Posts
Let me start by saying that I do like Tyler Perry, and that I have also enjoyed some of his films. By all accounts, he is a talented, perhaps gifted film maker. But I take issue with the recurrent theme of his projects. Perry exposes segments of Black culture under the guise of those segments representing the entirety of Black culture. Virtually every movie has the obligatory examples of human nature at its most vile, represented only by Black characters. If an alien were to intercept his movies’ transmission, they would think that the Black community is comprised of vapid, conniving, thieving, incestuous, materialistic adulterers. Even the few characters of any redeeming quality seem to have some fatal flaw-obesity, low self esteem, addiction, or intellect bordering on retardation.
One might say that his movies tell it like it is, and shine light on topics long hidden by our community. To those, I say that there is so much more than what he tells. This man manages to leave out the story lines that could be told, in favor of the prurient and the lascivious, the adulterous and the darker corners of the human psyche.
It could also be argued that no one wishes to see cutesy, warm, uplifting story lines. I agree, but there should be some sort of balance in the portrayal of any subject matter. Uplifting movies do attract viewers and do make money. I site two examples off the top of my head; Sleepless in Seattle and Forrest Gump. Two more; Cooley High and Harlem Nights. The latter three did have scenes that were adult in nature, and involved some activities decidedly less than redeeming. But they also demonstrated positive values and morality in their less than perfect characters. A movie doesn’t have to be the Cosby Family to succeed at the box office.
Mr. Perry has made tens of millions of dollars, and is in the rare position of being able to choose his projects-he is a bankable artist. Yet when given the opportunity to produce for television, he gives us slap stick buffoonery, not seen since Amos and Andy bumbled and ebonic-ed their way onto the screen. His shows House of Pain and Meet the Browns are a modern version of Good Times for semi-intelligent adults. Both shows feature obese characters gyrating, dancing, and signifying to the point of making one viscerally ill. They expose their gelatinous bellies as though they were something to be proud of, in an era when diabetes and heart disease are killing us at a rate faster than Hispanic births-and that is reeeally fast. His characters are guffawing-us all the way to the gallows.
There are other directors that choose to specialize in certain genres. But even Wes Craven delves into different types of scary, instead of strictly horror. Spike Lee, another prolific director, also focuses on Black cultural themes. Yet you will discover a wide variety of subject matter; School Daze, Malcolm X, Summer of Sam, Girl 6, He Got Game, Clockers, and Katrina, to name but a few. And although Spike does cameos in some of his movies, I have yet to see him dress in drag (which would be really, really, scary).
And what the heck is Tyler Perry’s cross-dressing fetish about? I believe that it is indicative of his conflicted sexuality and subliminal desire to be both man and woman. I would surmise that a therapist would immediately connect his abuse as a teenager at the hands of both men and women, to way he mis-portrays our community. Tyler Perry is a prime psychological handbook example of self-loathing, projected upon an entire community. His views of relationships are clearly shaped by his abuse. It hasn’t escaped me either, that his oft reprised character Madea-the gun toting, knife wielding, trash talking grandmother-has yet to be seen in a healthy relationship with a man (or for that matter a woman). It appears that Tyler Perry cannot manage to create an upstanding role even for himself. Instead of crying like a woman on Oprah, he should have been talking like a man with Dr. Phil.
I for one, refuse to patronize or even view another of his attacks on our community (as well as himself). Tyler Perry's creative process seems as though he upchucks into a giant crock pot, seasons it with a little humor, then serves it up as soup for the soul. Sadly, Black women are standing in line like homeless people waiting for a free holiday meal. Before he next sits his butt into a director’s chair, he should first lye down on a psychiatrist’s couch. Perhaps then he will discover that his experience is not our experience, and that there are millions of healthy, loving, relationship stories available within the Black community.
Tnasiti speaks, all rights reserved.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
What's Up With This 'Cougar' Craze?
Suddenly, it has become vogue to be a Cougar. But what is a Cougar anyway? Lithe, supple, felines. Not a bad reference for an older woman-younger man relationship, right? Look deeper. We're talking alpha predator here folks. When I think of Cougars, muscles, sharp claws and deadly fangs, come to mind. I’m a Nat Geo, and Discovery Channel junkie. I remember seeing shows like ‘I Survived’ that depict simulations of people being attacked by Mountain Lions (Cougars). Believe me folks, when I tell you that it wasn’t pretty. The big cat’s attempts to eviscerate the tender mid-section, crack the skull with powerful jaws, or biting the throat to suffocate their prey (in these cases people), did not give me a warm and fuzzy, isn’t she a beauty, kind of response.
