Curious Incidents

When I was in Thailand some years ago on an island for tourists I encountered a curious number of racial incidents. Imagine that this is a v. remote island where anything goes. Most go to the island to take drugs, swim, and maybe hook up with a Thai prostitute. The bulk of visitors hail from the rich world, including Israel, which was the first time in my travels that I'd come into contact with a traveling Israeli entourage.

A few of these curiosities occurred in Malaysia. An Aussie, burly dude who like to dress in Malay attire, rather flippantly stated something about Jews/Israelis... "wherever they go, they never fail to fuck things up," he said.

I had been hanging out with an older man who had relocated to Thailand. I didn't know that he was Jewish till he mentioned something to some Aussie girls in the bus we were riding to the island. I think he has trying to get a rise out of them because he also went into great detail about older women's vaginae. This was during the time of the ballot controversy between Bush and Gore. When he wasn't doing CNN, he was doing this Malaysian woman in her mid 50s.

The man departed for his home base in Pattaiya, while I went onto the island with the girls. I remember one of the girls had a lot of blonde fuzz above her lip. I was without aim, just going to the island for an event that I was told was of epic proportion--The Full Moon Party. When I arrived a man (English) I'd met in Malaysia recognized me and escorted me by mini to a place deep in the jungle. I could have been snuffed and stuffed there, but a little jaunt through yet more dark wooks found me at the "reception desk" of a hut, which had a gun on a wooden table and a big poster of Bob Marley on the wall. I also noticed some crude caricatures of different "representative" peoples... the only ones I remember being the American cowboy and the African bushman, the latter being particularly unflattering to my mind. I had an advantage of speaking a modicum of Thai, so the tourists wouldn't really know what we were conversing about. The following evening I asked the Thai dude if he understood the meaning of Bob Marley, if he really understood. The next day the pics caricatures were removed.

I remember Canadians, Dutch, Japanese, Israelis, Scots, and Norse. The Norseman asked a group if they would like to play a game of "nigger", some card game, the name of which seemed to take the Canadians aback. I was the only black at the encampment of about 50 people.

The Israelis seemed mainly to stay among themselves at a mini post about 200 yards from home base. My hut lay about 200 yards beyond the Israeli encampment, so I had to walk past it. It was then when walking past "Israel" that I was greeted with untoward "affections." Though unendearing to say the least, I could only smile at what I generally regarded being charges out of left field.

My travels throughout Asia have been excursions into loneliness, with the exception of my trip to Indonesia. I have never been confused that at least part of this experience has to do with who and what I am. Indonesians being quite a bit more proximate treated me accordingly, proximately.

To get to Indo, one must take a ferry from Malaysia. On the Thai/Malaysia border I remember two things. An Israeli holding up progress and a guard saying Muhammad Ali to me. Israeli citizens aren't allowed into either Malaysia or Indonesia, so that's why the Israeli was holding up progress.

On the stay over in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia, I ended up leaving a Chinese establishment, because there were bedbugs, to find another. Everything in Georgetown is run by Chinese, as is everything in S. Thailand. I went to a local bar to find a bed, when a conversation between a local informant, a tall gay Chinese and the landlord ensued in Mandarin. The guy didn't want any Africans staying at his place. My informant friend told him that I was American and that was enough for him. I had a bed.

I have a Jewish associate from US who had done business in Indo. She is convinced that the anti-Jewishiness is very strong there. Her perception is what it is, though in my own observations the only racial hostilities that I noted with any regularity was directed toward Chinese, whom Indo Christians and Muslims both openly despise, sorta like Carolinians busting on Mexicans, I suppose, but for the fact that Chinese occupy a decidedly higher economic status anywhere in SE Asia.

In this disjointed narrative are the things that make the world go round. Whether I liked what I heard or experienced is of no consequence. It is. There are lots of things that I don't like but it doesn't make it go away. Some may argue that my perception is skewed. I would agree. I used to feel that the world's animus toward blacks stood above all. At least, now I feel that such thinking won't get me anywhere, as if I had someplace to go. In such light, what is the merit of being gung-hi or gung-ho about Israel, Tibet, Darfur, Detroit, Dakotas, or Denmark? No matter how much something may reek, it is simply what it is and my feelings about any of it will change nada, nyet. Furthermore, I am concerned about how much such "gunging" is a projection of my creation or worse still someone else's.

