Ask 'But Why?': Knowledge is R3volution

MAIN HOON NA: GORI GORI

2012-01-25T00:10:00.000-08:00

It's time for a celebration. I've been checking various search terms on Google and AskButWhy hs been popping up on the first page on a lot of them, especially with famous names and authors (try Max Keiser, John Perkins, Greg Palast, Catherine Austin Fitts, or even Lady Gaga for instance). I'm pleasantly surprised and astonished. I've been getting 30-50 visits per day on a regular basis in 2011, with the very limited number of posts that year. It used be closer to 100 in 2010 when I was more active in posting. I guess that's all the visits it takes to end up on front of Google...

Btw, a belated Happy New Years. Anyone kept to their resolutions? I haven't bothered with them for years.

Anyways, it's time to celebrate with a great, fun song Gori Gori from Main Hoon Na. With subtitles, of course.

This movie probably has the most amount of great songs. The camera work, direction, elaborate costumes/stage, and choreography combined make for some great footage. Remember the songs Chale Jaise Hawaein and Tumse Milke Dil Ka Jo Haal from previous posts?

[Youtube] Main Hoon Na: Gori Gori

KMFDM: Rebels In Control with Anonymous and #OWS

2012-01-24T23:37:00.000-08:00

Cool grunge rebel song using Anonymous and #OccupyWallStreet footage.

[Youtube] KMFDM - Rebels In Control - feat Anonymous #OWS

And remember this one?
[Youtube] KMFDM - Juke Joint Jezebel

Dil Se: Chaiyya Chaiyya

2012-01-24T00:19:00.000-08:00

An epic song.. Chaiyya Chaiyya from the movie Dil Se (1998). Actually the complete name of the song is Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya. This is another song by the A.R. Rahman.

With captions. The key to this song is understanding the first verse:
Those who have an all encompassing shadow of love over their head, will have heaven below their feet... Walk under this shadow

[Youtube] Chaiyya Chaiyya

Check out the much clearer bluray version. It's eye candy.:
[Youtube] Chaiyya Chaiyya - BluRay quality but no captions

This song was featured in the powerful intro to the movie Inside Man. Check it out:
[Youtube] Inside Name intro with song Chaiyya Chaiyya
Sorry no embedding.

Dil Chahta Hai: Jaane Kyon

2012-01-23T20:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a romantic Hindi song Jaane Kyon from the movie Dil Chahta Hai (2001). Filmed on location in Australia.

Please turn on captioning (CC button) for english subtitles.

[Youtube] Jaane Kyon song from movie Dil Chahta Hai

Cars - Post Peak Oil

2012-01-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

GOOD THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES

Here's a look at what people might be driving in a post peak oil era courtesy a 6'5" Jeremy Clarkson of UK's Top Gear show.

[Article + Video] World's smallest production car - Peel P50 - A Test Drive

Money prioritized over everything else - Italian Trash Mafia

2012-01-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

A DIRTY BUSINESS

The mafia runs the garbage business in most places around the world. You can say it's a dirty business.. Here the concern for profit for mafia's billions of dollars in the trash business gets priority over quality of life to the point of harming health. Yet business goes on as usual. Protests happen, but unfortunately, not enough people support the cause.

A documentary by Journeyman Pictures.

[Youtube] Italy's garbage mafia vs. the local people

People's Milk vs Corporate Dairy

2011-12-20T22:01:00.000-08:00

Here's an outstanding article about milk production around the world. The people's milk, which is produced by small farmers and individuals, is being destroyed by various schemes and investments by the big guys.

So it works this way. Try to make sense of it. Stop buying milk from small farmers which destroys their livelihoods and herd. Import cattle to replace the small farmer herds and put then on massive dairy farms. Charge 6x retail what it cost to buy from a small farmer. Somehow, the modern method is better? Not to mention the nutrient quality. Whih milk is going to have more nutrition? A small farmer's herd that grazes local pasture or large dairy farms where there is standing room only and the cattle is fed feed? And let's not mention the pollution.

