Where does the hatred come from?

I came across this short video, that turned into a long show by the brilliant actor Stephen Fry.  He does ask this most basic of questions, where does the hatred come from?

Why is there so much hate for someone who is different from you. This will always bother me. I use to get in arguments with someone who was once close to me, my salvo was this, why should the happiness of someone else effect you?  Just because two people are happy, and they both happen to be men or women, why should it matter to me or you?

Many years ago I saw a short video about whether being gay was a choice or were you born that way?  When a person answered that it was by choice, the question posed to them was, when did you decide to be straight? 

End of Conversation.

There is so much hate in world as it is, why create more? 

Just asking.

Corruption Rampant in ATF FBI, Business as usual.

I was watching a documentary on Oklahoma City bombing and the attack on the compound in Waco against the branch Davidians. The fact that the ATF and FBI are both insanely corrupt doe not surprise me in the least. But the level of corruption is so rampant that I am quite shocked that anyone has any faith in these alphabet agencies ever again.

When the ATF launched their raid on Waco they had 3 video cameras aimed on the front door when the shooting started.  When their bosses, judges and even the branch davidians lawyers asked to see the video of the raid, guess what? They could not locate one video. It seems they just vanished.

Later after Oklahoma City bombing, the local police and FBI had interviewed 24 people who had seen someone else in the Ryder van with Tim McVeigh.  When it looked like the other guy might be part of the military, all of a sudden, the FBI branded all these witnesses as making this up, and mass hysteria.

Those two situations alone just show the sheer corruption and hubris these agencies operate at, every day.  Lets fast forward to September 11, 2001.  The FBI confiscated 85 tapes that we know of from local businesses in and around the Pentagon.  The public has never been shown any of them.  The FBI tells us, nothing to see here. Quite frankly, I do not believe them.

This is what we deserve.

I will post the following doc on Tim McVeigh.  Listen closely to what he says.  "something didn't feel right".

He was right, we were lied to as a country, do you all recall this Kuwaiti girl talking in front of the United Nations about the Iraqi soldiers taking the babies out of incubators and throwing the babies on the floor.  History has proven Tim correct, it was all a lie, all a lie to get the American public behind a war that was not needed. Not needed by the people, but very much needed my the military industrial complex.  We have been so duped, we deserve what we get.

Unless we take a stand, and do what is right, this will happen to us again, and again. Oklahoma City was a means to an end.  Prior to that, we shitizens actually had freedoms, we had rights, what do we have today?

We have the NSA spying on everything we do online.  we have a police state that beats the crap out citizens who dare make a stand, we have the richest 1% in total control of the country.  Is this how its supposed to be?  If you think so, then I really do pity you.

The United States of Russia

It is amazing, the results of timing and experience and how they can come together at the perfect moment to imprint a memory and make that stick in my craw.

That happened this morning.  My laptop is set to play background video throughout the night, and whatever I wake up to, is purely random.  This morning I woke up to the Oklahoma City Bombing of the Murrah Building.

I have been aware of a cover up of this event for a while.  Sadly, this event like many others does not hold a personal relationship, maybe it should, I say that for the effect that I am not affected by it directly.  As I was watching this citizen made documentary I started seething over my morning coffee.

Was this bombing just a "test" event for 9/11?  It does appear to have all the fingerprints of a cover up.  It does appear to have the typical government style spin on what really happened.

Like most "events" that happen, the first reports from the media are typically correct, the witnesses are truthful, and the camera rare;y lies.  Oklahoma City has all those and more.  You have witnesses talking about more bombs, you have the local media CONFIRMING that the local Bomb Squad was removing two bombs that did not blow up.  You have the helicopter coverage showing the scene of this horrible explosion and showing people walking in the street outside the building.

Just a week later the "spin" was in, you had Newsweek and Time magazine both espousing the enormous crater in front of the building in a sketch.  How come they never used a picture?  Because there was no crater.  In any story that came out after the bombing there was no mention of secondary bombs. How come that was never mentioned?

All of a sudden there was Tim McVeigh and all was well again, a lone bomber who had a little help.  What a crock of shite. 