Rather, I imagined myself in that position-on my stomach, trying to protect my face and neck, thinking I’m about to die, and wondering if help will arrive in time. This is a very scary scenario, people. So when I see commercials and print and media references to women as Cougars, I’m wondering what the bleep are they saying here? Are they ignorant of the meaning behind this term, or is the reference designed to evoke a latent, visceral, response in men subliminally? This label was likely created by a man with the intent of denigrating older women who like younger men-- in the now. I would argue too, that the subliminal effect would be to demonize such women in the minds of men-- in the future, after the brain processes the term and properly associates it with power and the violence.
The cable TV series ‘Ad Men’ provides a glimpse into the world of marketing and advertising. Very smart people are paid very handsome sums to come up with campaigns that have a subliminal effect. Ads that subtly take effect are highly prized in the commercial as well as the political arena. Such ads work without us realizing that we are being sold something. The movie ‘Inception’ has as its premise, the placing of a kernel of an idea into a victim’s brain. The purpose is to have this kernel accepted as a self originated concept, rather than as the external plant of someone else. If the brain is able to determine its foreign nature, the concept will not grow to fruition-at least that is the premise of the movie. The take-home point here is that Trojan Horses can be implanted like a virus, in our heads as well as in our computers.
To my mind, the use of the moniker Cougars for older women who date younger men is unnecessary, un-flattering, un-savory, and sexist. After all, men have going after much younger women/ladies/girls since like, forever. Yet no such derogatory term has been associated with men of this ilk. There is a reason that this is so, like there is a reason that the reverse relates only to women. My question is, why haven’t women objected to this terms’ use? Where are all the feminine activists and advocates on this topic? Have women in general fallen victim to the intent of this campaign? Have women only looked at the warm-fuzzy images of young kittens or the lithe and slender representations of big cats? Wake up ladies, you’ve been bamboozled. By the way, what do we call similarly minded men? We simply call them Men!
Rather, I imagined myself in that position-on my stomach, trying to protect my face and neck, thinking I’m about to die, and wondering if help will arrive in time. This is a very scary scenario, people. So when I see commercials and print and media references to women as Cougars, I’m wondering what the bleep are they saying here? Are they ignorant of the meaning behind this term, or is the reference designed to evoke a latent, visceral, response in men subliminally? This label was likely created by a man with the intent of denigrating older women who like younger men-- in the now. I would argue too, that the subliminal effect would be to demonize such women in the minds of men-- in the future, after the brain processes the term and properly associates it with power and the violence.
The cable TV series ‘Ad Men’ provides a glimpse into the world of marketing and advertising. Very smart people are paid very handsome sums to come up with campaigns that have a subliminal effect. Ads that subtly take effect are highly prized in the commercial as well as the political arena. Such ads work without us realizing that we are being sold something. The movie ‘Inception’ has as its premise, the placing of a kernel of an idea into a victim’s brain. The purpose is to have this kernel accepted as a self originated concept, rather than as the external plant of someone else. If the brain is able to determine its foreign nature, the concept will not grow to fruition-at least that is the premise of the movie. The take-home point here is that Trojan Horses can be implanted like a virus, in our heads as well as in our computers.
To my mind, the use of the moniker Cougars for older women who date younger men is unnecessary, un-flattering, un-savory, and sexist. After all, men have going after much younger women/ladies/girls since like, forever. Yet no such derogatory term has been associated with men of this ilk. There is a reason that this is so, like there is a reason that the reverse relates only to women. My question is, why haven’t women objected to this terms’ use? Where are all the feminine activists and advocates on this topic? Have women in general fallen victim to the intent of this campaign? Have women only looked at the warm-fuzzy images of young kittens or the lithe and slender representations of big cats? Wake up ladies, you’ve been bamboozled. By the way, what do we call similarly minded men? We simply call them Men!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
U.S. District Judge Eviscerates Arizona's SB 1070
San Diego, California (CNN) -- on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ripped the guts out of SB 1070 striking down the most egregious and indefensible parts of Arizona's immigration law.
Ruben Navarette (commentary) is the first Hispanic-American that acknowledges what most Americans feel about the audacity of the illegal community in demanding ‘rights’ they have not earned nor deserve. I agree too, that allowing states to usurp federal authority is a dangerous precedent. Imagine what that might look like even in modern South Carolina or Mississippi for both Blacks and Hispanics. I have nightmares about such things after viewing documentaries of the post Jim Crow era. And when I travel and must leave Rt. 95 north from Florida for any reason, I have day mares that are equally scary.