Local breeds of dairy animals that supply the people's milk system, whether cattle, goats, buffaloes or camels, have the resilience and low-input efficiency that small farmers and pastoralists need to withstand the precarious conditions created by climate change. It is their livestock systems that require support, not the "investors", who get all kinds of generous tax breaks, donor funds, and other incentives from governments.

[Article] A look at People's Milk from around the world

Greg Palast on Why We Occupy

2011-12-19T21:40:00.000-08:00

A must watch speech by Greg Palast. He covers many subjects. A classic sleuth, he uncovers the filth that is the now the norm. From oil spills, to quake-fail nuclear reactors, to vultures, to Occupy Wall Street , he covers the latest events of 2011.

Please visit VulturesPicnic.org to buy his books and to support his detective efforts.

Turn up the volume!

[Youtube] Greg Palast on Why We Occupy

Don Jon Corzine: An interview by Alex Jones

2011-12-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

LOL! Here's a mock interview of Don Jon Corzine, formerly the head of the imploded MF Global, which is still allowed to trading in the markets using their internal funds! Max Keiser recently came on board to spill the rumor that Jon Corzine was threatened by Chase's Jamie Dimon. Don Jon was given two options, either steal from the private accounts to pay back Chase's loan or swim with the fishes.

[Youtube] Hilarious interview of Jon Corzine by Alex Jones

Bankers: Predators

2011-12-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

8 FOR ME, 1 FOR YOU

Alas, suspicions are being confirmed that banking and finance are societal predators feasting on the productivity of others. It is a mix of gullible, naive, and/or corrupt masses who wait for that piece of food to be thrown over the side of the grand dinner table, which entertains the fat cats, while they feast up the productivity of the masses.

As the article points out it is the top 1% that are liabilities while the bottom 20% are the real producers of the economy. As I've asked before, without the cleaners, manual laborers, gardeners, waiters, cooks, cashiers, what would the quality of life be for the rest of us 80%?

[Article] Bankers: Societal Liability

William K Black speaks at #OccupyLA 11-09-2011

2011-12-07T00:15:00.001-08:00

I TOLD YOU I WOULD BRING A MESSAGE OF HOPE

It seems out of reach... Only a dream at this point... Putting 2000+ EXECUTIVES IN JAIL. That was before it should 20000+ now.

I just finished watch the 60 Minutes report titled Prosecuting Wall Street. Once again, 60 minutes is 60 months behind. When they interviewed the guy from the Dept of Justice and asked why they haven't brought any cases against the big boys, the reply was that anger should not determine if we bring a case, and that it took several years to bring a case. Well isn't it more than several years since 2008. If I was the interviewer, I would told the Dept of Justice guy that William K Black, the guy that put 2000 executive in jail in the late 1980s says the fraud is even bigger this time and that he would be happy to be given the opportunity to work on fraud cases.

"The group that has the audacity to refer to itself as the productive class is the largest destroyer of lives, of jobs, and of wealth of any group ever produced in this world. They wiped out 6 million existing jobs and 5-6 million jobs that would have been created. ... They've left 26 million Americans wanting fulltime work, with no ability to find that work. If you look at just losses in the household sector, it is 11 trillion dollars. ... And then they had the nerve to say they are the productive class." -- William K Black

The bit about Alan Greenspan opposing regulation and prosecution of S&L in the 1980s is something I haven't heard before. Stay tuned!

[Youtube] William K Black @ #OccupyLA

Zuccotti Park - Brookfield Properties - Tax Deadbeats

2011-12-06T10:52:00.001-08:00

BREAKING THE LAW IN NEW YORK

Imagine what would happen to you if you didn't pay your taxes. You would get hit with interest and fines up to your nose. Let's not mention the threatening letters to repossess your property or license to operate.

Apparently, there's a two tier law book. Why would businesses not pay their taxes in an orderly manner if they are going to get hit with massive penalties? Could it be they don't pay penalties or the amount owed? Does the amount get forgiven or written off?

Some interesting comments:
Actually, Brookfield got a waiver on zoning regulations to build a taller and more profitable building in exchange for Zucotti Park. It wasn't some charitable gift to the city, it was a quid pro quo. They got what they wanted, a taller more profitable building, now, they don't like the public using their cement plaza and want to renegotiate.

