, I would try to get as much as I could for my wares also, but, its a bit insulting when you know the price, and you see no reason why you should pay more than what it is worth on the local market simply because your skin color is different. Again, I experience racism, but, I am used to it. It works both ways though. We are always cheated and screwed with, at first, being white, but, being white also has its privileges with certain persons and in certain places and situations if one knows how to use one's color to one's advantage. It just takes learning and experimentation. There are no points for retaining one's dignity, and as you will not be living in this place for a long period of time anyway, why bother? Results are what matter. I still make more friends and acquaintances than I know what to do with, and I get a lot less bullshit.
I wish I could have learned this stuff back home. Which brings me to the subject line.....
I don't want to get too political on this blog since the Secret Service already visited one guy who made inappropriate comments about The Bush in his blog, so I will refrain from calling certain persons who shall remain nameless as I see them, as I am obviously no longer free to express myself without getting harassed. The FBI seizure of Indymedia servers in England without coordination with the Royal what-the-fuck-they-are-called police of Her Majesties England, also shows how new laws that have been created and are being created are being abused, and so I do not want to have any problems with these people. Believe, if they come looking, I'll be more than happy to "visit with them", and advise them not to let the door hit their ass on the way out.
Now, with that said, I am quite disturbed with the resignation of George Tenet who took the blame for the failings of the Office of Special plans, which was created by Rummy and his ilk because they were not satisfied with the Company's findings. Now, within the company, there is a huge purge occurring. Officers disloyal to Bush are being pushed out, including an agent who wrote a book sweepingly criticizing the Bush Administration. It seems that the war between the Operators who want the truth to get out, and the Administration is over, and the Administration has placed persons that will do its bidding in place. It is too bad. A lot of people used to talk shit about the company, but, I've always thought that there were good people working there, but, I can't say that now with this purge.
The secret laws about sharing of information of American citizens, and coordination with Pentagon offices and what not should scare the living shit out of Americans, but, as usual, it is better not to think about such things, because we are at war. Well, we have always been at war haven't we? Since WWII there has been a perpetual state of war and or national crisis. Sun Tsu once said, "War is the health of the state." So what does that tell you about the state? Well, any rational person who has any kind of concept about war knows that war only ends when the tanks roll through the streets, and the loud crashing of soldiers boots against the bombed rubble can be heard. That is where war ends, and to be very clear, war is not a good statement it is not good politics, when you see people getting shot and blown up you should know that it is BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD! Of course, to some, it is only bad when it is happening to you, and why care if it is happening to someone else who the boss said deserved it anyway?
A friend of mine made a very good point one night. We were sitting in the room together, Iranians, Americans, Israelis, and Japanese. One person made the point that we had no problems sitting together, despite the history between the US and Japan, and the current events between Iran and Israel. We the people do not have a problem, the bosses have the problem. The bosses send young men who don't know any better to fight for something that they may never understand. THEY have the problem, we don't have a problem. Or perhaps, its just a convenient way to point the finger? I don't know, but, I know I'm not the one running through places, chopping off heads and blowing people up.
The Patriot Act, Homeland Security Act, and other laws infringe on the constitution on the United States, and upon basic human rights. The bullshit that is happening at Camp X-Ray in Gitmo, and the shipping of prisoners to countries like Syria and Jordan for use of tougher interrogation tactics that are not legal in the United States is a violations of the Magna Carte! In fact, the US Supreme Court cited this document in its ruling on Camp X-Ray. I find it disturbing that the highest court in the US has to refer to a document that was not even crafted in the US to make its point, or perhaps, the judge was trying to show that such questions were dealt with centuries ago, and further displays the grotesque nature of what is occurring.
For my part, there is little that I can do. There is simply too much money and too much influence against me. We all have plans, and we all have little things that we can do, but, right now the Bush-Neocon Empire is on the rise. Colin Powell, the only man in the Administration that I had any respect left for has been pushed out and replaced by Rice as Secretary of State. That just scares me. As far as I am concerned, we can hang it up right now.
The rise of the police state, and fascism in my country is disturbing. If I express these beliefs, I may be referred to as unpatriotic. I would be afraid to express my beliefs in mixed and public company at home, because I don't know what the people's reaction would be. However, I do know this much. The people that built America into the superpower that it is are dead now. The country is not being run by the types of men that used to run it, it is being run by people like Bush, Chenney, Perle, Wolfwitz, Rice, et al. Right now, the US is not only trying to decide what to do, but, what to be.
If the US continues its degradation into a fascist state, then the terrorists will truly have won. I've tried to talk to the people, normal people that I've met, and they are very resistant to any other view of reality other than what is presented by the Administration, and that frightens me. The people are scared, and they will do anything that they can to be safe, and that frightens me. Benjamin Franklin once said that those who would give their freedom for security are entitled not entitled to either. I would have to agree.
"The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject."
- Marcus Aurelius
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