You're Watching The Wrong Hand

I hate to piss in everyone's Wheaties here, but I'm just not buying the whole Edward Snowden thing.

Back in the Stone Age, when I didn't mind working 18-hour days, sleeping on a bus and using a calendar instead of a map to figure where I was, I toured with a magician named Doug Henning.  While working on that gig, I learned a thing or two about misdirection.  People's eyes will automatically look at something flashy, allowing other things to pass unnoticed if they are subtle enough.

Sure, this Snowden guy is in the grand tradition of Daniel Ellsberg and Julian Assange, but something just doesn't smell right here.  A 29-year-old man with top secret credentials who worked at the CIA and the NSA and once applied to the Special Forces runs off to Hong Kong before dropping a paper bomb on his former employers.  Nope, don't buy it.  Either his conditioning didn't take, or he was 'allowed' to do what he did, which we remember is blowing the lid off of the most massive and sophisticated spy and surveillance operation in history.

And here I thought they had machines to read people's minds and manipulate their dreams.  Yet, Snowden waltzed out the door with a pile of top secret papers, which we assume he copied and didn't take the originals.

Oh sure, I'm overjoyed that the spooks had their pants yanked down.  Way too much power piled up in one place, as far as I'm concerned.  But my spidey-sense is tingling.  I feel like I do when I watch great magicians - suspicious of what I just saw, or thought I did.

There's an agenda at play here, and not just that of a hero exposing the evil government sneaking into our lives.  It feels like some level higher even than government has put a plan into play.  That it happened at the same time as the Bilderberger meeting only further tweaks my hackles.  There's a bigger picture here.

Some questions: What are the Chinese allowing him to stay in Hong Kong?  Why did the Russians so quickly offer asylum when they couldn't have bothered with Assange?  And why Hong Kong?  I know places in Wyoming where even satellites, bloodhounds and the LA police couldn't find him.  Yet, he runs to one of the most densely populated islands in the world while his photo is being plastered all over global TeeVee?

As Assange noted, I hope he has a backup plan, because so far he's looking a little sloppy.

All of this adds up to side-show to distract the rubes while the real trick is taking place.  After all, why is anyone surprised?  Didn't they read the Patriot Act?  Didn't they read the NDAA?  Didn't they know that spying on citizens was authorized?  Stands to reason, since killing citizens without trial was authorized.  Spying is quite a bit lower on that totem pole.

Even more to the point, doesn't anyone read history - even fairly recent history?  What about J. Edgar Hoover?  What about Nixon's enemies list?  Did we already forget about that?  And what about the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798?  Or Lincoln's General Order 100 or the suspension of Writ of Habeas Corpus?  In fact, Lincoln did more to undermine the Constitution than any president since, and he's a HERO!

So all this hubbub and surprise is really unwarranted.  None of this is new or even surprising.  Both the spying and the laws that authorized it have been around for a while.  Bush and Obama have both said that they would do as much and trotted out their Attorneys General to read off the justifications to bleary eyed press and public.

All this commotion over Snowden can only be distraction.  There is no other explanation.  We should all be looking in every direction but Snowden trying to find the 'trick', because I guarantee while we've been watching him, something has changed that is far more important and subversive.

Now's our chance to start the shunning campaign I have long advocated.  We should all completely ignore the whole Snowden matter, turn off the babbling heads and start digging deep into whatever the other hand was doing while all this went on.  If we refuse to be led down the path by manufactured news stories such as this and doggedly keep looking the other way, it will have a devastating effect on those who deign to rule us. By following this story, we only feed into the insanity which is the uberklassen.

Turn off the TeeVee.  Don't click on any Snowden stories.  Avoid the topic of domestic spying altogether.  And for God's sake, make Congress do some work instead of sitting around like a bunch of nellies gasping and feigning for the cameras (that includes Rand Paul).

This is a great chance for we the people to set the agenda and take that role back from the "press" and the "pols".  It's the perfect issue, the perfect time and the perfect demonstration of our collective power to change things.

I'm all googly and giddy for Snowden, but don't let the messenger steal the message.  You have work to do. You have laws to repeal, pols to throw in jail and a country to take back.  Sounds like your plate is rather full.

So why are you still sitting there?

By the way, have you noticed that every single photo of Snowden is from the left side?  Doesn't that strike you as a bit odd?  Even famous movie stars can't control things that much.

The Way Things Work

You probably read the headlines: Obama's trip costs US$200 million a day, 6 aircraft, 34 warships, taking over entire hotels, army of Secret Service guarding.

You probably think that's all for Obama, that the whole thing is a show of regality for the President.

You'd be wrong.

See, here's how it works: Obama, or really any face in the Oval Chair, is just a shill. Think of him as the top sales person for corporate and banking interests. The individual is nothing more than the marketing guy for a small consortium of business and banking interests. The shill's job is to both draw and divert attention.