Brookfield got stimulus money for some green energy cr@p, and they didn't pay their taxes...

The City Forced Brookfield Properties into making Zucotti park and Making it open 24 hours a day unlike every single other City Park.

[Article] Brookfield Properties, the Zuccotti Park owners, do not like to follow tax laws

Jon Mcnaughton - Art - Wake up, America!

2011-12-05T12:08:00.001-08:00

BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

Ummm.. it's already too late. We passed the point of no return that faithful day that massive bailout whih Hank Paulson handed over for signature. So now we must plan for a post dollar era. So get ready.

Who cares about finance. Yes, we'll have to learn to live with less money. We are a second rate country not due to finance but to poor thought. We've been propagandized to believe it is our materials which determine our quality of life. We've learned to ignore things of value, spirit, comrade, and experience in pursuit of zeros and ones in a computer. Other than food, shelter, utilities, and recreation, I do not find any other need for money.

Innocence and naivety are no excuse. Neither is having time, energy, money invested in the current system.

Here's a Jon Mcnaughton painting depicting a public bound in chains. More info at jonmcnaughton.com.

[Youtube] Jon Mcnaughton's artwork: Wake up, America!

Harriet Washington - Unethical BIG PHARMA patents - Democracy Now! 10-31-2011

2011-11-28T00:23:00.001-08:00

MURDER SHE WROTE by BIG PHARMA

Harriet Washington's book, Deadly Monopolies: The Shocking Corporate Takeover of Life Itself—And the Consequences for Your Health and Our Medical Future, takes a jaw dropping look at the medical industrial complex gone haywire. The biotechonology and pharmaceutical companies are getting away with literal murder.

These companies control critical patents, a lot which shouldn't even be given out as they are public domain or are a patent on genes which is life itself. In the past 30 years, 40,000+ patents have been granted on genes alone, with many more pending. As Harriet Washington mentions, it is profit than triumphs over the health and medical needs of the population.

I've been thinking about what Max Keiser is saying about getting rid of the copyright cartel. My light bulb finally turned on a few weeks ago. Indeed, what a different world it was be without patents and copyright. No longer would there be motivation for money. No more lust of money or greed. The greedy type of people would no longer be in top positions of business and finance. Any discovery would go into the public domain where would improve the world as a whole. The motivation of the discoverer would be to improve humanity not money. We would get a different sort of organizational structure full of workers who would work hard and command these structures with the motivation to add to humanity's well being. Since there is no money at the end of the rainbow, the people motivated by money will not bother to even join or be involved. What kind of jobs will the greedy types have at this point? Unbound by any copyright, trademark, or patent restrictions, labs can use best practices to improve upon what's already known. Discoveries would come quick as they build on top of each other. Best of all it would be real knowledge to add to the public database. After all, that which is free has no market and does not exist in a capitalistic system. Fascinating...

[Video] Harriet Washington exposes the Medical Industrial Complex subjecation thru patents - Democracy Now! 10-31-2011

MIC CHECKED

2011-11-26T22:04:00.000-08:00

Awesome collection of mic checks. The Karl Rove one is the best lol. Michelle Bachman walks away with her reptile tail in between her legs. Too many Obamabots at Obama's MIC CHECK. It's about time a new message was present instead of the business as usual propaganda grandiosizing executives at these silly business get togethers.

[Youtube Videos] MIC CHECK Assortment Pack

Occupy Wall Street - An introspective look so far

2011-11-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

OCCUPY MORALITY

I just think that analyzing why something is successful and giving credit to one particular event or statistic is not misleading and inaccurate. If A happens, B will happen. If you do A it will lead to B. That is what we are taught to look at in school. It does not work like this. Like mythology, fables, legends, morals of stories, and religion, the gut or point of the story is always taken out and all that is presented is the flavorless skeleton form of a story.

If we look back to history class we were presented with what happened when. And we MIGHT be presented with one or two sentences of the causes of this or that event (wars, riots, strikes, etc). We are never told about the undercurrent, the concoction of causes (there's usually more than 1 cause and relationships between them) which led to the event(s). And there's no questioning why things happened the way they did. If there was questioning, things would become exposed as event A should not necessarily conclude in fashion A unless there a force such as self interest involved.