But law enforcement has ways around normal legal processes in emergencies, called exigent circumstances that allow them to take extra-procedural (legal) measures. I think in fairness, that Arizona is feeling a similar state of emergency, as are many communities all over America. Pennsylvania and the Washington D.C. area are over flowing with hard drinking, bad driving, ‘insurance?...we don’t need no stinking insurance’-minded illegals. Don’t get me started on the burden to our health care systems their wives and girl friends, popping out 4 or 5 babies in 5 or 6 six years has. The country is being over-run while congress sits on its hands. We need a solution that criminalizes illegal entry, the employment of illegal aliens, criminal sanctions against employers, and a path to legal status that first sends them back. We cannot reward illegal behavior.
One final point: I reject the notion that illegal aliens are doing work Americans won’t do. That is a spurious argument based on a fallacy. Illegal aliens do work Americans won’t do for illegal rates of pay. I wish advocates would please make this distinction, because it buttresses the argument that contractors paying these illegal and immoral wages are the reason that so many settled in Arizona. I challenge anyone to visit any American city and watch roofers at work during the sweltering heat of July. You will find that the vast majority of the employees are White with some Black and Hispanic workers sprinkled in. The key element here is not the heat, but the $20-$30 bucks an hour they are earning. Better still, watch the TV show ‘Dirty Jobs’ on A&E. You will see White Americans cleaning greasy, dirty, heavy equipment, sewer lines, the bilge holds on ships, portable potties, and 20 story smoke stacks full of years of grime. Many of these jobs pay above average wages, and are Union shops. African Americans still have problems being admitted to unions, and I expect the same is true for Hispanic Americans. But there is no lack of desire to work these unsavory jobs. So please, I implore you to stop promoting this inaccurate misinformation.
tnasitispeaks-all rights reserved
Ruben Navarette (commentary) is the first Hispanic-American that acknowledges what most Americans feel about the audacity of the illegal community in demanding ‘rights’ they have not earned nor deserve. I agree too, that allowing states to usurp federal authority is a dangerous precedent. Imagine what that might look like even in modern South Carolina or Mississippi for both Blacks and Hispanics. I have nightmares about such things after viewing documentaries of the post Jim Crow era. And when I travel and must leave Rt. 95 north from Florida for any reason, I have day mares that are equally scary.
But law enforcement has ways around normal legal processes in emergencies, called exigent circumstances that allow them to take extra-procedural (legal) measures. I think in fairness, that Arizona is feeling a similar state of emergency, as are many communities all over America. Pennsylvania and the Washington D.C. area are over flowing with hard drinking, bad driving, ‘insurance?...we don’t need no stinking insurance’-minded illegals. Don’t get me started on the burden to our health care systems their wives and girl friends, popping out 4 or 5 babies in 5 or 6 six years has. The country is being over-run while congress sits on its hands. We need a solution that criminalizes illegal entry, the employment of illegal aliens, criminal sanctions against employers, and a path to legal status that first sends them back. We cannot reward illegal behavior.
One final point: I reject the notion that illegal aliens are doing work Americans won’t do. That is a spurious argument based on a fallacy. Illegal aliens do work Americans won’t do for illegal rates of pay. I wish advocates would please make this distinction, because it buttresses the argument that contractors paying these illegal and immoral wages are the reason that so many settled in Arizona. I challenge anyone to visit any American city and watch roofers at work during the sweltering heat of July. You will find that the vast majority of the employees are White with some Black and Hispanic workers sprinkled in. The key element here is not the heat, but the $20-$30 bucks an hour they are earning. Better still, watch the TV show ‘Dirty Jobs’ on A&E. You will see White Americans cleaning greasy, dirty, heavy equipment, sewer lines, the bilge holds on ships, portable potties, and 20 story smoke stacks full of years of grime. Many of these jobs pay above average wages, and are Union shops. African Americans still have problems being admitted to unions, and I expect the same is true for Hispanic Americans. But there is no lack of desire to work these unsavory jobs. So please, I implore you to stop promoting this inaccurate misinformation.
tnasitispeaks-all rights reserved
Monday, July 26, 2010
Who Granted Illegal Aliens The Divine Right to All Things American?
Immigrant groups criticize fingerprint initiative-Yahoo news 07/26/2010
I frankly, don't see the problem here. During the sixties, J. Edgar Hoover initiated-quietly initiated I might add-a program designed to finger print every African American arrested for anything-misdemeanor, domestic violence, J-walking-it didn't matter. The idea was to document and track Black males at a time when a political revolution of sorts was under way.