Who called out sick from work that day?  Folks, I believe in my heart this was just another test for 9/11.  How to suppress the media, how to make the general public scared, and keep us that way.

Then, through the magic of Youtube I got hooked on another doc, this was on the Soviets and their space agency shrouded in secrecy.  There are all these experts talking about the Russian way of keeping secrets, keeping the people oblivious to what is going on around them. Are we in the United States no different?

I am just pissed off this morning.  There is no historical difference between the two countries.  If anyone suggests different, I can point them in the direction of the assassination of JFK.  How come all the critical documents will never see the light of day?  What can be so secret?  How can the information be relevant 50 years ago, and be secret today?  

The United States is no different than Russia. I should say that the other way around.

Really Comcast/Kabletown, Really?

This morning I had the very very unfortunate task of hooking up the new Technicolor Modem/Router from Comcast/Kabletown.  I did this at a friends house, and I am not a newbie in the world of Internet technology.  I want to share the order in which this happened.

1. My friend who is not at all tech savvy received an unsolicited phone call from Comcast/Kabletown.  They promised great download speeds, HBO free for a year, with no raise in her cable bill. She currently has the "triple play" bundle, with a monthly cost around $180/mo.

2.  The salesman on the phone told her, easy, just attach the cable and off to the races, nothing else to do. Sounds awesome, huh?

3. That was not the case. The modem/router came with its new SSID and Network Key.  In order to change that, she needed to know her original Comcast login and pw.  Since the Comcast techs did all the set up when she moved, she did not have this info at the ready. This is what leads me to this rant today.

Comcast/Kabletown is a huge mega corporation that owns NBC for gosh sakes.  It is reported that 95% of a monthly cable bill is pure profit for Comcast/Kabletown.    I am not a financial guy, but they make billions every year. Feel free to analyze this report.

Now to the RANT

When I called Comcast/Kabletown tech support to retrieve this information the tech support guy "Michael" was in the Philippines. It was virtually impossible to understand what he was saying, I asked him to repeat every sentence at least 3 times.  It was especially difficult when he was trying to express alpha numeric strings of information. Here is the kicker, every bit of information he gave me to finish the task was WRONG.  Sensing that he had nothing to help me he gave me another number to call, Comcast Signature Tech Support.  What a load of crap.

My ladyfriend called Comcast/Kabletown to retrieve her original information and I could hear her asking repeatedly asking again and again to repeat what the guy on the other end was saying.  She said he sound like he was from Pakistan or another middle east country.

Hey Comcast/Kabletown, I know that every company is trying to save a few bucks, but how about making a few call centers in the good old USA?  You might have read that our unemployment is at 23% and rising.

If Comcast/Kabletown opened tech support in the USA how much would that effect their bottom line?  Instead of 95 cents profit from every dollar, would that drop to 92 cents?  Just think about the incredible amount of good press and good will from the American people if you invested in AMERICA instead of the Philippines? I guess Comcast?Kabletown is will use the standard "for the good of our shareholders" bullshit to make it ok.

I am sure some analyst in the accounting dept at Comcast?Kabletown  did a cost analysis report and concurred that they would save blah, blah, blah having their call centers in India, Philippines, Pakistan, etc, but how about some pride in the USA?

This is the crime folks.  What happened to investing in America, put some people to work HERE. We sure need it.  Start a trend for once Comcast/Kabletown, do something that is RIGHT.

My Open Letter to Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin

I heard your message on No Agenda about the heroin problem in Vermont.  If you are serious about trying to help the people fight the drug problem, then for heaven sake, you take no half measures.

http://dropbox.curry.com/ShowNotesArchive/2014/01/NA-582-2014-01-12/Assets/Poppie$/Heroine%20use%20skyrockets.mp3

There are many like myself who are very aware of the heroin problem. Have you ever wondered how there is a bumper crop of opium from Afghanistan this past year? How can that be, with an American military presence for 13 years, you would think that opium would be eradicated with our "War on Drugs" effort?