Lastly, I guess the most important factor that goes into anything (and is usally left out) are people's intents and expectations. There's no real introspection into the populace's thoughts and feelings and to its "leaders" interests. Why do things happen and conclude the way they do? What do people care about? What don't they care about? Are the people moral?

Whenever I meet someone who's involved with charity, I listen to what they are doing. They will continue on and on and on and on about their great plans to change this or that (code for "change the world"). Then I have to stop them, as I am pretty disappointed and exhausted of hearing the naivety. Of course, it takes some experience and time to really get that reaction (light bulb going off in the head) going. I've heard it before. Great expectations and enthusiasm. It takes years (and many examples and repetition of similar programs) to see a pattern by looking at the program conclusion. What effect did they have? Did they really change what they set out to change? The answer is almost always NO, they did meet their stated mission/goals.

Well, why is that? That's something I ask. This question just isn't asked enough. Forensics needs to take place. Introspection and inspection needs to happen alongside some analysis. Branching of events and conclusions based on x and y factors needs to take place. Why did the Plinko chip fall where it did and not the other slots. What were the causes and effects. What were the odds of each path?

So, I stop the great ideas and plans diatribes of the people in these charities to ask a simple question. Why are people in the condition they are in. Perhaps the best example charities trying to reduce poverty. I will ask the charity representative "why are people poor in the first place?". Then a pause. Maybe the answer they will blurt out is "because they need some money.. If they only had the money do A or B". Then I ask, "well looking back, poverty is not a natural human condition. No one wants to be poor. So how did or why it happen?" No answer. Then i will interject "have you looked at the political system? Have you looked at the big businessmen? Have you looked at the corruption? Do you think any of that has anything to do with why the people you are trying to help are in such dire straits?" Still no response. I will continue, "There's a system that's keeping people from succeeding. People are handcuffed. there's people in power that want to keep their power and they way they do that is by keeping other people in chains. Poverty is a form of control and power. Their system is intent on maintaining the status quo and poverty and maleducation are a few of the levers of control. Now do you think, throwing money at the problem will solve it or will it only create a short term resolution? It might even create long term dependence." Then I will be asked, "So what is your solution?". I will respond, "Well, education about the system is step 1. If people don't know what they are facing, they won't know how to proceed to proposing solutions and then executing them." After some time, the conversation will usually conclude with disbelief in my propositions. There is no way such corruption exists. There is no malintent by those in power and control. Hence, the ineffectiveness of nonprofits throughout the ages...

Well from what I've experienced, I can say it's really self interest that's the root of everything. In fact, there's people who would love to enslave others if they could get away with it. What percent of the population thinks this way is up for debate. My experience is it could be the majority in big cities. The bigger the city, the less its people are moral/ethical. Living in smaller cities is just healthier for the mind and soul. My experience in schools with the teachers and students says so. Both were propagandized and had self interests. There was no introspection. It was all about one's interests rather than the interests of the whole. Heck, some of the teachers were racists. A lot were fascists who loved the control. What else could pink slips and detention be? Of course, there were bullies. Now why are there bullies? It's because there isn't a majority to stand up to bullying and to nip it in the bud because the majority are bullies in one way or another. Free lunch one way or another!

Once in awhile a person comes around who thinks about the world and its people and asks a lot of questions. Confucius, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, George Carlin, and so forth. What baffles me is why not everyone thinks in the same manner. Leaders don't create movements. Movements happen by themselves. There's a saying "When the students are ready, the teacher presents him/herself". Now the trick is to put out the message yet stay alive. Take Jesus or MLK Jr. for example. The heretics always go up against the interests of the people. There's enough support out there for the "leaders" of that time to get rid of the heretics, yet stay in power.

In this video, the "leaders" of the movement have been at it for quite a long time (decades), the best example being, Michael Moore. He's always had a message. But his message has been booed and hissed at (take the Academy Awards Iraq War speech for example). Why? Because people have their SELF interests in hand.

