Political Atheist

  This chapter touched me deeper than any of the others had. Deeper than Chapter 38. Why? What was so special about this chapter compared to others? My late father served there after he graduated from Green Berets school. He was the first of many generations. He used to tell me about some of the horrors that happened there. He wasn't involved with Hanoi Hilton and the horrible stuff that happened there. He didn't talk about it. What he did tell me was bad enough.  John went to Vietnam in 2012. The Vietnam conflict had been a part of John's life. He joined the Peace Corps to avoid the draft. While there he met a lady named Judy. The conflict had been a part of her life as well. After a speech they both gave, they decided to tour Hoa Lo aka Hanoi Hilton.  Hoa Lo was built in the 1800s.  This particular realm of hell was used by the French while they were trying to bring Catholicism to the nonbelievers in Vietnam. Truthfully, they were sent there to exploit the opium, t...

  In 2009, John went to Central America for the first time in a long time. John talked to a variety of folks. From businesses to cab drivers. Why did he go there? In 2009, there was a democratically elected president of Honduras overthrown. Manuel Zelaya  What did John learn from the citizens? The majority of people believed the coup happened because President Zelaya had advocated for a 60 percent pay raise for employees of American companies. This was intolerable. You know what comes next. Lies, propaganda, and if needed an accident will be arranged. However, the CIA-backed coup did the job. Torrijos and Roldo should've been so lucky.  How was a President in Central America a threat to America? Hourly rate. President Zelaya was pushing for the minimum wage to go up. This would've set a trend across countries South of the Border. There goes cheap labor. Joel made it clear to John that while memories of Americans may be short, those South of the Border isn't. He reminded J...

  Just when Ecuador thought they'd ever have another president to represent them as Jamie Roldo did. Until Rafael Correa came along. By the time he and John met, Rafael had already been approached by EHMs. He understood the danger of saying no. Rafael remembered President Roldo and what he tried to accomplish. And what happened to him as a result. Correa knew he was treading rough waters. He acted accordingly. He renegotiated the deal with oil companies which included them cleaning up their mess. And compensated the citizens of Ecuador.  John expressed deep regret over his role in the situation that his deal resulted in. The Amazon Jungle was damaged beyond belief. The jaguars all but disappeared. Indigenous people barely existed. They tried suing the Exxon Oil company. We both know how that went. Think Valdez Alaska. Correa was very aware of the Coup which had happened in Honduras with Manuel Zelaya.  https://youtu.be/mgOgNnufMj8

  When I first started reading this chapter I thought for sure this Jack was going to be a threat to John. Moreover a threat to his family. Turned out that Jack was a jackal, however, he wasn't a threat. In a strange way, they became friends. It's one of those things where you know someone's name and face, but you never meet them. Until you do.  They talked about Seychelles. If you don't know where that is, don't feel bad. I had to look it up. It's a small island off of the African Continent. At one point John was supposed to go there to "encourage" their president to play by America's rules. Eventually, the president gave in after he knew about what the CIA had done to Omar Torrijos and Jamie Roldo in 1981. Didn't take President Rene' long to give in. https://youtu.be/i-CUSMM1Xts

  In this chapter, John is starting to speak out about our 'Death Economy'. The reception was mixed. I didn't come across his books till 2020. When America and most of the world shut down because of COVID-19. After a chance encounter with a gentleman claiming to be a freelance writer. They had lunch which the gentleman paid for. Later that evening John became ill.  After two weeks at NYC Lenox Hills Hospital, it turned out to be a case of diverticulosis. John got a lot of emails. Some supportive and some not so supportive. While John was recovering, he did a lot of research. He began to see parallels and what agreements like NAFTA, CAFTA, TPP, and TTIP were actually about. Then he began to understand why people like Warren Buffet pay little taxes while his secretary pays twice what he does.  John also realized how threats of terrorism or communism keep us constantly at war. He started to understand what had been a part of creating. John made a great point at the end that ...

  June is winding down thank God. The last seventy-two hours of mayhem have been fun. Maybe! I can say that because I am in the States, not Europe or Russia. We are going to look at the events from this weekend starting with Friday’s press announcement with two senators. Or to be more realistic actors playing senators. One from each team. Team D Richard Blumenthal and Team R. Lindsey Graham.  They start out by emphaising that “Washington is a Contentious place.” If you don’t what that means, don’t worry because they don’t either. They act like they are on the same page and even kiss each other’s ass. YUK! They take turns talking. While each one talked they other Held a piece of paper. With a quote from Biden. I doubt Biden remembered making the comment so it’s irrelevant, just like these actors.  Coup In Russia! NOT!  So the head guy from Wagner tried to pull a coup off. First of all, it was poorly planned but that’s what happens when someone who’s trained as a chef ...

  I have often wondered why we didn't invade Venezuela in the early two thousand. Here's why, Saddam Hussein refused to roll over and drop his pants for American oil companies. He certainly wasn't going to bow down to DC. Also, the Taliban had realized how much money they were being screwed out of and was demanding a large percentage of the opium industry. Which is why we had to fake an attack and give Larry Silverstein a new building. He bought the towers in the Summer of 2001 and got them insured. Two weeks later they are attacked! It took over a year to forge the documents so he could collect and build new buildings.  Because of Saddam Hussein, Venezuela got put on the back burner. There were lies to be sold about Saddam Hussein. DC had to focus on getting us on board with an invasion of Iraq. And we bought the lie hook line and sinker. Of course, it was clear DC would circle back around for Chavez. And they did. Eventually, Chavez was ousted. Three days later he was bac...

  “War is a racket.” Gen Smedley D. Butler In this series, we will look at who the Oligarchs are and what they gain by forcing you and me to go to wars which only make them richer. As General Smedley D.  Butler said, “War is a Racket.” I will be doing videos as I can through June up till July. This is just how things are rolling between my obligations and my daughters. But I am going to give you somewhere to start that is with General Smedley D. Butler’s book link on Youtube so you can do what you need to do and listen to it at once. You’re welcome.  References Providing F16s is a very dangerous escalation . (2023, June 10). YouTube. Retrieved June 11, 2023, from https://youtube.com/watch?v=_09qu3T9c1k&feature=share Rabkin, Y. (2023, May 31). Unfreedom: Fifty Years Later — RT World News . RT. Retrieved June 11, 2023, from https://www.rt.com/news/577194-free-speech-in-the-west/ Smith, C., & Buchan, J. (2019, March 26). WAR IS A RACKET by Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler...

  As the title says, we will look at the craziness that happened last and make a small prediction for this week even though I don’t know if this week can top it.  Turkey. Erdogan has officially been acknowledged as the president again for the next five years. He made it clear that Western morals will NOT infect Turkish society. Let’s leave it there. He is sending a few troops to Kosovo as NATO requested because he has got to because Turkey is a NATO member. Unfortunately for the Turkish people. Back in May after the Victory Day parade in Moscow, there were major steps taken toward building a bridge of coexistence between Syria and Turkey. I hope he will continue this.  Ukraine is actively trying to kill President Putin. This is just stupid. When you do something like this you run the risk that the next person will not go along with your goals. There is a reason that the German nazi soldiers under Hitler were terrified of falling into the hands of the Soviet (Russian) sold...