Obama is the curtain behind which stands the Wizard of Oz.

Take, for instance, the 6 aircraft. OK, all six land in Mumbai. One carries the Presidential Entourage, one carries press and lackies, two are carrying the Captains of Industry (aka the Wizard of Oz), and two are carrying an army of lawyers, bankers and paper-pushers. When they took over Mumbai, they rented an entire hotel, ground to roof. In each room was a representative of this group or that company. Indians with money were shuffled in and hard-sold down in the hotel bar. Once they were ready to negotiate, they were hustled upstairs to the appropriate room, where the sale took place. The contracts were signed and deals consumated.

Then, forr aircraft left for Jakarta. Two identical Air Force One's landed at the air force port on the east side of Jakarta, where all the cameras and world attention was focused. The other two landed at Soekarno-Hatta on the west side, and looked to anyone watching like standard public carriers. Those had the Wizard of Oz.

Meanwhile, the other two planes stayed in Mumbai. They were carrying all the lawyers and paper-pushers. Their job was to wrap up the business and make sure all the knots were tied.

Back in Jakarta, Obama was put up as an eye-catcher. He has no power and doesn't lead anything. He's like the appendage on an angler fish: just waved around to attract prey. His speeches were vacuous and contained little substance. But, he drew attention, and that could be capitalized on. Anyone who had passed a pre-screening that included a look at their bank accounts, and who expressed an interest in doing some business, was hustled into the appropriate hotel room, where they were hard-sold and contracts signed.

Obama's trip was a whirl-wind, 24 hour, misty-eyed affair that conveniently kept the world focused away from the Wizard of Oz. We were all watching the show and nodding at the simple Indonesian phrases, smiling at the lame jokes, and waiting for something of substance. Meanwhile, in the hotel rooms across town, the real reason for the show was occuring away from the lights and the dignitaries and the meat puppets.

Then everyone left town, and the world's gaze followed, while those two additional planes (remember those?) quietly left Mumbai and slid into Jakarta completely unnoticed. A small army of lawyers and paper-pushers descended on Jakarta to wrap up the business. If there were any sticking points that needed clarifying, or financing that needed to be completed, or additional wining and dining to complete the deal, they were here to finish up.

Yesterday, those two planes quiety slipped out of Jakarta, on to the next stop, following the Wizard of Oz and sopping up the money left behind.

To be sure, the Obama circus is grand theater. He has a good voice and can masterfully read TelePromTrs. He's handsome and charismatic, and was chosen for the job precisely because cameras tend to point at him and not at the Wizard of Oz. In the global media, there are stories upon stories about diplomacy, and human interest tales of baby-kissing, and chuckles about the one or two gaffes, but the real story is on the four aircraft that are part of the road crew, the people behind the scenes controlling your perception and doing the real business of the show in front.

Think of the whole thing like a circus. The MC, in the center ring and with a flashy suit and spotlight, with his melodious voice, keeps you entranced and focused on the dog and pony show. Meanwhile, in the dark and away from the direct attention of the crowd, the stagehands are preparing the ringing, positioning props, laying out costumes, and cleaning up elephant dung. Out front, the box office folks are counting the money, filling out the ledger, getting a head-count on the audience, and wrapping up the business. The performers are concentrating on their upcoming roles, checking costumes and make-up, making sure everything they need to perform is in place, and focusing their minds on the job at hand.

What you see seems effortless and spontaneous. The acts go off with nary a hitch. The music is timed perfectly. The MC speaks his hypnotic lines with perfection. But if you turn you gaze just slightly to the side and peer into the darkness in the next ring, you'll see dark-suited figures scurrying around setting up for the next act. If you do this enough, you can start to anticipate not only where but what the next act will be. If you squint into the vomitorium, you can see the upcoming performers getting into position. If you glance up to the orchestra, you can see the page-turners preparing the music sheets for the next piece. If you look up, you can see rigging and props flying in and out getting into position for the next piece.

You'll see it, but the rest of the crowd will only see an MC, and a dog and pony show.

The Wizard of Oz is the real show. He's in the background counting the box office. That's what the whole show is about. Oh sure, you get a smile. Your kids are thrilled and entertained. The wife is happy to be out of the house. But, the whole reason for this spectacle is to separate you from some cash. All the acts and cotton candy and clowns are there to tickly you into opening your pocket book just wide enough to spill some bills.

Try my trick. While everyone else is watching the center ring, turn your eyes just slightly to the side. You'll be amazed at all the action behind the scenes. I personally think it's more interesting than the show.

Oh, and remember those 34 warships following the circus? No, they aren't guarding the precious President. No, they aren't there to intimidate the world into submission (although there is some bonus effect). They are there to guard the cash box all the way to the bank. After all, that's the whole reason for the show.