So what sparked the Occupy Wall Street movement (#OWS)? Was it the third world child slave labor? NO. Was it the free trade deals such as NAFTA? NO. Was it outsourcing and insourcing? NO. Was it the Patriot Act? NO. Was it ABU GHARIB and Guantanamo Bay or torture? NO. Was it the telecom spying? NO. Was it the 2008 banker bailout? NO. Was it the deregulation (Glass Steagal and Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000? NO. Was it the poverty numbers in the country? NO. Was it the increasing income gap in the county? NO. Was it all the Reagan and Bush wars? NO. Was it the 1 million dead Iraqis? NO. Was it the military budget? NO. Was it the banker bonuses? NO. Was it Enron, Worldcom, shredding of documents at Arthur Anderson? NO. Was it the practices of the IMF and World Bank and WTO? NO. Was it the dismantling of the right to Habeus Corpus? NO. Was it the drone strikes? NO. Well there's plenty more.. So what was it? It was simply that the disaster got to the individual and effected him/her. That's all! There is no great egalitarian ideal that a lot of people work towards. Should I pursue what's good for everyone or should I pursue what's good for me, even though it may harm others? Because of self interest, there will always be future crisis. All we do is jump from one crisis to another.

Education can only help those that want to pursue the egalitarian ideal. The rest use it was a weapon. The rest don't care about anything but themselves. So the question is what percent of the population is what? Let's talk about change in a manner in who can realistically be genuinely changed.

Those in power know the threat to them is ideas, ideals, sympathy, and egalitarian. They hide, coverup, and lie. They create The Matrix. And it takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to see through it and change yourself. Throughout time, people have been gotten rid of. Their damn ideas must be gotten rid off. Hence we have things such as book burnings, witch burnings, public executions, jailings, etc. It's dangerous to have ideas that go up against establishment interests of power and control and the perceived investments of the people.

[Article]Exploring Books Burnings by Richard RJ Eskow

Here's the latest on #OWS featuring Michael Moore, Naomi Klein and a few others...
[Youtube] OWS so far - Occupy Everywhere - Nov 2011

Jeff Ross brings comedy to Occupy LA

2011-11-25T01:04:00.000-08:00

Jeffrey Ross, a local comedian who's usually seen roasting celebrities on Comedy Central roasts, visits Occupy Wall Street's Occupy LA branch to add some much needed color and humor to the protest.

ENJOY!!

[Youtube] Jeff Ross roasts Occupy Wall Street 10-19-2011

Happy Turkey Day 2011

2011-11-25T00:54:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope everyone experienced an enjoyable holiday. Watching this documentary about a man raising and living with wild turkeys reveals that animals talk and communicate and have much greater awareness of the surroundings than what we are made to believe. They also have a sense of curiosity, have a streak of playfulness, and even experience joy.

[Video] - PBS's My Life as a Turkey
Sorry, no embedding

Pic of the Day - 11-22-2011

2011-11-22T21:55:00.000-08:00

This isn't related to anything that's going on. I just thought it funny.

Pepper Spray Cop Art

2011-11-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

Here's to some more goofing around.. One of the cops that pepper sprayed the UC Davis student human sidewalk block is the feature.

[Pics] Pepper Spray Cop get his 15 minutes of fame in various Art pieces

Humorous #OWS videos

2011-11-20T00:31:00.000-08:00

Goldman Sachs has a plan for OWS. See what their plans are for the #OWS protesters once they reach the Goldman Sachs building. LOL!!!

[Youtube] Goldman Sach's plans for #OWS protesters

I laughed at this too.
[Article] Tank in Tampa vs #OWS Protestors

Occupy Wall Street - The next big step

2011-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Ah ha! Someone said it! Shut down the stock exchange! I've been saying it all along (see my Oct 29th comment)! Check out the end of this video:

Btw, that was really dumb of the establishment to bring attention to the #Occupiers. They set abuzz the hornets nest which brought the limelight back upon the protesters. Coverage of the Occupy protests was dying down as there was no new news to report. And yes this was coordinated by someone high up (most likely the Chamber of Commerce) as all the Occupy camps got raided at about the same time, in the same manner, using the same lame excuses such as the camp was dirty, it was health hazard, and that it stood as as being unsafe in terms of crime and violence. What doesn't make sense to me is why they raided, ransacked, and confiscated all the material possessions at the camp knowing they would allow the protesters to return and resettle in the same place. Seems like an espionage mission to get information such as members, organizations, and contacts that are involved and perhaps to sniff out upcoming plans.