This was done without congressional or media involvement. Today, if any American is arrested for drunk driving, shop lifting, domestic violence, or a felony of course, they are automatically finger printed and run through the national data base (NCIC-National Crime Information Center) for warrants. The illeagl alien lobby wants illegals to be exempt from this basic law enforcement tool. Now I know that illegal aliens, Hispanics in particular, think that they have a 'right' to be here, and are somehow an exception to the laws that govern everyone else, but what makes them exempt? Why shouldn't they be finger printed like the rest of us, after an arrest? This idea of 'special privilege' gulls me no end. No other ethnic, religious, or cultural group asks for such special handling. Do hispanics think that by naming every-other son 'Jesus,' they're due a special insider status or something?
Proponents of illegal aliens argue that this new regulation would make some illegal aliens hesitant to report a crime. I say bull shnit. New Yorkers are infamous for not reporting crimes as it is, yet their city still functions admirably. Should all New yorkers be exempt from finger printing after an arrest too, in an effort to enhance their reporting of crimes? Even if some innocent illegals (which is a misnomer, because they are already guilty of breaking and entering the country) are swept-up as a result, I fail to see the problem in that. To me it's like a bonus, a kind of 'Bingo!' benefit. Maybe they could give toasters or micro-waves away to the ICE agents with the most 'Bingo Bonuses' at the the end of each month.
I am so tired of these advocates screaming in horror over things the average American lives with on a daily basis. It is this 'oh my!' crap that keeps new ones coming, and old ones acting like America owes them something.
Tnasitispeaks-all rights reserved
I frankly, don't see the problem here. During the sixties, J. Edgar Hoover initiated-quietly initiated I might add-a program designed to finger print every African American arrested for anything-misdemeanor, domestic violence, J-walking-it didn't matter. The idea was to document and track Black males at a time when a political revolution of sorts was under way.
This was done without congressional or media involvement. Today, if any American is arrested for drunk driving, shop lifting, domestic violence, or a felony of course, they are automatically finger printed and run through the national data base (NCIC-National Crime Information Center) for warrants. The illeagl alien lobby wants illegals to be exempt from this basic law enforcement tool. Now I know that illegal aliens, Hispanics in particular, think that they have a 'right' to be here, and are somehow an exception to the laws that govern everyone else, but what makes them exempt? Why shouldn't they be finger printed like the rest of us, after an arrest? This idea of 'special privilege' gulls me no end. No other ethnic, religious, or cultural group asks for such special handling. Do hispanics think that by naming every-other son 'Jesus,' they're due a special insider status or something?
Proponents of illegal aliens argue that this new regulation would make some illegal aliens hesitant to report a crime. I say bull shnit. New Yorkers are infamous for not reporting crimes as it is, yet their city still functions admirably. Should all New yorkers be exempt from finger printing after an arrest too, in an effort to enhance their reporting of crimes? Even if some innocent illegals (which is a misnomer, because they are already guilty of breaking and entering the country) are swept-up as a result, I fail to see the problem in that. To me it's like a bonus, a kind of 'Bingo!' benefit. Maybe they could give toasters or micro-waves away to the ICE agents with the most 'Bingo Bonuses' at the the end of each month.
I am so tired of these advocates screaming in horror over things the average American lives with on a daily basis. It is this 'oh my!' crap that keeps new ones coming, and old ones acting like America owes them something.
Tnasitispeaks-all rights reserved
Saturday, July 17, 2010
White People Still Get All The Breaks
It’s good to be White and American-even if you’re a criminal. The heralded Barefoot Bandit (Colton Harris) is apprehended in Eluthera, Bahamas, and tens of thousands of facebook fans howl. There was little concern for the people who had their homes and property plundered by this land-pirate. The comments on Yahoo and other sites which are so harsh towards Somali pirates and inner city criminals were full of warm, cozy, comments of support. Once again it becomes clear how racialized-thinking affects everything, even pop-culture in America. Had this guy been anything but White, this story would have been buried on page 9.
Harris’ crimes have been pointedly characterized as non violent. Yet piracy in Somalia or a home invasion in Seattle, are portrayed by the media as violent crimes. But I would argue that they are all fundamentally the same. The Somali pirates commandeer ships-the Barefoot Bandit steals smaller boats but adds planes. Petty criminals break into homes or businesses-the barefoot bandit breaks into homes and businesses. The Somali pirates, and your local B&E (breaking and entering) artist brandish weapons-the barefoot bandit brandished a weapon. The Somali pirates threaten large areas, and Colton Harris burned a swath from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeastern Caribbean. In each of the above scenarios, innocent people could easily have been injured or killed. Colton Harris is no Robin Hood. Colton Harris is simply a hood.