  There is almost a Trillion dollars worth or opium exported, and not by donkeys over the mountains. This opium is shipped by the CIA in military planes from the air bases there.  Please do not take my word for it, take it from an expert on the ground,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jorrit-kamminga/between-elephant-in-the-r_b_4268395.html

Unless you are willing to hold one press conference after another, and get support from other governors, senators, then what you say is very hollow.  You really come across as an empty shirt just trying to get your name in the papers unless you decide to make a stand, and REALLY PROTECT YOUR CITIZENS OF VERMONT.

I would gather you probably heard from someone in Washington or Virginia asking you to shut up, and play ball.  There is too much money to be made.  I am quite sure that this email will never be read by anyone of importance, probably deleted, and quickly forgotten.  Plausible denial is key, and you really do not want to be aware of the vast amount of drug money that our CIA makes from smuggling opium out of Afghanistan.

Unlike you Mr. Governor, I have principles and I follow through, not empty words from one sound byte.  Show the people that you are a brave man, take a stand against the CIA drug empire, please, for the children?

Here is a United Nations report from 2013-Bumper Crop,

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2013/November/afghanistan-opium-crop-cultivation-rises-a-record-36-per-cent-opium-production-up-49-per-cent.html

Feel free to give me a call, I have much more information about the drug empire in Afghanistan, I would love to share it, but only if you are serious.  I am not holding my breath.

Gitmo Gil
Waterbury

Armed Officers will wear Cameras

This is great news from the UK.  Armed police officers will wear video cameras at all times so the tragic murder of Mark Duggan will hopefully never be repeated.  Ok, United States of Gitmo, time to pony up and do the same.

If wearing a video camera can stop one corrupt cop from beating up, killing an innocent victim, then lets do it.  We know that when ever a camera is brought into any situation the behavior of those in frame will change.  Of course, our police forces will cry about not enough money to implement this radical idea, but it must be done.

If people think that it is only in recent history that police have been beating the crap out suspects then they are sadly mistaken.  It is only because we all have a camera on us now. This is as old as time, it just the table are turned, and the police state does not like being caught beating up innocent people on camera, especially when the cop testifies under oath that nothing nefarious occurred, then a video pops up on youtube showing the exact opposite. Yikes.

Quips Quotes and Random Notes

I am currently sitting next to two young ladies at a Starbucks who are both uptalkers, who taught them to speak? 90210?

With the current election cycle soon to start, I have a couple thoughts. As an example, first and most important if you are someone who currently holds an office, and you are running for a higher office, you should be forced to resign your current post.  There should be no fall-back job.  If Senator McCain had to resign his Senate seat in order to run for President, do you think he would have run?  I do not think so.  These people who run and lose, get to keep all that unspent campaign cash, it must be a very nice nest egg.


A new day and a new outrage.  What the hell happened to force 3 cops to kill a 90 lb kid holding a screwdriver?  If this does not show you that we are the enemy now, then nothing will.  The officer who make the kill shot is quoted as saying, "we don't have time for this" then took out his pistol and shot Keith Vidal

Then there is the killing of striker in Cambodia, because they have the nerve to ask for $73 a month to make the clothing for HM, Addidas, Puma and many others.  How do people still shop at these stores?  Though, if I had to guess, these stories are not being covered by the mainstream media news.

My letter to Mercedes Benz regarding the Michael Hasting murder.  Yep, you read that right, this was no accident.  Too many unanswered questions.  Here is a cope of the letter,

Have you at Mercedes figured out how the brand new Benz that Michael Hasting was driving, blew up? More importantly how the engine ended up 75 feet away from the car, after it hit a tree? There are many questions that need to be answered, my readers are waiting for your reply. Thank you. The accident was last June in Los Angeles.  Dr Fisher from DARPA was able to conclude that autos with your particular computer system could be hacked.  Have the engineers at MB been able to figure out what happened, since there were no skid marks, which you would expect to see? I am sure the public should be made aware that MB that his have front end collision are prone to explode, has this report been made public?

It has been 3 days since I sent that letter, I am not holding my breath.