Rethinking Education

Sir Ken Robinson is a smart guy. He has a view toward education that is shared by many smart people. Below is a video discussing limitations in ways in which we conceive of education. I hope it gets you thinking about what "smart" really is and that it gets you to others' smarts, though it may not take shape in the ways you've been taught to think of intelligence. Frankly, I can only imagine what greater torment Beethoven would have experienced had his worth been reduced to the absurtities of SATs or IQ.

Argentina Coming Full Circle

Folks, I know it is difficult to give a hoot about countries so far away, especially when the Cowboys have lost their quarterback. I know it is even more difficult when speaking upon far away countries involves the "f" word. That's right, finance.

Depending on whom you ask, the present situation is either socialism or fascism. The choice of words probably more reflects political affiliations than any substantive differences. We're witnessing a mass concentration of power, which is being rationalized as "for our own good."

The cases of Argentina and SE Asia are subjects that I like to visit with regularity because they are examples of what global finance has in store for us all. As Americans, you're right to ask what any of this has to do with you. Well, for all that good that America and global capital has been doing for (to) the world, as civilian-killing fighter hero John McCain proclaims, is now coming full circle. We are now about to get IMF-ed royally.

Cosmetic Politics

Here's an interesting clip, which incriminates the Florida electorate. The battle cry has be for us to vote. It doesn't matter if you know what you're voting for, just vote.



With regard to a candidate I can support, I want one who can do the following:

1) Withdrawal from and reparations for Iraq and Afghanistan
2) Revocation of the so-called Patriot Acts
3) Cessation of prison privatization and the so-called war on drugs.
4) The end of farm subsidies with a reallocation of money to fund green agriculture
5) Dismantling the so-called Department of Homeland Security.

Four of the five policies relate to the policing/military fetish that our country rationalizes as being necessary. If you get a chance to see a documentary out there called Fuel, then by all means see it. One of the most interesting things I learned from it is that President Carter reduced energy consumption in the US by 25% during his tenure. That's huge. Regardless of who assumes power, if we push for energy reform we'll have tremendous positive impact on our neighbors and the earth.

Popsicle Index

Catherine Austin-Fitts has a site called Solari.com. Here she explains the Popsicle Index.

Comrade Bush?

Here's the opening sentence from an article discussing S. America's response to the crisis.

CARACAS, Venezuela — They don't call him President Bush in Venezuela anymore. Now he's known as "Comrade."

Now that the US is rapidly nationalizing banks, it is a good time for us to reconsider the reasons why we despise leaders like Hugo Chavez, right? Chavez is the first self-identified indigenous leader of Venezuela. It appears that a significant part of the socialist wave taking place in S. America is informed by Indian pride and values, particularly in Bolivia but throughout the reason. Clearly Indian pride is a threat to peace, democracy, and all that stuff that we've been exporting to places like Vietnam, Iraq, Guatemala, and the Philippines for the past century.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Ron Paul on Obama

Here's a little something for the keepers of the faith in the Democratic Party from presidential candidate Ron Paul. I think good Democrats should be concerned about what Senator Paul says here, because it's not very nice and asks for substance over symbolism.

Every smart person knows that at a time of crisis, we can't let substance get in the way of hope. Let's not let the facts about who Obama's largest contributors are get in the way of hoping for change; let's allow ourselves to feel good about voting for a black man, instead of asking the question of how it is a one-time black Senator could miraculously gets legitimacy by appearing on the cover of propaganda instruments like Time Magazine long before the race heated up.

The Rush Limbaugh types have been cracking fun at the messianic regard that Obama receives among his supporters. I detest Limbaugh. He's just another propaganda parrot to dupe alienated and disgruntled whites. Even though these types' solution is to seek refuge in the time-tested American tradition of racism, there's something to what they're saying. Obama supporters are content with "hoping" for "change," holding "faith" that somehow we will be "saved" (can you say born again) by one who by my best estimation has been "chosen" this country's true rulers, i.e., Goldman Sacs, et al.

Senator Paul comes from the ilk of disaffected whites, I know. Nonetheless, like Kuchinich, Nader, and Cynthia McKinney, he's actually telling the truth.