But there is one area that distinguishes what Colton Harris did from those other crimes. This 'bandit' committed his crimes for fun and fame. He is but the latest example of Americans doing stupid stuff (yacht girl, balloon boy, mountain climber-kid) for notoriety, an instant of fame and a subsequent payday. Colton Harris violated the lives and homes of others for the thrill of it. At least one could argue that the Somali pirates are attempting to feed their families in the absence of other legitimate work. Nor did he have the excuse of feeding a raging drug habit, like so many petty criminals. Colton Harris’ immediate motivation was the ego-boost he received from reading about his exploits on facebook. This man-and by the way he is not a kid as the media portrays him-is simply a selfish, self promoting miscreant, who deserves to spend decades in a dank, damp, sweltering Bahamian prison.
Yet the US government will spring into action, and see that this ‘man-boy’ comes home to a hero’s welcome, and a short stay in a minimum security jail. Harris will probably be allowed internet access so he can keep up with his facebook fans. This 6’ 5” sneak-thief is nothing more than a nocturnal scavenger that will probably be someone half his size’s girlfriend, in even the fluffiest of jails. Perhaps then he’ll understand what it is like to be violated by another.
Tnasiti speaks-all rights reserved
Harris’ crimes have been pointedly characterized as non violent. Yet piracy in Somalia or a home invasion in Seattle, are portrayed by the media as violent crimes. But I would argue that they are all fundamentally the same. The Somali pirates commandeer ships-the Barefoot Bandit steals smaller boats but adds planes. Petty criminals break into homes or businesses-the barefoot bandit breaks into homes and businesses. The Somali pirates, and your local B&E (breaking and entering) artist brandish weapons-the barefoot bandit brandished a weapon. The Somali pirates threaten large areas, and Colton Harris burned a swath from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeastern Caribbean. In each of the above scenarios, innocent people could easily have been injured or killed. Colton Harris is no Robin Hood. Colton Harris is simply a hood.
But there is one area that distinguishes what Colton Harris did from those other crimes. This 'bandit' committed his crimes for fun and fame. He is but the latest example of Americans doing stupid stuff (yacht girl, balloon boy, mountain climber-kid) for notoriety, an instant of fame and a subsequent payday. Colton Harris violated the lives and homes of others for the thrill of it. At least one could argue that the Somali pirates are attempting to feed their families in the absence of other legitimate work. Nor did he have the excuse of feeding a raging drug habit, like so many petty criminals. Colton Harris’ immediate motivation was the ego-boost he received from reading about his exploits on facebook. This man-and by the way he is not a kid as the media portrays him-is simply a selfish, self promoting miscreant, who deserves to spend decades in a dank, damp, sweltering Bahamian prison.
Yet the US government will spring into action, and see that this ‘man-boy’ comes home to a hero’s welcome, and a short stay in a minimum security jail. Harris will probably be allowed internet access so he can keep up with his facebook fans. This 6’ 5” sneak-thief is nothing more than a nocturnal scavenger that will probably be someone half his size’s girlfriend, in even the fluffiest of jails. Perhaps then he’ll understand what it is like to be violated by another.
Tnasiti speaks-all rights reserved
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
RE: An Article In Yahoo Comments About Arizona's Immigration Policy
Pancho Villa wrote-
"If you only knew the life and stuggles of a illegal. Minimum wage can only get some of your bills paid. Think about that when your at Disney land while we clean up your streets and take out your trash."
Well Pancho, have you stopped to consider how many low-income Americans could be hired and made more productive if they had access to legal wages and jobs which illegal aliens now occupy?
Why should any American go without so that some criminal alien can support his/her family back home? Why don't you target the corrupt and ineffective governments of the countries that export illegal aliens, in an effort to provide for their own people? Why should we subsidize Mexico or Guatemala during these trying economic times? Why should our tax dollars go to provide medical care for people that are criminally in this country? Please explain this to us.
What gulls many Americans is the attitude of many illegals that becaue they're supposedly not currently breaking the law, they should be left alone? It's your sense of 'privilege' that drives Americans crazy, as though we owe you something because you want a better life. You are entititled to nothing beyond a hearing before sending you back, and that's it.
According to your logic, we owe the Somali pirates the provilege to better themselves by hijacking our shipping too? You're saying that if you don't like your lot in life in whatever country, you then have the 'RIGHT' to break into ours to support the lifestyle you believe you're due?