I am not a wrestling fan by any stretch, but today's announcement that the WWE is going to broadcast on set top boxes directly, is great news for us cordcutters.  Content creators are waking up to the fact that they do not need the networks and other middlemen who take their cuts of the pie, to get their shows in front of peoples faces.

That is just the start.  With the new season of "House of Cards" just a few days away, the cable TV industry is going to get the shock of their life when they see the metrics for viewership on Netflix.  The old broadcast model is hanging on with every fiber of their being, but they cannot stop progress.

This is how NSA Spying really works

In the recent news that the NSA has been spying in members of congress, this is how I really think this whole massive data collection thing works, stay with me, please.The

President: You know, Keith (Kaiser Alexander) I am trying to get this darn ( insert any bill here) through, and there are some members of congress/senate holding this up.

Kaiser Keith: Well, Mr President, what can I do for you?

President: You wouldn't happen to have something on Congressman/Senator ??? would you?

Kaiser Keith: You know that by law, we don't spy on members of congress (snicker, small inaudible laugh) right?

President: I know, Keith, I'm just saying, if you happen to come across anything on Senator ????  let me know, please?

Kaiser Keith: Will do, Mr. President.

Kaiser Keith then calls in one of the NSA lackeys and tell him to get all we have on Senators ??? and ???

About 2 hours later the phone in the Oval office rings...The President's Chief of Staff answers and a smile creeps over his face...

The White House phone number comes up on Senator ???  as an incoming number, This particular Senator who might have some level of a moral compass left, quickly pales as he learns that his rendezvous with a male intern last week at very private spa, will become public knowledge unless he votes for the Presidents bill.

This Senator hangs up the phone, looks at the picture of his wife and 3 children that sits on his desk.  He grabs the garbage pail, throws up, and wonders when his career is over?  Now, or sometime in the future.  The Senator being the smart man that he is, cannot figure out how the White House got this information.  There was only a quick selfie, and a text message between that adorable intern and himself.

Folks, this is what the NSA spying program is all about. Blackmail and Industrial Espionage.  If an act of "terror" is caught by accident, all the better.  There is no other reason for members of congress to be spied upon. That is a fact.

The Google Press Conference That Should Have Been

In the recent weeks it has come to light that the giant technology companies in the United States have been lobbying for changes in the massive NSA spying apparatus.  I call this window dressing, pure and simple.

I have only one question for these elites, where were you before the Snowden revelations on PRISM and the myriad of tactics that the government uses to spy on everyone?

Where are you Larry Page?  I did not see the press conference that you surely have the power to call, and gather all the media and make the following statement;

"We here at Google not only value our customers privacy, it is in our articles of incorporation.  "Do no Evil" is a motto that we strive to adhere to on a daily basis.  We have been approached by the Federal Government and the  NSA.  They demand that we hand over all of our valued customers personal searches, and all the metadata that we have.  We are saying NO.  Our customers privacy and trust is paramount to us.  We will not break that trust.  Our lawyers are fighting this demand, and we will continue to keep you updated."

That is such a simple statement and would have garnered the goodwill of the people in so many ways.  Right now, there is no trust.

I sure as hell did not see Eric Schmidt or Marissa Mayer calling a press conference announcing that the NSA wants to collect all the data of Google and Yahoo and keep it.

I did not see Tim Cook of Apple walking the stage holding his Iphone5 and stating that the NSA knows where you are, what you are saying and whom you are saying it to.

How come that NSA is monitoring the phones of those in Congress?  Surely they are not terrorists?  This spying is all about blackmail and industrial espionage.

When we see these elites of the world on the stage, they seem bigger than life.  The only one who most likely stood up to the NSA was Steve Jobs. It is no coincidence that Apple caved to the NSA within 3 months of his death.

These people are worse than you and I.  They have no backbone, no spine.  They just caved and kept silent.  That is most sinister of crimes.  Thank god for Edward Snowden.

Google is the host of this blog.  I challenge Larry or Sergei to have that press conference.  They will not, you see, they really do believe they are better than us, the ones who make them rich, one search at a time, one click, one eyeball on one page.