So back to the idea of blockading (don't they blockade in wars?) the stock market with 100,000s of people surrounding the buildings and underground corridors so that employees can't get to work and business as usual can't continue... This would be true crowd sourcing! How would this work? Let's get into the hypothetical scenario much deeper...

The blockade would, of course, have to happen on a weekday. People would have to take the day off and potentially be arrested. The NYSE opens at 9:30am. Workers probably show up long before that. The disruption would start when critical NYSE employees are delayed or cannot show up to work.

If we look at the metal barricades in Michael Moore's fantastic video, they can be turned around and used in the protesters' favor by being instrumental in a blockade and even block the authorities in! People can begin forming the blockade outside the police lines as they surround the neighboring blocks and not all any employees in.

[Youtube] Michael Moore on #OWS interviews near the stock market

And from today.. A fantastic interview on Democracy Now! by Arundhati Roy. She covers both #OWS and the genocide in India, and the realization that both are connected because they are the result of the same criminal cabal. /br>
Somewhere there is a recording or video of Arundhati Roy's speech to Occupy Wall Street. I hope I run into it shortly as I am anxious to hear it!

[Video] Arundhati Roy on Democracy Now! speaking about Occupy Wall Street

And lastly, here is a video of the police disguising themselves as Occupy Oakland protesters. People's tax dollars hard at work!

[Youtube] Police join Occupy Oakland movement as fake protesters

Jack Abramoff on 60 Long and Corrupt Minutes

2011-11-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

Give it up Leslie Stahl. You know how the game is played. Stop pretending that you don't know about the corruption, cover ups, and lies. After all, you work for CBS / 60 minutes and you have to play by their rules.

As for the interview, I was laughing all the way through. As if one is so naive that he/she doesn't know what's really going on... The interview just confirmed everything I've known about politicians, the laws, the game, and the characters/personality. Think of it as another Wikileak.

Of course, the people making the laws want to corrupt themselves! Why have laws to deny yourself? Have laws work to your advantage! And don't forget about that cushy job after that resume builder job as a Congressman! LOL Don't you think Obama is resume building too, just like Tony Blair who's working for JP Morgan now?

Here are the politicians.. oops... "leaders" who people look up to. They're quite dumb aren't they? But they are surely crafty. They seek indulgence and love selling everything they can get their hands on for a ride on easy street.

PS: I have a lot more time coming up this month so I'll be posting all the stuff that's piled up and laying on the backburner. There's some jaw dropping stuff coming up later this week! Just mix with some time and interest!

[Youtube] Jack Abramoff on 60 Minutes
Sorry embedding disabled.

Egypt: Imagine the Revolution (in America) - The rest of the videos

2011-10-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

More of Asmaa Mahfouz and the other Egyptian freedom fighters and revolutionaries at #OccupyWallSt. Parts 2 thru 5 below. Don't miss them! Here's the rest of the videos.

Egypt: Imagine the Revolution (in America)

2011-10-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

A NEW JOB OPPORTUNITY

The future is wide open for Egypt, as hopes, dreams, and wishes sway bountifully amongst its people. The future is what one makes of it.

The Revolution continues... here in America... Egpytian freedom fighters visit Wall Street to show solidarity, give some encouragement, and of course, share some valuable pointers on how to throw the dictators out.

"Freedom is very expensive" -- Asmaa Mahfouz

The US was sending everyday for the Mubarrak regime, and now the ?scaff?. While they were giving money, and power, and support to the Mubarrak regime, our people, Egyptian people, can success against all of this, against the US power, so power to the people - not the US, or bombs, or money..." -- Asmaa Mahfouz

[Video] Democracy Now! covers a visit from Egpytian freedom fighters 10-25-2011
[Youtube] Tahir Square meets Wall Street