The only rights or privileges you are owed are back in your home country. Who the flick do you think you are, that we should make way for you and your litter of TOO MANY DAMN kids?
Mind you, I am all for humanitarian help when it is necessary, but not when it is an unwritten policy position circumventing existing immigration law not supported by the will of the American people.
"If you only knew the life and stuggles of a illegal. Minimum wage can only get some of your bills paid. Think about that when your at Disney land while we clean up your streets and take out your trash."
Well Pancho, have you stopped to consider how many low-income Americans could be hired and made more productive if they had access to legal wages and jobs which illegal aliens now occupy?
Why should any American go without so that some criminal alien can support his/her family back home? Why don't you target the corrupt and ineffective governments of the countries that export illegal aliens, in an effort to provide for their own people? Why should we subsidize Mexico or Guatemala during these trying economic times? Why should our tax dollars go to provide medical care for people that are criminally in this country? Please explain this to us.
What gulls many Americans is the attitude of many illegals that becaue they're supposedly not currently breaking the law, they should be left alone? It's your sense of 'privilege' that drives Americans crazy, as though we owe you something because you want a better life. You are entititled to nothing beyond a hearing before sending you back, and that's it.
According to your logic, we owe the Somali pirates the provilege to better themselves by hijacking our shipping too? You're saying that if you don't like your lot in life in whatever country, you then have the 'RIGHT' to break into ours to support the lifestyle you believe you're due?
The only rights or privileges you are owed are back in your home country. Who the flick do you think you are, that we should make way for you and your litter of TOO MANY DAMN kids?
Mind you, I am all for humanitarian help when it is necessary, but not when it is an unwritten policy position circumventing existing immigration law not supported by the will of the American people.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Mosab Hassan Yousef-Terrorist Sleeper or Asylum Seeker?
Mosab Hassan Yousef was purportedly an Israeli spy who provided information on Hamas, and several bombing operations targeting Israel. He is a marked man, disowned by his father, despised by his friends and family, and wanted by Hamas. Yousef attended Hamas meetings with his father, a respected member of the organization, then secretly reported what he heard to his Israeli handlers. Because of the never-ending tension between the Israelis and the Palestinians over independence and land, this is more about war than terror, since both sides utilize tactics that fall under the ‘terror’ threshold.
Yousef is now awaiting a decision from INS on whether he’ll be granted asylum in California. He has written a tell-all book about his experiences, in an effort to obtain his 15 minutes of fame (and fortune) like Balloon Boy, Yacht-Girl, and that Baby Factory lady. The question is, is he a mole or an asset? Will he commit terror in the US?
In my view, there is no definitive way to determine what is in a man's heart or deep within his mind. I'm uncomfortable with his admission regarding driving terrorists to safe houses after a bombing operation, but I am also uncomfortable with what our law enforcement people do to entice criminal behavior from poor, under-educated citizens, right here at home. I'm thinking of the TV show Bait Car, and some of the FBI operations to create terrorist actions from people who may have otherwise not considered terror.
For example, the FBI has supplied funding, an operations base, equipment, uniforms, contacts, and even potential targets, to a loose group in Florida, more of an inept gang actually, rather than a cell. After coercing the group into formulating some sort of plan, the FBI arrested them with much fanfare as terrorists. These guys had never been out of the state of Florida, knew no real terrorists, and had no terror training, no travel abroad, no internet savvy, and precious little good sense. These guys couldn't make a soda fizzle by shaking it up, yet they supposedly plotted to make explosive devices capable of rivaling Oklahoma City. Some FBI lifer must have needed a promotion really badly.
The nature of clandestine operations is subterfuge, misdirection, and lying. We often don't know that an agent was a sleeper until after lives have been lost. The question of if/ when Yousef will be part of future terror operations are truly a conundrum. But I believe that we must do everything we can to encourage operatives like Yousef to come to our side. We monitor him closely by assigning a few agents to him instead of a desk in Nebraska, layer on all of our wireless bugging capabilities intensely at first, then less so as time goes by. If there is reason to suspect him his involvement in anything at all, we can always deport him at that time.
tnasiti speaks, all rights reserved, 2010
Yousef is now awaiting a decision from INS on whether he’ll be granted asylum in California. He has written a tell-all book about his experiences, in an effort to obtain his 15 minutes of fame (and fortune) like Balloon Boy, Yacht-Girl, and that Baby Factory lady. The question is, is he a mole or an asset? Will he commit terror in the US?