These tech giants are only worried about one thing, their bottom line.  Profits are down all across the board.  They have very smart people monitoring the trends, and they do not like what they see.

Our future is at stake. Without it, we are nothing.

Happy New Year ?

This fine crisp January morning brings some welcome news from the Internet.  This article from Yahoo Finance points out the things not to buy this year.  Cable TV is at the top of the list.  I am biased, I completely agree with the Yahoo view.  Cable TV is something that almost everyone can do without, easily.

I was at work last week and a nurse who visits our group home talked about her growing need to get rid of cable tv.  She is paying upwards of $180 a month for the "triple play" which is a whole other scam, I will write about later.   I liken my enthusiasm for cutting the cord to how you feel when you see a great movie, or read a book that blows you away, you want to share that with your friends.  I told her about the Roku, she did not know it existed.  I shared some movie websites, and documentary film sites.  I saw her whole demeanor change.  It was very cool. She is a very smart woman, nurses on the whole must be smart, it might take some time, but she will do it, I believe that. I cannot predict what device she will use, or what programs she will watch, but I can predict one thing with absolute surety, she will tell all her friends and family about cutting the cord, and her enthusiasm will be contagious.

 All I can do is expose you, dear reader, to the information, what you do with it, is up to you.  Here are a few websites to peruse at your leisure.

• Full Movies on youtube
• Full Documentary Films on Youtube
• Full Television shows
• Many more documentary films  

This is a small sample of what the internet has to offer. Many people today think of Youtube as that video site with the cat playing the piano.  Those days are gone. If your life revolves around what Hannity or O'Reilly blather about, then there are much deeper issues at play.  If you a scared to do this because your 5 year old is addicted to Disney channel, which I read about last week, it is time to man up and get your life in order.  You have been steered by the cable industry to believe this is the ONLY way to be entertained, it is not.  There is even a phrase to describe what cable tv does to people, it makes them COUCH POTATOES.  That's all you need to know.

Cut the cord, make love with your wife/husband.significant other/mannequin/blowup doll, read a book, go for walks, play a game, talk to your spouse, instead of sitting on the couch pointing a remote at a box, with hope of finding something to watch.

You have been subtly brainwashed over the years to think that cable TV in a utility. It is not.  Think about the wasted time sitting in front of the television going through the guide, and not finding a damn thing to entertain you with a possible channel list of 150 outlets.
That amount of channels is staggering. How many commercials are you and the kids ( its all about the children) are blasted at you, from every direction?

Here is a quick test to see if you are ready to cut the cord, I did not go through the whole test, as I have been (Hi, I'm Gil, I am a cord cutter, Hi Gil) cable free for almost 5 years now. I find the entertainment I want, when I want, and watch it on many different devices.I have a small 36' Bravia flat screen in the Gitmo command center, I also have a backup ASUS laptop which has the HDMI port hooked into said TV.  These small inexpensive setup allows anything on the internet to be on the television.

What many people do not realize is the amount of movies, documentary films, television shows, lectures, music, that Youtube has to offer.  My goodness, I could basically just use that set up and be fine.  BUT, I also have my primary laptop that I use probably 58% for viewing.

Then there is the issue with what I consider the greatest thing since the slicing of bread, the ROKU. WOW, this device is so powerful, and easy to use,it is magic.  That's why you can buy one through Amazon on this blog. I only push things that I personally use.

I saw a tweet yesterday that said "bad news for cord cutters, ABC is delaying website views for popular shows for one week.  My immediate first thought was, why is that bad news?  There are many reasons why people cut the cord, one of them is that they really do not care about network television.  That being said, I do not care one bit, I don't think that ABC has anything that interests me.  On the other hand this move my ABC does show that they are very very aware of cord cutters.  If they didn't care, then they would immediately put their shows on the website.  They are trying to "punish" the growing group of cord cutters by delaying what they consider "must see tv".  Message to ABC, go jump the lake.

To wrap this first post of 2014, if you are scared to cut the cord, I get it.  Take baby steps, feel the landscape out, and maybe take the plunge. Send me an email, I will hold your hand, point you in the right direction, freedom is a click away.

Gitmo Gil