In my view, there is no definitive way to determine what is in a man's heart or deep within his mind. I'm uncomfortable with his admission regarding driving terrorists to safe houses after a bombing operation, but I am also uncomfortable with what our law enforcement people do to entice criminal behavior from poor, under-educated citizens, right here at home. I'm thinking of the TV show Bait Car, and some of the FBI operations to create terrorist actions from people who may have otherwise not considered terror.
For example, the FBI has supplied funding, an operations base, equipment, uniforms, contacts, and even potential targets, to a loose group in Florida, more of an inept gang actually, rather than a cell. After coercing the group into formulating some sort of plan, the FBI arrested them with much fanfare as terrorists. These guys had never been out of the state of Florida, knew no real terrorists, and had no terror training, no travel abroad, no internet savvy, and precious little good sense. These guys couldn't make a soda fizzle by shaking it up, yet they supposedly plotted to make explosive devices capable of rivaling Oklahoma City. Some FBI lifer must have needed a promotion really badly.
The nature of clandestine operations is subterfuge, misdirection, and lying. We often don't know that an agent was a sleeper until after lives have been lost. The question of if/ when Yousef will be part of future terror operations are truly a conundrum. But I believe that we must do everything we can to encourage operatives like Yousef to come to our side. We monitor him closely by assigning a few agents to him instead of a desk in Nebraska, layer on all of our wireless bugging capabilities intensely at first, then less so as time goes by. If there is reason to suspect him his involvement in anything at all, we can always deport him at that time.
tnasiti speaks, all rights reserved, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
On Piracy
Many say that we should execute Somali Pirates on site, set them asail without oars, take their food and water then set them adrift, or shoot their skiffs from under them, thus turning them into Somali-shark snacks.
Then we too would become barbarians. Piracy is an issue born of poverty, and the stronger nation's fishing fleets illegally encroaching onto Somali waters, without payment or consequence.
To be clear, I want it stopped. I also have little empathy for some criminal with an AK forcing his will, because of his self-serving needs onto someone else. But I cannot condone summary execution without due process, or murder by circumstance-that is to say, setting them afloat without oars or water as some have suggested.
I would choose arrest and long sentences that remove the pirate/opportunist from the mix. Perhaps 20 years from now, Somalia might have managed to grow some form of government.
It is an instinct ingrained in our DNA, to survive and see that our children can eat. Example; if you have a group of poor and hungry people congregated near an area where food is transported daily, someone will eventually organize a raiding party and knock off a truck or two. Heck, the Mafia does it every day, and one cannot argue that they are poor or hungry (just look at the guts on those guys). Yet I hear no clamor to shoot them on sight, or to force them to run across 8 lane highways.
The French Revolution was incited by people that were hungry, and an entire government fell. Governments have fought over food and other resources since, forever, and will continue to do so. We will soon see wars over water.
My point is that people, states, and countries, will attempt to take what they must have, if negotiation isn't an option. It is incumbent upon civilized society to not respond in-kind to barbarous behavior, but rather to act in a firm, but morally justifiable manner.
Then we too would become barbarians. Piracy is an issue born of poverty, and the stronger nation's fishing fleets illegally encroaching onto Somali waters, without payment or consequence.
To be clear, I want it stopped. I also have little empathy for some criminal with an AK forcing his will, because of his self-serving needs onto someone else. But I cannot condone summary execution without due process, or murder by circumstance-that is to say, setting them afloat without oars or water as some have suggested.
I would choose arrest and long sentences that remove the pirate/opportunist from the mix. Perhaps 20 years from now, Somalia might have managed to grow some form of government.
It is an instinct ingrained in our DNA, to survive and see that our children can eat. Example; if you have a group of poor and hungry people congregated near an area where food is transported daily, someone will eventually organize a raiding party and knock off a truck or two. Heck, the Mafia does it every day, and one cannot argue that they are poor or hungry (just look at the guts on those guys). Yet I hear no clamor to shoot them on sight, or to force them to run across 8 lane highways.
The French Revolution was incited by people that were hungry, and an entire government fell. Governments have fought over food and other resources since, forever, and will continue to do so. We will soon see wars over water.
My point is that people, states, and countries, will attempt to take what they must have, if negotiation isn't an option. It is incumbent upon civilized society to not respond in-kind to barbarous behavior, but rather to act in a firm, but morally justifiable manner.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Women and Their Derrieres
Somebody ‘Splain to Me…
Why is it that some women become trapped in a time warp, back when their rear ends were attractive, and something to flaunt? The Jay-lo butt loses its appeal with age, unless constantly firmed up or suctioned off. Many women today do not understand that it isn’t so much the size of the butt, as it is it’s composition, that make it attractive or not.
I ask this question because of the number of Black, and now other women well past forty (and should therefore know better) on dating and networking sites, contorting themselves into poses designed to expose their bottoms in all their former glory. It’s like a body dysmorphic syndrome, but for the buttox.
When such women were 17, boys and men would take a first and second approving look. When these ladies hit 25, men and boys were subject to injure a vertebrae, in an effort to extend the length of their view. But by 45, the boys don't even notice, most men avoid looking, and the only ones gawking now are corner hangers, and that newly homeless 'catch' camping out in the bus enclosure.
So when these women pose themselves to display a rear end that’s now rumpled, dimpled, heart-shaped, or as wide as Kansas, one must ask-'what do they see when they look at their photos?' Do they have a purloined carnival mirror at home that distorts and refects a more attractive shape? Perhaps they have a bizarro-gene that reverses the image reference of their stomach and derriere. Some women actually have a behind flat enough to look good as a stomach, and a stomach so round that it would make a really nice Jay-lo.
Someone needs to send these ladies an email, fax, or smoke signal, explaining that life has different phases. What was fun, exciting, and attractive at 25, is likely to be less so at 45. Try riding every roller coaster at an amusement park at age 45 they way you did at 15, and you will understand my point. If you don’t get it right away, wait until the next day when your neck and head feel like the tumble cycle of an electric dryer.
Men are guilty of similar bizarro body-crimes. The muscle-shirt guys, who had nice muscular arms and tight abs twenty years ago, somehow manage to still see those old arms. Yet they don’t see the huge eruption of a gut over-hanging their ever expanding waist-line. And another pet peeve of mine are these grown-azz men wearing their hats backwards on a regular basis. Switching it back at a cook out or ball game for attitude is one thing, but at the market, to work, or on a date is something else. Even my boy Al Bundy had the sense to pack his high school jersey away, along with his disco era gold plated rope chain.
While I ponder this curious phenomenon, maybe one of you out there will supply the answer. If I were to venture a guess, I’d say that the culprit is President Obama....they blame him for everything else, why not this too?
Tnasiti speaks, all rights reserved 2010
Why is it that some women become trapped in a time warp, back when their rear ends were attractive, and something to flaunt? The Jay-lo butt loses its appeal with age, unless constantly firmed up or suctioned off. Many women today do not understand that it isn’t so much the size of the butt, as it is it’s composition, that make it attractive or not.
I ask this question because of the number of Black, and now other women well past forty (and should therefore know better) on dating and networking sites, contorting themselves into poses designed to expose their bottoms in all their former glory. It’s like a body dysmorphic syndrome, but for the buttox.
When such women were 17, boys and men would take a first and second approving look. When these ladies hit 25, men and boys were subject to injure a vertebrae, in an effort to extend the length of their view. But by 45, the boys don't even notice, most men avoid looking, and the only ones gawking now are corner hangers, and that newly homeless 'catch' camping out in the bus enclosure.
So when these women pose themselves to display a rear end that’s now rumpled, dimpled, heart-shaped, or as wide as Kansas, one must ask-'what do they see when they look at their photos?' Do they have a purloined carnival mirror at home that distorts and refects a more attractive shape? Perhaps they have a bizarro-gene that reverses the image reference of their stomach and derriere. Some women actually have a behind flat enough to look good as a stomach, and a stomach so round that it would make a really nice Jay-lo.
Someone needs to send these ladies an email, fax, or smoke signal, explaining that life has different phases. What was fun, exciting, and attractive at 25, is likely to be less so at 45. Try riding every roller coaster at an amusement park at age 45 they way you did at 15, and you will understand my point. If you don’t get it right away, wait until the next day when your neck and head feel like the tumble cycle of an electric dryer.
Men are guilty of similar bizarro body-crimes. The muscle-shirt guys, who had nice muscular arms and tight abs twenty years ago, somehow manage to still see those old arms. Yet they don’t see the huge eruption of a gut over-hanging their ever expanding waist-line. And another pet peeve of mine are these grown-azz men wearing their hats backwards on a regular basis. Switching it back at a cook out or ball game for attitude is one thing, but at the market, to work, or on a date is something else. Even my boy Al Bundy had the sense to pack his high school jersey away, along with his disco era gold plated rope chain.
While I ponder this curious phenomenon, maybe one of you out there will supply the answer. If I were to venture a guess, I’d say that the culprit is President Obama....they blame him for everything else, why not this too?
Tnasiti speaks, all rights reserved 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
